Swords and Blades

Chapter 5: The Date

Chronos's HQ (Happens on the same day that Shirou slips Sephiria the note, just later)

Belze Rochefort, Number Two walks silently through the corridor. Accompanying him was Number Twelve, Mason Ordrosso. Both had just returned from their respective mission, and after the debriefing were now heading toward the common room where all higher members resides whenever they're free. Both were some of the more quiet members of the group, knowing that this tranquility were a hard thing for one who lives a double life. As the door to the hall appears in their view, they could saw Jenos talking with some one on the phone.

"Is something wrong, Number Seven?" Inquired the old man."No. Just talking with my contact. And now I've got a bet to win." Grinning from ear to ear, Jenos kicked open the door before calling for his partner. "Oi David! You owe me some money!"

"What? No way!" The black man cried out as he looked up "I don't believe you! Where's your proof?"

"Just finished talking to Rinslet. Apparently she saw Sephy-nee eating at that stand again. Said that Train told her he saw Sephiria reading something before leaving the place." Saying that, Jenos holds out his hand "Now fork it over."

"Would you care to enlighten us on what is going on, Number Nine?" Belze asked as David took out his wallet.

"Jenos and I have a bet on who will make the first move. Jenos bet on the chef while I bet on Number One. He said that Number One was too shy to do it." Grumbled David as he gives Jenos a rather large amount of money.

"Oh? Do you have any other bet?" Emilio Lowe, Number Three spokes up from his book.

"Why yes! Are you interested?" Jenos cheerfully replied "We've got a pool on who is going to make the first move, which was just closed, when are they going to confess, where will they go for their first date and when they will go to third base. So which pool would you like to partake on?"

The rest of the Numbers, sans David, blinked at the same time.

"Just when did you set this up, Jenos?" Anubis asks as he raised his head from the couch.

"A few days ago actually."

"And is there anyone else interested in this bull?" Number VIII, Baldorias Fanghini asks with a sneer on his face.

"Quite a lot of people actually. It seems that many of the lower members want to see the womanly side of the legendary Sephiria Arks." This time it wasn't Jenos, but David, who answered the question.

"Interesting. And you're the one recording the bet?" Franz Maduke spoke up, a contemplative looks on his face.

"Nah. Dr. McCoy is the referee, seeing as he isn't interested in it."

"Dr. McCoy? The therapist?" Mason spokes up for the first time since the conversation started.

"Yeah."

"And how do you plan on checking their situation?" The wolf asks, his face twisted into a grimace due to the fact that he can't take part in this.

"That's easy. Rinslet is really interested in those two, and she usually tells me whenever something exciting happens. And if you don't believe me, you can ask Shao Li." Jenos replies with a wave of his hand.

"Shao Li? The new Number Ten?" This time it was Belze.

"Yup. Apparently, the kid can disguises as anybody he wants. He also really admires Sephy-nee, so he volunteered for the duty of watching the chef, saying that he wants to makes sure the guy is right for her." The gambler snickers to himself.

"I see. Does Sephiria know about this?" Mason looks between the 'Mischievous Duo', as some of the Erasers called them.

"Nope. We plan to keep this secret from her."

"Very well. Tell Number Ten that I want an assessment of the target when he's done." With that, the spear wielder walks out of the door.

"Huh. Didn't know he was interested. Ah well. Alright! Who wants to follows Sephy-nee on her first date?"

"Count me in." David and Jenos high-fived each other.

"I'll pass." Emilion, Franz, Barlugas and Mason spokes up at the same , a blue furred paw rises up in the air. Everyone turns to looks at the wolf, whose response was a shrug "Someone has to keep you guys out of trouble."

Somewhere in the city, Sven sneezes and wondered why he got the urge to shake hands with a wolf of all things.

D-Day - Local Park - West Gate.

"He's late" Sephiria mutters to herself as she checks her watch. It read 7:40PM. Closing her eyes, she began a small meditation exercise to help her focus and analyze the date for some of the upcoming mission. But for some reason, a feeling of irritation kept creeping up every now and then, making her concentration falter. Rubbing her temples, she decides that she wouldn't be able to concentrate properly any more. The best course of action to take regarding the situation is to wait for her supposed red-headed companion. She wonders why he is late, seeing as he has a reputation of being the first at the food stand, cleaning and preparing for work even before the manager arrives.

"Miss Sephiria." Speak of the devil. It seems that her companion for the night had arrived. Somehow, that phrase sounded wrong, but she ignores it.

"Sorry I'm late, ran into some troubles along the way." Shirou sends her an apologetic smile.

"It's fine." She has to look to the side to evade his smile "Did you take care of it?"

"Yes I di-" The smiles was replaced with a frown, before he suddenly grab her hand and began dragging her away." I'm sorry, but it looks like we have to have this conversation elsewhere."

She nods at him, deciding to keep quiet. She reasoned to herself that for someone like him to be unnerved, it has to be something serious. It was not because that she could feel his calloused hand wrapping around her, nor was it because that this feels surprisingly nice.

As they both moved away, they never notice a slight movement from one of the bush near the park.

After moving around the city for a while, eventually Shirou decided to takes Sephiria to a small restaurant on the other side of town. They chose a table in the corner, with Shirou reasoning that their discussion shouldn't be heard.

"What it is that you wanted to discuss with me?" After they ordered some drinks, the blond beauty immediately asked Shirou the question that was nagging at her.

"Did your organization send someone to watch me?"

"None so far. Why? Is someone following you?" Her eyes narrowed at that. As far as she was concerned, the Elders only assigned her to watch Shirou Emiya.

"You could say that. It started a few days ago. Wherever I went, every now and then I would sense someone staring at me, but when I turned around nobody was in sight. Well, nobody that was watching me at least."

"I see. I shall check with some others to verify your suspicion." She took a small sip of tea to calm down her nerves. Why was she getting so agitated over this? "Are there any other reason that you wanted to talk to me?"

"Uh... yes." His posture shifted, becoming rather embarrassed and apologetic." I wanted to apologize to you"

"Excuse me?" She blinked.

"Well, it was partially my fault that you got dragged into this mess. If I have been more careful, you wouldn't have to endure the other's teasing and having to watch me." Another apologetic smile was sent her way and she evaded it once again.

"... Do not worry about it." Truthfully, while she was getting stressed with the amount of teasing, both by Train's group and by the Numbers, she somehow felt more relaxed then usual. It was then that she noticed something on Shirou's collar. Leaning over to inspect it, she absently notices that he smelled rather nice...

Shaking her head slightly, she resumed her task. Still, where did that thought come from?

"Um, Miss Sephiria, what are you doing?" Shirou was fidgeting slightly, his face turning a bit red.

"It seems that someone managed to bug you" Her hands reach out and grabbed the small device, smashing it to pieces.

"Ehh?"

"We must move. This place might be compromised." This time, she was the one dragging him out of the place, pausing only to pay for the drinks.

Eventually, the pair returned to the park where their little "date", as some other called it, started. They had stumbled across a pond with a red bridge crosses over it, the surface reflecting the light of the full moon. The place has a certain feel of tranquility to it, so both of them agreed to stop there.

"Could you explain your reasons for attacking Shinji Makoto? While your actions are very honorable, I find it quite hard to believe that someone would go out of their way to save others just like that."

Sighing, Shirou leaned on the bridge's railing, a nostalgic expression etched onto his face as he stared at the moon. After a while, he told her of the Fuyuki Fire, of how Kiritsugu Emiya found him, of the looks of joy on his face, of his father's dream and of his wish to follow them.

As he finished his story, he turned to looks at his blond companion. He has to admit, Sephiria is a beautiful woman, her features enhanced even more under the gentle moonlight.

"That is ... quite a story, Shirou."

Another tense silence followed, before Shirou stood up straight and addressed her with another apologetic smile. However, she didn't evade it in time. Her face heating up, and she felt strangely self-conscious at that time.

"Well, I apologize but we will have to part ways for now. I truly enjoyed our meeting, Sephiria." With that, he began walking the other way.

Arks stared at the retreating back of the red headed swords man. A part of her mind was analyzing the information she has gathered.

Another part was simply recalling the night her, the winds gently blow, caressing her hair. Pink Sakura petals from a nearby tree dance in the air. As she tried to tame her hair, a small smile formed on her lips.

"You are quite an interesting person, Shirou Emiya." She soon leaves the bridge, her smile never fading one bit.