Arc 1: Welcome to Shibuya
4/13 Wednesday, Morning
"Gah!" The grunt was chocked and gurgled as the volleyball player known as Mishima fell to the floor on his back, his body sliding back. The volleyball went 'pang-pang-pang' as it bounced away from his face. The young player's face wrinkled as he bared his teeth and his hands went for his cheek, the flesh swelling. The gymnasium, full of students dressed in the red gym uniform went silent as their cheers was caught in their throats watching the young student squirmed on the floor. Kamoshida bounced on his feet, his face covered in sweat and his right hand stinging from his earlier spike. The man looked down at the fallen student, his mouth twisting down, eyes rolling as he walked forward and raised the net that separated his team from the student's.
Reaching Mishima, he knelt beside the boy and looked down at him. After a few seconds he let his eyes wander to the silent students and raised his voice. "Hey, can someone take him to the nurse's office?"
"Ah…we'll do it Kamoshida-sensei!" Two male students from the crowd came forward fidgeting. When the man nodded at them they nodded at eachother with grins, kneeling and taking the downed student away from the playing-field. The teacher watched as the young man was taken away from the corner of his eyes and let a silent scoff escape his lips. He turned towards the crowd and grinned.
"Let's start the next round!"
In an instant the Volleyball Rally was revitalized once more, as everyone started cheering and hollering. The scene with the injured student was quickly forgotten under the promise of more entertainment.
Shirou leaned backwards, his back pressing against the wall and raised his left foot to press against it as he crossed his arms. His gym outfit was zipped up to his collar and comfortably hugging his body, craning his next downwards to hide his bare teeth at the scene he had witnessed. His eyes tracked Kamoshida move in towards his group, adult colleagues the man knew. They were high-fiving and praising the teacher for his performance with laughs and grins.
Their laughs made Shirou bite down hard and clench his jaw at the clear one-sided win streak they were having from the very start, leaving the score the same for the past few teams who competed against the man.
…A rally should be about the entire student body experiencing and supporting the volleyball team that will be competing…not about a single teacher showboating…
His nose wrinkled as his eyes wander over towards Suzui. She was on the other side of the gym, her back turned towards him as she talked with other female volleyball players. The girl looked down, her head turning in the direction of a distracted blonde—Takamaki. Suzui looked away quickly, biting her lip and clenching her left hand on her right forearm.
The girl took a shuddering breath—and turned towards him.
Their eyes met and Shirou flinched as he watched her trembling and glazed over eyes.
…Saying not to be afraid is easy…but it's so hard not being afraid when faced with impossible odds Emiya-san…
His eyes narrowed as he saw the girl flinched when she got called to come and faced Kamoshida. The girl looked away from him and watched the other girls, they looked down, bit their lips and swayed from left to right. Shiho said something and the girls took deep breaths and nodded. They walked towards their positions to play. All the girls shook as they did some stretches, they looked at each other again and nodded. They were ready to begin the new round against the adults' team.
Kamoshida eyes shone brightly at the actions of the girls, his lips spread wide as he grinned.
"Let's go!"
The 'game' started.
…Saying not to be afraid is easy…
One of Kamoshida's colleague bump the ball and the teacher jumped high, grinning widely. The girls tensed as the man let his right arm pulled back, and then slammed it down to spike the ball. 'BANG!' the sound was loud and made the girls flinched as the ball sail past them and towards the floor, scoring a point. Kamoshida landed on the floor, grinning with sweat rolling down his face. He bounced on his feet and called for another ball.
The game continued, a repeat of the first round. The girls were overwhelmed—tripping and unable to fight back against the teacher as he sent strong spikes and without holding back. Suzui herself held off better than the others, as a ball was spike towards her she intercepted it, keeping it in the air—but the other girls were flustered and not willing to fight back.
…but it's so hard not being afraid when faced with impossible odds Emiya-san…
The adults all laughed and applauded amongst themselves as they scored more and more points. The girls all looked down, shoulders sagging as they took a step back. Suzui bit her lip, hands clenched and trembling as she bowed her head.
"Let's go girls! You can do better than that! Once more!" Kamoshida called out, idly spinning the volleyball in his hands with a grin. Suzui sighed and looked away, her shoulders sagging and eyes glazing over —
"Come on Shiho!" Everyone in the gymnasium flinched, surprised by the sudden and loud cry. They all turned towards the blonde female student, Takamki, as she stood and pumped a fist up in the air. "You can do it!"
Shirou watched with wide eyes and a slightly agape mouth at the cheering display with some. The dark hair girl's chest swelled up as she took a deep breath, her eyes watering and a shaky smile spreading on her lips.
"What the hell is up with Takamaki?"
"She just wants to grab everyone's attention, like she always does."
"I bet she is just doing it to get Kamoshida jealous!"
"Oh that's right, their dating! Geez, what a bitch! Can't she see how much effort Kamoshida has been putting in here!?"
Suzui's smile sagged, her eyes wide and darting from left to right. She looked around at the students as they pointed, mutter amongst themselves and looked at the girl with sneering lips. The girl looked down and gritted her teeth.
…I don't want Ann degrading herself for me…
Shirou's eyes widened, the image of Suzui's shade coming to mind. His lips curled down, his canine teeth showing as he glared at the teacher. He was smart enough to understand the girl's shades implications.
The very thought made him sick to his stomach.
He let his eyes flicker towards Suzui, biting down on his lip. He blinked and his eyes widened as he saw Suzui's eyes.
Her eyes were bright and focused entirely on Takamaki. She bowed her head, left hand grasping on her school sweater and breathing deeply. She looked up, her flickering towards him. He blinked a couple of times as the two locked gazes, then the girl's lips pulled up into a smile. Shirou gulped deeply, the sound of the saliva traveling down his throat loud to his ears. She turned away from him and stood defiantly towards the teacher as he tapped his foot. Kamoshida raised an eyebrow, lips purse as he met Suzui's glare and then he bare his teeth when the girl turned away from him.
"Let's go guys! Let's show them what we can do!" Suzui said loudly as she looked at her teammates, bobbing her as she said quieter words to the girls. They looked at Suzui with wide eyes, sending Kamoshida shaky looks—but a few seconds later they nodded and send a few smiles towards Suzui. They turned towards Kamoshida, tensed and knees bent.
"Ready?" Kamoshida asked with gritted teeth, then he shrugged and jumped up. He pulled his arm back and got ready to spike the ball.
Shirou leaned forward as he looked intently at dark hair girl. 'Suzui-san are you going to stand up to him…even if you're afraid of him?'
The ball was spiked and went towards the floor on her side of the field. Suzui crouched and moved, intercepting the ball, bumping it with her arms up into the air. Everyone held their breath as they watched the ball spin in midair, then one of the girl's in Suzui's team jumped and spiked the ball towards the opposing and wide eye team.
The girls scored a point.
The game wasn't one-sided anymore. Kamoshida looked at the ball bounce through the field with wide eyes and a ajar mouth. His mouth clammed shut, teeth gritted tightly and showing as growled vibrated through his throat. He glared at the opposing team, took a deep breath and smiled as he gestured for another ball.
The game continued, but the girls suddenly began to coordinate their movements to follow those of Suzui's. Unlike before, they were working like a cohesive unit capable of staying on par with the adults. They scored points, and while Kamoshida's team was ahead of them by one point the girls weren't losing their streak. Everyone watched with wide eyes at the clear star of the game as Suzui jumped high and spiked the ball with a force greater than anyone on her team was capable of. This caught some of the adults off guard—
Except for Kamoshida, who caught the spike, bumping it to someone on his team and looked back towards the teammate who was about to bump the ball. "Bump it back to me!" His team did so and the ball was back in the air—Kamoshida looked at Suzui with a gritted teeth and he moved.
The Olympic medalist jumped, pulled his armed back with narrowed eyes and he smacked the volleyball down towards Suzui. The ball sailed straight for her face.
Shirou's eyes widened at this, standing straight and tense. From the corner of his eye he caught sight of Takamaki, the blond had her hands over mouth and her eyes were wide.
The ball neared Suzui, but her expression didn't change as she watched the incoming ball with narrowed eyes and lips curled down. Her arms moved—
And set up the incoming ball, one of her teammates looked up, narrowed her eyes and jumped. She spiked the ball down right into the field of the opposing team. Pang—pang-pang, Kamoshida watched the ball bounce away from his feet, his hands cupped together. His eyes widened as he looked at the student keeping score.
The girls had scored the final leading point, winning the game.
There was silence, everyone watching the players with wide eyes. Then the entire gym erupted into cheers as the students applauded the female volleyball team's efforts. Suzui smiled and turned towards Takamaki, whom was jumping up and down with her eyes sparkling and arms waving with emotion. Suzui then looked to her team and nodded, as the girls spoke amongst themselves with smiles and high-fives. Suzui let her eyes wonder towards Shirou and gave him a shaky nod.
Shirou looked at the girl with his mouth ajar, he closed it quickly and smiled. He nodded towards her and clapped his hands loudly.
"Did you see that!?"
"Suzui really was the best player there! She was keeping up with Kamoshida!"
"Hey! You think she'll be the next Kamoshida!?"
"Our school is producing the next gold medalist for sure!"
"This was like watching the passing of a torch!"
Kamoshida gritted his teeth, his chest swelling up as he took a deep breath and looked at the girl with narrowed eyes. He looked back towards his team, sending them a glare as they scratched the back of their heads or looked down and away from the cheering students, the tips of their ears red. His cheek trembled as a smile crossed his face, turned and walked past the net. The student team noticed the man's approach and their shoulders stiffened.
The cheering students cheered louder as the man approached the girls, Takamaki arms paused as her eyes went wide. The teacher reached the opposing team and walked straight for Shiho. He placed his callous right hand on her left shoulder, grinning at her as the girl looked up at him with wide eyes.
"That was magnificently played Suzui-san! You're really putting everything I taught you to good use!" His words were loud and his grin was wide, showing the white of his teeth to everyone. The students all pointed and smiled, muttering amongst themselves about how 'good!'-'great!'-'awesome! Of a teacher he was'. The man grin tightened, emulating the clenching of his hands around Suzui's shoulder. The girl bowed her head, biting her lips as her teammates all looked away. "But I think you've already shown enough to the school, no need to show off!"
The crowd complained about the good show being taken away from them, but Kamoshida turned to them with smiles and waves. "Let's take a short break from the rally, okay!" At that the students began to move, all of them heading for the exit of the gym. The man turned towards the other girls in Suzui's team and glared at them, they quickly scattered along with the crowd. His eyes flickered towards Suzui and leaned closed towards her, muttering something towards her.
Shirou moved from his spot, trying to get close to them but the crowd of students moving for the exit prevented this. Despite the setback, his ears perked up as heard the tail end of Kamoshida's words .
"—we seriously need to have a good discussion about your performance…"
Shirou's eyes narrowed at the subtle threat.
…but it's so hard not being afraid when faced with impossible odds Emiya-san…
His decision was made as he came to an understanding—damning even the consequences.
… But remember for what you're fighting for, for your mother, for Sella, for Leysritt. For Illya…
He understood perfectly that he had a duty to fulfill towards his family.
… if you disobey me once more…the Association will be more than willing to carry out their promise…
He understood perfectly that he shouldn't defy Forte or the Association or her faction or whatever.
… Mere goodness can achieve little against the power of nature…
He understood perfectly just how powerless he was.
But…
How could he possibly ignore this?
A girl that was so desperately in need for help.
A girl who was hurting.
Could he truly ignore this and simply focus on the safety of his own family?
Could he do so while he knew he had the power to stop this?
The answer was simple, just as simple as it had been that faithful day.
No.
And he would be there to save that girl.
His eyes narrowed as he watched Kamoshida use his tall and bulky buddy to push the students away as he dragged Suzui towards the exit.
'…I will stop this!'
He marched forward trying to clear a path through the crowd of students exiting, but finding it difficult. He gritted his teeth as a male student pushed him to the right and he sent a glare his way as the male teen ducked his head and moved. Shirou shook his head and snapped his gaze up just as Suzui's back disappeared alongside Kamoshida through the gym's exit as the crowd of students filled the space the teacher made. He clicked his tongue and kept his gaze focus on the distinctive curly hair of Kamoshida, seeing the man grow smaller and smaller as he got further away. The man took a left and disappeared fully from his vision.
Shirou glared forward, now knowing where the teacher was heading. he began to push against the crowd in front of him to get out. It was two minutes later that he got out. He took long steps as he made it to the club building and entered. He stopped as he looked left and right, biting his lips as he furrowed his brow.
'…he would've taken her to his office…'
His head turned towards the stairs on his left. He narrowed his eyes and jogged towards them, reaching them, he ran up the stairs. Reaching the top, he looked towards his right and moved down the hall until he reached the familiar area of Kamoshida's office. He jogged in front of the door, glaring at it with his chest heaving from his movement he clenched his fist, raised it up and then slammed it down. The loud 'bang-bang-bang-bang!' went off as he pounded his fist on the door.
"Hey!" He gritted his teeth, eyebrows dropping as he bared his teeth, he slammed his fist down one final time as no answer came from beyond the door. He frowned, leaning back as his eyes darted up and down. He bit his lips and leaned forward pressing his ears against the door and closed his eyes. The continuous sound of 'fwooor!' was the only thing he heard and his jaw clenched, recognizing the sound to be coming from the air conditioner he had fixed. He leaned back, pressing his forehead against the door with a raised eyebrow. "Where are they…?"
He stepped back and away from Kamoshida's office door, tilting his head towards the right to look at the hall fill with students talking amongst each other. They rambled about the rally as they moved thought the halls. His left canine tooth bit down on the corner of his lip, looking down with shaky eyes. He began to move, looking through each classroom. '…I have to hurry…'
"Damn, that was such a good game!"
"Yeah, Kamoshida's spikes are amazing!"
"Seriously, the guy doesn't have much control does he…I mean, look at Mishima."
"That game was pretty intense."
"It was real one-sided though…"
"Yeah, but Suzui really was above and beyond out there!"
"She'll probably surpassed Kamoshida if she keeps practicing right?"
Shirou eyes narrowed at the chatter as he moved forward, looking through the glass window at each club classroom. He clicked his tongue when he reached the final classroom, sweat tickled down his forehead as he looked back down the hall to where he had been. His heart beat hard on his chest and he looked at the other set of stairs that would lead him up to the third floor. He burst forward and just ran, his feet jumping two or three steps in the stairs as he quickly made his way up.
In his haste, he crashed into a big, hard, wet and muscular chest.
"Whoah there Emiya!" Shirou recoiled back, stomping his foot down hard on the floor when he felt he was going to fall backwards. He looked quickly to see the stairs behind him and snapped his gaze back towards Kamoshida who looked down at him with a raised eyebrow and squinting eyes. The man's expression softened and he gave Shirou a shaky grin, placing a red bruised right hand on left his shoulder. "You got a really scary focused face there kiddo. But try and be more careful, okay?"
"…" He looked at Kamoshida's bruised hand, his eyes widened and his throat constricted, not allowing the air to escape. His hands clenched tightly, nails digging into his palms as his eyes roamed the man's hand, forearm, bicep, shoulder, neck and finally towards his face. The teacher raised an eyebrow, his grin dropping as his hand tightened around Shirou's shoulder.
"Well? Aren't you going to answer, Emiya? It's rather rude."
Clenching his jaw and looking down, Shirou bobbed his head up and down. "Sorry…"
'I can't waste time here…acting out against Kamoshida is foolish, I need to focus on getting to Suzui.' His eyes wandered towards the stairs on his right, the ones the teacher had descended from. Kamoshida grunted at his response, shrugged his shoulders, let go of him and stepped around him..
"Well I hope to see you back at the rally kid, I'm actually curious to see if you can play volleyball. You got the build for it." The teacher began to descend the stairs, then stopped and turned towards him with a grin. "Oh yeah, don't go up to the roof, there's a…uh, pretty and stinking thing up there. Okay?"
"Don't worry Kamoshida-sensei…I was just trying to get to the library." The man looked at him with raised eyebrows. Shirou bit the inside of his cheeks as he looked back at Kamoshida with a level gaze. "There's to many people jamming the school building."
"Ah! Okay, okay! Well good luck!" The man turned and continued to go down the steps. The very moment the teacher was fully out of sight, Shirou burst forward and quickly climbed the final set of stairs. He was met with the door that lead to the rooftop and slammed it open with his shoulder. The fresh spring wind hit his skin, sending a shiver up his spine as the cool air met his sweat coated body. He narrowed his eyes and looked around, his ears perking up for sound.
He found it, the sound of someone sobbing.
Pursing his lips, a shaky breath escaped him as he used the red gym jacket to dry his sweaty forehead. He looked at the crying girl sagging eyes and walked towards her. With each step a sense of frustration and failure blossomed into his heart. He stopped right in front of an old desk, the floor showing scrapes underneath the desk legs. A pile of chairs thrown haphazardly, pieces of wood broken and splintered on the ground. He narrowed his eyes, walking around the pile and finally reaching the source of the sobbing.
Suzui was curled up in a ball, knees up to her chest and her face buried into her forearms as her body trembled. Her clothes were dirty and ripped, her hair was in disarray and her usual ponytail was missing letting her dark hair cascade over her shoulders.
Shirou looked down at the crying, and then looked away.
He had failed.
He had failed to save her.
"I…I can't take it anymore…I…I just want it stop…why can't he leave me alone…I don't want him to hit me anymore…"
His eyes widened and his shoulder stiffened at her words. His golden brown eyes looked at her with furrowed brows, his lips pulling down.
That was the cry for help he had heard in the Distorted World.
That same cry for help that he had failed to answer.
It made him feel horrible.
"Suzui-san…" Shirou's throat felt dry and it throbbed as he looked away. The girl recoiled, looking up with a reddish swelling left eye. Her eyes looked at him in surprised, giving him a clear view of her bruised right cheek and her cut lip, still red and bleeding. The girl let out a quiet, strangled gasp and bowed her head into her knees while using her arms as a shield. Shirou looked down at the girl and sighed.
"E-Emiya…kun…" Suzui's trembling words made his mouth pulled back, the right side of his face wrinkling and his eyes closing. He took a deep breath.
…I can't take it anymore…
He opened his eyes and a set his lips into a straight line. "That's…that's what he does… he physically abuses you…"
The girl just smiled shakily at him, her glazed over eyes looking at the rooftop floor.
"…that's…that's what happens when you try and stop being afraid of…of…" Another sob escaped her and she bowed her head. Shirou stared at her, his eyes darting to every part of the girl before a breath escaped his nostrils and he walked forward. The girl shrunk as he got closer to her, her hold over her knees tightening as he stood right beside her. He tried to reach out for her, but she began to shake rapidly and he recoiled back, eyes widened and mouth agape. "S-Sorry…sorry…but you shouldn't waste your time helping someone as pathetic as me…okay?"
It was those words that broke whatever hesitation he felt.
Because how could he possibly hesitate after hearing those words?
He clenched his jaw and knelt beside Suzui quickly, the girl shrunk away from him. His eyes stared directly at her as he furrowed his brows and looked away, wondering how to handle this situation. He straightened up his back and reached with his bandaged hand towards her, placing his hand on her shoulder.
'Just do this like you would with Illya…' His grip tightened slightly around her shoulder and brought her head towards his chest, breaking her out of her ball of comfort. "You're not pathetic Suzui-san…if anything, the pathetic one here is me…I wasn't fast enough to come here and save you."
Suzui raised her tear-stricken face and looked at him with squinted eyes. She shook her head, leaning back with a tearful glare..
"What are…what are you talking about…? Why are you taking all of this so personally…? Why do you…do you want to help me so much!?" She suddenly burst forward, taking his gym uniform jacket with her hands and nearly making the redhead stumble back. His left foot shot back and kept him balance, letting his eyes meet the bright ones from Shiho as tightened her hold on him and gritted teeth. Barely a second later she deflated as she let go of him. "All I'm good for…is volleyball…you don't gain anything from helping me…"
Shirou looked at her quietly, then he shook his head and clicked his tongue as he stood up. "You're an idiot Suzui-san."
"Huh…?" The girl looked at him with a raised eyebrow, then her eyes widened as she looked down at the floor with new tears in her eyes. She licked her bloody lip, winced and shakily grasped her sweater with both her hands right above her left breast. "I-I'm sorry Emiya-ku—!"
"I wanted to help you. That's all." Suzui's eyes snapped towards Shirou's and she recoiled back when she saw him offering her his right hand. He let a small smile appear on his face as his eyes sagged. "I told you that before, didn't I? Helping someone in need…saving them from their troubles isn't wrong either. That's why I dislike seeing people cry…especially you."
"Emiya…kun…" Suzui looked at him with wide eyes. He kept his hand in place as he looked away with narrowed eyes.
"I told myself that I would help you, that's why I kept butting in without any consideration for your feelings." He scratched his cheek with his left bandaged hand and clicked his tongue. "But even though I kept saying I would help you…I failed. So really, the only person here who's pretty pathetic is me, rig—gah!"
He took a step back, blinking rapidly as he felt strong arms wrapped around his body. He looked down at Suzui and saw her bruised face buried deep into his red uniform. He slowly enclosed his arms around her, tightening the hug while he patted her back with his bandaged hand. She shook, audible sobbing reached his hears and he sighed as he let her continue.
Six minutes passed and hiccupping, she leaned back but still kept her arms on his body. Her head was bowed as she brought her right arm back and rubbed her wrist over her wet cheeks.
"…you're not pathetic… how could you be...? When you've tried so hard to help me…"
Shirou hummed when he heard this, giving the girl a small smile and turning away. "Idiot, you should listen to what you're saying and take it to heart then. Stop beating yourself up for things like this."
"…" Suzui looked down, chewing on her lip and nodding a couple of times, her dark hair bouncing with the motion.
"Want to leave the rooftop?" The girl nodded at his question again, he pulled away from her hug. Suzui stumbled forward a little, but caught herself and leaned back holding her right bicep with her left hand. Shirou pulled his jacket off and handed it to her, the girl looked up at him in surprise. "So that no one has to see you're bruise face…I just thought it would at least save some dignity for you."
She gazed at the red jacket, a smile spread through her face—then she winced and dropped the smile.
"Thank you…" She took the jacket with both hands and pulled it over her head like a make-shift hood. "…if you weren't here, I think I would have been forced to stay up here until everyone left the school…"
"At least I was helpful with something…" He offered his right hand to help guide her. She looked at him underneath her makeshift hood with sagging eyes, Shirou froze for a second. He opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong—
"Don't sell yourself so short, Emiya-kun."
Shirou stopped, looked down and immediately looked back at her when he felt soft hands wrapping around his. The girl smiled and Shirou let out a small breath escaped through his nostrils. The two moved, descending from the stairs and moving cautiously through the halls of the school as they headed away from the school/
Unbeknownst to them, a certain frizzy haired transfer student was watching their movements with intense curiosity.
.
.
.
.
"Here you go Suzui-san." Shirou moved towards the girl who leaned back against the dark alley walls and offered her a can of grape flavored soda. Suzui smiled, muttering a quiet 'thanks' as she took the drink with shaky hands. She opened her drink softly, the sound of 'PTSSS!' went off and the girl's nostril was hit with the smell of sugar and grape. Idly her finger passed over the edge of her soda, wetting her fingers as she looked at the liquid through the hole of her can.
"Are you sure it's okay for you to skip out on the rally, Emiya-kun?"
"Don't worry about it…" Shirou gave her a small smile as he opened his own orange flavored soda without looking and took a drink. He kept his eyes focused on the girl, raising an eyebrow when she pursed her lips and looked down with sagged eyes.
"You could get in trouble though."
"I would get into even more trouble if I were to see Kamoshida's face…" He took another sip from his soda. "I don't think I would be able to hold myself back from doing something stupid."
"Oh…"
"What about you?" She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and he continued. "Your friend, Takamaki, she was looking around for you while we were coming here. She even looked quite distressed."
Suzui looked away, biting her lips and shaking her head.. "I… I'm a horrible friend…even though I'm hurting… I've been ignoring that she's been going through some humiliating situations."
"Suzui-san…" He started, his tone reminding him whenever Illya was beating herself up over something and he was there to help her.
"No…I've…I've been horrible…" Suzui rubbed the side of her can soda, staring at it blankly. A soft sigh escaped her lip as her eyes went back to stare at his. "I've…have you heard of the rumors? The ones about Ann going out on dates with Kamoshida?"
"Yeah, but I assume they're all lies."
"Well…not entirely." When he raised an eyebrow at her, she carried on. "Ann…she's been putting herself on the line for me…even though she doesn't think I haven't noticed or that I would notice…she's done her best to try and make my life as a volleyball player as comfortable and as easy as possible…even at her own expense. So…when Kamoshida told her…"
"Told her what?" Shirou felt his stomach churned, face wrinkling at the implications.
"He told her that if the two started dating, then he would let me become the star player of the team and…and that he would ease up in our training."
"That's…" His opinion of the teacher lowered even further by that single admittance. Suzui nodded and took another sip of her soda.
"Yeah…I…I always knew…rumors in this school don't exactly stay in one place…so I found out immediately after word got out. It put a huge amount of pressure on Ann…until she had no choice but to accept whenever he asked her out or told her to come with him for rides in his car…I actually think that he was the one that started spreading the rumor…it wouldn't be the first time he did something like that."
Shiro's jaw clenched, eyes slanting down. "Why hasn't anyone done anything about it?"
Suzui let a shuddering breath and gave him a shaky smile. "The school thinks he is too important…anyone who has tried to raise any complaints against him were immediately silenced or ignored. And those who tried to speak up against Kamoshida tend to be ostracized or sometimes suspended for supposed misconduct or even ludicrous accusations from Kamoshida…that tends to be enough of a message for people who stood against him to know not to mess with him. It doesn't help that he is a very strong and fit man…and he's already shown off what happens if you try and get violent with him. Sakamoto-kun, he used to be a part of the now disbanded track team…and well, after he got physical with Kamoshida…Kamoshida broke his leg…in self-defense he says…"
"…" Shirou just stared at the girl, his teeth biting down on his cheeks hard and tasting the metallic taste of blood passing though his tongue. Suzui's eyes dropped towards his hand and she moved her right hand towards the pocket in her school uniform skirt, pulling out a thin, pink napkin.
"Here." He blinked and looked down at the offered object. He blinked a couple of times when he felt his right hand being wet and sticky, looking down at his own hand he noticed the can was tightly crushed under his fist and his skin was drenched with what was left of the soda. He grunted, letting the can fall to the floor, 'katin-kin-tin-kin-tin!' the sound of the can bouncing echoed through the alley as he took the offered napkin and cleaned his hands. He looked up at the smilling girl.
"Sorry…it's just…"
"Unfair?" Suzui finished his sentence as she tilted her head to the side. "…yeah, it's tough going up against a teacher. I wanted…want, to help Ann…but how can I do that when in the end…it won't even matter…"
… Mere goodness can achieve little against the power of nature…
Shirou eyebrows slanted and he looked at the girl. "Even in a school something like that can happen…huh…I guess we're somewhat similar like that."
"Similar?" Suzui's words brought him out of his thoughts as he snapped back into attention and found the female student looking at him with an eyebrow raised. "Emiya-kun…are you, going through something like this too?"
He really wanted to smack himself in the head for his slip up. Scratching his cheek he wondered how to fix this. He could deny it, but it wouldn't help Suzui with her troubles if he opted with this route. Looking at the girls eyes, he bit his lower lip and chewed on it as he tried to come up with something. His right hand skimmed over his gym trousers pocket, feeling the indentation of his phone—he stopped as an idea formed up. While he couldn't tell her the truth, he could tell her part of it and use this opportunity to help the girl out. He wasn't good at giving motivating speeches, but as an older brother he was good at giving advice to troubled girls.
He pulled out his phone, his fingers tapping to unlock the screen, tap the photo gallery app and scrolled down to choose a picture. He found it, clicked it and nodded to himself, he looked at Suzui and offered her his phone to her. The girl hummed and raised her eyebrow further up as she took the phone and looked the picture.
"What…?" In front of her was a selfie image of six people—in the middle was Shirou and Illya, his hands on her shoulder as the two look up at the camera. Beside the two kneeling was Sella and Leysritt, Illya's hands on one of their shoulders. Behind the four was Kiritsugu and Irisviel, the mother of the family hugging Shirou with one arm as she gave peace sign to the camera—the father stood with his hand ruffling the redhead's hair as he held the camera with his free hand.
"It's a photo me and my family took a week before…a situation changed everything." Shirou explained as best he could, making sure to mitigate every important detail. He wanted to give the girl a message so that she wouldn't feel bad anymore—not get her into trouble.
"A situation…? What was it?"
"I'm not going to say…it's just…" He trailed off as he tried to find the correct words without outright lying—he chose to try at his first attempt to tell half-truths. "It's a personal matter that affected my parents, me saying would be like destroying their trust and it could get them into trouble if word got out I told you."
"It's fine…" Suzui smiled at him shakily. "You don't have to say."
"No!" The two flinched and stared at each other widened eyes. Shirou leaned back, coughed into his right hand as he felt his face grow hot. He was blushing, he was sure of it. "It isn't that…I'll try my best to tell you what I wanted to say…without—urgh! This was so much easier with Illya…"
She smiled at his fumbling as she looked back at the image, her eyes focused on the younger girl. "That's your sister right...?"
"Haah…yeah, but listen Suzui." The red in his face disappear as he looked at the girl with a focused gaze. "My family is going through a tough time…and I'm the only one who can fix it."
"Is that why you transferred here? To fix this problem?"
"... For the most part, yes. But…" This was going to get tricky, his past frustrations would most likely bubble out if he wasn't careful. "Things have been rough…very rough, and the livelihood of my family has changed…if I'm not careful, then everything could be ruined. I'm their last chance…their last shot so that they can live a happy life."
Suzui's mouth opened slightly as she furrowed her brows.. "Emiya-kun…"
"What I'm trying to say is…don't give up. Even if it seems unfair…don't let yourself get run over by the circumstances…it may seem tough, but as long as you have someone you want to save…it doesn't matter how impossible the odds seem, because…even mere goodness can achieve something, right?" He felt like such a hypocrite saying those words. How could he possibly say that, when he let himself get yanked back and forth by the mages and Forte? When he wasn't strong enough to affect anything? But—
The girl giggled a little and nodded. "Right…"
He smiled at her bright eyes and felt his hypocritical feelings give way. "And if you feel like you can't do it…then you can rely on me. I'm a meddlesome person, always getting into things that I shouldn't get involve in because—!"
"You just want to help…I know." Suzui smiled and nodded at him. "I…I think I'll take you up on that offer…I really would need to rely on someone to help me get things back in order…to make it up for Ann…"
"Then if you would have me, I'll try and not be so much of a failure next time."
"Hehe, trust me…you aren't a failure." She looked towards the school, her gaze glazing over as she stared at the building. "I wonder if two lowly students can make much of a difference with the perverted king of that castle…"
Shirou opened his mouth to respond sarcastically, but froze—a sensation burned on his left hand, beneath the bandages. He looked at it and his eyes went wide as he saw a faint red glow through the bindings.
One of Suzui's words had resonated with the Distorted Marker, the word—Perverted…Castle. Those two words echoed distantly, as if slowly disappearing from his grasp if he wasn't fast enough. He pulled his left hand behind him, clenching it tightly and feeling the bandage stretch at the effort. He needed to test the validity of this. While the girl looked at the school, he would—
"Trace…on…" Under his breath he muttered the phrase which casted a self-hypnosis on him—turning him into a magus. His magical circuits roared with vigor and flooded his left arm, making the Distorted Marker in his hand glow brightly as the word hit a mark. Now all he needed to do was confirm the name of Kamoshida by muttering it and see if this connected with the teacher. If it did then he would have to find a way to get Suzui to go away, so he could go into the Distorted Marble.
Then he would have a few words with the man's true self.
He got ready to mutter the man's name and—
"It's horrible how Kamoshida sees Shujin as his castle though…" Suzui spoke and this made Shirou stiffened as the Marker in his hand burned even hotter. The girl turned towards him with her lip pulled up, teeth showing as she wrinkled her nose and narrowed her eyes. "Especially after what that pervert wanted to do with Ann…!"
Shirou could only stare at the girl with his mouth agape as his hand felt as if it were on fire.
She had just said all the phrases needed to get into the Distorted World of someone without even trying. She did all of this while his circuits were active and enabling the activation process of the Marker.
His eyes widened at the thought. 'I was careless!'
Green circuits spread around him, circulating his left arm all, neck and left side of his face. The Marker burned bright red and illuminated his behind, Suzui flinched back at the sudden glowing marks on his skin and the red light emanating from the back of his hand. He looked at his bandaged hand with wide eyes as his jaw fell open. He immediately grabbed his left forearm with a hard grip. "D-Damn—! Now!?"
"Emiy—! What's going on!?" Suzui's voice made him turned towards her and saw the girl look at his hand and face in paid succession as she stepped towards him with trembling eyes. He tried to take a step back.
"Get away from m—!"
"Wh—!?"
…
Silence.
The alleyway neared the school entrance was empty once more as Shirou Emiya and Shiho Suzui both disappeared from the real world.
Beta: Crossovernaru
Author's Note
Hello there, it's been two weeks since the last chapter! Sorry about that, but life and college have taken to eating away at much of my free time and I saw it fit to postpone this chapter. I could've send the chapter at any given moment, but I wanted to fix thing and add some things. But enough about that, this chapter is the first step towards ending the setup from the last couple of chapter. Last chapter set up a lot of future plot points, but this chapter as taken the Shiho and Shirou thread and will run with it. If you read the original version of the story then you can probably guess what will come after that wonderful cliffhanger.
Though, you may have noticed the deviation I've already taken from the original Oath as I excluded a certain blonde from tagging along.
Anyway, that's it for this week. I hope all you who live on the coast or in the Caribbean islands will be safe this Hurricane Season. Take care and don't underestimate the power of nature, its no joke.
Until next time, adios!