A Certain Feel of Fate

Chapter 2

Original Title: Toaru Majutsu no Index/ とある魔術の禁書目録（インデックス）, Fate Stay Night & Tsukihime

Original Concept by Kazuma Kamachi & Type-Moon

Written by: wrathie

Co-written and Beta'ed by: ItsComplicatedOkay

Author's Notes: School is starting. Expect further delays, sorry!

Co-Author's Notes: Sorry to keep any followers waiting! *looks at the list of reviews* Well, there are certainly not that many, but that doesn't matter, right? Again, I apologize!

..

'I wonder what is taking Kuroko...'

A certain light brown haired Level 5 esper muttered to herself even as she read -, browsed through the latest weekly issue of her magazine. Sure, she could afford the magazine alright, but it probably wasn't worth it anyway. Heck, if it wasn't for a certain series in that magazine, she probably wouldn't even pick the mediocre periodical up.

If not for that particular series in that magazine, she probably wouldn't even pick it up in the first place.

'Honestly, he gets better and better each week.'

Misaka Mikoto, currently ranked third amongst all the espers in Academy City, smiled and chuckled to herself even as she waited for her dorm-mate slash best friend Shirai Kuroko.

The two of them studied in Tokiwadai Middle School, one of the few prestigious schools throughout Academy City itself, and because of that and her status as one of the Level 5s of the City, a title that was earned due to her powers over electricity, she was admired and looked up to by many. (She was feared by many too, but she didn't feel like going into greater detail)

That was not even mentioning how she had, unwittingly most of the time, saved many of her own school mates just by going about her ordinary way. All in all, Misaka Mikoto wasn't your typical spoiled or haughty rich girl that people try to associate her with, nor was she the refined and demure girl that her fans want her to be. She was just an ordinary middle school girl that liked to do what she wanted with her free time.

There were times when she did use her powers to save those in need, like in the 'Level Upper' incident where she stopped a rampaging monster made out of about 10 000 espers and their AIM field. There's also the time where she saved the Child Errors from the manipulative use of yet another crazy scientist.

Mikoto herself was proud of her accomplishments but she was also proud of the friends that she had made over the past year or so. Her best friends, namely Shirai Kuroko, Saten Ruiko and Kazari Uiharu had all played huge roles in said incidents, and she could proudly say that all of them had solved those incidents together. Mikoto had never considered or perhaps she was lying to herself, she had never thought that her powers could be used in such meaningful ways.

She was not trying to be a hero and she had taken part in most of the incidents because she was dragged into it by her friends and if one thing had to be emphasized as well as stressed, Misaka Mikoto always looked out for her friends no matter what.

That was why she had gotten herself into those incidents, and had used her powers to try and resolve them in the best way possible. The age old dilemma of good and bad was not lost on Mikoto as she had seen first hand the differences between the two of them were. At the same time however, she too acknowledged that some people, although called 'evil' and who have done terrible things could also be viewed as 'good' and 'right' when viewed differently.

The 'poltergeist' incident had shown her that, Kiyama Harumi had the best of intentions but the worst of results. Just thinking about the whole incident was like a emotional roller-coaster ride all over again.

'…'

It wasn't that her mood was spoiled, no, she had came out of that incident a little bit more mature and perhaps a little bit more set in her determination to live her life out the way she wanted it to be as well.

..

'But she really is taking too long...'

As Mikoto finished, ahem, browsing through this week's publication, she was surprised to hear the ear-piercing sounds of sirens before looking out the shop window. As she expected, the sight of cars belonging to Judgement, the residential disciplinary committee in Academy City, sped by. Speaking of Judgement, It was something like a volunteer watch program of sorts for the city. Seeing that her friend, Shirai Kuroko was part of that committee, Mikoto knew immediately why the girl was so late and she sighed while smiling a little.

'Guess a jobs a job.'

Even As she placed the magazine back onto the rack, Mikoto raised an eyebrow when she noticed that the stream of Judgement cars continued and there were surprisingly Anti-Skill cars now in the mix as the cars sped by the shop.

It wasn't that rare for Judgement to be mobilized, Academy City for all it's namesake and good name does was a place were everyone and anyone could be a threat to someone else through creative uses of their powers. She had seen Judgement being deployed more than she could count now. Perhaps she could use the line from that idiot, 'such misfortune'? She quickly shook that stupid thought out of her head.

'Ah... just thinking about him makes me mad.'

Shoving the frustration aside, Mikoto left the shop more curious than ever when the sounds of sirens was muffled by the sounds of a helicopter flying past. They were really going full out now and Mikoto felt her hands twitch in anticipation before suppressing it coldly.

'I can't get involved in everything that Kuroko and Judgement has to deal with. I might as well join Judgement in that case.'

Mikoto told herself sternly even as she left in the opposite way, even if she found herself playing with her phone hesitantly.

'Seriously, Kuroko could take care of herself.'

Mikoto repeatedly, and sternly told herself while walking on in her own pace. She could feel it; an uneasy feeling deep in her stomach that she was trying to drown out by with her denial. A part of her told her that Kuroko and Judgement were in danger.

'…'

She didn't know how right she was.

..

'Hey!'

An albino haired boy growled unhappily at his room mate and team mate, the mysterious person that wears the face of a person called Unabara Mitsuki. The albino boy, known to most as Accelerator, knew of the identity of this Unabara Mitsuki and he knew that the person in front of him wasn't that person. So naturally it frustrated him when even now, where they had worked and operated together in several life-or-death missions, he had not yet reveal his true name to all of them.

'What is it, Accelerator? I don't think I did anything to make you mad at me this afternoon.'

The boy smiled at him disarmingly and charmingly even as Accelerator swore to himself loudly again while telling him to just cut the crap and get to the point.

'Get to the point of what matter, Accelerator? I believe I did not sign up to be your personal secretary.'

The boy smiled again and Accelerator twitched before giving a big sigh and saying that he must have a death wish if he was willing to provoke him like that.

'That... or you have no idea what's going on too, kid.'

'I am not a kid, Accelerator.'

'Hmph, who knows... you might be 6 years old underneath that fake mask of yours.'

There was a deafening silence between the two of them, but eventually, the other boy sighed and admitted that yes, he didn't know anything about their new member in GROUP.

GROUP, an unofficial yet official group of individuals that were organized by Academy City. They were unofficial as the organisation does not really exist or was listed in Academy City. Their actions would never be acknowledged and any but yet they were official as they had the backing of Academy City behind them.

Indeed, Academy City depended on them to clear up any messes that were left behind by their gigantic wake. The people that were left behind after the City was done with them, the people who wanted to manipulate and to use the population or to just plainly take over the City would be dealt with by them.

All of them joined GROUP for a common reason and that was definitely not because they wanted to protect Academy City. They were here because they had something to protect, something dear to them that was being threatened.

Just knowing that was enough to depress any other person but to the members of GROUP, it was motivation for all of them to break out of this trap that they had fallen into, willingly or not.

'Heh, another poor sap who is going to get his ass kicked by Musujime huh? Unless she's a girl...'

Accelerator grinned while shrugging at his room mate. Missions aside, he doesn't get along with most of them but he does acknowledges the other's strength and ability. Even without considering his own liability, Accelerator grudgingly was thankful that all of them were working together, even if they had different final objectives as that meant that the bulk of the work could be split up. GROUP was heartless and it should remain so, if one wasn't strong enough to keep going, the others would simply trample and walk over them without hesitation. That was the only way for GROUP to exist. It was also probably one of the only things that Accelerator agreed with Tsuchimikado on.

..

'The new member should be coming by later today~! Gotta be great if we get another girl to join us eh? Musujime isn't half bad, but it'll be nice to have someone a little more... girly nyah~ I'm getting sick of just eating takeout.'

Tsuchimikado Motoharu came out from the kitchen, canned drinks in hand as he blinked before grinning and tossing two of them at Accelerator and the boy from before.

'Hmph... you're not wrong there... who are you going to introduce yourself as later on? Unabara again?'

'Well, seeing that my face is indeed of Unabara-san, I have to say yes. Besides, I like to make a good first impression.'

'Feh, saves you time when you stab him in the back, I take it.'

Accelerator gave him a calculating look before grinning as Unabara simply smiled knowingly at him, Accelerator swore that that same smile never leaves that pretty rich-boy face of his.

'If that poor sap is just going to get killed by you like that, he's probably not worth joining us anyway. Thrash should be dealt with as thrash after all.'

Accelerator snorted even as he started on his drink before giving a disgusted look at Tsuchimikado.

'What the F- is this drink man!'

'Canned Curry... '

Tsuchimikado mused, as if it was just a passing thought.

'I should have made it warm instead... now it tastes like it's gone bad nyah~'

Despite the fact that he complained, he didn't seem too bothered by it actually and was still taking big gulps of it even as Accelerator and Unabara gave their own drinks speculative looks and slowly resumed drinking again.

'This... isn't half bad at all. I wonder what would happen if I added it to rice.'

Unabara muttered to himself even as Accelerator continued to mumble to himself about how they should have 'normal' drinks here by now.

..

'We'll know soon anyway.'

Unabara continued their earlier conversation as the three of them settled down for a quiet afternoon, which was a nice change for all of them after the last incident they had been tasked to handle.

Accelerator hadn't been hurt too badly but Musujime Awaki, the last founding member of GROUP still needed some medical attention due to the wounds that she had suffered during their last mission.

'Musujime's picking the person up now?'

'Yep... the higher-ups must really like that person for them to give us this day off just to welcome him into GROUP.'

Tsuchimikado joked but the message itself was clear, despite their jokes as well as their questions about this person. That person was someone the higher-ups in GROUP and in Academy City has taken a lot of care to place into GROUP itself. They were one of the few unofficial and official groups that were more 'loyal' than the others after all.

The three of them waited for a bit more and just when Accelerator was getting drawn into yet another conversation with Tsuchimikado about his own taste in woman, the door was pushed opened.

'Here, this is the safe house for GROUP.'

The voice of Musujime Awaki could be heard. Her voice started the three boys impatient wait for the latest addition to GROUP.

'It's my first time into Academy City, I'm grateful to you for taking me all the way here, Musujime-san.'

The voice of a boy with her could be heard too, and even as the other two ignored Tsuchimikado's sigh of disappointment, they could hear Musujime Awaki snort, even as she said that she was a member of GROUP as well.

'Sorry to disappoint you but it's not all full of hot girls like me.'

Accelerator snorted himself at that, even as Unabara gave him a wry smile while placing a finger on his lips. Internally Unabara agreed with him but he was loathe to clean up the mess that would result from the Level 4 and Level 5 engaging each other again. The last time it happened he had to spend a few days just combing through the wreckage to see what was salvageable.

'Ah, I do apologize for my mistake. It's just that I did not expect someone like you to be working in such a dangerous profession.'

'Ah, you got that bit right... now are you going to get in or am I going to haul your sorry ass into it myself? If you're going to be a burden, I'll save you the trouble, and kill you right now.'

This time it was Unabara to give a snort of amusement as he shook his head at the way all of them gave out death threats like they were pleasantries. The newcomer seem used to it though as he chuckled softly before stepping into the small apartment by himself.

'Ah.'

The newcomer paused briefly while sizing up at his other team mates of GROUP, the three boys giving their own measurement up of the sickly looking man in front of them. He was young, with messy black hair as well as glasses and he gave them a short bow before introducing himself. He didn't look like your usual cold-blooded killer, that's for sure.

'I'm Shiki, To-... I mean, Nanaya Shiki, you can call me Shiki or Nanaya... Guess I'll be in you guy's care.'

The boy gave them a small smile even as he adjusted his glasses casually, his eyes radiating warmth and understanding as he looked around at his new comrades.

..

Tohno Shiki, also know as the Wild Card and Death God, was unsure what to make of his fellow members of GROUP. Shiki had never worked in a team before (pairing up with a True Ancestor Princess, who was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, didn't count), and despite his easy-going nature, Shiki had developed a tendency to want to keep to himself the time he decided to leave the Tohno Mansion and his home town behind.

The last working partnership that he had struck up was with the Atlas Alchemist, Sion Eltnam Altasia and even if he did value the time he spent with the Atlas Alchemist, they hadn't really worked together at all.

Not when the first 'battle' they had together was Shiki single-handedly repelling Ciel-sempai, the second being that ill-fated encounter with the shadow of Satsuki and the rest being handled by Sion herself.

In all of those battles, it had been one of them who had taken the battle into their own hands while the other member simply watched and guarded their back.

Wait, that was a partnership right? Guess he had some experience after all.

Still, Shiki knew that partnership between he and her had been forged and formed through mutual trust. There was no such feelings within GROUP, the organisation that Aleister Crowley had placed him in.

He had read up on the files that had been thoughtfully provided to him by the Director himself and was up-to-date on most of the abilities of his fellow team mates. What struck out to him was not how all of them had killed before in one time or another, he had done the same before, but how the three of them had even managed to come to an understanding amongst each other and decided to work together.

'Aha~ Nice to meet you, Shiki-kun! I'm Tsuchimikado Motoharu nyah! Good to see you didn't hit on Musujime just yet! She's only into young boys you know!'

Tsuchimikado winked while pushing his sunglasses up even as Musujime simply growled at him before shaking her head and said that she was going to her room.

'And I'm not a freaking shota-con, you pervert.'

Her last parting shot sounded a little softerthan usual, and it made Tsuchimikado raise an eyebrow while looking at Shiki speculatively.

'Hey, Shiki-kun... Did you do something to Musujime nyah? She never acts like that?'

Tsuchimikado looked to his fellow GROUP members for confirmation and help in making his point across. In response, Accelerator was still staring at Shiki, probably studying him while Unabara simply gave a charming smile of his own.

'You know, that seems right. Musujime-san seemed quite embarrassed for some reason. Did something happen on the way here, Shiki-san?'

'I'm not really sure myself.'

Shiki said wile shaking his head and massaging his neck. All he did was to stop Musujime-san from hitting the pavement when she was walking him back from Aleister's hideout. She had been the person who had brought him into the Windowless building in the first place, since only teleporters can enter the building due to the extensive counter measures that were put up by the Director himself.

Speaking of the director, Shiki wasn't lying when he said that Aleister Crowley was a human, but to call him human was wrong. He was certainly killable as through his mystic eyes, Shiki could definitely make out the exact points of death for the Director. However, they were extremely hard to make out even if the cracks and 'lines' in his bodies were more visible to him.

Besides, killing him would require him to get in within his guard and seeing how the Director knew of his abilities, Shiki knew it was a pipe dream to ever manage that... whether he needed to do that, remains to be seen.

Going back to the main topic, Musujime-san had apparently an attack of vertigo when they had left the building and she had stumbled the moment they teleported outside. With her in his arms, Shiki noticed something dropped to the ground. He swiftly crouched, picked up the thing before Musujime-san could tumble, and returned it to her.

The look of relief on Musujime's was enough for him to be satisfied, but his satisfaction was damped some what when she had snapped irritably back at him, while asking why he wanted to help her.

Shiki hadn't answered as he didn't see any reason why not but he did told Musujime that he would be in her care for a while.

'For the time being, let us get along. We're fellow team-mates now, Musujime-san.'

..

That was all he said while waiting for her to recover, Shiki swore as he told his other team-mates of GROUP.

When Shiki was done, Accelerator simply snorted.

'You'll get yourself killed if you pull us back, Nanaya.'

Accelerator's eyes hardened as he grinned, baring is teeth even as he turned on his powers with a flick of the switch around his collar. With that, the strongest esper of Academy City was awakened, and he flexed his hands threateningly at Shiki.

'If you're going to believe in that friendship nonsense, perhaps it'll be better just to kill you now.'

If Shiki expected the others to stop him, he would be disappointed. Unabara Mitsuki simply watched the interaction with a brief smile, probably studying the situation as well. Tsuchimikado Motoharu was the same, only his expression was as sharp as the sunglasses he was wearing, which slid down the bridge of his nose to reveal his eyes. He too was focused on Shiki, studying him as well.

What the two of them could determine was that despite the murderous aura that was coming off of from Accelerator in waves, the boy did not even flinch. That was surprising, facing Accelerator on the best of days wasn't a joke, this was an individual who had murdered in cold blood, had found joy in killing people in every way possible and he would do anything, no matter the cost to reach his goal.

But even a much reduced killing aura like this was similar to a physical blow, and Nanaya Shiki did not flinch. He didn't even seem to react as he continued smiling at Accelerator.

'Oh, please, you do not need to hold back on my account. I don't prefer frontal attacks if I could help it.'

Shiki's words made Accelerator laugh, the albino boy grinning as he found it amusing how the sickly man would be unaffected by the presence of the strongest esper in Academy City.

'You don't know what you're getting into, Nanaya... When you're in GROUP, you don't talk about teams or friendship or any of that crap. We're here to clean up the mess left by those higher-ups... If the higher-ups wanted you to come and build some team-building crap, you can go back and ask them to take it, and stuff it right back their asses. Better yet, I'll do it for them.'

Tsuchimikado actually grinned at that, that was a sentiment that had governed GROUP since they had officially agreed to 'get-along' for bit.

'I'll be sure to pass the message along, Accelerator-san. But I'm sure that it won't be necessary. We have the same goals after all, I for one would be very glad to have this entire nightmare dissolved as quickly as possible.'

Shiki answered light-heartedly while removing his glasses. Instantly, all of them felt something change in the very instant. His pale blue eyes – eyes that Unabara could recognized as a pair of pure or mystic eyes, seemed to add a sudden weight to everyone but their owner.

Even if Shiki seemed to be struggling a little suddenly without his glasses, everything felt more heavy... more fragile, as if the whole world would shatter with just one false move

Even Accelerator felt intimidated, his own eyes widening.

All three of them had been in life-and-death situations before, and they had homed an instinct – a sixth sense - which made them aware of the feeling of mortal peril a very fundamental and primal level. That very sense was screaming when they felt Shiki's eyes on them. A bone-chilling feeling that penetrated their very bones and made their hands glistened with sweat involuntarily; a feeling that told them to run away before it was too late!

It was at that instant that the members of GROUP knew for sure that there was something different about the boy named Nanaya Shiki in front of them.

..

'Well, that was an interesting experience, Shiki-san. Like you, I hope that this will be a very short working relationship between us.'

Unabara Mitsuki got up and offered a hand to Shiki, and the boy took it, shaking it firmly while placing his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. Unabara could sense it, the intense presence he had before was masked the moment he had his glasses on and he peered into his eyes again before Shiki averted his eyes.

'Looks like things would become interesting after all! Tsuchimikado Motoharu here! I like you, Shiki-kun! Mind telling us more about yourself! I'll get us some beer to celebrate!'

The blonde haired boy grinned but then seemed disappointed when Shiki turned him down.

'I'm afraid I would have to take a short rest for now. Perhaps another day... as entertaining the ride here was, it does take a toll on my body.'

The boy gave them all a brief smile before he took his leave, heading towards a room that Motoharu indicated earlier even as the rest of the boys watched him leave.

Accelerator was the first person to recover, and he realized that he had one hand on the switch of his collar despite the fact that it was already turned on. It was like he had instinctively went for the switch to defend himself despite his powers already active. It left a bitter taste in his mouth as it hinted that he had being intimidated more than he would have liked to admit.

Those eyes, it made him afraid for some reason.

'AHH! What are you doing here!'

Only for the spell to be broken as they heard Musujime's shriek before the sound of an almighty crash coming from the rooms.

'Oops, guess I got the wrong room nyah~'

Motoharu gave the other boys an amused grin even as Unabara gave a soft chuckle in response. Accelerator himself simply switched off his powers before scowling at nothing in particular.

'Like I said, Accelerator-kun~ Things are going to get interesting... guess we might have a chance to break out of this nonsense after all.'

Motoharu's voice was uncharacteristically serious and even Unabara seemed intrigued as he tried to recall the records of pure and mystic eye holders.

'Something big is going to happen. I can feel it.'

Motoharu asserted again before Accelerator grunted in response.

'And we're the ones who're gonna have to clean the shit up.'

..

The Atlas Alchemist that was mentioned earlier was Sion Eltnam Altasia and at the very moment, was a fugitive on the run within Academy City itself.

She had reckoned that it would be an easy task to enter Academy City, after all, it was known as the City of Schools. Sion prided herself as an intellect and even if she was specialized in fields that were not covered by Academy City, she was still a very respected scholar and researcher into ancient history, text as well as folklore due to her own attempts to discover a cure for Vampirism.

She was also recognized in Atlas, the Church as well as the Magus Association for being a very brilliant researcher who had contributed to many research papers on the study of ancient text, especially from Egypt, her birth land.

Thus it had been easy for her to be granted access to Academy City through official channels. What she did not expect was for her own association, Atlas, to issue a request for her to be arrested and returned to Atlas.

Ever since the defeat and slaying of the Dead Apostle, Night of Wallachia, Sion had been allowed to return to Atlas to continue her studies and research. It was of course, not without repercussions of course, she was the sole survivor of an entire task force of enforcers and specialists to slay Wallachia. There was suspicion that she was in cahoots with Wallachia. She did survived the attack after all. It didn't help that the Night of Wallachia was considered to be an ancestor to her. Due to this, Sion had spent years trying to clear her name by defeating Wallachia herself.

If Atlas or the Magus association knew that she had been turned, if only partially to a Vampire, she was never going to be allowed to leave Atlas or the Magus Association. That was not even considering what the Church would want to do to her.

The vampiric impulses had all but died down after Wallachia's death and it was supposedly the end of the darkest chapter of Sion's life.

At least, that's what it was supposed to have happen.

It had started slowly, the urges to drink blood had awakened without her knowing it. It was only when Sion found herself gnawing at her own wrist that she realized that her nightmare was returning again.

A remnant of Wallachia exist and that meant only one thing.

She had to hunt it down, or risk being the Dead Apostle to replace him.

Sion had tracked it down to Academy City, a city that she knew that was going to be the epicentre of the dawn of a New Age. Sion was no fool after all and she had hoped that the political tension and heat that Academy City would prevent Atlas from seeking help from them in capturing her and taking her back.

Unfortunately that did not seem to be the case, Atlas wanted answers and silly politics was not going to stop them from trying to get them. It was an approach that wasn't Atlas' norm, they must have have figured out the connection between her and Wallachia for Atlas to actually seek her out so aggressive.

That was what Atlas was. It was an association who dedicated themselves in endless research to search for a way to prevent a future apocalypse that would decimate all life on earth after all. For the entire association to seek her so aggressively meant that somehow, Sion might become a threat for all life on earth.

The sad thing about all of this was that Sion knew exactly what they were concerned about. She was a potential Dead Apostle after all, who knows what form she would take if she had truly succumbed to the urges of a Dead Apostle then...

..

'This should be far enough.'

Sion had been taken by surprise when she received the news from one of her informants within the city that she had officially being placed on a wanted list in Academy City.

Sion had learnt from her mistake Misaki City and had taken the time and resources to search for reliable contacts within the City itself. Not that she was not cautious of her contacts of course, but she had used the Ethelite to 'hack' into some Law Enforcement members she had encountered while getting her visa cleared to enter the city.

All in all, she had at least ten separate contacts within Academy City itself giving her information on the general situation of Academy City.

'But to think that my hotel reservation would be cancelled.'

Sion narrowed her eyes a little before shaking her head, staying in a hotel would be incredibly illogical now, she was a fugitive after all. Thankfully she wasn't really a high priority one since there was another group of intruders that had slipped into Academy City in a more flashy fashion.

Sion sighed again before quickly moving out of the alleyway that she had ducked into for cover. Sion had gotten used to moving about discretely, no doubt due to her experience and unfortunately so, she startled an individual who had his head in the clouds.

The individual was so startled by Sion's appearance, or perhaps he was just mistrustful as he leapt backwards from her like a startled cat. Sion recognized that it was probably a reflex action as his right hand had shot up in a strange defense position, causing his bag of groceries to drop onto the floor with a pathetic 'smush'.

'Ah, my precious source of protein!'

Sion paused as she recognized this individual. He was someone that she was aware of, had read up on and was more than a little intrigued about.

But to imagine that he would be here, and she would meet him now. Could it be called misfortune for him? Or perhaps a lucky break for her?

Nonetheless, Sion Eltnam Altasia recognized that an opportunity when she saw one.

'Kamijou Touma-san, a Level-0 Esper of Academy City and the wielder of the mysterious power commonly referred as the 'Imagine Breaker'.'

Her words startled Touma and he looked up before swallowing at seeing the exotic looking girl in that was currently studying him. There was no other way to describe her, with the pale white skin, eyes that were slightly tinged red, but dressed in a simple business suit with a beret that still made her stand out in a crowd. Academy City was still a city filled with students after all.

'My name is Sion Eltnam Altasia, Alchemist of Atlas.'

'Erm... Hi?'

Touma tensed, he could feel that this individual was someone different and that was not just due to her appearance. He could tell due to his experience with strangers who would suddenly crash into his everyday life with the intent to utterly destroy his grasp of reality. He was also much inured to it, and he readied himself for another crazy episode in his already crazy life.

What he did not expect however, was for Sion to drop to her knees before lowering her head in a very deep and formal bow, prostrating herself in front of the unlucky esper.

'Please, Kamijou-san, I desperately require your assistance and help. Would you please allow me to have some time to explain the situation to you?'

Sion begged Touma, still in her humble position even as her mind raced.

The most important lesson for Sion Eltnam Altasia during the slaying of Wallacia was that it was okay, it was fine and it might be better to ask for help rather than demand it. Especially to people like Kamijou Touma and Tohno Shiki. Individuals who would never be strong-armed or coerced to do things against their will without a fight.

However, if they offered their help willingly... There was nothing they could not achieve.

'Please, Kamijou-san. Would you please listen to my story?'

Sion kept her head down even as she waited patiently and nervously for an answer. If she was in Atlas, or if she was negotiating with another magus, alchemist or even individual, such a sudden request would almost surely be turned down.

'… Such misfortune.'

Sion heard the boy sigh to himself before she saw a hand being offered to her.

'Alright... I guess I could listen to you for a while...'

Author's Notes: Oh yes, I know Melty Blood is a different franchise than Tsukihime, but for completeness sake, let's count it within it.