Just An Archer...

Chapter 2 - Just An Archer...

- THREE YEARS Later -

Tohsaka Rin was in a pinch.

She was walking home with a few female schoolmates for a study session for the upcoming midterm exams. Not that she needed any help with her schoolwork. She was at the top of her age group academically, followed closely by the president of the student's council Issei-san and another unremarkable boy, Emiya-san, the fake janitor as he was called nowadays for his inclination generally helpful to everyone, going as far as taking care of repairs of school appliances. In a sense those two were part of the reason for her current situation. Those two, busy as they were with their respective commitments, managed to keep up with her in school with little apparent effort. It grated on her nerves even though she had her own business to attend beyond school as well.

Still, she couldn't use that as an excuse with his schoolmates, since she couldn't exactly tell then she was a Magus, nor with herself, especially where the Emiya boy was involved. Lately she had learned that he was not only an orphan who lived on his own, but he also had a part time job somewhere in town. That fact by itself couldn't be enough to annoy her, since she knew firsthand how difficult it was being without parents. No what grated on her nerves was the he didn't do it out of need but out of principle. Apparently the boy didn't want to live relying on what his family had left him and set himself to gain his own living.

That fact, paired with his apparent ability to give her a run for her money academically was enough to ignite her competitive streak and tag him as her school rival. If he could excel at school while helping others and while having a work she couldn't do any less. Besides her carefully crafted public image would suffer if she denied a direct request for help from her classmates. School idols have a reputation to uphold after all.

They spent most of the afternoon after classes at school, revising the material that was more likely to come up in the exams. Time came up short though and they had to continue their study session elsewhere. Tohsaka's place was the best choice seeing that she lived alone and they began walking there chatting animatedly.

Fuyuki city was generally considered by its inhabitant a rather safe place, despite the unusual and unexplainable events that took place from time to time. Criminality wasn't a concern either since most of the unsavory individuals run their shady business leaving the law abiding citizen mostly alone. That didn't mean that walking down desert streets in the evening was considered a safe thing to do, especially for what looked like a group of defenseless girls.

That was the crux of Tohsaka problem. Following one her friends' suggestion they had cut through a rather dark alley, something even small children were advised not to do. Tohsaka expressed her concern of course, but the rest of the group waved it off nonchalantly. That was Fuyuki city. Nothing ever happened there.

'So,' She sighed inwardly as she looked the scene around her unfold, "why are we surrounded by five men whose idea of fun involves a lack of clothing on our part?' She wanted to ask of her now frightened schoolmates. Why did people choose to ignore wise advices until it was too late?

"Ah, come on kittens," one of the man said. "Don't be scared. We ain't gonna hurt you. Well… it might hurt at first, but it gets better after a while," he chuckled at his own joke.

"You're preaching to the choir, dude. I'm sure these chicks have seen more than enough of a man up close."

"Ah ah ah," another one laughed. "You're probably right. School girls these days are probably loose as a pro."

"Nah. These looks still pretty fresh to me," the fourth commented. "Maybe their cherries are already popped, but I'm sure there are still tight enough for a night of fun."

"How about we cut this shit and find out for real, hm?" the first one asked.

"If you touch any of us," Tohsaka growled, "you are going to regret it."

She actually could wipe the floor with those guys, but that meant using her thaumaturgy and exposing her nature as a Magus to her classmates. She wasn't sure she could deal with all five of them before one managed to hurt one of her friends. Even though she could hypnotize them afterwards and erase their memories, she couldn't be certain she could do it without anyone being harmed before or slipping away before she was done. If anyone managed to escape her, and reveal the existence of magic, she was going to get in big troubles with the Association, not to speak of the blow on her reputation as guardian on the land.

She bit her lip in frustration. No matter how much she thought about it she couldn't come up with a foolproof plan to keep her friends safe and not expose her secrets. For all the wrong reason the thug interpreted the uncertainty in her eyes as the proof of her already obvious bluff.

"And who's going to make me regret it little lady? You?" He asked, his tone laced with sarcasm.

"Maybe she won't," a previously unheard voice stated. "But I will."

The man had barely time to shift his gaze from Rin to the speaker when something impacted right between his eyes with a loud thwack. The man tumbled backward while all the presents turned to face the newcomer.

He stood at the end of the ally, completely dress in black clothing. The upper part of his face down to his nose was hidden behind a mask of the same color, his hairs where equally hidden by a hood which casted ominous shadows on what little was visible of his eyes. In his hands was a strangely shaped bow again of the same color. For all means and purpose he could have been just another shadow.

A shadow that took human shape and descended upon the wicked to account them for their sins. Black as the night, dark as a nightmare. It was hard to believe he was tall as a boy in his teen and from the sound of his voice just as old.

"What the fuck? The hell are you?" one of the men asked. His answer came in the shape of an arrow again between his eyes.

"YOU FUCKING BRAT!" the closest to the masked boy shouted, closing the distance between them. One step and man was right on him, fist cocked to deliver what looked like powerful punch. Tohsaka couldn't see it from where she was, but the man smirked knowing that he had the advantage of size at such a close range. He didn't leave the boy time to draw another arrow to his bow. He never even realized he didn't need it at all

The man swung his fist and the bow went flying high above his head. His fist, however, went through empty space, missing his target entirely. The boy had thrown his weapon of choice in the air and ducked under the man's powerful sideway swing.

Fast as lightning the boy's right fist struck the much bigger man in his nether regions. With expectable results. The injured man hadn't time to contemplate his pain for long as the boy struck again with a blow that seemed to miss the man's face at first but curved at the right moment to hit him almost from behind. He collapsed, presumably unconscious, without as much as a grunt.

The boy was far from having finished however. Before anyone could react, and before the unconscious man had actually hit the ground, the shadow-clad figure sprung in action again, dashing toward the fourth thug. Perceiving the incoming threat the man raised his guard, ready to face whatever the boy might throw at him. It was again a fatal mistake. Five steps away for him the boys snatched his falling bow in midair with his right hand, an arrow at the ready in his left.

The man's eyes had barely time to widen in realization before he was struck in his jewels, shattering his guard among other things, just before another arrow connected with his forehead.

The fifth rapist wannabe had finally wised up and spun on his heels to flee the scene. He didn't complete the fourth step when yet another arrow it him behind his head.

The loud thud of his face hitting the ground signaled the end of the confrontation giving reign to a dumbfounded silence on the girls' part. The nameless archer, on the other hand, cautiously walked to one of his victim to another, checking their vitals and retrieving something from the ground.

Tohsaka shifted slightly, ready to engage this clearly more dangerous individual if his intention for helping them were less than noble.

"Y.. you killed them…" One of the girls, Ayane Sengou, stuttered frozen by shock.

"They're alive," Tohsaka answered. Ayane and the rest of the girls turned to her. "Look," she said holding one of the arrows she picked on the ground. Instead of pointed head the arrow had a thick metal ball. A blunt weapon instead of a piercing one. "You can't kill anyone with these."

"Of course," the boy spoke. "I'm no murderer." He walked to her and picked the arrow from her hands putting it back into his quiver. Their eyes met for a moment and the girl took the chance to scan their depth for any ulterior motive, ignoring the sudden surge of heat to her face. Finding only clear pools of green she relaxed and eased her pose.

"The streets aren't safe at night for girls like you. My advice is to stay away from places like these even during the day. This is a quiet city if you don't go looking for trouble."

"Like you do?" Rin spoke in defiance. Her more aggressive persona had been brought to the surface by the recent events and the boy's protective attitude didn't put her pride to rest either. She was more than capable of taking care of herself. 'But not of those around you.' She thought. 'If he hadn't come could you have helped your friends by yourself?' A grimace formed on her face at those thoughts. The boy chuckle however brought her out of her funk.

"Perhaps I'm not the best example of what I preach. My points remain valid, though. Whatever… You all have a cell phone right? Please call the police. I'll be going." He spun on his heels and walked in the direction he came from. The shadows of the alley had almost swallowed him when she called back at him.

"Wait a moment! Who are you?"

He stopped and turned sideways, just enough to look back at her.

"I'm just an Archer," and then he stepped forward and disappeared in the darkness.

"A… Archer?" Ayane stuttered.

"T.. the Archer?" another one spoke in awe. "You mean he's real?"

"Duh! Of course he is."

In that moment Tohsaka understood what her friends were talking about. She had heard about it before. It had been a passing topic of conversation in school like any other urban myth. The Archer. A lonely figure that stalked the streets of Fuyuki at night watching over the innocents and punishing the criminals. A few arrests of small gangs that were suspect of dealing drugs were attributed to him at least partly. According to the rumors the police intervened after receiving an anonymous tip only to found the whole gang unconscious and bound with enough proofs scattered around to makes charges stick, sending the entire lot behind bars for a long time.

Of course she hadn't paid any attention to such things before. There were countless of such rumors running around and they never lasted enough to bother. Yet the myth stared her in the eyes that night, emerging from the darkness in their time on need and disappearing immediately after without asking or even expecting any reward for his deeds. He was just like one of those heroes in the manga her schoolmates liked to read, or a knight from the tales her father used to read her before falling asleep.

Whoever he was the boy was a mystery. His identity, his skills and his motives where all shrouded in darkness and she coulnd't help but mulling them over and over again inside her head, asking herself why her heart didn't stop hammering inside since the moment when the Archer stared in her eyes from up close.

The police arrived not ten minutes later, questioned the girls, and proceed to escort the gentlemen away. The detective in charge released a powerful sigh as he talked with a colleague. Tohsaka reinforced her hearing with magic and eavesdropped from afar.

"So the Archer strikes again, huh, Dojima-senpai?" the younger detective spoke

"I don't like the tone of admiration in your voice, Adachi," the older man grumbled.

"Eh? Ah well, you know Senpai. I grew up reading stories of heroes of justice when I was a kid. I wanted to be one so badly that I ended doing this job."

"Who gives a damn about that, dumbass. This ain't no friggin' manga. There's a child running around at night, carrying weapons, putting himself in danger and putting us to shame. Chief's going to bite our heads off for this."

"Why? How is this our fault? It's not like we put the kid up to it," he was rewarded with a smack on the back of his head.

"So what if isn't our fault? It's still our duty to capture criminals and keeps children away from harm. This whole Archer business is a blow in our face and pride. What are the people going to think if they knew a kid is doing our job and fooling us for over a year?"

"You didn't have to hit so hard Senpai," Adachi groaned.

They bantered back and forth but when it was clear they weren't going to discuss any other useful information Tohsaka tuned them out and rejoined their friends. It was obvious that there wasn't going to be any more studying for the evening. The latest events were too shocking to let them focus on anything else. They were escorted back home by the police, who had to reassure their parents their daughters were fine and in no trouble at all.

Tohsaka was the last to be brought back since she didn't have any family waiting for her. And she spent the whole trip wondering about the mysterious Archer. Whoever he was, he clearly was running amok on her territory. As the Magus in charge of that part of town it was her duty to keep her ears open even if the boy's actions as a non-Magus weren't necessarily her responsibility. She spared no little amount of time convincing herself that her interest was purely professional.

The following morning everyone was talking about Archer. While many already believed he existed, no one really had a close encounter with him before that. The gossip spread like a wildfire even reaching the student council's president Issei Ryuudou who was eating lunch with his trusted friend Shirou.

"The school seems to be in an uproar today," he stated as calmly as usual. Issei was the kind of person that never lost his cool, even under pressure and dealing with trouble teenagers on a daily basis only reinforced that trait.

"Yeah," Shirou agreed. "Have you heard the news?"

"About that Archer fellow? I would have to be deaf not to have heard. Everyone's talking about it."

"You don't seem to like it," he pointed out.

"That would be because I don't," he answered coolly, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Don't get me wrong. It's heartening that someone our age his willing to stand up for the weak, but it's not his place to do that. It's the police job to keep the citizens safe."

"But if he wasn't there yesterday our schoolmates would have been…"

"I know," Issei said defensively holding up his hand. "I'm not questioning his actions, mind you. I'm just afraid someone might try to emulate him and put himself in trouble," he said leveling a stare at Shirou. Even he wasn't dense enough to miss its meaning.

"What? Do you think I'd do something like that?"

"Actually, if it wasn't for the fact that I can't imagine you coming out of a fight on top, I would have said you were this infamous Archer."

"W-what?" Shirou sputtered. "Why would you think that?"

"Oh I wouldn't know. Partly because you are around his presumed age, because you are in the archery club, but mostly because you have more sense of justice than common sense."

"Come on! I'm not that bad," he protested.

"No? Only in the past two months you've been dragged in three fights with the local bullies."

"But they were stealing money from their underclassmen. I had to stop them."

"How? By letting them punch you in the face until they got tired and left? Which is, if I'm not mistaken, exactly what happened."

"Err… But it worked," he pointed out scratching his head sheepishly.

"I'm not even going to comment on that," Issei deadpanned. "But seriously Shirou, don't do something reckless like that, all right? You are the only person inside this school that doesn't seem to actively work to give me troubles. Don't start doing it now."

"Ah, come on Issei. It can be that bad? Besides there's also Tohsaka-san who can be of help if you'd only ask."

"I would rather not do that if I could, Shirou."

"Why?" Shirou asked. "She's a model student. Did something happen bad between the two of you I don't know about?"

"No, nothing of the sort. It's just that there's something about that doesn't really convinces me. Ah, forget I said anything. It's probably just my imagination."

Shirou eyed his friend warily. He knew that the girl wasn't as pure as she made it out to be; no Magus could truly be that candid. Which held true for him as well of course. Poor Issei didn't know half of it when it came to his two schoolmates, even though he was proving to be quite receptive. Seeing though Tohsaka pleasant mask wasn't an easy feat, and he had almost nailed him right away as the Archer. Granted, he probably knew him better than anyone else in school beside Taiga, who, for all her good intentions, couldn't see a brick wall if she walked into it sometimes. She was a klutz like that.

Still, that made him think about the girl once again. He almost hadn't recognize her the previous evening until he was standing right in front of her. It had been a close call. If those guys had proven to be too much of a challenge for his more.. mundane skills he would have been forced to tap into his Prana, giving away his nature as a Magus to the magic attuned girl, something he had no intention to do. He didn't want to let anyone know about the existence of another Magus in Fuyuki, especially not the guardian of the land. While he had no reason to clash against other Magi at the moment, he preferred to keep his identity and the full scope of his skills under wrap. As his father had taught him, secrecy was probably the most powerful weapon at his disposal, and one that couldn't be retrieved once lost.

Being an unknown factor, untraceable and unpredictable, gave him the upper hand in nearly every situation as proven the previous evening. If those thugs had expected him and attacked him at once he wouldn't have been able to dispose of them as easily. His sudden appearance and their ignorance of his actual skills had offered him an easy victory.

He pushed the thoughts away and placed an hand on Issei's shoulder in a comforting manner, walking with him to his next period. If the poor guy only knew how many troubles Tohsaka and he could actually bring forth….

For the following week Tohsaka returned to the alley by herself around the same time as the first evening. She wanted to find out some clues on the mysterious vigilante who run amok in her territory. It was a matter of pride. She chose to go back at the same time as before in case the boy had a regular pattern to patrol the city but so far there was no trace of him. So far.

"Good advices should be put into practice, Miss," a voice spoke from nowhere and Tohsaka nearly jumped out her skin. She looked around frantically for the origin of the voice and found him perched like a predator on a small window sill, high above the ground.

"How did you get up there?" She asked, seeing that there was no way to climb so high short of using a stair.

"… From inside the building," he answered and Tohsaka felt a little silly. What had she expected? That he flew up there? Being a Magus sometimes screwed your perceptions. "Now, why were you looking for me exactly?"

"… What makes you think I was looking for you specifically?"

"You're here at the same hour as the last time, and I don't think you came back here because you like the scenery or enjoyed the company of the locals."

"N… This is just the shortest way to my house," she protested.

"So you'd go through a dangerous place like this just to cut a few short meters?"

"I… I was in a hurry!" She claimed. 'Why am I arguing with him like this?'

"You've been standing there for the past ten minutes looking at the ground, miss…"

"ARE YOU STALKING ME?" She shouted, almost ready to magically curse the annoying boy.

"That would be my question," came the dry reply. "See, I don't like when people snoop around me trying to find out my identity. I wear a mask for a reason you know? Now, why were you looking for me?"

"I… It's none of your business were I go or what I do."

"Fair enough," he shrugged. "Well then, since you don't seem to need anything from me I'll be on my way."

"W-wait a moment!" She all but commanded as he was about to get back inside.

"Yes?"

"Why are you doing this?"

The Archer narrowed his eyes a little, contemplating if parting what that tidbit of information could lead her to find out who he was. Not finding any reason to withhold it he answered.

"Because I knew despair and hopelessness once, but I have been saved. Now, all I want to do I saving others from the same fate with my own hands. Good night, Miss."

With those words he snuck back into the window and disappeared from sight, leaving behind a puzzled Tohsaka.

"He had been saved…?" She pondered alone in the dark alley for a while, before realizing that she had no longer reason to remain there anymore and quickly left as well.

Without so much as a noise, Shirou slipped inside his house undetected, a little worried about that evening meeting.

Tohsaka was on his case. That didn't bode well. Why was she so interested in what she should have considered a mundane vigilante? He never used any of his Thaumaturgy in her presence, so there shouldn't have been any reason for her to search for him. Or was there?

Admittedly he knew very little of her schoolmate and fellow Magus except what little he managed to scrape for casual observation and with the knowledge on the Tohsaka family his father passed to him. Could she be that she had a way to detect lingering magic?

No, that couldn't be the case. If she was capable of doing something like that she would have confronted him as Shirou already. So why was she so interested in him? It went behind her duties as guardian of the land. Was sort of interest could she have in him then?

That night he fell asleep a little perturbed by his inability to come up with a logical reason for Tohsaka behavior, but still resolved to keep his guard up around her.

Both Shirou and Tohsaka had to put aside their late night quests and worries in order to face something a lot more common yet equally dreadful.

Midterm exams.

Neither of them had really anything to worry about when it came to their grades, but both of them still had their reasons to do try best.

For Tohsaka it was essentially her competitive streak that pushed her to excel in everything she did and the façade of model student and school idol to uphold.

For Shirou was simply his sense of duty and the knowledge that if he started slacking in some field there was nothing holding him back from doing the same with something else. It was everything or nothing to him.

With that kind of mindset on both parts it was obvious that the two Magi would soon clash against each other.

Tohsaka Rin was proud of herself. Despite the time wasted at finding out more about the mysterious vigilante, she still managed to breeze through the exams. Of course, for a person with the mindset of a Magus a simple written school exam held nothing of the challenge and the pressure it had over a common student. All it took her was a little study and she would ace her test blindfolded.

She was sure that she would be ranked first in her age group; there was no other possible outcome in her mind. With that conviction she approached the results posted in the hallway for everyone to see. Her eyes run to the top of the list where her name certainly was written.

#1 - Emiya Shirou.

She blinked. Her eyes were playing tricks on her. She looked again.

#1 - Emiya Shirou.

Nope. The name at the top still wasn't hers. Her left eyebrow twitched in annoyance, but she gave on other outward sign of her growing inner turmoil. For some sort of miracle the Fake Janitor managed to steal her rightful place from under her feet. How could she bear to be number 2?

Apparently she didn't have to.

Her gaze fell on the name below.

#2 – Ryuudou Issei.

She rubbed her eyes, trying to dispel the illusion. She looked again.

#2 – Ryuudou Issei.

A thick, pulsating vein formed on her forehead. A strangled growl died in throat as she fought to keep her graceful public persona. She looked once again a line below.

#3 - Tohsaka Rin.

Finally. If she was ranked below yet another student she would have blown the building to Kingdom Come and then planted proofs to blame it on a gas leak or some other amenity like that.

To say that she was furious would be a gross understatement. She was a girl with a competitive streak a mile wide who gave nothing but her very best at everything she did and didn't expect any less in return. To think that someone so unremarkable managed to over score her was something akin to blasphemy in her mind.

She, the heir of Tohsaka, a promising young Magus and guardian of the land had been surpassed by a mere commoner? Such an affront wouldn't pass without repercussions. Not a chance.

Shirou was more than happy with his score. Why shouldn't he? He unexpectedly scored first in his age group, even above Issei and Tohsaka. He knew he had applied himself diligently to all of his studies but didn't expect that kind of result.

What would people think if they knew he cheated? Sort of…

He didn't expect it to work so well. It was an accident, really. A side effect of his Thaumaturgy. He just thought he had too little time in a single day to dedicate to all of his activities so he began multitasking. Honestly, he believed it would backfire at first. Instead it worked better than he had originally hoped.

Shirou had little access and talent for complex branches of magic. That much had become clear very soon in his studies; therefore he decided to optimize what he was capable of instead. Structural Grasping and Reinforcement. The first allowed him to understand the structure and composition of an object just by touching it as if he saw its blueprint inside his mind. The second consisted in pouring his Prana into an object's imperfection to make it stronger.

Although they were very simple concepts in theory, both had their own drawbacks. His perfect Structural Grasping was, as Kiritsugu had bluntly put it, extremely useful to understand the inner working of nearly everything, but was completely useless in battle. Shirou agreed with that statement but he had his own idea on how to utilize it.

Reinforcement downside on the other hand, was as simple as the concept itself. If you force too much of something into a container it will ultimately break apart. Indeed, a minor slip up with Reinforcement would easily shatter the recipient to pieces as it flowed into said container lines of weakness. Such concept held true even when applied to the Magus's body itself, with varying degrees of gore depending on the magnitude of the mistake. It was therefore an art soon discarded by all Magi in favor of more complex and safer methods of strengthening something or someone, although they were less accessible and more time consuming.

Shirou neither had the resources nor mindset to quit something just because it was difficult. Thus set himself to make the best out of those two techniques.

For years he combined them on himself, studying his body with Structural Grasping while he poured increasing amount of Prana in his muscles and bones. It had been a painstakingly slow and generally painful process that bore little results for a long time, but it finally paid off.

Years of diligently training bore results he could be proud. Results no other Magus ever achieved or even attempted to achieve due to the process' difficulties and inherent risks.

Of course that didn't mean he was finished. As he grew his body changed, more so under the pressure coming from inside the muscles themselves when he worked on his Reinforcement with himself as a subject. It acted like a passive form of physical training which, paired with his normal workout routine, crafted his body into the tool he needed to become the Hero he dreamed to be.

He hid it underneath his somewhat baggy clothes or the school uniform, but for his fourteen years he had a physical prowess only talented athletes much older and experienced could flaunt. And he still had lots of growing up to do. Confident with those result he decided to take what he thought to be the next logical step in the technique: Reinforcing his organs.

Many others Magi wouldn't have dared, too greedy for immediate, tangible results and too scared by eventual permanent damages.

Shirou on his part, for all his lack of other talent, had lots of patience and little restraint (some would call it common sense) when it came to putting his life in on the line for the sake of his dreams. Eyes and ears were the first to be tested and after overcoming and getting used to the initial pains he noticed a sensible increment in his eyesight and hearing. He didn't suddenly become an eagle capable of seeing miles afar but it was still amazing in his own right.

Heart and lung followed with much, much caution. Had he been older he would have probably given himself a stroke but his young, strong heart managed somehow to sustain the effort and grew stronger. Running a marathon now wouldn't a problem for him anymore so long as he kept himself within the limits of a normal human being.

Bolstered by the amazing fruits of his work bore he took the ultimate step and. If reinforcing an organ magnified its resistance and functions, what would reinforce his brain do?

…Beside giving him a splitting headache and a nosebleed that is.

He found out that it greatly enhanced his cognitive ability and hastened his perceptions to the point of seeing things in slow motion. If Kiritsugu was still alive at that point he would have compared it to the effect of his Accel, even if the body reactions didn't follow the brain's newfound speed. It didn't make him any more intelligent, but his ability to memorize things multiplied tenfold reducing the time he needed to learn anything. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. If he managed to Reinforce his entire body to the point of keeping up with his accelerated perception he would truly become the superhero he wanted to be.

It was still very, very ,very far from there but now he knew it was theoretically feasible.

Also, it didn't hurt that he breezed through all the material he had to review for the exams thanks to it. Still, even while he knew that he had indeed studied for the tests a little part of his mind couldn't help but feeling for the unfair advantage he had over the other students.

It took him a little while to come to term with that but in the end he had to admit to himself that every person had his own talents and he had worked hard at his Reinforcement. In a roundabout way it was still the fruit of his hard work, and as such that made his results rightfully earned.

Too bad somebody else wouldn't be of the same opinion if she knew.

He was walking down the corridors with Issei when it happened.

He felt it even before seeing her. It washed over him like a blanket of dreadful intentions not dissimilar to what his father put him through as he helped him train. Only the experience saved him from hitting the figurative trigger in his mind and tapping into his abilities to face the incoming wrath.

Then he saw her. The sheer contrast between her angelic appearance and the malice surrounding her was enough to make him dizzy.

"Emiya-san," she spoke with that sweet voice of her. "Congratulations on your exams results. You too Ryuudou-san."

"A-Ah thank you, Tohsaka-san" Shirou stuttered as he tried to control his voice. "I'm just trying to do my best. That's all."

"Indeed," Issei replied far calmer than Shirou but still a little paler than usual. "As the president of the Student body and Shirou as the captain of the Archery club it is our duty to set the example of the other students."

"That's truly awe inspiring. I'll make sure to follow your example from now on. Well, I should really get to class now. Goodbye Emiya-san, Ryuudou-san."

She stepped between them to proceed and as she was right beside Shirou she whispered, "Next time I'll be the one on top," making Issei and him shiver at the underlying malice in her voice.

"What… was that?" Shirou asked once she was out of earshot.

"The confirmation of my suspicions," Issei declared as he adjusted his glasses on his nose. "As I thought, Tohsaka-san is far from being the pleasant person she pretends to be. I would guess that our exams ranking has upset her to the point of putting aside her façade with us. Careful Emiya. If she's the kind of person I think she is, she won't stop at nothing to get what she wants."

"Wait… You aren't telling me that she would actually do something to… physically take me out of the competition?" He asked while knowing how ridicules it sounded to a normal person. While Japanese culture was heavily based on personal competitiveness both inside and outside school, not many would actually harm a fellow student just to be ranked first at the exams. To be a Magus, however, you had to be a little screwed up in the head to begin with.

…. Could Tohsaka actually be up to something unsavory for him?

"I don't think she would go as far as intentionally harming you, but she has plenty of guys willing to do anything just to catch a glimpse of her attention. If she accidentally lets slip out that she's angry with you some of her less savory admirers might target you just for that purpose. And we both know how that will end in your case."

Shirou just groaned. What had he done to deserve that situation? Was it true then, that no good deed went unpunished? Resigning himself to deal with the situation as it came he turned around and left with Issei. Hopefully his busy day would distract him from the latest events.

…Hopefully.