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To Love a Sword Chapter 30: Risa Part 2
🕑 Added 2024-11-24 13:01:18 +0000 UTCBeta read by FabledLife, Shigiya and Paragon of Awesomeness.
Still working on the bonus part continuation, so gonna update it in a few days either in this chapter or as a .5 chapter.
Next update is Fake Familiar Reborn
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-Sainan-
Sixteen years had passed since his unexpected arrival in this world — a stretch of time that, though largely uneventful, had proven oddly fulfilling. For a man who once carried the burden of being a Counter Guardian for so long that time itself had no meaning, it was a strange shift in the nature of his existence, a far cry from the endless battlefields he was sent to. Yet, he had learned to accept it, if only for the time being.
He often wondered how it had happened. A mistake on Alaya’s part? Unlikely. Perhaps something went awry during his final summoning. The thought lingered like a thorn in his mind, but even that explanation lacked substance. Maybe it was the work of the Greater Grail — falling into the wrong hands, tampered with beyond recognition. But then, why him? He had disappeared, hadn’t he?
His spiritual core was destroyed by the end of the Grail War, making it impossible for him to continue existing. Still, he was able to remain behind for long enough for his arm to get grafted onto the boy.
These musings always led him back to one thought: Rin. Could it have been her doing? If anyone had the sheer stubbornness needed to perform such a ridiculous feat, and for his sake at that, it would certainly be her. Yet, despite her brilliance and tenacity, she just didn’t have the means — not for something like this. And even if she did, why would she send him here of all places?
Another possibility whispered at the edges of his mind, one that unsettled him in its ambiguity. Could someone — or something — from this world have pulled him here?
The lack of answers had been gnawing at him ever since he was aware of his circumstances, but he had long since resigned himself to the mystery. He couldn’t change what had happened, nor did he see any way he could uncover the truth. All he could do was live this life, day by day. And, to his surprise, he found himself enjoying it — genuinely so.
Here, he had been given everything he ever dreamed of having since becoming a Counter Guardian. A loving family who had taken him in after finding him in an alleyway and saved him from getting eaten by a dog, siblings with their unique quirks that can be funny but frustrating at times, and even people he could genuinely think of as friends, even if some of them tended to be more laid-back than him, while others were exceptionally stubborn. It was a normal, peaceful life, free of his duties even if it felt like an illusion.
Risa was the one who embodied that free-spirited aspect the most out of all the people he was close to, and one of the few people he interacted with often, almost on a daily basis. Despite her perverted nature, he found himself enjoying their moments of levity far more often than not, and his conversations with her had a way of making the time just slip by. For all her antics, she was mature enough when it mattered and was one of the few who behaved like her usual self around Rito.
Overall, she was a simple student who had nothing to do with any of the matters related to aliens in the least.
‘So why…'
Why had she of all people been targeted?
Woosh!
The figure on the rooftop moved with unnatural speed, leaping into the air to evade the storm of blades. Each sword struck the spot where they had stood less than a second before, embedding themselves into the concrete with devastating force, leaving cracks and dust in their wake.
Piercing feline eyes locked onto him from a distance as the assassin displayed uncanny agility, effortlessly evading his barrage of projected blades. With fluid grace, the figure spun and darted away, somehow sensing and dodging the swords hurtling towards their back without so much as a glance. It was as if the assassin possessed a sixth sense, anticipating each attack before it even materialized.
Bang!
A series of gunshots echoed, sparks flying everywhere as they each managed to strike the swords closest and deflect them. Each shot was impossibly precise for a human, the figure twisting in the air like a cat with a gun in each hand firing multiple times in seconds.
‘Those are not regular bullets.’
He may have only been Projecting and firing normal swords at this assassin, but even those were durable enough that he was disinclined to believe a shot from any pistol found on Earth would shatter them so easily. Just as notable was how he saw no signs of panic or even true distress from the assassin as he fled.
Seeing that this exchange would at best maintain a stalemate if left to continue like this, Emiya opted to switch to his bow. Within a second he was firing a volley of arrows that all honed in on their target. Unlike with the swords, the arrows came at the assassin in such speed and numbers that he was hard-pressed to shoot down each projectile, getting increasingly overwhelmed until a couple managed to hit his limbs — halting his escape with his body tumbling down from the edge of the building. His last shot, rather than aiming at the arrows, targeted a pipe on top of the rooftop which released a cloud of smoke, completely obscuring his presence.
Quickly making his way over, Emiya arrived at the spot and discovered the assassin to be nowhere in sight despite having fallen off the edge mere seconds ago. His eyes scanned his surroundings until he spotted the black figure two blocks away at the edge of a forest.
“Hmph,” scoffed Emiya, starting to draw his bowstring back again, but then lowering it as he saw the assassin take his opportunity to disappear into the treeline. Following on foot, Emiya saw fit to switch up his style again, seeing that they were less likely to be noticed by a random passerby in the foliage.
Perhaps the assassin’s ship was somewhere in here? Not that he was going to let him fly away in it. Despite keeping a calm disposition, Emiya felt increasingly more frustrated towards himself — feeling as if what happened before could have been prevented had he just been more attentive.
His frown grew, while from the depths of his Reality Marble, several blades were called forth. Taking a bit more Magical Energy, they all were projected simultaneously in the distance floating above and catching the assassin's attention who was forced to jump back as they each descended with a tremendous impact.
Greatswords, taller than most of his constructs, and large enough that they resembled weapons that would be used by a giant like Heracles appeared. Dozens of them all formed a semi-circle around the assassin to block his escape and momentarily stun him.
The sound of a gun being fired echoed, but Emiya was already holding Kanshou in hand and using its flat size to block the bullet. The shot did not leave even a scratch on its surface, and that was when he got to see the ‘bullet’ break apart into shards of light without there being any actual metal within the projectile.
Energy bullets? That explained why they were able to cause so much damage and the fact that this figure never had to reload his weapon.
“…”
The assassin remained quiet when confronted by the scene. “You are in my way.” The feline-eyed man said with a dry tone, to which Emiya just responded with a question.
“Who sent you…” whoever was behind this, if not stopped in time then killing this assassin would only leave the room empty for another one to be hired and for more around him to be targeted and for this incident to repeat. So he had to know who was behind this in the first place.
“I said you are in my way,” answered the black-haired man, raising his gun to shoot at him multiple times.
Rather than using Kanshou to defend himself, more weapons were Traced, all of which acted as a shield. These were nameless Noble Phantasms that didn't immediately break, giving him enough time to close the distance between them till there was less than a meter between them.
The black blade gleamed with an ominous light as it drew closer to Emiya’s opponent, and the assassin was forced to use his gun to physically block the blade's path. Kanshou’s edge failed to cut through the weapon which made Emiya pause to take stock of that. He’d already understood that the weapon was not made from any kind of metal from this planet, but its durability still surprised him.
Both of their eyes met and the latter whispered, “You are strong for a human. And your weapons are exceptionally sharp, though they are not made from any material I am familiar with. It’s not Orichalcum.”
“Answer me.”
His other hand shimmered with light and the assassin's eyes widened with Bakuya appearing out of thin air.
Bang!
He pulled the trigger twice, his gun that was still used to block Kanshou, causing a moment of confusion with Emiya until a powerful impact struck Bakuya.
“—!”
The force of the shots threw Emiya's swing off balance, causing Bakuya to miss its intended target. Instead, the blade sliced through the assassin's clothing, revealing a glimpse of skin beneath. A jolt of alarm shot through Emiya as he realized his mistake. Quickly, he yanked Kanshou back, narrowly avoiding a beam of light that seared past his hand and bored a smoking hole into a nearby tree. The acrid smell of burnt wood filled the air as Emiya reassessed his opponent, keenly aware of how close he'd come to losing his hand.
‘Homing bullets… either that or some form of telekinesis.’
They changed their trajectory at such a close distance. It explained why he was able to accurately hit all of his Traced swords and arrows without missing a single one, only becoming overwhelmed once the incoming projectiles outpaced the rate at which he could pull the trigger.
"Is that al—!?"
The assassin's words were abruptly cut off as Emiya moved, faster than the eye could follow. Instead of retreating as expected, the redhead pivoted sharply on his heel, driving his right leg upward in a brutal arc. The strike connected with the assassin's neck in an instant, the impact sharp and painful to make his vision turn black for a split second as he was sent flying into a large trunk.
The force of the blow rattled the man, throwing him off balance and leaving him staggered. A rush of disorientation surged through his senses — blurred vision, a ringing in his ears — but it lasted only a heartbeat. The assassin's training kicked in, grounding him. Instinctively he braced himself and scanned for an opening to counterattack, but before he could steady his thoughts, an ominous sensation overtook his mind.
“Tch!” Clicking his tongue, he tried to leap away. “Hn!”
His spine arched with the sudden painful sensation of a sharp blade rammed into his shoulders from above, looking upwards with frustration while seeing several spears and swords floating above upside down with the pointed end aiming at him. The impact from the spear forced him back down. Several blades followed and surrounded his body, making any further movement difficult.
His finger went to pull the trigger of his gun—
“Your bullets won’t even scratch these weapons.”
A foot kicked it away from his grasp, sending the weapon flying as it vanished into the surrounding bush. A shadow appeared over his face, the cause of which was Kanshou's pointed tip.
Cold golden-brown eyes stared back at the feline yellow.
“Try anything else, and I will skewer your skull before you can scream,” Emiya warned him. “Now answer my question.”
“I let my guard down and underestimated you,” he replied calmly after catching his breath, not showing any fear even with the Noble Phantasm threatening to end his life.
“Enough,” Emiya's grasp on his blade tightened as he pressed its edge against the assassin’s skin, causing a thin line of crimson to form and a drop of blood to begin trickling down the side of his head. “If you are not going to talk, then I have no reason to keep you alive. Now unless you want that to happen, tell me who you are and who sent you!”
The man did not even let out a groan of pain or show any discomfort. “…I'm afraid I can't disclose any information about my client. No matter what form of torture you use on me.”
“…”
Looking deeply into his eyes, there was no falsehood in his words.
“I was there, out in the open, and did not even have my guard up. Had you taken a shot at me, then perhaps I would not have been able to protect myself. Yet in the end, your client had to target an innocent girl who had nothing to do with all of this.” With this being the last words he had to say to this killer for higher, Emiya tensed his muscles in preparation.
“Wait!”
From above, a pair of angelic wings appeared with tufts of blonde hair extending downwards to wrap around his arm. But that part that attracted his attention was rather the body she was holding in her grasp. “Don't hurt Kuro, he did not kill Momioka Risa!” She said rather hurriedly which was a rarity with the usually stoic Yami.
But he did not say anything and instead watched as she landed next to him and dropped the corpse next to him. Except it was not entirely a corpse, but mostly a robotic body wherein the center of its chest was a dead alien creature whose shape resembled a brain.
One that had a clear hole in its middle due to a gunshot.
“This…”
“She never came to school,” Yami explained while the swords all around them started to break apart, filling the space around them with countless motes of blue light. “The suit this alien is wearing has the ability to alter its appearance and create a near-perfect illusion. When I arrived, half of its disguise had already disappeared.”
Emiya did not say anything, continuing to stare at the deceased alien before him with an unreadable expression. Recalling the conversation they had before Risa’s supposed death, he realized that there were signs he should have also picked up on sooner. “No wonder that ‘Risa’ kept calling me Shirou… but other than that, it managed to replicate her mannerisms and way of speaking almost perfectly.”
Yami nodded, “It was probably observing her for a while in order to take her place.”
A sigh forced its way out of his mouth, his arm relaxed, and all weapons had been dismissed, including the ones pinning Kuro in place, who casually got up and dusted his clothes with little care. There were many cuts on his clothes, the one wound on his body being the scratch from Kanshou.
“The entire time, why did you not say anything if you knew?” Emiya asked. The shot had been aimed directly at the alien right in the middle of its head, not where a human’s heart would be, so Kuro definitely knew his target had not been a human.
Kuro in question slowly got up, moving his arm around to see if it was working properly after the wound had mostly healed. “Khameleon is a master of disguise and has taken many forms. He was part of a galactic mafia group and was trying to run away with classified information that was to be sold to several parties on Earth.”
Several parties… that meant there were far more aliens hiding here than he previously speculated. He hoped that Mikado was not one of the individuals hoping to buy the information. Getting involved with matters related to the galactic mafia sounded like a bad idea, especially with what happened recently with Solgam.
‘I will ask her and Zastin to look into this.’ This matter was more complicated than he would have liked.
“You have a thing for evading my questions,” he continued, looking at Kuro waiting for his answer. “I am pretty sure your contract on the kill did not include a clause that stopped you from revealing the truth of this… thing's true identity to me. You did that on your own just to make things more difficult for everyone, yourself included.”
“…”
His silence was quite telling, even Yami looked at him with clear confusion in her eyes.
“Kuro?”
“You’ve been calling him that, I suppose that you know him before arriving to earth?” Emiya said, bringing Yami’s attention back to him.
That was another matter he couldn’t help but take notice of. The fact that Yami was clearly familiar with this person, and was close enough that she would even go as far as saving him. It made sense when he took into consideration her former life as an assassin, so they either worked together or crossed paths in the same field of work multiple times.
“…I do. He set us free.”
Set free? There was clearly more to the story than he first anticipated.
Seeing both of their attention was now locked on him and waiting for an answer, Kuro finally started to talk. “Rumors travel fast even from an isolated place like this to the different parts of the galaxy. Rumors that mentioned how you failed your latest mission and were subdued by the enemy to serve him forever as a slave.”
“Humph, of course, it's that kind of rumor.” Emiya scoffed, not even surprised at this point. “If it's not the troublesome students at school making up nonsense then it's the whole galaxy itself. So, I take it you came to verify the claims yourself and test me.”
He got a confirming nod for his question.
“I never imagined that coming all the way out here would end up with me almost dying and for you to come to my rescue, Golden Darkness. I owe you a favor now.”
Dying… as if.
Though Emiya did not say it out loud, he could tell that Kuro had been holding back and never felt he was in any danger even when Kanshou had drawn blood. From his arrows that could easily pierce through concrete, the spear which could hold its own against some of the more powerful Noble Phantasms in his Reality Marble, and finally from having Kanshou poised to stab through his face — not once did he fear for his life.
Those were not the eyes of someone who was accepting his fate to die.
From the beginning, he was just goading him to fight him seriously while the assassin himself never intended to go that far. This man gave him the same feeling as Gid, a terrifying notion. Then again, he doubted Kuro’s gun would be impervious to some of his more powerful weapons, maybe even Overedge would have been enough.
Fortunately, their fight did not go far enough for him to try them out.
The blonde former assassin immediately shook her head. “No, I was the one who owed you a debt for saving us from Eden. Also, you can call me Yami-chan.”
“…No.”
“Tch.”
Both men stared at the blonde, this being the first time either of them had ever heard her make such a sound.
“Regardless, I suppose we are even now,” he said, to which she ended up agreeing with some slight hesitation. “You also don't look like someone who’s being treated as a slave.”
“…No, he is my master.”
“Don’t ever call me that.” Emiya corrected, not liking how that way of calling him did not help with the rumors. “Where did you even get that idea?”
“From a maid cafe.”
That explained a lot but nothing at all.
“Hoh, interesting. I can see why.”
Kuro just had to add fuel to the fire, which Emiya did not appreciate much, even less when Yami ever so slightly puffed her chest as if it was something to be proud of.
“Don't encourage her.”
While those two continued to converse with one another, Emiya went next to the now-deceased alien and observed it closely. Many thoughts stormed in his mind and some of his worries still had not died down yet.
“Take care of this alien and make sure no trace of it remains. Do not bury it here and instead take it with you or give it to Zastin, I have to leave for now. Did anyone spot the body after I left?”
If possible, he wanted to avoid having his siblings or any other students in school for that matter from seeing blood. They were innocent souls, even the perverted ones who would not handle seeing the corpse of one of their ‘classmates’ so easily.
“I did. I made sure to get rid of the bloodstains as well.”
“Good. Also, don't bring this matter up with Mikan.”
After getting a quick confirmation from both of them, he left the area and grabbed his phone, dialing the number of a person he had in his contacts, but had never called in the past.
The call rang for a couple of seconds till that person picked up.
“Am I going crazy or is Yuuki Emiya Shirou of all people calling me after he ditched classes?” The voice on the other end spoke mischievously with a clear hint of mirth. “Hehehe, if this is to arrange a meeting with just the two of us inside the gym storage area then I don't mind accepti—”
“—Not in the mood for jokes, Mio.”
That bespectacled girl, even if she was not as bad as her friend when it came to teasing him, was still someone who had managed to pick up some of Risa's mannerisms with how she tended to joke around with him.
“You are never in the mood to have any fun!”
“I want to know Risa's home address.”
His sudden question obviously caught the girl by surprise seeing as she dropped her phone and had the device fall on the ground before being hurriedly picked up. “Seriously? Isn't this too quick!? Wait, no, it doesn’t matter, I'll send it to you immediately! Hehehe! She better give me all the details the next time I see her!”
She clearly had a major misunderstanding, but he was in no mood to correct it.
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Surprisingly enough, Risa’s house was located near Haruna and her sister's apartment. These girls only lived a handful of minutes away from one another by foot, no wonder he occasionally saw them walk to school together.
Rather than an apartment, Risa lived inside a house that was around the same size as his own place. But this one lacked a large backyard and was far quieter than his own home, though that was to be expected given how many people have been living there recently.
Ring~!
Ringing the doorbell, he waited for someone to answer the door. But as the seconds ticked by in silence even after pressing the ringer again, no one came. Unfortunately, he could not see himself just walking away and checking up on her on another day due to what happened so recently. He feared that the sickness mentioned by Mio could have been due to the alien, as a way of keeping her from interfering. If so, who could say how an alien illness might affect a human?
“This is more important.” Not willing to wait, he opened the door and found it to be unlocked. Entering the house, there did not appear to be a single soul in sight. The inside resembled a standard family house, nothing out of the ordinary with perhaps fewer pictures of the family hanging on the walls compared to his.
‘The parents are probably at work.’ Risa rarely talked about her personal life, but what little he knew about her circumstances painted the picture of both of her parents rarely being at home due to their work. A similar scenario to his own parents, but the relationships among Risa’s family did not sound as harmonious as his own since he still had his siblings around.
She was an only child.
Going upstairs, it was not hard to locate the girl's room since it had a plaque with her name on it. Opening the door quietly, he was met by a wave of hot air coming out of the room and a pungent odor of sweat. Ignoring that, he walked in and finally found the girl sleeping on the bed covered in multiple layers of blankets, and her face covered in sweat.
Instantly, a wave of relief flooded his guts. Even if she was not in the best of shape, the fact she was still alive and breathing was more than enough for him to let go of his worries completely.
“Em… iya…?”
She woke up, having heard the sound of the door being opened and letting in a wave of cooler air. Turning to stare at his face with clear confusion, she went quiet for the next few seconds as their eyes met. He took the opportunity to place the back of his hand on her forehead and take note of how much she was burning up. His action made a silly but weak smile grace her features, “Hehehe, this… I… It's been a while since I last had this dream…”
Her voice sounded very hoarse, and he couldn’t see a water bottle around or even anything to help with the girl's condition. “I am starting to understand why you never talk about your parents. Give me a moment.”
After that, he left the room and came back with a glass of water with some ice. He helped her drink it slowly, which started to make Risa realize that this was maybe not a dream.
Taking away most of the blanket layers and using a cool damp cloth to clean up her face and then placing it on her forehead to cool her off just hammered home the realization this wasn't a dream. “Y-You’re real?”
“A good question, I ask myself that same thing every so often.” He answered with a slight chuckle, finding it amusing to see her already present blush become more intense. “Mio told me where you live, I wanted to see if you were doing well and even tried to call you a couple of times but you never answered. I let myself in since the door was also left open. Seriously, you should have called someone.”
“…”
She stared back at him, her eyes hazy, still trying to process what was going on.
“You look… tired…” She whispered.
“I guess I am, dealing with some troublesome people can certainly be tiresome.”
“No… more tired than that… You do that every day.”
A cheeky comment he had to admit. Seemed that even in this state she was observant enough to notice such things. “I heard from someone long ago that stupid people don't usually get sick. But when they do, it hits them hard. So when I heard you were sick, I was in disbelief and was very worried.”
“…Are you calling me stupid?”
"Let's just say your intellect isn't your strong suit," he quipped dryly. Risa made a weak attempt to nip at his hand as he felt her forehead, but her aim was off in her feverish state. “I thought something bad happened to you before I came here, so I had to check on you. Clearly, I was right too, given your current state and the lack of care you’ve been receiving.”
“…Sorry for being a troublesome person.”
“Don’t be, you are not troublesome, even with all your perverted antics.” Compared to the aliens, desperately horny teenagers, and dangerous assassins — dealing with some verbal teasing from a friend was nothing in comparison. In fact, it started to become a welcomed interaction that helped him forget about every other thing. “Were you given any medicine?”
“I think so… I can't remember which one I took.”
She was a complete mess no matter how he looked at it. This reminded him of the moments when his siblings were suffering from a similar kind of fever, even back then both Ringo and Saibai at least took a day off from their work to prioritize looking after their children, before entrusting him with the responsibility of taking care of them.
“How was school today? Did you get to flirt with any beautiful girls?” She asked, shifting in her spot till she was lying on her side and facing him. “I bet you hung out with Mikado-sensei again, but I can't blame you, given how hot she is. Aaaah, I want to grab her boobs… I guarantee squeezing those sweet, soft puppies would make me recover in no time.”
“You would just end up passing on your illness to her.” She squirmed a bit when he wiped more sweat from her neck and behind her ears. “Today passed the same as usual. I had an argument with Yui for sleeping in class, I saw Rito try to have a conversation with Haruna only to fumble it once more with his clumsiness, Lala hung out with Mio to keep her company today and Saki decided to invite me to some kind of resort. I knew if I refused Rin would come after my throat again.”
“So your regular old day,” she said truly to chuckle but ended up coughing again. “Well… can't exactly call it regular. Still, I bet it would’ve been fun to see all that happening. I would have liked to be there, it gets boring lying here all day.”
“It does not seem all that bad. Having a day just for yourself where you can recover some energy and rest your mind can be sorely needed every once in a while, even if you’re not sick. You should try it out sometime.” After finishing cleaning her face, he started to question whether or not to call Mikado to diagnose Risa.
“Nooo… I get way more energy spending my time with you a lot. Seeing you continue to build your harem despite your best efforts is very entertaining as well, and I would hate to miss any moment of it.” Her finger slowly poked his side as he finished up his work. “No, I should be considered lucky to have had my form of entertainment personally break into my house when I am at my most vulnerable… So, should I take off my clothes so that you can give me a sponge bath?”
Emiya stared back at her with a deadpan expression. She was trying to hide it, but he could see through her bravado like a window.
“Yes, take them off. It's not good to sleep in such a state.”
“E-Eh?” As expected, she was not ready to hear such an answer and froze in place. Her eyes darted back and forth from his face to his hand where he held another clean damp towel. She started panicking for a few seconds till her expression calmed down significantly. Without uttering another word, her hands went up to her shirt and started buttoning them one by one until a large portion of her cleavage was visible.
Plap!
“Hm!”
He dropped the cold damp towel on her face, eliciting a small yelp out of her. “Don’t get so eager, I'm just going to wipe your head, arms, and back. You have enough strength to handle the rest. Now turn around.”
Sending him a small glare, Risa did as instructed and turned her body around. She gingerly pulled her shirt up which exposed her back, yet even such an innocent action made her nervous. “Ah~!”
That nervousness instantly got replaced with embarrassment when a moan escaped her lips as soon as the cold towel touched her skin. Emiya ignored it and continued his task with diligence while she buried her head in the pillow, making sure to endure the sensation and not let out another sound.
“There, done. Finish up the rest by yourself, I will pick out a new set of clothes for you and place them here for you to change. And I don't even need to ask if you are hungry, I can already guess the answer.” The kitchen was spotless when he arrived, the sink itself dry without any signs that it had been used for the last few hours. He did see some ingredients in the pantry that could be used to make something light for Risa. “I'll be in the kitchen.”
“You are too relaxed doing such things, Emiya.” She spoke, peeking from the corner with most of her face still buried in her pillow. “Also, what kind of respectful man with all his parts down there functioning refused to clean a beautiful girl's chest when she took the effort to gather the courage to let him?”
“A strange thing to be angry about, of all things you focus on avoiding that.”
“You've seen Lala naked and even slept with her.”
“So?” There was no use in denying those claims since the Devilukian princess most likely revealed it herself and she could not lie. “Seeing Lala naked and seeing you naked are two very different things. Especially when I don't actually ask her to sleep with me naked, she does it on her own.”
“And I don't mind you seeing me n-naked as well… not like you will take advantage of me.”
His head shook at her inconstancy, maybe the fever made her go a tiny bit crazier than usual. “You should not be so relaxed around a man, even if it's someone you know well.”
“What if I don't have enough strength to wash myself, huh? Will you let a helpless girl like me stay like this all day?” Rather than ignore her words, Emiya instead started to ponder for a bit till an idea came to mind. “Well I have an idea if that ends up being the case, but for now, just rest.”
{Break}
(Half an hour later)
Thankfully the kitchen had all the materials and ingredients he needed to make a simple chicken soup for Risa. Opening the fridge he found a covered plate of onigiri which was probably made by her parents for her to eat. “At least they left something for her, though I don’t understand how they expected her to get this herself.”
His impression of her parents was not the best. Though he refrained from saying anything and continued to focus on the soup till the door rang. “She’s fast.”
Already knowing who the person at the door would be, he went over to the home’s entrance after setting the stove down to a show simmer and opened it to come face to face with a familiar blue-haired woman standing there carrying a plastic bag filled with various vegetables and fruits.
“Already taking on your role as a househusband seriously, brat!” The woman wasted no time taking a picture and closed the distance to give him a hug.
Brushing her comment aside, he made way for her to step inside. “Thanks for coming over, Akiho. Sorry, I called you on such short notice.”
Akiho waved her hand dismissively. "No sweat, kiddo. I was just heading home from another disaster date anyway. My big plans? Demolishing a tub of ice cream solo in my room. This is way better - I get your cooking for free and I finally meet the girl who's trying to steal Haruna's man." She paused, her eyes widening. "Hey, wait a sec. She's not gonna steal my personal chef too, is she? I mean, my future brother-in-law." A gasp. "Oh my god, is she Celine's mom?!"
Emiya rolled his eyes, having grown used to dealing with her antics. He was surprised at first to find out that the woman knew about Celine's existence but was still clueless about her nature as an alien plant. The only answer he gave her was that the child was under his care and she accepted it rather easily without even getting into the details of how that happened.
“No, she's a classmate.”
“Ooooh! You finally made a friend! I'm so happy! Nice, so Haruna still has a chance.”
Perhaps calling her over to help had not exactly been the best idea after all. Still, she lived close and Haruna had not yet returned home from what he heard. “You seem chipper for someone who did not have a successful date.”
“Oh please, don't even get me started. This was only our third time going out and he was already bringing up weddings and shit. Even a deaf and blind person could see where it was going, so I broke up with him.”
“That makes your fourth breakup this year, and we’re still a ways away from summer. How are you and Haruna even related in the first place?” Seriously, one sister was quite shy and extremely innocent when it came to any kind of interaction with the opposite gender. The elder one was the complete opposite and regularly went on dates with people despite the relationship barely lasting a month, and even that was long for her.
“We share the same genes, just give her a few years and she will look identical to me. Even her chest might end up being bigger than mine, these babies were nowhere near this big when I was her age. She's already pretty popular at school, right?”
Emiya went back to the kitchen, stirring the pot with Akiho peeking over his shoulders curiously. “She is not exactly getting dozens of confessions in a week like you’ve claimed about your time in high school. But she has admirers. Rito is definitely her biggest fan”
“Hoooo~! That's good to know. With how shy she can be, I was afraid my dear little sister would go her entire life without any boyfriend and end up living all by herself in an apartment with only a dog to keep her company.” As fake crocodile tears streamed down her face. Truly, she differed far too much from her sister. “What? Not going to comfort your future big sister?”
“Stop trying to have me date Haruna. It's not happening, especially when Rito is far more interested in her, you should encourage him instead.”
“What if Haruna liked you?”
For a moment, his hands stopped stirring the pot and he recalled the little misunderstanding accident that happened at his shed not that long ago. All born out of a simple line he wrote inside a piece of paper during the festival about a wish of his, which nearly spiraled out of control with Haruna believing he was going to die.
Her weird behavior had started to make him believe she wanted to confess to him.
Definitely a blunder on his part, he had to admit.
“Not going to happen, we are good friends and I would reject her regardless. So don't even believe she likes me that way in the first place.”
“So you say.”
“Stop it.”
“I'm just saying.”
“Then be quiet. The soup is almost ready and after Risa has her fill, I’m hoping you can take care of her.” This was the primary reason why he called her in the first place, he could not stay here all day and had to go back soon. Since Akiho lived nearby, she could look after the girl until Risa’s parents returned home.
After he finished with his preparations, both of them went to Risa's room and found the girl to be on her phone. There was some improvement to her complexion, and it was a clear sign that by the time she woke up tomorrow, she would have recovered.
“Hehehe, I could smell your cooking all the way from up here. Now I finally get to taste something fresh that — who is this?” The moment she glanced at Akiho, the young brunette was at a loss for words. “What the heck Emiya? You invite another woman to hang out while you’re in my house?”
“Risa-chan~! It's me, Did you forget about me?” Akiho went inside first and immediately grabbed the young girl's face and smothered her with a tight embrace. “You've grown so much in such a short amount of time! Last I remember, your chest was nowhere near this developed!”
“Um, not that I don’t enjoy having my face pressed against a fantastic rack like yours, but… do I know you?” Risa managed to mutter.
Akiho pouted. “Are you seriously saying such a thing to someone you’ve finally met again after a long time?” Emiya could not believe what he was hearing, but then again, this kind of conversation did sound like something Akiho would say. Even the girl who infamously liked to touch other girls’ breasts and molest them was overwhelmed by the older woman's actions. Her head perking in curiosity, Risa managed to lift her head up to gaze the older woman in the eyes…
“Y-You… you're Haruna's sister?”
“Yes~! You finally remembered!” Akiho said with a cheer as she released Risa. “Though I can't blame you for not remembering me, as it certainly has been a while. I should tell Haruna to bring her friends home more often. Oh you poor little baby, to suffer through such a terrible sickness all on your own in a big yet empty house. Had I known you lived so close by I would have come over much earlier and dumped that creepy guy with just a text message!”
“That would have been your seventh time breaking up in such a callous manner. That I know of.” The redhead in the background couldn't help but comment. “If you're not careful you will end up creating a bad image of yourself and be single forever.”
“Hush you, I still get as many confessions as I used to back during my high school years and university. And even if it happened, I always have you as a backup if I’m still not married when I am forty.”
“I'd rather marry an alien,” he replied dryly.
“No need to be shy!” The woman chuckled, her interaction with Emiya drawing Risa's attention, a strange sensation forming within the younger girl’s heart when she saw how similarly he interacted with Akiho to how he did with her… No, it even looked a bit more intimate.
“H-How long… How long have you two known each other?* She couldn't help but ask, feeling that this woman's presence was far more overbearing and dangerous than even Lala herself.
“Us? Hmm, It has been a while. I've known him since he was small enough that he was barely as tall as my waist, back when he was an annoying brat. Still is, mind you. We met by pure chance and he left quite an impression on this big sister. You don't see a kid who’s at an age where he should still be wetting his bed walking around all serious with a big frown constantly on his face. And he’s no better to this day! Even the way he talked back then was exactly the same as how he does now!” Akiho declared, to Risa’s amusement.
“Don't believe me? Let me show you something!” She brought out her phone and showed off a picture of a younger version of herself still wearing her high school uniform standing behind a much younger Emiya, pulling his cheeks while he was clearly annoyed by her antics.
“Wow…” Risa never imagined that even as a kid he would make the same kind of face. Was he born with a resting frowny face?
“Cute, right? There is another one from when I gave him a haircut, he never liked it, unfortunately.”
“You have more!?”
“Yes! I’d be happy to share them with you if you want.”
As if a new spring of energy filled both her body and mind, an energetic Risa immediately grabbed the woman's hands with star-struck eyes. “Haruna has the best sister ever!”
Akiho turned her attention to Emiya who was watching the scene, not wanting to break the good mood. “I like her, she reminds me of myself!”
A small smile couldn't help but force its way to his face, for a moment imagining Risa in the future having similar issues with men like Akiho over here. Weirdly enough, that outcome did not seem strange — which inadvertently worried him as well. “I will do my best to ensure she does not end up anything like you. My hands are already full with a single Akiho as it is.”
After that, all three of them continued to converse with one another, with Emiya ending up having no choice but to spoon-feed the sick girl after she kept insisting on him to do so. Her new best friend did not help in the slightest, in fact, Ahiko encouraged Risa’s childish behavior. Without even realizing it, a few hours went by and the sun started to set with the sky having turned a deep orange color.
Risa had fallen asleep, and Akiho agreed to stay over until her parents came back while he cleaned up the entire house and was about to leave.
“It's strange, you know?” While putting on his shoes at the entrance, he heard her voice and turned to stare back at the woman who now wore a more casual outfit, consisting of tight shorts and a tank top which revealed her belly button. Leaning against the wall with the arms crossed looking at him with an unreadable expression.
“I don't follow.”
“It's rare for you to be this concerned for anyone that is not your siblings. Even going so far as to immediately ditch classes, which you have never done in the past, and rush over here.”
For her to know that… she must have been exchanging messages with Haruna.
“Is it wrong to be worried about a classmate?”
“A ‘classmate’ does not go this far. Even most friends don’t. They usually just hope the other person will get better and wait for a couple of days. In most cases, they would just call the parents and ask if their daughter was doing all right. She is more to you than just a classmate, that much I can tell. But it doesn't seem like you two are in a relationship.”
“No, we are not,” he had to remember that this woman, despite her typically acting so easygoing, was surprisingly quick-witted and sensitive when it came to such things. He could not just tell her that today he saw ‘Risa’ get killed right in front of him. and rushed over to make sure she had not been poisoned by some alien. Or she’d been taken somewhere else by the fake one who had intended to replace her completely.
“I heard some worrisome rumors and was unable to concentrate all day, so I came by to check up on her if only to set my mind at ease. When I saw the atrocious condition she was in, I dealt with the issue myself, and only called you to make sure she wouldn’t be all alone.”
Akiho’s smile grew wider and she shrugged, “Fine, keep your secrets, brat. But I must admit, you have indeed changed from a few years ago.”
“Just keep an eye on her, and call me if you need any help.”
Saying their goodbyes, he left the residence and quickly headed back home. Not wanting everyone else back home to panic, he had already messaged Rito and told him that he would be busy with some private matters.
A lot happened in a single day once again, Though this time it was not related to Lala's whole fiancé situation. But today made it clear that had the target truly been someone close to him rather than a disguised alien, he would have not been able to keep them safe. He started to worry that eventually, some of the other people who wanted to marry Lala would start to resort to more desperate courses of action, and target the people around him rather than go for him directly.
On his way back, these kinds of thoughts kept running around his mind again and again with no clear solution other than letting someone else take his place as Lala’s fiancé. Of course, if he were to do that, then his entire planet would end up in danger because of Gid.
“Hm?” He heard footsteps approaching from behind and turned to see Yami land, with Kuro nowhere in sight. “He left?”
“Yes. But his mission is still ongoing.”
So killing Khameleon was not his only task, which meant that man was still somewhere on Earth. He did not like that idea, but could not do much about it. Given what he learned about that alien, Khameleon had obviously known there was a hit on him and was trying to hide. And given that he’d been dealing with a galactic mafia, he likely also had something to hide. So perhaps Kuro was tasked with finding whatever it was.
“Tell me, Yami. If a scenario were to arise in which I were to confront Kuro seriously, how well do you think I'd fare?” He asked out of plain curiosity, wanting to get a better understanding of the person he fought.
“…I don't know.” But to his surprise, her answer was not as clear-cut as you would have liked it to be. “Kuro is one of the best. Many believe he has the potential to even assassinate Gid Lucione Deviluke.”
“Potential is very different from actually having the ability.”
“…I think he can do it.” She answered honestly. “I fought him before, and I never managed to slice through his gun… and it has the power to shoot through an entire battleship. He is dangerous.”
It certainly was a powerful and very durable gun, firing bullets made out of pure energy. The firepower and rate of fire would definitely be much higher than what he showed prior. That alone was not enough to make him dangerous, but more importantly, the man himself had the skills to match. He had fought Yami before, and he knew that what he experienced today was not the skills that would be needed to beat her.
“The town keeps getting more and more dangerous with each passing day I feel. Not even a year ago, this place felt quite peaceful despite the odd people that inhabit this place. Or maybe I was blind and never even realized the true nature of this place.”
“I wouldn't know.”
“I still need to thank you for helping me today,” he said, getting a confused look from Yami, so he elaborated. “Even if I doubt that guy did not have any tricks from escaping back then, you still rushed over to stop me. Who knows how much the fight could have escalated in the end? Even showing me the alien disguised as Risa made it easier for me. ”
“It was nothing.”
“It wasn't nothing,” he placed his hand on her shoulders. “This is also me thanking you for keeping Mikan company. I never saw her hang out with girls her age, even Rito has friends but she is always at home and never speaks about any that she hangs out with. It may be odd to say this to an alien who tried to kill me, but I am glad you are there for her.”
“...”
Her eyes were hidden behind tufts of blonde hair, maybe she was happy to hear that or even confused? He could not exactly tell.
“How about this, come over to the house today. I'll call Mikado in case she gets worried about where you went, I'll make you anything you want.”
“Taiyaki.”
Of course, she chose that…
“You eat those all the time. Isn't there anything else you like?”
“Taiyaki ice cream.”
Emiya sighed, a mix of amusement and resignation on his face. Yami's single-minded devotion to taiyaki never ceased to amaze him. "You really have a one-track mind when it comes to sweets, don't you? I suppose there are worse vices," he mused. Still, a nagging worry tugged at him. Yami's sweet tooth was becoming quite the habit, and he'd noticed her gravitating more and more towards junk food lately. He made a mental note to keep an eye on that - the last thing he needed was an assassin on a sugar high.
"Alright, taiyaki it is," he conceded with a slight shake of his head.
“Hn,” she huffed through her nose, keeping a stoic face but now walking a bit faster than before. Her hands were holding him, as though she wanted him to hurry up as well. “It’s dangerous outside at this hour, so we should go back quickly.”
With how little emotion she showed, the girl was surprisingly easy to read.
But he did not mind it and let her drag him along. Looking at the rooftops behind him, far in the distance he spotted a figure sitting on one of the buildings, with a black cat sleeping on his lap. They exchanged looks, with the alien assassin giving him a slight nod before jumping off the building and disappearing.
‘Show off.’
.
.
.
“You're back! Ah, you even brought Yami-chan with you!”
Upon returning home, the first person to greet him at the entrance was none other than Lala, jumping over and nearly tackling him to the ground.
“You're more excited than usual, should I be worried?”
He asked jokingly, but the response he received made him immediately regret those words.
“Better! Mama came to visit and she's been waiting all day to meet you!”
Mama?
As in the Empress of Planet Deviluke and all its conquered territories?
She was here!?
Hastily going over to the living room, he knew things were strange when Rito and Mikan were awkwardly scrambling around the kitchen with Momo helping them. Nana ran up the stairs carrying a few of his clothes for some reason… It was complete chaos.
Even Zastin was here, though he had at one point fainted on the ground and was now foaming from the mouth — dirtying the floor he cleaned just yesterday.
“Mau!”
A person came to his attention immediately, a woman holding Celine in her embrace, with long wavy flowing pink hair similar to Lala, Momo, and Nana. Fair skin that was a tone paler than the eldest princess, and finally beautiful crimson eyes sparkling brightly like gems. Looking at her face for a bit longer, he sensed a strange entrancing feeling slowly creeping its way from the back of his mind.
‘Something is not right.’
This sensation was not normal, and for him to feel this way made no sense.
His thoughts came to a screeching halt when he unconsciously cycled his Magical Energy over his body and felt the strange sensation slowly disappear. ‘Some kind of charm magic? Is this because of those eyes? I should check up on Rito, and maybe this is why Zastin fainted…’
Having had similar experiences with other Heroic Spirits in the past, he instantly recognized this kind of effect and put up his guard with this woman whose face was almost a carbon copy of Lala’s.
Or rather it was the other way around, Lala resembled her a great deal.
“Mama! This is Shirou! You remember all the stuff I’ve told you about him. Oh, and this is my friend, Yami-chan! She was a former assassin but you don't have to worry about that anymore!”
Lala introduced both of them eagerly to the woman who was married to that little battle maniac, Gid. The atmosphere around her was completely different from what he imagined.
The woman got up and bowed slightly, “Greetings, my name is Sephie Michaela Deviluke. I’ve heard a lot about you from both my daughter and husband.”
Her voice carried a similar effect to her visual appearance, in that it had an almost supernatural effect which held an even stronger charm effect. It was not anything potent, though he was not sure whether she was doing it deliberately or if she had no control over it.
“Lala…” Still, that was the least of his worries in the face of something else that desperately needed to be addressed. “Why is your mother wearing my shirt?"
The material was clearly stretching in places it should not be.
The fabric strained against her curves, threatening to burst at the seams. Emiya starred as he took in the sight of the galactic empress wearing his casual button-up, which now looked anything but casual.
“Ah, we just came out of the bath and my clothes were a bit too small for her… so I gave her your shirt instead. It's also super comfortable!”
“Fufufu~! That it is.” Both mother and daughter giggled in unison while he faced Yami who was warily looking at Sephie. Most likely she was unsure how to deal with the presence of the Empress herself being here of all places.
“I don't think I'll be able to make you any taiyaki today.”
Was she… was she also wearing his shorts?
This was just asking for trouble.
--------
AN: Kuro is apparently mentioned to be around Gid's level by Nemesis. Shame we don't see much of him in the manga and anime. Even in the manga he only faced Darkness Yami for a bit and managed to cancel out her Planet cutting attack which was his limit from what I read.
Chapter 72 of Toloveru Darkness if anyone is interested to read and share feedback on the guy.
Forgot to add his picture for anyone not familiar with Toloveru Kuro.
Comments
SsanghwaSilver
Risa will probably cry her lamentations to the heavens if/when she finds out about genderswap event and accompanying images.
Hadrian v.E.
I think I read somewhere before that the Black Cat Kuro and this one are indeed the same character.
Hadrian v.E.
The battle between Emiya and Kuro is great! I think Kuro is happy to know, now that he tested him himself, someone capable like Emiya is keeping a handle on things. Have Haruna confess to Emiya. I don't even understand what positive utility Rito provides to the story. I hope Emiya cucks the Grand Git.
NimtheWriter
Yup
NimtheWriter
Same author, most likely an Easter egg character or heavily inspired from his other story. Only difference is their personality, everything else is the same as train.
GameCrusher55
I loved this chapter, especially the fight scene with Kuro, it shows more than Archer dominance, and I liked it. I especially liked the romantic scene where Archer took care of Risa and Akiko coming too it was just perfect. I also thought Kuro was the main protagonist from Black Cat, their really similar. I also liked the introduction of the mother.
Andres1234
Thank you for the chapter
Andres1234
It's the same
Doraemon
I am very sure that the guy who did the Black Cat series also was involved with To Love Ru. Hell Eve from Black Cat and Yami from To Love Ru are very similar.
Sam Grose
Kuro looks like the protagonist from black cat. Gun too
Anthony Hemphill
And the MILF has appeared
Spider-manfav
Nice chapter and setup for future ordeal and situations. Also glad to see the artwork, it enhances the story and nostalgia towards the Black cat series.
