AN: Sorry! This is the correct chapter!

[EMIYA SHIROU]

[THE GAMER]

[LV 27- 1500/26000]

[HP: 2700][MP: 35][MC: 27][ST: 850][SP: 11]

[STR: 42][DEX: 43][INT: 50][WIS: 33][CHR: 102]

Taiga woke up as the sun was starting to dip behind the horizon. She was laying on her back, feeling like she had been thrown in a washing machine.

Her body was sore. Muscles she didn't even know she had screamed in outrage when she tried to shift her weight even just a little bit.

It was the best feeling ever.

Her entire being was suffused by a sense of throughout satisfaction that she had never experienced before in, yet she had been craving for her entire life.

'So, this is the joy of being a woman,' she realized. It was a primal emotion, the awareness of having been claimed by a man.

And what a man it was.

Shirou was sleeping on top of her with his head resting on her breasts and arms clutching her sides. His small frame weighted next to nothing to compared to hers, yet for all intent and purposes she felt like he was the rock to which she was clinging to.

He made love to her throughout the whole afternoon. He carried her to his bedroom and made her body melt under his touch as much as her heart already had.

Most of it was a blur. At some point she had lost the ability to think and acted on a mere animalistic impulse. He filled her heart and he filled her body again and again and again.

She could still feel the heat from his semen burning deep inside the core of her womanhood, held in place by his shaft, still erect and buried within her folds. Belatedly, she noted that they hadn't used any sort of birth control. Would she get pregnant? Was she already?

She realized that rather than scared she felt an odd sense of excitement and expectation.

'... I want to have Shirou's babies. I want to be the mother of his children.'

She was scared at the prospect of becoming a mother, but the idea of bearing Shirou's children spurred the heat in her womb even further.

However, would Shirou be willing to be a dad at such a young age? She knew he would take responsibility for it if it happened, that's just the way he was, but no matter how she looked at it she felt that in doing so she would be holding him back.

He had a future of greatness ahead of him and as much as she would love nothing more than be the mother of his children, maybe it wasn't the time yet.

If she wasn't already pregnant, she would start taking the pill immediately and if by any chance sh it was too late for that, well, she could raise their child on her own with the help of the Fujimura group.

She chuckled to herself. Yesterday she was planning to never see him again. Today she was dreaming of being the mother of his children. The involuntary shaking of her chest caused by her amusement was enough to wake him up.

Golden eyes as deep as the ocean bore down into hers and made her heart skip a beat.

"Hi," he said with a smile.

"Hello yourself," she smiled back. "Slept well?"

"Huh, yes. Sorry for falling asleep on you."

"I don't mind," she said ruffling his hair. "In fact, I think I'd have been rather cold if you hadn't."

They were both stark naked, and even though it was already spring, falling asleep naked and covered in sweat was liable to make anyone catch a cold.

"Well, thank goodness for that then. We should probably get cleaned up though," he replied as he made to pull himself up, inevitably causing his dick to shift inside her.

"Ah~!" she moaned. "S-Shirou. If you do that I don't think I'm going to let you go anywhere. Why are you still like that, anyway? Haven't you had enough yet?"

That was insane. They had been having sex for hours and he still wanted more? No wonder Busujima told him to find himself other lovers. There was just no way a single woman could ever satisfy him completely.

"S-Sorry," he stuttered. "It's just... you're so beautiful I just can't help it."

"Oh, Shirou," she sighed lovingly. "I don't think my body can't take anymore of you for a while."

"Did I hurt you?" he asked, suddenly worried.

"Nothing like that," she reassured. "But I am really sore. It has been pretty intense for me, you know? Maybe a hot bath will help."

"Of course. I'll get it started immediately."

He carefully dislodged himself and she didn't realize how much she missed his presence inside her until he was already out.

"Hmm," she complained wordlessly, curling on herself. A moment later, without need to ask anything, Shirou tucked her under the covers of the futon that had hosted their love-making session, before leaving to prepare the bath for both of them.

While he was gone, Taiga was left alone with her thoughts.

The day before she was a troubled woman with an unhealthy crush on her ward and surrogate brother. Today she was privy to the existence of Magecraft and assorted supernatural beings, on top of having become said surrogate brother's lover.

Life was weird(er).

To say that she was confused would be the understatement of the century. Where was she supposed to go from there onward?

Could she carry on with her regular life knowing that the man she loved fought monsters almost every night? She wasn't so sure of that. In fact, she was pretty sure she couldn't. She would drive herself crazy worrying about him every night, but what alternative did she have?

She couldn't find an answer to that question other than "none" before Shirou came back to tell her that the water was ready.

The promise of a warm soak was enough to entice her out of the futon as well as from her thoughts.

"Ahhh, this is nice," Taiga purred while Shirou washed her back. "I could get used to this."

They never bathed together before, not even when Shirou was a child, therefore this was yet another first experience for her.

Since the beginning he was highly self-reliant. He never liked imposing on others and he would sooner relive others of their burdens than burden them with his own. Looking back on it now, it was obvious that he was out of the ordinary already back then.

"I'm glad you like it," he replied. "The water should be hot enough now. Go ahead and step inside."

"Hmm? Aren't you going to join me?" she teased.

"Huh... I wouldn't mind but... I don't think I'd be able to keep my hands off you in that little tub. Sorry."

She looked back, down his body, and saw that he was telling the truth. Even now he was sporting an erection that almost brushed against her butt. She felt supremely satisfied in the knowledge that she could arouse him so. She wasn't really confident about her appearance, particularly not when compared to the bodies of the other women in Shirou's life. However, Shirou never looked upon her naked body with anything short of a primal hunger in his eyes.

It made her feel like Aphrodite incarnated.

To make things worse, her own body yearned to have him inside again, but she knew quite well that she couldn't take any more of it.

Why had she ever considered staying away from him in the first place?

Oh, right. Society and its rules. Nothing truly important in the end.

"Oh, well. That's a pity then," she replied, looking flustered yet clearly pleased. "I guess I'll go ahead first then."

She stood up from the stool she had been sitting upon and sashayed to the bathtub, feeling his burning gaze over her skin the entire time.

Yet another thing she could get used to.

The water was pleasantly warm, and Taiga sunk into it eagerly with a contented sigh.

"This is heaven," she declared. Although she had been through a lot in the previous few days, she was currently at peace. Completely relaxed in body and mind both.

"Make sure not to fall asleep in there, alright?"

"Hmm," she agreed, but she closed her eyes all the same.

In the meantime, Shirou had finished washing himself and was already drying his body.

Noticing this, Taiga asked "Aren't you going to take a bath too?"

"No, sorry. It's getting pretty late and I'd like to get started on dinner. You stay there a little while more, alright?"

"Are you sure? Then I'll just soak in here a bit longer."

"You do that," he agreed as he was about to leave. "Oh, and Fuji-nee?"

"Hmm?" she asked.

"I love you," he told her a moment before closing the door between them. Taiga's face was painted with a charming red color that had nothing to do with the temperature of the water.

"...idiot," she murmured, but there was no hiding the smile that had appeared on her face.

She stayed in the bath longer than she had intended, but she could not stop giggling and squirming like a schoolgirl who just had her feelings returned by her crush.

Perhaps Taiga no longer knew where she stood in this new world that had opened before her, but in that moment, she wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Shirou was troubled. Happy, but troubled. He glanced at the [Reputation] screen with his Gamer Eyes. The status of his relationship with Taiga had gone from Strained to Lovers.

He almost couldn't believe it. He was in a relationship with Taiga. He didn't know how much he wanted it - wanted her - until it happened.

She had always been someone special to him, that much he couldn't deny.

She was his one and only Fuji-nee. There were no others to be found anywhere in the world.

Certainly, he loved her as a person before he loved her as a woman, but that didn't change the fact that he did love her.

Was it wrong for them to be together like that when they both wanted it? Shirou wasn't sure of that answer, especially because he already had another lover.

He was a polygamist, he realized with some measure of disbelief. Granted he would have never even entertained the notion of being with more than one woman if Saeko hadn't strong-armed him into it. To make things more complicated, Taiga knew of this and chose to go through with it anyway.

Why would two women, magnificent in their own way, want to be with him so much to the point of breaking the law and sharing him with each other?

He was completely baffled. Happy, but baffled.

Still, despite his reservations, Shirou didn't do things by halves. If being with him made them happy, he would make sure to treat them right and give them no regret whatsoever. It was the least he could do for them.

"You transferred to another school?" Shirou asked over dinner.

"Yeah... sorry," Taiga said apologetically. "It's already been approved. I can't ask to go back now."

"You don't have to apologize. It's just... it's not going to be the same without you."

"Oh, please," Taiga rolled her eyes. At this point you are just attending because you have to, Mr. Precocious."

"That doesn't mean I'm not going to miss you," he protested.

"We-well, we're still going to see each other for breakfast and dinner most days right?"

Shirou didn't answer. Instead he pondered his options.

"... I suppose there's no other choice then. I'm going to skip a few years."

"Wait, what?" Taiga balked.

"You're the one who told me I could do that, right?"

"Yes, but... I meant a year or two. Not straight to high school. C-can you do it?" she asked hopefully.

Shirou nodded firmly. "It's going to take a while to learn all the material I need to know for the entrance exams, but I don't think I'd be allowed to change school mid-semester anyway."

"Probably not but... would you really go through all the trouble just to be with me?"

"Yes, of course" he confirmed. "We already have to keep our relationship a secret for obvious reasons and with me doing my own things at night there isn't much time left for us to be together. I know that's it sounds ridiculous since I also have someone else, but I don't want us to be a sham, Taiga. I really want to be with you."

As soon as those words left his mouth a shadow was cast on him and he was suddenly tackled to the ground by several pounds of happy Tiger.

"Do you really mean it?" she asked excitedly, eyes sparkling with joy.

"I'm not going to let you go ever again," he promised. "You are my Fuji-nee."

"Yes. Yes, I am," she agreed with a whisper, brushing off an unshed tear that had pooled at the corner of her eye.

The living room was subsequently filled with the sound of kisses being exchanged. Eventually though, Shirou pulled away.

"I should probably get going," he told her.

"To that... Reverse Side?"

"Yeah. It's kind of my job now, and it helps me getting stronger."

"Could I… maybe come with you?" Her question was filled with hope, but Shirou shook his head.

"It's a very dangerous place and they don't let just anyone in, sorry."

Taiga deflated quickly.

"I hate knowing that you're going somewhere I can't follow."

"I understand," he agreed, soothingly brushing her face with his fingers, "but there's really no helping it."

"Can't I even visit? I'd really like to see what it's like," she insisted.

"Even if they allowed me to bring you along it's still dangerous. In the future there could be more people willing to come after me through you. If our closeness is known I'd be painting a huge target on your back."

"I see. The Moonlit World is a really scary place, huh?"

"Yes, it is. Those who aren't equipped to deal with it would to better to stay out of it as much as possible."

"But not everyone is a Magus over there, right?"

"Well no. Some people are practitioners of martial arts specialized to fight the supernatural. Saeko's sword style is one of such techniques," he explained.

"I see. Hmm."

"I know that face. What have you come up with now?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing you should worry about."

"Taiga...," he warned.

"Trust me. I'm not going to do anything dangerous."

"Fine," he sighed. "It's not like you ever listen to anything I said."

"Exactly," she nodded. "I'm glad we're in agreement on this."

Shirou shook his head in resignation, but he was glad that she was back to her usual self.

A little while later Shirou left for the reverse side and Taiga returned to her own home.

Her mind was spinning with possibilities. Shirou was willing to go through all the trouble of skipping years and changing school just so that he could spend a bit more of his time with her.

Did he really expect she wouldn't want to be the same?

People who weren't equipped to deal with the Moonlit World should stay out of it.

Those were Shirou's own words, but that only meant she had to make herself meet the requirements. She already knew who she could ask for help.

Besides, she supposed it was about time she'd confront the other woman in his man's life.

Matsumoto blinked and checked how much liquor was left in her bottle when Shirou casually walked into Ahnenerbe.

She definitely didn't have enough alcohol in her system to start hallucinating, therefore the person who was approaching her was real and not a product of her imagination.

"Good evening, Matsumoto-san," he greeted. "Thank you again for the help yesterday. I don't know if I would have made it home on my own."

"Huh, hi, Shirou," she replied awkwardly eyeing him up from head to toe. He looked different for yesterday and she didn't mean the fact that he was already all healed up.

He looked... taller, maybe? No, his height relative to the table was about the same.

Somehow, though, he felt like a completely different person.

His gaze looked deeper and his smile more handsome.

The gold of his eyes was magnetic, and Matsumoto would have kept staring into them until she drowned had Shirou not called her attention.

"Matsumoto-san... are you alright?"

"Ah? Oh? Ah, yes. Sorry, I got lost in thought for a moment. So, I see you're already back on your feet. Remarkable."

He nodded. "Yes. Magecraft can be quite useful like that."

"When it doesn't kill you," she pointed out.

"Indeed," Shirou agreed with a chuckle. "Anyway, I'm in your debt for yesterday. If there's any way I could possibly repay you, please let me know."

"Oho? Is this the pride of a Magus talking?" she teased.

Shirou run a hand through his hair, sending Matsumoto a roguish smile, almost as if she had just said a funny joke.

It was a casual gesture, but it gave her a glimpse of the man he would grow to be in a couple of years. Wait, no, two years was too little. How old was he again?

"Matsumoto-san?"

"Oh, sorry. I zoned out again. What were you saying?"

"I just said that is not so much as "the pride of a Magus" but simply the decent thing to do. Don't you agree?"

"Maybe, but it's kill or be killed in the Abyss. You won't see many people doing the decent thing for its own sake around here." She reached out and brushed his face with the back of her hand. "You are quite the anomaly even for people like us."

Handsome and nice... Hm... she could even make an exception and waive the usual fee for a night with her. Whole package. She'd blow his mind.

"Huh... Ma...Matsumoto-san?" he stuttered.

She blinked and noticed what she was doing.

She was stroking his cheek repeatedly, leaning forward in her chair and dangling making her huge breasts right in front his face, clearly visible from the deep neck cut of her dress.

"Oh, dear," she chuckled, sitting up straight and fixing her dress. "Sorry about that. I get distracted easily when I drink too much."

Except she was nowhere near having drunk past her limit. She wasn't starting to get old yet, right? Right?

"It's... It's alright," he replied, still flustered but on the way to a complete recovery. "Anyway, let me know if there's anything you need help with. Just say the word and I'll be there."

"I'll make sure to do that, Shirou," she nodded, then turned to the few other patrons in the cafe. "Hear that, everyone? That's how a real man supposed to be. Learn something while you're at it."

"Fuck off, Matsumoto!"

"Yeah, who gives a shit?"

"See what kind of people I usually have to deal with?" she told Shirou.

"I'm sure they are all good people."

Matsumoto ruffled his hair playfully. "I wish there were more guys like you, Shirou-kun. You should hang around more often. So I wouldn't be stuck here with a bunch of lazy bums all the time."

"You're the laziest of us all, bitch!"

"You have my deepest sympathies," he joked, pretending not to have heard the other patrons. "I should go now. Remember what I said, Matsumoto-san."

"You too, Shirou-kun. I'm always here. Come look for me anytime," she winked, smiling when he blushed before leaving through the door to the Mirror Fuyuki.

Rangiku's eyes immediately turned from playful to serious.

Emiya Shirou was an enigma. An anomaly among anomalies. Magecraft went only so far to explain the things he could do. She had investigated his past.

Emiya Kiritsugu was a Magus, but Shirou was an adopted child, therefore he could not have inherited his father's Crest. Matsumoto was no Magus, but she knew enough about them to understand that even the simplest of their Mysteries were built upon consecutive generations of research.

His biological parents were unknown, though so maybe he could be a hybrid of some sort and he simply used Magecraft as a blanket excuse for the things he could do.

Chances were that he didn't even know why he was such an abnormal existence even to people like them, but if there was one thing that went against Matsumoto Rangiku's nature was leaving alone something that had piqued her curiosity.

She turned to the barman, who had been cleaning glasses all the time without uttering a word.

"Hey, George," she called out. "Have you seen Ryouko, lately?"

If there was someone both capable and willing to find an answer, it was her.

"There you are," Yoruichi greeted when Shirou walked into her shop. "Back in business already? You should really learn to... huh?"

"What's wrong?"

"You look different, somehow. Did you do something with your hair?" she asked.

"Huh, I don't think so. Maybe it's just that the last time you saw me I was covered in blood?"

Yoruichi shrugged. "Could be. Sorry about that by the way."

Shirou frowned. "What are you apologizing about?"

"Obviously for yesterday mess. The Wei Clan came after you because of me."

"I fail to see how that is something you should apologize for. I involved myself willingly and I'd do it all over again. I only wish I had been strong enough to prevail without killing," he explained.

"Do you regret it even though they were trying to kill you and your sister?"

"I don't feel guilty. I did what I had to do given the circumstances. I just don't like that it came down to deciding who had to die."

Yoruichi grinned, satisfied. "I knew this already, but seeing it is another thing."

"What are you talking about?" he inquired.

"You are a decent guy."

Shirou snorted. "You say that like it's something worthy of praise."

"It is worthy of praise," she objected. "Especially in the Moonlit World. It's easy to be a good person when everything is nice and easy, but not as much when things get ugly. And things are always ugly in here."

Shirou fidgeted, embarrassed.

"I think you're giving people too little credit," he deflected.

"From my hundred-plus years of experience I can safely say that you're the one giving out more credit than it's due. Still, I suppose that is what I like about you."

"Uhmm... thank you."

"Don't let it go to your head," she snorted. "By the way, did you manage to square things up with your sister?"

He nodded meekly.

"Yes, we're cool now. Thanks for staying with her last night."

"You should be thanking her rather than me. That woman can be pretty damn scary when it comes to you. She really cares a for you a whole lot."

"Yeah... I know. Like I said, we're cool now."

"Good. I don't want to go through something like that ever again," she shuddered. "No, I'm not going to tell you what happened so don't even ask."

"Fine," he sighed. "Still, thank you for coming. I appreciate it."

"Good. Because I don't plan to make it a regular thing. Now, either buy something or get the hell out so that I can go back sleep."

"I'll be off then," he laughed as he turned to leave. "Have a good night, Yoruichi-san."

"You too. Careful out there."

After paying his regards to Yoruichi, Shirou stepped out of her shop and into Mirror Fuyuki, past the safe area of the Red-Light District that was the base of operation of Soul Society.

He needed to become stronger by raising his level, his stats and his skills. In the end, the hero he wished to become had to be the strongest of all.

He couldn't let something like the previous night happen again.

While Shirou moved through the spectral copy of Fuyuki, a figure observed him, perched at the top of the tallest building.

She tilted her head in curiosity, sniffing the air almost as if she could smell him all the way from up there.

Maybe she had found what she had been looking for, someone worthy of her favor, but she had to be sure.

There was no better way to ascertain than looking from up close.

She stepped over the edge and let gravity claim her. Before her body impacted on the ground, some hundred feet below, bat-like wings sprung from her back and she soared through the sky like she owned it.

Her eyes never lost sight of her hopelessly unaware target.

Exploring Mirror Fuyuki was always an eerie experience, no matter how many times he repeated it. The faded colors, as well as the complete absence of people and artificial sounds was off-putting.

Even in the middle of the night, a city the size Fuyuki is never truly silent.

It wasn't the case of its spiritual replica. The fact that there were beings with malicious intentions hiding in its streets didn't make it any more a place one would want to visit for pleasure.

Shirou was luckier than the average dweller of this place. His [Sense Presence] and [Sense the Unnatural] worked as an early warning system. Nothing would sneak up on him unless it was a being with an ability to conceal its presence higher than his ability to detect it.

That didn't mean he could drop his guard though. Just the previous night he was ambushed by several opponents simply because they weren't trying to hide from him. He needed to be aware of his surroundings at all times.

How could he unlock such a skill? [Sense Presence] triggered because Saeko was trying to sneak up on him. [Sense the Unnatural] because he stepped into a place laden with supernatural influence. They both increased in level when an event similar to those that first triggered happened.

Maybe it just wasn't possible to be aware of everything at the same time. The human mind didn't work like that, Gamer power or not. In fact, it worked the opposite. It excluded everything it acknowledged as familiar to highlight that which wasn't.

In conclusion, he would have to learn a skill to detect each specific thing he was interested in detecting, rather than get a single all-encompassing ability.

Yeah, it was going to be tough. He would have to figure what was worthy of being detected and how to trigger the skill.

Currently, following the abilities he already had, he hunted for slimes. The experience he was getting from them was starting to become not worthy of the time and effort it took to hunt them.

He needed to find stronger enemies and that meant going to less populated areas, where the Common Sense of humanity was less thick. That meant going outside of the city limits, but everyone told him it was tantamount to suicide. There was no buffer zone. Fuyuki was pinned between the sea and the forest leading up to the mountains. It went from densely populated to not populated at all very quickly.

Where could he find a place in Fuyuki were few people gathered, but still close enough to populated areas?

When he found an answer, some minutes later, he palmed his face at the obviousness of the answer.

It was a place he was most familiar with. The place where he had been born. The place where he had been forged.

The Fuyuki Memorial Park.

As he made his way there, he couldn't know that the darkness he would find would be much deeper than he could possibly imagine.

XXX

AN: Yes, I know that in Japan it's not possible to skip grades. I have simply decided to disregard this fact for the sake of PLOT!

That said, Shirou is about to get into some serious trouble, as you can very well imagine.

Anyhow, that's it for this month. Don't forget to review. Your comments are always appreciated. Additionally, if you want to support me, you can head over to my pa treon account at "pa treon [dotCOM] / ichaichasennin"

See you next month.