"Tou-san wasn't kidding. England really is much colder…" Shirou mumbled to himself, wearing some boots, loose pants, a kimono-style shirt that came down to his mid-thigh, and a deep red Haori over the top. The shirt tied together firmly with a thin obi.
Currently, the 11-year-old heir to the Muramasa Clan was walking through the streets of London all by himself. The pre-teen having decided that to further both his Magecraft and his swordsmithing, that he needed to experience new things and learn more than what they had in Fuyuki.
And so, he decided to do the one thing that neither of his adopted parents had ever done. He was going to go and study at the Clock Tower of the Mage's Association. Unfortunately for him though, despite his best wishes and him and his parents best planning, even though he was already in London he still had to wait three days before he could take the 'initiation test' for the Clock Tower.
So this was how he found himself walking through the streets of London aimlessly. His suitcase and items, except a singular sheathed sword, were in his hotel room and protected by multiple small-scale Bounded Fields that Irisviel and Kiritsugu had set up. However, as he walked a peculiar scent wafted through the air, something that he immediately picked up on.
'I'm not close enough to the Clock Tower that I should be picking up scents of Magecraft. I don't think so anyway. So, who's using Magecraft in public?' He thought to himself, having nothing better to do and so, soon losing the mental debate and following the scent.
Making his way through the crowded city streets, he ended up going through a couple alleys and side-streets before stopping at the edge of the translucent Bounded Field that was giving off the scent of Magecraft he could smell. It took barely a second for him to shrug off whatever mental effect it tried to put on him, probably something to forget about and/or ignore the Bounded Field and what was inside it.
Now though, Shirou's curiosity had the better of him. If worse came to worse. He had his blade on him and within London if a pulse of Magecraft too large was felt the Clock Tower would come stampeding in, regardless of who or what was causing it.
Stepping through the Bounded Field cautiously he waited a moment before nodding to himself and walking through easily, hearing sounds that had previously been blocked off by the Bounded Field. Making his way towards them he briefly reinforced his legs to hop onto the balcony of a building and then up onto the roof. The 11-year-old using the open rooftops to make his way towards what he could now recognize as an argument in record-time.
Standing on the edge of the rooftop he noticed that the argument seemed to be between a blonde-haired girl that seemed around his age. And a similarly aged boy with black hair tied back in a short ponytail.
"For someone of your pedigree, cornering a lady such as myself in such a place is awfully unbefitting" The blonde-haired girl spoke haughtily, an eyebrow raised as an elderly butler stood stoically behind her.
"I know it was your family that stole my book!" The boy spat, fury burning in his eyes.
"Your book? Why would I care about some random book?"
"It wasn't just a random book-!"
Sitting on the edge of the rooftop, Shirou just decided to watch this confrontation. They were both big boys and girls, also Magus, they could handle themselves without him having to butt in without any reason. However should things prove….dangerous, he would step in no questions asked. Until then, however, he had a good vantage point, all the time in the world, and a skill in Structural Grasping that was unfairly refined amongst Magi.
'And Mr. Accuser has a weapon on him' He thought to himself in intrigue.
Within his mind a hammer of a gun fell, activating some of his many Magic Circuits and muttering his Aria to himself. Staring at the blade on the male he felt a surge of information flood into his mind all at once, yet it felt as easy to handle as recognizing one colour from another for the red-haired pre-teen. Within a moment the entire history of the blade became available to him, making him near-silently click his tongue and narrow his eyes in annoyance.
However, despite how quietly he had believed his actions to be, it didn't seem to be quiet enough as the elderly butler standing behind the blonde-haired girl shifted. The man's head tilting and inclined ever so slightly so that he could stare directly at Shirou from the corner of his eye, something which Shirou met head-on.
The two continued to stare at each other before Shirou broke the impromptu staring contest first, focusing his attention back on the arguing pre-teens.
"You can't even go to a meeting without a butler to hold your hand!" The boy, 'Michalis Galliasta' Shirou's mind offered, accused the girl.
"Hm. Just because your family is of a standing not to send a butler out after their Heir is no means for pointing" The blonde-haired girl replied, waving her hand.
"Are you mocking me!?"
"I would never stoop that low as to mock an heir or heiress of a family" Shirou snickered to himself, knowing that in saying that she had mocked him for doing the same.
Evidently though. His snickering had been a tad too loud as the eyes of both of the pre-teens snapped towards him in alarm. Shirou resting a hand on one of his knees and propping his head up with an elbow on his other knee, unaware of the image he gave off as he did so.
"You! Who are you and who gave you the right to laugh!?" Michalis asked accusatorily.
Meanwhile the blonde-haired girl, Luviagelita Edelfelt, narrowed her eyes at the aura rolling off of the red haired, cross-legged pre-teen staring down at the both of them.
'He isn't afraid at all. He's evidently a Magus to get past the Bounded Field. But to stare down at us like that and to listen for so long without fear…' She thought to herself, idly twirling a finger in one of her drill tails.
"I'm just a swordsmith. Don't mind me, I'm not looking to get involved unless things get too dangerous" He smiled charmingly at both of them, opening a single eye back up as Michalis scoffed.
"A swordsmith? Hah. A Third-rate Magus then? How sad" All Shirou did was raise a singular eyebrow at the boy's arrogance.
"Auguste. That boy…" Luvia muttered to her butler, tilting her body more towards him.
"He's certainly unique, Lady Luvia" Auguste responded simply, getting another response from Michalis.
"Scared of a mere Third-Rate, Edelfelt?"
"You know, stranger. It's incredibly rude for you to not only eavesdrop but also not to introduce yourself when amongst an heiress like myself" She placed a hand on her chest.
"Shirou. A pleasure to meet you both" He smiled truthfully at the three of them before green lines spread over his skin and he dropped off the edge of the two-story building, landing softly on the ground.
It was a basic usage of Reinforcement, obviously not meant to be showy or intimidating. Yet that simple action put him on the back-foot as far as both Magus were concerned. He had shown his own proficiency in the spell, and so, should things go down a hostile route they would know at least one of the spells at his disposal.
"I am Luviagelita Edelfelt, and this is my butler Auguste" Luvia greeted politely, if a little arrogantly, and got a polite smile and half-bow from the red-haired teen in response.
After a moment Shirou turned his head to stare down Michalis. His golden-amber eyes boring into him with an unnerving feeling behind them.
"H-How dare you stare at me like that you commoner! Look away at once before I make you" Both Luvia and Auguste could see that despite his words, Michalis seemed almost scared of Shirou.
Though considering how he usually was, he'd probably be scared of any Magus with even the slightest amount of combat training.
With an upturned eyebrow, Shirou shrugged and looked away from him. Suddenly acting as if he never existed as he looked over at Luvia.
"You mentioned being the Edelfelt Heiress. What is your family like? Every time I brought it up with the Second-Owner of my city she just began to grumble and cut me off"
"Speaking of families, commoner. You never gave us a family name. What's wrong? Scared to admit you're Third Rate?" Michalis taunted Shirou to seemingly no effect.
Despite Shirou's seemingly uncaring attitude towards Michalis and his taunting of him, even Luvia was beginning to grow annoyed by the arrogant boy's incessant taunting of the red-haired Easterner.
"Despite his crude manner of speaking. Mr. Galliasta has a point Sherou. If you're a magus, then you must know the rules of the Clock Tower and the Magi families within it?"
"That's rich coming from you"
"I believe it's usually considered polite to not barge into a conversation?" Luvia admonished the other family heir, getting an embarrassed blush and scowl from him.
"This commoner barged in first!"
Shirou didn't deign him with a response, instead just adjusting his very traditional clothing as a gust of wind blew through the alley, they all stood in.
"Well, Sherou?" She asked, placing both of her hands on her hips expectantly.
At this point Shirou was just certain that her mispronunciation of his name came from the native language of whatever country she hailed from instead of any genuine attempt to mess it up. So, he wouldn't bring it up, it did make him wonder what country the Edelfelt's came from though.
"Sorry, I'm not a part of the Clock Tower yet. My aptitude test is in a couple days" he said casually with a shrug, adjusting the sword he had been carrying to a more casual position at his hip rather than strung up on his back.
"So, you're not giving your name away because they have no sway in Magus society?" Luvia guessed with a small grin, only to falter when he shrugged.
"Not really. From what I know, the Mage Association doesn't really focus too much on Eastern Magus like myself or my friend. The name of my family would probably be known but there's no point slinging it around. Their accomplishments aren't my own after all"
"Is that so?..." Luvia muttered, an inquisitive gleam flashing through her eyes.
"Now. Galliasta" Shirou began, causing said boy to begin going an interesting shade of purple, glowing lines slowly starting to inch across his fairly tan/dark skin "Listening to the conversation. You should perhaps go into such an accusation with actual proof. Don't you think?"
"Don't you dare lecture me!" Michalis gripped the hilt of the blade by his side, something that was met by the tensing of Luvia and the narrowing of Shirou's eyes.
In a flash of metal, Michalis' saber was drawn from its sheath and levelled at the two pre-teens' across from him. Shirou chuckled nervously and held his hands up in surrender.
"Hey now. I was just trying to help you. Like I said, I'm a neutral third-party here" To emphasize his point he stepped a few steps back to make an equal distance between all three parties.
"You're barely a nuisance, let alone some sort of weird Mediator" Michalis spat, just getting a hum from Shirou as he lowered his hands.
"Are we done here, Mr. Galliasta? I don't exactly find it fun to stand here and be accused of something neither I nor my family did" Luvia drawled suddenly, her patience for the situation having reached its end.
"But I know it was you and your pack of Hyena's you call a family!" Michalis snapped, shifting his sword into a more aggressive stance.
"Careful Galliasta. Keep going and I'll think you're about to attack me" Luvia warned him in a low tone.
Faced with open hostility, she could already see him beginning to fold under the invisible pressure. Deciding to speed up her decision she reached into her sleeve and pulled out a singular red crystal, noticing the raising of Shirou's eyebrows into his hairline.
The silence within the Bounded Field held for a solid minute before with a scowl, Michalis began to back up. The darker-skinned boy sheathing his sword and backing up a couple steps before turning and powerwalking out of the alley.
"Well. I certainly wasn't expecting to be involved with something like this for my first day in London" Shirou chuckled, scratching the back of his head.
"Well for what it's worth. I hope I didn't sully your opinion of me or my family?" Luvia inquired, smiling at him while putting the crystal back in her sleeve.
"Oh no. The opposite actually. You were far nicer than he was" He jabbed a thumb in the direction that Michalis had left.
"Well that much was obvious" She replied haughtily, getting a snort from Shirou.
"It's been…interesting to meet you Luvia Edelfelt. I guess I'll see you in the Clock Tower, maybe" He nodded his head at her before beginning to turn around.
However, he paused as he heard her clear her throat very obviously in a way that reminded Shirou far too much of Rin. So doing what he'd do with her, he slowly turned back. Evidently choosing the correct choice when Luvia smiled in satisfaction.
"I believe you still owe me a family name, Mr. Sherou?"
"Ah. Of course" Luvia's smile turned into a more amused smirk at his dry tone "Shirou….Muramasa. A pleasure" He smiled and gave her a full bow before starting to walk away again.
This time, Luvia let him. The blonde-haired girl twirling a finger in one of her drill-tails before turning to Auguste once Shirou was far enough away.
"Let's head back to the Clock Tower Auguste. I have a family to research and people to talk to"
"Of course, Lady Luvia" He nodded and bowed before beginning to walk to where he had parked their car, making sure his charge followed him.
XXXxxxXXX
Two days later
"Could use some work" Shirou muttered to himself as he walked through the streets of London once again, idly eating a wrap he had purchased as he did so.
"Sherouuuuu!" The pre-teen blinked, stupefied, and spun on the heel of one of his feet, seeing the form of Luvia running up to him excitedly.
"Ah….Luvia?" He questioned, taking another bite out of his mediocre wrap as she ran up to him.
"Sherou" She greeted in a more refined manner once she got closer to him "How have you been? I see you have a wrap, but would you like to get a drink with me? I know a place that makes great hot chocolates nearby"
"Oh? I wouldn't want to intrude if you were already looking to go there. And I'm trying not to spend too much before getting into the Clock Tower" He chuckled sheepishly.
"It's ok. I'll get you a drink. On me" She smiled, and he raised an eyebrow before shrugging and smiling.
"If you're really sure then ok. Let's go see if this hot chocolate is worth it" He gestured for her to lead the way, which she happily began to do.
Within minutes Shirou found himself seated in a very nice, very expensive, café. The swordsmith in training seated across from the noble heiress as the both of them waited for their drinks to be delivered.
"Now Sherou. Would you mind answering a question for me? Since I was so kind to get you a drink free of charge" Luvia asked, her voice innocent and eyes sparkling.
"Ah…." Shirou's expression on the other hand fell, giving Luvia a deadpan expression "This was never about a friendly meet up. Was it?"
"Whatever do you mean? Are we not having a good time Sherou?" She gave him a sad, pouting, expression.
A second later it was complete with the addition of wide doe eyes and a wobbling lip. Shirou thanked every God that existed that there weren't tears involved as well.
"Gah! J-jeez ok! Nothing too serious though…" He relented, deadpanning again at the victorious sparkle that shot through her eyes.
"Your family. The Muramasa clan. Did it begin with Senji Muramasa? The Senji Muramasa?" She asked, whispering to keep her voice down.
In response to the question, Shirou rested his elbow and placed his cheek in his palm, proceeding to sigh moments later before looking back at Luvia again.
"Yes. My clan started with him. At least as far as Magecraft goes"
"I see. But then they never joined the- Oh yes. My family is from Finland. It's a lot colder there!" Luvia suddenly switched topics, throwing Shirou for a complete loop before he noticed the waitress approaching with two drinks and it all became clear.
"Thank you" Shirou thanked the waitress, getting a smile and giggle from the girl as she gave both pre-teen's their drinks and went off to the kitchen, leaving them both alone once more.
"As I was saying. They never joined the Mage's Association?"
"Saw no reason to. Their goals didn't align, and my family didn't really care about the politics of Magi" Shirou took a sip of his hot chocolate and hummed "Huh. This is actually pretty good"
"Of course, it is. It's backed by my family after all"
"Hm" Shirou merely hummed and took another sip, brushing off her humble brag like water off a duck's back.
"So, what brings you to the Clock Tower now?"
"Wanted to learn more stuff" Shirou shrugged, placing his drink down on the table.
"Well, evidently" She giggled, taking a sip of her own drink.
The fact that Shirou was also using the chance to get some time away from Sella went unsaid by the pre-teen. It was ridiculous what she'd blame him for sometimes. Honestly, throwing a frying pan at him because Illya had said that his cooking could be better than hers one day?
So yes, Shirou was using the chance to get away from the overly aggressive and biased homunculus maid, sue him.
The two of them slipped into silence afterwards. Shirou having nothing to say and Luvia seeming to decide what she wished to say. Or she was waiting for him to speak first. One of the two really.
Eventually, however, it was Luvia that broke first.
"Sherou"
"Hm?"
"The comment you made, the other day, about your family's accomplishments not being your own?"
"I did say that, yes" He responded back, having no idea where she was going with this line of questioning.
"Do you really believe that?" There was something in her voice that Shirou couldn't quite place.
The closest label he could put on it would be 'inquisitive' but even then, that wasn't completely correct because whatever inquisitiveness she had, it was tinged with another emotion. Even now, 4 years after being saved from the fire, he still struggled to discern emotions when they were mixed in more subtle ways.
However, his confusion over exactly what she was feeling wouldn't stop him from giving her an honest answer. She wasn't an enemy or someone that had shown themselves to be dangerous to Shirou, so he wouldn't lie.
"I do. My family's dream is something I wish to carry on and I'm using the knowledge they developed to help me do that. But what they did, and what I do, are completely different" He answered with a shrug, finishing off his drink and frowning when he realized that.
"I see. Sherou I believe that you would be an excellent fit with the Democratic Faction." Luvia said with a warm smile, getting a raised eyebrow in return.
"Good to know?..." He trailed off, and Luvia realized she would have to say a little more than that.
"You aren't well versed in political speech at all, are you?"
"Not in the slightest. Like I said a few days ago, I'm a swordsmith." If Luvia had to say anything, it's that Shirou was definitely confident in himself as a person if he could admit a fault like that so readily.
"I'm offering you a position within the Democratic Faction, Sherou." The way she said his name was oddly fond, and once again, Shirou couldn't figure out why for the life of him "As a private smith for the Edel-"
"I'm sorry. I'm going to need to cut you off right there. As much as the offer is tempting. I'm not going to limit my services to just a single family" Luvia's smile fell, and she gave him a calculating look.
"If you did so, we could get you the greatest quality materials, magical or otherwise" She bargained with him, yet all he did was shrug.
"My ancestor became a legend in history with pretty much only low-quality iron at his disposal. I can get by using scraps"
"That's….awfully blasé for a family Heir, Sherou" She muttered with a twitching eye.
"I wasn't raised as some high-class Magus heir, Luvia. I understand how I act may be weird to you, but I'm not going to lie or budge on this" Taking a moment of silence to stare him up and down, Luvia could tell that Shirou was being completely truthful in his statement.
Obviously, she could use the backing and power she had to strong-arm him into some sort of Geas or deal to get him to work exclusively for the Edelfelt's. But the last family to try that and fail was now a part of her General Magi History course for the fallout that had been caused by the smith.
Many of her classmates had laughed at the lesson or simply brushed it off, but being of the Edelfelt family, Luvia took the lesson to heart. You don't mess with a blacksmith when you're commissioning items from them. That only leads to shitty quality items and/or a lot of deaths from said items.
So, strong-arming him into becoming the exclusive smith of the Edelfelt family was out of the question, especially considering she had no idea what his full abilities were. After that option, she always had the option of just leaving him be. She could just leave right now and not interact with him again, maybe occasionally pass him in the halls or seated in class.
No, she'd come too far and researched too much for her pride to just let her walk away here and now. So…she really only had one option available to her. She had to compromise with him.
"I understand Sherou. Then how about this. I won't ask or try to make you only create items for the Edelfelt family. However, in return for sponsoring you and taking you into the Edelfelt faction, and thus the Democratic Faction, you offer members of the Edelfelt like myself a discount on commissioning your wares?" She bargained with him, resting both of her elbows on the table and leaning forward towards him.
"What sort of a discount are you expecting?" He asked curiously, idly grabbing a menu and skimming through it before his eyes widened dramatically as he registered the prices inside.
'We've ordered take-out for the entire family for less than it'd cost the two of us to have a full meal here. There's no way that the food could possibly be good enough for that much' He thought to himself in a slight daze before being snapped out of it as Luvia spoke up.
"I'd say a 20% discount sounds fair."
"20%? No way. How about 10."
"You get quite a few benefits from being sponsored by us Sherou. It's only fair that we get a large discount like that. I'm actually being generous by offering 20%" She argued, waggling a finger playfully in his direction.
"Really? What do I get by being sponsored?" He asked in surprise, getting a cunning grin from Luvia.
"Wellllll, you'll get a lot of the basic materials from us, maybe. But you also are considered under the protection of the Edelfelt and can access some of our resources to your advantage." Luvia was careful in the way that she worded everything.
None of it was a lie of course, it was simply that she had purely been wording it in a way that he only heard the beneficial aspects of joining her in terms of him. Not the aspects of him joining that she would benefit from, however. And she could tell that such an approach appealed to him as he hummed in thought and began to think.
"I agree, if we get to come back and change the deal once I turn fifteen." He replied, getting a raised eyebrow from her.
"And how old are you right now Sherou?"
"11."
"Oh, we're the same age! Wonderful~" She cooed, clapping her hands together.
"Huh. Neat. So?..."
"Hmmmm. Only once we're 15?" She inquired in a low voice, her mind churning with responsibilities.
"Unless you do something I think will make it impossible to work with you. Yes." He nodded and she clicked her tongue, seeming to mull it over as she leaned back in her seat.
Raising her glass to her lips she began to drink, only to blush bright red when only a loud slurping sound came out of her completely empty cup. The noble heiress having finished her cup without even realizing.
"And what would such things be?..." She questioned him, clearing her throat and trying to get the red on her cheeks to go away.
"Trying to stop me from creating for others. Trying to sabotage me in some way, shape or form." He spoke airily, adjusting his position in his seat.
"Hmmm. Those are both acceptable terms. So, do we have a deal then. Mr Muramasa?" She asked with a small smile, holding a hand out.
"Yeah, I suppose we do" He shook her hand and gave her a small grin "Now, I need to go and get ready for tomorrow. It's been fun, Luvia." He stood up and straightened out his top.
"Oh, no need for that anymore. I'll let them know that the Edelfelt are sponsoring you."
"Huh. Well, that's neat. Thank you."
"It's my pleasure, Sherou, but still come to the Clock Tower tomorrow. I can help you get a dorm sorted out and show you around?" He cocked her head to the side slightly.
"Sounds like a plan. I'll try to be around there at about 8?" He raised an eyebrow as she instantly made a kind of choking sound and paled, before realizing that he had noticed her reaction and did a 180 to immediately start blushing.
"I-I…8 will do. D-definitely it will." Shirou stared at her for a moment before snorting.
"You usually don't wake up that early, do you?"
"I do too! I am a respectable heiress and when I participate in school I am extremely well versed in being in class at least ten minutes early!...C-Classes just haven't started yet" She stuttered in embarrassment, playing with one of her drill tails.
"Of course, Luvia. Would 9:30 fit better?"
"Y-Yes that will do perfectly." She couldn't even look at him anymore, steam practically leaving her ears from how red she was.
"Heh. You'd get along well with my friend Rin. See you tomorrow." He began to walk out, leaving an embarrassed Luvia in her seat to take a couple minutes to calm down before paying for her and Shirou and proceeding to leave.
XXXxxxXXX
The next day, Clock Tower
"Say, Sherou?" Luvia suddenly questioned him, the two of them walking away from the department of Astrology at the moment.
"Yeah?" He ignored the whispers of a couple older students as they made fun of his traditional eastern clothing and the sword at his side.
"What departments are you looking to-"
"Hey, you there. Third-Rate Magus!" Shirou, hearing a semi-familiar voice, instinctively turned around.
Upon doing so, he was met with the uproar of laughter from Michalis Galliasta and some lackies he seemed to be toting around through the halls of the Clock Tower. The dark-skinned, blonde-haired boy almost falling over from how hard he was laughing before he finally straightened out, wiping a tear from his eye.
"Hah! What did I tell you? He even answers to it!" He sneered towards his lackies, listening to their laughter that was already beginning to get extremely obnoxious to Luvia.
"Can I help you Michalis?" Shirou asked with a raised eyebrow.
However, upon doing so, he noticed the reaction from Michalis but missed the same reaction from Luvia. That being of astonished shock, both of them retreating from Shirou. Though, while Luvia's could barely be considered a half-step, Michalis took a full step back before glaring and growling.
"How do you know my name? I never told you it, you peasant."
"Oh wow. Peasant, how original" Shirou rolled his eyes "So can I help you?" He was ignoring the question, he knew that, but after all the warnings from Irisviel and Rin he wasn't willing to chance it.
"Grrrr. You dare to ignore me!? How dare you look down on me you disgusting Third-Rate." Michalis growled, glaring at him and taking a step forward.
"I'm not looking down on you. I'm just asking what you want from me."
"I want an apology for looking down on me."
"I wasn't, but ok. I apologi-"
"And I want your sword as recompense."
Shirou's mouth shut so quickly there was an audible click and his eyes hardened. Slowly his expression fell, and he stared directly into the eyes of Michalis.
"You've done nothing to deserve this blade. Nor was it made for you. Should you pay, I will make you a blade. But this blade will not be within your possession."
"And why should I make such a concession for a Third-Rate that probably begged his way into the world of Magecraft?" Michalis demanded, reaching a hand out for the hilt of Shirou's blade.
Now usually Luvia would have spoken up since even for the Edelfelt, such blatant and petty theft was disgusting and juvenile. However, the look on Shirou's face and his eyes that almost seemed to glow with fury were enough to keep her silent with an inquisitive look on her face.
"If your hand moves any closer to my blade I will treat it as attempted stealing-"
"Theft, Sherou" Luvia quietly cut in, momentarily leaning closer to whisper the word to him.
"-Attempted theft and will fight you if I have to."
"Oh? You wish to fight me? A member of the great Galliasta family?" Michalis bragged.
"No. But if you keep going I will."
"Hm. Very well then. I challenge you-"
"Galliasta are you serious!?" Luvia cried with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.
"-to a duel. Do you accept, Third-Rate?"
"Deal." Shirou said without hesitation, getting a smug grin from the dark-skinned Magus.
"Meet me in room 32-A." Was all he said, turning around and beginning to walk away.
"Sherou. I know that you seem confident, but are you certain?" Luvia asked, tilting her upper body forward slightly as she did so.
"I should be fine Luvia." Shirou replied, staring at Michalis' back as he walked away "Don't worry about me."
He began to walk and after a moment of consideration, about if she should question him more, she followed after him. There was no possible way that she was going to miss a show of Magecraft from Shirou like this.
XXXxxxXXX
Shirou breathed out calmly and lowered himself down, one hand on the sheath of his sword and the other curled around the hilt. His body tilted the way it was, his fringe cast a slight shadow over his eyes that only seemed to make them pierce into Michalis even more as he stood in a relaxed stance and lazily drew his blade.
"The match will go until either of us is stopped or surrenders. Sound fair?" Shirou asked, not seeming to react to the Galliasta pre-teen's arrogant snort.
"Very well Third-Rate. If you're that afraid we will go by those rules." He smugly commented.
For a few moments nothing happened before one of Michalis' lackies seemed to finally lose patience and shouted out.
"Just start already!"
"Trace On!" Green lines spread over Shirou's skin before he fired himself forward.
'Reinforcement?' Luvia thought, astonished by the sheer reaction time of Shirou who was already halfway to Michalis when he finally caught up to the situation.
"Laenat hataa aleazm (Curse to the bone)" From the hand of the arrogant Magus, sickly yellow energy spread through the blade currently held in his grip and seemed to cover it, tip to pommel.
Despite knowing that he had used the blade in a similar manner due to his own Structural Grasp of it a few days prior, Shirou still had no concrete knowledge of the powers of the curses he could create so once the other pre-teen began to wind up for a swing he pushed back. Skidding back a meter or so after landing he watched three bullets of curses, not unlike Rin's Gandr, hurtle towards him and easily maneuvered himself out of the way. The swordsmith in training drew his blade and holding it out to let one of the curse bullets hit it, a cocked head being met by it as the curse was physically cut and split off in two directions until it lost the energy to sustain itself and spluttered out of existence.
Spinning his blade in his grip, Shirou sheathed it before launching himself forward once again, however his approach came not from directly in front of Michalis, thereby avoiding another volley of curses, but rather from his side. Seeing the rapidly approaching form of Shirou, the blonde began to freak out, wildly swinging his sword towards the approaching pre-teen while stumbling backwards.
With a breath in, Shirou pushed the tsuba up with the thumb of his hand that was placed on the sheath of his weapon. At the same time, he started to draw it with his other hand, increasing the speed at which he drew his blade even more. With a pulse of Od, the katana in Shirou's hand suddenly lit with tiny flames.
With a terrible screeching sound blade met blade and in an instant Michalis' arm was thrown up and back, making him stumble back even further until eventually he tripped over his own foot and began to tip back even further. Taking advantage of the opportunity with the increased speed and reflexes his reinforced body gave him, Shirou hopped forward and flipped the grip on his Katana. The both of them hitting the ground of the training room at the same time.
The room stood in bated breath as they caught up to what they were seeing. Which was Shirou standing on the wrist of Michalis' sword hand with one foot and holding his katana in a reverse grip with the tip flickering with flame just above the other pre-teen's neck.
"Surrender."
"N-Nev-" Shirou adjusted his grip on his katana "O-Ok! Ok! I surrender!" With a nod Shirou stepped off of him and extinguished his blade.
Instead of something flashy or appealing to the lackeys and Luvia, all Shirou did was sheath his blade and begin to walk away. Adjusting his sleeves as he left the training room, not seeming to care about the form of Michalis still lying on the ground.
Meanwhile, Luvia began to make her way out of the seating to go meet up with Shirou. The battle had been short and obviously against Michalis, a true Magus at heart, from the very beginning with the training that he seemed to have. Unfortunately, this meant that she didn't have much information to gather from the fight, but what did interest her was finding out more. And she would find out more. Even if it meant that she had to spar and train him in Magecraft herself.
"Sherou! That was spectacular!" She called out, jogging up to him before falling into a comfortable walking place beside him.
"Felt boring." Was all she got from Shirou, but she suspected a similar answer regardless.
"Well, if you're looking for something more interesting. We can always spar together Sherou? It'd be good training for both of us."
"Maybe. For now, I just want to keep looking at the different departments. Any of them that you think would fit swordsmithing?"
"Hmmm. Mineralogy or Creation perhaps?" She asked, raising a finger and cocking her hand slightly as she did so.
"Possibly. Mineralogy would be around things like ores and gems, right?" Shirou asked as the two of them walked comfortably through the halls of the Clock Tower, not even noticing the shocked looks he was getting from similar aged Magi.
"That's right. I take Mineralogy classes myself. For my Magecraft."
"I saw you pulling out a gem during your meeting with Michalis. I thought it was for your Magecraft, but I wasn't entirely sure and didn't really want to pry." He chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.
"That's sweet Sherou. Have you heard of Jewel Magecraft before? You don't seem awfully surprised by it?" She questioned, tilting her head to the side.
"My friend, the Second Owner of the City I live in, also uses that sort of Magecraft."
"A-Ah…" He blinked at her questioningly as she seemed to take the next few steps almost robotically "Sherou…by chance would the Second Owner you speak of happen to be a member of the Tohsaka lineage?"
"That's right. Do you know about them?" He asked, clueless as to what he had just begun to unleash on the world of Magi.
"Our families have…talked in the past. I imagine that the heiress is doing well after the passing of her father?"
"Ah so you have heard about that. Yeah. Rin has been pretty good since then."
"So that's her name? Rin?" Luvia questioned.
"That's right. She was very angry that I was able to come here and she wasn't." Shirou chuckled, reminiscing over the memory.
"Oh. What a shame." Luvia let her voice drop a bit and tinge with some (fake) sympathy as she rested a palm to her cheek "Will she be coming sometime soon? Next year perhaps?"
"I don't think so. Her guardian doesn't really want her to leave for the Clock Tower, so she has to stay home. I think she's planning to come here for College though?" He tapped his finger on his thigh as he thought it over, missing the minute flash of vindictive glee that covered Luvia's face.
"That's terrible. Well, I guess if her guardian says so" She shrugged and shook her head in a 'what-can-you-do?' motion "I believe I will send her a letter. It would be nice for the Edelfelt and Tohsaka heiresses to get in touch once more. Don't you think Sherou?"
"Of course. You could even share tips on Jewel Magecraft?" He suggested, oblivious to the rivalry of the two families.
"Perhaps….Say Sherou? You and her are friends, correct?"
"That's right."
"How did you meet?"
"Well…She kinda blackmailed me?" He chuckled nervously, getting a raising of both of Luvia's eyebrows.
"Oh, that's simply horrible!" She gasped, holding a hand to her chest.
"Not the only time it's happened…" Shirou muttered dryly, something that Luvia guessed she probably wasn't supposed to hear "We don't know if her father and my family made a deal or something. But she got really angry about me and my family being there without her knowing. So, I have to help her out with her Magecraft till she says so."
"How barbaric." She ignored the small voice in her head that commented on the girl's pragmatism and shrewdness "Nothing too bad I hope?"
"Oh no. It's fine now." He chuckled, waving his hand.
"Well, I'm glad about that. Ah! Here's the department of Zoology!" She exclaimed, watching Shirou immediately cock his head to the side.
"I want to see what kind of things they do in there" He mumbled, getting a slight giggle out of her.
"What they'll let us see" She reminded him again, giggling a bit more as his expression fell and he let his head sag.
"Right. Magus secrets and everything."
"That's right. Now let's go, we're burning light."
XXXxxxXXX
Tohsaka Residence, Two weeks later
Rin stared at the piece of paper clutched in both of her hands with a gaze that could kill God himself. Her eyelid twitching and the paper in her grasp jumping and jolting as both of her arms shook with barely concealed rage.
The paper currently in her hands was a lovingly sent letter from one of the two current heiresses of the Edelfelt Family, Luvia. A letter that started out very nice and cordial. Then incredibly quickly nosedived into pure mocking and teasing in the form of very polite 'noble-ese' that made every cell in her body want to find the smug Edelfelt and Gandr her into non-existence.
Then, on the second page of the obnoxious letter, Luvia brought up Shirou. From then on, Rin started to pace the entirety of her house. The girl reading through the letter with the intensity of a hawk zeroed in on its prey and enough hatred to make even a demon flinch back.
Finally, hidden in the envelope, was the final nail in the coffin for Rin's eternal hatred/rivalry with Luviagelita Edelfelt. A picture.
A singular picture…of Luvia and Shirou. The both of them sitting in a classroom together, seeming to work on something in class if the concentration on Shirou's face was anything to go by.
"I'm going to kill her. I won't make it look like an accident. I'm going to kill her" She seethed, throwing the letter down on her kitchen table and storming upstairs into her library to start on a book that she had been putting off due to how complex it sounded to her.
Now though? Now it seemed like juuuuuuuust the right time for her to sit down and read a nice relaxing book on the specifics and equations of combative Jewel Magecraft.
XXXxxxXXX
Omake: The Superweapon of The Clock Tower
"Alright! That's all the departments. Now the last thing to look at is the vault." Luvia let Shirou know, getting a raised eyebrow from him.
"The vault?"
"That's right Sherou." Luvia dragged him into an elevator and pushed the button, making Shirou wonder when there was an elevator next to them "The vault is where all the greatest magical artifacts of the Clock Tower are kept."
"Magical Artifacts you say?~" Shirou was practically salivating at the thought of just being able to see one of said artifacts.
"That's right. Some even say that there's a Superweapon in the vault, capable of matching any and all of the Superweapons of Atlas."
"You don't say?"
"Indeed. Its so dangerous that no one has been able to wield it since its creator. Rumor has it that it may even be a divine construct." She whispered conspiratorially, unaware of the sudden red glowing of his eyes.
"Bring me to the weapon."
"That was the plan, dear Sherou. This is a tour after all. Who knows, maybe it'll inspire you to create something."
XXXxxxXXX
Five Minutes later
"AAAHHHH!"
"OH MY GOD!"
"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!?"
Luvia stood in the fire and flames of what had once been the Clock Tower. In a circle left pristine of smoke, rubble, ash or any kind of blemish. Her body slack and her eyes blank.
"Impossible….Its impossible…"
"MISS EDELFELT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? HE'S COMING BACK!" The student who shouted this soon screamed in terror and avoided a cut in space and time.
"The superweapon of the Clock Tower belonged to Sherou…."
"TSUMAKARI MURAMASA!"
XXXxxxXXX
HEY GUYS!
Welcome to Chapter 6. We're finally fucking over the first major timeskip of the fanfic. Cause I'll be honest. I live for the big fights and massive spectacles, if I had to spend much longer on an 8 year old Shirou I might have died from boredom.
Anyways, how'd you guys like Shirou's first look at the Clock Tower? His scenes in the Clock Tower is sort of where I'm going to experiment with bringing in other Nasuverse characters that I think might be interesting. Sorta like name-drop them, see how you guys react, frantically scramble to change things later XD
But really, don't feel worried. I'll only do that for characters I'm on the fence about introducing. If I want to introduce a character, it doesn't matter what you guys say. I'll bring them in regardless x3
Finally, we begin to approach November, the month of my birthday (Which is Nov 30). And despite the fact that it will be my birthday. I'm giving you all a gift! Currently I have been working on and trying to write chapters for all of my stories in preparation for this. But over the month of November (for previously stockpiled stories) and on the day of my birthday I will be releasing chapters as shown below!
(If any additional chapters are completed, the announcement on my Discord server will be edited to reflect that)
(Additionally all dates shown are Australian dates. Meaning they may be a day 'early' for those in other countries. Specifically US)
Nov 10: HttB 7, DoD 6
Nov 15: EF 15 (ao3 only), DoD 7
Nov 20: HttB 8, DoD 8
Nov 30: HttB 9, HCIW 21 (ao3 only), EF 16 (ao3 only), DoD 9, JGF 5 (ao3 only)
Discord code: ctMzhq3
REVIEWS:
Animan10: Ahhhhh yes, but unfortunately. It's the catch-all for a reason XD
Sawtooth44: Why would you put this out into the cosmos? Do you want Kaleidoscope to fuck any hope of this universe surviving?
YuukiAsuna-Chan: Accurate.
Jajur von Hohenzollern: If the HGW doesn't go so off he walls Chaldea needs to be called in. Then the entire premise of this story has failed and I will commit honorable Seppuku.
El20030408: That's definitely a possibility. Whether or not I'll go with it will just have to be seen.
KingAllen: Happy Shirou's Day! Sakura made cake. Rin tried as well but the less said about that the better
Raging Drake: Don't worry. As I've said before. I have no plans to add Lorelei to the harem.