Lyrical Sword

Beta read by Opal, Ethan and FabledLife.

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-Midchilda- 

(A few days later)

If there was one thing Shirou had come to learn in the past few days, it was that appearance proved to be very deceiving. This end of a variety of other thoughts formed his mind as soon as he opened his eyes and he immediately got hit by a terrible hangover. 

"Urgh…" 

He was not one to drink often, or even at all for alcohol in general did not suit his taste, unlike a few people he knew in his life. But that did not mean he never partook in any events whilst drinking a few of these. The effects were not that strong for it required several bottles of them to get him tipsy, or at least that was what he thought. 

Yesterday he had truly discovered his limits thanks to having faced the last person he ever expected to be a heavyweight when it came to drinking. "What time is it exactly?" He said to himself, taking a few seconds to gather his wits and slowly get up. His muscles felt sore for some reason and his throat was raspy, dry as if he did not drink anything for days. 

"It's almost morning." The birds were already chirping and sunlight crept through the windows to illuminate the apartment. Making him gaze in shock at what was once a neatly organized space into a complete mess currently. Blankets, pillows, glassware, clothes, and several objects littered the ground all around him. 

In the middle of the living room, a certain blue and light brown-haired duo could be seen slumbering whilst the former kept holding the latter tightly like one would hold a stuffed bear. Subaru's peaceful expression made it clear that she was having a pleasant dream, which could not be said for Tiana who kept changing her facial expression through several grimaces and painful winces. Struggling to set herself free and whatever dream her current position conjured up. 

"They did not even clean up the bottles," Shirou commented, His eyes twitching upon seeing the number of empty cans and beer bottles surrounding these two. The one who had consumed most of them was none other than Subaru of course, the girl having started a pointless drinking competition last night after the two young girls went to sleep.

"Urgh!" The alcoholic sent reached his nose and forced a wretched sound out of him, gagging by reflex and barely able to hold himself back from emptying the content of her stomach. "Never again will I allow them to do this. Getting hit by dozens of Rin's Gandr is not this painful." 

Unfortunately, somehow he allowed himself to get involved with the game and was forced to compete against a certain blonde. The memories were faint, but he clearly remembered the unbothered smile Fate had on her face despite having drunk several bottles. 

'They will wake up in about an hour. Guess I should prepare breakfast until then. Cleaning as well, damn it, never again.' 

The rest of the house thankfully had remained untouched by last night's chaos, other than some bits and pieces of food scraps lying about which could be cleaned up rather quickly. He let out a long yawn while walking to the kitchen and halted in his steps the moment a savory and sweet fragrance reached his nose. 

This along with the sound of something sizzling made him hurriedly go over to the kitchen, fearing that perhaps someone left something cooking on the stove and went on to forget about it. "Huh?"

But as soon as he reached the area, his prior thoughts were immediately thrown out of the window when his eyes came upon the sight of Fate wearing his apron making breakfast while also humming a pleasant tune. Her hair was undone, no sign of any fatigue or hangover on her face despite having drunk more than him. Perhaps his hasty footsteps managed to garner her attention, tranquilize her staring back at him with a beautiful smile blooming on the woman's face. 

"Oh my, I see that you're finally awake, Shirou. Don't mind me, I took the liberty to take over your kitchen for a bit, hope you don't mind. I think I got a good grasp on where you keep everything after seeing you work here for these past few days." 

"..."

The redhead did not provide her with an immediate answer, instead going to visually check every corner of his holy sanctuary. Checking for any mess or places he would need to clean afterward. But much to his relief, the place was absolutely prim and proper. "I… didn't know you could cook."

"Well, I don't do it often given that I mostly have my meals at the cafeteria or delivered to my room. But it is essential to know a few basic survival skills, and have a taste. I want to see you judge my cooking." She said whilst placing a plate of what appeared to be fried eggs, sausages, and a bit of pan-fried vegetables. The plating itself was not very striking, but the aroma certainly made his mouth water a bit. 

Taking a bite, he was pleasantly surprised. "It's very good."

"Fufufu, hearing that from our very own chef Emiya is an honor." She gave him a quick exaggerated bow, acting as if this were some kind of trial she went through. "Unfortunately, I could not remake it to the same level as your dish from last night. So it is clear that I have a lot to work on in order to impress Vivio and Lutecia." 

She had a point, he was happy to see how dedicated Fate was to becoming a better caretaker for both girls. But instead of indulging himself with the food, there were a few things he needed to handle first. 

"I should go wake them up first," It was already quite late, best to avoid them sleeping past lunchtime. 

"I will wake up Subaru and Tiana." 

With that said, both went to different areas of the apartment. Even with his foggy memory from last night, Shirou was still certain he brought those two to bed the same as usual. Walking across the hallway, He reached his bedroom and quietly opened the door handle — walking in to find a rather interesting scene. 

"Mmm…" Lutecia was obviously deep in her slumber, humming in her as her hands grabbed onto Vivio in a similar fashion to Subaru and Teana. Funny when he remembered how stoic and quiet the purple-haired girl behaved around their newest friend. 

"I kind of don't want to wake them up, oh wait, I should take a picture first." He blamed Nanoha for such a habit, for she had taken plenty of Lutecia pictures recently as well. Giving him the idea to try it out as well when presented with such an opportunity. "It's time to wake up, both of you, Fate made breakfast for everyone. So get up." 

Grabbing the curtains and pulling them swiftly to let in the sunlight from the outside, he watched in amusement as the first one to be pulled awake by the light shining on their faces was none other than Lutecia. 

"Five more minutes…" she mumbled, burying her face onto Vivio's back to block out the sun. Going still for a few seconds until something grabbed her attention. "... Why… are you wearing a dress… Shirou?"

Oho? What an interesting opportunity, seeing as how her eyes were still closed and she was going with the sense of touch alone — the girl had not realized that it was not him by his side as usual. Not rejecting the opportunity that presented itself to him, the redhead kneeled right next to the bed behind the girl and whispered. 

"It's just my regular sleepwear, the same as always." Going a step forward by gently caressing her hair. "Is it uncomfortable? I thought you would be more bothered by the hair covering your face instead of myself being small enough for you to hold me like that." 

"E-Eh?" 

Finally starting to figure that something was off, she slowly opened her hazy eyes to see that the person she was holding was in fact, not him. 

"..."

"Got yourself a new friend to keep you company, I see." His grin could not be any more obvious, especially when the person in front of him immediately got back up and glared back at him. 

"What is… this one still doing here?"

A bit cranky, a genuine yet subtle flash of anger that even he spotted and found hilarious more than anything else. She always hated his method of waking her up after all, coupled with something that definitely put her on the edge. "Don't tell me you already forgot her name, Lutecia."

"Remembering matters of lesser importance is to be expected." 

"She's Vivio, your new friend."

"I never agreed to that." She had a quick response, barely any hesitation in her voice when she answered him back. "Why is she in our bed?" 

"It's technically your bed now since I sleep over the—"

"That's not what I asked." 

"Sure did sound like it."

"I'm not in the mood for your jokes this early in the morning with what I caught when fishing here." 

"I'm still impressed you were able to pull someone across the water without any help given strength isn't really your strong su—"

"—Shirou!" Unable to keep her anger at bay, she cutely hit the mattress with her fist. Giving him the look to stop messing with her and be serious. Hard to do so since her reactions such as this were so rare and few that his desire to keep on teasing her to see more of them grew by the day. "Do not pinch my face." 

Did she develop the ability to read minds now? Terrifying. 

In the end, he relented and raised his hands. "Okay, okay calm down. I just wanted to give her somewhere comfortable to sleep for the night away from all the noise and this was the ideal place you know? Plus even if I wanted to bring her somewhere else, you were holding onto her too tightly to do so." 

A small blush crept onto her face, especially when he showed her the pictures he took as proof where shown. Moving the device away the moment she tried to get her hands on it. 

"This is blackmail." 

"I didn't even ask you for anything." 

She scoffed, "You will ask for me to allow Vivio to live with us."

"Not a bad idea. But I wouldn't need to ask, since why would I even need your permission to bring in someone else under my care?" 

In reality, he would indeed ask for her opinions on the matter first and foremost. If the girl did not agree or vehemently refused the idea then he was willing to respect it. The only reason he did not say so was mostly just to see her reaction once more.

"W-Well… a-about that… that…" she struggled to find a proper reason, thinking hard for a few seconds yet unable to come up with anything. "... It was only supposed to be Zest, you, Mom, and I here. You promised."

That he did, getting up, he once more ruffled her hair. "I know, I'm just messing with you for a bit. Vivio will most likely be staying with Fate at her apartment. This place is quite small and I don't think she would want to leave Fate or Nanoha in order to live here with me. We just managed to get her released from the orphanage, it wouldn't look good if they learn that Fate has her stay somewhere else than her own house." 

Her gaze lowered back to the sleeping Vivio, he guessed several thoughts went through her mind concerning that girl thus he stayed quiet. 

"Alright, but don't try anything stupid, Shirou." 

He let out an exasperated chuckle, "Where did that even come from? I am not going to do anything dangerous you know."

"No, not that kind of stupid. Just keep your guard up, don't try to help everyone you come across without hesitation." 

"Wait," it took some moment to figure it out, but the realization finally came to him. "Don't tell me you're afraid that I will replac—" 

His words got cut short when a certain blonde-haired girl woke up from her slumber. Yawning she pushed herself up and looked around the room until her eyes fell upon Lutecia and him. "A-Ah… g-good morning…?" Hesitation and shyness filled her tone upon seeing him specifically, trying to grab onto Lutecia's sleeves for some form of assistance maybe.

Only for the person she was trying to lean on hopping off the bed, grabbed the hem of his shirt. Pulling him forward hastily away and giving the going one her standard stoic expression. "No." 

"Eh?" 

"Good." Nodding her head, the young summoner went to the bathroom, leaving him to handle the awkward situation by himself. At least she was beginning to warm up to Vivio, even if it was not much of a progress. 

"You don't need to be afraid of me, you know? I won't hurt you." 

"O-Oh, sorry! I'm not afraid of you!" She quickly shook her head, looking quite embarrassed. She hesitated at first and gave him an uncertain look, "Are you… and Mama close?"

"Mama? You call Fate Mama?" 

"Because she is my mama! I have two mamas!" She said it proudly, puffing her chest as well. "

"I see, I suppose there is nothing wrong with calling her that. To answer your previous question, I'm not Lutecia's father."

"Her brother?" 

"No. I'm here…" What was the best way to describe his role in her life? He was not sure about it himself honestly. "Something like her protector, I make sure she does not end up meeting bad guys like she was before."

"Oooh!" 

Her eyes started to gleam with pure splendor. Looking at him in a completely different light. 

"Does that mean that you are a hero!?" 

"Eh?" That certainly caught him off guard, this being the last thing he expected to hear from the child. 

"But wouldn't a papa also do the same thing?" 

"I agree, but I really am not her father. Do you really want me to be her father that much?" 

"Yes!" She answered confidently, jumping excitedly on the bed. "If you are her papa, then Lutecia and I can spend more time together if you marry my mamas!" 

"— !" 

He finally began to understand why some people would mention children having wild imaginations. For her to want to be around Lutecia so much that she hoped he would get together with the two girls was hilarious to think about. He did not have it in his heart to say no to her words and tried to think of some other way to answer her. 

"Unfortunately, I can't do that since the three of us are not in a relationship or close to being married. Nanoha and Fate are my friends, it would be awkward if I tried to be your father."

"—Why not?" 

"Wah!" The sudden voice behind him caught him by surprise, startling the man who almost fell to the ground. Vivio let out a small yelp at his reaction but immediately got overjoyed when she saw the person behind him. 

"Mama!" The girl jumped from the bed onto the blonde woman's embrace, giggling. 

"Why didn't I hear you coming in…" Shirou said dryly, certain that he would have sensed or even heard her coming in. A part of him wondered if she had done so deliberately just to mess with him. 

"I was curious to see what you two were talking about~!" She answered coyly, showing him a small smirk. "And what is this about being a father I just so happen to overhear?" 

Vivio answered before he could, excitedly tugging Fate's clothes. "He agreed to become my papa so that Lutecia and I can spend more time together!" 

"Oi, I did not say that!" This little mischievous girl, he had been fooled by her innocence and now she was spouting nonsense to fate potentially creating a misunderstanding! But rather than being confused or even displeased, Fate instead showed an expression of amusement as she stared at him back.

"Oh my, You're quite bold aren't you, Shirou? Here I thought you were aiming for Nanoha-chan, but you're so greedy that you want both of us? Wait… is this why You invited both of us to your house on so many occasions? Is that why Subaru and Teana are also here~?" 

"... No, they just come here for the food." 

"You didn't deny my previous words about myself and Nanoha."

"Because I know you will twist my words into something else." 

For the past couple of days, he discovered that Fate, of all people, had a habit of teasing him from time to time. These attempts had grown more frequent recently and now she was not even afraid to do so in front of everyone else. 

She rolled her eyes and showed a fake hurt expression to Vivio. "Looks like Shirou does not want to be with us after all." 

"You're making it worse, Fate." At this point, she was going to confuse the child with their relationship and spread misinformation to everyone they knew. 

"Fufufufu, I am just messing with you, Shirou~! No need to make such a sour face." 

"I am not making a sour face." 

"You are," Vivio answered, laughing at his expense. Not good, she was starting to take certain traits after Fate. Then again, he doubted it would be better with Nanoha, both women were similar in many ways. 

In the end, he understood why Vivio would want such a thing. It made sense why someone as young as her would consider either Fate or Nanoha as her mother rather than guardian or caretaker. A young child like this would be starved for parental relationships and both girls were capable enough to give her that in his opinion. 

"I suppose you can call us friends." 

"I suppose we can settle with that for now." Fate thankfully didn't go further with her jokes. 

"Does that make you Lu-chan's papa?" She asked cutely, 

Lu-chan? 

He might use that. 

"All right, let's go and have breakfast. I made your favorite, Vivio."

"Yay!"

Definitely more happy to speak with Fate than himself. How's those two left the room, he heard the door slowly open behind him and turned to find a seething glare coming from the gaps. 

"I only left you for five minutes… and already you are…"

Oh, she heard everything.

The rest of the day went as usual, with Subaru and Teana woken up by Fate, they all had breakfast and got ready to leave. Since Vivio could not be brought along with them to the main building, Fate went ahead to bring the girl to someone she trusted. 

There was some unwillingness on Vivio's end, having grown attached to Fate and Lutecia she was a bit hesitant to let them go, nearly crying; were it not for a couple of promises to bring her somewhere nice afterward amongst other things. The scene of Fate trying to calm down the child made the others chuckle at how much she resembled a mother or a big sister. 

"Being a guardian is harder than I imagined," Fate mentioned in the car, leaving the place where they dropped off Vivio. "I was prepared for there to be a few challenges along the way, but this is different than what I imagined."

"What part exactly?" 

"To always worry about her." She answered with an awkward smile. "The child has gotten attached to me and Nanoha thankfully enough. But we both have different ways to care for her, I feel, just yesterday during one of our training sessions with some of the Riot Force 6 members. Vivio came over and happened to fall, I wanted to go over and help her but Nanoha's approach was for the former to get up on her own instead."

That was a surprise, Nanoha as far as he knew always gave him the impression of being someone very gentle. So this kind of approach to raising a child certainly seemed a bit out of place. "Do you disagree with her?"

Fate struggled to answer at first. "I don't know. I understand what she wants to accomplish, to not shelter the girl too much and make her strong. But just how strong does she want Vivio to be? We're not hoping to force her into a mage and work for the Time-Space Administrative Bureau and be on the field." 

"..."

These last few days, he learned plenty of other things about Vivio in particular. Her unknown origins and how Erio along with Caro happened to find her within the rubbles of the underground space after the attack. Upon bringing her to the orphanage and doing a quick check-up on her, several concerns were raised concerning the girl. Discoveries that led many to conclude that she could be one of his creations, a homunculus, just like the ones he fought briefly before.

"Since she probably has some connections to Jail, we don't know if he might come after her like he tried with Lutecia. Speaking of which, any ideas of what his connection might be with her?" He asked the purple-haired girl who was quietly sitting in the back the entire time. 

"No, I don't remember the doctor ever saying anything about her." She shook her head, looking up with guilt at not being able to help much. "Matters that were not linked to me or Zest were never discussed in the open. He is someone who works on many different things at the same time, so it's hard to tell." 

"Not to mention, if he was after her then why did he not go after Vivio first rather than Lutecia?" Shirou added, "No one was aware of her existence and he could have done it discreetly even." 

"I suppose you are right, maybe I am overthinking this entire thing. But still, it is my duty to keep her safe, in any case, we're here." Soon the main headquarters came into view, after the attack, the place had become more fortified with several agents checking anyone going inside and outside of the building. Though many doubted that Jail would try such a stunt once again, they still felt safer taking more precautions.

"I have a few things to handle with some of my superiors, Hayate is waiting for you, so You will have to go without me I'm afraid." Fate shared this as soon as she parked the car, giving him a slightly guilty look. 

"It's fine, I know my way around so you don't have to accompany me every time. This is not the first time I have been here after all." 

"Good, see you soon, Shirou.' waving each other goodbye, each went separate ways with him taking a familiar path to the Riot Force 6's office. 

Looking around, it was at such moments that he was reminded of how advanced humankind was in this world. The futuristic architecture, flying vehicles visible in the distance, and floating screens everywhere in the lobby. Both he and Lutecia made their way quietly with several curious eyes gazing at them from different people. While he did not mind them, the girl next to him had become a bit more wary, her whole hand tightening. 

"You don't have to be worried about anything, no one here is going to hurt you." 

"I know," was all she said, there clearly being more behind her words but he did not feel the need to force her. 

"Now that I think about it, you barely interacted with anyone outside Subaru and Teana, right? Last time was not exactly the best moment to socialize given the attack. But I really do think that you will get along quite well with Caro and Erio. They are around your age, I believe you spoke to them in the past?" 

"The summoning girl, I remembe—"

"—You, hold." Who was cut off by a stern graph voice from behind? Both halted in their steps and he immediately felt Lutecia growing very tense in a single moment. Her other hand pulled up her hood to further hide her face while he turned to look at whoever was talking to them. 

"You…" A man with a large presence, tall and quite robust with a protruding belly. His face is a bit square-ish but further emphasized by that prominent glare on his face. Looked at him with clear dissatisfaction as if he had insulted him before. "Who might you be?" 

Unfortunately, the person's name did not come up in his mind. He definitely looked very familiar but Shirou did not remember speaking to him in the past. 

"Agent Emiya Shirou. Temporary mage assigned under the command of Hayate Yagami. Origins are officially recorded as being a citizen from the planet Earth but in reality, it is something else entirely. Type of magic: unknown. Reasons to work with us, to find a way back but through what means remains unknown." 

Out of nowhere, the man started to give him a brief resume of his record for some reason, after each word that left his mouth, his tone kept getting audibly more suspicious and angrier. As if he could not believe what he was saying out loud. 

"I am Lieutenant General Regius Gais, I believe this is the first time we are meeting face-to-face."

Realization soon dawned upon both Shirou and Lutecia, The latter of which had their eyes wide opened and showed a trace amount of fear when looking at the man in front. Her reaction would not go unnoticed by the redhead who walked in front and hid her from view. 

"It is. I remember Hayate speaking about you in the past. You don't seem to like me very much from what I gathered."

There was no point in acting polite with him when the man himself approached him with clear hostility. 

"Humph, you speak as if there is no reason behind my behavior." Even Gais himself did not bother with any kind of pleasantries, "I won't waste my time with you, so I will say it just once. You are an unknown liability to the Time-Space Administrative Bureau. Your origin leaves more questions than answers which cannot be tolerated. Your affiliation with several high-ranked members is in itself suspicious as well along with the usage of magic that cannot be properly classified."

"I wonder why, oh wait, does it perhaps have to do anything with the fact that I am not from here? You wouldn't happen to believe that magic works the same way everywhere now do you? Also, I do not see any reason for you or anyone else to be that bothered about knowing the details of my magecraft." He nearly spat out sarcastically but held back his tongue, not wanting to cause any trouble for Nanoha and the others. "Also, I fail to see why you think me being friends with a few members is seen as suspicious. After all, they were the ones who came in contact with me when I was stranded first." 

"Stranded you say." Gais scoffed, treating his words as if they were a joke. Fortunately, that was not enough to break Shirou's calmness at the moment, for this man was nowhere near as annoying as a certain archer-class Servant. 

"That is another point that needs to be investigated further. How can anyone be stranded on a habited planet, especially during an invasive species attack? Only a fool would believe such a nonsensical thing, especially when you have not given any proof to suggest you truly are not from here." 

Had he not known better, the first thought in his mind would have been that Gais was attempting to intentionally get a violent reaction out of him. Get him to do something that would only invite trouble for Nanoha and Hayate. 

A frown presented on his face, "For some reason, I doubt you will accept it even if I were to bring you enough proof. You know what I think? I think you're just trying to use me to invite trouble for Hayate and the others." 

"Watch your tongue, boy." He warned, lowering his gaze over to Lutecia behind him. "Don't think you are able to keep a terrorist mage away from facing the consequences of her actions just by hiding behind Hayate Yagami. Not even allowing us to extract any crucial information about Jail Scaglietti from her is bad enough as it is." 

His fists clenched, it was bad enough that these people were searching for trouble with him. But to now aim for Lutecia as well was going over the line and he could not allow that.

"She already shared everything she knows, there is no need to push this matter." 

"Or what?" Regius challenged, raising an eyebrow and standing his ground. "If we have a sufficient belief that she is hiding something from us, then I can have enough of my colleagues to agree to a temporary question. Given the recent attack, not everyone is as much on Hayate's side as you think. If you truly believe that she is innocent of still colluding with Jail or withholding information — then surely you would not get in the way." 

"..." 

Distrust was the primary emotion he felt when looking at the man before him. Unlike Hayate who genuinely had Lutecia's best intentions in mind, the same sentiment was not shared with the person in front. 

The fact he was being so adamant did not sit well with him at all. 

Something did not seem right here. 

"Try." 

"Is that a threat? Are you presenting yourself as a possible enemy of the administration?" 

He took a deep breath, No wonder neither one of the girls had anything good to say about him. The animosity this person showed made it hard to think of him positively in any way. Not that the details behind his reason for his behavior mattered to him. "I'll tell you the same thing I mentioned to Nanoha. Lutecia is under my care, so that means I will be making sure she stays safe regardless of who is putting her in danger. Whether it's Jail or TSAB itself."

Gais' eyes widened, most likely having not expected to hear such a thing from him at all. The tension in the air grew thick enough that even some of the passing people in the background could not help themselves but cast a curious glance.

"You have a lot of nerve to say that to a Lieutenant General, I hope you understand the consequences of those words." 

Rather than entertain him with another response and escalate things further, Shirou turned his back to the general and beaconed the silent Lutecia to follow him with a gentle smile. "Let's go, we can't keep Hayate waiting for long." 

"I don't remember giving you permission to leave, Emiya Shirou," Regius exclaimed, only to be ignored by the duo. "Humph!" 

His entire temperament grew cold, glaring at the boy with several thoughts going through his head. None of which Shirou was interested to know the details, fully focused ahead till he read another corridor with a person standing at the corner. 

"That was not smart on your end, making enemies with a Lieutenant General will only invite trouble for you." 

A beautiful-looking woman with short brown hair, sharp eyes, and glasses that reflected the light around her. Wearing a similar uniform as the rest, another individual he was certain to have never met before. 

"Lieutenant General Regius Gais has been working for more than forty years, having garnered enough trust from the higher-ups to one day take on the title of General. You would be wise to not simply ignore his words whenever you can." 

Walking forward, the woman showed no hostility or any kind of animosity like the man and instead kept a perfectly neutral face. Holding out her hand for a few seconds he returned the gesture after a moment of hesitation. "Third Commander Major, Auris."

"Emiya Shirou… I suppose you can see me as a freelancer working for Hayate? Though I believe I have a rank." 

"I know, you caused quite a bit of stir around the place and a lot of headaches for many." 

He chuckled awkwardly, "Sorry about that, I'll try to not cause any more commotions in the future."

"Your own uncertainty does not give me much confidence," Auris said, though he could not tell whether she was amused or not by his words. 

"As for what you have mentioned before, I know that he is someone with a high rank here, but I meant everything I said. I won't be handing Lutecia off to anyone I don't trust and your Lieutenant General has very much given me enough reason to not do so." He watched the woman tilt her head slightly, humming slowly before nodding in understanding. 

"I suppose I can understand your reasoning. But does that mean you trust Lieutenant Colonel Hayate?" 

"She along with everyone under her command has gone to great lengths to accommodate me." Unlike Regius, her approach was not laced with animosity at every syllable, making his answer sound more calm and collected. "Also, she did not give me any reason to not trust her, unlike a certain someone."

"He can be pretty aggressive with his approach, but he always has the safety of Midchilda in mind. It does not change the fact that you may be putting too much trust in people who will not be able to accomplish what they promised." 

It was his turn to look at her, confused by what she meant at all. 

"Hayate Yagami has been here for ten years at most, while it may seem like a lot to you, she still has a lot to prove given her past criminal record using the Book of Darkness. The only reason why she got this rank in the first place was due to the possession of a powerful Lost Logia." Right as he prepared himself to give her a reply, she stopped him by raising her hand. "I know what you are going to say and it is not my goal to change your mind in just a single conversation. I only came here to remind you that despite what you may believe about the lieutenant General, he is most definitely your true ticket back to your world instead of putting your faith in someone who does not possess the same kind of connection and resources. That is all I had to say." 

Auris walked past him, leaving him and Lutecia all by themselves in the corridor. There were mixed feelings within his heart but nothing to make him doubt Hayate's sincerity. Instead, he turned his attention to the young summoner next to him, "What do you think?" 

"I don't trust both sides equally, so it does not matter to me." She shrugged, being genuine with that answer. He shows a wry smile, such nonsense should have been expected in the first place. "But I don't trust that man even more, Zest told me to stay away from him many times in the past. Be careful around him, he will not let this go."

"He can try, Also, the others won't let him just do as he pleases. There is a reason why I was able to keep you with me rather than have the others take you to be imprisoned or locked away. So don't put his words to mind, mostly just big talk or a way to scare me. 

"You say that, but what if the next day he sent an entire battalion against you?"

That made him laugh, earning a cute pout from the girl. Gently ruffling her hair much to her dismay, it was the third time it did so in a single day but they were quite soft and nice to do so. 

"I don't think he is petty enough to do something like that. Even if it turned out he was, I don't think any one of the girls would let this happen." He said with a chuckle, sounding confident enough for the young girl to believe his words and feel a sense of relief for a brief moment.

"What if he does and the others can't help us?" 

"Unlikely, I trust them. But if things are pushed to such an extent, then I suppose we can always just leave."

{Break}

-Riot Force 6 training area-

"Hayate," after his interaction with Gais, thankfully no one approached him and both headed to where everyone was. The same area where he remembered fighting Subaru and Teana for the first time, the prior concrete jungle now having turned into a lush green forest with a giant clearing in the middle where several figures were gathered — spectating a fight between two individuals. 

"Oh, Shirou, Lutecia, glad to see you here. We were just talking about you, eh? Fate is not with you?" The brunette greeted him as he approached her. 

Signum stood beside her, paying close attention to the fight in the distance. Focused enough that she did not notice his arrival until Hayate spoke. "I hope you have recovered sufficiently during this period." 

"It's fine, I heal quickly and I was not that hurt to begin with. I should be worried about the others, they were the ones handling those drones." Hundreds of drones along with those numbered women, while he did fight them for a brief moment, it was not enough to put him in much mortal danger. Their priority back then turned out to retrieve Lutecia while distracting everyone else. "You wanted to see me?"

Hayate nodded, "Yes. You probably don't know but during the attack we had several agents working with us to take down the enemy forces. One of them is currently going up against Subaru. Why don't you take a look." As she mentioned, in the distance the two people fighting against one another were none other than Subaru and another woman who looked very similar to the latter. Same colored hair, the same gear, and fighting style. Went around in rollerblades with two large gauntlets releasing a large amount of red energy as it struck a shield generated by Subaru's device. 

Bang!

The impact spread this far, practically causing him to feel tiny vibrations on the ground itself. 'Whoa…' Just the sheer thought of getting struck by such an attack sent shivers down his spine, his shock further enhanced when the force field practically shattered in an instant. The armored fist digging into her opponent's guts, even with the barrier jacket, it did not seem as if it reduced the amount of force behind it. 

"Ah!" 

Her figure went flying, crashing against several rows of trees, shattering them into splinters until she managed to gain a foothold for a brief moment. "Above you!" 

The onlookers shouted, pulling her back from her dazed state. 

Shirou watched in all as the opponent had created a platform circling from the ground to the air above, rolling at great speed and certainly Subaru without giving her an opportunity to gather her wits.

Even from here, he saw the exact moment she started to panic, quickly loading her device and momentarily leaving herself open for her opponent to attack. "Ah!" 

A stomp descended from above, using the accumulated momentum and a powerful spell to push herself downwards with incredible force and strike Subaru as the latter tried to counter the attack with a half-finished spell using her fists. A brief standoff occurred, though we became obvious in a matter of seconds who was at an advantage. 

"She's going to lose." Hayate mirrored his sentiment, Lutecia agreeing as well. "While she has definitely gotten better compared to her past self, Ginga is still far more experienced and faster."

"I can see that… she's more aggressive." It was strange to see someone like her get overwhelmed by an opponent using the same style of combat. Whenever she would make a move, Ginga would counter with a more powerful one that would break her opponent's guard. 

Leaving Subaru with little time to actually counterattack, getting further pushed back with each attack again and again till her back was against a boulder.

"I don't think she will be able to hold out much longer." Just as he said that Ginga went in for a final clash, this time using her roller blades to strike Subaru in the head, avoiding a punch to the face at the same time. Taking her completely by surprise and following several gut punches till the indigo-haired girl crumbled to the floor. "That was quicker than I thought."

Several members from Erio, Caro, and Teana went over to check on her. 

Hayate chuckled, "You shouldn't be too surprised, Ginga is the one who taught Subaru everything about her fighting style. She is an A-Rank mage and Ground Sergeant with plenty of years of experience under her belt. During the invasion, she alone was able to clear a large quantity of Type I drones all by herself. She got curious to know about Subaru's progress and came over today to test her out."

"She's one of the best in her rank," Signum added, finally breaking her concentration from the duel. "She gave me quite a challenge in the past, even Vita had trouble against her. Her style, though similar to Subaru, is very versatile in both close and mid-ranged combat. I'd say she's the worst kind of opponent you'd face in combat."

"I don't know if you're underestimating or overestimating me," Shirou commented with uncertainty.

"Projectiles won't do much against her, she has shown enough knowledge to either dodge or break them entirely with her fists." 

For a brief moment, the face of a certain Enforcer he crossed paths with in the past during his time working with the Clocktower in certain missions. A formidable whose punches could obliterate an entire boulder to dust — and she was not even using a gauntlet. Though they barely interacted with one another outside of those moments, her feat of strength remained engraved in his mind. 

As he listened, a particular point came to his attention. "Are they related?"

"Yup, she's the eldest daughter of the Nakajima family! Ginga Nakajima." 

No wonder they looked so similar. Having the appearance of an older Subaru with longer hair, he knew very little about Subaru's private life so this certainly came as a surprise. Upon the introduction, the group noticed both of their presence with Erio coming forward first. 

"Shirou! Are you here to train with us as well?" He said excitedly for some reason, taking the redhead by surprise. 

"You sure sound eager to duel with me. Is there a reason?" 

"Are you kidding? I keep hearing countless stories by Subaru about how she got so much better because of your sparring sessions! That's not fair, I also want to get better as fast as her. During the attack, I was barely of any use at all…" An expression of regret appeared on his face, feeling genuinely conflicted about that matter. "If I had been better, then not as many people would have been injured." 

"Don't say that Erio-kun, both you and Caro played a crucial role during the attack. Without you, there would have been even more casualties and possibly deaths." Though he nodded his head, Hayate's words did not seem to reach him, for he continued to steroid him with clear intentions. 

"Oooh, nice to see you here, Shirou!" Subaru waved at him, being supported by her partner who kept scolding her to not move. "Sorry you have to see that, I was not able to show you and everyone else my cool side during this fight. But next time I won't lose, Gin-nee!" 

"It's probably because you drank too much yesterday, I can still smell the alcohol, idiot," Teana muttered silently, eyes twitching when all she got in response was a laugh. Guess she hadn't fully recovered from her hangover after all. 

"So you're him." No, it was Ginga who addressed him, looking at him from head to toe curiously a couple of times. "Strange, you look a bit different from what I imagined."

Shirou raised an eyebrow at that statement. "How so?" 

"From all the stories I kept hearing from my sister from the past few days, you look very different from the Juggernaut kind of person she kept describing who is good with everything he picks up and manages to make Teana jealous." She said with a small smile, finding the entire description she gave, amusing more than anything else. 

The twin-tailed mage on the other hand did not appreciate the last part of her description and started to shake the person she was supposed to support. "What does she mean by jealousy? What exactly am I supposed to be jealous of in the first place!? It better not be something related to that session when he used a gun!"

"S-Stop, you're choking me!"

While those two were having fun in the background, Shirou focused on the person in front of him. 

"I don't know how to comment on the Juggernaut part. Subaru has a tendency to exaggerate things."

"I wouldn't say so, my sister has always been truthful with me so there should be some weight to that description. I saw both of your fights in my spare time, and I have to say, you are quite dangerous with the bow and in close-quarters combat." Even though she was complimenting him, he felt something else from those words. And an undertone that carried a hint of competitiveness. The curiosity on her face very much mirrored the same kind of look he got from Subaru when they first had their duel. 

"He is!" Erio added, "You should have seen him going up against some of the drones and even being able to easily cut through those that had antimagic fields. Even during our second mission at the auction house, he is capable of conjuring force fields capable of blocking powerful beams of concentrated energy!"

The boy was not helping, causing the eagerness on Ginga's face to grow. 

"I have to admit, these last few days I have also been curious to cross blades with you, Shirou. As a fellow swordsman, I am sure we can exchange a few pointers and help each other." Even Signum decided to jump in, making him look at her in disbelief. 

"Oh, me too! If you are willing, I also want to have a duel with you, Shirou." Erio

Did Hayate call him here to get challenged by everyone?

He quickly brought his hands up and tried to calm the group down. "L-Listen guys, I am just one person and it would be unfair for me to go up agains—"

"Wait, I want to join in as well!" 

This time a fourth voice shouted from above, immediately noticing who it was, Shirou went pale. She was the last person he wanted to ever engage in a fight, especially after hearing some of the stories of how… excessive she could get. 

"Would you look at that, even Nanoha came over to fight you, Shirou… I will admit it makes me want to participate as well." 

"Please don't say such scary things, Hayate-san."

This day was going to be very long, wasn't it? 

{Break}

(A few hours later)

"Urgh… I feel like I am going to die at any moment." 

To say that the day went horribly would be an understatement, from having a couple of spars against not just Erio, but also Teana and Subaru managed to deplete his tank completely. 

"It wasn't so bad, Shirou. You're just overreacting." 

His only saving grace for the day had been the fact that Hayate came to his rescue and stopped Nanoha and Signum from participating. Ginga on the other hand requested for them to have a sparring session another day with just both of them alone, wanting him to fight her at his full energy without anything weighing him down. 

So their match was scheduled for tomorrow. 

"Not when you were so adamant in trying to fight me till the end. I am not an endless well of energy who can keep fighting forever like you, Nanoha." He mumbled, feeling some soreness around his arms and legs. 

Overall, he had only used Kanshou and Bakuya the entire day. Fighting defensively against his opponents and using the opportunity to help Erio with his spearmanship. The boy was a fast learner and managed to experience progress rather quickly. 

Subaru was already tired from her prior dual so their fight did not last that long initially. But she just kept coming back after a short rest and he started to wonder where all of this motivation came from! 

Finally, for Teana's turn, they practice together to improve their aim rather than having a sparring session. Using Lutecia's help to summon several flying targets to shoot as many as possible in a small window of time. 

"You're still bringing that up! I told you that this was just a false rumor both Fate and Hayate started for no reason! I am very much not an endless well of energy and I did not make friends by shooting a Divine Buster to their faces." 

So she said, but her track record said otherwise from what he learned from Fate. 

"You don't believe me! I can see it the way you're looking at me." 

"You're just seeing things."

"No, I'm not." Her eyes narrowed as he continued to deny her response. "If you don't tell me the truth, I will make tomorrow's match a team fight where you, along with your chosen partner, can face both me and Ginga." 

A chill crept up his spine as soon as she said that and he immediately admitted defeat. "Fine, just a bit." The way she threatened him did not help her case at all. You have to change the subject as soon as possible if she starts to have second guesses about the threat she made and makes it a reality. 

"It has been a while since both of us had a moment together." She said, hands held behind her back while looking upwards. 

"You've been very busy lately, I can see why. Not to mention you have to take care of Vivio as well"

"I suppose you are right, but still, I feel like things are not exactly the same. I cannot ignore my work but I also want to spend more time with my friends. Seeing you and Fate get along quite well recently made me realize that I can do better if I tried." As they reached her apartment, Nanoha stopped in her tracks and did not enter immediately. "I got an idea. Come on. Why don't we have a sparring session together?" 

"Excuse me?" For a moment he thought he heard incorrectly. 

"I know what you're thinking, but I'm being serious here, Shirou!" She showed a pout very similar to Vivio. "It's not fair that you went up against almost everyone and even Ginga soon enough. It feels like I'm missing out and I know I can help you to get better in certain areas. Come on, it'll be fun!" She insisted, unlike previously he could tell she genuinely meant those words and was not joking around. 

For the first time, he pondered on the thought seriously. In the past, the only reason he avoided fighting her head-on was mostly due to the image of her blasting away everything in her path on the planet he first appeared in. A display of power that made it clear that she outranked him in terms of pure raw energy. 

Given her skills, you also never believed she even needed to spar with him and that his inability to fly or to properly use his newly acquired barrier jacket would get in the way and not give her what she wanted. 

Thankfully things were different, he had somewhat mastered the usage of his barrier jacket and got more comfortable with the people around him. Including her. 

The woman was right, it was not fair for him to keep ignoring her request for so long without any proper reasons. "Alright, we can have a sparring match. But nothing too extreme." 

"Great!" Her actions were more jovial than he expected, closing the distance between him and wrapping her arms around him tightly. "You won't regret this, I promise it will be fun!" 

The tight embrace only lasted for a few seconds before she let go. He could not tell what was going on inside her mind but at least she was smiling. 

"See you tomorrow! Don't hold back against Ginga, you'll regret it!" She gave him these parting words and entered the building. Leaving him outside or by himself chuckling at those last words. 

"I don't plan to underestimate her. I never underestimated anyone for that matter." If things went smoothly, then he hoped for a draw between them. From what he had seen today, the first thing the woman would try would be to close the distance between them as quickly as possible without giving him time to use his arrows for too long. 

He had already thought of a few counters that could work but for now, these ideas went to the back of his mind while he walked back to his apartment. "I should stop by the convenience store, I promise to make her strawberry shortcake for today." Since this was the first time in a long while no one would be visiting his house, he decided to take this opportunity to make a few desserts for Lutecia. 

To spend some time on himself, cooking some familiar dishes using ingredients from this planet. A nice way to relax after all that happened today. 

"Ah!" A woman appeared from the corner of the street, walking dazedly and accidentally bumping into him. "Oh, sorry about that. I should have been looking better."

N-No, It's fine." Stranger said quickly before leaving. 

A bit curious about the behavior, he decided, in the end, to not pay it any attention and continue on his path back home. As soon as he took a turn, something felt odd.

"Hm?" The air felt different here, for some reason there was not a single soul in sight, the entire road empty with only the lights from the surrounding buildings barely illuminating the place. The lamb post flickered for a bit before turning dark. 

"...* 

Something definitely was not right, even though he did not know what was going on exactly, his guts were telling him that he was not alone at the moment. Something or someone in the shadows was observing him, yet no matter where he looked he could not find a source of this feeling. 

Woosh! 

"—!"

A strong gust of wind came from behind and his body moved instantly, both blades slashing at the space behind him for in that brief moment, he felt an ominous sensation. The desire to kill was sparked for less than a second. Yet the Noble Phantasms cut through nothing but air, leaving him perplexed for a bit till his eyes widened. 

"Urgh!" A sharp pain came from his abdomen, a warm sensation trailing down his clothes till he saw droplets of blood falling onto the floor. "Shit!" 

His sense of urgency exploded, and several blades materialized in the air around him, raining down onto the area whilst he jumped away from his spot with his wound still bleeding. His fingers touched what seemed to be a small kunai-like dagger embedded in his flesh. 

The perpetrator behind the attack was seen running away in the distance, with several strands of white hair coupled with an eye patch which he managed to recognize. 

"The numbers!" The sensation returned and ignoring the pain, he jumped upwards to dodge the ground beneath his feet, caving at the last moment, a large hole appearing out of nowhere which nearly sucked him in. 

"Now!" 

A voice shouted, several shadows circling him mid-air, all of which he recognized being the numbers he fought before. Each one of them carrying some sort of device in their hands pointed straight at him. Yet as he tried to go on the offensive, his movement felt weak. "Poison!"

From the moment he grabbed the dagger that was embedded within his flesh, he had known about the substance covering its edge, already taking an effect on him within seconds. 

"Don't let him use those swords!" 

His strength started to wane and his pupils grew heavy, several ropes had snared his limbs preventing him from swinging around Kanshou and Bakuya. "Hey there, we meet again! The doctor wants to meet you. Don't worry, the poison was made specifically for powerful mages, the doctor went through a lot of trouble to make it just for you." 

He did not know who this was nor did he care, the only thought going through his mind was these people taking him would mean Lutecia would be in danger. 

Yet even as his vision started to darken, even as he circulated his magical energy around his body attempting to dispel the poison, it barely did anything. 

So gathering his last bits of strength, he slowly muttered the verse of his aria. 

"...Trace… on."

"Quattro! Behind you!" 

"Was the drug not enough!?"

The air shimmered and he could already hear some of the girls shouting out loud. Something big and heavy struck the ground next to him, sending a miniature quake around the area. His fingers could barely hold onto the giant handle and he was not even sure whether or not he had the strength to lift it at the moment.

"We need to restrain him all at once! Rip his arms if you have to!"

But regardless, he could not allow himself to be taken so easily.

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