Chapter Two – A Shattered Moon

As the first rays of sunshine peeked out over the horizon, the clouds washed with orange, a new day had begun. The chirps of nearby birds permeated the cool air with melodic tones.

I stood by the window watching as the world roused itself. There was something calming about the duality of light and dark, the buzzing noise and the silence.

Slipping on my shoes, I quietly stalked out into the still hallway. The dim lights cast a warm ambient glow about the long passage. Unlike the outside, the interior of the building was still silent, slumbering in the early morning.

Making my way across the bridge between the residential building and the school, I paused, taking in a view of the school.

It was an enormous collection of buildings, taking up much of the already expansive grounds. In the distance were large decorative columns towering over the entrance, projecting an air of eminence and importance. Surrounding them, were ornate fountains, dressed with lush greenery. In the middle was a wide stone brick walkway which crossed the circular arrangement of pillars and fountains, leading directly to the main hall. To the sides of the walkway were deep green grass fields with healthy young trees lining paths. The scene looked more like a park or something out of a fairy tale rather than a school for warriors.

After I descended the stairwell, I exited through the back of the building, heading towards a secluded area I had spotted during the airship ride. Stepping into a grove of trees, I found myself amidst a small circular grass field, enclosed by the dense foliage and clustered trees, away from prying eyes.

Taking a seat in the grass dampened with morning dew, I closed my eyes and relaxed, letting the sounds of nature stirring fill my head. As peaceful as this oasis of tranquility was, I had come here with more than just the purpose of enjoying the morning ambience.

Putting up a simple bounded field, similar to the one I used for my home in Fuyuki, I surveyed the surroundings, making sure there were no people or annoying drones to spy on me. The bounded field would alert me if someone entered it, serving as a silent alarm that only I could perceive. It was a very useful tool, despite its simplicity, and I was grateful that putting up weak bounded fields was within my limited abilities in Magecraft.

With a deep breath, I traced out Kanshou and Bakuya, shifting into a familiar stance. I imagined the Counter Guardian, and moved in synchrony with his own movements. Whereas his movements were crisp and expended minimal energy, mine in comparison were clumsy and inefficient. I could almost feel his irritating smirk all the way from wherever Alaya kept her pet soldiers.

Breathing out again to clear my head of the white-haired jerk, I resumed practising the sword forms with steady concentration. It seemed whatever the abilities the Grail had granted me increased my overall endurance, strength and prana reserves. In fact, I could feel the energy humming within my circuits, significantly more than I ever remembered having, even with Rin's transfusion. I could probably deploy my reality marble on my own while simultaneously using a couple of high ranking Noble Phantasms before completely losing out to exhaustion and overworking my circuits.

A clear chime sounded in my head, alerting me to the arrival of a newcomer. I continued with my routine, since I wasn't actively utilizing Magecraft, nor did I want to reveal my knowledge of their presence. Whomever it was, they clearly noticed me and remained in the shadows.

Transitioning into spinning attacks, I attempted to locate the trespasser by scanning the edges of the area as I rotated. Despite discretely Reinforcing my eyes, I still caught no glimpse of the person. This person must have been a ninja or possibly even Assassin, based on that level of presence concealment.

Deciding to end my routine for the morning, I finished with some stretches, before heading back to the dorms to change out of my sweat drenched clothing and take a shower. Ozpin had been kind enough to procure me sets of clothing and toiletries and had delivered them to our dorm shortly before we had arrived.

I could feel the eyes of the mystery person following me as I exited the clearing. Even as I walked back towards the buildings, their hidden gaze never let up.

-o-

Given how conservative Japanese culture was, it was a little jarring for everything suddenly become coed, from the bedrooms...to the washrooms.

I suppressed the urge to turn around, shut my eyes and run away screaming as I, quite literally, ran into a certain busty blonde. Rather, it was more accurate to say that she ran into me, knocking both of us to the ground.

"You uncouth pervert! Get back here and give it to me! Now!" A shrill voice pierced the humid air of the washroom, accompanied by the pitter patter of wet feet on the smooth tiles.

"You'll have to come get it from me! Or better yet, try to take mine!" The blonde fireball called out while sitting on my chest, wearing nothing but a towel, while triumphantly holding up another towel.

Oh no...

To my dismay, the pale heiress veered around the corner angrily huffing, face blushing furiously. She came skidding to a halt, locking eyes with me as her eyes widened and she froze. I stared blankly back at her, while Yang started howling with laughter.

Water droplets trailed down her slim porcelain figure, drawing attention to her petite waist and shapely thighs. Her long white hair swept around her before clinging to her back.

The blush from her face spread across her uncovered skin all around her body as I could feel an impending sense of doom looming about.

Finally, it seemed my self-preservation instincts decided to kick in and I pushed Yang off my chest before taking off into the shower rooms, darting past the still frozen Weiss who had begun to shiver uncontrollably. Whether it was from the cool air or an indicator of something ominous, I didn't stay to find out.

As I ducked into an empty shower stall, a strident, ear piercing scream echoed throughout the room.

"YAAAAANGGG!"

I had come here with a nice warm, post-workout shower in mind. Why couldn't things ever be simple here? Now it seemed a cold shower would be more appropriate, perhaps even a shower as cold as Weiss.

-o-

The air hung heavily over the collective heads of the students. Professor Port's bumbling words only served to provide background noise for which several dozing students contributed to, including one Ruby Rose. Granted, her snores were slightly dampened by the balled up piece of paper Blake had graciously shoved in her mouth.

Speaking of damp, it appeared that she had also begun drooling in her sleep. Behind us, Weiss' pencil strained and cracked in her grip as she glowered at both Ruby and me. I sank down in my chair fighting the urge to just flee.

Our encounter this morning had left things a little frosty between the two of us. Fortunately for Yang, she somehow possessed an infectious charm that swayed even the stoniest of hearts, allowing her to pacify the raging heiress. I, however, did not possess any such luck or charisma.

The shrill ring of the bell interrupted Professor Port's endless rambling and signaled the end of class. And my suffering...

"Yaaaay! Lunch time!" Leave it to Ruby to be wide awake and standing at the door the moment class ended. Wait how did she get over there already? The last I checked, she was sandwiched between me and Blake, and the quiet girl hadn't even finishing putting her notes away. With a deep breath, I followed the others to the dining hall.

-o-

I was at a loss about what to do. A pair of narrowed icy blue eyes stared at me from across the table. It seemed I wasn't the only one who noticed this. The fiery blonde elbowed her side, grinning fiercely.

"Hey, you've been staring at lover-boy all lunch now. Look! You haven't even eaten anything yet! Could it be you're interested in him?" Yang wagged her eyebrows suggestively at Weiss.

"The only thing I'm interested in is gouging his eyes out." She muttered under her breath. As if to demonstrate her point, she waved her fork around menacingly. I flinched unconsciously, sweat dropping as I gave her a weak smile.

By now all of the others, except Blake, who was more interested in her book, were now watching us intently, their faces a mix of worry and curiosity. Well, only Pyrrha looked worried, the rest might as well have been munching on popcorn at this point.

"Whap hapwened?" Nora chirped, mouth full of pancakes.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing happened." Weiss smiled sweetly at Nora, all traces of her previous anger hidden. "Right Shirou?"

A chill ran through my body as I nodded dumbly. This was terrifyingly familiar for some reason. She stood up suddenly, picked up her tray, with food still untouched, and walked away, her ponytail swishing behind her.

"Is everything all right?" Pyrrha asked in a concerned tone.

"It's fine. I'll go talk to her later." I gave her a reassuring pat on the back. Returning to my plate, I nudged the soggy toast.

It may have only been a few days since I left Fuyuki, but I was itching to get back into a kitchen again. The calming fragrant air, the heat from the stove, I imagined gripping a pan over the flames as hot oil sizzled from gyoza. I could hear Saber's and Fuji-nee's stomachs growling from here, in fact someone was calling my name.

"Don't worry Saber, they're almost done!" I called out gleefully. This batch smelled so good.

"Shirou, you look like a fool." A book waved in front of my face. Noooo! My blissful kitchen paradise! I blinked as I slowly returned to reality. I craned my neck backwards to see a pair of amber orbs staring back.

"I'd just like you to know that." The stoic beauty then turned and stalked away, presumably to the library.

Glancing back down at my hands, I had apparently been waving around my spoon in place of the pan, which was still raised. Before anyone else could say anything else, I asked in a deadpan tone.

"I don't suppose anyone wants to help me break into the kitchens?"

-o-

It was dark out already.

Moonlight illuminated the trees, casting an ethereal glow about the forest. The leaves, bathed in moonlight, shined like a shimmering ocean as the wind brushed by. The rustling grass was soon flattened underfoot.

With my Reinforced eyes, I swept the area, making sure I wasn't being followed. I didn't want my secret admirer to witness my activities tonight.

Trudging forward through dense foliage and past the looming trees, I arrived at yet another clearing, this one on the boundary between where the forest and the school grounds intersected. I needed absolute discretion this time, unlike in the morning.

Unfortunately, I wasn't skilled enough create a bounded field large enough for my next task, hence my clandestine journey into the forest.

Once again checking the perimeter of the forest, I settled down cross-legged onto the grass, arms extended, hands on my knees. With a deep breath, I activated my circuits.

An image formed in my mind. A red shoulder-length coat, on black body armour, with ashy white hair, a black sword in his right hand, a white one in his left, the man stood facing away from me, his ever-present smirk out of view, but evidently there. He stood on a hill of swords, each blade stuck into the ground like a tombstone, one for every person he could not save. A hill of infinite swords for a mountain of infinite lives lost.

"I am the bone of my sword,"

My circuits filled with energy.

"Steel is my body, Fire is my blood."

All 27 of my magic circuits were now humming, ready to go.

"I have created over a thousand swords,"

I could almost feel them materialize in me.

"Unaware of loss, nor aware of gain,"

The grass was now being flattened away from me as energy radiated off my body in waves.

"Withstood pain to create weapons,"

My circuits burned as they surged with prana.

"Waiting for one's arrival."

I could feel the swords in my grip.

"I have no regrets,"

Not now, not ever.

"This is the only path."

The man turned his head, one grey eye peering at me with amusement.

"My whole life was,"

The prana running through my circuits felt like hot lava, burning me inside out. I gritted my teeth.

"The Unlimited Blade Works."

Every nerve in my body seared as if I had been struck by lightning. I cried out in agony as I collapsed on the ground, writhing.

The man threw back his head and laughed, walking off towards the gargantuan metal gears in the sky, disappearing into the rusty mist.

I felt blood vessels in my eyes burst as my entire body strained to keep itself together and contain the energy. With one final excruciating surge of prana, my circuits fizzled out and went silent.

I lay on the ground staring blankly into sky's dark abyss. It hadn't worked. Why? Why hadn't it worked? It had to work. This was the key to defeating Gilgamesh. Without it, I might as well throw paper balls at him, seeing as that would be just as effective as anything else I could do.

With a groan, I tried to sit up, but didn't move, couldn't move. My entire body was completely numb, none of my limbs responding. Panicking, I tried to lift myself again, only barely managing to lift my head off the ground for a moment.

The world began to spin as my vision darkened around the edges. Looking back towards the sky, I could swear the full moon began to crack and fall apart, swallowed into nothingness of the night sky void. My eyelids drew slowly shut as I was pulled into the arms of Morpheus.

o-o

I awoke sitting on a stone bench, leaning against a wall. The air was hot and arid, brown dust scattering into the wind. Stone buildings stretched into the horizon, as far as my eyes could see.

Standing up, I stepped out from under the shady overhang and onto the balcony, the smooth white marble railing, blindingly bright from the scorching sun. Below me, people bustled and buzzed, carrying all manner of goods, ranging from carpets to pottery. The few people that glanced up at me, smiled and waved. Giving them a confident grin I waved back, but from deep down an errant thought crossed my mind. Why should they be happy?

I blinked and stepped back from the railing. Where had that come from? I turned and noticed a courtyard with an intricately carved fountain. Moving as fast as my small body could go, I ran to inspect it. It was so beautiful, a statue of the gods, water flowing from the jugs they carried. Each face divine and proud, the stone figures stood triumphantly together.

Glancing down at the water, I glimpsed a faded reflection of myself. A young, smiling boy, beamed back, joy clearly evident in his eyes. His red eyes.

I felt dizzy. The world began to blur around me, as I stumbled, trying to remain standing. A flurry of sounds and incoherent voices rang out in my mind, blocking out all else. Falling to my knees, I heard a woman's voice.

"-ou."

It was so familiar, yet I couldn't quite place it. However, it helped calm the buzzing in my head.

"-irou"

Where was I? I was upset about something. What was it?

"Shirou."

The world around me shifted. I was standing amidst a battlefield. Corpses littered the ground as swords clashed all around me. It all felt so familiar, yet so long ago. And so, I dreamed of swords and battles.

o-o

My eyes shot open. The sky was tinted in shades of purple and pink. I remembered now, my reality marble had failed to materialize, my body paralyzed. With a deep sigh, I contemplated about how long it would take before someone noticed I was missing. Hopefully before I dehydrated completely.

A fly buzzed around my face and I swatted at it in irritation. I wasn't dead yet, just wait a few days.

Hang on.

I lifted my hand over my face. That was odd. With a sudden jerk, I sprang onto my feet, or at least I tried to. My legs ended up getting tangled, and I collapsed back to the ground.

My limbs were working again. If I recalled correctly, paralysis didn't just wear off overnight. Maybe the Grail had granted me healing powers. Even so, my appendages felt clunky, as if the person reattaching the wires had no idea what they were doing.

Managing to stand up, I tried walking in a circle. As I did so, I felt a hint of control slowly creeping back. It seemed this clumsiness was only a temporary setback.

As I made my way back towards the school, the sun's rays washed over the treetops bathing them in golden light. Flocks of birds dotted the morning sky, little black specks of ink on the watercolour sky.

By the time I reached the dorm room, the sun was already high above, my teammates all awake and stirring. Pyrrha looked over her shoulder as I walked in, and she smiled.

"Where have you been?" She cocked her head to side giving me a curious look.

"Oh, I just came back from my morning workout. I left a little late today." I flashed her a confident grin as I rummaged for a set of clean clothes. Dang, I was actually smooth today. As I said this, Blake glanced up from her book, watching me from her bed.

"Here, I'm just going to take quick shower. I'll see you girls before class." With another flashy grin, I headed towards the washrooms, leaving behind a red-faced Pyrrha and an intently staring Blake.

My morning shower went off without a hitch this time, and I returned to our room to find only Blake was present. She jerked suddenly when I entered the room, her cheeks red and eyes wide. Was she hiding something?

Quickly regaining her composure the black bow wearing beauty climbed out of her bed grasping something behind her back. She closed the door and approached me, face emotionless. Stopping so closely that we were practically embracing, she narrowed her amber eyes as she looked into my own ochre eyes. This was starting to take a weird turn.

"You lied to her." It was a matter of fact statement. I blinked confusedly.

"Um. Lied to who?" I honestly had no idea. For a bad liar, I seemed to be doing it really often these days. That was more of Rin's specialty, not that I would have ever said that to her face.

"Pyrrha. You lied to her about morning practice." Her predatory gaze never broke contact from mine. How had she known? That had been, sadly, the most convincing lie I'd ever told.

"What do you mean? I actually do have morning practices every day." I replied, unfazed. Internally, I gave myself a mental high-five.

"Not today. You weren't there." She placed one hand on her hip. Her accusing stare seemed to see right through me. "Where were you? No more lying now."

I bit my lip. What could I say? I had decided to withhold knowledge of my Magecraft from all but Ozpin and Glynda. I was at an impasse. I could either reveal one of my deepest secrets to Blake, or lie to her face, likely losing her trust forever.

With a sigh, I came to a decision.

"Blake, I-" The bedroom door burst open as Ruby plodded in carrying a large bulky paper bag.

"Look what I snagged from the kitchen when they weren't looking!" The oblivious red-head opened the paper bag, pulling out a golden coated, breaded and fried slice of potato. "Hash browns!"

After her triumphant exclamation, she finally looked at us for the first time. Her eyes widened in excitement.

"Ooh, am I interrupting something?" She said with hopeful glee.

"Yes" The black-haired girl glared at the interloper. I whipped my head back and stared incredulously at my interrogator.

"No Ruby, there's nothing going on here, Blake was just picking off a piece of dandruff from my shirt." I quickly replied, never once taking my eyes off of my black bow wearing teammate.

"If you say so~" Ruby winked at us.

Blake turned to retort, but Ruby perked up as she glanced at girl's other hand.

"Hey Blake, what are you reading there? Ninja's o-" She was cut off as a black ribbon wrapped itself around her face, covering both her eyes and mouth.

Glaring menacingly at me as she wielded Gambol Shroud, Blake spoke.

"Don't think we're done talking just yet. I will find out what you were up to." She whispered in a low voice.

As Blake turned to untangle Ruby, I quickly grasped her arm. She glanced back in surprise as I gave her a comforting look.

"Blake, meet me tonight, behind the main building by the back exit. The one next to the rose bush. I'll tell you more then." I may have been given an opportunity to escape via Ruby, but I had already made my mind. If anything, I was stubborn as hell once I decided upon something.

She looked at me suspiciously, but nodded her head in affirmation. Leaving her to deal with Ruby, I swiped the bag of hash browns, seeing as I had already missed breakfast.

-o-

Classes were mundane and similar to the ones I remembered taking in Fuyuki, with the exception that much of the material was completely new to me. What struck me most was Dr. Oobleck's lecture on Faunus heritage and the numerous historic mistreatments.

From what I could tell, many such acts of violence or mistrust towards the Faunus stemmed from jealous and powerful humans. It was the useful extra traits exhibited by Faunus such as night vision, enhanced senses including hearing and smell that caused some humans to oppress them under the pretense of the Faunus physical animal traits rendering them beast-like and therefore beneath the humans.

It sickened me to observe the discrimination they faced. If there was one thing I hated aside from evil wish granting things, it was bullies, people who went out of their way to cause misery to others. As a person who helped others whenever he could, bullies stood for everything I stood against.

The bell rang yet again, signaling the start of the lunch break. Ruby's notebook snapped closed and was put away before the bell even stopped ringing. I rolled my eyes at her antics, before following her and the others to the dining hall.

The cafeteria food was pretty average for the most part, and I refrained from escaping back into my fantasy kitchen again, lest I embarrass myself and my teammates.

I took a glance up from my plate and sighed. At least they weren't blue this time. A pair of silver eyes darted excitedly back and forth between me and the bookworm sitting by my side. With a slight frown I addressed the girl across from me.

"What is it Ruby? Is there something you need?" Her smile was starting to scare me.

"How long?" She managed to squeak. At this, Blake looked up from her book at Ruby.

"How long for what?" It was Blake's turn to ask.

"How long have you two been, you know, together?" The redhead was practically bouncing in her seat now. This statement turned heads as, once again, my life became everyone else's soap opera. Putting my face in my hands, I let Blake answer for both of us.

"We're not together, Ruby. We were just discussing... personal matters." She bit her lip as she said this.

Ruby opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by pained cry from nearby. A rabbit Faunus girl was bent over awkwardly as a group of boys laughed, the biggest one tugging on her ear.

"Ouch, please stop. It hurts!" The meek girl pleaded.

"See, I told you they were real." The one grabbing her ear commented with a laugh, the others joining him in laughter.

"I think Cardin is despicable. Someone should stop him. What do you think Sh-" Pyrrha paused as she noticed the space where I had been sitting was empty. She turned back to the bullying boys to see me approaching them.

Seeing the big oaf laugh raucously as he tormented the poor rabbit girl set my blood ablaze. With a Reinforced hand, I firmly gripped the bully's offending arm. With a look of surprise, he involuntarily let go of the girl's ears. She quickly scampered away, happy to escape from further humiliation.

He turned angrily, trying to size me up. Standing at around 167 cm, I wasn't going to intimidate anybody except perhaps small children. He, however, was absolutely massive in comparison, his shoulders level with the top of my head.

"Who a-" I didn't allow him to finish as I gripped his arm even harder, bringing the giant to his knees.

"You have no right to call yourself a huntsman." My voice was even-toned and emotionless. I looked down at his eyes with no malice or hatred, just cold steel.

His face twinged in fear and pain as my grip increased in strength. The whole room was silent as they witnessed the downfall of Cardin.

"Shirou. That's enough." It was Pyrrha. She was standing by our table, looking neither angry nor joyful, but gave me a firm stare.

With a sigh, I released him, letting him fall to the ground nursing his wounded arm and pride. Without a word, I walked out of the room, staring blankly ahead, vaguely aware of the growing flurry of hushed whispers behind me.

"Shirou, why did you do that?" Ruby caught up to me in the hallway, the others following closely behind.

"It's just... I can't stand by and watch someone in need without doing something to help them. It's not wrong to want to help others." I smiled gently at her as I repeated my mantra. She gave me a curious look, but said nothing.

"I'll see you guys in class." With that, I turned the corner and left. Perhaps now would be a nice time to relax in my secret spot behind the school.

-o-

"Why did you call me here?" The pale heiress asked, hands on her hips.

The evening sun lit up the room with an orange glow. Shadows danced along the wall as the wind played with the leaves outside. In the middle of the classroom, a small section of the table had been set up with dining utensils.

The other captain cocked her head to the side as I carefully brought down two steaming plates. A wonderful aroma wafted about the room as I placed the plates on some cloth I had found.

"I'll have you know I'm not interested in perverts." She folded her arms, turning her nose up at me. I chuckled, giving her a comforting smile.

"To be fair, you were the one running around exposing yourself. I should be calling you the pervert." I raised an eyebrow at her anticipating her reaction.

Her face turned a number of shades of red, but she bit her lip, holding back from what would have been an angry retort.

"Anyway, I've noticed things have been a little... different between us since then. We should patch things up, for the sake of both our teams." Picking up a pair of chopsticks, I motioned for her to eat.

"I agree. Perhaps, I may have acted a little... childish, and I apologize." She said as she looked down at her food. "But that doesn't explain why you insisted on bringing food too."

"Well, I guess you could think of this as my apology." I picked up a piece of beef and breathed in deeply. It had been so long since I'd eaten my own cooking.

"Mmm!" Weiss' eyes lit up as she took her first bite. "Where did you get this food? It's simply amazing!"

My cheeks glowed with pride as she praised my cooking. "I cooked it myself."

She turned to look at me surprised, eyes wide. Quickly swallowing, she asked, "You made this? It's very good! What is it called?"

"It's a simple sukiyaki, a pretty common dish from my homeland." I answered, taking another bite.

"Homeland?" Her head perked to the side as she looked at me curiously. "Are you from Vacuo? I've never heard of this dish before, and I've been to both Atlas and Mistral before."

My eyes unfocused as I remembered Fuyuki City, the bustling night life, tall skyscrapers, quiet peaceful neighbourhoods, beautiful parks, a terrible all-consuming inferno. I blinked, roused from my thoughts.

"No, I think my homeland is far from here. So very far, I don't think I shall ever see it again." I replied staring out the window as the sun kissed the horizon.

She tilted her head, looking at me. "Well, where in Remnant did you learn to cook so well?" She said, changing the subject.

"Oh, I had to teach myself to cook. My father knew almost nothing about household duties, including cooking and cleaning. He was the only person I knew that could consistently burn anything he touched in the kitchen, including coffee." I smiled, reminiscing about Kiritsugu's horrible talent in all manner of household chores. I didn't notice Weiss' face turn downcast as I mentioned my father.

"What about your father, Weiss? Your parents, what are they like?" I asked, oblivious to her obvious discomfort.

"I'd rather not talk about my father. Let's just say he's a difficult man. I don't really speak to my family that often." She said quietly, barely louder than a whisper. She turned to me, face suddenly feigning content. "Tell me more about your family, Shirou. What about your mother?"

Surprised, by her sudden change in attitude, I acquiesced to her request.

"I don't have a mother, or at least I don't remember her."

I paused, debating to tell her my true origins. Well, this was a meeting where we were meant to bond.

"I was born in fire."

She stopped eating, her interest peaked.

"There was a terrible fire that claimed the lives of hundreds. I alone am the only survivor."

A small gasp was barely audible as I thought about my next words.

"As the rain doused the inferno, I remember collapsing in a pile of rubble, wishing for someone, anyone to save me."

Pale blue eyes watched me intently, the receding sun setting the brilliant orbs ablaze.

"And then he appeared. His face was filled with absolute joy as he knelt over me. I remember wondering if I could ever be as happy as he looked in that one moment. This was the first time I had ever met my father."

I stopped talking and looked at Weiss. Her icy blue eyes were no longer focused on me. They stared off into the distance, seeing another world, perhaps a memory. Her face betrayed no emtion save for the pair of wet streaks staining her cheeks. Warm fingers covered my own.

"I'm sorry this happened to you, Shirou." Her words were audibly choked as she gazed over my shoulder. "Didn't you say you would never see your homeland again? What about your father?"

I sighed softly.

"He actually passed away 5 years after he adopted me. A mutual friend became my guardian."

Her grip tightened ever so slightly. A sad smile graced her lips as she finally looked me in the eyes.

"You know we'll be here for you, Shirou. My team and yours. No matter, what happens, we'll always have your back."

She stood up, quietly sniffling and walked to the door. She turn to face me again.

"Your father was a good man. I'm glad that he saved you."

Her eyes turned to the side as she continued.

"You asked about my father. He is not a good person. He is involved with all kinds of shady dealings, acts with questionable morals, and most unforgivably, has smeared my family's name."

She turned to the exit again, placing a hand on the doorframe, looking down at the ground.

"Worst of all, I can understand why he did the things that he did. And I can't condemn him for it."

With that she was gone.

I looked down at our unfinished dinners. With a small sigh, I proceeded to clean up.

-o-

"You're late" Blake stood in the shadows, leaning against the school building, tapping her foot impatiently.

"I'm sorry, I got a little caught up with Weiss." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. At the mention of the white-haired heiress, Blake stiffened slightly.

"And how did that go?" She asked with a curious tone.

"I think things are good between us now." I said with a smile. Walking along the sidewalk, I motioned at her to follow. "Come on, make sure we aren't followed."

With a cursory glance behind us, Blake fell into step behind me. The bushes rustled in the gentle breeze as we stepped into the treeline. Beams of moonlight pierced the veil of leaves from the tree canopies. To her credit, Blake didn't seem to be fazed by our journey off campus into the forest. Any other person would probably have started asking questions by now.

Reaching the familiar clearing, I walked to its centre and kneeled, Blake watching quietly. I set up my bounded field around us, covering just past the treeline. As the field went up, she stiffened and... did her bow just twitch?

Facing away from her, I stood up slowly. This was it. There was no turning back now.

"So what do you want to know?"

I closed my eyes, waiting for her response.

"I don't understand why you lie so much. Specifically to us, your teammates. We're meant to have each other's backs, not to second guess each other's motives."

Her voice was laced with anger, growing steadily louder with each word.

"You lied to Pyrrha this morning, your very own partner. What are you hiding? How can we trust you if you refuse to trust us? That is not how partnership works. It goes both ways!"

She was practically shouting now. Breathing heavily, she collected herself. In her normal speaking voiced she resumed talking.

"In a person, I value trust more than anything else. I want to know I can rely on him, that I can count on him and he won't let me down. I don't want him to... betray me and everything we stood for."

She trailed off. I was beginning to suspect she wasn't talking about me anymore. Turning around, I looked at her face for the first time since she started talking.

Twin streaks shined in the moonlight, adorning each pale cheek. She was looking down at the ground, hands clenched tightly at her sides.

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

My voice was calm, my breathing even. She looked back at me, her previous anger pushed back in favour of her normal stoic facade.

"I'm asking you to trust us. No more ridiculous lies. No more mysterious tricks. Whatever you may need, we'll be here for you. We'll face our problems together."

Her words echoed Weiss', and I felt a warmth blossom in my chest at hearing them. I walked towards her, stopping an arm's length away. I stared into her golden eyes which stared unflinchingly back at me. They glistened in the starlight, still slightly wet from her earlier outburst.

"You're asking me to tell you my most precious, most deeply kept secret."

She stared defiantly back, though her voice wavered slightly at my declaration.

"I am."

There was no helping it then.

"Blake, I am a magus."

If she was surprised or confused, her face didn't show it. She nodded at me to continue.

"I can perform feats of Magecraft, most notably Reinforcement and Gradation Air, or as it is more commonly called, Projection."

She tilted her head in curiosity. Holding a hand out, I showed her my empty palm.

"Trace on"

An ordinary longsword appeared in my outstretched fingers, which closed firmly around the hilt.

"This is Projection, or rather my special version of it, which I call Tracing. What I essentially do, is that I create a solid object using my prana. In the process I recreate the materials used in its composition, its very forging and shaping, and finally its history, every nick the blade received to every target it struck."

I showed her the blade as she examined in from very close up, holding the steel blade in one hand.

"As you can see, the blade is very solid and sharp."

I demonstrated by slice a nearby branch clean off the tree.

"Now my other Magecraft ability is Reinforcement. It's not nearly as flashy Tracing, but it is also cheaper in terms of energy usage. Look how this blade fares against this rock."

I swung the blade at a moss covered rock. The blade bounced harmless off the rock, leaving behind a minor scratch.

"It doesn't do much right? Well Reinforcement is the adding of prana to a complete object to make it more 'perfect". If successful, I can amplify certain characteristics or even change its shape. Observe."

I quickly Reinforced the blade, making it sharper and harder. I swung the sword at the same rock, this time gouging out a noticeable chunk off its side. Blake's eyes widened in wonderment.

"So that's how you pulled your swords out of nowhere."

Her head nodded at the realization.

Wait, I only ever traced the bow and Caladbolg in front of her. Could it be she was the one that had been observing me? It made sense, how she had known I hadn't actually done my morning routine today. Then again, Pyrrha could have told her about Kanshou and Bakuya, and she could have just woken up in the middle of the night to find me missing. It was time to find out, discretely of course.

"Blake, has Pyrrha ever told you about my other swords?" I asked, trying not to draw suspicion. Thankfully she was too busy ogling my traced sword to pay too much attention.

"No, well maybe once, I don't really remember." She said without looking up.

"Well I don't suppose you like waking up early like me." I tried probing a little further.

"If you're asking if I watched you swing your pointy sticks around in the morning, then yes. I was trying to find a nice quiet place to read, when I noticed the glint of one of your swords as I was walking by." She said nonchalantly. She then finally looked back up at me. "Also, Shirou you need to work on your discretion skills when it comes to interrogations, even an Ursa could figure out what you were trying to do."

I let what little pride I had in my discretion abilities slip away. It seems I wasn't exactly suited for a subtle approach. But that was okay, because for some reason I felt compelled to stand out.

"While this explains how you magically pull weapons out of thin air, how did you make the Death Stalker explode like that?"

It seemed nothing could slip by her. I traced Hrunting with my free hand, letting the longsword fade away.

"Remember when I said that I recreated the history? Well, that includes any power the weapon possessed, as well as the skill of the original wielder. Incidentally, then means the weapons get separated in rank, based on how powerful they are. The one I fired at the Death Stalker was a rather high level one, which I also charged with a large amount of energy to boost it another rank. The result was that the weapon became overloaded with energy, essentially breaking. In this state I could use it for one final strike that would release a massive explosion."

I explained, pausing at the end to breathe. Hrunting soon disappeared from my hand.

"So you shoot swords from your bow? Isn't that a little excessive?"

Her eyebrow raised as she smirked at me. I looked at her, unimpressed. I refused to acknowledge that comment. She just didn't appreciate my precious blades like I did.

"Even so, how do you come up with these swords? You mentioned history and past users. Are you getting these swords from somewhere?"

That was it, the big question. I debated telling her about my Reality Marble. The less people who knew about it, the better. It was my trump card, my ultimate move. It wasn't something I could tell just anyone. I hadn't even mentioned it to Ozpin. In fact, the only other person who knew about it, was currently roaming about the continent, whereabouts unknown, doing who knows what with his pack of Grimm.

But then I weighed Blake's words. She was right. As my teammate, it would benefit the both of us if we knew each other's strengths and weaknesses. Besides, I knew in my heart, I could trust her with any secret without fear.

"They come from within my soul."

The statement seemed to catch her off guard. Her confused stare begged me to continue explaining.

"In my soul, there is a concept, a world, filled with blades. It contains every single sword, every blade I have ever seen in my life. It isn't limited to weapons only though. I have numerous pieces of armour and shields. I even have access to an enormous gold chain."

I paused, letting the information sink in. She seemed in awe of what I was telling her.

"If I have enough energy, I can even summon that world into reality for a short period of time. But the world is a representation of me. I first have to invoke it by chanting a poem about myself, of my life. Once it is deployed, I have instant access to every blade in my possession and can even control parts of the world."

"Wait"

I turned to look at her, slightly surprised by her interruption.

"Every blade, you said, that you've ever seen. Does that include..."

She trailed off, protectively touched the black sword on her back.

"Yes, even Gambol Shroud."

Her eyes betrayed her, showing fear and a sense of violation.

"Don't worry, I likely won't be tracing any of your weapons any time soon. The fact that they each have a gun component makes them exponentially more difficult to trace."

I waved my hand dismissively while touching her shoulder reassuringly. This seemed to placate her and her inquisitive look returned.

"So why tell me all this? You could have easily stopped at the magical sword part and I would have been none the wiser."

She frowned at me, staring at me like I was some kind of an enigma. Softly smiling, I took her hands in mine. Once again, surprise graced her face as she glanced back at me.

"It's because you asked me to trust you. I want you to know that I trust you wholeheartedly. I'll always have your back as you'll have mine, and so will Pyrrha and Ruby. We're a team and a team works together. Now you know all of my abilities and one of my deepest secrets. All I can ask of you is to trust me again."

Her breath choked as her faced tinged red. My eyes mirrored my steely resolve. She backed away from me and looked down.

"Thank you. For what you've done, for trusting in me, for being a good teammate." She never looked up as she said this, her voice growing quieter.

Smiling, I responded. "It's all because of you, you know? I'll tell Pyrrha and Ruby about my Magecraft in the morning. Goodnight Blake."

Turning, I started to walk away, when I heard a small voice.

"Wait."

I felt a delicate hand grasp my forearm. I heard the rustle of cloth and the hand pulled back. Slowly I turned around to face her.

In her hand was a black ribbon. It gripped the piece of cloth tightly, shaking even. Her eyes glistened, tears threatening to spill forth. Her mouth was firmly shut, quivering. And on top of her head, a pair of furry ears twitched nervously as I looked upon them.

"I'm a Faunus."

It was quiet, almost a whisper. She shivered in the cool night air, her body trembling in anxiety. She looked so fragile in the pale moonlight, as if she'd shatter at the slightest touch. Her eyes showed fear, fear of abandonment, fear of betrayal. Her breaths came in shudders, as she struggled to remain composed. Gone was the confident, stoic Blake I had met and grown accustomed to. Here stood a girl, baring her heart and soul, frightened of her own vulnerability.

I pulled her into a tight embrace, holding her close, my arms around her torso. She began to sob into my chest, and I rubbed her back soothingly. And like that we stood for what felt like an eternity, never breaking apart, reveling in the other's warmth.

"You're beautiful." I whispered in her ear. She pressed her tear-stained face against my neck and we stood there in tranquil silence as the full moon shined down on us from above.

-o-

"So you have a big room filled with weapons stored in your soul?" Ruby's eyes hadn't stop shining with glee since I started talking.

"It's more like a set of rolling hills with swords stuck the ground with giant churning metal gears in the sky." I rubbed the back of my head as I corrected her. "With weapons as far as the eye can see. It's more of a conceptual world than anything else."

The girls sat on their respective beds as I stood between them. I apologized for my previous deceit and explained my Magecraft to them.

"So that's where you kept getting those swords from." Pyrrha observed thoughtfully.

"Shirou is a magic knight!" Ruby exclaimed, jumped off her bed.

I stared at her dumbfounded. How was I supposed to respond to that?

"I hate to interrupt, but class is starting in 5 minutes." Blake was standing by the door, already ready to go.

And so our conversation ended in a mad dash and scramble down the hallway.

-o-

"Students, take notice of the information on your scrolls." The blonde teacher announced loudly.

We were situated in a large grey room with a stage in the center. Behind it, a massive screen was placed onto the wall, showing a secondary live feed of the arena. Around the sides of the stage were stands, filled with rows and rows of seats.

I looked down at the device in my hand. There was a great big black bar at the top of my screen, as well as an image of myself below it. To the side was a box labeled, 'Rank', which remained blank.

"Take notice of your Aura at the top of your screen. The green bar will change in accordance with your overall Aura, indicating your ability to continue fighting. When your Aura drops low enough, the bar will turn red, meaning you are no longer fit for combat, and the match will be over."

I glanced back at the black bar and bit my lip. This was going to be a problem.

"Perhaps it would be better to have a live demonstration. Mr. Winchester, Ms. Nikos, please enter the stage."

The class receded to the sides of the circular arena as the two stepped onto the stone platform. Glynda signaled for them to start, and they began to clash weapons.

"Mr. Emiya."

I turned to see the stern woman addressing me. She spoke in a hushed tone, quietly pulling me aside.

"Ozpin would like to meet with you. Seeing as you can't exactly participate." She gestured to the black bar on my Scroll. "Now would be an excellent time to go see him. He may also be able to help with your Aura."

Having done her duty, she returned to the side of the arena just in time to declare Pyrrha the victor as she disarmed Cardin.

-o-

"How is school for you so far?" Ozpin's silky voice drawled as I entered his office.

"It's alright, but I was expecting more combat lessons and Grimm fighting than lectures on history and tree sap collection." I replied with an amused tone.

Ozpin gave a small grin at my statement. He leaned forward in his leather swivel chair, bring his hands together, elbows resting on the edge of his desk.

"Our history teaches us the mistakes we've made, who we are, and what we stood for. It is a glimpse into mysterious workings of our collective minds, the development and growth of our people as a whole."

His head tilted to the side as he looked at me through the screen sitting in the middle of his desk.

"But I suppose that statement doesn't necessarily apply to you."

He stood up, taking his cane.

"And incidentally, that sap was delicious."

A smirk appeared on his face, before it quickly dropped as he turned and walked to the clock face window.

"Yesterday, I received a report about a sudden rise in Grimm activity near a Huntsman outpost 10 kilometers beyond the outer limits of Vale. Normally, I would have sent a group of upper year students to go monitor and possibly eliminate the Grimm in the area." He spoke, staring out over the expansive school grounds, across the water, at the distant city.

"However, the report also stated that the Grimm weren't just stalking the edges of the forest like they normally do. They moved in organized formations, mimicking traditional strategies as well as some that we have never encountered before." He turned to me, eyes studying me, his mind calculating.

"I want you to investigate this occurrence." His voice sounded severe, any hints of our previous banter gone. He wanted to send me to investigate?

"But sir, I don't have much experience with Grimm. Why bother sending me at all?" I asked confused.

He walked swiftly to his desk and tapped something on the screen. An image of a mountain covered in deep green forest appeared. The picture then zoomed in near the bottom to show what I had thought was a forest. It was thousands of black beasts huddled in square formations. The picture zoomed yet again, causing everything to grow increasingly blurry. I blinked.

A figure stood on a boulder, any further details or shape indecipherable from its lack of definition. However, I would recognize that shade of gold anywhere. Gilgamesh had appeared once again.

-o-

I am the bone of my sword,

Steel is my body, Fire is my blood.

I have created over a thousand blades,

Unaware of loss, Nor aware of gain.

I have withstood pain to create many weapons,

Waiting for one's arrival.

I have no regrets. This is the only path.

My whole life was, the Unlimited Blade Works

-Shirou Emiya

AN: Hey thanks for all the support and reviews for the first chapter! I'm just posting this to let you guys know that this fic isn't dead. I do have plans and ideas for the story, although I haven't quite fleshed out the later plotlines. I read all your reviews and I have gone back to edit the first chapter a few times since posting it.

If you look now, you may or may not notice that I switched UBW incantation at the end of the chapter to match the English translation version. And if you read the incantation above this, you'll notice that it was the original one I put (essentially the literal translation with a few tweaks). This is tied to why Shirou couldn't materialize his reality marble. When he was pulled into Remnant, he himself as a person was changed, thus his incantation shifted slightly, since it is based on who he is.

Also I think Kiritsugu was the one to put up the Emiya residence Bounded Field, but let's just pretend Shirou can put up a similar, weaker version. In regards to Aura, I'll just flat out say that Shirou doesn't have one. I plan to explore that a bit more in the next chapter.

One review mentioned that I was lacking a little on detail versus dialogue in the last chapter. I tried to keep that in mind when I wrote out most of this. I hope I improved at least. Some of the dialogue felt a little sappy or corny and I'm sure many of you will agree, but I'm not all that good with talking and mushy stuff. Speaking of which, romance won't be a main subplot for this story, more likely taking a sort of background thing which may pop up every once in a while. I haven't exactly chosen a pairing for Shirou, but it's at least narrowed down to three girls. It seems the end pairing changes every single time I start writing….

Anyway I know last time I said I didn't know if I would update, yet popped out this chapter a few days later. This time I actually don't know the next time I'll update since I have midterms in two weeks. As in 4 midterms in consecutive days in a single week. Sooooo I'll probably spend more time studying than anything else in the coming days. Wish me luck T-T

Oh and it was fun watching you guys trying to guess what the team names represented. In case you were still wondering, they're pronounced Team Saber (SBPR) and Team Winter (WYNR). Credit to /u/Just_one_more for helping me realize Saber fit waaaaaay better than Saphire. Also, yeah, I know Winter is one hell of a stretch, but I couldn't think of anything else. Refer to chapter one with Shirou's internal dialogue for my actual thoughts on team naming.

Madgamer2k7 out.