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


What was I even doing?

I was making the same mistakes he did.

If I truly wanted to make things right, I had to do things another way.

I had to carve a different path.

Nurture, not destroy.

That was now my quest.


Chapter 12:

Shackled hands


I was here again, in the dream scape.

Once again I relived the fires in which I died and from which I was reborn as Emiya Shirou. Over and over again I saw it, only this time the fire and death weren't the only things I saw. The images of unknown people appeared and flashed through my mind… no calling them merely people was an insult, they were far beyond human comprehension, I was sure of it. The sad part was that it happened all so fast that I could never get a full picture of what I was truly seeing, only fleeting glimpses of what I saw remained behind. All of them were like works of art.

Steel… Shining shards shattering and vanishing in the air around a red bowman.

Blood… small drips of crimson falling from the tip of a red spear, the same shade as its owner's eyes.

Cracks… the earth itself splitting under the overwhelming weight of a grey giant.

Embers… Purple wisps of light dancing around the hooded form of a witch.

Chains… Their sound lingering as a woman's purple hair flowed in the night wind.

Leaves… Drifting and splitting in half as they fell around a lonely samurai.

Ripples… Golden gates opening around a man who was shining with the very same brilliance.

Wind… Acting as a veil to conceal the weapon of a knight in blue, for only those few worthy ones were allowed to see it.

The whispers of a gentle voice lingering. ''Shirou, I-''


Thunk!

Ahhh… Man! This must be the mother of all headaches I'm having!

Thunk!

That nagging sound certainly wasn't making it hurt any less that's for sure.

Thunk!

Everything felt just so dizzy. What happened? Why is it so dark in here? And just what is pressing against my face?

It felt really soft and warm… like two perfect pillows, the kind that make you want to stay in bed all day on a quiet Sunday morning. Surprisingly, this sensation felt rather familiar but I couldn't quite put my finger from where I knew it.

I backed my head a little and saw what I was pressing my head against… or rather it was more precise to say whom I was pressing my head against. There, right in front of me stood Tsubaki-senpai with a strained frown, her face beet red and sweating, and looking like she was a step away from biting my head off.

''I-It's about time you woke up Shirou. N-Now that we are all awake we can discuss what our next move should be. '' She explained while trying to maintain her composure, mind the word trying, the way her voice was just a few decibels away from squeaking didn't really help her.

Somehow my mind took a bit more time than it usually did to process what was going on, I blinked once, then twice, my eyes drifting downwards, and carefully examining the current position I was finding myself in along with our groups long haired Queen. Both of us were on the floor, my lower body in between her legs, my right knee at just a paper thin distance between her sacred region, and with my head firmly planted in her chest just a couple seconds ago.

In any other circumstance this promiscuous position we were in could lead any random person that just happened to walk in on us to assume that we were about to engage in some, "shameless activities" as Sella liked to put it.

My reaction once I processed all of this information in my head was pretty visible… and vocal.

''Gyahhh!'' As much as I didn't want to, I couldn't keep myself from screaming like a little girl when I tried backing up in my desperate the attempt to put some distance between, only to trip and fall backwards while my head hit something metallic on the way down.

If before I had a nasty headache now it went up a couple of ranks higher. After about a minute of squirming around in pain I finally calmed down and tried to figure out just what the hell was going on. Looking around I saw that everyone from the student council with the exception of our master was currently cuffed and locked in some kind of old cell.

I tried lifting my hand to rub my eyes, but found myself unable to do so. Of course, it makes sense that if everyone was in shackles I would be in the same situation. How I noticed this only now was beyond me. With an exhausted sigh I looked around for some answers. ''So… how did this happen?''

By the sour expressions on their faces I was pretty much rubbing salt on the wound with that question, Tsubasa for one really seemed pissed by it. ''Well it seems that Segrif guy really pulled a fast one on us and knocked us out cold with that smoke.''

It was in that moment that I suddenly recalled everything, the previous events flashing through my mind like lightening, Segrif visiting us, opening that trap box with the gas that was released, everyone passing out from it, and… my failure to stop him.

''Dammit!'' My teeth violently gritted against each from the utter frustration of letting something like happen. ''If only I could've stopped him.''

''No one is blaming you Shirou, we had no way of knowing he was going to pull a stunt like this.'' Reya told me with a sad tone, while she may have tried to cheer me up, she still couldn't mask her own feelings about this whole situation.

Her words may have meant well, but they didn't really have any effect, it didn't change the fact that if I was just a bit more careful we wouldn't have ended in this mess. ''Maybe… but if I was just a little faster in my thinking or moving I might have prevented all of this.''

''Oh shut up will you!'' Tsubasa snapped, eyes filled with rage and frustration, her harsh glare directed towards me. ''If you have the time to be all mister 'Oh no! This is all my fault!' then use that thick emo head of yours to get us out of here.''

I looked at the bluenette for a couple of seconds, this being the first time I saw her ever get this angry. Sure there were other times when she would be pretty 'bitchy' as Saji would put it but never this angry. Though I wanted to think otherwise, she was absolutely right, now was not the time to stay like this. For now I had to focus on breaking everyone out of here, find Sona, and then I could apologize to her. ''…You're right.''

I checked my surroundings again this time noticing the many claw like marks on the walls. There were many sets with different lengths and sizes throughout the room, indicating that this cell was probably used to cage some kind of beasts. There were no windows or openings towards the outside, on the other side of the bars were other cells all aligned throughout a dark corridor, but so far no signs of any cameras or guards around. Knowing this, it was raising a series of questions to ask but first. ''How long were we out?''

''About three hours or so.'' Momo explained, which made me raise a brow, a reaction that didn't go unnoticed by the white haired bishop so she continued on with her explanation. ''I saw the time on Ruruko's watch.''

Hmm… the time elapsed was rather short, not enough had passed to make people go and wonder where we disappeared off to. School was over when Segrif knocked us out cold so no student could have noticed that we were gone and called for help. My family probably won't start to worry about me for at least a couple of more hours since it wouldn't be the first time I arrived late at home and didn't give any call.

Relying on others at the moment seems like a useless idea. ''Do any of you have an idea where we are?''

''My guess is the wastelands from the Zepar territory, right next to the Bael territory.'' Tsubaki-senpai explained in her usual calm tone, though this time she was sporting a prominent blush on her face while she was obviously avoiding eye contact with me, not that I blame her after I pretty much felt most of her body.

''Is that so…'' I muttered as I contemplated on this little piece of information. So I'm in Hell I guess… never thought I would end up here like this, no, scratch that, I never thought I would ever end up in this whole supernatural mess in the first place. That aside there was something amiss here. ''Wait, how do you know where we are?''

''When they were carrying us down here I was half awake and managed to see out a window. There was a dessert of red sand outside, and the only place in the underworld that has red sands is the wastelands I mentioned.''

The explanation provided by our team's queen was interesting to say the least, but raised a new question along the way, one that seemed to be shared by Tomoe as she got to ask before me. ''Why is that?''

''It's a bit of a urban legend, or something similar. From what I know a long time ago the former heirs of the Zepar and Bael house were engaged and supposed to get married, but only that the Bael heir fell in love with the heir of another house at the time. Because they couldn't just cancel their engagement they decided to solve everything the old fashioned way with a duel. Should the Bael heir win the engagement was off, should Zepar heir win then they had to go through the whole thing, no more questions asked. The scions of the two houses fought in this dessert to decide things once and for all ending with the Bael heir winning the fight. The aftermath of their fight remained in the form of this desert since so much blood was shed it soaked itself in the sand staining it, and it remained like that ever since.''

Huh, so there were sentimental problems among the arranged marriages even long before any of the young, more libertine generations were even born. Well I can't really blame them since I doubt that everyone is content with an arranged marriage, true there is a chance the two parties involved may one day develop actual feelings for the other and bloom into actual love, but chances for that to happen are pretty thin in my opinion. I think that complaints about not liking the person they're about to marry one day seems pretty justified.

About the whole story regarding the old heirs there were mixed reactions from what I could see, while everyone seemed generally impressed with it Tsubasa didn't seem to buy it. ''Wow, that's pretty hardcore and all, but I call bullshit, there's no way two people can bleed so much to turn a desert red, devil or not.''

''Not necessarily.'' Reya cut in, giving me the chance to take a better look at her and how her braids looked like they were about to come apart if she tried to move suddenly, must have been a result of the wrought way she was carried here. ''If I'm not mistaken, the Zepar house trait is the creation of chimeras, if the heir at the time brought with him a legion of them to fight with him, it would be possible to turn the whole dessert red.''

There was a long silence among us, quiet enough for us to hear the gulp from Tsubasa. ''Shit… that Bael person must've been a beast to beat both him and that many chimeras.''

The groups Queen gave a small nod in response. ''Quite, the Bael's house power of destruction isn't something to take lightly. Especially if used by someone like the previous heir, the title she received at the time of Brunette Ruin Princess wasn't just for show.''

Well this was good to know, at least I won't be surprised if Segrif snaps a finger and a dozen of chimeras jump on me for an all you can eat red head buffet… wait… chimeras?

I shifted from my seat and looked at the group still busy with their story telling. ''Wait, back up a little. You said that the Zepar house can create chimeras? As in the Chimera from the Greek myth?''

As I recently learned that most myths are real, or at least real at some point off as such I began studying as much I could about all kinds of creatures and people from mythology. The chimera in particular was one of the many children of the Titan Typhon and the monster Echidna, a creature that was an amalgamation of different animals. It was said to have the body and head of a lion, a goat's head growing on its back, with a snake for its tail, and possessing the power to throw blazing flames out of its mouth.

A monster that terrorized the lands of Lycia for many years, as such the king of the time Iobates called for the aid of one of the sons of Poseidon, the Greek hero Bellerophon.

Bellerophon didn't confront the Chimera directly as he knew that the monsters breath would burn anyone before they could get close enough to injure it. By mounting the Pegasus in battle, Bellerophon took the battle to the sky fighting the Chimera from above, raining arrows and spears upon it. Yet, they all failed as the creature's infernal breath would always turn the projectiles to ash just moments before it even reached the monsters mouth. It was only after Bellerophon attached a lump of lead to the tip of his spear that he killed the beast, as when it tried to burn the spear, the lead turned liquid from the intensity of the heat, pouring down its very throat, and burning the monsters insides.

It worried me that such we could be facing such a creature. The one who answered my curiosity was our team's faux white haired bishop. ''Actually the term chimera is pretty lose, it usually refers to creatures formed by the merging of two or more dissimilar living beings into a new, complete form displaying attributes of its "components". It's pretty debatable if the term came from the beast of Greek myth, or if it was the other way around and the beast not having any name of its own was given the description of a chimera and due to the fame it got over the years people stared associating the term with its actual name, the creature and the term becoming synonymous with each other. In fact there are many supernatural creatures that can be categorized as chimeras by how their anatomy is.''

Huh… when she puts it like that it does make sense. From what I read there are quite the number of 'merged together' creatures that could be considered chimeras as well, like the manticore or the griffin. ''Anyhow chimeras are pretty nasty things to deal with from what I heard, even if you identify all the creatures that compose its bodies there are still chances that there might still be unknown components inside of its body.''

''I heard that there are farms that grow chimeras for food. Like you can make ones meat have the flavor of pork, the texture of beef, and the lightness of chicken.'' Ruruko commented casually.

While I am a man who doesn't back down when it comes to food topics now wasn't the time for that.

''Can we please get back on the problem at hand?'' I spoke up to the group, my tone wasn't harsh but it also wasn't nice on the ears. ''We need to find a way and break out of here.''

Thunk!

Curiously the sound that woke me up started again, but I didn't focus on that since Tsubasa was drilling holes in my head with her annoyed glare. ''Oh, geez I didn't thought about that when we all tried breaking these damn shackles.''

Thunk!

The others seemed to lose moral as they heard our rook's reality check. Momo for one exhaled heavily and looked at me with depressed eyes as she began to explain. ''The shackles are magically enchanted Shirou, sealing away the flow of demonic energy in our bodies. With them on we are no better than regular humans.''

Oh… that makes sense, why else would they all be chained down here and not make any attempt to break out.

Thunk!

''Tell that to Saji.'' Tsubasa rolled her eyes and pointed with them to the bars of the cell.

There he stood, on his knees with his hands behind his back, but that didn't stop him. One time after another he smashed his head against the metal bars, not caring about the open wound on his forehead, the blood rushing out of it, or the possible concussion he might have caused himself by repeatedly bashing his head against the cage that locked us all in. ''Saji what you doing?!''

He stopped half-way from delivering another blow to the bars, head slowly turning around, eyes enraged and glaring at me. Now that he was facing me directly I got to saw the extent of his facial wounds, so many bruises and cuts present on his face. ''Trying to get out!''

Even though it was obvious what he was doing, the fact that he was basically mutilating himself to break out was far too reckless even for him. ''Stop that you're hurting yourself!''

He didn't listen, his teeth gritting in frustration. ''Screw you! I'm not sitting around doing nothing!''

Thunk!

He smashed his head against the bars once again, drops of blood splattering on the nearby wall.

''We tried to get him to stop but he won't listen, even after we told him that even if he managed to break those bars we can't do anything without the key to these damn things.'' Tsubaki-senpai remarked, her voice giving away the frustration she was feeling from being forced to watch this yet not being able to do anything to stop it.

The pawn was preparing to give the bars another taste of his head, but judging by how his wounds looked it would no doubt make them even worse. I got up and tried to dash to stop him, yet I froze half-way as I saw Ruruko tackle him… or at least attempted to do so since her hands were shackled too, so it was more among the lines of her head slamming against the chest of her fellow pawn. After squirming on the floor with him for a bit she finally managed to pick herself up, keeping Saji underneath her, his shoulders pinned down by her knees, yet her expression looked strained and hurt. ''Saji-senpai that's enough!''

He didn't seem to listen to her. ''Let me be! I-''

She didn't let him finish and cut him right off, pulling her face closer to his. ''No! If you really want to save Kaichou then stop hurting yourself and help us figure something out!''

He gritted his teeth and struggled for a bit until his features finally relaxed and softened. Saji's eyes staring directly into the ones of the girl currently sitting on him. ''… Fine, but only if you come up with some other way to break out of this shit hole.''

His words certainly brought back the heavy atmosphere in the room, which was somewhat expected, the fact that everyone present was shackled with cuffs that prevented us from using demonic energy was the true dilemma we were all facing.

Moments passed as I tried to think of ways out of our current predicament. However I brushed everything aside when I heard the sound of footsteps, getting louder and closer to us with every step. Before I knew it a man appeared on the other side of the bars.

He was obese looking man, messy black hair atop of his large and swelled head, a thick mustache dancing underneath his nose as he seemed to breath in deeply the air in from the cage. A disgusting smile forming on his lips as he scanned the room, his squinty eyes brightening whenever they landed on any one of the girls.

''Well, well, it's about time you kids woke up, I was getting quite tired of waiting.'' The man replied with a snicker, a strained and deep voice echoing. It was the kind you would hear from one that has smocked his lungs out.

''Who the hell are you supposed to be?'' Tsubasa asked the man, quite visibly irritated that she even had to look at him.

''Me? Oh, I guess you can call me your warden for the time being.'' He commented casually while resting his elbows against the cell bars. ''No need for such hostile glares, my orders are to make sure you all stay put until my master is done 'talking' with your little mistress.''

This little bit of information startled all of us, it was just as we feared, Sona was with Segrif right now, and the bastard doing God knows what to her.

''Where is she?!'' Tomoe snapped at the man, getting the full attention of his small eyes.

''Who knows, it's not like knowing where she is will do you any good since last time I checked you're locked it this cell.'' He commented offhandedly as he licked his lips, a carnal hunger present in his eyes as he looked at each girl in the cell. ''However, I might remember where she is if perhaps one of you lovely young things show me a good time.''

That last statement caused all the girls to go pale, terror present in their eyes as they understood what the man was implying. Ruruko for one hid behind Saji in an attempt to avoid the man's perverted stare, while Tsubasa gritted her teeth in anger. The desire to pummel the man in the face was all too present on her face.

''You sick bastard…'' Momo commented detachedly as she backed away from her spot, the remark shifting the man's focus from everyone else to her alone, and a sick grin began spreading all the way across his face to his ears as he stared at the white haired bishops every curve.

''Well, I guess diplomacy is out of the way.'' He commented as he placed his hand on the cell door and a magic circle appeared from it. ''Then let's get a little freaky.''

I gasped as the air around me suddenly became heavier, my body feeling cold and sluggish, similar to moving under water. At first I didn't understand what he did, but as I recalled our current location I realized what the magic circle from before was for.

This was cell or arguably a cage, if the marks on the walls were any indication this place, was used to keep beasts in. So it wouldn't be too far fetched to speculate that this place had some kind of spell placed on to keep the beasts more tame and subdued.

A spell he just activated and used on us, restraining our movement, and seemingly pinning us all down on the floor before him.

As I tried to lift myself up, I saw the man put around his neck some weird sort of necklace before he opened the cell door and walked in without a care in the world, unaffected by the spell within it.

I gritted my teeth as I saw the man walk up to Momo, the later shaking in pure fear as she tried moving away but failed to find the power to do so. The disturbing laugh of the man was making me feel impulses that I never I knew I had, like the urge to cut clean the hand he just put around Momo's jaw. 'Now… why don't we use that pretty mouth of yours for something more… exciting.''

I felt something snap in me, the urge to scream at him rising within me; however someone else beat me to it. ''Stop!''

My head mechanically turned around and stared at Tsubaki-senpai, the look present on her face was making me feel like utterly useless during all this, as I could not protect her from the feelings of despair, helplessness, and resignation that lied in her eyes.

''And why would I do that?'' the man asked as he narrowed his gaze at her. She in response opened her mouth to speak, yet no words came out, just the trembling of her lips. ''Speak up will you, I can't hear shit.''

Once again she tried, her breathing becoming hectic as her eyes lost their luster, hope all to absent in them. ''I-I said… use me… just leave e-everyone else alone.''

''Oh?'' This peaked his interest and made him let go of Momo, eyes now focusing of the body of our queen, drooling over her like she was a piece of meat, one that he was dying to sink his teeth in. ''Now THAT is actually a tempting offer, and you definitely do seem to be a cut above the rest in the curves department.''

She was ready to put herself on the table like that, just so the others wouldn't have to. It was an admirable act of friendship and self-sacrifice. Yet it was completely insane, something that the others seem to agree with and verbally protested.

''Screw that piece of shit! Senpai you don't have to do it!'' Saji's yell was like a roar, as he struggled to get up from the ground.

''No! Don't do it senpai!'' Reya begged desperately.

''T-That's r-right Tsubaki-senpai! D-Don't do that for my sake!'' Momo spoke up, though the reluctance was noticeable in her voice, she may want to prevent her queen and friend from taking her place, but it didn't spare her from any of the fear of the idea of that man abusing her.

She looked at Momo and could only give her a bitter but resolute smile. ''It's my duty as the queen of Sona Sitri to make sure no harm comes to any of you… for that I will endure it.''

''Hahaha, now this is interesting!'' the man laughed as he walked in front of Tsubaki-senpai and knelt down in front of her. ''Tell you what, I won't touch the others, that is of course if you show me a good time.''

Her face palled even further as she shallow groggily, whole body trembling in fear, her eyes looking away from him. ''J-Just get this over with!''

Something was breaking in me… this feeling… it was worse than any physical pain I ever experienced, The pain of having your flesh cut open or your bones broken was like mosquito bite compared to the pain of having to watch a friend getting abused and not being able to do anything. A lone word escaping my lips as the man got closer to her. ''No…''

For a moment she turned and looked at me, our eyes meeting for the briefest of moments, her mismatched orbs were filled with tears as she smiled brokenly. ''… I'm sorry.''

No! No! No! No! NO!

I continued to struggle as the man started to caress her body his fingers trailing along her curves as he began stroking her legs, the desire to smash his teeth out was fueling my pain tolerance as I tried desperately to break the shackles by force. A slight hitch broke out from Tsubaki mouth as he made his way up her upper thighs just beneath her skirt. The bastard was smiling, getting off on the fear and trembling her body gave at his touch while he hungrily eyed the woman before him. Licking his lips in anticipation he started to move his hands beneath her skirt and towards her inner thighs as I desperately continued to try and break out from my restraints.

No matter how hard I pulled or pushed, I couldn't budge them, the way they were put on was restricting me far too much.

The only thing that was actually cracking was the ground under my knees, right under my glowing kneecaps. Why they were even like that I didn't know since I didn't even attempted to reinforce-

For a moment I felt a series of dots connecting in my head, my eyes widening as I might have just found our ticket out of this mess, feeling the sudden urge to smack myself from noticing this simple answer only now. It wasn't too late yet, I had the means to save her.

Now it was only a matter of how good of an actor I am.

A smirk crept on my face as I let it all out. ''Hahahahaha!''

It was a crude and somewhat arrogant laugh, one that I don't know how I came up with. I wasn't one that laughed all that much to begin with so I had to make it look as impactful as I could. Judging by how everyone was looking at me as if I just went insane I think it worked, especially since that pig stopped touching Tsubaki-senpai and was now focused on me. ''What's so funny brat?''

''What you ask, this whole scene is hilarious.'' I remarked while keeping an all knowing smirk on my face, doing my best Archer impression that I could come up with. ''What, is it so hard to get a girl for yourself that you have to go for defenseless high school girls?''

I shifted my wrists enough for my finger tips to touch the plates of the shackles, neon green marks forming on them.

''Shirou… what are you doing?'' I could hear Reya mutter from my left side, a small gasp escaping her lips as she probably saw the markings forming on my hands from her position.

The veins that started to bulge in the man's fat head was a clear sign that I was getting under his skin, I just needed a couple of more jabs. ''I guess it's pretty hard when you look the way you do. Maybe it's the ugly face, or perhaps it's the body, but then again you don't even work out do you?''

''Kid… you're really starting to piss me off.'' He muttered as his hands balled into fists, a glare that spelled he was seconds away from attacking me.

Hmm… I see, the shackles are made with a magically enchanted metal alloy that synthesizes the effect of light element. While it lacks the distinctive purifying properties of the real thing, it does however manage to induce a state of paralysis to ones demonic energy. No wonder none of them were able to break free.

''Do I?'' I let my smirk grow, delivering the piece de resistance. ''I apologize, just random speculation on my part. Though perhaps it might not be a physical thing but a mental one, or maybe I'm looking to deep into it and it's just a simple case of inadequacy in the bedroom.''

Hook, line and sinker.

''You piece of shit!'' He snapped as he rushed towards me, grabbing me by the shirt and pulling me closer, something that I could have gone without since his breath was like a raw chicken gone bad. ''I can't kill you, but I sure as hell can beat you to a pulp and make you watch as I fuck all these bitches!''

My burrows twitched as I finished analyzing the accursed restraints… So it's built like that, enchanted like that, it operates like that… Good I have all I need to know.

I released the valve, letting my prana flow into them via reinforcement. They became stronger, a few seconds later they became even stronger, slowly reaching their limits, cracks slowly spreading all over as prana began leaking out of them.

''Wait! That wasn't our deal!'' Tsubaki-senpai tried to stop my soon to be beating, something I appreciated, but wasn't necessary.

''I will be back to fuck you in a minute.'' He snapped at her with venom in his voice, taking his eyes off me for a single moment.

That was his mistake.

''Trace on!''

With one final push I shattered the shackles that bound me, it was so simple that my head hurt. Just because they can restrict one from using demonic energy doesn't mean one can't use a different source of energy while wearing them. Magecraft uses prana, not demonic energy. That being said Segrif Zepar made one major miscalculation in his abduction plan, he locked in here the only person with the means to break out.

Now that my hands were free I used my reinforced body to properly move through this heavy pressure. My hand reached for the man's neck and grabbed the necklace around it.

He seemed to have realized something was wrong and turned around, only to gap in shock as he saw me free, but more than anything shocked that I had his necklace, and that I crushed it.

As the broken pieces fell down the man also dropped to his knees. Just as I suspected, the necklace was the reason why he could move while we all were pinned to the ground.

The roles had now changed as the prisoner and warden now assumed the others position.

I didn't waste any time and got behind him, wrapping my arms around his neck in a strangling position, and cutting of his air supply.

''Gah!'' He gasped in pain as my arm tightened around his throat, weak arms struggling to free himself from my vice like grip. ''L-Let go!''

I ignored desperate plea, for what he was trying to do to the girls, for what he did to Tsubaki-senpai, I have no mercy to give. However he may still prove useful. ''Where is she?''

''W-What?'' He managed to mumble from under my hold.

I didn't like repeating myself to scum like him. ''Where is Sona Sitri?''

''L-Like hell I'm telling you!''

At least he has some loyalty… or just plain fear to betray his master. Let's see how far he can keep it up before he cracks up. ''Suit yourself, but I'm not going to let go no matter what. In fact whenever you are a step away from passing out I will give you just a bit fresh air, only to tighten my hold once more, then I will keep repeating this cycle over and over again, and then you can enjoy sensation of slowly repeatedly suffocating without the sweet mercy of passing out.''

He was struggling, the gradual change in his skin color pointing out his desperate need for air. I weakened my grip enough for him to get a fresh breath of air, life returning to his eyes, but it was a short lived moment as I tightened my arm back, causing him to suffocate once again. I then whispered in a flat tone. ''So what will it be?''

He was shaking and sweating in fear, eyes bouncing in his head as he finally snapped. ''F-Fine! She's on the f-first floor in the master's office.''

''Thank you.'' I said as I let go of him.

He didn't get to enjoy the fresh air as I immediately turned his body around and punched him in the gut, my reinforced fist burrowing deep within his flabby flesh, breaking his ribs, probably rupturing some organs, and sending his body crashing against the wall. The impact was quite strong, since his body had been forced in the wall like a nail. A silent hiss was heard as the man passed out, either from the lack of air or the impact, I wasn't too sure of which myself.

I projected Kansho and threw it in the part of the cell bars where the man used that spell earlier, breaking it. A breath of ease escaped my lips as the air around us turned back to normal.

''Man being a jerk is hard…'' I remarked to myself as I recalled the stuff I had to say in order to make the man lose his calm and go after me. It's quite vexing how Archer is able to do stuff like that like it's no big deal. ''In hindsight I should make aunt Maiya a box of her favorite chocolates for teaching me that choke hold and intimidation tactics.

I cringed in pain as I finally felt the recoil from when the shackles shattered in pieces, my hands feeling numb as if they just got hit head on by a baseball bat. I brought my hands forwards and clenched my fists a couple of times. While satisfied by the end result I still have a long way to go, I poured a bit too much prana in them I have to be more careful next time I do this. All that aside, there were more important matters to deal with. I turned around and walked over to Tsubaki-senpai who was just staring at me with wide eyes.

I placed my hand on her shackles and repeated what I did earlier, this time keeping in mind the amount of prana I used. It took a few seconds and her shackles broke down, much more gently than in my case might I add. I turned to look at her with a reassuring smile. ''Are you ok Tsubaki-senpai?''

She didn't respond, instead she brought her hands forward and stared at them for a few moments, her body started to suddenly shiver violently, arms wrapping around her body as her face morphed into a panicked state.

I didn't understand, why was she still scared if I already took out that pig?

As I wanted ask what was wrong, my voice went silent. Of course… how could I be so insensitive?

Even though the man didn't get to do any actual abuse, he still got to run his greasy hands all over her. The fear of what could have happened, the mental anguish going through those moments as she couldn't do anything but let him do whatever he wanted…

All of those leave scars.

Deep within her heart.

I slowly got on my knees and wrapped my arms around her, resting her head in the crop of my neck, stroking her hair gently with my fingers. ''It's ok Tsubaki-senpai, I'm here for you. Everything will be all right, I'll make sure something like that never happens again.''

She was silent at first, but her trembling arms slowly made their way behind me as she returned my embrace, small cold drops of water running down my chest, heavy sobbing coming from her as her hands gripped desperately on my shirt like a lifeline. ''I-I was so s-scared.''

''I know…'' I whispered in a solemn tone, holding her closer. That was all I could do at the moment… everything was my fault… if I only would have realized it earlier she didn't have to go through all of that. No matter how long it takes or what I have to do, I will make amends and make everything up to her.

I guess the girl that always tried her best to appear strong and confident was much more fragile than I imagined. So beautiful, yet so delicate, just like a camellia flower.

We continued to sit like this for a couple of minutes, until her shivering had ceased and she finally pulled her head away from my chest, a small strained smile lingering on her face. ''T-Thank you Shirou.''

The pain was still there, that much I knew. Yet I didn't know of what I could do at the moment to make everything better, the only I could do was offer her a gentle smile, my thumb brushing away the lone tear left running down her cheek. ''Always.''

I turned around with the intention of freeing the others, yet I found myself taken aback by their gaping mouths, Momo's expression in particular was quite interesting with how her jaw kept bouncing up and down, and if she didn't have her hands cuffed up she would without a doubt be pointing a trembling finger at me. ''S-Shirou… how did you do that?''

Okay, for real now, was using reinforcement that much of a big deal, I mean I intentionally made it fail so that the shackles break apart, which in normal context should be a stupid move. Anyhow I keep getting the distinct impression that devils don't really practice or even study about magecraft, but I digress now wasn't the time for a magical seminar. ''To keep it short I filled the shackles with far too much power that they could handle and they simply broke down.''

While the others had looks of awe on their faces, Momo for one seemed to be in denial of sorts. ''But how?! You shouldn't be able to use demonic energy with the shackles on, no, scratch that, you were never able to use it in the first place!''

Well, if there is one person who would have a hard time believing it, that would be our white haired bishop especially since she just spent so much time previously trying to teach me how to use demonic energy only for me to constantly fail. It was to the point where she started yanking her hair in sheer frustration over my lack of progress. Also, I can't help but wonder why I'm getting a sense of déjà vu here. ''I'm using magecraft.''

''The hell is that?'' Saji voiced the question that was no doubt probably going through everyone's mind at the moment.

''Now is not the time for lectures!'' The blue-haired rook snapped at us, her face displaying just how much she was through with this, her pale blue eyes focusing on me, only seriousness could be seen within them. ''Shirou can you do the same for us?''

I didn't answer and just walked over to her, once again placing my hand ove the shackles and repeating what I did earlier, this time keeping in mind the amount of prana required. It took a few seconds but soon after her shackles broke down like the previous pair before. I couldn't help but offer her a small smirk. ''Does that answer your question?''

For a few seconds she stared aimlessly at me, a spark of resolution igniting in her eyes. ''… Free the others, we are rescuing Sona.''

I made my way through each of them and broke their restraints one by one, life returning to their faces the moment the shackles shattered in pieces.

''Hell yeah!'' Saji roared as he got up from the floor, only to stumble and fall back on it, no doubt that the many head-butts he did to the cell bar finally catching up with him.

Tsubaki-senpai could only sigh at the sight of Saji all over the floor. ''Momo, Reya, please heal Saji up before we go, we wouldn't want him to pass out on the way.''

It was a good thing they were healing him, head injuries are a nasty thing to deal with. Who knows, maybe I had a couple of them myself after the accident which made me lose all my memories before I got adopted by the Emiya family. Brushing that thought aside I made my way towards the cell door, with a quick failed reinforcement I managed to break the lock. Stepping outside I took a quick look around, further confirming no traces of any guards or any kind of surveillance system. This was good, while they were healing Saji I could go on and save Sona.

I didn't even take two steps out of the cell as I felt a strong grip on my shoulder, turning around I was greeted by the intense glare of our group's rook. ''Where do you think you're going?''

''To save our master.'' I remarked with a rather bemused voice, was there even a reason to ask me that question in the first place?

My answer didn't seem to make her happy, nope, the way she gritted her teeth was telling me otherwise. ''Oh no, you don't! Shirou we had this talk before you can't just rush in without thinking things through!''

Somehow this made me feel rather irritated, the fact that she was basically stopping me from rescuing Sona as fast I can. I didn't snap at her, but I sure did raise my voice at her. ''So you just me expect to wait while who knows what that freak is doing to her!?''

For a moment I heard something snap. No, that wasn't exactly right there was nothing that snapped, it was just the sound of my face when I got slapped. I was so focused on Tsubasa that I didn't notice when Reya walked next to me. ''Do you think we all don't want to save her?!'' she screamed at me as she got right in my face, so much stress and frustration present in her gaze. ''If it were just me I wouldn't waste any second talking and go head on to rescue her myself, but that would be the least thing she would want.''

Tsubaki-senpai walked next to us and placed a hand over Reya's shoulder, calming her down and making her give enough space to walk in front of me. She tugged my shirt hard, the sound of stitches ripping apart was noticeable, but it overshadowed by the pained look in the queens eyes. ''I know her Shirou, Sona wouldn't want us rush in without any kind of plan and get ourselves harmed or worse killed. Because of that I'm trying my best to endure everything that is happening right now and do things the way she would want us to act.''

I could only stare at in her mismatched eyes as the glasses slided on her nose, taking note of the resolution present in them, the anger simmering at the man that abducted her best friend, the way her voice was giving away from what she just went through, and the amount of stress she was no doubt going through from all that happened today. My eyes glanced behind her, catching the looks in the other's eyes, frustration and anger were present in every one of them. It was at that time that I recalled how they each shared their past with me and how much Sona helped them when they were going through their individual crisis.

With my narrow view of things I failed to realize how much this situation was affecting everyone else, not just me alone. Once again my inability to truly understand people got in my way of seeing the bigger picture.

I sighed in frustration as I took Tsubaki-senpai's hand and slowly made her let go of my shirt before she completely ripped it off. As I held her hand I gave it a noticeable squeeze, my attempt to calm her, making the trembling subside. ''… Do you have a plan?''

She was silent for a few seconds, breathing a few times to relax, straightening her glasses before she began, her calm demeanor returning. ''… For now we should stay grouped up and make our way quietly without drawing any attention. If we are careful and perhaps a bit lucky we might just find her without getting ourselves caught… again.''

That didn't sound too bad, while I would have preferred overall to take time and plan things out more in detail; we unfortunately were rather short on time and must make do with what we can. ''Then what?''

''We get out of here report what happened, and let the devil government handle the rest.''

Fast, simple, and possibly without anyone injured, just my kind of plan. ''… Ok, let's go.''

Please hang on Sona, we are on the way.


Sona Sitri could honestly say she wasn't expecting much out of today, believing that it would be just like any other regular day for her as the student council president. Of all the things she was expecting to give her a headache she would have guessed at another list of complaints being held against the perverted trio, or Rias bragging like the otaku she is about a new anime figurine she just bought, or at the very least dealing with another stray devil hunt.

Never did she expect her ex-fiancé to drop by acting all humble and regretful only for him to use some kind of sleeping gas to knock her and her peerage out cold.

Her eyes trembled as she woke up, a stabbing headache pulsing violently through her head as she slowly took notice of where she was.

It was an opulent decorated office; pieces of priceless artwork were put on display for the ones of low status to stare in awe, seemingly highlighting the red furniture that was placed around the mahogany desk. She instantly disliked the furniture, not design wise but for its color, red always seemed to get her annoyed for some reason.

Yet all of that was insignificant as she glared at the man sitting behind the mahogany deck, really wishing she could just walk over and slap the smug smile off his face. Unfortunately from what she could observe something like that was impossible since she seemed to be shackled against the wall with what she recognized as demonic suppressing cuffs. Oh joy, seems like Segrif wasn't as dumb as she thought he was.

The heir of Zepar smiled as he noticed just who now awoke. It was hard to tell if his smile was supposed to be one of amusement or sheer arrogance… perhaps both. ''Seems like my guest is finally awake, I apologize for the poor conditions, but I didn't quite have the time to prepare something more suitable for one of your status.''

Sona was never much of a fan of lemons, yet she couldn't help but feel like someone just shoved one in her mouth from how sour she was feeling at the moment. ''Segrif, I was expecting many things from you but abduction is the last thing I saw you stooping so low to do.''

The black haired man simply shrugged lightly as he got up from his chair and walked towards his pretty prisoner. ''Abduction is such a harsh word, I just wanted to have a proper chat with you since you never really gave me much of a choice.''

His easy going attitude towards this whole situation was making Sona simmer in anger, but to her own surprise she was keeping herself collected at the moment. ''… There's a thin line between arrogance and stupidity Segrif. The moment what you did gets revealed you will be ruined, everything you own will get taken away and instead get a bounty placed on your head.''

''Oh, I'm well aware of that.'' He commented casually as he took a nearby chair and sat himself right in front of Sona.

That was the last straw, she snapped.

''Then why?! Why is it so important to you to marry me?!'' Her sharp voice echoed in the room, the sound of the chains rumbling as she tried to get closer to him, only to fail. ''I know you, things like the future of the purebloods, acquiring more status or power don't matter to you! So what is it?!''

The man in front of her wasn't a like most pureblooded devils, since the very first day she met him she saw the rather uninterested demeanor he had when it came down to his own status. Something very unusual for a high-class pureblooded devil, suspicious in fact.

Due to the protective nature of Sona's sister Vincent would keep an eye out when it came to down to her fiancée, he would report back anything that seemed odd about him. There were many times when the man known as Segrif Zepar could have raised his status among his peers, expand his influence within the seventy-two pillars, participate in rating games, or spread his name in the underworld.

And yet he didn't.

With the exception of some rather rare occasions, he never brought it upon himself to make himself grander. This was what truly confused Sona. If he really lacked the aspiration for power or fame why bother so much over her?

If it were about her position as the heir of the Sitri house or being the sibling of Serafall Leviathan like most of the devil nobility would focus on, she could understand.

If it were about him being obsessed with her beauty and body like a certain chauvinistic pig named Riser Phenex, she could understand.

However, she just couldn't fathom what was driving him to risk himself like this. Devils have always been drawn to power like moths to flame, that is an undeniable truth, but callously loosing ones power and authority within the devil society was something not even the most arrogant and foolish of devils would do. None would be prepared to risk and lose generations worth of reputation, wealth, and position of their house.

Just what was so important to him that he was willing to go so far?

The heir of Zepar on the other hand didn't seem so bothered by Sona's reaction, sure he was certainly surprised to see the girl finally show some emotion other than the constant glare or stare of cold indifference she always sent him, but now he was too busy enjoying himself due to holding all the cards in the present situation.

He stepped right in front of her and softly caressed her cheek, the feeling of his gloves brushing against her skin was disgusting to Sona, but it was short lived as the disgust quickly turned to pain as Segrif grabbed her by the jaw and pulled her closer to him, just enough to see the blank look in his eyes. ''It's because you kept rejecting me.''

Sona just stood there and stared as he let go of her face, not understand what was referring to. ''… What?''

''How much do you really know about me?'' He began as he started walking back and forth in the room. ''Not enough I presume, so allow me to shed some light. I was never really that adamant about this marriage in the first place, whenever I married you or not was not something that I couldn't live without, and truth be told you're not really my type, I prefer more endowed women.''

She couldn't believe what she was hearing, all this time Segrif wouldn't have cared if the marriage went through or not, no, she refused to believe this.

It was after a couple more seconds that she caught up to what he meant at the end. For that moment she just forgot about all her education as a proper lady and just spoke what was on her mind. ''Asshole.''

That certainly hit a nerve with the man, if the way how his eyes twitched was any indication. ''Moving on, the thing that truly made me desire you more than anything was your defiance. The fact that the very day we first meet you've been dead set against the idea of marrying me was what made you special.'' He ran a hand through his seaweed like hair and let out amused chuckle. ''If you would have been just a tad less against the idea, I might have requested to cancel our engagement myself.''

Everything she was hearing was just going over her head, the idea that if she may have been just little less opposed to the marriage could have prevented all of this from happening in the first place was just too much. ''I'm not a man of grandeur or high aspiration, I just want to acquire the things that I can't have.'' He shrugged as he took a seat right in front of Sona, his eyes unable to help themselves from staring at the girls long legs.

Just as the bespectacled girl was about to comment about his perverted stare, the air around him changed, eyes turning cold and hard. ''You know of my sister don't you?''

She didn't know where that came from or what he was aiming with it but it wasn't like she could do anything all tied up like this, the least she could do however was gather information and perhaps use what she finds out to devise an escape plan. ''I have met her on a couple of occasions, why does it matter?''

A long smile spread to his ears, revealing his pearly, yet somewhat sharp teeth. ''Oh, it matters a lot, in fact one may argue that she is the cause of how I am today.''

''I don't follow.''

''It's probably one of the oldest tales that transpires in a devil household that has multiple heirs in a single generation.'' He went on as he leaned back on his chair. ''The parents don't necessarily choose the oldest child for the position of next head of the house, but rather they choose the one with most power and potential.''

She didn't find any solid counter argument to that statement, power was always the first and foremost subject that mattered to devils. For in the case of heirs, leaders, and other positions of authority they were always chosen for their power whether it was physical or political. In fact the only reason she was the heir of the Sitri clan in the first place was because her sister had to give up her rights as heir when she took on the title of Leviathan, otherwise Sona would have never been picked as heir. Her sisters power being leagues above her own, and would without a doubt have brought countless honors and acclaim to the Sitri name… if she could have worked a little on her personality and hobbies that is.

''Such was my case… I was quite a weakling by my father's own words, and he decided to leave it all to my sister since she was clearly the better offspring.'' His smile faded away a cold and crude stare forming on his face, his hand began to clench, and his eyes now stared at his now trembling fist. ''As you can imagine I was quite livid about this, and felt rather betrayed by the man who raised me. However, more than anything I felt furious at my sister for stealing what was rightfully mine. Now at that time angry and confused I was left with two choices either get stronger and make my father reconsider his pick, or…''

A part of her knew what he was referring to, but the moral side of her was desperately trying to believe otherwise, the only way to give herself some solace was by simply asking. ''Or what?''

He shrugged lightly accompanied with a small chuckle. ''Or just kill my sister and leave my father with no choice but select me as next head of the Zepar house.''

She bit her lower lip in frustration, she knew fair well that things like this often happened within devil aristocracy. The constant fighting and hunger for power… the madness of tainting your hands with the blood of your own family to earn that power or position, she heard of it yes, witnessing a prime example of it on the other hand was something that she didn't think she would have to deal with so soon. It was both sickening and infuriating to hear.

Segrif didn't even register her intense glare and just went on without a care. ''You don't even know how long this trend has being going on within devil aristocracy. All I needed to do was just wait for the right moment to end her and make it look like an accident.''

''I still remember that day… it was just my sister and I with no one else around to witness it, and I had everything set and ready to make it all seem like an tragic accident. All I needed was just one single stab.'' He commented with such a glee in his voice staring at his hand that was folded up as if he was holding a knife, trembling all too slightly until it just fell limp to his side, all emotion draining from his face, and leaving behind just a stoic contemplating stare. ''And yet I couldn't do it…''

Sona's eyes stopped blinking… he didn't do it?… well thinking on it she did meet the said girl a couple of times, even somewhat recently too so it would have been impossible for her to be dead, but she didn't think he would just let her go. Honestly she couldn't help but be surprised that there was still some form of conscience left in the bastard that abducted her.

''How odd the feeling of love is, it makes one feel so human… so weak.'' He remarked nonchalantly, though one could see the disgust in his eyes. ''I was left with just one choice… so I decided to gain what I wanted through my own means, and a year or so later I surpassed my sister and made my father reconsider his choice.''

It started as a mere hiss, then it grew louder and louder, small chuckles morphing into a crazed laughter as the man arched his back and grasped his face with palms, yet failing miserably to hide away the sick expression he was displaying. The way his eyes were dancing on his head, the twisted snarl reaching from ear to ear, and the image of it all forming together what can only be described as the very picture of a deranged man. ''The miserable look on his face when he admitted he was wrong and begged me to be the next head of the house was the most ultimate rush I had ever experienced, better than ejaculating one hundred times.''

His asylum fitting laughter went on for a minute before it started dying down, slowly recovering his composure as the chuckles echoed in the room. Standing still and silent for a few seconds, he bent his neck mechanically to side, and his large gapping eyes staring at the girl he desired. ''Ever since then I've been rather enthusiastic when it came to obtaining the things that are forbidden to me. The feeling when I'm denied something for various reasons and then the look of defeat and disbelief on the faces of those who forbade me from having them is the ultimate form of ecstasy for me.''

Sona had her doubts before not knowing him good enough to give an exact verdict, but now she was sure. The man in front of her was far from a healthy functioning person.

Her lips trembled as her words left her mouth. ''You're insane… all of this just to satisfy an emotional desire.''

''I'm a devil aren't I?'' he shrugged without a care in the world, but for a moment his eyes turned dead serious. ''Living for ones desires is in our blood, perhaps living so long among humans has made you forget that primal drive. ''

That seriousness was short lived as the arrogant smile returned. ''But that's all irrelevant since I will make you mine and put you back on the right path.''

She had to talk her way around, maybe buy some time until she can come up with an idea to get out of this mess. ''And just how are you going do that?''

''With this.'' He replied as he extended his hand close to her eyes, enough for her the see the magical formula written inside the magic circle within his palm.

She blinked in astonishment, not because of the spell was something extraordinary or dangerous, but rather because it was completely and utter useless for what he was planning.

''Mind altering magic? Really Segrif?'' She commented with half lidded eyes, the odd sensation of feeling scared a minute ago and now completely fine was certainly something new. ''News flash, but devils have high immunity towards mental oriented magic so I highly doubt someone like you could pull off a brainwashing spell on me.''

''A fair point, a spell of this level and a person of my skill would probably fail.'' He nodded with a sigh, as she wasn't wrong at all. Devils were quite well versed with this kind of magic, something so basic to them that any devil would know how to perform or guard against it especially if he or she plans on visiting the human world while keeping a low profile. Normally this sort of magic was quite efficient against regular humans however against fellow devils it was pretty useless… or thats how it was normally. ''However I do have certain means around that.''

The heir of Zepar reached in the pocket inside his suit and pulled out what seemed to be some kind of oval jewel, the size of his palm, looking like it was encasing a bluish-purple flame within itself. ''You see I am well aware that devils are almost immune against most forms of mind altering magic, so then I asked myself what would happen if let's say one could weaken a devils mental barriers?''

It took only a second to process what he was aiming for, eye gapping and mouth unhinged, her body starting to struggle within the bindings. ''I see you realized, well that will spare me the time explaining, but in short this jewel here has that very ability and by the time I finish using it you will be quite susceptible towards my… adjustments. Quite the superb trinket might I add, I did have to go and deal with some rather tasteless individuals to get it but I think it will be all worth it in the end.''

Her teeth gritted against each other, whether it was out of anger or of fear she wasn't sure anymore. ''You won't get away with this!''

''And who will stop me?''

''My peerage! They will-!''

''The same peerage currently locked away in my dungeon by any chance?'' A sly smile formed on his face. ''It's a nice hope to hang onto, but even if they managed to escape I instructed my peerage to intercept them, and I believe that further stacks the odds quite against them.''

Her body went limp… the others were also captured… she was shackled without any power to muster and Segrif had a jewel that was going to help him play with her mind. No one could really blame her if she just gave in and resigned herself to what's to come.

''Don't worry, when this is over you will be back with them without as much as a missing hair.'' He said as he got his face closer to hers, eyes staring in each other. ''Only with a new found opinion regarding me.''

Was this really all that she was?

Was she just some useless damsel in distress waiting helplessly for a miracle to happen?

Was this really all that there was to the girl that Rias Gremory sees as her rival?

Did the girl that led her peerage with such respect lower herself so much to simply give up now?

No…

This shall not stand.

Segrif tilted his head in confusion to why Sona started suddenly pulling her head backwards so hard, such that he didn't have time to register her next move. With swift speed and all the force she could muster she smashed her head against the nose of her warden.

He stumbled backwards in pain, trying to stop the blood gushing out of his now broken nose, glaring dangerously at the one that dared to harm him.

For a moment he simply froze, the girl in front of him glaring cold daggers at him. The despair and regret he wanted to see so badly was all but missing in her eyes, and the only thing present in them was a just tranquil fury. ''I'm not so easily broken.''

To his own surprise he let out a chuckle, although he wanted to retaliate against her for the sheer nerve of hurting him, he couldn't help but feel excited, the things he had to work the most for always gave him the most amazing of rushes. ''We shall see…''


Things were on the edge with us if could say so myself. About fifteen minutes have passed since we broke out and started making our way through the enemy base and things have been quiet… too quiet. We haven't encountered any enemies or diversions along the way and it was somehow making us more agitated. For example, Tomoe stepped over some broken glass and the mere sound of it cracking made us all jump and ready ourselves for battle.

The mission wasn't as simple as one may believe, the fact that we knew that if we screw up we could cause Sona harm was making all of us rather edgy. The stray hunts which the others were used to didn't compare to this at all, for it is so simple to just destroy the target, while saving someone was a completely different beast altogether.

Along the way here Tsubaki-senpai tried calling for help, which failed since apparently this place had some sort of bounded field around it that blocked us from magically contacting the outside. When I asked why she doesn't use her phone, she stared intensely at me for a few seconds then instantly checked her pockets for her phone… which was unfortunately broken.

I passed her mine to use, but she seemed rather reluctant to use it. She did eventually accept and tried to call someone, but they didn't answer. So she had to resort to simply messaging the person. When I asked who she wrote to, she simply replied.

'Someone that Segrif will regret pissing off.'

When I got my phone back I also tried calling home, and learned that apparently you can't call someone in the human world while being in the underworld with a regular human made phone. Apparently, you can however call someone in the underworld as long as you first type in a special code though. Why it works in one way and not in both I have no idea.

I couldn't help but clench my fist in frustration at the current set of events, there's no telling what there's in store for us so I have to gather as much information as I can. ''Tsubaki-senpai do you have any information about Segrif or any potential allies he might have working with him?''

''It's hard to say Shirou, unlike most devil aristocrats that love displaying their power Segrif has always been rather discreet when it came to showing what he is truly capable off, I do know that he should be at least around Sona's level of power but I can't say for sure. Also the only ones I can imagine going along with this insane plot of his are probably his peerage.''

That was rather annoying to say the least, while I myself doubt that he is the same level that Kurosaiga was, I'd rather not take any risk in underestimating what he is capable of doing. If it would come down to a direct confrontation between us I can't imagine how it could turn out due to the lack of information about him. Is he a long range fighter like Sona is or would he be a close quarter's fighter like Kurosaiga was?

That lack of information was really bugging me, but I had to press on. ''Do you know anything about them?''

The sigh that followed lowered my expectations by a rank or two. ''Not much unfortunately, they never participated in ratings games so I have no useful information to offer. All I know is that his peerage at the very least isn't a full set, he only has two rooks, two knights, one bishop, and one queen.''

''So we should be ready to expect at least six opponents before we reach Segrif.'' I remarked as we turned the corner and walked in a pitch black corridor. Now that I think about it there was a woman that constantly accompanied Segrif, I think it was safe to assume that she was part of his peerage. The only question is what her piece was and what the full extent of her power is. If I'm not mistaken when Vincent visited us and displayed some of his power Shahnaz was one of the few people that didn't fall on their knees when it hit us all. That alone should be enough to attest that she is by no means a weakling.

''Shit, and here I was hoping we can get by without fighting some of that whack jobs allies.'' Tsubasa remarked while sucking her teeth.

''Tell me about it.'' Ruruko nodded in agreement.

''Don't falter, if we do indeed end up fighting them, we shall do so as a team.'' Tsubaki stated in a clear tone.

''Yes ma'am'.'' We all acknowledged, though in my case it was more half hearted since my mind was busy coordinating my body considering that I have to be extra careful how I'm walking since I can't see a damn thing in this tunnel.

''Are you ok Shirou, you seem rather off.'' Momo asked me with a muffled tone, probably curios by the way I moved around.

''I'm fine, just having a hard time navigating this tunnel.''

How curious, all of the walls that I kept touching to find my way up until now were quite cold dry, this one for some reason was really warm and soft, a somewhat elastic feeling to it, and what was this thin piece of fabric sticking out of it?

''What is this?'' I asked bemused as I tried pulling it, to my surprise and high-pitched scream erupted the moment I did that.

My body became rigid and cold, a sense of dread was hanging around the air in front of me, as if I just walked in a monsters lair and recklessly woke it up.

''Shirou…'' Reya whispered in a sweet yet deadly tone, my instincts telling me that I just did something that I was going to regret. ''Would you be so kind and explain why you are groping my butt?'

As it stood quite the curious feeling I was having, similar to floating in the water only to get hit by a wave when I turned my head, only this case the wave was the sudden realization of just what I was groping the past ten seconds.

My body was on autopilot as it jumped backwards and crashed in a nearby wall, my mind and mouth seemingly off tuned with each other. ''I, wait, what?!''

While I couldn't see anything in the darkness that surrounded me, I was fairly sure that everyone was staring at me with looks of disapproval and disappointment. Momo's grumbling was in fact quite noticeable. ''First Tsubaki-senpai, now Reya? Did the gas mess up with your hormones or something?''

The corners of my mouth were already trembling from the accusation. ''Wait, just a second I-''

''Real dick move Emiya, I mean sure I can understand the male drive of wanting to grope some hot chicks, but even I keep my hands at home.'' Saji remarked with an obvious amount of contempt in his voice.

''But I-''

Once again I didn't get to defend myself as Tsubasa took the word. ''Told you this would happen if we let him hang out with Saji too much.''

''What?! How is this my fault?!'' the previously mentioned pawn roared in disapproval.

Curiously for some reason I knew that the blue haired rook was rolling her eyes even though I couldn't see it. ''You know, when you go all 'Hey Emiya check out the legs on that chick!', people can still hear you even though you think your alone.''

Damn it… I hoped that there was no one around when Saji was letting his mouth loose and commented on random girls that he saw. ''Hey it's called male bonding!''

''More like perving around.'' Ruruko mumbled under her voice.

''I actually looked up to you Shirou!'' Tomoe remarked in shame.

''Just hear me out for a second!'' I snapped desperately at them, trying to keep things from derailing any more down the road. ''I didn't do it on purpose, I just can't see anything in this pitch black place.''

There was a moment of silence between all us, but it was short lived as many of the people around all shouted together. ''Bullshit!''

They really forgotten why we were in this tunnel in the first place didn't they? The whole stealth and sneak around plan to save Sona part?

It seems a bit counterproductive to go around shouting like that, but that's just my opinion. Moving back to the problem at hand, it seemed Tsubasa was quite annoyed by what she perceived as my method of lying my way out and decided to get a bit close and physical with me if I'm not mistaken by the scent that I'm sensing. ''If you're going to lie at least find a more believable excuse. Everyone knows that devils can see clear as day in the dark, so better come clean and admit you wanted to cup a feeling.''

Well… she wasn't technically wrong, I mean I did read that among the characteristics devils have nocturnal vision was indeed one of them, but I don't have it, which is another among the list of devil traits that I somehow lack. I really wanted to just go home and forget about all of this, but now is not the time. ''… Then how come I can't see anything?''

There was once again a deep silence between us, seriousness could now be felt in the air. ''…Hey for real now, you really can't see this?'' Saji asked me, the skepticism all too present in his voice.

I stared at him… or at least where I think he was, all I saw was nothing but darkness. My answer was rather obvious. ''No.''

They were once again silent as they probably debated between themselves.

''I think he really can't see, so put down that finger Saji, it's obscene.'' Momo remarked with quite the flustered voice.

Well at least that shows that I-

Wait a second… finger?

Why would Saji showing me a finger would be obscene, unless he…

Did Saji just flip me off?

''Oh for Christ sake! Now isn't the time for-'' My body froze as I felt a hand grabbing onto me, while that by itself may not be something bad, it was the specific area of my body that I was getting grabbed by that was making my mouth unhinge and drop. ''D-Did someone just grope my ass?''

''Huh, that shock on your face certainly was real… so you really can't see anything, sorry I wanted to make sure you weren't just faking it. Though if it makes you feel any better, you have quite the nice firm tush back there.'' She replied without a care in the world.

Of all the people that could have done that, she was in my opinion one of the last people I would have expected to do something like this. Though to be fair, I did grope her butt myself just a minute ago, so I think Reya was somewhat justified in doing it to me as well, the old 'eye for an eye' saying. As much sense as that may look from an equivalent exchange perspective it still didn't stop me from wanting to just find a hole and crawl in it until I calmed down.

''It's always the silent ones.''Archer added his own to cents, though to be fair he was making a valid point. It makes me put the things I know about Reya in a new light, perhaps I should check those books she reads in her free time but starts behaving suspiciously skittish whenever someone is trying to see what she is reading.

Concerning as that may be, it didn't get rid of the complex series of emotions I was going through. Was this how women feel when men treat them like objects?

My hand moved mechanically and slapped itself against my face; the pain from it was quite a nice change of pace from the massive headache I was feeling from the situation. ''I feel abused.''

''You should get used to it.''

I swear if I ever get the chance and meet Archer face to face I will punch him right in the middle of his smug face. ''I hate you so much…''


Shahnaz was what many people would call a calculating woman. Even though her master was a rather brash person, she was the one that always supported and helped him handle a lot of problems using strategy and schemes rather than simple brute force. In fact when her master first wanted to go and get Sona Sitri his original plan simply involved a lot of violence via taking the Sitri heir by force. Any possible witnesses to their actions would also be dealt with accordingly in a similar fashion; it was a reckless plan that would have severely hurt a lot of people something that she honestly didn't want to cause unless there wasn't any other choice. In order to avoid this she convinced her master to put on a little act of humility, suggesting he offer a gift as a token of peace when in reality secretly contained sleeping gas which when opened proceeded to knock the Sitri heir and her peerage out. It was fast, it would make it so one would get hurt, it wouldn't attract any undue attention from noise of any potential struggle, and plus they had a lot of such sleeping gas lying around the base for their little 'pets' in case they got overly excited so obtaining this without raising any suspicion was quite simple.

She didn't agree with the whole crazy idea her master was planning, but she didn't have a choice in the matter. Her duty as her a servant of Segrif Zepar outweighed whatever her morals she had on this matter may be. While she couldn't stop him, she could however at least try and limit the potential catastrophe of the situation. This was what she tried so desperately to do with her methods.

Originally her master didn't care about the Sitri heir's peerage in fact he would have let them be and rush back with Sona Sitri alone, it was only thanks to her convincing him on bringing them along with them that they hadn't been reported already and branded as criminals by the Underworld.

The middle-eastern woman's eyebrows knitted together as she watched the surveillance of their prisoners through her crystal ball, her hand reaching for her face, massaging the tattooed part under her eyes. She honestly thought the way things were going it was all too good to be true. The plan going off without a hitch, transporting them all secretly to Zepar family territory, all of the Sitri house members nicely shackled in the dungeon where they couldn't cause any trouble, and yet now she finds them somehow free from their bonds now making their way towards the upper levels. Why the hell wasn't she notified by the fat guard sent to watch them who was supposed to notify her should something unexpected happen? There would definitely be… words with him to be had later if he wasn't dead already, but that was a matter for a later time.

This was bad… very bad… the moment her master finds out they broke out things will really go south. There was really only one choice at hand, even though she didn't enjoy the aspects of it.

''It would seem things won't go as swiftly or smoothly as master planned.'' A sigh escaped her rosy lips as she kept track of the escapees… it would seem she had to take care of things before they escalated to much and went completely out of her control.

She raised her hand to her ear and a small magic circle appeared on it. ''Gather everyone and go at the sublevels, our guests have escaped and are making their way to up towards us. I want you to stop them.''

A frown formed on her face as she listened to the suggestions of how take care of the problem, and if they had to bring along the groups new pawn, she didn't like what she was hearing. ''No, leave him behind his powers aren't stable enough to fight. We cannot risk having him go berserk in here.''

There was enough trouble to deal at hand with the current situation and the possibility of adding a rampaging Longinus user to the mix was the last thing she wanted to deal with.

She was confident that the rest of the peerage was enough to stop them. Confident, yes, but trusting in them was something that she had yet to achieve.


After my allies finally remembered what we were here for in the first place and got their game faces back on we went on exploring the tunnels, and this time with Tomoe holding my hand guiding me like a blind person. It was about fifteen minutes later that we reached an exit from the tunnels, and I finally saw light again, which was a bit hard on my eyes since I stood so long in the dark.

As my amber orbs readjusted themselves to the light I took notice of my new surroundings. ''Seems like some kind of training hall or something.'' I muttered as my fingers trailed against the walls.

The size of it was rather impressive, about the size of a football field, enough space for people to train or spar without clashing against other people also practicing. On the walls there were a series of training objects like sparring mannequins, targets, and weapons among other things. The one thing that caught my attention were the numerous battle marks all over the place, claw marks, burn marks, small craters, and countless signs bloodstains at every step ranging from small drips to small ponds.

This place was used for more than just simple training or sparring.

''Do you guys see any exit around here?'' Tomoe asked as she looked around the area, annoyance present on her face since there was no other door besides the one we came from, and now we hit a dead end.

There might be a chance that we took a wrong turn somewhere along the way, but I highly doubt it. ''Should we go back and check if missed any other pathway?'' Ruruko asked with clear uncertainty in her tone, probably because going back could make us waste valuable time if the right path isn't from where we just came from.

My ears perked just as they started discussing among themselves, the sound of blowing wind getting my attention. Perhaps we were on the right path after all. ''No, we don't have to do that.''

This got the attention of the group, Tsubaki-senpai for one looked quite surprised by this. ''How do you know that?''

I raised my hand and pointed up towards the nearest part of the ceiling. A very obscure railing was built on the wall next to it the position of which being quite hard to spot from our level of sight. Behind it the frame of a door could been seen if one focuses hard enough… or if they reinforce their eyes like in my case. ''I can hear the wind blowing up there, and if you can look hard enough there's a door which hopefully is our exit.''

They stared with narrowed eyes to where I pointed, their faces brightening up as they saw what I was referring to. Momo in fact was more physical about it and gave me a slap on my back. ''Nice one Shirou!''

For a bishop piece that is supposed to mostly enhance a person by their magical abilities, her slap was quite a stinger, but I tried to ignore that as I further scanned the railing until finally finding what I was searching for. ''There's a stairway way over there, that should lead us to the upper levels.''

''Are you sure about that?'' Reya asked me a bit skeptical, to which I couldn't help but be a bit snarky in response.

''We can always use the other door that I missed along the way, or we could stop wasting time and go with the obvious exit.'' I rolled my eyes as the braided girl stared at me, pouting all too slightly.

Momo immediately stepped in and defused the air between me and Reya by patting her best friend on the shoulder and sending me a small glare. ''Look we should move on and there's no need to be a wise guy like that Shirou, it doesn't suit you.''

I nodded as I started walking, keeping a sharp eye around us, who knows if there was anything dangerous around here like a trap door or something.

The moment I stepped forward my eyes gaped as a very familiar sound resonated in the air, focus shifting towards the railing just in time to see two small dots of light rushing towards us.

I didn't have time to think… just to react.

''Down!'' I shouted as I stepped in front of Reya and Momo arms open and extended to the sides.

The two bishops didn't understand what I was doing, as they stared confusedly toward my palms, then both girls went pale as blood erupted from them, and small drips of it landed on their now horrified faces.

''Gahh!'' I tried my best to keep it together but I couldn't suppress my scream, the pain being far too great.

''S-Shirou your hands!'' Tsubasa stuttered as she saw the state my hands were in. There were sharp knife like ends sticking from the back of my palms and blood dripping in rapid place from them.

I tried ignoring the pain in an attempt to see just what penetrated my palms, my ears didn't deceive me earlier, and it was just what I thought it was, the very thing I used to use as I was a member of the archery club.

''Arrows!?'' Saji stated the obvious as he stared the wooden shafts of the arrows currently sticking out of my palms.

This was like an alarm signal with everyone immediately assuming battle positions and scanning around everywhere in the room. Frustration was present on all their faces, especially on Tsubasa who looked for the location of our enemies. ''Where the hell did those come from?!''

I gritted my teeth from the sheer ignorance and lack of battle experience they were showing. I pointed with one of my injured hands towards the place the arrows came from, the edge of the railing. ''U-Up there!''

They all shifted towards where I was pointing at, just in time to notice the arrival of our attackers. Five robed figures were now present in the room, staring down on us from the railing. A series of different scents invading my nose at the same time, and certain aspects of each scent that I couldn't make out. Yet, in each one I could feel something similar to the ones of our peerage.

''God dammit.''

Segrif Zepar's peerage just intercepted us.

Standing right on the railing was a woman with dark skin and short lilac hair, a jade bow resting in her hand as her forest green eyes stared unimpressed at us. ''Oh my, that sure looks painful.''

I gritted my teeth in a mixture of frustration and pain at my assaulter, but it was subdued. To my surprise the man next to her smacked her over the head, electing a painful shout from the girl. ''Ouch! What was that for you brute?''

The said man in question had quite the towering presence, easily passing the two meter height bar and had arms with a girth that were bigger than my head. Although his head was lacking any hair, he did sport a thick brown beard that matched his eyes. His expression was one of annoyance not to us who broke out of their cells, but rather to his comrade. ''Hello! Earth to Miss Long ears over there, our job is to take them out!''

As he said that I focused more carefully at the lilac woman's features, her ears were indeed long, very long and sharp pointing outwards. ''That was what I was doing you big oaf.''

The bald man clicked his tongue. ''Take them out! Not kill them for Pete's sake!''

The long eared woman rolled her eyes at her comrade's antics. ''How do you know I was trying to kill them and not incapacitate them?''

Curiously the girl on her left threw her arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer, lightly stretching the cheek of the woman that ruined my hands. She had bronze like hair that reached her shoulders, her yellow eyes trailing at her hand playing with her friends face. The most eye catching feature on her was a pair of animal ears on the top of her head, resembling those of a dog of some kind. ''Incapacitate? You call shooting someone in the head with an arrow incapacitating?''

At this the long eared woman flinched nervously. ''W-Well the initial aim may seem like a fatal shot, but look at that kid with the goofy hair, he's incapacitated isn't he?''

''Only because he went all hero and defended his comrades.'' The bald man remarked dryly.

''Semantics.'' She rebuked.

''I swear, sometimes I think those ears of yours are just for decorative purposes if you can't hear orders properly.'' another one of the girls in the group remarked, this one had long wavy indigo hair with a single strand hanging between her sharp dark blue eyes.

She threw a glare towards the woman. ''I don't want to hear that from someone with fish breath!''

The pupils of her eyes seemed to have reacted to this, thinning and stretching, becoming sharp slits. ''Oho~ now you did it!''

''Why am I surrounded by idiots?'' the last of the group remarked in a bored tone, his features compared to the others were hidden completely by a hood and a gas mask.

The lilac haired woman gritted her teeth as she stomped her foot down. ''That does it, screw all of you! I'm going back up to eat my pizza, and I'm not sharing with any of you!''

''Damn, just what's her problem?'' The woman with the animal ears remarked as she watched her annoyed comrade leave.

''Must be that time of the month.'' The hooded man snickered, getting two sets of glares from the girls of the group.

''That would explain a lot.'' The bald man nodded solemnly. ''Though with her constant bitching one would think every day is that time for her.''

''Quite.'' His hooded comrade agreed.

The bald man cracked his neck as he shifted his focus on us. ''How about you man, feel like doing some stretching?''

To my surprise the hooded man waved his hand in denial. ''I think I'll pass, you guys go and have fun.''

''So just chilling and watching the show?''

''Pretty much.'' His hooded man replied as he sat himself on the railing with his back against the wall.

''Suit yourself.'' The bald man snickered as he and the two girls started walking down the staircase.

They were all casual. No, not from a fashion point, but from their very body language, they were all relaxed and easy going about this whole situation. Their enemies are right in front of them and outnumber them eight to five, yet two of those five decided that fighting us wasn't worth their time.

All of this can all mean one of two things. Either they are so full of themselves that they are overconfident in their abilities…

Or they are indeed strong and there is no need for them to fight us seriously in the first place.

In either case, battle is right around the corner and I'm currently facing a major problem, as my eyes drifting towards the source of it. Frustration built in me as I stared at them, yet it was like I was staring at someone else's hands. ''... I can't feel my hands.''

As I said this Momo rushed in and grabbed one of my hands, intensely staring at it for a few moments, her blue eyes narrowing in pain at what she was seeing.

''Shirou try moving a finger.'' She ordered me with a flat tone, her attempt of trying to keep herself in control was all too obvious. I complied and tried moving my fingers, yet they refused to do so, even the ones on the opposite hand were lifeless. This lack of reaction made Momo's expression grow even grimmer. ''Dammit, the arrows shredded your tendons. You can't use your hands anymore.''

I was suspecting this, but I still hopped that it wasn't that bad. Of all the things… of all the times that something like this could've happened it just had to be now when I need my hands the most. I was slowly going livid, but I had to find a solution.

My amber orbs focused on the blue eyes of the white haired bishop. ''Can you and Reya heal them?''

This question made Momo's expression grow even darker, so instead Reya answered my question. ''We can, but healing an injury of this level is delicate work, it will take time.''

My teeth gritted so hard, almost cracking from the pressure I was putting on them. ''We don't have time! Those guys will be here any second.''

They acted like they didn't just see my outburst, and focused entirely on my hands. ''Momo you do the left hand while I do the right, that should speed things up a little more.''

Before I could even get the chance to comment about this I felt a soft hand over my shoulder, looking at my backside I saw Tsubaki-senpai offering a reassuring smile. ''Shirou… stay put and let them heal you properly. We'll take care of this.''

I didn't want this, there's no way I can accept something like this. ''I can't just sit back and do nothing! I can still- Gahh!''

My legs gave in and I fell to my knees, grunting and gasping for air as Tsubasa just kneed me in my solar plexus, her blue eyes looking down on me uninterested. ''That you should keep you put for a bit. Do your thing girls before he starts struggling again.''

As I laid there on my knees weak and useless on the floor our enemies finished descending, now face to face with us. Tsubasa and Ruruko assumed battle positions, Tsubaki-senpai called forth a naginata, and Tomoe summoned and unsheathed Juuchi Yosamu.

I turned around as I felt a strong grip on my shoulder, Saji's gauntlet covered hand around it. ''Emiya, you fought for us and defeated Kurosaiga back then, now it's our turn to fight and defend you.''

I couldn't fight and was now forced to watch as the others slowly walked forward to do so in my place. This feeling was consuming me from the inside. Hatred for my own inability and my recklessness.

A new battle is starting.

And I can't do anything.


Attention! Due to technical difficulties Taiga's Dojo will be on break.

However, to not leave any of the readers that are still reading this with a sour taste in their mouths, we are offering you a new segment.

Omake: The adventures of the Emiya house.

Sella was quite confident in her skills as a maid. Whether it was cooking, cleaning, or any other kind of house chore she would always complete them with professionalism and ability worthy for one that holds the title of Einzbern maid.

However she was quite bemused by the challenge she was now facing, that of babysitting.

''There, there, my lady.'' She tried her best to calm down the crying form of the infant lllya, yet she was failing miserably. Her master decided to tag along with her husband on his latest mission and thus left Sella with taking care of her daughter and adoptive son until she returned. Nothing difficult she assumed at first, how hard would it be for a homunculus of her pedigree to take care of a baby?

Never did she imagine that the strength of a babies lungs were so great, or how Illya could keep on crying over and over again no matter how much she cuddled her.

If it wasn't bad enough that she wouldn't stop crying no matter what she tried, Shirou the newly adopted boy of her masters kept on staring at her the entire time. It was only when Sella finally asked him what he wanted did he say what was on his mind. ''Do you want me to try?''

She was a little annoyed by that question, not only was he doubting her abilities of taking care of her young mistress, he was trying to take that from her too. ''No, that is not necessary.''

At that moment it was like Illya somehow understood what was going on and increased the output of her crying, something which Sella didn't imagine was possible. Shirou himself was quite taken aback by this, his eyes half closing as he stared at the maid. ''You sure?''

It hurt her pride as a maid to be doubted like this, but she was quite at the end of her strength herself, the previous night's barely gave her enough time to sleep since Illya would wake up from time to time and it would take hours for her to get back to sleep. Oh, to hell with it. ''I-If you insist, though I doubt it will make any difference.''

The moment the small form of Illya was passed from Sella to Shirou, as if a magic spell was casted, she suddenly stopped crying.

To say that Sella couldn't believe it was an understatement, her tired eyes staring for about a minute to confirm that she didn't somehow fall asleep and was dreaming. ''Can I have her back for a moment?''

Shirou was a bit hesitant, but he complied, Illya did calm down already after all so that was all that mattered. The moment the exchange was made though the baby's mouth snapped open and instantly the crying returned. The red haired boy could only stare at his white haired guardian with half lidded eyes. ''I don't think that was a good idea.''

''You don't say…'' Sella muttered unsure of what to think about this turn of events. She couldn't fathom a reason why she would calm down in Shirou's arms and not her own. More tests had to be done before she could speculate on a theory.

An exchange was performed once again… And again… And again… and so on for a minute. Every time she reached Shirou she would magically calm down, while whenever she was passed back to Sella she would break down crying.

This was becoming quite frustrating for the Einzbern maid. ''Why is it that she calms down only when you hold her?''

''No clue.'' Shirou replied in a flat tone, he was just as confused as she was.

The woman that had been sitting on the couch and munching on potato chips this whole time finally decided to speak up.

''You have… scary eyes… Sella.'' Leysritt remarked in her pausing tone.

''I certainly do not!'' Her sister snapped at her, quite annoyed by her since she hasn't even done the slightest thing to help out and sit there munching on junk food this whole time. It wasn't enough that she just vacuumed the room and Liz made crumbles all over the floor, she had the gall to call her eyes scary. She turned around to further prove her statement by asking the one person she knew wouldn't lie. ''Isn't that right Shirou?''

She blinked a few times, Shirou and Illya were both gone. She quickly scanned the room and caught sight of him at the door, the boy flinching as he saw that he was spotted, similar to a deer caught in the headlights. ''I, ah, I'm just taking Illya for a walk in the backyard.''

The boy left the room on the double, leaving a frozen maid behind with her sister, yet said sister couldn't resist the urge to throw one more jab. ''See… you scared him.''

Sella didn't say anything and simply walked towards the kitchen. Once she finds that damn frying pan she will return and give Liz a piece of her mind.

As livid as she was, she was still curious to why her young mistress preferred being held by her brother instead of her. She would keep an eye on the boy, she could never know what the future holds. The young girl might grow with a brother complex if she isn't too careful.

…Oh, if she only knew.


Author notes:

'Sup guys, how you all doing?

So I did another cliffhanger just when things were getting interesting… yeah I can already hear people hit on my door.

Anyway I hope I made the chapter interesting enough even though it lacked any actual battle.

For those of you that are preparing complains that I'm trying to justify Segrif for his actions, I'm not doing that exactly, and I'm trying to give more depth to his character. It's fairly easy to just make him pure stereotypical or a Riser or Diodora copy, but making him more original is not so easy that's for sure. While he isn't meant to be a likable character in any way, I'm trying to make his actions seem more meaningful even though they seem reckless or stupid.

If anyone here wants Serafall to arrive and make Segrif go through a world of pain, well rejoice, she will. Exactly at what point that will happen, I won't say.

In other news Tsubaki almost got raped this chapter… yeah… that almost happened… if I offended any of you I humbly apologize.

Next chapter will have the battles… which I mentioned that will begin this chapter… and I dragged on and didn't get into them.

So I've been watching the new season of dxd and I'm quite satisfied with it. Finally got to saw Yasaka, and boy oh boy talk about a foxy vixen, though kunou on the other hand looks much older compared to her LN illustrations. I also missed Rossweise, her being drunk and crying over being single is hilarious.

I'm quite amazed that no character remarked how much Siegfried and Freed look alike. I mean that is pretty much Freed if he took some damn anti psychotics.

I just loved Le Fay's appearance, she is just so cute. Though, doesn't she seem a bit older? Ah, who cares.

Also that ending, whoever made that scene with Xenovia's booty is a man of culture; even Vali would give a thumbs up if he saw it.

You know there's something that I've been wondering. Would any of you like artwork of this story? I do have a little skill in anime style drawings and I've been considering doing some for this story. But it's still debatable whenever I should get on it or not, drawing takes me more time than writing…

Special thanks for all who sent me messages of support last chapter concerning my grandmother, i greatly appreciate it.

That being said, I will see you next time. It may take me a little more since I will do multiple battle scenes, but I will try my best.

Now if you all excuse me, i'm off to see the Heavens Feel movie.


Let's answer some reviews:

ABC5dashboard: I will keep in mind that advice in mind as I wrote in the future.

StoryReiter: Ok… I'm quite confused, so you're saying you're dropping this story or something? Because I didn't quite get what you were referring to.

Good stories here: Trust me I'm trying…

bluefish1945: I did actually consider that idea, but with the way I'm planning things, it would be best to avoid that. Don't get me wrong the idea is good, just a couple of tidy bits that comes with it.

Ferdiad: Well I can agree with that somewhat, but in all honesty breaking up couples could ruin things, I mean there is a LOT of shippers out there and the moment you ruin their otp things can get nasty. Anyhow, I'm trying to take it slow and build up solid foundations for each potential relationship, since I for one don't really like it when the guy meets girl, guy does something nice or epic and then the girl is completely gaga over him.

Starlight's Poet : Kiritsugu would probably be suffering side by side with Shirou, as much as the man loves his wife even he isn't affected by her antics. About which EMIYA this archer is, he is the EMIYA from the true end of the UBW route. About EMIYA alter though; I might have an idea for him to make an appearance in one form or another.

GameCrusher55: Wait, time out, time out. I only rated it M for violence and possible erotic content in the long run, I would never resume to actual rape, attempted at most, but not real one, sure I can also make violent and gore scenes but that's a zone I don't want to go in.

pyre101: Archer has his own little agenda, but he is helping shirou, just much more discreet and unnoticeable than shirou realizes.

Fireofargentis: Well I do plan to give Ayako a certain role and powers in this story so she has relevance compared to the canon. Well that's normal since Iri is more of a child herself than an adult in my opinion, so I'm exploiting that. He won't miss it, just get there a little late.

cmartist: You have your reasons to doubt why he would still be distorted given what you read up until now, however you don't have to worry, i have everything covered and it will all make sense when what really happened during the 4th grail war gets revealed to shirou.

Dareth: Yeah, sorry about that, i will avoid doing that in the future.

Shining Maelstrom: Yep, so i did. Is there any other dxd character wacky enough to use such a name?

Lord Naruto: Finally someone that figured it out. Now regarding the low blow part you pointed out, it depends on how things are done, if it's just reveal then bam he appears it will be a bit of a nasty tease, but if it's when Shirou is fighting it and losing then it's a dynamic entry so it might work.

Masterx01: Again about the circuits… the evil pieces can't repair them because they are damaged so to say, just untrained, it's like asking someone who just started the gym to lift a really heavy weight and expect him to do it without any trouble. Shirou will need time to properly master them and increase their capacity. About Maiya… for real? I mean she never really displayed any form of magecraft in the fate/zero anime and I think that most people are assuming that she is just human. Well now I did what I did so I can't back up, so I'll let it be, it's not like it affects the story overall.

alexkellar: A fair point, I do tend to kinda drag out when its rather unnecessary... huh… now that I look at the last chapters I really haven't had any proper action in a while… shit… that does it I'm looping limit breaker x survivor in my headphones when I'm writing next chapter and I will make this arc a battle fiesta!


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