Author's Note: I'm sorry the last chapter wasn't so well received. Hopefully this will get those Noble Phantasms sheathed again instead of pointed at me.

Chapter Eleven

Kotori brought a couple dishes of food over to the table and set them down while Kurumi was taking a moment to inspect the many pictures on the wall, particularly the ones that Kotori was in with a small and genuine smile on her face.

"Yes. I looked silly when I was smaller…" groaned Kotori as she stepped up behind Kurumi to see what she was looking at.

"Not at all Kotori-chan. I'm just seeing the proof of how loved you are. Your mother and father always look so happy with you. More than they do in any of the other pictures."

"What makes you say that?" Kotori wondered.

"Because they smile a lot brighter in the pictures with you than they do in any of the others. They were obviously proud of the things they did. But never more proud than they are of being your parents," she explained wistfully.

"What's with you all of a sudden? You're like a totally different person…"

"I like pictures. They hold a lot of memories. A lot of feelings from the people in them. More than any other object. Pictures are proof of life. Proof that you existed. Without them, it's like you never existed at all. They tell you that once upon a time, these people were in that place, and they were happy there. You can feel the energy coming from them if you know how. Feel it beckoning your curiosity and imagination so your mind can put together the story from this one moment in time which has been preserved for posterity."

"That's really deep… But I'm really hungry. So can we eat? I'll tell you all about those pictures later on," she said while walking back to the table.

Kurumi sighed and walked behind her, "Telling the stories ruins the experience though. It takes away some of the mystery," she explained while sitting herself down and looking at the food with a big grin. "But now that I see this…" she said while clasping her hands together.

"Itadakimasu!" they happily exclaimed together before they started eating.

A few minutes later Shirou walked into the living room, his hair still damp from a recent bath. He stopped at the threshold of the living room where he could see Kotori and Kurumi eating at the table.

Something about them eating quietly together like that… As if they've done it all their lives.

He walked into the room and greeted them quietly, Kurumi was about to stand up and greet him properly but he gestured for her to remain seated. "No need to get up. You're probably hungry. Enjoy the food and our hospitality. It's the least we can do after what you've done for us," he said while moving into the kitchen.

"Thank you very much… It's a pleasure to be here…" said Kurumi in a low voice before turning back to her food. She had a forlorn look in her eye for a short moment before she smiled and started eating again.

Kotori didn't let that go unnoticed but said nothing aloud before she started eating again as well.

Maybe she's like Tohka? She's never experienced what it's like to be welcome anywhere, especially in a warm and loving home?

"Are you going to make tea?" asked Kurumi.

Shirou turned around with the kettle in his hand. "That's exactly what I'm doing. I like to prepare my evening tea the old fashioned way. The way my father used to do it. It's sort of a tradition in this house to have tea in the evenings on the veranda. Though Kotori very seldom joins us anymore… But you should feel welcome to join us anyway," he offered their guest.

"I'd like that. Thank you very much," answered Kurumi before smiling back down at her plate.

"Kotori… About what happened in class this morning? Did that boy really deserve what he got?" asked Shirou in a calm voice that betrayed none of his emotions.

Kotori rolled her eyes, "I think he did..."

"Don't do that again. There are some things your mother did that you're much better off not emulating. But even she never threw blunt objects at her classmates during class time," he pointed out to his daughter.

"I'm sorry… It won't happen again," said Kotori with her eyes downcast.

Kurumi snickered softly, "I know I already scolded you for it, but your father is probably right. Besides, if you're going to hurt people, the trick is to do it without getting caught."

"Please don't encourage her…" said Shirou with an exasperated sigh. "We have enough problems without the Tiger complaining about Kotori's behavior during meals."

"I understand Pops. I won't let it happen again," she repeated herself before turning her full attention back on her meal.

Shirou set down his tea set on the veranda and poured out a cup for himself. A moment later Tohka came out and took a seat beside him, helping herself to the tea without disturbing the peace of the evening. She set the hot cup down beside her and took a moment to lean back and rest on her hands to gaze up at the sky.

"The moon is so big and bright tonight. It's so pretty," remarked Tohka. "But why does the moon look different every night I wonder?"

Shirou slowly nodded while a smile curled onto his lips. "It has to do with the position of the moon and how much sunlight it's reflecting-" Shirou looked at Tohka and suddenly remembered whom he was talking to. "Sometimes science kind of makes it boring… Why do you think the moon looks different every night Tohka?"

"Because it wants us to know that things change and get bigger, brighter, and prettier?" she said almost shamefully.

Shirou smiled and reached over to give her shoulder a gentle squeeze, "I like that answer. It's so quintessentially Tohka. Always remember that. Things can seem bad, but somehow they always seem to get better in the end."

Tohka nodded firmly, "I will!"

Meanwhile Kurumi looked out at the veranda through the open doors of the living room while Kotori cleaned up the dishes. "Your father and Tohka seem very close. They're kind of cute together," she said with a smile.

"They are adorable together, yes. But they're not romantic or anything like that. You could call her his apprentice, or disciple, or whatever something like that you want to call her."

"You mentioned he was dating your friend's guardian. How's that going by the way?"

"It's so cute. She calls him every night, they see each other as often as they can. She even sneaks away from work to spend a little time with him every few days. Lately though she hasn't been around. She's been spending all her free time in the hospital with Tobiichi. Speaking of which I heard she's finally allowed visitors so I'm going to go see her tomorrow after school. So I might have to miss practice."

Kurumi nodded, "I understand. You must care about her a lot?"

Kotori smiled while drying off the last dish. "I do. Very much. She's a good friend."

"I would imagine so. Loyal and trustworthy friends are hard to come by. You should always keep them close when you find them."

"I agree," said Kotori after putting the last dish away. "So. Shall we join them for tea?"

The two walked over to the veranda where Kotori took a seat next to her father, Kurumi meanwhile took a moment to help herself to the tea. Spotting a particular cup she smiled and reached for it.

Shirou put his hand over the cup that Kurumi reached for, "Take the other one, this one has a chip in the bottom of it. Wouldn't want you to accidentally cut yourself."

Kurumi raised her eyebrow at that but still took that cup anyway. "It's fine. I think it gives this cup some character," she said while pouring the tea into said cup. She then picked it up and felt the broken bit at the bottom. "Some klutz probably forgot that fresh tea is very hot and dropped the cup into the tray right about here…" she explained while feeling a dent in the serving tray after setting down the pot.

It was Shirou's turn to raise an eyebrow. "I'm not sure when it happened. But that sounds right. I've been meaning to replace that cup but-"

"But it only comes as a full set. It's fine, really. You shouldn't replace something that's still useful, feels a little cruel. It's still a perfectly good cup that someone like me will enjoy," she said smiling while standing up to go sit beside Kotori.

Kotori and Shirou both looked curiously at Kurumi for a long moment which made her lower her gaze and blush. "Do I have something on my face?" she wondered with a small giggle.

"Who are you and what have you done with Kurumi?" the red haired girl asked.

"Ara ara… What are you talking about?"

"The way you're acting. Normally you're so… What's the word? Intimidating? Scary? Direct? Blunt? Mysterious? But right now you're being deep and philosophical," explained Kotori the best she could.

"I just feel comfortable here. I can just be myself," she said with a cheery smile, eye closed and head tilted.

"Well. We certainly want you to feel comfortable here," said Shirou.

"These are wonderful people. As long as you mean them no harm you're very welcome here," added Tohka.

"Don't worry. My fight isn't with any of you," said Kurumi before sipping her tea.

"Who are you fighting against? DEM?" wondered Shirou.

Kurumi nodded, "Partly. Yes."

Shirou narrowed his eyes at the cryptic answer, "Would you mind elaborating?"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea…"

"We might be able to help you. If you want us to trust you, you should try trusting us as well," said Kotori.

"Actions have consequences. If I tell you, you'll want to help me. If you help me, you'll get involved. If you get involved, you could get hurt. If you get hurt, everything I've been through until now will have been for nothing."

"Why do you care about us so much? We don't even know you," asked Tohka.

"Too blunt Tohka… But. It is what we're all wondering…" said Shirou.

"We're already involved anyway… So what's the harm if you just tell us?" asked Kotori.

Kurumi forced a smile onto her lips and looked up at the row of heads all turned to her. "Just trust me when I say that the less you know, the better it would be. All I can say for now is that a very long time ago DEM took something from me. I'm trying to get it back. That's really all I can say for now. So please don't ask anymore questions. In time, if I can. I'll tell you more."

Shirou nodded slowly in understanding. "Alright. I'll let it go for now. But just tell me this. You're going to protect Kotori? I can trust her with you?"

Kurumi nodded, "I can't tell you why just yet. Only that I will. I can tell you that everything I'm trying to accomplish depends on her being safe," she said while setting down her teacup. "Mind if I use the restroom?"

Shirou shrugged, "Down the hall, to the right."

After Kurumi left Kotori sighed, "Why is it that every time I think I'm about to get an answer out of her I only come away with more questions?"

Kurumi closed and locked the door behind her before reaching up with her hand towards the light bulb where she cast a spell to turn it off again. There in the darkness she was face to face with her other self.

"What's with you beautiful?" asked the Kurumi in the orange dress.

"Switch places with me," she demanded.

"Switch places with you? Why would I do that?"

A single tear escaped her red eye before she closed it and groaned with irritation, "Because you're a better liar than I am!"

"You know I'm really busy right now. I don't have time to indulge in this sort of thing. That's what I keep you around for!"

Kurumi opened her eye and stared into her other self but said nothing.

The orange Kurumi sighed, "Oh my… You should have known better. This is so unbecoming of me. You're actually embarrassing me right now. Very well. I'll take your place. But I expect something in return for it. At least an hour's worth," she said while pointing at her yellow eye.

Kurumi nodded, "Agreed."

Both Kurumi's lifted up their hands and their cloths dissolved to be replaced with the other's ensemble.

A moment later the darkness gave way to light and Kurumi looked around at where she was standing. "Whatever. I had to go anyway..."

A short while later Kurumi walked through the living room but spotted something out of the corner of her eye she felt compelled to look at more closely. It was one of the pictures on the wall which brought a smile to her face. It was a young girl pictured outside a hospital with Shirou and Rin. She had a blue eye and an eyepatch. She then took a moment to adjust the eyepatch she was wearing and fluffed out her bangs to cover it up using her reflection in the framing glass "That's very interesting… Why didn't she notice that one? Always so focused on what isn't there to notice what is."

Kotori smiled up at the black haired girl when she returned and resumed her place beside her. She gently picked up her tea cup and had a sip from it.

"Kurumi. We were just talking. It's getting a bit late and we're wondering if you'd maybe like to stay over tonight?"

Kurumi looked up at the younger girl, "Oh my. That's very kind of you but unfortunately I have things to do tonight. Some other time perhaps?" she said while feeling the chip in the tea cup with her fingertip.

"If you're sure. I'm just a little worried about you walking home all by yourself. Where do you actually live anyway?"

Kurumi shrugged, "Not far from here, I assure you. I appreciate the concern but it's very misplaced. After all, I'm exactly the sort of person you're afraid I might run into on my way home," she said with a small grin and that gleam in her eye which made everyone suddenly feel a little uncomfortable to be near her.

Kurumi then drank the last of the tea in her cup before moving over to set it back on the tray. "Well. Thank you so much for having me over. But I should get going now."

Kotori nodded, "I'll walk her out," she said while standing up.

At the door Kurumi took a bow, "Thank you again for letting me come over. I had a good time."

"Hang on a second Kurumi. We didn't discuss what we're going to do about those two?"

"What two?" she asked with a blink of confusion.

"What two? I'm talking about Shido and Mana. Who else?" asked Kotori with a furious growl.

"Oh… Those two. Would you like me to get rid of them? It wouldn't be a big deal," she said before salaciously licking her lips.

"I thought you had a little crush on Shido…"

"Oh. I do. But just a little one. Oh that reminds me," she said while kneeling down and reaching into a shadow being cast onto the sidewalk.

Kotori raised an eyebrow at that, "How are you doing that? Is that your spirit power?"

Kurumi grinned at her, "Partly. Yes," she said before pulling out her hand and then offering Kotori a tin bucket of lollipops. "Cherry flavor. Your favorite right?"

Kotori's eyes widened at what she saw and happily accepted it from her, "Chupa Chups?! These vanished from the market months ago! Where did you find this?!"

"I have my sources. I just hope you'll enjoy them," said Kurumi with a big grin.

"Damn right I'll enjoy them! I don't know how to reciprocate though… I'll have to find you something you'll like."

"Don't worry about it," said a smiling Kurumi. "About the Takamiya siblings. Just ignore them for now. I'm rather curious to see what they think they'll accomplish. Oh… And you're going to see Tobiichi tomorrow… That's right," she said before kneeling down and reaching into the same shadow again where she pulled out a small stuffed animal. "Could you give her this for me?"

Kotori took the toy and looked at it carefully. "Kurumi… Do you know what this is?"

"Considering what I went through to find it, I probably know better than you dear," she said with a wink. "Bye bye for now," she said before walking into a shadow on the street and vanishing from sight.

"Is Tobiichi even into collecting these things?" Kotori wondered aloud while closing the gate.

After school the next day Kotori wandered into the military hospital. After a moment to get directions from one of the staff she eventually found her way to the room she was looking for where she gently knocked.

"Come in!" she heard Ryouko yell loudly enough to make Kotori cringe before opening the door.

"Ryouko… It's a hospital. You shouldn't yell like that…" she chided the woman while walking in and gently closing the door behind her.

"Hey Origami. Look who's here!" she said happily.

Kotori walked into the room and looked to the bed with a small smile. "Hello Senpai…"

Origami froze up and looked at Kotori with shaking eyes. "Emiya…"

"How are you feeling?" she asked while moving to take a seat on her friend's bedside.

Origami looked away and tensed up at Kotori's proximity.

Kotori could feel the turmoil in her friend's mind as if it were in her own somehow. Even Ryouko noticed and stood up.

"I'll go get some coffee or something. You two must have a lot to talk about..." she said while excusing herself from the room.

Once the door was closed Kotori reached out and took a hold of her friend's hand. "Tobii- Origami. Could you please look at me?"

"I can't… Not after what I did… The way I failed you. In the worst possible way. I betrayed you. I shot you… You shouldn't be here. You should hate me right now."

"Origami… Look at me. I'm alright. I don't hate you. I could never hate you. I love you. Very much. You're the closest thing I have to a sister. You're my best friend!"

"I betrayed your trust. You trusted me. And I helped set a trap for you!" she yelled while still being unable to look at Kotori.

Kotori would have felt her heart shatter if not for the fact that Origami was holding her hand and squeezing it. "I know you did. But I also know that you would never have done that if you didn't believe with all your heart that you were doing the right thing. I know in your own way you thought you were protecting me. Yes you did fail miserably, and you did shoot me, that did hurt like hell. But I'm still alive. So if you need me to forgive you. I forgive you."

Origami quickly sat up and pulled Kotori into a tight hug. "How can you even be here? How can you even look at me?" she tearfully questioned.

"You're my friend…" she said while hugging her back. "If it was anyone else I'd be mad as hell. But not with you. I know you too well for that."

"I don't deserve your forgiveness…"

"I don't give a crap what you think you deserve. I decide what you deserve! So accept it!" she yelled while holding her tighter.

Origami laughed a little at her friend's audaciousness while slowly releasing her from the hug.

"I brought you something," she said while reaching into her bag and pulling out a little box which she handed over to Origami.

Origami eyed it curiously before accepting it, she opened it and then gazed at the contents for a long moment. She pulled out two pieces of what was once a crystal panda. "It's nice. Thank you."

"Oh crap! I totally forgot!" she said with a massive facepalm. "I got mad at Tonomachi and it was the only thing I had handy that I could throw at him… I forgot what it was…"

"It's quite alright Kotori. Knowing it brought him pain after he upset you makes me happy," she said with a small grin.

Kotori laughed it off, "Yeah… I threw it at him yesterday morning and he was rubbing his head all day. Oh yeah…" she said and then reached into her bag again, "Someone asked me to give this to you for them…" she said while pulling out a little dog shaped toy with black patches on the sides of its head for ears, eyes, and a matching black tail which she then handed over to Origami.

The white haired girl stared at it. And stared at it. Just when Kotori thought she was about to speak she just stared at it some more.

"Spot… He's the last one missing from my collection of the original nine beanie babies…" she remarked while looking at it in shock, another fresh tear streaming down her eye. "Who asked you to give this to me?"

"Umm… Yeah… About that. Promise not to overreact?"

Origami turned to Kotori and stared at the nervous smile she was wearing. "Tell me," she demanded.

"Well… Uhh… It was Kurumi."

"Who is Kurumi?"

"Uhh… She's the one you might know as 'Nightmare' heh…"

"The one who saved your life?"

"Yeah… Umm. She's been coming to school lately and hanging around with me… It's a long story."

"I have nothing but time…" she said coldly while laying back in her bed with the beanie baby cradled gently in her hands.

Ten very awkward minutes of catching her up on everything that's happened later…

Origami sighed deeply after Kotori finished retelling the events.

Five minutes of awkward silence later…

"It seems I owe this spirit a debt… She corrected my failure... Why can't things just be simple? Last month I knew who my friend was, and I knew who my enemies were..."

"There's just one more thing I need to tell you…" said Kotori while taking two fist fulls of her skirt and a very deep breath. "I'm a magus," she blurted out.

"I already knew that," said Origami with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"You what?!"

"I already knew that," she repeated. "But why are you telling me this?"

"Because Ryouko found out… And I hate that she knows something about me that you don't… I don't want to have any secrets from you. But more importantly. How did you know?!"

"It's a long story. But the short of it is that your father was required reading while I was training at DEM… Given who your parents are. The odds of you not being a mage yourself were astronomically low. I just didn't care."

"So you knew my father was a magus and still agreed to fix Ryouko up with him?"

"Your father is famous for not being an ordinary mage. In every way that actually matters, I believed he could be a suitable love interest for Ryouko."

Kotori smiled happily at that, "Some of the words you choose sometimes… But thank you Senpai. That means a lot. I understand that DEM and the Mages don't really get along so I was a little worried about how that might affect our friendship."

"I left DEM to join with Ryouko and her team. But even under any other circumstances. I would still choose to be your friend."

"Even if I turned out to be a spirit?" she asked curiously.

"Even if you turned out to be a boy who likes to dress up as a girl. I wouldn't judge you."

"Alright… And I thought Kurumi was a freak job. I'm almost afraid to see what'll happen when the two of you meet."

"You didn't deny it…" remarked Origami.

Kotori binked, "Did you just troll me?!"

"Yes… I did," said Origami with a soft snicker.

"Kurumi did the same thing to me twice yesterday…"

"What are you thinking about?"

"She knows things Origami. She knew that toy was missing from your collection. She knew about a broken tea cup in our house… She knew about what was going to happen that day. She knows a lot of things that nobody should know. I need to get answers out of her. But I need your help to do it. Will you help me?"

Origami nodded, "Of course I will help you."

"Does this mean you'll stop trying to kill all the spirits?"

Origami shook her head, "Only if they give me cause to. Ryouko explained most of the situation to me and I will support her, and you."

"There's one more thing I need to tell you. Shido and Mana Takamiya just started attending our school…"

Origami narrowed her eyes and started trying to get out of bed but Kotori quickly held her down. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"I need to leave this hospital now. I can't just let them roam around unchecked. They're too dangerous!"

"They aren't going around unchecked! Kurumi and I are keeping an eye on them. Tohka's been walking me to and from school. My father's got his eye on DEM. You need to rest and recover. They only want to keep you here for two more days and then they'll let you out. You can't help anyone if you hurt yourself again!"

"I am fine Kotori. I won't be more ready in two more days than I am right now!"

"Please Origami. Do it for me? I'll keep you fully up to date on everything over the phone. I will call you, text you, e-mail you. Whatever it takes. Just please stay here and rest."

"If I agree. I want regular and detailed updates. I want to know everything. What was said, how it was said. Where they sit at lunch, how they behave in their classrooms. Not just Shido and Mana, but this Kurumi person as well. I want to know everything," she firmly demanded.

"It's a deal. Now promise me you'll stay and rest."

"I promise…" said Origami with a frustrated sigh.

"Good. Now then. Let's talk about some other stuff," said Kotori with a bright smile.

Meanwhile, the bell at the Emiya house rang, Shirou got up and gestured for Tohka to remain seated while he went to see who it was.

It's too early for Taiga, and she doesn't ring…

When he opened the gate Shirou was stunned speechless.

"Shirou Emiya. It's been a long time…" said an older man in English with a polite nod of his head.

"L… Lo… Lord El-Melloi the second… At my doorstep?" asked Shirou with wide eyes.

The man nodded, "I apologize for showing up unannounced. But this wasn't something I could have potentially getting out to the wrong people. Nobody knows I'm here, and I'd like it to stay that way."

Shirou opened the gate wider while stepping back, "Please. Come in."

"Thank you. I'll try not to take up too much of your time," he said while Shirou closed the gate and then lead him inside.

A short time later Shirou served tea for his guest and then took a seat beside Tohka opposite the man.

"This must be important for you to come all the way here in person..."

"Before we begin, no offense to you young lady, but. May we speak in front of her Mr. Emiya?"

"Her name is Tohka and yes we can speak in front of her. I trust her with my daughter's life. You can trust her with anything as well. You have my word on that. Tohka, this is Lord El-Melloi the second. He was one of my teachers when I was a student in London. Someone I respect a great deal..."

"A pleasure to meet you Miss Tohka. And please. Shirou. Call me Waver. I'm not here as Lord El-Melloi the second."

Shirou swallowed the surging anxiety in his chest and forced the man's name out of his mouth, "Alright. Waver. What brings you here then?"

Waver nodded, "It's been brought to my attention that you're involved in some kind of conflict with DEM Industries?"

"I am. Yes."

"Good. I'm here to offer you my aid. If you're willing to accept it."

"You want to help me fight DEM? May I ask why?"

Waver nodded, "It's a personal matter. Hence why I'm here on my own. Without anyone in the Clock Tower knowing about it. I informed them I was taking a sabbatical to pursue some personal research."

Shirou nodded that he was following along but said nothing to the man.

"You see… Isaac Westcott took something from me. Something very personal and very valuable. He has no use for it naturally. But he did it to mock me. I don't much care for being mocked. Since I can't involve the Clock Tower in my own petty vendetta, I decided to instead offer you my assistance since you are already engaged in conflict with the DEM… Wizards..." he almost spat that last word as if it were something sour in his mouth.

Shirou blinked a few times, "It is a very pretentious title… But anyway. It's not that I don't want or need all the help I can get. It's just that… Your motive seems a bit… sketchy?"

"It's not my only motive. But it is the one that brought me here. Frankly I'm getting tired of DEM's machinations. I'd like to put a stop to them but conventional means aren't getting the job done. Unconventional means are your speciality Mr. Emiya. So, I've decided to throw my lot in with you."

I can't pass up on an ally like him… But how much can I really trust him? Only one way to find out really…

"Lord El-Mel-"

"Waver…"

"Waver… Right. Sorry. There's a lot going on here, and I'm not sure how much you know. It's not that I don't want or need your help… Because I'm not exactly in a position where I can turn away powerful allies. But-"

"Shirou. I know enough. Your late wife came to me with a lot of what was going on back then. I'm not a fool. I couldn't help her then because I'm only one man and there was only so much I could do. And it isn't that I didn't try to help her. Because I did. There was simply nothing I could do."

Shirou shook his head, "That's not what I mean. Rin never had anything but good things to say about you. She knew you tried to help. She also knew what you were up against. That's not why I'm worried about trusting you now. Far from it. It's just that there are things here I don't want to have getting back to the Clock Tower…"

"I anticipated as much… I considered having a Self-Geis scroll prepared but I thought that might be excessive for the task at hand. As you might imagine I have very little in the way of combative ability to offer you. But I do have other resources I'm prepared to commit. Trust me with whatever you feel you can trust me with. But everything I have is at your disposal."

He then reached into his briefcase and produced a slip of paper. "I'll be staying at this address, and there's a contact number there as well. My apprentice and I will be ready and available for anything you need."

Shirou accepted the paper, "I'll naturally have to give this careful consideration. But, I appreciate the offer. So… Since you're here, would you like to stay for dinner? I was just about to start cooking since my daughter and sister should be here soon."

"I never knew you had a sister Shirou…"

"A surrogate sister really. She was someone who used to hang around my father that we just sort of got stuck with. And no, she has no idea about the other part of our lives. So.. Keep that in mind."

Waver nodded. "Perhaps another time? I still have to get settled into my accommodation and it would be very rude of me to enjoy your hospitality while my apprentice is doing all the work right now."

Shirou nodded, "Of course. I understand completely. Maybe tomorrow night? Then we can discuss how we'll go about this partnership against DEM and what our strategy will be."

Waver chuckled at that, "Reminds me of the grail war…"

Shirou sighed, "Believe me… I know exactly how you feel right now."

Kotori was walking home beside Kurumi as the sun began to set. "So how did she like the Beanie Baby?" asked Kurumi with a cheerful smile.

"It brought a tear to her eye…"

Kurumi gushed at her words, "Awww! So she loved it!"

"How did you know?"

"Know what?" asked Kurumi.

"How did you know she collected those things. I didn't even know."

Kurumi opened her mouth to say something but Kotori immediately cut her off. "If you say that you've been around and learned a bit of this and that again I'm going to lose it. I think you owe me an explanation Kurumi. You know way too much to have just picked it up by simply spying on all of us. You even knew how my father cooks his Teriyaki…"

Kurumi took a deep breath, "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you the truth. Please don't ruin a perfectly good thing by asking too many questions which I can't answer for you. It's been-"

Kurumi narrowed her eye at what she saw ahead of her and put a hand out to stop Kotori from walking. "What is it?" the smaller girl asked while looking ahead.

Kurumi looked around and her face soured. "A bounded field… That was so stupid of me. How did I not notice there weren't any people around?"

Kotori looked around nervously and closed her eyes, "I can't even sense the bounded field and I didn't realize nobody was around until you mentioned it. It must be part of the mechanics. Whoever set this up is a master of the art…"

"Kotori… Listen to me carefully and do exactly as I say. If for even a moment you think this situation might become violent, I want you to turn around and run away as fast as you can and don't stop for anything or anyone. Do you understand me?"

Kotori looked ahead and saw a woman with light blond hair wearing a black business suit walking next to another woman in a pseudo military uniform with long red hair. "Who are they Kurumi?"

"Ellen Mira Mathers and Jessica Bailey… I'll tell you about them later. Now tell me you understand what I told you to do!" she demanded in a very firm voice that wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Yes Kurumi… I understand…"

Kurumi is afraid… Not for herself but for me. But she told me I can't be killed so why is she afraid for me now? Are these two really that strong that she'd be concerned?

"So this is what you dragged me out here for Ellen? Nightmare and some little magus?"

"This little magus is the whole reason she came to Fuyuki. Isaac wants her alive, but we can dispose of Nightmare. Her crystal is worthless anyway."

The two women closed their eyes and their clothes vanished to be replaced with their respective CR Units. Two identical sets of armor and weapons but one was white and the other was red.

"My crystal is worthless?" asked Kurumi with the most twisted and utterly frightening grin Kotori had yet seen on her face, she put her hand up into the air and closed her eyes. "Elohim," she said to herself before being enveloped in shadows which then vanished to reveal her black and orange gothic styled astral dress. "Why don't we see about that then?"

"I'll deal with Nightmare. You grab the girl," ordered Ellen.

"Right…" answered Jessica.

"Kotori. Start running now…" she said while stepping forward with shadows forming in her hands which then dissolved to form her matching flint lock rifle and pistol set.

Kotori started to slowly back off.

"I said run!" yelled Kurumi in a loud and booming voice which got Kotori to turn on her heels and run as commanded.

"After her Jessica!" ordered Ellen.

The woman in the red armored suit jumped and took flight, only to be stopped by shadowy hands which came out of a hole directly behind her and forbade her from moving.

"If either of you want to go near her you'll have to go through me first!"

"As you wish then!" yelled Ellen while drawing her laser sword and rushing forward towards Kurumi.

"Affix bayonets!" yelled Kurumi which caused shadows to appear on the ends of her guns to form long knives on them which she then used to parry the large yellow laser sword of Ellen, locking the two in a fast paced fencing match.

Kotori stopped to turn around and look. She knew Kurumi wanted her to keep going but she couldn't just abandon the girl to fight two on one. Her principals wouldn't allow her to do that even if every ounce of her common sense told her to do as she was told.

Damn it…. Damn it… Damn it… She's going to be pissed at me but I don't care! All I need to do is-

"Holy crap…" she muttered as Kurumi danced around Ellen with her musket spinning to meet and deflect her opponent's sword with the bayonet while taking shots at her with the pistol which the taller woman managed to evade or absorb with her personal shield.

Kurumi implanted the end of her rifle on the ground and used it to vault herself so she could kick the taller woman and drive her back before taking another shot at her with the pistol, her shield absorbed the hit and then pulled up her rifle and used it to slice at her before being driven back again by the woman's laser sword.

Their back and forth continued for a while longer before Ellen broke off and flew up into the air where she used her sword to sever the arms holding Jessica in place. "Go get the girl. I'll keep this one busy."

"Don't need help?"

"I don't need to fight two on one. I can handle this myself."

"Zafkiel!" yelled Kurumi which caused Jessica and Ellen to stop in place as a large victorian faced clock appeared behind the spirit.

Without waiting to see what would come next, Ellen started rushing towards Kurumi.

Kurumi then held her guns at the seven o'clock positions. "Zayin!" she yelled and then waited while smoke like darkness emerged from the clock and filled her rifle and pistol. Then she pointed her pistol at Jessica who was already flying towards Kotori at high speed. She squeezed the trigger and hit her mark. Jessica became frozen in time.

Ellen brought her sword down over Kurumi.

The spirit's eyes widened as she started moving but it wasn't going to be fast enough. Kotori's heart skipped a beat as she started running towards Kurumi as fast as she could with her hand held out and her magic circuits flooding.

"Time alter, double accel!" yelled Kurumi who then vanished from Ellen's sight only to then reappear behind her where she tried to impale her with her rifle's bayonet only to be stopped by the shield. Kurumi then planted her feet on the woman's armored wings and jumped back away from her where she then landed on a shadowy platform and started shooting at her with both guns while running around in the air with the woman flying after her.

"Amazing…" muttered Kotori with wide eyes.

That aria she used, some kind of innate time control that let her move at double speed long enough to turn the tables back in her favor. It makes sense. That clock must be her angel. So her spirit power has to do with time. But she probably has to summon it and take its power into her mystic codes every time she wants to use its abilities. But that woman isn't going to let her do that again. And who knows how long that spell will hold the other one…

"Elohim Gib-" before she could finish her aria a hand came over her mouth from behind her and held her very firmly in place. No amount of self reinforcement she could safely manage was getting her free.

"Ara ara! Don't even think about it Kotori. I knew you couldn't just run away even if I told you to… You're just like me in that," said Kurumi's voice.

Kotori's eyes widened even fuller as she was slowly released. She turned around and froze in shock to see Kurumi standing there. But it was Kurumi without the astral dress.

"What? Who? How?!" asked Kotori.

Kurumi smiled at her. "Don't worry about the other me. She can handle herself. It's you I'm worried about."

"How the hell are you in two places at once?!" she demanded while gesturing to the ongoing battle.

"I'll explain later. Right now. I need to take you away from here. She can't fight at her best if she's worried about you still being here..." she said while reaching into a shadow on the floor and pulling up a rifle just like the other Kurumi was using. "I just need to make sure Jessica doesn't want to follow us after that spell wears off," she said while stepping out and taking a knee to aim the rifle.

She cocked the hammer which caused a wisp of darkness to rise up from the shadow being cast behind her by the setting sun. She then squeezed the trigger but the shadow bullet was absorbed by her shield. "Hmm… She must have had the shield up before she took the hit…"

Kurumi closed her eye and recocked the hammer to load another shot. "Oh well… Have to get serious then," she muttered while reaching into her pocket. She withdrew a red jewel which she then closed her hand around and flooded her magic circuits. After a moment she stood up and dropped the reshaped jewel into the muzzle before using the ramrod to drive it into the breech.

Kotori watched with wonder before something flickered around the red armored woman. "I think that spell is wearing off…" she said fearfully.

"Yes. It only lasts a relatively short time… That's why she told you to run away. Because you stayed she had to waste time on that spell… Anyway…" she said while taking a knee again. "This won't take long. More fun if she sees it coming."

Kurumi shouldered her rifle and took aim while mana started gathering around her and mixing with smoke like darkness rising from her shadow and then flowing into the barrel of her musket. "I am the shadow upon which I stand…" she said which caused the mana glow around her to become more intense.

Jessica then became free of the spell trapping her and started flying forward again. When she saw what was happening though, she stopped dead in her tracks. "Protect territory! Full forward defense!" she yelled in a panic.

"Won't help you…" said Kurumi with a cheery smile while squeezing the trigger.

What followed was a blast so powerful Kurumi actually fell back onto the floor from the recoil while Jessica's shield completely shattered and sent her flying out of control to crash into the ground a dozen meters away from them.

"Ara ara... I hate when I have to do that…" she said while rubbing her sore shoulder.

Kotori helped her up which she gratefully accepted. "Come on Kotori-chan. We need to go away now."

Kotori and Kurumi didn't stop running until they were finally in a crowd of people at a bus stop somewhere near the central bridge over the river. The two then kept walking towards that bridge where they eventually sat down on a bench to catch their breaths. Nobody was out walking tonight, but there were plenty of cars crossing the bridge which meant the area was sufficiently public to be safe.

Kotori took out her phone to send a message to her father. Letting him know she was alright and on her way home. The sun had already set and she knew he'd probably be worried about her by now.

"Ara ara…" Kurumi muttered while taking a few deep breaths. "She's going to be mad…"

"She's going to be mad? What about me?! Start explaining Kurumi! I think I deserve it now more than ever!"

Kurumi nodded, "I think you do deserve a little but of the truth. You wanted to know earlier how I knew so much?"

"Before we even go there-"

"You want to know how there's two of us?"

"I'm guessing that since your power is time manipulation that one of you is from the present and the other is from the future or something. Am I right?"

Kurumi shook her head. "Close. But not close enough. I'm not actually real. I'm a doppelganger. A copy of her. She's the only one of us who can summon Zafkiel. Without that, you'd be hard pressed to tell any of us apart."

"There are more of you?"

"Many more of us… Too many to know at this point. Zafkiel's power lets her create copies of herself. Clones formed from individual moments in her life. For example, one could be formed from a moment she felt like she wanted to learn how to play an instrument, just on a whim like that. Well, that copy will end up doing exactly that for as long as she exists. It'll be her whole purpose in life. So… One for pretty much every moment in her life… It can be quite crowded in there sometimes until she culls the herd a bit,

"Anyway. Our task is to spy for her, support her in battle, or run whatever errands she needs. Most are just glorified familiars with very limited free will."

"I gather that means you're different?" she asked with a serious look in her eyes.

Kurumi nodded, "Unlike the others, I formed with an exact duplication of her origin. It was one in a million really. I just came from the worst possible moment for her and now she can't get rid of me. No matter how much she might want to sometimes. She still has power over me, and I can't summon Zafkiel. But I can do anything else she can do."

"What do you mean the 'worst possible moment'?"

Kurumi shrugged, "That's a little personal. Don't worry though, it's not like I came from a moment where she felt like destroying the world. Those clones are crazy..."

"So if your angel's power is time manipulation, is that how you know so much? You're from the future?"

"You expect a magus to reveal her mysteries? Shame on you Kotori-chan! You know better than that!"

Kotori looked deep into her red eye with both of her own. "Don't try to take me for a ride right now…"

"You're a smart girl. I'm sure you'll eventually figure it out. If you haven't already. But right now, you don't have the time. We need to get you back home before something else happens."

"Pops is going to blow a fuse when I tell him about this…"

"Probably. But you shouldn't keep this from him. He needs to know."

"He'll send me away to live in Misaki until he thinks it's safe for me to come back… This is so unfair. Why is this happening? What the hell did they want from me?!"

"I'm afraid this was my fault, not yours. They probably think you're valuable somehow because I'm protecting you. They obviously don't know how you're valuable yet. But, they'd find out if they got you. I can't let that happen. So you staying with the Tohno family would be the smart move."

"It would be the smart move. But not the right move… I need to get stronger so I can fight back! I'm not going to let anyone just push me around!"

"Ara... ara… You're so difficult sometimes…" said Kurumi while standing up. She then grabbed a hold of Kotori by the jacket and leaped up into the air, climbing a stairway of shadow until they reached the top of the bridge. Kotori screaming and clawing at the older girl the entire way up.

"Put me down you bitch! What are you thinking?!"

"This is for your own good Kotori-chan," she said while dropping the girl down onto the metal beam she was standing on.

"What is your major malfunction?!" yelled Kotori while pushing herself up to yell in Kurumi's face.

Kurumi shrugged, "It's time for your first lesson. Tohka can teach you the basics but there are somethings you need to know which she can't teach you. The moment you unseal your powers the AST and DEM will immediately detect you and send soldiers out to kill or capture you. I need to show you how to avoid that."

"You can do that? How?!"

"It's really stupidly easy… But because you've never really bonded with your angel you have no idea what you're properly capable of. So now I will educate you properly!"

"What?" Kotori asked nervously with her eyebrow twitching at Kurumi.

Kurumi started happily singing with a bright smile, "Tick tock, tick tock, merrily sings the clock."

Kotori blinked at the girl. "Do you have a screw loose?"

Kurumi started clapping to her own beat, "It's time for work. It's time for play. So it sings throughout the day."

"Is this really the time to have a psychotic break?"

"Tick tock, tick tock, merrily sings the clock…"

Kotori waved a hand in front of Kurumi's face.

Kurumi reached out to put a hand on Kotori's back and gently started pushing her with a cheerful smile on her face. "Spirit powers are like gravity, all you need is a little push," she said before forcing her off the bridge.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Kotori hovered with her face a mere inches from the ground inside a bubble of flames while Kurumi came walking down her stairway of shadows. "There. You see? It's not so difficult. I only had to splatter you three times," she said with a happy giggle.

"Kurumi… I am going to KILL YOU!"

"You'd be doing me a favor if you could," she said happily with her hands behind her back, leaning down at the waist to smile at Kotori who was staring at her with fire in her cherry red eyes. "But you see. You can tap your angel for mana to use your spirit powers without even having to get into your astral dress. In fact, the only benefit of even wearing it is your spirit armor."

"You killed me three times!"

"Ara ara… I already told you, you can't die. Your angel just resurrects you and you get to start a new game. So stop whining already."

Kotori clenched her teeth tightly.

Kurumi knelt down beside Kotori with a small smile. "Kotori-chan. After everything that's happened. Do you honestly believe I'd inflict pain on you if it wasn't in your own best interest? You don't like being treated like a child. So I won't treat you that way. If you knew what she went through to become as strong as she is now you'd probably be sick."

"Aren't you two like the same person? Doesn't that apply to you too?"

Kurumi bit her lip as she thought about it, "While it's true that I have all her memories and the collective experiences of all the clones… I wasn't the one who actually had to endure all the pain and misery she's had to go through. I just have the memories of it all. So I don't really think it's fair for me to say it about myself. Do you?"

"No. I suppose it isn't…" she said while pushing herself up, the bubble of flame around her dissipating.

"Are you still mad at me?" asked Kurumi and almost shy voice.

"You killed me three times! What do you think?!"

"Want me to buy you some ice cream to make it all better?"

Kotori palmed her face.

"Come on. Let's get you home now. I think you've learned enough for one night."

"You killed me three times! You have to answer for that!"

"Fine. I'll tell you what…" said with a grin. "Since I killed you three times, I'll give you the right to three absolute commands which you may ask of me at any time. You can use them for anything. But you only get three, and they only apply to me, not any other me. Use them wisely."

"So if I told you to flash your panties in school, you'd do it?"

"That would be embarrassing. But yes. I just hope you aren't going to be petty enough to actually waste one on something like that," she said while snickering.

"You have no idea how petty I can be!" barked Kotori.

"I have a few good ideas actually…" said Kurumi with a very happy expression, her head tilted and her eye closed.

"Grrr! Fine! I accept! But I won't forgive you! Never do anything like that again! By the way. How am I supposed to know which one is you and which one is the other you? How would I know if you switch places or something? I mean… I was walking with the other you earlier and now I'm with you… Grr! This makes my head hurt!"

"That's probably from hitting the concrete three times over..." she said with a snicker.

"That too…"

"You'll just have to take my word for it that it's me and not her. Unfortunately, outside of using her angel. There's no way to tell us apart. Though, some people say I'm just a bit more mild mannered than she is but I couldn't see the difference," she said with a gentle shrug.