Beta read by Shigiya, Paragon of Awesomeness and Maglad.
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-Kuoh Gremory Apartment Complex-
"This should be the place." Archer noted as he approached a luxurious apartment complex in his spirit form. One that, unsurprisingly, belonged to one of the Gremory family's real estate companies.
He never asked Rias very much about her family's businesses in the human world, but she had mentioned how they specialized in the hospitality and tourism industries, mostly in the form of five star hotels and super-luxurious homes, mansions, and apartment buildings, such as the one he was walking into right now.
She sent him to check up on those two, stating that she wanted to see if her Queen hadn't made things hard for Asia or corrupted the nun too much. While she checked on her Knight, worried about how he behaved rather oddly recently. Yuuto lived in another complex closer to her house, so his Master would check on him once she managed to wake Koneko for school, who lived in the same building.
'If she manages to, that is.' He smiled, able to easily imagine the sleepy albino-hared girl grabbing Rias and using her Rook strength to pull his Master into bed with her and use the voluptuous redhead as an extra pillow.
As he jumped through the floors all the way up to the penthouse, he could hear the two Devils living there were already awake.
"Eep!? Akeno-senpai…!"
And with that single embarrassed squeal, he already regretted coming here.
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"Eep!? Akeno-senpai…!" Asia exclaimed with embarrassment, her entire head red as a cherry while she kept her gaze firmly affixed to the kitchen counter, seemingly looking for the answers to life, time, and space within the marble countertop's patterns.
"Yes, Asia-chan?" A very amused Akeno replied while neatly placing a few pieces of toast on a plate, with butter and jam ready for Asia's use if that happened to be her preference, and cutlery laid out by the side. "Ah, right, silly me, I forgot about the orange juice!"
The smiling Fallen/Devil hybrid turned around and opened the fridge. For a moment, Asia thought it'd be safe to look up, but Akeno's body was just as alluring from behind. The words slim and feminine were a perfect fit for it, and with her hair pulled up into a bun, she simply oozed a fresh and strangely vulnerable atmosphere that sent Asia's gaze right back toward the counter. A hint of jealousy evident in the blonde's eyes, looking down at her own body before letting out a small pout.
Akeno leaned down and reached for the juice jug low on the fridge door, picked it and carried it to the table. Her feet barely made a sound against the kitchen's ceramic floor, not that Asia could hear such a thing over the explosion-like thumping of her heart.
"N-Not that…" the poor nun tried to speak but words to leave her mouth.
Akeno tilted her head in confusion, before snapping her fingers with realization. "Of course! You prefer milk in the morning. Sorry, I had forgotten that, Asia-chan!" The amused ravenette said as she repeated her actions, walking back to the fridge and leaning down into it, though this time she purposefully kept her legs straight as she leaned down a fair bit more than strictly necessary to reach for the milk, causing her floormate to get whiplash as the innocent girl immediately turned her head around and back towards the kitchen counter.
"T-that's not it, A-Akeno senpai…! Muuh, you are doing it on purpose!"
"Doing what~♪?" The she-devil smiled as she sing-song'd back to the blonde's side, switching her weight from foot to foot and lingering unnecessarily long while acting as if trying to remember if she had forgotten to take anything else from the fridge.
"Y-you meanie!" Asia cried out, though it came out as little more than a loud whimper. She was far too sheltered to know harsher words, and even if she did, she felt it would be improper for her to raise her voice against the person who'd invited her into her home and had been taking care of her since she'd arrived in Kuoh.
Akeno decided she'd teased the girl enough… just as soon as she has one last bit of fun. So she took a cold bottle of milk, and with a grin picked up an apple into her left hand, then another, and seemed to consider the situation for a couple of moments before sliding the bottle between her massive breasts, as if it was the obvious way to carry everything back towards the table.
"Awawawawa!" Asia blabbered out, having discovered that simply averting her eyes would not spare her from Akeno's purposefully mischievous action when the ravenette sashayed back to her side and innocently said "My hands are busy, so please get the milk, Asia-chan~♪"
The blonde Bishop's vision started to turn hazy from so much blood rushing to her skin, her crimson blush going radioactive red, when suddenly a hero's hand materialized out of nowhere and covered her eyes. The girl tensed and straightened up as she heard her savior's voice speak with a disapproving tone. She nearly shouted 'Saint-sama' by force of habit, but was just able to hold it in.
"I really should have expected you would actively try and corrupt your fellow peerage members, especially a girl as innocent as Asia, when given the chance." Right before Akeno's eyes, Archer appeared in a shimmer of blue light next to Asia in his regular black armor minus his red shroud. Despite the man's heavy frown, Akeno's smile grew a little at the sight of his arrival.
"My, that's an interesting hobby you have there, Archer. Do you often enjoy wandering invisible and intangible around beautiful, nude and nubile young maidens, Saint-sama~" The Queen of Rias's peerage chirped with a smile, doing her level best to appear calm and collected while fighting down a blush, though Archer was still able to see through her facade.
"You knew well and ahead of time that I would be coming to check on Asia and yourself, or did you hurt your head last night and forget?" He told her while Asia meekly waited for him to lift his hand from her eyes.
"Eh… I should be asking you that, Archer. Are you really okay?" Her mischievousness died down a bit, replaced with worry as his fight with Rider replayed in her mind, including the sight of him getting smashed through concrete with but a single kick. "I can take care of any lingering ailments you might still be suffering from right now if you want me to."
Normally, Archer would have treated those words as just Akeno being a playful tease, but he could read her expression and see that she was honestly worried about him.
"Hah," he sighed. "Don't worry about useless things. As a Servant, my body is entirely made from Mana, so as long as Rias keeps providing me with energy, I'll recover inhumanly fast. As long as a Servant's Spirit Core hasn't been damaged, we can even grow back missing limbs."
"But getting hurt is still painful, isn't it? That part doesn't change." Akeno eyed him with a strange light in her eyes, "Can I add my Magical Energy on top? Wouldn't two sources of it be an advantage you can't ignore?"
"As a Heroic Spirit, I could drink blood, tap into the land's Leylines, or participate in certain rituals to replenish my Mana levels if I needed or desired to supplement what I receive from my Master. And you're forgetting that what you primarily wield is Demonic Energy." He said while pointing at the back of the hand he covered Asia's eyes with. "Without the modified Command Seals that Rias has, she wouldn't be able to convert her Demonic Energy into the Magical Energy I'm familiar with, so your Demonic Energy would either have no effect on me, or possibly cause complications I'd rather not have to deal with. There is a reason why whoever created this system added this component, it isn't just a mere decoration."
"Blood?" Akeno was taken aback by that revelation. Surprisingly, she didn't feel particularly against it.
"Well, some Servants would have a better conversion ratio from blood into Magic Energy but I don't possess vampiric traits for it to be efficient enough to be worth considering for me unless things were truly dire."
Though technically it could work rather well if the blood in question was saturated with enough Mana… but despite all of Archer's many summonings into different versions of the fifth Holy Grail War and other conflicts, he'd never tried it, and he had no desire to start. He knew Rider often did so, but that was more about desperation because of Shinji's uselessness as a power source.
"Seriously?" Akeno blinked, plainly surprised. "Then again, you do look like one of those handsome vampires, and your color scheme does add to it." Though she joked, a strong thrill spread across her body at the idea of Archer holding her from behind and biting into her neck to drink her blood. It sounded painful and even scary — but the Fallen couldn't lie and say she wasn't a bit disappointed he was so plainly opposed to giving it a go
"Too bad, I am not a fan of consuming blood, thank you very much. Magecraft in general is complicated, so don't think too much about it." He shrugged, definitively not going to explain tantric rituals to the girl. He wasn't stupid enough to open that door because he knew he'd find nothing but truly endless teasing on the other side.
Akeno pondered carefully upon his words. Really, this man's magical traditions… this 'Magecraft' was completely unknown to her, so perhaps a bit of research would be a good idea? Rias did mention that he gave her an explanation, but admitted that his display of power at the end of their Rating Game led her to believe he was hiding more than he let on.
"Anyway, after what happened that night, it's only fair for you to accompany us on a little shopping trip. Don't you think so?"
Archer rolled his eyes, "Last I checked, the only piece of clothing I ever gave you was a simple jumpsuit, and that was because your clothes were ruined during the training camp. Unlike a certain airheaded redhead, you haven't been hoarding my constructs, heedless of the consequences of doing so no matter how often she got warned about what could happen, to the point she had begun to replace her actual wardrobe with them." It hadn't occurred to him until they returned to her room just how many of Rias' clothes had been replaced with his Projections. He had gotten used to his Master's weird obsession with his Magecraft and stopped arguing whenever she asked for something new, which had become a common enough occurrence as to become mundane.
Unfortunately, other than agreeing to not ask for Traced pens moving forward into the future — Rias remained adamant that he still create new clothes on demand for her use. He previously joked that she was an exhibitionist, but the way in which she seemed to be completely unbothered about after her brief bout of accidental public indecency was another level of messed up he genuinely didn't want to deal with. Sadly, his Master proved as stubborn as ever.
"Ara, while I do find the idea of having your constructs hug my body, this is not for me. You see, Asia didn't bring much from Italy to begin with, and we never got the opportunity to buy much for her beyond her uniform, what with the whole Riser situation. Now that we finally have some free time, let's go together. Besides a proper wardrobe, she has plenty of other needs.
Akeno paused and gave him a mirthful smile.
"I could take her shopping just fine, but… are you sure about giving me free reign on picking out a wardrobe for this sweet summer child?" She smiled, moving in to hug the flustered Bishop, causing Asia to stutter.
As soon as she said that, Archer's mind began to gauge the most probable outcome given the taste in pranks of this mischievous girl, and immediately shook his head. "Alright, I'm certain Rias would prefer if Asia got clothes she can wear in public without dying of shame. And speaking of shame, or the lack thereof…" Archer gestures at Akeno from top to bottom.
After all, the black-haired beauty was standing there in her birthday suit.
"I'm always nude at home." She replied matter of fact, a statement he knew wasn't a lie given how the former nun didn't show much of a reaction to her words. "Blame Rias, her whole family are true nudists."
He preferred not to think too deeply about that.
"Just make it quick, we have much to do today. Master will want to know about this first, and I can't accompany you without her permission."
"Already did." The Fallen/Devil hybrid grabbed her phone from the counter, and showed him a message showing she had indeed just asked Rias whether Archer could accompany them to buy things for Asia.
A thumbs up emoji was Rias' sole response. Something told him she was still mad about the disappearing ink incident forcing her to do a lot of her paperwork all over again from scratch. Not that he would ever admit it, but he had found that whole situation rather funny. Public nudity failed to shake her because she was shameless to begin with, but paperwork? No greater evil existed in her eyes, instilling an amount of stress nearly equal to anything she experienced in the past other than her training and past engagement to Riser.
Her panicked scramble as she rushed to refill every single document amused him to no end — not that Rias appreciated it.
"Of course you did." Archer deadpanned, looking at the two small breakfast portions on the kitchen counter before frowning and finally letting go of the former nun. "Is that seriously what passes for breakfast at this house? I could've sworn you were a good enough cook that you can prepare more than cereal and toast for a morning meal."
"Archer, I'm a Devil. We're at our weakest in the morning. Besides, there's nothing wrong with starting the day with something simple."
"Hah… looks like we'll also have to stop by the grocery store." The Counter Guardian walked around the kitchen counter and into the food preparation area, then gently shooed Akeno away as he checked the pantry and the fridge.
"T-the saint-sama doesn't mind…?" Asia asked while peeking at Akeno's nude body.
"He's used to it~! After all, we spent such a hot, steamy night getting to know each other…" The ravenette teased with a smile.
"Awawawa!?" And with that, Asia did her best impression of a tomato to date.
"Asia, she is being purposefully misleading. We merely stumbled upon each other in the hot spring before she fainted, so I carried her into the manor and tucked her into her bed like the child she refuses to admit she is." He replied as he checked the fridge, peeked inside and got some beacon, then looked at the upper shelves and grabbed some rice, quickly preparing some onigiri as breakfast and for snacks. "Anyway, there should be a limit to your teasing, Akeno. Asia is clearly uncomfortable with you walking around like this, so please show some consideration, would you?"
Akeno's eyebrows began reaching for her hairline, and Archer looked mildly interested in what she's about to say. "I wasn't playing around, Archer. I like being comfortable at home."
"You're a naturalist, then?"
"Yup."
"You have a guest, though."
"We're both girls and she's not 'just a guest.' I've adopted her, so she's my little sister now, which means she's my family and should get used to my way of life. It's not like I've tried to convince her to join me or anything like that, but we should at least be able to accept one another."
"J-join Akeno… san?" Then the blonde's brain caught up to the more important bits. "I'm part of your family now!?"
"Of course you are. I don't actually go around partially nude in front of strangers, you know?"
Archer cleared his throat, clearly unconvinced.
"I am standing right here." He calmly comments.
"Oh you're family too. We're in the same peerage given the way Rias runs it."
"I'm not a peerage member, I'm a Servant… or a familiar if it helps you understand it better."
"Familiar, family, two sides of the same coin." Akeno smiled as the toaster finally popped, and she picked the freshly toasts and started anointing some butter and jam onto them before passing them over to Asia on a plate.
"Clothes, now. Or you're not getting anything." He said with a stern voice, causing Akeno to roll her eyes, heading back to her room and returning wearing a one-piece dress with a comfortable-looking bolero jacket on top.
Honestly, Archer had to do a double-take at the sight, since the girl looked like an entirely different person with her hair down and out of the strangely indecent Kuoh Academy girl's uniform.
"Happy? Spoilsport."
Truth be told, he was prepared for the girl to continue playing her game and come back wearing a swimsuit just to further mess with him. At least this current attire was vastly more appropriate and weirdly made her look a bit too similar to the persona Raynare used to fool Issei — Amano Yuuma. 'She is a Fallen after all… but the resemblance would fool even Issei.'
"A family…" The blonde was still star-struck at the revelation.
They leave the penthouse within the hour, with Asia in her school uniform. When he inquired about transportation, Akeno answered.
"I'll drive us there." She said with a smile while jingling her car keys.
"…It's not a sports car or something ridiculous like that, is it? Also, I honestly didn't expect you to even have a car in the first place."
She rolled her eyes. "Nothing like that. Normally, I just teleport for transportation, so there's really not much point to having a ridiculously expensive car, you know? The only reason I got a car was mostly to show Asia around town and give her a tour of the surrounding landscapes. She's not used to flying yet and when she first arrived her stamina was abysmal for any long distance walking."
"And yet you live in a penthouse."
"This belongs to Buchou's family, and I only spend half of my time here. The other half I spend at my own place up in the mountains. You should visit sometime, I believe my other home would suit your tastes quite nicely."
"And you know my tastes… how?"
"Hmm… Just a guess~!"
"Perhaps we should stop by a farmer's market on our way back. Your fridge could use some more produce."
That's when Asia decided to chirp in.
"M-May I join as well? I've never gotten to visit that part in Kuoh yet, but I used to regularly visit the market back in Italy and visit regular patrons of the church." She asked with sparkles in her eyes.
"The entire reason for this outing is to go clothes shopping for you, so you're coming along already. Did you think we'd leave you waiting in the car or something?"
"You know, for a Servant from the distant past you sure know how to use modern kitchen appliances and other modern-day machines." The Queen asked, having had this question for a while, considering he has been using a laptop in class, and seemed perfectly comfortable around smartphones and the like.
"Servants are normally summoned with some basic knowledge about the world, including languages and modern customs." He pointed out.
"And that knowledge given involves you familiar with the inner workings of modern machines? I heard from Buchou that you fixed the radiator in the club room when it stopped working." Her hands crossed, the Queen just couldn't shake off the feeling that Archer purposefully acted ignorant for no reason.
"That is due to my Magecraft more so than anything else. A simple spell that any Magus worth their salt can use to analyze the inner components of a device. Even a third rate Magus can accomplish it."
Akeno gave a soft 'tsk' in response.
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"What is it?" Archer stood aside at the elevator door so the girls could get in first.
Akeno stepped closer, and whispered so only he would hear. "You already admitted to me that you're Japanese, Emiya, so I was hoping to narrow your origins down, time-wise, but now it's even harder to take a guess." She readily admitted. "Why do you have to be so secretive about it?"
"Don't worry about it. I am a hundred percent certain both Rider and myself come from an alternative timeline so distinct from this one it may as well count as a completely different world. But if it helps you at all, my regular appearance is more or less how I looked at the time of my death.."
"…"
Her face turned darker at his words. Though spoken casually, they sounded heavy to her ears.
Without even realizing it, she had wrapped her arms around his as they entered the elevator. "Despite how mature you act, you sure tend to be ignorant with your words at times, Emiya."
After that, both sides went quiet as Asia curiously looked at them. It seemed that she'd been snapped out of her excitement for their outing together and was wondering what they were talking about, only for her face to turn red when she saw Akeno hugging Archer and focused on the elevator walls as she began humming awkwardly.
The elevator descended to the apartment's underground parking lot, and Akeno led them to a perfectly standard Japanese Kei car. She pushed a button on her keychain, unlocked the doors and invited them to get in.
"Thank you." The polite Italian girl said as she climbed aboard and Archer stretched the safety belt over her, securing her in place before closing her door and simply dematerialized before reappearing on the rear seat.
"Are you her mother? You're treating her like she's a fragile vase." Akeno commented, a small pout on her face because she hadn't gotten the same treatment. "Also, you know about car brands, laptops, cellphones and safety belts. Is this knowledge freely given to all Servants?"
Unfortunately for her, Archer shrugged at that comment of hers. "Who knows?" He hummed at her and leaned back onto the seat.
'I'm definitely having a talk with Sona's Servant after this. I want to see what she knows about the modern world.' Thought the ravenette as she started the car and drove them to the mall, where they met with Rias and Koneko. The petite Rook is wearing comfortable sneakers and a bright blue overall over a white shirt, while Rias was in her school uniform-
"I should have thought of that," said Akeno. "As a way to show solidarity to Asia-chan."
Akeno noticed her King still dressed in school uniform. "Ara, you're not coming with us, Buchou? I know you like the uniform but it might not be appropriate to wear it around town during the weekend."
"Oh? No, I'm dressed this way because I need to check up on Yuuto and then rush back to the Occult Research Club to finish some documents still…" Rias sighed and leaned in to smooch the top of Koneko's head. "I'll see you later."
Archer gave Koneko a once over and considered the petite girl's outfit before promptly, and correctly, guessing that she wore it for the many, many pockets on it and how they translate to snack-carrying capacity.
"Good morning." Asia greeted Koneko, before the white-haired Rook greeted her back with a simple 'sup'.
"Fufufu~ Did Buchou dress you up, Koneko? It suits her taste."
"I did, doesn't she look adorable? Anyway, couldn't you let Asia-chan borrow some of your stuff?"
"My clothes are a bit too big for Asia-chan." Explained Akeno. "Even if she grew a little bit during our training camp."
"All of you slept in a manor, with three five-star meals prepared by yours truly every day. I really doubt you can call that a 'camp'… Ah, never mind." Archer decided to just let it go. "You are going back to the club, Master? I thought you didn't want Akeno to be in charge of this little shopping trip."
"I was mostly joking, Archer! You don't give her enough credit. She's mature enough to pick clothes Asia can go around with on a daily basis. Besides, Koneko will be here too, as will you. That's enough, right?" Rias let out another sigh. "I really wanted to go too, but I really need to go back to work, so tell me all about it later, understood?"
With that, Rias left them alone, walking off and disappearing around a corner, probably to teleport away from prying eyes.
Without further fuss, their small group walked into the mall and went straight for the nearest boutique, with Akeno basically taking Asia and a mildly worried Koneko inside so she could force the young girls to go through a small fashion show,
"I thought we were buying things for Asia." Koneko pouted as the Fallen handed her another set of shirts of every type, most of which didn't seem to catch Koneko's interest, as the latter just wanted to be done with it as soon as possible.
"Try them and let me see. We'll get you four of each style, including V-shirts, T-shirts and dress shirts, then move onto skirts, shorts and pants."
"I don't want to…"
"I know, but you do need them. Like Asia, you grew up a little during the training camp, didn't you?" Akeno nodded at her own words, and pushed the clothes into the smaller girl's arms, then closed the curtains of the dressing room. "You can change by yourself, or I can walk in there and help. No, more like, I really want to help…"
"I-i'm not a baby." The girl whispered, blushing slightly as she peeked at a stoic-seeming Archer from between the curtains, the Servant standing some dozen feet away, observing through the young girl's footwear section on her behalf.
Koneko sighed, a little conflicted as she likes being spoiled, but doesn't want Archer to see her being spoiled. Then again, as soon as Akeno went over to the adjoining booth, Koneko could hear the embarrassed sounds coming from it as Asia seemingly fought for her purity's sake, so perhaps it was better this way.
"Fufufu~♪" Akeno's amused giggle was practically a background soundtrack at this point. That, and the sound of Asia gasping and eeping from time to time.
"A-Akeno-san, I can do it myself!"
"Really? I don't remember seeing a single bra in that little briefcase of yours. So unless you're a lot more daring than I thought, you actually do need help, don't you Asia-chan?"
"Muuu~"
"Listen, Asia-chan. At the very least, you need three to four everyday bras and as many camisoles, assuming you do laundry once a week. You also need two sport bras, and anything past that can be as fancy, cute or frilly as you'd like. For lucky events."
"Lucky events?" The former nun sounded genuinely confused.
"Yup, a lucky bra. Some people call it a fighting bra~♪"
"Isn't that just a sports bra?"
"Noope!" Replied the Yamato Nadeshiko, making sure to pop the 'p.' "Don't worry Asia-chan, I'll get you some nice ones as soon as we get your measurements right…"
"Ah!"
Yup, Koneko was perfectly happy changing on her own, after all.
It took a little under three hours to go through everything the wardrobe of a young girl may nee, and once they were done with the whole thing, Akeno simply paid to have everything delivered to their apartment's door, and the group left the boutique to do some window shopping before getting started on their way back.
"Archer, what's with that relieved expression?" Asked the Queen as she looked at the strangely content Servant.
"Well, I just thought I was about to get stuck carrying everybody's bags."
"Even if I didn't pay for delivery, we would have come back for the bags on our way to the car." She added while giggling at his reaction. "Please give me more credit, alright?"
"…"
Akeno kept a close eye on Archer, mostly to see his reactions to the modern products on display, but the Servant barely gave a few cursory glances to the occasional shop, typically when they had laptops or survival equipment on display, and a whole lot more attention to the restaurants and food courts. Otherwise, the Servant seemed perfectly happy to remain a stoic guardian for their little group.
On the way back, they stopped by a farmer's market, and that proved to be both exhausting and illuminating as the Servant basically dissected the produce on display, commenting on the amounts of pesticides, the quality of the handling and much more.
Their little trip went through multiple specialty tea shops only reinforced her impression about his monstrous skill to judge the quality of food, as he quickly found which shops mixed in lower-quality leaves with their premium product, which leaves were treated best in transit to the store, and which were 'accidentally' mis-labeled as more prestigious brands.
With that done and Archer finally unlocking his 'bag carrying achievement', they made their way to the car and Akeno drove them back home, heading back to her apartment complex. With Asia cohabitating with her now, Akeno realized she really enjoyed having someone to take care of.
The ravenette opened the car's trunk, and as Archer leaned in to pick the bags of groceries, she smiled and leaned in right by his side, laying her hands atop his much stronger ones, and gently smooching him on the cheek.The man froze for a second while Asia's mouth hung open at the sight. Akeno paid them no mind as she straightened and began walking inside towards the elevator in a rush, lest they notice the blush forming on her face.
"A…Ake…no-san…?" Asia mutters softly as she sees her 'adoptive older sister' standing by the elevator doors.
"Ara, Archer just deserved a little reward for having put up with us all day." She said with a smile before she turned back to the Servant, who'd just finished securing the grocery bags against his chest and closed the car's trunk before following after the ravenette. "I hope you liked it."
"Hm. You don't have to push yourself to prove something, you know."
"Eh?" Akeno blinked, surprised.
"Perhaps I've been reading too much into it, but to me it appears you're trying hard to change my impression of you being a brat. You acted far too differently than you do when we were at the club, if Master were here then even she would have commented on it." He said with a shrug. "You were closer to convincing before than your current attempt. Just be yourself, it suits you far more than your current act."
"…" Unable to form a reply, she quietly joined Asia, her face hidden from the white haired man. "Idiot," she whispered as the elevator closed.
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OMAKE II - A Hero of Justice Has Appeared!
Her surroundings looked both familiar and strange, the colored walls and air around her giving the redhead Devil a feeling of deja vu. But as much as she tried to concentrate, she couldn't figure out why.
"Is something wrong?" Said the man clad in red and black armor.
"Nothing… just stray thoughts," Rias shook her head and turned her cap around, rushing out of the stairs into the sixth floor of the Servant Tower, where a Mysterious Servant had been scaring away all visitors.
"Careful, it's up ahead." Her companion raised his hands, blocking her path as she warrily observed the land before her eyes as her mind prepared to shout out orders to attack.
Sure enough, the GHOST SERVANT appeared, trying to shoo away the heroine! Thankfully, Rias already had the Silph Scope in her bag, so the black mist quickly coalesced into a somewhat goofy-looking young man with short red hair and strong hands.
Weird… that strange feeling returned once again. Did she meet him before?
"Eh?" They say at roughly the same time, then stare at each other in confusion. But one thought in particular roared within her mind as soon as she saw him.
"…I want him. Archermon, use [Blade Rain]!"
"That's not what it is cal— You know what… I don't even care, not like it ever worked before." He sighed, before a smirk appeared on his face as he glared at the redheaded boy. "Finally, a Master that's okay with it!"
"Wait what?" The golden brown eyed young man called out, right before suddenly being showered by swords. Each piercing his body like a porcupine, blanketing the land with a wave of steel.
[A critical hit!]
[HEROMON HAS BEEN DEFEAT—]
[Trainer Rias has used an ULTRA BALL!]
"Wait, what? No!" Archermon called out in a panic, not that she paid him any mind as her eyes shined with stars at her newest capture!
[1… 2… 3…!]
[Heromon has been caught! Would you like to name your Heromon?]
"OH FOR THE LOVE OF—!" He stopped, taking a deep breath. "Fine, but at least name it Stupid Boy, Master!"
"Uh, Alright?" The Gremory heiress seemed surprised by the outburst of her loyal companion, but complied.
…
"Hero…mon?"
As the rays of sunshine seeped through the curtains and hit her face, Rias groaned as she woke up from her slumber. The Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess tried to get up from her bed, only to discover crumbles of chips stomach and a handheld she was holding — the device connected to the TV screen next to her bed showed the rolling credits of the game she brought yesterday. She'd been so excited to play it during the weekend that once she began, she soon lost all track of time.
"Hah… this better not become a habit, Master." At the doorway, she found her Servant leaning against the wall with his arms crossed as a heavy frown occupied his face. "Get ready, it's already noon."
"Wait, Archerm—"
Before she could even finish her words, the man left the room, leaving the confused Devil to piece together what just happened.
Huh? Her Servant acted displeased with her for some odd reason that he refused to talk to her about. "Did something happen when I was asleep?" Rias questioned herself, wondering if the Heroic Spirit somehow managed to see into her dreams, or maybe she said something in her sleep…
Nevertheless, she got up and stretched her back. Glad that she brought the game in the first place, and she wished to play again… Even though an avalanche of paperwork waited for her.
Though the next time she felt like playing on her handheld, she couldn't find any of her Spheremon cartridges, oddly enough.
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OMAKE III - Unlimited Fluff Works
"Sensei, I've been thinking…" Yuuto said while resting, still exhausted after training with Archer for two solid hours.
"That's a nice change. Keep it going." Archer deadpanned.
"Sensei!"
"What? Did you expect me to tell you not to think?"
"Well no, but you make it sound like I usually don't."
"You just pointed out that you've been thinking, which implies you usually do not."
"Guh!" Yuuto could feel his SAN points taking a hit.
Clearing his throat, the sole knight of Rias Gremory tried to pick his pride off the floor and resume the conversation.
"That sword you fired from your bow to end the Rating Game, that was neither a Holy sword, nor a Demonic sword."
"That's correct."
"What was it, then?"
"I assume you expect something other than 'a magic sword,' since that would be too obvious." Archer replied.
"Right."
"Your Sacred Gear grants you the ability to create any demonic sword you can imagine, correct?"
"Pretty much, yes."
"My ability is to recreate any sword I've ever seen."
"What?" Yuuto felt the world screech into a halt. "You have a Sacred Gear!?"
"No." Archer looked at Yuuto like he had just grown an extra head and it was singing La Cucaracha. "Where I come from, there's no such thing as Sacred Gears. At least not as far as I know,"
Then again, if anyone did indeed have a Sacred Gear, they'd happily keep quiet about it to avoid a Sealing Designation that would end with them as a test subject in the depths of the Clock Tower, with about a hundred Magi trying to figure out how it works.
"From my own experience accumulated throughout my life, I've learned one truth. Mastery lies not in the multitude of techniques one attempts but in the dedication to perfecting a single skill through relentless practice." Archer said, recalling them having a similar conversation during the training period. "In other words, a master in his field, however specialized."
Yuuto blinked. "Ah, you said something similar before in the past."
"Yes, but it does not diminish its importance in any way. There is no true shortcut if you want to reach the level that you want your presence to hold some weight, keep forging." Archer replied with a roll of his eyes. "Anyway, the typical Magus knows how to use a handful or dozens of spells at best, and a prodigy or someone with multiple affinities likely knows how to use a couple hundred. But… let's just say I had circumstances that meant I was capable of only performing a handful of the most basic spells, to the point I can easily call myself a third-rate Magus."
The blonde Knight nodded his head, focused on learning his words to heart.
"However, being restricted to just a few abilities meant I had no option but to hone them to a ridiculous degree, finding uses for them that had never been considered with spells that most were more than happy to write off as 'useless.' And combined with the nature of my Magecraft granting me what you could call a natural affinity, I found I was able to recreate any weapon I'd ever seen and could understand… though it's by far the easiest with swords, and the further away from 'sword' a thing gets…"
Yuuto nodded in understanding. "I see. So you honed that one skill until you had mastered it, right?"
"Indeed, it was the only skill I truly had, after all. Regardless, I'm not restricted to Holy or Unholy weapons… it'd just be harder and require more power than regular swords. But so long as I understand something well enough to visualize it in one go, I can create an almost perfect copy of it. Complex mechanisms such as machinery are harder because they have more parts I'd need to focus on all at once, so a car is right out, but I could make a cotton candy machine, as it's more simple than you'd think compared to most machinery. Don't let Koneko know, though."
"…I won't." Yuuto agreed. The last thing they needed was for their Rook to be on a constant sugar rush.
It was at this point that both teacher and student felt a chill run down their backs, and turned to see a shocked Koneko standing off to their side, a look of absolute betrayal on her face.
"Nii-sama, why…" She whispered with a look of absolute betrayal. Strange, this was the first time she actually called him that other than Archer — perhaps the shock had a bigger impact then he suspected.
Whatever Yuuto wanted to talk about, it'd have to wait.
"…"
It took several hours for Koneko to fall asleep from her sugar overdose, and Rias got to know how it feels to chastise her Servant for the first time.
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 1 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 commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.