Chapter 28 - A Liberated Sword
In… and out.
Her slow, rhythmic breathing was all that she could focus on lest she be overwhelmed by the whirlwind of doubt at the back of her mind.
"Don't be fooled! She doesn't give off a large presence, but her quirk certainly does! From the Hero Course, It's Kodai Yui!" came Present-Mic's introduction, which excited the surrounding audience.
The subsequent echo of applause was both wonderfully thrilling but chillingly deafening.
In… and out, again.
She was worried, that much she could say without hesitation.
Kodai Yui wasn't the strongest student, especially when she looked at the rest of the first years. The two contestants from before could've easily dealt with her, snapping her like a twig if they needed to.
Her quirk, Size, would only work on non-living objects within a certain size limit.
The reason she was taking calming breaths before her match actually began, was because her quirk was going to be absolutely useless in the following matches. Just by looking at her bracket, she knew that she'd be facing that Midoriya boy, whom she knew little about save for his self-destructing quirk.
Granted, there was a chance for her to use the concrete arena below her as a form of attack. However, she'd need the concrete to be destroyed to some degree first. Otherwise, she'd be trying to grow or shrink the very arena beneath her, and the arena was easily above her size limit.
She also had her shirt, but she lacked a proper undershirt so it'd be highly indecent if she either sized it up or shrunk it down. Yui didn't even know what changing the size of her shirt would be able to do.
This very match, her first round, was very likely to be the only chance that she had to appeal to the professional heroes. The ones that everyone in the tournament hoped to impress so that they could further their careers in heroism.
"Versus–! Fully Equipped with support items, from the Support Course, Hatsume Mei!"
"It's not too late, madam!" Her opponent, Hatsume Mei, shouted aloud, as if Present-Mic's introduction gave her the signal to. "If you agree to my suggestion and use my wonderful babies, then we shall both obtain what we desire!"
No, they wouldn't.
If she had agreed to this girl's suggestion, then she would've spent a solid minute or two running around and making a fool of herself.
Hatsume Mei figured out her quirk, and had asked her specifically not to use it. She reasoned that it could damage her 'babies' and make it 'harder to sell'.
Kodai took in another calming breath.
What was the point of advancing to the next round if she wouldn't be able to show off what she could do? Appealing to the audience would literally be impossible for her in if she had listened to the insane support-course student.
They would see her as weak, incapable, and above all, an idiot.
The only one benefiting would be Hatsume Mei and Hatsume Mei alone.
Kodai Yui had no further chance to appeal outside of this match.
This match was her only shot…
… For she knew that Midoriya Izuku would defeat her handily in the next.
"I refuse," Kodai refuted once more. She left her reply at that and focused her mind once she saw Hatsume Mei's frustrated expression grow exponentially.
"Very well! I suppose hiccups are to be expected, but that is fine…" she said as the veritable menagerie of equipment surrounding her body burst to life. "If you will not aid me in my endeavor, then I shall have to improvise. I will have to appeal my babies, next round!"
Kodai Yui shifted her stance as soon as she heard Present-Mic announce the match.
Her quirk was incredibly situational and could only be used against non-living objects within a certain limit.
Luckily, thanks to her opponent, there were a lot of objects that fit the bill.
Shirou kept silent as he leaned against a structural pillar.
The match playing on the big screen was an interesting one. Kodai seemed to be playing defensive against her comparably louder opponent. If the magus heard her right, she was proclaiming what each of her equipment does as if a sales pitch.
An admittedly… unwise display. Especially when her opponent immediately exploited it to her advantage. For example, the aerial stabilizer she had on became a miniature tomb once Kodai shrunk it down a size.
To that support-course student's credit, she had an emergency disassemble button, which caused the device constricting her to fall apart like a house of cards, so she was able to escape a near match-ending scenario.
… However, Shirou was not completely focused on that match.
"So, how's your new beginning in this world?"
"Why'd you call me here, Archer?"
A dismissive snort came from behind his support pillar. Shirou could've moved around, but he knew that the Counter Guardian preferred the fact that they couldn't see each other whatsoever. It irritated them both less.
"Fine then. You don't see it?"
The ambiguity frustrated him just a bit. "See what?"
"How much of an idiot you're being."
Shirou felt his brow rapidly twitch. Did he really just call him here to make fun of him?
… No, Archer was an ass, but he wasn't that much of an ass. At the end of the day, Archer was still a logical and pragmatic kind of person. He wouldn't call him out here just to screw with him.
But that didn't mean that Shirou wasn't irritated.
"Care to elaborate on that?" Shirou continued, trying to remain serene.
"I could… but I find your frustration satisfying."
Or maybe he was just that much of an ass.
"Just be quiet and look at the match," Archer finally said.
Seeing nothing better to do, Shirou obliged. The Counter Guardian was obviously trying to tell him something, but apparently being direct was too much of a hassle. It irritated him, sure, but Shirou was always irritated whenever Archer was around.
He watched as another one of Hatsume Mei's devices broke apart under Kodai's quirk, unable to handle one of its pieces enlarging beyond its limit. The support-course cried something out in horror but that didn't stop Kodai from picking up the fallen pieces and using them as makeshift weapons.
"What do you see?" came Archer's voice once again.
Shirou raised a brow, fully knowing that Archer wouldn't see it. "Kodai's making use of her quirk and keeping her opponent on her toes."
He watched as the pink-haired student finally decided to counter-attack. The numerous equipment she had on was cumbersome, but thanks to Kodai destroying a few, she was much more mobile. She avoided Kodai's attempts at attacks with barely any wasted movement. Even when his friend managed to get around her for a sneak attack, the woman's backpack activated and made her instantly dodge to the side.
Kodai managed to throw some enlarged nuts and bolts towards her, both growing until they were the size of boulders, but Hatsume evaded by jumping higher than any regular person could.
What seemed like a tense match quickly became a playground for the sole Support-Course contestant.
However, just like in a playground, she was reckless.
Hatsume Mei clearly had no experience in a fight. She allowed her machines to do everything for her. Once her machine dodged her away from a rolling screw, she panicked once she saw the direction she was dodging had debris in the way. She only managed to save herself by jumping up high with whatever boots she had on.
"That's the end, isn't it?" Shirou muttered.
No response from Archer was needed, because Kodai already threw a quickly growing screw fastener. With no surface area for her auto dodger to create leverage on, she was sent flying back. If it wasn't for her device creating legs behind her, she would've gotten a ring out.
However, Kodai clearly expected it and threw another bolt at her when she landed. It was countered when Hatsume took out a gun-like device. With it, she shot out a rapidly expanding net. Once it made contact with the nut, it latched itself to the ground around it, halting its momentum.
It looked like she survived.
"Yes, it is," finally came Archer's reply.
Emphasis on 'looked'.
With the only place for Hatsume to dodge being 'up', Kodai sealed that avenue by throwing a final giant screw. It landed just before Hatsume Mei, not wanting to crush her, but the auto-dodge function on her backpack made it so she leaped away.
Unfortunately, it was only programmed to make her dodge, not avoid specified areas. She crossed the arena line a second after Kodai's final attack came out.
"In a display of ingenuity, Kodai Yui has managed to force Hatsume Mei out of bounds! Kodai Yui moves onto the next round!" Midnight exclaimed into her miniature microphone.
Shirou decided to not focus on the arena any longer, seeing as the match had ended. Kodai was apparently shrinking away all the objects she affected, as requested by Cementoss-sensei.
After all, what Shirou wanted to focus on… was the reason he was here.
"As interesting as watching that match was, did I have to be up here with you?" Shirou muttered in slight annoyance.
Seriously. It's been a few minutes and he still had no idea why he was here.
"I had hoped that match would be a bit more useful, but I'll take what I can get," Archer grumbled. "I want you to think, why do you think those two fought so hard?"
"They want to win," Shirou didn't even take a second to answer.
"Yes, they do," he continued. "This tournament, whilst being a shameless way to promote their school to the masses, means a great deal to its contestants. Clearly, they trained and trained, aiming to give it their all on this one day."
Shirou felt his eyelids grow heavy. "Is this about me holding back? I thought you, of all people, would be able to understand why I was doing that."
"Oh, don't get me wrong, I do understand," Archer said, contradicting what everyone else had told him prior. "However, the fact that I do understand grates on me greatly."
The red-haired magus frowned. "What does that suppose to mean?"
"Let me put it to you in a simple way, one that your broken mind can understand," The silver-haired cafe owner continued. "You're doing what I would be doing, the most logical route to your goal. I can't fault you for it. With the criminals hiding in the underbelly of this world's society finally deciding to man up… and that deal with Avenger."
Shirou could feel aggravation coming off in waves from the Counter Guardian. He had a feeling it was because he failed to actually tell the former servant about him. Archer only learned about his existence from their prior training spars, with the information Shirou had flowing into him as Archer's flowed back.
Archer was incredibly annoyed, to say the least.
"If anything, it confirms to me that Alaya's grasp does not reach here, for if it did then this city would be reduced to fire and flames just by knowing Angra Mainyu was here. That alone speaks volumes of the threat he possesses…"
Archer trailed off there, but Shirou already knew why. After experiencing the Holy Grail War, they knew how powerful a servant was. They could not see why he had reduced himself to serving a regular human. A quirk-enhanced human, but still a human.
Angra Mainyu was a servant unparalleled at killing humans. Perhaps the people of this world don't truly count as humans? It was a stretch, certainly, but the alternative was that he was with the League of Villains for some other purpose. Even if he didn't say it, that fact put them both on edge.
"With that looking threat, I could see why you're keeping to yourself," he muttered. "The most logical reason, the code of action that I would adopt. Yes, nothing wrong there."
"You're going on like a broken record, Archer," Shirou cut in. "You need to start getting to the point soon–"
"Why are you doing things I would do?"
Shirou stopped.
"Why would you, my idiotic past self who rejects the future I represent, be doing the exact same thing that I would be doing?" Archer continued. "Things that I would've done, you've been doing it this entire time, haven't you?"
"That's not–!"
"If not, then what else?" Archer barked back. "Just as you've glimpsed into my memories of hell, I've seen moments of your redundancy. Hiding what your magic could truly do, keeping secrets from your 'close allies', acting as if they're all too weak to trust–"
"That's not what I'm doing!" Shirou shouted as he turned to glare at the pillar behind him. He was thankful for it, because if he was able to see Archer's face right now then he would've caved it in. "If you've seen those moments then you know my reasons!"
"Even if I know your reasons, as asinine as they are, the fact that you are doing exactly as I would've done is reason enough to call you out," Archer stonewalled him. "We may be two sides of the same coin, but a coin is worthless if both sides are exactly the same. What happened to forging your own path, Emiya Shirou? I had thought that you'd be able to do so in this new world, but looking at you now, have you always been the type to do things by halves?
All Shirou could do was grit his teeth in frustration. This bastard always knew what buttons to press!
"Where was this hesitation when you foolishly rushed in alone to save my Master? It didn't exist then. Did the months here change you that much?"
Even as Shirou tried to retort, he couldn't find the right words to. Everything Archer said was right.
He never told anyone what his magic was truly capable of and he was unwilling to reveal his origins to anyone around him. Looking at it one way, it was if he wasn't able to trust the people around him with anything.
At first, those secrets were kept because he thought that he was still in his old world. Then, he kept them because he thought it would help him stay alive. But, as the months went by, those secrets piled on. By the time he had settled into a daily routine in this world, he had no reason to reveal his secrets. He had made it a habit to keep secrets… and Archer saw right through it.
"... Your silence speaks bounds, Emiya Shirou. As I thought, being a hypocrite suits you," Archer added after a while. However, upon receiving no response, he let out a sigh. "Berating you here would be like speaking to a brick wall. Leave, there is nothing more for me to say to you."
Being unable to refute his words, Shirou would have done just that. However, he couldn't just leave like that.
"Archer, if you were in my shoes, what would you do now?"
Shirou could feel the glare he was getting from behind that pillar. However, the young magus did not retract his question. He couldn't. What he sought, he couldn't figure out the answer by himself. He had tried, but it was as if something deep within the recesses of his being prevented him.
His silence was only serving to push his question forward.
Finally, Archer answered.
"... Nothing. If I was in your position, I'd keep doing what I was doing and do absolutely nothing."
"… I see."
And at his answer, Emiya Shirou left.
Archer watched him leave. He had stepped away from that damnable pillar the moment the fool had asked what he would've done.
In any other time, Archer would've laughed in his face. He would've mocked the insecure buffoon for everything he could. However, he knew what kind of idea his younger-self had stewing away in his mind.
So, Archer told him. When he left, Archer could practically feel his thoughts as he did so.
His answer was a selfish one. It echoed what he truly thought. The thoughts of others mattered little in the long run. If a few brats got disgruntled at him for his actions then let them. Leaving a good impression on them didn't matter, not with the threat looming within society's underbelly.
However, that impression seemed to matter to this version of Emiya Shirou. It was a curiosity at first, but now it became a worry. His suspicions came to life and now Archer had to right this wrong.
He was playing with fire, the Counter Guardian knew that. However, with no one else around to berate the fool, he knew that the task would inevitably fall upon him, as grating as it sounded.
Their daily sparing had only hastened the transfer of information between them. In exchange for giving the brat more of his skills, he practically knew his entire life in this world of placid heroism. Unfortunately, that wasn't a good thing.
Just as Emiya Shirou had gained a facsimile of his skills, he had gained a portion of his memories.
Even if they weren't his memories, they were influencing him into doing things that he wouldn't normally do, ever since the start of the sports festival.
Emiya Shirou certainly would've held back in the first round– even if it was in their nature to be competitive they wouldn't be if they saw no value in it, but he wouldn't have made it so obvious.
It's a cruel thing.
It was like he was being made to look into a broken mirror.
But that mirror was slowly fixing itself each and every time he looked into it.
He had to shatter it every now and then, otherwise, it'd be a proper reflection. A disgustingly perfect reflection.
He wouldn't let that happen. Out of all the versions of Emiya Shirou he had seen, this one had the best chance to achieve that borrowed ideal solely because he existed in this world of heroism. Slowly, but surely, he was influenced by it. However, the brat was also influenced by him.
Archer had to nip it at the bud, to make the fool realize why acting as he would normally wouldn't aid him in this world. The past of a human-killing machine leaked into the future of a simple tainted canvas. That picture was already unrecognizable, but it was salvageable.
Unfortunately, it looked like his past self didn't see anything to salvage.
What exists in this world is something that Archer had not been able to have back in their old one. If Emiya Shirou… If this version of Emiya Shirou, much more hardened but just as naive as the child he was, figured it out…
Well, that idiot would likely never figure it out alone.
Farran fingered the phone in his pocket.
… It was an idea.
"... Farran-san! I finally found you!"
Archer relaxed once he heard a familiar voice. He turned away from the entrance that his past self walked out from and towards his employee hastily walking towards him.
"That was mean, Farran-san! Why did you leave so suddenly?" Fuyumi asked with a pout on her face.
He couldn't stop the soft snort from leaving him. "Forgive me, Todoroki. Apparently, the washroom was further than I anticipated."
"... Well, I guess that's understandable," she said as her pout slowly faded into a grin. "The next match is starting soon. Come on, I found a couple of great seats!"
"I see," Archer sighed in defeat. "Lead the way,"
It appeared that he was listening to her but, unfortunately for his first employee, his mind was far too focused on a faraway place to take note of her. Archer needed to ensure that that fool didn't do anything he'd regret.
If they had remained in their old world, he would've made Tohsaka promise to become Emiya Shirou's pillar, a shoulder to lean on whenever he felt weary. Unfortunately, he was dragged to this world by a king who missed his mark. As a result, Tohsaka wasn't here, at least until she somehow mastered the second magic under a certain Dead Apostle. This meant that the only person the fool had to rely on was him.
… Wasn't that an obscenely horrid thought?
By the time Shirou returned to the stall, the next match contestants were already on the arena.
"Hey, Emiya," Jiro called out. "You were gone for a while. You missed that Class 1-B girl– her name was Kodai right? Anyway, you missed her match."
Shuffling could be heard to their side. Kendo Itsuka popped her head up and pouted. "That's right! Poor Yui was upset– hey, stop shaking!"
As the head bobbed in and out of sight, Shirou could only offer a wry smile. "Sorry, I got caught up with something. I'll make it up to her later."
"You better! If you don't then I'm going to have to– Hey Yui, stop that!"
Whatever was happening behind that wall, Shirou could never know. He decided to take a seat next to Jiro, as all the others seemed to be occupied. Apparently, everyone wanted a front-row seat. It was sort of distracting to listen to all of them chatter like they were in class.
But at the moment… Shirou didn't mind the distraction.
Ah, Kirishima was back. Hopefully, whatever that Tetsutetsu fellow dragged him out for was resolved, but judging from the frown on the hardening-quirk boy's face, that didn't seem to be the case.
"What was the next match, again?" Kaminari asked from behind him.
"The next match is Shinso versus Iida," Midoriya answered with his notebook out. Shirou could see a few sketches of Kodai in there, which was surprising.
"Heh, looks like an easy win for Class 1-A," Kaminari let a little snark out. "Hey! Monoma! Gonna say anything this time?"
The lack of response was curious. Monoma was a loud fellow when it came to bragging, so he should've been more vocal about his support for his classmate, especially his apparent best friend, Shinso Hitoshi.
"No response?" Kaminari muttered. "Did he go take a poo?"
"Shut up, watch the match."
Bakugo?
Shirou already knew not to send him a glance, so he focused on the arena below at Iida standing ready, yet with an unsure aura around him. On the opposing side stood Shinso, as nonplus as ever with both hands in his pocket.
"On one side, a student who's taken all of his opponents by surprise! From the Hero Course, Shinso Hitoshi!" Present-Mic exclaimed. "And his opponent– Rushing headfirst with unparalleled speed! From the Hero Course, Iida Tenya!"
At the flicker of her tassel, Midnight gazed on. "Now, let the fourth match… Begin!"
Without a second to spare, Iida made the first move.
One second, his leg engines burst to life rocketing him forward towards his stationary opponent.
What would Shinso do, at this moment? In this matchup, it was heavily in his classmate's favor.
Iida undoubtedly already knew his quirk, so he would keep his mouth shut. Whatever Shinso could say wouldn't work. He was essentially quirkless.
It seemed as if the person in question knew that, so he didn't even bother to use his own quirk and dodged Iida's flying kick. He rolled on the cement, ignoring the grazes he was sure to receive and got to his feet.
However, Iida had already recovered and lashed a hand out, grabbing onto Shinso's arm.
"Iida grabs his opponent! Is he planning to throw him out!?"
A scream for him to let go was let out, but Iida ignored it and charged towards the boundary, aiming to throw his opponent out as fast as he could.
Shinso struggled. He tried to dig his soles into the cement, trying to somehow stop his momentum, but it was futile seeing as he was going as fast as a motorcycle.
He tried clawing his arm free, but even if he had made any headway in that endeavor, his legs had left the earth, ready for gravity to take hold of him.
However, in a show of tenacity, Shinso grabbed onto Iida's arms before he went out of bounds. His legs wrapped around the engine-powered student and tried to put him into a chokehold.
"And Shinso turns it around! Iida can't get him off!"
Despite the audience's cry of excitement, the contestants only felt panic.
It was obviously a practiced hold. His form was impeccable, which meant Iida was slowly losing his air. The bespectacled student tried to pry the arms away, knowing that he was physically superior, but the hold was too secure.
If left unchecked, Iida would pass out.
So, knowing this, the bespectacled class president stuck his leg out and activated its lone engine.
"Iida spins! Like a top, he spins at high speed!"
With his grounded foot as an axis, he spun like a rogue gear. Faster and faster he spun. As he did so, Shinso's grip obviously loosened from dizziness, but his grip remained ironclad.
However, it did not last forever. His grip loosened and he was sent tumbling away. He didn't go out of bounds, but he was reeling. He tried to get up, but his legs were failing him. He tried to steady himself but for him, the world itself must be tilting on its axis.
"Shinso lets go and is down! He needs to get up or it's over for him!"
On the other hand, Iida was fine. Wobbly and unsteady on his feet, but fine, likely used to the sensation.
Iida hastily made his way to his opponent, who had gotten onto his feet in a vain attempt at opposition. Shinso tried to get his bearings, but a quick shove was enough to destabilize his footing.
Shinso tripped on his feet, allowing Iida free access to his form. It didn't take long before Iida clenched his teeth and threw the comparably lighter teen as far away as he could.
Not even Shinso's outstretched arm, clutching Iida's shirt with all the force he could muster, could prevent him from landing out of bounds.
"Shinso is out of bounds!" Midnight called out. "Iida advances to the next round!"
Shinso's limp hand, still clutched onto Iida's shirt, slowly loosened and fell to the waiting ground. However, Iida caught it and pulled him up, likely congratulating his opponent on his efforts.
"... Well, that was expected," Sero muttered. "He put up a good fight, though."
"He lost the moment he decided to fight."
Shirou widened his eyes at the voice behind the wall.
Monoma?
"Hey, aren't you being a bit too harsh?" Kaminari shouted back. "I mean, we all knew how it was going to end, but aren't you guys friends?"
"Droopy-eyes knew he was going to lose, but he still fought anyway," Bakugo cut in. "Everyone already knows his quirk. That thing is only useful for taking side-characters out by surprise. Without it, he's basically quirkless. Isn't that right, copy-bastard?"
"… The feral animal of your class got it right," Monoma replied, unknowingly or knowingly prompting said animal to growl at him. "Hitoshi knew he was going to lose, but he still wanted to fight."
"Why?" Jiro asked, honestly curious.
Monoma didn't answer her, even when she tried to ask again, but for some reason, Shirou already knew. Just a single glance at the stands, where a certain snake-haired stood and watched with a smile on her face, was all he needed to understand.
He said that he didn't want to stand in the limelight… but, from the shower of applause he received from the audience, it appeared that the limelight was unavoidable, for the boy who simply didn't want to disappoint his idol.
When Iida returned to take a seat, Bakugo and Uraraka were already standing on the stage.
"This match doesn't look good…" Jiro muttered.
"Welcome to the sixth match of the first round!" Present-Mic shouted. "He was famous in middle-school– this isn't the face of a regular person!" he commented, noticing Bakugo's narrowed eyes. "From the Hero Course, Bakugo Katsuki!"
The fire exploding from the pillars beside them added to his threatening appearance. Bakugo Katsuki wasn't there to lose, he was going to try and win, no matter what it took.
The look in his eyes told Shirou that much.
"Versus–! She's the one I'm rooting for! From the Hero Course, Uraraka Ochaco!"
On the opposite end, yet equally determined, was his opponent. The usual wide-eyed and bubbly smile was absent, replaced by narrowed lips and focused gaze.
However, that did nothing to dispel the slight worry her classmates felt. Especially when her determined face switched to a slightly hesitant one, likely from something Bakugo had said.
"Midoriya," Iida called out from in front of him. "What was the strategy you were going to tell Uraraka earlier for her to use against Bakugo?"
They talked to her before her match? Interesting. However, if they had managed to impart some knowledge to her, then maybe she'd do better than previously thought. Unfortunately, Shirou didn't mishear the 'were'. Did they fail to advise her on time?
Midoriya's sullen frown was what Iida received.
"It wasn't much, really," Midoriya started off. "Kacchan's strong. In a real close combat fight, he has almost no openings, and the more he moves, the more he sweats, making his Explosion Quirk stronger. He can use the blasts from his explosions to move around in the air, but if Uraraka touches Kacchan and uses her Quirk to make him float… then she would have the upper hand."
Shirou could see that. It could lead to a quick arena out if she managed to do that.
Problem was… Could she?
Didn't Midoriya say he could use his quirk to move mid-air? If he had no weight, then he could definitely remain within the arena boundaries. A ring-out would basically be impossible unless you physically made it one.
And physically making him ring-out was going to be impossible, not with the raw combat potential he had compared to his peers.
"Sixth match, start!"
Present-Mic's announcement came forth.
The match started and even with Midoriya's advice, it was heavily in Bakugo's favor.
And as the fight progressed… it didn't change much.
It was clear that Bakugo was Uraraka's superior in both reflexes and combat ability. Her one chance was to catch him off guard and send him flying. However, he wasn't letting a single opportunity arise.
Whenever she charged, he shot her back.
Whenever she created a diversion, he blasted it away.
A young girl rushed head forth with endless determination, only to be met with deafening explosions.
… This didn't make sense.
Shirou narrowed his eyes at the scene. Once more, Bakugo was forced to blast her away, cautiously standing back and awaiting her recovery.
Why was he being so cautious?
Why was she continually using the same approach?
As another blast of fire arose, so did the mumbling around him.
"Uraraka keeps attacking without rest, but… this is…" Present-Mic muttered, unable to find the right words to finish his sentence.
The right words would be, 'hard to watch'.
However, for some reason, Shirou couldn't tear his eyes away.
Why?
At this point, it looked like it was all but over, yet that girl was endlessly pushing forward against the fiery storm.
The arena was deathly silent. Only the deafening explosions filled the silence. Over and over, the blasts would not cease. Eventually, the arena looked like a cloud of smoke.
Whether it was because of the silence of the audience, or the emptiness from the commentators, a stray comment from the stands was heard.
"Her substitution from earlier didn't work, so she's getting desperate…"
"What an idiot," he could hear Monoma mutter from the side. But was he talking about Uraraka, or someone else?
The audience was getting worried, with some of them calling out to Cementoss to stop the match.
Through it all, Shirou frowned.
What was driving her to this point? Why was Uraraka still recklessly charging towards him? Why wasn't Bakugo changing up his strategy? Those questions were left unanswered, as no one around him had any.
So Shirou tried to understand.
He watched as Uraraka charged again, ignoring the spectators. They were a distraction. Uraraka ducked back into the black smog. A few seconds later, another explosion rang out. The girl rolled out and steadied herself, only to rush back in again. A few more seconds, another explosion. Rinse and repeat.
The only part in which Shirou didn't know what was going on was in those few seconds between her recovery and Bakugo's explosion.
What was Uraraka doing in those few seconds? Finding a way to dodge? Finding an opening? No, that'd be useless.
With the smoke in the way, Shirou could hardly see what was going on. Perhaps there was debris in the way, so she had to maneuver around it, trying to catch Bakugo off guard in doing so.
But why?
He couldn't fathom why she was going so far.
Wasn't this just a tournament? Going any further and she'd be risking her wellbeing. This wasn't her only opportunity. She could always try again next year when she was matched up against a better opponent.
This was just a tournament, there was no need to be so serious about it…
… So why?
"Hey! How can you say you want to be a hero like that!? If there's such a huge difference in your abilities, then hurry up and send her out of bounds!"
A single explosion was their answer.
Bakugo had been trying, but Uraraka was keeping him on guard for some reason. He could've moved and positioned himself better, giving him ample opportunity to ring her out, but he hadn't moved from his spot, evident from the cracks all around him.
He was cautious… but why?
Bakugo, while a wild individual, was not an idiot. His instincts must be telling him something's wrong.
"Stop bullying and playing with the poor girl!" the same voice called out.
"There's booing from part of the crowd…" Present-Mic muttered. "But honestly, I also– GAH! An elbow? What're you doing, Eraser!?"
Shirou blinked. Aizawa?
"Was that a pro saying he's playing around? How many years have you been a pro?"
The audience was silenced.
"If you're saying that with a straight face, then there's no point in you watching anymore, so go home," a pause followed. "Go home, and look into changing careers!"
Shirou blinked.
The usually level-headed Aizawa, snapped?
"Bakugo is being careful because he's acknowledged the strength of his opponent who made it this far," Aizawa berated. "It's because he's doing everything he can to win that he can't go easy on her or let his guard down!"
The smoke was finally starting to clear up, allowing everyone to view of the two contestants.
Uraraka, panting in exhaustion as mild bruises covered her body.
Bakugo, standing weary with his arms ready to lash out as he always did.
Shirou could see Uraraka mutter something and Bakugo readying himself in anticipation. But at what?
With the barren landscape of a ruined arena, holes practically carved into the cement-like the claws of a giant beast, what could Bakugo be preparing for–
Where was the debris?
With the number of explosions that Bakugo had made, there should've been more rubble around. Shirou had assumed that the reason for Uraraka's time lag between attacks was because of the debris in the way, but the complete lack of it told otherwise.
Where did it go? There wasn't any on the surrounding grass, so that only left–
Shirou widened his eyes and stared upwards…
… and the thousands of rocks above them.
"It can't be helped from Bakugo's view," Monoma muttered again. Was he explaining for his classmates? "but it's embarrassing for a pro in the stands to start booking without noticing. She kept her body low as she advanced, concentrating Bakugo's attacks on the ground and storing up her weapons. And then, she narrowed his field of visions with relentless attacks, to keep him from noticing."
Shirou stared.
Desperate…?
He fought against Caster's master.
He fought against Archer.
He fought the King of Heroes.
Each of those fights could've easily resulted in his death. Even at his lowest, when it seemed like he couldn't win, he pushed forward with a need to win and see his ideals through.
Why did Uraraka Ochaco have the same eyes as he did back then?
Why would she go so far?
Shirou heard Midoriya exclaim in surprise but even that was deafened once the rocks started falling like a meteor shower. An endless hailstorm of rock that could crush a man alive. Bakugo stared up at the sea of stone as the girl, who had far more determination than he had for this tournament, charged at him.
She was betting it all on one opening.
For the chance that Bakugo would open himself up to her grasp.
If he hit him, then he'd be sent flying. With the falling debris, flying back to the arena would be near impossible.
Such an insane plan… Why?
This wasn't life or death, so why did she act like this tournament meant that to her? This was… just a tournament.
"This might just be a tournament to you," Midoriya muttered, catching Shirou's attention. Had he muttered that part aloud? "But, to Uraraka, this is everything to her. This tournament is everything to us. Everyone fought hard to make it this far, letting nothing stop them."
His mouth folded into a slit. "Yes, nothing."
Not even villains.
That was what Midoriya left unsaid, told only because of their prior conversation. He knew how little this tournament actually meant to Shirou, but almost as if the very universe was mocking him, he was shown how much it meant to everyone else.
It was just a tournament, one of many.
They could try again next year, and the year after.
Doing well might help them get licenses in the future, but a license was practically guaranteed once you graduated the school. The reputation you could gain from this event meant little in the long run. From looking at Archer's death, he knew how fickle public opinion could be.
It was just a tournament.
But it meant the world to them.
In a second, Uraraka would close the gap and send Bakugo flying.
In less than a second, Bakugo erupted.
His raised hand burst into life. A deafening boom killed the endless echo of stone. Smoke rushed towards the sky like a pillar aiming to pierce through the sky. From that, all the stones scattered away from him.
Bakugo stood there, with a burning palm, untouched.
Shirou stared.
That blast… it was like something only Rin's best gems could accomplish.
"B-Bakugo delivers a satisfying explosion!" Present-Mic commented in surprise. "He boldly blasts through Uraraka's secret plan!"
He stared further.
It looked like Bakugo's arm was quivering. That extreme explosion must've taken a lot out of him. However, that didn't stop the mad grin on his face.
As Uraraka was trying to stand up again, the blond teen boldly charged towards her.
The girl turned ready to face him, and the boy welcomed her charge.
Only for it to end in a second.
Uraraka fell flat on the ground as Bakugo stared in disbelief.
… Of course, she'd fall. Endlessly charging at a series of explosions would whittle away at anyone's endurance. If she had any strength to stand up and fight longer, then Shirou would've been impressed.
She dragged herself towards her opponent.
Bakugo stood ready, his guard had not lowered an inch.
However, the match ended the moment Midnight stepped onto the arena.
"Uraraka's out of commission," the professional hero concluded. "Bakugo advances to the next round!"
The audience, having condemned the sight before them, now vehemently cheered at the result. They cheered at the two students, willing to risk it all for a mere tournament… but it wasn't a mere tournament to them, was it?
To willingly put herself in such a condition…
This event was dearly important to its competitors. Shirou had an inkling to that before, but he never saw it as much as he saw it now.
Shirou stood up and left down the hall.
His match was next.
Of course, subsequent matches didn't occur instantly.
After Uraraka and Bakugo's match, the arena had to be repaired. They needed to get rid of all the debris on the grassland. In the meantime, Shirou had to wait in the designated waiting room. He imagined Ashido doing the same for their match.
Waiting in this small little room, where the only company he had was the constant replay of the last match up above him. The monitor replayed the fight at impossible angles, yet not a sound could be heard.
He didn't mind. A little time to think would do some good.
The door opened, and Shirou idly thought of it being a staff member here to tell him that his match would begin.
His expectations died once he saw who entered.
"Yu?" Shirou muttered. "What're you doing here?"
"I got a little break," Yu muttered as she sneakily made her way into the room. "Shinji's covering for me for a bit. I just wanted to wish you luck on your match."
Shirou smiled. "The thought's appreciated. Thank you, Yu."
Something about his reply seemed to put his guardian off. "I knew coming here was the right choice. Something's bothering you, Shirou. Out with it!"
"Nothing's bothering me!"
"I've seen a dead fish lie better than you, and they don't even talk," Yu muttered. "Come on, out with it. I don't have long before I leave."
Shirou heavily wanted to keep it from her. His worries weren't something others should be concerned with. He wasn't worth that kind of concern.
"– keeping secrets from your 'close allies'–"
… However, Archer's words from back then still rung within him.
This wasn't a secret on par with his magecraft, but it was a secret nonetheless. He was keeping his thoughts from her, but these worries were just his worries. They weren't worth anything to anyone…
Someone like Yu shouldn't be wasting her time with him, and yet she decided to adopt him. If she hadn't done so back then, then Shirou would likely already be on the streets as a vigilante.
He'd be living his life on the run, away from the authorities aiming to detain him, all because he wanted to save the people before him.
It would've been exactly the kind of life that Archer would've led.
In a way, Yu dragged him away from that.
… Just this once, maybe he'd confide in her.
"I've been feeling… conflicted, about this tournament," Shirou finally admitted. It seemed to catch Yu off guard, who seemed like fate finally threw her the ball. She definitely didn't expect him to admit it from how she hastily sat down, not wanting to push her luck. "I didn't really want to participate, you know? I heard it was mandatory for all Hero Course students so I knew I had to. I also heard how I'd be removed from it if I didn't do well enough."
Seeing Yu nod, he continued.
"Honestly? I just wanted to do well for a bit and fade into obscurity. The less potential villains know about my abilities, the better," Shirou noticed how Yu widened her eyes at that, but silence meant he could continue. "I did well for the first round. I reached fourth place. It was good enough that nobody could complain, and I wouldn't be removed from the program."
But…
"By the second round, I helped out my friends. If they hadn't asked me, I probably would've been content with being put on a random team and losing. But now, here I am at the final event, where so many others, who cared more about this event, aren't," Shirou frowned. "I didn't mean to be here."
Yu frowned. "Shirou, you deserved to be here. You tried hard and made it–"
"That's the thing, Yu," Shirou interrupted with a deep frown. "I didn't try hard. Not at all. The countless others who wanted to stand where I stand, people who deserved this spot more than me–"
That Tetsutetsu from Class 1-B, Itsuka Kendo, Asui Tsuyu, Jiro Kyoka, Sato Rikido, even Monoma. They all wanted to reach the finals, but the one person who could care less about the tournament made it where they didn't.
"–Even the ones who made it, they all want to win it more than I do–"
Midoriya, Iida, Shinso, Uraraka, Bakugo, and everyone else.
They, who wanted to win, and he, who just wanted to do okay.
"I could've had a higher place in the first event," Shirou admitted. "Even in the second event, I could have been more proactive to get more points, but I didn't, all because I felt that it was more important in the long run. If that was the case, should I have just quit at the start?"
Emiya Shirou was a man who didn't do things for himself. He was someone who would do things for others instead, even forsaking himself for them.
That was the kind of hypocritical person he was.
Archer called him a hypocrite, he had always called him one. Back then, when they first met, when they clashed with words and fought with blades, Archer's words had remained unchanged… and Shirou's response to them hadn't either.
He may have hated what he had said, but deep down, he never disagreed.
He knew how hypocritical he was, but it didn't change his drive in the slightest.
"Nope."
Shirou blinked.
"I think I'm starting to see where you're coming from. Granted, it's a weird place to come from, but I get it nonetheless." Yu muttered with a slight smile on her face. "However… you're forgetting something."
That smile fell just a bit as she continued.
"Shirou, you said that you're holding yourself back because of villains and all that, right?" At his nod, she pressed on. "Well, there's your problem. You're worrying about something out of your control, and trying to control it. Who cares if they get to see you at your best? All-Might certainly doesn't. Hell, no other Pro-Hero really cares either."
"But that's just…" Wrong. "What if they got defeated because someone saw their full power? What would they do then?"
If they saw every card up their sleeve, they'd plan to counter it. Once all cards were revealed, and all trump cards countered, what was left? An empty struggle as the enemy inevitably exploits your known weaknesses by taking away your main strengths.
He could already see possible fates for his classmates.
Starve Yaoyorozu in a battle of attrition and she wouldn't be able to create anything.
Cut off Uraraka's arms and she wouldn't be able to use her quirk.
Douse Bakugo in water, making it so his sweat wouldn't ignite.
Attack Todoroki from afar, away from his icy barrage of attacks.
That was the fate of someone who revealed everything they had. It was an uphill battle, one that Shirou had no intention of trying to fight if he could help it.
"Well, you win some, you lose some," Yu blatantly answered. "If they get beat, then that's a bummer. It can't be helped."
Shirou, not for the first time today, felt something deep inside flare-up in fury.
That's it? Give up?
Was that how it worked in this world? It can't be helped?
You fail to help someone, that's a bummer?
Was that all his worries were to her!?
As his cries were about to leave him, he was stopped by a stern glare. Halted by eyes narrowed in determination.
"If your own abilities fail you, then stop," Yu declared. "If there's nothing more you can do, then you failed. You weren't strong enough. That's the reality of it all. There will always be times where the Villain defeats the Hero."
"However, a Hero does not fight alone," she continued. "True, if a hero fights and loses, then there's nothing more he can do. But, that hero isn't alone. In this society of heroes, there's always one ready to come and help. Be it in the city or the open seas, there are always more heroes to fight."
Yu, with her hands firmly gripped around the young Emiya's shoulders, said with a smirk. "We never fight alone. Someone's always there to pick up where we left off, until we can pick ourselves up again and jump right back in."
She shifted her position, pulling him into her embrace before turning him to face the waiting room monitor. "Look up there. What do you see?"
It was Bakugo and Uraraka's previous match, but after watching it on repeat for a while, it had lost any potential luster.
"Those are your classmates, fellow heroes-in-training," Yu hadn't waited for an answer and continued anyway. "A bit rough around the edges, one more than the other, but they're giving it their best. The only worries they have is about whether or not they're going to win."
Not like him, who worried about villains watching safely from afar.
Not like him, who wanted to keep his abilities concealed.
Not like him, who felt unbelievably conflicted.
"But you don't see them like that, do you?" Yu followed. "In your eyes, you probably see them as people to be protected. Not even trusting them to look after themselves."
Shirou flinched.
"You could deny it, but even back when we first met… when you decided to run off and fight a villain by yourself, even when pro heroes were already working on it," Yu added. "Did you beat the Beast all on your own?"
"No," Shirou answered with a frown. But at the time, he had access to only a fraction of his prana. Not to mention, very unused to his current body.
It was those circumstances alone that he lost… but those circumstances could always arise again.
He could always end up low on prana, injured to continue fighting, or even busy saving people somewhere else.
Having allies to do what he couldn't do, to save who he wouldn't be able to reach, wasn't a bad thing.
"Even you need help sometimes," his adoptive parent said with a little tongue and cheek. "Who better to help you in the future than your fellow classmates?"
With a hearty shove, Shirou was sent flying towards the door. Luckily, he managed to land on his feet, albeit with a little stumble here and there.
"Think about it!" Yu shouted to him. "Now, get going! Your match starts soon!"
Shirou's lips were thinly clenched together, but he made his way out of the waiting room and towards the arena.
… Allies, eh?
He had two of them in the Holy Grail War. They were the who he could trust and rely on whenever the going got tough. However, in this world, he didn't have anyone who he trusted so deeply.
Yu was a benefactor, someone who helped him when nobody else could or would… but he wasn't sure if he could trust her as much as he did Rin and Saber.
But… there was merit to the idea.
If he was alone back in Fuyuki, he would've died so many times without allies.
Allies… that was an idea.
Once more in the open stadium, only this time atop a concrete arena, Emiya Shirou closed his eyes.
The thunderous roars of the arena were deafening, but he did not feel the least bit excited from it. His opponent was staring at him head-on with a wide smile on her face, yet he could still feel the slight apprehension from it.
His fingers coiled and relaxed. Now that he was on stage, he truly only had two choices. Win, or lose.
"Welcome to the seventh match of the first round!" Present-Mic called. "Is something going to come out of those horns? Well? From the Hero Course, Ashido Mina!"
This… was an eventful day.
Truth be told, Emiya Shirou felt that he could've stayed back, not participated at all to save himself the hassle. This wasn't the first time he thought of it, and the mere idea of it brought him no displeasure.
Yet, he had still entered.
"And her opponent– There he is, the other student with just as many points in the entrance exam as the top entrant!" Present-Mic shouted, not for the first or for the last time. "From the Hero Course! Emiya Shirou!"
There was conflict within him, Emiya Shirou understood that. However, while he felt the answer in reach, he also couldn't reach it. Every step he took towards an answer, he took another step back. He was toeing at the edge, and he had no idea why.
Doing things by halves and teetering on the edge, it was not something he would do. The months in secrecy made him more withdrawn than he was before, but that was no excuse, was it?
At the start of the obstacle race, he should've run ahead. He should've pushed himself instead of stopping halfway.
Saber would've been disappointed in him.
Rin would have blasted him with some gems for being an idiot.
… A new beginning. Archer greeted him with that.
"Yahoo, Emiya!" Ashido called. "You okay over there? Worried you gonna lose?"
False bravado as it was, likely to hype herself up, it did well to drag his attention away.
"No, not exactly what I was thinking," Emiya said with a slight smile. "But, it is close."
"Let the seventh match…" Midnight called. "… Begin!"
Ashido ran towards him. She knew that the only way she had to win was to force him back and out of the arena. In a haste, with no intention to face him when he could create his swords, she planned to have her acid act as a deterrent.
In an ideal world, Emiya would flinch away from the dangerous acid and retreat, closer and closer to the edge line before she could punt him out.
If Emiya Shirou was still conflicted, that could've been a reality. Unfortunately, his mind was made up.
After all the criticisms piled on from Archer and the encouraging words from his surrogate mother…
… It'd be bad to lose now, wouldn't it?
Ashido stopped and leaped back, eyes wide in surprise and wonder at the sword appearing out of thin air before her. Naturally, Shirou would never have let it pierce her, he wasn't careless, but it was blunt enough to cause worry.
Normally, a sword wasn't cause for wonder, but the fact it was floating midair did the trick.
"Emiya stops Ashido in her tracks! What will she do now!?" On queue came Present-Mic. "But hey, that's dangerous!"
"H–Hey, that was dangerous!" Mina shouted out. "What would've happened if I didn't stop in time!"
"I wouldn't have let it even cut you, Ashido-san," he reassured her.
"That's a nice thought, Emiya-chi," Ashido narrowed her eyes. "But, since when could you do… this?"
The fact that Shirou hadn't even thrown the sword, or make it from his own two hands, none of his classmates had seen it before, except for a few Class 1-B students. Especially Kodai, who had seen him make a shield directly behind him.
His hands weren't the only place for his swords to appear.
"Since the day we met," Emiya admitted as the sword eventually fell.
He didn't want to suspend it in the air for too long, but the fact that he revealed that he could just mean that his enemies were now wary of attacks from more… obscure angles. By stopping now he made them think he had a time limit for that little trick.
With Ashido's current hesitation to run forth, Emiya took the initiative. They were still at the heart of the arena, far from any potential ring out, so running at Ashido, while picking up the fallen broadsword, was a rather safe move to take.
The sight of a person running at you with a bladed weapon, if you weren't used to the sight, was off-putting. However, after what they had all experienced in USJ, the view was a cakewalk.
Ashido reacted hastily, splashing acid in front of her as a deterrent. Any decent person would flinch back. It was almost like deja vu with how similar it was to her first plan.
That meant it was exploitable.
Shirou traced a rather simple but large tower shield and blocked the haphazard spray of acid. The acid burned atop the mundane shield, but the steel in its making was not a weak one. The shield still held readily as he charged ahead.
"Blocked by an insurmountable wall! Emiya charges ahead!"
Making shields were convenient, but they were never his forte, so as soon as he saw Ashido's shoes from under the shield's protection, he threw it towards his opponent.
Ashido reacted by battering the admittedly somewhat heavy shield away. She was mostly immune to her own acid. If she had made it strong enough to melt the piece of steel then it would've fallen apart, probably. She had only intended to scare him away, hence its weak strength.
In doing so, she didn't notice him fade from her vision.
In a panic, Ashido tried to figure out his location, but the sudden locking of her arms behind her back told her where he had gone.
When she hit the shield away, she tried looking for him instantly. However, with how big the tower shield was, it hid his silhouette behind it, which he used to circle around and grapple her.
"–And Emiya gets a solid hold on Ashido! What will she do now?"
"Hey, hands off!" She shouted.
He'd rather not. The longer the match dragged on, the more chances she'd get hurt.
In a burst, acid sprayed from a rear-raised leg. To prevent himself from getting burned, Emiya leaped away. He mourned the loss of a quick match, but that didn't stop him from taking further steps away.
The closer he was to the edge, the riskier it was for both of them, but his usual fighting style was just as dangerous, if not infinitely more so.
"It's rude to just grab a girl like that, you know!?" Ashido shouted, charging at him with acid spraying from below her. Soon, it shifted into a skate, with her quickly picking up speed. "How do you like this!?"
Naive.
Shirou pivoted to the side, allowing her to skid by him. He fully expected her to go off the edge and out of the arena, but to his surprise, she pivoted herself enough so that a spray of acid countered her momentum.
He underestimated her. The magus within him didn't think that she could halt her own momentum like that, but it turns out he was the only one naive.
Archer was right, he unconsciously saw at least a few in his class as weak, and in turn, too weak for him trust. A bitter truth to swallow, but it was better to accept sooner rather than later.
They were around five steps away from the arena's edge, but Ashido charged anyway. She did see it fit to stop skating on her acid path, but she held her hands out tot he side, piling clumps of acid onto them as makeshift projectiles.
Shirou traced a Kanshou and Bakuya, the first blades that came to mind in the heat of it all, and made a crossed them to guard. The blades themselves were wide enough to block her acid and more than capable of withstanding it, being Noble Phantasms.
"A reversal! Ashido takes a substantial lead against Emiya!"
With him on the defensive, Ashido re-positioned herself. Now, with his back to the edge of the arena, he was in danger of losing the match.
The thought of proving Archer right by failing.
The thought of Yu being disappointed in him.
The thought of falling here… He didn't want that.
"What the–?!"
The endless torrent of acid stopped once the source had to retreat. Several swords embedded themselves onto the concrete floor as if it was made of clay, which it might as well have been with how much Ashido drenched it.
With a clear shot towards her, he charged.
Emiya didn't care about winning–
–But Shirou didn't want to lose here.
This time, bigger swords, buster blades as tall as he was, cascaded around a severely confused student.
"In one fell swoop, Emiya turns the situation on its head!"
Shirou remembered when Archer had trapped Rin back at the church in Fuyuki. It was ironic that he was doing the same thing.
He circled around even as Ashido tried to melt it away, turning up her acid to the point where it started to sizzle and burn the steel. Just as she made some headway, a new sword appeared behind it, rendering her efforts null. He wouldn't let her escape, he wanted to end it as soon as possible to minimize injuries.
This time it was his classmate between him and the outer edge.
Shirou charged into the smaller enclosure, letting the swords in his way dissipate into thin air. The way was opened, which prompted his pink opponent to try and make a break towards it.
However, it sealed shut, trapping them both inside a smaller arena than before. An arena where the young magus held all the cards.
"Ashido is trapped! What can she do!?"
She didn't even bother backing away, being pointless to do so with the swords in the way, so she threw clumps of acid once more. It was a more desperate action than before, she likely realized it herself, but it didn't stop his approach.
The clumps were small, due to being hastily made and thrown, so Shirou could easily bat them aside. Any stray bits of acid that got onto his clothes burned at the thread, but it wasn't strong enough to actually burn through. Again, from being hastily made.
Realizing the vanity in her actions, his horned classmate decided to try her luck in close quarters combat.
Unfortunately, her quirk was far more useful at a range. She likely knew this, which was why it appeared that she had little to no training with being up close and personal.
Shirou dodged a haphazard fist, notably coated in acidic goo, and kicked her away. She would've hit the haphazardly melted buster blade, but it dissipated along with the others near it, which caused her to roll on the cement somewhat.
By the time she got back up, she was cornered once more in a circle of blades.
"Again, she's trapped! Are these swords unlimited!?"
… Maybe.
He couldn't move the swords once they were made, only give them predetermined actions. Tracing them to launch at high velocity was what he could do, but freely manipulating its trajectory while airborne wasn't possible. He did have a phantasm that could do that, but it would be extremely overkill for the situation.
To force Ashido out of bounds, which she was around two steps away from, the young magus traced an almost familiar pole-arm. He doubted his classmates would realize, but one definitely would.
The steel rod jutted outward and, despite his classmate's efforts in dodging, got cleanly jabbed in the abdomen. The act took the air out of her and caused her to stumble.
By then, it was over. Shirou created an entrance for himself and shoved her out of the circle of swords.
She landed softly on the grass.
It's over.
"Ashido is out of bounds!" Midnight called. "Emiya moves onto the next round!"
The applause meant nothing… but only one shouting voice meant anything in particular.
"Aw, I lost," Meanwhile, Ashido just sighed as she got up. It was a few seconds later that Shirou did offered her a hand, which she gratefully took. "You beat me. I guess there's a lot more I need to learn, and I thought my quirk would work well against yours too."
The pouting tone she had in her voice brought a smile to his face. It reminded him of something. But what…?
"I thought I could melt through your swords you know," she muttered. "It isn't fair that you can just spam them like that. What's next, shooting them?"
Shirou chuckled. "Maybe."
Ah… that's right.
It reminded him of a simpler time, of one without the threat of a corrupted magical object, when there weren't any villainous threats looming about.
It was… pleasing.
'Conflicted' was what he could've described himself as before. He wasn't sure if he thought of himself as that anymore.
And that was a liberating feeling.
Seeing Shirou win his match, the match he was all but willing to throw out the window, caused Yu to cheer as loudly as she could.
However, inside she felt… conflicted, with what he told her.
On one hand, she was ecstatic that he finally opened up about his feelings. He hadn't even really done that, even throughout the few months they stayed together. It was something she should be rejoicing about.
And yet…
"Oi, shady cafe owner, you there?"
As if clockwork, said cafe owner appeared from the side of her vision, walking out from behind a pillar. Why he was lurking back there, Yu had no idea. It wasn't enough grounds to jail him up, as much as her gut just told her to do so anyway.
"Calling me shady is a bit of a stretch, isn't it?"
"With how little there is of you, I don't think so," Yu grunted out. Thankfully, they were at the far back of the public stands. Nobody in the audience noticed her, for they were too focused on now-finished match before them, but she still kept her voice low, just in case.
It was this asshole who started everything.
Ever since her adorable little Shirou met him, he's been off. It's like he's always staring off into nothingness, contemplating something he wasn't even willing to share with her.
The most infuriating fact was that this ass likely knew exactly what was bothering him! And. He. Wouldn't. Tell. Her.
It took everything within her not to gigantify herself and squash him right then and there, but she was a professional. She had self-control.
"Did everything work out as you hoped?" She muttered.
He raised a brow. "You don't sound particularly pleased."
"Why should I?"
"Your adoptive son seems to be less conflicted than he was before," he annoyingly pointed out. "But, then again, I suppose there is reason to be irritated."
Damn right, there was!
This guy had the audacity to call her, on-duty, and tell her to talk with her son. The nerve! As if she wouldn't have done it anyway… just not at this particular time. She would've done so after he had his match.
But, Yu surmised that it would've been too late by then.
That thought just irritated her further.
"Do you like just getting everyone's skin?" Yu retorted. "Because it seems like it!"
This bastard aside, she truly did hope that Shirou would confide in her more, just like he did several minutes ago. To talk more about his worries, troubles, even his pet peeves… and maybe what other secrets he was assuredly hiding.
"Compliments aside," the bastard brushed it off. "Thank you for your assistance."
Yu snorted. "Why did you care anyway? You treated him like an annoying brat."
"He is, and always will be, a nuisance to me," his blatant admittance infuriated her. "However, there is a certain… person of interest, that wouldn't take kindly to any negative developments surrounding him."
Yu was before him in a second. The professional hero visage was gone, replaced with the eyes a tempered yer furious parent.
"What kind of person has taken an interest in my Shirou?"
Every word came out with the promise of endless torment. Her very tone screaming his suffering.
What person as interested in him? Was it related to his past? Was this absolute bastard of a cafe owner related to her son's past? What secret did he hold? Could they have possibly met before? What was he planning with her son?
All of these horrifying thoughts swam around her worrying mind, yet the most absolutely irritating thing wasn't about any of those, but about this guy right here.
He wasn't phased by it.
"Forgive me, but you're taking it the wrong way," he said with a raised brow. It was as if the promises she undoubtedly held weren't worth a single note. "However, it's pleasing to know that the fool has someone who cares about him."
Fool!?
"I'll show you 'fool'!"
Just was about clock him a new one, her reputation as a professional be damned, he raised his hand.
Her fist was stopped, just like that.
"Please," he said dismissing her attack. "The only danger your son is in, is the danger he puts himself in."
The way she flinched only confirmed his claim.
"Be at ease, the persons I'm referring to don't wish anything malicious for him, not in the slightest," he added trying to placate. As soon as he was about to say more, he paused.
Soon, a wicked smile grew on his face.
"What's so funny?" Yu tried asking.
"Well, it might not be so funny for you. However, the relationship this person of interest has between your son is… more intimate," he said with a smirk. "After all, they've shared a bed together."
…
Yu blinked.
"What."
What.
What.
What.
What?
Yu blinked again, only to find that the person he was speaking to had vanished, leaving her to stare blankly at a wall with her back hunched as if she was a candy cane.
"Get back here you shitty cafe owner! What do you mean!?"
He just meant sleeping, right!?
Her cries would meet nothing.
That… absolute–UGH!
… She'd have to talk to Shirou about this later. This was one secret she'd rather not be in the dark about. Her position as a mother was at stake!