Before anything, I think I should clear some things up.
1. Other Characters from Fate appearing.
-Its something that's crossed my mind, but no Arturia and Sakura will not be appearing. I'm only allowed to use Rin from the trio as per the rules of the contest. Though everyone else is usable.
2. Rin's situation.
-Rin has her memories, and kinda just overwrote Weiss when she appeared. As seen in the first part Rin has flashes of Weiss' memories that even she isn't aware of. She kinda just appeared, as evidenced in parts where Rin is surprised that she knows how to fight using Myrtenaster. (This will be developed as the story progresses.)
Other things:
I've gotten some advice from the reviews. I acknowledge it, and will try to fix it. Don't expect it to be immediate but gradual since it's been somewhat ingrained in me to do it that way.
All in all I'm glad to have the criticism, if I don't win it'll at least help me write better.
T-Tohsaka…
Shirou's mouth hung open, his mind unable to comprehend the situation before him. This girl before him was Rin Tohsaka, the twintails were already a clear indicator. "Y-You're Rin Tohsaka right?" Shirou had to ask, his eyes were still wide as he asked.
"Huh?" Her face contorted into one of confused indignation. "What's that supposed to mean baka?"
There was no doubt in his mind that this girl was Rin Tohsaka. Shirou let out a chuckle, and quickly threw himself onto her. Rin was surprised at the act, protesting and blushing as she flailed in Shirou's embrace. Though, she could feel his grip tighten. "I'm so glad to see you…" Shirou said under his breath.
Rin relented, letting a sigh escape her lips as she wrapped her arms around the male. "I'm glad to see you too." They remained like that for a moment, until a gust of wind shoved into the pair. The whirring of an engine filled the air, it didn't take the pair long to find the source. A fleet of Bullheads were beginning their descent, the students of Beacon were arriving.
As each of the ships docked, Shirou watched as their doors opened letting out their passengers. He let out a whistle, there were so many people enrolling into Beacon. He hoped that there was enough room to house them all. A blonde male had rushed out of the next ship that had opened its doors, and proceeded to empty the contents of his stomach into the nearest garbage can. Starry eyed students disembarked as they took in the scenery that the campus of Beacon seemed to offer.
"Seeing all these starry eyed students reminds me of you Shirou." Rin commented. Shirou couldn't help but agree, he was similar to them when he'd first arrived in London. Taking in all the sights the city had to offer from the London Eye to the River Thames.
"Shirou!" The pair turned their attention to the pair that exited the Bullhead. Shirou recognized them as the family who took him in. "Yang and Ruby, what a surprise." he greeted.
"The only surprise here is that you're already up and running." Yang replied, slinging her arm across Shirou's shoulder and putting him into a light choke. "Not a lot of people can just shrug off a beating from yours truly." Shirou rolled his eyes, then effortlessly slid out of Yang's grasp. The siblings took notice of Shirou's white haired companion.
"Who's your friend Hot Shot?" Yang asked.
"Oh right." Shirou sidled up next to Rin, and gestured to her. "Yang and Ruby, this is Rin." He introduced, and ended up with an elbow to the ribs, a blow which he normally would have ignored. However, the auburn haired male recoiled at this. Rin stepped forward, with a sweet smile on her face. "Shirou you really shouldn't introduce me, I can handle that myself." She added, however Shirou behind that sweet smile of hers Shirou could see the faint teal outlines dimming underneath her white clothes.
A Reinforced elbow to the ribs?! Shirou internally exclaimed.
"I'd like to properly introduce myself." Rin began. "My name is Weiss, Weiss Schnee." Ruby and Yang's eyes widened in recognition of the name. "Holy Cats! You know Weiss Schnee?!" Ruby exclaimed, Shirou still in his pained state nodded.
"Well what do you know." Yang added. "Red here knows a celebrity. You've been holding out on us." Shirou, managing to straighten himself out, looked at the trio of girls.
"Rin isn't that big a deal." Another elbow to the ribs, Rin let out the fakest chuckle he'd ever heard. "Keep in mind Shirou, just cause you're used to me doesn't mean other people are."
"Can we please…" Shirou croaked. "Can we just get to orientation? Preferably before more of my ribs are bruised?" Yang scratched the back of her head, with a sheepish smile. "Yeah...about that." the blonde began, she was slowly inching away from the trio as she drew out the sentence. She took a breath, and looked to her sister and the magus duo.
"Myfriendsareheregottagobye!" It was like magic, Yang had assimilated into a nearby passing group of students and rushed off. Leaving nothing more than a cloud of dust where she once stood.
Shirou glanced over to Ruby who was processing her recent abandonment, her mouth hung open as she looked on in shock. Shirou sighed, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "So is that Speed Semblance hereditary?"
That question seemed to have snapped Ruby out of it as she looked at Shirou, who was most literally the only other person she knew here at Beacon. "Let's walk and talk."
Shirou shook his head, honestly. In the few days Shirou had known Ruby, it had become painfully obvious that she was socially awkward. She spoke with him because of their shared interests in weapons, but it may have had something to do with the fact that Shirou tried to be as accommodating as he could with everyone he met.
He'd only met Yang for a few short hours, after their little brawl they had spoken briefly. It was there Shirou became aware of a rather unfortunate condition Yang had, she liked to make puns. Shirou hoped that there was more to her than the somewhat irrational girl he'd met who seemed to relish in the fact that she got to fight Shirou.
Though he was just as much to blame for the way that situation ended up.
Arriving at the courtyard, Shirou took in a breath. Beacon was going to be his home if he managed to get in, while there was little doubt that he would if the initiation was combat focused. He turned back to see Ruby and Rin standing a fair amount of distance from one another, seemingly trying to ignore each other. Strange, Rin was always the friendlier one between the two of them.
"Not getting along?" Shirou turned, asking Rin. The now white haired girl met his gaze. "It's not that, I just don't know who this girl is Shirou."
"I literally introduced you." Shirou retorted. Rin crossed her arms, and shifted her weight to her hip. He recognized that pose, it was the one she'd often use on him during arguments; particularly when she had a rather strong argument that would shut down any replies. "Shirou." Rin began.
"I agree you did introduce me to Ruby and Yang." She admitted. "But did you specify which one was Ruby and which one was Yang?"
Shirou furrowed his brows, once again Rin was right.
Feeling no way to retort, Shirou was content to let this one go. "Uh.." The pair looked to Ruby who had approached and began twiddling her thumbs. "H-Hi...I'm Ru-Ruby Rose, it's nice to meet you." Shirou couldn't help but smile. Rin took her hand with a smile, and shook it.
"It's nice to meet you Ruby." Said Rin. "You already know who I am, but I'm Weiss Schnee. I hope we can become friends." Shirou was sure that Ruby was able to stand taller after that interaction, it wasn't the biggest step in overcoming her awkwardness but it was a start. "Hey you two." Shirou called out. "Let's get going, orientation is scheduled to start soon." Ruby and Rin looked at one another for a moment, before Rin brought Ruby to the auburn haired male's side and walked in line with them. "I agree, punctuality is important."
Shirou rolled his eyes, that was such a Rin thing to say. However Shirou paused for a moment, allowing the pair to overtake him. He quickly swiveled his head, and found no one's gaze lingering on his group. "Strange." he muttered, someone was definitely observing them. Unfortunately with all the skill Shirou possessed, he couldn't single out a person staring at the little group he was a part of.
"Hey Emiya, pick up the pace!"
Ruby let out an amazed "wow" upon arriving at the hall where orientation would be held. Shirou who led the trio through the campus let out a chuckle, large and fancy halls were indeed impressive. Though he'd seen so many halls such as these in the form of the Clocktower, and the occasional Mage he had to hunt down. Halls such as these merely began to look the same after a while.
"This is so cool." Ruby trailed off.
"Hey over here!" The trio managing to locate Yang who had her arm in the air. "I saved you guys a spot." Shirou glanced over to Rin who seemed to be somewhat hesitant in approaching Yang, and when he meant somewhat hesitant he meant that Rin was trying to not scowl in Yang's general direction.
"You don't like her?" Shirou asked.
"She reminds me of Luvia." Rin growled, Shirou sighed. Rin and Luvia had a somewhat rocky relationship during their time in the Clocktower. Shirou never really understood why. Luvia was a nice person and even offered him a job at her mansion, she treated those under her employ fairly and not once demeaned them in any way. An all around good person in Shirou's book.
"I will never understand why you dislike her." Shirou replied. Rin merely huffed off and followed Ruby to where Yang was, but stood a fair distance away. "Never change Tohsaka." Shirou couldn't help but sigh.
Deciding to follow suit, Shirou weaved through the crowd and had nearly bumped into a girl who was doing the same. Had it not been for the two them suddenly realizing the other person before them, the collision would have ensued. Shirou couldn't help but gawk if he was being honest, the girl before him towered over him and her bright scarlet hair and emerald eyes made Shirou think that he was looking at some sort of fusion of Saber and Archer.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Shirou began, looking up slightly to make eye contact with the person before him.
"No, it's my mistake." The girl responded. "Excuse me."
Shirou allowed the girl to pass, and continued to weave through the crowd until he found himself beside Yang. "Oh, there you are Shirou." the blonde noticed. "And here I thought you ditched us."
"I wouldn't leave Rin alone." Shirou could see Rin making a zipping motion on her lips, the meaning of which was lost on him. Stay quiet about what?
"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask." Yang continued. "What's the deal with you calling Weiss-cream over there Rin?" As if summoned Rin had appeared in front of Shirou and the blonde who took a step back at her sudden appearance.
"Allow me to explain." She began. "Emiya and I are childhood friends, Rin is a nickname he calls me." Yang nodded in agreement, then turned to Shirou who merely stood there. His arms wrapped around his sides, seemingly protecting his ribs.
"Man Shirou you're bad at nicknames." Yang commented, then turned forward seemingly dropping the subject. Rin had sided with Shirou, and leaned in slightly. "Should we be relieved that she has the attention span of a goldfish?"
"Rin be nice." Shirou directed his attention forward, the noise of chatting students died down as Professor Ozpin took to the stage. Dressed in his usual outfit, and cane. Glynda stood beside him like a sentinel, and handed him the microphone.
"I'll keep this brief." Ozpin began. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction." Shirou couldn't help but stand at attention to this, his choice of words. He wouldn't call himself an expert in speeches but weren't these types of speeches supposed to be encouraging to the students?
"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." However the underlying message was not lost on Shirou, and neither was it lost on Rin who seemed to have steeled herself.
Ozpin took a step back, and allowed Glynda to take the stage. "You will be gathering at the ballroom tonight, and tomorrow initiation will start. Pillows and other sleeping paraphernalia will be provided for. Be ready, dismissed."
Ruby and Yang began to discuss between themselves about the speech, but Shirou and Rin could only stare at the spot Ozpin once stood. "Emiya." She began.
"Yeah." Shirou replied. "He spoke like some of the teachers at the Clocktower."
Rin's smile grew, she was expecting the challenge. Shirou sighed, hoping that he didn't get roped into any crazy scheme Rin would concoct. Regardless of what is to come, Shirou would always try to do damage control for Rin.
"Hey." Yang approached. "Ruby and I were thinking of getting lunch, you wanna come?"
Rin answered before Shirou had even formed the words in his throat. "You two go on ahead, Shirou and I want to catch up." Yang expressed an exaggerated pout, but moved on rather quickly. Once out of earshot Rin narrowed her eyes. "She moved on rather quickly."
Shirou sighed with a shake of his head. "Never change Tohsaka."
The campus that made up Beacon Academy was a sight to behold-no, the world of Remnant as a whole was something to behold. The Tohsaka-Emiya duo or perhaps the Schnee-Emiya duo to be more accurate sat underneath the shade of a picnic table's umbrella attachment. Rin took in a breath, the cool air that designated the beginning of Spring filled her lungs.
"The air here is so fresh." Rin commented.
Shirou raised a brow. "Now that you've mentioned it, the air does seem fresher." Rin nodded in agreement to the male's statement, allowing herself to enjoy the weather the world provided them with today. It was neither too hot nor cloudy, it was the perfect weather to laze around. Back in their world, days like these were rare. The world was getting hotter, due to the handiwork of human progress; however the world of Remnant was way ahead or at the very least on par with their development yet there didn't seem to be any similar effects here.
Rin pondered on the thought for a moment, then looked over to Shirou who merely stared at her. "What?" She asked. "Is there something on my face?"
"You look like you're really enjoying the weather."
"Of course I am." Rin affirmed. "You're lucky you were summoned in Vale and not with me at Atlas." Shirou's eyes seemed to signal that he'd noticed that Rin knew of his appearance here. "Emiya, did you really think you were brought here by accident?"
"Well...yes?" he admitted, Shirou held up his hands the moment Rin tried to begin her rant. "In my defense I used Caladbolg on a Magus who was using an imperfect version of the Second Magic."
Rin shook her head, she'd discuss the summoning with Shirou at a later date. The male could piece it together given enough time, hopefully it would save her the trouble of explaining. "Shirou." Rin began, her expression growing serious as she brought her hands up to her face and interlaced her fingers, like one would see a mafioso stereotype doing. "Let's discuss our plans for initiation."
"Rin, I'm all for your plans." Shirou replied. "But I know next to nothing about initiation, or about this world for that matter."
"Are you serious?!" Rin could feel a migraine coming on. "You didn't even try to learn some of the basics? Like laws? How the society acts?" Rin silenced herself before she said something uncouth, she and Shirou worked differently; she had to remember that. She liked to gather information then act, while Shirou tended to act first and reap the rewards or consequences (mostly consequences) of his actions.
Rin shook her head. "Listen up, I'll only go over this one."
Shirou replied with a nod and sat up straighter, Rin smiled slightly; how nostalgic. It had been a while since she'd tutored Shirou about anything."We don't have time to go over the finer details so stop me whenever you have any questions." Clearing her throat Rin began. "The world of Remnant, that is to say the world we are currently on is much like our own. You know continents, seas, the works. The main thing we should be focusing on are the Four Kingdoms." Rin raised a finger as she listed each Kingdom. "Vacuo, Mistral, Atlas, and the one we're currently residing in: Vale. Understand so far?"
Shirou nodded.
"In each Kingdom there is a Huntsman Academy, learning institutions that train warriors." Shirou's expression hardened. "Which is something you seem to already know." Rin realized, somewhat surprised.
"I found it strange." Shirou began. "I've only been here for about three days, and I didn't find any evidence of a large scale conflict like a war. There is no enemy to fight, so why do they need this many trained warriors?"
"That's where you're wrong Emiya." Shirou raised his head, meeting Rin's gaze. "The world of Remnant is infested with monsters known as The Creatures of Grimm. To make you understand, think of them as a Phantasmal Species." Shirou's eyes widened, Rin realizing the words Phantasmal Species could mean any number of creatures. "Let me correct myself, they're more like very tough animals that just so happen to resemble Phantasmal Species."
In all honesty, Rin didn't know what the Grimm were. They were well documented, yes. However a lot of their ways were shrouded in mystery, if a Grimm was kept in captivity it wouldn't last very long. It didn't help that a dead Grimm would evaporate into black mist a few minutes after death. They were really interesting, and were deserving of a deeper look if she had anything to say about it.
"Rin please move on before I get a headache thinking about what could be in the nearby forest." Shirou urged, however Rin didn't know what else to go over.
She thought for a moment. "What about you Shirou?"
"What about me?"
"Anything to add?" Rin asked, discussing Dust was just going down a whole different rabbit hole. Dust was by no means complicated, but Shirou had his Projections to fight so he wouldn't really use Dust unless he wanted to experiment with the substance. Rin however noticed the sword Shirou had at his waist.
"Emiya." Rin began once more, cutting off the male as he was about to speak. "Why do you have a sword strapped to your waist?"
Shirou scratched the back of his head, and averted his eyes. An act he often did when he was trying to figure out a way of dropping bad news on someone, specifically her. Rin narrowed her eyes, a feeling in her stomach told her that Shirou was starting to feel like he was smaller than he really was.
Shirou moved to speak once again.
Mr. Emiya.
A sharp voice cut through the silence, an older blonde woman approached them. Rin recognized her as the teacher who stood beside the Headmaster. "Miss Goodwitch?" Shirou asked, getting up from his seat and standing in attention.
Miss Goodwitch, as Shirou had called her, arrived at their little table. She eyed Rin's person up and down, then spoke. "I was unaware you knew Weiss Schnee, Mr. Emiya." She began, prompting Rin to rise from her own seat and gave a small curtsy.
"Good day Miss Goodwitch." Rin greeted. "Introductions might not be necessary, but I'm Weiss Schnee." Her greeting was propper, it was second nature to be polite. Goodwitch could be a source of information for her and Shirou, but she needed to be on good terms with her first. Thankfully, if there was one thing Rin knew, it was to suck up to those in authority. She'd been doing that since she entered High School.
"I'm charmed Miss Schnee, my name is Glynda Goodwitch." The blonde Professor began. "As you may know I am a professor here, and as of now Mr. Emiya's official guardian regarding certain affairs." As expected Shirou let out a confused "Huh?!" at the top of his lungs, looking at Goodwitch to see if she was lying in any way.
The blonde Professor merely shut her eyes at the moment of Shirou's outburst, and then proceeded to clean the glasses she wore with a small cloth. "Headmaster Ozpin seemed to deem it necessary since you have no one in terms of familial ties, so I will be in charge of your documents and signing you off on field expeditions if need be." Shirou didn't argue, and merely nodded.
Rin smirked as she could practically hear him screaming in his mind, he wasn't enjoying this in the slightest. "Professor?" Rin cut in. "I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Initiation tomorrow?"
Goodwitch straightened her glasses as she returned them to their perch on the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry Miss Schnee, but I do not play favorites." Any hope that Rin had of extracting information had just up and went, something told her not to try prodding the Professor further as she seemed like the type of person who prided herself on how she brought herself and how she performed her duties. It was admirable, she thought; however it was unfortunate that she still had little information to go on.
A faint dinging of an electronic bell could be heard. Goodwitch looked in the direction of the sound, then sighed. "I'll be taking my leave now." Then turned on her heel and began to walk away, though after a few steps she stopped. "Landing Strategy."
The pair immediately turned to the Professor, who in turn met their gazes. "Consider it a favor Mr. Emiya, as your new guardian I suppose I should support you in your endeavors." Then briskly walked away.
Rin and Shirou shared a look, the former smirking as she turned to the male before her. "Well Emiya, let's get started on a plan."
Glynda Goodwitch always carried herself with an aura of poise and composure, there was a reason the Headmaster often sent her out on errands. She was someone who did her job well, and she prided herself on that.
However…
The sound of her heels clicking against the marble floors of Beacon's halls had paused, as did she. "This is ridiculous, why am I worrying about this?" She sighed.
"Worrying about what may I ask?" Glynda jumped at the voice, but found only the Headmaster with his usual cane and mug of whatever it was. Glynda didn't really know what it was Ozpin drank, he always prepared it himself; not that she would prepare it for him. She was many things, but his Secretary was not one of them.
Ozpin took a mouthful from his mug, and took a step towards the blonde professor. "Is this about your new assignment Glynda?"
Glynda rolled her eyes, of course it was. "Well how kind of you to ask." Glynda snapped back, allowing some snark to coat the words she spoke. "Making me his guardian? What made you think that was a good idea?"
"I seem to recall the emotional display you put on when you shared with me what you saw happen to Mr. Emiya." Ozpin smirked. The blonde professor could feel the heat rise up to her face, as embarrassed as Glynda felt she would not deny it. She was worried about Shirou, and what she had seen. How he'd began writhing in agony, during the "interrogation" of Ruby Rose, Shirou had let out a pained yelp just before the Headmaster had dismissed the younger girl.
She thought nothing of it at first, then the scene at the Xiao Long residence replayed in her mind. How much pain was he in that he had to ask a grown man to knock him out, in order to save himself from the pain.
"It seemed to be a logical choice Glynda." Ozpin added. "I can see you care for Mr. Emiya to a degree, perhaps you empathize with his tragic history." Glynda looked away, the story of Shirou's childhood was unnerving to say the least. She couldn't imagine walking down that hell Shirou had described to them, she could see it in her mind and Shirou was being brief with his tale. "Perhaps it's your maternal instincts Glynda."
Glynda recoiled at the suggestion, the scowl that was on her face seemed to get the point across to the Headmaster that she did not like to be teased about the situation. "But I digress." Ozpin continued. "I did this for Mr. Emiya, he has no one. I think it would be nice if he had someone he could depend on, while camaraderie is nice. I don't think there is any feeling that can equate to a parent, or someone equivalent to one supporting you."
Glynda sighed, she did worry about Shirou. "Fine, you'll hear no more complaints from me." she said. "However, I reserve the right to push him to his limits. I won't allow myself to be a victim of favoritism, he'll have to work harder than everyone to make me even remotely proud of his strides."
"My my." Ozpin chuckled. "Favoritism? Make you proud? You're already beginning to sound like a parent Glynda."
The students of Beacon Academy and the initiates would later recall seeing Headmaster Ozpin walking around the school grounds, his mug and cane in his hands as per usual. However the thin red line that contrasted on his skin that resembled the outline of a riding crop was something that caused them confusion.
Later that night, as per Glynda's instructions the initiates of Beacon's Freshman year had gathered in the ballroom. Students and sleeping bags alike were strewn across the floor. However the attention was on Ruby Rose who was busily scribbling on a piece of paper.
The pajama clad young girl, had flinched and written off her paper when her elder sister had launched herself into her sleeping bag. "It's like a big slumber party!" Yang enthusiastically exclaimed.
Ruby groaned, and replaced her ruined sheet of paper and began anew once more. "I don't think dad would've approved of all the boys though."
"I know I do." Yang purred much to Ruby's disgust. She knew her sister was more open to things such as dating, but she never really saw the appeal of the muscle bound boys that her sister would often oogle.
"Please don't make me reconsider sleeping by you and your sister." Ruby smiled as she saw the somewhat annoyed looking Shirou and chuckling Weiss who stood behind him. Their sleeping bags nestled in their arms.
"Be my guest." said Yang, inviting the male to lay beside her with a pat on the floor. However Shirou merely walked over to Ruby's side and rolled out his sleeping bag, then doing so again with Weiss'.
Ignoring the fact that her offer had been well...ignored. Yang turned her attention back to Ruby, her eyes scanning the piece of paper Ruby was so diligently writing on. "So...what's that?" She asked.
"I'm writing a letter back to the gang at Signal." Ruby began, continuing to write down as she spoke. "I promised to tell them all about Beacon, and how things are going."
"That's so cute!" Yang exclaimed, but found herself silenced immediately by the impact of a pillow. Ruby's annoyed visage could be seen as she retracted her arm, and returned to writing. Her expression unchanging.
"Shut up!" She snapped. "I didn't get to take my friends with me to school, it's weird not knowing anyone." Ruby sighed, maybe she didn't think this whole attending Beacon thing through. Sure, attending her dream school was not an opportunity she'd easily pass up, but she'd never felt so alone.
It was no secret that she was socially awkward, making friends was just something she had trouble with. This fact worried her, the friends she'd made back at Signal were her closest friends. Some of them she knew since childhood, and that genuine connection she had to them just made her miss her small group of friends more.
"What about us?" Ruby was brought out of her thoughts as she felt the soft touch of Weiss Schnee on her shoulder. The snow haired girl offered her a soft smile. "Aren't we your friends Ruby?" She asked. Ruby could see Shirou from behind Weiss who seemed to be silently asking the same question, but his eyes were trying to state the obvious. That they were already friends.
Ruby fought the tears as the realization hit her, taking a breath before discreetly using stretching as a cover for her wiping away the tears that had escaped. She looked to Weiss and Shirou, they already thought of her as their friend. "Yeah, we are." Ruby managed.
Weiss smiled, as she sat down on the sleeping bag Shirou had rolled out next to Ruby. Her long flowing snow white hair came cascading down as she undid her ponytail, and began to brush.
"Why don't you girls get to know each other better." Shirou suggested as he got to his feet.
"Going somewhere Emiya?" Weiss asked.
"Oh, are you going to do that glowy thing?" Ruby asked. Shirou's eyes widened as the words left her mouth, Weiss' head immediately snapped back to Shirou.
"Your nightly routine Shirou?" Weiss asked. "Don't you think it's time you stopped doing that?" Shirou replied with a nonchalant shrug, and moved to pick up a small duffle bag by his sleeping bag. Strange, Ruby thought. She hadn't noticed that when she first laid eyes on Weiss and Shirou.
"I don't know Rin." Shirou smirked. "Isn't it time for you to do your push up routine before you go to bed?"
"Push up routine?" Yang questioned, intrigued.
"I don't know the full details, but Rin here has a-" the pillow that hit Shirou was enough to stagger him, and nearly knocking him over. The red tints that lined Weiss' face indicating that the push up routine wasn't something she openly shared. Ruby shook her head, empathizing with the older girl. She couldn't remember how many times Yang had put her into a similar state by blurting out a secret she would have liked to keep hidden in front of friends and family.
"Fine, just get out of here." Weiss huffed, her cheeks puffing as she pointed her nose heavenward.
Shirou with a chuckle took advantage of the opening, and promptly left with the bag in hand. Weiss took a moment, and screamed into a pillow allowing a few hairs to go out of place and proceeded to lay down. "Stupid Shirou." She mumbled.
Ruby couldn't help but chuckle at Weiss' actions, mostly because she'd act similarly in the same situation. Perhaps she and Weiss had more in common than she thought, she'd take tonight to get to know the girl better like Shirou had suggested.
Shirou let out a breath as the glow from the pipe he was reinforcing dimmed. He lifted up the pipe and inspected it, the few teal lines that ran up the length of the pipe was the only evidence of his tampering. He set it down, then turned his attention to the stone at his left.
With a simple thought the teal lights of Shirou's power lined his skin, then extended onto the stone. He winced slightly, he needed to focus somewhat. This was usually the case whenever he tried to use Reinforcement anything that wasn't a sword, strangely pipes were an exception. He wondered if it was because a pipe was a long metal object, much like a sword. Shirou's thoughts were interrupted as she stone split in two, sending a light jolt of pain up his arm.
"I suppose that's what I get for losing my focus." Shirou sighed, his hands moving to pick up the broken pieces of the stone, and set them beside the pipe he'd reinforced.
Shirou had been out on the campus, underneath the cover of a rather large tree that he'd found the day before. The items laid out before him were few in number, and fit in the duffle bag he'd brought. A lightbulb, a plank of wood, a pipe, and a stone now split in two.
All the previous items with the exception of the stone retained their dim glow, the Magical Energy he'd poured into them still remained. "It's the same as before." Shirou muttered. He'd noticed this little tidbit back at the Xiao Long household when he'd decided to resume his training. The rate at which Magical Energy would dissipate was slower, so slow in fact that it wasn't even noticeable at first.
He hoped Rin had figured this out during her time here, he didn't really know what to do with the information. Shirou would've opted to experiment with his Projections, but the fear of repeating the event during the first night at the Xiao Long household was an effective deterrent.
He'd have to tell Rin about it as well.
Though it could wait, telling her the night before initiation would only cause Rin undue stress. He'd tell her after initiation. Shirou could practically hear Rin's rant already.
One problem at a time. He thought, there were more pressing matters such as the initiation, or maybe the girl in the tree who'd been following him since he'd left the ballroom. "You can come out you know?" Shirou began, his eyes looking directly at a certain spot where the leaves were at their thickest.
No response.
"Sure." Shirou sighed. "Stay quiet so I think no one's there, or do I have to start naming features to get the message across?" Another sigh managed to escape his lips, as the lines of teal came once again. This time from his eyes, and stretched to his temples. "Black hair with a matching bow."
The leaves rustled, Shirou took a step back as the girl dropped down from her hiding place. Her amber eyes scanned Shirou as she straightened out the folds in her yukata-style clothing. "That wasn't so hard now was it?" Shirou teased.
"How did you know I was there?" The girl asked.
"Call it intuition." He replied, in truth he merely recalled the feeling of being watched this morning. A feeling that he felt once again a few moments upon arriving at the ballroom, then again when he left. By that time it was only a matter of keeping track of any people he'd see and the potential hiding spots they'd use when following him.
"I'll cut to the chase, why're you following me?" Shirou asked.
"Who says I'm following you?" The girl defended. "I just wanted a place to read." True enough, in her hands was a rather thick novel. "The ballroom was too noisy, so I left."
A logical move, concentrating in a rather noisy area was difficult. However there was a flaw in her logic, one that Shirou was quick to point out. "So...you chose to read in a tree with leaves so thick that not even moonlight can peek through?" The girl tensed up slightly. "You're not a very good liar."
"I'll ask again." Shirou repeated. "Why're you following me?" The girl's eyes darted around, Shirou recognized the act as something he did when dealing with rather volatile individuals. She was looking for a way out, a chance to slip away and escape.
"I'll settle for your name if you don't wanna tell me." Shirou decided.
She hesitated for a moment, Shirou could tell with her body language that she was thinking of the pros and cons of sharing her name of all things. She was cautious, she was similar to him. Though Rin would most likely disagree with that comparison.
"Blake, my name is Blake." She finally said.
"Nice to meet you Blake." Shirou nodded. "I'm Shirou, Shirou Emiya. How would you like to talk for a little while?" Blake did not stop with her attempt of trying to find exits, it was a simple fact that Shirou wouldn't let her leave unless she tried to by force. Though Shirou was sure she wouldn't want to cause a scene.
Shirou reached into his duffle bag, and pulled out a thermos. "Tea?" he offered.
C'mon get up.
Rin opened a single eye, and saw Shirou prodding her cheek with a finger. "Finally, I've been trying to get you to wake up for over half an hour." Rin merely groaned, and folded her pillow over her head. She hated mornings, and so did Weiss Schnee, I think? That must've been the reason she felt doubly annoyed at the awakening.
"I got you breakfast." Shirou continued, the pillow on Rin had used to shelter her head like a clam parted slightly. There was toast, bacon, eggs, and on the floor beside Shirou was a cup of coffee. She wanted to go back to sleep, but her stomach cried out; she felt betrayed by her own body as she held out a hand to receive the plate of food.
Rin rose not soon after, and began to slowly eat the meal.
"I'm surprised you're up Emiya." Rin began, taking a bite of the toast and then looking to Shirou for his reply. Few people lingered in the ballroom, she assumed most of them had already gotten ready for initiation.
"I don't know why you're so surprised Rin." Shirou shrugged, standing up from his spot and readied himself. He was already in his daily attire comprised of a simple white bodied shirt, with long blue sleeves. "I was always a bit of an early riser."
His classic look, as Rin would call it. "I find it amusing that even in another dimension, you still wear that outfit." She teased, and finished her meal. "Maybe they'll have something that fits my style here."
Shirou merely nodded. "I'll go return this plate to the cafeteria, you go get ready."
"Sounds good." Rin stretched. "We still have to finalize our plans, I learned some interesting stuff last night."
Returning from the cafeteria, Shirou was on his way back to Rin's side. They needed to stick together in order to raise their odds of success, especially when he was going in blind. While Initiation may not have started yet, staying together was still a good idea regardless.
"Hey Shirou!" Ruby called out to him, he waved and approached the hooded girl who stood beside her sister.
"Hey Red." Yang began. "Weiss finally up?"
"Yeah, I let her get ready while I did some stuff." Shirou added, it was only then did he fully realize that Beacon was a place to train warriors. The halls flowed with students all carrying weapons of their own, a majority of them Shirou immediately recorded into the Reality Marble. "There's a lot of people…" he trailed off.
"You're only realizing this now?" Yang raised a brow. "Speaking of which, hey Shirou have you decided on who you want on your team?"
"My team?" Shirou questioned.
"Oh right, Ruby and dad told me you were from out of the Kingdoms." Yang corrected. "Well basically Huntsmen and Huntresses are put into teams of four, sometimes more but four is the standard number."
This was news to him, he needed to be on a team with Rin regardless of what happens. If he wasn't then it would make things harder for him.
"So how're teams formed?" Asked Shirou.
Yang shrugged in reply. "No idea, dad and our uncle would never tell us how they ended up on the same team."
"That complicates things." Shirou muttered.
"Oh why's that?" Yang prodded the male with her elbow. "Hoping you'd end up on the same team as me?" Ruby made a gagging sound at this display, but Shirou did not look as if he even felt the prods of Yang's elbow.
"I wouldn't mind." Shirou admitted. "So long as Rin and I are together."
Yang distanced herself a bit. "I see what's going on here." Shirou jerked forward when Yang clapped him on the back. "You and Weissy are an item."
Shirou stiffened at that, making Yang and Ruby flinch. "No, we're not." He was practically growling with how low his voice had gotten. Shirou seemed to have noticed the looks they were giving him, and tried his best to return to his natural expression. "Honestly, things are...complicated. I'd feel better so long as I'm by her side though."
"Oh….Kay." Yang nodded, obviously somewhat unnerved by Shirou's sudden mood change.
"What about you Ruby?" Shirou asked. "Hoping to team up with someone in particular?"
"I don't know." Ruby began, looking away. Her hands wrapped around Crescent Rose in its collapsed form. "Maybe I'll just be on your team, or Yang's."
"Or…" Yang replied, drawing out the syllable of her words. "Neither of ours?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ruby asked, her hands on her hips in an attempt of looking intimidating. "My dear sister Yang, are you suggesting you don't want to be on the same team as me?"
"What? N-No." Yang defended, looking over to Shirou for any sort of assistance. However the only response she got from the redhead was a step back, he wanted nothing to do with this can of worms that Yang had opened up. "I-I just think it's time you break out of your shell sis."
"Wha?" Ruby replied, somewhat offended at the suggestion. "I don't need to break out of my shell, that's just-"
"Ridiculous!" An armored blonde male exclaimed, it was enough to distract Ruby and Yang for the time being. It allowed him to slip away, they'd sort it out themselves. As Shirou passed by the blonde male, he couldn't help but overhear how he'd lost track of the locker he'd sheltered his weapon inside.
That little act of eavesdropping brought the memory of the sword Ruby had lent him, he'd need to pick it up soon. Well, it was on the way. Rin could stand to wait a bit.
Recalling the locker Glynda had assigned to him for the time being to store his weapon, Shirou stood by it. The metal container was long and slender, completely different from the lockers he had back in high school since they were mostly used to house their outdoor shoes.
Patting down his pockets, Shirou reached in and pulled out a piece of paper with the locker combination. A short series of numbers "07-26-13" it was easy enough to remember, however Shirou found himself freezing when he'd looked over to the "lock" of the locker. An electronic keypad that was more akin to the smartphones Luvia had once gotten him as payment for cleaning her mansion.
Shirou was by no means as allergic to technology as Rin, but this was just too advanced even for him. He could fix broken heaters, but he had trouble putting his phone on vibrate. It took Fuji-nee calling him from home to give him a crash course before he even figured out how to use a smartphone. He recalled an instance when he had asked Rin to record a show for him, and he came home to his Blu-ray recorder full of holes the size of Gandr shots.
He made a reminder to get a handle on all the electronic devices here at Beacon before Rin touched them.
"Are you having trouble?" Shirou turned coming face to face with a girl with bright red hair, her outfit consisted of what seemed to be an armored corset, a matching miniskirt which seemed to be less armored. The image of a female Spartan came to mind, whoever she was. This girl was a trained warrior, who outclassed Ruby and Yang by a significant amount.
"Yes, unfortunately." Shirou wasn't afraid of admitting it, he wasn't Rin. If there was something he didn't know how to do, he'd ask for help. He offered the girl space to move forward, and watched as she slid her index finger across the screen twice before stopping at a keypad.
"May I have your code?" She asked, the small paper in hand was handed over to her; not a moment later the locker door swung open revealing Shirou's sword.
"Thank you." he thanked, clipping the sword onto his waist as the girl repeated the process on the locker beside his.
"No, thanks are necessary." She smiled. Shirou's eyes flared for a moment as he saw the weapons the girl called her own. They were added into his inner world post haste, Shirou glanced at her for a moment.
"I recognize you." Shirou began, she seemed to tense. "You're the girl I nearly bumped into yesterday, I'd like to formally apologize. Miss..?"
The girl's expression was one of utter confusion. "Pyrrha, my name is Pyrrha Nikos." Pyrrha took a moment, and shook her head. "I'm sorry if this may seem rude, but do you truly mean it when you say you don't know who I am?"
Now it was Shirou's turn to tense, was this girl some important dignitary? No, she seemed too young. In fact the knowledge that he didn't seem to recognize soothed her a bit. He decided that honesty with a little of his cover story sprinkled in would be the right move to make. "No, I'm sorry. My name is Shirou, Shirou Emiya." He introduced. "I come from a small settlement from outside of the Kingdoms, we don't really get much news from the mainland."
She was nodding, good. Pyrrha believed him, she seemed like a nice person. "I hope I didn't offend you." Shirou continued.
"No!" She suddenly exclaimed, then coughed into her hand. "I-I mean, no. I didn't take any offence, it's just I can't seem to recall the last time I had to introduce myself."
"Are you a celebrity Pyrrha?" Shirou asked.
She stiffened once more, he took note. She didn't seem to like the attention, however before Shirou could force the conversation off into a random tangent, he heard a voice call out to him. "Emiya, you left me." The snow haired girl approached him, Rin had managed to find him herself. Then noticed Pyrrha. "Oh, who's this Emiya? A new friend of yours?"
"I guess you could say that." He replied, his eyes however sliding over to Pyrrha who had been stunned into silence once more.
Introductions were in order once again, Pyrrha gave shaky answers at first. Unnoticeable to anyone, save for him and Rin. In truth Pyrrha just seemed to be in disbelief, especially when Rin introduced herself as Weiss Schnee. Shirou really should've asked who Weiss Schnee was supposed to be, but he supposed he could do so later.
Pyrrha despite the initial awkwardness, slowly eased into the conversation. A smile steadily growing on her face the longer she spoke, a smile that only grew when Rin had invited her to walk with the pair. Pyrrha didn't seem to care much for initiation, maybe it wasn't that big of a deal.
Well that was a lie.
As Shirou watched another student go flying, it was only then did he realize the true meaning of the words: "Landing Strategy" that Glynda had shared with him, the Professor in question merely glanced at him as if to say "What? I warned you."
Another student was launched four platforms away, Shirou's time was coming closer. What was it with him and this world? He'd detest heights when this was all over. "Shirou." Ruby called out to him. "Are you okay?"
He was nervous, he should've expected something like this. If the Huntsmen and Huntresses were elite warriors tasked with the defense of the Kingdoms, then only the best of the best were present. Initiation was just another way of saying weeding out the weak. "I'm somewhat nervous Ruby." He admitted.
"O-Oh." Ruby looked out past Shirou, only two more initiates would be launched before him, then her. "I know! I'll catch you if you can't land properly."
Shirou chuckled, which evolved into a full blown laugh. "Hey! Don't laugh…" Shirou wiped a tear away from his eyes as Ruby puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. Something about the thought of Ruby catching him mid air was something that he found hilarious for some reason.
Shirou let out a breath, and looked past Ruby.
Rin nodded to him, a nod which he returned. His nerves had stilled, crippled or not. Shirou Emiya was not one who looked away from danger, he was someone who would move forward without regrets. He reached out to Ruby, his hand ruffling her short black hair. "I'll see you down there, Ruby." said Shirou, placing a hand on the sword at his waist and braced himself.
The mechanisms under his feet groaned as they were reeled back to their limits, there was a pause.
The next moment Shirou was launched into the air, but he would not falter. His first true test as a new denizen of the World of Remnant.
Author's Notes: Shorter Chapter, but please read it regardless. Leave some tips on what could be improved, I do read them.