"No, you're not allowed to leave." Gray pouted, sitting on top of Shirou's suitcase and getting a tired sigh from the other teen as he placed his hands on his hips.
"Gray, I can't just move here. My family and other friends are all in Fuyuki." He tried to reason with her.
"They can come here, it's fine." Was her response, the girl crossing one leg over the other and looking every bit the member of royalty that she wasn't acting as.
"Neither Sakura, nor Rin, would be allowed to come here until they're at least 18."
"It's three years. Think of it as a surprise."
"….Waver isn't letting you come to Fuyuki is he?"
"No!" She immediately exclaimed, crossing her arms in indignation. "He has a trip he wants to go on and since I'm his apprentice he wants to take me along to learn."
"That's great, it's what you always wanted." He smiled, ignoring Add as he suddenly spoke up.
"Blow him off Gray! Spend time with your boyyyyyy- agh!" His teasing of his partner was immediately shut down by one quick motion of his birdcage, which flung him into the bars quite roughly.
"I know it is. And I'm excited for that. But you spend so little time here and the only other friend I have is Luvia. You've seen everything I could offer or show you here. The timing is just….aggravating." She sighed, pausing at the end to think of what word she could, or should, use.
"I'm sure it'll be fun. Maybe you can come over after the trip?" He offered, getting a small smile from his friend.
"That would be great. I just want to see this 'eternal rival' that Luvia has." She giggled softly, which only grew louder when she saw the deadpan look on Shirou's face.
"Please don't make Luvia and Rin worse. I'm already being forced to play messenger boy and I don't want them interrupting more of my forging time just to add yet another thing to whatever essay I end up bringing to the other." Shirou near on begged her, the look of a traumatized, haunted man in his eyes.
A look that just made Gray smile at him, almost somewhat mockingly, as she rocked from side to side while still sitting on his suitcase. An action that he knew she'd never do to such an extent in public but one that she had no qualms doing within the privacy of his dorm.
"It's amusing getting to see Luvia lose her composure whenever Rin is brought up." Gray giggled, getting Shirou to roll his only open eye.
"So, I've noticed."
"I promise to behave if I ever come over to Fuyuki." Gray acquiesced with a hand over her heart.
"You're crossing your fingers! Shirou! SHIROU! She's crossing her fingers!" Add tattled on Gray, like the immature child that he constantly acted as.
Said tattling made Gray give a threatening smile that began to shake as her eye twitched in annoyance, the girl bringing up the birdcage to eye level.
"No one likes a tattletale, Add." She admonished, her eye and smile still twitching.
"Thank…you, Add?" Shirou mumbled, an eyebrow raised at the antics of his friend and her partner.
"You're welcome best-buddy!"
"So, do you know what Waver is doing on his trip? Or where he's going?" Shirou finally asked, just deciding to gather up all his gear since she clearly wasn't going to get off his suitcase any time soon.
"Not yet." She shook her head. "I know it has something to do with Master's personal curiosities rather than educational, though."
"Hmmm. Maybe some kind of magical leaf for his cigarettes?" Shirou asked, getting a hum from Gray before she shook her head once more.
"I don't believe so. This seemed a bit more important to him than even his cigarette's."
"Outclassed by two things? Ouch."
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Gray shouted, scandalized at Shirou's insinuation even as Add began to laugh himself silly.
"Nothing, nothing. It was just a joke Gray; I didn't mean anything by it." Shirou waved his hand's around, getting her to glare at him for a few moments before it melted into something much softer.
Letting out a small 'harrumph' she hopped onto his bed and crossed her arms, pouting and puffing her cheeks out like a chipmunk.
"Just for that I feel like I should tell Luvia that you're planning on asking Rin out on a date."
"Why would that get a rise out of her?" For a moment both teen's gave each other the exact same stupefied look, but for completely different reasons.
"Because she want's to fu-" Add's comment was cut off as he was once again bashed into the side of his birdcage, making him begin to whine dramatically.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out one day." She smiled mysteriously at him, getting a deadpan look that could have made even Lorelei feel stupid…..maybe.
"Now you sound like Illya." He muttered, facepalming and sighing heavily before sliding his hand up his face and through his hair.
And wow, she personally didn't see Shirou that way but now she could see why half the girls in the Clock Tower went after the guy. She'd spent so much time sparring with him or hanging out with him casually, where he never gave a single shit about his appearance, that she'd genuinely forgotten how easy on the eyes her friend was.
Of course, if he did stuff like this more in public, she didn't think he'd still have his virginity. Or if he did, and maybe not even then, he'd be drowning in suitor requests and contracts. So, for his peace of mind, she was sort of glad that he gave so little of a shit about his appearance, but now she at least had something she could tease Luvia about. Since the Norwegian girl had and still continued to spend a ludicrous amount of time trying to get Shirou to look and act in a way at least a little more befitting of his reputation.
….
Actually, now that she thought about it, a lot of different people tried to get Shirou to look and act a lot differently. And not just from one faction either. Everyone from Luvia to Lorelei Barthomelloi had tried to make Shirou change up his act at some point or another. And while it had taught Shirou how to look, and act, the part, it had never changed how he actually dressed or acted.
Anyway, that was enough of that, Shirou had gone back to packing and if she just spent the rest of their rapidly dwindling time together daydreaming than she might as well have not come in the first place.
She totally wasn't putting off her own packing for her trip with Waver, definitely not. She was responsible, she would never put off doing something as important as packing…for very long.
XXXxxxXXX
The Next Day, London City Airport
"Bye Shirou!" Gray waved, getting a small smile from Shirou as he waved back.
The girl stood beside Luvia, both of his friends having come to see him off while Waver and Auguste stood further back, watching their respective charges.
"You seem awfully wound up, Lord El Melloi II." Auguste muttered, getting a small hum from the sophisticated man at his side.
One who seemed especially antsy, if Auguste had to put a word to it. Whether it was because of his own flight that the butler knew he had soon, or the fact that the airport wouldn't allow him to smoke inside it, the butler wasn't able to figure out.
"Our flight leaves in a few hours and I'm seeing an increasing number of Magi within the airport.." Waver muttered, getting a polite hum from the elderly man at his side.
"I did notice that myself, I assumed it was merely an outflux due to the holiday's ending. Though the amount is certainly higher than usual."
"It's an outflux alright." Waver scoffed, having to stuff his hands in his trouser pockets to avoid pulling a cigarette out. "But why and to where is the worrying part. My gut is doing flips right now."
The teacher shifted his weight from one foot to the other, catching sight of at least five pairs of eyes that zeroed in on him at the movement. No signs of acknowledgement though, suppressed or otherwise, so Waver would take it as a win.
"In which case it might be prudent to extradite Lady Luvia, hm? Amongst those within the Clock Tower, your instincts aren't to be ignored." Auguste responded, getting an amused snort.
"I'd take an Enforcer's gut feeling over mine any day." Waver joked, getting a crinkle of Auguste's moustache.
"I'm sure anyone would. But amongst the non-combat-oriented Magi, you still stand above the majority." He didn't get a response that time, merely a fond smile from Waver as his eyes clouded over ever so slightly, evidently lost in memories.
They stayed still for a while longer after that, waiting for both Gray and Luvia to come back to them once Shirou's plane had taken off and was out of eyesight. Though Gray lingered for a few moments, still staring out of the glass at the distant blue that the plane had shrunk into.
Once both girls were back to them, Waver and Auguste exchanged a firm and relaxed nod respectively before turning to their charges.
"Lady Luvia, I believe it is time for us to make way. There was a new tea shop you wished to see, was there not?"
"Oh yes! Thank you for reminding me Auguste."
"Of course, Lady Luvia." Auguste bowed respectfully.
Giving a small wave to Gray, the Finnish girl and her butler left the airport, leaving only the Gravekeeper and her Master, at whom she was currently looking at with quite a confused gaze. A look that got an amused huff from Waver as he ruffled her hair, having to jump back to avoid the genuine attack that came for him.
"Ah. Right. I forgot about that." He muttered, remembering her bodies strange reflex when it came to someone touching her head.
In all honesty he assumed it was more to do with her ahoge than her hair itself but she had an instant-deploy scythe and he wasn't willing to risk that.
"S-Sorry, Master!" She yelped, blushing brightly and pulling her hood down further over her head.
"It's fine, I wasn't injured." He waved off her worries, beginning to lead her out of the airport alongside him.
"So Master, what are we doing before we go? Where are we going?" She questioned, in that soft, stoic sort of way that Waver had come to know meant that she was running through a million different thoughts but wasn't willing to voice them.
"You'll figure out where we're going when we get there." The flat look that he got just made him laugh, idly noting another four Magi had passed them and were heading to the flight gates.
"I'm beginning to worry about what this could be, Master." She muttered, slipping through the crowd like a wraith.
"You don't need to worry. Which actually reminds me, we're going to visit the Animusphere head before we leave."
"The Lord of the Astronomy Department? What business do you have there, Master?" She questioned tilting her head as the two of them walked into the cuttingly cold winds of winter England.
"I've heard a lot of rumors, and seen some proof, that where we're going may be dangerous. So, we're going to the Animusphere's to get a prediction of our future." His nonchalant response got the briefest hints of surprise from his apprentice before it suddenly flattened out into the strongest deadpan the man had ever seen in his life.
'I was expecting a bit more shock than that…..It's probably an effect of knowing Shirou for so long.' He mused to himself, preparing himself for the words that were about to leave Gray's parting lips.
"I knew it was going to be dangerous if you weren't telling me. Why are you still not telling me? And the Animusphere's? Predicting the future is too unwieldy to rely on, Master." She admonished, almost immediately blushing and looking away when she realized how frank she'd been with her Master.
"It is dangerous, or it has a high chance to be. Which is why I need to make sure that you're with me." He got in his car and waited for her to enter the passenger seat before continuing. "And no, I can't tell you, too many Magi are roaming around. It's bad enough that they're all taking the same method of travel as us, I don't need them knowing exactly what I'm doing." The man turned in his seat to peer out the back of the car as he reversed out of his parking spot, thankful that Gray had chosen to stay quiet and not interrupt him at this exact moment.
Reversing out fully and putting the car in drive he started to exit the carpark, finally continuing his explanation.
"And I'm aware of the folly's of predicting the future, even with the expertise the Animusphere's have in the Magecraft. That's why I'm not asking for something specific. I'm looking for a broad-strokes answer. Like 'Do I die during our trip' or 'Does Gray die during our trip', things like that." He responded with a shrug, missing the scrunching up of Gray's face at the thought of Waver dying.
"What…are you giving them in return?"
"I'll be taking Olga under my wing as well. Considering her…friendship with Reines and recent lack of caretaker it was fairly easy to get Marisbury to agree with the conditions. He seems to want her out of his hair."
"So…she'll be coming with us?"
"She will."
"That cannot be all if he's wanting to get rid of her?"
"Believe it or not, it is. I think his wish to get rid of her has trumped his want for compensation in this case." Gray's mouth opened before just clicking shut, staring out the window of the car.
The rest of the car ride was uncomfortably quiet, with only the two of them and a quiet radio that Waver couldn't help but turn up, just to chase off the silence that had encased them.
The worst part? He couldn't even figure out why Gray was acting like this. He didn't know what he'd said or what information she'd been able to pick out of his words that had her acting like this. And that was weird for him, it was unusual not to be able to figure out something about his students when it had to do with him, let alone his apprentice of all people. Figuring her out was usually a no-brainer for the Magus, even when Shirou wasn't with her and she was more subdued and quiet he could usually figure out how she'd react to something.
Was this a teenager thing? God, he really fucking hoped it wasn't a teenager thing. It was hard enough to deal with teenager shit when he only had to teach them for a few hours, he didn't think he'd survive having to deal with it in close and constant proximity.
'Oh, dear god Reines is 13….' The thought hit him like a sledgehammer and the jerk of the car as the rolling stop turned into a sudden lurching halt, the sound of a loud smack from besides him making him mentally sigh.
"Ow…" Gray's pained whine just made him wince and give her an apologetic look, one that got a softly annoyed look in return as she rubbed her forehead.
"Sorry Gray."
"Hm…This is the Animusphere's mansion?" She questioned, looking it over with an appraising eye.
"The one they have here in England, yes." He answered, falling back on knowledge where emotions had led him astray.
Getting out of the car prompted his apprentice to do the same, the girl falling in step with him in the way that he was still having trouble understanding and getting used to. The idea that someone could be right behind him and didn't have any plans to use or injure him was completely foreign to the Lord, he just simply couldn't imagine it ever working out, not at all.
A man. Tall. With wild red hair. A coat lined with fur that only seemed to make him larger than life itself. A confidence, a bravado, a will the seemed all encompassing yet light and gentle.
'A pact with an idiot like you. Is just perfect for me!'
Maybe that wasn't true. He could imagine at least one place in which such loyalty fit. It just wasn't aimed at him; he knew that in his heart of hearts he wasn't a man that should have that kind of loyalty and respect. But he could understand why Gray felt it, what drove her towards it and how it made her feel. And even if he wasn't the true holder of that loyalty, even if it was always on someone else or it changed to them in some way, at some time. He'd never blame her for those feelings, because he knew just how beautiful those feelings were.
Shaking his head slightly, he began to walk towards the front door of the household, pausing and using the knocker in a specific pattern that had Gray making a small hum. What that hum meant he didn't know, and he didn't think he wanted to at this moment.
The door opened slowly with a blonde maid standing in front of them, smiling politely as she saw Waver and Gray in front of her.
"Ah, Lord El Melloi II and apprentice. Master Marisbury has been expecting you, please follow me." She made a small, inviting, hand gesture and walked further into the house, not stopping to check if Waver and Gray were following.
'A new maid then. Or a complacent one. With the age of the Animusphere's…Has Marisbury stopped caring that much, or is this a test?' Waver internally mumbled, looking around with a seeming air of nonchalance.
In doing so he happened to look back at Gray, seeing her walking with softer than usual footfalls and a gaze that seemed unfocused even with her eyes dead ahead, but not in a way that would denote Magecraft or hypnotism. More like she'd willingly unfocused her eyes, something which got a confused raise of the eyebrow from the Lord. But if Gray wanted to amuse herself by focusing and unfocusing her eyes then she could be his guest, better than making an untoward comment or wandering off.
As he made his way through the manor, following after the Animusphere maid, he looked around, noting the artwork and sculptures that dotted the walls and hallway, a typical mark of Clock Tower Aristocracy. Though he wasn't surprised by the myriad of space related artwork that took up the space of the hall, considering the focus of the family and the fact that Marisbury is the Lord of the Department of Astronomy.
Walking into the room that the maid opened the door to, Waver paused and gave a brief nod of the head towards Marisbury, hearing the rustling of clothes behind him and assuming Gray had bowed or done something of a similar nature.
"El Melloi II."
"Animusphere." Waver greeted the man in return, getting a small hand gesture towards two seats that had been set up in front of Marisbury's desk.
"Let's make this as quick as possible, why don't we? I have work to do and a meeting with Kirschtaria in the afternoon. Grab Olga for me." Marisbury spoke towards the maid at the door, getting a nod from her before she left the office, the door shutting behind her.
Waver hummed lowly and looked around the office, feeling a pair of eyes on him after only a moment and turning back to see Marisbury staring at him. Returning the man's stare the two of them stared blankly into each other's eyes, the Lord of the El Melloi family trying to avoid shifting in the incredibly uncomfortable chair that he knew Marisbury must have picked out specifically for this purpose.
'Ah. Gray probably isn't used to these mind games. That's not good.' He thought to himself, continuing to emotionlessly stare into Marisbury's eyes and hoping that Gray didn't crack.
"Excuse me, Lord Animusphere. Was it not you that said you wished for this to be quick?" The voice of Gray got both men to blink simultaneously, their attention turning to her.
"I did, but I was testing your Master. Were you unaware of that?" Marisbury's voice came out cool and bored, almost like he was expecting this to happen.
"No, I was aware of it. I just found your timing to be subpar considering your own admission, Lord Animusphere. Most Magi would have tested Master far before allowing him into their manors like you have. Is there a reason for your breaking the mold, if I may ask?" Gray spoke, her voice and expression blank, aside from the slightest hint of innocence throughout her tone.
"You think me a fool? Of course, I didn't allow a stranger into my manor without knowledge of them."
"Then why waste time with yet another test?" Ah, now Waver understood what Gray was doing.
Weaponized 'naivety', a card that her friends played quite often whenever they got into a verbal argument of any kind. One that Luvia abused as much as she could get away with, and one that Shirou rarely pulled but when he did, he did so to maximum effect.
Marisbury simply stared silently at Gray for a few moments before cracking a small smile and shaking his head slightly, closing his eyes and tilting his head down as he did so.
"You've trained a competent pupil Lord El Melloi II. Now as she pointed out I did indeed speak of my lack of time earlier. Let us start post haste." Marisbury spoke, clapping his hands once and muttering a chant below his breath.
"Father? The maid said-" A young, feminine voice called out as the door to Marisbury's office opened right in time for a wave of Prana to wash over her as a peculiar Bounded Field enclosed his office.
"-Starlit gaze." Marisbury's voice finished, the Bounded Field finalizing and stabilizing as the room darkened under the sudden night sky that had taken over the ceiling.
"Impressive spell. Am I to assume that this is the current sky if the sun were not blocking our view of the stars?" Waver commented, getting a small hum from Marisbury as Olga walked over to him.
"Father?..."
"Hush Olga. Listen." His voice was short and clipped, but the way that Olga's expression brightened, thinking that he was trying to personally teach her something, was so painful Waver could almost feel his heart split in two.
"Now. Ask your first question." Marisbury invited Waver, getting a small hum from the other man as he looked over the night sky.
"Will any of us die on the trip we are taking?" Marisbury nodded at the question, raising a hand to the stars above their hands and swiping it almost idly, the night sky blurring before snapping to a stop with a singular spot lighting up an unnaturally bright colour.
"What now?"
"Patience." Marisbury huffed, staring at the glowing star before slowly exhaling. "Coma Berenices, the Bernice's hair. You will live because you will have someone looking out for you."
"Fascinating…" Gray muttered, her eyes roaming over the entire night sky above them.
"Next question?"
"What will we find at our location?"
"Vague. The answer will be just as much so." Marisbury warned the other man, swiping his hand towards the stars once more, watching the night sky blur until multiple stars lit up with unnatural light once more.
"Four stars…" Olga muttered in awe, knowing that she'd barely be able to decipher a two-star reading while her father seemed bored with a four-star divination.
"Hercules, the Hercules. Orion, the Hunter. Phoenix, the Phoenix. Pyxis, the Compass. You will find something related to Hercules, or Heracles, at your location. Alongside finding something relating to a hunter, though the constellation's light may be more leaning towards the Hungarian Kasźas, otherwise known as Reaper. You'll also meet something that has come back from the dead or revived in some meaning of the word. Finally, Pyxis….You will meet someone who will try to steal something so that they may reclaim a glory they once held but no longer do." Marisbury spoke, his dull gold eyes training back on Waver and Gray now that he was finished with his reading of the four stars.
"I see. You weren't exaggerating the comment on them being vague….Final question?"
"Final Question." Marisbury confirmed, getting a click of his tongue as he looked over at Gray for potentially any ideas.
All he got in return was a raised eyebrow from underneath her hood.
"All the Magi I've seen heading to the same location we are going to. Will they get in our way?"
"How shrewd, I'm not surprised." Marisbury swiped his hand towards the stars once more, this time a singular star lit up the night sky once more, getting an amused snort from the Lord of the Astronomy Department.
"Something amusing?" Waver questioned.
"Cancer, the Crab. They will try their best and they will fail." Waver couldn't help but snort as well once the divination had been told to him, he could understand the other man's amusement now.
"Thank you for giving us these divinations, Lord Animusphere." The Lord of the El Melloi family spoke, getting a click of his fellow Lord's tongue.
"It was payment, we both know that. Speaking of, Olga."
"Yes Father?" Olga stood up straighter, if that was at all possible, at her father actually directing his attention towards her for once.
"You've met Lord El Melloi II before. You're his new assistant and apprentice. Be good and don't disgrace our family name." Olga's jaw dropped.
"F-father?"
"A maid has packed a suitcase for you and will meet the three of you on the way out of the manor. Good day El Melloi."
"…And good day too you as well, Animusphere." Waver spoke lowly, seeing Gray walked over and gently lead the catatonic Animusphere heir out of her father's office.
"Father…is getting rid of me again?" She mumbled, tears building at the corners of her eyes but stubbornly refusing to fall.
"You do not deserve that." Gray spoke to her, continuing to help her along as she followed Waver.
"H-He's getting rid of me again!"
"Family isn't who you share a blood relation with." Waver spoke, getting a confused hiccup from the young girl behind him. "Family is who you choose to make it with. Ask Gray about that, she has a bit of experience, as does one of her friends."
"It's ok Olga. It will be ok." Gray murmured, whimpers leaving the younger girl's lips even as she refused to let any of her tears fall.
After all she was the proud heir of the Animusphere family. Her father would be disappointed if she showed weakness by crying in front of others. And she didn't want to add one more reason to his list of reasons to be disappointed in her.
XXXxxxXXX
Meanwhile, Unknown City
"Aaaand that makes seven! Damn, this smith has some lo-yal customers!" Enhance muttered to himself in a sing-song voice, idly swiping the Chinese Jian blade in his hand through the air a couple times.
The Jian was a one-handed variant of the weapon, a little on the short side at about 49 centimeters from handguard to tip but made of a denser alloy than some of their other works. Works which were now mounted on the wall of his shitty 'office' that he currently stood inside.
Finishing his playful swipes with one especially fast slash through the air, Enhance pursed his lips in annoyance at the dresser that had been cut in two and was currently in the process of collapsing. A result of the air pressure from his swing with the blade alone.
"Ah shit, I liked that one." He muttered, sighing and hanging the Jian blade up on his wall so that he could fix the dresser.
Something which was still possible because of the immaculately smooth cut that the wind pressure from his swing had made, yet also something very difficult because it cleaved it almost straight down the middle.
In the end, it took a solid hour, a lot of nails and duct tape, and quite a bit of screwing around and grumbling, but Enhance got it back into some semblance of working order. Collapsing into a dilapidated wheely chair, Enhance let out a sigh of relief and looked over at his wall of blades that he was beginning to slowly but steadily fill with the 'collected' blades of his fated opponent.
Because that's what they were, fated opponents. Even if there was something about their blades that made him feel empty to look at and a strange golden glow whenever he looked into their history that caused him to begin weeping like a toddler. They were both 'swords' after all, it was their purpose to-
"Son of a bitch." The Dead Apostle Ancestor's eyes snapped open, his head whipping to his sword wall so fast he actually fractured his neck.
'Of course. That's why these blades are so weird…' He thought to himself, the empty feeling filling him again as he looked over all seven of the blades.
It all made sense now, the reason why he always felt empty whenever he looked at these blades. It was because the blades themselves were empty. They had no purpose, no true reason for existing. They just…were.
One blade having no purpose for its existence wasn't good, but for seven of the same smith's blades to lack one…
'Is he that ignorant to what a sword truly is? Can he not hear his blades? Can he not feel how empty they are? Well now I really need to meet this opponent of mine. Teach him his folly before I tear him to shreds, I'm not a savage after all.' He snorted to himself, standing up right as he realized that he didn't even know where to start since this new blade hadn't given him anything new.
He was going to have to do something that he hated, something deplorable and despicable and absolutely-
XXXxxxXXX
"Yoo-hoo!~ Princesssss!~ I got a deal for you!" The constant, incessant knocking of his fist on the grand doors of Altrouge's castle only made his seeming joy more aggravating for her.
Which was what he was hoping for. He needed information that he knew she could get him, but that didn't mean he was going to play nice with another Ancestor. God no, disgusting, gross.
The knocking was then drowned out by the deafening sound of gunfire, the Dead that had been trying to sneak up on him having its entire top half removed by the blast of white from Enhance's shotgun.
Throughout the firing and the proceeding splatter of blood all over…everything, Enhance continued to knock. Still knocking on the giant doors at a constant, rapid and irritating pace as the blood splattered on the doors began to slide along the vertical surface, forming a sentence in front of his face.
What do you want?
"If we're speaking in broad strokes, the death of all Dead Apostles but if we're looking a little more specific, then to speak to you." He snarked at the blood words, his knocking still continuing.
The reply took a moment as the blood splatter from more than just the wall had to move into position so that there was enough to form the next sentence.
Whatever for? And stop your knocking, you'll wear the wood.
"See I have some things to say and it's bad manners not to speak face to face about official things, didn't your daddy ever teach you that, Princess?"
The relationship I have with my father is outside of your purview.
The blood shifted around to form another sentence.
And if you wish to speak to me, you'll keep any such comments to yourself.
The next sentence formed, the blood visibly beginning to heat and boil.
And I told you to stop your knocking.
"No can-do Princess! I'm going to knock until someone opens the door for me, obviously." He scoffed, as if his answer was obvious and she should have guessed it.
The blood went from what could only be described as barely a simmer to a full-on rolling boil, the door that he was knocking on opening all of half a meter. Though that was enough for him to step inside, even if he had to shuffle in sideways to do so.
And then the door slammed shut with him still in the doorway, not only crushing him in half but also refusing to budge when his flailing arms tried half-heartedly to push on them.
…
Knock Knock Knock!
With a violent gust of wind, both doors swung open. The speed of the action and the wind it picked up within the foyer of the castle sending the Ancestor flying forward. The man rolling along the carpet a couple times before painfully grinding to a stop just in time to still have enough momentum to smack his head into the bottom step.
"Really? Two doors with some defensive Bounded Fields on them and you thought that would do something?" He muttered to himself, though it sounded a lot louder with how the sound bounced around the foyer.
Speaking of sound…
With enough speed to make even professional quick-drawers envious, Enhance pulled his shotgun and blasted straight up, tearing the heads off of two Dead that had begun to lean over him. The shot fired without Enhance once moving his face from being buried into the carpet, unable to physically see them.
"Now that's quite rude, my servants were only trying to help." The child-like, mockingly regal voice floated through the air, the sound of feet moving down the staircase following it.
"Uh huh. And the knives in their grips was a coincidence, right?" Enhance asked, standing up and staring Altrouge dead in the eyes while holding up two identical looking knives.
"Of course. I'd never try to harm a guest." She giggled into her palm, waving her other hand in a dismissive gesture.
"Nice try, I know this trick. You never invited me nor allowed me in, I'm not a guest." He gloated, taking a brief moment of smug victory at the flat look that covered her face for only a moment before her previous politician-worthy smile adorned her features.
"How astute. What did you wish to discuss, Blade?" She smiled sharply, getting a cocky grin in return.
"Well, Contract, I need information on a new smith from the Clock Tower." He sneered, getting a flat look from her before she just smiled sweetly.
"Oh well I'd love to help but sadly the humans are rather protective of their precious Clock Tower. Even with my network I am unable to hear so much as a peep inside." She sighed and shrugged in a 'what can you do' gesture, getting a cackle from him.
A cackle that continued for longer and longer, ending up with him bending forward and smacking his knee wildly.
"Would you rather finish, or shall I finish that screeching sound, myself?" Altrouge offered in an almost polite tone of voice.
As if she was offering to open a window for him, and not to do something undoubtedly violent to get him to stop cackling.
"You- HAH! HAHAAHA!" Enhance continued to cackle, bending over once more.
With a wave of her hand, tendrils of blood escaped the sleeve of her dress, arcing in the air and aiming for his neck.
Shing!
"Now now Princess, blood stains you know?" The cackling had stopped in an instant, a blade now held in Enhance's hand and droplets of blood staining the marble and carpet beneath his feet.
"Blood will do what I tell it. If I say it shall not stain, then even an alabaster shirt in a massacre will remain pristine." She smiled sweetly at him, the blood he had deflected rising into the air once more and snaking back into her sleeves.
"Yeah yeah, dual abilities and all that. Still only have one Principle though." He teased her, smiling at the flat look he once again got from her.
"A single Idea Blood is more than enough to deal with the likes of you, traitor."
"Oop! You said the quiet part out loud." He gasped dramatically, deflecting a hardened needle of blood in a flash of silver, the wind picking up between them from the speed of their actions.
The sound of cracking and crumbling stone off to the side of them didn't make either one so much as twitch, staring into each other's eyes with a deadly intensity that belied the previous amusement they had both shared at the other's expense.
"I've entertained your meaningless tomfoolery for long enough. You have my answer, now leave."
"And I think that answer is complete bullshit and we both know it." Enhance countered, his grey eyes drilling into her own blood red ones.
"I care not what you think. I've told you what I've told you. You would so openly defy your Princess?"
Enhance had a retort at the tip of his tongue, a remark which he knew could pierce the seemingly, unfathomably, thick armour around her precious ego, but he also knew that if he let it go, he would never get what he wanted. He'd never usually hesitate to say it, his hatred for Dead Apostles well known by human and Dead Apostle alike, but this was a special circumstance.
"I'm looking for a human smith who's appeared in the last couple years. Works for the Clock Tower. He's a challenger for my Principle." He explained, uncharacteristically serious.
He expected her to scoff or laugh or any myriad number of things in the face of his last statement, what he wasn't expecting was for her to still. So unnaturally unmoving that he almost thought someone had switched her out for a statue as he had been talking.
With a twitch of her lips, a small light of something dark and amused entered her eyes as red as the blood she controlled.
"A challenger for your Principle you say? Why didn't you say so Enhance? Honestly keeping such needed details to yourself, how was I ever meant to find him without that?" She tutted and shook her head, as if she hadn't just denied him more than once in the last couple of minutes.
"And what happened to 'I can't spy into the Clock Tower' huh?" And he was fully willing to call her out on it.
"Did I say that? I don't remember saying that." She muttered aloud, a flaring of her Prana and a sharpening of her eyes warning him to watch what he said going forward, and for once he grumbled and agreed.
"You said 'him'. You know who my challenger is?" He switched topics, getting a sharp, bloodthirsty grin from the seemingly young girl as a scroll popped into existence within her left hand.
"Know him? He actually owes me, funny enough." A grin grew on Enhances face to match her own, but giving off a much different vibe.
"Oh. Is that so?"
"Yes, it is. And I'm feeling quite merciful and giving today, what a lucky subject you are." She beamed at him and twirled slightly in a show of faux-innocent. "Your target is Shirou Muramasa, my little traitor to Dead Apostle kind."
"I'm not your little 'anything' Second Princess." He scoffed, enjoying the undercurrent of annoyance he felt spike through her Prana. "I don't think I want to be, either. It'd be hell to be as small as you, let alone small- AAEP!" The Ancestor was cut off by a coordinated double blood tendril assault that wrapped him up and threw him at the wall of Altrouge's castle with so much force he broke clean through and continued to sail through the air.
Slowly the faux-innocence and fake pleasantries left both her face and her body, leaving her curling her lip and glaring in disgust at the hole in her wall.
"Disgusting cur. At least you'll make for great entertainment once you and Muramasa come to blows." A dark, amused smile stretched her lips, knowing that despite not even attempting to get a contract out of the other Ancestor that what she got in return was more than worth it.
XXXxxxXXX
The Next Day, Fuyuki
"My baby Shirouuuuu!" Irisviel squealed, hugging her son tightly, burying his face in her chest.
Shirou just let out a muffled sigh into her chest, his body going as limp as he could without putting all of his weight onto his mother.
"Welcome back Shirou." Kiritsugu said warmly, getting a blind wave from his red-haired son.
"Ooh! Shirou guess whaaaaaat?~" Irisviel said in a sing-song voice, pulling Shirou away so that she could look him in the eyes.
"Uhhh, Illya made another breakthrough on her wire golems?" He guessed, assuming he was wrong based on the barely restrained glee on his mother's face and the mildly veiled snort from his father.
"Nope! Well yes actually, she did, but that's not what the surprise isssss~"
"Then…what is it?" He gave her a confused look as she burst into giggles.
"You'll have to wait until we get hoooome!"
"Ok." Shirou nodded with a shrug, looking at his father in confusion when Irisviel wailed and collapsed to her knees.
"She was looking for more of a reaction." He informed his son, getting a long, drawn-out sound of realization in response.
"You and Kiri are no fun!" Irisviel whined, getting a softly amused smile from her son as he gently squeezed her arms.
"I mean, you and Illya make up for it, right?" He joked weakly, getting a childish pout from the woman.
"Just for that we aren't getting you food on the way home!"
"Uh, ok?" Shirou raised an eyebrow, sharing a despairing look with Kiritsugu as Irisviel started to whine and shake him once more.
"Iri, Shirou, let's grab your bags and head home, ok? We don't want to keep the 'surprise' from him for too much longer, do we?" Kiritsugu spoke up, getting Irisviel to smile and nod brightly as she started to push Shirou through the airport.
"Let's go Shirou! We're wasting time!"
"O…k?"
XXXxxxXXX
An Hour and a Half Later, Emiya Estate
"You two are hiding something from me." Shirou accused, turning back to look at the two adults who were suspiciously far behind him.
"What? Nooooo." Irisviel denied, shaking her head vehemently.
Which didn't help the lie she was trying to tell since she usually only exaggerated her expressions like that when she was either messing with them or lying through her teeth.
"We don't want to get between you and your surprise." Kiritsugu spoke in her stead, his voice and face as flat as a Greek marble floor.
Despite this though, Shirou still continued to stare at his parent's, a weird feeling in the air that he couldn't quite put his finger on. It wasn't bad but at the same time it didn't feel entirely good.
"Go on, go on! It's in your room!" Irisviel urged him, only getting a more confused look from Shirou in return.
"Then why are you waiting outside of the house?" He questioned suspiciously, only narrowing his eyes further at the innocent whistling that Irisviel began to do.
"We have to prepare for a trip tomorrow and I want to make sure that Irisviel doesn't follow you and ruin the surprise." Once again Kiritsugu came to his wife's aid and tried to deflect and diffuse his son's suspicion.
To his credit, his reasoning was actually realistic enough that it did manage to diffuse some of Shirou's hesitancy somewhat, though not entirely. Giving one last look to his parent's he grabbed the handle of the door and slid it open, walking through the empty house and into his room.
"H-Hello, Senpai."
What had he been expecting? Not this, that's for sure. How was he ever meant to expect walking into his room to see one of his longest friends kneeling on his bed as if she had been waiting for him. On second thought she probably had been.
"Are you….the surprise?" Unbidden his hand reached out and closed his door behind him, moving his suitcase so it sat against the sliding door to his closet.
"Kiritsugu-san warned me that, that's what Irisviel-san would call it…yes, I am." She smiled at him, and he couldn't help but marvel at her expression for a moment.
Sakura was the only being he had ever met who was close to or as empty as he had been and while he had managed to find a family and a light to cling onto, it had always felt like Sakura hadn't. Like despite how hard she tried and how well she fooled the others, she always felt sad and guilty and still so frighteningly empty to the red-haired smith.
Yet now, looking at her smiling, it was as if she no longer had that guilt that had kept her pinned and was slowly crushing her. Sure, it was still there, but it seemed as if she had finally managed to find a light, as he had.
"So….What about this is a surprise? Got something to tell me?" He sat next to her on his bed, smiling softly at her as he let himself relax in a way that he only really could around few people.
And it was this relaxation which meant that he practically shut down when she shifted and spun around, straddling his legs and staring him in the eyes as she did so.
"E-Eh?"
"Shirou…I spoke to Irisviel-san and Kiritsugu-san about this. And Illya-san was there too so she knows. I asked them for help and- and they said you'd be ok with it-" He could see that she was beginning to work herself up, a deep-seeded panic bubbling to the surface that even Shirou hadn't realized she was capable of.
With quick movement's his hands shot out to grab and hold hers, the sudden yet gentle contact seeming to snap her out of her panic, at least mostly.
"Can you please explain, Sakura?" He asked, surprised at how quickly she nodded despite her previous panic.
"I- My grandfather. He's….not like your regular Magus." And so, she explained everything to him, more than even Irisviel, Kiritsugu and Illyasviel had gotten.
But not the whole truth, no. She had left certain things out, like her deal with Gilgamesh. Oh of course if Shirou ever questioned her, she'd break in an instant and tell him anything he desired, but until he did, she'd stay quiet. She didn't want Shirou to potentially get angry at Gilgamesh after all, if she was the one that created a rift between Shirou and Gilgamesh, she'd probably jump in front of one of the King's blades herself.
As she explained, grounding herself with Shirou's comforting presence; his breathing, the feel of his hands, the way that his scent filled the room and made her feel like she was standing in the middle of a forge no matter the actual location, the way that his Prana danced, ebbed and flowed against her skin. All of it kept her grounded and calm as she explained to her precious senpai everything that had and probably would happen, thankful for his silence the entire time.
"S-So please, please Senpai. I need- I need your help." She knew that it all came down to this, if he said no- if her senpai rejected her- she didn't know what she would do with herself.
"I can't believe that your grand- No that Zouken could be that cruel. And Shinji too…" Shirou's voice flowed into her ears like sand crunching beneath his powerful arms and the feeling of his prana against her skin suddenly gained a sharp quality.
"It's the way the Matou are." She whispered, not knowing what else she could say in the face of Shirou's anger, an anger that she wouldn't - couldn't – defuse.
"Sakura, please look at me." She obediently raised her head, purple eyes staring into a singular golden amber. "Why are you trying to avoid my eyes?"
Of course, her senpai could see right through her, that's why he's her senpai after all, but that didn't mean that she didn't feel ever so slightly annoyed. Since she knew that what she had to say might hurt him or make him feel annoyed, but she'd never deny her senpai, not in something as important as this.
"I'm asking you to have sex with me and you don't have feelings for me." She mumbled, as if she was a kid that had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, averting her eyes from him once more.
"I don't have any feelings for you in that way, you're right." She knew that, she'd always known that, so why did it make her chest hurt so much? "Sakura, look at me again, please."
And obediently she did, expecting a thousand things and still coming across something that she had only ever expected in her most fantastical of dreams.
"I may not have feelings for you in that way. This may have been suggested out of efficiency and necessities sake. But that doesn't mean that I can't have any feelings for you, or that I'm willing to let you go anywhere near that bastard of a brother again." For the split second that his voice had deepened and darkened, she had felt something warm and addicting flood through her veins, and she allowed but a moment of hope to flare within her deepest core.
"S-Senpai?"
"We both know that I'm not good with emotions, no matter how I try. No matter how I look at this situation from a 'normal' perspective I can only see it going badly and…I don't want that."
Hope flared and began to pool.
"It may be awkward and done out of necessity, without any feeling behind it but…one day I want to be able to have feeling behind it. Does that make sense? I feel like I'm talking in circles."
"No no, I- I understand, senpai."
"Great, good. Uh, well. You're my friend, a close friend and one that I refuse to see hurt if I can help it. So…I accept. I accept this proposal and I accept you, Sakura Matou."
"J-Just call me Sakura please, Senpai." She murmured, beginning to lean in closer to him, something which he didn't notice as he quietly chuckled in embarrassment.
"Yeah, that makes sense. Sorry Sakura, I didn't meant to ruin-" His words were cut off by Sakura's lips meeting his, getting a surprised sound out of him as his very first kiss was taken by the purple haired girl.
It didn't take him too much longer to reciprocate the kiss, getting a startled sound out of the girl straddling him, making him pull back. An action which got a low, keening whine from the girl as she stared into Shirou's eyes in confusion.
"Y-You could never ruin this senpai." Sakura spoke earnestly, his words that she had cut off returning to the forefront of her mind without his lips to blank it out.
"And neither could you, Sakura." He responded warmly, a warmth that was so him, so unique in Sakura's world to her senpai that she couldn't help the flood of warmth, and love and light that flowed through her from head to toe.
And with that love, came the inevitable surging want and need for someone, anyone to fill her and sustain her. But now she had her precious senpai, the one that she had privately sworn herself to in more ways than one and she was about to make sure that she never had to 'sully' herself ever again.
So with one more keening whine she pursed her lips and shivered in glee as her senpai caught the hint and initiated the next kiss, letting her begin to lean more and more into him.
She would take her time with this first round. To savor it and make sure that her senpai knew what to do and how, and once he did, she'd let him take charge. But for now, she continued leaning forward until his back met his bed. She needed to make sure that she followed Sella's lessons well and informed her senpai of 'proper procedure', now, didn't she?
XXXxxxXXX
Omake: Sister's of the mind
Sakura hummed to herself as she kneeled on the bed of her senpai. Making sure to smooth her clothes out and make one final check to make sure she was as perfect looking as she could possibly be. Once her mental checklist was finished she turned to face the door and began to breath in deeply to calm her nerves.
It was all ok, he wouldn't reject her, he wouldn't turn her away. Everything would turn out ok. Yeah…nothing could ruin-
Creeeaaaakkk
Slowly Sakura blinked at the intruder to her senpai's room, staring into the familiar cyan eyes of Rin Tohsaka as the girl paused in the doorway.
"Sak- Sakura!?" Rin jolted back but didn't leave the room.
"What are you doing here, Rin-san?" She asked kindly, ignoring the simmering in her stomach.
"I wanted to surprise Muramasa…" Rin muttered shyly, scratching her cheek.
'The whole bloodline is tainted.' Sakura's eyes began to go blank and a dark, murderous aura began to fill the room.
Rin watched the shadows in the room deepen and felt the temperature plummet, as if Sakura was beginning to suck all the heat out of the entire house. A bead of cold sweat travelling down her temple.
'The Tohsaka's only bring ruin and despair wherever i go. She must be eliminated.' Red veins began to creep along her skin and up her cheek.
"I-I'll um….Surprise him tomorrow. You obviously miss him more so i'll be nice and let you surprise him first…" Rin mumbled, trying to hide the trembling in her hands and her voice as she closed the door and did everything she could to avoid sprinting out of the residence.
XXXxxxXXX
And here we are, once again.
Fuck assignments, fuck exams, fuck seminars and fuck this shitty month.
But its over now so let's not get hooked up on the specifics like back to back deadlines and overlapping exams.
How did you guys enjoy the chapter? I'm surprised I managed to complete it in time. Probably because I didn't get to do any writing for pretty much the entire month.
In all honesty I had no idea how long this chapter was going to be. Originally it was going to be a struggle to reach 7k and then it was going to be in the five digits and then one of my beta's suggested I get to a certain scene which would have put this chapter closer to the 15-20k margin and definitely wouldn't have come out any time soon. So yeah, productions been a shitshow but at least it's out. For those of you wondering, without the omake the chap is about 8.6-8.7k long and the omake brings it up to about 9.1k.
Discord code: ctMzhq3
AND NOW FOR THE REVIEW REPLIES!
Mundatorem: Yes, yes it does.
NNathann: The fight will be LEGENDARY!
MountainBookSage25: You got it buddy! X3
Hermitfan: How long is a piece of string?
Zearph: Doing my best dude but I don't think I get a true break until November….
SentinelSlice: I'd hope they make good foils for each other because that's what I've designed them as XD Even changing around the canon Principles even though it wasn't canon at the time of deciding Enhance's.
Torukeru: Maiya is big dead. The only difference was at the very end of the 4th war. Irisviel didn't miraculously survive somehow she essentially cheated her way into coming back.
Reclusive Dork: Thank you, my discord server loved it.
Uraharaisgod: I intend what I intend and what I don't at the same time. Make of that what you will.
Xmaster123: It's one of my favourite changes I've made within this story.
WhinyShin: Not sure about the double review and everything but thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed so many parts of it.
AND THAT'S THE END!
Thank you, farewell, have a good night, morning and afternoon and make sure to look both ways before crossing the highway.