5

For those that haven't seen my latest chapter of Hero and Holy Maiden, apologies for not posting a new chapter in awhile, I had some issues with my internet service and had to go to some dr appointments and such. All taken care of now, so the regular posting should return to normal. Marksman and Vanadis will be the next story after this. I think I'll do two chapters for both this one and Vanadis before heading back into DxD. Also, I've been getting some people saying things about my author notes. I'll just say this, if you don't want to see it, then skip the author notes. It is not that hard to do. I literally put a line break and the chapter number so it can be skipped. The author notes are for me to interact with reviewers and offer explanations and to share some fun info. Skip it if you don't want to see it. Besides, as the stories get more chapters, they'll more than likely be removed when I clean up the previous ones. So, just skip em if you want.

Blade Works is Shirou's semblance, as such, it can evolve like other semblances. UBW won't though, as that is his reality marble. His semblance is an extension of UBW but not UBW itself. The silver eyes will be used at some point, however, as Shirou mentioned, he doesn't know a lot about mystic eyes. Plus, the silver eyes don't function the same as normal Mystic eyes.

I did forget to add in the line about Shirou noticing Raven by her smell when she arrived. The guns thing, that is a story element, as he will develop it and eventually be able to do it on a whim like he does with swords. I already mentioned he can recreate Ruby and Yang's weapons so yeah.

The Raven thing will be explained soon, so for those that want to know, I will explain it soon. I really like Raven, she had a lot of potential that I think was wasted. So, I wanted to do something a bit different. Also, someone mentioned his mana capacity, Shirou isn't the same as canon. Canon Shirou had 27 circuits of pretty crap quality because he didn't use them until he was 17. This Shirou was a Fraga and was taught properly after the fire with Bazett, meaning his 27 circuits aren't low quality like canon. I may not have made that clear in earlier chapters, so apologies. Also, he has aura that can be added on top of his mana. so yeah. No power ups just yet as they aren't needed.

As for pairings, I still haven't decided definitively yet, as some characters still haven't shown up. Also, I forgot to put the team name, it will be SPRN, or spring. Thanks to Torukeru for the idea. It works well and I like it.

Now, without further ado, onto the story.

Chapter 5

The morning couldn't come fast enough for Ruby, who was more than excited to finally be a student as Beacon. Funnily enough, what woke her wasn't her optimism or excitement. But, rather, it was the smell of breakfast wafting through halls of their dorm. Ruby looked around and noticed that Yang and Blake had also woken up because of it and were already dressed in their uniforms. Weiss was still waking up, slowly getting dressed for the day.

"Hey, Ruby, you don't think that we're smelling what I think we're smelling?" Yang asked with stars in her eyes. Ruby's eyes widened, before sniffing into the air.

"Yep, I knew it, we can't let anyone steal our breakfast this early in the morning. Team RWBY, quick, we must make it to the source of the delicious smell!" She exclaimed, quickly running out the door.

"Um, Weiss hasn't changed yet. Shouldn't we wait?" Blake asked, the bow on her head twitching slightly from the smell. Yang looked at Weiss, who was still groggily getting dressed. She only smiled.

"Well, you know what they say, you snooze, you lose." She replied, quickly running out. Blake quirked a brow, before shrugging and following shortly after. Needless to say, when she caught up with her two teammates, she was a bit shocked by the sight.

A nearly unnoticeable smile appeared on her face, seeing Shirou in the dorm kitchen, cooking breakfast, in a black apron with Ruby's rose insignia on it. She admitted to herself, that he looked good in it. She saw Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora sitting at one of the tables, eating different kinds of breakfast. Pyrrha and Ren were eating what appeared to be a normal breakfast of eggs, bacon, and pancakes. Nora had a large tower of pancakes on her plate, that she was demolishing.

"Shirou, this is so good! Can you teach me to make pancakes like this?! Oh, is that blueberries?" Nora asked excitedly. Shirou turned his head and only smiled at his teammate.

"Those are blueberries, yes, and sure, whenever we have free time I can show you how to make all kinds of pancakes." He replied, setting down two plates for Ruby and Yang. Ruby eating cereal, oatmeal, and muffins. Yang had what appeared to be eggs with steak, which was a bit odd, though Blake figured it matched.

"Awesome! Best team leader ever!" Nora said out loud. Shirou chuckled a bit while shaking his head. Then, he noticed Blake.

"Blake,..." She heard Shirou say, knocking her out of her thoughts. He had a smile on his face, as he turned to look at her, "Anything specific? Or, do you want me to try and guess what you like?" Blake thought about it for a moment, but Ruby helped her.

"Ooooh, let him guess, he hasn't been wrong ever since he started cooking for us. He always knows what everyone likes. It's almost like its his semblance, except, you know, with food." She managed to say while eating. Shirou grabbed a small piece of muffin and flicked it and hit Ruby's forehead.

"Ruby, what did I say about talking with your mouth full?" Ruby only responded by giving him a big smile. Shirou let out a sigh, before looking back towards Blake, "So, how about it?" She thought for a moment, before looking to him with a small smile.

"Sure, though, I can be quite picky." She replied with a small smirk. Shirou let out a laugh, before turning back to the stove. Weiss then, groggily, made her way into the kitchen. She walked over and sat by her team. "Maybe you should make something for Weiss too."

"Already on it. You want some coffee, Snow White?" He asked. Weiss looked up at him lazily, ignoring his nickname for her. Rather than answer audibly, she yawned and nodded her head. "Blake, you want orange juice, tea, or coffee?" Blake raised a brow, wondering where he got all of this stuff to cook for her. She ignored it, making sure to remember to ask later.

"Will it be the same as last night?" She asked. Shirou winced slightly, noticing his sisters reaction to her words. Yang had a mischievous smile on her face, while Ruby's eyes slightly narrowed, realizing that was why he was up late at night. Unknown to Shirou, Pyrrha herself was looking at him. The competitive side in her was flaring up, especially since Shirou was her partner.

Shirou turned away and cleared his throat, deciding to ignore the looks from his sisters. "Actually, I found some better quality tea in my bag." He replied, Blake nodding her head. He quickly poured the tea and coffee into a cup and gave them to their respective drinkers. He made his way back to his station and began to finish up the food.

He had already began preparing the food for Blake and Weiss before they showed up, since he already knew what they liked from his tracing. For Blake, he made rice, grilled fish, a japanese style omelet and miso soup. Well, this worlds version of it. For Weiss, crepes, toast and eggs, with assorted fruit. Honestly, he enjoyed making things other than the usual eggs, bacon, and pancakes.

He knew that someone would more than likely wonder where he got his ingredients, luckily, there was a collection of ingredients in the dorm kitchen, but the special ingredients he got by delivery. What Shirou liked to call, the Raven Special Delivery Service. Of course, he had to make Raven and Vernal breakfast when he asked her for supplies, but it was a small price to pay.

After putting the finishing touches on the plates, he handed them to Blake and Weiss. "Take your time and enjoy, we still thirty minutes before classes begin." He said to them with a smile.

Blake looked down at her plate and could feel her stomach rumbling. She wondered how Shirou was able to guess what their preferences were, as even Weiss seemed to enjoy the food he made for her. Her bow began to slightly twitch involuntarily as she ate her food. She had to admit, Shirou was a great cook.

As she was eating, she noticed Yang looking at her with a mischievous smile. She tilted her head and raised a brow at her. "What? Do I have something on my face?" she asked. Yang only shook her head.

"Nope, just wondering about what you said to Shirou earlier." Blake's eyes then widened, "Did my partner meet up with my brother for a romantic rendezvous in the middle of the night? Drinking tea and reading books together under the moonlight like an old married couple." She said bobbing back and forth. Blake's cheeks slightly reddened.

"It wasn't like that, I just wanted some fresh air and Shirou just happened to be up there still awake." She replied, though it didn't seem to deter Yang. "Besides, reading books isn't an old person thing, plenty of people do it." She said before taking another bite of her food.

"Mhmm, sure it is. Don't worry, I'm not upset, I've been trying to get Shirou a girlfriend since forever. I approve." She said before letting out a laugh. Blake only sighed as she shook her head. She knew she wouldn't get anywhere with her.

"Where'd you learn how to cook? This is really good." Blake heard Weiss say, finally waking up fully. Shirou was cleaning up the kitchen, not stopping as he replied back to her.

"Well, I appreciate the compliment Snow, but I'm mainly self taught. I just enjoy cooking." Weiss's eyes narrowed at the nickname. "I'm just glad the dorm had a kitchen for me to use, otherwise I would have been a bit disappointed." He added.

"There's no way thats true, this food is better than some of the chefs in Atlas." She said, obviously not believing his words. Ruby then intervened.

"No, it's totally true! Shirou used to cook a bunch at home, but if you think this is good, you should see him bake! Oh, Shirou, are you gonna make cookies too? Please, tell me you are!" She said excitedly. Weiss only huffed in annoyance.

"Hey, Shirou, are you going to eat anything?" Pyrrha asked as she gathered up the empty plates of her teammates. She made her way over to the sink and gently placed the dishes into it. "It's not good to skip breakfast."

"I already had breakfast before everyone woke up. Also, don't worry about the dishes, I can do that." He said making his way to the sink, however, Pyrrha held up a hand and shook her head.

"Shirou, you made us all breakfast, helping with the dishes is the least I can do." She said with a smile, though Nora quickly appeared beside her with a sponge.

"She's right captain, we got this!" Shirou smiled and nodded his head. He supposed it would get things done quicker, besides, they were a team.

"Alright, fine. Besides, classes will be starting soon. How was the food?" He asked Ruby and her team. All of whom had just finished their food.

"I agree with Weiss, it was delicious Shirou. Will breakfast like this be a common occurrence?" Blake asked with expectation in her voice and her bow twitching ever so slightly. Yang snorted, before grabbing Ruby's empty plate.

"No need to worry about that, Blakey. My brother cooks breakfast for Ruby and me every morning, I doubt that will change now that he has a kitchen to work with. Right, baby brother?" Yang quickly moved beside her brother while handing the plates of her team to Pyrrha, who quickly deposited them into the sink. Shirou rolled his eyes.

"My little sister is correct,..." He said with a smirk on his face, earning an elbow to the side from Yang, "I'll make breakfast every morning. If anyone has anything specific, let me know and I'll do my best to prepare it." He said with a smile. "Also, I think you girls should get the things you need for class, wouldn't want to be unprepared." He then pointed at the clock.

"When did it get that late?!" Weiss exclaimed, quickly heading back to the room. Shirou let out a small laugh.

"See you in class Shirou!" Ruby said as she followed soon after, followed by Yang, who slapped his back as she left.

Blake watched as the two left, before looking back to Shirou and his team, who had just finished up the dishes with surprising speed. "Try not to be late, it wouldn't do for you to be late to the first class." Blake told Shirou. He raised a brow at her words.

"You know that clock is five minutes early right?" He replied. This time, Blake had a confused look on her face. "Ruby and Yang tend to procrastinate, so I learned to rig the clocks." He explained, Blake only smiled at the deception.

"Pretty tricky." Blake then turned and began to walk back to her team. "I like tuna and salmon, just so you know." She offered as she rounded the corner. Shirou let out an amused huff. Shirou looked back and saw Pyrrha looking at him.

"So, how did you two become friends so quickly?" She asked as she teetered on her toes.

"Stories and tea." He offered simply. Pyrrha tilted her head. "Last night, I couldn't sleep, so I went to the roof and met her there. She reads and I tell stories, so, we talked a bit. Nothing big. I wouldn't say we were friends just yet."

"I see, could I join you next time?" She asked hesitantly, though Shirou didn't seem to notice it.

"Sure, but we'll have to make sure it isn't too late at night." He replied with a casual smile. Pyrrha's demeanor brightened visibly, a bright smile appearing on her face. "We should probably get ready for class too. Nora, Ren, you two ready?" He asked the two who were currently, putting the dishes into their respective places.

"Everything is clean and in its rightful spot." Nora said cheerfully.

"Nora's idea of rightful spot, but yes." Ren answered. Shirou raised a brow at Ren's words. "Don't ask." Shirou looked back towards Pyrrha, who only offered a shrug.

"Shall we?" She said with her smile still present on her face.

Team SPRN quickly made their way back to the room and gathered the stuff they needed for class, before making their way to class. Shirou had to admit, he was somewhat excited for the classes. Learning more about the world was something he was looking forward to. Aura and semblances were already something that fascinated him when he first arrived, followed by dust and all of its applications.

He was surprised that magic was nonexistent in the world, especially with all of the different abilities he had seen up to that point. Then, he met Raven. He recognized the scent of magic, the smell of flowers and rain making his identification of the person in question even quicker. Shirou found out that Raven had been watching them ever since his mom died, but had chosen to stay away.

He wanted to ask her about her magic, since it was so foreign from what he knew, but didn't want to reveal his knowledge of it just yet. Shapeshifting into a bird was something that baffled Shirou upon first seeing it. So many questions. Then there was the power of the elements Raven had, also powered by magic. Raven didn't tell him about it until a year ago, explaining that the story of the maidens was true.

Though, this did lead to her telling him about the man named Ozpin, leading to his distrust of the man. He knew Raven and even trusted her, despite her personality, but Ozpin sounded too much like one of the magus's from his old world. He knew that Raven hadn't told him everything yet, but he knew that she must have had her reasons.

Yang may still have a bit of a grudge with her, but it was mending, slowly but surely. He tried to help with it when he could, telling her how Raven often looked out for them. She was complicated, sure, but he could understand. He also understood how much it hurt her when his mom died. His mom was the last person Raven felt she could confide in, now she was gone.

Thankfully, Shirou managed to pull her back into their lives somewhat and give Raven a reason to not disappear. She outright refused to see his father and Qrow, only ever visiting when she knew for a fact they weren't around. He was thankful that she visited, even if the times were often spread out. She did her best to try and connect with Yang, and even Ruby. Though, he could tell seeing Ruby caused Raven to remember their mom.

Which reminded him to try and talk to Yang about her, since he did tell her he would help patch things up after their last argument. 'Yang tries to act like they aren't alike, yet they are both hard headed.' He thought to himself. As class was about to begin, he found himself with a small bit of time to think some more.

He grabbed one his notebooks and opened it, flipping through the pages. Pyrrha, who was sitting next to him, noticed the multiple different designs and blueprints of weapons on each page. He stopped on the latest page. On the top, the name 'Retrograde' and the words 'Omen and Fragarach' could be seen. It was Shirou's latest weapon he decided to build. He wrote down a few notes on the page, when Pyrrha spoke up, "What's that?"

Shirou looked over and pushed the notebook towards her. "It's a new weapon I'm working on. On one end will be a handle for a single edged blade, which is based on a weapon called Omen, though mine will be called Retrograde. On the other will be a lid that can open that will dispense a malleable ball of dust and metal, which will be Fragarach. The middle will be filled with different types of dust to use for either Retrograde or Fragarach. At the moment, I just need to build it." He explained.

It was a cylindrical sheath, where one end seemed to flatten into a more traditional sheath. The handle of the sword could be seen there. On the other end, was an illustration of a lid opening and what appeared to be a ball popping out. The emblems of Shirou and his sisters could be seen drawn on the sheathe.

Pyrrha seemed interested in the design, before she asked the question on her mind. "What about the weapon you have now?" Shirou smiled at the question.

"Well, I can always just call it back, besides, this will be worn on my back. Clarent Rose will probably be switched to my hip, since the blade is retractable, it shouldn't be a problem. I wanted some more variety in my dust usage." He explained, omitting that he just wanted to be able to try out the new dust Fragarach he came up with. "When it's done, I'll show you how it works. I'm sure you'll like it."

Pyrrha smiled at her partner's words. "I look forward to it." She replied, just as the class's professor entered. His name was Port, and any kind of excitement Shirou had for class was quickly stamped out. The professor was a man with grey hair and, admittedly, a pretty impressive mustache. Of course, it was the first class, so he supposed it may get better, but for some reason, he doubted his luck was that good.

He noticed Ruby drawing in her notebook as the professor droned on and on about a story of fighting grim when he was younger. He then listed off things about what makes a great huntsman. Honorable, Shirou supposed so, though he knew that was mostly for outside appearances. Dependable, yes, they worked in teams so that made sense. Strategic, sure. Wise, maybe, unless you had enough power to render wisdom useless. Well educated, perhaps in fighting grimm and other enemies, but more practical skills seemed to be more important in Shirou's mind.

Then again, he died relatively young in his old world, so what did he know. The professor then asked for someone who thought they represented those things, only to be followed up with Weiss raising her hand. What followed was something that bothered Shirou. Not Weiss having to fight a boarbatusk, that was slightly expected, he could smell the negative energy from the next room.

No, what bothered him was Weiss's attitude during her fight. He may have been biased since it was his sister, but she was definitely harsh towards Ruby. Honestly, it hurt seeing his sister's face whenever Weiss yelled back at her. After Weiss managed to kill the grimm, doing exactly as Ruby said by attacking its stomach, she stormed off. "Shirou, you should probably talk to Ruby." Pyrrha said to him.

"Probably, though, I'll most likely have to talk with Weiss too." He replied, standing up from his seat.

"Um, are you sure?" She asked with a bit of trepidation. Shirou looked at her with a raised brow, before understanding. He let out a small laugh.

"I didn't mean it like that. I just wanted to offer a few words of advice or something. I may be young, but I can be wise when I want to be." He replied to her. Pyrrha giggled at his words. She nodded.

"Well, the rest of us will head back to the dorm. Let us know if anything happens." She said holding up her scroll as the three made their way out of the room.

Shirou quickly made his way towards where Ruby was heading and overheard the end of Weiss's yelling. Hearing how it was a mistake that Ruby was made the leader. He narrowed his eyes as a familiar smell entered his nose. 'Of course, Raven was right, that guy just happens to show up after this little spat. Well, Ruby is my sister, so I'll be the one to help her. I was a hero in my old world after all.'

He turned grabbed Ruby's hood and pulled it over her head, before picking her up and running off, ignoring his sister's 'eep' and frantic movements. He wasn't the fastest, even with his runes, he wasn't as fast as his sister, but he was still pretty quick. He managed to reach the courtyard of Beacon quickly, setting Ruby down on a nearby bench.

She quickly flailed about before pulling her hood back down, her face fixed in an angry frown, before seeing her brother. Her face quickly morphed into surprise before once again returning to the saddened look that Shirou hated seeing on her face. "Oh, Shiro, I thought I was being kidnapped." She said, trying to add some levity to the situation. "Did you hear us?"

Shirou sighed, before sitting down beside her. "I did." He lifted his hand and placed it onto her head, before gently running his fingers through her hair. It was something their mom did to them whenever the two were sad or upset. "Don't let it get to you Ruby."

"But, what if she's right? Was it a mistake?" She asked, leaning into him. A gentle smile appeared on Shirou's face.

"Ruby, it has only been one day. One day of classwork, I might add. I don't know much about Ozpin, nor do I really care to know more about him, but I can tell you, him making you the leader was not done on a whim. You undervalue yourself too much Rubes." He said softly.

"But, I don't know, can I really do it?" She replied with a shaky voice.

"If there is anyone that can, it's you. Being a leader is not something just anyone can do, Ruby. You remember those stories I used to tell you? Those are all qualities that you have in you Ruby, qualities that I don't see in Weiss, Blake, or even Yang, don't tell her I said that though." He whispered the last part. Finally managing to get Ruby to laugh a bit.

"No one is perfect Ruby, you'll make mistakes, its a part of life. But you have to keep going forward. Your team will make mistakes, or they'll fall on hard times and have their own problems, and if I know you, you will be there to pick them up. You won't give up, you won't abandon them, and I know that you will make them better people. I can't think of anyone better suited to your role. Honestly, you make me want to be a better person." He stated, though as he finished, Ruby turned her head and looked up at him.

"What do you mean? You are always taking care of me and Yang, if anything your the one I look up to." She replied with wide eyes. Shirou let out a laugh at her words, smiling when he noticed a pout appear on her face.

"Yes, that is true, I try my best to take care of you and Yang. But, if wasn't for you, I doubt I would be here in Beacon right now. I wouldn't have wanted to try as hard as I have if you weren't there to push me. You and Yang, are my biggest inspirations Ruby. Yang probably feels that way too. Because you make both of us want to be better. As I said, you undervalue yourself. Mom would be telling you the same thing." He said to her, before pausing for a moment.

"If I remember correctly, dad, Qrow, and Raven all said mom felt like you did." He said to her, getting a surprised look from her. "And you and me both know how awesome mom was. Weiss was just frustrated Ruby, I'm sure she didn't really mean what she said. You have to remember that she's an heiress of a large company. Just know this Ruby, being a leader is something you carry with you and is a daunting task. Think about what kind of leader and huntress you want to be. Keep on pushing forward and show everyone that you are worthy of being the leader. They'll soon see what I see." He said patting her on the head.

"I will. I'll be an awesome huntress like mom and be the best leader, along with you!" She said grabbing onto Shirou, surprising him. "Thank you, Shiro, I love you." Shirou's eyes widened for a moment, before he let out a small huff and smiled.

"I love you too, Ruby." He replied softly, before beginning to let go, however, Ruby tightened her grip for a moment.

"Could we stay like this for a minute? Please?" She asked in a quiet voice. He was a bit surprised, but realized that the two hadn't really had time together that didn't involve training and fighting grimm lately. He relaxed and only hummed in response, running his hand through her hair again. His thoughts then strayed, thinking about how much he wished his mom could see her children. Yang, Ruby, and him, were now huntresses and a huntsman. He knew she would be proud of them, and imagined her looking at them from afar.

After sitting with Ruby for awhile, the two finally parted when Yang came to find Ruby. He told the two that he had something to work on, before he left. Which was partially true, since he hoped to maybe find Weiss, but he also wanted to look into his new weapon.

He made it to his locker and grabbed a box that lay within it. He made his way to the roof, though it was sunset rather than night. He supposed he was glad that he had some light to work with. He sat down the box and opened it. Revealing a collection of parts for his new weapons. He grabbed his scroll and entered a message. 'You wouldn't happen to have a spare or broken version of Omen, would you?' it read.

He waited for a moment, before a red tear opened and weapon flew out of it, with Shirou managing to catch it before it hit the ground. "That was uncalled for, don't you know you should treat weapons with respect." He said jokingly, only for a small screw to fly though, hitting Shirou in the head, before the tear closed. Shirou let out a laugh.

He began to disassemble the weapon after analyzing the components and combining the blueprints of Retrograde and Omen in different configurations in his mind. He would appear to be meditating to anyone who saw but, no one was with him. At least, not until the door opened. Shirou was so focused on what he was doing that he didn't notice Weiss walk over to him.

After figuring out which configuration he thought would work best, he opened his eyes to begin working, before noticing Weiss looking at him with a strange expression on her face. "Uh, hi?" He said awkwardly.

"I was wondering when you would finally come to. I've been trying to get your attention for a few minutes now." she replied with her hands on her hips. Shirou gave off a weak laugh as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry, I was kind of stuck in my own thoughts. Literally." He answered. Weiss tilted her head questioningly. "I was using my semblance."

"I thought your semblance was summoning swords?" She questioned. Shirou let out a sigh and his shoulders dropped.

"Ruby told you that didn't she?" Weiss nodded her head. "Of course she did. First Blake, now you. Summoning swords is a bit of an oversimplification. I can call forth a lot different things, but swords and weapons are the main things. Or, I can do what I was doing now, which was analyze them as blueprints and simulate different combinations with other blueprints. It's something new that Ruby doesn't know about yet, so just keep it between us, I want it to be a surprise." He said with small smile.

"Um, yeah, sure, no problem." She stammered out, obviously not expecting him to say all of that. "I actually wanted to ask you about something." Shirou raised a brow, before looking back down towards the parts and weapon he had on the ground. He began to grab tools and disassemble Omen and a few other parts inside the box.

"Well, I'm all ears. If I have an answer, I'll provide it." He answered, his hands deftly moving about. Weiss watched as he worked, entranced at how precise his movements were. She shook her head and cleared her throat.

"Well, I wanted to ask you for some advice." Shirou offered a 'mmhmm' in response, "I was wondering if there was anything I could give to Ruby as an apology for earlier." Shirou stopped working for a moment, before looking up at Weiss.

"Hmm, well, I'm sure if you were earnest, she would accept any apology wholeheartedly. My sister doesn't have a vindictive bone in her body. Though, I'm guessing you want to know if there was a gift you could give to her." She looked down at the ground, before looking at Shirou and nodding resolutely. He smiled, "Cookies."

"Cookies?" She parroted. Shirou let out an amused chuckle, "Well, I suppose I could get her cookies. But, it's getting late and I don't think I can get any at this time of day." Shirou looked at his work as Weiss was thinking about what she was going to do. "Ugh, why can't this be easy?!"

Shirou began altering certain parts and readjusting them to fit the new shape of his weapon. He reached into his box and grabbed some dust, which he inserted into the sheathe. "You could always bake them yourself, you know? It'd be more special that way." He offered offhandedly. He altered the handle of Omen and personalized it to his liking. Creating a traditional, circular guard, rather than the cross guard Raven had.

"But, I don't know how." She said weakly, obviously a bit embarrassed. After fixing the sheathe exactly as he wanted, he traced a version of Fragarach, whispering 'I am the bone of my sword' quietly, then inserted it into the bottom of the sheath. Weiss noticed this and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, if you wait for a bit, I can help you out." He said as he activated a mechanism that shot Fragarach out from the lid. The ball floated around his body, before placing itself behind his right shoulder, though it had a red coloring to it, rather than the normal silver, lead color it had going in. "Great, it worked." He whispered to himself.

"Really? You'd help me just like that?" Weiss asked, surprised by Shirou's willingness to help her. Though, it was obvious that she was also interested in Fragarach. With Shirou happy with his work, he focused his attention on Weiss.

"Of course, helping people is kind of my thing. Well, mine and Ruby's, but you get the point. Besides, I can tell you that you really want to do this. I'm guessing after your fight with Ruby, you talked with someone?" He asked her. Weiss looked at him, before nodding her head. "Thought so, then that's all I need to know." He stood up from his place on the ground and walked over to the edge of the building.

"I appreciate it. I wasn't expecting you to want to help after that. I thought you'd be upset with me." Shirou looked back at her and only shook his head.

"It was an argument between team members on the first day of being a team. Besides, I could understand what you were upset about. I know a bit about you and your background, so I knew that you would eventually clash with either Ruby or Yang. Honestly, I thought it would be Yang first."

"Did you really think I was that bad?" She spoke with a saddened tone.

"It has nothing to do with you being bad or bratty. Sure, you can be a bit prissy,..." Weiss's eyes narrowed as she let out an annoyed huff. "but it had more to do with personality. My sister is pretty free spirited and you like things to be orderly and by the book, so to speak. But, I know that you two will eventually become great friends and partners in the future. You can both learn a lot from each other. You just need to offer that olive branch, which you are now doing."

"Why do you seem so much more mature than your sisters?" She asked with a slightly annoyed tone. Shirou only laughed at her question. He once again rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, I sort of took over my mom's role when she passed away." Weiss's eyes widened at his words. She appeared to want to say something but Shirou raised his hand. "Don't worry about apologizing. I sort of matured faster because of it. I helped look after them and inevitably became the more mature sibling." He said, leaving out the fact he was a reincarnated person. "Anyways, want to see something cool before I help you bake those cookies?" He asked in a cheery voice.

"What is it? It isn't going to be dangerous is it?" Weiss answered, a bit worried about what he thought was cool, especially since he was still Ruby's brother.

"No, I'll be pointing it out at the sky. It's a test run. I combined dust with one of my weapons. It was complicated to pull off, but I managed to figure it out." He said as he held his fist behind his head, Fragarach hovering above it as he widened his stance a bit.

"Wait, you mean, that ball is the weapon?" He could hear the surprise in her voice. Shirou only smirked in reply.

"Non-Answerer,..." a red blade then formed from the ball, a red ring appearing around the ball itself. Arcs of what Weiss thought was Aura, began to form around it. Shirou then stepped forward with a punch, hitting the base of the ball which was placed in front of him. "Fragarach."

After his fist made contact with the weapon, a blast of red flames burst forth into the sky, illuminating the roof and ground completely. Weiss had to admit that the sight was impressive. Especially since she wasn't expecting such an attack to come from the small ball.

"The output was a bit low, but that's to be expected for the test run I suppose. I'll mark it as a success, but needs improvement." Shirou muttered. Though Weiss, didn't hear him, she was still focused on the flames that lingered in the air. Shirou grabbed his notebook and scribbled down notes before setting it back down. "So, what'd you think?"

Weiss seemed to snap out of her stupor and looked towards Shirou. "What was that? I've never seen anything like that?" She asked with widened eyes. Shirou put a hand up to his chin as he thought about to explain it.

"A dispensable sword that condenses energy and fires it off in a concentrated burst of energy. In this case, it holds dust and such." Shirou lied, though technically, it wasn't a complete one. As it was a modified Fragarach, no where near as powerful as the noble phantasm version. If he had to properly explain it, it was a mystic code that functioned similarly to Fragarach, but would pale in comparison to the original's output.

To his knowledge, nothing he would be facing off against would require him to use the original Fragarach. However, he wanted a way to pay homage to his cousin/sister, Bazett. So, he came up with these. Using the new ability of his semblance, he managed to find a way to create a new Fragarach. Sadly, he could only use the 'non-answerer' version of it, as it didn't retain the ability to reverse time. Then again, he didn't really need it against grimm.

"Shirou, do you know how much something like that would be worth in Atlas? No, in general? And you're treating it like it's no big deal!" Weiss looked like she was about to blow a gasket. Shirou gave off a weak laugh, once again rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, I mean, sure? I didn't really think about it." Weiss looked at Shirou with a deadpan expression after hearing his reply.

Weiss had no idea what to think at the moment. She remembered hearing that Shirou spent time on the roof at night, so she decided to get some advice on how to make up with his sister. Thankfully, he was there, even though it wasn't night just yet. However, she didn't expect him to show her something like that.

She hadn't really spoken to him that much, and the times that she did, he tended to call her 'Snow White' while being somewhat flippant, except for when he saved her during the test. She had to admit, him saving her and the breakfast that morning were two times her view of him had improved. Then now, he was more mature than she would have thought and he was friendly and kind.

Though, she could see the resemblance to his sisters. She noticed how excited he seemed to be when he asked if she wanted to see his new weapon. He seemed a bit awkward at times, but she figured that had to do with him having to watch over his sisters growing up. Honestly, he was very different than what she was used to from boys. It was actually somewhat refreshing to be able to talk to him without having to worry about any ulterior motives concerning the Schnee name. In fact, he didn't seem to care about that kind of stuff at all, if his reaction to what she just told him was any indication.

"You know what, it doesn't matter. However, I want to say that I thought it was exceptional." She said to him, trying to regain her bearings. She then saw the small, happy, smile on Shirou's face. She crossed her arms, "You seem to have many different methods of applying dust." She stated.

"Um, yeah, I guess. Dust has a lot of potential, some that can go beyond what it's used for now. It just needs the right application." His words did impress her and she was interested in hearing some his ideas about it. She was going to take over the SDC one day, so she would be lying if she wasn't interested. Then an idea came to her.

"Would you be willing to share some of your ideas with me? I like to think I know all about dust, but you just showed me something amazing and I would like to hear some ways it might be improved." She didn't expect a favorable answer, as most people would rather keep such things to themselves, and the Schnee's didn't have the best reputation when it came to recognizing others. However, he surprised her once again.

"Sure, how about after you make up with my sister? I still have to show you how to make cookies tonight, after all." He said with a small smile on his face, though Weiss was pretty sure it was more of a smirk. She merely let out a huff and turned around.

"That is acceptable." She stood still for a moment, before turning her head. "Do you need help with all of this stuff?" She saw his eyes look down at the tools and scraps on the ground, before letting out a sigh. She let out a small, involuntary laugh before quickly forcing herself to stop.

"Eh, it won't take long to pick up, but thanks for the offer Snow." She turned around, seeing him picking up the mess. After managing to stuff everything into what she figured was his tool box, he finally stood up and made his way to the door with her. He stepped forward and opened the door, "After you, milady." She narrowed her eyes at him, causing him to let out a chuckle.

The two made it to the kitchen and Shirou sat his box and new weapon on one of the tables. Weiss noticed his demeanor change, his features softened and his body relaxed, the moment he summoned an apron and put it on. He began to gather the ingredients, utensils, and other necessary implements for baking. She slightly flinched when she noticed his gaze fixate on her.

He smiled before creating an ice blue apron, "Here, you'll need this. You don't want to get your clothes to get dirty." Weiss reached out and grabbed the apron, quickly putting it on. "Now, we begin." He said after looking at her for a moment.

Weiss had to admit that she wasn't expecting such a detailed breakdown of how to make cookies. It was definitely something that she would have struggled with if not for Shirou. She was rather thankful for his assistance. Despite it being the first time she ever attempted baking, she found the experience rather enjoyable.

She began to understand why Shirou said he enjoyed making food. It had a certain pleasantness to it. As the two were setting the dough on the tray, Weiss decided to ask him something that had been on her mind. "Hey, why do you call me Snow White?" She noticed Shirou stiffen for a moment, before he began to rub the back of his head. Something she realized he did a lot.

"It's from a bedtime story I used to tell Ruby and Yang. Snow White was the princess in the story, said to be the most beautiful maiden in the whole land." He explained to her. Weiss's cheeks slightly reddened after hearing Shirou's explanation. Though, Shirou himself was oblivious to this, with his thoughts being more about her name and how it translated in his home world in german.

Weiss then turned around to hide her red face, "I see, well, I suppose that's fine then." She managed to say. Shirou, still oblivious to what he had just implied, proceeded to put the tray of cookies into the oven.

"Now, we wait for them to finish." He said with a nod. "And, you did it yourself, even if I did help with the instructions." he chuckled. Weiss shook her head and composed herself, before turning to face Shirou.

"Thank you for your assistance Shirou. I appreciate you helping me with this. I enjoyed myself." The final part was spoken in a quiet and sheepish tone, though Shirou managed to pick up on it.

"No need to thank me, it was fun for me too. Baked goods are always fun to make and tend to be well liked by everyone. I know Nora, in particular, tends to like sweet things, like pancakes, so I'm sure if you keep up with it, you'll become pretty popular." He said, with, what Weiss had to admit, was a sweet smile. Weiss, without thinking, asked Shirou another question.

"Could you show me how to bake other things?" After the words left her mouth, her eyes widened, before she internally began berating herself. She didn't actually mean to ask that, even if she did want to learn how to bake some more. It wasn't her fault that she found herself enjoying the process and feeling of success that came over her after finishing it and smelling the sweet, delicious smell wafting through the air as it baked.

"Sure, I don't mind. I usually bake different kinds of goods for Ruby and Yang for dinner and as a snack. You can help me whenever you want." He answered earnestly. Weiss hated how accepting and kind Shirou was. He could have just said no, that way she wouldn't have to deal with Yang pestering her like she was pestering Blake this morning. She knew that she would never hear the end of it now.

But she couldn't just take it back, her pride as a Schnee wouldn't allow it. Shirou, unaware of Weiss's inner turmoil, checked the clock and saw that enough time had passed and opened the oven. He donned his mitts and took out the tray of cookies, before placing them on a plate. "And all done. This should do it. Snow?"

Weiss turned and saw that Shirou had already put the cookies on a plate, along with glasses of milk, with a tray underneath them to allow her to carry them. "You need help carrying this?" He asked with a raised brow. Weiss looked down at the tray, before looking back at Shirou. She shook her head and had a resolute expression on her face.

"No, I need to do this myself. Thank you again. I'll find a way to pay you back, even if you object." She added on after noticing Shirou about to object. He let out a sigh, before nodding. Weiss then smiled at Shirou, before picking up the tray and heading towards her dorm room. She stopped and looked over shoulder at Shirou. "You can decide what to make me for breakfast, by the way. I'm sure it'll be good either way." She informed him before walking off.

Shirou was left in the kitchen, letting out a small chuckle at Weiss's parting words. He was glad that she was going so far to make up with his sister. It was actually a nice gesture. He actually enjoyed the small time he spent with her. Behind that cold exterior of hers, was a friendly, kind girl who cared for others. The fact she accepted his suggestion of making cookies was the big indicator there.

He was a bit a surprised by the fact that she asked about why he called her Snow White, but he managed to answer in a somewhat acceptable manner. He proceeded to clean up the rest of the kitchen before heading back to his locker to put up his gear. He had to head back to the dorm and change, before making his way to the roof for his nightly ritual.

Shirou decided that he would need to start planning out training regiments and the like. He wanted his team to be able to bond and spend more time together. Trust was important when it came to being a team. He also needed to know his teammates better. Going forward, he'd spend more time with them. He let out a sigh, he had so much to do. Unknown to Shirou, he would end up having to deal with a lot more than just his own team.