Fate: Bonds Beyond Humanity

by Apprentice of Life

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

29. Chapter 29

Fate/Bonds Beyond Humanity

…..

29- The Black Cat Training Camp: A Matter of Trust

…..

The second day of the training camp was better than the first even if it wasn't by much. People were starting to get used to their new routine and some training was already bearing fruits while others were facing some difficulties.

Issei was one of those actually progressing, he didn't manage to land a single blow on Liz during their fights but by the third day of training he was managing to last a couple more minutes dodging and using his sacred gear while not being throw around like a ragdoll like what happened on the second day because he got overly confident and Yoruichi suggested that Liz showed him how far he still had to go.

Whatever pride the pervert had before was properly curbed by a 'bitch slap' that threw him on a tree. Rias protested the rough treatment but Yoruichi argued that, "If he thinks he is strong now then he will try less."

Training resumed after that and Issei was feeling much better on the third day; he kept his mouth shut for the most part so Liz was still holding back, he is getting more used to the Boosted Gear and thanks to Rin he also started to use mana a little on his body. Not having to focus in every detail and just using his imagination as a devil made teaching him much easier, a pleasant surprise for the magus who expected a challenge.

[Boost]

'That was the fifth one.' At the moment Issei was doing something similar to the two previous days of training, trying to survive Liz's onslaught. It was something he wouldn't be able to get even close to doing if it wasn't for the Boosted Gear, the more he grew used to its power, the Welsh Dragon's power, the longer he managed to survive. 'I can do this!'

Liz didn't make things easier just because Issei was getting stronger, in a way this training trip is helping her too in making adjustments to her strength on the fly as her fist accelerates a little after the Boosted Gear signal and it collides with the gauntlet.

Being the only piece of armor always at hand for him to use, Issei was growing more accustomed to using the Boosted Gear as a shield even if it didn't stop the impact completely.

A brawler she may be, Liz always seemed to know when Issei would be able to block her attack with the sacred gear and from time to time used her palm to while delivering other kinds of attack to keep the pressure.

This time the maid decided to go for a swipe with her leg that has Issei losing his balance followed by her other leg delivering a kick on his lower stomach which sent the brown haired devil sliding on the ground.

"Issei-san!"

"Not yet Asia. He still can keep going." Rin stops the nun turned devil from advancing and interrupting the spar and Issei is grateful for it.

'Just five more seconds.' He knew instinctively when the Boosted Gear was getting ready to use its ability. Issei wouldn't be able to tell if it was because he grew used to it or his sacred gear was telling him since it grew with his desire and it wasn't long since he wanted to know how much time he needed before Liz reached him.

And the white haired maiden has no intention of waiting as she charges at a still recovering Issei. [Boost] Once the devil heard it he knew it was 'go' time. The sixth Boost was his best chance to finally land a hit.

Like when the other times he managed to reach a new level in Boosting; Issei can feel his body more light, a powerful sensation seemed to envelope him everytime he did use his sacred gear but every new milestone always brought out more power which in turn gave him more confidence in his actions.

The sixth Boost was a surprise to everyone, even Issei himself, but the devil in question just accepted the power boost and moved to take advantage of it. That was the result of his training, of two days, entering the third one, of constant combat and pain.

Like the first time that Issei reached his fifth boost, Liz was surprised and had her punch redirected by the Boosted Gear, giving Issei his opportunity as his right hand flies to hit Liz on the face.

The blow connected with the teacher for the very first time, the Boost having raised his speed just enough to pass the woman's guard and hit her. That was enough that the devil wanted to throw his arms up and throw a party.

All of the clearing that saw the event happen were surprised, even Leysritt didn't see the sudden acceleration and the unexpected sixth Boost coming. However, her surprise doesn't mean she was distracted and while Issei relaxed his muscles in happiness and relief, Liz moved.

Grabbing the devil by his naked arm, Liz slams him on the ground with a thrown over her shoulder that had him looking at the clouds. "Don't get distracted." Was the maid's advice.

"Noted…" Issei manages to reply, a great deal of pain on his back and the arm that Liz had used as a leaver.

"Now you can go." Rin says calmly at seeing Asia bounce on her feet, waiting to just run to the Pawn.

Which she does once Rin gives her full permission. "Issei-san. I am here. Tell me where it hurts."

"And please do say everywhere like yesterday." Rin approaches with an impish smile. "It will be hilarious."

Asia is confused by the black haired magus statement but Issei isn't. "Just my back and my arm. That throw came from nowhere."

"You were distracted." Liz replied easily, gaining some of Asia's attention.

"Do you need some healing as well, Leysritt-san?" The former nun leans her head a little to try and see Liz's cheek but the maid just turns to show that there wasn't even a scratch.

"Didn't hurt." Was the short haired woman's reply that had Issei looking at her depressed but had Rin giggling.

"As expected of Liz-sensei." Is all Rin has to say while Issei starts to have a crisis.

'I just managed to boost six times and I still didn't manage to hurt her!' His body feels heavy after letting the power go and if it wasn't by the necessity of growing strong fast because they only had ten days, Issei would just drag himself to bed and sleep. 'How strong is she, really?'

Because Issei remembers that Leysritt was holding back for his sake. The first day and his punishment for, as Rin put it, 'getting his head too big for his hat' were enough proof that the woman was far stronger than him, stronger than Koneko even and before dealing with Liz the Pawn believed that the smaller devil was the strongest member of the ORC, at least when it came to brute force.

"How long until he can get going again?" Rin asked in curiosity as she saw that Issei wasn't going to give her anything to play with.

"Just a couple minutes." Asia was sure that Issei was fine, just a little pain and at worse a small swelling but nothing dangerous. The Bishop just wanted to make sure.

And Rin had no problems in allowing her to work, it was a great exercise for her to identify injuries since she had no way to learn Structural Analysis.

Asia Argento was an orphan so there is no way for Rin to know the kind of family she had before but she didn't have enough magic circuits for magecraft so at the very least the Tohsaka speculated that they weren't magicians by any extent of imagination.

Another thing that Rin discovered about magic from devils is that while imagination played a part, it couldn't just force itself in another person's body to try and simulate Structure Analysis.

'Pity she can't learn magecraft.' Rin thought with some regret. 'Akeno showed it was possible but considering Asia's role it would be more suited for her.' On the other hand, Rin was sure Asia liked to touch Issei, no out of lust or anything but just to stay in his presence. 'Of all the people to fall in love it was the perverted. At least it isn't another girl falling for Emiya.'

"Aaaaaand done." Asia announced to everyone with a gentle smile. "How are you feeling, Issei-san?"

"A little tired but good as new." Issei then tries to get up only to fall on his butt. "Woah. More tired than I thought."

"Or it is because you managed to Boost to a new level." Rin reminds him with a chuckle. "Congratulations by the way, now Liz can hold back a little less." The maid's eyes appeared to shine with that revelation.

'Good, holding back is tiresome.' Even if she didn't speak, everyone could see how excited Liz was to let go of her control even if only just a little.

"That can be done later." A voice has everyone turning to look at an approaching Medusa, a book under her arm and her face neutral. "It is time for our lesson."

"Wait! Really?" Rin couldn't hide her surprise. "No offense but he isn't looking like a dragon yet. Or a mass of power."

"He acquired enough for a lesson on the basics." Medusa frowns as she notices that Issei's eyes were unfocused. "Though his mental strength still needs some improvement."

Rin rolls her eyes and hits the pervert in the back of the head. "Focus."

"Right, sorry." To avoid losing himself in Medusa's beauty again, Issei turns his focus to the ground. "So you are going to teach me magic?"

"I will teach you how to manipulate your power." Medusa doesn't know enough magic to teach it.

"Why now?" Rin questions the goddess. "Wasn't the plan for you to teach him during his times of rest?"

"He always ends up too tired for a proper lesson. I decided to do it during training and at the same time give him a little break." Issei turns to look at Medusa in gratitude but immediately looks down while the purple haired goddess shakes her head. "Besides, the best way to use power is in combat and what I have to teach is easy."

"Can we watch, please?" Asia asked with respect. While Medusa isn't her God it didn't mean she was going to disrespect her. "I promise to stay quiet."

Waving her hand, Medusa replies, "I have no problem with you all watching." She then turns to Liz. "Why don't you take a break for today. This may take the rest of the day or just a couple of minutes but any extra time he can use to practice."

Deciding that it was a good idea, Liz nods and turns to the mansion. "Should have asked Shirou to make a cake."

"We can ask that later." Rin points out even as the maid keeps retreating. Turning to the goddess she waits anxiously for the lesson. "Can't wait to see what a god knows about manipulation of energy."

"Don't be presumptuous. Being a god has nothing to do with manipulating energy. While some are born with the potential or even the talent, the vast majority of us are tied to our Domains to a point that using them is as easy as breathing." Medusa sounds irritated by the notion that her hard work, even before she became a complete monster, was just because she was a goddess. She was supposed to be, if she believes Athena's words, a mother, a warrior and a Queen but while her body was always strong, power came with practice and effort and she doesn't know what her Domain is anymore. "Dragons are another case, one that I am…somewhat familiar with since for a while I was a similar existence."

"So you were a giant mass of power?" Rin scholar side is fighting to get out and starts interrogating Medusa. Shirou is not around to stop her and the goddess seems willing to talk. "Emiya never explained how he found you." And that vexed Rin to no end sometimes.

"He saved me. That is all you need to know." Medusa doesn't want to burden anyone else with the fact her resurrection was one of Athena's plans or that her curse was an attack from an unknown enemy. "That doesn't matter anyway. Now, Hyoudou Issei, I need you to look at me."

"But-"

"No buts." Medusa cuts off the devil before he can give any excuse. "The power of dragons and the magic of devils both need will, a strong will to use them at your leisure. While only a true dragon can teach you how to fight like a dragon does, I can show you how a dragon uses mana. And for that I need you to strengthen your mind and resist my allure."

Raising a hand as if she was in school, Asia asked a question once Medusa's purple eyes turned her direction. "Lady Medusa, couldn't you just explain to him?"

"No." Medusa said with certainty. "Dragons use their power in a more…primal manner. Through instinct and strength a dragon rises to the top and there is no other way." She stops explaining for a moment, feeling that she was forgetting something. "That doesn't mean a dragon isn't smart. They can be extremely intelligent or cunning in their own way but at the end of the day they can be salvage and cruel in ways tied to the Sins themselves. They are masses of power, to teach how to use that power, a demonstration is necessary and the fastest way to help Hyoudou Issei."

"I understand." Asia accepts the explanation with a nod. She really doesn't like when Issei loses his mind looking at the goddess and everyone knows it.

But that depends more on the boy himself and Issei wants to grow stronger to help the person who saved his life. So he hits both sides of his face before looking back at Medusa. 'Big bounce breasts, two girls kissing each other, a gust of wind raising the skirts for everyone to see…'

To combat the goddess allure, Issei tries to counter it with his own perversion, using his desires as a buffer. While the allure made Medusa irresistible, it didn't change her appearance or his perception of her, it just made her more perfect in the eyes of others.

By distracting his mind with his interests, Issei manages to look at Medusa with a look of concentration as a huge part of his mind was focusing on things that gave him pleasure. Rin and Asia would have something to say about such methods but to them Issei had just found enough resolve to resist the allure by entering in a state similar to meditation but replacing peace of mind with luxury.

Medusa wouldn't have cared either way, if Issei could find something to help him resist her then that was something she could respect, regardless of the method.

With a nod at seeing that Issei was resisting her presence, Medusa raises a hand just below her neck. "Pay attention."

After her words, a small light showed up on Medusa's hands, smaller than a marble but emitting a strong purple light that had the two devils and magus eyes glued on it. "That is mana. A whole lot of it for something so small."

"It is more about quality than quantity." The goddess said in acknowledgment at Rin's observation. "Tell me what you see, Hyoudou Issei."

Astounded by what he was seeing and his mind still somewhat divided to resist the allure, Issei tries to process the marble. "It looks like…a ball or something."

"Is the image fixed in your mind?" The seriousness of the goddess' words actually managed to force Issei's focus completely on the ball. "Remember its shape, its presence. Make sure to remember every detail." Everyone was now looking at the ball, trying to figure out what Medusa wanted. "You are now a devil, you are a being of magic. Feel it, feel my power and carve it in your mind."

Issei's full attention was on the ball, he didn't think about anything else, the allure wasn't affecting him anymore and he could feel the hair on his arms trembling at the power before him.

Suddenly the Pawn's eyes weren't on the sphere anymore, they also were looking at Medusa but instead of the allure of a beautiful siren becoming him to admire her, he saw something else, a huge creature with snake hair and an overwhelming presence. It demanded submission and promised death.

Until he wasn't seeing it anymore and before his eyes the little goddess looked even more beautiful then before but now Issei's mind was his own, almost like the allure was hiding how beautiful the goddess actually was.

"Did you memorize it?" Upon noticing Issei's admiring face, still with his eyes focused and not lost in her allure, Medusa asked and the devil nodded. "Good. Now watch this." Turning herself to the side, Medusa moved her hand away from the ball that didn't feel even as it lost its apparent support. The mana remained static as a delicate finger approached it from behind. "Keep your eyes on the ball."

With a flicker of the goddess' finger, the mana flew in a tree's direction. Everyone watches as the small ball hits the tree and explodes, breaking it in half as most of its trunk flies around in every direction and the top of the tree crashes on the ground loud enough that Liz, Setsuna and Kiba stop what they were doing to look.

"Maybe I should have shouted 'timber'?" Medusa asked in her amusement. "At least we now have wood for the rest of our stay."

"That was some mana control alright." Rin felt she needed to review everything she knew about the nature of mana and magic after Medusa's display. 'On the other hand, she is a goddess.'

"How do I do that?" Issei asked with a little bit of fear. "That wasn't like the magic that Buchou or Akeno-san showed us."

"Shirou-san also can't do anything like that. At least I think not." Asia's time working with Shirou was enough to at least understand his magic even if just a little. "Most of the time he just uses his hands."

"My protector is more of a craftsman, even if some of the things he managed to do with his hands are considered impossible for the most part." Medusa's small smile made everyone feel like there was a joke they had no idea about. "But that is irrelevant. Hyoudou Issei." The authority when the goddess said his name had the Pawn standing up straight, waiting for orders. "Do what I did."

"Eh…" Issei didn't know what to say about the command.

"How is he supposed to just do that?" Rin asked in curiosity. She doesn't doubt the goddess' wisdom, just not seeing her logic. "Devil's magic doesn't work like that, they are mostly spellcasters. It was literally from their method that Merlin developed the magic system that those without circuits could use magic."

Many consider the actions of Merlin on the development of spellcasting one of the great accomplishments of the man, others consider it a joke since for the most part it was always lacking when it was compared directly with the devils' natural ability or the skill of those with circuits.

Medusa had read about that but she didn't care. "You seem to forget that Hyoudou Issei is not a normal devil." Pointing to his left arm, the inert Boosted Gear remains ready and waiting. "Inside that gauntlet is a dragon, the aura around him is also similar to a dragon's; all that means he can do the same things a dragon can do."

"What does a dragon have to do with anything?" Issei questioned but Rin was the one who responded.

"As masses of power made flesh, dragons have a great control over their own mana to the extent that it surpasses even the capabilities of a devil's." The Tohsaka words didn't click with Issei so she tried another approach. "Basically; devils let the imagination do the job for many of their spells but a dragon just needs to 'will' something to happen."

"That is an oversimplification." Almost a dragon herself once, or even a true dragon depending on the point of view, when on her monstrous form, Medusa can say by her own experience that throwing her power around was all she could do on those days. "Of course you also don't have any dragon on your gauntlet but a dragon with special abilities, something rare with many implications like intelligence and power beyond normal dragons. However, we can talk more about that later once you can reproduce that small feat."

"So I just need to…'will' my power to do it?" Issei gets in position but Medusa shakes her head.

"That is why I demonstrated that before." Medusa makes another marble of mana. "If Yoruichi is right and the book on sacred gears I was reading was precise, then your will and imagination must be enough to reproduce such a feat." She lets the mana dissipate. "After all, a sacred gear is a Divine Instrument."

"So, our Gifts from God can help us with magic?" Asia questioned as she looked at her hands and made Twilight Healing appear.

"Limited only to their function and your own imagination." Medusa said with confidence. "While the author spoke more in speculation about the second part, I can affirm that it is indeed possible since sacred gears are Artifacts from a god and they must function mostly as a god's power would."

"So you just need your imagination to use your power?" Seeing an opportunity to learn, Rin asked the question faster than her mind could process.

"To a certain degree. Gods can create things by just imagination alone but to make sure the process goes perfectly, steps need to be taken to ensure the validity and existence of the end result in the world." Noticing that two thirds of her audience didn't understand what she meant, Medusa tries to elaborate further. "A craftsman like my protector for exemple; if he just used his imagination, the construction won't have its full potential. On the other hand, if he uses the proper tools and techniques then whatever he creates will be many times superior to something they made by just snapping their fingers."

Noticing that also applied to Shirou's Projection since the redhead techniques were all about the steps he took towards Tracing, the Tohsaka Head saved that information for later. "That also applies to sacred gears?" Rin asked, wanting to know more.

"Of course. If I had my full power, I could create a small snake by just thinking or create a giant one by using blood, a circle or other means." Medusa finishes the explanation with a shrug. "But that isn't important right now. The point of all this is that since Hyoudou Issei has the power of a dragon, the Artifact of a god and the constitution of a devil he may be able to reproduce feats of gods even if not on the same scale."

"Humans trying to imitate the Lord…that goes against everything I knew." Asia sounds distraught and even scared by the concept.

"But you guys aren't humans anymore, remember? You are devils." Rin stated bluntly but that didn't shake Asia.

"Imitating the Lord is something frowned upon by the Bible." There was denial in the former nun's words but it was mostly the kind coming from a child not wanting to upset a parent.

"The Bible…a boring book if I can say so myself." Medusa commented, getting everyone's attention.

"You read the Bible, Lady Medusa?" Asia was definitely surprised by the reveal, it wasn't something she expected from a god that wasn't her Lord.

"Once you joined Rias' household I decided to read it. I had Shirou procure an old edition for me." What appeared on Medusa's face was a scowl but she was too cute for it to truly be one. "It is clear that your Lord allowed humans to write it themselves. A boorish reading from beginning to end."

"But there is so much good and love in the Holy Texts." Asia raises in her favorite book defense even if she is unable to read it anymore. "Maybe there were those that distorted His words or inserted their own ideas but everytime I read the words of the Lord I could feel his love and even imagine his guiding hand on my shoulder,"

"But you agree that your God wasn't the sole responsible for your book, correct?" Asia looked confused but nodded. "Then what makes you think He was the one that commanded humanity to not imitate him?" Medusa asked rhetorically but she can see understanding dawning on the former nun. "Like a proud parent, He would want humanity to imitate him, without hubris and arrogance, of course." In the little goddess' opinion that was the true goal of the sacred gear system, but that was just a suspicion born from her own experience. "Maybe I am wrong but I doubt he would mind Issei trying to imitate Him if he doesn't use what he learned for anything malicious."

Asia quickly turns to Issei who shakes his head in denial. "I won't do something like that, Asia! Don't worry, I won't use my sacred gear for anything wrong." Deep inside however Issei was questioning something else. 'How the heck she made Asia change her mind so fast and pinned her pup eyes on me?'

While Issei, being cheered by Asia, got in position to try and reproduce Medusa's feat, Rin approached the goddess just enough to whisper. "Was that your opinion as a goddess? That God wouldn't mind?"

"A fascinating book, the Bible, so many things about it can change in it depending on interpretation." Medusa comments nonchalantly.

"I see…" Either way, Rin doesn't mind Medusa's approach since it incentivates Asia to explore her sacred gear and gives Issei the opportunity to try and grow stronger with it. "That was-"

A small marble of red light flies and hits the leftovers of Medusa's tree which made both girls look to Issei who had his fist extended and a incredulous face as his attack did nothing but a small hole on the otherwise damaged trunk.

"Not bad." Medusa said with a small smile.

"'Not bad'? That was the size of a pebble." Issei was disappointed with himself regardless if he did manage to imitate Medusa. His attack was just weak anyway. "All that training and I can do just that?"

"You expected to be able to use everything you had on your first time? You must truly be a fool." Medusa shakes her head with some disappointment before Rin takes over.

"She is right. This was your first time actually using magic and so far we only had basic training." Issei was starting to feel better but Rin decided to keep his pride in check. "You also need more training. Lots of more training." The Tohsaka Head can't stop herself from giggling a little as the Pawn falls to his knees and Asia pats his head.

"For now I have another assignment for you. Something to help with your sacred gear or to be more specific, something to bring out more of its potential." Medusa's words snap Issei out of his depression since the goddess had already shown something he liked.

"Aren't you helping him a little too much?" Rin asked with a small smile. "If I remember right you had nothing to teach or something like that."

"Consider my help out of curiosity." Medusa's interests were actually two fold; she is interested in seeing what sacred gears can do as they were a work she saw similar to her sister's work and her own creation for Shirou and the second was to learn more about God since she lost her sanity before even hearing about Him.

"I don't care what her reason is. If it will let me help Buchou, I'll take what I can get." Issei's determination was born out of the debts he owed Rias, for saving his life, for alloying him to pursue his dreams and then saving Asia's life.

The fact that Rias is also a caring person just incentivises him further but Medusa rolls her eyes. "Don't need to be so dramatic. This, let's call it an experiment, going to be more mental than physical. If sacred gears answer to the desires of their owners to evolve then you may be able to do things that the Welsh Dragon himself couldn't do. It may also help you to fight for longer without killing yourself."

"Like what?" Rin was starting to regret not having something to write. The magus was starting to get the impression that every time Medusa opened her mouth she learned more about gods and other more advanced beings in a sentence than most scholars did in their lifetime.

"Something simple actually, two concepts that a dragon wouldn't bother in applying because they are powerful enough that doubling their own power would be the only thing necessary." Medusa once again speaks from experience as her monstrous form technically could create more snakes or use her power better. "Apply these two concepts wisely and you will become a power to be reckoned with in no time."

Issei wasn't the kind of person that wishes for power but the thought was making him salivate. "What are these concepts?"

Medusa shows him two delicate fingers. "Stockpiling and transference."

…

Inside the forest Yoruichi is still training Koneko in martial arts and how to implement her size into her fighting style. Progress was being made by the young devil as she truly embraced using her size and agility to her advantage.

But if Yoruichi was being honest then she would tell the former nekomata that her progress had stalled, at least physically. There was just so much that knowing how to punch or kick could do without something backing it up and while Koneko was stronger than her size would indicate, Yoruichi could, even with just using the bare minimum of senjutsu or just touki, throw her around like a ragdoll.

That wasn't what Yoruichi was doing; the nekomata was just blocking attacks, punishing Koneko with counters at every mistake and showing her exactly what she was doing wrong.

'What is really wrong is that you aren't accepting yourself.' The older woman bites back her words, not saying anything when Koneko came at her with a hook and Yoruichi just blitzed her with three punches on her torso, chest and midriff before kicking her away. "How many times I have to tell you; use your legs more."

"Yes, sensei." Koneko quickly gets up and tries to move to the side. Yoruichi can't deny that the girl is getting better at moving around. Before she was a movable brick wall but now the Rook remembered she isn't a castle that her Piece was based on and instead a flexible girl.

That and the respect, even affection, that Koneko was starting to offer Yoruichi were the main reasons why the training continued like this regardless of the slow progress. It almost made everything worth it for the nekomata to see the white haired devil smile.

Almost but not enough. Even if Yoruichi is not using anything else but her muscles, her sharp eyes can easily keep up with Koneko as she tries to rush from the left, stopping in an attempt to confuse her before moving to the right and trying to slide in the nekomata's direction.

An useless attempt and Yoruichi could easily counter by jumping and kicking the girl back. The nekomata has to refrain from doing it and instead move to the side as Koneko tries to follow up her approach with a swipe of her legs only for Yoruichi to block it with her own.

Not all opponents are going to be as fast as Yoruichi and so she can complement the strategy. "That is better." The nekomata barely had time to say as Koneko gets up and throws a flurry of punches on Yoruichi's arms but even without applying her senjutsu, the taller of the fighters was much stronger.

It is then that Yoruichi can feel someone approaching from the side, a presence she grew extremely used to and even with her senses a little muted by avoiding senjutsu she can still tell who is coming to their training grounds at a considerable speed.

With just a couple of seconds before the visitor arrived, Yoruichi grabs both of Koneko's hands, the first time she had done it since the beginning, lifts the young devil above her head and slams her on the ground. "You forgot that I am stronger than you. At any point I can just pick you up and throw you around."

"Sorry, sensei." Koneko tried to get up but Yoruichi stopped her with a pat on the head. A shiver of happiness ran on the nekomata's body since she was not rejected and she enjoyed how Koneko leaned on her touch.

"Get some rest. We are about to receive a visit and I think someone else is having trouble with their training." A mischievous smile grew on Yoruichi's face as she looked at an almost relaxed Koneko. "Are you going to rest there or do you prefer to go for the tree where the water is? I am sure whoever is coming won't mind either way." A blush grows on Koneko's face and she rushes to try and get up again. "You are running out of time little kitten~ Want me to carry you?"

More than once Koneko got the distinct impression that Yoruichi liked to carry her around, not that she would complain since the nekomata was always gentle outside of combat and made sure that she was always comfortable.

One of the many things that impressed the white haired devil was how fast she managed to get along with Yoruichi once they agreed that she wouldn't train senjutsu.

So Koneko nods once and the nekomata quickly takes her from her own imprint on the ground to a tree with water bottles to the side. "We will continue once he leaves, okay?"

"Okay, sensei." Yoruichi loves how Koneko calls her sensei and scratches the devil's head for a couple of seconds, exactly where her ears would be if Koneko was willing to show them.

The nekomata also can hear the small purr from the girl but doesn't comment on it even if she didn't bother to hide her smile. Scooping Koneko on her arms, Yoruichi did as promised and placed her close to their water and the tree shade before saying, "Take a nap if you want. This may take a minute."

To Koneko's eyes, Yoruichi had disappeared but she just used a little more speed to move quickly and intercept their visitor.

Noticing that he looked a little lost, Yoruichi holds on to a branch and almost hits him in the face as she manages to find a branch exactly in the position where their lips were about to meet with her head down. "Anything I can help you with today, Shirou?"

"Not giving me a heart attack would be a nice start?" Even as he said that Shirou wasn't angry by the sudden appearance of the nekomata as he chuckled at the thought.

"Can't make any promises." Both smile at the joke before Yoruichi lands on her feet. "But for real, did something happen to Rias? Or is she doing a new kind of training right now?"

"I…set up some traps while I rushed to come here because I wanted to talk with you." At a raised eyebrow from the nekomata, Shirou shrugged. "Her detection isn't good enough that she will notice I left for a while." And that was enough for her. The two of them already know each other enough that Yoruichi can tell that Shirou has a problem. "I think that Rias is holding herself back."

"If she isn't giving her everything on the training then maybe she doesn't want to win." Yoruichi commented but to her that would be a relief since she could focus herself completely on Koneko's condition.

"No, that is not it. And believe me when I say that Rias wants to win." He saw her determination during training but that alone wasn't enough. Shirou's eyes have something on them, Yoruichi identifies it as confusion but there is also a determination to find a solution burning brighter than any doubt. That strength of will was really what Yoruichi liked to see. "She isn't holding back in the sense of not trying but holding herself back in the sense that something is stopping her progress."

"That sounds awfully familiar." Both knew what Yoruichi was referring to but Shirou shakes his head.

"No, I think that Rias' case is more complicated. I think that she legitimately doesn't realize that she has a problem at all." Shirou thought a lot about it for the last couple of days and when he said it there was a certainty that Yoruichi knew she wouldn't be able to change his mind if she tried.

"Okay, explain." That was when Shirou hesitated a little but not for long.

"Part of the explanation is personal for Rias but to cut a long story short; I think she is trying to push herself in a direction she isn't happy with." And with those words, Shirou erased the familiarity of the situation.

"More complicated? No, you don't know all the little kitten's troubles." Yoruichi raised a hand to stop Shirou. "Don't worry about them, I told you I would deal with it and I am doing it. Believe it or not but this training camp is helping." That made the redhead smile, a smile Yoruichi offered back as they both knew how hard she was trying and that she kept things from him to respect Koneko's privacy. "Maybe you can help with that later but for now you need to focus on Rias."

"Right, you have Koneko's side covered." Shirou can accept that but he just has one problem. "How do I help her?" It was the main reason why she sought Yoruichi out on this.

"Well, if this problem is stopping Rias' growth, it is harming her chances. We have no time for the soft approach…not that it was working with Koneko either. I was only able to make her open up after some tough love and a good conversation after." Was all Yoruichi could really say about the topic.

"So I need to confront her about the problem. I already thought about that but it may disrupt the training and she may start to refuse my help." Shirou confided in Yoruichi who just shrugged.

"Do you really think she would get that upset that she would reject any help from you after?" Yoruichi found that hard to believe.

"I think that she won't like what I have to say." Shirou's answer surprised Yoruichi.

"That…means you have something really harsh to say." And now the nekomata understood the redhead's dilemma but unfortunately she didn't have a good solution. "Look, you know Rias better than me, maybe the only person around who knows her better is Akeno."

"Disrupting one person's training is already bad enough." It was one of the reasons why Shirou didn't seek the Queen out. "Besides, I don't think Akeno would talk about Rias' secrets without her present."

"Which can make things worse but so does letting that alone at a critical moment. That is not an option, it may be the difference between victory and defeat." But luckily for Shirou, Yoruichi has a simple solution. "Delaying isn't going to help. You have to confront her."

"Okay." Shirou then turns, much to Yoruichi's surprise.

"Wait, seriously? Just like that?" Shirou stops and turns back.

"Yeah, that was pretty much what I was planning to do already but I wanted your opinion." Yoruichi didn't know if she should be flattered that only the need of her input stopped Shirou from already confronting Rias or the fact that Shirou was ready to just do it from what felt out of the blue for her.

"Look, that is great that you are ready for this confrontation but don't you need a plan?" Yoruichi's words don't surprise Shirou.

"I already decided what I want to talk about, I just didn't know exactly how to approach it." Shirou ran lots of scenarios during teaching Rias strategy and his time trying to sleep or working in the kitchen.

It was a miracle he managed to hold himself back long enough to get someone's opinion at that point.

"Great, how are you going to do this?" Yoruichi already knows the answer.

"I am going to be direct." And that wasn't what Rias needed.

"I approve of the straightforward approach, more than you can even imagine. But you need a plan." Yoruichi makes sure the word 'plan' sounds harsher than any other.

"I just want to talk. Even if it is something hard to hear-"

Yoruichi places a hand on Shirou's shoulder before talking. "She is a noble, Shirou, and a devil to boot. Believe me that the first one already makes it harder to listen to some people but the second one means she comes from a society where the main solution to all their troubles is more power."

An idea started to form in Shirou's mind the more he understood Yoruichi's words and thought about Rias' situation and pride. Especially her pride. "Okay, I have a plan."

"You do already?" The nekomata couldn't hide her surprise.

"Yes, if power is the problem then power is the solution. I will make sure that Rias can't deny or escape my words." Shirou declared and while Yoruichi could see where he was coming she didn't like it.

"Shirou, Rias' Power of Destruction isn't something that you can get hit by and get up. You are human. If she hits you-"

"She won't." Shirou interrupts Yoruichi with a smile. "Trust me with this. She won't get a hit if I don't let her to and even if she does, I have ways to nullify the Power of Destruction. Don't worry."

The confidence that Shirou said was enough that Yoruichi just couldn't deny his words even if they sound a little too overconfident for her tastes. "Fine, don't come crawling to me if you lose both your legs. What do you need for this crazy plan?"

"Reinforce the boundary field around her training area." Shirou said immediately, even if he has a plan to survive the Power of Destruction the forest won't be able to do the same. "I also need you to talk to Akeno and Rin. Depending on how long this takes, I won't be able to cook tonight. Medusa can help too if she is in the mood, she is good with fish but she mostly hates to eat them."

"You expect this to last the whole evening?" She tried to not sound worried but the nekomata can't help it.

"With how stubborn Rias can be? The whole night isn't out of the question. Then again, I might be pleasantly surprised." Shirou starts to calmly walk back in Rias' direction.

'Talk about 'the pot calling the kettle black'. With how stubborn the two of you are? Maybe even longer.' Letting out a sigh of concern, Yoruichi got ready to fortify the place before returning to Koneko. 'At least the little kitten is getting a good rest out of all this.'

…

Rias was growing increasingly frustrated with Shirou's change of tactics. 'I know the whole point of this training is to improve my defense but this is just ridiculous.'

On the first few days of training, Shirou used to talk while moving in the forest, to give her a 'heads up' from where his attack was going to come from or something similar. Now he stopped talking, he stopped talking and from time to time a sword or arrow flew in her direction out of nowhere.

'At least things slowed down.' Rias thinks to herself as she looks around, almost desperately trying to find where Shirou would attack next and not noticing the metal wire close to her feet, a fragile thing that snaps as her foot touches it.

Without the wire, a noise that Rias was growing increasingly familiar with snaps to her left and she quickly turns, as a crossbow hidden in the leaves shoots an arrow in her direction.

Reacting as quickly as she could, the devil created a magic circle to shoot back at the offending arrow. Just the arrow and nothing else that is her goal. But Rias has to bite back a curse out of frustration as her power does indeed destroy the arrow but it keeps going past it and hitting the leaves of the tree and even destroying a few branches and the crossbow she didn't know was there.

The redhead devil races towards the tree to check on Shirou, to see if she hurt him in an accident. Rias had confidence her magician dodged the attack, as he did every other so far, but in the back of her mind there was a fear that kept reminding her that her Power too was dangerous and Shirou could die.

That was the routine for them and it was based on Rias always checking on him that he built a small maze of wires and crossbows in a small part of the forest, a trick that his father taught him to do with grenades but since his magic was unsuited for it he instead uses wood crossbow and blunt arrows, nothing capable of doing real damage but exactly enough that Rias wouldn't noticed that he left the area for a couple of minutes.

All that was built rather hastily, with just mana and careful positioning. The main reason for Shirou's 'labyrinth' works was the fact that Rias always approached his previous position, checking to see if she hit him by accident, regardless of how many times he shot at her from a completely different spot soon after.

While she had some instruction on the Magus Killer methods, she still isn't able to realize that around her were just traps or notice that she was getting herself in more traps when she approaches the previous one. If she did, Rias would also realize that all that her magus did was use what he already told her about position and habits that the opponent may have during a combat situation.

Shirou couldn't cover all the area with traps, he wanted to speak with Yoruichi quickly and Rias couldn't notice his movements or she would call him out on it. But he could isolate an area, have Rias investigate it and have her falling in traps that lead her to other traps.

It is exactly what happens as once she finished checking the tree and moved to the side she would fall into one. Either left or right didn't matter as there were wires ready in both directions and with another careless step, another arrow flew in her direction.

Crossbows alone can't make enough noise to get someone's attention when well maintained, that fact could make things too difficult for the devil. So, by using some leaves and branches, Shirou managed to make sure that there was always enough noise for Rias to know when something was coming if she was paying attention.

And after one day of arrows flying in her direction everytime she was distracted, Rias' senses were in overdrive at every little noise, her skin was tingling with mana already prepared, taking the form of her magic circle.

Another blast of Destruction flies and another arrow is erased and once again Rias sighs in disappointment as her Power keeps flying out of her control and slamming into the leaves. 'I wonder how many trees are going to go 'bald' before I make any progress.'

Once again she starts to advance closer to the tree with careful steps and her eyes constantly checking all directions. Even if her pride wouldn't allow her to admit it, the Heiress of Gremory acquired a good dose of paranoia and learned to respect how dangerous the woods can be.

'If I could just go all out and demolish those trees. But nooooooo! This is training! To get a better control over the Power of Destruction! I need to hold back!' Just as Rias was about to step in another tripwire it disappears in motes of light and some noise from the bushes has her ready to fire only to see Shirou appearing with his bow in hand. "Time for dinner already?"

"No. Time for us to talk." Shirou spoke in a tone that left no room for argument, surprising Rias as he walked in her direction at a slow but deliberate pace.

"Something wrong?" The pureblood devil asked as the bow vanished and Shirou stopped just a couple of steps of distance. His face showed a resolution that was starting to worry Rias. "Well…what do you want to talk about?"

Taking a deep breath, Shirou tries to begin gently. "Rias, I need you to promise me that you are going to be honest. Can you do that?"

Once again surprised and clearly confused, Rias nods once. "Of course Shiro. I am always honest with you."

'Omission is not honesty.' But Shirou didn't focus on his problem but on Rias'. "Do you really want to win the Rating Game?"

"I- of course I do. You know that. More than anyone else." Rias almost felt offended by the question. "You know how much I am working hard for this. How many hours you spent training with me and then teaching me. I don't want to marry Riser."

"That is true. I know that is true." Shirou raised a hand and was about to place it on her shoulder but he knew that wasn't the issue so he pulled back. "But why didn't you start preparing earlier?"

"But I was!" Realizing she was shouting, Rias took a deep breath. 'That is not how a lady is supposed to act.' She tells herself as she tries to ignore how the adrenaline is still running rampant on her body. "I was, Shiro. That was why when I met you, when I saw EM's potential, I rushed to get you as my magician. It was my best opportunity to break away from the Phenex for good."

"I know that." Shirou didn't mind that fact. "But you were not giving everything you could to free yourself."

"I was." Rias says firmly.

"No, you weren't." Once again Shirou brings out a tone that leaves no room for argument. "You were not trying anything else, practically placing all your eggs in one basket and that is a terrible idea most of the time. When your life, your freedom, is on the line, that is a horrible approach to take."

"What are you implying here?" Now Rias was starting to get annoyed but Shirou was not one to hesitate.

"In the rhythm things are going, there is no way that you are going to defeat Riser." Shirou can see the flash of anger in Rias' eyes but he doesn't retreat. 'I don't mind being the villain.' He tells himself. "If you really wanted to be free from Riser you should have begun training much earlier."

"Are you calling me weak?" The anger is starting to boil but Rias refuses to throw a tantrum. "I trained and trained every opportunity that I could and I won't allow anyone to call me weak."

"It is not about opportunity. It is about pushing yourself beyond your limits and knowing how to balance training and life in a way to create opportunities to grow while keeping yourself healthy." Shirou recites what his parents told him once.

"I did-"

"No, you didn't Rias. Don't lie to yourself." Now it was Shirou's turn to feel angry. "Look at you now. You know how to throw your power around but have no idea how to train properly." Rebellion sparks in Rias' eyes but Shirou doesn't relent. "Do you think I don't know you have been training at night, despite me advising against it?"

"I need to grow stronger!" Now mana starts to cover the devil's body as her glare promises punishment. "Besides, I don't need that much rest compared to you or the others!"

"Even Akeno ends up exhausted after a day of training and she is as strong as you. Stronger even because at least she is pushing herself." The gentle approach was gone at that point.

"I am stronger." Rias says back. "I can deal more damage and I can last longer."

"If you don't rest properly your body will break apart!" Shirou said back. "What you are doing is not just reckless, it is inhumane."

With a sharp smile, still with anger in her eyes, Rias asked back, "Did you forget that I am not human?" The devil now was confident she won the discussion

"You care about others," Shirou began, his glare gone, "you express your love, you show your anger, you cultivate your passions, you laugh when you are happy and I saw you cry the other night during your 'training'. You have emotions, you have feelings." Every word was said with more conviction than the previous one. "You are human enough for me."

Such a statement shocked Rias, she didn't realize that instead of going to bed after their planned lesson, he had chosen to stay. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I am saying now. I couldn't let you keep hurting yourself." Shirou could tell that his words were reaching Rias.

Until she shook her head and the glare returned. "I have no time for this. I need to grow stronger. Not just to defeat Riser but to be the number one."

"Why do you need to be the number one? And on Rating Games? They mean nothing." Anger returns to both of them as the woman of the pair looks even more upset.

"You don't know what you are talking about Shirou!" The devil's energy was growing darker but the magus didn't retreat. "Rating Games are now the best way for a devil to promote themselves! To show their strength and the power of their house! As Heiress of Gremory,

this is my duty!"

"So it is a duty and not a dream?" The words cut Rias' soul like a knife. "Is that what you meant right?" Shirou steps forward and Rias steps back. "You don't want to fight."

"I want to fight. I like fighting." Rias admitted without trouble. "The thrill of combat, unleashing my full power and my peerage showing that they also are strong. I like those things, I want that for me." Then she steps forward. "So what that I don't care about being the number one, that will come to us naturally once we keep winning."

"Then what do you want Rias?" Shirou refuses to retreat. "What do you actually want?"

"To take care of my peerage, to honor my family." Rias said without thinking much.

"That is it? Or is there something else?" Shirou keeps pressing and Rias looks to the side in thought. "There is something else. Something that you want, something that has nothing to do with anyone else but yourself."

"It doesn't matter." Rias fully turns her back to Shirou, only giving him a side glance. "I am Rias Gremory, Heiress of the Gremory Clan. The prosperity and advancement of my Clan is my main priority."

"At the detriment of yourself?" Shirou finally places a hand on Rias' shoulder. "That is no way of living."

"You had no problem using the resources of my family." Rias pointed out but Shirou shakes his head.

"I didn't know your own family was hurting you so much." With those words Shirou succeeded in something he never managed before.

Slapping the magus hand away, Rias turns to him and starts to poking his chest, her composure forgotten. "Don't you dare to talk badly about my family."

"But it is the truth." Shirou looked at Rias with pity on his eyes.

She hated that look. "They love me and want what is the best for me."

"I am not saying that they don't, but I should remind you that your father made a marriage contract and never asked your opinion." It was Shirou's turn to point something out. "Or are you going to just give up because it is for your family sake."

"I will not! I won't marry someone I don't love!" Rias' words now carry both anger and passion but mostly anger. She was angry with her family who placed her in such a position, angry at Shirou for still insisting on the conversation. And angry at herself for she still feels uncertain. "I will win the Rating Game. I will be free."

"So that is what you want. Freedom." Shirou barely whispers but Rias turns back and starts walking away.

"If we aren't training anymore then we are done." Rias announces quickly but Shirou knows that if she leaves now then nothing will be solved.

"Who said we aren't training?" Rias stops as Shirou continues. "We don't have time for you to be slacking and the sun has not set yet."

"So what? Do I still keep blocking you?" Rias turns but instead of seeing a bow on Shirou's hands she watches as he traces a sword, a familiar katana. "What the-"

"Instead of a hunt, what about a spar? Usually you just face Akeno so we never fought each other before." Shirou comments as Muramasa back touches his shoulder in a show of confidence.

"Shirou…this joke has already gone too far." Rias sounds scared by the notion of a fight but not because of the Noble Phantasm. "The reason why I only train with Akeno is because she is the only one with the means to counter my Power of Destruction."

"And you are underestimating me- or better yet, you are underestimating Muramasa." Getting into position with his two hands on the handle, Shirou smiles confidently. "Or is the Heiress of Gremory afraid of a simple human with a sword?"

Pride wounded, Rias decides to prove to Shirou that Noble Phantasm or not, a sword like Muramasa can't just challenge her Power of Destruction. "Fine, but you better dodge this."

With a chuckle, Shirou turns his body to the side and changes the position of his arms. "Batter-up!" Rias couldn't help herself but chuckle a little but her anger wasn't forgotten and her pride demanded that she proves her point.

So her aura starts to focus in a magic circle on her hand. 'Nothing too big, just a small blast to erase that sword.' Rias never faced a Noble Phantasm in combat but Muramasa wasn't known for fighting devils and she was confident her Power would win.

Aiming at Shirou's right to make absolutely sure that she wasn't going to hit him by accident. But Rias really wants to see Muramasa destroyed now and either because of her emotions or because her body was still ready for combat because of the training, the blast she unleashed was the biggest of the day.

For a second, Rias regretted her choices as the attack was bigger than she expected and fear almost consumed her. "Shiro, look out!"

Contrary to the heiress, Shirou was serene and fearless. Even if the sword in his hands wasn't the original he still knows everything about it, every detail and was confident that the Noble Phantasm would cut even Destruction.

With a swing of his blade, the Power of Destruction is cut and ends up passing around the sword greatly reduced. The sleeves of Shirou's jacket were damaged by the dark energy but they failed in destroying them thanks to the Noble Phantasm and the magus' Reinforcement.

The tree behind Shirou loses a couple of its branches while the ground is slightly damaged but in the end Rias can only look surprised how her fellow redhead had held his ground unscratched, a smile on his face when Muramasa was pointed in her direction.

"Are you still going to underestimate me?" Shirou questions without hesitation, making Rias blink and notice that his sleeves were damaged.

"That was too dangerous, Shirou! Why didn't you dodge?" The heiress' question made Shirou frown.

"Because I didn't need to dodge and you shouldn't underestimate the power of a Noble Phantasm." Then he changes his posture to hold it horizontally close to his face. "So as you see, Akeno isn't the only one that can counter your Power of Destruction."

"That was-" Rias interrupts herself as she knows it was true, that she failed in breaking Muramasa. "I was holding back."

'She is just too stubborn. Let's see how long she can keep up with the excuses.' Shirou was now going to really force the situation. "If you don't want to spar, fine. Just admit your power is not that big of a deal."

"Excuse me?" Rias is feeling offended again.

"I mean, it has so many defects." Shirou starts counting with his hand. "You can't control it, it consumes too much energy and can be disrupted too easily."

"You needed a Noble Phantasm to even disrupt it!" Rias said back, barely containing her irritation.

"If you say so." With his free hand Shirou makes four familiar knives. "Let's test that, shall we?" He didn't hesitate and threw the knives and in return Rias used another blast of Destruction, cutting the power just as it made contact.

And watching as her blast exploded mid air, coming undone. "What?"

"'Power of Destruction can be nullified by mana'. That was one of the first things I learned about it, remember?" Shirou asked with a smile.

"Those words…you are referring to-"

"The night we met. The night when I saved your life and you saved mine." Shirou made another knife and Rias could see it clearly regardless of the distance. "You also forgot that all my creations are made of mana and use mana for most of their functions. Since they are made of mana, all I have to do to counter your Power is overload them, even if the blast was bigger than expected." He shrugs casually. "Either way, I didn't expect it to completely stop your attack but I suppose that it just proved that the Power of Destruction is not such a big deal after all."

Hearing the insult towards her Power again was starting to get to Rias as she offered Shirou a smile full of competitiveness and her aura started to grow in intensity again. "My, my Shiro. Maybe I underestimated you a little too much."

'Well, the nickname is back. I don't know if that is a good or bad thing.' Shirou still felt he should say something as a retort. "You have failed to hit me for two days already, thinking of trying for real on the third?"

"I was trying to not damage the wildlife, you know? Per the instructions for my training." Her aura grows more intense but Shirou just smiles.

"Well, consider that training on hold and try to hit me with everything you got. I promise to do the same." Another two knives join its sibling on his hand as Rias prepares her attack.

Her smile was positively feral. "As you wish." She had decided, 'If Shiro wants a fight, that is what I am going to give him!' So she shot another blast, bigger than the previous one but once again aiming a little to the side.

Shirou throws his knives, mana already ready for another explosion but he is surprised when the Power of Destruction partially ate them and he had to step away since his counter attack failed.

"It is still a competition of power Shirou and I am stronger than you." Rias was confident that was enough to make Shirou back down but wasn't disappointed when he just looked back at her with a feral smile of his own.

"There is more to a fight than just power." The magus raises his sword. "And you still can't break this."

"Challenge accepted." WIth the magic circle still in front of her, Rias lets out another blast, daring Shirou to cut it with his sword.

What she forgot was that while she took his provocation as a challenge, Shirou had no need to do it and just ran to the side letting the wave of Destruction decimate a couple of trees while an astounding Rias tried to look where Shirou had run off to.

"Oh no! Not this again!" This time Rias spread her bat-like wings and took flight. "I won't let you escape-" She moves her head just in time to dodge an arrow that took off a little of her hair and cut her cheek. "What?"

Arrows fly from the woods and Rias keeps dodging. Identifying the tree where Shirou was shooting at her, she starts to accumulate mana for a circle but the magus attacks are too fast which makes her take longer.

Once she was ready, Rias sent another wave of Destruction from above, Shirou's hiding spot turning to dust. For a second the heiress watched in horror as she feared that she killed her friend when another arrow lodged itself on her arm.

The fright and pain make the heiress react as she tries to get some distance from the trees but soon her back hits the top of the boundary field as arrows keep being shot at her, forcing her to move to the side to dodge . 'Maybe flying was a mistake.' Some corner of her mind managed to think as she threw herself to ground level at top speed.

Almost hitting the ground, Rias recovers her balance just in time to land on her feet and stop herself after a couple of steps. Looking to her arm she notices that the arrow was still there and she grabs it with her hand.

'Shirou can follow this easily.' Rias reminds herself as she covers her hand with an aura of Destruction and uses it to break the arrow apart. Such a method was much weaker and more time consuming but she didn't need a circle as the arrow quickly stopped existing. 'I need to move.'

Using her wings again, Rias starts to move around the trees in the opposite direction she knew Shirou was at. In any other situation, she would be just sending beams in her opponent's direction but the problem was that said opponent is Shirou and she doesn't want to harm him.

'In terms of power, I can beat him. I know this.' Rias thinks to herself as she retracts her wings and starts to run around the trees while keeping in mind the limits of the boundary field. 'But that would be a fair fight and Shirou isn't in the mood to play fair.'

She had seen him sparring with Kiba and Setsuna, she knew he practiced archery and used his swords in various ways during combat. But she didn't know his arrows could fly as high as they did to reach her or even that he would react so fast to her flying up to locate him.

'Was that planned?' Rias can admit to herself that she isn't the best planner but she likes to think she can read the situation enough by herself. Getting behind a tree and looking around she sees no sign of her magician. 'If he anticipated that I was going to fly, doesn't that mean if he could take me out, he would have already done it?' She runs to another tree to change her position, keeping her usage of mana to a minimum. 'No, the same could be said about me in the beginning, if I wanted to kill him I could have just thrown everything I had at him…or he could dodge that if the Noble Phantasm doesn't stop my Power by itself!'

It was vexing for her how Muramasa survived the Power of Destruction and she wants to throw everything she has against it just to prove a point. However she also realized that without someone using Muramasa there wouldn't be a contest at all which was what she wanted.

'I just have to get Shiro first. If I can get him -'

"Rias~ Where are you~" Cutting her thoughts is Shirou walking around the woods almost like he would in a normal stroll. "You know…we can stop this, if you want. All you have to do is admit that the Power of Destruction sucks!"

'He is trying to goad you, to force a mistake. He literally taught you about that yesterday.' Her pride demands her to protest but the King of Gremory swallows it and starts moving to try and circle Shirou's position to get him from behind. 'Don't fall for his trap. Don't fall for his trap. Don't fall for his trap.'

"I mean, you have been running around for a while now." Shirou looks to the side, unsure if he heard Rias or just the wind. "So far all you managed to do was barely burn my sleeves."

'He is trying to make you give your position.' Rias kept moving everytime Shirou's eyes were away from her location, the close trees and bushes providing the perfect cover while her steps were mindful of any stray branches. 'Just don't say anything. You get him from behind, you push him to the ground with your mana and destroy that annoying sword! Easy three step plan. Follow it!'

"I mean, your Devil's Luck is a worse Power but that is how things are and the Gremory Clan got the short end of the stick." Rias could feel herself flinching. "It is just something so random and uncontrollable. Maybe even more wild than the Power of Destruction." At every word Shirou spoke she had to fight to not react. "Who knows, maybe if your Clan didn't have such an useless Power then your father wouldn't be a coward that sold his daughter to the highest bidder."

That did it. "Don't talk about my father like that!" Rias released the Power of Destruction in anger but Shirou turned the moment his nose twitched by the mana's presence.

"There you are!" Muramasa swings on his hands and Shirou manages to use it to cut the stream of Destruction that threatened to consume him. But Rias was furious now and she wasn't stopping puring mana on the attack, she was angry and just needed to vent. "Finally trusting that I can take your Power?"

Once Shirou said those words, Rias snapped out of her anger and stopped, but she didn't make the magic circle disappear. "Apologize!"

"Why? For telling the truth?" Another blast goes his way but blocks with Muramasa again. "That won't work, Rias. You may be stronger than me but you aren't stronger than Muramasa."

"I don't care, apologize!" Rias widens her circles and throws a blast even stronger than before.

'Maybe I have spoken a little too much.' Shirou jumps to the side again, but this time Rias is not holding anything back as her attack pursues him. "Okay! Okay! Sorry for talking about your Power! I was exaggerating!" That made Rias stop.

"Apologize for what you said about my father!" She demands and Shirou hesitates. "Apologize!"

"That I can't do. You know I am awful at lying." Shirou was ready when another wave came, Muramasa altered to its pure defensive form and he used it as a pillar to block the attack.

'No more playing around!' Rias thinks in fury at seeing that Shirou was managing to resist her power, only the terrain behind him being damaged by her assault. "This is not a joke Shirou! Apologize properly or I will really go all out!"

"You know I can't do that! You will see the lie and then call me out on it!" Shirou protests but he can see Muramasa starting to crack as Rias raises the intensity of the beam. "Damned! Trace on!"

Copies of Muramasa fall to the side to give Shirou enough space to break his guard and jump out of the way as the area where he was is destroyed by the dark energy. "You don't know what you are talking about, Shirou! You don't know how devils do things!" Rias said while preparing again.

"How am I supposed to know if you don't tell me anything?!" Shirou shouts back as he makes a beeline towards Rias, knives appearing on his hand. "You didn't tell me about the wedding! You didn't tell me about the danger and later you just tried to send me away!" He throws the knives before she could unleash her attack.

Still keeping herself focused, Rias sends out a ball of Destruction to intercept the knives and lifts a barrier to protect herself from the explosion that came next. Shirou didn't mind those facts since he accomplished his objectives; Rias was unbalanced and he was out of her line of fire.

"I told you already that it was all devil business!" Rias continued talking as Shirou approached. Only when he was closer to her did he notice that there was a magic circle above her head.

'That is new!' His mind screams in alarm and he barely dodges before a blast of red mana hits his arm and he notices something. "That wasn't the Power of Destruction."

"I want to beat you up, not kill you!" It was all Rias had to say as three other circles joined the first and she opened fire.

Muramasa blocks a couple of shots before Shirou has to step back and keep blocking to avoid damage with moderate success as the continuous shots manage to pass his defense and he takes some hits. "You have way more control of those." He points out while trying to avoid getting hit.

"A recent development!" Two more circles appear and Shirou has to use Reinforcement to keep up his defense. "It also allows me to teach you a lesson for insulting my father!"

"And we both know that was the truth!" Shirou focuses completely on defense as the blasts keep pushing him back. "I exaggerated about your Powers, I bluffed about the Power of Destruction but what your father did was something unacceptable these days! You know that!"

"I already told you; that is devil business!" A sixth circle appears and combined with the rest launches a huge beam of mana that has Shirou moving to the side and cutting a tree to use it as cover. Muramasa easily managed to cut the tree in half but the blast failed to destroy it completely, raising a cloud of dust that blind Rias. "Damned!"

The devil moves closer to look for the magus, a magic circle remaining on her hand as she does it but the dust was too high for her to find anything and Shirou wasn't showing himself.

"I wish that I could use elemental magic right now." Rias whispered as her eyes kept moving but she saw no signs of the human or heard any sound. "What is wrong, Shiro? Weren't we going to fight?"

Suddenly she hears a loud noise and another tree starts to fall in her direction. With a quick movement of her wrist another magic circle appears and unleashes a ball of Destruction that decimates the top of the tree.

But Rias didn't see Shirou rushing from the other side, ready to tackle her only to collide against a red wall of mana. "A barrier?" He didn't notice that Rias had used the first circle for a barrier the moment she shot at the falling tree.

"Misdirection is something basic, Shiro. Our first real lesson and you thought I didn't learn?" Now Rias has a magic circle in his face with the tip of her finger. "Ready to apologize?"

"Since when can you do that so fast?" Shirou was impressed with her quick reaction.

"Making barriers is easy when they aren't supposed to be made from one of the most volatile energies in the universe." The magic circle starts to glow more. "Now say you are sorry."

"That would be a lie." Shirou replied.

"Say it anyway." Rias demanded with a glare.

"Why? It is clear my opinion doesn't matter much since you kept secrets from me." More mana was getting ready in the circle when Rias replied.

"That had nothing to do with you." She said between clenched teeth.

"My creation, my work, our efforts and you still say that it had nothing to do with me?" Shirou sounds hurt to her ears but Rias doesn't relent. "Why didn't you trust me?"

"I trusted that you would finish EM. You almost did." It was so close that almost Rias fell apart from how close she was from being free before everything went wrong.

"No! If you told me, I may have finished it in time." Shirou said back.

"How? Are you saying you weren't trying hard enough?" Rias asked back and Shirou chose to not reply. "You were giving your best and it doesn't matter anymore."

"Of course it matters." The circle is ready to shoot. "You are still underestimating me."

"Shirou, this fight is over." Controlling herself, Rias prepares just enough energy to knock him out, planning to leave him in the woods for the rest of the afternoon to teach him a lesson.

Instead of things going as the devil planned Shirou moves, his body perfectly dodges to the side too fast for Rias to react.

A white aura flickering around Shirou for a second before disappearing. "You are more skilled and talented with your mana than I thought." Shirou whispers as she tries to prepare another attack but he grabs her hands and points them to the sky with his circuits visible by the use of Reinforcement. "Maybe I should take this more seriously."

With a strong kick, Rias is sent a couple of steps back with surprise written all over her face. 'How did he move so fast?' She barely wonders as she makes another magic circle with enough mana to take down a wall before noticing that Shirou already had his black bow, the one she only ever saw a couple of times before, with an strange arrow with a spiral shape aiming towards her. "What-"

"My turn." Shirou lets the strange arrow fly and Rias could feel her hair being pushed back by the wind as the projectile passed the side of her head. "Caladbolg."

Then a deafening explosion happened behind Rias and she was thrown forward, falling on her knees as the blast was too strong for her to remain standing. When she turned her head she noticed that there wasn't fire, only devastation but of a different kind than what she expected.

Besides being extremely powerful the Power of Destruction was also 'clean' in a sense for when it was used nothing was left behind, not even the dust remained when it was properly applied.

But what Rias was seeing was a simpler form of destruction but still considerable potent; a huge crater the size of a warehouse now dominates half of her training ground. A section of the huge forest now has only falling remnants of trees and stone as nature gave way to destruction and disaster.

"You are more powerful than me, you have much more mana and your talent with it without the Power of Destruction shows that you are more skilled than I am." Shirou speaks slowly and Rias can't help but shiver at his words. "But even if I can only use a few pieces of magecraft compared to the ease you can direct your Power of Destruction or shoot your own mana faster than bullets, I am still stronger than you."

And Rias believed that, for the first time since she met Shirou, she could honestly say without a doubt that he was stronger than her. It was something she never considered possible, something that never even crossed her mind. To her Shirou was skilled beyond compare but she was the powerhouse and the stronger one in their relationship.

Sure she knew that he was stronger than Kiba, she had watched enough of their spars to realize that. But despite his tricks, his skill or his strange magic, Rias always has been confident that she was the one that could deliver the most damage, take care of the most serious threats.

Shirou can see the disbelief, doubt and resignation crossing Rias' face and after sighing he began to talk. "You may have been stronger in the past but you forgot something and it was the same thing I was talking about before when I was saying you should prepare better for Riser." Making sure that their eyes were fixed on each other, he declares firmly. "You forgot to keep improving, to chase other means to do something instead of letting things happen when you had just a single plan." He could see her eyes grow wide but he wasn't stopping now. "After Shinji, after Medusa, I kept training, I didn't take those victories for granted. As long as this body can grow I will always chase greater highs, all for the sake of my goals."

"Your goals? Don't you mean your dreams?" Rias couldn't believe what was happening, especially after Shirou shook his head.

"My dream remains the same, I still pursue for everyone's happiness, to see a world where nobody has to cry." Rias recognized the words that she heard what felt like a lifetime ago. "But I also told you that it was impossible, I know it even if I still try. But I keep my dream alive by pursuing the goals that are part of it."

"What are you talking about?" Rias didn't understand, she couldn't until Shirou spoke again.

"My goals are to make sure that the people that I care about don't cry." He spoke with solemnity, almost like if he was delivering a judgment. "Even if my dream is impossible, this goal is possible. By caring about someone, by helping them, by protecting them, by protecting you." Rias was taken back by the declaration. "But how can I help you if you don't trust me?" Shirou pointed to the destruction behind her. "Now, do you see my strength? Do you really think that anything that I spoke before was out of malice? Or that I don't want to do what is best for your sake?"

"That…that is what my father wants." Shirou was surprised that Rias replied as she got back to her feet. "That is why he made the contract, not for the Gremory sake but for mine." Dark mana starts to pour out Rias' body, a clear sign she was getting ready to unleash Destruction once again. "He believes that this is an act of love, for the sake of his daughter and the Gremory at the same time."

"But you don't want it."

"Of course I don't!" If around Rias everything wasn't already destroyed, part of it would be as she started to let her Power out. "I don't want to marry someone I don't love."

"It still doesn't explain why you didn't talk to me?" Shirou observes.

"Because I didn't want to trouble you." Rias manages to rein her power, her eyes not leaving Shirou as the shades of the trees behind him indicate that afternoon had arrived. "You are too nice, Shiro. Too generous, too kind. If I had told you, I feared you would end up doing something to put yourself in danger." She even smiled at him, a small thing that looked happy and sad at the same time. "That is why I tried to jump in Ise's bed, I thought he would take the opportunity out of perversion, the same way I know you would do it out of compassion."

"'Compassion'? Is that why you didn't try and talk to me?" Shirou almost couldn't believe that but Rias chuckles bitterly.

"You were my first choice, if I was to give my virginity to someone, I wouldn't mind if it was you." She reveals it to him, making the magus blush at the implication. "But I couldn't, you are human and if the situation devolved to a Rating Game anyway, assasins would be sent. I could have tried Kiba, even if he is just too much of a gentleman I am sure he would do it but then his life would be in peril…"

"But Issei is the Red Dragon Emperor's host." Shirou realized with a frown. "That is why you chose him, even if he is weak now, his presence in the Underworld is basically a deterrent by itself."

"I am sure that in this case, my brother would be able to throw his weight around. The Fallen Angels are confirmed to have the White Dragon Emperor as an agent and Ise can become the counterbalance that stops a future war." Rias explains with a shrug. "So killing him was out of the question. If only I was faster or Grayfia hadn't shown up, maybe this Rating Game wouldn't be happening. Now that it is scheduled and Grayfia warned me even if I am no longer a virgin, things will mostly proceed anyway with consequences after the game should I lose."

"Is that it?" Shirou questioned but Rias barely react. "Is that your excuse for not trusting me? We could have found a solution."

"We are solving it." The dark aura returns. "We are training, growing strong and then we will defeat Riser."

"I hate repeating myself but as you are now, you have no chance." Rias chuckles at Shirou's words, once again taking them as a challenge.

"You showed me your strength, now I show you my power." A huge magic circle, bigger than Rias herself, appears in front of her. Shirou traces a smaller version of Muramasa and places it on the bow while Rias crosses her arms in front of her face and gets ready. "Get ready Shiro! I won't hold back anymore!"

…

A huge explosion is heard all around the forest. The birds, critters, any creature with some measure of survival instinct starts to run away from the proximity as they can tell that two powers are colliding.

And also because of the small tremors going around as Yoruichi's boundary fields couldn't stop those from affecting the rest of the area. 'I can feel a headache incoming.' Despite her boundary fields being sustained by the ley lines, she can still feel what is happening to them to an extent. 'Power versus Power, human versus devil. Who will win?' Casually the nekomata grabs Koneko's leg and looks at her. "I am sorry little kitten but I don't think I will be able to keep going anymore today."

"Something wrong, sensei?" Koneko respectfully asked as Yoruichi let go of her leg and the white haired girl allowed the nekomata to gently pat her head.

"Just two stubborn gingers trying to decide who is the most stubborn one." The area trembled again and Yoruichi flinched. "And as the creator of the boundary fields I can feel the strain these two are putting them through."

Understanding who Yoruichi was referring to, Koneko found herself impressed. "Buchou and Shirou must be training a lot. Usually only Akeno-san can push Buchou's buttons like that."

'Yeah but usually Akeno is just looking for excuses to tease her friend a little. Shirou just decided to push harder and I don't think Rias is taking it well.' Looking up, Yoruichi can see a cloud of dust which indicates another explosion. "Say little kitten…is there any trouble for us to stop a little earlier today? Shirou said that he wouldn't be able to make dinner," another explosion almost interrupts her, "and I think he was right."

"So we aren't getting Shirou's food today?" The face that Koneko made upon hearing that she wasn't getting Shirou's food almost made Yoruichi seriously consider trying to weaponize her cuteness.

'I mean, one or two members of Riser's team could actually fall for the cute pout from the little kitten.' Instead of telling Koneko that, Yoruichi pats her head once again. "Look into the bright side, at least you are going to return to the mansion with your own feet this time."

Koneko's pout just gets more pronounced but Yoruichi just laughs.

…..

The battle between the redheads lasted the rest of the day and was still going in the middle of the night. There was no offer for pauses or breaks, both fighters decided that they wouldn't stop until the other stopped first, the fight basically devolving into a struggle to see who was in the right.

Most of the area has been demolished by explosion or blasts of Destruction, only a couple of trees in the periphery managed to stay standing while the ground was mostly torn asunder by the colliding powers.

With little to no cover remaining, both redheads now have perfect vision of their opponent as the fight continues even as the two of them are starting to run out of steam. Despite exhaustion and wounds, their powers are still clashing.

An arrow flies across the devastated battlefield, two others following on its wake towards the maiden with a single magic circle in front of her. She aims and shoots the three projectiles down with exactly three small spheres, practically bullets, made of red mana. Both attacks meet and destroy each.

There are no explosions this time as the long haired woman then clenches her teeth as the effort of attacking is starting to become painful for her. Her hands tremble and her mana fluctuates but another couple of bullets are shot as she forced her legs to run when the archer dodged her attacks and prepared another arrow which was quickly shot and only missed her leg because she didn't stop moving despite exhaustion and injuries.

Shirou had stopped with any kind of special arrows, he was so tired after hours of combat that everytime he tried to pull mana for anything big he could feel like magma was poured in his circuits. To keep himself in the fight he stopped with Reinforcement and started to use normal arrows that aren't capable of truly harming Rias.

Rias also was on her last legs as she batted an arrow away with one hand and sent a bullet out of mana in response. During the whole fight she was the one throwing her Power around for the most part and was the main responsible for the devastation around them and now she is paying for it as her huge reserves finally started to dwindle to the point she can't use the Power of Destruction anymore.

Both sides are clearly exhausted but neither is quitting, they are both still trying to find a way to secure a definitive victory in their conflict but neither has enough energy remaining to try and pull out an elaborate move or do a hard push for victory.

Jumping inside one of the craters made during the fight, Rias was smiling despite the situation. 'Never before I had to fight so hard in my life.' Covered in sweat, some blood on her shirt with her red sports bra a little exposed after her jacket was destroyed and her pants now missing half a leg, she took a second to breathe. "Aren't you tired, Shiro? I am sure our friends in the mansion are missing your cooking." She felt her dry throat protest when she raised her voice but she needed some time to rest her body.

With a similar plan of his own, Shirou relaxes his back on one of the stones that survived the struggle. "I was thinking exactly the same thing. I will even make sushi." He was bleeding from his forehead and shoulder with his shirt barely surviving at this point, his pants have many holes which were created by Rias' hits and he had small burns on his arms.

"Why Shiro, I would love that." Rias prepares herself, gathering mana on her hand once again.

"Great, can you let go of the mana you are preparing now?" His nose twitching and the ominous red light visible under the stars and the moon were the only hint Shirou needed to prepare another arrow.

"Will you let your bow go then?" Rias asked back with a chuckle that Shirou couldn't hear.

"Only if you step up with your hands in the air." Shirou also chuckled as well as they both knew the truth at this point.

"After you." She got into a crouch, exhaustion forgotten as her blood started to pump in excitement again.

"Ladies first." He was in similar condition and once again the white aura that he used a few times during the struggle covers his body to help him stand up before disappearing again much to his irritation.

The two redheads had already accepted the reality that their fight will only end when there is a winner and both move to grasp victory.

Rias jumps out of the crater she was hiding, her wings manifesting after being hidden for most of the fight. She was sure that Shirou wasn't in condition to try another barrage of arrows and decided that getting the high ground would be a definitive advantage since it would neutralize his swords for the most part.

She forgot to account for the fact that she isn't in peak condition anymore, her body protested her and the muscles on her back made sure to let her know she was pushing too far.

Even with those disadvantages, Rias manages to leave the crater fast enough that Shirou missed his shot since he didn't account for her flying but she estimated correctly he was low on mana. Instead of reaching the skies, all that the heiress managed to do was change her position which would have to be enough as her magic circle is already shooting bullets of mana in Shirou's direction.

The magus jumps behind the rock once again as it takes some hits. Without the Power of Destruction, Rias would need to use much more mana to actually break the rock even if it was smaller than a motorcycle. He managed to see that her wings weren't damaged but it was clear that Rias was too tired to fly properly.

On the other side of the battlefield Rias stopped shooting to try and think of a plan. Her training to use mana in combat was something she started after chasing Rutal and almost failed in getting hum but the undeniable fact is that her Power was still her best tool.

It also is a bitter pill that reminds her that she is too tired to use it on a simple rock. 'He must be tired as well. I just need a good hit.' After hours of combat she was mostly done; her mana was running close to empty and her muscles ached in ways that she didn't know they could in the first place.

Her eyes kept looking for both sides of the rock as one of her hands is holding the others with a magic circle on the tip of her fingers while remaining on guard. Rias knows that she is the one that needs to do something since Shirou was just saving his strength while she was spending hers by keeping a magic circle up.

'I need to get some distance.' In a competition of range she always held the advantage. Even with both of them holding back, most of her attacks don't care about obstacles and reach while Shirou needs to consider them unless he was going for Noble Phantasms, which he mostly avoided the same way she avoided just throwing the Power of Destruction in his direction. 'I doubt he can use that spiral arrow after all this. If I stay away, I win.'

Enacting her plan, Rias calmly starts to step back away from Shirou's direction. The night was her ally and once she got far away she knew that her magician will have to get closer to even see what she was doing which will give her enough time to rest and recover.

'I will be giving him an opening too but he will have difficulty aiming in the dark, I will not.' Step by step, Rias keeps her arms locked and aiming at the rock. The more she distanced herself from it the easier it was for her to see from where Shirou could attack. 'Then I just need to follow his path and attack when there is an opportunity.'

Rias was getting more and more confident in her chances of victory. As a fight that began with trickery, escalated with power and got reduced to a stand off between two exhausted fighters, the heiress can't help herself but admire the level of combat she engaged with Shirou.

More than once she thought how she never had a fight like that, neither with the strays she hunted or even with Akeno who was the only one Rias believed could truly keep up with her. In that aspect she could no longer deny that Emiya not only could fight against the Power of Destruction but also had the tools that could kill her if he wanted. The same way she could try and kill him if she wanted and only their bond stopped them from even considering the thought..

'Now that I think about it, that arrow feels awfully familiar…also that name…' What felt like the wind snapped Rias' attention back towards the rock. 'I will ask him about it later. For now I have a fight to win.' Another calm step back later was when things got into motion again.

It was then that Shirou acted.

Despite his wounds, Shirou moved faster than Rias anticipated but at that point she already was dozens of meters away from him and managed to lock his position easily as she expected with her night vision.

Keeping her magic circle only with the bare minimum, Rias unleashes small shots of mana towards Shirou. Her goal was to incapacitate but even if small the bullets pack enough punch to knock out low level devils.

Rias expected him to not see the shots, she was sure that her energy was dark enough to be almost invisible to a human's eye during the night with a dark red color that made them pass by huge flies.

'I win!' Rias thought to herself excited as her three shots, two for Shirou's legs and one for his chest, crossed the distance at full speed. She was sure that her attack was truly as fast as a bullet from a pistol if not faster.

But Shirou didn't leave his cover without a plan. "I am the bone of my sword." He said immediately after he started running in Rias' direction and Wolfsbane showed up on his hand.

The light silver blade was the best thing Shirou could trace at the moment. He doesn't need to contest against the Power of Destruction anymore, Rias wasn't using it and while the sword's ability to deny impact couldn't affect mana, it can still be used to protect himself while giving him a sword to use.

What Shirou desired at the moment was speed, speed to reach Rias faster and speed to block her attacks. He can see them approaching him, the heiress had made a miscalculation and the mana was visible to him under the moon and the stars, a devil wouldn't notice the light since her eyes didn't need it at night but Shirou could and used it to his advantage.

Thanks to the light sword, Shirou manages to bat away Rias' mana, leaving her astounded.

Not willing to accept defeat, the heiress goes for one last big push by channeling as much mana she was could spend in the magic circle to let out a fast barrage of attacks, all the same size and shape than the previous ones in hopes that the magus won't be capable of blocking everything.

What was supposed to be just a few attacks ended up as over a dozen as Rias wanted to end things before Shirou managed to hit her. She was right that the magus wouldn't be able to block everything but she was wrong in thinking that would stop him.

Wolfsbane moves as fast as Shirou can swing it, his arms may be tired but he recognized Rias' attack for what it was; a last ditch effort. That knowledge gave him confidence to keep moving forward and experience with faster attacks allowed him to block anything dangerous while ignoring those who would pass by him harmless.

Realizing that the fight is over, Rias lets her hands fall and waited as Shirou starts to slow down until he is just walking in her direction. Once the magus stopped just a couple steps away from the devil he raised his blade and held it over Rias' shoulder and close to her neck.

"This is my win, Rias." Shirou declares with some gravitas, Wolfsbane not touching the girl's flesh but the meaning was clear.

"Indeed it is, Shiro." Rias admits defeat with a sad smile before she falls down on her back from exhaustion still with a smile on her face. "Ow. It hurts." Shirou chuckles at her complaint before falling at her side, also exhausted.

Still, Shirou had enough mana to trace EM and stab Rias on the arm. "Give me a minute, will you?" She says nothing as the original EM got to work.

That was until her wounds were healed and she could grab Shirou's arm. "So you were holding back."

"Don't act like you weren't either." Shirou says back, their eyes meeting. "I am sure if you wanted, you could have leveled the forest around us and destroyed any cover.

"Hum~ maybe~" Deciding to stop being cheeky, Rias decided to be honest. "I couldn't do it without gathering enough energy or giving up my location and I didn't want to take another arrow on the knee."

"I was trying to go for your arm. Not my fault you jumped at that exact moment." Shirou said in his defense.

"Yeah, yeah." Rias says mockingly. "By the way, how are your wounds now?"

The question made Shirou realize that he had been healed as well and he gave the devil a glare before looking to his hand and noticed that Rias was pushing the scalpel tip just enough to pierce a finger. "This situation feels awfully familiar."

At the comment Rias lets out a small laugh as she lets go of Shirou's hand. "Like the first time we met, remember. That time you didn't want to be healed either."

"Because you looked exhausted, like right now." That only made the young woman laugh a little harder.

"Hahaha, ow. Stop making me laugh, it hurts a little." Rias said while looking at the now disappearing scalpel. "Any reason to not use the ."

"It uses too much stamina." It was the only real flaw that Shirou couldn't solve. Besides that it was superior to the original EM in every sense; uses less mana, can be mass produced, it was 'guided' by the same rules as Twilight Healing so it could heal virtually anything but just applying mana correctly. "Considering we still have to get back to the mansion I thought about saving my strength to take us there."

"So you were going to carry me there? Maybe like a bride? You must have been really confident you were going to win the fight." Rias felt the need to try and make a joke.

"To be fair, the fight is over isn't it?" Shirou questioned and Rias laid there, silent. "Sorry for what I said about your father but I thought this was the best way to make sure you were giving your all out there."

"Because I never had a fight so intense, right?" There was no offense in Rias' tone but Shirou still flinched. "You were right about that. Most of my fights usually end too fast or I legitimately have no reason to go all out…in the days that Akeno doesn't piss me off that is." Once again Shirou flinched. "I am not mad at you."

"I still apologize. What I said was-"

"Necessary. I wouldn't give my all if you hadn't said what you did." Even if it was for a few moments, if Rias hadn't lost her cool and saw Shirou countering the Power of Destruction then things would have ended much earlier with her stopping herself to not harm her magician.

"It still doesn't make what I said right…even if I disagree with your father." Shirou said it while his eyes started looking at the stars.

Rias' eyes also turn to the heavens. "I don't like it either but that is one of the things that I want to change in the Underworld. I don't even need to become a Maou to do it, just by being the number 1 in Rating games then I will have enough influence to…to change things. To make sure people don't need to marry for duty, but for love."

"That still isn't your dream- let me finish." Shirou raises a hand to stop Rias from talking and she consents with a sigh. "That is something that you do want, don't think for a moment I doubt that. But it isn't something you have a drive for."

"A drive?" That was the first time Shirou used the term and Rias sounded interested.

"A desire or will to try and get something. Usually it is something you are passionate about and wish to reach with your whole being. At least that is my opinion." Rias was only more confused by this.

"So I lack this drive to reach number 1?" The heiress asked temptivally. "Is that because I didn't plan to fight Riser?"

"More like because you weren't preparing for a fight in the first place, something that is necessary to be the King of Rating Games from what I could see." Shirou closes his eyes almost like he was trying to fall asleep.

"So I should dedicate my life to just training?" Rias' frown was pronounced but Shirou didn't need to see it to know it was there.

"Not really. But a lot more effort wouldn't hurt. I know for a fact that Sona and her peerage do drills every day." That was something Rias didn't know and once again Shirou didn't need to look to know what kind of face she was making. "Issei, the responsable one, told me about them when I went to ask Sona's opinion about the marriage thing."

"You went to speak to Sona?" Rias was growing tired of being surprised but she couldn't help it.

"Of course. I needed to know if I could challenge Riser to get you away from the deal or something similar." Shirou opens his eyes and looks at Rias to show he was sincere. "But both her and your brother said that you would have to lose first and only a devil could issue such a challenge."

"So you asked Kuro to help with this training, to make sure that I wouldn't lose since no one would challenge Riser." Rias deduced and Shirou nodded.

"If I was a devil I would make a challenge but that is impossible." At that moment Rias was tempted to make an offer that she knew a certain member of Shirou's family would hate. "You can't reincarnate me either." But he beat her to the punch.

"Because of your sister?" Rias could understand the reason but Shirou scowled.

"If that was the only thing on the way I would offer my services in a heartbeat." Shirou's determination colored his voice.

"What- Shirou, do you understand what you are offering." He nodded. "I don't think you do. You are saying that you would willingly become my servant just to- to break a marriage."

"I would become your servant to set you free." When Rias looked in Shirou's eyes, her heart skipped a bit. "Human, devil, I already told you that it makes no difference to me. If I can keep my promise to Medusa and work my swords, I don't care about reincarnating. Unfortunately it is impossible."

"But we could try." Rias gulps after the words left her mouth. "I mean-"

"If you want to try, sure. But I am telling you it won't work." He extends his hand in her direction, a clear sign that she could try and reincarnate him if she wanted it. "Use the Rook if you are going to try. It is your best chance."

Without wasting a second, Rias feels whatever is left of her strength struggling to summon one last magic circle that allowed the Evil Piece to fall in her hand. "If this works-"

"It won't-"

"If this works!" Rias stops Shirou from interrupting her. "I will treat you like I always did. You don't need to call me King, master or anything like that."

And Rias wants it to work, not only because it would mean that Shirou would help her win the Rating Game, as he showed himself quite capable and wouldn't have the same mercy against Riser, but he would also stay with her forever.

It was a fear that she started to develop after a while of knowing Shirou and almost losing him to the assassins. Rias understood that she enjoyed his company, maybe even more than a devil should of a human; she liked how he would challenge her when they disagreed on something, she loved his food, every colorful dish that also carried a myriad of flavors, she liked his determination and how he didn't hesitate to do something just because he felt it was the right thing to do.

Like now, offering his soul to her for all eternity all for a thing that most devils stopped caring about. "I want this to work." Rias whispered.

"Me too…but it won't." That stopped Rias from placing the Evil Piece on his hand. "It is for the same reason why I am not a werewolf today."

Remembering that conversation a year ago, Rias blinks in shock. "An Artifact of some kind? Liz spoke about an Artifact or something so powerful that the curse of the werewolf wouldn't be a problem." Shirou nods at Rias' realization but her eyes look determined. "Doesn't matter. I…I want you to stay with me."

"Then we try. That is all we can do." Both sit down on the ground, Shirou with his legs crossed while Rias raised herself to her knees and started the process of reincarnation with the Rook being just above Shirou's chest.

The moment that the Evil Piece aura entered into contact with Shirou's soul he already knew the process had failed. Inside his mind he could see the places covered in blades and grass, untouched, unmatched, unending.

He saw the sun above his head, the Pegaus noticed him and flew around in his usual form of greeting. He also felt Rias' energy in a way he never felt before, trying to change him.

Shirou saw a cloud of bright red in the sky moving from the infinity horizon. It looked so small he almost didn't notice but it was there and it was trying to spread around, to try and take some of the sky for itself.

Then the sun started to shine more bright than ever, it didn't harm him and did nothing more to warm his spirit but Shirou felt that it was pushing the cloud out of its skies, not allowing it to even take an inch of the heavens.

For a long time now Shirou knew that the sun of his mind, of his soul, wasn't entirely his.

The cloud didn't give up, it was a testament of the quality of Evil Pieces how it didn't break apart. It tried to change its position to spread again but failed as the sunlight didn't allow the demonic energy to take any place as its own.

In the end, Shirou and the Pegasus watched as the red cloud started to shrink quickly, more and more of it just dissipating as only some smoke remained behind as the heavens themselves rejected it, sinking into the ground with all swords.

Opening his eyes Shirou knew not more than a few seconds had passed even if it felt like hours for him. "It failed." Rias' voice completely snapped him back to reality as her eyes looked like all her hope snatched from them. "I wasn't strong enough."

"It wasn't you, Rias." Shirou offers the Evil Piece back but Rias couldn't take it, too depressed to do anything. "I told you that the Artifact was just too much for me to be reincarnated." He almost said 'cursed' but managed to avoid it at the last second.

"Shirou, these kinds of Artifacts that could block powers like that are impossibly rare, one of a kind and the kind of things people would go to war for." Rias can think of only two out of her head. "They must be things superior to sacred gears and capable of rejecting- I am too weak. That must be the reason. That is why I can't reincarnate you."

"That isn't-"

"That is the only explanation." Rias lets herself sit down with her knees close to her face to hide her shame. "I am just too weak. I can't have your help, I can't defeat Riser, I can't get out of this marriage, I can't-"

"It is Avalon!" Shirou wasn't going to allow Rias to wallow in self pity and once she looked at him with wide eyes he knew she wouldn't. "It is Avalon."

Just hearing the name was enough to snap Rias out of her funk, her mind racing to hundreds of thousands of questions and conclusions. She almost called Shirou a liar, claiming to have the most powerful defensive Artifact on the planet would be a terrible lie even if it was to help her feel better.

"How?" But Rias knows Shirou, she knows him well enough that she was sure even if he ever comes to fix his inability to lie she would be able to call him on it.

So she doesn't doubt his words. Neither his claim nor the story he told just after, the story she heard before, of a boy and a fire, this time with the addition of the man saving him with a light that looked like the sun.

For a moment they stayed silent. "There was a white aura covering you during the story…" Rias said it just for the sake of saying something and Shirou realized that.

Deciding to give the girl a little more time to adjust to the revelation, Shirou decides to explain. "That is touki, or as much touki as I can muster after a year of training." He explains with a chuckle. "I am still not good enough to keep it going properly during a fight but it helps me catch my opponents by surprise."

"That burst of speed after it… that is touki?" Rias sounds impressed. As far as she knows, Shirou is the first human who managed to learn a facet of senjutsu and he is still young. "That is amazing, Shiro. Why didn't you tell us you managed to master touki? We would have thrown a party."

"Didn't you hear what I said?" He couldn't believe the devil's words. "I didn't master it, I barely can use it for a couple of seconds…or use it to control my breathing and body when telling that story…"

"The curse right?" Once or twice, Yoruichi mentioned her fascination for Shirou's condition when rambling about his training in senjutsu. "Must be something truly nasty if Avalon can't get rid of it completely." And thus they were back on the topic that Rias tried to avoid. "Oh Maou, I can't believe you have Avalon. I can't believe your father had Avalon."

"If you are going to try and summon a Servant for a War, why not King Arthur?" Shirou asked with a shrug. "Knowing my old man he wouldn't trust him with Avalon because of his paranoia but if he did, technically Arthur Pendragon would be an unstoppable Servant with the most powerful sword."

"Excalibur, Holy and complete." Rias shivered at the thought but Shirou felt strange about what she said for a reason he couldn't explain. "A frightening thought indeed."

Noticing the Rias' sad eyes, Shirou raises an eyebrow. "What is wrong?"

"How much you must have suffered that Avalon was your only hope." Rias doesn't even blame Shirou for keeping it a secret from the rest of them. Avalon was an Artifact that many factions would go to war for, including the known descendants of King Arthur, the Heaven, and anyone in general who would want to get their hands on it, the list which includes most if not all of the moonlit world. "Don't worry, Shiro. I won't tell anyone about it." Even if their Pact didn't stop her, she wouldn't.

"I don't doubt that…I wanted to tell it to you for a while now." Shirou admits with a small but bitter smile.

"Why? It wasn't like I needed to know about it." She can understand why he told her to help cheer her up but Rias understands the dangers. "With a secret like that…the less people know about it the better."

"Because…maybe I could have used it to improve the original EM." Shirou sounds ashamed and irritated but not at Rias but at himself. "Avalon is known to have healing properties, even if it can't work at full capacity. Maybe I could generate a similar effect to improve the healing and ease the process of creation."

"That is…completely insane!" Rias couldn't believe Shirou's words and almost tried to use what remained of her energy to smack him on the back of his head. "You were willing to risk exposing the energy of Avalon to the world just to complete EM? That is probably the dumbest thing I heard from your mouth!"

"Hold on! Hold on! I was going to talk with you first! It was just a possibility that I didn't attempt because of the risks." Shirou tries to calm Rias down.

He failed. "Good thing you didn't! That would put a target so big on your back that even my brother and the other Maous wouldn't be able to cover it! Damn! Avalon's location could spark another war by itself!"

"Dad told me that it would be dangerous but I think you are overreacting." Rias wanted to strangle Shirou for that comment alone.

"Oh yeah, lets see what Avalon can do; give eternal youth, regeneration close to immortality, preservation of the soul, protection against every single nasty thing under the sun, a mold for the most powerful sword ever made, access to fairy magic and, maybe the most important bloody thing, access to the realm of Avalon itself." Rias takes a second to breath before continuing. "Avalon itself Shirou! Avalon itself! The place where fairies live, where the Mage of Flowers is imprisoned and where many Artifacts created by the planet had their own origin and that scabbard is the key to open it again."

"Avalon is closed?" Shirou felt confused at the information.

"It is. After the death of King Arthur, Avalon was sealed off. Some people theorize that it was because the Heaven Faction refused to return Excalibur." Rias' explanation made no sense to him, especially when he felt something from inside his soul, some kind of protest of some sort. "That is why you shouldn't play around with it."

"I wasn't playing with it. As I said, I would have told you before if I was going to try something, it was just an idea and I didn't do it anyway." Shirou's response had a little anger that Rias couldn't tell it was there.

"Good thing that you didn't." Rias concluded with a nod and some relief.

"We wouldn't even be having this discussion now if you just had trusted me." Shirou's anger came in contrast to her relief, stunning Rias with his attitude. "There were so many other ways that we could get you out of that wedding without using EM and you didn't even notice."

"There were?" Rias sounds scared at the thought that she let something pass that could free her.

"I can make swords much more dangerous than the ones we are selling…swords that are close in power to Noble Phantasms even if they fall a little short." Shirou says slowly and with some dread. "If the Phenex Clan has enemies, we could see the swords to them, every Rating Game, every scenario where the Phenex tried to expand we could have someone there, armed with a dangerous weapon, to counter them until they agreed to leave you alone."

"That is…you would hate doing that." Rias realized immediately. "You would hate yourself for letting such dangerous instruments around. That is why we sell by request, so we always choose who we are selling to."

"But that would free you. I could live with that." And of that Shirou was absolutely sure. "Why didn't you trust me? Just because I am not a devil?"

"Because I was sure you would succeed." Rias pushes back any frustration and tears that wanted to explode from her chest. "I was so sure and once Asia arrived you were so close. So damn close…"

Looking to the ground, Shirou tries another approach. "You could give up the name Gremory." The proposition stunned Rias but she recovered.

"I can, except that if I do, I lose everything." Picking up some strands of her hair, she starts to examine them. "My name gives me many things, many privileges, including the one of having a peerage." Rias' words were enough for the magus but she continued. "That is the privilege and the burden of the name 'Gremory'. Maybe if I hadn't met any of them…"

"But you did." Shirou finished her thoughts. "Akeno, Kiba, Koneko, Gasper, Issei and Asia, you met all of them and giving up your name means to lose them." She nods with some fear, like that fate was worse than death. Shirou knew that for her it was. "At that point the marriage must be seen as worth it."

"I could ask my brother for an allowance and he would give me the money without strings attached, I could renounce and abandon everything and I wouldn't need to marry Riser."

Rias admits it while brushing her hair gently with her hands. "But the trade off would be my peerage and that I refuse to give up."

"So that is why you must fight…but why do you want to fight?" Shirou traded to change the conversation back to his original goal.

"Isn't that reason enough?" Rias sounds irritated but Shirou stops her from brushing her hair and holds her hand.

"It is now, for this. But in the future? Do you have something you want? You want so badly that the thought of not having it hurts?" Shirou tries to coax Rias gently, with both of them spent after the fight she was more open to the conversation and looked at him with some doubts. "Do you need to be the King of Rating Games or is that just something you think you should do?"

"I…" Rias is growing more and more confused with every word but Shirou held her hand to reassure her.

"Think of something you want. Yes, you want to protect your peerage however that is a goal, not a dream. Ask yourself this: what do Rias dream about? What does she want?" Shirou doesn't let go of her hand as Rias closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

'What I want…' The answer made her chuckle.

"You thought of something." Shirou observes with a smile.

"It is silly." Rias tells him.

"The best dreams are the silly ones. The ones we can live our whole lives pursuing." Shirou tells her, his smile growing in size.

"It is not like yours. It is silly not because it is impossible but because it is small." Rias tells him with a blush on her face.

"You don't need to have a big dream to do big things. You just need to want something." Shirou tells her with confidence.

"I want to travel." Rias finally tells him with a smile and her blush more pronounced.

"Where?" Shirou asked.

"More of Japan." Rias tells him, her face is now the same color as her hair.

"That is great. We can do that." Shirou told her confidently and started to get up.

Only for Rias' hand to pull him back. "I want to see more of Japan, all of it. And then I want to see Italy." She told him, her smile bigger. "I want to see the United States, and Egypt, and more of Europe, and more of Asia and, and…" Rias lets go of Shirou's hand and covers her face with her hands. "These are not the kind of things a heiress- no a Head of a Clan should be thinking about."

"Why not?" Rias could hear the amusement in Shirou's voice.

"It is unbecoming of me. I should be proper and an example to be followed. I should be a devil that inspires all devils, someone that they would pride themselves on following. Not a-"

"Normal girl?" Shirou interrupts her, using a hand to try and coach Rias to show her eyes again with moderate success but her blush didn't diminish. "Rias…do you want to know what I think you want?" She nodded nervously. "I think you want to travel, to see more of the world. I think…you want to be free."

'Free?' That word alone was enough to make Rias think. "But I am free. I could live if I wanted but I am choosing to take up my responsibilities."

"Free doesn't mean 'free of responsibility' neither does it mean the idea of 'do what you want'. Free, at least to me, means that you want to find your own happiness." Shirou was confident in his concept of freedom, it was the code he decided to live by. "Happiness, that is what I think you want. You want 'to be free and find your happiness'."

"But I can't do both." Rias, sounding extremely depressed, lets her hands rest on the ground as she clenches her fist around the devastated earth. "If I am to be the Head of the Gremory, I must do things for the sake of my family, to do my best for their progress even… I have to be Rias Gremory and show to all of those that follow me that I am worthy of being followed."

"But you already do, just by staying and fighting you are already doing it." Rias shakes her head in denial.

"Being a leader is more than just that." She tells him with a sad smile. "'I must always be an exemple of poise and grace, generous to my allies and a terror for my enemies'." Rias recites the words almost as if another person is talking. "'The nobility of the Underworld are more than the leaders of devils, they are the symbol where the power must always present themselves as the peak that all others must strive towards'."

Shirou didn't know if the words were a lesson, a motto or just something Rias heard in the past but he could tell that his friend always had tried to live by them. Other interactions in the past between them even got more context with that explanation, how sometimes she wouldn't back down even if she didn't like the alternative or how she tried to avoid asking for help until he forced her.

Rias Gremory was trying to be an unshakable example of a proper Lady and Head of her Clan while placing herself at risk.

Fortunately for Shirou, she also gave him the tools to prove to her that she was more than that. "So you must be a true example of devil nobility, is that right?" She nods resolutely and Shirou chuckles. "I didn't know that 'true devils' liked manga so much." That statement made Rias freeze.

"I- I- I don't know what you are talking about." The blush was back but Shirou expected that.

"Oh really? So did anyone else mess with your desk in the club where there is a complete collection of a certain manga?" The rhetorical question just makes Rias drop her shoulders in resignation.

"You know." The King of Gremory accepted that Shirou knew her great secret but the magician wasn't done.

"Rias…everyone knows." The revelation makes the devil look at him in fright and Shirou chuckles again at the expression. "And none of us mind." It impressed him how much innocent Rias could be about something like that. "Did you really believe that we would think less of you because you like reading manga?"

"But I am a noble. Their leader." Rias is quick to say. "I should be reading high regarded authors or books on strategy or-"

"Or you could read what you like and not try to hide it." Deciding to give Rias a break from trying to justify herself, Shirou interrupts her with a smile. "If you are good at your job then no one will mind what you read or watch. You care about your friends and family, our whole fight proved that," he felt a distinct urge to scratch where his arms were burned previously, "you know how to manage your territory, all the rules and pitfalls that would start a war and how to avoid them," he spoke on reference how she stopped him of attacking the Fallen Angels for that reason, "you helped me start a extremely lucrative business that is making your Clan's fortune grow besides taking advantage of their older business to benefit both." Since the Gremory were entrepreneurs before and had access to many locations and hotels that was how Rias managed to leverage all the material for him to work with. "Honestly, the only thing you are really bad at is understanding that we, your friends, care about you and not the image of you. Well that and keeping secrets."

That did it for RIas, she couldn't believe that the secret she carried around, a secret she felt was extremely shameful, was actually nothing to her peers, and not just Akeno either. "Everyone really knew?"

"I think the only ones that don't know yet are Asia because she didn't have enough time in the club to be caught when you slip and try to hide your books or Gasper who never left his room and no one bothered to tell him." Shirou admits with a shrug. "You don't need to act like a noble to be a good leader, Rias."

It was like everything that she believed, everything she was raised by was questioned and shattered right before her eyes. 'They don't care.' Deep down, a part of her already knew it but having it presented on her face like that truly woke her up from what felt like a long sleep. 'They don't care that I am a Gremory, the future Head. They don't care for my contacts, for my power, they care about me.' Remembering how Shirou barely reacted at her name when they met besides the mention of Ars Goetia or how even the Pact was more something he took because of his mother, she looks at him again. "And you wouldn't mind if I was just me? If I threw my name aside to save my peerage and we had to start from the scratch?"

"Would you be happy?" The question surprises her. "Would you smile? Because you are one of my goals, one of the people I want to see smiling the most."

'I want to be me.' Rias realized and offered Shirou a smile that was shining like the stars above them. "I want to be who I want to be." She says loudly and proudly. "I want to explore. To see more of this world and the Underworld too. I want to be me! Rias! Not Gremory!" That was Rias' sincere wish. "I also want to make my family proud." She continued, more subdued. "I want to stay with everyone, to have fun, to take some time on my day to read my manga, to cook and to love who I want to love." She stopped, looking at Shirou with her true smile. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Nothing." He responds and she gets closer.

"So I can love who I want to love, I can go where I want to go and I can be responsible because that is what I want?" Rias was closer to Shirou, her hands on his knees and their eyes not leaving each other. "I can really be me?"

"Yes." It was a simple response but told her everything she wanted to hear..

"Would you mind helping me? To stay with me?" Their faces are closer now.

"For as long as you would have me."

"Does it matter where I go?"

"I would follow."

"And if I get lost?"

"We will find the way."

Rias moved even closer and their lips met, for a moment, both froze, neither knowing what to do. It was impulse that moved the devil but it was the warmth of the moment that kept them together.

They started moving, more out of instinct than practice and their movements were clumsy and messy, especially when Rias found her hands around Shirou's neck and his on her hair. It was strange but they both liked the sensations and the feelings they were getting. They enjoyed each other's taste for as long as they could until they needed to separate to catch their breath.

Soon they were at it again, Shirou's back touching the ground and Rias followed him with excitement. It was the best even if it was messy, it was perfect even if it was odd.

When they separated again both were blushing but Rias was giggling a little. "You have such a dopey face right now."

"Do I?" Shirou believed her words, he was sure he was smiling like an idiot or a lunatic.

"You do. And it is so cute on you." She lowers herself and their lips meet again.

It was better now, experience being the greatest teacher had the two of them improve in their second attempt. Things are still messy but they are enjoying each other and soon instincts start to completely take over.

A hand going to a lower back, a pair of lips touching the neck before returning to a kiss, tongues started to get involved and when they realized it both were discarting the remainder of their clothes.

At that moment, the pair didn't care about anything else and with just the full moon and the stars as witnesses, they gave themselves to each other for the first time.

…

While passion was running its course, in a certain hill of swords where a Pegasus plays in the sky has a new phenomena happening.

The few vestiges of the cloud of demonic energy, those that endured being purged by the sun touched the land, hidden behind swords and grass. They were few, small and had no conscience of their own but they were still attempting to realize their purpose even when they no longer had the anchor that was supposed to help on the reincarnation.

Soon they would disappear completely, purified by the sun and extinct on the light that covers that land.

Until they started to go down, down below the earth, ignoring the swords, ignoring the grass and ignoring everything for the land itself was part of the soul they had to convert. So they attempted it, not because of any intelligence but because their 'program' demanded it.

The smoke kept going deeper but also started to break apart, even away from the sun they still couldn't survive without their anchor and or the soul itself working to sustain them.

Almost like a virus without cells or nutrients, their fate was supposed to just disappear, a consequence of failing to reincarnate someone into a devil.

Then they managed to reach the deepest part of that soul, a dark area where the sun couldn't reach.

Then a red eye opened and welcomed the last of the smoke.

…..

Yoruichi couldn't believe her eyes and if anyone told her what she was going to find when she left the mansion this morning she would have laughed so much that she may have suffocated.

'On the other hand, I did leave two hotheaded people alone in a forest for the whole night. What was I thinking would happen?' The nekomata tried to joke as her mind still was dealing with the scene in front of her.

Laying together on the ground with their naked bodies under a blanket that Yoruichi could see the sleeping forms of Shirou and Rias, the redheads were practically cuddling in their sleep and the clothes around them were a clear indication of what happened the previous night.

'And I got here early to make sure they had stopped fighting. They did stop but got into another strenuous activity.' Yoruichi thought sarcastically as she debated what to do, the sunrise was getting closer and she needed to do something. 'I got worried over nothing! I expected blood, maybe even an arm needing to be reattached but this…'

As one of the women after Shirou's affections, the nekomata can't help but feel slighted. Ironically not by the man himself but by the woman he is sleeping with since Rias knew that at least there were another two girls interested in Shirou.

'Should I have been more aggressive? Should I have tried another approach?' Yoruichi asked herself as she barely moved from her spot above a rock as she watched the two lovers sleep without a care in the world. 'Does that even change things about the wedding? And wasn't Grayfia supposed to stop something like that? Why was Rias allowed to train for ten days without anyone supervising her?'

She knew that her mind was entering a tangent but Yoruichi couldn't help it. Shirou was the first guy she actually got attracted to that she actively pursued and the whole situation was new to her, she couldn't even sort out her own feelings properly.

'Focus. Don't lose control of yourself, Yoruichi!' She screams in her own mind and if anyone was watching they would have seen a cat rubbing her paws in front of her face almost as if in prayer. 'You are one of the leaders of the biggest Japanese faction. You command hundreds of men, don't let your feelings get in the way of your rational mind because of a single one.'

Relaxing a little, she looked to the sky and noticed that the sunrise soon would hit their position and wake up the pair of redheads. Yoruichi could decide to just leave them to face their fate once some of the people of the mansion woke up or she could do something to avoid the awkward conversations in the near future.

"You are so lucky you are cute." Yoruichi commented to her sleepy audience, her decision made as she jumped down from her position. "WAKE UP YOU TWO! TIME TO GET UP!" Both Rias and Shirou wake up startled by the loud voice from Yoruichi as the nekomata never screamed before to either of them. "Great, your two are awake. Care to explain what happened here?"

"Yo- I mean, Kuro-"

"We had sex." Rias interrupted Shirou with a smiling face, Yoruichi could almost say she was glowing. "We fought, then we had sex." Neither of the other two present knew if she was talking to them or to herself when she blushed and covered her face with her hands. "I can't believe we just did it like that. In the middle of the woods no less."

Even if she was blushing and looking nervous, the smile wasn't leaving Rias' face. "Glad we could clarify that…" Yourichi had a deadpan expression before turning to Shirou. "Really?"

"It was 'heat of the moment' kind of thing." Shirou also was blushing while scratching the back of his head. "I…liked that and I don't regret it. I am sorry that you found us like this."

Yoruichi knew that he was trying to be considerate of her feelings and that the guilt of her stumbling on them was genuine. "It is fine." She found herself surprised when she said that but found that it was true, in a way. "But you two should get going." That snapped Rias out of her reverie and Shirou looked confused. "The sun is already going up and you two literaly smell of sex." If any of them asked her to describe it, she was killing them both. "Also consider that there is someone on this camp with a better sense of smell than mine and that if she notices I doubt that she will stay quiet."

That was enough to get Shirou moving but Rias remained sitting with a smile and watching Sihrou collect his things. "Kuro is right, you know?"

"Just enjoying the view." Rias stated openly and Yoruichi couldn't deny she was ogling a little herself. When Shirou turned to her with a raised eyebrow he was greeted by the sight of Rias stretching her arms above her head which had him blushing and his heart beating faster. "You are going to be making breakfast today as well so get going Shiro. Just get your underwear and pants, I will take care of the rest." Looking at him, she smiles a little more. "You little friend can be excited but I can take care of that later~"

Looking towards Yoruichi to see that the nekomata was also smiling, Shirou decided to strategically retreat. "Okay…then I am going first." For some reason he felt like a piece of steak between two lionesses but he couldn't say why. "We will…talk later?"

"Of course." Rias gets up to her feet and starts to collect her own clothes, not minding giving her audience a good view of herself bending down.

"Okay…I am going." Shirou said with some hesitation before turning to Yoruichi and nodding his head. "Thank you for waking us up."

"You are welcome." The nekomata had her eyes jumping around between him and Rias and could notice Shirou doing the same thing. "You should really keep going."

"Right…right, going now." And Shirou did, Reinforcement clearly being used as he rushed towards the mansion.

"Really Rias? Didn't you avoid going to Shirou exactly to avoid involving him into your mess?" Yoruichi couldn't help but ask as Rias was busy fixing her bra.

"It will be fine once we win." Yoruichi notices that the way that Rias spoke was different from how she did a few days prior.

There was more confidence in her tone, more certainty than ever before. It was like Rias just knew that she was going to win instead of just believing in it. "Did you two having sex gave you a power up or something?"

Chuckling a little, Rias picked up the remains of her shirt and shrugged before folding it to hold and moving to get Shirou's. "Maybe? I feel lighter and better than I have been in weeks. Maybe years."

"Either Shirou was a monster in bed or you really needed to relax." Yoruichi was impressed either way by how Rias was acting.

"A little of column 'A', a little of column 'B'. Hard to say." Rias' smile was just radiant. "It was a little messy at first but then it was just…great." Yoruichi can't help but feel a little jealous at the moment.

"You do realize that you just slept with a man that many of your friends have a vested interest in, right? Including your best friend?" Yoruichi tries to avoid her own issues with the situation.

"And yourself?" But Rias already noticed something that the nekomata couldn't hide from her. "You are upset too aren't you?"

"A little." Yoruichi decides to admit it after some deliberation. "Here I was, taking my time and you just came…that was the wrong thing to say." If she was in her more human form, she would have facepalmed.

"No, no. I understand." Rias noticed the skeptical look Yoruichi gave her but she turned to give nekomata her full attention. "You go after a guy for so long and suddenly another girl just shows up and jumps on… I would say 'his bed' but…" Shaking her head, Rias sighed. "I just felt that it was the right thing to do."

"The right thing huh?" Yoruichi didn't know what to say about that. "Maybe it was my fault, maybe I was waiting too long." Rias says nothing but she doesn't move either. "I mean…I am older so I thought about giving him some time or letting him do the first move while just teasing and probing a little."

"You wanted his attention but you didn't want to push him." Rias nodded a couple of times to show that she was understanding.

"Maybe. I noticed that Akeno was doing the exact same thing but Setsuna…the poor girl just got too shy after biting his neck." Both women smile a little. "Heck, I even thought that none of us was going anywhere with him out of respect for the others. But in the end, it was that none of us wanted to be direct with him." Yoruichi lamented again.

"Yeah…I think Shirou is the kind of guy that is too respectful and patient…that is if he notices your interest in the first place." Rias came to that conclusion a long time ago.

"Oh, do tell." Yoruichi didn't fully understand what she meant. "Were you interested in him before or…"

"Interest is relative. I was talking more about Rin." Rias' revelation shocked the nekomata. "What? You never noticed how she is more demanding with him and always makes a point to stay between Shirou and Luvia."

"I thought that was because she wants Luvia to 'die in a ditch' or something." Yoruichi was trying to review the interactions between Shirou and the Head of the Tohsaka.

"Oh no, she is totally a tsundere. A tsundere, I tell you." Rias announced proudly. "Notice how she caved and came here to the training camp-"

"You are her boss and in a forced marriage. That sure got her sympathy." Yoruichi points out but Rias waves her off.

"But she only got in the middle of things when Shirou asked. Remember that she didn't even try to get answers that day when you guys sprung on our meeting." And both of them knew that with Shirou there, Rin's curiosity would be satiated and Yoruichi knew that the girl was curious and didn't like to leave things alone.

"Damn, can't believe I missed that. Nyahaha."

"I know right." Both women laugh a little before calming down and Rias decides to ask something. "You really like Shirou don't you."

"Wouldn't be here if I didn't." Yoruichi stated.

"Sorry but now that I came this far I won't give him up. I will understand if you don't want to help me anymore either." Rias told Yoruichi sincerely, surprising her. "I won't blame you if you want to go away, especially after what happened." The Heiress of Gremory massages the bridge of her nose for a moment. "Just thinking that I will have to talk with Akeno and Setsuna too."

"You don't need to tell them now." Yoruichi reminded her. "That is why we sent Shirou ahead. And you should start going too since if you don't take a good shower Setsuna will notice."

"But wouldn't that be unfair? They at least should know."

"Maybe, just not now. Finish your business with Riser and then you can have a long conversation with them." Yoruichi could see that Rias didn't like the idea but she didn't allow the devil's hesitation to detain her. "Nobody needs a distraction or any drama at the moment. Besides, this training camp is doing wonders for Setsuna since she is actually getting the hang of controlling her full power." Maybe a bit of an exaggeration since the hanyou still didn't have that much control before but Yoruichi wasn't wrong.

"And Akeno? Do you know anything about the results of her training?" For how much Kings and Queens are supposed to act together, Rias just gets teasing smiles and provocative words about how she had to 'keep up'. "She just refuses to tell me anything."

Yoruichi welcomed the change of subject. "Honestly? No clue."

"But aren't you-"

"I am busy with the little kitten…" And that was another minefield that Yoruichi didn't want to talk about or she will have to admit that technically she is sabotaging Rias' chances of victory. "Look, she is steadily making progress, of that I am sure. I mean, did you feel her energy yesterday?"

"No, I felt nothing." Rias' reply makes Yoruichi want to facepalm again.

"Right, no senjutsu." She reminded herself. "Sometimes when Akeno returns from her training, despite all the wounds or exhaustion it is like she is full of energy. I believe she took my advice to heart and is using her magic circuits more." Yoruichi explains to Rias. "Besides that, this is her own training. All I did was give her an idea and since then she has been training on her own." The cat lets her head drop a little at that. "I honestly expected her to ask for some advice or something even if I couldn't help much but that girl must be more talented than I thought."

"Or it is because of her parentage…" Rias mumbles to herself but Yoruichi's eyes told her that she was heard. "Not important right now and Akeno hates to talk about it."

'A lot of your peerage is like that.' Yoruichi bit her tongue for a second. "Regardless, just wait until after the Rating Game. Setsuna is mostly the one you will have to worry about since Rin won't admit to anything."

"And Luvia as well…" Rias mentions with a glance as she moves to collect the blanket that she and Shirou had shared.

"By the way, where did that come from?" Yoruichi asking on the moment that Rias touched the blanket made it clear what she was asking about.

"I think that Shirou found it for us after…I don't know, I was a little exhausted to remember right." Rias didn't want to say anything else.

"Hmm. He must have traced it and then fallen asleep." Yoruichi commented nonchalantly.

"Strange. I thought things created with magecraft disappeared when the owner wasn't focusing on them." Rias tried to remember the explanation that Shirou gave her about his magic and found the whole thing weird. "Truly strange."

"Anyway, focus on what is important now." Yoruichi tries to bring Rias back to the present. "Shirou wanted to fight you before to help you get some perspective. I suppose since you two banged you managed to get that perspective."

"You could say that." Rias says with a chuckle as she starts to fold the blanket.

"So your problem was solved? You and Shirou had a 'heart to heart'?" A curious Yoruichi tries to approach the issue. "Or was it just a 'mouth to mouth'?"

Rias' radiant smile was back and Yoruichi started to believe that was her true smile with every other before being a little fake. "Don't worry. Shirou managed to make me see some things, things that I didn't want to see before. It helped a lot."

"Great. Just great. Because you definitivally need to defeat Riser now." The mention of that name wasn't enough to dampen Rias' mood.

"Don't worry about it." The devil brushes Riser off as a non threat.

"Shouldn't I? Let me remind you of what exactly happened here." And Yoruichi knew exactly where to begin. "You and Shirou had sex."

"And?" The memories of the night before made Rias shiver in pleasure. 'Definitivally doing it again. Without a fight before we start having fun…or was the fight that made it better? Things to experiment with~'

"I think you aren't getting where I am going with this." Yoruichi allowed her concern to show in her voice. "You lost your virginity, something that Grayfia herself stopped from doing earlier." Rias said nothing, just kept smiling. "Isn't this going to bring you, or at least Shirou, any problems?"

"Only if I marry Riser and he notices." Rias spoke like that wasn't a concern. "And that won't happen."

"Why?" Yoruichi attuned her senses to the max but while Rias looked better than ever she was actually tired from the prior day activities and little sleep. "Unless you got some secret have some method similar to Bouchujutsu to power up after sharing a bed with someone, I can't see where all this confidence is coming from."

"You are so cute when you are frustrated, you know?" Rias commented with a small giggle and before Yoruichi could reply she just spoke again. "Don't worry, we will win because we have to win now. There is really no other option if I want Shiro safe and to be happy." The Gremory's face showed her determination, enough of it that Yoruichi found herself surprised. "And I refuse to not try and be happy, which means that Riser is going down."

For a moment Yoruichi was stunned before she sobered up and shook her head. "It isn't your head that is at risk, it is Shirou's." The nekomata started with a glare. "If anything happens to him, I won't forgive you."

"Don't worry about it. Nothing is going to happen to him. I promise." Again the King spoke with confidence, Yoruichi was starting to think Rias had grown arrogant. But Rias had already decided that one way or another, she wouldn't let Shirou get hurt because of her. 'I will be free or die trying.'

"You still haven't said how you are going to win." Yoruichi reminds her. "As far as the situation goes, your impulsivity just made it worse. Maybe you can leverage the fact that you are no longer a virgin to dodge the marriage itself but Shirou's life is now in peril." Even if she knew that the magus wouldn't care about it, the nekomata and many others care enough for him. "If you have a plan-"

"I don't, not for the fight at least." The admission shocked Yoruichi but Rias just kept going. "However I know now that I was doing things wrong and I will use the next week of training to correct that and to make plans to defeat Riser. One way or another, Shiro is in no danger."

"What were you doing wrong?" Yoruichi sometimes felt her curiosity always got the best of her.

"I was letting you, my brother and my Clan dictate how I should do things. How I should live my life." Rias' confession had no bitterness or anger, just a serene tranquility, like she had a revelation. "But no more. I will do things my way, with my pride and desires ahead of whatever my family wants from me."

"Okay, good for you." It was a powerful resolve that Yoruichi didn't disagree with by any extent but it still wasn't enough. "And what exactly does that imply?"

"That I won't do things like a 'devil' would or that a 'Gremory' or 'Bael' would. I will do things how I, Rias, want." Her pride and resolution mingled together to create a resolve that Rias herself didn't know she had before. "I have ideas, my own ideas of how I want to do things. It is time for me to try them." But the redhead could see that the cat still had doubts. "Want to see?"

The offer surprises Yoruichi. "You already have something?"

"Not really." Rias shrugs nonchalantly again. "This was an idea that I had in the past, something that I wanted and magic could, maybe do it." Looking at the clothes on her hands, Rias places it on the ground to her side before stepping away from them. Now clad only in her damaged pants and barely surviving black bra, she looks at Yoruichi with a smile. "Want to see it? What my imagination always wanted to conjure but I never could?"

Yoruichi watched as Rias started to let out her aura for the world to see. 'It doesn't feel different- wait.' She leans closer to pay more attention to the red colored energy around the devil, noticing that it was moving or at least attempting to move. 'What is she planning?'

Rias' smile grew wider when the aura started to move and then to change shape in front of her, becoming almost like a blob of energy. "This is something I really wanted to try before but believed that a noble devil shouldn't." She explained with enthusiasm as the energy kept moving around without any direct input from her.

Yoruichi watched with fascination as the blob looked like it was trying to change its shape, to develop in some way and when she looked at Rias she noticed that she looked like a little kid who just got the gift she wished for Christmas.

Turning back to the energy again, Yoruichi could notice that it was starting to condense and take shape. It was fascinating for her because she was sure that was more control than RIas ever demonstrated before. "What is this?" Curiosity finally got the better of her.

"Incomplete." And yet, Rias was still smiling. "But for something that I tried to do for the first time, I would say it is a success."

It truly looked like Rias was very pleased with herself but Yoruichi didn't see the point. "While your control over mana is impressive, I wouldn't say that is enough for you to win your Rating Game." The nekomata's tone became sarcastic as she continued. "You remember it, right? Shirou's life at stake and everything?"

None of that bothered Rias, she watched her energy with care and excitement, the possibilities running on her mind. "You wanted me to figure out how to control the Power of Destruction more precisely, correct?" The question surprised Yoruichi. "I can't. That is my brother's thing. Not mine." Then Rias giggled. "But I can do something I really want to do."

"What do you mean?" Yoruichi watches as Rias points to the horizon.

"This." And then the blob of mana shot three blasts of Destruction, small like pebbles and yet they were more powerful than anything Rias had ever done before, easily destroying stones dozens of times their size.

"What the hell?" Yoruichi couldn't stop herself from saying as the blob moved close to Rias and the devil patted its 'head'. "What was that?"

"That is my solution to improve the control of my power." Rias allows her aura to dissipate and the blob soon disappears. "I still need to work the kinks out of it and give it a better shape but hey, not bad for a first try."

'That is right, that was her first time doing something like this.' Yoruichi shivers at the thought. "That mana control and that thing. And it was your first time too. Truly your talent is frightening."

"Thank you but this is more my imagination than anything else." Rias points to her head with a finger before moving to collect the clothes and the blanket. "Did you know that we devils can use our demonic power to use any magic if the image on our mind is strong enough? I just discovered that control is also needed. Same problem as before really." She shrugs. "That was probably why I couldn't use the Power of Destruction the same way as my brother, we are different people and thanks to Shiro I realized that I need to not be ashamed of doing things my way."

"Doing things your way and using the power of your imagination…" Yoruichi was impressed. "Can't you use that as a shield?" That was the goal of her training after all.

"Nope." Rias' reply almost made Yoruichi hit her face on the ground. "Because that is not my way of doing things." She began to walk in the direction of the mansion, a little slowly as her legs lower body was killing her. 'Note to self, have Shiro carry you if you don't do it on a bed.' She avoided saying it, instead she just sprung her wings and began to fly.

"Your way, hmm?" Now Yoruichi's curiosity was on its peak. "But it is still incomplete. What are you trying to create, Rias?" The redhead stopped and looked at the cat. "I still can't see how that is going to win the Rating Game or how you can perfect it in just a week. Tell me…what are you trying to make?"

And so Rias told her as the cat followed the devil on their way to the mansion. The sun was already fully up when she finished and the redhead began to make plans to try and reach her room without getting caught.

Meanwhile, Yoruichi laughed. "Something funny about what I want to do?" Rias asked, for the first time a little apprehensive and her relief was clear once Yoruichi shook her head.

"Not at all, if anything it makes sense." Yoruichi spoke with excitement. "That is supposed to be what magic is after all; to make dreams and desires a reality, no matter how unlikely. That you are following your own desires and trying to do something new to gain power is not a problem."

Rias smiles at Yoruichi's words. "Thank you." Then she looked back to the mansion. "Now I need to get back to my room…times like this I wished I had let the window open."

Suddenly Yoruichi has an idea. "I can open it for you." She says off handedly.

"Thank you. That would be a huge favor…all things considered." Now that Rias decided to not tell anyone what she and Shioru did the previous night, the idea of being caught by anyone, especially Akeno, terrified her.

"Yes, a favor. Which deserves one in turn right?" Yoruichi commented with a look that could only be called mischievous.

And Rias couldn't help herself but agree. "Of course. What is a small favor between friends?"

"Great, don't be upset when I give Shirou a go." Yoruichi stated as she deliberately walked slowly towards the mansion. 'Wait for it…'

"What?" This was the second time that week that Rias heard something that shocked her enough and stunned her so much she was left with no action.

"What? You were raised in a society that sees no problem in open relationships right?" Yoruichi asked with fake curiosity.

"Yes- I mean, no. Harems are a thing sure but that comes with position power and-"

"And Shirou is worth enough to share. Or you are saying he isn't better than most devils around with the same privileges?" Yoruichi felt a certain pleasure in asking those questions, especially because she already knew the answers.

"Of course he is!" Rias sounds legitimately offended by the implication he wasn't great since he was the person she chose. "Wait a minute-"

"Great! It is a deal then!" Sounding excited, Yoruichi chuckles when Rias' face looked like she bit a sour lemon. "Don't worry~ I won't do anything for now. Let you guys enjoy your honeymoon period, preferably after you win the Rating Game." And with that she was off.

"Kuro!" Quickly Rias claps her hands on her mouth, letting everything she was carrying fall and making Yoruichi laugh more as a result.

…..

The week kept going with some changes but since training was still the main priority they were barely noticeable. With the Rating Game looming ever closer, Rias agreed with Yoruichi's perspective and decided to keep her change of status with Shirou a secret until after it.

A couple of changes still happened due to Rias' own nature; at the end of the night lessons, she asked Shirou if they could share a bed and nothing else, just to cuddle. The magus also felt she was teasing him since she slept in the nude but with Yoruichi also around there were no more night activities since everyone needed to rest plenty for the sake of the training.

Didn't stop Rias from sneaking in his shower once or twice, not that Shirou complained.

There were other changes between the two of them, small things that neither really noticed were happening; a smile when the other entered the room, small touches that they sneaked around when no one else was looking.

And the kisses, Shirou discovered that he liked kissing but no more than Rias. Everytime the two were alone, either when they woke up or before they trained, the devil insisted on a kiss. Some of them were innocent while others were a little more risky, especially before training when the two are alone.

But the focus was still on the Rating Game and while Rias was confident, she wanted to be secure on their victory and even gave a little speech at the dinner of the sixth night to remind everyone to keep focused and train for the sake of winning.

And training they all did. Nobody slacked on the Black Cat Training Camp as Yoruichi took the fifth day to do rounds and see how everybody was going. She was impressed with the growth of some and disappointed with others.

Both Rias and Akeno shared their similarity of thoughts as they kept most of their training and its results to themselves. Only because Yoruichi spied on them more than once but she didn't reveal that to anyone, especially since both had followed their own paths even if she gave the Queen some direction.

There was still an incident that Akeno needed to be carried back to the mansion but she recovered quickly and discovered a new trick that she wanted to practice despite some protests.

Yoruichi considered having both leading figures of the Gremory peerage spar and just didn't manage to do it because of the lack of time. She still amused herself by watching the new ways that they used magic from time to time, it was becoming a hobby for her while Koneko rested after training.

But in general, everyone can claim that they were leaving their training grounds stronger than they entered.

"So…this is it?" Issei asked anyone as he fixed his bag, ready to leave the mansion.

"This is it." Rias commented with a shrug. "The game is tomorrow and we need to make our way back."

"You guys could teleport." Rin felt the need to mention. She had a suitcase with her stuff to her side and was watching as everyone else prepared to depart.

"A little extra training won't hurt anyone." Akeno pointed out with a smile.

"Won't that be a good opportunity for them all to see how much they improved?" Setsuna just finished putting away her violin when she looked at Yoruichi. "If they make the track faster than before, that implies progress right?"

"We were way too slow before." Koneko stares at Issei who lets out tears of regret.

"I'm sorry I was so weak." The Pawn laments and Rias pats his head.

"Stop with that already. You improved, didn't you?" Rias' attitude and question made Issei look up to see his King smiling. Then she turned and looked at everyone present. "We all did. If anything we can do as Setsuna suggests and see how fast we can get back to town."

"By the way, how are you guys getting back? Are you coming with us?" A curious Kiba asked.

…

"You guys came here in a fucking humvee?!" Said humvee had a standard appearance, painted black, with enough space to five people, a trunk big enough on the back for all kinds of items and wheels big enough that crossing a forest directly wouldn't be a challenge to the machine.

"Language." Liz hits the back of Issei's head with a frown.

Massaging where he was hit, the Pawn kept going. "Right, sorry. But how did you guys get a humvee in the first place?"

"My father has…many resources in Fuyuki. And that is all I am going to say about that." Shirou really didn't want to explain everything to Issei or Asia about 'the legend of the Magus Killer'. "So we borrowed it."

"So that is how you guys got here before us?" Issei never saw that kind of car up close, the slick black color made him think it belonged to the government or something similar.

"If we tried we probably would get here before you all." Yoruichi said it with a smile. "I mean, most of us are faster than most of you anyway. The only problems we could have would be Liz's lack of stamina, Rin who never had stepped outside a city before and Medusa who is too small."

"Also the luggage." Medusa places two different bags on the back of the humvee.

"Also the luggage." Yoruichi nods in agreement. "Medusa needed her books or else she probably wouldn't be in the mood to help."

"I don't know…Medusa-chan is kinder than she lets on. She would probably help us anyway." Asia felt she should say but the goddess herself just gave her a look and sat on the backseat, clearly waiting for their departure.

"Anyway, we should get going." Kiba fully opens the garage for the others as he steps outside. "If we want to be rested for tomorrow, we need to make a quick pace."

"Kiba is right, we need to go. Even if the Rating Game is going to be at night, it is better if we rest for tomorrow." Rias and the others started walking when Shirou stopped them.

"Is there some way we can watch the game?" The magus question made everyone stop for a moment.

With a huge smile, Rias replied. "I don't know. Why don't you call my brother about that?"

"Yeah, maybe I will do that." Shirou told her with a smile of his own. "If we don't see you tomorrow…good luck Rias." He offers his hand for a handshake.

Instead of accepting the handshake, Rias steps up quickly and gives Shirou a tight hug. "Thank you." She said out loud. "Thank you for coming to help me, thank you for being here."

Shirou hugs her back and takes a second to smell her hair. "No problem. That was the least I could do."

"No it wasn't. You have gone above and beyond for me. I will never forget that, ever." Rias steps back and looks Shirou in the eyes. She wanted to kiss him, to have them spend some more time together before she marched for what felt like war. "Remember to talk with my brother but even if you can't watch it, know that we will win." In her mind she completed the thought. 'I will protect you with my life.'

She refrains from stealing a kiss or to show more affection than was necessary. Just like she decided previously, Rias didn't want any drama that could get in the way of the Rating Game.

Knowing that and respecting her wishes, Shirou lets go. He was already missing the warmth of her body. "Give them hell." He made sure to look at everyone in the Gremory peerage to show he was talking to all.

"You can bet!" Issei said excitedly.

"Fufu. That is the idea." Akeno followed next.

"We shall do our best." Asia tried to follow Issei's exemple and show everyone a 'fierce face' but it only looked cute on her.

"After all the training we did, it would be sad if we didn't reach victory." Kiba's words prompted Koneko to nod her head.

"I do hope you do. It would be a shame if all this was for nothing." Rin didn't really know what to say so she jumped inside the military truck. "We need to leave a little earlier or we will lose the light of the day. Unlike devils we can't see in the dark."

"Nyahahaha! Speak for yourself." The nekomata replied but decided she had more to say. "You all truly grew stronger in the last ten days." Yoruichi jumped in the top of the car, a smile on her feline face. "I won't lie and say that it was equal between all of you, some did grow more than others." Her eyes quickly passed by all the devils, landing in Koneko for a second with some guilt before moving on. "But I would proudly say that I would have no worries standing side by side with any of you on a battlefield and knowing you would be able to watch my back."

After that Yoruichi got inside the vehicle and Setsuna spoke next. "Do your best and make sure to prove that the training wasn't in vain." She nods to Kiba before boarding the humvee when Medusa showed up from a window.

"Keep calm and remember your training." It was clear that the goddess advice was for Issei when he stood straighter and bowed to show respect to her. "Make sure to prepare and that your greatest asset is ready before any fight, even before the game starts."

Medusa retreated back into the car and only Shirou and Liz remained outside the huge vehicle. "Fight well." Leystritt then moves to the driver seat, leaving only Shirou and everyone else with smiles going around by the simple statement.

"I think I can't do anything better than that." Shirou shrugs his shoulders before looking each and every member of the peerage in the eyes, ending by trading glances with Rias. "I will make sure to cook a lot to celebrate your victory."

"And nothing else needs to be said." Rias replied but Koneko had something to say.

"Can't wait." If they had more time, Shirou would step forward to pat the little devil's head but instead he just smiled and got on his seat besides Liz.

The Gremory Peerage watched as the humvee made its way on a road that none of them had really paid attention to until that moment. The path was just a dirty road with enough space for a big truck to reach or leave the mansion.

"I can't believe Emiya's father has something like that. I wonder what kind of person he is." Issei's question has many avoiding to look at him or even comment about it.

"He must be a nice man since he borrowed his son a car to help us." Asia spoke full of innocence that even made Akeno look indecise if she should say something or not. "I wish I could pray for such a nice person."

'I doubt that Shirou would even have asked for the humvee. Or anything else really since neither has talked for a couple of months now.' Getting comfortable, Rias decides to get things going. "Let's move along people. We don't have a fancy car so we have to leave or else we will be late for the game."

"Can't we just teleport like Tohsaka-san suggested?" Issei attempts to escape the long walk for one last time only for Kiba to place a hand on his shoulder.

"It is good exercise." Issei only looks more depressed at the blond's words but Kiba just kept smiling and started the walk back to Fuyuki.

"Stop being a baby." Koneko told Issei as she started to walk with two bags in her back. It is then that the pervert notices that once again Asia is carrying none as she follows close to the white haired devil, partially out of guilt that she couldn't carry her own weight.

Something that Akeno noticed. "Don't be like that Asia-chan, we all have to do our part. Yours isn't carrying weight, that is for the rest of us to handle." With a smile and a nod, Asia rushes to walk with Koneko side by side. Meanwhile, Akeno looks at Issei with a gentle smile. "My, my, Issei-kun, aren't you forgetting something?"

The Pawn looked at the Queen in confusion but she did a small skip on her next step as she began to walk towards the forest, teasing him with the jiggle of her breasts.

Also reminding him that his bag wasn't on his back. "Damned. Where did I put that thing?" Issei starts to look around for the bag while Akeno giggles and keeps going with Rias shaking her head.

"You left it inside the garage, remember?" Rias reminds Issei who stopped looking and facepalms. " Look behind you." At her order, the Pawn got ready to go get his bag when it suddenly slammed on his face and he barely managed to hold on his arms. "Fufufu. Look at how strong you got, before you barely were able to carry it and now you managed to not fall when it was thrown at you."

Turning to his King with a goofy smile, Issei bowed a little. "Thank you, Buchou! I can't wait to show you the results of my training!"

"And I can't wait to see them." The pureblood devil said cheerfully. "Now start walking. If I see you slacking then I will make you carry double the weight."

"Yes!" Issei began walking past Rias and only after a while he looked behind him. He could see that Rias was really behind them but there was no one else. Not only that but the door of the garage was closed when he was sure he saw it opened before he grabbed the bag. "Say, Buchou, was there someone else besides us?"

"What do you mean?" Rias asked back with a smile full of mischief.

"Well…who threw the bag at me?" The Pawn managed to ask, looking back to the more distant mansion again.

"I did." Rias' smile remains mischievous.

"Oh, okay…" Or at least Issei tried to understand. "How did you throw it at me when you were in front of me before?"

"My, my, Issei…are you implying that I am lying?" Rias made sure to use the same tone of voice that Akeno did when she was teasing someone.

"Of course not- I mean, it's just that you were far from where the bag came from and…" Issei didn't know what to say and he didn't want to uset Rias.

But the Heiress of Gremory was far from upset. "You could say that my reach improved a lot after the training."

"'Reach'?" Instead of replying to the young man's question, Rias just kept smiling.

"Keep up the pace Issei, or you will be left behind!" The President of the Occult Research Club sprints to pass by the others and seeing their leader running ahead made many stop in surprise. "Last to arrive in Fuyuki cleans the club!"

Nobody could believe the sudden action from Rias and even Akeno, the person who knew her for longer than anyone else and was her best friend in the whole world, couldn't understand what was happening.

It didn't stop the Queen from smiling and start running. "You heard her! Last to arrive will have to clean ten days of dust!"

That declaration reminded everyone that nobody had stayed or taken care of their club for the whole duration of their training camp which made some react in panic and start running too.

"What? Wait a second, Buchou!" The last place of the race, the Host of the Red Dragon Emperor, screams in despear. "YOU ARE REALLY A DEMON!"

Not wasting her time and keeping up a fast pace, she was smiling practically from ear to ear. And nobody heard Rias reply. "A devil, but also a little human."

…..

While the devils raced towards Fuyuki, dealing with all the challenges of crossing a forest like the natural obstacles of uneven terrain, trees and heat, the group inside of the humvee had a more smooth and pleasant ride.

For a while Shirou was worried that Yoruichi was upset with him but when she jumped on his lap and asked to be petted the redhead knew that everything was fine between them. The nekomata joked a little and everyone talked about the last ten days and what were Rias' odds on her Rating Game.

Shirou knew that if Rias lost it would be his head at stake but he wasn't afraid even when Yoruichi tried to make him say something that would be an admission that he and Rias slept together, a conversation that both of them decided they would have with everyone after the Rating Game and with Setsuna around he would like to avoid saying anything, especially since everyone was still worried about the game.

When they were close to Fuyuki was when Yoruichi said that she had to leave. Everyone present knew her real identity meant she could tell them exactly why she was leaving; ten days of paperwork.

Usually when visiting Fuyuki in any unofficial capacity Yoruichi stayed less than a week at most, sometimes a whole week when she wanted to push it, and every time she did, it accumulated work back in Kyoto and while she knew that her brother could 'hold the fort' it still was odd that one of the leaders of the city disappeared without explanation.

So she said her 'goodbyes' while asking Shirou to call her for the reveal or at least take pictures which no one else understood and then departed.

After a few minutes of dodging the question of what Yoruichi was talking about, Shirou was relieved to have managed to drop Rin, the main interrogator, at the door of her home safely. Sakura gave the rest of the group a small wave as they left quickly to leave Setsuna in their own home to a slightly nervous Jakken.

Now it was the middle of the night, the trip from the mansion to Fuyuki consumed most of the day and dropping off Rin and Setsuna was done in the afternoon before they left the humvee in its place, inside one of the Magus Killer safehouses.

Getting into another smaller car, the rest of the group made their way to their house. Koneko wouldn't show up that night since she would stay with Rias and the others as they will be making plans for the Rating Game.

Shirou actually knows some of the plans Rias was going to implement, he helped her devise most of them while teaching her to think like his father, but neither truly knows what kind of plans can work since they didn't know the battlefield where the fight was going to happen.

But there are some concepts that they already defined as viable, ideas that could weaken and maybe even defeat the whole of Riser's peerage depending on the conditions and how the field was designed. Rias still needed to determine some things for the plans to actually work but he was confident she was going to succeed.

'There is also her trump card.' The magus was surprised when Rias showed him the mass of mana that was born from her resolve but was willing to give it a shot and see where his lover would take it too with more training. The result left him even more surprised since he didn't know that devils could use magic circles like that. 'Inspiration comes from the most unlikely places. But I still don't know if that is going to be enough.'

Either way, Shirou trusts that Rias will win. If he didn't then he would already be out of the country with the getaway kits that his father left for him.

Arriving at home, they parked the car in the garage and soon they were inside their home. "I really wish that we could get someone to keep an eye on the house." Shirou laments at seeing the dust of ten days of neglect.

"We can clean this quickly and easily." Medusa tries to cheer Shirou up and the redhead lets out a sigh to show how tired he was. "Why are you so exhausted?"

"Just feeling more tired than usual." Shirou admitted without much thought. "This trip has been…long."

What really managed to get Shirou in such a condition was the fact that he ended up sleeping later than usual thanks to RIas. Sleeping beside a beautiful naked woman and avoiding doing anything to allow her to rest was one of the hardest challenges of his life, many were the nights he was tempted to give her a kiss or start something that would keep them awake until the sunrise and only his strength of will managed to stop him.

The only reason why Shirou was able to keep functioning was because Rias took upon herself the duty of cooking breakfast to let him sleep a little more and basically compensate but that didn't change the fact he ended up sleeping less and he wasn't used to it since he was breaking his normal sleeping schedule.

"Well, let's at least tidy the place up a bit. After that you can rest and we finish tomorrow." Medusa commented with a smile.

"Shirou cooks, we clean." Liz offers with a smile of her own and the redhead nodded at the suggestion.

"Great idea Liz. I will take care of the kitchen and make us something." Shirou found the thought of cooking just the three of them really appealing since it isn't much work and he could make sure his kitchen was in good condition.

But Medusa felt that something was wrong. "Do we have anything in the kitchen at all?" The question made the two taller people look at her with fear. "I remember that we needed to buy groceries before we left but then all this trip with the ORC happened…"

"And we didn't buy anything because we were going to leave for ten days…" Shirou finished her thought and tried to remember exactly what they had. "I think…we have the basics…and that is it."

Looking at each other, the trio lets out a collective sigh. "No good food." Liz almost felt like crying.

"We still need to clean, we can't go shopping." Medusa almost flinched when she said those words. "We left too fast and there was nothing prepared for our return."

"We couldn't even ask our neighbors to keep an eye on the house, that would have raised uncomfortable questions." Shirou facepalms at his lack of oversight. "Maybe we can get some take out?"

Before he received a reply, the doorbell rang and the trio looked at each other. "That was fast." Liz joked around but her eyes were sharp.

"Someone ringing the door just after we arrived? Sounds like a horror movie. A bad one." Medusa stepped away from the door, positioning herself behind her protector as Shirou stepped up to open the door.

"Maybe it is Taiga wondering why I didn't go to classes for the last ten days." Shirou said optimistically. "We left without giving an excuse."

"Sick days." Liz stated bluntly.

"Still a student." Shirou opens the door and his eyes grow wide as saucers. 'I am going to die.'

"Good evening, Emiya-sama, Medusa-sama, Leysritt. I hope you all are having a pleasant evening." Standing just outside Shirou's home was none other than Grayfia Lucifuge, Queen of Sirzechs and considered the Strongest of her Rank, dressed in her typical maid uniform and bowing her head respectfully. "May we come in?"

"Huh?" Shirou half expected to already be in cuffs or obliterated and only after she asked to enter did he notice the person besides her. It was someone that he had never seen before but everything about him screamed 'warrior' even if the clothes indicated otherwise.

The man was tall, much taller than Shirou and anyone else he had met, only the werewolf that tried to kill him could really compete in size and muscle mass and even then the redhead believed this brown haired man had more muscle which was going in contrast with how he was dressed.

For the man was dressed in a business suit and his hair was pushed back, almost reminding Shirou of a salary man but that also brought his thoughts to someone he faced in the past, the swordsman that also looked mild mannered but in actuality had a strong bloodlust when paired with Muramasa.

They also were carrying some bags with groceries. "We took the liberty of buying supplies since we knew you would be coming back today." Grayfia got his attention again as Shirou turned to look into her red eyes. "I must apologize for disturbing you since you may wish to rest. We shall return tomorrow if you prefer but at least I must insist that you take this so you all will be able to feed yourselves."

Receiving the bag that the maid was offering to him. Shirou was slightly confused. "No, that won't be necessary. You also shouldn't have gone out of your way to buy anything."

"No sense. My King informed me that you were making plans to help Rias-sama in preparation for her Rating Game and as such it is my pleasure to also help you even in small ways." Grayfia eyes looked at the dust like that had offended her in some way, making Shirou flinch.

"I am not used to leaving for so long. That was my mistake." At Shirou's words, Grayfia nods her head in understanding.

"You had to leave in a rush, don't worry. If it isn't a problem for you, allow me to assist in cleaning the place. I certainly would feel more comfortable knowing that Rias-sama's magician will be able to sleep in a clean environment." Something in Grayfia's eyes told Shirou that saying 'no' was a bad idea.

He still would try. "You don't need to bother-"

"Please, Emiya-sama. I insist." Her tone didn't change and she remained standing to attention right at his door and yet every instinct on Shirou's body screamed that rejecting her offer was a terrible mistake.

"Sure…" Deciding to trust his instinct, Emiya steps to the side and allows the maid to enter. "I will show you-"

"Don't worry about me, Emiya-sama. I have a proper guide." With that Grayfia grabs a surprised Liz by the collar and starts to drag her inside the house.

'Help me.' Shirou manages to read Liz's lips but he was terrified of doing something since he already felt he dodged a bullet on a certain topic and he didn't know how to react. Besides, Lucifer's Queen did ask permission and he granted it to her.

'I will just make her a cake tomorrow.' Concluding that Shirou wasn't in trouble as Grayfia didn't appear to be there to punish him for any transgression, the owner of the house then looked to the man with brown hair.

"Oh, my apologies. I haven't introduced myself yet." The man commented when he noticed Shirou's glance. "I am one of the Pawns of my King Sirzechs Lucifer, my name is Beowulf."

Hearing the familiar name and who he worked for convinced Shirou that this wasn't entirely a social call.

…..

I kinda don't want to say anything because of how important this chapter is but some stuff needs to be clarified about 'Age and Power'.

A legend, and some beings closely associated with their legends, can grow with Age; Noble Phantasm are the main example of it and so are gods to a certain extent but there are advantages and disadvantages, especially to the gods.

But devils, angels and others are not in that category. They can live forever but age doesn't give them power because if someone lived for 1000 years and did nothing then there is no way for them to develop or grow in any way.

If devils grew in power with age then Zekram wouldn't need to cook the scheme he does in the light novels or he wouldn't to have Sirzechs as the leader of the devils since Sirzechs is relatively young for a devil and yet he is just as strong as Rizevim who is a Super Devil since birth and older as the oldest child of the original Lucifer.

That also ties with the theme that devils don't know ways to grow stronger other than passing their power to the next generation by granting the union of powerful bloodlines. The majority of them don't try or make an effort to grow in any other way and so they drop the responsibility on the next generation's shoulders since they would already be born with more power.

That is why the Elder Phenex is weaker than the Younger Riser, he didn't train while Riser is pushing himself on Rating Games and gaining power and experience even if he didn't train much.

Also Michael, created at the birth of the Universe itself, would be invincible at this point by default.

They are living beings, not the legends themselves and so they are limited to their own efforts. Gods gain power when they gain legends but also can gain weakness while Noble Phantasms have similar rules but are not living beings which makes their curve of growth more positive if slower since they are stuck as what they are, never growing weaker but unable to grow in other ways like training or new knowledge.

All that also ties on what humanity has that most beings wouldn't and what Rias realized could help her; creativity and experience.

Thinking about how beings that can fly would fight in wars change a lot of the perspective they would have; there would be little use for cover as they can blow up stuff and tactics become much more basic.

On the other hand, Humanity goes around having all kinds of wars, developing new technologies, learning the laws of nature and creating its own legends. Humanity's main advantage is literally the fact that it started from nothing and had to build everything piece by piece, like the steps of a certain magecraft.

I can imagine that was why the Fallen Angel left the war in a better state than most; they started weak and in smaller numbers forcing Azazel to have to involve humanity and then someone probably pointed out to him 'you don't need to win, just survive'.

And the reality was that if God didn't die, Heaven would win because their numbers were close to infinity as God could make Angels by himself and Lucifer was just too stubborn to know when to stop.

While the war kept going, Azazel would always have more Fallen with fresh recruits from angels or naturally born like the devils. He never needed to win and that was why once God and the original four were out he made things stop, the Fallen Angels were the victors by default and with more appreciation for Humanity than the devils pre civil war and the white winged Angels almost extinct they were the major power after everything was said and done.

That would also connect Azazel's desire for research and his passion for collecting Humanity's works to the war itself, he learned the value of creativity and decided to protect Humanity regardless of his initial reason for Falling.

Add that the person who gave the advice was his first lover and you could have a good story with a lot of drama.