Hello, everyone! Good to see all of you! I apologize for the delay but I've been preoccupied with either work or family. I meant to post this before New Year's, but better late than ever I suppose. So please enjoy. It took me SO long for me to write this chapter.
"Asia!" Shirou shouted. "Time for school!"
Asia gave a shriek, stumbling out of her room, having gotten dressed mere moments ago.
"I'm coming!"
She stumbled into the kitchen, where Shirou was calmly eating a slice of toast. "I made you some breakfast. Eat fast."
Asia turned towards the table to find a buffet of all sorts of dishes: scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, bagels, freshly made bread, fresh berries, cereals, and many more. Asia didn't know what to start with first.
Once she finally chose her breakfast, she sat down with Shirou. As she began eating, Shirou began to talk to her.
"I had already prepared the school to accept you as a student," he explained. "A little hypnotism here, a little forgery there. Nothing much."
"Thank you, Shirou-san," Asia said in Japanese.
Shirou sighed. "Your Japanese is getting better but please, call me nii-san, onii-chan, or something like that. We are siblings now."
"Oh, of course, um... nii-san," Asia corrected herself. "So where are Irisv- I mean, Oka-san?"
Shirou read the newspaper. "She and the old man are doing some business in town today. And the girls are already heading to school. They said something about meeting some friends."
Asia nods in understanding.
"Personally," Shirou said, "I tend to go to school early in the morning to help out with things, but since it's your first day, I thought I'd walk you to school and give you a tour."
"Thank you, nii-san," Asia beamed. "D-do you think I'll see Issei?"
A dark look appears on Shirou's face. "Yes, but Asia.... If he does something you don't like, tell me immediately. You understand?"
She nods, not understanding why Issei would ever do something like that.
Shirou's dark look faded, replaced by a kind smile. "In any case, eat your breakfast, or we'll be late for school."
Scene Break
"Class, allow me to introduce, Argento Asia," the teacher said, waving the nun in.
"Hello, I'm Asia Argento," Asia bowed. "Please take care of me."
The class instantly became a torrent of whispers, the boys talking about how cute she is and the girls wondering what she's like.
"Settle down, class," the teacher said, waving a hand in warning. "Asia, you can sit there. There's an open seat next to Hyoudou and your brother."
The word brother caused the previous torrent of whispers to become a tsunami, as the only seat next to Issei that was open was also between Shirou.
"She's my adopted sister," Shirou explained, sensing their confusion. Unfortunately, this further increased the whispers and gossip, while at the same time causing some boys to glare at Shirou. Issei in particular fell out of his chair when he heard the news.
"She's your what?!" the class shouted, deafening some neighboring classrooms in the process.
"Settle down!" the teacher shouted, trying to regain control of the situation. "You all can gossip later. For now, let's get ready to study."
"Explain," Issei demanded in a low whisper to Shirou.
"After class," the magus replied.
Scene Break
"So you turned the Fallen Angels back into Angels, recruited them to serve you, and adopted Asia into your family?" Issei summarized. After class, they were talking quietly in the hallway, with Shirou making sure no one could hear them. "Seriously?"
Shirou nods. "The whole Fallen Angel thing was an accident and my mom wanted to adopt Asia. My mom is... let's say eccentric."
"Buchou is still pissed at you," Issei reported. "After that lady purified that Fallen Angel and then you all suddenly teleported away, she was raving about you for the rest of the evening."
"That's... expected," Shirou smiled awkwardly. "Tell her I'm sorry?"
"Tell me that to my face, Emiya-kun."
The boys turned to find Rias and Akeno standing, both smiling. However, Rias's smile showed she was pissed off, while Akeno's said that she was highly amused.
"Gremory-senpai," Shirou said. "I didn't hear you."
"Oh? First you ditch me, then you ignore me?" Rias said, a little too loudly. "How cruel, Emiya-kun."
Onlookers had begun to flock towards them, whispering. Shirou understood this instantly.
'Well,' he thought, 'two can play at this game.'
"Well you see, Gremory-senpai," Shirou said, playing innocent, "I was uncomfortable with what you were asking last night. I mean... what you wanted me to do...."
"It was a perfectly reasonable thing to ask for," Rias interjected.
"I wasn't comfortable with doing that," Shirou said, putting emphasis on that. "Please respect my wishes."
The whispers had increased so that Rias began to notice. Akeno, meanwhile, was on the verge of breaking out into laughter. Rias blushed when she began to listen to the rumors. She grabbed Shirou by the wrist and quickly ran.
"Akeno, grab Issei!" she shouted, her face as red as her hair. "Bring him to the club room!"
As soon as the redhead devil was out of earshot, Akeno fell to the ground, laughing. Issei, however, was just staring, not sure what to make of the scene that just took place.
Scene Break
"And that's what happened," Shirou explained.
"So, your friend was some sort of priest with some strange ability," Rias said, "that let her purify Fallen Angels, and we have never heard of her before?"
"She's a... traveler," Shirou lied. "She tends to travel a lot from place to place. My family met her during my parents' own trips."
"I see," Rias said, crossing her arms. Shirou could tell she didn't believe him but he made it adamant she wouldn't get any more information.
Suddenly, the doors to the club room opened and in came the Gremory Peerage, along with Asia and Sona's peerage...
"You guys are here," Rias said. "Good. Now we can begin."
"Why is Asia here?" Shirou asked.
"She said that she wanted to follow Issei," Kiba explained.
"Am I really worth your whole peerage and Shitori-san's peerage, Gremory-san?" Shirou mused.
"Don't be silly, Emiya-kun," Rias waved him off and smiled. "Today's just a special occasion."
"Special occasion?" Shirou, Asia, Issei, and Sona's pawn, Saji, asked.
Sona nodded. "Today is the day when you get your familiars," she explained.
"Familiars," Issei asked, still not understanding.
Rias then snapped her fingers and a bat appeared. The bat flew around, suddenly transforming into a woman with a puff of smoke.
"It's you!" Issei pointed. "The lady who gave me Rias's flier!"
"Familiars are what we Devils use to do chores and other things," Rias explained. "Some have the ability to change form, while others have more mystical abilities."
The Gremory Peerage then show off their familiars: a small demon appears in Akeno's arms, a small bird appeared on Kiba's shoulder, and a small cat appears in Koneko's.
"Oh, so cute!" Asia squealed as she petted Koneko's familiar. "What's his name?"
"Shiro," Koneko answered passively, the name causing everyone to blink.
"You named your familiar after Shirou?" Issei scratched his head.
"No, perv," Koneko snapped, her face still lacking emotion. "I named him before I met Shirou-senpai."
Rias coughs, getting their attention. "In any case, you both are here to help us decide something. The place where we get familiars is opened tonight but Sona and I were arguing about whose peerage should go."
"So you want us to decide for you," Shirou predicted. "I see. Mind if I talk with Asia for a moment."
Rias nods and with that confirmation, Shirou and Asia began whispering to each other for a few minutes. Finally, Shirou turned towards Rias.
"We think the both of you should go," Shirou said, surprising the two Devil Kings. "But we get to come with you both. Sound fair?"
The Devil Kings sighed and agreed.
"I suppose that's acceptable," Rias said.
"Agreed," Sona said, smiling. "Certainly beats our original idea of having a competition."
"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Shirou asked. "Let's go."
Scene Break
They arrived at the familiar forest through the devils' teleportation spell.
"Uh, so where are we?" Issei asked.
"A magical forest where the familiars live," Akeno responded.
"Don't be nervous, this is where we came to get ours too," Kiba said
"Looks creepy," Saji said.
"Why is the sky red?" Shirou asked, curious.
"That's the result of the magic used on the forest," Sona's Queen, Tsubaki Shinra, said. "Something to draw and keep the magical creatures in."
"Oh, like a zoo," Asia realized.
"More like a magical pet shop," one of Sona's Knights, Tomoe Meguri, replied. "Many familiars are kept here."
"HEY! DON'T CALL MY HOME A PET SHOP!"
A loud voice yells at them from above. They look up to see an odd old man in shorts.
"Who's that?" Shirou asked.
"The name's Zatouji," the old man yelled, "master of the familiar forest!"
"He's a Devil-in-training from Madara Town," Sona explains. "He specializes in familiars and seeks to become a Familiar Master, so he's best for acting as our guide."
"That's right, and tonight we have quite the selection, kids," he yelled. He jumps down to them. "Now how can I help you?"
"Um... do you have any hot familiars with really big-" Issei was stopped by Shirou, who slammed Tora-Shinai into his face.
"Stop that," the magus ordered.
"Ouch," Issei winced as Asia began to check on him. "What was that for, Shirou?!"
"You know exactly what it was for," Shirou replied.
"Thanks," Zatouji and some of the female devils said to Shirou.
"Anyways," Zatouji said, "you all should find a familiar that matches your personality, not the best body."
"I actually have something in mind for Issei's familiar," Rias said.
"Really, what?" Issei asked excitedly, desperately hoping it would be sexy.
"A Nine-Headed Hydra," Rias said. "A serpentine beast that even Devils fear, with extremely potent poisons, an immortal body, and duplicating heads. They usually kill their masters but as the Red Dragon Emperor, Issei stands more of a chance taming it."
Issei groaned at the thought of having such a pet while Shirou pauses to think.
'I'm pretty sure Semiramis has about eighteen Hydras summoned through her magecraft,' Shirou remembers. 'Maybe I should check the zoo out again later....'
They head towards the first stop, a large lake. Shirou could sense all sorts of magical energies in it.
"This lake is the home to a couple of water sprites," Zatouji said, "otherwise known as Undines."
Saji and Issei were excited, picturing beautiful women wearing wet, see-through clothing. Unfortunately, due to Shirou's keen eyesight, he could see what the Undine looked like underwater. He tried not to smirk.
The water began to shine, signaling the Undine's approach. Issei and Saji were at the edge of their seat. Then comes the reveal of the Undine, a giant bodybuilder in a pink toga, and the boys begin to cry.
"What the hell?!" Issei yelled. "A body builder?"
"He looks like he could pick me up and break me in two!" Saji complained.
"That's kind of the point," Zatouji deadpanned. "They're meant to protect you. Also, that Undine is female."
Issei collapses in defeat, while Saji says no way for the both of them. Afterwards, they begin looking for other familiars and Asia was trying to defend the Undine, saying she probably had a kind soul. Shirou, bored and a tad disappointed in what was essentially pet shopping, decided to venture out on his own. As he walked through the forest, he sensed a vast source of magical energy. Curious, the magus approached it.
"Now that's interesting," Shirou said. "What could this-"
The nearby bushes begin rustling and something darts out, at high speeds. It races towards Shirou, who's caught unprepared. It jumps, aiming for his neck.
"FOU!" a small squirrel-like creature shouts, as it lands on Shirou and snuggles close.
"T-this is...." Shirou stammered, armed with knowledge on his alternate selves.
Cath Palug. That was the name of this creature. The familiar of Merlin and alternate self of Primate Murder, a beast of Alaya and Dead Apostle Ancestor whose role was to slaughter mankind.
"B-but this can't be the alternate of my universe's Cath Palug, can it?" Shirou wonders. "You do look similar."
"Oh, Emiya-kun, where did you go?" The Peerages and Asia had begun calling out to him.
"Uh, coming!" he shouted back, running towards them. What he first noticed was that Asia was now holding a small dragon, which hissed at Cath Palug.
"Nii-san, look!" Asia said happily. "This is Rassei!"
But before Shirou could respond, the others took notice of Cath Palug.
"Oh," Zatouji said. "Never seen that before."
"What is it?" Issei asked.
"No idea," Kiba replied.
"Cute," Koneko said.
"She's right, it's adorable!" said Sona's Rook Tsubasa Yura.
And with that, the girls begin to swarm Cath Palug, trying to pet him.
"His fur is so soft!" Tomoe said.
"And it's so cute!" Asia squealed.
"So what kind of creature do you think he is?" Akeno asked.
"I think he's a Cath Palug," Shirou said.
"The same familiar as the magician Merlin?" Zatouji asked, shocked. "That's much more rare than the sprite dragon that young lady got."
"So what's his name?" Momo Hanakai, Sona's Bishop, asked.
"I think I'll call him Fou," Shirou said, remembering what Cath Palug was called in his universe.
"That's a cute name, right, Fou-kun!" Reya Kusaka, Sona's other Bishop, beamed as she tried to pet Cath Palug. The poor thing was desperate to try not to be petted to death by the adoring devils.
"Alright, so Asia and Shirou got familiars now?" Issei complained, a bit annoyed and tired of this.
"They didn't even come to get familiars!" Saji agreed.
"The familiars chose them," Zatouji shrugged. "Not my fault you two can't seem to find a break."
Suddenly, the boys were alerted by the shrieks of the girls. Slime had suddenly fallen from the trees, landing on them and dissolving their clothing.
"Oh, what the hell?!" Shirou shouted, covering his eyes. Kiba followed Shirou's lead while Saji and Issei began to nosebleed from the sight. The girls meanwhile began to moan from the slime's movements.
"It's Green Slime!" Kiba said, trying not to look at his fellow Devils getting stripped. He got out his sword.
Rias did her best to cover her best, as did most of the others. Akeno, however....
"It's burning my clothes!" Akeno said. "How naughty! I'm so slimy and wet!"
"She's enjoying this way too much," Shirou shouted.
Suddenly, the slime managed to bind their hands restricting their magic.
"Eating off clothes is the random power of the slime," Zatouji said, blushing and covering his eyes. "For some reason, they love the clothing of women best.
Issei gasps, an excited look on his face. "Buchou! I want this familiar!"
"No way!" Saji growled. "I want this one!"
"The pain is so good I might just have to fight you both for it," Akeno moaned.
Shirou face palmed. "All three of you are enjoying this way too much."
"No, Issei!" Rias protested. "Getting a familiar is a once in a lifetime opportunity! It's one of the most important decisions you'll ever make!"
"Saji," Sona growled, a dark aura surrounding her and not even bothering to use honorifics. "Don't you dare!"
Saji instantly backed off.
"Whipped," Issei commented. "Anyways, I thought about it enough! This is the one I want for sure!"
"Okay, enough of this," Shirou said. "I'm gonna hose you all down."
Instantly, he projects a purple blindfold of Medusa, Breaker Gorgon, and puts it on. Using Medusa's technique, Shirou uses his other senses to detect the locations of the others. Instantly, Shirou summons the golden sword of Suzuka Gozen, Daitsuuren. Daitsuuren has two abilities: the first is to turn into Suzuka Gozen's first sword Noble Phantasm Heavenly Demon Rain, summoning hundreds of copies of Daitsuuren to fall on the enemy, and also the ability to transform into elemental attacks with a single word.
"Suiren!" Shirou commanded. The sword transformed into a torrent of water that washed away the slime, along with Saji and Issei.
"What the hell?!" the Pawns shouted as they were swept away along with the slime.
"Thanks, Emiya-kun!" all of the females said, glaring at the slime.
The magic users began firing all sorts of attacks at the slime: waves of destruction, ice, blasts of magical energy, and other spells. However, Akeno's lightning hit the water that soaked Issei and Saji, shocking them as well. The two screamed in pain.
Once Issei recovered, he saw the remains of the slime, he screamed in anguish. "Slime-taro!"
"You named it?" Shirou deadpanned before turning towards the girls. "Here's some clothes, by the way."
He projects some clothes for them, which they quickly grab.
"Thank you, Emiya-kun," Sona thanked. She then looked at the remains of their former clothing and sighed. "I can't believe that thing destroyed our uniforms."
"Well nothing to do now, Sona," Rias said. "Let's just try to find anymore familiars."
Zatouji smiled. "That's the spirit. I'll lead the way."
Scene Break
Issei and Saji were moping on the couch in the ORC room.
"I can't believe we couldn't find a single familiar that fit us," Issei moaned.
"After all that work, too," Saji agreed.
"Enough," Rias said. "Yes, I agree it was a disappointment but we can always try again another time."
"Plus, Devils don't always need a familiar," Kiba reminded them.
But the two still were moping. It probably didn't help that Asia was still cuddling with Rassei and Fou was resting on Shirou's head. Sensing that nothing they could say could make it feel better, a plan formed in Shirou's head.
"How about this?" Shirou offered. "You guys can come to my house and I can get you all something sweet."
Instantly, both Peerages looked in awe at Shirou. Almost all of them had tasted Shirou's cooking. Along with that, he was offering them to come to his house.
"Of course!" they all shouted at once, giant grins on their faces. This was much better than any familiar.
Scene Break
"So you live here?" Kiba asked surprised.
The Devils were all staring at the Emiya manor in shock, except Issei, who had seen the Japanese mansion's construction.
"Yep," Shirou said. "Please come in."
Shirou opens the door of the mansion, only to reveal....
"Welcome home, Shirou-sama," came the response of three scantily clad maids: Leysritt, Sella, and Mittelt. Sella and Mittelt were blushing embarrassingly.
"What the hell?!?" the Devils and Asia all cried, while Issei and Saji noses bled.
"How could you hide this from us?" Issei cried.
"Is this what you do in your free time, Emiya-kun?" Sona asked. "I'm quite disappointed."
"Do you want a bath, a meal, or maybe..." the maids continued, Sella and Mittelt extremely embarrassed, "us...?"
"Did Mom put you all up to this?" Shirou asked.
"We lost that damn board game again!" Sella groaned.
"This has happened before?" Mittelt demanded.
"Oh, Shirou!" Irisviel said, coming towards the door. "You brought friends!"
"Yeah," Shirou said, turning towards the maids. "As for your previous question, do you mind helping me make some food for them?"
"Y-you useless idiot!" Sella yelled, kicking him out of the house.
"Why me!?!" Shirou yelled.
Scene Break
"And we have our meal," Shirou said, showing off the god-level meal to them.
The Peerage stared in awe at the meal in front of them. They each took a bite of the food, pure heaven dancing on their tongue.
"So good," they all beamed.
"I see, so these new Devils failed at getting familiars," Irisviel said, sipping tea.
"Yes, unfortunately," Rias said, taking a moment to savor the taste. "But we can try again another day."
"Irisviel-sama," Sona asked. "You don't really seem surprised about our Devil heritage. Is it because of you are connected with mages?"
"Oh, I was a little surprised when I learned Shirou-kun's friends were all Devils, but if I were to reject non-humans then I'd be a hypocrite," Irisviel laughed.
"A hypocrite," Issei said. "So are you not human or something?"
Shirou gives his mother a look. "Are you sure that's something you want to tell them?"
"It is fine, Shirou-kun," Irisviel said. "They told me some secrets so I might as well reveal some of my own. I'm a homunculus."
"A what?" Issei and some of the other Reincarnated Servants scratched their heads. However the Devils with more supernatural origins raised their heads in surprise.
"A homunculus, you mean an artificial being?" Sona asked curiously.
"Technically, yes," Irisviel nodded. "Though our creation was more or less nature spirits, giving us much more power as mages."
"But who made you?" Rias asked. "I don't know anyone who would try to make an artificial nature spirit."
Irisviel's usual cheerful smile faded. "Well you see, that's a bit personal. I would like to keep that a secret."
Rias blinked, realizing she just brought up a sensitive topic. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just-"
Suddenly, the door to the house slammed open, a flurry of rose petals flying in. In stepped a beautiful woman in a beautiful red dress. She was short, but stood proud, with the charisma of an emperor. Her golden blonde hair was tied into a bun and her emerald green eyes were mesmerizing. However, what caught a majority of the Devil's attention was that her dress, which had a large transparent area in front, allowing them to see much more than anticipated.
"Great. Why are you here?" Shirou asked.
"Umu," the maiden scoffed. "Isn't it obvious, knave? I heard news of an emperor had entered this household. Consider my interest piqued."
And done. I hope you all liked this chapter because I am exhausted. I'll try to update one of my other stories as soon as I can but please be patient and remember that I'm trying my best.
Anyways, please comment on my fic, because I love to hear your opinions. Oh. And enjoy the chapter.