4

Getting back into it, finally. Alright, there were a bunch of reviews this time, almost catching up to my DxD which has thirteen chapters, kinda crazy. I have seen a bunch of people saying stuff about Shirou's projections degrading. So, I'll say, don't worry about it, since Shirou doesn't necessarily need to care about that stuff anymore. I'll probably fix it in other stories, I don't know, I personally prefer thinking that they get erased as time goes on. Like my DxD story, he uses it and notes that its so slow that it kind of doesn't matter. Maybe he can get stuff other than mundane crap he has in his shed to stick around, or maybe, the world tries to erase the NPs. Doesn't really matter anymore, as mentioned with his semblance. The lore is so confusing and contradictory at times so I'm not going to argue about it, besides pointing out what I think now. Even then, another world, oh well. People can get mad at it, It was just a story thing anyway.

As for the incest thing, don't worry about it. It'll be fine, besides, I did say that I was open to it if it made sense, but at the moment, they are his sisters.

I do have some plans for a few of the characters, like Emerald and Neo, as someone asked, but a few more as well. Such as Raven and Vernal. I have a lot of ideas at the moment. You'll just have to wait and see.

Shirou can't copy guns yet, I had him say he was working on it to sort of explain that. He has the weapons of everyone he's seen so far, they just don't function as they should. Ice Queendom is something I was thinking about exploring. Making Shirou into the target would be fun for me to write, but we'll see. As for the divergence from canon, it'll come just be patient. Also, just to clarify for one reviewer, his kimono was supposed to more like Raven's outfit. Just the top, it will change soon because of his sisters, but I figured I'd clarify. The sash however will remain, its his reminder of his servant.

Now, on to the story.

Chapter 4

What do you know, Yang ended being right, once again. Shirou ended up saving Weiss, before Ruby managed to free herself from Shirou's javelin. Using his blade works semblance, he used the technique called Phalanx, something Yang remembered from Shirou's stories. He modeled it after the story of the 300, one she personally enjoyed when they were younger. Summoning a wall of shields, to shield them from the nevermore as Ruby began coming up with the plan.

It didn't take long for Ruby to come up with one, eventually separating into two teams, though Yang couldn't help but feel that Shirou must have had a hand in deciding. Considering, Ruby and her ended up pairing up with their respective partners. She knew how Shirou worked, he could be sly when he wished to be. It was obvious to her that Shirou must have wanted to see the two stick together.

It was a bit confusing trying to understand her brother at times, considering she knew that the two twins were practically stuck at the hip since the day they were born. Then again, maybe her brother wanted to see Ruby break out of her shell, to be able to walk on her own two feet. It did seem like something her brother would end up doing. Then there was her.

She let out a sigh, ever since she could remember, her brother would usually treat her like a younger sibling. Always looking out for her and helping her with everything he could. Which, surprisingly, extended to sparring with her. Honestly, she couldn't help but feel like he was one of the people she counted on the most. He was always there when both her and Ruby needed him. He really reminded her of Summer, though considering how close the two were, it didn't surprise her much.

It did somewhat surprise her that he had the capability to lead, such as when she saw him lead Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha into completely dismantling the death stalker. It was actually very impressive, especially when Nora drove her hammer into one of Shirou's massive swords to completely impale the thing. She inwardly squealed a bit when he ended up using a technique she told him to use, which was causing the sword to burst inside of it.

She didn't miss the proud expression on his face when Ruby led her, Blake, and Weiss in decapitating the nevermore. It had taken a lot in bringing it down, including her shooting multiple dust rounds into the things mouth, though, she took comfort in the fact that Shirou confirmed she looked cool doing it. What did surprise her, considering she had never seen Shirou actually shoot that far, was when he helped pin the nevermore to the cliff so Ruby could cut its head off.

He did tell her his arrows could hit just about anything he aimed at, but she figured it was more of an exaggeration. She did know that he had powerful arrows in stock, which caused her to wonder why he didn't use one to blow the nevermore out of the sky, but she figured he had his reasons. Shirou wasn't someone who would let anything dangerous happen to anyone in front of him. He was a lot like Ruby in that way.

While he may have been proud of Ruby and her, she was equally as proud of her little brother. He seemed more active, even going so far as to take lead over a group of other students. She knew that it had something to do with the newfound motivation he spoke of. He had light in his eyes, he seemed a bit happier, and he was even more active when it came to socializing with people other than Ruby and her.

She hoped that this was a permanent thing. He seemed more like the brother she knew when mom was alive. She would get her answer soon, considering the team placements would likely end up separating one of the siblings. If it was Shirou, then she would be able to get information on how he acted from one of his teammates. She could play it off as being an overprotective older sister, since she kind of already was.

She walked behind the her two siblings, who were walking side by side, along with their respective partners. Honestly, it was a happy sight. She knew that their mom would have loved to see them become students of Beacon. She had just exited out of her thoughts when she heard Pyrrha ask Shirou a question.

"Hey, um Shirou, I was wondering something." Shirou looked over at her with a raised brow, "Why is it that when you use your semblance you call out certain things?" Yang had to hold a hand over her mouth to stop herself from letting out a laugh. Shirou, being the awkward brother she knew, lifted a hand behind his head and gave a weak laugh and smile.

"Well, its more of a memory association thing. Self hypnosis, associating a set of actions with a certain word or words to actualize the technique. It's a bit quicker that way." He explained, though Yang noticed how he slightly turned his eyes to the side. It was becoming harder to not laugh.

To be completely fair to her baby bother, it was slightly true, for his later techniques that is. In the beginning, he didn't actually need to do any of that. Yang knew, the only reason Shirou even began to do that, was because of Ruby and her telling him that it would be cool. Needless to say, he continues to do it. Yang was pretty sure he was unable to stop at this point. Though, he did come up with a pretty good excuse.

"Oh, Shirou, are you entirely sure thats the whole reason?" She couldn't help herself, it was her job to embarrass her little siblings. "Why, I'm pretty sure that's not the whole story is it?" She could see Shirou's eyes widen at her words. Oh, she was going to have so much fun with her siblings while at Beacon.

Elsewhere, Glynda was currently watching the group making their way back towards them. She already knew what the teams would end up being. Especially after the sight she had just seen. Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, and Shirou Rose at the helm. She wasn't completely sure if he had the capacity to lead the team at the beginning, but seeing how he was able to lead them into completely dismantling, literally, the deathstalker was impressive.

He had a certain quality about him, one that appeared to have been dormant until now. It was as if he was able to discern the capabilities of those around him and come up with a proper plan of action that incorporated each person perfectly. He seemed to have previous experience in leadership, except for the fact, that she knew he didn't.

It was clear to her, that Shirou would end up being a superb huntsman one day. She had yet to see how the interpersonal relationships between team members would play out, however, judging by the way he was acting at present, she was sure she wouldn't have to worry about that. Though, the only thing she really worried about, was how much he tended to act like Qrow at times.

Though, she supposed the only real times he did that was when Ozpin was around. That slightly puzzled her, wondering why he seemed to have a distrust or dislike of the headmaster. She could guess that one of the reasons more than likely had to with the death of their mother. She had read about it in the Rose siblings file, so she supposed it made sense.

But there was something else there, a distrust that extended past that. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. She supposed that, as long as it didn't interfere with his duties, it didn't really matter. Besides, he'd more than likely be more involved with her than Ozpin.

If she were being honest, the two groups walking back together seemed to be exceptional when compared to the others. It was obvious they were far ahead of the others, even when it came to teamwork. She was looking forward to seeing the growth of the two groups. She would make sure to turn them into excellent huntsmen and huntresses.

The team placements went exactly as Shirou planned, with Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Blake being partnered together. Heck, even Ruby being picked as the leader wasn't surprising to him, considering he knew how talented his sister was. Honestly, Yang could have probably been picked as well, she didn't show it a whole lot, but she was pretty sharp when she wanted to be.

Weiss and Blake seemed like capable partners who didn't fall behind his sisters by much, though, he could tell that Weiss would more than likely end up being difficult, if her expression when Ruby was chosen as leader was anything to go by. Seeing his sister's surprised face when chosen as the leader was something that put a smile on his face. She did tend to underestimate herself a lot.

Then came him. His team being comprised of Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha was expected, however, him being leader was not something he really wanted. He could do it, sure, but he had enough of that in his old world. Then again, he was resolved himself to be a hero once more, so he supposed he could put up with it. The others seemed supportive of him being the leader, so that was a plus.

Nora and Ren, they were two people that Shirou was actually sort of excited to work with. He got some basic information from them, just to see their skills, and what he saw was enough to impress him. Nora was actually crazy strong considering her size. She was also a tank when it came to combat. Honestly, she somewhat reminded him of Ruby in a few ways.

She also had some skill with that hammer she swung around, not to mention the grenade launcher, or her semblance. He could think of some creative ideas when it came to empowering her, not to mention some modifications to her weapon. Once he managed to copy gun mechanisms perfectly, those other than his sisters', then he would be able to experiment to his hearts content.

Then there was Ren, who Shirou would describe as an assassin class type combatant. His tactics blended well with Nora's, though he supposed that the two had spent a good majority of time together, so it was sort of expected. Nonetheless, he was someone who was nearly as skilled as Ruby, though he was sure that Ruby could beat him.

Needless to say, Pyrrha was someone who he was more than happy with. He wanted to say that it was luck that they ended up together, but he was sure that would be a lie. He worked well with her, she seemed to be able to read him in combat and was able to acclimate accordingly. All Pyrrha and him needed at the moment, was to get that same level of teamwork with Nora and Ren, who seemed to share a similar relationship.

It would take some time, but Shirou had at least four years to work with. He hoped things would work out that smoothly, but he knew that, with his luck, his team would more than likely wind up attracting trouble. Definitely not something he was looking forward to. Then again, he supposed that, as long as his sisters were able to stay out of trouble, he wouldn't have a thing to worry about. 'Yeah right, their luck's as bad as mine sometimes.' he lamented mentally.

He was currently on the roof of his dorm, watching the broken moon as he usually did. He heard a squeak behind him. "Shouldn't you be in bed little sister?" He said without turning around.

"Not your sister, sorry for disappointing you." a familiar voice called out. Shirou turned his head and saw his sisters' teammate, Blake. His eyes slightly widened, before he put an amused smile on his face.

"No worries. Ruby's usually the one who ends up sneaking up on me when I'm looking at the moon." He replied quirking a brow, "Though, I suppose the question still stands in some capacity." He said with a smirk. Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you the same age as Ruby?" She asked, causing Shirou to let out a small chuckle.

"I'm a few minutes older, if you want to be technical. That few minutes grants me a few perks, such as staying up late." he smiled, "Well, seeing as I doubt I can convince you to get some sleep, why don't you join me? I even have tea." He said, pointing at a small portable pot that was sitting on top of a sword, which itself was floating above a small rune infused fire dust crystal.

He held out his hand and a small cup appeared. The sight seemed to get the girls interest. She seemed to think for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders and walking over and taking the cup. Shirou noticed that the girl had a book in her hands, which didn't surprise him to much, since he remembered Ruby mentioning it earlier. "I thought your semblance was making swords?" She asked, pouring the tea into her cup.

He let out an amused huff, "It's a bit more diverse than that. I'm guessing Ruby was talking about me?" She let out a tired looking smile, causing Shirou to laugh. "Sorry about that, she gets a bit excited." She sighed, before sitting near the tea and opening her book. Shirou looked back up at the moon, hearing the sound of pages flipping.

"So, Ruby and Yang say you're a storyteller." Shirou closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath of the night air, before slowly exhaling.

"I do tell them stories, though, I wouldn't go as far as to say I'm good at it. I mainly just copied the way my mom used to tell them." He peeked over at her, seeing her eyes peering at him over the top of her book. "I'm guessing you enjoy reading stories?" She looked back into her book, before looking back at him and nodding. "Would you care to hear to one?"

"It isn't one of the fairytales you tell children is it?" Shirou let a small smile appear on his face. He looked back up at the moon, before conjuring two swords beside him. He grabbed one and threw it out into the sky, causing Blake to look at him with a questioning look. She noticed that it was a black bladed sword, and then next to him, which was rattling before he grabbed it, had a white blade.

"There was a blacksmith named Gan Jiang, the king of the territory asked him to create an imperial blade for him. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of any way to complete such an order. Seeing her husbands frustration and desperation at the situation, his wife, Mo Ye, came up with something. To truly forge something that reached the realm of gods, a sacrifice is required." He grabbed the tea cup that sat beside him and took a drink of the tea within.

He noticed that Blake seemed to be listening intently, "So, she threw herself into the furnace in front of her husband, sacrificing her own life. In his grief, he forged the married blades, Kanshou, named after himself, and Bakuya, named for his wife." After saying Bakuya, Shirou lifted up the sword in his hand. "He handed over Bakuya when the time came, but kept Kanshou. The king, not appreciating his keeping of the blade, killed him."

"In death, the two blades will search out the other, and only when wielded together, are they truly complete." He said, as Bakuya returned to his hand. He looked down at the two blades in his hand, admiring their craftsmanship as he always did when calling them forth. He dismissed the blades, returning them to their rightful place, silver petals flowing into the wind under the broken moon.

"A sad story." He heard Blake state simply. "I'm guessing since you have those swords, that its a true. Though, I wouldn't imagine you telling Ruby that story." He looked at her, noticing her bow twitch. He put on an amused smile.

"Definitely not a story I would tell her, but I assumed you would have preferred a different one to the usual ones I tell her. Then again, I could have chosen many others,..." calling forth Durindana, "like the story of Troy. Though, if I wanted to truly tell it, it would take much longer than one night." He returned the spear, the petals replacing the weapon. He walked over and refilled his cup, before walking back to his spot and looking back up to the broken moon.

Blake let out a small hum, before a quietness filled the roof. A few more pages were flipped and more sips were taken from the tea. It was a pleasant quietness, Shirou had to admit. They stayed like this for awhile, before Blake's book shut. "Do you do this every night?" She asked. Shirou turned to face her, noting that the guarded demeanor she usually had, had lessened.

"Hmm, most every night. I'm used to staying up later than normal, growing up telling stories can do that." He replied with a wistful smile.

"I see, then I suppose, you could tell me another sometime?" She said with a small smile. A smile that Shirou had to admit looked a lot better than the usual bored look he saw on her face.

"Hmm, I see no problem with that. Though, I think you'll have to tell me what sort of story you wish to hear." He replied, before smirking, "After all, I'd like to know what kind of bedtime story to tell." He noticed her bow twitch once again and her eyes narrow slightly, though the small smile remained, though seemed to have more of a smirk feeling to it.

"I'll keep that in mind." She turned around and headed to the door. She opened it, but before she went though she turned to say one last thing, "I'd get some sleep if I were you, your sisters were pretty excited about taking you shopping soon." She said, before going through the door. Shirou let out a sigh, of course they were. He turned and headed back towards the makeshift tea set, pouring more into both cups. He set one onto the ledge and drank the one in his hand.

"I figured you'd show yourself sooner or later. I do appreciate you waiting for my guest to leave though." He said, seemingly to no one, before a bird landed onto the ledge. It tilted its head at the tea, before turning towards him. "What's that look for? I haven't had time to buy more tea, that's all I've got." He said to the bird, before it slowly transformed into a woman with long black hair and red eyes.

She was wearing black clothes and red armor. She looked at the cup again, before finally picking it up and drinking it. Her eyes narrowed, "Got yourself a little girlfriend now?" Shirou was drinking when the words entered his ears. He choked on the tea, before managing to right himself.

"Geez, you sound like Yang whenever I even look at a girl." He replied, trying to get his coughing under control. She let out a huff at his statement, "I'm guessing you still haven't spoken to her since last time, have you?" She clicked her tongue in annoyance. "I'm also guessing, that you want me to try and talk to her?" She let out a huff and a grumble. "Figures, I wondered why you were flying around." She drank the rest of the tea before tossing the cup at him. He quickly caught it, "That was uncalled for."

"Will you do it or not?" she asked simply. Shirou let out a sigh, before he drank more of his tea, taking his time before providing an answer.

"Fine, I suppose I'll talk to her, her and Ruby are supposedly planning on forcing me change my outfit anyways, I'll figure it out then." He replied, though he noticed she raised an eyebrow at this. "They aren't a fan of what I'm wearing, though now that I'm thinking about, maybe Yang just wants to make sure I don't have clothes similar to you." He sighed, but letting out a small laugh.

"I see, well, it doesn't really matter I suppose. Just make sure you talk to her." She said, reaching behind her and grabbing the thing wrapped up in a cloth on her back. "Here, I found this in a town awhile back." She threw the object to Shirou, who quickly caught it. He looked at it, tracing it, and reproducing the weapon.

"Huh, pretty cool, though I feel like your calling me dumb for giving me such a simple gun mechanism." He said as he looked at the spear-flintlock rifle. He noted that it was really old, though the weapon had a pretty skilled wielder. He heard her let out a snort at his words.

"I may not be around all that often, but I'm around enough to know you still can't recreate a simple gun, idiot." Shirou wanted to retort, but honestly, he couldn't. Though, he was pretty sure using the weapon in his hands now, would remove the need to really need to figure out guns. He mentally sighed, 'As if Ruby would allow him to stop trying to figure it out. Besides, I'm in too deep at this point.'

"Well, I appreciate it Raven, even if you're only doing it so I can protect Yang for you." He replied with a smirk. Her eyes narrowed, before she clicked her tongue. "I'll figure something out, mom would have wanted me to help you out anyway." He said as he brought a hand up to his white bandana scarf.

Raven looked at him, before letting out a small huff, "You really are too much like her, you and Ruby both." He raised an eyebrow, considering she never really said anything like that before. "Remember not to be an idiot Shiro, Ozpin only cares about you and your sister's eyes. If you aren't careful, you'll be sent to your death, then your sisters will be left alone." Shirou's hands tightened into fists.

"I won't let that happen." He replied in a cold voice, Raven picked up on the change. She walked up to him and looked at him closely.

"Your mom wouldn't like that look on your face brat." She said calmly, causing Shirou to take deep breath before calming himself. "Despite what I might think about the three of you being here in this place,..." She said with some venom in her voice, "I know what you promised Yang and Ruby, to do that you need to be here, and I also know that you may be one of the most important people here. Just don't get yourself killed or locked up here by Ozpin."

"I won't." He sighed, before shaking his head. "I'll make sure the three of us aren't dragged into any of his schemes and I'll make sure Yang is safe, of course, I'll prepare them for the future." 'I sharpen Silver, and I kindle Flames,' he thought his about two lines of his aria as he said it. "Give me a week, I'll talk to Yang, though she may still take a few swings at you." He said with a small smile.

He heard Raven huff, before walking back to the ledge. "Don't let your guard down brat, Vale isn't as safe as Ozpin likes to imagine it is." She said before opening a portal and walking through. Shirou watched as the portal closed, before reflecting on what she said. He looked back up at the moon, before the door behind him opened.

"Shiro, are you okay?" He heard Ruby's usual voice call out. He turned and smiled at her. He noticed she had a worried expression on her face.

"I'm fine Ruby, just couldn't sleep." He walked over and placed a hand on her head. "And you should be asleep and not worrying about me." He then ruffled her hair, causing her to step back and look at him with a pout. "Come on, lets go back to our rooms, I heard that I should be getting some sleep because of something big happening." He said to her, noticing her eyes widen, before a big smile appeared on her face. She nodded and began walk back with him.

Shirou looked back to the moon one last time, before walking back into the building. He would protect his sisters and prepare them for the things coming in the future. He wasn't dumb, he knew Raven knew something. If she warned him about a threat in Vale, then that meant it was a threat he would need to be wary of. It didn't matter, he would do what he needed to and overcome whatever was thrown at him. 'I have withstood over a thousand blades.'

That night, Shirou, for the first time in many years, dreamt of a world of swords, flames, and roses.