Fate-Stay Night: Precognitive Realization

by SilverMan42

This is the story of a boy named Yuzuru Shindou, an ordinary young man who had gotten himself into the battling ritual known as the Holy Grail War. What will become of him now that he has become part of this war that may result in his death? Will he be able to survive with the help of his Servant? Or will he fall into despair? (Rated M, in case sexual) (Few Tsukihime) (OCxHarem)

5. Chapter 0: Prologue Part 4

I do not own Fate/Stay Night or anything related to Type-Moon whatsoever, except only the OCs of the story. Also, spoiler warning: M is in case of sexual themes and stuff. Anyway, other than that, enjoy!

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Chapter 0: Prologue Part 4

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Yuzuru's POV:

Ever since what had happened yesterday, the former captain of the archery club, Tsukino, quit school and went to the hospital to get herself checked, and a temporary principal was taking place of the old one until a new principal would come and be able to handle things. Shichirou, from what I've heard, was finally expelled from Homurahara Academy because of what he did back at the archery club, thanks to the help of the student council who took matters into their own hand and handled the situation.

As for me, I've been recovering surprisingly well. I didn't know why, but my body seemed to have suddenly recovered quickly on its own, even to the point that I didn't even need to bandage myself anymore. Well, for whatever reason, I guess I was lucky. But it still didn't change the fact about what happened yesterday. Yukitsuki-san became more worried now that she would have to keep an eye on me to make sure I was fine, even though I told her that I was fine. And now that Shichirou was gone, the school can finally relax, and everyone can continue on with their simple daily lives at school.

Today, as usual, me and Yukitsuki-san were early for school, and not many people had arrived yet. The only ones that were in class were me, Yukitsuki-san, Kurosawa-san, Asada-san, and Emilia-sensei.

"Good morning." we said.

"Ah, good morning." Emilia-sensei smiled, "You two are early as usual."

"Yeah…" I sighed, "All thanks to you-know-who."

Yukitsuki-san elbowed me to the side of my arm, irritated by what I said, and everyone in the class laughed. And yeah, it did hurt. Then, we heard some loud and fast tapping outside the hallway, and suddenly we knew who it was.

Our usual friendly wild girl, Hiiragi, suddenly appeared from running from nowhere, ran over to our classroom, and shouted cheerfully, "HEY, YUZZUCHI! GOOD MORNING!"

"Hey, Hiiragi." I said, "Good morning."

"Hey, hey, hey, Yuzzuchi!" she cheerfully and excitedly came over to me, "Listen, remember the sword that I showed you the other day?!"

"Hmm?" I said, confused before I thought for a moment. Then suddenly, I remembered what she was talking about, and said, "Oh, yeah! That sword from King Arthur that you showed me, right? What about it?"

"Hehehe." Hiiragi smiled, "Well, I'm gonna bring it to somewhere where I could sell it and make some money out of it. But first, and before I do sell it, I want to bring you along for the ride, and I want you to let you have a feel of holding that GREAT sword of Excalibur! Or…was it Caliburn? Either way, I want you to come with me!"

Me? Come along? Well, I guess I could, but…we're still in class, so I don't think I'll be able to leave anytime soon. On the other hand, though, I could leave and then see the sword in person, seeing the legendary sword myself.

Then, Emilia-sensei spoke up, getting our attention, and said, "I'll tell you what, Shindou-kun, why don't you go along with her? It's still early before classes start, so how about you go along with her. And who knows? There might be something good in store for you."

"Emilia-sensei…" I said, surprised.

"Also, don't worry about being late or skipping school today." Emilia-sensei smiled, "I'll be sure to tell the staff that you had a good reason for leaving so early." He then turned to the others and said, "Of course, if you kids wanna go along with them, I'll be sure to do the same for you kids."

"Ahh, finally!" Kurosawa-san happily cheered, while stretching his arms, "I can skip school! I don't have to worry about staying up all day in class."

Yukitsuki-san sighed and said, "You are a real lazy butt…"

Asada-san chuckled and said, "Well, at least we'll be getting some fresh air while we go out. So, sure, why not? I'll come along, too."

Yukitsuki-san sighed again and said, "Well, I really hate to skip school because of this…but, if Shindou-kun wants to go, then I'll go along with you."

I chuckled a bit before I turned back to Hiiragi and said, "Alright, sure. We'll come along."

"YYYYYAAAAAYYYYY!" Hiiragi cheered very loudly, before she shouted out excitedly, "Then let's go get that awesome sword and make some freakin' MONEEEYYY!" Then, out of sheer excitement, she began to run out into the hallway.

Oh, boy. I turned to my homeroom teacher who smiled while he nodded and signaled me to go after her. I gave him my thanks and went to go after her, with the others right behind me. I ran across the hallway to go after her while trying to get her attention.

"Hey, Hiiragi!" I shouted, trying to get her attention. But she didn't seem to listen as she was then turning into a corner and running in another direction, the left.

I moved the same way she was going as I then shouted, "Wait, hold on!"

But then suddenly, as I tried to catch up to her, I accidentally bumped into something – or rather, someone – in the way and I fell back to the ground.

"Ow…" I groaned in pain. Then when I looked up to see who or what I had bumped into, I saw three people that were standing right in front of me and were looking down at me. One of them I recognized was Aimi. The other two I didn't recognize. One of them has long blonde hair with two white ribbons forming two long pigtails and a black ribbon tied to the rest of her blonde hair and turquoise eyes. She appears to stand about 5"2' tall and appears to have a slender feature. Like others, she also wears the female uniform of Homurahara Academy, but with a black blazer that has red trimmings. The other has raven black mohawk hair and sharp dark blue eyes. She appears to be taller than me and has a slightly built-up muscular body than the blonde one next to her. Like others, she also wears the female uniform of Homurahara Academy, but like the other girl, she wears a black blazer, only hers has dark purple trimmings and is holding onto something that is wrapped up in cloth, about the length of a sword.

"O-Oh!" I suddenly realized, "Um…s-sorry! I uh…wasn't paying attention."

"It's okay." said the blonde one, as she brought out her hand, "Just watch where you're going next time."

I took her hand as she helped me up and I said to them, "Uh…thanks. Uh…sorry, I haven't seen you girls before. Are you…new or something?"

"We're from the student council, actually." Someone else said as they stepped aside to allow me to see who it was, revealing herself to be a girl as she gave me a smile.

The girl has black shoulder-length hair with two hair ties tied to make two small strains of hair on both of her sides and has bluish-green eyes. She appears to be about an inch taller than me, like the girl with black hair and has an amazing body. Like everyone else in school, she wears the female uniform of Homurahara Academy, but she also wears a long red trench coat.

I looked at her for a moment, then at her friends, and then back at her, before I realized what she said about who she is and said, "Oh! So, you must be President Tohsaka! Sorry, I didn't even realize. So, anyway, uh…my name is-"

"Yuzuru Shindou." Aimi interrupted, "Age 17, 2nd year of Homurahara Academy, 5'5" tall, transferred here from Misaki Town, and loves to help out various people, including both students and teachers alike."

Hearing that, I suddenly became surprised and felt awestruck as I looked at Aimi dumbfounded, and began to ask, "Uh…h-how…did you-?"

"I am very well informed." Aimi smiled.

"Oh." I said, "Uh…okay. Well, anyway, it's nice to meet you. I'm honored to meet you, President Tohsaka."

"Well, I'm honored that you know who I am." said the girl was known as Tohsaka, "Nonetheless, allow me to introduce myself. I am Mirai Tohsaka, president of the student council, and I am a 3rd year student of Homurahara Academy. And these three with me are my companions, and like you, they are 2nd years. Sayaka Tsukuda, vice-president of the student council and bodyguard. Hiroko Ishikawa, my bodyguard along with Sayaka. And you've already met Aimi Shimizu, my maid."

With each introduction of her group, they each gave me their own gestures of greetings: the blonde one, Sayaka Tsukuda, saluted with a smile and a wink, the black-haired one, Hiroko Ishikawa, nodding to me, and Aimi simply bowed to me as any maid would.

"Nice to meet all of you." I bowed to them.

"Now, Yuzuru, was it?" said President Tohsaka, "I believe you were involved with what had happened the other day."

"Huh?" I said before I realized what she was talking about, "Oh! Uh…yeah. That's right."

"Yes, I thought so." she said, "How're your injuries? Considering that you're still here, I believe that full of rest got you all better again."

"Uh…yeah." I said, "All better."

"Good to know." she nodded, "Now, as much as I'd like to continue having some discussions with you, I believe that you should get going. Your friend must be at the front gate by now."

"Huh?" I said, before I suddenly realized, "Oh, crap! Hiiragi! That's right, I almost forgot!"

"You should get going now." said President Tohsaka, "If you hurry, you might be on time to go get what you're looking for."

"Ah, right." I said before I bowed to them, "Uh…sorry for wasting your time. I gotta go now. Uh…bye."

They stepped aside to let me leave before they greeted me farewell, and I greeted them farewell back before I hurriedly went on to find Hiiragi.

---

I quickly found Hiiragi at the front of the school gate, just as President Tohsaka said she'd be. She was waiting for me outside the gates while holding onto something in her hand. It looked like some sort of detector of some kind, shaped like some sort of laser gun. I guess she must've made that to detect and search for the sword in case that she lost it somewhere. As soon as I came over to Hiiragi, everyone else that wanted to come along was joined in, too.

"So," said Kurosawa-san, "where do we start?"

"I thought you weren't interested and just wanted to get out of school." said Yukitsuki-san, with a deadpanned expression.

"Aw, c'mon." he smiled, "Just because I'm not interested in the sword and stuff and just wanna get outta here, doesn't mean I don't wanna hang out with you guys. And besides, it's not often we get to hang out outside like this and do something fun for a change."

Asada-san nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, quite true. We are always often busy with school and stuff. And it's not often we get to go out and have some fresh air."

Yukitsuki-san sighed in defeat and said, "Yeah, I guess you're right…"

"Well, we've already gone out and come this far." I said, "Why not see where it goes." I then turned to Hiiragi and asked, "What's that?"

Hiiragi smiled somewhat mischievously and began explaining, "THIS is my version of a metal detector. I call it, "The Super-Duper-Heavy-Metal-Hiiragi-Laser-Blaster-Detector"! This device allows me to search and detect any, and all other possible metals that are buried even very deep underground! Hell, it can even find and detect metals under the very deep water if that's how you want it to work! It can even…!"

We looked at her dumbfounded at her…complicated explanation, not any one of us even trying to take in what the hell she was saying. Let's just say it's kinda…unusual and downright…well, complicated.

Then, Asada-san spoke up and asked, "So, does it work?"

"Of course, it works!" Hiiragi smiled while waving her own metal detector around, before she said, "Observe!"

Hiiragi pointed her metal gun detector on the ground. Then, as she pulled the trigger, a green laser beam came out of it, aiming and hitting the ground, but it wasn't destroying the ground nor burning it, but instead, it looked like it was scanning the ground. We were amazed by how this metal detector gun was doing. It almost looked futuristic. As Hiiragi moves the detector to scan the ground slowly, the machine was making a slow detecting beeping noise. It kept on going until suddenly, the color of the scanner laser beam turned into red, and making a much faster and slightly louder, hinting that it found something, likely a metal, on the ground. Once it was done, Hiiragi turned off her scanner, spun it around her hand until she made a pose with a peace sign, and sang out. "Ta-da~!"

Seeing her doing that, we just couldn't help but cheer for her and clap our hands together in applause.

"That's amazing!" Yukitsuki-san cheered.

"Not bad." said Kurosawa-san.

"That was great, Hamasaki-san!" Asada-san cheered.

"Yeah, that was great!" I said, still amazed.

"Right?" Hiiragi cheerfully smiled, "With this baby, we'll be able to find and get that sword in no time! And~ since that sword is metal, we'll be able to detect that baby easily!"

I looked at the other three who each gave me their own smiling expressions, before Kurosawa-san said, "Well, we've come this far. Let's go get what you want and sell it and see what it's worth."

I nodded and said, "Right. Let's go." I looked at Hiiragi and said, "Hiiragi, lead the way."

"OKAY!" said Hiiragi, excitedly, with one arm raised to the air.

"Everyone." we heard someone call.

We turned around to see that it was Matou-sensei who had approached us while we were talking. She came to us with a smile and said, "Do you mind if I come along?"

"Matou-sensei." I said, "What're you doing here?"

"Good morning, Shindou-kun." she smiled at me, before she turned back to everyone else, "I just couldn't help but listen to your conversation as I was passing by. So, are you kids planning to skip school today to look for the sword?"

Yukitsuki-san sighed sadly and said, "Not that I want to…but yeah, I am if Shindou-kun's going."

"I'm going along because I wanna get outta school today." Kurosawa-san lazily said, "I'm just using this as an excuse to get out because I'm tired and I'd rather not do much work today."

"I don't have anything better to do." said Asada-san, "Plus, I thought I'd take a break as class representative for today."

"I see." said Matou-sensei, "Well, lucky for you, kids, Emilia-sensei told me where you kids were and what was going on beforehand, and while I went looking for all of you, I left a notification for the teachers and staff to let them know that you'll be leaving early today in case if none of you kids made it back. And, as a responsible adult and teacher, I've decided that I should come along with you so that you kids won't be getting into any sorts of trouble."

"Wait, you're coming with us?" I asked, a bit surprised.

"Well, of course." Matou-sensei smiled, "I have to make sure that you kids are safe and sound so that none of your family members would be worried about you. Plus, it's nice for an old adult like me to hang around with youthful children like you. Seeing you kids like this brings me back to the days when I was young."

"Uhh…sensei, you're not that old." said Kurosawa-san, with a deadpanned expression.

"How old do you think you are, anyway?" said Yukitsuki-san, also with a deadpanned expression.

"Guys, be nice!" said Asada-san, trying to prevent an argument, "She's still an adult here!"

While the others talked to each other, I approached Matou-sensei and quietly whispered to her, "Are you sure you're alright, Matou-sensei? I mean, are you gonna be okay, after what happened the other day?"

Matou-sensei saw my worries and then smiled at me, before she quietly whispered to me back, "Don't worry about me. I've already treated myself back at my home since the other day. I'm all better now."

"I see." I whispered, "Hmm, okay. that's good."

Then, I felt Matou-sensei getting closer, before I felt a peak on my cheek, suddenly making me blush, and she whispered into my ears, "Thank you for worrying about me, your sensei, Shindou-kun. You truly are my favorite student."

Hearing what she said to me, I didn't know what to say or do. I just stood there, frozen, completely awestruck, and giving out a dumbfounded expression. Matou-sensei looked at me and giggled at my blushing expression.

"Hey." said Kurosawa-san, snapping me back to reality, "What's up with you?"

"H-Huh?!" I stammered a little, "U-Umm! Uh, I-I…uh…n-nothing."

"Huh?" said Kurosawa-san, confused, "Really? Because it looked like you got struck by a love bug or something."

"U-Uh…" I stammered, trying to figure out how to explain, "W-Well…uh, I…uh…"

"Don't worry about Shindou-kun." said Matou-sensei, quickly covering for me, "He just told me that he remembered something very embarrassing during his childhood. Right, Shindou-kun?"

"Huh?" I said before I quickly realized what she was doing and said, "Oh! Uh…yeah, that's right. Uh…I just…remembered something that I wanted to forget, that's all."

"Oh." said Kurosawa-san, "Uh, okay. Well, anyway, we're going now. Ready to come along?"

"Oh!" I suddenly noticed, "Already?"

"Jeez, how much of a daze have you gone in?" Kurosawa-san chuckled, "C'mon, if you don't hurry, we'll leave you behind."

"Uh…right." I said before I looked at Matou-sensei who smiled at me and nodded, hinting that she was ready to come along. Then, we began to follow Kurosawa-san as we try to catch up with Hiiragi and the others.

---

We walked all the way until we were under the Fuyuki Bridge. We stood around and waited while Hiiragi was scanning and searching for the sword. We had been standing around waiting for a long while now, so much so that it's probably close to noon. Then after a little while, we decided to sit down to rest our legs while Kurosawa-san went somewhere to lie down and sleep. Since it was going to take a while, we decided to chat while we wait.

"So, Shindou-kun." Asada-san began, "I heard what happened the other day, what you were doing in the archery club when Shichirou was there."

"Really?" I asked, surprised that she knew about it, "How'd you know?"

"Well, I've been hearing rumors of what had happened the other day from the other classmates." said Asada-san, "And I also heard that you got into a fight with Shichirou, but you ended up losing to him."

"Oh, yeah…" I said, scratching the back of my head, "Well, I had to. I just couldn't stand there and let some jerk like him going around and hurt people, or worse."

"Well, that was pretty reckless of you doing that." I heard Kurosawa-san from behind me and Yukitsuki-san, "Honestly, if anything, the archery club should've just done something instead of just standing around like a bunch of pussies while watching you get your ass kicked."

"Well, you know they can't." I said, "And honestly, even I don't think even the staff would either. Knowing Shichirou, he'd probably try to exploit all their weaknesses, blackmail them, threaten them, and then warn them what would happen if anyone tried to do anything, like calling the police or something. If anything, he's like a devil that knows everything. That's why our old principal left because he was weak-willed and weak-minded, and probably because he wants to stay away from Shichirou."

"Well, make sense." said Kurosawa-san, "But, on the plus side, at least you had some balls to confront the bastard of a delinquent until the student council showed up."

"Yeah." I said, "I had to be brave for them. I couldn't just sit by and let anything else bad happen."

"Still," said Yukitsuki-san, "You really shouldn't have done that. Getting in there recklessly without even thinking of what you were doing was the stupidest thing nobody would've done. You could've gotten hurt, or worse."

"I know." I said, "And don't worry. I won't do that again. Though I can't guarantee that I'll be able to hold onto that."

Yukitsuki-san sighed and said, "Just try not to get killed next time."

"Hey, guys!" Hiiragi shouted, "I found it! I found the sword!"

"Oh, okay!" I shouted back, "On our way!" I then turned to the others and said, "well, waiting for's over, let's go."

Before I left with them, though, I turned to notice Matou-sensei was still sitting at the bench, and she looked like she was thinking to herself. I wonder what's it about?

I went over to Matou-sensei to look at her for a bit. She looked like she was thinking about something serious, seeing the serious expression on her face. Seeing her like that got me worried a bit, so I decided to say something.

"Matou-sensei?" I said, snapping her back to reality. She turned around to see me looking at her with a worried look as I asked her, "Sensei, is something wrong?"

"Ah, no!" she reassured, "It's nothing. Just thinking to myself. Anyway, we should go see Hamasaki-san."

I looked at her for a moment. I guess whatever she was thinking must be personal. Yeah, I think it'd be best not to bother her about it. I smiled at her and said, "Yeah, we should. Let's go."

"Mm-hmm." she nodded happily before she got up and went with me to meet up with Hiiragi. We walked together with Kurosawa-san, Yukitsuki-san, and Asada-san until we got to Hiiragi who was waiting for us.

---

"AAAAANNNDDD…HERE IT IS!" Hiiragi shouted, excitedly, showing us the sword, "THIS is EXCALIBUR! Or…Caliburn? Either way, it's THAT, BABY!"

We all gathered around to look at the sword she was holding, and as expected, and much to most of our surprise, it was a sword from the Arthurian Legend. But, the sword wasn't the Excalibur that King Arthur wielded. Instead, I recognized it to be Caliburn, the sword of the stone.

As the legend said, it was a golden sword, with a few decorations like the handle that were colored in blue, the crossguard being colored in gold with blue in the center of each end, along with the rain guard that was also covered in gold with few color blues. At the end of the hilt of the sword, there was a beautiful blue marble on the golden pommel. The edge of the silver blade was long and sharp, and completely straight all the way to the point of the sword. On the golden fuller, there was an inscription that was engraved in it, that I knew what it means. It said, "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone is right wise king of all England".

"Wow." I said, amazed, "So, this is the sword…I mean, it's not exactly Excalibur. It's close, but not quite. This sword is actually Caliburn."

"Ohh." Everyone said as they realized what I meant.

As I continued to look at it, I just…I couldn't help but want to hold onto that beautiful thing. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned my head to see Kurosawa-san giving me a big goofy smile.

"You look like you wanna hold that thing." he said.

"Huh?" I said, surprised, "Really? Do I?"

"Obviously!" he laughed, as he patted on my back, "Besides, you really love things about the King Arthur stuff, right?"

I looked back at the sword as I thought about what he said to me. Looking at it now, I just couldn't help it. I mean, he was right. I do love things from the Arthurian Legend. It's been my favorite myth since childhood.

I then smiled and said, "Yeah. I do."

"Well, what're you waiting for?" Kurosawa-san asked, "Go ahead."

I looked at Kurosawa-san who smiled and nodded at me before I turned to the girls who were also giving their own smiles as they nodded. I then looked at the sword again and thought to myself, "Hmm…should I do it?" I gave myself some time to think about it for a moment, before I nodded to myself and thought, "Well, we've come this far. Why not see what it feels like."

I reached out my hand as I began to slowly reach for the hilt of the sword. As soon as I got to it, I then grabbed it and slowly took it out of Hiiragi's hands. I picked the sword up and looked at it for a moment. How it felt to hold it, it…felt slightly heavy, but manageable for me to carry. Overall, holding to this sword from the old legend of King Arthur…felt really amazing. I couldn't help but feel like I want to try it out for a swing.

I turned to everyone for a bit and said, "Do you guys mind if move out the way for a bit?"

Everyone looked at me confused, as they had no idea what I was about to do. Thankfully, though, Matou-sensei saw and realized it quickly and signaled everyone to stand back for safety, and so they did. I nodded in thanks before I turned to the front and readied myself.

Like any royal knights would in a duel, I hold onto it with both hands and set the sword in front of me flat first, looking only at my reflection on the blade. Then, I turned the blade around, showing me only the two halves of my view, readying myself to swing and strike. I lift the sword up above my head before I used a powerful enough force and I swung down for a counterstrike. Then, I went for a horizontal swing, before I made a vertical strike. Basically, I was swinging the sword around, and I repeated the process until I made one final swing and struck at nothing with a powerful piercing strike. After that, I stopped myself and when set myself back to where I was before.

Everyone, after seeing the display that I made, clapped and cheered for me for the amazing show of swordplay.

"That was amazing!" Yukitsuki-san cheered.

"Nice one!" Hiiragi cheered.

"Beautifully done, Shindou-kun" said Matou-sensei, as she clapped her hands.

"Yeah, not too bad." said Kurosawa-san.

"You looked like a gallant knight fighting with nothing but a sword." said Asada-san.

"Oh, was I that good?" I said as I rubbed against the back of my head, "Well, not really. I just…did what any storybooks showed me. Besides, this is the first time I used a sword like this."

"Well, how'd it feel?" Kurosawa-san asked.

"Well," I said, as I looked at the sword, "It felt…slightly heavy, but at the same time, very light. It's like someone forged their soul into it."

"I see." said Yukitsuki-san.

I turned back to Hiiragi and said, "Hiiragi, thanks for showing me this. I never really thought that I get to see something like this. It means a lot."

Hiiragi gave off the goofiest smile and said, "Aw, it's nothing! When I looked up some info and found this, I knew I just had to show you! Besides, King Arthur stuffs are part of your childhood."

"Yeah." I said, "Thanks. Well, anyway, you said you plan on selling it, right? What do you say we do that and see how much it's worth?"

"Really?!" she shouted, excitedly, as her face went closer to mine.

"Yeah." I said, "Besides, I owe you one. We sell this, and we'll call it even."

"HORRAY!" Hiiragi cheered, excitedly, "Awesome! We're gonna go get some freakin' MONEY!"

I laughed and cheered along, "Hell yeah, we are!"

"YAY!" we both shouted and cheered out of excitement.

Everyone looked at each other for a bit, before they shrugged and decided to play along, before they too cheered, "Yeah!"

---

We went to someplace Hiiragi knew where we could sell lots of rare items for money. let's say it was a pretty good store to go to. Unfortunately, when we got there and showed them Caliburn…

"I'm sorry to say this," said the clerk, "But, um…you get nothing from this."

"Huh?" we all said, completely confused about what she was saying.

"WHAT?!" Hiiragi shouted, completely, while comically, shocked.

"But, why not?" I asked.

"Well," the clerk said with a sweat sweatdrop, "You see, sir…the sword that you have, Caliburn…it's actually fake."

"Huh?!" we all said, now even more confused.

"FAKE?!" Hiiragi shouted, even more comically shocked than before.

"Wait, what do you mean it's fake?" I asked.

"Well, the concepts and the design does look exactly like it's the real thing," the clerk explained, "But unfortunately, after further studies of looking into it, it's actually not. It's actually just a prop that looks like it's real. And because of that, you can't really sell it if it isn't the real thing. I apologize."

"Oh…" we all said, disappointedly.

Then, we saw Hiiragi slam both of her hands on the counter, moved up towards the clerk, and shout, "So, you're telling me, that I went through all that shit, of looking into the info of that damn thing, searched for it to see if it's real, found the damn sword, examined it, touched it, felt it, even licked it to see what it tasted like, left it there for my friend, found it again, showing to my friend, and then brought the sword over here all for NOTHING?!"

The clerk looked at her bewildered by what Hiiragi just said before she looked at us, specifically me, for answers.

I merely shrugged and said, "It's…kinda…a long and little…complicated story. Let's just say what my friend here does is a little…unusually unspeakable."

"I…see…" said the clerk, before she turned back to Hiiragi, "Well, I'm not gonna ask what it tasted like…but unfortunately, yes. And I do apologize if all of that was in vain."

Finally confirming what the clerk had said, Hiiragi hung her head down, completely and comically in defeat. We all chuckled a little bit nervously. As we all got out of the building, with Hiiragi looking comically depressed, one of us was the first to speak up.

"Aw, well." said Kurosawa-san, "You know what they say these days, "You win some, you lose some". Don't feel too bad about it."

Hiiragi sighed and said sadly, "Yeah…okay…"

Wow. Hearing Hiiragi speaking in complete depression like that is like she lost all her excitement and motives, and her happy-go-lucky usual self. Although, then again, I guess she does feel like she failed after today.

"You…gonna be okay?" I asked,

"Yeah…" said Hiiragi, sadly, "I'll manage…"

"So, what're we gonna do with that sword?" Yukitsuki-san asked.

I looked at the fake sword, Caliburn, for a moment. Well, if we can't sell it, I guess I might as well keep it. I nodded to myself and said, "Well, we can't really sell it, so I might as well keep it. Sure, it's just a prop, but it couldn't hurt to keep it as a decoration."

Hiiragi, hearing what I said, looked at me and asked, "You'll keep it…?"

"Why not?" I smiled, "Besides, even if it is fake, you did find it, and since no one wants it, I might as well take it off your hands."

"Really…?" Hiiragi asked.

"Absolutely." I said, "Better than throwing it away. Think of it as a gift, from you to me."

Hearing what I have said suddenly and quickly brighten herself back up as she cheered excitedly, "YYYYYAAAAAYYYYY!"

"Wow, that was fast." said Kurosawa-san.

"Well, at least she's happy again." Asada-san smiled.

Hiiragi quickly run up to me before grabbing my hand and shaking super quickly and said really fast, "Yeah, Yuzzuchi, you should definitely keep it. It's totally yours now. It is a super perfect gift, and I should totally tell you, you should totally love it. It is the best gift of all time. It is super perfect for you. You are the greatest friend of all times, EVER!"

I chuckled a bit and said, "Well, glad to hear that."

"Okay!" Hiiragi cheered, "Let's go celebrate!" Hiiragi began to run off while passing by me as she shouted, "CELEBRATE!"

Suddenly, Hiiragi was stopped and grabbed in the back of her shirt, causing Hiiragi to comically gasp and making a comically confused look, as she was then being pulled back by Matou-sensei, who was smiling at Hiiragi as she said, "We still have some time left to come back to school, Hamasaki-san. We need to get back and make a report of what we were doing today, remember?"

Hearing what she said, Hiiragi made her usual funny reminded expression on her face and said, "Ah, you're right! I almost forgot!" Then, she quickly and comically ran to the opposite to where she was going while shouting, "WE GOTTA GO!" But before we saw her gone, she quickly ran back to me and said quickly, "Yuzzuchi, we'll celebrate later, okay?! GOTTA GO, BYE!" Then, she ran off to the path she was going again, and she kept on going and running until none of us could see her anymore.

Matou-sensei turned to us and said, "Well then, shall we head back now? My class will start soon if we make it back."

"Nah, I'd rather not." said Kurosawa-san, while scratching the back of his head, "I'm gonna go home today."

"Sorry, sensei." said Asada-san, apologetically, "I just remembered that I had something else to do, so I'm not going back today."

"I see." said Matou-sensei, before she turned to me and Yukitsuki-san, "What about you two?"

"Yeah, I'll go back to school with you." said Yukitsuki-san, "Besides, it's like you said, we need to make a report about what we did today."

I thought to myself for a moment and said, "No, I think I'll pass. After today, I feel like I should take a little break. I don't think I'll be focusing on class after what happened today. And besides, I can't take this prop sword back to school with me. if I did, the staff would confiscate it and dispose of it." I then tried to joke, "Or worse, they'd probably confiscate me."

They laughed at my joke a bit, before Matou-sensei said, "Well, alright then. Since some of you decided to skip school today, I'll be sure to let the staff know that. In any case, I'll dismiss you three for today."

"Thank you, sensei." Kurosawa-san, Asada-san, and I said in unison.

"Let's go, Hisakawa-san." said Matou-sensei.

"Yes, Matou-sensei." said Yukitsuki-san, before she turned to me, "I'll see you back at home, Shindou-kun."

"Yeah, I'll see you home." I said.

I stood where I was as everyone then began to part ways, each of them going in different directions. Matou-sensei and Yukitsuki-san walking back to Homurahara Academy with the direction Hiiragi was running to, Kurosawa-san going in the opposite direction, while Asada-san going in the direction in front of me. We kept waving each other goodbye as I stood where I was and as they continued to walk away until I could no longer see them anymore. After I saw them gone, I looked at Caliburn again and smiled. After looking at it for a while, I decided to go back home to the apartment.

---

It was already close to evening and I was already back at home. I then looked at the crappy apartment that I was living in and began thinking to myself.

"…Maybe I should just clean up." I said, "I mean, Yukitsuki-san is the only one managing the apartment, and I'm the only resident here." I sighed and said, "Well, since I'm here, I might as well do it myself. I still have time before I go to work."

After I went into my apartment room, I put on my casual clothing. My casual clothes consisted of my usual blue t-shirt, a dark navy long pants, my usual blue sneakers, and around my waist was my dark blue jacket, consisting of sky blue sleeves and yellow trimming.

I looked around my apartment room for a moment, before I nodded and said, "Right. time to get to work." I then began working on taking out the trash and cleaning up any sort of mess in the room. I first started with the trash bags that were on the floor, by carrying each of them outside before throwing them out to the dumpster. I continued throwing out the trashes before I work on the empty boxes that were also in the room.

For many who don't know about me, I didn't just move here because of family reasons, there was also another reason. I moved to Fuyuki so that I could be independent of my family. It was something that I decided on a long time ago due to the promise that I made since childhood. For those who don't know, this is who I am, and where I came from.

---

Flashback: 7 years ago…

I was born from and raised in a wealthy family of talented artists, who use their talent for painting and crafting and then selling what they created for money. My dad works as the CEO of his own company that creates and sells paintings and crafts, called "Shining Artists of Shindou Corporation". My mom works as a secretary for my dad during the weekdays, while at home she is a housewife during the weekends. I also have two older sisters: Akira Shindou, the eldest daughter of the Shindou family, she's a mature and caring older sister, and Megumi Shindou, the middle daughter of the Shindou family, and like Hiiragi, she's the cheerful and exciting older sister, but not very hyperactive like Hiiragi is. Both of them are heirs of our family's company, due to them having unique and natural talents for being true artists like our dad, something that he was proud of his girls about. But for me? I…wasn't. I didn't have any real artistic talents like my older sisters do. I was just…normal like everyone else is. I guess you could say that I was the runt of the family. Don't get me wrong, though, it's not like they don't love me as a family or anything, it's just that due to my lack of talent, they don't really expect anything much from me. Honestly, I was okay with it, because I didn't really expect much from myself either, nor did I ever show any resentment or jealousy towards my sisters for being better-talented people than I am. Either way, my relationship with my family was…well, it was as good as it could get. My mom treated me and raised me as her own son and loved me like any loving mother would for their kids. My sisters, like any older sisters, would dote on me and tease me, and often play or hang around with me to keep me company. My dad…well, we have a stable relationship. It's not good, nor is it bad, just…stable. Slightly distant, but still stable as it can get. Oh, and, instead of referring to him as 'dad' as any kids would, I referred to him as 'sir' since he wanted me to refer to him as such since I didn't have any talent as an artist and he didn't really expect much from me. In a way, I was sorta like a stranger to him. But, I was fine with it that way. I didn't really have anything to expect from him anyway, and I never took advantage of our family's wealth because I didn't want any money from my family, nor did I ever want anything in my life. Overall, it was a good life that I had.

Well, actually…even though I didn't have talent and I didn't expect much from myself for my family, there was one thing that I did want, and it wasn't something that money could buy, but something to do in my life. I wanted…no, I needed an objective, a purpose in my life, a reason for my existence here in this world. Back then, I wasn't sure what it was that I wanted to do, but I knew there was something out there that I wanted or needed to do in my life. I just had to search for it.

One day, my family and I went to Germany to meet with an old friend of my dad for two years. The reason was to get my sisters to understand foreign languages and for them to be able to interact with foreigners, even in business times. We met with my dad's friend at a mansion that almost resembled a castle around the hills. A friend of my dad from Germany was named Abraham Lamprecht Eckstein Everhart.

Mr. Everhart was a German foreigner, much different from us Japanese, and was slightly taller than us. He was about a few years older than my dad, and he had silver hair that had been gelled to the back, a mustache, and light blue eyes. Like my dad, he wears a business suit, but while dad's suit was black with a white buttoned shirt and a red tie, his suit was white with a blue buttoned shirt and a light blue tie. Next to him, he had a daughter who was the same age as me. Her name was Minna Eckstein Everhart.

Minna, like her dad, had long silver hair with a red ribbon tied behind her hair and light blue eyes. She wears a pure one-piece white dress with a skirt that reaches all the way down to her ankle and white shoes.

At the time when we were coming over to meet and visit Mr. Everhart, my dad was the one speaking German while doing the introduction to my family, from my mom to my sisters. When Mr. Everhart first noticed me, he asked my father in German, "Oh, ist das dein Sohn (Oh, is this your son)?"

Dad looked at me for a moment, wondering what he meant, before he said in German, "Ah, ja (Ah, yes)." He then placed his hand on my back to move me forward as he introduced me to him in German, "Das ist mein Sohn, Yuzuru Shindou (This is my son, Yuzuru Shindou)."

Since I didn't know how to say hello to him in German just like dad did, I merely bowed to him as a means of showing hello and respect. When I looked at him, he was giving me a warm smile, before he looked back at my dad and asked in German, "Hat dieser Junge irgendwelche künstlerischen Talente wie deine beiden Töchter (Does this boy have any artistic talents like your two daughters)?"

My dad sighed disappointedly and said in German, "Nein, leider nicht. Meinem Sohn fehlt als Künstler für mein Geschäft in Japan jede Art von Potential (No, sadly, he doesn't. My son lacks any sorts of potential as an artist for my business in Japan)."

Even though I didn't understand what my dad was saying, I could tell he was talking about me and my lack of potential. Honestly, if I understood, I would feel a bit disheartened, but at the same time, I wouldn't be surprised at all.

After hearing them talk for a little bit, Mr. Everhart got my attention by speaking to me in a language I was familiar with, saying to me in Japanese, "It is nice to meet you, Yuzuru. My name is Abraham Lamprecht Eckstein Everhart."

"O-Oh!" I said, surprised before I bowed again and said a little nervously, "N-N-Nice to meet you, sir. My name is Yuzuru."

Mr. Everhart chuckled a bit before he said to my dad in German, "Nun, er ist auf jeden Fall ein netter Junge. Ich denke, du hast ihn gut erzogen (Well, he's certainly a nice boy. I think you raised him well)."

"Nun, nicht genau (Well, not exactly)." dad responded in German, "Es ist meine Familie, die ihm Gesellschaft geleistet hat, während ich immer auf der Arbeit bin. Ich habe ihm wegen seines Talentmangels kaum Beachtung geschenkt (It's my family that kept him company while I'm always at work. I hardly paid him any attention because of his lack of talent)."

"Aha (I see)." said Mr. Everhart in German.

"Obwohl er trotz seines fehlenden Potenzials immer noch als mein Sohn gilt (Although, despite his lack of potential, he's still considered my son)." said dad in German, "Und er ist immer noch ein Teil unserer Familie (And he is still a part of our family)."

"Aha (I see)." said Mr. Everhart in German, "Nun, wenn wir von Familie sprechen, da Sie mich allen dreien Ihrer Kinder vorgestellt haben, möchte ich Ihnen meine Tochter vorstellen, mein einziges Kind, Minna (Well, speaking of family, since you've introduced me to all three of your children, I'd like to introduce you to my daughter, my one and only child, Minna)." He then turned to his daughter and said in German, "Mach schon, Minna. Sag Hallo zu allen (Go on, Minna. Say hello to everyone)."

Minna, who had been hiding behind her father, shyly moved up and said shyly in German, "H-H-Hallo (H-H-Hello)."

"Oh Hallo (Oh, hello)." said Akira-neesan in German, who learned a little bit of it from dad.

"Hallo, kleine Minna (Hello there, little Minna)." said Megumi-neesan, cheerfully in German, who also learned a little bit of it from dad.

Mom just simply nodded and smiled at her.

Then, after Minna bowed to each of my family members, she turned to me and we were looking at each other face-to-face, and we both looked at each other in amazement as if it was the first time we saw each other. Dad placed a hand on my shoulder and said to me in Japanese, "Go on, Yuzuru. Go and introduce yourself to her."

"Mach schon, Minna (Go on, Minna)." said Mr. Everhart in German, "Sei nicht schüchtern. Sag einfach Hallo und stell dich vor (Don't be shy. Just say hello and introduce yourself)."

When we first laid eyes on each other trying to introduce ourselves, we were…well, we were mutually shy with one another. We were 10-year-old kids and we never properly talked to each other very well, and because we were both foreigners and we spoke different languages, it created a communication barrier between us.

"U-U-Umm…" I said, nervously, "H-H-H-H-Hello. U-Uh…m-my name…is uh…m-my name is…Y-Yuzuru…Shindou…uh…i-it's…u-um…i-i-it's very nice to…m-meet you, M-M-M-Minna…"

"U-U-Um... (U-U-Umm…)" said Minna, nervously in German, "H-H-H-H-Hallo. U-Uh...m-mein Name...ist uh...m-mein Name i-i-ist...M-M-Minna...E-Eckstein...E-E-Everhart...uh...ich-es ist...du-ähm...ii-es ist sehr nett zu...m-meet du...uh...Y-Yuzuru... (H-H-H-H-Hello. U-Uh…m-my name…is uh…m-my name i-i-is…M-M-Minna…E-Eckstein…E-E-Everhart…uh…i-it's…u-um…i-i-it's very nice to…m-meet you…uh…Y-Y-Y-Yuzuru…)"

"U-Uh…" I said, nervously, before I began bowing and greeted nervously, "Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you."

"U-Uh ... (U-Uh…)" she said, just as nervously as I was in German, before she began bowing the same way I was doing and greet nervously in German, "Schön dich zu treffen. Schön dich zu treffen. Schön dich zu treffen. Schön dich zu treffen. Schön dich zu treffen (Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you)."

I honestly didn't know what else to say, as I was panicking in my thoughts as I thought to myself, "Whoa! Yikes! What do I do?! I don't know what to say to her! I've never talked to a girl my age before! The only girls that I had ever talked to are my older sisters! And worst of all, I can't understand what she's saying!"

I lifted my head to look at Minna a little bit, and to my surprise, she was just as nervous and panicking as I was and was probably thinking the same thing that I was thinking. Then, just like I was doing, she lifted her head to look at me a little bit. When we made eye contact, we both suddenly blushed, and out of panic, we both bowed again as we said to each other loudly.

"I'm sorry!" I said, loudly out of nervousness, "I don't speak German!"

"Es tut mir Leid (I'm sorry)!" she said, just as loudly as I was out of nervousness, "Ich spreche kein Japanisch (I don't speak Japanese)!"

After hearing what we said, we looked at each other again, and again, we blushed at each other as we made eye contact. We stopped bowing to each other and looked away from each other with a nervous smile, as we ended our…well, nervous introduction, saying to each other, both in Japanese and in German, "Nice to meet you. / Schön dich zu treffen (Nice to meet you)."

Everyone else around us who had been watching our awkward display of interaction with each other was either giggling, chuckling, or sighing at us.

"Aw, it's so cute." Megumi-neesan giggled.

"It's like they're in a marriage arrangement." Akira-neesan giggled.

We both blushed even harder from hearing what my sister said. Honestly, if there really was a marriage arrangement for 10-year-old kids like us, we'd both die of embarrassment. Anyway, afterward, me and my family were given a room for each pair to stay for the rest of our two years in Germany and made ourselves at home: two of my sisters were in one room together, my parents were in another, while me, I was…in a room by myself, not that I didn't mind. I was used to being in a room by myself anyway. Plus, I didn't want to disturb either of my family members for anything minor.

---

The next day, while my parents and my sisters were discussing their plans with Mr. Everhart on their stay here in Germany while thinking of learning to understand and how to speak German, I decided to wander around the mansion by myself for a bit. Since what they were doing was all about business, I decided to leave them so that I wouldn't disturb them over their plan. Plus, I wanted to look around the mansion and get lost in it a bit.

All I mostly did was wander around their mansion and walk around the hallways of windows and doors. The walls also had many beautiful and very nice paintings of different art creations, some of them I recognize were made by either my dad or my sisters, and beautiful vases that were on top of each pedestal. I then found myself in Mr. Everhart's office. In his office was filled with books that were all set on shelves, both upstairs and downstairs, each shelf had books with the same colors that represent what subjects they were talking about. Red for history, blue for math, green for science, black for astronomy, and so on. I was pretty amazed that Mr. Everhart had so many books around his office when I looked around. Then, I noticed that there was one book on his desk that was different from the others. Curiously, I walked towards the desk where the book was on. Since I was short, and I couldn't reach for the book, I went behind the desk to get on his chair and then get up to see the book there. Once I saw the book, I reached out towards it and took the book, and read the title that said, "The Tales of King Arthur, The Once and Future King". It was a children's book made to be read for children. I took the book and looked at it a bit out of curiosity. I guess Mr. Everhart must've bought it somewhere from another country or so, as this children's book wasn't written in German, but in English. Before I could open it to read it, however, I heard footsteps outside of the room. Curiously, I placed the book back on the desk and went out to see who it was.

As I opened the door and left the room, I turned to see Minna running around the hallway. Wondering where she was running off to, I decided to follow her. As I continued to follow her down the corridors of the mansion's hallway, I saw that she was going out to the door, going outside. I quickly opened the door that she exited out of and looked around outside. It was cold and was beginning to snow outside. I mean, it wasn't cold enough for anyone to put on some winter clothing, but it was still a bit cold. And since it was snowing, it meant that Minna probably went outside to play and see the snowfall. Even though I didn't need to, I decided to go put on winter clothing just in case if the cold gets worse. I needed to find where Minna was going anyway. Once I put on my jacket, I went back to the door she came out of and went outside to search for her.

I walked and looked around everywhere as I could, walking away not too far from the mansion. Then, I found her, standing on top of a cliff of the hill and standing right next to an old tree, looking out in the unknown distance as the cold wind blows, letting her silver hair flow out by the wind. In my eyes, she was…wow, beautiful. I guess it was probably because I was still a kid, but I never knew that foreigners like her would be that different from us yet still beautiful. To be honest, I just…couldn't keep my eyes off her. As I continued to look at her, the minutes that I spent felt like hours as if time itself was stopping for both of us. Then, before I realized it, Minna slowly turned around and saw me. we both stood where we were, and we looked at each other eye-to-eye, my dark brown eyes and her light blue eyes contacted with one another, as the cold wind blew past us, not even bothered by the cold as we were busy being enchanted by each other.

Suddenly, before she began to move to approach me, something beneath her began to crack, and suddenly she was starting to lose balance.

"Huh?" I thought as I began to worry, "Oh, no. I have a bad feeling…!"

Before either of us knew it, the floor of the cliff broke, and Minna screamed as she suddenly began to fall. Then, out of nowhere, something inside of me snapped, and out of fear for her life, I began to run to quickly catch her from falling. I ran up towards the cliff where she was falling, jumped off the cliff before I caught her hand with mine as I caught something to hold onto with the other. I held onto a tree branch that was stable enough to hold onto us. I held onto both the branch and Minna as much as possible, as I looked down to see below us. To my fear, it was far down to the other ground. Though it was far down enough to kill both us, there were other spots and bumps where we could roll over or bump into to make it less likely in case we did fall, making it so the only problem would be for either one of us to get injured if we weren't careful enough.

Minna was fearfully screaming and was screaming out things in German that I couldn't understand, although I could guess that she was scared and was telling me not to let her fall. I held onto her as tightly as I could, making sure that I wouldn't, and letting her know that it would be okay. If I couldn't make her understand in words, then I had to make her understand in action. I looked up at the branch again, making sure that it was strong enough before I quickly had an idea. I looked back down at Minna and, with all the strength that I had with my arm, I slowly pulled her up so that she could reach up to that branch. Seeing what I was doing, Minna quickly lifted her free hand to grab onto my arm before pulling herself up towards me as she quickly grabbed onto my shirt before she goes to the branch that I was lifting her towards. As soon as I got her close enough, she grabbed onto it, and we were facing each other while hanging on to our dear lives. As we held on to that branch, we looked at each other eye-to-eye. Even though we were (possibly) in the most dangerous and life-threatening situation in our lives, I just…couldn't help but feel mesmerized about her. I guess she was too, from the look in her eyes.

Minna, despite what was happening to us, smiled and said in German, "Danke (Thank you)."

Even though she spoke to me in a different language, I smiled back and said, "You're welcome."

Despite the communication barrier between us, we both smiled at each other, feeling happy for what we did. But then suddenly, our moment was cut short, as the branch was suddenly beginning to break. Suddenly, after seeing what was about to happen, we began to feel more frightened.

"Oh, no!" I shouted, "It's gonna break!"

Minna was then screaming in fear, not wanting the branch to break or to let go to fall. Minna then looked at me in the eyes, tears were already coming out of her eyes. I could tell from the look in her eyes, that she was scared of falling and begging me to help her. To be honest, I was too. But, I tried my best not to show it, being as brave as I can so that I could reassure her that everything will be fine, even though I knew it wouldn't. and even if we did call out for help, no one would be able to see nor hear us crying for help, as the mansion that our family was living in was afar, and everyone was inside so they couldn't hear us screaming. Even though I knew I couldn't speak German very well as my family, and that I wouldn't understand her, I gave her my brave face as I said to her in German that I only knew from Akira-nee, "Mach dir keine Sorgen, Minna (Don't worry, Minna) …"

Minna looked at me completely surprised that I could speak German to her, though it wasn't very well. Despite the strains that I was going through holding on to the branch for a little too long, I then continued saying in German, "Alles...wird gut (Everything...will be okay)."

Minna looked at me for a moment, still surprised at what I just said to her, before her expression softened, and she smiled trustingly at me, believing the words that I said to her despite the situation we were in. But then, suddenly, the branch began to break even further, and suddenly Minna was beginning to slip off from the branch. Seeing that she was slipping, Minna began to panic and scream for dear life, and cry for help in German, even though no one could come help. As she was beginning to slip from holding on too long, the branch we were holding onto was going to break, hinting that it couldn't hold on any longer. Then, within seconds, Minna's hands that were holding on to the branch slipped off, and she began to fall as she screamed. Seeing her falling from the cliff, falling towards her end, I quickly let go of the branch that was already broken down, and jumped forward towards her, and caught her in both my arms as we both fell off the cliff together.

As we fell, I grabbed onto Minna as tight as I could, before I moved us both towards the rocky wall and we began to bump ourselves over bumps and began to roll over down the cliff. We kept rolling and rolling down the cliff, while I held onto Minna for dear life, keeping her safe in my arms from any harm before suddenly, I felt something hit the back of my head, and I blacked out.

---

When I came to, the first thing that I saw was the upper wall of the room, and I found myself lying on a bed with bandages covering my head. I felt slight pain from both my head and my body as I tried to get up. Once I got up, I saw both of my big sisters sitting to my right side sleeping. They must've been waiting for me to wake up.

"…Akira-neesan, Megumi-neesan." I spoke up, getting them both to wake up.

As soon as they did, and the moment they looked at me, seeing that I was finally awake, they began to smile happily and cried out happily, "Yuzu-chan (Megumi-neesan)/Yu-chan (Akira-neesan)!"

They then went up to me and embraced me in a tight hug. They were really happy to see me awake and okay again, but due to the pain I was going through, I groaned, signaling them that it still hurt.

They noticed this and released me from their embrace and Megumi-neesan spoke up and said apologetically, "Ahh, sorry, Yuzu-chan! We were just so happy, we couldn't help it!"

"We're sorry, Yu-chan." said Akira-neesan, apologetically.

"Ah, no, it's okay." I said, before I asked, "But, what happened to me?"

"Hmm?" said Megumi-neesan, questioningly, before she said, "Don't you remember what happened, Yuzu-chan?"

I looked at my sister confusingly a bit, before I thought for a moment as I tried to remember what happened. Then, suddenly it came back to me as I said, "Ahh, that's right! I remember! I was…at the hill and I saw Minna there, and then…she fell, and I went to save her, and…we were holding onto a branch before we fell off together, and…" Then, the thought of Minna came back to me and I asked them worriedly, "Minna! Is Minna alright?!"

"Minna?" said Akira-neesan, wondering what I meant before she realized it and said reassuringly, "Ah, don't worry, Yu-chan. Minna's okay. And it's all thanks to you for rescuing her."

"R-Really?" I asked.

"Yes." said Akira-neesan, "Thanks to you, you and Minna only fell only halfway down from the cliff, and she was safe and sound without any worries, and you only suffered a head injury from hitting your head against a rock."

"Yup!" said Megumi-neesan, cheerfully, "And Minna called on us to help the moment we found you two. You were hurt really bad, so we had to be careful about carrying you back. Thankfully, though, you weren't bleeding from your head to death!" She then stuck her tongue out and said, "That would've been bad."

"I see." I said, "Umm…how long was I out for?"

"About a week and a half." Akira-neesan answered, "Me and Megumi were taking care of you while you were out."

"I see." I said, "Was…anyone worried about me?"

"Yeah." said Megumi-neesan, "Mom was worried that she couldn't really sleep well. Mr. Everhart was just as worried as we were about you. And dad was…well, you know, dad. I mean, he was kinda worried, just not as worried as we were."

"Yes, father wasn't as worried as we were about you." said Akira-neesan, "But, he was worried enough that he had to cancel our lesson in German to let us take care of you."

"Oh." I realized, "Right. I forgot you both had lessons to take in speaking German." I then looked down and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Akira-neesan, Megumi-neesan. Because of me, you…"

Before I could say any further, both of my sisters hugged me as a sign of comfort and reassurance, before Akira-neesan said, "No, it's okay, Yu-chan. You're a part of this family, so of course, we'd worry about you."

"That's right, Yuzu-chan." said Megumi-neesan, "You're our little brother, and we'd do anything for our little brother. I mean, even skipping some lessons doesn't bother us if it means caring for you."

"Onee-sans…" I said.

Both of my sisters let go of me as Akira-neesan placed her hand on my shoulder and smiled as she said, "Don't worry about a thing, Yu-chan. We're family. And even if you're not as talented as we are, we still consider you a family. Me, Megumi, mother. And I'm sure father does, as well, even if he doesn't expect much from you."

Megumi-neesan nodded happily and said cheerfully, "Mm-hmm! So, don't you worry about a thing, Yuzu-chan! Me and Akira-nee will always look out for you!"

I looked at my sisters as they both smiled at me, showing that they truly meant what they said. Seeing them smile at me and say those kind words to me, I couldn't help but smile back and say to them, "Thank you, Akira-neesan, Megumi-neesan."

They both nodded and smiled as Akira-nee said, "Good. That's our little brother."

Megumi-neesan then patted me on the head and said, "Well, get some rest, little brother. We're gonna leave you here."

I nodded and said, "Okay."

Then, a door opened, and dad entered the room. When he turned to us, Akira-neesan and Megumi-neesan turned to him and bowed before Akira-neesan spoke first, "Hello, father."

"Akira. Megumi." dad acknowledged them before he turned to me and said, "Yuzuru."

I bowed to him and said, "Um…hello, sir."

"So, how're you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm alright, sir." I said, "I just woke up, and I still feel a little pain, but I'm okay, and I have Akira-neesan and Megumi-neesan keeping me company, sir. If…it's alright."

He looked at me for a moment, before he nodded and said with a slight smile, "Good. That's good to hear, Yuzuru. Your mother was worried about you for a while, so I decided to come to check up on you. Hearing you say that you're okay, I'll be sure to let your mother know. For now, get some rest for today. You'll need it."

I bowed and said, "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

He nodded and said, "Oh, and…before I forget, Mr. Everhart wanted me to give this to you, as a token of appreciation for saving his daughter." Dad then brought out a book and handed it to me, and I read the title that said, "The Tales of King Arthur, The Once and Future King". It was the same children's book that I found in Mr. Everhart's studies. I looked at dad with a look of surprise as he said, "He wants you to keep it, and that he hopes you enjoy it."

Then, he turned back to my sisters as he said, "Girls, Mr. Everhart wants to meet with you two in his studies. I believe it's time we get back onto your lessons on speaking German. Be there as soon as you two are ready. Is that understood?"

"Yes, father." said Akira-neesan.

"Right away, dad." said Megumi-neesan.

"Good." dad nodded, "I'll be waiting for you two as well. See you both then."

"Okay." both of my sisters said.

Dad nodded before he began to leave the room. Before my sisters would leave, Akira-neesan gave me a notebook and said, "This is my notebook on speaking German, just in case if you want to learn to speak German. We'll be leaving you here now."

"Rest well, Yuzu-chan." said Megumi-neesan.

I nodded and said, "Okay, I will. Bye."

"Bye." they both said, before they left the room, leaving me alone to rest.

I then turned my attention to the book that Mr. Everhart gave me. Seeing the book in front of me and reading the title of the story, I couldn't help but feel…intrigued by it, and out of interest, want to read it. I reached out to open the book to read, but before I could, I heard a door open. I turned to see who it was, and to my surprise, it was Minna who came by to visit me.

"Minna…" I said, surprised, "What're you doing here?"

Minna didn't say anything as she stood there and looked at me. I then realized she still can't understand me, so I went to the notebook Akira-neesan gave me to try to translate what I just said.

"Sorry." I said, apologetically and a little awkwardly, even though I knew she still wouldn't understand what I was saying, "I forgot that you still can't speak Japanese. I'll, uh…try to speak in something that you can understand. Just, uh…hold on a moment, okay?"

But before I could look into the notes to find the right words and say something she could understand, Minna approached me and placed both her hands onto mine as she then said to me, slowly but surely, in the language I could understand, "No. It's…okay. You…don't…need to…do that."

"H-Huh?" I said, suddenly surprised that she could speak Japanese, "Wait, you can…understand me?"

Minna nodded before she said, "A-A little…"

Before I could ask when she learned to speak my language, she said slowly and nervously, "U-Um…y-your…big sisters…t-taught me...to speak…while…you were…s-sleeping."

Ohh. I guess that made sense. But why would she want that?

"Um…" I said, "Why did you want to learn to speak Japanese?"

"Um…" she said, slowly and nervously, "I-It's…because…I-I…I…I want…to thank…you…for saving…me…from before."

"Oh." I said as I realized what she meant, "You mean when we were falling from the cliff?"

Minna nodded in confirmation. She then spoke slowly and nervously again, "And…um…well, I…I…I want…I want to…b-be f-friends...w-with…with you."

Suddenly, I became surprised by what she was telling me. She…wanted to speak Japanese…so that she could be…my friend. I just…couldn't believe it.

"Minna…" I said, still in surprise by what she was saying.

Then, she asked me slowly and nervously, "U-Um…c-can I…?"

I looked at her for a moment, looking at her in her blue eyes with my own eyes. Her eyes were…sparkling beautifully, showing me that she truly wants to become friends with me, showing in whatever short of time she had while I was gone worked very hard to get where she is now, even if it was a little. She really tried to learn to speak Japanese, because she wanted to do it for me. Well, to be honest, I couldn't help but feel happy about this, because I was the same way. To be honest, I wanted to be her friend too, even if we were both different people from different worlds and spoke different languages.

I smiled at her, and then, with the notebook Akira-neesan gave me, I said to her in German, just as slowly as she was when she was speaking to me in Japanese, "Na sicher. Ich...werde...dein...Freund sein, Minna (Of course. I…will…be…your…friend, Minna)."

Minna looked at me with a shocked look on her face from what I had said to her before she then made a smile of happiness with tears of joy, and out of sheer happiness, she came onto me and gave me a hug, though she was careful enough to not hurt me due to my injuries.

"Danke (Thank you)." she said in German.

I smiled at her and hugged her back, before saying in German, "Gern geschehen, Minna (You're welcome, Minna)."

That was how me and Minna became childhood friends. Little did I know, though, she was going to become someone very precious to me, the very reason for my purpose.

---

Present day:

I was done throwing out the trashes and cleaning up my room, I looked around to see what it looked like for a moment. Looking at the room now, it looks like it has free space for me to move around in. Aside from the dirty floor, everything seems perfectly cleared out and clean. I nodded in satisfaction before I began working on cleaning the dirty floor with a mop that I got from the apartment cleaner's office.

After I was done, I went out of my apartment room to look at the other apartment rooms. Each room was still dirty and had a whole pile of garbage and empty boxes. I decided that I should stop for today and do the rest later and I put away the cleaning tools that I took from the cleaner's office. I then looked at the clock.

"Well," I said, "I guess it's time for me to go to work, I guess."

I went back to my apartment room to get changed to go to the place that I was working at. I work at a coffee shop for part-time work called Ahnenerbe, where it's located near the large bridge in Fuyuki City. Not much is known about the shop, but it's a good coffee shop where people could hang out at. It opens 7 days a week, from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM during weekdays and 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM on weekends and holidays. Normally, I'd work on weekends, but today, since I have some free time now, I can go to work and at least do some evening chores.

Before I begin to leave, I found something that was on my desk, a book. And not just any book, it's the same book that got from Germany when I was still a kid 7 years ago; the story about the legendary king named King Arthur. It's the same book that I kept with me for a long time, and I still hold onto it and treasure it, even now.

I smiled at it and decided to take it with me to read. Honestly, no matter how many times I read it, I never get tired of it. I know it's silly, but it's true. Of course, there were other King Arthur stories that I've read over the years, but this King Arthur book would always be my favorite.

I left my apartment after making sure I locked the door before I opened my book and began to read it as I walked my way to work. I wasn't worried about getting lost since I already know my way around town already thanks to my friends helping me.

"Once upon a time," I began reading, "There was the Once and Future King…"

As I continued reading, another flashback about my childhood came to me.

---

Flashback: 6 years ago…

It had already been a year since my recovery from my injury, and a year since Minna and I became childhood friends. Over the times we spent together in Germany, we were growing closer and closer together, when we play together, when we read together, when we looked around together. We even learned to speak the languages that we use in our respective countries from each other; me speaking German, and Minna speaking Japanese. Oh, and…Minna would call me by the nickname, "Yuzu-kun" instead of my actual first name because despite learning enough Japanese from me, it was kinda a little hard for her to call me by that, so she calls me "Yuzu-kun" to make it a little easier, which I didn't mind at all, really.

Today, we were reading the book, "The Tales of King Arthur, The Once and Future King", together. We've read the book so many times that we lost count, and we kept on reading it without ever getting tired. The story about King Arthur was so amazing that even we couldn't stop talking about it. Right now, we were at the part about the Battle of Camelot, where a battle between the legendary King Arthur and the Treacherous Knight, Mordred, was taking place.

"…and so, the battle continued on until there was only King Arthur and the Treacherous Mordred." I read.

"Whah!" said Minna, amazed.

"Mordred, the Treacherous Knight," I read, "Had the upper hand when he knocked away Excalibur from King Arthur's hands, rendering him helpless."

"Oh, no!" said Minna, shocked.

"However," I read, "King Arthur did not give up, as he held another weapon in his hand; the spear of the heaven, Rhongomyniad! And with it, King Arthur defeated Mordred with all his might, putting an end to the Treacherous Knight and his treachery for good!"

"Yay!" Minna cheered.

We continued to read the story until we reached the very end, where King Arthur dies lying in the tree, passing away as he made his eternal peace. Though sad, it was also a happy ending for the story, because, in the story, the people of Britain were at true peace, and everyone lived happily ever after.

"The End." I finished reading before I closed the book.

"That was an amazing story," Minna giggled, "No matter how many times we've read it, it's still a great story."

"Yeah." I said, "I really love this King Arthur story. King Arthur is an amazing legendary hero who led and protected Britain."

"Me, too." Minna smiled, "I love the story about King Arthur and knights."

I looked at Minna and asked, "Minna, what is it you like about King Arthur and the knights in the story?"

"Everything!" Minna happily answered, "I love everything about King Arthur and the knights, Yuzu-kun! They're strong and brave, and they're very noble people who would do anything to protect everyone!"

I smiled and said, "Yeah…they really are."

"Hey, Yuzu-kun," said Minna, "Let's play a game of knight and princess, like we always do."

I chuckled a bit before saying, "You really love playing that game, don't you?"

"Mm-hmm." Minna nodded, "I love playing it, because I get to be a princess saved by a brave knight, just like you saved me before, remember?"

"Yeah." I said, "I do."

"So, Yuzu-kun," said Minna, "Let's play knight and princess."

I smiled and said, "Okay, Minna, let's play." But before we could, I then thought about something and said, "Although, it would be boring with just the two of us…"

Minna realized what I meant and said, "Yeah, you're right…it does seem kinda lonely with just us…maybe we need another friend?"

"Maybe…" I said.

"In that case," I heard, "Let me play with you guys, too!"

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Minna, did you say something?"

"Hmm?" said Minna, "No, I didn't say anything?"

"Huh?" I said, confused.

Then, I heard a giggle and heard someone say, "I said, let me play with you, too!"

"Huh?" said Minna, confused, "Was that…a voice?"

"Wait, you heard it, too?" I asked.

"Mm-hmm." Minna nodded.

"C'mon!" we heard, "Let's play together!"

"Huh?" I said, as I looked around confused, "Who said that?"

"I don't know." said Minna, just as confused as I was.

"Over here!" a voice called.

We looked to where we heard the voice was calling, and to our surprise, there was another girl standing there, smiling at us.

The girl in front of us had blonde hair that is tied with a black ribbon into a ponytail, with one strain of hair sticking out like a cowlick and big bright green eyes. She was dressed in a white dress with black trims, a black ribbon around her chest, black shoes with white stockings, two white silk armband sleeves, and white gloves.

We were really taken by surprise that there was a girl standing there right in front of us, smiling at us while saying we should play together. Well, we say that there was a girl there, but she was actually imaginary. Me and Minna were the only ones who could see her.

After a few moments of silence, I spoke first by asking, "Who…who are you, miss?"

"Me?" she said before she realized what I asked and said sheepishly, "Ah, sorry! I probably should introduce myself." Then, with a big smile on her face, she introduced herself, "I'm Lily! I'm your imaginary friend who's come to play with you two!"

"Our…imaginary friend?" we asked, surprised by what she was saying.

Lily, who approached us, grabbed our hands with hers and said happily, "Yup, that's right! Nobody else but you two can see me, because we're friends."

"Friends…" I said.

"Three of us…" said Minna.

"Yup!" Lily smiled, "So since we're friends, let's play together! Three of us!"

Hearing her say that, me and Minna couldn't help but just smile at Lily's words and we both happily said, "Okay!"

Me, Minna, and our imaginary friend Lily would then go outside together, either playing as knights saving the princess, or running around the grassy floors, with smiles on our faces.

In all honesty, we didn't even care if she was just imaginary. To me, to Minna, and to Lily, this friendship was real for both of us, because we were very good friends. No. We were best friends. No matter what we did, or where we go, or how we played, or how we ran and smiled together, or even when we read the King Arthur story, the three of us…were always together, with nothing but smiles on our faces.

---

Present day:

After I was done reading the book, I found myself arriving at Ahnenerbe. Well, it's time for me to go to work. I opened the door to let myself in and said, "Good evening."

The ones that work here turned to see me at the door. They were the two staff members who were part-timers and my seniors, Chikagi Katsuragi-senpai and Hibiki Hibino-senpai. Katsuragi-senpai is the one with long green hair that is tied into pigtails and green eyes, while Hibino-senpai is the one with short orange hair with a strain of cowlick hair and orange eyes. Both of them were older than me and wears maid outfits, with Katsuragi-senpai wearing a green skirt and Hibino-senpai wearing an orange skirt.

"Ah, Shin-chin!" said Hibino-senpai, with her usual happy and friendly smile, "Welcome~!"

"Good evening, Shindou." said Katsuragi-senpai, "I didn't think you'd be here today. You'd normally only come to work on weekends. Did you skip school or something?"

"Just for today." I said, "Let's just say something good happened that I had to leave early. Don't worry, though, my teacher let me off the hook."

"I see." said Katsuragi-senpai, before she made a small smile and added, "Well, good for you. And, good for us, too. We could use an extra hand."

"So, what should I do today?" I asked.

"Just the usual." said Katsuragi-senpai, "We're not that busy today now, so you just have to pick up the dishes and clean the tables and all that."

"Got it, thanks." I said.

Katsuragi-senpai nodded and went back to whatever she was doing.

"Have fun, Shin-chin~!" Hibino-senpai cheered, as she then went back to whatever she was doing, as well.

Then, I went off to work picking up dishes and cleaning tables.

By the way, this job was given to me 3 weeks ago, exactly after my first day of Homurahara Academy. It was after school on my way home that I happened to have stumbled upon Ahnenerbe and saw that the shop had a sign that said, "Ahnenerbe: We Are Hiring!". Out of curiosity, I let myself in and took a look around the coffee shop, and I was pretty amazed by it, not just how it looked, but also how it felt homey. The inside of the shop is somber due to the limiting of electric light to a minimum. The atmosphere inside is not bad, with floor and walls bringing a German-style to mind and various antiques decorating it. After enough looking around, I called out to whoever was hiring, and that was when I met the staff members of Ahnenerbe, including Katsuragi-senpai and Hibino-senpai. The staff members who work at Ahnenerbe were…um…uh…well, let's just say, unique people. A little strange, but unique. When I told them that I found the sign that said that they were hiring, they said that they were indeed hiring and then asked if they could hire me to work for them. Me? Well, I accepted the job since I was kinda thinking of finding a job while I was still in Fuyuki City. Plus, I actually like the place, it felt nice.

I don't know much about the staff members or the manager of Ahnenerbe, George, other than the fact that he's a specialist in Italian cuisine and his customers are said to like the pies he bakes. But, when I first met Katsuragi-senpai, she was very hostile towards me like I was a threat to her or something, and she didn't even trust me in any way whatsoever at all, and it only took a while until she was getting used to me as I was being a nice guy to her and was giving off good impressions for her, and eventually, she was able to talk to me normally, both as a friend and a fellow employee. And, Hibino-senpai was…well, you know, a happy-friendly-go-lucky Hibino-senpai who was okay with me and was the only employer who would talk to me in a friendly manner.

While we worked together, they told me that they worked here 10 years ago when they were still in high school, just like I am now, before they graduated and decided to leave to study in college. Eventually, they graduated from university together and work on their future careers, but then they decided to come back to work at Ahnenerbe again, just so they could live in peace and quiet. Plus, Ahnenerbe felt like home to them. I know that feeling well. Whenever I looked around the shop, it felt like I was in Germany again, where I made so many memories.

Yeah, very good memories…with Minna and Lily.

---

Flashback: 5 years ago…

A beautiful full moon, surrounded by stars, was shining down on us in the night sky. Everyone was sleeping for the night, except for me, Minna, and Lily, as we were sitting outside, holding each other's hands, me holding Minna's hand, Lily holding Minna's other hand while looking at the beautiful moon looking down upon us. As we watch the moon shine bright at night, we talked about how our time together felt so long, yet time flies fast for us, and…how we wished this time we had would last forever. Tomorrow would be the day that I had to go back to Japan, as my sisters were finished with their lessons in learning German. Me and my family will be going back to our usual lives again when we return to Japan.

"2 years…" I said.

"Mm-hmm." said Minna.

"Yeah." said Lily, "Time flies by quick."

"Mm-hmm." I said, saddened, "We had so much fun together since we first met. I don't…I don't wanna leave, but…"

"Me, too." said Minna, as she held my hand tightly, "I wish you could stay."

"Yeah…" I said, "Me, too…"

We remained silent for a while until Lily broke it by saying cheerfully, "Hey, you two, don't feel so sad! Cheer up! You'll both see each other again! You just have to wait until that big day arrives!"

"Lily…" I said.

"As for me," said lily, with a sad smile, "I can't really stay with either of you two. I'm only imaginary, and I always come and then go. Imaginary friends can't always last forever whenever children of your age get older and older, and even I'm no exception." Lily then brightened her smile again as she said cheerfully, "That's why you two should see each other again someday because you two will be around with each other!"

"Lily…" said Minna.

"Don't worry about me, Yuzuru, Minna." Lily smiled at both of us, "No matter how far away we are from each other, we'll never be apart because we'll always have each other in our hearts. We're best friends forever, after all."

"Lily…" I said, taking in all the words she just said, before I smiled back at Lily and said, "Yeah, you're right, Lily! We're best friends, and we'll always stay together!"

"Mm-hmm!" Minna happily nodded, "Friends forever, even in our hearts!"

"Yup!" Lily smiled.

With that, we laughed together one more time, before I brought out my King Arthur book and said, "Well, how about we read this book together, one last time together?"

Minna and Lily gasped happily and cheered, "Yeah!"

Then, after reading the book together for the last time, the three of us continued to look at the beautiful night sky and the bright moon shining upon us. The stars in the night sky were sparkling around the skies as the moon glowed in bluish-white light. It was…beautiful.

We were silent as we looked at the sky and the moon, before Minna said, "I wish…that I had a hero who will protect me someday."

I looked at Minna as she said while looking at the moon and the sky, "A hero, just like in the King Arthur stories, where a brave knight fights to protect people, always there to save someone special when they needed it most. A hero who will always be there to protect someone he loves when the one special to that hero needs it. I want a hero who will protect me like a princess from those fairy tales."

"Minna…" I said, silently.

"I love the King Arthur story." said Minna, "Because, King Arthur was a great king and a noble knight who did everything to protect and lead his kingdom, not just because it was his duty, but because…his home of Great Britain and his people were very important to him. He did the very best that he could to protect his country and his people because they were precious to him, even until the very end."

"Yeah." said Lily, "Everyone has someone or something very precious that they held dear, and anyone would do anything to protect those that they care about, even if it's impossible to do. In other words, you want someone to be there for you because you're special to them, right?"

"Mm-hmm." Minna smiled, not taking her eyes off the moonlit sky, "I really wish that there would be someone who would become my hero to come to save me whenever I'm in danger, someone that I could trust would protect me forever."

I looked at Minna as she stared at the moonlit sky. The way she looked now…she was truly beautiful as the moon shined down upon her, her silver hair glowing from the light of the full moon, her blue eyes sparkling from the light of the stars. This girl…Minna…she was truly a precious girl that...I…I want to protect. At that moment, I realized that she was someone truly precious to me, that she was someone that I want to keep safe, to protect her from harm, to save her if and whenever she's in danger. Minna was the one person, I truly…truly cherished. At that moment, I knew what my purpose was now.

I looked at the moonlit sky and remained quiet for a moment, before I said to her, the very words that would give me a reason to live, a purpose in my life, "I'll be your hero."

Minna gasped from hearing what I said, and she slowly turned to look at me, as I turned to face her, and we looked at each other in the eyes, while Lily turned to watch us, as the moon continued to shine down upon us in the night.

I then said again, without hesitating, "I'll become a hero who will protect you, Minna."

Minna gasped again, taken by surprise at what I was telling her, before she asked me, "You will?"

I nodded and said, "When I get older, I'm going to become a hero who will protect you no matter what, because you're important to me, Minna. You're very dear to me, and I want to do everything I can to protect you. And…whenever you're in trouble, I'll come and save you, because you're what matters to me."

Minna gasped happily as she asked, "Will you really?!"

I smiled and nodded and said, "Without a doubt!"

Minna smiled as she raised her pinkie finger, a sign of pinkie promise, and asked, "Do you promise?"

I smiled as I raised my pinkie finger and interlocked it with hers, tightened the lock of the pinkie promise, as I promised her, "Yeah. Just leave it to me. Someday, you'll be in good hands! I promise I'll do my best…to be your hero!"

Hearing me vow my promise to her, Minna smiled brightly as she nodded and said happily, "Yeah! I know you will!"

Lily smiled at the promise I made to Minna and nodded, before she began to disappear, she said to me her goodbyes quietly for me to hear, "Do your best, Yuzuru." Then, Lily disappeared, leaving just the two of us alone together now. Though Lily was gone now, she would always be with us in our hearts.

Me and Minna stayed where we were, holding our pinkie fingers together as the moonlit sky shined down on us, and the stars sparkled around the night sky, as I held onto the promise that would forever go with me wherever I go. After that, the now two of us continued to look at the moonlit night sky together until it was time for us to go to sleep.

---

Present day:

I was finished with work and decided it was time for me to leave.

I opened the door and said to my senior staff, "Well, I'm going home now. Katsuragi-senpai, Hibino-senpai, see you on weekends."

"Goodbye!" said Hibino-senpai, cheerfully as she waved her arm up bye, "We'll see you again, Shin-chin~!"

"Have a good night, Shindou." said Katsuragi-senpai, waving her hand bye.

After that, I left my workplace and began to walk my way home.

I then opened my book and looked at the picture of me and Minna smiling together when we were kids in Germany. This was a picture of me and Minna when we were playing together outside. Though Lily wasn't in the picture, we could imagine her being in that picture smiling with us. Man, looking at the picture…sure brings me back memories. The times we played together, spending time together, and the promise that I made to Minna since that day. Since that day, in order to uphold the promise that I made to Minna, I spent most of my life being a good guy, doing good things for my family by cooking for them in our servants' stead, helping out people who needed it when doing something they needed help with, looking out for someone who needs looking after…well, I think anyone would get the idea. One day, I even left my family home to transfer and move to Fuyuki City, so that I could live independently and create a future for myself, and to be a good man that I hope Minna would see me as. My family approved of me moving away from the family, as they respected my decision, even my dad who, even though he didn't expect much from his untalented son, was okay with me moving and was proud of me making my own decision.

I kept my background of coming from a wealthy family a secret from everyone, partly because it was to prevent everyone from taking advantage of me and my rich family's heritage, and mainly it was because it was what I wanted because if anything, I didn't want to take advantage of my family's wealth and use it for selfish deeds. I may come from a wealthy family, but I was disciplined as my sisters are, because dad was strict with us to not use the money for anything wrong and to use it for only good deeds, like charity. The only ones that know about my family background are my co-workers at Ahnenerbe and Matou-sensei, who I trusted the most; Matou-sensei was during one of her counseling sessions, while Ahnenerbe during my interview with them.

After a long walk, I found myself back at my apartment home and let myself in. I put away the King Arthur book and went to change into my pajamas. After I changed and brushed my teeth, I went off to bed to turn myself in for tonight.

As I began to sleep, I wondered to myself, "I wonder how Minna is doing in Germany right now? Is she thinking about me just as I'm thinking about her? I hope so." Then, I closed my eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

---

The next morning, me and Yukitsuki-san, as usual, came to school way too early, and nobody was in our class yet. I was getting tired due to lack of sleep, thanks to Yukitsuki-san waking me up, and due to a lot of things that happened yesterday. Man, I really need some sleep. I walked over to my desk tiredly, sat down, and fell asleep on my desk. Yukitsuki-san did the same.

Then, after some time, everyone else came to class, except unlike us, they weren't tired nor worried about being late, they just took their time getting to school and getting into the class. Man, I wish Yukitsuki-san would be like them. If she was, we wouldn't have to be coming to school early looking tired. Emilia-sensei came into his desk and said, "Everyone, please take your seats."

Everyone did what they were told and went to their respective seats.

"Chikako Asada-san, if you may please." said Emilia-sensei.

"Yes." said Asada-san, "Everyone, please stand."

We did what she said. "And bow." she said, and we did the same. "Now, be seated." she said, and we remained seated and class began.

"Thank you, Asada-san." said Emilia-sensei, "Now today class, before we begin our lecture, I would like to make an announcement. Tomorrow, we'll be having a…"

I was too tired from all the things that happened yesterday and from Yukitsuki-san dragging me to school way early that I didn't even bother to listen and just kept falling to sleep. I was probably snoring in class too, but at this point, I don't think I even really care. I then felt some tapping on my shoulder, and I looked up tiredly to see Emilia-sensei looking at me with a slightly awkward smile and a sweatdrop and asked, "Shindou-kun, are you alright?"

"Huh…?" I said, before I looked around hearing my classmates giggling and laughing at how silly I looked and how funny I was being. My friends just gave me sympathetic looks on their faces, even Yukitsuki-san.

"Shindou-kun, why don't you head to the nurse's office and take a rest?" Emilia-sensei suggested, "I think you'll need some sleep for today."

I tiredly nodded and said tiredly, "Yes, sir…thank you, Emilia-sensei…"

I then tiredly got up from my seat and began walking tiredly like a zombie. I mean hell, I probably look like one, and probably even funnier since I could hear everyone laughing at me from how I looked right now. But, at this point, I don't even care, so I just walked out of the classroom and began walking to the nurse's office.

---

I was in the infirmary, sleeping my ass off on the bed that was available. The nurse wasn't here, so I just let myself in. I needed to shut my eyes and sleep. Man, I had a long day yesterday. I closed my eyes and let myself fall into a deep sleep.

---

As I was sleeping, suddenly, I…found myself hearing…strange voices in my dream.

"Soon…" one voice said, "Soon, your time will come."

"W-What…?" I thought, "W-Who's this…? Who are you…?"

"Who we are…is of no importance." another voice said, "What matters…is you must…be ready."

"Huh?" I thought, confused, "Wait, ready? Ready for what?"

"You…have been chosen." said the third voice, "Soon, your time…will come."

"The time where one event…will change your fate." said the fourth voice, "Your life…will change forever."

"Event?" I thought, even more confused, "What event?! I don't understand! What's going on?!"

"You must…be ready." said the first voice, "Your time...will soon…begin."

Suddenly, I felt the sudden burning in the back of my left hand, and it was hurting me like fire burning into my skin. While I was feeling the pain of burning, I looked at the back of my left hand, and suddenly, I saw something strange and faint. Or, at least, I thought I saw something. It was faint and blurry, so I couldn't really tell what it was, but I could've sworn that I saw some sort of strange red markings on my hand.

"W-What is this?!" I thought, trying to make out what the strange mark was, "W-What's going on?!"

As I tried to make out what it was, suddenly I heard the strange voices say to me, as they were fading away, "In time, it will begin…and your time…will come. Soon, you must be prepared."

Then, the voices began fading away. But I tried to reach out to whoever they were, as I wanted answers to what was going on. But, I couldn't reach them, as they all faded away into nothing.

"N-No, wait!" I thought, "Wait! WAAAAAIIIIITTT!"

---

I shot up and shouted, "WAIT!"

As I panted, trying to breathe for air, I found myself still in bed in the infirmary, and I found myself woken up from that strange dream while trying to reach out for what I thought I could reach out from that dream. I then looked at the back of my left hand, where I swore, I saw those strange markings from my dream, but…I saw there was…nothing there. Strange.

I sighed and said to myself, "Man, what a strange dream, but…it felt so real. Just…what on earth was that?" I sighed again and added, "And why me?"

Then, I heard footsteps and heard someone say, "Hey, Yuzuru."

I looked up and saw Kurosawa-san and Yukitsuki-san standing there in front of me, as Kurosawa-san said, "Hey, what's the matter? You look like you just had a nightmare."

I didn't say anything to them as I was in deep thoughts about that dream, before Yukitsuki-san asked me worriedly, snapping me back, "Shindou-kun, is something wrong?"

"Huh?" I said, "U-Uh…y-yeah, I'm…I'm fine. Just…had a strange dream."

"About what?" she asked.

I shook my head and said, "I don't know…and I'm not sure if…I should talk about it…"

"Hmm…must be complicated, then." said Kurosawa-san, "Well, anyway, we came to tell you that Matou-sensei's class is about to start."

"Huh?!" I said, shocked and confused, "W-Wait…how long was I asleep?!"

Yukitsuki-san chuckled nervously and said, "Long enough to let you know that you missed out on a lot of things in Emilia-sensei's class and that you missed out on lunch today."

"What the hell?!" I shouted, "Why didn't you guys say anything?!"

"Well, let's just say we didn't wanna bother you in your sweet little sleep." Kurosawa-san smiled, "Plus, Asada-san kept us busy with the class rep. stuff."

"Sorry." said Yukitsuki-san, apologetically.

I sighed and said to myself, "Dammit…"

"Well, anyway, we're gonna start class soon, so we came to get you." said Kurosawa-san, "So, you coming or what?"

I sighed and said, "Well, yeah, I guess. I think I've had enough sleep today, so…might as well."

---

"And that will be all for today." said Matou-sensei, ending her lecture for today, "Class, you're dismissed."

Everyone in the class got up from their seats and was getting ready to leave to either go do club activities or to their next class. I was getting ready to leave until Matou-sensei called me.

"Shindou-kun." she called.

"Yeah?" I said.

"Sorry, but do you mind coming with me for a bit?" Matou-sensei asked, "It's really important."

"Um…sure." I said.

"Thank you so much." she smiled, "Sorry for troubling you."

"No, it's okay." I said, as I then began to follow her, "So, what is it you need me for?"

"Well," said Matou-sensei, "Our temporary principal, Mr. Ryuudou, wishes to speak to you about what had happened the other day. About the 'Archery Club Incident', he called it."

"Me?" I said, "Well, I know I was there, but I didn't really do much. So, why me, of all people?"

"Well," said Matou-sensei, "Let's just say that, after hearing about you defending our archery club members from the school's worst bully, he became quite curious of you and wanted to see you personally. You could say he was quite impress with you."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes." she smiled, "He even said that hearing you helping various people reminds him of someone, an old friend of his, from his past."

"Oh, I see." I said, "Well, whoever was his friend was must've been a good one."

"Yes." said Matou-sensei, before her expression became saddened and said, "By the way, Shindou-kun?"

"Yeah?" I said,

"Have you heard what happened to Tsukino?" Matou-sensei asked.

"Yeah." I said, "Tsukino resigned from Homurahara Academy to go to the Fuyuki hospital due to her recent injuries, something about her injuries gotten worse or something."

"That's right." said Matou-sensei, "Ever since that day, our school's been receiving complaints from her parents about their daughter. They wanted to speak to our old principal about it, but unfortunately, he had already quitted before they could complain to him about it."

"Yeah, I heard from the others." I said, "He quitted because of his weak mind and weak will to do anything as principal, since Shichirou terrifies him. He's scared of him."

"Yes." said Matou-sensei, "And, sadly, it's only gotten worse."

"Have Tsukino's parents been placing blames on the staff, too?" I guessed.

"That's right." said Matou-sensei, "All of the teachers and staffs, including me, have been receiving complaints from them about what had happened and blames us for not being able to do anything for their daughter. It's been getting somewhat difficult to deal with them. They've been blaming and criticizing that we were just following the principal to do nothing against Hashimoto instead of protecting the school and the students."

"Must be rough." I said.

"Yes." said Matou-sensei, "And from what I heard from Tsukino's parents, Tsukino has been becoming more mentally and emotionally unstable and her injuries from that day has been getting worsening by the day. At this point, it's possible that Tsukino may end up committing suicide."

"Damn…" I said.

"I know." said Matou-sensei, "It's getting much harder for all of us that even I don't know what to do."

I looked at Matou-sensei for a moment. She looked serious and upset at the same time. It must be getting difficult now since what happened. I smiled and said reassuringly, "I'm sure you'll figure something out. I mean, we have Mr. Ryuudou to help us. And even if it's for a short while, I'm sure Mr. Ryuudou can think of something good before a new principal will take his place. And besides, our current principal is much stronger minded and willful than our last one. And who knows, maybe not even a single bully like Shichirou can scare the crap out of him. And, since Shichirou is gone now, we have less worries and have other things to worry about."

Matou-sensei looked at me for a moment, before she giggled and said, "Yes, you're right. I'm sure we'll think of something out." She smiled at me and said, "Thank you, Shindou-kun. You're always there to help cheer us up when we needed it most."

"I'm just doing what I can." I said, "And besides, this is my school, too, so of course, this school's problem is also my problem."

"I see." said Matou-sensei, "Well, thank you for your concern."

We arrived at the principal's office, and as we went inside, we saw that Mr. Ryuudou was already inside at his desk writing down on some paperwork, before he noticed us and said, "Matou, come on in."

"Yes, sir." said Matou-sensei.

He then looked at me and became…somehow surprised? He kinda looked like he had just seen a ghost or something as he said, "Wait, are you…?" leaving me confused.

He got up from his desk and looked at me in a shocked expression, before he clearly made out what I looked like and said, "Oh…you're not him…"

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Who?"

He noticed my confused look and said, "A-Ah, sorry! I just…I thought you were someone else."

"Oh, uh…ok." I said, "Well, anyway, my name is Yuzuru Shindou. Nice to meet you, sir."

"Ah, yes, likewise." he said, "I'm Issei Ryuudou, currently the principal of Homurahara Academy. So, I take it you understand why I've called you here?"

"Yes, sir." I said, "Matou-sensei had told me on our way here, about the 'Archery Club Incident'."

"Correct." said Mr. Ryuudou, as he adjusted his glasses, "As you've guessed, I've already heard from other staff members, including Matou here, about the latest incident. However, I thought I'd like to hear about it from your perspective. I've heard that you were there protecting the other students and fending off that disgraceful delinquent."

"You wanna hear from me?" I asked.

"If it's alright with you." said Mr. Ryuudou.

"Well, I don't mind." I said, "But, what's it gotta do with me?"

"Oh, nothing of a sort." he reassured me, "I just thought I'd like to hear your story about it."

"I see." I said, "Well, alright then. So, where do I start?"

"Anywhere is fine." he said.

"Well, okay." I said, "Well, it all started…"

---

After explaining to Mr. Ryuudou about what happened on my perspective, he began to think for a moment from what I told him.

"I see." he said.

"So, what about it, sir?" I asked.

Mr. Ryuudou was in thoughts for a moment, before he said, "I believe there might be a reason why our previous principal was so weak minded that he would refuse to do anything."

"Really?" I asked, "What is it?"

"Well, based on what you've told me, and what other staff members have told me about our previous principal," said Mr. Ryuudou, "It is likely that he was being blackmailed by Shichirou."

"Blackmailed?" Matou-sensei asked.

"Correct." said Mr. Ryuudou, "It's likely that the previous principal of our school had some sort of big secret that he would refuse to tell anyone, even the teachers and staff members, and was likely caught by Shichirou and was being blackmailed by him to let him do whatever and threatened him that if he were to tell anyone, even the police what was going on, Shichirou would likely beat him, or even worse, and then reveal to everyone what kind of secret that he was hiding. It's likely that the previous principal became weak-minded before Shindou even got here."

"Then, whatever big secret that our last principal had, maybe related to something important." I guessed.

"Correct." he said, "Which is why I'm going to figure out what it is before I give my position as principal to someone else. Of course, some of the staff members, including Matou-sensei, will be coming with me to investigate."

"Wait, so, Matou-sensei won't be teaching us for a while?" I asked.

"Just for now." he reassured, "I'll need some few extra hands to deal with this situation. As you're aware, Tsukino's parents have been giving the teachers and staffs complaints about what had transpired the other day, and if not taken care of, it's only going to get worse. Which is why I'll be checking on our old principal for a while until we learn the truth from him."

"Oh, okay." I said, "So, when will you start?"

"We'll begin tomorrow after school." he said, "And by the next day after tomorrow, you'll be having substitute teachers for the time being. Don't worry, though, once we're done with it, the school will be running back to normal like always."

"I see." I said, "Well, that's good to hear, at least."

Mr. Ryuudou nodded and said, "Good. Well, then, that's all. You may leave now."

"Yes, sir." I bowed, "Thank you."

I then turned around and began to leave the principal's office. But then, I stopped for a moment as there was something else on my mind. I then turned back and asked, "By the way, do you, by any chance, know someone that might've sent Shichirou out on a sort of rampage and caused the incident the other day?"

"Hmm?" he said, "Well, no, not that I know off. Why do you ask?"

I thought about it for a moment, as…well, there is one person I could think of. I then sort of lied, "No, just asking." After that, I left the principal's office to go out and look for someone.

---

I looked around the hallways to look for someone for a moment before finally, I found her talking to her posse, Misao Amari.

The girl has long and straight bright pink hair and matching color eyes, and has a mole on the bottom left side of her lips. Like everyone else, she wears a female Homurahara standard uniform, while she also wears white pantyhose with her school uniform, and white shoes.

This girl is…the one person that I do not get along with. Like me, she's a 2nd year student, but in a different class from me. And, thank God, we take different classes, because there was no way that I can stand her. Why? Well, at one time, I did try to get along with Amari and tried to be friends with her, only for Amari to just shove me off for no reason and…well, let's just say after getting on a rough start, we became complete mortal enemies. Honestly, I really don't like her, nor can I stand the little façade that she was making, but…the only way to get answers is through her.

I walked up to Amari and said, "Hey, Amari."

Amari turned around after hearing her name and noticed me, then she made a (fake) friendly smile and said, "Ah, Shindou! It's nice to see you! To what do I owe a pleasure of seeing you?"

I really don't like her.

I gave her a serious look and said, "You and I need to talk."

Amari looked at my serious expression for a moment, while her posse looked at me as if they were scared of me. Amari then smiled and said, "Why don't we take this elsewhere?" She then turned to her groupies and said, "You girls go on without me. He and I have to talk for a bit."

"B-But-"

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious." Amari (falsely) reassured them, "I'll be back." She then turned away as she walked up next to me and whispered, "At the rooftop."

I simply nodded and followed her until we reached the roof of the school building.

Once we were alone, Amari took a deep breath and sighed, before she looked at me with a (fake) friendly smile and said, "So, Shindou, what do you wanna talk about? It's very rare to see you talking to me of all people."

"Can it!" I said, coldly, "I know you're the one who sent Shichirou to attack and destroy the archery club."

"Excuse me?" she asked, (falsely) confused about what I was saying, "I…beg your pardon?"

"I said, drop the act!" I said, coldly, "And I said, I know you're the one who sent Shichirou to do those terrible biddings! Do you have ANY idea how many people were involved and got hurt because of him?! OR, do you have ANY idea what that son of a bitch of a bully did to Matou-sensei while she was in there, trying to get that bastard to stop, only for her to fail?! Do you have ANY idea what happened to the old captain of the archery club, after that whole incident?! Huh?! DO YOU?!"

After hearing me yelling at her those words, her expression became grim, before she said with a cold smile, "Oh, and what if I did? It's not like it's my business what happened to those people who were involved, and what happened to your teacher who favors YOU the most, Mr. Teacher's Favorite Boy. And besides, that bitch of a captain deserved it, anyway, being all bitchy about archery and all that."

"So then, you knew." I said, coldly, "Yet, you didn't bother telling anyone that you're responsible."

"And what about it?" she glared at me, "Besides, it's not like it's any of YOUR business, and it shouldn't be. Plus, that muscle head Shichirou wasn't so bad at doing that good stuff, he's actually pretty useful. Blackmailing the old principal, taking advantage of his secrets, beating up people that he really wants to suffer, doing whatever he wants to like it's nobody's business. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he and I had a lot in common."

"So, you just go with it?" I said, coldly, "And what do you plan to do now? Shichirou's been kicked out of school, and he should be of no use to you!"

"Hmm, true." said Amari, looking at her fingernails, before she gave out a wicked smile, "But that doesn't mean he can't be useful outside of school. You've seen him doing bad things to people, even outside of the school, and you and I both know that he can't be stopped. Big guy wants to make people suffer and take pleasure in it, just like he made his family suffer until he discarded them. People get hurt, and he doesn't even care about it. He brings fear into everyone, and nobody will be willing to do anything to stop him."

"We'll figure out a way." I said, "We always do. And as for you, I hope you take responsibility for what you did, as well. Those people, including Tsukino, did not deserve what you and Shichirou gave them."

We looked at each other, glaring at each other's eyes as we stared daggers at each other. Then, Amari smiled coldly and said, "I look forward to that day it happens."

Then, Amari stepped away from me and asked tiredly, "So, are we done talking? I really need to go see my friends. We have some fun things to do."

I sighed and said, "Yeah, we're done. For now."

"Good." said Amari, as she moved next to me to leave, before she added, "Oh, and Shindou? I'd rather that you not get into something where your nose doesn't belong. Otherwise, you'll end up regretting it."

"What do you mean?" I asked, coldly, without even looking at her.

Amari merely smirked without looking at me and said, "That…is a secret, between me and someone else." Then, she began to walk off as she said haughtily, "So long, Shindou boy."

I merely stood where I was and Amari walked away without even looking at me. God, I hate her.

---

School time was already over, and I was on my way to walk home when someone called me, "Excuse me, Shindou-san."

I turned around to see an archery club member coming towards me. Well, more specifically, the new captain of the archery club. Following him were the other fellow members of the club.

"Oh, hi." I said, "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, sorry to bother you." said the new captain, "But, uh…we were wondering, can you help us clean up our dojo? We need an extra hand today, and we're gonna be in a hurry soon."

"Well, sure, I don't mind." I said, "But, what's the hurry? What're you planning to do?"

"Well," said the new captain, "Actually, we were planning on visiting Tsukino soon."

"Oh." I said, "I see. I'm sorry to hear. I heard she wasn't feeling too well."

"Yeah." said the new captain, "Ever since what happened, she's been getting worse and worse and hasn't been feeling any better. I'm really worried for her."

"You must be pretty close to Tsukino if you're that worried about her." I guessed.

The new captain chuckled and said, "Yeah, you could say that. We've been together for a long time since middle school, and we've been stuck together since."

"Must be nice." I said.

"Yeah." said the new captain, "Anyway, can you come and help us?"

"Well, sure, I don't mind." I said, "Just a minute."

I pulled out my phone and texted Yukitsuki-san that I was going to be late to go home again. After I sent the message, I nodded to the captain and we went to the archery club to clean up some things.

---

Mirai's POV:

It was already nighttime, and we were out in the city being on patrol. Me, Sayaka, Hiroko, Ami, and Assassin, were on the lookout for enemy Masters or Servants that may come to us.

"Anything?" I asked.

"No, milady." said Sayaka.

"Nothing, milady." said Hiroko.

"No signs of any threats, milady." said Aimi.

I turned to Assassin and asked, "Assassin?"

Assassin was looking through the scope of his sniper rifle, before he answered, "No, no visual. Everything seems clear, my Master."

"I see." I said.

"So, where do we look at now?" Sayaka asked.

I put myself in thought for a moment. I then used my Mystic Eyes to see the future. Through my eyes, I could see a strange magic circle on top of the school building of Homurahara Academy. If I had to guess, it must be something used to create a Bounded Field.

I closed my eyes after seeing the future before I opened them and said, "I suggest we go to the school. There is a clue there that we may be able to find."

"Understood." said Hiroko.

"Yes, milady." said Aimi.

"As you command." said Sayaka.

As the three were getting ready to leave, I turned to Assassin who nodded and was ready to take me there. While Sayaka, Hiroko, and Aimi used their magecraft to enhance their legs and jump off from building to building, Assassin held onto me as he used his power of a Servant to jump off from building to building while carrying me as we followed suit.

As we followed, Assassin spoke up to me first and asked, "Master, I have something to ask of you, if I may?"

"Of course, Assassin." I said.

"I…neglected to ask this after I was summoned to this world," he said, "But I must ask, what do you seek the Holy Grail for? Do you have a wish you desire to be granted?"

"My wish?" I asked.

"Yes." he said, "It's important for Servants to know what the Master wishes for from the Holy Grail once the War is over, giving them reasons to fight for that said wish for their Master."

"I see." I said, "Well, I suppose I do have a wish that I want to be granted. However, that is something that I wish to keep for myself."

"Hmm?" said Assassin, confused about my statement, "Keep to yourself?"

"Correct." I said, "Let's just say it's a precautionary method, to keep hold of what I wish for until it is the right time. While it's true that it's important for Servants to learn about the Masters' wishes, the wishes are also something that Masters cannot reveal so easily. There are some Servants who learn about the wishes of the Masters would take advantage of what he/she desires and use it against them, and other Servants who dislike the wishes of the Masters and would likely turn against them. Servants and Masters must have mutual trust, loyalties, and understanding with each other in order for them to achieve their goals together and not turn against each other by any means. Otherwise, it could cause mistrust and complete diversity. Which is exactly why I intend to keep my wish a secret from you to be cautious, in case whatever I say to you doesn't make you turn against me."

"I see." said Assassin, "Well then, I'd say it's a wise decision."

"I apologize if I may be showing some trust issues to you, Assassin." I said, "As I've said, I'm just being cautious. So, please, do not misunderstand."

"Of course not." said Assassin, "You're just doing what is the right thing as a Master."

"Thank you, Assassin." I said.

We continued on jumping from building to building until we reached the rooftop of the school.

---

Yuzuru's POV:

It was already nighttime, and everyone has already left Homurahara Academy, even the archery club members left their club already to either visit Tsukino or go home. Me? I stayed behind to make sure that everything was perfectly okay. What I was doing now is cleaning the floor to make sure that the floor was as nice and polished as possible. Once I was done with the floor, I took a look at the archery club equipment to make sure that everything was fine. From the looks of it, they must've either fixed the equipment or replaced them. I was told that after I was done, I can go home and relax. Overall, everything seems to be fine, but I decided to stay a little while just in case. I won't be coming home for a little while.

---

Mirai's POV:

We were on the rooftop where we found the magic circle. Me and my followers were checking on the circle while Assassin was in spiritual form, while also using one of the Assassin-Class skills, "Presence Concealment", in case if an enemy Servant comes and attacks.

I took a look at it for a moment, before I confirmed, "It's as I thought, this circle is something used to create a Bounded Field, and it's likely a trigger point."

"Such strange writing." said Aimi.

"Yeah, it looks complicated." said Sayaka.

"Indeed." I said, "Assassin, you can sense its nature, can't you? Should this Bounded Field be activated, it will most likely liquefy the humans inside of it. This is some sort of Soul-Eating Bounded Field, a blood fort that will dissolve any human flesh and body within the field and then harvest the human souls out of them. Judging as to who would want human souls, it is obvious that it's a Servant."

"Can Servants do such things?" Aimi asked.

"Yes, it is as you surmised." said Assassin, "Fundamentally, Servants, such as me, are non-corporeal beings. And, just as humans partake of meat as nourishment, Servants partake of humans and souls. In other words, the more souls that they ingest the greater their mana stores become."

"Are you suggesting that your kind aren't satisfied with the mana they're supplied with from their Masters?" Hiroko asked.

"No." said Assassin, "It's not that we aren't satisfied with the mana given to us, it's that more is always the better. So, absorbing energy from any nearby humans, it's the basic strategy of a Master. In that sense, this bounded field made from someone is highly effective."

"How aggravating…" said Hiroko.

I nodded and said, "Well, Assassin, be sure not to do such things in the future."

"Agreed." said Assassin, "You have no worries, though. I would never resort to something like this."

"Good." I said before I turned to my companions and said, "Well, let's erase it, then. Though it may not completely undo it, it could slow it down for a while."

"Yes, milady." they said.

Suddenly, we heard someone said, "Aww~! You're gonna erase it now? What a waste!"

Hearing someone's voice alerted us, and we immediately readied ourselves. My companions with their weapons out, while I readied my gemstones as I got into my fighting stance. We then turned to the source of the voice and found a woman.

The woman had pale skin, short blonde hair, and crimson eyes. She wore a white long sleeve shirt and a long purple skirt, with black pantyhose under the skirt, and black dress shoes. She was looking at us for a moment until she gave out a whimsical smile on her face.

We remained cautious. Just who on earth is she?

---

So, what do you guys think? Please, be sure to leave a review for me on what you guys think of the story! I hoped you all enjoyed it. Don't be shy and don't just read the story, REVIEW and tell me what are your thoughts of the story!