I enjoyed that.Originally Posted by Korburss
I enjoyed that.
Funny Gif
Favorite Nasuverse Quote
I found these two from TumblrUfotable vs Visual Novel
Family issues.
Family issues everywhere. Things are certainly developing with that in mind.
My Fanfics. Read 'em. Or not.McJon01: We all know that the real reason Archer would lose to Rider is because the events of his own Holy Grail War left him with a particular weakness toward "older sister" types.
***
Misaya’s arm weakly trembled, reaching for towards her ear.
***
Fire crackled in the distance.
“Now, don’t all speak at once.” Shirou said. “Why, that would be rude.”
“What are you doing? Have you gone insane? Are you some kind of idiot?”
Sakura’s question had all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. It made Shirou’s nose crinkle in annoyance. The fact she was asking it at sword point made the older boy want to throw in the towel then and there.
“No.” He curtly cut her off.
“His father was like this too,” Kirei said, sounding a little amused. “No reasonable sort of logic. I was hoping he would turn out to be better. I’m still on the fence regarding whether he’s worse or not now.”
“Huh.” Sakura would’ve nodded in agreement, but the tip of the Black Key was far too close. “He is pretty thick, isn’t he.”
“Shut up.” Shirou barked, cutting off the comedy that was coming at his expense. “Why did we have to come this far?”
Sakura knew she had lost.
“Alright,” It was easy to admit her sins now. Probably since the murderous father was in front of her. Or maybe that was in spite of him. “It started because I found out my brother had run off with our knowledge.”
Shirou blinked, feeling ill at ease.
“Oh? Then I have to commend him. He must have seen what end was waiting for him. Was he going to flee to another magus’ home?” The priest asked, curious how much had been stolen. Even a small amount of knowledge was priceless if it fell into the right hands.
Sakura sighed.
“Yes, his house.” She threw an accusatory stare at Shirou.
“That,” Shirou stumbled over his words. “I didn’t, that is, you don’t think I wanted to steal anything, do you?”
“I did,” Sakura said. “And still do.”
“That’s insane!”
“How do you explain your servant?”
Shirou said nothing.
“That’s right.”
“I didn’t steal your family’s knowledge!” Shirou’s voice boomed in outrage. “Shinji didn’t know-”
“That’s right, he didn’t know! And that was for his own good. Those scraps were left there to deliberately keep him out of the way, but his life was in danger the very second a Magus outside our family touched it!”
“I didn’t know that!”
It was descending into the ranting of two frustrated people now, venting everything in their hearts after endless tension. There was no haughtiness at this point, and no clever words. Only raw emotion was being expelled now.
“You tricked him - You tricked my stupid brother, and Shinji would be as good as dead when grandfather gets back home.”
“Why didn’t you just talk to me?!”
“Ha!” Sakura nearly spat. “What kind of lunatic does that? Even I know that much. It’d be like sticking my head down a lion’s maw.”
Kirei scoffed.
“That is rather foolish, young man.” The priest turned his face just enough so Shirou could see the disapproving frown. “People have killed for less.”
“You never saw me hurt Shinji. Even if he was a magus I would never do that to him. Why would I have done anything to hurt you?”
“He isn’t one. You could have compelled him against his family. Used his weakness against him.”
“Do you really think he’s that weak?”
Sakura looked away, and said nothing.
“I had to make sure that the knowledge didn’t spread.” She defended herself. “Someone as old as my grandfather would have surely detected it if someone else was spreading the knowledge. I only did what I had to, and defended myself when the time came. Do what you will with me, but I’m done speaking now.”
“You little...”
Kirei’s expression fell the longer the conversation went in circles.
“Actions speak louder than words. Let’s sum it all up, shall we? Sakura Matou burned your home to the ground, and tried to kill us all. I have helped you and protected you from her wrath when I had nothing to gain from it.” Kirei words were as good as his fists at being devastating. “Shirou, while your betrayal was delightfully reminiscent of my dealings with your father, nostalgia will only allow me to forgive you so far. Let us finish these affairs, yes? Allow me to put down this menace to our livelihood and your life.”
The rifle poked the back of Kirei’s head.
“No.”
Sakura looked up at Shirou, thoughtfully squinting at him.
“You’re disappointing me, Emiya Shirou.” The priest tensed, “I’ve just said-”
“I know what you said.” Shirou agreed. “But it’s still stupid. We don’t need to keep things up now. You heard her, she did this for Shinji’s sake. The knowledge is lost. A house isn’t that important.”
“What about your life?” The priest offered.
“...it’s over.” Shirou repeated.
“...you’re dumb.” Sakura whispered. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“Shinji does the thinking for me.” He admitted.
Sakura fought a smile back.
Kirei grunted.
And that’s when a figure crashed into their midst, sending the three flying like leaves in the midst of a storm.
***
Rubble bounced off shattered concrete, tinkling as it fell into a deep crater created by a localized explosion, the water main beneath the fountain wildly sprayed water in every direction. The crater was quickly filling up.
Kirei sighed, leveraging himself up. His last Black Key was unfortunately lost in the blast. A glance around the area showed his forces were still down.
Shirou was nowhere in sight, but the rifle that most likely had been trained on him was a twisted mass beneath some rebar.
Sakura was pinned beneath concrete. The girl snarled in frustration and fought to free herself, but she lacked any sort of leverage. The rubble pinning her noisily resettled thanks to her actions. It was probably crushing her, and would probably just turn her into pulp if no one gave her a helping hand.
Kirei turned away. The figures pulling themselves out of the crater were a more immediate concern. Especially the one leading the bedraggled Servant without an apparent care in the world.
“I become lax with age, Matthew.” Kirei said, eyeing the mace the old man was holding onto without ill effects. “I wonder if my mentor felt this way in the end.”
The traitor answered with a crooked grin.
“To err is human, Kotomine. I have been around long, and fooled better than you. Please don’t underestimate yourself.” He answered. “If it’s any small consolation, I would have continued the course with you for many more decades if they hadn’t appeared.”
“I se-”
The words hadn’t even finished when Kirei felt his chest get turned into a wet, sopping mess. Berserker stared at him with empty eyes as she pushed his shoulders, flinging him away from her and breaking them in the process. Her horn gleamed with black tar, from where she had pierced his heart.
The older man turned away from the motionless priest, heading straight for Sakura.
“Get away from me!”
“Now, that’s rude.” The old man straightened his crooked posture. He wagged a chiding finger at her. “I’m the one that came to free you.”
“You killed him!”
“Would it be different if I had done it in the passion of the moment, like you?”
Sakura flinched.
The old man snapped his fingers, sending Berserker to start lifting the refuse off the young girl.
“...who are you?” She finally scrapped up the tattered remains of her dignity to ask. Her question got a piercing look.
“Has she gone dormant?” He hissed, slamming the mace against the floor. “No, none of that.”
The noise unleashed was a combination of a low pitched whine and a warbling undulation, like a gong fading away. There was a little bit of a crackling beneath it all. Sort of like an electric tower at night.
Berserker seemed to wince in pain from the echo, lethargy fading a little from the action. The noise also made Sakura to take a sharp intake of breath too, feeling a strange pulse of sensation in her torso. For a moment, Sakura thought she felt her clothes shift on her body, but the
phantom sensation faded as quickly as it came.
The old man’s dark eyes took in Sakura’s reaction as she plucked at the clothes she could reach, and nodded as if he had gotten an answer.
“I am Victor.” He said, “Formerly of ‘Reiroukan’.”
Berserker hauled away the last of the rubble, woodenly taking a hold of Sakura. Her scarred up arms wrapped around the smaller girl, holding her tight. The magus tried to resist, but all her fight had been burnt away from successive trauma throughout the night.
“Where are you taking me?” Sakura could only make empty demands, and Victor favored her with a smile.
“Tokyo.” He answered. “Fuyuki has worn out its welcome.”
“My grandfather won’t let this go,” Sakura tried, but she wasn’t very convinced. “He’ll hunt you down.”
“My, I hope he does.” Victor chortled, walking ahead of them. The ground was uneven where he was moving, shifting thanks to the uneven layer of concrete. “I would be interested in seeing what methods he used to augment himself.”
“Is she going to carry me like this the whole way?”
Victor chuckled, “Would you make it necessary?”
Sakura considered for a moment. She looked back at the wreckage around her. That boy was convinced they could have talked things out, but she didn’t think anyone would forget that she had attacked.
“I don’t think I have a choice,” She answered. “This disaster might just get blamed on me.”
Victor glanced off to the side, looking just any other innocent grandpa. His stained hands didn’t seem to agree with his attitude.
“You’re merciless, aren’t you?” She sighed. “Well, I know what to expect from old men like you. Tell your new friend here to let me go. I’ll come with you.”
Sakura kicked at Berserker’s arms. The older girl moaned, tightened her hold on the younger one, and shook her.
“I’m not your doll!”
“Berserker, drop it.”
The servant readily did so, dreamily smiling when Sakura bounced off the ground.
“It?” Sakura clicked her tongue.
“No reason for pretenses, yes?” Victor shrugged. “Best to start with a honest and open relationship.”
“After what you did to the priest?”
“Touche.”
Sakura’s knees rattled as she finally got up under her own power. She flashed a look at Berserker. There was probably some animosity hidden beneath that milky gaze, but it was concealed right now.
“That was the idiot’s Servant.” Speaking of which, where was Shirou Emiya. He better not be dead. “What did you do to her? She used to be more animated. Now she seems like any old Berserker.”
“You did this. You cause so much damage that it has reverted to its original state of mind.”
‘Me?’ Sakura thought, feeling an uncomfortable sensation the longer she stared at the empty gaze. ‘I did that to her?’
“Worry not, I will make necessary repairs.” Victor smiled, but it was not assuring in the least. “We need something to use for practice.”
“Berserker isn’t...” The hairs on Sakura’s neck rose.
“It is the inferior model. The one you took into yourself was already superior. By the way, I am really overjoyed that you showed me such an interesting new phenomenon. You must tell me how you did it when we get home.”
Berserker shoved forwards, causing Sakura to hobble ahead a few steps.
“Sheeerou?” The woman broke her silence, moving to lightly tug at Victor’s sleeve. “Taigaa? Home?”
“Be patient.” Victor shook her hands off, taking a few steps away from her.
Berserker smiled.
Sakura clenched a fist.
“Please keep up, or I’ll have Berserker crush your legs and carry you like luggage, Miss Matou.”
‘If you’re still alive, come over here and save your Servant!’ Sakura winced, and started nursing her aching hand after she heard a crack.
***
The march ended close to ten minutes later, with Victor leading Berserker and Sakura to an idling pickup. Parts of the vehicle had practically rusted away. Others seemed to have been cheaply soldered onto the frame.
“...grandfather didn’t believe in vaccination.” Sakura said. “Will I need a tetanus shot after this?”
“All medical care will be provided for at no cost.”
“Well, alright then.”
Berserker looked at the truck for a few moments, and then patted herself. Whatever feelings of empathy she had with the thing remained unsaid.
“It isn’t that bad.” Victor growled back at them.
The engine backfired.
Sakura stared at the old man, eyebrow raised.
“Things were made tougher back then.” He scoffed, pushing Sakura towards the driver seat. “Now get in through here."
Sakura saw an opportunity. She practically dove into the cabin and over discarded wrappers and plastic cups. Sweeping them aside, she reached for the lock, pulled it, and slammed her whole body against the passenger’s side door.
“Gah!”
Victor’s laughter wheezed out of his body, shrill notes breaking into his chuckles. Sakura spun towards him, glaring at the old man.
“Please, I have no one else I’d ever need to give a ride. Why would I need that extra door? I welded it closed a long time ago!”
“D-don’t you know how dangerous that can be?!” Sakura squeaked. It was a weak argument, more to save face for having thought it was that easy. “This thing really is a moving death trap!”
“You can ride in the back, Samantha.” Victor ordered, ignoring Sakura’s flushed face. “Go intangible, I don’t want us to be stopped on the way.”
Berserker perked up, pulling away from where she was rubbing the truck.
“Samantha?”
Victor cursed, closing his eyes for a moment. “Put on your seat belt.” He said, pushing Sakura further into the truck.
Rapid footfalls approached them.
“Oi!” A young man broke into their conversation, voice choking with phlegm or something else. “Not so fast.”
“Shee!”
Sakura looked over her shoulder, face alighting in a relieved smile.
Victor shook once, and straightened up as he pulled his head out of the truck to face Shirou Emiya.
“You are quite resilient.” He remarked, seeing the bloodied boy stride towards them.
Shirou shook his head.
“It was just putting one foot in front of the other.”
“Then, why haven’t you fled yet?” Victor smiled. “Just put one foot in front of the other in the opposite direction.”
“You killed Father Kotomine!” Shirou’s leaned forwards, stretching out a hand. “Give me back Berserker and Matou!”
“Saw that, did you?” Victor rubbed at his face, wrinkles winking. “Well, let’s test how resilient, then.”
The old man cleared his throat.
“Berserker, there’s your mate.” He cajoled her off the truck. “You know what you have to do, right?”
Berserker hungrily smiled, growling as she cracked her hands together. She reached for her dress, tearing one of the shoulders as she started pacing towards the redhead. The ground cracked beneath her feet.
“W-what?” Shirou stepped back.
Sakura was more vocal, lashing out with a kick towards Victor.
“You’re disgusting!”
“Hmph, no.” Victor got into the truck. “She’ll tear him apart limb from limb.”
He had seen it happen before.
His creature simply wasn’t compatible with people, and would destroy them before long.
That was why she would never have her wish.
Berserker dove towards Shirou, catching him in the sternum and dragging them both to the ground. She greedily swiped at his tattered clothes, ripping handfuls of them off of him. The boy fought back, but it was impossible to challenge something like her.
One of his arms looked bent in the wrong way from where she could barely see over her trembling figure.
Sakura went white, and cast around the refuse. She saw a fork hidden beneath some burger wrappers, and grasped it with shaking hands.
“What?” Victor laughed.
She lunged, and with a burst of energy threw the fork through the glass next to his head. Part of the window shattered.
“S-Shirou, the command seal!” Sakura blurted out, but was backhanded away from hovering over Victor’s lap.
Shirou pressed his back against the earth, trying to shove Berserker away from him. In between flurries of action, he caught a look at the seal imprinted on the back of his hand, and did the only thing he could.
“I order you to take Sakura and yourself to safety!”
The Command Seal blazed to life.
“No!” Victor shouted, slamming Sakura against her seat as he floored the pedal.
Berserker moaned, fingertips bloody as they pulled away from Shirou’s chest. The servant bound off his bared form, twisting and rushing head long towards the truck. Three bounding steps towards it, she simply vanished.
The truck was slammed off course a second later, and the driver’s door was torn off its hinges. A stare of disbelief and open mouth was the only thing Sakura could do as she was ripped out of the truck, and whisked away to safety. Victor’s arm was pulped, ripped away and taken with Sakura. Blood sprayed the inside of truck’s windshield.
Victor let out a howl, jerking the wheel.
“Damn you!”
The truck almost flipped over onto its side, metal crunching as it spun at high speeds to head towards Shirou.
“It’s your fault!”
Shirou rolled onto his side, staring up at the incoming truck.
A pair of cords flew towards him.
“Grab it!” Shirou grasped them tightly, getting dragged out beneath the wheels. The teenager only saw a brief look of the same man he had helped earlier - wasn’t he the firefighter at his house earlier this week?
The truck sped up as it took a tight corner, moving to chase.
Flames splashed against its windshield, courtesy of two alchemists barely keeping themselves up thanks to the grace of the heavens.
One of them was the blonde sniper, and the other...
“Get back here!” Misaya snarled, furiously directing the stream of flame after the truck with tears in her eyes. It was already speeding away from them, parts of it still aflame.
The light was intense, the edges of everything bleeding together for Shirou.
“Kid, focus one me.” He gently pushed Shirou back to the ground. That guy’s hands were so big. “No, don’t try to move.”
Darkness claimed his vision.
“Oh shit,” Whatever the alchemist saw made his dusky complexion pale. He boomed over his shoulder. “Misaya, drop that damn thing and get over here!”
Why was he being so loud?
It was hurting his ears.
Shirou felt like sleeping, and closed his eyes.
***
“Who can be knocking at this hour?”
Clomping of feet against a wooden floor just shy of needing maintenance.
“I heard you the first time!” Wood groaned as a door was angrily thrown open. “Oh! I-I’m sorry.”
A sharp intent of breath.
“Who did this to you?!”
“I am calling in a favor,” Heavy breathing, labored and a little too rapid. “I need the use of a workshop. I have been exposed. There is precious little time before the noose is tightened. I must make it to Tokyo.”
“Of course, come in! I’ll do whatever is necessary...”
A gusty sigh.
“Thank you, Miss Tohsaka. You have done more than your fair share over the years, and I will remember when the time comes.” Two sets of footsteps retreating across the creaky floor. "We will soon enter the annals of history."
***
Hypothesis Arc - End
Last edited by VelspertheCat; November 1st, 2014 at 08:45 PM.
Spoiler:
Well that escalated pretty damn quickly.
F/GO SUPPORT
Well, a lot just happened. That was one of the most unexpected Kirei moments I've read in any fic. I'm a bit saddened that their might not be anymore Kirei-Misaya interaction but I'm a little leery on accepting his death just yet, seemed way too quick and easy. I'm genuinely curious on the various machinations going on. While Victor seems to be the main villain with a plan for the grail, I wouldn't be surprised if Zouken (Or Kirei.) manages to steal back the title.
This isn't necessarily wrong but it doesn't sound right to me and works better with a "like".
Well.
Shit.
Shit happens.
My Fanfics. Read 'em. Or not.McJon01: We all know that the real reason Archer would lose to Rider is because the events of his own Holy Grail War left him with a particular weakness toward "older sister" types.
Meant to get this all out for Halloween, but was too slow. Even now I feel like I needed another extra scene in there, but I was told it was running too long as it was. Please forgive.
You can't pick your family.
But can you make a better one?
Like a one two punch? Then a knife to the gut sorta thing?
Added the like back in there.
Thanks for the constant feedback. Have been trying to shake up the standard conventions throughout the story. So hope to keep doing that in act 3.
- - - Updated - - -
Save us, Ilyaaa.
Or should I use Illya now? I've been gone too long.
Spoiler:
Kind of like a one-two punch followed by a knife to the gut, yeah, but with an added "your head is now slammed into the ground".
F/GO SUPPORT
Use whatever you feel like. I've always spelled it with two ls only for the reason of because it's symmetrical.
My Fanfics. Read 'em. Or not.McJon01: We all know that the real reason Archer would lose to Rider is because the events of his own Holy Grail War left him with a particular weakness toward "older sister" types.
If it helps, I have interludes!
One of them even takes place immediately after this debacle to smooth everything out.
Spoiler:
IRUn is Death the Kid.
F/GO SUPPORT
I didn't get his deal with odd numbers. Odd numbers too can be symmetrical. Ex: II I II = 5 objects. His OCD was clearly not at a high enough level to enter the prestige class of nitpicking.
My Fanfics. Read 'em. Or not.McJon01: We all know that the real reason Archer would lose to Rider is because the events of his own Holy Grail War left him with a particular weakness toward "older sister" types.
on would be helpful.
“Kid, focus one me.”
Oh No!
Funny Gif
Favorite Nasuverse Quote
I found these two from TumblrUfotable vs Visual Novel
I'm just happy to see that Sakura might realize that Shirou's not some manipulative asshole. Still can't believe how dark this story can get though, especially considering IPOMRAWH.
ipomwhat?
Wizard Hat.
My Fanfics. Read 'em. Or not.McJon01: We all know that the real reason Archer would lose to Rider is because the events of his own Holy Grail War left him with a particular weakness toward "older sister" types.
Thank you.
Wizard Hat would've been pretty dark, what with the zombie apocalypse and stuff, if it hadn't been thoroughly SRW'd at that point.
Great story with zombie apocalypse.
Funny Gif
Favorite Nasuverse Quote
I found these two from TumblrUfotable vs Visual Novel
Interlude - John Doe
*-*-*
The steady clicking of footsteps reached Shinji's ears before he realized he was walking down a set of stairs.
A black material dripped from above in a steady staccato. It seemed to be like mucous, thick and clingy. Most of it seemed to ooze from above and down the walls.
Yellowed pages were pinned onto the moist walls by the buttons of his school uniform. Shinji stopped walking and leaned towards one of them. The words on the page squirmed.
He blinked.
Shinji tapped the page with his index finger. Bits of the page flaked off onto his finger, coloring it yellow. Further, his action caused a faint rustling to start under the sheet.
A strange, horrible looking insect burst out of the sheet, and turned its barbed head towards him.
"The hell are you doing?"
The young man started, staring at the fanged maw. Was he going insane? No way that worm could have been talking to him.
"Don't you have to do something important" It writhed, staining the sheet with vascous fluids as the painful looking ridges shredded the page around it more. White teeth shone in a nasty little grin. "You're so obsessed with pointless things that you can't see what's before your eyes."
Shinji felt a nasty breeze, chilling him as he pulled back.
But the wall that should've met his back was long gone, his heel kicking at nothing.
A section of the wall had been silently scooped away, like if it had never been there in the first place. In its place was a pitch black void. He knew that nothing would survive if it fell inside.
"Son of a bitch!" He wildly waved his arms, mocking laughter booming from the worm. "Is this what you do to get your sick jollies?"
The creature was gone by the time Shinji managed to regain his balance. Most of the pages were gone as well. Thick looking cracks had been hidden beneath them, stretching and thickening the further down they went. They didn't seem to have any ending point that he could see.
Shinji's temper bubbled impotently beneath the surface as he walked around the hole and kept going down the staircase.
He hoped it didn't mean the floor wasn't going to crumble beneath him.
*-*-*
He strained to grab a shelved book, opening it.
*-*-*
A sea of flame spread before Shinji's eyes, nearly blinding him. Before he realized what was going on, a knife was practically shoved into his hand. It was a gangly thing, with a blade nearly a foot long. He didn't get more time to admire the knife because he was being pushed from behind.
"Cut the cake, Shinji!"
Shinji ignored the voices behind him. His heart was starting to race as he tried to look through the flame. He brushed some aside with the flat of blade.
"We're getting hungry."
Frozen within the medium of confectionary goodness was his sister, Sakura. She looked older than when he had last seen her, face looking more weathered. She had her arms held in front of her chest, head bowed in supplication. Befuddlement stayed his hand, keeping his knife held stiff despite the needy murmurs rising behind.
"C'mon!"
"All of you shut the hell up!" Shinji yelled, shrugging off the hands and spinning back to face the annoying parties. "You're not even letting me think with all that noise you're spewing!"
A young man that his age and had coppery red hair breathed into a blower, causing it to pelt him on the forehead. The rest of the teeming masses seemed to fade away a little for Shinji. The extra limbs and distorted faces of the crowd really didn't matter at all right now.
"Howdy." The stranger said, smiling. It didn't quite reach his tawny gold eyes. "I invited myself. Hope you don't mind?"
"I..." Shinji was about to accept the platitude, but his hand reached up towards his forehead. He let out a yelp as he realized he was raising the knife bearing hand, lowering it with a stormy expression. "Who do you think you are?"
"Oh?" The other youth's lips turned up. "I guess you do mind."
"You hit me on the forehead!"
"It was for your own good." The stranger retorted. "Don't zone out while waving that thing around, people have died to less than that."
Shinji jabbed the knife at the red head a little.
He responded by covering his mouth, faking shock.
"Don't tell me that! You don't know anything about me! You're not my father!" Shinji declared.
The strange boy finally sighed, and rolled up his sleeves.
"I guess you'll need another one, huh?" He said.
"Wha-" Shinji started.
*-*-*
An incredible amount of pain followed suit.
"Tell her I said 'good morning'." The stranger's voice drifted to Shinji through the haze.
*-*-*
Issei Ryuudou leaned next to the sleeping Shinji, mouth as close as possible.
"Wake up!"
Shinji nearly fell out of his seat, jabbing his elbow against his desk as he tried to hold himself steady.
"The world will continue onwards irregardless of your readiness, Shinji." Issei held up his hand, as if warding off Shinji's venomous retort. "But it is fortunate for you that I will - Let's go home together."
"What makes you think I'd go home with you?" Shinji sniffed, wiping his eyes as he started getting ready.
Issei didn't point out that Shinji was sleepily going along with his suggestion.
"Brother said you had a rough night." Issei said. "And you do not typically sleep in class."
Shinji frowned. Why the hell did Issei knew whether he slept or not? It vaguely disturbed him that there might be a spy amongst his class, feeding the dweeb information on his habits.
"Ah, don't worry." Issei mistook the look for concern. "I told the teachers you were under the weather."
"Suck up." Shinji bitched. "Why do you have to be like this, Issei? You're just wasting your time sucking up to them. We're done with this place in a few weeks."
Issei ignored Shinji's complaining, following alongside the other boy as they left the room.
"Hard to believe we've been your minders all these months." Issei agreed, causing Shinji to roll his eyes. "And I'll have to keep watching you at Homurahara too."
"Pardon me for living." Shinji spat, as they descended the stairs to the footlockers. "I'll try not to inconvenience you with my existence further."
"It's quite alright." Issei answered. "You were nothing compared to my old worries."
"Ouch." Shinji shook his head, shrugging his shoulders. "Was she that much of a bitch?"
Issei hummed, his silence making Shinji snigger as they opened up their footlockers.
"Wish I had gotten a chance to meet that Rin Tohsaka before she transferred away then." Shinji's teeth showed with his grin as he swapped his shoes out. "It would've been hilarious to watch."
Issei crossed his arms, having already done so by the time Shinji was done.
"Or I could've teamed up with her to get that stick out of your ass!"
Issei closed his eyes.
"Ha!" Shinji leaned towards Issei with a smile. "Did I just see you shudder?"
"...no."
Shinji could've sworn he heard the wannabe monk muttering a few prayers beneath his breath on their way out.
*-*-*
While Shinji and Issei turned the corner towards their bus stop, a pair of older boys dropped the game they had been half heartedly playing on their phones. One of them nudged the other, bigger boy and pointed at Shinji. The bigger boy smacked the shorter one across the shoulder.
"I know it was Shinji, Shun. I ain't blind, dumbass. His swapping into the Ryūkoku duds isn't gonna trick me." The dominant boy said. "I'm going to follow after that punk. Call some of the others. "
He wondered where the kid's sister was this time, but she was probably at school.
Showed him to lend money to sob stories.
"Sorry Yamada." Shun awkwardly rubbed his aching shoulder. "Sure thing, Yamada."
Yamada snorted, and prowled after the jackass that still owed him money.
*-*-*
"We're being followed." Issei said while looking into his phone, as they crossed another intersection downtown - few minutes away from their bus stop.
Shinji blinked, starting to turn back, but Issei laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Best you don't do that." Issei shook his head. "It might just make things worse."
"And how do you know?" Shinji asked. "Some kung fu dragon bullshit?"
"Don't be so disrespectful." Issei snapped back. "I filmed this right now."
Issei waved his phone from side to side, the camera on the front of it glinting a little in the sunlight. Shinji leaned towards Issei, peering at the screen. The picture was a little blurry, but it was a mug he vaguely remembered. The image showed him glaring rather hatefully towards their backs.
"Oh." Shinji gave a lukewarm response. "I know him."
"Want to explain?" Issei asked. "He seems to be rather agitated."
"How about you?" Shinji countered. "That's a weird hobby you got."
"It's good to know where you've been." Issei shrugged.
"You're so weird, man."
Issei harumphed.
"Why do I need to put up with you?"
Shinji shrugged with a smile.
"I'm just that loveable?"
Issei started to frown, but Shinji held up a hand.
"Alright, alright, let me take care of it." He cut off Issei. "Just wait up at the bus stop. I'll be over there soon. Just no more lecturing, my head already feels like it's going to split open when I think about what I have to do."
Issei's frown faded. He looked around them. Once he made sure that they were reasonably alone, he leaned towards Shinji.
"Are you going to use 'that'?"
Shinji waved Issei off, already walking away while jamming his hands into his pants. It was the least subtle attempt to play it cool in human history. Still, that other boy either didn't care, or was just that eager for blood. The older boy followed Shinji into the alleyway without a care about who saw him. Worse still, another boy was approaching. Two large looking gentlemen accompanied him.
"This isn't any good." Issei muttered.
His fingers nervously danced along the surface of his phone.
"I hope he holds back this time."
It was hard to predict what that evil spirit would do.
*-*-*
An angry looking teenager overturned trash cans and threw them away haphazardly under the awkward gaze of a middle schooler.
Shinji stepped aside from where he was leaning, letting the thrown can slam against the side of a metal staircase he was resting against.
"Maa," Shinji licked his dry lips, nervously laughing to himself. "Man, he must really want to rip into me."
Insubstantial arms appeared from behind, ceramic ball joints creaking as the hands loosely embraced him. They weren't spatially aligned like normal arms. One was much lower than it should be, splayed out fingers pressed up against his belly.
'Ah, right.' Shinji instinctively tried to look behind him, but nothing was there. 'I'll be okay.'
These were the last thing he had gotten from his little sister. Maybe. The timing was too good of when these things appeared was too good. The arms seemed to always appear to protect him whenever life turned shitty. They seemed to do a better job protecting him when someone was especially out for his blood. Unfortunately, it wasn't a win button, and that's why he was now standing around like an idiot while that Yamaha guy was tearing the place up.
Shinji felt a pressure in the back of his head - an urge to just walk away.
"I gotta take care of this." Shinji declined the suggestion. "They saw Issei."
The limbs clacked as they went slack, fingertips swinging uselessly from side to side.
Shinji started pacing in a large circle around Yamada as he thought.
"Hm, what to do?" Shinji tapped his nose, taking long strides. Mostly to avoid bumping into the older boy. He ducked under a stray arm. "What to do?"
He really just wanted to go home. Shinji was feeling really under the weather lately. Didn't help that the monks had kept trying to exorcise his guest. They couldn't do it, but it kept him up. Issei was right in that he was just plain worn down from all the long nights, as much as it bothered him to admit it.
"These are not the kids you're looking for?" He asked, looking at the hands that were toying with his coat's buttons. "Hey, don't play with those, it costs to have them fixed."
One of the hands went flat.
The other only seemed to speed up the tapping and rubbing, just to annoy him.
"I guess that's a no." Shinji grunted, weaving to avoid getting his head patted by the less unruly ghost arm. "Just do what you have to do, then."
Both of the arms rose, perking up like dogs.
Thin gossamer strings appeared from the stumps on the arms, throbbing and swaying as the arms stretched away from Shinj and towards Yamada. The strings went taut, preventing them from moving further than two feet. Far enough away for their purpose.
One of arms, held in a steady grip by the other, fired a sharp looking fingertip at the older boy's forehead. Pressurized air escaped from the joints on the fire, along with a spurt of thick mist. Shinji wasn't sure where that stuff came from whenever this happened. There weren't any structures on the joints and the sockets to hold the hands together.
He really didn't want to think about the fact that he saw bits of real flesh along the insides of the fingers when he was inspecting the sockets of the hands.
Yamada slumped forwards.
"You made a mistake." Shinji leaned towards that Yamaha looking guy. "Issei Ryuudou just knows a guy that looks awfully like that guy Shinji."
He began to spin a tale; the arms clicked and clacked around and over the other boy's head, in tune with Shinji's words.
*-*-*
The sun was peeking over the hills overlooking Ryuudou Shrine by the time Shinji and Issei returned home.
"I'm impressed you held back." Issei was telling Shinji as they ascended the last steps. "Or should I be a little worried that you're getting better at using that monster?"
Shinji shrugged.
"I'm not going to complain."
"Aren't you worried?" Issei asked. "You might be making that spirit stronger by using it."
"I'd rather go with a what if than a guaranteed ass beating." Shinji said.
Issei could see his point.
"Just be careful." Issei just said. "It's not a lot to ask for, right?"
Shinji relucantly nodded; it was hard to say anything sarcastic when Issei was giving him such an earnest look. He lagged behind the heir of the temple for a moment and glanced back down the stairs. It was starting to get a little too comfortable for Shinji up here.
"What's wrong?" Issei suddenly asked, causing Shinji to have a start. "Come on, we'll be late to dinner, and I'm not going to go without any supper all night becasue of you."
Yeah, that was much better.
Shinji started following to the temple when the other boy asked a question out of the blue.
"I wonder when your sister is coming back?"
Shinji appreciated Issei's use of when. A lot of the monks were starting to give him more piteous looks whenever he was taken in to get exorcised. They were probably already writing off his sister at this point.
"I don't know." Shinji responded. "It must have been something important."
"You think so?" Issei said. "She could have at least - uh, nevermind. I'm sorry for bringing it up."
Shinji snickered.
"No, no, it's fine. Your naturally nosy self is far better than the act you give everyone else. It's super rare, like a five star gatcha at the arcade or something."
"Heh..."
Shinji gave Issei an aside glance, but the other boy remained stoic as they entered the main building.
Weird.
*-*-*
Dinner came and went.
The long hallways gleamed in the moon that night; both from austerness of the furniture and the elbow grease of the disciples that lived and worked here. Many of them were in their rooms right now, studying or spending their precious bit of personal time to relax. It left the temple relatively empty, except for the last minute stragglers and worshippers that came to visit. Unlike them, Shinji was trying to get away from the temple instead of lingering. He quietly moved through the halls, or at least tried to avoid getting caught.
He had a date to go on; if he missed the last bus he was going to be late.
Shinji realized that he'd get lectured for playing hooky, so he decided to turn down a hall towards Issei's room. Maybe after all that sappy bonding today, the other boy would let him sneak out through his window. For some strange reason, Shinji had been moved away from his old room and towards one with some annoying guards.
He wasn't sure why they'd think he'd run.
Shinji's nose caught a sweet scent near Issei's door.
"Oh, that *dog*." He grumbled. "Is he holding out on snacks?"
Normally he'd argue with the other boy, but he wasn't exactly eager to keep eating. Seemed today was a special occasion - everyone had gotten curry. Shinji wasn't sure what the occasion caused it, nor was he going to complain.
"Why haven't you told him?" Issei's voice drifted out from behind the door. "Shinji has a right to know."
Shinji reached for the door.
"I, no, everyone knows that boy deserves more than life has been giving him lately, but I won't take a risk and rush things now that we've confirmed that spirit of his seems to be growing stronger." Reikan Ryuudou, older brother of Issei, very reasonably responded. "I can't whimsically invite danger on the temple; especially without knowing everything we can. So far, that spirit has allowed us to know as much of the truth as it allows us to know. You remember what happened to the case workers, detectives, and police, right?"
The boy they were talking about pressed against the door a little more, listening in on Issei and his brother's conversation.
"So, that's it?" Issei asked; the younger of the siblings seemed to be pacing about, voice fading in and out. "We let him feel like an outsider?"
"Just for a bit longer." Reikan promised. "Then it'll be over."
Shinji stepped away from the door - he didn't feel like going on that date anymore.
*-*-*
Shinji walked out the front door of the shrine; a few priests were lying on the ground, and they would be waking up in a minute with a bit of a headache. He didn't especially care at the moment. The boy's emotions were rolling beneath his skin - too raw to control anything.
'Well, of course I knew what they were doing with all these exorcisms,' He thought, finding it hard to swallow. 'They had to make sure I was safe to reintroduce back to civilization, right?'
Shinji resisted the urge to stamp one of the flowers that Brother Koizumi spent every morning watering.
He didn't knock over the urn that had once been a favorite of Brother Mori when he ran around the building. Shinji never got to know Mori, the man had died long before he had come, but Issei apparently always liked to quote from him when he was feeling especially goody two shoes. Who knew why that stupid thing was out there, but Issei seemed to like the lilac colored thing.
Shinji was finding it a little hard to breathe when he rushed past the stack of fishing rods set up at a cheap little stand he had helped build next to the lake; he could still see the bright faces of the youngest kids when they had put their rods up against it so they didn't have to carry them all the way out when they wanted to fish.
'Thank you!' They cheered him - eyes bright like Sakura's were.
"Why the hell do I know this?" Shinji found it hard to spit, so chose not to do it. "Stupid, pointless trivia."
The boy walked over towards the edge of the lake; reflected back at him were himself and the set of arms that were always just hiding in his shadow.
His 'evil spirit'.
Shinji kicked, sending a pebble into the surface and breaking the image. He ignored the heat trailing from his eyes. That was just because he was feeling overheated at the moment.
"This sucks." He muttered, shaking his head. "This really sucks."
A low laugh answered his declaration.
Shinji whipped around, eyes wide.
"Does it really?" An old man in a dirt encrusted kimono asked him, smiling gumlessly at Shinji. The facade of a harmless old man wouldn't fool anyone for a second. He looked like he was just shy of death, with a unhealthy pallor about him, but his eyes held a frightening mania behind them. "Many would die to have an ability like yours; people like myself."
"Who are you?" Shinji snapped back, on the edge.
The arms came out in force, fingers dancing as they played invisible strings.
For a moment, the mania faded in the old man, but it returned in full force a few moments later.
"Mmm," He smiled. "Zolgen..."
"...Zolgen Makiri."
- - - Updated - - -
Author's Notes: Hey.
Last edited by VelspertheCat; January 17th, 2016 at 05:42 AM.
Spoiler:
Wakarimasen.
F/GO SUPPORT
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