Chapter 3: Initiation Part 1

Beta read by Opal

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-Midchilda-

The light of dawn seeped inside Shirou's room, rousing the redhead from his sleep. The man rubbed his bleary amber eyes and slowly opened them to be met with an unfamiliar white ceiling. His memories were blank for a second before everything came flooding in. His accidental teleportation to another reality entirely, meeting a Magical Girl called Nanoha on a ghoul-infested planet, the days he spent living with Miss Brown, and finally his second meeting with the brunette. To think so much happened in a relatively small amount of time, though it wasn't nearly as crazy as the Holy Grail War.

"Hmm," Shirou stretched his arms, grateful that the girls managed to secure a room to sleep for the night. He remembered Nanoha inviting him to her apartment, even if it was for a single night, Shirou still declined as it was a bit too awkward given they were still barely acquaintances. "Hayate-san is quite generous, to be able to let me stay in such a place…"

The woman he met yesterday, Hayate Yagami, a friend of Nanoha, was apparently a big figure who held a high position in the Time-Space Administrative Bureau. The boy did not get to speak with her much during the ride inside the spaceship, he and Nanoha were discussing his next course of action and any plans he had for the future.

Honestly, he had no idea how he would be of help to the girls yet, having almost no knowledge of how this organization worked. But with the little he learned beforehand, it was no different than a policing body responsible to maintain order and stability in many worlds. Finding and securing weapons of mass destruction, helping planets and civilizations in need. As for why those who worked for the TSAB, the mages, ended up having Magical Girl outfits was something Shirou decided to ignore.

He walked to the window, opening the curtains to see a pearly glow of the sky. Futuristic-designed skyscrapers with countless holographic screens appearing mid-air somehow. It really looked far different than anything he had seen on Earth, he even spotted mountains in the distance along with the greenery blending perfectly with the architecture.

"Everything just looks clean."

The room itself was big, the bed itself being King sized which far surpassed his expectations. This space alone was probably as big as the apartment that he and Miss Brown lived in, it was a bit too much in his opinion.

Wearing his old clothes, Shirou left the bedroom and onto the living room where the kitchen was, a coffee would do him a lot of good. He was curious about how food and beverages would differ from Earth.

"Hm, I'm not familiar with this kind of coffee maker… where are the buttons?" Feeling completely out of his element, Shirou blinked a couple of times as tried to comprehend how this particular machine worked. "Was this how Tohsaka felt when dealing with technology?"

That girl was terrible with technology, far more so than a regular Magus, as Luvia regularly used a phone throughout the entire day and even had a laptop. Lord El Melloi himself used one and recorded much of his research on both paper and digital. At least those two didn't fire a Gandr at objects that frustrated them.

"Just hover your hand over the lid and it turns on by itself."

"Ah, I see, amazing!" Following the voice's instructions, Shirou did as mentioned and saw the coffee maker turn on with a holographic menu popping out with various options for different kinds of beverages — even fruit juice.

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Wait a minute, a voice?

"—!?" Snapping back to reality, his earlier drowsiness dying with a single burst, Shirou's turned to find Hayate Yagami sitting near the counter table with a big smile on her face as she waved at him.

"Ah, finally noticed me? Good morning, Shirou Emiya-san, I hope you had a great night yesterday." She said calmly, leaning against the table with dark bags under her eyes followed by a yawn. "The fridge is stocked with eggs and vegetables. If you want to cook some meat or some fish then check the freezer, I think I bought some yesterday."

While she acted nonchalantly, Shirou's mind was in disarray where only a single phrase managed to squeeze out of his mouth. "W-W-Why are you here?"

"Hm? Well, it's because this is my apartment."

Her apartment? Then what was he doing here!? Looking around, Shirou finally noticed the small details he had not seen before. A small picture on top of the coffee table with Hayate in a wheelchair, another picture on the wall near the entrance of the Brunette joined by Nanoha and a blonde woman and a pair of high heels near the living room.

"..."

Speechless about how he could have missed such an important detail when he first came inside the apartment, Shirou could not help but blush, hoping to jump inside a hole and stay there for eternity. He could hear the phantom laugh of a certain white-haired archer.

Not wanting the boy to faint, the tired Hayate waved his worries away with a simple gesture of her hands and explained, "Let me give you the details first. Coming back to Midchilda, I had a few meetings scheduled with my superiors along with overseeing a certain project of mine. Given I was going to be missing for an entire day, I thought it would not be a problem to let you sleep here instead for the night. Though I have officially organized an apartment for you somewhere else, it won't be as luxurious as this place — but that's all I could do. Sorry."

"N-No need to apologize!" Shirou hastily said. "I'm the one who should be apologizing for giving you so much trouble. Still… it is not wise to let a stranger in your home."

The girl nodded her head, not disagreeing with him in the slightest. "That is true, I would have never brought a stranger to my house even if it was for a night's stay while I'm away. But you, Emiya-san, are no stranger to me and Nanoha trusts you a lot, so I extend that judgment to you as well. Yesterday may have been the first time we met face to face, but I read your report from Rein and Nanoha. So I had a grasp on your character to some extent and you did not strike me as a criminal — at least I hope so."

Shirou laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. Completely at a loss for how to steer this conversation with this person. Still, after knowing how she hadn't slept all night due to work and seeing the dark circles under her eyes, he swiftly prepared her cup of coffee and presented it to her. Hayate thanked him and took a sip before widening her eyes from shock.

"Eh," she gasped, taking another sip only to repeat the same reaction.

"Hm? Is there something wrong with the beverage?" Given this was technology that he was not familiar with yet, the redhead feared that he might have potentially ruined the flavor.

"A-Ah, nothing, I just never managed to make it so good. The flavor isn't too bitter while not too sweet as well, it's perfect!" She could not go to sleep yet, at least until her duties were not sorted for the day. Nevertheless, she did not focus on the coffee the entire time and returned to face Shirou while retrieving a file from her bag. "Almost forgot, this might seem weird to you but we have documented everything about you and your past. At least… the scraps we managed to find."

Relieved at the change in topic, Shirou stopped everything he was doing and went over to read his files.

Name: Emiya Shirou?

Age: 19?

Origin: Earth, Japan.

Magic: Confirmed magic user but unknown which type it is.

Rank: B or A according to witnesses

Association: Unconfirmed

History: Unconfirmed

Past transgression: Unconfirmed

First appearance: Planet K7498-n7

Goals: Unconfirmed

There were a dozen more questions about himself.

After this was more documents detailing his battle against the ghouls, the weapon he used, and even the details of his conversation between Nanoha and himself. Some parts were crossed out, trying to make multiple guesses of the type of his magic but coming up with no conclusive answer. Though one thing that bothered Shirou was the lack of information on his file, he remembered answering clearly to Nanoha when they first met.

Given what he revealed to the girl yesterday, it made him wonder if she kept it a secret from the others.

"Um… Yagami-sa—"

"Just call me Hayate, Yagami is too formal for me."

"Right, Hayate-san. I don't know if Nanoha-san gave you any details about my…" just how could he bring it up to her? Somehow it felt easier with Nanoha as back then he had no choice and also because they had met previously. Hayate on the other hand was still a stranger to him, though she gave him a room to rest for the night which made him grateful so maybe he could tell her.

Fortunately for Shirou, his worries prove to be unfounded as the woman seemed to have read his mind.

"If you're worried about why any details about you being from another reality are missing from the files then don't worry — I made sure of that." There was a weird tension that continued to prevail in the room, Shirou did not know if it was only him who was experiencing it.

"So you believe me?"

"I do," Hayate replied instantly.

"..."

Again, Shirou was smacked in the face by how… different the people in this reality were. They believed him so easily that it made him start to doubt everything! The boy expected there to be some kind of interrogation and various tests done to his body and mind to see if he was telling the truth or not a crazy person who needed help.

"So easily?" Again, he couldn't help but ask, just this entire process went so smoothly that it confused the boy. Maybe this was all a set-up and men in black suits would appear out of nowhere and apprehend him before conducting various experiments on his body!

'No, she is a friend of Nanoha's, I'm being too paranoid here.' After dealing with various mages with hidden agendas in the Clocktower, Shirou realized that he needed to separate the people from his word and this one.

Hayate yawned again, rubbing her eyes while feeling the drowsiness increase.

"I trust Nanoha, we've been involved with many crazy adventures in the past and still deal with weird cases every so often. While I agree that unlike us, many of our superiors may find your case very intriguing and suspicious — we only want to help you out. This brings me to the next matter at hand, you asked Nanoha if you want to help out and work for the Time-Space Administrative Bureau?"

"Well, I didn't exactly say work for the TSAB, but if helping out requires such a thing then I'm willing to join." He said without hesitation, despite how quickly time seemed to pass by from the moment he discovered his case to now, Shirou extensively thought about his future and what might happen afterward. There was just little he could do back on Earth now that all records of him vanished. He could create fakes, but at what end? Fuyuki no longer existed so he was homeless, aside from Miss Brown he knew no one in this world and even if he managed to go back to Japan — each day would be a reminder that he was all alone.

To push through the loneliness, to focus on his dream and nothing or no one else… That was not a path Shirou wished to take, for he had seen what awaited him at the end.

"What position would I have?" He asked, curious about this matter since the mage system worked differently here. "I don't know if this will help but if the paperwork or the upper-ranked officers are against me joining the TSAB then I can be helpful in other areas."

"There is no need to worry about that, Emiya-san. I hold the position of second ground commander in the administration, I may not be the highest but my rank holds enough authority to take independent decisions concerning such matters." She finished her coffee, sighing in delight from the mildly sweet and bitter taste that made the drowsiness slowly fade away. "To help you with your case, we need you close by and can't have you turn into a janitor or mechanic. That would be both an insult to your capabilities as a mage and for the Time-Space Administrative Bureau. So I came up with this idea… why not just become my temporary assistant, Emiya-san? We can't send you to different worlds on missions even as a mage, yet. You'll be tested along with two trainees to see your actual current level and settings where you can perform at your best and to see if you are able to work with other mages who are going to be part of my division." 

"Just Shirou is fine." He said, repeating the same reason she gave him previously. "As for an assistant, hmmm, I never really had a job similar to it nor am I familiar with what I may need to work on. Won't my lack of experience and novelty to this world compromise your work? I was a butler on a couple of occasions, I'm not sure if that counts." There was a large possibility that he could mess up and create trouble for the girls, being an assistant to a high-ranking officer could not be an easy task in his opinion. Shirou was used to manual labor and chores which did not demand much aside from a strong body and basic common sense. Coupled with his experience working on various vehicles and machines using his Structural Analysis and Reinforcement would allow him to work with the ships he'd seen so far.

They were complex from the brief point he examined them, but a bit of research and familiarization with the machine would bridge that gap.

Though there was that one time he managed Copenhagen for a month when Neko-san got sick.

"Wait, hold up, you were a butler?" Before she could placate his worries, her mind was stuck on that specific part. "Like, did you work in a butler or maid cafe?"

Shirou scratched his head, "Heh, I can understand why you might be confused. But no, I was asked to become a 'real' butler by a friend of mine. She helped us out quite a lot and I was more than happy to serve her for a few days. Though my roommate was less than happy because both girls had an… intense rivalry — yeah, that's the only way I can say it." Just remembering how much destruction those two caused during their spar, sometimes he wondered if they had achieved Servant level strength just to beat the other one to the ground. Safe to say, Shirou never tried to get between them during such moments for he grew to treasure his life and the feeling of not having nearly every bone inside his body broken to pieces.

"Just what kind of people did you hang out with? Were they mages as well?" Hayate asked, getting curious about Shirou's past life in his old world. Then something clicked inside her head, he was obviously talking about two girls and one of them was his roommate…

Shirou continued to speak, "Hahaha, they were quite chaotic at times but were easily one of the strongest Magi I've met. Rin was already seen as a prodigy so I learned a lot under her, at least I tried." There was no need to mention how his over-specialized origin and element did not allow him to learn anything aside from Tracing and the basic spells like Reinforcement and Structural Analysis.

"Then there was Luvia, she was somehow a more gifted individual and a true monster. Both used the same magic and were equally as destructive as the other. Their fights could easily lay waste to the city if left unchecked." Soon, Shirou realized that he was rambling for too long and apologized. "Ah, sorry about that. Going back to the main topic, I ask you again. Are you sure that I would be ideal as an assistant for a commander like you? I have never worked in a militaristic environment before."

"Oh, don't worry about that! Both Rein and I already manage most of our paperwork just fine. All you'll need to do for now is just help out with the smaller aspects like organizing a few papers, delivering messages, and helping out anyone with minor issues in my stead. On top of getting a place to live in, I'll grant you a monthly salary as well, can't have you work for free and we will create a real identity for you — now you're no different from a ghost." Despite gaining some energy from the coffee, Hayate yawned with her eyes getting more tired. "To tell you the truth, work has been piling up for me quite a bit recently. Rein and I can only do so much before we can no longer keep up. There's this project I'm working on and truly believe it will bring a lot of good to countless planets."

The words she said resonated with Shirou, the idea of not just being able to help a single world but multiple was not something he could let go of so easily. His mind screamed at the boy to accept and get started immediately, but as Rin mentioned to him many times in the past — always act reserved and not desperate.

"If you believe that I will be able to help you out in any way shape or form, then please." He bowed his head, surprising Hayate at his gesture. "I'll be in your care, Hayate-san."

Seeing his earnest smile and those eyes burning with determination and the will to perform his best, Hayate couldn't help but smile. The redhead reminded her a lot of Nanoha, just from this small conversation her trust in him grew.

"I just wanted to ask you something about what you mentioned about your friend's magical prowess and how powerful they were. Then what about you?" Hayate asked, hearing all of this information about other mages but still very much in the dark when it came to Shirou's magic.

There was still some skepticism over his origin left in her mind. The records backed his words as there was no Shirou Emiya with his facial traits and characteristics anywhere on Earth's database. Rein mentioned if there was a possibility that it was just erased or purposefully altered. That notion was quickly dispelled as no such changes could occur without leaving some traces for an organization like theirs to miss.

The reason Hayate stayed awake the entire night was partially because of this, to research one last time and find information that validated his claims. Or rather, the lack of information just brought more credence to his claims. The other factor that further hammered the nail inside the coffin was his magic.

Unlike Chrono's magic, he did not seem to carry a device when watching the footage and could create real weapons instead of light constructs. Though now sitting close to him, her eyes trailed down to his neck where he had that red necklace. Nanoha confirmed that she had similar speculation but never asked him to confirm her theory. So, going through a few hurdles she managed to have Shirou scheduled to showcase his magic and what he was capable of. That also meant she butted heads with Regius, the latter growing a bit too curious about her research.

He was the primary reason why she kept Shirou's origin from another world a secret for now; there was a possibility that man would use it against her and make the creation of her project that much harder.

"My magic?" He said while tilting his head, deep in thought as to how he could give her a basic explanation without going much into detail. "If you must know, I'm just a third-rate Magus."

"A third rate?" Hayate had to ask again, wondering if she heard him incorrectly. The title sounded quite derogatory and demeaning for what she had seen from the footage. She just could bring herself to believe such a ridiculous claim. "But…your magic was powerful enough to potentially class you as a B or A rank mage, I don't see how that can be considered as a third rate in your world."

Unless the standard mage in his world were more powerful than the mages here… a simultaneously fascinating and dreadful thought.

"It's complicated, that's all I can say without this becoming a long discussion. How about telling you the details after you rest?"

Hayate agreed, tomorrow would be a busy day. She was lucky that not much happened today or else her sleep schedule would be skewed further. "Alright, before I show you your new living space, let me be the first to welcome you to the Time-Space Administrative Bureau and the first honorary member of Riot Force 6, Assistant Shirou Emiya!"

Shirou straighten up at her tone, "Happy to join, bos— *cough* Commander Hayate!" She giggled at his slip up there. "And as your assistant, my first order of duty will be this."

To her dismay, the redhead took away the woman's twice refilled cup right out of her hand. "Eh?"

"Hayate-san, you are obviously tired and can barely keep your eyes open. What's more important for you is to get some rest now and recover your strength. Drinking any more coffee to force yourself awake is not a good idea and will affect your health." He said with a frown on his face while lecturing her about the dangers of too much stress and caffeine in the system.

"..."

The girl was speechless, just a few seconds ago he was behaving all meek and reserved but now it felt like a switch had been flicked in his personality.

He was the one who served her a cup of coffee and was now taking it away?

"I-I'm fine, Shirou, this is not the first time I've done an all-nighter and sometimes I can even stay for three days without sleeping." She said while puffing up her chest as if it was a notable feat. The display only served to make Shirou's eyes twitch further, her workaholic behavior eerily reminded him of a certain twin-tailed girl…

It did not help that their voices sounded so similar!

Shirou crossed his arms and gave her a disapproving stare, "You say that now but in a few years, your body will suffer the consequences of your actions. Your hair might start getting prematurely white and you will have wrinkles." Overwhelmed by his words, Hayate could do nothing but give up and accept defeat.

"You're taking your role as an assistant more seriously than I imagined…" Both Shirou and Nanoha started sharing more similarities in her eyes, as the latter had on multiple occasions forced her to stop overworking at times with Fate agreeing with the brunette.

"But of course, you and Nanoha-san helped me far more than anyone should have, and taking advantage of your kindness is not something I want to do. So, I'll make sure to perfectly fill my role as your assistant and try my best. Also, you can write the address to my apartment on a piece of paper, there is no need for you to go out after being so tired. I'll manage myself."

{Break}

-Midchilda southern park-

There was a person she always admired for years, taking inspiration from her past and current achievements.

Subaru still remembered that fateful day as clear as day, the raging all-consuming inferno threatening to burn away everything it touched — including her. She was a small, helpless child with no way to escape. Tired, injured, and despairing over her demise which she believed peeked at her from the corners. A traumatic event that nearly scarred her for life, a memory she would have reminisced with both fear and anxiety.

Yet that was not the case.

All because that person came and changed her fate. She was strong, cool, and kind. With but a simple phrase, 'Everything will be alright, I'm here.' That person did the impossible and cleared away all fear, holding a white spear with a crimson orb in the middle and a white barrier jacket standing from the sea of crimson red fire. She acted as a beacon of hope and strength for the young Subaru Nakajima.

That day, something bloomed inside the young girl's heart. A flame similar to the ones that nearly killed her, but this one was different. It allowed her to create a goal, a dream that motivated the blue-haired girl for the following years.

Subaru wanted to cast away her shell, to move past the weak, timid, and regular little girl to something more. To get stronger she practiced nearly every day, pushing her body and mind by practicing various martial arts. Learning to become more outspoken and confident in herself. All of this with the hopes to one day catch up to the woman who saved her, to stand side by side as equals — that was the girl's goal.

She trained again and again with all her might, through blood, sweat, and tears Subaru pushed herself to her limit nearly every single day until she finally achieved the rank of Private Second Class along with her initially roommate, now best friend — Teana Lanster.

As a front attacker, she gained enough experience and merits to qualify for a promotional exam to a higher-ranked mage. But then the most unexpected event happened that day, she finally got to meet Nanoha after four years during the end of the exam.

It was a dream come true, she was her idol, a person Subaru strived to emulate. The best part was how the brunette still remembered her after all these years… she had honestly expected Nanoha to have forgotten a small girl from back then.

"Man, I'm so pumped!" She said excitedly, punching her gauntlets together. "Who would have thought in a million years that not only would we be invited by the bureau but also by the Ace of Aces! Gah! I should have asked for an autograph! I would have kept it in my room as a trophy!"

"This is the third time you're complaining about such a pointless issue." Sitting next to her at a park was none other than Teana, her friend, and a gifted ranged mage. Having first started on the wrong foot, both now we're an iconic duo — having helped people in many fire-related incidents and rescue missions. "Hah, thank god we passed the exams. I thought the combat instructor came over to announce that we failed or something." Teana admired Nanoha like many of her classmates, but who wouldn't? But she also held an equal amount of fear when facing the living legend. Having that person announce that she and Subaru had failed the exams would have been a nightmare.

"Did you pull a muscle? You've been moving your arms around a lot lately. And is your ankle better?" Subaru asked, worried about her friend's health. As far as she was concerned, Teana played a pivotal role in the exam, mostly providing coverage from the auto-spheres and dummies scattered throughout the battlefield. In the end, Subaru failed to notice an auto-sphere and nearly got disqualified if it weren't for her best friend here.

"I'll be fine, I told you that it's already healed and there weren't any worrisome injuries to begin with." A few days passed since the promotion exams and her ankles stopped aching. She berated herself for not being careful and falling for such a rookie mistake. "And can you stop fretting over me like I'm some fragile vase? We've been through worse scenarios than the exams, just last month we nearly got buried under a building in flames."

"That was different, I barely managed to react in time and save our lives."

"You punched the ceiling out of anger and through sheer luck, it split right in the middle and did not hurt us. I guarantee you that if we weren't lucky then one of us would have suffered from burns and a broken arm at best." That was just one near-disastrous incident, there were dozens of other similar cases when their teamwork still needed work. Of course, she knew that even now they weren't perfect and needed time and practice to reach that level of teamwork. "Also, we'll have to perform a last checkup on our devices tonight, tomorrow's test run will be crucial for us to join Riot Force 6."

"Don't worry about it, we'll pass whatever trial this is with ease!" She said, "We aced the exams despite our little hiccup there, we'll go beyond this time."

Teana sighed at Subaru's energy-filled aura, she was probably looking forward to once again showing off to Nanoha Takamachi for a second time.

Both now sat outside a park near their new apartment complex, eating their lunch after having worked out. Subaru decided to practice her reaction time and footwork, her gauntlet was checked for the third time for any possible damages — thankfully nothing was found. Teana continued to improve her aiming skills and shooting speed, hitting her target with great accuracy. What she struggled with was rather the timing of spells, each taking longer than she would have liked.

"Don't you think this is a bit weird? First Instructor Nanoha came over and initially asked that we be invited to the team and would carry a training session with the other new recruits in a matter of days, now suddenly this changed to another trial tomorrow." She said, a bit annoyed with the news as it caught them unprepared and gave them very little time to prepare and strategize.

"But it was not Instructor Nanoha who said that, those orders came from Sergeant Major Rein and she even said that it was not a big deal — just some light sparring. Heh, whoever they are, we'll crush them in a matter of minutes."

"Quite confident of you, don't start underestimating our opponent just because we were just promoted to B-ranked mages. Don't let this rank get to your head so easily."

"You know me Teana, I would never do such a thing." Subaru said nonchalantly, taking a bite of her sandwich. "It'll just be like a good old time in the academy, hah… how time flies by."

"It hasn't been that long, barely a few months. You sound like an old person, Subaru." The light brown-haired girl said with a deadpan.

"Neee… you're going to ruin my upcoming motivational cool speech I was going to give you with that attitude, Tea."

"I doubt I would have been motivated. I remember you secretly practiced those speeches back in the academy for the time you would eventually join the Rescue Corps and Disaster Management. Though I don't ever remember you using them during our time there, probably because you were too shy. Or maybe you're planning on using them in front of Instructor Nanoha to impress her?" She said with a dry tone, her words causing her blue-haired friend to blush from embarrassment.

She was indeed thinking about doing that.

"...N-No?"

"You suck at lying."

"Oi!"

Both girls continued to bicker back and forth, this being their daily routine. After that, they both had a packed plan for the day, one of which included setting up their apartment with all of their belongings. Teana had already finished arranging her room but as usual, Subaru barely even started and begged her to help out at the end of the day.

"Um, excuse me? I need some help…" A voice interrupted them, both girls turned their heads and noticed a man standing near the stairs while carrying a single box and a few bags filled with new clothes and daily necessities. Someone who looked like he was in his early twenties, with red hair and auburn eyes, neither remembered there being a person with such traits living in this complex. He looked quite tired and was sweating a bit from the heat.

"Yes, can we help you?" Subaru said without missing a beat, more than ready to help out anyone.

He presented them with a paper with an address written on it. "I am looking for this apartment complex, I'm not sure if this is the place… I have been searching for it nearly all day."

"Hehehe, I understand your pain, the city can be quite confusing to travel around for newcomers. But yes, this is the place, mister, let me help you out!"

"Ah, there is no need to do th—"

Before he could finish his phrase, Subaru had already taken the box from his hands. "There, that should be easier for you." She was not prepared for the weight and nearly made the whole thing tip over.

"..."

"..."

Teana resisted the urge to laugh.

"Will you be okay with that?" The redhead asked.

"I-I'm fine, totally okay here." Subaru tried to dismiss what happened before and started fast walking inside the building but halfway there she stopped and sheepishly looked back. "Um… what is your apartment number again?"

Rolling her eyes, Teana looked at the paper the stranger just passed over and noticed an interesting detail. "You're from Earth?" She asked, surprising the boy as he looked at her with surprise.

"How did you know?"

She showed him the paper, "The note here is written in Japanese. Though it's not uncommon to see people in Midchilda use languages from other worlds, in most cases they are newcomers. So I just made a guess and you confirmed it with your reaction."

The man looked at her with surprise evident in his eyes — impressed by her deduction. "Also, my name is Teana Lanster, and that klutz over there is my friend Subaru Nakajima."

"Hello!" Right on cue, the girl turned around and gave him a bow, having most likely cooled off from the previous event.

"Nice to meet you two, my name is Shirou Emiya — just call me Shirou — and yes, I'm from Earth. Japan if you want to be more specific, though I guess that wasn't a mystery. Are you two also from Earth?" He asked, especially looking at Subaru with her name.

"Nope, our homeworld is Midchilda. Born and raised here."

Shirou wondered if that was also the case for Hayate, he did not think to ask her as it was not relevant back then. Nanoha knew that he was from Japan as she confirmed it herself, so there was no mystery there.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is your mage rank? Both Subaru and I just passed the mage promotion exam to B-rank."

"Wow, B-rank? That's amazing!" Shirou said with awe and amazement. Granted, he did not have any reference to how powerful a mage in this level was aside from Hayate ranking him around this level and A — which he believed was way too high. But the memory of Nanoha using a single spell to lay waste to an entire terrain filled with thousands of ghouls in less than a second remained engraved in his mind. She was an S rank if he remembered correctly, so if these two were B rank then they were truly very powerful at such a young age.

Both girls, despite mentioning how they would not get overconfident and arrogant over their increase in ranks, couldn't help but puff up their chests. It was always hard to ignore such compliments and feeling prideful was unavoidable.

"Hehehe, don't worry Shirou, even if we are B ranks you can ask us for any kind of help anytime." Given he was a newbie and how impressed he was with their ranks, both Subaru and Teana guessed the man must have been a D or C rank mage at best. "I am a close combat ground mage using Belkan magic, my primary weapon are combat gauntlets which I use to basically smash things to pieces!"

"Hoh, that's quite rare, I rarely met mages like you." This was the truth, aside from training with reinforcement in the Clocktower, most magi used long-ranged spells as their primary style. He met a few enforcers, magi, and spellcasters who used their fists and mystic code gloves capable of blowing a bullet to dust with a single punch. Though such cases were rare and most relied on weapons and spells rather than a gauntlet. "It'll be an honor to have to see you in action, Subaru-san, I'm sure you're an amazing fighter."

The girl blushed at the comment, "Hehehe, you're overpraising me~! Ah! Forgot to ask, but what is your fighting style and magic?"

Teana's ears twitched, she was also curious about his magic. If they were going to see each other more often and he required a helping hand, then she would not mind doing some research to help the man improve his magical capabilities. She did not see a staff or any kind of device on him and the box was only filled with clothes and minor items for his daily needs.

"Mine? That's a hard question to answer, but I guess I'm both good at close quarters with my swords and long range with my bow." Over the years, he refined both his swordsmanship and his archery skills to fire Noble Phantasms. The Clocktower had many facilities for different sorts of practicing his magecraft and he made sure to use them to the fullest extent. In the end, his proficiency with the same bow Archer used grew fast enough to catch up to his swordsmanship and now even surpassed it.

Rin did find it ironic given his magecraft but also weirdly logical given she was that bastard's Master.

"Ehh! You're a ranged mage as well!" Subaru exclaimed looking at the intrigued Teana with a big smile. "That's perfect! Teana is a gunner and THE most talented long-ranged mage I know! She can hit a target across a dense forest with her bullets which can maneuver around the trees!"

Seeking bullets? Now that was a dangerous attack when in the right hands.

"Subaru is just exaggerating, I'm at most a decent shot and still have many flaws to correct in order to become an A rank mage or beyond that in the future. Also, you mentioned using a sword and bow both as your primary weapons. A bit unconventional but unique I must say. Though I'd advise practicing one style first rather than focusing on two different styles at the same time." This was too big of a hurdle for someone who possibly just started out as a mage, mastering one weapon was hard enough but two was just asking for trouble.

"You think so? I don't really have that problem for now."

Teana shook her head, he was obviously not going to change his style just because she said so, so the only way would be to show him during a sparring session the error of his ways.

Soon, all three of them reached the apartment where Shirou would be staying. Funnily enough, it was just a few doors away from the girls' room down the corridor.

"Oh, looks like we're also neighbors." Subaru said, dropping the box on the table and looking around the room. It was smaller than theirs, being big enough for a single person to live comfortably in. With a small kitchen, living room, and bathroom — a cozy place. "Alright, it was nice to meet ya, Shirou. If you need anything else then don't hesitate to knock on our door."

"I will, thank you again for everything." Shirou said with a smile, he was grateful to have net two genuinely nice people who helped him out in a heartbeat. Both girls said their goodbyes and left, closing the door behind them and leaving Shirou alone by himself.

"..."

The smile on his face slowly died down, the redhead walked to the balcony where he gazed at the city with a trace of sadness evident in his eyes. That same sensation of loneliness and loss returned bit by bit, it was not as severe as during his first few days in this world after discovering the truth but it was still there.

"Sorry, I can't call you anymore, Fuji-nee. You're probably turning all of London upside down searching for me. Rin is probably hastily trying to fix things with Luvia's help, those two bicker a lot, like oil and water, but under pressure they become an unstoppable duo. Issei has most likely learned of my disappearance and might also be in London with Fuji-nee and the entire Fujimura group." He chuckled imagining the chaos his guardian would be causing to the city. Knowing her, she might even accidentally uncover the Mage Association and force them to intervene for damage control.

"Hah, I can't get stuck on these thoughts… you need to get yourself together, Shirou." He smiled in front of everyone, having only shown his true feelings once to Nanoha after asking her for help. But in reality, he missed the people from Fuyuki… his home.

"Did you know, Fuji-nee, Magical Girls actually exist in this world and are part of a militaristic organization that acts like a police for the galaxy. If you knew about this, I wonder how you would have reacted. Happy or horrified? The funniest part is how I managed to unofficially join the Time-Space Administrative Bureau as an assistant. You'd be disappointed that I didn't get a special wand that changed me into a dress and had sparkles all around me."

Now that he thought about it, Nanoha also did not have any twinkling sparkles around her body when in her combat gear she called a barrier jacket.

"It would be pretty ridiculous if I managed to Trace something like Raising Heart, but even if I could… I don't think I have the Magical Energy reserves to use some of those attacks more than once." Shirou said dryly, he was not someone like Rin or Luvia who possessed the capabilities of using such a device and also how the magic system differed in this world.

"Trace... On."

Judging the concept of creation

Cyan energy started to burst out from the young man's palm, blazing and swirling gently around his body while swaying his hair back and forth. Without the abundance of Mana, any Magus would have an easier time using their magecraft here or even on Earth.

Hypothesizing the basic structure

The soft and bright aura paused for a moment as if time around it had stopped, then it resumed and began to expand, taking the shape of a single curved sword.

Duplicating the composition material

The color of steel morphed around it, the greenish-wispy aura slowly becoming solid such that it was tangible now. One of the two swords that he regularly used for training and any situation in general. Something that required little to no Magical Energy to create but still held excellent craftsmanship from its creator. Shirou did not know how or when Archer came across these swords, maybe he encountered them during his time as a Counter Guardian? That was the most logical explanation he could come up with.

Regardless, the boy was grateful to have seen these blades as he loved their craftsmanship and awed at their beauty. Fighting without them did not feel right when done for too long and he always reverted back to these after going through a few Tracing.

Imitating the skill of its making

He remembered the sounds of gears and wheels spinning resonated inside that man's Reality Marble, a future he promised himself and Run to never become. The image of a dead wasteland covered with swords flashed before his eyes, its sky filled with colossal gears but with a faint amount of sunlight pushing through the dense smog. He pushed all of that away to bask his mind on the scene of a sky illuminated with an ever so zephyr-like twilight that shined with everlasting hope.

Shirou Emiya would never become the Wrought Iron Hero, betrayed by his ideals and himself. A regretful and pitiful entity that symbolized a dream that failed.

Yet as he peered inside, there appeared a barren wasteland with little to no noise or change. Quieter than ever before, the dust filling the atmosphere which grew thicker than what he last remembered.

Shirou's heart shook before he pushed forward and focused on the blade within his grasp.

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth

From the moment it was created, it held little to no purpose. Not even made for war or combat. Just created for the sake of creating something.

Reproducing the accumulated years

A sword that came from a regular blacksmith forced to sacrifice everything to bring it to life. From the use of human qi given from the willing sacrifice of his wife and the years' worth of blood, sweat, and tears.

Excelling every manufacturing process

"Bakuya…"

The blade looked as mesmerizing as ever before, the weight and feel of the weapon bringing a sense of comfort to the boy who longed for it. So he swung the blade once, its shape and form offering little air friction and resistance as it slashed faster than ever before. Hayate mentioned how this complex had a training area suitable for any kind of weapon user, so maybe he could ask those two girls to take him there tomorrow.

Shirou Traced Kanshou, performing more moves with both blades with quick speed, letting his body familiarize itself with the feel and motion of the Noble Phantasms.

"I'm not sure how strong the barrier jackets are against such weapons, so I'll have to be careful tomorrow if my opponent is a mage." After a few more sessions and getting his body warmed up, Shirou dismissed the blades and started unpacking. After basically scolding Hayate to bed because she was having second thoughts and was preparing to leave for work again, he managed to convince her to rest. Though before that she gave him a bit of funds to buy some clothes at the shop near the building and wrote down the address on a piece of paper.

That girl was going to ruin her own body and health with that kind of behavior. Perhaps talking to Nanoha about this issue would be a good idea, they knew each other longer and maybe her words would have a bigger effect in the long run than his methods.

"Well, I guess this is my life now," Shirou said while looking around the apartment, slowly taking everything in and then clapping his hands once. "Alright, time to clean this place up."

No matter how lost or melancholic Shirou felt, he still had to get along with his day and move forward. People like Hayate and Nanoha helped him this far and he would not let their efforts go to waste. Whether it be in this world or the last, the redhead's desire to help and save everyone stayed as strong as ever.

{Break}

"She's a magical knight of the Saint Church Knight as well as a member of the Administrative Bureau's board of directors, Carim Gracia. I never met her in the past, so I don't know what kind of person she might be." Sitting inside an office, Hayate and Fate overlooked a largely abandoned battlefield that served as the perfect ground for trainees and mages, in general, to conduct their examination. "But I have heard many good things about her, from both my coworkers and the news in general."

"Carim is a great person for sure, though we differ in our beliefs and values, our goal is the same in the end. It was thanks to her that I managed to hire so many recruits for my division and make this once small dream of mine a reality." Hayate said while looking at the blonde next to her, she called her to oversee the test and have Fate share her opinion on certain matters concerning the people who would participate today. "She made it possible for me to bypass Regius's skepticism over my project and greenlight it with the remaining superiors."

Fate chuckled, "That man feels like your shadow, he always appears wherever you are. Sometimes I wonder if his sole reason to join the meetings between commanders is to just block you at every turn."

"Hah," sighed Hayate. "He's not being difficult on purpose, each and every point he brought up in objection for the creation of the division were valid and were not points I could callously ignore. It's just that his distrust extends to me more than anything. So to soothe his worries, I even offered him a position equal to mind in the Division — but he declined."

Fate gave Hayate a suspicious stare. "Something tells me you already knew what answer he would give, which is why you asked such a question." For all her innocent demeanor, Hayate was quite resourceful and cunning with her work. Having reached such a position would not have been enough with strength alone, the girl had many trump cards hidden under her sleeves.

"Eh, I wonder~?"

To see her friend act so innocent made Fate shake her head with a smile. "Still it's nice we got a trustworthy superior for this project."

"I don't know about the superior part, but yes, Carim and I knew each other for nearly eight years by now, I think. Aside from the power as a member of the board, she's also a friend more than anything. So you should meet her at some point, Fate, I'm sure you two would get along quite nicely. I'll be paying her a visit very soon, you can accompany me then and I can have you two chat for a bit. She knows a lot about you and your stories, so I feel it's fair to hang out a bit and officially become friends."

"Speaking of friends, I heard you met the person Nanoha was stressing about previously?" Out of everyone, Fate felt as if she was more out of the loop than the rest and wanted Hayate to fill her in with the details.

"Oh yeah, we traveled to Earth using a ship Carim let me borrow for a few days. It was to retrieve that man Nanoha found stranded on the ghoul-infested planet. He was first dropped in London before calling through Nanoha's card and asking to become part of the TSAB."

"Since when did she have a card?"

"That's what I said as well!" Given her position, Hayate had cards made just for fun and she even gave one to each of her friends. So she did feel it to be unfair that the brunette did not give her one as well in return.

"I heard he's a competent mage from Earth."

"Hard to say, aside from a few seconds long footage we don't have any idea what his prowess is. Though we know so far that he's most likely a ground mage with a ranking between B and A. Of course, these are just speculations and we can't confirm them without having Shirou participate in such an event."

"Why not just have either Vita or Sigmun test him out?" Fate asked.

"I did consider that plan as both were available, but Shirou is to be my sort of unofficial assistant, so it's crucial he gets to meet the team first. I've already talked about this to Nanoha and she was happy to help. So consider this a killing two birds with one stone kind of scenario." On the screen in front of them, two girls appeared in front of the entrance leading inside the artificially created city. "The initial plan of having Nanoha face Subaru, Teana, Caro, and Erio was pushed back. Erio went to the airport to pick up Caro, so there's that as well. But I've had Rein inform those two that this isn't an exam and more of a training regiment with other mages and Nanoha."

Fate found something weird about her plan.

"But you're planning to test him with two B ranked mages? Isn't that a bit too much for a newcomer? At least Vita and Sigmund have experience training new recruits and are able to hold back enough."

Hayate hesitated for a split second before shaking her head.

"She told me he was at least an A rank mage and if that's true then this environment would be ideal to have him go all out. Plus it's a good way to bond with both recruits Subaru and Teana. I want to see what they are capable of for each side."

"So what do you plan on making this test about? I can see it being like last time with Nanoha testing their basic instincts for dodging and attacking at the right time just until someone managed to touch her barrier jacket or cause the slightest bit of damage."

It sounded very simple to anyone who was not familiar with Nanoha. Though given the girl's long range of experience fighting in many different scenarios gave her an unfair advantage which many were not aware of.

"That I trust her to make the accurate judgment. She saw him perform his magic, so giving her the power to decide is the best course of action. If he's truly an A rank mage then it will make things easier for me." Hayate said, watching the screen flash with color as Nanoha descended from the skies donning her full barrier jacket with Raising Heart in its staff form held firmly in her hand.

"She's here, this is going to be fun." Fate knew her friend, the latter was a relented combat instructor who could bring out the best in anyone. And she was curious what this Shirou fellow was capable of given how highly the others were saying him to be. "And it looks like she is looking forward to it as well, I can see the anticipation from here."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Shirou is from another parallel world," Hayate mentioned nonchalantly, sipping the same coffee Shirou unjustly took away from her and kept it in the fridge — it was just too good to throw away.

.

.

.

"What!?"

***

On the other side of the building where the training field was, Subaru and Teana made their final preparations while Subaru was jumping around like a toddler high on caffeine.

"Seriously, it's so early in the morning and I'm not in the mood to have you act this way, Subaru," Teana mumbled under her breath. She stayed up all night to strategize what kind of trial or opponent they were going to face today. Given it was personally overseen by the one holding the title of Ace of Aces, the trial was bound to be either extremely different or near impossible.

Subaru barely seemed to feel the pressure as she watched with starry eyes the floating figure of her idol descending in her full combat gear just like last time.

"Good morning girls, I hope you had enough rest for today's trial."

"Yes Ma'am!" Both girls replied loudly with a stiff stance, years of training in the military making their response come out automatically.

"Fufufu, you certainly look quite ready, Subaru."

"Of course! I trained my whole life for moments like these and I won't lose!" She exclaimed with her hands punching the sky. Teana shrunk at her friend's behavior and kept a cool and composed face. Her warryness about the test grew when she saw her combat instructor come forward in her battle gear with the legendary Raising Heart in fully deployed mode.

"That's good to hear. I know you'll perform magnificently and surpass my expectations with little effort. You too, Teana, you both need to use your ability to work as a team more than anything to pass. Normally there should have been two more people present today but they couldn't be present for today, unfortunately. You'll meet them later on during a training session and I'm sure all of you will get along nicely."

Two more people? Teana wondered who they might be, it made sense there would be more mages joining the division so she was curious about their identities. For the most part, she kept her focus on the Instructor in front and the environment around her.

"I see you are ready, well then, let's not waste time." Subaru's face turned from jovial to focused, sharing the same expression as her friend as she paid close attention to the upcoming words. "First of all, as you may have guessed, this will be a combat-related test. You will not be going against orbs or dummies at any point in the area, rather your opponent will be a mage."

Both girls tensed at that part, so it really was a battle. Subaru was feeling excited to possibly fight Nanoha, everything she accomplished from her youth till today would bear fruits as she could show off everything she learned.

"You will be allowed to use your devices without any restrictions and have a time limit of ten minutes. Everything will be monitored and recorded to analyze and be used to enhance your fighting style for future training, so don't accidentally attack a passing drone orb. Even if there are no restrictions on your strength I'd still advise you to be careful as accidents can happen. Yes, Subaru?" She noticed the blue-haired girl raising her arm and allowed her to speak what she had in mind.

"Are we going to fight you!?"

The S ranked mage shook her head much to the dismay of Subaru and Teana's relief, the latter preferring to handle dozens of mages at the same time than to go up against a powerhouse like Nanoha who had an enormous advantage with her ability to fly, both of them were ground mages after all. Subaru could use her rollerblades to roll on magical constructed platforms and try to hit Nanoha who could easily just move out of the way. Her shots were a viable option but she honestly doubted they could even reach the woman without the latter either casting a shield or just dodging with her speed.

It wasn't like they had zero chance as with a good enough strategy and plan of attack, there was a real chance to actually land a couple of hits on Nanoha by catching her off guard.

At least she hoped so.

The best-case scenario was for Subaru to somehow damage her barrier jacket. But whether that would have counted as a win or not remained to be seen.

"I'm afraid that for today, I will not be your opponent. Only when all four members are assembled will I find it fair to participate. Instead, your opponent will be this person. He is a powerful, competent individual so I advise everyone here to not underestimate anyone in this small duel."

She gestured to the right where a person had made his way to the group without the two girls even noticing his arrival. Teana and Subaru looked over and their minds went blank. The last person they ever expected to see today was standing there awkwardly waving at them. A person they believed to have been a lower-ranked mage who they promised to help him in his training.

The familiar redhead coupled with those amber eyes, wearing the same white shirt with blue sleeves and still not holding any device.

"Uh, hey guys… I didn't expect to see you two here. Um, let's have a good fight?" Shirou really didn't know what to say to these two as he was as flabbergasted as them.

"..."

"..."

They were speechless.

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