To love a sword

To Love a Sword Chapter 15: School Festival and Darkness

Beta read by Shigiya and Paragon of Awesomeness

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-Sainan, Yuuki house-

Emiya felt an eerily familiar sensation as he gradually awakened from his deep slumber, the residual drowsiness taking a bit longer to shake off from having gone to sleep later than usual. 

The events leading up to this moment had been mostly him working on training his current body. While his Tracing had more or less retained its capabilities from his past self, this body was just… lacking on many levels. Against humans, Emiya knew he'd have little to no issue taking them down with his skills alone and perhaps a bit of Reinforcement in extreme scenarios. 

But to face aliens with superhuman strength and durability… a 'good enough' body just didn't cut it anymore. He needed to push every muscle fibre to their limit and improve both his stamina and endurance. So after spending a few hours hanging around Mikan and Rito, he returned to the shed for another three hours of far more intense training than his usual routine. After that, he had hoped for a peaceful night's rest to rejuvenate himself. 

However, as he opened his eyes, he was greeted with a sight that filled him with both frustration and bewilderment.

Beside him on his bed lay a young girl, her form not even concealed by a thin blanket as she openly slept naked on his chest. It took Emiya a moment to register who she was — Lala, the mischievous princess from the Devilukean Empire that apparently ruled most of the known galaxy. A mixture of surprise and exasperation washed over him as he tried to comprehend how she had managed to infiltrate his room yet again.

'I locked the door, closed the windows and even went so far as to set up a basic detection bounded field. Yet she bypassed all of that!? Don't tell me she perfected controlled teleportation without creating any sound or disturbance?' That thought was equal parts worrisome and somewhat expected from her. 

"Again?" he muttered under his breath, his voice laced with frustration. This was becoming an all-too-familiar occurrence. No matter how many times he voiced his discontent, Lala seemed blissfully unaware of personal boundaries, sneaking into his room for impromptu cuddle-time.

With a weary sigh, Emiya raked a hand through his disheveled hair, gathering his thoughts before addressing the situation at hand. He knew he needed to approach this delicately to prevent any misunderstandings with his siblings.

"Lala," he began, his voice firm but not unkind, "we've talked about this before. You can't keep entering my room without permission. It's not appropriate."

She stirred, her delicate features contorting into a sleepy smile as she slowly awakened. Her vibrant pink hair spilled across the pillows, creating a vivid contrast against the white linen.

"Good morning, Shirou!" she greeted cheerfully, stretching her arms above her head, once again ignoring Emiya’s entirely valid complaints. Without an ounce of shame, she displayed her naked form to the boy before her without an ounce of shame or shyness. "I must have fallen asleep here again. Silly me!"

"Don't 'silly me', Princess, this is becoming a pattern." Emiya's brows furrowed with annoyance. "Lala, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but respecting personal boundaries is important," he explained patiently. "You can't just come into my room without permission and sleep on top of me naked. It's not proper."

Lala's sunny expression wavered, her pink lips forming a pout. "But Shirou," she protested softly, her golden eyes pleading for understanding, "I feel safe when I'm near you. Your room is so cozy, and you're comfortable to sleep with. Can't you make an exception?"