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FICTION
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Chapter 5: School, Priest and Worm
"B-But why do I need to go in that place? I am the heiress of a noble Magus family and I don't need common education-"
While this is indeed a weird decision because of the tight schedule I was forced to deal with, I still needed to have an excuse to approach Homurahara Academy without becoming a student myself.
"New friends, subjects that Magus family never teaches and..." I paused drammatically, her eyes narrowing at my widening smile. "I buy you some ice cream once you are done with your first day."
Luvia paused, the idea of a pleasant reward like the delicious and sweet treat started to slowly overturn her small opposition. Count that I also gave her something else to do other than being coped out and doing nothing within the Einzbern Castleand she quickly conceded to my point.
Chloe was actually the one that took the request happily and eagerly, already wearing her uniform and dark-purple backpack. A giggle reached my ears as I noticed the tanned girl smirking my direction.
"Ne, Shinji-kun, are you checking me out?" The blonde blushed at the tease but I was merely smiling as it completely sunk in my brain. My initial silent reaction seemed to unbalance Kuro and I took the opportunity to return the favour.
"I was merely enjoying the fact that you have been so happy to go to school. I guess I am proud and..." I let some amusement make my smile twitchy. "Do you want to be checked out, Chloe-chan?"
The effect was immediate. A scandalised look with severe hints of embarassment, a light blush turning moderately pink, her eyes an hurricane of emotions.
I let out a loud chuckle, a muffled giggle following soon by a red-faced Luvia, the blonde instantly looking away from the dual stares as Chloe pouted cutely but seriously at the counter-tease.
We were already by the door and I decided to leave one last request to the oldest of the two. "Remember that school isn't meant to be a competition, don't try to win a 'challenge' at school. We both know there isn't one between you and Illya."
She looked bummed but nodded begrudgingly. "I will behave until she does." She took the lead of the duo, Luvia turning around for a moment to wave nervously my direction, which I returned with a nod.
Closing the front door, I turned around to see- "Good morning, Shinji-kun."
Red eyes vibrated with absurd optimism and the mere sight was enough to make me jump back. "Gah!"
A masculine giggle left his throat as Gilgamesh tilted his head. "Did I scare you, friend?"
I sighed at the King of Heroes' faux curiousity over my reaction. "You did, Gil. Seriously what is with people and jumpscares nowadays."
"It is more that your type of people react like this." He smugly replied. "You are just a treat to look at."
I grimaced as once more I had to deal with this new unpleasant development. While the blond kid had barely tried to go beyond simple pseudo-flirting, I was still weirded out by the situation.
If I hadn't been Shinji, then the scene would have been comical since... yeah, the several deaths of the Shinji by the King of Heroes. I wonder if death by jealous Gilgamesh was going to become a real issue to keep my attention at.
But it wasn't a case that the Archer was here by the entrance, I was actually waiting for Artoria to arrive for us to finally go and have a private consultation with someone more or less trustworthy.
I had been contemplating solving this major issue early on, before going to Clocktower, but I was morally convinced to deal with the greater problem first, leaving the lesser evil to pester a little longer, and I wasn't even sure if this was going to end positively for me.
It was a pale blur that made me notice the woman now in front of me. "I'm here, Ma- Shinji."
To think I had to deal with the edgier and quite blunt version of King Arthur the same way Shirou had to in the original story...
It wasn't a case that I had also started to tinker around the massive kitchens of the castle, trying to get some knowledge in making some pseudo-junkfood. While normal Saber was delighted by normal food refined by good hands, Salter was a completely different woman.
Her tastes were less regal and more earthly than the Ideal King in FSN. So when I tried to serve her a cheeseburger I have carefully crafted with the available ingredients and she found it delicious, I knew I had conquered her full loyalty.
"Good morning, Artoria. I hope you had pleasant dreams." She nodded as we all started to walk out of the fortress, our destination being the Fuyuki Church.
...Uh? Why are you staring at me like tha- Oh right, I totally forgot.
A quick search around the city confirmed that this universe Kirei Kotomine became the local christian priest in the city after his father had passed away peacefully in his sleep, the stern-looking man having actually gained quite a good standing with the people and having hosted several local events together with his daughter.
It was Caren Hortensia that was turning to be the biggest headache to stomach. While there had been some documents that had seen her living in Italy, there was no indication between her arrival in Japan and her gaining a job as a nurse in Homurahara Academy.
Older than her FHA counterpart, this Caren seemed to have a lesser sadistic attitude, less prone to proceed with her painful promises. Maybe it was the fact that the known threats were given to young students and if the young woman went along the lines she had enunciated then she would lose her job for that.
Thankfully today I was going to deal with just one of them. Like heck I was going to deal with the sadist father-daughter duo without a proper mindset ready to face their shenanigans.
The walk was a calm one as we avoided walking near any of the major no-no areas in the city, making the whole experience a tad bit more easy to enjoy as I could imagine this Fuyuki being the future of the city I was born in.
No more Zouken, no more Grail and... no more senseless 'Hero of Justice' crap.
As we continued to pace quietly in the crowded streets, I think I spotted in the distance a familiar redhead wearing a... very revealing maid dress. I blinked her direction but decided to not give too much attention to it.
I had already enough issues to deal by being non-active with the plot, I don't need to deal with that fan service anytime ever.
-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-
If I have to be honest, churches were places I generally disliked since my previous life.
Hours-long cerimonies, choirs singing that would either be too religious or too ear-bleeding and priests that behaved far too holier-than-thou in way too many circumstances.
So when I stepped inside the Fuyuki Church, a grimace started to build up the more I walked towards the priest. Kirei Kotomine was softly praying while looking at the representation of Christ cruxified, when I finally reached him, Gilgamesh and Artoria followed behind me.
"I have been waiting for you, Matou Shinji."
I blinked, the man slowly and carefully turned to stare at me. "To think that I would see someone as young and diligent. Such a blessing is unheard of."
I bit down a groan as I felt the anti-christian side of my morality rising up to the challenging times. I wasn't much attached to religion, for good reasons if I had to give further details, but I appreciated the current moral code of Christianity and thus I barely accepted it.
"While I would enjoy asking for some forgiveness, I suppose you also know that I am not for niceties." He nodded at my words. "I need you to check if it is possible to do a Spiritual Healing surgery-"
"Impossible. Sadly, it wouldn't work with your predicament and even the chances of survival in case I decided to still try to operate would be far too low to ignore."
...
"Why wouldn't it work?" I felt my hopes crushed as the priest sighed calmly.
"Spiritual Healing doesn't truly cure a condition, it restores the body, or part of it, to a previous situation. Since Zouken is known to have planted the Crest Worm in his family members from their birth, your body would be literally stripped off of any chances of ever gaining a control over magecraft."
"W-What if I don't care about magecraft-" "Then you would be lying to yourself and to the world."
I froze, warmth leaving my face as I stared at the darkness hidden within Kirei's eyes. A glimpse was enough to send shivers through my soul and I felt stuck in place.
I was dead, but also alive and the murderer was enjoying my inner squirming with pleased glee.
The priest's amusement broke the moment several rips opened and Enkidu tied him up. The moment this happened I felt a warm hand squeezing softly at my shoulder, it was Artoria.
"Tell us what to do, Master."
The man started to laugh emptily. "Of course. To think this could have been done quickly."
Amusement flickered back but I was already facing the new wave of killing intent.
"You are going to change a lot, Shinji-kun. Your terrible and majestic heart is a never-ending source of amusement for tired men and bored monsters. Try to keep it beating for as long as you can and... it will make the whole castle of card fall apart!"
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Chloe von Einzbern stared dully at the doodles she had just finished to draw of the small head of an angry tiger.
It became quite clear after three hours of lessons why school was boring to children. Her maturity, the one that comes from Justeaze, had been quick to dismiss the notion that a place of learning would turn monotone so quickly but now that very part was keeping quiet as Taiga Fujimura continued to properly teach another topic in English.
Her tone was flawless, something that the tanned girl recognised mere moments the young woman started to speak in the foreign language, but it was quick to pick up how she had accomplished such masterful level.
Intonation, grammar knowledge and proper exercise of both writing and oral capacity to reply and speak in English.
A simple pattern, one that the Einzbern was quick to write down in her small NekoArc notebook.
As much as Chloe was glad that she was actually learning something out this first day, she was incredibly annoyed by the growing list of distractions that started to grate at her patience and calm.
While her counterpart had been mostly quiet during the day, there had been timid attempts from her when the two were relatively close during the pause breaks, but nothing overly important or noteworthy in the general situation.
Miyu was actually the one putting some effort in her trials, but it was mostly because her objective wasn't Chloe herself. Shinji had been quite open in explaining to her the situation regarding the usually introvert girl, the same sorrow that the Illya stuck within the walls of the Castle in Germany knew more than enough and that made the tanned Einzbern more than prone to be helpful of the girl.
Yet something held her back from properly addressing the concerns of the faux Edelfelt, a sense of restriction coming from the deepest part of her consciousness. Was it jealousy? That was ruled out by the mere fact that Shinji had not shown any inclination towards that kind of relationship with the silly girl- but then what was holding her back?
The answer lied in the lingering memories of her counterpart still within her mind. The sense of uneasiness and inadequacy that Miyu had been eager to stoke and fuel the first few times the two had interacted.
She was being petty. Chloe von Einzbern was going to be childish when dealing with the fake Edelfelt, just like the silly girl had accused he-Illya to be. It was a matter of pride, of honor.
She was a proud member of the Einzbern family and, no matter the current standing of the family, she still had to keep her head up and keep some resemblance of their legacy going.
Ignoring the dumb attempts from her counterpart's friends about her identity and trying to investigate the almost-identical appearance she had with the more soft-spoken Illya was something that was slowly turning Chloe mad. The angry kind of mad.
Before the last straw could be broken, another teacher rushed inside the classroom, his eyes scanning around the place. "I-I'm sorry to interrupt your lesson, Fujimura-sensei, but there is a situation and one of the students has called for one Chloe von Einzbern."
The woman blinked in surprise. "I-I, sure! Chloe-san, please follow Takinaki-san. I don't think you will miss much with your current situation and-" But the girl was already chasing after the man, her mind picking any possible explanation about Luvia having troubles with her first day.
Childish logic, which was a good way to trace back little Luvia's attitude, presented simple excuses that wouldn't warrant this mobilisation... so what had sparked this alarmed case?
As they turned the corner, amber eyes were quick to spot the blonde sitting on the floor just outside of her classroom. Her eyes were red and puffy, clear signs that she had been crying quite recently.
Golden eyes blinked and soon the younger girl rushed her direction. Bracing herself for the impact, she let a single 'huf' as the little Edelfelt held her tightly, as if she was scared of something.
Now that was something curious, Kuro mused and she turned to the sad-looking teacher. "What happened to her?"
He sighed. "One of the boys in the classroom got his nose broken by her. She says that she was defending a fellow classmate but the boys says that-" "Then she is right."
The interruption snapped him out of that depressing mood, surprised at the tone the tanned girl was now showing. "If Luvia said that she was defending herself and one of her classmates, then she is right."
His surprise decayed in a defeated and hopeless expression. "You cannot say that for sure, Einzbern-san. She might be lying-" "That would be highly unlikely, sensei. I know that."
The staunch defense was a strong enough deterrent to the appeasing attempt of the man and the girl slowly melted in Chloe's embrace.
"Shinji will hate me."
The muffled whisper reached the older girl's ears, which proceeded to pat the blonde's hair. "You did nothing wrong. He will share my same thoughts."
Luvia didn't spoke further, trying to find solace and comfort in the hug while the Einzbern felt happy that she was proving her maturity in this case.
While little Luvia was still going to be an obstacle in conquering the seemingly unconquerable Shinji, she was still a ward protected by the Einzberns and Kuro wasn't going to forfeit an ally for some foul rumors coming from childish individuals.
AN
Kirei is a dingus, Kuro is a loving sister and chibi-Luvia get a taste of bitter life.
Spiritual Healing, a misconception: I think I've read somewhere that the procedure is meant to be easy for people that knew they stuff... but it isn't. The procedure is something akin of a miracle as it is very unlikely to perform the surgery and get an immediate and positive result. That is why that option doesn't exist for the reasons Kirei had listed.
What is this Kirei: The one that sells Mapo Tofu is the one from the Miyuverse, Prillyaverse Kirei is still a pathological monster with a kink for pain and sorrow. Caren will turn out to be a surprise next chapter.
Chloe and School Life: While she is highly advanced thanks to Justeaze's knowledge and her inherent bookwormish attitude towards general study, Kuro is pretty much set for life... if it wasn't for boredom around the corner.
Luvia and bullies: As much as she had grown in a semi-aristocratic family, Luvia is a child that knows the standard black and white vision of the world and she hardly can see a reason behind common cruelty among children.
REVIEW Q&A!
Alucard nosferatu van hellsin: Nope!
Akutzu Du Lac: That is a secret!~
SkyLuong: Never heard truer words. xD
StoryReiter: Obviously I will keep the tones down because the bodies are Shotas. I ain't getting shafted by FF rules for this!
PervyPanda: Oh, it will. xD
Guest 1 (Chapter 5): Once in a while but... he is faring well.
Blue Zenith: Oh God, NOPE! xD
MasterOfDragonsGod: Yeah. If he wanted to marry Shinji, he would have directly asked to make him his husbando.
PCheshire: Sadly they are shota. I can see the comedic effect but... I don't want to get ruled out by some Mods. They will make a cameo next chapter and make a full appearance two chapters from now.
The Ultimate Balance Chaos: His treasury is big (maybe half of the usual because of the other card) but I don't think it has every solution to every problem.
PasiveNox: Thank you!
merendinoemiliano: Just like SkyLuong has just said, 'Its not gay if its clay'. xD
NeroAlmia: Just completing the first season, now I will focus on giving some time for Shinji to prepare before the Ainsworths attack. Enkidu is clay and no, it isn't going to turn into a Yaoi. There isn't truly a GilXEnkidu, courting for Gil is like friendship but on a serious level.
f1uffy5sprinkles: Thou shall receive God's holiest chapter, oh faithful one.
Bloobat: Thank you and... I think I am already writing something similar to a Jump-chain. It's in SB and it's called The Living Bot.
Perran Onh: Thank you!
Lazymanjones96: Thank you!
Guest 2 (Chapter 5): Here is the continuation of the adventures!
LukeSky001: It is more like friendship with Gil being an innuendo-trashcan.
edyxd50: Half confused with the question but I think you mean that I'm going a little fast? Don't worry, I am not going to rush and go too much against canon.