Thank you for the reviews! I shall reply to them here:
Slim A Lou Prime: Thank you for reading! Whether or not Shirou can fire Noble Phantasms, though... you'll just have to wait and see.
Misaka Phenex: Maybe. Even if that were the case, I do plan on Shirou getting a few upgrades. You'll have to wait and see what those are.
Guest: I do have a stat chart for Shirou in the works, but that's for Shirou later in the story. I'll post it at the appropriate time.
Chapter 9: By the Horns
As always, Shirou woke up at the break of dawn. He yawned and sat up, thinking about whether or not to wake Lisa up. After a couple seconds of thought he stood up and turned all the lights on.
"Mmgh," Lisa groaned as she turned over and put a pillow on her head.
"Lisa, it's time to get up," Shirou said. "We have a lot of ground to cover."
"Ugh, why are you even up?" Lisa whined as she pushed the pillow into her ear.
"I'm always up at this time," Shirou raised an eyebrow. "C'mon, Lisa. Let's go."
"You're the worst roommate ever," Lisa rolled her eyes as she threw the pillow at Shirou, who caught it and placed it back on the bed. "What's for breakfast?"
"We can get some food on the way," Shirou said. As Lisa got up from bed, Shirou grabbed his backpack and threw it over his shoulders. "I don't think the hotel breakfast is over yet."
"Fine," Lisa rolled her eyes. "I hope your mysterious money pile hasn't vanished yet."
"Of course not," Shirou shrugged his shoulders. The amount of money he had traced was… concerning, but as an eight year old, he wasn't able to get a job and work. He would just have to put up with it for the duration of his quest.
"Good," Lisa said as she stretched, "because you owe me something good."
It turns out that "something good" was McDonalds. Shirou could understand. Lisa was still young and it's not like they had McDoubles in Camp Half-Blood.
"Don't tell Chiron," Lisa said as she swallowed another french fry.
"You're secret's safe with me," Shirou said as he took a sip of the water he ordered. He just ordered some french fries for himself. He refused to eat anything more. He wasn't a health guru or anything, but he just didn't see the appeal of fast food.
"Do you know where to go next?" Lisa asked. Neither of them had a GPS, but Shirou was able to get a map on the way to McDonalds.
"It looks like we can get to Baltimore by the end of the day, if not Richmond," Shirou muttered as he traced out a path with his finger. He considered stopping by Washington too, but since it was so close to Baltimore, he decided they could just skip it. He then handed the map to Lisa.
"Richmond seems a bit far. We'll see," Lisa rubbed her chin.
"We can take the train," Shirou suggested.
"We can?" Lisa looked up from the map.
"Yeah," Shirou nodded, turning the map over to show train times and destinations. "It shouldn't take too long. If we don't run into hiccups, we could probably make it to Richmond by nightfall."
"Sounds good," Lisa nodded absentmindedly as she started to eat her burger.
"Alright then," Shirou looked at his small meal and sighed. "We'll go as soon as we're done."
Luckily, the trip to Baltimore was short and uneventful. The bad news was that the train didn't lead to Richmond, so they were going to have to get another cab.
"Alright, hopefully there's a cab that will take us all the way there," Shirou muttered to himself. He could trace as much money as needed. It's just that not many cabs would go all the way there. Maybe he could drive? No, his limbs still weren't big enough.
"I'm sure we will," Lisa said. The streets weren't that packed, but considering it was Baltimore, Shirou had his guard up. He inhaled through his nose and stopped.
"What's wrong?" Lisa asked. Shirou held a hand up. It smelt like… molten bronze. Soon enough, they could hear it. The sound of heavy hooves.
"Run," Shirou turned around and unsheathed his longsword. He and Lisa then broke into a sprint with Shirou turning back just in time to see a mechanical bronze bull charging straight at them, barreling through cars and pedestrians alike.
I wonder what the mist makes it look like, Shirou said as he grabbed Lisa's hand and made a hard right turn. The bull narrowly missed them and barreled into a car.
"What is one of the Khalkotauroi doing here?!" Lisa shouted. Shirou didn't respond. As the bull turned and roared, Shirou threw his longsword like a javelin. Although he was aiming to get the inside of its mouth, the bull almost scoffed, the celestial bronze blade hitting its cheek and bouncing off.
"What was that for?" A tick mark appeared on Lisa's forehead. "I put a lot of care into that sword!"
Tch, Shirou looked around him. The crowd was panicking around them. He couldn't use magecraft openly here. He had one choice.
"Lisa, I'll stall it. When you find the opportunity, stab it in either the eye or the mouth," Shirou said. He waited for her approval before charging.
Shirou knew this was a gamble. When he had analyzed his body while at Camp Half-Blood, he noticed a few things different from his previous body. Whether this was from his godly parentage or Muramasa's blessing he didn't know, but what he did know was that he had to use it now.
He remembered reading about them at Camp Half-Blood. They could breathe fire, so if he timed it right…
The bronze bull opened its mouth to breathe a jet of flames and Shirou grabbed its mouth with both hands.
"Do it," Shirou felt a smirk grow on his lips. Time slowed down for Shirou. As he saw the torrent of flames approaching him at point blank range, green veins spread through its body. He pushed its mouth open as the flames covered him completely. He felt his skin tingle as the flames brushed past his body. The heat was almost comforting to Shirou.
"Shirou!" Lisa shouted. He could hear the crack in her voice and guilt welled up in his head. He should have told her in advance.
"I'm fine!" Shirou shouted. "Pass your sword!"
"Alright!" Shirou heard the sound of a sword burying itself in the ground next to him. He extended one of his hands and grabbed the xiphos on the ground and stuck it into the bull's mouth. The bull tried to rear back, but Shirou pumped more mana into his reinforcement and pulled the bull back. He reared his fist backwards and punched the hilt of the sword, burying the blade into the bull's heart.
With a loud cry, the bull turned to golden dust. Shirou took a deep breath as the green veins faded once more. He turned to Lisa with a smile as she stomped up to him.
"See? Everything turned out al—" Shirou was cut off by a slap to the face.
"You need to tell me these things before you do them!" Lisa shouted. The well of guilt in Shirou's heart grew.
"I…" Shirou rubbed his cheek. He opened his mouth to apologize but he was cut off.
"I know you're going to apologize, but if you were sorry, you would stop hiding these things from me," Lisa growled. "This is the second time you've pulled some strange ability from nowhere and freaked me out."
"I know," Shirou looked down.
"This conversation isn't over," Lisa huffed. "Let's find a cab and get out of here before anyone comes after us."
With a silent nod, Shirou followed the angry teenager. He really screwed up.
The ride to Richmond was agonizing for Lisa. It was 6 hours of interspersed traffic. Neither Shirou nor Lisa wanted to speak up. Throughout the ride, Lisa felt her anger subside. At the moment, she felt betrayed. It looked like Shirou died, for gods' sake! She felt a dagger pierce her heart at that very moment. She had promised Rebecca to keep him safe. On top of that, she was extremely worried for Shirou.
She flicked her eyes in Shirou's direction as the cab drove away. They awkwardly stood in front of the crappy hostel they found themselves at.
"Are you two lost?" Lisa flinched as she heard a voice. She turned to the source to see a charming woman. She couldn't determine her age, but she was definitely an adult. She had long, black hair that flowed down to the middle of her back and warm, brown eyes.
"Yes," Shirou was the first to speak. "This is our first time here and we don't know where to go."
"You can stay at my place for the night. You must be exhausted," The woman's smile was warm enough to melt ice, which made warning bells go off in Lisa's head. A kindhearted stranger offering for them to stay at her place? It was a bit odd.
"That would be nice," Shirou replied with a smile of his home. "I'm Shirou Suzuki and this is Lisa Hagen. What's your name?"
"How polite. My name is Heather. Heather Foster," The woman said. "Now follow me. My house isn't that far."
As Heather walked off, Lisa's head snapped in Shirou's direction.
"What was that for?!" She snapped.
"She's not human," Shirou said bluntly, causing Lisa's mouth to snap shut. "She isn't a monster either. She feels like a demigod but… stronger. I don't know if she's a god or not, but that's also a possibility."
"How do you even know this?" Lisa asked. Shirou just tapped his nose twice. "So you're saying you have a nose like a monster? You can sniff out half-bloods or something like that?"
"Among other things," Shirou shook his head. "Look, can we have this conversation in private? She's safe. I promise."
"Fine," Lisa threw her arms up in the air. "Let's go to this mysterious stranger's house and crash there for the night."
"Thank you," Shirou said with a genuine smile.
"Whatever," Lisa rolled their eyes before following Shirou.
Shirou felt his muscles instantly relax as Heather opened the door. They walked in to see a wooden interior, almost like a cabin. The fireplace whispered softly in the living room surrounded by couches and there was a wooden table with a few chairs off to the left.
"Please, make yourself at home," Heather said. "Let me show you to your rooms."
"Thank you, Miss Foster," Shirou dipped his head in thanks.
"No need to thank me. I just like helping those in need," Heather said. She led Shirou and Lisa down the hall and into a cozy room with two twin-sized beds. "I hope this is enough."
"No, it's perfect," Shirou felt a soft smile grow on his lips.
"Alright then. I'll go ahead and make dinner. I'll call you two when it's ready," Heather said.
"Okay," Shirou nodded his head and Heather closed the door behind her. As soon as the footsteps faded away, Lisa turned to face Shirou.
"Now that the coast is clear, spill it," Lisa sat down on one of the beds and glared at Shirou. "What is up with you?"
"I…" Shirou paused to think as he sat down on the other bed. "There are a lot of things that aren't normal about me. Things that people might want to use."
"Things like what?" Lisa asked. Shirou paused. Should he do it? He didn't want to lie anymore. He hated it. He could trace cash all he wanted, but this is someone who trusted him. Cared about him. Each time he lied, he felt terrible… After a couple seconds, he sighed.
"I need you to promise me that you won't tell this to anyone else," Shirou said, his gaze hardening. "Not Chiron, not Mr. D."
"I swear on the River Styx," Lisa said immediately. They both paused and waited for the thunder to boom. When it did, Shirou took a deep breath. Blue motes of light started to form around Shirou's hands. He deliberately slowed down the process as a perfect copy of Lisa's xiphos appeared in his hand.
"W-what?" Lisa looked down at the sword sheathed at her side and back at the copy. "What did you do?"
"I can recreate a copy of any blade I've seen," Shirou dismissed the traced sword and slumped his shoulders. "You can see why that would be useful to someone."
"I… yeah," Lisa frowned. "I understand."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you this earlier," Shirou said. The only reason why he did it now was because of the makeshift bounded field around the house. It wasn't the same type that Shirou was familiar with, but he knew it had similar purposes. "I just…"
"It's okay," Lisa smiled, but Shirou could tell it was forced. "Just… you can trust me, alright?"
"Alright," Shirou nodded his head. The two faded into blissful silence until there was a knock on the door.
"Dinner's ready," Heather said.
"Coming!" Shirou called back before turning to Lisa. "Shall we?"
"Yeah," Lisa stood up. "Let's go."
The two left the room with the both their shoulders feeling a little lighter.
Well, Shirou spilt the beans. It was bound to happen, considering the circumstances. Shirou's arsenal isn't big enough without magecraft to hide it. I ddid recieve a question about Rule Breaker. Can Rule Breaker break the oath of the Styx? The answer is no. The oath isn't magical in nature. It's divine. Even gods can't break the oath. Rule Breaker is powerful, but not that powerful. With that being said, please do consider leaving a review! I would love to read and reply to your thoughts. Also please join my Discord! I would love to talk to you all and answer all your questions! I talk a lot about my thought process while writing, so if you're interested in that, do consider joining. The url is discord . gg (forego the spaces) followed by a slash and CpVs7R8KXz. Unfortunately you'll have to type the rest of the url in manually because I'm not allowed to post links. If you want to read chapters as soon as they're finished along with a slew of other benefits, check out my Patron at pat reon dot com slash kfpisnotacult. They've already read up to chapter 15. Thank you for reading and I'll catch you on the flipside.