Chapter 4

It had been a month since the incident at the academy. Thankfully, everything had died down by now, especially with the Empire controlling what information was put out, as well as handling who was aware of the true cause of the incident. Thankfully, most of the damage was repaired quickly, all except for once place.

When Sistine and Luvia had managed to make their way to the transport tower, they were surprised by what they found along the way. Outside of the tower were multiple golems, about ten if Luvia guessed correctly. However, it was hard to get a good count since most of them had been destroyed completely.

It was unthinkable in Sistine's mind for a single mage to destroy so many, as well damage the tower itself. However, there were multiple sword fragments inside of the golems. However, some had zero, which somewhat surprised Luvia. The tower had a few holes in it, despite it having protective spells on it.

Naturally, fully repairing the tower's damage was going to be a larger task. However, any blame was waived when it was found out that Shirou and Luvia managed to save and protect all the students, but also prevented a catastrophe from taking place.

"Seriously? When was the last time you passed out from mana depletion?" Luvia asked Shirou, who was currently watching the workers repairing the tower. He was wearing the school's standard black mage jacket with the sleeves rolled up, considering his regular jacket was lost during the fight.

"Probably back in Fuyuki when we dismantled the grail." He answered uninterestedly. "Besides, you've been bugging me about that for a month, Luvia. What's the big deal? I've been out of practice for a year." He took a sip from the tea in front of him.

He heard Luvia let out a frustrated groan, not knowing the reason for her frustration was the state and position in which she found him. "Fine, it's not important anyway." She said walking to his side. "So, you decided to start teaching full time?"

He let out a hum. "Well, I found teaching to be a bit more enjoyable than I first thought. Besides, now that the Empire found out Shirou Aozaki is actually Shirou Emiya, they won't leave me alone even if I wanted to go somewhere else. So, I figured I might as well own it."

Luvia laughed at his explanation. Though, she did understand his frustration, somewhat. Shirou wasn't the mage killer anymore. He left behind the part of him that was an Emiya, fulling embracing his actual lineage and living a better life for it. To have the Empire knowing about him may complicate matters.

"Well, I'll be here with you and I know our students are glad for you taking on the job full time, so its not all bad." She leaned against him, taking a deep breath as she did so. Shirou realized that it really wasn't all that bad. He wasn't going back to that life, so whether they knew or not didn't matter.

"Did Celica talk to you already?" Shirou asked, causing Luvia to flinch slightly. Shirou held in a chuckle at the action, already knowing that she did. Luvia let go and let out a sigh.

"Yeah, she did." Her depressed tone caused Shirou to chuckle. "My money spending isn't nearly as bad as other nobles, so why is she so hard on me? Besides, its not like we're in any danger of running out."

"I think its the spending money like a noble, considering she doesn't know about our families in the old world. I think she just wants you to be a bit more frugal, you know? Maybe, a bit more down to earth or something." He replied, trying to cheer her up. "I wouldn't think about it too much. You can just use my money in the meantime."

"I can be down to earth and frugal. Just watch me, I'll show her." She replied with a determined expression, before her eyes widened, "Oh, yeah, she also mentioned something about the Magic Games Festival, or something like that."

"Magic Games? That sounds familiar." He tried to sort through his memories, when he realized what it was. "Oh! That was during the time when Glenn and the two of us snuck out and explored that ruin, right?"

"Correct. I'm glad you remembered. Yes, we will be competing against the other classes for the top prize." Shirou looked towards Luvia who had a big smile on her face. He let out a small hum.

"Let me guess, it's a money prize." He saw Luvia still, before she turned and looked at him with a guilty expression. He let out an amused huff. "Well, don't worry, we have some talented kids. I'm sure we'll be able to whip them into shape in time for the competition."

"Spoken like a true teacher." She said with a smile. "You look good in that jacket by the way." She then exited the roof, leaving Shirou to look out at the workers. He finished his tea, before taking one last deep breath. 'Guess I'll go get some training in before classes begin.'

Sistine, Rumia, and Lynn were walking through the school and looking at all of the reconstructed parts of the school. Of course, Sistine witnessed first hand the destruction of some of the school. Sistine and Rumia felt like checking out how well everything was repaired, while Lynn just happened to join them.

As they were walking through the academy, they began to hear the sound of whistling and thunks. The three looked at each other, before deciding to follow the sounds. As they grew closer, the sounds became sharper and louder. "Isn't this the training field?" Lynn asked out loud?

"But who would be using it this early?" Sistine replied, not knowing who would do such a thing. They came to the entrance that provided a view of the training field. From the view of the entrance, they saw their professor. All three girls' faces slightly reddened at the sight.

Shirou was standing at one side of the field, he was wearing what appeared to be a black, sleeveless shirt, though they could all tell it was some kind of armor. He still had his usual jeans and shoes, but his gloves were replaced with some kind of hand protection for archers.

He wielded a strange bow, which looked longer than the normal bow an archer would use. On the other side of the field were multiple practice golems with multiple arrows in the center of each targeted area of the body, without a single one missed. They watched as he went through each motion of his archery.

Another arrow shot through the air and, once again, hit the center of another golem. "How far is that? It's got to be at least 300 meters?" Sistine asked, though she had a rough idea. The field was made to host multiple events, so she knew that it was quite large.

"His movements are so nice to watch." Lynn said in her usual quiet and shy voice. Though, when both girls looked at her, she became more embarrassed. The girls all giggled, before watching Shirou fire another arrow. It was when he was preparing another arrow that the girls noticed something odd.

On Shirou's left arm was some sort of red tattoo that wrapped around his upper left arm. It appeared like some sort of tribal vine design. "It's rude to spy on others you know." A voice called out behind them, causing the three to jump, luckily they managed to not make any noise.

They heard a chuckle, before turning and seeing Luvia with her usual smile. "We didn't mean to..." The three all began to say, but Luvia simply shook her head at them.

"There's no need to apologize, I was only teasing." Luvia walked over and saw Shirou firing off more arrows. "Ooooh, I see why you were just standing there now. Sherou's archery is always a treat for the eyes."

"Um, Lady Luvia, why is the professor practicing archery rather than magic?" Lynn asked, holding her book close to her face. Luvia looked at her and only smiled at the shy girl's demeanor. Sistine actually had a similar question. Most mages wouldn't train skills unrelated to magic.

"Well, Sherou's actually an excellent marksman, whether its with magic or with a bow. He's not really practicing or training, at least not in a traditional sense. For Shirou, it's more about meditation for him. Who knows, maybe you'll get a chance to see him use some magic." She said while motioning them to follow her.

As the group made their way up to the stands, Sistine decided to ask Luvia a question. "Professor Luvia, what are those red markings on the professor's left arm?" She saw Luvia slightly flinch.

"Ah, well, those markings belong to a certain clan that a friend of ours was from. She actually gave those to him and his have a special meaning behind them. If he were to meet anyone from that clan and they saw his markings, they would recognize Sherou as a friend." She informed them in her usual teaching voice.

"Wow, that's interesting. You two must have met a lot of interesting people." Rumia replied with a sweet smile. The group sat in some seats and saw Shirou dematerialize his bow.

"We have, but sometimes I wish we didn't." She responded casually, watching as Shirou activated his magic circuits and his magic crest, with it being easily noticeable with his sleeveless armor. She let out a hum, as she also liked the design of the Aozaki crest.

"What's that? I've never seen anything like that before." Sistine questioned, interested with the circuits and crest now present on Shirou's body. "Is that the color of his mana?" Luvia raised a brow at her question. She thought for a moment, before deciding to answer her questions.

"Those are things that help Sherou and I cast our spells. Though that spiral-like design that runs along his right arm is called a magic crest. Mine is on my back. They have the knowledge of our respective families stored within. Though, me telling you this will have to be our little secret." She said with a wink.

A small blue bird fluttered down and sat on the sit in front of them, tweeting and hopping. "Oh, hello, Robin. I'm guessing your master already knows we're here then?" Luvia asked the small bird. The bird simply tweeted and seemed to nod at her question. She lifted her hand up and the bird flew up and landed on her finger.

"Is that another of Shirou's birds? I think he called them puppets, right?" Rumia asked while getting closer to observe the little bird. Luvia smiled and nodded.

"Yes it is. This little one's name is Robin. Athena and her are both puppet familiars, so they're a bit special when compared to a normal puppet. Shirou made Robin in remembrance of one of his mentors." She informed the girls who were petting the bird.

Shirou was informed by Robin that the girls were watching him. He was surprised that they were watching him, as he didn't think he had anything worth watching. Then again, the girls probably just wanted to seem him perform spells. He supposed he could show them a little bit, but only the things that the mage corps already knew about.

He lifted his right arm, "Snap." In front of his hand a circle appeared, with multiple empty magic circles appearing along the circle's line. "Load." Five of the magic circles were then filled with designs, like bullets loaded into a revolver's chamber. "Fire." The magic circles rotated and blue light propelled forward from Shirou's hand.

The blue bullets shot forward, aimed at each of the practice golems on the opposite side of the field. If one were to clearly see the bullets, they would notice that their shape was more reminiscent of a sword. Each struck the golems in the middle of the target on their chest, destroying them.

Shirou let out a sigh. His bullets were still firing at optimal levels. He even went through each process slowly to analyze if there was any change, but he saw none. Which was a good thing. After taking down a few of the golems with the bullets, he wanted to make sure there was no downgrade.

Which meant 'Draw' was more than likely the same, so he had no need to test that one out. "Trace on." He projected one of his forged katanas into his hand. "Full connection, established." He felt the blade respond to his mana, a magic circle encircling the guard and his hand.

"Oh, it seems he's going to test out his sword magic. It seems he really wants to do a full check up." Luvia sighed as she sat back against her chair. Robin playfully landing on top of her head.

"Sword magic? Is that like the thing he used with Caliburn? No, it has to be different. It looks more like when he used a sword similar to the one he has now." Sistine spoke aloud, causing Luvia to have a surprised expression.

'This girl is pretty sharp. She was able to see the difference between his sword spells and a noble phantasm. How interesting, Sistine Fibel.' Luvia smiled at the thought. "You are correct, Sistine. What he's using now is sort of like his own original magic. Wholly separate from Caliburn."

"Quick lesson time, ladies. Sherou's magic bullets, what element would you say that was?" Luvia asked as she looked at the three girls. Each girl thought for a moment.

"Water/lightning/none." Rumia, Sistine, and Lynn answered respectively, with each one looking at the other, though Luvia was surprised by Lynn's answer.

"Correct, Lynn, very good." Lynn's features brightened at Luvia's words, "What he fired was magical energy using a simple spell. Now, his sword spells operate in a similar manner, however, there are special spells with specific weapons. One of which utilizes the concept of a double edged sword. Watch and tell me what you see."

The girls were rather surprised but decided to do as their teacher told them. They watched as Shirou stood in a stance, before delivering a strong downward slash. From the blade emerged a wave of magical energy much like the bullets. The sword then began to break and shatter.

"So, he channels mana into the blade and releases it? But, his sword broke afterwards?" Rumia replied, wondering why Luvia wanted them to watch Shirou perform that magic.

"Yes, but I wanted you to watch and see the different application he made for his magic. Sherou is somewhat limited in his use of spells. Sherou hasn't gotten around to explaining it yet, but what you all call 'magical characteristic' deeply affects a mages aptitude for magic."

"I've heard about magical characteristic before, but I don't understand why you're bringing that up?" Sistine replied, with Luvia offering a small smile.

"Because, sometimes, mages will hit a wall or be unable to perform certain actions that they want. Sherou and our adopted brother Glenn are the same, their characteristic made it nearly impossible to perform certain spells or perform single verse incantations."

"You'll hear it from Sherou later, but I'll tell you all now. Glenn and Sherou may have been handicapped, but they found ways around it by being creative and never giving up. They worked hard and, with what talent they had, became great mages. In fact, Glenn could easily be your instructor instead of Sherou, because they worked hard, studied, and trained."

"The point is, never stop growing as mages. Even when you hit a point where you think you can't go on, keep trying and don't be afraid to be creative. Besides, experimenting can be really fun if you're careful and don't blow yourselves up." She said with a laugh.

The three girls all had nervous laughs, but understood what she was saying. Still, for Sistine and Rumia, imagining Shirou as anything other than the powerful mage he was, was a bit hard for them. Though, it did make them feel like they could get to the level where they could achieve their dreams. Especially since Luvia and Shirou seemed to be confident in them.

"Luvia." Shirou's voice echoed through the empty field, causing the girls to slightly jump. Everyone turned and saw the professor standing there with a sword in his hand.

"Yes, dear?" Luvia answered in a happy voice. The three noticed Shirou's eyes widen a bit, before he coughed into his hand.

"You may want to take the three of them to class. I'm going to clean up real quick, so prepare everything while I'm gone. I shouldn't be gone too long." He said to her, beginning to walk off.

Luvia simply smiled and waved, before turning and looking a the three girls. "Well, you heard him. It's time to head back and begin classes. I'm sure you'll all be excited for what we have in store for today." Though, the girls felt a bit nervous, as Luvia was a bit more happy than usual.

Shirou took a quick shower before heading back to his class. He put on his jeans and black shoes. He quickly put on his black sleeveless armor and white button up shirt. He altered his professors robes, turning it into more of a normal jacket, though it was easily noticeable what it once was.

He was a full time teacher, so he supposed he should look the part. Lastly, he wrapped a traced red shroud around his neck, allowing the ends to flow behind him and put on his gloves. He took in a deep breath and allowed himself to relax for a moment, before heading off to his class.

When Shirou reached the door to his room, he could already hear his students in a large debate. Shirou opened the door, quieting the room. They all looked towards him, while Shirou looked towards Luvia, who had a guilty smile on her face. "They already knew about our big announcement."

Shirou let out a sigh, before walking up to the board where Sistine and Rumia were currently standing. On the board was a list of events names, all of which were empty at the moment. "I see, so, what do we have far?" He asked his students, all of whom seemed a bit dejected.

"We don't have anything yet, Professor. You and Miss Luvia were going to announce it, so I'm sure you two have an idea." Sistine informed him. Rumia was standing behind her, staring at him with wide eyes. He noticed her line of sight aimed at his shroud.

"No one wants to go against the other class, whose evaluation is known to be the best every year, plus Her Majesty will be attending this year as a guest of honor. So, no one wants to make a fool of themselves. Besides, it would be seen as pity if you were to delegate anyone else when they'd be burdens." Gibul stated, though Shirou just let out a sigh.

"Alicia will be there?" Shirou whispered to himself. "That simplifies things then. Luvia, if you will?" He said handing her the chalk. Luvia had a big smile when she made her way to the board.

"Sherou and I planned this out in advance and have a fool proof plan." Shirou nearly snorted, 'Yeah, advance as in earlier today through a communicator.' "Everyone will be participating and we will be placing you in according to your strengths, that way you all can shine." Luvia stated with a her usual theatrics, adding in some gem dust to sprinkle around as she lifted her hands into the air.

Shirou and Luvia explained each event and who was going to participate and why, even detailing the strengths of the students, making sure to encourage them and give them confidence. Shirou smiled as he looked at the lit up faces of his students. At least, until Gibul spoke up.

"Professors, do you really think this arrangement can win? Why not let Sistine, Wendy, and me compete in each event for the best results? We've doing that as an established practice every year." He stated to everyone, even making his way to the front. Shirou and Luvia looked at each other, before turning towards him and saying the same thing.

"Where's the fun in that?" Causing Gibul, and even some students, to somewhat stumble. Luvia continued, "We get that may have been how it was done before, but really, you're forgetting the most crucial part of the Magic Festival Games. Do you know what it is?" She asked, looking around but seeing no one respond.

"Magic Festival GAMES, and last I checked, games are supposed to be fun, while also showcasing the talents and introducing competitiveness to the students." She said simply, before her eyes brightened like stars. "Yes, just like wrestling ring and the noble art of professional wrestling, it's to go out and shine like a star while showing how superior our class is as a whole to the audience!" She said while doing, what Shirou called, her princess laugh.

Shirou face palmed, as he knew how excited Luvia for when it came to competition. The amount of times he had to break up Rin and Luvia's so called, "competitions", was nearing a ridiculous number. Plus, he also knew how excited she was when it came to wrestling. He took her to countless wrestling shows back in the old world, so he knew how she got.

"What Luvia is trying to say, is that using the usual practice doesn't properly convey a class's standings. I don't want us to be known for two or three students, when all of you are talented. The way we set it up, we'll show that our class isn't just made up of one or two good students, but it will allow each of you to showcase your talents and show the school and the Queen that you've worked hard to get where you are."

"Each of you will be able to, as Luvia put it, shine like a star. We do this as a class, together. So, not only will everyone have fun and shine, but when we win, it will be because each of you worked hard and the victory will be that much happier." He proclaimed. 'I hope that worked. My charisma isn't that great, I just tried to imitate Saber.'

"You heard the professors! They have faith in us and believe that we can do this. So, we should respond to that faith and do our best. Professor Shirou and Lady Luvia haven't led us astray before, so let's give it our all." Sistine stated excitedly with a bright smile on her face.

Each student responded positively and everyone's morale seemed to brighten. In fact, Shirou looked and saw the smiles on his students' faces and their newfound excitement and felt pride in his class. Seeing Lynn, who was usually shy, have an excited expression, while Wendy seemed determined to win her event, brought a real smile to his face.

Unknown to him, but there were a few people who saw this smile and felt a happiness come over them at the sight. Luvia who was always happy to see Shirou experience true happiness. Celica, who was happy to see him recovering from his time in the Imperial Court Mage Corps. The last two were Rumia and Sistine, who both were excited to see a happy smile on his face, both for different reasons.

Both girls were excited to get some training from Shirou, as they both knew about his strength. However, unknown to both, they equally wanted to spend time with Shirou and to try and learn more about him. Luvia, however, easily deduced their plans and only let out a small giggle at the thought of the two young girls and their interest in Shirou.

Shirou, however, was lost in his thoughts.

'The memory is forever etched into my soul. The lights, sounds, smells, the words, and her beauty. Details that never faded, even for the me who became a counter guardian. In my dreams, I find that missing piece...' "I ask of you, are you my master?" 'Only to wake from the dream.'

'To search endlessly, that was my task. Yet, you gave me your own task. No, you gave both Luvia and me a task. One we have pursued in earnest. To live a good life. Two miracles must occur for us to meet again. I know this. Yet, I will strive for such a miracle. I may have encountered a detour, a detour that I must admit, I find enjoyable.'

'Yet, a detour is still a detour. I will never lose sight of my end goal. Of our goal. I apologize for making you wait, but these kids need me now. They are searching for something too, and I wish to see them grasp that happiness in reaching that goal. I know that you would aid them in their time of need. That doesn't mean my goal has stopped, far from it.'

'A world of mysteries from a long forgotten age has allowed me to search with greater knowledge. I will never forget you, Arturia. As long as a shred of hope remains, no, even if no hope was left, I would continue. For you and the memories I have etched into my soul, visible even within my Blade Works.'

'The image of a beautiful woman standing with the rising sun behind her.' "Shirou, I love you." 'Because I love you, Arturia. No matter what world, no matter what time, I will cross them all. Chances are though, I won't be alone.

'And I'm sure I'll have plenty of happy stories to tell you.' He finished, looking out at the faces of his students and Luvia, who merely gave him her usual loving smile. He responded with a smile of his own. 'Definitely not alone.'

Finished this chapter up and getting it out there. Yeah! Alrighty, I wanted to explain a few things from last chapter with this one. Shirou did a whole lot more than was shown, which was why he was exhausted at the end. If it appears I nerfed him, I haven't. He's just out of practice when it comes to real battle. A year is a long time. Anyways, next chapter will be when things hit the fan and you'll see how Shirou tackles the problems compared to Glenn, because they are different. Though, I will say that we will be seeing Glenn and Sara soon, maybe next chapter, who knows. Hehe. I'll also be showing more of Shirou's interactions with some of the students, because I feel like I haven't shown enough of that, since I've been focusing on Luvia and such. I also wanted to show what route Shirou went down in the Grail War. I'll show some events from that, as Luvia was there during that war too. It wasn't wholly the same, but it ended the same as the Fate route. I also wanted to hint at some of Shirou's past in this, so that was fun. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed, thanks for reading and if you have any questions feel free to ask. I usually answer what questions I can. As always, until next time.