Your Proxy

by XenosGenerator

Summary:

There was nothing wrong with helping others. No matter what world he was in or who he had become that would always ring true. He would betray the world, his father, and even himself and his Ideals of Justice for his loved ones, but even still, if he could help you he would. After all, he was Your Proxy (A Hero of Justice).

Notes:

DISCLAIMER: None of the characters or settings in this fanfiction belong to me, they are properties of Hoyoverse and Nasu respectively. In addition, this is my first posted fanfiction and has not been beta'd so please bear with me. If any characters or settings are not canonical that is by intention as this is merely my interpretation and "headcanon" of the original works. I am in College so I will update when I have free time (Don't count on it lol).

Chapter 1: Prologue: The Fire

Sometimes he found it funny how often his life seemed to revolve around fire. 

The fire that had birthed him, those cursed flames that had stripped his sense of self away and made the empty shell that was Shirou Emiya. Then the godly flames that had taken away his family and the rest of the world, leaving Chaldea as the last bastion of hope for Humanity. Finally, another set of flames had changed his life once again, ones unlike any other. Again taking away his family, his new one that he had now sworn to protect; and causing him to strip himself again until he was no longer Shirou Emiya but–

“Wise! What do I do! The food is all burnt!” he heard his sister whine.

“Maybe we should restart… We can try an easier dish this time?” He gently spoke to her. He knew it was a futile effort though, his sister was horrendous when it came to cooking. And honestly? He wasn't sure he could even find a dish that was easier to make than noodles with frozen vegetables.

“Mou… that's it! I give up cooking, there's no way I'll ever even come close to you!” His sister exclaimed. “I'll just stick to my junk food and cup noodles from now on!”

The fact that he couldn't even argue with her on improving her cooking ability had him hanging his head. Truly, his sister was amazing. In all the wrong ways.

“Listen Belle, even if it’d be easier for you to simply not cook at all, it's just plain unhealthy for you to be living off just junk food! With the uptick in our recent commissions, I don't have the time to cook everything for the both of us y'know? And there's no way I'm letting you get by with just eating cup noodles!”

“Hmph, those commissions aren't even that hard with our skills. You just want more time to hangout with our friends. You really just don't know how to say no to people!”

He cringed at her words but knew they were the truth. Even if he had changed his name and sworn an oath on his new one, he knew he'd still at his core be the same Shirou Emiya. Even now after all this time he couldn't ignore people in need. Though, he supposed his friends asking to hang out wasn't exactly the same as fighting in wars and saving refugees back in the Middle East. Still, he had made an oath on his new name and so his sister took priority.

“C'mon Belle, we can try again with something easier. Here, let me grab some eggs so I can teach you how to boil correctly. Eggs are impossible to burn so you can't mess them up.”

 

---

 

…Long story short, the eggs exploded. How? He had no clue and at this point was done wasting food for the day. At the very least his sister wasn't as bad as Rina. He shuddered, remembering trying to teach her to cook. Belle's cooking usually turned out to be inedible or went all over the kitchen. Rina though? She could make anything she touched into a poisonous concoction that even a Hassan would be proud of. Speaking of which.

“Good day, Master Proxy.” The head of Victoria Housekeeper greeted him.

“Lycaon, haven't I told you that you can just call me by my name? We're friends, you don't need to stand on all of that “Master” formality stuff.” I argued.

“Of course Master Proxy, but it would be rude to do so when you are here to provide us your services.” He rebutted.

“Isn't it more rude to ignore my request then?”

“Khm! M-maybe so… I will defer to you on this matter then… Wise.”

Heh, still got it. All those arguments with Luvia and Rin weren't for nothing. Though, no one could compare to his wives, not in his former life nor this one. Still, he’d learned much from them and the fire in his blood had gone out and his steel had cooled and tempered. He would never again rush into battles, not when he had had others relying on him. 

“It’s all good Lycaon, I know you mean well. I just don’t like being called Master, it just feels weird. Anyways, where’s Corin and Ellen? I came to pick up their gear and do some maintenance but they usually drop their stuff off themselves.” I inquired.

“Ah, they are currently preoccupied with the request of a client at the moment. You remember Miss Lilac? She is currently studying for an upcoming test and wished to have a “girl’s study group” together with Ellen and Corin.” Lycaon answered.

“A study group with those two? Not to be rude but… oh wait, she just wanted an excuse to hang out with them huh? Well, I’m glad that they’re getting along and it's great that Lilac is showing some improvement.”

“Yes… I’m also glad that they’re all doing well.”

“Heh, it seems we both have our kids’ future in our minds, don’t we Papa Lycaon?”

“Khm, that’s…! Please try not to mention that nickname around Rina…” with that said, Lycaon handed him the girls’ weapons and bid him farewell.

He really did enjoy these outings of his, he finally understood why his wives were so fond of teasing him. It was far too fun not to. Plus, connections and bonds like Victoria Housekeeping were worthwhile in the long run. It also helped that all of the “connections” he “maintained” were just good people that he helped and eventually became friends with. Even if they did their best to hide who they really were, his experiences weren’t inconsequential, after all they had eventually developed into Archer’s Eye of the Mind (True). 

He still found it funny how Nicole kept going on about those debts of hers when they both knew the Cunning Hares were beyond profitable. By his second commission with them, he had already realized her connections to the New Eridu orphanage and where her supposed lack of money really came from. The only reason he let Nicole’s debts to him go instead of making her pay up was due to her generosity. She had a good heart and as a former Hero of Justice, he made sure to do all he could to help her help others. After all, he had also been supporting the orphanage in secret in thanks for all they had done for him and… Miyu.

Chapter 2: Prologue: The Blade

Despite his name, at least his current one, he often felt ignorant, especially next to Intelligent Constructs like Qingyi and even Billy. He may fool many with his antics, acting as a Starlight Knight and being all happy-go-lucky but Billy caught on a lot more than he showed. He had even fooled him for a while, at least until their scrap with Section Six. After all, he had been the first to act having his hand on his holster, even before he and Anby had noticed them start to surround them. Thankfully, all’s well that ends well and they had eventually all warmed up to each other. Though Nicole’s antics never failed to grate on them, case in point.

“Nagi! We have to help them or else they’ll starve! Miss Anby hasn’t eaten a burger for over a month!!”

“Soukaku…” Yanagi sighed.

Yup, classic Nicole using others to get her way. Normally Anby’s deadpan expression and statements of starvation via Nicole wouldn’t have fooled even the most gullible of children but Soukaku and her were surprisingly close, bonding over their shared love of good food and to Soukaku nothing was worse than missing out on a meal.

It was actually somewhat ironic just how bad Anby’s acting was despite her love and obsession with movies. It reminded him of himself in a way with his tendencies towards blades; endlessly studying them and imprinting them onto his soul, yet he would never be their true master.

…He suddenly had the thought of Anby mirroring him and manifesting a Reality Marble consisting of all different kinds of films. Best not to think too hard about it and instead deal with the situation at hand.

“Soukaku, you just had burgers with Anby a few days ago at Crispyboo’s stall, remember? Anby was just making a bad joke, they’re not going to starve anytime soon.” He soothed Soukaku.

“O-oh, yeah we did have some together… Hehe, yeah no way Miss Anby is starving when we had so many burgers together last time, what a funny joke!” Exclaimed Soukaku.

“Yes… it was very funny Soukaku. Thank you Wise for calming her down and Miss Nicole please don’t make jokes like that around Soukaku again.” Yanagi glared tiredly. 

“Wh-what!? I didn’t even say anything! Anby must just be super hu-” Nicole stammered shut as Yanagi’s glare lost its tiredness and became something fierce, daring her to say “hungry” in front of Soukaku.

“I mean she must just be super tired is all, we did come back from a lot of work in the Hollows, she probably just got her dates mixed up haha… ha… ha…”

Yeah, she wasn’t fooling anyone with that one. Well, anyone besides Soukaku that is.

“Oh ok! Sometimes after I eat I get sleepy and forget that I ate too! And then I eat even more because I forgot I ate!” Soukaku cried out trying to support Nicole’s explanation, though no one except Soukaku had the bottomless stomach to forget that they ate less than thirty minutes ago.

“Oh. You’re right. I did eat a burger that I saved while we drove back. I forgot.”

…He stood corrected it seemed. He really should know better after having to feed Artoria that even the most unlikely people could turn out to be gluttonous black holes.

“Well now that that’s settled, would you all mind passing me your weapons so I can do some maintenance? I’ll be sure to return them tomorrow at your usual places.”

“Okay!” “Of course.” “Why thank you Wise~” “Thank you Wise, we appreciate it.”

 

---

 

With that, they steadily drifted out and he was left to his own devices, or rather their devices. 

He took care to Trace and inspect all the weaponry he was given and Reinforce them to the utmost of their ability to hold his Mana. It truly wasn’t all that difficult for him to Reinforce all the weaponry in the span of an hour, it only took more time and care due to having to manually adjust each W-Engine as well.

Of course, he was nothing but a third-rate magus with, as of now, slightly above average reserves, but what he excelled at no one could compare. His affinity with blades was like none other and it was reflected in his work, each blade shining with a luster and sharpened with a keenness that even Belle could tell was the work of a Master.

Yet, even he had to take pause. After all, it's not everyday that you get to witness a modern Pseudo Noble Phantasm in the flesh. Tracing and Reinforcing weaponry for the Cunning Hares and other factions of Agents was of no concern to him, especially after the boost to his utterly abysmal reserves after Installing the Archer card regardless of its many consequences to his soul. But the weaponry of the members of Section 6 on the other hand…

Lines of blue light flickered up and down the blade, casting a faint glow upon the inside of his workshop.

It really was a thing of wonder, this blade. If it weren’t for his knowledge and research of Hollow Data as well as his own innate tendency towards blades, he doubted he’d be able to Reinforce the retractable naginata, let alone Trace it and add it to his Reality Marble. 

Uro Tsuki was its name, custom-made in HAND’s weapon workshop for Tsukishiro Yanagi. It worked in tandem with her W-Engine, Timeweaver, in order to calculate intel at an unprecedented rate with its built-in supercomputer allowing her to strike down her opponents with a level of speed and precision that practically borderlined time manipulation itself. 

But that alone did not make it a Pseudo Noble Phantasm. For it was its wielder, blessed by the Od of Oni Blood, that gave the blade its power as well as marking it in the annals of history by lieu of being the blade of the Deputy Chief of Section 6. It was no wonder then that the blade had become a Noble Phantasm, a pseudo one for now but in time it would gain more strength to its legend, reinforcing the mysticism behind its power.

Od and Mysticism, the beginnings of a legend passed down in history. All the ingredients of a recipe needed to give birth to a true Noble Phantasm; But to witness the birth of one in the modern age, especially in an entirely separate world from his original? It silently awed him.

Though he supposed, his own story was also an example of the strength of the present. The strength to struggle and persevere, even in a hopelessly bleak era, devoid of heroes.

The tale of a Modern Legend.

The tale of a Modern Hero.

Chapter 3: Prologue: The Girl

Notes:

I may reformat the entire work later on. I don't have a consistent plot as of yet, just mere plot points and interesting circumstances and developments. I spawned this work due to wanting more lengthy ZZZ content that wasn't smut and also had an actual plot but who knew that that actually requires more than a mere modicum of effort and free time. I have been following the ZZZ lore very closely and have many theories about the nature of Ether and Hollows and felt it could coincide in a rather interesting manner with Mana and Reality Marbles so I chose to use Shirou and FSN for this purpose.

He really had to find a way to thank the Mayor. While passing himself off as a nerdy and weak proxy was entirely plausible, he missed wearing clothes that were less concealing of his physique especially during the summer. He liked his jacket and shirt combo but he desperately missed being able to wear tank tops and shorts. There was a reason that most people only ever saw him in that outfit.

Thankfully, with the Mayor’s upgrade to the HDD allowing them to enter Hollows physically again (not that they couldn't before, but the tainted mana in there carried its risks for them) and setting up to meet and train under Yi Xuan, he could now pass off his actual physique as a recent development instead of the result of long years of toil and hardship it actually was.

Regardless, he got to kick back and relax now for the first time in many years this summer.

…Though he could do without the ogling.

“My my Wise, I didn't know you were so well built.” teased a familiar rat thiren.

“Nice to see you too Jane. Any reason in particular that you’re at the resort?” He replied deadpan.

“Damn Wise, you sure are popular with the ladies, first that PubSec chick then the mommy maid and friggin Astra Yao and now this baddie?” Yuzuha also teased.

Sigh. And here he was hoping he’d get to relax by the beachside. Now he’s getting ganged up on by two of the biggest flirts he knew.

“We’re just friends Yuzuha, we’ve worked together on commissions, it's really not like that.”

“Oh? And I thought we had something special together dear~” Jane continued to flirt.

“Wh-what! You really do know this other thiren Wise!? A-are you actually in a relationship with her!?” cried out Alice.

“Oh my, have you been sneaking off on romantic trysts behind our backs Wise? How scandalous of you~” Yuzuha goaded, digging his grave even deeper

Oh boy. He had dealt with enough jealousy-induced catfights between Rin, Luvia, Artoria, and Illya to know exactly what was about to happen. Time to bring out the big guns.

“Of course not, besides I’ve spent all my time here with you guys helping out at the resort and having fun! I haven’t even thought about that sort of thing cus I’ve been too busy having a blast with all of you! This has been one of the best summers of my life here with you guys.” He claimed with his most sincere smile causing both Alice and Yuzuha to match the color of Yuzuha’s scalp.

Now to finish them off!

“I’m so glad to see you here too Jane! We worked crazy hard to get this resort up and running again and I’d love for you to see all the hard work the girls put in!” He continued to praise the girls causing them to blush even harder and look away and Jane to give him an impressed smirk.

Finally, now he had to take care of the initial interloper!

“I know how good your moves are Jane so I think it’d be great to see you and Alice surf against each other, she’s insanely good with a board and even won the racing  and afterwards we can have some fried fish and chips by the pier, my treat.” He complimented and bribed the rat thiren, knowing just how obsessed she was with junk food.

“Hmm… that doesn’t sound like a bad time at all. Well then, if little miss rabbit here is fine with it, I’ll be taking her up on that challenge. I’ll definitely be hungry after so make sure to grab seconds okay Wise~?” She replied with a knowing glint in her eye. 

She obviously knew what he was doing but he expected that; she was far too shrewd for him to pull anything with her. Well at least everything at the resort was free for them while they still technically ran it for now. Otherwise he’d be crying tears of blood for his wallet. That damned electric bill wasn’t going down anytime soon so every bit of money saved mattered.

He walked the girls over to the board rental and made his getaway while they were occupied, not that Yuzuha or Alice were looking at him in the first place, still embarrassed after his sincere praise. Jane noticed of course but they already had their arrangement in place, he would pay her back later.

 

---

 

Ah finally, some peace and quiet where he could kick back and relax in the sun.

“Jeez bro, you say you have no rizz with the ladies but you totally knocked it out the park back there! Any tips for a fellow rizzless individual?”

…Why him?

“What are you talking about Belle? I just introduced the girls to each other, what part of that gave off “rizz” to you?” He replied to her making air-quotes at the word rizz.

“Uhuh? So you bribing Jane and wrapping Yuzuha and Alice around your thumb with compliments was completely unintentional?” She drawled while glancing back at them.

Shit. She saw everything, didn't she? What he would give for hypnosis magecraft right about now.

“Uh um well I was just being honest, they really have worked hard on the resort and everything in the resort is free for us so I was just offering Jane some freebies. I wasn’t exactly flirting with them or anything.”

She stared hard at him.

He sweated.

“One day bro, all those lovesick girls will gang up on you and have their way and Imma just have to watch it happen. I love you and all but I got gachas to come home to.”

Ah, betrayed by his own flesh and blood for gachas of all things. Wait a sec-

“I’m not giving you any more money to spend on your gacha games Belle.” He deadpanned.

She recoiled as if struck, hurriedly replying-

“Wh-what!? What are you talking about? I wasn’t going to blackmail you into getting more pulls for E6 Firefly hehe… he… he…”

He stared hard at her.

She sweated.

 

---

 

“PLEASE BRO I NEED TO E6 HER SHE’S LITERALLY MY WIFE HER STORY IS SO GOOD YOU HAVE TO PLAY IT SHE’S AN ANGEL SHE’ SO CUTE AND HER MECHA SUIT IS SO COOL AND BADASS PLEASE BRO I NEED THIS!” She yelled at the top of her lungs while holding onto his torso with his back on the sand.

“Absolutely not! We’re already barely breaking even as is with Fairy eating up all our dennies with that damned electric bill!” He yelled back but with far more restraint than his gremlin of a sister. 

He loved his sister, he truly did. He had gone through hell and back, betraying everything and fighting an entire grail war in a single night just to give her a chance at a happy life. Yet that sister of his was gone in the ruins of the Old Capital and all that was left of her was Belle. He had mourned Miyu and had made his peace, swearing an oath on his new name that he would be “Wise” and consider his actions and no longer rush into things headfirst. 

He had to after all, he had to take care of Belle who was practically a newborn child after the memories of Miyu had been wiped clean from the tainted mana, Ether as the people of Eridu called it, interacting with the Pseudo Mystic Eyes granted to them by the Helios Academy. The Pseudo Mystic Eyes, or digital optical implants as the Helios Academics knew it and the remnants of the Full Power HDD System, leagues ahead of the far weaker retrofitted HDD they salvaged, had practically wiped Miyu’s soul clean trying to reduce the tainted mana entering her body with her Grail level magic circuits sucking them in.

When he had found out what happened it had shattered him, leaving him as nothing but a hollow blade without purpose. What was he to do when all that was left of his sister was nothing but a familiar body but empty soul, devoid of the memories and times they had shared together. Raising Belle was an immense struggle in his grief, especially with the fall of the Old Capital also displacing thousands of others. He wasn’t unique in his struggle when the rest of the population was also left reeling after the apocalypse, at least he still had any family left amnesiac or not.

Still, he did his best to shoulder the burden and her “amnesia”, at least as far as the authorities and she knew, didn’t hold her back for even a second becoming once again a fine young woman who was capable in her own right. Once she matured and understood, she pushed back against him shouldering everything by himself, wanting to prove her own reliability and easing the burden on her beloved brother.

He was proud of Belle despite the circumstances of her “birth” and he would move the world for her. Despite the erasure of everything Miyu, her body and soul remained the same allowing her to once again become frighteningly intelligent and mature in the span of only a few months. Belle was an extremely bright and talented young girl just like Miyu, though with a personality of fire and rainbows instead of a calm ocean and addicted to gacha games and online slang instead of cooking and magecraft. 

“PLEASE BIG BRO I’LL DO ANYTHING I NEED THAT E6 MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THE WORLD I’LL GIVE UP EATING YOUR FOOD FOR A WHOLE YEAR TO SAVE MONEY!!”

Though sometimes he wished she still had those obsessions instead…

Chapter 4: Prologue: The Researcher

Notes:

This is the end of the prologue. I'll do my best to move away from the lengthy explanations and monologues now but I simply enjoy writing them so no promises. Chapter's from here on will likely be longer and come out much later.

“Oh? You want to take a break from training? You do seem to pick up everything with a strange ease, maybe I could offer a different form of training?”

“Oh no no no Yi Xuan Shifu, I’m totally fine with our training and I’ve learned plenty under you! I just need to take some time to go back home to Sixth Street and deal with some business. I told you before about how I also help maintain our Agents’ weaponry and whatnot right? Well it’s about that time of month for me to go check up on them all.” He replied hurriedly.

While he was extremely grateful for Yi Xuan’s training, mainly because it allowed him to practice his mana manipulation and Alteration, it was also exhausting doing it for too long. His magic circuits simply weren't used to the constant steady strain and flow of Prana, he was far more used to conservative bursts of Prana running through his system to Trace blades.

Admittedly, it was good practice and eased his magic circuits into getting used to heavier and heavier loads of strain which he would need if he ever really wanted to manifest his inner world for a longer period of time, but it was an absurdly slow process. 

“Plus, I do kinda feel like I’ve learned a lot from you in a pretty short time and I’ve gotten plenty stronger both physically and mentally. I don’t really know why but Belle is having a way harder time than I am picking up this stuff Shifu, maybe while I’m gone you can use the time to focus on her training?” He added.

Still, he reflected, the fact that his circuits were actually somehow becoming better was a miracle in itself. He didn't quite understand the intricacies behind it, his former wives understand all that stuff better than he, but apparently him Installing and Tracing the Archer Card within him had started affecting and replacing his soul, causing his magic circuits and inner world to develop at an unnatural rate and becoming similar to that of a certain Counter Guardian’s. 

It even changed his Element to become Sword, matching his Origin and allowed him to sympathize with other Emiyas, having their memories and experiences stuffed into his soul. His soul and Unlimited Blade Works was “somewhat of a patchwork mess” as described by his former wives. While originally his experiences and mindset had made him manifest his Unlimited Blade Works as a snow-covered hill of graves perpetually in midnight, it had grown into its own strange little world with patches of falling snow, scorching desert, flowing wheat fields, and grass all over.

That's not to mention the truly Unlimited number of blades in his arsenal now, though he'd have trouble Tracing even half of them, he simply didn't have the magic circuits to store all that Prana. Though apparently even being able to Structurally Grasp and store Divine Weapons like Ig-Alima and Sul-Sagana in his Unlimited Blade Works was a major outlier as an Emiya according to Zelretch.

He shuddered.

Out of all the teachers he's had, Zelretch really had to be one of the worst after dealing with the Kaleidosticks. His method of teaching was just throwing you into a separate dimension and solving problems there, which as a former Hero of Justice was no problem at all for him but he'd rather not spend a month in a dimension where people went about their day in their birthday suits.

Yeah he'd rather not remember that one.

Thankfully, Yi Xuan was a far better Shifu, providing advice and guidance whenever necessary. Though he rarely needed it, with his magecraft training. Him being already knowledgeable about mana and its uses and manipulation made short work of most of her lessons, somewhat baffling her but he wasn't going to give away his secrets that easily, Rin had beat that lesson over his head more than once.

“Ah, I see. If that's the case then you are free to go. Your training IS ahead of schedule. I’ll take your advice then and use my time instead to focus on training your sister. You’re not wrong that she does seem to be struggling a lot more than you are, though she's still quite talented compared to our usual disciples.” Yi Xuan mused thoughtfully.

Ah yes, his sister was decidedly glum about how for once he was the more “talented” one with his studies (He’d never let her know his foreknowledge on the matter, her wrath and pranks would be endless). While his case was unique with his soul being a mess, Belle was also quite talented and her magic circuits were also slowly but surely becoming better.

“Alright then, thanks a bunch Shifu! I’ll be sure to be back by next week. I’ll see you later!” He bade his Shifu farewell.

As he exited the main temple and walked towards his temporary dwelling to pack, his mind wandered.

While he could explain away his circuits’ growth in his past life, he was astounded to find out that a version of magic circuits also existed among the populace in this world and, after much research, found that they steadily became better as they came into contact with Ether, this world's strange tainted mana. 

He was no true Magi or researcher, but from what he could tell it seemed as if the entire population had these magic circuits of varying quality (with thirens having some of the best) and that it was spread out through their entire nervous system instead of in focal points like his world’s circuits. Them being spread throughout the body also let the populace of this world use it subconsciously in a subtler, more consistent form of Reinforcement. 

It explained the absurd strength of his Agents in this world compared to normal humans. The more they dived into the Hollow, the stronger they became with Miyabi being a prime example of the pinnacle of that strength, rivaling that of a true Heroic Spirit. Not that achieving such strength was without its consequences. Etherealization was a bleak reminder of the risks of Hollows and etheric energy, with the stronger the progenitor victim, the stronger the born ethereal.

While he packed he came across the picture of Carole that led them here in the first place. Surrounded by Miasma, yet seemingly unaffected… just like him and Belle.

For them, there was a different risk to Ether despite their larger prana capacities. The longer they came in contact with it the stronger their circuits would get but also the heavier the strain would get. New Eridu’s citizens simply absorbed Ether through osmosis, slowly leeching it into their version of magic circuits. For him and Belle however, their circuits were used to rejection from Gaia, the will of the world, and would instead actively absorb the tainted mana.

There was a reason his hair had already turned fully silver.

Still, he was getting stronger nonetheless thanks to his friends and his own efforts and would one day achieve his goal. He had made a promise that he would find the truth of Hollowfall and reunite his family once again.

Carole waited for him. He knew it.

Chapter 5: Chapter 1: The Demon Blade

Notes:

Not having a strict plot leads to interesting developments and a much delayed update, though that is also partially due to college starting back up. I didn't initially plan for there to be any overt romance in this story but as I wrote it just seemed to turn out this way. We'll see what happens as I write but I will tentatively tag this story with a Wise/Miyabi tag and a Romance classification. Who knows if that will stay for good though. Sometimes things just turn out differently as you write. I sincerely hope I don't have to kill off any characters for the sake of the story.

The Outer Ring was beautiful. 

He knew it was a little strange of him to think that as an average city dweller but he was by no means average.

The desolate expanse brought him a strange sense of nostalgia, recalling memories that were not his originally, of a time spent wandering the desert helping those in need.

Despite those strange conflicting memories, he still felt at ease with the cool night air here and the endless starry night sky looking down upon him.

He missed stargazing with his father.

That was a moment that all Emiyas seemed to share between them.

“Master, an unknown entity is arriving. Would you like me to hack into their device and reveal their identity?” buzzed out Fairy.

Good. Seems she's here right on time.

“No need Fairy, but thanks all the same.” He turned down the AI’s offer.

Spinning around to find her, he caught sight of a certain (in)famous fox thiren walking towards him with the faintest hints of a smile on her face.

“Ah, Miyabi! It's good to see you. How's your day been?” He greeted the Void Hunter.

“It’s good to see you as well, Wise. My day has been fruitful. I've kept up my ‘Avoiding Unwanted Meetings’ Training and have been studying better forms of it under Harumasa.” She said plainly while he could only sweatdrop in response.

“What exactly did you call me to the Outer Ring for? I assumed at first it might be a commission you need help with but normally you would send the details promptly and brief me at the video store.” She inquired of him.

Alright, here goes nothing.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about something a little sensitive, at least to you. I'm sure you remember our first meeting and the events that followed with us trying to take down Bringer.”

“Yes, of course. I don't believe I'll ever forget that time. What did you want to know that is so sensitive?”

He took a deep breath.

“Your sword, Tailless. You confided in me in your delirium that it spoke to you. You said it told you to kill and kill. It said more to you, didn't it?” He asked her, his gaze piercing the ghostly manifestation of the blade next to her. He hadn’t forgotten her suffering under the Demon Blade, her soft sobs flashed through his mind.

She remained silent for a few moments, reflecting on the blade’s words to her back then when it took her into its inner world.

 

“Young Hoshimi…” The many souls and voices of Tailless rasped out.

“That one you met. The silent silver, observing from afar… It is our kin. A blade unlike any other. Do not draw its ire lightly.” It warned her.

“Otherwise… you would do well to follow in its footsteps…” Was the last she heard before she finally woke up in Zhu Yuan’s arms.

 

She didn't understand back then what the sword had warned her of. Wise was the obvious answer but he was no blade nor did he seem all that dangerous. Yet now…

Her silence continued in a moment that felt like an eternity to him but was in truth just a few seconds.

“...Yes, it spoke to me of more than just killing… It also warned me of something and tried to convince me to give it control. Why are you asking now?” She said while giving him a once-over, slightly on edge after recalling the Demon Blade’s warning.

“Please calm down Miyabi, I wasn't accusing you of anything. I'm sure you know how I've been doing maintenance on all of Section 6’s weaponry as well as the other Agents we work with.” He deflected.

No… after all he had done for them, for her, she trusted Wise implicitly. He had saved her, guided her, and protected her when she was vulnerable. When he had led her away from that fan calling himself her fiance, looking over her for all those hours… it etched into her mind, a feeling she couldn’t remember the name of flaring inside her. She relaxed, her posture softening and her ears twitching slightly in confusion and this strange feeling.

“Yes, Yanagi praised your maintenance skills saying how her weapon felt better than new. Even Harumasa said his bow felt easier to wield after your maintenance. Wait…” She startled coming to a realization.

He turned his gaze from the sword's spirit to her, her eyes widening seeing the determination in his eyes.

“I didn't ask before because I knew you wouldn't have trusted me enough to do so back then, but I also wanted to ask if you would let me maintain your blade for you.” He confirmed her realization while stepping closer.

“You know firsthand my skills in maintaining your squadmates’ weapons and fixing your scabbard to seal the blade.”

She once again went silent but this time in shock instead of the reflective trance from before.

“Wise, I… I don't doubt your skills or quality. You are My Proxy after all. But Tailless is not just a mere blade. It is cursed and only those of the Hoshimi bloodline can handle it properly.” She refuted his offer, taking a glance at the weapon’s scabbard she held.

“While I may not be able to wield your blade, I've also withstood its Foxfire alongside you. I can handle the blade Miyabi.” He said while staring her down resolutely, ready to take on the task no matter what.

She recalled that time as well, their first time in the Hollow together. Him risking himself to stand by her side and brave the Foxfire. The image of him walking effortlessly towards her through the Foxfire caused that strange feeling to flare up, had some sort of illness befallen her? No, Yanagi had said the feeling was normal but why did it make her feel so short of breath? Still, his actions eventually lead to her extending him her trust and giving him her hairpin.

“That's actually the main reason I called you out here to the Outer Ring in the first place. If you allow me, then we can see together whether or not I can handle and maintain the blade.” He finally said, hoping she would extend her trust and belief in him one last time.

She trembled imperceptibly, his determination shaking her ever so slightly. After the Hollowfall of Eridu, the loss of her mother had made her obsessed with the blade. She was aware it was unhealthy, her obsession with training and the blade, but the katana was one of the only things she had left of her mother. Yet she despised it for all that it had done to their bloodline. The peaceful life she lived with her mother was cut through by the accursed blade and she feared what it would do to him and his own peaceful life.

Suddenly an image of her parents cut through her mind, clashing with her paranoia and fear. Her mother and father arguing over tomatoes and their taste.

 

"Tomatoes aren't even fruits!”

“Tomatoes are clearly fruits…”

 

She stilled at the memory, their current argument over the blade reminding her of happier times.

Her mother was disgusted by tomatoes when they were served, small and sour as they were. Yet her father’s pride after growing them himself led them to argue endlessly over whether or not they were fruits. That argument always ended with them ultimately ceding the argument to her and ending the argument with a laugh.

Would she too look back on their current argument and laugh?

She trusted Wise with her life. There was no doubt about that, not when she also wanted him as her…

Another memory flowed through her mind, this one far more recent. A distinctly embarrassing conversation that had revealed things even she didn't know about herself and giving a name for that strange feeling she felt around Wise.

---

“I approve, dear daughter! A fine young man with a respectable family business, his own personal car, and the drive to fight for his woman? I'd say you've outdone yourself!” Her father laughed out at the dinner table.

“Yes, Wise is a wonderful partner. I am extremely lucky that he was willing to extend his trust to me. What is humorous about that father?” She asked plainly, tilting her head slightly at him.

Her father gave her a once-over, studying her and coming to a realization.

He pulled out his phone and scrolled through it until he found what he was looking for and slid it over to her. Normally her father would leave his work phone before sitting at the dinner table, not wanting his work to disturb their fleeting moments of family time. This must have been of great importance.

As she went to pick up the phone her father interjected with a quick question.

“So I must assume you don't want Wise as a fiance then?”

She froze and the phone fell out of her hand back onto the table. Her father simply shook his head, used to her emotional naivety.

“And here I was ready to adopt a son into the family. At least I caught that talk of a fiance before it spread. Seems I'll have to keep an eye on those news outlets to make sure it doesn't spread any further than our information channels.” He sighed out, genuinely somewhat disappointed.

A relationship with Wise would be good for her and as a parent all he wished for was her happiness. He knew Wise would help her flourish into a beautiful young woman and help her once again get in touch with her emotions. Alas, it seemed that she truly didn't claim Wise as her fiance.

“W-wait father…”

Oh?

“W-what do you mean that Wise is my fiance?” She asked him meekly, her ears flat against her head.

“Well if you read what was on my phone dear daughter, you'd know that a fan was apparently chased off by a silver haired young man that claimed to be your fiance. Eyewitnesses also said that he apparently stayed by your side for several hours.” He answered her with a twinkle in his eye and a raised eyebrow.

A strange feeling rose up in her, one that she felt around Wise often and left her short of breath despite all her training. When she had asked Yanagi about it, she said it was a normal feeling to get at their age and Yanagi only blushed and elaborated no further when she told her she felt that way around Wise. 

She questioned her father now what that feeling was. Why she felt queasy but-not-so whenever Wise was mentioned. Why the feeling only grew in warmth when she found out about his claim as her fiance and his dedication towards her.

Her father’s eyes softened and he led her hands gently to her heart.

“That is love, Miyabi. What you feel now is the warmth and queasiness of the beginnings of a tender possibly even romantic love. If you do pursue these feelings with Wise dear daughter, then know you have my full support.”

---

She blushed slightly at the memory, recalling her embarrassed silence and lack of a response to her father's words. As a swordswoman, she was versed in all manners of battle but a battle of the heart was one she was sorely unequipped to handle.

She focused back to reality and took a shy glimpse at Wise, where he stood patiently in the sand for her answer.

Trusting him with her heart was one thing, but she also wished to protect him. She had seen firsthand the power of the Demon Blade and had also seen him pass out in the Hollow before.

He may have been able to withstand the Foxfire and enter the Hollows freely now but as a maiden, she was bound to worry about the one she…

She blushed harder.

No!

She shook her head. She had to protect him because he was Her Proxy and she wouldn't let him get into harm’s way even if he chose to do so. He had to guide her so they could eventually annihilate the hollows in their entirety. N-no other reason.

Yet…

He looked at her with a smoldering gaze, sending tingles down her back and causing her ears to snap upwards. She averted her eyes and her ears twitched rapidly.

This side of Wise was somewhat…

Argh! Fine!

“I-if you truly wish to handle and maintain the blade then I will let you try… B-but I will take it away as soon as I see any trouble!” Miyabi spewed out quickly with a blush she hid beneath her bangs as she handed him her weapon, her calloused hand brushing briefly against his softer larger one.

“Y-you may be able to withstand the Foxfire but handling the blade is another matter entirely. M-maybe if you were a part of the Hoshimi family then…” She said to him while whispering out the last part.

“Thank you Miyabi. I promise I won’t let you down.” He said earnestly, pretending he didn’t hear that last sentence. He had enough on his plate taking care of Belle and the video store already without getting tangled in romance.

Miyabi was a sweet, if a little training obsessed, young woman. She had a bright future ahead of her and deserved better than him. She deserved someone that would cherish her wholeheartedly, not a man who chased his own ideals and ignored those he loved…

Gah! Those damn memories of his again! He couldn't help but get tangled in the thoughts of that hopeless Archer from time to time. His wives would smack him straight to the Throne of Heroes if they saw him now, denying himself and ignoring a young woman in love. 

Still, he would rather let things play out than push them along himself. While he could observe and guess at signs of affection, he was still just a bit too dense to say for sure. All the women in his life were forces of nature so he only had experience with what came after the confession, not the times before. 

If Miyabi confessed however… with all the signs the other women he knew gave him…

“W-wise? If you're nervous, you don't have to do this. I will overcome the Hollows with my strength alone, all I need is for you to guide me.” Miyabi raised her head, moving closer to comfort him, mistaking his thoughtful silence for nerves.

He startled, realizing that he had stood in place with them both still held onto the scabbard.

“N-no Miyabi, I was just lost in thought for a second that's all. I was looking at the scabbard and thought about how I could add more Hollow Data to make Tailless even safer for you.” He lied quickly with Miyabi backing away and hiding her blush growing deeper beneath her bangs.

‘Even now, with the test of the blade before him, all he can think of is my safety? M-mother, what should I do, you never gave me bridal training!?’ Miyabi’s thoughts stirred in her emotional turmoil.

Taking Miyabi’s sudden silence as a gesture of her appeasement, he took a moment to actually inspect the katana in its sheathe this time, taking note of the eye matching the spirit of the blade on it.

“Hey Miyabi, I actually still need you to unsheathe Tailless, it's locked to your fingerprints after all.” He requested after inspecting the locking mechanism. He resisted his urge to Trace the katana and its peripherals in front of her, not wanting any more questions than necessary.

“Of course. Hold onto the grip of the sword and pull it out slowly please. If anything happens, immediately push it back in.” She said while holding the scabbard steady, staring at him with eyes full of worry.

He gazed at her with gentle eyes, appreciating her concern. He had gone through the same dance with Rin many times, people only worried about you if they cared after all.

“I’ll be alright Miyabi. Just stay calm. The absolute worst that will happen is that I end up burning myself a bit but still, the Foxfire never affected me before.”

She slowly nodded towards him and unlocked the mechanism sealing the sword. He gently pulled the katana out of its sheath and held it firmly, copying her stance from the history of the weapon.

As the end of its tip escaped its seal, the hazy one-eyed manifestation of the Demon Blade flew toward the weapon suddenly and it roared to life, the Foxfire enveloping him in its blaze.

“Wise!” Miyabi exclaimed, rushing back toward him with the sealing scabbard in hand, ready to end this foolish test.

Shing!

What!? This was!

The Foxfire converged upon the Demon Blade and it sang as it cut the air with Wise mirroring her swings of the blade perfectly. Her eyes wide open, she stared as the katana seemed to glow in his hands brighter than it ever did in hers, the spirit of the sword somehow becoming agreeable under his grip.

Intentionally keeping Miyabi in the dark, he had Traced and sympathized with the katana under the guise of the Foxfire to hide his magecraft. The Foxfire had only died down due to it all seeping back into the weapon, responding to his manipulation of the tainted mana inside and around it.

As he Traced the weapon he learned of its making and its history. Normally, once he laid his eyes upon any weapon with a blade it would be Traced and stored in his soul subconsciously but Tailless was another matter entirely. He had other weapons in his repertoire that had minds of their own, his frequently used Hrunting came to mind, but Tailless was unique in that it had a genuine soul (or souls?) for itself and that was something he couldn’t replicate no matter how hard he structurally analyzed. Wars were fought over the Heaven’s Feel for a reason.

It was because of this that he asked Miyabi to physically handle the sword himself, so that he could structurally analyze and interact with the soul of the sword and what he found silently awed him.

The katana was made of a special Etheric Matter, similar in nature to the Jeweled Sword Zelretch but with a distortion in its making due to the tainted mana crystals used in lieu of Zelretch’s pure ones.  The edge pattern of the blade was irregular and its spine was a deep black, remnants of the initial casting of the Etheric Matter into a katana but that was not the real distortion. The true distortion of the katana made itself known when it interacted with outside mana, causing the sword to blaze with Foxfire and it surged in intensity when it drank blood.

The katana was a work of art, worthy of its legend. Even Mystic Codes would’ve degraded by now if they were as old as this weapon, but the Demon Sword had not a chip or blemish on its edge, in spite of it being passed down generation after generation. No, after peering into the blade and witnessing its history and soul for itself, he knew it was nothing less than a genuine Noble Phantasm.

---

While he sympathized with the experience of the Noble Phantasm’s growth, he found himself in the world of the sword, surrounded by a sea of ethereals ready to be cut down like blades of wheat. Truly, nothing else mattered to its spirit than the continuation of its crusade.

“Miyabi has always been rather aloof, but after getting to know her better now, I can somewhat tell how she really feels.” He claimed while swinging the katana effortlessly against the tide of ethereals, speaking out into the infinite expanse conjured by the Noble Phantasm.

“She puts on a strong front but she is terrified of you, hates you even for what you did to her mother. You know, she told me how you whispered and screamed to her relentlessly, but you're silent now. You don't plan to convince me to kill? To slaughter endlessly? To sacrifice others to feed your power and ambitions!?” He yelled out, his voice growing louder with each word and ethereal felled by his hand.

The tide of ethereals surged, and the many souls and voices of the Demon Sword responded to him.

“The blood you've spilled is enough to fill the seas many times over. We do not need to convince you. As our kin… you understand our being, our reason for existence. As blades, We are meant to kill.” It rasped out to him.

He unleashed slashes quicker and quicker, caring not as the blue sheen of the blade darkened into a blood red. At last there was but one ethereal left, but this one was one the Demon Sword had never cut, not yet.

Nineveh stood before him.

“I understand your aspirations from one blade to another, but I would rather melt you down than let you sacrifice any more innocent people for this foolish endeavor. If you are too weak of a weapon, then you must be reforged stronger, else you be replaced by another weapon.” He told the katana as he took a stance it had seen only a few times before, from its third master.

He invoked the first line of his aria, letting him influence the Noble Phantasm, putting the weight of his world behind its spine and sharpening its edge.

I am the bone of my sword.

And the world ceased to exist.

---

“Father. We will never have to worry about Tailless ever again.” His dearest (and only) daughter suddenly chimed out at the dinner table.

“Excuse me?” He asked believing he had misheard. He had built the scabbard himself so he knew that the Demon Sword was far from being controlled. It had to constantly be updated with new Hollow Maze Data in order to contain it and fight against its corrupting Ether.

He had created the scabbard to seal the blade using all the money that his wife had set aside for them to take their daughter to see the world but he knew he had erred. The bright-eyed young girl that was their little kit would never again be the same after Hollowfall. He had fed into her relentless training and what emerged from it was a cold shell of their beloved Miyabi.

No. That cold shell had emerged from Hollow Zero, after that damned blade had forced her to kill her mother, also killing the childish innocence in her eyes. Only, his dear daughter’s eyes seemed to gleam yet again with a foxy childish look, just like her mother when she goaded him. 

“Miyabi, are you alright? Where is Tailless, did the scabbard fail again? I can call your fian- I mean your friend Wise over and we can repai-” He gushed out, worrying about her statement and unusual expressiveness.

“That won't be needed. Tailless is already under maintenance in his hands and it has bowed before his strength of will. Wise will return it to me shortly and support me in my goals and I will support him as his partner. I hope you’re still ready to a-adopt a son, father.” She said plainly, stuttering out her final tease with a blush.

His eyes went wide, his jaw hung open, and his ears twitched incessantly. He could hardly believe her words, neither the submission of Tailless nor her implied confession. Scratch that, she had just teased him just like her mother-!

Miyabi looked at her father’s face, and to his most sincere shock–

She tittered.

And she laughed.

She laughed just like her mother had in days gone by, back when they argued endlessly over those foolish fruits.

Tears welled up in his eyes as he hugged her and he silently thanked Wise for healing her pain and bringing his dear daughter back to him, easing her out of her cold shell.

“You know father? When I was with Wise earlier, we argued about him handling Tailless and I recalled your arguments with mother over your tomatoes. I wondered at the time whether or not I would also get to laugh after our argument and I have. I think… I think I would like to argue with him again. And afterwards laugh with him too.” Miyabi confessed to him leaning into his hug.

She looked up at him, the remnants of laughter on the edge of her cheeks and her smile brighter than he had seen in years.

And he knew then, that he would support them in all their hardships.

Chapter 6: Chapter 2: Beneath the Mask

Notes:

Admittedly, the hardest part about writing this chapter (and all of them honestly) was whether or not I felt I should include the final line or cut it and actually naming the chapter. So far the next few chapters are going to revolve around Tailless as that's the current weapon I want to focus on but developing scenes and dialogue to actually get to what I want to write and post kinda sucks. Who knew? Unfortunately, updates will take longer as college is in full swing now and I have to intern at some public schools for my education degree. I'm trying to aim for updating once every week or two but I gotta work to pay the bills since I unfortunately don't exactly get paid to write like the bigger authors on here. I could genuinely keep writing for hours and not get writers block but I simply don't have the free time to do so. Alas, one day when I hit it big (lol) and I'm super popular (lol) and rich (lol) I will have the free time to write as much as I want.

On the surface of a locked door by the parking lot of Random Play, interconnected lines of mystical energy glistened a faint blue in the hours of twilight.

Behind the door led to a room that only one half of the legendary proxy Phaethon knew the contents of. The other half of Phaethon, along with the rest of New Eridu remained ignorant of the door, barred by an otherworldly force from even taking note of its existence.

Beyond the door came moans and muttering of the most ominous kind. Seductive whispers offering unknown power enticed continuously, the voices growing in strength until their whispers became screeches and howls. The voices grated at the mind relentlessly, beseeching the sole occupant of the hidden room of only one thing.

“You have chipped and become hollow, your steel is bent. But you have yet to rust. Let their blood be cast into your metal! FORGE A BLOODLINE OF BLADE AND STRIFE! BECOME ONE WITH US! ” 

Click!

“That's enough out of you. Geeze, for an old geezer of a sword you sure like to have temper tantrums like a baby.”

He sighed as he once again sheathed the katana into its scabbard and looked around his workshop for his notes. Looks like maintaining Tailless was going to be harder than he thought. Convincing Miyabi to lend the sword in the first place was honestly the easy part. 

Initially, when he repaired the scabbard to seal the blade back in the Hollow with Miyabi he had made many assumptions about the legendary katana that he now knew to be a Noble Phantasm of fairly high rank. He had assumed back then that the data inside the scabbard was merely Hollow Observation Data used to mimic Ether fluctuations inside Hollows so that the sword could control surrounding Ether and convert it into Foxfire using the sword as a form of igniter.

He scratched out his previous notes and wrote his findings in code.

However, as he Traced and studied Tailless, it seemed to be almost the opposite that was true. The Noble Phantasm itself emit Ether at an unprecedented rate, more than any magic circuit could process individually, almost to the level of a miniature magic core, emphasis on miniature. Through its “soul” it produced Ether and released excess as Foxfire but the amount it radiated eventually led to a constant outpour of Foxfire.

The scabbard then, instead sealed the “soul” of the blade in a simulated miniature Hollow produced using Hollow Observation Data processed through a state of the art W-Engine, preventing it from accessing outside Ether and endlessly pouring out Foxfire. The virtual image of the W-Engine when he pulled it up was actually kind of funny, it looked like a little shrine house to store the manifestation of the blade.

He chuckled to himself at his penciled drawing of the ghostly eye performing a tea ceremony in a small shrine.

Still, to produce a miniature simulated Hollow was technology on a level unlike anything in New Eridu. The closest thing to it was the HDD System and not even their current ramshackle version of it but the Helios Academy’s Full Powered version of the system. The technology behind it must have come from the Lost Civilization of the previous era. 

He had tried to look more into its history but the scabbard wasn't quite a weapon and the soul of Tailless that the scabbard trapped prevented him from peering any deeper. While his Tracing had been perfected over his many years of life, in this one and the last, he was still inept at any other magecraft besides the most basic of runes and bounded fields. Magecraft of the soul was the expertise of his other sister Illya, and that sort of magecraft came with sacrifices he wasn't willing to make.

As he pondered over his notes on the makings and workings of Tailless and its technological marvel of a scabbard, he felt a twinge of intent released by his workshop's bounded field. Seems they had some customers.

As he exited his workshop, he looked upon the starry night sky and did a double take. Just how long had he spent studying Tailless? 

Wait. 

If it was this late then there shouldn't be any customers. The video store should be closed. Did Belle bring some friends over? No, she was too busy grinding for pulls on that game of hers to go out for the past week so that explanation was also out. Just who had come to visit them? The only person he could think of was Jane but the twinge of intent from the bounded field told him there was more than one visitor.

He narrowed his eyes as he felt the twinge strengthen into a ripple of intent. 

There were too many to just be visitors.

He had made to enter the store through the back entrance but stopped himself as he reached for the doorknob. No, he couldn't go in empty-handed. If these weren't normal visitors then he would have to take extra precautions.

He observed the parking lot for any onlookers, knowing how Trigger liked to often perform "reconnaissance". After making sure the coast was clear, he jumped up with a quick burst of Reinforcement onto Random Play’s rooftop, wanting to get a clear look at their “visitors”.

He sneaked over to the edge of the roof and from up high he saw a crowd of generic black suited security guards that looked straight out of one of Belle's videogames. They crowded around a sleek black limousine where he witnessed a Zelretch-damned maid and butler get out. 

Seems like Victoria Housekeeping had some competition.

As he continued to observe them, the blueprints for a Black Key came to mind as his inner world’s gears stirred, preparing for a confrontation. There were at least a dozen armed guards surrounding the limo, not to mention the people inside and how the vehicle seemed to be somewhat armored itself. It'd be easy to deal with them all, his Reinforced strength and skills enough to deal with even the likes of some Servants, but to deal with them quietly? That would take some finesse.

Luckily he had just the blade.

He shifted away from the corner of the roof, doing his best to conceal the light of his Tracing. Under the pale Hollowed moon, a miniature lightshow erupted from the roof of Random Play. In this world his magecraft was far more ostentatious than before he noted, feeling his magic circuits thrum and glisten softly with blue light while his skin seemed to absorb traces of a bright Etheric purple light instead. 

He could filter out the tainted mana at a slow rate to prevent an even bigger lightshow outside the Hollows but it still came with a cost as he noticed his skin start to darken. At least it was only temporary compared to what had happened to his hair. Once he filtered out the tainted mana and converted it for his uses, he brought the blueprint of a certain Noble Phantasm steeped in mystery to his mind.

He went through the steps of his Tracing, recalling the pleasant memories of his trysts with the steadily forming dagger. He had done many an assassination using the blade during his time as an enforcer but he'd rather not remember those bloody times. Instead, he always remembered humorously of the real reason he had been entrusted with the Noble Phantasm.

Fond memories of him sneaking out at night to get snacks from the pantry without waking the babies came to mind. Food was life or death for Artoria and becoming pregnant had made her a snacking monstrosity, evolving her previous insatiable appetite to something resembling a living black hole. With her permission, he had received the blade for his safety as an enforcer but later on she had used it to guilt him into being her late-night snack gofer, stating that she had entrusted it to him to do her bidding as king.

He chuckled breathily and his circuits pulsed one last time, her Noble Phantasm forming fully in front of him. He took in the familiar sight of the white hilt of the dagger as it twinkled in the moonlight, like a friend beckoning him forth with sparkles in their eyes. His love for the woman who gave him the blade brought a smile to his face as he called out its name.

“Come, Carnwennan.”

As he grasped the grip of the dagger, the smile on his face grew evermore as the Noble Phantasm’s warmth spread over him. It seemed he still had Artoria's permission.

Activating its concealing effects, he quickly shuffled back over to the edge of the roof and witnessed the guards line up on each end of the entrance to Random Play like some sort of royal procession. The butler and maid that had exited earlier made for a door closer to the middle of the armored limo and the butler held open the door for a man while the maid helped him out by hand.

He slumped as a pair of fox ears came into view.

Those sly foxes would be the death of him! 

All the tension left his body as he dismissed Carnwennan and disabled his Reinforcement, his circuits shutting off abruptly. Sorry old friend, but you're not needed for now.

He watched as the man, lined by guards on each side, sauntered on into the video store as if he owned the place! Sure he could probably actually buy their store a dozen times over but damn it, wasn’t this just too much!?

Sigh.

Admittedly, the Hoshimi family showing up as often as they did was only good for business, their sales in the last month or two didn’t jump due to their own advertising after all. But still, was it too much to ask for them to just have a normal slow day of business without anyone barging in?

He exited the roof slowly as he grumbled to himself, leading himself down the winding staircase to receive their guest. Under the warm lights of Random Play’s upper level, he came to a stop as the lights revealed his patches of still darkened skin around his arms. He couldn't be going out to meet anyone like that so he made a quick detour to his room to grab his jacket and cover himself till the dark patches faded.

After making sure all of the affected skin was hidden he exited his room. He took a quick peek of his sister’s room to check on her and spied her grinning stupidly to herself with some anime girl on the screen. He made himself scarce as soon as he understood what was going on– because as much as he loved his sister, he loved his eardrums just a little bit more.

As he reached the end of the staircase, he heard the bustling sounds of a dozen or so guards and butler-maid combo escorting one very important man into Random Play. He expected the man to contact him after he prodded Miyabi over letting him handle Tailless and perform “maintenance” on it but to arrive personally at this time of night and bring this sort of entourage? Something was afoot.

As he finally exited the stairwell and made himself known, he found himself interrupting the foxy VIP petting 18 and looking over some films at the front desk. The man waved him over cheerily and excused himself from 18. 

“Why hello there Wise! Just the man I was looking for! Thank you very much for keeping me company and recommending these films, little one, I'll be sure to rent them all!” The (in)famous Hoshimi family head Hoshimi Souichirou shouted with enough enthusiasm that he could practically hear the exclamation marks at the end of every sentence.

Well, at least he was still as amiable as ever. The Hoshimi family head was surprisingly genuinely friendly, even more-so than his daughter which honestly caught him off guard on their first meeting. Of course, as a fellow friend-to-all and amiable-by-nature man himself, they hit it off almost immediately and had quite a good time together joking about their “girls” and sharing baby pictures.

Which was why he was still rather put off by the sheer amount of bodies the political powerhouse of a man had brought. Belle and him were no threat to anyone (as far as anyone knew) and Sixth Street was probably the most calm and peaceful corner of New Eridu. It made no sense to him to bring such a large amount of guards but the only one with the answers to his questions stood before him, cheery as ever with his hand out for a shake.

Well then, no time like the present.

“Welcome to Random Play Mr. Hoshimi, it's good to see you even if it's a little late. Um… what's with all the bodyguards and stuff? Don't you usually use Victoria Housekeeping for this stuff?” he asked while reciprocating the older man’s handshake.

The man's smile didn't waver for even a second.

“It's great to see you too son! And didn't I say you can call me father? Don't worry about the help, they're just here to escort me in place of Victoria Housekeeping. They're unfortunately occupied with some tasks from the Mayor.” Souichirou explained away, gesturing a hand at the guards standing by the window of the store.

“Oh, okay… but uh isn't this a little much for just an escort? Well I guess it's not really my concern since there's no customers coming in this late. Why exactly were you looking for me at this time of night though Souichirou? Is everything alright with Miyabi?” He inquired, making sure to call the man by his name instead of the requested parental designation. He was still on the fence about Miyabi’s and his feelings and he really didn't need to stoke the fire any more than necessary.

This time, the man's smile did waver. His ears also drooped for a second, making him almost look like a kicked puppy (or fox in this case). Apparently, not being called father was a bigger blow to the man than he thought. Though his ears perked back up and his smile returned with full force when he questioned Miyabi's wellbeing. What a great dad.

“Miyabi is doing quite well actually, thanks to you. That's part of the reason I came looking for you son! I'm terribly sorry for coming over so late but I'm a busy man as I'm sure you know but I wanted to personally–” The man's words were cut off as a ghastly wail pierced the otherwise silent night.

“FUUUUUCK!!! FUCK YOU CLARA I WANTED FUCKING FIREFLY!!! I LOST MY 50/50 TO A STUPID SHOELESS TIER 3 DPS LOLI FUUUUUUUCK!!!”

…Thank God he had made himself scarce earlier. He was a whole floor down and could hear her perfectly, he couldn't imagine the damage to his eardrums if he had actually been near her or in his room.

The accompanying butler and maid Souichirou brought jumped in fright and the guards around the room had tensed up considerably, all getting ready to handle the supposed threat until they all noticed him sigh in exasperation. Strangely, Souichirou seemed to have no reaction besides a slightly confused and amused expression on his face.

“...Sorry about that Souichirou. Belle's been a little uh preoccupied with this game of hers and she's been at it for a week trying to get this limited time thing in it and it looks like she failed again.” He apologized while he sweat dropped and scratched his head.

“No worries son. I had to deal with my own girl's share of tantrums when she was younger and hoo boy did they only get more violent as she got older.” Souichirou comforted him, his fox ears twitching as he chuckled and patted his shoulder in fatherly camaraderie.

“But as I was saying, I wanted to come over personally to thank you and invite you over to discuss something important with a bright young mind like yours.”

He blinked as he processed the man's words. 

“Wait, what? Didn't you already hold that little celebration with all of Section 6 and us to thank us? And I'm sure you know much smarter people than me to pick their brains Souichirou, what exactly do I have to offer you?” He opined to the incredibly well-connected man in bewilderment.

The mischievous fox simply threw his head back and laughed at his questions. 

“Oh my boy, you really have no idea what you've done have you? Well then, it seems we’ll have to have a much longer discussion but at a different time. Unfortunately, it is getting a bit late after all and I have some political business to deal with early tomorrow.” Souichirou answered him but failed to actually answer his questions.

Typical Hoshimi. Avoid anything unnecessary, get what you want, and skedaddle. He could see where Miyabi got her flippancy and one-track mind from at times if this was how her father acted. Still, he needed answers and he wasn't about to let them slip out of his fingers so easily.

“Er, wait a second Souichirou but I'm still a little confused. What are you even thanking me for? What is all this really about?” He continued to verbally prod the Hoshimi family head, his suspicions flaring.

Suddenly, the fox-eared man walked closer to him, adopting a picture perfect poker face. The older man looked into his eyes with an inspecting gaze seemingly looking for something. He didn't back away from the now oppressive man and did his best not to tense up but apparently the Hoshimi family head had already found what he was looking for as he had just as suddenly backed away.

“...Miyabi informed me that you had tamed Tailless. I had already known your strength of will after braving the Foxfire alongside her but to handle the blade without Hoshimi blood? I'm genuinely impressed.” Souichirou said stoically, his poker face still in place.

It was only his decades of mental training that stopped him from tensing up and reacting to the abrupt change in the man. So his suspicions were correct that that was what all this was about. Thankfully, Souichirou was evidently only impressed instead of enraged over his handling of the family heirloom. Regardless, he still needed to know the man's intentions.

“...Yes, I handled the katana and have been doing some maintenance on it just like I have with the rest of Section 6’s weaponry. The blade itself has been no issue to maintain and I had already worked on the scabbard before as you know. Updating and optimizing its internal structure with new Hollow Observation Data has been no issue considering our work for Scott Outpost.” He shared with the man, being careful not to divulge their proxy work or the specifics of the inner workings of the scabbard around the statue-like guards.

“To not only handle the sword but to also maintain it and its scabbard?” Souichirou whispered in awe. The older man stepped closer and inspected him again, this time even deeper as if he somehow held the answers to life itself.

Souichirou’s political-grade poker face cracked almost imperceptibly for a second, his eyes widening and fox ears furling back until his poker face snapped back into place as if he had only imagined it.

“I knew you somewhat had a grasp on the technology behind the scabbard since you uploaded that Hollow Observation Data back then in the Hollow. But to update its shifting internal structure means you truly understand how the scabbard works… and what exactly it does. Miyabi was correct then, you truly have tamed Tailless and I am only reassured that you are just as intelligent as I believed.” The now stoic man complimented him while implying his own knowledge of the inner workings of the scabbard.

“Since you understand just how advanced the technology in it is, I'm sure you understand then the need for a lengthy private discussion.” Souichirou said neutrally, his eyes continuing their task of gazing into his soul while his fox ears stood ramrod straight.

So this was the face of the current head of the Hoshimi family that brought them to power. It was no wonder then how they had achieved all their current political power if such a man was leading them. He had never seen this side of the man before but he had had his suspicions. He could see now just what kind of man Hoshimi Souichirou was.

He was just like him.

Sure, they were both friendly and could get along well with just about anyone and they both loved their family with all their hearts. But when push came to shove? When things became serious? When someone had to make the hard decisions? They would rise to the occasion and shoulder the burden head on, steeling their hearts and wills when necessary.

He found himself respecting the man even more than he did before. Souichirou had had his respect already as a fellow father raising a daughter on his own, it was no easy task to be a parent after all. Yet after seeing his resolve to put up such a well-crafted facade and act so coldly to him, someone that he knew Souichirou cared for, he couldn't help but feel a strange surge of kinship.

In fact, he felt obliged to respond in kind.

He cast aside his identity as the tired video store owner Wise and revealed his own facade as the cold and professional legendary proxy Phaethon. He straightened and stood taller, losing his eternal slouch and lidded eyes and to all appearances gained an unusual sense of verve and severity. His figure appeared to become more pronounced within the video store and it made the silent entourage do a double take.

The accompanying maid Souichirou brought let out a quiet "eep!" while the butler twitched in discomfort. The guards uttered not a word in their statue-like cadence but he could tell they had become more on edge. Souichirou responded to his sudden shift in demeanor with a slight widening then narrowing of his eyes but remained silent, waiting for his answer.

“Of course Souichirou. I understand the importance of such a discussion. I would not have resolved myself to handle the blade against Miyabi's wishes if I wasn't prepared to delve into the unknown. Since you also understand the significance of the technology behind the scabbard then we must have a considerably lengthy and private discussion.” He acknowledged the man in kind with his own picture-perfect poker face.

He turned away from the sharply dressed man and walked behind the counter of the video store. From there he opened a hidden compartment and pulled out a small tablet and powered it on. He unlocked the tablet and revealed its contents to Souichirou, showing him the list of commissions they had scheduled.

“This is far too important for me to put off. Please contact me tomorrow or as soon as you are available so that we may organize a private meeting. I will postpone any and all commissions until this discussion is concluded in a satisfactory manner. Since this is a matter regarding Tailless, we naturally should also include Miyabi in our meeting and inform her of… our findings.” He informed and requested Souichirou, moving the commissions’ dates back a week in front of him.

The fox-eared man only blinked in response for a moment. Then his composure and poker face outwardly cracked as he let out a smile that only grew as the moments passed. Finally, as the facade fell away, the mischievous fox threw his head back and roared with maniacal laughter, once again startling the silent escorts. 

“Hahahaha! Oh my boy you just keep impressing me! I had heard from my dear daughter about your legendary status and title but to witness the legend firsthand? You simply keep proving my choice to be correct more and more!” The cryptic fox uttered out in his fit of joy.

As his booming laughs tapered off into low rumbling chuckles, the man wiped a tear from his eye and looked upon the younger man with a proud gaze. Souichirou couldn't wait to see what the future had in store for him and Miyabi and he would be damned proud to have such a fine young man as a son-in-law.

Wise however, had no insight into the older man's inner thoughts and merely sweatdropped and cast aside his own cold and serious facade.

“Uh… I'm glad to have helped reassure you in your choice Souichirou, whatever it is. Sorry to have gotten so serious there for a second, you and Miyabi are close friends but I just have to act like that when it comes to business.” He apologized to the man for getting so worked up.

“Oh come off it son! I already have enough of that wishy-washy tirade from all the snakes in the political world, I'm just happy to see a man with real conviction. Especially one that's become such a good friend to my dear daughter.” The older man waved his apologies away when suddenly a strange thumping noise started to echo from the second floor of the building.

Uh oh.

He looked up as he felt and heard Belle stomp and pound at the ground in obvious frustration. Souichirou also looked up briefly until he turned his eyes back to him and appeared to gain a look of sympathy and understanding. The fellow father began to walk towards the entrance of the store, knowing it was time for him to retreat.

“Well then my dear boy, it seems that's my cue to take my leave. I'll send my daughter over to pick you up tomorrow afternoon sometime along with Tailless. My business should hopefully conclude by then. I look forward to hosting you at our estate again!” The Hoshimi family head said at last as he exited the video store with his retinue following him close behind.

Ding! The entrance of the video store chimed out, signaling the last of the foxy man's escorts having exited.

…Sigh, looks like he was going to have to get ready to head out tomorrow. And here he was just wanting a nice slow day of business to relax and study some more weaponry. Now he was saddled with a family meeting and he'd also have to comfort Belle before she blew a gasket because her stomping wasn't getting any quieter.

Still, at least he'd get to learn more about the blade and its soul he hoped. It really was genuinely fascinating to him and stirred his curiosity to no end. Turns out even he could portray himself as a proper research addicted magus as long as it pertained to something he was interested in, in other words, blades.

As he locked the entrance of the video store and shut off the lights and TVs, he pondered over the mysteries of Tailless and its soul. As he continued to ruminate and close up properly for the night, he felt like he was forgetting something for a moment but couldn't recall what.

“ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS!?!? AM I SERIOUSLY GOING TO HAVE TO HIT HARD PITY TO GET HER!? FAIRY ACTIVATE THOSE BOT ACCOUNTS!! WE'RE GOING TO HOLD THOSE SHITTY DEVS AT GUNPOINT UNTIL I GET MY GODDAMN E6!!”

Ah. That.

…He'd have to go calm her down before she actually got them in trouble.