The Crimson Exorcist

by Em6erPhoenix

Can a former assassin be granted a peaceful life or will he forever be burdened with his sins? Shirou will find out the greatest challenges he may face don't always come from the depths of hell, but he'd be damned if he would let that stop him from becoming a hero. Between fragmented memories of a former life and enemies not satisfied with only his father's death, Shirou has...

The Crimson Exorcist

Chapter 1

A curse slipped through his lips as he tripped in a hole hidden by the knee high powdery snow. The frigid that burned his lungs was for once a welcome reprieve as the snow beneath him stained crimson through his torn and slick, far too thin jacket for the current climate. Everything hurt. He reached out a shaky hand and pressed it to his chest to find the temporary bandage over his ribs had already been soaked through.

He sighed wearily and the steam lingered in the air long enough until he breathed out again, creating a constant cloud around his vision. As if he didn't have enough problems with visibility given the blizzard raging around him. It was admittedly not the smartest decision to be near the summit of the Alps during the coldest week in February, but his options were limited at the moment. Heterochromic gold and silver eyes scanned the area for any signs of life. While he couldn't see anything, the howling winds still carried slight sounds of pursuit behind him.

The red and white haired teenager cursed again and forced himself to stand up despite his pain and continued stumbling onward. He had to get away. It didn't even matter where. Anywhere away from the delusional murderers chasing after him. The teen started a stumbling jog forward, one hand pressed to his wound while the other pushed off against any rock or tree he could use as support to keep moving. That was what he kept chanting in his head. Keep moving. Keep moving. Keep moving!

"There he is! I see him! Fire!" The leader yelled. A silver eye glanced back for only a moment to glimpse three men with both a silver pistol and a glowing yellowish-white sword held in each of their hands. Shirou threw himself to the side to avoid the cracking of the guns as the bullets pierced through both trees and boulders inches from where he dove and found himself taking an unexpected slide. The powder covered up the iced over spring water beneath his feet and Shirou slipped, flipped, and tumbled along the side of the mountain. Each impact dragged another grunt from his lips but Shirou refused to cry out in both caution for those chasing him having an easier chance to shoot him and because he didn't want to give them the satisfaction to know every nerve in his body felt like it was on fire.

Shirou miraculously landed in a cushioned snow bank at the bottom of his slide and allowed only a slight moan of relief he wasn't dead by landing in the deep gulch.

"Find him God dammit!" the leader shouted, his nasal, shrill tone easy to distinguish alongside his ever present need to forego his inside voice. Shirou eyed the creaking ice beneath his feet and had an idea. A small pleased smirk wormed its way onto his face as he reached to his leg and pulled out a combat knife before plunging it up to its hilt in three precise incisions into the ice before carefully stepping around the area and continuing across the small river. Shirou was halfway across when the sound of scraping ice and tumbling snow echoed behind him to announce the arrival of one of the subordinate exorcists dressed in a hastily found winter coat over a priest's cassock.

Shirou was fortunate the man wasn't a great shot as the first two light bullets hit the ice behind his feet and the tree to his left, but even his luck had to run out at some point. The third punctured his shoulder and Shirou grunted before pitching over in the snow.

"I got him! I got-" that was as far as the man got before he stepped forward after Shirou and the ice beneath his feet broke to plunge into the icy depths. Shirou grinned a bloody satisfied smile that was more a grimace before climbing to his feet once more and setting off.

"There you are you little-"

Shirou reacted before he realized he was moving. His knife lashed out and caught the wrist of the hand holding the pistol towards his skull before twisting out of the path of an erratically thrown sword thrust. His bloody hand latched onto the sword hilt and met the shocked man's gaze briefly before his other hand returned to drive his knife into the priest's carotid artery.

Mismatched eyes stared impassively as the priest clutched his gushing neck with wide eyes as if he was the devil himself. Shirou thought it was pitifully ironic given the man's sins outweighed his own a thousand times over. Shirou ripped the priest's thicker- and still intact- coat off his back and went for the weapons on the ground even as the priest desperately attempted to get one last attack in. Shirou scrambled to pick up the gun a moment before the priest reached it. The priest recognized his defeat and his eyes turned acidic as vitriol spilled through choked gasps for breath in a last ditch attempt to show his displeasure.

"I'll see you in Hell you son of a-"

"Shut up," Shirou said stonily, jabbing once with the glowing sword and the man fell silent, a new exit for his ichor spilling from his eye socket to spill over the freshly downed snow. He stared for a moment in silence as the blood pooled on the surface until the warmth of the liquid melted enough for a hole to develop in the crystals and drained in a red swirl. He turned on his heel abruptly and continued on, paying the dead man no more mind. Or at least that was what he told himself as his heart felt the slightest bit heavier. One more body to stack on the pyramid of corpses. It was never ending. Mission after mission he was ordered to go on all for the good of humanity. And each life he took made him sick to his stomach. But he had no more tears to shed and at least he could comfort himself in the knowledge that the people he targeted were the most vile humans imaginable or even worse… the demons and devils of Hell who wished to tempt humans to sin.

The blizzard intensified as he continued onwards, making Shirou wonder at his luck as his hazy vision filled with more black spots as his blood loss started making itself known. Even with his new coat he couldn't stop shivering as he trudged through the now waist height of snow.

Shirou cleared the next hill and knew if he didn't find some sort of shelter for warmth he wouldn't make it. If the leader of the rogue exorcists wanted to kill him, he could find him beside a fire and a warm bed. Shirou coughed a red wad and smiled at the thought of a warm and comfortable mattress waiting for him. It would be a little slice of heaven right about now.

Not long after he climbed his way up the side of a second hill there was a slightly caved in log cabin tucked into the rock face. Shirou tripped his way over and hit the side of the cabin with a hard clang before finding his feet and struggling to rip the ice off the front of the door. Finally Shirou had enough of the door refusing to budge and pulled out the light sword before scraping the blade along the frame and yanking the door nearly off its hinges. He painfully fell through the entrance and kicked the door shut from the ground as he took in the room.

Mold partially covered the ceiling and the long abandoned food left behind by the owners. Shirou bet they either had gotten lost so far off the trail or had died during their trek. Each was equally likely and Shirou couldn't be bothered to wonder at their fate at the moment given the state of his injuries.

He made his way over to the handmade drawers to find a disorganized mess stuffed with no rhyme or reason to the same objects being placed in the same drawer. In his search he found a stack of cloth napkins, a pack of a thousand mostly intact needles, but unfortunately no thread along with it. Shirou cursed and threw the pack of now useless metal against the wall as a scream of frustration threatened to escape his lungs.

He gripped the tiny kitchen counter hard enough to crack the edge and without looking intensively collapsed on a hard cushioned seat next to a table. Shirou moaned at the pain and reached a hand to his chest as a new wave of blood seeped through the makeshift bandage.

Was this it? Was he going to die? He wasn't going to go out in some kind of blaze of glory to be remembered for centuries as some of his coworkers had morbidly joked over the years. No, he would bleed out alone on the top of this mountain with no one to remember his deeds, no one to remember the sacrifices he made to keep the innocent people safe. But that's alright. Shirou never wanted recognition or praise for his actions. Saving people was its own reward.

"Is that it?" A man asked, leaning against the cracked wall as his black irises bored into his own dual colored orbs with no sign or hint of sympathy.

"Kiritsugu?"

"I asked if that was it? Is this as far as your determination goes? I thought you wanted to be like me? A Hero of Justice?" He drawled, the slightest hint of derision at the back of his tone… but it was also whimsical. As if he wished he could have upheld the title.

"That's all I've ever wanted," Shirou gasped, spitting a glob of blood to the side.

"Then why have you given up? What did I always say? 'The fights not over-'"

"-until you're dead,'" Shirou finished. Kiritsugu snorted softly as he knelt down beside him.

"So I'll ask you one more time. Is. This. it?" The question lingered silently in the air, but Shirou's eyes said it all. No.

He looked down at one of the cloth napkins for a moment as his slowing thoughts desperately tried to make sense of what he was looking at. A lightbulb went off in his head and Shirou choked out a laugh.

Shirou reluctantly opened his coat once more to expose himself to the cold air and shivered as the blood on his torn shirt clung to his body in icy red clumps. He took a moment to compose himself as he tried to adjust to the cold penetrating him far deeper than any of his wounds and finally tore his temporary bandage made from a shirt away and moaned as bits of flesh ripped along with it. He let out a slightly hysteric chuckle at the sight before unraveling one of the clothes to use the threads. A quick trip retrieved the discarded box of needles before Shirou grasped one of the still intact pieces of metal and tried his best to tie the thin thread through the eye despite the blood causing his hold to continuously slip, but eventually managed it through sheer force of will. He placed the point against his wound, pinching the sides of the red flesh together and Shirou focused his sight on a piece of mold as a ragged sigh slipped from his lips. It goes without saying that this was going to hurt.

Sli-pop!

"Uuuughh!" Shirou roared through clenched teeth as the metal tore a necessary hole in his flesh. He glanced down to see the eight inch furrow down his sternum and another on his side.

"One down and only another… fifty to go… Fuck you God."

He roared and started weaving as fast as possible to get it over with, his fingers slipping on every other one with how much blood coated the area. Half of the napkins were used to give him purchase to pinch the wound and left a red mound he threw off to the side when he was done. The other half of the stack went over the injuries before Shirou eagerly zipped up his two jackets and pulled a few ragged blankets out the bottom of a storage closet before desperately curling in a ball for warmth in a tiny bunk in the only intact room.

When Shirou looked around the cabin he found it empty with no trace of anyone else's footsteps except his own. Kiritsugu wasn't there. He never was. Shirou had buried the man himself half a decade prior. But even his memory remained an inspiration for Shirou to continue on.

As Shirou lay huddling, hoping and praying he'll survive the night as the wind howled through the holes in the side of the cabin that bent swaying trees nearly in half, Shirou couldn't help but smile. His adoptive father was still looking out for him even after all these years. Though there was one other thing to smile about. While it wasn't warm, at least he had a mattress, Shirou jokingly thought before he collapsed in exhaustion.

He had gone through an intense battle followed by an extensive chase through one of the most treacherous mountain ranges in the world in the deepest part of winter. He let out a steamy breath and wrapped the blanket tighter around him before placing the light sword next to him as an extra source of warmth. While not highly intensive in heat like a lightsaber from the Star Wars franchise, the light swords wielded by the exorcists' of the Holy Church did still give off a small source of warmth that might make the difference between him surviving the night or not. Shirou watched his breath make swirling patterns long into the night before he finally could stay awake no more and his eyes fluttered shut.

—O—

Gold and silver eyes flickered as light invaded his corneas before the teen drew a thick blanket over his head. No, he thought in disappointment. It's far too early to be morning. He tried to settle back into bed when an alarm went off across the room and he jerked up in surprise. The teen sighed and padded his way over to shut off the irritating, if necessary device. He glanced down at the digital clock to see it was nearly seven in the morning. He gently placed the clock back onto the dresser before making his way into the bathroom and tore off his shirt to shower. The movements in the mirror caught his attention and his eyes traced over erratically placed white and tanned skin that showed dozens and dozens of scars, many crossing over each other such was their number.

Each mark held a story, a tale that he was a survivor. That he was still alive. The thought echoed in his head even as he washed himself thoroughly as one wound gave him twinges of phantom pain. The scar over his chest from that night nearly a year ago now. Shirou rubbed the mark absently until the pain fled his mind and he stopped wasting warm water to step out of the shower and dressed in his uniform… his new school uniform.

Shirou couldn't remember when he last attended a regular school. A decade ago? That sounded about right. He had been picked up by Kiritsugu in his youth from a large fire. As he got older the mercenary who adopted him finally revealed the fire was a magically cursed inferno created by an evil god who managed to resurrect himself from oblivion. But that was a story for another time.

Emiya was the mercenary's last name and he had taken on the name to honor his adoptive father. It was a promise to uphold his ideal. Shirou had stayed true to his path ever since the night he had given his word to his father that he would become a hero of justice in his place when Kiritsugu was forced to give up on his dream. Shirou's innocence and naivete of the situation may have pushed him down the path, but it was the beauty of the dream that kept him on it long after he realized just how blood soaked his hands and feet would become as he walked through the ocean of blood.

Shirou walked out of his room to the small apartment's kitchen and got started on making himself a large breakfast. He had gotten a great deal on rice and some tuna that was about to expire from a vendor who was more than happy to sell something he would have to throw out in a couple days. Shirou whisked two eggs before adding salt as the pan reached temperature. Oil sizzled and popped as he added a few herbs and vegetables into the pan before topping them a few minutes later with the eggs. Ten minutes later Shirou had a hearty and quick meal on a plate ready to go even as he started on making his bento, eating bites of his food between his various tasks of cutting and chopping vegetables for his first lunch at his new school.

It was both a high school and college campus. And from his research Kuoh Academy was the elite of the elite. It was highly ranked world wide in addition to being the top school in Japan. Everyone who was looking to make a name for themselves applied but the acceptance rate was lower than 23% for girls and because it recently turned co-ed for boys, Kouh's rate for boys was rumored to be somewhere between 33-35%. Shirou counted himself extremely fortunate that he was able to attend- especially since his record was so spotty and lacking in credentials. Before the semester started he was asked to take an entrance exam and he must have done well enough to make up for his nearly empty profile. To be honest he was surprised he was allowed in no matter what his test scores were.

Then again, maybe it was a good idea to not put down on his student profile that he was raised by an assassin who taught him how to kill people in hundreds of different ways and was mostly traveling to foreign countries for live experience in what he would be doing for what may be the rest of his life if he upheld his promise to Kiritsugu. A few blanks were much better than that picture becoming common knowledge, thank you very much.

Bag in hand, Shirou took one last glance around the apartment to see if he missed anything- though he knew he hadn't as he had already meticulously packed everything the night before- and then firmly shut the door behind him before locking it, though not before placing a small frayed string taped to the side of the frame and the door at his ankle level as a warning if anyone had intruded while he was gone.

"What are you doing down there, my dear boy?" a kind voice sounded behind him. The term of endearment and always pleasant, almost musical tone told him who it was long before Shirou turned his head around as he stood up from his kneel and hastily came up with an excuse. Shirou magically projected a screw into his hand and held it out for the woman's view.

"It must have gotten loose last night. I'll fix it, don't worry," Shirou said warmly to the middle aged woman who had barged her way into his life. "And if you have any other repairs you need help with around the building don't hesitate to ask Fukushima-san."

"Oh, whatever would I do without you, Emiya-kun? You are my favorite tenant… though don't tell old Genzō that would you? He's grouchy enough without something to harp on about," Fukushima jokes. Shirou smiled softly.

"I think I can keep a secret," he said like they were mockingly talking about something dangerously classified.

"I see you're in your uniform," Fukushima said warmly, walking forward and straightening the blazer of his uniform before doing the button he purposefully missed on his shirt. Shirou made a noise of half hearted disappointment at the action as she busied herself on his appearance but otherwise did nothing to stop her. He knew Fukushima had a rough life. She had lost her only son who was in the police force almost a decade ago and her husband a year after, leaving her with the ownership of the apartment building and no idea of how to run the place. She had been a nurse. Fixing people was her practice, not building or real estate. It was a hard blow to give up her dream job to ensure the dream her husband had of creating a home for anyone who needed a helping hand, but it was just as rewarding at times.

It was why Shirou was able to live alone in an apartment without being legally old enough to lease after he explained his father had passed away. Fukushima had taken one look at him as he huddled in the side of the alleyway across the street almost six weeks ago in the rain as he checked his phone for an open hotel or room to bunk at and Fukushima hadn't once regretted offering him a place to stay for the night. Shirou had ensured he paid back every cent of kindness she gave him despite her numerous attempts to stop him, but he was nothing if not stubborn. She had become smitten with his kind demeanor and insisted he stay as one of her tenants, forgoing usual procedure and accepting his payments through cash with no questions asked. And Shirou knew she had them. Thankfully she either believed he ran away from an abusive home or was involved in some kind of trouble that he had been unintentionally thrown into and was trying his best to make a clean break. Funnily enough the second option wasn't far from the truth.

"I have to go," Shirou said, stopping her hand from reaching for his neck, his hand firmly grasping her own before he realized he was clenching too hard and took a half step back before offering a bow. "Thank you. I'll… see you tonight?" Shirou offered in an awkward attempt to soothe her when he saw the flash of hurt in her eyes at his rejection. Fukushima offered him a weak grin in response.

"You're a good boy, Emiya-kun. Good luck."

Shirou bowed once more before departing, his gentle smile dropping from his face once he turned the corner as he raced to arrive on time. He had to traverse half the city in an hour. It was definitely possible with his abilities to make it there. In fact if he actually tried to use the full extent of his abilities then he could make it there in less than five minutes even on a bad day. But nothing quite puts a sign over your head than outrunning the best olympic runners personal best by a mile.

Shirou hurried while keeping an eye on the buildings around him. Even several months having passed since him walking away from the exorcists hunting him had not dulled his paranoia that there were people after his head; in fact it had only gotten worse. Between the feeling that now he was rooted somewhere and had someone who cared about him in addition to the vaguely dark magical signatures he detected in the air through his extrasensory ability to detect magical distortions through his nose had him feeling extremely jumpy, like any day now he would find the exorcist leader who escaped busting down his door and gunning for his head. Shirou glanced down at his watch to see he had only half an hour left until the first bell. With a slight curse, the teen decided to do something a little stupid. He reinforced his body with magical energy discreetly so no one could visibly see anything different before taking off again. His movements were still within the realm of humanly impressive, but his pace had jumped considerably and Shirou had a difficult time stopping in time when he turned the corner to see a blonde haired boy the same age as him running just as quickly on a collision course.

They bounced off each other and Shirou grunted in surprise that they both went down. Given his state of reinforcement and musculature, the blonde should have gone flying. The slight waft of dark magical energy pouring off of him gave Shirou an immediate answer as to why. Shirou got to his feet and offered an apology for not looking where he was going before taking off, praying the blonde behind him would pay him no more mind, but Yuuto Kiba had his own way of feeling magic through his devil nature and Shirou had most certainly caught his interest.

A ghost of a trace of magic crossed Yuuto's senses, so small as to not even be there. The magic came from something in the dual haired boy's pocket. Did a mundane person accidentally pick up something he shouldn't have or was this something else? Yuuto tried his best to sense if the boy himself had any magic, but there was nothing. He completely evaded his senses. Yuuto knew he wasn't a great sensor though and debated whether his attempts had failed because there was nothing to sense or if he was just doing it incorrectly.

"Sorry," Shirou blurted out, taking off the moment his feet had returned to the ground.

Yuuto kept his eye fixed on Emiya's back in contemplation long after he had cleared the block, trailing behind the dual colored boy towards Kuoh Academy.

Shirou let out a sigh of relief that he made it in time as he caught sight of the large front gate to the campus.

"Look at the hottie," one girl whispered excitedly as Shirou crossed through the front gate. "Is he really a transfer here?"

"He's so exotic," her friend whispered just as excitedly.

"Where do you think he comes from?"

"Look at his eyes. Clearly he is of asian descent."

"But his hair is so strange. You think he dyes it?"

"Who cares about his hair? Look at those muscles. What I would give to have a man like that holding me down," another girl said without a hint of shame.

Shirou shifted uncomfortably at that and the following comments. Sometimes he cursed his excellent hearing. He would rather not know what that group of girls dreamed about in the privacy of their rooms and forcefully blocked out their words for his sanity.

Shirou turned another corner before the smell of the ocean invaded his nose. Unfortunately Shirou knew Kuoh was a long way from water and this particular scent of ocean air was "polluted" by the same kind of dark energy as that of the blonde he had run into.

Shitori Souna, the student council president of Kuoh Academy, was making her way from the front office when she spotted the irregularly colored boy. Her lips pursed minutely at the initial thought he was going to be a trouble maker until she realized she was making assumptions on his character and upon taking a closer look realized his hair was natural as it went straight to the roots without any deviation of hue.

"Someone catching your interest?" her queen, Shinra Tsubaki, asked quietly in her ear as Souna observed the boy.

"I don't know yet," Shitori answered honestly. She attempted to use her "king's vision" to see how many points the boy was worth but was startled to find no number above his head. It was like the number kept trying to decide on an answer but was constantly changing and remained as an amorphous, transparent, shifting blob.

"What is going on?" Shitori muttered in confusion. This had never happened before. She wondered if it had ever happened in the history of devil kind since the formation of the Evil Pieces. The subject of her confusion and slight ire walked past her with only a brief and cordial inspection of the two of them before entering the front office.

"His eyes are like mine," Shinra said, pointing out her purple and brown eyes.

"Something to bond over," Shitori prodded in quiet amusement, giving her Queen a silent order with a look. Tsubaki nodded in understanding and made her way into the office to listen as the teen introduced himself to the staff.

Emiya Shirou, she heard. Wasn't he the one who almost aced the entrance exam? Tsubaki took the chance to observe him further and noticed his left eye was a silvery grey that only a mundane person would think it a pale blue because of light, but the real subject of her interest was his right iris. The eye had a mixture of gold and burnt amber which reminded her of dying coals in a campfire… or a forge. But as interesting as the colors were, nothing could compare to the look emanating from within his eyes.

There was a paradoxical look of emptiness and fiery determination at the same time. Each pulling his spirit in opposite directions until it seemed the boy didn't know where to go. He was lost and looking for a path. It was only due to Tsubaki's unique talent in observing the spirits in mirrors that she was able to garner such an accurate reading, but then again, the eyes were known as the window to the soul for a reason and his spoke of something dark and dangerous… and yet warm and light at the same time. Tsubaki was starting to grow frustrated at the mixing signals. Was he going to be a threat to her peerage and friends or not?

Shirou's movements were tightly controlled and his eyes minutely swiveled occasionally like he was scanning for threats. His looks demanded attention and yet his posture and voice proclaimed he was a humble individual. He is so vexing, Tsubaki thought. But her king had given her an order and Tsubaki was nothing if not a loyal and obedient friend and subordinate to her overworked student council president. No one worked harder than her best friend. No one.

"Can I help you?" Shirou asked, not turning his head as he filled out a form.

"Excuse me?" Tsubaki asked, wondering if he was speaking to her.

"I asked if I could help you. You've been staring at me for the last five minutes without blinking," Shirou informed her, much to her mortification.

"Ah-" she got out before forcefully giving herself a mental shake and responded in a tone more befitting her station. "My name is Shinra Tsubaki. I am a third year and the vice-president of the Student Council. I noticed that you are a new transfer student and was wondering if you needed any assistance?"

Shirou eyed her up and down for any signs of discontent before reluctantly nodding.

"That would be much appreciated, Shinra-san. Do you know where-" Shirou paused to steal a glimpse at the form, "Room 3-A is?"

"I'm heading there myself. I'd be more than happy to take you. Do you mind if I take a look at your schedule?" she asked. Shirou wordlessly handed it over as she made hums and awes at the selections.

"I see you put forth a request to join the kendo club. I'm sorry to say that there is only a girl's team. There simply weren't enough boys wanting to join up this year."

Shirou sighed but nodded his head in understanding. He wasn't expecting that to be the case, but he still held out hope.

"I think there will be a greater selection of men in college, so there's always next year," Tsubaki offered, seeing the light in his eyes dim a bit further.

"I don't know if I want to go to college," Shirou muttered. "This may be my only chance."

Tsubaki bit her lip as she tried to think of something to say. Her eyes widened as an idea came forth.

"While not official, there may be someone I can introduce you to the best swordsman in the academy that would most likely be willing to spar with you."

"The best swordsman?" Shirou asked amused. He wondered if she would say that if she knew Shirou was not a stranger to live combat with a sword. Would this mysterious sparring partner even hold a candle to the experience he had? "Sure. I'll give it a shot."

"I'll speak to him after class," Tsubaki said brightly, welcoming the chance to see the blonde swordsman who had garnered her interest.

"So who is he?" he asked, probing for more information about the school.

"His name is Yuuto Kiba, a second year student," she said as her eyes glittered with amusement. "He is also the most popular boy in the school, so be on the lookout for some of his fans' displeasure if you beat him." She gave him a mock wink as if she couldn't believe he would be capable of doing such a thing.

The slight was like water over a duck's back to Shirou. This was nothing new to him; he had always been discriminated against and looked down upon. He was the "third rate mage," the "bastard son," or- perhaps his favorite insult- the "stupid and pathetic human." The last one was always amusing in the Moonlit World's disbelief that a human was capable of standing up to the beasts and creatures of the night. Right up until the moment he buried his sword in their arrogant heads.

"I'll keep an eye out," Shirou said calmly, undeterred by the threat of harm any schoolchildren could possibly cause him. He had seen the world's darkest nightmares during his hunts. Nothing could cause him fear at this point.

Or at least that was what he thought until he was forced to sit down beside a rather beautiful naturally crimson haired girl at the back of the class. Her magic screamed its power of absolute destructiveness into his sensitive nose. Shirou felt like a noose was wrapped around his throat, constricting his airways and only the promise of death affording him an eventual escape from the painful sensation.

A voice calling his name snapped him out of the spiral he had fallen into as the teacher made him introduce himself to the class. Shirou grasped the opportunity like a lifeline to move away from the woman who reeked of annihilation to stand at the front of the room and went through his prepared speech. He glanced around to see he was the only boy in the class. This was going to be troublesome. He just knew it.

"My name is Emiya Shirou. I look forward to working with you and hope we can all get along," he said with a small forced smile.

"Kyaaa!" a girl screamed. "Look at his face. He's so dreamy."

Shirou felt his smile twitch and took most of his mental effort to keep the smile on his face. What was wrong with the girls in this school? Why were they so… expressive?

"I have an interest in kendo, archery, and am not a bad cook either. And before anyone asks, yes, my coloration is natural."

Shirou retook his seat as the class descended into chatter over his introduction as the teacher futilely tried to get them back onto task. Funnily enough the room fell silent the moment Souna stood up and glared at everyone. Shirou thought she looked like an adorable newborn kitten trying its best to intimidate a mountain lion… and yet somehow the class found her intimidating. It must have been the lens flare of her glasses catching the overhead light. It was the only possible explanation. Unless she used magic but Shirou knew she hadn't. His detection abilities were far too sensitive to miss her using magic right in front of him.

Souna turned to level her glare at him and Shirou felt his lips threaten to split into a grin. He couldn't get the thought of calling her an angry kitten out of his mind. Shirou focused on the teacher instead, seeking safer ground so he didn't alienate himself from the council president. The last thing he needed was to draw more negative attention to himself… and honestly he really didn't want the hassle of dealing with her ire for the rest of the year.

Thankfully the class settled down for the rest of the period and Shirou was reintroduced to English literature in the form of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. He would have been more than content to follow along if it wasn't for the consistent glances from the rather buxom redhead seated near him. The first few times Shirou was able to brush it off as simple curiosity for a new student or if he was being vain (and he wasn't) then perhaps she was simply attracted to him. However by the twentieth glance she was sporting a pinched brow as a frown etched itself into her features Shirou had lost his indifferent composure.

"Do you need something," Shirou asked coldly, his anxiety at the feeling of her magic she let off accidentally coloring his tone. If Rias was in any way bothered by his standoffishness then she did not show it. In fact she seemed amused if anything.

"You're cute," she said patronizingly, though it somehow came off as being directed more to herself than him.

Shirou's nerves spiked regardless. Was it really too much to ask for one normal year so that he could experience the same life of a normal person and their emotions? So that he could understand normal people and know better how to comfort them during an attack or catastrophe?

If there was anything Kiritsugu taught him other than how to kill, it was that sometimes people were still in danger even after you have 'saved' them. Hunger, lack of shelter, mental trauma, all these things were a product of disaster and war. And it was something Shirou didn't know how to fix easily. Yes, he could build a house for someone, and sure he could fish or hunt an animal to feed a family, but what about when he inevitably has to leave to stop the next disaster or the next war? The answer was that he couldn't save everyone. Not as he was at the present moment at least. So he had to get better. He had to be better. Stronger. Faster. Think quickly on his feet. Evaluate the consequences and long term effects of an area if he decides to unleash his stronger weaponry. If he devastates a forest to kill a vampire, all of the animals would flee and the villagers he was trying to protect would die anyway.

That was reality. Sometimes even when you try your best you still fail… But that doesn't mean you don't try. Because there is still a chance you might succeed. Still a chance that you can make a difference. Maybe not on a large scale, and maybe not even on a small scale. But if you help one person… there's a chance they will want to do the same and make the world a better place. That's all the being known as Emiya Shirou really wants. A world where no one has to cry. It is who he was at the core of his being. Someone who was wielded by others for the common good.

"-ya-san. Emiya-san!" Shirou snapped out of his thoughts to see the teacher giving him a slight look of disapproval. "Please try to pay attention." Especially since it is only the first day, went unsaid. He smiled sheepishly in response and nodded while a quiet giggle echoed beside him. A gold eye swiveled to the side to see Rias covering her mouth coquettishly.

'This girl!' Shirou growled within his mind. Why was she setting him off so easily? The rest of the period passed without incident and Shirou quickly bolted from the room before anyone could crowd around him as soon as the bell went off. Disappointed cries to wait up so they could talk with (read interrogate) him echoed through the hallway, but he was already long gone.

His next class was Advanced Physics where Shirou found nothing new. He had learned the basics of physics when he was ten under his father's tutelage; it was a requirement if you ever wanted to keep a record in your d.o.p.e. book for a sniper rifle. Tracking how a bullet's trajectory will travel due to wind and the curvature of the earth was vital knowledge in hitting your target.

Shirou felt no hint of surprise to see the glasses-wearing student council president come into class a minute after him. She looked like the bookish type even if she hadn't already proven her worth by her position within the school. Her violet eyes studied him closely like he was an experiment on a petri dish. He felt exposed and forced himself to act like everything was fine, everything was normal. There was no way she could sense his magic. He had engraved a rune cluster on a simple cross necklace he had received as a gift years ago which he had hidden under his shirt which prevented the detection of the wearer by most forms of magic. He never dared take it off for fear of someone attempting to scry his location. The last thing he wanted was a task force arriving for his head while he was stuck in school with countless witnesses.

Unfortunately for Shirou, in his morning rush for the academy he had forgotten to dissolve the projected screw in his pocket which Souna was more than adept at finding given her fine toothed control over her magic. The High-Class Devil was an expert at distinguishing magical variations and unlike Kiba could tell what the object was with only a couple "glances" towards his pocket with her magical sight. She knew the object was not real. It was… hollow for lack of a better word; its molecular structure was weak at the center, but more importantly that it was made recently.

Souna believed Shirou had found himself in unknowing contact with another mage. She had thoroughly scanned the boy for potential magic but found no evidence of magic. Not even a single hint of it, which was even more surprising. Many humans had a small spark or two but lacked the knowledge or talent to utilize it. Surely it was only a simple mistake that the boy had picked up. The only thing that was bothering her was her inability to see how much he was worth. This… called for more observation.

If she couldn't do it herself, then there was someone she knew who could. She almost cast aside the thought because it meant owing her a favor, but when the safety of her school and peerage were on the line, a favor was not all that much in the scheme of things. That didn't mean Sona had to like it though. Her rival was going to lord it over her head for months. She just knew it.

—O—

The highlight of Shirou's day had to be lunch. His food was waiting for him in his bag and the sun was shining brightly overhead. He had decided to follow old habits and find a vantage point to observe as much of the area as possible so he had taken his bento box to the roof and slung his feet over the edge as he popped open the lid and started eating mechanically.

While he may have unintentionally come across as humble in describing himself as a "not bad cook," in reality his food would not be out of place in a high-four or low-five star restaurant. Every bite delivered a new burst of flavor that mixed wonderfully with the last as he went in order down the individual boxes of bite sized pieces of food. However unknown to him, Shirou was about to receive a visitor that would threaten his tasty meal with a vengeance.

Koneko Toujou had been following her master's orders in trying to track down the boy who was throwing both of Kouh's Kings into fits. That alone had garnered Koneko's interest. She had known Rias and Souna for years and knew there was little that could ruffle their feathers… outside of their siblings showing them their usual displays of over affectionate love. So with that in mind Koneko had agreed to Rias's order to track down Emiya and determine once and for all if he had anything of value to offer their peerage.

Koneko was a loyal follower who was willing to go into the depths of Hell (literally) to help those she loves, and despite her cold and indifferent exterior she displayed in public, she still felt all the same emotions as anyone else. So it wasn't unreasonable for the petite white haired girl to get distracted from her mission when a most heavenly scent graced her nose. Koneko was torn between her duty to her master and the empty feeling in her stomach. She was forced to only eat a small- for her- lunch in favor of going off in search of Emiya and now this delightful scent was reminding her in full that she had not had a proper meal.

Koneko's feet started moving before she realized it. She tried to justify her actions by saying no one really knew where he was anyway. So it could just as easily be him as someone else. In the end they were all excuses, but much to her delight Koneko found the boy who matched her master's descriptions perfectly.

Red and white hair? Check. Gold and grayish eyes? Check. Athletic body built for a mixture between speed and strength? Check. Owner of the most delicious smelling food she had ever smelled in the human world? Wait, Rias hadn't said that, but still- check.

Shirou turned slightly to see a young girl giving his bento the most intense stare he had ever seen directed towards food. It was determination mixed with greed, gluttony… and lust? He may have been wrong on that last one, but the girl certainly gave her best effort to make it look like it. Was that a hint of drool on the side of her mouth?

Shirou couldn't help but smile softly at the sight. It reminded him of someone, though the memory was hazy. A girl with black hair in twin-tails and blue eyes dressed in a luxurious black Victorian dress. The memory came and went in a flash and Shirou scrambled to keep hold of it.

His memories have been causing him issues for years. Images and impressions of places he thought were familiar came to the surface frequently but nothing was definitive. He had long since stopped asking, "Who am I?" The question left him feeling empty and broken because he never had an answer. So he built his identity around what he could control.

"Do you want a bite?" Shirou offered awkwardly, somehow feeling wrong in denying this random girl his food. She gave him a quick nod while still maintaining eye contact with his food. She reminded him of a cat that had found its prey unawares. Her hands had gripped the sides of the building like she was about to leap on top of his bento. Shirou's smile strained from the intensity in her gaze. She was something else, he mused.

He grabbed a spare set of chopsticks from his bag and Koneko snatched a steaming piece of golden shrimp and rice from the box almost faster than his eye could see to place it in her mouth. Koneko's eyes widened and shimmered with unshed tears. She bowed her head as she took in the savory bite before finally, reluctantly swallowing the food. Her gold eyes looked up at him imploringly for another bite. Shirou glanced into her eyes and felt a bead of sweat roll down his neck.

He ate another few bites of his meal as if to discourage her but Koneko remained steadfast with a pleading gaze.

'Why was everyone in this school so strange? Or maybe he was the strange one and this was actually normal behavior?' Shirou wondered. Shirou made the mistake of looking back at her another time and Koneko's eyes narrowed as her bottom lip wobbled. She looked like she was about to cry! Shirou felt his resolve shatter and offered the box over for another bite. Koneko snatched the entire box and turned around, plowing through the entire box to steal every last grain of rice for herself.

"Hey," Shirou said, though his heart wasn't in the rebuke. Koneko turned just enough to let one lone eye see him as she ate her latest bite. She reluctantly turned around to show there was one last bite left.

"You can have the last bite," she offered, as if she was the one who had brought the meal and deigned to allow him a piece. Shirou… felt like he had gone through this before as well. A black haired girl who exploited him for her own humorous ends.

"Thanks," Shirou said dryly, eating the last bite before closing the lid once more and packing his bag. As he was doing so, Shirou noticed her tracking his movements with critical eyes, even sniffing the air once like an animal… like a cat. She scrunched up her nose in confusion at what she found. Surely she was wrong? Koneko sniffed again, getting close enough that she nearly pressed her nose into his corded back.

"What are you doing?" Shirou asked, snapping Koneko from her thoughts and she realized how close she had gotten in her trance. Her mouth moved tonelessly as she had no answer that could reasonably explain away what she was doing or what she was looking for.

"Ah-" She began before shaking her head and retreated from the roof without another word.

"Weirder and weirder these days," Shirou muttered, putting off the situation as the bell rang for the next class.

—O—

Rias sat behind her massive oakwood desk in the comforting office of her club room as she sipped from a cup of tea her Queen had so graciously prepared to wipe away the day's stress. The cause of her anxiety was a letter forewarning her of her duties by a most irksome man who somehow had the belief that he was entitled to her. That he owned her and her body.

Riser Phenex. The mere mention of his name was enough to send Rias into a rage. He was arrogant, egotistical, a philanderer who would never treat her the way she wanted as a wife, but most of all he was terrifying. Rias felt her pulse quicken the moment he stepped into her reach and it had nothing to do with how attractive he was. His magical power bordered on overcoming the barrier to Ultimate Class and Rias trembled whenever he gazed at her with those animalistic eyes of his.

But Rias was nothing if not defiant and there was nothing she would not do to ensure their marriage never passed. No rule she would not break, no line she would not cross; she would even denounce her status as an heiress of Gremory, her very identity and guaranteed seat of power and luxury, if it gave her the opportunity of freedom from that thing. She had to build a powerful enough peerage to overcome Riser in a Rating Game. It was the only way she knew how to convince her family, how to convince all of her race that she would marry only for love and love alone or else risk her parents just shoving her off to the next pure-blooded devil.

A quiet knock intruded her thoughts and Rias took the granted moment to move the letter from view before calling for them to enter. Koneko walked in easily, taking a sweet from the bowl filled with candy directly for her consumption as she settled into the opposite chair. Akeno had made her way over to stand beside her King and waited for the one of the last Nekoshou to speak of her findings.

"I couldn't find any magic from him outside of what has already been discussed," Koneko said, reminding Rias of how Sona Sitri, or Souna Shitori as she is known in the human world, of her request in return for a future favor before she offered all she knew about their newest third year transfer student.

"However, I smelled something odd… and dangerous," Koneko said quietly, shivering at the memory of the scent.

"What did you smell?" Rias asked, trusting Koneko's nose that could put a bloodhound to shame in distinguishing scents in the air.

"Steel was the first thing I smelled. But then it was followed by fire… and a dragon. He gave off the scent of a dragon."

Rias perked up in intrigue. Could he be worthy of her peerage after all?

"Good work Koneko. I'll make sure to place your usual order shipment from your favorite sweet shop."

Koneko's eyes glowed in mirthful success. Chocolate for days was in her future.

"Thank you. Now, excuse me, I have to get to class."

"Farewell," Rias offered. She turned to her Queen the moment the door was shut. "I need someone watching him from now on. Have Kiba start off, see if he can't make him a friend- Lucifer knows the blonde could use a male companion."

Akeno giggled behind her hand in agreement. Kiba's fan base was massive due to his looks and the Charm Curse placed on his face for women to become attracted to him. The curse had driven many girls to leave their boyfriends for a simple glimpse of him and as such completely destroyed the friendships he had managed to form back in middle school. For as much attention as the boy receives, he was also one of the most lonely individuals. If it hadn't been for her peerage, Rias wondered if he would have a normal conversation ever again.

"I'll get started right away. And-" Akeno turned back to give Rias a flirtatious smile, "I'm sure you won't find any issues in keeping an eye on him during class."

"I don't like what you're implying," Rias growled, tightening her fists.

"Me? Implying?" Akeno asked innocently, her eyes glittering playfully. "I would never. However you couldn't keep your eyes off his back as he fled the room-"

"Akeno," Rias warned.

"-and I couldn't stop wondering if you enjoyed the look of his ass as much as I did?"

"AKENO!" Rias shouted in embarrassment.

"I don't hear a denial," Akeno teased, but fled the room the moment she picked up a paperweight and the thunk behind the closed door told her enough. "Maybe I took it too far?" she mused aloud. "Ha! Who am I kidding? There's not a chance I will let this go."

The stress from Rias's shoulders had disappeared the moment she started teasing her King. There was nothing she would not do to help the girl who had saved her and become such a close friend as to be like her sister. She was family. Certainly more than her sperm donor or her mother's relatives ever were. The sour thoughts pinched her face for a moment before she reminded herself of some good news.

The newest stock of "toys" from her favorite local S&M shop had arrived according to their magazine and there were a few she wanted to try out for herself. Now all she needed was someone to try it out on in the future to really make her life complete. Akeno let out a perverted giggle at the plans that sprung to mind of her future partner's pain and pleasure… and of her own. There were so many possibilities for being both an S as well as an M. Her spine shivered just thinking about the many scenarios. Rias took her giggling Queen by the arm and dragged her dazed form to class alongside her.

"Oh, Buchou, when did you get there?" Akeno asked the moment before they arrived in class. Rias's deadpan was legendary and yet Akeno was able to shamelessly ignore it with practiced ease.

"Next time I won't bring you to class with me and you can explain to the teacher why you were late," Rias said quietly, taking her seat beside Souna. While history was usually a dreaded subject of dry lectures and countless "pointless" facts for the students, for once there was a new variable introduced in the form of Shirou who had entered the room and stopped dead upon seeing the group of four third year devils. Was one of them going to be in all of his classes for the year, he complained in his safety of his mind.

"Alright, settle down!" boomed the teacher. The forties looking man was slightly balding on his forehead but his body was exceptionally fit, his eyes stern, and his barrel chest looked like it was almost twice the size of a normal man. He was renowned by the students for being harsh but fair and he constantly pushed them to succeed… or to miserably fail trying.

"I do hope everyone is here because I will be moving quickly this year. We have a lot to cover starting where we left off last semester- at the fall of Greece and the beginning of the Roman Empire and its expanding influence. Please give me a quick answer as to why Greece was so easily conquered? Anyone?"

"The fall of Alexander the Great and his lack of an heir," Rias recited. Shirou glanced over to give her an admiring look. She wasn't just a pretty face after all. Between how her body looked, her teasing barbs shared with Akeno, and her ease of interacting with everyone she met, Shirou was ashamed to admit he had her pegged wrong as an airhead. This wouldn't be the first time Shirou had misread a person though. He could think of several magi and fallen exorcists who had seemed benign up until the moment they tried to rip his heart out of his chest.

"That's correct. And now we will start off with how Rome's superior cavalry and tactics pushed them to become the world's greatest empire in their time which allowed them to defeat Greece and the surrounding lands in…"

Shirou listened with half an ear as he wrote down the highlights of the lecture. As he was doing so though, he couldn't get rid of the feeling he was being watched and a side eye to Rias showed that for once it wasn't her.

There! Purple eyes had glanced over once again as they tried to evaluate him. Shirou was starting to wonder if there was a problem with the rune work on his necklace. Was his magic starting to be sensed? He had created his necklace initially to hide himself on missions from the most observant of targets, but he had further enhanced the runes upon him leaving his last job… the reason he was no longer taking missions as a Hero of Justice or using his alias as he had in the field. Nobody knows Emiya Shirou, but almost the entirety of the Moonlit World knows about the Crimson Exorcist, Muramasa Shirou.

Kiritsugu had insisted he not use his name in the field for the amount of enemies he had accumulated over the years, insisting Shirou use countless disguises over the years to hide the fact that the Magus Killer was training an apprentice for he knew that there were those out there who would stop at nothing to exploit, manipulate, or kill him to get to Kiritsugu simply out of spite. Then the actions of "Muramasa Shirou" only further drew the Moonlit World's attention towards him. Shirou was hoping that the year off would let some of the heat blow over and allow their focus to shift towards someone else. Even thinking about some of the enemies gunning for his head brought the hairs up on his neck.

Shirou's thoughts continued to drift throughout the lesson and he welcomed the transitioning bell for his only free period of the day, taking the chance to find a spot to hopefully be alone and get his tumultuous thoughts in order and regain his center. He had been feeling off kilter ever since he had stepped foot into the school and normalcy was not at all what he thought it would be.

But no matter where he went, Shirou had found himself doggedly followed by other students, mostly of the female variety except for three boys who had already secured themselves the moniker as the Perverted Trio within the first day of school when they were caught peeking outside the locker rooms of the female kendo club… and then the again when the swim team was changing, shouting off their personal desires of the female form for all to hear. And Shirou was their intended target to expand their number from the Perverted Trio into a Quartet.

"Hey! Don't go talking to Emiya-san, you bunch of perverts!" a girl shouted, barring Matsuda's path with her arms spread wide.

"Yeah, you'll infect him with your ways!" another yelled, doing the same to Motohama. The trio observed the inadvertent display the two girls put on by practically exposing themselves with their arms wide… and therefore there was nothing obstructing their view of the girl's breasts straining their shirts.

"Wow," Matsuda said in awe. "No bra!"

"Motoko-san wears white lingerie! I think I can see her nipples," Motohama observed lewdly.

The two girls flushed in a mix of embarrassed rage at their secrets being exposed to the school.

"Hentai!" The two girls struck out with a savage kick and the boys went down with a hand on their crotch while tears escaped their (un)manly eyes.

"I think I'm gonna die, Matsuda."

"I wish I was dead," his friend responded. It was only once there was an abrupt silence did they realize Issei hadn't joined them on the ground. Where was he?

"Thank you my dear friends for your brave sacrifice," Issei said with a proud look on his face as he chased after Emiya. "I assure you it won't be in vain."

"Get him!" Motoko shouted, leading the charge after the last of the trio.

"Issei, you traitor," Motohama whimpered, curling further into a ball as if his words alone increased the ache in his groin.

"You better succeed or I'll kill you," Matsuda called in agreement before doubling over on the ground.

Shirou had at last had found a quiet spot beside a tree with large enough branches to cast a large shadow for him to enjoy the break from the sun. It was a surprisingly warm day for April, nearing 85 degrees Fahrenheit, and between his undershirt, white button down, vest, tie, and blazer it was sweltering. He probably wouldn't wear the vest going forward if the heat continued like this but on the first day he wanted to make a good impression. He had freed the tie enough to unbutton the top and let his chest breathe a little as a pleasant breeze drifted across the grounds, bending the grass nearly in half and setting a couple of the looser leaves overhead scattering free.

For one glorious minute Shirou had a soft smile on his face as he took in the pleasant sights and sounds of nature as he saw students playing off in the distance, horsing around and throwing a ball to each other. For that one minute Shirou finally understood why he had left his last mission unfinished. This… this was nice. Was this what being normal felt like? Having the ability to enjoy moments like this?

"Hey!" A shout echoed in his ear as a hand firmly grabbed onto his shoulder and Shirou reacted. He caught the assaulting limb and jerked it forward to then flip the attacker over his shoulder before the Reinforced pencil in his hand was stabbing forward. Shirou just managed to stop it from piercing the assailant's neck as shouts of alarm went off around him. Shirou moved his eyes upward to see a brown haired second year giving him a horrified stare as his life flashed before his eyes. Shirou turned to see he was being observed by all of his classmates who were stuck somewhere between fascination and fear before Shirou dropped his improvised weapon like he'd been burned by it and stumbled away from Issei quickly, muttering a hasty apology before bolting from the academy grounds entirely.

"What the hell was that?" Issei asked. His question went unanswered but it was mirrored by everyone else in the room. Who was Emiya Shirou and why had he reacted like that?

—O—

Sona, who had been observing from the second story window seconds before, picked up the discarded pencil and observed it with a keen eye. She pressed the tip of her finger onto the point and was surprised to find it easily able to pierce her flesh. Her devil's flesh. Her eyes widened in alarm as she shared a glance with her queen. A devil's flesh was highly resistant to damage and yet this common looking pencil was able to bypass her natural defenses. It should have been impossible, and yet once she scanned it with her magically attuned senses the reason became obvious. The pencil's molecular structure was altered. Its properties became sharper and far more resistant to damage. This "simple" pencil was capable of piercing through a solid block of steel.

"We can't sit back on this any longer, Tsubaki. We need to know his intentions. He has passed from a curiosity into a threat. Find him."

"And what are you going to do?" her queen asked obediently.

"I am going to send a report to my family. They will want to know of this development."

"Then I'll be going." However instead of leaving Tsubaki stayed for a moment and nibbled on her lip in consideration.

"Kaichou… Did you see his eyes?" Tsubaki asked, remembering the thousand yard stare Shirou held. "It looked like-"

"Like he'd been through hell," Sona agreed. "I- There is much to discuss with my family… Please have someone watching Emiya-san at all times from now on. I don't want to find out he has injured a classmate because they frightened him."

Tsubaki made a tone of agreement before asking, "I'll create a schedule for shifts."

"What would I do without you?" Sona asked rhetorically in gratitude.

"Probably drown in all that paperwork," she said dryly before a frown once more made it onto her face as she asked the same question her King had been thinking on. "What do we do now?"

Sone placed the tip of her nail between her teeth and thought desperately for an answer but nothing came.

"Just find him. Let me worry about the rest. It will all work out in the end. Trust me."

"I will always trust you, Sona. But Emiya?" Tsubaki paused to grab the pencil from her King's hands and shook it for emphasis. "If he can hurt us with a pencil, what do you think he can do with a sword?"

"What's that old saying? The pen is mightier than the sword?" Sona asked.

"Kaichou, don't underestimate this man. Human or not, you know-"

"I'm not. But I want to try and make peace with him before dropping the ax. As we saw earlier, it didn't look like he wanted to hurt anyone. Be kind to him… but be on your guard. Always."

"Yes, kaichou. I'll inform the others about what we've discussed… if you haven't done so already."

"Thank you. You know my family. What should only take five minutes-"

"-ends up turning into five hours," Tsubaki finished with a wry grin. Sona shared a suffering sigh with her Queen before the two departed to do their separate tasks.

—O—

Serafall Leviathan, formerly known as Serafall of Clan Sitri, was currently doing her best to avoid the massive stacks of paperwork on her desk… however, her Queen had other ideas.

"You're so cruel to me Beli-chan! I just wanted peace and quiet for a few minutes! Is that too much to ask?" she wailed, digging her nails into the wood floor and leaving rivets as her Queen literally dragged her back towards her seat by the ankles.

"You have yet to finish yesterday's work. I will not let you leave for any reason-"

The main office door to the Devil's Foreign Affairs building opened harshly as a panting messenger arrived with an open envelope.

"I have an urgent message from your parents, Leviathan-sama!"

Serafall perked up in interest and escaped the now limp grasp of her Queen to read the letter. Her face hardened the moment she finished the first paragraph and turned emotionless as she finished the page.

"Behemoth, I have an emergency to take care of."

"Are you trying to get out of work?" her Queen asked warily.

"Not this time. Sona has met an interesting person living in Kouh. We're just going to have a… little chat."

Behemoth eyed her King warily. Serafall's tone said the "chat" would more likely be an interrogation. Though given it was with her sister, it would probably be veiled behind affectionate words and actions. Sona might be an intelligent teenager, but she was still naive to how the world works most of the time… and the lengths people would go to keep their loved ones safe.

Serafall disappeared in a teleportation circle bearing the mark of House Sitri and with a bright flash she was gone, leaving Behemoth to eye the rivets left behind in the wood. A snap of her fingers later, the office was restored to its previous state and Behemoth eyed the ceiling as if an answer was written in the plaster.

"I… need a raise," she sighed.

—O—

Serafall stealthily snuck her way into her sister's bedroom and observed the teen going through her nightly rituals as she prepared for bed. A glance at the clock showed it was already nearing one in the morning. That was far too late for her baby sister! Clearly something was wrong with her even if she hadn't read the letter.

While devils did not require as much sleep as a normal human, they still felt lethargic, especially in the mornings given devils are normally nocturnal. But after three years in the human world, Sona had adapted quite nicely for performing her duties in the light of the early morning rays. Not that she enjoyed doing so, but as the Student Council President she had to set an example for her peerage and the rest of the school.

"So-tan!" she shouted, jumping on her little sister's back to give her a tight hug. "I missed you so much! It feels like it's been forever since you last came to visit."

"O- Onee-sama? What are you doing here?" she cried.

"I got your message. Now, what's this about you liking boys? Should he find out exactly how cold my ice feels against his privates?"

"That's not what I wrote about at all! And I didn't ask you to come here. I just wanted some advice… And don't even think about attacking one of my students," Sona finished with a glare. Serafall let out an impish laugh as she hugged her sister even tighter.

"Joking. Obviously I was joking. I would never dream of hurting someone my sister liked… obviously if he hurt you that's another story."

"Oooonnnneeeeeeee-sama!"

Serafall chuckled awkwardly and dropped to the ground to wave her hands in mock defense.

"So, what did you need? Sister-sister bonding time? Advice on the best positions to please your man~" she teased.

"Serafall, please."

The Maou froze and immediately dropped her joking exterior. Sona never called her by her name. She called her Leviathan-sama in public for Sona's desire to help her in her position and she called her Onee-sama in private amongst family and friends, but she never, ever called her Serafall. Ever.

"What can I help you with Sona," the Maou asked seriously. Sona let out a relieved breath and grabbed her sister's hand before dragging her to the bed to sit down.

"I need to ask you about something I know you find uncomfortable. I know that after the Devil Civil War you… were never quite the same according to Mother."

Serafall's expression turned blank; Sona would not have been surprised if her face had been carved from stone from how much emotion she portrayed. A kernel of fear developed in the pit of Sona's stomach. Not for herself- for Sona knew she was the one thing Serafall would never harm. No. Sona feared that it would be her own words that would harm her sister nearly beyond repair as she forced her sister to remember things she had placed in a black box she desperately tried to seal away to be buried in the depths of her mind. And because Serafall was the one person who probably knew exactly what Shirou Emiya was going through, she was going to have to ask the impossible of her sister.

"A student of mine attacked another today as an instinctual reaction. The look on his face said he had no intention of harming him, and yet due to whatever kind of training or perhaps the life he has lived has instilled the first reaction for him to do is to kill. He was centimeters away from harming his underclassman if he hadn't snapped out of it in time…

"What should I do?" Sona asked tearfully. "As the Student Council President, it is my duty to help my fellow students. I want to make them the best people they can be. Every student that walks through that front door is my responsibility. They're mine. And I almost lost one of them today because I didn't recognize one of them was suffering. I failed to see-"

Serafall placed a finger over Sona's lips and let out a soft smile.

"You haven't failed yet. Oftentimes, the things that plague our family, friends, and peers are unknown to us until they choose to reveal them. They form walls around themselves and act as if everything is fine, that everything is normal even when they know it couldn't be further from the truth. Now, I don't know if this student of yours is going through intense trauma or if maybe he just had a bad day and the training his overly strict parents forced him to endure happened to kick in, but what I do know is this: your student is going to need someone he can rely on. Someone he can trust.

"I relied on Sirzechs, Ajuka, and even Falbium to get me through the war. But afterward, you were right," she said, shrugging to distract herself. "I wasn't the same. We fought a war to stop another war. We killed to prevent more killing. It was disgustingly ironic," Serafall said bitterly. "We who wanted nothing more than to live in peace were forced to take up arms and fight against our own people so the rest would not be pointlessly slaughtered.

"You changed all of that. You, Mom, and Dad. You made me realize that we weren't just fighting a war to stop the next one. We were fighting so our families and our descendents could live in peace without that shadow hanging over us. You became my rock after the war and I will never be more grateful to you for helping pull me out of… well my funk I guess you can call it."

Funk is a very kind way of putting the dead look she sported in her eyes for decades before Sona was eventually born. The small bundle of joy who would be able to live the life Serafall always wanted, unburdened by the responsibility of the continued existence of the Underworld on her shoulders, but most importantly Sona would grow up happy. Free to choose her own path in life in a way Serafall was never given the chance to until it was far too late.

"My advice? Get this student someone to be their rock. Without that… he will find life a constant struggle in the endless battering of waves and time."

"Do you think I should try to be that rock?" Sona asked.

"Only you can make that decision. But once you make your choice, commit to it one hundred percent as you always do. Believe me when I say that breaking off from him will be a crueler fate than leaving him to swim on his own. For once someone has tasted the peace of land, endlessly treading in water becomes an unforgiving agony."

"You… have given me much to think about."

"Do me a favor, Sona. Don't try to think in this situation. Instead of using that big, beautiful brain of yours, use this," she held a hand over her sister's heart. "Use this as your guide when interacting with him."

"I- I will try, Onee-sama."

Serafall smiled brightly, no sign of her earlier lapse until a thought nagged at her.

"You never did tell me the boy's name."

"Oh, I didn't? My mistake. It's Shirou. Emiya Shirou."

Serafall stiffened minutely. She couldn't, wouldn't get her hopes up. Not again.

"Say that again. Did you say his name was Shirou?" she asked dangerously, ice glinting in her eyes. Sona gulped in surprise and a healthy dose of fear.

"Yes. Emiya Shirou is his name," she repeated warily.

Serafall's eyes glittered ominously.

"Now that's interesting," she whispered, hoarfrost freezing the air that escaped from her lips. "I'm going to pay a visit to Mr. Emiya. Sona?"

"Yes?" she asked hesitantly as a shiver ran down her spine that had nothing to do with the frost slowly developing around her bedroom walls… and everything to do with the door being sealed shut as her sister clamped her hand around her wrists.

"Before I do so you will tell me everything you know about this Shirou. Right now."

"Okay," Sona squeaked, before making a monumentally intelligent decision and did exactly as her sister commanded.

Sorry, Emiya-san. Better you than me, Sona thought before spilling everything she'd learned.

—O—

Ring, ring. Ring, ring. Shirou pulled out his phone with a hint of confusion. He hadn't told anyone about his new number. Was this a scammer? Despite himself Shirou hit accept and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Do you have any idea how difficult it was to get your number?" a cool tone pierced his eardrums. Shirou gulped at the voice. He knew who it belonged to and judging by her tone she was not happy.

"Lorelei. How are you?" Shirou said kindly, hoping his words would soften the coming verbal assault he knew was coming.

"I am a tad… disgruntled to be honest, Shirou. You see I was scheduled to have dinner with a certain someone and they never showed up. And then they disappeared off the face of the earth for over eight weeks and I thought to myself, 'I know he isn't dead, so where could he be?' Imagine my surprise when after running a facial recognition scan a contact told me YOU WERE COMPLETELY FINE!"

Shirou winced at her shouting. Lorelei never shouted. In her anger she usually became more silent, showing her displeasure through her eyes and tight lipped smile. If she was shouting at him there could only be two reasons. One, he was a dead man walking and she just hadn't spared the time to travel halfway around the world to kill him. Or two, she was desperately trying to relieve herself of her tension before they met face to face so she wouldn't kill him by accident.

"Lorelei, I can explain," Shirou said desperately.

"Excellent," she crooned, forcing herself back into her usual state of polite and calm rational. "It better be a damned good reason or you won't like my response."

Shirou paled. It was starting to sound more and more like option one.

"...What do you know about my missions in Prague and the following hunt in Eastern Europe?"

"I read the initial reports of your team."

"Then you know I killed an innocent man. No, even worse than that, I killed someone trying to stop one of the most inhumane slave rings created in over a thousand years. He had it all. Evidence, lists of the conspirators, money trails… and yet in doing so he made himself look like he was the guiltiest one of all. He tried to explain to me but I didn't listen. I just saw those photos on his desk and I killed him without a second thought."

"Shirou, I read the reports from your former team, they all believed the same thing. If it hadn't been you then they would have done it instead-"

"But it was me! It was me who killed him."

"Is that why you ran?" Lorelei asked.

"...No. That's not why I ran."

"Shirou?" Lorelei asked when the line remained silent for almost a minute. Shirou shook himself out of his thought to explain.

"...In the aftermath of closing down the ring I found communications between one of the leaders and a fallen angel based in Western Asia, a small province lacking power in most buildings and no forms of communication outside of a single landline in the regional government building. They had struck a deal with the fallen to send several of their 'products,'" Shirou spat the word, "in the fallen's direction. When I followed the directions to the province, I found it buried deep in the center of the forest, the roads covered in severed trees and a dam partially destroyed to flood part of the forest. It was all done to disguise what was really going on for why the outsiders hadn't received word from the people stuck there.

"Fallen angels had turned the entire village district into a breeding ground. All of the men were killed and thrown into a massive hole on the side of the road. They were the lucky ones."

"Why have we not heard anything about this, Shirou? The Three Heavenly Factions so blatantly breaking the cease-fire is not something that can be swept under the rug."

"Because apparently Azazel had 'nothing to do with this tragedy.' He begged ignorance and gave me thanks for stopping the procedure… not that it did the women there any good. The fallen in charge there kept pumping their bodies for babies to restore their former ranks from the Great War. I can't tell you how many they did this to, but I know if the women weren't able to produce another child they would be killed and thrown into the hole alongside the men."

"You killed the ones responsible for this?" Lorelei asked, almost eager for confirmation.

"I didn't just kill them," Shirou said quietly. "I erased them. Every last one. But without the fallen's magic keeping them stable many of the people there didn't make it. They were finally free and yet they still died. They still died…" Shirou trailed off.

"Shirou-" Lorelei said, pausing to ensure she said the right thing. "I still want that dinner with you. I am coming for a visit in the following week when I can get off from my duties… we can speak about this face to face and whatever else you need to then. You have my number, please use it… or I will be very unhappy upon my arrival."

Shirou chuckled but it quickly died off.

"I'll see you then. Lorelei?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry. I really should have sent word. I- I just needed to follow some advice someone once gave me. If I didn't know what normal was, how am I supposed to help others return to it? It's not an excuse, but I needed to-"

"Shirou, I am not angry you left Europe. I am angry you felt the need to do it alone." Trying to divert his attention, Lorelei followed up with, "Besides, now that you're gone my mother has gone spare in trying to force someone else on me."

"I don't know who I should sympathize with more. You, your mother, or whoever she decides would be a good match?" Shirou laughed before changing his tone into one far more sincere. "Thank you, Lorelei… for reaching out. You're a good friend."

"...Friend?" a nearly inaudible croak echoed through the receiver.

"Hmm? Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"...It's nothing."

"Well, you're an amazing woman, I'm sure whatever is bothering you can be sorted out easily with your talents," he praised openly.

"...Shirou… Did anyone ever tell you you're an idiot?" Lorelei hung up before he could respond.

"A few people might have mentioned it," he said to open air, shutting his phone and putting it back in his bag.

Back in London Lorelei was leaning back in her seat as she tilted her head back to release her chocolate brown hair from her tight bun and massaged her scalp.

"How is it that someone so intelligent can be so, so stupid?" Lorelei groaned.

"I asked myself that same question the moment you started hanging around Muramasa," a frigid voice cut through the air. Lorelei hid her instinctual need to jump and slowly straightened in her chair to level a glare at her intruder.

"Mother. How do you do?" Lorelei asked politely, burying the retort that threatened to escape her lips.

"I am feeling much better now the fling has left your side."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't let trash hang around me. Perhaps you are mistaken?"

Lady Barthomeloi's nostrils flared. Barthomelois were always perfect. They did not make mistakes. The Lady's lips widened into a cruel, thin lipped smile.

"I told you that boy would invite nothing but trouble into your life and yet you did not listen. Now the Fallen, Devils, and even branches of the Church are after him. Cut your losses, dear. He isn't worth it. All I want is what's best for you."

"I would be a fool if I believed that's all you want," Lorelei retorted calmly. "Does Shirou bring trouble wherever he goes? Most of the time, yes. But is he worth it anyway? Yes! And if you bothered to look beyond his upbringing you would see his true value."

"I will not see you laying with Emiya's spawn!"

"Then it's a good thing he's adopted, isn't it?" Lorelei countered, internally cursing that her mother had learned of Shirou's father. "Now if you're finished, I have some work I need to do. Please leave," she dismissed, leveling an equal glare at her mother.

"I do hope one day you come to your senses," Lady Barthomeloi advised. "And I pray it will not be too late. Do not make yourself a hole you can't climb out of… or else it will turn into your grave."

"Then I'll just have to make the hole more comfortable. Good day, Mother."

The Lady scoffed lightly before sending a pitying glance at her daughter before leaving the office. It was only when Lorelei knew her mother had finally left did she allow herself to stop holding back and a tear slipped from her eyes.

"Goodbye, Mother," Lorelei said before furiously scrubbing the evidence from her cheeks and returning to her work. The duties as the youngest Vice-Director of Clock Tower did not cease quickly and she needed to use every moment wisely if she wanted to make good on her promise to Shirou and Barthomelois always keep their word. To fail meant imperfection and imperfection meant death and disgrace. And Lorelei was not a disgrace… no matter what her mother might say in private.

—O—