Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Fate or Sekirei or what is GB's
Authors Note:
I would like to thank those of you who reviewed
Also, to Blinded in a bolthole: I read Postnuptial Disagreements and found it to my liking. It was cute, so thank you for the recommendation.
*Spoiler Alert*
So, this is the first time the story is told from someone other than Shirou's point of view. I did this for a few reasons; the first was so that I wasn't totally rehashing GB's version of the scene, because that would be lame. There is already enough of the early part of this story that is like that. The second reason was to show how other people see the current Shirou. This was actually pretty hard to write, so I hope I got Minato's character alright. There won't be many sections that aren't from Shirou's POV (at least, from what I have planned) as this is Shirou centric. Hopefully, this didn't detract from the story as these POV changes are supposed to build on it. If they don't, please let me know as that means I did my job wrong.
*Spoiler end*
Just like last time, if you find any errors, mistakes, contradictions, etc. please bring them to my attention.
Thank you and enjoy the next installment
*Story Start*
The soft sizzle of eggs frying in a pan filled the pre-dawn air. "Ah," I breathed deep and exhaled slowly before proceeding to skin and chop the vegetables, the soft and rhythmic clack of the knife striking the cutting board was divinely relaxing. After several years wandering and a few days in a cheap hotel it was good to be in a kitchen again, even if it was a western style layout and not the traditional style I had grown up with.
The suite had a fully equipped kitchen with tile counter tops flanking a double stove/oven on either side to provide ample prep space. On one side cabinets lined the wall above the counters and the other was covered by a shelf from which hung various sizes of pots and pans. In the center of the kitchen was a small island that provided additional counter and storage space and the other side held a spotless double sink and a refrigerator tucked in the corner. An opened wall gave a perfect view from the kitchen across the dining room and through the floor to ceiling windows looking over the Shin Tokyo skyline. Even at this time of day MBI's massive clock tower was fully lit up as it dominated the picturesque cityscape.
"Hello, Ichi-" Thunk.
The peeling knife I'd been using to slice cucumbers now rested in the doorframe, quivering next to Karasuba's smiling face. Her customary, and improperly worn, grey long coat hung over her shoulders as she refused to put her arms through the sleeves. Under it she wore a black leather top and black miniskirt that ended high on her thighs. To top off the outfit she had on black stockings that came up almost to her skirt. Her grin only widened as she delicately pried it from where it was embedded. "How sweet of you, Sahashi-kun."
I scowled at her as she sauntered over to the kitchen island to watch me work. That had been the third of such knives, among other things, that I'd lost to her in this little game of ours. Soon I'd have to just start using Traced cutlery or risk Takami's wrath at losing another pair of kitchen knives to the gray haired demon. Of course, that would deny said demon her trophies and who knows what she'd try to claim from me in recompense. Most likely it'd be my head.
"I told you my name is Shirou, you damn crow. Besides, didn't Takami tell you to stop breaking in here?" I sighed, pulling another knife from the magnetic strip above the counter to resume preparing our meal. Takami would be up soon and if I didn't force her to eat breakfast she'd probably leave for work without it. There was a good chance she'd go without eating lunch too.
It had been several weeks since I first arrived in Shin Tokyo. After our first meeting, Takami had used her clout as an apparently high ranking member of MBI to get a confirmation on the impromptu maternity test that the airport security provided. When three independent firms concluded that we were indeed mother and son, along with the physical evidence of my adoption and educational history of my existence these past few years, the results were ironclad. I really was Ichirou Sahashi, Takami's long lost son.
The two of us were still a little unsure as to how to act around one another in some cases. On Takami's part, I was still that little boy who she watched grow up and who she thought she lost forever. On the other hand, I had never really had any maternal influence in my life before. Taiga Fujimura had always been a sisterly figure in my life, and despite our relative ages it always seemed like I was the elder. My paternal figure, for the length of time that Kiritsugu had been in my life before succumbing to Angra Mainyu's curse, hadn't the ability or inclination to be an ideal parental figure. As much as I love and respect him, much of our time together was my looking after him as much as his looking out for me.
My first meeting with my siblings had gone much better than with Takami, although much of that was probably due to the distinct absence of Karasuba. Yukari was almost exactly like a younger Taiga, exuberant at the prospect of her other older brother still being alive. Much like Taiga, she had absolutely no problem with treating me like she'd known me her entire life as her older brother. It was equally heartwarming and awkward at first, but her straightforward personality smoothed things over rather quickly.
She was a petite girl, still growing into the woman she would later become. She had black hair like Takami used to have and blue eyes. She was wearing a black, lower thigh length black dress, two thin straps of material keeping it on her shoulders. Over it she wore a pale off-white jacket that she left open in the front. On her feet were calve length hiking boots, a strange concession given the rest of her attire. At the time it seemed like an odd sort of fashion statement, but from what I know now that was just how she was; I think she got an extra dose of Takami in her.
Yukari was just graduating from her private, all-girls school back at the family home in the country and was just about to undergo her first round of testing for her application to Shin Tokyo University. Given how smart she is, I had every confidence that she'd be accepted. I must confess that I was looking forward to her being closer to us; I found myself getting along with her the best out of everyone in the Sahashi family.
Some of the ease at accepting Yukari so easily must be attributed to that, while I'd never had a brother or mother figure in my life, I'd had two sisters I'd loved dearly. Interacting with Yukari came just as easily as living with Taiga and inviting Illya into our home. It also didn't hurt that her vivacity and good cheer were infectious.
Yukari seemed to take to me just as easily. The adorable ball of energy was excited to have another older brother to tease. She had been quite surprised that I was just as willing to tease back that it started an impromptu and nigh inappropriate innuendo war between the two of us. By how scandalized Minato looked, he must have been easy prey for her all his life. A fact that made her seem to relish the challenge at besting me even more.
Of course, I should probably thank (or curse) Rin for my propensity towards innuendo and sarcasm. Underneath her school idol persona, Rin was a domineering and spiteful, not to mention smart, overbearing, and wrathful little witch. Or Magus, I guess I should refer to her. Very few knew that underneath all that she was also an insatiable pervert. More than half of my comebacks and all of my composure were gained in dealing with that side of Rin. In a way, I think I understand how Archer came to take amusement in sarcasm and word games, if I was right about his contact with the tiny Magus being any similar to my own.
Where Yukari was a bombastic young girl, Minato was the opposite. At our first introduction he was incredibly reserved and exceedingly polite. It might have been that we were strangers, but I had the feeling that he felt much as I did; neither of us knew how to react to each other for never having a brother before. It wasn't as if he had any experience with having a brother and whereas I had Taiga to know what having an older sibling was like, Minato had always been the oldest and most mature of Takami's children.
He too had black hair, leaving me to wonder where my auburn hair came from. Was it from our mysterious alive-but-unmentioned father? I might have thought that something odd may have happened to me in the Fuyuki City Fire to make it change if Takami's picture of us didn't show me as having auburn hair as well. His eyes were gray, soft in the way that belied kindness and innocence to the sorts of things I'd been facing for the past few years. The kind of eyes I might have had if I hadn't decided to be an Emiya. He was almost as tall as I was too.
Initially he had been acting dour as he stuck to the fringes of our family reunion. It had taken Yukari's increasingly bawdy behavior to drag him into the conversation properly, if only to reprimand her. How effecting that reprimand was, blushing and stuttering mess that he became, in reigning in his sister was obvious as Takami and Yukari devolved into laughter.
Once he and I got past our nerves it turned out that Minato was an incredibly kind person. He actually reminded me of myself at that age; back when I held the title of fake janitor. I even told him as much. Of course, I was surprised at how well spoken and intelligent he was; before this dinner the only thing I knew about him was how he failed his first entrance exam. Although, seeing the dynamic between him and the two strong willed and energetic women, it wasn't hard to understand why he was so shy and accommodating.
His problems just stemmed from his lack of confidence. I was the same way before the Grail War. Hopefully it wouldn't take an event like a life threatening battle royal between magical beings for to cure him of it. After all, what were the chances of that?
After meeting my new siblings I decided that maybe a year off getting to know and support them wouldn't be the worst thing I've ever done. They were cute kids and I liked them.
My reminiscing came to an end as I put the finishing touches on today's breakfast. The finished product was three egg omelets over rice with picked vegetable salad and a light miso. One of the omelets went to the insatiable crow at the kitchen island. When she first started to break into the apartment for breakfast I had refused to feed her as I cooked for Takami and myself. Unfortunately, she took it upon herself to act her namesake and pilfered my food whenever I wasn't looking. And then often when I was. In the end, it became easier to feed the damn woman than to fight over my food with her; she kept coming around despite mine and Takami's best efforts anyway.
"Ugh…" Takami moaned as she shuffled into the kitchen. Her work clothes hung disheveled, the top few buttons of her top unfastened and her tie hanging loosely around her neck. I'd like to say her zombie like shuffle to the breakfast table was not a daily event… but that would be a lie.
Takami was a night owl. She was also a workaholic and her workload with MBI kept her up at all hours of the night. That she then had to get up at a normal hour and repeat the schedule again made the cycle perpetuate. Waking her up was much like waking Rin; you didn't if you liked living. Since I was almost unanimously considered suicidal, I had no problem in waking either of these women up. The secret was to have something to bribe them into sparing you. I used coffee and breakfast.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Takami snapped as she slumped into her seat. She pulled a cigarette from her breast pocket and brought it up to her lips. "What did I tell you about breaking into my house?"
"Hmm…" Karasuba said around a mouthful, "…That it was charming and endearing?" Takami's response was a deep sigh and a drag on her cigarette.
"Karasbua, no talking," I said offhand as I set Takami's meal in front of her before snatching Takami's cigarette from her lips and putting it out on the tile. "And I thought I asked you not to smoke at the table. Now eat up, both of you. I have your lunch made and so help me if you don't eat it I'll find out and make you. Don't think for a moment that I won't," I scold her before turning to Karasuba. "And you leave that bento alone! You don't get anything you mangy scavenger."
Both women simultaneously waved their hands at me flippantly, literally waving off my threats as unimportant. Then, as their synchronicity occurred to them they turned to stare at each other. Well, Takami glared and Karasuba merely grinned until her eyes crinkled into slits. I tucked into my own breakfast silently. This was another lesson that had taken me unfortunately longer than it should have; when a strong willed woman was upset, do not draw their attention. In my life, many of the women I knew had steel in them, making this a useful lesson indeed.
"Will you be home for dinner tonight?" I asked Takami, startling her from her glowering at the impervious Karasuba.
Takami shook her head in negation. "I don't think so. This week is the end of my last project and that means a lot of late nights. Don't be too surprised if I'm not home in the mornings either. After this week things should calm down for me, work wise, as we enter the next phase." She gesticulated her points with her chopsticks, pointing and poking and waving wherever she felt appropriate.
"Alright, in that case I may stick with Minato tonight." I nod. Today was the day that Minato's test results got back. I was going to pick him up from the testing center and spend the rest of the day with him; whether it was in celebration or consolation was yet to be seen. "Should we still call you with the results?"
Takami made a strange noise in her throat before coughing slightly. "Ah, yes. Give me a call when you pick him up, it's always good to talk to my baby." Where she started off as slightly off guard, as she spoke she grew a smile that only a parent must be capable of. It was a face that promised shame and embarrassment to her spawn. I purposefully didn't focus on that smile and focused on her hesitant pause when she first started.
"That and you already hacked the results." I said nonchalantly.
"Yes," Takami said as she nodded along, "I hacked them last week – what?" She cut herself off as she realized what she had admitted. Karasuba began to silently chuckle at Takami's discomfort at being caught. "No, I did no such thing. You can't prove it you know."
I merely smiled as she shifted her glare onto me, trying futilely to deny her abuse of power where her family was concerned. "Not buying it. So, will you tell me his results?"
"What results?" She averted her eyes from mine, "How could I know when you haven't told me yet?" She caught sight of Karasuba again and scowled, but that only seemed to increase the gray haired woman's amusement.
"Uh huh," I snorted, "Fine. We'll call you with the results you totally don't already know and couldn't possibly have known." I rolled my eyes at our combined childishness and moved to clean up after breakfast. "Have a nice day Takami."
"Only her?" Karasuba mock pouted, or at least it sounded so. The thought of Karasuba doing anything like pout was damaging to my sanity. "Why don't I get any farewells, I-Chi-" Thunk. Thunk.
The chopsticks I'd just collected sailed past her head and into the wall in the dining room.
"Shirou, what did I tell you about putting holes in my wall?" Takami lectured me sternly. She didn't comment on my violent reaction to my birth name, not after the first and last fight we had over it nearly ruined any relationship we could have had. That issue between us was resolved now and our relationship was the better for it.
"What do you mean?" I blinked as innocently as I could. "Those are all Karasuba's fault. You know I think she's been stealing too." Not technically a lie on either case. The chopsticks I had thrown were conspicuously missing from the hole they punched in the wall.
*Scene Break, Minato's POV*
Come on, come on, where is it. I read back down the list of scores. It wasn't there. My testing number was 107188, but no matter how many times I checked I didn't see my number on the list of accepted applicants.
Once again it seemed that I failed to get into Shin Tokyo University.
I sighed, my breath misting before me in the cold. This was miserable. Not only had I spent the last hour standing here in the chill waiting for the scores to be released but now I had to call Mom and let her know I failed again. Yukari was back at home in the country so I wouldn't have to see her disappointment. Not unless I cut my losses and went home myself, anyway. I could always study again, try next year and maybe get in? Dammit, this was too much stress!
I shied away from the posting board and the crowds of jubilant students, slinking off like the other multiple repeaters to die in humiliation. I had to call Mom soon, but I didn't want to yet. I didn't want to admit my failure and now I had more than just Mom and Yukari to deal with.
My newly rediscovered older brother, Ichirou, or rather, I should call him Shirou Emiya. He didn't take back his old name, choosing to keep his adopted name. When Mom first told us she had someone for us to meet I was nervous. Yukari was excited, talking about how Mom found herself a new boyfriend and how cool it would be to make fun of him, or have him take us places, or whatever. I couldn't imagine Mom with another man, even though she never talked about our father…
When I first saw the man Mom brought with us to dinner I was no longer nervous. I was absolutely terrified.
The man was tall, standing almost a full foot above Mom. His light auburn hair was speckled with gray hair, mostly centered on his temples. No, not gray, white. His skin was noticeably tanned, a light dusting of bronze just enough to give him some color. He was wearing a long black coat that hung to his calves over a pair of blue jeans and a form fitting blue shirt decorated with two perpendicular red stripes intersecting over his heart like a cross.
Those things weren't what terrified me though, for with the exception of his whitening hair he was pretty plain looking. His eyes though, were flecked with brilliant gold and were piercing in their intensity. When he looked at me I felt rooted in place, the instinctive urge to fight or flee taking hold under his gaze. Yukari seemed not to notice how this man's eyes flickered over both of us, searching and measuring, as she dashed over to him and accused him of being Mom's boyfriend.
It took me much of the night to realize that man, and apparently my older brother Shirou, wasn't as severe or harsh as he appeared, but was kind and polite and just nervous at the prospect of meeting his long lost siblings.
Although… sometimes he'd get that look on his face again that made him look so scary. His eyes would narrow and sharpen like daggers. His face would grow hard and hands would twitch and his arms straighten slightly, like he was used to having something in them.
He was a private contractor he said, but from those looks and his skin coloring, I think he might have been a soldier or something.
It was his opinion that scared me the most. Mom and Yukari were nice and accommodating that I didn't take stress too well and it influenced my examinations. How this person, who looked so grim and hardened, would treat me after this was another cause for worry. After all, he had only been my brother for a few weeks, what did we really know of each other?
As I walked away from the board I caught sight of his stern countenance, once again freezing me in place. Something about that gaze, when unexpected, was starling. It disappeared when he smiled as he started waving and walking over to me. How could he looks so… weathered one second and so warm the next, like he turned a switch in his mind?
"Hey, Minato," He greeted me. His voice was warm too, which made me once again realize I was judging him on his outward appearance and not what I've come to know about him. He was kind and strangely brotherly to me. I mean, he was my brother, but we just met and… I think I'm over thinking things again. Breath in…and release.
"Hello, Shirou." I replied as he came to a stop in front of me. He must have red my countenance as a negative to his unspoken question as to whether or not I passed.
"Didn't make it in then, huh?" Here it was, I braced myself, the moment of truth. "Well, I guess there's always next year, the important part is perseverance." Huh? He slapped a hand on my shoulder comfortingly. "You're a smart kid, Minato. Keep your head up, lacking confidence is the enemy. Have you called Takami yet?"
It looks like once again I was stressing out about a mountain that turned into less than a molehill.
"Er, not yet." I winced. There was a conversation that would go exactly as I thought it would.
"Alright, well, give her a call and I'll take you out to lunch. My treat."
I nodded and dialed Mom's number. I didn't really expect any company, but with my dour thoughts it might be nice. It would mean more time with Shirou and the two of us were still getting used to one another. I was studying when he offered to take the family to the Emiya residence and introduce his late older sister and too busy with the exam to spend time together until now. Even Mom halving my allowance and telling me to stick with it didn't bother me too much after the prospect of the day with my older brother.
"Hey, Minato!" Another voice called over the din of the crowd of would be students. "Minato, wait up man!"
I quickly looked around for whoever was calling out to me, but I couldn't see anyone. It could be another Minato, but everywhere I looked all I saw were milling applicants. Shirou didn't have such a problem apparently, as I felt his fingers grip the top of my head and aim me in the direction of the shouts. I felt like a child again, but in a good way. I think? Hey, wait a minute! I wasn't that much shorter than he was!
It was pretty uncomfortable though, as he literally turned my head towards someone I knew. "Yasaka?" I asked.
"Yo!" Yasaka jogged up to us, panting slightly after having fought through the crowd. "So, did you make it, mate?"
Yasaka was a classmate of mine in the preparatory exam class who, like me, was a repeat offender who'd failed his first time trying to get into a university. He had light brown hair and was dressed to impress. Instead of casual clothes, he stood apart from the rest of the gathered students by wearing a well-pressed suit and button up shirt with the top few buttons unfastened.
"Ah, um… no, I didn't make it this time either." I admitted shamefully, "Did you get in?"
"Not at all!" He laughed. I wish I had the ability to just laugh off failure like that, but I guess that was Yasaka's power; to play serious things off light. Judging from his clothes he was doing well for himself despite not getting into University. Yasaka was an easy going individual, which made it easy for us to get along even though I wouldn't consider us good friends. He did seem a bit flakey at times, but that didn't really matter.
"Is this a friend of yours, Minato?" Shirou asked, startling me. I had forgotten to introduce him! Oh, this was so embarrassing! At least it was done and nothing more embarrassing could happen.
"Ah! Shirou, yes, this is my friend, Yasaka. Yasaka, I'd like you to meet Shirou Emiya."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Yasaka." Shirou gave a slight bow, "Minato, if you'd like to talk to your friend more, then I wouldn't mind inviting him along to lunch with us."
Yasaka looked at him, his face slightly red and then at me and then back to Shirou before bowing, "Ah, I wouldn't want to interrupt your date or anything! Besides, I should really get to work. Maybe I'll just catch you around later Minato."
Oh god, I was wrong! How could I ever be more wrong! This was even worse! Now I was mistakenly taken to be in THAT kind of relationship with him! I was so flustered that I couldn't even deny his accusations, my throat completely closed and my mouth didn't work and why the hell was Shirou laughing?
"Date? I think you're mistaken, Yasaka," Shirou chuckled as he patted the top of my head, mussing my hair. "I'm his older brother."
The words still didn't quite register right when I heard them, but they weren't unpleasant either. Yasaka looked shocked before his face colored even more, giving him a rather impressive impression of a tomato.
"I'm sorry for my mistake!" Yasaka apologized. "I didn't know you had a brother, Minato."
"N-no harm done, yeah?" I managed, finally pushing Shirou's hand from my head.
"Indeed. So, shall you join us?" Shirou added, "Or do you need to leave still?"
"I'd like to, but I was serious about needing to go to work soon."
"Why don't we accompany you then? I'm sure Minato and I can find someplace nearby afterwards," Shirou offered. "That is, if you two still want to talk more."
With two nods we were off.
I had always noticed that, even during our studies, Yasaka always maintained an impeccable dress code. Or, well, he was better dressed than everyone else, preferring button up shirts and dress pants compared to the other student's jeans and winter coats or sweaters. It turns out that there was a reason for his formal wear, even if I had always assumed that was his style.
"So, you're a member of a host club, then?" Shirou asked.
"Yup! It's actually a pretty recent development. I was a little worried about it initially, since I'd never done anything like this," Yasaka responded. "But my sempai Kagari has taken great care of me."
"Sempai?" I ask, "What does being a host involve?"
"Well, for the most part I just pour drinks and make conversation. Kagari-sempai has this really cool trick where he'll light a client's cigarette without a lighter! He's been really helpful in teaching me some stage and conversation tricks and mixology," Yasaka gushed. It was actually getting a little uncomfortable. "He's been really supportive of me and he's so handsome and smart."
Suddenly, I noticed Shirou stiffen from the corner of my eye. Yasaka didn't seem to notice as he kept on walking and talking.
"Actually, it seems like the only reason I go to work anymore is to see – Kagari-sempai!?" He too suddenly jolts to a stop, red faced.
"Yo," A new voice broke in, "Are these friends of yours Yasaka-kun?"
This new voice was standing only a few feet away from us. He was also the target of Yasaka's embarrassed stare. He had close cropped light gray hair that framed his face and wore a very expensive white silk shirt and black pants, over which he had an open black jacket. He had a kindly smile on his face, what Yukari would have called a national treasure. Kagari was 100% bishonen; angular face and a slim but fit body just shy of androgynous. I could see how he'd be a successful host, even if that thought was a slightly uncomfortable one.
"Ah, how are you, sir?" Yasaka bowed, "Kagari-sempai, are you going to work too?"
"Please, don't do that." Kagari tried to wave off Yasaka's bowing, "We aren't at the club so relax. And no, I'm taking the day off today. I had other business to attend to."
"Aww, ok." Yasaka looked dejected. He was just going on about how this man was one of the drawing points about his host club gig. "Oh, before I forget, let me introduce you to my friend Minato Sahashi and his brother Shirou Emiya."
Kagari turned his attention from Yasaka to us, and immediately appeared to choke, his face lighting up in a red similar to that of Yasaka's just earlier.
"Ah, Kagari-sempai, are you ok?" Yasaka asked looking as nervous as I was. What just happened? Was he really choking on something? What should I do? Just as I decided to see if he was alright, Shirou seemed to have the same idea. We just reached out to steady him when he jumped back as if burned.
And I found myself hauled several feet away by the scruff of my coat as Shirou threw me behind him, taking up a stance that was more than a little threatening. Kagari seemed just as tense and, for a moment, I thought they were going to fight or something. I had suspected Shirou of being in the military or something and his reaction was more than a little strange.
"What are you two doing?" Yasaka asked, breaking the strange tension that settled over the four of us.
"Ah/Um…" Shirou and Kagari seemed to mutter at the same time, looking quite foolish as they glanced at one another. They both shrugged and relaxed their posture slightly, though Kagari still clutched a hand to his chest.
"Are you okay now, Kagari-san?" I asked diplomatically, still unsure of what just happened.
"Yes… yes, thank you. Sorry, I just don't like being touched." Kagari addressed me, still looking faintly red. "Maybe I'm coming down with something. It was nice meeting you both, but I think I'm going to go home for now." He said and walked away at our goodbyes, Yasaka trailing after him to make sure he was really okay.
Shirou didn't take his eyes off the two of them until they turned the corner though. That serious look entered his eyes, narrowing them and tensing his hands. Once they were out of sight he relaxed, once again looking like the kind hearted man that I'd been getting to know. Maybe my guess that there were two sides to him was more accurate than I thought. Like there was the kind older brother Shirou that was kind and helped us and there was that serious Shirou with steely intensity and the feeling of… I wasn't even sure, but the second one scared and confused me.
*Scene Break, Shirou's POV*
We ended up eating at a small café not far from where Yasaka and Kagari parted ways. Lunch was quite for the most part as Minato seemed strangely subdued since our confrontation with Kagari. Well, I guess I was pretty subdued as well. The smell of smoke hadn't left me, even when its source had.
Kagari… he was the second of whatever it was that inhabited the city that I'd met so far. I thought I'd gotten used to it for the most part with the amount of time Karasuba has been harassing me. In fact, it was in no small part that due to her I'd been avoiding areas where the smell of honey accumulated and those who smelled of it. I didn't know what these new beings were but I didn't want anything more to do with them if I could help it. Their presence would do one of two things for this city; bring down the Mage Association or bring down the Church. Three things, it could be both.
If that happened, then this city and my new family would be in danger. Once more I'd be plunged into the life of bloodshed and sacrifice that I'd come here to escape for a while. At least, that's what I told myself, but back there when the smell of smoke sharply increased I had been ready to kill Kagari. It was a stupid action on both our parts, his and mine, that we'd almost fought in the middle of the street, in the middle of the day and most stupidly of all in front of witnesses. That would have been a one way ticket to a Sealing Designation and an Exterminatus.
But Minato was there. When he reached out to help Kagari and the sharp smell of smoke increased in preparation of magecraft, I found that I didn't care. I would plunge this whole area into death in order to save my brother and I moved to Trace. What a stupid thing to do. It was only thanks to that young man, Yasaka that prevented blood from being spilt.
In my investigations into this new type I had come to several conclusions. One was that their magical signature was that of the sweet smell of honey. I wasn't sure what this meant as of yet, but it was a useful indicator that allowed me to stealthy follow them on occasion. Two was that in addition to this indicator smell of their Type was that they had a second odor that I suspected held clues to what their abilities were. This second aspect was yet unconfirmed because of things like Karasuba, who smelt of the bloodshed of countless slaughters.
Kagari's power, I assumed form the smell of smoke, was a variant of fire manipulation. That made him one of several elemental types that I thought I'd identified. Another was a blond woman who smelt of brine and sea salt that lurked on the tops of some of the taller buildings in the city. Every so often I also thought I smelt the odor of tilled earth with the slight alkaline scent of metal.
Most importantly of all, and one of the reasons I hadn't begun a crusade against these active Types myself was that they seemed to hold no ill intention towards humanity. Okay, this last one was a stretch, especially when most of my interactions with this new Type were with Karasuba. But Takami was comfortable with her presence… for a certain value of comfortable anyway, and Karasuba didn't appear to go on killing rampages where she drained the lifeblood of her victims will maddened glee. Well, she didn't as far as I knew. I really hoped she didn't, anyway because having to kill her would be a battle I'm not sure I'd walk away from, even with the use of my more esoteric abilities.
No, the stance I'd taken was to wait and watch for now. If the status quo shifted to where these new beings were indeed a threat, then I would be forced to act. Until then, I'd gather what information I could and contact the other Enforcers if and when the need arose.
The thought that I was being irresponsible stayed with me throughout lunch, despite my attempts at ignoring it.
So when the rapidly approaching scent of honey once again reached my nose I was understandably perturbed. Perturbation then rapidly became concern as the source got closer at an increasing speed.
Left? No, just pedestrians. Right? No, same as the left. Back? No, we just left the café and in front was the street we walked onto. That only left…
"Kyaaa! Please get out of the way!"
Minato and I looked up at the perfect moment to catch the falling girl, if you loosely interpret the definition of perfect to be 'unable to do anything as' and catch to be 'carried to the ground by the weight of said falling girl.'
Well, in this case it was Minato who 'caught' her. She was lying on top of him in the most ridiculous outfit I'd ever seen. The top part was reminiscent of a shrine maiden's outfit, or at least made to very loosely resemble one or might be found in a specialty store. It had long white sleeves that opened up at the wrist and was tied in the back with a large red obi. She also had on mid-calf length brown boots and white stockings up to her ruffled red skirt. At last, I thought it was a skirt though it appeared to be little more than a belt and did nothing to cover her modesty by the way her underwear was resting on my little brother's face – one that was turning an interesting shade of red as his gaze froze locked onto the sight before him. For some reason she also had on bright pink padded gloves, the kind that professional fighters used to protect their knuckles.
I think my eye twitched at the sight. "Are you alright, Miss?" I had already come too close today to turning the metropolitan streets into a bloodbath, so I decided to use a bit more tact with this one. Besides, it was a little hard to inconspicuously kill someone sitting on your brother's face.
"As… As I expected," The girl muttered half to herself as she groped around on all fours, awkwardly extracting herself from on top of Minato, "that was too high to jump from."
Two more scents were closing in on our position, bringing with them the smell of ozone. I looked away from the thing with my brother for a moment, missing their side conversation in favor of trying to identify where these new scents were coming from.
The sudden spike of ozone made me abandon that plan.
"Watch out/Get down!" The strange shrine girl and I cried simultaneously. She tackled Minato as I pulled him towards me, ending up with both of them behind me as a bolt of lightning struck the space where we'd all vacated.
"There's no use in running, now come on and fight us!"
The two people that landed just down the street from us were the origin of the shout and smell of ozone. If I was right about what that scent meant, then they were the source of the lightning bolt as well. The sight of them had my eyebrow once again twitching. Actually, this entire spectacle grated on me for multiple reasons.
One was that these newcomers were dressed in what could only be described as matching rubber outfits, not much more that underwear and bras connected to thigh length skin tight rubber boots and a matching pair of arm gloves. I was suddenly thankful that Karasuba's taste in clothing wasn't as fetishistic as those of the rest of her Type I've met today. They were also almost identical twins, tall with long black hair that they wore in two pony tails. The only noticeable difference between the two is that one was wearing a blue outfit and had a larger bust than the one in purple.
The second reason for my eye twitching had me gritting my teeth as I stepped between the twins and Minato. "What the hell are you two doing?" I demanded. This was no longer a time for restraint. These women just used their powers in front of a crowd of bystanders on a city street.
"What? Hey, dumbass, get out of the way!" The first one dressed in blue yelled at me before turning to address the girl behind me. "Stop hiding behind those two and fight us!"
Oh. I was pissed. My circuits thrummed in response to my agitated state.
"Shut up." I growled, loudly enough to be heard over the crowds around us. I must have been more effective than I thought as the street got dead silent. "I don't know what is going on but you two," and I pointed to the S&M twins, "were chasing her," I refer to the shrine girl, "trying to fight her, yes?"
"Yes/ What's your damn point?" The purple and blue twin said respectively.
"And you were just trying to escape." I address the one behind me, sheltering Minato. That got her almost enough points to forgive her endangering him in the first place.
"Yes!" She nodded enthusiastically, bobbing with the movement. This action did interesting things with her ridiculous anatomy and almost ended up knocking Minato unconscious for being too close to her swinging bosom. "I'm not going to fight until I find my Ashikabi!"
"Okay." I nodded, disregarding her and turned back to the lightning twins before me. "Now at what point did you two think it was a good idea to start throwing about lightning bolts in broad daylight in the middle of the street, when it's packed full of innocent pedestrians?"
I punctuated my points by meeting both of their eyes. If I had perfected this look back in the Grail War it would have probably made Archer proud. Well, that or even more of a bastard before I rammed several feet of steel into him. This was the face of someone who had lived through hells you couldn't even conceive, because it was. This was the face born of the rage at arrogant mages, homicidal apostles, madmen and psychopaths and god dammed Kirei. This was Rin Tohsaka's 'I'm-so-incredibly-pissed-off-that-the-only-thing- keeping-me-from-killing-you-is-this-smile' face.
"N-now look here," The one in blue stuttered, taking a step forward in an attempt to be intimidating. Or as a rallying point, I didn't care. "You can't just show up and…"
I interrupted her again, "And what would have happened if I didn't notice your attack and pull my brother out of the way? Were you even watching where you aimed?"
"Ah," The one in purple started, her tone properly apologetic, "We were going to be careful to avoid hitting anyone else."
"Shut up." I growled and took a calming breath. It would be wrong for me to end them for just the same reasons I berated them for: it was too public, someone might get hurt. "Go home. Whatever you had hoped to achieve here is done with. If you persist in your reckless endangerment of others then I will be forced to kill you."
My statement, for that is what it was, caused them to recoil.
"H-hey, you can't just…" the blue twin started before being gently pulled back by the seemingly more level headed purple twin.
"No, he's right. We should leave."
"Dammit." Her counterpart growled before turning back to me, "Don't think we'll forget this!"
I didn't turn from them until they were out of sight. Maybe I should rethink my policy of non-intervention into this matter…
"Aniki…?"
…if these new Types were so incredibly stupid then there was no way the Association wouldn't notice them soon if they hadn't already.
"Shirou!" I started, turning to face Minato, "Are you okay?"
"Huh," I blinked, "Oh, yes, I'm fine."
I must have been lost in thought for a second there.
"Thank you so much for saving me!" The shrine girl had latched onto Minato at some point, "I'm sorry for getting you both involved."
"I-It was nothing, nothing at all," Minato waved off her thanks. It was kind of cute; I think he had a crush on the buxom young thing. Wait, no, this should probably be stopped, shouldn't it. Encouraging a relationship between him and a magical being would be at cross purposes to trying to protect him. Or am I being intolerant of nonhumans?
"Ah! I haven't introduced myself!" The girl backed up and bowed, "I'm number 88, Musubi!"
Number 88? I blinked. What was that supposed to signify?
"I'm Minato Sahashi," Minato bowed back.
"And I'm…" My turn at introductions was cut off by a loud rumbling. Was that an animal? It sounded like the growling of a bear or something.
Suddenly, Musubi collapsed to her knees. "Uwah… so hungry…" she moaned pitifully.
As Minato looked up to me expectantly I could help but bury my head in the palm of my hand.
"Alright, let's bring her back to your place, if that's alright with you Musubi. I'll make us all diner."
As we left I almost didn't notice the faint scent of smoke that receded as we left. Or the other scent that disappeared along with it, the scent of blood.
*Scene Break*
Whatever this Musubi was, she was a monster. There was simply no other explanation. What had occurred here was a massacre. An inexcusable act for no purpose other than to sate her desires. What force in the universe could condone such a being to exist? She gave no remorse for her actions. Just the complete and utter elimination of all that stood before her.
It was like feeding Saber all over again.
Surrounding the ravenous Musubi were the empty dishes serving as the only remnants of Minato's pantry and the newly bought groceries from this afternoon's outing. The amount of food this girl put away way was truly unbelievable. I was concerned that our hospitality would leave us eaten out of house and home.
"Ah! You two really saved me back there!" Musubi exclaimed, patting her hopefully now full stomach. "First rescuing me from those evil Sekirei and now this…"
I was in the kitchen readying the last batch of food, this time for Minato and me. I'd have to take Minato out shopping tomorrow, but that was okay. For a walking food apocalypse Musubi seemed to be a nice girl, even if she was more than a bit klutzy.
"So how did you end up being chased by those two in the rubber outfits?" I called out. The other two were in the living room, or what passed for one in the small one bedroom apartment. An unfold-able Kotatsu was set in the room, the site of the current food related atrocity perpetrated by the stomach of an inhuman being.
"I've been searching for my Ashikabi." She called back. "But I lost my MBI card on one of my jumps. When I went back to look for it I was attacked by those mean Sekirei! And then I couldn't find anywhere to sleep because I had no money and I was really hungry too! So I thought to myself 'Musubi! You can find your Ashikabi even faster if you can see more! Once you find him you can go eat too, it'll be perfect!' So I jumped really high again. Although, I didn't think about how to land so I fell in front of those meanies again so I had to run. But thankfully I ran into you, Minato!"
Musubi was talking so fast that it was hard to hear what she was actually saying, let alone understand it. Ashikabi? Sekirei? I felt a little guilty at trying to pump this girl for information given how clueless she was. Alas, some sacrifices have to be made in order to save others. At least it wasn't like I was hurting her or anything, if anything it was the other way around with the way she ate!
"… I wish… someone like you could be my… Ashikabi…" Musubi's voice got quiet. Actually, the entire room did. Why couldn't I hear anything? The scent of honey grew steadily more potent.
A bright light suddenly engulfed the other room.
Shit! An attack? In the confines of the room I hadn't smelled anything other than Musubi and the night's dinner. Or could that girl be responsible? I thought she was a little airheaded, but what if she just played me to get Minato alone? Maybe they were apostles and she was feeding on him right now! I spilled the remains of what I was cooking, scattering pans and half cooked food all over the floor in my haste to get to Minato. Half a dozen blades were called to the front of my mind, ready to form and launch at the first indication of trouble.
"Minato! Are you alright? Answer me!" I yelled, stumbling into the living room.
The sight that greeted me was not at all what I was expecting. I was expecting to find Musubi crouched over the still form of Minato, her lips dribbling his blood as she stared at me with red eyes. What I saw instead was the two of them kissing. Musubi was leaning over Minato, their lips locked, as brilliant pink wings of light erupted from her back.
By the Root of the world, just what the hell was I looking at?
"I've found it… my Ashikabi," Musubi pulled away from him just long enough to mutter, "Forever and ever."
Something about those words caused a cold pit to form in my stomach. That sounded like the end of a magical contract. What was with the formation of wings of light though? Something about this scenario was uncomfortably familiar. Too many coincidences, too many things were reminding me of back then.
Whatever conclusion I was about to come to was interrupted by the sound of Minato's phone ringing. "Gah!" he yelped, inadvertently pulling Musubi on top of him as he fell to the floor.
"Ah! Minato! So soon?" Musubi cried. Minato struggled between groping for the ringing phone trapped in his pocket and trying not to grope the giggling girl who had entrapped his head in her generous endowments.
"No, Musubi! The phone! Let me get the phone!" Their struggle was beginning to shift clothing to the verge of indecency. This was not something I should be seeing as an older brother. So, instead of looking away I took the prime opportunity to tease him.
"Ara? Can't even wait until I'm out of the house, Minato?" I chuckle, shaking my head. Musubi might be a bit vapid and may have just bound my little brother into a magical contract whose purpose I had no idea, but she did seem to like him. Actually, from where the hell were hands going just now? "Oh, what a fiend of a brother I have."
Eventually, Minato managed to round a few bases and come away with the ringing phone, and act that stopped the unintentionally dirty and definitely funny struggle.
"Aww, that's it?" She sounded more than vaguely disappointed. I think my eyebrow twitched. That really was little more than a ruffled belt.
"Who could be calling at this hour?" Minato mumbled as he flipped open the phone. "Hello? Who is this?"
"Dun dudu daaaa!" the voice on the other end yelled, echoing in the small room. It sounded like they were trying to imitate the winning bell from a television show or maybe the victory theme of a video game. "Congratulations! You were magnificently chosen to be the partner of a Sekirei!"
No…
All traces of good humor left me. In its place I was left with dread and rage and disbelief.
No… don't tell me it was starting again. Magical contracts between two people, one normal and the other a magical being. I was too stunned to register as the person on the phone kept talking.
"Oh, number 88, Musubi. Are you doing well?" The man on the other end of the phone asked the excitable girl. Sekirei, that's what he called her Type, wasn't it?
"Oh, yes professor! My Ashikabi is very nice!" Musubi jumped Minato, causing him to drop the phone.
"Ah! What happened? Hello!?" The man yelled as the phone clattered onto the floor and over to me.
Picking it up, I almost put the phone to my ear before I saw a strange, white haired man on the inside display. He was wearing a custom tailored suit underneath a white coat. The lapels and collar were popped up framing his head. He looked utterly ridiculous, and with the strange grin dominating his face he looked more than a little creepy.
"Minato, why do you have the picture of a strange man on your phone? Is there something you'd like to tell me? I promise not to judge you or anything, but this might be something to talk to me or Takami about."
"…"
"…"
"..."
I was treated to three disbelieving stares, the strangest of all coming from the phone's display picture. Actually, that one wasn't strange so much as it was creepy.
"Um, Shirou-san," Musubi was the first to recover, "You do know what a video phone is, don't you?"
"What? Don't be ridiculous. Phones and videos are two completely different things. This is way too small to play a video?" I gesture with the phone in my hand.
"Ahaha! That's priceless!" The picture said, laughing and falling over in his chair and oh… that wasn't a picture at all. Or rather, it was but of someone on the other end and…
"Oh. That's what you mean by video phone." Man, I feel more than a little silly now.
"You really aren't that good with technology, are you Ichirou-kun?" The man asked, "Now please hand the phone back to Minato-kun."
I tensed so much that I nearly snapped the phone. With the exception of my interactions with Takami, Karasuba and Minato I'd been keeping a low profile, but my name as Shirou Emiya is well known amongst agents of the Clock Tower of whom I've made some enemies. But this man didn't call me Shirou, he called me Ichirou, and only very few people knew me by that name. The one thing they all had in common was that they worked for MBI.
"How do you know our names? On that note where did you get this number?" Minato asked, disentangling himself from Musubi once more.
"He works for MBI, Minato. He probably got both from Takami, am I right?" I asked the man. Now that I'd placed who he worked for he was starting to look familiar. I didn't know many people at MBI other than a handful of techs, Takami and Karasuba, but their CEO had been in the news a lot lately. In fact, if you took away the weird coat then he bore more than a trace resemblance to the man. "Oh. I didn't think we'd warrant a call from Minaka Hiroto, MBI's CEO. Is Takami alright?"
"What?" He looked puzzled before waving his hands flippantly, "Oh, yes, yes, Takami is fine. Now I'm going to have to ask you to leave now Ichirou-kun. I have an important announcement for Minato-kun."
"I'm not leaving. Whatever it is you're doing, I think I've enough exposure to it to hear the full story. If not I'll just find out from Karasuba." There was my card, now let's see if it's enough to bring him to the table.
"Oho! Well played there!" He clapped, "I have been hearing about you from our lovely number 04, so I suppose it's only fair that you be introduced to the Sekirei Plan as well. There are 108 Sekirei that have been freed all over the city. These Sekirei will fight and fight and fight and fight! The Ashikabi of the last remaining Sekirei is given permission to ascend."
"Shirou, I think this is a prank call. Just hang up." Minato said in perfect deadpan.
I nodded and moved to do so. This was just an awful prank. There was no secret war in Shin Tokyo. Those things were over with on this side of the world. Yes, there was absolutely no possible way that this could be happening.
"No! Wait! Don't hang up!" Minaka cried, flailing about on screen. Against my better judgment I stilled my thumb over the end button. "I assure you that this is no prank. You are hereby a part of a larger game. I suggest you take it seriously if you want to win."
"Fight and fight and fight and fight," I quoted him, "Are you telling me that this Sekirei plan is a battle royal until only one remains?" I waited until he nodded, which he did enthusiastically, before beginning.
"What are the rules of engagement? Is there a boundary to the combat zone? What are the conditions of victory?" I knew it. I had been ignoring all of the indications. How many times have I had the same thought since setting foot in this city? "Permission to ascend? What do you mean by that? Who is proctoring these fights, MBI?"
Minaka started laughing. "Ohoho! What luck! It's a shame you aren't the one in this game, Ichirou-kun! I'd expect interesting things from you. It's still early though so maybe you'll wing a little bird of your own! But as to your questions, you'll have to ask number 88. It wouldn't be fair to tell you anything I didn't tell the other contestants. Now, this is all a secret, so tell anyone and we'll have to come after you! Good luck Musubi and Minato-kun!"
With that he hung up, the line going dead in my hand.
Shit… The Holy Grail War… the horror of that ritual was being picked up here in Shin Tokyo.
"Minato," I started, my tone dead serious, "We need to talk about some things."
*End Chapter*
Thank you for reading,
Drake Valkyr