Shirou dreamed of Her again. The golden haired woman who stood before a sword encased in stone. 'Does she retrieve the sword and forever forsake her life as a person? As the king she would dedicate her life to the protection and ruling of her countrymen, forgoing any personal desires towards maintaining her service.' With a heavy heart, the woman grasped the handle and pulled, unsheathing the blade sealing her fate. Waging battle after hard fought battle, Arturia led her knights to war until even the Sword of Selection could no longer handle the strain and Caliburn shattered in her grip. The eternal youth granted to her within the blade was lost and Camelot's King was forced to find other weaponry. She found-
Shirou found a hand shaking his shoulder, jolting his mind out of the past in favor of checking his surroundings. A blonde haired girl with warm brown eyes. If Shirou was a boy anyone else his age, they would have described her as a gorgeous beauty with brown eyes one could get lost in. Her hair was curled into ringlets and she wore a stunning, if a bit old fashioned blue dress with matching colored ribbons tying her large ringlets into twin-tailed 'drills.' Her name was Luviagelita "Luvia" Edelfelt, the new transfer student to his middle school.
Shirou had just found himself on the verge of falling asleep again after eating lunch as he contemplated the dream he had that night when the new transfer girl decided to make contact with him.
"Are you Emiya Shirou?" She asked, her bright white teeth sparkling in the sunlight shining through the classroom window. Shirou stood up at her question and bowed, answering, "Yes, that is me. What can I do for you?"
"Our homeroom teacher suggested you as a guide to show me to my classes. She also said you were knowledgeable about the various clubs in our school. Would you be willing?"
"Of course." Shirou was always willing to help someone in need. Luvia saw his answer differently. She hid a smile behind her hand at his "cute attraction" in her.
"I'll be in your care," she said, bowing in return. Luvia found herself genuinely enjoying the company of the red haired boy, though she did notice a few peculiar white strands, as she walked the halls of her new school familiarizing herself with its layout. As both a magus and as a heiress, it was expected of her to know how to display herself with constant decorum. Getting lost in the school hallways would certainly make her look like a fool.
"So you said you are a part of the Archery Club, Emiya-kun?"
"Yes. Though my older sister-figure is demanding I join kendo as well."
"So you are a man of many talents," she teased, causing Shirou to blush and scratch the back of his neck.
"I wouldn't go that far. I just practiced a lot."
"Some people say hard work is a talent," she said.
"I usually hear people say talent is something you are born with," Shirou countered.
"Ah, but you don't strike me as someone who follows what others believe in."
"What makes you think that? We only just met each other five minutes ago," Shirou said.
"I am a pretty good judge of character. I can tell you are intelligent by your answers, but humble in your belief of yourself. However, judging by the posture and demeanor you carry yourself with I can tell you are a confident person. Tell me if I've gotten anything wrong," she said, smirking lightly.
"Hmm. Perhaps. Might I analyze you as well?"
"Please do," Luvia said, personally delighted he wished to participate in her verbal sparring.
"Judging by both your clothes and words, you come from money." Luvia nearly scoffed at the obvious observation, but before she could say anything Shirou continued.
"Your words were complimentary but they also were a challenge. Beneath the persona you have crafted for the rest of the world you actually want someone to see the real you. You seek competition, no it would be more accurate to say you crave it. While it may sound arrogant, if you join the Archery Club you will find no one better than me within the school. I would be willing to challenge you whenever you wish if that is your desire."
Luvia laughed, not the fake, dainty laugh used amongst the aristocracy, but a nearly full belly one that conveyed her honest joy. Ever since she had been introduced to the magi community when she was five years old she has maintained her mask and this boy from a "backwater" country, as so many of her fellow noblemen say of the Asian countries, saw through what the rest of the magi with lineages extending hundreds of years could not, with the exception of the most observant few.
"I think we'll be good friends," said the Finish heiress, extending a hand. Shirou blinked but didn't hesitate further than that before shaking her hand. The brief contact made Luvia's eyes widen. She was a magus who perceived magic through the sensation of touch and surrounding Emiya's skin was a slight "barrier" that was so faint she almost missed it. But it did reveal he was a magus. This made her smile widen even more. Emiya was looking more and more interesting as time went on. She was looking forward to discovering his secrets…in the most innocent way, she wasn't thinking of stealing his magecraft, but his personality. She blushed that she was trying to defend her thoughts to herself.
The other students in the hallway saw the blonde beauty blushing after touching Emiya's hand and cursed to themselves, 'Lucky bastard getting all the girls. First the underclassman Sakura and now this blossoming transfer student?'
Shirou was ignorant to his classmates' annoyance and continued leading Luvia on her personal tour of the middle school until a walking disaster otherwise known as Tohsaka Rin made her way stomping through the hall. To the larger student body Rin was a perfect idol that every girl in their school should strive to be. Polite, kind, beautiful, and intelligent. Always carrying herself with elegance, much like Luvia in that regard. With personalities so similar it was bound that they would be either best friends or the worst rivals. Unfortunately for Shirou he found out the hard way which it was going to be.
"Edelfelt," Rin spat, seeing the girl cozying up to the school's "fake janitor" and "brownie," Emiya Shirou. While never talking to him personally, Rin could admit to herself why her classmates called him cute. With a polite smile always fixed to his face he gave off an air of "always approachable" to any issues that may be bothering them. If anyone had a legitimate problem he was willing to drop anything to assist them. Some tried to take advantage of his kindness, but he wasn't a total pushover and asked them for their reasons of why an upperclassman couldn't clean the dojo after club activities were over, a club he wasn't a part of. Someone willing to go the extra mile but maintained their backbone if someone was simply too lazy to do their job.
"Tohsaka," Luvia returned with equal animosity. Shirou glanced at the two girls with confusion.
"Do you know each other?" Shirou braved.
"Hmpf. This brat's ancestors stole my family's assets and research."
"They didn't steal anything!"
The argument progressively got worse and soon dissolved into a fight that would go down in history as the worst calamity to happen within their walls. Luvia was using her hair drills as a weapon, somehow, and Rin attacked with equal ferocity trying to tear the hair from the Finish girl's skull. After eight broken windows, four broken bones of students who tried to separate the two, thirty trashed lockers, and a…dead cat? The two girls and an unfortunate Shirou, who was caught in the middle, found themselves within the principal's office.
Shirou didn't think the situation could get any worse until it was declared their guardians would have to help resolve the problem. Luvia's butler was the first to arrive, as her parents were still overseas, and Kerei Kotomine arrived not long after.
"My, my, Rin. I didn't think you would be capable of this barbarity. What would your father say?" Kerei said, wearing a mock forlorn expression even as a smirk flashed and disappeared just as quickly. Rin ground her teeth in frustration. First Luvia and now Kirei were driving her patience up the wall. She didn't think she could take much more of this before she started breaking out her jewels and blasting, regardless of the consequences such a thing would do to both her reputation and the response from the Clock Tower for her breaking the secret of magecraft they so jealously guarded from the public.
As if to spite both Rin and Shirou, the knock on the door followed by the shuffling footsteps of a much weaker Kiritsugu lit the dumpster situation on fire. Kiritsugu stiffened seeing his hated enemy of a fake priest within the same room. Kiritsugu cursed under his breath, but given the silence of the room it may have been a shout into a microphone.
"Cursing in front of children, Emiya? And here I was thinking you could sink no lower?" The amused delight Kerei showed had the entire room on edge.
'There was just something…off…about that man,' they all thought. Kiritsugu ignored the insult in favor of standing behind his son's chair and glaring at the priest. The principal coughed awkwardly, knowing he was in the middle of some kind of family feud but duty demanded he resolve the situation. Four students had to go to the hospital for x-rays after treatment and this couldn't just be swept under the rug.
Likewise the guardians of the three heirs also knew they couldn't just erase the memories of the faculty and student body of their actions because of both the pettiness of the situation and that it was so well known already. Tracking down everyone who might have witnessed the scene and who they talked to about it would be too much effort for what they saw as a schoolyard scuffle. They would be punished and that would be that. So despite all three guardians readying their circuits for the other to attack and keeping a firm eye on each other, nothing happened after the kids were given detention for a month. Shirou still didn't understand why he was being punished as he left school with his father back to his home. He noticed his father's grip was tight on the wheel the entire trip back, so thinking his father was angry at him, he tried to plead his case.
"I swear I didn't do anything. I tried to stop them from destroying the school and-"
"I'm not angry at you Shirou," Kiritsugu said.
"Oh, you're not?" Shirou asked.
"Should I be?" Kiritsugu raised his brow.
"Nope," shaking his head. Kiritsugu thought it looked so normal for an eleven year old boy, but he knew better. Kiritsugu cursed to himself again as he knew he was about to break this mask of normality his son wore. It chipped away at his soul as his son was striving to become a hero and every action Shirou took reminded Kiritsugu of himself when he was younger. The fate of a tragic "hero." Kiritsugu internally scoffed. He was no hero. All he did was lead those he loved to his death.
"That priest you saw back there is the most dangerous man you will ever meet," Kiritsugu said at last. His prediction proved true as Shirou's expression blanked into cooled steel. A righteous blade that destroyed all evil within its reach.
"His name is Kotomine Kerei. He was a master in the Fourth War and I shot him in the heart with one of my Origin Bullets."
"How is he still alive?" Shirou asked, already planning out a possible way to take him down.
"I don't know." Shirou glanced at his father before returning his gaze to the road.
"I guess I'll go for the head."
"I would burn the body too, just to make sure."
To any onlooker who saw this scene this would be a horrible thing to say, but Kerei was someone who desired nothing but the suffering and despair of others. It was his only true pleasure. He murdered his wife and his daughter fled in his empty existence until he found the pleasure of destroying the lives of innocents and 'heroes' alike.
"More magi are being drawn to Fuyuki," Shirou said, referring to the Edelfelt girl.
"Probably candidates who wish to ensure their place in the next grail war," Kiritsugu confirmed.
"I like her," Shirou said, his words not matching up with his tone.
"An ally?" Kiritsugu asked, wanting to know where his son was going with this.
"Yes. I think she could be a valuable asset."
"Study her thoroughly before making a decision," Kiritsugu warned. Shirou grunted in agreement.
"The war doesn't happen for another six years. Plenty of time to get a good read. Who knows, perhaps we'll even be good friends by the end of it," Shirou said, shifting his persona back while smiling hopefully.
"Yeah," was all Kiritsugu could say. He didn't want to break his son's hopes, but he wasn't optimistic that they would retain a good relationship after he broke the news that the grail was corrupted by an evil god's avatar. Even thinking about Avenger had his body flaring in pain. He tightened his grip on the wheel. He was on his last dregs. He had maybe a month left to live. He could feel it. The thought that 'maybe tomorrow I just won't wake up.' His final preparations had already been made. Raiga Fujimura agreed to become his guardian, the man was already treating Shirou like another grandchild for all the effort he spent in making Taiga happy and helping his Fujimura Group in reducing costs on repairs of their bikes.
Kiritsugu already had a parting gift waiting to be delivered in the form of a racing bike, the same type that Saber had used in the last war. His last gift was being prepared at that moment. Knowing it was risky at this stage, but knowing he was dying anyway, Kiritsugu underwent an operation replacing his femur with a metal replacement. The bone was to be constructed into a single mystic code holding the same property as his Origin Bullets. He prayed his son didn't have to use it because of the repercussions it would have on the larger magus community. It would be known that Kiritsugu's skill of destroying crests could be "inherited" and the nobility would stop at nothing to destroy that knowledge.
Perhaps the only thing that could stop that from happening would be Zelretch. During the breaks from school, Shirou would occasionally be visited by the vampire. The only other thing of note was that Zelretch had brought a number of materials and "forced" Shirou to undergo a ritual that could change his elemental alignment. Now Shirou was a proud owner of both Sword and Fire as elements whilst still retaining his Origin of Sword. When asked why he needed to be subjected to a ritual that felt as if acid was being injected into his veins, Zelretch only smirked and said, "I'll tell you when you're older."
Shirou made improvements to his first mystic code adding more runes for controlling the element along with his increase in affinity. While light years away from mastering the element, he could grudgingly be called "acceptable for a novice" by the stingier nobles in the Clock Tower, so long as they didn't know his identity, then all bets were off.
While it mostly consisted of Zelretch meeting Shirou in the Emiya residence, there were two occasions where Shirou had gone to London with his master and visited the illustrious Clock Tower. The first was just a quick stay in his office where Zelretch asked him some questions to get Shirou to realize there were other methods to deploying his projections than just in his hands. The second visit got uncomfortable when the Vice-Director of the Clock Tower barged into Zelretch's office demanding to know why he was over ten minutes late to a meeting with her. The worst part, Shirou had a projection of the Barthemeloi's wind blade out in full display. Shirou thought Lady Lorelei Barthemeloi's face couldn't get any more stern. He was wrong. Her expression soured as she stared at a "defect" in his hands. It wasn't Shirou's fault he hadn't completely mastered Tracing yet and the sword was only at 60%. The only good thing that happened that day was that Shirou was wearing a disguise.
The disguise that completely changed his facial features was a mystic code he wore on his wrist. Zelretch had loaned it to him until he could, "pay me back once you have become a famous hero," as Zelretch said. Shirou never wanted to feel indebted to someone, so he took on whatever jobs he could around Fuyuki. But being under the age of fifteen made finding work difficult to say the least.
Kiritsugu pulled the car into the garage and stared at the keys for a moment.
"Dad?" Shirou asked, already out the door and looking at his father with confusion of why he hadn't moved.
"Would you like to learn how to drive?" Kiritsugu asked, surprising his son. Most parents wouldn't deem an eleven year old mature or large enough to drive, but Shirou wasn't normal and he was tall for his age. As for the safety measures, Shirou was more than adept at reinforcement so it wouldn't be an issue should they crash, though Kiritsugu doubted Shirou would. It wasn't that difficult and Shirou was capable of tracking bullets in the air, traffic would be easy. So with a press of a button, the windows darkened hiding the identity of the riders. With both the expensive car and dark windows people in the city probably thought they were celebrities or political figures trying to remain incognito if they gave it any thought at all. Let it be said how willing people are to ignore something if it didn't directly impact their daily life.
As expected, after a couple minutes of driving around the block Shirou determined the extent of the car's speed and handling's reaction time and Kiritsugu enjoyed a quiet cruise around the city. It was so different to when he was teaching Iris to drive, an easy ride in comparison to his wife's manic swerves, but still he couldn't help but enjoy the sensation of teaching his family a valuable skill. Shirou backed into the garage just as the light finished its descent on the horizon, exposing the first stars to the city below.
"Dad?"
"Hmm?"
"That was kind of fun."
"Yeah." Kiritsugu looked at the clock and commented, "Taiga will be here any minute."
"Oh crap!" Shirou panicked, slamming the door as he rushed to start cooking dinner in time for the glutton to join them at the table. He chuckled at his son's antics as he stared up into the darkening sky. His son would be fine without him. He just had to have faith in his ability.
'Faith. When did I lose it? During the war? When I was forced to kill Natalia? My father? I almost forgot the feeling. It's nice…being able to believe in something again.'
Emiya Kiritsugu enjoyed the next week with his heart feeling lighter than it had in decades. He left a letter for Shirou stating to burn his remains and bury the ashes in Ryuudou Temple's cemetery. He wrote about how proud he was of his son, how he wished that the two of them had the chance to spend time with his wife Iris, and his daughter Illya, but there was nothing he wished for more than to see his son living a happy life and hopefully achieve his dream of becoming a true hero of justice.
"Sayonara Shirou," ended the letter. Shirou knew his father was dying, but nothing really prepares you for the day when it happens. The night before they had sat beneath a full moon, once again to watch the night sky. Shirou could probably count the number of stars visible at this point with how often they participated in his father's hobby. Shirou felt the void within him flare once more now that the man who he looked up to more than anyone, his personal hero, was gone.
"Sayonara Dad," Shirou whispered, the first tears in his new life seeping from his eyes.
The funeral was a quiet affair. Kiritsugu had burned most of the bridges in his life so other than the Fujimura Group and his son, only a handful of neighbors decided to show. But that would be how he would have wanted it. Once you died, it was important for the living to move on and Shirou would be more than willing to fulfill that wish he promised almost two years ago.
Shirou couldn't wait for school to end and rejoin Zelretch in his latest studies. During the school year he would find books in his shed with a list of instructions of what he should learn before a new stack would replace them when he was done. As such his knowledge in runes was coming along nicely. He was no Fraga, but he thought he was on the way to being competent. When school no longer shackled him to Fuyuki, Zelretch offered Shirou a chance to join the enforcers in their hunts of heretics and rogue magi, apostles, and the occasional lesser demon who found themselves accidentally entering their world.
The good news was that Bazett occasionally joined him in their hunts for the latest catastrophe. Seeing someone so young without a mentor in the field made her uneasy so she would be "forced" to offer her assistance when sometimes Shirou bit off more than he could chew. A professional through and through, but she still had morals. She defended it by saying she didn't want to see someone with potential and helpful skills die so soon, it would only make their jobs easier in the future.
The bad news was Shirou heard a mercenary was looking for him with some…not so good intentions. Not wanting to learn what that exactly meant, Shirou did everything he could to ensure no one knew where he lived and his true features. Bazett was the only one who saw his real face after an accident in the field knocked the disguise off his wrist and she was there carrying his ass away from the swarm of ghouls about to pounce on him. In return, Shirou repaid her by Tracing Gáe Dearg and allowed her to study it for a week. Given both her Irish roots and skill in runes he was hardly surprised that was her desire.
While the Archer Class Card expanded his arsenal, which he learned was called Unlimited Blade Works, he still chose to primarily use the first three codes he used in his first hunt with Kiritsugu. Not only did it hide the depth of his deployable weapons, they were the weapons most familiar to him, thus easier to project because he knew everything about them. Every swing and stab of the spear by the Irish hero, exactly how much mana he could put into the Barthomeloi's wind sword as a broken phantasm until it exploded, and his own slowly developing sword style with a flaming blade. The card split his psyche, injecting his mind with a bitter man with nearly unparalleled skill with a blade attainable by a "normal" human, without outside help of either a god or dragon core like a certain Saber servant.
Soul resonance was an effect where two beings with a similar identity, whether it be from something like time travel or a person who has found themselves in an alternate universe, started to meld their experiences into one. Unfortunately the metaphysical "weight" of a Heroic Spirit, even if it is just a copy, was much "heavier" than his own. Using the class card was like losing a piece of himself every time he used it. But the increase of his parameters couldn't be denied.
When he wielded the Archer card it was similar to becoming a demi-servant. It helped increase his projection speed, the durability of his weapons, tactics and strategies surfaced within his mind, and perhaps the most beneficial aspect was what came after. After he released his connection to the card, Shirou found himself able to deploy his magecraft at a better rate. His swords were not mere shells of their former glory, they were almost reaching the originals. CG EMIYA was never able to get a weapon to match the original according to the world's rules governing the capabilities of magecraft. So if it was something HE couldn't do, Shirou was all for surpassing the established limits.
Two twin blades, Chinese dao created by a blacksmith from a meteorite and the sacrifice of the man's wife, kept surfacing within his mind. Kanshou and Bakuya were C-Ranked Noble Phantasms that did a great deal of damage against monsters, their utility and cost for such great weapons couldn't be overlooked, but in the end they were EMIYA's weapons. Shirou couldn't help but want to distance himself from the hero who gave up on his ideal of becoming a Hero of Justice. He would never give up, he would become a hero. There was no other choice.
While he hadn't forgotten his father's desire for him to find someone to love, Shirou couldn't be bothered to focus on such a thing when there were lives in need of saving. At times he felt like dropping out of school and just staying as an enforcer, it certainly paid well with the hazard pay involved in risking their lives against the undead and deadliest of cruel magi.
Shirou was meditating in his dojo, learning every weapon that resided within Unlimited Blade Works. Just because he had seen every weapon, did not mean he consciously could recall each one or ever facet and skill it held. Non lethal weapons was something he was lacking, and unless Shirou wanted to kill every target he came across, something he didn't want to do, than he was going to sit there until he found such a tool…or he would if the shoji door didn't slide open allowing two girls into the room. Sakura Matou, a purple haired underclassman he had befriended a few years ago, and Luvia were looking at him with an intense expression.
"Am I missing something?" Shirou asked, confused at their glaring eyes.
"Shero, I thought you had invited me over for a cooking lesson? Why is she here?" Luvia started, making the normally demure underclassman unhappy. Voices whispered in her mind for her to destroy the interloper who was trying to get in her way.
"I always come over for breakfast and dinner. Senpai and I often cook together. Who is the intruder here?"
Shirou sighed. He had brought more food than usual for lunch the previous day and offered a piece to Luvia who was more than receptive to the taste. She demanded lessons in how to cook as great a morsel as the one she just ate so Shirou asked her to come visit the next day after school. He spent longer searching through UBW than he had initially thought if it was already time for Luvia to arrive. Deciding he could no longer sit on the sidelines of the passive aggressive argument lest this be a repeat of the "Two Demon Queens Incident" where Tohsaka and Luvia had destroyed the school, Shirou cleared his throat and asked, "Are you ready to start preparing dinner?"
Two stomach groans echoed his words causing them to pink. One last exchange of glares signified a temporary truce until after dinner. They followed Shirou into the kitchen as he grabbed an apron labeled "kiss the chef" which Luvia would be more than willing to do…in a couple years once she has matured a bit more and had some "assets" to seduce- no, entice, entice the cute boy! She was an heiress of the Edelfelt family, she was not some strumpet who paraded her body infront of a boy she liked, she would show him how much more she had to offer than some twin tailed peasant or a Matou! The worms their family uses in replacement for magic circuits was disgusting, just thinking about it sent a shiver of disgust running down her spine.
"So I went to the store and grabbed a whole batch of different groceries not knowing what you would like to make. Is there anything in particular you would like to try?"
"Anything is fine with me, senpai," Sakura said, while Luvia nodded in agreement.
"Have you had gyudon before, Luvia-san?" Shirou asked. "It's a comfort food and relatively easy to make, especially for a beginner."
"Then gyudon it is," Luvia said. Before flying to Fuyuki, she had tried her hand at cooking some of the easier meals so she wouldn't seem completely incompetent in case she invited friends over for a meal, but 'Shiro didn't need to know that.' Luvia really did enjoy his food and wasn't ashamed to admit it when someone had superior culinary skills, but she really just wanted an excuse to spend time with him. The opportunity had just fallen into her lap and Luvia was nothing if not an opportunist.
The kitchen was filled with the sounds of chopping vegetables and cutting meat. Sakura was steaming the rice and poaching the eggs while Luvia was being shown how to "properly" use a knife. The fact that she actually found her hand in a more comforting position than usual was a pleasant surprise though, perhaps she would learn more than she initially thought.
While Luvia was daydreaming with Shirou next to her, Sakura was clenching her jaw so tightly it was a surprise her teeth didn't break. This was her time! The only part of the day where she could act normally without her grandfather or her brother Shinji browbeating or sometimes even physically beating her to do something, though only Shinji is responsible for the latter. Where she could pretend even temporarily like she was a normal girl instead of a tainted thing, where she wasn't defiled by both worms and her brother's budding lust. Shirou was all that kept her sanity from completely fraying amidst the whispers in her head telling her to do unspeakable things to others. She wasn't a good person, but Shirou made her feel and want to be one.
The food was finished a couple minutes later, and Shirou suddenly found himself in another dangerous position. With the way the table was set he had to choose either one side or the other, which both girls had taken advantage of and sat themselves accordingly. He could be rude and move the empty plate and eating utensils, but that was a major faux pas and he didn't want to be seen as a bad host. With a resigned sigh that someone was going to be disappointed either way, Shirou sat next to Sakura as it still allowed him to look directly at Luvia. He chose to ignore the pout on her lips and the victorious, smug grin Sakura sported in favor of saying, "Itadakimasu," which was immediately echoed by the girls, and dug into the food.
"How is the egg, senpai?" Sakura asked, wanting Shirou's opinion about her part in cooking the meal and any possible improvements he would recommend.
"There was a little too much salt, but you perfectly timed the boil. The texture just melts in your mouth."
"Thank you," she said, shyly hiding her gaze as her cheeks burned. "And the rice?"
"I think it could have steamed a few minutes longer, but the broth I made more than makes up for it in contrast."
"How did I do, Shero?" Luvia asked, feeling a bit left out of her praise.
"The onion and scallion were simmered really well. The cuts on the beef were done evenly so it made frying it a lot easier to properly distribute the heat."
"Shirou! I'm hungry!" Taiga shouted as she made her way through the front door. She stopped short seeing a new face at the table. "Shirou, who's this?" she asked before gasping, "Don't tell me-!"
"Fuji-nee calm down," Shirou interjected, having an idea of where she was going with this and not wanting to give the wrong impression.
"-you're cheating on Sakura with this girl and wanted to introduce the two so you could seduce the two of them with your manly charm!"
Two blushing faces from the girls were the result of her teasing.
"That is not even the least but true," Shirou denied calmly, though a hint of red could be spotted on his cheeks. "Firstly, need I remind you that I'm eleven? I'm not looking for a relationship yet. And secondly it is incredibly rude to them because I don't think they even like me." The three females stared at him like was an idiot.
"What?" Shirou asked, defensive and feeling out of the loop.
"Oh, you poor, sweet boy," Taiga said condescendingly, patting him on the head. Shirou whipped his head back and forth searching for an answer the three refused to give him. Shirou sighed seeing as he would be left in the dark.
"Shero called you Fuji-nee?" Luvia asked, politeness prompting her for introductions after the awkward silence.
"Fujimura Taiga," she bowed. "I just became an English teacher in Homurahara Academy, so if you're lucky you'll see me there!" Taiga was more than overjoyed getting a job as a teacher in her high school and happily shouted about it to anyone in vocal range.
"Luviagelita Edelfelt," Luvia curtsied in the western style now she wasn't in public. "You may call me Luvia."
"What are your intentions with my little Shirou?" Taiga asked, ignoring his shout of "little?"
"I didn't know Shirou was taken if you call him yours," Luvia probed.
"He's my brother."
"Then in that case I look forward to calling you big sister one day," Luvia said, causing Taiga to choke in surprise.
"I-I-wha-you…?" Taiga stuttered in the face of Luvia's boldness. Luvia just smiled before wrapping her arm around Shirou's.
'It was surprisingly muscled,' she noted. She subtly brought up her other hand and squeezed the corded muscle created from hours after hours of training. One didn't typically find such muscles on a magus. Far preferring to use their craft to fight instead of physical movement. The few reports she'd read and likely true rumors she heard stated that Emiya used at least three weapons, one of which was a genuine Noble Phantasm.
Using those weapons certainly made him a more suitable boy in her eyes, in more ways than one. Most magi would trade an arm and a leg, sometimes literally, for access to powerful mystic codes and a Noble Phantasm is at the top of the line. It was for this reason she didn't expose Shirou's location to the larger community who was willing to pay a not inconsiderable amount for where the last Emiya was hiding. Certainly not because she was developing a healthy interest in the boy. No, she was a magus, and practicality ruled her life not her emotions. If only she could convince herself of that reason she'd be golden.
"What do you mean there's no more food?" Taiga's shout could have woken the dead, startling Luvia from her self reflection.
"We only had enough for three servings. Maybe if you pitched in with the groceries…seeing as how you always barge in for breakfast and dinner."
"H-how dare you!" Taiga complained, grasping her heart as if she'd just been stabbed with Gáe Bolg. "After all I did for you!"
"What did you do?" Shirou asked, genuinely confused.
"I taught you how to smile and have fun. You were such a stiff."
"You didn't teach me how to smile, Elijah Wood as Frodo from The Lord of the Rings did."
"What?" Luvia laughed, before the joy vanished in an instant after she realized he wasn't joking. "Really?"
"Well after the Fuyuki Fire I forgot how to do a lot of things."
"Isn't smiling instinctual? It's a natural reaction. Someone blind doesn't have to be taught what to do, they just do it," Luvia started quietly listing out theories under her breath of how and why it could have happened before looking up and suddenly realized everyone was staring at her. She coughed to hide her embarrassment and changed the subject. With a quick look around the room she saw the clock and came up with a plan.
"It is getting rather late. As a gentleman, surely you will be willing to walk me home? It is only polite," she smiled sweetly to try and convince him.
"Sure."
"Then I'll be joining you," Sakura asserted, she didn't want Shirou to be alone with Luvia. Who knows what she would do?
"Okay," Shirou felt like swallowing his tongue. 'They are doing this on purpose,' he realized. 'Why are they sticking me in the middle of things, again? Are females going to be the end of me? That's how many heroes died in the myths.'
His morose thoughts were discarded as he opened the front door, thereby halting the animosity the two girls behind him were showing. A moment later Luvia attached herself to his arm again and smiled sickeningly sweetly at Sakura who, without missing a beat, attached herself to his other arm.
Shirou groaned. 'This was going to be a long night.'
In the German countryside there lies a castle that is high up in the mountains. The altitude leaves the castle buried in snow almost ten months a year. A collection of white haired individuals with less morals than servants inhabit that castle, though the lord living within could care less about such meaningless trivialities as morals. Old Man Acht or otherwise known as Jubstacheit von Einzbern had lived a long life, though to call him alive would be stretching the truth. Acht was a golem, created by the last head of the Einzberns, Justeaze, and his sole purpose is the recreation of the Einzbern's best achievement, a member of their family attaining the Third Magic, Heaven's Feel.
To obtain the Holy Grail and puncture a hole in the world to reach the Root, Acht would do anything, no sacrifice was too great. Even obtaining a foreign magus like Emiya to be the master of the Fourth War was only allowed after he had failed three times. It wasn't the fact that Emiya had lost that made Acht so angry, but the humiliation that Emiya had the grail in his hands and destroyed it instead of giving it to him, as they had agreed. So, it is understandable why when the news that Kiritsugu was still alive in Fuyuki reached his ears, Acht wanted to crush his spirit. Photos were taken of a useless homunculus that was created to look like Illya and ripped to pieces to be delivered by a only semi-competent member of his family should Kiritsugu had decided to eliminate him.
Acht looked down at his latest experiment, Illya floated with a large pool as more magic circuits were added to her soul, taken from the other creation in her likeness and to make her the most powerful master in the Fifth Grail War. Yes, there was little Acht wouldn't do to win, even resorting to lying to impressionable little girls like the one just waking up after her consciousness fled from the pain of the experiment.
"It seems your father doesn't care about you anymore," Acht said. Illya glared at her "grandfather" with the typical ruby red eyes of the Einzbern homunculi.
"Daddy promised he would come back for me. He never breaks his promises."
"I'm afraid you are mistaken. You have been replaced."
"Replaced?" Illya repeated in denial. A shiver racked her frame. 'Daddy would never do that. He loves me. Why would grandfather say that? Daddy loves me. He does. He Does. HE DOES!'
"Indeed. There have been many reports of The Magus Killer having a son. He is already carrying on his father's legacy in hunting down heretics. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a matching title soon enough."
'A son? Daddy found a boy to replace me? Why? Why would you do that Daddy? What did I do?' Illya cried, her shoulders violently shaking from her sobs.
"First he kills your mother and now he replaces you with a son," Acht tutted, turning his back on his "granddaughter." He accomplished what he needed to. Illya would jump to her own conclusions and once the Fifth Grail War began in earnest, she would be free to take her revenge on both Emiya and his memory. It was the perfect irony, his daughter destroying his own dream for a world without anyone suffering. Kiritsugu Emiya could choke on his ideals, or rather, his son will. Hearing news about Kiritsugu's death brought a hint of warmth to his stone-cold heart. Illya would be so hellbent on killing the last Emiya that she would never think to check how or why Emiya had gotten a son.
Once Acht left the room Illya's sadness started boiling into rage. She scratched the stone with her nails as she clenched her hands into fists. She tightened her hands so tightly her nails pierced her palms, but she didn't feel it. The pain of her body couldn't compare to the agony raging within her heart and mind as the love for her parents clashed with the words of her grandfather.
'He's lying,' Illya tried to convince herself. 'He has to be lying. Daddy wouldn't abandon me.'
'But it has been two years,' another part of her mind argued.
'He wouldn't!' she yelled to herself.
'Than check. Find out if he is telling the truth. Order one of the maids for a report on this "son." If he is telling the truth then…well he will have to pay for taking Daddy away, right?'
'Yes. Emiya will pay. He'll pay for taking Daddy away from me.'
'And what do we do to people who take things away from the Einzbern?' The voice shifted into something that sounded older, almost as if her mother was whispering in her ear.
"We kill them," Illya swore aloud. 'Emiya would pay if it's the last thing I do.'
Illya mirthlessly chuckled to herself. 'It probably will be the last thing I do.' The latest experiments Acht did shortened her lifespan. She wouldn't survive for another 13 years, but Illya was stubborn. All she needed was six to win the war. She would go through another treatment for more circuits if it meant winning the Grail and killing her "big brother."
She giggled at the predicted expression her brother would make after realizing she was Kiritsugu's real child.
Four Years Later…
Shirou took a deep breath in as he drew his arm back on his bow, setting his reinforced eyes on his target. He was standing on a cliff overlooking a massive plain of rolling hills and farmland in Italy. A kilometer and a half away was a magus who was about to turn this wonderful village into a crater with his forbidden research.
Douglas Hasselhoff was a third generation magus with his sights set on the Root. The man had snubbed countless nobles with the massive chip on his shoulder and believed he would be the one to reach the center of all knowledge. It took him three decades of failure for him to finally realize that perhaps he wouldn't be able to reach his desire within this century, so like many magi with a deranged sense of caution or morals, he wants to extend his life by any means necessary.
The Clock Tower declared his actions as a risk to maintaining the secrecy of magecraft and ordered his death or capture. Shirou, through his persona as the "son of Emiya," had attained a few contacts through the enforcers. Basically information brokers who would send him work when he asked in exchange for a cut in the reward. At first Shirou was going to decline the offer thinking Douglas was just caught in the middle of Clock Tower politics, that he had finally pushed too hard against someone with enough clout to order his capture. That was until he took a closer look at what Douglas had been researching to extend his life. Dead Apostles.
Honestly there were at least a dozen magi a decade who think they either won't be caught or don't care about the rules set in place. Putting aside the ethics of conducting such experiments for a moment, there is simply no guarantee that the transition of turning from a human to vampire will happen quickly.
To make matters worse the Church caught wind of the magus and sent three teams to kill him and the twelve executors were defeated and their heads literally sent back on platters to the nearest church. If that weren't bad enough, there was a rumor that he met up with a member of the 27 Ancestors, though the identity of which member was unconfirmed. Outside of Zelretch and Merem Solomon, an ancestor who chose to work alongside the church, the track record of the 27 Dead Apostle Ancestors is a path filled with blood and death. Nothing good could come of Douglas meeting up with a stronger member of the species, especially if he turned into a vampire himself.
Shirou's contact told him that Douglas specialized in controlling all forms of water. He could only hope that Douglas's death would end whatever plot the ancestor is kicking up. The only other alternative is the reinforcements of executors arriving tomorrow who were intent on burning anyone who was "infected." The animosity the Holy Church held toward vampires and their desire for their complete extermination was perhaps even greater than his own desire for becoming a hero. As in there would be no quarter given. Humanity's survival and the spread of God's word were all they cared about. Something Shirou could respect…to a certain degree.
Exhaling just as slowly as he breathed in, Shirou steadied his straining arm, shifted his aim, and released the sword altered into a corkscrew shape with a sonic boom howling from the explosive release. Shirou felt a minor fracture in his shoulder as his reinforcement wavered from too much od being used in his bicep muscles. He would have to double check his usage next time so it was evenly distributed. Shirou put the pain out of his mind, Avalon would heal the injury within the hour and it wouldn't hinder his fighting ability beyond some minor pain, hardly something to worry about given his track record of sustaining tiny wounds in the field with his rather…unique fighting style.
The corkscrew sword made of a nearly pure form of tungsten wasn't much more than a minor mystic code that stored kinetic energy with the capability of being released when the wielder desired. While not the most dangerous sounding weapon, if it is shot faster than the speed of sound and stores everything it generated in its flight path, the impact acts like a thermite, only it's concentrated in one area. It is similar to the theory weapon proposed by the United States Military called Hypervelocity Rod Bundles of dropping a massive rod from a satellite into orbit as an alternative to nuclear weapons.
The brittle metal was shot at nearly Mach 2 and reached his target within three seconds. A massive flash lit up the evening light in the countryside before the sound reached the location almost three seconds later before the vegetation around the impact zone was blown out of the ground or lit on fire. Shirou pulled the reinforced earplugs out of his ears and stored them in his pocket. His first time firing at that speed taught him a valuable lesson when he went half deaf. It was only thanks to Avalon that he returned to normal.
Shirou spied for any sign of movement within the smoke though he didn't think his target could have been capable of shielding himself from such an unexpected attack when he wasn't even looking in his direction. The smoke slowly dispersed as the fire died soon after.
'Something was wrong. That blaze disappeared way too fast to be normal. Did he actually survive that?' Shirou mused. It was only due to his caution that he spotted the fleeing shadow.
'Shit. He got away,' Shirou cursed and rappelled down the cliff and sprinted after his target. 'This isn't good. Now he'll be even more on alert for a sneak attack. The only reason I used that sword over something that EMIYA favored like Caladbold II was the Od cost.'
Shirou could fire four, or almost five more of his kinetic arrows for one use of the Noble Phantasm. The fact that Caladbolg is capable of literally distorting space in its wake should explain just how powerful it is. A rune centered on his back stored his bow similar to how a servant astralizes their Noble Phantasm. Shirou's reinforced body allowed him to quickly close the distance between him and Douglas, though he realized that the other magus was "skating" on a small disk of water.
He was in the center of a three foot diameter pool of water that raced over the ground and he controlled the pool with his thoughts, though it seemed like he favored using his legs as a form of self encouragement. Mysteries were born out of the magus forcing themselves to believe in the craft, a form of self hypnosis if you will. But as Shirou charged after the magus he couldn't help but amuse himself that he looked like a water bender from that show Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Shirou shook his head at the meaningless thought while he was on the battlefield. The slightest delay from a distraction could cost him his life, and he had far too much to do before he allowed himself to die in such a foolish manner. As it became obvious Shirou would catch Douglas before he managed to reach whatever safehold he created, Hasselholf gathered water from the air and shot it in a pressurized torrent right in front of Shirou. Shirou's hawk-like eyes and muscle memory reacted before he could think, throwing himself to the right and tracing his fire sword, which he had non-creatively named "Lash of Ignis" due to the changes it had undergone over the years.
Reforged into a katana from a black key as a base, the black-bladed sword looked kind of like a large eyelash…that lit on fire…and was capable of destroying an entire house with a single swing. Perhaps not the most dangerous sounding name, but it was his. Unlike EMIYA, Shirou took pride in his sword. Yes at the end of the day, it was a tool he could discard if it hindered him or his mission, but Shirou felt the sword upheld his ideals as much as he did himself. The sword that burned the wicked in flame and because it used a black key as a base, it still held traces of the holy aspect involved with Black Sacraments and worship of the Church. Shirou was an atheist, but he didn't discard the utility of humanity's belief in something that could empower objects and places with said belief. It was what made Noble Phantasms as dangerous as they are.
As the next pressurized blast closed in on his position, Shirou chanted, "My body is made of swords." It was not an aria that brought him closer to Unlimited Blade Works, but instead was a spell that deployed the concept of sword within his body. He did not have flesh on his body, his skin was metal shaped into the figure of a human. It allowed him to employ a stronger form of reinforcement and trade Avalon's true healing for stitching his body together with blades. Helpful for the middle of a fight, less so when it's over and he releases the spell, and thus under Gaia's influence the wounds are reopened with a vengeance. It was only under Bazett's mercy that he was still alive on that particular hunt. He still owed her a favor for all she'd done for him. Several favors of he was being technical.
Lash of Ignis sliced through the water and steam exploded around the two of them. Douglas stopped his flight and tried to use the steam as a trap turning the heated water into a boiling web to collapse on top of Shirou. With a flick of his wrist Shirou cut through the center and charged at the magus, but that was all part of Douglas's plan. Under Shirou's feet was a circle readying a geyser but Shirou's sixth sense detected the harsh increase of the magi's scent and jumped upwards hoping to avoid the spell. He was only half successful and put Ignis between his body and the encroaching water as a shield. The steam superheated his skin but the pain was ignored; after all, he was a sword, what is a little quenching in the forging process?
Shirou flipped over Douglas, cutting off his escape route. Now his only choice was to delay Shirou enough to escape or risk death. Caught out in the open in the countryside risked exposure, something neither of them wanted. Shirou for his limited contact with the Mage's Association and the Clock Tower with their view about magecraft, and Douglas for his deal with a certain Ancestor who did not wish to reveal more of their plan than necessary.
"You can't stop me boy," the middle aged, brown haired man said. He smirked cockily as he gloated, "My plan has already started. You're too late."
"Is that so?" Shirou said coolly. He normally followed the belief that talking in battle was a sin, but he needed information. He had no idea what Douglas was talking about.
'Did he already capture and do something to the villagers nearby? They looked normal to me but I didn't have the time to do a thorough scan because I knew Douglas was skipping town soon. If he managed to escape now it would be weeks before anyone could successfully track him down again. I needed to get him to gloat to at least get me somewhere to start searching for whatever he's talking about.'
"What? Did you poison the local water supply?" Shirou mocked. 'That insults his magecraft, pride, and goals all at once. That should get a reaction, especially from such an arrogant man.'
He could not have been more right. Douglas's face twisted in rage, cheeks flaring as he shouted, "You heretical cur! What would you know? You and your father wouldn't know genius if it bit you in the ass with your meager craft!"
"My father taught me enough to know you're stalling," Shirou returned nonchalantly. The tensing muscles of the enemy said more than enough.
"So why would a man on the run stall for time knowing he was being pursued by not only the Mage's Association, but the Executors as well?" Shirou spoke his thoughts aloud. The further tightening muscles made Shirou smirk that even EMIYA would be proud of.
"Could it be a certain Apostle in the area?" Douglas had enough of being mocked and attacked with water in the shape of a hand trying to flatten him. Shirou smirked as he retreated. 'So he didn't do anything to the villagers, he was just bluffing.'
Relief surged through him as he continuously dodged the water hand slapping the ground, breaking apart and surging forward trying to ensnare him and reforming into a hand once more to repeat. Shirou steadily grew used to the speed Douglas was able to recreate the hand and the distance the water spread as it hit the ground. Shirou doubted he would get more than one opening as he jumped backward for the last time. The hand just missed him by a foot and Shirou used all of his leg strength to lunge past the surging water exactly where he knew it would stop and closed the distance against the other magus.
With the majority of his water out of reach and still reforming, Douglas cursed to himself and opened a small pack on his back for emergencies as a circle activated spewing out ten gallons of water. The emergency stash was all that saved his life from the red flare as he created a shield in front of his torso. Shirou's sword was wreathed in flames before he threw a wave of compressed flame down on the magus. The two opposite elements warred with each other before the water ran out as the heat once again boiled into steam. The rest of the wave surged forward and cut and cauterized Douglas's chest deep into his chest. Shirou's blow stopped just short of the heart. It was enough for a third party to react in time as Shirou tried to end the screaming, burning man.
A flash of a nail in the setting sun was all that stood between life and death for Shirou. That small glimmer once again saved Shirou as instinct pushed his body past the limit where his thoughts would have failed him. Four long nails scraped across the black and silver body armor he had recreated from a certain Counter Guardian. The runes he had drawn in silver further bolstered the formidable protection against the typical magus. But his enemy was no normal magus. Shirou paled at the being in front of him. The wielder of the Mystic Eyes of Roses, Rita Rozay-en, ranked as the Fifteenth on the list of Ancestors.
Shirou gulped as one thought circled in his brain.
"I…am so fucked."
[AN: A lighthearted beginning followed by some action. There is nothing I loved more than to shock and awe a scene...something I don't always manage to capture. I hope I pulled this off correctly. I already have the fight scene finished in the next chapter, but it felt a little long and I have some other things I'm trying to sprinkle in for later in the story. Anyways, as always, thanks for reading! Please review or Pm anything you think sucked or needed replacing...or if you loved something and thought I missed a perfect opportunity to continue on with it because I was stupid and had a coffee last night when I was at work and have now been up for the last 30 hours and am both clueless and braindead. Lol.
Love you all! This is EmberPhoenix, going dark. Cpt. Price fans know what I mean.]