Apologies for making you wait. A combination of a first job and Monster Hunter is surprisingly potent when it comes to taking up time. I'll see if I can pick up speed, but no promises.

"…How's Hakuno?" Shirou asked the moment Ritsuka reached Homurahara's front gate, his posture bearing an awkwardness atypical of someone like him. Then again, when the people you've spent however long hiding secrets from suddenly learnt of them, how else are you meant to react?

"She'll be fine, given time." Replied Ritsuka, continuing to walk ahead just as casually as he did before. So relaxed was the response, it took a second for Shirou's brain to kick into gear and follow him. "And a toastie, probably. She always is. Besides, it doesn't matter if she's fine or not. Gudako'll be on her the second she walks through the doors. Hakuno's in good hands."

"Ah. Right, right. That's good." Shirou muttered, the hands pulling off his shoes slowing to a stop as he struggled to find the right words. "Ritsuka, you know I-"

"Eh, don't waste your breath." Not that it mattered. Ritsuka didn't even give Shirou a second to speak, his statement accentuated by the sound of a shutting locker. "You didn't tell us about a family secret, big deal. It's not like I'm here spouting off every embarrassing story that's ever happened to me. Sure, it'll take some time for things to properly settle in, but It's not like much has changed now. You're still you and I'm still me. We just know a little more about you, is all. I'm sure Hakuno'll tell you the same thing when we see her after school."

"…You accept things way too easily, you know that?" and here Shirou thought he'd have to do a whole spiel about how his magecraft worked and why he had to keep it a secret. There went all those sessions spent practising in front of the mirror. Shame, really. "I figured you'd be on me guns blazing. That's what Kiritsugu made it sound like."

"Fair enough. Can't say I don't have a ton of questions, but there's a time and a place." One without a whole bunch of people around to start. The next time that they all got round together at somebody's house, Shirou was in for a hell of an interrogation. Shirou must've realised that too; it would explain why his face switched from shock to soured for just a second. "Got to admit though, it's a little bit weird seeing all this FGO Duel stuff around after last night. Seems like pretty much everyone's engaged with it one way or another. Oh, by the way, how much did your parents tell you about what happened?"

"Enough." Was all Shirou needed to say. After all, they were still in public. No need to go around talking about stuff that would have them looked at like lunatics in the best-case scenario.

"Cool. Then like I said, it's so weird seeing it everywhere knowing that the company behind them can make their toys do the things Mashu can." Said Ritsuka, glancing around at the surrounding student populace. People sneaking in quick games, chatting about their favourite characters, showing off their toys – it seemed like no matter where you turned, the air was permeated by Chaldea Corp's game.

"Well, it's not like your figure's the standard. If all of them were like that, they'd be found out in a heartbeat." Replied Shirou with a shrug. "Kiritsugu always told me about how important upholding the mystery was, and how important everyone else takes it as well. If Chaldea Corp made any blatant moves, a whole bunch of different organisations would be on them like wolves. There's a reason why they reacted the way they did when they lost hold of the Mashu figure."

"I suppose. Doesn't make seeing it everywhere any less unnerving."

"How about this then? Up for a game?" it took a few seconds for Ritsuka to register the request. Once it did, however, it left the boy turning slowly to Shirou and his cheeky grin, Ritsuka's confusion plain to see upon his face. "I promise you, no weirdness. You just need to get used to the normal stuff, right? We can call it exposure therapy."

"…That's it? You know all the things I've been through, and your first reaction is to play like nothing happened?" was all Ritsuka could respond with, shaking his head incredulously. The idea sounded stupid to begin with, let alone once the boy put any sort of thought towards it. Were it not for how Shirou appeared completely serious in his suggestion, Ritsuka might have considered it a cruel joke. "Oh god, you're serious. You know, you're terrible at this whole 'distracting people' thing."

"Hey, what else are we gonna do? Homework?" retorted Shirou, and reasonably so. With neither of them being the sporting kind, their conversations during breaks usually turned one of two ways: whatever trends gripped the school or whatever went down in their clubs. Given how deeply the FGO Duel game had permeated the student populace, those options might as well be no different from taking up Shirou's offer. "Unless you want to watch me do some work for the Student Council. They're having air conditioner problems again."

"Urgh, too much technical nonsense, especially for someone using the… the 'tricks' you apparently do according to your mum." Was Ritsuka's answer, turning back to his locker. "Alright then, guess we're doing this. Doubt the other Archery or History Club members have anything better going on, not when everyone's still as crazy as ever for this – ah, damn. Empty pockets. Only have two figures right now. Know where I can borrow one?"

"Well, Issei probably doesn't have any, Sakura said she left hers at home and she's already headed off to her class anyway…" Shirou mused before Ritsuka was met with the sound of snapping fingers. "Ayako! Ayako Mitsuzuri, part of the Archery Club, remember? Knowing her, she's bound to have some."

"Works for me." Ritsuka replied with a shrug. He hadn't personally crossed paths with the girl, but Ayako was a name that often popped up in their conversations. If she was anything like how Shirou spoke of her, then it couldn't hurt to give her a try.

Well, maybe it could, given her whole 'martial artist' shtick, but hey-ho. Worse case scenario, Shirou could make for a wonderful meat shield.

Fortunately, it didn't take long to weave their way through the halls of Homurahara. With everyone preparing for the homeroom period, even the most eager of the school's athletes had vacated the sports facilities. Luckily for Ritsuka and Shirou, that fact also made the one who remained all the more prominent, the bow they held lowering as the boys' footsteps approached them.

"Yo, Emiya. Don't usually see you round here so early." Ayako greeted cheerfully, a teasing smirk upon her lips. "Hell, it's a miracle if I see you round here during club time nowadays. Finally managed to squeeze us into that tight schedule of yours?"

"Hello to you too." Shirou retorted, tone dry even as his expression mirrored Ayako's. "Not this time. I was wondering if you had any of those FGO Duel figures lying around. Ritsuka here's missing one and I assumed you'd be too busy getting things prepped for recruitment in April. We'd only need it for one game."

"Ritsuka, huh?" though the words themselves were innocuous, Ritsuka found himself forcing down a gulp. For the light in someone's eyes to change so rapidly, it took more than just a simple request. Had they touched some sort of sore spot or something already? "Nice to finally meet ya. Heard you're one of the more popular guys around here, yeah?"

"…Pretty sure nobody hates me." Was all Ritsuka could say in response, resulting in a grimace from Ayako. Ritsuka would've felt insulted, were it not for the fact that they had only just met. Surely Shirou couldn't have spoken that badly about him, right?

"Considering some of the guys around here, that's good enough." Ayaka eventually sighed, shaking her head to bring back her smile. "My bag's in the changing room, feel free to grab whichever figure you like. Grab both if you'd like, just don't touch anything else or I'll murder you both and leave you in a shallow grave."

"Hang on a sec, 'both'?" Ritsuka was quick to pick up. "It's a three-figure game, what do you mean 'both'?"

"Does it matter? I could say the same thing to you." Ayako was quick to snark back, this time without anything to cut the anger that permeated her response. Unfortunately for her, Ritsuka wasn't one to be so easily deterred.

"I ended up getting a weird one and got into a bit of trouble with the company about getting a return. Does that make things easier for you?" Ritsuka replied. It wasn't that far from the truth, was it? "Because I've seen those eyes before. People don't get eyes like that just from losing something."

"Ayako." Whatever retort Ayako had planned – and she most certainly had one planned – died when Shirou's hand fell upon her shoulder. He didn't even need to say a single sentence; that alone was enough to make Ayako let out a disgruntled sigh, visibly deflating as she did so.

"Sorry. Just… just a bit pissed." She muttered, throwing Shirou's hand off. If he was upset by that, Shirou didn't show it. "Look, I made a stupid bet and ended up paying the price, alright? It's not a big deal."

"Are you sure? 'Cause it feels like that target would say otherwise." Ritsuka's slightly squeamish answer made both Ayako and Shirou turn, the two wincing when they caught sight of the tattered paper at the end of the dojo. Sure, they weren't exactly the neatest things after being shot, but the number of arrows that poor paper had been pierced with was practically sadistic.

"Ritsuka!" Shirou scolded, as if the fist he suddenly thrusted into Ritsuka's stomach wasn't enough. "It's not like he doesn't have a point though, even if it was incredibly rude. You're not a gambler, Ayako. What happened?"

Ayako stayed quiet. It wasn't through any fault of her own, however. From the way her lips curved and twisted, the fact that she was wrestling with her words couldn't have been more overt. Consequently, neither Ritsuka nor Shirou were pressed to speak, more than happy to give Ayako the time to speak her mind properly.

"…That friend of yours, Shinji, he's been acting weird lately. Weirder than usual." She eventually said. "Apparently, he's been winning these FGO Duel figures off a whole bunch of people. Started with both players putting one figure on the line, and then Shinji started putting up every figure he'd won. Things kinda snowballed from there. Most people ended up taking him on just to get everyone else's figures back."

"Including you." Ritsuka couldn't help himself from adding, eliciting a light growl from Ayako. Not that she denied his words, of course. "Shirou, Shinji's one of you 2-C folk, yeah? Think he'll play along nicely if you ask him to give them up? It's a three-figure game. He'll never use them all even if he plays as much as he can. Hell, the whole thing's a fad. It's not like he's gonna get much from reselling them or something."

"Probably not, but we can try. Worst comes to worst, we get Tai-er, Miss Fujimura involved." Now that was a threat Ritsuka could put his faith in. Homurahara was abound with tales of the eccentric Tiger of Fuyuki. If there was anyone who could put a student in their place, it was going to be Miss Fujimura. "I'll admit though, I'm surprised she hasn't done anything yet. She never even mentioned it to me. This sounds like the kind of thing she would nip in the bud and then complain about at dinner."

"I wouldn't even bother. You think I haven't already tried that?" said Ayako with a scoff. "She just shrugged me off, said he hadn't broken any rules and couldn't do anything if everyone freely gave up their figures."

The thought seemed absurd at first, but the longer that it lingered in Ritsuka's mind, the more sense it began to make. That wasn't to say that Ritsuka considered Miss Fujimura's abstaining reasonable, far from it. It was just that from a rule-based point of view, he could see why Miss Fujimura could find herself in a bind. Whether she was the sort of person to let such quandaries stop her, given her personality, was another question entirely.

"That's a fair point. Why would people keep giving him stuff?" Ritsuka asked, drawing a confused glance from Ayako. "I mean, it's one thing if Shinji took their figures, that's easy to sort out. But when people are agreeing to his terms and honestly adhering to them, it's just a little bit strange. What's the point if you don't want to give up your property?"

"Cause that's the rules. We still have some sense of honour." Was the answer, one that had Shirou and Ritsuka feeling the same shivers down their spines. After all, such words shouldn't have been spoken so mundanely, as if they were as immutable a reality as the Earth beneath their feet. "Damn it, I knew I should've taken him more seriously. Should've borrowed someone's things lie you lot – no, that'd just end up giving Matou more figures…"

"Hey, hey! Ayako, don't worry about it." Shirou was quick to soothe, Ritsuka more than glad he did so. If he was the one to try, something told Ritsuka that Ayako wouldn't have responded so effectively. "Just remember, nothing's over until you've given up and you definitely haven't given up. You're hesitating and that's good. People who've given up don't hesitate. Listen, leave this to us; we'll get those figures back."

"Wha-Seriously? Didn't you only get those, like, yesterday or the day before?" Ayako retorted, yet Shirou only offered her a shrug.

"I've got the basics down and I know a few tricks. Not like much else is going to help me now." He said and while it was of little reassurance, it was enough to make Ayako less fidgety. "I promise you, by the end of the day, you'll have your figure back. Everyone else will too – one way or another."

"…Fine, just don't do anything stupid."

In the end, no promises were made. The boys knew all too well that there was no point making one. Fortunately, Ayako didn't have the time to bring it up with them, the two already making a mad dash away from the dojo. Without anyone to face her wrath, Ayako could do little else but sigh.

"So, Shinji's also a magical person, I'm guessing. He's a magical person and he's doing… something to take everyone's toys." Ritsuka remarked as they moved, watching the fire in Shirou's form. You'd think he was marching to war with the way he walked. "Anyone else I should be worried about? Is half of this school involved in this magic business or something?"

"Well, there's Sakura, but she's probably not involved. Not her kind of style, this." With how casually Shirou mentioned that, Ritsuka had to refrain himself from giving a double-take. Was he just surrounded by people involved in Magecraft? Though he wasn't the closest with Sakura, Ritsuka had plenty of opportunities to see just how earnest the girl could be. She was far from the kind of person Ritsuka would expect to be hiding secrets as big as that. "No, we're dealing with something different. Something that's already managed to get its hands on several classmates and Taiga."

"Something you know how to handle though, right?" Ritsuka asked in turn. "You sounded confident enough before with Ayako. Is this sort of mystic manipulation stuff common and we normal folk just don't know it?"

"…"

"…You've got to be kidding me."

"Sorry, sorry. Just trying to figure out a way of wording things so you don't want to kill me." Was Shirou's response, the boy's steps faltering. "Look, when you're trying to keep a secret as big as Magecraft, there's bound to be people finding out things they shouldn't. Sometimes, they're lucky like you and end up getting involved. Other times, it's better off if they aren't. So, seeing how the, er, old method of silencing people isn't exactly acceptable anymore, Mages often familiarise themselves with one or two mind-altering spells."

"Including your lot?" Ritsuka couldn't help but interject. Fortunately, Shirou didn't seem to blame him.

Maybe my mother, but not the rest of us. I wouldn't expect Hakuno's family either, given their speciality." Shirou answered. "Even if we did though, it'd probably be no more than just stealing away the last few minutes. Specifically to make people forget too. Magecraft designed to not only make people constantly ignore and rationalise actions that go against common sense, but do so on a significant scale… that's approaching an entirely different ball game. One that the Matou family shouldn't be dealing with at all."

"Meaning?"

Shirou didn't immediately answer. Ritsuka would've complained about that, had he not slammed face-first into Shirou's suddenly still back. Then again, he probably should've been prepared for that considering that the sign for class 2-C was sat above the door Shirou stopped in front of.

"Meaning that I have no idea what we're about to deal with," Ritsuka eventually heard Shirou admit. "And until I do, something tells me that we're gonna have to play by Shinji's rules."