The Huntsman of Red V2

Chapter 5 First Seal: Part 2

"You're holding her wrong."

Shirou's brows furrowed inwardly, but he prevented it from showing on his face.

"Can't you see you have to be gentler?"

The little bundle in Shirou's arms squirmed in his grip, but for the sake of placating the nagging spirit behind him, he had no choice but to ease up a bit and slacken his hold. Expectedly, Ruby jumped out of his arms at the first opportunity and began running around giggling as if everything was just some kind of game.

Worse, no matter what he did, he just didn't get a break.

"Ah-no! Don't let her run around like that. It's dangerous."

"Where's your play-pen? With the way you're handling things, an accident is bound to happen."

In the scant few seconds he had to take a breather, he was immediately bombarded with complaints yet again. This time, it took a greater deal of self-control to prevent any outbursts from coming out of his mouth. When he was certain that Ruby was preoccupied, he sharply turned his head to his left and directly faced the overly doting mother constantly over his shoulders.

"Listen, Summer," he said discreetly. "It was you who insisted that I get Ruby to bathe herself, and somehow I feel that it's your fault that she thinks this is all a game."

His expression was filled with exasperation, the most Summer could have had done was show some guilt or a little empathy, but all Summer did was blink her eyes while tilting her head.

Since the events of the previous night, Summer had reluctantly come to terms with the situation after being unable to interact with Ruby. Her natural exuberance had dimmed at that point and coupled with the realization that she may already be dead, she somehow managed to take it well enough.

Even if Summer couldn't interact with Ruby, Summer was contented with the sole fact that she'd be able to stay around and watch Ruby grow up, that was, until, she noticed a single peculiarity.

Ruby, well, she could see him, interact with him despite calling himself a spirit like Summer.

And that's when the nagging began.

Hell-hath no fury greater than a mother's nag.

"But that's how it's always been," Summer explained in response to his previous statement. She was sitting cross-legged while floating in the air just behind him, the hood of her cloak over her head. "It's a form of early childhood training common in most Huntsman families for a little bit of fun."

Shirou nodded, understanding the prospects of early combat development when considering the number of Grimm that existed within Remnant. However, that didn't mean it made the current situation any less of a headache. It was even worse when Summer explained to him what a Semblance was and the particular type Ruby possessed.

Semblances in the World of Remnant were the manifestations of one's innate and personal power unique to each individual.

When Summer first explained this concept to him, he stood stunned for a moment in disbelief. After all, it sounded like each person in Remnant had what was akin to a partial reflection of a Reality Marble only it was unable to fully impede on the World's Laws.

It was hard for him to wrap his head around the matter, but it wasn't as if it was something he had to be overly concerned about presently. What mattered at the moment, was that Ruby possessed a speed-type Semblance that allowed her to move so fast that it seemed like she was teleporting, granted it wasn't too difficult to keep up with her as a Servant. However, keeping her still was perhaps the worst part.