Fate Coiling Sword

Chapter 6: Siblings

Beta read by Shigiya

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-Fuyuki-

(A few days later)

After the long vacation, both Shirou and Taiga returned to their respective lives back in Fuyuki. The former became busy with all the assignments and homework he had missed as well as spending a few more hours helping out Neko-san in Copenhagen. The woman was about to pay him his regular monthly wage even after he was absent for nearly two weeks—something which he didn't find fair.

Unfortunately, his boss remained indifferent to his argument and just shoved the money inside his pockets. So Shirou just decided to work extra hours every day in order to make it even, but once again got chased off by Neko-san who stated that he needed enough time to study and rest.

He did end up being grateful to her as this allowed him to continue his nightly patrol of the town. There wasn't much going on these last few days, no robberies, street mugging, and other crimes in the parts he frequented. No matter how hard he tried, Shirou had to swallow the bitter fact that he couldn't be everywhere at once. Even with reinforcement, it could take a while to run from one end of Fuyuki to the other.

Taiga meanwhile, was swamped with paperwork. Despite stating that she was going out of the country for an extended period of time, it didn't stop her work from piling up along with much homework Taiga forgot she gave her students to complete before her vacation.

Shirou wanted to say that she deserved it after lying to the Principle over the reason for their travel, but in the end, he just enjoyed cooking once again in a fully equipped kitchen with his reliable 'sous-chef' whom he missed a lot as well.

"Good morning, Senpai. Have you finished preparing breakfast already?” said Sakura as she entered the living room.

“Yeah, breakfast is done. All that’s left is setting up the table and cooking the fish.” he said while bringing out some horse mackerel from the fridge to cook.

“Oh, let me help, I’ll prepare the dishes.”

Sakura was cheerful as usual, her mere presence made the room brighten up in an instant. Shirou felt bad to have left her alone for the whole trip. As far as he knew, the girl never had any true friends and usually spent her days with him and would immediately go back to her house.

Some would argue that he was the same, but every other day he would pay a visit to his father's grave at Ryuudou Temple and have a chat with Issei if he had the time. Amongst the few people he interacted with at school, Issei was the most mature one out of them. Talking to him felt comfortable and natural, they both understood each other. And the monk in training was also very respectful of people's privacy and personal life, including Shirou's.

Issei talked to him frequently; he planned to become part of the Student Council, the president if things went smoothly. For now, Issei played a minor role and helped out as a secretary more than anything. Meanwhile, Shirou didn't have any plans for high school in particular. He would just continue living the way he was right now and continue to practice his magecraft.

After that?

Well, Shirou planned to maybe travel to other countries where there are ongoing wars and conflicts ravaging the lands. He could use his expertise to help out the innocent and families who had nothing to do with all the death and destruction.

But that also meant leaving everything he grew up with behind and hardly seeing the people he loved. That fact alone made him consider this decision only after he finished his studies.