9

Chapter 9

The sound of laughter could be heard if one was standing within a few feet of Shirou. He was currently on the phone on the balcony of the dorms. He had a nostalgic smile on his face, though if one knew him well enough, they could see a small bit of sadness in it.

"I can't believe you did that, what were you thinking? You know how volatile your aura is compared to normal people, Shirou." the voice laughed, obviously amused. Shirou let out a small sigh, before rubbing the back of his head.

"In my defense, I thought I'd gotten better at my aura manipulation. I'm sure I'll be able to get it down sooner or later." He replied with a smile. "I gotta ask, how are the prosthetics? I'm pretty sure they were supposed to be the best that Atlas had to offer, but if there's any problems, I'd be more than happy to make some improvements to them, Vi."

"You don't need to worry about that, Shirou. They are working just fine, in fact, I've been able to start training recently. While it's been slow, my recovery has been going well. So, you don't have to worry about anything, Shirou."

"Just, don't push yourself too hard." He replied. He then paused for a moment, before a sigh could be heard.

"You don't have to feel responsible for what happened to me. It wasn't your fault, Shirou." Her voice was soft, much like how he remembered.

"I'm sorry. I know that I shouldn't think that way. But I ended up leaving before the new prosthetics came in, I suppose I just felt like a bad friend." A sad smile could be seen on his face. Though, Violet also shared the same smile.

"Well, the Vytal Festival is coming up soon, and mom has been excited to attend. So, I hope you know that you'll definitely be seeing me soon. Besides, I've been working hard on some new things for you." Her voice had the usual excitement he was used to.

"Oh? I didn't realize you were already back to inventing things again."

"Of course! Weapons may not be my specialty, at least not like you, but I have many other things. Foxes are crafty, so trust me, you haven't seen everything I have to offer just yet." He could hear the smug tone in her voice, causing him to let out a laugh.

"Then, I'm looking forward to seeing you when the time comes. Especially if it'll help me out during the tournament."

"Please, I may have been half conscious, but I know exactly what you're capable of. If anyone needs any help, it'll be whoever you're up against. But I also know that having you use my stuff will be free advertising. If anyone can use them to their best capability, then it's going to be the person I know can understand them innately."

He let out a small sigh, "I suppose I don't mind being an advertising sign for you. Though, a word of advice." He paused for a moment, before a smile appeared on his face. "Please watch your phrasing, I wouldn't want anyone to think you're a pervy fox girl. Then again, your semblance kind of already gives off that impression."

A long pause followed after his words, "Says the person who can recognize people by scent." Her words caused Shirou to choke for a moment, before he heard Violet's laugh. "With that, I'll be taking my win. I'll be calling you again soon, Shirou." She spoke quickly, "Bye, bye."

Shirou paused, looking at his scroll for a moment. Before letting out a small chuckle. He was glad that she was still the same girl she was before the accident. Though, he could tell she seemed a lot more confident. Which was a good thing.

He took a moment to just enjoy the time after his conversation. He knew that he'd more than likely have to deal with other problems afterwards, so he was glad that he was able to speak to Violet. Now that he thought about it, he should have asked Violet if she knew anything about what the White Fang were doing.

Her mom was usually pretty well connected still. Then again, he did have a flying bird to help him scope things out instead. If all else failed, he'd rely on his friend's mom. He just worried about her getting involved again. 'Last time the White Fang came knocking, she ended up surprising me with how ruthless she could be.'

That was coming from a former enforcer for the Mages Association. He let out a sigh, he didn't want to have to become that person again, but with all the things going on in the shadows, he was afraid that he'd end up having to go back to it. If only to make sure his sisters didn't have to dirty their hands. Better his than theirs.

While he was sure that they would be able to if pushed, it was the effect it would have on their mental states that worried him. They weren't ready for that kind of thing. He never wanted them too ever be ready. Such things were better left to him. He was still a sword after all, or at least, he thought so. He hadn't been able to check his origin since arriving in the world.

Reincarnation was a tricky thing. He supposed it didn't matter in the end. While he was Shiro Rose, a part of him was still a Fraga. He was a warrior, mage, huntsman, and a brother, all of which made him better suited to dirty his hands instead. He would protect the smiles of his sisters. In doing so, he would be happy, perhaps he would even achieve the smile his mother had.

'All in good time, Shirou.' He thought to himself. It was time to get some sleep anyways. Knowing his sisters, they would ask where Blake was. 'Perhaps, I can talk them into meeting at a cafe or something. They'd be able to, at least, talk things out like a team.'

It didn't take long for his prediction to come true. He was ambushed in the hallway outside of his room, though he was able to talk them into waiting until the next morning. Despite his resilience, he was feeling pretty tired after his day.

Which led to the next morning. He woke up early, as usual, to start his morning training. This worked in his favor, as a message was awaiting him. It was from Blake, who managed to wake up after he accidently knocked her out. The message was simple. 'We need to talk.'

The message caused him to inwardly groan. He knew what the topic would most likely be about. Sometimes, he hated being as trusting as he was. Granted, what he did was a sort of experiment. But still, it wasn't technically his fault that his aura was as potent as it was.

He thought about his reply for a moment, before deciding on a plan. 'Sure thing, I'll answer any questions you have. However, I must insist that it comes after you speak with your team. They are really worried about you, Blake. So, I want you to wait somewhere in town, preferably at a cafe, so that I can guide them to your location. We can talk afterwards, about whatever you want. Okay?'

He sent the message and decided to begin his run. Running five miles, unassisted, was his usual routine. Though, he decided to only run two, as he knew his sisters would get restless. While running, Blake messaged back. 'Do you promise to not avoid any questions? If you do, then I agree. I, don't want to run away from my problems.'

He had a small smile on his face at her words. 'I promise. Just explain everything and talk to them like they are your family, because they certainly see you as that.' He replied, knowing that would help her a bit. His sisters were the type to think that way, he helped raise them after all, he would know.

He waited once again, before finally getting the message he was waiting for. 'Okay, I agree. But you have to help me with something afterwards.' He let out another groan, knowing that he would more than likely regret it, but it was for his sisters, so he decided to suck it up. After sending a message agreeing to her terms, he decided to finish his work out. He had to make breakfast afterwards too.

Thankfully, everything went by smoothly after that. He was able to tell his sisters that Blake was in Vale and that he would help them look for her. Even his team volunteered to assist in the search effort. Which, Shirou didn't mind too much. However, he needed to make a stop at a store, especially if Blake managed to come back to the dorms that night.

Which led to what he was doing right now. Currently walking alone in the streets of Vale. He had told Pyr that he needed to pick something up from a store and that he would catch up with them later. Which wasn't a lie, but he wanted to surprise them later.

He was always a bit surprised that they were allowed to wear their weapons in public, though he supposed it probably helped with morale in public places. Even if they were students, they were still huntsmen and huntresses. He decided to take Retrograde this time around, especially because of Raven's warnings.

As he walked down the sidewalk, he looked around at all the stores. He may need to make a few more stops at the dust and tea shops too, though it depended on how the talk went. He hoped Weiss had managed to calm down a bit, but she seemed remorseful when he saw her, so he had high hopes.

He then saw the place he was headed too. 'Wonderous Ice Cream Emporium' it said on the sign. He smirked at the sight, 'Just the place I was looking for. I hope the girls and Ren are ready, because I'm going to make an awesome dessert this time around.'

He made his way into the shop and was immediately met with a familiar scent. Though, considering he saw a few hunters inside, it wasn't that strange. He sat his weapon on the rack at the entrance and proceeded to head to the counter. As he approached, he took note of a small girl, or woman, sitting there enjoying some ice cream.

She had dual colored hair, one side was pink and the other brown, maybe dark brown. He had to admit, it was surprising to see someone shorter than his sister, though he was more focused on her hair. He rather enjoyed the different color. She seemed to be wearing a white and pink tailed cropped jacket with a blackish corset underneath. She actually reminded him of one of the horse riders in his old world.

Short size included. He inwardly smiled at the memory. He sat at the open seat, which happened to be next to hers. He quickly gave his order, before realizing that he more than likely couldn't just carry it around with him. "Hmm, maybe I'll need to make a call to my special delivery service." He mumbled quietly.

As he did so, he noticed the short girl had finished her ice cream, which was, unsurprisingly, Neapolitan. 'I wonder if she just enjoys the color scheme?' He shook his head, before reaching into his jacket. He grabbed the lien he had in his wallet, getting the amount he knew he owed, before shrugging and pulling out more.

He sat some down by the girl, who perked up immediately, before looking at him. He noticed that she had heterochromia, pink on the right and brown on the left. She tilted her head to the side, "It's for you. If you're anything like my sister, then I know that you'll likely want more, right?" He said with a slight smile.

The girl looked back at the lien before looking back at him, then nodding her head with a smile on her face. Shirou let out a small chuckle before waiting for his ice cream. He stretched out, as he noticed the girl had another ice cream given to her, quickly tearing into it.

His order finally arrived, revealing five tubs of different flavored ice cream. Before he could stand, he felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned and saw the girl looking at him with a spoon in her mouth. She pointed at the ice cream, before pointing back towards him.

"Yeah, no, I don't think I could eat this much ice cream by myself. I decided to make dessert for my friends tonight, so I sort of need all of this for that." He replied, realizing that the girl must not speak a lot. 'Or at all.' He thought to himself.

She then made a few more gestures, it sort of reminded him of a crude sign language. "Well, I was just going to hop into the alley and make a call for someone to help me out, but if you want to help me carry them, I won't say no." He replied, with the girl nodding.

The two then grabbed the tubs, before finding their way into the alleyway. He grabbed his scroll, before making his call. He watched the strange girl standing close by, simply watching him with the spoon still in her mouth.

After waiting, she finally answered. "Hey, Raven, I sort of need a portal." He said nervously. "Well, I'm making dessert tonight. I have ice cream that needs to be stored." He answered, before sighing. "I would, but I have other things I have to do in town today."

The girl seemed to be amused with his answers, as she silently snickered. "Come on, Raven. I'll make you and Vernal some too." He really wanted to groan, he knew that Raven was just messing with him. "Fine, how about I go buy that tea that you really like, that way you don't have to steal it again. Deal?"

He asked, before she quickly hung up. A red tear appeared that transformed into a portal. He quickly grabbed the tubs and tossed them into the portal. He tossed in four, before he stopped. "It's rude to hang up without saying goodbye, you know." A red ball was then thrown towards him, before the portal closed.

"That was uncalled for." He said to himself, with the ball in his hands. He noticed that it seemed soft, before he realized that it wasn't a ball. However, he decided to ignore it for now, sticking it into his pocket. The strange girl was still standing there, with a smile on her face and rocking on the heels of her feet.

"Thanks, I appreciate the help. Here, this is for you. For helping." He then lifted the last tub, holding it out towards her. The girl's eyes widened, with Shirou swearing he saw sparkles in them, before she quickly darted forward and grabbed the tub from his hands.

Shirou smiled at the sight; it reminded him of Ruby. He reached into the pouch on his belt, taking out a small package that was wrapped up in a blue cloth. "Here, these are my emergency cookies for my sister, but they'll go good with that. I should head out; I have places to be." He said to her, seeing her nod at him with a smile.

"You have a name?" He asked, though, he knew that without speaking, it would be hard to communicate, but he was pleasantly surprised when the girl brought a hand up to the tub and gestured towards it. Specifically, the flavor, "Neapolitan?" He guessed, with her shaking her head, making an O with her finger. "Neopolitan?" She then nodded with a smile on her face.

"Neo then. I appreciate the help. If I see you around, I'll be sure to buy you some more ice cream." He then waved goodbye, walking out of the alley and back onto the sidewalk. He now had to pick up some tea for Raven, which meant a trip across town. He sighed, 'My team's going to be really upset if I don't hurry up.'

Neo was rather surprised with the stranger. She was pretty sure she heard the name Shiro during his call. Shiro was a strange person. She would almost say he was a bit overly friendly, but realized the longer she was around him, that he just enjoyed helping people and making them happy.

She wasn't going to complain, as she got a lot of ice cream out of the interaction. She was a bit interested in the weapon he was carrying, as she hadn't seen a weapon quite like that before. Pair that with whoever he called on the phone, and that told her that he was an interesting person.

A teleportation semblance was a rather rare ability. Though, she was a bit surprised at his nonchalant manner when speaking about theft. Usually, hunters were uptight about the law, but he seemed to just accept it as part of the person's nature. It was rather surprising.

However, what was more surprising, and what really interested her, was his eyes. Unlike others, she was able to pick up on the small things present within them. Shirou wasn't like the other huntsman. In fact, he wasn't like most of the people she had met in her life. He was a lot like her.

He was a killer. Behind his kind smile and helpful personality, was a ruthless killer. She knew that if anyone pushed him that far, he wouldn't hesitate to kill his opponent. From the way he moved, it was apparent he trained tirelessly. She wasn't completely sure she would be able to catch him off guard, at least, not without her semblance.

Then again, she wouldn't ever do that. She actually found him interesting. She wouldn't want him as an enemy, so, maybe if she could get him to help her dummy and his rather annoying problem, then she would have the best of both worlds. Someone to give her free ice cream and freedom from the fire witch for both her and the dummy.

She happily skipped away while eating her new tub of ice cream. She had some thinking to do. Then again, perhaps Shirou would meet with him later today. He did seem like the heroic type and stopping a dust shipment seemed like something he would do. Perhaps, she would be able to make sure they ended up on the winning team. Besides, broken toys should stick together.

She could tell Shirou was hiding something up his sleeves. She recognized the name Raven. If it was who she thought it was, then that meant he had someone to back him up. Besides, if his semblance matched up with what she saw in his eyes, then she really wanted him on their side. Maybe she'd stick around the area and keep watch for once.

Okay, Shirou didn't know what to do. On one hand, he wanted to follow after Ruby's team. On the other, he wanted the team to gain some practical experience. He thought that RWBY would have a nice conversation, resulting in them returning to the dorm.

This didn't happen. Thankfully, Yang messaged him about the plan. Apparently, his initial plan was ruined by some guy named Sun, who led Ruby, Yang, and Weiss to Blake's chosen cafe. This resulted in him telling the girls about a shipment of dust coming in, which Blake suspected would be hit.

He opened his scroll and called Pyrrha. "Hey, Pyrrha, the girls found Blake. Though, I'm afraid something happened."

"Did something go wrong?" She asked, obviously a bit worried.

"Eh, not exactly. Let's just say, that something happened. One of the students here for the Vytal Festival told them about a dust shipment coming in at the docks. They want to catch whoever's stealing the shipments." He placed sword platforms in front him, making his way to a nearby roof.

"I see, so what's the plan?" She asked in a serious tone. He thought about it for a moment, before finally making up his mind.

"Are you with Ren and Nora?" He asked, getting an affirmative hum. "Alright, we'll head over to the docks and provide backup. I'm afraid that things won't be so simple. Hopefully, I'm wrong, but better safe than sorry."

"Got it, we'll head that way right now. I'll see you there, Shirou." She finished in a happy tone, that caught Shirou off guard.

He let out a sigh, as he knew that his luck would cause an unforeseen problem. However, he knew that it was better for him to be there in case the worst happened. He quickly dashed across the rooftops, heading towards his destination. The sun was beginning to set, so he knew he should hurry.

As he grew closer to the docks, he noticed the sounds of bullets and explosions. 'I'm too late.' He thought to himself, before noticing something out of the corner of his eye. His scroll began to ring, causing him to answer it on the run. "Shirou, Blake confronted the White Fang and a fight broke out. What do you want us to do?" Pyrrha asked urgently.

"I'm at the far end of the dock and I saw something that needs my attention. Provide backup and try to subdue as many of them as you can. You're in charge from here on, Pyr. I'll try to make my way there after I take care of the problem here. Start off on formation 3, then make your way to team RWBY's location." He said, before a bullet whizzed by his head.

He casually tilted his head to dodge the bullet, narrowing his eyes at a White Fang member. "I gotta go, I have guests." He said, before hanging up the call. He looked towards the large group of White Fang that had appeared in front of him. He had thought he saw Neo heading deeper into the docks, which caused him to follow.

He hoped that it wasn't her, but if it was, then he needed to take care of things and figure out why she was here. He looked around and noticed the lack of cameras. 'They must have destroyed the cameras so they could get away easier.' However, unluckily for them, that meant he could let lose.

He reached his hand back and grabbed the handle of Retrograde, pressing a few buttons, before a vindictive smile appeared on his face. He then dropped his hand, before whispering something. Runes could be seen activating and making his gloves and boots glow blue.

"Apologies, but you're going to be my test subjects today." He said, before the lid on the end of his sheathe opened, causing a metal ball with a red streak to eject from the end. The White Fang all looked at each other, before snickering at Shirou's bravado.

"Give up, Huntsman. You're outnumbered and outgunned. Without your team, we know you all are powerless." A cat eared faunus spoke to him. Shirou only smirked.

"Oh? Should I get on my hands and knees and beg for mercy?" He asked while rolling his eyes, before the ball rotated around his body, before relocating itself behind his right shoulder. Shirou then brought his fist back, holding his other out in front of him. "Apologies if I don't comply. I pulled a muscle in my leg earlier, so I hope you'll make do with this instead."

Arcs of aura could be seen coming from the ball, eventually dissipating into silver rose petals, that flowed and rotated around Shirou. A red blade quickly formed from the ball, a ring with strange letters appearing around it. "Non-answerer, Fragarach!" He then went forward with a straight punch, hitting the back of Dust Fragarach, causing a blast of flames to shoot forward.

The flames shot forward in a large beam, swallowing up a large amount of the White Fang soldiers. The flames quickly spread outwards, causing a minor spread of flames. One White Fang member was wiping away the flames, when a straight right emerged right into his face.

He flew straight back into a container, when Shirou quickly moved forward the next with a straight uppercut. The others quickly began firing, however, Shirou easily batted away the bullet that appeared next to him. He quickly locked into the shooter, before firing off a d-ranked sword noble phantasm to blast him away.

Shirou moved forward, throwing multiple different punches at each member. Straight rights, left uppercuts, right hooks, each thrown without a care. He focused on the martial arts taught to him by the Fraga's, though he made sure to keep his footwork wide and prepared to move into pankration.

However, before he could move into his servant's martial arts, he grabbed the handle of Retrograde and pulled out a blade of ice dust in the middle of the fight, just as a White Fang member brought his sword down on him, blocking the attack easily.

He allowed the attacks force to push his blade down, before pushing his blade forward, easily penetrating the aura of the member in front of him. He quickly moved from each member, reinforcing his body with mana to quicken his movements. Each swing of his blade encountered a White Fang member, before he used Blade Works to summon a D rank noble phantasm to blast the opponent he moved past.

His mind was completely focused on Neo, wanting to find out her reasoning behind her appearance at the docks. However, he was quick to make sure his attacks wouldn't permanently harm any of the faunus members. However, with each swipe of his blade, he could tell the White Fang was beginning to catch.

"I am the bone of my sword." He spoke under his breath. He quickly returned the handle of his sword to its place on its sheathe, before summoning the two most trusted blades in his arsenal. Kanshou and Bakuya quickly answered his call, appearing in his hands.

Without a second thought, he began to perform the dual wielding techniques of his potential future self, easily parrying and blocking the attacks that were being focused on him. He was outnumbered, that much was easy to see. However, he didn't have much time to waste.

Rather than focus on his opponents, and hoping to blast away his opposition, he summoned the first anti-army noble phantasm he could think of while throwing Kanshou and Bakuya away at different opponents. In his hands, appeared a red spear, giving off a bloodthirsty aura.

He leapt forward from a crouched position, before landing and jumping back into the air with his arm cocked back. A red aura surrounded the spear, causing the White Fang to panic, before beginning to try and run. However, it was too late. Shirou's muscles then tightened around the spear, before he then twisted his body and arm forward.

"Soaring Spear that Strikes with Death, Gae Bolg!" He exclaimed, before throwing the spear forward. Unknown to him, but a second party was secretly watching his engagement with the enemy. The spear soared forth, before it hit the ground in the middle of every enemy.

A large explosion then rocked the area, engulfing each White Fang member in its vicinity. Neo was rather surprised with the techniques shown by her new friend. She had a feeling he was rather powerful but didn't know that it was to this extent. She knew, that if he knew he was being watched, that he wouldn't have shown his abilities.

After the explosion, she watched as Shirou emerged from the blast zone, holding the red spear behind his back. She was a bit worried about him approaching Roman but was confident that she would be able to intervene in time to stop him.

Shirou was a bit worried, as he used a significant amount of magical energy to use Gae Bolg in its thrown form. Luckily, he still had enough aura to use its thrusting form multiple times. He continued forward, hoping to find the mastermind behind the dust robberies.

While he hoped his team and his sisters' team could handle their opponents, he was still a bit worried. Fighting against human opponents was a lot different from fighting Grimm. He knew that his training as an enforcer had come in handy when facing off against his opponents.

He walked closer to the warehouse that the White Fang was guarding, knowing that he would find his target within. If he was lucky, he would be able to stop the main perpetrator while managing to help his sisters. As he grew closer, he silently hoped that Neo had nothing to do with the robberies.

While he had only just met her, she seemed like a sweet enough girl. Rather, she reminded him of his sister. However, he had been let down in his past life before, so he didn't get his hopes up. As he opened the door to the warehouse, he summoned a very special noble phantasm.

In his hands, appeared a black bow and a drill shaped sword. As soon as he crossed the threshold, he altered the sword and nocked it as an arrow. He sent aura into the arrow, causing blue energy to well up around him. However, as soon as he looked inside, he mentally groaned.

Inside, was Roman Torchwick, and most importantly, Neopolitan. Neo looked at him with wide eyes, before she then offered him a sweet, wide smile. 'Figures, this is where my luck lands me.' He thought to himself, just as his scroll began to ring.