"Now arriving at Kamihama station."

With Yuma in her hand, Kyoko stepped off the train and was immediately assaulted by the strange air of the place. She had felt it as they arrived at the city's borders, and Archer had constantly commented about how strange this city was, but even then she wasn't prepared for the sheer density of Mana in the air.

Whether it was from the vast number of Witches and Magical Girls that gathered here, or something else entirely, was yet to be seen.

"Is something wrong Kyoko?" Yuma asked. She wasn't very sensitive to Magic or Magecraft despite the Potential that she had.

"Nothing," Kyoko shook her head and walked forward with confidence. Not the worst environment she'd been in, compared to a Witch's labyrinth at least, she'd adapt soon enough.

You really weren't kidding about this place Archer, Kyoko commented.

Something's changed since the last time I was here, Archer warned. The energy's become active, as if someone's making use of it at this very moment.

That's… concerning, Kyoko admitted.

It is. We should move with caution.

Well, that was a good way to start their trip. Hopefully there wouldn't be any other unpleasant surprises for the day.

"My name is Kyoko Emiya," Kyoko introduced herself casually to her new class.

Her new classmates began to whisper to one another, likely intrigued by the new transfer student. Not that Kyoko could blame them, she just had that effect on people after all.

"Is there anything about yourself that you'd like to tell the class Emiya?" The teacher, a bald and rather portly male, asked.

"Not really," Kyoko replied.

Why would she? She would only be at this place for the next few weeks or so. Not like she wanted to get to know them anyway.

She could only hope that someone in this room would prove to be interesting, unlike her old school. Otherwise, being here would be a complete and utter chore.

After a bit of awkward stuttering from the teacher, Kyoko was led to her seat. It was next to a window and in front of a girl with shoulder length grey hair.

Normally Kyoko wouldn't give much mind to a person like her, but this girl had the blankest look on her face that she'd ever seen. Like there was nothing there. No life in it whatsoever. Totally empty.

It kind of worried her a little.

"Hey," Kyoko greeted the girl.

The girl's eyes moved. They stared at each other in silence. When the girl didn't respond for some time, Kyoko finally gave up and turned around.

Weirdo.

"Hi…" a quiet and shy voice practically whispered.

Kyoko turned back around. "Not much of a talker, are you?"

The girl shook her head.

Oh well, whatever. Kyoko turned back around to listen as the teacher began his lecture. Not like she was here to make friends anyway.

"Sorry…"

"Where are you from?"

"Kazamino."

"Why do you wear a glove?"

"Personal reasons."

"What sort of reasons?"

"Very personal reasons."

"Why did you come here?"

"I was bored in Kazamino."

"There's so much fun stuff to do in Kamihama then! We could show you around!"

Kyoko suppressed a sigh. Apparently acting aloof and casual had drawn the attention of many of the boys, and a few of the girls, in the class. The rest, thankfully, had stayed away and were content with gossiping about her. Honestly, she preferred the gossip. At least it meant that they'd leave her alone unlike the people in front of her.

She glanced at the empty seat behind her. It was almost uncanny how quietly that girl had left the classroom the second class had ended. The girl moved and acted like a ghost, hardly interacting with anything around her.

"Why are you looking at Isuzu's seat?" one of the boys asked.

"Nothing. Just curious about my neighbor," Kyoko replied.

"Don't worry about her," one of the girls commented. "She never speaks. Always goes off alone."

"You can do whatever you want to her and she won't do anything," another girl commented. "Even got her to carry my stuff for me when the teacher asked me to carry out permission slips to the faculty office."

"Apparently Isuzu isn't coming. She didn't hand in the form on time."

"That's because I took out her permission slip before I handed them too her," the same girl chuckled.

"Well not like we'll notice she's gone anyway. All she does is just sit and stare."

"And look pretty," another boy commented.

"If you like the shy quiet type."

"More like if you prefer a doormat."

Really? These kids had nothing better to do but to pick on a weakling? Not even trying to teach her a lesson or something productive? Not that this Ren girl was faultless either considering she let them step all over her.

Pathetic. Those idiots probably wouldn't do anything if someone with half a spine showed up.

Kyoko stood up. "Excuse me. I need to use the bathroom."

"Do you need us to show you the way?"

"Nah I got this," Kyoko replied as she made her way out of the classroom. Rather than head to the bathroom though, she grabbed a quick lunch from the school store and then made her way to the roof.

Not only did she want to just get away from everyone, but she was also hoping that she could get a decent view of the elementary school building from there. Maybe even get a clear line of sight of whatever classroom Yuma ended up in.

What she didn't expect was to find the door to the roof open. She peeked her head out the doorway and found a small group of girls that had already gathered there. One with pink hair, one blonde, and one brown.

That normally wouldn't matter much, Kyoko could just stand on the other side and ignore them, but the familiar rings and marks on their fingernail was a huge red flag. She immediately ducked back into the building.

Magical Girls. Three of them. And they all just happened to be in the same school building as her.

Great.

Archer really wasn't kidding about the number of Magical Girls in this city.

Kyoko peeked her head out and continued to watch. They were talking about something. Rumors? Uwasa? Shadowy People? It was hard to get out of context. She would probably have to ask Archer later and see if he learned anything.

Actually, if what they were saying wasn't much use to her then why exactly was she hiding?

They wouldn't know who she was and even if they did, what could they do? It wasn't like they could pick a fight at school, not of the Magical variety at least, and they were already letting other Magical Girls in this city anyway. What was another Magus to the mix?

"What are you doing!?"

Kyoko jumped, pivoted on her feet, and threw a punch. Survival instincts, mostly from training with Archer. Useful at times so that she wasn't caught defenseless by an enemy.

Her fist was caught by a girl with blue hair and pigtails that glared at her furiously.

This unfortunately was not one of those times.

"What the hell?" the girl shrieked.

Shit.

Magical Girl. Didn't even need to see the ring to know that. Only they would have the instincts and strength to block a punch like that.

Not one to back away from a fight though, Kyoko glared back. "Maybe you shouldn't sneak up on people." She prepared herself to throw another fist if needed. When a regular punch didn't work then a Reinforced punch usually did the trick.

"Maybe you shouldn't be spying on my friends!" the girl bit back.

"I wasn't spying," ok she was, "just wanted to get some alone time and found them here."

The girl crossed her arm. "What are you? Shy?"

"Just didn't want to be surrounded by idiots."

The girl immediately bristled. "Why you-"

"Rena is something wrong?"

Kyoko jumped for the second time that day and turned around to find that blonde Magical Girl standing in front of her.

"Yea," Rena pointed at Kyoko. "This girl was spying on you Momoko and you didn't even notice! You need to start paying attention to things!"

"Alright," the blonde Magical Girl scratched the back of her head nervously.

"Then when I go talk to her, she tried to punch me!" Rena continued.

"You were the one who snuck up on me!" Kyoko argued.

"Who throws a punch because they're surprised!?"

"Someone who needs to survive!"

"Calm down you two," Momoko suddenly stepped in between them. She was calm and acted casual but there was clear authority in the way she held herself. Clearly the leader of their little group. "Let's not pick a fight at school."

"She started it," Rena grumbled.

"Maybe we should give her a chance to explain herself," Momoko's eyes immediately drifted down to Kyoko's gloved hand before immediately returning to her face.

This blonde chick was calm, but clearly cautious and looking for any signs of conflict. Best not to start a fight if possible.

"Just arrived at this school," Kyoko explained. "Thought I'd go to the roof and saw that it was occupied."

"Then you decided to spy on them," Rena commented.

"I was curious," Kyoko replied.

"Well, we've all had that temptation before," Momoko reasoned. "Honestly though we wouldn't minded if you wanted to join us. It's tough being a transfer student."

For some reason Rena seemed to simmer down at those words. Personal experience?

"If you wanted to make friends then you should've just asked," Rena muttered firmly, but not angrily.

"So, you want to join us?" Momoko asked.

"Nah. Not really my thing, thanks for the offer though," Kyoko replied before walking back down the stairs. She'd have to find some other place to hang out in peace.

"Don't be a stranger, you can hang out with us anytime you want," Momoko called out one last time as Kyoko took her leave.

By the end of the day Kyoko didn't give her classmates a chance to talk to her. She quickly stood up, rushed out of the classroom, and made her way toward the elementary school building of the office.

By the time she arrived at the building most of the kids had already streamed to meet their parents or head to the dormitories. Thankfully, Kyoko had become rather adept at picking out a familiar head of green in a sea of people.

It didn't take long for Yuma to find Kyoko either.

"Kyoko!" Yuma made her way through the crowds and threw herself into Kyoko with a hug.

Kyoko blushed and tried to ignore the crowd of people staring at them. Turns out Yuma was actually quite fond of public displays of affection. Kyoko, not so much.

"How was school?" Kyoko asked as she carefully patted Yuma's head.

Yuma let go and glanced away. "It was… okay."

"Are you being bullied?" Kyoko growled.

"No! No!" Yuma quickly denied. "They're nice… I think. I just don't really know how to talk with them."

"Oh…" Kyoko replied as she held Yuma's hand and led them to the dormitory.

"Do you know how to talk to your classmates?" Yuma asked.

Kyoko was probably the last person you'd ever ask that, and she knew it. Still didn't stop her from trying to give advice anyway. "Um… talk about famil-" Wait not that. Definitely not that.

"Family?" Yuma tilted her head. "Like you and Archer?"

"Yes… wait no…" Dang it. Technically Yuma shouldn't be saying much about them either. "Uh what about hobbies? You could talk about hobbies?"

"Hobbies?" Yuma tilted her head. "Training, I guess? And maybe working out. They have a nice gym. We could start using it."

"Later… but uh…" oh boy Kyoko was grasping at straws at this point. "What do you like?"

"Food," Yuma replied quickly.

"Something else."

"Having a bed?"

Wow. They really needed to get Yuma a hobby and not just something that was a basic necessity that any child should have.

Sometimes people just need someone will listen to them. Maybe Yuma could try doing that. Archer suggested.

Maybe… How's the area look? Kyoko asked. He had spending the day scouting the area for them.

Safe enough. Even if they learn you're a Magus, the Magical Girls probably won't start a fight with you. Some are more curious than others though, so don't expect them to ignore you if they do find out about you.

I could say the same thing about you, old man.

I've already unpacked your bags and cleaned your room. It's been a long first day for you two. Take an early night and we'll go out to explore the city tomorrow.

Alright. See ya.

Archer quickly left her range, off to do his own thing again.

"Well time to take a look at our room," Kyoko said to Yuma as they finally made their way to the dorms.

The building itself was large, though completely filled, and it housed a large number of students that attended the school. The genders were split by two floors, though Kyoko had a feeling that visitors and curfew weren't exactly strictly enforced around here. The room that Kyoko was assigned was on the third floor at the end of the hall. A bit of a walk, but nothing she couldn't handle.

It had taken some, convincing, and a little bit of hypnosis, to get the school to allow her and Yuma to share the same room.

They had barely arrived when Yuma jumped ahead and began exploring their shared space. Kyoko simply followed and idly examined the place.

The room itself was nice and cozy. Good size for the two of them with basic furniture and necessities provided. Desk, lights, and even a bookshelf. They didn't exactly need the second bed though. Could probably just move that out and make room for something else.

"What do you think?" Kyoko asked as she sat down on the bed that she decided they would use.

"It's smaller than our old room but I like it!" Yuma shouted cheerfully as she took opened the door to their bathroom. She immediately frowned. "There's a toilet. But no bathtub or shower."

"Yea, there's a public shower for girls on this floor."

"Oh…"

"We share a bath all the time. What's the issue? It's going to be all girls anyway," Kyoko asked.

"Because… its you," Yuma replied as she crossed her arms protectively around her body. "I don't think I'll feel comfortable around others… like that."

Well, that wasn't surprising considering how shy Yuma could be around other people. Hopefully the showers had proper stalls and doors so that they had some measure of privacy.

"Sorry," Kyoko apologized. "You're just going to have to deal with it."

"Okay," Yuma replied before sitting next to Kyoko and letting her head rest against her arm. "So, we share one bed while Archer uses the other one?"

"Nah we can just toss the other bed out," Kyoko replied.

"What?"

"Have you seen Archer ever use a bed?"

"No…" Yuma replied.

"So, we can make room for something else. Besides, it would be weird if someone walked into a girl's dorm and found a grown man sleeping in one of the beds."

"I guess," Yuma admitted. "But it seems unfair that he doesn't have a place to sleep."

"Eh," Kyoko shrugged. "I'm sure he'll find a place to take a breather."

If there was anything that they were getting out of this trip, it was Grief Seeds. With Kyoko nearby Archer essentially had free rein to hunt and explore Kamihama as he saw fit. It also helped that the pervasive sense of supernatural that now blanketed the city made it even easier for him to manifest and maintain his arsenal. It was as if the natural laws of the World had weakened here, allowing his Reality Marble to have more of a presence.

That in itself was cause for concern, especially since the same also applied to a Witch's labyrinth, but he might as well take advantage of it.

He had already hunted two Witches that night and a quick recharge from a sleeping Kyoko was all he needed before he was on his third.

Archer ducked under one of the Witch's many black tendrils and jumped away. He dismissed his blades and brought out his bow, shooting a barrage of projectiles as he evaded the gangly black limbs of his opponent. Soon the Witch's body was peppered with hundreds of projectiles.

Whittle it down, hope to cripple or immobilize it, and wait for an opening to present itself so that he could tear it apart with a powerful attack. That was usually his modis operandi for Witches and big monsters in general. Occasional there would be Witches with tricks or regenerative powers that necessitated a change in tactics, but for this one his normal strategies would be perfectly fine.

Or they would have been if a Magical Girl didn't suddenly jump up from atop a building and start the Witch with… a heart tail attached to her back?

Not the strangest weapon he'd seen admittedly, and it was effective. The tail was constantly changing length, width, and even shape in order to act as a spear, whip, flail, and mace all at once. There wasn't much technique behind it and the inexperience in its user was clear, but the constantly shifting forms made her surprisingly adaptable as a melee fighter. It could also be a decent way to catch on opponent unawares if they weren't expecting it.

The Magical Girl turned and winked at him briefly before turning her attention back on the Witch.

Well, if she wasn't an enemy and was going out of her way to distract the Witch for him.

Archer drew his arrow, primed his bow, and took aim as the Magical Girl occupied the Witch. The energy he built up and took no effort to hide was enough warning for the girl to get out of the way.

Caladbolg

Reliable, cost efficient for its output, and consistent. An excellent tool that didn't show too much of his hand when used. Best to use what he knew for certain and save his more esoteric blades for emergencies.

The Witch was crippled by the ensuing explosion and it only took a few more efforts for the combined effort of Servant and Magical Girl to finish it off.

With the Witch defeated Archer was perfectly content with departing and leaving the Grief Seed to the Magical Girl. Or at least he was until the girl ignored the falling Grief Seed and instead cheerfully made her way towards him.

Archer couldn't help but be put off by her outfit. He had seen plenty of… unique Magical Girl outfits. Some were actually pretty good, in an aesthetic sense, and others… well needless to say they weren't all winners. Especially this girl's.

She was an adolescent child, fairly tall and well grown for her age granted, but she wore what was essentially a succubus outfit. Tail included. Could just as easily be a stripper outfit for those with that sort of fetish.

Something like this on a Servant was usually fine. The vast majority of them were grown adults by the time they had been recorded by the Throne, they could wear anything and take whatever figure they wanted. But this outfit on a teenage girl? This actually bothered him, and he very much wanted nothing to do with it.

"You're not a girl, are you?" the Magical Girl asked.

"No," Archer replied.

"Are you a Magical Boy!?" The Magical Girl asked excitedly before he could think of a way to make his escape.

Archer could only stare dumbly at her as his brain tried, and failed, to restart itself.

"I'm sorry what?" he eventually asked. If it wasn't for the endless millennium he had spent as a Counter Guardian he would've completely, and justifiably, lost his composure.

This was a first. Even for him.

"A Magical Boy! Or Man! I never thought a man could be like one of us!"

No no no.

No no no no no.

If Kyoko ever heard about this... He needed to nip this in the bud now.

"I am not a Magical… Man," he nearly cringed just saying that. Didn't even know that he was still capable of doing that. "I am a Magus. I use Magecraft. I have never, cannot, and will never form a contract with the Incubator."

"Incubator?" the girl looked at him confused before putting a finger to her lips. "Incubator, Cubater, Oh! Kyubi!"

"Kyubi?" Archer asked.

"Kyubey! I call him Kyubi," the girl replied cheerfully as her transformation undid itself. She wore a school uniform that he couldn't recognize. Definitely a lot better than what she was wearing before though. "So, you know all about Magical Girls and Witches, right?"

"Somewhat," Archer replied cautiously. "I am aware of the existence of Magic in this world."

"Great!" the girl suddenly grabbed him by the arm. There was no ill intent behind it, just pure enthusiasm, so it caught him completely off guard. "I got to show you to all my friends. They won't believe me! There's like so much that we could talk about!"

"What?"

"I'm Emiri! And I'm going to take you to my counseling clinic!"

"What!?"