Rewritten (8/25/17)
Updated (12/24/17)
He stared down at his own bloodied hands and did not flinch.
He stared down at the three beaten down students, bleeding and bruising and did not flinch.
He stared down at the blue haired student he had once call a friend, the very same student whose jaw was dislodged and teeth scattered on the floor and did not flinch.
He stared down at the horrified crowd of students and parents as they pointed fingers at him and as a mother of one of the down student swore revenge on him…and he did not flinch.
He stared down at the horrified and guilt filled expression on Illya's expression, her big red round eyes brimmed with tears, her small body shook with nothing but guilt for something she should've not blamed herself with and…
… he looked away…
"O-Onii-chan…! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
No…there was nothing to apologize for!
"It's a-all my f-fault! I-I…!"
No…no it wasn't! So please…!
"It's because of me that you can't go to school…isn't it?"
No Illya! It wasn't because of you! But please…please stop…
"…Sella-Onee-chan is always glaring at you because I made you do that…I'm sorry…"
Illya…please just stop…
"…mama should be punishing me…not you O-Onii-chan…"
Please…
"I shouldn't be calling you Onii-chan…should I… i-it's because of me that I ruined your life…!"
Illya…just stop…stop looking at me with…
"I've been a bad sister…" The small girl declared, tears streamed down her face, her expression broken and rack with guilt as she turned around and ran away before he had the chance to tell her how wrong she was…
Please…don't look at me with that expression Illya…my heart can't take it anymore…
"You are a slave."
Shirou Emiya's golden-brown eyes snapped open.
A shuddering breath escaped him and his face fell into his hands. The dampness of his sweaty hands quickly cooled his skin, he pulled his face back and glared down at them. He gritted his teeth as he noticed the shaking of his body. He shook his head and attempted to gain some semblance of control. He succeeded, but only barely.
He looked up and noticed that the train he had used to get towards Tokyo had come to a stop and a lot of its passengers had disembarked and made way to get started with whatever activities in the city.
Shirou sighed and stood up, hefted the bag with his school supplies over his shoulder, he stretched and found the dark uniform for his new school, Shujin Academy, to be somewhat stiff. He shook his head, followed the other passengers' example, and walked out of the train.
"It's time to start my new life…" He said in resignation, he sighed once more dragged himself away from the train. He reached for the phone in his pockets and pulled it out, he would have to check the map so that he wouldn't get lost. He blinked as something caught his eye. "Hmm?"
It was a weird app, something that hadn't been there when he had received said phone from his father before he left for his journey here. It was creepy to say the least, a red eye with a star as the iris. He hesitated, he didn't know what to do in this situation.
'Is this a virus or something?' He thought as he pressed his index finger on the app and deleted it. He didn't want for the last gift he had gotten from his family to stop working because of his own inattentiveness. At least he had managed to delete it without problem. "I should really check that this thing isn't downloading stuff by itself…maybe I should turn off the internet for now…"
He fiddled with his cellphone a little bit more and nodded in satisfaction. He then stopped when he saw the phone shape app down below…right, he would need to call back home and assure them that he had made it safely to his new living area.
…though, he didn't want to call now, he just needed a few more moments before he could muster up the courage to face his family again…even if it was just their voices.
He prayed that Sella would be the one to pick up, he didn't have the heart to take Illya's downtrodden behavior or his mother's disappointed voice or even Liz's monotone voice filled with a sprinkle of irritation directed towards him. He much rather preferred Sella's clear-cut anger, he could handle that.
Though he really would've prefer if his dad picked up…though, that was just a pipe dream on his part, as the man had gone away into another one of his business trips two days before he left. His father had been understanding of the situation and hadn't felt disappointed in him.
He took it well, far too well in fact…the preparations for where he would be staying and at what school he would attend had been handled rather swiftly. The man had been quick to choose what school he would take and had been the least surprise over how he's actions.
It was almost as if he had been expecting for him to do that.
Somewhere inside of Shirou's head, paranoia fueled him as a dark thought pierced through his head…
What if he wanted to get rid of me?
It would make sense…wouldn't it? He was just the adopted son, he wasn't even their child related by blood…so maybe they just took this opportunity to get ri—!
He shook his head and tried to get rid of those dark thoughts. He knew it wasn't true, it was just his own teenage angst that overwhelmed him after everything that had happened. He just needed to focus on getting towards his new living place, talk to his new guardian, and make that call.
Shirou took deep breath and walked forward. He blinked, looked down at the phone and noted the day.
April seventh.
From this day onward, his life had changed.
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4/7 Afternoon
Shirou made it towards the apartment complex in Shibuya in record time. He stared at the building and found that it didn't looked too bad. The building was grey, little cracks here and there on the walls from the years probably, but it was fine. He adjusted the bag over his shoulder as he finished his inspection and took his phone out, he hesitated at the sign of the call app.
He stood frozen in place as dread filled him. 'Come on…just make the call already…'
He sighed, there was no use over feeling afraid. He should get the call out of the way now, better than to let his anxiety grow and bloom into something worse. So, he should do it and be done with it.
He blinked and noticed that he had instinctively made the call while his mind was in turmoil. He winced when the call was picked up from the other side of the line. He brought the phone up to his ear and steeled himself.
"Uh…hello?"
"Shirou." The curt and stern voice on the other line made him almost sighed in relief, it was Sella that had picked up. "Have you finally made it to Tokyo?"
"Yeah…huh…I'm actually standing in front of the apartment where I'll be staying…"
"I had thought that your mother told you to call as soon as you made it into the city and not a moment after, are you already trying to cause trouble?"
"Wha—! No, no, no…I'm…I mean I was just, feeling nervous…" Shirou confessed as he looked down with downcast eyes.
"…" Sella stayed silent at that and Shirou wilted more at the growing silence. Then a sigh could be heard from the other line. "Then get a grip young man, do remember that your actions have big consequences and you must pay for them. Nothing comes cheap in life, so you better start taking your situation seriously. You may have avoided getting a criminal record to destroy your future completely, but now your face is mostly associated with that of some common delinquent who hurts other people."
Shirou sighed at the words and looked down. "I know…"
"…to you it may seem as we here hate you or resent you Shirou, but we don't. We understand that what you did was to protect Lady Illya from those brutes who dare harass her…in fact we are very proud that you played your part as the older brother and protected your younger sibling." A pause as Sella sighed once more and her voice gained some edge. "But on the other hand, we are severely disappointed in you for how you handled things. Violently beating up those students and even going as far as breaking the jaw of another? That is too much! But that wasn't the end of the consequences for your poor decision making Shirou. Your actions were broadcast over the news and you have disappointed your parents."
"Sella…" Shirou started but was cut off when said woman raised her voice.
"But more than anything else! You failed in your duty as an older brother. You may have protected her from physical harm…but Lady Illya still suffers emotional pains for blaming herself for your poor decisions making."
Shirou grimaced and wilted even further at those words. No words left him as images from Illya tear stained face hit him.
"O-Onii-chan…! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"It's a-all my f-fault! I-I…!"
"It's because of me that you can't go to school…isn't it?"
"I shouldn't be calling you Onii-chan…should I…i-it's because of me that I ruined your life…!"
"I've been a bad sister…"
Sellastayed silent for a few moments, just so that he could process her words and let the weight of the situation settle in. Once more she sighed. "Your family is still dealing with the consequences of your actions. Try to not cause any more problems…okay? Is the least you could do for Lady Illya."
"…"
"Shirou?" Sellapressured with a little bit of firmness.
"I understand…" Shirou finally responded, his voice emotionless as he stared off into space.
"Good…you said you were standing in front of the apartment where you are going to be staying right? Then go on and remember your manners. The one who will be taking care of you is Maiya Hisau, an acquaintance of your father. You should have the floor and number of her apartment in that phone of yours." She paused for a moment. "I shall tell the rest of your family that you have made it safely and that you understand your situation. Farewell Shirou."
"…bye Sella." Shirou said after a moment and the line finally went dead. Shirou pocketed his phone back and looked up at the building once more. As if the burden of the world had fallen onto his shoulders, he walked with heavy steps towards meeting his new caretaker.
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He passed one of the many apartment doors that belonged on the floor he was on and finally stopped on the correct numbered door. He looked down at his cellphone, made sure he had the address of the apartment, glanced away from the phone, and looked towards the rest of the hall with a somber expression. He sighed and knocked on the door three times.
Shirou waited patiently for the door to open. He kept he's ears up in attention for any footsteps on the other side of the door, but found nothing but silence. He tilted his head and checked his phone again.
"Is she gone…?" He asked softly, he's expression tightened at that. Then he heard the loud click of the door being unlock and then being pulled opened. He looked away from his phone and stared at the woman who would be his guardian. He had to blink and gulped nervously as she stared down at him with cold black eyes.
Maiya Hisau was a woman dressed almost entirely in black. A black long-sleeve shirt with only some grey accented on the front and sleeves adorned her upper body. She wore black pants loosely, mostly to let her legs breath. She was also barefooted.
Shirou blinked and focused on her face and noted that she looked, ordinary. Not beautiful or anything special like his mother European features, nor was she ugly. Her expression was quite plain…except for her eyes. Those cold merciless eyes made him back up a little as they even lacked any shine of light in them.
That fact unnerved him.
Her eyes stayed train on him, not really caring how it made him feel. Her face expressionless as she gauged him up as well, Shirou noticed as she looked at him from head to toe. Then her eyes focused back on his eyes and he had to stop himself from flinching at the cold gaze.
"Emiya Shirou…it has been a while since I've last seen you." She said, her voice monotone and measure. Shirou blinked at her choice of words and tilted his head in confusion. "It was a long time ago, your father had some business to attend to and I was picking him up, you refused to let him get on the car."
"Oh…" Shirou looked down and tried to recollect the event, but… "Sorry, but I don't remember…I'm sorry."
Maiya shook her head. "It's fine, you were but a child back then…you still are. Come in."
At her words, she stepped to the side and leave room for him to enter. As he prepared to take his first step towards his new home, he noted how she grimaced and held onto her shoulder in pain.
Shirou stopped mid-step and his eyes lightened up with concern. "Hey, are you okay?"
"It's fine, just a minor injury from work." Maiya said as she let go of her shoulder and looked at him with a cold expression. She then looked at her left wrist, where her watch was. "…you actually arrived much earlier than I anticipated."
The redhead furrowed his brows at that. "Is that…bad?"
The cold woman shook her head and looked back at him. "No, today I took the day off from my job just for this. I owed a lot to your father, so it was the least that I could do to take care of you."
"So, it's no problem?"
"Like I said, I owe your father. Taking care of you could not possibly be a bother, but…since you have arrived so early, it means that I can take the opportunity to show you how the subway system works on Shibuya and how to get to your school." Maiya explained plainly. "You will start classes tomorrow, so introducing you to the staff today is a possibility. I had actually expected you to arrive much later, if such was the case, then we would've been force to introduce you to your new school tomorrow."
"I guess…" The boy said as he scratched his cheek nervously, the woman was somewhat suffocating with her blunt and near robotic responses.
"This is more fortunate for you, it means that you will not have to worry about getting up far too early in the morning to do said introductions. It will also mean that I won't have to worry much about you after today." The woman bluntly said as she looked down on the redhead.
"Huh…?"
"I will not be taking care of you in such a direct manner. After I show you how to get to your new school, you will live an independent life for the rest of the year while your parents try to fix the mess that you left behind in Fuyuki." Her cold and callous words made Shirou winced. "My rules for your stay are quite simple, so there should not be any problem for you to follow them.
Shirou scratched the back of his head and looked at her. "Uh…so what are they?"
"Firstly, from tomorrow onward, it will be your responsibility to make it in time to your school and as well to prepare your own breakfast. The way your father described you to me, you are someone who took a fancy to cooking did you not? Then you are free to use whatever ingredient you find on the fridge. Do not worry about me and just focus on your meal."
"Huh!? But that's not proper at all! I mean…I can make breakfast for the two of u—!"
She raised her right hand and cut him off. "Like I said, don't worry about such things. There would be a couple of mornings where I won't be on the apartment or sleeping until very late. My job is a very tiresome and a consuming one, which is why I am telling you to be self-dependent and not to worry about me. I will make sure that you have the proper means to eat and have a roof over your head, so don't worry about issues with money."
"But still…" Shirou looked down with a trouble expression, he didn't like how there was nothing for him to do and help. It made him feel…like a parasite that leeched off his caretaker.
Maiya continued as if she had not been interrupted. "Your school duties are your responsibility. I shall not help you study, you should handle that by yourself. The only thing I expect from you are that you get good grades as per demanded from your mother. So, make sure to study and excel. Aside from that, I have no problems with you wondering through the city and familiarizing yourself with it. I shall give you my spare keys for the apartment, so that you won't be locked out. Though, do make sure to not stay up to late, the streets of Tokyo as whole are much more dangerous than that of Fuyuki. So, do comeback if you see that it's getting too late and check your phone for directions if you get lost."
"…" The redhead nodded at her words and looked up at her. Maiya turned away from him and rolled her shoulder uncomfortably.
"Like I said before, you will be staying here until your parents find a way to fix what had happened on Fuyuki and get you admitted again Homurahara Academy…stay there, let me grab my bag and shoes so that we may be on our way to Shujin Academy." She said and turned away without waiting for his response. Shirou just obeyed, stepped back, and leaned against the wall behind him. He didn't have to wait long as she came out with her bag and shoes on, she closed her apartment door and looked at him. "Come."
She walked away without waiting for him. He jogged to try and catch up to her.
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The subway system in Shibuya was confusing even with a guide. It also incredibly uncomfortable, with the amount of people around him and Maiya. To board a train, it was a battle in of itself, and once inside of said train it was hard to not suffocate under the sea of cramp bodies. It was all so different from Fuyuki, that city was tame compare to the one he had been transferred to.
As he walked toward his new school he stared at the back of his guardian…the unflappable and cold woman's expression had barely changed since they had left the apartment complex. He didn't know what to think of her as they grew closer and closer to the school. He looked around and found that they were going up against the sea of Shujin students who were done for the day, he looked around at all of them, their faces barely registered into his mind as they talked among themselves.
Finally, they made it to the gates of the school and went up inside the building. Maiya turned towards him, her expression the same controlled and cold one.
"Wait here, I need to talk with the Administration counter and see if a meeting with the principal is available." She gestured towards the side, where an aged lady was working.
Shirou nodded silently and saw the woman walked towards the counter. The redhead stepped back and looked down, arms firmly placed by his side. He blinked as the events of the day rain down on him.
"Hey, I've never seen that guy before…"
"Me neither!"
The redhead blinked as he saw a couple of students looked at him with raised eyebrows, they turned away when they noticed he caught them looking.
"Is that hair his natural color? Can't be! What is it with all the guys and dyeing their hairs!"
"That hair color is so horrible!"
A group of girls mocked his hair, he tried to find who was it, but couldn't determined where. Still, the gossip continued.
"Hey is he like Takamaki? Aren't the American's the only ones with that hair color?"
"It's Irish…I think…"
"Hey, I recognized that guy! He was the one from that video!"
"What video…?"
He frowned at that, was he that recognizable in the internet? He had at least hoped that until his first day of school he could go off unanimous, but it seemed that luck wasn't on his side.
…remember that your actions have big consequences and you must pay for them…
The words of Sellaresonated deep within him. He sighed at that.
"Come Shirou, the principal has agreed to meet us." Maiya's voice cut through his brooding thoughts and he looked up. She stared at him with her cold expression, then turned away to walk to their destination.
The redhead followed her obediently.
"I knew I recognize that guy! That's the guy who broke some student's jaw from his own school!"
"What is someone like that doing here!? Isn't one delinquent enough!?"
Shirou glanced behind him, but didn't stop as he continued to edge forward. Maiya and him went up to the second floor where more students were scatter through the halls, the two ignored them. Within a few brisk steps they made it to the principal's office. Maiya knocked on the door two times and waited patiently.
"You may enter." A man's voice called out after a minute. The dark woman wasted no time to pull the door open and stepped off toward the side to let her new ward enter. Shirou did so, turned to see a very large bald man seated on a desk and another older man with a sneering frown on his face that stood beside the seated man.
The large entwined his fingers and leaned forward slightly, the action proved difficult thanks to his very large stomach.
"So, you are Hisau-san? I had the received the notice from the young man's father that you would be taking care of him."
"Yes." Maiya responded simply and looked down at them with the same monotone expression on her face. The large man squirmed a little at the intensity of her cold gaze, while the other man glared directly at Shirou.
"Well I am the principal of this fine institution, Kobayakawa." He gestured for the man beside him. "This here will be the homeroom teacher I had chosen for him, Ushimaru-san. I believe you were quite lucky to make it here now, as Ushimaru-san was in a meeting with me, I had seen it as good opportunity for you to meet him."
Ushimaru crossed his arms. "You better take to your studies seriously boy, do you understand? I must already deal with one delinquent in my class and now I get another, don't cause any problems. Is that understood?"
"…" Shirou nodded silently, with that the meeting went underway. The principal talked and made clear of the consequences if he stepped out of line. Shirou nodded numbly whenever the conversation was directed at him, but he barely paid any attention. Maiya herself just looked on with a stoic expression, she answered with curt and cold replies.
The meeting went on for twenty minutes, nothing but reprimands and reminders of the consequences.
Ushimaru turned towards the principal with an annoyed look after he saw that Shirou wasn't reacting much. "Why did you stick this boy with me, principal? I already have to deal with that Sakamoto, now you're piling another delinquent on my class?"
Principal shook his head. "Sakamoto and this young man need a stern hand to guide them away from becoming trouble for our prestigious school. You are a man who I trust can accomplish this."
The teacher glanced away from his superior and gave Shirou an unamused look. "So, what? You're going to stick the other kid with the criminal record on me to?"
The redhead's downed expression suddenly perked up at those words. A student with a criminal record?
"No, of course not Ushimaru-san! The other transfer student, shall be taken by another teacher, I just haven't decided who yet." Kobayakawa said with a smile, then he turned towards Shirou and his face grew stern. "I know I'm putting too much responsibility on your shoulders with this, Ushimaru-san, but I know you shall succeed."
"Humph." The teacher grunted and looked away with a frown.
"Will that be all? I have other business to attend to." Maiya spoke once more with her usual monotone tone. The principal turned towards and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Do be sure to keep him in line, Hisau-san. I don't want him starting any fights in my school. If something like that happens, then he will expel."
Maiya looked down at the principal. "I have already told him everything he needs to know. I ask again, is that all?"
The large principal squirmed under the intense look, Ushimaru beside him snorted. "I can see that this woman will reel the boy in…here, Emiya, your student ID card."
Shirou blinked and snapped into reality, he reached to take it. "Uh…thanks…"
Kobayakawa steeled himself under the intense look of the dark woman and waved them off. "You may leave, I shall expect you to be here tomorrow on time and without any incident."
"Go to classroom 2-E, Emiya." Ushimaru ordered. "And be on time! If you get there late, you can forget entering my class! Understood?"
"Yes." Shirou nodded, a sigh of resignation escaped him.
With that said, Maiya lead the way out of the office with Shirou behind her. A soon as he stepped on to the hall, he heard all the Shujinn students whispered among themselves.
"That's him…!"
"Unbelievable! Why would they let someone like him into the school!"
"He broke someone's jaw!"
"What a brute! Like seriously, this is a school for intellectuals…!"
"Holy shit, look at how he walks! He totally looks like he'll punch you on the face at any time!"
"Please, please tell me that the principal kicked him out of the school already! I can't handle another delinquent on my school life!"
"So scary…!"
The whispers assaulted him from every direction, he just narrowed his eyes at them and continued to follow his guardian down to the first floor. But, even there the whispers did not cease as more students talked behind his back…as if he couldn't hear them…
…remember that your actions have big consequences and you must pay for them…
Sella's words once echoed in his mind and the redhead could do nothing but sigh at that. They were almost to the exit of the school and the sound of a ringing phone cut through the loud whispers. Shirou looked up to see Maiya on her cellphone, she looked back at him.
"Stay put, I have to answer this." She once more didn't wait for a response as she became engross on her call.
Shirou sighed for the umpteenth time and stepped back, accidentally he bumped into someone.
"W-Woah! Sorry—!" Shirou stuttered as he turned around and looked behind him to see a girl with black, brown eyes. His eyes narrowed at the sight of a dark bruise on her right cheek. She looked up at him in surprise.
"Oh, no, I'm sorry. I was just standing in the way…" She said with a downtrodden look.
The redhead shook his head. "No, no…I've just been…distracted, I should be more aware of my surroundings."
The girl looked questionably at him and opened her mouth to respond, but…
"Yeah, that's the thug who beat on those guys!"
"Hmm, what an asshole, I remember seeing in the video a little girl crying because of him!"
Those words made Shirou's entire body flinched violently, he looked down and gritted his teeth. Hands tightened into fists.
"Oh shit! He's about to hit Suzui! Can anyone do something!?"
"Humph, not me! I ain't getting my jaw broken!"
The girl in front of him looked around and then her eyes widened, she turned back towards him. She looked at him questionably.
"You are…"
Shirou clicked his tongue and looked away. "I'm sorry…" He apologized, ready to leave as more murmur over his person started to form.
"Wait…!" He stopped at the sudden call from the girl, he turned and gave her questioning look. She just gave him a small smile. "Don't let what others say about you get to you, okay. They just like to talk."
His eyes went wide in shock at the words uttered by the girl. "Why…?"
"Hmm?" She tilted her head to the side in confusion.
"Why are you being nice to me? You do recognize me, right?" He asked softly, the feeling of self-deprecation burn deep within him. The girl just smiled.
"I do recognize you…but I'm not the type of person who likes to judge others." She looked away and towards the whispering students. "There's also the fact that I don't like people starting rumors, they tend to run wild and do more damage than good…"
"…" Shirou blinked a couple of times as he processed her words, he straightened up a little and frowned a little as he studied the girl before him. His frown dissipated as he took notice that the actions of the other students seemed somewhat personal to her.
She turned back towards him, brown eyes shined with mirth and a small smile on her face. "And you were nice enough to apologize for bumping into me, even though you didn't need to…so that must count for something."
Shirou found himself snorting, an involuntary smile spread through his face. "Yeah."
"Suzui-san?" A masculine voice called out from behind the girl. The girl stiffened at the voice. Shirou's smile left his face as he noted the girls discomfort, he blinked and titled his head as a muscular man with a square jaw and curly black hair walked towards them. The man stopped and regarded the girl, Suzui. "Come on, you don't want to be late for your practices, hmm?"
"…yeah." Suzui's earlier energy completely evaporated under the watchful gaze of the tall man. Said man turned towards the redhead, raised an eyebrow and then his eyes narrowed.
"Oh…it's you." The man's voice was neutral, but the depth of his disdain was noticeable. "I guess if you're here then that means that you're about to go see principal Kobayakawa."
"I already did." Shirou responded neutrally, his eyes focus on the girl who looked down. He could feel her discomfort rolled of her in waves. The man noticed his stare and placed a hand on the Suzui's shoulder, she stiffened.
"Then if you did so, best be on your way. Classes have ended, meaning you have no business being here. Go off and prepare to attend classes tomorrow." The man leaned forward, hands still on the girl's shoulder. "Don't cause any trouble, is that understood? In your old school, you may have been given the liberty to brawl all you like, but that won't be happening here. You step out of line like you did back on your own school and I'll make sure you go straight to juvie."
"…" He bowed his head at the man's words.
The man nodded and turned away along with the one person who was nice to him on this horrible day. "Good, it seems you understand. Suzui-san, don't associate with someone like him okay? I don't know what I would do if my star player got hurt by someone with such a violent history."
The muscular man had raised his voice rather loudly to say that, and the students all around steered at his words. All looked at the man with admiration and once more began to whisper among themselves.
"Whoa, Kamoshida-san is really the best!"
"Yeah, we have nothing to worry about as long as Kamoshida is around!"
"Oh, come on Kamoshida-sensei! Kick that guy out!"
"Man, I really wish Kamoshida-sensei was my teacher!"
"Geez, Suzui-san, you could at least look happy that Kamoshida-san just bailed you out, what a bitch…"
"Right? But what can you expect…she's friends with that Takamaki, that sluts bad influence must have infected the star player…"
Shirou's brow twitched in annoyance as he looked at the gossiping group of students, he narrowed his eyes as he saw the man, Kamoshida, pushed Suzui away. The dark hair girl looked back at him, her expression somber and uncomfortable under the man's touch. The redhead's eyes remained narrowed until the man and Suzui disappeared behind a corner. He ignored the whispers around him.
'What was that about…?'
"Shirou." He was called out by a monotone voice that he started to become accustomed with, so he turned back and saw Maiya by the entrance of the school. She looked impassively at him, arms by her side as she turned on her heel. "Come on, let's go."
The woman walked away, but Shirou hesitated for a second. He turned to look back to the corner the muscular man and Suzui disappeared to one last time, before he made to follow Maiya.
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The sun had started to set by the time the two had gotten into the apartment. Shirou looked around to find a modest, if boring apartment. It had all the essentials to live in, but it lacked any warmth or life to it. All the necessary things for an apartment, but nothing else.
Among the somewhat luxurious couches, tables, plasma TV and everything else…it looked barren.
Maiya headed to exit the apartment, she stopped and turned towards him. "I'll be leaving now."
Shirou blinked and looked at her with wide eyes. "Wait, why?"
"Like I told the principal at your new school, I have other business to attend to." She looked at her watch and then winced. She rolled the same shoulder from earlier in the day in discomfort, before she gave him a sharp look. "I already told you, didn't I? You will be leaving by yourself independently here while I go and attend to my own business. I bet you are feeling hungry, go and prepare yourself dinner."
"Right, but what about you Maiya-san?" Shirou asked, he blinked in surprise as her name rolled off his tongue. Then he blushed as he remembered he never called her by name. Hadn't Sellatold him to be mindful of his manners?
The woman paid it no heed as she fetched something from her bag.
"Like I told you, don't worry about me. I will most likely not be here until morning or after you left for school. Hmm, here we go." She then pulled a set of keys and placed them on the small table beside the entrance door. "Those are the spare keys for the apartment. If you wish to leave for the night and explore, then you are free to do so at your leisure. Do remember my warnings of the streets and that you have school tomorrow morning, so if you wake up late and start to gather a bad reputation at your school because of it, then it's on you."
"Humph…that thing started without me actually…" Shirou muttered under his breath in annoyance. Once more the woman paid him no heed.
"I do not need to tell you to keep out of my own bedroom do I, I believe your parents have thought you about manners."
"O-Of course—!" Shirou blush deep red at the implication. "I wouldn't enter a lady's room!"
"Then if you understand that, I'll be on my way." She opened the door and step out.
"Oh! Good—!" Shirou stumbled a little as he hurriedly tried to bid his farewells, but was cut short when the woman closed the door behind her without letting him finish. "—night…"
He drooped a little at the woman's callous and cold behavior. He blinked and looked around the apartment, he scratched his head as he was greeted with silence.
He sighed. "Better take a bath…maybe that will help get some of the stress of my body…"
Nearly an hour later and that proved false, he still felt stressed out and down over the circumstances of his arrival to Tokyo. He shook his head and rubbed his stomach.
"Hungry…" He looked at the small kitchen, he closed his eyes as he felt a small but noticeable pressure build up on the back of his neck. "Cooking, yeah, if I can cook and take my mind off things…"
Twenty minutes later and Shirou had to stop the knife mid-cut of the fish in his hands. He clenched his jaw and glared at the apartment. He sighed scornfully and glazed at the TV with narrowed eyes. His grip on the knife tightened as the pressure from earlier grew more on his back.
Moments later, the television was blasting sound from the random channel it had be on when he turned it on, but he paid no heed to what the TV said. He only cared that the apartment was filled with sound.
Almost another hour later and he finished his dinner…alone on the dining table. He turned towards the TV, the news talked about an incident that had occurred but the words were barely coherent to him. He sighed as he looked around the dining table and noted…just how empty it felt…
The apartment felt abandoned…
It was something so different from the life he had been forced to abandoned, where his home was usually so lively and full of activities…
Sella's bickering and overbearing personality…
Liz's blunt and somewhat innocent mischievous actions that she accomplished with her usual straight face…
Mom's carefree and ditzy behavior as well as her indulging her favorite past-time of embarrassing him…
Dad's usual calm or childish personality, always there to pull him out of being embarrassed to much…
And Illya's…
He looked down at the plates and picked them up. He washed them roughly, put them back into place, turned off the TV and went to bed. He picked up his phone and saw that it was only eight in the evening. He sighed and entered his room…
His barren and dull bedroom.
A bed, a dresser with a lamp on top of it, a closet, and a window to let him see off into the city.
Shirou Emiya stared at his room numbly, walked towards his bed and laid there on top of the covers.
Golden brown eyes glared emotionlessly at the ceiling. The seconds ticked by, the silence grew more overbearing by every tick and he stubbornly tried to drill a hole into the ceiling.
He brought his phone to his phone and saw that it was past nine in the evening. More than an hour had passed...
He sighed, his eyelids heavy, he rolled over as he finally relented from his stubbornness and tried to catch some sleep.
A few seconds later he fell to sleep.
He stared down at his own bloodied hands and did not flinch.
He stared down at the three beaten down fellow students, bleeding and bruising and did not flinch.
He stared down at the blue haired student he had once call a friend, the very same student whose jaw was dislodged and teeth scattered on the floor and did not flinch.
He stared down at the horrified crowd of students and parents as they pointed fingers at him and as a mother of one of the down student swore revenge on him…and he did not flinch.
He stared down at the horrified and guilt filled expression on Illya's expression, her big red round eyes brimmed with tears, her small body shook with nothing but guilt for something she should've not blame herself with and…
… he looked away…
"O-Onii-chan…! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"It's a-all my f-fault! I-I…!"
"It's because of me that you can't go to school…isn't it?"
"…Sella-Onee-chan is always glaring at you because I made you do that…I'm sorry…"
"…mama should be punishing me…not you O-Onii-chan…"
"I shouldn't be calling you Onii-chan…should I… i-it's because of me that I ruined your life…!"
"I've been a bad sister…" The small girl declared with tears streaming down her face, her expression broken and rack with guilt as she turned around and ran away before he had the chance to tell her how wrong she was…
…so, he chose to pursue her…
…pursue her until he found she disappeared into an abysmal darkness…
…he looked at the darkness with wide eyes and approached it…
Two bright yellow eyes snapped opened from within the dark and glared at him.
"You are a slave."
.
.
.
.
—Interlude —
Mission Start
4/7 Evening
Maiya walked out of the apartment complex, her body shrouded by shadows and her footsteps soundless. She was like a ghost, unheard and unseen.
Exactly like she preferred it.
She went for her non-descripted car, opened the door, got in and closed the door silently. She sat in the driver's seat for a couple of seconds in complete silence, her cold eyes mechanically observing the movement of the pedestrian and cars before her. She closed her eyes, as she let the muffled noises from outside filtered in.
Her eyes wandered up to where she knew her apartment was and stared at it intently. Time ticked by and her postured remained stoic and unchanging until the apartment where Shirou Emiya was currently taking residence in went dark.
She reached for her phone, and without taking her eyes off her apartment she made a call.
It was answered immediately.
"Maiya."
"Emiya Shirou has been secured into Shibuya. Phase two of the set up as been complete."
"I see, then you know what you must do for now."
"Understood."
"Then let the operation begin and let's put an end to this 'game'."