King of Heroes - Chapter 3/A New Morning
A/N - Big thanks again to my friends on Discord for helping me keep this consistent.
Special thanks to Shadeking666 for catching my grammar mistakes.
=3=
The evening after Shirou removed the Matou estate from the planet was a celebration. Shirou and Sakura baked a cake while Taiga and Shinji brought soft drinks for everyone. Given the merry atmosphere, Shirou eventually let himself get convinced to play a bit with his Authority. Nothing dangerous, but it became obvious that there was more inside than just weapons. For example, he fixed Shinji's face. By now the boy had learned his lesson… or it wouldn't stick anyway. Either way, there was no point in keeping him suffering.
As far as Shirou figured, the more specific a requested treasure was, the longer it would take him to find. So a treasure to heal Shinji was rather easy to locate since his wounds were rather basic. Meanwhile, a treasure to remove all worms from Sakura and bring her back to good health was an incredibly specific request. While Gilgamesh had several treasures to de-bug-ify someone and heal them at the same time, they were in a separate category from most healing treasures. Getting his head around the sorting system inside the Gate was an absolute pain. Some categories made little sense. The cooking section, for example, contained several dozen pots and pans, but he found a Fully Automatic Cooker in the 'Babylonian engineering' section, right next to what resembled a very elaborate harpoon launcher.
Then, Shirou found the food section and promptly brought out a bunch of sweets that Gilgamesh kept there for himself. For a moment, the young king marveled at the delicacies of ages past. He was pretty sure some of them were unknown to historians and at least one was made with a fruit that went extinct three millennia ago. At Taiga's urging, he also brought out some alcohol for her - specifically, a wine bottle. Then Shinji pointed out that the bottle was worth more than the entire Emiya estate.
That reminded Shirou that he technically left Shinji homeless. And while he gave him the offer to stay, the Matou boy was… reluctant. So, the Campione found an alternative solution and simply… produced three gold bullions, each with a 1kg stamped on each.
"Uh… I don't want to sound ungrateful, but what do you expect me to do with this?" Shinji asked, holding the gold in front of him.
"Ah…" Shirou scratched his chin. "Okay, listen. You'll go to the laundry store. You know the one, on the route to school. There, you'll ask to talk with Shidou. He'll cash those bars in. Oh! And while you're there, could you tell Tamaki that her bike is due for a checkup?"
Shinji stared at his friend for a moment. "Okay, what sort of Yakuza stuff is this? Wait… don't tell me! Mr. Goody Two Shoes is actually a young criminal?" He put a hand over his shoulder and pulled him closer. "I knew it. There was no way anyone could be this nice."
Shirou just deadpanned. "I killed a man today and turned his property into a smoking crater." He reminded him. "Also, I've been practicing Magecraft since I was eight."
"Ah… You know, I kinda assumed you got into this whole Campione business more by accident. Like… you lucked into stabbing the Heretic God in the back with a screwdriver or something." The blue-haired boy laughed, though Shirou could notice it was a bit strained.
"I might as well have. I got a lucky shot but the entire fight I was getting my ass kicked. Besides, my knowledge of Magecraft was limited to structural analysis and reinforcement. You can imagine how well that went in a fight against someone like Gilgamesh." Shinji stared at him for a moment. He opened his mouth and then closed it a few times. Finally, he scoffed.
"Yeah. I think I'll be going to sleep now." Shinji pushed past him and marched toward the guest room assigned to him.
Taiga clapped. "Well, I guess we should all sleep now. Tomorrow is a school day after all! Shoo. Shoo." She pushed Shirou and Sakura out of the room.
The boy shook his head at his big sister's antics. Nonetheless, he also left for his room. Changing into pajamas, he was ready to go to sleep when he heard the doors open. Sakura walked in. She was dressed only in a rather see-through negligee. Her cheeks were red and she was swaying on her feet.
"Sakura?"
"You are my-" A hiccup interrupted her. "My hero. And heroes deserve rewards. I'm no maiden but…" One of the shoulders of her outfit dropped. "I hope I will be enough."
"What are you… Sakura! Are you drunk!?" Shirou screamed as he jumped to his feet in an instant.
"I only… drunk one… cup…" She swayed, almost tripping over. The boy rushed to catch her before she tripped over her own feet. "I think… it might've been one bottle. I wanted…" I needed some courage…
"Calm down." He guided her to lie down. "Let's just go to sleep."
"But… I want to reward my hero!" She wrapped her hands around his neck.
"No. Sakura, calm down." It was getting uncomfortably hard to deny her, but Shirou stayed firm.
"Am I… Senpai doesn't want damaged goods…" She muttered to herself. Her hands fell away from him.
He pulled her into a hug. "That's not it at all!" He protested. "But you're drunk. I'm not going to just take advantage of you! Besides, you'd probably regret it tomorrow morning. Let's just go to sleep."
Sakura pouted. "But… I want to reward Senpai. I can do so many things for you. Good things." She purred.
Shirou tapped her forehead, pushing her back down. "No. Only sleep today." He laid down next to her and pulled a blanket over them.
Sakura would've probably tried to protest some more, but she had already passed out. That much alcohol proved to be too much for her for the first time.
=3=
Despite awkwardness the morning after, overall the breakfast was rather tame. Taiga kept sending Shirou and Sakura knowing looks. Shinji was still somewhat grumpy but he also seemed… happier. For the first time in Sakura's memory, her brother wasn't pretending. He wasn't just acting.
They were both free.
Shirou was busy with another issue. Would there be consequences? He had effectively killed an entire family of magi. Even if Sakura still had her magic circuits in working condition (maybe even improved because of the treasures he used on her), all of the Matou family's research was gone and so was the family crest. From what Kiritsugu had told him, Magic Crest was the essence of the magus family. It was the thing that defined them. Without it, there was no family to speak of. Kiritsugu was unable to pass his crest onto Shirou. The Emiya family, as far as the mage's association was concerned, was gone. At least that's how he understood it.
A Campione is afforded certain leeway, but will it be enough? He took a look at Sakura laughing at some joke Taiga was telling and how relaxed Shinji appeared. Let them come. I made the right decision and if they want to fight, I'll defend myself and my family.
After breakfast, Taiga had to rush to school as always. The teens left shortly after. The boys split from Sakura as they reached Homurahara. Sakura left for the middle school division building while they walked to the main academy building where their homeroom would be located.
No sooner than the classes started, the school PA system came to life. "Emiya Shirou is requested at the principal's office. I repeat. Emiya Shirou is requested at the principal's office."
Taiga paused her roll call and looked at Shirou. "Emiya-san… do you want to tell us something?" She tried to remain professional. Shirou was the last person she expected to get called out like that. Too much of a rule strickler. Unless…
"I can't think of anything. May I be excused?" He was already picking up his backpack.
"Yes. Here's your hall pass." She handed him a wooden stick with the words HALLPASS written in bold letters on one side. "Don't lose it." She stared pointedly at Shinji, who winked at her.
Without a word, Shirou grabbed the pass and walked out of the classroom. He made a beeline toward the office. His instincts were on high alert. If it was what he suspected, time was of the essence. A small golden light kept flickering between his fingers.
He practically burst into the office. The fact secretary was gone only increased his worry. Belatedly Shirou realized that he might've lost control of his newfound strength because a part of the lock was bent out.
Rin dropped to her knees and bowed to the ground. Shirou only heard a little 'eep' sound.
"T-This one begs his majesty to forgive th-this lowly servant her summons…" She was stuttering and shaking. For a brief moment, Shirou focused on how her ass was sticking out but he quickly started to pay more attention to what she was saying.
"It's just you, Tohsaka?" He took a quick look around to double-check, but the only people in the room were the girl, the Campione, and the hypnotized principal.
"Y-Yes. I'm alone." She shivered.
Shirou relaxed. The golden light vanished from his hand and he slumped a bit. "Maah. I was worried someone from the Association was here."
"Ah…!" Rin's gasp escaped her before she could control it.
"Tohsaka? I thought I told you that I don't care for the bowing stuff…" Now that he knew they were safe, he could tackle the other issue at hand. "And speak normally…" He sweatdropped when he processed how she greeted him.
"O-Of course!" She jumped straight to her feet. She still refused to meet his eyes though.
"Come on, I thought we established I'm not gonna do anything to you. You can speak freely. I promise that I'm not going to hurt you no matter what."
She finally looked at him. For a moment, she just stared. Given his relaxed posture and the fact he hadn't tried to murder her yet, she decided that it was safe.
"Okay… Have you completely lost your mind!?" Her scream caused the glass panel of the nearby cabinet to shake. "You just go and blow up the Matou estate in broad daylight! Do you have any idea how much work I will have to do to cover it up? People are still wary after the Heretic God attack. I've been running ragged trying to clean up that mess on my lonesome and you go and pull something like that!? Do you have any idea how hard it will be to cover up a whole mansion disappearing without anyone hearing a peep!?"
Shirou's eyes narrowed and Rin let out another 'eep'. "Tohsaka. I am not apologizing. That man… no, that monster was the vilest, most corrupt thing I have ever seen. He had been experimenting on Sakura ever since he got her. She…" He stopped himself. "Sorry, the details will remain private."
Hearing about Sakura, all fight had left Rin to be replaced by righteous fury. Zouken Matou had reneged on the deal and used her sister as an experiment!? She was supposed to be his heir, not just another test subject!
"He hurt her. Repeatedly. And then he tried to abuse her in a sick scheme to try and hurt me. I was not about to let him get away with either." He stomped on the ground hard enough to cause cracks to form.
The girl froze for a second. "O-Okay… So you're not about to go on a rampage or wipe Fuyuki off the map? Just double-checking."
"Of course not! We've already established that!"
"Well, excuse me for panicking when just yesterday you wiped an entire family off the map!" She screamed.
"Huh? Sakura and Shinji are both all right. They are staying at my house for now until they can get new accommodations." Shirou scratched the back of his head. "I'm pretty sure I only killed Zouken and destroyed his house."
"Okay, I'm sorry." Rin sighed. "It's just… Gah! I was suddenly left all alone to deal with this stuff and everything I've heard about Campione is that they are a force of nature. Volatile and unpredictable, and liable to kill anyone who causes them some inconvenience. Your recent actions are… confusing to say the least."
"That's alright. I'm also still trying to adjust to all of this so I guess I can understand." He paused. "Hey, you mentioned that you need some help with cleaning up after the heretic god attack. What exactly do you need?"
"Well… I've been trying to get the police and the media to stop digging into it but so far I had little success. I spent the whole of yesterday trying to get to the chief of Fuyuki Police so I could hypnotize him to close the investigation, but first I had to get through his subordinates and it was extremely tedious to keep getting the suggestion into people's heads that a sixteen-year-old girl is supposed to have an appointment with the Chief of Police." She groaned. "By the time I got in, he already left for home and there was no way I was getting his home address. The media is even worse because of how decentralized it is. I know that Fake Priest had all of it sorted somehow but he cut off all contact without leaving me instructions."
"You mean your teacher, right? He never taught you all of this before?"
"He did… in theory. He never revealed any hard details. I know how the procedures are supposed to go, but I… I don't have the resources, okay? I'm almost certain he had multiple people working for him to do stuff like removing memories and hypnotizing witnesses. No one can do so much work so fast." She grumbled. "Doing this alone is going to take me months and if I don't deal with this soon the association might decide to get involved. It's not like I have a private magical society to do it for me…"
"So it's more than just money, right?" Shirou guessed.
"While it would help…" Rin took a deep breath to organize her thoughts. "Look, I have to somehow get the police and the media to drop the Heretic God subject and while paying them off might work, it's also very possible that it would only make them dig deeper. What I need is a way to either meet them face to face to put the suggestion in place or to somehow distract them with something bigger."
"Hm…" The Campione thought about looking for some treasure. There was bound to be something inside the Gate that could help here, but he was leery to rely on his Authority for everything. If he wasn't careful, it would become too much of a crutch. Kiritsugu always said that Magecraft was supposed to be just a tool in his arsenal, not a solution to every problem. Wait, maybe Tohsaka is a victim of the same mentality… "I got it! Let's go, I have someone to introduce you to." He already walked toward the doors when Rin stopped him.
"Wait, what? Maybe some explanation first? You can't just say that and then expect me to follow!"
"You said you needed to somehow get everyone to move on from the subject. I know just the person to help you."
"You just happened to know the perfect solution to my problem?" Rin stared at him. "Just like that?"
"Well, I think he can help. Raiga-san is good with stuff like that. The old man always said that I could come to him if I ever needed anything."
The girl looked at his smile and shook her head exasperatedly. "Fine. It's not like I have anything to lose."
As they walked outside the office, Shirou suddenly felt someone bounce off of him. "Hah?"
"Sorry." Ayako Mitsuzuri was now on the ground, massaging her elbow.
"What were you doing out here?" Tohsaka eyed her suspiciously. Did she overhear them? Inside her pocket, she started toying with a jewel. It was small but would serve perfectly to erase Ayako's memories.
"Uh… Ah… That was… Right, Mr. Kuzuki sent me to find you, Tohsaka-san. He got worried when you didn't arrive for the homeroom class."
"What?"
"Yeah, he had seen you come into the building but then you were absent for the roll call," Ayako explained.
"Sorry. Rin and I have urgent family business to deal with today. The Principal has already excused us from classes."
"Oh no…" The girl gasped. "Is h-" She stopped herself. "Is everything alright?"
The girl caught on to what Shirou was playing at. "Don't worry. It's just that my guardian is stuck overseas due to some issue."
"Yeah. My grandfather volunteered to look after her for the next few months."
"O-Oh." Mitsuzuri nodded. "Well, I guess I'll go… inform Mr. Kuzuki then. Yeah… I'll go… do that." She stood up and marched away. She seemed to keep an even pace, but as soon as she turned the corner she sped up. The sound of her shoes hitting the ground betrayed her.
"Huh? Did I do something wrong?" Shirou turned to Rin, who had no idea either. Her eyes narrowed a bit though. Did she hear something?
=3=
Rin found herself sitting inside a spacious room. In front of her was a low table with two cups of tea. Shirou was happily sitting beside her, having a small chat with one of the guards.
Yeah, guards. She was in the mansion of a Yakuza boss. She was tangentially aware of the Fujimura group that operated in and around Fuyuki, but she never bothered to investigate them since she was more focused on her Magecraft training. Shirou assured her that it was fine. Like she was scared. Rin was perfectly aware that there was nothing to worry about, especially since she was here on business. And it's not like they'd hurt her. She was Rin Tohsaka after all.
The doors slid to the side, revealing an old man. He was dressed in a gray kimono over which he had a yellowy-orange vest stylized in a tiger-stripes pattern.
"Shirou-kun. Good to see you again my boy." The man smiled as he took a seat opposite to the pair. "How is the tea?"
Now that she was face to face with the Yakuza boss, Rin no longer felt as confident as before. Despite the cheerful attitude the man in front of her exhibited, her instincts were screaming at her to stay alert.
"Thanks. Great as always. A new blend?"
"Indeed. I received it as a gift from an associate from Italy. How is school? Have you perhaps reconsidered joining the kendo club? Or maybe going back to the archery club instead?"
Shirou chuckled. "All good. And no, I don't think I'll join any of those. Also, the Kendo club has been closed since Fuji-Nee graduated. Besides, I already have a lot on my head as is."
"Bah! Kids should be having fun, not working in a bar or playing janitor. At your age, I was hunting in the woods with my father every weekend. Now that's a proper sport for men. There are few things better than the taste of the prey you've killed with your own two hands." The man laughed and Shirou joined him, although mostly out of politeness. Rin let out a nervous giggle as well.
"Come now. I enjoy helping others. There is nothing wrong with giving to the community."
"True enough." Raiga smiled. He took a sip of the tea. "Now, I think that's enough small talk. Your lady friend is already stressed enough as it is." He gave a nod to Rin, who gasped.
"I'm not afraid, thank you very much." She huffed. "I am merely unused to dealing with…" She stopped, searching for a word that wouldn't risk offending them. "With these social circles. I do not want to accidentally offend such a gracious host, that's all."
Raiga guffawed at hearing that. "Oh my. You've got yourself a little spitfire, my boy. Well then, young lady, what brings you to visit little old me? Perhaps another one to exchange a small fortune in gold, eh?"
Shirou gave out a forced laugh as he scratched the back of his neck. "I hope Shinji didn't cause any issues? I didn't think it would be a problem…"
"Oh, not at all. We are always happy to get new customers for our dry cleaning business. So, what does the lady need from us?"
"Firstly, we'd be extremely grateful if you could maybe get the press and the police to drop the investigation into the attack that happened in Shinto. And what happened to the Matou Residence while you're at it." Shirou spoke out before Rin had a chance. "And for another… I think I'll have to add some context first."
"Getting them to drop something so big might take a bit of work, but the Police Chief and I have a good working relationship, shall we say. As for the media, once we put some subtle signals here and there they should get the message." He scratched his chin. "But service like that doesn't come cheap. Even for you, my boy."
"Well, it's connected with the second thing so we might as well get it out of the way. Say, were you aware that my father was a magus? Or at least that he used Magecraft?"
Rin gasped, but Raiga merely nodded. "Your adopted father was a man of many talents, but there were many instances where the results were almost miraculous. He had never explicitly explained everything, but years of working together had introduced me to the… Moonlit World as they say. I assume your offer of payment is connected to that?"
Shirou didn't answer with words, but he extended his hand over the table. In a flash of golden light, a pile of gold bullions appeared on the table. They were similar to the ones he gave Shinji the previous day.
Raiga's grin got wide to the point Rin got uncomfortable. "Most interesting. Is this… real? From what I know, items created like that tend to vanish shortly after and break easily, but the gold your previous friend brought was perfectly fine even when we tested it."
"Yes. It's a bit of a long story, but if you have time…" And so, Shirou launched into a tale about how he killed the Heretic God and his subsequent ascension. Here and there, Rin would add some clarifications. She was also stunned at the explanation of his Authority. Gate of Babylon was perhaps one of the most versatile authorities she had heard of. Perhaps it wasn't as absolute as some of the others, but… Anyway, Shirou finished his story with a brief explanation of why Zouken had to die. Rin learned that in addition to just hurting Sakura, the old magus was also responsible for hundreds if not thousands of deaths all over Fuyuki.
"I see… Tell me, Miss Tohsaka. Are all magi as reprehensible as Matou Zouken?" His glare drilled into the girl who squirmed in her seat. The guards around the room now had their hands on pistol handles, which was an indication of just how on edge they were. Rin herself was slightly sick hearing extra details regarding Zouken's actions.
She took a deep breath to calm herself down. Emiya-kun won't let them hurt you. He won't let a small misunderstanding get you. With a clean mind, she tried to find some answer she could give him. Her options were limited, especially if he already knew about Magecraft. Honesty was her best option at this point. "Most are." Just hope that he will let me explain. "Magi are just humans. The difference is that… life of a magus is a lone one. You can't normally share your experience with anyone because it is liable to get you killed. Marriages are often a business transaction. That loneliness, the separation from everyone around you… I think that's the reason why so many magi become the way they are. People need closeness with others to remind them what it means to be human. When magi close themselves to the world, they end up losing any empathy or morals."
The elder Fujimura nodded. "Wise words for someone so young. It seems you are at least aware of the issue, just like Kiritsugu was before his death. Though he never said it in so many words. Very well, I approve, Shirou-kun. You've chosen a good bride."
The aforementioned teen barely held onto his teacup. At the same time, Rin froze in place. "Bride?/Bride!?" they both exclaimed in shock.
"Well, isn't this a marriage interview? I thought you finally decided to introduce your girlfriend to this old man." He let out a laugh. Guards around the room visibly relaxed. "I apologize, I decided to toy with you youngsters a little. The atmosphere got a tad too tense. What was that second favor you've mentioned?"
Shirou bowed. "I know it's a lot, but I need you to pay close attention to any cases of missing people that happen in Fuyuki over the next few weeks."
"That is indeed a tall order. Some would say an impossible one. So tell me, why?" Raiga leaned forward.
"While I am almost certain I've eliminated everything that was Matou Zouken, I can't be certain. If there is even a tiniest chance that he evaded death again, I want to know. He will need a host. And from what Sakura said… preparing one is a long and painful process, enough to note the disappearance."
"I can try, my boy. But it won't be easy. Or cheap."
"Price is not an issue. Literally." To prove his point, Shirou brought his hand forward. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Searching through the gate was harder the more specific his requirements, but here it was a brief moment before a moderately-sized metal case appeared on the table. The lid popped open all on its own, revealing stacks of twenty-dollar bills lined up perfectly. "I thought American currency would be easier to hide. It should be around a hundred thousand dollars total."
"That's very kind of you. It's always good to see some of my lessons stuck. If only Taiga showed as much passion." Raiga wiped away a fake tear while chuckling. "We will keep an eye out, but in exchange, I have a small favor to ask of the two of you."
"What is it?" Rin interjected when she saw Shirou was ready to agree. While grateful, she wasn't that enthusiastic to run into Yakuza pockets.
"Oh, nothing much. Just accompany this old man for some of his errands. It's been too long since I've spent time with my grandson and I would love to know more about his new friend. So, shall we?"
"Sure!" Shirou smiled. "Anyone else coming with us?"
"I guess I need to keep up appearances… And we will need a driver." He pointed at one of the guards. "Touma, you'll come with us." The man was a few years older than the teens. He had short black hair and a black suit like everyone else. On his face was a pair of rectangular glasses.
"Sure thing, boss. Should I bring the car to the front?"
"Yes. We'll be there shortly."
"Please excuse me." Raiga stood up. "I will go change into something more appropriate. You're free to wait in the car."
=3=
Rin wasn't sure what was more surprising about that day. So far, she had learned that her sis— that Sakura had been tortured and experimented on for the last ten years, that Shirou was good friends with a head of the Yakuza group, and that said Yakuza boss was at least tangentially aware of Magecraft. If it were any other circumstances, she would have been at least worried since as the Second Owner it was her responsibility to keep anything supernatural top secret. But… she now had to defer to Shirou Emiya, who was the de-facto King of Japan. And that boy was infuriatingly open about his magic. At least no one could accuse her of negligence without also taking a risk of offending a Campione.
After a brief moment of reflection, she reached the decision that none of those things were the most surprising that day. That would be Raiga Fujimura sitting opposite her dressed in an orange suit with a tiger striped pattern. It was… unique and stood out from the crowd.
As they rode through the city, Raiga was engaged in small talk with Emiya. Mostly, he just kept interrogating the boy about details regarding his role as the Campione. Rin stayed out of the talk, only correcting the boy when he made some mistake.
As they stopped in front of the bank, all four got out. Rin was momentarily distracted as a white van with an electricity company logo pulled opposite the bank. The electricians were arguing about something rather loudly. They were already out of the hearing range before she managed to make sense of it.
The number of people inside was rather large for it being relatively early. Most were senior citizens but there were also businessmen and even two mothers with children. Raiga walked right past the people and approached the privileged window.
Before he got a chance to even open his mouth, the doors to the bank were kicked open. Gunshots echoed in the hall. Eight people armed with guns and swords marched in. The guard tried to intervene but he went down in one swift strike with the stock.
"Everybody on the ground! This is a robbery!" One of them screamed.
Touma immediately got in front of Raiga, but the elder pushed him to the ground. Rin and Shirou followed suit when the old man sat down.
Five of the robbers marched right ahead and grabbed one of the tellers while three of them spread out across the room. One of them pulled a bag of zip ties and began to bind the people, starting with the businessmen.
"As long as all of you do as we say, nobody has to get hurt!" The same man as before yelled. His eyes swept around until he zeroed in on one of the businessmen who was fidgeting with his phone. The robber marched over, grabbed the cell, and threw it at the ground. When it wasn't enough, he fired several bullets at the device, which finally destroyed it. "There! No more trying to call anyone on the outside. Is that understood?!"
People everywhere nodded.
Shirou watched this from his place next to Raiga, Rin, and Touma. His fist clenched to the point his knuckles turned white. He wanted to jump up and rush to stop them, but Rin held him back.
"You idiot! You are not bulletproof!" She would've smacked him in the head if she was certain that it wouldn't attract undue attention.
"Boss… Just say a word and-" Amakasu Touma shifted his suit jacket just enough to reveal the handgun handle. And a knife.
"No. There are too many of them." The old man left no space for discussion.
The two men were systematically binding people while the third one kept patrolling. After the initial show of force, no one was eager to test their patience.
Police sirens sounded from outside.
"Fuck! I thought they were slower?" One of the men growled.
"Don't worry. They will stay out if they know what's good for them. And the hostages." The supposed leader marched toward the doors and looked outside. Five police cars were forming a semi-circle. For now, it seemed they were not attacking.
"That's not like the plan." The last robber growled.
"It's fine. There is no need to worry."
"I didn't fucking sign up for a shoot-out with the police! And what if they recognize us!?" The jumpy one looked around. As soon as he spotted a security camera, he growled. Aiming his gun, he sent a series of bullets at the device. "Fuck. They might have us on tape!" The man marched over to the security guard and aimed his gun at him. "Where do you keep the tapes, eh?"
The loud sounds woke up one of the babies, who started crying. The mother did her best to calm it down but she was also on the verge of tears so it wasn't too effective.
"Shut that brat up!" The lout guy turned his rifle at her.
Shirou was boiling inside. At some point, he grabbed onto the nearest metal pole. The base was now squished into a perfect recreation of his grip. Luckily, the robbers were more focused on themselves.
"Oy! Calm down, you idiot!" The leader shouted. "We don't want to hurt them." Then, as an afterthought, he added. "As long as they behave."
"It was supposed to be a quick in and out. What the fuck is taking the others so long?" Their third companion glanced over to where the five disappeared.
The child was still crying.
"I don't know, man. I thought it would be simpler… I hope the payday is worth it."
"P-please…" The woman holding the baby whispered through the tears.
"What was that?!" It all happened in an instant. The man, already jumpy, turned to once again aimed his gun at her. It was pure nerves at this point.
In his hurry, he squeezed a trigger just a bit too tight. And with no gun safety in place, that was enough.
The floor cracked under Shirou, but he was already moving.
From the place where he was sitting a sword shot out in a flash of golden light.
About halfway there he grabbed the sword mid-air.
He could see the trigger squeezed.
"Trace. On." The sword in his hands sparkled for a moment. His legs and arms were covered in golden-blue lines that faded the next moment.
The gun in the robber's hands fell to the ground. In two parts. A single diagonal cut went right through the rifle.
"Fuck! My finger!" The man screamed in pain as blood poured from his missing digit.
"Shut up." With a spin, Shirou delivered a kick that knocked him down to the ground. He was now standing between him and the crying woman.
"Oh, for the love… That complete moron." The leader aimed his gun at the interfering teen. "Look… guy. Thanks for that, but I'll now have to ask you to drop that sword and quietly step away. Got it?"
"No," Shirou growled. "That's enough for you."
"Don't make me do it, man. We can all still resolve this peacefully. Nobody died yet, right?"
The teen didn't answer. He just moved again. His dash brought him half the way between him and his target before the leader even realized what was happening. A flick brought the gun to the semi-auto mode. A single bullet was fired.
The sound of metal colliding with metal echoed across the hall.
The bullet fell and bounced away. Split in two.
Shirou didn't even slow down. He was in the leader's face. A slash cut the gun into parts. One hit. The man was down.
"Hey, stop playing a hero and calm the fuck down!" The distant one now held a rifle directly to the head of one of the elderly hostages.
"What the fuck is going on!?" A new voice came from behind the counters. The five robbers who went inside the bank returned. Each carried a bag over their shoulder and had the rifles out. The leader fired a series into the air, hitting the other security camera.
"That guy over there is trying to play a hero. He took out two already." He didn't let go of the hostage as he nodded toward Shirou.
"Yeah? We've got ourselves some wannabe tough guy? Didn't your mother tell you not to play with the sharp things?"
Shirou looked around. There were six enemies and a lot of hostages. These newcomers didn't seem as dedicated to limiting the casualties as the first guy was.
"Hey! I asked you a fucking question!" The man leveled his gun at him, but after a moment of thought aimed it at the hostages instead. It just happened that Raiga, Touma, and Rin were closest.
The Campione no longer felt like trying to hold back on the display of powers.
"[Gate Open]" He felt his magic circuits come to life again. Behind the robbers, golden lights flashed from several directions. It was only seconds but each received a hit with a blunt object to the back. Two of them were knocked out instantly. Another one fell to the ground. Only the one who aimed at Shirou's companions stayed upright. It was a close thing but he somehow evaded the worst of it. Instead, the medieval Morningstar mangled the bag he was carrying. Banknotes scattered all over.
Furious, the robber grabbed Rin and put the gun to her head. "You want to fucking play ball with me? What the fuck was that?!" He screamed, sparing a glance at the medieval weapon next to him.
"Let. Me. Go," Tohsaka growled.
"What? Another little brat thinks they can just step over me?"
Rin snarled. She then stepped down on the man's leg with enough force to shatter his bones. There might've been some light Magecraft involved. As soon as he let go of her neck, she bit into his hand. In pain, he let go of the rifle which Amakasu immediately grabbed. The man pulled the robber by the strap and delivered a knee strike to the face. He stepped back and aimed the weapon at him.
"Everything alright, young miss?"
"Yeah." For good measure, Rin delivered a kick right between the legs of her former captor, sending him to the ground.
Raiga chuckled. "If she doesn't kill him, they will make a really nice couple." He whispered to himself in amusement.
"Fuck…" The last standing robber, part of the group that was taking hostages, pushed the old man away and stepped back.
Shirou focused so much on the newcomers that he missed him.
"I fucking knew it was a mistake." He grabbed the nearest case from behind the counter and took another step back. "Listen, I'm fucking done. Let me go and we can all go our separate ways."
The atmosphere was tense. For a moment, Shirou considered just trying to rush for it and bring the guy down, but he couldn't be sure the panicking man didn't just open fire randomly. Those people were unpredictable, which only added to his worry.
"Fine. Just drop your weapon and you can go."
"Thanks. And for what it's worth, we didn't want to make this much mess." He turned around and ran deeper into the bank, probably to try and sneak out through the side exit. The gun clattered somewhere behind him.
Most people were still terrified but with all the criminals pacified, they slowly started to look around.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can cover up this one…" Raiga shook his head.
"Well, it's not as subtle as I'd like but it will have to be enough." Rin looked at Raiga and Touma and whispered. "Close your eyes and cover your ears."
She tossed a gem into the air and pointed at it. "Hey! Look! What's that!?"
Everyone immediately looked up, right when the ruby exploded in a flash of brilliant light.
A moment later, a squad of police officers in tactical gear stormed inside.
The hostages were just waking up from whatever blinded them. Rin, Touma, and Shirou were no longer anywhere to be seen.
=3=
"That was…" Rin groaned as she collapsed on the sofa inside an apartment. After Raiga was let go once he gave his version of the events ('I fell unconscious near the end'), they met and Touma brought them to his apartment. It was the closest.
"Those damn brats." The elder Yakuza boss complained. "A bunch of college students with water for brains. They watched one too many movies and decided to solve their cash problems by robbing a bank."
"Indeed." Amakasu nodded. "Even I could see they were amateurs. But… they were still able to almost pull it. If it wasn't for Emiya-sama, I could see a scenario where they could make it out and escape. Quite easily in fact if they took some hostages with them."
Raiga growled. "No sense of honor in them. To rob a bank in broad daylight. Even with how incompetent the police is, they are bound to respond to something so public."
"I always thought Fuyuki was mostly a peaceful city…" Rin shook her head. "That was like something straight from an American movie."
"I would assume that's where they got the inspiration from." Shirou sat down next to her and handed her a cookie.
"I knew it would get even worse, but not to this point." Raiga looked outside the window.
"What do you mean?" Rin couldn't stop herself from asking.
"Fuyuki was dealing with a constant increase in crimes for over a decade now, but it's been getting worse. And while organized crime groups used to have a tight grip to keep things civil, as the new blood is taking over they have some… alternative ideas. Last year, the new head of the Kunimi Clan began stirring troubles. He broke away from the unspoken agreement to keep things on down low. But I think the last nail to the coffin was that… what was the term… ah, the Heretic God attack."
"What do you mean?" Shirou was now paying very close attention.
"The police, despite their usual ineptitude, were the first to respond. It's safe to say that a third of Fuyuki Police were either killed or seriously wounded during the fight. They are dramatically understaffed right now."
Rin bit her tongue. She knew why the Fuyuki police were so useless in the first place. Because it made hiding anything dealing with Magecraft that much easier. Sure, there were some exemplary officers, but those were quickly given higher ranks in other cities.
"I see…" Shirou scratched his chin. "So… the crime will only go up from now?"
"Probably. It's hard to tell what the results will be, but Fuyuki is definitely not as safe as it used to be."
Shirou didn't say anything at first, but Tohsaka saw a glimmer in his eye. She could already sense the headache he was going to cause her.
To distract herself (and maybe Shirou with a bit of luck), she turned on the TV.
"...The Police had refused to comment on the specifics of today's bank robbery but we've managed to get access to behind-the-scenes footage from the security camera."
The image showed Shirou's back as he cut down the first robber's rifle and how he defeated the second robber. The quality was bad, but still enough to clearly show him cut the rifle in half. It also showed his confrontation with the last robber, but the feed cut off before anyone could see his face.
"We are sorry, but this is all that was salvaged. Who was the mysterious savior? Why does the police refuse to speak about him? And how was he able to cut a gun with just a sword? Don't worry, we will do our best to give you the answers. Stay tuned."
Rin hid her face between her hands. "I forgot about the cameras…"
"Don't worry. They didn't see anything important."
"That we know of!" She shook her head. "And if the Police check those tapes, they might notice that the three of us went missing inside the bank."
"I wouldn't worry about it." Raiga waved her off. "I'll have someone make sure those tapes disappear before anyone looks too closely. It wouldn't do if Shirou-kun's lovely girlfriend got in trouble so soon."
"I'm not his girlfriend!" Rin screamed at amused Raiga, who again waved her off.
"Thank you. Also, I got an idea. Since we can't wait for the police to solve the problem, I can do it."
"Oh? What do you mean?" The old man looked at his adopted grandson.
"I don't want to let anyone die. If people like the robbers today keep just doing what they want, someone's bound to get hurt sooner or later. And as the Police can't be counted on, I will protect everyone myself."
"No…" Rin whispered as the realization dawned upon her. "You can't mean… Agh! Why do you do this to me!?"
Ignoring the fuming girl next to him, Shirou continued. "I will become a hero. Like John Pluto Smith. And like my dad wanted to be."
=3=