Is anyone still waiting for this story? lol.

Here's the meeting we know was gonna happen, sooner or later.

Shirou Aozaki was now ten years old...and he was fighting.

Metallic sparks flew as he ducked under a punch and crushed a kneecap with a low kick to his opponent's knee.

The opponent seemed not to care about its injuries and simply smashed its fist downward like a hammer. Clicking his tongue, Shirou backstepped and weaved out of his opponent's range.

Catching its wrist at the precise moment it put its weight behind its attack, he pulled. Off-balanced, his opponent crashed face first into the ground.

Without wasting a second, Shirou wrenched his opponent's arm behind its back with one arm and tightened its neck in a choke-hold with his other.

His opponent twisted and writhed on the floor, trying to get the small boy off its back, but to no avail. Shirou clung to it like a koala to a eucalyptus tree and held on for dear life as his enemy tried to squash him by rolling onto its back.

CRACK.

The dry sound of a hard material snapping in two echoed through the hall.

It was too dry to be something organic, much less alive. Shirou looked down at the motionless body of the metal doll and pushed himself away. He sat on the cold stone floor, panting and out of breath.

He was sparring against one of the combat dolls his mother had designed for him. It had the emulated combat data of several master-level martial artists, all assorted within its system to provide one hell of a challenge for the young and aspiring Aozaki.

Two years had passed since he started his combat training under the guidance of Aoko.

Much to Touko's chagrin, even she couldn't help but admit that Shirou's talent as a magus was severely lacking, and he needed a more practical and direct approach to keep his edge.

However, that didn't mean she simply relented and rolled over, giving Aoko her full approval of her guidance. Quite the contrary, in fact.

She insisted that while Aoko was allowed to teach Shirou the basics, the sparring must be done by 'a doll with no emotions' to arithmetically calculate Shirou's combat readiness and ability.

Touko also insisted that it would be more beneficial for Shirou if he had a second opinion/option in the pursuit of his own combat style.

Despite Aoko's protests, Touko managed to secure the help of one Soujuurou Shizuki aka (according to Touko) Aoko's ex.

While the young man looked like an unimpressive average Japanese male, he was the embodiment of 'looks can be deceiving', since he was anything but normal.

As a matter of fact, he had once destroyed the heart of a phantasmal wolf from the age of the gods...by pure skill alone!

The fact that Touko could attest to that bizarre claim made him all the more terrifying in Shirou's eyes.

Shirou could never forget the casual conversation he had with his new teacher.

"Wow...this training is...quite Spartan. Are we training to kill a polar bear with our bare fists?"

Of course, Shirou was joking. He had sought to break the ice with his rather stoic sensei.

Instead of laughing, Soujuurou just stared down at his new pupil with a bewildered expression.

"Why would we need any training to slay an albino bear?"

"..."

This was how Shirou started his training under the guidance of two teachers and one doll. Touko never looked more pleased with herself.

Aoko called her reasons bull and shit. Touko insisted that it was an evidence-based study.

Whatever the case, Shirou sparred with the doll and occasionally trained under Soujuurou whenever Aoko wasn't available...and did his absolute best to ignore how the doll looked suspiciously similar to his dear aunt.

He definitely was not going to call it 'Aoko the Second', no matter how much Touko insisted on the naming. He wasn't that suicidal.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Shirou stood up and reached for his bottle of water, only to find it held in the hand of another.

Aoko grinned mischievously at the wide-eyed Shirou and poked his cheek with the tip of the bottle.

"Hi, Shirou! Missed me?"

"...Aoko nee!"

Shirou jumped up and hugged his aunt's waist. It has been a week since he last saw her, and while he knew that none of her 'business trips' were life-threatening, it still worried him greatly.

Aoko's eyes softened as she patted her boy's head. No matter what Touko said, he was also a son to her. It was surprising how much a young child could grow in one's heart in a few years.

"Hehehe...yeah, you missed me all right. Hey, guess what? I have a gift for you~"

"...A gift?"

"Yep! Hey, Shiki, come on in!"

Shirou blinked as a young boy about the same age as he walked through the training hall's door with a tired sigh.

The boy had black hair, a slim, athletic build, and brilliant blue eyes...just like his aunt. Shirou immediately liked the boy and nodded in his direction. The boy nodded back.

"As Aoko sensei has just called me, my name is Shiki Tohno...or Shiki Arima, as of right now. I had an...an accident I don't remember much about, and Aoko sensei played a great part in my rehabilitation."

Aoko slapped the boy on the back so hard that his glasses nearly dropped off.

"Oh, stop being so formal! I get it that you're nervous meeting a boy the same age as you, and he is my nephew and all that, but you got to relax!"

Shiki's eyes twitched slightly in irritation, but the rigidness that was in his shoulders seemed to bleed out at her words. He shrugged and smiled sheepishly at Shirou, while Shirou gave him a sympathetic smile of his own.

"Eh...you heard her. Well, call me Shiki, and...it's nice to meet you in person."

Shirou raised a curious eyebrow.

"In person...? You mean Aoko nee..."

Aoko's smile was brighter than the sun.

"Oh, yes! I've told Shiki all about you! I mean, you two are just perfect for each other! Both of you have a complicated background, both of you are of the same age, and both of you would most likely grow up to be a woman's man! So, I snatched Shiki here to meet up with you!"

Shirou opened and closed his mouth like a suffocating goldfish.

"You...did you just...you...wait. Snatched?"

Shiki laughed awkwardly as Shirou slapped a hand onto his face in embarrassment.

"Should've guessed...you kidnapped a guy here for a playdate...", he mumbled. Aoko flicked Shirou's forehead with a pout.

"Shiki agreed, you know? It's not kidnapping if it's consensual!"

"Please don't talk like that if you're questioned by the police...ow ow ow!"

Aoko grabbed Shirou in a headlock and playfully pulled at his cheek.

Touko poked her head out from behind the door. Her eyes narrowed behind her spectacles. She put her glasses away with barely concealed anger.

"What is...why does that boy have my mystic eye killer?", she asked her sister.

Aoko looked at Shiki, rubbed her chin, and then looked back at her sister with a blank expression on her face.

"What mystic eye killer?"

Touko snarled.

Nasuverse Wiki #2

Mystic Eye Killers:

A Mystic Code that is commonly made into glasses. They are able to suppress the power of Mystic Eyes to some extent including more unique ones such as Death Perception and Petrification, allowing someone to live a normal life without affecting themselves and those around them with the abilities of their eyes.

Touko's Mystic Eye Killers stand above the rest and are sought out by many, and bought for an exorbitant price. Aoko stole her sister's for Shiki.

Yep, characters from OG Witch on the Holy Night and Tsukihime!

Yeah, Soujuurou, Aoko, and Touko's dolls as Shirou's teachers? He's gonna give Kuzuki-sensei a run for his money...the poor fellah...

Please review and let me know your thoughts, etc. It helps this go on and all that!

X-kalibuuuur, over and out.