Chapter 7
Sunday, December 15
The night before Abraham went to sleep, he received a voice message from Rin, which Abraham had expected as he had been spending time with the girl.
She had wanted to meet him, and this time her choice was to be in her family home.
As Abraham went to Rin, he prepared himself for whatever she wanted to talk to him about. Whether it was something serious or silly, he was still eager to see her, so this meeting was no bother to him.
It was a nostalgic feeling being here again, but it felt cold and lonely.
It was a bit worrying to him how Rin could have lived like this since her parents were gone, but he simply continued walking, eventually finding that she waited for him as the door opened before he could knock.
"I know this looks out of the blue, but I was too giddy to sleep, so I thought I'd message you for this meeting."
Abraham paused, pondering how she thought that was better than a simple phone call. Then he recalled that she was an orphan, and Kirei would most likely read what she wrote. "Good call... but next time, try to get yourself to sleep. Sleep loss is a predicament you'll want to avoid, especially if you are a girl. Although with all that beauty you have, you could say you just wanted to even the field for the less unfortunate students."
The blush from her cheeks had become more evident when Abraham had commented on her beauty, but she tried to hide it. "Heh. I guess."
Her expression went to a more concerned one, noticing his shivering. "Hey, are you okay...?"
Abraham nodded, he was simply recovering his energy after his training routine. He was definitely feeling tired, but Rin wouldn't bring it up if he didn't want to.
She noticed the small buzzing sound of a bug hovering around. It wasn't strange to hear them at night, but considering it was now mid winter...
Is that a Matou familiar? EVEN THEY ARE INTERESTED IN HIM?
No. This could simply be Shinji getting his family to spy on the guy. That annoying fool wouldn't let go of his grudge because Rin was so close to Abraham. "Why don't you come inside now? I'm the one who made you leave your bed this late, so you can stay over for the night."
After they both entered, Abraham would take quick notice of how simple and extravagantly posh the inside of her home is compared to when he originally saw it in his world.
"So what was it you wanted to speak about?"
"Oh, please don't bother staying up much longer. Get your sleep and we'll speak in the morning."
He was thankful to her for the shelter, however, and decided to follow her words. As he lay in his comfy bed, Abraham began to think about the disparity between the two different lifestyles and how his current one was beginning to change.
Rin had awoken to the smell of a good morning meal. She and Abraham may have retreated to her mansion for safety, but she really only expected him to have slept and be the one who she would wake.
Kirei had warned her about Abraham's strange situation after all. He left Fuyuki every weekend quite frequently, and she needed to figure out what that was about.
Hopefully, it wasn't a magus thing, because as a Second Owner, she had to know about everything going on in her territory.
Abraham had woken up pretty early in the morning after getting some much needed rest and quickly got into the task of cooking them both breakfast. He was trying his hardest to use as much skill as he could, but he was also being careful to not let himself use any sort of technique or method that would be considered high class of a cuisine. After a bit of cooking, he had some tasty food cooked up, and served two plates for him and Rin.
"Good Morning, mistress Tohsaka." He teased his host to test the waters. If he knew better, and he definitely did, teasing her like this was what would make her react and begin with a bit of questioning. It was much needed, because Rin had called him for a meeting late at night earlier.
She, as Abraham anticipated, would respond accordingly to his teasing; her blush would become obvious as she did so. Rin remained calm despite her embarrassment, as she did not let it show too much or else she knew that it would give him too much satisfaction at this little game, though she couldn't deny being respected as she should be.
"Good morning. I see you have already prepared breakfast for yourself and me. It looks delicious. Thanks."
"It's the least I could do for sharing your home. About last night, you wanted that meeting between us, but for some reason it had to be in person instead of a phone call. Why exactly? It couldn't be that you actually find me super attractive and want to see me."
Rin felt her cheeks burning a bit brighter once he started to tease her once more. She would not admit that the reason was the second one that he presented, even though he was right on the mark; she did want to see him because... he was... she still felt it was a bit embarrassing to admit that right now.
"Uh... I just... I figured it would be better if we had the meeting in person instead. That's all. No other significant reason."
Abraham nodded, which Rin saw he seemed to be taking her answer in stride.
Oh how she would clearly be in trouble if she didn't make up a good excuse. Actually, she probably could... but how to do so without letting him know about her magus status or magic?
She was starting to get nervous as she saw how calm he took her answer. Was it because he believed her? If he did, then she had to think up a better excuse really quickly; if he didn't, then it was only a matter of time before he would ask more questions and dig deeper. And she didn't want him to find out about the moonlit world in general.
"Huh. Well, it's flattering that you're holding the meeting in person. I take it that you needed to explain it to me and would have taken way too long over the phone if there were visuals we needed?"
And this was the golden opportunity Rin needed. She could use this to point out the future potential dangers of their engagement prank and what certain things to avoid. Shinji Matou was already proving to be one of those pitfalls if he got much more desperate. It made perfect sense, really, and it seemed like he believed her so she had no reason to come up with another excuse.
"Precisely. In addition, there are a few other matters that I want to discuss with you about this engagement prank that we're doing. Specifically, there's the matter of... Shinji Matou."
He nodded. "I believe that's reasonable. The guy places all responsibilities onto others, and he's what you'd call a "player" for all the girls that he has with him in school. How much risk does he pose?"
Rin chuckled at his description of Shinji; she was sure that it was accurate. "I am concerned with how far Shinji may react with our fake engagement. We saw him being... very possessive over me, but this time it may go so much that it might lead him into doing something drastic. While it's all part of the show, and I appreciate how the slander gossip is dying out, I don't want you to get hurt for my sake. And can take care of myself if he tries anything on me."
He sighed "Ahh. And it just so happens that I, a foreigner, am stealing his thunder in his mind, so things could escalate and we'll have not actually resolved the main issue with the rumors. Shinji is the one that is in control of the student body in terms of opinion."
"Indeed. So, considering that Shinji might attempt to do something drastic if I don't "correct" my behavior right now, I believe it would be wise to have a plan to deal with him now."
(Abraham): *Smirks. Gym physical bar tests for the first half of the semester were soon.* "I think I know a way."
Once again she was alone.
After killing her Master she teleported away from the burning laboratory, and with how low reserves of mana she had, she didn't have much time left.
It was the same sensation she was familiar with: Hopelessness
She laughed weakly as she walked because she realized this was her unchanging fate. The destiny of the Witch of Betrayal.
"I only wanted to live in peace, why-"
The crack of thunder interrupted her, as if Zeus had answered her the decision was set.
After a moment of watching the cloudy sky, she didn't know if it was the raindrops that fell or if she had begun crying.
It's the end, isn't it.
*A branch cracked*
Medea slowly turned her head toward the place she heard that and saw someone watching. At least she wouldn't die lonely again.
"Don't worry. I'm here," Shirou said after approaching her. "Here. Please do not struggle." He began to wrap his coat around her figure, doing the best to prevent the cold water from reaching her more vulnerable areas. It would not do if the woman's extremities were subjected to this freezing air, so he did what was possible and lifted her up, held her close to his chest. She knew from his tone alone that he was a man who would not hurt her, and once upon being lifted into their arms, she found that it was as if her destiny was not to end here, as they were running to shelter.
"I... thank you..." She tried her best to say something, but exhaustion and the cold from the rain made her speech come out in a shaky breath. She didn't try to put too much pressure onto the young man's body with her weight as she tried to speak.
Shirou had wondered where his roommate had gone since yesterday. They had eaten the dish that he had asked of him, and had taken to sleep as always, but since late Saturday night, or early Sunday morning, he had not seen the exchange student. This was getting rather strange for him, but he did not mind it.
The house being empty allowed for him to practice his magecraft, and he did so as always.
The house was empty… at least for the most part, as he was keeping care for the woman he had brought home. He gave her a soft and warm bed, then left her to sleep as cooked a nice, warm soup.
This should be a prime time for Shirou to focus on his magecraft practice and other things he wanted/needed to do that he could not do with Abraham or Taiga around. He would have to hurry his practice inside the workshack if he wanted to finish it before his roommate arrived and saw the new person. He set himself up with his practice, only to hear heavy footsteps drawing close to the front door entrance.
Shirou was deep in his practice as he could hear loud footsteps approaching. The sound of the footsteps was oddly familiar, as the young man could recognize them as his roommate's.
"Hm. I wonder if he came back?" Despite the fact that he was in the middle of his Magecraft practice, Shirou still went to open the front door, expecting to see his roommate behind that door.
Shirou opened up the front door with haste as he assumed his roommate was coming back. But to his surprise, instead of his roommate, he found two very strange looking people standing out in the rain; A frenchman, and an Arabian woman. He assumed these two had come from a cosplay convention, but failed to bring with them protection from the rain.
Confused, but amiable, he greeted the two. "Uh, may I help you?"
Midler entered without a word as she was the worst affected by the cold, leaving Polnareff to excuse his ally's rude behavior. "Yes, excuse my friend's behavior, please. We are seeking shelter because the rain caught us by complete surprise."
He bowed his head before answering, clearly wanting to be polite to the young man who seemed to be the resident of the house. Shirou seemed to take Polnareff's politeness and humbleness quite well.
"Ah, I see. Well, um... you're welcome to stay. Come, come inside."
He began showing them into the living room before shutting the door behind them. Shirou handed them each towels, then handed them tea which he had heated up for the woman he picked up from the rain.
These two were obviously foreigners, and they appeared as if they were unprepared because they were merely expecting to make a quick visit in Fuyuki; the bullet train rarely failed, so a convention wasn't likely their end designation. Would it be possible that they were fellow associates of Abraham from his visits to Tokyo?
"Please, warm yourselves. I'm sorry that the soup I'm cooking is still yet to be ready, but my roommate should be returning soon."
"Oh, no need to apologize. You've already done much more than enough."
On the other hand, Midler, whose clothing had not yet dried, was still quiet, choosing to listen rather than speak. She also drank her share of the hot tea, taking the opportunity to warm up her body from the freezing weather.
Midler, being ignored at the moment as Polnareff was taking Shirou's attention, began exploring the grounds with High Priestess. She was doing her best to remain unremarkable, which with her current attire could be seen as a bit of a drawback, seeing as the boy would look occasionally, but turn his eyes away just as he looked below her neck.
Lord Dio had them informed that this was the house of residence that their mission leader would be at, but she was not convinced yet, as Polnareff had awkwardly gotten the directions wrong earlier, thus making them late and caught in the rain.
Shirou, on the other hand, found himself having the perfect opportunity to use the social lessons he learned from Abraham about interacting with the public.
He had become a bit more comfortable with the two intruders in his residence, being more amiable than he was normally as he spoke to them. And he was taking up on the chance to implement the teachings that Abraham passed onto him, which gave him a small but confident smirk upon his face.
Meanwhile, Midler had explored a bit of the house, and found herself to be very interested in Shirou. However, she also felt a little uncomfortable with him constantly looking at her figure, as if she were being judged.
"...and that is why we are here. Again, we are sorry that it has ended up being the case, but Asia is not exactly a place I am comfortable enough to navigate without a guide."
Polnareff gave the excuse, making Shirou believe that he was indeed a simple friend of Abraham's Brother Brando that he spoke of at times.
"Ahh. It's rather reasonable to understand that Abraham's brother sent someone to check with him. He doesn't make many calls. I can see that he must have gotten concerned and sent you two over."
Shirou had a good assumption of the situation, believing that Abraham's brother had indeed sent them to check upon him. And he didn't think it would be anything too serious, just a regular checkup.
"Ah... well, Abraham had recently mentioned that his family was worried about him and that they may be sending someone to check on him. I just didn't expect that they would arrive so quickly, but it's understandable."
Polnareff was glad to hear that the excuse had been accepted by Shiro so easily. But he knew that he couldn't stay calm and collected for long when he noticed the boy staring at Midler. He knew he had to do something to distract him as soon as possible, so he was quick to try and draw his attention.
"Speaking of Abraham... May I ask you something, friend?"
As Polnareff continued distracting the redhead, Midler found something peculiar on the grounds.
It appeared like a sort of workstation, although half of the items in that location were recognizable, the rest seemed like it was...arcane. It was similar to what some of the other associates under Lord Dio would delve into, even Enya would be seen with these items, but she couldn't help but feel uneasy as the items she was concerned with were caches of firearms and explosives.
Meanwhile, Shirou was still in his distraction conversation with Polnareff.
"Sure... what do you want to ask about him?"
He seemed to have forgotten about Midler, which allowed for her to explore in peace. She also noticed that there were a lot of firearms within the house, as well as a few bombs... very strange, indeed, for someone as peaceful and quiet as Shirou. However, when the redheaded guy did indeed get her attention again, he seemed to be staring at her once more.
Seeing as Shirou was staring at her once more, Midler raised an eyebrow in silent contemplation of his staring. Even if it were only for a few moments, she could clearly see that he was gazing at her body quite intently as he spoke to her. And to her, it felt uncomfortable that he would continue to do so, despite having already done his 'polite male routine'.
A knock on the front door had taken Shirou's attention away from the two guests before him, allowing Midler to let go of her bated breath as she had believed the kid was catching on to what she was doing. Shirou had gone up to the door and opened the door as he believed now that his fellow roommate had arrived from whatever important errand required him to act.
The front door unlocked and in came the hispanic roommate that Shirou had come to familiarize himself with. He noticed the quick and lively steps that Abraham made, carrying with himself a sense of pride.
Unlike earlier, the sudden appearance of the young man had removed any lingering awkwardness between Shirou and the two foreigners he was hosting. He then watched as Abraham's expression changed from happy to serious and disappeared into the house, with Shirou still standing by the open door.
"Please excuse my roommate's rudeness," Shirou told the two guests, then followed behind Abraham.
Shirou's demeanor changed from polite and amiable to nervous that Abraham would think poorly of him and kick out his guests. Shirou then explained and gave excuses.
"...well, um... The rain was... um, getting heavy and, uh..."
Abraham could see that Shirou seemed nervous about what he was about to say next as he glanced at the young man, who looked away.
A small bit of sweat dripped from Shirou's face as he had tried to rationalize his actions with an explanation that is acceptable by Abraham.
"I did not want to cause the woman further burden and I assumed that my roommate would not mind."
He knew that his excuse was very weak and unconvincing, but it was a necessary one nonetheless. The poor guy didn't want to get in trouble with Abraham.
Abraham sighed. He was going to have to protect his roommate by making this Servant want to stay with them, not simply eat their souls to just get energy once.
Abraham got to his knees and speaks to the Caster Servant. "...you wouldn't need to have that from me. Just..." He sighs. Abraham had known she was a Servant. He knew them more as Ghost Liners or Heralds, but the Magus association were stuck with their ways and used the term Servant when it came to their "Holy Grail War" as a manner of holding dominance over the ones that they summoned to fight for them.
He gave a small, smooth river stone which he had held on his person to help him in case he needed a means of distraction. He imbued it with his own Ki energy that his Mentor had taught him about, knowing that it worked better to provide energy in comparison to a simple mana transfer that required bodily fluids. "Keep that with you."
Medea then gave a slight nod towards him as she took the small river stone from Abraham. Medea was now feeling quite intrigued with her savior's "associate" given how he had given and imbued a small fragment of the very thing she needed to survive.
Shirou, of course, wondered what it was that Abraham had done, so he called him out.
Shirou was confused to see that Abraham had given Medea a stone. He was even more confused when Medea nodded and was able to take it from Abraham. The redhead was still waiting for an explanation.
Shirou was confused by why Abraham gave the river stone to Medea. He watched as she seemed to give a grateful nod and accept it happily. The redhead would then walk over to her as he asked, his hands in his pockets.
"Um... what was that you gave her?"
Shirou was genuinely curious as to what he gave her, hoping it wasn't like a mana transfer as he believed that it would only make him uncomfortable as well as his guest.
(Abraham, internally): If Raiga wants this kid to take a path that he won't end up dying, I guess I'll need to treat him like I did the other "boy" I knew.
He knew a Shirou before, Shirou Senji, but that kid had a different mindset and paid attention to the lessons his family, friends, and Abraham gave him. Hopefully, his roommate Shirou, Shirou Emiya to be precise, would pay attention.
Serious, with a calm and collected tone, the hispanic adolescent spoke up. "That was an integral part of my training. It's called 'Ki' energy. You already know it, since you've been practicing it... just wrongly."
Shirou's mind wandered onto what he was talking about.
Was he speaking about him practicing his "Reinforcement" and "Projection" magecraft.
Shirou was confused since Abraham was implying that he was doing something wrong with his training, even his Reinforcement and Projection Magecraft. What could be the issue, though? Shirou thought this through. He knew he was practicing magecraft wrong as it hurt a bit each time, but it seemed to be working for him, so what could be the issue? It was really interesting to him. But he would try to stay on subject with the question.
Shirou tried not to make it seem that he was getting irritated with Abraham while still sounding polite.
"But... What is Ki energy?"
"That's life force, it's known to Magi as-"
Medea stepped in, catching on as these two young men more than likely didn't share the same path, since she sensed that the Redhead had Magic Circuits... while the other had a bunch of Od.
Medea noticed something off in Shirou's Spiritual Energy. Her magic-sensitive sixth sense allowed her to take notice of the Od energy that Shirou had and the magic circuits as well. Medea then stepped in.
"Oh, I see the issue."
Medea's words suddenly caught Abraham's interest as she spoke about a discrepancy in the spiritual energy of the two men.
Shirou was surprised by Medea interrupting Abraham. Was she also someone who practiced magecraft?
The redhead looked at both Abraham and Medea. The fact that a Servant interrupted a conversation between Abraham and him made him wonder how much experience she had with magecraft, and if she had any other knowledge when it came to it. "You know magecraft as well?"
Medea looked at Shirou, noticing that he was surprised at her knowledge of magecraft. She could see the redhead's Od energy as well as his magic circuits, so she thought that he was a mage as well. Well, he was a mage, but Medea thought he was the kind of mage who went to Clocktower, not one who practiced true magecraft.
"Yes. I practice magecraft. I would assume that you do the same due to the power I feel from you."
"He's not. He doesn't follow the mindset, so he would be seen as an unorthodox Magus. He is very specialized in Projection and Reinforcement, but it's been happening with lowly chances of success. Unfortunately, he's risking death each time he uses his magecraft instead of the 27 Magic Circuits he actually has, because he's making them again each time."
Abraham then continued, wanting to get Shirou to confirm. "It feels like hot iron rods inside of your spine when you use your abilities, doesn't it?"
Shirou knew what Abraham was talking about. Whenever he practiced the two Magecrafts, he felt pain that he could only describe as "hot iron rods" running through his spine. But what did he mean by "unorthodox" magus? He was a Magus regardless, so what made Shirou different from Medea and Abraham?
Shirou was curious and tried to get the information he desired.
"But I am a mage nonetheless. So what makes me different from you?"
"Oh, I'm not one of those idiots that I've encountered. They follow a paradoxical mindset. The main answer is that magecraft is literally a backwards concept. Like it's part of the setting how backwards it is. You can't use magecraft openly to make society better, science practically can do everything mage craft does while mage craft is a bygone product of a bygone era. As a remnant of the old mysteries of the Age of Gods, magecraft can't be shown to the public or it would be "consumed" by the Age of Man, its mystery deprived of any meaning losing all its power. The moment that a mystery is known, understood and released to the masses, it loses what makes it powerful. That's the paradox of magecraft, that's what makes mages a bunch of secretive assholes researchers who can't share their stuff and that's what makes their society so cutthroat, ruthless and labyrinthic. That's what makes them strive for inhumanity even if they even usually fail at that for being too human."
Shirou was surprised by this sudden revelation by Abraham. He expected magecraft to be some sort of secret power, only being known by those who practiced it. But this was a whole other thing altogether. Mages seemed to be far less honorable and honest than he thought, to the point of hoarding and hiding their magical knowledge. And to top it off, it seemed like they were trying to preserve its mystery so as to not lose their power from it.
Shirou was left bewildered, but he also felt a sort of pity for mages. They truly suffered from a cruel dilemma.
At this point, a silence emerged between the three of them. It seemed like everyone needed a moment to take in this new information. After a bit, Shirou finally decided to break the silence.
"But isn't magecraft important? If people practiced and studied it, it could help humanity in many ways."
"Yes, it would. Unfortunately, it has the same issue that electric blackouts have: the esoteric energy is limited. Which is why I am fortunate to have been trained in using my Ki."
Shirou's mind now began to wander to Ki energy again. Abraham has been mentioning it quite a bit up to this point. Now, he was stating that it was a fortunate thing for him to be trained in Ki energy. What could he use it for that magecraft couldn't? Could he even wield Ki energy with magical potential?
"So... Ki energy can be used on its own? Does it also possess the limitations of magecraft in terms of energy usage?"
His roommate laughed.
"Ki is also known as "latent energy" or "fighting power," which directly translates as "life force." This force is a tangible energy inside every living being, with its major focus being in the center of the body. By drawing it out, an individual is able to manipulate it and use it outside the body. Ki can be used for many different techniques. Because there are physical limits to the strength of the body itself, it is necessary to increase one's ki to overcome this barrier and become stronger."
Abraham's words about Ki energy immediately caught Shirou's attention. The fact that it was life force and could be used like magecraft outside of the body was intriguing. It seemed to be a much simpler form of magic too, and something that a normal human could be able to learn. What was the catch, though? Magecraft seemed to have limits on the use of its magical energy, but did Ki have a similar problem?
Medea and Abraham noticed the boy's thoughts making his expression show that he was considering the differences between the two systems.
"According to what I learned, ki includes at least three parts:
Genki (元気 lit. "Vigor")
Yūki (勇気 lit. "Courage")
Shōki (正気 lit. "Right-mindedness")
It's implied yūki is literally the emotion of courage and the energy rush that comes from that, which would mean ki is as much an emotional concept as it is a physical energy to use in battle. Since humans are emotional beings as we went over those lessons, we are able to use this energy ourselves with training."
Shirou listened attentively to Abraham's words about the three parts of Ki. It was very interesting that this "ki" was also somewhat connected to emotions and emotional states. The fact that it was emotional was also intriguing to him, as it reminded him of his own powers, which were also connected to his own emotions. But he was mainly curious about one thing about this ki energy.
"But about the whole emotional thing about Ki, does that mean that it has the same "use it at your own risk" sort of energy cost like Magecraft?"
"Sort of. When fighters gather ki, they are able to gain enhanced strength, speed, endurance, and can increase the power of their attacks to inflict greater damage to opponents. Normally, the more the ki is increased, the harder it is to control, so ki control is also important. Energy can be lost when the user sustains injuries. Maintaining proper balance between the body and spirit is important in utilizing energy, and the more properly balanced they are, the more energy you can project."
So it seems like this Ki energy was not only connected to emotions, but it's also connected to a person's physical and spiritual state. If the person was unbalanced in either of those ways, their energy or ki would suffer and possibly drain entirely.
Shirou then took this new information about Ki and related it to Magecraft.
"So what is the main difference of usage between Magecraft and Ki energy? Can a common person truly use Ki energy or must they be a mage to do so?"
Abraham began giving Shirou a scholarly explanation. "Ki and psionics draw on inner reservoirs of power, while magic in at least the anthropological definition involves calling on outside powers. Maybe you're manipulating a weave of reality or calling on a god (yes, prayer is technically magic), or making a deal with a devil, but the source of the power is external to yourself. In essence, Ki is more "Martial Arts Magic" that lets you get in touch with your own reserves, whereas Magecraft is more about you attempting to convince reality that your hair that is 'red' is really a shade of 'purple'. Is that right?"
Abraham asked Medea, knowing that the Servant would likely cover any information that was missing.
Medea took notice of Abraham's explanation to Shirou of Magecraft and Ki energy in regards to calling upon exterior versus interior power and of its anthropological definitions and terms. The Magecraft of Shirou's world seemed to be a far more convoluted version of magic, while Ki energy was something natural to the human body.
"While your roommate's understanding of our magecraft is accurate, his understanding of ki is incomplete. Though it does involve using internal power, there is more to Ki than that."
Shirou asked Medea for the information, which Medea gave her savior. Abraham, of course, didn't speak as he was a bit worried of how he was going to train Shirou.
Medea then proceeded to give her explanation to Shirou about Ki.
"Though Abraham's explanation is mostly correct, he left out one part, that being the fact that Ki can be used without a magecraft or any other internal energy. Even though we humans naturally generate this Ki energy within ourselves, we can also learn to utilize it to the same level as Magecraft with much less complexity involved. That is the true power of Ki: it can be taught to anyone willing to put in the effort. Unlike Magecraft, it requires less of a mental commitment to use properly as it is a more natural system and is easier to comprehend than the convoluted magic systems of our Magecraft, which is much harder to learn due to its intricate nature. It has the power to change the world, and with enough effort, you could learn it without magical talent. While Magecraft requires talent and magical capability to learn, Ki requires will and discipline."
Of course, there were different ranks of Ki: Genki, Jaki, Kami no Ki. They were examples that Abraham knew of, yet he kept quiet in order to ensure that Shirou wouldn't get overwhelmed. For now, he needed to train the boy, and get his path away from becoming a Hero of Justice as he had always stated about his dream. At least this way, he wouldn't get himself killed by rushing into fights with his weak magecraft... and possibly get desperate enough to make a contract with Alaya.
"How would you like to get training, Shirou?"
"I would like to get some training for Ki, if that's possible. It sounds like an interesting concept, and I am fascinated by the idea of having such internal power that could rival the power of a mage. Can you help me with that?"
"I can do that."
However, the boy would need some information on magecraft as well. Proper info in order to defend himself. Medea would help with that, since Abraham couldn't as he didn't have Magic Circuits himself.
"Great! Thank you, Abraham."
Shirou was happy to receive Abraham's help with learning more about Ki. However, he also knew that his magecraft skills were very lacking. If he wanted to protect himself and others, then he would need to learn more about his magecraft as well. He was lucky that Medea was there to help him out with that aspect. With both of their help, he should be able to handle himself in the Magecraft world properly.
Since Shirou was going to learn more about the Moonlit World and Ki energy, Abraham decided that it would be best to allow the guy to know what Abraham was actually doing. At least with Polnareff and Midler.
"So what they are doing here is hunting the supernatural. The unwanted things that can harm regular people."
"Oh, that makes sense. I figured that Polnareff and Midler were hunting something, but I didn't know what specifically. So, what kind of supernatural stuff are they hunting? Is it demons, ghosts, ghouls, what exactly?"
Abraham gave the two Stand Users a look so that they agree with him. "A wraith. It's been 'alive' for 500 years."
Shirou was surprised at the mention of a wraith. 500 years... was this wraith a powerful being? It certainly had been around for longer than he had even been alive for. "A wraith? So it's been around for that long? Is it a very powerful entity or is it just a small one?"
"It's rather dangerous to Fuyuki, and although it isn't doing anything right now, it does feed on humans... and is attempting to gain a body that would allow it to become immortal."
Shirou's eyes widened as he heard of the wraith's abilities. It fed on human beings and was planning on becoming essentially immortal... this wraith was a serious threat then, one that had to be dealt with. But how would they even manage to defeat something like that?
"So while you are training with me, and stick to your training, I, Polnareff, Midler, and two others will go out and remove that wraith. They have survived being around a vampire, so they should be able to do this. Ain't that right?" Abraham asked the two Stand Users, giving them a tone that meant that they would be speaking about the details later.
Polnareff and Midler nodded their heads quickly in agreement with Abraham. They seemed to take everything he said as truth, without any hesitation or doubts. It seemed like they were confident in tackling the wraith and defeating it on their own, without worry of their own lives being in danger. Though, if they survived being around a vampire, then they must have had a decent enough reason to be so confident...
When both thought about Abraham's statement of "surviving being around a vampire", they realized that he must have been referring to surviving being around Lord Dio. It made sense for them to have that confidence and composure in dealing with something relatively minor, such as a wraith, since they knew they could survive around someone like him.
Abraham then began to pull out some equipment that he had for Shirou to begin. "Alright, Shirou. So your first round of training is wearing this heavy weighted clothing."
As Shirou took the clothes that Abraham casually held with one hand, he found that it weighed around 60 pounds. Holding the clothes that Abraham was holding out to him, Shirou was a bit surprised at how heavy they were. It felt like he was holding a small person's weight in his hands.
Though, considering what Abraham had said before about training his ki, he had a feeling what kind of training he wanted to have Shirou do.
"I presume you want me to train with these on? To strengthen my limbs and build my muscles, maybe?"
"It's a simple way to enhance speed and agility. Why do you think the military soldiers exercise wearing all of that stuff they carry with them?"
Shirou realized that that made sense. Military personnel wore heavy and thick gear that weighed quite a bit, which must have helped to condition their muscles. Now, with this information, he understood why Abraham had given him these clothes to train with.
He agreed, then left to go exercise in the sparring room.
This allowed Abraham to speak with Polnareff and Midler.
"So... Dio sent you two here to help me eliminate Kirei Kotomine."
"Indeed, Lord Dio has asked me and Polnareff to assist you in defeating Kotomine. He told us that Kotomine is a threat to him and must be eliminated."
"True. Kotomine is a threat, but so is the wraith I spoke of."
Abraham let out a bated breath. "That priest Kirei Kotomine...he is chaotic and has access to a device that has the potential to destroy organic life within the blink of an eye. Powering it up will take a while for him, so we have time on our side. He is still a man, a mortal being, so we can take him out if we do this intelligently."
He then continued. "But the wraith... It could also be said to be a parasitic vampire here in Fuyuki. Like I said, he has been around longer than Dio. He's feeding off people, but for the most part, prefers to enjoy feeding off the reproductive systems of young girls. I wish to annihilate it first before Kirei Kotomine."
Polnareff had a disgusted look as he noticed the information he heard. "Understandable. If this wraith has been alive for 500 years, then it sounds like an important target. Also, feeding off the reproductive systems of young girls... that just sounds horrible. Not only does it feed off people without their permission, but it makes it even worse since it only feeds on young girls. That is... disgusting and horrifying."
Midler then asked if Abraham had a plan on what they would do.
"Indeed. The three of us are going to try and bring this wraith to justice with the aid of these two Stand Users in order to ensure that it never feeds off anyone again. I have a plan for how to deal with the wraith. However, we need the other two members of the team, especially the one that I have studying human anatomy right now."
Midler and Polnareff could understand that, but why the need for studying anatomy? Didn't they just need to kill that thing?
"Unfortunately, the wraith is holding a friend of my roommate hostage, and he doesn't understand that this is the reason she is appearing depressed. So you see why I need to kill that monster, as it has made a temporary body to keep itself here in this world by converting worms into what it needs, and has the girls violated by said worms. Then they enter their body, and eat at their vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. And in order to ensure that these girls don't escape his grasp, he places a part of himself at their heart, making sure that if anything was to be done against him, or if their victim attempts to reveal its existence, it will cause cardiac arrest to these girls, which is why I need the other team member to remove that part the monster placed inside of their heart. I only know, because I happened to research their past without them knowing, and my roommate's friend is the one that is now in trouble."
Both Polnareff and Midler listened to his whole explanation quietly. They were speechless in disbelief and horror.
"So... this wraith has an actual human girl held hostage? How is she still alive?"
"And how in the world is this thing still alive too after 500 years, especially with the horrible things it does to girls... that's just..."
Midler and Polnareff couldn't even muster for the right words to describe how atrocious and horrifying the situation is.
"That wraith used to be a Man who had originally tried creating a cure for an autoimmune disease for someone he cured about, but had tested it on himself as, at the time, he couldn't exactly use it on the person because they were child royalty. It failed, and he became a nigh immortal via a different manner than Dio had."
"As for why the girl isn't dead... I believe they've got a hibernation schedule that they built in order to make society think that it isn't the same person after a few generations have passed. The girl is alive either for the monster to use her as a husk, or some other task, but that shall never occur. Not when we are going to kill it."
Polnareff spoke up, his face with more determination as he heard Abraham's words. "So this wraith was basically a mad scientist back then? A shame that his efforts for finding a cure didn't result in what he hoped for... though the fact that he just decided to use it on himself, without much testing at all, isn't the right way to go about using it either."
Midler spoke up as well. "Well, that's what we have to do then: put that wraith to rest. It's already lived for long enough and committed those horrible acts for far too long as is. Let's get rid of it."
"Your Stands, Silver Chariot and High Priestess. They are going to be useful for the plan, but I need information and resources for this to work. Midler. Can your stand collect minerals?"
"It can do that, yes. What is it that you want me to collect?"
"Aluminum... and Iron Oxide."
She was a bit curious about hearing those materials. "I will have my Stand to collect those two minerals. What is their use for your plan?"
"Thermite. Since the heat it will produce is up to 4500°F, the wraith can not survive, as it is not exactly a true ghost yet."
Midler, her face showing a bit of glee at the brutality of this plan, repeated what she believed the plan would be like. "So we will be using a mixture of aluminum and iron oxide to create thermite to burn and kill the wraith? That plan sounds quite solid. How can you be so sure that this thermite will work though? Isn't it possible that the wraith is actually a ghost or at least a supernatural entity, so this wouldn't actually work?"
"I know it will." He then wondered if these two had information on him. "Dio had also forgotten to tell you that I'm not from this world?"
"Wait... you're not from this world?"
He scoffed at Polnareff's tone "It's by accident. I'm supposed to always remain in my world, on the same time line looping despite the different branching of futures I could have. No, the reason I bring this up is because I found that my world and this world are eerily similar. That's how I found that parasitic vampire living here, because I had already destroyed it the first time in my world after it had no access to victims to risk dying when I killed him."
The Frenchman's eyes widened for a moment, he seemed shocked by this revelation from Abraham. "Wait... so, that means the parasite that was feeding on young girls is actually dead in your world? And you want to replicate what you did in your world to eliminate him here as well?"
"Do you have a problem with that?"
"No, not at all. I am just surprised to see the lengths you would go to in order to defeat something like that. So let me see if I understand correctly, that parasite was feeding on young girls in your world as well?"
Abraham nodded.
"And the way you managed to kill him in your world was to find a way to lure him out using a young girl or something similar and then burning it using thermite?"
Abraham would never attempt it like that. The way he killed Zouken, he was in look of how he found and eliminated the bastard. "I was able to find that thing attempting to make a body out of children's reproductive cells. It wanted to make an immortal body that way, so I killed the thing. The problem, however, is that if you don't destroy all of the worms that make its body, then it can survive and recreate its worm body."
"So, if we fail to destroy the worm body it made, then it can just regenerate and continue on its path of harming and violating girls... damn, that's horrible. I can't believe this thing is that resilient."
They were quiet for a moment, and that was when the hispanic reminded them of an important fact they needed to keep true. "When you both send your reports to Dio, don't add this to your updates."
Polnareff agreed immediately "Indeed. I understand. In any case, we have to focus on eliminating this thing. We must not let it continue doing these crimes against girls and humanity as a whole."
There was one thing left he needed to do.
"Has your head been feeling alright, Polnareff?"
"What do you mean, my head feels alright? As if I had hit it against something? What?"
The Frenchman had a confused look on his face as he responded to Abraham. Why was he asking that question out of the blue? There was some concern in the back of his mind, so he was hoping for a straight answer, but he decided to keep his cool for the time being. He kept a neutral and casual tone.
"There's no issue with the strength of your Stand either? It's fighting capability?"
"I'm... not quite following what you're saying. Of course, my stand, Silver Chariot, still has its strength and combat capability. But, why bring that up out of nowhere? Did you hear something?"
Sighing, Abraham informed the man. "Dio had informed me that he had given what are called Flesh Buds to some of the subordinates, seeing as there is a bit of concern that he had over one of the contracted mercenaries that might betray him. Steely Dan, with the use of his Stand, Lovers, has the highest risk of holding some of the subordinates hostage, meaning he can assassinate you by attacking your brain directly. The Fleshbud would defend you from Steely Dan, but would weaken your Stand power. Since we are in Japan, he wouldn't be able to hold you hostage as easily as it would have been back in the Middle East, so I was wondering if you needed the thing removed at all. If you even have it placed on your head at all."
Polnareff then went quiet as he took a moment to process this information. He didn't know about any flesh buds being put on the members of DIO's organization.
Unsure, Polnareff continued speaking. "I... have no idea if I have this flesh bud on me. I've never heard of it before until now. Would you mind checking for me?"
Abraham nods, and tells the man that he will need to restrain him just in case the flesh bud takes control of his limbs to fight back.
Turning to Midler, he asked the woman for assistance. "Could you have an operating table for me for what I'm going to do, please?"
She nodded, and within a few seconds a surgical table had been set up by her ability. "Sure thing. You need this operating table, and I can provide. Just don't do anything unnecessary to him. I don't want you doing anything that would be cruel to him or something."
"Keep calm, Polnareff."
"Alright, I get it. Just check my... check my head, alright?" The Frenchman said over to the hispanic young man Abraham, who they were both now starting to accept as their leader.
Abraham would nod at Midler's wishes, agreeing not to do anything unnecessary for Polnareff. He would then start to walk towards Polnareff's bed, and he would start to examine the Frenchman's head with great precision.
With the skills he accumulated from all the memories of his personal archive, Abraham utilized the abilities of a top-tier surgeon, making sure to numb the area where the flesh bud was located. He then injected Dio's cells, making it paralyzed so that it didn't retaliate. In his other hand, he grabbed a UV flashlight, and began removing the unnecessary addition that was in Polnareff.
With a clinical tone, the hispanic adolescent let the man know that it was done. "You'd best stay out of action until the numbness is gone. Doctor's orders." Abraham's little phrase at the end could have been either a joke or an actual recommendation, but as the two Stand users came to learn of him today, it was decided not to question it.
He would nod, and once he finished removing the flesh bud, he would put it in a container for safekeeping. He made sure to properly close the wound he did to Polnareff's face before he stopped to address them both.
"I would advise the two of you to stay quiet for the time being, until his body can readjust and for him to heal from the procedure. I can provide you both with a spare room within which you can use."