Unsurprisingly, they were calling him a brownie a week into the school year.

It was a bit hard for Shirou to get used to being in High School, among people who felt like peers yet who he didn't really know. It was even weirder to share a class and a school with Issei and the other two idiots — the boy was unquestionably his very best friend, but it wasn't as if they saw each other every day before. Sometimes he'd drop by Issei's house early in the morning so they could go to school together, while other times they'd just meet at the gates. Similarly, Issei would often wait for him right outside a given room when classes were done with —

"Oi, Kōsetsu, you done?"

— like he was on that exact day, 15 days after the beginning of term.

From within the empty classroom, Shirou called out, "Just a moment more!" to his friend before turning his attention back to the broken AC system he was currently working on while standing on a desk. If he hadn't had his training, doing so while keeping his balance might have been a little awkward… but he was fine. A small pulse of magical energy had coursed through the machinery and cables once to ensure he knew what to do, but with the Student Council President there to supervise him, he hadn't risked doing anything that might be suspicious.

The girl was rather dedicated, rarely leaving him alone to deal with the repairs she had asked his help with — and there had been quite a few, six in total, on account of a given number of machines that had stopped working between terms. It was all rather simple thus far, but time-consuming.

Incidentally, Shitori-san's presence in the room was why Issei didn't dare enter.

"Already?" The brunette questioned, standing over by a wall and watching him work. Her expression was mostly neutral, but he could hear a hint of inquisitiveness in her voice. "That was fast. You are pretty good at that, Kōsetsu-san."

Shirou smiled genially.

"The issue was pretty simple with this one. Just some frayed cables. They'll need proper replacements, but this should be fine." As he spoke, he finished tying some tape around the aforementioned cables and put the AC system's cover back on. "Didn't have to spend any time looking for the problem."

"Ah, I see. Still." The girl hummed, offering him a hand to aid him in stepping down as he turned back to do so. It was a little awkward, given her height, but he took it nonetheless — hopping down from the table. "Are you perhaps planning to major in engineering or something similar in the future?"

Oh, wow. She really took things seriously, huh? He could tell by looking at her that a half-answer like 'I haven't thought that far ahead yet' wouldn't really sit well with her. Still, he'd rather not lie to the well-meaning girl; for that reason, the redhead shook his head no while looking slightly awkward.

"I thought about it, but I don't think it's for me. I'm not sure what I'll choose in the future, but if I have to say… maybe Law?"

That seemed to surprise the girl. She blinked a few times, looking at him as if she'd never seen him, them tilting her head to the side just slightly. It was… cute, honestly. But he didn't bring that up.

"Law?" she repeated. Sona Shitori took in the sight of him. "I see. It's a noble profession, but I admit I didn't foresee that. Can I ask why?"

"Ah…" He chuckled awkwardly, gathering his things. Frankly, he'd never really taken the idea of going to college seriously — there was so much going on with his life at all times, it would be a miracle if he made it that far. And even if he did, he wasn't sure if the was the book smart type of person who'd really succeed in something like that, but… "I guess I'd like to work in a field where I could help people, you know?"

The older girl stilled at that — then visibly softened, looking almost fond, and though she didn't exactly smile, Shirou thought it was close. They hadn't known each other for very long, but he felt as if they were getting friendlier.

"I see," she said once again, her tone lighter. "That explains it. You'll have to study hard, but I am sure you can succeed in your objectives, Kōsetsu-san."

He walked with the girl to the door, thinking of how to answer such an earnest demonstration of support — but was interrupted by the sound of the door opening, and Issei's slight jump in surprise aa he looked back to see him and Sona. Usually, the girl would cordially greet his friend before returning to her duties; frankly, Shirou thought she was a good influence on Issei, even if a very minor and passive one. But this time, she said something else;

"What about you, Hyōdō-san?"

"...Eh?" Issei smartly murmured, blinking a few times. Nice.

It was after class, so the lights of morning had long since faded into something warmer as they got closer to sundown; a bit dimmer, with shadows cast more clearly. The hallways were mostly empty aside from the three of them and a few teachers he could see on the other side.

"You surely heard us talking, right?" Sona clarified. "I was wondering as to your own plans for the future."

"Ah! I, ah…"

Issei trailed off for a second, like a deer caught in headlights, and alarms rang in Shirou's head.

Don't say Harem King. Don't say Harem King. If there is a God, Shirou thought, please, stop this idiot from saying Harem King —

"...I guess I… don't really know yet?" The boy finished awkwardly.

He internally let out a sigh of relief, even as he saw Sona's eyes flash in something akin to disapproval.

"I see. That is fine, seeing as we are here to study and hopefully discover more about ourselves and the world, but it would do you good to think more about your future — we are only a few years away from university, after all."

"R-Right!" Issei said, nodding once. His eyes ventured to Shirou in a silent plea for help that would go unanswered as he continued, "I will definitely do that. Hah."

Honestly…

Interestingly, Sona didn't seem as if she was going to walk away this time — as the two of them started to make their ways to the exit, she followed suit, with her backpack having been with her from the start. That was somewhat surprising, but it wasn't as if Shirou was bothered. He found her to be rather pleasant company, if a little too stiff at times.

Their steps clicked against the floors in silence for a few moments before the Student Council President once again began speaking, fixing her glasses with two fingers in a manner that reminded Shirou of a few characters in anime that Issei had introduced him to.

"As you know, with the start of the new school year, most clubs will be accepting new members starting next week." She started. Her voice had a hint of something strange to it. "A few of them will be accepting tryouts in the coming weeks, too. Do either of you plan on joining a club?"

As a matter of fact, Shirou had, indeed, known that. It was a core part of his assignment, though that felt strange to admit; it wasn't as if he was plain-looking, with his paler complexion and mess of red and white locks, but his main way to attract the attention he needed to would likely come by means of one of the sports clubs. Due to this, he had been preparing for the coming tryouts for a few days already.

"I do," he responded, looking at Shitori. "As far as I know, the Student Council doesn't take applications, so forgive me for not having considered it, Shitori-san. I'm considering the Kyudō and Kendō clubs. I practice both."

"No offence taken. It is as you say. Still, I'm surprised; you have quite the varied list of hobbies. What about you, Hyōdō-san?"

Shirou knew for a fact that the brown-haired boy planned on either joining an anime club of some kind or trying for whatever club Rias Gremory was in, given her popularity, but he was pretty sure the boy wouldn't admit to it to Shitori's face, thank the stars. After a bit of stuttering, though, Hyōdō ended up digging himself into a hole;

"I, ah, me, too! I mean, I'm trying for those clubs too. Uh. Yeah."

"Oh? Do you two practice together?"

Before his friend could dig himself into a deeper hole, Shirou decided to help him.

His friend wasn't usually that awkward, frankly. Shirou thought he just didn't know how to deal with someone like the Student Council President - a girl who didn't think anything bad about him, but was also very far from himself in terms of personality. His behaviour was a bit odd, but it was getting better.

It was nice to see that he was right, and Issei himself looked happier — a bit less confrontational, a bit less insecure. The rest would come with time, he thought. As long as he kept the two idiots from sinking their teeth into Issei. Either way, Shirou smiled.

"Not really, but Isseis has been meaning to give them a try. We thought this would be a good opportunity."

"I see," the girl commented. "You did mention the two of you have been friends for a while. It is good that you're taking interest in varied activities, Hyōdō-san."

"R-Right."

As they approached a stairway, the girl stopped — making the two boys pause as they started to walk down the flight of stairs. Her eyes shone with something akin to caution, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out why.

"This is where we'll be parting for now. I'll see you two tomorrow — get home safely."

And she walked off.

He and Issei exchanged flummoxed looks in her wake, both thinking the same thing — that… was a bit sudden, wasn't it? He hoped there wasn't anything wrong going on; though her expression was just as professional as something, Shirou had gotten an odd feeling from the look the girl gave the two of them before the sudden exit. He was fairly sure she was just another student, completely unconnected to anything 'nefarious or supernatural the school might hide due to Gremory's presence, but it was still quite concerning.

"That…" Issei began, his brows furrowed. The boy's spiky hair moved slightly with a passing breeze that passed through an open window. "Was a bit weird, right? I don't think I'm imagining it…."

"No," he replied, scratching the back of his head. "It was a bit odd."

"—Honestly, Ise."

The two didn't end up going too far after all.

Having successfully avoided the two idiots that Issei tended to walk around with — he was loathe to call those two friends — Kōsetsu couldn't help but pull the boy aside and stare at him with a raised eyebrow.

He didn't mean to come across as judgemental; merely chiding.

The other boy still looked a bit thoughtful, and Shirou thought he could feel a hint of concern in the boy's eyes. Sona's posture and face at the end had been… stiff, for lack of a better word, and he could tell that his friend had found it a bit concerning. It was a good sign, if a bit weird; for all that Issei avoided figures of judgement and authority, it seemed as if he already considered Sona to be at least a friendly acquaintance, if he was worried about her.

Shirou was, too, if he was being honest — and he'd keep an eye out. But he knew Issei; this would only distract him for so long. Eventually, he'd realise the situation he was in. The situation he put himself in, really.

"You know she'll be expecting you to try for the Kendo team now, right…?" Shirou continued, twin golden eyes looking at his friend with some mirth. "You won't be able to weasel your way out of that one."

Issei jolted. The auburn-haired boy's eyes widened, and he turned to look at Shirou with concern, though that was hidden by some offence, as if he wanted to be irritated that Shirou thought he couldn't pull it off. This was why he was trying not to come across as chiding; Issei could get really defensive.

"I - Ah, I know that, alright?! I just panicked!" He exclaimed, eyebrows furrowed. "I couldn't tell him I wanted to join an anime club… or the club Motohama and Matsuda wanted to make."

… Shirou would save that information for later. Moving on before the antics of the two idiots got him off-course.

Frankly, the redhead (kinda) could understand where Issei was coming from. Sona meant well, he could tell, but she was very… strict. For someone like Issei, who was both a bjt wild and had possessed some less-than-acceptable tastes and behaviours in the past and then been judged by it, a figure such as the Student Council President would be a bit intimidating; plus, she was a girl, which he personally doubted Hyōdō had much experience talking to.

"...Right." He commented. Looking at Issei now, an idea struck him. "Still — if you actually want to try it, I could help you. It'll only be for a week, but I'm sure we can get you enough experience to do well."

The boy blinked — then looked at him as if he'd never seen him before.

"...Really?"

Shirou smiled.

"Yeah," he said, and saw flashes of the brutal training he'd undergone under Anastasia flash through his mind. "You know I practise Kendo. What else are friends for?"

If Issei knew better, he would've run right then and there; Shirou would teach him the way he'd been taught.

As the final bell tolled, yet again signalling the end of that school day, a boy stepped out into the crisp spring afternoon.

The school grounds, usually bustling with the energy of youth, now lay deserted, bathed in the golden light of the setting sun. A gentle breeze stirred the cherry blossom trees, scattering petals like whispers across the empty courtyard.

Or, well, almost empty.

Twin blue eyes watched impassively from the windows of a hallway as Kōsetsu Shirou and his friend walked out, heading towards the school gates to go home. The two were conversing amongst themselves — very animatedly, it seemed, for his keen eyesight caught the older of the two, Hyōdō-san if he wasn't wrong, gesturing rather wildly as he spoke. In comparison, Kōsetsu's body language was milder, though not at all meek. He smiled and laughed and spoke at a lower intensity, accompanying the boy outside.

Rias thought that Kōsetsu was bait — though she wasn't yet sure what he was there to bait. She thought he was innocent, a sort of lamb sent to the slaughter, and presumed he was meant to stir up trouble with the Devil Faction for some reason. And he trusted her; trusted her with his life.

But Kiba didn't trust him.

Kōsetsu was from the Church - a little exorcist. A swordsman of considerable talent who had wielded a Light Sword when he was younger. And now he was sent to the school Rias Gremory attended. The school he attended.

If Buchou was right and he was bait, then — he was a victim. Another person to be sacrificed by the church. But if she wasn't — if the boy was there with more violent intentions, if he was there to take her out…

As the two got farther away, he started to turn his back on the window —

— !

— A flash of danger screamed at his senses.

The boy paused, the strange sensation prickling at the back of his neck, as if unseen eyes were upon him. He glanced around, but the only movement was the swaying of branches in the courtyard. Kōsetsu and Hyōdō were at the gates, barely visible. Even with his eyesight, it was hard to make them out…

But he was fairly sure he'd caught a flash of golden eyes staring right back at him.

Whatever came from this…

…Kiba Yūto would be ready.

— Shirou knew that feeling like the back of his hand.

The feeling of being watched. Of being followed. The feeling of being stalked, maybe like prey. He could never forget that feeling.

Unfortunately, it was also a secondary problem.

Namely, his phone vibrating in his pocket. In a very specific way.

"Ise, do you mind going home alone today?"

The auburn-haired boy paused their walk to look at him oddly, furrowed brows once again in concern.

"Is everything okay, Kōsetsu?"

"Yeah," he agreed, "There's just something I need to do. We can meet tomorrow after class at my place for some training, okay?"

Issei paused.

"...Sure." He said. He sounded like he didn't quite buy Shirou's 'yeah', which was entirely fair. The two were completely alone in the street outside of Kuoh Academy's gates, so there wasn't really any reason he could tell for Shirou to want to split up. But he didn't question him, thankfully; he merely kept walking even after Shirou stopped walking and took his phone out, pressing answer without even having to see the caller ID.

And Shirou was left in the silence of the sunset's glow.

"...The least you could do is not call me the moment I step out of school, you know."

That he'd had the foresight to set up different vibration patterns for different callers was something that had surprised Samiya when he told her about it. Honestly, it had surprised him, too. The calls he was likeliest to need to answer, really.

Being overtly careful wasn't in Shirou's nature. He knew to prepare, to harbour paranoia for specific circumstances — but living like that passively wasn't like him. That being said, the current 'mission' he was in left little choice.

At times like these —

[ — The thing that kept him alive.

He couldn't turn his back on it.]

— He couldn't help but steel his heart.

"Apologies," said the exorcist on the other side. "There's been a bit of an emergency."

The man's voice sounded a bit rough, though he couldn't tell much through the light static that came in. In fact, it was almost hard to make his individual words out; Where was he, really? Shirou focused, but all he could make out was that the man was breathing a bit heavily.

"Is everything okay?"

"...Yes," the man settled on. It was an obvious like. "I will keep this brief. There's been signs of rogue Exorcist activity near your location recently. I attempted to investigate on my own, but complications arose. There are a few exorcist cells being moved to Kuoh at the moment, and we don't know who the rogue agent is quite yet. Keep your guard up."

That was a lot of new information.

— For starters.

As far as Shirou knew, though the factions were at war, it was uncommon for them to move against one another as obviously as they had moved against the church in the past. For the Church to actively send Exorcist cells to Kuoh meant there was something afoot.

… Ages of instinct he does not have tell him that there is more going on than meets the eye.

Shirou didn't question it. He never questioned those insights, the little bits of madness and tired contempt that occasionally bled into his thoughts with experience not his own. More often than not, they came with faint flashes of pain, but this time he just felt cold.

"Understood," he replied. "Should I expect to be contacted?"

"No," he replied. "Your mission is well-guarded secret. But your connection to the Church through Anastasia is not. Stay on your toes. We do not know who their targets are quite yet."

Without anything else said, the man soon hung up on Shirou. Silence remained, only periodically filled by a passing car or something like that. Lowering his hand with the device still held there, Shirou stared at the screen with furrowed brows, static ringing in his ear.

The static remained long after the call ended.

— It only made sense.

He was [ yet again ] involved in a war he had no real knowledge on. Surrounded by people of all alignments, with mysterious intentions.

Death could come at any moment.

The thought of that left him — [ strangely nostalgic. ]

… the static worsened.

It had arrived suddenly with faint insights, but had yet to leave. With it came a strange cynicism.

Emiya — No. Kōsetsu took in a deep breath — one, two. One, two. The pale, golden-eyed boy felt his lungs fill with oxygen over and over, timing each breath as he centred himself. His hands trembled slightly, wracked with a soft kind of phantom pain.

He had always known his peaceful days would end when the mission began.

… The war had finally come — And he was in the middle of it. Of course, Shirou had trained for this. He had bled for this.

Over and over, struggling to fight an enemy more skilled and powerful than himself. Even after she was crippled, Anastasia had power, reach, experience, skill and speed over him. During training, he couldn't rely solely on his [ magecraft ]. Borrowed power was not enough.

He struck and fell. He trained and fell. He studied and fell.

Over, and over, and over, and over. He practised stances and footwork. He learned strikes and tactics. He studied books and formulae. He memorised details and lore. All of that until he could match his teacher, could face against her, could perhaps defeat her.

— And yet.

All of that he had done at someone else's knee.

An imitation can get close to the original, but never surpass it.

He could not match [that man] from the start. The insights in his head who had won fights he couldn't win. The man in his head who had defeated enemies he couldn't match. The ghost who told him to drown in his ideals and die.

[That man] could surely win.

But all he was was —

— Samiya's house always felt like home.

He found himself going there more and more often these days.

There was something about a moderately messy student's apartment that felt strangely new to him. Perhaps because it didn't resonate with anything in [ his head] — He always felt safer in himself, in his identity, when he was there. Maybe that was why he'd run there, even though he should've gone home to the orphanage on that day.

The door clicked open with a soft sound as he turned the key, and he stepped in without looking inside; the lights were on, so Samiya was probably home. That was… well, he was barging into her house, but he thought it might be fine. Still, looking around, he felt a bit surprised; the space was cleaner than he remembered it being the last time he'd been here. Not that Samiya was an unclean person or anything, but though his sister was rather gung-ho about cleanliness, she didn't really care about keeping things neat past the normal for a girl her age.

"...Nee-san!" He called out, taking his shoes off at the doorstep. He noticed two pairs of shoes there; once again, it felt unusual, seeing as Samiya wasn't exactly traditional. "I'm home!"

— from afar, he heard a faint yelp. Samiya's apartment wasn't specially big or anything, given her budget, so that was another surprise; she was in the kitchen, then. The static faded even further as the girl poked her head out of the kitchen to look at him.

"Oh, hey! I, ah, didn't expect you today."

— her hair was done neatly. In fact, he was fairly sure she was wearing makeup. Her hair was done into her favoured high ponytail, and she wore a silk red ribbon on it to keep it in place. Her blue eyes were accentuated by faint blue eyeshadow, and he noticed she was wearing gloss.

He'd always known his sister to be a beautiful woman, but she didn't tend to care that much about her appearance — for that reason, the sight was striking. Had she found a boyfriend or something…? Though she was at that age, he knew, he somehow hadn't expected her to… well, ever really do it.

Good for her, if that was the case. He'd have to thoroughly approve whomever it was, but…

"Yeah," he replied, feeling a bit out of place all of a sudden. "I, ah, wanted to see you today. Am I interrupting something?"

Before she could reply — and she was clearly moving to — someone else did.

"Oh? Is that your brother, Samiya?"

Another woman's voice came from the kitchen.

Hers was… a bit lower than his sister's, with an accent he couldn't quite identify and a faint sense of arrogance. Furthermore, she had called his sister by her first name, without any honorifics to speak of. Together, those traits told him that the voice could only belong to someone not from Japan… and someone whom Samiya had to have known for a rather long time.

Before Shirou could make his way to where the two women were, the odd woman walked past Samiya and out of the kitchen, now fully in his field of view.

She was of average height, standing at 160cm, but that was all that was average about her. With long, luscious blond locks of surprising volume that seemed to twirl around themselves like a coil, and wearing a beautiful blue dress that only covered one of her legs, as well as gloves that went up to her elbows; the only thing he could think of when seeing this girl was aristocratic. She looked rich, even past her ornate dress and elaborate style; there was just something about her posture and eyes that were of a warm brown.

She also looked like she was at most a little older than himself.

Shirou had never seen this woman before. But he was fairly sure he had heard about her.

"Yes," he replied, smiling kindly. "That would be me. I'm Kōsetsu Shirou — a pleasure to meet you."

The girl nodded once, as if satisfied by his manners; then, of all things, she did a curtsey, lifting the hems of her dress while bending her knees.

"A pleasure indeed," she spoke. "I am Luviagelita Edefeldt, of the Grauzauberer. I've heard plenty about you."

… Today was going to be a long day, wasn't it.

Chapter 1 of 3 to be posted in the next 30 days (yes, really), They're all written out already. So ANs will be kept brief until the end of the fifth.

I just wanted to note that there are shockingly few named characters in each DxD faction. For all its vastness, the setting is rather shallow. I wanted a Magician, and there were, like, two, and I could use neither. Thus, a compromise of sorts.

Don't expect many other FSN characters to appear too soon. I had wanted to use Luvia for a while, but her intro here was a consequence of DxD not giving me people to work with. I mean, really.

Lily, out.