Shattered Blade

by DrakeValkyr

After several years of traveling the world's battlefields, Enforcer Shirou Emiya finds himself in Shin Tokyo. Leave it to him to go on vacation and end up trapped in yet another battle royal between magical beings. Inspired by Gabriel Blessing's In Flight.

4. Chapter 4: First Blood

Disclaimer: I make no claim to that which is not mine

I apologize for the extremely long wait. There shouldn't be nearly so long a wait between chapters as this one has taken as I highly doubt I'll be going through what I just went through again anytime soon. I hope…

Anyway, I hope this chapter is to everyone's enjoyment.

Fourth Break: The Morning After

*Story Start*

I didn't think of words like searing or burning. I was no stranger to the smell of roasting and splitting flesh. Nor was I a stranger to the sight of curling, smoking black flesh as it peeled off the too white bone from the heat. Instead I marched forward, heedless of pain or exhaustion.

'I want to live.'

I marched past homes, engulfed in flames. Some collapsing in on themselves as the fires consumed them entirely. Others remained standing as burning idols, monuments to the power and horror of the conflagration. Buildings wavered in and out of vision, the heat blurring and revealing them at capricious whim, distorting the once pleasant suburb into a nightmarish view into hell.

'Somebody save me.'

The soft crackle of the flames was impossibly loud. It covered the booming thumps of houses as they buckled and crashed around their occupants. It covered the sounds of screams I couldn't hear but knew what they said as once beautiful homes were turned into funeral pyres for their still living families.

'Help me.'

And yet I marched on. Voices. My body alight and agonizing as the charred flesh flaked from silvery metal. So many voices. Impossibly, I trudged on. Too many voices! They hooked me, their serrated barbs sinking into flesh and steel and fire as they all cried for salvation.

'Save me. Save us.'

But there was no such thing as salvation, not here under the eye of the angry god spewing hate and fire and death. Their cries turned to spiteful damnation. Why should they die while others lived? They turned on me, reeling back the chains where they once tried to pull themselves to safety, they now tried to pull me into death. Why are they dying while I still live? Why can't I save them? But there was no room for thought here, lest I wanted to die too. There was only more marching interminably into and through death.

In a word I was… unsurprised. I'd been bombarded with memories of Fuyuki and the Grail War since I'd first stepped foot in Shin Tokyo a few weeks ago. Usually I dreamt of swords. Sometimes I dreamt of Archer and our life – his life. Occasionally I dreamt of Saber framed in the light of a new day or Rin's lectures on the enormity of my failures as a magus. Rarely, I dreamt of my last visit home, the cloying feeling of blood on my hands and the pangs of sorrow and regret.

Tonight I dreamt of my birth; the fires of the fourth Grail War and the forging of Shirou Emiya.

Drip-hiss.

A single raindrop petered out against my burning skin. I looked up into the bleeding sky. At first, I thought it was more muck, the spewing curses of Angra Mainyu falling from the [false] black sun that dominated the sky. But no, it wasn't. I had been drenched in that muck before and all it had brought was **** and ***** and ******.

I took a shuddering breath. Even in my dreams I was affected by the memories of the curse, but I felt none of that as another drop hit my skin. And another. And another.

Rain?

There had never been rain in my dreams of Fuyuki before. There had never been rain in ********* ***** ***** before either. Curiously, I raised a cupped hand to catch the rain. Plink. Plink. Plink. No, not rain. The red drops shone vibrantly against the metal imbedded in my ruined arm. This was blood.

I looked up, expecting to see the black hole that represented Angra Mainyu as it belched the vileness of all mankind into the world. This time I was surprised as there was no false sun in the sky. Instead there were corpses. A floating ball, an island, of corpses dominated the sky; their bodies intertwined with one another in a macabre embrace, blood running down and between their limbs as they reached downwards. The blood dripped from their outstretched fingers as they groped towards the ground as they reached down to me standing below them.

The smell of fire and smoke and death was replaced by the smell of blood and bodies and rot. This wasn't Fuyuki anymore, wasn't the caldera that forged –

"EMIYA."

I whirled. Standing behind me was none other than Karasuba. The two of us stood under the falling rain of blood, red specs coloring her ashen hair and white cape. Lone drops ran down her forehead, along those high cheekbones and down her neck to disappear under her black tunic. Below us was an endless field, an ocean, of spilled blood. From deep within its depths rose arching, blood and rust encrusted chains that bore deep into the island above us. For a moment, the two of us stood there, over the ocean of blood we have spilt and under the vengeful eyes of the corpses of the fallen; of the people we killed. For some reason this was fitting, though I didn't understand why. Fuck dream logic.

"Shirou Emiya." She spoke again, taking a step towards me. Her wet hair hung over her eyes, shadowing her face. She took another step, her feet sending ripples across the surface of the otherwise pristinely calm ocean we stood on. "You're just like them, aren't you?" She hissed, clenching her fists. Them? These bodies? No. No, those words had meaning that these fallen corpses lacked. Them. "Selfish. I didn't want this." She came to rest in front of me, her brow hovering just under my chin. "They hate me. After everything I did for them. And then they left me, just like you will. I should kill you." She raised a hand, drawing it up my chest and resting her palm over my heart. Her other hand grasped the back of my neck. "Kill you… I'll kill you first. To keep this moment, to keep you, mine." Wings erupted from her back, black and beautiful, like those of an angel. Or rather, in her case it was more like a demon. She raised her head to me and whispered. "Forever and ever."

Her fangs sunk in and she tore out my throat.

*Scene change*

"Ugh," I groaned, pulling the nice warm thing next to me closer. It was still a bit before I had to get up and make breakfast, I could be forgiven for trying to reclaim some vestige of sleep after that dream. Besides, the blankets were really warm and inviting. Surrendering to the siren call of more rest I pulled the bedding closer. The blankets let out a content murmur, snuggling into my side and I went to wrap my other arm around them when I met with resistance. Wait… since when did blankets talk?

But first, I turned my head to the right to find what was pinning my arm and just about jumped out of my skin as I met a pair of smoky carbon eyes staring back at me.

"Good morning, Sahashi-sama." Akitsu greeted me. At some point in the night her borrowed pajama top got unbuttoned down to her navel. She also had my hand clasp between hers and entrenched firmly in her soft, warm bosom. What… the hell was she doing out here and not in her bed?

"Ah…" I muttered. I must still be dreaming. "Akitsu? What are you doing?"

"You were restless." Ah? What?

"What?" I blurt out oh so eloquently. Okay, maybe I wasn't dreaming. If I were, I'd be a lot more articulate. That still didn't explain why she was sleeping next to me. Or why she had apparently moved her blankets out here to do so.

"You were restless in your sleep"

"So you came to look after me?" I asked. She nodded, a hint of red coloring her face. Despite the oddness of both the woman and the situation, I was touched at her thoughtfulness. "Thank you Akitsu, that was very thoughtful. I'm sorry if I disturbed you."

"Ah… I didn't want anything to happen to you." Didn't want anything to happen to me? Just what did she think would happen to me in my sleep? It was true that on the occasion that I dreamt of the fire I tossed and turned, but a little memory was hardly worth worrying over. Wait… I was forgetting something. When I woke up there was something on my left side, the opposite side that Akitsu was taking up, wasn't there?

As if sensing my thoughts it squirmed.

By the Root and Heaven's Feel what the hell was that?

"Akitsu..." I started. What comfortable warmth I had felt earlier had turned to ice cold dread. "Why does there feel like there is someone on my other side?"

Akitsu's eyes drifted over to whoever or whatever was next to me. "I was here to protect you." That did not fill me with the abundance of confidence she might have desired. With more than a little trepidation I followed the line of Akitsu's gaze.

Beautiful.

The thought cut through (but did not abate) the horror I felt at what I saw.

Her ashen gray hair fell off her face, fanning loosely out behind her from its normally confined ponytail as she curled herself next to me. Her left leg was thrown over mine and her arms wrapped around my left bicep; using the combination of limbs as a makeshift pillow. The wrinkles framing her eyes were gone, as were the tightness in her lips and cheeks. Actually, this was the first time I had ever seen Karasuba actually relax. The hint of a smile was even playing on her lips as she nuzzled into my side. Not a smirk, not a grin, not that bloodthirsty expression but an honest to goodness smile. For all our bickering and trying to kill each other I had never really noticed just how beautiful Karasuba was. I knew she was attractive from the first moment I saw her, but I'd never really noticed her beauty before.

It was more than a little disconcerting.

On a more relevant note… what by the Root of All Creation was Karasuba doing in my bed?! I went to sleep alone. I'm sure I did. Karasuba left last night, I watched her leave right after she discovered the scar from Gae Blog. Granted, she was dressed in much the same way she was last night when she left. Her black tunic was tousled by sleep and rode up past her bellybutton and lacked the leather straps and harnesses that attached to her also missing belt. Her legs were bare of her usual black leggings as well, revealing her long, toned legs and milky white skin where they weren't covered by blankets. I could only thank the Throne that Takami was too busy at MBI to come home; I wasn't sure how I could ever explain this situation to her. Hell, I couldn't even explain it to myself!

Akitsu being disturbed by my nightmare and coming to check on me was questionable, but I was willing to overlook that particular oddness in light of her equally questionable situation. She did seem to have recovered a bit from her ordeal, whatever that was, and if being close to someone else helped her cope than I was willing to let her be. Well, so long as no one got hurt and it seemed as she was normalizing.

Karasuba though… well there was only one thing to do about that.

"Well, I guess it's time for us to get up then. Would you mind opening the linen closet and start folding your sheets? I'll take care of the mats." Akitsu released my hand from its fleshy prison and moved to get up. This caused her mostly unfastened shirt to hang completely off her frame, freeing her not-inconsiderable bust, as well as revealing that her top wasn't the only nighttime adjustment she made to her clothes.

"Aktisu, why aren't you wearing any pajama bottoms?" I had wisely decided to avert my gaze to something slightly less Dangerous. Like the still sleeping Karasuba. Maybe my definition of dangerous was skewed, I realized, when I prioritize the more-than-half naked woman as more dangerous than the one who tried to kill me the night before. Granted, the latter could be fought with swords (and what was I but a collection of swords). The former? Not so much (Don't let Rin's misconstrued euphemisms tell you otherwise).

My question caused her to stop mid-rise and direct her attention back towards me. "Too warm." She responded after a moment. I think I was getting the hang of her shortened sentences. She got too hot during the night so she shed the other clothes and unbuttoned her top. Maybe it was due to the nature of her ice powers that she got too hot in the night? My room did tend to collect heat, making it one of the hottest rooms in the apartment.

"Is that why you aren't wearing any underwear either?"

"Oh…" She cocked her head to the side, contemplating, and then announced, "I forgot."

There was nothing I could say to that and after a moment Akitsu returned to her previous task of diligently gathering the bed linen one by one and retreating to my room to fold them. I took the time to look around the room. There was a string of abandoned clothes leading from the balcony's open sliding glass doors to the pile of bedding. Laying half in and half out of the apartment was one her shoes, the other must have been kicked off as it lay under the dining room table. Her black, thigh high stockings rested under a pile of discarded leather belts to which her scabbard was still attached. Her signature white coat pooled on the floor at the foot of the bed mat speckled a dark red with faded and dried blood. That must have been from last night – a recent killing as her coat was pristine when she left here.

Well, there was one concern: location of Karasuba's long sword, check.

Let it never be said that dating Rin hadn't taught me anything. Slowly and deftly, so as not to awaken her, I scooped the still sleeping alien into my arms and stoop up. The trick to moving a clingy bedmate was to hug them just a bit tighter before any movement and then relax as you shifted. This was a key skill when awakening next to a zombie that liked to shoot condensed magical curses at you when her sleep was disturbed, especially if the reward for not having coffee ready by the time she did wake up was a grumpy Rin-sama. Rin really didn't deal well with mornings. Thankfully, my experience dealing with her transferred well in dealing with the woman in my arms as I maneuvered towards the linen closet in my room.

Ah, good. Akitsu did open the closet before she started on folding. She did pause in her work as I entered, studying me inscrutably as I made my way past her. She still hadn't done anything on the not wearing pants front, but I had other concerns at the moment.

I took one last look at the woman in my arms as I reached my destination. That peaceful expression softened further as she nuzzled into my chest. I had been revering to her as a crow, per her namesake, but I think maybe Karasuba was more like a big cat. Like a puma or something. She treated everyone and everything around her with an amused distain, she expected to be pampered when she wanted it and left alone when she didn't. She came when she was hungry and complained if food wasn't ready. Yes, Karasuba was much like an overgrown housecat, if one that liked to feast on the entrails of all of humanity and dance in the shower of gore. What a ridiculous creature. Oh well.

With that thought I calmly tossed her into the closet. The look on her face as the sudden weightlessness of free fall ripped her from her slumber as she tumbled into the pile of linens? Oh, so priceless. I then shut the door on her.

It was times like this that I realized I'd become a bit of an ass during my stint at the Mage's Association. It was also times like these, as the room was filled with banging and muffled curses as Karasuba tried to struggle free from the blankets that I realized just how funny it was.

"Haihane you dumb slut! I don't know how you did it but when I get out of here I'll skin your pale ass alive and beat you to death with your own damn hide!" Karasuba's colorful retort was mixed in with other such curses and thumps as she fought her way free. "I'm going to shove my sword so far up your ass that even Miya will choke…on…it…" She trailed off as she finally flung open the door to see me staring down at her. Oh, so priceless. I really needed to do this again. "Sahashi-kun? Why are you in my room?"

"Bzzzt! Wrong answer." I glowered. Turnabout was fair play, after all. "I believe the question is what are you doing in my room?"

"Your room? No, I sleep at MBI." She took a moment to glance around. Akitsu folding clothes: check. Angry Shirou: check. Pained walls of Takami's apartment: check. I mentally ticked off what she was looking at before she suddenly reddened.

"Ah…" Whatever she was going to say got stuck in her throat apparently as she kept trying to start a sentence and failing miserably.

"I'm going to go make breakfast." I told her, taking most likely undeserved pity on the creature. "You and Akitsu get cleaned up and dressed. Then you can answer what you're doing here."

I think one of the two interpreted my statement as more of an order, if the sound of falling fabric were any indication. My eye twitched. "Akitsu… did you just start disrobing?"

"…Yes."

I see. "I see. Carry on then, I suppose." I was at a loss as to how the hell I was supposed to respond to that. Instead, I purposefully looked nowhere but at the door as I marched out. I might be starting to regret inviting that one home. Not that I regret helping her, never that, but damn if she wasn't a strange one. Well meaning, I suppose, but strange.

With that, I retreated into the kitchen.

Of course, what awaited me there was an empty pantry. I had forgotten all about last night's misadventures with Sekirei appetites.

"I'm heading to the store for groceries. I'll be right back." I called out as I shrugged into last night's jeans. The night shirt would do if I had a coat on over it. Slipping on my shoes I left the apartment.

*Scene Change, Karasuba's POV*

The sharp click-clack of my heels on the tile lined halls sent interns, pages and salary workers scurrying in delightful panic as I marched through MBI's upper floor offices. Instead of enjoying their stricken expressions as they scattered out of my way like cockroaches as I normally did, I ignored them as I made my way to Minaka's office. He called a board meeting for this morning and as loathsome as I found those stuffy meetings I had to be there.

I tore viciously into the apple in my hand. The crunch and tear of its flesh led several of the pages to pale and one to faint. This was not my best day. In addition to this stupid meeting I had missed my customary breakfast at my apparently-not-so-loyal servant's place. Not that I was using this meeting as an excuse for my flight while Shirou was out. Why would I flee from a mere human or that tramp piece of trash that followed him home? That thought was punctuate by several more bites of apple.

"Ah, excellent." Minaka exclaimed as I entered the boardroom. "Now that Karasuba is here we may begin. Please, take a seat dear."

I tossed out the now barren apple core as I took my designated seat as Captain of the Disciplinary Squad. Seated at the head of the table was Hiroto Minaka, the president, founder and CEO of Mid Bio Informatics. As usual, the white haired man was bedecked entirely in white; He wore a white suit over a white shirt, on his hands were white gloves and draped over his shoulders was a white cape that fastened around his neck. At his right was Sahashi Takami, the equally white haired head of the science team assigned to the Sekirei Plan.

On Minaka's left side was Tsuyu Fukikozo. The grey haired sexagenarian was the head of MBI's legal team and had been with the company since its first founding. He wore a sharp but plain brown suit, his hair combed back from his face in a professional short cropped style. His sharp features gave him a militaristic like demeanor and his strict adherence to business etiquette seemed to make him a more severe figure than he truly was. The man didn't seem to care at all about the Sekirei or the Sekirei Plan, and thus I'd had very little dealing with him.

Seated further down from Sahashi was Takashi Yokubo, the young head of the pharmaceutics department. The thirty-something year old was yet another medical genius in the employ of MBI who was scooped up by the company right out of medical school. The glasses wearing doctor was kept on the technology side of the Sekirei Plan, replicating the salvaged technology from Kamikura Island into a usable human analogue. As was his penchant, he pushed his glasses up in an angle to reflect the overhead lights off the thick lenses, the glare shielding his eyes from sight.

Sitting nervously to my left was Toumo Tsukihime. She kept her long, brown hair in a low ponytail that hung down to her waist and let her bangs frame her face. Even at her age the woman was scatterbrained, often losing track of her notes, her pens and her thoughts in a way that made these meetings drag on forever, but she had a good head for numbers. I had the impression that she was a college friend of Sahashi (another reason to not like the waif) as well. Well, she had to be intelligent enough or she wouldn't be here.

The last seat on the board was taken by Asha Ishtayl, the strangely named head of Human Resources. The German borne woman was another young face in the company, and while not a genius like the others, performed her job with aplomb and vigor. She had been my handler for a few weeks when my Squad and I were doing some internal cleaning. She was also one of the few people who were interesting enough to talk to, when she wasn't pestering me about frivolous things.

"Good Morning Everyone!" Minaka exclaimed boisterously. "How about we get started with a quick review of the overnights? Ms. Tsukihime, if you will?"

"Ah! Yes!" Toumo searched through her folders for the proper papers.

I quickly tuned out as the meeting got fully underway. The inner working of MBI held little interest to me, especially considering the morning I'd had. It would not be too far from the truth to call this morning an unmitigated disaster.

I could only blame the Scrap Number for this. Everything had been going so well until she showed her unwelcome face around. My Takami-Free week with Shirou was supposed to be fun and exciting and full of delicious free food. Maybe even a little blood if all things went well. Yet instead of all that I had spent all morning digging through MBI's records in a cold dark basement room.

There wasn't a lot of information I was privy to, even as 'MBI's Dog,' as I was often called. After Shirou left this morning the Scraped Number had the gall to threaten me. Who was that icy little tramp to question my motives regarding my private chef?! The shame still stung and I clenched my hand around the hilt of my sword. Had I still had it at that moment I would have painted the room (and most likely the rubble that used to be the upper half of the building) in her blood. But instead my sword was nowhere to be found and I was entangled in a linen closet as the witch stood before me cloaked in her power. I grit my teeth at the memory of having suffered that abuse and just leaving. Oh, there would be a reckoning.

So I had spent the rest of the morning looking up everything I could about the bitch and what a Scrap Number was. On the latter part there was almost nothing, or at least nothing I could access with my impressive clearance level. Apparently the man responsible for her adjustments had made a mistake as Akitsu was unable to have an Ashikabi. Her abilities were both powerful and unstable enough that she spontaneously winged herself? What a load of bullshit. Although some of that did explain the strength she displayed.

The worse part, and the part that explained much of the events of last night and this morning, was that she was a single number. The god dammed former number 07, to be exact. It must be my accursed lot in life that all my problems stemmed from the other single numbers.

In my research I came across a reference to a paper by Dr. Miyuki Akagi, a now deceased scientist who worked closely with Miya and Takehito Asama on the psychic portion of the Sekirei reproductive aspect. The obscure branch of the research didn't reveal any concrete information, but there was apparently enough that Dr. Akagi had come up with a sound enough theory; named it some resonance effect nonsense. The technicalities of the theory yet escaped me, but to put it in layman's terms it suggested that with each Sekirei that reacted to or were winged by an Ashikabi, they became a more attractive and powerful Ashikabi in terms of attracting additional and/or more powerful Sekirei.

Several weeks I had been hanging around Shirou and nothing like last night had happened. The possibility was always there. I knew and accepted that, taking efforts to prevent it; efforts that succeeded until last night. Akitsu was the key. This mess only happened when she started sniffing around. Just because she couldn't be winged didn't mean she couldn't react, right? Yes, that's what it was. It had to be! The stray had probably already made her move to claim him by now too. She began reacting to Shirou and her reaction led him to be a more potent Ashikabi. That was the only explanation for why I…

"Then let's move on to the next point. Benitsubasa has reacted to and been winged by Natsuo Ichinomi, one of our pharmaceutical clerks. I believe we should move to have the rest of the Disciplinary Squad winged as well."

I looked up as this snippet of the conversation broke through my thoughts.

Ah, Natsuo. I didn't even need to look at the dossier to know about him. From the perspective of the board he is a good choice. For one, he is an MBI employee and a loyal one at that. He has also been involved in the initial stages of the Sekirei Plan and thus knew more about us and the inner workings of the plan than the average Ashikabi. From a managerial standpoint, his pragmatic and charismatic nature made him a good looking, well-spoken and thoughtful figure to represent MBI in the coming conflict.

On a more personal note, I approved of him.

Even before that little upstart Benitsubasa started reacting to him I had been looking into him. His rise through MBI had been nothing less than meteoric, well-liked by his colleagues and coworkers for his professionalism and innovative thinking. I had the pleasure of meeting him sometime after that bitch Yume went and killed herself to save little Musubi. At the time he had just lost his own lover and his anger and grief at this abhorrent little world was a refreshing reflection of my own. He was actually the only person at MBI I actually liked talking to other than to nettle or threaten. Oh, yes, he was also a homosexual. All in all, he was an ideal Ashikabi and one I was sorely tempted to take.

That was until I met Shirou Emiya.

Honestly, my first impression was that he wasn't very impressive at all. He was a young man, a little too young to be an infiltrator from a foreign government, but still old enough to be from a rival company. I didn't really care. His bravado was the same as all the other young guns who think they're smarter than the competition; the cocky confidence in the face of death threats was nothing new to me. I actually enjoyed breaking them more than their older counterparts. You got to watch the horror of their situation dawn on them just as the wet work began. He was cute too: tall and strangely tanned for a Japanese man with delightfully sharp golden eyes. I was really going to enjoy ruining those good looks.

Up until he put a shitty serrated knife three inches into a solid concrete wall.

That perked my interest, especially given how he did it under the nose of Takami Sahashi. While I didn't like the woman, she was not unobservant, even if she was slightly distracted at the time. That was when I finally paid attention to the man in front of me. What I had taken for arrogant posturing was actually an even seating, allowing him to move in either direction at a moment's notice. His hand while visible and positioned nonthreatening, were close enough to his baggage to pull a weapon or reach into his coat. When he threw the first of my little keepsakes, in that ephemeral moment, I saw something in those exotic golden eyes. His eyes, filled with fire and steel, were not the eyes of a corporate saboteur. They were the eyes of a killer, not some random psychotic either, but a consummate and professional one. This man was an assassin, a young but obviously skilled one at that.

And then it was gone.

I remember feeling vaguely bereft afterward. I wanted to see it again. I wanted to see those eyes of his. I wanted to see his anger again. See him bleed. See him kill. I wouldn't be satisfied with his death until I saw the deepest pits of his being. Then and only then, would I kill him and watch those eyes die out.

But that would wait until he satiated my curiosity. The knife I pulled from the wall was sharp, almost unnaturally so, to the point that even being buried into a wall didn't blunt it's edge, though the first serration had chipped off. No, that wasn't right. This shit piece of metal wasn't almost unnaturally sharp; even if he had spent the past few hours honing its edge there would be unevenness to the edge around the serrations. It was impossible to sharpen an edge to that degree by hand. Hell, even the swords used by the first Disciplinary Squad were sharpened by high pressure water to give them their peerless blades. He must have done something to it and I was determined to find out what.

Emiya Shirou…

Or rather, I liked to call him Ichirou Sahashi. It was the fastest route to seeing his little trick, or whatever he did to turn random and usually harmless things into implements of murder. Granted, those implements of murder were the used on me, but that was a technicality. Besides, the last time he actually tried to hit me was the last day he stayed in that hotel. He had come damn close too. Closer than anyone has since the number 01 gave up her spurs and settled down.

Since then it had sort of become our thing: I nettled him into giving me free things and he made half-assed attempts on my life. It was just us having some (mostly) harmless fun. Like we were flirting.

I, Karasuba the Black Sekirei, was flirting with a human.

And I was enjoying it too. I mean, what was there not to like? I got to annoy that damn annoying Sahashi woman. Emiya-kun's cooking was amazing, much better than the crap around MBI, and it was free to boot. Not that everything at MBI wasn't free for me (because it was), but that Emiya-kun could top the chefs the board flew in was impressive. Our banter was alternately mindless and witty, but was always fun. It reminded me in no small way of my days back in the first Disciplinary Squad, before the Invasion of Kamikura Island.

I wasn't reacting. Not really. The potential was there, but I knew how to avoid that. I thought that as long as I kept a certain distance I'd be fine. The Sahashi apartment was a little sanctuary that way, a place that reminded me of a better time. It would be the last place I destroyed, if I could manage that, when I burnt this pathetic little world to ash.

And then there was last night. I don't really remember much of it. I thought that my sanctuary had been violated. Violated and taken by the last person I was trying to support. I went there to kill her, I realize. I didn't care if it was premature, that she wasn't strong enough to give me the feeling I craved. She wasn't strong enough to give me what Yume denied me. And then I was going to kill him. Kill him for his betrayal.

I would not be denied again.

What I do remember is warmth. The heat was suffusing my body. My heart was hammering a staccato in my chest. I remember tracing the outline of his scar, how the skin went from rough to smooth around the edges of that red sunburst. The feeling of his breath on my face as my own came in rapid gasps and pants. His golden-brown eyes locked onto mine, furrows in concern and confusion. Just a few more inches and I would have winged myself on him.

There was only one thing left to do now.

"I have a nomination." I spoke up, instantly drawing the eyes of the board. It wasn't often I spoke up in these tedious meetings. "I've begun reacting and I'd like to bring him in."

"Ohoho!" The ever excitable Minaka laughed and clapped. "So someone has finally managed to capture the heart of our Black Sekirei? I love it!"

"And just who is this man?" Takami narrows her eyes at my announcement. I would have been disappointed if she didn't already guess my intention.

My smile was positively vicious as I stared back at her.

"Ichirou Sahashi."

The white haired doctor opened her mouth to protest when another voice cut her off.

"Ichirou-kun?" The director looked contemplative, abandoning his usual goofy demeanor to study me intently. It was easy to forget that behind his childish and seemingly random actions that Minaka was the genius who resurrected the Sekirei as a race. "I had hopes for him entering the plan as a contestant. Our short conversation gave me the impression that he'd bring interesting things to our game. But giving him the Disciplinary Squad? Hmm…"

His thoughtful expression was literally wiped off his face by a flying clipboard. "You can't actually be considering this Minaka!"

"Why not?" He pouted, recovering from the blow. "He is a fine candidate. He is already in our systems. We know he won't be leaving and he has ties to the Plan already. I want to see what he'll do."

"No!" Takami stood and slammed her hands on the table. "Absolutely not! It's bad enough that Minato got involved in this ridiculous game of yours. I will not allow you to take another one of my children. Shirou stays out of it."

"But Takami-!" Minaka whined.

"Shirou. Stays. Out." Takami ground out, interrupting him.

Minaka's moment of silent contemplation was telling. Dammit, of all the times for him to yield to the overbearing geneticist it had to be now. Granted, without Takami MBI would lose its second of the three great minds behind the Sekirei Plan, and Minaka was smart enough not to push her too far for risk of her leaving. After a moment Minaka nodded. "Fine, fine. We'll proceed with Natsuo as the official MBI contestant. Karasuba, you and Haihane will have to wing him. If you're reacting it might be best to do so sooner rather than later. Now for the next order of business: how are numbers 107 and 108 coming along?"

Takami took a moment to recompose herself and sit back down. "Progress on the last two numbers is going well. Number 107, Shiina, is ready to be released today, but I'd like to keep him here until Number 108, Kusano, is also ready. As stated in your briefs Kusano has the ability to control and affect the growth of organic matter and Shiina is the counterpart to that ability. Until her adjustments are finished, which are projected to end at the end of the week, I'd like to keep Shiina within the labs to help control Kusano's abilities as they are still slightly unstable. I'd also like permission to take Kusano on a field trip to the biological gardens downtown. As with the other projects under my team and as listed in your briefs, exposure to the city before the initial release of the Sekirei improves the chances of winging and lowers unintended or accidental injuries to people by 17%. With Kusano this is of particular importance, especially as we are conditioning her to only use her powers on plant matter…"

I tuned back out of the meeting now that it shifted back to less interesting topics. Besides, I had other things to think about right now. Natsuo wasn't a bad choice at all, and if it came to it he was a choice I could be satisfied with. But just because I was denied officially forcing Shirou to me, didn't mean I was barred from doing it. It would just be a more difficult venture, requiring subtly and guile, but first I had to make sure that it was the right choice.

My thoughts turned back to this morning.

As a species, all Sekirei were slightly psychic. It was how we found our mates: subconsciously reading the people around us until we found someone compatible. The winging and activation of our crests were also psychic phenomena, binding us more closely to our chosen by opening that subconscious channel and letting our minds 'bleed through' to one another. I had never been particularly strong in this aspect of my race, but that didn't mean I wasn't still capable of it. The Reaction Dream I had this morning, joining my subconscious to Shirou's sleeping mind and merging our dreams was proof of this.

I vaguely recall Takami and he had mentioned a fire, one that consumed the city and had reportedly taken Shirou's life as a child. Hearing it spoken of like that didn't do justice to what really happened. Not in the slightest. At the moment of entering his dream I saw it. I heard the screaming pleas of people consumed by flames. I saw houses collapse on their occupants, turning prized homes into hellish death traps. I saw people combusting as they rushing into the flames to try and save the already dead. Even in all the one woman slaughters I'd taken part in as a member of the Disciplinary Squad I had never seen something so beautiful. And there, standing amongst the carnage was Shirou: his skin was blackened and charred; parts of him were still burning while others glistened from the metallic shrapnel that littered his ruined body.

And he survived it. He survived that beautiful hell and much more, if his scars were any indication. My Shirou was a survivor? Then it was time to test the strength of his will before I determined if he was worthy enough of my attention. I needed to see him in action. Just once would be enough.

I needed to see those eyes of his again.

And for that, I needed a plan.

*Scene Change*

"Oni-chan!" Yukari exclaimed as she barreled through the now open door and leapt at me. Catching her, I had to step back, retreating further into the apartment and spinning lightly to bleed off her momentum.

"Hello, little Yukari-chan," I said as I put her back on the ground. "I see you're excitable as ever."

She giggled, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet. She was dressed in her school uniform. Her military cut double buttoned jacket over a white button-up blouse. A red checkered tie was bound at her collar and dipped into her jacket. Her tastefully knee length brown skirt matched the jacket. Her only concession to her unique flare for style was the stockings pulled up to her skirt. I knew she went to school back in the country, where Takami said they had a family house, but I didn't recognize the uniform or the crest. "Of course! This is the first time in forever since we got to have a family dinner again!"

"Uh-huh," I muttered skeptically. "I'm sure your mood has nothing to do with your celebratory cake."

"Not a bit!" She lied with a wide smile. She really was the unholy combination of Taiga and Illya. "Why, what does delicious, rich, chocolaty cake-y goodness have to compete with against family? Oh, yeah! Oni-chan, did you know Minato-kun has an awesome set of boobs?!"

The sheer wrongness of that statement as juxtaposition took me aback. I had just seen Minato last night and he definitely did not have breasts… Was this some part of the ritual he performed with Musubi that I wasn't aware of? Yukari rolled her eyes at my dumbfounded stare, disappearing out the door with a quick 'Hold on, I'll go get them.'

From the hall emanated a number of distinctly feminine squeaks, among other snippets of broken conversation and Yukari's giggling.

"Fufufufu-"

"A-ah! But not even Minato has-!"

"-Fufufufufufu-"

"Yukari! What are you – Those don't go there!"

"-Fufufufufufu-"

Musubi was pushed through the door, squirming in place as Yukari groped her massive bust enthusiastically. "See, see?" She chirped, heedless of Musubi's protest. "They're huge!"

Instead of the pseudo-shrine girl outfit I'd seen her in last; Musubi was dressed in a school uniform as well. Although, where Yukari's was probably her actual school uniform and thus tastefully functional, the one Musubi was wearing was more than a little fetishistic. The blue pencil skirt was almost skintight and rode high on her legs, barely coming down enough to cover her rear. The matching blue boat was cut into a plunging V neck and tailored to emphasize the girl's already massive bust, over which Yukari's fingers squirmed like maggots. Or worse, as she kneaded and squeezed they looked more like tiny tentacles.

I was not sure if I should be surprised or not at Yukari's behavior. She was a bit of a… well, no. She was a huge lecher. With her fascination with breasts I would start to question her orientation but she was just as hands-y when it came to her pretty-boys. Then again, those boys did look like girls to begin with, the only difference being anatomically…

I pinched the bridge of my nose to cut of the impending headache finishing that thought would inflict.

"Yukari, let go of Musubi/Stop molesting Musubi, Yukari" I sighed and Minato cried simultaneously. It had been so long since Fuyuki and with just Takami and me (and I guess the crow) that I had forgotten how lively family could be. At least with Ilya, she had the decency to only grope other family members. Wait, no, that was still wrong. Why did I want to be around family again?

The hint of mint and clean snow alerted me to Akitsu's presence just before I felt the slight decrease in temperature behind me.

"Shirou-sama?" Her voice was tighter than her normal monotone. I wouldn't have been able to tell if it weren't for last night's altercation with Karasuba. Akitsu was concerned and gearing up for battle by the telltale dip in temperature. She must have realized that Musubi was another Sekirei.

"It is okay, Akitsu." I reassured her. I think. I just didn't have a good grasp on the stoic woman yet, something that still weighed heavily on my mind, but her scent receded a little so I must have been effective.

"Ohoho? Who is this?" She perked up, eyes sparkling. She suddenly tried to rush past me I barely caught her by the back of her collar before she could latch onto Akitsu's breasts like some kind of obscene barnacle.

"Yukari, no molesting Akitsu either." I warned her. "Now if you settle down I'll introduce you."

"But Shirou," She muttered wide eyed, locked onto the impressive amount of cleavage Akitsu was showing. While not physically as… developed as Musubi, her scavenged clothes were visibly tight despite leaving the top few buttons unfastened. "They're so… big."

The childish wonder and amazement in her voice honestly scared me a little.

"Yukari…" I ground out.

"Fine, Fine." She flippantly waved me off and slumped forward, abandoning her quest to latch onto Akitsu's bosom… for the time being. I was about to let her go when she took a sudden deep breath and straightened, pointing a finger at the ice woman and asked, "You there, what are your intentions towards my brother?"

I released her, clutching the bridge of my nose as I let out a deep sigh. I take back everything good I ever said about her. She was much, MUCH, worse than the unholy love child of Illya and Taiga. Great, now I was going to have that image stuck in my head all day. What was with this girl that she so abruptly and randomly flipped though emotions?

I was just about to answer her when Akitsu beat me to it.

"He is my Ashikabi-sama." She delivered in a perfectly even tone. No inflection. Damn her.

The statement had Yukari gaping like a fish out of water, her mouth moved but nothing more than broken half words came forth.

"She's a Sekirei?" Minato question was more of a statement as I caught him noticing the marking on Akitsu's forehead. I was torn. On the one hand I was glad he was observant. When I first entered the Holy Grail War my lack of such skill almost led to my numerous almost deaths. On the other hand, I was annoyed at his lack of discretion.

"She is?" Musubi chirped and bounced about in front of the other Sekirei in excitement. "I'm number 88, Musubi! Are we going to fight now?"

Akitsu's scent sharpened again as she examined the brown haired shrine girl and slowly turned her gaze on me. "No fighting. Now all of you sit down so I can get through introductions."

As we all took our seats I took a moment to organize my thoughts, most of them revolving around the ice user I took in last night.

I was going to use her.

That was it, plain and simple. After I had returned with breakfast to find Karasuba missing, Akitsu had asked me to be her Ashikabi. She had said that even though she could never bear my mark, were she capable then I would be hers. She said that she would serve me so long as I'd accept her, broken as she was.

So I accepted. She was broken and perfect. A Sekirei not bound to the limits of the Plan. One who wasn't marked down to an Ashikabi and never could be. MBI obviously had a way of tracking Sekirei to their Ashikabi; this was evident by how quickly they called Minato after he made his contract with Musubi. But Akitsu, staring at me with blatant hope and fear, was an anomaly. An anonymous weapon. The 8th Servant.

She would be our ace in the hole, a second unregistered combatant to tip the scales in Minato's favor once we went on the hunt. Since she was outside the plan I wouldn't have to kill her once Minato was the final Ashikabi. Or at least I hoped I wouldn't. Hers would be just another death that haunted me for obvious reasons.

I shook my head to banish the ghost of a face, smiling lips stained with blood and words of gratitude and exaltation, which flashed through my mind. I could go over the details with Minato later, I already had an excuse to talk to him alone, but right now Yukari was here and the Sekirei Plan had to be kept secret.

"First off, I'd like to introduce you all to Akitsu." I gestured to her at my right. "She's a friend of mine from England. She's here on vacation so I offered to take her in while she's in Japan."

This story worked before when I tried to pass Saber off as one of Kiritsugu's acquaintances. With what little my new family knew of my misadventures abroad, it was a much more believable story then back then.

"Akitsu, this is my little sister, Yukari, my little brother, Minato, and his girlfriend Musubi." Each of the three gave little waves and Minato blushed at the word girlfriend, causing Yukari to snicker. "I'm actually glad you're here early, Yukari. I have a favor to ask of you."

"Huh, me?" She pointed at herself before preening slightly. "I mean, sure! Why wouldn't you ask your beautiful and responsible little sister for a favor?" She giggled and Minato groaned at her little dig.

"Well, Akitsu's luggage was lost on the flight over here. As you can see, we tried to scrounge what clothes we could fit between Takami and I." Akitsu did look slightly ridiculous in one of my borrowed shirts that stretched tight across her chest even with the top few buttons undone. It was the baggiest we could find, but even that didn't seem to be enough as it gave visible proof of our lack of success at finding a fitting bra for her. For bottoms she was wearing one of Takami's pants. They fits properly in most of the right places, even if she had to wear them low on her hips in order to keep them on and they only came down to her calves. "I was wondering if you'd be willing to take her shopping for some replacement clothes while Minato and I go pick up the food for tonight. Takami just called and said she wouldn't be able to shop after work after all."

I pulled out one of my cards and slid it across the table to her. "That should have enough on it to cover the essentials and then some, but don't break the bank. That's debit, not credit. In return I'll even let you get something for yourself." I offered to sweeten the deal.

"Wait, you mean I get to go clothe shopping with these lovely ladies while you do all the boring errands and I get to do it on your account?" Yukari smiled like Christmas came early, rushing around the table to give me yet another flying hug. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

"Yeah, well," I scratched the back of my head as I half embraced her. "Think of it as a congratulation slash graduation gift. Thanks for doing this for me, Yukari. Now let's get a move on so we're ready for when Takami get home, okay?"

*Scene Change, Homura's POV*

"-a!"

I heaved a small sigh and turned over, settling further into my sheets. Sometime during the night I must have thrown them half off.

"-mura!"

"Ugh." I groaned and opened my eyes. I groped blindly for the bedside table where my phone was with one hand and rubbing my eyes with the other. Dammit, what time was it? 11:30?

"Homura!"

That was Matsu's voice. Groaning once more I rolled myself out of bed and fumbled for some pants. What the hell was she going on about? She knew better than to wake me so early in the morning. I'd only gotten back home from work around six.

"Homura, dammit, get up! We need to –" There was a small thump as her last shrill shriek was abruptly cut off. She must have over caffeinated on energy drinks again if she was excited enough to both wake me at this hour and be tripping over herself.

Yawning, I dragged myself to the door. I might was well go see what that lascivious witch wanted if she persisted in being so annoying. I opened the door to find… no one? The hallway was empty as well. Don't tell me that she was making that racket from her room? No, actually, the more I think about it that is exactly what she'd do.

I paused to scratch my chest before wearily began to trudge towards her room located at the top of the stairs. Well, her hidden compartment at the top of the stairs. As I passed through the living room I noticed one of the screen doors to the yard was open. "Did Uzume leave without closing the door again?" I muttered, ignoring it for now. At least she didn't leave the front open again, like she was wont to do, so I could close it after I dealt with the red-haired pervert upstairs.

When I got there her door was already open, probably so she could yell at me more clearly without leaving her room. Stepping through, I brushed the curtain aside. "What do you want, Matsu? I swear if it isn't good this time I'll-"

Full wakefulness struck me with the force of Tsukiumi's Water Celebration. Standing amidst the middle of a section of scattered electronics was Karasuba. The Black Sekirei, the Dog of MBI, was standing in the middle of Matsu's hidden chamber holding said occupant by the throat. Matsu's customary thick framed glasses were missing, probably struck from her face if the growing discoloration on her cheek was any indication. The reflection of the many monitors leant an eerie green tinge to the scene, highlighting the white of Matsu's calf-length shift and all but drowning out Karasuba entirely.

In the half second it took me to process all this I was already in motion, my hands alight. Matsu wouldn't be happy, but if the destruction of her room was the price she paid to be saved from the Black she'd get over it.

Too slow!

Even as I tried to unleash my power Matsu's body careened into me. We fell in a tangled amalgam of limbs, struggling to get my arms free to get the shot.

"Ah!" I felt a sharp pain in my side, but it was Matsu who cried out as Karasuba viciously stomped down on the two of us. The distinctive whisper of unsheathed steel quelled our struggles as Karasuba rested the tip just under Matsu's ribcage. The thrust wouldn't kill her, but due to our positioning it would pierce me in a vital place and after that Matsu was as good as dead. I cursed. Even if I wasn't sure that Karasuba could kill us and dodge should I try and attack, my lack of control over my powers would definitely hurt Matsu.

"Oh? And what kind of welcome is this to give old friends, Matsu? Why, with all of your running and screaming one might think you don't like me." Karasuba droned sardonically, an agonizingly triumphant smirk on her face. She knew I couldn't do anything with Matsu on top of me like this.

"H-how?" Matsu gasped as Karasuba's heel dug in.

"How did I find you? Matsu, MBI has known where you've been this entire time. You were just never worth the effort of collecting so we let you remain here." Karasuba's eyes crinkled as she smiled. She must have read something in Matsu's purpling face as she continued, "What, you thought you'd gotten away? That you were safe? You know how we operate 02."

"M-M-Mi-"

"Miya? Don't worry about her; she's out shopping right now. I figured that while she's out we could have a little talk. You know, like the good old days."

"What do you want?" I interrupted. Since she wasn't killing us then she probably wasn't here on official MBI business. That meant she wanted something. She wanted it enough to watch Izumo until Miya left and violate MBI's standing methodology of leaving Miya, and thus Izumo, alone to get it.

"Hmm? Right to the point then. You see, I came across a little problem this morning. Imagine my surprise when I went into the records room on a routine background check, only to find that I lacked the proper clearance? I know they're in the system, I even watched them be processed, but I can't access the information. Since I need to do a little digging anyway and I don't have nearly the time or inclination to be rooting through electronic records, I thought to myself 'who has that kind of time and skill on their hands just lying about?'"

So that is what she was after. This seemed a little extreme for just information gathering, but we could use this. All we need to do is keep her busy until Miya gets back home and hope we survive the aftermath.

"That's it?" I asked. "We do this for you and then what?"

She smiles. How unpleasant.

"Well, I was thinking of letting you go and walking away. You know, I let you live and we forget this ever happened." She pauses and adjusts the angle of her blade. "But I could always just kill you, if that's what you're asking?"

"No, letting us live is good." I reply, "Matsu?"

"Alright, I'll do it." Matsu says begrudgingly. "But I'll need physical access to my computers; it'll speed things up."

Nodding, Karasuba sheaths her sword and calmly steps off us. "Good. I'll give you my account access and you'll hack into the MBI database for me. Just so you know, try anything and you'll die before you can blink."

Unfortunately, she was probably right. As much as I hated it, she was too fast for me. The gap in strength, even amongst single digits, was staggering. Any conflict here would only end in her favor, unless I had the drop on her.

"Who is it you're looking for anyway?" I ask as we moved back into Matsu's hideaway, not that it served its purpose apparently. That MBI left us alone because we weren't worth dealing with… the thought rankled. Matsu began righting some of the equipment that fell over when Karasuba knocked her around. "This seems like a lot of effort to find out about just one person."

"I already know about them, I just can't access their records." She scoffed. "He's hiding something and MBI is helping him. I just don't know why. So I want you tell me everything you can find about Shirou Emiya."

My sharp gasp was thankfully covered by the sound of Matsu's frantic typing. Shirou Emiya. He was one of the two people I had asked Matsu to look into yesterday. The other was Minato Sahashi, brothers if I remembered correctly despite their different names. I scratched my chest. What was she doing looking into Shirou's history? Why him? Why them?

"Shirou Emiya. Age: 25 years. Height: 1.88 meters." Matsu's rambling off of his statistics broke me from my thoughts. "First appearance is 19 years ago in the aftermath of the Fuyuki City fire. Status: orphaned in the conflagration. Is then adopted by Kiritsugu Emiya; details to follow. Following Kiritsugu's death five years later, cause unknown, Shirou's life is low key. Several awards in archery competitions his first year of high school before abruptly leaving that same year. Hospital records confirm a job site injury with correlating date. Bone fracture, no complications. Employment records show several local jobs following the death of his adopted father, all part time after school."

"There are several irregularities in his sophomore year, however. Gas leaks rendering entire buildings full of people unconscious, reports of missing people, and odd event at the High School that resulted in the injury of most of the student body; maiming many and killing a few. In a week long period many such events were logged and then abruptly dismissed by local authorities. Current conjecture: Fuyuki may be the base of a conspiracy. More information to follow."

"In his sophomore year he takes in one Illyasviel von Eisenburn as an adopted sister. Her death certificate is dated one year later. Further information on her is unavailable. After this period Shirou leaves the country, destination: England. From here his movements are erratic. Most of the time he seems to be in England, but the exact whereabouts is unknown. There is no record of him leasing an apartment or home, no record of enlisting with local banks and his account in japan was liquidated. No known contacts of his in the area."

"However, there are numerous airline tickets that pop up in his name. Most are round trip flights all leading back to England and those that aren't are usually linked to a flight to a secondary or tertiary location. In all events, records indicate he returns to somewhere in England via several airports across the country."

Matsu snaps out of her power induced trance and stretches from her cross legged position in front of the monitors. "This brings me to Shirou Emiya conjecture 01: that he is a professional mercenary."

"A mercenary?" I cough. "Isn't that a bit of a rash conclusion?"

"No." Karasuba answers for me. Her expression is strangely serious. "That makes sense, but how did you come to that conclusion?"

"I have to say I was puzzled for a bit. He is registered as owning a business, although no storefront: a private contracting company. He has a listed forwarding address, but nothing more. Mostly it seems to be electrical and mechanical maintenance work with the odd custom job thrown in. The locations he travels to are all listed as business expenses with receipts for the jobs. Overall everything looks legit."

"If it's legit then how did you come up with something as crazy as him being a mercenary?" I asked incredulously. I was beginning to suspect that all this time in hiding and looking up her conspiracy theory websites has finally gone to Matsu's brain. A normal looking handyman is really some globetrotting assassin? I might be a pyro kinetic alien, but even I found that to be farfetched.

"I simply looked at where he was going. The jobs appear to be ordinary, but look at the timeframes cross listed with local events. Brazil: duration of stay 5 days during the most violent part of a civil war. Germany: duration 3 days in which several apartment complexes catch fire. Taiwan: several reported massacres of civilians by drug cartels. The list goes on. Granted, most of this is circumstantial evidence at best."

Matsu smirks triumphantly; adjusting her glasses to reflect the light of her monitors and making the lens appear opaque. "That is, until you look at his adopted father, Kiritsugu Emiya." A few quick taps on the keyboard and two maps light up on different screens. One has a picture of Shirou and shows his flights, duration of stay and the events she must have found suspiciously timed. The other map had a picture of what must have been Kiritsugu showing… an identical picture?

"What am I looking at here?" I mutter. Even Karasuba leaned forward for a better view.

"This was a lot harder to piece together, Kiritsugu Emiya's movements are buried through multiple bureaus in the international community and I'm still not done compiling the list of everything there is. However, what can be gleaned from his movements is that he definitely was a mercenary. He started young and has an odd history of jobs though. He would go to places where the fighting was fiercest and the killing the most brutal. All over the world, he would visit these battlegrounds and as soon as the fighting was done, he'd move to the next one. It's unconfirmed, but he might have also worked as an assassin. Compare his movements to his son's and..."

Holy shit. I think I saw what she was getting at now. The imposed image of the two maps lined up, not perfectly of course, that would be ridiculous. But there was a trend in the data; the mode of transport, location and duration of stay for all of Shirou's jobs were strikingly similar to those of his fathers. In fact, they were too similar to be discounted as mere coincidence.

"Hmm…" Karasuba hummed, "That is interesting. So you think he followed his father's footsteps and became a merc?"

"I think there's enough evidence for that being the most likely scenario but…"

"But?" Karasuba prompted.

"Well, there are several anomalies that I'm currently unable to link together. The first is the appearance and death of Illyasviel von Einseburn. Up until her documentation as Shirou's sister she doesn't exist. The only information I can find on her is her adoption papers and her death certificate. At first I thought that maybe she was another survivor of the Fuyuki City fire; Shirou's medical records indicate that he suffered from amnesia, and thus this documentation before that time is lost. If Kiritsugu adopted one survivor, it sets the precedence that he would adopt another."

"You said she was adopted after Kiritsugu died though."

"Right." Matsu nodded. "Her assumed age doesn't line up with the incident Shirou was caught in. However, in investigating the paperwork there is a large number of inconsistencies in every facet of Fuyuki's records. Police reports, civil engineers, medical reports, coroners. As I mentioned before, there are footprints in these reports of a cover up. Families that go missing and are never reported. People that are transferred but never arrive at their destination. Industrial accidents that are never investigated. So far I've linked the dates to two major clusters, separated by ten years."

"The dates of the fire and the events during Shirou's sophomore year." Karasuba noted.

What? I looked back at the listed dates. She was right. The first set of dates correlated with Kiritsugu's return to japan after several years, Shirou's adoption, and the conflagration that consumed the city. The second set clustered around strange accidents and disappearances and the appearance of Illyasviel. In both cases, the dates only covered a week long span of time.

"That's exactly correct. This brings me back to my theory that Fuyuki was or is the site of a major conspiracy. Who the players are or what their intentions were… of that I have no clue. Normally, I would assume MBI, but during the first incident MBI had yet to come into existence. Other than that all I have is conjecture. If there were even halfway decent electronic records this might be a different story, but I'm afraid this is my limit with what I'm given."

"Hn." Karasuba grunted. "That's good work. I expected nothing less of you 02. Although, now that I think about it there is just one think I can't help but comment on."

"Huh?" Matsu turned, both of us giving the Black Sekirei our attention. "What's that?"

The soft clink of her thumbing her sword out of its sheath echoed ominously in the small enclosure.

"I have yet to give you my account access."

Once more her blade struck out faster than I could hope to dodge. Looks like my attempt at us to stall for time failed.

Dammit.

I closed my eyes. As much as I hated it, there wasn't much I could do but wait for the blow to fall. My only consolation was that at least I wouldn't be a part of that despicable man's game anymore. Or worry about my own powers killing me. I'm sorry Takami, looks like I won't be able to fulfill the promise I made you.

But instead of cutting me down like I had thought, her sword rested lightly on my neck.

"You're reacting." She didn't ask. She stated. When I opened my eyes and looked at her she gestured to my hand. It was steaming. No wonder I felt it was hot in here. "I almost killed you when Matsu started reading, but you didn't notice. That means it must be subconscious, which means you're reacting."

"Yes." There was no point in lying to her now, not if she noticed the evidence of my reaction.

"To Shirou?"

"I'm not sure." At her look I expounded, "I met Shirou Emiya and Minato Sahashi yesterday on my way to work. They were standing next to each other and I didn't stick around to confirm my suspicions. Since then my power has been even more uncontrollable than usual. I had asked Matsu to look into them after the incident."

"I see." She said, once more sheathing her sword. "Since you worked so hard I've decided not to kill you after all. I'll come back if I need more, so don't try running. If you do I'll have to catch you. I'll see myself out now."

No sooner do I hear the back door slide closed do I rush to the bathroom to douse my smoldering hands. Hissing in discomfort I called out to Matsu, "Matsu, get the phone and call Miya, we have to tell her about this."

*Scene Change, unknown POV*

The girl was happy.

The lady had taken her outside to see the sun and the trees and the people.

She smiled as the lady talked. Her words were long, but her expression was kind and it was fun.

They walked underneath the trees that sighed at the gentle caress of the sun.

They walked past the flowers whose colors exploded into every vibrant shade of the rainbow.

The girl joined her laughter to that of the sun and the sky and the trees and the lady.

The girl saw a boy and was curious. She went to greet him, but the lady pulled her back.

The lady was no longer smiling.

The boy's shadow appeared, tall and apathetic. And again, short and mean.

The boy's shadows scared the girl, but she didn't cry for the lady was with her.

The boy invited her to play. He looked so nice but…

But the girl was scared of his shadows and said no.

The lady told the boy to leave and take his shadows with him.

The small shadow grinned, full of malice and blood, and drew its blade.

The girl cried. The lady yelled. The blade descended.

*Scene Change*

I wished Takami had called to let me know that I had to pick these things up before I got home from shopping earlier. It seemed like all I did these past few days was cook and shop and cook again. I snorted at the thought. It was good to enjoy the normal days, soon the Sekirei Plan would pick up and these peaceful days would be replaced with fighting and blood. Speaking of…

"Minato, I spoke with Karasuba last night." I broached the subject. It seemed like so long ago that I had left his place last night to get this information. "She told me something interesting about the contract between Ashikabi and Sekirei. According to her, if the Ashikabi dies then his Sekirei does too."

I looked over at him to meet his puzzled expression. There was a mixture of worry in his features, but no fear. He was either very brave, or didn't understand my meaning or worse, was like me. I cleared my throat and tried again. "Minato, from now on I don't want you going anywhere without either myself or Musubi with you."

"W-what?" He sputtered. My warning must have clicked. "You don't really think I'd be attacked, do you? Musubi said it was against the rules to attack an Ashikabi!"

I had to shake my head. Even in the Grail War I had accepted that I'd be a target. Then again, I had also preferred if it were me doing the fighting instead of my powerful and elegant slip of a girl Saber. It just didn't seem right to have a girl fighting in my stead (or anyone for that matter). Thankfully Minato didn't have that problem… he seemed worried about Musubi, but more than willing to let the excitable young girl have her fight. Or so I hoped.

"And Musubi, as you've no doubt noticed, is terribly optimistic and naïve. This isn't just a tournament; it's a fight to the death between Sekirei. Don't think for a second that they won't target the weaker Ashikabi to get rid of a strong opponent. As far as it goes, from their perspective, you're a much weaker, easier target than Musubi."

"That's not true. People won't just kill one another for a game!" Minato argued, his voice rising. "I don't know why you seem to think they will, but people are good! If attacking an Ashikabi is against the rules then they won't be attacked. Nor will anyone need to die; Sekirei battles are finished by their activation crest being touched, right? Then there isn't any need for bloodshed."

His naivety hurt. In more ways than one. For a brief moment I saw a figure in red and white overlaying him. I'll make sure nobody has to die. I grit down on my molars, biting back the sudden and irrational surge of anger and frustration.

I once said that people can only look away when faced with their own mistakes. Kiritsugu was right. But you can't save everyone. In order to save someone, in order to protect someone, you have chosen not to save someone else. A way to save everyone… is just a childish dream. There was no future where everyone could be saved. All you can do is try to save all the ones you can. And no matter what, Minato would be a person I saved. Even if he hated me for it too.

"Minato…" I blew out a breath through my teeth. I squared my feet and crossed my arms, one hand folded in the crook on my arm and the other hand rose to my chin. Shirou pose #3. "How much of a chance do you think I'd have in a fight against Musubi?" It was a trick question in a way. Even on my worst day, so long as I have a few units of prana the girl was as good as dead. But Minato didn't know that. As far as he knew, I was a normal person, which was the point of the question.

"What? Why would you fight Musubi?"

Dammit, I think I lost him. I removed my hand from my chin and held it slightly outward, palm up with my pink and ring fingers curled and the other fingers extended, almost as if I was holding something next to my face. Shirou pose #4.

"Hypothetically, Minato, say you and I were fighting. What do you think my chances are of getting past Musubi to get to you? Pretty low, I bet. After all, Musubi is faster and stronger than us humans, right?" After all, Servant class magical beings tended to be far beyond human capabilities. "But say Musubi wasn't there. Say Akitsu distracted her, or she wasn't around. Do you think you could beat me? Or escape, you could try and run."

I didn't wait for him to reply before I continued on. Unfolding my arms and placing them on my hips I used my superior height to look down on him (the ever popular Shirou Pose #7).

"There are people out there without your scruples, Minato. It is likely that one will be your opponent in this city. Without Musubi's protection, without your Sekirei, you are vulnerable.Why participate in the battle if you can end it before it begins? Minato, if you have to fight someone like that, or like me in this war then I can guarantee you they will not fight you with Sekirei. They'll go right for you instead. And if they're any good at it, without Musubi or me, you won't even see them coming."

"And this isn't a war! Not everyone is like you, Shirou!" He straightened his back and stared back at ne. Our raised voices were beginning to attract the attention of other shoppers, but I couldn't seem to care. If this was anything like how I acted during the war no wonder Saber was so frustrated at me and my suicidal behavior. "They aren't soldiers and this isn't a war! You heard what Musubi said, this is a game! A contest!"

Of all the stupid, stubborn arguments to be having, this was one I didn't think I'd be having with anyone but myself. Did the lack of a sense of self-preservation run in the Sahashi family or something? Thankfully, and I can't believe I would have ever had reason to be thankful to that bloody woman, I caught the scent of blood and honey approaching from down the aisle. I hadn't seen her since her abrupt disappearance earlier that morning, but I was willing to let that slide if she'd back me up here.

"Karasuba," I turned to ask her as the smell of blood got closer, "Tell him what you told me last night…"

I trailed off. That was not Karasuba.

Instead of the tall, gray haired witch I was expecting stood a surprised purple haired woman. She was much shorter than Karasuba, being somewhere around five feet, maybe a little taller. Her hair was long, partially held in place by a white ribbon and left to hang down to the middle of her waist and was cut in a modified Hime-style, worn long and straight with her bangs almost reaching her eyes and her side-locks reaching to her jawline, with two strands hanging down over her shoulders. Surprisingly, she was garbed in the traditional attire of a miko consisting of a purple hakama, a white Haori with a wide, sash-like belt that matched her hakama and wore wooden sandals on her feet.

She looked the very picture of an unassuming house wife.

But she wasn't. This woman was a Sekirei.

She smelt of the same cloying honey smell distinctive of her race, only much more potent, to the point where I almost had the physical sensation to sneeze at the influx of sweetness and tangy metal. I was drowning in old blood and honey and a myriad of other lesser scents I couldn't identify for the overwhelming strength of the former two.

"Ara?"

"Ah…" I took a step back, placing myself between Minato and the strange Sekirei that smelt of blood, rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment. Could we go even a day without running into a race with only a little over a hundred members? "I'm sorry. I mistook you for someone else."

"No apologies necessary." She smiled magnanimously. Her voice was sweet and melodious. "Were you expecting a friend of yours?"

"Yes, actually. She's a selfish and flakey person, so I've been expecting her to show up at some point." I snort. "When you snuck up on us like that I must have just figured it was her." That was a diplomatic way of concealing 'I thought the scent of your magic was similar to that crow and mistook you for her,' without giving away that I could tell this woman wasn't human. Well, that and she might take being compared to Karasuba as an insult… not that I'd blame her.

"She sounds untrustworthy." She scowled in distaste, her nose scrunching in a way that might have been cute on a normal woman.

"I wouldn't say that." I shrug. "She might me a murderous kleptomaniac with mood swings like a pendulum, but she's dependable." Or at least, she's dependable to act in her own best interests. It should bother me that I can say that with about someone I considered an ally with a straight face.

She frowned, perturbed. "And you call such a disreputable sounding person a friend."

"It's…" complicated? What was my relation to Karasuba? Sure, we tried to kill each other on a semi-regular basis, but wasn't that how I met and interacted with everyone I knew? It wasn't like either of us had seriously tried to kill the other lately. Instead, it felt like we put up token attempts as part of our working if dysfunctional relationship; I'd ask her for information and she'd mooch food from me. Were we friends? Allies? Enemies with a common interest? I didn't know for sure. "Complicated."

She nods, dubiously, before straightening and schooling her expression once more into polite friendliness. "Ah, I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself! I'm Miya Asama." Asama? This was the first time I'd heard a Sekirei give out a last name. Could that be the name of her Ashikabi? If so, where were they now? "I own and run the Izumo Inn up town."

"An inn? Shirou, this is perfect!" Minato exclaimed. "The landlord just found out about Musubi this morning so we need to find a new place. Would you happen to have any available rooms? What are your rates? Ah, please forgive my manners! My name is Minato Sahashi."

The inn she owns? For a moment I felt an irrational suspicion. Minato was right; this was a perfect coincidence that the owner of an inn met someone looking for a room after running into them at the grocery store. I forced myself to calm down. It wasn't like she could sense Minato was an Ashikabi and set this up or anything, nor did I smell her following us earlier. I was being paranoid, the mindset of the grail war getting to me.

Of course, knowing that she was a Sekirei meant that I couldn't allow Minato to blithely walk into this beings' home turf. Even in the unlikely event that she didn't have an Ashikabi yet, she was a potential enemy that I didn't want Minato anywhere near. This was another reason to finish our conversation. Minato was too trusting of strangers for this war.

"It's nice to meet you, Asama-san." I lied. "But if you excuse us, we have to be getting home for dinner." I took a step back to lead Minato to the register so we could leave, but the purple haired Sekirei took a step forward in response.

"By all means, I don't want to keep you. Although, to answer your question I think I do have a few unused rooms if you both are interested." She offered and produced a business card. "Here's my card. If you're interested in renting just come on by and we can talk business."

"Thank you, Miya-san." Minato took the card as I guided him to the exit.

"Indeed." I grunted. "That's very thoughtful of you. Would you mind if we talked it in private before we contact you?"

"Not at all. Have a pleasant evening." She waved and stopped following us. "Shirou and Minato Sahashi."

I thing I was beginning to hate that name, but at least she wasn't calling me Ichirou as was Karasuba's habit. It probably wouldn't look good to attack such a helpless and kind looking housewife, even if she wasn't really human. Still… I felt as if I was missing something in this encounter. Something important and dangerous.

"Goodbye Asama-san/ Goodbye Miya-san." Minato and I chorused our goodbyes with varying levels of sincerity.

As we purchased our goods, I thought that maybe a lesson on accepting help from strangers while in a death match with anonymous contenders was in order.

*Scene Change*

Tamaki hadn't gotten home yet by the time we returned, but Yukari and the Sekirei had. She didn't respond either when I called her. She must have got caught in a last minute meeting or something, but that was a less pressing matter than the one at hand.

"Yukari," I pinched my nose. "I thought I asked you to get her clothes, not these…things." I gestured to one of the multitude of bags the girls had returned with. It seemed that clothing departments weren't the only stores they frequented judging from the bags and their contents. At least whatever books they had bought had to be tame, right?

Well, you said her bags were lost right? I thought you'd be happy!" She said, her exuberance unfazed by my complaints. "She did call you master after all. I'm just trying to help my brother with his sex life!"

My thoughts immediately derailed.

"My what?" I sputtered. "Yukari, the words 'helping with my brother with his sex life' are the last words I ever want to hear out of your mouth. Any mouth. That it comes from my own sister just isn't right!" Throne preserve me from over-enthusiastic, misguidedly supportive younger siblings!

"That's not what my books say." She sang out. "And you don't see Minato complaining, see?" She gestured to where Minato was futilely trying to explain to a rather… animated Musubi why bloomers were not appropriate everyday clothes and should be worn as pajamas.

And then explaining what pajamas were.

Sighing, I gave up what was a definitely disturbing and likely losing argument on how little sisters shouldn't be involved in their brother's sex lives and focused on another matter: Akitsu. Or rather, the clothes Yukari got for her.

Akitsu was dressed solely in the outermost layer of a light kimono, if it could be called that. It hung off her shoulders, leaving them bare and had long sleeves that hung past her fingertips and belled out at the cuff. The ensemble was cut to just above her bellybutton, emphasizing her not-inconsiderable bust and, while she showed no physical symptom of the chill in the air, rather brazenly displayed her lack of a bra. Strangely enough, a length of chain fastened the hanging collar sections together and protected her modesty and a second length of chain hung down between her breasts from where it wrapped around her delicate neck. Truly, the purposes of these additions were unfathomable. The strange kimono was tied together at her waist by a plain black obi tied in front in a neat little bow.

When I sent Yukari to get her clothes, this was not what I was expecting. Underwear, shirts, some skirts, maybe some pants or jeans, these were the things I expected. Thin strings, sheer cloth, chains and leather were something new to me here, and I'd like to say I was handling this turn of events well.

"I can complain because it seems you bought these frivolities and neglected the reason for going out in the first place." I gestured to my stoic new partner who stood unmoving though our conversation. "I thought we agreed on replacing her wardrobe with the necessities. If they were there, I would see necessities. I see no necessities."

"Hey, I bought everything for her just like you asked. Check the bags." Yukari snapped, no longer joking. "It's not my fault that that's what she wanted to wear. Talk with her if you're in that sort of relationship."

"What sort of relationship are you implying?"

"She called you master, right? So you two are into that sort of thing."

"And what does that have to do with this? For someone who prided herself on being responsible you've been showing yourself to the opposite of that. Even if what you're assuming is correct, and it isn't, did I ask you to go out and get those things? No. I asked you to get her the essential clothes she needs and those are not essential."

"I don't see what your problem is, I did what you wanted and got what she wanted!" She yelled back at me. The act actually took me aback. What were we doing, squabbling over what I myself just called frivolity? This argument had gotten way out of hand. In fact, it shouldn't have happened in the first place. My growing tension, frustration anger and fear at a second, larger Grail War inside a metropolitan city had gotten to me and I was taking it out at on an undeserving person. How shameful.

"Yukari." I tried to soften my tone. That now we were both angry, frustrated and defensive wasn't helping us solve anything. "Look, I appreciate you trying to help and look after me, but I think you're very much mistaken. Akitsu is my friend. Despite what she calls me, we are not… together, like that. These things, these clothes, are very inappropriate. It isn't your place to do those kinds of things for me, especially without either my asking you or your asking me. Do you understand?"

"Oh…" She paused, looking somewhat contrite. "I'm sorry big brother. I was only trying to help."

I sighed and placed a hand on her head, ruffling her bangs. "I know you were. I'm sorry for snapping at you."

"All forgiven?" She reaches her arms out to me.

"All forgiven." I acknowledge and hug her back. I hadn't noticed how frustrated I had gotten earlier and hadn't meant to bring that into my conversation with Yukari, but I'm glad we sorted it out. It struck me as odd at how much easier it was for me to interact with Yukari than it was for me to deal with Minato. Maybe it was that I'd had sisters before and she was so similar to them, or maybe because I have always been surrounded by women. Or maybe it was because Minato sometimes reminded me of myself. Back when I was filled with the naïve, youthful optimism that came with not yet experiencing the realities of conflict. "I'm going to go call Takami again. Can I count on you to help store this stuff away?"

"I'm on it!" She giggled and gave me a mock salute.

As she trotted off to annoy her other sibling I retreated back to my room. Just about an hour of unpacking and arguing had ensued since we returned home and I still had no word back from Takami. She had said that she had a shorten day today and would be home early, but I couldn't remember when that would be. It was rapidly approaching early evening though, so even if there was a last minute meeting it should be over now.

I dialed her number and waited.

One ring. Two rings. Three rings. I waited.

No answer, would I like to leave a message? No. With a sigh I ended the call. There was no sense leaving multiple messages for the same reason. Only crazy people did that. I was worried though. If something had come up, then Takami would have told me somehow, either by text or by a brief call or message. That she'd left no reason for her delay was extremely out of character.

"You do wish me to change?"

I turn, startled, to find Akitsu standing calmly behind me. I hadn't even realized she followed me; but was that my getting comfortable with her shadowing me or just her unobtrusive manner in general? I shook off the thought and refocused on Akitsu. She was standing, straight-backed and motionless merely a few feet away and slightly to my left; as I was beginning to suspect was her custom. Her carbon colored eyes locked unwaveringly onto my own as she regarded me with her usual strange intensity. She delivered her question without tone or inflection. Neither did her blank face give any insight into her thoughts.

It was hard to read anything off the woman.

Wait… no.

Her back was too rigid; her shoulders pulled further back than when she was relaxed. Her chest was also slightly thrust forward in the same odd position she took up last night… when confronting Karasuba. She was also looking right into my eyes; as opposed to the slightly lowered gaze I'd noticed her taking whenever I looked over at her. Even her lips had a slight, almost unnoticeable downturn.

Was she… I think… I think I might be learning to understand the taciturn woman. Alien. Whatever.

"Akitsu," I started hesitantly, trying to find the words to avoid unintentionally insulting or offending her. "You picked out those clothes, not Yukari, right? Might I ask why?"

"Warm." She said simply.

Warm? Between the fabric used and how it was cut, it looked just about the opposite of warm. In fact, it was a wonder she wasn't freezing. Hold on. Freezing. Didn't I just have this same epiphany this morning?

"You mean the other clothes you tried out are too hot? That those are cool enough to wear around." She nodded. It made sense now that I thought about it. Her ability was ice manipulation and whenever she was particularly upset she influenced the local temperature. I had wondered at how she seemed to disregard the chill when I first found her in the park, barefoot and barely clothed. It also explained why she kept shedding the layers of clothes I gave her because those clothes were meant to keep her warm and covered. If 'room temperature' were warm for her no wonder she would wear as little of them as possible. "Do you like your clothes, Akitsu? The ones you picked out?"

I had the feeling that if I ordered, or maybe even asked her to, she would wear the clothes she felt stifled and uncomfortable in rather than the ones she wanted to because it was me that told her to. That was the reason for her confronting me, if this could even be called a confrontation. I could do it too. After all, I was using her as a weapon already, and odds were I might end up having to kill her at some point. But I wouldn't. She was still a person, or roughly equivalent enough to one that I couldn't, wouldn't, impose my will on her for such a trivial reason. No, she could keep them if she wanted to, but there would be conditions.

"I do." She affirmed, as I thought she would.

"Then they're yours to keep." I said gently, or what I thought was gently anyway. "But there is one condition: underwear is non-negotiable. If you're to go out you have to be properly dressed, and that means a bra and underwear under whatever you decide to wear. Acceptable?"

"Yes, Shirou-sama."

"Alright." I nodded. Glad that this was a much easier discussion that trying to explain to Saber a breastplate and full armor were not acceptable outdoor wear. "Is there anything else you need, Akitsu?"

"No, Shirou-sama."

"Alright, then we had best rescue the others from Yukari. And please, just call me Shirou. No honorifics."

"Yes, Shirou-sama."

*Scene Break*

Takami still hadn't come home or called or answered her phone by the time the sun set.

Nor did she when I started dinner, nor when dinner was finished.

The liveliness and excitement that had filled the small apartment had died down as time went on. Instead, the air was tense with anxiety and the silence was oppressive. The food was cold when we finally served it; the only sound was the clinking of chopsticks on bowls and plates as the meal was dished out. Six places set for five people.

And then dinner was finished and still no word. Still we waited.

Eventually, it we decided it was time to bring out the cake. We lit the candles, watching them melt down to waxy puddles in the firelight, trying to hold onto the moment as long as possible. But then the candles ran out, plunging the room into darkness.

"Hand me your plate, Yukari?" I murmured quietly.

As I reached for the knife I smelt blood in the air.

For an irrational moment I felt tremendous relief. Who'd have thought that I'd feel relief at Karasuba's presence? Ordinarily, I'd be angry if she thought she could brazenly crash and ruin our family dinner. That was the sort of thing that would see me succeed in killing her, even if dinner was ruined in the process. But she worked with Takami, even if it was only to threaten poor vacationers who just wanted to go home. She would know what was taking Takami so long to get home.

Wait.

Something was wrong.

The smell of blood was approaching in the wrong direction. Every time Karasuba invited herself over she always came from the same direction: She came bounding across the Shin Tokyo skyline from MBI straight to our balcony door.

But if she was coming from the opposite direction…

I turned just slightly before the knock at the door came.

"Mom! /Mom's here!" Yukari and Minato exclaimed, bolting towards the door.

"Slow down you two, don't trip over each other!" I shouted following them. It wasn't like I could say 'that's not Takami.' I wasn't sure it wasn't, after all, I could only smell Karasuba's approach. Still, I couldn't help but feel the cold touch of apprehension claw its way up my spine and settle deep in my gut. Why on earth would Takami bring that crow home of her own volition I didn't know.

"Okaeri nasai!" They shouted before pulling back, surprised.

That wasn't Takami.

"Ah! Karasuba-sama!" Musubi exclaimed from behind me.

"Tadaima." Karasuba's lone voice poured into the silence. "Hello Musubi-chan. Good evening Sahashi children. Is Sahashi-kun home? There is a matter we need to discuss."

"I'm right here." I said, laying a hand on my sibling's shoulders in comfort. "You two go back to the table and I'll find out where Takami is, okay?" I ushered them both toward the table and stepped into the hallway with Karasuba. "What do you need?"

"Sahashi-kun." Karasuba nodded. Something was very wrong. No jokes. No threats. No flirting. Even her stance was a very ridged 'at ease.' This wasn't a social call, nor was it her being ordered to kill me. This was business of the other variety. "We need you to come to MBI headquarters. There was an incident today. Takami's been injured."

*End Chapter*

First thing first, I'd like to thank Zaralann and MathiasNightLord01 for their work with helping me actually get this done. You've been a big help and have made me take an even more ambitious plan with this story.

Other note for the people who left me messages and reviews for how mistaken I am about the Type Moon terminology and fluff: thank you. I believe I mentioned this in my first chapter, but if not I'll mention it again here. I really try to get a good understanding of the Type Moon terminology and mechanics, but I'll be the first to admit that I get confused and/or just don't understand some aspects of the Type Moon verse, and your telling me where and how I was wrong was really helpful. Some of it I really just don't get. So please forgive my mistakes and let me know when I make them so I can correct them. I'm not sure if this comes across as sarcastic or not, but I'm being truly sincere. Thank you.

I went back and edited that chapter, so those changes should be in effect as well as an alteration to how he met Akitsu that should be more in line with the tone for this story.

Onto the notes for this chapter. I love Karasuba. I really enjoy writing from her perspective, so I'll probably find more excuses to delve into her perspective in this story. I might as well also address some of the questions or complaints I'm expecting to get off of some of her scenes. First off: yes, Karasuba did return to MBI at the end of last chapter and no, she did not sneak into Takami's apartment last night in order to cuddle up to Shirou. No, she didn't sleep walk either, but there was an early draft where that was the case… but the scene ended up being even more out of character for everyone so I scrapped it.

Other things: Karasuba's musing on the trend for Ashikabi growing more powerful upon multiple successful and successive wingings are what she understands of it from what little she found about it. I know that her thoughts aren't correct according to canon, but that is because this is first person limited narrative. She doesn't know she is wrong, so thus it must be explained incorrectly. This is the same reason why Shirou still thinks of every Sekirei as holding Servant level destructive capabilities: he hasn't fought or seen them fight seriously, so he doesn't know how they really compare to Servants.

I hope you all enjoyed the latest installment of Shattered.

Once again, thank you for reading.

Drake Valkyr