The silence was only stretching, and he had no idea how to go about fixing it. By now, he'd already changed back into his Homurahara school uniform and was idlily sweeping the floor beneath him with a broom in light of nothing better to do. Of course, he had already cleaned the training hall previously, but that fact had long since slipped his mind.
Brush back then forward, side to side.
The gentle swishing of the broom against the laminated wooden floor was the only noise that echoed within the room occupied only by two.
Her name was Arturia Pendragon, a transfer student that had enrolled in Homurahara Academy half-way through the fall semester.
He'd never really taken much notice of her because he wasn't one to trust in rumours or be excited by a new girl coming to his school, and yet he suddenly found himself kicking his own foot.
He was utterly captivated right now to the point that he didn't realize that the only area he was sweeping was the space in-between his feet.
He wanted to talk to her, but she didn't give off an approachable air.
Her expression had shifted back into monotone since she'd last seen him in a state of half-undress, and for the most part, she was ignoring him after giving him only a curt nod.
It seems that the rumours were true.
Arturia was beautiful in every sense of the word, but she was the only on in Homurahara Academy that actively avoided conversing or getting to know others.
She stayed away from social events, and she was only ever seen eating by herself during the break hours.
Many had wanted to ask if she was feeling lonely or not, but her lack of expression when asked questions or interacting with others in general was off putting. The gossip in Homurahara was that she wasn't really 'Human,' due to her inability to fit in.
The way he saw it though, Arturia wasn't what she was making herself out to be.
The sound of wood cutting wind echoed within the training space of the Archery Club. The space itself wasn't the property of the Archery Club, but the shared room of the various school sports clubs.
Kendo Club came directly after Archery so it wasn't weird for Arturia to arrive and begin practicing, but she really was too early.
The Kendo Club would only start an hour-and-a-half after Archery ended, but here Arturia was.
Students called Arturia a Ghost member of the Kendo Club even though she was now its captain. She was strong with her sword and flawless with her skills, but the jealous members of the Kendo Club couldn't accept that someone who never showed up to practice could always be better than them.
In reality, Arturia was putting far more effort into her practice than anyone knew of; it was evident just by the callouses that he could see on her hands even from where he was standing.
The only problem, was just why she never showed up for her club activities.
He could tell while observing her that she didn't seem to be the type of person who'd be rude towards others or dismiss them without another glance. There had to be some other reason that she'd come early just practice Kendo by herself and outside the Kendo Club's knowledge.
Right now, Arturia was practicing her Sword skills in the open hall, having already changed into her practice attire before entering the room.
Shirou's eyes began to narrow.
He was no longer just focusing on Arturia, but on the patterns of her footwork and attacks.
Although he was well known for his Archery skills, there was another fact about him that others did not know. He was proficient in his ability to 'Trace' what he had seen once before. So long as the person that he was 'tracing' used a weapon, he could perfectly replicate the experience and technique of the user.
Strike after strike, Arturia's patterns were engraved in his memory.
He could be considered a Faker in all senses of the word, but that didn't mean that a fake could not beat the original.
Before he knew it, the broom he was using in his hands had been replaced by one of many wooden swords kept stored in the bin by the opposite side of the room.
From the moment that he took the sword in his hand, Arturia's gaze had shifted onto him in curiosity. If she said that she didn't know who Shirou Emiya was in Homurahara Academy, it would be a lie. He was popular not only for his skills with a bow, but because he always went out of his way to help anyone in need or fix anything that needed attention. Moreover, there was a rumour going along in the circle of girls within the Academy that the top student Rin Tohsaka had an interest in the red-head.
Still, this sort of thing had nothing to do with Arturia, so like Shirou, she had been ignoring the rumours.
Now that Shirou was using a sword in front of her though, she couldn't stop her attention from drifting. Especially when the moves he was executing looked so familiar.
She watched in silence, and soon enough, her eyes started to widen.
Shirou was no longer paying attention to Arturia at this point and was just immersing himself in the feeling of the sword in his hand. As a person who generally preferred using a bow, it felt oddly right to hold a sword.
Strike. Sidestep. Retreat, then feint with a counter.
His body was moving on autopilot, not noticing when Arturia had suddenly gotten in front of him with a serious expression on her face.
"Where did you learn to use a sword?"
It was the first time that she had actively spoken to him. There was a curiosity in her tone that her neutral expression could never hide.
He stared at her blankly before she realized how forward she was being.
"Sorry," she apologized while shaking her head. "It was just that your technique resembled mine."
It would be a lie to say that he didn't copy her, so the best that he could do was shrug and answer honestly. "It's my first time using a sword and I guess watching you just inspired me to try."
"Your first time?" Arturia's voice was tinged with disbelief, but from there, the conversation rapidly began to deteriorate back into silence.
It was because of this, that the gurgling noise that Arturia's stomach made became painfully obvious to hear.
A blush was forming on her face, and she seemed to forget anything about questioning him any further.
"Hungry?" He smiled while moving to put away the wooden sword that he'd taken.
Arturia turned her face away.
"I didn't eat," she admitted. "I forgot my lunch and I didn't have any money to buy anything."
He raised a brow before glancing at the time. It was well passed two in the afternoon.
"And you planned to practice in such a state?"
Arturia's lack of a response was telling.
He sighed before moving to where he'd left his bag and produced a secondary boxed lunch. He'd prepared it in case his step-mother Irisviel had forgotten to eat again, but she'd already bought food with his little sister Illya in the elementary school division.
Rather than waste the food, he figured it would be better to give it away to someone who needed it. And that someone was right in front of him.
"Take it," he said, dropping the lunch in her hands.
If Arturia didn't catch it or refused it, then it would go to waste on the floor. Therefore, Arturia readily caught it while staring at him for his act of kindness.
"I made too much this morning," he explained. "It's better for someone to eat it then let it go to waste. Hunger is the enemy," he quoted.
Arturia didn't know what to say, or how she should express herself for the gesture, so she simply nodded her head.
Opening the boxed lunch, she saw an assortment of food ranging from fried rice and omelets, to octopus shaped hot dogs and side dishes. She ended up thinking about her own lunches which were generally comprised of just premade sandwiches and suddenly felt like she was missing out on a lot of things.
The moment that she took the first bite, was the moment that she stared in a daze at the quickly emptied lunch box in front of her.
Shirou himself took several seconds to process just how fast Arturia had emptied the lunch box.
Grains of rice were stuck to her cheeks adjacent to her mouth, and oil from the meat glistened from her lips.
He passed her a napkin after a moment of thought.
"Thank you," she said while wiping her mouth.
"Are you human?" He let out the question involuntarily
Her face reddened in response, her ears practically burning.
"I-I just like to eat," she feebly reasoned before composing herself. "It tasted good though," she complimented.
The ticking of the wall clock echoed for the both of them to hear, alerting them both about how much time had already passed.
The Kendo Club was set to start in only ten more minutes, around the time that the regular club members would begin arriving.
Arturia immediately made to leave rather than stay. She picked up her belongings and quickly began packing her bags in a hurry. She was clearly trying to avoid any members of her club from seeing her.
"Is there a need to leave?" He suddenly asked her. "You're the captain of the Kendo club, but you won't make yourself any friends like this. Especially since you've just transferred."
She paused, if only momentarily while making her way towards the door.
She seemed like she wanted to explain herself and her circumstances but thought better of it before cooling her features.
She pursed her lips and just shook her head.
"I don't deserve it," she murmured softly before leaving.
She never came back.
Shirou was there again, waiting for her.
Arturia felt an invisible weight press down on her shoulders. It had already been a week since she'd last met him, and every day after his Archery Club activities ended, he'd stay in the Archery Club room waiting for her to come.
She adjusted the strap of her bag carrying her school supplies and Kendo equipment before once again walking passed the Archery Club room where Shirou was waiting. He was wasting his efforts. She wouldn't come back not because she had anything against Shirou, but because she felt that Shirou was a nice person. Someone like him should not get involved with her who had been at the heart of a tragedy.
It was her mistake.
Everything that had happened in the past was due to her and her alone.
Since a young age, she'd been hailed as a prodigy in the way of the sword such that the responsibility of carrying her team to the nationals had been placed on her back.
And yet everything that she'd ever worked for and wholeheartedly enjoyed toppled down under her leadership ending in a complete fall out with her teammates.
It was better for her not to get close with anyone again. She didn't want to hurt anyone anymore.
She should have had never picked up a sword. Maybe then she could have had lived a normal life as a girl, but to make amendments for her past mistakes, she had to get stronger.
Her sword instructor Merlin had told her to take a break, but she couldn't just not practice.
Adjusting the strap over her shoulder, she made her way out of Homurahara Academy and back towards home.
Classmates and students whispered as she walked by, and she could hear them calling her out for being so cold to everyone. At this point she was already used to it and had no intention of changing anything about herself.
It wasn't that she was emotionless, it was just that she always kept everything bottled up inside of her anyway. It would do no good for a leader to reveal weakness. This was the first rule she'd learned in her past role.
Walking alone, she soon arrived by a simple apartment that her family had bought when they had first moved to Japan back when she was too young to be able to speak. Her real father and mother were already dead before she got to know them, so she had been raised by one of her father's employee's who she called Papa Ector.
Only three people lived in the apartment including herself, and they were Papa Ector and her brother Kay.
Fumbling for the keys within her bag, she walked up to the door of her residence and soon unlocked the entrance.
"Papa Ector? Kay? Anyone home?" She called out while pushing open the door.
Only silence greeted her.
Even at home, she was alone.
She bit down on her lower lip before she shook her head, took off her shoes, and then walked in towards the kitchen. It wasn't as if she couldn't understand her family's circumstances.
Neither Kay nor Papa Ector were home, but they'd left a note for her to read that explained that they'd only be back near midnight.
Due to Papa Ector's old age, Kay had been actively taking Papa Ector to the doctors and as such no longer had as much time to spend with her.
Papa Ector and Kay had taught her everything that she needed to know about how to use a sword which was why she'd been curious to understand just where Shirou had learned his swordsmanship from. Regardless, it wasn't as if she'd be able to ask him anymore.
Dumping her stuff in her room, she made her way to the fridge and looked for what was left inside. There was a small carton of eggs, some milk, and left over take out from the previous night.
Her hand moved forward towards the take out, but hesitated before moving towards just the milk. Papa Ector was on medication so he needed more nutrition.
She thought about it and decided that she'd be fine with just a glass of milk. It had protein and was enough to keep her going until she could go shopping later.
From humble beginnings.
Papa Ector had always been telling her of how great her real Dad was, and that one day she'd eventually take up the same role, but right now she just couldn't see it.
Her talent with her sword was all that she had.
Merlin had told her about some underground sort of tournament going on in a few weeks called the 'Holy Grail War' where the winner had the chance to obtain a substantial prize. If that was the case, she had to at least try and win not just for her sake, but for all the mistakes that she'd made in her life.
Besides, her gaze shifted towards the notice hidden behind the flower pot by the windowsill. Kay had never been a person adept at hiding things, but that was just his personality.
The notice was a yellow parchment with a single set of words printed in bold.
'Notice of Eviction.'
Papa Ector's medical fees were running too high and they'd missed the monthly mortgage fees more than once already. If they didn't get the payment in by the end of the month, their home would be confiscated.
Merlin must have had known about her family's circumstances if the man had informed her about an unofficial tournament, but she was still thankful to the womanizer.
There was still a chance.
First, she'd stabilize her family's financial situation, and then she'd move on to make amendments for her past mistakes.
She filled up a cup of milk, and drank it all down in a single drink.
She had to get stronger.
Wiping her mouth, she picked up her wooden sword and left her house. She was going towards her newest training area now that Shirou had occupied the Archery Club room.
She'd been practicing in the nearby park by Homurahara Academy as of late. She first waited until the park emptied, and then found an isolated portion of the field to practice.
One hour.
Two.
She was no longer counting just how much time had passed while swinging down her sword. A sheen of sweat had formed over her brow, and she was constantly wiping it away with the back of her forearms.
No matter how tired she got, she just kept on going without pause.
There were too many burdens hanging over her shoulders to allow herself time to relax.
The afternoon soon began to shift into evening.
It was a time when most people were already in-doors, and only the relative few stayed out.
Fuyuki was not a city with rampant crime rates, but it did harbour its fair share of ill-tempered youth.
As Arturia was considering putting a stop to her practice, she couldn't help but notice a group of students from another Academy surrounding three other people. She narrowed her eyes in scrutiny.
She recognized those three.
All them were wearing Homurahara Academy's girl's school uniform. From the rumours, the three girls were Kaede Makidera, Yukika Saegusa, and Kane Himuro, Class 2-A's track girl trio.
She had never really spoken much with any of the three, but they were part of her 1-B homeroom class. They were energetic, but they were all kind people who tried to get to know her even when she tried to push others away.
Seeing them caught in a predicament, she couldn't very well leave them alone. Moreover, their harassers appeared to be from another school known locally in Fuyuki as 'Mob's Academy.' The school didn't have any noteworthy characters, but Mob's Academy was abundant with no-name crooks.
Right now, there were over a dozen of them surrounding Kaede and the rest.
It was a number that was more than she could probably handle in her exhausted state after her workout.
Still, she didn't hesitate to take action.
She jumped directly in, beating a path for Kaede and the others to escape from.
"Run!" She said urgently.
"Arturia?"
"The transfer student?"
Kaede and the others looked dazed at her intervention, but she didn't have the time to protect them while fighting.
"Go!" She directly gestured toward the path she'd made in the encirclement.
Kaede and the others faltered, but soon left under the urgency of Arturia's gaze.
"We'll get help," Kaede muttered under her breath.
The three were stars of the track team. By the time that they started running, they were already dozens of meters away.
Angered by her sudden intrusion, the delinquents of Mob's Academy instantly began targeting her.
It was not easy to fight against a group by oneself, even more so when she was already exhausted.
Yet she had to try.
She resolved herself and simply allowed her body to move by instinct simply because there was no talking her way out of the situation.
"One for the price of three? That's ridiculous," one of the delinquents kicked at the ground. "We were only insisting to hang out a bit."
They must have said no. The thought entered her mind, but her eyes continued to dart around her in case of any surprise attacks.
It didn't take long.
At first, they thought that she was just an ordinary girl holding a sword, but they soon learned that wasn't just the case.
"Hey look guys, I can take her by myself."
Her eyes narrowed as one of them approached. Her sword struck out by instinct, smacking the man under the jaw and knocking him back.
The atmosphere immediately began to tense before a fight broke out.
Time passed, and she didn't know how many times she'd already attacked in self-defence, but her body was beginning to ache. The exhaustion started from her numbed hands and crawled up through her arms and into her body.
She winced as she was punched in the shoulder and sent tumbling down due to her small frame. There were over a dozen enemies around her right now of which many she'd already injured. The only problem was that she'd been too kind and hadn't hard enough to knock anyone out.
This was her sole mistake, and she was about to pay for it.
Although her enemies were injured, they weren't incapacitated.
Caught up in the middle and thrown to the ground, she immediately attempted to shield herself from any kicks of punches, but they never came.
From the edge of her vision, she could see many objects flying.
A blunted arrow?
One.
Two.
Six.
There was an entire storm of them that accurately struck the foreheads of the people that surrounded her. The blunt force was enough to stagger and disorient them.
They tried to compose themselves, but the arrows just wouldn't stop.
"Run!"
Sooner or later, someone called out the word for retreat and the entire area soon became deserted.
Only she was left, panting heavily from exhaustion on the ground. Her school uniform was torn and dirtied with mud and grime in a few places, meaning that she'd probably have to pay to buy a new one.
It was just going to be eggs on bread for another week then.
She grimaced while using her hands to leverage herself back onto her feet and soon craned her neck behind her towards the source of the arrows and an empty quiver.
Kaede and the others had come back accompanied by a certain individual and all were frantically pointing in her direction.
"As expected of Homurahara Academy's Ace Archer!"
"I thought he was just Homurahara's Brownie, but he has skill!"
"Shut up Kaede that's rude."
Arturia could hear Kaede and the other's bickering in the distance, but she was more focused on the fact that Kaede and the others had brought the person that she'd been avoiding for the past week.
"Hey, are you alright?" She felt a hand rest on her shoulder, and when she looked up, she saw Kaedo and the others looking at her with concern.
"I'm fine," she said.
"Your uniform's torn, and you have some bruises. How can you be fine?" Kaede pulled out her cellphone. "I'll call an ambulance."
"No, no really it's fine," Arturia shook her head. She didn't want to put anymore burdens on Papa Ector and Kay.
Kaede frowned while Yukika and Kane helped stabilize Arturia on her feet.
"Those bastards. Why couldn't they have had just taken the hint when we said, no?" Kane pushed up her glasses before staring at Arturia. "If you refuse an ambulance, then at least let us help you."
Arturia shook her head again. If she was anything, she could be stubborn. "I'm fine," she repeated.
Kaede and Kane made to argue, but Yukika sighed and stopped them.
"Then how about if we can buy you dinner some time?" Yukika offered.
Arturia thought about it, and soon enough, nodded her head.
Shirou was the only one who was trying to give Yukika a warning in regards to Arturia and food, but his gesture remained unnoticed.
Kaede and the others soon left after profusely thanking her.
That being the case, Arturia was keenly aware that she was now alone with Shirou Emiya.
She silently made her way back to the park to sit down on a park bench with no back rest. She could hear Shirou make his way behind her.
"You know what you did was dangerous, right?" He said in a lecturing tone.
"I know," she said forwardly.
She felt him sit behind her, his back pressing against hers.
How much of that fight had he seen?
"Are you not going to laugh?" She asked him.
"Do you want me to?"
She didn't respond, and instead just pulled her thighs towards her chest and hugged her arms around her knees.
"Look," she could hear Shirou scratching at the back his head from behind her. "Do you honestly think that I'll laugh at someone who'd try so hard to help another?"
Even though it wasn't widely apparent in Homurahara Academy, the nearby schools had their own underground societies with numerous students that could be considered bullies. They weren't the kind of people that anyone rational or normal would consider dealing with on their own.
The Golden Arcs Academy for example had a rich student that was proficient in drowning enemies with priceless projectiles launched by high-tech drones said to carry 'any' material good that one could imagine. Thus, was the power of the Babylon industries of Sumeria.
Other examples were the spearman of Celt's Academy, but honestly speaking, those people were more battle maniacs than they were bullies. It was best to just stay away from them.
Shirou supposed that what he was trying to say, was that none of the troublemakers from the various schools around Homurahara were simple to deal with.
"What you did Arturia was admirable. Why would I laugh at you because of that?"
Arturia lowered her head, her lips pursing in her sudden bout of stubbornness.
"Is it not reasonable to laugh at someone that's in over their head?" She grumbled in self doubt. "There were over a dozen of them, and if you didn't show up, I-"
She closed her mouth, unwilling to speak further. She had acted impulsively, just like what had happened before in her previous school which had ruined everything. It was because of her that Lancelot and the others, no, her entire team fell to ruin. It was because of her. She only pushed and led them, but never understood them.
It was her fault.
"I'm just a foolish girl," she muttered out the words that the four-time regional champion, Iskander, had told her. She hadn't been fit to be a leader.
She could feel Shirou shrug from behind her.
"A foolish girl, not woman? Well you are fairly short." His focus was entirely off the mark.
If not for the fact that she owed him a favour, she'd be glaring at him right now for that comment. She wasn't 'short' per say, just 'small' was the right word. She wasn't even the tiniest of girls in her class. Average. She was average. After years of still being able to fit into her old middle school uniform, she'd developed an acute sensitivity in regards to her body's slow development. Besides, she'd grown an entire five centimeters in the past four years. She was taller now.
"Feeling better?"
Shirou's question threw her for a loop, her neutral expression breaking as her mouth started to hang open. Really, this guy.
Her features softened before she fell quiet once again.
"Thanks," she whispered almost inaudibly.
Shirou didn't respond.
"Rather than foolish, I think you were quite brave in what you did," Shirou suddenly went back to the previous topic. "It was the first time I saw a little girl beat down at least a dozen grown men with a wooden sword alone."
"I'm not little."
"Feeling better yet?"
Her lips were about to curl upward at the banter, but she forcibly quelled the urge. "Care to test this 'little girl's' sword skills? I'd gladly demonstrate."
"I'll pass."
Pity.
She felt a warmth begin to bubble up from within her stomach, but she could hardly understand what kind of feeling it was. It honestly just felt natural.
"Say," her ears perked up at Shirou's voice. "Why did you never come back? Was it something that I did?" He was probably referring to their first encounter at the Archery Club's practice area.
Her face suddenly reddened at the thought of it and what she'd seen. She was still mortified to realize that she'd been staring for so long at that time.
"N-No, you did nothing wrong," she stuttered involuntarily, the tips of her cheeks flushing red. "There were just some personal reasons."
"So, you were avoiding me then?"
"…"
She couldn't deny it. The fact was, the only time that she'd ever seen Shirou was at their first encounter and at no other time until now, but it wasn't because she disliked him. It was more like she didn't feel as if someone like her who'd caused a tragedy in her previous school deserved making any friends if at all. The less people that she knew, the less people that she could involuntarily hurt through her inability to understand others.
"I see," Shirou spoke dispiritedly.
He'd probably taken her silence as an affirmative, but perhaps it was better this way. She could hear him shuffling behind her, and soon enough, the feeling of his back against her own disappeared.
She suddenly felt far colder than she'd ever felt before despite the chilly wind blowing in from the direction of the setting sun.
Subconsciously, she found herself turning around for the first time during their conversation.
Shirou was still there, soundlessly staring at her as if he could see right through her and what she really wanted but continued rejecting. Her head soon turned away unable to face him directly, but her eyes would still glance back at him discreetly.
Shirou was standing before her while she remained seated on the ground.
It was the start of a journey.
The beginning of an alternative path.
"I won't give up," She could hear the determination in Shirou's voice, and frankly, she couldn't deny that a part of her thought that it was endearing.
Her heart began to thud loudly within her chest, her ears hearing every beat.
Directly in front of her, Shirou raised the practice bow that he was carrying in his school bag into the air with a single arm.
"My bow is your bow," he said in the silence between them. "And my fate is yours to command. Please give this humble Servant a chance?"
This idiot. He really was persistent.
It was the corniest thing that she'd ever heard someone say to her before with such a straight face. Was he perhaps re-enacting a play of sorts to express himself? In any case, she really couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face anymore.
"Then my sword is your sword," she felt like she was fumbling for words to play along, but at the same time, the situation was heartening.
"Then I am yours to command, Master," Shirou bowed low. "No matter how annoying you think I am, or whatever personal reasons that you have, so long as you need me, I won't leave you."
She looked up at him, and he at her.
Her lips parted, a hand moving to hold the tip of Shirou's shirt.
"Then, can you stay beside me for just a little bit longer?" She looked away. She didn't mean anything by her action, but she'd been isolating herself for too long, and was reluctant to let go of the previous feeling that she had with Shirou sitting against her back.
She didn't want to lose that feeling yet, even if it was only temporary.
She was being selfish and she knew it, not even asking if Shioru had the time to stay any longer, but she didn't want to be alone right now.
She had too many things that she had to think about, and it was only when Shirou was with her that her mind became utterly blank, leaving her with nothing to concern over.
Her duties.
Her responsibilities.
Her self imposed atonement.
"I'll stay with you," Shirou sat back down beside her. "Everything else could wait."
Yes. That was exactly it.
She immersed herself in the warmth slowly pervading around her and hugged her legs closer to her chest.
Everything else could wait.
"Thank you," she muttered out. "But this doesn't change anything." She didn't want to hurt anyone else.
Shirou merely hummed in response.
"Doesn't matter, just take as long as you need."
"…"
The two sat in silence, both staring up at a rising moon.
Idiot, she mouthed the word.
Thanks for Reading! If it wasn't apparent yet, this story is an AU based on student life and how Shirou and the others would be without Magic in the world
Next Update: Fate in Time
P a treon. com (slash) Parcasious