"Alright, first off. Welcome back, for all of you that have come here for the summer classes." The teacher at the front of the class spoke while turning, from the blackboard and towards the class, on the spot.
Said teacher was Waver Velvet, otherwise known as Lord El-Melloi II. Standing in front of a Mineralogy class with a pitifully small number of students, just barely sitting in the double digits at 12 young Magi. Despite the small class though, Waver didn't let it affect him due to having taught similarly sized classes for the last two years since returning to the Clock Tower.
As he finished speaking, he let his eyes roam over his class. The names of each student coming to mind as his gaze rolled over them like a calming breeze. This particular class had no large names, at least as far as the majority of the class were aware.
Because at the back of the class, on opposite ends of the classroom, were two new students to the class that were far more important than anybody else would realize. His gaze instinctively moved to the one sitting by the windows first, grey hair and green eyes that were becoming more and more familiar by the day.
This student was a young girl, twelve years old, named Gray, and she was his apprentice.
Despite her seeming aversion to the rest of her classmates, Waver didn't see much harm in it. Since he had been the one to take her in and teach her, he had gotten the full nitty gritty details of her life. So because of this he couldn't quite blame her for her more isolationist tendencies as opposed to many of her classmates.
Said thought led to his gaze moving to the other isolated student of the classroom, who had also been one of the one's included in his welcoming to the summer classes.
The young boy, also twelve years old, named Shirou Muramasa. But to Waver and very few others, he was known as Shirou Emiya, the son of the Magus Killer.
Unlike his apprentice on the other side of the classroom, who had been staring out the window until Waver spoke, Shirou was still looking away. The boy having only looked up for the briefest of moments and nodding to himself before looking back down at his notebook while flipping a kni- flipping a knife?!
Waver had to fight off the urge to do a physical double-take at the sight of the red haired child flipping a small, single edged, knife between his fingers dexterously. As he did this with his left hand, his right was busy scratching something in a small notebook laid out on the table.
Moving his gaze off Shirou after the slightest few seconds, he sighed and turned back to the blackboard, picking up some chalk and beginning to write once again. His mind wandering as he did so, but not so much that he couldn't hear and mentally store away some of the murmurs he heard from his students.
"Hey, did you hear that the Wizard-Marshall's granddaughter is back in London?"
"Have you heard some of the rumors about the new head of the Barthomeloi family? She just showed up out of nowhere a month ago."
"There's a new excavation being done in Greece. A hotspot of magical artifacts apparently."
While the third one was interesting to Waver, and something he would follow up with at a later date, the first two rumors were rather worrying to the teacher.
Being a Lord and, in addition to that, a teacher at the Clock Tower. Waver was well aware of the new Head of the Barthomeloi family who had finally stepped foot outside the Barthomeloi manor a little under a month ago. The young Lorelei Barthomeloi, a staunch member of the Aristocratic faction who was rising in the ranks of the Clock Tower with terrifying speed, and trying to drag in Magi and families under her banner just as quickly.
And on the other hand, Waver was also aware of the Wizard Marshall's adopted granddaughter, having seen her in passing when he had still been studying at the Clock Tower. Unfortunately for quite a lot of people within the Clock Tower, the Barthomeloi hatred of Dead Apostles was well remembered within the populace and Lorelei was undoubtedly on a warpath to prove herself using one as an example.
Waver just hoped that Lorelei and the Wizard Marshall's granddaughter never actually met face to face. Maybe something would catch the young Barthomeloi's attention first? That would be a nice thought.
"Alright class, today you'll be working in groups of two that I will be choosing." He pretended to ignore the one or two grumbles he heard from the class as he picked up the class roster and began to pair them up.
"And finally, Gray and Shirou Muramasa."
Waver carefully kept an eye on both of the isolated students as he watched the gears click as they slowly turned their heads, making eye contact at almost the exact same time. Grinning to himself ever so slightly as he watched Shirou gesture for Gray to come over as he moved some of his stuff on his desk.
'She needs to interact with more people, especially around her own age. And if what Kiritsugu told me is true, he should be a good kid.'
Meanwhile, Shirou was just in the middle of moving his stuff when a soft voice reached his ears.
"Is that a knife?" Looking over, he saw the hooded gray haired girl, named Gray ironically, slowly shifting a chair over.
"It is." Shirou confirmed "A poorly made one though, I was just fiddling with it." He admitted with a shrug, the knife fizzling away into small blue motes of Prana.
"Hm. Projection?" She asked, voice soft yet an undercurrent of curiosity evident to the young blacksmith.
"Sort of." He answered with a small smile "Mur- Oh. Shirou Muramasa, nice to meet you." He held a hand out to her.
"Gray, a pleasure." She responded, shyly reaching a hand out and shaking his own hand for only a fraction of a second before pulling it back in a blur underneath her cloak.
To his own credit, Shirou didn't react to her strange actions or call her out on it. Instead all he did was listen to the parameters of what they would be doing until El-Melloi stopped speaking, letting them go to work.
"Ok, do you know much about the topic Gray?" Shirou asked, opening a new book to a fresh page and grabbing a pencil.
After half a minute of no answer he turned to look at her, only to see that she was wordlessly staring directly at his chest with an unblinking gaze. Her green eyes seeming to almost glow in the shadow of her hood and her face relaxed in a way that denoted her concentration as more subconscious than purposeful.
"Gray? You there?" He asked, snapping his fingers in front of her eyes and getting her to yelp and flinch back.
"What? Sorry. What were we?- Oh yes. Class…..r-right." She muttered in embarrassment, her cheeks flushing so red she grabbed the edges of her hood and pulled it further over her face to try and hide it.
"Are you ok? You seemed pretty focused there?" He asked, a raised eyebrow emphasizing his point.
"I was just focused on the Mystic Code in your chest. I'm sorry if that was rude…" She muttered, only to get a stupefied blink from the red-head.
"The what, in where?"
"You aren't aware?...I'm sorry, forget I said anything!" She shyly mumbled, pulling her hood further over her face and hunkering down to grab out one of her own books.
"You can't say that and just-"
"Gehehehe! You're preeeeeeetty red there Gray~ You sure you weren't thinking about something else while staring at him?" A quiet but high-pitched voice was heard by the two partners, immediately making Gray's face turn even redder.
Reaching around to fiddle with something at her waist she pulled out a small birdcage that held a cube inside it with dimly glowing eyes and a 'mouthpiece' that moved up and down as it snickered.
"Add! You can't keep saying things like that out in public!" She whisper shouted to the cube.
"And why not? Not like what I'm saying is false after all." The cube giggled at her, rattling slightly in the birdcage but not enough to draw the attention of anyone else in the class.
"My partner!" She whisper shouted again, getting an embarrassed noise from the cube as she looked over at Shirou worriedly.
Except instead of any facial expression she was expecting, all she got was a blank look with his eyes locked on Add. His golden-amber orbs staring at Gray's mystic-code with an unnerving steel that had even the usually confident cube sliding away from the boy slightly.
Suddenly he tore his eyes away, screwing them up and holding his head with one hand. Forcing his forehead into the desk and tensing up as if he was in intense pain, yet barely the tiniest whimper left his thinned lips and tensed jaw. The sudden change in his behaviour had Gray quickly ignoring her previous hesitation and placing a gentle hand on his back.
"S-Shirou? Are you well? What happened?" She muttered, feeling a pulse from whatever was implanted in his chest that coincided with his features beginning to loosen out more.
"T-That lance…" He muttered, and Gray felt her heart plummet to her feet.
"W-What lance? I-I don't know anything about a lance?" She mumbled in return, her skin turning even paler and a cold sweat beginning to break out over her skin.
Shirou didn't say anything for a moment, wincing briefly before opening and eye and looking her and Add up and down for a few seconds before breathing in deeply and exhaling.
"You mind if I speak to you after class? I think I…..discovered something I wasn't meant to."
"O-Ok?..." She muttered fearfully, getting a small nod from him.
"Lets just do our work ok? We can talk about all of this when we're done." Shirou said, clearly still distracted but trying to work past it, his fingers occasionally twitching.
Gray slowly nodded, now incredibly nervous and twice as paranoid. And it was because of that, that she noticed the way that his eye would occasionally twitch, causing him to wince and eventually hold his hand to his head permanently.
'Whatever he did…..It definitely damaged him.'
XXXxxxXXX
After class
"Thanks for coming here." Shirou began as he sat on the seats in the empty testing grounds, a reinforced room used to practice more destructive spells.
"Well….W-What you found out was pretty serious." Gray's retort got a snort from Shirou.
"Anything that powerful…Well I imagine it'd be kept a pretty big secret. If not locked up completely."
"You…..You already know what it is?"
"I do." He confirmed, smiling sheepishly at her.
"How did you find out anyway? Add should have protected it from some sort of investigative spell." She took a couple steps towards him before remembering the situation and backing up again, eyeing him warily.
"I'm not going to use this information to hurt you or anything Gray." He commented, raising an eyebrow and leaning forward in his seat.
"I-I don't trust that."
Shirou sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Yeah I suppose that makes sense…Well. It wouldn't do well to scare off a possible client-"
'Client?' She gave him a blank look, tilting her head to the side.
"So I don't mind telling you. Especially if it's such a big secret. I structurally grasped your Mystic Code there."
"You violated me!" Add suddenly yelled out, banging against the birdcage and getting a sweatdrop from the red-haired pre-teen.
"I-I wouldn't go that far?"
"I can't have children after this! I'm unworthy of a bride!" Despite the tense air between the two at the moment, both pre-teen's shared a look before staring at Add judgmentally, not that it noticed.
"Gray! You'll have to take up the burden for me! You'll need to have enough children for the both of us!"
"W-WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU SAYING!?"
Both teens blushed brightly, but while Gray scrambled to unclip the birdcage from her side and hold it up to eye level, Shirou just averted his gaze. The Japanese magus, ignoring the proceeding 'argument' between the girl and her Mystic Code.
'Speaking of that Mystic Code.' Shirou thought to himself, holding out a hand in front of him.
"Trace On." He had the blueprint in his mind, the entire structure of Add seemingly seared into his mind along with the memory of the pain looking at that lance had done.
Yet the blueprint seemed difficult to fully wrap his head around, like there were certain parts of it he could fully grasp and other parts that seemed so alien to him that he couldn't even fathom them. With a wince as a surge of pain ran up his arm, he dropped the Tracing of Add halfway through, letting it shatter loudly into motes of light. Said sound of shattering bringing Gray's attention back to him.
"What was that?" She asked suspiciously, getting a pained smile from Shirou.
"I uh. I tried to do a Projection of your friend but it didn't work. As you heard." He finished lamely, chuckling at his own failure.
"He's a Mystic Code. Of course it wouldn't work." She responded dryly "Look. I know you have whatever that Mystic Code in your chest is." She spoke, walking towards him slowly "But nobody can know about the Lance. Or what Add's actually meant for."
"Of course. Of course." He agreed, holding his hands up in a surrender "Considering it gave me a migraine. It must be pretty strong huh?"
"A migraine?" She asked unbelievingly, but her voice did lower slightly. "You don't seem to be in any pain though?"
"Oh. I heal pretty quickly." He waved off the brief flash of concern that had passed over her features when he told her about the ramifications of Structurally Grasping her partner.
'Though even I've never gotten over a migraine this quickly….' He thought to himself.
She gave him a carefully blank look. Not like his own or Sakura's but more like she was intentionally trying to keep her features smoothed over. For the oddest reason he got the impression that he was being judged…
"Anyway…" Shirou slowly continued, clearly trying to lift the mood "You have a Mystic Code made by Morgan le Fay-"
"H-huh!?"
"You should be pretty proud of that. You actually look a little like her based on what I saw- eh?" A singular drop of blood slid down the back of his neck.
The reason for that being the sudden appearance of a beautifully made scythe circled around him with the blade resting against the back of his neck. The pole of the weapon held in a singular hand of Gray as she stared coldly into his eyes. Her green eyes seeming to once again glow in the shadow of her hood.
Not that Shirou spent much time noticing this before doing a Structural Grasp of Add once more, careful not to delve too deep this time.
Though he did really want to see that lance in person.
"Do not insinuate such a thing again." She muttered coldly, her grip on the scythe tightening to the point her knuckles went white.
"Insinuate? Ah, ok? Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." He said genuinely, smiling at her.
"Y-you're actually apologizing?" She stammered in astonishment, a small blush of embarrassment spreading across her cheeks.
"Of course, he would." Both pre-teens jolted at the sudden appearance of a third voice, one that they both recognized.
"Professor El Melloi?"
"Master?"
Waver Velvet walked towards the both of them in the otherwise empty room, pulling out a cigar as he did so and lighting it with a small mumble and a candle flame that burst to life over his finger.
"W-W-What are you d-doing here Master?" Gray stammered, transforming Add back into his regular cube form while Shirou just looked at him impassively.
"First of all. We aren't in class. Either go the full mile and call me 'Lord El Melloi II' or just call me Waver." He spoke to Shirou, taking a puff of his cigar "And I'm here because I noticed you looked anxious and paranoid when the both of you left class. So whatever Shirou did must have shaken you pretty badly."
The man levelled a flat gaze on the red haired boy when he said this, getting a sheepish smile in return.
"Though in all honesty. I should have expected this when I put the two of you together. Kiritsugu warned me of your proficiency with Structural Grasping."
"His Proficiency?"
"You know Tou-san?"
This time, Waver turned to his apprentice to answer her question first.
"That's right. Shirou here, according to his father, uses Structural Grasping in the creation of his blades. To the point where he can Structurally Grasp something just from looking at it."
"Mystic Eyes?" Shirou himself blinked at Gray's question, having never thought or been told the ability to do what he did was that rare that it could be considered Mystic Eyes.
"No. Just a lot of practice." Waver shot down, turning his gaze back to the boy in question and blowing out some smoke "And yes, I know your father. We were technically enemies in the past by circumstance. But he reached out to me recently and explained some details about your abilities."
"Do you want me to forge you a weapon? I take commissions." Shirou smiled, getting a snort from Waver.
"We'll speak about commissions later. But Shirou Emiya-" The boy jolted at the man calling him by his adopted family name "I need you to understand. The lance inside Add? You do not let anyone know. Not friends, not family, and especially not anyone within the Clock Tower."
Shirou could feel something thick in the air. Similar to the bloodlust that Gilgamesh would throw at him, in that it wasn't a magical pressure, but obviously weaker than the golden King's as well. Despite the feeling being weaker, the pre-teen was under no presumptions that the promise of something unpleasant was no less serious.
"Because I'm an educator Shirou. I'll explain what will happen if you do." Waver walked over and sat beside him, crossing one leg over the other and intertwining his fingers on his knee "If you let anyone know of that lance. You put Gray in danger-"
The girl in question paled at this and shuffled back a step.
"You put the continued existence of Add in danger. You put your own life in danger." Waver could see that what he had said obviously got Shirou thinking, but he could still tell that something more was needed to fully hammer in his point "Shirou Em- No in this case, I suppose Muramasa would be best."
The pre-teen blinked at him in confusion, cocking his head to the side with a curious noise.
"Should you let anyone else know about that lance, you risk people going after Gray to obtain that lance to try and use it for their own purposes. Add keeps the lance at full power, but he also keeps it locked away from the world. To use the lance they undoubtedly would have to get rid of Add to do so. You would be ruining a weapon on the level of the highest ranked Noble Phantasms."
Gray raised an eyebrow at the odd point her master had left the warning on, but moving her gaze to Shirou she could see that he had gone bone white and as still as the grave. She was almost certain she could see him breaking out into a cold sweat as well.
'What the hell? Why was that what got the biggest reaction out of him?'
"I see you've realized how large this is?"
"Y-Yes…" Shirou stammered out.
Just the thought of him being the reason such a magnificent weapon was ruined. It made him want to be physically and violently sick. Even secondhand through his Structural Grasping of Add he could tell the power the lance held and the quality of its making. Even all of the weapons that he had seen Gilgamesh pull out, so far, hadn't been made as well or have as much power as the lance that the grey haired girl wielded. So for him to ruin that? Unacceptable.
He'd sooner kill himself than allow that.
"Good." Waver replied, nodding towards Shirou and standing up, puffing out another cloud of cigar smoke.
"You're leaving already, Master?" Gray asked, not particularly surprised by his sudden visit and exit, but disappointed he still wasn't spending much time with her.
"I am." He confirmed, voice soft "I have another class to teach in….five minutes. But Gray, best to stay around him." Waver said, tilting his head in Shirou's direction for a moment "You'll both be able to train in weapon's combat together. And he'll be able to fashion you a weapon incase you're separated from Add or he malfunctions somehow."
"HEY!" Add shouted, bouncing around in indignation "I'm a top tier Mystic Code! I don't just 'stop working' you leather clad-"
"O-Of course Master." Gray cut in, clasping her hands and bowing at the waist.
"I'm not gonna do a commission like that for free you know?" Shirou cut in, face flat and unimpressed.
"Yes, yes. I've heard rumors from your distributors." Waver responded, walking towards the door "You and Gray talk it out and figure out a price. Then Gray you can come to me and I'll cover the cost if it isn't too outrageous."
"Huh. Cool." Shirou hummed, his mind already swirling with ideas.
"Y-yes Master!" Gray exclaimed, happy that Waver was trusting her with the negotiation of the prices, seeing it as him warming up to her.
Waver just waved his hand and exited the training room, making them both look at each other before Shirou grinned widely.
"So. Can you show me the forms Add has? I want to see them in person." Both girl and Mystic Code couldn't help but back up slightly, feeling like they'd awoken something they shouldn't have.
XXXxxxXXX
3 Days later, Clock Tower
The sharp click-clack of leather boots resounded through the hallway. Children, teens and adults that had been having conversations parted like the red sea and all sound died out.
Lorelei Barthomeloi let her gaze sweep over the Magi that she walked past. Seeing very few that were worthy of her attention. And even the ones that did seem to have some sort of worth didn't have enough to hold her attention for long at the moment.
At the moment the young woman of just barely 18 years old was marching her way through the halls of the Clock Tower, heading towards a section of the esteemed establishment run by the Aristocratic Faction. Of which, Lorelei was the leader of, being the newest head of the Barthomeloi. As she walked, she noticed a larger congregation ahead of her and raised a slender eyebrow before smoothing it over and speeding up her pace.
"Why are all of you gathering in the halls? Do you not have classes or research to be doing?" She spoke up, uncaring of the sheer speed that all conversation stopped.
The hallway went from bustling with noise to silent enough to hear a pin-drop in an instant. Slowly many heads turned to face her, the Magi in front of her beginning to pale.
"Well? Do any of you have the ability to speak?" She asked, tapping her foot to put even more mental pressure on them.
"L-Lady Barthomeloi." A young female magus, probably around 15 or 16, finally spoke up "I-It's nothing really. Just a duel between the Edelfelt and Pentel sisters."
"And a duel that's 'nothing really' has attracted this much attention?" She asked, doubt lacing her every word and action.
The girl in question wilted under the Barthomeloi Head's steel gaze, averting her eyes downwards and subtly twiddling her fingers together.
"But the Edelfelt and Pentel Heiress' you say?...Stand aside, I wish to watch." She ordered with a wave of her hand, already walking forward as the Magi around her stumbled to make a path through them.
Walking forwards she stepped through the doorway, which had also been cleared, and looked out towards where she could recognize the battle going on. Based on the Bounded Field that had been erected it was clearly more than just an unarmed fight. The explosions and spells being thrown around corroborated that observation.
Walking closer to the Bounded Field and around the perimeter of it, she kept her eye on the fight. The Edelfelt sisters were undoubtedly the more powerful of the two groups. Though on the other hand, the Pentel sisters had undeniably better teamwork.
The one that looked to be the elder of the two Edelfelt sisters kept trying to go on the offensive, but rarely got to actually initiate her attacks before her sister threw in another gem that either negated her own or overpowered it. Meaning that the elder looking sister just had to fight passively as her sister wasted more and more gems and prana trying to almost single handedly take down the Pentel sisters.
Lorelei scowled at the crowd that had formed around the fight, refusing to mingle amongst them to watch and so having to find another way around. The chosen way around occasionally blocking her view of the fight for a few moments and taking her in a rather lengthy path. Said path led her closer to the fight, however it was on the exact opposite side of the room to where she had entered.
Taking a moment to slow down in her walking and focus fully back on the fight, she scoffed and rolled her eyes when she noticed that no headway had been made in either direction. The Pentel sisters obviously deciding on a strategy of waiting out the younger Edelfelt sister until she drained herself dry of gems, prana or both.
Brown eyes tracked the next batch of four gems that were thrown, watching two of them explode into a hail of distractionary shards while the third one exploded in a violently bright light. The faintest use of Od in her eyes kept the Barthomeloi Head perfectly safe from what was essentially a Magi flashbang.
The fourth gem, however, was what caught the woman's attention. The red crystal flying in an arc to try and slip behind the two sisters and catch them off-guard. Except one of the sisters had already completed a one-line Aria and coalesced a protective semi-sphere of water that stopped the blast from reaching either of the Pentel's. Lorelei was fully prepared for the screams of fear or surprise from such a large explosion but she was also equally as prepared to brush them off. If they weren't strong enough to block such a blast then they shouldn't have been standing so close, plain and simple.
Except while there was a couple yelps or screams of fright, none of the Magi watching actually suffered any sort of negative consequences. Thanks, in full, to the previously invisible barrier that shone to visibility while containing the explosion before shimmering out of view once again. Raising an eyebrow at the strange occurrence, most Magi didn't fight often let alone with spectator protection in place, she expanded her senses to follow the Mana back to its source.
Said task was far from difficult as the Bounded Field she could sense was tied very heavily to a pre-teen standing about 16-17 meters from the young woman. A rather bored looking boy in what she could see was blatantly oriental clothing that even she knew was more traditional in style compared to modern clothing. The boy uncrossed one of his arms and yawned into his hand, Magic Circuits flashing across his skin as another attack was once again contained by the Bounded Field he seemed to be helping supply/keep stable.
"Luvia!" He called out, crossing his arms again and getting a curious noise from the eldest Edelfelt sister, the girl's eyes never straying from the battle however.
"Yes Sherou?" She threw forward an Emerald that spun through the air before pausing at a predetermined point and expanding to block an attack headed towards one of her sister's flanks.
"Speed this up! I'd like to get back to my Forge sometime this week." His words and tone may have been incredibly crude yet Lorelei found herself agreeing with him.
She understood the necessity of these matches on occasion. But the sheer time it was taking for either side to make some sort of lead was beginning to grate on her nerves and she'd only arrived two minutes ago. Despite her agreement with the boy's words, however, it would be remiss of her to allow such comments about a greater pedigree to slide; as a member of the Aristocratic Faction it was practically a duty.
"Boy. What is your name?" She questioned after marching up to him, instantly catching the attention of a few magus near him and causing them to inch back.
Including the form of Gray mostly hidden under her cloak, the girl having gone bone white at the form of the Barthomeloi head approaching the boy she was tentatively beginning to call a friend.
"Hm?" He looked over at her and she managed to see the brief flash of recognition in his eyes.
"Yes. You've recognized me. Well done. I expect an answer now." She grouched with a stern expression.
"Ah, right. I'm Shirou Muramasa, Miss Barthomeloi." He greeted, at least having the knowhow not to try and offer her a handshake or something similar.
"Mr. Muramasa. Do you understand the slight you show by treating an heir of an older pedigree with such casualness? Such a thing is worthy of an incredible amount of retribution." Despite her words almost sounding like a helpful warning, her tone of voice and how she carried herself were far more ominous.
"Ahhhh, apologies if I've offended you in some way Miss Barthomeloi. But I'm a business partner of Luvia's." He explained with a sheepish chuckle and a wave of his hand.
"You? I hardly believe that." She looked him up and down with a singular raised eyebrow.
"It's not much. I just make Mystic Codes and they distribute them for some of the profit." He admitted, shrugging his shoulders a little.
His Magic Circuit's lit up across his skin, brighter than before this time as a bright flash of light and a deafening bang resounded through the stone and marble room they had been using for this fight. The pre-teen focusing his attention back on the fight to see if he still needed to keep his attention on it or not.
Lorelei, meanwhile, allowed him to do this and proceed to drop his Bounded Field to speak to Luvia now that the fight was over. Instead, in place of reprimanding him over his casualness with a bloodline as renowned as the Edelfelt currently was, a singular image before the explosion ended was seared into her mind as she looked at him in contemplation.
The image of bright green, incredibly complex Magic Circuitry across his forearms, hidden by his sleeves except in that singular moment.
XXXxxxXXX
That Afternoon, Empty Clock Tower Forge
Shirou wiped some sweat off his forehead as he lifted the blade up to get a better look at it, tilting it back and forth under the light with one eye closed. Seeming to find it adequate as he made a small humming noise and went to cover the backbone of the blade in some clay.
"I assume I've not come at a bad time?" The voice of Lorelei Barthomeloi cut through the peaceful silence of the forge and Shirou looked up for just a moment to acknowledge her presence before looking back down at his blade.
"There's never a bad time to visit a smith." He responded simply, in a way that only a child could pull off.
"Clearly. Shirou Muramasa. Of the Muramasa clan?"
"That's me." He confirmed, flipping the still heated blade over and coating the other side of the backbone in clay as well.
"Usually one gives someone of my station their undivided attention when they speak to them."
"Of course. My apologies." He still didn't look up at her as he worked, but annoyingly she could tell that he was keeping a closer ear on her.
"Are you being smart with me Muramasa?"
"That would be asking me if I have a suicide wish, Miss Barthomeloi." He made sure the clay was on properly with no breaks or holes before lifting it up by the tang and walking over to a trough of water.
"And yet you still refuse to give me your full attention." She replied, a heavy feeling pressing down on him, but not one that he wasn't at least used to feeling by now.
"Unfortunately, Miss Barthomeloi. This current blade is a commission that someone paid me for. And unless you're willing to pay me to stop my work and essentially half-ass my blade, I'm going to continue working on it until it's done. Because I refuse to make and sell a cheap or inferior-made blade to a client." He responded evenly, showing more backbone in his 'dismissal' of her and his casual manner of speech than most of the Clock Tower ever had.
"Hm." He could tell she wasn't happy, which would probably end up bad for him in the end, based on the minute pressure which continued to build up around him.
He placed his clay covered blade in the trough and made sure to lean back to avoid the giant cloud of steam. The sight only getting an unimpressed raised eyebrow from the 18-year-old currently watching the pre-teen do his work.
"Your family has a history of making blades, as I've discovered. Over 500 years of pedigree since the first recorded, and most famous, member of your clan."
"That's right. He was the first one in the family line to take up blacksmithing, and still considered the best." Shirou admitted, still holding the blade under the water.
"Did your Family Crest you seem insistent on hiding originate from him as well?" She questioned, the woman watching as he sighed.
"I'd been told you might have seen that earlier today." He said as he pulled his blade out of the water, her only reaction to his words being a couple of rapid blinks "Yeah. It did."
"500 years of pedigree is on par with some of the oldest families in the Clock Tower." Lorelei began walking over to him with perfectly poised and positioned steps.
"Is it? I suppose there must not be many families between 500 years and the thousands of years." He hummed, placing the sword on his bench and looking over it with a keen eye.
"Yet you debase yourself to living within a regular student dormitory, working with those of the democratic faction and hiding your Family Crest and pedigree like it's something to be ashamed of." Her voice grew hot at the end, but despite that she never lost her image or aura of royalty and collectiveness.
"Of course, it's not something to be ashamed of. But it's also something I see no point in flaunting around." The pre-teen shrugged, "And I made a deal with the Edelfelts because it worked out well for me."
"So, you would join the Democratic faction over the Aristocratic? With a bloodline like yours?" Lorelei asked, actually a little bewildered despite how well she hid it.
"Truthfully I'd probably fit in better with the Neutral Faction over the Aristocratic or Democratic." He finally looked up at her, focusing on her properly "But I get materials and clients through the Edelfelt's. So I have no worries about staying partnered with them."
"This would be for your research as a Magus, correct?"
"Sort of? My family has always seen Magecraft as a way to achieve the first Muramasa's dream, rather than to reach the Root." Shirou was able to watch a faint look of disgust cover Lorelei's face in response to his words.
"What a disgusting mindset for a bloodline such as yours." Her voice was cold and unforgiving and her foot began to gently tap on the floor in annoyance.
Shirou didn't comment on her thoughts on his family dream. Knowing that doing so would lead to unpleasant results, especially considering his attitude so far.
"Anyway, that's why I'm partnered with the Edelfelt family."
"Hm. So you truly do not care what Faction you are a part of, so long as you gain benefits from being a part of it by proxy?"
"…Yeah. Pretty much. All three factions make sense to me. So, I can't really say I believe in one and not the other two." He shrugged, "But despite what faction I'm a part of, my forge is open to all commissions."
"Hm. And if a commission requires a material you do not have access to?"
"Then part of the payment will either be the client handing me the needed item, or I will need to grab it myself." Shirou answered, having thought this over in his year since last coming to the Clock Tower.
"I see. Very well. I have a commission to test your proficiency. Before I waste time or resources on a child that very well may make a Mystic Code unable to handle the strain, I would place upon it."
Shirou tried, he really, really did, to hide the twitch that formed in his right eyebrow.
XXXxxxXXX
Current time, Fuyuki
"Mr Emiya, Mrs Emiya." Rin greeted as she stepped into the Emiya household.
"Tohsaka! It's so nice that you could make it. I know that you tend to sulk in your manor the whole time that onii-chan is gone." Illya teased her from beside her mother.
The small girl's grin was a mixture of playful and malicious, which only grew at the twitch that formed in the Tohsaka Heiress' eyebrow as heat began to simultaneously rise to her face.
"Illya, be nice~" Irisviel giggled, petting her daughter's head and getting an angelic smile in return.
"Glad that you could make it, Tohsaka. Come in, we have much to speak about." Kiritsugu greeted her properly, helping the young girl cool down and regard the Magus Killer in a more serious manner.
"What did you wish to speak about?" She asked, feeling like this wasn't just a casual asking her over.
"Don't worry." Irisviel smiled warmly and gestured to a seat at their table "It's more just me wanting to stick to proper procedure than anything else. It shouldn't take too long."
"I think it's the first time those words have ever left your mouth." Kiritsugu muttered without thinking, jerking back with a surprised look as Irisviel clutched his shirt with both hands and leaned in with a teary look.
"Kiriiiii! Don't be mean to meeeeeee!" She whined, getting a nervous laugh from her husband, a sweatdrop rolling down his temple.
Rin, meanwhile, just stared at the two adults dryly. The young girl looking over at Sella and seeing a look of almost physical pain on her face. Rin could only guess it was because of their decorum despite wanting to 'follow procedure' as Irisviel had mentioned. Speaking of…
"Uhhhh, Mrs Emiya? What did you want to talk about?" She asked with a weak smile, getting a squeak of surprise from the older woman.
Quickly she let go of her husband's shirt and sat down at the table, going from oversized child to a member of nobility in mere seconds. In all honesty, Rin wasn't sure whether to be envious of such an ability, or disappointed that she could pull it off considering how Irisviel usually was.
"Right. My bad~ Well. Quite simply, I wish to do some tests and trials on the Greater Grail here within Fuyuki." Rin's expression instantly melted into something hard and stony.
"The Greater Grail? What would you be trying to figure out?" She asked, knowing that anything to do with the Holy Grail was something of the utmost seriousness.
Something which everyone else in the room seemed to agree with, if the feeling that began to permeate throughout the room was any indication.
"Despite not being the Lesser Grail for the Greater Grail anymore, I still have a sort of….connection to it. You could say." Irisviel began "Because of this connection, Kiri and I are aware that something may be a little….odd, about the active systems of the Greater Grail."
"I can feel it as well." Illya jumped into the conversation "If I really focus, I can feel that there is something…weird, about the Greater Grail."
"Weird how?" Rin asked, worry tinged her voice.
"I'm not sure." Illya admitted with a shrug "It just doesn't feel the way it should, I suppose?"
"Would that affect its functioning?" Rin asked, beginning to tap a rhythm on the table with her fingers.
"Undoubtedly." Irisviel confirmed with a nod.
"So it wouldn't be able to grant wishes anymore?" She asked for clarification, getting an unsteady look from the elegant ex-Einzbern.
"That's not entirely correct. They'd become more 'monkey's paw' wishes than what it was meant to be." Kiritsugu finally corrected, sipping some tea.
"…Was Gilgamesh's wish for revival what caused the Fuyuki fire?" Kiritsugu nearly did a perfect spit-take at Rin's question, meanwhile Irisviel just let out a wheezing sound.
"Who's Gilgamesh?" Illya asked, looking at all three in confusion.
"S-Someone I wasn't aware you knew of Rin?" Irisviel both semi-answered her daughter and asked the girl sitting opposite of her.
"I've known longer than you have." Rin informed her with a somewhat haughty expression "Muramasa-kun came to me for help when he first met him."
"Tohsaka." The girl looked over at Kiritsugu hesitantly at the firmness in his voice "Gilgamesh and his Master didn't win the war. I did. I had my servant destroy the Grail."
"…But you brought me here to talk about looking at the Greater Grail?"
"Unfortunately it was only the Lesser Grail we managed to destroy before the end of the war and the fire." Kiritsugu frowned, wishing he had a cigarette on him at the moment.
"I don't understand though. If that's the case. Then how did Gilgamesh revive? He would have been killed for you and your servant to have won."
"For all intents and purposes, his Master was dead. Archer would have disappeared because of that within minutes." Kiritsugu explained to Rin.
"But then something happened?"
"The fire happened. A…de-stabilization of the mana stored up within the Lesser Grail." Irisviel tried to find the right words to describe what had happened.
"O…kay. Hmmm. It makes sense to look into the Greater Grail then, I suppose. But why did you come to me?" Rin asked, looking at both of the adults in confusion.
"Oh that's simple!" Irisviel exclaimed cheerfully "Because you're the Second Owner of this city."
Rin grinned in satisfaction at the woman's answer.
XXXxxxXXX
Side Story: Shirou and Gray train
"You want to…train? Now?" Gray murmured, blinking owlishly at the red haired pre-teen across the room from her.
"That's right, I don't have many training partners that use weapons so this will be a great opportunity I reckon." Shirou smiled, resting a hand on the kashiri (pommel) of his sheathed blade.
"Aren't you a smith?" She questioned.
"Who cares! I wanna see what this guy is made of!" Add shouted excitedly, getting a tired sigh from Gray.
"My family believes that to make the best weapon possible, you need to know how to use it as well." Shirou explained, getting a soft smile from Gray.
"That makes sense.."
"What are you waiting for Gray! Let's tear him to shreds!"
"That's…awfully violent." Shirou laughed nervously, his eyes following Add as Gray began to open the birdcage.
Quickly he crouched down while gripping the handle of his blade, his eyes hardening and his right hand gripping the hilt of his blade. As he did so, the form of Add began to change, quickly forming into a somewhat familiar scythe.
"I'm ready when you are." Gray muttered, the way she held herself ever so slightly more regal than it had been a moment before.
And if anyone in this day and age knew what regality meant, Shirou hoped it would be himself. Otherwise all that time spent around Gilgamesh was just misery on his end and not much else.
Without a word the red haired teen dashed forward, making Gray widen her eyes and begin to draw the pole of her weapon across her body. In doing so, the blade of his katana made a screeching sound as it scratched along it in a blur of movement. Gripping the highest point of the scythe's pole and pulling down, she flipped the blade up in what would be a rather gruesome injury to the stomach. Except all she got was the form of Shirou twisting and leaning to the side to avoid the blade of her scythe by a literal hairs breadth.
Despite the nearly fatal attack the swung past, Shirou seemed completely unfazed, lashing out with a strike that forced Gray to dance back to avoid it and try to make room for her weapon of choice. Except Shirou didn't allow it, following doggedly towards her and punishing any attempt to attack him with small cuts or near-misses. The gap in battle experience clearly defined between the both of them.
Eventually, locking his blade with hers, Gray swung her scythe to the side, throwing Shirou's arms, and therefore blade, to the side. Only for the grey haired girl to receive a kick to the side that sent her tumbling along the ground. Though thanks to her natural body and Reinforcement, it wouldn't leave much more than a bruise.
"You're thinking too statically with your attacks." Shirou's voice called out, making her look up as she pushed herself into a sitting position.
"Huh?"
"You move the scythe really well, but your actual attacks are pretty easy to tell. You should always keep it moving." He suggested, resting his weight on one foot.
"I see…Like my first attack?"
"Yeah! That was a good one." The boy agreed with a smile.
"Ok. I'm fine for another round."
"Good, because I want to see all the other forms your friend has, and we aren't stopping until I do." The girl gulped silently at the look in his eyes, guessing that this was about to become a very tiring experience for her.
XXXxxxXXX
And there's chapter 8.
I hope you guys enjoyed it. Including all of the name drops and everything that's being set up in the foreground/background. Its interesting thinking of everything and how it'll fit together. But some of them are a little difficult to implement. Hopefully I've started them off well xP
Also, the next chapter will be on my birthday (Nov 30) so I hope you guys are excited xP
Discord: /ctMzhq3
REVIEW REPLIES:
Barrytrey0430: You, my friend, are not wrong.
Redmen6blight: It'll happen eventually, don't worry. It's actually because of Gray that he starts to xP
SentinelSlice: Swords not made by him, he doesn't judge. And if he's making a sword for a commission, he holds it to different standards than when he's making a sword to work towards the 'greatest sword'. It's not made with the intention to be the greatest sword, so it's not held to the same standard as those that are. Not to say that he won't try to make them perfect though, 99% perfect is still a failure.
Seeking the Miraculous Dream: It is Avalon, yes.
Zelenin-02: Precisely!
Raging Drake: Gil's kid is also Enkidu's kid. Lets be honest XD He's gonna be helping out so much.
NotSpecialDude: Yeahhhhh, unfortunately Gil still sees the greater majority of humans as failures and lower than even the dirt. And he's not just going to magically change viewpoints either. That'll be an uphill battle with no climbing gear. Also, his Archer behaviour doesn't bother me. I also think it was explained well. I just think it feels one dimensional and I life DFB Gil more.