Lyrical Sword

Chapter 2: New beginnings

Reinforcement was sure useful in everyday life, especially in such a work environment. Another difference he noticed in this world was the Mana density and abundance. Not by a large extent compared to his old world but definitely higher. This led the boy to experiment at first before his old training habit kicked back in. Continuing to practice Tracing in his room in the middle of the night for hours. 

'I'm still quite far away from using my Reality Marble with my current reserves and magical circuits. It'll take a few years for them to reach their full potential and to fully mature.' He followed some class back in the Clocktower, so Shirou learned that he wouldn't need to forever rely on a secondary source of Magical Energy to summon Unlimited Blade Works. He just wished that the time his body could reach that threshold would accelerate. 

"Alright, I'm done with my lunch break. I should go back." He packed up his bento box before rushing back to help others. No matter his current situation, if he had the opportunity to lessen the burden of others then Shirou wouldn't miss it whatsoever. 

He wondered how Nanoha was doing.

.

.

.

"Ah, welcome back, sonny. I baked some cookies!" 

Back to his apartment, Shirou found the old lady happily going through the kitchen baking with a large smile on her face. Other than cooking and house cleaning, he also helped her financially and it seemed that this allowed her to splurge on activities she enjoyed. 

"I'll be sure to try them out, let me take a quick shower so that I can start with dinner soon." He said before walking inside his room.

The inside of the room was basically the same as his old one. Quite Spartan with barely any decorations or furniture. A simple desk with a plastic chair and a bed. Dropping his bag filled with his uniform, Shirou gazed at the card sitting on his desk — the one Nanoha gave him. 

He collapsed on the bed with his eyes facing the ceiling. Looking outside the sky had darkened with heavy dark clouds that showed that it was going to rain soon. The light of the lamps and cars illuminating the streets with a small neon sign of a small pub turning on at the same time each day. A routine he grew used to seeing for years since he came with Rin to study in the Clocktower. But now… the sight didn't bring him any sense of familiarity whatsoever. 

Everything was so foreign, so cold and distant. This room wasn't his, the apartment no longer held any significant place in his heart and each day in London was a trial in itself.

Shirou realized he was living a lie, a mere illusion of a world that held no attachment to his heart. No different than if he was left on the dying planet with aliens, a place that wasn't comfortable to live in. 

"I can't go on like this." He said quietly, watching the clock tick every passing second. His gaze locked onto it for the next five minutes. Could he truly escape his current reality by overworking every day? No, Shirou had a limit like anyone else. "But… what can I do?" 

Waiting in limbo like this until something happened… it wasn't a life the boy was willing to live. 

It wasn't until the wind from his window blew that he watched the card fall into the ground. Nanoha's name and contact details written clearly on the front with the logo of the Time-Space Administrative Bureau probably printed in the middle. 

'There are still people out there who need to be saved…' 

In the infested world, if he hadn't reached the planet in time, then what would have happened to the inhabitants? They would have died, eaten, and consumed by those ghouls. Nanoha was powerful and very capable from what he'd seen and understood of her Rank — but even she couldn't be everywhere at once.