Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD, or any of its character's, and make no money of this.


At first there was something that kept me from trusting them.

Was it because they were devils?

Was it that I couldn't properly trust people?

I just couldn't do it at first.

But... little by little I learned to open up to them.

It was the small meaningless stuff that made me reach out to them.

And I eventually learned...


Chapter 7:

Untold stories I


The halls around me were dark. I woke up a few minutes ago and went for a little midnight trip to the toilet. It's been a few days since I moved in this house together with my new family and I was slowly getting used to my new life. A new father, a new mother, a new sister, a new aunt, and a pair of maid twins.

When I finished my trip to the bathroom I simply tried to go back to my room and go back to sleep, if not for a light coming from down stairs that got my attention.

My curiosity getting the better of me, I carefully tip towed my way around so I could see who was still awake this late in the night. Trying not to get caught red handed, I slowly pressed my head against the railing of the staircase and listened to what was going on.

''Are you sure this was the best choice Kiritsugu-sama?'' a woman whispered to my new dad apparently, judging by the voice it was one of the maids of the house, Sella-san. I wonder what she was talking about.

''Then pray tell what was the best choice?'' the tone in my new dad's voice was different from his usual one, this one was cold, serious, and very bitter. ''You know very well what happened that day. While we were able to disable it, the repercussions that followed were uncontrollable. So many people died that day... when they were supposed to be saved. ''

''I understand that very well, but you need to stop accusing yourself for what happened.'' She tried to reason with him, her voice a mixture of sadness and regret. ''We just didn't have enough time to investigate things properly, to factor any potential aftereffects.''

''However that isn't what I was referring to.'' She stopped for a moment, as if collecting her thoughts. ''You already saved the boy's life, why go all the way and adopt him?''

Wait... are they talking about me?

I felt somewhat awkward as I heard her words. Truth be told ever since the first time I met her I had the distinct impression that Sella-san wasn't too happy to have me around, in fact she seemed very cautions with me.

''Guilt perhaps?'' a bitter laugh came along his tired sigh. ''He was the only one I could save, just one single boy that lost everything in that fire.''

''But why... bring him... with us?'' another voice cut in, the only person I knew who had troubles talking and had such a monotone tone was Leysritt-san. Unlike her sister, she seemed rather neutral about my presence in this house, though it was hard to tell what she was thinking with that perfect poker face of hers.

There was nothing but a heavy silence in the room until he answered. ''That day when everything started falling apart all around us, we had two choices. Either take him with us or leave him there and get captured by the enforcers and executors. If that were indeed the case, he would probably have ended up interrogated to death by them.''

My new father figure's words made me freeze in place. Enforcers? Executors? Death?

''That's... bad.'' Leysritt stuttered comment brought me back to reality. Ever since I met her she always seemed to have a problem when it came to communicating. Iri-san said that it was a matter of language barrier, though I didn't buy it. She spoke Japanese fluently, but she somehow would 'block' when she was talking, so that couldn't be it.

''Now that you mention it Sella.'' Kiritsugu-san got the attention of the white haired maid. ''You've seemed rather adamant against the idea of Shirou living with us. Any reason for that?''

''I'm worried how his presence will affect Illyasviel-sama's well being.'' She slowly explained after a few moments of silence. ''He is just a commoner and-''

''Sella.'' He stopped her, his voice the same calm tone but with a somewhat whip to it. '' We are no longer the people who we once were. Titles, fame, past, heritage, names, we left them all behind, and perhaps its better this way, starting everything from scratch.''

He let out a long tired sigh, a heavy silence filling the room as he contemplated his next words. ''One of the few wishes I had was for my daughter to live a normal life. Such a thing was impossible before, but now she has a chance. So having a normal brother may be a good start.''

''He isn't exactly a normal child after what he went through.'' Sella-san remarked with a somewhat sympathetic tone.

''He may seem a little awkward, but he's a good kid.'' He sighed tiredly. ''Plus the moment Iri decided to claim him as our new son the deal was already sealed regardless of my opinion.''

''A-Ah, yes. Irisviel-sama can be rather convincing once she decides on something.'' The stricter maid replied somewhat nervous. ''She certainly was adamant to make me and Liz give up of our maid uniforms... claiming that they were old fashioned.''

''Scary...''

A somewhat scared yet at the same time amused chuckle escaped his lips. ''You have it easy... I'm the one married to her.''

I could hear my heart beating from the silence that took place in the room. ''...Perhaps I'm not giving you the proper respect you deserve Kiritsugu-sama.''

Slowly getting up, I walked to my room, closing the door behind me, resting my body against it, clearing my mind while trying to understand what they just talked about. Just what was my new family involved in before they adopted me?

And just how was I involved?


My eyes slowly cracked open, starring sluggishly at the unfamiliar ceiling above me.

Just what was that dream?

For some reason I've been having all kinds of weird dreams recently, mostly remembering only small bits of them by the time I woke up, and yet this one was different.

No... It wasn't just a dream. It was a memory from my first days together with my new family. Now that I think about it, even though I lived together with them for ten years or so, I don't really know much about my family's past.

It never really bothered me in any way up until now because I didn't think it mattered all that much... but now I'm beginning to think otherwise. There are many things that I don't know about the people who raised me... but exactly how much am I in the dark about?

I slowly tried to pick myself up and see where I was, regretting it the next moment.

''Uhh...'' a strained groan escaped my mouth as I tried lifting myself up, a ragging headache hitting me like a hammer, followed by a dull lingering pain in most of my muscles every time I moved them. My hand reached for my head, a lonely thought wondering through it. ''Man, if feeling hangover is anything similar to this, I'm sure as hell not touching any alcohol any time soon.''

A shift in the sheets that covered me got my attention, sitting under them right next to me was a person with blonde hair. ''Keep it down will you, I'm trying to sleep.''

''Saji?'' I tilted my head as I recognized the grumpy voice. ''What are you doing in my bed?''

He turned around and looked at me, a tired droopy look present on his face. ''First of all, this is a couch, not a bed. Second, this is Kaichou's not yours.''

His answer made me take a better look around myself, noticing the unfamiliar living room. ''Where are we?''

He lifted himself up and rested his body against the couch arm, his left hand covered in a white cast hanging still in a sling around his neck. ''At Kaichou and Shinra-senpai's house.''

I curiously narrowed my eyes around the unfamiliar location, now that he mentions it I never knew where Kaichou or Shinra-senpai lived, let alone know that they live together. ''So this is their house?''

He yawed tiredly, putting his good hand over his mouth. ''Yeah, apparently the two of them have been living together for a while. At least this answers why they always leave and come to school together.''

''Ok...'' I somewhat nodded, it was rather interesting to learn new things about the people you knew. ''But why are we here?''

A confuse stare was what he gave me for a handful of seconds, his eyes widening slightly afterwards. ''Oh right... you passed out right after you gave Kurosaiga that little farewell, blood loss and exhaustion I guess.'' He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Now that I think about it, after I closed Kurosaiga's eyes I lost any strength I had left in my legs and fell down, everything going dark the next moment. Guess that battle exhausted me more than I thought. ''Well everyone was exhausted and most of us couldn't just go home looking like we just got out of a car crash. So Kaichou decided for us to bunk here for the night.''

Hmm... That was actually a well thought idea. No doubt that any parent would freak out if their child came back home with broken bones and deep stab wounds, so all of us spending the night here, tending our wounds and thinking of some explanation to give was a good move. ''So everyone's here?''

He nodded lightly. ''Pretty much.''

Although he said that, I couldn't help but notice that there was only me and him here. ''Was there even enough space for all of us?''

''Somewhat, we are lucky this house has three bedrooms. Hanakai and Kusaka in one room, Meguri, Yura and Nimura in the second, and Kaichou and Shinra-senpai in the last.'' He drifted his eyes towards the ceiling, a small annoyed scowl forming on his face. ''And as you can see we boys had to sleep on the couch, classic.''

I stared at him for a couple of moments, was there any reason to be annoyed about it? ''I don't see the what problem is, the couch is actually comfortable.''

He stared at me silently for a few moments, opening his mouth a couple of times to talk but stopping every time. He put his good palm over his face, a loud and tired sigh following. ''You don't have any male imagination do you?''

''Whatever you say...'' I muttered, still confused by what he meant by that, my eyes focusing on the cast he had on. ''How is your arm?''

He took a second and stared at the mentioned arm, a small bitter scowl forming on his face. ''Better, but still hurts a lot. While I did get medical attention you know how devil healing is slow and all, so serious stuff like broken bones require more time to heal, and since I can't have them constantly healing me I have to do consecutive healing sessions before my bones fully heal.''

''I see...'' I whispered as I contemplated for a few seconds. While I'm no expert orthopedic matters, I think it takes weeks before bones heal naturally, even months in more severe cases. So considering that Saji and the others are getting a little help in their healing thanks to magic, they may heal faster. Maybe a week or so before they are back at full strengh.

''What about you?'' he broke me out of my thoughts, starring intensely at my chest area and my arms, both of which I noticed were covered quite a large number of bandages. ''Your bones may have been still in one piece but you got cut and slashed so much you almost bleed to death.''

I lightly stretched my body, while the bandages were indeed restricting my movements, everything else seemed ok. ''I guess I'm fine... a little sore and tired, but overall I feel fine.''

''You're one tough guy you know that?'' Saji chuckled lightly after a few minutes of silence. ''After getting slashed like that the first time, you managed to get back up and defeat Kurosaiga by yourself.''

''Most of it was dumb luck.'' I admitted with a dry sigh, somewhat not enjoying where this conversation was going. ''The only reason I won was because he wasn't serious from the very beginning. He dragged the fight long enough for me to figure out how my powers work, and come up with a strategy to beat him.'' I narrowed my eyes to my bandaged palms, a small throb running through them as I recalled our intense battle. ''And in the end it all came down to a single mistake Kurosaiga made, without all of these things I would have been dead.''

''You say that but you still defeated him.'' The blond pawn commented with a displeased face, clearly not understanding the reason of my distaste for how things turned out in the end.

I sighed bitterly as I starred at the ceiling. ''It's not that I'm complaining that I won, it's a matter of long term things. It may have worked this time, but in the future I might not get so lucky.''

That was half the truth. I actually wished there was another way to have ended that battle without anyone having to die. I knew it the moment i saw the truth in his blade, he was a man walking down a self destructive path. He didn't want salvation, he just wanted someone to end his pain.

I know that killing him was what he wanted and what had to be done in order to prevent other people from dying by his hand.

...But i still didn't like it.

''Whatever.'' He turned his back to me and put the blanket back on him. ''I'm going back to sleep.''

After staring at him for a few moments I decided to follow suit, turning around on my side of the couch, sleeping sounded very tempting right now. ''Sweet dreams.''

''That sounds very wrong coming from a guy.'' I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was feeling rather creeped by my choice of words, maybe i could have formulated that better. He shifted rather violently after a couple of minutes of silence. ''Hey Emiya?''

''Yeah?''

He didn't answer at first, a veil of awkwardness hanging above us. ''...Thanks.''

My eyebrows rose up in confusion. ''For what?''

''For saving me... for saving all of us.'' He whispered to me in a soft tone, genuine gratitude present in his words, something I never experienced from the usual interaction between us.

Perhaps I was feeling a bit awkward myself, my hand reaching for the back of my head scratching it lightly. ''I only did what I had to do.''

''No seriously... I'm really grateful. You protected me even though I acted like prick to you.'' he stated with a slow voice, regret present for in it for all the times the two of us bickered. ''... You know what, forget it. Just go back to sleep.''

If I was expecting anything unusual happening first thing I woke up today, this certainly wasn't one of them. Ever since I met Saji there always was this little static between us, while I didn't have anything personal against the guy, he always displayed this animosity for me, so our relationship was always a little on the edge. And yet here he is, thanking me. My eyes closed slowly, feeling more relaxed than before.

''You're welcome.''


I stared at the ceiling above me without any specific purpose, my right eye twitching all too slightly. 'Go back to sleep' he said... kinda hard when someone is snoring so loud that it puts chainsaws to shame.

I looked at the previously mentioned snoring nightmare for moment, nothing present besides a relaxed face without a care in the world. It's in moments like this, everyday normal things that I tend to forget that Saji and the others aren't human anymore, but devils.

I sometimes tend to forget that they give up their humanity.

Perhaps that's why I never truly tried to get involved with the people of the peerage itself.

In my case it was more of not having a choice of matter, it was either damnation of my soul or death. But what about them? What made them join the girl known as Sona Sitri? Was it out of their own volition? Did they somehow die and got resurrected afterwards?

Or were they somehow tricked like Kurosaiga?

I shook my head at that thought, i shouldn't think about stuff like that, let alone consider it. A part of me didn't want to believe it, but I couldn't deny the potential of that possibility, not after I saw Kurosaiga's past through Juuchi Yosamu.

I didn't want to believe it... but just what did I know about Sona Sitri?

The person I knew before I became a devil wasn't her, but rather it was Souna Shitori, the persona she adopted to integrate between humans. Just how much of the mask she is wearing at school is the same as what's beneath it?

They are a few, but there are some small differences between how she acts in human public, and how she acts in private when she is surrounded by her fellow devils. Small things like the tone she talks, the way her body seems more relaxed, even the very air around seemingly changing.

Just how much of it was real?

Was this the reason why I've been somewhat distant to her since I learned the truth? Was it because they are devils that I don't really involve myself with them on anything but a professional level?

Was it normal for me to act this way when I'm supposed to be one of them?

When i'm also supposed to be a devil?

''Oh, man...'' I slowly whispered to myself as I covered my eyes with my hand. ''Just when did I become such a cynical guy?''

Sniff

Huh...?

Ok... that doesn't smell right at all.

I turned around to the loud snoring machine and proceeded to tap him on the back. ''Saji! Hey Saji!''

He didn't answer me immediately and shifted in his sleep, letting out a loud and tired growl. ''Five more minutes...''

Deciding not to give up I further insisted, increasing the rate and power of my tapping. ''Come on! Wake up!''

Clearly reaching his limit, he raised himself up in a swift motion. A rather annoyed stare directed towards me. ''What?!''

I gestured to the air around us, getting a confused stare from him. ''Is that smoke I'm smelling?''

''What are you-'' he stopped his reply when his nose twitched slightly, his annoyance reducing, and getting replace by a curious stare. ''Hey you're right, but where is it coming fr-''

Boom!

The sudden explosion got both of us on the edge, revealing to us the location the a possible threat.

''The kitchen!'' Saji shrieked as he jumped out of the bed, heading towards the said kitchen with me right behind him, with me mentally preparing for the possibility of an enemy attack.

When I entered the kitchen I felt as if I swallowed a chunk of ice. The kitchen looked like a bomb exploded in it, so many leftover ingredients on the table, dishware's scattered everywhere, some thick liquid dripping off the table, the stove covered in a foam looking substance, a thick and nasty smelling smoke lingering in the air.

Dear God... Just who could abuse a kitchen in such a horrible way?

The answer to my question came when I saw the white haired person jumping from one place to another in front of the stove. ''All I did was turn around for a minute, how could this happen?!''

I narrow my eyes curiously at the girl that was scratching her head wildly, surprising me by the fact that her hair was fine and wasn't going out in a wild blaze considering the amount of friction she was applying. ''Hanakai?''

''Kyahh!'' she yelped nervously, body freezing in place, her head slowly turning around towards us like a rusted piece of machinery. ''Emiya...Saji...''

The blonde pawn sitting next to me stared at her with half-lidded eyes, clearly having a hard time understanding what may have happened here. ''What are doing Hanakai? Trying to burn down the house or something?''

It was the first time I saw her in normal clothes, nothing fancy, just a pair of green shorts and simply teal t-shirt, but still it was different from what I was used to. A bright blush formed in her cheeks, her eyes drifting left and right, waving her hands in front of her in a defensive manner. ''N-No I w-was trying... y-you know...'' as she was stuttering around, the sound of something sizzling got our attention. When we all looked at the pot on the stone, it was violently overflowing its contents outside like a volcano. ''Kyahh!'' The white haired bishop didn't seem to take it very well.

''How about you explain after we stop this place from exploding?'' I sighed tiredly, my hand pitching the bridge of my nose. This really wasn't the way I wanted to start a new day.


After the potential catastrophe in the kitchen was somehow averted, and we managed to somewhat clean the majority of the aftermath of Hanakai's cooking attempt, the three of us took a seat at the table and decided to find just what in the devil's unholy name happened.

''Well?'' Saji narrowed his eyes at the white haired bishop that was sitting in front of us, the said girl apparently avoiding eye contact with both me and Saji.

''Well...'' she repeated awkwardly, a sweat drop dripping on her face, an expression that was pretty much saying 'I have no idea why you're looking at me like that' was all too present.

I decided to step in the already awkward conversation. ''Well what were you doing here Hanakai?''

She opened her mouth but didn't respond, looking to the side, then trying again. She repeated this cycle a couple of times before letting out a sigh of defeat. ''Fine... I thought that since I was the least injured one I could try and prepare breakfast for everyone.''

''Oh...'' I nodded as I took a closer look at her face, or more precisely at the bandages tied around her head. While she didn't get her bones broken like Saji, or got stabbed like me, she did get her head smashed against the wall pretty badly. While not as serious as the others, it was still a rather painful injury and head injuries can are much more serious than a broken limp, she still needs her rest. However it does say a lot about her, trying to cook even though she is like this... Something i actually can relate to.

''Seems like it isn't going to well.'' Saji remarked with half lidded eyes, triggering a small urge in me to punch him for talking without considering Hanakai's feelings.

Huh... for a moment I thought I saw a huge arrow pierce through her, causing her to laugh awkwardly as her lower lip was twitching. ''Not really... my mom usually takes care of the cooking back home, so this the first time I actually tried to cook by myself.''

I felt kinda sorry for her. She tried her best to make us breakfast, but she clearly lacking in some cooking skills judging by how many ingredients were cut in a weird manner and how many plates and utensils were used randomly.

After a few seconds of deliberating, I got up from my seat and scanned the kitchen for a certain item. Finding my target I walked to the door and took it. While it wasn't my style to use a random apron, it was better than nothing. Glancing over to the confused bishop I offered her a reassuring smile. ''...Well it's kind of late for breakfast, so how about we all try and make lunch?''

She didn't respond immediately and blinked a couple of times. A bright smile forming on her face as she got up from her seat and walked next to me. ''Sure!''

''Don't count on me, I'm short on one hand.'' Saji remarked, holding up his encased arm to further emphasize his little problem. ''Besides, I can't even boil water without burning it.''

I looked at him as he made his way out of the kitchen, judging by his yawning he is probably going back for an extra few minutes of sleep.

Ignoring Saji I made my way to the fridge to see what I can work with, guess its better that he left since I wouldn't have asked a person recovering to help me out. Hanakai is an exception, while I can't make her do any of the difficult cooking, she can help with some light prep work, nothing difficult or demanding.

After starring at the fridge contents for a minute, I started thinking of my options. However, before I make any decision I went and check the pantry and the upper drawers for any spices or ingredients.

I stood in place for a few minutes, thinking of what I could cook with the ingredients at hand, but also for it to be consistent and in a large quantity so that everyone will get a good meal.

I flicked my fingers as I came up with a good solution. ''Let's make beef stew.'' I told Hanakai as I started gathering everything I needed. When everything was at hand I took started cutting the beef into small chunks.

When I finished I placed them in a bowl and passed them to Hanakai who staring at me with a awe filled stare, my action waking her up from her little daze. ''Would you be kind and season these?''

She stared for a few seconds, nodding vigorously when she took the bowl. ''R-Right away! What should I add to them?''

I smiled as I saw that she was ready to help me out. ''Salt, pepper and table spoon of flour. Mix them well so all the pieces of meat are evenly coated.''

She nodded and followed my instruction, very carefully adding everything so she doesn't add too much. I got back to my side and proceeded to slice carrots and chop onions and garlic.

''Say, doesn't beef stew usually take hours to cook?'' Hanakai asked me she continued coating the meat.

''Depends.'' I replied as I finished the carrots and moved to the onions. ''The way you cut the ingredient usually determines that. If you cut them in large chunks it can take hours until everything is thoroughly cooked, but if you cut them in smaller pieces it can take less, like thirty or forty minutes.''

When the onions were done, I moved to the garlic. ''In our case it will take roughly an hour. While it cooks we can focus on the other dishes.''

''I see.'' She nodded as she dusted the flour off her hands. ''Why add the flour though?''

''It helps brown the beef, plus it will help thicken the stew. If you're done there, take that big pot over there and place it on the stove, turn it on and add a tablespoon of olive oil when the bottom heats up.''

''Yes chef!'' she nodded cheerfully.

I took all the ingredient I needed and brought them to the counter right next to the stone, a wooded spoon in my right hand. I put the beef first, flipping on each side to get an even color. ''Won't the meat burn by the time it's cooked?'' my little sous chef asked me as she analysed my every move.

''No, we aren't looking to cook it all the way through at this stage, we are just giving it a nice brown color. It will cook through as it simmers. '' I told her as I took the chopped vegetables and a thyme twig and put them in the pot over the meat. ''Give this a good mix until I open this.''

''Wine?'' she tilted her head slightly as she continued to mix in the pot. ''Won't we get drunk if you add wine to the stew? ''

I almost chuckled at her question. Oh, to be young and so innocently unaware. ''Don't worry, when you cook with wine and other alcoholic drinks in general, as it boils and reduces the alcohol burns off and concentrates the flavor.''

''Huh... I didn't know that.'' She nodded to herself, passing me the spatula. ''Does it have any other benefits?''

''It helps deglaze the pot, but it also helps to further tenderize the beef.'' I explained as I took a deep breath of the aroma flying from the pot, enjoying every bit of the scent.

Now that the wine reduced to half, I added a cup of beef stock and slowly mixed everything, placing the lid on, carefully letting a crack in it for the stew to breathe. I wrapped a towel around then handles and gently lifted it up, placing it in the oven that I preheated when I went for the wine.

''Now we just let it simmer for about an hour.'' I closed the oven and went back to the table. ''Time to focus on the rice.''

''Take the colander over there and rinse the rice in it.'' I told her the first step of the recipe, looking around for the spices that I will use. ''Also be sure to use cold water.''

''Does it matter if it's cold or warm?'' She carefully asked right before putting her hand on the sink tap.

''Yeah, if you use warm water the rice will stick together and turn into a giant lump. Always use cold water, the colder the better.'' I narrowed my eyes and pierced the cardamom seeds in my hands. ''Oh, and before you ask, rinsing the rice before cooking it stops it from turning clumpy in the pan, and it becomes light and fluffy once its cooked.''

I pointed to the pot next to me, she understood and placed the rinsed rice in it. I followed her and put over the rice the cardamom pods, two star anise cloves, salt and pepper. Covering it all with cold water and sealing the pot off with its lid, giving it a good shake and turning on the heat.

''Now we leave it reach the boil, when it does we turn the heat off to let it simmer for about eight to ten minutes. Also it's very important to keep the lid on because we are looking to steam the rice, and if you take of the lid you lose all that steam.''

''All right, time for last item.'' I nodded to myself as I took a large bowl. Whisking together in it flour, a pinch of salt, an egg and milk until everything was a nice smooth mixture.

I heated a large frying pan on the stove and drizzled a small amount of oil in it. Pouring gently the mixture in with a ladle, spreading it out thinly.

''Pancakes?'' she asked me slowly as she peeked over my shoulder.

''Yep.'' While I didn't see her face, something told me that she was starring with small sparks in her eyes. I can't really say I was used to this kind of thing, getting starred like this when I cook. Although Sella keeps tabs on me when I step in the kitchen, she never stared the way Hanakai currently did, which was a rather new experience. It didn't feel bad, just different from what I was used for.

''How do you know when it done on a side?'' she asked curiously.

For I moment I wanted to ask her if she was serious about not knowing how to do something as basic as a pancake, but I somehow managed to stay silent and pointed with the spatula to the batter in the pan. ''See those small bubbles forming in the batter, when they form that's when you need to flip it over.'' Loosening the half cooked pancake with the spatula, with a flick of the wrist I flipped it in the air, catching it back in the pan on the uncooked side.

''Wow!'' For a person who is used to supernatural events and could probably conjugate elements in the palms of her hands, Hanakai seemed rather impressed by my cooking display.

I placed the ready pancake in empty plate and spread a new layer of batter in the pan. When i heard the noise from the rice pot I took one of Hanakai's hand and placed the spatula in it. ''Try doing one while I take care off the rice.''

The moment she realized what I just did she started panicking and turning right and left, unsure what to do. ''It's ok, no need to panic, just do it at your pace.'' I reassured her as I turned off the gas at the rice.

She didn't say anything else and concentrated on the pan in front of her, following the same steps I did. When she attempted to do an air flip, she unfortunately used no much force and it hit the ceiling. I could see the dark cloud of depression forming on her head as she failed. ''Hey it's alright, no need to let it get to you. The first pancake is always a mess, that's like an unwritten rule in cooking.''

Even though I tried to reassure her, she didn't seem to brighten up. I sighed and stepped behind her, guiding my arms around her waist and placing my hands over her own. She flinched the moment I touched her, small hands trembling slightly under my own. ''Here, you do it like this.''

She was rigid for a few moments, body refusing to move, her ears looking very red. She took a deep breath and let my hands guide her.

When she flipped the pan, I could feel the muscles in her hands tense. The pancakes was spinning in the air, quickly falling down.

She moved the pan quickly to the side to catch it. However it wasn't on the exact mark, as it landed on the edge of the pan, threatening to fall off.

I could feel the temperature in her skin drop by a few degrees, the fear of failure present in her body. I pulled her pan holding hand backwards, stopping the fall, and instead making it take its rightful place in the middle of the pan.

She didn't move and just starred flabbergasted at the pan for a couple of seconds. She put the pan back on the stove and quickly turned. ''I did it!' she squeaked as she began hugging me.

If a minute ago she was the one that felt really anxious and I was the one that felt relaxed, the roles just swapped, my body sitting rigid in place as I felt a little awkward towards her little display of affection.

I wasn't really sure what one should do or say in a situation like this so I remained silent as I tried to think of a solution. Perhaps it was because I was so close to her that I felt the scent of her hair... lavender. My eyes narrowed curiously at her hair, although her hair is white, the roots of the said hair are actually black.

After a couple of very long and REALLY uncomfortable seconds, Hanakai finally seemed to realize that she was invading my personal space way more than I was comfortable with allowing, a small blush forming on her cheeks as she let go and pulled back, a small giggle escaping her lips. ''S-Sorry, I might have went a little too excited there.''

I didn't really know when it happened but my hand already reached for the back of my head and it was already scratching it rather strongly. ''N-No it's ok.''

I would have probably continued feeling awkward if not for an unpleasant smell that got my attention. ''I think the pancake is burning.''

''Say what?!'' She instantly snapped back at the pan, her skin going pale as she saw the pancake that she managed to flip oozing with the smell of burnt batter. ''Oh darn it!''

I was about to pat her on the shoulder with the intention to reassure her, and tell her not to let it get to her. However a snickering sound coming from the kitchen door got my attention. I turned around and was greeted by the small gallery that is the peerage I am part in.

All of them standing in the door frame, first person in front was Yura with a rather large smile that for some unknown reason reminded me of a cat, and it made me feel really uncomfortable.

Second line behind her were Kusaka and Meguri, the first holding her palm over her mouth trying to hide the obvious chuckle she was having while the latter didn't bother hide herself and laughed unrestrained.

The third line was formed by Shinra-senpai, Nimura and Saji. The two mentioned ladies all sported small amused smiles, while the other blond pawn of the group appeared rather confused and still half-asleep if his half-lidded eyes were any give away.

While I was a little surprised that they were all now awake, the one that really seemed affected by this seemed to be Hanakai for some reason. Her face going pale, small sweat drops running on her face, the corner of her mouth trembling all too slightly. ''S-Since when were you there?''

''Oh~ you know.'' Yura's smile grew a couple of inches, surprising me how she could smile like that without her face hurting. ''We came around the time you made that pancake hit the ceiling. ''

''W-Wait... s-so you mean you s-saw...?'' the white haired bishop slowly stuttered, her pale skin quickly gaining a rather pronounced red shade to it.

''Pretty much everything.'' Meguri chuckled lightly, a sly smile beaming on her face. ''That was totally like in a movie I once saw.''

''And here I thought you had the hots for the prince charming types like Kiba Yuuto, but I guess Emiya isn't that far behind him in the looks department.'' Yura shrugged her shoulders as her grin increased. I couldn't help but wonder if it was because she was a devil that she could smile like that since it should be physically impossible for a human to grin at such a degree. ''So when is the first da-''

Although I was curious about what she was gonna ask, that curiosity was quickly overshadowed by a strong sense of flabbergast as a burnt pancake was smashed in Yura's face. My eyes slowly drifted to the side and stared at Hanakai, the pan she used to throw the pancake firmly held in her hands like a tennis racket, an annoyed scowl present on her face. Huh, for someone who couldn't do a proper pancake flip she could surprisingly throw them rather well. ''I would stop there if I were you. While I like Emiya as a person, I don't feel that way about him so stop talking nonsense.''

For some reason my instincts were on the edge, as if someone was whispering in the back of my head to run away before it was too late, however I couldn't help but stare at Yura as the pancake slowly peeled itself and fell down, revealing an very irritated stare from the blue haired girl, left eye twitching violently, a smile was present on her face, one that seemed like it was ready to bite at any moment. ''Bitch you're lucky I have my leg in a cast, otherwise I would so use it to kick your ass.''

Now that she mentioned it, her left leg was covered in cast similar to the one that Saji had, in fact everyone present had some sign of injury. Nimura had her whole shoulder covered in bandages, Meguri had her head tied in bandages similar to Hanakai but also had a cast put around her shoulder, keeping her arm hang in the air. I could see the bandages peeking under Kusaka's clothes starting from her waist, ending all the way to her chin, all while Shinra-senpai had her throat and hands covered in bandages.

My hand tightened around the edge of the counter, knuckles turning white. It seems I might have forgotten how difficult the battle from last night was. I might have stood a chance against Kurosaiga, but the others didn't, and it cost them.

I have to get stronger... to prevent something like this from happening ever again.

''Looking for a fight iron board!?'' her white eyebrows narrowed in annoyance.

''What was that snow-white?!'' She snapped as she cracked her knuckles.

A sweat drop run on my face. For some unknown reason I had the distinct impression that if no one stood up and interfered, this kitchen will turn into a full on battle zone between the two girls.

''Really?'' A chill ran down my spine as I heard the dull yet very cold voice from behind the gallery at the door. It seemed like I wasn't the only one affected as everyone went pale and made way for our master to come in. Although her hair was messy, her wrists were in casts and her abdomen was tied tightly in bandages, the stare she was throwing to Yura and Hanakai certainly intimidated if not straight out scare the living hell out of them. ''Just when I thought Saji and Emiya were finally making progress, I find you two taking their place.''

Both girls opened their mouths to retort and defend themselves, the glasses of my king somehow started glowing maliciously at them in response. Any complaints the two girls had died in their throats as they shuddered and backed down, the conflict averted by the power of my master's icy stare.

I sighed and went back to making pancakes. ''I hope you don't mind that I made use of your kitchen master.''

She stared tiredly at me as she took a seat at the table, adjusting her falling glasses. ''Personally that's the least of my concerns. Are you sure you are in any condition to cook after what happened last night?''

''Can't say that I'm in the best of conditions, but a little lunch isn't too difficult. Plus cooking is a hobby of mine.''

She was silent for a few moments, a tired sigh escaping her lips. ''If you say so. However try to not push yourself too hard.''

''I will try master.'' I gave her a light nod as I poured a new batch of batter in the pan. ''Take a seat and relax, the food will be ready in a few minutes.''

''Is that so...'' she commented, a small curiosity present in her voice. ''Well until it's done, we might as well go over what happened after you passed out.''

I flipped the pancake over, my hand tightening around the pan's handle. ''Something bad happened?''

''Not exactly.'' She sighed lightly. ''There was a lot of cleaning up to do afterwards. Normally when it comes to stray hunts you only need to send a report about how the hunt itself went, but due to the way things escalated there was a lot of things to report.''

I turned the pan and let pancake land on a plate. ''What do you mean by that?''

There was long silence followed by a tired sigh. ''Tell me Emiya, what was our mission last night?''

I tilted my head curious as I poured a new batch of batter in the pan. ''Stray hunting?''

''Exactly, our mission was a stray hunt, but it wasn't one for Kurosaiga Ichirou, it was meant for the stray devil Scarin. It was supposed to be a mission we could handle, struggle a little perhaps, but not one above our ability. '' Shinra-senpai elaborated in my master place.

''When people like Kaichou receive stray hunt requests they aren't given one that is too dangerous for them and their peerage. Even if there was any report of that Kurosaiga guy's presence around our territory, I doubt that they would've requested us to do it in the first place. I mean look us, the guy totally wrecked our shit last night.'' Yura decided to add her own two cents in her rather colorful tone.

''I guess that explains some stuff.'' I nodded as flipped the pancake. Now that I think about it, it's very logical that they wouldn't request us to hunt a stray that is beyond our capabilities. I'm by no means an expert about how the devil system works, but I understood enough to see that they don't risk the lives of the pure blooded devils. To them, people like my master are valuable, her well being is one of their main interests.

They would never request a hunt that they weren't sure it would be a complete success.

''Other than that we had to contact the underworld and report everything that happened, and boy was that a bitch. Also since we were all so messed up, we couldn't get rid of the bodies of Scarin and Kurosaiga so we had to send them to the underworld and let them handle things, heck we even sent his shattered sword.'' Yura further elaborated.

''About that, couldn't you just give Rias-senpai a call and ask her to help us get rid of them?'' I couldn't help but be intrigued by Nimura's question at my master. Gremory-senpai is also an owner of this territory, so that means that she also shares responsibility. It would have been a logical idea.

I glanced to my master with the edge of my eye, noticing a rather annoyed scowl present on her face. ''Yeah... I'm not going to do that.''

There was a cold sweat drop running on my face in response to her answer, I couldn't help but try to dive in. ''Why?''

She was silent, her face nothing but pure and unadulterated seriousness. ''Reasons.''

''Whatever you say master...'' I turned off the stove and tried to not comment any further. A small 'click' got my attention, the stew finished cooking. ''Well foods done, so let's all eat.''

After putting a pair of kitchen mitts I took out the pot and placed it on the wooden cutting board on the table. The moment I lifted the lid the eyes of everyone at the table seemed to sparkles. Heck Yura was actually drooling. ''Wow, this smells amazing.''

''Can't believe you made this Emiya.'' Kusaka said in awe.

''I didn't do everything by myself, I did have some help.'' I rubbed the back of my head somewhat awkward as I pointed to Hanakai.

The white haired bishop giving me an approving smile and nod. ''I wasn't that much of a help, if you didn't give me instructions every time I would've probably made something explode.''

''Are you really that bad Momo?'' Kusaka asked her fellow bishop.

She scratched her cheek while laughing awkwardly ''... It's not that I don't know how to cook, but I tend to get a little off track in the kitchen. By the time I realize it something went wrong and then everything starts falling apart.''

After I served the stew together with the steamed rice it was Saji that decided to speak. ''Well let's see how 'off track' you were when you helped Emiya make this.''

The moment everyone took a bit of the food, I could have sworn that I saw a lighting strike in the middle of the room.


''Wow, just wow.'' Meguri exhaled with a very satisfied face.

''That has to be the best stew I ever ate.'' Yura grinned strongly.

''Saji-senpai are you ok? Didn't you like the food?'' Nimura asked the same question I was about to ask, the blond pawn was just starring aimlessly at his empty plate. It couldn't have been that he didn't like the food, he did ask for seconds after all.

''W-What? No!'' he responded after blinking confused for a couple of seconds, shaking his head and slightly rubbing his eyes, clearly trying to hide the fact that he had tears building in them. ''It's just... it's been a while since I had a warm meal.''

Kusaka tilted her head confused, one of her braids falling to the side. ''How come?''

Saji was silent for a few moments, sighing in defeat as he rested his head on his arm. ''My parents are most of the time away with work. It's pretty much me alone at home, so most of the time I have to make due with instant food, and store bought stuff.''

''That sounds bad.'' Ruruko comment with a somewhat pitiful expression on her face, and I for one agreed with her. I can't imagine someone living with instant food, all of the nutritious values aside, I just find that kind of food bland and lacking in flavour.

The blond pawns face morphed into an exhausted stare. ''You don't even know the half of it.''

Meguri began humming as she held a finger on her chin, flicking her fingers in excitement after a few moments. ''Maybe you could try and learn to cook like Emiya did.''

Saji let out a dry snort as he stared at our groups lively Knight. ''Rightttttt~ don't think cooking is my thing.''

It was Hanakai that stepped in this time. ''You can't know until you try it.''

He scratched his check awkwardly, looking at the sides to avoid eye contact with the others. ''Don't know what to say...''

Before he or anyone else could comment anything else, Yura managed to get behind him and lock his head into what appeared a very strong and suffocating headlock. ''Oh stop being such a pansy!''

Since I didn't really enjoy the sight of Saji's skin changing to a dark shade of blue, I decided to talk a little to the master of this lively bunch. ''Did you enjoy the food master?''

I was really curious what she thought as she was silent during the whole she ate while everyone else was very vocal about how good the food was. ''I'm somewhat conflicted at the moment. Although I grew up eating some of the most refined dished ever made by world level chefs...'' There was a moment a silence, a small smile forming on her lips, her glasses sliding slightly down giving a better view of her purple orbs. ''But if this was any indication, I can't help but think I prefer food made by you.''

My hand reached to the back of my head and began rubbing it awkwardly. It felt somewhat interesting to have my cooking appreciated by other people. Although it isn't exactly the same without Sella's constructive criticism. While the food I made at home was good she always found something to nitpick about, which I think helped me perfect the way I cooked.

I glanced to my left as I felt something poke my ribs. I stared confused as Meguri was poking me with her elbow, staring at me with half lidded eyes and sly smile. ''Hear that Emi-chan, Kaichou wants to eat your food every day.'' Her smile grew wider, her eyes rolling towards my master who staring blankly at us. ''You better start practicing the naked apron routine.''

Although I wanted to ask Meguri what she meant by her last sentence, that curiosity went down the drain when a jet of pressurized water hit the mentioned girl dead middle in the face. The said blast sending her crash in a nearby drawer, the impact causing the bag of flower that I used earlier at making pancakes to fall right on her head.

I slowly looked at my master who was now adjusting her glasses, though I couldn't help but notice the water drops on the hand and the rather rosy shade she had in her cheeks. ''I hope that will cool you off.'' She told her as she flipped her hand to the side, getting rid of the water remains.

There was a dead silence in the room, no one daring to comment anything knowing that our master was on the edge and preferred staying dry.

''I don't know about you guys, but now that she said it I can't help it and think about it.'' Hanakai commented as she played with a strand of her hair, a similar shade of red present on her cheeks.

''Wonder if he has the ass to pull it off?'' Yura hummed curiously as she stared at me. It made me feel really uncomfortable, like she was trying to strip me with her stare or something.

''How shameless.'' Shinra-senpai admitted as she looked to the side, avoiding to look at me, her cheeks burning in bright red. Kusaka and Nimura the same as they followed suit at the same time.

I honestly had no clue about what they talked about anymore. This all changed when my master suddenly got up and began walking out of the kitchen, glancing towards the groups two bishops as she was at the door. ''If you ladies are done with the fantasies, I think it's time for my healing session.''

Kusaka stared for a few moments before nodding and following after her. ''Oh that's right.''

''Be right back guys.'' Hanakai waved as she left the kitchen together with Kusaka. After about five seconds she peeked her head the door and threw us an annoyed frown. ''If you munch all the pancakes I'll beat you up.''

I stared at the empty door before looking at Saji, giving him a look that could have been translated as 'What the hell just happened?' He shrugged his shoulders in a way that pretty much said 'I have no idea.'

I rested in the chair and sighed. Maybe I should make some sweets.


It was about two hours later that Kusaka and Hanakai returned, both of them clearly tired from such a long healing session.

''How did her treatment go?'' I asked them as they sat at the table, serving both of them with tea that they gladly accepted.

''Fine I guess.'' Kusaka admitted as she took a sip of her tea. ''The bones are back in place, but a lot of muscle tissue and blood vessels were severally damaged when Kurosaiga crushed her writs, so it will take some time before they completely heal.''

''What is she doing now?'' Meguri asked as she entered the room, drying her head with a towel. Who would've thought that flour mixed with water can get your hair sticky like how hers was when she had her little 'blast off' via masters water stream.

''Resting, she really needs it. Healing can be straining for both the healer and the healed.'' Hanakai answered with a tired sigh, she was clearly more tired than Kusaka was.

Click

Putting on a pair of kitchen mitts I took out the tray from the oven and placed the contents on a large plate, silently enjoying the aroma. ''I made cookies, anyone want to try some?''

The one to answer in the name of everyone present seemed to be Yura. ''Instead of asking you should push the plate here.''

Meguri looked around the kitchen for a moment, as if looking for something or someone. ''Where's Saji?''

''He said he was going out for some air. Might as well call him too.'' After all, food taste better when there more people.


When I got outside the house I took a look around, but the blond was nowhere to be seen. ''Saji? You here?''

''I'm here.'' His voice directed me to a nearby tree by which my fellow pawn was resting against. When I got closer I noticed a small weak light hanging in front of his mouth, a nasty smell invading my nostrils when the wind blew in my direction. ''You're smoking?''

He shrugged his shoulders and stared disinterested at the nicotine filled stick in his mouth. ''Pretty much... though I've been trying to lay off them.''

A decided to stay in place and talk from a proper distance to avoid getting any of the smell onto me, yet what he said crossed my curiously. ''How is that coming along?''

He leaned his head against the tree and took a deep breath, shortly after exhaling a mouthful of the cancerous smoke. ''Well I used to smoke a pack per day, but now I'm down at one cigarette per day, two on stressful ones. Still have a long way before giving up on them completely.''

''When did this all start?''

He took a moment and rubbed his chin, humming very slowly as he did. ''First year of high school, got involved with the wrong bunch and ended up picking up this habit. Thought it made me cool.''

''Don't really see how smocking make one look cooler than other people.''

''Guess it's a matter of perspective.'' He shrugged as he threw down the now finished cigar bud and put it out with his foot, reaching for his pocket and tacking out a cigarette pack. He picked a new one and held it between his lips as he took a lighter. When he began flicking it he stopped for a moment, his eyes curiously looking at as he raised the pack towards me. ''Want one?''

A shook my head, and waved my hand in denial. ''Sorry, not that curious.''

He nodded as he got back to lighting the cancer inducing stick. ''Good choice. Once you get hooked on this shit it's hard to stop, trust me on this one.''

I nodded slowly, a long and heavy silence forming between us. I looked to the sky feeling somewhat awkward about his whole conversation. I let out a dry cough and turned around. ''Well... I wanted to tell you that I made some sweets. If you're interested you can come to the kitchen.''

He nodded as he took another puff from his cigarette. ''Be there in a minute.''


I rolled my eyes as I munched on my cookie, looking at everyone at the table as we all chatted while eating cookies and drinking tea. I couldn't help but feel how strangely normal this whole situatuion was.

Devils...

We are supposed to be devils... creatures of sin... inhuman beings.

And yet we are so human.

All of the supernatural mayhem that happened last night aside, here we are chatting and eating cookies without a care in the world.

To me the line between human and devil seemed very thin at the moment.

I shook my head and sighed tiredly, trying to understand such things was proving rather difficult to me. I became a devil due to having no other choice in the matter, but what about them?

''Are you okay Emiya?'' Shinra-senpai's voice broke me out of my train of thought, her brown eyes gazing curiously on me. Her question getting the attention of everyone else at the table. ''You kept starring at the air for a while.''

I straightened myself and considered what I should answer. Should I be vague or honest with them?

Although I know that we haven't exactly known each other for long and I believe that perhaps it wouldn't be really right for me to ask. Who knows... what they went through and led to them joining her might have been something traumatic, and I would be opening old scars.

I shouldn't do it... it's wrong.

Yet...

The scar on my chest throbbed, memories of last night's encounter haunting me, the life and downfall of Kurosaiga flashing in front of my eyes.

I had to know.

I took a deep breath and steeled myself, the serious look that I gave them was noticed, everyone now had their eyes on me. ''Actually, I've been wondering about this for a while... how did guy's met our master and why did you decided to join her in the first place?''

The silence in the room was so heavy you could just cut it with a knife, everyone looking awkwardly at each other, clearly affected at some level by my question.

''Huh...'' Yura trailed as she rested her chin on her hand. ''Now that you mention it, I never heard how you guys joined as well.''

''Guess it never occurred to us to talk about it.'' Kusaka commented as she played with one of her braids.

''Now I'm really curious!'' Meguri shouted excited, slamming her hands lightly on the table, a curios gleam present in her eyes. ''Let's all share stories!''

She was excited, that was without a doubt. Everyone else on the other hand seemed to be of different opinion, each of them quiet and looking to a different direction, clearly trying to avoid talking about the matter.

I facepalmed at my own stupidity, this here was the exact thing I didn't want to cause. ''Forget what I asked, you don't need to do it if you don't want to. I was thinking out loud.''

''Nah! It's ok!'' Meguri waved her hand and offered me an assuring smile, the said smile dropping slightly as she noticed that everyone else was anything but excited. ''For me at least...''

''Anyway we are all members of Kaichou's peerage, so we should all trust each other and be friends! So who wants to go first?'' She beamed at her comrades, but was only got nervous stares in return. She waited for a couple of seconds to see if anyone was going to do it, but no one offered. Her smile dropped and her eyes half closed. ''Geez... Fine I'll go first!''

''Where should I start?'' she crossed her arms and started humming. ''Ok! Let's see...''


Omake: It's A Real Thing! Taiga Dojo Preview!

''Huh… would you look at. That lazy bum of an author has finally decided to update the story… seriously people will forget the story exists if he keeps this up.'' Taiga commented with a smug smile on her face.

''Instructor you shouldn't call the author a lazy bum, he might just close our corner.'' Miyu added her own two cents.

''Well, how do you call a guy who took three months to update a story, keeping in mind that those said months happened to be summer break.'' The tiger woman asked with a snort.

''…'' she couldn't find the retort to that.

''Well it says here that he kept writing and revising this chapter over and over again until it ended up with a chapter that was way too big, so he had to split it in two parts.'' Illya explained from her kitty themed laptop.

''Wait… I feel like we've been here before. Have we've been here before?'' Taiga's eyes widened as she snatched the laptop from Illya and checked the other chapter of the story. ''Oh my God, this is happening again!''

''So it seems, we're getting another double chapter.'' Miyu nodded.

''How much time lag was between chapters last time? '' Illya asked.

''I think it was about a week.'' Miyu hummed.

''So we will be making an appearance next week too?'' Taiga squirmed around in excitement. ''Sweet! Our time is approaching!''

''Did anyone told her she won't be making any appearance any time soon?'' Miyu whispered to Illya.

''Shh! She mustn't find out!''

''Hey! Stop all the gossip and do your job!'' the tiger roared.

''Stay tuned for chapter 8 'Untold stories II'.'' Illya and Miyu said in synch.

''Check it out!'' Taiga yelled.


Author notes:

So… I ended up taking three months to update… God I'm such a lazy ass.

Well guess it's better than half a year… or a whole year. I mean seriously there are some stories that I thought were dead and bam they got updated after more than a year. And i'm like 'WTF this thing is still alive?'

All that aside, this chapter was a rather light hearted one, the aftermath of the fight. It may seem a little bland to some but it's an essential one in order to do some build up with Shirou but the other characters as well.

Btw I have something that's been bugging me for some time. While reading other fanfics, I keep stumbling upon a certain line, that it was Kokabiel that ordered Raynare to kill Issei. Is that canon stuff?

I mean I don't recall reading that in the light novel or see in the anime. So I gotta ask, is that just an explanation the fandom made, or is it what actually happened, cuz I will need to know for sure if I were to explain some stuff in the future.

Anything else... well i've trying to get my driving licence... oh boy driving is a real bitch.

Before some of the cooking experts bite my head of about the recipe Shirou used this chapter, i'm not a professional cook so don't expect me to have a deep knowledge of the culinary world.

There is something that i wish to address. I plan to give one of the remaining two longinus sacred gears to a certain character in this story. I won't specify which one it is or who i will give it to (don't worry it won't be Shirou), but i want to tell you guys by now that i already create a fan theory powers for it and decided on a certain character to use it, so even if the official version gets revealed by the time i present it in my story, i will still use the version that i created. (or unless the canon version does the same with what i created... i highly doubt that... I have Lancer luck so you can imagine)

As mentioned in the omake, next chapter will be posted sometime next week. Hope there won't be any more occurrences that will keep me from respecting the deadline.

Oh a suggestion. Before you begin and read next chapter, make yourself a long playlist of sad/emotional anime ost. Don't worry, nothing bad will happen, just next chapter will be a rather emotional one and some proper music will work very well.


Time to answer some reviews:

Daemon of Wrath: Thanks, it certainly wasn't easy writing this OC. I want Shirou to experience some 'real world' problems before I start the canon timeline, making Shirou dive in with some personal experience and Kurosaiga's character is to serve him as an example of how humans are manipulated. Another thing is that I want Shirou to experience stuff himself, while I could just make him experience a lot through EMIYA's memories and all, it wouldn't be the same, since those belong to EMIYA. He needs to feel them himself. If i were to give an example to what i'm trying to do now, i guess its something similar to the first arcs of 'Do Me A Wrong' by ChaosEmperorNex

Web11211: For a rather long time both of them will be only side characters. I have some plans for them, but it will take place much later.

RinoKuro: Well, I would lie if I said that I don't take inspiration from Ishida Sui. But don't worry, I don't have a tragedy boner like that guy... or girl. I do like the way he foreshadows, draws parallels and does hidden meaning in somewhat random panels and events, that's the stuff I would like to do. (Wonder how the guy would write a romance story... forget what I just said... it would be anything but normal) As you can see in this chapter, it was a rather casual and everyday chapter, and stay chill, I prefer more light and nice stuff, but I have to factor that Shirou is the MC, so I have to stay at least in the grey zone.

Server lock: Damn... If I only had a penny every time there is a missed mistake. Well there won't any time skip... for at least 30 chapters... I think?... Can't really blame you, considering the time frame between each chapter, it would be surprising if you did.

Well this is supposed to be a 'what if' version of Kalied liner Shirou (the lame one that's Illyas' brother, not Miyu's cool brother). Well a main difference between this story and Demon Lords Hero is that the later takes a lot of liberties and modifies a lot of world mechanics as well as the characters themselves. While it may not be present at the moment I plan to follow the canon timeline from DxD, adding new factors and flavors to the story, but not contradicting already stated facts in the world. Because there is a lot of vaguely explained stuff in the dxd lore, I can jumble with them, filling the gaps and making more sense out of them. For instance I could find a reason why there aren't more physical manifestation of concepts like Ophis and Great Red.

Anyway... I want to show the dxd story from a different perspective, with different characters, and a more complex main character.

Gritchariya: That was what I wanted to show, a clash of technique and strategy, since that is the way Shirou and Archer do their stuff.

Depends how you look at it. Shirou is a person that can't stand injustice and people suffering, and when he hears the others talk that Kurosaiga was crazy and all, he doesn't like it. While he know he can't clear his name, the least he can do is let a selected few knew the truth.

DannyPhantom619: He certainly won't be laughing that's for sure.

A New User: I wouldn't worry about that, I have everything planned out. I wanted to avoid Shirou getting know too much magecraft or expose too much about the Sitri team from the very beginning. But things will start changing a little from now on. It's not like Shirou will just tell Iri that. About his origin, it will be revealed in time, with the help of a person that was mentioned up until now but never directly appeared in the story. I'm planning to have a whole chapter dedicated to the true origin of this version of Shirou.

DPSS: Actually it was matter of Shirou not having a full mastery of projection. Think of it configuration mistakes, not only he isn't on the same level as Archer, but he also consumes way more mana than he would if he did it the correct way. About developing to fast... I am trying to keep a certain balance in his evolution. Hope i can do that.

Piddle: Not really sure about that one... I mean even with an Excalibur Freed is pretty much a low threat enemy... at least to Shirou. He could just nuke and wrap things for the day.

Aesir19: Rather than heal, it's more like stopping the idiot before he bleed out. Yeahhh... I doubt that Sona would heal Shirou like that... especially with everyone present.

dragonfighter11: I think the question you are asking is 'Which girls?'

Suzululu4moe: Actually the thing with Rias and Issei will be answered in this story. And the answer will be something unexpected.

BlazingRedDragon: Like I said 50/50 chances. It isn't easy to write a fight scene that's why it took so damn long to update ch 5 and 6, it's a bit hard to visualize them, especially since I was restricted to using just a couple of weapons.

the unsung antihero: I'll be waiting for your suggestion then. I guess many people are, since Shirou can basically have learned all kind of bullshit abilities off screen.

Mangahero18: I already do that, my beta is doing it as well. There are just some errors that just get unnoticed.

Lsilver19: I guess that Archer is somewhat more popular than Shirou, if you take in account type moon polls that is. Another reason may be because for a writer it may be easier using Archer since he is already strong and experienced and you as the write don't have to bother thinking of ways for him to get stronger. Oh, and the GAR, don't forget the GAR.

Akuma-Heika: Shirou lacking holy element you say... better not hang onto that thought.

Star: Thank you, that was exactly what I was going for when I wrote the fight, canonically Shirou always faced enemies he couldn't beat with strength alone, but with precise and calculated tactics. I didn't get help per say with the quotes, but I do often ask my beta Shadow of Life for an opinion regarding a lot of the stuff I do.

Hakel Fury: I did have that option of making an op Shirou that had more interactions with the Gremory team, but I wanted to create something different, add something fresh while still using some of the already used ideas.

saske92ii: You might be the first one to notice that. Well let's just say that when Shirou will realize just how he is changing he won't react well to it.

LuciferXIII Trollkaiger Green: Huh… not that you mentioned it I did lose the perfect moment to do that. Damn I still have much to learn.

bloodredmoon22: Don't take this the wrong way but that idea would be a writer suicide move for me. The idea itself sounds interesting but it's impossible since weapons Shirou sees in pictures or movies can't be recorded in his reality marble. All the technical part aside, if shirou could just copy random anime weapons he would become even more OP than Gilgamesh is, I mean if he binged the whole Bleach series he would have a unstoppable arsenal.

Web11211: Oh don't worry he will learn soon.

NoNameReviewer: By Zelretch's unholy beard! Finally someone who is getting what I'm doing here.

I will eagerly wait for more of your reviews, this is the kind of stuff that I want to read, people pointing out the ups and downs of my story from a professional point, giving me arguments and examples that help me improve.

conan lagace: It didn't explode from making it a broken phantasm, but it exploded the moment Kurosaiga tried to deflect it, the clash of the two swords being strong enough to cause the broken phantasm to break and explode on contact.

correnhimself316: Your opinion might just be a very valid one.

Grim24: I'm sorry to disappoint you but this is the way I'm writing this story. I can't satisfy every reader, that's just impossible no matter how good of an author you are. If for every 1 reader that doesn't like my story I have 10 others that like it I'm satisfied just like that. May you have a good day.

Eternity Wind: I hope this chapter managed to help you out.


Don't forget to review... no seriously review, i could use some constructive criticism.