Hello internet! I'm here bringing you a revival a story NOT originally created by me. Shocking, I know.

Anyway, this crossover is a collaboration between myself and fellow writer, Ray O'Neill. About nearly two years ago, Ray posted as story by the name of Swords of a Brother", a Fairy Tail/Fate crossover in which Shirou Emiya is reborn as a fourth and new oldest Strauss sibling. After that story was completed, Ray offered anyone the chance to collaborate and expand the story for him. That is where I came in.

Nearly two years later, I contact him after reading the story and request to work with him on an expansion. After several months of throwing around ideas, taking notes, an rewatching Fairy Tail from episode 1, I was able to slap together this first chapter, and take the first step in breathing new life into this old story.

Before we get started, I want you all to know that updates on this story will be extremely irregular and slow. Ray and I have big things planned for this story, but this is not our only project. Longtime readers of mine will most likely know me for my current project "A Certain Strange Addition", and the same goes for Ray O'Neill and his current project "A Fake Hero". This will still be updated, but those updates will be few and far between, depending on how quickly and often we can get our act together.

At this point, I would be replying to any reviews and questions readers would happen to leave behind after reading. Of course, since this is the first chapter, there are no reviews to speak of, so I'll just get to the disclaimer and let you continue to the story.

Disclaimer: Neither I nor Ray O'Neill own Fate/Stay Night or Fairy Tail, or any of the series' respective characters, and we make no money from this.

Chapter 1: Welcome Home

It had already been a full day, and Shirou could still hardly believe the miracle he had been graced with. The Kaleidoscope and the Holy Grail could suck it for all he cared, for Shriou Strauss had experienced a true miracle yesterday. After a year of believing he had lost them, a year of aimlessly wandering alone in his own sorrow, a year of living as a machine without a heart, Shirou had finally found what he had been missing. After so long, Shirou had been reunited with the people who gave him purpose, his family.

Maybe it was a coincidence or maybe it was fate, Shirou didn't care. In his quest to fulfill a dying old man's last wishes, Shirou sought out the Fairy Tail Guild to give the enslaved children he rescued a chance at a better life. When he was finally able to get the children to the guild safely, Shirou got far more from the journey than he could have ever hoped for. There in the guildhall of the Fairy Tail Guild was the family he thought he lost on that rainy day. Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna were all present at the guild as its most recent recruits, alive and well. The sight of his lost family brought all the color and hope back into Shirou's life. Much like when Kiritsugu saved him in his previous life, in his quest to gain salvation for someone else, Shirou found salvation for himself.

After finally being reunited with his family, Shirou knew the only option left for him was to join the Fairy Tail Guild himself. Even if there was some other option for him to take, Shirou knew he would have had no choice in the matter. As Master Makarov said himself, Shirou would have received a major beating and forced to join after the reunion he and his siblings displayed. The ensuing party to celebrate his initiation was definitely a hectic one, what with the guildhall spanning bar fight and property damage, but all that mattered for Shirou was that he had his family again, and if anything the Guild Master said was true that family might have just gotten much bigger.

With the dawn of a new day and a new life in front of him, Shirou was guided by his siblings through the streets of Magnolia to the place that would be their home. As they made their way to their home in Magnolia, Shirou carried Lisanna on his shoulders while Mirajane and Elfman each took a hold of one of his hands. To the average onlooker, it was a strange sight to see. After all, it wasn't every day you saw a heavily armored man carry an adorable little girl in a pink dress on his shoulders while holding the hands of a well-dressed young boy and a cloaked teenage girl. However, to those of the Fairy Tail Guild, it was simply the sight of a very happy family walking together.

As the Quartette strolled down the street, Shirou couldn't help but actually take a good look at the town around him. The city itself was well organized with buildings and smaller roads forming around the two central paths that cut through the city vertically and horizontally. Sprinkled across town were several canals which cut through several roads and traversed over via bridges and boats. The whole city had a western design to it, resembling a European town from the Medieval period. Other notable landmarks included the Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Kardia Cathedral, South Gate Park, and Lake Scilliora. All in all, the town was quite homey, and definitely an ideal place to raise a family in.

"We're here, Shirou-nii!" Lisanna cheered, breaking the eldest sibling away from his thoughts.

Once again consciously aware of his surroundings, Shirou couldn't help but let out an embarrassed laugh for letting himself drift off in his daydreaming. He was lucky that Mirajane and Elfman had a hold of both of his hands, otherwise he would have likely walked straight into on of the city's canals, taking Lisanna down with him. It was just so unlike him to zone out like that.

With his mind now focused, Shirou looked straight ahead to find the building that his family called home since moving to Magnolia. Sad to say, Shirou was not very pleased with what he saw. Before him was an old, rickety apartment building made from aged wood and bricks. The color of the bricks and paint were faded and a window or two appeared to be broken. Needless to say, it was not the best first impression of the house his siblings have been living in.

"This was where you've been staying all this time?" Shirou asked in disbelief.

"I know it doesn't look like much, but it's all we could afford with the money we make on jobs at the guild," Elfman explained.

Taking Lisanna off his shoulders, Shirou followed his siblings into the less than stellar building. The building's interior wasn't very reassuring, as its condition could be considered worse than that of the exterior of the building. The main hallway for the complex suffered from all the same problems as the exterior of the building, but had the additional issues of holes in the walls, floor, and ceiling, as well as ripped and faded wall paper. The flickering Light Lacrima hanging from the ceiling did very little to lessen Shirou's concerns. How the building could be considered livable in its condition was beyond him.

However, the worse crime by far was the apartment that his siblings had been living in during the year they were separated. When Mirajane opened the door to their apartment, Shirou was horrified by what he saw. It as one bedroom, one half-bathroom apartment that suffered from all of the same problems as the building's exterior and central hallway. The only traces of personal objects in the room were a short table, three futons, and a small chest that probably held all of the family's clothing. Worst of all, the apartment didn't even have a proper kitchen, just a Fire Lacrima powered portable stove.

"What do you think, Shirou-nii?" Mirajane asked timidly.

"This won't do at all," the eldest declared, "I can't believe the three of you spent an entire year living here."

"Well, it wasn't an entire year, but pretty much since we joined the guild," Mira explained.

"It was the best we could do with the money we could make," Lisanna admitted sadly, "We may be mages, but we're still kids. Not many people would trust us with the higher paying jobs, and some of them outright rejected us because of Mira-nee's arm."

Taking one last look at the place his siblings called home, Shirou made his decision.

"Alright, it's decided," Shirou declared, dropping his fist into the palm of his other hand, "I'm getting us a new apartment."

"But how are we going to pay of it?" Elfman inquired, "You only just joined the guild, so clients might not trust you with higher paying jobs yet either."

"Well, little brother, over the last year, I've worked as a freelance mercenary," Shirou explained with a smirk, pulled out a bag from under his cloak, "You'd be surprised how much people would pay for you to capture some criminals or dismantle a cabal."

Kneeling down so he was at eye level with his siblings, Shirou opened the bag to reveal his year worth of savings. To his younger siblings' collective shock, the bag was filled with hundreds of thousands of Jewels. Altogether, Shirou had saved about 1,000,000 Jewels, more than enough to cover rent at a nicer place for at least a few months before Shirou could go on the higher paying jobs that his younger siblings would normally be rejected from.

"This is amazing, Shirou-nii," Lisanna cheered, "How did you managed to save so much?"

"Well, it helps to have a minimalist lifestyle," Shirou joked with a stiff laugh, "So, you all in favor of looking for a nicer place to live?"

"Of course!" his siblings agreed wholeheartedly.

"Alright then, I'll head to the nearest real-estate agency," Shirou said as he headed for the door, only to be stopped by Mirajane pulling on his cloak."

"Not so fast, Shirou-nii!" Mira cried as she tugged, causing Shirou to fall on his back from the sudden pull, "You can't go to a real-estate agency yet! Not dressed like that!"

"Hm, I guess the cloak, hood, and battle armor are a bit intimidating," Shirou pondered aloud.

"Mira-nee is right! We need to get you properly dressed before you can start talking to anyone in real-estate," Elfman agreed, pushing his older brother up and off his back.

"Okay, I get it," Shirou chuckled, picking himself off the ground, "That should still leave plenty for an apartment. While we're at it, we might as well get you a new outfit too, Mira. We can't have you going around in that cloak all the time."

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Mirajane asked as she started dragging her older brother out the door.

Despite how quickly Shirou was losing control of the situation, he couldn't help but laugh as he was dragged out of the apartment. This was exactly what he had been missing in his life.

It took a bit of time, but Shirou had finally been able to get an outfit that his siblings deemed appropriate. In place of his original battle armor and cloak was a grey button-down shirt, black trousers, and black shoes. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled back so his forearms were exposed, and his hair was pushed down in its usual, natural fallen style. Shirou definitely looked much more approachable than he did in his armor.

Mirajane also got a new outfit, and it was definitely a drastic shift from her previous cloak. Her new outfit consisted of a purple tank top, black short shorts, and black thigh high boots. Additional accessories included a purple ribbon to hold her hair in a pony tail and a black choker belt necklace.

Upon seeing this choose of clothing, Shirou immediately demanded that Mirajane choice a different outfit, but his sister would not budge. She spent the last year hiding behind a cloak. She wasn't about to constrain herself in her self-expression like that any time soon. While the two eldest siblings bickered for a while over Mira's choice in outfits, Shirou eventually gave in, feeling like it was a waste of time and energy to push the subject any further.

With the whole family now dressed in a manner that can be considered approachable, the Strausses started their house hunt for a new home. By some stroke of luck, the real-estate agency actually had a rather nice apartment listed for rent at a relatively cheap price. It was a one bedroom, one bath apartment located near the shopping center on Strawberry Street and bordered one of the city's canals. To apartment itself had pure white walls, was move-in ready, and was equipped with a brick fireplace and stove. All of this came with a monthly rent of 70,000 Jewels.

While the apartment was still relatively small with only one bedroom, it still had a great location for a great price. Not only that, but the interior was miles better than what they currently had (which admittedly was not hard to beat). Besides, it's not like they were planning to stay there their entire life in Magnolia, just until they could get the money to buy their own home. After discussing their terms with a rather stout and intimidating landlady, the Strausses were ready to move into their new home.

By nightfall, the family had completely moved into their new apartment. After moving their few personal items from the old apartment to the new apartment, the Strausses bought a few more necessities to fill their new home. Among them were additional sets of clothes, a stockpile of food, cooking ware, and an additional futon. In the end, Shirou still had about 800,000 Jewels left in his savings, more enough to help him and his family get by comfortably while they work towards getting a house of their own.

That night, Shirou went all out with the evening meal, preparing all of his family's favorite foods. For the first time in over a year, the family sat together for a meal. For the first time in over a year, the family was able to enjoy Shirou's amazing cooking. For the first time in over a year, the family felt like they were home.

The following day was Shirou's first day as a Fairy Tail mage. When he first approached the front door of the guildhall with his siblings, he was greeted by none other than Master Makarov himself.

"Ah, there you are, Shirou," the Guild Master greeted with a smile, "You had me worried when none of you showed up to the guild yesterday. I almost though you had gone and try to run away with three of my children."

"Sorry to worry you, Master," Shirou apologized with a bow.

"We were just showing Shirou-nii around town," Elfman explained.

"Yeah, and it kind of turned into a sort of lifestyle renovation project," Mira admitted sheepishly.

"I can see that," Makarov said with a smile, noticing the change in uniform for the elder Strauss siblings, "Welcome to the guild, Shirou! Your looking much better, and far less scary!"

"Did I really look that scary before?" Shirou whispered to his siblings.

"Kind of," Elfman replied with a slight nod.

"If we met you in a dark alley dressed like that, we'd probably run away," Mira added through her giggles.

"I know you're going to love it here, Shirou-nii!" Lisanna cheered, squeezing his hand tighter, "Everyone here is really nice and welcoming! I can't wait to introduce you to everyone!"

"I am a bit concerned about one thing though," the eldest brother admitted, "During the welcoming party the other day, there was a massive fight that broke out and involved the entire guildhall. Is that a normal thing?"

"Unfortunately, yes," the guild master grimaced, but quickly put on a smile, "That's just how Fairy Tail is. The fights are just how everyone shows that they care. The guild is one massive family, as I'm sure you will come to realize for yourself."

"I'm still a bit skeptical," Shirou admitted, "But I'll give it a chance."

Accepting Shirou's response, Makarov opened the guildhall doors for the Strauss family to come in. Stepping inside, Shirou could see that the guildhall was relatively peaceful, a stark contrast from the guild wide brawl that transpired the other day. Everyone in the guild was either calmly chatting, drowning themselves in booze and food, or looking for work at the request board. Throughout the building he could see various children running around, either playing, practicing their own magic, or watching senior members demonstrate their craft. Among those kids he could see the children he rescued from the Tower of Heaven. The whole thing as actually a rather pleasant sight.

"Hey, you're Lisanna's older brother from before, right?" a familiar voice said from below Shirou's line of sight.

Looking down, Shirou instantly recognized the owner of the voice. Of course, it wasn't very hard to forget pink hair and a scarf that looked to be made from scales. Not to mention the boy's dragon scent and fiery temper.

"Oh, perfect timing," Lisanna beamed as she stepped between her brother and the scarfed boy, "Shirou-nii, I'd like to introduce you to Natsu. He's a very good friend of mine and was raised by a dragon. Natsu, this is my oldest brother, Shirou-nii."

'Guess that explains the dragon scent,' Shirou thought to himself.

"Yeah, I remember you," Shirou smirked, "You're the little brat that decided to challenge me to a fight the moment you heard that I was strong."

"I'm not a brat, and I'm about to challenge you again!" Natsu cried, igniting his right fist in flames, "Now fight me!"

"I've told you this twice already, I don't fight kids," Shirou sighed in exasperation.

"Then let's see you take on a dragon!" the pink-haired boy yelled as he threw a punch at Shirou's face.

Much like the last attempt, Shirou easily managed to catch Natsu, only this time he grabbed the young boy by his fist. Thanks to the difference in the size of their hands, Shirou was easily able to completely encase Natsu's fist in his own, snuffing out all the flame the little fire mage had conjured. Natsu was left to dangle helplessly from Shirou's grip, desperately trying to escape.

"Man, you have strong hands!" Natsu commented as he continued to struggle.

"I get that a lot," Shirou shrugged.

Keeping the boy at arm's length, Shirou couldn't help but smirk as Natsu flailed pointlessly in a vain attempt to attack. Since Shirou had the superior reach, Natsu couldn't even touch him while being held up by Shirou. When Natsu tried breathing fire, something Shirou honestly didn't expect form the young mage, Shirou simple twisted Natsu around so that his fire breath couldn't possibly reach his target.

As Natsu continued to struggle, Shirou noticed Lisanna giggling at the boy with an ever so slight hint of pink on her cheeks. Remembering the boy's reaction to Lisanna's girlfriend comments the other day, Shirou decided he was long overdue for some payback.

"I must say Lisanna, you have strange taste in boys," Shirou mused.

With a single comment, all the excitement in the immediate area disappeared. Natsu had stopped flailing around, a look of confusion plastered on his face. Lisanna was blushing profusely, desperately trying to hide her face in her hands. Mirajane and Elfman were wide-eyed and slake-jawed at Shirou's comment, even looking a few shades paler. Overall, there was just an air of awkwardness around the group.

'Maybe I took that too far,' Shirou thought to himself.

"Man, the new guy beat Lizard Breath emotionally and physically," the boy with the stripping problem laughed from across the guildhall, "Talk about an all-time low!"

"Gray, your clothes!" a young girl in an orange dress and ponytail yelled at the boy.

"Huh?! When did that happen?!" the boy identified as Gray cried, noticing he was in his boxers.

The sound of the naked boy's voice managed to rouse Natsu from his stumper, once again bringing him among the living. The fire mage directed a steely glare at Gray, as if trying to burn the fellow mage with his gaze.

"Like you could do better, Ice Queen!" Natsu screamed.

"What'd you call me, Flames for Brains!"

"You wanna go, Captain Underpants!"

"Come at me, Pyro!"

"Both of you, knock it off!" Makarov yelled, stretching both of his arms to chop the two boys on the head, "We just got the guildhall cleaned up after the brawl you two started during Shirou's welcome party! It's too early for you to go wrecking it again!"

"Sorry about that little comment," Shirou apologized, setting Natsu down on the floor, "I didn't mean to embarrass you too. I was just trying to get back at Lisanna for all the teasing she puts me through. You know how little sisters can be, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Natsu pouted, not looking the newest guildmember in the eye.

"That still wasn't very nice, Shirou-nii!" Lisanna cried, repeatedly lightly punching her brother's leg.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Shirou apologized again, tousling Lisanna's hair, before returning his attention to Natsu, "If it's any consolation, that magic of yours is really something else. I've seen a lot of fire magic as a mercenary, but I've never seen anything like your magic before. It has a lot of potential to it."

"Really?" Natsu asked, brightening up instantly, "Thanks! It's called Fire Dragon Slayer Magic! My dad, Igneel, taught me everything I know!"

"I take it Igneel is this dragon Lisanna mentioned," Shirou deduced.

"That's right!" Natus confirmed with a firm nod and a wide grin.

"Well, nice to see that you're warming up to Natsu so quickly," Makarov observed with a smile.

"I had to raise these guys by myself after our parents died," Shirou explained, patting Lisanna's head as the rest of his siblings stepped forward, "I've had plenty of practice watching over brats their age."

"What'd you say?!" Natsu barked before suddenly slipping on the now frozen floor.

Looking at where Natsu had slipped, Shirou noticed a trail of ice leading away and to another part of the guildhall. Following the trail, Shirou found the source of the ice to be the still naked Gray, who had his knuckles pressed against the floor.

"Also can't believe he fell for that twice," the naked boy smirked.

"Gray, your clothes! Again!" the ponytailed girl from earlier called again.

"Ah! Right, still didn't fix that!" the boy screamed, desperately looking for his discarded clothes.

"Ice Magic, huh?" Shirou mused, "No wonder he and Natsu are always at each other's necks, and I put that together after only meeting them two days ago."

"Ice-Make Magic, actually," Elfman clarified, "That's Gray. From what we've heard, his stripping problem is the result of his teacher's teaching methods, but he's never gone too in-depth about it."

"The girl telling him off is Cana," Mira added, "Out of all the kids in the guild, she's been a member the longest. She practices Card Magic, and her deck is pretty diverse."

"Well, the kids in this guild sure are unique," Shirou mused, looking on as Natsu and Gray disappeared in a dust cloud, "Then again, you don't often see many Mage Guilds taking in children like this."

"Master!" two random voices cried out in distress.

Looking in the direction of the voices, Shirou saw two men running towards Master Makarov. The first man had short, spikey, dark blue hair and had a bit of stubble on his chin. The other man had light brown hair that was slicked back, wore sunglasses, and had a cigarette in his mouth. Both men looked to be about 30 years old, most likely veteran members of the guild.

"We've got a serious situation, Master!" the blue haired man said in a panic.

"What seems to be the problem, Macao?" the Guild Master asked.

"Well, Wakaba here tried to order something from the bar, but the bartender wasn't answering," the man identified as Macao explained, pointing towards his compatriot.

"So, I went to the back to see what was wrong, and I found this!" Wakaba exclaimed, handing Master Makarov a note on a sheet of paper, "The bar staff all quit this morning! Apparently, they couldn't take any more of the fights in the guildhall!"

"Well, this is certainly a problem," the elderly man grimaced, "The record in staying time is at a new low."

"What do we do now, Master?" Wakaba asked, completely lost.

"I suppose we'll have to hire some new bar staff," Makarov lamented, crumpling up the note, "though there's no telling how long it will be before anybody takes the job."

"I can take the job if you want," Shirou cut in, making himself known to the adults in the room.

"Huh?" the two young men asked in confusion.

"Hey, that's a great idea!" Lisanna cheered, "Shirou-nii is an amazing cook! I know he'll be perfect for the job!"

"That's for sure," Mirajane agreed with a nod.

"He's a real man, especially in the kitchen," Elfman added.

"Are you sure, Shirou?" the Master asked in concern, "You just joined the guild the other day. I would hate to impose."

"Not a problem at all! Cooking is actually one of my favorite hobbies," Shirou replied, flexing a bicep for emphasize, "So, Wakaba, was it? What exactly where you trying to order?"

"Huh? Who, me?" Wakaba asked, caught off guard by the sudden question, "Um, I haven't had breakfast yet. So, omurice, I guess."

"Coming right up!" Shirou cheered, rolling up his sleeves past higher up his arms.

"The kitchen is this way, Shirou-nii!" Lisanna cheered, dragged her brother by the hand behind the bar.

When he saw the bar, Shirou couldn't help but be a bit impressed. For a guild that catered to mages, the Fairy Tail Guildhall had a rather impressive kitchen behind their bar. The walls were lined with the latest cooking wear, and the appliances were all topnotch equipment running on Fire Lacrima. Looking through the storage room, Fairy Tail's newest edition found a wide variety of fresh produces and meats. He would certainly have an enjoyable time in this kitchen.

Collecting everything he needed from the storage room, including a pink apron, Shirou immediately started on Wakaba's omurice. He starting by setting some white rice to cook before preparing the sauce. The first thing he did was chop up some garlic and sauté it with olive oil in a frying pan. Once the garlic was thoroughly cooked, he mixed in some diced tomato and crushed consommé. Immediately after that, he added some salt, pepper, and sugar. To finish off the sauce, he melted in some butter before putting the sauce on the side.

From the main guildhall, the rest of the Strauss family watched from the kitchen's order window as their brother cooked. Along with them were Makarov, Macao, and Wakaba, who were all curious as to how good of a cook Shirou was. So far, they had a pretty good impression of their newest member, as the sauce alone looked good enough to eat.

For the fried rice, Shirou started by prepping his ingredients, first by coarsely chopping an onion, thinly slicing some mushrooms, and dicing some raw chicken thighs. With everything cut up, Shirou returned to the stove and sautéed the diced chicken in some more olive oil before adding the onions and mushrooms. Once everything was cooked, he threw in some salt, pepper, crushed consommé, and ketchup, mixing thoroughly to temper the sour flavor. Finally, he added the white rice he had set to cook earlier and mixed in the sauce he made, completing the fried rice.

In the main guildhall, Natsu had caught a whiff of the fried rice thanks to his super sensitive dragon nose. The smell of the delicious food cooking was so good that he immediately abandoned his fight with Gray to see who exactly was making it. Not one to leave a fight unsettled, Gray followed after the fire mage to finish what they started, only to find himself looking through the kitchen order window along side Natsu and the Strausses. Pulled in by the crowd, Cana herself ended up also watching with the rest of the kids, her interest peaked by the food Shirou was making.

The final part of any omurice was the omelet itself. Moving the fried rice off the pan and onto a plate, Shirou began to prepare the omelet by heating some olive oil and butter in the now empty pan. While that was heating up over the low flame, Shirou cracked an egg and beat it in a bowl, adding a generous dash of salt to the mixture. Once the egg was smooth and the butter completely melted, he poured the beaten egg into the frying pan. Stirring the surface with a spatula, Shirou shook the frying pan until the omelet was at a half-cooked state. Once it was half-cooked, the omelet was folded over itself so it was a semicircle before getting tossed into the air. Shirou continued to flip the omelet until the edge of the fold was on top. With the omelet completely cooked, he slid the finished product on top of the plate of fried rice, topping it off with a little ketchup.

By the time that Shirou had completely finished cooking the dish, most of the guild had gathered around the order window, including the Tower of Heaven kids and the normally aloof Laxus. When they saw Shriou exiting the kitchen with the omurice in hand, the quickly vacated the area and gathered on the other side of the bar, with Wakaba sitting at one of the bar stools. Stepping out of the kitchen, Shirou placed the plate of food in front of the mage who ordered it, along with a set of utensils.

"All done," Shirou said cheerfully, patiently waiting for his first customer to take the first bite.

"T-thank you for the food," Wakaba stuttered, mesmerized by the exceptionally prepared meal in front of him.

Taking his knife, he cut along the top of the omelet, letting it unfold and fall flat over the entire pile of race. He then took his spoon and dug into the dish, pulling off a piece of the fluffy omelet and a bit of fired chicken rice. The entire guild watch expectantly as the veteran mage put the spoonful of omurice in his mouth.

"So buddy, how is it?" Macao asked his good friend.

"T-this… this is amazing!" the smoking mage cried, tears of joy leaking out from behind his sunglasses, "There's no other way to describe it! It's the perfect combination of sweet, savory, and sour! The crunch of the fried rice is perfectly complemented by the fluffy omelet! This has to be the best omurice I've ever tasted!"

"We told you Shirou-nii was an amazing cook!" Mira boasted.

"He makes cooking in a pink apron manly!" Elfman added.

"Shirou-nii is the best cook there is!" Lisanna cheered.

After hearing such bold claims about the eldest Strauss's cooking abilities, the rest of the guild immediately started placing their own orders for breakfast. The orders started pilling up so high that the rest of the Strausses jumped in to help in the kitchen. Even with how much work was being given to him and his family, Shirou didn't mind at all. In fact, he reveled in the amount of work being assigned to him. Cooking was always his escape from stress, and seeing other people enjoy his food was always a joy.

Despite the massive number of orders, Shirou and his family managed to fulfill all of them, the quality of each dish never suffering for it. His success in the kitchen did not go unnoticed, as Makarov made him the official Fairy Tail Head Cook and Bartender, promising him a generous pay for every hour he worked at the bar. Doing the math, he would make a bit more than enough money to pay for rent by the end of each month, leaving whatever he made on other jobs from the guild to the family's house fund.

Looking around at all the happy faces in the guildhall, Shirou couldn't help but feel all warm and fuzzy. For over a year, his heart had been lost, leaving him a shadow of a man. Thanks to the Fairy Tail Guild, he was filled with even more life than he was when it was just him and his siblings. He just knew he was going to like the guild.

Special End Card Segment: Animan Temple

At the top of a mountain in some indistinguishable mountain range stood a single, Shinto Temple. In front of the temple stood two figures. The first was a rather slender man with black hair, dressed in a black and green t-shirt, blue jeans, a red overcoat, and black combat boots. Planted in the ground in front of him was a white, mechanical sword with blue circuits and a glass disk at the hilt, named Mugen. The sword itself was shaped like a double-edged sword but lacked any cutting edge. The second figure was a tall, buff man in a black cloak and a skull mask, making it impossible to see his face. The only thing visible through the mask was his ghostly blue eyes.

"Hello, everyone! My name is Animan von Elysium X, and welcome to the Animan Temple!" the man with the sword greeted enthusiastically, "I'm your host and the proud owner of this temple! With me today is our co-host and a very good friend of mine, Ray O'Neill!"

"Pleasure to meet all of you," the skull masked figure greeted calmly and politely, contrasting greatly with his appearance, "Animan here was kind enough to help me with this timeline I have created, so I'm here to help him with the world building and with hosting his end card segments."

"So friend, what did you think of this first chapter?" Animan asked, pulling his sword out of the ground and leaning it on his shoulder."

"I think it was a pretty good start," the gentle giant nodded, "Though, that last part felt like something from 'Today's Menu with the Emiya Family'. Even the recipe was pulled straight out if it."

"I may or may not still be upset over that show ending," the master of the temple admitted sheepishly, scratching his cheek.

"I too am a bit salty over that show ending," the masked man nodded, "They never got a chance to adapt the Ayako-centric chapter."

"I forgot how much of an Ayako fanboy you were," Animan mused, holding his chin.

"Well, you know…" Ray trailed, avoiding his partner's gaze bashfully.

"… You know, your behavior really conflicts with your appearance," the master of the temple deadpanned, "It's actually kind of creepy, more so than your appearance alone."

"Master," a third voice called out from the temple doors, "May I have a word with you?"

Standing in front of the now open front door of the Animan Temple stood a young girl with black hair in a hime cut and dressed in a Shinto Priestess outfit.

"Why, if it isn't my loyal assistant and Priestess Number 1, Aisa Himegami," Animan greeted, "What do you need to talk about?"

"There seems to be an anomaly in the temple interior," Himegami explained, "I fear we may have been invaded."

The two hosts of the end segment exchanged a worried look before rushing inside the temple. Once inside, they were greeted by the sight of a kendo dojo sitting in the middle of the larger main room. At the back of the dojo was a sign that read "Third Magic", and the dojo was inhabited by a young woman in a kendo uniform and a young, albino girl in bloomers. When the two women took notice of the men in the room, the younger looking of the two started cowering behind the older one.

"Ah! There are two strange men in the dojo!" the albino girl cried.

"Now, now, there's no need to be afraid," Ray said in a calming tone.

Unfortunately, Animan had a much more… extreme reaction.

"Who are you and why did you put a dojo in my temple!" Animan screamed, raising his sword towards the two intruders.

Once the weapon was raised, the edgeless blade parted and moved to either side of the hilt, revealing two brilliant blue energy blades inside. The sword's circuits hummed with power as the kanji for "Power" appeared on the glass disk in the hilt.

"Start explaining, or I start swinging!" the sword wielding master of the temple threatened.

"You can do whatever you want to me, but if you lay even a finger on my precious student, I'll make you pay!" the older woman yelled defiantly, raising a shinai with a tiger strap attached to the guard.

"Animan, calm down," the cloaked man insisted, "There's no need for violence. We can talk this out."

"You wanna fight?!" Animan cried, ignoring his partner's pleas.

"Let's go!" the shinai wielding woman roared, not unlike a tiger.

Despite his best intentions, the masked figure could only watch with dead eyes along with Priestess Number 1 as his friend and partner got into a pointless fight with the kendo practitioner.

"I knew this would happen," Himegami deadpanned, watching the fight play out.

"Well, that's it for this Animan Temple," Ray sighed in exasperation, "See you all next time."