Fate: Bonds Beyond Humanity

by Apprentice of Life

In a world where all can be real, what does it mean to be human? What is the meaning of humanity? A meeting between a human and a devil will have them discovering the truth while chasing their dreams. My take on the combined worlds of Fate and DxD with characters from other franchises if they can be adapted to it. Harem.

10. Chapter 10

Fate/Bonds Beyond Humanity

…..

10- A Break Is Needed

…..

The discussion of the previous night helped Shirou feel a little more relaxed. After it, he made some more cookies and went to bed since he knew that both white haired girls would be up for longer.

After he wakes up and does his usual routine, he goes to work in the kitchen. It was almost time for breakfast and now he needs to cook an extra large meal since Koneko was also staying in the house and she ate as much as Liz. That also means he is going to make an extra bento for her.

A couple of hours later the duo came down the stairs. Liz's sleeping clothes were her usual dressing style of not carrying what she exposed while Koneko's was a white buttoned up and pants combo with cat drawings all around it.

During the meal, where both girls praised his cooking and Koneko said this was the best assignment of her life, he stole some looks at Liz. The maid was… fine, same as usual. Didn't change the fact that previous events happened, including the conversation after.

To avoid Liz losing herself once again, Shirou needs to grow stronger. He still hasn't hashed out all the details but he knew for a fact there had to be a way. He pondered asking Rias for reincarnation but discarded the promised his sister that he wouldn't become a devil, which means he needs to find another solution.

Training helps without a doubt, he is way stronger after his many spars with Setsuna and Kiba so that was going to continue, making new swords also helped plenty since the instant he had the werewolf weakness he had the fight pretty much over until the Noble Phantasm hit. 'Maybe I should go for other kinds of weapons?'

Remembering that night on the mall wasn't pleasant but it helped him with perspective of how he could have finished the fight faster. Shirou wouldn't change his approach to deal with the human but if he had a chain or something similar he could have stopped the werewolf much earlier.

'The problem with the werewolf was that I couldn't approach but I also got caught earlier in the fight which made things worse… there was also the Noble Phantasm…' If he had knocked Edward out of the fight properly that wouldn't have been a problem. But he got back up, still armed and the consequences were nothing to scoff at. 'I can't deal with that kind of firepower. The best I can do is to try and take the opponent out before they set up.'

From what he could tell with both Rias and Edward, big attacks needed some time to prepare. If he can stop it before it is a problem then it didn't matter if the enemy had a Noble Phantasm.

'What are the odds of me even finding another one anyway?' Shirou thought seriously. 'In any case, the main problem is me being weaker than my opponents and it's something I face against my friends too. I am too slow, lacking a proper defense and need some kind of range option-'

"Shirou?" Liz snapped him out of his thoughts. "Is there a problem?"

"No… I was just thinking."

"About?" The maid asks while Koneko just kept munching her food, the small girl's face had only bliss.

"Nothing important. Just stuff." He then rushes to finish his meal. "Can you guys take the plates after? I need to prepare the bentos."

"I can clean them." Koneko offered only for Shirou to shake his head.

"No way. You are here for my saket. I would be a poor host to force you to do that." At Shirou's comment the small girl shrugged and looked at Liz.

The white haired woman just kept eating, either not knowing or ignoring the yellow eyed girl, Liz just focused on finishing her food, leaving Shirou to do the dishes. The redhead was used to it. At least the maid took care of her own laundry and room, he didn't need any accidents happening.

Turning his thoughts back on how to avoid another disaster, Shirou decides he needs to do some research on weaponry, his shuriken experiment was a failure but it was time for him to move on. The fact didn't change that if it wasn't a sword he usually met failure for the most part and that was irritating.

A noise to the side had him turn around to see Koneko drying the dishes. "I told you, I got this." She just shakes her head.

"I'll be staying for a while. Let me help." She then kept working on the dishes he had finished. "And don't say I'm just a guest. That is no excuse." Shaking his head, Shirou tried to offer the same deal he had with Liz only to be rejected. "I'm not that lazy."

Chuckling, Shirou accepted her reason and just kept working. "What do you want on your bento?" Since she was already there he wanted to know what to prepare.

"Something sweet." Was the reply.

"Too much sweets are bad for anyone."

"I'ma devil." She said as if it explained everything.

Shirou didn't buy that. "And I already asked Akeno if your diet was any different. She said no, that devils could eat more of certain things but not that much. In her own words; 'don't let Koneko get too much candy.'"

"You let Liz have a lot of candy." The complaint came out, almost with a whine.

"Because she is literally capable of burning way more energy than you." From the side of his eyes he saw Koneko pout and decided to give her an olive branch. "You can have some ice cream at night." She, magnanimously in her opinion, accepted his terms via fast nodding.

...

When the time came for them to go to school their paths didn't need to split immediately. Liz took everyone in the car making a quick stop for the younger whitehead's sake. Koneko's was also part of Kuoh but to avoid bad influences on the younger students their local area of learning was a bit more distant from the main campus.

The whole ride was normal and once Koneko was dropped off, Liz drove them to Kuoh and the teacher's parking lot and they left from there, the student for his classroom and the teacher for the teacher's lounge.

Arriving in his class, Shirou notices something he never saw. Setsuna had her head low, using her arms as a pillow. Usually his friend is much more alert than that. When he sat down on his desk, she barely reacted which made him worried.

Then he looked at Kiba and it was another unusual sign. He had his usual smile except that today Shirou could tell it was forced. "Something wrong?" Shirou's question almost startled the Knight but he kept his composure.

"Buchou… will explain later." Was all the devil had to say.

"Good morning." Rin greeted them, looking her usual self with a smile. That was until she noticed the same things that Shirou did. "Did something happen?"

"Buchou will explain later." The answer was automatic and it was clear that the blonde was tired.

Both magus looked at each other and the girl shrugged, in her mind if there was going to be an explanation then there was nothing to fret about.

Also accepting that he would get answers later, Shirou turns his focus to wait for the teacher. Today was another exposition day and Velvet promised that he was going to be more generous this time. The man didn't do many but when he did, he always justified why people weren't getting rewards.

The redhead pondered a bit if he should show something, after his first demonstration he just… didn't. Most of the time no one managed to really impress the man, even with him being more lax after the first one but he wondered if he should go for it just to not have to deal with math tests.

The next week is going to be full of them and one less would be great for any student and he could use the time to work on other stuff.

His internal debate lasted until he heard other students get inside. There was some discussion about the events of the weekend. It was weird to remember that everyone in the class was aware of the moonlit world but it was evident on how they all were acting.

The moment they stepped inside, safe from being eavesdropped, the majority started to flung around theories on what really happened at the mall. Usually he wouldn't want to intrude but this time they were talking about him and he decided to reinforce his hearing, just a bit.

Apparently, some of the students' families were called for the cover up of the whole thing. Lots of calls were made and plenty of those present had, for one reason or another, heard that what happened was part of their world.

A benefit of it was that no one was bothering him or Setsuna about the date. It got forgotten in the middle of the new development since it was considered more relevant than teenager stuff. Shirou considered it a good thing since the hanyou was resting at the moment.

From the corner, unnoticed by Shirou, Shinji was glaring at him while pretending to be interested in what happened at the mall. The small circle he had was actually debating the possibility of a strong stray showing up and causing chaos.

'No it wasn't. It was just a waste of time. At least I won't have to pay anyone.' Shinji thinks while getting a jar with a wasp he plans to use for his demonstration from his bag. 'Had all that work to call for assassins and all of them failed! Is Emiya really the son of the Magus Killer?'

Personally, Shinji didn't believe that but until he met his ally again he won't have any answers.

"All of you, sit down." Waver Velvet entered the class and gave a few seconds to see if there was going to be a reaction. Since he was apparently unnoticed by the majority he rolled his eyes and raised his voice putting a little of mana on it. "Class in session! Sit down!"

This time there was a reaction. The students may be teens but they were also moonlit world residents, and upon hearing their teacher clearly, they obeyed his instructions without delay.

Once all were seated, Waver made the roll call and allowed the ones that wanted to present their work to do so. Noticing that some were still chatering about the recent events, Waver decides to say. "While it is true something happened, there is nothing that any of you can do about it. Focus on your own development and forget about it or else you will never be able to progress."

The teacher could have told them the details that he himself managed to gather but now it was time for classes and he had a schedule to keep.

The roll call begins once again and there are those that want to present their progress with their magic. As promised, Waver was being more generous and giving marks without much issue. To help in his students future endeavours he also took his time in asking questions and giving pointers.

Some of the students had a habit of doing the same thing again with one or two twists. Instead of shunning them, Waver approved. If they can add anything new to something that they already accomplished it was still valid if there was some creativity to it.

It was completely unlike the first time. Basically everyone was getting a reward, either freedom from tests or homework. Nobody dared to get a free period in this class since it was considered too useful for everyone.

While the other students made their presentations Shirou turned his focus inwards with meditation. He could see himself sitting there and started to debate the problem he had in the morning. Surrounded by all his weapons in his mind he knew he had no real solution that didn't involve spending more mana than his body could produce.

He snapped himself out of his meditation when he noticed Setsuna stepping up to deliver something. Being able to see her face now it was clear she was exhausted, her eyes were half closed but she was still awake even if not as alert as she would be on any other day.

Placing her hand on her pocket she pulls out a rock, fills it with youki and tosses it up. When it touches the ceiling it breaks apart in a mist that starts to melt it. "Don't touch, it is toxic."

"Do you-"

"Homework." It was clear for all to see she didn't want anything other than sleep, the woman was definitely exhausted.

That had Shirou worried about what happened and he could only think of one event that could be responsible for it. He definitivally wanted to talk with Rias as soon as possible.

He keeps paying attention when Shinji shows a wasp that apparently could reproduce his voice from a distance. He proved it by leaving it on the teachers desk and standing on the other side of the classroom whispering a countdown from 10 and his voice being reproduced perfectly to all from the front.

In and out people offered demonstrations of progress with their family magic or incomplete experiments. Rin's was the next project that Shirou paid attention to as she just figured out how to use gems as cameras and even use a huge one as a central painel where others images could be observed from.

When Kiba demonstrated his progress with Sword Birth and explained the ideas for new swords came by sparring with Shirou it gave Waver pause. "Speaking of our resident genius," that was a thing Shirou didn't know he was called as, "don't you have something to demonstrate?"

"Well…" He honestly didn't know what to say. Part of him felt it wasn't fair to show what he managed to make with Rias' help. Sure it was his work but the resources were some of the most exotic out there. Then he remembered that he may have something. "It is kind of a failure…"

"Failure is the first step to success. If you don't want to try, then don't. But as a teacher I will be failing if I don't offer the chance for you to try." Pretty much everyone else did something either way. It could even be argued that Waver was using the reward system to reduce his workload by basically having no homework to give save a few exceptions. "If you have something that you are having trouble with then you can show it as well and I can try to offer some assistance."

That was actually something that the redhead wants for a thing in particular. "Yes, sensei." Shirou gets up and moves to the front of the class while Kiba passes him offering a smile. 'Can he guess what I am going to show?' He wouldn't be surprised.

Once he was on the front of the class he traced the shuriken he was working on getting a raised eyebrow from the teacher. The other eyebrow joined its sibling when Shirou holded the star with his two hands before separating them with a star on each hand.

"A copy of a copy?" Extending both hands to receive the weapons and examine them. Once he receives them, he moves both against the light and starts to use Structural Analysis on the objects. "You managed to incorporate your own brand of projection on the shuriken."

"Yes but It has some troubles." With a nod, the long haired man decides to put his mana on both of the stars. Placing them on the table he executed the process and soon there were four on it. "There is also the diminished returns. A copy of a copy is a little inferior to the original."

"They all also cost mana to maintain. But the stipend is not much with just two and depending on the utility, two are more than enough." The teacher looks at his student. "You were trying to find a way to ease the process of production? To add Projection to any of your creations for a cheaper process?"

"Pretty much." Shirou was impressed by the teacher's deduction but the man shook his head.

"That is the most roundabout way that I have ever seen of someone trying to become a sorcerer."

"Sir?" Waver just shook his head again.

"What you were trying to attempt could only be called a bastardization of the Denial of Nothingness, one of the True Magics, some would argue the greatest one. It can be simply described as; to replace the full process of creation with just imagination and mana. However," he undoes the stars he had traced, "since the cost of mana is continuous and its existence depends on you; this can only be called a failure in this department."

Nodding in acceptance, the redhead says. "Yeah, I noticed that too but I was also trying to apply it to trace objects at a distance."

"Demonstrate." The teacher offered and Shirou saw no reason to refuse.

Clearing his mind he erased the copy of the copy and focused on the first star. It took him a few seconds but soon another star showed up at the side.

Waver wasted no time and grabbed it for analysis. Then he chuckled. "Emiya-kun, the process of your projection fascinates me to no end. But it is obvious you are still not a master of it."

"What do you mean sensei?" The long haired man looked about to go into a full lecture but stopped himself and chose to ask a question.

"When you made these… your intent was to throw them and have the process happen mid air… wasn't it?" Shirou blinked at the observation but nodded a few seconds later.

"I… saw it on TV once…"

"A show about ninjas?" After another nod Waver smiled a bit. "Inspiration can come from the unlikeliest of places. Even the pursuit of going to the moon or the submarine were ideas that humanity first considered fantasy." Waver then picked the new star. "From what I can observe Emiya-kun, you failed on your project but managed to stumble into something interesting nonetheless."

"I did?" His dumbfounded expression was really amusing for the teacher.

Chuckling a bit the man decided to help his student realize what the difference was. "When you made the second shuriken, without touching it… were you doing the same process you usually do?"

"Well… yes. I found it easier but it is useless in stressful situations." The teacher was nodding, waiting for Shirou to realize something. "It's pretty much the same thing I do when its on my hand." That made Waver pause.

"I see… you aren't noticing your problem." He picks the shuriken again. "Before I used Structural Analysis, do you believe I could use this weapon's spell?"

"Yes, that is the intention." The point of his creations is so anyone can use them for the most part.

Feeling confident of the shortcomings of his student he decided that he needs some help on the experiment. "Can I have a volunteer?" Surprising Shirou, many students raise their hands and Waver picks one not really at random, the devil with white hair, Hanakai Momo. "Come here Hanakai-san, if you please." The girl approaches and gives Shirou a smile before the teacher continues. "Use mana on a star and do the same thing that myself and Emiya-kun did."

"Yes, sensei." Since the girl was a devil, she couldn't possibly know Structural Analysis in Waver's mind and that allowed him to prove the concept of the experiment. Once the girl was successful, she presented both to their teacher. "Is that all sensei?"

"In a bit, Hanakai-san. I need you to answer some questions to prove a theory, if you don't mind?"

"Of course, sensei." As the prestative girl she was, Hanakai waited for the question.

"Good. First, you are a devil, correct? You don't know magecraft?"

"None at all."

"When you used the effect on the shuriken, all you did was enject mana, correct?"

"Exactly."

"Good, good. Final question; Do you think you could do the same at a distance?" The last one caught the girl off guard and she wasn't the only one. The other students were all paying attention to the teacher experiment.

"I… don't know… should I try?" The Bishop offers and the teachers motions to his desk.

"Remember to only use mana, no other spells. Try to replicate what you did with your hands from a distance, it can be small but don't touch it." After the girl gave a nod she began to work.

Shirou didn't understand the point the teacher was trying to make, at least in the beginning. But after a couple of seconds and no sign of another weapon popping up he starts to pay even closer attention.

Thinking that the fault lied with her, Momo made a silver magic circle on her hands to help focus more mana. She was channeling an already far superior amount than both magus did previously but it was worthless, there was no reaction.

Waver decided that it was enough. "You can stop now, Hanakai-san."

The girl looked depressed. "I'm sorry sensei…"

"It is fine. Maybe it was cruel of me to do it like this but the experiment was a success." He then turns to Shirou. "Wouldn't you say, Emiya-kun?"

"But then… how did I do it?" Once she heard Shirou's line, and being the closest students, she couldn't help but ask.

"Did what?" Momo's voice had an innocent tone to it and Waver chuckles.

"When he used his shuriken he actually was using his magic, not the object's. He failed in the process of making it work without contact." The man kept his happy demeanor during the explanation. "However, he succeeded in utilizing his own brand of Projection at range. I didn't know someone could do that since the spell itself is considered worthless. His is not just different and much more versatile than the usual Projection, it can also be used at a distance… or maybe the normal Projection also can be used like that and nobody tried. Questions for later."

For now he was in class and his student managed to do something worthy of praise. Not only was he already impressed with making a useless spell something worthwhile, he also managed to make it even more versatile.

"Full marks." Waver decides to give the grade. "You are officially free from the tests of this class… unless you want the free period?" Once Shirou shook his head in denial the teacher continued. "Your attempt of making an object capable of replicating itself is a success, flaws and all, but it can be considered a failure since it wasn't able to do what you wanted." Stopping for a second, Velvet could see that his student was pensive. "Your work with Projection… is remarkable. And now we all know that Projection can be used on range, something that no one knew before."

That made Shirou think as he tried to replay his own experiments with the weapon. Instead of focusing on it, he focused on the steps of his spell, utilizing it to get the result the shuriken was supposed to do. In reality it was a success, it can project itself but not in the way he wanted or needed. 'Back to the drawing board for that too.'

"You two can return to your seats." The teacher was mentioning that for Shirou's benefit since the redhead looked lost in his own world, lost in thought. Waver could sympathize. "Now my dear students,I have good news and bad news." Technically two bad news but that was irrelevant in perspective. He waited for a bit to give time for his students to sit properly before he would proceed.

After Shirou's new attempt he had everyone's eyes on him the whole walk to his desk and even as he sat down he was just being stared at, like the most interested animal on the planet.

But the boy didn't care, the whole walk he was focused on his own thoughts, on things he will have to work on for a promise.

"The bad news is that after the break, there is a good possibility that most of you won't be in my class again." Waver closes his eyes and waits for the complaints. There were many.

As if on cue, the majority of the students starts to protest, no hesitation or shame on their tone. No attempt to understand what Waver wanted to say. That was fine, most of them were leaving his class in the near future and the ones he cared about had more brains than that.

"Are you all done?" Unflappable as always, Waver waits for the wave of discontent to subside. "I must be a horrible teacher if you all think I would just leave you all to 'the wind'. The reason why many of you are going for another class is because more students are expected to join Kuoh, all of them connected to the moonlit world in a way or another, so another teacher is coming with them to teach another class in a… similar manner."

That made plenty of students look around skeptish. That was good since now they weren't going to make questions about it. Including the fact that he had to fight to keep some of his favorite students around or the fact that there would be a shuffle anyway since he spends his weekends revising the works of those that were trying to get in this class and a couple made the cut to join next term.

"The other teacher may or may not do things in a similar manner, that will be up to them. But our goal is relatively the same, prepare you all to advance on the moonlit world." That semmed to tranquilize most of the students. "Now comes the bad news."

"That wasn't the bad news?" Someone complained but they were ignored. It contradicted what he said earlier.

"The good news was that you all are still going to have a class, the fact that you are not with me is bad news for me. For you, the other bad news is that my evaluation method is only going to be for my class." And because most of them won't, they will get back to the normal system or any way that the other teacher will prefer teaching.

Because of the number of newcomers that are going to be added to the pool of those already in Japan, there are going to be enough students for a second special class. Since Waver is the senior and the whole thing was mostly his idea, he got to pick some students that he could keep for himself.

And the new instructor didn't like that, they were coming specially to get in the good graces of some of the most powerful devil clans, something that only Emiya Shirou had managed to do at the present. Of course the students that were coming were going to try similar things to both him and the heiresses now that it is 'official' that they are indeed looking for pacts.

In the Clocktower there were many families that were waiting just for a confirmation and they got it both in the best and worst news, yes they are but the big fish was already caught. The teacher couldn't deny his amusement when he had to tell that Gremory was already off the board…

That lasted until he had to talk about Shirou. And how couldn't he? The moment that the nobles got wind that Rias Gremory had found a magician then it became another game entirely.

Now they wanted him, either as an ally or to join their families throughout marriage. The heirs to many magical families all over the planet were already planning to come to Japan and part of Waver felt happy about it.

It meant that he had more opportunities to prove his theory that the environment was fundamental to the development of magic, he also wanted to approach the question of descendancy but if he hadn't taken that out of his thesis he would never have gotten the backing for it.

Now that they can see some benefit to his work, everyone wants in. He is getting more support just with Shirou's pact. But he also is going to have to deal with the person he loathes the most on the planet.

They were also completely willing to ignore the possibility that Shirou really is the Magus Killer son, something that Waver found really amusing since that should ring alarm bells on his colleagues heads is instead being ignored in favor of future prospects that are still uncertain.

"Either way, you all still have a few weeks of classes and only Emiya-kun doesn't need to worry about homework and tests. I will not be nice the next time you present something… so good luck."

Waver can only accept his situation, part of the work is leaving his hands but he is sure his thesis will be proven right. He can only hope that Lord El-Melloi will be less abrasive to his ideas now he isn't the man's student anymore.

For now all he can do is focus on being the best teacher he can. For those present and for the ones he will teach normal math later. 'I really wish I was the English teacher, it would be easier.'

Sad fact is, he is not that great at math.

…

Usually during lunch, Shirou and his friends move at a fast pace, set by Setsuna since she likes to sit down and enjoy her meal as soon as possible.

This morning she was more lethargic and they ended up moving for their usual spot at a slower rhythm that allowed a chance of an encounter that the redhead hadn't had for a long time. It was a meeting he wished he could have more often, for the most part. "I expected the rooftop to have more people."

It was one of the tagalongs of this huge group, Mastuda who spoke and his friend Motohama followed with, "We can barely see anything interesting here. Maybe that is why." It was funny how the boy looked to the grounds and looked with longing to the ones below, the fence stopping any accident.

"You are looking at the girls skirts again…" Issei said while the one with the same name tried to smooth things over.

"Those skirts are perfectly short. They are to be looked at." Ise had his two friends nodding behind him. "Look at the uniform's composition." He points at Rin who raises an eyebrow. "The way the vest accentuates the breasts, the perfect length to exhibit the legs. This uniform is perfect."

"Why are we eating with them again?" Rin asked. She actually didn't sound offended or anything of the type but she was keeping her distance from the boys and staying closer to Setsuna and Shirou in the circle.

Issei just lets out a sigh. "Believe it or not, they were worse a few months ago."

"I believe you." Shirou said without hesitation as he started to give everyone their bentos, everyone he made for that is. "But how are you doing Issei? Have you managed to join the student council yet?"

"No. For some reason it's like not a single application for new members is being accepted." The blackhaired boy sighs again. "But I won't quit." He says with determination. "I will join their group one way or another, there is going to be an election sooner or later since our seniors are going to graduate! I will build my reputation and make a campaign for president alone if I have to!"

That was still months away but Shirou says in support. "I will vote for you. Call me for help if you need." He opened a bento in front of Setsuna and let the smell enter the girl's nose.

The hanyou's eyes snapped open, previous lethargy forgotten. "Itadakimasu!" She started eating like she hadn't seen food in weeks.

"I can see why you are a couple. She loves your food." Motohama was nodding like a wise man but Shirou felt he should correct his fellow student.

"We aren't a couple as far as I understand it." Instead of continuing he looks at Kiba. "Why are you two exausted again?"

He could tell that Kiba was in better shape than Setsuna but the blonde just shrugged. "We were helping Buchou with something yesterday. It took longer than we expected and everyone ended up exhausted after."

"Buchou? Rias Gremory-san, right?" Issei asked while the trio of friends jumped in attention.

"The most beautiful girl in the school?" That came from Ise.

"The redhead onee-sama? That one!" Matsuda looked excited just talking about her.

"They say she is also a model! Is that true?" Motohama had the last reaction. Issei facepalms while Shirou and Rin look at each other and shrug and Setsuna is completely focused on her meal.

Kiba just gives them a smile. "She was offered a modeling opportunity once but chose to not take it." He then turns to Shirou expecifically. "We had to work with her because of an emergency project she had to make."

"You guys could have called me." Shirou had a liking for what this project was but now he can't say anything about it.

"Maybe. But after the disaster of your date we thought you could use a break." That sounded to mean for Kiba to say and even Setsuna stopped eating at the moment.

The reason why he said it became clear a few seconds later. "What? Was it that bad?" Ise looks at the redhead. "Everyone was saying that you two were getting advice for it. What went wrong?"

"Yes! Does that mean Higurashi-sama is available?" Motohama asked, turning his head to the woman with a ponytail. He could see the hair shaking with her head as she tried to say something but had her mouth full.

"Calm down Setsuna, small bites." Rin offers advice while gently massaging her back.

"Here, some water." Shirou offers a water bottle he had and the hanyou drinks without hesitation.

"Thank you guys." She then turns to her new acquaintances. "The date was a disaster because we asked for advice. We should have gone on a date to do what we wanted. I want another to rectify that mistake."

Before Shirou could console her and say it wasn't her fault he felt a wave of depression in his direction. Looking at the trio of perverts, he could see tears fall from their eyes.

"Lucky bastard!"

"Why can't I have a girl like that?"

"It 's not fair! Is it because he is a pretty boy?"

This was once again a time in Shirou's life he had no reaction to it, no point of reference to try and preserve his sanity. Behind him Rin gets closer to Kiba and whispers. "Is this about the mall incident?" When she got a nod the Tohsaka head could only let her shoulders drop. "Is that why the date ended in disaster?"

"No." Setsuna says back while Shirou was distracting the other boys, including a sympathetic Issei who was trying to be both of assistance in controlling the perverts and a good friend by telling Shirou that no one gets things right the first time. "We can talk more later."

"Are you better now?" Rin gives Setsuna an impish smile. "No more sleep during classes? I am sure Wakaba-sensei only lets you rest because you usually are a model student."

"I am fine." But Kiba shook his head.

"At the end of the night we had many wounded and Setsuna was the only one with a good reserve of mana left." Rin then turns her smile to Kiba.

"Is that why you were a bit mean just now? Tired?"

"I just felt that we needed a distraction from the theme." And they all could see that everyone else was properly distracted.

"Doesn't make it less mean." Rin had to point it out and Kiba couldn't disagree.

"The Occult Research Club, huh? Never took you as one to believe in the supernatural Shirou." Issei also tries to change the subject. "I heard that joining that club is also really hard. How did you manage that?"

The other three boys stop asking questions and sit down to hear the answer to this one. It was well known that many students try to join the ORC, either out of legitime interest or to try and approach the two most beautiful girls in the school. The reason why they always fail is because Rias has full control of who joins or not and since she was the one to open that club there were no older students than her to challenge her authority.

They didn't even get mad at her for being rejected, apparently she manages to smile her way out of any discussion.

"I met Rias before we joined Kuoh and we kinda got along so she invited me." Not a lie. The son of the Emiya house was not even going to try and lie, he sucks at it, but a partial truth is still the truth.

"Lucky bastard!"

"Why can't I get lucky like that?"

"It 's not fair! Is it because he is a pretty boy?"

"Enough already!" Issei puts some authority on his tone and then turns to Shirou again. "And you are alright with that club?"

"Why do you ask?" Shirou was curious about his friend's apprehension.

"It's just… Gremory-san gives me a… disturbing sensation." That gave everyone on the rooftop pause.

"She does?" Rin asks but Issei looks at her and frowns.

"I will not lie Tohsaka-san, you used to be the one I got such sensations from back in our old school, for whatever reason now it's muted with you. But the one time I saw Gremory-san in person… I felt like vomiting." Everyone just looks at him, some finding his statement weird while the more 'aware' of the world didn't know what to say. "It's not that I find her ugly or something like that, she looks very appealing but at the same time it felt like she could crush me like an insect."

Once again they had to change the conversation topic and this time it was Shirou who needed to decide the topic. "Well... and the rest of you? Are any of you in a club?" The three just shake their heads. "Okay… Setsuna is still looking for a club… suggestions?"

"What does she like?" Ise was the first one to jump to the new topic.

"She lived a sheltered life. We are still figuring things out." After that Shirou started to talk about the clubs they had already checked and the topic managed to distract everyone else from Issei's revelation.

"Hey, I heard Souna-Fukutaichou is an avid fan of chess." Motohama offers a comment. "Maybe if you beat her in a match she will let you in student council Issei."

Placing a hand on his chin the diligent student shakes his head. "I never played chess in my life. I play shogi. Are they similar?"

Now that was a complicated question for those present. Some were on the same boat but Shirou is in the position of someone that has played both games one time or another in his life and he feels he needs to find the right words to make sure there is no confusion… he just doesn't have any right words at the moment.

"They are different." Setsuna, ever decisive, says what her experience tells her about the subject. "Both games have the same base premise, two sides in equal strength challenge each other in combat with the same amount of pieces, each able to do the same moviemtes than their reflection. But that is where the similarities end even if both games have similar pieces most of the movements are different. Not only that but there is also the ruling on what you can do with captured pieces, in chess they are fallen soldiers that can't come back, in shogi they can be turned and used by your opponent."

"That is a way to put it." Shirou acknowledged Setsuna's explanation. "There are other rules as well. Also the different movements and the differences on capture change the game a lot. But the goal is still the same; get to the king. In my opinion shogi is the most aggressive of them both since the players have an actual way to replenish their losses."

"I disagree with you on that, Emiya." Rin was not an expert on shogi but she has been playing chess since little and could approach that. "Playing just defense on chess is usually stupid. One needs to attack to win that game exactly because you can't waste the chance and let your enemy hit you as they wished."

"But Tohsaka, if you have less to work with aren't you more careful?" The twin tailed magus shakes her head.

"It's obvious that you aren't much of a chess player, Emiya. Remind me to have a match with you. You may learn something."

The conversation kept going until the end of lunch when the groups had to go their separate ways. Shirou's next class is with a tiger and maybe he would be the one to take a nap this time.

He felt he would need all the energy he could muster when he eventually talked with Rias.

…

Before the two redheads faced off, the human one had a debate with himself. There were many possibilities of how Shirou's confrontation with Rias could go. First he had to suppose his guess was right and that she had involved herself into a situation that he felt he should be consulted on or at least been a part of.

So his mind was split in two things; his ideas for a new project to better his odds in a fight and, once he noticed the conditions of his friends, what Rias did during the weekend.

There was also the possibility he was absolutely wrong and in that case he would ask what the problem was and how he could help from then on. The whole idea of a pact is a partnership that can last lifetimes, mostly hers since he probably wouldn't live even a third of her life but if she doesn't tell him her problems then he can't do anything.

"In summary, Rutal tried to use your name to get mercenaries to do his dirty work and take away someone I have interest in. Now he is gone and you are safe." Rias concluded her explanation of the events of Sunday.

Shirou was shocked that there was barely an argument to be had on the whole thing. All he did was get to her office and ask what happened the day prior. "Why did he want me dead so much?"

In her office, Rias was sitting on her desk, relaxing on her chair while everyone else just mingled about. But Shirou could notice the details, Akeno not making tea or practicing, Kiba not offering a spar or training and Setsuna just laying on the couch and falling asleep again.

If Rias had protested on answering his question he may have fought over it but since she was being upfront then all he can do is hear her out.

At her fellow redhead question Rias stops to think for a moment before saying. "If you succeed in the EM project his family is pretty much guaranteed to lose their post as the richest in the Underworld since their 'cash cow' is their tears. Even if their method is substantially the best healing method between the two of them and because of Rating Games they wouldn't just go out of business it still would have made a dent on their wallets."

'That is a good reason I guess…' Shirou never cared much about money, his parents never spent too much anyway and he never asked for much. "And why is everyone so tired?"

"Oh, we had to fight to place Rutal in a situation where he would have to leave." That made Shirou do a double take.

"Was that necessary?"

"We have no hard evidence he was the guilty party." She admitted it easily. "An assault was necessary to get him back to the Underworld and stop other attempts on your life."

"And why haven't you called me- Damn it, even then you could just have called Liz, she could probably have been a big help."

The white haired woman was sitting on one of the couches with Koneko while both ate some treats that she brought in her free time. Since she didn't necessarily have classes most of the day she decided to do it on a whim and because she suspected that Shirou was going to confront Rias.

That meant no food today and that wouldn't do for the maid and her new housemate. Once the younger whitehead saw the candies and chocolates the two of them traded nods and got to eating.

"I doubt Liz would leave you behind and we had the situation under control. Rutal and his peerage were not that strong." She said so dismissivally that Shirou couldn't see the lie there.

But he noticed other things. "Is that why Akeno is keeping her arm stiff as a board or Kiba is cranky because of how tired he is? Or maybe the fact that Setsuna, the hanyou and the person with the most stamina of us all is almost falling asleep during the whole day?"

Everything that left his mouth felt rhetorical, but Rias had some answers. "Some unpredictable stuff happened. His Queen had a trick on her sleeve that caught us by surprise but overall everything was a success."

She was right but that wasn't the problem. "Why didn't you call me?" He lowered himself to make sure he was looking her in the eyes.

"My peerage could take care of them by ourselves." Now Shirou knew he had her.

"And you didn't call Koneko and take Setsuna because…?"

"Koneko was to protect you and Setsuna was around." The devil had the perfect answer already prepared. "You don't need to worry Shirou. Everything was under control and now Rutal is facing the full extent of the law on the Underworld."

It was true in the sense that she forced him into a situation where he is facing such law in the form of the contract he was forced to sign. The humans present don't know that, they weren't able to realize any of it at the moment since they lacked the information that the devils didn't have such laws for the situation in question.

Noble houses settled scores between each other, the heiress of Gremory acted for her own interest and neutralized the threat to her territory, that is all the other devils will see. A winner and a loser, such is the process of the Underworld.

Rias had more backing than most, her family and mainly her brother. The Phenex situation is different by default and she can't count with most of her family in it and only her brother backing gave her some form of security that Rutal is not leaving the Underworld anytime soon.

"You should have still called me." Shirou repeats his point. "If anything had happened I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

"You worry too much Shirou, everything is under control." She sounded confident on that comment, Shirou can feel that in her voice.

"Okay. Then can you promise me something?" His request got a raised eyebrow from her and everyone else in the room. "A pact is supposed to be a partnership right?" Shirou waits for a nod before continuing. "Then why aren't you telling me when you have a problem?"

That caught the pureblood devil off guard. "What are you talking about Shirou?" She wasn't the only one with that question in mind but she specifically had something she didn't want him involved in.

"So far you have given me materials, space and a lot of other stuff to work on. If you have a problem you should tell me too so I can help. You know my problems, it isn't fair that I don't know yours." He scratched the back of his head while trying to articulate his point.

"Like?" She was curious where he was going with this.

"We are partners, so if you have a problem tell me. I will do my best to help… that is all."

'For a second I thought he realized that the Phenex had more reasons to take him out.' Rias thinks to herself but on the outside she was smiling. "That is cute Shirou. And you don't need to worry, I have a lot of people to help me if there is some problem that I can't deal with myself."

That for some reason the way she said it ticked Shirou off but he holds back any negative comment. "Still, just promise me that if there is anything that I can do to help, even if it is something small, you will tell me. Can you promise me that?"

"That is fine then." Rias has no problem with that, Shirou was just trying to be prestative and kind. "If there is something I need from you I will ask. I asked you to help Akeno with magecraft, didn't I?" She said full of confidence.

"That you did Buchou." Akeno says, finally breaking the invisible barrier that was stopping everyone else from speaking.

Shirou decided to not comment on that, he just had an impression that there was something else that he was not seeing. But he believed that if Rias found it important to tell him she would, or so he hoped. "Okay, I will get us some tea."

"Let me help-"

"Not today Akeno. You and everyone else is on leave for the night and I won't let any of you go around making deals either." The King couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Shirou- what? No, they need to make deals to raise their status." He hears her but decides to give his sincere opinion.

"And if they were at 100% I would not comment on it. But it's clear they aren't." He looked at Rias firmily. "Let them rest for today. Tomorrow they can compensate, if possible they can even call their clients and say they are undisposed since only Koneko is in any real condition to work today."

Those were all good points that Rias couldn't disagree with. The skirmish of the previous night left everyone tired and they had barely any rest since they needed to attack at a point they knew there would be less security on the building.

Originally she was planning to let those that wanted to work alone since she didn't notice anything that would impair them, but Shirou was right that everyone needed rest. "Fine, we will send familiars to inform those that tried to summon us that we are unavailable today. I will make some reports and-"

"You are resting as well." Shirou said. "No work for today."

"What?" Rias protested while everyone looked at the redheads in shock. "Shirou, you can't make me stop. I need to get this work done-"

"You take a break for today or you won't eat my food until we get back from the school break." That got a reaction from everyone.

"Oh my~" Akeno found the situation really funny.

"Shirou… that is needlessly cruel." Setsuna woke up and said, pity in her tone.

"I second that comment." Kiba could only say that.

"He who rules the kitchen, rules the house." Liz said with an air of wisdom that had Koneko nodding into acceptance.

"But- but- but- That is not fair!" Rias exclaimed with a pout but Shirou wasn't having it.

"You need to rest as well." His voice was firm and the heiress tried to think of something to say that would change his mind.

"Is this payback for not calling you to deal with Rutal? Are you that upset by it?" Rias asks, begging for that to be the reason so she may get some leverage or bargaining chip. She would find none.

"No, this is for your own sake." He stood there, defiant. Not a chink in his armor. "If everyone is tired then, you must be as well. I bet you haven't slept properly for days."

"I- Well…! You see…" It was amusing to everyone else, rarely Rias fumbled with her own words like that. "I will rest properly during the break! We are going back to the Underworld and I want to leave everything here ready for our departure!"

Shirou raises an eyebrow and brings out his secret weapon. "Then I won't feed you even after the break. Since you can only rest on the Underworld you may as well live with just the food from there.."

That was the nail in the coffin. All present could see how the spirit of Rias Gremory had broken at that moment.

"Fine, you win." She said defeated.

"So you will rest?" He wanted her to say the words

"Yes, I will take a break for today. I will even go to bed after dinner." The red haired devil started to place any papers and documents on the cabinets of her desk and once Shirou was sure there were no tricks he gave a nod and went to the kitchen.

"I underestimated him." Rin says now that she was sure that Shirou couldn't hear her.

"What do you mean Rin?" The Queen of the group asked, the smile on her face never leaving her best friend's direction. Not that the redhead could see since she had her head on her arms and about to take a nap.

"He acts more like a magician than I thought." When confused looks turned in her direction she decided to elaborate. "It's common knowledge that most magicians are an untrustworthy bunch, the Clocktower being famous for the intrigues and backstabs that happen in it. To avoid death most need to get either the backing of someone strong or have some powerful leverage on them."

"So? Buchou is someone strong." Koneko pointed out but Rin shook her head.

"Not the point. She can give him his support if she wants but it's obvious now that he has a lot of sway in their relationship." At that comment Rias felt that her pride had been wounded.

"Careful there Rin, you are still working for me."

"Yes, Buchou." Tohsaka admitted but the message was delivered anyway and Rias knew it.

"I can live without his food." The King whispered but some managed to hear it and between them only one had the disposition to say something about it.

"Maybe out of sight." Akeno commented with a shrug. "But you would never lose the chance to eat it or would be able to hold back with everyone else eating it around you."

There was no denial to be had, everyone could see Rias trying to form a sound argument to defend herself and her pride, but it was in vain. "Not Buchou's fault. Shirou's food is too good." Koneko observed and everyone else agreed.

Everyone but Rias who felt miserable and Akeno was all too happy to keep poking her with words looking for a reaction, nods to the statement. Rin could only watch as the events unfold. 'He has them. Every single one of them would hesitate if he used food as a threat.'

It was fascinating for the traditional raised magus to watch, pretty much everything that her father had raised her with was contradicted ever since she joined the ORC and this is just another example.

The Tohsaka motto of elegance lost to skill, not to the magic arts even if those were indeed relevant, it lost in the culinary front. All her posturing and elegance lose to the fact that she can't contribute to something the other person wants, not out of need but of wish and taste.

And every one present, herself included, liked the food too much to disagree with anything Shirou said. They can live without it but it would not be worth it and so he rules. 'He who rules the kitchen rules the house, indeed.'

While most magicians focused on perfecting their craft, Emiya Shirou picked a common skill, took it to the limit and then added magic to it. Rin was legitimately impressed and had some regret for never applying herself in something considered common..

Her train of thought was stopped when she realized that she was in the same boat as everyone else present, if the opportunity of good food was taken from her she would fight tooth and nail to keep it, even if it meant giving up some of her pride like the devil did moments previously.

'Goddamnit! I am also under his sway!' The realization didn't upset Rin as much as she thought it should, Shirou was not a bad guy and wouldn't abuse his authority on anyone…

Looking around the room she could see that everyone except her and the white haired pair was truly exhausted, even Rias who was holding herself back wasn't at her best but now looked more relaxed by just talking with her best friend.

There is a more relaxed air around the office, like a storm has just passed and everyone can now rest. Rin can only say that she was impressed, Shirou didn't just command the room but his presence reassured the people in it.

Still, 'I better learn to cook before approaching his branch of Reinforcement. It's the best way to make sure that I won't fall for his trap,' because Tohsaka Rin was already dancing to the tune of a devil and she refused to ever fall into the grasp of another.

A few minutes later Shirou returned with the tea and some cookies. In a few weeks the break would come into effect but for the moment, all would enjoy peace and good food.

…..

Investigating events that can spam for over a century is a logistical nightmare. Most documents don't survive that long before time starts to deteriorate them anyway and without witnesses all that a person can have are these documents.

But finally she did, Shihoin Yoruich finally did it, she managed to build a timeline of every single event of importance that had ever happened on Fuyuki since its inception, both of the natural and supernatural variety.

In the beginning she started to gather all that alone but soon she found herself in no choice but to call for specialists, many specialists in many fields that had no idea of each other but were the leaders in their respective fields, from historians to magicians families that lived in Asia for centuries, from the oldest man in the city to the oldest yokai in the country. She was not going to leave a single stone unturned.

And what did she find out? Too much stuff. Not all relevant but the city had everything at one time or another. Founded by a magus for reasons lost to time, it grew into a proper city that the magus family kept control until selling it to devils.

The reason for the foundation of the city was unknown but the result was expected one and every record confirmed that, there was no particular reason given. Still, she can see the treads that she used extending back and forward in maps and documents as she drank her coffee in a white robe that usually would have most men and women looking yet she was using them to relax and think.

'All the pieces of the puzzle are here now, all I need is to figure out the picture.' Yoruichi thinks while taking a sip. 'There is no way that whatever spanned the new ley line isn't here somewhere.'

Going back to the basics she first checked events of importance, there was none great enough to make or hurt a new ley line. Second was the families that lived on Fuyuki itself and every single one of them affirmed that there was no reason for such a thing to exist. Multiple times.

Then came the tragedies; Fuyuki had its fair share of them. Since it was founded by a magus and the family in question had questionable attitudes to administration, as in they did nothing and left the new settlers to their own devices.

In the beginning that wasn't a problem since it was just a fishing village with lots of forests around that were used for various purposes. That changed when the Industrial Revolution finally kicked in.

Japan didn't industrialize in the same manner or at the same time as Europe but when it finally did it came fast, maybe too fast when everything was considered and Fuyuki grew enough to become a proper town.

Then time passed and the Yakuza decided to join the fun when it was booming. There was blood in the streets, mostly in the shadows since open war was bad for business and it stayed constant for years until there was only one family left of such gangs around, no connection to the supernatural so that was a dead end.

Back tracking a bit, just a couple of years ago, there was a serial killer. He died without doing anything but ending the lives of better people, including children. No connection to the supernatural: Dead end.

All of that was brought to her and she had to read everything by herself… in separate files… with unnecessary details because everyone had a suspicion or another or they thought they had the right clue or wanted to impress her.

People also tended to send similar cases in different files even when she had made clear the avenues she had already closed.

It's a miracle she didn't kill anyone.

On a side note, she can now publish a book about the town because of how much research she did. 'And all that could have been avoided,' Yoruichi thinks to herself bitterly, 'if I had just started with recent events.'

There was a single event that occurred that had no official explanation, had a supernatural tune and was a tragedy strong enough to leave a scar on the land.

It was a tragedy without a doubt, many died to the point that the exact number was uncertain and in the beginning she didn't think too much of it, afterall it was just a fire that eventually was put out. It looked like there was nothing magical there.

Still, she was without leads and that is the last big event that happened until the discovery of said ley line and decides to dig deeper on the fire.

Sitting at her desk, Yoruichi stretches her arms and gets ready to work. "It's nothing that odd, there must be something here I can find." She separets some files and turns on the computer. "It probably started with a small accident or something." After the many failures and dead ends she just wants to get this over with.

After a few hours, Yoruichi knows now, she has a lead.

She gets up startled while staring at the computer. "This doesn't make sense." There was no definity information of how the fire started, that wasn't weird by itself since it spread a lot. But the reports from the incident are all contradictory.

Multiple places where the fire started, reports of crews that found easy to deal with the flames while others claim to see monsters, uncertain numbers of death varying from the hundreds to thousands, specters, explosions and all the manners and justificatives of what was or wasn't real.

Some of the reports were tampered in such a manner that spoke of a magical event. There is no denying that this was the only possibility when everything else is accounted for. But even those are bizarre.

A report from the moonlit world is usually something so precise that even the stars are counted in the sky after certain events. This one had nothing besides that the fire started and that the cause was divine, or another that spoke of bad circumstances. No one is agreeing with anything.

It was clear someone had an interest in cleaning the mess but it still left something that said that the event was magical in a sense even if nobody knew in which sense.

Printing a map of the location and placing it over her bigger one of the whole Fuyuki didn't show anything, all could be a coincidence. Yoruichi stares at the maps, trying to figure out exactly where the tragedy began.

But it was for naught, instead it revealed something sinister.

The whole area was a circle, a perfect circle. In the center was a park. Logic said that there would be the first place to look except that there are reports that the park was not where it began.

'In theory, the center of a circle doesn't need to be exactly where the spell is executed.' That is something basic everyone knows. 'It's still inefficient as hell…'

It was a perfect circle right in the middle of town and no one informed her of such facts.

'Did someone else notice this?' She quickly takes out the maps and burns them. 'If someone did and did not write it down then it's sabotage. The devils were already here when the fire happened, even if not the ones actually present. There is also the matter of what the fire was. An accident? The goal? Or worse?'

Either way it meant she had a lead, two in fact. The first was an insight incident that may have started the whole thing. The second is suspects and the suspects themselves are the problem.

Looking out of the window of the once classroom, Yoruichi sighs. 'I can't trust anyone with this. Not until I know the enemy's identity.'

Because for some reason, a tragedy happened under the devils' noses and they may as well be accomplices.

…..

Shorter chapter, setting up future storylines. Also getting the adventure of the first break ready to go.

I also have a question, it's not much of a question but a thing that I was debating while working on how to develop tracing more as it was done in this chapter. Where the heck did Archer, Emiya, see all those weapons? Gram for instance? Or Caladbolg? And don't say Gilgamesh, he uses the prototypes of those ones, the first of the bunch before they even got the names.

Here are the theories: 1- we have a bootstrap paradox and that Archer delivers the knowledge to his younger self in the war. That Shirou will eventually grow up, make the deal and the process will repeat. Problem is that we still don't know where the original knowledge came from but that is the paradox.

Or 2- That was what Shirou traded his afterlife for with Alaya, the knowledge of all weapons mankind ever had. Then Shirou becomes Archer, gets summoned and in effect theory 1 becomes active if Alaya still has some other thing that Shirou may want.

All that to say that without an Archer around Shirou is the pioneer for the process of Tracing and that most of the stuff he has to figure out on his own which takes us to the scene with Waver.

Questions?