FBBH Full Chapter 44 (Patreon)

Hey guys, thanks again for the support as I recovered and things got back to normal for me. Just got back to the job and while I hate it and could live without having to deal with traffic at least things are getting better. This is an experiment because I noticed somethings about my methods of editing, usually I make a two step process, first checking what was writting and second for mispelings.

Yes, I correct what I find wrong in the first and usually I don't get everything either way but some times I do catch mistakes. This chapter was written with only the first step since I find there is nothing wrong that hadn't been corrected already.

I still will do the second step on Saturday so expect the chapter to be posted on FF on the Sunday but you guys get it early because I feel this one is done.

Tell me what you think and if I should this more when possible and see you next time.

Fate/Bonds Beyond Humanity

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44- Promises For Tomorrow

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Breakfast in Shirou’s home was usually a peaceful affair.

“We can’t just ignore all we heard!!”

Besides some competition for more food that was usually settled in a race for the scraps there was always enough for everyone so it never really devolved into a fight.

“We won’t tell them everything! We made a promise!!”

“You know very well that isn’t what I mean, Irina!”

“Can I get more rice?” Koneko asked cutely and Yoruichi jumped to fill her bowl. “Thank you.”

The nekomatas traded smiles. “You are always welcomed.”

Everyone at the table was still in their sleepwear as they barely woke up and took their time to eat what Shirou managed to cook. The redhead magus was happy to have been able to cook a proper meal and his gratitude had to go to Yoruichi who claimed the seat to his right with Rias quickly taking over his left.

While Rias was using the same clothes she had the night before, Shirou had a different shirt but the same pair pants and Yoruichi was using one of Shirou’s shirts that fit her perfectly and she playfully dared someone to comment.

While Liz watched the nekomata with some irritation she moved to sit beside Rias while Koneko took her side at her new anointed sister who was pampering her a little after the ordeal of the previous day.

Were it not for the shouting then the table would be their ideal picture of a breakfast.

“You are ignoring the problem!!” Xenovia’s voice ran around the living room even if there were walls between her and everyone there.

Irina’s voice escaped in the same volume. “I am not ignoring anything! I am just saying that we should go back and talk with everybody first!””

Usually the environment of the mansion was relaxing and peaceful, never too silent or too loud. Calm days had people chatting and rushed days had everyone hurrying up to get ready for one thing or another.

Days when there was conflict were few and far in between, things that could be solved with a conversation or even a small spar. Nothing too big and certainly nothing that could be heard all around the house.

“You are the one ignoring things!! We have to go back, Xenovia!” For a few minutes it was clear the conversation went to a manageable level as the people at the table did their best to not pry.

It was impossible when the voices were raised. “All this time they have been lying to us!!!” Another silence showed the conversation went low. Nobody believed any of the Exorcists was silent for that long.

“We should have given them a room with a boundary field.” Rias mentioned with a frown as she looked around the table.

Yoruichi chuckled at the redhead's observation. “Unfortunately the only room with a decent one that is available is Shiro’s and we all can agree that it should be cleaned first.” She leaned on the magus whose small blush was almost undetectable. Almost. “Isn't that right, ‘darling’?”

Instead of focusing on the trap Yoruichi was laying for him, Shirou was paying attention to the conflict in the other room. “I would offer my workshop but a conversation like that around dangerous tools-”

“What you are saying is heresy!!!” Irina’s voice was the first to come back.

“By default I don’t think the Church can say what is heresy anymore!!!” Xenovia sounded madder than previously and that made those at the table quite uncomfortable.

“-Isn’t a good idea.” No one in their right mind would disagree with Shirou’s statement. By his side both Rias and Yoruichi nodded and kept a hand on each of their lover’s shoulders. “I won't go there.”

“You want to.” Rias replied with a chuckle.

“I still won’t go.” Shirou added to both ladies' amusement.

“We know… Just making sure.” Yoruichi took a bite of her rice. “After all, we are trying to respect their privacy.”

“THEY BETRAYED US FIRST!!!!!” Xenovia sounded so loud that those at the table feared the ones not present would wake up after her scream.

“Juice.” Liz requested with her cup held high and Rias was quick to fill it. “Thanks.”

Rias studied the maid for a moment before nodding. “I just hope Medusa and Luvia can’t hear all this.” She looked at Shirou. “Are you sure your swords can’t isolate them? Just for a minute?”

“Reality Marble or not I still hadn’t perfected the boundary fields my swords can create and this is too much noise.” The mention of his soul made many blink. “No, it just doesn’t solve all my problems like that.” He took a bite of a carrot on his hand, something nobody ever saw him eating raw like that. “What?”

“I can’t believe what you are saying!” Irina sounded passed beyond the point of frustration. “What do you think Griselda will think?!”

“She should have told me the truth!” Xenovia sounded hurt and another silence followed in the living room. “Don’t you dare apologize! You meant what you said!”

Another moment of silence had the people on the table trading glances. Most of them wanted to go and stop the two Exorcists' fight but they also knew it was inevitable and they needed to settle their differences.

And they knew the two had differences from what they managed to glean between the shouts; Irina remained steadfast in her support of the Church and seemed ready to go back while Xenovia felt betrayed and wasn’t willing to hold back her feelings.

Indeed it was the blue haired girl who expressed her opinions more strongly and by the snippets of the conversation they all managed to hear it seemed that Irina didn’t understand that Xenovia took the omission about the death of God far more personally.

It also seemed the chestnut haired girl was reaching her limit. “You are unbelievable!! They obviously had a reason to not tell us about it!!!”

“I know!!!” Xenovia screamed sadly and another silence around the mansion told those at the table the conversation had only gone down in volume.

“Maybe I should-”

““No!”” Both Rias and Yoruichi held Shirou back but the magus was obviously worried. They didn’t blame him as everyone was uncomfortable about the fight.

“That is it?!” Irina’s voice cut the silence again. “Fine! Be like that! It wasn’t only you that was mad at the Lord’s death!!”

Loud furious steps combined with the opening and the slamming of a door indicated someone’s departure and when Xenovia entered the living room with a defeated look they all knew who left.

The Exorcist was dressed  with some of Rias’ clothes; a dark blue gym bra and yoga pants that the King offered the previous night before she took a shower and went to bed. Irina had borrowed some clothes but left before anyone else saw her.

The majority in the room knew some confrontation between the pair was inevitable but they hoped that a night of rest would have smooth things over, at least a little. However that wasn’t to be as Xenovia didn’t look any better than she was the night before. If anything she looked rested but still exhausted as her face showed a conflict that was also present the previous night.

Because she saw Xenovia a little earlier, as it was natural since she was weary of strangers, Liz knew that the exhaustion was new. “Ugly fight.” And pointed out the reason without hesitation.

Everybody, even Koneko, flinched at how blunt Leysritt was with that comment, none more so than Xenovia. “You guys heard?” Nods from everybody were the reply. “I’m sorry.”

““It is fine!”” Shirou and Rias spoke exactly at the same time which made Yoruichi laugh a little.

The redheads looked at each other in silent communication as Rias offered Shirou to keep going but the magus shook his head and gestured for her to take point. Both were in the opinion the other would know what to say when in reality neither was really sure on how to help the owner of Durandal.

With a chuckle, Yoruichi broke the stalemate. “Why don’t you sit down to have some breakfast. Shiro worked hard on the food and it would be bad if it went to waste.”

Finally paying attention to the table in front of the, the blue haired girl looked astounded. “You did all this? Did you even sleep?”

“I felt… energized this morning. Didn’t need that much sleep either.” In fact he woke up just an hour after finally falling asleep and feeling fully rested. Rias and Yoruichi traded smiles.

Between the pair of rice containers, soups, vegetables, two different types of fish and another three of meats the table had enough variety to be the workload of a restaurant with four or more chets. There was enough food there to feed a small army.

Still a little stunned, Xenovia crossed her legs close to the table and picked an empty bow, not knowing where to begin. “Need some help?” Shirou offered with a gentle smile as he finished his carrot.

Xenovia found it weird how Shirou was eating the vegetable but noticed he had more food in front of him that was like the rest. “Yes, I think I do…” Asking for the bowl, Shirou put some rice in it while Rias threw some meat and vegetables in a separate plate. “Do you guys always eat this much every day?”

“There are some more today because of you and your partner but yeah, pretty much. Usually I cook in the mornings.”

“The Heiress of Gremory can cook? I don’t think anybody back home would believe that.” Xenovia commented with a smile that quickly vanished when she noticed what she had said. “I don’t think I am that hungry.”

Hearing those words, Liz was quick to try and size more food for herself. “No.” Shirou intercepted her hand with a spoon. “You already have your portion and you didn’t even finish it.” He pointed to her plate still half full.

In turn, Liz points to Yoruichi’s bowl overflowing with rice. “You gave her the triple.”

Shirou was in disbelief but couldn’t really deny the accusation. It was true. “She asked for more before I started cooking.” The moment she threw him a glance while he was getting up and made the request before going back to sleep.

“Well, his extra energy needed to come from somewhere.” Yoruichi added with a giggle. “Now it is my turn to recharge.” She took a huge bite of her fish, specially made for her. “Or would you prefer to not have his food today.”

"Perverts." Koneko blushed as she knew exactly how Shirou got the extra energy.

“Ah~ don’t talk about your older sister like this.” Yoruichi gave Koneko a side hug but the white haired devil remained stoic. “I will give you some of my food.”

“Love you, onee-chan.” The maid felt envy and betrayal but her expression remained calm as her eyes shifted.

Realizing that she owned the food they had now to Yoruichi, Liz changed her target. “She said she isn’t hungry.”

“I-”

“Xenovia you had an exhausted day yesterday and you can’t just eat pizza and say you are better.” Rias was quick to put an end to any protest. “A healthy meal is the most important thing for someone who needs to recover and even if your wounds are healed you need the nutrients.”

“Also weren’t you saying yesterday that ‘hunger is the enemy’?” Shirou picked where his first lover left off. Xenovia looked hesitant but her eyes stuck in the food showed that she was starving. “Think about it this way, if you are still going to talk with her then you better have some energy to do it.”

The idea of having to talk and not fight actually seemed good. “I don’t think we will be able to have a normal conversation.” However the bluehead didn’t see it as something possible. “She just… just… God.” Xenovia still spoke the name with reverence and Yoruichi glared at her as Rias and Koneko flinched. “Sorry.”

“Just… don’t do it again please.” Rias offered a small smile to show she was fine but Shirou gave her a look.

“You are still recovering.” The pureblood devil nodded. Shirou let out a sigh before putting more food on Rias’ plate which made Liz pout. “I will make lunch later… Maybe cake this week. We need to refill the pantry.” He frowned. “I could swear we had some apples in the fridge.”

“Was that why you were eating a carrot?” Rias asked with a smirk. "Because I am sure I never saw you eat one like that.”

Shirou shrugged as the image of the legendary mount in his soul appeared to be satisfied. “Blame the pegasus.” Once again everyone gave him a look and he rolled his eyes. “Can you guys just stop it?”

Rias shook her head to snap herself of her stupor. “Sorry it is just that when you say something like that…”

“How is a pegasus at fault?” Xenovia asked, she still hadn't touched her food. “Is this something to do with that Reality Marble business? Is this how you have already recovered after yesterday?”

Yoruichi raised her hand like she was in a classroom. “That was because of me. I used my Ki to put him better together after he almost blew himself up.” She then looked at him. “Speaking of which; was your Reality Marble why you survived?”

Before Shirou could reply, Rias asked her own question. “You aren’t sure?”

“Not really, I mean, there are beings that can use the ley lines of the land perfectly but Shiro doesn’t seem to be one of them.” The grin she gave was both feral and amused. “Believe when I say I did a… throughout the exam to make sure.”

“How?” Shirou was pretty sure that Yoruichi didn’t have the chance to examine him.

“Nyahahaha~ Let's just say that I am that good.” Yoruichi seemed confident but Shirou’s look told her that he wanted a better explanation. Unfortunately for him, she had the perfect way to finish the conversation. “Do you really want to have this conversation at the table?”

Unfortunately for her Shirou wasn’t falling for it. “I don’t mind.” He chuckled at the shocked expressions of those present while Xenovia was the only one confused.

“Are you… bragging?” Rias couldn’t help but ask.

Shirou looked a little offended. “I don’t need to brag about anything and neither would I. It is disrespectful. Even if someone told me to be more like a demon.” Rias blushed and the magus knew he had her. Then he turned to Yoruichi. “Besides I know you can censor your words for the sake of your little sister.”

“Good grief, that is some confidence.” Yoruichi admitted with a smile. She liked it. “Okay, I know nothing about Reality Marbles and maybe it had something to do with him surviving what I can only describe as tanking a star to his face by how much energy his body had to deal with.” Again she was unsure but collecting her thoughts, the nekomata isolated that possibility. “But I checked if he was one of the two possibilities of beings that could use all the mana of a territory completely free of consequence and I am sure he is neither.”

“I didn’t know anyone could actually use the mana of a city like that. Or is it something to do with a country?” Rias didn’t doubt Yoruichi’s words but found them weird regardless.

Either way everyone was curious and Yoruichi decided to explain. “There are two beings capable of fully controlling a ley line by being connected to them completely and they are either a Blessed Child or a god of an area devoted to them.” She pointed at Shirou. “And while he is good at a lot of things, a god he is not.”

“Which leaves only the Blessed Child theory.” Xenovia recognized while playing with her food. “What is ‘Blessed Child’? Someone blessed by a god? Was lady Medusa who made that possible?” She looked around. “By the way, where is she?”

"Still sleeping.” Shirou replied easily.

“Continuing, no, actually the gods have nothing to do with that. It is just someone born somewhere and naturally blessed by the land.” She was summarizing things for everyone’s sake. “They also get a lot of other benefits when in the territory which blessed them like perfect luck or health and those are things that can be observed every single day of their lives.” She then chuckled. “There are other kinds of Blessed Child concepts out there too but that is the one relevant to this situation.”

Koneko connected the pieces first. “So it would be someone protected by the land.” It sounded natural to her as Senjutsu was Yoruichi’s speciality.

Yoruichi hugged the little devil again in happiness of having imparted the lesson and her sibling understanding it. “I so want to introduce you to our brother back in Kyoto. You are going to love him.” The white haired devil blinked as others chuckled.

“Maybe it was the fire, or better yet, ritual.” However Shirou was still focused on the facts and he knew another unnatural event that he lived through. “We still don’t know what it did. Maybe that was its purpose.”

Just mentioning it had sombered the room. Nobody could disagree with Shirou’s words as it was a possibility, one that Yoruichi considered and dismissed. “So far that ritual only had negative consequences but nothing else, for years. Without knowing what its purpose was, it is better to not consider it responsible for anything.” It was frustrating but she still smiled. “And you better keep that ‘sheath’ inside you.”

Rias chuckled as she realized her lover had told Yoruichi about Avalon. ‘Usually telling people a dangerous secret would be bad but I trust Yoruichi.’ The fact the nekomata avoided to say its name showed that she knew how important the secret was. ‘Good to have a ‘sister’ to count on with this.’

Because if more people knew than maybe the knowledge about the Reality Marble would be the least of everyone’s problems.

“Yes ma’am.” Shirou accepted the words with a smile.

“‘Ritual’?” And once again Xenovia was confused.

Shirou shook his head, taking pity on the girl. “Doesn’t matter. What happened, happened and I am glad it allowed me to stay with you all.” He touched Rias’s hand and Yoruichi’s leg and both smiled at him.

“Maybe that pegasus then?” Xenovia suggested, still trying to understand everything. “I mean, he showed up when you were using that white sword.”

“Bakuya and no.” Shirou sounded absolutely sure and no one challenged him on that. “I don’t know if my Reality Marble had something to do with it either but my pegasus kinda lives there.” Even he started to grow uncomfortable with the looks he was getting. “He first showed up after I saved Medusa from her island. It has been around since then and… I think I should name him something. Just calling him pegasus feels empty.”

Even more so because Shirou knew he owned the pegasus his life as it had jumped at the right moment with Bakuya to save him. He could feel the creature's power now more than ever and while similar to Caliburn’s it also had a different flavor.

It also reminded him of Medusa after she turned into a proper goddess after being a Gorgon for so long and before turning into the girl he was used to seeing. Another thing Shirou could tell was that the pegasus was part of his Reality Marble but also not.

He had much to meditate about.

“That explains some things but not everything.” Rias massaged her temples. “I just know we will have to research Reality Marbles later.”

“We have a lot of them stored in a drive and on my laptop and I can assure you that none of them is useful.” Rias raised an eyebrow at her lover. “My old man’s father researched it in the past. Now I believe we were trying to convince Xenovia to eat her breakfast.”

Not that the books were useful since every little bit of knowledge in them was theoretical and completely unfamiliar with his own experience with his. It wasn’t a surprise since the research of Reality Marbles was a taboo but he still read it out of curiosity once when his suspicions about his own first arised.

“I can-”

“No, Liz, you can’t.” This time it was Rias who stopped the maid and she pouted again. “Don’t look at me like that, even Koneko isn’t trying to poach more food.”

“Because Yoruichi is sharing hers.”

“Nyahaha~ I am still eating more than you both.” And it was true since the nekomata had already devoured most of her by herself before she began sharing. And she was still eating with the little devil. “I need to get as much as I can while I can anyway. Don’t know when I will get the chance to get Shiro’s food after tomorrow.”

“You can still come on the weekends.” Koneko sounded sad in her plea but Yoruichi just patted her head.

However both Rias and Yoruichi knew that such a request would be impossible, at least for a while. “She needs to stabilize things in Kyoto once her name starts to pop up because of this incident.”

“Fact is that my investigation about the ritual ended in a dead end and I have ‘neglected’ my position by staying here for long periods of time.” And while Yoruichi didn’t like her position of power in Kyoto, she had a responsibility. “I will need to stay around and show my face for a few months so people don’t ask too many questions.” She hugged Koneko again, this time with her face in her white locks. “But I promise that once things are back to normal I will pop up here right away.”

Koneko was silent and about to cry but held herself back. “Can I call you?”

“Of course! I still need to introduce you to our brother… But I want to do that personally.” The nekomata looked pensive but both were smiling. “You will see him when I officially adopt you in the family.”

“Hold on, she is still with me and I refuse to let Koneko go!” Rias stood up and embraced Koenko’s shoulders, making the white haired devil glare while Yoruichi glared. “Unless, of course, you want to share.”

“Fuh! Well played.” Yoruichi admitted with a smile, also embracing Rias and Koneko. “There is nowhere saying we can have more siblings, right?”

“Don’t expect me to call you ‘onee-chan’.” Koneko blushed as she knew Rias’ tone was for her.

“Food is getting cold.” Shirou said it more to Xenovia’s benefit but the speed everyone else moved to keep eating had him smiling.

The blue haired Exorcist looked at the food before her. ‘Is it really that good?’ The faces of the women in the table told her ‘yes’ and curiosity was demanding her to start. “Thanks for the food.” She remembered the tradition before taking the first bite.

An explosion of flavor took over her tongue as Xenovia felt every single speck of the food left a lingering effect in her mouth that took over her conscience. The taste was unlike anything she ever felt in her whole life as electricity seemed to cover her body as her brain tried to process what she was tasting.

‘This is…’ Xenovia didn’t even know what she was chewing because compared to anything she ever ate before it couldn’t be called food. It was beyond that in comparison.

In all fairness most of her life she ended up eating on the road or the equivalent of military rations. Another sacrifice she made for the Church as she ate only for the energy and did not care much about the taste. This time it was different as the taste of the food was all Xenovia could think about.

The act of chewing itself became like breathing and fell into a rhythm to maximize her pleasure. Her taste buds danced at the new experiences and every single time she chewed seemed to have the flavors of meat escape with its juices. The shock the food sent through her system made Xenovia think that her clothes were too tight despite how comfortable they were a moment before.

Then she finally swallowed it and the warmth of the food rushed through all her body. “This is so good~”

“And another bites the dust~” Rias joked upon seeing Xenovia’s expression of bliss.

“Well damn.” Yoruichi almost laid on the table to watch Xenovia’s expressions closely. “I think she had a-” She stopped herself to look at Koneko who offered her a cute look. “Her first time experience with some proper food.”

“I had proper food.” Xenovia barely managed to say after recovering her breath. “This… this is beyond that.” She looked at Shirou with reverence. “Did you sell your soul to make food this good or is this another thing to do with your Reality Marble.”

With a mirthful chuckle, Shirou shook his head. “This time it is neither. Just the result of old fashioned hard work. Years under a strict chef that had me perfecting my skills to the limit,” Liz nodded to his side, remembering her sister, “and perfecting my magecraft to make sure the ingredients are at the peak of their potential. My speciality, Reinforced Food!” The announcement had Xenovia’s eyes flash with stars. “Do you like it?”

“I love it!” Xenovia shoved more food in her mouth until her cheeks were similar to a chipmunks before she began to eat. Her face had pure bliss until she finally swallowed and was able to speak again. “The taste, the texture, the taste, how it feels in my mouth, the taste..”

Everyone decided silently to avoid commenting on how she spoke about the taste three times. Not that the girls would disagree as even if Shirou was a little embarrassed they all knew he sometimes underestimated how good his food was.

Yet Xenovia now knew the level of the cook at the table as she enjoyed more of the fruits of his labor. “Everything can only be called divine!” She had a look of wonder and bafflement. “Did Kokabiel kill me and I end up in Heaven?”

“Fufufu. No but Shiro’s food can make you think that.” Rias was enjoying seeing Xenovia process everything. She was certainly pleased when the blue haired maiden began to attack the food again. “Some of it was for Irina,” suddenly the blue haired girl stopped but she was still munching what was already in her mouth, “but since she left for the day you can have it.”

“I will make something for her if she doesn’t eat out.” Shirou commented as Xenovia went for the food once again.

“Hmm, I don’t think she can. She didn’t have any money left.” Xenovia nodded at Rias’ words and the devil hummed in thought again. “Then again she is native from Fuyuki. She may know someone willing to give her some lunch.” She began to think about calling her Pawn about the subject. ‘Going to give her a few hours and if she doesn’t return I will make some calls.’

Rias suspected that much like Xenovia, Irina also needed some time to process the events that happened in the city. While she would prefer to keep an eye on the Exorcists to avoid a leak about Shirou’s Reality Marble, she was considerate enough to give Irina some space.

The two lovers of Emiya Shirou shared a look and Yoruichi nodded as they shared the same idea. With a small magic circle Rias contacted her familiar and ordered Bat-chan to keep an eye on Irina. While they may trust her to an extent there was little need to take risks.

Meanwhile his lovers plotted behind his back, Shirou focused on helping Xenovia who seemed to haven’t ever eaten anything good in her life before. “Calm down, the food will stay until you finish.” He tried to tell her but the bluehead was putting as much food on her plate as she could. “I can make you lunch later if you want.”

“I can have more?”

“Well, to a point. I know that because of your special diet you can eat a lot but I would hate to let you get sick by eating too much.” While Shirou had some estimates of how much Xenovia could eat he wasn’t sure. “Some references would be useful but if you are just to keep going like that I don’t think you can help with that.”

Blushing at being called out, Xenovia fixed her posture and slowed down. “Sorry, the food was so good that I was blinded by it.”

“Nyahaha~ Not your fault. All of us acted like that the first time Shiro fed us.” Yoruichi had no shame and neither did the white haired duo as the two nod their agreements. “If we didn’t know where we could get this food or were used to it, we probably would be eating as much as you.” She remembered how much she ate the first time.

And she still eats practically as much because of energetic necessities but not as fast as Xenovia was trying to. Compared to the Exorcist, everyone else was eating slowly and enjoying the meal more which made Xenovia realize that if she ate too fast she would soon run out.

That helped her control herself a little more and bow her head to Shirou in gratitude and deference. “Sorry for my manners. Your food is delicious.”

“As expected of Durandal’s Owner. An excellent display of discipline.” Rias and the other girls applauded while Xenovia blushed.

“Stop teasing her.” Some were still giggling but the cook’s word was law and no one would challenge that.

The rest of the breakfast was peaceful and full of small talk even if there were some dark clouds hanging around the table made of some concerns and worries that some had.

Peace could not last for long and the one to break it was Shirou himself. “What do you think you are doing?” Rias wasn’t frowning but by her tone she was displeased.

Surprised and a little startled at the question, Shirou raised an eyebrow. “Getting the dishes… You know, to wash them?”

“No, no, no. Sit back down. You already got to cook today even though you should be resting.”

“But I feel fine, better than fine even.” Shirou was unable to lie and even if he could no one could really disagree by just looking at him.

Besides the new white hairs in his head, Shirou was the picture of perfect health. Not only his body was as fit as usual thanks to his training there was no indication of the suicidal efforts he made the previous day.

It was like all that happened, the fights, the reforging of Caliburn and the mana of the city, had occurred not twelve or so hours ago but weeks or even months. There was nothing in his disposition or his body that indicated that Shirou suffered any repercussions besides the white on his hair and even that was easily dismissible, more to him than to anyone else.

However, Rias wasn’t willing to dismiss the events of the last 24 hours easily. “Between all that happened you should still rest even if Yoruichi made sure you are healthy.”

“I agree.” The nekomata said immediately as she finished her food. “After our nightly activities your body is even better than before but you should still rest.” She said all that with a cheeky smile and a small blush before her face turned serious. “Even if your soul is… honestly too complicated to be in my department, that doesn’t change the fact that you must feel tired mentaly.”

“Honestly I feel just great. No headaches or anything.” Which earned him some confused looks. “I am not lying, you guys know I suck at it.”

Yoruichi fixed her ponytail, tying her hair in her usual hair style. “Which makes this even weirder. Senjutsu alone doesn’t repair the mind like that and, again too complicated for me, I don’t think you should be this fine.”

“Even with a Reality Marble.” Rias added after a thought. “On the other hand maybe you should. We don’t know.”

Yoruichi smiled at Rias’ observation. “That is my point; Senjutsu can’t fix all that and nobody knows enough about Reality Marbles to tell if what is normal or not.” She shrugged dramatically with her hands. “It is supposed to be a ‘world of the soul’ so maybe it can take all that mana.”

“Then can I-”

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn't rest.” Rias cut her lover with a grin which had Yoruichi following suit.

“Your body may feel fine but it still needs some time for the recovery to set in after the trauma you ran it through.”

A skeptical eyebrow was raised in Shirou’s face. “Really?”

Yoruichi shrugged with her grin still in place.. “Not really but it is recommended. ‘Part of the recovery is the resting’, said a certain old turtle.”

“Let me do it, senpai.” Koneko was already standing and collecting the dishes. “You, Buchou and onee-chan fought a lot yesterday. You all should rest.”

“I’ll help.” That surprised everyone who knew her as for the most part Liz never offered that kind of service. Shirou had seen that miracle a few times but even then it was just once or twice. “You need to rest and we barely fought.”

“You fought members of the Order.” It was a weak argument and Shirou knew it.

And if he didn’t, Koneko made sure he did. “Foot soldiers and a bunch of weaklings.” She avoided mentioning she took a spear in the back. “You guys fought the tough ones.” With her eyes on Yoruichi it showed she planned to let her newly anointed sister to rest as well.

Not wishing to complain about Koneko's good will and feeling considerably tired because of the pleasant activities of the night, Yoruichi just smiled.

“But-”

“Want me to forgive you for yesterday? Let me do this.” Liz grabbed the plate to finish the conversation..

A sigh of surrender escaped his lips before the redhead sat down again. “Fine, fine. Have it your way.” It bothered him a little because he didn’t feel tired at all but to not worry everyone he was willing to relax for a few hours.

“Just one more thing.” Rias added as her hand moved to Shirou’s hair and fixed it for a moment. “There, that is better.”

“What?” Shirou couldn’t see what Rias did since even if she messed with his hair she didn’t move enough to have any lasting effect. Yoruichi snickering had the redhead looking at her while Koneko and Liz worked. “Did she do something?”

“She just got rid of the white on your head ‘old man’.”

Incentivated by Yoruichi’s words, Shirou traced a sword with some protest from both his lovers before looking at his reflection. “You didn't need to do that.”

“Oh yes I did.” Rias patted his head carefully. “Now we don’t need to have a reminder of yesterday where you almost fried yourself with mana.”

“You just wanted to be matching redheads again.” Yoruichi called up but Rias just gave her a smug grin. “Hmph. Not that I don’t like white or anything like that but seriously Shiro, don’t do that again. For your hair to lose its color meant you used way too much mana, not surprising given the circumstances but not something you should repeat.”

“And you should be doing strenuous activities after yesterday? Maybe I should have you sleep?” A blushing Yoruichi shut up before Shirou turned to Rias. “And unlike me, you still need more rest.”

“It was just just a small cosmetic spell. Didn’t even need a magic circle for it.” Rias tried to brush his concerns off.

“That wasn’t necessary.” Shirou took another look before making his sword disappear. “I could have fixed it myself later.”

“And what was your plan? Explain how your hair started to go grisled over the weekend?” Rias folded her arms and gave him a look. “Or would you suggest we cut that cute patch off.”

“It will be a cold day in hell before we let that happen, Shiro.” Yoruichi spoke with a severity that had the now completely redhead once again stuned.

“Okay but you didn’t need to use magic on it. I was planning to paint it anyway just to avoid having to explain it.” It wasn’t like Shirou had given it much thought but if bothered Rias he would do it.

With a sigh, Rias relaxed as well. “Sorry but I wasn’t joking. I don’t like that reminder of you, bleeding from your nose and practically killing yourself while we could do nothing.”

It was basically torture for Rias with no other description. Since it was Shirou then it was even worse and the redhead even admitted the previous night she wouldn’t know how to live without him.

That was what scared Shirou and he held her hand. “Hey, it is okay. It is not going to happen again.” He offered her a smile. “I mean, not like anyone else is going to drop around him with a bunch of fragments of a legendary sword after shoving them into the ley line, right?”

“Hard to say, lots of legendary swords broke over the years.” Shirou gave Yoruichi a mean look but she shrugged. “What? Is the truth. Sure nobody weaponized them as Valper or the Church but a lot of powerful weapons broke since… well, ever I suppose.” She turned to a baffled Xenovia. “Wouldn't you say, Exorcist-chan?”

“Ah?” Xenovia managed to catch herself before she said anything. She felt like an intruder in the moments the trio before her was sharing. “I think Exca- I mean, Caliburn’s Fragments were the only of its kind. At least at the Church.”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Yoruichi agreed easily which confused Xenovia more. “Oi, Rias. You can relax a little. I doubt another of those will pop up around here for a while. Even if a weapon like that was easy to break, they would be easier to fix than the mess that was Caliburn.”

“Fair enough.” Rias accepted the words but the conversation had shifted and her eyes landed in Xenovia. “But it is a good thing we touched the subject right now since we need to have a talk, Xenovia Quarta.”

Taking a deep breath, Xenovia fixed her posture and placed her hands on her knees. “I figured as much. It’s about that Reality Marble business isn’t it? If so I’ll sign whatever you want or you can erase my memories of it if you judge necessary.”

“We don’t need to go that far.” While it was risky, Shirou knew both by her personality and by her sword that Xenovia was an honorable person who wouldn’t betray a secret held in trust.

Besides him the other girls in the table didn’t share his opinion completely but both were still surprised by the ‘blank check’ Xenovia was offering.

Licking her lips to calm down, Rias organized her mind. “Just to be clear you are willing to let go of a secret that your superiors in the Church would really like to know, something that can possibly start a war.”

“What she means to say is that we expected more resistance.” Yoruichi gave Rias a look but the redhead’s eyes were fixed on Xenovia. “Either that or conditions of some kind because even if you didn’t understand what a Reality Marble is you are smart enough to know it is important.”

“Oh I got that when Kokabiel was going insane.” Xenovia admitted with a shrug but her eyes seemed lifeless. “I just… To be honest I don’t even know if I am going to go back to Church after all this.”

There was no surprise from that statement, all had heard Xenovia’s emotions and how shaken she was by the death of God.

However there were other concerns. “Are you planning to go ‘stray’?” Rias asked delicately but Shirou’s look told her he didn’t like the question.

“No- I mean- I don’t know.” Xenovia shook her head in confusion and frustration as she glared at the table. “Maybe if I return Durandal to them and say I want to stop they will let me but… I don’t want to go back.”

“Maybe we should talk about it later.” With how the bluehead was shaken, Shirou wasn’t willing to keep pushing. His lovers noticed his desire and Rias backed down while Yoruichi sighed. “Look, this is a topic that you should think about and I doubt you need to go stray or anything like that.” Then he realized why she looked a little ashamed. “You aren’t planning to return Durandal, are you?”

“It’s my sword, it chose me.” Xenovia expected denial but instead Shirou nodded in agreement. Feeling some relief, she sounded more confident when she spoke next. “Besides, after all the lies, about God, about Excaliburn, I don’t feel like they deserve it.”

Unlike the previous statement which was full of uncertainty, Xenovia sounded ready to fight for Durandal to her last breath. The sword may not be in the room but both Shirou and Yoruichi noted how her hands seemed to search for it, not in an aggressive way but more to reassure herself it was still there.

Such a dangerous weapon was being treated like a teddy bear or a blanket but Shirou found himself not finding fault in it. Durandal’s history came to the forefront of his mind by just thinking about it and he knew how much Xenovia cared for it for that sword was the first thing to recognize her value. To give her a chance.

There were of course other implications but only Xenovia herself could say for certain what her intentions were and the girl remained confused. She certainly wasn’t really thinking straight and that was noticeable.

“You do realize that there is a good chance they will go after it, right?” Rias was trying to be gentle as Xenovia was someone she learned to respect on the battlefield.

There was almost no sign of the proud girl who stood against the Fallen of the Stars, who stared death in the face and didn’t retreat even when offered a chance. After she put her life on the line with theirs there was no way Rias wasn’t going to respect Xenovia and forgive her for any past transgression.

What was important was that the bluehead showed she was someone honest and trustworthy where it counted.

However that person almost couldn't be seen, buried beneath a ton of sadness and confusion as Xenovia seemed to be drifting without knowing what to do with herself. She was someone who lost her purpose.

Some of that proud girl returned. “They can try but I won’t give up Durandal. Not even if Michael himself comes to collect it.”

“I doubt he would dare to enter devil territory, even with Caliburn around.” That reminded Rias of another potential headache and that she needed to call her brother. ‘Maybe I can get working into fixing Kuoh and let Sona deal with that?’

“Also you are right, Durandal chose you.” Shirou spoke and all eyes turned to him. “Even if you decide to rebel against the Church, against Heaven, Durandal is not their sword. It is yours.” That went against all Xenovia believed but he wasn’t done. “I don’t think you would go ‘stray’ in the way they fear, in the way Rias is worried about. You are a good person, a little bit too headstrong but I think everybody in this table is like that too… If not everyone in the house.” He chuckled at the joke. “Durandal judged you to be the best person to wield it, someone worthy of the legacy of its former owners. It is up to you how you will live to uphold that legacy.”

Xenovia’s eyes looked more firm and relieved in some way. “Thank you.”

“No problem, Durandal wanted you to know that.” At least that was the impression Shirou had.

The wonder that colored Xenovia's face was so innocent that it actually surprised any who could see. “Can you- can you talk with swords?”

“I can understand their history. Especially a Noble Phantasm like Durandal.” If he could, Shirou would Trace it to reassure Xenovia but the mana cost was way too much. “It is more than just talking but you can do that too by understanding Durandal. As its true owner, maybe you can do it better than even myself.”

“So spoke the guy that has a Reality Marble.” Yoruichi couldn’t help with the sarcasm.

“Hey, she has the original sword and that fact has a power of its own.” Shirou admitted with a shrug. “Not to mention she was chosen by it.” He focused on Xenovia again. “All you have to do is find your path.”

“Easier said than done.” But Xenovia’s mood was better.

So much better in fact that Rias hesitated for a moment before bringing it down. “While I am happy that we can trust you, tell me, is your partner going to agree to forget about Shiro’s secret?” The magus gave the devil a wary glance but she would not be stopped. This was for his sake. “I understand that you two are not seeing eye to eye now but-”

“Irina will probably agree. She is too kind to not accept a favor from someone who was nice to her.” Once upon a time Xenovia called it naivety. Now she saw it as the twin tailed girl just being positive. “Since it isn’t anything bad and if you explain to her I have no doubt she will agree.”

“Any chances she will try and contact the Church from here?”

“Don’t you guys have the lines tapped or something like that?” Rias let out a sigh at the question and then Xenovia remembered what Kokabiel announced on the battlefield. “The ones responsible… Are they dead?”

“Not in this case since the human element is the one who keeps watch of such things…” That only hammered hard that Rias really needed to call her brother. “But you may have other methods that we don’t know of.”

“Only a phone number for emergencies and prayer for the angels but I doubt the second would work here.” Xenovia shrugged. “I don’t think Irina is going to call either since she was insisting we needed to go back and report the rebirth of Caliburn.” And now all knew what started the fight. She couldn’t help but smile sadly.

“Do you need some time?” Shirou spoke before Rias continued.

“Time for what?” Xenovia noticed that Rias had relaxed but Shirou still looked serious.

“Time to think or just to rest. I can’t think you are in any condition to have this kind of conversation,” once more he glanced at Rias, “before taking a break.”

“While that is true we can’t just leave these things in the air.” Rias replied, her eyes not leaving Shirou’s. She could already see his retort. “This is for our safety as much as your own.”

Knowing that Rias was right didn’t help matters as Shirou just pointed at Xenovia. “Does she look like someone who would go around our backs like that?”

“No, she doesn’t.” Yoruichi decided to intervene. “But Rias isn’t wrong to worry since a lot of nests will be shaken if your Reality Marble becomes known.”

Sighing, Shirou can only nod. “I know that. That is why I didn’t want to explore that possibility.”

It was Rias’ turn to sigh. “Then again I may have jumped the gun a bit. Not like Xenovia can get into contact with the Church here with all of us watching her. However…”

“However Irina still left and that could be a problem.” Shirou summarized. “But if we go by Xenovia’s opinion then she won’t.”

“Revealing your Reality Marble could start a war which we fought hard to avoid. Irina may be a little naive but she isn’t stupid and wouldn’t risk giving Kokabiel exacly what he wanted.” Xenovia spoke with conviction.

“I still sent my familiar to keep an eye on her.” Rias revealed and nobody protested.

“Sounds fair.” Xenovia said with acceptance as she still wasn’t ready to confront Irina on anything.

Before the conversation could continue the doorbell rang, surprising everyone and breaking the atmosphere of the conversation.

Then came another surprise. “I’ll get it.”

“Liz is full of surprises today.” Rias couldn’t help but comment as Shirou nodded in agreement and astonishment. “Close your mouth, dear, or else flies can get in.”

“Just processing.” Shirou admitted, which made Yoruichi laugh and Xenovia smile.

After a few moments Liz returned and she was not alone. “Master, introducing lady Sona of House Sitri and her Queen Shinra Tsubaki who came for a business visit.” She even bowed like a proper maid which was odd because of her choice of clothing but Shirou was too busy to comment while he facepalmed and others around the room smiled.

“You don’t need to call me like that… Or act like this!” Shirou was still having some trouble in processing everything.

“Why shouldn't she?” Xenovia asked innocently enough that had Yoruichi snickering and Rias holding herself back from laughing. “You are the owner of the house right? And isn’t she your maid?” The cute tilt of her head held back the scream Shirou was about to let out. “I mean, maybe it's because she used the English word for master? Which is the one used in Japan?”

“It really depends.” Rias didn’t give Shirou a chance to talk. “There is sama, dono and even bon-chan for the younger kids. And others.” She saw her lover squirm and began to giggle. “Many others depending on position and power.”

“Thank you Liz!” Shirou cut everything off before he blushed harder. “You can go now!”

Liz blinked slowly and bowed her head again. “As the Master wishes.” And then she departed as Yoruichi began to laugh out loud.

There was no hope for Shirou and he hid his face with his hands. ‘I am pretty sure she was smiling there too. Was she teasing me?’

Clearing her throat, Tsubaki looked unsure of herself. “Rias-sama, we came here to request some assistance.” She still looked tired and the concern in her face seemed to diminish her natural beauty.

“I expected you to already be working, Rias.” Sona commented with her glasses hiding eyes. “Because of the mess yesterday we have much to do and not much time to do it.”

“My, my, Sona. I at least thought we had the time to get some breakfast before having business.” Rias sounded cautious but Shirou recognized the concern in her eyes. “But look at you, already ready for school. Did you forget that today is Sunday?

Both Sona and Tsubaki were dressed in their school uniforms, new ones which had no marks of the battle. If one didn’t know any better they would agree with Rias they were ready for school and nothing else.

Except anyone that noticed the concern in Rias’ voice which had both Shirou and Yoruichi paying close attention to the talk. “It is because it is Sunday that we have to start moving or else there won’t be any classes tomorrow.”

“The damage to the school was substantial, Sona. Maybe it is better if we cancel the classes for tomorrow to give the construction crew time to work.” It was a doable proposition in Rias’ opinion.

Tsubaki sighed as Sona stared at Rias unimpressed. “The school can open tomorrow if we work quickly. I already went ahead and got in contact with the proper enterprises to start working and even your family’s company already sent a crew to begin the repairs.” Rias looked even more concerned but Sona kept going. “With things starting on this side, you need to call your brother and set things in motion in the Underworld.”

Instead of replying to her oldest friend, Rias directed her attention to the Sitri Queen. “She didn’t rest, did she?”

“I rested just fine-”

“She took a nap.” Sona turned to look at Tsubaki but the Queen didn’t back down. “You rested for a total of twelve minutes before beginning to make calls. I kept insisting you should at least sleep but you got back to work after I went to bed.”

The last part was more of an accusation as Tsubaki wasn’t awake to watch over Sona but the silence from the Student Council President was telling. It wasn’t a hunch or a guess either since the moment the Queen began to help she noticed the progress Sona had made and deduced the pureblood devil didn’t stop throughout the night.

Fixing her glasses again, Sona turned back to Rias. “We must prepare Kuoh for normal classes so as to protect the reputation of the school.”

“Accidents happen and we need time to recover.” Already she could see that wouldn’t work.

“Not with the size of this mess, Rias. The whole school was damaged beyond convenient excuses and the terrain is in dire need of repairs, not to mention the ley line. I already called a specialist to deal with it.” Sona added and Yoruichi pouted as the Sitri King looked at her. “We can’t keep the school closed for longer either due to the curious who are going to try and look for what happened.”

“Just make a boundary field to keep everyone away.”

“Jaken already confirmed that the ley line is still in flux and will be in flux for a few days due to people meddling with it.” Sona was glaring at Shirou and for the first time since she arrived he saw her eyes.

‘She is exhausted.’ He wasn’t the only one who noticed but Rias knew her friend wouldn’t hear anything that wasn’t logical.

For that she turned to Yoruichi. “Is there anything you can do to speed up the process?”

The nekomata shook her head. “Jaken is Sesshomaru's main retainer and a specialist in youjutsu. If he says the ley line needs time then it needs time.” Yoruichi crossed her arms in thought. “But that doesn’t mean people are just going to drop by if the school announces they are closed for a day.”

Both Shirou and Rias immediately realized why that wasn’t a good idea. “You were ‘feral’ at the time and busy saving our lives so I don’t blame you but Kokabiel let out a huge beam of light out to call the White Dragon Emperor to his ‘rescue’.” Even Xenovia understood that as Yoruichi scratched her cheek, vaguely remembering the event. “Because of that there are a lot of eyes on Kuoh. Thanks to our agents in town most of the situation is under control but if things aren’t normal come Monday people are going to start asking questions.” Sona took off her glasses to show how tired but determined she was. “And I won’t be recorded in History as the one who allowed the moonlit world to be revealed to the masses.”

‘Odd. While that is an important concern, Sona isn’t one to care about the opinion of others like that. It sounds more like an excuse.’ Rias was the only one who realized there was something wrong with her oldest friend by virtue of their friendship. “Is there something wrong, Sona?”

“A funny question to ask since it implies you forgot about yesterday.” Sona sounded irritated but Rias’ eyes never left hers. “We have work to do and can’t waste any time.”

“Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t rest, even if for a few hours.” Which at that point everybody could see Sona needed. Rias, however, was sure her words would go ignored. “Sit down a little. I can make some breakfast if you want.” It wouldn’t stop her from trying.

Recognizing that Rias had her best interest at heart, Sona sighed before fixing her glasses. “I promise to rest after we fix everything, alright?”

The King of Gremory and the Queen of Sitri traded worried glances as everyone else watched the interaction. Even those that didn’t know Sona well could tell the girl was under a lot of pressure and even if the situation was somewhat critical, the worst had passed but she was still too agitated.

Rias knew her friend, she knew there was more going around the black haired girl’s head that she wasn’t telling. However she had no evidence and Sona had already sunk her feet in the metaphorical sand, she won't say what is worrying her no matter what the redhead devil tried.

So for the sake of her friend, Rias would also have to cut her rest time short. “Fine, I will call my brother to begin delivering the reports and make preparations for the teams he is going to send.”

Replacements for the dead guards, people to evaluate the situation, count the bodies, administrators, medics and a dozen of other devils soon would arrive in Fuyuki. Some of it was standard because of the situation while others were necessary because the siblings of the Maous were involved.

All that not even accounted for when her brother contacts Azazel and Michael to make sure a war really wouldn’t break out. It was still unlikely if the actual Lucifer gave permission to access Caliburn since that would be the last point of contention possible as far as Rias was concerned.

Then there was the fact that at this hour Azazel would already have been informed about her lover’s Reality Marble but she chose to not think much on it because she had to trust on the White Dragon Emperor, Vali, and his promise that Azazel wouldn't want to start a war.

There would still be a lot to do but Rias had faith that her brother would settle the matters peacefully. If anything her greatest fear at that point was that he would drop everything in the Underworld to check on her.

“Thank you.” Sona snapped Rias from her thoughts. There was no relief in her voice even if the gratitude was sincere.

Couple that with her presence there and Rias knew her friend wanted something else. “Do you need anything else, Sona? If that was just it then you would have just called.”

“Sharp as always, Rias.” Sona wouldn’t botter in denying she had second intentions. When she turned to Shirou, he let out a sigh as he already guessed what it was. “I need your ‘lover’,” despite the tone she used, Rias just smiled shamelessly, “to fix the mess he made on Kuoh. Namely the legendary sword stuck in the middle of the property.”

‘I knew that was going to come back to bite me.’ He barely managed to hold that thought in. “That is not how it works with Caliburn. Only the true owner can take it out of its place of rest.”

“Are you sure? Are you definitely sure?” Sona sounded almost desperate. “Do you realize that one of the most likely conditions of peace is going to be for the Church to have some access to it? Maybe even security if the angels can get their way. That means establishing a base, probably an embassy.” She remained still but by her eyes everyone could see that the scenario was playing in her head. “Caliburn is in a school, Emiya, our school, the center of the devil operations of Fuyuki. Do you have any idea how bad the paperwork is going to get? Jurisdictions alone?”

“She has an excellent point.” Rias began to share in Sona’s fears. She wasn’t showing much but Shirou could tell she was starting to get nervous. “Now that I think about it, there has to be some way to move Caliburn. Maybe moving the rock?”

“There is no rock this time.” Tsubaki reminded everyone. “When Emiya-san completed the sword it landed on the ground.”

“Then just displace the terrain.” Rias offered as a solution. “We already have to fix most of the grounds anyway, what is one more hole to shut after we place the sword somewhere else?”

Which had Sona sighing as Tsubaki spoke for her. “Attempts were already made to displace Caliburn or even the land around it. While restoring it to a semblance of its former state was done easily, it seems there is a ‘bubble’, for the lack of a better word, around the sword that stops it from being moved.”

All eyes turned to Shirou who was scratching the back of his head. “Well, that is normal for Caliburn.”

“But it is still a problem.” Rias recognized with a sigh and a shake of her head.

“That is why I thought that maybe Emiya could be the solution for said problem.” Sona reiterated, her eyes not leaving Shirou.

“Sorry but there is nothing that I can do. That is how Caliburn is supposed to work.” Shirou knew Sona didn’t like the reply. “Look, sorry that I dropped the sword on the ground but that was it. Now it is there and by its own legend only the right person can pull it up.”

Sona took a deep breath before speaking again. “You reforged it, are you telling me you didn’t think about putting any safe guards?”

Considering the situation, Shirou did his best to not sound offended. “I was kinda busy trying to not blow up.”

“An excellent job by the way.” Yoruichi added but Sona just gave her a look before focusing back on Shirou. “Don’t be like that. We know you are stressed but there is no reason for you to be grumpy around us.”

“When are you going back to Kyoto again? Because I am sure once people know you were hanging around devil territory then you will need to stay there to avoid an uprising from your family’s opponents.”

“Kaichou.” Tsubaki hissed and Sona shook her head.

“Right, sorry. I overreacted."

Yoruichi gave her a glare before shrugging nonchalantly. “It is fine, you aren’t wrong.” That was why she was trying to stay hidden in the first place. “I will be gone in a day or two, just resting for now.”

“I apologize again but the situation is urgent.” Sona looked at Shirou and the redhead already guessed the next question. “Can’t your Reality Marble do something about it?”

“Even if I just accept it after less than a day I already know that isn’t how it works. At least not mine.” An image of Caliburn appeared on his mind, a version of the weapon that he could hold and wield. But it also told him the original wouldn’t accept him as easily. “I can make another Caliburn,” that seemed to scare everyone in the room, “if I have the proper materials or mana which I have neither. Trying certainly would kill me.”

“Then you aren’t trying.” Rias said immediately.

“And if you do then we are tying up until that blockhead idea is out of your head.” Yoruichi added and Shirou smiled at them.

“Don’t worry, I won’t intend to.” When his lovers looked satisfied he focused on Sona again. “I can even reproduce the Fragments individually or even Valper’s abomination. They would be easier and I would just need time to make them with the bare minimum.” Shirou shook his head again and showed his hands. “But I can’t move Caliburn.”

“I refuse to believe that. There has to be some way.” Sona began to bite the nail, thinking furiously. “Any Noble Phantasm is bound to its legend so we just need to focus on the aspects of King Arthur’s legend to find a solution.”

“Merlin could move the sword, I think.” Xenovia suggested earning eyes of gratitude from the devils while Shirou shook his head.

“He moved the sword before planting it in the stone.” Then Rias’ turned to him. ‘I know what is coming.’

“But you can take a look, can’t you?” The King of Gremory asked with a pout. “Even if Merlin couldn’t take the sword off once he placed it there, there is no stone anymore, just some earth. Maybe you can find a solution.”

“Rias…” To him the best explanation was already given, the sword wouldn’t be moved without someone deemed worthy by it. Everything after was just going in circles to the same conclusion.

But Shirou was finding out that he was quite weak to Rias’ eyes and the way she was making her request was just right to have him almost melting. Still he didn’t know how to respond since he saw no solution other than finding someone worthy of the sword.

Someone who would be willing to carry a burden he didn’t want for himself.

Yoruichi folded her arms above the table. “Then maybe destroy the sword.”

For a few moments nobody said anything as the idea began to set in their minds. The devils looked pleased by the suggestion while Xenovia looked horrified.

Only Shirou knew the answer. “The power needed to destroy Caliburn would probably destroy part of the town.”

He made a frown as both Caliburn and Caladbolg appeared in his mind and his Reality Marble made the proper adjustments to both weapons seamlessly.

After measuring their forms, power and mana, Shirou realized that comparing the two of them wasn’t fair, that Caladbolg was falling short. Much shorter than he thought it was possible. It was the Divinity of Caliburn and its greater fame that made it an even stronger sword to the point that his mind dismissed its competitor.

“I have nothing capable of destroying Caliburn.” Shirou admitted while looking around. “And I am sure none of you is strong enough to do it either. It was originally a defensive sword, a weapon capable of protecting their owner against time itself.”

“But it broke once.” Yoruichi reminded everyone.

It was Xenovia who dismissed that point. “Only because King Arthur failed it.” It was one of the parts of the legend she could never forget for she feared to fail Durandal in the same way.

“So there is nothing that can be done about it?” Tsubaki asked just to be sure even as she could see Sona’s shoulders fall in surrender.

However Rias was giving Shirou a look, a look that was wearing his resistances down. “I don’t think I can do it.”

“But would you still try, please?” She began to make circles on his hand. “For me?”

‘The things I do for love…’ That was exactly the reason why he couldn’t use Caliburn in the first place. “I can try.” Both pureblood devils perked up at that. “But just try! I am not promising anything but I shall do my best.” With Caliburn he couldn’t.

It was still enough for Sona. “That is all I can ask.” If she wasn’t a devil she would pray he succeeds. “Now can we go to Kuoh immediately so you may begin?”

Raising her hand like she was in the classroom, Xenovia did her best to remain stoic. “Can I go with you?” Some looked surprised by the request but only those who talked with Xenovia during breakfast.

To Sona it was a natural thing to ask. “I suppose you wish to stay there to reclaim the sword in case Shirou succeeds?”

‘Wasn’t you avoiding using my name until now?’ Shirou felt his eyebrow twitch as Yoruichi gave him a knowing smile and Rias giggled.

Gulping hard, Xenovia realized that she didn’t know how to answer that question. “I still have a mission to finish.” Was the excuse she went with.

Sona still nodded in acceptance before looking around. “Where is the other one?”

“Irina-san went out on a walk.” Rias replied quickly with a technical truth. “She is originally from Fuyuki and left just before you arrived. I am surprised you missed her.”

Sona nodded in understanding but Shirou still found it necessary to avoid the subject. “Would you like some tea while we take a shower, Kaichou?”

“No, we are going back to help in Kuoh.” She gave a hard look at Rias. “We still have a lot of work to do.”

“Fine, fine. Once you all leave then I will call my brother.” Rias would be lying if she said she wasn’t stalling a little.

Xenovia quickly got up. “Where is my uniform?”

“Oh no, you aren’t going with that.” Rias complained with an unimpressed look. “Most of it was damaged and it is full of holes.”

“I can use a mantle to-”

“No, no and no.” The redhead devil moved to the blue haired girl and began to push her. “We are going to get you some decent clothes first. Or better yet, you can take a shower in my bathroom while I pick something for you to wear.” A confused Xenovia nodded and allowed herself to be pushed out of the living room while Sona let out a sigh.

“Want to come too?” Shirou asked Yoruichi who shook her head.

“Nya. I was thinking about spending some time with my little sister.” Her smile was a mixture of happiness and sadness. “Seeing as it will be harder to drop by Fuyuki for a while, I want to enjoy her presence for a while longer.” In the kitchen Koneko heard every word but focused on the dishes.

“Again, I am sorry.” Sona bowed her head as she didn’t realize her words had been more cruel than expected with Tsubaki doing the same in solidarity.

Yoruichi just shrugged and began to march to the kitchen. “That is the fault of my own responsibilities, after all the leader of a Faction shouldn’t stay away for long. Or at least not get caught.” The devils saw something odd even if they didn’t understand what it was but their minds told them something was wrong as Yoruichi continued her stride. “See you at night, Shiro.”

Neither devil paid much mind to what happened, they really couldn’t tell that Yoruichi disappeared for an instant between her steps to just return and complete the action. The best comparacion their conscious minds could have made if they noticed was that Yoruichi acted similar to a video missing some frames.

But they didn’t notice anything besides a vague impression in their minds that something was missing but neither was conscious or capable enough to notice what.

“Don’t work yourself too hard.” Shirou said with a small blush as what the devils didn’t see was Yoruichi rushing to his side, giving him a kiss to then return to her previous spot.

And it wasn’t just a peck on the lips either as Shirou was capable enough to understand what was happening during the process. That and the memories of the previous night helped him recognize the texture of her tongue in his mouth and react a little during the kiss.

He hid a smile by turning to his room. “Be back soon.”

Both Sona and Tsubaki still had that distinct impression that something was missing but couldn’t think much on that when Liz returned. “Please allow me to escort you to the exit.”

They didn’t complain and accepted the escort, Liz treating them like a proper maid despite Shirou not being around to be embarrassed about it. It was also because as Rias’ oldest friend Sona knew Grayfia and she didn’t want to risk the Ultimate Maid hearing that she slacked off.

…

Before leaving the Emiya residency, Irina was aware enough to collect one of the improvised capes from the previous day and her boots so she wouldn’t be walking everywhere barefoot.

The rest of her mind was covered by a fog of anger and disbelief at Xenovia’s attitude as she began to second guess every interaction she had with her blue haired partner.

Memories flooded in her mind as Irina couldn’t help but feel a sting of betrayal even greater when she learned the truth about God and the secret the angels and the Church worked so hard to keep. From the very first day she had known her, Irina believed that Xenovia was the most loyal of both.

As the Owner of Durandal, Xenovia was always someone considered invaluable to the Church and so they invested a lot in her training. Adopted by Griselda, personally taught by the previous Owner, Vasco Strada, she also always had the best equipment and the best teachers available.

Irina would be lying if she said she hadn’t been jealous of Xenovia on a couple of occasions but they never lasted long. Xenovia never had a problem inviting Irina for training and because of that she had the guidance of two of the greatest swordsmen in the Church even if she wasn’t a person of particular importance.

Sure her family traditionally was part of the Church and they were all loyal but they were just Exorcists and priests for the most part, Irina continuing the tradition after her father had retired due to some mistake he refused to talk about.

Indeed thanks to Xenovia, Irina received many opportunities that most Exorcists and even Executors of older families didn’t get like her current mission. While her skill with a sword was impressive due to her age there was not a shadow of doubt in her mind that she was picked because she already was Xenovia’s partner.

She was initially chosen because of their close age but as Irina and Xenovia hit it off they stayed together despite the small spats they had from time to time. The two started with small missions and some bigger jobs but it was always because Xenovia needed experience quickly that they were thrown in some of their most dangerous missions.

The Church knew the value of Durandal, the strongest Holy Sword they had access to, and made sure to cultivate Xenovia to eventually be a second coming of Vasco Strada.

‘How could she turn her back on everyone like that?’ It was still early and Irina saw no one as she kept her furious pace in a random direction. ‘After everything they gave her! Everything we went through!’

While never saying it to her partner's face, mostly out of embarrassment and because the topic never came up, Irina admired Xenovia. Not only her partner was someone she considered strong but the dedication and training that the bluehead put in her swordsmanship was something Irina found beautiful.

‘Did she really give up on everything without even hearing an explanation from everyone back home? What is Griselda going to think?’ Irina took a turn and kept walking. She was slowing down slightly, alone with her thoughts. ‘There is no way she is really going to go ‘stray’! No way!’

Xenovia was always the more confident of the two of them, the first one to always jump into a situation or speak her mind without fear of repercussions unless she really respected the person.

‘And after all that, all the missions, the training, the blood, sweat and tears she just believes the first fallen angel who runs his mouth.’ Then Irina stopped with a sad frown on her face. ‘But it wasn’t just any fallen angel, was it?’ She shook her head in a panic, her usual twin tails dancing. ‘Nonono, that is no excuse. We have to go back, to talk with everyone…’

Her thoughts turned away from Xenovia and to those in the Church as she began to question who knew about the Death of God and who didn’t. She found herself thinking about some names, names that she only knew personally because of Xenovia.

‘And they didn’t tell her…’ Irina realized with a sad look to the sky. “They didn’t tell her.” She whispered.

Vasco Strada was the first name that popped in her mind when thinking about someone who should know. The Violence of Heaven was a living legend and as a Cardinal Priest he was high in the metaphorical totem pole besides being Durandal’s previous weider.

Despite the friction he had with the Executors because of their function to the point of even proposing closing their branch, even them respected Vasco Strada for his contributions. They were sent to the most bloody battlefields and the most gruesome cases and still called Cardinal Strada their superior.

With so much support and respect around the institution of the Church, Vasco only wasn’t higher on the hierarchy because he didn’t want to, Irina had no doubt he knew the truth about God.

However it was another name that managed to shake Irina’s conviction. ‘Why didn’t sister Griselda tell us the truth? Or at least her?’

Griselda Quarta was considered one of the strongest women in the Church, among the upper echelons of the Exorcists she was at least top 5. Sure she lacked the capability to use Holy Swords but her skill alone gave merity to her rank and reputation.

She was also Xenovia’s legal guardian, the person who found a blue haired girl in an orphanage and recognized her talent for swords. Irina didn’t need to ask to know that Xenovia saw Griselda as someone she both loved and respected, even with a good dosage of fear because of her personality.

And the chestnut haired Exorcist was absolutely sure Griselda saw Xenovia in a similar light and would have taken care of her even if Durandal hadn’t made its choice. They never put it into words but to Irina it was clear they were family.

Yet Griselda said nothing and the realization of that fact made Irina sick. ‘If Griselda knew and didn’t tell her… No!’ She hitted her cheeks hard. “She must have a reason. We just weren’t ready… Nobody knew Kokabiel was the one who stole the Fragments so this should have been a normal mission… Right? But they should still have told us, shouldn’t they?”

She began to lean to one side or the other, constantly moving in place while trying to discern some kind of truth. Irina even made a list with why they should or shouldn’t know the truth even before the mission started.

Eventually she gave up and in her frustration began to mess with her hair. “Ahh, I don’t know!” Irina looked around to see if she disturbed everyone and let out a sigh of relief she was alone in the street. “Maybe I should go back. I am sure if I explain things to Xenovia she will agree to return if only to ask.” She nodded resolutely. “We can’t trust Kokabiel’s words, or a defective sword, or that fiend, Valper.”

Irina nodded again, feeling much better with herself and that she had a plan of action to convince Xenovia to return to Europe with her. She took a step forward to return to the Emiya residency only to realize something.

“Where am I?” She didn’t recognize the streets even if it looked like she was still in the same area.

However the houses were smaller and of a humbler quality than those around the house she was before. Irina also realized that there were more stores, closed because of the early Sunday, and that the streets were more open.

Shidou Irina realized a sad fact. “I am lost, aren’t I?” She almost fell to her knees in depression at the reveal. “My old hometown and I have no idea where to go or how I got here.”

It wasn’t her fault really; she left the house emotionally charged and not giving much thought where she was going. There was no intention of leaving the area or going anywhere, Irina just walked with a cloud of anger and confusion blinding her.

Considering she was in a rushed pace due to anger and that thanks to her training the speed of her walk was enough for her to end in another area of Fuyuki in just a few minutes. “My steps! I need to retrace my steps!” She thought rationally however there was a problem with that. “Wait, did I turn that street or that one? I don’t remember seeing that store either…”

She had no idea of where to start.

“Oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord. Gremory-san will be furious if I don’t get back. Maybe she is going to think I am spying, or that I left to warn everyone about that Reality Marble thingy, or that I tried to steal Caliburn- Can I steal Caliburn? Does it still belong to the Church?”

Irina was panicking and she couldn’t help as her mind came up with more and more scenarios where a war broke out because she got lost. She didn’t notice the small bat-like creature watching her from afar and sweat dropping at how ridiculous some of the things she thought about were.

Bat-chan didn’t like to work during the day, the sun was bad for her skin and eyes, but she had her orders and she would follow them to the letter. Unfortunately for Irina those were to watch her, not help and so the Exorcist was left alone in her panic.

“Okay, deep breath. Aff, uff. Aff, uff. In and out. In and out. Like dad always says; ‘stay cool and things work out’.” Irina repeated the exercise three more times before placing her hands in prayer. “Lord-” She stopped herself before starting, indecisive if she should pray or not. “That is right… He isn’t there anymore.”

Shaking her head Irina threw a small prayer anyway out of habit before walking towards the nearest sign for a street name. She could remember the path from Kuoh’s to Shirou’s home and that meant if she found the school grounds then she could find her way back to the house.

It wasn’t a street she ever heard the name off and she had no one to ask for help but looking at the sun Irina still managed to get some of her bearings. She was pretty sure the school was to the east of her location thanks to her Exorcist’s training and began to make her way.

Still unsure of how long it would take her to reach Kuoh, Irina walked at a steady pace so she wouldn’t get even more lost. Neither too fast and neither too slow, exactly the ideal one for long trails and longer missions. It was a kind of strut that focused on saving energy and keeping the warrior ready for combat.

A good thing too because soon Irina realized she was hungry, she was hungry and everything was closed due to the earlier hour. Even if they were open Irina had no money either way but when she passed at an ice cream parlor and saw the pictures of its delicacies it sent her stomach into protest at the lack of food.

‘I should have stayed for breakfast. Oh Lord, why did I allow my rage to blind me so?’ She blinked in surprise at her own thoughts but shook her head to avoid losing herself to her own thoughts again. “I can’t waste time, I need to go back.”

But when she began to walk Irina began to sense some familiarity with the area she was in. The memories of her childhood began to come to the front of her mind as her eyes could see a younger version of running around with Ise by her side.

It brought such a smile to her face that Irina couldn’t help herself but follow the memory, turning around and going in the opposite direction of Kuoh.

She saw the small park where she played and saw herself with her best friend trying to play with the other boys. She saw how they ran around playing tag, hide and seek, racing or climbing some trees. Irina's smile grew larger as she kept following the memories of a random day of her childhood.

Instead of following her training Irina was following her heart, forgetting about her mission and all her problems for the moment as she immersed herself in the memories of happier times.

Despite having avoided it before, Irina couldn’t help but dive into these memories of a time far less troublesome. In the past when she didn’t have to worry about wars, bloodthirsty monsters, conspiracies, lies, politics and a whole bunch of things that always gave Irina plenty of headaches.

If she had her way, Irina would like to remain in her memories for at least a few minutes or even hours, just enjoying the peace of those times of innocence.

She kept following her younger self with a smile still in place. Her mind was far from all the troubles as she saw her younger self play more games or just chat with her friend. They shared their favorite foods, heroes and games.

They were even making poses of their favorite sentai when she giggled, once again not realizing where she was going.

Bat-chan, flying low between any trees and rooftops, kept following the Exorcist to the best of her abilities. Like a normal bat her ears were also capable of echolocation but she wasn’t blind even if her eyes were bad compared to humans, at least during the day. Considering her weak power and small size that was just one of several disadvantages.

However Bat-chan was the familiar chosen by Rias Gremory not because of her power but because she was smarter than most. If the little bat-like creature wanted she could transform using the mana she had access from her mistress and hold it for a long time. There were other things she could do with their bond but none of that would help in her situation.

Because Rias ordered her to follow an Exorcist and Bat-chan was smart enough to know Irina would feel her presence if any mana was used. That meant staying close to keep an eye on the girl while maneuvering enough to stay out of the sun.

As luck would have it Irina left the area with most trees to enter another part of the suburb, one with far more houses. Bat-chan couldn’t help but smile at her luck as it was a neighborhood that she knew and that meant that Irina wasn’t doing anything bad and Rias didn’t need to worry.

Bat-chan didn’t know why Irina was smiling, even laughing from time to time, but she was glad there would be no issues. All she had to do was make sure that Irina arrived safely and then report where the girl stopped. And if Bat-chan was right then it would be in a place where Rias could go in without troubles.

So the two continued their way with Irina guiding and Bat-chan following. While the familiar had some idea of where Irina was going the same couldn't be said by the Exorcist herself, she was still just wandering with her memories as the only guide.

If she focused just a little more or even raised her head, Irina would be able to see where the memory was taking her. Still she didn’t, enjoying losing herself in her happiness too much to look at anything but the two kids in her imagination.

‘I remember that day.’ Irina realized with a smile. ‘We were just coming back from playing and my parents weren’t home so Ise invited me in. He didn't even think about asking his mom.’ She giggled at the face the Hyoudou matriarch had when Ise opened the door and came back to her running. ‘That old shake of the head as if to say ‘you don’t need to ask’.’

In that moment the memory was gone and Irina was back to reality standing right in front of the door of the Hyoudou residence.

Once she realized where she was Irina couldn’t help but look at the house with a smile. “It didn’t change one bit.” Took some time before the voices inside the house made Irina start to panic. ‘OH MY GOD!!! I AM BACK ON ISSEI’S HOUSE!!!! HOW DID I GET HERE?!!! WHAT I AM GOING TO DO?!!!!’

While Irina started to throw a mental crisis, Bat-chan used one of her tiny wings to brush off some sweat in relief. “Now I just have to call Rias-sama and… Why isn’t she ringing the doorbell?”

Smart as she was there Bat-chan couldn’t read minds so she failed to understand that Irina ended up in front of Ise’s house mostly because of luck. It hadn’t been her goal to return to her childhood friend's home even if once she pondered doing it after her mission and so Irina found herself with no action.

So she remained twitching in a panic while the familiar just watched the girl practically dancing in place.

Ideas began to swarm Bat-chan’s mind as she tried to figure out why Irina wasn’t ringing the doorbell. The bat-like creature was sure that was what the Exorcist would do once she arrived in the house but the ‘dance’ she was doing instead was starting to worry the familiar.

“Maybe she is hungry?” Was the first thing Bat-chan thought about since she also was starving. Usually at this hour she would be eating with the other familiars but instead she had to keep an eye on the Exorcist. “What if she is thinking about running away?” Was the next mumble that had the little bat panicking. “If she doesn’t go in then I can’t go eat.”

Bat-chan, or better yet Rias Gremory, was really lucky that Irina was focused too much on her own problems to notice she was being watched because while the familiar made sure to lower her voice the Exorcist would have noticed her if she was paying more attention.

Which gave the bat-like creature time to freak out and think of a plan as once again she showed she was quite the intelligent being as a realization dawned on her; she didn’t need Irina to ring the doorbell, she just needed the doorbell to ring.

Determining a route, Bat-chan enacted her plan swiftly as she flew high and dropped fast to hit the button with her wing before going up again.

Irina was startled by the ring of the doorbell and she didn’t notice the small familiar. ‘What did I do?!’ So she thought she had hit the button by mistake. ‘What do I do now? Do I run? That would be rude! But my heart is not ready yet-’

“Coming!” Came the voice of an older woman inside the house. That voice was so familiar that Irina was once again shocked and with no action until the door opened. “Can I help you?”

There was a chance for Irina to leave at that very moment, all she had to do was to say it was a mistake or she found the wrong house or something similar. But upon looking at the older woman any thought of leaving just disappeared from her mind.

Hyoudou Miki looked barely older than Irina remembered with her dark brown hair and hazel eyes full of the same kindness she found in her own mother. While she was already in her middle age, time was kind to Miki who didn’t have a single gray hair and looked thin but healthy.

“Hi.” Irina managed to say to a confused Miki who tilted her head in confusion.

There was a sense of familiarity to Miki as she examined the girl at her door but names eluded her. “Hi, may I help you?” The girl stood straight as a rod but offered the older woman a nervous smile, a smile that reminded her of her own child when he was nervous. “Do I know you from somewhere?”

If anything, that question only made Irina more nervous but she still couldn’t run as the desire of hugging the woman who was one of the most important people of her childhood was stronger than her anxiety.

“Mom, who is it?” Issei, still a bit jumpy after the events of last night, didn’t like the idea of her mother answering the door by herself. He rushed towards her, almost waiting to reveal the truth about the moonlit word to protect her from an insane fallen angel. Fortunately he didn’t have to. “Irina?”

Surprised and still nervous, Irina could only wave. “Hey Ise.”

Miki looked perplexed but soon the name and face of the girl connected in her mind. “Irina? As in Shidou Irina? Is that really her?” With no hesitation she grabbed Irina’s face to inspect her closely.

“Hey Miki-obachan.” There was only one person who called Miki like that.

Quickly the grab turned to a hug. “It is really you! How have you been, Irina?” The hug grew tight but it wasn’t enough to hurt Irina but it made her smile and hug the woman back. “Look at you. All grown up!” Miki commented as she took a step back and studied Irina.

With the mantle in the way there was not much to see but the hug helped the older woman to tell how much the girl had changed from a tomboy to a beautiful woman. In that moment there was only happiness in Irina’s eyes which made them shine in a way that Miki found marvelous.

“I had no idea you had returned to Japan. When did you arrive? How are your parents? Are they here too? How was England?” The woman began to rapidfire questions but Irina didn’t find herself overwhelmed but happy by the interest Miki was showing. “Wait a minute, Issei…” A familiar tone of frustration had the devil flinching as his mother slowly turned to him. “You recognized Irina with a glance, care to explain?”

“Ha ha ha, I just remembered my best friend.”

[If you wanted her to believe you, you should have worked better on the delivery.] Ddraig commented in the corner of Issei’s mind and the devil held back a curse.

The dragon was proven right when his mother grabbed him by the ear. “Auch, auch, auch!”

“You are telling me you saw Irina and didn’t tell anyone or even invited her for dinner?” She pushed hard and the devil was surprised by the pain he was feeling. It was the power of a furious mother. “Do you really think you could lie to me, young man? If I didn’t recognize her immediately then I know you had no chance of doing it. You are one step away from being grounded.”

Almost like she had jumped back into her childhood days, Irina immediately stepped forward to protect her best friend. “Miki-obachan, Ise only saw me briefly at Kuoh when I was there to work on a project for my school.” The devil stopped struggling while the mother turned to the younger woman. “I am in Japan for an assignment with a colleague and we barely talked yesterday.”

Half truths and lies as she didn’t go to school as the Church took care of her education but the assignment was real if anything else. That was actually a standard excuse the Church provided to their younger agents like Irina who could pass as students easily to get into certain places with minimal suspicion.

Of course Irina would avoid divulging what the assignment was and the exact circumstance of how they met nor how they interacted with disagreements and a spar. Instead she was going to keep everything vague if Miki tried to ask anything else and by expression in Issei’s face she knew he was going to back her up.

Lying to a woman that meant so much for her actually bothered Irina quite a bit but she wouldn’t need anymore. “Even then he should have invited you for dinner, if only so I could look at you.” The mother let her child go and grabbed the girl’s face again. “Look how you are now, such a beautiful girl. And to think you were almost like a boy in those days.”

Blushing considerably, Irina just let Miki have her way and admired how the girl had changed. If she wanted to fight back Irina knew she couldn’t, not by the lack of means but because before her was one of the most important people in her life.

Much like she never forgot Issei, Irina never forgot his parents either even if she wasn’t as close to them as she was to him. Any day of the week, be it morning or night, Irina could always find a place to stay with the Hyoudous. They were always good friends of her family, the best kind of people who were always gentle, honest.and trustworthy.

So Irina allowed Miki to do what she wanted, not complaining when the woman kept messing her head to keep looking at every detail of her face and then patting her clothes. “Why are you dressed in drapers?”

Issei facepalmed as Ddraig laughed in his mind and Irina blush grew heavier. “My clothes were… torn in an accident and my luggage was stolen...”

“What a horrible thing! Issei, call Asia-chan. We just bought her some new clothes and I am sure there is something around that Irina can use.”

“I don’t-”

“Sure thing mom.” Issei, still seeing Irina as someone precious, rushed inside while Miki pulled the Exorcist into the house.

Once again Irina refused to fight back. “Also you look hungry. Come on in, we just had breakfast but I can whip up something for you in a jiffy. Gorou, dear, we have a guest and you will never guess who she is?”

The woman called for her husband as Irina was placed inside the house she visited hundreds of times during her childhood. She smiled when she saw it was still mostly the same with some new pictures and furniture but the atmosphere was still as homely as she remembered.

“Who is it?” A man that looked like an older and less fit version of Issei with the same eyes and shorter hair steps out of the living room. He was the father of her best friend and looked like a classique middle aged salaryman. “A girl? Is that Asia-chan’s friend? Hyoudou Gorou at your service.”

“Fufufu, you don’t recognize her, do you?” The wife asked with a grin as the husband looked at her in surprise before looking back to a once again nervous Irina. “Come on, dear, you can do it. She used to come here so much when she was little.”

Gorou blinked and began to rub his chin. “Issei usually only brings his two ‘bros’ around and no one else. The only other person was-” His eyes grew wide and Miki knew her husband remembered. “Irina-chan?! Is that really you?”

“Hey Gorou-ojisan- huff.” Irina found herself enveloped into another hug.

“Irina-chan! How have you been?! I thought we would never see you again! Hahaha!” The man lifted her up a bit before dropping her down. “Ow, my back. Hehehe, you aren’t as small as you used to be.”

“Yeah, I am kind of a big girl now.” Irina replied while scratching her cheek.

“Come on now, enough playing around.” Miki clapped her hands before pushing Irina to the kitchen. “Let's put some food in your belly before you go starving-” Now behind Irina, the matriarch of the Hyoudou household couldn’t stop herself from feeling a certain unpleasant odor. “You are smelling of sweat dear.”

“I kinda was wandering around without direction.” Irina admitted with a blush. “Don’t even know how I got here.”

“Oh, but that is obvious.” Gorou let out a belly laugh that had surprised Irina. “You can always find your way home, even when you don’t know where it is.”

Miki giggled at her husband's goffness. “Sounds like something of a fortune cookie, dear.”

“Doesn’t mean I ain’t right! Hahaha!” The man sounded just like Irina remembered and his wife just giggled some more. “Say Irina, how is Touji? Did he come too?”

“He is fine but no, I came here for a school project and-”

“Mom!” Issei returned with Asia right behind him. The former nun gave Irina a nervous but concerned look while the Red Dragon Emperor talked. “Asia has a lot of clothes but, well…”

“We didn’t know what would fit.” Asia added with a gentle smile, her eyes never leaving Irina. “Good morning, Irina-san.”

“Good morning, Ar- Asia-san.” Irina corrected herself and bowed her head in both respect and apology which had Asia bowing as well.

“Wait, you two already know each other?” Gorou asked while his wife grabbed their son by the ear again.

“Ow! I introduced them!” Issei spoke quickly, hoping to be free from the pain.

Miki did let her son go but clearly didn’t look impressed. “And you still hadn’t invited her over.”

“It was a quick meeting. Lots of stuff happened and we didn’t have time to talk.” Issei defended himself but his mother still didn’t look impressed.

"Uhum. Yes, you apparently had enough time to introduce Asia and still not enough to remember inviting Irina for dinner.”

“But it is true, okaa-sama.” Asia’s sweet voice had all of Miki’s attention. “So many things were happening to them that we barely talked.” She smiled at Irina. “I really wanted to know her better too.”

Gorou was moved by the blonde’s words. “Oh Asia, as expected of our new daughter.” He had tears in his eyes and cried from pride.

Unlike her husband, Miki had a handkerchief to clean her eyes. “If you say so, Asia-chan, then I believe it.”

‘Just like that?’ There was some disbelief in Issei’s mind, and a lot of jealousy of how his parents automatically believed Asia, but he took it in stride and looked at Irina. Ddraig’s laugh got louder. “Are you okay?”

The Exorcist smiled but before she could reply Miki was already on the move. “You two can talk later. For now, Irina needs a bath, urgently.” With the strength of a thousand mothers there was no way for the Exorcist to resist as she was pushed up stairs. “Asia-chan, feel free to join us if you want. It will be nice to have some girl talk.” Determination flooded Asia’s being as she nodded and chased after the two other women.

“Are they-”

“Going to take a bath together? Yes.” Hyoudou Gorou nodded in a wise manner.

“Was mom kinda a little too… excited by the idea?” The second question made the father stop and look at his son before clearing his throat.

“Just your imagination, Issei. Your imagination. You need to clear your head of those perverted thoughts.” Gorou had similar ones but he wouldn’t reveal that to his son.

He was supposed to be a good parent and while most of them were about his wife there was still a line whe wouldn’t cross with either Asia, who he saw as a daughter, and Irina, who was his friend’s daughter.

This time it was Issei who had a suspicious look but his father just brushed him off and moved to sit down in the living room. “Now explain, in detail, why you saw Irina again and forgot to mention it?”

Ddraig laughed more as Issei had to think on his feet to come up with a story at least half believable to his father’s ears.

…

The way to Kuoh was mostly silent as Shirou and Xenovia walked side by side. The sun already revealed itself for the most part but the duo was still protected by the shades of buildings.

As summer was already starting to take over completely, both humans were using light clothes that were appropriate for the climate even as the cold air of the morning still perdured.

While Shirou was wearing jeans with a blue shirt with short sleeves that were familiar and comfortable to himself, Xenovia still looked at her clothes with some apprehension. She never wore anything as fancy as she was wearing at the moment and even then she knew these were normal clothes of the day by day just made of expensive materials.

Materials that offered no protection, just comfort for the owner but Xenovia wasn’t the owner and if it wasn’t by the weight on her back she would be uncomfortable.

What Rias had selected for her, after they finished adjusting a bra to fit her size as her breasts were slightly smaller than Rias’, was a green sleeveless top that allowed movement with another in another shade of green that showed her shoulders and a blue almost transparent top above it with white shorts that showed her tights.

All that together made Xenovia deeply uncomfortable. It wasn't because the get up was somewhat revealing but because it was too ‘comfortable’ for her tastes and it offered little protection. She was too used to her skin tight combat uniform or the uncomfortable silk of cheaper clothing.

In reality those clothes were not her first choice as Xenovia wanted to use a simpler set with jeans and a blue shirt, even similar to Shirou’s if she was honest. However those were Rias’ clothes and the Gremory wanted Xenovia to look well since she was borrowing them. It made the devil proud that she managed to find a set that drew more of the bluehead’s beauty, improvised as it was.

‘Shy’ wasn’t the first word that Xenovia would use to describe herself but she was at least ‘conscious’ when a pair of boys that were running through the morning leer at her without qualms.

With the combat uniform she had one would expect she to be used to such looks but combined with her actual clothing it made Xenovia blink in surprise and blush a little.

Only Durandal’s weight on her back reassured her that she had a mission and that the whims of a devil wouldn't disturb her.

Tied together in the same cloth it used the previous night, it had changed with the fact that Shirou used the extra time it took Rias to find Xenovia an outfit to make some strings with the leftovers of Irina’s robes and the covers from the previous night.

By itself they could not hold back Durandal’s power but Shirou assured Xenovia that the sword would behave if she didn’t think too much about it. In fact there was plenty that the magus wanted to tell her about Durandal but their walk to Kuoh was silent not of his own volition.

There was some conversation when they left Shirou’s home but he quickly noticed how concerned and distracted Xenovia was. When she replied to his question or his observation it was clear the girl was distracted. The redhead remembered how the morning went and realized the bluehead needed some time to herself.

So Shirou respected her wishes and just guided her towards Kuoh. If he had his way then she would still be resting but by the look Xenovia had it was obvious checking Caliburn was important for her. Her reasons on the other hand worried him and the magus hoped he was wrong about them.

Because if he wasn’t then Shirou feared Xenovia would lose herself to something that would finish destroying her. Even if they barely knew each other, Durandal’s history and her own actions proved to the magus she was a good person and he would hate if his fear came true.

Their silence was relaxing and calm as neither was uncomfortable with each other’s presence. Despite Shirou’s failed attempts of initiating a conversation, Xenovia took note of them and thanked him mentaly for the silence. She had so much in her head that she barely registered the cool air of the morning.

When they arrived at Kuoh both found it oddly silent since Sona had said she had already begun the repairs. Neither could see anything from the entrance but Shirou felt a weak smell of earth coming from the land's mana.

‘She was right, the ley line is a mess.’ Even with his superficial knowledge Shirou could tell immediately that the ley line was exhausted. Feeling a little guilty since he was partially responsible, that weakness of the ley line only made him hate Valper more. “It will be a while before the land recovers.”

“At least a week.” A familiar voice caught both warriors' attention as a small man with a staff with two heads approached. “Good to see you again, Emiya-dono.”

“Good morning, Jaken.” The redhead replied with a nod as Xenovia studied the small man.

“You aren’t human.” The blue haired maiden pointed out, making the disguised kappa chuckle.

“As expected from an Exorcist of the Church.” Jaken barely noticed Xenovia flinching, his attention mostly on Shirou. “Unfortunately we have no time to chat as everybody is busy cleaning the mess from yesterday.  You have a penchant to find problems, don’t you, Emiya-dono?”

“I like to think that the problems find me.” Shirou commented with a chuckle.

“Hmm, I am sure that Setsuna-sama will love that excuse.” The kappa felt pleasure at seeing Shirou flinch. “Don’t look at me like that, you should have called her.”

Shaking his head, Shirou looked worried but calm. “You know it was dangerous, Caliburn’s fragments could kill yokais like you too easily. It also wasn’t her problem to deal with anyway.”

“Please don’t use that last part, she is going to hate you for it.” Jaken warned good naturedly. Deep down he agreed with Shirou’s decision and was happy his lady wasn’t in peril, only his obligations as an attendant stopped him from expressing his gratitude.

“How upset is she?” Shirou started looking around, worried Setsuna would show up at any time.

Jaken shook his head to calm the redhead down. “She isn’t here but helping coordinate with the many representatives of the Yokai Faction in Fuyuki.” Even with no experience and little input, as the daughter of Sesshomaru, Setsuna had to show up and try. “And she is furious with the fact you all didn’t call her.” He shook his head again as Shirou calmed down a little. “Regardless, that is for you to deal with come Monday.”

“Any suggestions?”

“Feh! I would never help you against anyone in the house of my master even if it is in something so trivial.” Jaken turned and began to walk inside the property. “But I am happy she was unharmed throughout this whole ordeal.” It was the closest thing a ‘thank you’ Jaken could offer.

Shirou got the message and nodded resolutely. “Right… I am gonna think of something… I hope.”

“More politics?” It was what Xenovia managed to get from the conversation.

“Not really just… Are all the boundary fields down?” Both started to follow Jaken as Shirou changed the subject.

The kappa allowed it to happen flawlessly. “The majority is but you will be happy to know that Gasper-kun remains safely protected and Waver already checked on him.” Something he already knew but would take anything to change the subject. “You also will be happy to know that the construction crew already replaced every window of the ORC, however, Sitri-dono insisted that Gremory-dono would take care of any remaining repairs.”

“Of course. Better if whoever is working on Kuoh to focus on getting things moving.” And by the loud construction noises Shirou could guess there were a lot of people working. “We are just going to check on Caliburn and be on our way then.”

At that declaration Jaken stopped. “Aren’t you going to clean the rest of your mess?”

Shirou raised an eyebrow as the question felt odd to him. “I can help with construction if you want but I think Rias made it clear that I should rest for today.”

“That wasn’t… Ah, so you don’t notice?” Jaken's surprise had Shirou blinking.

However, before there were any more questions Xenovia passed by the kappa, her eyes never leaving the direction of the previous day’s battlefield.  “We should keep moving.” Both knew the bluehead was distracted by something but when Jaken looked at Shirou for an explanation he noticed the worried look on the redhead’s face.

A lot went unsaid between them and Jaken found himself following Shirou as they quickly caught up with Xenovia, the bluehead giving them none of her attention. Her focus and her mind were in only one thing that she felt could justify everything and nothing was going to stop her from seeing it.

Soon the construction crew and heavy machinery came into view but neither distracted Shirou of the forest of swords he created the previous night. “Oh, that mess.” He spoke in disbelief.

“You really aren’t feeling any drain in your mana? At all?” Jaken asked carefully as Shirou shook his head. Even Xenovia stopped in surprise at seeing the sword the redhead created to survive reforging Caliburn still around. “Emiya-dono… No, It is better if I don’t say anything.” The kappa began to march towards the center of the battlefield.

Xenovia blinked a few times at the forest of swords, some being removed by the construction crew as carefully as they could manage, before turning to Shirou. “I thought that Gradation Air constantly consumed the user's mana. Or is this because of…” She let the sentence trail off.

“It does but I don’t think it has anything to do with… you know what.” Was all Shirou could say as she could hear his disbelief. “Now that I am looking… I can feel them. Yet there is no mana flowing from me.” Shaking his head, Shirou began to walk again with Xenovia right behind.

They made sure to stay out of the construction crew’s way as they moved quickly to repair Kuoh as fast as possible. Every single one of them was using uniforms and helmets with a variation of the Gremory Clan’s symbol, drawing more like a circle with bat wings instead of a magic circle.

While the Gremory Large Enterprise was more focused on turism there was a construction division for their hotels and apartments because devils didn’t like to outsource their work. Curiously there were plenty of different beings working in the construction with only a few devils being part of the crew that also had humans and yokais.

Heavy machinery worked in sync with magic as the land of Kuoh was quickly repaired and there were people still transporting windows to the main buildings as all of them needed to be replaced or repaired as devils and magicians worked to fix some of the most savable ones.

Nothing was wasted and everyone worked as a well oiled machine as Sona stood besides Tsubaki and the Chief of Staff discussing some plans, the girls wearing helmets as well.

When the King noticed Shirou and Xenovia she threw her Queen a look that had Tsubaki rushing to them. “Welcome back to Kuoh.” The vice president of the Student Council spoke as she offered the two some helmets. “If you plan to enter any building to get something then please, wear these.”

“That won’t be necessary, we won’t be long.” While the redhead talked, Xenovia collected a helmet to take a look. There was some childish curiosity in her gaze as she never saw a construction helmet up close.

Shirou’s reply worried the Queen. “Are you sure you won’t need any tools to remove Caliburn?” Tsubaki saw how the redhead avoided looking at her. “There really isn’t any hope, is there?”

“If anything, that sword signifies a form of hope.” Shirou began to move towards the weapon again, the two girls right behind. “But it is the kind that has a steep price.”

In the center of the field, surrounded by mountains of dirt, an excavator and a drill, Caliburn remained unblemished by the dirt in the area. Quite the opposite as around Caliburn there was a clean zone of at least a couple feet with some grass already growing. Its majestic aura also remained intense since its rebirth.

Jaken stopped at least ten steps away from the blade besides Waver Velvet who raised from a crouch to greet Shirou.

“I suppose congratulations are in order, Shirou.” The tall teacher commented, his eyes never leaving the blade. “Never in my life have I ever thought that I would lay eyes on Caliburn, much less that it would be reborn by one of my students’ hands but here we are.”

“Thinking about trying to become King of Britain?” Shirou joked but the glare Waver threw at him was very real. “Not that I think this would work. The sword doesn’t compel people to follow its owner.”

“Yet I wouldn’t be surprised if a movement didn’t start around whoever pulled it. Miss Shinra, did your King approve my proposal?”

Tsubaki managed to take her eyes off Caliburn to reply. “She still wishes for Shirou to remove the weapon from the premises.”

“If you want my opinion I would say that is impossible.” The kappa scratched his bald head, his eyes fearfully watching Caliburn as he feared the weapon would attack him if offended. “It is too deeply connected to the area to leave if not of its own volition and from what she explained, Emiya-dono has no interest in becoming the owner of the weapon.”

“A wise decision, in my opinion.” Waver cleaned his glasses before looking around. “If anything I would suggest that he get rid of the other swords first. Speaking of which,” his focus turned to his student who left a sigh, “was this a consequence of tampering with the ritual or it has to do with Tracing? Because there is no way you are still feeding mana to all these weapons.”

Not only Waver failed to detect any mana leaking from Shirou but he was also sure that the effort of keeping all those weapons existing would be fatal to the redhead. The teacher also avoided commenting about the Noble Phantasms he saw since he knew Shirou had studied some but he took note regardless.

“I am still uncertain, sensei. I can feel my connection to them but in the middle of all that mess… I have no idea how I did it.”

Waver looked doubtful. “Are you sure?” When Shirou didn’t even reply, his suspicions that there was something else increased.

“Was busy trying to not blow up, fix Caliburn and stop the city from blowing up.” Most of what Shirou did during the ritual was a blur but he was moving more through instinct than anything.

Not disappointed but not pleased either, Waver was about to change his line of questioning when he heard a loud sound of a sword stabbing the ground. “I am sorry, I don’t think we were formally introduced.”

“Xenovia Quarta.” She had stabbed Durandal on the ground, her eyes glued on Caliburn.

After waiting a few moments to see if the bluehead was going to say anything else, Shirou shook his head in concern. “We should focus on the present right now.”

“Indeed we should.” Tsubaki said with the goal of easing the burden of her King. “Caliburn can wait a little since I believe that it would be better to get rid of the other weapons, if possible.”

HItting his staff on the ground twice, Jaken studied the mana of the area. “I agree with Shinra-san. Your swords are filling Kuoh with even more energy and that is going to make my job harder.” Shirou raised an eyebrow and the kappa rolled his eyes. “Even if you aren’t feeding the weapons with mana, some of them are powerful enough to be affecting the area just by existing. Sometimes I wish that the Gaia Theory you, magi, go about was real if just so I wouldn’t have to deal with that.”

“Then odds are that you wouldn’t be here either if you go by the original study written by Solomon.” The kappa glared at his friend but Waver had his focus split between Shirou and Caliburn. “But he has a point, Shirou. Your weapons are not only making things harder by existing but all of them are considerably dangerous.”

With a nod, Shirou focused on the weapons around him. “I am still connected to them and during yesterday's events I managed to make some disappear when Kokabiel tried to use them against us.”

Tsubaki flinched as Jaken’s eyes almost jumped out of his eye sockets and Waver massaged his temples. “We weren’t informed of who was responsible for the night’s events.”

Such detail escaped Shirou and he turned to the Sitri Queen. “Kaichou was trying to avoid any additional animosity towards the Grigori. She was going to divulge it after everything was settled and we had an official response.”

Despite not liking the choice, Shirou accepted it was his plunder. “I see. Sorry.”

“Not like we are going to go around talking.” Waved brushed the subject off. “Now focus on your weapons. They are still yours, correct?”

Closing his eyes, Shirou felt the connection he had with all the swords in the area. “Yes, every single weapon that I created is still connected with me.”

“Even without costing any mana? Fascinating…” Waver began to rub his chin with an amusing expression. “It seems your method of Projecting is definitely superior to the standard of Gradation Air. Such discovery can grant you many acolytes in the Clocktower.”

“Anything more than being the Magician of Gremory?” Jaken teased and Waver chuckled.

“None but I believed that I should point out.” As someone who helped Shirou in developing his magecraft, Waver felt pride in his student. “The fact is that Traced objects can exist even without the input of their creator. I almost would call it Denial of Nothingness if it wasn’t flawed.”

“You mean besides human comprehension and the conversion of mana? Or maybe how I can undo their existence so they are still fakes?” Shirou ignored how his teacher almost called him a sorcerer while everyone else looked at them both with astonishment.

Waver nodded at each of Shirou’s observations. “Good, you are aware of your shortcomings. I am happy that proving that you aren’t a sorcerer is unnecessary since most magi tend to make that claim even when their magecraft are inferior to yours.” He took a few steps to the side, getting close to one of Shirou's many swords. “May I?”

“Away from the classroom and you are still teaching?” Shirou joked with a nod.

Collecting the sword, Waver used Reinforcement to help him hold the bastard blade with a hand. “A teacher’s duty is never finished and it always goes beyond the classroom, if the student is willing. From what I already studied from your forest, the material, while made from mana, is true metal. Truly a proof that your method of using the history of a weapon to Trace it has reached heights many have failed to even come close.” Shirou didn’t reply and waited for the teacher to ‘drop the other shoe’. “However it still isn't perfect since they are still connected to you. Even if this sword is in my hand and if I am feeding it mana…”

“I can still unmake it.” And Shirou did with a thought as the blade disappeared in motes of light. “It doesn’t matter what I make, if I make them with Tracing then they will always be mine.” That also applied for every sword present on Kuoh at the moment.

Once he was aware of it, Shirou realized how easy it was to Trace another sword and cease sending mana to it instantly. It was another copy of Muramasa of which both Waver and Jaken could tell it was a Noble Phantasm but avoided commenting for their own health. Shirou wasn’t even thinking when he Traced it.

By studying that new Muramasa, Shirou noted how there were no flaws compared to every other time he Traced it. As the sword he worked with the most, it was easy for him to check for any defect that should be present when the flux of mana was cut from the normal Gradation Air.

‘But I am not using Gradation Air, just picked up the basics and expanded on it. A similar but also completely different magecraft.’ He began to understand that, while mostly an accident, the size of his accomplishment couldn’t be understated. “And other people can learn it too.”

Waver shook his head in denial. “I know no one that ever will be able to use it to the extent you can. The quantity of information you have in your mind…” He looked around. “You remember, consciously or not, the history of every single one of those blades. I counted at least a thousand before quitting.” Jaken’s jaw almost landed on the ground and Tsubaki looked at Shirou with understanding. “I have no idea how you did it but that by itself is a feat as impressive as the spell.”

Shirou chuckled nervously. ‘I suppose that I can attribute it to my Reality Marble.’ For he was sure that everytime he was Tracing something, it was his soul that gave him the correct information.

However the possibility of such a thing didn’t pass by Waver’s mind, both because he didn’t dare to think about it and because of lack of evidence. “Then again you are a swordsmith and there are plenty of professionals that master their craft to the point of doing it blindfolded.”

“Then he can get rid of any sword that he makes?” Xenovia was smart enough to know they needed to change the subject. “That means nothing you create can be used against you, ever. Or you can just make it disappear if you don’t like how people are using your stuff.” She tilted her head to the side and Shirou saw some of the closest swords to Caliburn; Traced versions of its Fragments. “A pity since the Church probably would want some of those.”

“Good thing you said that because I was about to scream in frustration.” Shirou admitted with a bitter sweet chuckle.

“EM?” Waver was also chuckling.

The redhead nodded. “Month after month perfecting the process of forging EM and for a moment I thought I had a solution the whole time.” He looked around Kuoh’s grounds again with a smile. “But maybe selling these weapons would be cheating in a way. They would never belong to anyone else, only me.” He nodded at the thought. “Forging is the honest way of selling my work, regardless.”

“Then there is only one thing to do.” The tall teacher waved his hand around. “Make all other swords disappear.”

No words or warnings were given as the blades of Kuoh Academy began to break apart into motes of mana. All stopped to watch the show of lights as the weapons broke in different rhythms and the mana that escaped looked like snow floating to the sky.

There were so many swords that the whole area was washed with mana but no one felt anything negative from it. The mana actually had a quality that could be confounded with purity for those who couldn’t understand it but those that did knew that pure mana was dangerous, specially on the quality that Shirou just released.

‘This is…’ Jaken hit his staff twice on the ground as the mana dissipated, finding much to his surprise that much of it was returning to the ley line. ‘A perfect match?! Is he a Blessed Child?’ Without the same means Yoruichi used, that was the best conclusion that the kappa could come up with. ‘That explains how he survived! I need to report back to Sesshomaru-sama as soon as possible.’

All at once the mana departed, creating a canvas of light that ascended to the skies. It was a beautiful sight that mesmerized all those present.

“Like stardust.” Xenovia felt wonder like she never had before. “An ocean of the skies leaving the world.”

“Or returning to it.” Jaken commented, his eyes not leaving Shirou who looked happy by what he accomplished.

“It is beautiful.” Tsubaki voiced what many thought.

“Indeed, it was admirable.” Sona approached from the side while removing her helmet and fixing her hair. “I was right in calling you to help but next time make sure that you clean your mess after work, Shirou.”

Chuckling a little, Shirou stretched an arm to the side. “Would you believe me if I told you I didn’t even notice this stuff was still around? I thought that they would disappear after their mana was spent.” With the way things are, the redhead was as confused as anyone about his magecraft. “To be honest, because of how Gradation Air works, the possibility of them staying never crossed my mind.”

“An accident then.” Sona deducted and Shirou’s nod confirmed it. “Happy for your discovery about your magic, Emiya.” She turned around. “Show is over! All of you back to work! Unless you want to take your break now?!” Immediately the movement around the school grounds began anew but the Sitri King wasn’t focused on that. “There is still one last thing…”

“Yeah, yeah.” Shirou sighed as he turned to Caliburn. “You could at least give me a moment for the discovery of my Tracing to set in, you know.”

Sona gave the redhead a glare. “I am sorry, are you the one dealing with repairing Kuoh while also having to worry about the budget for the next six months? No? Then don’t complain.” It was clear that the stress was starting to get to her.

“I thought that you devils were loaded.” Xenovia’s eyes were fixed on Caliburn but the observation managed to pierce the fog her mind threatened to fall into.

Fixing her glasses, Sona threw a small glare in Xenovia’s direction. “My family may be rich but we don’t stay rich by recklessly spending our money. There is also the fact that we have shareholders, banks and taxes to pay.” An eyebrow twitched. “And since Kuoh is a joint operation with the government then its budget is also limited to a certain number of Lucertes, our currency, per year. Which we already blew off.” Before any of the teachers could ask, she raised a hand to stop them. “That includes your salaries so don’t worry. Every paycheck will be delivered but I doubt we will have the conditions to fix the place as fast if the school is attacked again.”

Even the ‘Shinji Incident’ didn’t do as much damage as the ‘Caliburn Incident’ did. Despite how much Sona learned to despise the now deceased student the boy’s attack had only damaged the gym and the rooftop. Kokabiel’s fight had ruined the land, broke every window, damaged the school building and almost brought it down.

And that was just the physical aspects since the ley line also was damaged and needing repairs but all that just made Sona quite upset.

““Sorry.”” Shirou apologized gently and Xenovia offered sincerely as some of the damage was her fault.

“Apology accepted. Now please Shirou, get to work so we don’t have another incident any time soon.” All turned to Caliburn.

“Now for the hard part.” Because Shirou already knew Sona would be furious with him. “Look, Kaichou… I know you are hoping me to take the sword-”

“And avoid a pile of paperwork and Church further interference in Fuyuki.” Sona threw a look at Xenovia but her focus was still on Shirou. “But I can understand if you can’t do it.”

“You do?” By her tone of voice, Shiirou didn’t believe that.

“Tsubaki and I talked on the way here and she made me realize that I can’t blame you for that.” The Queen nodded at each word of her King and Shirou decided he was going to bake her some brownies come Monday in appreciation. “I can only blame Kokabiel, Valper and Caliburn itself. Especially if you can’t move it.”

“‘Only someone worthy can pull the Sword in the Stone.’” Waver quoted as he picked up a cigarette inside his suit. “However, if Shirou knows what makes someone worthy of it…”

The redhead nodded. “I do but that is a Fate I don’t wish for anyone.” Surprising statement for many aside, Shirou began to approach Caliburn. “I will give my best shot but please understand something; the number of people who wanted to be the Chosen King was vast and their attempts close to millions.” He stood in front of the sword. “Spells, magic potions, rituals, tricks, hypnosis… Each one was more complex than the last and every single one of them failed.”

If a list was to be made with the attempts to cheat Caliburn then Shirou was sure that it would have enough paper to cover every hole made during Kokabiel’s fight. And that was excluding details because if he added those then it would be enough to flood the school with paper.

Still Shirou felt that an explanation was necessary since he suspected he would fail. “Because it isn’t a spell bounding the sword to the ‘stone’ but the sword itself. Its very existence demands it to be wielded by someone worthy.” His hand touched the handle gently and the image of the blonde girl came to him once again. “And only then did the sword let go of the land. Any other person trying to pull it out has to compete with its power.”

“And since the power is what they want, the task becomes impossible because the sword itself is almost all powerful.” Xenovia spoke with reverence as she knew that sword was one of the works of God.

Jaken took another meaning to Shirou’s words. “Doesn't that mean that someone sufficiently strong can’t pull the weapon? Like a god for instance?” ‘Or someone close to one like Sesshomaru-sama?’

With a casual shrug, Shirou studied and leaned his weight into Caliburn. “I don’t know anyone strong enough to force the issue since this is a weapon capable of challenging time itself but sure, I suppose it is possible.” Both Sona and Jaken’s eyes gained a clean of greed that made Shirou chuckle. “But then, even if they succeed, the sword will break.”

Waver chuckled at how his young employer and friend deflated. “There is no cheating with that sword. If there was then King Arthur would never have broken it when it was his.”

“Hers. King Arthur was actually Artoria Pendragon.” The casual comment made Waver blink but he just accepted Shirou’s words. “But anyway, that is why you can’t force the issue. Not only would it need to be someone strong enough to stop time with brute strength alone but then Caliburn would just break anyway.” He turned back with a smile, his arm resting on the handle. “EIther is the right way or no way with it, sorry.”

Sona didn’t like what she just heard. “But you didn’t try anything.” She wanted to say more, to mention how he had a Reality Marble connected with a sword that should help but she held back.

She had no way of knowing that on the way to Kuoh, Shirou had been studying the Caliburn in his soul and that his words were definitive. That version of the weapon was his to command and he could hold it easily in his world, even taking a swing capable of erasing a mountain with finesse born out Artoria’s skills engraved in the weapon.

But that wasn’t the original sword, it was his version of the sword born in his soul, a weapon that  was part of him in almost every sense. If he was stronger than he could even Trace it and use it in Reality as skillfully as any one else that ever had touched the weapon or its Fragments.

However he wasn’t and the Sword of the Stone wasn’t his, it didn’t belong to anyone until someone picked it up.

“Shirou, are you truly trying everything you can?” Tsubaki asked and Shirou winced. “You spoke before you didn’t wish that sword to anyone. Are you hesitating on picking it up?”

Sona quickly understood what her Queen was getting at. “That is right, you must know the right conditions to become worthy of Caliburn.”

“Yes, I do and that is why I know I can’t have it.” Shirou admitted, stunning Sona. “Tsubaki, you asked me if I am hesitating? It is just the opposite. I know what I want, the type of person I wish to be.” He frowned but nodded resolutely as he let go of the sword. “And I don’t wish to be what Caliburn needs me to be.”

“So you can do nothing about it?” Waver cut to the chase. “With your Structure Analysis you have knowledge of every method attempted to pull Caliburn without its approval, correct?”

Shirou nodded slowly, trying to piece together what his teacher wanted. “What are you trying to get at?”

“Then is there something that they didn’t try?” The tall teacher offered as a suggestion, stunning everyone. “You have a fair knowledge of magecraft and contact with the Gremory Clan. Even the Sitri would be willing to give a hand in this situation.”

“You want him to piece a solution together on the spot?” Jaken laughed. “Madness! Absolute madness, Waver.”

“I have to agree with Jaken-sensei.” Tsubaki shook her head. “Trying to figure out something no one ever did by knowing everything done before doesn’t really give a solution unless it is an obvious one.”

The black haired teacher shrugged. “It doesn't cost anything to try.”

“Something nobody tried huh?” Shirou doubted he could come up with a spell or anything like that, he was just a third rate magus after all who had only a couple of spells and funnily enough there was a magus that tried to blow Caliburn up with Reinforcement. ‘I could try a Noble Phantasm…’

Except he didn’t want to do it, Caliburn wasn’t a weapon that deserved to be destroyed even if he disagreed with the Fate it imposed. It was a marvelous blade, a tool made to do good and Shirou knew it had the potential to do good if only there was a way around its restriction.

He also doubted he would really be able to destroy it without opening a crater on Fuyuki, the Fragments or Valper mess were a thing but Caliburn was a Noble Phantasm and the strongest one he ever saw, even Angelo’s bow blades fell short if just slightly.

Taking a moment to think and review every scrap of knowledge he collected from his Reality Marble, Shirou was sure there was little he could do. Everything he knew, not only his magecraft but also a lot of alchemy and Artifacts, were used in the attempts and while his repertoar of weapons actually grew a little with mystic codes of swords and daggers used, none had any effect.

If anything that just reinforced his belief that there was nothing he could do unless he was willing to pay the price.

Still a decision was made and Shirou would make an attempt. ‘Here goes nothing.’ He took a deep breath. “Caliburn, please let me move you.” He tried to pull but the sword remained the same. “Well, I tried.”

“That is it?” Fury returned to Sona’s voice. She marched in his direction and the redhead turned, irritation starting to boil in his being. “You asked? It is a sword. Did you really expect that to work?”

Now even Shirou was losing his patience. “What am I supposed to do, woman? Everything else already failed.” Both were holding their voices back but people still stopped to watch. “Didn’t you say that Tsubaki helped you to come to terms with whatever happened?”

“I didn’t ask for such a half baked attempt.”

“That was the only thing anyone else hadn’t tried. I said before and I will say it again; even Merlin couldn’t do it and he stuck the thing in the stone in the first place.”

“But that can even be called a ‘try’. You asked the sword to let you move it? Who does that?”

“You know I know a little bit about swords more than you.”

That made Sona stop and blink as the argument was more than correct. “Fine but we still need a solution to take it off. That thing is too dangerous.”

It was like a lamp had turned on in Shirou’s head. “No, it really isn’t.”

“It is a real sword, Shirou. Even if we dismiss the political ramifications, this is a school.” Sona put emphasis on the word ‘school’. “Between the dozens of careless students and whatever demands the Church is going to have-”

“Caliburn is not dangerous-”

“Events yesterday say otherwise.” Sona raised her voice again, ready for a fight.

However Shirou had no intention of giving her one and instead crouched down to pull up the leg of his pants to show his skin. The pureblood devil raised an eyebrow at the action but said nothing until the magus turned and kicked Caliburn hard enough that dust was kicked off all around the area.

Stunned by the action, nobody said anything as Shirou showed the Sitri King his leg. “Not a scratch.” He fixed his pants with a look of mocking annoyance on his face. “You can tell them that Caliburn has the greatest security system of all the moonlit world; itself. Nobody but someone worthy and willing to take its burden can take the sword or even use it.” He waved for her to approach and Sona did slowly. “Touch it.”

Swallowing her fear at the idea of touching one of the most powerful Holy Swords, Sona did as asked and touched its side carefully before retreating quickly. “It doesn’t burn.”

“Of course not, ‘it is just a sword’.” Shirou chuckled at the glare Sona gave him. “Caliburn is unable to hurt you, or anyone for that matter, until it has a proper owner. Even if someone is curious about it there is no one who will be harmed by it.”

That solved one problem but not all. “The Church-”

“Will probably send agents to try and claim it but even if someone succeeds that doesn’t mean you will ever have to face Caliburn again.” Shirou smiled sadly. “After all, it cannot harm innocents.” Sona still looked at the sword distrustfully. “Look at it this way, if Valper didn’t burn by touching the sword, someone who definitely deserved it, and neither did you, a pureblood devil, then it is clear that Caliburn will do nothing other than wait for someone to claim it.”

More good arguments had Sona fumming internaly but she refused to pout or anything. ‘I really wanted this sword out of here. Why does it have to be my territory?’ She sighed. “Fine.”

“Fine?” Shirou asked to make sure Sona was certain.

“Fine! This isn’t my problem anymore, it is my sister’s.” Sona decided to wash her hands of it but only in one condition. “Are you certain that it can’t harm anyone?”

“You have my word that it won’t and if the Church or the Heavens complain you can tell them that since I fix the sword I know better.” And if she wouldn’t then Shirou would do it himself.

Sona was a young devil but after the whole ordeal she was feeling centuries of years old. “Very well, Shirou. I shall trust your word if anything else.” Then she pointed to his face. “But if they have questions-”

“I shall do my best to explain.” Shirou threw a look at Xenovia but her focus was still on Caliburn. “I promise.”

A nod of acceptance later Sona was turning around. “Tsubaki, get me the report on the materials still necessary to finish all the repairs. I also want to know when the night’s team is going to arrive.”

“Yes, Kaichou.” Both devils of the Sitri Clan put their helmets back on and began to march around the area to help with the reconstruction. That prompted the teachers to approach Shirou, Waver smiling and Jaken pensive.

Before getting close, Waver put out his cigarette and made it disappear. “A good thing is that the sword isn’t leaving the Kuoh so soon. Studying it is a sure way to help our students develop their own research both thanks to the fact it is a Noble Phantasm as well as Holy Sword.” His smile also had something mean behind it. “Just the chance is more than many back in London can appreciate.”

“So does that mean you are getting more students?” Shirou asked with a knowing smile.

“Only if they agree to pay a special commission to me and Kuoh.” Waver knew after Sona's small outburst she would appreciate his condition. “But odds are that many in the Clocktower will be moving here just for the chance of taking King Arthur’s sword. Plenty of nobles claim to be his descendants after all.”

“Ha! As if.” Shirou tried to disguise what he said with a chuckle but Waver’s raised eyebrows proved the man didn’t fall for it. “I mean, it isn’t a matter of who descended from King Arthur but who is worthy. Blood has nothing to do with it.”

“And what does?” Asked Jaken with true curiosity. “Is there some special criteria? And does that person can be from every race or is it just humans who have a chance of pulling the sword?”

Shaking his head, Shirou could see the greed in Jaken’s eyes. “Anyone can, no exceptions.” That answer pleased the kappa but the magus wasn’t done. “But it won’t be that simple. It needs to be someone with an absolute faith in True Justice.”

“And what is ‘True Justice’?” Waver had some suspicions but knew Shirou had the concrete answers.

However the redhead had no intention of offering them. “If you are asking then you don’t know.”

The teacher gave his student a frown. “Cheeky brat.” But Waver could see his student’s eyes weren’t on him. “Are you going to be okay?”

They were in the blue haired woman everyone knew was the representative of the Church. “Sure.” Shioru replied softly before sighing. “You two should leave. I doubt Kaichou doesn’t have you working on one thing or another.”

“As a representative of one of the Kings of-”

Jaken was silenced when his taller companion grabbed him by the back of his suit. “You are right. We should get going.” Waver began to leave with Jaken right behind. “See you on Monday, mister Emiya.”

“See ya.” Finally Shirou could focus entirely in Xenovia. “Are you going to try and pull it out or not?”

“You knew?” The bluehead girl asked as she slowly approached the sword.

Any trace of humor leeft Shirou’s face. “The pensive look, the distracted glances, the way your eyes barely left Caliburn since we arrived.” He stepped aside to allow Xenovia free access. “You look like someone lost. I used to see the same look in the mirror.”

Xenovia took her eyes off Caliburn to give Shirou an incredulous look. “Have everything you ever believed been ripped from beneath your feet?” She looked down at the sword again. “Have you ever lost the one thing you always had for certain? Has the person you most respected- that you love, lied to you about everything?”

“I didn’t know my father was an assassin and I almost got killed because of it.” By the lack of bitterness on Shirou’s tone Xenovia almost didn’t believe him but then she saw his eyes. Those weren’t the eyes of a liar. “And I thought you agreed yesterday that you should still have faith in God.”

“I still do. His so-called followers are the ones that I can never trust again.” Caliburn was at her reach and it seemed to pulse at her presence. “Can I take this sword?”

Never before Shirou wanted to lie as much as he did in that moment. “Yes, you are able.” But he couldn’t. “Let me tell you a secret, just between the two of us, anyone is if they lived an honest life and made certain oaths to Caliburn and themselves.” He whispered conspiratorially.

“Then I don’t qualify. My whole life was based on a lie.” Xenovia felt a dark emotion in her chest, an ugly mixture of rage and depression. “Ever since I joined the Church I believed I was making God’s work easier by punishing the wicked… How many innocents did I kill?”

“None.” Shirou replied so fast that Xenovia was in shock. “Don’t take my word for it if you don’t want but your real sword told me as much.” That blade also seemed to pulse. “And if you don’t believe us, believe in the person that you love.”

“Griselda…” A whisper full of fondness escaped Xenovia’s lips. “She should have told me.”

“And burden you with the knowledge? Maybe she considered the secret a mercy.” Yet Xenovia just looked more conflicted. “Look, I won’t stop you from trying to take Caliburn but I will warn you that would be a mistake.”

Xenovia looked between the sword and the magus. “You were speaking about an oath?”

Shirou motioned to Xenovia to get closer so he could whisper to her. “Promise to not tell anyone?” She nodded. “To be Caliburn’s owner all you have to do is swear yourself to Justice.”

“To Justice?” Xenovia smiled at the notion. “That isn’t a bad oath.”

“It is hell. A hell that almost consumed Artoria Pendragon.” Shirou could see how the notion confused Xenovia. “It is not just about fighting for what is just or being honest, it is about going everywhere that there is evil and stopping it.”

“A noble goal, a noble mission.” Xenovia spoke with certainty as her hand approached the weapon. “Once free of lies and-”

“And you can’t stop.” Shirou watched the girl freeze. “You won’t be able to stop. That was one of the reasons why Caliburn broke; Artoria was focused too much in her notion of Justice, in her country and that sword was made to protect all mankind, more than borders can measure.” He smiled sadly. “It was, after all, made by God and while He loved Humanity He didn’t understand that we can’t be bound by a duty 24/7.”

It was a simple but crushing truth that Caliburn could sustain a person without even needing the bare necessities. That was by design as the sword was made with the intent of doing a job similar to God’s, to always work towards a future regardless of the risks. That was what led to His death and Shirou knew that Artoria was too strong, too human, to lose herself to Caliburn.

The problem was making Xenovia see it. “In the end Artoria lost Caliburn but she gained a much better sword, the much brighter and powerful Excalibur.”

“Are you saying that God made a mistake?” Even after knowing about His death there was still an offended tone in Xenovia’s voice.

However the redhead remained calm as it just showed him she was listening. “There may come a day that someone is willing to take that sword and live that life. Humans come in all kinds of shapes and sizes so that is possible.” Shirou shrugged. “However, that isn’t a life a Human should live, the life of a machine going from battlefield to battlefield, from hell to hell.”

Just saying those words made Shirou shiver and he could see that Xenovia was starting to have second thoughts. He didn’t blame her as the words themselves brought forth an image of a truly miserable life with conflicts without end. To Shirou it reminded him of his father when he put on the mask of the Magus Killer.

Clearly Xenovia also had experience with similar people, people haunted by their actions after fighting without end only to see no meaning at the end of conflicts. If they even end.

It was a look full of sympathy and sadness that made Shirou believe she cared. ‘She is a good person and if she wants Caliburn then she must be certain.’ Because if the blade broke in her hand Shirou didn’t want the same guilt which assaulted Artoria to hunt Xenovia. “I could give you Merlin’s warning, how you will stop being human upon taking this sword or how a king can’t be human but I will just say my piece.”

Caliburn was between the two of them as Shirou stepped to the side to position himself behind Xenovia. He was showing that the way was open and it was her decision to listen to him or not, giving more weight to his words.

After a second of deliberation or perhaps hesitation, Xenovia nodded, eyes back on Caliburn. “If you have a goal or wish, even if it is something small, you shouldn’t want this sword.” Shirou's gaze was firm and even if the bluehead couldn't see it she could feel it. “It offers true power but the life you are going to live with it will be of a machine’s. You shall know no life nor death.”

She just stood there, hand barely reaching the sword. “Are you asking me to be selfish? To prioritize my desires over everyone else’s happiness?”

He didn’t even need to think about the response. “I am offering you to stay human and find your own way to do things.” Shirou saw her flinch. “I know you want a purpose but this is the truth about life; we make our own purpose, be it following someone else’s or to chase our own wishes. By picking up Caliburn you give up your search because the only thing you can have is the sword and nothing else.”

“But that is a noble goal. A noble mission.”

“But will it make you happy? What do you want, Xenovia? What is the thing you see yourself doing in the future if not now if you could?” He turned his back to her. “If you have nothing then swear yourself to Caliburn and pull it off. But if there is something you want, even if it is just a fleeting wish or something you believe to be impossible, please don’t give it up.”

Deliberately, Shirou began to walk away from Xenovia and Caliburn extremely slowly. Every step he took had minimal reach and a wish that she would follow or ask anything else. He couldn’t force her to not try and after revealing the secret he knew Xenovia was capable of drawing Caliburn, lost as she was there was a risk she would succeed either way so all he could do was warn her.

Because she was lost and in search of a purpose, Caliburn would give her one; he would only allow it once the warning was given. He wouldn't be like Merlin and be vague either.

‘Two choices are before you, two paths you can take.’ Shirou took a moment to watch as people worked together to bring Kuoh back to its pristine state in record time. ‘Neither is really wrong, that is reality. I just hope that, whatever decision you make, it can be one that makes you happy.’ Shirou let out a sigh when he heard a sword being taken from the earth.

“I want to keep fighting, to protect the innocents like the Lord wanted.” Living by His exemple was something Shirou could respect. “But I also want to be a mother.” When he heard those words the redhead almost jumped from joy. “To have my own children and to pass them my love for the blade so that whatever path they take in life they will know how to defend themselves.” She chuckled shyly, stopping just behind Shirou. “A selfish wish.”

“A Human wish. A beautiful one too.” He turned to see Xenovia holding on to the still covered Durandal. Even hidden Shirou could feel that the blade was pleased. “There is nothing wrong in wanting to help others as well as there is never something wrong in wishing for a family.”

Xenovia's smile was still shy but Shirou saw a beauty that wasn’t there before, a certainty and conviction that shined even more than the faith she carried less than 24 hours ago. “I have nowhere to go.”

“You can stay.” The offer surprised her. “Didn’t you hear? I seem to have a habit of collecting strays. What is one sword maiden when I already have a couple of devils and a goddess living under my roof?”

The blue haired maiden blushed a little. “‘Sword Maiden’? Better than stray, at least.” She smiled again, still a little shy. “You also said you would teach me more about Durandal, right?”

“Oh, so you did hear me on the way here.” Shirou chuckled as Xenovia blushed more. “Heh, don’t worry about it. I will be happy to teach you everything that the previous Owners of Durandal discovered and help you become the greatest Durandal Wielder who ever lived.”

“Really? Greater than lord Strada or even Roland?” Xenovia was excited by the possibility.

“It will take time and we will have to correct some of the stuff the Church butchered from Camelot’s training but yes, it is possible. Both with Camelot’s real fighting style and the memories of those who came before.” Shirou knew everything about Durandal, all its potential and tricks, things that many Owners managed to learn but never passed.

He can’t use most of them either as they apply only to Durandal and the cost of mana was too much for him to use casually but Xenovia can learn and push the sword to its maximum potential.

All the blue haired swordswoman needed was someone to teach her and no one would be better than Shirou who had the knowledge of every single person who ever wielded Durandal, period.

The redhead also had the proper knowledge of Camelot’s fighting style which he gained from Caliburn since Artoria used to teach her knights with that sword. It was similar to the Church’s since it was the original but the institution gave up much of its fundamentals, deeming them heretical.

And with a sword like Durandal, Xenovia could learn it properly. It was supposed to be used with a powerful weapon, after all.

“There is a lot that I can teach you, more about Durandal than anything else, but you need to be willing to learn.” Shirou gave a smile. “Are you ready for this, Xenovia Quarta?”

“Of course!” Her smile was radiant not only for the challenge but also for the new goal. “I swear to you that I will train hard and that one day I will be stronger than Roland himself!”

“That is the spirit.” Shirou felt a shiver on his back and turned to look at an exasperated Sona while Tsubaki was shaking her head by her side. There were a lot of people watching too. ‘Why is she like that? Oh well, I better deal with that later.’ Sometimes ignoring a problem can help. “Now let's go home, I need to start cooking if we want to celebrate you joining our little group properly.”

For him that was that and Shirou was happy with the result since Xenovia wasn’t picking Caliburn and becoming a flesh robot in service of mankind.

However, the girl wasn’t done. “If I am to stay with you then there is something that I must do.” She spoke seriously and respectfully, unveiling Durandal for all to see.

‘Does she want to fight?’ Shirou thought first by how the blue sword was pulsating, an aura of excitement and joy that he knew from somewhere in its memories but couldn't place when.

When Xenovia dropped to one knee and stabbed her sword on the ground, Shirou knew there would be no fight but relentless teasing once the word was out.

“I, Xenovia Quarta, swear in the name of God to follow you in any battle! My sword is your sword and your enemies are my enemies! No matter the obstacle, no matter the challenge, I shall watch your back the same way you did for me when offering a place in your castle!”

Silence fell around Kuoh as everyone watched the blue haired woman swear herself to the redhead magus with a Holy Blade. Shirou felt dread in the eyes of so many witnesses, some looking in envy while others in admiration as that meant there was no way for him to stop her without being attacked by pretty much everyone there.

“Wherever you go, I shall be there! My shoulder will be yours to lean on like yours was mine in my time of need!” It was because of Xenovia’s words, so full of passion that they were able to even drop people in a trance. “I shall be there for you while you are the good man I know is worthy of being followed!!”

That was because Xenovia was transferring her faith in the Church to Shirou because of his kindness and the belief he was always going to be honest with her. She had proof of that in when he offered her exactly what she wanted and gave her a choice, a choice that earned more respect than the Church ever did by leaving her in a lie.

Xenovia herself knew that she shouldn't be making those kinds of oaths but she was always an eager girl and the kind to charge head first. She was honest and determined to make the best of the experience.

“To be your most loyal confidant! To be with you in any adventure!! Whenever and wherever you need me!! I swear by Durandal!!!” The sincerity of the pledge was visible. All witnesses knew that the words were as true as the color of the sky.

Now the ball was in his court and Shirou barely managed to hold back a sigh. ‘Rias and Akeno aren’t going to have a field day with this.’ He resigned to his Fate.

…..

Irina didn’t know what to do with herself, she just knew she was feeling slightly mortified by Miki’s words. “I remember this picture like it was yesterday. There was this theme park in town that closed a few years ago that Irina and Issei insisted on going to every other week. Here, check this out.” The mother pointed to another picture and Asia leaned closer to look. “This is Issei puking on Irina’s head after eating too much.”

“Mom!”

“And this one?” Asia noticed something similar, a small Issei and Irina but this time their parts were reversed.

“I think Irina wanted a little revenge that day.”

“Oba-chan!” After the shower Irina had dressed in Asia’s nun clothing since it was the only thing that fit her.

It was still a little tight but it was the best she could have since Miki’s clothes were a little too big and anything else from the blonde was worse. The result was that while Irina filled Asia’s nun clothes nicely there were some problems in the chest area and the dress didn’t hide her heels like it did for the Bishop.

Not that Irina was complaining as she was comfortable with that kind of clothing, even a little used to it thanks to her time in many Churches.

“Fufufufu.” Miki loved playing with her child and his friend, in a way it was something she waited years to do. Part was the true happiness of having Irina around while the other part was a small payback for any headaches back in the day. “Here dear, take a look at this one.” She loved watching them blush together.

Asia kept looking at the pictures with a huge smile as her eyes scanned more pictures until she started to notice the park didn’t show up any longer. “What happened with the theme park?”

“Closed down.” Gorou repeated with a tooth grin to the two childhood friends. “Problems with the food and hygiene.” Which explained the agrigeous amount of puking in the pictures.

“Despite that they still wanted to go back.” Miki added. “Took them a month to accept that the park wasn’t opening ever again.”

“Mom!” “Oba-chan!”

“Hahaha!” Gorou laughed out loud at Issei and Irina’s reactions. “Either way, Irina-chan, tell me something; Do your parents ever plan to come back to Fuyuki?”

“Yes, yes. We missed you all a lot over the years.” It was clear the adults of the Hyoudou household weren’t lying and wished to see their old friends.

Irina suddenly had a sad smile on her face but it only lasted a single second before she gave them a sincere one. “Unfortunately we had no plans of coming back to Japan but if you want I can give you their number so you can call.”

Gorou rubbed his chin in thought. “It won’t be the same as if they were here,” he smiled nonetheless, “but it will be good to talk with them even if we can’t drink together like in the old times.”

“You should start thinking about drinking a little less. You aren’t as young anymore.” Miki joked a little.

“Are you talking about me or you?” The look his wife gave him had the man coughing. “I mean, I don’t drink that much.” He glanced at the can of beer in his hand before looking back to his wife. “I mean… I am an old man and my wife looks just as young as the day we met.”

“Better.” There was a layer of warning in her smile. “Anyway, how long are you planning to stay, Irina-chan?”

Once again Irina smiled sadly but this time the expression stuck. “Unfortunately I have to go back tomorrow.”

“What?!” “But you just got here!!”

Both parents reacted in a panic and surrounded the chestnut haired girl while Issei and Asia didn’t look surprised.

They knew from the beginning that once the Excalibur situation was solved the Exorcist had to leave, Fuyuki was still devil territory after all and having agents from their enemies was bad in most situations.

But Issei swallowed his own protest heavily. ‘It’s too soon for her to go.’ His fist was closed in frustration but he managed to at least look calm if anything else.

Contrary to his parents whose sadness was visible to all. “Can’t you just stay for just a few days? If it is a matter of passage, we can pay.” Miki offered, her husband nodding in show of support.

However the twin tailed Exorcist shook her head. “Sorry oba-chan but I need to deliver my report and talk with everyone back there about what I learned here.” It was not a lie.

Despite any conflict that Irina may have because of the discoveries she made in Fuyuki, the Church needed to be told about the Fragments’ Fate and the new situation with Caliburn. Besides that the girl also wanted answers and the only way she saw of getting them was facing her family and her comrades.

In truth she wanted to already have left but since both her and Xenovia needed time to recover, Irina found herself anxious to go back.

“And you really can’t stay?” Gorou asked seriously but calmly.

Irina shook her head twice. “Sorry Oji-san but I can’t.” Then she stood up. “In fact, I shouldn't even be here. I need to go back to my partner and the school group before they start looking all over for me.”

That was technically a lie as she was alone with Xenovia and within Issei’s residence the chance of her going looking was pretty much zero. All it would take was the Pawn calling his King.

However that was still part of her cover and Irina was happy that the Hyoudou parents accepted her explanation easily. “Then I at least should take you there by car.” Which would be problematic since Irina didn’t know the way in the first place. “Come on, let me get the keys-”

“Dad, why don’t you let me take her.” Issei quickly got up with a determined look.

Miki applauded her son's eagerness. “You two can take her later, maybe after dinner.” She emphasized dinner to make sure the men would get the message. “There is no need to rush and-”

“I can take her there on foot.” Issei suddenly interrupted his mother, something that shocked her. She was about to complain when she saw the eyes her son had. “It’ll be just us catching up.”

There was something in Issei’s eyes that Miki failed to see but Gorou noticed and nodded. “Well, it would be rude of us to stop poor Irina-chan from spending some time with her friend.” It was clear his wife didn’t approve of the reason and Asia’s pout almost broke the man’s conviction. However he chose to support his son. “Ah, stop glaring at me, Miki. They haven’t seen each other in so long, let Issei have some time without us buzzing around for a change.”

“Thanks dad.” Issei quickly got up and moved to the door, Irina following right behind after getting the bag with Rias’ clothes.

Asia had a small pout that Gorou noticed but he patted her head with a smile. “Let him have this. He does dream of a harem after all and I would be a poor father if I don’t give himuhhhh-”

“Is that what this is about, dear?” Miki sounded upset. She almost forgot that her husband also was a pervert. “I should have known you would try something like that.”

“But deaaaahhh-”

“Don’t ‘but dear’ me mister. I know your tricks. Are you forgetting about Asia’s feelings?” That was almost enough for the patriarch of the house to hiss.

Except that Asia just smiled gently. “Don’t worry about me, oka-sama. At this moment Irina needs Issei-san more than I do.”

Miki let her husband go to gush over the former nun. Gorou massaged his cheek with a smile. ‘Go Issei. Get another girl to like you. The childhood friend trope will give you a chance.’ His eyes had a fire that he hadn't felt since his youth. ‘For the harem!’

Issei was unaware of his father's support but took advantage of it because of his main concern. The reason for his worries was the same that had Asia equally worried and both of them knew why the Exorcist looked confused and exhausted during breakfast. Unfortunately that wasn’t the kind of conversation that they should have even if the Hyoudou family knew about the moonlit world.

Asia wanted to help more but with Miki always around she had no chance to have an honest talk with Irina so she smiled more to distract the two adults. “Do you want tempura for dinner?”

“Nonono, you shouldn't cook for my foolish son today, Asia.” Miki was full of sympathy as Issei was leaving the house with another woman. “I will take care of dinner.”

Before he heard anything else, Issei moved outside the house with Irina. He was dressed in a sleeveless redshirt and shorts, looking embarrassed by how his parents were acting. “Sorry.”

Chuckling at her friend’s blush, Irina shook her head. “It is good to see they are as energetic as I remember.” She then scratched her cheek in embarrassment. “Well… I have no idea where Emiya-san’s house is.”

“Buchou made sure we memorized the way.” It was either for emergencies or to find her but Issei didn’t care why as he was glaring at Shirou with jealousy that day. “It’s a little out of the way. Did you really get here by accident?”

“Hehe…” Her timid laugh was all Issei needed. “I was… distracted.”

“Becau-”

“We should get going.” Irina quickly marched away from the Hyoudous’ house and took a random turn that had Issei blinking.

The Pawn rushed to catch up when he almost slammed into her because Irina had stopped completely. “Are you alright?”

It was a loaded question that Irina didn’t want to answer. “You should… I think this is the wrong way.”

[She is avoiding the problem.] Ddraig pointed out in Issei’s soul but the devil brushed the dragon off.

He focused on looking around to make sure they wouldn’t get lost. “Yeah, it’s that way.” Issei pointed to the opposite side.

“Great.” Irina quickly stepped up and walked in that direction before stopping again. “Maybe you should go ahead so I don’t get lost again.”

[A trained warrior never gets lost in enemy territory unless they are dying or distracted.] Ddraig’s voice came again and Issei was quick to shut him down. [I can also force the connection open.] It didn’t work. [Stop trying to close yourself to me, it is exhausting forcing this.]

Deciding to indulge the original Red Dragon Emperor, Issei nodded to Irina and himself. ‘What should I do?’

[Talk with her you moron. Can’t believe I have to be your conscience in something so obvious.]

‘But she doesn't want to talk about it.’ It was something so obvious that even Issei was absolutely sure of that fact.

He was also sure the dragon facepalmed. [And that worked so well with that Knight.]

Nodding to Irina, Issei took point but distracted as he was with Ddraig his pace was slow. ‘We talked with Kiba, but it didn't work.’ He reminded the dragon.

[It just didn’t work because that blond had no time to heal. Trust me on this.] Issei found it hard to challenge the voice of experience in his head. [Either you talk to her now or the problem is going to be eating her up until someone else deals with it. Do you trust anyone else to do it?]

“Maybe…”

“Uhm? Did you say something?” Irina's question made Issei realize he had spoken.

Quickly coming up with an excuse, Issei chuckled. “Trying to remember if there is a short cut we could take.” Irina's skeptical look showed she didn’t believe him. Instead of comforting her, the Pawn kept walking.

Noting his partner showed no indication he was going to press the issue irritated Ddraig. [Do you want Emiya to add her to his harem?] That made Issei pause midstep and the dragon chuckled. [Oh~ Does that bother you?]

‘Emiya doesn’t have a harem.’ Came the quickest denial, so fast that the only reason Ddraig understood the thought was because it was a thought in the first place.

[Hmm, let's see, shall we? He has your redhead King, the Queen is also interested, he lives with two white haired girls that would eat in the palm of his hand if he asked and there are also the yokais and the witches you all hang around.] Ddraig could feel every wave of irritation on Issei’s soul. That made the dragon practically giddy. [Oh and lets not forget that he also had that cat woman sitting on his lap practically everyday for the last year. Are you sure he doesn’t have a harem?]

A pause. “Son of a bitch!”

“Issei? What 's wrong?” Irina started to look around, searching for enemies but the brown haired devil just waved his hand.

“Nothing, nothing, just realized something.” He tried to look calm. ‘That bastard has been building a harem this whole time? Damn! How didn’t I notice that sooner?!’ Ddraig didn’t need to say anything else, Issei gladly started to fill any possible blanks himself. ‘And Irina had spent the night in his house and he could- No, Emiya is not that kind of guy… But then there is her partner! He wouldn’t go after Irina if he was after Xenovia first! If Irina is vulnerable then Emiya could take advantage of her!’

[Not on his character but that will work to get my partner moving.] Ddraig chuckled as Issei’s mind was still spinning. Time to finish the job. [Best chance to protect your friend is making sure she has nothing that Emiya can use to breach into her heart.]

The Pawn nodded resolutely, he didn’t mind that Irina hated him later but didn’t want to give anyone the chance of taking advantage of her. Or help Shirou build his harem more even if that never was the redhead’s intention, after Ddraig’s words all the Pawn could see was how successful Shirou was with the ladies and that was exactly what the dragon wanted.

So the actual Red Dragon Emperor walked a little faster, Irina noticing the sudden rush and quickly moving to catch up. Issei still had no idea where to begin but he knew something that would help. “Remember this place?”

“Hm?” Irina was shocked by the sudden question and looked around with a blink before noticing a grocery store. “Isn’t this… Hana-san’s old shop?”

“Yeah, remember how she used to give us candy every other day…”

“She always said, ‘don’t tell your parents’ before giving us a chocolate bar or some sweet buns.” Irina laugh was angelic but soon it grew smaller as she looked inside the closed store. “It looks different.”

Too different from her memories as before it was just a small store with conveniences all around. Now it was empty, empty with just some small shelves laying around gathering dust.

“Hana-san passed away two years ago and her son sold the store.” He could see how shocked he was at the information. “She was kind like our other grandma so I thought you should know.”

“I…” Irina didn’t know what to say. “What happened?”

“She started to forget things and soon her body just stopped.” Issei remembered the last time she saw the old woman. “But she looked happy, as if her job was done.” He tried to add the happier note but flinched when he saw that Irina looked depressed. ‘Talk about shooting myself on the foot.’

Ddraig decided to intervene again. [She is showing more emotion than before, even the bad ones. That means she is open. Talk to her!] Taking a deep breath and reminding himself to stay calm, Issei began to walk again. [Partner!]

‘Just looking for a place to sit.’ Luckily they were still close to his home so Issei knew there was a tree they could use. Irina followed and soon they were in the right place as Issei sat down on the ground. “What is wrong?”

Again Irina tried to avoid the real issue. “Just sad that Hana-chan died. I wanted to see her again.”

While Issei knew that wasn’t a lie, it wasn’t the answer he was looking for either. “It’s just that… or there is something else?” Irina flinched and avoided looking at her friend. He saw her hesitation but before she could try and change the subject, Issei tried something else. “Remember how we didn’t have secrets?”

Irina shook her head in disbelief. “We were kids. Hard to have secrets at that age.”

Issei didn’t give her a chance to say anything else. “Really? Because I’m sure you didn’t want anyone to know when you wet the bed.”

Blushing like an apple, Irina looked to the side. “Stop.”

“Or how you sneaked in your parents bed because of lightning.”

Her blush grew more intense. “Stop it.”

“Or that time you admitted you were afraid of the dark-”

Her blush was now an inferno. “Issei idiot.” She threw herself at him to shut his mouth but Issei kept laughing. “Idiot, idiot, idiot.”

“Why? You said they weren’t secrets.” There was no one in the streets to hear them but Issei was loving Irina’s reaction.

Took a few moments for the girl to calm down. Irina’s blush had diminished greatly but was still there and she was making a lousy job of hiding it. She still attacked Issei with weak hits before it devolved to a tickling match that the brown haired devil could fight back.

When they stopped both were breathing hard but smiling, for a moment back where they were before Irina left Fuyuki.

Then they grew conscious because they were not children anymore, Irina was sitting on Issei’s ‘little soldier’ and he was starting to get up. Blushing a storm of scarlet they quickly separated only to find themselves back to back, breathing hard and shy by the recent development that left them with no actions.

Recovering first out of the desire to help his friend, Issei looked at Irina’s back. “Can you tell me what is wrong? I don’t like seeing you sad.”

Irina's shoulders began to shake but before Issei could ask something out of concern he heard her giggling. “That is the same thing.” She commented, back on the memory lane. “That is exactly the same thing you asked me before I told you I was leaving.”

“Really? I barely can remember that.” All Issei could remember was how sad he was that his friend was gone.

“I swear you did.” She leaned in his back and Issei looked ahead in thought. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“About God’s death?” He felt her flinch and shake her head. “What then?”

It was in that moment that Irina felt every uncertainty she had was ready to pour out in a storm of screams and tears. However she was also an Exorcist and one that found comfort in falling back in her training.

And if there was one thing that her training taught her was how to take hold of her emotions, to control them instead of being controlled by them.

Didn’t get rid of the negativity and some of it still demanded to be spilled. “Am I selfish?” Irina’s question surprised Issei but he didn’t reply. “Am I selfish?”

“Why are you asking that?” Her oldest friend asked slowly and Irina shook her head.

"Nothing. It is stupid.”

He didn’t even need to think to reply. “If its bothering you then it isn’t stupid.”

Growing stiff but barely moving, Irina looked up to the blue sky. “After we learned that the Lord… After we learned that the Lord died I felt lost for a moment. I feel ashamed that my faith was shaken but I thought ‘He will forgive me’ only to remember later He isn't around to forgive.” Issei trew a little of his weight on his back to show her he was listening. “But I thought that, even if He was gone, maybe everything would be alright if we stayed together. Even after His passing Heaven and the Church kept fighting to uphold his legacy so maybe I could be like them…” She hesitated. “Everything would be fine if I had my friends, if I had my partner by my side.”

Once Irina began to shake again, Issei knew it wasn’t because she was holding back a laugh but tears. ‘She was always a silent crier… I thought it was because ‘boys don’t cry’ but Irina never was a boy…’ He didn't need Ddraig to tell him what to do. “Xenovia doesn’t want to go back?”

“No.” Irina shook her head slightly. “She stopped believing in our family, in the Church…” Her hands began to shake but she made sure to hold one with the other. “Did it mean nothing to her? All the missions we went on together? All the time we spend going around and defending the Lord’s work? Was all that-”

When Irina stopped herself, Issei feared she was going to close her heart again. He stood up and turned but the girl remained seated, looking despotent. Going around, he kneeled in front of her and tried to lift her face but Irina refused to budge. He didn’t want to harm her but was starting to grow worried by her actions.

Afraid of saying the wrong thing, the devil still took his best shot. “I’m sure that it isn’t easy for her. That it meant something and that probably she just wants to deal with her own problems-”

“Then why can’t we do it together?” Finally Irina looked at him and Issei saw the stream of tears in her face. “Why can’t she still be my partner? Why can’t we work together like we used to? Why did she say that she is going to leave me?” Irina stopped herself when she noticed she was raising her voice. Looking down again, she looked worse. “I am selfish?”

“No. No!” Issei moved to the side and hugged his friend, her head resting on his shoulder. “When you left… I felt the same way. I was afraid that I wouldn’t ever see you again, that I would lose my best friend forever. Remember how we were crying that day?” She nodded. “But you are here.”

“But I need Xenovia with me.” Her voice was shaken and muffed. “I can’t… I don’t think I can face the people back in Europe without her. I know she doesn’t want to go but we should, we should get answers.”

“Maybe… Maybe for her the answers don’t matter, what matters is that they lied.” Irina suddenly looked at her with shock and understanding and Issei took it as a good sign. “You don’t need to go back if you don’t want to but that is up to you. The same way it's up to her to not want to go back.” His friend looked sad again but this time when Issei held her face, she allowed him. “Besides, just because you two aren’t going to be around as much, it doesn’t mean you stopped being friends.”

It was something so simple but so alien to Irina that she had no words. Usually when someone went ‘stray’ and abandoned an organization they became enemies of it but the way that Issei said it sounded not only credible but also logical.

Still the Exorcist part of Irina could only shake her head. “She is abandoning the Church, Issei. She is going to become a criminal. Next time we meet it will be as enemies.”

“So aren’t we enemies since I’m a devil?” Shocked once again, Irina could only look at Issei in disbelief. He kept holding her, showing no fear. “Are you going to kill me? I’m pretty sure you could do it, even unarmed.” Mostly because Issei had already decided that if Irina attacked now he wouldn’t fight back.

Instead he had faith that Irina wouldn’t harm him and it was rewarded when Irina looked disgusted by the notion. “No! I would never!”

“Then what is the problem in being her friend?” Her wide eyes made him smile. “Look, if you still think you have to fight her because of the Church then there is another alternative.”

“What?” She grabbed his hands, her eyes becoming full of hope.

“By becoming someone that can order them to not hurt Xenovia.” He made it sound so simple. “I was thinking about telling my parents about… my condition. You know? The whole devil thing.” Issei chuckled. “But this whole Excalibur, Caliburn, Kokabiel thing made me realize that it's too dangerous. But then it wouldn’t be fair if they don’t know forever.” His eyes look firm. “That is why I will become an Ultimate Class devil and tell them.”

“You want to become the Ultimate Class?” Irina knew what that meant; Issei wanted to become one of the strongest beings in the Underworld.

“You can bet your ass I will.” He stood up, his heart pumping fast as the thought took over him. “I’ll become Ultimate Class, the Strongest Pawn, then I’m going to get my harem.” Irina almost fell face first on the ground in disappointment. “But I will also be strong enough to protect my parents.” She looked up to see Issei’s smile. “I don’t like keeping secrets for them or any of my friends but the moonlit world is dangerous. So I’m going to get strong, strong enough that they don’t need to fear anything.”

Once again it was something simple but it brought a smile to Irina’s face. That was one of the things she always liked about Issei; he had a habit of focusing on what he wanted and pursuing it with his whole soul. In a way, she had to admit, the harem was the same thing.

For Issei details don’t matter, only what he wanted and that he was going to go after it at full speed.

Good thing for him that he always had friends to remind him of the details, starting with Irina. “It won’t be easy, you know? You are talking about becoming one of the strongest beings of the Underworld. No, to protect everyone you would have to become one of the Top 10 Strongest.”

“Then that is what I will do!” Issei spoke full of conviction and Irina believed him. Then and there what he said sounded like the absolute truth in her ears. “So everyone I care about can live happy lives, no matter what is in the dark.” He offered her a hand. “Including you. We’ll always be friends even if you are in the Church. And you know what? I bet Xenovia feels the same way.”

For an instant the image of the boy Issei was changed to the man he was becoming in Irina’s heart. ‘When did you grow up so much?’ She grabbed his hand. “Fine! Then I will become the greatest Exorcist the Church has ever seen! I will make sure that we don’t need to fight!”

They held the handshake for a few more seconds, Irina feeling much better as she relaxed her arm but didn’t let go with her hand. Soon they noticed that they were getting closer to each other and parted ways.

““Sorry!”” They said at the same time while blushing like mad. Irina had her hands on her cheeks, trying to calm down her heart while Issei was starting to think about what was about to happen-

"Will you die for me?”

-before shaking his head to dispel any thoughts. ‘That is your childhood friend, your idiot.’ He didn’t want to think anymore about what almost happened. “We should get going. Emiya’s house is kind of far.”

“Right.” Irina was too embarrassed to say anything else and just followed Issei. She didn’t notice how stiff he was until they got talking again.

Or how his smile was gone until after a few minutes of banter.

…..

Later at night Shirou moved to his dojo after dinner. Considering that everyone else was busy with their own problems the redhead wanted to start training immediately even if some would protest.

He didn’t miss Xenovia and Irina’s hug when Issei brough the girl back or how they spent the last few hours just talking about one thing or another. Xenovia wouldn’t change her decision to not return to the Church and Irina acceptance was a bit of a surprise but Shirou wouldn’t let that be the end of it so easily.

If Xenovia was going to be in his service, something that Rias and Yoruichi took some time to laugh about when the bluehead professed her new loyalty, she would at the very least write a letter explaining the situation to her guardian.

Shirou may not know much about Griselda Quarta but he would like to avoid anymore assassins gunning from his head if possible.

Besides some teasing and dinner, which the Red Dragon Emperor refused as he left giving Shirou a stinky eye and the promise of a fight, things began to calm down again. The Exorcists had much to discuss about what was going to be reported but as Xenoiva promised, Irina was willing to sign a contract and even forget about Reality Marbles.

A thing that Rias was quick to put in motion as she dragged Medusa off her bed to do it. The purple haired goddess did as requested after bartering for a personal banquet as a reward which Shirou granted, Rias cooking for everyone else.

Luvia still hadn’t left her room but the redhead devil actually spent some of her time there after calling her brother. Suffice to say was that the actual Lucifer was on their corner and moved to call Azazel as fast as possible.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sirzechs called back a few hours later saying that everything was settled. He was even making jokes from what Rias told everyone which was a good sign, something that Yoruichi pointed out as odd as the situation should have a worse backlash but the Maou’s attitude said otherwise.

Regardless of all that Shirou still took some time to sneak out of the main house while everyone else was distracted or resting. After the events of yesterday the magus knew he had much to think about and plan. He also wanted to train a little, to test some of the things he discovered about himself.

However he hesitated on starting because he knew his lovers could detect his use of mana and drag him back to rest. Shirou wouldn’t even disagree with it since he didn’t want to worry everyone even if they all knew his body had already recovered.

In those circumstances the best thing Shirou could do was plan as he had a lot to think about not only about himself but also about Xenovia since he promised to train her.

Previous experience with Akeno didn’t paint a pretty picture of his opinion as a teacher but Shirou observed that he wouldn’t be training her in magecraft but in swordsmanship. At least not in the beginning as much of Camelot’s fighting style involves a certain understanding of mana and other fundamentals.

That was all stuff that would also depend on Xenovia herself and not his focus at the moment.

No, his first focus was on finding a good place to meditate and the dojo of the house seemed ideal. It was silent, discreet, comfortable with the pleasant cold of the summer night and private since most of the training for everyone was usually outside. Shirou never had been so happy to keep that space clean for everyone and even with the gym equipment he had enough space to sit down in the center in lotus position.

‘Time to finally do this, huh?’ Shirou blinked and was already inside his Reality Marble. “Talk about advanced meditation… Am I thinking or really speaking right now?” He chuckled before noticing the pegasus running around the sky.

Without a shadow of a doubt the acceptance of his Reality Marble was the greatest change in him and that was something Shirou was anxious to explore. Already he could feel there was much to see in his world, things that he yet had to understand and learn about it and himself.

‘Remember what dad taught you about observing new surroundings… When did I stand up?’ Thinking about the subject had Shirou realize that even in his dreams he appeared inside his Reality Marble on his feet. ‘Is this my subconscious thought or something else? What does it mean?’

Shirou shook his head to recenter himself as too many questions without answers weren’t what he needed. If he lost himself there would be no progress and so he had to compartmentalize and deal with things one at a time.

Starting with previous dreams and memories Shirou knew he could do almost everything inside his Reality Marble; it was his soul, his arsenal, himself. Sure the pegasus was something he gained after saving Medusa and the only exception but it was still an inhabitant of his word.

And Shirou knew thanks to the legendary mount intervention in his fight with Freed that the pegasus was his ally and friend.

Remembering the Mad Exorcist, Shirou knew exactly where to start his investigation. “Would the fight be any different if I had my Reality Marble in the beginning?” The immediate answer was ‘yes’ even if he didn’t know why. ‘Okay… I have a Reality Marble… How do I use it?’

Manifesting it on Reality was apparently the key and also why the prospect of one was feared. However Shirou already knew that he couldn't just do it. Just the thought of attempting was shot down by some instinct on the back of his head that told him that he was missing something.

“Come on… This is my soul. How do I use it?” A frown made its way to his face as he tried to think. “Swords, swords everywhere. This is where I begin.” With a thought about Muramasa, Shirou found the original one floating in front of him in an instant as the altered versions of it surrounded his position. “Okay, that was easy enough.”

The pegasus watched in amusement as Shirou studied and played with his swords before trying to Trace his armor.

The redhead quickly noticed that he lacked his coat and his pants didn’t change. With some more effort he made the rest of the armor appear without any cost of mana. “My soul, my rules. Mana means nothing here.” He flexed his fingers experimentally before Caliburn appeared in his hand. “Cool.”

The Sword of Kings returned to wherever it came from as Shirou studied his armor and noticed that Medusa’s Gift hadn’t been Traced. Concentrating a little the magus tried to summon the jewel but it failed.

After some thought Shirou tried with other things and every single thing he had in his house showed up with ease even if not as easily as swords. Medusa’s Gift was the exception and Shirou realized that it made sense since it was a creation of a goddess. It was just that his soul couldn’t understand it properly.

Which gave him room to experiment some more as he summoned Bakuya and turned to the pegasus. “Nothing?” He was surprised when the legendary mount shook his head and he chuckled. “I need her ruby, don’t I?” The pegasus nodded. “That thing is more powerful than I thought. It is also bonded with me… More stuff to do later, I suppose.”

As easily as it came the armor vanished and Shirou sat down again, assuming the same position he was sure he still was in Reality before closing his eyes. For an instant he didn’t know in which world he was, the cold seemed to indicate it was night even as he felt the sun and the breeze in his world.

But he chose to not observe that phenomena for the moment, once again trying to focus on what he had planned; breaking down his fights and seeing how his Reality Marble would have changed things at least in the last 48 hours.

Obviously Freed’s fight was his main focus but he took his time and began with his first fight of the day with Irina and Mimic. “Had I been more open to my Reality Marble then maybe I could have figured out the truth about Caliburn earlier? No, it was still too fragmented, tainted by the attempts of reforging it incorrectly due to its nature as a proto Noble Phantasm.” He almost laughed at the irony since its ascended existence should have given the sword power but made things harder.

After breaking the fight apart and studying Irina’s abilities with Mimic, Shirou was sure that the fight wouldn’t change that much; neither was trying to kill the other and victory would be his if Kiba hadn’t gone berserk.

Even if not having fought her he still considered Xenovia before realizing that he could only win if he went all out and if she failed to use Durandal properly. It would be a hard fight with the legendary sword in play and its destructive power could break anything he made easily to the point that most of the fight he would be dodging her.

However there were still paths to victory and Shirou saw many of them not for any flaw in the sword but in Xenovia herself. “Lots of training for her to do too but Artoria’s fighting style will fit her like a glove if I can teach her properly.” Which meant he had to learn it himself but he already planned to do that.

Far from him to reject something as beautiful or precise as Camelot’s original martial art, not when he knew there would be more fighting in his future.

His skirmishes with the Order of Pendragon wouldn’t have changed much and he easily moved through them. Even Agravain wasn’t a proper opponent if Shirou decided to go all out and unleash his Noble Phantasms. He was also much faster than the knight and was sure that could defeat him barehanded if necessary.

So finally he landed in his fights with Freed and realized quickly that had he possessed his Reality Marble he could have defeated the Mad Exorcist in the galery and stopped the Fragments reforging.

Most of that was due to the pegasus and Bakuya as Shirou was sure that with only the unstable power of two Fragments, Freed had no chance of winning. Not everything would have changed as Yoruichi would still have to stop Kokabiel or maybe the fallen angel would grow desperate but he could have at least stopped Freed faster.

‘Hindsight is 20-20 right?’ Shirou chuckled as he realized that with just a thought Hrunting was by his side. “I just needed to think about finding my opponent and you were already there. I could have defeated Freed much earlier, the moment he started using illusions… Did my soul call you or if you came by yourself?”

Unfortunately for Shirou the black sword had no response to give him, just the memories of its former owners and how it never missed. How it was used. There was nothing indicating the sword had any sort of conciency which had him deduce it was his soul doing the heavy lifting.

Instead of keeping going in that train of thought, Shirou recentered himself again in his fight with Freed. “Time for a new perspective.” And another sword appeared by his side, stabbing itself to his left. “Valper’s ‘masterpiece’.” He said sarcastically as the Fused Fragments stood tall and defiant. “A mess and a failure in equal measure.” His hand grasped the handle and he pulled. “Yet, Caliburn none the less. A defensive type of sword.”

With the blade in his hand Shirou felt a deeper connection as the focus of his mind was on the Fused Fragment. He already knew everything about the weapon but now the information was easier to understand and was properly sorted. Instead of learning something new he was remembering what he already knew.

Taking a couple of swings Shirou felt no weight. The balance was perfect as Mimic made it to be and its power was considerable. “A powerful mess.” He acknowledged with a hard look before the sword changed in his hands.

Because of how it was reforged there was little that Shirou could transform the sword into. The weapon should be able to turn into anything his mind desired but Valper’s failure was complete as Mimic’s power failed to work. It just wasn’t possible as the sword was limited both in his hands and Freed’s.

Curious about how much different a single Fragment would be Shirou called for Mimic in the same shape of a katana Irina used. Immediately he was flooded with the information of all who used the weapon, much like he had with Durandal.

Dropping Valper’s masterpiece and having it vanish, Shirou made Mimic transform into liquid metal and cover his body. “Freed could have survived Hrunting by reacting fast and colliding his sword with it before it got too close.” Another armor covered his body, weaker than his own but capable of protecting everything. “However the original Mimic could guarantee his survival.”

Already Shirou could see himself in Freed's situation, Hrunting flying faster than he expected and almost killing him on the first dodge. He replayed all the Mad Exorcist’s actions and realized that while they were born from fear and confusion there was a huge dose of underestimation.

‘Freed couldn’t win against Hrunting, not with the Fused Fragments. In the end Valper failed as the Fused Sword wasn’t even close to the real thing.’ Just thinking about Caliburn had it stabbed before him as the Fragment was dismissed. “How would you have fought, Artoria?” He chuckled at the question. “Just from the memory of his sword I can see you cutting down Freed in less than 2 seconds… Maybe I would last a little more if I had time to set something up.”

Her face showed up in his mind as he saw her easily defeat a version of Freed in his imagination. Then Shirou challenged that image of Artoria on his mind, he saw her first move, a salutation before the beginning of the battle.

Then Shirou saw her move in his mind’s eye and cut him down after a couple of strikes. It was fast, it was cruel and possible not how Artoria would have fought, she was kinder than that, at least in the beginning.

However Shirou constructed the fight with an idealized version of Artoria, all of Caliburn’s power with all her skill. It was an insurmountable mountain that Shirou saw himself failing to again and again. After the tenth fight he stopped, noticing how he made some progress but was still not even close to winning.

“I need to train more.” Shirou declared and the image of Artoria was replaced with the White Dragon Emperor in his full armored glory. “After all; a promise is a promise.” Unfortunately he barely had any information to simulate a battle against Vali. “You use magic, you are fast, not as fast as Yoruichi but fast, and you are strong. Then there is Divide.” Looking up, Shirou saw the sun, his sun, and thought about its true identity. “Will Avalon protect me from it?”

It was a question that could change the complete outcome of the fight by itself as if Avalon protects him then Sihrou had far less to fear.

However if it didn’t then he needed to plan for that. “Best to assume it won’t and play around Divide. Vali needs to touch me to use it so range is my best bet… Against an opponent that uses magic and is clearly better at range than me… Goddamned.”

“Shiro. Shiro.” He snapped outside of his Reality Marble to see Yoruichi looking at him with some concern. “Meditating?”

“Reality Marble.”

“Hmm, do you know what time it is?” At Yoruichi’s question, Shirou shook his head and she chuckled. “Here is a tip; everyone else already went to bed.”

“And you came to collect me?” Shirou stood and noticed how stiff he was. Normal since he was sitting down in meditation for a few hours. “I barely noticed the time passing.”

Yoruichi chuckled again. “Most thought you were already sleeping but when I got there you were nowhere.” She approached and hugged his side. “This is my last night around here and I would like to spend some time with you.”

“Sorry I didn’t make dinner… Sorry that I couldn’t finish things before you had to intervene.”

“You are still thinking about that? I already said it's fine.” She gave him a warm but sad smile. “As one of the Kings of Kyoto I shouldn’t be that far from home for so long… As a King, I am a failure. But then again, I never wanted the job.”

Shirou chuckled. “No, you prefer to be just a stray cat.” She was about to protest but he scratched her head just right and Yoruichi purred instead of talking. “Sorry we can’t go on dates and stuff. I know you wanted to.”

“Yeah, that actually sucks.” Yoruichi leaned further in his touch. “But we can consider some of our training days ‘play dates’ if you want. I certainly played too much with you, more than I should.”

“Fine by me. But I still want to take you to a proper date when you are around Fuyuki again.” His smile had her smiling more. “So, when will that be?”

“As soon as the dust settles a bit, so in a few months… Maybe.” Yoruichi stepped away before shrugging. “It also depends on the political situation around. I don’t know if you noticed but… things are changing.”

Shirou nodded slowly as his expression turned serious. “That they are.”

Not wanting to ruin their conversation, Yoruichi punched Shirou’s shoulder. “Come on then. Time for one last ‘date’ as it were.”

“What? Now?” His internal clock may be a mess but if everyone was on bed then it was already late.

“You can bet we are going to do this now. We don’t have much time and I need to check something if you are going to be training Koneko for me.” Yoruichi declared with a happy smile.

“Training her in what?” Her smile just grew bigger, practically screaming to him he should know. “Yoruichi, I can’t read thoughts.”

“You can try~” They embraced and her nose started touching Shirou’s. “Here is a tip; now that you know you have a Reality Marble, think what you can do without it? What would I like you to teach Koneko?” Her eyes looked sad for a millisecond. “That I can’t teach myself because I won’t be around.”

"Senjutsu… She finally asked you for lessons?” He received a small nod and another sad look. “That is great! I mean, I know that you won’t be around as much but it is progress.”

“I know! The problem is that I will have to contend with phone calls and the like since I can’t stay around to teach her properly.” Yoruichi's finger began to dance on Shirou’s chest. “But that is where you come in, dear~”

Shirou chuckled, he was happy for Koneko’s progress and was willing to play a little more. “In case you forgot, dear, I don’t know Senjutsu and I am pretty sure that a Reality Marble won’t fix that problem.”

Yoruichi smiled again and kissed him on the lips before stepping back. “Not on the most advanced stuff,” a familiar white aura began to surround her, “but I am sure you get what I mean now, right? The part of Ki which is more about introspection than anything else, the power from the fighting spirit.”

“Touki.” Shirou understood and closed his eyes. “I was blocking myself because deep down I was denying something I had, something key.” He took a deep breath and soon the aura was around him as well. “My own soul.”

“Your real self.” Yoruichi whispered huskily in his ear. “Promise me that when you can, you are going to show me your world.”

“I promise.” He whispered kindly, Yoruichi’s grin infecting him.

“Good.” She disappeared again to appear across from him. “Easier now?”

“Very.” It was like a weight Shirou didn’t know he had was gone. Still with his Touki the redhead began to move around the dojo, much faster than before. Only when he was using the pegasus power was he faster. “I could get used to this.”

“Hey, hey, eyes on me.” Yoruichi easily got Shirou’s attention. “You still have to master the thing but now that you can use Touki the next stage is going to be to connect yourself with the element of your soul.” She laughed a little and he chuckled as well. “Wonder how that will be affected by a Reality Marble.”

“Only one way to figure it out.” Shirou spread his feet and assumed a fighting posture. “Ready for our ‘date’?”

She assumed the same posture. “Nyahahaha! I thought you would never ask!”

Ki began to pour from both combatants, Yoruichi’s was fluid like a stream while Shirou’s was more rigid. Their feet shifted before the spar began.

Shirou knew he was going to lose this fight, that was fine with him. He also knew that this was more than just training for Yoruichi and that she wanted to have some fun.

So they would enjoy each other’s company until the sun rose on the horizon.

…..