Chapter 5: 5
The Distance Between Them
The bone-chilling wind howled as it washed over him.
His steely gaze peered out from the top of a hill into the blizzard. A sense of unfamiliarity of his surroundings crept upon him as he stared out at the endless expanse of snow and hills. A perplexed expression subtly etched itself onto his face as he attempted to comprehend his situation.
Something in the back of his mind whispered that he belonged here, but he knew it was wrong.
He knew what things should look like.
He knew where things should be.
And things did not seem what they look like and where they should be.
He closed his eyes and exhaled a frosty breath.
A feeling gnawed at him the longer he stood. With each passing moment he slowly gained a better understanding of his current circumstance. His mind pieced together the picture before he fathomed his situation.
He opened his eyes and stared up at the lone crescent moon that bathed the snowy wasteland in its lunar light.
"You are indeed…"
"…a fool."
The mangled, disembodied voice vanished away like smoke in the wind.
I slowly roused as a gentle hand nudged my shoulder. My eyes blearily opened as I pulled away from the desk. One of the first things I noted was an irritating headache and a dull pain from the back of my neck.
How long was I asleep?
"Good morning Shirou," a voice greeted me softly.
I rubbed my face with both hands to rid myself of my grogginess.
"Morning… Pyrrha," my muffled voice came through my hands.
"Long night I'm guessing?" She mused as she sat down next to me. "To think I woke up to you yesterday morning already at work. Now I'm greeted to the sight of you passed out at your desk. I hope this doesn't become a habit with you Shirou," she teased.
I yawned into my hand. "Well… I suppose if it means that the first thing I get to see is you then it can't be all that bad…"
"…"
Pyrrha became oddly silent at my reply.
Setting aside her speechlessness, I looked at my desk and was appalled at the disorganized mess. There were books scattered everywhere. Papers and folders haphazardly shoved into a corner. I took a moment to organize everything into a semi-organized state.
After clearing the desk, I found my scroll and turned it on. The screen indicated that there were no new messages with a big bold zero. A soft click of my tongue, I turned it off and stowed it away. "So – I guess I'm the last one to wake up?" I asked conversationally.
She blinked with a slight turn of her head. "Indeed," nodded Pyrrha. "Ren and Nora woke up not too long ago. They should be almost finished cleaning up by now."
"I suppose I better get going and clean myself up. Wouldn't want to keep the beast that's Nora's stomach waiting now do we?" I tossed her a small grin.
"No," she followed in step. "No we shouldn't.
She tilted her head slightly to the side. There was a curious expression that searched for something. I glanced away from her to gather my belongings and made my way out of the room.
For a brief moment, I wondered what was on her mind.
"Well I shouldn't be too long," I said. "So when Ren and Nora get back, tell them to be ready to head out once I'm done."
The redhead smiled, "Sure thing Shirou."
"Thanks," I threw a casual wave over my shoulder as I exited.
Walking down the hallway, I rubbed my neck. The headache I felt earlier had somewhat subsided by now, but the ache still persisted. Maybe a hot shower would do the trick to alleviate this irritation. As I found myself alone in my thoughts, I couldn't help shake off the weird feeling that began to creep up from my spine.
I was unsure if I had a dream or if I had been talking to myself. But I swore that I heard a person talking. No – rather it felt they had commented on something.
When I attempted to recall the dream – my mind drew a blank.
"Ha…" I sighed tiredly.
I chalked up whatever I felt was due to unrest and shelved it to the side. I would simply deal with it at another date…
"Ergh-!" Groaned Nora as she stretched her back. "That was such a loo-ng class today! It's a good thing that was the only one we had for today because I am exhausted!"
Ren shared the same sentiments. "I must agree that this class was particularly grueling compared to the others. Heavy on the course work while rather light on any practical work."
The first and only class of the day with Professor Peach had just finished. It was a rather lengthy class as it started in the morning shortly after breakfast and finished well into the afternoon. And considering Nora's personality, I could not fault her. It must've been boring for her to sit there listening to a lecture and taking notes.
Since my arrival and being greeted to my team. I was beginning to get a solid grasp on my teammates' personalities and their quirks.
Nora, the ever cheery and happy-go-lucky girl of the team. She had a vibrant personality to match her rather spontaneous tendencies. Although after the incident with Cardin, belying that sugary sweet exterior was a menacing, and admittedly, terrifying protective wrath that gave me some measure of caution.
Then over on the opposite end of the spectrum was Ren. The quiet, consummate professional that embodied the essence of stoic. The way he conversed and acted revealed a lot about his logical and efficient personality. He had the patience of Buddha with how he dealt and managed Nora on a daily basis. I could only surmise that he gained it from years of being around her.
And last, but certainly not least was my partner.
I snuck a glance at Pyrrha and caught her waving to the other students we passed by in the hallway. For me, it was beginning to become part of the norm with her popularity. Everywhere we walked, there were always groups of people whispering and talking avidly about her.
Nevertheless, from my standpoint, it didn't affect her all that much. She took it in stride being composed and collected. And after witnessing her stand up in Doctor Oobleck's class, she also had a sense of righteousness to boot. She stood up for what she believed was right and refused to budge. And even after being focused with ire, she spoke patiently and modestly without needing to stoop to belittling.
The whispers in the background grew. It became so loud it tore me from my own musings. How big of a celebrity was Pyrrha? I was normally not the type to necessarily pry into someone's own private life and background, but with how incessant it was becoming. I was starting to think otherwise and thought about taking a page out from my old man.
"At least we're free to do as we please for the rest of the day; right Shirou?" Pyrrha's voice cut through.
"I wouldn't exactly say that," I replied.
"Oh? Do you have something planned," she asked.
"Mhm," I nodded. "I'm not exactly sure how…" I paused to find the right words. "Teams and things are supposed to be managed, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to get started right away with some team training. Besides, I read ahead that the academy plans some sort of team assessment and use that to determine whether we are eligible or ineligible for the first round of missions."
Ren rubbed his chin in thought. "I must agree with you Shirou. It would be prudent for us to begin our training together to stay ahead of the other teams. Even though we are all working together, we also must look out for ourselves and teams."
"Yeah, yeah! Not to mention that the Vytal Festival is this year and it's coming to Vale!" added Nora.
"Vytal Festival?" I murmured with an arched eyebrow.
"Uh… yeah? You know… the super big important festival that only happens like… once every two years? The gathering of all four kingdoms and their teams to show off? And that this year, Vale will be hosting it this time?" Nora gave me a queer glance.
"Err- yeah! Sorry, it must have slipped my mind you know?" I chuckled awkwardly towards the end and scratched the back of my head.
I cursed myself with that slip. How could I know about something like that when I hadn't even read that part of this world's history yet! I was still trying to desperately catch up with learning their system that I hadn't bothered with its cultural history.
"It's alright," I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder from Pyrrha. "You're focused on us as a team so it's understandable. Plus we shouldn't be looking too far ahead after all we need to focus on the present."
I returned a smile of relief. This evening, I would divide up my time to inform myself about what the Vytal Festival was.
"Thanks," I gave her a reassuring look. "So is anyone opposed to starting today or…?"
"No," Pyrrha answered with a shake of her head. "I think we're all looking forward to training together as a team right guys?" She turned to the other two who both nodded their heads in agreeance. "So what do you have in store for us?"
"Hmm… how about we begin with something simple?"
"A sparring match?" said Pyrrha with a hand on her hip. "Against… you?"
She along with the rest of the team changed out of their uniforms and into their accustomed attire for our first training session. Looking at them in their personal outfits dawned upon me that I needed to get my own attire one of these days and get out of wearing the uniform. I was beginning to long for my baseball shirt, jeans, and jacket.
Setting aside my jacket and rolling up my sleeves, I nodded to her. "If I am being frank with you, I'm just going with what I feel is best. While I do have experience in… leading other people. I never actually had to do it under these circumstances. But it is what it is, so hopefully this will be a rather productive learning experience for all of us."
The only thing I was really in charge of was the Archery Club. However since that only consisted of me and one other person, I wasn't so sure if that really counted as me being a leader. Although then again, I did most of the leg work in managing the other clubs for Julian so there was that.
Pyrrha stepped forward with a hand on her chest. "If you'd like I would happily volunteer to-"
"Ah," I cut her off. "It's fine. I'm confident that I can handle all of you."
She blinked and so did the rest of the team. Pyrrha crossed her arms underneath her chest. "Is that so Shirou?"
A small, devilish grin danced on her lips. I had unknowingly ignited a fiery competitive spirit within not only my partner, but for Nora and Ren too.
I grinned at the sight and prodded some more. "Oh… I know so." Her green eyes intensified, she wanted me to eat those words and then some. "So with that said, first up is you Ren."
He bowed his head in acknowledgement and stepped forward.
"Oh? Whatever happened to ladies first?" Pyrrha asked jovially. "And here I thought you would ask me to go first."
"Hmm… well don't you know Pyrrha?"
"What's that?"
"Save the best for last," I grinned with a closed eye wink.
"Flattery won't get you anywhere," she responded with a wink of her own.
"Ha," I rolled my eyes, "that wasn't my attention, but make of it what you will." Turning my attention back to Ren who stood patiently across from me. "Are you ready Ren?"
He nodded, "Am I to presume that we'll be following normal combat competition guidelines?"
"Yes, the settings have already been inputted into the console. The loser will be the one to drop below the minimum or is unable to continue."
"Very well," he concluded before readying himself with his weapons.
Although the match with Cardin was informative and granted me insight with how Aura worked. I still wanted to learn more. The magus side of me wanted to find out the inner workings of their system. While reading was one thing, experiencing it was another.
A part of me reasoned I could simply ask around, but that would lead to one thing into another with people being suspicious. And considering my circumstances, it was best if I kept a low profile.
"Trace, on."
The hammer cocked back and fired. Kanshou was projected onto my waiting right hand and the handle was grasped. A familiar weight was settled in and I flourished a swing to the side to announce that I was ready.
Ren held a stony expression that was mirrored with my own. We waited patiently for each other to make the first move. Even though we both witnessed each other fight in Goodwitch's class yesterday, neither of us budged to begin the fight. He had a sense about my strength after the thrashing Cardin received and was wary with fully committing. So it made sense for him to bear some level of caution and wait for my approach.
I admittedly, and unashamedly, went overboard on Cardin to show him the sheer gap between us. However with Ren, I wanted to limit myself before I resorted to anything drastic.
A shift of my right foot to the side instantly made Ren tense up. He withheld from firing and brought his pistols up to sight.
With a quick inhale and exhale, I reinforced my legs a bit and rushed in.
He doubled back immediately and opened fire with both pistols predicting where I would stop. I smashed down with both feet and arrested my momentum to flip backwards from the spray of bullets. The stream of metal followed me from the ceiling and the moment I landed, I shifted into a defensive stance to deflect his attack.
Slashing and cutting furiously, my arm and eyes were reinforced to keep up with his onslaught. The bullets slammed into Kanshou and to no avail did not meet the purchase. All the bullets were either sliced or redirected before the last one pinged off to the side.
Silence followed and Ren's eyes narrowed.
"No way…" whispered Nora.
"Impressive," muttered Pyrrha.
His body shifted to the right while his eyes glanced to the left. He thumbed the magazine release on both pistols as he prepared to reload while dashing to the side.
A quick glance to Kanshou and I saw that the sword sported a few nicks here and there along the edge. After surviving that attack it realistically only suffered superficial damage. Although even with reinforcement, I wouldn't dare to test getting hit by any of those dust rounds.
Ren took a step to the left and feigned as if he were about to dash to the right. But rather than follow through, he darted to the left immediately.
I tracked his movement easily. His eyes widened as I countered his positioning. His simple trick failed and he barely dodged away from the sword that swung for his neck. At the drop of a hat, he went down low to the ground with only the tail end of his hair suffering the brunt of the attack.
His right pistol flashed upwards to cut into an opening.
My left hand snapped out and caught the upper receiver.
"Hn."
Presented with an opportunistic moment. I went for the slide release to disable one of his pistols. Ren quickly reacted by swiping with his other pistol. Kanshou parried away the attack while at same time my foot slammed into his chest that sent him flying away to the other side of the room.
He skidded across the ground before graciously flipping up and landing on his feet like a nimble cat.
I sped toward in motion for a thrust.
He parried upward sending the telegraphed attack away. My hand flipped the sword and brought it back down, forcing him to move his arms away to avoid them getting hit.
He spun on his heel and connected a roundhouse kick that I blocked with my left arm.
I shoved his leg away and jabbed at his heart with my sword. He deflected the jab and countered with a swing of his own. We exchanged a multitude of blows in the span of a heartbeat. An attack for an attack. A counter for a counter. And a parry for a parry.
We were locked in a deadly tango of blades and fists.
My feet shifted into a stance, I flushed prana into my circuits, and shoulder charged into his guard.
"Grhk-!"
He was caught off guard by the reckless attack that forced him away that ended the stalemate we fell into.
I offered no reprieve and was already oppressing him with Kanshou.
His left pistol locked with my sword and the other pistol aimed for my open guard. Seeing another open opportunity, I made the same move as before.
Ren narrowed his magenta eyes. Foreseeing what was about to happen, he pulled away in fear of getting caught again. His attention was pulled away for only a moment, but that was all I needed as I rolled my wrist and relieved him of his other pistol.
The weapon was sent careening off to the side.
He sharply gasped and used both hands to grip his last pistol to hastily defend from a downward blow. I nearly shattered his guard as I felt him struggle against my reinforced strength.
I brought up my leg for a kick. He pushed away with his blade to create spacing for himself. He crossed his arms in front of his chest expecting a front snap kick. Pivoting on the heel of my left foot. I slammed my right leg into him with a roundhouse kick. Unable to react, Ren took the hit straight into his left temple.
Through experience, Ren softened the blow by following my momentum. Despite his best attempt, it didn't stop him from tumbling across the concrete floor harshly. He unceremoniously came to a stop, far less graceful this time, and scrambled to get up.
Throwing the blade in my hand, I traced another Kanshou and rushed to him.
Ren made to deflect the thrown sword, but was surprised when it disappeared in front of his face. For an instant, it obscured his vision. During that split second, Ren made the critical decision of mashing his magazine release and reloaded. He misjudged how much time he had and how fast I could cross the distance.
I swiped across and sent his last pistol went flying from his grasp.
Flipping Kanshou into a reverse grip. The tip of the blade sailed downward for a stab, but to my amazement it was stopped by his hands. Between the sword and his hands was a force field that materialized before my eyes. It pulsed as I struggled to pierce the barrier.
"Tch…"
I glared in annoyance at his last ditch effort to defend himself. Even when I pressed down with both hands, the barrier held strong.
"Grrh-!" Ren growled behind gritted teeth.
We were caught in another stalemate in our attempts to overpower each other.
Ren made the first move by latching onto my right wrist with his left hand and twisted to force me to release my grip. He assumed he could relieve me of my weapon like how I did to him. Willingly letting go, I allowed it to disappear and gave him a false sense of confidence. He saw an opening and took it.
His hand gripped my sword while my left hand latched onto his wrist holding my hand.
Wrenching my right hand away, I willed the copy I projected away and his face faltered in shock at the sight of the sword disappearing. So surprised at it vanishing that he reeled back when I punched him straight in the cheek. I hold onto him with a grip of steel and made another Kanshou to hold it against his neck.
He looked at me in bewilderment at the predicament he found himself in. There was a momentary bit of struggle as he tried to pull away, but with a blade ready to bite. It quickly became clear to him that there was no way for him to claw back from the jaws of defeat.
Accepting the outcome, Ren relaxed and bowed his head in concession.
"Ren!" cried out Nora. She sprinted to him, almost knocking down her partner in the process as he coddled him. "Are you ok? Are you bleeding anywhere? Do I need to take you to the hospital?"
Flushed in embarrassment, Ren waved her worries away. "Nora! Nora, I'm fine. I'm okay, I'm not really hurt." He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back a little so that she could see that he was indeed okay. "See? My Aura protected me from any damage."
"Yeah," I murmured in agreement. "It sure did."
Aura was certainly more than what I expected. The first kick that I made to his chest should have, at the very least, bruised his ribs if not shattered them. The second kick to the side of his head only dazed him when it should have knocked him out if not more. Of course he still reeled in from the pain, but other than that he was physically fine.
No marks of damage or anything.
"How fascinating…" I mumbled.
Their method of protection was certainly more practical than reinforcement. Ren didn't have to carefully measure how much Aura he needed to input to protect himself. Rather it was like a second skin, absorbing strikes that would incapacitate any normal person and boosted his own strength when fighting.
Meanwhile – reinforcement required the magus to intimately know the precise amount of magical energy a particular object could endure. Enhance too much and I risked damaging my body. Enhance too little and it would have no effect. It was only due to years of familiarity and practice that allowed me to push reinforcement to its absolute limit.
"You're a pretty crafty fighter Ren," I complimented. "You almost deceived me a couple of times with your deception tactics. You're perceptive in sleight-of-hand techniques to fool the person into anticipating what you're about to do, but to a well-trained eye. You are rather… open; for lack of better words."
"Open?" he parroted.
"Hmm… while you know to keep your emotions in check. Your eyes are rather telling with what you are about to do. You look around a lot especially when you're looking to move to another spot," I explained.
"I see," he introspected. "I never knew that my eyes would be a dead giveaway. I'll have to rectify that the next time we fight. Thank you Shirou. Although if I may ask, how'd you know?"
"Hah," I chuckled and looked away.
Archer was the very embodiment of stoicism. He utilized his vast experience he gained from his servitude to overcome opponents by hiding his emotions, concealing his steps, and frustrating his opponents by any means possible; be it with words or actions.
He knew how to play the game better than anyone and with the card in my hands…
"Experience," I surmised with a shrug.
Ren coughed into his hand to clear his lungs. "I see… this has been quite informative."
I flashed a small grin.
It was indeed informative in more ways than one. I knew what to look out for with Aura, what its potential was, and how it felt to fight it.
"Go rest up Ren," I patted his shoulder. "It's Nora's turn now and I don't think you'll want to be anywhere near when the fighting goes down. Same goes for you Pyrrha," I turned to her. "Would you mind helping him out?"
"Gladly," she said with a smile.
I went back to his discarded his weapons and returned it to him. By the time I walked back into the combat rea, Nora was already raring to go. I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes at her choice of armament. A hammer that was as tall and menacing as she was. The way she gripped it threateningly with a glint in her eyes made me arch an eyebrow.
"I'm ready to tussle Shirou!" she said with enthusiasm.
"Yeah," I huffed, "You sure are."
Pyrrha observed the spar with earnest from the sidelines with Ren sitting down next to her.
Now that she was closer to the action, her eyes began to pick up small details that she missed during Shirou's match with Cardin. Every action, movement, and tendencies he made had started to unravel the person known as Shirou Emiya.
Like what Weiss had commented that day on his match. He played a dangerous game of leaving himself exposed while prepared to unleash a devastating counterattack. It boiled down to a game of chicken where Shirou dared his opponent to strike him, bait them into position, and then immediately pounce with a vicious counter.
"Frightening isn't it?" Ren noted softly from the ground.
"Which one? Nora or Shirou?"
The arena shook each time when Nora's hammer smashed into the ground.
"I'm inclined to say both, but more so Shirou."
"How so?" Her eyes peeled away from the fight, seeking an explanation from him.
"You must've noticed it by now haven't you Pyrrha?" Ren gestured to their leader as he barely dodged Nora's swing before answering with a lethal swipe.
Pyrrha picked up on Ren's reference to Shirou's wild and absurd style.
"I didn't really think Weiss said was all that right until I fought him and to tell you the truth? His style is crazy if not borderline suicidal." He continued. "I made the mistake of assuming him to be a technical fighter like you and I. Despite what it looks like, he's a deceitful fighter; there were openings everywhere that were too obvious."
"And that's how he got you," concluded Pyrrha. "You took the bait and fell into his trap."
The ground rumbled as Nora's hammer smashed into it, pulverizing the concrete into fine powdered dust. Most normal, sane individuals would attempt to steer clear of such an overbearing weapon wielded by Nora; but not Shirou.
He was crazy enough to actually match his opponent blow for blow. The arena shook with every clash their weapons made. Shirou's small sword was deceptive in its stature as it not only withstood the hammer's blow, but managed to beat it back.
If Shirou used skill and deception against Ren then he was utilizing strength and speed to match Nora.
"He's resourceful at creating and using opportunities no one would ever imagine…"
The two sat on edge as Nora brought her hammer downward to smash Shirou into the ground like a nail. He dodged it at the last second by hopping to the side. The hammer cratered the ground with ease. Shirou raised his foot and stomped down just below the head of the hammer. The encumbering weapon's weight was forcefully shoved into the ground deeper, lodging it in place as Nora tried pulling it free to no avail.
Shirou's body twisted in one motion. His sword sped for her neck.
Nora squeezed the trigger that exploded the hammer upwards, sending him flying over her head as the hammer was freed. She spun on the heel of her foot and gave chase.
"It's rather jarring if you ask me. The lightning quick speed and aggression puts you on edge which distracts you from the powerful strikes that follow up. He keeps you guessing even when you think you have the upper hand."
"And that's why you lost…" mused Pyrrha.
It was a statement, rather than a question.
"Yes," he admitted with no shame. "You're right and it's why Nora will lose this fight as well."
Ren said it with such finality that it prompted a reaction from her.
His eyes glued onto Shirou's form as he savagely deflected a thunderous blow and grabbed the shaft of the hammer. His arm jerked back and forced Nora to take on two strikes directly before she managed to overpower him to retreat.
"It's not like I don't believe in Nora. A side of me wants to believe that she can still win. However, the logical part of me vehemently disagrees." Ren's words were full of guilt, as if he was betraying his partner by speaking them. "Shirou's willing to sacrifice ground and himself if it means he'll gain an advantage later on. He's influencing events now that will impact the future later."
Nora swung her hammer repeatedly to land a solid hit on the openings that Shirou left for her. Every attack she sent was either dodged or blocked, and she was punished severely as a blow knocked a portion of her Aura away. He used his greater speed to his advantage and conserved his strength when it was needed. The action never stopped as they traded blows.
Shirou skidded to a stop and blocked a fierce blow that he could've dodged.
The hammer wielding girl smirked at the sight of the black sword being shattered.
However – the moment of victory was fleeting. As soon as it was gone, a replacement immediately took its place. He kept up with his momentum and thrusted his blade into her abdomen. It rocketed her back to the other side of the room and crashed into a wall.
"He baited her," stated Ren.
Pyrrha fully agreed with the opinion that Shirou's style was suicidal. He risked himself and his weapon to gain an otherwise impossible strike. He gambled dangerously that would have costed him the fight, but that wasn't the case. He now reaped the fruits of his labor as Nora charged into him wildly.
Her face, what was once jovial and cheerful, had soured into frustration and annoyance. All the precious ground that Nora worked for had disappeared in an instant. Now she was back to square one while being on the back foot.
"Seeing as how I've known her since we were but small children. I can tell you that Nora is extremely frustrated right now," said Ren.
"Grrr-RRAHHH!" the ensuing roar backed up his case.
Shirou responded by simply dashing away as Nora swung wildly with all her might.
Even though he had yet to say a single word throughout the fight. His actions deliberately insulted Nora. He stoked the flames of her ire by sacrificing several more swords while staying within arms' reach of her weapon.
Pyrrha glanced up at the Aura boards. Shirou's meter had yet to budge an inch while Nora's was dangerous close to the red zone. Just before she turned away, Shirou's name bar twitched. Questions marks replaced the letters briefly before it fixed itself. The exchange happened so quickly that had she blinked, she would have missed it.
"Ren – did you see that?" Her face puzzled in confusion at the strange glitch.
"See what?"
Her eyes continued to stare at the board, daring it to repeat the action once more. It stayed unchanged in the following moments. "Never mind, I suppose it was my imagination."
Ren gave her an odd look before turning his attention back to the fight.
The match between Shirou and Nora was soon reaching its conclusion. By now Shirou had shepherded Nora into a corner as her movements became sloppy. The weight of the hammer betrayed its wielder over the course of the fight. Her chest heaved in exhaustion with sweat matting her forehead.
Shirou on the other hand appeared indifferent. He looked the same as he did when the fight started even though he had just fought Ren previously; he had impressive stamina that was for sure.
Nora flexed her arms and twisted her body before swinging. The massive hunk of metal pushed the air out of the way as she roared with all her might.
Shirou muttered something as he stepped into the charge.
A burst of power sprung forth as circuit lines flowed down from his arm and into the sword. He smashed his blade into the hammer causing an explosion of dust and smoke.
"Augh-!"
Nora rocketed out of the cloud, tumbling against the concrete floor harshly. Soon after, the smoke dissipated to reveal him standing in the smoke with Nora's weapon in his hands.
The conversation she had with Ren was informative. Two minds were better than one as he helped her analyze her opponent.
Pyrrha tightened the straps of her bracer in anticipation. With Nora's defeat, it was finally her turn to take a crack at her seemingly indomitable leader. A strong emotion surged in her heart at the sight of Shirou standing victorious in the arena by himself.
It invoked a strong sense of nostalgia.
The scenery felt reminiscent of when she would stand victorious over countless opponents in the Mistral Regional Tournament. The thrill of the fight, the excitement of combat, and the rush of adrenaline through her body. All of it came surging back to her as she believed she had finally found an opponent that could challenge her.
With a grin, she stepped forward.
"Looks like someone is eager to start." I glanced to Pyrrha as she strode towards Nora setting her hammer down next to her. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that patience is a virtue?"
"Well – no one in life ever got what they wanted by waiting around."
"I suppose so…"
I stretched out my arm and shook off the numbness from Nora's fight. Near the end, I decided to trade blows with Nora. It was terrifying how she can swing a hammer that probably weighed over a hundred pounds as if it were a toy. There were several close calls in that fight and if even one hit had managed to connect, the battle would have ended. That girl had the strength to rival a Berserker Class Card holder without a doubt.
"W-Whoa… did anyone get the number of flapjacks that hit me?"
I peered down to see Nora holding her head and refrained from chuckling. Of all things for her to say, of course Nora would use pancakes; it was something only she would say I suppose. Nora was already recovering if she could make that kind of joke.
"You ok Ren?" I turned to him.
"Yeah, I'm fine now after some rest. I'll be sure to look after Nora while you and Pyrrha go at it."
"Thanks."
I walked back out into the arena where a redhead stood waiting impatiently with her weapons drawn at the ready. She was eager to start the fight. Her green eyes intently stared into mine as she tracked every move I made. The anticipation she exuded was palpable.
"I guess it would be silly if I asked if you were ready," I said with some cheek.
"Indeed it would," she lid into her stance.
"Hm – alright then."
There was no need to ask; Pyrrha knew when the fight would start.
"Trace, on."
Pyrrha Nikos reigned in her features when the ground beneath Shirou's feet shattered as he vanished. A fast red blur approached her with speeds greater than she had ever encountered in her life before.
Through instincts honed from years in the arena, she blocked his sword effortlessly. The sword scraped against her shield as she thrusted out her spear in response.
Her lance stabbed nothing as Shirou dashed away.
Lowering her stance and raising her guard, she adjusted accordingly to match his blistering speed.
Her eyes tracked his form through narrowed slits. He rushed in once more, however this time she took the initiative to jab where he would be. She took advantage of her weapon's longer reach and thrusted a jab against Shirou. The attack was parried, forcing her shield arm up to block two consecutive thrusts aimed for her neck and chest.
The shield gonged out as she was pushed back with each hit. Her body twisted with the movement of her spear arm for a wide swing.
While thrusting was a core part of a lancer's style, swinging was also viable. With a longer reach, it allowed the wielder to discourage an enemy from dodging it by simply stepping back. If he chose to retreat, he would be dealt a severe cut to his stomach. If he risked stepping forward, Shirou would have to take the attack head on, resulting in a crushing blow.
His left hand snapped out and latched onto the shaft of her lance.
Learning from the experience of her other two teammates, she instantly reacted. She squeezed down on her handle to extend her lance further, doubling its length from one meter to two. The explosive extension freed the weapon from his vice-like grip. In response he rapidly struck out three times. Pyrrha, undeterred, blocked it with ease before he backed off.
Instead of allowing him space, she pressed on.
"Tch." He clicked his tongue.
She could not allow Shirou to control the pace of the fight.
She had foregone her usual style of transitioning between weapon forms and stuck to her lance. She held a distinct advantage over Shirou in all aspects of the fight. A longer reaching weapon to attack coupled with a sturdy shield to block any retaliation would win her the fight. Her lance could attack faster than his sword and her shield allowed her to dictate where he could hit her.
Shirou attempted to parry the blow aimed for his chest. But he was swept away along with his weapon by the sheer ferocity in her attack.
Pyrrha closely guarded herself leaving little to no openings when she struck out. Every time she thrusted, she simultaneously blocked to counter his immediate response.
Against an opponent that used a utilitarian and suicidal approach, there was no reason to use fancy footwork or flashy displays of technique. She knew from experience that such things would be punished by a person like Shirou. Against him, she would have to see through his trickery and plan further ahead than him.
The two fighters exchanged dozens of blows to each other in seconds. Every jab by her spear was filled with power and precision in an attempt to force him into submission. The edge of their weapons burning hot due to the constant clashes.
Subtly as the fight dragged on, Pyrrha began to weave her Semblance into their weapons.
Polarity – her innate ability that allowed her to manipulate the physical phenomena of magnetism.
The power she kept hidden that would earn her the title of The Invincible Girl.
With that ability in hand, she manipulated his weapon covertly so as to not arouse suspicion. An overextension here, an overpowered strike there, and a turn of his weapon before finally-!
"-!"
A resounding shatter like that of porcelain breaking filled the air!
The black sword in his hand was speared through by a straight thrust. She guided the sword in his hand into a vulnerable position. Utilizing magnetism to increase her weapon's velocity, she smashed through the object with ease and threw Shirou off balance.
His eyes narrowed. His expression stayed calm even when disarmed.
Her feet planted onto the ground firmly and in an instant, propelled herself forward. She could move fast enough before he had the chance to rearm himself!
Pyrrha struck for three spots; head, neck, and heart. Three shots to blow him away into defeat!
However-!
Her eyes widened. Her body moved before her mind registered what happened. She reflexively brought her shield up in time to block three attacks that forced her back. Just like Nora, the crucial ground that she worked so hard to gain was lost in the blink of an eye.
"What…?" she whispered in shock. "No way…"
She chastised herself for foreseeing that if he could summon one weapon then that also meant he could summon two.
Instead of just one sword, he now wielded two. A beautiful white sword that contrasted poetically with the black one. The Yin and Yang swords that he held was captivating in their beauty as she had never seen something so symbolic. They were a perfect fit for the boy who wielded them.
"You're a dual wielder…"
My eyes never strayed from Pyrrha as I adjusted my grip on Kanshou and Bakuya.
Pyrrha Nikos was something else entirely. It was foolish of me to even presume that one sword alone was enough to fight against someone like her. There was a certain gracefulness in her actions that allowed her to command the fight to her will without a single fault in her step. It was at such a level of skill that could only be attained through a combination of time, effort, and extraordinary talent.
She reminded me the traits of the Saber Class Card.
The speed, the strength, and the endurance; all of it – she had it in spades.
"If that's how it's going to be," I murmured.
Pyrrha blasted forward on the offensive once more by opening up with a spearhead thrust to my neck.
When I parried away her lance, she returned with even greater ferocity to prevent my follow up.
I weathered the rushing tide with a surreal calm. The married swords cut through the air as steel clashed on steel. They increased in rhythm and intensity without pause. The battle between us became a storm of steel with winds cutting down anything in its path.
She took a step back.
I took a step forward.
An instant turns into an eternity as we launched ourselves into the fray.
We exchanged with what felt like over a hundred clashes.
For every step I took, I lost a sword to her lance. When either sword was gone, another took its place instantly. Slowly but surely each clashed allowed me to force Pyrrha back one more step.
I bashed Kanshou straight towards her lance with such force that it recoiled her arm away.
The black short sword went through the motion for a horizontal swipe as a cover for the underlying thrust by the white sword. I stomped down my right foot forward to add torque to the attack, but her shield was already in position. All my attack accomplished was to blast her back to the other side of the room instead of piercing her guard. Pyrrha's feet slid against the ground leaving a trail of smoke as she dug her lance into the ground to arrest her momentum.
A lull seeped into the fighting as we stared at each other and used the moment to collect ourselves.
My gaze drifted to her weapons.
I had a clue as to how and why she was able to disarm me effortlessly. With each swing I made, the swords in my hands felt as if they were being influenced by an unknown force. They would always end up coming into contact with her own weapons in a less than favorable position.
From our bout, I could only assume that she was subtly weaving her special ability that was her Semblance. I narrowed it down to either a telekinetic or magnetic trait that assisted her. And by utilizing that intrinsic power, she could influence her weapons to go faster and hit harder while exposing mine to be weak and vulnerable.
I calmly breathed out.
Pyrrha was an incredibly irksome opponent to go against.
It was deceptively subtle. During the heat of battle, an opponent would chalk it off as error on their part, and not realize that it had been Pyrrha who was manipulating their weapons the entire time. Trial and error on my part allowed me to at least somewhat grasp the handle of the situation.
Kanshou and Bakuya's low tracing time and prana cost opened opportunities that would otherwise be restricted to others.
"Alright then," I whispered to myself.
If I was able to fight as a swordsman then I would switch to something else.
"What's the matter Pyrrha?" I called her out. "I expected better of you than this wait-and-see approach. What happened to that fighting spirit of yours hmm?"
She shook her head ruefully. "Trash talking? Really? I didn't know you would debase yourself to lows like that."
"Come now Pyrrha," I grinned. "With how our conversations are between each other. You should know by now how it's going to be with me."
A coy grin worked its way to her features. "Well – I must say that that's what I like about you."
"Flattery won't get you anywhere," I replied with a one-eyed wink.
The redhead blinked at my response before she belted out a genuine laugh. The same reply she used on me had been used against her.
"Then allow me to rectify that!"
At that, Pyrrha launched herself again.
Determined green eyes stared across into indifferent golden brown eyes.
His arms blurred. He threw his swords with such force that it pushed her back. She had to lean into her shield and combine it with her polarity to deflect both of them.
She hunkered down and lowered her body's profile behind the shield as she rushed forward.
Her eyes caught sight of Shirou materializing a large matte black bow. The same one that she barely caught a glimpse of during the final moments of their initiation test. The same one that launched a projectile that had enough power to one shot a Nevermore.
His arm pulled. The bow creaked. An arrow streaked across the air and impacted into her shield.
"Gah-!"
Her body flung backwards from where she stood. When she looked back, he was already in motion to nock another arrow.
"I can't take another one of those," quickly reasoned Pyrrha.
The arrow of his packed a wallop. Her arm felt completely numb that she had to actively confirm with her eyes that she was still holding her shield.
His bow groaned.
Another arrow flew into the air at breakneck speeds and she rolled to the side. The red arrow impacted against the wall and blew out chunks of concrete everywhere. The explosion rocked the arena and its foundations.
"Amazing…" she noted to herself. By her own estimate, a handful of those arrows would be enough to bring down a building. The power carried in those projectiles were like high-explosive tank shells.
Her feet moved. Her mind scolded herself for gawking. She heard him pull on the string again. A barrage shot towards her this time. A veritable stream like that of a machine gun with each shot capable of punching a hole in steel.
She printed and dashed around the arena. He kept her at bay. Forcing her to constantly be on guard and moving while he commanded the arena in the middle.
Pyrrha made a genuine smile in the midst of combat.
She was truly happy that she met someone like Shirou Emiya. Whether he knew it or not, he was the living validation that she made the right decision to leave her home. That she was not wrong in coming to Beacon Academy for a new lease on life.
He fought unlike another opponent being focused and calculated. And even though he held a cold visage as they fought, it only served to burn her desire for victory.
Her legs stomped into the ground defiantly as she looked on him with resolve. Each step brought her closer to her opponent. Each breath, her heart pumped faster and harder. Each swing of her lance, would cut down a barrage of arrows.
Adrenaline pumped from her heart and throughout her body. Her Semblance worked in overtime as her arm blurred and her lance swept the air like a fan, knocking away the arrows.
Her mind focused. Her body tensed. Her arm cocked back in preparation for a spearhead thrust. She pulled her arm up at the sound of his bow being pulled. She would sacrifice her shield for the sake of victory!
Her ears heard the twang of the string. She braced her arm to tank the hit.
However…
A harsh sound pinged in-between her feet that stopped her dead.
"Wha-!?"
A gasp escaped her mouth. She strained her body to take a step forward. Her mind wracked itself in confusion as she tried to discern why she was stuck. It felt like her whole body was frozen.
Managing to cast her gaze down, she caught sight of a thin sword that pierced her shadow. She gritted her teeth in distress as she struggled to move.
"Sorry," he apologized as he summoned another arrow out casually. His voice frigid like the winds of winter. He pulled back on the string and aimed. "But this is it for you."
Her green eyes flittered to the sword and back to his body. She struggled once more in some vain hope that a miracle would happen. That if she could somehow reach out with her Semblance, she would free herself and somehow win. And after a brief struggle of defiance, her body relaxed.
She caster her gaze up to his.
This time, face to face, and up close to him. She presented to him a sincere and genuine smile that left him momentarily stunned.
For the first time ever…
Pyrrha Nikos, The Invincible Girl, admitted defeat.
The arrow on the string went slack.
I was rendered speechless at the sight before me. It was something ephemeral that could not be accurately described or worded. The smile that she gave after the battle grinded me to a halt and left my mouth slightly ajar.
I felt something whirl in my chest.
It was as if my heart tightened.
The way she closed her eyes while smiling felt eerily reminiscent to the person who only offered that smile to me. And then whatever fleeting feeling I felt dissipated as I pushed it to the back of my mind.
The bow and arrow vanished along with the Key of Providence into motes of light.
In a way, I cheated by pulling an otherwise underhanded move by using such an absurd weapon for a fight like this. It was to be used against various phantasmal creatures like demons and vampires, but it also had special properties against humans as well. The most prominent being its ability to immobilize a target by piercing their shadow.
I was not afforded the ability to tank hits without care like these huntsmen and huntresses. Reinforcement, even if I specialized in it, had its limits with everything. And the way that Pyrrha was beginning to escalate as the fight dragged on had left me worried for a moment. The thought if she ever installed a Class Card sent shivers down my back.
What a scary thought…
Pyrrha slumped forward and I caught her just in time. "You're rather quite forward aren't you?" I teased.
She huffed tiredly and replied with a sheepish grin. "You did say flattery wouldn't get me anywhere with you so I had to try something else."
"Hmph," I gently pushed her off so that she could stand on her own feet. "If you're already trading cheek then you must be ok."
She tittered softly with a shake of her head as she stowed her weapons away. "Only if it's with you," she winked.
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at how fast we resumed our normal exchanges. And then when I was about to ready my return, a tingling feeling shot down my left arm. My eyes flashed a grimace of pain as a searing pain then quickly followed. It felt as if someone shoved a burning hot rod down the entire length of the arm. My hand trembled for a short moment before I quelled it with a clenched fist.
I inspected my hand with unconcealed surprise.
What the hell was that?"
"Shirou?" Pyrrha called out to me, her hand gently squeezing my shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" I turned back to her, reigning in my shock. "Y-Yeah… I'm good, everything's okay." I lied through closed eyes. "What about you?"
"I'm fine as well," she answered. "But you were staring at your hand for a good moment there. I hope I wasn't being too excessive."
"Speaking of excessive," I changed the subject and surveyed the damage. "I think our little… spar got out of hand a little bit. Don't you think?"
She followed my eyes and looked around as well.
The once pristine room was now trashed with craters, gouges, and other significant damages. Whole chunks of concrete were uprooted. There were slabs of metal that were rent into unrecognizable pieces. And not to mention the entire wall and ceiling had been utterly destroyed. The fight had exposed all the wiring and piping too.
"…Maybe?" she said sheepishly.
She laughed once more as we walked back. It was a sweet and melodic sound that flowed from her. It was something that I wouldn't mind hearing more and perhaps…
"Shirou?"
"Hmm?" I glanced to Pyrrha.
"Do you mind if I ask you a question?"
I cocked an eyebrow up. "You just did."
My partner shook her head but held her smile. "Have you ever heard of the Mistral Regional Tournaments?"
I kept a straight face at her prodding. "I guess… why?"
"It's just," her eyebrows furrowed together. "I'm a bit lost and surprised that someone of your skill never entered. I'm absolutely confident that if you had entered the competition you would have made it to the finals." She turned to me with confidence in her eyes. "In fact, I would say that you would have won outright."
"That sounds like rather… high praise coming from you," I replied neutrally.
"Oh my lord!" Nora half-yelled as she interjected in-between us. "That's like the highest praise anyone can get Shirou! Don't you know that Pyrrha here won four times in a row! Our girl here went undefeated in all her matches! She never once dropped a fight either! She's like… she's like the best of the best! If not probably like the greatest of all time!"
"I… see."
Nora bristled with incredulity. "I see!? Is that all you have to say?! After knowing you beat someone like her!?"
I turned to Pyrrha who gave me a nervous smile and wave as she was put on the spotlight by Nora.
So that finally explained my partner's widespread fame and popularity at the academy. It also answered why Pyrrha was dodgy about the details. She was as famous as someone could get in this world. It was like someone being undefeated and breaking records at the Olympics four times in a row without losing step each time and outright dominating their opponents with ease. And off the top of my head, Pyrrha must've won her first tournament when she was thirteen.
Before Nora could go off another tirade. Ren interjected and subdued his partner. "Shirou, I have a question of my own if you don't mind me asking."
"Sure."
"What school did you come from again?"
My team's eyes were all on me. "Homurahara, why?"
"Homurahara…" he tested the word. "I don't think I've ever heard that academy before…"
"Neither have I," softly spoke Pyrrha.
"Yeah me three!" added in Nora.
"It was a small school in a backwater country," I supplied quickly.
"Hmm," Ren hummed aloud in thought. "That definitely sounds Mistral am I correct?"
"Yeah."
"Well… it is somewhat common for towns in the countryside of Mistral to form their own preparatory school before sending them off to the kingdom's official academy," reasoned the other male. "Say – what town did you come from again?"
"Fuyuki," I answered tersely.
He turned his head perplexed. "Fuyuki? I don't-"
"Recall?" I finished for him almost too hastily. "I don't blame you really. We were a small community to begin with and kept to ourselves most of the time."
I felt sweat beginning to roll down the back of my neck. They were starting to question things that they shouldn't. "Hey – we're running a little late don't you think?" I changed it up. "We should pick up the pace or else we'll miss lunch. And you don't want to miss lunch now right Nora?"
"Yeah! Yeah!" jumped Nora. "Come on guys! We can talk later, but we gotta go eat!"
"N-Nora! Wait, hold up!" he was pulled on by her massive strength. "Nora! What did I say about pulling me along?!"
"Tee-hee!" she ignored his cries and dragged him anyways.
"Noraaa-!"
I let out a sigh of relief that was too close for comfort.
"Nora and her food," commented a bemused Pyrrha. "I suppose we better catch up don't you think?"
I matched her pace beside me. "Remind me to never get between that girl and her food. I swear she is more ravenous than a bear after hibernation. I'd rather not be put into the hospital because of her," I joked.
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to come save you if ever find yourself in that situation," she teased.
I rolled my eyes and motioned for her to continue walking.
My team and I sat across from the spectacle, quietly observing as usual. I sipped at my tea as I watched Ruby attempt to disassemble an old cassette player without breaking it. She became increasingly distraught over a simple electronic with how she was handling it both gingerly and roughly as her frustration boiled over.
"Grrr-!" growled Ruby slightly red in the face. "Work you stupid thing! Why'd you have to break now of all times when I'm at Beacon?!"
"Hey Rubes," gently called Yang. "Don't you think it's about time you put it to rest and get a new one? Dad said he'd get you a new one if you asked him."
"No!" half-yelled an irritated Ruby. She clutched the thing close to her chest to protect it, glaring at anyone who would try to take it away from her.
"Ruby," exasperatedly sighed Weiss. "You've been messing with that thing since last night. That… hunk of metal looks seriously outdated. You should really just go get one of the newer models if you're so adamant in having a music player. Besides, our scrolls can also play music too you know?"
"No!" hissed Ruby at Weiss before she turned to her sister. "Yang, you know how important this is to me!" She held it out for everyone to see at the table.
"I know, I know, but you know it already pretty old when you got it and now it looks like it's finally kicking the bucket," reasoned her older sister. "Sometimes you just have to let it go."
The way Ruby appeared crestfallen and close to giving up tugged at my heartstrings. Those eyes were trying to desperately cling to a memory long gone. She was trying to save what few mementos that she had left.
I placed my cup down. "Ruby?"
"Huh-? Wha-?" She looked around for the voice. "Oh- err… yeah Shirou?"
"Would you mind if I took a look at it?"
She gasped, eyes instantly filling up with hope. "Can you fix it?"
I cracked a smile. How could anyone say no to a face like that?
"Yes, I'm sure I can."
"Yes!" Ruby shot out of her seat, completely forgetting her food and school bag. "Meet me at my room! I'll get some stuff that'll help!"
I softly chuckled at her exuberant attitude as she shot the door with a trail of rose petals. I cleaned up any mess I had before grabbing her stuff and heading out.
"Hmph," simpered Weiss. "I don't know why you're indulging her like that Shirou. If you ask me, she needs to grow up and learn to let go of things when they break like what Yang said."
"One day she'll grow up," I said softly. "But until then… I feel that it's ok for her to run along with her innocence for now."
Out of the corner of my eye, Blake stared over the borders of her book.
"Besides – I was always pretty good at fixing things."
Weiss rolled her eyes as Shirou left. "Ugh – I don't get why Shirou spoils Ruby so much."
"Eh – I don't think he's spoiling her," disagreed Yang. "If you ask me, he's got that whole older brother vibe thing going on you know? Like he just wants to protect her more than anything else."
"Anyways – what's the problem with him offering his help Weiss?" asked Blake. "I think that was pretty nice of Shirou to do. Or maybe you're just a little jealous that you aren't the one being spoiled?"
Weiss sputtered with indignation. "E-Excuse you?! I am not jealous at all! Why would I be jealous? That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard!"
"Definitely jealous," flatly stated Yang.
"Yep."
The white haired girl scowled before turning away. "Hmph."
Pyrrha shook her head as she turned away from Weiss, Blake, and Yang. On her side of the table, she picked up on Nora chatting avidly about something to Ren.
"Excuse me," she interjected politely. "What are you two talking about?"
"I was asking Ren what his thoughts were on Shirou's Semblance!"
Ren held a contemplative expression. "Indeed – we were brainstorming things about Shirou's rather peculiar ability. It seems to be rather broad in nature that he can conjure a variety of things like a sword and bow, but it makes me wonder what else he can do."
"Hey, hey, hey – hold up." Yang leaned over. "Are you three talking about Shirou here too?"
"Yes," answered Ren.
"Oh ok, you gotta include me into this," said the blonde as she scooted herself closer. "So what's this we're talking about? His swords? Something to do about how he summons them out of nowhere? Because I gotta say, he makes it look pretty friggin' cool when he does it."
"Yeah, yeah!" agreed Nora. "He even has his own catchphrase too! Track, on!"
"Trace, on," corrected Ren. "And I agree that it is certainly an impressive ability."
"You know…" Weiss turned around. "I've never heard of someone having a Semblance that can create weapons. Is he using some type of special Dust? Or maybe even specialized hard-light projector? Although… I don't recall ever seeing any type of hardware on him."
"He can also make a whole bunch too you know!" supplied Nora. "Ren! Were you able to keep count during Pyrrha and Shirou's match? How many did he make?"
He narrowed his eyes in thought. "I tried my best, but if I'm honest with you it was all happening too fast for me. Although I can say with confidence that it was plenty more than you think. It really felt as if there was no end to the amount that he could create."
"Yeah! Shirou didn't even break a sweat either," detailed Nora to Weiss, Blake, and Yang. "Shirou is an absolute monster I tell you! He's a beast!"
"Hold the phone y'all." Yang held up her hand. "What were you guys doing today? Sparring or something?"
"Now that you mention it…" Blake inspected the three. "They do look pretty roughed up although it doesn't explain why Shirou looked spotless."
"Isn't it obvious you two? Shirou dumped most of the work on Pyrrha while he sat on the sidelines," reasoned Weiss. "Why do the work when he has the Pyrrha Nikos on his team? She's the four-time Mistral Regional Tournament Champion. Am I correct Pyrrha?"
The heiress to the Schnee Dust Corporation looked to the redhead for confirmation. But found that said champion held a composed smile.
"On the contrary," started Pyrrha. "Shirou actually did all of the work."
Weiss recoiled back as she blinked in disbelief. Yang's eyebrows shot up into her hairline at the same time her jaw fell. Blake tilted her head down with her eyes slightly widening open in surprise.
"E-Excuse me?" squeaked Weiss. "S-Surely you're not saying that… that Shirou-!" an accusatory finger rose to Pyrrha.
"Correct," she nodded. "Shirou first sparred with Ren, then Nora, and then finally me. And well," Pyrrha flushed, slightly abashed. "I must say that he is a very impressive fighter. It makes me wonder…" she pondered out loud.
"Wonder what Pyrh?" asked Nora.
"Well… we were at the library when we were talking," established Pyrrha. "But he briefly mentioned that it, 'makes two of us,' and left it at that. So it makes me wonder what kind of opponents he had to overcome that necessitated such level of skill."
"Are you serious?" Yang gripped her shoulder. "Like you're not playing a prank on us right? Shirou's some sort of champion? Is that right?"
"Err – he wasn't rather forthcoming with his information. But the way he said it makes me believe so especially after today," said Pyrrha.
"S-Surely it must be some elaborate hoax?" croaked Weiss. "Shirou can't possibly be some sort of champion! I'm sure if there was a tournament churning out people like him then the world know about it!" The look that Pyrrha gave clearly said she wasn't. "Y-You're not joking… I," she started to breathe heavily. "I think I'll just… just…"
Weiss slumped over in her seat, eyes glazed over.
Yang blinked at the overdramatic reaction from her teammate. "Well… that just happened. I guess you guys can say that she was knocked out Weiss cold huh Blake?"
And in unison, they all groaned at her signature pun.
I knocked on the open door of Team RWBY's room softly.
"Ruby, you there?"
"Come in! Come in!" She dug something out of the closet. A metal toolbox that looked way too heavy for someone as small as her. "Sorry about earlier for running off like that hehe…"
"No, no," I waved her off with my hand. "It's alright."
I took in the sight of the room with open eyes. It was a disorganized mess with their belongings strewn about everywhere. They had made makeshift bunk beds with one set suspended by rope and the other set merely being stacked on top of books; they did not look structurally sound at all.
Although for some reason it oddly felt like home.
"Ok! So here's all the tools that I carry around for Crescent Rose to maintain her!" Ruby plopped the toolbox down onto her desk and opened it up. "Here, you can take my seat! I'll just steal Weiss's!"
Speaking of her desk, just like the room, it was a little messy and disorganized. Papers and folders were piled up in certain spots while her textbooks were grouped up in one corner. There were various notes here and there that were nothing more than reminders for herself to keep track of things. It sort of reminded me of myself.
"Alright – let's see what we have here…"
Now with a closer inspection of the cassette player. The music player was eerily reminiscent of the first model of a Walkman. It looked as if at some point Ruby attempted to repaint the fading paint with a color similar enough to give it a new breath of life. There were scratches here and there marring the metal surface along with a dent on one of the corners. The font face had also faded away to the point where it was no longer legible.
I was honestly surprised that Ruby still carried around such an old thing. I had assumed she would be the type of person that stayed up to date with things.
"This is pretty old," I said while testing out the buttons.
"Well you see… it used to be my mom's."
Her voice had a touch of melancholy to it.
"I never really got to know my mom, but this is one of the few things I have left to remember her by. It even has all of her favorite songs still on here, see?" She gently pressed a button to pop open the case to show the tape inside.
"I see…"
"It was working fine yesterday, and I mean yeah – it's old and stuff, but for some reason it stopped working when I went to bed. I tried replacing the batteries, thought the tape was going bad, blew it all out, and even tried taking it apart as best I could." The young leader depressingly sighed. "And none of it worked. So do you think you can fix it?"
I gave her my most reassuring smile. "Yup – in cases like these, old things are nice because they're pretty simple to figure out. I'm sure there's a part in there that went bed and just needs to be cleaned or replaced. It's just a matter of finding it which is the issue."
"Ha-! Told you so Weiss!" She pumped her fist into the air.
"Hmm well… would you like to see a magic trick?"
"Whaaat? A magic trick?
I grinned, "Yeah so watch closely ok? Trace, on…"
I rested my hand on the old cassette player as lines of circuitry flowed from my palm and into the object. I closed my eyes and peered into the media player with the skill Structural Grasp.
Even experienced mechanics and repairmen would naturally have some difficulty in figuring out what's wrong with something just by looking at it on a superficial level. However with my specialized magecraft, I could cheat around by mapping an image of the object in my head like a three-dimensional schematic.
"Alright… so the DC motor needs to be readjusted. The main circuit board is still good, but one of the capacitors needs to be fixed along with some resistors that need to be soldered back into place again," I listed off easily like someone would with a grocery list.
I took my hand off and searched around for the right tools. There was a spool of solder along with a soldering iron for the resistors, a small screw and pliers for the DC motor, and lastly some paraffin wax for the capacitors.
"W-Whoa! That was so cool Shirou!" Ruby whispered in awe. "How'd do you do that! Was that your Semblance or something like that?!"
I started the process of disassembly and got to work. Since I knew what parts were broken, everything that followed suit was easy. It was extremely convenient that Ruby had everything on hand to repair something like this.
"You could say it's… an aspect of it."
"What did you just say a moment ago? Trace on? That's even cooler that you have a catchphrase!" she complimented excitedly.
My hands moved robotically as they fixed the broken machine. I took extra care and effort to not damage anything in the process. Supplied with the knowledge of the sentimental value this thing held to Ruby spurred me on to do my best for her.
"Well it allows me to focus my… Semblance." I slightly paused in my attempt to be comfortable with the word. "It's called Structural Grasp, a personal skill of mine that allows me to look into an object's history and understand its components."
Ruby's jaw hit the table. "What the-!? That's so flipping cool! No, wait! That's like beyond cool! That is the coolest thing I have ever heard!"
The original magecraft of Emiya Shirou. A simple skill developed by a boy with no talent for magic who worked tirelessly day in and day out perfecting a meaningless ability in the eyes of the magi community. I flushed slightly at her genuine comment.
"So does this mean that you can like tell what metal was used? How many times it's been used? How long it took to be forged? Who made it? Held it? Like all of that stuff?" she shot her questions at me rapidly.
"As long as I can understand it – yes," I grinned.
Her hands grasped her head as she tried to comprehend my answer.
"That's… so… CRAZY! AND AWESOME! AND COOL!" she yelled jubilantly.
"You think so?"
"Are you nuts?! Of course! Do you know how useful that would have been when I was making Crescent Rose? Just knowing how something was made and works by touching it? Do you know long it took me studying about mechanical engineering and advanced metallurgy and blacksmithing just to get where I'm at?!" she slumped into her chair before immediately popping back up. "Just think of all the stuff I could build if I had your Semblance!"
"Lots of scythes I'm guessing?"
"YEAH! Crescent Rose would probably be like a thousand times more awesome than she already is! Ooh-! Do you…. Do you think if I brought her here, would you mind doing that thing with your Semblance?" she asked with hopeful eyes.
"Hmm well… first things first. Let's see if your cassette player is fixed." I presented the finished product and handed it to her.
"Right!" She eagerly placed the cassette back into the slot and plugged her headphones in.
The sound of music filled the air from her headset. She cut the sound when lyrics came on that mentioned red like roses.
"You fixed it!" She jumped around in her seat with joy. "You fixed it! You fixed it!"
A genuine smile grew on my face as I cleaned up her desk.
"Guh!"
The small girl wrapped her arms around me, trying to squeeze as hard as possible. Her face dug into my side as a muffled thank you was repeated over and over.
I chuckled and patted her head. "Don't worry about it, just promise me you'll take extra care of it ok?"
"Oh I will!" She pulled herself away and set her cassette player to the side. "Oh wait! I'll go get Crescent Rose – stay right here ok? I'll be right back!"
She vanished with a trail of roses and left me to my own devices.
I leaned back into the chair and casted my gaze upwards.
"You know… even though you're a few years older. I think you and Miyu would have gotten along well." I thought out loud softly to myself.
And as fast as he left, Ruby was already back.
Bursting through the door way all the while huffing. "I'm back!" She said while cradling her weapon like a baby.
"That was fast," I said in amusement.
"Check this out and be amazed Shirou!"
She unfurled the weapon and it transformed before my eyes in all its glory. The rectangular case of metal turned into a scythe that was well over double her size. She had to be strong if she was able to wield it without breaking a sweat.
I nodded, "Impressive."
"I know right?!"
She had a million watt smile plastered on her face.
I cleared up as much space as I could on her desk. Ruby gingerly placed Crescent Rose down and took her seat beside me.
"Hmm… where should I start?"
"Ooh! Can I quiz you instead?" Her hand raised as if we were in class.
I smiled and played along, "Sure."
And so, the two of us bonded over her weapon. She would quiz me over intricate details and I answered them as accurately as I could. I listened to her patiently as Ruby discussed in passionate about her weapons and the reason why she designed it. I would critique her to challenge her ideas and debated about the functionality on things that she could improve. Minutes turned into hours as I sat there with her as she enthusiastically shared her hobby.
That smile she had. Those silver eyes filled with innocence and happiness. The pure joy that she exuded.
Miyu…
The prayer that I made.
The wish that I gave.
I wanted to protect this.
I could only hope that Miyu was able to experience a slice of happiness and friends to share it with a person like Ruby Rose.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone