Chapter 13

Thursday, October 20, 2022

It's getting late, so I get up and leave the girls to themselves after watching a film, wishing them a good night. I quietly make my way to the hangar, then continue repairing all this old furniture.

The calm of the night, the light of the moon accompanying me, and the sound of the tools soothing me. A cool breeze blows through the shed, foreshadowing the arrival of winter. and it makes me want to stay in the hangar for the rest of the night.

I hear voices getting closer. It's Sakura and Fuji-nee. They open the door.

"'We're off Senji, see you tomorrow and please don't stay here too long, I don't want to see you nosedive tomorrow!" Fuji-nee said.

"Good night Senpai see you tomorrow." Sakura said with a smile.

"I'll see what I can do Fuji-nee, good night to you both, be careful on the way home."

After this brief interlude, I'm back on my own. Me and my tools, trying with great difficulty to bring these old machines back to life.

It's now midnight, and I think I'll be here for a long time. It's a place I wasn't allowed to go when I was a kid. And of course, at this age, we tend to do the opposite of what we're told. Since then, the hangar has become my personal sanctuary.

Besides, I like being alone, even if things have changed nowadays. The horrors I've lived through are rooted in me, and even if I'm surrounded by people I could consider friends, I still have this slight unease inside me. Something that prevents me from trusting them completely.

As the night deepens, the atmosphere becomes increasingly gloomy. I don't know why, but something gives me the creeps, when suddenly a call rings out. I pick up my phone and see that it's Rias-senpai.

"Good evening Buchou, what can I do for you at this hour?" I say with a slight bored tone.

"Good evening Senji, excuse me for calling you so late, but there's a problem."

I stop using the screwdriver and concentrate on the caller when I hear this. "Hmm? what's the matter?"

"I'll send you the coordinates, seeing it will be more explicit than explaining. I'll see you in a bit."

And with these words, she cuts short the call and sends me some coordinates, right in the middle of Fuyuki's so-called 'abandoned' districts.

I hesitate for a short while, then get up, grab my bike and head off.


Rolling through the deserted roads of this forsaken place. I realize that there are still people living here, at least still using the sidewalks, even at this hour.

Years ago, there was an accident and a huge black cloud engulfed the whole place, wiping out most of the people who lived here. It was frightening, and I remember having nightmares about it for a while, especially as I'd been through something similar before.

In the distance I see Kiba and Koneko, waiting. Koneko is holding something, as if to cover her nose.

I stop a few meters away, put my bike down and head towards them.

"Good evening, you two? Are we early or..." I smell a violent whiff of blood, but not just that.

"Ah good evening Senji-kun. Buchou and Akeno-senpai are already at the crime scene, accompanied by someone else. I'm staying with Koneko as she has trouble with such strong smells." Kiba explains.

"Sorry," said Koneko, lowering her head, unable to stand the smell.

"Okay, I'll join them then." I said as I walked past them.

I enter this narrow alley. It's dark, except for a streetlamp that flickers neurvestibly like a lighthouse, an orange light.

I see Buchou and Akeno-senpai, chatting with the other person. She's a young woman with aquatic eyes and long, wavy brown hair, styled backwards. Part of the hair is made up of twin tails tied with black ribbons, while most of it hangs loose. She's wearing a long red coat.

(Wait a minute, is that Tohsaka Rin? What's she doing here?)

The closer I get to them, the stronger the smell. Like a corpse. And when I can finally see their faces, they all have the same expression. Horror and disgust. Then Rias-senpai hears me coming and faces me.

"Thanks for coming Senji, and sorry again."

"Good evening everyone, don't worry."

Akeno, gives me a difficult smile before covering her mouth and nose.

"Good evening Emiya-kun, nice to meet you." Tohsaka greets me with difficulty. She looks like she's about to break down and vomit.

"Yes, good evening Tohsaka." I say, then look around.

The alley is a cul-de-sac, with buildings forming walls all around. Honestly, it looks more like a room than an walls of this alleyway have just been repainted. The floor is damp and sticky, and the smell of rotting food mingles with an even stronger perfume.

All around us is a sea of blood. Bodily fluids seep and flow into the alley, and the sweet, sticky smell pierces my nostrils. At the center of it all is the corpse. The face he had in death is no longer visible. His arms have been cut off and his legs have become stumps at the knees, blood under pressure leaking from them.

"Indeed, it's a problem." I say, staring at the corpse.

"Yes... It seems a criminal has set up shop in Fuyuki."

"With Tohsaka-san, we're trying to find traces of magic or anything the killer might have left behind, but nothing has been found." Explains Akeno, turning her gaze.

I turn to Rin, who is trying to calm herself.

"By the way, why are you here Tohsaka? Are you part of the peerage at Rias too?" I ask.

"Huh? Ah no, not at all. Let's just say we have a close working relationship."

"What do you mean?"

"Senji," Rias calls out to me. "As a devil practicing in Fuyuki, I have a duty to protect this town. And as you know, Tohsaka-san is a great mage, and she also has a duty to protect Fuyuki, as a mage practicing in this town."

Indeed, Tohsaka Rin is one of Kuoh's brightest students. And an outstanding mage. But I didn't know magicians had that kind of role. Kiritsugu never mentioned it.

"As a result, we decided to work together to divide up the tasks. It's summed up very simply, but it should do the trick. Now that everyone's seen it, can we get out of here? I can't take it anymore."

"Yes, let's get out of the alley, Buchou, I'm having trouble too." asks Akeno.

Rias says nothing, but you can read the same thing on her face, so we head out, joining Kiba and Koneko.

"Welcome back." Koneko says.

"So, Nothing?" Kiba asked, worried.

Akeno shakes her head negatively.

"So what's next?" I ask.

"Frankly, I don't know. The murderer left no trace, he... God, that's horrible..." Rin, covers her mouth.

"He or she is extremely dangerous and above all deranged to do something so atrocious. The goal is to discreetly help the police find him or her. Even if it's going to be complicated." Rias explains.

"Speaking of tracks..." I look down at our feet, and see that our shoes are intact, whereas we'd stepped in a huge puddle of blood.

"Don't worry Senji-kun. We've thought of everything." Akeno says to me with a wink.

While everyone else chatted amongst themselves, being a little left out, apart from Akeno who stayed next to me, continuing to chat with the rest. I turn my gaze towards the alley. The smell emanating from it is something that doesn't shock me. My surprise wasn't linked to the corpse, but to the fact that for me, there was nothing shocking about this scene.

Everyone grimaced in disgust, while I remained perfectly normal.

Before I knew it, Tohsaka Rin was approaching me and called me.

"Tell me Emiya-kun, I didn't know you were a devil." Said Tohsaka.

"Hmmm? Ah no, basically I'm human, I just joined the peerage of Rias out of interest." I explain to Tohsaka, who seems surprised.

"Ah okay, that's interesting."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in general, humans join the devil's peerage when they're on the verge of death. Cases like yours are rare."

I turn my gaze to the rest of the members.

(Is this also the case for them?)

"Besides, how do you stay so calm? No one's been able to keep their cool like you have."

"Right everyone, we won't keep you any longer. Obviously, this is all between us and if you ever find out anything, please don't act alone. Anyway, I hope you get some sleep regardless." Rias announces.

"Senji-kun, shall we take you back?" Akeno asks, preparing a teleportation seal.

"No thanks, I'm going to ride my bike home, it'll do me good I think."

"All right, see you at school then. Good night Senji." Said Rias.

After a final exchange, a farewell with everyone, and a worried look from Tohsaka. Here I am, pedaling home with this corpse filling my brain.


Friday, October 21, 2022.

As I walk through the school corridors to my classroom with Inaho, I can feel the weight of tiredness pressing down on me. Obviously, I didn't get much sleep last night, just like the rest of the members of the Occult Research Club.

As I try to keep up with Inaho, Yuuka Amato intercepts us.

"Hello both, I need to talk to you. Don't worry, I've already told Fujimura-sensei you'll be late."

"Oh ok!" Inaho replied.

Amato leads us into an empty room. Then she turns to me, seeing that I'm not in good spirits.

"Are you all right, Senji-kun? You look particularly tired to me." She asks me.

"That's what we told him this morning, but he insisted on coming anyway." Inaho explains.

"And as I said this morning, I'll be fine. So Amato-senpai, what can we do for you?"

She doesn't wait any longer and pulls out a photo from a folder. It's her.

"This young lady is new, so I'd like you to look after her, as a member of Maken-ki. At least until she's comfortable enough."

Beside me, I can see Inaho uncomfortable, as if embarrassed by the photo.

"Everything okay Inaho-chan?" I ask.

"Um, I don't want to be mean to her, but she makes me uncomfortable..."

"Ah? That's going to be a problem..." Amato looks confused.

"No problem, I can take care of it." I say simply, handing the photo back to Amato.

"Really? Thank you Senji-kun!" Amato exclaims. "Well now that that's settled, I won't keep you any longer. See you later and have a good morning."

Amato accompanies us to the door, then leaves us. I knock on the door, waiting for Fuji-nee to open.

"Oh there you two are! Is your interlude over yet?"

"Yep, sorry for being late." Inaho says.

"No problem, I was warned in advance. Come on, hurry up and sit down." Fuji-nee comes up behind me and gently pushes me by the shoulders to my seat.

As I'm pushed to my seat, I see her, sitting silently. Her gaze turned to the blackboard as everyone laughed at my embarrassing entrance to class.

When the situation calms down and Fuji-nee is late for work, she calls out to us one last time.

"By the way Inaho-chan, Senji, we have a new girl in class, Ryougi Shiki right here." She points to said person, who stands up and turns to us.

"Nice to meet you." She introduced herself simply, then sat back down.

"Enough talk, it's time for a little surprise exercise!"


After a small scandal launched by the class and a few hours of an exercise done all the same. The bell announces the 15-minute break.

As most of the students leave the classroom, I stand up in turn and walk over to this famous Shiki's table. She's staring at the board without really looking at it; she seems rather lost in thought.

I approach her table and when I'm beside her, she notices me and turns to me.

"Hello Shiki, You remember me, we ran into each other one evening when it was snowing." I attempt a conversation starter, but I'm not very good at it.

She looks at me, confused.

"Um, no sorry, I don't remember."

"Okay, I figured. Anyway, that's not why I'm coming to see you. My name is Senji Emiya and I'm part of a club called Maken-ki. We're here to keep an eye on the students, basically. And I've been asked to support you until you're comfortable enough in the school. So, would you like me to give you a tour of the school, bearing in mind that it's huge."

She turns her gaze to the board, pondering. Then stands up.

"Okay, I want to. I'll follow you."

To her words, and that first moment when I guide Shiki through the school. A strange but profound friendship begins to grow between us.


In the early afternoon, I continue my tour of the school with Shiki, who always seems to keep a straight face. As if nothing could shock her. I was even able to show how the clashes at the school went. She settled for a simple "good job" when the duel was over, then wanted to continue the tour, as if she wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.

Yet I don't feel like I'm bothering her or anything. She's just distant, we're similar in that respect, and I think she's noticed it too, hence the strange atmosphere emanating from our duo.

As I look out over the center of the school, a large garden with flagstone paths connecting most of the buildings, I see Usui and Haruko looking for something. When they see me, they run to call out to me.

"Senji-chan, we've finally found you, Gen-sensei is looking for you, it's important! Ha..." She notices Shiki, hiding slightly behind me.

"Oh... She's only just arrived but you seem to be getting on well already, you're doing your job well Senji." Usui said mockingly.

"Don't talk like she's not here Usui. Haru-nee, you can see I'm busy, you can..."

"Don't worry about me, we'll pick this up later, you showed me where I'd be most present, that's enough for now." said Shiki.

"Oh okay, sorry again."

"If it's a teacher who's asking you, it must be important. See you later." Shiki leaves nonchalantly for the classroom building.

"Well, not a very nice chick," Usui commented.

"Usui don't say that please!" Haruko scolded. "So she's the new one?"

"Yes. So what does Gen-sensei want from me?" I ask.

"Follow us, we'll take you to him." Haruko said as she began to walk.

The journey doesn't last long, as Gen-sensei waits for us in front of a can machine, enjoying a soda.

"Ah, there you are!" He said when he saw us coming.

"Gen-sensei, we found Senji-chan." Haruko announces.

"I've been looking all over for you Senji, where have you been?" Gen-sensei asks me.

"He was giving a tour of the school to the new girl in our class. She's really creepy, by the way." Usui continues to talk on Shiki's back.

"Geez Usui-kun, can you stop with the inappropriate remarks?" Haruko huffs.

"I see. Well are you ready?" Gen-sensei said, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"About what?"

"Sorry I made you wait a lot, I know I told you I'd do it in a month, so to make it up to you I did something that surprised me by the way!"

It only took me a second to know what he was talking about.

"It's..."

"Yep, that's your own Maken!"

Suddenly, a helicopter very close to the ground passes over us, then stops at the principal's balcony.

Then people came out, dressed in a sort of white military costume. One of them created glass platforms in the void, forming stairs up to the balcony, as if nothing was wrong.

"Wha...?! It's him!?" Gen-sensei seems to recognize one of the people. "Sorry Senji... Let's continue our discussion somewhere else!" Gen-sensei dashes toward the principal's office. "Follow me and warn the whole Maken-ki!"

We exchange confused glances, then without discussion, set off.


We wait in front of the building for a few minutes, until all the Maken-ki gather, even Aki-sensei joins us. Seeing them arrive, Gen-sensei opens the door and heads for the principal's office. As we stand in front of the door, he hesitates to open it, so we listen to the discussion between a man and Minori-sensei. Then he opens the door violently.

Inside the office, there are lots of people, all girls. On the sofa are two identical little girls, the only difference being that one has blond hair and the other black, and they look strangely like dolls.

The one standing upright has black hair, parted into two tails with a small bun at the back of her head, and is the tallest of all present here.

The one slumped on the back of a sofa has long pink hair, with a headband towards her head holding comma-shaped hair.

And the last one on the sofa is wearing a Chinese headdress and a long side ponytail.

"Akaya..." Gen-sensei seems not to like seeing this person.

He's a handsome young man with pale skin, orange hair with a single strand on the left side of his skull, and blue eyes.

The man turns to us and disfigures us, raising an eyebrow.

"Tomi-chan, Aki and even Gen. All former Maken-ki members together."

"Bastard! What the hell are you doing here!?" Gen-sensei snaps.

"Minori asked me too. But I don't see why I should have to explain myself to a guy... Anyway, it's different for this one, from today I'll be a special teacher here. It's a pleasure to work with you, blacksmith of Maken-kun."

"What was that!?" Gen-sensei is caught off guard.

But the guy completely changes his focus on Furan-senpai.

"What a beauty! You must be the president of Maken-ki!"

"What!? How does he know!?" Furan is also surprised.

"If you don't mind, could you accompany them to the Maken-ki office? Please!" Minori-sensei asks.

"Y...yes...this way!" Furan leads the way, followed by Akaya and the girls.

As he passes by Aki-sensei, I can see their gaze exchanging, all of which doesn't seem very friendly.

"Um, what does he mean by 'former members'?" I ask.

"Has Tenbi always been a co-educational high school?" Usui asks, equally confused.

"For only three years." Amato-sensei replies.

"He and we are the first members of Maken-ki!" Finished Gen-sensei.

(Huh, so Gen, Aki, Amato and Minori are the creators of the Maken-ki club, why does that not surprise me.)

As everyone heads for the club area, I'm stopped by Gen-sensei.

"Wait a minute my lad, I've got something to give you first haven't I? Follow me, we'll make it quick."


I leave the room and run to join the others.

"huh that's strange."

(What's up Ddraig?)

"That maken you just absorbed, normally my gauntlet is already present so it should have prevented its absorption. But instead, my gauntlet would have absorbed it."

(Um, I'm not sure I understand, did your power destroy it?)

"Strangely enough, no. I'd advise you not to use the power of this Maken with my gauntlet, I don't know what it can do to a living being, but better not to know."

(What? But then it became useless before I could even use it!)

"Don't worry, you can always use it on its own."

(Phew, you gave me a fright)

The discussion over, I accelerate my run. When I arrive in the corridor, I see everyone leaving the room. Usui notices me and looks embarrassed.

"Hey dude, we're moving to the pool."


We've all changed into our sportswear, the pool is empty and inside is Yuuka Amato, serving as referee. Aruko, Azuki and Chacha facing Demitra Midia, the upright one, Shiria Ootuska, the pink-haired one and Yan Min, the one with the Chinese headdress. All with a hokey stick in their hands

"Now I'll explain the rules of the game!" Yuuka begins.

"Why am I mixed up in this?" Haruko isn't thrilled to be here.

"I'm going to nail you once and for all!" Yan Min seems wound up against Azuki.

"Sorry, I don't understand the weird Japanese you're speaking!" Azuki responds in kind.

Ah, now I understand why we're here, and the look on Usui's face earlier. Azuki and the new girl must have had a confrontation, given the temperament of the two.

Chacha laughs at the situation, as always, Shiria is just as annoyed as Haruko, while Demitra remains impassive.

"It's like field hockey. Use the sticks to hit the puck, and the team that scores the most points in the allotted time is the winner! However, you must hit the puck before crossing the 5-meter line for the point to be awarded! You're also not allowed to use your stick to injure your opponent, or to touch the puck with your body. The match will last 20 minutes and you can make as many substitutions as you like!" Yuuka explains.

"Ah looks like we're in for a good laugh!" Next to me comes Akaya, in a cock mold...

"Ah! Akaya-sensei! Where did you come from?" Furan is disgusted.

"Not very refined..." I mumble.

"Hmm, are you sure this will do? If Venus loses, they won't integrate the Maken-ki, on the other hand if we lose, the Maken-ki will have to submit to you for a semester." Furan explains.

"hmmm, it's true that it's problematic, but it's more likely that there won't be a winner, looking at the strict rules." Akaya-sensei replies.

"Huh?" Furan doesn't seem to understand.

"Tomi-chan's little sister is really as beautiful as she is cunning!"

(This guy... so their team name is Venus, not very inspired...)

"The pool looks really big when you get close to it!" Kodama comments. "She was talking about a match, but it's mostly an opportunity to get them to clean the pool indirectly!"

"How cool is a pool without water!" Kimi exclaims.

"Yeah!" Inaho replies.

"Gee... those three are..." Furan is exhausted.

Inside the pool, the girls prepare to start the match, getting into position.

"Well then let the match begin!" Amato starts the match.

Barely had the puck touched the ground when Azuki struck a blow, projecting the puck towards the opponent's cage, surprising Yan Min.

"Hmph... And a point for us!" said Azuki, proud of her move.

"Damn! You cheating bitch!" Yan Min snaps.

Demitra remains unmoved as the puck flies straight at her. With an upward swing of her arm, she hits the puck, sending it flying. Surprising everyone.

"I know this kind of game! So sorry but..." With the momentum of the falling puck, she drops it vertically onto the end of the stick, spinning on its own. "There's no way we're losing to you!"

Then she sends the puck back.

"Yan Min!"

"Nice pass Demitra!"

She said, running to the wall.

"She's running on the wall! It's cool but there's no need to do that!" Usui is all in on the game.

"Shiria!" Yan Min sends the puck towards the said person.

"Holala... I don't really want to do this. However I'm also a sore loser so sorry!" Said Shiria hitting the puck with all her might, passing Chacha and Azuki's defenses.

All that's left is Haruko, who remains motionless in front of the cage. Then she raises her arm, holding the stick horizontally, preparing to intercept it.

"I don't really want to do this match, and I don't care who wins or not but..." With a sharp movement, she stops and traps the puck between her stick and the ground. "As vice president, seeing our activities threatened is unacceptable!"

The members of Venus are surprised.

"Ah?!"

"Wow!"

"Yeah! It's our turn now!" Azuki is back up, ready for battle. "Chacha!"

"Here we go!" Chacha replies, following Azuki.

"Chacha!" Haruko shoots the puck towards her.

"Let me do it!" She tries to intercept the puck but puts her stick completely aside, letting the puck slide all the way to Yan Min.

"Ha?" Azuki couldn't believe it.

"Ah! I'd forgotten I wasn't good at sports where you had to hit a ball with a stick!" Chacha explains innocently.

"Whaaaaat?!" Azuki still couldn't believe it.

"Haha, so marmoset, what are you going to do now?" Yan Min provokes Azuki.

"I told you it was the 'hawk' you dog-eater! But I'm fine with it! I'll score all by myself and make you swallow your smile!" Azuki blazes.

"I'm sorry!" Chacha apologizes with a broad smile.

From then on, it was back-and-forth action on the pitch, with Azuki and Yan Min constantly provoking and insulting each other as they tried to steal the puck.

"Eat that! Tss..."

"Is that all you got?"

"Yaaa! What!?"

"You! Shit!"

"Damn!"

"Why do I only have to shoot from here!?"


A quarter of an hour later, with our necks aching from watching them go round in circles, I look at the scoreboard showing 5 to 5. I glance at Uruchi, who keeps the board up to date. She notices me and signals that she, too, can't take it anymore.

"They've only been back and forth..." Kodama is bored. "And it's the same refrain they're giving us here..."

"Haa haa... so? out of breath already?" Azuki asks.

"What are you talking about? All you've done is defend... haa..." Yan Min replies.

Both are covered in sweat and out of breath. Azuki is caught off guard, and turns to Chacha, who's a little ashamed. Then she turns her gaze on us, the audience, first the three girls, then Usui and me. She seems to be in doubt.

Then her gaze meets mine.

"Emiya Senji!"

(Ah... I thought so.)

Knowing full well what she wants from me, I get up and step into the empty pool, a strange feeling at the bottom of my feet as I touch the waterless bottom. Chacha understands too and hands me the stick with a wink of encouragement.

"All right, I've never played field hockey, but I'll try my best..." I turn to Azuki, who gives me a mischievous look.

"I'm counting on you... Do it..." Apparently I can't make a mistake.

"Senji-chan!" Haruko throws the puck at me.

I intercept it and decide to juggle a little, just to get the hang of it.

"What are you waiting for Senji move it!" Azuki urges me.

"If you don't play, I'm going to take the puck away from you!" Yan Min charges towards me.

"Azuki to the right and get ready!" I get into position.

"Huh? hum ok!" Azuki dashes to the right.

I wait for the last moment and when Yan Min is close enough, I shoot the puck to the left, which ricochets off the left wall and slides right to Azuki.

"What? Shit I underestimated him!" Yan Min is surprised.

"Wow! Well done Senji!" Azuki catches the puck and comes face to face with Shiria.

"This is as far as you go!" Said Shiria.

"Get out of the way, fatty!" Azuki shouts.

"Huh!?" Shiria starts to cry when she hears this.

"OK! Senji, your turn!" Azuki tosses me the puck.

Seeing the puck hurtle towards me and nothing in my way except Demitra in the cage. I reinforce the stick with my magic. Noticing the magic circuits running through my stick, Demitra stands by. When the puck arrives at my feet, still in the swing of things, I hit it, shooting in its direction. Demitra manages to stop it in time.

"Sorry, it didn't go through." I turn to Azuki, who is slightly disappointed.

"Hey, you just used a power didn't you? That's cheating!" Yan Min complains.

"It seems to me that nothing has been said about the use of power." I turn to Amato, who just smiles.

On the other hand, Demitra looks at me as if I were a threat.

I ignore it and return to my post. Suddenly, water starts pouring into the pool. I look up to see Amato with a hose.

"I think it's now time to..." Amato runs water with a smirk.

"Whaa!?" Haruko is surprised, I understand her, considering how cold the water is.

"What's that?!" Azuki is surprised in turn, as foam and bubbles invade the pool.

"This puck is actually a powerful detergent! It's super strong too! And when you put water on it, the soap creates bubbles!" Amato explains. "Now the pool has turned foamy!"

"I knew this match was just a pretext for a clean-up!" Haruko complains.

"This is our chance! Demitra!" Yan Min prepares to counterattack.

I turn to see Demitra preparing something, she recites something and a magic seal appears in front of her hand. Suddenly, the water splits in two, leaving the way clear for the match to continue.

"Very good! Let's get it over with!" Yan Min, puck in possession, charges towards us.

"All right!" Shiria follows close behind.

"They're coming Haruko!" Azuki stands ready.

"I know that, but it's pretty slippery!" Saying this, Haruko slips and falls. "Ah! Kya!"

"That's it! Finish them off Shiria!" Yan Min passes the puck to Shiria.

"OK!" She intercepts the puck and prepares to shoot. "I'm just doing what I have to do, so don't hold it against me... Huh?"

Meanwhile, I slid towards Haruko and stood in front of her, to protect her and also take her place.

"Senji-chan!" Haruko panicked, unable to get to her feet.

Shiria and I look at each other and she starts to blush. Then shoots completely off the cages.

"She missed it?!" Kodama wondered.

"What the hell are you doing Shiria?!" Shiria asks, watching the puck fly out the other side of our cage.

"Sorry!"

I see Azuki running and jumping to retrieve the puck in mid-air.

"Mine!"

But Yan Min jumps higher than her.

"You were almost there, but I've got a good feeling I'm surpassing you in speed and jump!"

"I don't think you can see, but one thing's for sure, you're not paying much attention!"

I know right away what she's talking about, she's grabbed Yan Min's shorts and panties. Yan Min's bottom is literally hanging out.

"Whoooaaa!" A cry of surprise is heard throughout the room, coming from everyone.

But the most shrill and indescribable scream comes from Yan Min's vocal cords, so red she seems on the verge of exploding.

"Hola..." Akaya and I hide our eyes.

"Sorry about that, my feet do seem to have some bad habits..." Azuki takes the opportunity to tease. "Senji to you! Make us win this game!"

She swings the puck in my direction, I charge the stick with magic, strengthening it even more and sucking in energy, creating threads of energy. My arms glistening with green lines of light and energy surrounding me, Demitra stands alert, ready to defend.

"I wasn't expecting this kind of offensive..." Demitra moves into position preparing to intercept my attack.

Before the puck hits the ground, I hit it with full force, creating an impact noise so loud that the water in the pool splits like a shock wave.

"But it's use..." Demitra places her stick in front to stop the puck, but instead the puck breaks in half and passes Demitra, landing in her cage. "less..."

I can see surprise and amazement on Demitra's face as she turns to look at the two pieces of puck.

"Fufu... It's over!" Amato announces. "Result... Draw!"

Not everyone understands the result and we're all confused.

"What... why?!" Azuki is the first to react.

"You see, the technique you just used Azuki-chan, I'm not saying it was forbidden but it wasn't allowed either!" Amato explains. "What's more, only half the puck went into the goal, the other half landed in the middle of the field! So you could say it counted for nothing!"

"Are you serious!?" Azuki doesn't believe it. "I don't believe it!"

"Hmmm... This has nothing to do with the match, but doesn't the result show that Maken-ki and Venus are both very powerful? At least we can agree on that!" Amato comments.

"Yes, I've had my fill anyway! And I didn't have any problems in the first place!" Said Haruko, completely exhausted.

"Yes, I should have apologized for the insolence of my members from the start!" Said Demitra.

"You're as much at fault as we are Demitra!" Shiria adds.

"There's a lot we want to say to each other, but... It would really help me if we let the water run under the bridge today." Amato asks.

The two concerned, Yan Min and Azuki look at each other.

"Tch... Okay fine..." Said Azuki stepping out of the pool.

"Emiya-kun!" Shiria takes me in her arms. "The look on your face when you protected that girl was so cool! I'm all yours... my valiant knight!"

She kisses my cheek tenderly. It's a strange sensation, albeit a pleasant one, but the discomfort takes over, that a scene like this happening in front of so many people embarrasses me and I try to free myself from her, but she doesn't let me.

"Fu... You've manipulated them once again eh?" Furan approaches Amato. "I'm glad you managed to keep control of the situation, except things are about to get complicated!"

"You think so?" Amato asks. "I'm really looking forward to it then!"

"Wait a minute! Let go of Senji-chan!"


Hello and thank you for reading this chapter. So normally, the chapter would have stopped after the part with Shiki. But it was much too short for my taste, so here's a chapter with 5,500 words, which I finished just in time, I hope you liked it. Well, I don't have much more to say. Oh yes, if you ever want to see a certain anime, manga or light novel mixed in with the story, don't hesitate to recommend it to me. Of course, they'll have to be consistent with what I'm already proposing, although in reality, it's really quite modular. For the moment, I've got 5 stories and I'm planning to add about thirty. Anyway, see you next week.