บท 10: Chapter 10: Worms
Beta read by Shigiya, Darklord331
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-Homurahara Academy-
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Shirou was lost in thoughts, the teacher going off with the lesson while he absentmindedly gazed at the board with his mind recalling the memories from last night. The chimera monster from last night still haunted his thoughts ever since then.
More than that, he had a nightmare last night. The man's head looked at him in despair as he died in his last moment, while he just stood there unmoving… unable to do anything with his hands covered in blood. The same cries of help and roaring sound of fire came to his ears, Shirou felt like he walked in a circle and started out at the same spot again.
All his training, all his efforts, and attempts at becoming better at magecraft still couldn't let him save a single soul.
He clenched his teeth, furious at his own weakness, his ineptitude to properly assess the situation in time and take the man away from danger, instead, just wasted it by asking questions during a dangerous situation!
"Are you feeling well, Emiya?"
The boy's thoughts were interrupted by the teacher calling him. Looking up he saw the stoic face of his Japanese History teacher, Soichiro Kuzuki. The man stood in front of his desk with an open book and those empty eyes that felt like they held no feelings or emotions whatsoever gazing as they gaze down at him.
"Ah," Shirou noticed that in his anger, he accidentally broke his pen that was leaking black ink all over his paper. "S-Sorry about that."
"You got hurt," Kuzuki stated, watching the boy's bandaged hands and bruised eyes.
The boy nodded his head, "I had an accident at my part-time job yesterday… fell down the stairs."
From his fight, he suffered from a few broken ribs and fractured bones all over his body. The cuts stopped bleeding but they still stung a lot, though he used his emergency kit to patch himself up last night. The hardest part this morning aside from getting up from bed without feeling like his limbs haven't moved in years was hiding it from Taiga.
She would pass by his house to check up on him and mooch some of his food like usual. For someone like her, she was unusually attentive with the tiniest detail regarding his well-being, and even showing the slightest expression of pain on his face would make her a nightmare of a mother bear.
Or mother tiger, in her case.
Though the bruises on his face were impossible to hide, he had to think of an acceptable excuse.
'I don't think she believed me when I told her that I fell off the roof when trying to repair the satellite dish.' It was the best excuse he had for her.
Thankfully, his body managed to heal a bit overnight. The pain lessened considerably, enough for him to walk around and even to run a bit. He expected to fully heal in a few days… yet that was still far too long in his opinion.
The teacher stood there in silence for a few moments.
"Be careful out there." was all he said before he turned around and continued his class, Shirou cleaned out his desk, taking a deep breath and clearing his mind of any negative thoughts. He could wallow in his misery later, now the more pressing issue was about the monster itself.
Where did it come from?
Were there more of them?
If so, then the lives of many were in danger, every passing day meant the more lives being lost, and he couldn't accept it. They needed to be dealt with as soon as possible, it was his duty to protect the people of Fuyuki and he wouldn't fail a third time. His body would handle the pain and stress, no matter what.
Ring!
Ring!
The bell rang, marking the end of classes and his cue to leave. Without further delay, he grabbed his bag and walked away from the classroom, his face winced from the sting of his wounds, but he forced himself to ignore them.
"In one of Luvia's books, there is a passage about magecraft around healing spells. I can try to learn some, it would help me tremendously if I can accelerate my recovery." He said to himself.
As he continued to walk through the hall all by himself, Shirou stopped in his tracks when he found someone blocking. With a heavy frown and crossed arms, it was none other than Ayako.
"Emiya," She said curtly, her voice sounding dry and cold. "Going somewhere?"
He wondered what was up with her today, she would usually be all happy and cheerful. He would see her talk with Rin from time to time, those two got along better than he imagined. From how Luvia described Rin, it was a bit of a shock to him.
"Um… I'm going back home?" There was lots of preparation to be done for this night's patrol, from stocking up more magazines for his gun and preparing better padding for protection. Sure they were easily shredded last time, but it was better than not having them on.
Shirou also contemplated going through more of his father's collection of weaponry. Some of them were far too destructive to be used in an urban area and required a lot of planning in advance. Kiritsugu did say that these were just scraps compared to what he used to own, but they were the best tool he had on hand at the moment.
"Did you forget what day it is today?" Ayako said, her finger tapping on her arms.
Day? It was Friday the last time he checked. There weren't any major events or classwork. The clubs also closed… their… wait.
"This is the last day for all students to join a club…" he whispered, facepalming himself about how he could have forgotten something like that!
With everything that was going on lately, from his training and the appearance of the chimaera monster — this small piece of news completely slipped his mind. Worse, he now remembered having promised a certain someone to join their club and give them a chance to show its appeal.
A promise he was late by a few days.
"Yup, so you DO remember." She said, "By the way, did you get yourself beaten up again or what? You look terrible with that bruise on your face, and your hands as well. If today was October then I would have thought that you were disguising yourself as a mummy."
Her face came close by, which made Shirou a bit uncomfortable as he didn't make eye contact with her.
"Seriously, it definitely looks like you need to go see a doctor. Your eyes are all swollen and red, do you want me to bring you to the infirmary?"
He denied it, "No thank you, just a small accident I had while at work. I'll be fine, don't worry about me. And as for your club, can I just have a quick look for today? As you can see, I can't exactly try it out, so I'll just sit back and watch you practise for a bit."
Ayako's eyes sparkled intensely, she smiled and took his bag from him out of the blue. "O-Oi!" He called her out but she just waved at him to follow her.
"You look like shit. I'm helping you lessen any discomfort you might feel right now."
"I'm fine, I don't need anything like that. It's not like I broke my shoulders." Shirou explained, lying through his teeth.
Though his shoulders didn't get as damaged as his ribs and arms, he still felt pain. Ayako just ignored him and kept walking, he sighed and followed her through the school.
It felt weird, they barely knew each other yet she was already so nice to him. She was a lively person, a trait he noticed from the moment he talked to her the first time, though not Taiga's level of cheerfulness. Still, why go to such a length to have him join the archery club when he had no talents to show whatsoever?
'Maybe the answer is simpler than I'm willing to admit…'
The girl gave him the impression of being someone very friendly and approachable. She most likely wanted to just have him make friends with the other members and enjoy the club. Looking at the time on his watch, Shirou decided that he could spend a few minutes.
…
The archery club was located outside the main school building, near the track field. In his opinion, the inside was quite old-fashioned, wooden floors with even a shoji door. Shirou liked the general feel of the place, it reminded him of his own home with the traditional Japanese theme they were going for.
There were already some students practising inside, wearing a white gi and black hakama. Many of these people he recognised as his seniors with the only freshmen being him and Ayako. A certain thought came to his head, did she perhaps insist that he come here because there were no other people her age?
"Hey everyone, I brought in the friend I was talking about last time. He's interested in joining the club and wants to see us in action!" Ayako shouted.
"I was more or less dragged against my will over here," Shirou whispered, making her laugh as she heard his words.
"Oh cheer up, it's not like I'm stopping you from going away."
"You still have my bag." He said, gazing at the item she held behind her back.
The others joined the conversation, welcoming him to the club and showing the bot around the building.
"What happened to you, newbie? You look like you've fallen inside a blender or got hit by a truck or something." A boy who introduced himself as Morimoto Tadao spoke.
"Nothing serious, I just got injured at work." He gave the same explanation as he did with Ayako.
"Oh, already working a job already? I can respect that!" Tadao continued with the tour of the place. "Anyways, this is the main hall where we practise our skills every day, you can come here at any time you want. The bows, arrows and other equipment are all located at the back of the storage room. If you don't find clothing that suits your size then talk with Ringo over there, she'll order something that you'll be comfortable with until we can get one in your size. Aside from that, we only have a few rules. First, don't leave your bow and arrows in the training area after you've finished using them. You're not allowed to leave this place while wearing your kyudo uniform as it can get dirty. And lastly, just have fun!"
With that said, the man left him alone and returned to his training.
Ayako soon returned wearing the same clothing as the rest but with a chest and shoulder leather guard. Carrying an enormous wooden bow that was probably as tall as her.
"Like the look? They're quite comfortable to be in, but it can get hot inside quite easily."
Shirou shrugged, as both headed to the training field as he sat behind and observed the redhead getting into position. Her smile fell as she now looked serious and had squinted eyes looking at the target in the distance.
"Ashibumi, Dozukuri…" he heard her whisper as she positioned feet to spread at the distance of one's arrow length. The bow and arrows were held at hip level and aimed toward the centerline of the body.
For some reason, he grew entranced by it. His eyes observed every single detail and twitch of her muscle and already spotted some minor imperfections in his opinion — her legs were too spread apart.
"Yagamae."
She held her gloved hand just below the nocking area on the string and set it up in the groove at the base of the thumb, then laid the first two-three fingers across the thumb. Proceeding to then slide the thumb up the string until it met the arrow and then used a slight inward torque of the hand to hold the arrow in place. Her eyes then looked at the target with a calm, half-closed stare. She was focusing for a few seconds before moving on.
"Right… here we go. Uchiokoshi."
Ayako took a deep breath and held it in as the bow was raised straight with the nocked arrow. She raised it to a point where the hands are just above the head and the arms are at a steep angle. She tried to relax her arms and chest, but he spotted some light shaking. "Hikiwake," There was too much force out inside the action of pulling string as she drew the arrow till the redhead's gloved hand reached her face, she was overdoing it which was affecting her form.
"Kai," her back arched slightly as she prepared herself to release the arrow. "Hanare!" If everything before was the preparation for the final result, then hanare could be considered the move that set everything in motion. Using the feedback from the previous steps, like a rock hitting a flint, it would only spark with proper technique and speed which happened as the arrow went sailing through the air, going straight for the three-ringed target.
"Zanshin," Ayako kept her body still, not moving a muscle from the form she used to fire.
Fwish!
Thunk!
It hit the third ring, but close enough to the centre that she could have gone for the second black ring if her aim was better.
"Woah!"
Everyone was impressed, including Shirou as he clapped for her along with the rest. This demonstration ended up being more interesting than he expected at first. The words she was whispering in the beginning, they were basically steps that she needed to perform in order to perform a perfect shot. If one were flawed, then she wouldn't hit the centre consistently no matter how good her luck was. It reminded Shirou of his projection, how it worked, and the steps he created to make it easier for him.
"Hehehe, thanks, you don't need to applaud." Ayako laughed, getting bashful at the attention.
He remembered her words from when he brought her to Copenhagen, about wanting to become the best archer and come first in the national tournament. Such a goal wouldn't be easy, but if she continued to work hard, he honestly believed she could do it.
Just as he was about to talk, another sound of someone clapping their hands came from the door. Turning his head, Shirou saw Tohsaka Rin standing there with a large smile on her face. Many were surprised by her presence, including Ayako who had her eyes widened.
"Did you finally accept my offer to join as well!?" She exclaimed excitedly, though that died as Rin shook her head.
"Fufufu, no I'm afraid archery isn't really my thing. I don't have the strength or skill for just a strenuous activity." Her laugh sounded angelic to the rest of the people in the room.
Many of the boys straightened their backs as they drew their bows to catch her attention as some unconsciously arranged their hair to look presentable. They weren't alone as the girls went over and started chatting with her, complimenting her looks, and so on. She already became a semi school idol in such a short amount of time that he couldn't help but muse about what Issei's reaction would be like.
'It's really hard to imagine someone like this being called a brute by Luvia.' he thought to himself.
He wondered if she knew about this monster last night and whether or not she had any clues to their origin. If tonight did not prove to be fruitful then he would approach her tomorrow. His decision to stay anonymous be damned if it caused the death of more people, furthermore, Rin didn't seem like a bad person to him. She wouldn't just start plotting to kill him for no reason, he was no skilled Magus who had anything to hide. He didn't even have a true workshop in the first place.
The brunette retrieved a notebook from her bag and handed it over to Ayako. "You forgot this in class, I guessed since I was close by enough to give it to you."
"Oh! I completely forgot about it! Thank you so much! My mom would have killed me for losing my things, again."
"No problem, it wasn't muc—" she stopped talking when looking to the side where she saw Shirou sitting in the background. "Emiya-kun?"
"Um, hey there, Tohsaka." He greeted her.
"Hey… I didn't expect to see you here. Did you join the club?"
"I guess so," Ayako's smile grew wider. "I was just invited to check out the place for a few minutes, it's already late… so I'll have to leave." There was one last thing he wanted to do before going back home, and he would be late if he didn't hurry up.
"I see… see you on Monday then. Oh, and Ayako, be careful when walking outside, there have been some reports of crime going on late at night so if possible, don't take any risks by going home late."
Shirou stopped while halfway out of the door, his eyes twitching when he heard those words.
"Danger? Ha! I can take care of myself from some no-good street thugs. I'm more worried about you, with that look you're more likely to be targeted. How about this, since you're worried about me and the same can be said for you, why don't we walk back together? I don't remember the last time we ever did something like that."
Rin made an uncomfortable face, "I'm… not sure about that. I have somewhere to be…"
"No problem, if you're in a hurry then let's just leave right now! Let me get changed first." Without giving the girl any time to reply, she ran for the changing room while he left as well — not before glancing back at Rin. It was clear to him that something was worrying her, it must have been the monster case.
'I hope I won't be too late again tonight.'
{Break}
-Homurahara middle school-
The one thing he wanted to do before heading back home was to meet someone who he hadn't been talking to as much as before. Since he was no longer in middle school and she was in her last year.
He waited outside, patiently searching for her through the crowd of students walking out of the gates. He waited for about 5 minutes till he spotted a distinct blue head sticking out of the sea of people.
She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, looking downwards and lost in her thoughts. He felt bad about how no one tried to become her friend, she was a great person yet to see her alone like that did make him feel sad.
"Sakura," he called her, the girl jumping in fright at the unexpected familiar voice behind her.
"S-Senpai?"
Seeing her eyes gain some light to them was nice, making her seem more lively than before. Ever since his argument with Shinji, there was this tension between them which he could understand. The boy was still her brother no matter what, and given the kind of person Sakura was… it didn't surprise that she didn't approve of his actions for what he did before.
Did he regret it?
No, not one bit.
That one friend he made in the past who would always look out for him despite his rude behaviour was gone. A fact that even he had a hard time to accept. What made him become so dismissive and violent toward Sakura to begin with was something he did not know.
"W-What are you doing here…?" She asked.
"Well, I was walking nearby and just decided to spend some time with you. It's been a while since we've talked together and we no longer see each other as often as before. You could say I missed hanging out with you… are you perhaps busy? I can leave if yo—"
"—No!" Sakura replied intensely, surprising himself and a few students around them. "I-I-I also missed you… senpai." She whispered quietly, blushing fiercely from her words.
Shirou couldn't stop himself from smiling, still the same shy girl who always had a hard time expressing herself. Maybe if he brought Issei along or just pulled the same move as Ayako by bringing the blue-haired girl to the club — she could make herself some other friends.
"You know, it's getting quite late right now and there is this worrying news about a criminal wandering the town. Let me accompany you home today." He offered.
Sakura blinked a few times, processing his words. Just as she was about to give him her reply, Shirou grabbed the bag from her hand
"Eh? S-Senpai!?"
"What are you waiting for? Come on, keep up." Shirou said, walking faster leaving the girl behind confused. He thanked Ayako in his mind for using this on him, Sakura would have probably declined his request but now she couldn't. It was a bit scummy, but he wanted to ensure she would reach her safe and sound place.
"Wait for me!"
Mission success.
{Break}
Fuyuki truly was a beautiful sight to see from an elevated point of view.
The lights from the city spread out below, creating a beautiful and sparkling scene. In the distance could be seen the setting sun, almost as if it was being pulled towards the earth. Shirou had to admit, it was a magnificent view that he enjoyed seeing.
For the last half an hour, both he and Sakura walked through the road leading toward the upper district of the city. Sakura's house was a bit more secluded than the rest, making the journey seem a bit long.
"How did you get hurt, senpai?" She asked.
He chuckled while scratching the back of his head, "Well it's kinda embarrassing, but I had a small accident at work today, Neko-san had a few boxes to stock and I happened to trip on the stairs while carrying them."
"Hmm," Sakura looked up at him, her eyes squinting suspiciously at his face. "You're very bad at lying, and you can't even look me in the eyes."
"Am I that predictable?"
"Yes, you are. But I've known you for a long time as well."
He couldn't help but chuckle at her response.
"I see… I guess I should tell you the truth after all." He chuckled once more.
"Are you okay?" Sakura asked again, sensing his uneasiness.
"Yeah, it's not that serious... Just got into a fight yesterday."
She gasped, "What!? Was it those street gangs that hurt you?"
"No, nothing like that. Don't worry, it won't happen again." He lied again, the chances of him making it out of another fight without any sort of injuries was close to zero. Unless he knew the exact location and time of the attack, then he could come up with something to take down his enemy without risking his life. Kiritsugu's arsenal and tools were made specifically to deal with opponents at long range.
Shirou wouldn't call himself an expert marksman, but he was confident enough to land a shot a kilometre away without reinforcing his eyes.
"You make me worry about you, senpai. Normally I would always have to make sure that you don't miss out school and get some sleep for once. But now I have to worry about you getting beaten up as well? How did Fujimura-san react to this? I don't believe she would let you off of the hook so easily."
How could he explain it to her?
"I… kinda lied to her and hid most of my wounds. She was too distracted by the food to notice but I feel like that won't last long since everyone as school saw my state and came up with ridiculous stories behind them." He said, feeling frustrated over how he basically dug his own grave. Trying to hide most of his injuries was harder than he expected.
Thankfully, he was getting better by the hour. His muscles no longer felt sore like in the morning and his cuts stopped stinging him. For as long as he could remember, he had a tendency to heal a bit faster than normal. But that died down as he got older, until now…
"Sakura, how are things with Shinji?" He asked, wanting to change the subject.
"...He's been acting a bit distant lately."
That made him sigh in relief, that was better than having Shinji mistreat his sister.
"Do you hate me for what I did?"
Sakura shook her head before smiling at him.
"I can't hate senpai as you were just looking out for me. Nii-sama isn't a bad person, he's just confused and will get better in time."
Shirou hoped so as well, he did not truly hate Shinji to such an extent. No matter what, he was still one of his first friends that approached him with good intentions. But he still deserved what came to him, Sakura may try to paint him in a good light by saying that he was in a bad mental place — but that still didn't justify him hitting her. There was no excuse for that.
"He's been avoiding me at school, even Issei talked to him more frequently than me. I see him from time to time trying to flirt with Tohsaka and other girls." Sakura twitched slightly when hearing that name, though the reaction went unnoticed by Shirou. "I tried to talk to him a few times, but he either pushes past me or runs away."
"You did punch him in the face, he's scared of you." She stated.
"... I guess so. But avoiding me at all times won't help him, so it's better he gets over his fear sooner or later." He was willing to apologise for Sakura's sake, if that made her happy then he had no reason to not do it.
"I don't want to see you two fighting, even back home I hear him screaming in anger whenever he talks about you." There was sadness in her voice.
The redhead sighed, knowing that he would have to find a way to resolve this issue as soon as possible.
"I'll talk to him on Monday. I'll change him down if I have to but we'll talk things out once and for all."
"Thank you, senpai!"
As they continued talking, the Matou Mansion soon came into view. Shirou marvelled at how giant the place was, but that's where his fascination ended. The European architecture inspired mansion was ancient, with green moss covering most of its walls, overgrown grass, faded paint and even some broken windows. It gave off an uneasy feeling to him, like a haunted house filled with monsters.
Aside from this one mansion, there was nothing else around it but an endless canopy of green nature and mountains. It was probably the quietest place in all of Fuyuki and the oldest in the area.
They stopped in front of the rusted gates, not taking a step forward.
"It was fun talking with you, senpai. But it's time for me to go inside, I'll visit you tomorrow." She said meekly.
Shirou looked around the area, it was more rundown now that he had a closer look, almost like it no one lived here anymore. It felt and looked abandoned at best, making him wonder how anyone could live here. This was the first time he accompanied Sakura to her house, his father made sure to never come anywhere near here.
"Hmm," something felt very odd to his senses… like he was being watched.
As he saw her go through the gates and towards the wooden door of the mansion, he remembered the two school bags he carried — one which Sakura forgot to take back.
"Sakura—!"
Bzzt!
He took a step forward, the moment his foot landed inside the area that ominous feeling inside of him worsened. He sensed the presence of a bounded field, his head unconsciously using structural analysis as his hands touched the girl's shoulders and detected a… thing that made his heart skip a beat. His stomach flipped, forcing him to almost gag from disgust.
Cling!
The door opened, much to Sakura's horror a single person came walking out with a walking cane. He was an unfamiliar old man with unnaturally dark sharp eyes and a presence that didn't match his small body. Perhaps it was the difference in decades they've lived that gave Zouken a sort of dignity and aura around him which made the boy feel like he was being pressured by an unknown force.
"Oh, I never thought you would come here, Emiya's successor."
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, Harry Potter and my 3 other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post monthly commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.
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