Author's Note:
With this, I conclude my first half of the story and bring us into the next. I'd like to take this opportunity to once again thank you all immensely for your support of this story! All your reviews, constructive criticisms, and compliments have really made this such an amazing experience.
When I started this, I never imagined I'd have gathered so many dedicated readers for it. I'd especially like to thank Western White Tiger for the amazingly detailed reviews you've left for me. Without your many helpful comments I don't know how some of these chapters might have played out.
I'd also like to give a shout out to ArcherShirou who's been using Google Translate to leave reviews for me. I'm deeply touched by your effort to respond to this story and encouraging me to continue writing it.
To everyone else who's left reviews, I thank you all as well. You've all been a compass for me in my writing, letting me know what you're enjoying or not enjoying and helping me figure out how I can better present the material I'm working with in future chapters.
Please continue to give me your thoughts and questions in the reviews or feel free to send me a message. I try to respond to all of you whenever I get a chance to so be sure to check your inboxes once in awhile.
I hope you will all continue to enjoy reading this as much as I am enjoying writing it.
That being said. Let's begin our date (chapter)!
Chapter Nine
Kotori stared at the empty spot where Kurumi once stood for a long moment before a loud noise turned her head up to the sky above her. She had to do a double take because she saw Tohka there with a giant sword, throwing her purple energy at something she couldn't see on the roof top.
But what made her look twice was her father and Kurumi running up towards Tohka. Each of their steps landed on something inky black. Kotori had no idea what to make of that.
Wasn't Kurumi just here now? How did she get over there with Pops so quickly?! Whatever… I have to get up there. I have to let them know I'm alright…
"I guess now's as good a time as any to give this a try…" she said to herself as she held out her hand. "Elohim Gibor…"
Shirou stopped off Kurumi's shadow and onto the rooftop where Tohka was hovering in the air above and sending waves of purple energy at Origami who was sitting and staring up at the sky with lifeless eyes. She wasn't even trying to fight back. The energy just kept splitting against her shield like a rock in the middle of a raging river.
She's wearing the same gear as Ryouko's soldiers. Their defense shields must be automatic because she doesn't look like she's in any state to be in any sort of control over her equipment.
"Tohka! Tohka! You have to stop!" yelled Shirou as loud as he could.
The armored woman wasn't hearing him. He'd seen that kind of rage before. Madness had completely taken over her.
"I told you. She's completely lost her marbles… If she even had any to begin with. You know I never could figure her out," said Kurumi while smiling and scratching the back of her head.
Shirou looked at the girl beside him with a raised eyebrow, "You know I could say the same thing about you. So how do you know Kotori is still alive? If you lied to me about that I'm going-"
"Because she'll be here any moment. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to. Don't screw this up!" she said while stepping off the roof again.
Before Shirou could say anything back to her Tohka raised up her oversized sword and brought it down over Origami, it took nothing but a moment for her shield to collapse. The white haired girl cried out in anguish. Shirou started running towards her. She'd spat up blood, and she was laying on the ground unconscious. "Origami!" he shouted while kneeling down beside her where he took her into her arms.
Then he looked up and saw Tohka pointing her sword at them both.
"Shirou! Get out of the way! She has to pay for what she's done!"
Shirou looked up at Tohka and blinked. He had to slap himself then to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Tears of joy flowed freely from his eyes as he saw the sight before him.
"What's she done Tohka?" asked Kotori who was now flying beside the armored woman standing inside of a large bubble of fire in her astral dress. There were also rings of fire orbiting her form as she hovered in the air majestically, almost regally.
"She killed Kotori! I'm going to make her suffer for it!" yelled Tohka while gathering energy into her sword.
Kotori blinked at Tohka and started yelling at her incredulously, shattering her majestic and regal image to any onlookers with the presence of mind to even take note of such a thing, "Are you really that stupid you big dummy?! I'm right here yelling at you!"
Tohka suddenly lowered her sword and turned to look at Kotori with wide eyes. "Kotori! You're alive!" she exclaimed while rushing in to hug the smaller girl tightly.
"Hey careful you big dummy this is real fire around me!"
"I don't care! I'm too glad to care! Thank you! Thank you for coming back! I'm so glad you're alright!"
"Damn… Sometimes you're really all boobs and no brains Tohka…" she said while hugging the woman back tightly. Then her eyes drifted to the side when she heard a sparking noise, "Wait… What the hell is that?!" she asked while glaring wide eyed at the massive sword which was indeed sparking, and pulsing with energy.
"Oh no… I unsheathed Halvanhelev… I need to find somewhere to release it!" she said while pointing it down at the street.
"Whoa! Tohka I don't think that's a good idea! I've never sensed so much power in one thing before…"
"Well what should I do?! It's about to reach its critical state!"
"Climb! Fly high! As high as we can go and release it upwards! Come on move it!"
Shirou was dumbfounded by what he saw. But he quickly snapped out of it and lifted Origami into his arms. He had to get her help in a hurry, everything else could wait to be explained.
"Now for the Headlines. Today's spacequake alarm thankfully turned out to be a false alarm. The only damage reported turned out to be caused by a gas leak in new city, but as the area was deserted due to the quake alarm, no injuries were reported. Also several satellites have malfunctioned, causing service disruptions across much of Japan. It is unknown at this time when service can be expected to resume. In international news, diplomatic talks broke down between-"
Kotori turned off the TV with the remote and groaned in annoyance as she lay back on the floor. "Great… Now I won't be able to watch any new anime for the foreseeable future… Thank you Tohka!"
Tohka looked down in shame, "I'm sorry… Will you forgive me?"
Kotori sighed, "It's probably as much my fault as it is yours. I didn't expect your sword to be that powerful… I mean seriously? Who would have thought it would fire a beam of energy powerful enough to take out freaking satellites?! If you'd unleashed that at, or even near the ground you'd probably have made a hole in the world straight to Canada!"
A moment later Ciel came into the room with Yoshino beside her.
"I'm really glad you're ok Kotori…" the little girl said.
"I'm glad you're ok too Yoshino… So have you decided what you want to do?"
Yoshino nodded and looked up at Ciel.
Ciel looked down at the girl beside her and smiled, "We're going to adopt her. Shiki, Arcueid and I have talked a lot about having children someday. After a short conversation with them on the phone we all agreed we'd like her to come live with us. We can definitely keep her safe there. She'll be able to go to school and live a normal life. Well… As normal a life as anyone can have with an Assassin, a former Executor, and a True Ancestor for parents… Not to mention a Demon for an aunt… And then there's Len..."
Said demon familiar then stepped up beside Yoshino and hugged her. "Sister," was the only word she said.
Yoshino's eyes widened at what Ciel was saying and the sudden hug from Len.
"Yeah… Look. There's a lot I'm going to have to tell you about… But I really don't want you to worry. You're going to be completely safe and loved. I promise you," she said while kneeling down to hug the two of them.
"Wait… Does this mean you're leaving Ciel?" asked Kotori with surprise.
Ciel looked over at Kotori and nodded before standing back up. "Yeah. I need to take Yoshino home. Tell Shiki and Arcueid everything that's happened, and I need to determine if the entire Church has turned against me or if it was just the one man who sold me out to DEM… If they have all turned on me. I need to deal with that and I can't involve all of you. You have enough to worry about."
Kotori stood up and ran over to Ciel and hugged her tightly. Ciel smiled and hugged her back as well. "You're not my mother Ciel. But you did the job. Yoshino is so lucky. You're going to be the best mom to her."
"I'm not leaving right away Kotori-chan. And this isn't a goodbye. I'll be back once I've got things under control. I'm still going to help you all deal with everything that's happening," she said while pulling back to look the girl in the eyes. "I promise. You'll see me again soon. I already told your father we're all going to get together this summer for a family vacation. So if I don't see you before, you'll see me then."
Kotori hugged onto Ciel again, "I love you Aunt Ciel!"
"Aunt? I'm flattered Kotori. Well. I suppose that makes you and Yoshino cousins now doesn't it?" she said with a smile.
"Mhmm. Definitely! Thank you so much for being there for us! I don't know what would have happened if we didn't have you here to help us."
"It's what a family does Kotori. I'll always be here if you need me. If there's ever anything you need, or if you just want to talk. Call me. Anytime. I'm never too busy for you."
Shirou sat down patiently in the military hospital waiting room while Ryouko paced back and forth in agitation. The room was steril like any room in a hospital. Bland furniture, white walls, the smell of disinfectants. Not another soul anywhere near them. They'd been there for two hours so far and there was still no word given to them on how much longer they'd have to wait.
"Ryouko? You should sit down."
"Why should I sit down?!"
"Because if you keep pacing like that you'll end up pacing on the floor below us next."
"So what if I do?!" she turned to yell at him with a hand on her hip.
Shirou put up his hands in surrender. "Fine... Do what you want."
"Why are you even still here?! Shouldn't you be at home with your daughter at a time like this?"
"Ciel and Tohka are with her. She'll be perfectly safe there. It's you and your daughter I'm worried about right now."
"She's not my daughter…"
"You could have fooled me. So will you just have a seat already? You're not helping her by working yourself up into a frenzy. She's going to be perfectly alright."
Ryouko put her hands up in exasperation and then gestured to him with both hands after, "Three kids I care about nearly died today! Excuse me if I'm a little worked up over it! Why aren't you?!"
Shirou stood up and went over to her where he put both hands on her tense shoulders, "Because no good will come from both of us being in a state. They're all alive. Just be thankful for that, and try to calm yourself down."
"I don't understand why Nightmare of all spirits was the one who helped us. She saved Yoshino. She saved Kotori. She helped you save Origami. It doesn't make sense…"
"Could it just be that Spirits aren't as evil as you were made to believe? Kurumi was more than a little off the rails. But I didn't sense any malice in her actions today," Shirou said to her softly.
"That's the other thing that bothers me. You keep talking about how she was acting… What was the word you used?"
"Demented…"
"Yeah, that. But when she came to do that thing to Yoshino to save her. She was kind, sweet, like a normal teenage girl. Normal if you close your eyes to what she looks like that is… How could the two of us, meet the same person, and come away with two completely different experiences with her? Especially considering that everything we know about her says she's the single most dangerous and bloodthirsty of all the known spirits..."
"Kotori said she was the same way with her. But when Ciel and I met her… That wasn't what she was like at all."
"I'm going to come to regret ever meeting you aren't I? Every day just keeps getting stranger and stranger," she said with a sigh before throwing her arms around his waist and hugging him.
Shirou put his arms around her shoulders and held her gently, "You haven't seen anything yet… But if it's worth anything. The excuse I tried to give Kotori for not wanting to date you was exactly because of this part of my life. But. You seem to be handling it surprisingly well."
"Believe me I'm not… If I didn't like you and Kotori so damn much I'd be long gone."
"Even after all this you still want to keep going with me?" he asked with no small amount of surprise.
"Nothing that happened was because of you. The only thing that happened because of you is that Origami is still alive. I don't know why she got mixed back up with those DEM people but I promise you Shirou. She would never have targeted Kotori and pulled the trigger intentionally. She loves her too much for that."
"We'll figure everything out when she's healthy again. For now. Just let her know nobody is angry at her. Not me, not Kotori, not anyone."
"Speak for yourself. I'm pissed beyond belief! If she was in trouble she should have come to me instead of going along with them!"
Before Shirou could say something to her another man cleared his throat beside them.
"Captain Kusakabe?"
Shirou and Ryouko slowly pulled apart and turned to politely face the man.
"Doctor! Please tell me some good news about Origami!"
The Doctor nodded, "She hasn't regained consciousness yet, but she's resting comfortably. There were a few complications but nothing life threatening. She should make a full recovery."
"What kind of complications?!" she demanded.
The Doctor looked between her and Shirou for a moment, "Perhaps we should discuss this in private Captain?"
Ryouko shook her head, "Anything you have to say to me you can say in front of him."
The Doctor looked at the file on his clipboard and then back up at the Captain. "Ma'am… Are you certain about that?"
Ryouko folded her arms and glared impatiently at the man.
"This is going to be about whatever DEM did to her? Am I correct Doctor?" asked Shirou with a level and firm voice.
The Doctor looked between the two again, "I probably shouldn't even ask how you know about that. But yes…"
Ryouko looked from the Doctor to Shirou and then back again a couple times. "Someone want to start filling me in now?!"
Not long after their talk with the doctor, Ryouko was hunched over some bushes outside the building near her car where she was violently vomiting with Shirou standing beside her, one hand on her back, the other holding a bottle of water out to her.
She reached out and snatched the bottle before falling on her knees in front of her car, her arms on the hood, her face on her forearms, sobbing quietly into her sleeves. Shirou sat back on the hood of her car. Though he wanted nothing more than to hold her right now, he decided it was better to give her some space for the moment. In her place, it's what he'd want.
"How did you know?" she asked quietly without lifting up her head.
"Ciel found out. The Holy Church keeps close tabs on the Mage's Association. Westcott, the DEM Managing Director, was a member. Him splitting with the Clocktower cause a bit of a stirr. My late wife asked Ciel to look into what the Church had on Westcott because he stopped working with her a while back. She wanted to know what he was up to and nobody at the Clocktower would even talk to her after she mentioned his name."
Ryouko slowly picked herself up and sat down beside him on the hood to listen. Taking only a few sips of water as he explained.
"When Ciel had finished gathering all the information, it was long after Rin died. But what she found, she couldn't just leave alone. So she brought it to me. Because I don't play by the same rules as the rest of them. She, rightly, figured that once I knew what was happening at DEM, that I'd do something about it. Honestly though, I very nearly didn't. It wasn't until DEM came after us to get the file she brought me that I decided it was worth getting involved in."
"So what did the files say?"
"It would take me days to explain the particulars. But the relevant part is 'Human Experimentation', something only a 'proper' magus could do and not find it morally reprehensible in the slightest. That's what they did to Origami. Probably to those other two kids as well. All I know about it is that it's designed to increase their combat abilities. Allow them to compete with spirits. If we want to know more. We'll have to ask Origami. I suspect that, since she left DEM to join with you. She probably knows more than we do about what goes on there."
Ryouko chugged through her water before throwing the bottle away as hard as she could and then put her face into her hands and screamed as loud as she could into them. After a long, and tensely silent moment she picked her head back up and looked at Shirou. "Ten years… That's all she has left he said…"
"A lot can happen in ten years. But if DEM can do this to a person, they might have a way to undo it. I'm more than willing to walk into the local DEM building to ask around. I might even start cutting things until someone presents an acceptable solution to your problem."
"Believe me. I have a mind to go there right now and do that myself..."
She took a breath and then leaned into Shirou and wrapped her arms tightly around him. "Thank you for being here with me. I appreciate it."
"There's no need to thank me."
"Would you mind coming with me to to pick up some stuff for Origami? I can drop you off home after that. If I can't stay here with her then I can at least make them put some of her stuff in the room. I don't want her to wake up in a hospital without anything familiar around her… She's a tough girl and she probably wouldn't freak out or anything but-"
"I understand. You don't need to justify it to me. If you need my help with anything, anytime. You just name it, then consider it done," he said while giving her a gentle squeeze in his arms.
"I'll remember that. Thank you."
The next day, Shirou, Tohka, and Ciel had gathered in the dojo for an experiment she wanted to conduct. Tohka has Sandalphon ready, while Shirou brought out Kanshou and Bakuya. Ciel gave the signal and Tohka charged with a swing of her sword. Shirou brought his sword up to block but as had happened the last six times, they could not withstand contact with the angel.
Shirou started shaking his arms while grunting in pain.
"Same thing again?"
"Worse… Each time she breaks my projections there's this shooting pain up my arms. How many more times do you want me to endure this before you figure out what's happening?"
Ciel scratched her chin in deep thought, "Just one more time. Try it with another sword this though. Preferably something that won't explode if it breaks. But something that could still potentially withstand her attack."
Shirou grunted but complied, her held his hand out to his side and started wondering what to trace that could do this job. There was only one name that came to mind for the job which he then traced.
"Oh, that sword is pretty!" observed Tohka.
"Durandal. I used it yesterday to… Nevermind. Point is, this sword is unbreakable. So it should be utterly impossible for your angel to destroy it like my others."
"What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object Shirou? Are you sure that's a good idea?" wondered Ciel.
"Probably not… But if you want to put this to the ultimate test, then I can't think of anything more appropriate off the top of my head. Besides the Aias, and if breaking my projected swords hurts… That would probably destroy my magic circuits..."
"Alright then… Go for it," said Ciel with a sigh.
Tohka charged and Shirou swung to block but as happened every othertime, the sword shattered. But this time the pain that shot up his arms was almost unbearable and he cried out in agony.
"Arrrrgh! That… is…. BULLSHIT!" he cried out.
"It's exactly as I suspected… That just confirms it."
"She just broke the unbreakable sword!" he yelled incredulously while rubbing his sore arms.
"No she didn't. That's not at all what happened. Her angel didn't break the sword. It attacked the mana flow that was sustaining the weapon's existence. That's why your arms are in pain. It's essentially just forcing the rules of the world upon you. That's why it's feeding back into your magic circuits. Her weapon is a spiritual weapon, so it attacks on a spiritual level. Do you get it now?"
"That's why Black Keys work? Because they use the same principal?"
Ciel nodded, "Exactly. And that's how that woman managed to cut off your mana supply in the Church. Whatever spell she infused her shield with, was probably based on what Tohka is doing to break your projections."
"So it's not the sword that broke. It's the mana that broke…" Shirou nodded that he finally understood.
"That's a crude way of putting it. But yes. That's pretty much exactly what's happening here. Try it again. But this time with a Black Key. You didn't actually use them to block Tohka, I did. I want to know if the projection will suffer the same fate, or if the properties of a Black Key will counter her power."
Shirou sighed in resignation. "This is the last experiment. You have no idea how much this hurts Ciel!"
"Suck it up!" she demanded.
Shirou rolled his eyes and projected two handfuls of Black Keys.
"Alright Tohka… One more time."
The violet haired woman nodded and raised her sword, with a step forward she brought it down over his head. Shirou crossed the Black Keys to catch the sword and to his surprise, they blocked it. "I can feel the pain in my circuits! But they're not shattering!" he said loudly, the pain evident in his voice.
Tohka withdrew and then Shirou let his projections dissolve and then fell back onto the floor in exhaustion and pain.
"I think based on this. I have a solution for you. So nobody will ever be able to pull that trick on you again. But I'm going to go ahead and guess you're not exactly up for another experiment?" asked Ciel while kneeling down beside Shirou with a gloating look on her face.
"Damn right I'm not…" he said through heavy breaths. "But taking pain to create weapons is what I do… As long as there's a point to this beyond your own sadism Ciel!"
"I'm not a sadist…" she said while reaching into a bag to pull something out which she then wrapped around Shirou's shoulders as he stood up.
Shirou looked at the cloth she's just thrown over his shoulders. "What's this?"
"It's a Holy Shroud… Trust me, wearing this will protect you from spiritual interference with your magecraft. Give it a try."
Shirou shrugged and projected Kanshou and Bakuya one more time. He then gave Tohka a nod and she came at him again. This time, his swords endured contact, but there was pain shooting up his arms which made him visibly wince.
"Alright. That's enough. I've made my point," said Ciel.
Tohka nodded and stepped back where she put her sword away into the ground and dismissed her astral dress, replacing it with a set of jeans and a loose fitting t-shirt.
Shirou allowed his projections to dissolve before inspecting the Holy Shroud. "My arms still hurt like hell when she made contact… But this did the trick. Whatever was happening couldn't break my projections."
"That I can solve with a little bit of creative tailoring. There's enough material here to make something for both of us."
"Wait… Creative tailoring?" asked a suddenly stunned Shirou.
"Well yeah? What did you think? I'd just cut this in half and we both wear it as scarves to protect us? No. We'd have to make it a pretty tight fit to stay on and protect us from-"
"Ciel… You're not thinking about mantle sleeves and matching butt capes are you?" asked Shirou with an unnaturally calm voice.
"Hmmm… That's actually a really clever idea Shirou! It wouldn't take much material since we don't have to cover our entire bodies so it would leave some of the shroud to spare. Why didn't I think of that?"
Shirou rolled his eyes, "You did think of it… In another life… It's what Archer was wearing over the other costume. Now I know why, and where he got it from."
"So him and this other me really-"
"Please don't go there…"
"Would it be ok if I asked for Kotori's help with this design? That way it'll come out differently and you won't look exactly like him! And I can teach her a little something about Mystic Codes while I'm at it."
Shirou sighed deeply while pulling the shroud off his person and holding it in his hands to look at it and feel it. "Fine. You can do that. I suppose this day was inevitable."
"Wearing the same clothes doesn't make you the same person Shirou. If it helps at all. Despite what Shiki thinks I won't ever be sleeping with you. So you won't have that in common with him."
"Shiki thinks you're sleeping with me?!"
Ciel didn't expect that reaction and actually took a step back away from the angry man.
Tohka raised her hand curiously, "Umm. What's the big deal if you two sleep together? I mean you'd just be sleeping right?"
Shirou and Ciel both turned their heads to Tohka incredulously.
"I need to get started on this. I want it to be ready before I leave tomorrow. Mind if I use your workshop?"
Shirou shook his head, "Go ahead."
"Great. I'll go get Kotori!"
The next morning Shirou looked at himself in the mirror with a completely blank expression on his face while Ciel was adjusting her cloths in a mirror beside him. Kotori and Tohka were sitting on his bed and watching with interest while Yoshino stood behind Ciel.
"The Agemaki knots were my idea. I thought it would be a nice touch to bring you some good luck," said Kotori while smiling proudly at her little addition to the outfit.
Then how did he end up with them I wonder? Did he also adopt Kotori?
Shirou slowly turned his head to Ciel and stared blankly at her next. She looked similar to him, except she dyed it blue. Which truly infuriated him because it would have been fine if his was anything but red. She didn't have the mantle though, she didn't need it because her Black keys weren't projections, instead she had a scarf as she joked about doing earlier. There was also a butt cape over her skirt. Somehow on her it was all just sexy.
Which reminded him... He knew exactly how to make this all better.
Ciel turned her head to look at Shirou curiously. "Do I look bad?"
Shirou shook his head. "Shiki will love it. He told me he enjoys your costume fetish."
Kotori and Yoshinon started laughing.
If I have to suffer this. He has to suffer with me.
Ciel nodded and turned to face Yoshino who was standing behind her watching with interest what they were up to. She knelt down infront of the little girl and smiled sadly at her. "I know you haven't met Shiki yet. But don't get too attached to him. He'll be dead soon."
Yoshino gulped while Yoshinon started laughing maniacally. "Hahahahah! You're so cool Ciel! A total a perve! But so cool!"
Shirou started snickering.
Ciel stood back up and smiled at him in the mirror he was looking into again. "I'll get you for this Shirou Emiya. Just you wait."
"Looking forward to it Ciel…" he said with an amused smirk.
"Try passing some mana through it Pops! You'll love what happens next!"
Shirou raised an eyebrow and then looked at Ciel who closed her eyes and did exactly what Kotori suggested. The outfit dissolved and was replaced by her usual nun-like dress.
Shirou shrugged his shoulders before doing the same thing and then looked in the mirror at the result.
"Mystic Codes are so cool! Since we based them a little bit on our Astral Dresses it's kinda like you have your own now! We used my Spirit Mana to craft them and it really cut down on the time it would have taken to make them work. I really think I could get into crafting Mystic Codes, this was a lot of fun!" said Kotori with enthusiasm.
Ciel gave Kotori a proud smile, "You have a strong aptitude for it. Next time, I'll bring you some textbooks on the subject so you can do some more research on your own. I think you've definitely found your niche in magecraft!"
"Where did you come up with this 'alternate' look for it?" asked Shirou.
"Pictures of my grandfathers that you and mom had in the workshop. I thought it would look great on you since there was too much material in the whole outfit to just turn into your regular look, so we just based it on those pictures and made it into something we thought would look good on you," she answered proudly.
Shirou nodded at his reflection and adjusted the tie before walking over to his daughter and taking her in a tight hug. "I love you," he said to her with tears welling in his eyes.
"I love you too pops. What brought this on though?"
"I'll explain it to you another time…" he said to her softly before kissing the top of her head and then letting her go so he could turn and look at himself one more time.
It was a long coat three piece suit. Black shirt, pants and shoes. The vest was a dark red, along with the coat and tie. It wasn't a complete reproduction of what either man wore in their photographs, though it was certainly clearly inspired by those men, but it was distinctly Shirou Emiya. The look he never knew he could pull off.
I'm definitely not Archer. I'm Kiritsugu's son and I'm Kotori's father. Nobody else.
Shirou, Kotori, and Tohka sat around the dining table that night. Nothing much was said between them except the usual requests to pass this or that.
"I got so used to the house being full that this feels a little lonely now…" said Kotori before slurping up some noodles.
"Yeah. It does kinda feel that way…" said Tohka before doing the same.
"We need to set a few new rules around here. Which I want strictly obeyed," said Shirou in a no nonsense voice.
Kotori and Tohka both turned to look at him.
"First rule is, nobody leaves the house after dark. Second rule is, nobody goes anywhere alone. DEM have shown that they're willing to bend or even disregard the rules to attack us. So until I figure out what my next move should be, I want you both to take extra care and be safe. Don't take any chances. And I really mean that."
Kotori and Tohka slowly nodded.
"I could walk with Kotori to school in the mornings?" offered Tohka.
Shirou nodded, "Good. Do that. Also walk her home after."
No need to tell them I refused to let Saber do that for me.
"What about you Pops? What will you be doing?" asked Kotori.
"I don't honestly know yet. The only thing I can think about right now is keeping you safe. I should probably have sent you to stay with the Tohno family for a while but I want to try something else to get the heat off us first before I upend all our lives like that."
"Pops… I don't mean to sound big headed, but I'm not defenseless."
"You do sound big headed. I watched you get shot. I thought you died. You should be dead right now. It's only thanks to that girl that you're even here now. So please don't let yourself for even a moment think you're safe! When you're outside this house… the moment you feel safe and secure, is the exact moment you'll be in the most danger!"
Kotori slowly nodded and looked down at the food she barely touched. "I understand…"
"Good. The next thing I want you both to be doing is training together. I want you to keep teaching her Tohka. Then, I'd also like to train with you. We can all sharpen our skills that way."
Tohka nodded enthusiastically, "Now that you can make swords that Sandalphon won't break I'm sure I can learn lots from you!"
"We'll start tonight then."
We'll start tonight he says… How am I supposed to get through school today without a drop of mana?
Tonomachi tapped the top of a can with two fingers a couple times before opening it up and setting it down on top of Kotori's desk. "Thy need is greater than mine Emiya…"
Kotori reached out and took up the energy drink he'd opened for her and she started chugging it.
"Thanks Tonomachi…" she said sleepily. "Good job on keeping off the gel…" she added lazily.
Tonomachi waved his hand and snapped his fingers in front of her face but she still looked so distant. She had bags under her eyes and her eyelids were only half open. "When's the last time you slept Emiya?"
"I think I slept last night… Sort of…"
"House guests keeping you up all night?" he wondered.
"Pretty much yeah…" she said before her face planted into the desk with a snore.
When lunch time arrived, Kotori sat down at the usual table she always shared with Origami. With a heavy sigh she opted instead to pull out her phone and maybe play a game while eating. All of a sudden someone had the audacity to sit down at their table. Nobody ever did that. Everyone knew it was an unwritten rule that nobody but Kotori Emiya and Origami Tobiichi sat down at this table to eat in peace.
Kotori lifted up her head with an angry scowl about to verbally eviscerate the intruder when her jaw suddenly dropped and her eyes widened.
"Oh my… You look like someone just stepped over your grave. Are you alright?"
Kotori closed her eyes for a long moment before opening them again. To her shock, the girl was still there. She was wearing their school uniform. Her hair was done in long tails going over both of her shoulders one was subtly longer than the other, peekabangs over her left eye, and the straps of an eye patch going over and under her right eye. But that blood red eye, that voice. Kotori would know her anywhere.
"Kurumi? Wha… What are you doing here?!" she yelled in a hushed whisper.
"That's 'Tokisaki-senpai' to you right now. A little respect please, Emiya-kohai. I just transfered into this school," she said with a small grin.
"How did you manage that?" asked Kotori incredulously.
"Oh I've just been around a few times and learned a few things," she said while her face morphed from a grin to a smile. "I told you that you'd see me again sooner or later."
"You know I have about a million questions for you right now?"
"I'll answer what I can. But not here. You know the rules," she said kindly.
"Hey Emiya! Who's your new friend? She seems like the polar opposite of Tobiichi-senpai," said Tonomachi while setting down his tray and taking a seat beside Kotori.
"Who gave you permission to sit next to me Tonomachi?!" barked Kotori in his face.
"Wow. Somebody's finally awake. I didn't think I needed permission to sit next to my friend. So I just sat down," he answered calmly.
"You're not my friend Tonomachi. You're a nuisance!"
"I might be a nuisance to you. But you're still a friend to me. So accept it and move on."
Kurumi stifled a giggle, "Some things never change," she said in almost a whisper. "Is this your boyfriend Kotori-chan?"
"No way!" she yelled loudly enough to turn all heads on her. Kotori looked around and quickly hid her face in shame for a long moment before looking up at Kurumi again, "And don't be so familiar senpai…"
Kurumi and Tonomachi stifled a chuckle at Kotori's reaction.
"If he's annoying to you, I could kill him for you if you'd like?" said Kurumi with a salacious tone and matching lick of her lips.
Kotori gasped. She started waving her hands and shaking her head at the black haired girl frantically.
"Ahh. I see you know about Emiya's love of all things Yandere. We're just friends and classmates. I'm Hiroto Tonomachi by the way. Welcome to the school, if there's anything we can help you with, just ask. Anytime, I'm at your service," he said while offering the new girl his hand.
Oh God… He has no idea she'd probably actually do it!
"Oh my. So polite. I'm Kurumi Tokisaki. Nice to meet you," she said while shaking hands with the boy.
Pops actually likes this idiot?!
"Stop flirting with her!" she softly yelled at him while slapping his upper arm.
"Don't get jealous. I'm not flirting with her, I'm just trying to be polite and make her feel welcomed before some of those douchebag upperclassmen ruin the image of our school in her mind forever."
"I promise you Tonomachi-kohai. Between you and Kotori-chan, it's impossible for me to dislike being here."
"Could you stop calling me 'Kotori-chan' it's embarrassing and I don't know you that well… Only my family call me that. And only my dad's girlfriend calls me by my first name. Not even my best friend does that yet..." she groaned out.
"Oh.. I see. Forgive me. Emiya then," she said with a nod.
Tonomachi blinked at Kotori, "Your dad's dating someone? That's cool. Is she nice?"
"Yes. She is very nice! It's none of your business anyway!"
"Hey. I like your old man. I'm happy for him, that's all. No offense intended," he said with his hands up in a peace gesture. "Besides. I still wanna get some cooking lessons from him. The man knows his stuff."
"Why do you even know how to cook anyway? It doesn't fit with my image of you. I imagine you're the kind of guy who stays up late playing online games who couldn't microwave a cup of ramen to save his life…"
"I do stay up late playing online games. As for learning how to cook. I just get recipes from the internet and try them out. My mom doesn't cook and my dad's never around. So… It's either that or, instant noodles. And those get boring pretty fast."
"Pardon me for saying so…" Kurumi interjected, "It sounds like you're mostly left on your own at home. May I ask why that is? Or is it too personal?"
"I got nothing to hide, so you can ask," he said with a forced smile.
"I see. Forget I brought it up then," said a nodding Kurumi.
Before the conversation could continue the bell rang to announce it was time for class to begin.
At the end of the day, Kotori was putting on her shoes to exit the building when Kurumi came up behind her. "Would you like to walk home together Kotori-chan?"
Kotori growled lowly, "I'm thankful to you for what you did for us. Immeasurably so. But for the last time… Don't call me 'Kotori-chan'!"
"Oh my. I'm sorry. I hit a nerve. Forgive me. But my offer stands. Would you like for us to walk home together?"
"I have Archery practice right now. Would you like to come and watch? You're not in any clubs yet I assume? So maybe you'd like to join us?"
Kurumi scratched the back of her head and thought about it, "That could be fun. I wouldn't mind giving it a try."
Kotori raised up her bow and drew it back while lowering it steadily. Once the bow was fully drawn out she focused on the target and released the arrow before falling into the correct finishing stance with all the practiced perfection expected of one who bears the name of Emiya. The target had been hit, not with perfect accuracy, but as she came to know, hitting the target at all for a beginner was considered a feat unto itself. Kotori couldn't keep a small hint of a smile off her lips as she gracefully stepped off the firing range to make way for the next group.
Kurumi was among the next group, all dressed up in the traditional outfit for the practice of Kyudo. The team Captain beside her explaining the basics to her while she smiled and nodded along. "Don't worry about your lack of depth perception," he began cautiously, not wanting to offend her. "There are people who are completely blind who have set archery records. So it's nothing you can't overcome! Now, for the basics of firing the bow-"
"Oh don't worry. This isn't my first time shooting a bow, but thank you. It's been awhile for me though so let's see how I do?"
The team Captain nodded and stepped back, "Always good to have more experienced members in the club. The Archery team is the pride of this school so we need everyone we can get if we want a shot at nationals."
Kurumi smiled before taking a deep breath, she took up the proper stance and raised the bow, drawing it back with a level of practiced precision that few on the team had seen outside of professional practitioners. With her one eye locked on the target she released the arrow, hitting the target dead center and then falling into the correct finishing stances.
"Holy crap…" muttered Kotori.
"That was… Impressive. But can you do it again?" asked the team Captain.
Kurumi loaded the next arrow she had in her fingers and began the whole ritual over again, drawing, targeting, releasing, and then relaxing. Then she loaded her final arrow and repeated the process again. Three shots, and all three on target, at, or very near the center.
"Apologies for my cockiness… I seem to be a little rustier than I thought," she said quietly while everyone was gaping at her.
"If that's a 'little' rusty for you, I honestly think having you on the team will get us back the national title! Please… For the love of all that's holy. Tell me you'll join our club!"
"I'm much better at shooting guns if I'm to tell you the truth… But. Since I'm here, how can I refuse?"
"Kotori-chan… That new girl is amazing…" said Taiga Fujimura while leaning down close to discreetly speak to her niece.
"Yeah… No kidding… Nobody else on this team except Tobiichi could shoot a grouping like she just did…"
"I've only seen two people in this dojo shoot like that. The first was your father. The second is Tobiichi. And now there's this girl. All three of them are utterly flawless in their technique… The captain's right. With her and Tobiichi, this team does have a shot now."
"Challenge accepted Aunt Tiger. I'll make that list if it kills me!" she whispered loudly, but still discreetly.
"That's my girl," said Taiga with a big smirk.
"I'll see you tomorrow then Kuru- Tokisaki-senpai, hopefully we'll get a chance to talk then," said Kotori as they parted ways on her way home with Tohka walking beside her.
Kurumi observed Tohka with an amused smile, "You're quite serious about protecting her aren't you? You keep a careful watch on me, and everything around us at all times."
"That's my duty. To protect my family!" Tohka said firmly.
Kurumi giggled softly at her, "If I wanted to hurt Kotori-chan, believe me, I've had plenty of opportunities to do it before now. More than you'll probably ever know."
Kotori rolled her eyes, "You're not going to stop calling me that are you?"
Kurumi bowed before turning to walk away, "Force of habit. Your name is too cute to resist it. I'll try harder in the future. Emiya-kohai."
Kotori sighed deeply before turning the other direction to walk away with Tohka.
Kurumi looked at her hand with an amused smile. "Archery huh? How long has it been since I did that I wonder?" Kurumi started skipping along the sidewalk while giggling in amusement at herself. "Too long. It could be fun this time around though. Who knows maybe I'll even-"
Kurumi bumped into someone and quickly turned around to offer a polite apology. "I'm so sorry. I was in my own world there and didn't see you."
"Yeah? What was that for bitch?" said one young man to her while two others started walking to surround her.
"Oh no… Not you three again..."
The three looked at each other in confusion for a moment. "You're gonna have a say a lot more than sorry to me if you wanna go free today."
Kurumi sighed with impatience, "Could we hurry this up then? I'm really not in the mood to screw around today…" she said while walking through them and into an alley ahead of her.
"Damn.. She really is a slut! Awesome!" said one of them while moving to walk close behind her.
"Heh… Like I said… I'm not screwing around today…"
"Yeah? Neither are we…" said the third young man while reaching out to grab onto her.
A moment later Kurumi walked out of the alley as the blood began to pool and flow around the corner and onto the sidewalk. But no bodies would ever be found there…
"Hey beautiful…" said another Kurumi while hanging out of a shadow inside the wall beside her as if it were a window.
"What do you want? I got you a little something just now, doesn't that earn me a moment to myself?"
"A moment is really all those three had to offer. Certainly wasn't worth the mana you wasted on them like that. You're not usually the one to go for overkill…"
"Maybe I'm finally picking up your bad habits?"
"Don't talk back to me like that missy. You forget I could just gobble you back up as well."
"If you could, you would have done that a long time ago. You can't get rid of me anymore than I can get rid of you beautiful," she said while winking at her other self.
"Grrrr! Do what you want to do but don't screw up my plan or I will drag you back in here like I did the last time! Believe me! I made you. I can find a way to finally unmake you!" she yelled before vanishing into the shadow again.
Kurumi smiled over at the setting sun, "Mhmm… Heard it before beautiful…" she said before humming a tune and skipping to the beat. "Hickory Dickory Dock, the boys ran up the clock. The clock struck one, the boys ran down! Hickory Dickory Dock… Hehe" she finished with her eye closed and a bright smile with her head tilted just slightly to catch that last beam of sunshine.