Chapter 8 - School Day, Schmool Day
...
The morning's routine was different today. I quickly made Chloe some clothes and food with my magic, which she had to eat in my room to avoid Sella and Liz seeing her. I kept a clone with her to keep her company. She wanted a normal life, after all. After the other girls and I ate, Illya and I left for school, meeting Miyu outside in her school uniform as I get the memories if the clone. Guess he just popped.
"Mornin'." I smile.
"Morning, Miyu!" Illya greets, smiling.
"Good morning, Illya, Shirou." Miyu politely greets back, before addressing my sister. "Are you okay?"
"You mean after last night?" My sister asks, earning a nod. "I'm fine, but what about you?"
"Sapphire's regeneration works very well. Plus Shirou healed me up a bit." The brunette explains. "But what about-?"
"Me?"
Miyu and Illya jolt violently, eyes wide as they both quickly whirl their heads around to see Chloe next to them, dressed in the same uniform, a smug grin on her face from scaring the other two. I too have to hold back a chuckle. Honestly, she looks just as cute as the other two. "Geez, you two need to work on your situational awareness." She says, smirking with a hand on her hip.
"You're... still here...?" Miyu asks.
"Of course." Chloe grins. "From now on, you can call me Chloe von Einzbern."
Miyu still looks lost.
I sigh. "Illya had another soul inside of her and she got out by combining with the Archer card."
Miyu cutely tilts her head at my explanation. "I see... But why is she wearing our uniform?"
"Why else? I'm going to school with you two." Chloe beams.
"I got everything set up last night. Or rather, a clone did." I explain, succinctly. "She wanted to go to school, so I figured 'why not?'."
"You've never been to school?" Miyu asks.
"Nope. I mean, I've watched Illya go to school, but-"
"Seriously, Kuro?" My albino sister asks. Guess she's still annoyed by her, or perhaps our, private moments not actually being as private as she thought.
"Hey, it's not like I could stop!" My tan sister argues. "Being forced to watch everything and unable to control my body, I'd stop watching if I could."
Illya pauses, her and Miyu's eyes turning sympathetic.
"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore." I interject. "Like I said, you're free to live your life as you want."
"But... what about the Archer card?" Miyu asks.
"I can just make another one." I shrug. "First Magic is overpowered like that." The girls don't seem too surprised by my declaration. Good, they're learning. "Anyway, we oughta get going."
"Ah, right." Illya nods.
"Then c'mon!" Chloe chirps, rushing ahead as we all begin to walk.
"You seem... excited." Miyu observes, noticing the tan girl's cheerful demeanor.
"How could I not be?" Chloe asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, it's like a little kid's first day- they're bound to be excited and anxious." I explain with a smile as I pat Chloe's head, prompting her to swat my hand away, causing me to chuckle. "I'm sure it'll go fine, seeing as how you two can help her acclimate."
Miyu nods. "I... understand that. I was homeschooled most of my life."
"Really?" Illya asks.
"Yes." She nods. "Homurahara is the first school I've gone to."
""Eh?"" Both of my sisters whirl around, wide eyed. Geez, they both really are the same person.
"Well I hope Chloe will have an easier time than Miyu did." I say.
"I won't stick out THAT much... will I?" My new sister asks, a touch worried.
"Considering you look nearly identical to Illya, it'll be surprising for sure. Though probably not as bad as Miyu showing off." I muse.
"I wasn't showing off." Miyu quietly argues, furrowing her brows.
"That's even worse!" Illya exclaims.
We continue to happily chat as we walk toward school, but eventually we split and head to our separate destinations.
Upon reaching the high school, I'm met an occurrence that's become all too common recently. Usually, it consists of Rin and Issei arguing about one thing or another, Luvia smirking and/or giggling behind her hand at her rival's misfortune all the while. Sakura's also there now- but not always-, hiding a small smile at her former sister's pain.
"Really? Is this gonna be a daily thing with you two? Shouting at each other at the crack of dawn?" I smile wryly at the group.
"Of course not." "No way!" Those words come from the calm Issei and angry Rin.
"This all started because this guy kept running his mouth!" Rin shouts, pointing at Issei.
"I am not. I am simply not falling for your feminine wiles." Issei argues.
"Feminine wiles? What does that even mean?" Rin asks.
"I am quite confused as well. There's nothing feminine about this baboon." Luvia insults with a smirk.
"Hey!" Rin snaps at the blonde.
"Indeed. Tohsaka-senpai would definitely have trouble gaining a boyfriend." Sakura adds, snidely.
"HEY!" Rin snaps at the purplette, louder this time.
"And then there's you two, ganging up on Rin." I grimace, placing a hand on my face.
"We are not!" "That not true, Senpai." Luvia and Sakura instantly deny.
I groan again.
"Anyway, come here, Emiya-kun." Rin starts dragging me away, but I hold my ground. I almost jerk forward when... is she seriously using Reinforcement? That's petty, Rin.
"Hey! Where are you going with him?" Issei asks, indignant.
"Just over here. We have to ask him something. Right, Luvia." Rin says.
"Oh, right, that." Luvia remembers. "We'll be right back. Come on, Sherou." She says, dragging me with Reinforcement too. The fuck is wrong with these two? Regardless, I stop holding my ground, allowing them to finally pull me.
Once around the side of the building, where no one is.
"Now then, what happened with that girl last night?" Rin asks.
"Yes, she looked exactly like Illyasviel, and you seemed to recognize her." Luvia adds.
I sigh. "Illya had another soul inside of her- basically another her. She fused with the Archer card."
"Fused with it?" Luvia asks as she and Rin blink. "But if she's merely a soul..."
"Yeah, she's pretty much a Servant right now- running on mana to keep existing. I'll hafta make her a body or something later." I explain.
"Hang on." The brunette says. "How are we supposed to get the card then?" This gives them both pause.
I genuinely smile as they remain silent in thought. "You two really are shit magi, huh?"
"Hey!" Luvia barks.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rin asks, upset.
"It means most wouldn't hesitate to kill Chloe- that's the name I gave her- to get the card. It means I definitely can trust you two." I say, causing both girls to blush at the praise. "Anyway, here."
I hold my hand out, making an exact copy of the card with EMIYA's powers in it.
"Like you never lost it." I grin.
"...Sometimes I forget how versatile your abilities are, Sherou." Luvia is the first to speak.
I just shrug. "This also means it can still be used, especially now since Chloe took around two-thirds of Illya's mana with her in the split."
"That much?" Rin asks, surprised.
"That still begs the question of how your sister had a second soul inside of her." The blonde points out.
I hold back a sigh. I suppose I can give them a hint. "Remember that Holy Grail War thing I mentioned?"
They both nod.
"Three magi families created the thing. The Makiri from Russia, Tohsaka from Japan, and one other. The third's craft was also a watered down version of the families' old craft- The Heaven's Feel. That's why the Grail War was also called the Heaven's Feel." I rattle off in for quickly, keeping the Makiri-Matou thing a secret. Again, Sakura is crest worm-free, thankfully.
"What was the third family?" Rin asks, surprised by her family's involvement, but drawing a blank here.
"Look it up. That's all I'll give you. Neither Chloe nor myself know all the details of why she's like that. All we've got is theories and speculations. Once again, seeing as how you of all people don't know about the ritual shows that it's been stopped for good." I explain.
"The Tohsakas were a part of that...?" Rin mutters.
"I wasn't aware of that either." Luvia adds. Both of them are clearly deep in thought. Maybe I should keep the fact that their families are related a secret too.
"Anyway, Chloe was aware of everything happening outside while she was in Illya. Right now, all she wants to do is live a normal life, so I used some magic and shit and got her enrolled with Illya and Miyu." I explain, causing them to blink. "I'm sure she'll be fine."
Aside from the little conversation with Rin and Luvia, the day passed as usual. I dipped after lunch, swapping place with a clone while I went to my pocket dimension to train a little bit, just to pass the time. Once school was done, I swapped places with my clone and popped him.
Deciding to go with the other route, I walk by Illya's school gate and find Chloe standing there, likely waiting on her sister and Miyu. She seems to be lost in thought, idly staring off into space as the other kids pass by, all of them going somewhere.
"Yo, Chloe." I greet.
The tan girl turns around, her face immediately brightening with a smile. "Onii-chan!" She chirps, moving over to hug me.
I smile, gently hugging her back with a single arm. "So, how was your day?" I ask as she lets me go.
"It was... different." She says, slowly. "Truth be told, I made it kinda awkward a few times by not responding. I guess I'm still getting used to other people talking to me and not Illya. Not to mention nearly responding when someone called out the name 'Illya'."
"I was a bit worried that might happen." I say with a small grin. She hasn't exactly had a conversation with anyone in years, if she was even old enough to hold one when she was sealed away.
Before either of us can anything else-
"Onii-chan!"
-Illya rams against my side, grabbing me in a hug.
"Hey, Illya." I smile, ruffling her hair. Miyu walks up right behind her. "I hope you two had a good day too."
"Nn." The brunette nods as Illya pulls away, fixing her hair with a pout.
"Erm, kinda. The girls were all over me and Chloe today." My albino sister explains. "I think they were way more interested in me having a nearly identical 'cousin' than Miyu when she showed up."
"I'd say it was about the same, just the attention was split between me and you." Chloe adds as we all begin to walk back home.
"Oh yeah. I also explained Chloe's situation to Rin and Luvia, so we won't have to go by there to explain. I also made a copy of the Archer card, so y'all don't have to worry about that." I explain. "I'll also need to make Chloe a body later."
"But doesn't she already have one?" Illya asks, blinking.
"Right now she's basically a Servant, her body made of mana and held together with the Class Card, unlike a Servant's Spirit Origin." I explain. "She needs mana to keep existing. If she runs out, she'll fizzle out of existence. To fix that, I just need to make her a body. Simple."
"Your Magic really is broken, Onii-chan." Illya deadpans.
"Y'know, Luvia said somethin' like that this morning." I smile.
By the time we got back home, Luvia and Rin were waiting outside of the blonde's mansion.
"There you all are." Rin says.
"We walk to and from school, remember?" I smirk.
Rin pouts as Luvia speaks up, "Anyway, you haven't made a body for... Chloe, was it?"
"Yup." Chloe smiles. "I'm still basically a Servant."
"Good. We were actually wanting to ask if we could examine you- see how the card is holding your body together." Rin asks.
"Trying to figure out more about 'em?" I ask.
"Yes. Even with your abilities, we still can't figure out much about the cards." Luvia adds.
I look down at Chloe, asking for her input. The tan girl sighs, "So long as you don't mess anything up, fine. I've got time to kill." She says, walking over towards them.
"Try not to take too long, she's coming with to train later!" I shout at their retreating forms.
"She is?" Illya asks.
"Maybe she can give you a few pointers." I shrug. I need to scan those cards later- see if I can gleam anything from them.
Illya nods. "I'll go change." Then she goes inside.
Miyu watches Illya go inside, her eyes narrowing as she stares at the closing front door. "Does she still want to get the cards?"
"Dunno." I say simply. "I kinda figured after last night, she'd give it up, but..." I trail off, unsure. I know Illya pretty well, but even I'm lost as to what she's thinking. "Even if she's still willing, Chloe's separation took about two-thirds of her mana, so either she needs to train hard, or we need to figure out something else."
"Chloe was supplying her with that much?" The brunette blinks as she looks up towards me. "But... how was she even there?"
"I'll give you the same little hint I have those two this morning." I say, pointing towards the mansion. "Three magi families created the Holy Grail War. The Makiri from Russia, Tohsaka from Japan, and one other. The third's craft was also a watered down version of the families' old craft- The Heaven's Feel. That's why the Grail War was also called the Heaven's Feel. As for the third, look it up."
Miyu blinks at the sudden info, but nods, mulling it all over. It probably was the same in her timeline. "I'll go get changed too." She says.
I nod as with both go toward our respective homes. Entering the house, I find it empty. I guess Liz and Sella are out-
...Did Illya just transform? It feels like she transformed. The hell is Ruby up to this time?
Groaning, I walk upstairs quickly, going straight for Illya's room. Coming inside, I find Illya transformed, wearing a different outfit.
Except it ain't her magical girl outfit.
"Eh?" Illya blinks, freezing up as her face goes crimson. Ruby just chuckles.
What is Illya wearing? It's basically a black school swimsuit with a massive stomach window in the front that reveals most of her under boob. She also has on black thigh highs decorated with ribbons on the top, as well as matching ones on her arms. Her hands and feet are covered with gloves and shoes resembling animal feet, compete with grey fur at the top. There's also a gray fur thing covering her neck and a black tail adorned with more red ribbons coming from the back of the suit. Atop her head are two black cat ears with grey fur inside, as well as a bell with a ribbon attached in either side of her head.
Put simply, it is incredibly lewd. Surprisingly, my confusion overwhelms my lust.
"What the hell am I looking at?" I ask, deadpan. That's definitely not the usual transformation.
"Well, Illya-san got curious about Rin-san's transformation." Ruby says.
"...The one with the cat ears?" I ask.
"Yup, yup! I actually gave her those just to annoy her, but then I thought they'd look WAY cuter on Illya-san!" The stick chirps, much to the girl's chagrin.
"But why the rest of the outfit?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
"Why not?" Ruby asks. "Honestly, I figured you'd like it more than anyone else, Shirou-san!"
I look at Illya, who shyly tries to hide herself.
"Yeah, you're right on that." I say with a sly smile.
"Heh?!" Illya cries, whirling her head around to face me.
"But it wasn't Illya's decision to change into it. Don't force shit on her, okay?" I say, less asking and more ordering.
"Oh, alright." Ruby sighs, sounding upset as she undoes the transformation, revealing Illya partway through changing clothes. If she had a face, it'd be pouting.
"Now hurry up, it's training time. Unless... you don't wanna get the cards anymore." I say.
Red eyes blink, before relaxing as she understands what I mean. "Yes. I... I still want to get the rest of the cards."
"Despite what happened last night?" I ask.
"That's why we're training, isn't it? So we won't get hurt?" She asks.
"And staying away from the combat would keep you safer." I point out. "Plus, you're a lot weaker now since Chloe took most of your mana output with her in the split."
Illya looks down, deep in thought. "Miyu isn't going to give up, is she?"
"No. She's got her reasons, clearly."
"Then I'll help her."
"Oh?" I ask.
"She's my friend, so... I won't let her do this alone." Illya decides. "If it wasn't for Chloe, she would've lost against Caster too. So I wanna get stronger to help her get all the cards!"
Illya and I stare at each other's eyes for a while.
Then, I crack a smile. "Then you'd better get ready, 'cause I'm stepping up the training."
Illya nods, determination clear on her face.
A few minutes later, the three lolis and two sticks come along with me into my pocket dimension. Miyu and Illya promptly transform- the latter thankfully using the correct form this time.
"Now, after last night, I'm stepping up you girls' training." I tell them. "Miyu, Illya, you two are gonna need it. Especially Illya, since Chloe's split took around two-thirds of your mana. But I have a simple fix." I walk over to Illya and place a hand on her shoulder. Illya then jolts and right after, Chloe's eyes widen.
"What the heck...?" My tan sister mutters, staring at her 'twin'. "Her mana output just shot up."
"Well Illya was drawing power from herself as well as you, so to fix that I made what amounts to a 'mana generator' made of magic and attached it to her circuits." I explain. "It has the same output as you did, so it's like nothing changed."
"You can do something like that?" Ruby asks. "Why didn't you do that earlier then?"
"Because I had to know if Illya was still intent on fighting, despite being weaker. She showed me her resolve earlier, so this is the reward." I explain.
Chloe furrows her brow as Miyu looks at the albino in confusion.
"You two both have you reasons to fight, so I ain't gonna stop you." I say, before turning to Chloe. "But speaking of things to make..." I then place a hand on her shoulder, making her a body in an instant. However, I 'merged' the card with her heart so that they're one and the same. She should still have Archer's powers, without the weakness of being a Master-less Servant. I suppose I could've also made a contract with her... "Now you don't hafta worry about getting more mana." I smile.
"Again, your magic is busted, Onii-chan." Chloe says, looking herself over with clear surprise on her face.
I just chuckle a bit. How many people are gonna tell me that today? Schooling my features, I address the group's new addition, "That brings me to one more thing. Chloe, I only got you to come here to do that for you. You don't have to fight for those cards if you won't want to."
The older twin makes a strange face, mulling things over. "No. I want to help these two." She then looks at the other girls. "After all, they're gonna need the help. And I can't let my little sister get hurt, now can I?"
"Geez, you're still going with that? Why can't you call me 'Onee-chan'?" Illya bemoans.
"Because I'M older than you!" Her twin snaps. Poor Miyu just looks lost.
"Okay, okay. That's enough." I say, stopping them. "Now, there's one last thing to do before we get started. Hand Chloe one of those cards."
"Eh?" Illya blinks, but Miyu has already handed her the Rider card.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" Chloe asks. "I can't exactly use the thing."
"I know." I deadpan. "But since you've got that guy's abiliites, you also have his Tracing, so see what you can gleam from it." Miyu looks at me weirdly. She definitely knows who it is, or at least who she thinks it is.
"Okay..." Chloe says slowly. She then looks down at the card in her hand, muttering "Trace On.", before gaining a confused look. "...Huh. Nothing."
"At all?" I ask.
"Not a single thing." Chloe says, shaking her head negative.
I hold my hand out, prompting her to hand me the card. Since I've learned of these things, I've been really curious about them- even more so now, with Tracing not doing a damn thing. So many questions, namely 'how does it work?', as well as 'who made this?'. It's a strange little thing. Even curiouser is how the Kaleidosticks can combine with it via 'Include' to form various things, the most obvious being the Lancer card turning into Gáe Bolg. But it's clear this thing can do something else, why would it have a Heroic Spirit's power if only for their weapon?
"Ack!" I flinch away upon using my Magic upon the card, basically performing a stronger version of EMIYA's abilities to read info about things.
"Onii-chan?" Illya asks, concerned.
"I'm fine, just information overload. Used an overcharged version of Tracing." It was something beyond what a normal human, even Counter Guardian EMIYA could ever be able to do. It tried to show me info about it, but there was so much that it hurt too take in at once. Blinking a few times, I go for a different strategy, using magic to simply place knowledge of the card into my brain- a simpler and safer strategy, at least for me.
"...Ah. So that's how it is."
"How what is?" Chloe asks.
These cards are a fucking enigma. "I didn't get anything about who made 'em, but I did get something." I say with a grin. Then I say, "Install."
The card explodes in a flash of light, forcing me to close my eyes, but it only lasts an instant. Opening them again, I find myself wearing different clothes. Sure enough, I'm wearing a variant of Rider Medusa's outfit. It's all a one-piece outfit instead of being separate. I also have on a blindfold covering one eye, but doesn't affect my vision. Looking down, I find one of her chain-nails in my hand.
All three girls and both sticks freeze, looking at me in surprise- none more than Miyu, whose eyes look like they're ready to pop out of her head.
"So... I figured out something new about the cards." I casually say with a smirk.
"Hang on, are you... using the Heroic Spirit's power?" Ruby asks, shocked.
"Yup. This seems to be what they're used for. Installing, not simply Including." I explain.
"That's definitely Rider's outfit, even if it IS a bit different." Chloe comments, looking me over with a small grin on her face. I suppress a chuckle, realizing she's basically undressing me with her eyes.
"Eh? The cards are able to do that?" Illya asks, her eyes wide.
"Looks like it." I say, gesturing to myself. I smirk, before Uninstalling the card with a thought, my clothes returning to normal in a flash as the card reappears in my hand. "And I guess you don't hafta say 'Uninstall', either. Now you two try,"
"Ah. Okay..." Illya blinks, nodding and taking out the Saber card. "Um... Install?" As she says it, light flashes around her. When it dies down, Illya is revealed wearing a pink variation of Artoria's armor, though there are some changes. There isn't a breastplate, instead the only armor she has is on her forearms and legs. The whole thing looks like a dress more than anything, especially with the puffy bits on the sleeves, which aren't attached to the dress itself, which ends above her chest. She also has a small bit of cloth around her neck. Most notably- due to how cute it makes her- is the fact that her hair is now in a high ponytail, held by a black bow. She looks more like Artoria Lily than Artoria Saber.
"Whoa! You looks so cool, Illya-san!" Ruby cheers.
"Yeah, pretty neat." I add.
"This is..." Illya mutters, opening and closing her hands. "That means I can finally use the Archer card!" Ah, right. We figured out pretty quick that Including the thing was useless as it just gave a bow, no 'arrows' nor the ability to make more.
"Well, I made another, like I said, so go for it." I smile. "Okay, your turn, Miyu."
The brunette freezes like a deer in headlights, but quickly regains her bearings. "O-Okay."
Chloe eyes Miyu curiously. She noticed it too, huh?
"Install." Miyu says, holding the Lancer card. The thing glows for a moment, before revealing Miyu wearing Cú Chulainn's outfit, although it's subtly different. The bodysuit now has a stomach and inner thigh window, with matching blue panties underneath. Her short hair is also now done in a high ponytail. It shows a lot more skin than normal, just like Chloe's outfit.
Hang on, are the rest of these things gonna be lewd? Part of me's a touch apprehensive, and the other...
That aside, the brunette looks up at me. "How did you figure this out, Shirou?"
"Used magic to put info about them in my head since scanning 'em just hurt. Unfortunately, I couldn't get anything about who made them, so we're still lost on that front." I say, knowing that Miyu knows more about the cards than I likely do.
"I see... This will surely help with the remaining cards." Miyu says, determined.
"Yup! With Chloe and this new ability, it'll be a breeze!" Illya cheers.
"I'd tone down the optimism if I were you. We're still dealing with Heroic Spirits here. Even if I can solo them, it's best not to underestimate 'em." I chide, looking at Illya seriously.
"Shirou is right, we can't afford to let our guard down just because we're stronger." Miyu says.
"Got that right." Chloe nods.
Illya nods, taking in that info.
"So, in review, I'm stepping up you two- er, three's training." I say, looking over to Chloe. "This includes that Install trick. I'm gonna get you two quick-swapping like a pro."
Those two are gonna learn how it feels to play Dante in Devil May Cry 5... or DOOM Eternal on PC. I can feel the anticipation in my expression, and the worry in theirs. And now with Chloe, they've got one more person who can kick their asses. They're gonna get into shape real quick.
"Ahhhh~" A certain half-homunculus lets out a long, pleased sigh as she lowers herself into the warm water in the bathtub.
"Ahhhh~" A certain red, magical, sapient stick lets out a long, please sigh as she lowers herself into the warm water in the bathtub. "Taking a bath after all that hard work is nice~"
"I'm pretty sure I was the one doing all the hard work." Illya deadpans.
"Hmph! How rude!" Ruby says, crossing her wings like arms. "Our creator might've given us a piece of his magic, but it's still exhausting to push ourselves so hard. Sapphire and I might be magical sticks, but we have stamina, y'know?"
"I... guess?" The young girl says, a touch surprised and confused. "Well, I'm not gonna stop you." She shrugs.
"What about me?"
"HIEEE?!"
Illya shrieks in response to Chloe's question, the tan skinned girl standing in the doorway of the bathroom- clad in a small, white and orange striped tank top over a black bra, as well as a dark blue skirt. She's also carrying a towel and some an extra change of clothes. Illya ponders on that for a moment, wondering where her 'sister' got them... 'Onii-chan probably made them. Hang on-' "Chloe?! What are you doing out here? What if Sella or Liz see you?" She whisper-shouts.
"Oh, don't worry about that." The pinkette waves her off. "They already saw me."
"WHAT?!" The albino whisper-shouts again.
"Yeah, I just acted like you and they didn't bat an eye." Chloe shrugs. "No idea how they didn't notice my whole 'different color scheme' thing."
The whitette blinks. 'That... IS weird. How did Sella and Liz NOT notice her dark skin? Or even her hair and eyes being different colors?' She shakes her head, as if to fling those thoughts away. "That aside, why are you in here?"
"Because I wanna take a bath too, duh." Chloe says, sassy as usual.
"Then you can wait." Illya deadpans.
"Oh, come on~" Chloe drawls out, coming inside the bathroom and closing the door behind her. "Surely there's nothing wrong with some sisterly skinship, is there?"
"Of course there is! And stop trying to be cute!" The younger twin snaps.
The older twin rolls her eyes, "There's enough room for you and Onii-chan, so scooch over." She orders, casually droping her skirt to the ground, revealing white panties.
"Se-Seriously, Chloe?" lllya asks, looking away with a red face.
Ruby just giggles, "How bold! That's sure to impress Shirou-san. You oughta pay attention, Illya-san!" She says, lightly slapping her wing against the fair skinned girl.
"Shut it, Ruby!" The partially submerged girl snaps again, "I don't need to do anything to impress Onii-chan." She grumbles.
Chloe, now stark naked, lets out a bark of laughter, "That's definitely true."
Illya turns around, noticing her 'sister's' state of undress, "Oh geez..." She says with a blush, her voice sounding very tired.
"Oh, don't be like that." The pinkette smiles, stepping into the bath. She then lowers herself down, submerging most of her body as well. "Ahhhh~ I almost forgot how a warm bath felt."
"You... did?" Illya blinks.
"Yup." Chloe says, leaning back against the side of the bathtub with her eyes closed, a big smile on her face.
"Huh..." The albino mutters, suddenly deep in thought. "You've only been seeing what I see, not... feeling."
One of Chloe's gold-orange eyes opens as her smile drops a bit. "Nope. I guess I'm getting used to having senses aside from sight and hearing again."
Illya hums, before her sister closes her eyes and relaxes again. The long silence is broken by Illya.
"Hey, Chloe?"
"Yeah?"
"Is it weird to say sorry?"
The tan girl's eyes open fully, despite being narrowed slightly. "What do you mean?"
"Well, it's just..." The albino trails off, trying to place the words. "I feel kinda like it's my fault you went through so much. I..." She trails off again.
The pinkette lets out a long sigh as she sits upright, looking right into her sister's red eyes. "Illya, it's... it's not your fault." She says, almost forcing the words out.
"Huh?" Illya blinks.
Chloe looks away, awkward and embarrassed. "I won't deny that I hated you for a while, blamed what happened to me on you, hated you for taking my life for yourself. I still kinda do, but... After spending time with you today, I've realized I can't hate you like I used to. You're just too damn nice!" She exclaims, brows furrowed, before letting out a long sigh. "I don't even think I can even be mad at Mama, either. I doubt she knew what would happen."
"Huh? What does Mama have to do with this?" The half-homunculus blinks.
"Seriously?" Chloe says, exasperated. "God! You can be really stupid sometimes, huh?"
"What's that at supposed to mean?!" The whitette snaps.
"It means Mama is a magus!" Chloe reveals, causing her sister to go quiet, her eyes widening. "She wanted me to live a normal life, so she wiped my memories. Problem is, she didn't exactly do what she wanted to do..."
"...So you were serious about that 'being the older one' thing?" Illya asks, somberly.
"Yeah..."
"...So she ended up making me and locking you away inside of me- er, us." Illya says, trying to understand it all.
"Right."
"Well... I can't say I understand it all, but... I hope you can forgive me for messing with your life..." Illya pauses, making a sly smirk that looks near-identical to Chloe's. "...Onee-chan."
"Heh?" Chloe blinks, taken aback by that address.
The whitette's smile doesn't waver, but she does blush as she grins to ramble, "Don't get me wrong, I'd love to hear you call me that, but... I suppose it's the least I can do to make it up to you. I mean, we're technically both the same person, right? So if I'd like to be called that, then I'm sure you-"
"I get it!" Chloe snaps, interrupting her sister's awkward ramblings. "I get it, so thanks... Onee-chan." She says with her trademark smirk.
The younger twin giggles, prompting a genuine smile from both.
"Aww, how sweet~" Ruby coos.
click
"EEK!" Illya shrieks, ducking under the bath water as the door opens.
"Illya-san?" Sella asks, peering into the bathroom to see Chloe submerged in the bathtub, as well as a small star emblem floating on top of the water. "Is there someone else in here?"
"Hm?" The pinkette hums, feigning confusion. "No, it's just me."
"Hm. I must be hearing things." The older homunculus shrugs, leaving and closing the door behind her.
"Bwah!" Illya gasps, coming back up, her hair and face down drenched. "Th-That was close..."
"Tell me about it." Chloe sighs.
"Geez, you two really need to start locking the door or something." Ruby groans, floating upwards again.
"Good idea." The whitette nods.
"That and invite Onii-chan to join us." The pinkette says with a smirk.
"Kuro!" Illya snaps, earning giggles from her sister and the Kaleidostick.
brrrrring brrrrring brrrrring
"Hello?"
"Madam?"
"Ah, Sella! Good to hear from you!"
"..."
"Hmm? Is something wrong?"
"Not... exactly, but... there is something strange happening."
"Hmm?"
AN (of the long variety)
Sorry for taking so long with this one. I've been wanting to focus on my Blue Archive story recently. Plus, this story got nuked on Wattpad, so I reuploaded it with the lewdness censored, but it got nuked again, so that killed my motivation for a while. This chapter was stuck at 4,700 words for like 3 months.
I'm willing to bet it was that asshole that called me a pedo in a comment (who I promptly blocked) right before the story got taken down.
Also, big ups to G (Guest) on FanFiction who wrote a scathing review of this story on chapter 7 a few months back, but didn't have the balls to make a review with an account. Pussy. Oh wait, I probably shouldn't call you a pussy, considering that, unlike you who gets butthurt over lolis, pussies can actually TAKE A FUCKING POUNDING. (This insult would've had more weight had I posted this chapter right after they posted that...)
As I said before, this story got nuked on Wattpad. Twice. The bastards couldn't even give me a heads up, just deleted it. They didn't give me a reason either, just linked their rules, but I can guess what it was. Go and read it on Ao3, just in case it gets nuked on FanFic as well. The Wattpad version will be censored from now on, and it- along with my other stories- will no longer contain any limes or lemons on the site. If it gets taken down on FanFic, I'll reupload the censored version on there as well.
...Maybe I should upload this to QQ. I barely know how to work the site, so it'd be a learning experience for sure.
Wattpad Note: It got deleted on Wattpad again. Just sent a copy-paste 'this and this have been deleted' message. Fuck off, Wattpad. Can't even be bothered to tell me what rules I broke. 'Oh, you broke one of our rules', but WHICH ONES?! Worthless cunts.
Wattpad Note 2: I will TRY to upload an 'Alert story', which will have a chapter saying 'chapter number ? has been uploaded on Fanfic and Ao3, here's the links'. I figure that way people who want to read it over there can still know when I upload a new chapter.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next! No promises on the speed of which I write the next one.