Parts of the first chapter were accidentally published in the prologue while I was writing it Whoops.

Chapter 1
Perspective and Circumstance

The headmaster's office was of a minimalist design. Headmaster Ozpin sat in his chair, with Glynda to his right and a certain caffeinated professor to his left. In front of them were the mysterious pair that the newly dubbed teams RWBY and JNPR discovered in the Emerald Forest. For the most part, it was the girl, Rin Tohsaka who spoke on their behalf.

"So, by the sound of things, it seems like Shirou and I have made it into a parallel dimension."

Rin said, sipping the tea Ozpin offered.

"Forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean by parallel dimension?"

Glynda asked, glancing at her peers, though Rin suspected that the older woman was not as clueless about the topic as she let on.

To Glynda's horror, Dr. Oobleck answered instead of Ozpin.

"Parallel dimensions— a theory of self-contained, separate realities that co-exist with our own. The differences between our worlds may be subtle or massive, Miss Tohsaka and her companion may come from a world with only three kingdoms, for example, and by her claims, their world lacks Grimm and Dust and other facts-of-life that are common in our own."

Ozpin rubbed his chin at the notion.

"A world without Grimm, that sounds…"

"Wonderful."

Glynda finished.

Rin noted that a pang of sadness crossed her host's faces.

"Professor Oobleck is correct."

She said.

"Grimm do not exist in our world, nor does Dust, or the concept of aura that you've explained. Our world also no longer has kingdoms, per se, as that form of government has long since been overtaken by their modern equivalents."

"I see, what are your kingdoms called, if I may ask?"

Oobleck inquired, sipping what Rin assumed to be his third cup of coffee.

"They are collectively called nations or countries, and there are currently one-hundred-and-ninety-six of them."

The three professors exchanged looks. While they maintained their professional calm, the sign of envy and sadness never disappeared.

"A hundred-and-ninety-six…"

Oobleck said.

"Well, it's no surprise. Societies tend to flourish when unencumbered by the constant threat of monsters."

Ozpin adjusted his glasses and leaned forward on his desk.

"Regardless. Are you in any way aware how you could have arrived in our world, Miss Tohsaka?"

Rin closed her eyes and nodded.

"It was probably the work of magic."

"Ah. That is what you call your powers, correct?"

"No, professor. Magic is something completely different from magecraft, which is what Shirou and I practice."

"But you call yourselves Magi, Rin."

"Magi are incapable of magic, sir. We are called Magi because we perform something called 'magecraft'. Magecraft and magic are as different as night and day."

She raised her index finger, a gesture that the three professors were all too familiar with.

"Simply put, magecraft is similar to your people's application of aura. In your explanation a while ago, you said that aura can be used to harden weapons and armor or improve a user's physical abilities. While this effect sounds uhm, let's just say, 'magical' in nature, the effect can still be replicated through traditional and modern means. Armor can be upgraded by improving the plating, for example. Simply put, the laws of physics still more or less apply in the practice of auras and magecraft."

Rin now raised two of her fingers.

"Magic on the other hand is something that simply can't be replicated through modern means. Shirou and I were probably brought here by what my people call the Second Magic, which mainly deals with parallel worlds."

Rin's annoyed frown caught the attention of her hosts immediately.

"So. Yeah. Someone just might be responsible for us coming here."

"If you are incapable of this 'magic', does this mean that you have no way of returning?"

Ozpin asked.

"Perhaps, but Shirou and I just might be able to scrape by. I have ideas, professor, and Shirou and I should be able to figure something out soon enough. It's a shame that we don't have any money, though. Or a place to stay."

Rin glanced at her companion, who had been quiet the whole time.

Ozpin placed his chin on his knuckles and stared at the two teenagers. They seemed a great deal more experienced than the first years who rescued them. And he noticed how eloquent Rin was. She was knowledgeable and precise with her explanations. While Shirou remained quiet this entire time, Ozpin did not fail to notice how alert he was of his surroundings and how ready he always seemed to protect Rin.

"Beacon is always looking for ways to protect against the Grimm that threaten our borders."

He finally said.

"If you can lend some of your knowledge to our cause, then I will gladly personally sponsor you both in your stay here."

Rin's smile was hard to contain.

"That is an enticing proposition, professor. But we're not even sure if your people are capable of magecraft."

"Capable of magecraft or not, the two of you carry yourselves with purpose and experience. You managed to survive what you described as an onslaught of Grimm unharmed, with no weapons and dressed in nothing but your pajamas. Those feats alone make you invaluable to my students."

Rin tried to pretend that she was considering her options, but it was clear to Ozpin that she had already made up her mind. The young girl leaned forward and smiled.

[—

"AAAND DONE."

Ruby shouted, hands in the air like she did not care. The sight of their makeshift bunk beds was ugly to look at, but somehow, the four girls made their living arrangements work. The four proudly looked at their messy room before deflating in defeat.

"Yeah, this isn't going to work."

Blake finally said.

"I think we should get rid of some of our stuff."

"No, no, this is fine, guys! We'll make it work!"

Ruby spread her arms and gestured at the room.

"Look, things are not as bad as they look. We just have to, uh— yeah we definitely need to get rid of more stuff."

Weiss was about to retort, when a knock on the door caught everyone's attention. Being the closest to the entrance, the white-haired girl moved to open the door. It came as a complete surprise to her when a smiling Rin greeted her.

"Hello~"

She said.

"Oh—oh, it's you! I mean, Miss Tohsaka!"

"It's nice for you to remember me, Miss Schnee."

"Please, please come inside."

Weiss stepped aside to let the older girl in. Rin walked in confident strides toward the center of the room. She was dressed in actual clothes now, a red, long-sleeved shirt and a black miniskirt. Her clothes accentuated her slender form, a fact that wasn't missed by Yang.

"I just wanted to thank the four of you for coming to our rescue."

Ruby stood straight and smiled.

"Oh, hahaha, it was nothing, it was nothing."

"I was more worried about what happened to the two of you when you were summoned to Professor Ozpin's office."

Yang said a hand on her hip.

"You know, come to think of it, we haven't really properly introduced ourselves yet. We barely had time to talk on our walk back to Beacon."

"That's true."

Rin considered, her finger to her chin.

"But first, let me point out that another reason why I'm here is because Miss Goodwitch instructed me to bunk with you guys."

Reactions varied from Ruby's,

"What? Really!?"

to Yang's,

"That sounds great!"

to Blake's,

"Oh."

and Weiss'

"This is just fabulous! But wait, it's already so cramped—"

"Then that just means that we'll have to get rid of more stuff!"

"That's not a good thing, you dolt."

"Awww."

"So!"

Yang shouted, fist in the air.

"Introductions, yes, yes? I'll start."

She cleared her throat and puffed her chest.

"The name's Yang Xiao Long, and this,"

She grabbed Ruby by her hood and placed her in a choke hold.

"—is my little sister Ruby!"

"He—Hello~ can't— breathe—"

Rin nodded slightly at the two girls, before glancing at Blake.

"Blake. Blake Belladonna."

"She's the dark and mysterious type."

Ruby pointed out.

"Thanks, Ruby."

"And you?"

Rin asked, turning to Weiss.

"Weiss Schnee at-your-service!"

"Nice to meet you, Weiss."

Rin gave her a smile.

"Though I've already said before, I'm Rin Tohsaka, and I am a magus. Professor Ozpin authorized me and Shirou to stay in your school for as long as we need to, at least, until we figure out a way to get back home."

"What's a magus?"

Yang asked.

"Uh, let's just say I have different powers from you guys and leave it at that for a while."

Yang raised her eyebrow and wanted to prod some more, but Rin seemed to possess the same disarming smile that Shirou had.

"Well, Rin! We're happy to have you. We're sorry about how things are right now, though."

Ruby said, glancing at the awkward bunk beds they somehow managed to make.

"And I don't think there's room for another bed… but uh, hehe, I think we'll manage. Maybe. Somehow."

"Professor Ozpin said that someone should come along soon enough to help us set up."

Rin said, still smiling.

"Oh! Well that's nice."

"I'm curious about this experience, really."

Rin said.

"I… don't think I've ever bunked with other girls before, but hopefully we'll be fine."

"Oh, speaking of which, what about your friend, Shirou?"

Ruby asked.

"Oh he's—"

"Or is he really just your friend."

Yang teased, interrupting Rin.

"Yang!"

"What? Everyone here is thinking it, especially you Blake. I can see it in your eyes."

"Shirou and I are dating, if that's what you're asking."

"Hah. I knew it!"

Yang crossed her arms and nodded.

"That explains the single bed—"

"What about the single bed?"

Ruby asked.

"Ahh, silly sis, sometimes I really do forget that you're fifteen."

"What? What do you mean by that—"

"It's nothing~ it's nothing~ just go drink your milk."

Rin cleared her throat before speaking.

"Anyway, Shirou is apparently bunking with a different team, I think they're called team—"

[—

"JNPR. That's all of us."

Jaune said, puffing his chest proudly as his friends stood to his side. Their new bunkmate, Shirou, tilted his head at the odd sight of both Ren and Nora posing with their weapons drawn.

"So you're the leader?"

Shirou asked.

"Yes."

Jaune said, but his shoulders slumped with his words.

"You don't sound too happy with the arrangement."

Shirou pointed out.

"If you want, I can ask for Professor Ozpin to send me to another group—"

"No, no it's not you! You're fine, you're cool, really. It's just, well forget it. Welcome aboard, Shirou!"

"Wait, wait, guys does this mean that we get to add another letter to our team name!?"

Nora practically exploded into Shirou's view.

"This means we're now Team JNPRS!? Or SJNPR or SPJNR!"

"I'm not technically a student, Nora. So I don't think that will be happening."

"Awwww."

Pyrrha stepped forward and gestured to her bed.

"Well if your bed somehow doesn't get set up today, please feel free to use mine. I'm fine with sleeping on the floor or—"

"I could never let you do that. But thank you for the offer."

He gave the group a kind, disarming smile, one so powerful that it caused Nora to take a step back.

[—

"Those clothes were in the lost-and-found!?"

Weiss pointed at Rin, incredulous.

"Yes, Miss Goodwitch lent them to me. Apparently they were left behind by last year's graduates or something? Hmm, shame though, the fabric's nice and they aren't too bad on the eyes."

"No, no, no, this is unacceptable! Someone like you shouldn't—"

"It's fine, really. They do their job, and I guess at the end of the day, that's all that matters."

Weiss was clearly unhappy by how Rin was taking things in stride, but the younger girl ended her protest.

The five girls were making their way toward class, with Ruby and Yang leading the way. The four girls were dressed in their uniforms, a sight that made Rin nostalgic. Unlike in Fuyuki, the Clock Tower did not require its students to dress in uniforms.

She observed the sights and sounds as they walked, noting the advanced architecture and the atmosphere of everything. A few of the students paid her the occasional glance, but she mostly ignored them. The entire school seemed like something straight from the future, but everything still looked and felt familiar. Rin admitted that she was bad with technology, but even she could tell that these people were more advanced than the non-magus community from their world.

The group rounded a staircase before entering an amphitheater-style classroom just a few floors up. The girls settled in on the second row from the teacher's platform. She watched as Beacon's colorful students funneled in. Her eyes perked up at the sight of a few students with what appeared to be animal ears on their heads.

"Blake,"

She whispered.

"Can I ask about those students over there?"

Blake saw where she was looking and frowned.

"They're Faunus. Don't you have Faunus where you come from?"

"Can't say that we do. Tell me, are they a different species?"

Blake felt no malice in Rin's words, only curiosity, so apprehensively she answered,

"Yes. Why, what's your opinion on them?"

Rin shrugged, placing an elbow on the desk.

"Can't say I have an opinion on them yet, they look just like people to me."

Blake tilted her head slightly before returning her attention to the book in her hand. She didn't know what to think of Rin. She didn't seem to be hostile toward her fellow Faunus yet. And she supposed that was a good thing.

A few more students shuffled into the classroom, including team JNPR and their newly acquired magus.

Shirou and Rin shared a glance, with Rin gesturing to the empty space to her left, and Shirou replying with a raised hand.

'I'm fine over here.' his gesture said.

A professor with an impressively bushy mustache entered the classroom. He made introductions and welcomed the students before gesturing toward Shirou and Rin.

"Children, before we begin I would like to introduce to you our new guests. Mister Emiya and Miss Tohsaka here will be staying at this school for a few months. While they are neither huntsmen nor huntsmen-in-training, I hope that you will all treat them nicely."

A boy scoffed haughtily from the back row.

"Well if they're not huntsmen then what's the point? Can you they even fight?"

"Regardless if they can fight, Mister Winchester, they are Headmaster Ozpin's guests and as such will be treated respect."

The teacher's words did little to convince Cardin, who simply replied with another scoff.

"We could prove ourselves if you want."

Rin said out loud, shrugging.

"We understand that you people value combat prowess, professor. If you wish us to demonstrate what we're capable of, then we are happy to oblige."

She turned to the direction of the frowning Cardin, smirking. The younger boy glared at her, but she was completely unfazed. Compared to a certain blonde Heroic Spirit's ugly smirk, this kid was nothing.

The tension in the room died off soon enough, and Professor Peter Port began his lessons. He spoke about the Grimm, the conflict with the Grimm, and how the Grimm have more or less shaped their world. Rin listened attentively, Shirou, not so much, but both magi did their best to absorb the information they were being given with. Halfway through the lesson, the professor brought in three identical boxes, which were obviously filled with something aggressive.

"The Grimm are an old enemy, but they all come in different forms, with different strengths and weaknesses that the fact entails. As a demonstration of your skills, I would like three volunteers to step forth and challenge these Grimm."

Active combat in a classroom setting?

Rin thought to herself. In a way this practice reminded her more of the cutthroat world of the Clock Tower instead of her more relaxed life back in Fuyuki.

"Ruby Rose, you seem particularly attentive."

The professor said.

"Why don't you step down here and ready your weapon."

"B—But I—"

"Come now, Ruby Rose."

The small fifteen-year-old tried to protest, but eventually she simply gave up and sighed. Beside her Weiss huffed and smirked at the latter's situation.

Ruby stood at attention, scythe at the ready as the first box slowly opened. Inside was a Boarbatusk, an armored Grimm that reminded Rin of boards. The creature roared before charging toward Ruby. Rin observed quietly as the diminutive girl jumped high, out of the way and in one swift motion, transformed her scythe into a rifle and fired.

Fifty-caliber bullets slammed into the Grimm's hide, but the creature seemed more annoyed than hurt. It charged at Ruby as she fell to the ground. Ruby fired more rounds into the creature's skull, but the bullets only bounced off.

"The Boarbatusk possesses a mostly armored body, attacking it head-on is not an option."

"Oh come on professor, why didn't you tell me that whoa—"

Ruby's words were cut short as the Boarbatusk approached. She leaped out of the way at the last moment.

"Oh! Right! Belly!"

She said, just as the Grimm skidded to a halt, turned around, and to Rin's surprised, rolled into a ball and charged. Ruby narrowed her eyes, her semblance flaring, and leaped out of the way of the attack. Her scythe transformed as she skid across the classroom floor, at the exact moment when the Boarbatusk slammed into the side of a wall. In one fell swoop and slash, she cut through the Grimm's abdomen, exterminating it.

"Yeah, way to go Rubes!"

Her sister cheered from her seat, fist in the air.

Ruby returned the gesture with a wide grin.

"I volunteer for the next one."

A new voice called out almost immediately.

Shirou stood up, earning a few concerned glances from team JNPR. The professor nodded an okay as the nineteen-year-old stepped down.

"This should be interesting."

Yang whispered to Weiss beside her. The heiress simply watched, her hands clenching into fists. These people claimed to be magi, magi— as in magic. In her brief experience with her teammates at Emerald Forest, Weiss did not fail to notice that among the four of them, she was the one who made use of the most Dust in combat. If Rin and Shirou's titles made sense, then in theory they should be fighting in a way similar to hers. At least, she thought, if they even used Dust where they came from.

Shirou stood with his feet spread apart, distributing his weight perfectly, Pyrrha observed.

The other students glanced at each other, curious if their guest was planning to fight the Grimm without weapons. Their questions were answered when Shirou closed his eyes briefly and whispered two words.

"Trace. On."

Green lines crisscrossed from his shoulder to his arms. Magical energy gathered and surged, molding into the forms of two swords. Students gasped in awe, and the professor himself raised a curious eyebrow. He was excited about seeing their guest fight, even though he did not show it.

Two curved swords appeared in Shirou's hand. They were beautiful to look at, thought Ruby, but they were also so simple. The swords did not seem to have any complex mechanisms like her scythe or Yang's gauntlets, but they were elegant and practical. She instantly wondered how Shirou did what he did. Was that his semblance, the ability to summon weapons from out of nowhere?

Oh my gosh that's so cool!

Blake glanced at Rin, noting that the girl was paying more attention to the still unopened box than her boyfriend.

"Are you ready, Mister Emiya?"

"Yes, Professor."

The box opened and to everyone's surprise, the Boarbatusk within was already rolling forward like a bullet. Whether he was taken off guard or simply surprised, Shirou tried to slash at the Grimm instead of evading. The result was obvious. The Grimm crashed into Shirou like a truck, sending him flying at the wall and sending his swords spinning in the air.

Before shock came laughter, as Cardin and his friends rolled in their seats at the display of incompetence.

Ruby gave the boys an annoyed look, but everyone else's attention was focused on Shirou. The orange-haired boy groaned and forced his eyes open, just in time to avoid the tusks of the rushing Boarbatusk. He dove to his right, causing the Grimm to slam into the wall behind him.

"What is he doing?"

One of the students muttered, more out of confusion than concern.

The professor watched closely, taking note of Shirou's calmness instead of his clumsiness.

The boy exhaled a breath of tired air before summoning a new pair of swords in his hands. He stood straight again, this time more ready for the Grimm. Pyrrha was watching more closely, as were the rest of team JNPR. But she was paying especial attention to the swords.

Those just aren't made from metal.

She noted.

The Grimm pulled away from the wall, blood-red eyes glaring at Emiya.

Shirou watched the creature move, anticipating an attack. Instantly, he triggered his magic circuits and reinforced his legs. The creature roared, leaped into the air and spun— the same cannonball attack it did before.

His reinforced legs allowed him to surpass the limits of a human body, bringing his speed to a fraction of that of a Servant's. The Boarbatusk shot forward like a missile, tusks slicing the very air.

Shirou moved with enough speed to destroy the floor.

Only professor Port, Pyrrha, Ruby, and a few other fast enough students were able to catch a glimpse of how fast Shirou moved. He disappeared in a blur and a boom of sound. In the very next moment, what looked and sounded like half a dozen slashes exploded in the space between him and the Boarbatusk. The Grimm was torn apart, its form disappearing like smoke in the wind.

Shirou landed on the opposite end of the classroom, swords already dissipating.

Cardin and crew watched, mouth agape, not knowing what transpired.

Everyone watched, not knowing what to say.

Shirou turned and faced the professor, bowing slightly. After a bit of hesitation, the professor bowed slightly in return.

Must be a custom where they come from.

Professor Port thought to himself.

"I'll take the last one."

Before Shirou could make his way back to his seat, Rin had already raised her hand to volunteer. The professor nodded, allowing her to go. After Shirou's display, he doubted that the other students wanted to go. They were all too curious about their guests to attempt to show off.

"Psssst. Shirou."

Nora called out, leaning over Ren's shoulder, much to the latter's annoyance.

"Are you a ninja? Because Ren's basically a ninja and you kinda moved like a ninja, but you destroyed the floor and that wasn't very discreet, so maybe you aren't a ninja— but are you a ninja?"

"I'm not a ninja, Nora."

Shirou smiled kindly.

"That's exactly what a ninja would say."

She pointed two fingers at her eyes, then two fingers back at Shirou.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

Pyrrha smiled at Nora's antics, before she noticed Jaune's sigh.

"What's wrong, Jaune?"

"Oh nothing. I just thought he was, you know, not that good."

"Why would you think that? He did claim that they held out against a bunch of Grimm, you know."

"That's true, but well forget it. His friend is up."

The two students watched as Rin gracefully stepped onto the floor, gingerly stepping aside from the rubble that Shirou made.

"I wonder how she fights."

Ruby whispered to her sister.

"Maybe with swords like her boyfriend?"

Blake suggested.

"Nah, that's boring."

Yang said.

"Maybe she likes punching things, like me? We both have pretty long hair, you know."

"What? What does that have to do anything?"

"From a book I read, Weiss."

"A book you read."

"Yes! Ah you wouldn't understand, only peasants like us have access to super-secret books about the art of being able to tell people's fighting styles—"

"That doesn't even make sense—"

"SSSSSSSHH! Professor Port's opening the cage."

Weiss sighed and looked at Rin. Rin held her hand forward as if it were a gun, and Weiss watched in awe as red energy began to gather at the tip of her fingers. She held forward two fingers, as red lines crisscrossed on Rin's arm. The lines on her arm were different than on Shirou's, but they had a similar design. Weiss wondered if the girl made use of glyphs like her.

Her question was answered when a faint circle began appearing around Rin's hand.

As the cage door opened and as the third Boarbatusk rushed forward, a ball of red energy exploded forward from Rin's hand.

Exploding glyphs. Of course.

The red energy bounced off the Boarbatusk's head much in the same way as Ruby's bullets. The beast came charging forth. Rin stepped to the side to evade it. It wasn't as fancy as Ruby's leap to the sky, but it did its job. As the Grimm came for another run, Weiss observed as Rin held all of her fingers forward this time. The glyph that appeared in front of Rin was thrice the size and it glowed like an angry sun's.

A loud crack like lightning, exploded from Rin's spell circle, sending a ball of condensed curses toward the Boarbatusk at a hundred meters per second. The shot tore through the Grimm's skull as if it were made of cardboard, exciting out the other end of its body.

[—

"You have laser hands!"

Ruby exclaimed, standing up in excitement.

"Could you teach me how to do that? I mean, I already have Crescent Rose, but laser hands would still be so cool to have."

Ruby turned to her sister.

"Yang, do you want to learn laser hands?"

"I don't think she can teach us that Ruby."

The girl frowned instantly and almost leapt toward Rin,

"What? Why? Because if that's your semblance, then I'm really, really jealous."

Rin tilted her head. They were at the cafeteria now, grabbing something to eat.

"Doesn't you semblance allow you to move really fast? Super speed, basically?"

"Yeah, but your boyfriend can do that too. Maybe not as fast, but—"

She gasped.

"Does he have laser hands too?"

Rin shook her head, forking a hotdog.

"Shirou can use a Gandr spell, but he expends too much prana when he does it and his shots look like spaghetti."

"Wait,"

Weiss said.

"I know you explained this beforehand, but I've been meaning to ask, do you and Shirou have the same skills— powers?"

"You could say that, but not really, I guess? Magi like us mainly use spells to do things, and we need those spells to go beyond our weak, squishy bodies."

She gestured at the four members of RWBY.

"From observation alone, I can already tell that Shirou and I are a lot weaker than you guys."

"What? No way."

Ruby remarked.

"Well. If we don't use magic, I mean. But I'm not really sure, really. At the very least, the people here are stronger than the ordinary folk we have back home."

"So you're not normal?"

Ruby said.

"Well, I mean not normal-normal, but normal like everyone else where you came from? Wait. Where am I going with this."

"We're the exceptions, not the rule, if that's what you're saying."

"Oh cool,"

Yang remarked.

"So you guys are basically your version of huntsmen?"

"We don't go around saving people and fighting monsters, at least, not usually, if that's what you're asking."

"Uh, guys can we please go back to my question, please?"

Weiss huffed indignantly.

"Oh, right, about our powers."

Rin said, popping a banana slice into her mouth.

"Shirou and I can use similar spells, when the demand calls for it, but we more or less have different styles. Magi are more inclined toward certain types of spells than others, but there are still a lot of baseline spells that anyone can perform. Gandr, that thing I did—"

"Laser hands?"

"—laser hands, is a spell that's been in my family for generations. It's pretty multi-purpose so I've taken a liking to it. But Shirou isn't as inclined with traditional magecraft, so he sticks with what he knows."

"Those twin swords of his?"

Ruby asked, smiling.

"Yes, Kanshou and Bakuya."

"But they looked so ancient, I was surprised that he was so good with them."

Remarked Yang, as she glanced at Blake who was only silently listening.

"Eh, Shirou's good with his hands."

Yang grinned.

Blake smiled slightly.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

Ruby was completely oblivious.

"I—I didn't mean what you guys thought I meant."

"Suuure."

Yang teased.

Rin sighed, palming her face.

"I walked right into that one."

"You sure did, Tohsaka."

Rin finished her meal and carefully placed her spoon and fork on the tray.

"Well then, what's your next class?"

[—

It was strange. Here they were, in a faraway world, yet the skies still looked more or less the same. Jaune mentioned something about the moon being shattered, but in the cloudy evening that claim was hard to confirm. The dorm room balcony was unoccupied, save for one Shirou Emiya. The cold air brushed against his face, as a few stars hung in the endless vast expanse of the night sky.

"Oooh~ Cold~"

A door swung open and a certain magus sat down beside him.

"I'm surprised at how open you were, Rin."

"Oh? What ever do you mean, Emiya-kun?"

He gestured lazily with his hand, imitating Rin's higher-pitched voice.

"Hello, we're magi. That's the sort of greeting I never imagined to hear from you."

Rin shrugged. She was dressed in her pajamas, which was now clean of dirt and grime. Whether she used magecraft to clean it or if she found her way into Beacon's laundry rooms, didn't concern Shirou too much.

"You said it yourself while we were watching them approach in the forest. They didn't move like the ordinary humans we know and love."

Shirou frowned.

"Hmm. Yeah. But still, just telling them that we're magi outright?"

"You saw what these people are capable of. We've only just confirmed that they have civilian types in this world, but even they have auras that make them just a bit stronger, just a bit faster than the ones back home. If we wanted to be taken seriously, we had to, well, show off."

"Yeah. Show off. Getting hit by that Boarbatusk was fun."

"It's your fault for being so slow."

"I didn't think it would move that fast."

"You fought against Gilgamesh."

"Yes, but Gilgamesh isn't exactly… well, fast. He did a whole of swearing and calling me a mongrel, but fast is the last word I'd use to describe him."

He stared at his palm, closing it and opening it slowly.

"Still. It won't happen again."

"Hmm."

Rin nodded.

"Rin. So. Second magic?"

"Second magic."

She grit her teeth and glared angrily at nothing in particular.

"Zelretch. That lunatic, sadistic, crazy, son-of-a—"

"Rin…"

Rin seemed to visibly deflate. She leaned back, balancing her weight on her elbows as she watched the cloudy sky.

"I'll figure something out. I'm not even sure how second magic works, but— by the looks of things, whatever happened basically just destroyed our bedroom."

Shirou shrugged, unconcerned.

"We can fix it. Reinforcement is basically magic."

Rin sighed audibly, exaggeratedly.

"You're being very optimistic. And it's rubbing up on me."

"That's a good thing."

Shirou smiled a genuine smile, one that he started giving more and more lately.

"But we'll get back, won't we?"

Rin asked a tinge of uncertainty in her voice.

They were close. They were dating. They loved one another. But neither one was very affectionate. He placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded solemnly.

"We'll get back."

They sat in silence for a while, watching the quiet school below and around them. Remnant was different. But in many ways, coming here from Earth was just like coming to England from Japan. A magus is flexible. This was nothing more but another challenge to tackle, another question to answer.

"Weiss likes you, doesn't she?"

"You could say that."

"Well… did she hear you swear yet?"

"No…."

"Well that's not going to last then."

"Shut up, idiot."

formerlyarandomreviewer- Yeah, sorry about that. I'm transitioning from always writing in the present tense to the more common practice of past tense. Some mistakes are still getting through.

Just me - I'm just focusing more on Rin for a bit. Most crossovers feature Shirou, anyway, might as well let Rin have her turn for a while.

YuukiAsuna-Chan - Ozpin wants to observe Shirou and Rin. He can get a better idea out of their personalities/abilities by exposing them to more people. Plus I like JNPR, they're hilarious.

Q'Fox - Yeah, I tried explaining her reasoning behind that in this chapter.

Nosy John - Indeed he would be.