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


It's done...

So long I searched...

So many times I failed...

I finally found it...

The chance to correct everything...

One single action was all I needed to finish it for good...

Yet I couldn't pull the trigger...


Chapter 11:

Suitor problems


Such a normal day it is, the sun up in the sky, the birds are chirping innocently in the trees.

''Not good enough.'' My so called aunt elbowing me in the side of my neck with enough force to probably knock down a full grown man... yep such a normal day it is indeed… well at least for me that is.

''Gah!'' I gasped for air as the hit was point on and temporarily stunned me, giving the woman enough time to kick me down, mount on my back, and place her combat knife to my throat.

''You need to stop holding back Shirou, otherwise you will never be able to beat me.'' She commented with her usual dull stare as she got back up, offering me a helping hand to stand.

Ever since I got involved with the 'Moonlit world' as they call it, aunt Maiya has been in charge of my hand to hand combat training. While Liz is a beast when it comes to raw strength, Maiya on the other hand is well versed in technique and strategy, able to disarm me immediately even though she says she is perfectly human. That aside, she explained that the best way for one to develop a battle sense is constant combat, which I agree on considering that it didn't matter how much I physically trained myself or learn magecraft from Sella if I couldn't find a way to apply them in real life combat. To put it in perspective, it would be like studying all kinds of recipes and cooking techniques from books and videos without actually practicing them in the kitchen.

I sighed as I took her hand and got up, dusting my aching rear. ''... Funny you say that considering that you are the one who told me to fight without using any weapons or my circuits at all.''

If the smug smile present on her face was any indication, my words were amusing her quite a bit. ''And yet that didn't stop you from getting your ass handed to you by a normal woman.''

That certainly wasn't helping me, so it would be best to just say it out loud. ''... Is there even a point to this training you're putting me through?''

''Actually there is, tell me Shirou, what makes me fundamentally different from the rest of your family?'' She asked me as she leaned against a nearby wall. I was tempted to say her hair but it would have been stupid, a case of pot calling the kettle black, so I just shut up and let her go on. ''Unlike the rest of them I'm just a regular human without even one circuit in my body nor do I possess any other supernatural abilities.''

She crossed her arms as she slightly narrowed her eyes. ''So tell me, in spite of all that why am I beating you with such ease, when your natural physical prowess exceeds mine?''

I honestly wasn't sure how to answer. Truth be told I've been contemplating on this subject from the first day aunt Maiya made me kiss the floor with only a single strike, but even now after so many sparring sessions I still haven't found a clear answer. I shrugged my shoulders to showcase my lack of answer, an action which made the woman in front of me sigh tiredly.

''The answer is rather simple, experience and adaptability.'' She said as she started walking around back and forth. ''Because I lack so much compared to others I must expand my horizons and think outside the box. The point of this training is to put you in the situation where you need adapt to various scenarios, this one in particular focuses on what to do if you run out of prana. Most mages would find themselves confused and unsure what to do if they face an enemy and suddenly find themselves without the help of their precious magecraft, the ridiculous belief that everything can be solved by magecraft becoming their downfall.''

I took a moment and processed her explanation. It was actually a very important point considering my situation, the moment I run out of prana I would be a sitting duck. Since up until now I relied entirely on magecraft to get through my fights I may just be counted among the people who believe that magecraft can solve everything. I need to learn as much as I can and be able to adapt to various situations so I can fight even if I run out of prana, practical stuff like martial arts or maybe learn to use firearms would be handy.

''I may not be an expert on magecraft like Sella, or a powerful fighter like Leysritt, but I have a mind-set that lets me analyze the current situation and find ways of facing stronger enemies even though I'm just human.'' She stopped moving around and stared me dead in the eyes. ''If you find yourself in close combat learn how to fight with your bare hands, if you face an opponent you can't beat in direct combat learn to utilize hit and run tactics, if you can't grasp openings from him then use your surroundings to create that chance, and the list goes on.''

A small smile made its way on her face. ''The moment you learn to fight with and without your magecraft you will see visible results. Combine those two together and you will become a force to be reckon with.'' I couldn't help but taken back by the sudden chuckle she had. ''Just like Kiritsugu.''

''You know the more I think I'm learning about my dad the more questions pop up right away.'' I mumbled as I got up from the ground, looking curiously at the woman who probably knows my dad better than I do. ''I keep hearing things left and right about him, and I'm not sure what to believe about him. Just what kind of man is he really?''

''Kiritsugu is... complicated to say the least.'' She started as she looked to the side, a look of awkwardness present in her eyes. ''The man you know and grew up is his human side so to say, while the person who people like Neculai hate and scorn is the persona he adopts when he is performing his work. Look Shirou, I know it's a lot to ask but please don't try to judge Kiritsugu by what you will learn about him in the future, because at the end of the day he is doing what he thinks is best for everyone.''

I know that... it's just I wish they would just tell me everything so I can properly understand what is truly going on with him, but I guess beggars can't be choosers. I let out a sigh as I scratched the back of my head. ''You sure have a lot of faith in him...''

''I trust him with my life and more than anything else I want to see him happy, the one thing I could never do.'' It was there for a second in her, sadness and regret, but it was quickly replaced by a serene look as she smiled at me. ''The very thing Irisviel, Illya and you were able to do.''

I didn't get to ask what she was referring by that as she pointed behind me. ''Speaking of the devil.''

''Yahoo~'' I turned around and saw Iri waving childishly at us, Liz following behind her.

''So do we have any progress?'' Iri asked curiously as she tiptoed around us.

Maiya sighed tiredly and pointed her thumb at me, specifically the bruises on my body and my messed up clothes. ''I think the results speak for themselves.''

Iri took a second and checked me from head to toe, her eyes half closing as a bored expression formed on her face. ''That's really lame Shirou, you won't be able to charm any girls if they know you're getting your ass handed to you by Maiya.''

What a curious thing pain is, just a second ago my body was aching from the hits I got from Maiya, now my eyes hurt from Iri's antics. ''I'm not training to impress girls...''

She dismissed my answer aside with a wave of her hand as she beamed a cheerful smile at me. ''I know that's not your main objective, but that doesn't mean you can't also make a little side quest.''

I didn't respond, I didn't want to respond, so I just stared at ground, hearing Iri sigh in defeat. ''Stingy as always when it comes to romance, just like your father.''

Trying my best to get rid of this migraine Iri was causing me, I decided to address the elephant in the room. ''Is that all you came for Iri?''

Her face brightened as she clapped her hands together similar to a small child who just realized their favorite cartoon is about to start. ''Actually it's time for your to spar with Liz and I joined to watch the show.''

This made one of my eyebrows raise up. ''Huh, that's new. You usually don't sit to watch how we spar.''

''Let's just say I wouldn't miss this one for anything in the world.'' She commented as she took a nearby seat, the sly smile present on her face was sounding off many alarms in the back of my head.

She was definitely up to something. The question was what exactly?

In my attempt to find some clues to what she was up to, my eyes landed on Liz, more specifically on what she was wearing. ''What's up with the rain coat Liz?''

It wasn't something decorated or eye-catching, just a regular full body yellow rain coat. The only reason I'm even asking this is because it wasn't raining at all outside, heck it was quite sunny today in fact which made it stand out even more.

Liz shifted meekly under the coat as she pointed her hand towards the woman behind me. ''... Your mom's idea.''

If before I was just speculating, now I'm one hundred percent sure she is scheming something shady. ''What are you up to Iri?''

She placed a finger on her lower lip and looked at me with big eyes, blinking innocently to what I was implying. ''What could little old me ever do?''

This only made my eye throb even stronger than before, quick flashbacks running through my mind as I recalled other times when Iri was scheming something. A chill ran down my spine as I contemplated what may happen. ''From personal experience... way too much than I can handle.''

''Trust me, you will be thanking me at the end of the spar.'' My mother figure told me with a large smirk on her face as she pushed me towards Liz, further cementing my belief that something really bad will happen.

As I straightened myself up and avoided stumbling on the ground I shook my head in order to get my head back in the game. Liz may not be an unpredictable fighter like Maiya but her brute force is no joke, if I get side-tracked and she lands a hit, I will be picking up my teeth from the ground... if they aren't already smashed to pieces that is.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward and faced Liz, taking a quick glance towards Maiya who was waving at me. ''Try to remember what I told you while you spar with her.''

I nodded and cleared my mind, taking my surrounding in consideration and the way Liz has fought with me up until now. Today will be different and I will find new ways to fight no matter what Iri may be planning. ''Begin.''

''Here goes.'' I muttered as I dashed forward, aiming for her unguarded side.

Liz seemed as unimpressed as she usually was, an uncharacteristic sigh escaped her lips as she grabbed the rain coat around her. ''... Oh well.''

With a strong pull she took the rain coat off.

For a moment I saw black, it was short lived however as I immediately saw stars.


I really jinxed myself back there, didn't I?

''Wow Shirou, just wow.'' Iri commented as she poked my head with a stick to check if I was still breathing, getting an odd sense of déjà vu from it. ''I knew you wouldn't have an easy time with the plan I made, but I didn't expect you to get curb stomped like this.''

A strained rumbling was the sound I made as I picked myself up, dusting my clothes and hair of dirt as I stared at the self-proclaimed God of the Emiya house.

She didn't appear to see the amount of ridiculousness in what she previously made me do, tilting her head innocently to the side like a little girl not understanding why her parents were scolding her for what she did wrong. ''Is something wrong? Why are you glaring at me like that?''

I couldn't resist the urge, so I just gave into it, the sound of me face palming was loud enough for everyone to hear, an exhausted growl escaping through my fingers. ''Iri, for the sake of whatever is left of my sanity please explain to me why did you think making me fight Liz dressed like that was a good idea?''

It was right at the moment Liz took of her rain coat off that I saw what she was hiding underneath it.

Lingerie! Black, lacy and transparent lingerie! Perfectly matched with a garter belt and a pair of silky black stockings, all of them the kind you would see in an adult video.

All of my battle instincts and defenses were lost the moment that coat came off. The way she was dressed left nothing to the imagination, the contrast between her milky white skin and the black lingerie which was hugging tightly around her generous curves was too much!

I did manage to wake up from my shock when she punched me and sent me flying a few yards away. While it woke me up from my BSOD state, it didn't solve the fact that I was currently fighting Liz almost naked, which was a stretch since I think that being dressed like that was far more dangerous than fighting her naked.

It was no use… I couldn't fight her in that state, especially since the bra she was wearing was failing miserably to keep her chest in place, those massive things defying the laws of physics and kept bouncing at smallest movement. The way her breasts kept bouncing in the air was causing an almost hypnotic like effect, my mind and my sense of morals telling me that I shouldn't look, but my eyes were just refusing to listen and always took a quick glance towards those magnificent orbs, the way they seemed to almost glisten from how the drops of sweat were flowing down on them, almost making me see through the fabric of her bra when I was too close to her.

In short, fighting her with that kind of distraction made me end up getting pummeled pretty bad.

Since the front was a danger zone, I tried a different approach and attempted to attack her from behind. It was just as much of a danger zone as the front was, if not more depending on one's personal taste in the female body.

I simply can't get my head around how women can wear panties like what Liz wore, or how such an amalgamation that looked like it was made from just a couple of strings is able to hold itself in place and not fall apart. Such a mystery the existence known as the thong is, and what a dangerous power it possesses.

My eyes widen as I just realized what I was thinking of, and what images where deeply imprinted on the retina of those said eyes, I raised my fist and promptly smashed it in my face.

Bad Shirou! Bad! No fantasizing about your family dammit!

I really need to stop hanging around Saji when he starts talking about women... he is slowly corrupting me.

''Shirou, Shirou, you still are green when it comes to battle.'' Iri began with small finger wave and a 'tsk, tsk' sound. ''When you face someone who is ready to put their lives on the line you can never be sure of what they might pull off in order to survive. You would be surprised how women use their assets and their sexuality in order to distract a male opponent only to make him let his guard down.''

Her answer didn't help wash away the lingering embarrassment that was still in me. ''I still fail to see the point why you made me fight Liz like that.''

''In order to familiarize yourself with the female body!'' She dramatically did a spin and pointed towards my face with a triumphant look. ''Because you never had a girlfriend, let alone any actual experience with a woman, you would be quite vulnerable if a female enemy used seduction tactics on you. To further prove my point just look at how Liz messed you up.''

To say that I was feeling extremely uncomfortable about this whole thing was an understatement. ''T-That was different, I was taken by surprise.''

Iri snapped her fingers and pointed at me. ''That right there is the whole point Shirou. I'm not saying you would just get charmed by an female opponent and become her obedient puppy, but if she flashes you her goods during a fight your mind might just freeze at that moment, giving her the opportunity to take you down, just like how it happened when you started fighting Liz.''

''I honestly don't see many women doing stuff like that in battle.'' I commented as I checked my mouth, to my surprise all my teeth were still there.

''Oh trust me, women can be ten times more dangerous than men if they know how to do their job. In fact some of the most deadly female assassins use their beauty and charm in order to kill their targets.'' Surprisingly it was Maiya who said this, quite seriously might I add. ''It's also not limited only to women, any person can make someone drop their guard if they use the right words and the proper body language.''

As she finished explaining she walked towards me, arriving right in front me, curling one of her arms around my neck, placing her left leg in-between mine, lips slightly parted as a dazed look was present on her features. This definitely wasn't the Maiya I grew up with! My mouth drying up as my mind was failing to compute just what the hell was going on! ''C-Could you please back up a little?''

She tilted her head innocently her face growing closer to my own, her mouth whispering closely to my ear. ''Why? Does being so close to you make you nervous?''

I will be honest, I'm not sure which part is the real mind screw, the fact right I'm having a woman cling on me at a paper thin distance, or the fact that the said woman is Maiya!

With a lot of self-control I tried my best to look to the side and not just flip out and run away because this freaky situation. ''... A bit.''

She pulled her head back, her usual serious expression was back. ''Very well, I will give you some space to breathe, but only after you look down.''

I didn't understood what she meant by that, my eyes widening when I complied. There, right next to my throat she was holding the blade of her knife. So close and well placed that all she needed to do was just flick her wrist and I would probably bleed to death. ''W-When?''

She retracted the knife and put it back its holder. ''See what I mean, you were so focused on my face and words instead of my hand that I was able to easily bring my knife to your throat, and with the time it took before you finally realized it was there I could have slit your throat ten times.''

After a few seconds of dissecting this, I realized just how right she was. Her uncharacteristically actions took me so much by surprise that I ignored the rest of her movements, my guard left down long enough for her to take me out. If this was a real battle, I would be on the ground gushing out my remaining blood.

''Seduction methods aside, even people who lack magical talent or special abilities can still become dangerous if they know the right way to do it. Never forget Shirou that even people who may not seem like a threat to you can stab you when you let your guard down.''

''... I'll try to remember that.'' I could only nod at Maiya's lesson, truthfully I try not to drop my guard but there are still things that can surprise me and make me lose focus. I need to become more calm and collected, so much that even if I see nudity I won't flinch.

I need nerves of steel.

All that aside, there is something that's been bugging me ever since Maiya used that little clingy trick on me, making me stare quite intensely at her. ''What? Is there something on my face?''

My eyes started blinking as I rubbed the back of my head. ''No... I was just wondering if you ever do that seduction tactic when you're on missions and stuff.''

She just stared at me with cold blank eyes, something I would call a 'Are you for real?' look present on her face. ''... I generally prefer to snipe my targets. Its far more simple than trying to seduce them.''

Before I could even comment about the whole prospect about her snipping people, it all went to the side as I heard Iri fall on the ground into a hysteric laughter. ''Maiya seducing a man! Now that's rich!''

''Are you implying something there?'' Maiya asked in ice cold tone, her left eye twitching all too slightly.

The annoyance present on the black haired woman didn't seem to make my mother's laugh subside any bit. ''Come on Maiya we both know you couldn't seduce a man even your life depended on it.''

That seemed to add more gasoline to the fire. ''Like you have any rich history with men.''

''Says the woman who's still single and isn't getting any younger!''

''Says the woman whose husband is as romantic as brick wall!''

''You looking for a fight skank?!''

''Bring it on bitch!''

As I watched Iri pounce over Maiya like a savage white lion and start the figurative cat fight, I couldn't help but sigh and look at the woman at my right. ''... They forgot about us didn't they?''

''Yep.'' Liz nodded.

Even though Liz put the coat back on, I still have a hard time focusing on her face alone, either because of embarrassment or awkwardness, perhaps both. ''Sorry you got dragged in her little game Liz.''

''Nah, its fine.'' She commented nonchalantly with her usual poker face, though I couldn't help but notice a deep tinge of pink in her cheeks. ''I don't mind since it's you Shirou.''

''... If you say so.'' I replied a bit confused, not sure what she meant by the last part. That aside, there was something that's been bugging me for a while, a certain someone has been absent even though so much chaos took place around here. ''By the way was Sella aware of this genius plan Iri made?''

''Actually your mom wanted to make both me and Sella to appear like this together, though in her case she was supposed to wear all white, a thing about contrast or something.''

I wonder if it's normal to want to bang my head against a brick wall when listening to such a discussion... Why must my imagination be so strong?

The sudden image of both Liz and Sella hugging each other while wearing those kind of risque lingerie, a perfect contrast between the opposing black and white, and the physiques of the two women.

...

God damn hormones!

''I take it Sella didn't take it too well?'' I asked Liz cautiously as I avoided eye contact, I couldn't look her in the eyes, not for now at least.

''Her face became red like a tomato and she just jumped out the window. We still haven't found her.''

I took that piece of information quite well and relaxed a bit, at least I won't have Iri pulling a fast one on me and making Sella appear out of nowhere dressed skimpily just to surprise me. ''Maybe it's better that way, I don't think my mind could have handled that much.''

All of that aside, training in general had been both progressing and stagnating at the same time. When it came to practicing the spells I learned from the card I've been getting a better hang of it, I currently can project ten copies of Kanshou and Bakuya before I start feeling the burn, yet there still seems to be something missing when I project them.

Speaking of projection, ever since the battle with Kurosaiga I tried tapping into that power that gave me the knowledge required to project Yawaraki-Te. I still remembered it vividly, the image of the hill covered in endless swords. I've tried so many times to grasp that image once more, but it just didn't seem to work no matter how hard I concentrated. Whether there is something I'm not doing right or perhaps there is a certain condition to it, I'm not entirely sure.

On the other hand the magecraft lessons I've had with Sella have been progressing rather slowly, when it comes to getting the basics of the branches she chose for me. Combat wise I've started developing a better battle sense but I still can't seem to fight the way I want... perhaps it's because I'm mentally restricting myself due to fear of hurting my family. Only real battle would give me an answer. ''Anyway, I have school so I will see you later.''

''Bye sweetie! Have a nice day!'' Iri waved at me with a bright smile on her face, completely ignoring her messed up hair and fact that her shirt lost all of its buttons, and was now revealing way more skin than I should be allowed to see.

''Dake zure iou zon't horget iour tunch.'' Maiya followed suit with the goodbyes, though in her case it was a bit difficult to understand what she was saying since Iri was pulling her cheeks. Her clothes also saw better days, both sleeves of her sweater being ripped of completely.

... Why can't I have a normal family?

''To be fair, they were making a solid argument earlier. Seduction tactics are quite a drag to deal with, so it's better if you learn to deal with them early on.'' Archer commented with his usual smug voice.

Great, like I didn't have enough on my mind already...

''Maybe, but did they really need to make Liz dress like that?'' I asked while rubbing my eyes, trying to find a silver lining, but failed to do so.

For some reason I knew he was currently rolling his eyes. ''Do you know of any other way to train someone against seduction tactics?''

''Oh come on, while in actual battle my mentality shifts and I am more focused than I am in training, there's no way I could get affected by that kind of stuff in battle.''

''Actually you can't be sure about that. Although one may have a proper mind set and can resist seduction methods, there are still other ways to get around that.''

This was actually starting to get me curious. ''Such as?''

''There are spells, potions, curses and charms that can affect ones perception, messing the very way their emotions are registering towards another person. So even if you have a proper self-control against the opposite sex, if they use the right stuff on you, you might fall for an enemy even though your mind is telling you otherwise and don't let me get started on the stuff that can induce an aphrodisiac effect on one.''

That does sounds like something that may be legit. I recall Reya mentioning that devil use memories altering spells when covering their tracks, though she also mentioned that they have little effect on devils. So if there are spells that can alter ones memory it shouldn't be a stretch that there are spells that can control ones emotions or at least influence them to a certain degree. ''Huh... never thought it like that.''

''On a side note, that sparring was hilarious.'' I couldn't see his face when he said this, but something tells me he is having a shit eating smirk right now.

There were only two words that came to my mind at this. ''Screw you.''

''Say what you want, but I know deep down there was a part of you that enjoyed the little show she offered, also you have to give credit to the ones that made that lingerie, its quality was certainly of high grade product since it didn't snap during the fight from such powerful movements while holding back such an impressive bust line, all while still maintaining an alluring design.''

And just like that my memory was triggered, quick flashbacks at how the spar went, particular images lingering in my head no matter how much I wanted them not to, my hand reaching for my face as I sighed in shame and defeat. ''I really need a cold shower...''


The day went pretty smoothly afterwards, I went to school, had to deal with a surprise math test which I'm honestly not sure if I will pass or not, and also went through maintenance with the school club's equipment. All of this led me to my current situation.

''Well that's about the last of the equipment.'' I commented as put down the last box of repaired equipment.

Ayako has been uncharacteristically silent for the time that I kept carrying everything here, looking at me with a rather troubled look. ''... I know we're friends and all but that was awfully fast, I mean you picked it up yesterday. Did you do an all-nighter to repair them or something?''

Well she was right about that, I did pick up the equipment yesterday and with the quantity I had it would have taken a normal person at least a couple of days to repair everything, but I am anything but normal. Using structural grasping on objects really cuts my work down compared to how much time and effort it would have took me without using it. ''Not at all, I just have been getting good at what I do.''

''If you say so.'' She muttered as she picked one of the repaired bows and checked it out. ''Though that still doesn't make me feel less indebted to you for always helping out.''

''There's no reason why you should feel indebted Ayako, I'm helping out because I want to, not because I want something in return.''

''I know, but getting help from someone and never doing something in exchange can make one feel like they are taking advantage of you.'' She said as she put back the bow and turned back to me. What she said did have some merit, should someone help me out and I wasn't able to properly thank them would probably make me feel bad with myself. ''If you don't want anything for yourself, then think of doing it for me.''

A long sigh escaped my lips as I narrowed my eyes at her. ''… You tell me that, but I can't really think on anything on the spot.''

''Hmm… wait I may have an idea.'' She said as she snapped her fingers. ''My brother gave me two tickets to the movies this weekend, said he isn't interested, how about I give them to you?''

The idea itself didn't sound bad, but there was one problem. ''I'm not sure, don't you want to go watch it yourself?''

Ayako put a finger under her lips and pondered on it for a bit. ''I wouldn't mind checking it out, but I don't have someone to go with and it would be weird to go and watch it alone.''

So that how it is, well that did make a little sense, I myself wouldn't want to go alone, and she said there are just two tickets. Wait… two tickets… both of us don't want to go alone… ''How about we both go then?''

She seemed to become rigid for a few seconds, the way she mechanically turned her head towards me and looked like I had said something ridiculous. Yet, it was short lived as her face seemed to brighten up. ''That actually sounds like a great idea.''

For some reason she started walking back and forth nodding her head vigorously, a sly smile appearing on her face.

''Then it's settled!'' She shouted enthusiastically, pumping her fist up in victory like manner. ''I'll call you later to pick a time and meeting spot.''

''Sure.'' I waved at her as she dashed out of the room… which was kind of weird considering that I was the one visiting.

''You're a pathological block head.'' Archer commented in the back of my head with an exhausted voice.

Once again he dropped by with his insults out of the blue, making me feel a mixture of confusion and irritation. ''Where did that come from?''

''You just invited her on a date.''

…Eh?

Wait, I never said anything about or even mentioned the word date... although… now that I took a moment to consider it, two teenagers of opposite sex going to the movies on the weekend does kinda sound like a date.

But there's no way Ayako would think of it as a date otherwise she would have said something about it, so going by that logic it isn't a date.

I didn't invite her on a date… right?


''It's a date.'' Reya commented.

''It's totally a date.'' Tsubasa nodded.

''How can you not realize it's a date?'' Tomoe asked with narrowed eyes, her free hand rubbing her forehead.

''You high or something dude?'' Saji followed, his face looking like he was struggling to decide if he should be annoyed or pity me.

So apparently I wasn't able to get the whole date thing out of my head and frankly it was getting to the point of turning annoying, so I considered the option of asking a third party for an opinion. Which was somewhat odd since it's usually Ayako that I ask for advice.

With that in my I tried getting a different feminine point of view from the girls of the student council. It initially started with Reyna, but the moment the word date left my mouth the others gathered around me like moths to a flame, all of which led to my current predicament.

My eyes throbbed so bad I had to rub them with my free hand. ''Okay, let's hypothetically say it's a date. What do I do now?''

The girls, plus Saji, looked among themselves, then all shrugged in unison. ''Why are you asking us?''

My head seemed to be pulled by some mysterious force and smashed in the table quite hard, a tired growl escaping my lips, not from the pain, but from the situation at hand. ''Considering the fact that I'm not sure what the hell is going on anymore and I don't have the slightest clue to what I should do if it really turns out to be a date, I'm pretty lost here and could use about any kind of advice I can get.''

Tsubasa was tapping her fingernails against the table as she stared at me with half lidded eyes. ''Don't know what advice to give you Shirou, I mean do you even like Mitsuzuri-san in the first place?''

... Do I like her?

Now that's something that I never really thought of up until now… but then again I always did seem to have a different view when it came to the whole prospects of a relationship, not in a sense that I don't find women attractive and beautiful, but rather I always had this sort of restriction to it, like I don't deserve it. ''I mean I do like her, but just as much as everyone else, I'm honestly not sure if I feel about her anything more than a friend.''

''Well you did mention you've known each other for a while, so I guess it might feel a bit weird if you suddenly went on a date with her.'' Reya explained while gently nodding her head.

''Tell me about it.'' I muttered awkwardly.

I felt my sleeve being pulled, looking to the side I saw Momo staring at me quite seriously. ''Shirou, for real now, if she were to tell you that she likes you, what will you say in response?''

''... I don't know... I have no clue.'' Was all that I could reply to the white haired bishop, also now that I think about it she just confessed to Kiba-san and got rejected so she knows how it feels to have the person you like not share the same feelings, that being said she probably wants to make sure I handle all of this in a way that I don't hurt Ayako's feelings. Not that I would intentionally do that, but recent experience is telling me otherwise. ''I never really considered what I should do if I ever ended up in a situation like this?''

Saji didn't seem to take my words that well and snorted in annoyance. ''I swear Emiya you're either thinking too much into it or are actually scared by the idea of dating. Most guys would be running around towards the sunset in the horizon while screaming 'This is the start of my spring time of youth.' or something like that if they just got a date with a cutie like the Archery captain.''

''I can definitely see you doing that Saji if a cute girl asked you out.'' Tsubasa snickered with a Cheshire grin present on her face.

I could see from here the vein bulging and throbbing on Saji's forehead, this didn't look too good. ''Bite me.''

The blue haired rook only shrugged in response. ''Doesn't seem worth it, not much to bite from what I'm seeing.''

Oh boy, this was definitely adding more fuel to the fire if the way Saji was gritting his teeth was any indication. ''Are you implying I'm weak or something blue mop?''

That apparently hit a nerve with Tsubasa, the latter pulling up her sleeve and showing off her toned arm, clearly inviting Saji to an arm-wrestling match. ''Wanna test it out runt?''

''Bring it!'' The blonde pawn smirked as he pulled his own sleeve.

We all could only stare as the two of them got up and moved to a nearby table and started their strength match.

''They forgot about us didn't they?'' Reya asked somewhat unsure of what to feel at the moment.

''Saji's remark aside, he does make a valid point Shirou.'' Momo commented as she brushed a strand of her wavy hair to the side. ''Normally one would be excited about something like this, or at least be in a good mood, you on the other hand seem more concerned.''

She was making a valid point… I should feel more excited about it… and yet I am like this, trying to crack this whole thing as if it were an advance scientific problem. I couldn't help but rub the bridge of my nose from the frustration I was experiencing, I would take on Kurosaiga again than deal with this. ''… Look I need to think things through, there's just something that isn't sitting right with me about all of this.''

''If you say so.'' Tomoe nodded, though it was rather reluctant, giving me the impression that she wasn't exactly okay with my whole take on the situation.

After looking to the other side of the room I noticed that Saji promoted to Rook and started to arm wrestle Tsubasa, boy there is a lot of throbbing veins going on there. I took a look to the side and noticed Reya pulling the sleeve of my shirt, a gentle smile present of her face. ''Look Shirou if we can help you out in any way don't be shy and just ask us.''

Her words were… pleasant to hear. I would have thanked her for them, if not for the sudden knocking on the door, the very next moment a first year student entered.

''Excuse me, is Ruruko-chan here?'' She asked as she pulled something out of her pocket. ''She forgot her phone in the locker room so I brought it over.''

I walked over to her to pick up the said phone, offering the girl a reassuring smile. ''Thank you for that, don't worry I will give it to her.''

Her face went bright red as she handed me the phone. ''T-That would be appreciated senpai.''

As the girl left I suddenly realized that I had no actual clue to where the twin tailed pawn actually was. ''Where is Ruruko by the way?''

The girls looked among themselves, appearing not sure where the girl in question was, only for Momo to speak up. ''I think she went to get something to eat at the store.''

Nodding I went and got my backpack, a new destination in mind. ''Well, now I know where I should check. See you guys later.''

The girls nodded as I slowly made my way out of the room. As I closed the door I got to see the table underneath the arms of Tsubasa and Saji shatter in pieces, my fellow male devil sent crashing on the floor.

While it was interesting to see Tsubasa put her foot over Saji and pose triumphantly like a hunter securing a wild animal, I couldn't help but feel sorry for both of them. Sona will sure be pissed since they broke the table, that's for sure.

Yep, just another day for the student council.


Finding Ruruko per say wasn't really difficult since I knew she was at the store on campus. The real problem was waiting for her to return from it since right now was lunch break and it was a somewhat of a rush hour for the small store. If I didn't know better I could swear they are handing free sweets from how many people are struggling with the line, but I digress.

''I did it!'' Ruruko chirped as she made her way out from the rugby like crowd. ''I got the very last curry breads!''

Staring at the twin-tailed pawn was all I could do. Who would've thought that she could use her small size to squeeze her way through the violent crowd, very convenient, and some people complain that being small sucks. ''All that work just to get something to eat...''

Her uniform got pretty wrinkled along the way, if the way how she was struggling to put it back in place was any indication. ''Well it can't be helped Shirou-senpai, not all students bring lunch boxes to school so a lot of them have to buy whatever they can from the store.''

Well she wasn't wrong about that, I for one make my own lunch boxes so I don't worry about what I eat at school, but that's because I know how to cook. Other students who don't know their way around the kitchen, or who don't have someone to make them lunch have to find different alternatives, like convenience store food, though there was another option. ''What about the cafeteria?''

Somewhere along the way she opened the bag and took a bite out of the curry bread, a satisfied smile pasted on her face as she munched on it. ''I think it's a matter of bad timing, we do have only an hour lunch break after all. If you aren't quick enough you will catch the hour long waiting line and by the time it's your turn to pick what you want to eat, most of the good food is gone, and you also barely have any time left to eat.''

''Oh right, I eat so rarely in the cafeteria that I forgot that.'' I commented as I leaned my back against a nearby tree, noticing that Matsuda and Motohama were part of the crowd in front of the store. Huh, would you look at that, two girls just kicked them between the legs for touching them in the wrong places. Divine retribution as that may be, even I feel the pain by looking at that.

''You're not missing much when it comes to the food, let me tell you that.'' Ruruko remarked as she continued munching on the bread like a chipmunk, quite a cute sight might I add.

''Did something happen to it?'' I asked somewhat detached as I watched the two perverts getting beat up pretty bad, one of the girls from the boxing club knocking their heads together.

Ruruko's eyes half closed and stared at me unimpressed. ''Its cafeteria food, the only reasons I see students buy it is because its cheap or out of hunger... sometimes both.''

''I don't think the food is that bad.'' Which was true, the food wasn't really good, but it also wasn't that bad, something in the middle.

Wow, where did that girl pull out all off that rope? And where did she learn to tie two men against a tree like that? Seems like a handy skill to have.

''Very well, then if you were to choose between a homemade lunch and a cafeteria lunch, which one will it be?''

I turned around and looked at her for a bit, opening my mouth to answer, but no reply came to my mind for that. ''…A fair point.''

''Tsk.'' The sudden clicking of one's teeth got my attention. Turning back I was greeted by the sight of a familiar looking white haired girl.

''Oh, hey there Toujou.'' Ruruko waved as the girl walked up to us, a bored and uninterested expression present on her face.

''Nimura.'' She greeted with as much excitement as her face was showing, her golden eyes landing on me, a small curiosity present in them as she stared at me.

Ruruko was just as confused as I was by the girl's intense stare, suddenly nodding as she extended her arms forward, one towards Toujou, the other one towards me. ''Shirou-senpai this is my classmate Toujou Koneko, Toujou this is Shirou-senpai our new Pawn.''

''Sup.'' She said stoically as she stared at the crowd in front of the store.

Now that I think about, I ran into her the day I got turned into a devil, she seemed quite cautions about me, her eyes keeping track on me like I was a threat. ''If I'm not mistaken we met before haven't we?''

She tilted her head slightly and opened her mouth. ''I don't remember.''

For some reason that made my cheek twitch all too slightly. ''... Is that so?''

''So where are you going?'' Ruruko asked a bit awkward, clearly trying to change the subject of the discussion.

''Food.'' Toujou stated simply as she pointed at the store.

To this Ruruko seemed to give her classmate a small sigh. ''If you're going to the store, better forget it, when I left there wasn't much left and with the line there I doubt there will be anything good left.''

Toujou didn't respond, instead she stared at the curry bread in Ruruko's hands, a small glint present in her eyes, one that Ruruko noticed and put the bread outside of the white haired girl's field of vision. ''... I'm not sharing.''

''Stingy.'' Toujou commented with a small frown on her face.

Her reaction seemed to make Ruruko also react, a similar frown forming on her face as well. ''You're not in any position to say that Toujou, you usually buy most of the good things at the store before anyone has a chance to get anything, and you never share, so think of it as karma.''

The petite girl opened her mouth to comment, only for a lion like growl to come out. As she realized the sound her stomach has just made she turned her head awkwardly to the side. ''... So hungry.''

I honestly felt pity for the little girl, wondering if there was any way I could help her out. Since making my way to the store won't do much good and there isn't really any time left out of the lunch break for a cafeteria trip, what else can I do?

Inspiration hit me like a hammer, reaching for my back pack and finding the solution I was looking for. ''Here.''

The white haired girl looked quite skeptical at what I was offering her, more specifically my lunch box. ''Why are you giving me this?''

I shrugged slightly as I offered her a smile. ''Well you just said you're hungry so I thought of helping you.''

''Why?'' she asked me with half closed eyes, not appearing to buy it that I'm helping her without any reason.

''Why not?'' I countered, I didn't see why I shouldn't do it, besides I'm not even hungry.

''You're weird.''

''I'm often told so.''

Our back and forth discussion seemed to give Ruruko a hard time if the way she was sighing was any indication. ''Just accept it Toujou, Shirou-senpai is way too stubborn to take no for an answer if it meant helping someone.''

''...Fine.'' the white haired girl finally accepted, even though it still sounded reluctant. ''Thanks.''

''You're welcome.'' I replied with a smile.

As she put the lunch box in her backpack, she once again narrowed her eyes at me. ''Now for real, why are you helping me?''

''It's not wrong to help others in need.'' I answered her honestly, my eyes once more fixated on her snow white hair and how familiar it is. ''Besides, you remind me of my sister.''

''Sister...'' she muttered in a flat tone.

Weird… It was there for a moment, but I saw it, her eyes became cold and empty, something akin to a terrifying fear running through them when I said that. This made me worry, it was like I did or said something that scared her deeply. ''Is everything alright?''

''Yeah... just... memories. '' She muttered as she quickly turned around and started walking. ''Bye.''

I honestly didn't know what just happened, did I say something that upset her by any chance? Or did I bring up something that I shouldn't?

I'm so confused.

I turned to Ruruko who seemed just as confused as I was, but I hoped that the two of them being classmates might give her any idea about what just happened. ''Do you think there's something wrong with her?''

The fellow pawn simply shrugged her shoulders. ''Can't really say for sure Shirou-senpai. Toujou has always been kinda of a silent loner, she doesn't really get involved with our classmates all that much either, so it's difficult to tell if there's something going on with her.'' She was silent for about a minute as she seemed to contemplate on something, snapping her fingers as she just realized something. ''Though she might have just been a little awkward around you.''

This didn't really help me, in fact it made me all more confused. ''Why would you say that?''

She blinked a couple of times, gesturing towards my backpack. ''Well, you did give her your lunch.''

''So?'' I asked as I failed to see the point.

She stared at me for a few seconds with an open mouth, as if trying to find her words. ''...Are you for real Shirou-senpai?''

''What?''

''If you give a girl that you barely know your own lunch the way you did she might misinterpret that as affection for her, as in you might have feelings for her.''

It took a moment for me to realize that I did indeed hear that right, and the ramifications of what I did meant, yet I still couldn't believe it. ''Wait, what?''

''Did you honestly not realize that?'' she asked me with an astonished expression.

''...No.'' I responded flatly.

She seemed to be just as worked up about this as I was, her eyes half closed with a blank look on her face. ''Wow, I heard Tomoe-senpai comment that you're a bit dense, but this is something new entirely.''

''... I can't be that bad.'' I muttered in defeat… this wasn't the first and probably not the last time something like this was going to happen, I just knew it.

Huh?

I turned around and stared into the distance. There was something on a building far away outside of the campus, I couldn't quite make its form, something black fluttering in the wind, a strong light hurting my eyes as I stared at it. ''Is everything alright Shirou-senpai?''

I blinked and turned around for a second. ''I think so... do you see anything there?''

My question made her one of her eyes browns rise up as she stared to where I was pointing. ''Like what?''

When I looked back there was nothing there anymore, I even reinforced my eyes to get a better view but for nothing. Either I was just seeing things or whoever was there vanished without a trace. ''I'm not sure, for a moment I thought I saw someone there.''

''Maybe it was just your eyes playing tricks.'' She commented as she finished her bread.

''Perhaps...'' I muttered silently, someone was there, I just know it.

The question is who was it?


When lunch break was over both Ruruko and I returned to student council office and got back to work. As one can expect when that happened we were greeted by a tower of paper work that we had to go through.

Sometimes I wonder if we really are just a high school student council or some public office considering the amount of paper work we go through daily. While I don't mind doing it, after a while you start to feel like you can't take it anymore and want to throw it all out the window. My only solace is that since the student council has so many members we can manage to finish them all in a decent time.

While Sona may be a bit of a taskmaster when it comes to our duties she isn't unreasonable and gives us time and breaks to relax. Such was the case right now, though I think it was more relaxing for Sona than it is for me. ''Checkmate.''

''... Figures.'' I muttered with a sigh, even though I already knew this was going to happen.

Apparently this is something that had been going on for a while ever since Sona invited me to play a game of chess with her. I didn't win, not at all, in fact I don't even consider myself much of a player and prefer playing shogi overall, but from what she told me, I was the biggest challenge she got out of everyone else in the peerage.

That being said whenever she gets the chance Sona challenges me to a new game. I lost count to how many games we had played up until now but I lost every single one of them. Somehow I feel simultaneously impressed and frustrated at the same time, quite the intriguing sensation.

''One more time?'' the black haired woman on the other side of the chessboard asked, excitement present in her eyes even though her face was her usual stoic appearance.

Just how much does she like chess?

I looked her dead in the eyes and replied. ''... No.''

To this her eyes seemed to become pleading, similar to a small puppy begging you to take it home. ''Just one more, please.''

Taking in a deep breath I steeled myself, I will not give in. ''We've already had six games.''

Sona sighed and stopped trying to convince me, rearranging her glasses as she went back to her usual serious persona. ''Fine, but we are playing again tomorrow.''

Now that this problem was out of the way, might as well ask if there is anything else I had to do. ''So anything new that we need to know of?''

She shook her head as she waved her hand and made her chessboard disappear. ''Nothing particular, in fact the rest of the day is pretty much free.''

So I was free for the rest of the day… and since I finished working on the equipment for the clubs and all, I might use it for a problem that's been bugging for a while. ''Actually this might be a good opportunity. Momo, Reya, do you girls think you can help me figure out how to draw out my demonic power?''

The first one to react was Reya, Momo apparently didn't notice it, and now that I look better at her it would have been hard for her to do so since she had her earphones on. ''Still having trouble calling it forth I see.''

I scratched the back of my head as I looked at the braided bishop. Although I have been a devil for a while I haven't managed to draw forth my demonic power. ''No improvement.''

''This is concerning indeed.'' Reya replied while cupping her chin, her eyes then focusing on the other male pawn of the group. ''What about you Saji?''

The said pawn flinched when his name was mentioned, his head turning awkwardly left and right avoiding eye contact with us. After a few seconds he left out a tired sight. ''Not much progress either.''

I wouldn't really say that since I saw him at training sessions using his demonic energy. Sure he could only generate demonic energy ball the size of rice grain but it was still better than nothing like in my case.

Somewhere along the line Momo took of her earphones and Reya briefed her about what was going on, the two of them planning out what to do. ''So I take Shirou, you take Saji?''

''I'm fine with it.'' Reya nodded in agreement.

''Kinky~'' Tsubasa said or rather shouted from the other side of the room with what I could only describe as a 'shit eating grin'.

Curiously this made both bishops go red, the indignation all too present on Reya's face. ''We didn't mean it like that Tsubasa!''

''Like you didn't think about it.'' The bluenette smirked at both bishops, Momo stuck in a jabbering state while Reya's face wouldn't look too out of place on a tomato field.

''No I didn't!'' the braided bishop defended herself, voice high and pitched.

''Oh wait, I was wrong, sorry about that.'' The teams rook replied with a regretful look on her face, one that lasted for a few seconds which was replaced afterwards by a Cheshire grin. ''You were obviously thinking about Shirou's nice ass.''

''See, now that's bett- NO I WASN'T!'' she protested, her voice being one step from being able to shatter glasses due to how pitched it was.

''Any idea what their on about?'' Saji asked obviously confused by what was going on.

''I was just about to ask the same thing.'' I commented with a straight face, he clearly picked the wrong person to ask about this kind of stuff.

With a sigh I walked next to Sona's desk and picked my back pack, if we will train that means we will be heading to the gym so I need to change. I looked at my master as she stared at the bickering going one between the teams bishops and rook respectfully, the whole thing was definitely annoying her judging by how her left eye was throbbing. I might as well try to distract them before things escalate any further. ''By the way, I've been meaning to ask for a while, where is Tomoe?''

''Oh her, she is at the gym trying out her new sword.'' Tsubasa commented as she was getting tackled by the bishop duo.

While the fact that both girls were in perfect sync and managed to put Tsubasa in a lock in spite of her rook strength was quite interesting, yet there was something else that got my attention. ''New sword?''

To my surprise it was Tsubaki-senpai that decided to explain. ''You might have forgotten this Shirou, but during the fight with Kurosaiga her katana shattered and she has been weapon-less ever since. I should know that since I am in a similar situation as her, and I'm still waiting for a replacement for my naginata. It is after all hard to find decent weapons these days.''

''Not so hard for Tomoe apparently if she just got a replacement.'' I commented somewhat dryly, not really knowing that feeling since apparently I can always project myself a weapon whenever I need one.

This time it was Sona that decided to talk. ''Indeed, it might have taken a while for the underworld blacksmiths to reforge it, but they were successful and our knight now has a first grade katana in her arsenal.''

I nodded as I heard this, though I couldn't help but nitpick about something she said. ''It's actually forge Kaichou, not reforge. Reforging is when you take a broken or rundown weapon and bring it back to a proper form.''

She narrowed her eyes at me, clearly uninterested in what I just said. ''I know what I said Shirou, and I wasn't wrong in my statement.''

I blinked once, then twice. ''So wait, she got a reforged weapon instead of a new one?''

''Why yes, even though it may have broken, Kurosaiga's weapon was still a formidable one, it would have been a waste to just leave it be and not put it to good use.''

''Oh I see.'' I commented with a nod, so she basically had Juuchi Yosamu reforged… a cursed sword… and gave it to Tomoe... ''Wait, what?!''

She was startled by my sudden shouting that's for sure, or maybe it was because I leaned over her desk mere inches from her face. ''You mean to tell me that you pulled some strings and had Juuchi Yosamu reforged, and if that wasn't enough you gave it to Tomoe?!''

A lone bead of sweat was dripping on her face as she looked at me. ''I-I fail to see the problem.''

''Wait! You said she was trying it out right now?!'' I clicked my tongue as different scenarios of what could happen ran through my head, I didn't have time to waste here. ''Damn! I have to stop her!''

''Shirou wait!'' I ignored Tsubaki-senpai and the others, rushing head on before something horrible occurred.


I ran. I ran across the campus all the way towards the gym, and I'm not talking about how a human would normally run, I reinforced my legs and literally stormed my way there, gusts of wind forming from where I rushed, hearing the occasional screams of girls getting their skirts lifted up by the force of the air, and the more than occasional shouts of excitement by the male students.

Secrecy of magic be dammed, I'm not gonna risk every student here just to keep that.

When I reached the gym I didn't bother using the door knob and used my shoulder to force open the door, which in combination with the force of the speed I accumulated almost ripped the door of its hinges. The moment I stepped in I didn't waste time checking the gym and shouted with all my might. ''Tomoe don't draw that sword!''

''Shi-chan?'' I heard her reply from the left side of the gym, when I looked at her I was greeted by a confused look on her face, the sword of Kurosaiga was in her hands... drawn... and she wasn't affected by it... wait... ''Why shouldn't I draw it?''

I rubbed my eyes just in case I wasn't seeing things right. Nope the sword was still there, and she wasn't showing any signs possession, my throat drying out from the confusion... or maybe it was from running here like a speeding bullet. ''Y-You are wielding it?''

She blinked once, then twice, confusion plastered on her face as she rested the back of the katana on her shoulder. ''Of course I am, why wouldn't I?''

This made a storm of thoughts run wild in my head, my words turning into a gibbering mess. ''B-But I, the sword, it's...''

My stuttering seemed to further confuse the team's knight, her eyes narrowing awkwardly at me as she got closer and patted me on the shoulder. ''Okay Shi-chan, I've seen the way you look at swords and I know you have a small sword fetish, but seriously you can't just barge in like that, it's really weird.''

''That's not it...'' I muttered somewhat crept out by what she said... sword fetish... Is that even a legit thing?... anyways... ''Give me a sec to think things through so I can properly explain.''

''Perhaps this wouldn't have happened if you didn't rush out before I had the chance to finish.'' Sona commented as she entered the gym, the others following suit, all appearing rather wind up, probably from trying to catch up to me.

I turned around and began to explain my reasons. ''I didn't have time to waste. The weapon you gave her is Juuchi Yosamu, its curse power is so potent that it causes anyone besides Kurosaiga to fall into an uncontrollable bloodrage.''

She didn't seem to mind what I said and just kept walking until she was in front of me, her hand reaching out and tugged my shirt , pulling me closer, which felt weird considering that I was much taller than her, that, and I noticed that running over here got her to sweat quite a bit. ''Shirou... I want you to do something for me.''

''Uhh… okay?'' I nodded mechanically since the lack of distance between us was making me feel rather awkward.

''Good, now tell me. Do I look like an idiot to you?'' This was probably one of those situations when it's better to shut up, so I just did that as she went. ''Do you honestly think I would intentionally hand over to one of my friends a weapon that could potentially cause them and the others around them harm, a weapon which I know from first-hand experience both literally and figuratively how dangerous it can be?''

Huh… when she puts its like that it does sound kind of stupid, so me thinking that she could have done it that pretty much equals believing she is stupid. ''While you think of the answer to that question, let me go back to what I was going to explain when you rushed out of the office.'' She pointed towards Tomoe and the very weapon that put me on the edge. ''Yes, the sword has been broken and reforged, but the curse power within it has weakened exponentially.''

My eyes widened as I heard it, it weakened? That intense curse aura weakened?

Somehow I was having a hard time believing it. ''They didn't exactly find the cause of that, but they made tests on it and concluded that it can be used without the risk of the user being affected by its blood demanding tendencies even by someone besides Kurosaiga. You yourself said that the compatibility between Kurosaiga and his sword was a very strong one, who knows, perhaps the bond it had with him was so strong that a part of it died together with him when it broke.''

''Talk about clingy.'' Tsubasa snickered.

''I think it's somewhat poetic.'' Tsubaki-senpai added her own two cents.

Now that everything is said and done I can't help but feel like a complete idiot for rushing in the way I did for nothing. Yet, it doesn't hurt to double check just to be sure. ''... So you're not feeling any urge to stab me with that?''

Tomoe's narrowed her eyes as they half closed, looking quite dryly at me. ''What do I look like to you, some crazy yandere stalker or something?''

''Right... sorry about that, maybe I overreacted.''

''It's fine Shi-chan! It shows how much you care!'' she beamed as she jumped in front of me and began ruffling my hair. While I do appreciate her playful personality, I'm not a dog dammit.

It took me minute to put my hair back in place, just in time to listen to Tsubaki-senpai. ''You should learn to control yourself from rushing in like that Shirou, it may become a problem later on.''

She did made a valid point. Yet, I couldn't agree to it. ''That's not something I can promise.''

''What do you mean by that?'' she asked me in a flat tone, her eyes narrowed coldly at me, a perfect mimic of the one Sona usually does.

Similar yes, but she had a long way to go before she can reach her level, that aside I started explaining the meaning behind my words. ''If it comes down to someone getting hurt I won't just sit down and do nothing. I would rather fail trying to make a difference than wait for the problem to get fixed.''

Her eyes were fixed on my own, lips parted slightly until she let out a tired sigh. ''That kind of thinking is admirable, but its best when done with proper thinking and planning.''

She wasn't wrong in what she said, but I had the distinct feeling that it will be much easier said than done. I couldn't help but stare at Tomoe as she kept looking around with a puzzled expression. ''So if everything is all peachy can I go back to my training?''

''You may Tomoe.'' Sona nodded as she rearranged her glasses, a look of realization reflecting behind them. ''In fact, since you're all are here, why don't you practice for the time being. If anything changes I will call for you.''

Everyone gave a nod of acknowledgement to our master, yet her eyes seemed awfully focused on me. That thought was further reinforced when she walked right in front of me and pressed a finger against my chest. ''No funny stuff, are we clear Shirou?''

I had no idea what she was referring to. ''What could I possibly do?''

''I honestly wouldn't be surprised if you somehow managed to blow up the whole place while I was gone. So make sure you don't do anything rash.''

The amount of trust she was showing me at the moment was really touching that's for sure, I mean come on, how would I even destroy the gym in the first place? Oh well, no need for pointless arguing. ''… I'll try.''

''Good luck to all of you.'' She gave one last nod before heading towards the exit.

With that out of the way, it was time to get down to business.


The flow of the training session was a bit mixed in my opinion. By that, it went steady for the girls, while for Saji and me it went quite badly.

Momo is a pretty sweet girl, usually with quite a lot of patience, which was noticeable the past hour as she tried to help me out and train… but even she had her limits.

''Gahh! This isn't going anywhere!'' The said white haired bishop shirked as she run her fingers through her hair with such intensity that it made me wonder how her hair was still in one piece. ''Reya switch!''

Her best friend sighed as she walked over to me, not daring to ask the fuming Momo what was the problem, and instead she narrowed her eyes at me. ''Okay Shirou, what did you do?''

''Nothing...'' I muttered as I looked to the side.

''Really? You mean Momo was yanking her hair for nothing?'' She asked as she played uninterested with her braids.

Guess there wasn't any use beating around the bush. ''Maybe I didn't formulate that the right way. I meant she was worked up because I did nothing at all.''

''Could you try and explain again, just a tad bit more detailed this time?''

''Momo has been trying to help me get control over my demonic energy, but I've been failing miserable.''

''How far have you've gotten?''

I sighed in shame for what I was about to say. ''Haven't even started, I can't get it to manifest at all.''

''This is certainly odd.'' She stopped playing with her braids and became serious. ''Even Saji is able to manifest it, weak as it may be, but he still is able to do it.''

Might as well try and get more information since we're on the subject. ''Tell me, how did you and the others handled it when you got reincarnated?''

She placed a finger under her lip as she hummed. ''It varied for each of us. In my case and Momo's it happened within a few days, the others on the other had somewhere between one and two weeks, Saji taking the longest as it took him about month. You on the other hand-''

I didn't let her finish since I already knew what she was gonna say. ''Have been a devil for way over a month, and haven't showed the tinniest sign of manifesting it.''

''I didn't want to say it like that, but yes.'' She commented as she rubbed one of her braids. ''It's quite a curious case, it would be one thing for it to manifest and simply be weak, but not manifesting at all is quite odd.''

Indeed… from what I read calling forth demonic energy is something relatively simple, that it should be far easier than riding a bike, and even devil children can manifest it. Heck, I even read that there are even insurance programs for parents in case their child suddenly awakens their demonic energy and cause any destruction.

I brushed that random trivia aside and listened to Reya go on. ''There's also the fact that you can't call forth your wings which is just as concerning. In all honesty Shirou this is way over my head, but there might be something wrong with your body that is suppressing your demonic power. The question that is on my mind is just what that could be.''

Something suppressing it… well I did read that there are magical constructs that devils use on criminals to keep their powers in check, or bounded fields with similar effects, but I highly doubt that my body can naturally create a phenomenon like that without my consent.

I did consider that my origin and elemental alignment may be the cause, but after thinking about it for a while that shouldn't be the case. Demonic energy in a sense is like prana, a form of blank raw energy, it's only after processing and applying it that it can infuse itself with different elements and be used for different spells.

So in theory I should be able to call forth my demonic energy, just that I shouldn't be able to apply it to anything that is out of my field of specialization.

This thought lead me realize something.

''Say there's something I've been wondering.'' I began, getting Reya's full attention. ''Our master mentioned that Sairaorg guy, how he is magically inept and all, do you think that perhaps I could be in a similar state?''

''That might be a possibility, but I'm not sure.'' She nodded but soon waved her hand to the side. ''I don't know how exactly his magical inaptitude works, so it's only speculation. ''

''That may be, but I really have to figure things out. I might have beaten Kurosaiga but in the future I might not get so lucky and will need all the power and skills I can get.''

Reya was carefully watching me, curiosity reflecting in her eyes. ''Actually that's something I've been meaning to ask you about, if you are truly unable to utilize demonic energy, how were you able to stand up to Kurosaiga in the first place?''

Now that she mentions it I never really told them how I did it, but in my defense it wasn't like they actually sit down with and asked me about it. Well then, no time like the present to come clean. ''I'm using a different branch of magical abilities, one that doesn't rely on demonic energy. It's called magecraft.''

''Never heard of it before.'' Reya commented with her head tilting to the side, her shoulders shortly going up in a shrug. ''Though it's not like I know of every form of magic in the world. It could explain why I couldn't figure how you were able to fight toe to toe with Kurosaiga.'' She cupped her chin and began humming. ''Tell me, how does it function compared to devil magic?''

Hmm… how would be the best way to describe the difference between them without going full hour lecture the same way Sella does… ''In simple terms I'm manipulating magical energy found within myself and the ambient air, process it into what's called prana to use for different spells, all while bounded by the laws of phenomena.''

She slowly nodded as she let go of her chin. ''It does sound like devil magic, but seems different.''

I wouldn't be so sure about that since what I read regarding how devil magic functions it's so simple in terms that it's hard to get a good idea of what exactly you should do to start using it. ''I can't really compare, I haven't used devil magic even once, but it does seem a bit easier to use devil magic from what I noticed.''

''Well it's not like devil magic is all powerful. The first thing they teach you is that it heavily relies on the power of one's imagination, but that isn't exactly accurate. You can't imagine a phenomenon or make a event happen that's impossible due to the conditions around you or that you are unable to comprehend.'' She lifted her finger and at the tip of it a small water sphere manifested. ''Take Kaichou's water magic for instance, she isn't creating the water out of thin air, she is manipulating the already existing water vapors in the air, using her demonic energy as a means to expand, empower and manipulate them.''

She dispersed the water sphere and in its place a small fire ball ignited. ''Or take this fire, while it may seem like I am creating it, I rely on the air around me as the base, igniting it and using my demonic energy as fuel to further make it grow in size and power.'' With a flick of her wrists the fire dispersed. ''You can't just imagine someone dying, pour a vast amount of demonic energy and it will happen, everything must be done within a certain line of reason and certain steps must be applied otherwise it will never work even if you are a Satan class devil.''

''The surrounding area can also influence your power. If Kaichou would fight while it was raining or while surrounded by flowing water she would have an unfair advantage. The Sitri's house ability allows her a far more advanced control over water than regular devils, to put it in perspective it's like comparing a water gun to a fireman's hose.''

The way that Reya explained it was certainly more helpful than reading it from a book. As I took in all of this, I began to formulate some more solid ideas regarding how devil magic functions. ''So devil magic is also influenced by common sense and environment. The part about you 'imagining' it refers to you imagining a way for the said event to happen. That's why some people have easier time using certain spells while others don't since each person imagines things differently.''

''Pretty much, it's a bit difficult at the beginning until you get the hang of it, but as you get the proper thinking process and learn how to use your demonic energy, you will have the ideas engraved in your mind so you won't lose time over thinking things. It will become second nature like breathing is.''

This sounded a bit familiar, actually it sounds awfully like my mental trigger. As I learned magecraft in order to turn my circuits on and off I need a mental trigger, in my case respectfully being the image of a gun firing. At first I was focusing a lot on that image in order to properly make my circuits work, but now after constant practice it's like a reflex and I do it instantly on the spot. Guess there are some similarities between devil magic and magecraft after all. ''And here I thought devil magic is all imagination and bam it happens.''

''There's no such thing Shirou, from what I know most forms of magic in existence are bound by the laws of the world, very few forms of magic or objects work outside of it.''

I took a moment as I listened to this, my curiosity taking over. ''Outside of it you say, like what?''

''Like the sacred gears for instance, some of them have really weird and unexplainable powers that seem to be more bound towards the limits of ones will rather than that of rules of the world granting powers that don't really function or make sense from a logical stand point, especially the Longinus types that are said to have the ability to change the very balance of the world.''

Well I wouldn't disagree with her regarding the sacred gears being eye gapers with what they can do, and that's before I even began talking about the Longinus types and what I remember reading about how they affected the world.

A piece of trivia about some of the disasters they cause count the Great Kanto earthquake from 1923. Apparently the previous owner of the Zenith Tempest got himself into life and death battle while visiting Japan and accidentally caused the earthquake that created a hell lot of collateral damage, but more importantly had caused a death count of over 142,800 people. Ironic or not the user died under the rumble of the very earthquake he caused.

Another example is the Bermuda triangle, which is tied to a former Dimension Lost host. While the exact reason or motivation is currently unknown, the former user of this Longinus had caused a dimensional disturbance there, rifts to different dimensions popping out from time to time randomly in that area. If one gets caught in one of those rifts their goners as without a holder of the Dimension Lost to control the rift there's no telling how long it will take for a new rift to open and escape, hence why ships that were lost in the Bermuda Triangle suddenly reappeared after years without any trace of the crew on them.

Oh, and let's not forget the famous, or rather infamous duels between the Boosted Gear and the Divine Dividing hosts. Whenever the hosts of these two respective Longinus meet each other it will always end up in a disaster of unimaginable proportions, their fights aren't as simple as fight until first blood or until they can no longer stand, no, they're fights to the death and once the two of them fall in battle frenzy it won't matter how many innocents get dragged along with them in their carnage, as long as one kills the other it won't matter how much innocent blood is shed.

Because of this the two of them have always been risk factors in a sense that as much as one faction would want to have one of them as ally it can end in a way that the other Heavenly Dragon host will carve his way through the respective faction in order to get to his destined rival.

Their fights always scar the land, the only solace being that most of the fights that occurred between the generations of Heavenly Dragons took place in the underworld or other realms, and very rarely took place in the human world. Though whenever it did happen it would always leave some visible mark, for instance the previous generation of heavenly dragons had their last bout in Derweze, Turkmenistan and the aftermath of their fight resulted with the creation of what is known today as the Darvaza gas crater or more locally known as the "Door to Hell". I find quite surprising that they managed to cover the whole fiasco and just write it off as natural gas field collapsed into an underground cavern.

Brushing aside that entire sacred gear trivia section wrote by Professor Blazing Shining Aura Darkness, no, I am not joking that was the name of the person who wrote the encyclopedia from where I learned all of this stuff. I focused back at Reya who has been contemplating the past minute. ''Other than that I hear that God-class beings have abilities that can go far beyond our understanding.''

Well... if there's one thing that Sella was adamant about is that if by any chance I stumble upon a God, or more commonly known as a Divine-Spirit in magus terms, the best choice of action is either run away like there's no tomorrow, or do whatever I can to make sure not to piss off the respective person otherwise I might just find myself destroyed before I can even say 'I'm sorry'.

I don't know if what Sella taught me about Divine-spirits and other similar beings are legit, but if even half of the stuff she told is real, then I should make a last will just in case I ever stumble upon one. ''Anyway I need to find out what's going on with me. The way I am now I can't even perform a simple promotion which is the central ability of a Pawn.''

''That may be so Shirou but we must be careful, even if we figure out what's keeping you like this it would be best if we don't rush it to fix it ourselves, otherwise we might just make things worse.''

This reminds me... ''Now that you mention it, didn't our master say at one point that she will make me an appointment with Ajuka Beelzebub to check me out and see if there's anything wrong with me?''

''Actually she did, in fact today we received a reply, and you are to present yourself tomorrow for a personal check up.''

So I can finally learn what's wrong with me, it's been a while before I could get an appointment but the man probably has ten times the amount of paper work we have, we take care of the problems of a school, he does of the entirety of hell, so I can only shudder at the thought of how his work desk looks like. ''Feel's a bit weird when I see what influence our master has if she can make me met one of the hell's leaders.''

''Things like this tend to be easier when your sister is one of those said leaders.'' She chuckled as she went on with her explaining.


While I can say that my talk with Reya was enlightening from a technical point, it didn't really help that much that I still haven't got the hang of to call forth my demonic power. Guess I'll just have to wait until tomorrow and see what's actually going on with me.

Since Reya called it a day I started looking around to see if the others needed any help with their training, but from what I could see there's not much I could do. Ruruko and Tsubasa were sparring against each other, Momo, Reya and Tsubaki-senpai were practicing magic together, and Tomoe was doing sword swings, clearly trying to find the best way to handle her new blade. Now there was one person that wasn't accounted for, the said person who I was currently behind. ''What's up Saji? Still struggling to make your sacred gear work?''

For the duration of the training by the way I kept hearing screams and swearing words from his directions I can safely assume that it didn't go too well for him either, but that didn't mean I knew what exactly went wrong so that's why I'm pocking the hypothetical sleeping dragon and judging by the irritated scowl on his face I was doing a great job. ''Oh no, I'm just staring at this thing because I like how shiny it is.''

''There's no need to be so sarcastic.'' I replied with a shrug.

He rose up for a moment, expression giving away that he really wanted to give me a foul retort, but he seemed to manage to calm down and keep it in, though his pissed expression still lived on. ''... Asking a lot of me right now, but you're right. It's just that I've been trying to figure how this damn thing works and it's been annoying like hell that I haven't made any progress.''

Well, I can relate to that on some level, and not just from my lack of utilizing demonic energy, there are quite a lot of magecraft spells that I quite can't use, earning me an earful from Sella. ''What can you even do with it at the moment?''

He lifted his arm and displayed the black gauntlet on it, the eyes of the lizard motif glowing in purple light as its mouth opened and a cable rushed out, shortly returning back in its place. ''I can just summon it and shoot that weird cable out of it, and in most cases the thing doesn't go where I want it to.''

That doesn't really sound all that impressive, I'm sure there is more to it than meets the eye. ''Have you asked the others for help?''

My fellow pawn sighed in exhaustion as he shrugged his shoulders. ''I tried, but they don't really much knowledge about sacred gears, and the one Tsubaki-senpai has works far too differently to give me any pointers.''

While he is making a fair point, that shouldn't drag his mood into the ground. ''There's no need to let it get to you like that.''

''Like hell it is!'' He snapped, stomping on the ground in a fit of rage, teeth violently grinding against each other as he glared at me. ''I'm sick of just being useless! During the fight with Kurosaiga I took the beating of lifetime and didn't even get to touch the guy. Then that Segrif guy came yesterday and manhandled me like a bitch!'' His breathing became hectic, eyes filled with pain and fury. ''It's frustrating when you can't do anything!''

The feeling of helpless... the despair that comes with it... I know it far too well... and it's a feeling I wouldn't want anyone to go through. Because of that, I have to help him however I can. ''You really want to get stronger?''

He lifted his head stared at with sharp eyes. ''What do you think?''

Well that about confirms it, he was ready to put himself in harm's way if it meant becoming stronger, so there was only one thing I can think of that might help him. ''Maybe I can help you out.''

The blond pawn blinked once, then twice, his face turning uncharacteristically serious. ''What do you have in mind?''

''Well one of my spells allows me to analyze objects, it particularly seems to be very affective towards weapons.'' I explained to my fellow pawn, which was a pretty run down explication of what my structural grasping can do, but I highly doubt Saji wants to listen to the long version.

Even though I told him that, Saji looked rather indifferent. ''So? What does that have to do with anything?''

It seemed I had to do more explaining before I could help out. ''Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't sacred gears a type of weapon?''

He didn't answer immediately, letting what I said sit in, his eyes narrowing at me. ''Let me see if I get this straight. You're saying that you have a spell that can tell you what my sacred gear does?''

''In a sense, yes.'' I nodded slightly, which curiously made Saji face palm himself.

''I'm not sure if I should be excited that I get to find out what this damn thing does, or if should be annoyed that you took this long to suggest it.''

When he puts it like it that... it does kind of sound stupid. ''... Do you want my help or not?''

''Ok, I'll shut up.'' He shrugged as he took a deep breath. ''Have you ever done this before?''

''I did, but this will be the first time I used it on a sacred gear.''

I could see a small sweat drop running on his face. ''... Will it hurt?''

''No clue.'' I answered honestly, while I have been using it on all kinds of objects I stumbled across, I never used it on a sacred gear, though it's not like I had many chances to do so.

''That's reassuring.'' He shivered as he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he opened them back, revealing the steel resolution present in them. ''Just get this over with.''

With a nod I agreed, placing my hand over the plating of his gauntlet, the neon green markings appeared on my hand and made its way all over his sacred gear, coating it with its light.

''Trace on!''

For a second everything seemed to go normal, but then everything went black.


This definitely wasn't normal.

Whenever I structural grasped an object I would always get a clear image in my mind, all of the information regarding its creation, materials, history and many other information's regarding it.

However, this was something that never happened before.

The moment I started receiving information about Saji's sacred gear everything just went dark, and next thing I know I woke up in this black void. My sense of time in this place is completely messed up, I can't tell if I've been here for minutes or for hours, it also didn't help that there isn't anything here. At some point I got bored of sitting in place and not doing anything so I started walking, hoping that I could find a way out of here, or at least some clue to where I even was in the first place.

So I walked and walked, feeling similar to floating in the sea, no telling where I may be headed. It slowly was becoming frustrating as I kept walking without any visible advancement, in a sense it felt like I was walking in circles.

Hope started rekindling when I heard something, it was the sound of running water. This made me rush my way towards the source. When I arrived there I could feel the water under my feet, making splashing sounds with each step that I took, but there was still nothing there. I took a moment and took a deep breath, stretching my hand sideways to relax my body.

It was at that moment that I felt something, it was hard and cold, the feeling of something sharp and edgy rubbing against my fingers… similar to the scales of an armor.

There was something very wrong here.

My heart began racing, my skin breaking down in cold sweat, breath turning unstable as a powerful scent shock my very core.

It was like that time when Vincent displayed his power, but this was far worse. In his case it was a matter of him showing some of his power, but this was different, the power was so intoxicating just by being too close to the source, without it even trying to show off. Not only that, this one feels older, much more massive and primal compared to anything I have ever felt before. It definitely didn't feel demonic in nature, but it was far scarier.

This is bad! I need to get away before something bad happens!

The moment I tried to backup I froze, feeling that I stepped on something. I gulped as my instincts were screaming that I just made a horrible mistake.

A shift was felt in the air, the thing under my foot slithered away, the ground itself shaking from the sudden movement.

I turned around and saw them, two thin glowing lines hanged in the air, aligned symmetrically with each other. The very next moment the lines seemed to open, giant purple orbs with long glowing slits in the center were revealed, illuminating the area around them.

I froze as I saw it.

A giant serpent like body coiled around itself, black scaly skin covering it, long sharp fangs that could grind diamonds to dust, brown antlers sprouting from its head, long whiskers flowing on its long snout, flowing black hair growing from the side of his cheeks and an amethyst like jewel was embedded in its forehead.

Oh fuck… now I know why I was feeling terrified of its presence.

It opened its mouth, a field of sharp fangs revealed for the world to see.

A creature that has been mentioned in history and myth all over the world since the dawn of man, a being that stands a top of all other creatures.

It roared.

A creature that you should never wake up the way I did.

A dragon.


''Gha!'' I gasped as my eyes snapped open, legs losing all strength and giving in on me, falling down on my knees, beads of cold sweat dripping off my face onto the gym floor.

The gym floor… so I was back. Just what the hell was that?

I lifted my head and was surprised to see Saji in a similar state to my own, his knees pressed against the floor, wasted and gasping for air, sweating running all over his terrified face. ''... Emiya what the hell did you do to me?''

After a couple of heavy breaths I managed to calm myself, staring unsure into the blonde pawns eyes. ''Trust me, I'm just as confused as you are.''

Even though I calmed down, Saji still looked shaken, gripping his shirt over his heart. ''It felt like my soul was about to be ripped in pieces.''

This wasn't a good sign that's for sure, one that I shared. For a moment it felt like something was breaking inside me as all the knowledge of his sacred gear invaded my mind.

Such a long history behind it, so much information within it, dating back before the time of Christ. Everything that I structural grasped before was small and insignificant compared to what I saw, mere pebbles in front of mighty mountains.

Even when I used it on Juuchi Yosamu which had quite a history itself, it still paled compared to the amount of information I received from his sacred gear.

I should be careful in the future when I structural grasp other sacred gears. I might just end up with a seizure.

That thought however vanished as the jewels on Saji gauntlet began shining in purple light. ''[No it wasn't, trust me I know how that feels.]''

For about a minute both Saji and I were silent and stared at the now talking gauntlet, this whole situation making my fellow pawn look like he just discovered he's crazy. ''Emiya, I don't know what you did to me, but I'm hearing voices from the gauntlet.''

''No... I'm also hearing it.'' I commented as I stared into the eye jewels of the sacred gear, my own eyes cringing as throbbing pain surged through my mind, the information I receive from it finally got processed and comprehended, eyes widening as I learned of the true nature of the weapon around his hand, about exactly what and who is swirling inside of it. ''The knowledge I received about the sacred gear... it's called Absorption line, and you are the Dragon King Vritra aren't you?''

The most curious thing is that when I heard his roar, the image of a weapon briefly flashed through my mind, a golden dart of some kind. It felt like it somehow responded to the appearance of Vritra.

''[Indeed I am.]'' He agreed briefly, voice sharp and deep, yet there wasn't any ill intent in its tone. ''[Child, I don't know what sort of magic you used, but it somehow managed to reawaken my consciousness from the depths of this God made prison, for that you have my gratitude.]''

If I was expecting anything from him, getting thanked was the least on my list. Dragons are often depicted as rather proud creatures, humans looking like mere insects to most of them, so getting thanked by one, a dragon king nonetheless, it's kinda flattering in its own way. ''Magecraft actually, and you're welcome.''

''Ok... this is officially getting weird.'' Saji muttered as his eyes kept shifting between the gauntlet and me.

''[You should also thank him, other me. Normally I shouldn't have been able to awaken even if you trained yourself to the utmost limits.]''

Saji narrowed his eyes, though confusion was still present in them. ''What you do you mean by that?''

He wouldn't know what he was talking about, yet I know from seeing the history of the gauntlet, more specifically the result of Vritra's final stand against the Hindu god of lighting. ''It's about how you got sealed isn't it?''

''[Correct, after that bastard Heavenly Emperor slayed my body he split my very soul into four fragments and scatter them far away from each other, only for the biblical God to take pity on me collect them.]'' His voice was coated in venom as he mention his killer, which I don't really blame him for, since because of him he had been reduced from a mighty dragon king to a prisoner of a sacred gear. ''[One would think someone of His power would reunite my soul into one, but He decided to seal each of the fragments into individual sacred gears.]''

Huh… perhaps that's why the structural grasping went a bit different, since the very soul inside of the weapon is an incomplete existence.

''[The process put a heavy toll on me and the fragments were never able to become individually aware.]'' The old dragon sighed as the light of the jewels seemed to weaken. ''[Or that was the case until now, somehow your friend was able to awaken me, which I am grateful for.]''

I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say or do, in fact I'm not sure what I even did that somehow caused a fragment of a soul to regain some of its power back and become aware. The soul is the most delicate existence, something that if tampered the wrong way can cause irreparable damage. Sella was really adamant when she taught me about it, which I expected at some extend since the magic circuits don't exist in one's physical body, but rather in the soul of the person, and so any kind of tampering to one's magic circuits can be interpreted as tampering with ones very soul. Its reasons like this that circuits can't be transferred without the necessary means. In the end, conceptual damage to one's soul can affect ones circuits and by extension magically crippling a magus, but that's was enough about me, I looked back at the man of the hour. ''Well Saji... you should be happy, you have a famous dragon residing within your sacred gear.''

''While I want to just jump up and strike a cool pose, did you actually learn what this Absorption line does?'' The blond pawn asked in a perplex voice, clearly conflicted.

I sure did, and it's actually quite an interesting weapon. Absorption Line, also known as the Black Dragon Pulse, can produce a line from the mouth of the lizard gauntlet that can be used to restrain enemies, but that's only the surface strength, for its true power lies within its ability to drain the power from beings or objects it's connected to. It may seem simple, but it's far more versatile then it appears, for one thing if an opponent is above you in terms of power, by slowly draining him you weaken him and gain that power for yourself, shifting the tide of the battle. Another strong feature is that it can absorb certain magical enchantments or properties an opponent has, as such, if an opponent relies on different spells or magical abilities to increase their strength, Saji could very well absorb them and power himself up. Although that isn't without its own risks, as there may be things that may cause harm should he recklessly absorb, a former host of Absorption line for instance thought it was a good idea to absorb the light element of an angel to increase his power, completely disregarding the fact that he was a mixed blood, and part of his supernatural inheritance was a species that was vulnerable to light and holy element. The end result wasn't pretty at all.

While the gauntlet can only produce a single line at the moment, as the user gets stronger and more dexterous with the sacred gear, new lines will grow, giving the user the means to fight drain multiple opponents at the same. The line can also act as a pipeline and actually share the absorbed power with others who are connected by the line.

There was only one thing that I couldn't quite decipher, an ability that was currently locked away, one that just seemed to be blurred whenever I thought about it. While it was a little frustrating that I couldn't grasp it, I think that what I know at the moment is enough to give Saji something to work on. ''Well it can-''

''[No need to bother child, I shall take it from here.]'' He cut me off with quite a serious tone. I was half tempted to comment about this, but then I realized that if there's someone that can really teach Saji how to use his sacred gear, it would no doubt be the very being encased in it. While I know its history and what it's capable of doing, I still don't have a clear understanding about how sacred gears function in general. While they may be similar to mystic codes and conceptual weapons, heck some of them being on par with noble phantasm, they are still fundamentally different from them. To prove my point, I couldn't seem to understand how to replicate Saji sacred gear. Up until now I could project different kinds of weapons, and from what I gather sacred gears are in fact a type of weapon, so there shouldn't be a reason why I shouldn't be able to project them. I managed to structural grasp it just fine, hence why I learned all about it, but when I tried projecting it my mind just went blank. ''[ Other me, I will be blunt, you are quite the disappointment as a host and don't showcase any remarkable skills, but that will change from here as I will teach you how to handle my power.]''

Well it was expected that Saji wasn't all that happy from the criticism, even though it's of the constructive type.''... I'm not sure what to say about the first part, but if you can make me stronger I'm all ears.''

''[Let us begin then. The first step we need to work on is your aim and overall control of the line. Try to ensnare that dummy with the line and use it to crush it.]'' Vritra explained in a teacher like manner, my eyes focusing on the training dummy that Tsubasa used earlier, the one she got from Sona, which for some odd reason appeared rather familiar, with long red hair might I add, and it seemed strangely feminine … nah, I must be imaging it.

I was curious to how Vritra will handle teaching Saji, the basic function of the Absorption Line is to be used as retractable cable, a magical enhanced one that can't be cut by regular means, in fact if the object used to cut against it isn't also magically enhanced it won't even make a nick in it.

Saji on one hand look rather impassive, as if his dragon partner just asked him to solve a quantum physics formula. ''How do I even do that? I can't even shoot it properly.''

A subtle grumble was heard from the gauntlet. ''[That's because you are not thinking how to do it the proper way. You need to stop thinking of your sacred as just a mere weapon, it is an extension of yourself, and you need to visualize the gauntlet as a part of your body. The line is your very tongue, you must open your mouth and use your tongue to circle your prey with it, crushing it before it can escape.]''

''So mouth and tongue...'' He muttered as he reluctantly closed his eyes, raising his fist towards the dummy. The pawn didn't move at all from his spot, his facial muscles kept twitching and throbbing it was clear that this was taking quite the effort in order to get the right image in his mind. At some point he broke down in sweat, teeth gritting loudly against each other as the eyes of the gauntlet flashed. As such, the mouth piece of the lizard head opened the line rushed forward, circling against the dummy.

''Holy shit! It's working!'' Saji beamed proudly as his progress, yet the line started to move uncontrollably around the dummy.

''[Concentrate!]'' The dragon snapped, his hard voice startled Saji, but at the same time it was enough to make him go back into his focused state, the line becoming steady once more, digging in materials of the dummy. ''[Good! Now crush it with all your might!]''

In response to the inspiring shout of Vritra, the blonde pawn doubled his efforts and refocused his vision, the line further constricting itself around the target. It was very similar to the way certain snakes envelop their prey and crush them to death with their body. The dummy wasn't a regular one, it was made with magically enchanted materials in order to be durable enough for non-humans to train with. Then with one final cracking sound, it broke down, the pieces all shattering and falling down on the floor, my disbelief clear as day. ''You did it...''

I was generally surprised by his achievement. It may seem like a small step to some, but compared to how he was before this was a great leap. If this was what Vritra could do with him in a few minutes, I can't wait to see what Saji will become after a couple of months of training under the legendary dragon. Speaking of which, Vritra seemed to have mixed emotions for how Saji performed, if his grumbling was any indication. ''[A bit rough around the edges, but it's a start. Now once you show progress I will teach you how to use it to absorb the power of your enemies.]''

''It's still visible progress, don't you think Saji?'' I asked the man of the hour, while his new partner's words may not be the most encouraging ones, he seems to mean well. Curiously though the blond pawn was awfully silent and kept starring at what he did. ''Saji?''

He kept silent for a minute or so until he took in a very deep breath, exhaling loudly out his nose as a large grin reached his ears. ''I'm so touching myself tonight.''

Silence hanged around the air as I stared with a straight face at my fellow pawn, unsure of how to react. My only solace came when Vritra let out an exhausted growl. ''[... And this is the partner I got stuck with... maybe I'm lucky and Ddraig and Albion got it worse than me this time around.]''

''... I'm just gonna walk somewhere else.'' I said I walked to whatever empty corner I could find, guess it will still be a long way until Saji changes his ways.

As I walked away I felt a nagging sensation in the back of my head, which I instantly knew what it meant. ''Piece of advice kid, keep an eye on your friend over there.''

I'll be honest here, I was expecting some snarky remark from Mister tall, dark and grumpy. The fact that he was telling something remotely nice was a shocker. ''Since when do you care?''

''I don't particularly care about your little devil buddies in general, but you should know from your little lectures and from what you read that dragons are very dangerous beings. Even if this one is currently sealed, we are still talking about a dragon that used to battle with the Hindu god Indra, one of the strongest and most revered gods in Hinduism. There's no telling what may happen in the future with that kid, so its best you keep your eyes sharp.''

When he puts it like that, he does make a valid point. ''So you're saying that one day Saji power may go out of control and I should be there to stop him?''

''Exactly, but what I'm concerned about isn't the kid himself, but rather Vritra.''

I was taken a little aback by this. ''What do you mean?''

''I try not to judge one by stories alone, but in most of the texts that have described Vritra, he was never one of the good guys. Those myths and legends may have made him look like pure evil just to further glorify Indra, it certainly wouldn't be the first nor the last time something like that happened, but its best to be extra cautions. The power of a dragon no matter how weak it may be is not something to underestimate, there's no telling how it will influence your friend. One day that power may become too much for him to handle and he will become a threat to everyone.''

That idea wasn't something I enjoyed imagining, while Saji and I still bicker from time to time, we did make some progress and I actually started thinking of him as a friend. The very concept of him losing control and turning into some blood thirsty monster is something I refuse to accept. ''… If that happens I will stop him, no matter what.''

''Of course you will, it's who you are, isn't it?'' The amusement and hint of irony was all too present in his voice, but he was still quite serious. ''Let's just hope that day doesn't come, otherwise the child will have to face the excruciating pain of a dragon slayer.''

Those final words had an impact with them, the image of several swords flashing through my mind briefly, as if they responded to those said words.

Swords that were thirsty for dragon blood.


''Finally! I thought this day would never end!'' Tsubasa shouted as her head crashed in the desk, no doubt far too mentally exhausted to care anymore, something with I can understand at some level since the very moment we got back from our training we were greeted by a mountain of paper work that needed to be done. It's like somebody is secretly passing us their work or something from how fast it just keeps pilling up. That's something I should investigate when I get the chance.

''It wasn't so bad.'' Reya remarked with her usual warm tone, clearly trying to cheer up the blue haired rook of the team.

Saji on the other hand seemed to have thrown the towel a while ago, his face firmly stuck on the table and refusing to get back up. ''I agree, we had way shittier days than this.''

Perhaps I should offer a more positive opinion. ''I think it was a productive day.''

The response I got from the people around me was a collective cringe, the only exception being Sona and Tsubaki-senpai. The one that decided to comment at me was Momo. ''... You really need a hobby Shirou.''

Hey, I do have a hobby you know, I like cooking.

''Anyone here hungry?'' Tomoe cut in on the spot, obviously trying to change the subject.

I don't know how it what scientifically possible, but the moment she asked that a collective stomach grumbling could be heard, Ruruko laughing nervously while looking to the side. ''I think it's easier to ask who isn't hungry.''

''Let's all go for pizza!'' Tomoe shouted.

''Nah, I'm in the mood for a burger.'' Tsubasa remarked.

''Hey it's my turn to decide, and I say ramen.'' Momo complained.

''What about you, Shirou?'' Reya asked me, the feeling of betrayal lingering in me as I stared at the braided girl.

Since so many eyes were now on me, there was only one variable solution, bullshit my way out. ''I'm fine with whatever you chose.''

''Big help there, that's for sure.'' Saji snarked, though his face was still glued to the table.

''Kaichou you decide where we should go.'' Since this game of bickering ideas was going nowhere, Momo seemed to decide to leave the final word to the biggest authority of the group.

The girl in question was rigid for a few moments, rearranging her glasses as she looked uninterested at us. ''... Really? You want me to decide for you?''

''Yes!'' the girls all said in unison, making our king appear perplexed.

Our king crossed her arms as she began contemplating, her eyes landing shortly on her trustful queen. ''Tsubaki, you chose for them.''

This caused a visible flinch from the vice-president, Sona apparently not having the mood to deal with our bickering. ''M-Me?''

''Well... how about-''

She went silent as a magic circle appeared on the floor, a very familiar one I might add. It hasn't been even a full day and we are getting once again a visit from a rather unwelcomed guest. As the circle flashed and the light died down Segrif Zepar was standing here between us, his female companion close behind him, Shahnaz if I'm not mistaken.

If the last time he visited only the air of superiority and arrogance was present around him, this time however he seemed rather calm and stoic while his companion seemed rather troubled and I couldn't help but notice some bruising on her face.

While I was honestly was more concerned about the woman's state, Segrif stepped forward with a neutral smile on his face. ''I see you are doing fine on this lovely dusk.''

Even though he appeared to show no ill intent, everyone from the student council gathered behind our president and master, all prepared to jump in should he try to pull something.

''Segrif... I honestly didn't expect to see you again so soon.'' His former fiancée glared at him with a calculative stare, her eyes never leaving him alone. ''Last time I checked you aren't allowed to court me anymore, so I'm curious to what do I owe the pleasure of the visit.''

''Cold as always.'' He commented rather nonchalant, though I could see it in his eyes that he didn't enjoy how Sona was rubbing salt on the wound. ''Unfortunately I didn't drop with the intention of bothering you with that old problem.''

This made my master to further narrow her eyes dangerously at him. ''Then why did you come?''

The Zepar heir was silent, his facial muscles giving away his struggle to answer that question, only after his eyes drifted to the side and he sighed tiredly did he answer. ''To apologize.''

All coldness in her eyes vanished and was replaced by confusion. ''Pardon?''

''You heard me, after calming down and reflecting on the events that have transpired I came to the conclusion that I might have acted unbecoming as both a gentleman and as a fiancée.'' Surprisingly the man did a court bow to further emphasize his regret. ''For that I want to properly apologize and try to repair what I have ruined. While we may never be together in matrimony, I would still like to keep a good relationship between us.''

This definitely caused a rift in the room, the people beside me whispering stuff like 'Bullshit.', 'He must be after something.', 'Something smells fishy.', and so on. Which I had to agree on, since it was way too fast and convenient for him to come and apologize since the whole incident with him happened only yesterday. Now I may not know him very well, but it seems way too fast for him to just forgive and forget, a feeling which my master was obviously sharing. ''Am I supposed to believe all of that?''

The man in question seemed unaffected at first, but his lips slowly curled upwards into a crude smile, breaking down into a powerful laughter.

''Very well, you caught me.'' He replied in between laughs, going on for a couple of more seconds before composing himself and going back to his serious side. ''As you can imagine I have a reputation and standing within the underworld aristocracy just as you do. Now when word gets out that you no longer are my fiancée, people will wonder how it came down to it, and with the way rumors and gossip flows around it will be a matter of time before everyone learns of my defeat.''

He took a moment of pause to take a deep breath, a glint of annoyance present in his eyes. ''Because of this I would ask of you to keep the details of what has transpired here a secret, and instead tell people it was a mutual agreement between us.''

Sona took a moment a processed all of this, giving a small nod as her lips curled into an all knowing smirk. ''I see, so in other words you want to protect your public image.''

Segrif in response scoffed all too slightly. ''I think it would be in both our best interest if everything is kept between us, after all you do know that the media is like a starved hyena when they set their eyes on possible scandals. The last thing I want is to have them watch my every step, something which I'm sure you also don't want.''

For a second Sona opened her mouth to rebut him, but stopped before talking, cupping her chin and contemplating, clearly agreeing at some level with what her former fiancée was trying to point out. ''... That would be rather obnoxious to deal with.''

To this, a small smile formed on the Zepar heir's face, a smile that I honestly was finding obnoxious. He waved his hand to the side, a magic circle appearing in the air, from it a small gift box dropped off, landing gently in Segris hands, extending it towards the girl that was once his fiancée. ''This might not be much, but please accept this gift as a small peace offering.''

I can't say that I know Sona that well, but from the time we spent together I could gather how her mind works from time to time, and judging by how she looked now, she was quite taken aback by this whole situation. ''... You didn't have to bother.''

''No, I insist, please accept it.'' He almost pleaded, the very hands holding the box trembling and sweating all too slightly, clearly giving away his agitated state. ''It's my way of making sure everything goes the way it should.''

That does it, something definitely isn't right here, the way he is acting seems wrong judging by how he was yesterday, I can understand that this is matter of convenience than genuine regret, but it still feels wrong to me, also that box… there was something about it that gave me bad vibes.

Sona let out a tired sigh as she accepted the box. ''... Fine, you win.''

''Indeed.'' Segrif smirked viciously as he placed his hand over his mouth and nose.

My instincts kicked in, dread filing me as the worst case scenarios popped in my mind. I structural grasped the box and its contents, my blood feeling like it turned cold as I saw what was in it. ''No! Don't open it!''

I tried reaching out to her and separate her from the box, but I wasn't fast enough, Segrif already having snapped his fingers and triggered the spell place on the box. ''Too late.''

Too late indeed… a second away to be exact, my hand almost touching the box that exploded, green smoke filling the room, affecting everyone present with the exception of Segrif and his companion. It was heavy and bitter, my throat and lungs feeling like they were drying out from inhaling the smoke. Everyone from the student council stared passing out one by one, only a few of us managing hang on a little more than the others. ''W-What is this smoke?!''

Even I couldn't hang on for long, my body weakening and giving up on me, vision going blurry as I tried to stop the man who brought this smoke bomb here. Everything was spinning around me, my movements being sluggish as I projected Kanshou and strike Segrif, only to fall down on the floor as he wasn't even there, just my vision tricking me.

''Gah!'' I gasped in pain as I felt the heel of his boot stomp into my chest, body far too weak to even grasp my sword.

When I looked up I saw the feral look of dominance present in his eyes, corners of his mouth all the way to his ears, showcasing the sick satisfaction he was feeling. ''Not so defiant anymore are we?''

I tried lifting his leg but couldn't must enough strength even by reinforcing myself. Hope was flowing further away as I saw the state the others were, the only one still struggling to stay conscious was Sona, her eyes glaring dangerously at the ''S-Segrif, what is the m-meaning of this?!''

Sinister chuckles were heard as he walked over to Sona, cupping her face with his hand all while whispering at her ear. ''Retribution.''

I was passing out, body already giving up on me, my eyes were completely in the mist, the only thing still functioning being my ears.

''I believe you had a phrase for moments like this.'' I could hear his condescending laugh weakly as the last remains of consciousness were fading away. ''Oh right, check mate.''

God dammit.


Omake: Taming a hell cat

''So was everything okay Koneko?'' Rias Gremory asked as she finally finished her daily stack of paper work. She just couldn't fathom how Sona always managed to do her share in record time and not go nuts from it, not only that but her amount wasn't even a quarter of the amount that her said friend does. It also didn't help how smug Sona always is when she sees her still having paperwork to do, but jokes on her, with a couple of right spells she managed to push part of her paperwork to her without Sona or her peerage even realizing. She can't wait for her to realize what she did and laugh about how she didn't figure it out.

She took a second to glance over at her small servant and noticed her opening a lunch box. To be fair seeing Koneko eating was nothing new, in fact it was a bad sign if she saw her adorable rook without something to munch on in her spare time, yet she didn't remember her owning such a lunch box, her usual one being white with small pink hearts on it.

''Yep.'' The white haired girl commented as she split up her chopsticks and once again inspected the lunch box. At first glance it seemed ok, and the smell certainly was telling her to dig right in, but she just didn't understand how someone could give up their lunch just like that to someone they barely know. ''Had a run in with Emiya-senpai.''

''Is that so?'' Rias hummed as she arranged her papers, missing the moment when her little servant took a bite of the food.

'' Nyaaa~!'' A sudden purring got her attention, eyebrows launching themselves into her hair line as she looked bewildered at her rook. ''Koneko?''

Koneko looked back at her master confused by her reaction, unaware that on her head two white cat ears were twitching and a matching white tail was wiggling excitingly behind her back. She didn't knew what was going on and at the moment she couldn't care one bit since there was a party being held in her mouth each time she took a bite of the food. Whatever distrust she may have had about Shirou had vanished after the first bite, the food was that good!

''A-Are you ok?'' The redhead beauty asked perplex, unsure of what to think of the situation.

The cat girl beamed at her with a radiating smile. ''Never been better! It's just this food is soooo good!''

Its official something was definitely wrong here. Her little Koneko was usually a stoic person even when it came to eating, even when eating delicacies at devil gatherings made by the best chefs the underworld had ever seen, she would only eat in silence, never reacting the way she did moments ago. Did Emiya Shirou add some kind of drug or narcotic to make her rook react like this?

She had to get to the bottom of this, as such she walked behind Koneko and smiled innocently at her. ''Can I try a bite then?''

At this the tiny rook's eyes went wide, shifting between her master and the lunch box. After a minute of contemplating she picked up a piece of the food and lifted it for Rias to try, only for her master to step back when she saw the look on her face. Eyes wide and tear filled, lips shivering lightly, the hand holding the chopsticks trembling in fear.

Rias couldn't help but sweat drop at what she was seeing, feeling like an actual devil for trying to take food away from such an adorable little thing.

Oh wait… she was a devil.

Somewhere else, a certain redhead magus felt a shiver run down his back. It was on that day Emiya Shirou gained what he could only describe as a food stalker.


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

''Should I even bother anymore?'' Taiga commented with a bored expression.

''What do you mean instructor?'' Illya asked confused.

The tiger like woman snorted. ''It's been over two months since the last update… is Ray even trying anymore to write this story?''

''Well it's not the worst he ever did. I recall he once took more than 3 months to update the story.'' Illya remarked.

This remark only triggered Taiga. ''Bullshit! Back when he was writing 'Guardian of DxD' he was posting chapters weekly.''

''To be fair they were rather sub par, back then he was just brainstorming his way through chapters to catch up to the top ranked writes of this crossover. He wasn't really thinking ahead of what he was doing and his grammar errors were so much worse than they are now. If one goes and reads that story then goes and reads 'A fake hero', he will definitely wonder if it really was written by the same person. Oh, and back there he wasn't working so…'' Miyu elaborated.

''I still call it bullshit.' Taiga roared. ''We waited for so long and we get another cliff hanger, so who knows how long it will take for the next chapter!''

''At least next chapter we're getting battles right?'' Miyu asked.

''Yep, and with it we should be getting new noble phantasms.'' Illya replied.

''Stay tuned for next chapter!'' Illya and Miyu said in sync.

''CHECK IT OUT!''


Author notes:

Ok so its a while... again...

Well things happened and i couldn't really get to write that much. Work has been a bitch that's for sure. Turned 23 in February... so that's a thing now... wonder how will it be before reality hits me and i stop doing this stuff... hope it will be after i finish this story.

My grandma apparently died 2 weeks ago, lung cancer. The whole thing was expected and i had time to prepare myself emotionally. The weird part is that when she died i wasn't as sad as i thought i would be, actually in my mind i was somewhat glad that she died and didn't have to suffer anymore. Does that make a bad person? I mean i loved my grandma and whenever i saw her in the state she was i would always get depressed, so is it wrong for me to be glad that she died and didn't have to suffer anymore?

Depressing topics aside, l ets point out some stuff, this chapter wasn't all that important to the grand scheme of things but it was an intermediary chapter for the next arc and for the next 3 or chapters we will be battle oriented, also a couple of small things that will be important later. Some may complain that i could have skipped a lot of stuff and just jumped into the battle segments, but there's a certain pacing to everything.

Further explaining some stuff this chapter, like my interpretation of how devil magic works. It may be legit, or incorrect, but this is i see it working. Also the scene with vritra may seem a bit of a stretch, Shirou awakening him like that, but this is Shirou, the man with a world of weapons inside of him. But hey this is dxd, there is a lot of more bullshit stuff out there.

Just watched the first episode of highschool dxd hero and i can say i'm pretty ok with it. The fact that they are following the light novels this time is good, thought for some reason i prefer the season 3 version of the fight with issei and shalba. Maybe its the new animation, need some time to get used to it.

Anyhow... hope next chapter will be out sooner, i really hate making you guys wait that long.


Let's answer some reviews:

YuukiAsuna-Chan: I'll be honest, you have all the reason to be skeptic about this whole fiancée idea, but trust me I'm not rehashing the whole Riser arc, things will be different. Plus I will try my best to make this guy less one dimensional than Riser was.

naovan10: Actually I do, while its nice for Shirou to have a normal friend, I have read very few stories in which Ayako is made more relevant. I want to give my favorite tomboy more screen time since she barely gets any (I mean after you watch UBW episode 4 you get the impression that Ayako will have some role in the story by how she is able to see behind Shirou's mask, but after that she is pretty much thrown under the bus)

DPSS: Actually when I was making his design in my mind I did took inspiration for him, thus why I called him Vincent. But don't be mistaken, this guy's powers and personality aren't anything alike.

jason wu: I can see why you would think that, even i think that from time to time, but while it seems like a rehash, I'm trying to do something a bit different. When the arc is over you can just let it go and complain how pointless or waste of time it was. Or maybe by the end you will have enjoyed it, it's all a matter of perspective. The facebook scene may have seemed pointless but I really wanted to do that whole kiritsugu grumpy cat scene and couldn't find any other way to do it.

Lance Eterna: Well he is probably the most iconic butler in anime so it's no surprise that i took inspiration from him.

Starlight's Poet: He tends to forget stuff when he is angry it would seem. Though to be fair Riser never seemed to have a problem doing the same with Rias, and we all KNOW what kind of person her brother is. In other news, let's just say that Segrif will very soon see firsthand why he shouldn't piss off Serafall.

Arc-Angel-Of-Fire: Well most crossovers with dxd tend to focus a little more on other characters rather than Issei. I mean look at A Demon lord's hero, Issei barely made any appearances and he got the shaft from the author and give his boosted gear to an different character, and yet that story is still the #1 in fsn/dxd crossover section. In my case Issei hasn't really appeared since the canon timeline hasn't started yet, as in Raynare hasn't killed him yet. Also your concern about the Sitri team is legit since they weren't really that showcases in the canon, but that's the beauty in it since I can develop them myself and give them character. About rule breaker, it would pretty much eject the evil pieces and erase ones contract with his master, so in perspective if Shirou will ever want to go AWOL, he can just stab himself and turn stray.

EternalKing: Well in my opinion Shirou's denseness is tied to his distortion, he feels attraction to women and finds many of them beautiful, but his trauma makes it hard for him to comprehend that women would actually have feelings for him. So it may not be that he doesn't notice a woman's affection, he just writes it off as something else. It's somewhat similar to a real life case I saw, a boy from my school had an accident as a child and a good portion of his face was scarred for life, and it became something physiological to him, he couldn't really comprehend women liking him when he looked the way he did, when in fact some girls liked him for his personality.

JohnTitor: Well their just name drops, they're not gonna have any actual relevance. The problem with getting an Emiya family setting is finding a plausible explanation for it. While it's nice to read about, many readers will like to know how it happened.

Paxloria: If I were to be honest I'd say he is more of a cross between Sebastian Michaels and Walter C. Donez, with the looks of Vincent Valentine.

Dark Durian: I'm thinking maybe 4 or 5 new weapons to raise the hype. About his pawn, I can't outright tell who it is, but what I can tell you is that it's a canon character from DxD, the clue to who it is lies in its number of pawns used on him.

Dareth: Glad to be back. While I do love that story, and pretty much everything Parcasious writes, I have just one single complain, he always seems to make Shirou way too 'detached' so to say. The intriguing part about the character of Shirou Emiya is his normal appearance. Not physical but mental, as you see him go through his everyday life you can't really call him anything but a normal teenager, but as you peel those layers off you see the fundamentally broken person under them, even though there are times when shirou is more machine than human, he is able to hid it all and appear normal, like a machine on the inside, but on the outside a flesh body (lol like a terminator). So my only complaint is that he is making Shirou seem too detached about what is taking place around him. Sorry about this mini rant, don't know where it came from.

Shironak: Well you are just about right over there. I plan to make Ayako more relevant, but in order to do that, Ayako will have to go through some nasty shit.

claire nunnaly: That I can't do… yet. Yes it will, it's a dxd crossover isn't it?

ullmetal11791: Well I can get where you are going with this but trust me, I have a plan for those lines and there are not foreshadowing what will happen in the future. They have a special role, something which will be revealed much later with the appearance of a certain character. But overall if you find them a pain, don't just read them, you aren't obligated to do so. Anyway I'm not planning a tragedy here, sure I will probably put the characters through a lot of shit as the story runs, but I won't make it a tragedy. I want to show the rise of a hero, one who wasn't anything more than a fake hero, become a real one.


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