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Chapter 6
POV: Shirou
Sunday
It was Sunday morning, and Shirou found himself walking with Rin along central street. The street was a rather colorful, crowded place to shop and eat, and Shirou found himself loving it and hating it at the same time. In one hand, the variety of items made Central street rather interesting, and on the other hand... Shirou wasn't exactly a fan of crowds.
The same could be said for the entire city of Tokyo itself. Shirou mused. He recoiled when he briefly recalled his experience in the subway. The brief, yet extremely uncomfortable ride had nearly given him claustrophobia.
"Emiya-kun? I think we're here." Rin noted as the two mages stopped in front of a rather bleakly colored store with an assault rifle on display.
An assault rifle?
Shirou knew that the person they would be meeting would be an ex-Yakuza, yet he didn't quite expect the man to be owning... An airsoft store.
"Are you sure this is the shop, Rin?" Shirou asked, just for a final confirmation.
"Yes Emiya-kun, I was told that he owned an Airsoft store. But what are all these firearms doing here?"
Shirou slapped his forehead.
"Tohsaka?"
"Yes, Emiya-kun?"
"You need to get out more."
Rin merely cocked her head in confusion as Shirou opened the door to the shop.
The door swung open with a slight rusted creak, and then-
Rin's hand instantly shot upwards, and Shirou looked at her, his eyes slightly widening.
"Emiya-kun, be on alert." Shirou opened his mouth to ask why, before he recognized it too.
There was a bounded field around the airsoft store.
A very crudely made bounded field. Most likely by a third rate magus such as him.
Narrowing his eyes, Shirou readied his circuits to trace the marred blades, Kanshou and Bakuya. Next, he reinforced his body halfway, to prepare for a threat.
Then, he swung open the door in full.
The airsoft shop wasn't exactly a treat to look at. There were guns hung up for display, plastic bullets in the counter, and a man with a grey jacket and a grey cap.
Shirou paused. Munehisa Iwai was not what he expected a magus to look like. Nevertheless, he stepped forwards with caution.
Iwai didn't even make eye contact with them as he nonchalantly said, "What can I do for-"
And then he stopped.
The man instantly swung over to their direction, a pistol in hand. His eyes, previously cool and indifferent, were now filled with tension and... Fear?
"You two... You're magi." Iwai quickly aimed the gun directly at Shirou's face. "What the fuck do you want with me?"
At that moment, multiple things happened at once.
Kanshou and Bakuya appeared in Shirou's hands, Iwai fired a bullet, which Shirou easily deflected, and Rin fired a shot of Gandr, making the gun in Iwai's hand explode.
Iwai went wide eyed in shock, before he finally raised both of his hands in defeat.
"Jesus fucking christ, let's try not to destroy the shop." He finally relented. "Why are you two here? I ain't done anything relatin' to magecraft in years, so why now?"
"Then what was that bounded field?"
"An extra precaution I set up a long time ago."
Rin finally sighed.
"Shirou, I think... This man is safe. Still, don't let down your guard."
Iwai sighed deeply. "Thank you, now what do you want? 'Cause I don't think you came here to buy airsoft guns."
This time, Shirou did the talking.
"We need to ask you a few questions."
...
"Wait, so you two are Magi, and you came to Tokyo... to investigate crime?" Iwai confirmed.
"Yes. Additionally, there was a chance that a forbidden, or hidden branch of magecraft could be involved in these mental shutdown cases. We hope to find out how this is being done, to prevent the knowledge from being used again in such a manner."
The airsoft shop owner leaned back against his chair. "So... Why me? I'm a crappy magus, and a questionable person to the general public. So why did you two come for me out of all people?" He paused. "Unless you think I'm the one doing all of this."
"Well, you used to work under Fujimura Raiga during your time with the Yakuza, am I correct?"
Iwai's eyes widened. "How'd you know that?"
This time, Shirou answered. "Fujimura-san is... The grandfather of my surrogate sister, and he told us to seek you out. We were hoping you would know your way around the deeper, criminal parts of Tokyo, since you're part of Yakuza."
Iwai blinked. "So you didn't even know I was a magus?" Shirou nodded. "Well, shit. Sorry to break it to you kid, but I don't know anything about the mental shutdown stuff. I dropped outta Yakuza ages ago, I'm a crappy magus, and I'm leading... Well, the closest I can get to a normal life."
After a pause, Shirou finally nodded and stood up. "Thank you, Iwai-san. Please, if you get any new information, contact us." Shirou scribbled down his cellphone number on a small note and put it down on the table, before walking towards the exit with Rin.
When he was at the door, Iwai interrupted him. "What was that by the way? That thing you did with the swords. My bullet should have shattered Gradation air easily."
Shirou merely replied, "Trade secret, Iwai-san." before exiting the shop.
Meanwhile, Munehisa Iwai picked up the small note of paper that Shirou had left.
"Shirou... Emiya?" He pocketed the note, and returned to the counter.
"I swear... I've heard the name Emiya somewhere before..." Iwai paused.
"Eh, it's probably nothing."
The Next Day
"Tohsaka! I made breakfast!"
No response.
"Tohsaka?"
Silence.
"...Rin?"
Shirou walked over to the door to Rin's room and quietly opened it. His partner was currently on the floor, blissfully sleeping after rolling off of the bed. Shirou sighed as he went over to her sleeping form to gently nudge her awake.
"Tohsaka, we have to attend school. You need to wake up."
The girl gave no response whatsoever. Shirou bit his lip, trying to formulate an idea on how to wake her. Eventually, his head formed an idea. A very dangerous idea.
"Tohsaka, someone broke into the house last night. He took all of your gems." Shirou stated carefully.
...
...
...
Blue eyes snapped open.
"WHAT!?"
...
"Jeez Emiya-kun, that was a low blow. I didn't know you would resort to dirty tricks like that..."
Shirou merely shrugged. "We should keep an eye on Kamoshida sensei today."
"The volleyball coach, right?"
"Yeah. It probably has nothing to do with the cases, but it's still concerning."
Rin sighed. "You're right. As much as I want to spend more time looking over the mental shutdowns, we're out of leads for now. I'll look around too for clues."
Shirou finished his breakfast and stood up to get ready for school.
"Today's the volleyball rally. We might get some leads there."
"Shirou?"
"Yes?"
"...I need more coffee."
Shirou smiled in response as he walked towards the kitchen once more.
...
Later that day
Shirou cringed as Kamoshida's spike rammed its way into a volleyball boy's face. The volleyball rally was a strange event. Instead of pitting the teams of the school against each other like a traditional rally, it made it so that the students were facing Coach Kamoshida and his friends. Obviously, the latter team was demolishing them.
Shirou idly watched from the stands as Kamoshida once again spiked a ball into a boy's face.
Was he doing that intentionally?
Shirou bit his lip. He couldn't understand how people were cheering so hard, when their classmates were getting injured right in front of them.
"Kamoshida's the best!"
"He's the coolest teacher ever!"
Shirou took the time to glance at Rin, who simply had a thoughtful, concerned look on her face.
The whistle blew to signal the end of the match, and the boys team wearily went back to the benches. Meanwhile, Kamoshida gave a wide grin and high fived all of his friends. Shirou cringed at the sight. What kind of teacher bruises his students and then celebrates like that?
It disgusted him.
"Next match!"
For the next round, the girl's team entered the volleyball pitch.
Suzui-san.
Indeed, Suzui Shiho stood in the spiking position of the girl's team. Shirou narrowed his eyes to see how the match would go.
The girl's team did much better than the boys. Some of Kamoshida's spikes were actually blocked, and the team even made a few spikes, mostly from Shiho. They consistently scored, and by the end of the game, their score was at least half of Kamoshida's team. It was much better compared to the boys team, who barely scored 2 points.
And yet, Shirou felt he was missing something. Something was wrong about that match. He narrowed his eyes in confusion, trying to figure out the hidden detail.
Then, his eyes widened in realization.
The team was holding back.
He had seen Shiho make stupid mistakes and miss perfect spike opportunities, and lots of girls would miss balls right in front of them, while easily receiving much harder spikes and throws.
Shirou gritted his teeth.
Why? What the hell are they afraid of?
He didn't need to think for a second before his head answered that question for him.
...
Shirou walked out of the hallway after the rally, sighing. The match had been... Informative, and yet it frustrated him to the core that Kamoshida was willing to bruise his students. It was a disgusting thing to do, especially as a teacher.
Shirou turned a corner, and then stopped, hiding behind a corner and simply peeking slightly.
In the empty hallway, Rin and Coach Kamoshida were together conversing quietly. Shirou reinforced his ears slightly to hear them better.
"Sensei, I don't understand why you need my phone number."
"It's a matter of safety. I see you hanging around with the wrong type of crowd."
"And what does this have to do with anything?"
"Because I can tell that you should be around better people. You're different from the people there. Hanging with them is unsafe for you."
"And why do I have to give you my number?"
"So you can contact me when you need some help."
Shirou could almost hear Rin smirk.
"I think I can handle myself, sensei. Thank you for the concern, however."
"If you need any help, you can come to me. My offer still stands."
"Thank you, sensei."
Shirou turned off his reinforcement, and walked forwards, only to bump into a rather aggravated looking Kamoshida.
He smiled and raised his hand in greeting. "Hello, sensei. Good job on the match today."
Kamoshida simply waved his hand in response, not saying a word as he passed the red haired magus. Shirou bit back a small laugh. The teacher practically wore his emotions on his sleeve.
It's way too obvious that he's frustrated.
With that note, Shirou resumed walking forwards.
...
End of School
Shirou tapped a few buttons on his phone, soon greeted by a screen that said, Calling Tohsaka Rin.
Hopefully, she wouldn't screw up this time. He had spent 10 minutes telling her how to answer a call, and it had been the longest 10 minutes in his entire life.
Flashback
"This button, Emiya-kun?"
"Yes! I mean, no! The green one, Tohsaka!"
"Shirou! This isn't working!"
"Tohsaka, you have to swipe it!"
"Emiya-kun, are you sure you know how-"
"SWIPE IT LEFT!"
Flashback End
When a familiar voice echoed in his ears, he relaxed once more.
"Yes, Emiya-kun?"
"Yeah, Tohsaka? I might come home a bit late today. I have some business to take care of regarding Kamoshida."
Rin was quick to answer. "Okay, do what you need to. I'll see you later."
Shirou smiled. Despite the strange relationship he had with his girlfriend, they had a fair amount of trust together. Maybe having to put your life in the hands of someone else does that.
Now, onto the actual business.
Shirou pocketed his phone, his expression becoming much more solemn as he looked at the girl on the hallway floor, curled up into a ball.
"Suzui-san, please tell me..." The red headed magus said.
"What did Kamoshida do to you?"
...
For the first time in ages, Shirou found himself at a fast food restaurant. He had always avoided going to places like Big Bang Burger since he thought fast food was both unhealthy and disgusting to eat. And yet, he found himself unable to complain about Suzui Shiho's 'private location to talk' given the current circumstances.
Shirou decided to choose his first words carefully. "So... Suzui-san, do you like to come here?"
The girl simply nodded her head, keeping silent. The tears were long gone, but she still had a heavy frown on her face.
Shirou sighed.
"Please, Suzui-san. Tell me what Kamoshida did."
Silence.
"I only wish to help."
Silence.
"...Please?"
Finally, the girl reacted to his questions, but instead of answering the question, she simply rapidly shook her head. Softly, she let out a tiny, "Sorry." The sound of her voice was so small that even Shirou, with his near-superhuman hearing, struggle to make out what she said.
Shirou dipped his head down.
"Suzui-san, why did you bring me here?" The girl simply shrugged her shoulders in response, her expression painfully empty.
Shirou bit his lip. "Suzui-san, please. I only wish to help you with your situation, and I cannot do that with your assistance."
This time, the girl abruptly stood up, and quickly marched out of the restaurant, the bangs of her hair covering her eyes.
Shirou could only follow.
The red haired magus jogged out of Big Bang Burger, only stopping to tip the store clerk as an apology for not buying anything. The man looked at him in surprise as Shirou jogged out of the door of the fast food restaurant.
"Suzui-san!" Shirou called out. He quickened his pace to catch up to the black haired girl as she walked quickly into an alleyway, twisting corner after corner until she reached a dead end.
Shirou looked at her in surprise. He had no idea what the girl was up to, and what her intentions exactly were.
He stood in silence for a good moment, almost having a staring contest with his underclassmen.
Then, abruptly, Shiho Suzui started to angrily stomp on the ground, flailing her arms around like a an angry Hercules, and screaming in anger. Shirou stepped back in surprise, barely missing a hit from her flailing right arm.
When it was done, the girl simply went into a curled up ball position, and started to sniffle.
Shirou could only watch as all of this transpired, confused at the chain of events.
"Stupid, perverted, idiot!"
Shirou narrowed his eyes.
"Arrgh! Stupid fucking pervert!"
Shirou decided to sit down in the alleyway.
"Suzui-san?"
The girl finally looked up into his eyes, her eyes moist with tears.
Finally, she answered.
"Kamoshida... He took it away from me."
It took a minute for Shirou to realize what she was implying.
When he finally did, it took all of his will not to yell out in anger himself.
...
"Tohsaka? Are you there?" Shirou knocked on the apartment door.
"Emiya-kun? I didn't expect you to be out till so late." The girl looked rather concerned.
Shirou strolled up to the door with a heavy expression.
"Rin." The Tohsaka heir looked at him with wide eyes. He would never call her Rin, it had always been Tohsaka, or something of the sort.
"Shirou? Did something happen?"
Shirou bit his lip. "I... May need to put the mental shutdown case on hold for a while."
"Huh? Shirou, what happened today?"
He looked at her in the eyes, blue eyes meeting gold.
"Rin, strategy has always been your forte... So, what can we do to bring down Suguru Kamoshida?"
...
The Next Day
In the morning, Shirou fixed a faulty air conditioner.
The excercise almost filled him with nostalgia, and it would have practically given him the illusion of being back in Homurahara.
Compared to this place, Homurahara was a heaven.
To break the illusion of being back in his old school however, was a certain baka of a teacher standing next to him.
Funny, how knowledge of a person's real self scorned someone's image so badly.
Shirou closed the case of the machine hard, making a sharp snapping noise.
"I have fixed it, sensei. Now, if you will excuse me, I must attend class." Shirou bit his lip as he bowed at the school's volleyball coach, giving a short nod as he turned towards the door.
He was abruptly interrupted by a strong hand to his shoulder.
"Stop right there. You and I need to talk for a second."
Shirou turned towards the coach, doing his best not to glare.
"What is it, sensei?"
"I dunno why you have a grudge against me kid, but whatever it is you wanna do... You better forget it." Kamoshida smirked. "I'm the god damn King of the school, ya hear me?"
Shirou didn't respond.
Suddenly, Kamoshida stepped back, almost tripping on himself on the way, looking at him with a mixture of nervousness and... Fear?
Shirou blinked.
The volleyball coach quickly regained his composure, and said, "Well then, go on kid. Get to class."
Shirou cocked his head in confusion before finally exiting the room.
What the hell just happened...?
...
POV: Kamoshida
Suguru Kamoshida blinked in both confusion and fear, as soon as the boy, the Emiya boy, exited the room.
What the hell was that? Kamoshida pondered. As a national athlete and a sports player, he was never one to take drugs.
And yet, he had just seen something that wasn't possible. Shouldn't have been possible.
The only possible explanation was that Emiya was some sort of wizard in hiding, or he was on fucking heroin.
Because when he had stared into Shirou Emiya's eyes... For a brief moment, they had changed colors.
One moment, Suguru Kamoshida was looking at amber gold, with a certain, warm yet ferocious aura.
And then, all of a sudden, he was gazing at cold, shining steel.
POV: Shirou
What to do with Kamoshida...
Shirou scratched his head in thought as he walked towards his homeroom class.
What had made the teacher step back with a look like that? Shirou wasn't exactly the most intimidating person in Shujin.
Either way, that was a problem for later. The issue at hand was how Shirou would expose him.
Of course, he could rig a recording device in Kamoshida's office... But there was the issue of keeping it hidden from the coach.
Shirou's shoulder bumped into something.
No, someone.
Snapped out of his thoughts by the impact, Shirou turned around to look at what he had hit. Or more so, who he had hit.
The person in question was a frizzy haired boy with pale skin and glasses. He was tall and lanky, wearing a Shujin Academy unifrom that perhaps fit too well on him.
Shirou could recognize the figure as Akira Kurusu, the apparently murderous criminal who had slaughtered an entire neighbourhood.
Certainly, he truly didn't look the part.
Shirou quickly bowed and apologized and went on his way to class, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
How many times is this gonna happen today?
Shirou turned around to face the boy, who had a surprisingly solemn expression on his face.
He cocked his head in curiosity as the boy opened his mouth to speak.
"I saw how you tried to talk to Suzui-san yesterday."
He followed us? Shirou calmed himself down as he realized that he had indeed spent a few minutes at school trying to convince Shiho Suzui to tell him the truth about her situation.
Ah, so he witnessed the scene?
The boy continued. "It was a very admirable thing you did. Thank you."
Shirou simply nodded as the boy offered him a handshake. Hesitantly, he raised his hand and shook it.
What's he trying to do?
Shirou released his hand and turned towards his homeroom class, only to stop at an unfamiliar feeling.
Something was in his hand.
Carefully, Shirou unfolded his fingers, only to find a sheet of paper in his palm with a note scribbled in it.
If you want to take down Kamoshida, meet me on the roof today.
- Lots of love, Aaaaaah kira Kurusu
Shirou read through the note one more time, confirming its contents.
When he was done, the only thing he could do was smile.
Rin would be very interested in this.
I really hope that you truly have your intentions straight, Akira Kurusu.
...But for now, I will play into your game.
Shirou Emiya resumed walking to class.
...
Note
Welp, short chapter is short. On the other hand, things are finally starting to move forwards! And don't worry, Akira isn't recruiting Shirou into the phantom thieves, yet.