See Author Notes and see the underlined topic.

A cool night breeze blew by as Shirou and the young woman stared each other down. They had been like this, doing nothing but staring in silence, for at least two or three minutes, probably due to the question Shirou had asked her. It wasn't like it was a hard question, well, it also wasn't necessarily an easy one either, but knowing the answer to it was a simple matter. Although, he had a pretty good idea what the answer most likely will be it never hurt to ask considering how strange this world was. Anything was possible and everything is permitted.

"Well?" Shirou asked blankly.

The young woman narrowed her eyes and shrugged. "Emiya? Never heard of it."

"Ah, I see." Shirou replied with a nod. He figured as much. "Then who exactly are you then?"

A red eyebrow was raised when Shirou saw a prideful and a brilliantly smug look appear on the woman's face after he asked that question. It wasn't Gilgamesh smug, not like anyone other than Gilgamesh could be so smug, but it was still very smug. However, it was pretty strange that she would be completely calm despite being caught late at night while participating in suspicious activity. So, that could mean that she wasn't the thief, was really confident, or was somewhat slow. It was still too early to jump to conclusions though.

"The name's Risty." She said proudly with a smirk and a beat of her fist against her chest.

"Pleasure to meet you Risty. My name is Shirou Emiya." He introduced himself with a small bow. No reason to be impolite.

"Risty huh? Well, she does fit the description of the thief but that doesn't mean she is the thief." Shirou pondered silently. "Maybe I can coax some information out of her."

"You're pretty polite for a guy who likes to wander around in the dark all by himself." Risty said suddenly, a mocking smirk decorating her face. "Shirou is a pretty unusual name, you from Hinomoto or something?"

"I doubt we're thinking about the same place." Shirou mentally commented as he shook his head. "If my memory serves Hinomoto is another name for Japan. This world may not be that different after all."

"Ah, I see, well, I guess I'll be on my way then, Mr. Shirou." She said before moving to walk past him only for her path to be blocked. "What are you doing?"

"Pardon my rudeness but I still have something that I would like to ask you." Shirou said, his face even and indifferent. Risty didn't say anything but she clearly wasn't happy judging by the sour look on her face.

"Risty, do you know that this town has been plagued by a thief lately?" Shirou asked, feigning ignorance with each word. He was careful to avoid using any accusing words and to keep his voice even. The last thing he wanted was her freaking out.

"Nope, never heard a word of it." She denied rather quickly. "I'm just out here taking a stroll."

Shirou folded his arms and his expression remained unimpressed. She wasn't a very good liar was she? She must still be green, a newbie, in that field. Although, he was impressed that she was able to keep a straight face despite obviously lying. Her body tensed up, her eyes shifted, and she looked uncomfortable in general but her facial expression remained straight which, again, was quite impressive despite everything else.

"You're just taking a scroll in the middle of the night? While alone and armed? When everyone else is asleep? And you just happen to stop by a house and look into the keyhole for no reason?" Shirou listed all the suspicious on his fingers. There were a lot more but he didn't have enough fingers for all of them.

"Th-that's because..." Risty almost shouted before quieting down. She glared at Shirou heatedly. "Why are you armed and alone? While wondering in the dark?"

Shirou smirked. "Because I'm a suspicious character." Again, not a lie.

"You're weird." Risty commented with a disgusted sneer.

"You're probably right." Shirou admitted with a shrug. "I won't deny that, but this isn't about me is it?" He pointed out before giving the woman in front of him a sharp glare. "It's about you and why you were sneaking around."

Now he could see it clearly, she was definitely a greenhorn. She took a step back as the signs of anxiety and nervousness started to reveal themselves. Her body was shaking a bit, her breathing had become stiff and strained, and her eyes darted back and forth. She was starting to fall apart and, in fact, at moments like this it was only a matter of time before she...

Suddenly she turned tail and bolted into the forest that was not too far from them. Shirou quickly took after her into the dense foliage but quickly realized that she had the advantage in these woods. In a matter of seconds she was already a good distance away from him and was navigating the rather treacherous foliage like she had been doing it all her life. She nimbly leaped over hidden tree roots, easily ducked under stray branches, and effectively zigzagged between the trees. Quite a clever technique… if it wasn't so easy to see through.

Shirou hopped over a tree root before sliding under a low hanging branch as he chased the suspicious young woman. He gritted his teeth before turning sharply, reinforcing his legs, and bolting forward in an attempt to cut her off. With his reinforced legs he easily outpaced her and was rapidly catching up to her.

Panicking, Risty ran with all of her might to get out of Shirou's reach and took an even more treacherous route. She was trying to throw him off, but Shirou opted for a less obstructive route.

As the two ran deeper and deeper into the forest while dodging branches, avoiding trees, and maneuvering around the roots, a certain glaring detail was becoming more and more obnoxious: it was getting louder. What had started out as a low rumble was quickly becoming a truly deafening roar that was only getting louder. The sound itself was very distinct and nearly unmistakable: the sound of running water.

"Hey!" Shirou shouted at Risty, realizing what the sound meant "Stop! There is a river up ahead!"

The sound of the running water was loud, so loud in fact, that Shirou could barely hear himself so there was only a very slim chance that Risty heard his warning. But why was she still running if she could hear the roaring as well? No, the better question was why would she stop? She was running from him after all and she more or less solidified that she was guilty by running away. She'd have to be stupid to stop now. Although, that just meant that Shirou had all the more reason to catch her before something bad happened, and he guessed that something bad was sure to happen either way.

"Wait!" Shirou shouted again, hoping that at least one of his shouts would reach her. "Stop! There is a river up ahead! You're going to fall in!"

Risty either didn't hear, or was just flat out ignoring what Shirou shouted out. In fact, it seemed that she had picked up her pace and was running even faster than before. That was when it hit him.

She was planning to try to get away using the river! It made perfect sense!

If she went and dove into the river than he'd probably lose her under the water. What a sneaky devil she was. Not a good liar, but definitely sneaky.

Shirou grit his teeth and sprinted as fast as he could. "You're not going to get away that easily!"

Looking over her shoulder, Risty saw Shirou rapidly gaining more ground. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when he was almost within arm's reach of her. She turned back and made a hard turn to her right, cutting behind a tree to get some breathing room. But, the young knight stuck to her like glue and followed her every movement like a leopard stalking its prey: behind every tree, under every branch, over every root. There was no way that he was going to let her get away.

"Damn this guy is persistent." Risty swore in her head as the distance between was closing rapidly. "I'll get away dammit! Even if I have to jump into the river!"

The roar of the river got louder and louder as the chase continued. Neither side was willing to give up so they ran and the more they ran, the closer they got to the raging rapids ahead. They could practically feel the raging waters roaring in their ears and could actually smell the scent of water filling the air as they drew closer.

"Stop!" Shirou gave one last shout. But like the shouts before it, this one was also ignored. "No choice then."

This was it, he either caught her now or they were both going into the river. Shirou ran as fast as his legs could carry him and followed her every motion to a T. When the roar of the river was at its loudest, it was a sign that the chase was about to end.

The red haired knight lashed his arm out and grabbed the thief right on the wrist. He had caught her just a foot way from the shifting waters... or so he thought.

Suddenly Risty jerked towards the river, pulling an ill-prepared Shirou into her, knocking them both into the raging waters just ahead. The two struggled feebly against the mighty force of the river as it dragged them down stream. Shirou protectively held Risty close with his arm as the river dragged them faster and faster towards… an end?

"A waterfall!?" Shirou's eyes widened when saw it. It was as clear as the river's water and as plain as day. At the end of this river there was a waterfall, and a large one at that.

The edge of the towering pillar of column of water continued to grow faster as the two redheads struggled to get away from it. But there was no doubt about it; they were going over the edge.

At that point the matter of surviving was something that was not so certain, however. All they could do was hold each other close as they went over the end of the falls.

Vision of the world finally started to return as consciousness was regained. Although, the big dark spots and the blurriness definitely did not help in that aspect and instead just made everything look like a big abstract painting. Well, it seemed that being knocked out and then coming to later was still the same as always. That was definitely something that never changed no matter what world it was.

"Ouch, that really hurts." Shirou groaned as he rolled over on his side. "I hope Risty is okay." Shirou opened his eyes to see Risty laying on the ground a few feet away. She was soaking wet but otherwise looked fine. "Good, she's safe."

The red haired man groaned in pain as he slowly sat up. Even though he reinforced his entire body when he fell over the edge, it certainly did not stop him from feeling it. Sure he made it out of the fall without any broken bones, but that didn't mean he walked away from it completely unscathed either. If he sufficed to guess he would probably be really sore tomorrow but that was hours away, well, it would have been a few hours ago.

"Okay, now where am I?" Shirou wondered as he got to his feet and took a gander at his surroundings.

The waterfall was directly behind him, he could hear it still roaring. The rest of his surroundings hadn't really changed much though. It was mostly forest which was noticeably much denser than the foliage that he had observed above the waterfall. Aside from those things there weren't too many differences, well, aside from the time being early morning and not late night like it was before he lost consciousness. It was still dark out but stray rays of sunlight could be seen crawling out over the horizon.

"So I've been out for a while then." The red haired male thought. "It looks it's still pretty early in the morning so it must have been out for a while."

At that moment a soft moan was heard. Shirou turned his head to the side to see Risty beginning to stir.

He sighed as he started to walk towards her. Now while he was glad that she was safe and all, it didn't change the fact that she was mostly likely a thief and that she ran away when his questions hit her too close to home. Now was the best time to get her.

"If I'm lucky, I can get her before she wakes up." Shirou thought, knowing full well that with his luck, things weren't likely to go his way.

At that moment Risty started to stir even more. She moaned lightly as her eyes started to slowly flutter open.

Shirou didn't stop walking and kept advancing towards her. He was quite aware that things weren't going to go his way so he might as well go with the flow. No use in fighting it right?

"Ah, where am I?" Risty said lightly as she sat up and looked around. "What happened?" She suddenly winced and held her head seemingly in pain. "Why does my head hurt?"

Shirou stopped walking and held up three fingers. "Okay, so in that order: I don't know. We over a waterfall. Probably because we went over a waterfall."

The red haired woman suddenly looked up at Shirou like he had an alien sucking on his face or something. She looked complete perplexed by who he was. She arched an eyebrow when it looked like she was trying to mentally process something. Ever so slowly the pieces started to put themselves together and closer and closer did she get the realization before finally...

"You're that guy that likes to wander around in the dark by himself!" Risty shouted with a comically exaggerated shocked expression. It looked like something out of a work of a fiction...or a cartoon.

Shirou just stood there with a deadpan expression. "At least you remember me." He rolled his shoulders with a loud crack. "Do you perhaps remember my name as well?"

"Shirone?" Risty offered with a tilt of her head.

"You were pretty close, but it's Shirou."

Risty narrowed her eyes while Shirou just crossed his arms. "You were trying to catch me."

"Only because you ran." Shirou countered bluntly. "I wouldn't have chased you if you would have just answered my question."

"And you were expecting me to just tell you the truth?"

"Not really but I would have offered some advice regardless."

Risty scoffed and averted her eyes. "Tsk! You were probably going to tell me turn myself in or something."

"No."

"Wh-what?" Risty recoiled.

"I wouldn't have said that because I didn't know if you actually were a thief." Shirou stated dryly. "Right now, you pretty much admitted you are one."

Risty's face was splattered with surprise, like she honestly had no idea how she just got caught. Wait, this situation seemed familiar. Ah yes, this was about the same time where she bolted before. Although this time, she assumed that Shirou was prepared and wouldn't let her get as much breathing room as she did. Besides, she too sore to run.

"You really are a stubborn guy aren't you?" Risty hissed, it was clear she was very angry. "Why don't you just mind your own damn business?!"

"Sorry, I can't do that." Shirou replied firmly.

"Fine!" Risty sprang to her feet and charged forward with her club held high. "Then I'll make you!"

Shirou just sighed and drew the sword he was given for his journey, the standard Vance long sword. There was no reason to be wasting magic in a circumstance like this, his physical skills would be more than enough to handle this situation. Not to be arrogant or anything but he could probably handle this with the next move.

Shirou sidestepped Risty's blow. "You're putting too much strength in your shoulders. Your sides are wide open."

The handle of Shirou's sword slammed into the back of Risty's neck with considerable force, not to cause some serious damage though, but just with enough of it to hurt like hell.

Risty chocked from the sudden blow before she crashed face first into the ground and stopped moving.

"You also leave your neck wide open for an attack as well." Shirou stared at her prone figure for a bit before sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "Seems I hit her too hard."

A few hours had passed and it was just before lunchtime judging by the position of the sun. It was surprisingly warm despite how cool it had been the last few days, but a change of pace was good every now and then.

"Hey, where are we going?"

Shirou looked over his shoulder at Risty, whom he had restrained and was leading her by the rope attached to his belt. They had been walking on this road for a while to get back to Circlette Town. So far, it wasn't really working out that well mainly because they had no idea where Circlette Town was.

"Isn't obvious? We're going back to Circlette Town." Shirou answered as he kept walking.

"Aw! You are going to turn me in!" Risty cried and writhed in her bindings. They were really, really tight unsurprisingly.

"I never said that I was going to let you go either."

"Even if I offered you a cut of the profit or... my body?" Risty said the last part with clear distaste.

Shirou chuckled lowly. "I don't need money and you should treat your body with more respect than that. Also, there is no guarantee that you'll up hold your end of the bargain even if I did so. I'd lose either way."

"You're not as dense as you look." Risty murmured to herself. "My luck just keeps getting worse doesn't it?"

"I heard that." Shirou acknowledged without looking around. "But, I'll admit that I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer at times."

"Seriously, what are these conversations? They're so tense but at the same time so casual." Risty thought before the sound of hooves hit hear ears. She turned her head to see a very lavish looking carriage approaching them. "Oh great, this day just keeps on getting better."

The carriage rapidly gained ground on the two and in what seemed like the blink of an eye, was upon them.

Shirou arched an eyebrow and stopped walking when it seemed the carriage was slowing down as it passed them. He had a... feeling that nothing good was going to come out of this, a feeling that just got stronger when the carriage stopped completely.

"Oh great." Risty whined from behind him.

Shirou glanced his head back but quickly centering his vision on the carriage down the dirt road. A few moments later the carriage door opened to reveal a rather average looking, very chubby man wearing lavish clothes tailored to fit his larger size. He had combed blonde hair and swamp water blue eyes. Also, for one reason or another, he had a disgustingly happy look on his face as he ambled towards Shirou and Risty.

"Young man! Young man! I would like to have a word with you." The chubby man shouted gleefully as he ambled even faster towards the two.

A few moments later the man was within regular speaking range, and close enough that Shirou could get a really good look at him. His first inference was that this man was a noble given his lavish clothing, his expensive looking carriage, and his chubbiness. It was common for people around this period in time to be somewhat chubby if they were wealthy since they actually had money to gorge themselves. At least, that was the way it had been in the earlier years of Shirou's previous world.

"Is there something I can help you with, sir?" Shirou offered.

The noble nodded. "Well, it seems that you've already helped me by capturing that thief." He said while pointing at Risty.

"Tsk!" Risty scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Fat ass."

The red haired man glanced to Risty before turning back to the noble. "I'm assuming that she took something of yours."

"Oh yes! Yes she did! She took a very fine collection of golden dinning wear!" The noble declared with obvious outrage. "But now that you've caught her, justice can finally be served. So, if you will, hand her over."

"No." Shirou refused with a shake of his head. "She will be punished by the guards, not a noble."

The noble seemed to have taken back by the response but regained his composure. "I-I get it, you want some kind of reward don't you?" He said, his voice now very tense.

The red haired male narrowed his eyes. "No, I don't want a reward and I already told you the guards will be the ones to punish her." Shirou countered with a cross of his arms. "Now if you would excuse us..."

The noble gave a strained laugh. "I'll take her there for you then." He tried proposing again while his voice tensed even more.

"No, I can tell right now that you're lying to me." Shirou stated as he bit back the annoyance in his voice. Did this noble think that he was this stupid? "Besides, this is just a way for you to get revenge on her, isn't it?"

"Watch your mouth low born!" The noble suddenly snapped like a rabid dog.

Shirou sighed and gave the noble a dry look. "That's what is about isn't? She stole your dinnerware and you're angry about it?" Shirou stated knowingly. "You're a noble correct? You should be able to buy yourself another set."

"This isn't just about the dinnerware!" The noble proclaimed loudly.

"Then what else is it about? Please explain because I'm confused." Shirou said.

"It's about principle!" The noble shouted as he balled his hands into fists. He looked absolutely lived now. "How dare she, a thieving whore, steal something from me!? A respected and privileged individual such as myself!" He raged, his face burning red.

"Okay, but is that it?" Shirou asked with a shrug.

The noble looked flabbergast. "Of course not!" He shouted at the two. "I pride myself in the security of my mansion, and yet somehow this little wretch was able to sneak passed it!? Blasphemy!"

It took every ounce of self-restraint for Shirou not to face palm right there and now, but Risty didn't have such restraint and just burst out laughing. That is what this guy was so angry about? He wasn't mad that his stuff stolen... but he was mad that his security was breached? What kind of logic was that? That was like getting mad about a thief stealing a safe without stealing the things inside. In a normal world that wouldn't make any sense, but there was probably no such thing as a "normal world" so it was best not to fight it.

"This guy... is ridiculous" Shirou thought with a cringe. "So, you're mad that she got past your security then?" He said before shooting Risty a glare as a signal to shut up.

"Do you have any idea how much my image was tarnished because of it?! She made me into the laughing stock of the whole community!" The noble shouted so loud that Shirou was certain he would go deaf soon.

Risty again lost her restrain and laughed. "I'm just too damn good!"

"Please explain to me why you got caught then." Shirou said with a smirk, which in turn made Risty give him her harshest glare.

The noble's face became twisted with anger, his teeth were grinding together, his body was shaking with fury, and his head was practically littered with tick marks. It was quite the sight of so much anger displayed. It has sure been a while since Shirou saw a look like that. Although, this one was a lot less threatening compared to the ones he has seen in his previous life. In general, it was pretty unimpressive.

"Alright, that's it! I'm done negotiating with a dog like you!" The noble growled angrily as a cruel smirk stained his face. "Hand over the bitch… or else."

"I refuse." Shirou held his ground.

"Suit yourself." The noble said with a snap of his fingers.

On cue a group of thuggish men appeared out of the carriage. It was hard to count just how many there were since they all looked alike but there was at least six of them.

Shirou drew his sword and pointed it at the mob in front of him. He heard Risty shift behind him and felt a felt a tug on the rope afterwards. She wasn't comfortable with the situation, not like Shirou could blame her though. He'd probably have a similar reaction if he were in her spot.

"So I had you picked from the very beginning." Shirou stated bluntly and loudly enough for everyone to hear. "What a cowardly tactic."

"Shut up!" The noble snapped before he turned to his goons. "Kill that bastard and bring the bitch to me!"

The goons rushed forward all at once towards Shirou and Risty. The first goon who reached the two threw a brutish punch at Shirou who easily sidestepped it and slammed the hilt his sword into the goon's lower back. Shirou turned and duck under the blow of the next goon and swept his legs from underneath him with the flat part of his blade.

"You idiots! I said get them!" Shirou heard the noble roar furiously from the sidelines. Although he was the least of Shirou's concerns right now.

As the other four, slower moving goons approached, Shirou slid his free hand behind his back and traced a handful of blades. He waited until the goons were close enough before... he flicked his wrist and sent the blades flying! The goons yelped in pain as the knifes hit them in painful, but not lethal places on their bodies, causing crimson trails of blood to hit the ground like a leaky faucet. It wouldn't stop them completely but it would definitely slow them down.

"You're amazing!" Shriou heard Risty shout. He spared a glance her way and saw the stars in her eyes and the fascinated look on her face. "How did you do that?"

Shirou didn't answer her. It wasn't his style to talk during the middle of a battle. He always believed that any energy wasted in talking during combat could be used for battling the enemy… and from the looks it of it, he would definitely need that energy.

"Useless! You're all useless! They're are six of you and you can't take down a simple low born bastard and a thieving whore!?" The noble spat with disdain before he snapped his fingers and a whole mob of thugs came out of the chariot... again. "No matter, when you have lots of money you can always buy more of these brutes."

Shirou clicked his tongue loudly. "I was expecting something like this." He thought as he counted how many thugs there were while keeping an eye on the ones that tried to attack him before. "Thirty of them? Is that carriage a clown car?"

Risty, however, wasn't as calm as Shirou and if she wasn't bound right now, she'd take off running and would have never looked back. This situation was going from bad to worse now that the fat bastard had brought out more of his hired help. This Shirou guy was good, but she doubted that he could take all thirty of these thugs at once.

She looked at Shirou and… how many knives did his guy have? He was throwing handfuls of them aimed at the mob, trying to keep them at bay but she never saw him draw any of them from some type of bag or a holster. Strange. But, that wasn't important, if she could just get him to loosen these bindings then she'd be home free.

"Think Risty, how are you going to get out of this one?" She pondered with her eyes closed before an idea hit her. "That's it!"

"Hey, Shirou." She called lowly using his first name, enough for Shirou to hear her. "I think there is too many of them."

Shirou glanced over his shoulder at her before taking a few steps back so that all of the thugs and the noble were in his field of vision. "Probably, but not like there are many options at the moment."

Risty gave him a confident smirk. "I have an idea."

The red haired male paused. "I'm listening."

"We run away." She replied almost too bluntly to be real. Shirou would have slapped his face with his hand if he wasn't focused on the mob of goons in front of them.

"Is that really your only idea?" He asked.

Risty laughed nervously. "Well, I was going to ask you to cut me loose first."

"And why should I do that?" He again asked, but with more suspicion this time.

"Because I know a place we can hide at if you do." She offered. "A place that fat ass doesn't know about."

Shirou kept up the knife throwing. "And what reason do I have to trust you? How do I know that you won't just run off if I cut you loose?"

"You don't." Risty admitted bluntly. "But that doesn't mean that you can't follow me right? Do you catch my gist?" She offered while trying her best not to smirk. "You can follow me but it doesn't necessarily mean that I'll let you catch up."

Shirou glanced back at her before quickly tracing dozens of knives and launched them into the crowd of goons. The goons dropped like flies as Shirou turned around to cut the bindings off Risty. She smirked as the ropes were cut and bolted as soon as she didn't feel their presence anymore. She could hear the fading swears of the noble as she made her get away. Surprisingly, she didn't hear Shirou say anything, not one thing the entire time that she made her get away. Well, it didn't matter because that would be the last she saw him.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, she stopped running to catch her breath. She dropped to the ground as she wheezed and huffed. She didn't really know how long she was running but it was apparently long enough since she could see a brown wooden door, the entrance to a pretty old and beat up building, up ahead. It was only a few more steps to freedom.

"That's quite the endurance you got there."

Risty's eyes widened and she quickly turned around to see Shirou standing there. He was really sweaty for some reason but that was besides the point.

"You were you able follow me!? How is it possible!? I thought I had left you in the dust!" Risty roared surprisingly loud, despite being out a breath just a few moments ago.

Instead of verbally answering, Shirou pointed at something on her waist, and when Risty looked down at it, it took everything she had to literally not hit herself in the face. The rope, the one that tied her belt to Shirou's, hadn't been cut and was completely intact. She was so excited about the fact that she was going to get away that she forgot that there was a rope actually stopping her from running away in the first place. He just ran with her so it felt like she was free! Damn it... and she was so close!

"So where are we?" Shirou asked as he wiped the sweat from his brow. He really worked up a sweat keeping up with her.

Risty sighed and threw her hands up in the air in defeat as she ambled towards the brown wooden door. "Hurry up! We have to get inside before someone sees us."

"If you say so."

"I'm back!" Risty said as she opened the door.

Shirou, who was standing at the doorway and far from the action, arched an eyebrow when Risty was immediately swarmed by a big mob of children. They were all crowded at her feet, some were dancing, and some were hugging her... It couldn't be more obvious that they were all happy to see her.

Shirou felt a smile tug at his lips, this must have been what other people saw when Leina and Elina clung to him. Although, this wasn't about him, and he still had business to attend to.

"Risty, who is he?" One of the children said while pointing at Shirou.

The red haired male looked at the children that pointed at him, he had never seen this kid before... but he seemed... familiar. Shirou couldn't really put his finger on what it was or anything but this kid, all of the children really, seemed to be familiar. It was a very strong sense of deja vu, a feeling within that he couldn't quite place at the moment, a strong sense of emotion was there.

"Don't mind him." Risty said to the child with a smile as she ruffled his hair. "Hey... I have something to tell you guys. I'm... I'm going to be gone for a long time after I leave here." She stated with a somber smile.

Immediately there were cries of protest from the children but Shirou stood silently still in the background. As he silently observed how Risty knelt down in attempt to pacify the crying children. After taking a more detailed look at children's plain, almost ragged clothes, it finally started to don on Shirou on what was happening.

"They're orphans aren't they?" Shirou asked, speaking for the first time since entering the room.

Risty and the orphans looked up at Shirou with surprised. "How could you know that?"

There was a moment of silence. "I'm familiar with that circumstance. I assure you." Shirou said. "I'm guessing that you take care of them."

Risty shook her head. "No, actually Sister Cornelia takes care of them but she's been ill lately."

"I see," Shirou said as he looked around.

This place was barely holding itself together! And that was saying something because Shirou had seen the aftermath of what happened when Heroic Spirits face off against each other, especially when the extremely destructive ones like Beserker participated in it. The floor boards looked old, rotting, and they had been stained dark by water. A quick look up provided with the answer for that. There was a large, likely horse sized, hole in the ceiling that went from both floors of the building.

He then glanced at the stone walls, noticing that there were cracks running along them with some places being covered in moss. The windows also had cracks, were very dirty and barely anything could be seen through them.

He then looked at the room itself that didn't have anything noteworthy in it, a few musty tables and chairs but that was about it. There was literally nothing in here, almost like there was nobody was living here at all.

Shirou then finally spotted a small, cracked stone cross hanging on the wall at the far end of the room. It was the only object indicating that this ruined building was once a church.

"This scene seems vaguely familiar." Shirou noted mentally as his eyes swept across the room. "I can't my finger on what it is though."

Shirou sighed and put his hands in his pockets and inhaled deeply. "I think I understand the circumstances here." He said as he turned towards the door. "You're stealing things for their sake right? You're selling all of the things to buy food for them, correct?"

Risty didn't answer immediately. She was still pondering whether or not this guy was going to turn her in or not. "Yes, that is what I do."

"I see… then I'd like to offer you a deal." Shirou said as he reached for the pack, the one Claudette gave him, behind his back and pulled out a sack of coins. "I'll pay you for all of those things you stole from Circlette Town."

The red haired thief was awestruck by that offer and it seemed the children shared her shock, considering they stopped playing and looked over at the two young adults. However, Risty's gaze hardened as her mind processed the words that were said to her. Twice, she had been fooled by this guy's mind games, she wasn't about to be fooled into giving up the items she stole, and then brought to the city guards on top of it.

"And you're not going to turn me in?" Risty asked slowly.

Shirou shook his head. "No, these kids need you. I can't just leave them here with a sick Sister, speaking of which," He said as he pulled out a vial filled with syrupy green liquid and tossed it to Risty. "if you give her this, she should be able regain her strength in a few days."

"And what do you get out of this?" Risty asked, her gaze still hard and scrutinizing.

"I don't want anything." Shirou replied honestly with a shrug. "It… it wouldn't be right to turn you in. You did commit a crime by stealing, but, leaving these children to fend for themselves is an even bigger crime." He said as he went to walk out the door. "I suggest that you learn more of the thieving business you're getting yourself involved in, or else, you aren't going to make it very fair. You were lucky that I was the one that managed to catch you. Other people will not be as understanding as I am."

"Noted." Risty agreed with a nod. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go take care of the noble and then I'm leaving." He said without looking back.

"You're going to kill him?!" The redhead women almost shouted out. Shirou already had done enough by letting her go, giving his own money to pay off the stolen goods, and even giving medicine for the ill sister. He doesn't need to get his hands bloodied for their sake.

Shirou didn't answer and walked out the door before shutting it behind him.

The red hair male watched the noble's reaction to his request with complete indifference. The noble was laughing like he heard the funniest joke ever told, which would have been fine if he wasn't eating while he was laughing, it was a pretty disgusting sight.

It didn't matter to Shirou though, since the only reason he had made that request was to see if he could end the noble's hunt for Risty without having to get his hands dirty.

After Shirou had left the abandoned and worn out church, he went back to where the noble's carriage had been earlier since it was the first place to check for the fat guy.

When he finally got back there, he wasn't surprised to see a mob of thugs making a protective ring around the carriage. What happened after that is a little bit blurry but it ended with all of the thugs laying battered on the ground and the door of the carriage being ripped off its hinges.

"So that is a no?" Shirou asked dryly.

The noble smirked as a trail of juice flowed down his chin. "Of course not! Do you actually expect me to let that whore of thief to get away? I don't care if I have to hire hundreds upon hundreds of these brutes to scour the entire forest just to find her. One way or another, I will have her brought before me!"

Shirou nodded, he had expected that response, but still tried to be persistent. "Look, you will be compensated for the stolen items, so there is no need to go to such extremes."

The noble scoffed in return. "Do you think I care about the money? I have plenty of it! As I said before, she ruined my reputation among the nobles community! That is a much worse crime than a simple theft!"

Shirou by now was starting to get really irritated at noble. It's only thanks to having dealt with like him before that Shirou is still willing to negotiate. "Do you seriously expect to get your reputation repaired by simply capturing the thief? I think it would do the exact opposite instead as you would reveal to your so-called precious noble community, that your mansion was robbed by a woman who just recently became an adult."

At hearing those words the noble started laughing again. "It might not repair my reputation, but at least I will have the satisfaction of chocking the life out of her after I let my brutes violate her! So in conclusion, no matter what you say or offer, low born, I will not change my mind on this!"

After a few silent moments passed, Shirou sighed deeply before sharpening his gaze into a glare. "Then maybe this will make you reconsider.

"Huh?" The noble said dumbly before the shine of light off a steel blade caught his eyes. "Argh!"

The noble grasped his hand as blood trickled out of it. The cut was shallow and the wound wasn't really that big, maybe an inch or two long but nothing bigger, and it really wasn't all that painful. It looked more like an accidental knife cut than it did an attempt on his life, to which he was quite used to since his tax policies weren't exactly the most fair… and were prone to sudden raises out of the blue.

The noble gave Shirou a mocking glare. "Is this all? How pathetic!"

"The poison should be taking any effect now." Shirou said as nonchalantly as Pathfinder, medic and serial killer extraordinaire of Vance Estate. He even shrugged like the white haired male use to do as well.

A clank was heard as the fork dropped right out of the noble's hand and onto the plate. His eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head and he was sweating like he was in a hot sauna. That was the cue for Shirou took a few steps back and a few moments later, watch as the noble vomited onto the plate and a few inches away from the carriage.

"W-w-what did you do?!" The noble roared, a trace of the vomit present on the corner of his mouth. His eyes went wide like some kind of wild animal's.

"I'd be careful and wouldn't get too excited if I were you." Shirou commented as he sidestepped the noble's sudden lunge at him. "The faster you heart beats the faster the poison spreads. Since it was especially made by Pathfinder, you'll be gone faster than you can say 'oops.'"

"Who's Pathfinder?" The noble was able to wheeze before puking again. It was a really bad to be chubby in situations like this.

Shirou took a step back and adopted an exaggerated shocked look on his face. He still needed some work on his acting skills. "You have never heard of the Pathfinder?! He's like one of the most notorious and devilish serial killers on this side of the world. He once poisoned the drinking well of an entire village because they looked at him the wrong way!"

"No." The look of panic was starting to set in on the noble's face.

"Yes!" Shirou cracked his neck. "But that isn't even the worst part." He paused for dramatic effect. "When the queen's soldiers went into the village all they found were..."

"What?" The noble asked fearfully.

Shirou didn't answer.

"What!?" The noble asked louder, now visibly shaking.

Still no answer.

"What!? What did they find!?" The noble scream his eyes nearly popping out of his skull.

"Nothing but bags of rotted skin." Shirou finally answer calmly.

The noble shrank back as dread overtook him. "N-no."

"But, there is a way to save yourself." The redhead added.

The noble's eyes gleamed with hope. "What is it?"

"Why should I tell you?" Shirou folded his arms and looked away. It was really hard to keep a calm face and act like Pathfinder... it was scary that he was doing it great so far. "What have you ever done for me?"

"I-I'll give you money!" The noble cried as he threw gold coins at Shirou. "I'll give you all the money you want!"

"I'm not interested in money." Shirou rejected the offer. "I only have one request."

The noble grimaced when he saw the look on Shirou's face. He already knew what this low born was going to ask for and he didn't like it one bit. He was a man of pride and honor after all and he couldn't stand to have a thieving whore or a low born have their way. Although, his life was much more valuable than his pride... not matter how much it pained him to admit so.

"Fine!" The noble gave in. "I'll let that thief be." He said unconvincingly before impatiently commanding, "Now give me the antidote!"

"Here." Shirou said as he handed the noble a piece of parchment.

"What... what is this!?" The noble demanded.

"A list of ingredients." Shirou explained.

"For what!?"

"The antidote of course." Shirou shrugged. "I never said I would give you a made antidote."

The noble bit his lip. "You sly bastard."

Shirou arched an eyebrow. What a strangely accurate statement. He was being rather sly and underhanded today for whatever reason or maybe everyone else wasn't being themselves today. It must be something in the air or maybe it more of an psychological rub off Shirou got from spending so much time with the magus... and Pathfinder. Well it seems that he has learned yet another thing from the people around him. Although, Shirou wasn't exactly crazy about being like Pathfinder, Shirou was Shirou and Pathfinder was Pathfinder. That was the way it should be.

"Well then... I'm definitely going to need to sit down and rethink this day." The red haired male noted as he folded his arms. "Although, if it works now I won't complain."

"I don't believe you."

"I knew it wouldn't work."

"But it seems that I have no choice then." The noble whimpered as he bit his thumb.

"It's working!?"

"Fine! I leave you here today. But, know that I will return!" The noble shouted.

"I repeat... it's working!?"

With that the noble sped off in his carriage and into the sunset.

"...it worked."

Shirou yawned lowly as he sat Indian style at the exit of Circlette town, the one that led to Sheldan Free City. About an hour ago he had returned with all the stolen items that he had traded a rather large portion of his funds in order to get back, but he still wasn't off the hook. Which is the reason why he was sitting idle at the town exit... with an armed guard standing behind him.

They had to make sure that he didn't pull a fast one and try to sneak out with the most valuable items, which was understandable since it wasn't wise to put so much trust into a stranger. Although, he did the same thing with Risty, who had to bring the items to him in order to return them, and she pulled through.

"You know... I didn't take anything." Shirou said suddenly. "If I wanted your stuff I would have just taken it."

A moment went by before the guard's response. "I know but we can't be too careful."

"Can't argue with that." The red haired male sighed.

"Alright you're free to go." A familiar voice said.

Shirou peered over his shoulder to see Margret and Jack, the bartender from before, standing there. He got up, brushed himself off, and did a half turn to face them. "Alright then. I guess I'll be going."

"Take care."

"Good luck."

Shirou gave a short nod as he walked away towards his next stop: Sheldan Free City.

AN:

This Chapter:

This one was a pain to write for but I finished it...with a lot of help from beta. Anyways, the ending is pretty lack luster and that is because I couldn't think of anything else without needlessly progressing the chapter in a unproductive direction. So, I apologize for this chapter still not being up to my normal standards, not saying how I use to write before was any better.

If you see any mistakes, feel free to point them out and I will fix them.

Shirou's Character:

Well, last chapter a few of you pointed out that Shirou was acting OOC (Out Of Character) and I apologize that was my mistake. I hope that he now more like himself this chapter and isn't as OOC as he was. If he still isn't himself then we'll just have to fix that then. Although, he should be better than what he was before, before meaning the last chapter.

Margret and "Emiya":

Yeah, last chapter Margret did say the the name sounded familiar, which was pretty weird to some of you. I won't give anything away but it will all make sense as the story progresses. I promise.

Poll:

Alright so I need your help with something. There is a poll on my profile, if I didn't effe it up, that asks you to pick between two monsters: Wraith or a Tengu. I want you guys to vote for one of them. Yes it is story related and yes the winner of the poll will decide what happens, so...I would appreciate your vote.

New Story:

Yes, I'm working on a new story, a few of them be exact. I don't know when they'll be put up but I'm shooting for around the same time the next chapter of this story is posted if not before. No promises so I'll see what I can do. Also, neither one is one has been mentioned before. These are actually recently ideas that I want to "test drive" to see how they would do.

Previews:

Again, these are meant to be taken with a grain of salt, do not be offended or came at me with torches and pitchforks for screwing something up. These are previews they do not always reflect the original. They also only reflect possibilities not certainties. Anyways, pick your favorites and let me know what you think.

I'll warn that one of them is for Naruto. My feelings about Naruto crossovers has not changed one bit and I stand firmly by what I said. Basically the idea DOES NOT involve Sasuke or Naruto in anyway so no Godlike, uber-Demon, #yoloswagninja420, #idonttweet or GG WP Naruto or Sasuke.

I do not anything own anything associated with these previews, the previews from before, or any preview I down later. They belong to their respective owners.

Preview #1

Shirou wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth as he continued to glare at his opponent: a young girl, with short orange hair, wearing a green outfit, and a strange looking dog by her side. She had one of the most twisted face he had ever seen and that was saying something. However, what was more disturbing than the look on her face was the long sword that appeared after the dog bit off her arm.

"What's the matter getting tired?" The girl taunted with a cruel smirk.

Shirou didn't answer and got to his feet and gripped his swords tightly. This girl was really starting to grind on his nerves, not as much as Kotomine but definitely getting up there.

"It doesn't matter in the end." She said suddenly before the dog bit off the sword then promptly replaced with a massing morning stare. "Justice will always prevail!"

"You don't know what justice is!" Shirou proclaim. "This," he gestured to all of the destruction around him. "is just mindless destruction fitting of a monster. Kill many to save a few? What kind of justice is that?"

The girl's face twisted once more, this time into one of sheer anger and fury. "Don't speak of justice so casually evil doer!" She shouted as she charged forward.

"Allow me to teach it to you."

Series: FSN x AGK

Notes- Yeah, that is probably something that Shirou would not say to her, but you have to admit even with Shirou's own ideals of justice, Seyruu's ideals are just fucked up. Anyways, I assuming most of you expecting a Shirou and Esdese moment? Yeah, I tried but it didn't pan out so well, I'll see what I can do in ether the next chapter or new story.

Also Shirou's alignment is largely undecided at this point in time.

Preview #2

"Are you stupid!?"

"What are you doing!?"

Those two boys from the front gate said as they whisked me out of the courtyard where a large group of...g...g...g-g...girls had gathered. It looked like they were about to fight or something. When were a safe distance away, aka the gate, we gathered in a circle.

"There were girls." I said

"Of course there were girls!" The taller boy said. "Didn't you know? Nangokuren High School use to be an all girls school until recently. As guys we're the minority with girls being the majority of over 99%"

I gulped. "99%"

"And that is not the best part." The tall be added as he started to drool. "About half of the population are...monster girls."

I nearly flat lined right there. Girls and monster girls!? What kind of hell has been spread upon us!?"

Series: Dragon's Rioting x (It's a secret but I'm sure some of you already know)

Note- Genius idea

Preview #3

Itachi Uchiha shifted his eyes to the side. He had felt a presence tailing him and it had been tailing him for a while now. He first noticed it when he walked out of the cafe after he stopped to get some hot chocolate. Whoever or whatever it was didn't seem to be threatening, but appearances were never to be trusted without proper inspection.

"Sorry mother, I'm going to have to call you back." Itachi said as he hung up the phone and took a short trip to a scarcely populated street and into an alley.

Then it was set, if someone was following him then they would likely follow him into the alley.

A few moments later a woman walked into the alley and adopted a completely bamboozled look on her face. Where did he go? She literally just saw him and then he just upped and disappeared into an alley. How was that even possible?

"What are you doing?"

Her eyes widened before she spun on her heel to see Itachi standing directly behind her. In shock, she stepped a few feet back. "How did you?"

"That isn't important." Itachi said as he walked towards her. Every step he took forward was matched by her taking a step back. "Who are you?"

"I uh..." He was getting dangerous close to her and the wall behind her as getting closer as well.

"Who are you?" The raven haired male repeated in the same voice as before.

"No...I don't." She felt the wall touch her back, there was no escape now. Now he was close, his face just inches from her's.

"Last chance, who are you?"

The woman gulped. "Number 43."

"I see." He replied as he raised a hand and placed it on her cheek. She was burning hot and her face was flushed red. "Whats a little bird doing so far from the nest?"

Series: Itachi x (easy to figure out)