Chapter 130 - 44.2

Not wishing to complain about Koneko's good will and feeling considerably tired because of the pleasant activities of the night, Yoruichi just smiled.

"But-"

"Want me to forgive you for yesterday? Let me do this." Liz grabbed the plate to finish the conversation..

A sigh of surrender escaped his lips before the redhead sat down again. "Fine, fine. Have it your way." It bothered him a little because he didn't feel tired at all but to not worry everyone he was willing to relax for a few hours.

"Just one more thing." Rias added as her hand moved to Shirou's hair and fixed it for a moment. "There, that is better."

"What?" Shirou couldn't see what Rias did since even if she messed with his hair she didn't move enough to have any lasting effect. Yoruichi snickering had the redhead looking at her while Koneko and Liz worked. "Did she do something?"

"She just got rid of the white on your head 'old man'."

Incentivated by Yoruichi's words, Shirou traced a sword with some protest from both his lovers before looking at his reflection. "You didn't need to do that."

"Oh yes I did." Rias patted his head carefully. "Now we don't need to have a reminder of yesterday where you almost fried yourself with mana."

"You just wanted to be matching redheads again." Yoruichi called up but Rias just gave her a smug grin. "Hmph. Not that I don't like white or anything like that but seriously Shiro, don't do that again. For your hair to lose its color meant you used way too much mana, not surprising given the circumstances but not something you should repeat."

"And you should be doing strenuous activities after yesterday? Maybe I should have you sleep?" A blushing Yoruichi shut up before Shirou turned to Rias. "And unlike me, you still need more rest."

"It was just just a small cosmetic spell. Didn't even need a magic circle for it." Rias tried to brush his concerns off.

"That wasn't necessary." Shirou took another look before making his sword disappear. "I could have fixed it myself later."

"And what was your plan? Explain how your hair started to go grisled over the weekend?" Rias folded her arms and gave him a look. "Or would you suggest we cut that cute patch off."

"It will be a cold day in hell before we let that happen, Shiro." Yoruichi spoke with a severity that had the now completely redhead once again stuned.

"Okay but you didn't need to use magic on it. I was planning to paint it anyway just to avoid having to explain it." It wasn't like Shirou had given it much thought but if bothered Rias he would do it.

With a sigh, Rias relaxed as well. "Sorry but I wasn't joking. I don't like that reminder of you, bleeding from your nose and practically killing yourself while we could do nothing."

It was basically torture for Rias with no other description. Since it was Shirou then it was even worse and the redhead even admitted the previous night she wouldn't know how to live without him.

That was what scared Shirou and he held her hand. "Hey, it is okay. It is not going to happen again." He offered her a smile. "I mean, not like anyone else is going to drop around him with a bunch of fragments of a legendary sword after shoving them into the ley line, right?"

"Hard to say, lots of legendary swords broke over the years." Shirou gave Yoruichi a mean look but she shrugged. "What? Is the truth. Sure nobody weaponized them as Valper or the Church but a lot of powerful weapons broke since… well, ever I suppose." She turned to a baffled Xenovia. "Wouldn't you say, Exorcist-chan?"

"Ah?" Xenovia managed to catch herself before she said anything. She felt like an intruder in the moments the trio before her was sharing. "I think Exca- I mean, Caliburn's Fragments were the only of its kind. At least at the Church."

"Yeah, pretty much." Yoruichi agreed easily which confused Xenovia more. "Oi, Rias. You can relax a little. I doubt another of those will pop up around here for a while. Even if a weapon like that was easy to break, they would be easier to fix than the mess that was Caliburn."

"Fair enough." Rias accepted the words but the conversation had shifted and her eyes landed in Xenovia. "But it is a good thing we touched the subject right now since we need to have a talk, Xenovia Quarta."

Taking a deep breath, Xenovia fixed her posture and placed her hands on her knees. "I figured as much. It's about that Reality Marble business isn't it? If so I'll sign whatever you want or you can erase my memories of it if you judge necessary."

"We don't need to go that far." While it was risky, Shirou knew both by her personality and by her sword that Xenovia was an honorable person who wouldn't betray a secret held in trust.

Besides him the other girls in the table didn't share his opinion completely but both were still surprised by the 'blank check' Xenovia was offering.

Licking her lips to calm down, Rias organized her mind. "Just to be clear you are willing to let go of a secret that your superiors in the Church would really like to know, something that can possibly start a war."

"What she means to say is that we expected more resistance." Yoruichi gave Rias a look but the redhead's eyes were fixed on Xenovia. "Either that or conditions of some kind because even if you didn't understand what a Reality Marble is you are smart enough to know it is important."

"Oh I got that when Kokabiel was going insane." Xenovia admitted with a shrug but her eyes seemed lifeless. "I just… To be honest I don't even know if I am going to go back to Church after all this."

There was no surprise from that statement, all had heard Xenovia's emotions and how shaken she was by the death of God.

However there were other concerns. "Are you planning to go 'stray'?" Rias asked delicately but Shirou's look told her he didn't like the question.

"No- I mean- I don't know." Xenovia shook her head in confusion and frustration as she glared at the table. "Maybe if I return Durandal to them and say I want to stop they will let me but… I don't want to go back."

"Maybe we should talk about it later." With how the bluehead was shaken, Shirou wasn't willing to keep pushing. His lovers noticed his desire and Rias backed down while Yoruichi sighed. "Look, this is a topic that you should think about and I doubt you need to go stray or anything like that." Then he realized why she looked a little ashamed. "You aren't planning to return Durandal, are you?"

"It's my sword, it chose me." Xenovia expected denial but instead Shirou nodded in agreement. Feeling some relief, she sounded more confident when she spoke next. "Besides, after all the lies, about God, about Excaliburn, I don't feel like they deserve it."

Unlike the previous statement which was full of uncertainty, Xenovia sounded ready to fight for Durandal to her last breath. The sword may not be in the room but both Shirou and Yoruichi noted how her hands seemed to search for it, not in an aggressive way but more to reassure herself it was still there.

Such a dangerous weapon was being treated like a teddy bear or a blanket but Shirou found himself not finding fault in it. Durandal's history came to the forefront of his mind by just thinking about it and he knew how much Xenovia cared for it for that sword was the first thing to recognize her value. To give her a chance.

There were of course other implications but only Xenovia herself could say for certain what her intentions were and the girl remained confused. She certainly wasn't really thinking straight and that was noticeable.

"You do realize that there is a good chance they will go after it, right?" Rias was trying to be gentle as Xenovia was someone she learned to respect on the battlefield.

There was almost no sign of the proud girl who stood against the Fallen of the Stars, who stared death in the face and didn't retreat even when offered a chance. After she put her life on the line with theirs there was no way Rias wasn't going to respect Xenovia and forgive her for any past transgression.

What was important was that the bluehead showed she was someone honest and trustworthy where it counted.

However that person almost couldn't be seen, buried beneath a ton of sadness and confusion as Xenovia seemed to be drifting without knowing what to do with herself. She was someone who lost her purpose.

Some of that proud girl returned. "They can try but I won't give up Durandal. Not even if Michael himself comes to collect it."

"I doubt he would dare to enter devil territory, even with Caliburn around." That reminded Rias of another potential headache and that she needed to call her brother. 'Maybe I can get working into fixing Kuoh and let Sona deal with that?'

"Also you are right, Durandal chose you." Shirou spoke and all eyes turned to him. "Even if you decide to rebel against the Church, against Heaven, Durandal is not their sword. It is yours." That went against all Xenovia believed but he wasn't done. "I don't think you would go 'stray' in the way they fear, in the way Rias is worried about. You are a good person, a little bit too headstrong but I think everybody in this table is like that too… If not everyone in the house." He chuckled at the joke. "Durandal judged you to be the best person to wield it, someone worthy of the legacy of its former owners. It is up to you how you will live to uphold that legacy."

Xenovia's eyes looked more firm and relieved in some way. "Thank you."

"No problem, Durandal wanted you to know that." At least that was the impression Shirou had.

The wonder that colored Xenovia's face was so innocent that it actually surprised any who could see. "Can you- can you talk with swords?"

"I can understand their history. Especially a Noble Phantasm like Durandal." If he could, Shirou would Trace it to reassure Xenovia but the mana cost was way too much. "It is more than just talking but you can do that too by understanding Durandal. As its true owner, maybe you can do it better than even myself."

"So spoke the guy that has a Reality Marble." Yoruichi couldn't help with the sarcasm.

"Hey, she has the original sword and that fact has a power of its own." Shirou admitted with a shrug. "Not to mention she was chosen by it." He focused on Xenovia again. "All you have to do is find your path."

"Easier said than done." But Xenovia's mood was better.

So much better in fact that Rias hesitated for a moment before bringing it down. "While I am happy that we can trust you, tell me, is your partner going to agree to forget about Shiro's secret?" The magus gave the devil a wary glance but she would not be stopped. This was for his sake. "I understand that you two are not seeing eye to eye now but-"

"Irina will probably agree. She is too kind to not accept a favor from someone who was nice to her." Once upon a time Xenovia called it naivety. Now she saw it as the twin tailed girl just being positive. "Since it isn't anything bad and if you explain to her I have no doubt she will agree."

"Any chances she will try and contact the Church from here?"

"Don't you guys have the lines tapped or something like that?" Rias let out a sigh at the question and then Xenovia remembered what Kokabiel announced on the battlefield. "The ones responsible… Are they dead?"

"Not in this case since the human element is the one who keeps watch of such things…" That only hammered hard that Rias really needed to call her brother. "But you may have other methods that we don't know of."

"Only a phone number for emergencies and prayer for the angels but I doubt the second would work here." Xenovia shrugged. "I don't think Irina is going to call either since she was insisting we needed to go back and report the rebirth of Caliburn." And now all knew what started the fight. She couldn't help but smile sadly.

"Do you need some time?" Shirou spoke before Rias continued.

"Time for what?" Xenovia noticed that Rias had relaxed but Shirou still looked serious.

"Time to think or just to rest. I can't think you are in any condition to have this kind of conversation," once more he glanced at Rias, "before taking a break."

"While that is true we can't just leave these things in the air." Rias replied, her eyes not leaving Shirou's. She could already see his retort. "This is for our safety as much as your own."

Knowing that Rias was right didn't help matters as Shirou just pointed at Xenovia. "Does she look like someone who would go around our backs like that?"

"No, she doesn't." Yoruichi decided to intervene. "But Rias isn't wrong to worry since a lot of nests will be shaken if your Reality Marble becomes known."

Sighing, Shirou can only nod. "I know that. That is why I didn't want to explore that possibility."

It was Rias' turn to sigh. "Then again I may have jumped the gun a bit. Not like Xenovia can get into contact with the Church here with all of us watching her. However…"

"However Irina still left and that could be a problem." Shirou summarized. "But if we go by Xenovia's opinion then she won't."

"Revealing your Reality Marble could start a war which we fought hard to avoid. Irina may be a little naive but she isn't stupid and wouldn't risk giving Kokabiel exacly what he wanted." Xenovia spoke with conviction.

"I still sent my familiar to keep an eye on her." Rias revealed and nobody protested.

"Sounds fair." Xenovia said with acceptance as she still wasn't ready to confront Irina on anything.

Before the conversation could continue the doorbell rang, surprising everyone and breaking the atmosphere of the conversation.

Then came another surprise. "I'll get it."

"Liz is full of surprises today." Rias couldn't help but comment as Shirou nodded in agreement and astonishment. "Close your mouth, dear, or else flies can get in."

"Just processing." Shirou admitted, which made Yoruichi laugh and Xenovia smile.

After a few moments Liz returned and she was not alone. "Master, introducing lady Sona of House Sitri and her Queen Shinra Tsubaki who came for a business visit." She even bowed like a proper maid which was odd because of her choice of clothing but Shirou was too busy to comment while he facepalmed and others around the room smiled.

"You don't need to call me like that… Or act like this!" Shirou was still having some trouble in processing everything.

"Why shouldn't she?" Xenovia asked innocently enough that had Yoruichi snickering and Rias holding herself back from laughing. "You are the owner of the house right? And isn't she your maid?" The cute tilt of her head held back the scream Shirou was about to let out. "I mean, maybe it's because she used the English word for master? Which is the one used in Japan?"

"It really depends." Rias didn't give Shirou a chance to talk. "There is sama, dono and even bon-chan for the younger kids. And others." She saw her lover squirm and began to giggle. "Many others depending on position and power."

"Thank you Liz!" Shirou cut everything off before he blushed harder. "You can go now!"

Liz blinked slowly and bowed her head again. "As the Master wishes." And then she departed as Yoruichi began to laugh out loud.

There was no hope for Shirou and he hid his face with his hands. 'I am pretty sure she was smiling there too. Was she teasing me?'

Clearing her throat, Tsubaki looked unsure of herself. "Rias-sama, we came here to request some assistance." She still looked tired and the concern in her face seemed to diminish her natural beauty.

"I expected you to already be working, Rias." Sona commented with her glasses hiding eyes. "Because of the mess yesterday we have much to do and not much time to do it."

"My, my, Sona. I at least thought we had the time to get some breakfast before having business." Rias sounded cautious but Shirou recognized the concern in her eyes. "But look at you, already ready for school. Did you forget that today is Sunday?

Both Sona and Tsubaki were dressed in their school uniforms, new ones which had no marks of the battle. If one didn't know any better they would agree with Rias they were ready for school and nothing else.

Except anyone that noticed the concern in Rias' voice which had both Shirou and Yoruichi paying close attention to the talk. "It is because it is Sunday that we have to start moving or else there won't be any classes tomorrow."

"The damage to the school was substantial, Sona. Maybe it is better if we cancel the classes for tomorrow to give the construction crew time to work." It was a doable proposition in Rias' opinion.

Tsubaki sighed as Sona stared at Rias unimpressed. "The school can open tomorrow if we work quickly. I already went ahead and got in contact with the proper enterprises to start working and even your family's company already sent a crew to begin the repairs." Rias looked even more concerned but Sona kept going. "With things starting on this side, you need to call your brother and set things in motion in the Underworld."

Instead of replying to her oldest friend, Rias directed her attention to the Sitri Queen. "She didn't rest, did she?"

"I rested just fine-"

"She took a nap." Sona turned to look at Tsubaki but the Queen didn't back down. "You rested for a total of twelve minutes before beginning to make calls. I kept insisting you should at least sleep but you got back to work after I went to bed."

The last part was more of an accusation as Tsubaki wasn't awake to watch over Sona but the silence from the Student Council President was telling. It wasn't a hunch or a guess either since the moment the Queen began to help she noticed the progress Sona had made and deduced the pureblood devil didn't stop throughout the night.

Fixing her glasses again, Sona turned back to Rias. "We must prepare Kuoh for normal classes so as to protect the reputation of the school."

"Accidents happen and we need time to recover." Already she could see that wouldn't work.

"Not with the size of this mess, Rias. The whole school was damaged beyond convenient excuses and the terrain is in dire need of repairs, not to mention the ley line. I already called a specialist to deal with it." Sona added and Yoruichi pouted as the Sitri King looked at her. "We can't keep the school closed for longer either due to the curious who are going to try and look for what happened."

"Just make a boundary field to keep everyone away."

"Jaken already confirmed that the ley line is still in flux and will be in flux for a few days due to people meddling with it." Sona was glaring at Shirou and for the first time since she arrived he saw her eyes.

'She is exhausted.' He wasn't the only one who noticed but Rias knew her friend wouldn't hear anything that wasn't logical.

For that she turned to Yoruichi. "Is there anything you can do to speed up the process?"

The nekomata shook her head. "Jaken is Sesshomaru's main retainer and a specialist in youjutsu. If he says the ley line needs time then it needs time." Yoruichi crossed her arms in thought. "But that doesn't mean people are just going to drop by if the school announces they are closed for a day."

Both Shirou and Rias immediately realized why that wasn't a good idea. "You were 'feral' at the time and busy saving our lives so I don't blame you but Kokabiel let out a huge beam of light out to call the White Dragon Emperor to his 'rescue'." Even Xenovia understood that as Yoruichi scratched her cheek, vaguely remembering the event. "Because of that there are a lot of eyes on Kuoh. Thanks to our agents in town most of the situation is under control but if things aren't normal come Monday people are going to start asking questions." Sona took off her glasses to show how tired but determined she was. "And I won't be recorded in History as the one who allowed the moonlit world to be revealed to the masses."

'Odd. While that is an important concern, Sona isn't one to care about the opinion of others like that. It sounds more like an excuse.' Rias was the only one who realized there was something wrong with her oldest friend by virtue of their friendship. "Is there something wrong, Sona?"

"A funny question to ask since it implies you forgot about yesterday." Sona sounded irritated but Rias' eyes never left hers. "We have work to do and can't waste any time."

"Doesn't mean we shouldn't rest, even if for a few hours." Which at that point everybody could see Sona needed. Rias, however, was sure her words would go ignored. "Sit down a little. I can make some breakfast if you want." It wouldn't stop her from trying.

Recognizing that Rias had her best interest at heart, Sona sighed before fixing her glasses. "I promise to rest after we fix everything, alright?"

The King of Gremory and the Queen of Sitri traded worried glances as everyone else watched the interaction. Even those that didn't know Sona well could tell the girl was under a lot of pressure and even if the situation was somewhat critical, the worst had passed but she was still too agitated.

Rias knew her friend, she knew there was more going around the black haired girl's head that she wasn't telling. However she had no evidence and Sona had already sunk her feet in the metaphorical sand, she won't say what is worrying her no matter what the redhead devil tried.

So for the sake of her friend, Rias would also have to cut her rest time short. "Fine, I will call my brother to begin delivering the reports and make preparations for the teams he is going to send."

Replacements for the dead guards, people to evaluate the situation, count the bodies, administrators, medics and a dozen of other devils soon would arrive in Fuyuki. Some of it was standard because of the situation while others were necessary because the siblings of the Maous were involved.

All that not even accounted for when her brother contacts Azazel and Michael to make sure a war really wouldn't break out. It was still unlikely if the actual Lucifer gave permission to access Caliburn since that would be the last point of contention possible as far as Rias was concerned.

Then there was the fact that at this hour Azazel would already have been informed about her lover's Reality Marble but she chose to not think much on it because she had to trust on the White Dragon Emperor, Vali, and his promise that Azazel wouldn't want to start a war.

There would still be a lot to do but Rias had faith that her brother would settle the matters peacefully. If anything her greatest fear at that point was that he would drop everything in the Underworld to check on her.

"Thank you." Sona snapped Rias from her thoughts. There was no relief in her voice even if the gratitude was sincere.

Couple that with her presence there and Rias knew her friend wanted something else. "Do you need anything else, Sona? If that was just it then you would have just called."

"Sharp as always, Rias." Sona wouldn't botter in denying she had second intentions. When she turned to Shirou, he let out a sigh as he already guessed what it was. "I need your 'lover'," despite the tone she used, Rias just smiled shamelessly, "to fix the mess he made on Kuoh. Namely the legendary sword stuck in the middle of the property."

'I knew that was going to come back to bite me.' He barely managed to hold that thought in. "That is not how it works with Caliburn. Only the true owner can take it out of its place of rest."

"Are you sure? Are you definitely sure?" Sona sounded almost desperate. "Do you realize that one of the most likely conditions of peace is going to be for the Church to have some access to it? Maybe even security if the angels can get their way. That means establishing a base, probably an embassy." She remained still but by her eyes everyone could see that the scenario was playing in her head. "Caliburn is in a school, Emiya, our school, the center of the devil operations of Fuyuki. Do you have any idea how bad the paperwork is going to get? Jurisdictions alone?"

"She has an excellent point." Rias began to share in Sona's fears. She wasn't showing much but Shirou could tell she was starting to get nervous. "Now that I think about it, there has to be some way to move Caliburn. Maybe moving the rock?"

"There is no rock this time." Tsubaki reminded everyone. "When Emiya-san completed the sword it landed on the ground."

"Then just displace the terrain." Rias offered as a solution. "We already have to fix most of the grounds anyway, what is one more hole to shut after we place the sword somewhere else?"

Which had Sona sighing as Tsubaki spoke for her. "Attempts were already made to displace Caliburn or even the land around it. While restoring it to a semblance of its former state was done easily, it seems there is a 'bubble', for the lack of a better word, around the sword that stops it from being moved."

All eyes turned to Shirou who was scratching the back of his head. "Well, that is normal for Caliburn."

"But it is still a problem." Rias recognized with a sigh and a shake of her head.

"That is why I thought that maybe Emiya could be the solution for said problem." Sona reiterated, her eyes not leaving Shirou.

"Sorry but there is nothing that I can do. That is how Caliburn is supposed to work." Shirou knew Sona didn't like the reply. "Look, sorry that I dropped the sword on the ground but that was it. Now it is there and by its own legend only the right person can pull it up."

Sona took a deep breath before speaking again. "You reforged it, are you telling me you didn't think about putting any safe guards?"

Considering the situation, Shirou did his best to not sound offended. "I was kinda busy trying to not blow up."

"An excellent job by the way." Yoruichi added but Sona just gave her a look before focusing back on Shirou. "Don't be like that. We know you are stressed but there is no reason for you to be grumpy around us."

"When are you going back to Kyoto again? Because I am sure once people know you were hanging around devil territory then you will need to stay there to avoid an uprising from your family's opponents."

"Kaichou." Tsubaki hissed and Sona shook her head.

"Right, sorry. I overreacted."

Yoruichi gave her a glare before shrugging nonchalantly. "It is fine, you aren't wrong." That was why she was trying to stay hidden in the first place. "I will be gone in a day or two, just resting for now."

"I apologize again but the situation is urgent." Sona looked at Shirou and the redhead already guessed the next question. "Can't your Reality Marble do something about it?"

"Even if I just accept it after less than a day I already know that isn't how it works. At least not mine." An image of Caliburn appeared on his mind, a version of the weapon that he could hold and wield. But it also told him the original wouldn't accept him as easily. "I can make another Caliburn," that seemed to scare everyone in the room, "if I have the proper materials or mana which I have neither. Trying certainly would kill me."

"Then you aren't trying." Rias said immediately.

"And if you do then we are tying up until that blockhead idea is out of your head." Yoruichi added and Shirou smiled at them.

"Don't worry, I won't intend to." When his lovers looked satisfied he focused on Sona again. "I can even reproduce the Fragments individually or even Valper's abomination. They would be easier and I would just need time to make them with the bare minimum." Shirou shook his head again and showed his hands. "But I can't move Caliburn."

"I refuse to believe that. There has to be some way." Sona began to bite the nail, thinking furiously. "Any Noble Phantasm is bound to its legend so we just need to focus on the aspects of King Arthur's legend to find a solution."

"Merlin could move the sword, I think." Xenovia suggested earning eyes of gratitude from the devils while Shirou shook his head.

"He moved the sword before planting it in the stone." Then Rias' turned to him. 'I know what is coming.'

"But you can take a look, can't you?" The King of Gremory asked with a pout. "Even if Merlin couldn't take the sword off once he placed it there, there is no stone anymore, just some earth. Maybe you can find a solution."

"Rias…" To him the best explanation was already given, the sword wouldn't be moved without someone deemed worthy by it. Everything after was just going in circles to the same conclusion.

But Shirou was finding out that he was quite weak to Rias' eyes and the way she was making her request was just right to have him almost melting. Still he didn't know how to respond since he saw no solution other than finding someone worthy of the sword.

Someone who would be willing to carry a burden he didn't want for himself.

Yoruichi folded her arms above the table. "Then maybe destroy the sword."

For a few moments nobody said anything as the idea began to set in their minds. The devils looked pleased by the suggestion while Xenovia looked horrified.

Only Shirou knew the answer. "The power needed to destroy Caliburn would probably destroy part of the town."

He made a frown as both Caliburn and Caladbolg appeared in his mind and his Reality Marble made the proper adjustments to both weapons seamlessly.

After measuring their forms, power and mana, Shirou realized that comparing the two of them wasn't fair, that Caladbolg was falling short. Much shorter than he thought it was possible. It was the Divinity of Caliburn and its greater fame that made it an even stronger sword to the point that his mind dismissed its competitor.

"I have nothing capable of destroying Caliburn." Shirou admitted while looking around. "And I am sure none of you is strong enough to do it either. It was originally a defensive sword, a weapon capable of protecting their owner against time itself."

"But it broke once." Yoruichi reminded everyone.

It was Xenovia who dismissed that point. "Only because King Arthur failed it." It was one of the parts of the legend she could never forget for she feared to fail Durandal in the same way.

"So there is nothing that can be done about it?" Tsubaki asked just to be sure even as she could see Sona's shoulders fall in surrender.

However Rias was giving Shirou a look, a look that was wearing his resistances down. "I don't think I can do it."

"But would you still try, please?" She began to make circles on his hand. "For me?"

'The things I do for love…' That was exactly the reason why he couldn't use Caliburn in the first place. "I can try." Both pureblood devils perked up at that. "But just try! I am not promising anything but I shall do my best." With Caliburn he couldn't.

It was still enough for Sona. "That is all I can ask." If she wasn't a devil she would pray he succeeds. "Now can we go to Kuoh immediately so you may begin?"

Raising her hand like she was in the classroom, Xenovia did her best to remain stoic. "Can I go with you?" Some looked surprised by the request but only those who talked with Xenovia during breakfast.

To Sona it was a natural thing to ask. "I suppose you wish to stay there to reclaim the sword in case Shirou succeeds?"

'Wasn't you avoiding using my name until now?' Shirou felt his eyebrow twitch as Yoruichi gave him a knowing smile and Rias giggled.

Gulping hard, Xenovia realized that she didn't know how to answer that question. "I still have a mission to finish." Was the excuse she went with.

Sona still nodded in acceptance before looking around. "Where is the other one?"

"Irina-san went out on a walk." Rias replied quickly with a technical truth. "She is originally from Fuyuki and left just before you arrived. I am surprised you missed her."

Sona nodded in understanding but Shirou still found it necessary to avoid the subject. "Would you like some tea while we take a shower, Kaichou?"

"No, we are going back to help in Kuoh." She gave a hard look at Rias. "We still have a lot of work to do."

"Fine, fine. Once you all leave then I will call my brother." Rias would be lying if she said she wasn't stalling a little.

Xenovia quickly got up. "Where is my uniform?"

"Oh no, you aren't going with that." Rias complained with an unimpressed look. "Most of it was damaged and it is full of holes."

"I can use a mantle to-"

"No, no and no." The redhead devil moved to the blue haired girl and began to push her. "We are going to get you some decent clothes first. Or better yet, you can take a shower in my bathroom while I pick something for you to wear." A confused Xenovia nodded and allowed herself to be pushed out of the living room while Sona let out a sigh.

"Want to come too?" Shirou asked Yoruichi who shook her head.

"Nya. I was thinking about spending some time with my little sister." Her smile was a mixture of happiness and sadness. "Seeing as it will be harder to drop by Fuyuki for a while, I want to enjoy her presence for a while longer." In the kitchen Koneko heard every word but focused on the dishes.

"Again, I am sorry." Sona bowed her head as she didn't realize her words had been more cruel than expected with Tsubaki doing the same in solidarity.

Yoruichi just shrugged and began to march to the kitchen. "That is the fault of my own responsibilities, after all the leader of a Faction shouldn't stay away for long. Or at least not get caught." The devils saw something odd even if they didn't understand what it was but their minds told them something was wrong as Yoruichi continued her stride. "See you at night, Shiro."

Neither devil paid much mind to what happened, they really couldn't tell that Yoruichi disappeared for an instant between her steps to just return and complete the action. The best comparacion their conscious minds could have made if they noticed was that Yoruichi acted similar to a video missing some frames.

But they didn't notice anything besides a vague impression in their minds that something was missing but neither was conscious or capable enough to notice what.

"Don't work yourself too hard." Shirou said with a small blush as what the devils didn't see was Yoruichi rushing to his side, giving him a kiss to then return to her previous spot.

And it wasn't just a peck on the lips either as Shirou was capable enough to understand what was happening during the process. That and the memories of the previous night helped him recognize the texture of her tongue in his mouth and react a little during the kiss.

He hid a smile by turning to his room. "Be back soon."

Both Sona and Tsubaki still had that distinct impression that something was missing but couldn't think much on that when Liz returned. "Please allow me to escort you to the exit."

They didn't complain and accepted the escort, Liz treating them like a proper maid despite Shirou not being around to be embarrassed about it. It was also because as Rias' oldest friend Sona knew Grayfia and she didn't want to risk the Ultimate Maid hearing that she slacked off.

…

Before leaving the Emiya residency, Irina was aware enough to collect one of the improvised capes from the previous day and her boots so she wouldn't be walking everywhere barefoot.

The rest of her mind was covered by a fog of anger and disbelief at Xenovia's attitude as she began to second guess every interaction she had with her blue haired partner.

Memories flooded in her mind as Irina couldn't help but feel a sting of betrayal even greater when she learned the truth about God and the secret the angels and the Church worked so hard to keep. From the very first day she had known her, Irina believed that Xenovia was the most loyal of both.

As the Owner of Durandal, Xenovia was always someone considered invaluable to the Church and so they invested a lot in her training. Adopted by Griselda, personally taught by the previous Owner, Vasco Strada, she also always had the best equipment and the best teachers available.

Irina would be lying if she said she hadn't been jealous of Xenovia on a couple of occasions but they never lasted long. Xenovia never had a problem inviting Irina for training and because of that she had the guidance of two of the greatest swordsmen in the Church even if she wasn't a person of particular importance.

Sure her family traditionally was part of the Church and they were all loyal but they were just Exorcists and priests for the most part, Irina continuing the tradition after her father had retired due to some mistake he refused to talk about.

Indeed thanks to Xenovia, Irina received many opportunities that most Exorcists and even Executors of older families didn't get like her current mission. While her skill with a sword was impressive due to her age there was not a shadow of doubt in her mind that she was picked because she already was Xenovia's partner.

She was initially chosen because of their close age but as Irina and Xenovia hit it off they stayed together despite the small spats they had from time to time. The two started with small missions and some bigger jobs but it was always because Xenovia needed experience quickly that they were thrown in some of their most dangerous missions.

The Church knew the value of Durandal, the strongest Holy Sword they had access to, and made sure to cultivate Xenovia to eventually be a second coming of Vasco Strada.

'How could she turn her back on everyone like that?' It was still early and Irina saw no one as she kept her furious pace in a random direction. 'After everything they gave her! Everything we went through!'

While never saying it to her partner's face, mostly out of embarrassment and because the topic never came up, Irina admired Xenovia. Not only her partner was someone she considered strong but the dedication and training that the bluehead put in her swordsmanship was something Irina found beautiful.

'Did she really give up on everything without even hearing an explanation from everyone back home? What is Griselda going to think?' Irina took a turn and kept walking. She was slowing down slightly, alone with her thoughts. 'There is no way she is really going to go 'stray'! No way!'

Xenovia was always the more confident of the two of them, the first one to always jump into a situation or speak her mind without fear of repercussions unless she really respected the person.

'And after all that, all the missions, the training, the blood, sweat and tears she just believes the first fallen angel who runs his mouth.' Then Irina stopped with a sad frown on her face. 'But it wasn't just any fallen angel, was it?' She shook her head in a panic, her usual twin tails dancing. 'Nonono, that is no excuse. We have to go back, to talk with everyone…'

Her thoughts turned away from Xenovia and to those in the Church as she began to question who knew about the Death of God and who didn't. She found herself thinking about some names, names that she only knew personally because of Xenovia.

'And they didn't tell her…' Irina realized with a sad look to the sky. "They didn't tell her." She whispered.

Vasco Strada was the first name that popped in her mind when thinking about someone who should know. The Violence of Heaven was a living legend and as a Cardinal Priest he was high in the metaphorical totem pole besides being Durandal's previous weider.

Despite the friction he had with the Executors because of their function to the point of even proposing closing their branch, even them respected Vasco Strada for his contributions. They were sent to the most bloody battlefields and the most gruesome cases and still called Cardinal Strada their superior.

With so much support and respect around the institution of the Church, Vasco only wasn't higher on the hierarchy because he didn't want to, Irina had no doubt he knew the truth about God.

However it was another name that managed to shake Irina's conviction. 'Why didn't sister Griselda tell us the truth? Or at least her?'

Griselda Quarta was considered one of the strongest women in the Church, among the upper echelons of the Exorcists she was at least top 5. Sure she lacked the capability to use Holy Swords but her skill alone gave merity to her rank and reputation.

She was also Xenovia's legal guardian, the person who found a blue haired girl in an orphanage and recognized her talent for swords. Irina didn't need to ask to know that Xenovia saw Griselda as someone she both loved and respected, even with a good dosage of fear because of her personality.

And the chestnut haired Exorcist was absolutely sure Griselda saw Xenovia in a similar light and would have taken care of her even if Durandal hadn't made its choice. They never put it into words but to Irina it was clear they were family.

Yet Griselda said nothing and the realization of that fact made Irina sick. 'If Griselda knew and didn't tell her… No!' She hitted her cheeks hard. "She must have a reason. We just weren't ready… Nobody knew Kokabiel was the one who stole the Fragments so this should have been a normal mission… Right? But they should still have told us, shouldn't they?"

She began to lean to one side or the other, constantly moving in place while trying to discern some kind of truth. Irina even made a list with why they should or shouldn't know the truth even before the mission started.

Eventually she gave up and in her frustration began to mess with her hair. "Ahh, I don't know!" Irina looked around to see if she disturbed everyone and let out a sigh of relief she was alone in the street. "Maybe I should go back. I am sure if I explain things to Xenovia she will agree to return if only to ask." She nodded resolutely. "We can't trust Kokabiel's words, or a defective sword, or that fiend, Valper."

Irina nodded again, feeling much better with herself and that she had a plan of action to convince Xenovia to return to Europe with her. She took a step forward to return to the Emiya residency only to realize something.

"Where am I?" She didn't recognize the streets even if it looked like she was still in the same area.

However the houses were smaller and of a humbler quality than those around the house she was before. Irina also realized that there were more stores, closed because of the early Sunday, and that the streets were more open.

Shidou Irina realized a sad fact. "I am lost, aren't I?" She almost fell to her knees in depression at the reveal. "My old hometown and I have no idea where to go or how I got here."

It wasn't her fault really; she left the house emotionally charged and not giving much thought where she was going. There was no intention of leaving the area or going anywhere, Irina just walked with a cloud of anger and confusion blinding her.

Considering she was in a rushed pace due to anger and that thanks to her training the speed of her walk was enough for her to end in another area of Fuyuki in just a few minutes. "My steps! I need to retrace my steps!" She thought rationally however there was a problem with that. "Wait, did I turn that street or that one? I don't remember seeing that store either…"

She had no idea of where to start.

"Oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord. Gremory-san will be furious if I don't get back. Maybe she is going to think I am spying, or that I left to warn everyone about that Reality Marble thingy, or that I tried to steal Caliburn- Can I steal Caliburn? Does it still belong to the Church?"

Irina was panicking and she couldn't help as her mind came up with more and more scenarios where a war broke out because she got lost. She didn't notice the small bat-like creature watching her from afar and sweat dropping at how ridiculous some of the things she thought about were.

Bat-chan didn't like to work during the day, the sun was bad for her skin and eyes, but she had her orders and she would follow them to the letter. Unfortunately for Irina those were to watch her, not help and so the Exorcist was left alone in her panic.

"Okay, deep breath. Aff, uff. Aff, uff. In and out. In and out. Like dad always says; 'stay cool and things work out'." Irina repeated the exercise three more times before placing her hands in prayer. "Lord-" She stopped herself before starting, indecisive if she should pray or not. "That is right… He isn't there anymore."

Shaking her head Irina threw a small prayer anyway out of habit before walking towards the nearest sign for a street name. She could remember the path from Kuoh's to Shirou's home and that meant if she found the school grounds then she could find her way back to the house.

It wasn't a street she ever heard the name off and she had no one to ask for help but looking at the sun Irina still managed to get some of her bearings. She was pretty sure the school was to the east of her location thanks to her Exorcist's training and began to make her way.

Still unsure of how long it would take her to reach Kuoh, Irina walked at a steady pace so she wouldn't get even more lost. Neither too fast and neither too slow, exactly the ideal one for long trails and longer missions. It was a kind of strut that focused on saving energy and keeping the warrior ready for combat.

A good thing too because soon Irina realized she was hungry, she was hungry and everything was closed due to the earlier hour. Even if they were open Irina had no money either way but when she passed at an ice cream parlor and saw the pictures of its delicacies it sent her stomach into protest at the lack of food.

'I should have stayed for breakfast. Oh Lord, why did I allow my rage to blind me so?' She blinked in surprise at her own thoughts but shook her head to avoid losing herself to her own thoughts again. "I can't waste time, I need to go back."

But when she began to walk Irina began to sense some familiarity with the area she was in. The memories of her childhood began to come to the front of her mind as her eyes could see a younger version of running around with Ise by her side.

It brought such a smile to her face that Irina couldn't help herself but follow the memory, turning around and going in the opposite direction of Kuoh.

She saw the small park where she played and saw herself with her best friend trying to play with the other boys. She saw how they ran around playing tag, hide and seek, racing or climbing some trees. Irina's smile grew larger as she kept following the memories of a random day of her childhood.

Instead of following her training Irina was following her heart, forgetting about her mission and all her problems for the moment as she immersed herself in the memories of happier times.

Despite having avoided it before, Irina couldn't help but dive into these memories of a time far less troublesome. In the past when she didn't have to worry about wars, bloodthirsty monsters, conspiracies, lies, politics and a whole bunch of things that always gave Irina plenty of headaches.

If she had her way, Irina would like to remain in her memories for at least a few minutes or even hours, just enjoying the peace of those times of innocence.

She kept following her younger self with a smile still in place. Her mind was far from all the troubles as she saw her younger self play more games or just chat with her friend. They shared their favorite foods, heroes and games.

They were even making poses of their favorite sentai when she giggled, once again not realizing where she was going.

Bat-chan, flying low between any trees and rooftops, kept following the Exorcist to the best of her abilities. Like a normal bat her ears were also capable of echolocation but she wasn't blind even if her eyes were bad compared to humans, at least during the day. Considering her weak power and small size that was just one of several disadvantages.

However Bat-chan was the familiar chosen by Rias Gremory not because of her power but because she was smarter than most. If the little bat-like creature wanted she could transform using the mana she had access from her mistress and hold it for a long time. There were other things she could do with their bond but none of that would help in her situation.

Because Rias ordered her to follow an Exorcist and Bat-chan was smart enough to know Irina would feel her presence if any mana was used. That meant staying close to keep an eye on the girl while maneuvering enough to stay out of the sun.

As luck would have it Irina left the area with most trees to enter another part of the suburb, one with far more houses. Bat-chan couldn't help but smile at her luck as it was a neighborhood that she knew and that meant that Irina wasn't doing anything bad and Rias didn't need to worry.

Bat-chan didn't know why Irina was smiling, even laughing from time to time, but she was glad there would be no issues. All she had to do was make sure that Irina arrived safely and then report where the girl stopped. And if Bat-chan was right then it would be in a place where Rias could go in without troubles.

So the two continued their way with Irina guiding and Bat-chan following. While the familiar had some idea of where Irina was going the same couldn't be said by the Exorcist herself, she was still just wandering with her memories as the only guide.

If she focused just a little more or even raised her head, Irina would be able to see where the memory was taking her. Still she didn't, enjoying losing herself in her happiness too much to look at anything but the two kids in her imagination.

'I remember that day.' Irina realized with a smile. 'We were just coming back from playing and my parents weren't home so Ise invited me in. He didn't even think about asking his mom.' She giggled at the face the Hyoudou matriarch had when Ise opened the door and came back to her running. 'That old shake of the head as if to say 'you don't need to ask'.'

In that moment the memory was gone and Irina was back to reality standing right in front of the door of the Hyoudou residence.

Once she realized where she was Irina couldn't help but look at the house with a smile. "It didn't change one bit." Took some time before the voices inside the house made Irina start to panic. 'OH MY GOD! I AM BACK ON ISSEI'S HOUSE! HOW DID I GET HERE?! WHAT I AM GOING TO DO?!'

While Irina started to throw a mental crisis, Bat-chan used one of her tiny wings to brush off some sweat in relief. "Now I just have to call Rias-sama and… Why isn't she ringing the doorbell?"

Smart as she was there Bat-chan couldn't read minds so she failed to understand that Irina ended up in front of Ise's house mostly because of luck. It hadn't been her goal to return to her childhood friend's home even if once she pondered doing it after her mission and so Irina found herself with no action.

So she remained twitching in a panic while the familiar just watched the girl practically dancing in place.

Ideas began to swarm Bat-chan's mind as she tried to figure out why Irina wasn't ringing the doorbell. The bat-like creature was sure that was what the Exorcist would do once she arrived in the house but the 'dance' she was doing instead was starting to worry the familiar.

"Maybe she is hungry?" Was the first thing Bat-chan thought about since she also was starving. Usually at this hour she would be eating with the other familiars but instead she had to keep an eye on the Exorcist. "What if she is thinking about running away?" Was the next mumble that had the little bat panicking. "If she doesn't go in then I can't go eat."

Bat-chan, or better yet Rias Gremory, was really lucky that Irina was focused too much on her own problems to notice she was being watched because while the familiar made sure to lower her voice the Exorcist would have noticed her if she was paying more attention.

Which gave the bat-like creature time to freak out and think of a plan as once again she showed she was quite the intelligent being as a realization dawned on her; she didn't need Irina to ring the doorbell, she just needed the doorbell to ring.

Determining a route, Bat-chan enacted her plan swiftly as she flew high and dropped fast to hit the button with her wing before going up again.

Irina was startled by the ring of the doorbell and she didn't notice the small familiar. 'What did I do?!' So she thought she had hit the button by mistake. 'What do I do now? Do I run? That would be rude! But my heart is not ready yet-'

"Coming!" Came the voice of an older woman inside the house. That voice was so familiar that Irina was once again shocked and with no action until the door opened. "Can I help you?"

There was a chance for Irina to leave at that very moment, all she had to do was to say it was a mistake or she found the wrong house or something similar. But upon looking at the older woman any thought of leaving just disappeared from her mind.

Hyoudou Miki looked barely older than Irina remembered with her dark brown hair and hazel eyes full of the same kindness she found in her own mother. While she was already in her middle age, time was kind to Miki who didn't have a single gray hair and looked thin but healthy.

"Hi." Irina managed to say to a confused Miki who tilted her head in confusion.

There was a sense of familiarity to Miki as she examined the girl at her door but names eluded her. "Hi, may I help you?" The girl stood straight as a rod but offered the older woman a nervous smile, a smile that reminded her of her own child when he was nervous. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

If anything, that question only made Irina more nervous but she still couldn't run as the desire of hugging the woman who was one of the most important people of her childhood was stronger than her anxiety.

"Mom, who is it?" Issei, still a bit jumpy after the events of last night, didn't like the idea of her mother answering the door by herself. He rushed towards her, almost waiting to reveal the truth about the moonlit word to protect her from an insane fallen angel. Fortunately he didn't have to. "Irina?"

Surprised and still nervous, Irina could only wave. "Hey Ise."

Miki looked perplexed but soon the name and face of the girl connected in her mind. "Irina? As in Shidou Irina? Is that really her?" With no hesitation she grabbed Irina's face to inspect her closely.

"Hey Miki-obachan." There was only one person who called Miki like that.

Quickly the grab turned to a hug. "It is really you! How have you been, Irina?" The hug grew tight but it wasn't enough to hurt Irina but it made her smile and hug the woman back. "Look at you. All grown up!" Miki commented as she took a step back and studied Irina.

With the mantle in the way there was not much to see but the hug helped the older woman to tell how much the girl had changed from a tomboy to a beautiful woman. In that moment there was only happiness in Irina's eyes which made them shine in a way that Miki found marvelous.

"I had no idea you had returned to Japan. When did you arrive? How are your parents? Are they here too? How was England?" The woman began to rapidfire questions but Irina didn't find herself overwhelmed but happy by the interest Miki was showing. "Wait a minute, Issei…" A familiar tone of frustration had the devil flinching as his mother slowly turned to him. "You recognized Irina with a glance, care to explain?"

"Ha ha ha, I just remembered my best friend."

[If you wanted her to believe you, you should have worked better on the delivery.] Ddraig commented in the corner of Issei's mind and the devil held back a curse.

The dragon was proven right when his mother grabbed him by the ear. "Auch, auch, auch!"

"You are telling me you saw Irina and didn't tell anyone or even invited her for dinner?" She pushed hard and the devil was surprised by the pain he was feeling. It was the power of a furious mother. "Do you really think you could lie to me, young man? If I didn't recognize her immediately then I know you had no chance of doing it. You are one step away from being grounded."

Almost like she had jumped back into her childhood days, Irina immediately stepped forward to protect her best friend. "Miki-obachan, Ise only saw me briefly at Kuoh when I was there to work on a project for my school." The devil stopped struggling while the mother turned to the younger woman. "I am in Japan for an assignment with a colleague and we barely talked yesterday."

Half truths and lies as she didn't go to school as the Church took care of her education but the assignment was real if anything else. That was actually a standard excuse the Church provided to their younger agents like Irina who could pass as students easily to get into certain places with minimal suspicion.

Of course Irina would avoid divulging what the assignment was and the exact circumstance of how they met nor how they interacted with disagreements and a spar. Instead she was going to keep everything vague if Miki tried to ask anything else and by expression in Issei's face she knew he was going to back her up.

Lying to a woman that meant so much for her actually bothered Irina quite a bit but she wouldn't need anymore. "Even then he should have invited you for dinner, if only so I could look at you." The mother let her child go and grabbed the girl's face again. "Look how you are now, such a beautiful girl. And to think you were almost like a boy in those days."

Blushing considerably, Irina just let Miki have her way and admired how the girl had changed. If she wanted to fight back Irina knew she couldn't, not by the lack of means but because before her was one of the most important people in her life.

Much like she never forgot Issei, Irina never forgot his parents either even if she wasn't as close to them as she was to him. Any day of the week, be it morning or night, Irina could always find a place to stay with the Hyoudous. They were always good friends of her family, the best kind of people who were always gentle, trustworthy.

So Irina allowed Miki to do what she wanted, not complaining when the woman kept messing her head to keep looking at every detail of her face and then patting her clothes. "Why are you dressed in drapers?"

Issei facepalmed as Ddraig laughed in his mind and Irina blush grew heavier. "My clothes were… torn in an accident and my luggage was stolen..."

"What a horrible thing! Issei, call Asia-chan. We just bought her some new clothes and I am sure there is something around that Irina can use."

"I don't-"

"Sure thing mom." Issei, still seeing Irina as someone precious, rushed inside while Miki pulled the Exorcist into the house.

Once again Irina refused to fight back. "Also you look hungry. Come on in, we just had breakfast but I can whip up something for you in a jiffy. Gorou, dear, we have a guest and you will never guess who she is?"

The woman called for her husband as Irina was placed inside the house she visited hundreds of times during her childhood. She smiled when she saw it was still mostly the same with some new pictures and furniture but the atmosphere was still as homely as she remembered.

"Who is it?" A man that looked like an older and less fit version of Issei with the same eyes and shorter hair steps out of the living room. He was the father of her best friend and looked like a classique middle aged salaryman. "A girl? Is that Asia-chan's friend? Hyoudou Gorou at your service."

"Fufufu, you don't recognize her, do you?" The wife asked with a grin as the husband looked at her in surprise before looking back to a once again nervous Irina. "Come on, dear, you can do it. She used to come here so much when she was little."

Gorou blinked and began to rub his chin. "Issei usually only brings his two 'bros' around and no one else. The only other person was-" His eyes grew wide and Miki knew her husband remembered. "Irina-chan?! Is that really you?"

"Hey Gorou-ojisan- huff." Irina found herself enveloped into another hug.

"Irina-chan! How have you been?! I thought we would never see you again! Hahaha!" The man lifted her up a bit before dropping her down. "Ow, my back. Hehehe, you aren't as small as you used to be."

"Yeah, I am kind of a big girl now." Irina replied while scratching her cheek.

"Come on now, enough playing around." Miki clapped her hands before pushing Irina to the kitchen. "Let's put some food in your belly before you go starving-" Now behind Irina, the matriarch of the Hyoudou household couldn't stop herself from feeling a certain unpleasant odor. "You are smelling of sweat dear."

"I kinda was wandering around without direction." Irina admitted with a blush. "Don't even know how I got here."

"Oh, but that is obvious." Gorou let out a belly laugh that had surprised Irina. "You can always find your way home, even when you don't know where it is."

Miki giggled at her husband's goffness. "Sounds like something of a fortune cookie, dear."

"Doesn't mean I ain't right! Hahaha!" The man sounded just like Irina remembered and his wife just giggled some more. "Say Irina, how is Touji? Did he come too?"

"He is fine but no, I came here for a school project and-"

"Mom!" Issei returned with Asia right behind him. The former nun gave Irina a nervous but concerned look while the Red Dragon Emperor talked. "Asia has a lot of clothes but, well…"

"We didn't know what would fit." Asia added with a gentle smile, her eyes never leaving Irina. "Good morning, Irina-san."

"Good morning, Ar- Asia-san." Irina corrected herself and bowed her head in both respect and apology which had Asia bowing as well.

"Wait, you two already know each other?" Gorou asked while his wife grabbed their son by the ear again.

"Ow! I introduced them!" Issei spoke quickly, hoping to be free from the pain.

Miki did let her son go but clearly didn't look impressed. "And you still hadn't invited her over."

"It was a quick meeting. Lots of stuff happened and we didn't have time to talk." Issei defended himself but his mother still didn't look impressed.

"Uhum. Yes, you apparently had enough time to introduce Asia and still not enough to remember inviting Irina for dinner."

"But it is true, okaa-sama." Asia's sweet voice had all of Miki's attention. "So many things were happening to them that we barely talked." She smiled at Irina. "I really wanted to know her better too."

Gorou was moved by the blonde's words. "Oh Asia, as expected of our new daughter." He had tears in his eyes and cried from pride.

Unlike her husband, Miki had a handkerchief to clean her eyes. "If you say so, Asia-chan, then I believe it."

'Just like that?' There was some disbelief in Issei's mind, and a lot of jealousy of how his parents automatically believed Asia, but he took it in stride and looked at Irina. Ddraig's laugh got louder. "Are you okay?"

The Exorcist smiled but before she could reply Miki was already on the move. "You two can talk later. For now, Irina needs a bath, urgently." With the strength of a thousand mothers there was no way for the Exorcist to resist as she was pushed up stairs. "Asia-chan, feel free to join us if you want. It will be nice to have some girl talk." Determination flooded Asia's being as she nodded and chased after the two other women.

"Are they-"

"Going to take a bath together? Yes." Hyoudou Gorou nodded in a wise manner.

"Was mom kinda a little too… excited by the idea?" The second question made the father stop and look at his son before clearing his throat.

"Just your imagination, Issei. Your imagination. You need to clear your head of those perverted thoughts." Gorou had similar ones but he wouldn't reveal that to his son.

He was supposed to be a good parent and while most of them were about his wife there was still a line whe wouldn't cross with either Asia, who he saw as a daughter, and Irina, who was his friend's daughter.

This time it was Issei who had a suspicious look but his father just brushed him off and moved to sit down in the living room. "Now explain, in detail, why you saw Irina again and forgot to mention it?"

Ddraig laughed more as Issei had to think on his feet to come up with a story at least half believable to his father's ears.

…

The way to Kuoh was mostly silent as Shirou and Xenovia walked side by side. The sun already revealed itself for the most part but the duo was still protected by the shades of buildings.

As summer was already starting to take over completely, both humans were using light clothes that were appropriate for the climate even as the cold air of the morning still perdured.

While Shirou was wearing jeans with a blue shirt with short sleeves that were familiar and comfortable to himself, Xenovia still looked at her clothes with some apprehension. She never wore anything as fancy as she was wearing at the moment and even then she knew these were normal clothes of the day by day just made of expensive materials.

Materials that offered no protection, just comfort for the owner but Xenovia wasn't the owner and if it wasn't by the weight on her back she would be uncomfortable.

What Rias had selected for her, after they finished adjusting a bra to fit her size as her breasts were slightly smaller than Rias', was a green sleeveless top that allowed movement with another in another shade of green that showed her shoulders and a blue almost transparent top above it with white shorts that showed her tights.

All that together made Xenovia deeply uncomfortable. It wasn't because the get up was somewhat revealing but because it was too 'comfortable' for her tastes and it offered little protection. She was too used to her skin tight combat uniform or the uncomfortable silk of cheaper clothing.

In reality those clothes were not her first choice as Xenovia wanted to use a simpler set with jeans and a blue shirt, even similar to Shirou's if she was honest. However those were Rias' clothes and the Gremory wanted Xenovia to look well since she was borrowing them. It made the devil proud that she managed to find a set that drew more of the bluehead's beauty, improvised as it was.

'Shy' wasn't the first word that Xenovia would use to describe herself but she was at least 'conscious' when a pair of boys that were running through the morning leer at her without qualms.

With the combat uniform she had one would expect she to be used to such looks but combined with her actual clothing it made Xenovia blink in surprise and blush a little.

Only Durandal's weight on her back reassured her that she had a mission and that the whims of a devil wouldn't disturb her.

Tied together in the same cloth it used the previous night, it had changed with the fact that Shirou used the extra time it took Rias to find Xenovia an outfit to make some strings with the leftovers of Irina's robes and the covers from the previous night.

By itself they could not hold back Durandal's power but Shirou assured Xenovia that the sword would behave if she didn't think too much about it. In fact there was plenty that the magus wanted to tell her about Durandal but their walk to Kuoh was silent not of his own volition.

There was some conversation when they left Shirou's home but he quickly noticed how concerned and distracted Xenovia was. When she replied to his question or his observation it was clear the girl was distracted. The redhead remembered how the morning went and realized the bluehead needed some time to herself.

So Shirou respected her wishes and just guided her towards Kuoh. If he had his way then she would still be resting but by the look Xenovia had it was obvious checking Caliburn was important for her. Her reasons on the other hand worried him and the magus hoped he was wrong about them.

Because if he wasn't then Shirou feared Xenovia would lose herself to something that would finish destroying her. Even if they barely knew each other, Durandal's history and her own actions proved to the magus she was a good person and he would hate if his fear came true.

Their silence was relaxing and calm as neither was uncomfortable with each other's presence. Despite Shirou's failed attempts of initiating a conversation, Xenovia took note of them and thanked him mentaly for the silence. She had so much in her head that she barely registered the cool air of the morning.

When they arrived at Kuoh both found it oddly silent since Sona had said she had already begun the repairs. Neither could see anything from the entrance but Shirou felt a weak smell of earth coming from the land's mana.

'She was right, the ley line is a mess.' Even with his superficial knowledge Shirou could tell immediately that the ley line was exhausted. Feeling a little guilty since he was partially responsible, that weakness of the ley line only made him hate Valper more. "It will be a while before the land recovers."

"At least a week." A familiar voice caught both warriors' attention as a small man with a staff with two heads approached. "Good to see you again, Emiya-dono."

"Good morning, Jaken." The redhead replied with a nod as Xenovia studied the small man.

"You aren't human." The blue haired maiden pointed out, making the disguised kappa chuckle.

"As expected from an Exorcist of the Church." Jaken barely noticed Xenovia flinching, his attention mostly on Shirou. "Unfortunately we have no time to chat as everybody is busy cleaning the mess from yesterday. You have a penchant to find problems, don't you, Emiya-dono?"

"I like to think that the problems find me." Shirou commented with a chuckle.

"Hmm, I am sure that Setsuna-sama will love that excuse." The kappa felt pleasure at seeing Shirou flinch. "Don't look at me like that, you should have called her."

Shaking his head, Shirou looked worried but calm. "You know it was dangerous, Caliburn's fragments could kill yokais like you too easily. It also wasn't her problem to deal with anyway."

"Please don't use that last part, she is going to hate you for it." Jaken warned good naturedly. Deep down he agreed with Shirou's decision and was happy his lady wasn't in peril, only his obligations as an attendant stopped him from expressing his gratitude.

"How upset is she?" Shirou started looking around, worried Setsuna would show up at any time.

Jaken shook his head to calm the redhead down. "She isn't here but helping coordinate with the many representatives of the Yokai Faction in Fuyuki." Even with no experience and little input, as the daughter of Sesshomaru, Setsuna had to show up and try. "And she is furious with the fact you all didn't call her." He shook his head again as Shirou calmed down a little. "Regardless, that is for you to deal with come Monday."

"Any suggestions?"

"Feh! I would never help you against anyone in the house of my master even if it is in something so trivial." Jaken turned and began to walk inside the property. "But I am happy she was unharmed throughout this whole ordeal." It was the closest thing a 'thank you' Jaken could offer.

Shirou got the message and nodded resolutely. "Right… I am gonna think of something… I hope."

"More politics?" It was what Xenovia managed to get from the conversation.

"Not really just… Are all the boundary fields down?" Both started to follow Jaken as Shirou changed the subject.

The kappa allowed it to happen flawlessly. "The majority is but you will be happy to know that Gasper-kun remains safely protected and Waver already checked on him." Something he already knew but would take anything to change the subject. "You also will be happy to know that the construction crew already replaced every window of the ORC, however, Sitri-dono insisted that Gremory-dono would take care of any remaining repairs."

"Of course. Better if whoever is working on Kuoh to focus on getting things moving." And by the loud construction noises Shirou could guess there were a lot of people working. "We are just going to check on Caliburn and be on our way then."

At that declaration Jaken stopped. "Aren't you going to clean the rest of your mess?"

Shirou raised an eyebrow as the question felt odd to him. "I can help with construction if you want but I think Rias made it clear that I should rest for today."

"That wasn't… Ah, so you don't notice?" Jaken's surprise had Shirou blinking.

However, before there were any more questions Xenovia passed by the kappa, her eyes never leaving the direction of the previous day's battlefield. "We should keep moving." Both knew the bluehead was distracted by something but when Jaken looked at Shirou for an explanation he noticed the worried look on the redhead's face.

A lot went unsaid between them and Jaken found himself following Shirou as they quickly caught up with Xenovia, the bluehead giving them none of her attention. Her focus and her mind were in only one thing that she felt could justify everything and nothing was going to stop her from seeing it.

Soon the construction crew and heavy machinery came into view but neither distracted Shirou of the forest of swords he created the previous night. "Oh, that mess." He spoke in disbelief.

"You really aren't feeling any drain in your mana? At all?" Jaken asked carefully as Shirou shook his head. Even Xenovia stopped in surprise at seeing the sword the redhead created to survive reforging Caliburn still around. "Emiya-dono… No, It is better if I don't say anything." The kappa began to march towards the center of the battlefield.

Xenovia blinked a few times at the forest of swords, some being removed by the construction crew as carefully as they could manage, before turning to Shirou. "I thought that Gradation Air constantly consumed the user's mana. Or is this because of…" She let the sentence trail off.

"It does but I don't think it has anything to do with… you know what." Was all Shirou could say as she could hear his disbelief. "Now that I am looking… I can feel them. Yet there is no mana flowing from me." Shaking his head, Shirou began to walk again with Xenovia right behind.

They made sure to stay out of the construction crew's way as they moved quickly to repair Kuoh as fast as possible. Every single one of them was using uniforms and helmets with a variation of the Gremory Clan's symbol, drawing more like a circle with bat wings instead of a magic circle.

While the Gremory Large Enterprise was more focused on turism there was a construction division for their hotels and apartments because devils didn't like to outsource their work. Curiously there were plenty of different beings working in the construction with only a few devils being part of the crew that also had humans and yokais.

Heavy machinery worked in sync with magic as the land of Kuoh was quickly repaired and there were people still transporting windows to the main buildings as all of them needed to be replaced or repaired as devils and magicians worked to fix some of the most savable ones.

Nothing was wasted and everyone worked as a well oiled machine as Sona stood besides Tsubaki and the Chief of Staff discussing some plans, the girls wearing helmets as well.

When the King noticed Shirou and Xenovia she threw her Queen a look that had Tsubaki rushing to them. "Welcome back to Kuoh." The vice president of the Student Council spoke as she offered the two some helmets. "If you plan to enter any building to get something then please, wear these."

"That won't be necessary, we won't be long." While the redhead talked, Xenovia collected a helmet to take a look. There was some childish curiosity in her gaze as she never saw a construction helmet up close.

Shirou's reply worried the Queen. "Are you sure you won't need any tools to remove Caliburn?" Tsubaki saw how the redhead avoided looking at her. "There really isn't any hope, is there?"

"If anything, that sword signifies a form of hope." Shirou began to move towards the weapon again, the two girls right behind. "But it is the kind that has a steep price."

In the center of the field, surrounded by mountains of dirt, an excavator and a drill, Caliburn remained unblemished by the dirt in the area. Quite the opposite as around Caliburn there was a clean zone of at least a couple feet with some grass already growing. Its majestic aura also remained intense since its rebirth.

Jaken stopped at least ten steps away from the blade besides Waver Velvet who raised from a crouch to greet Shirou.

"I suppose congratulations are in order, Shirou." The tall teacher commented, his eyes never leaving the blade. "Never in my life have I ever thought that I would lay eyes on Caliburn, much less that it would be reborn by one of my students' hands but here we are."

"Thinking about trying to become King of Britain?" Shirou joked but the glare Waver threw at him was very real. "Not that I think this would work. The sword doesn't compel people to follow its owner."

"Yet I wouldn't be surprised if a movement didn't start around whoever pulled it. Miss Shinra, did your King approve my proposal?"

Tsubaki managed to take her eyes off Caliburn to reply. "She still wishes for Shirou to remove the weapon from the premises."

"If you want my opinion I would say that is impossible." The kappa scratched his bald head, his eyes fearfully watching Caliburn as he feared the weapon would attack him if offended. "It is too deeply connected to the area to leave if not of its own volition and from what she explained, Emiya-dono has no interest in becoming the owner of the weapon."

"A wise decision, in my opinion." Waver cleaned his glasses before looking around. "If anything I would suggest that he get rid of the other swords first. Speaking of which," his focus turned to his student who left a sigh, "was this a consequence of tampering with the ritual or it has to do with Tracing? Because there is no way you are still feeding mana to all these weapons."

Not only Waver failed to detect any mana leaking from Shirou but he was also sure that the effort of keeping all those weapons existing would be fatal to the redhead. The teacher also avoided commenting about the Noble Phantasms he saw since he knew Shirou had studied some but he took note regardless.

"I am still uncertain, sensei. I can feel my connection to them but in the middle of all that mess… I have no idea how I did it."

Waver looked doubtful. "Are you sure?" When Shirou didn't even reply, his suspicions that there was something else increased.

"Was busy trying to not blow up, fix Caliburn and stop the city from blowing up." Most of what Shirou did during the ritual was a blur but he was moving more through instinct than anything.

Not disappointed but not pleased either, Waver was about to change his line of questioning when he heard a loud sound of a sword stabbing the ground. "I am sorry, I don't think we were formally introduced."

"Xenovia Quarta." She had stabbed Durandal on the ground, her eyes glued on Caliburn.

After waiting a few moments to see if the bluehead was going to say anything else, Shirou shook his head in concern. "We should focus on the present right now."

"Indeed we should." Tsubaki said with the goal of easing the burden of her King. "Caliburn can wait a little since I believe that it would be better to get rid of the other weapons, if possible."

HItting his staff on the ground twice, Jaken studied the mana of the area. "I agree with Shinra-san. Your swords are filling Kuoh with even more energy and that is going to make my job harder." Shirou raised an eyebrow and the kappa rolled his eyes. "Even if you aren't feeding the weapons with mana, some of them are powerful enough to be affecting the area just by existing. Sometimes I wish that the Gaia Theory you, magi, go about was real if just so I wouldn't have to deal with that."

"Then odds are that you wouldn't be here either if you go by the original study written by Solomon." The kappa glared at his friend but Waver had his focus split between Shirou and Caliburn. "But he has a point, Shirou. Your weapons are not only making things harder by existing but all of them are considerably dangerous."

With a nod, Shirou focused on the weapons around him. "I am still connected to them and during yesterday's events I managed to make some disappear when Kokabiel tried to use them against us."

Tsubaki flinched as Jaken's eyes almost jumped out of his eye sockets and Waver massaged his temples. "We weren't informed of who was responsible for the night's events."

Such detail escaped Shirou and he turned to the Sitri Queen. "Kaichou was trying to avoid any additional animosity towards the Grigori. She was going to divulge it after everything was settled and we had an official response."

Despite not liking the choice, Shirou accepted it was his plunder. "I see. Sorry."

"Not like we are going to go around talking." Waved brushed the subject off. "Now focus on your weapons. They are still yours, correct?"

Closing his eyes, Shirou felt the connection he had with all the swords in the area. "Yes, every single weapon that I created is still connected with me."

"Even without costing any mana? Fascinating…" Waver began to rub his chin with an amusing expression. "It seems your method of Projecting is definitely superior to the standard of Gradation Air. Such discovery can grant you many acolytes in the Clocktower."

"Anything more than being the Magician of Gremory?" Jaken teased and Waver chuckled.

"None but I believed that I should point out." As someone who helped Shirou in developing his magecraft, Waver felt pride in his student. "The fact is that Traced objects can exist even without the input of their creator. I almost would call it Denial of Nothingness if it wasn't flawed."

"You mean besides human comprehension and the conversion of mana? Or maybe how I can undo their existence so they are still fakes?" Shirou ignored how his teacher almost called him a sorcerer while everyone else looked at them both with astonishment.

Waver nodded at each of Shirou's observations. "Good, you are aware of your shortcomings. I am happy that proving that you aren't a sorcerer is unnecessary since most magi tend to make that claim even when their magecraft are inferior to yours." He took a few steps to the side, getting close to one of Shirou's many swords. "May I?"

"Away from the classroom and you are still teaching?" Shirou joked with a nod.

Collecting the sword, Waver used Reinforcement to help him hold the bastard blade with a hand. "A teacher's duty is never finished and it always goes beyond the classroom, if the student is willing. From what I already studied from your forest, the material, while made from mana, is true metal. Truly a proof that your method of using the history of a weapon to Trace it has reached heights many have failed to even come close." Shirou didn't reply and waited for the teacher to 'drop the other shoe'. "However it still isn't perfect since they are still connected to you. Even if this sword is in my hand and if I am feeding it mana…