Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness.
Long chapter again, took a while to write.
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-Kuoh-
Was this how betrayal felt? To have something you held so dearly be stolen by one who held a sacred trust without even any sign or warning of their malicious intentions… To watch in horror and helplessness as the last morsel of food was swallowed by the white haired girl who she considered as the adorable little sister she never had.
"Koneko," Rias called her Rook with a beaming smile on her face but hollow eyes. She watched her Rook come down from her taste bud overdose, the younger girl taking on a startled and somewhat ashamed expression as she realized what she'd done.
"When did you get here?"
"I don't know, I smelled delicious food and then suddenly found myself here." The small girl said with a blank face, through her eyes darting from side to side — unable to face her King.
"..."
Was she serious? Her appetite and desire to eat Archer's cooking had overwhelmed her to such an extent that she no longer was aware of her surroundings and actions? How terrifying and impressive.
"Archer worked hard to make me that lunch, and I was looking forward to eating it very much! Why would you steal it from me like that?"
Yet that did not excuse the injustice the redhead had just suffered!
"You can have the juice…" the white-haired Devil offered a half empty carton of apple juice she'd been carrying. "It's good."
Maybe out of helplessness or the fact that it was physically and mentally impossible to stay angry at such a cute girl, Rias ended up taking the small box and began slurping the remaining beverage.
"It is… very good." She muttered, lying as the taste was a bit too sour for her liking and didn't exactly leave behind a pleasant aftertaste.
And then in what seemed like an afterthought, Koneko gave Rias a small polite bow. "Thank you Buchou."
She obviously meant for the bento, as if she had been willingly given the food.
Eyebrows twitching in utter disbelief at what her own Rook was doing right in front of her, the redhead gave up on lecturing Koneko and turned her ire on the next available target. "Archer, why didn't you stop her from taking my meal? There's no one else up here and I know you're fast enough. Or at the very least you could have warned me of what she was doing."
The Servant of the Bow manifested his physical form, startling Koneko with his sudden appearance, his arms crossed as he looked at the situation with obvious amusement.
"My apologies, Master. I recognized this girl from when I was summoned last night as one of your subordinate Devils, and I assumed that she had something to discuss with you. But by the time I realized what her true intentions were, she'd already eaten everything." He said, acting like he was helpless while shaking his head.
Rias sighed dejectedly at her Servant's believable yet obviously on-the-spot excuse before getting up. "Great. Now instead of enjoying an exquisite bento for lunch I have to go to the cafeteria."
"A moment before you go, Master." Archer interjected while approaching Koneko, who still seemed a little apprehensive around him. From the way her eyes flashed over to Rias worryingly, he guessed that she still remembered his comment about how some Servants could be prone to killing their own Masters. A cute reaction, but pointless in the end.
"Koneko, was it?" the Servant asked, waiting until he received a nod. "Well, seeing that you enjoyed the lunch I made for my Master so much, I thought I might offer to bring you your own bento box each day so that there'll be no need to steal under your King's nose."
At those words, Koneko's eyes lit up before glancing over at Rias' empty bento and then back to him, enthusiastically nodding several times.
Archer smiled at the young girl's eagerness, though to Rias it looked more like a polite smirk, if anything. An expression she'd seen countless times as a child with her brother. He was always genuinely happy whenever she spent time with her and would often intentionally embarrass her with his antics. But during the few times she saw him interact with other house heads — especially Lord Bael — that smile of his would look the same but feel vastly different.
'No, I'm overthinking things.' Rias shook her head, Archer wasn't her brother and she shouldn't make such a comparison between them.
"Not that I'm against the idea, but why are you proposing to make a second bento for my Rook, Archer?"
"For convenience's sake, as I can't very well allow my Master to be famished every day, can I?" the Heroic Spirit answered. "I saw the look in her eye when she ate your lunch, Master. So trust me when I say that she will do it again every time she gets the chance unless she's already occupied with eating a meal of her own that holds up to the same standards."
"I see, you're going to make her lunch from now on so that I can eat my own lunch." Rias realized. "…Is there another possible reason?"
That earned her a laugh from the Servant. "Now, Master, I would never lie to you. It is my duty as a Servant to keep you safe and healthy as long as our pact stands. I won't skip out on small matters out of laziness — it is that simple."
Synergy among a group was important in all aspects. He'd learned about Koneko's status as a peerage member, and the young girl shared many responsibilities to her King just as he did as her Servant. Now that he was summoned by Rias as her Servant — or familiar if she preferred that term — he was part of the group as well. Having even one member question his motives and fear his presence was not acceptable and he needed to mend that as soon as possible. And what better than to start by appealing to the girl's appetite?
It was manipulative, he knew that, but his motives were pure and upheld Rias' health and safety above all else while also improving his dynamics with her other subordinates.
The Gremory heiress took a couple seconds to consider this before agreeing in full and thanking the Servant for his consideration. As she descended the stairs leading to the roof and making her way to the cafeteria, Rias couldn't help but wonder if her Servant couldn't have just used his enhanced reflexes to prevent what just happened.
'Was he… was he letting it happen out of amusement?'
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The little episode from lunch aside, the rest of the school day was completely ordinary for Rias, aside from the fact that a Heroic Spirit was lurking over her shoulder the entire time of course. But she suspected that this would quickly become the new norm for her.
As the last bell chime of the day signaled the end of classes, she and Akeno made their way through the second floor hallways toward the main staircase. Before they could begin their descent though, both spotted two well-known figures making their way towards them.
A bespectacled young woman with a slim figure, black hair styled in a short bob cut and violet eyes. She was also followed by another glasses-wearing woman with long straight black hair that extended all the way down to her knees, with split bangs and heterochromic eyes, having both a violet left eye and a light brown right eye.
The first was Sona Sitri, or as she was known in the human world, Shitori Souna; heir to the House of Sitri and Kuoh Academy's student council president, which of course meant that to most of the students she was known simply as 'Kaichou.' She was accompanied by her Queen piece, Shinra Tsubaki; student council vice president, or 'Fuku-Kaichou.' The two of them were respectively the third and fourth most popular girls in the school, right behind Rias herself and her own Queen, Himejima Akeno.
As the other two Devils approached, Rias saw Archer tense by her side, intently watching both girls with his silver-gray eyes.
'Calm down Archer,' Rias assured him. 'We have absolutely nothing to worry about from these two, in fact one of them is a good friend of mine.'
'Understood.' the Servant replied, immediately relaxing his stance. The whole time, none of the other Devils gave any indication that they were at all aware of the Heroic Spirit's presence.
Telling Akeno to go on ahead to the clubroom without her, Rias continued making her way toward her childhood friend, who in turn gave Tsubaki similar instructions.
"Hello, Sona," the red headed Devil beamed. "Hope you've been well, and thank you again for your assistance earlier."
Her friend was partially responsible for having allowed her to be able to summon Archer, after all. The hours of research, information gathering, decoding old notes to decipher the chant and reconstruct the magic circle — it wouldn't have been possible to summon her Servant in the first place without all of that. But regardless, their rivalry still persisted as always, and so she stayed on her toes.
"Indeed I have, and you're most welcome," the black-haired girl replied, her lips quivering in a smile. "How have you been, Rias?"
"I'm doing quite fine as well actually, thank you for asking." The more voluptuous of the two said as she brought her hand up and ran her fingers affectionately over the Command Seals engraved on it. "I have to admit though, ever since I summoned my new familiar last night, I've been feeling even better than I usually do."
"Is that so?" To her credit, Sona did an excellent job in keeping her features blank, but Rias knew her friend well enough that she could see a hint of jealousy in her eyes. "It must be quite the familiar then."
"Oh you have no idea." The Gremory smirked. "You should come by one of these days and see just how amazing he is for yourself."
"You think so?" the Sitri responded, her curiosity now piqued. "Well then, maybe I'll have to do just that. It'll have to wait though. Right now I'm a little preoccupied with introducing a new member of my peerage to how things work as a Devil, especially one bound in service to me."
Rias nodded "Ah yes, I heard something about the student council getting a new secretary. A second year boy if I'm not mistaken. Saji Genshirou-san?"
"Correct."
"Hmm," Rias tapped her chin. "As I recall, you've already used up most of your Evil Pieces… So then I take it you reincarnated him with a Pawn piece?"
"Close, but not quite," Sona explained, the beginnings of a smirk appearing on her face. "As it turns out, he actually required four pieces in order to be reborn as a Devil."
"Four?" At that, Rias had to raise her eyebrows. "Well that's certainly a surprise. I hope he proves to be a valuable member of your household, and I look forward to seeing what he can do."
"As do I, and thank you." the Sitri heiress nodded. "Who knows, maybe I'll bring him and the rest of my peerage along with me the next time I visit the Occult Research Club. I'll introduce him to everyone, and then you can take the opportunity to show us all your oh so amazing familiar."
"Sounds like a plan," Rias smiled. "Although when you do come by, there's a distinct possibility that an incredible familiar won't be the only thing I'll have to show off."
"Oh?" Sona raised an eyebrow. "You have your eye on a new recruit then?"
"I've happened to recently spot someone cute who seems to have some potential." The redhead answered coyly as she started to make her way down the stairs. "I'll let you know more if things work out. Until next time, Sona." And with that said, she waved goodbye to her friend.
For a simple conversation between two friends, that was rather interesting. Archer could clearly sense undertones between these two, namely ones of intense rivalry.
'You two seem to get along quite well.' He said with a tone laced with a bit of sarcasm. 'It felt like you girls were about to butt heads at any moment.'
'Sona and I go way back,' Rias calmly explained. 'The two of us have been playmates for as long as either of us can remember. Over the years our friendship has evolved into a friendly rivalry of sorts. We're very competitive with one another over just about everything.'
The bowman nodded understandingly. 'That certainly does explain a lot regarding the nature of your dialogue with that other Devil. Speaking of which, am I to assume that our priority in the near future will be the assessment and possible recruitment of that girl you mentioned at the end of your talk, Master?'
'A boy, actually.' Rias corrected. 'I do apologize for the confusion Archer, but I couldn't risk giving Sona too much information and letting her snatch him up for herself. She probably already suspects that my prospective new servant is a student here, and she would be correct. So even something as simple as Sona knowing his gender would do a lot to narrow down the suspect list for her.'
'I see that,' the Servant commented while taking a look at the surrounding students, specifically the disproportionate female to male ratio. 'I take it that this academy used to be an all-girls school?'
'Until a few years ago, yes. But enough of that for now,' the Master declared. 'It's time for my and Akeno's weekly chess match.'
'Hoo,' That intrigued the Servant a bit. 'A chess match huh? You Devils are quite fond of the game I see, in more ways than one.' He commented, remembering how the peerage system and rating games both had their roots in chess.
'Are you familiar with the game?' Rias asked, curious if her Servant came from a culture where chess had even been played.
'I know the rules well enough. Probably even played it long ago in some distant past. Against whom though, I no longer remember.'
'I see, I might just try to take you on in a match one of these days, and see if I can't teach you some of my best moves.'
Archer smiled; his Master looked quite eager for such a thing. 'As you command, Master. As long as I'm fulfilling my role as a Servant, then I don't mind such things.'
{Break}
-Occult Research Club-
Upon arriving at the club, Rias found Akeno already sitting by the table with a readied chess set and some aromatic tea.
"Welcome back, Buchou, I believe today will finally be the day I come out victorious." Akeno said challengingly while keeping a simple smile on her face.
The Servant left his astral form so that everyone inside the room could see him. The hime-miko was taken by surprise with his sudden appearance until Rias explained his ability to dematerialize.
Akeno's eyes glinted in mischief, "Hoh, that's quite a dangerous ability if used by someone with… devious intentions. You won't follow me into my changing room later, will you?"
Archer shrugged, "Unfortunately for you, I'm not interested in little girls." He retorted, catching the girl off guard with his dismissive comment.
Rias on the other hand found his response quite humorous, "Alright now, let's begin our match, Akeno. Are you ready?"
"You're on."
The redhead proceeded to sit at the table while Archer joined the only other Devil present. Koneko's eyebrows shot up as she saw him, her eyes shining with countless stars and eagerness while keeping her usual blank expression. The Servant felt a bit uncomfortable with the feeling he was getting from her, like a predator ready to attack at any moment was sitting across from him.
"—!"
With speed that could almost be mistaken for teleportation, she appeared by his side without even making a sound.
"Come with me."
"What the— hey!" The girl grabbed his wrist and yanked him with strength he was not expecting from such a girl of such tiny stature before rushing off to another room.
It happened so quickly that neither Rias or Akeno realized what happened in the background, with their full attention being directed toward their game.
Since she was playing white, Rias moved first, taking a pawn piece and setting it down two spaces forward. Akeno then made her move, paying close attention to the board while Rias looked generally confident in her chances of winning. Seconds turned into minutes which came close to half an hour, and by then, it was clear that Akeno was losing ground with only a handful of pieces and an exposed King.
"Fufufu, it seems like I'm bound to lose once again today." the Queen mentioned, unable to hide her slight frustration from losing yet another game of chess. "You're improving too much, Buchou. Maybe I should try to hang around with Sona sometimes as well."
"It's nothing like that, you still have a chance to win the game, Akeno." As she waited for her best friend to make her move, Rias took a moment to just relax and enjoy the aroma coming from her third cup of tea. She wondered how a tea made by Archer would fare against this.
Click
She heard the door open, and looked over her shoulder to see her Knight, Kiba Yuuto walk in.
"Sorry I'm a little late everyone," the second-year smiled sheepishly. "Traffic was bad."
Rias felt the urge to sigh upon hearing his usual excuse, although to be fair it really wasn't his fault. Being the most handsome and charming boy in a school full of adolescent girls, her Knight was swarmed almost everywhere he went while at school, and sometimes out of it as well. To his credit, he never took advantage of their affections, and he even made sure not to hurt their feelings whenever he turned them down, but that didn't change the fact that it was a constant problem for him, and by extension, her.
Kiba made his way over to the two sofas where Koneko returned from the kitchen with a plate filled with spaghetti, and began doing his homework. She did wonder why her Queen made Koneko such a dish when there was already a fridge filled with a Black Forest cake. Meanwhile, Akeno continued the game by moving her remaining knight, leaving the last bishop open to be removed by her Queen. Rias wanted to roll her eyes at how obvious her friend's move was. Though it was a classic textbook move, she knew from experience what Akeno tended to plan when using this kind of strategy.
Instead of pointing it out, she stayed quiet and moved her Rook to the very top of the board where it placed Akeno's King in check again.
Whilst she returned her attention to the board, Rias didn't notice her Rook grabbing her Knight by his collar and dragging him to another room while the latter struggled to avoid being choked.
"Mah, it seems that I'm trapped again." Akeno scratched her cheeks, trying to figure out a way to turn this match around as this still wasn't a checkmate. Unfortunately, it seemed like Rias had planned at least three moves ahead. The only way she could save her King was to get out of the way, but that left her Rook in danger of being taken and after that… she would have only a knight and a few pawns remaining.
A few minutes later, her thoughts were proven correct with Rias moving her final piece.
"Checkmate."
Akeno sighed, she'd really just set herself up for the killing blow. "Your trap was very easy to see through." The Gremory heiress informed her friend before she went back to her tea.
"Not again," the Queen pouted as she picked up her own cup. "I did my best to make it a challenge for you."
"Don't look so down, you're getting better with each try." The redhead tried to console her friend. "Remember how in the past I used to beat you in less than ten moves? Now it takes at least five times that."
"Fufufu, you need more work cheering up others, Buchou."
Both girls laughed, enjoying their time together. Though Akeno wasn't exactly on her level to provide the same level of challenge like Sona did, Rias did always have loads of fun with her.
"What did you think of the match, Archer?" She asked out loud, wondering if her Servant had any opinion on the matter or even some advice.
"Ara? Is he still here?" Akeno asked, looking around the room and not finding the red clothed mysterious Servant. Though she also noticed Kiba and Koneko were missing from the room. The only thing that remained was a shiny plate in the middle of the coffee table.
Rias waited for an answer but didn't get any.
He was gone.
"Eh?"
'Where is he?' Rias wondered if her Servant went to check the place out, he didn't have that opportunity yesterday. Just as she was about to call him back or ask about his location, her nose suddenly picked up a scent of spices and herbs.
"Umm, Akeno, did you leave the stove on after cooking a meal for Koneko?"
"No? In fact, I didn't cook anything for Koneko-chan."
The raven haired woman was confused before her face morphed into pure shock when she smelled the aroma wafting to her nose. No one went inside HER kitchen ever; that was her territory within the club and not even Rias dared to — or ever bothered to — go inside once without her express permission. And to smell something cooking inside made every alarm bell inside her head go absolutely wild!
Both girls rushed to that part of the building, seeing white smoke coming out of the door and hearing the sound of something sizzling. "What is…" they froze when looking inside the kitchen. Seeing an irritated Archer cooking a meal for both the Knight and Rook.
Kiba had just finished eating a plate of omurice. "I must say, you're an amazing cook, Archer-san. I've rarely ever tasted something so delicious." He said with a satisfied face, and strangely enough his shirt was a bit ruffled as well.
"Hmm, more." Next to him, Koneko was almost completely hidden by a veritable wall of plates with only the top of her head visible. Though even that was started to get obscured with how quickly the empty plates continued to stack up.
"What is going on?" This time, Akeno spoke firstly with squinted eyes glaring right at the back of Archer's head. Her smile had long disappeared which made Rias feel a bit nervous.
"Hm? Oh, this stubborn Rook was quite insistent I make something for her to eat. Despite my protests she refused to listen to anything I had to say on the matter. Master, kindly inform your peerage that I'm a Servant intended for combat-related purposes... Not a chef."
Despite saying that, Archer expertly flipped the food in the pan onto a plate beautifully with side dishes that looked downright decorative. He even went so far as to wipe the few stray stains before nodding his head and placing the dish in front of Koneko.
"This is a waste of my time..." Said the man who immediately started cracking another egg.
"..."
Akeno's eyes twitched, she tried to keep up a smile but kept failing — unable to take it anymore. "Since I'm here, you can stop cooking, Archer. I'm more than capable of taking over."
"Muh!" Koneko's head popped out of the fortress of empty plates. "Don't," was all she said before going back to her meal.
"..."
What was this feeling inside her? Was this betrayal? Akeno felt her pride take a huge hit from that single word of rejection.
"A-ara? D-Do you not want any of my own cooking, Koneko-chan?"
The girl cutely shook her head. "He's better."
"Yuuto…" This time, she turned to the Knight, her eyes almost pleading for a specific answer.
The boy in question smiled awkwardly, twiddling his fingers with an uncomfortable face. "I won't lie to you, I enjoy your cooking a lot, but I'm just so full at this moment."
The Queen could smell the lie from a mile away. Now a second member of the Gremory peerage had betrayed her! The only one that remained was her King and dearest friend, whom she gazed at with a blank face that nonetheless conveyed her desperation.
"...W-Well, s-since Akeno has learned from Grayfia herself, I think she's just a tad bit be—"
"You want some, Master?"
"Yes please."
She did not hesitate to answer or hide her own desire.
Bzt!
A tiny spark of yellow lightning crackled around Akeno's hand. Everyone she'd trusted had turned their backs against her and left her to rot. Gathering her wits, she turned her attention to Archer who was not-so-secretly enjoying the scene.
"It seems you still have a long way to go, little girl."
"...I'm going to—humph!" Before she could threaten him with a session of getting whipped and electrocuted, Archer brought up a spoonful of fried rice and pushed it inside her mouth.
"Hmmm~!"
…It was nothing short of an explosion of flavor inside her mouth. Every taste bud on her tongue felt like they were having a party, with her fury quickly getting smothered by the wondrous taste.
"You were saying?" He asked, his smirk growing bigger as she suddenly found herself unable to make eye contact with him.
Bzt!
He blinked when Akeno shot a small arc of lightning at his arm with her finger. It didn't even hurt, even without his Magic Resistance such a small thing would barely have hurt a human, let alone a Servant.
"You've been a bad Servant…" she said with a small blush growing on her cheeks.
Was she embarrassed?
Without saying another word, she went back to the main room and left everyone alone to enjoy the fruits of Archer's skilled labor.
{Break}
(A few minutes later.)
Everyone was back in the main room, enjoying the feeling of having a belly full of top-tier food. Rias was at her desk filling out some paperwork, Koneko had fallen asleep, Akeno was in the middle of removing the chess set from the table, and Yuuto was reading a book.
A picturesque relaxed atmosphere.
Meanwhile, Archer looked outside, spotting a certain brown haired boy hiding within the nearby bushes with two others. The boy was looking at the window while the other two conversed, but he wouldn't see anything inside given the sun's light was reflecting on the surface, hiding Archer from view. The Servant himself watched as not far from where the kid was hiding, a group of girls were rushing around with their shinais drawn and lots of colorful insults coming from their mouths.
"Looks like we have a peeping Tom." Upon mentioning this, the other Devils in the room became interested and looked directly at him once he stepped away from the window and deeper into the room.
"Is there something wrong?" Rias asked.
"Nothing important, Master. Just what appears to be a perverted brat who got what was coming to him along with his two equally perverted friends."
Hearing this, Rias got up and looked out the window herself to see if the Heroic Spirit was referring to who she thought he was.
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"Did you at least get to see any nip?"
Motohama, a geeky-looking boy with glasses, asked one of his friends as they all sat in a circle behind some bushes next to the old school building.
"No I didn't get to see any nip!" said friend snapped while nursing his most recent set of bruises that he'd earned from being caught peeking on the girls' kendo club while they were changing again. Though in all fairness, the other two were the ones actually guilty of that particular crime and not him (this time around) though not for lack of trying on his part. He was just the only member of the trio who wasn't able to get away quickly enough and thus was the one left behind holding the proverbial bag. "I was too busy getting my ass handed to me for looking through a tit hole I didn't even get to look… through…"
All three boys suddenly found themselves distracted by the sight of something crimson dancing in the wind above them, and gazed upward to see Rias Gremory herself looking down right at them through the open window.
As the most popular girl in Kuoh Academy stared at the three of them with her mystical blue eyes, framed by her beautiful face with her uniform hugging that gorgeous body of hers, all topped off by that tantalizing blood red hair that went down to her hips, all three perverts had the same thought:
'I am so jacking off to that tonight.'
The moment was broken as she disappeared back inside the building and closed the window again, leaving the boys' memory of the one and only Rias Gremory looking at them, as nothing more than just that.
"Did you see that babe?" Matsuda, a boy who was nearly bald and had the look of a sportsman, asked as he grinned at his two friends. "Her sugar has gotta be sweet."
"True that. What is it about redheaded girls being so smoking hot?" Hyoudou Issei, the final member of the self-named 'Unpopular Alliance' whispered dreamily. Little did he realize though, that while he and his friends were talking about Rias, she and her friends were also talking about him.
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Back inside, Archer noticed Rias focusing on a particular boy.
"Master, is there something about one of those boys that I might want to know?"
Rias turned toward her Servant, who was leaning his back against the wall with his arms crossed as he gave her a sidelong look.
"Archer, I want you to take another look at that boy and tell me what you think. A good, close one this time."
"Which boy?"
"The one in the middle, with the bruises."
Giving his Master a nod, Archer dematerialized again and allowed himself to fall through the floor and then walk through the walls of the building to where the three boys were.
It didn't take for the Heroic Spirits to return.
"Ah, Archer, back already? Excellent. So, was there anything you noticed about the boy that was particularly interesting?"
"I suspect you already know the answer to that question, Master," the Servant stated. "Who exactly is that boy?"
"In a minute," the Master replied. "First I want your impression of him."
"At first glance — and second and probably even third glance if I'm being completely honest — the boy seemed unremarkable in every sense of the word," the bowman answered. "But after assessing him myself… I realized that I was actually overestimating the boy's character as he began to loudly proclaim how he wished to see and touch your breasts." He said dryly.
Rias laughed at his response. "No, no. Well yes, that, but I was referring to something else actually. Koneko here was able to sense a power sleeping inside of him. Both Akeno and I couldn't tell what it was or even how strong it might be, but according to my cute Rook it's obviously strong even while dormant, and this is despite the fact that the boy has absolutely no magical ability to speak of."
"Interesting," he wondered how Koneko's powers worked. Given the way she was describing that kid, this sounded like one of those Sacred Gears Rias briefly informed him of on their way here. But… how could they sense something hidden deep within someone's soul? That would imply they could see or sense what lied within his soul as well…
'That can't be possible.' He thought to himself.
"Can you sense anything from me?" He asked, curious to see what the Rook could get from him. Having woken up, Koneko came closer to him and started sniffing his clothes. Her face frowned before she quickly backpedaled, a chill running up her spine.
She pointed at his shroud, "Too strong, it smells like Holy Energy and… dangerous."
"Ah, yes that would make sense." He genuinely felt a bit bad for that. "Forgive me, I neglected to take into account how the shroud might affect your senses and nature as a Devil." The servant scratched the back of his head.
He decided to change the subject and let Rias continue with her explanation.
"There can be no doubt about it then. That boy has a Sacred Gear." She murmured.
Archer took a quick look around at the rest of the room's occupants, and saw from everyone else's expression that the general consensus was that their next course of action had just been decided.
"Perhaps a brief explanation is in order," he interjected. "Can you expand upon the Sacred Gears? I don't feel I've gotten enough information on this matter. All I know so far is that this is some sort of power some lucky individuals get."
"Huh? Oh, right. Sorry, I can't believe I forgot you're originally from another world." Rias laughed. "Sacred Gears are more than just some random power… well to put it plainly, they're legendary artifacts and powers that grant the wielder abilities that are often both unique and formidable. They were originally constructed by the big guy up there in order to give humans a fighting chance for survival in a harsh and hostile world overflowing with beings far more powerful than they could ever hope to become on their own, but ever since the Great War ended and all three races started recruiting humans into their ranks, the vast majority of Sacred Gear users alive today belong to one of the three factions."
Archer frowned. "How the hell did a brat like him get his hands on something like that?"
Akeno took the opportunity to jump into the conversation. "He was born with it. When the wielder of a Sacred Gear dies – assuming that whoever kills them doesn't steal it – their Sacred Gear will undergo a sort of reincarnation, and it's then placed inside another human before they're even born." The black haired beauty then had to pause in consideration. "…Or at least, someone who has at least one human parent. There's been quite a few cases where the bearer has been a hybrid of some kind," she added.
"Intriguing. I must admit, these Sacred Gears sound quite powerful and dangerous."
"Indeed. Anyway," the Queen continued, "the important thing is that Sacred Gears can only be reincarnated in people that are at least half human. And it doesn't always happen right away either. It can range from a few weeks, to months, years, or even centuries before the same Sacred Gear shows up again in a new host, and even then its user might go their entire life without ever realizing what they have inside of them. Granted that doesn't happen very often, but it can."
"I see. Thank you for clarifying that for me, Master, Himejima-san." Archer nodded to each of them respectively in gratitude, with the latter smiling and telling him to just call her Akeno. "But that still doesn't fully explain how that kid down there has one," he pointed out. "Tell me, what kind of selection process do Sacred Gears use when choosing their host?"
"As far as I know, there is none," Rias answered truthfully with a shake of her head. "Aside from the fact that the majority of hosts grow up to become an important figure in their society or even history itself, there's rarely any kind of discernable pattern between one wielder and the next when it comes to these treasures. By all accounts, the only necessary qualification to be born with a Sacred Gear, any Sacred Gear, is the one about the wielder being human enough. Besides that, the process is seemingly random."
Archer sighed upon hearing that. "Alright, then enough about these Sacred Gears. What about the boy himself? What can you tell me about him?"
Akeno tapped her chin. "Hmm, well, his name's Hyoudou Issei, and he's in class 2–B. He lives with his mother and father, no siblings, in fact I don't think he has any other family anywhere in the city."
Koneko chose that moment to say her piece regarding the boy in question. "He's also a giant pervert." she muttered venomously.
Akeno held a hand over her lips. "Ara ara, such hostility, Koneko-chan." the Queen giggled. "It's true though, Hyoudou-san and his two friends are hated by nearly the entire female population of this school, along with most of the teachers as well as quite a few of the boys. They have their own name for their little group, but I forget what it is. To the rest of the school though, they're known as the Perverted Trio. In fact, those boys actually managed to earn themselves thirty detentions each within the first thirty days of being enrolled at this school!"
Archer nodded; his own brief surveillance of the boy had already convinced him that he and both his friends were that type of shameless lech.
Rias then spoke up, suddenly sitting behind her desk and wearing a rather fashionable pair of glasses, visibly listing off the three perverts with her fingers. "Nakajima Motohama, AKA 'Perverted Glasses,' AKA 'Three Size Scouter.' He allegedly has the ability to calculate any woman's body measurements simply by looking at them. Apparently he used to be a straight A student, but ever since he, for lack of a better term, awakened his inner pervert, his grades have slipped a bit, most likely because he has chosen to devote the time he used to spend studying to doing devious things like peeping on girls and watching porn. It should be noted though, that in spite of this his grades never fall below B, with the exception of Physical Education. Rumour has it that Nakajima-san's change in lifestyle began right around the time he became friends with Hyoudou-san."
Archer wondered just why she suddenly felt the need to wear glasses? Then again, they did look quite stylish on her…
"Next is Ogawa Matsuda, AKA 'Perverted Baldy,' AKA 'Sexual Harassment Paparazzi.' In his middle school, he was by far the best player of several of his school's sports teams, and he even helped win the middle school boys' nationals for both basketball and soccer. But shortly before the end of his final year, he suddenly gave up sports and joined the photography club, which he used to develop his 'skills' for taking erotic photographs of women, mainly his female classmates. Just like with Nakajima-san, Ogawa-san took up his new hobby shortly after befriending Hyoudou-san."
That was some surprising amount of information she'd managed to gather on these brats.
"Last but not least, is of course Hyoudou Issei himself. AKA 'Perverted Creep,' AKA 'Harem King Wannabe.' Throughout his life his grades have been mostly average at best, and he has no exceptional talents worth noting, unless of course you count his sheer persistence when it comes to anything involving women, especially naked ones. And according to some gossip I picked up from girls unfortunate enough to have overheard some of his conversations with his two friends, he has an unusual passion for large breasts, even for a teenage boy, and his greatest dream in life is to one day obtain his own harem."
'She can't be seriously trying to…'
Archer looked at his Master. "This is the boy you want to add to your peerage? Master, I find myself questioning your logic as to why you would ever want to recruit someone like this Issei brat."
Before responding to the Servant's protests, Rias removed her glasses and stood up, walking to the side of her desk so she could sit on the edge. "I understand your concerns, Archer."
'That's one word to describe my thoughts about this.'
'I heard that.' Rias replied, sending him a glare.
'You were supposed to.'
"…But the simple fact that he has a Sacred Gear, even one that has yet to be identified, means that our hands are tied on this one. If we don't take him for ourselves, someone else certainly will, and that's not something I'm willing to accept."
The Heroic Spirit sighed and leaned against the wall, arms crossed, realizing that the die had already been long cast. "You obviously have a better understanding of these Sacred Gears than I do. If you really think that the boy, or whatever power he has, is worth all this, then I'll follow your lead, Master." With that said, he stepped away from the wall and looked Rias in the eye. "Now then, what's our next move?"
"We're still figuring out the best way to approach him about joining us, so in the meantime we'll continue with simple observation. To that end, Archer, I'd appreciate it if you would keep an eye on Hyoudou-san during your spare time."
"Sounds simple enough," the Servant shrugged. After that, everyone went to complete their respective tasks of answering contract summons. Koneko was being called by some 'Wimpy Otaku' apparently and Akeno needed to give a foot massage of all things to the CEO of a large corporate enterprise.
'It feels weird to realize that Devils in this world basically do what could almost be considered community service…' At least they weren't trying to kill or enslave all of humanity… aside from the Peerage System.
With that thought in mind, he left the Occult Research Club in his astral form and began tailing Issei.
{Break}
-Home-
Back at Rias' home, she was waiting for Archer to come back once he had finished observing Hyoudou. The redhead was currently treating herself to another shower. She'd already finished washing herself, so now she was free to simply relax and enjoy the feeling of the warm water cascading down her naked body…
'Master,'
"—!"
The Gremory heiress stopped when she heard the voice of her Servant in her mind. 'Archer? What is it? Did something happen?'
'More like something's happening right now. I was following the boy as he was on his way home, and now I'm watching what looks to be a young teenage girl making a romantic confession to him.'
Rias blinked in surprise at what she'd just heard, but then stopped to think about the person who was telling her this. 'While I have to admit, that is somewhat interesting given the recipient, I can't help but feel that there's more to it than that. If it was really as simple as you're making it sound, you would've just told me this when you got back, not while it's occurring.'
'You've known me less than a day, and you already think you've got me figured out?' the Servant chuckled. 'Well, you're correct in this case. While I truly do find it bewildering that a pervert like this boy would ever get a romantic confession out of the blue like this — and judging from the look on his face, he's thinking the same thing — the really interesting part is the fact that the girl down there feels… off. Off in the sense that she doesn't feel quite like the humans of this city, you can call it a gut feeling.'
That certainly got Rias' attention. 'Can you tell what she is?'
'Unfortunately, no. My life began well after the Age of Gods ended in my reality, so I am sadly inexperienced when it comes to many of the creatures that have long since departed from the world. Because of that, I can't tell exactly what that thing down there is so long as it's wearing that human disguise. I might even be too paranoid and it just turns out that she's a regular human… then again, that killing intent of hers certainly helped to clue me in to the fact that at the very least she has some hidden malicious intentions regarding the boy.'
Rias frowned, could it be possible that some other supernatural species got inside her territory without her permission? She recalled the dead mage she found in the warehouse and the possibility that there could be more of them surfaced in her mind.
'Anything else?'
'Well, judging from the way the boy's jumping for joy and screaming "A date! A date!" I'm guessing that our mysterious friend just asked him out on a date.' he answered nonchalantly.
Rias hummed to herself as she thought over the possible implications of this before speaking to her Servant again. 'I'm guessing that she suspects Hyoudou of having a Sacred Gear as well, but she couldn't find out for sure from that brief exchange.'
'And so she asked the boy out on a date, thus giving her the perfect excuse to get close to him and find out at her leisure.' Archer finished.
'It could be a mage.' She suggested, reminding him of the circumstances behind his own summoning. 'There can easily be more of them in Kuoh.'
'Any possible reason you can think of behind this course of action?'
As Rias considered the possibilities, she felt herself becoming worried. 'The only reason I can think of is that she either intends to take him for her side, or kill him to prevent him from becoming a threat to her cause in the future.'
Archer considered the two possibilities described to him by his Master. 'Hmm, if the former is her plan, and she manages to convince him, it could spell trouble for your own plans to obtain the boy's power. On the other hand, if she does intend to kill him, or convert him to her cause through nefarious means, it would be the perfect opportunity for us to take advantage of.'
Rias felt a smile begin to take form. 'I take it, you have an idea on how to do just that?'
'You could say that,' Archer replied. 'Throughout our day at your school, we encountered numerous Devils, yet it seemed that none of them were able to sense me in my spirit form, so it may very well be the same case for mages and other supernatural races.'
Rias had to keep herself from giggling as she remembered Akeno's shocked expression when Archer appeared in the middle of the club room out of thin air before they began their match while Archer continued. 'And from the looks of things this girl can't detect me either. I was thinking that when the boy goes out on his date this weekend, I'd shadow him and act as you deem necessary once the situation demands it.'
Rias tapped her chin in consideration. 'This could be risky if she's trying to seduce him, but if whoever or whatever she is means to do him harm, I can't think of a better way to convince him to join my peerage.'
'Then we are in agreement.' Archer stated. 'In any event, it seems the boy is almost home. Shall I return?'
'Yes, please,' Rias answered, choosing that moment to turn off the shower and begin drying herself off. 'And if it's not too much to ask, please come back quickly. I don't want anything to happen to you.'
'What a caring Master I have.' She heard him chuckle. 'I shall endeavor to be swifter than the wind itself. I'll see you soon, Master.'
…
As promised, he returned in just a few minutes. And he did so just in time to make a quick meal despite Rias having eaten a few hours ago.
While in the dining room, Rias noticed something. "Archer, aren't you going to join me?"
"There's not really any point," he shrugged. "I may be able to eat and sleep if I feel like it, but as a Servant, Magical Energy is the only form of sustenance I truly require."
The heiress frowned at those words. "That may be, but I'd feel bad if you went through the trouble of making all this food for just me and not be able to enjoy any of it yourself."
He raised one of his eyebrows as he rested an elbow on the counter. "Master, seeing that you are the heiress to a prestigious family of Devils, I assume you've lived a rather affluent lifestyle. That being the case, did you feel bad every time you sat down to eat the meals your family's chefs prepared for you?"
"No," Rias admitted. "But the Gremory chefs made those meals for me because they were employed by my family and that was their job, not because they particularly wanted to."
"And I am your Servant, and my duty is to protect and care for you in whatever capacity I am capable of." Archer retorted. "And it just so happens that I am capable of providing you with high quality meals such as the one laid out before you now."
Rias sighed. Why was Archer being so stubborn about this?
"That may be, but I didn't know any of my family's chefs well enough that I wanted to sit down and enjoy a meal with them the same as I do with you. Besides, they were paid to do their job, but the only thing I'm giving you right now is some of my magic, and you need that just to live!"
The redhead Devil stopped as she realized she had stood up from her seat and was even beginning to shout. It seemed she was becoming a bit too… passionate about this subject, and took a breath as she sat back down. "What I guess I'm trying to say, Archer, is that you are my Servant, not my slave. So I don't want you to only do what you have to do. Instead, I'd really prefer it if you enjoyed your time in this world. So please, sit down and enjoy this meal with me."
Archer was looking at his Master with a raised eyebrow. "Is that an order?"
"No, a request."
Rias then glanced at her Command Seals before looking back to her Servant. "When you told me what the Command Seals could do, I swore that I would never use them on you. Well right now I'm telling you that if I can help it, I don't want to make you uncomfortable, and I want you to enjoy yourself as best you can so long as you're my Servant."
As Rias finished, Archer's expression shifted into one of amusement, yet there were also signs of a genuine smile on his face, with a little bit of that damn smirk of his mixed in.
"How am I supposed to say no to such an earnest face like that?" the hero said with mirth as he sat down across from his Master.
And with that, both of them gave their thanks for the meal and dug in.
Dinner at Rias Gremory's house that night proved to be quite enjoyable, and not just because of the food. As the two of them ate, Rias and Archer continued to discuss a Servant's nature and also that of the Grail Wars. The Devil heiress also enlightened Archer a bit on some of the intricacies of Devil society, hierarchy, and the history of the Seventy-Two Pillars, such as how only thirty-three of them had been able to survive and maintain their status up to the present day.
"Well, that was certainly delicious." Rias smiled, wiping her mouth. "Thank you again for the meal Archer. Don't worry about the dishes, I'll take care of them.
As she opened her eyes though, she saw that her Servant had already brought the dirty dishes to the sink and was in the process of cleaning them up.
"…Nevermind. Oh, I just remembered something else that needs to be addressed. Archer, seeing that I obviously plan to keep you around for as long as I can, you're going to need an identity while we're in the human world. I can contact my family to make the necessary arrangements as far as legal documents and such are concerned, but before I do that I was wondering if you had any preferences regarding your public identity."
The Servant shrugged. "So long as it isn't something stupid or some kind of inside joke, I'm not picky. I will trust you how to handle this, Master. Honestly though, any kind of background is fine with — not that any of this is even needed to begin with." He continued. "But if your people are able to do all the forgeries and hypnosis that will be needed properly, it should even hold up under scrutiny. That being said, what's my new name going to be?"
Rias mulled that thought over a bit, but stopped when he walked in front of her to place her plate on the stack. His white hair met her vision as an idea struck the young heiress.
"I have an idea!" She exclaimed jubilantly. "Given how your hair is white, why don't we call you Shirou?"
.
.
.
Crash!
She heard a plate shattering.
"Archer!?" Rias rushed to the kitchen to find her Servant's back turned to her while he faced the sink, still as a statue. The remains of a plate were in his hand, shattered from being gripped with too much force.
"Ar…cher?" Something felt off, he was too quiet and motionless.
The white haired man slowly turned to face the redhead. "Oh, it's nothing. I was just a bit surprised by the choice of name. Don't mind the plate, I can forget my strength at times when handling more fragile objects." He said with a smile.
"Eh… you don't like it?"
Archer began cleaning up the shards, facing away again. "I have no opinion on it, I just didn't expect you would come up with a name for me based on my hair color alone."
"...Do you want to change it? You can pick one if you want." She said, feeling that there was something more behind her Servant's reaction.
"I said I would leave that decision up to you, Master. I trust your judgment and will abide by your decisions."
Even if it was nothing but a coincidence, Archer couldn't help but chuckle internally at how fate worked at times… almost like it was mocking him at every chance it got. But then again, he knew he deserved it.
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, Harry Potter and my 3 other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post monthly commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.