Infinity Stratos Blades
An Infinite Stratos/Fate Stay night fanfic
Chapter 2: Conversations/Interrogations
Point of view is from Shirou's perspective.
"This is bad, really bad... no, this is beyond that, I did too much... it's obvious that I, a regular person wouldn't be able to move or attack that way, yet my combat skill was beyond what is acceptable for a regular person, and thus I was an anomaly...and she was a veteran warrior... of course she would notice my skill level being higher that what it should, not only that but he didn't like how I picked her student's defense in such a way" Iwas nervous, but steeled myself as I was being led to a private room.
She pulled herself a chair and looked at me, I simply stared at her, in a battle like this, the first one to loose it's nerve would lose.
It seemed she was just as obstinate then me.
I smirked, if you want to get out of a situation it would be best to act like a bit of an asshole, ergo... I channeled a bit of my inner Archer.
"It seems that IS pilots are not all talk... if anything you seem to have sharp eyes... Orimura-sensei" I said.
Chifuyu glared even more.
"So... talk then, unless it is important you are wearing down on the important time I have to learn more about piloting the IS and other classwork" I said as I stood back up, however she grabbed my wrist.
"This conversation is FAR from over... so now SIT DOWN" she said as she glared at me.
I rose an eyebrow, "Oh? For someone who can recognize my skill is it very good idea to provoke me?" I said as I used the same dismissing tone that Archer used with me.
She glared even more, she was gritting her teeth, her eyes held the promise of infinite violence she would enact on me should I push too far
"Relax... I am not here to fight you, unless you want to... but even then, even if you have more experience with an IS I have more combat experience, and my skill is higher than yours, so that would leave you with tactics... but you don't know my tactical abilities, so now we are on a stalemate, you want information, that much is certain, however I am under no obligation on telling you anything, my skills an abilities are something I learned on my own, outside of IS environment, ergo there is nothing I wish to say" I said with a smirk.
"You..." she growled, her teeth where grinding against each other, her eyes showing promise of lots of violence should I push too far.
"now then... I believe this pointless talk is over, so I will be leaving, I am sure you have much work to do, with grading papers and the like" I said as I left.
The second the door closed I could have sworn a chair had just slammed against it.
I relaxed my muscles... and shivered, dealing with forceful women like that was horrible for my continued health, I could tolerate Rin and her teasing, as well as Ilya's but this woman was something else.
I was SOOO lucky I had Archer's memories still in my mind. His dealing with people like this REALLY helped.
"Still tough... this shaved a good few years from my lifespan" I thought as I gasped for air.
Anyways I had to go and take a shower.
Shinonono-san would be done with it by now.
End of first person point of view
"Shinonono-san... I am coming in..." Shirou said as he knocked on the door 3 times
Shirou entered the room, Shinonono was wearing a beautiful yukata that suited her, her asian features enhanced her beauty.
However Shirou was used to things like this... "Oh, you are done with the shower, that's good I will be using it" Shirou said as he went into the shower.
"ah... y...yes... do go on" Shinonono said.
Shirou took his clothes out... and stepped in... in his wrist was the gauntlet he received that served as a 'housing' for his IS unit.
"I should call Rin when I can" Shirou said as he looked at his gauntlet, it reminded him very much of the decorations that Archer had on his arms.
"Who would thought that this is also a communication device" Shirou thought "However... I have to be careful with what I say... this device... it is also monitoring me"
After showering... he then changed and left to take a walk, he had a few good hours till curfew.
"Call... Tohsaka Rin" he said as he felt silly of using this machine like this.
"Oh... yes... Tohsaka Residence, Tohsaka Rin speaking" a voice said.
"A Rin... it's me... Shirou" he said
"Shirou... what are you doing calling so early... something happened already?" Rin said.
"Well... not really I was just calling to check up on you... you still someone important to me afterall" Shirou said.
"I... Idiot... how can you say such shameful things so easily" Rin said
"How are things at home?" Shirou asked
"Well.. we had a little problem with Sakura nearly going Dark... after the news" Rin said as she laughed nervously.
"Well as long as you are all ok" Shirou said
"Anyways... whats new with you? Still having flags on the girls yet?" Rin said and Shirou could feel her smirking diabolically as if laughing at his position in the school.
"Flags? What are you talking about?" Shirou said confused.
"Aaah... still dense as ever, I can't tell if that's a good thing or bad with you... anyways, I am rooting for you, you might not have wanted to be in this position, but do all in your power to at least complete this education and have some fun, you never enjoyed yourself and after the... 'incident' happened... well... I think you should enjoy yourself." she said. "You deserve it"
The incident... that was our way of talking about the Grail War and the fallout.
"Anyways Rin, send my well being wishes to the rest of the house ok?" Shirou said.
"Of course, you take care... idiot" she said and with that the conversation was over... I didn't want to worry Rin needlessly
With that I went back to the my room and went to bed... it was another day tomorrow, and with how Orimura-sensei looked I had the impression that she would press until she got the information she wanted.
The next morning
*Plop plop plop*
There was banners everywhere and party poppers, it was to congratulate the class rep.
"AH! That's right! The fight was to determine who would be the class representative!" Shirou though belatedly as he was meet by streamers and other party materials
Cecilia was stealing furtive glances at Shirou... and blushed deeply.
"It's true... I have lost, and I have to admit, you fought very well, your ability and skill with your weapon was superb, it was clear as crystal that you where my superior, as much as I hate to admit it, I have lost and I must, at the very least, be a gracious looser... so I wish to congratulate you on your victory" Cecilia said as she blushed and looked at the floor.
Shirou however took it in the most kindest way. "Thank you Cecilia... I have to say, your ability with the rifle was superb... you need to rethink your strategy a bit more, there is no such thing as a perfect strategy, you need to be able to judge the changing conditions of a battle and adjust tactics as you fight, in my case I just wished to show you that underestimating an opponent could be deadly." Shirou said.
"I see... indeed it was me who has shamed myself with my actions and wish to apologize" Cecilia said.
"Think nothing of it, I was angry due to your earlier behavior... the one who trained me in combat was someone from England, that person taught me all about how to fight... that person was very important and seeing someone from the land that person came acting in such a manner..." Shirou said.
"I... I see" Cecilia said
"Anyways let's start over, shall we?" Shirou said with a smile.
She blushed fiercely but continued "Uh... I would like that very much"
The festivities continued as they all celebrated the amazing combat until a girl came.
"Hello... you must be Emiya Shirou... would you mind giving an interview?" the girl asked.
"uh, yes... who might you be?" Shirou asked.
"I am from the school's newspaper... so I wish to interview you... can you tell us about your combat skill?" she asked.
"Uh... well I was primarily instructed by someone from England, and then someone else showed me about combat tactics and we sparred a lot" Shirou said as he used his limited ability to twist the truth.
Someone from England would be Saber, and the other person who helped him with combat tactics and the like would be Archer, and sparring would be the death matches he got into with the two of them.
"Oh... could you tell us about that person from England?" the reporter asked.
Shirou thought for a minute... decided to give them a bone, this information wouldn't be of any use anyways.
"She was a small woman, very petite, nearly as tall as my chest... she had strong green eyes and blond hair styled in a pon de leon braid... she was, without a doubt, the best instructor anyone could be blessed to have" Shirou said as he remembered fondly his time with Saber.
"And the other person?" she continued.
Shirou hated Archer... the heroic spirit EMIYA was something he had come to loath, but as much hate as he had for him, he had been a good teacher, he had managed to curve his path from a self destructive path he had taken... and thanks to him he had managed to increase his combat capability thanks to tracing and his ability to now manifest his Reality Marble, once he obtained enough strength on his circuits to process the raw power needed to maintain it on his own.
"The other person... he was someone I hated, we never got along and where continuously fighting, our personalities couldn't stand the others but thanks to that pushed each other" Shirou said.
"What happened to them?" the reporter asked.
"Well.. they had to leave, they had obligations to attend to" Shirou said as he looked forlorn.
Obligations... it was his way of saying that they had died...
One of them... by his own hands.
The one whom he killed, it was... his Saber.
"I see... thank you very much for your collaboration" the girl said.
"Ah... no problem Shirou said with a sad smile.
The party continued until Orimura-sensei came over to tell us off.
"Shinonono-san shall we go back to our room?" Shirou asked.
"Ah... yes... ah... Emiya-san... if you could... would you mind calling me Houki?" Shinonono asked.
"Uhmm sure... Shino... no... Houki-san" Shirou said as he corrected himself.
Houki blushed as she smile sweetly.
Classes continued as usual, Orimura-sensei was still cross that I had not revealed anything.
Shirou chuckled nervously at this.
After classes he went to the hangar and went to analyze his IS.
"Aka no Kishi ... uhmm... I like the name, let's see what else can you do" Shirou said to himself as he closed his eyes and concentrated on the machine that surrounded him now.
Knowledge of the armor flooded his mind, the technical stuff was lost to him but he was now familiar with. He now knew exactly how much damage it could take as well as the speeds it could handle as well as any of the 'one-off' abilities.
"so it has something called unlimited replacement... it allows me to make many copies of the melee weapon I will use as well as the arrows that I use for the bow... but only available on the first shift mode, the one-off ability is a bit more complex... is using the shield energy to empower a weapon to create a 'barrier breaker' attack... that sounds like when I 'break' a noble phantasm... or an proximate of it... and the weapons it's carrying... it has the copy of Kanshou and Bakuya... tough it has none of it's abilities, those copies are well made and are nearly as sharp and strong as the ones I can make... however the ones I can make have more power as well as them being able to enhance my magic defense and the ability to be attracted to each other that allows me to use my Kakuyoku Sanren..." Shirou though as he explored the machine more in depth.
The core... it unnerved Shirou... he felt something.. familiar on it... and thus enhanced his magical senses.
The energy of the core was ridiculous, it would be more than enough to power a servant for 3 years in a row, while using a Noble Phantasm of A Rank or more, and to make things more unbelievable it would be recharged in only a few hours...
"No one in the Magic Association must know about this" Shirou thought to himself.
Magus are, after all, not the most moral of people... they would definitely use the core to power a ritual if it would allow them to reach Akasha, or obtain eternal life by bypassing Dead Ancestors and the like.
After being in synch with the IS unit he went to his classroom once more... there was an announcement.
"Well everyone we are having a new transfer student, she is a cadet representative from China... please welcome Lingyin Huang" Shirou looked at the new arrival.
It was a petite girl, she had light brown hair tied up with yellow ribbons at the sides... for a second there I lost composure.
"R... Rin?" Shirou said as he backed up in fright.
"eh? How do you know my nickname? Who are you a stalker?" the girl replied.
"Ah... no... sorry, it's just that you looked like a friend of mine, you two look so similar it was scary" Shirou said.
"Ah... I see... well then it is nice to meet you" Lingyin said in turn.
"anyways... she will be attending classes here... so please get along" Maya-sensei said.
After introductions she walked up to Shirou "You look kinda like an idiot" she said.
A girl named Rin... calling me an idiot... there was only one conclusion.
"Hahahahaha" Shirou laughed as he held his sides.
"Are you an idiot?! I just called you an idiot and you laugh?" Rin said in awe.
"So... sorry... is just.. the Rin I know of was like that" Shirou said.
"what?! Why are you just an idiot? Seriously?" Rin said.
"Why are you insulting our class representative? Don't you have any manners you monkey?" Cecilia said.
"AAAHH?! Who are you calling a monkey you stiff" Rin said as she glared at Cecilia
"Our Class Representative can wipe the floor with you" Cecilia said as she arranged her golden locks.
"Indeed, Shirou-san is very skilled" Houki said and nodded next to Cecilia.
"Then I challenge you to a duel!" Rin said as she pointed towards Shirou.
"Ah?! Why? I don't have a reason to" Shirou said, he hated this, he was being shoved into another match with a woman.
While Shirou didn't like fighting women he had long since learned that sometimes, women were also proud of their on skill and strength and being looked down upon was an insult... but since this girl was not as bad as Cecilia he would fight, but at least not overwhelm her like he did with the British girl.
Now that he had the specs of the IS unit he was able to use it to maximum effectiveness... not only that but he was getting used to the 3 dimensional battle area, normally his fights where 2 dimensional, and only briefly in the air... but now he could stay air-borne indefinitely... this was a new way to fight and he got used to it by training with both Houki-san and Alcott-san in the free time he had and thus increased his piloting skills.
First person point of view
It was ridiculous how everything got solved with violence here... but that's fine... it suited me.
After all... my core is made of blades, I was a weapon to my very core, violence was acceptable, it was, however, wrong to use it on a woman like that...
However this girl, like the Rin I knew was stubborn to a fault, the only way to stop this was to fight it out.
"Man this is problematic... I rather not call my Rin... this would turn into an all out laugh-a-thon for her" he said pitifully.
End of point of view
It was the appointed time for his duel with "Rin" and then he went to the hangar.
"I am the bone of my sword"
With that aria his magecraft pressure rose, power flowed trough all his circuits strengthening his body and enhancing his senses.
"Let's get this over with" Shirou said as he sighed, another pointless fight, and rather fast too... it was only his 3rd day in the IS academy.
" Lingyin "Rin" Huang... IS Shenlong..." Rin said as she introduced herself.
"Emiya Shirou... Aka no Kishi" Shirou said as he got into the arena, his IS was not as impressive as her's... it was slightly smaller, thinner frame...
The second the start buzzer sounded both contestants shot out.
Shenlong IS used a scimitar that was as large as Berserk's weapon, Shirou used his Kansho and Bakuya and deflected the attack, to find another scimitar, Shirou dodged by dropping to the floor as stretching his leg to have her fall, however she had some combat skills, she jumped over.
I rolled back to avoid a something that hit the ground.
I couldn't see it, but I felt something in the air change... the pressure changed and the air condensed by her shoulders.
"Damn... it's like a bastardized version of Strike Air" Shirou thought as he jumped back.
He turned 90 degrees and rose his blade to block another invisible attack.
"Oh... not bad... your reaction speed is good... but how about if I... RAISE UP THE ANTE!" Rin yelled as she combined both scimitar making a pole-arm.
The sheer attack power of that weapon would REALLY put a dent on my shield energy.
Shirou used his familiarity with the weapons he had to deflect the attack as well.
"You are very good for an idiot" Rin said as she continued her barrage of attacks "but not good enough"
Shirou felt the shift of the air... he was too close to effectively dodge... this attack would slam against his shield energy depleting them badly.
With practiced movements he crossed both swords and took the brunt of the attack, he twisted himself to counter the attack momentum, he dematerialized his blades and pulled out a bow.
"Uh?!" Rin gawked as she saw the ancient weapon, surely he was not going to do what she thought he was... right?
An arrow pierced her left cannon shoulder, effectively cutting her combat capabilities down badly... to boot her shield energy took a good hit...
"What the hell!? Who uses a bow and arrow in this age?" Rin said as she stood up. Her cannon
"I don't like guns" Shirou replied as he was ready to shoot once more.
Like a well-oiled machine he continued his barrage of shooting at her with arrows.
"Damn... this is ridiculous, all his attacks are pin-point at the joints and the cannons, not only that but the sheer power of the arrows makes me thing they are shield-breaker capabilities... this is bad... really bad... I need to finish this fast" Rin though as she closed in to her favored mode of combat.
Shirou smirked.
"Naive" he said.
"uh?!" Rin was confused as then she felt something long and hard slam into her chest.
A long spear materialized in Shirou's hands... the two black and white blades laid discarded.
Shirou had counted on Rin to close in to close combat, rather than he being the one to beat her with his own strength... he would manipulate the flow of the fight and having her 'fight her own strength'.
She reeled back from the impact, the shaft of the spear slammed against the do region (her diaphragm)... expelling all the air of her lungs. She rolled on the floor but she recovered quickly.
She took a deep breath and rushed in again... the scimitar separated and she begun to attack using a dual wielding style... hopping to overtake him.
It was no use.
Shirou's use of the spear was phenomenal, Rin had no qualms of admitting that, but the sheer skill he had with that weapon... it spoke of violence and blood... his style of fighting was one that could only be developed on bloody combat... not on the safety of an IS academy or military complexes, no this was a style born of necessity and need, it was a pragmatic style that used the least amount of moves, the necessary amount of strength and speed to be equal to or slightly better than the opponent, increasing and decreasing the pressure as needed. Never showing any more strength than it was absolutely necessary. And it was breaking her piece by piece. She was a proud Chinese IS pilot, she had lot of pilot time clocked and Chinese martial arts with thousands years of knowledge... so how could this complete noob be so good!?
Rin was in a tough spot, but she refused to back down, she was a candidate representative of her country.
Sparks flew as they exchanged attacks, Shirou was parrying and attacking in one deft move, there where openings all over him, but she was soundly repelled and counter-attacked. The sparks flew out as attacks connected and parried over and over. For each attack Rin did Shirou countered it by blacking or parrying it, and then attacking at least half a dozen times in a single move.
Rin was furious, as much strength and speed as she would put in her attacks... it was doing nothing as he neutralized it... it was seriously unnerving again...areas that he shouldn't be able to be able to see and defend, where deftly countered and launched another attack.
Even if she had more experience as an IS pilot, her combat skills where just not up to par, this guy... he was adapting to her, learning everything from her as the battle went by, cutting down the moves he needed to dodge and block, as well as the most effective way to attack her.
It unnerved her. It was like he was fighting a machine that only knew one thing... to attack and fend and adapt.
The attacks continued, she continued with a barrage of attacks, sparks flying all over as the blades and spear meet each other.
It was as she was being sucked into his peace, all of her attacks where perfectly read, even her hand to hand combat.
"Thi... this man... he is mocking me!" Rin tough with anger.
Shirou had this look on his face...
boredom.
For him this was not a fight, it was just... something that 'had to be overcome even though is not really needed' in other words, Rin did not register as a enemy, not even an obstacle...
She was an annoyance and was doing this to placate her.
"Damn... this girl's machine attack specs are too high, this lance will not last long" Shirou though as he felt the imperfections and flaws of the weapon beginning to build up.
He needed to finish this fast, he had prolonged the fight as long as he could. Not only that, but as skilled as the girl was... she was no heroic spirit, he was not pushed to his limits as he would with one of those legendary souls.
He backed away as he copied Lancer's stance in the grail war, lowering his body down... spear pointed at the ground, shaft resting on his shoulder. He was at his core a 'faker' so he could copy any style if he needed, even if it was a copy... he beat Gilgamesh after all and even Saber.
As he was about to attack, suddenly the dome of the arena exploded.
"Wh... whats going on!?" Rin yelled as she backed up.
Indeed, this was no something that would happen here... at least Shirou hoped it wasn't.
Shutters begun to close down, "This is now considered a level 4 alert.. shutters deployed to protect the students" the PA system said.
In the middle of the arena lay a machine...
Change to Shirou's Perspective
No... not an IS... it was a machine... there was no body in there... my eyes relayed that information due to structural analysis...
This was a machine designed to kill... a machine designed to kill anything weaker than itself, in other words it was a monster made of metal.
It rose it's arms up... and it was pointing at...
"Ah!" Rin was unable to move, her shield energy was nearly depleted, the accumulation of energy I felt would easily bypass her shields and kill her... he could feel the energy output... this machine... she shivered in fright... she was unable to move, honest fear of death could be seen on her eyes.
Rin... would die, that was a foregone conclusion, Shirou didn't have anything on his IS to block the beam that was charging to attack...
Images of my Rin dying flashed before my mind.
I nearly failed to save Sakura, and Rin nearly died at the hands of the crooked priest... and the world was nearly consumed by "All the World's Evils".
If Shirou didn't have something
He would have to re-create it.
The cocking of the hammer of a gun... my trigger for using magecraft... power flowed trough my circuits... the machine fired it's attack... there was only one thing to do, only one thing I could do.
"Rho Aias!" Shirou yelled as power flowed from him.
A four petal flower like shield appeared in front of Rin... the beam broke one of the petals after a few seconds of impact... pain surged trough Shirou's body... if the shield would be tarnished so would his body, his internal organs took a hit.
Shirou rushed in and carried Rin away as he let his projected shield dissipate... he ignored the pain to rescue the young girl.
"I... IDIOT WHAT ARE YOU DOING LET ME GO!" she yelled as she thrashed about.
Shirou read in his manual that he could give some of his shield energy to a 'friend' to allow continued operation in case of shield depletion... he trusted his IS unit to do as he willed it to... he gave more than half his shield energy he had left... he only had a total of 150 now, those pressurized balls of air packed a punch.
"Go and take cover... that thing will attack us any second" Shirou said.
"W... wait.. what do you mean by 'thing' that is an IS" Rin said.
Shirou shook his head "No... that is an unmanned drone... or whatever the technical word for it is" Shirou said as he stared hard at Rin.
This time... the REAL Kanshou and Bakuya materialized in his hands... those weapons would come in handy, as he recognized that machine as a monster the blades would work even better, his over-all strength and defense would also raise due to the inherent ability in those blades.
Whatever sensors the machine had where good, it reacted fast to Shirou's charge, however he had seen the beam attack and could accurately judge the speed and firing delay. There was not much lag between attacks
Shirou closed in, but the machine upped the barrage... it was time to use it...
The machine changed his attack pattern but Shirou had closed in he was 20 feet from the mechanical beast.
"Damn.. who would have thought I would use this trick of his..." Shirou said to himself out-loud.
Projecting the same blades and launching them with his IS enhanced strength he made 5 copies as he continued to throw them, they flew all over the unmanned IS, the blades begun to swerve and continued to 'cage' the enemy.
The IS tried to lock on the blades, but as soon as it shoot one down the others changed trajectory and became wilder in their trajectory.
"No... no way... those... those swords are" Rin said in shock as she recognized those 2 blades as national treasures of her homeland, they are legendary weapons forged by a married couple of blacksmiths who sacrificed themselves to save the other in order to make those 2 beautiful weapons... but this man... he had copies over copies that had the SAME properties... all of them... the same 'pressure'... weapons so beautiful, and strong.
This man knew how to use them.
As the IS was busy trying to scape the 'bladed cage' Shirou charged in.
"Spirit and technique, flawless and firm
Our strength rips the mountains
Our swords split the water
Our names reach the imperial villa"
Rin recognized that poem... it was old... VERY old... so how did he knew it... what he was doing?!
As he rushed in, he begun to attack, as the IS prioritized Shirou as a target the blades came back and pierced the IS from behind.
He then re-traced them again but pumped more od on them, overly reinforcing them... breaking them... making them into Overedge. The baldes where now longer, deadlier...
One final strike as both swords that looked like a long wing of black and white feathers respectively...
"The two of us cannot hold the heavens together."
With that... the blades exploded destroying the unmanned IS... the weapon detonated as thousands of tiny shards of the blades ripped the IS apart.
"GYAAAH!" Rin yelled as the resulting explosion blew her back a bit.
Shirou stood tall against the trashed unmanned IS... his IS stood up looking down on the opponent... she blushed. He turned around
"Are you alright?" Shirou said... he had blood coming out of his mouth.
The use of those noble phantasm was a burden to his circuits, not to mention Rho Aias petals being blown away... He now had massive bruising of internal organs, not to mention some damage the nervous system due to the use of the use of the Kakuyoku Sanren.
Blood was spilling out his mouth due to the stress of the circuits of using said technique... Shirou's circuits might be open, but they are relatively fresh and cant process the power he needed yet.
He grinned his teeth... he was slightly limping, his center of gravity had shifted a few centimeters off... and he had no feeling on the left side of his body, all of this due to the imperfect use of his magic, this was the price to pay for wanting to use magic beyond his ability to use.
"L... look who is talking are you ok?!" Rin asked.
"Uh... yeah... I am a bit sore but I should be ok" Shirou said as he stumbled a bit... "Uhmm... seems like I got hurt a bit more than usual..." he said as he almost tumbled and chuckled.
"I... idiot.. hold on... I'll help you here... put your arm around me" Rin said as she helped Shirou limp back to the hangar.
Orimura-sensei was staring at him, she bit her lip she needed to ask him questions... but right now was not the time.
Point of View change, Shirou's
I felt... odd... my body floating away... ah... yes... that's right "I used magic in front of Rin... this is bad" I thought as I was being carried away to the nurse station.
I woke up later that day.. I was hooked to a machine... in front of me was Orimura-sensei, curtains closed... I couldn't feel anybody else around so I sat up.
She was staring right at me.
"I have to say... your recovery curve is remarkable... even with the technology in here they where surprised you healed overnight..." she said as she was commenting of the weather.
"Yes, I always been a fast healer" I said
"Interesting thing... you IS... did you know it monitors your body as well?" Orimura said.
I was sweating bullets on the inside even if I didn't show it on the outside.
"Temperature elevated a few degrees... almost fever levels for 20 minutes, not to mention bruising of internal organs that coincided on the deployment of that shield... a shield that was not in your IS's database... and those swords, where not the ones made for you by your own specs... so... now added to the increased combat potential... talk... before I get angry" Orimura-sensei said as she looked down on my bedridden form.
"If you wish to ask about all of what happened... I am sorry to say, unless you can give me a satisfactory answer as to how no one of the staff was able to get in and help me and Rin while being under attack, and not only that but unable to get the rest of the spectators out of the way... I will maintain my stand on not speaking, as it's not of your business... so if you want information, you will answer to mine" I said as I returned a sharp glare.
I had a lot of experiences with those... from Gilgamesh, Archer, occasionally from Saber and my Rin...
She then smiled... "good... at least I can tell you care for people... I will be back in 30 minutes, we will have a place to talk, everything you say will be treated as confidential... as to the answers, that was due to the enemy being able to infiltrate our security systems and locked us out from the main control room, the doors are reinforced to withstand IS attacks so rescue operations were delayed, is this answer satisfactory to you?" Orimura-sensei asked
I nodded "Ahh.. it is... please com back in 30 minutes... I will have answers, but you may not like them"
"See that you do" Orimura-sensei said as she left.
I rested in the bed I was assigned, I had 30 minutes to come with a good cover story... and so I replayed what had happened in my mind.
It gave me some limited time to be able to twist the truth somewhat... thank heavens some of Tohsaka's abilities had rubbed off on me
The 30 minutes where up... Orimura-sensei came to get me, much to the chagrin of Houki, Cecilia and Rin.
We got to a large room, all personal got out of there, a single chair for Orimura and myself was all that was left.
"Cut all communications and recording devices until I give order to have them lift them" Orimura-sensei said.
"Ah... is that ok?... that is against regulations" a voice said.
"I will take full responsibility... now do as I ordered" she said.
"H... hai"
"Recording offline" said a sign in front of my eyes.
"Very well.. as you requested all of this will be off the record, however, as you know, your IS unit records everything... and relays it to only 3 people... myself, the director and the student representative" she said.
I breathed in hard "However, due to the special statures of this school, we are only required to relay information pertaining IS, seeing as this is outside of IS mechanics... they can all go suck on eggs for all I care, right now I want answers... and you seems to have them... so talk" she said imperiously.
I smiled sardonically"I cannot talk much about it... I belong to an organization, but since I am only a fringe-member I am allowed a lot more freedom... one of the rules of said organization is not to speak of it... under the pain of death... in other words, this information CANNOT leave between the people who are listening... otherwise they will come down not only on you, but on anyone you could be in contact and told about them... they will kill anyone related to you, no matter how tenuous a relation you may have with said people... even family members... will be targeted" Shirou said.
"I see..." she clenched her fist, obviously she didn't like having her family threatened in such a round about way.
"You seem to miss my point" I said as I stared coldly at her "I am not the one you should be weary of... I have no interest on harming anyone any more than what I have to, however you are forcing my hand here, I don't WANT to talk about the group... but in light of all this you are forcing me to do it" I said trying to impress the importance of this.
"You hear that School council president?" Orimura-sensei said.
"Hai... I understand" with that she bowed out of the internal communication line.
Another person walked in... this was an old man... he walked in and looked at Shirou.
"You have the most strangest stare... full of strength and power... yet so kind and warm... so much loss can be seen in your young eyes... tell me Shiroui-kun... what happened for one as young as you to have such eyes?" the principal asked. This old man was very sharp in a different sense than Orimura-sensei.
"I been trough a lot... that's about all I can say" I answered honestly.
"You must know...we looked trough your records... to think... you are one of the VERY few survivors of 'that incident'" the principal said with a heavy tone.
The Fuyuki fire... yeah... I was saved from that hell... incident was putting it lightly.
It was there where I learned the value of being a 'Hero of Justice'
Where I both died and was reborn... as a blade to be brandished against evil.
"Shirou-kun, tell me more about this organization... it is not that we do not trust you, but this place is a place for IS pilots to train, and people wish to steal secrets of the machines..." the principal said.
"So talk, those weapons where not in your IS database, how did you get them?" Orimura-sensei asked.
"They are... a benefit of belonging to said group" I replied honestly once more
That was a round about way to say 'because they are magic'
"I read your medical charts and bio-signs from your IS... when said shield and the swords manifested themselves, your body temperature rose significantly... fever level... for no less than 20 minutes not to mention that your nerves got a shock to them... almost damaging them... I see your left side is also numb... however some feeling must be returning to it... not to mention the slight bruising to your internal organs... was the group you belong to trying to kill you off already Shirou-kun?" the old man asked.
"No... that's just the cost of using them" Shirou replied honestly.
That is until I managed to get my circuits running at full strength.
"Are you working for Phantom Task?" Orimura-sensei asked
"What?!" I asked, confusion evident on my face, I honestly had no idea what they where talking about.
"will you attack or harm any of the students in here?" she continued.
"Why would I do that?! I only fought with those 2 girls because they wanted to fight... as a man, how can I turn down their passionate challenge... they are women who think themselves as warriors and have their pride... it would be hypocritical of me to turn away when faced by someone who wants to prove themselves." I said.
"Oh? Most men would pull the chivalry crap" Orimura-sensei said with a smirk.
"well most men didn't have a strong female instructor who could send him flying with little problem" I muttered as I looked at the side.
"Oh? Now this I need to hear" Onimura-sensei said with a pleased smile.
And so I explained to her about Saber, without revealing anything about magecraft and the like, not like she could find any information on her... she IS a heroic spirit/pseudo counter guardian as well.
"heh... at least now there is a man who can appreciate a woman's strength." Orimura-sensei said in a pleased tone as she heard the hijinks I got while being instructed by Saber.
"Anyways... are we done now? I wish to rest" Shirou said.
"One more question... is the group that you involved with send you here?" she asked
"EH?! no... they don't care about IS or technology at all... they just..." Shirou said and caught himself.
"you mean to say... those weapons are not made with technology?" Orimura-sensei asked, her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Damn it... stop being so sharp! You gonna get us all killed!" Shirou thought in his mind.
"I can't say anymore than that" he replied as he felt his body beginning to shut down.
He was tired... it had been a long day.
"Yes... I will ask Shinonono-san to help you to the room" Orimura-sensei said.
With a flip of a switch a sign "communications are now on" appeared in front of us.
"Call Shinonono-san please, ask her to escort Shirou to their dorm room" she said.
Minutes later Houki was in the room and helped Shirou back.
"S... Sorry to be a burden to you" Shirou apologized.
"N... no... nothing at all... what you did... it was amazing... you where so skilled, I never seen anyone fight like that in all of IS history!" Houki said as she blushed.
He just needed a good nights rest.
IS academy HQ
"Principal... if it's acceptable... I will go and investigate Shirou's past more in depth... there is something that he is not telling us, besides what he is hiding... and to be honest it unnerves me about his skills and those mysterious weapons that are at par with IS's ones." Orimura-sensei said.
"Yes... but be very cautious...we heard from Shirou-kun that they are a paranoid group... so be extremely cautious... we don't wish to have a fight we don't have to start" the headmaster said.
"I will do my best sir" Orimura-sensei said.
"I will get to the bottom of this... you say a lot but don't reveal anything... so it's up to me to investigate you... and I will dig everything I can" Orimura-sensei thought as she left the conference room.
Houki and Shirou's room
Shirou suddenly felt like a shiver ran all over his body, it felt like when Archer made his distaste of Shirou show... or when he fought Berserker and Saber...
"S... Shirou, are you alright?" Houki asked.
"Ah... yes Houki-san... just a cold wind got to me" Shirou rationalized the event.
"Ah yes... please take your shirt off so I can put some balm on your wounds... it should help with your recovery" she said while blushing.
Shirou took his shirt off... Houki took the balm and put it in her hands and begun to rub his back, she then saw it... a sun-burst scar on his chest... it looked fairly fresh too, an angry red color on it, she gasped for herself but decided to not ask... people had secrets and they where entitled to their privacy instead she carefully and tenderly rubbed the balm on his back, she then asked him to turn around...
She never expected to see something like this.
Shirou's body was well toned, perfectly balanced in both sides, not one side had more muscle tone than the other... no it wasn't his physical looks... but rather the matching scar on his chest... dead-center where the heart would be.
She kept silent, and Shirou did not say it but inwardly he was glad that his roommate was at least respecting his privacy... he didn't had any problems on telling her what happened... but he was sure she wouldn't understand the HOW of his survival to such a wound.
There was a knock on the door.
"Shirou-san.. I came as soon as possible... are you alright?" Alcott-san came over.
"Ah... Alcott-san good evening, yeah I should be fine with a nights rest" Shirou replied.
"You are very strong to be able to be back to normal after such a fight... so I ask... please call me by my name too" Cecilia asked with a sweet smile, a light blush adorned her face.
"Ah... yes... this is Shirou's room right?" a familiar voice asked.
Peeking out of the frame was Rin, she looked somewhat downtrodden and worried.
"I... just wanted to apologize, I was in the wrong and because of the duel we had you almost got yourself killed when you tried to save me" Rin said as she apologized.
"Don't worry... I am just glad you are ok" Shirou said with a smile, his smile was one of happiness, he was able to save someone.
"Uhhgh... t... thanks" Rin said.
"Anyways, please rest easy... we brought you something fro you to drink in the morning, is a special energy drink from England, it's fortified with many vitamins and minerals that enhance the metabolism" Cecilia said as she handed me a large canned drink.
"Ah.. thanks I will put it on the fridge, you didn't have to bother Al... Cecilia-san" Shirou said catching himself as he called her by how she wanted to be called by now.
She blushed profusely, "a... anyways... I will be heading back... have pleasant dreams" she said with a wink.
I rose an eyebrow as Houki glared at the blonde interloper...
"Wh... what just happened?" Shirou thought confused
Chapter end