[A/N: alright so let's start off by saying, thank you all for the wonderful reviews. And to those who mentioned the whole "Incarnation of Sword" concept being based in fanfiction you are correct it was a concept created in the story Fake Dreams, I personally have never read the story, but I have come across several other stories that have also used the Sword Incarnation concept. I also think that the description honestly fits. The actual terminology that Incarnation in canon is more along the lines of Reincarnation of a being that was once dead but brought back to life in its entirety. Basically imagine a heroic spirit being completely revived as a flesh and blood being and not just a Familiar based body made Prana (even then that is still a form of Incarnation). There are other examples of Incarnation but I'm a little to lazy to find it and explain it in a way that makes it easier to understand.
I would like to point out that I am not as stupid as a few of you seemed to think. One of you, you know who you are, seemed to think I needed to be "Educated" on the fact that the Sword Incarnation concept wasn't canon, and was created purely in Fanfiction when I did in Fact know this to begin with. You also seem to forget that the Nasuverse deals in Parallel Realities, one that may or may not have had a different definition for Incarnation than the Canon Nasuverse. You also seem to forget that this is My story. As such I can, and will, use terminology that will make it easier for other readers to wrap their heads around certain topics that pop up. Don't forget that.
Ahem. Now that that's out of the way. I would like to address the fact that I stated the Caliburn is Stronger than Excalibur, despite that not actually being the case. I will agree that in terms of raw power Excalibur is the superior in that regard, however Caliburn possessed the same levels of power but was never intended for battle, it's purpose was to choose a King. As such it wasn't indestructible like Excalibur was, and eventually broke due to a couple reasons, the first being that it wasn't intended for combative use. The second was because of a trap by Morgan LeFay which resulted in Caliburn breaking and later being reforged into what is now Excalibur. Artoria had a great deal of attachment to the sword, more so than Excalibur, that much is true, but Excalibur could barely hold off Berserker while a Projected (and heavily degraded) copy of Caliburn killed Berserker not once, not twice, but seven times! In a single blow! With just a Poke! The sword's name wasn't even invoked when it happened! Excalibur if it had be allowed to be invoked may have done the same, however that's only when it uses the powers brought out by invoking its name. For a false and degraded copy of Caliburn to 7x insta kill Berserker without the need for the invocation, that honestly proved that Caliburn was superior, by default. I say by default because like I explained in the previous chapter, the prototype weapons of Noble Phantasms will always be superior to their later counterparts. Hell Caliburn was created based off Merodach the original sword that chooses kingship the same sword which Gram was based off of, which later had Balmung based off of that one!
In conclusion... Caliburn and Excalibur are equals in power, but Caliburn is slightly superior by default. But only because of it's Prototype Blade Status. However in terms of legend and everything Excalibur is the (truly) superior of the two.
Alrighty I've said my piece. I hope y'all now understand why I phrased things the way I did.
Now without further adieu, enjoy the story. Or don't, either way I'll still keep writing.]
Winter moaned as her eyes fluttered open to a familiar room, one that wasn't her's. That immediately set off alarm bells in her mind, which prompted her to lurch herself upward, a glyph lit up in the palm of her raised right hand.
Only to see nothing at all.
The memories of the previous night quickly returned to her and she released the glyph and looked around, having realized she fell asleep while she taught Shirou about the scroll.
Speaking of the other teen, she couldn't see him anywhere in the room, but the sounds of the shower in the bathroom gave her a decent guess as to where he was.
After realizing where Shirou was, her thoughts began to go over everything she'd learned about him. He was kind hearted, wore his heart on his sleeve, but there was a deep sadness and longing about him. She attributed it to the loss of his sister and, from what she'd managed to ask of him the night prior, the love of his life, and dear friends along with her.
Another thing she'd noticed about him was the way he-
(*Clickreak!*)
Winter was torn from her musings when the door opened, and her jaw went slack.
An Hour prior:
Shirou's eyes opened, his decade long nightmares of Fuyuki on fire had changed. No longer were they of the broken child that trekked through charred corpses and a sea of malicious flames. No longer were they of the boy who was saved by the smiling man who would later become his father. No, his nightmares consisted of the other Hell he experienced, the Holy Grail War, and how he'd lost everything once again. The death's he'd caused, Saber, Rin, Taiga, Kirei, Illya and so many more, many he didn't even know the names of. Archer's memories had also joined the nightmares, the faces of the people he'd killed joined the wailing faces that swam through the cursed Black Mud of Angra Mainyu.
In the nightmare Shirou could only stand and watch as the black lake of mud encroached upon the city, unable to move, unable to do anything as the source of the Mud approached him. It had been Sakura, her hair Bleached white, and eyes Red.
The Corruped Grail's possession of her had reached the point of no return. Once she was close enough to him she had cupped his cheek before slowly traced it down to his neck, where she latched on in a vicegrip, her dainty hand held suprising levels of strength in the thin fingers.
As the nightmare conjured Sakura strangled him, words and thoughts of evil, of sin, of hate flooded his mind.
Shirou did not fight it, he knew he deserved every damning curse imaginable, but before he could succumb to the curses, a brilliant gold light forced the cursed and twisted facsimile of Sakura to release him.
Before he had awoken he could have sworn he heard a female voice, but he couldn't make out what they had said.
Shirou rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he sat up, idly noticed a few stray tears had ended up on his wrist. He brushed them off and got to his feet.
He glanced at the lone occupant of the bed and saw she was still sleeping. That was good.
He turned his attention to Caliburn, immediately noting that there was no sign of degradation since it had been projected the previous evening. A quick check under the bed also showed that the pair of blades he'd stashed there before, Winter had joined him, were still in the same perfect condition he'd left them.
Shirou dismissed the married blades, and they vanished into motes of steel colored prana.
His nose twitched as a scent made itself known to him, and it nearly made him recoil.
"I need a shower..." he muttered in disgust at himself, before he immediately grabbed the pants he'd worn the night prior, and entered to room's private bathroom to shower.
He decided to take an especially long time showering as a way to hopefully collect himself for the day. It seemed to work for the most part and before he realized it he had spent a little under an hour showering.
Water dripped from his matted hair as he turned off the hot water and stepped out of the tub.
A quick glance at the fogged mirror showed his clouded reflection. He could make out a few details of himself in it. His hair had gone white just like Archer's had been, his eyes were also the same color as the Servant of the Bow's, yet unlike his potential future self his skin had stayed the same as it had been, save for the already tanned skin of Archer's arm, even then it seemed a significantly paler than it had been.
Shirou flexed the arm, noting that it had been completely mended to his body, there was a scar sure, but that was to be expected. Speaking of scars... Shirou's eyes drifted to the ugly starburst shape that was directly over his heart, and was mirrored on his back.
A 'gift' from Lancer from when Shirou had accidentally intruded upon Archer and Lancer's battle in Homurahara Academy's courtyard. It was only because of Rin and Avalon that he'd survived his heart being pierced by Gae Bolg itself.
Shirou idly wondered whatever happened to the Servant of the Lance, he hadn't been seen in the war since he'd fought against a freshly summoned Saber.
Thoughts of the grail war made his eyes drift down to the back of his right arm, where three red 'circles' shaped like an eye could be seen. The command seals he'd gained from his contract with Rider. They were still active, meaning Rider was still alive. That shouldn't be possible without the Grail to support her. Yet Shiru could still feel the slight drain on his Prana, working to support her. He could feel her presence but where he did not know. For the time being it would have to stay that way.
Shirou pulled himself from his thoughts and decided to get dressed, but when he was partway through he cursed himself for forgetting his shirt in the room. He decided to quickly grab it and hope Winter was still asleep.
He opened the bathroom door and was promptly greeted by the sight of Winter staring at him, before her jaw nearly hit the floor.
Meanwhile in Winter's mind.
OH NO HE'S HOOOOOOOOOOT!
This thought raged through her teenage hormone driven mind at the sight of how perfectly sculpted Shirou's body was. He had muscle in all of the right places, he wasn't bulky my any means, but his body didn't have an ounce of body fat! And by the gods his Abs!!! She could have sworn his Abs had Abs!!!
She idly noticed the scars on the center of his chest and the scar around his shoulder, a clear sign of it having been grafted back on.
Back to normal:
Shirou froze midstep as he and the incredibly flushed Winter stared at each other for what felt like several minutes. Eventually Shirou broke the staredown.
"Uh... Could I have my shirt? It's uh... at the foot of the bed." He asked pointing at the longsleeved red button up shirt that was draped over the foot board of the large bed.
"Huh?" Came Winter's intelligent response, her mind primarily focused on Abs.
Shirou blinked at that.
Maybe she wasn't a morning person? Like Rin? Yeah that must be it.
"Nevermind, I'll get it." Shirou said before he approached and grabbed his shirt.
When he approached Winter's eyes continued to grow larger and larger as if to take in more of the approaching sight. Then when he grabbed the shirt and put it on, taking care to button it up, she snapped out of whatever trance she was in and seemed to realize she'd been ogling a man her age that she'd only known for a little under 24 hours.
She mentally kicked herself for letting her hormones get the better of her and cleared her throat.
"Ahem... it is uh, good to see you are well this morning." Winter said in hopes to regain a bit of decorum she thought she might have lost, which Shirou didn't even notice.
"Yeah I am. Thank you for last night. I think I got the hang of the Scroll a bit." Shirou replied as he finished getting dressed in his new outfit, including the vest. He did however wrap the Shroud of Martin as scarf around his neck, it covered up his chin and mouth slightly.
Winter honestly thought it suited him.
A buzzing sound drew their attention to Winter's own scroll, which had been on the nightstand beside her. She quickly checked it and saw it was a message from Ironwood telling her they were to report to Dr. Polendina for Shirou to get gear for himself.
"Right. It's a good thing we're up. Just got word from General Ironwood. We're to meet with Dr. Polendina, our chief Artificer to get you some gear." Winter informed him.
Shirou nodded, although he did wonder if he should remind her that he didn't need anything. He could simply project it for himself after all. He decided against it. The less people knew about his powers the better. He only told her about his ability to project weapons out of necessity. She'd told him information he needed, especially if he wanted to fit in with this world, if him revealing a small amount of information about himself was the price for the info on this world then he'd happily tell.
Not like there was a Mage's Association that regulated the ideas of Magic and legends in this world right?
In several parts of Remnant several people sneezed at once, luckily all of them were in seperate places or they might have thought it to be more than one big coincidence.
The short flight from Atlas to Mantle had been an... interesting one, to say the least. Shirou had been amazed that he'd been living on a flying city! The part of him that was Archer christened the flying kingdom of Atlas to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
He had spend most of the trip staring wide eyed at the Kingdom. It was the epitome of human progression, so much so that had Alaya had a presence here, she might send Counter Guardians to destroy it.
Alaya's twisted logic on enforcing human limitations while at the same time protecting the status quo of the Human Order's continued survival had always confused him, even Archer had trouble understanding her, and he was her favorite Counter Guardian!
Seriously! By having counter guardians go through time to when humanity began to progress at a faster rate was counterintuitive to her desires of Human supremacy over gods and other phantasmal beings. Yes there may be a coming time when humanity would eventually die out, more than likely by their own hands, but preventing human progress the way she was, would only create a self fulfilling prophecy! By preventing humanity from progressing and learning from their mistakes she was hastening Humanity's destruction.
This was proven true by Archer's memories of the Grand Order. He had initially been summoned as a counter guardian to destroy Chaldea but when Lev Lainur aka demon god Flauros destroyed Humanity's history, his objective had been changed to that of aiding Chaldea in restoring human history. When they succeeded Alaya had allowed Chaldea to prosper, and had granted a modicum of control over the full strength of the Counter Guardians in hopes that humanity would continue to prosper under Chaldea's watch.
And it had. From what Shirou understood, the humanity of that world eventually achieved deep space travel 200 years before they originally would have and now began to spread throughout their universe, of course there were... issues with the Types but those matters were eventually resolved peacefully.
The air ship underneath Shirou's feet jarred slightly as it landed, and he had to shift his weight slightly to keep his balance. He glanced at Winter to see she had stood.
Shirou turned away from the aircraft's window and went to stand beside her just as the doors opened.
The clambered out of the ship and stood at the transport station on Mantle.
Shirou didn't even need to do a full examination of his surroundings to know that Mantle was a shithole. It was clear that Atlas received the majority of all resources, while Mantle was practically starved of everything. Which led to riots, and anarchy.
Shirou even noticed a child no more than 11 driving a vehicle that was clearly hauling mining equipment. Child Labor. There was also the sounds of shouting nearby, where an old man was attacking a young girl who had... were those dog ears?
He didn't like it at all. His instincts from his renounced Heroic nature were crying out for him to do something to stop the man.
And for once, Shirou was willing to comply.
Before Winter had even began to speak, he'd taken off towards the man.
"S-Shirou?!" She sputtered as she gave chase to the other teen.
He didn't respond and soon closed the distance between himself and the man, just as the man swung a broom at the child, only to have it shatter against Shirou's reinforced back as he shielded the girl with his body.
"W-what the fuck?!" The man sputtered in shock at the destruction of his broom.
Shirou released his protective hold of the girl, who stood in wide eyed shock, and turned to face the man, while keeping an arm in front of the girl in a defensive manner.
"Oi fucker! What the hell?! Why are you defending that Faunus Trash!? You some kind of animal loving freak!?" The man growled out at Shirou who narrowed his eyes.
"Faunus? Is that what the girl is?" Shirou wondered.
He pushed the questions to the back of his mind and decided to answer the man.
"Trash? The only trash I see here is a man beating on an innocent child, who can't even defend herself." Shirou said, channeling his inner Archer to intimidate the man.
It worked, for the most part.
"B-but! S-she's a Faunus! She's just an Animal! It's not Human! Nothing but pests is what they are!" The man shouted, after some stuttering.
Shirou's eyes sharped like steel, his glare carried with it untold levels of killer intent to the man, who flinched back and wet himself having just witnessed an image himself explode in a burst of steel blades, from within his own body.
The man staggered back and ran away, shouting, "You'll regret this!"
Shirou scoffed, in an Archer-like manner.
"I doubt it." Shirou remarked, before facing the girl he'd protected.
"Hello little one. Are you Alright?" he asked her gently.
She stared up at him with childish awe.
"Thank you mister! That meanie was mean to me because of the ears I got from my Momma. Lots of people are. Why is that?" The girl gushed out.
"Well little one, humans are very proud and superstitious things. They have a hard time understanding things that are different from them in appearance. Don't hold it against them. But that doesn't mean you don't have to defend yourself if attacked." Shirou told her with a gentle smile.
The girl pouted at him.
"Mmm! I'm not little! My name is Shiro! And I'm 11!" The girl huffed at him.
"Shiro huh? Well what a coincidence. My name is Shirou." Shirou introduced himself to the girl.
"Wow! We have the same name? That's so co-" Shiro cut herself off when she saw Winter come to a stop and hid behind Shirou shyly.
Winter grit her teeth at Shirou with an audible growl.
Shirou knew what was about to come next.
'What the hell were you thinking!? Taking off like that!? You better have had a good reason to-" She'd gotten partway through her tangent before noticing the frightened little faunus girl hiding behind Shirou.
She blinked at the girl, then noticed the shattered remains of a broom behind them.
Winter quickly put two and two together and understood why Shirou had taken off like he had.
She sighed.
"Alright I understand what happened here, next time a little warning before you take off like a bat out of hell." Winter said to Shirou who nodded.
"I understand." He said.
She nodded in acceptance before she knelt to the girl's eye level, her face softened significantly.
"Hey there. Are you alright? Did you get hurt little one." Winter asked softly.
The girl shook her head but puffed her cheeks at being called Little again.
"I'm not little! I'm Shiro! And I'm 11!" the girl shouted indignantly.
Winter blinked at the introduction.
"Well that's a coincidence." Winter muttered
"I know right?! What are the odds Mister and I share the same name!?" Shiro bounced as she said that.
Shirou chuckled at her enthusiasm, Winter even cracked a smile.
"It is pretty funny. But I have to wonder where your mother is? She must be worried sick about you." Winter asked the girl.
"Oh my momma's at home. It's her birthday and I wanted to get her a present. So I snuck out to buy something she'd like with my allowance! But that meanie started hitting me as soon as I walked into the store! So rude!" Shiro explained with a huff at the end.
Winter nodded in understanding, however Shirou frowned, before he patted her on the head.
"I'm sure your mother would rather you be safe than have a gift." He said to her in a manner befitting a stern older sibling, which made her look down sheepishly.
"I know... but I just wanted to do something for Momma. She does so much for me..." Shiro said in a bummed tone.
Shirou smiled at her, before he rose to his full height with a hand extended to the girl.
"Come on. Let's get you home." He said gently, which prompted the girl to gain a rather shy expression as she took his hand.
"Okay!" The girl agreed, before she began to lead them towards her home.
Shirou and Winter walked back through the city after completing their little escort mission of the littlest Shiro. The girl's poor mother, a dog eared woman who had introduced herself as Rhona (Roh-nah), had been worried sick for the girl, who's full name was actually Shirone, and had thanked them profusely. Even offering to allow them inside for some tea. Winter had politely refused stating they had other mattered to attend to, but that didn't stop little Shiro from asking them to come by and visit on occasion, which Shirou had accepted before Winter could say anything.
Speaking of...
Winter glanced at her new partner, and couldn't help but notice the smile he had on his face. It had been there since he'd helped the girl, and while it was undoubtedly a smile of happiness, there was a tinge of melancholy to it.
She looked away, but did not say anything about his expression. He was still grieving after all. He was bound to be reminded of what he had lost at nearly everything around him.
So they walked for several minutes in silence, at least until it was broken by Shirou himself.
"Thank you for bringing me out here." He said softly as he kept up with her.
She cocked a brow at that.
"There's no need to thank me, we needed to get you some combat gear from the Professor anyways. You may be able to create weapons but that costs aura and you will need some proper clothing for combat, aura does heal and protect... but it has its limits. Plus I get the feeling that sword on your hip will not see much combat." Winter surmised.
Shirou nodded at that, his earlier thought about her forgetting about his ability to trace weapons apparently was wrong.
He tightened his grip on Caliburn, which had been on his waist since they'd left the Schnee manor. It was a lifeline for him, he wouldn't leave it in some place he didn't truly know.
The shroud of Martin around his neck was another lifeline for him, along with the red jewled necklace he'd found on the floor of his old school when he had been stabbed by Lancer. He'd found the gem in the tattered remains of the shroud the night prior and had begun to wear it around his neck beneath his clothing.
The items were all he had left of his old life.
Shirou paused midstep at that thought.
All he had left...
His eyes glanced down to Rider's command seals, and a thought struck him.
Perhaps... he had something else left from his old life or rather... someone.
"Shirou?"
Winter's voice shook him from his thoughts.
She was looking at him with concern clear on her face.
"Sorry... got lost in thought." He said a little stiff by her worry.
She'd barely known him a two days and she was already this worried about him? What a sorry sight he must be...
Shaking of his depressed thought he gave her a smile, one that didn't quite reach his ears, and continued to walk.
"We should hurry, I'd feel bad if I make this Professor guy wait for me any longer than I already have." Shirou said as he eventually past the teen girl.
Winter glanced at him as he did so, just in time to see the smile fade from his fade, returning to its usual neutral state.
"What are you thinking about Shirou?" she couldn't help but think as she turned and hastened her pace to catch up with him.
Soon enough they reached the Professor's Lab on Mantle, a slightly run down looking apartment complex that had been repurposed into a pharmacy and laboratory, according to what Winter had told Shirou previously.
"This is it?" Shirou asked her, his tone was polite so she'd know he was just checking if they had the right address.
"Yes this is the place. Wait here a second I'll knock." Winter confirmed before she approached the door and rapped on it three time with her knuckles.
A man's voice shouted out from beyond the door.
"Come in!"
Followed by a click of an automated lock being disengaged.
Winter blinked at that, before she looked back to Shirou, who merely shrugged and walked to stand beside her.
"After you." He said, gesturing towards the unlocked door.
Winter gave him a coy look at his attempt at being a gentleman but nevertheless she opened the door and stepped inside.
Shirou followed after her and was greeted by the sight of a rather cozy looking room full of bookshelves and padded chairs. A reception desk sat in front of a pair of doors, which likely lead to medical care facilities or the laboratory, likely both.
Honestly not what he had been expecting. The truth of his expectations had been somewhere along the lines of a super hightech facility not... a cozy waiting room.
As he looked around, Winter took the opportunity to call out for their host.
"Professor Polendina?" She spoke up.
(*Kaboom!*)
The sound of an explosion rocked the building for a split second which sent Shirou on edge, his hand tensed on Caliburn's hilt.
Winter didn't hesitate to bolt forward and flung open one of the doors behind the desk, only to be blasted in the face by hot black smoke.
Shirou didn't approach but instead he waited where he stood.
Winter coughed as she waved her hand to clear the smoke from her face.
"Professor!? Is everything alright?" She called into the room.
The sound of the man's own coughing could be heard from within the room.
"Yes yes I'm alright. Please come in. The General told me you'd be coming." The professor assured as he invited them in.
Winter gestured for Shirou to follow and he did so, still not dropping his grasp of Caliburn's hilt.
The pair crossed threshold and it suddenly hit Shirou just how advanced Remnant was compared to Earth.
Sure he'd seen the floating kingdom of Atlas but Acher had seen several similar things during his time as a Counter Guardian.
The room they'd entered was extremely technological, it was like looking at the inside of a computer with how many wires and circuits lined the steel walls of the laboratory.
Before them was a balding, dark-skinned bearded man in a mechanical chair that had... legs?
A subconscious use of Structural Analysis on the machine revealed it acted as a highly functional wheelchair, and had been designed by the very man who sat on it.
"Professor is everything alright? What happened in here?" Winter spoke to the man with concern, all the while examining a mess of broken steel and gears that had clearly been the source of the explosion.
"Oh yes I am quite alright Miss Schnee. Please excuse the mess. My latest project has run into a bit of a snag." The man known as Pietro Polendina, Atlas' chief of technological development, waved off her concern with a smile. All the while trying to cover a set of blueprints on his chair with his arm.
Shirou managed to catch a glimpse of them but there wasn't much he could make out about it.
"I see Professor." Winter nodded in understanding as she said this.
Pietro, decided to jump straight to business, cleared his throat and looked to pair, specifically at Shirou.
"I take it you are the young man the General spoke of?" Pietro asked with curiosity.
When Shirou didn't immediately answer, Winter spoke up.
"Yes Professor. Shirou here needs proper combat attire to protect himself." She said.
Pietro rose a brow at her.
"Just Combat Attire? Does he not need a weapon? Besides that clearly decorative sword I see no weapons of any kind on his person." Pietro pointed out to the young woman.
Shirou decided that the insult to Caliburn, however unintentional it might have been, didn't sit right with him.
"This 'Decorative Sword' as you put it could level a city block if I wanted to." Shirou said as he drew the Golden Sword of the Victorious from it's scabbard. The beautiful blade shone with an brilliant gold light for a second before it faded to simple but beautiful steel.
Winter and Pietro were agape at the display but before either could comment, Shirou resheathed the blade.
"All I came here for is something to wear when I go out and be the General's attack dog. Let's get this done and over with." He said before moving to learn against a nearby wall.
Shaking themselves from their stupor, Winter and Pietro both nodded and returned to the matter at hand.
"A bit standoffish isn't he?" The scientist asked.
Winter looked at Shirou who was brooding silently against a wall.
"He's.. been through a lot. More than most our age should in fact. That sword belonged to someone very close to him." She explained to the man, who had a slight look of pity for the boy.
"I see." Pietro murmured before approaching the boy.
"Mr Emiya. I apologize for my careless comment. I did not know the sword held such importance to you." Pietro was sincere in his apology, Shirou could see it in his eyes.
He relaxed out of his brooding posture and turned to face the man.
"It's alright. I shouldn't have snapped at you like I had." Shirou returned the apology with his own.
"I understand completely. I lost someone dear to me once as well and while I cannot fully know your own situation I should have been more cautious." Pietro said in a fatherly one that men his age were known for.
Shirou said nothing in reply, but did give a strained smile showing how uncomfortable with the situation he was.
Pietro noticed his discomfort and decided to change the subject.
"Alright then let's get you something to wear shall we? Did you have anything specific in mind?" He asked the teen.
Shirou thought about it for a second. Did he want to be exactly like Archer? No... he was fundamentally different than the man who realized his ideals and was betrayed by them. Shirou was his opposite in a way, he betrayed his ideals choosing instead to be one person's hero alone, but ended up being forced to become this world's equivalent of Heroes, a Huntsman.
Wasn't there another version of EMIYA? One who had started at the same path that Shirou himself treads? The version who abandoned being a hero, yet still ended up working with the Church as an Executioner, before later becoming another version of Counter Guardian Emiya? Emiya Alter... the Shirou who abandoned everyone, who was so twisted in his existence that he even abandoned his origin of sword and began to change the bladed noble phantasms he'd copied into guns.
"Do you have anything to draw with?" Shirou asked the man.
Pietro blinked before gesturing to a nearby table that had pencils and blank pages of paper.
Shirou thanked the man and approached the items and setting to work.
Not many knew this about Shirou but he was fairly decent at drawing, each line he drew was almost mechanical, like watching a machine. After several minutes he lifted the paper to show Winter and Pietro, who had been waiting patiently for him to finish.
"Wow..." Winter breaths as she saw the image.
"Indeed. You are quite the talented artist young man." Pietro compliments while he examined the image.
It depicts an image of Shirou wearing Archer Emiya's body armor, but that's were the similarities ended. Around the drawn Shirou's neck was a certain scarf. The image also wore a black trenchcoat with a hood peeking from the wrapped Shroud of Martin. [Shirou Emiya's combat outfit from the Emiya Alter manga]
Winter didn't know why but the sight of the cold steel in the drawn Shirou's eyes sent cold shivers down her spine. The same could be said for Pietro but nevertheless he spoke.
"This is the design you'd like for your combat attire?" He asked.
Shirou nodded.
"Yes, the chestpiece needs to be form-fitting with high elasticity, it also has to be light and the shoulders need to be free of any armor. High mobility is priority, the armor is only to protect my vital organs, it doesn't need to be heavily armor plated, so long as it does the job." Shirou explained, although he really didn't care whether or not he managed to completely replicate the material that Archer had used for the armor, if it wasn't to standard he could just Trace it later on afterall.
Pietro rubbed his chin at that.
"That sounds like a tall order. But I am pleased to know that you have an idea of what you want. However I do have one concern." Pietro said.
Shirou looked confused before asking what it was.
"I was informed that your Aura is unable to form the standard barrier that it is known for. I fear that armor focusing on high mobility rather than defense may prove fatal." Pietro stated.
Shirou shook his head.
"There's no need for concern. My abilities are most than capable of covering for that." Shirou said.
Pietro looked confused, and so Winter decided to fill him in.
"Shirou's semblance is unique, it has more abilities than most, if my own family semblance wasn't so versatile in a similar manner, it could be considered almost like magic from a fairy tale." Winter informed.
"Oh? Now you have me curious." Pietro looked to Shirou for further explanation.
Shirou hesitated but decided that he might as well explain some things.
"My... semblance, it allows me scan objects, primarily bladed weaponry, see its history, construction and then Reproduce everything about it in a physical construct, including the skills of the original owner of the item. It also allows me to strengthen or alter the physical traits of objects and even enhance by own body." Shirou explained, demonstrating his ability by Tracing Winter's weapon right before the man's eyes.
The scientist's eyes glistened at the discovery of such a semblance and his brain went into overdrive at the uses of such a semblance.
"Are there any limitations or drawbacks?" He asked pulling a notebook from somewhere and began to furious scrawl on a fresh page.
"U-uh well the further the object is away from the concept of Sword the harder it is to recreate. And it's costs more pr- more Aura for weapons that have their own unique abilities." Shirou said.
"Unique abilities? You mean like Dust enhancements from the forging process correct?" Pietro asked.
"Uh... something like that." Shirou said, he wasn't entirely sure on what Dust was so he just gave a partial answer.
"I see, I see. The ability to strengthen your own body might be your Semblance's way of supplementing what your Aura cannot." Pietro deduced as he finished writing in the notebook, which he then snapped shut.
"Alright then let's see what I can do for that armor you want. It should probably take several hours to design and fabricate please go take a seat in the waiting room." Pietro said before he began to rummage around his laboratory leaving the two to their own devices.
Winter and Shirou looked at one another before deciding to just do as asked and returned to the waiting room.
Winter took a seat, followed by Shirou who then pulled out his Scroll and began to fiddle with the piece of technology. Winter let him do his own thing for now. They would probably be here for a long time.
Deciding to pass the time, she pulled out her own Scroll and found the novel she'd been in the process of reading for a couple days now. She'd been about to read it when a notification popped up from the application she used to read. It was an announcement of some new light novel by some old author named K.Z.S.
She didn't know why she clicked on the description of the notification but what she read had her intrigued. A novel that allowed the reader to shape the ending? That sounded interesting to her. She decided to download it and read it at a later time.
"Fate/Stay Night huh? Sounds interesting." Winter murmured to herself, before opening the novel she'd already started and began to read.
The time flew by before either of the two realized it. Winter having spent the time reading, while Shirou took the time to get more information about world of Remnant.
So far he'd mostly focused on Fairy Tales, Legends and Mythology. He did skim through the majority of the events of Remnants great wars. A couple legends drew his attention more than others. Such as The man with two souls, the Story of the Four Seasons, and The Shallow Sea. That last one had him on edge, that there might be a divine entity in this world who could alter the forms of people at will set him on edge.
He didn't feel like meeting something like that anytime soon.
The activities of the pair were interrupted by the door to the lab opening, and Pietro walked out on his walking chair. A stack of folded clothing and body armor sat in his lap, along with small box on top of the set of clothing.
"Here we are Mr. Emiya, your combat armor is all ready to go. It was a challenge to synthesize such a material but I had my computer do most of the calculations for me. Why don't you go try it on in the other room, see how it fits?" Pietro suggested with a smile as he held out the stack to the teen, minus the box.
Shirou nodded with some words of thanks and left to change.
Once Shirou was gone, Pietro sagged in his chair, exhausted from his rushed work.
"Is everything alright Professor?" Winter asked with some concern.
He waved her off.
"Yes I'm alright. The process was a lot more troublesome than expected, but that armor is some of the best I've made. In fact I should be thanking him for the specifications he asked for. They might even be what I'm looking for with my own project." Pietro said with an exhale of exhaustion.
"I see." Winter didn't really know what else to say.
(*click*)
The door handle to the room Shirou had gone, clicked open and soon the teen was revealed to the pair.
"Wow..." Winter's eyes were wide as she drank in Shirou's appearance.
She already knew that he cleaned up nicely, but seeing him in his combat attire was something else. He looked good... incredibly so.
"Well well! That look seems to suit you!" Pietro jovially said.
Shirou looked himself over and had to admit that it was beyond comfortable. While he had been changing he had taken the liberty of analyzing the chest armor and comparing it to Archer's own.
Archer's had been made with some material that wasn't yet known to humanity back on earth. Yet the Armor he now wore was made of the same material! But it was not only of better quality that Archer's own it was lighter and more breathable! He barely even noticed the weight of it. His new coat was also made of the same material but was woven from very thin strands of it with a level of precision that only a machine could have done.
He had to admit it was worth wait.
"So how does it feel?" Pietro asked, disturbing him from his thoughts.
Shirou looked up at the man and gave a smile.
"It feels comfortable. Thank you." He said to the man.
The man chuckled and waved off his thanks, choosing instead to hold up the box for the teen.
"I know you have that semblance of yours but I thought that having a sidearm might do you some good." Pietro said, gesturing him to open the box.
Shirou opened the box and stiffened at the sight of its contents.
Winter peered over his shoulder and gasped.
"Professor!? Is this pistol like General Ironwood's Due Process?" She asked in shock.
Indeed it was, the box contained a pistol exactly like the General's own set of dual pistols.
"Indeed it is The General got his weapons designed by me after all. Although because the General's were designed to work in pairs I removed the excess mechanics to allow to just be a powerful side arm." The professor explained with pride.
Shirou's mind raced as he stared at the pistol. Due to his Origin being sword, using objects like guns, the very thing that made swords obsolete, had never crossed his mind, sure Emiya Alter did use them, but Shirou didn't know whether or not he could pick up this weapon and still be then same afterwards.
Would he end up like his Alter self? Would he still be himself? Would he still be a Sword?
Shirou recalled the words that he had said to Winter before, and made up his mind.
He reached out with his left hand and picked up the pistol to examine it. It was about the same weight as Kanshou...
The thought of learning the mechanics of the gun and recreating Emiya Alter's weapons of choice crossed his mind for a second, before it was swiftly beaten back down for the time being.
A bitter chuckle escaped his lips as he looked at the weapon in his hand. That drew the attention of Pietro and Winter.
"What a twistedly ironic situation... a man who's whole life was meant to be that of a sword, just picked up the one thing that makes them obsolete." Shirou mused aloud, the bitterness in his tone.
Pietro was taken aback by his words and decided to speak up.
"I'm afraid you're mistaken young man. While will say that guns made melee weaponry obsolete in the past. Some Grimm are too strong for bullets to get through their hide, that is where a melee weapon excels without a balance of long and close range humanity would have died out a long time ago, it's also why humanity created the concept of mecha shifting weaponry, it's simply more convenient to have one weapon with two forms than to carry around two separate weapons." Pietro informed.
Shirou looked at the man with surprise, before a smiled at him.
"Thank you... I needed to hear that." Shirou said as he reached back into the box and pulled out a black holster which he then strapped to his left thigh.
Pietro gave a jovial nod.
"Of course my boy." The man said before turning to look at both Shirou and Winter.
"Now I'm sure you have other matters to attend to? I won't keep you. Please don't be a stranger you two, you're welcome in my workshop anytime." He said with a swift clap of his hands.
Shirou nodded.
"I'll be sure to stop by at some point." he said his face now back to it's neutral expression.
"Good lad." Pietro grinned.
Winter also gave the man her sentiments before she led Shirou out of the man's workshop and back onto the streets of Mantle.
"Where to next?" Shirou asked.
"Well I had planned to take you on a tour of Atlas Academy, but I wasn't expecting us to be here for so long. I suppose tomorrow will have to do. Shame that it'll have to be during classes." Winter sighed.
Shirou rose a brow at that.
"I thought thought the General said we had two days?" He asked.
Winter nodded.
"We did. Yesterday and today. We just used it up." She said.
Shirou gave and exasperated sigh.
"Of course... just my luck." He muttered.
Winter couldn't help but agree with his words.
"Your school uniform should be at the manor by now. Let us return." Winter informed.
"Right." He agreed.
With that the two made their way back to their tranport to Atlas.
The entire way Pietro's words resonated throughout his mind.
A weapon with Two forms.