Happy New Year!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fate/Stay Night
It was bound to happen eventually. Shirou knew that.
"Congratulations!"
A girl with aqua eyes and long wavy black hair that were tied up with black ribbons into twin tails said to him with a smile.
The boy immediately recognized her as Rin Tohsaka, a magus like him that was a lifetime friend in his past life. Now 15 years old, she was taller and had slightly longer hair. However, the thing that stood out to Shirou were the big dark bags under her eyes.
"Thanks, congratulations to you as well."
One of her eyebrows twitched at his nonchalant response back.
"You should be very proud of yourself!" she tried again. "Second place is verrrrry impressive.~"
Indeed, both were standing in front of the school board that had the results from the last exams. Shirou, for the first time in his new life, had finished second just behind Rin who was doing her best to rub it in.
"The results were satisfactory with me," the boy said with a smirk. School was never important to him so he really didn't care if he finished first or ninety first which was evident by him never studying or paying attention in class. He still did his best on exams though to satisfy both his teachers and guardian.
I really don't want to give Taiga nee-san a reason to lecture me if I can help it.
Yeah, it was mostly to keep the tiger off his back. She was surprisingly taking her job as his guardian very seriously and often asked him about how school was going.
"That's g-good to know."
Rin, in contrast to the boy, always gave it her all in everything she did and always got top marks as a result. Well, that was how it was until Shirou came along and stole first place in school from her! It was the first time that the extremely talented and hard-working girl had ever lost to anyone. It wasn't hard then to imagine how she took it.
It made her furious!
How dare some random ass transfer student come in and make a mockery out of her! Losing not only in student placement but also their bet made it an absolute defeat for the girl! Thus, she vowed to never lose to him again!
The next time exams came around, she studied extra heard. Harder than any time before. Plenty of hours of sleep were lost, but it would be well worth it to come out on top. She was confident that she would win.
Only to fall short yet again...
Her second defeat hit her harder. However, she did not despair because that was not who Tohsaka Rin was! So she doubled her efforts for the next time.
Just to fail again...
Work harder... fail... work harder... fail...
The pattern repeated itself through the end of elementary school and into middle school until finally she came in first.
This was supposed to be a glorious moment for her that was literally years in the making! So why does he still have that stupid smirk on his face!
"See you later, Tohsaka-san." Shirou, unaware of her thoughts, bowed and started to then exit the school.
"Wait!" she yelled while holding out a hand towards his back. "We aren't fin-"
"Serves him right!"
"I knew you could do it!"
"Tohsaka-sama!"
Her classmates, who were also clueless to her inner workings, interrupted and surrounded her to offer their congratulations.
Rin could only look on with her eyes wide and her arm still outstretched as she was blocked from preventing the boy from leaving
Meanwhile, Shirou smirked in amusement as he walked away.
Maybe he had some idea on what was going on in her head.
The sun was shining brightly as he headed down the street in the opposite direction of his school. Occasionally, the boy had to stop at crosswalks and wait for the light to change. Besides that, however, he moved unobstructed.
The Counter Guardian eventually entered a park.
"Sempai, good afternoon!" A girl who had been sitting on a bench immediately called out to him as she got up and bowed politely.
This girl had shoulder length purple hair with a single red ribbon tied just above and behind her left ear. She was also wearing a different school uniform than him.
It was a person whom Shirou knew. Sakura Matou.
The years had been kinder to Sakura than Rin as in addition to growing taller, her bust was now noticeably bigger and she had gained more womanly curves. Something that would have frustrated Rin if she was here considering Sakura was a year younger than her. Consequently, that made her in a grade below the boy as well hence why she called him sempai.
"Good afternoon, Sakura," he responded back with his own bow. "Did you wait long?"
"N-Not at all," the girl hurriedly reassured. "I just got here myself!"
"Well, shall we get going," Shirou said while gesture towards the exit with an easy smile.
"Yes!"
Now walking side-by-side down a road, Shirou observed the girl next to him from the corner of his eye.
Sakura had a smile on her face as she moved one foot in front of the other with her hands crossed loosely in front of her waist as she carried her school bag. A huge difference from the blank expression she wore when he first met her.
"How was your day today."
"Ah," she turned her head towards him. "It was fine-e. How was your day?"
"Nothing noteworthy to report."
"Oh."
A comfortable silence fell over them as they continued moving.
Her conversations skills have also greatly improved.
While not perfect, it was a big improvement over the mute girl she was before.
"Dinner tonight is going to be grilled eel," he declared.
"Right!"
"I am going to have you take the lead this time."
"Understood!" Sakura said as her smile fell and her eyes narrowed. One of her hands returned to her side and tighten into a fist.
Her determined expression remained in place for the rest of their walk.
"How-w was it?" a nervous Sakura asked Shirou after he had taken a couple of bites.
They were both sitting at the table in his house with the food she cooked in front of them. As agreed upon, she took charge with him only helping out with cutting and preparation.
"Iwts vry ood!"
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Shirou swiftly reprimanded while turning to the last person joining them.
Taiga made no indication of hearing him as she continued to inhale the food in front of her.
"Still no g-good." Sakura concluded from seeing that the older women's intake was not as fast as it usually was.
"Mhm!" she grunted with her mouth still full and quickly went to offer reassuring words.
"Eccch! Eccch!"
Only to start choking.
"Here," the only male calmy said while sliding over a cup of tea that he just poured.
Taiga quickly took it and downed the whole thing.
"Ah!" she gasped after hitting her chest a couple of times.
"What did I tell you about talking with your mouth full?"
"Have mercy!" Taiga immediately went to pleading with her hands held together like she was praying.
"No dinner tomorrow for you," Shirou didn't hold back at all as he gave out divine punishment.
The ground immediately opened up below the older women and she was thrown into the dark abyss to never be seen again.
At least that's what it felt like for Taiga.
"Where did I mess up this time!" Sakura, meanwhile, had finally recovered from her failure and looked up at Shirou with a fire burning in her eyes.
"Well," the boy started while flinching slightly backwards from the fierce glare. "The sauce needed to simmer slightly longer, the salt on the eel needed to be spread out more evenly, and you needed to add more berries. Plus, the eel was cooked slightly unevenly from piece to piece so you needed to move the pan more as it cooks."
Sakura soaked in the knowledge with a nod as she wrote in a small green notebook.
How the notebook appeared, was one of the great wonders of the world that even the Counter Guardian couldn't figure out. Seriously, he only blinked and it was there!
"Aren't you a being a little harsh there Emiya?" Taiga asked while coming back from the scary place. "She tried her best and it's still quite good!"
"No!"
Both turned towards the young girl who had spoken up.
"Don't hold back at all!" The fire in her eyes burned brighter.
"You heard the girl," he said with a smirk as he got up and moved towards the kitchen.
Sakura immediately followed.
Taiga could only look fondly at the scene of Shirou talking animatedly while pointing at different things with Sakura responding by nodding seriously while writing in her notebook.
He had been teaching the younger girl how to cook ever since they first met which had really helped getting her to open up more.
The older women then turned towards the table where all the abandon food was left and her smile widen. With precision, she shoveled an enormous amount of it on her plate and started eating again.
Some would say that what she was doing was rude, eating without the others. She, however, would respond that she needed to eat enough to cover two days as her dinner tomorrow was already forfeited!
After dinner, Sakura and Shirou were doing dishes together at the sink while Taiga rested at the table.
"How did you do on your exams?"
Shirou's hand that was carrying a clean plate froze for a second before continue its journey towards the girl next to him who took it and started drying it.
"It went well," he responded evenly to the resting tiger. He was hoping to not have to talk about it but as usual, nothing got past her.
"There's no need to be so modest!" Taiga laughed. "Did you get first place again! My Shirou-chan is such a smarty!"
"Tiger-san," he warned at the use of his first name. "No, I got second place this time."
"Congratulations-s, sempai!" Sakura quickly said as she stopped momentarily from wiping down a cup to flash him a smile.
"Thank you, Sakura," he said while nodding appreciatively and counting down from his head from the inevitable explosion he knew the older women was going to have.
"Second place!"
Bingo.
"How could you lose!" Taiga raged while standing up. A red aura started to surround her. "I ought to call up the school and demand an explanation!"
"There is no need for that," he calmly said. "I lost fair and square."
"Outrageous!"
"Sit down or no dinner for you the day after tomorrow as well."
"Grrr," she roared in protest before finally giving in and sitting back down. The red aura, however, still hovered around steadily as she silently fumed.
For a moment, the only noise heard was from the dishes being done.
"Isn't your parent-teacher conference coming up?"
Shirou's eyes narrowed in suspicion at Taiga's question. "Yes."
"When is it?"
"It's a week from Monday."
Nothing more was said after that as both middle schoolers continued their work.
"Thanks for having-g me," Sakura said with a bow.
All three were now by the front door.
"Onee-chan is always happy to have you!" Taiga smiled while pulling her into a hug.
Sakura froze.
"Enough already," Shirou said while pulling the tiger back. "Can't you see that you're making her uncomfortable?"
"All the more reason why we need to give her lots of hugs!" she argued back. "That way she can get use to them!"
"You need to respect other people's boundaries," he tried to explain. "Some people are just not comfortable with physical contact."
"Nonsense, now give Sakura-chan a hug!"
Said girl's face exploded from that statement and quickly turned as red as a tomato.
Shirou shook his head while pinching the bridge of his noise as he realized that this argument was going nowhere.
"Let's go, Sakura."
"But-t m-my heart-t is-isn't ready-y."
The boy turned fully towards her with an eyebrow raised. He knew that she usually stuttered a little, but it never was that bad.
Her face was looking down at the floor as she nervously tugged down on the skirt that she was wearing. Slowly, she looked up.
Only to quickly look back down when their eyes met.
"No need to be so nervous," he spoke gently. "Okay?"
"R-Right," she said after taking a deep breath. Her tight grip on her skirt began to loosen.
"Feeling ready now?"
Sakura inhaled and exhaled a couple more time before responding, "Ready-y."
With eyes tightly shut, she brought both her hands up and out wide. Her heartbeat pounded loudly against her ribcage as she waited.
"You coming?"
In confusion, she opened her eyes only to see Taiga looking back at her awkwardly. A very rare sight.
"What are you doing, Sakura?"
The girl turned her head slowly around and saw Shirou with his shoes on and with the front door opened. His head tilted at the weird stance she was in.
Her face exploded once again as she quickly brought her hands back down.
"I'll just-t wait outside for you." He quickly made his exit.
Whether old or young, past or present; Emiya Shirou would never understand women.
"Don't worry-y!"
Sakura's red face lifted from its place in her hands.
"Onee-chan will get you that hug!" Taiga gave her a thumbs up in support and encouragement.
The young girl wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.
It took longer than Shirou expected, but eventually Sakura left his house and they both started the walk back to her house.
The atmosphere was tensed as she refused to look at him and the hand that wasn't holding her school bag was holding her skirt tightly.
"Hmph," he let out a breath as he gave up trying to guess how things ended up like this.
He had been walking her part of the way home for a while now. He figured she was still shy with him coming along with her, like she had been in the past, but that didn't seem to be the case.
"So," he started, hoping to ease the tension and put what happen behind them. "Are you free to meet up again tomorrow?"
Silence stretched between them as the boy patiently waited for the girl to regain her composure. Something that Sakura was immensely grateful for. Both for not mentioning the previous misunderstanding and for always being kind to her.
Her heart warmed.
"I-I can't m-meet up," she finally said with a note of disappointment. "But I am f-free the day after tomorrow!"
"Sounds good," Shirou nodded. They usually hung out every day after school. However, there were times when they had conflicts. "Does 11 am work with you since its Sunday?"
Yes, they even met up on days off.
"Of course!" Sakura said with a smile.
All was quiet again soon after. This time, though, it was of the comfortable variety.
"I'll see you Sunday at the park then," Shirou said once they got to their usual parting spot.
Sakura hesitated for a second before shaking her head and bowing. "Have a good night, Sempai."
Shirou waited for a moment before returning the bow and walking then away.
He could tell that she wanted to say something else just like on previous nights, but had decided already that he wouldn't push. He would wait until she was comfortable with bringing up whatever it was first. This was his approach with the broken girl since the beginning. An approach that he would later regret taking.
Sakura watched him until he disappeared around the corner. Slowly, she turned towards her own home and began moving towards it. Her expression and eyes turning blank.
Later that night, Shirou was sitting alone on his house's veranda staring up at the night sky.
"I can't continue like this much longer." It was a conclusion that he had reached after many nights with no progress in opening his magic circuits.
Many times he had experimented in the storage shed with no results. Many times he failed in guessing the password to Kiritsugu's laptop, the only possible information about magecraft left by his father. Shirou was truly at a dead end and had no better use of his time than watching the moon.
He had already scouted the area many times to the best of his current abilities. Unfortunately, that meant just visiting all publicly accessible places. Without his magecraft, the boy did not have an easy means of investigating locked areas of interest short of breaking and entering using traditional methods. This was something he wanted to avoid since the risk of getting caught was too high for him.
Above all else, the Counter Guardian valued discretion, especially with the supernatural world, because of his abnormal existence. A true fight between him and any mystical creatures or half way decent magus would result in his defeat. True, his physical abilities were extraordinary for a 15-year-old due to the hard training regimen he had been following diligently ever since he was summoned. However, a simple well-timed spell could end him or worse yet immobilize him resulting in his capture. How could any normal human dodge a fireball fired as fast as a bullet for example?
His workouts have already been completed for the day. Something that he did every morning without fail before school. So, no, he had nothing better to do than waste time watching another day come to a close. This was despite knowing time was quickly running out for him to get ready for the incoming threat.
The shuffling of seats as students got up singled the end of school the next day. With the sun still high in the sky, everyone in the building had plenty of daylight to enjoy at their leisure now that classes were over. Something that was only possible on half days.
"Emiya-san."
Shirou, who had been putting his books away in his bag, turned to see the teacher walking up to him.
"Do you mind taking today's papers to Tohsaka-san?"
The boy raised an eyebrow. He had noticed that she was absent today, which was a first for the girl in all the years he had knew her.
They both had the fortunate (or unfortunate?) luck of been in the same class ever since he first attended school.
"Couldn't you ask one of her friends to do it?" He wasn't exactly close to the girl in this life.
"I'll take them to her!"
"Pick me!"
"Tohsaka-sama!"
Other classmates quickly volunteered themselves.
"Normally," the teacher started while rubbing the back of his head. "I would ask the class rep but since Tohsaka-san is absent..."
It was a well-known fact that she was the class rep. Also, that this sensei was a softy that didn't want his students even falling a day behind in class.
"Leave it to me!" a boy excitedly said while raising a hand. "I'll go to her house and deliver them for sure!"
The dark glint in his eye spoke of ulterior motives.
"I could get a date in return..." he mumbled a little too loudly.
"No fair!" another boy spoke up while pushing the first one away. "I want a date with our goddess!"
His smile suddenly stretched unnaturally wide and he started to giggle creepily. "Hee hee... maybe I could even get a kiss!"
"Enough!" one of the girls finally shouted, fed up. "I have known her for years so I'll do it!"
Shirou nodded his head. The boys were a lost cause, but a close female friend seemed like a logical choice.
"But I have known her longer, Ayaka-san!" a second one abruptly piped up. "If anyone has the right to do it, it would be me!"
"She let me borrow her eraser once which makes me the closer friend!" a third female student joined the fray.
"I touched her shoes once!"
"I saw her changing in the locker room before P.E!"
"I ate..."
The Counter Guardian's eyes became wider and wider as crazier and crazier things were said. And he thought the boys were bad. At least they were what he expected from the typical 15-year-old male going through puberty!
His eyes suddenly locked with the teachers who had a desperate look.
Am I really the best choice!?
Shirou turned to see that all of the girls were moments away from getting into a massive cat fight while all the boys were playing a big game of rock-paper-scissors with blushes on their faces.
"This should be it." Shirou nodded as he stopped walking in front of a two-story western style mansion.
The teacher gave him Tohsaka's address, which in all honestly, he didn't need despite having never visited before. He had already known where she lived from earlier surveillance he had conducted.
What? It was for his mission and not because he was some type of stalker. It's not his fault that he noticed her name written on the outside gate of the house when he was scouting the area.
"Let's just get this over with."
Steeling himself for what sure was going to be a... experience, Shirou walked up to the front door and tapped the giant metal door knocker a couple of times
"..."
Hearing no movement on the other side, he applied more force and knocked again.
"..."
*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*
"..."
*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*
"..."
*KNOCK!* *KNOCK!* *KNOCK!* *KNOCK!* *KNOCK!*
"..."
"I guess no one's home," Shirou concluded while letting out a breath in relief.
Maybe I can... slip the papers under her door and be on my way?
It was a solid plan that the boy felt stupid for not coming up with sooner. He didn't want to meet with the volatile girl if he didn't have to.
*Slam!*
*Tap!* *Tap!* *Tap!"
*Slam!*
"What the hell do you want!"
Fuck me.
Answering the door, was a disheveled Rin.
Her normally combed hair was all over the place and missing the usual black ribbons. Light yellow pajama pants with the matching long sleeve shirt half tucked in. Finally, to top it off, there was a sliver of dried-up drool at the corner of her mouth.
"E-Emiya-kun" Rin screeched while physically recoiling backwards in surprise. "W-What-how-w-you?"
"Good afternoon, Tohsaka-san," he said with a bow, taking mercy on the disoriented girl.
"Good after... NOON!?" she reflexively started to respond before trailing off and screaming the last part.
Swiftly, she looked back inside her house and towards a clock hanging on a wall.
It read 1:12.
"Shit!" Rin yelled. "I am late for school!"
Before Shirou could respond, the girl spun around and quickly ran inside.
Only to make it halfway up her stairs before turning around and running back to the front door.
"Wait a minute! Why are you here!"
He took one last look at the confused Rin before sighing and walking past her.
"Y-You can't just enter-r!?"
The boy stopped in his tracks from the sight he saw.
Cloths and papers were thrown all over the floor. Many open books laid off their shelfs and on a dust covered table in the living room. A random chair was knocked over on its side...
"Wow, if only the kids from school could see this."
"Shut-t up!" she stuttered in embarrassment as she moved next to him. "It's normally a lot cleaner! I just been verrryy busy the past week!"
"Sure, whatever you say."
Rin went to respond while pointing a finger at the boy before suddenly stopping in mid motion as some wires crossed in her head.
"We don't have time for this! We have to get to school!"
"School's over," Shirou said before walking towards the kitchen. "Get changed, and then we can talk some more."
"Changed?" she muttered as her eyes lowered to view herself. "AH!"
The girl covered her chest and leaned away from the boy.
It would be safe to say that Rin finally realized that she greeted the biggest thorn in her side while wearing untidy pajamas.
Her cheeks turned red.
"Oh," he interrupted her spiraling thoughts with a smirk and one eye closed. "You may also want to wipe the drool from your mouth."
Shirou then turned his head back around and disappeared into the other room.
Trembling, Rin brought her hand up and wiped her face. To her horror, she saw that there was a slight damp spot on her sleeve.
I can never show my face again.
Standing in front of the entranceway to the kitchen moments later, Rin hesitated.
She was now wearing a causal skirt and long sleeve shirt. Her hair was also neatly in place with her trademark black ribbons in it.
"This is no time to feel sorry for myself," Rin muttered while pumping herself up. She couldn't change the past and needed to focus on the present. Less she makes more of a fool out of herself!
With both fists clenched tightly, she confidently walked in.
"The hell?" The girl froze at the sight of Shirou in front of her sink doing the dishes. Dishes that she embarrassedly noted were stacked quite high.
"Have a seat."
His voice snapped her back to reality.
Her mouth opened wide to reply, before taking another look at him diligently cleaning up her mess and closing shut. With hunched shoulders, she moved towards the table that was located in the room and sat down.
"Here."
"Thanks," the girl subduedly replied to the boy who had placed a cup of freshly brewed tea in front of her some seconds later. She couldn't look him in the eyes.
Shirou only nodded and walked back to the sink. He had to admit silently to himself that a docile Rin was a cute contrast to her normally temperamental self.
"I came over to deliver the papers that you missed from school today," he explained while getting back to work.
"..."
"I am assuming based on your... enthusiastic greeting that you overslept."
"..."
"You stayed up late studying for exams and after they were over, you were too anxious waiting for the results to sleep."
It was not a question.
"Your exhaustion finally caught up to you last night which led us to our current situation."
"Name your price."
The towel that had been moving back and forth on a wet plate paused at the girl's first words spoken in a while. He turned his head to look back at Rin.
One of her fingers was tapping on the table and she was staring rather intensely at him.
"What will it take for you to keep silent about everything?"
Her mouth scrunched up in disgust. "A date maybe?"
"Heavens no," Shirou immediately responded while secretly being impressed once again with how quickly she could switch gears.
"Are you saying that I am not cute enough for you?" she said in a dangerous tone with a too sweet smile.
He sighed. "I meant that you owe me nothing. I'll keep quiet free of charge."
Her eyes narrowed.
"What's your play here?" she asked with distrust seeping out of her. "If you think that this little selfless act would make me like you, then you would be dead wrong."
"I have no interest in you in that way," he laid out clearly. His gaze locked with hers to show how serious he was.
"But w-why?" Rin stuttered, taken aback for a moment. "I am the most beautiful girl in school. How could you not be interested!"
Shirou internally shook his head at her arrogance even though he agreed with her self assessment.
"Romance is the last thing on my mind these days," he spoke honestly. His thoughts were mainly focused on how to prevent the catastrophe that was coming which included how he could best protect Rin and many other innocent people. There was also Sakura and her issues to contend with as well...
"There are just too many other things that require my attention," the Counter Guardian said with unwavering certainty.
That answer finally seemed to satisfied the girl as her features softened. She after all was in the same boat.
For several seconds afterwards, all that was heard was the sound of Shirou doing the dishes.
A bird outside suddenly flew up to a nearby window before stopping just before contact. Gracefully, it turned around and disappeared.
"I guess there is one thing you could do to pay me back," he said, interrupting the silence between them.
That drew Rin's attention.
"Let me use your kitchen. It's already late in the afternoon and I haven't had lunch yet."
She just looked at him like he was some sort of alien which actually wasn't too far off from the truth.
"I don't mind, but is that really all you want?"
"Trust me," he said while finishing drying the last item in the sink. "I couldn't ask for a better reward."
Shirou gave her smirk before gleefully turning towards the impressive cookware in front of him. Everything was state of the art that brightly outshined his meager set at home. Both literally and figuratively.
No better reward indeed.
"That's a lot of food." Rin couldn't help but point out as Shirou put item after item on the table.
"I might have gotten a little bit carried away," he admitted with an easy smile while scratching the back of his head.
She turned to look at the very impressive spread before looking back at him.
"Little bit would NOT be the word I would use!" the girl said while gesturing with her arms opened wide at the table.
Every squared centimeter of available space was pretty much covered with dished filled with food.
"Ha haa haa" the boy giggled lightly causing Rin to look at him strangely.
She didn't think he was capable of making a noise like that.
"Let's eat!" Shirou gave his thanks from his now seated position before he started to dig in.
The girl observed him steadily using his chopsticks to gather many things on his plate before bringing them to his mouth.
Steam could be seen from one such item that he had grabbed.
The boy took a moment to blow on it before taking a bite.
"Aren't you going to eat?"
That question caught her off guard.
Snappingly, she looked up from his mouth with a guilty expression from being caught staring.
"Pardon?"
"Just wondering why you haven't started eating already," Shirou clarified.
With her head tilted slightly to the side, Rin looked down.
An empty plate was set in front of her with a clean pair of chopsticks just off to the side.
"Ah!" she screeched from now just noticing the two objects. Shaking her hands back in forth in denial, she said, "It's okay I am not that hungry!"
*Growl!*
Shirou raised an eyebrow at the noise.
Rin glared at her stomach at its betrayal.
"I guess one bite won't hurt," she finally said after a moment while deflating and noting that today just wasn't her day.
"Let's eat," the girl mumbled in defeat before grabbing her chopsticks and using them to sample the closest dish in reach.
Her eyes widen as her taste buds instantly screamed for joy.
"It's good?"
"Were you expecting it to be bad?" Shirou warned with a hardened gaze, offended at the little confidence Rin seemed to be giving his cooking skills.
"No, no!" Rin hurriedly followed up while waving a hand back and forth. "I didn't mean any offense!"
She could feel sweat running down her back as his steel-like eyes seemed to be looking into her soul!
"You will eat your fill then."
It was an order.
"Y-Yes!" the girl confirmed rather quickly while her back straightened stiffly in her seat.
That seemed to satisfy the Counter Guardian as he finally broke contact and began eating again.
"Hmph," Rin let loose a breath of relief as her body returned to a more comfortable slouch.
My life flashed through my eyes for a moment there!
After taking a moment to gather herself, she began to copy the boy's movements and ate.
When was the last time I shared a home cook meal with someone?
The girl had lived alone in this big mansion for quite some time now. So long in fact that she had forgotten what it was like to not eat alone.
"Soy sauce?"
Rin looked up at the offered bottle.
Her normally forced and carefully constructed smile was nowhere in sight as she took the condiment. Instead, she had a small genuine one.
Eventually, despite their valent efforts, both couldn't eat another bite. Luckily, Rin owned a lot of tupperware which Shirou utilized to put the leftovers in to store in the fridge. Something that the girl was thankful for as that meant she could eat more of the delicious food later!
The kitchen was then cleaned up from the messy state that it was in.
"That should just about do it," the boy mumbled as he put away the last of the now sparkling pots.
If Shirou was upset with having to do the dishes again without Rin helping at all, he didn't show it.
Said female, meanwhile, had been fantasying on how best she could make the food last without eating it too quickly or having it spoil. A delicate balance that took a lot of thought.
"Do you have any other cleaning supplies besides what's below the sink?"
That question snapped the girl out of her strategic planning.
"Yeah," Rin answered after taking a couple of seconds to process the question. "There should be some stuff in the closet by the front door."
The boy nodded before moving to said location.
"Why do you need them?" she couldn't help but ask after looking around. "The kitchen looks plenty clean to me."
Indeed, the countertops and stove were wiped down. The dirty items were thoroughly washed and put in their proper place. All condiments were in the fridge with the leftover food. The place looked so spotless in fact that it was sparkling.
"The living room is not going to clean itself," he said like that explained everything before disappearing into the other room.
"Wait!" the girl yelled as she ran to catch up to him. "Don't tell me that you plan to clean the whole place!"
"Alright, I won't say it."
"You can't!"
Shirou paused his walking and turned to fully face her, causing Rin to have stop as well so she didn't run into him.
"And why can't I?"
"Some places are off limits to you!" she explained.
The boy looked off to the side as he was lost in thought for a moment.
"If you're worried about me stealing your panties, then don't be. I already told you that I have no interest in you romantically."
For some reason, an arrow seemed to strike her in the chest at the reminder.
"I wasn't worried about you stealing my panties!" she yelled while stomping her feet and glaring at him. "That still doesn't mean I want some privacy!"
She pointed a figure at him. "You're not allowed in my room or any other place that I haven't given you explicit permission to enter."
Her mouth curved up into a scary smile.
"Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear." A poke to his chest was followed after every word.
"Crystal," Shirou said with a smirk, finding amusement at her attempt at intimidation. "Now if you will excuse me."
He turned around. "I got a house to clean."
The girl made all sorts of weird gestures as she watched the boy walk away. Her eyebrow twitching.
Shirou, meanwhile, moved to in front of the closet which he opened.
Dust rags, cleaning solvents, a mop, broom, and vacuum.
Grabbing a rag on the shelf, he moved towards the living room.
The books need to be put away and everything needs to be wiped down before I do anything else.
He immediately began closing the open content on the table and placing them on the nearby bookshelf. Dust shifted as they were disturbed, causing him to have to hold in a sneeze.
What do we have here?
A book at the bottom of the pile caught his attention.
The binding was frayed and the pages were yellowing from age. Rips and tears could be seen here and there. The most noticeable thing though was the hand written writing.
Mana can sometimes feed into the magic crest when trying to use your magic circuits which could unintentionally activate them and cause the spell to malfunction.
Shirou's eyes widen at what he read and hurriedly looked around.
This book had information on magecraft. Something that was supposed to be a secret from the normal person. Something that magus usually heavily guarded with their life!
"Hmph," the boy let out a breath of relief after noticing that Rin was no longer in the room.
He knew that she wasn't a bad person, but even she could only tolerate so much before having to act. Him blatantly reading what appeared to be a family heirloom on magecraft was sure to exceed that threshold and likely cause her to hypnotize him to forget everything.
Yeah, there were scary spells like that.
I can't let this opportunity go to waste.
The girl disappearing was a blessing. Probably to clean her room or to make sure places that held anything remotely related to magecraft were locked tight. The smart thing for him to do would be to close the book and pretend like he didn't see anything. That would at least buy him some time.
Make no mistake, she was sure to mess with his memories as soon as she found information like that was out in the open. Something that his current self-had little defense against. His willpower to resist was something he was confident in, but it could only do so much on its own against magecraft.
The only difference between being caught now rather than later was how invasive Rin would be. Afterall, she was sure to be quick and not pry too deep if she only suspected he saw the book. Him being seen reading the tome though was sure to get her to question his motives more deeply. This could potentially lead to the truth about his identity being exposed!
Even still, Shirou was determined to keep going. He had been at a dead end with his own magecraft for so long now that he was willing to risk it!
When first starting out, practice sending mana from a different direction to where the magic crest is to your magic circuits to avoid accidently setting it off.
The next page showed a diagram of a person with a black spot on the left arm labeled magic crest and the chest labeled magic circuits. An arrow was pointing towards the circuits from the right that said mana.
Shirou paused in thought.
Magic crests were bundles of magic circuits that were passed down in a family. This practice was common in the supernatural world and consists of magus transferring some of their own circuits with many, if not all, of the spells they learned in life to the next generation. This process would then repeat endlessly with the next in line adding their own circuits to the already existing ones when passed to the next person.
Having a magic crest, especially one that had many circuits from many different previous owners, is a massive advantage considering that it allowed easy access to spells used by ones ancestors. Plus, having extra circuits than the preordained number set at birth would aid in a person's own magecraft.
The only problem is that a magic crest was like an organ and only certain people's bodies would accept them. This was why it was usually given to a direct descendant as they had the highest probability of it being successfully transplanted.
Shirou never once had a magic crest. Rin, however, did from what he could remember and had likely accidently left the book out after consulting it.
After practicing using spells with just your own magic circuits, then try doing them using your own magic circuits and one circuit from the magic crest. This will increase the potency of the spell. Continue to increase the number of circuits until the whole magic crest is used.
This tome seemed to give advice on how to effectively use one's own spells with a magic crest without it malfunctioning. Interesting, but not quite helpful in solving his own predicament.
Skimming through the pages to the end, he didn't find anything additional besides more detail instructions on the topic and diagrams.
Sighing in disappointment, the Counter Guardian returned to the front.
He took a moment to then glance at the stairs that he moved to face while he read.
No one was there but Shirou knew his time was running out before Rin returned.
Why didn't he just then take the book to another room like the bathroom to read in private? Well, his answer would be that magecraft was... tricky.
He wouldn't doubt the girl placing a tracking spell on the tome which would alert her of its location if it was moved around too much. Rin was both a genius and a careful person afterall which only made him randomly finding it like this very unusual.
Shaking his head, the boy snapped back to the task at hand.
His hand gripped the cover steadily as he opened the book back up.
I think I can sneak in one more quick look.
Pages flipped by swiftly as Shirou's eyes moved back and forth even faster as he scanned.
Magic crest activating... Using one's own magic circuits with a magic crest... Mana accidently being sent to the magic crest instead of one's own magic circuits... Wait, Avalon!
The boy's eyes became as wide as dinner plates as his hand stopped.
How could I forget about Avalon!
Avalon was a scabbard that granted immortality to the legendary King Arthur. The king of Britan who lived from the late 5th to the early 6th century.
While the potency was severely degraded outside of the king's hand, it still was a powerful healing artifact.
In fact, the scabbard was what saved his life during The Great Fire of Fuyuki. Kiritsugu had transplanted it inside of him as he was dying. Something that the Counter Guardian had forgotten about until now.
I ended up transferring Avalon to someone else to save them during my previous life so I forgot that it was ever inside of me.
This was indeed a breakthrough, but all would be for naught if Rin discovered him. The boy, therefore, quickly shut the book and moved it to the nearby bookshelf to be placed with the others. It would look suspicious if it was the only one left on the table so it was placed with the rest despite knowing it didn't belong with them.
Saving thought about Avalon for later, Shirou continued cleaning.
"Here are your papers," Shirou said while handing Rin the worksheets she missed from school, completing the original task he was sent here to do.
They were both by entrance of the mansion with the girl seeing him off from just inside her home.
Cleaning had taken a long time, as evident by it being dark out now, but the job was done without the misplaced magecraft book being discovered.
"Um," Rin started, struggling to get the words out. "T-Thanks."
"Don't mention it," Shirou said to the girl who was shyly looking off to the side. He could tell that she wasn't just thinking him for the papers.
The wind decided to blow just then, shifting the boy's red hair back and forth.
"See you later."
Without waiting for a response, the boy bowed before turning around.
A hand raised in farewell was given as he left the flustered magus' house.
Later that night, Shirou was sitting alone in his home's storage shed. Thoughts about what he discovered earlier in the day was going through his mind.
Mana must be diverging to Avalon when I try to open my magic circuits.
A great inflow of mana is needed to be sent to one's magic circuits to open them. When the boy tried to do this, most of the mana would instead unintendedly flow to the scabbard inside of him. A conclusion that was made based on magus having a similar problem when using their magic circuits with mana accidently going to the magic crest transplanted in their body. In fact, it was these similarities that led him to remember Avalon in the first place.
The question now was how to get around this.
I already tried sending mana at many different angles to my circuits during a previous experiment... Avalon must be located right where my circuits are.
He sighed at not being able to use the solution that magus use when dealing with a magic crests.
Maybe I can overload the scabbard with mana so it can't accept anymore...
Shirou shook his head while standing up. He attempted sending his circuits (which was actually being sent to Avalon) mana continuously before with no luck.
Needing a distraction, especially since he was spinning his wheels again, the boy moved towards a nearby space heater. There was a slight chill in the air tonight. Nothing that the Counter Guardian couldn't handle, but he figured that he might as well use the device to make himself comfortable since it was already here.
Shirou paused in front of the space heaters. Yes, as in plural. There actually wasn't one, but many varying models and sizes. Some of which looked really old.
Grabbing a small one, the boy plugged it in to an outlet that was covered in dust before returning to his spot from earlier with the device.
A couple of tries later, it was on and producing heat.
Something that his cold hands appreciated as he moved them closer to the grille from his now seated position.
Avalon is a legendary healing artifact. It must be using the mana I have been accidentally sending it to heal me.
Many years had passed since the Counter Guardian had a living body so he couldn't tell if his healing rate was normal when compared to the ordinarily person. Afterall, before his current mission, his body had been made up entirely of mana which only required sending some of it to the hurt area to heal.
Now that I think about it, my muscles have been feeling slightly more sore than usual recently.
His recent spell of hopelessness had him spending more time sitting on the veranda than experimenting in the storage shed. Something that actually benefitted him because it allowed him to connect the dots.
I was less sore the days that I had experiment sending mana to my circuits the night before...
Shirou suddenly smacked his hand to his forehead.
"Don't tell me it's my own fault that I couldn't open my magic circuits." He came to a realization.
The mana being sent to Avalon was being used to heal his sore muscles from his training. Training that he had been doing every day without fail!
If I had slacked off in my workouts for just a couple of days straight anytime in the past several years, my circuits would be open!
It was quite simple. If the scabbard had nothing to heal, then it would have no use for the mana. So it would all flow to his circuits like it was supposed to. His own diligence towards his physical training was the reason why he had made no progress with his magecraft!
The irony of it all was the reason why his hand still remained glued to his forehead.
It would be deep into the night before it was finally removed.
Earlier that day...
"Yes, thank you very much. I'll see you on Monday."
Taiga moved the phone that had been against her ear down on its stand.
The sun, which was shining through a nearby window, shone on the women who was standing alone in a hallway inside Shirou's house.
"Mwhhaaaaaaa haa haa ha!" she suddenly starting to laugh evilly with her head back and face looking up at the ceiling.
A cartoon villain from a children's show would have taken notes at her stupendous technique.
"You thought you could fool me, Shirou-chan!" the women exclaimed after calming down and wiping a stray tear in her eye. "No one can fool me!"
She had just finished talking with the school who confirmed that the parent-teacher conference was this Monday and NOT the following one like the boy had said yesterday.
Her smile widened comically.
"Don't you worry, I'll find out who the stank is that cheated first place away from you, Shirou-chan!" she vowed with a red aura surrounding her. "Then I am going to have a nice little chat with them."
The women moved towards the kitchen. The tip of a wooden sword with a tiger key chain attached just under the weapon's guard trailed on the ground just behind her.
That's a wrap with a slight cliff hanger. Sorry for those that are craving battle scenes as they are not going to show up for still some time but I can promise that their will plenty of them when I do get there. I hope my explanations on magecraft and EMIYA's issue all made sense as it was tricky to try to explain. Props to the many great authors that are good at explaining things! Yes, I know that Avalon is not supposed to work at all without Saber, but this was me intentionally changing it to work with my story.
As always, thanks for all the support in the form of reviews, favorites, and follows! Your support is what motivates me to keep this story going and I hope I am improving with each new chapter! Until next time!
