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Chapter 6:
Miyu screamed.
"Miyu!"
When she didn't respond Shirou did the only thing he could think of.
From his back pocket he pulled two cards. The first, a card bearing the image of an archer with his bow drawn back, his card, Shirou slipped back into his pocket. The other marked with an image of a figure clad in robes, he held in front of him.
"Install."
Light spilled from the card, coating Shirou's world in white and enveloping him in what felt like a blanket that felt ready to catch fire. Gritting his teeth he took a deep breath and as he released the heat died and the light faded. Gold and blue flecks of energy spilled from his extended arm. The discolored streaks on his had faded to a milky white.
Shirou grinned. There was a reason he had kept the caster card, he'd seen what it was capable of. Had lived through it, even. Caster could use spatial displacement on a scale that would have left Julian slack jawed.
Flexing his hand he allowed the instincts the card instilled take over. Purple glints of power filled the air quickly overtaking the gold and blue. He watched as his hand burst into the same purple energy and scattered upward in to the air. Good, he needed to get to Miyu.
The world blurred.
It was an odd sensation, a mixture of tingling, numbness and falling. Not to mention the empty feeling that came with the sudden decrease in his reserves.
Then it was over and Shirou stood in the doorway to the living room where a tall thin figure in dark blue and gray that could almost be black. Raising a hand Shirou fired a blast of energy.
A body ripped its way from Shinji's back and shoved the figure off to the side just before the energy could connect. The one that'd saved him wasn't so lucky. The energy struck, sending him into a wall even as the energy glowed brighter. Moment by moment the spell shrank and faded and when it had the being was nothing but scorched remains that tumbled to the ground where they broke down into ash.
The eyes beneath the fractured skull narrowed and Shinji jerked, sending a brace of knives flying toward Miyu.
Shirou waved his arm and a magic circle spun in the air between Miyu and the weaponry. The weapons struck and acted as though they'd impacted a wall, falling to the ground without doing the slightest bit of damage.
Seeing that his sister was safe, Shirou turned back to Shinji, the knuckles on his hands cracking as he closed them. He'd the perfect spell, it would boil the little bastard's brain and leave him as about as dangerous as the average rutabaga. That is if his head didn't pop first.
Only, Shinji wasn't where Shirou had left him. There were three people wearing dressed the same while wearing similar masks, and though they radiated murderous intent none of them were Shinji. A glance to a nearby window and Shirou caught the barest glimpse of a form dropping out of sight.
"I'll deal with you first than." WIth a sweep of his arm a dozen magic circles burned themselves into the air and blasted forth lasers. They scattered but it didn't matter. The lasers changed their course to give chase.
They threw dirks by the dozen, those that made contact with the lasers were reduced to cinders and those that made it past were stopped by a shield of magic.
Seeing their efforts were in vain, two of them charged. The lasers struck, one scoring its way through the one in the lead's throat in a shower of blood, striking through both shoulder and leg.
To Shinji's credit he didn't scream.
"You're too late." A very feminine voice came from behind the skull mask. "We've already won."
She pointed to the one that had hung back who'd thrown his cloak aside to reveal dozens of flasks and from the way they smoked Shirou didn't think it was a good idea to hang around. He lunged toward Miyu and activated the spatial displacement as it detonated.
A moment later they were high in the air above the hotel, the spell woven into the cloak he wore holding them aloft even as it turned the fabric into a pair of wings. He tightened his grip as a blast rippled outward along with the cracking of glass.
The building groaned.
Great, a madman had a class card, his current home was blown up and the house he'd been setting up wasn't finished yet. Or at least he hadn't finished the protections yet.
What felt like a stone fell into his stomach as a thought struck him.
"Miyu," he asked, "how many of the class cards do you have?"
She looked up at him and suddenly there were tears in her eyes. She held up the Harry Potter book from which he spotted the saber class card peaking out.
"Just Saber."
Shirou nodded, "and where did you put the others?"
"Lancer is in Dante's Inferno," she ticked down a finger. "'Berserker is in Catcher in the Rye,' 'and the Rider is in the dust jacket of that cook book you like."
She used the cards as bookmarks. He resisted the urge to slap himself. "Hold on tight."
He swept down in a wide arc, the wind whipping through his hair, below sirens echoed through the city as numerous lights ignited through the city all racing toward the Bancroft.
He came to a stop just a few buildings over from the Bancroft and settled Miyu down.
"Miyu, stay here. I'll be back soon."
He teleported.
When reality righted itself a moment later he was back in his appartment, or what was left of it. It was clear a bomb had gone off. The walls were black, or at least the ones standing were, the furniture in tattered pieces.
"Gordon's not going to be happy."
Making his way to where the bookshelf once stood, Shirou knelt down and began brushing the chunks of wood away. He didn't have to go far to find the first. Half buried in the soot was berserker.
Plucking the card from the mess he gave it a once over and was unsurprised the artifact was unmarked by any of the damage that had torn the room around it apart. Shirou continued to pick through the ash and chunks of charred remains of the wood until he found his second target. The Lancer.
He pocketed the two cards. "Note to self, get the cards out of the pockets before removing the card."
From there he turned to where the kitchen used to be. All that remained in its place was a series of broken, dented, or destroyed appliances, bits of the stone counter top and a chunk of something that smelled of burnt hair and maybe ham.
He began sifting his way through the piles bit by bit.
Someone screamed and a shiver ran up his spine. He glanced at the ceiling where the scream came from. Why was she only screaming now? Had the explosion done something to knock her unconscious? Had Shinji doubled back to create a distraction?
"Ignore it." He growled to himself as he pushed the scorched blender base to the sid causing the wood that it'd laid upon to crumble to dust.
"Help me! SOmeone, plu-heheheheasssse." She blubbered. "I don't want to die!"
Shirou straightened and cast one last glance at the kitchen before he teleported away.
The strong smell of smoke curled in his nose causing it to burn and itch. He gave it a good rub as he ducked lower to get beneath the smoke.
"Where are you?" He called into the smoke.
"Over here! Please! You've got to get this off me!"
"Okay, its going to be okay, whats your name?"
"Trish. I'm Trish." The woman said. "I don't know what happened, I was eating dinnner with my cat and the next thing I know is I'm waking up in this mess!"
Shirou followed her voices between the rooms and soon found her. Laying beneath a broken sport was Trish's battered form.
"Well Trish, everything is going—" he started to reassure her only to catch a glimpse of the descending dagger. He managed to avoid the strike, mostly. A long cut spanned the length of his shin and blood flowed freely from the wound.
"Bet you wish you hadn't come up here." Shinji announced from behind him. "Too bad, now is when you get to die."
To emphasize his point the female assassin that had been playing Trish retrieved another long dagger and began to swing at him hoping for a lucky strike.
She needed to go.
Shirou raised a hand and a bolt of blue light leaped from his fingers and tore its way through her chest leaving her nothing more than a corpse on the ground. Turning his attention to Shini he found the young man taking a few steps back.
"Did you think you'd be able to stop me?"
Dressed in loose-fitting black pants and shirt under a black cloak and sporting a mask that looked to be made of human bone was the Assassin-infused Shinji. He was tossing a dirk up and down in his hand, and he began to chuckle lightly.
"No one can stop me!" He said and belted out a laugh. "Not anymore."
Shirou shook his head. "Return the assassin card."
"What? No telling me to turn me in?"
"No. But, if you return the card, it'll be quick."
Shinji began to laugh even harder. "Wow, definitely not a hero."
Shirou shrugged. "I'm okay with that."
Shinji darted forward, stabbing his dirk at Shirou's stomach.
He pushed the attacking hand aside and gave the other teen a palm strike to the chest, which sent him tumbling into the eave of the house. Before Shirou's eyes, the Assassin vanished.
"Well it seems I've missed my opportunity tonight. That's fine, I'll be back." Shinji's voice echoed ominously through the smoky room.
Using both his hand Shirou pushed, twin magic circle grew at his fingers and air rushed through the room revealing that Shinji was well and truly gone. The girl who'd been living in the apartment however, she hung from the wall each of her limbs impaled by dirks with one stabbing through her mouth.
She was already gone.
Launching himself out the broken window and activating the spell on the cloak and as fast as he was falling was just as fast as he began to rise.
He looped around the building just once to make sure that there wasn't any sign of Shinji or his escape. There wasn't.
As such he fell into a steep dive driving himself toward the rooftop he'd left Miyu. The girl was leaning against the edge looking out toward the Bancroft house and all the police cars that surrounded it. Or perhaps it was the massive crowd the surrounded them.
"I don't understand people big brother, why do that? What could anyone get that would make that worthwhile?"
Shirou shrugged, "I wish I knew, but you know we can't stay here."
She nodded, "but what about Mr. Cane? Or Nancy? Did they make it out?"
He glanced down toward the building and shook his head. "I don't know, they might've."
"Can you check?"
Twitching he started to reject the idea but stopped. There wasn't any need to, it wouldn't take him more than a few minutes and less effort.
"Fine."
Seeing her brighten, he took his chance. Like a snake he snagged her arm and the two broke into swirling motes of light.
He twitched and glanced toward the door. The idiots should have been back already. It wasn't like he'd sent them to capture someone dangerous. No, they were either off having their fun or plotting against him. He knew it. But that was fine, he'd plans of his own.
Flexing his hand a red haze lifted from his palm.
Let them have their moronic belief that he was weak. He'd prove them and anyone else who suggested he was wrong. When he was done they'd be scraping at his feet.
Jacob looked up as he heard the door rattle before it opened with a massive bang.
"Do you have any idea who I am? I am the control freak! Master of Monsters! Level twenty seven space samurai!"
They'd finally arrived! He leaped to his feet.
"Would you shut your fat mouth?" Jacob hissed as he made his way into the room and frowned. The greasy man looked like a fat bruise with way to much sideburn. It looked like Jarred had gotten impatient.
He gave his brother a glare but the incarnation of wrath merely grinned showing off bloody teeth. Had the Control Freak proven to be more of a fighter than he'd expected? Or had he just gotten lucky.
He moved on from the thoughts a moment later they didn't matter.
"I know very well who you are and what feeble accomplishments that you've managed to attain."
"Hey! I've gone toe to toe with the Titans!"
"And lost every time." Jacob countered, "you've never even been able to say you had them on the ropes! They don't even remember your name!"
"I did too! They fear me!"
Jacob swept his hand through the air, "quit trying to make yourself feel as if you aren't a waste of space. And listen, I might just have a way to make you the threat you view yourself as."
A grin spread across the fat man's face giving him a silly and insane. "I'm listening."
Envy answered with a smile of his own. He shivered as he cut into his hand. "Good. Now where's your remote?"
A broken gadget landed on the ground in front of him. He glared at Jarred.
"What? He tried to Macaulay Culkin me!"
Jacob sighed. Now they were going to need to make a new device. Just great.
They reappeared just as they came in a comfortably furnished living room.
"Onii-chan where are we?"
"Can't you tell?"
She brightened, "you mean this place is ours?"
Shirou nodded.
Miyu seemed fit to burst before she deflated. "Could you go see if Mr. Cane's okay now?"
"Of course."
Activating the spell Shirou flickered from existence, and while he did leave the house he didn't make it past the garden. Extending his hand in front of him he began. Manipulating the magic was so much easier now, like breathing. He could see the spell for the bog, still unfinished and breaking down even as he observed it.
He set it into stasis with barely a thought. He'd need to account for Shinji having the class card. He began threading magic through the spell. Tightening it and adding more.
Shinji had already proven he was willing to use his doubles as shields, well, after a few moments of work, Shirou was certain that if the assassin came for him that advantage would be gone. It would, in fact, only make Shinji's life harder.
Next they'd need something to warn them if an attack was coming.
Shirou worked the magic into the spell watching as the spell he created intertwined with the others. As he finished he nodded. Should anyone with ill intent come for them golems would rise from the mud to defend them and with each addition to the bog the amount of defenders would only increase.
The sound of wood scraping on wood brought his attention to the window a handful of steps away that looked into a different section of the garden opened.
"Shirou? Is that you? Have you gone to check on Mr. Cane?"
"I'm just making sure the protections are up. Miyu."
With a few more adjustments he brought the bog spell from stasis and mixed it into the defensive design.
The design flashed and faded.
Perfect, it would take a veritable nuke to get in to his sister. Though it did nothing to keep her in and away from dangers. Nonetheless it would have to do.
Across town, in a building just off campus Shinji was making himself comfortable. After all they'd been so kind as to invite him in and he did his best to prove himself a grateful guest.
Steve, or so his best bargain, name tag read, had enjoyed the steel and the two of them seemed really excited when he demonstrated how well he handled his knives.
He dropped the girl he was holding. His dirk slipped from her stomach as she struck the floor, her body folding against it like a ragdoll. She didn't think so much as twitch as Shinji reared back and kicked her in the side.
Looking to the next one, he found her on her knees, head bowed as she prayed to the silver cross in her hands.
"Don't you ignore me!" He roared. Taking hold of the girl's arms, Shinji lifted her into the air. She'd get it. He'd see to it that she understood everything!
"Don't you get it?" He gestured to the girl back behind him on the floor. He could still see her body trembling in the low light. Her crimson blood seemed brighter in the low light.
"I am the one you should be praying to!"
Rearing back, he backhanded the girl sending her to the floor. "Now pray, you bitch!"
The girl merely held her cross up higher and continued her whispered prayers. Roaring, Shinji reached into his cloak and came away with another dirk. He rotated it about his fingers before flinging it into the ceramic tile she knelt on.
"If your god's going to save you, he'd better do it soon." He laughed, "because you are going to kill her."
He pointed at the girl behind them.
"No."
The girl said without looking away from the knife.
A series of hands reached from Shinji's chest. Shoulders and heads and torsos soon followed, and in the span of a breath, the girl's nightmare grew. Eight other bodies stood around her tormentor, and they all had knives.
"If you don't, I will, and we'll see how much you enjoy your friend's body weeping blood for days as we prolong our fun—"
"And her suffering." The shorter, heftier version of her tormentor cut in.
"I was going to say that."
One pressed a hand to his mouth. "He knows." The copy said with a vicious giggle.
"But, if you end her suffering, you'll take her place." The youngest-looking one of them announced as if he was telling his parents about the losing score of his soccer game.
They all grinned.
The girl reached out her trembling fingers and wrapped them around the knife.
"That's right, save her in the name of your god. By the end, you'll know that god couldn't care less about you."
He leaned closer. "I'm going to enjoy tracking down your family so I can toy with your mother."
Her grip tightened around the handle, and she took a deep breath. She lunged, the knife aimed to end the threat before her. It never even made it close.
Shinji grabbed her hand and held it perfectly still.
"You want to kill me. I understand that. Respect it even." Shinji said.
"It turns me on." The hefty version chipped in.
His entire demeanor changed. He leaned forward, his tongue slipping from his mouth, and his eyes seemed to glow. Plucking the knife from her hand, he shoved her back onto the ground.
"But, now you know it won't work, and I'm feeling lucky," Shinji said breathily as he tossed the knife to the ground in front of her.
She took up the knife and looked at the other girl, and her trembling hands stilled as she took in a large breath. She made her way over to her friend.
"I'm sorry."
Her friend nodded, just barely letting her friend know she understood.
Raising the knife, she brought it to her throat and saw the sudden understanding in her friend's eyes, followed by fury. She ripped the blade across her throat as hard and fast as she could.
Shinji began to laugh.
She tumbled to the floor.
"Oh shit," The younger version of him cackled. "Jenny, she just screwed you! HA!"
Jenny began to openly weep.
Shirou stepped through the opening in space and was just outside the Bancroft and grabbed hold of one of the police officers as he walked up.
"Excuse me, can you tell me where I might find one Mr. Edward Cane? He was a security guard here."
The officer didn't seem pleased by either his presence of the question itself.
"Which hero are you supposed to be? You know what, I don't care. The survivors were taken to Jump General. For a list, you're going to need to check with our first responders."
"Can you at least tell me if anyone died?"
The officer looked incredulous and whiped his hand at the building.
"Look at this place kid! A bomb went off! Of course people died."
He stomped off snapping something beneath his breath.
Shirou shrugged and made his way toward the tent near the street marked with a large red cross decorating the top of the tent. A dark orange blur swept passed him carrying an older man.
The Titans were on the scene it seemed. A blast came from the second story shattering a wave of glass above them. Raising an arm to shield himsem from the falling debri Shirou watched as an officer walked by holding a box filled with bagged items.
Very slowy with one finger he beckoned toward the box or more specifically the game like card on the top. It zipped from his pouch into SHirous hands.
The Rider.
He pocketed the item with a smile and turning made his way to the medical tent. Throwing the flap open four heads darted up to look at him. They seemed almost relieve he wasn't carrying a body. Though from the cursory glance shiroou had done, there were already twenty of them.
"Can I help you with something?"
"You can, You see until recently I was staying at the bancroft. I was wondering if mr. Cane was alright?"
The woman pulled a tablet from her side and began scrolling, "Edward Cane, he's in critical condition over at Jump General."
Shirou nodded, "thank you." He turned as the flap opened and seeing the glimpse of gray skin, activated his teleportation.
He reappeared in his kitchen and found Miyu sleeping beside a cold cup of hot cocoa. Perhaps, it was better that they wait for a bit more information. He'd rather not worry her anyways.
Not for the first time he was glad that the bank had seen fit to furnish the house with the bare necessities if nothing else. Pulling Miyu into his arms he mad his way down the hall to her bedroom and lowered her down into her bed.
He pressed his hand to the center of his chest and a golden hue erupted around him as he pulled the caster card free.
"Good night Miyu."
Yawning Shirou shoved the card into his back pocket and trudged his way out into the living room and dropped down onto the couch. He tilted his head back and set to work.
Shinji didn't seem like the sort to just run off. He's somewhere nearby, he has to be. So where-.
His eyes slipped closed as sleep claimed him.
The next morning found Shirou standing in the kitchen staring blearily into the empty refrigerator. How it had slipped his mind he didn't know, not that it really mattered, not when he was going to need another way to make breakfast.
He was about to call it a wash and grab Miyu and take them out for breakfast when an image hit him. A small shop with a faded sign and an old woman sweeping the sidewalk just down the road from the communities gates. They had to have something.
It would only take him about ten minutes round trip.
With one last glance down the hall he nodded and all but ripped the pen and paper magnetized to the fridge and jotted a quick note telling Miyu where he went, that he would be back in just a few minutes, and to stay inside until he got back.
Placing the note on the counter, Shirou put thought to action and made his way out of the house.
Glancing out at the yard where he knew the spells he'd set up last night were no doubt working, even if the yard looked as shabby as it had before Shirou shook his head as an unbalanced feeling came over him. He knew that they would protect Miyu but the inner workings of the spell or how it would do the protecting was beyond him. Like a hazy memory that remained just out of reach no matter how he struggled to take hold of it.
"Probably a consequence of not having the card installed." He grumbled.
After a brief moment of stretching Shirou was off.
As he passed by one of the other houses, this one a two story building that would be lucky to be called ramshackle, he spotted a flash of red moving through the broken remains of a window frame. A can clattered down the driveway on the other side of the street pulling Shirou's attention. A shadow shifted on the ground off to the side of a car or at least what remained of it. But when Shirou looked, there was nothing there. Or at least that's what someone was hoping he'd think. But that shifting shadow had looked all too human.
He frowned.
The Jokerz were playing games.
He continued forward and their attempts to frighten him continued as well. They began darting from object to object giggling and laughing. Green and purple smokes floated from the storm drains but by the time Shirou reached the gate it was clear they weren't going to be doing anything.
As he passed through the gates the faded gray of the store down the street was clearly visible. Turning Shirou smiled for whoever might be watching and with a large wave took off into a jog.
He reached the store in less than a minute.
It was a small place, a bare three aisles and only one fridge all being watched by a little old woman with a hand that was cleary wooden. Two signs hung from the counter. The first "Careful I'm armed." And the second, "Please be kind enough to let us know if you're planning to shoplift so that you can be charged accordingly."
She smiled and gave Shirou a nod that he was quick to return.
After searching the store he came to two conclusions, the store had very little in the way of breakfast foods. But on the other hand had a massive collection of teas.
In the end he walked out with a box of strawberry poptarts, eggs, jasmine tea, a loaf of bread and blackberry jam. It wasn't much but it would do until he got them to the store to do actual shopping.
The jokers weren't around on his return trip and as he walked in the door he found Miyu sitting in the living room watching a man mixing chemicals in beakers and vials until with a final pour of one clear liquid into another they morphed into something snot green and foam upwards out of the beaker they'd been mixed in. And from the look on the mans face, it did not smell good.
"I'll have breakfast done in a minute, until than," Shirou fished out the box of poptarts and held them up. "Would you prefer these warm or cold?"
Miyu looked up and smiled. "Hot please."
"Coming right up. And I thought we weren't going to be watching the television in the morning anymore?"
"It's not the news!" Miyu argued and Shirou found he'd no response.
Instead he made his way into the kitchen. After a few minutes of searching the cupboards he found that for all the appliances that the bank had been kind enough to provide a toaster wasn't among them. Nor were there any pots or pans.
Biting his lip Shirou looked at the stove and nodded. He brought the image of a large cleaver like blade into the forefront of his mind. A moment later it was in his hand and he set it onto the burners. Turning the dial he heard the click but there was no accompanying rush of flames.
They didn't have gas yet either.
A second image appeared in his mind, this one of a dagger with a soot black hilt and a blade that almost glowed as if it were of molten lava, metal horns extended upwards from the blades base. Focusing on the image he began to trace the mystic code.
Forged from metal heated in the lava of Mauna Loa, the blade became nothing but a paperweight. Until a magus from Atlas picked it up and fashioned it into a mystic code capable of producing fire along its blade as long as it was fed magical energy.
In the blink of an eye the weapon was in his hand and he slipped it under the the first. "Eous." He announced and began feeding magic energy into the blade.
It lit with a bright orange blaze.
A few minutes later Shirou walked back into the living room and set the plate of poptarts beside Miyu. "I'll have breakfast done in a few minutes."
He started back toward the kitchen when an alarm rippled from the television, causing Shirou to jump in surprise. The screen turned white, and an emergency message flashed across the bottom.
Warning, some of the following footage may not be suitable for viewer of all ages.
The message continued looping, but Shirou didn't notice as he scrambled for the remote and flipped it to the news channel.
"Jump City public Highschool is currently being held hostage by a super villain! Maryanne Chang on the scene."
"Thank you Maryanne. Jump city High School, once called home to jump cities own Soun Oakkin, is currently being held hostage by an unknown amount of super powered assailants. Currently the only known victim is Tomas Lieberman."
The camera zoomed in on the building as she continued.
Shirou however wasn't listening, he narrowed his eyes as the camera panned around, and an all too familiar mop of blue hair passed by a second story window.
Shinji.
He needed to go. Adjusting his jacket he started to tell Miyu he was going only to find her gone. Shirou looked toward the hall and sighed, she was probably getting fed up with him just running off. Though she was the one who wanted him to be a hero…
Shaking his head he started for the door.
Only to stop as he heard the patter of Miyu's speeding toward him. He watched as she rounded the corner without slowing down a bundle held tight in her arms. As she drew closer she hopped and drove her socked feet into the linoleum sending her sliding toward him. Shirou readied himself to catch her when she stopped a matter of feet in front of him.
"Onii-chan I made something for you!"
Accepting the bundle he unfolded the cloth and found a gray and black outfit with streaks of red in the same pattern as the scars he'd gained during his battle with the woman bearing the true archer card. To top it off there was a mask. She'd made him a heroes costume.
"Miyu." He sighed.
"What you don't want him to know that its you right? This will keep your identity… umm."
"Secret?"
Her face flushed and she turn away slightly, "you could say that."
"Fine." He sighed.
Ring. Ring. Ring. Pulling his phone from his pocket Shirou winced. It was Gordon, but he was going to have to wait.
"Sorry. Now's just not the time." Shirou muttered as he pressed the ignore key and once more started for the door.
Shirou arrived at the school and made sure to hide himself in the tree's and slowly made his way around the crowd and closer to the school. As he did so he caught several snippets of conversation
"Where are the Titans? Shouldn't they be here?"
"Cinderblock broke out and woke up Plasmus. They won't be—"
A girl's scream resounded from the main building, and Shirou let loose a silent curse.
Taking hold of the cloth bunched around his forehead, Shirou pulled it down. Necessary for keeping his identity a secret or not, the mask was plain awful! It severely hampered his breathing and cut off a significant portion of his sight.
He was going to have to keep it in mind.
As he reached the building, Shirou used a bench as a stepping stone and leaped up to the second-story window. It was the art room.
In the corner of the room was a small girl swimming in a large blue sweater and a long skirt. She managed to keep herself from screaming, but the fact that she was capable enough to hold her mouth shut didn't stop her from pushing herself into a corner and then messing with herself.
"Calm down. I'm not here for you."
She let go of her mouth but didn't calm down in the slightest. In fact, she turned to blubbering.
"Hestabbedher! . . .imgonna."
She started hyperventilating and tipped onto her side unconscious.
Shirou glanced at her just to make sure she was still breathing before he slowly eased the door open. Just like that, he was face to face with a tall feminine Shinji who wore her hair tied up in a tail. She smiled, made all the creepier by the skull mask on her face.
He leaped back as she leaned forward and slashed at him.
"Too late, that one's already my plaything!" She said as a near identicle copy emerged from the shadows along the wall.
He caught the her hand in his palm and struck her with an open palm sending her stumbling backwards. Rounding on the Shinji just standing there he pulled two nameless sword and flung them forward.
The air only just started to whistle around the swords when they reached their destination piercing both the dopplegangers legs and sending him screaming to the floor.
"So are you the fool I stole the Assassin from? Or are you just some wannabe hero he gave a card? What is it anyway? The swordsman?"
Well, there was one point for Miyu.
"No, you wouldn't be that powered jackass, would you? Of course, someone like him gets ahold of cards like these and just shoves them into a drawer! You know, even if you manage to stop me, he'll just demand that card back as well."
"Is that your attempt to sway me into helping you?" Shirou asked as he reinforced his vocal cords. His voice came out far deeper than normal.
He looked down the hall where a spray of blood coated a series of lockers, and two bodies lay unmoving on the floor. On the lockers above each of their heads in blood, Shinji had painted sad faces.
"I guess you could call it that, and I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're not going to be accepting it."
Shirou shook his head.
"Well, I can't say as I'm surprised. Now, as negotiations have failed." There was a snap of his fingers and a dozen assassins of all sizes, with the largest of them looking like a boulder that sprouted arms and legs, charging at him.
Raising Kanshou and Bakuya, Shirou raced to meet them. He caught the boulder copies fist against the side of Kanshou and directed it to the side, kicked the more average-sized one sporting a nose that would make Cyrano jealous in the chest, and bashed a mousy-looking female one in the face with the back of Bakuya.
Seeing the next rearing back, Shirou brought his swords up, but that did nothing as it wasn't knives the doppel threw but a deep purple powder. Shirou threw himself backward, but it was too late. The powder was burning at his nose.
"Victory is mine!" The Shinji hissed. "Soon, you'll be throwing up blood by the gallon."
Inwardly Shirou cursed, and now he had to disable the fool in front of him without killing him. It was his fastes— wait, was that sugar? Rubbing his fingers on the powder, he slipped them into his mouth.
"What are you doing?" The double snapped as he took a step back.
Shirou nodded. It was sugar, there was no doubt. Turning his attention back to the would-be poisoner Shirou cracked his neck.
Drops of sweat began to build on the Shinji clone's brow as a look of terror washed over him.
"Look, why," his voice broke, and after clearing it, he tried again. "Why don't you just forget about me? I mean, obviously, it didn't work."
"What was the powder."
The Assassin winced. "I took the dust out of a few pixie stix."
Lunging, Shirou brought the flat of his blade onto the doppels head, crushing it in a spray of liquid that faded as quickly as the body.
"Candy," Shirou muttered and shook his head.
"Don't forget about me!" Another roared as he came in swinging.
Shirou sidestepped the first strike, ducked under the next, and buried the white blade into his stomach a moment later.
"I hadn't."
The remaining eight scattered.
Shirou grit his teeth. Had they vanished into the shadows? How was he going to— the question answered itself as he caught sight of a shadow's motion before a throwing knife appeared out of nowhere and flew straight for him.
It was a well-done attack. His aim was pinpoint. There was virtually no warning. Chances are it would work on nearly everyone. Anyone that couldn't stop the projectile, at least.
With the flat of Kanshou, he slapped the knife away, and it stuck into a locker beside him. Burying the blade just below the knife, Shirou took the projectile and hurled it back in the direction it had come.
There was a gasp as an assassin tumbled from the shadows, only to start disintegrating as it struck the floor.
Shirou adjusted his mask. The damn thing kept getting in his way! But he couldn't just take it off. For all that he hated, he couldn't deny that Miyu had a point. Better Shinji think some hero is trying to stop him rather than anyone after the card. Hopefully, it will keep the wall licker from targeting Miyu.
Though the fact that they were in a school building made him think otherwise.
"Hi, there!" A voice blared from the P.A. System. "Welcome to the horrifying high school from hell! Where you'll find I'm always a cut above!"
From the corner of his eye, he spotted the glinting blade, and he ducked, allowing the entire body to speed through the air above him. Shirou turned as the Assassin landed and took hold of the flowing cloak. With one revolution, he'd hauled the teen into the air and slammed him into the lockers.
For a few moments, he didn't move, waiting for his enemy to get up. Using his foot, Shirou flipped his enemy onto his back. The enormous mole on his jaw told him that the one he had wasn't the real one.
"Well, aren't you a smart one! And but, my wasn't that impressive!"
"Would you just shut up?" Shirou snapped.
"I see you talking, but I can't hear you! This thing doesn't go both ways. Now the question becomes, can you find me? Is the real me the one talking? Or is it the one coming up behind you?"
Shirou glanced behind him. It wouldn't surprise him if the Shinji that was using the P.A. System was trying to double-bluff him.
There wasn't anyone there, just a long empty Hall.
"Ha, gotcha! I got you! Next up, well, it seems Mr. Woodward is super interested in ode to joy!"
A moment later, the melody began floating from the speaker.
Shirou rolled his eyes. Of course, the one who got a hold of the announcement system had to be a blabbermouth with hopes of being a radio jockey.
A locker a short ways ahead of Shirou began expelling a rust-colored smoke, and one beside him burst open, spewing a large spray of throwing knives. Shirou swung the married swords back and forth, knocking the knives away as fast as he could manage.
None made it through.
"You know, considering I wired the doors to detonate, I am a bit disappointed you chose to enter through a window."
"Help me," Came a blubbering female call. "Please."
Shirou's blood ran cold, and Shinji had a victim.
"Oh, Heidi, you don't need to be calling for help. I'm the love of your life. We—."
There was a meaty 'thwack,' a loud thump, and a low groan.
"We belong together." Shinji panted, "now, why don't you let me get back to guarding our love nest while you get back to work?"
"Of course, my love," Heidi said, and from the sound of her, she really believed What she was saying. Had Shinji drugged her? Or was he using some other method?
"Now that my pets are back under control, what say you come and find me?
That was going to be easier said than done. Something told Shirou that Shinji had turned the school into a booby-trapped fortress. What's more, he doubted the would-be Assassin was going to be kicking back on the top floor. So even if he used the window, there was no guarantee he'd find him. In fact, just trying to bypass his traps could allow him to get away.
The one in charge of the PA system, on the other hand, definitely wasn't him, but he did have a victim. Which meant that he needed to find the broadcasting room. Or was it one in the office?
"Hey, wait, why aren't they attacking you? You morons better get your asses in gear!"
Peering down the hall where the rust-colored smoke was already fading, Shirou spotted the moron announcer Shinji had spoken of. The three of them were playing a card game with several crumpled bills apiece.
"Damnit! I thought we weeded all you lazy shits out already!" The announcer called.
"Man, I'm not interested in fighting. I just kind of want to chill." The one with hair that hung about him like a curtain said.
He kept his guard up as he passed them in the hall, but they didn't move a bit as Shirou passed. In fact, they didn't even look up from their game.
"Useless bums, but, What can you do. NOT ALL OF US ARE CREATED EQUAL!" He roared and began to laugh. All three of the doppels playing cards raised a hand, their middle fingers extended and facing What Shirou assumed was one of the cameras.
"Hope you fry his ass."
Shirou barely heard the words as he rounded the corner and found himself looking up the stairwell.
Sure there was an elevator, but considering how easy it would be for any of them to just clip the cable hoisting it, the stairs were undoubtedly the way to go. But, from the sounds of shuffling above, it wasn't that much better an option, and being the option barely above the kill box wasn't anything to write home about either.
With a deep breath, Shirou raced his way up the sitars, his swords raised. Each swing continued the rapid tempo of 'ting,' 'ting,' 'ting.' He rounded the corner to where a hefty figure waited. He threw two handfuls of knives toward Shirou and chased after them not a heartbeat later.
Shirou swung for the short blob of a Shinji, and with a speed that belied his size, he pivoted past the blade.
"Die!" He yelled, but his voice died as Shirou introduced him to Kanshou before giving the sword a tour of the doppels mouth.
"Wow, now that's What I call a mouthful! Hey everyone! Butter's, that sweat sack finally kicked it! Did anyone have now in the pool?"
Shirou didn't make it a step higher on the stairs as two more figures appeared on the landing above.
"Why they didn't just keep killing off those lazy pieces of shit until we got brothers who could do something is beyond me! It's not like anyone would ever call the boss sane!"
"Shut up. We're all perfectly sane! And make sure to face the camera when you're talking, or else I can't read your lips."
"This is why I sent the big guy after that spaz." The one at the top, whose mouth was covered by black fabric, said and, with a practiced motion, pulled his shirt free as he turned to face Shirou.
"Well, now's the time, huh?" He didn't wait for Shirou to respond, instead charging down the stairs. Unlike the hefty one before him kept adjusting his course.
Shirou caught the edge of one of the daggers against the edge of his blade and shoved the airborne Assassin to the side, and ducked the swing that came from the second. Turning, he had to backpedal away from the rising slash.
As soon as he put his foot down, he knew he'd made a mistake. As in, the majority of the stair wasn't beneath his foot. A stray shiver raced up his spine as Shirou buried Kanshou into the stone railing and swung the other at the coming assassins giving them the option of getting back or bisected.
They both leaped out of the way with plenty of time to spare.
They were good. The longer they made the confrontation go, the more things would favor them.
"You're better than I expected."
Almost as if to prove his point, he hurled a knife at Shirou, one he swatted away as easy as if he were breathing.
Leaping into the air, Shirou turned and kicked out as he descended. His foot crashed into the doppelganger's head, sending him stumbling backward, where he tumbled his way down the stairs until he fell apart.
Catching the quieter of the two Shinji at the wrist, Shirou lifted him into the air and just as quickly tossed him over the railing. A moment later, he heard the thump but didn't pay it much attention.
"Well, this is starting to get boring." He sighed; however, when he spoke again, it was firmly. In the announcer mode. "So how about the lightning round! Fifteen of us are descending the stairs, and another fifteen are coming up. Get away; you win a prize. Win, and you'll get a location!"
As he reached the next landing, Shirou wound back and hurled Bakuya down the hall into the coming herd of assassins, and the other raced down the hall in the opposite direction.
"Yeah, that was super, bud." The announcer said, "but throwing away your weapon, let alone both of them, is never a good idea!"
Shirou snorted and pointed in both directions.
The blade gouged deeply into the skin of the doppelganger horde. They roared in pain. Almost as quickly as it had raced down the hall, it returned. The twin blades impacted one another then lurched apart their movements, a perfect mirror of one another.
For a moment, a bloody swath ran the length of the hallway. The type of thing one might see in their nightmares, but even as they lay there, their bodies began breaking down.
As they passed him again, Shirou reached out and plucked them from the air. Nine Shinji's remained.
"Well, well, well, color me impressed! In just five seconds, you cut down twenty-four of us. I'm not—-" he paused, then burst out laughing.
"Hey, buddy, the titans are here, and now you're in trouble!"
Shirou rolled his eyes. He didn't care if Santa Claus popped out and told him he'd done wrong, and the jolly man was much more threatening than any of the Titans.
He readied himself to charge into the stragglers when he caught sight of the shadow shifting about on the floor, basically where he was standing. His eyes went wide as two knives appeared swinging down at him.
Shirou dropped to a knee and raised both his swords. He glanced upward when he felt the 'thump' against his blades and found he'd impaled the doppel in the stomach and the head. Bring it forward, he slung the body into the path of the coming Shinji. It fell to pieces before it ever reached them.
"If I didn't hate you so much, I'd be telling you just how cool that was. But I won't. Now would one of you just kill him already?"
"Would you just shut up?" One of them in the crowd yelled, "I'm not the kind of guy who likes to listen to himself talk!"
"No, but Geno is!" Another one said, eliciting a few laughs from the crowd.
Sadly even during their exchange, they moved towards Shirou at a steady pace until he was half surrounded. He raised an eyebrow. Did they really think they were going to be enough? They'd just seen him use Kanshou and Bakuya to cut their number to ribbons, but they came all the same.
"Stop gabbing, you morons, and kill him!"
"Heh, when I get you, I'm gonna find me a girl to play with. I'm sure there's a few more just hiding somewhere." One of them said with a chuckle.
Shirou speared him in the stomach with the white blade and, taking him by the face, slammed him into the lockers before rearing back and burying kanshou into his skull-covered face up to the hilt. From start to finish, the act couldn't have taken more than a second and a half.
He took his blades again before facing the horde.
"Gods, I wish I wasn't here for this." Another said.
"Use your shields, you idiots!" The one they called Geno said.
Shields? Shirou thought, What kind of assassins used shields?
"Froto, go get the damn shields!" The one in the lead snapped as he took a runner's position. He seemed to be pulling back, tightening himself like a rubber band being stretched to its max so when it fired, it would be at its most powerful, then he bolted forward.
He was a blur. Only the glint of his weapons gave way to his position.
Shirou shoved himself to the side, but it wasn't fast enough. He winced as pain erupted in his side.
"Finally, a hit!"
Shirou readied himself as the Shinji that got him fell into the stance again, the rest of the doppels quickly following suit.
They bolted forward, nine blurs of glinting motion.
He raced towards them. Sweeping the swords wide, he caught one as he passed over them and landed as they all came skidding to a stop just before impacting the wall.
The one Shirou had gotten held up his blood-gushing stump, staring at it as if he couldn't believe it had just happened. He seemed about as if he was about to start screaming in pain when a blade pierced his forehead, and he fell back without ever making a sound.
"Really?" One asked, looking at the one who'd thrown the blade.
He nodded. "Getting disarmed like that is far more embarrassing than death. He's better off."
There was a murmur of agreement from the rest of them.
"Guys, I've got the shields!" Said a Shinji that came around the corner. His long fingers wrapped around two girls that he dragged behind him. Neither was screaming or flailing. If it weren't for the fact that their chests were raising and falling, Shirou might have thought their dolls or perhaps dead.
Right human shields. Shirou cursed. How had he not seen that coming? He should have! If he didn't believe Shinji needed to die before, he did then. The bastard.
"Froto, What took so long?"
"Shut up, Schmee! It took me exactly as long as it needed to! What right do you have to be getting on my case!"
"He wounded the target!"
Blinking, Shirou watched as the group fell into a full-on argument. How he wished they weren't in a school, then he could just toss a single broken phantasm into their number and blow them to kingdom come.
But, there was another option. Even if it meant leaving the girls behind, even temporarily.
He glanced at the five doors in the hall. None were being guarded, and the stairs were on the other side of them. Who was to say he had to deal with all of the doppels? Really he just had to kill the original Shinji, and he was fairly sure they'd sort themselves out.
Keep a wary eye on them Shirou edged his way around the group. If any of them noticed, none responded.
Making his way down the hall, he glanced into the room and hardened himself. There wasn't a single person in the room, but several male students had been pinned to the whiteboards, their entrails decorating the floor about their feet. Turning away, Shirou started for the next room.
"Stop fucking arguing already! He's just walking the fuck away from you!" Geno roared. "Bo! He's coming for you!"
Shirou spun.
The blurs were already coming, all of them. None had even stayed with the girls they called shields. Not the girls even seemed to notice. Hell, they didn't even try to get up.
Using the wall as a springboard, Shirou shot toward them and started swinging. The first veered to the side, his knife cutting into Shirou's sleeve, but he managed to avoid Bakuya. The next few weren't anywhere near as lucky. He split one chin to forehead, lopped off another of their heads, and caved the chest in of the next when his world shuddered.
No, he realized a moment later. It wasn't just his but the doppels as well. They'd all stopped.
Seeing his opportunity, Shirou shunted his magical energy into the swords. They began to lengthen, their edges breaking and shunting out, looking quite a bit like feathers. He swung a moment later and cut through the three ahead of him.
The shaking came again. Shirou turned to find a colossal-sized Shinji trying to force himself out of a classroom door that was clearly too small for him. The wall creaked before shattering, allowing the monster of a man and his executioners to axe into the hall.
"Yeah, get him, Bo!" Geno screamed.
His eyes never leaving the behemoth who seemed to be taking his time regarding him, Shirou jabbed with the broken Kanshou and started forward, stepping over the body of the last of the assassins to save Bo.
How did anyone expect the executioner to fight in such an enclosed space? He couldn't even raise his axe without striking the ceiling or a wall.
Bo answered him as he raised his axe cleaving through the ceiling as if it weren't even there to slow him down. The question was why.
Just like before, his answer came almost instantaneously. The axe struck the floor, creating a massive crack that quickly expanded, and the floor began caving in.
Shirou was about to plant his swords into the lockers and use them as footholds when he remembered something. The girls.
Turning, he found that neither of them had moved, and the crack had already spread past them.
"Hey!" Shirou called. They didn't respond. Slamming a foot into the breaking floor Shirou propelled himself toward them as fast as he could manage. Each step shattered the floor around him.
It was too late. The floor around them gave.
"Azeroth Metrion Zinthos!" Dark energy spread across the floor like a liquid shadow. Raven groaned as she started lowering the rubble and the girls down to the floor below.
"Who are you?" Beast Boy asked as he popped up a few feet from Shirou, then he pointed at Bo. "Better question, who's that?"
Turning back to the giant doppel Shirou reared back and threw his swords like spears toward him. Bo started to raise his axe, but it was too late. Kanshou cut through the executioner's weapon and bit deep into his skin, and had that been all, it might have survived, but Bakuya struck its partner's hilt and forced it through to the other side.
The giant didn't make a noise as it fell, and the cracks around it grew to allow it to cave in as well.
"Woah! What was that!"
"That was murder, beast boy," Robin said from the stairs. "Get on your knees and place your hands behind your head."
"No," Shirou answered. The fact that Gino's guess as to who was the bad guy was right didn't elude him either.
He needed a way to get to the next floor so he could continue his search for Shinji.
"Titans!" Robin started.
"There are students in the classrooms. I suggest you get them out before the building collapses. And harden yourselves. Not all of them are alive."
Shirou took a running start and leaped out over the chasm. He bounded from wall to wall to cross the dust-filled distance to reach the stairs. As he reached them, he didn't even spare the titans a glance as he continued his climb.
He didn't look back.
Shirou snuck closer to the door of the next room. There had been an odd lack of guards leading up to the room. He wasn't about to go in half cocked.
She hung from a rope lashed about her arms that had been hooked to a knife that had been placed into the ceiling. But she wasn't reacting at all. In fact, besides her tongue hanging from her mouth, she seemed entirely expressionless. It was like no one was home.
"Do you like her? I've been playing with her since last night." Shinji said as he slowly walked out of the shadows of the room. He carried a towel in his hands. "Of course, if you want, you can have a go at her."
Shirou pulled a longsword from the air and heaved it at his enemy.
Shinji bent almost ninety degrees at his waist to allow the weapon to pass cleanly over him.
"Look, if you wanted a different piece of ass, all you had to do was say so." He started laughing and, with the flip of a switch, illuminated the room.
Five more girls hung about the room in various states of dress. The oldest was a teacher. She was completely nude save for the wire-rim frames on her face. Wounds marred her porcelain skin, and she was soundlessly screaming at Shinji.
The rest seemed to be part of the cheerleading team and stared unflinchingly ahead.
Shinji walked up and laid a hand on the teacher's face. She tried to bite him, and he backhanded her.
"Sometimes I like it when they fight." Shinji explained, "but, if you want her, calmer." His grin widened as he turned to her.
"Hey, sweets, you know me. You want nothing more than to be my plaything, don't you?"
As soon as he finished all the fight seemed to drain out of her.
The hair on the back of Shirou's neck stood on end. Of course, the bastard had some kind of mind power. Was it a form of hypnosis, maybe?
He needed to die.
It was that simple.
And he had plenty of swords that could do just that.
Creating two curved daggers, Shirou closed the distance and went on the assault. He slashed again and again but each strike missed by the barest of margins. Shirou cut, slashed, jabbed, thrust. Nothing landed.
The blue-haired, skull-masked teen just laughed as he danced back out of the way. "How did my doubles lose to you?" He cackled. "You suck. Now, why don't you lay down your weapons and serve me?"
Shirou said nothing. Instead, he dropped the daggers mid-swing, replacing them with a pair of wakizashi. The difference in their length made all the difference as he cut into Shinji's stomach.
The Assassin leaped back and pressed a hand against his stomach. "A cute trick but not one that's going to be enough to end me."
Shirou shrugged. "That's fine. I just needed you away from the girls."
A sword appeared in the air beside him. A moment later, it was joined by another two, more than five more, until a veritable wall of blades cut Shinji off from the rest of the room and any possible escape.
He raised a hand. "This is your last chance, uninstall the card, or I'll take it off your corpse."
Shinji looked at him wide-eyed and smirked. "I like my chances."
Doppels began clawing their way out of him enmasse.
"Fire."
The swords launched their way forward, and the assassins raced to intercept them. Only the first few even bothered to try knocking the blades away before they were skewered. The others, however, seemed to be trying to be impaled by as many of the weapons as they could manage.
It still wasn't enough.
He could see the fear in Shinji's eyes as the remaining blades sped toward him with every intention of making him look like a screwed-up porcupine.
Before they could make it a reality, however, a wall of black energy separated them.
Shirou whirled. "Drop the barrier!" He snapped at Raven. "Now!"
But it was too late. Shinji had followed the wall's curve and smashed his way out the window.
"Dammit! Don't you see What he's done!" He roared.
Shirou moved to follow the Assassin and found the wall of energy changing its shape to box him in.
"I'm not going to let a killer go just because he targets another one. My friends will get him."
Shaking his head, he looked Raven in the eye, or at least however much he could through the mask.
"I recommend letting me go."
"I reccomend you stop talking. You're not going anywhere."
Judging the concept of creation…
A weapon meant to cut without fail
Hypothesizing the Basic Structure…
A dual-edged hand and a half sword with golden wings acting as a crossguard and an almost fern-like pattern extending up its blade.
Duplicating the Composition Materials…
Created of gold and tempered with adamant.
Imitating the Production Process…
Sympathizing with the Experience of its Growth…
Wielded by Sir Artegal, a knight who embodied the very concept of justice. Never has it failed to cleave through its target.
It is a sword of justice.
Reproducing the accumulated years…
In darker times, Sir Artegal has fed the blade a number of times, and it had drunk deeply of the blood of the guilty.
During times of peace, the sword aided in the harvest.
Excelling every manufacturing process…
Shirou took the golden blade and raised it into the air before bringing it down. It cut through the dark energy as if it were never there in the first place, and Shirou stepped through. With another swipe, he cut through the wall and looked at Raven.
"I'm going to stop him. You should stay here and help these women."
Shirou stepped through the hole. Of course as he reached the ground it was clear that the assassin was nowhere to be found and likely wouldn't be.
After an hour of looking Shirou knew he wasn't going to find Shinji and turned towards home. He stopped just once to retrieve a bag of groceries.
He trudged his way through the door and allowed a very worried looking Miyu to take the bag from him.
Slumping into his chair he rubbed at his eyes and pulled out his phone. Somehow the thing had managed to survive the battle and a notification flashed happily on the screen. It took him a moment but he finally managed to navigate his way to the voicemail section and pressed the button.
"You have six missed voice messages. At 9:59 on Wednesday,"
Gordons voice took over. "Shirou, your next assignments have been decided! Don't worry its—"
His voice cut out.
Blinking Shirou held up the device searching for any damage he might have overlooked and found nothing. So he did the next thing he could think of. He poked at the buttons for a moment before pushing the power button causing a red battery to appear on the screen.
Right, he needed to charge the thing.
Thats the end of the chapter.
If you want to chat you can find me on discord just search Samwryder and you'll find me. Or there's links on my website!
