Vol.2
Chapter 5
Wednesday, September 14, 2022.
After a week and a half in this new establishment, here I am in the Maken-ki club. I get special treatment, I contribute to the club, but I also have time to work. Once, a student who I'd never met before had said, "Isn' that Senji ?" It seems that I made a big impression that day, when I stopped an attack coming from nowhere during a duel. But I don't really know how well known I am and I hope I'm not "popular", I just want to spend my 5 years quiet...
Anyway, apart from the usual classes, the Maken-ki club sends me with another member, to patrol and referee duels all over the school. It usually goes well, we take this role very seriously, except with Uruchi, who apparently can't stand me... and with Usui. I should have known with this guy.
He made new friends in our class, Matsuda and Motohama, also two big perverts. And when he accompanies me on our patrols, and we stop a fight or I referee a duel, he discreetly disappears to join his comrades to watch the girls of the Kendo club changing.
The first time he did it to me, when I was looking for him, I found him and the two others being beaten by the girls of the club, in fury. Luckily I had the club armband to calm the situation, otherwise I would have been beaten up too. The second time, I found them in the storage room, stuck to the Kendo club, looking through a small hole directly into the girls' lockers. They were saying things like...
"Ohhhh! Murayama seriously has big tits !"
"Ahhh, Katase sure has nice legs."
Of course, with the help of Haruko, I got rid of them in a hurry and went to apologize to them, now I get along with them better.
But that Wednesday, as I was leaving work, a girl with silky black hair and a slender body from school was waiting for me, and when she saw me coming out, she got up and walked towards me.
"Senji-kun, I love you, will you go out with me!" she confesses.
I'm confused, it's the first time someone has admitted her love to me and as I have difficulty expressing my emotions, I don't know how to react.
"Um... wow, that's very nice of you... but if I may ask, what did I do to earn your affection and more importantly, what is your name ?"
"Oh yes of course, I am Amano Yuuma! I thought you were really amazing when you had stopped that powerful attack last Friday, and you're so cool when you're patrolling the school and helping the other students... It's all these great things that made me fall in love with you!" she replies, blushing, turning slightly from left to right.
I don't know what to answer, on the one hand, I'm afraid that she's disappointed in who I am in private, but at the same time, I'm curious to know what love is. After all I am only 15 years old.
"Very well, but I'd like us to get to know each other before anything else."
"Really! Oh I am so happy! Getting to know each other? Of course! It's Thursday tomorrow, since school ends early, would you mind going on a date ?"
"Yes of course no problem, go for tomorrow afternoon, let's meet near the station?"
"Yes okay, great! See you tomorrow then, have a good evening" she waves me off, trotting away happily.
But something is wrong, Ddraig seems on guard since her arrival.
(What's up Ddraig?)
"She is a fallen angel"
(Seriously? What is she doing here, you think she's after you?)
"No, after us, it's been a while since you woke me up, but you were under the protection of a powerful mage, and you were always traveling, so hard to deal with. But now that you're alone, I think she's come to kill you."
(Because you are a threat to them, if I remember right?)
"Yeah, let's just say...I've caused a lot of trouble in the past. Anyway, stay on your toes with her and play along."
Thursday, September 15, 2022.
When the last bell of noon rings, I hurry to go out, pretexting to Inaho that if I don't hurry, I will be late to my job.
I am the first to arrive at the station. I don't know at all how this day is going to go, I just hope I won't be too embarrassing and especially not to meet anyone who knows me...
As I wait motionless, watching the clouds pass by, I receive a suspicious flyer from a girl dressed as a succubus who hands them out. It is an occult paper with a weird magic circle and a sentence "Your wish will be granted".
"This magic circle..." ...I wanted to throw it away, but I decided to put it in my pocket since Ddraig seems to recognize the symbol.
"Senji-kun !" Amano shouts my name, running towards me impatiently. "Sorry, I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long..."
"Don't worry, I just got here."
"Okay, so much the better. Well, since I'm the one who initiated this adventure, let me guide us! I'll make this date unforgettable!"
"Well let's go then, I'll follow you."
At my words, she takes my hand and we start walking. She takes me to a clothing store and has fun making me test a lot of clothes.
Then she asks me if I wanted to go somewhere in particular, since we still have some time before finding a place in one of the numerous restaurants full of customers at this hour. I shyly tell her that I need to change my toolkit.
She looks at me with big eyes then laughs, she grabs my arm and takes me into the craft store.
She admits to me that she has never set foot there, and that she has never really been interested in DIY, but once she got inside, she didn't stop asking me questions about every tool she didn't understand.
For lunch, we ate at a family restaurant, like normal high school students would, and Yuuma-chan and I eat two chocolate parfaits. I watch her eat slowly, with some warmth in my body.
At the beginning of this date, my goal was to please her as much as possible, so that she would have a good day.
It's not that I'm not having a good time personally, it's that... I can't relax, I feel that if I let myself be carried away by Amano's good mood, the weight of my past and my convictions will fall on me like death.
But strangely, at this precise moment, in her company, I feel good, I managed to forget all these faces disfiguring me like the plague. It is soothing...
But I have no illusions, Ddraig feels what I feel, and conversely, he remains on the alert. Deep inside, I hope that nothing serious will happen at the end of this day...
The evening has arrived, it is time to know whether or not she is an enemy. We are in a park away from the city and there is no one there but us. Yuuma-chan has already let go of my hand and is standing in front of the fountain.
"It sure was fun today." Yuuma smiled the sunset behind her. "Hey, Senji-kun."
"What is it, Yuuma-chan ?"
"There's somethin I want to do to celebrate our first date. Could you listen to my wish ?"
(Oh boy, this is the moment of truth.)
"What are you wishing for ?"
(I played my game wrong, she can feel the tension now. Did she notice anything?)
But Yuuma-chan keeps smiling at me and she then said clearly.
"Will you die for me ?"
(Shit. It really had to happen...)
But clinging to a thread of hope, I innocently ask again.
"Can you repeat that? I must have heard wrong..."
"Will you die for me ?" She clearly repeats herself. This time with a laugh.
Suddenly, two black wings appear on her back. She then started flapping her wings. The black feathers float in the air and then drop down to my feet.
Stopping acting, I step back and take a fighting stance, ready to strike back at the slightest attack.
Her cute looking eyes changed into cold, scary eyes.
"The little time I spent with you was fun, even though you clearly lacked emotions, I could still see in you some feelings emerging, how cute is youth!"
Yuuma-chan's voice sounds very cold. Her tone is like an adult's, and her mouth is forming into a cold smile.
(This bitch, she seduces her targets and then she enjoys it?!)
Suddenly, a noise much louder than a game console makes vibrates in the air. It makes a loud buzzing sound, then appears in her hands.
A glowing spear, then without warning she throws it at me, aiming at my stomach.
I dodge her by jumping to my right, then, with my lit magic circuits running through my body, I create swords around me then launch them like missiles at her. Surprised, she takes flight and dodges them all.
I make one appear in my hand and point it at the fallen angel.
"Can I at least know why you are picking on me?"
She comes back to my level, with a new spear of light in her hand, visibly surprised and irritated by my defense.
"Hmmm, I guess I can tell you, it won't matter since you're going to die. Sorry, you are a threat to us, so we decided to get rid of you early. If you want a grudge, then hate the God who put the Sacred Gear in you."
I can't help but smile after her explanation, I raise my left hand towards her direction then with a bright red light, the famous Sacred Gear appears, a red glove with yellow spikes on each side of the hand, and a green jewel emanating a red light. Even if it is only in its primary form, as Ddraig explained to me, for example my fingers are not covered, but it is impressive enough to annoy the fallen angel.
At least that's what I thought. she show a shocked expression, then starts to laugh.
"I was told that your Sacred Gear was a dangerous one before from the higher-ups, but it looks like they were totally wrong!"
The Fallen Angel starts to laugh as if she found it amusing.
[BOOST] "What's so funny?"
"Your Sacred Gear is one of the common ones. It's called the [Twice Critical]. It doubles the power of the possessor for a temporally time, but having you double your power is not a threat to me. Truly, a fitting object for a disgusting human like you."
(Huh, so they got the wrong idea eh, perfect.)
[BOOST]
I rush on her, bringing down my blade, she parries with her spear, surprised by my power.
"I'll show you what a disgusting human can do!"
"Struggle as much as you can, with your ridiculous Sacred Gear and meaningless powers! You don't stand a chance against a fallen angel of my caliber!"
The fight really starts, I push her back, making her lose her balance, [BOOST] I create another blade in my right hand and strike it at her. She dodges by flying away, creating a gust of air, which pushes me back violently.
I get up quickly, and dodge a spear, which still hits me in the side, but nothing serious. [BOOST] I run, circling the fountain, while dodging and parrying her inciting attacks.
But the difference of power between us two is clear, her attacks are more precise, and more violent, parrying them becomes very complicated, her power is superior to mine, even with 4 boost.
(Damn, if I don't do anything, I'm going to get butchered, I've been lacerated all over avoiding the worst, but it's not going to last, I'm getting tired and my magic circuits are starting to heat up, I don't have a choice, I'm going to have to go all out, even if it means hurting myself even more!)
Without stopping, I take a deep breath and inhale. I inhale the energy around me, from the trees, the animals, even from the fallen angel, which surprises her. Filaments of light energy run through the park, heading towards my mouth, which I inhale, making me stronger, faster and healing me lightly.
"What is this? how is this possible? how dare you suck up MY energy ?!" the fallen angel rages, throwing a multitude of spears.
But it is useless, I am too fast, I rush towards her, still flying, I take support on a bench and jump, breaking it in the passage. She tries to deviate from my trajectory but I have time to catch her right wing. I bring her back to me and kick her with all my strength, which throws her like a missile towards the ground and crashes in an explosion of debris and dust.
I also fall violently, at the end of my strength. The aspiration of energy is a double-edged blade, certainly it allows me to become stronger, but my body cannot manage this overload of power, then it evacuates as it can, creating holes in all my body. My magic circuits are on fire, I can't do anything.
But the fallen angel gets up, staggering.
"Shit, what am I doing?!" I panic.
I try to stand up but it's impossible, my legs don't respond, my whole body is in agony, so I look for my phone in my pockets, hoping to call for help. But all I find is this strange flyer. I look at it, staining with my blood.
"I'll give you that, a mere human being able to hit me like that is well done. But it's over. I'll keep this feeling as a lesson, so thanks to you." The fallen angel is furious.
Spear in hand, she is getting ready to shoot.
(I can't die here.)
Images, as if from a cathode ray television, scrolling, sizzling in my head.
Flame, flame as far as the eye can see, dead bodies, burned alive and this black hole made of magic, pouring this strange liquid. I can't die here, I must know, I must save as many people as possible...
"I can't die, not yet, I have too much to do..." I stand up, in pain and look the fallen angel straight in the eye.
"Oh? Really? what a shame." she said with a smile.
"I'm not going to die here !" I scream, using my last resources to activate my magical circuits.
When suddenly, the flyer begins to glow with a red light. Surprised I drop it and when it hits the ground the symbol on it gets bigger.
"What? A magic circle?" The fallen angel is surprised.
She still throws her spear at me. I can only stand in the face of death, as the spear disappears in a torrent of magic. A black and crimson mixture, devouring the spear of light.
"This magic circle, this power, this red hair... There's no doubt about it, Gremory..." Ddraig seems reassured.
I turn to the source of this power. Coming out of the magic circle, a a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous body, white skin, blue eyes. Her most distinctive feature is her long, beautiful crimson hair, that reaches down to her thighs with a single hair strand sticking out from the top. Her hair also has loose bangs covering her forehead and side bangs framing her face. She is wearing, to my surprise, the Kuoh school uniform.
"So you're the one who called me". the redhead looks at me, as if taken with pity.
Then she turns her gaze to the fallen angel, who changes completely, filled with rage.
"How dare a fallen angel attack the people of my city. This will not go unpunished." Her hand is surrounded by this black and red power, ready to attack.
"Tsss, I hope for your sake we don't meet again, Emiya Senji!" She wraps herself in her wings, then disappears.
My rescuer calms down, then turns to me and approaches.
(Ddraig, do you know who that is?)
"Not personally, but what I can assure you is that she is a demon. So you may have just created another problem for yourself."
"Well, you're in critical condition. The school is not far, come on, I'll take care of your injuries." she said inspecting me. "And hold a handkerchief, your nose is bleeding a lot."
"Who... who are you, you're wearing Kuoh's outfit but..." I remain suspicious, still on adrenaline.
"Don't worry, I responded to your fighting spirit. It was you who called me with that paper, wasn't it?"
She points to the flyer stained with my blood. I breathe out a deep breath, then take the handkerchief and put it under my nose, to stop the bleeding.
"Well, thanks for trusting me, come on, these wounds aren't going to treat themselves."
I follow her, staggering, to the school, which is empty at this hour. She patiently guides me, until I arrive in front of an old building of the school, according to Furan Takaki, this building is used for the occult club.
We go in, get me into a bathroom, then treat me.
About ten minutes later, covered with bandages, I am sitting on a green sofa, rather comfortable.
There are strange signs and words in every part of the classroom. The floor, the walls and even the ceiling are covered with them. And the one that stands out the most is the circle drawn in the center of the room. The magic circle that saved my life takes up most of the space here. There are also a few couches and desks in the room.
"Sorry for the wait, I made us some tea." The young woman, coming out of another room, arrives with a tray of two glasses.
She sits on the other couch in front of me.
"Nice to meet you, Senji Emiya, I am Rias Gremory, I was hoping we would meet under different circumstances."
I take the cup of tea that was destined for me, and take a big gulp, I can feel my dry throat cooling down.
"Thank you for saving me, I was at my wits end. I admit that I did not manage my capacities completely. But as a result, do you expect anything from me?"
"Hmmm? Why is that?"
"I know you're a devil and devils never do anything without something in return. Am I wrong?"
"Indeed, you are not wrong. Oh but don't worry, I would have saved you even if I didn't expect anything from you, I'm not a monster." She puts down her cup of tea, smiling, as if she had found something incredible. "You see I expect a lot from you Senji."
"That is?"
"I want you in my peerage."
"Um ...?"
"Hm? you know I'm a devil but you don't know our customs do you?" She pulls out red chess pieces from a magic circle and places them on the desk. They all give off a strange energy. "As you noticed, these chess pieces have something extra, with them I can make you absorb one, and turn you into a devil."
"just like that?"
"Yes. But obviously, with this, I become your master."
(I don't even have to think about it, I can't create a boundary for myself, I guess if I accept, I wouldn't be in control of myself anymore, so...)
"I'm sorry, but I can't accept, I can't afford to..."
"What are you looking for, Senji Emiya?"
"What's..."
"Why did you choose this school?"
"I need to get stronger."
"Then becoming a devil will allow you to become significantly stronger. I guarantee it."
"Maybe, but that means having to obey you, doesn't it? And that I can't comply with."
"Ah? and for what reason?"
"I...By the end of my school years, when I graduate, I plan to leave, follow my father's path, save as many people as possible where needed. That's why I can't be part of your group. " I stand up and drink the rest of the tea in one go. "I owe you a debt, so I can pay it any way you want, except with this proposal. Thanks again but I have to go."
"Then I'll offer you a contract."
I turn back to her, seeing that she still hasn't let go.
"Again, I can't..."
"Five years isn't it? I propose that you become my subject for those 5 years, and when you graduate, you will be free. I promise you this in my name of Gremory."
"Why do you care so much about making me part of your team?"
"Fufufu, you will know when you accept."
"I...I need time to think about it."
"Ah we're making progress, that's good. I leave you until tomorrow... Oh no." Her look changes, as if she is thinking of something unpleasant. "After tomorrow, we'll talk about it the day after tomorrow, okay? I'll send one of my peers to pick you up."
"Okay, that's fine with me. See you then."
I look at her one last time, she seems quite satisfied with our discussion, then I leave. Once outside, I can't feel the cold of the night. My body and especially my magical circuits are on fire. I will not be able to use them for several days.
Here I am in front of my house, it's late and I haven't sent any message to the girls. They must be mad not knowing what I'm doing after all this time.
I have two options, either I go discreetly through the garden and hide in the cabin, until I go to bed. Or I face them, but I'll have to explain my condition.
I take a deep breath, and decide to slide the door, taking the bull by the horns.
"I'm home!"
To my surprise, I have time to take off my shoes and to start walking, before only Sakura comes to welcome me.
"Senpai, you're finally back, we were starting to worry..." She stops, petrified.
"Ah yes sorry, I had a problem but everything is fine." I try to reassure her, even though I can feel my magical circuits twitching, making me wince in pain.
"What do you mean everything is fine? What happened? Why are you covered in bandages? Oh God, are you in pain? Let me help you! Fujimura-sensei! Can you go get a painkiller please?"
"Huh? What's up?" I can hear Fuji-nee, confused in the dining room.
"We're coming! Senpai, let me help you!"
I let myself be guided, shoulder to shoulder, to the dining room. When Sakura slides the door open, I can see the girls looking at me with concern and annoyance.
"Hey everyone, sorry for the delay..."
Sakura helps me to sit on my cushion. Fuji-nee hands me a glass and a painkiller.
"You better explain yourself Senji, you know very well that I hate to see you in this state !" Fuji-nee seems really annoyed.
"What do you mean Fujimura-sensei? Isn't this the first time he's come home so injured?" Haruko asks.
"Well..." Fuji-nee looks at me, as if seeking my approval. I nod my head. "When they went on a trip with his adoptive father, Kiritsugu, and came back, most of the time they were covered in wounds. It made me terribly angry at Kiritsugu and far too protective of Senji. Even though today I know very well that you are a responsible teenager. But this state! At Fuyuki! How is this possible!"
"I got attacked by a fallen angel."
Silence in the room. They look at me as if they see a ghost.
"You've got to be kidding me, fallen angels never interact with humans, except on very rare occasions." Explains Kodama, but I can very well see that she knows about my powers, with her little smirk.
"Remember Inaho, when I told you that I had to hurry to my job?" I ask. She nods at me. "Well I lied, I had a date with her, the fallen angel."
"WHAT?!" Haruko, Sakura and Fuji-nee cry out.
"I didn't know she was a fallen angel at the time!"
"What do you mean a date? Was she your girlfriend?" Ask Fuji-nee.
"Um... Last night when I left work, she was waiting for me and she confessed. So I told her I wanted to get to know each other first and she agreed, hence the date."
"Okay... And so, how did you get through it?" asks Inaho.
"A woman named Rias Gremory saved my life."
"The Rias Gremory, the noble-blooded devil?" exclaims Kodama, leaping from her cushion.
"So I didn't know about his noble blood but yeah, red hair, all that stuff."
"You seem to know what is involved Kodama-senpai, can you explain." At Sakura's word, all eyes turn to the said person.
"Well...demons divide the Human world into territories. And Fuyuki is Gremory territory, so it's not really surprising that she saves someone from a fallen angel. But in your case Senji, she wants something from you doesn't she?"
"Yes, she wants me to join her peerage."
"Huh? Oh that's not as bad as I thought." comments Haruko.
"What you think Haruko. But it's much more complicated than that. She wants to turn Senji into a devil and make him one of her servants." Explains Kodama.
"What?! You can't accept this Senji!" Fuji-nee looks me straight in the eyes.
"Yes... I said I would think about it..." I don't feel like talking about it at all now, tired as I am. Fortunately, it is the gurgling of my stomach that saves me.
"Anyway, I guess you must be starving. We saved your share, don't worry." Haruko gets up and heads to the kitchen.
"Well, if I'm not needed anymore, I'm going to bed, it's getting late." Kodama gets up and leaves.
"The same goes for us Sakura, I'll take you home..." Fuji-nee looks at me, as if hesitating on something.
"I'm fine Fuji-nee, really. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Alright, good night then everyone."
"Good night."
Fuji-nee and Sakura leave in their turn, hesitating.
"Here Senji." Haruko puts down a tray filled with goodies. "We're going to bed too, so don't take too long okay?"
"Okay, good night girls."
"Good night." they say, sliding the door shut. Leaving me alone.
I eat with difficulty, having trouble controlling my left arm. Then I take a cold shower, which helps to calm the persistent pain. Then not even trying to train my magic circuits, I collapse into my futon, sweating. The pain started again. I'm fidgeting in my futon, not knowing what to do but to suffer. I can feel my magic circuits stirring, as if I had boiling water running through them. Unable to bear it any longer, I fall unconscious, finally finding rest.
Hello ! Bonjour! Thank you for reading this chapter! I can say that we finally get to the heart of the matter, the development of Senji. I don't really have much to say except that this is it, finally some action. I really wanted to show that Senji is a capable young man, with some experience. But he's still young and doesn't have all his means yet, normal you'll tell me, otherwise what would there be to tell? Anyway, I'll add one last thing, Senji will not be a dense character, that's all I can say. Thanks again for reading this chapter, see you next week.
