- ARC 1 -

Rusty Heart (I)
(Published 12.22.12 . Beta: Sperance)

Emiya Shirou had long since put behind him the idea of 'having seen everything'. Being a Magus and the Magus Killer on top of that, had beaten that silly notion out of him pretty damn quick.

Still, while he was ready to accept without flinching whatever oddity life threw at him, he had never imagined, even in his wildest dreams, the words that came out of his mouth in very moment.

"Then as agreed," he said picking up a dumbstruck Motoko from the floor of her family dojo and flopping her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes," this woman is mine."

Yes awkward didn't even begin to cover it, and Shirou would have self-combusted over those words if the situation had been any different. As he left the dojo, leaving behind a number of shell-shocked elders in his wake, Shirou idly mused about how such a ridiculous chain of events had come to pass and the grumbled under his breath as he recalled that it was indeed entirely his fault.

A few weeks earlier

It was a quiet morning when the truck rented by Shirou stopped at the end of the flight of stairs that climbed all the way to the Hinata Inn. It required a not small amount of effort to carry all his stuff all the way up there but Shirou decided it was a decent alternative to his usual morning routine.

Leaving behind his family once more had not been an easy task. Sakura's watery eyes and Rider's rib-crushing hug still lingered in his mind but he was determined to get the best out of the entire situation. Besides it wasn't like he lived on the other side of the world. Not anymore.

Forcing himself not to dwell on Sakura's enticing scent that still lingered in his mind since the night they spent together, Shirou began climbing the stairs with the first few boxes, the physical effort helping him to focus on the present.

The Hinata-sou was a silent place at that hour. Most of his tenants had already left for school or, hopefully for Konno, to work. It suited him just fine since a few of his things weren't meant to be seen at all. Nothing dangerous, but a few of his most esoteric text would have picked the interest of the resident girls.

It took him a good half an hour to move everything from the truck to his room and well over an hour to set everything in place. Lacking shelves, most of his books were piled on the floor, sometimes even up to the ceiling. When exactly had he become such a bookworm?

Nearly five years of travels had done wonders to the boy who wanted to be a hero. Realizing that his ignorance of himself and the world at large, both magical and not, had been his greatest weak point during those fated two weeks, Shirou went from a barely average student to a driven scholar.

Travelling the world, he had picked several different interests along with a smidgen of different languages. Books of all kinds became the most usual memento of the places he visited, both because of their general usefulness and the relatively small space they occupied. Some of those texts were old and rare enough to cause salivation to most history researchers and even a few Magi.

Truth be told, Shirou was almost as proud of this collection as his other one. He made a point of stuffing his most peculiar books were they were hardly reachable until he could set up a properly defended Workshop. There were a few suitable locations within his property that he intended to check out. So far the most interesting was a sturdy looking detached building with a basement. Its previous purpose was unknown to Shirou, but it looked like it used to house a big enough furnace, if the large obstructed chimney was any indication.

It would take him a while to restore it to proper working condition, all the more so with the preliminary exams coming up in a few weeks, but he could at least use it as a storage area for his less perishable materials, such as the alloys he used to craft his swords and even a few blades of his own making. As a precaution, he erected a minor Boundary field to keep the door closed shut and to inform him if anyone was trying to get inside.

With that out of the way, Shirou decided to go into town and buy some groceries. There was a recipe he wanted to try but never had the opportunity to try.

It took him around two hours on foot to walk to all the shops he wanted to visit and it was on his way back that he happened to witness the first incident.

Two guys, one relatively short and chubby and the other a little taller and much slimmer, were chatting up a group of schoolgirls. Shirou eyed the duo with a piecing gaze but as far as he could tell they were just trying to hook up without being too annoying, though the girls didn't seem to like the attention they were receiving. He was about to step in and discourage their attempts when he recognized one of the girls of the group.

Aoyama Motoko's face was expressing all her distaste at the situation and her hand was already reaching for the bokken tied behind her back.

'Not good,' Shirou thought, his body already on the move. He had no time to prevent the strike that was surely about to come, but he could at least make some damage control.

"Leave us alone," she said readying her sword, "YOU PERVERTS."

The strike was fast and precise, and if the blade had been anything but wood, the two men would have been sliced in half. Instead they were just sent flying backwards, shrieking in fear at the display of strength. They had been up for a very painful meeting with the asphalt if Shirou hadn't stepped in and broken their fall.

"Oooff," the three of them breathed under the strain of the impact.

Shirou's gaze met Motoko's and her face was an emotionless mask. She paid them no further attention and turned to leave with her schoolmates in tow.

"Ow ow ow," the thin guy grumbled as she stood back on his feet.

"Man, what the hell was that?" the chubby guy asked as the too regained his footing.

"Are you guys okay?" Shirou asked the pair.

"Yeah, we're fine. Thanks for the help by the way. If you hadn't caught us I don't think we would be standing properly right now."

"It's nothing," Shirou replied. "Are you sure the sword didn't hurt you?"

"Nah, it's fine. We are used to girls rejecting us."

"With a wooden sword?" Shirou inquired. Despite his particular situation he wasn't exactly an expert in asking girls out and by extension being rejected, so maybe it was his viewpoint that was mistaken.

"Well, no," the slim guy admitted. "But we developed a thick hide after a while."

"Yup," the chubby guy replied, sounding somewhat proud, "nothing short of a real sword is going to actually hurt us."

"Well, if you say so," Shirou replied with some measure of respect. He had to give them some credit if they persevered in their attempts to the point of developing a degree of immunity to blunt attacks. Their dedication was worthy of praise, if anything.

"By the way, I'm Haitani," the slim guy introduced himself.

"And I'm Shirai," the other followed.

"Emiya Shirou," the redhead reciprocated.

"Thanks again for the help," Haitani said but his eyes were already wandering to another group of girls nearby.

"Yeah," Shirai agreed running after his friend. "Thanks a bunch. We'll see you around, ok?"

"Sure," Shirou said, somewhat amused as he watched the duo approach the group, chat them up for a moment before the girls replied something he couldn't hear and left, leaving behind a dejected duo. Yep, words could hurt more than blades after all.

Shirou didn't exactly know how to deal with Aoyama. The girl wasn't exactly dangerous as she didn't lash out until provoked and even then it looked like she could contain he reaction to the point of not making any damage, be it permanent or otherwise.

Granted, a common person probably wouldn't have survived the technique she had used on him when they first met but then again being pinned naked on the floor by an unknown man was a very good reason to freak out and overreact. Perhaps one of the few reasons Shirou could understand.

At first he thought that, as a member of a family with an obviously old fashioned lifestyle, her interactions with the male gender had been extremely limited and as a result she didn't know how to deal with complex situations where boys were involved.

That idea quickly went down the drain when he learned that she attended a mixed school and had done so for several years. Her gender based mistrust wasn't therefore a result of inexperience but probably the aftermath of an unpleasant experience or experiences of which Shirou had no knowledge. That meant that something bothered her to the point that she automatically distrusted half of humanity.

Still, that didn't mean that Shirou could overlook her behavior. It was one thing if he was the target of her fury. He was much sturdier than most humans and he had enough battle experience to deal with her techniques.

She was skilled, no doubt. She was skilled enough to use her techniques in ways that didn't make permanent harm even on common bystanders, but accidents could always happen. Shirou couldn't just let her go hoping that the worst wouldn't happen. He had to confront her about it and make her stop.

The problem was how to actually do so without sticking his nose in her business. He just couldn't waltz up to her and demand her to tell him what her issue was. Well, he actually could if he ignored all proper behavior and if he didn't mind being her training dummy for an indefinite amount of time. While the latter reason bothered him -disturbingly - much less than the former, Shirou wasn't sure that avenue would lead to anything productive.

Caught between the hammer and a hard place, Shirou knew that he was probably going to conflict with the swordswoman before he had the chance to make any progress in helping her. To speed up the process he decided to confront her about it right away.

He ran in the direction she saw her walking. Considering his location she was probably going back to the inn.

As if she was expecting him to follow her, Aoyama was waiting for him at the top of the stairs to the Hinata-sou. One hand was lazily resting over the hilt of her bokken but her eyes were as sharp as a blade.

"Emiya-san," she called when he finished his climb, "I would appreciate it if you didn't meddle with my affairs from now onward."

"I don't really mean to stick my nose into your business, Aoyama-san," he replied evenly but firmly. "However I won't look the other way when you're using your sword against common people."

"They were harassing us," she retorted icily, "or perhaps are you saying that I should have let them have their way with us?"

"I'm not saying anything of the sort, but I'm advising you to find another way to dispose of unwanted suitors before something irreversible happens."

"Are you suggesting that my skills with the blade are sloppy? Perhaps you require another… demonstration."

Hostility was pouring from her and in spite of lacking the desire to fight her; Shirou's mind was already caressing his inner world. Not that he was going to pull anything out but it was an instinctive reaction when subjected to such a level of enmity.

Neither said anything for a moment and the tension kept building between them until Aoyama turned and left in the direction of the inn, sending a last challenging glare at him.

Shirou sighed and shook his head. Well, at least he had made his point clear.

The following week passed without too much fuss. Finally settled in his new residence and with most of the pressing repairs being done, Shirou managed to hit the books and study for the coming exams. He hardly ever left his room if not to attend his duties as a manager and a few short breaks.

Interactions with the other tenants were at an all-time low but that was for the best. The few times he met any of them they conversed cordially if a little coldly in some instances. Konno still tried shamelessly to flirt with him at any given chance, her efforts doubled since his return from Fuyuki.

Shirou had enough knowledge of a woman's mindset to understand that it wasn't much about him anymore but rather a challenge to Rider. It wasn't the first time a woman came onto him just to heal her wounded pride.

Shirou simply avoided her like the plague and she didn't dare to go looking for him into his room, probably still sore about the topic of his privacy after the last incident involving his personal space.

Everything went fine for exactly seven days. Then things started to go awry in ways that lead Shirou to believe the Inn was cursed somehow. I mean, just how many accidents involving accidental groping and peeking can happen in one week?

Apparently more than a few.

The first accident happened due to a faulty floorboard. Shirou was walking down a corridor when the floor beneath his foot gave in, causing him to trip and topple forward. Normally it wouldn't have been bad as she would have regained his balance long before hitting the ground but instead he dove head first between Narusegawa's generous breasts, the girl just happening to be passing by in the opposite direction.

The cry of "PERVERT" was surpassed only by the noise of her palm meeting his face at an admittedly impressive speed. That girl could pack a nasty punch when she put herself to it.

The next day he was cleaning the steps in front of the inn when his heart froze at the sight of Kaolla Suu dancing merrily on the rooftop. When she slipped and fell to her death, Shirou dashed to catch her before she could hit the ground. His endeavor was successful but the girl proved she wasn't in any danger when she flipped in midair to land gracefully on her feet. Too bad that in the meantime Shirou had already positioned himself on her landing spot with the only result of getting a face full of her panties.

The following nosebleed was caused by being struck to the face by Suu's– admittedly soft – bottom and by having his head slammed on the ground when he lost his balance. Narusegawa didn't seem to interpret this situation as the accident it was and promptly punched him in the face while he was still too dizzy to react. Kaolla seemed to have a great deal of fun watching him being propelled backward by the strength of Narusegawa's blow.

Shirou had every intention to protest about the treatment he received but in mid-flight he notice that Narusegawa had beaten Aoyama – quite literally – to the punch. Considering that it would have been far worse if he received his punishment from the resident swordswoman, Shirou decided to let it slid.

The final incident took place in the hot springs. Now, Shirou had made sure never to step inside the place outside of the cleaning hours and the slots of time reserved to him just to insure that no accidents could take place when the girls were naked.

Still, it appeared that a greater force, one may call it fate, was at play where he was involved.

In the past few days Konno had lamented that the heater wasn't working properly but Shirou never had the time to see what was wrong with the appliance. When he finally managed to take a look and tinker with it a little, Shirou didn't find anything out of ordinary. Deciding to employ his other talents to figure out what the issue was, the resident red head had just the time to widen his eyes when his tracing ability detected a gas leak further down the pipes a mere fraction of second before a switch went off, causing a small spark.

"Oh, shi-"

The explosion and resulting column of fire startled the female resident of the Hinata-sou but not as much as the even immediately following the unscheduled firework.

"GUAAAAAH!"

In a blaze of glory, Emiya Shirou fell from the sky like a burning meteor and landing, both fortunately and unfortunately in the currently occupied hot springs.

When he emerged with his clothes half burned but without noticeable injury, the only thing he could do beside coughing out the water out of his lungs was to take in the sight of four naked and shocked woman. Of course the shock lasted just enough for Shirou to realize he was in serious trouble.

"Well damn," he managed to say before a ki blast sent him flying once again but this time through several layers of walls. Walls that, he mused mid-flight, was up to him to repair. Insult and injury, no doubt.

Hinata Tea Shop

"It's not funny," Shirou whined as he drunk his tea.

"I'm not laughing," his recently discovered cousin-turned-aunt (don't call her that) said, taking a breath from her cigarette.

"Your shoulders are shaking, Haruka-san," he pointed out.

"Still, I'm not laughing," she replied with a straight face. It was quite obvious that she wanted to burst out and laugh at her nephew's luck, or rather, lack of thereof. It was impressive how she could keep an impassive face even when her body was shaking in mirth.

Shirou sighed and gave up this cause. He would probably never win an argument against a woman.

"I'm not sure what's going on, Haruka-san. I'm being cautious and I make sure not to approach the any of the tenants at a bad time but things just keep happening. I know these kinds of accidents aren't unusual when men and women live under the same roof but this is going overboard. In less than two weeks this has happened more often than in an entire year back at home. Is this inn cursed or something?"

"Actually, yes," she replied in all seriousness.

"What?" he almost shouted.

"Calm down," she scolded him, swatting his head. "What's wrong? I didn't picture you for the superstitious type."

"I'm not superstitious at all," he snapped back. Things like ghosts, curses and other things usually chalked up to superstitions did actually exist, even if not in the way most people believed they were.

"Of course you aren't," she replied condescendingly, not knowing his insight on the subject. "Anyway, the Hinata-sou has quite the reputation on that regard. It used to be a famous spot for quarreling lovers to visit. It's said that it has the power to push people toward one another. It has a history of happy couples being formed here that spans centuries."

"Wait, wait, wait," he said palming his face. "Are you telling me that the inn is actually subject to a curse of that sort?"

"Of course not," she waved him off. "Are you stupid? There isn't such thing as curses or blessings. It's just a coincidence. Wait… you aren't really taking this seriously, are you?"

"It would make sense," Shirou mused, ignoring the woman beside him. "If I went out of my way to avoid the tenants and they did the same, then an attraction effect would act with much more strength than normal to fulfill its purpose. Still… what could possibly be its origin? It's not a Boundary Field or I would have detected it by now. Maybe a form of spiritual influence fueled by the leyline or- ouch! What was that for?" he asked, rubbing the spot on his head where his relative had hit him.

"Stop sputtering nonsense. It's just a coincidence. Don't get so worked up on an old story without fundaments."

"No fundaments you say… Well then, what do you think I should do? Barricade myself in my room won't work for long. Avoiding them didn't work all too well. I'm open to suggestions."

"No idea," she deadpanned and Shirou sent a mild glare at her. "Look, there isn't much you can do for things beyond your control. You've done a good job so far in handling them, all things considered. I expected much worse, knowing them as I do. If you really want to solve the situation, stop avoiding them and face them head on. More than that, you should give them a little time to get adjusted to your presence."

"I guess I don't have many other options, but I'm not taking responsibility for anything, okay?"

"Do your best," she waved him off.

Shirou left the tea shop and began climbing the stairs to the inn. He was seriously considering the possibility of a spiritual influence over the inn. It wasn't all that improbable considering that it was built over a considerably powerful leyline. It was certainly worth of investigation.

That being said, he was nowhere close to solve his problem with the resident girls. Fine, he decided, if avoiding them didn't work out he would do his best to befriend them.

Then he thought about Narusegawa's and Aoyama's temper and sighed. It was probably going to be an endeavor that would require him to be at the wrong end of several violent beatings. Such was the burden of being a hero of justice.

Of course he didn't know just how badly things could escalate in the span of a few days. If he had known… well, he would have probably done the same thing. He was an idiot like that.

The next day

It was late afternoon, a little too early for dinner but not too late for a quick snack. Most of the tenants were in their respective rooms, except for Shinobu who had long since finished her schoolwork and the portion of her chores. Since Emiya-san had started his job as manager she had much more free time on her hands. Time she could invest in her studies and hobbies.

In this case she had tried to bake some cookies and she was quite satisfied with the results and was more than willing to share them with the other residents. Of course, she wasn't above being praised for her work but she was quite aware that practically no one would have bothered with complimenting her skills behind the kitchen's counter. Kaolla would have probably complained that her cookies weren't banana-flavored, Motoko would have simply refused the treat because she didn't like sweets, Naru was too engrossed in her studies to do anything but thank her for the nice thought and Kitsune was probably drunk in her room and unable to muster enough brain capacity to form coherent sentences.

That of course meant that her first stop would probably be the room of the only man in the entire building.

"Emiya-san," Shinobu's voice called once she reached the door to his room," can I come in?"

"Sure," Emiya-san's voice confirmed. Shinobu pulled the sliding door open and stepped inside, only to freeze in wonder at the sight of his room. Most of the walls were no longer visible, hidden behind layers of stacked books. Her eyes scurried over the titles and she was somewhat taken aback by the variety of subjects they covered. That, of course, was true only for those titles she actually managed to understand.

"Shinobu-san?" Emiya-san called, snapping her out of her stupor.

Shinobu gaze turned to him and she was surprised of finding him sitting on the floor behind a small table, also covered in books. What surprised her the most; however, were the pair of glasses he was wearing at the moment. A simple if refined rectangular design. Nothing fancy but it almost completely changed the look of the man she had come to know recently.

"Emiya-san, I didn't know you needed glasses."

"Oh, these? I don't really need them. My sight is 20:20 but they are nice to have when I study for extended periods of time," he said taking them off. "So, what can I do for you today?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if you were interested in a quick snack and some tea."

"It's already this late?" he asked, stealing a glance at his wristwatch. "Time sure flies when you're busy. Sure, I'll have some. It's still too early for dinner and I'm feeling a little hungry anyway. Please have a seat… uh… let me make some room first."

He quickly cleaned the table of most books and provided a cushion for her to seat.

"You know Emiya-san," Shinobu started after sipping her tea, "I didn't figure you for the bookish type. Ah; no offense."

"None taken," Emiya-san chuckled. "Truth to be told, I wasn't much into academics a few years back. It's an interest I've developed just recently. I collected these books only in the past two years."

"J-just two years? And you've read them all?"

"Most of them, yes. I used to travel a lot and I had plenty of spare time to read as I moved around. Books are one of the few things I could carry around without taking too much place in my luggage so…," he trailed off.

"It's amazing. There must be hundreds of books here. I don't even know what most of these are about."

"It's not that really that amazing. I started with simple things and worked my way up to more complex stuff. It's just a matter of dedication and patience. Even the most difficult goals can be reached if you try hard enough."

"I wish I could think like that too, but I'm not really good when it comes to studying. I'm an average student at best. I could never hope to get in Toudai like you're trying to do."

"Actually," he coughed a little embarrassed, "I used to be a below average student during high school, but I still managed to score an eighty percent in the mock exams last year."

"But… but… but … how?" she asked in wonderment. She couldn't believe that Emiya-san could be anything but a stellar student. Not so much because she knew anything about his academic prowess but rather because she didn't think that her savior turned landlord could be any less than excellent at anything he did.

"Lots of patience and a good teacher I guess. Well… more of the latter to be completely honest. I never really had the propensity to sit around all day reading. Then I realized that there are only so many things I can accomplish with my hands and without my brain, so I tried to rectify that. I'm still not really good when it comes to studying, but I make up for it with effort and hard work. I'm sure you could do the same if you wanted, Shinobu-san."

"I… I don't really think so. I mean, I really, really slow on most subjects."

"Don't look down on yourself so easily. I'm sure it's just a matter of finding out the right way to study. Tell you what, I'm not really that much of a teacher myself, but I can look over your homework if you'd like."

"I couldn't ask that of you, Emiya-san. You're already so busy with your own studies and all the work around the inn."

"Nonsense. I certainly can spare some time to help you. Don't worry, it's not a bother. Honestly."

"Really?" she asked timidly if eagerly. At his nod she dashed out of his room to retrieve her schoolbooks, quickly returning a couple of minutes later, a little short of breath.

"There was no need to run, Shinobu-san," he pointed out kindly.

"I... *anf*… don't want to take too much of your time."

"You worry too much. Come sit and let's see what's giving you so much trouble."

The next hour and a half was spent with Emiya giving her tips and suggestions on her current assignments. He was patient with her when she didn't understand something and she found her awkwardness around him slowly dissolve as time passed. She was so focused and relaxed that she didn't notice she was sitting right beside him, shoulder against shoulder, until she closed her last book satisfied with not having made a single mistake for the first time in her life.

"See? That wasn't so hard," he smiled down at her from close enough that she could smell his mint-scented breath.

"Ah," she yelped, flushing in embarrassment, "you're right. Thank you Emiya-san."

That would have probably been the end of it, hadn't Shinobu forgot to consider that her legs have been curled for well over an hour and thus weren't ready for the sudden movement of standing up to escape the closeness to his body.

She wobbled and toppled backward, hitting the precarious wall of books behind her.

"KYAAAAA!" she shouted as the pile fell upon her with a thunderous crash.

Motoko was seething. Her barely contained fury could be seen burning through her narrowed eyes. The past week's accidents had riled her up to no end, but that lecherous man always had an excuse ready for his behavior. A faulty floor board, Kaolla's excessive behavior, a malfunctioning heater. Every single time he had a motivation for being caught in less than acceptable situations.

But it couldn't hold, she knew that much. He would slip at some point and reveal his true nature. She just had to wait and get him when that happened. She just had to be patient and…

"KYAAAAA!"

A shout echoed through the inn, accompanied by the sound of something crashing heavily. Motoko's body was in motion before she had a chance to even think what was happening. She recognized Shinobu's voice all too well and both her scream and the noise came without a doubt from the pervert's room.

This time there was no possible excuse. Shinobu had no reason to be in his room unless he lured her there with some excuse or another, undoubtedly trying to take advantage of her trusting nature to force her into something, but Shinobu had to have fought back.

This was the chance she had been waiting for. This time she could prove how that man should be kicked out of the inn and possibly into a cage like the animal he was.

Her feet carried her down the stairs and to the crime scene with blinding speed. She didn't hesitate in slamming the door open and confront Emiya once and for all. The scene was even worse than she thought.

Shinobu was laying on the floor under a number of books that must have fallen on her causing the ruckus she heard. The younger girl's skirt was lifted all the way to her waist, exposing her panties. To make matter worse, Emiya was on top of her, his frame lying between the younger girl's exposed legs, pinning Shinobu down with the full weight of his body.

Motoko's vision went red. She had expected him to be harassing one of the tenants but to be so shameless to try and force himself on her was beyond the worst she could expect of him.

"Get away for her, you lecherous bastard," she snarled, unsheathing her sword in the process. She stomped over to him, ready to unleash rightful punishment on the man who dared to assault a woman. The only reason why she had to restrain herself was because he pulled back making Shinobu sit back up and putting her in her line of attack.

"Are you all right, Shinobu-san?" he asked, faking his concern.

"Ow... I think I hit my head," Shinobu replied dizzily.

"Shinobu, get away from him right now."

"Eh? Motoko-senpai what… KYA!"

Motoko didn't wait and pulled the younger girl away from the pervert's grasp, holding her sword so that it would remain between him and them.

"I had warned you that such behaviors would not be tolerated under this roof, but you just had to ignore my warnings and assault Shinobu, didn't you?"

"You're overreacting, Aoyama-san," he replied coolly, with the practiced ease of somebody who undoubtedly had wormed his way out of many similar situations. It wouldn't fool her. "It was merely an accident."

"Of course it was. It's always an accident when you're involved, isn't it? Do you really think I would believe such an obvious lie under such circumstances? You tried to force yourself on Shinobu, there's no way you can deny it."

"What's going on?" the voice of Kitsune and Narusegawa demanded as they followed the ruckus.

"This man tried to rape Shinobu," Motoko explained without removing her eyes from him. "I caught him in the act."

"WHAT?" they both shouted.

"Why you little…"

"IT WASN'T LIKE THAT!" Shinobu shouted surprising everyone. Tears were falling from her eyes as she tried to wriggle out of Motoko's hold.

"Shinobu, what are you talking about?"

"Emiya-san didn't assault me," she sobbed. "He shielded me with his body when I clumsily caused his books to fall on me."

"That's just what he wants you to believe, Shinobu. Think about it, he must have knocked against you and caused the books to fall, isn't it? You don't have to be scared. I won't let him harm you again."

"Why won't you listen to me? He didn't do anything like that. It was my fault he got hurt in my place."

"Then why were you in his room if he hadn't lured you in here? What excuse did he use to convince you to come in here?"

"He was tutoring me," she explained, finally slipping out of Motoko's grasp. "He helped me with my homework for over an hour. It's not his fault I'm clumsy. Why do you keep accusing him of being a pervert? He never did anything wrong."

"Shinobu, can't you see that's exactly what he wants you to think? He's always in a compromising position when we're around. He's just very adept at making excuses and wriggling himself out of his punishment. He's just playing you, Shinobu."

"Stop," she sobbed. "Just stop. Why are you always being so mean to him? He saved my life."

"Shinobu, you're exaggerating," Naru sighed, trying to make the younger girl see reason. "A few books wouldn't have killed you."

"Not that… not that… Before he even came to the inn…"

"Shinobu-san, there's no need to…" the man tried to say but Motoko cut him off.

"Shut up, you. I really want to hear what you convinced her of," she snarled. Had the pervert approached the naïve and unassuming girl even before getting to the inn? How long had the bastard been harassing poor Shinobu?

"I was… *hic* I was returning from shopping when I crossed the road without looking… *hic*Emiya-san… Emiya-san drove his bike in front of the truck that was about to run over me and saved my life *hic*. He almost died because of me. Stop treating him like a monster… *hic* he's my hero…."

No one said a word. Even the perv… Emiya didn't know what to say, refusing to meet anyone's gaze even though everyone was staring at him.

Motoko was chilled to the core. Her sword-wielding arm was feeling numb and she couldn't help but feeling ashamed. Could she have been misreading him so badly? Could she really be wrong about him? No. No, that couldn't be possible. Shinobu was probably exaggerating her story and Emiya was capitalizing on it. Yes, that was the only possible explanation. He was scum. Scum!

"Yes, well," Kitsune said awkwardly breaking the ice, "I think that we can put this past us as an awful incident. Come here Shinobu-chan. Shh," she whispered, hugging the crying girl to her chest. "It's okay. We ain't gonna bite him, see?"

Shinobu just kept sobbing and Motoko felt like she was being stabbed. Closing her eyes she sheathed her sword and turned to the only male present, doing the one thing she never once thought she would do. She bowed.

"My apologies. I've misinterpreted the situation and caused unnecessary turmoil. Please forgive me."

She felt like her stomach wanted to turn inside out. Her tone was careful and controller but inside she was raging. Again the man had managed to avoid his punishment by distorting the situation to his advantage and making her look like she was the villain in this situation. He was good at that, she had to acknowledge it.

"It's okay," he replied. "There was no harm done. More importantly, Shinobu-san, were you hurt at all?"

"No, *hic* I'm fine. Sorry, I've caused you a lot of trouble Emiya-san."

"No, it was just a misunderstanding, there's no need for you to apologize."

"We should probably get your face cleaned up Shinobu-chan," Kitsune said soothingly. "Come on."

The resident drunkard led the younger girl away, leaving the rest behind. An uncomfortable silence fell upon the trio that was broken just a moment later by the object of the current events.

"Well, with this incident behind us now I should probably start to prepare dinner. I don't think Shinobu-san is in any condition to cook for today."

"Yes, that would be best," Narusegawa agreed. "Thank you Emiya-san. Come on, Motoko. There's nothing left to do here."

Motoko followed after Narusegawa but she threw one last glare at the object of her hatred before slamming the door close with enough strength to shake the walls.

"Naru-san, please wait a moment," the swordswoman called after her friend. "You certainly don't believe what that man said, do you?"

"Look Motoko," the older girl sighed, "I'm not the biggest supporter of men in general but Emiya-san so far behaved properly. We might have started with the wrong foot and there might have been a few incidents along the way but I don't really think he's doing it on purpose."

"Naru-san," Motoko hissed, "I can't believe it. Do you honestly trust that man?"

"Trust is a big word, Motoko. I'm just saying that I find it hardly believable that he would make the heater blow up and set himself on fire just to perv on us in the hot springs. And how many times did one of the floorboard break when we stepped on it, making us trip?"

"But…"

"I'm not saying he isn't enjoying it," she cut her off, "I'm just saying that he isn't making it happen on purpose, that's all."

"Even if that were the case, just his presence is cause of unrest. If this keeps up there's no way we'll have the chance to live peacefully without having to constantly look behind our shoulders in case he's up to something nefarious."

"Motoko, even if I agree with you there's not really anything we can do without any proof of wrongdoing. He owns the place and it was us who insisted for him to stay in the first place, remember? He was the first against moving in with us to begin with."

"Ugh," she groaned. She had forgotten that his presence was a necessity unless they wanted to be evicted and the dorm turned back into an actual inn. It was because of their insistence that he agreed to stay. "Well, what if I convince him to turn over the management to us and he'll just come over to collect the rent and take care of his part of the chores?"

"I… that would be great, but how do you expect to convince him to do that? He said that he couldn't afford to live elsewhere unless he had a job. You can't expect him to have two jobs and also study for the exams. It's just impossible."

"Well, that's his problem isn't it? I'm going to challenge him to a duel over the propriety of the inn. After I defeat him he'll have no choice but to surrender the Hinata-sou to us and agree to our terms."

"Motoko," Naru hissed scandalized, "do you intend to steal the inn from Granny's family?"

"Don't be silly;" she replied appalled, "I'm just going to hold it for the rest of the time we stay here. We'll still pay the rent. I'm not a thief."

"Uh… I'm not sure that's a good idea. I mean, what would Granny Hina say?"

"She can't blame us if I win the Hinata-sou in an honest duel, isn't it?"

"I…. guess, but I have the feeling this is going to end badly. What if you lose?"

"Are you suggesting I could lose to a man?" Motoko hissed enraged. "To that man of all people?"

"No… well. He is strong. He's disarmed you once already," Naru pointed out

"That was just because I underestimated him and he took me by surprise. If I focus there is no way he could best me."

"I don't know Motoko. How can you be so sure?"

"I trained in the way of the sword since I was able to walk, Naru-san," Motoko growled, "even if that man were to possess a measure of experience, do you honestly believe he could even come close to my level?"

"Ah. No, probably not, but… well, just be careful ok?"

"Of course. I will trash him so badly he won't even know what hit him."

With that declaration Motoko stormed to her room to prepare herself. Emiya might be a worm but she wouldn't make the mistake to challenge him without being at her very best. With her skill she would crush the bug's pride and kick him out of her home once and for all.

XXX

AN: Well damn. It's been almost five months since last update? Shame on me.

That being said, writing this story trying not to make the characters look completely idiotic is really difficult. Shirou is nowhere near as dumb as Keitaro and I have to make the girls more difficult to deal with without making them into outright bitches (which I'm not sure I managed to do).

Anyway, the next chapter is already done so I'll be putting it up in perhaps two weeks, so I can work on yet another chapter before putting the next up.

This is it for now. Happy Holidays, everyone!