11

Shirou considered himself a pretty patient person. He liked to think that he put up with quite a bit. Even in his past life, he wasn't someone who lost his cool. Then there was this life. Growing up with two sisters, particularly his sisters, pretty much demanded it at times.

Yep, he had nerves of steel, pun intended. 'Yang and dad have been rubbing off on me too much.' He shivered a bit at that. However, there were some things that tended to bug him more than others. Particularly the amount of wasted food that was in front of him.

He had thought he would return to the school to a nice calm lunch period. Nope, that isn't what happened in the slightest. What he returned to was chaos. Utter chaos. 'Well, at least it seemed like Glynda scolded them a bit.' He thought to himself.

He couldn't be too upset, as it seemed like everyone had a lot of fun. Which was rather surprising. Weiss, Blake, and Ren, in particular. Which is why he wasn't upset. Seeing them growing closer was always a good thing.

After a rather eventful meetup, which involved Shirou, once again, being avoided by Blake. Everyone went on their way, returning to their regularly scheduled classes. Which is where Shirou did most of his thinking and hypothesizing. He usually had Violet to assist him, but she wasn't here.

Though, he had someone he considered to be just as good, and someone who he enjoyed talking to. "So, aura and semblances today? I'm sometimes surprised by how much you study certain subjects." Shirou looked over at Pyrrha, who was looking at his notebook.

"I find it interesting. Plus, it's always fun to try and see how far I can push it. Such as what I do, which is activate my aura to shield certain areas, rather than my whole body. It saves on overall usage, but it takes a lot of concentration. Then, what if someone used their aura to try and invade another person's aura?"

"Would it simply rebound? Or would they cancel out? Would it be possible to push one out of the way to create a weak point?" If it was like a reality marble, that would be the case. The more stable and powerful reality marble would dominate the other. If they were similar strength, they would collide.

Pyrrha let out a small giggle, breaking him from his thoughts. "You know, I think they have some books in the library that detail things like that. I can help you find them later, if you want." She said with a smile on her face. "And, you could always test these things out on me if you want to know so bad."

"Definitely not going to do that. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you if something were to go wrong. Though, I will take you up on the books. The one's I looked through weren't too detailed, or just shared information I already knew."

What Shirou was really interested in, was if it was possible to manifest a reality marble. He could do it, but he had access to his when he arrived. Also, why did some semblances evolve? He couldn't analyze his swords as blueprints and combine them to make a new sword until recently.

Yet, there was no change to his reality marble. How much did a person's aura and semblance influence the soul? Or rather, how much did a reality marble represent the soul? Aura was the equivalent, but he wasn't covered in swords. So, he felt like some info was missing. When did the first person manifest them, and why?

The magus in him was naturally drawn to figuring it out. He knew his aura could invade someone else, or give a person a taste of his origin. He used it on that Emerald girl. He kind of wished Fiore was with him, she was much better at figuring these things out than he was.

"I can understand your thoughts though. I always wondered why we could coat our weapons in aura, or how our aura could still be used on prosthetic limbs. Perhaps, I'll find some ways to get stronger by helping you. I think it could be fun." Shirou let out amused huff.

One of things that bothered him, was why he could mix aura with his magical energy? Then there was the fact that he could use noble phantasms with aura. They interacted with noble phantasms, runes, and mystic codes like normal. Which made him wonder, was dust just crystallized magical energy? It reacted like it.

He shook his head, it didn't matter at the moment. Besides, he had plenty of time to research with Pyrrha later. That was, he thought he would have plenty of time. As it turns out, he didn't really have that much time. Which was partially his own fault, since he was the one who brought Brigid back to the school.

After his class was over with, and he had free time, he remembered that Brigid didn't have a weapon. He did tell her that he would make one for her, but had gotten sidetracked with everything that had been going on lately. So, instead of going to the library, he was in the workshop.

As he stood and began to create a new weapon, he thought about the airships that had begun to arrive. 'Those idiots from Atlas, don't they know that they are only causing a spike of negativity by bringing those ships into Vale?' Shirou let out a sigh.

'Chances are, we'll have to take care of the increase in Grimm because of it too.' He then began to alter pieces he had set out on the table. He had put some thought into her weapon, and he didn't feel like messing it up. So, he was using his magecraft in order to fine tune everything.

Not many people went into the workshop that often, unless they were mechanics like him and Ruby, which there weren't many in the school. Those that did come in, often just asked for assistance on their weapons. He had considered giving Brigid one of his old weapons, but knew that wouldn't work.

Weapons often reflected their wielder, they worked better that way. With Brigid, she was someone who wasn't a frontline fighter. She didn't want to hurt others. Her semblance was incredible in that way. She could manipulate poison in any way she saw fit, even the poison in her own body.

That is what made her semblance amazing. She was able to turn poison into something beneficial, working closely with the professor of Plant Science, Thumbelina Peach. He wondered if Grimm would be effected by poison, but decided to play it safe.

He managed to craft a small bow that attached to the wrist. With aura, pulling it back wouldn't be that difficult, allowing him to get the bow to have a decently long range. With it, she could insert dust cartridges that would form arrows automatically every time she pulled the string back.

However, she could fire other things from it if she wished, such as normal bolts or whatever else. He took the design from Yew Bow in his reality marble, but modified it for Brigid. It was also a bit more natural, being on the inside of the wrist, rather than the outside.

As for any melee weapons, well, that was easier than the intricate bow he created. He simply created a scabbard that was meant to be worn behind the waist. It was meant to house a short sword, which would be formed with dust. He based the design on the black keys, but meant to house a usable sword, rather than the unwieldy black key sword.

He let out a sigh. He had probably spent a bit too much time on it, but he had to consider what he knew about what she told him about herself, as well as what he could teach her. Her vision was really good and her coordination wasn't any worse than Ruby's, so he went with the current option.

He ran a hand through his hair, before placing the finished weapons into a small case. 'I can probably give them to her when I see her next. I just hope she likes them.' He thought while rubbing the back of his head. He then caught a familiar scent enter his nose, causing him to turn around.

To his surprise, he saw the bunny faunus he helped in the cafeteria some time ago. She stopped when she realized he noticed her, her ears shot straight upwards. She then smiled, but he could see some red on her cheeks. 'Is she embarrassed?' He thought, but decided to ignore it. He offered a small smile of his own.

"Um, hello. I don't think I got your name last time I saw you." He said, rubbing the back of his head. Her eyes widened a bit, before she replied.

"Oh, um, yeah. My name's Velvet. I-I wanted to say thank you for helping me, but I didn't get the chance to until now. I'm sorry for not doing so sooner." Shirou couldn't help but smile, especially when he heard her accent. He hadn't really heard one in Remnant. It reminded him of the accents he heard in Ireland, of course hers sounded nothing an Irish accent.

"You don't have to thank me, nor do you need to apologize. It was the right thing to do. I want to say that anyone else would have done the same, but I'm not that naive. I'm just glad that I was able to help. You haven't had any problems since, have you?" He decided to ask, though he knew she didn't.

She shook her head with a smile. "Not since you did what you did. In fact, I noticed that the faunus students have been getting better treatment lately. I know that my team wanted to thank you for what you did, but I talked them into letting me thank you on their behalf." Shirou noticed that she had an infectious smile.

Seeing her standing there with her sweet, gentle smile, bright eyes, and her soft and clear voice, he couldn't help but be reminded of Fiore. The fact that she reminded him of her, made him know that Velvet was more than likely a good person.

Perhaps, it was wrong of him to compare anyone to Fiore, especially when it wasn't exactly fair. There weren't many people who could measure up to her. Despite being a mage, she was one of the most compassionate people he knew of. She didn't like fighting, or harming people in general.

"We've been staying here for awhile, what do you think of it so far?" He asked, pushing her wheelchair up the hill. She let out a small hum, before holding her hand out and feeling the snow falling.

"I like it here. It's pretty peaceful and the house is nice, if a bit big." She replied, causing Shirou to let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, it's pretty large. The renovations actually cost a decent amount, but I think it was worth it, considering a mage did use to live in it." He replied, being surprised by the magic circle he found in the shed. "Making the shed larger helped with creating a functional workshop."

"Are you sure you're okay being here?" She asked, turning her head to look up at him. "I mean, this is where the fire happened, isn't it?" Shirou shook his head, before offering a small reassuring smile.

"It doesn't really bother me. Besides, even if it did bother me, I would have still insisted we come here. Your wish is more important than any problem I might have had." Fiore let out a sad sigh.

"You really should stop doing that to yourself." Shirou let out a hum in response.

"Doing what to myself?"

"Not caring about yourself. We've travelled most of the world and got ourselves mixed up in many different things, all because you care more about everyone else other than yourself." She replied with some exasperation in her voice.

"Well, I could argue that it was because I care more about you than myself, considering most of that was because I wanted to help you." He said with a small smirk. He heard her let out a small mumble, causing him to chuckle a bit.

"To be fair, I don't mean to do it most of the time. It just...I don't know. Is it wrong to want to help people? I always grew up hearing stories about heroes, so is it wrong to want to be one?" He decided to ask, being honest for once.

"Shirou, there are many people who probably think of you as a hero already. And we're currently attending a high school, which means there is plenty of time for all of that. Have the past 8 months really been that bad? Just living here in Fuyuki, enjoying ourselves? You even help people here, I mean, repairing things helps more than you think." She replied.

"I suppose not. Besides, I can tell you've been having fun." His words caused her to look back at him with a raised brow. "You can't lie to me. I know you enjoy that little competition you have going with Tohsaka." That caused Fiore to let out a small giggle.

"That is pretty fun, I won't deny that. It's not like we intended to cause such a ruckus when we arrived. Though, it does surprise me that she hasn't put two and two together yet. I mean, we even have a bounded field set up around the house, and we've been using McRemitz as our last name. I thought she would confronted us by now."

"Oh, don't be too hard on her. We did say that I was returning to Fuyuki, so if she checked, she'd find a McRemitz once lived in Fuyuki. Though, it is a bit odd that she wouldn't even try to check. Which reminds me, was Sakura going to visit today?"

"Mhmm, she mentioned stopping by the store. She's a lot less gloomy than the first time we met, huh. Though, it does worry me, at times. I don't want her to be caught up in the Grail War. We'll have to think of something." She said to him with a saddened voice.

Shirou let out a small sigh, "What have you seen?"

"Not much, but I have seen a mage from the Clocktower, as well as the Castle being readied. It seems the Mage's Association doesn't trust us." She said with a small laugh.

"They'll likely send two representatives, an accomplished mage and probably an enforcer. If only to deprive us of the opportunity of getting it, but we'll overcome whatever they throw at us. I plan on getting you that wish." He replied with a determined expression.

Shirou had a sad smile on his face. "Um, are you okay?" He then remembered what he was doing. He shook his head, looking back towards Velvet. She had a worried expression on her face.

"Yeah, sorry, you just reminded me of someone I haven't seen for awhile." He rubbed the back of his head with a small chuckle, before noticing what she was holding in her hands. 'Why didn't I notice that before?' He shook his head again, "Um, did you come here to work on that?" He said, pointing at the camera in her hands.

"Oh, um, yeah. I was just going to adjust a few parts on it." She answered with a small voice. Shirou let out a small hum.

"Well, if you want, I could help you out with it. I may be able to offer a few improvements as well." He said with a small smile. Velvet tilted her head at him, with a somewhat skeptical expression. "My semblance helps me analyze weapons, plus, I was usually the go-to mechanic for people's weapons."

"Um, I thought your semblance was summoning weapons? I mean, I saw it in the cafeteria, I wasn't spying on you." She quickly said, with her ears drooping a bit when she was done.

"Well, you would be mostly right. However, analysis is a sort of byproduct of that. I suppose you could call it a sort of evolution." He replied, though he was technically lying. He could always analyze weapons, but this new ability allowed him to create new weapons from the blueprints. 'She doesn't have to know that though.'

Thing was, Anesidora wasn't really a weapon, rather it was a camera and projector. "I admit, everything about it is really well made. It's one of the more sophisticated weapons I've ever seen. My friend Vi would probably love it." He said with a small smile.

"You...you know what it is?" Shirou raised a brow at her question, before nodding.

"Yeah, I can't really help it. The moment I see something, it sort of gets recorded in here." He said, pointing at his head. "Though, unless I really pay attention, I won't know until I check. Anesidora, for example, isn't a sword or weapon really, and all of the moving parts would make it a hassle to copy. So, there are limits." 'To an extent.'

Could he trace it? Yes. Would he ever bother doing so? No. Not when he could do what it could do with less hassle. Though, he had to admit, if anyone could improve it, it would be him. He then noticed her looking at him with a strange expression he couldn't pin down. Though, she looked sort of happy.

"S-so, you...your like me?" Shirou let out a questioning hum. "Um, nothing. Well, I wanted to try and make it better, but I haven't really found a way to do so." She replied to him, with Shirou noticing her closed off posture. 'She seems like a naturally shy person.'

"Well, do you mind if I take a look at it? I can try and help you out. I don't have much to do today anyways." He told her, which was the truth. 'Well, besides making food, and maybe baking with Brigid and Snow, but that won't be until much later.' She looked down at her camera before looking back at him and nodding.

"Hmm, I admit, this will be tricky. The problem isn't any of the mechanics exactly. It has more to do with the fact that your copies are lost and that they don't last too long. The storage isn't a big concern, unless you wanted form a bunch of weapons and shoot that at the enemy." He said offhandedly, inspecting the box.

"Would it be possible to create a permanent copy with what I have? Or, at least, create copies that would last longer or be reused a few times?" Shirou ran a hand through his hair, before looking at her.

"Possible? I'd say yes. Easy? Definitely not." He replied honestly. 'I'll need to use magecraft and my knowledge of runes and dust, but I could do it.' "I can come up with something, but it will take some time. For now, let me try something." He took the container that held the hard light dust she had in Anesidora.

He grabbed some of his tools from his bag, before placing the container in front of him. He saw the small mechanism used to project the dust, as well as the sense. "Trace on." He whispered, though it didn't really matter, as faunus usually had really good hearing.

He dipped the engraving tool into a vial of liquidized dust, before beginning his work. 'A simple rune won't do. It will have to be an array. Ansuz and Ehwaz will make up the core, it should help with keeping her weapons around longer. The rest will help with projecting.' He thought, pumping his aura and magical energy into the runes.

Right now, Shirou's goal would be to figure out a way to allow Velvet to reuse projections permanently. That wasn't going to be easy. Even with his array, it would only strengthen the current projections, allowing them to maintain themselves for a good 45 seconds to a minute, if she was lucky, and they could take more hits.

'Maybe mixing hard light dust with something else would allow it to hold longer? Maybe if I think of it like tracing, I could come up with something better for her. I'll need to think on it.'

Blake was going to return to her room with everyone else, but decided to take some time to think about things. Her mind was already a mess because of what she found out about the White Fang, but there was also the issue she had with Shirou. It bothered her more than she thought it would, but she couldn't help it.

Honestly, she didn't think that Shirou was all that complicated when she first met him. He was more mature than he looked and seemed to understand her problems, but she figured that was just because of who he was. He was a kind person who enjoyed helping people and spending time with his friends and sisters.

Then the night she ran out of the academy changed all of that. She wanted answers, but she couldn't think of anything to say to him. So, she did what she always ended up doing. Avoided the problem. Though, this led to a whole other issue.

She could tell that her team was close to confronting her, and she could tell that Shirou was distancing himself from her. Probably thinking that he was doing her a favor, rather than confront her and get her to talk about it like she wanted him to. He was considerate at the most inopportune times.

So, rather than just avoid the issue with Shirou, she decided she would deal it. If her team came up and questioned her, she'd tell them she was waiting on him. It had been awhile since she had been there, but she knew that Shirou likely continued coming to the roof.

So, she waited, thinking about what she was going to talk to Shirou about. What she had seen. She still didn't fully understand what she saw, but she was pretty sure that it was very important. She could tell that it had a lot to do with Shirou and who he was.

That world of blades as far as the eye could see. The weapons she saw there, including her own weapon. She did wonder how Shirou was able to summon his weapons the way he did, but she never imagined that he had something like that. She wanted to talk to him about it, to understand it.

If that was what she thought it was, then why did it feel the way that it did? It was as if, the bright sky and sun were only a temporary respite from the storm that lay on the horizon. Why was there a need for bonfires in such a bright world, unless it was because it wasn't always like that?

Was everyone really that important to him? That he would have their weapons separate from all the others? So many questions. She wasn't a fool. She saw and felt the weapons inside of that place. She could feel how special they were. 'Did each weapon possess memories like mine did?' She let out a sigh, 'No other option than to wait.'

Shirou thought he did good work. Velvet seemed very impressed and thankful for what he did to Anesidora. Apparently, what he did was more than enough for her, though he did promise to keep working on it. Mainly because he enjoyed a good challenge, and also, she was sort of like him in way.

'Just what the world needs. Two fakers.' He thought with a small snort. He continued his walk back to the dorms. He had stopped by the library and saw that it was empty, well, empty of anyone he associated with. Save for one thing. The thing that he was now carrying under his arm. 'I thought I told Ruby to take care of her games.'

He let out a sigh. Just as he was about to reach her door, it opened with Ruby darting out of it. Shirou quickly grabbed Ruby by the hood, causing her to come to a sudden stop. "Ow, hey, what's the big idea?" She said quickly, before seeing him. "Shiro? What are you doing here?" He merely shook his head, before holding up her game.

"Oooh, my game! I was just about to go and get it. Thanks, Shiro!" She said happily, grabbing the game with her hands. Shirou was about to say something, before he caught the scent of something troublesome. It was a familiar scent, one that he was about to go searching for.

He noticed Ruby's eyes widen, obviously noticing who he was speaking about. Shirou turned around to see three people, two of which he had already met. From the looks of it, he left quite the impression on her. He couldn't help but slightly smirk at the sight.

The three of them were dressed in uniforms, but he highly doubted they were actual students. Which meant that something else was going on. Which he already knew about, thanks to his spies and Raven. He wasn't exactly focused on the other two, as they weren't really threats to him at present.

No, he was focused on the one in the middle. The woman with long black hair that covered one of her amber colored eyes. 'Magical energy.' He could smell it on her. It was incomplete and weak, but still impressive considering its incomplete form. 'I'll need to inform Raven.' He thought to himself.

"Hey, I haven't see you here before. Are you guys new?" His sister asked the group. While the girl, 'Was her name Emerald?', was trying to not look at him. The boy, whatever his name was, was looking at him closely. 'I could recall it if I checked, but I'd rather not.' He then noticed the third woman, looking at him and Ruby.

"We're visiting from Haven." She replied, looking at him with a strange expression. Shirou mentally shook his head. He could tell she was the kind of woman who used everything granted to her to her disposal. Including her looks. 'She's a dangerous individual. She's the type to do anything to get what she wants.'

"I think they're visiting for the festival, Rubes." He said, turning to look at her. She responded in kind, before he saw the light bulb in her head go off.

"Ooh, but don't those students have their own dormitory?" She asked him, causing him to smile a bit.

"They do, which makes me wonder what brings you three down our hall? You hear about our baking contests? Or just have a sweet tooth? If so, I wouldn't mind making something for all of you real quick." He said, maintaining his small smile. He noticed the boy attempt to say something, but the black haired woman, 'Didn't Roman call her Cinder?' lifted a hand up, stopping him.

"That sounds delightful, though, I'm afraid we'll have to stop by our dorm first. I'm sure that won't be a problem. Will it?" She asked, taking a few steps closer. He could tell Ruby was a bit puzzled, but her desire for cookies seemed to be keeping her mind off of it.

"Of course not. It takes a bit of time to set everything up, as well as gather the ingredients, so no problem at all, miss." He replied. "Um, Ruby, why don't you tell them where their dorm is located?"

"Oh, of course, I believe that the dorms of the visiting students is to the east of here." She said, motioning towards the direction with her hands. Cinder simply kept her smile on her face as they began to walk past them down the hall.

"Appreciate the heads up. I'm sure we'll see you later." Cinder replied as she passed by them. He noticed Ruby turn around to see them leave, but Shirou kept looking forward, lost in thought. 'I'll need to talk to Neo and Torchwick.' He couldn't imagine what sort of plan was in place that would require them to enter the school.

Whatever the plan was, it hinged on the festival. 'However, I know who you are. So, don't expect whatever plan you have to go so smoothly.' He thought, turning his head to see the group turning the corner. He caught a glimpse of Cinder's gaze on him.

"Well, she seemed nice. What do you think, Shiro?" She asked with a bright smile. Shirou raised a brow, before he shrugged.

"I think that things are about to get really interesting soon. You may want to let your team know not to show too much of your skills, otherwise these new students will take advantage of it. I have a feeling we'll need to be at our best for the festival." He replied, patting Ruby on the head.

'I think it's about time I see where that smell of magic came from after my stunt in the cafeteria. I have a feeling I'll find a few answers when I find it.' Shirou had a lot to do.