A/N: Hi there! It must be weird for me to write author's notes in this chapter in the middle of nowhere. But anyway, for the readers who have managed to read up to this chapter, I thank you for your current support.

However, I'm here to raise this story here for criticisms. Instead of reviews, please feel free to post your questions on the flaws of this story as 'reviews' instead. My story is subject to change and the readers out there are the ones who can make it happen!

But if you have no doubts about this story, feel free to read this story at your own leisure. I have a scheduled number of chapters for this story, but this is not the end. 'Crimson Guardian' is part one of a set of stories I'm going to publish.

Anyway, we will start the story proper now.

Once again, thank you for your support!

DarkHonour

AD 2015, September 7th, 3am.

A corpse of a young woman was found lying in a street alley in a suburb of one Japanese city.

She was severely stabbed by countless swords like needles piercing a cotton ball.

Cause of death was loss of blood.

Under the Firearms Control Law in Japan, it was impossible for the criminal to have that many swords.

The police closed the case as yet another unexplained one.

Her identification card was found slammed into her mouth.

The portion containing her first name was broken off.

Only the last name was printed on it - - Matou.

CHAPTER THREE: Confrontation -3-

The night air was still.

It was indeed dark. In fact, it was extremely dark for one place where the street lamps were no longer maintained.

As one lamp flickered on and off in alternating seconds, it illuminated the side of a stone wall that had a directional writing on it.

Tenraku Temple.

That was what the writing showed to any passerby if it was to be seen.

Footsteps of a certain person approached.

A little girl with dark hair was approaching the sign. She had an appointment at this nearby temple.

Or should it be called a temple?

No, it should be an abandoned structure. The area around the temple was also filled with buildings.

Empty buildings to be exact.

The vicinity had been vacant for quite some time.

That was ever since the urban legend of Tenraku Temple came out through Setagaya Town.

As the street lamp continued to flicker, it managed to shine onto the shape of someone leaning near the stone wall.

It was a male who seemed to be waiting for someone.

La la la la la la...

He could hear of someone approaching. It was someone whom he was expecting. Whether or not that girl expected him, he did not care.

He regained his posture standing opposite the girl.

The girl, called Hazuki, halted in her tracks.

'You failed, didn't you?' He started off the conversation.

'Hazuki did not fail!' She exclaimed back at him, puffing her cheeks up.

'Admit it, Hazuki-chan,' he answered in a jokingly manner. 'You lost to that servant.'

'Hazuki is only playing around first!' She argued back at him childishly.

'Then, who will report to Master today?'

Hazuki remained silent. Indeed, the man before her had a point there.

'Well well,' he shook his head slightly in the darkness. 'You owe me one more time again, Hazuki-chan.'

The man turned behind to face the dilapidated temple in the distance.

'Come,' he spoke without turning around. 'Let's go.'

'Yes!' She squealed in delight, running after the moving figure.

And the both of them walked ahead.

As they approached the still-intact torii gate of the temple, there was sheer darkness shrouding the distance between the gate and the main building.

The man raised his palm to face the darkness.

The gate glowed a fiery red, giving a signal seemingly to him.

As the two walked through it, they melted into the ebony darkness, followed by the fiery glow fading soon after.

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I opened my eyes a little. There was a little giddiness in my head. My eyes opened wider to face the ceiling.

It was strange. The ceiling was somewhat khaki like the colour of wheat.

Instinctively, I tried to feel the ground around for my glasses. After all, my myopic eyes could be playing tricks on me.

There was no pair of glasses lying around.

This was strange. The previous night, I had remembered placing my spectacles on the right before I retired to my futon.

Getting up a little, I rubbed my eyes a little.

Blinking a little more, I noticed that I could see the texture of the surroundings around me. My eyes were strangely a little better.

My eyesight was not really horribly bad but I had always worn my glasses to make sure I could see where I was going clearly.

I got up from the tatami floor.

The tatami floor was strangely different.

This was not my apartment.

It had seemed like as though I had been carried off and put into this room.

I looked down, noticing that I was in my normal clothes used at home, which were a pullover and drawstring pants.

'Where am I...'

I muttered to myself.

Turning to face a sliding door, I slid it open to see a field of grass before me.

Only that there was a barrier between me and the grass. And that barrier was made of glass. And between the glass and me, there was a seemingly wooden boardwalk painted yellow.

That must be the corridor, I thought.

To my right I could hear a commotion. I turned to that direction, starting to walk over to the room where the noise was at.

Before I knew it, I could sense someone approaching. The noise of the steps on the wood was clearer than the concrete ones in my own apartment.

The owner of the footsteps emerged into the corridor.

My eyes met his eyes.

There was no response.

He continued walking towards me as if I was nothing.

'Hey, wait...!'

I tried to make sure if he heard me but it was to no avail.

Before I knew it, the boy walked through me. As we touched, I was hurled back to the side of the wall. The other person could not sense it and continued his own path.

As I hit the wall, my vision blacked out on me.

Auburn hair. Dark amber eyes.

Those were all of what I could remember of that boy's face.

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Shirasaki rubbed her head, opening her eyes.

It was daylight again.

It seemed that she had knocked her head against the wall as she jerked in her sleep. Nevertheless, she was awake now.

She sat up from her futon. Feeling her right, she could sense her pair of glasses.

The brown-haired girl put on her spectacles, causing everything in her vision to turn sharp.

This was reality.

The scene before was a mere dream.

But a weird one, rather.

Knowing that she had to prepare herself, she got up and slided open the door.

There was no school for her today but when she had none, it meant that she had to go for her part-time job. After all, she needed the cash to support her own consumption too.

And with a freak accident, her servant suddenly joined the household where she thought she would probably expect an increase in her spending.

To Shirasaki, a servant seemed human. And that means that humans had to satisfy their daily needs as well. And thus was her rationalisation for an increased in spending, as she pondered while drifting across the living room of her apartment.

As she moved across, she could see that the white-haired man was seated before the main table. His eyes were closed as if he was meditating.

Or it could be that he was fast asleep.

Even so, it was a weird way to slumber, as she thought.

Shirasaki stopped moving. Turning her direction, she moved closer to the servant. He was not responding. Perhaps he was really asleep, as she was convinced.

Just a few centimetres away from him, she fixated her eyes on his face.

And just then, his eyes opened, revealing seemingly grey eyes.

She pulled back, shocked at his sudden reaction.

'Good Morning, Miyuki-san.'

The same tone dead voice sounded to her.

'G-Good Morning,' she stammered, still in the wake of her pull back. 'I'm using the toilet.'

And she turned back to the direction of the toilet. Nevertheless, she could sense that he was still having his eyes on her.

'Really...' She scratched her head which had a few strands of hair standing from the static caused by the pillow overnight, as she entered the toilet.

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Shirasaki wore on a pullover, an attire proper for the ever-weak heater in her apartment. She was still in the toilet.

Behind the plastic door, she could hear no movement.

As her inner feeling told her, she could guess that the servant had returned to his resting position on the tatami floor.

Wiping her glasses with the cotton bath towel, she put them up and swung the toilet door opened. It was difficult to open the door at times since it needed space almost as equal as the toilet for it to swing open.

She stepped onto the tatami floor of her living room.

Her servant was there.

Archer opened his eyes to look at hers. Shirasaki had to tell him where she was going lest he would follow her again.

'Erm...' She paused for a moment.

'So will Miyuki-san be going to her school again?'

She turned her head up, surprised at his sudden friendly tone.

'No...' she answered quietly. Taking a deep breath, she collected her thoughts together.

'I'm going for my part-time job.'

It was not a day for school. But if she had no school, she could not afford to laze at home all day round. In fact, it was normal for university students to take on part-time job.

Even at the university level, Japanese students taking on part-time jobs was a rather late start.

As Shirasaki could remember, Yui-chan had a part-time job when she was half-way in middle high school, as according to what her dear friend had asserted before.

'I see.'

Archer did not ask further. Whether or not that was strange, it did not bother his master.

Shirasaki walked across her room, preparing to take her bag. As her eyes turned to look back at the main table, there was a single teacup resting on the surface.

It was strangely tempting her.

The previous night, as she could remember, her so-called servant had prepared a tea that was extraordinary.

Was servants meant for that purpose too?

Shirasaki thought in her mind. After all, servants could mean butlers as well.

Her eyes turned back to look at the clock at the wall before her. It was already eight. She had to go for her job within an hour's time.

'Oh shit,' she cursed loudly in her room. Grabbing her bag, she walked out hurriedly of her own room. Archer was looking at her again.

'Thanks for the tea anyway,' she stopped to speak to him. 'But I need to go for my part-time job now.'

And within moments, she had opened the main entrance door and closed it behind her.

The apartment was filled with a sudden silence despite the white-haired servant being seated by the main table.

'Seriously, this is the first time someone avoided drinking the tea.'

He muttered to himself.

His eyes were fixated onto the teacup.

The tea was just getting cold.

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The sun shone even more brightly onto the city as the clock struck nine. It was not the most impressive building in Central Setagaya but it was definitely decent enough for customers to patronise it.

On the ground floor, there was the glass doors which welcomed anyone to this DVD rental shop.

She was finally here for her job.

Shirasaki worked as a DVD rental retail assistant. The pay was good and it was enough to cover her daily expenses too.

In the backroom of the shop, she put on a green apron which was simply out of hygiene and appearance for the shop.

The job was only a part-time, which meant that she would be done by the late afternoon. Nevertheless, she enjoyed having such a job.

Closing her locker, she heaved another sigh. At least there was no sign of Archer following her here.

Being back in this shop made her feel as though she was back to the normal world.

Emerging out from the staff room, she walked down the corridor to open the door to the main shop. Racks of DVD welcomed her as she located her way towards the counter.

She stopped short of a few metres before the counter.

There was an unfamiliar person there.

Not that it was uncommon to have different staff doing shift work, but the person at the counter was definitely new.

It was a girl who looked no more older than twenty.

It must be a senior high school student, as what Shirasaki thought.

'Ah, Shirasaki-san.'

She turned behind to see a jovial-looking plump man, bespectacled with black frames resting on his eyes.

'Good morning, Tenchou-san,' she bowed before him, addressing him as the shop owner. She did not really know his name but she had always called him as Tenchou, which meant shop owner.

'I guess it must be your first time seeing her,' his eyes turned to look at the teenage girl standing before the counter.

'I see,' Shirasaki gave a forced smile to her superior.

The girl now looked at their direction, giving a small smile.

The shop owner moved over to the counter, bringing Shirasaki with him to face the new employee.

'Shirasaki-san,' he continued. 'I want you to meet Kishiwada-san.'

'Shirasaki-senpai,' the girl gave a small bow. 'Pleased to meet you.'

'Ah, no,' the brown-haired girl responded and bowed in return. 'Pleased to meet you too, Kishiwada-san.'

Shirasaki regained her posture to face Kishiwada's visage. She was definitely a beautiful girl, coupled with ruby hair and green eyes.

Nevertheless, this junior was going to be with her for some time, as she felt.

'That would be 6000 yen,' Shirasaki related the price of the DVD to the customer before her. The DVD rental shop offered renting and purchase as well. At some times, it was normal for some customers to purchase DVDs instead.

'6000 yen received,' she responded politely as she received the cash within her hands. Slotting the notes into the cash register, it automatically emerged with the change.

Kishiwada quickly slotted the DVD into a paper bag and sealed it with a scotch tape.

'Thank you for your patronage,' she replied with a smile, handing over the bag to the customer. And the customer was off with his newly-acquired product.

'You do learn fast, don't you?'

Shirasaki looked at her junior.

Kishiwada was rather skilled at this retail job. She had managed to emulate perfectly of all the essential for being a cashier especially, within a few hours.

'It's nothing,' she answered. 'Senpai is still much more experienced, after all.'

'Excuse me.'

Shirasaki heard a voice coming from in front of the counter. It was a boy her age, with blue-black hair.

'Can I help you?'

'I need some help at that rack,' he answered, pointing to a number on the surface of the counter. A map had been pasted onto the surface of the counter for easier referencing.

'Understood, Sir,' Shirasaki responded in politeness. She got out of the counter space, raising her palm in the direction of the rack. 'This way, Sir.'

'Senpai!' Kishiwada called out to the bespectacled girl who turned behind.

'Handle the cash register,' she answered back. 'I'm sure you can.'

The ruby-haired girl could only looked at her senior with the customer heading away.

Before long, Shirasaki had arrived at a rack with the customer. There was a strange feeling about him but it was probably her imagination.

He pointed up to the highest shelf.

Shirasaki took a nearby wooden ladder, climbing it up to reach the rack. Using the reference number he had given her on a piece of paper, she plucked the DVD from its shelf.

'Fuyuki.'

She muttered softly at the title of the DVD, coupled with the plain black colour of its front cover.

Why on earth would a customer want such a weird title?

It was probably just her plain suspicions. Knowing that she was still working, she got down to the bottom of the ladder and handed the customer his item.

Fuyuki city.

It seemed like the name of somewhere which was mentioned by Professor Moriyama. It must have been a strange place. The words that the Professor had mentioned the previous night could only be half-believed by Shirasaki.

A reminder hit her mind.

She had to see the Professor later in the afternoon.

She realised that the customer was still around.

'Fuyuki.'

The customer broke the silence suddenly.

'It's an interesting name, isn't it?'

'I should think so.'

Shirasaki was reminded by the ethic that she should not communicate too much with the customers. There were some weird customers who would rent the strange DVD titles and ask strange questions.

'It's a far place from here, actually.'

Shirasaki turned to the customer and bowed before him.

'I believe I have helped you search for the item. I'll return to my place.'

She turned behind, proceeding back to where Kishiwada was.

'Fuyuki City...' he whispered softly but audible enough for it to reach the spectacled girl's ears. 'The holy ground for the Holy Grail...'

There was a touch of sinister in his tone. She stopped moving.

She could hear the customer's footsteps pacing towards her. He walked past her, stopping a few steps in front of her.

Without turning back, he muttered under his breath.

'That place is waiting for someone...'

And he quickly walked away to the counter.

Shirasaki could only look at him. This customer was yet another weird one like the rest she had encountered before in her two year part-time job.

But he was a weird one that stood among the strange customers.

No, perhaps he was just trying to warn something.

Returning to her senses, she turned back to respond to yet another customer, who was normal, enquiring about some other DVD titles.

At least the ambience was back to normal for her.

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The sun shone brightly in the mid-afternoon.

It also managed to shine brightly on the shabby abandoned Tenraku Temple.

The wind was cold, blowing through the black clothes of a white-haired man standing before it.

Archer had sensed a certain abnormality occurring despite it being day-time.

And this abnormality was coming from the temple.

Perhaps he could find that strange little girl whom his master had encountered the night before.

Through his dark eyes, he could see nothing abnormal at the surface level.

But there was an abnormal level of mana being concentrated in the broken down building.

'I see someone has come to visit.'

He heard a voice from behind.

Already knowing who that person really was, Archer did not see the need to turn back.

'So you're the one behind this?'

'It may seem so,' there was a naughty tone in the person's voice. 'Or it may not seem so.'

Archer tucked both hands in his pockets, closing his eyes for a moment.

'So you're trying to get the power of the Holy Grail?'

'I see you've regained some of your fragmented memories, Archer.'

The voice responded to Archer's query.

'I see too that you have a new master again, and it is an ignorant female.'

'That has nothing to do with what you're doing.'

'She will just be a trouble to what we are doing.'

'There's a reason why she's a master.'

'It's such a pity that she has such short hair. All she needs is just two ponytails.'

At that moment, Archer's eyes opened. As soon as he did so, the presence behind him was gone.

He looked up at the ruined Tenraku temple, and produced a smirk on his face.

'Two ponytails, eh?'

Turning behind, he walked on the asphalt road leading back to the apartment, slowly melting into the environment.

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Shirasaki looked at the clock hanging from the wall behind the counter. It was almost four o'clock and time for her to stop work.

Kishiwada had been working non-stop at the cash register. There was a certain air of diligence around the ruby-haired girl.

'Yahoo!'

The spectacled girl turned up to look at the familiar voice.

It was yet the ponytailed girl who was also her friend. And energetic as ever too.

'I have no money to treat you,' Shirasaki answered, pretending to be ignorant of her.

'That's not fair,' Yui retorted back. She was dressed in a sweater with jeans with a thick scarf wrapped around her neck. As Shirasaki had noted before, her friend had class today.

Yui put her hands on her hips.

'Anyway, I'm here to pick you up,' she responded. 'Professor Moriyama wanted to see you anyway.'

'That doesn't mean you can waste your energy coming here.'

'Hey!' Yui replied back in a seemingly angry tone. 'I came after all!'

The laughs of yet another girl could be heard, causing both girls to become silent. Both of them looked at Kishiwada laughing.

'Now that's funny,' she giggled. She looked at Shirasaki.

'Senpai, it's okay with me just around,' she continued. 'You should go with her.'

'But, Tenchou-san will...'

'It's alright,' a smile was drawn across her face. 'I'll tell him.'

'Thank you,' Shirasaki answered with a soft smile.

'That's some great colleague you have,' Yui interrupted, now looking at Kishiwada. 'Someday I'll treat you to some lunch!'

'As if you would.'

Shirasaki could only roll her eyes as she walked out of the counter to enter the staff-only area.

It wasn't long before she was done with changing. The job was over and now she had to proceed to the university to see Professor Moriyama.

As Yui and Shirasaki walked out of the shop, Kishiwada waved at the both of them, giving a seemingly innocent smile at them.

'Shirasaki Miyuki...'

She muttered softly too.

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'What?!'

Yui exclaimed loudly in the corridor just outside Professor Moriyama's office.

'What do you mean I can't eavesdrop?'

Shirasaki gave a bored look at her friend. Apparently, Yui had chosen to use the wrong words at the wrong time. Professor Moriyama stood by the office entrance, with a cigarette stuck between her lips.

'This is something not really important to you.'

The professor replied nicely.

'Besides,' she re-entered her office and emerged from it again, opening a file in her hand. Flipping page by page, she settled on one, looking at it carefully. 'Yui-san, how many assignments do you owe me?'

Yui's face turned a little pale.

'I...I...' she stammered, being guilty knowing what she had done. 'I'll get it done!'

And soon she was gone, rushing down the university corridor. The professor was lenient at times but when she started asking how many assignments there was to be owed, it meant that these pieces of work would get a nought if not completed by the following day.

It was truly a good way to spur on students, as what Shirasaki thought.

'Professor...'

'Come in.'

The professor replied, re-entering the office.

Shirasaki entered the office, having an entire different environment facing her. The room was filled with thick, dusty books with a simple rotating ceiling fan blowing away some of the dust.

It was strange in an era to have a ceiling fan.

Perhaps Professor Moriyama was another retro-era enthusiast. That was what Shirasaki thought.

'Close the door after you enter.'

'Understood!' Shirasaki immediately went to close the wooden office door. Even the office door of the Professor was in a retro-era. Modern offices would employ the automatic door instead.

As she turned behind to look at the smoking professor, she could see her digging into the piles of books. It was as if she was searching for something important.

'I see that Archer didn't come along.'

The professor questioned as she continued her searching.

Shirasaki remained silent.

'It's going to get dangerous from now.'

The professor chuckled, finally pulling out something which Shirasaki could not see clearly.

The spectacled student did not understand what the professor was talking about.

'Since you are the seventh master to emerge with your servant Archer, there is a high possibility for the Holy Grail War to start.'

'The...seventh master...?'

Of all things, why was it the seventh?

In the professor's hands was a crumpled old book in her hands.

Slowly, she walked towards Shirasaki who took a step back away. The air was filled with suspense.

'Since you are the master of Archer,' she handed the tattered book into her student's hands. 'This might help.'

The book had a felt cover with bits of yellowish paper sticking out of it. It must have been centuries ago that this piece of antique had been created.

There was a silence in the air, except for the rotating engine for the ceiling fan spinning above.

'What...is this?'

She looked carefully at the item in her hands.

'I don't have a clue about it,' the professor replaced her cigarette with a new one. 'It could be a compilation of magical spells related to the Tohsaka line of sorcerers.'

'Magic?'

Magic was totally fictitious in the mind of Shirasaki. The professor was weird too. For her to be teaching a science-related subject, it was too strange for her to talk about magic, which was definitely opposite to science.

'That's right,' Moriyama returned to her desk, resting on the large chair facing it. 'There are only 5 lines of sorcerers in the world.'

'There are two lines of them in Japan,' she continued. 'Aozaki and Tohsaka. But the Tohsaka line has already died out in the sixth summoning of Heaven's Feel.'

'Tohsaka Rin?'

'That's correct,' she turned to look at Shirasaki. 'The line died out with her disappearance. It was as if she completely vanished upon sealing the Holy Grail.'

Shirasaki now turned to look down at the book in her very hands. Slowly opening the hardcover, it contained ink-written writings on the decayed paper.

'Why are you giving me this...?'

'Tohsaka Rin was the master of an Archer class servant too back in the fifth war.'

'That means....'

Her voice trailed off only to be interrupted by the professor clearing her throat.

'Being in the same class does not mean that that servant is the same,' she rebutted. 'That Archer currently with you may not be the Archer whom she summoned back then.'

'I see.'

'That book might assist you on ways to assist your servant in case the war breaks out.'

'But I don't possess any magic.'

'You do. If you had managed to summon your servant, it does mean that you do have a mage circuit within your body. It's just that you had not activated it yet.'

'A mage circuit?'

'It's the system within your body that stores the mana and enables you to cast magic.'

The professor took out her cigarette, pushing it down onto the nearby ashtray to extinguish its glow.

She closed her eyes, as if she was concentrating on something.

Raising her hand, there was a sudden windy force through the room which made the fan at the ceiling spin faster.

Shirasaki's eyes widened. The scene before her was like a miracle.

The windy force died down as the professor reopened her eyes.

'This is magic.'

Her student crept against the wall. Somehow, the professor was helpful yet destructive in her mind. This was serious business. She could choose not to believe in it but it could not be helped.

'Our talk is ended here,' the professor turned to look at the windows which were emanating an orange glow from the evening sky. 'Take the book and think over your strategy.'

'My strategy?'

'The situation may get worser from now,' she answered without turning behind. 'You may never know if you may even be killed tonight on your way back.'

'Killed...?' Gruesome thoughts raced through Shirasaki's mind.

'Be careful now,' the professor warned again as the spectacled girl was about to leave the office. 'The Holy Grail may emerge anywhere. Even in Tokyo.'

Shirasaki closed the office door behind her and bowed before it in respect for leaving. She quickly turned, walking down the quiet, echoing corridor.

'I see the professor told you everything,' she heard a voice as she was walking down the corridor to exit the building.

She turned her face to look at someone a distance away from her.

He was wearing spectacles. That same woollen vest he wore.

'It's you.'

'Yes it's me,' he adjusted his spectacles, not looking directly at her. 'I'll be expecting some action from you then.'

'What? You were watching me?'

'I may or may not,' he responded. 'You're interesting.'

And he walked away from her, disappearing into the next doorway.

Shirasaki could only look at the enigmatic boy's figure melting into the surroundings.

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Nightfall came.

Another night in Setagaya but it was rather cold as usual.

The antique book was heavy for Shirasaki as she dragged herself along the road towards her apartment.

It was rather noisy, especially when the air was colder.

Stopping before her apartment, she took a deep breath, slowly labouring herself up the stairway. The corridor was dimly lit, as usual.

At eight, many people had already gone to bed. The many cases in Setagaya was causing several residents to push up their sleeping time earlier.

Most of the units were pitch black, except for the one next to her unit.

The door swung open, with a lady emerging. It was her middle-aged neighbour who frequently frowned on many things in the apartment.

'Evening Mrs Hatena,' she responded in respect.

Even if she didn't do so, it was trouble nevertheless.

'I see you have a boyfriend,' her neighbour sneered back. She was dressed in her evening wear with her hair tied up in a bun. 'You can't rear boys here.'

'And you can't rear your man here then,' Shirasaki replied sarcastically, out of frustration.

It didn't occur to her once before that whether a Mr Hatena had existed. She had never seen her neighbour with her husband before.

'You brat!' Mrs Hatena glared angrily at her neighbour. 'Of course my husband is legally married to me so he can stay with me.'

'Is there a problem here?'

A looming figure emerged from behind the two of them squabbling.

A man had appeared to have shut the two women into silence.

'You're...' Mrs Hatena looked suddenly at the man. '...Shirasagi's boyfriend!'

'Hey!'

Shirasaki screeched out in anger.

'That doesn't matter who I am,' he replied coldly. 'You're disturbing the peace.'

'Me disturbing the peace?' The middle-aged lady replied in self-created shock. 'I'm going to report you to the landlord.'

And she went back into the room, probably to get out her handphone as what Shirasaki presumed.

'Archer! Hurry! Into the apartment!'

And Shirasaki grabbed her servant by the arm, bolting into her own apartment unit and shutting the entrance door behind her.

In the wake of this lunge, there was only yet the losing cries of the ever troublesome Mrs Hatena.

'Next time...' she panted, looking up at her ever calm servant. 'Don't...appear...before...her.'

'Understood.'

It was yet another night of drama.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。

A salaryman walked along the dark pavement between the various houses.

He cursed himself for walking along such a place at such a time.

The lamplights were flickering again. It was the nearby ruined Tenraku temple, presumed haunted by the residents staying around the vicinity.

The man in his forties could feel footsteps approaching in his direction in front of him.

At a nearby lamp post, the light flickered on and off, revealing the image of a young adult man bearing a smile on his face.

'I have been awaiting you.'

The man smiled as he faced the shivering salaryman who had already been rooted to the ground.

He stepped forward before his prey.

There was only a sinister yet mysterious grin.

La la la la la la...

Shirasaki opened her eyes to see the ceiling in the darkness.

No doubt, she could hear the familiar sounds she had heard the night before.

It was the strange little girl called Hazuki.

Or probably.

She got up, seemingly entranced by the lullaby of that girl.

There was no time to change. She was still in her pyjamas. Wearing her slippers, she slowly walked towards the entrance door, only to be pulled back by a force.

An arm was holding on to her.

'Where are you going, Miyuki-san?'

The cold tone clearly identified that of Archer.

'That voice,' she spoke. 'Someone will be killed again.'

'You're in no condition to go out without a single knowledge of your own magic.'

He folded his arms.

'It can't be helped then,' he reopened his eyes, looking at her with an intent intense enough to make Shirasaki's eyes widen. 'People die when they are killed.'

'What do you mean by that?'

'It's time to destroy that magic abnormality,' he grinned. 'Miss Hero of Justice.'

Shirasaki nodded, opening the entrance door to see a strange red glow in the distance.

With both arms, Archer carried her up in his arms, leaping off into the air.

La la la la la la...

It was time for battle.

TO BE CONTINUED