Shirou was angry. He was angry at Archer for causing the antics in the past few days. He was angry at Rin for causing the antics to be possible in the first place. And he was angry at Minaka Hiroto, who was responsible for the Sekirei Plan and releasing the Sekirei into the city.

But most of all, he was angry at himself for having been angry. Because of that, he had been swept in the moment. Rather than doing the smart thing and just leaving the scene with Akitsu and Musubi, he had gone and projected a sword to fight with Karasuba.

Part of it was to vent. The other was because… well, actually it was all just to vent. Since Karasuba was a Sekirei and not a human, he didn't have to hold back other than to use an ordinary steel sword.

To sum it up, the fight was one-sided in Shirou's favor. Since he could see any potential lethal (to an ordinary person) attack, he could easily dodge them and counter while Karasuba was forced into frantic defense. But as the fight went on, Shirou stopped bothering to dodge since it was just a waste of time.

And then his hazmat suit got ripped apart and sweat got on Karasuba and Musubi.

After the disastrous conclusion to the fight, Shirou had taken all of them back to his apartment. Akitsu was preparing various ingredients for him. As for the two newly winged Sekirei…

"I'm sorry, Mister Shirou."

"That's right. Muu-chan's sorry, Shiroi-chan. How about you let her go?"

Musubi and Karasuba were kneeling on the floor in front of him. He didn't order them to, so it must have been a subconscious reaction to his mood. Something written in their Sekirei genes.

He supposed that it would have worked for most people. After all, having a beautiful woman kneel down in front of you, let alone two, would make any man's heart soften.

Unfortunately for them, Rin had pulled that off one too many times in the past and made him clean up a dozen too many incidents.

And also unfortunately for them, that didn't change the fact that he was now a hundred percent banned from his kitchen in the foreseeable future. Considering that the Emiya Household's kitchen was always fully stocked and held his favorite cooking utensils and equipment, and that it was his primary way to vent whenever Rin went and caused another headache… to say he was angry was just a *bit* of an understatement.

Rationally, he knew it wasn't their fault. Who knew that Sekirei could get winged with just sweat? Even Takami was stunned when he called her about it. So it wasn't their fault.

Shirou knew that.

He knew, but it sure as hell didn't feel that way considering he'd have to deal with an upset Sakura, potential harem antics, and Archer's unrelenting ribbing in the immediate future.

So he didn't say anything and simply stared at the two women- two Sekirei kneeling before him.

Homura knocked on the door to Shirou's apartment. It was past midnight and he was skipping out on his job, but there was something more important to do that money couldn't buy: getting his first edition copy of 'A Different Path' signed by Shirou.

But there wasn't a response.

"…Maybe he's not back yet?"

Homura started to pull out his phone when he realized that the door was slightly ajar. He frowned and then pushed it open.

And then he froze in his tracks.

The first thing he noticed was Musubi kneeling on the floor. Although a bit strange, considering how she looked when Homura last saw her, he figured it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. However, the fact that Karasuba, the Black Sekirei and murderous women who had killed hundreds of people alone, was kneeling next to her was.

But that detail wasn't as important as the fact that Shirou was standing in front of the two. Not only that, but there was something else standing behind him.

Maybe because Homura wasn't the designated target, he didn't get the full effects of it. However, he was still close enough to make out its details… or rather the lack thereof.

An eldritch creature hovered in the air slightly above the floor, twisting the very fabric of time and space. A dark miasma- no, that was a dark light. An impossibility that radiated energy that absorbed energy. The creature was covered in crimson lines and possessed countless tendrils squirming about in every direction. A few were wrapped around Shirou's neck, almost lovingly… if not for the fact that it was done by something that should not exist.

Homura quickly averted his gaze. He knew enough about eldritch abominations from Cthulu Mythos to realize it was a bad idea to keep staring. Unfortunately, he wasn't quick enough. The… thing, twisted what must have been its head and stared at Homura.

He held his breath.

And then it smiled, revealing a perfectly normal human mouth beneath everything else.

The only reason that Homura didn't scream and run from that was because he had exposure to Miya's Hannya mask. Even then, cold sweat broke out over his body and he slowly backed out of the room, carefully shutting the door in front of him.

After a few minutes to calm his racing heart and block out what he had just seen from his memory lest the creature decide it was a good idea to haunt his nightmares, Homura knocked on the door. "Shirou? It's late, but are you still awake?"

Dead silence. Then, "Akitsu. Could you get that for me? I'm going to put these two girls to bed. It looks like they were so tired they fell asleep on the floor."

Like hell they just fell asleep!

…Is what Homura would have liked to say, but he knew better than to question someone with that hanging around them.

A few moments later, the door opened again revealing Akitsu, who was wearing an apron over pink pajamas. "Homura-san. Come in. Shirou-sama is about to prepare dinner."

Before Homura had a chance to refuse, Akitsu had pulled him into the room and locked the door behind him.

"If you would like, feel free to take a seat in the living room on a couch. I'm sure Shirou-sama wouldn't mind." Saying that, Akitsu gestured towards the couches in the center of the room, a few feet away from where that thing had appeared.

"…You don't mind if I help out with the meal preparations, do you?"

Takami was not having a good day. For one, her son had done the impossible again and not only winged another Sekirei, but Karasuba of all people. And not normally either. No, he just had to go about it in a way that just. Didn't. Make. Sense!

It was the morning after they went to meet Homura. Takami already had a headache from all of the alcohol she had the other night, and now she had to not only deal with the headache from that bastard's mess, but also from her son's actions.

"…Damn. It must run in the family."

Minaka, Shirou… and come to think of it, Yukari caused a lot of headaches for her too in the past. All of those times about wanting to be a hero of justice or some magical girl…

Takami shook her head and then went back to what she was doing. Namely, going over the Sekirei data she had archived on her laptop.

The Sekirei Plan was in full motion now that the second day had passed. Because of that, Takami was flying around with her crew collecting the terminated Sekirei. Also because of that, Minaka was starting to restrict access to the main MBI databases. As much as that made Takami's work more difficult, she grudgingly admitted that it was a smart move on that bastard's part considering that there were Sekirei like Number 2 out and about.

Still, Takami had enough on hand from her own research that she could look up the cause of her son's latest antics.

"…and the winging process is caused by an exchange of genetic material from Ashikabi to Sekirei… Hold on." Takami frowned. "…It should be a mutual exchange, shouldn't it?"

The Ashikabi gave a Sekirei genetic material and received some in return. That allowed the two to resonate, creating a bond. The winging process. But her son had bypassed that. Instead of receiving, he had been one-sidedly giving. Yet, that was enough to complete the process. Even in the case of Akitsu, who had been a scrap number.

Not only that, but it was starting to look like even the smallest trace of genetic material from him was enough to cause a winging. First an indirect kiss, then breathing, and now sweat…

As a mother, it was her duty to help her son out of the mess he found himself in. But…

"Yeah, screw that."

Could it be said to be 'like mother like son'? Just as Shirou promptly ignored troublesome things, Takami did the same. She was aware that it would probably come back to bite her later… but with how things were going with her son, trouble was going to become a daily occurrence so she might as well accept that it was happening.

"Sahashi-san! We've located the next terminated Sekirei! It's a level three!"

Takami shut her laptop and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "…Alright. Let's get to it then."

She could worry about her wayward son later. At the moment, she had to save the other children she was responsible for.

...Although she couldn't help but worry that something more troublesome was brewing on the horizon.

Shirou took a long sip from his cup of tea. It was scalding hot and extremely bitter, but all the better for it.

After all, that matched his mood perfectly.

"Shirou-sama! What about this one?"

Musubi held up a box filled with books.

Karasuba glanced at the contents and then said, "…Muu-chan. I think it would be better if you left those aside for Shirou to sort through."

"Ah." Akitsu's voice echoed. "…Those are mine."

Shirou closed his eyes, took a long breath, and then took another sip from his cup of tea.

To sum things up, they were moving. Whether it was because of his luck, Archer's meddling, karma, or something else, he had received an email informing him of his lease being immediately terminated for 'unspecified reasons'.

Of course, that didn't stop him from finding out the real reason.

Apparently, the owner of the apartment building was a young tycoon. When someone complained that they kept seeing Shirou walking in and out of his room with various women, he had been jealous that someone was getting more action than him and so ended Shirou's lease. He still had a few days to move and, since it was Takami who dealt with the paperwork for him, he could probably contest it… but with things as they were, he decided it was better to just leave and be done with it.

Which led to the current situation: his newly married Sekirei wives (and husband) packing while he relaxed with a cup of tea.

Now, you might be wondering why he wasn't helping out. After all, he was the all-powerful Sorcerer that even Primate Murder ran away from these days.

The reason was simple.

"…Shirou," Homura said. "Why do you have a box of rubber dil-… actually, don't answer that."

"Ah. That's also mine."

…He already did. Everything that was left were either non-essentials that could be tossed out… or things that Akitsu has somehow managed to buy without Shirou noticing. Not only that, but they were things that would only be awkward for him to see.

So, he drank some tea.

Tea was his friend. A faithful companion throughout the years to help tide him through difficult times. Even when he was forced to deal with a horde of undead sea creatures to save a giant talking crab after it decided to rob from their graves, tea helped him maintain his sanity. And that had been the case since his days in the Holy Grail War where that guy kept teasing him about his love affairs.

Yes, tea. Black tea, green tea. Sweet tea, bitter tea. A tea for every occasion. No matter what it was, after he finished, it would be like he swallowed his emotions. In return, a calm and rational state of mind would be left. And that was exactly what Shirou needed at the time.

Right. So calm down, enjoy the tea, and-

'Onii-chan! Help me!'

-Curse his damned luck and that smug bastard Archer for somehow shifting it onto him.

Shirou gently set down his cup of tea. As much as he wanted to smash it in frustration, it was his only companion in a reality that seemed to be turning topsy turvy on a daily basis. That done, he let out a long sigh, opened his eyes, and stood up.

"Shirou?" Homura was the first person to notice. "Is something wrong?"

'Onii-chan!'

There it was again. A voice… young. Feminine. It wasn't Yukari, so someone else. And if the pattern of events kept going as they were, he had an idea of who… or rather, what might be calling out to him.

"Homura-san. You're the Guardian of Sekirei, right?"

Homura nodded. "…That's right. I haven't gotten much of a chance to patrol recently because of… well, you know. But I am. Why?"

Shirou turned towards the source of the voice. Whether by coincidence or design, it was in the direction of his patio, meaning he could see exactly where it was coming from. And from the rapidly growing trees and greenery in the middle of Shin Tokyo, it seemed like he knew where to go.

"Someone's asking for help and…"

…It would probably cause another headache in the long run, but Shirou couldn't help it. After all…

"It's not wrong to want to save someone."

Needless to say, he would soon be regretting those words.

A/N: Merry Christmas! Not much, but hope it was a bit entertaining!

Next time: "I am not a lolicon!"