To love a sword

Beta read by Shigiya, Paragon of Awesomeness and Darklord331

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-Sainan, Shopping District-

These last few days had… not been his most relaxing moments, to put it lightly. Marred with stress and constant worry about an intergalactic empire ruled by an apparent impulsive psychopath who was contemplating invading Earth just to retrieve his daughter who ran away from home was not something Emiya had ever experienced, even as a Counter Guardian.

Honestly… it was still not the worst he'd ever dealt with.

That did not mean he forgot other matters related to his everyday life, including the invitation from Rin to visit the Tenjōin estate. A promise he ended up breaking in favor of other, more pressing, matters that presented themselves before him that same day. 

Lala's arrival and everything it had led to had been completely without warning, and he had already been hesitant at visiting Saki's house to begin with. Honestly, Emiya doubted anything would have changed whether Lala came over or not, he could see himself continuing to avoid the heiress until she gave up. But a voice inside his head whispered to his ears how such a tactic was idiotic and only served to buy a little more time in exchange for more trouble down the line until he finally dealt with this. It was his consciousness telling him that. sooner or later, he would need to confront Saki one way or the other. 

"It's pouring cats and dogs outside, isn't it?" He said, putting up his regular smile to placate the drenched blonde from her anger as she glared at him. "Since this is as good a moment as any, why don't you join me for a small chat? There are some available seats here. I know you've also been waiting for such an opportunity, Tenjōin-san." Patting the space next to his, Emiya hid his smirk while watching Saki's anger bleed away in an instant and be replaced with a slight blush. 

Was it wrong to manipulate a girl's feelings like that? Well, he refused to acknowledge it as manipulation and preferred to see it as simply welcoming her for a friendly conversation.

"Wha-Wha…" The previously raging bull-like appearance simmered down instantly, with the girl's hands coming up in an attempt to hide the red of her cheeks — all of which did not escape Emiya's gaze. Though he had no desire to acknowledge the reason behind them any time soon, especially since bringing it up bluntly could easily worsen the situation. He'd honestly expected Saki to become so shy and embarrassed upon hearing his invitation to sit down and have a chat, pushing her to either run away to the other side of the shop or even all the way back to her estate. 

He was half-tempted to try it.

"F-Fine!" Impressively, she had enough courage to not do so and slowly walked up to him — though she still avoided any attempt at eye contact — and sat right next to his seat. Given the sofa was on the smaller side even for two people, her arm pressed against his along with her hair grazing his shoulder. This did not bother Emiya, but he could not say the same for the girl as the slightest movement on his end made her visibly twitch. "Y-You won't get away this time, E-Emiya." 

The girl's two lackeys complied with her words and blocked any path of escape, with Rin standing in front of the door while giving him a stare that conveyed enough of her intentions, while Aya made sure he would not run off to the clothing section.

"A bit excessive, not like I was planning to run away at the moment." In the end, he did feel bad for ghosting her so frequently. Having this matter drag on for this long was counterproductive to his desire to be left alone. 

She did not speak for a few seconds, most likely gathering herself first. So he let her, patiently reading a cooking magazine from before while the rain poured outside. The tense atmosphere died out in less than a minute, with both Rin and Aya wondering why their mistress was taking so long. 

"I… I wanted to thank you, Emiya." Saki finally spoke, turning her head to face him shyly. "For what you did back then. If you hadn't been there… I don't think I would be here." Her memories of that incident were cloudy at best, but bits and pieces remained as clear as ever. The dread she felt, the smoke suffocating her lungs… and then finally traces of the person who saved her. "I-It took me s-so long to find you, even my parents refused to help me when our influence and money failed to convince the hospital staff to tell us who you were. Who would have thought that the one to finally discover your identity would be Rin?"

Because both Saibai and Ringo made sure that his identity in regards to that incident remained a secret as per his request. He was glad to see that they kept their promise even after so long. 

"And I never expected for you to remember anything from that day." Saki and Rin whipped their heads around at his words and looked at him with pure shock. 

Wasn't this…

For as long as they could remember, Emiya always denied their claims of being the person from back then who saved Saki, and continued to argue that it was nothing but a misunderstanding! Even Aya was taken aback by his confession; she'd fully expected the guy to continue with his lies or avoid the subject. 

"So it really was you… I knew it!" Saki's eyes sparkled with stars as her nervousness vanished, a stark contrast to her previous self. He chuckled at her reaction, an ojou-sama first and foremost but with a childlike side to her. "You're finally willing to face the truth." 

"…I guess you can look at it that way. Let's be honest here, would you have ever stopped bothering me if I continued to deny my involvement?"

"Of course not!" She answered without hesitation.

"Then there you go. I would rather not be forced to continue playing this cat and mouse game with you. We both have our own lives to worry about and getting distracted by a matter of the past to this extent is not ideal. So yes, Tenjōin-san, I am indeed the boy who saved you from the car crash years ago." He hushed her immediately by putting his finger against her lips, knowing she was about to start rambling the second he finished speaking. His action froze the girl, like he intended. "Before you say anything else, know that I do not want any kind of recognition or reward for my actions back then. Anyone would have done it if I wasn't there, so that does not make me special. I don't care for whatever amount of money or fame you're willing to give me — I want none of it. Besides, it's not like you're going to kidnap me and bring me to your house by force just to make me confess or something ridiculous like that."

"..."

"..."

"..."

All three girls went quiet, Saki especially having multiple beads of sweat streaming down her forehead. She did think of doing that to Emiya… her father even agreed to lend her some of his top bodyguards to make sure the kidnapping would happen as quickly as possible and Rin had agreed to aid in the endeavor.

"You're crossing the line, Yuuki Shiro—'' Frustrated over his lack of gratitude towards her mistress, Rin was willing to use her sword to teach him a lesson, only to be stopped in her tracks when her mistress held up a hand. "Saki-sama?" 

"Leave it, Rin. I can handle this." 

Hesitating a bit, the kendo master complied and went back to the door. 

Saki crossed her arms, her actions emphasizing her chest even more. "I think you are misunderstanding something here, Emiya. While I do feel that leaving you empty handed is a reality I cannot accept, using mere money to settle such a debt would be an insult to the Tenjōin name!" She declared stubbornly. 

Seeing her conviction, the reincarnated Heroic Spirit grew curious as to what she was talking about. "Hoh? Then tell me, what kind of compensation did you have in mind to settle this debt you feel you owe me?" Whatever it was, he would turn it down. Money was not a problem for his family and even if it was, he knew how to resolve such an issue. 

"Then listen to me well, Emiya, for I will make you an offer that no boy in Sainan — no, the entire world — can possibly refuse!" Saki stood up, her head held high, striking a perfect example of an ojou-sama pose. That smirk of hers, those golden locks shaped like drills and the same tone, momentarily made him inadvertently imagine another person in her place. If she had a blue dress as well, then Emiya would have questioned if he was the only person from his reality reborn in this world. "I hereby offer you the chance, the honor, of becoming my personal butler!" 

For a split second, the image of both girls blended together perfectly as the twinge of familiarity grew immensely.

"Luvia?" He unconsciously blurted out, the similarities getting too numerous for his liking. Though not much remained of his past memories, the redhead still remembered some aspects — including having the Edelfelt heir asking him the same thing.

"Who?" 

"N-No one," he accidentally stuttered for the first time in years, making Saki look at him suspiciously. The man continued to speak to avoid any questions he didn't want to answer. "Ahem. If money and fame are of no interest to me, why do you think becoming your butler would seem even more desirable?" 

"Hohohoho!" She even had the same laugh! "Aside from having the honor to serve the most prestigious family in Sainan, you'll also be taking care of me personally! I know you boys fantasize about such a scenario every time you set eyes on my beautiful splendor, so nothing can compare to being my personal butler!" 

As she continued to ramble on, Emiya simply stared at her with a deadpan face, unable to confirm whether she was being serious or not. Looking over at Rin, the girl was nodding along Saki's words with visible pride and joy. Aya proved to be the same hopeless case with the devotion and admiration she was exuding to the blonde as she spoke, as if her words were gospel. 

'Hm, it's been about half an hour since the rain started and it doesn't show any signs of slowing down.' The winds grew stronger and every person on the streets had decided to take a temporary refuge inside the stores and waited for the weather to calm down. This was a storm, the news obviously missed it and now it looked like most of their planned day out was going to be canceled. 

"-and that's why, becoming my butler is not a matter you can possibly decline! On top of that, if you stay with me for a year, I'll grant you a single wish. It can be anything your heart could ever desire!" 

Oh, she was still talking. But that last part garnered an eye roll from him. After hearing a similar offer just the other day, the concept of having his wish being granted now becoming a recurring aspect in his life was getting ironic. He doubted Saki would have the ability to answer his questions of how he arrived here and if she could permanently cut his ties to the Counter Force. 

He sighed, "I decline." 

The answer came in like a slap to her face, leaving the girl speechless with how quickly he rejected her offer without even looking like he was thinking about it. Wasn't this what all boys dreamt of? 

"W-What?" 

"While I'm admittedly a little happy to hear that someone of your standing thinks I'd be an exemplary butler, I just don't have the time for it." Then his time as Archer with his Rin also was spent being no different than her butler. He'd cooked for her, cleaned her house, did her hair once and served tea whenever she wanted. Didn't help that he called the girl Master the entire time. 

"But… I don't understand, why don't you want to become my personal butler? Hundreds of boys line up each day begging to serve me. You could have the position that no one else has managed to obtain!" 

Emiya brought up his hand, lifting up one figure. "First of all, the boys in our school are the farthest thing from normal; they are walking bundles of hormones and potential sexual predators. Secondly, why do you even want me as your butler in the first place? Aside from Rin here, we don't have much history to speak of other than the accident. You barely know me and I barely know you, so I don't understand why you're so bent on taking me as your servant." 

"I-It's because… b-b-because…" she could not find the strength to tell him the truth, no matter how hard she tried, the words just kept getting stuck in her throat. Rin and Aya continued to cheer her from the background but the girl could not take that crucial step forward. The womanly charm and beauty that Rin spoke about, how just with these natural skills of hers she would have Emiya swooning over her, did not seem to work at all! 

Granted, they had met by accident this day, and she did not have the time to prepare anything appropriately grandiose. 

Seeing the struggling girl, Emiya decided to extend her an olive branch. "How about this, instead of just jumping so far, let's start small." 

"…I'm listening." 

"Well, just come up and talk to me like a regular person first. You never approached me once at school, and neither of us really knows that much about one another. So let's become acquaintances first, then in the future I'll debate whether I'm willing to be your butler or not after finding out what kind of person you truly are." He intentionally did not bring up the point that he had been avoiding her as well the entire time.

Truth be told, Emiya had no plans to accept her offer at any point in time. He just proposed this idea to get her off his back and give her a sense of accomplishment of sorts so she wouldn't keep sending Rin after him. 

"Acquaintances?" That was not what she had expected or wanted to hear from him… she was hoping for so much more. But then, this arrangement gave her the perfect reason to visit him every day in class, didn't it? In the past she struggled to find one, but now this opportunity presented itself to her out of the blue. 

It wasn't what she hoped for, but Saki was confident she could and would turn this deal to her favor one way or another!

"Fine, if that's how you want to play then I shall graciously agree to your terms!" The girl agreed, already starting to hatch a plan for the upcoming future. 

"Good. Hah, at least this problem is finally resolved. I still have a long day ahead of me, but this rain looks like it'll ruin the schedule. And I can't exactly leave my sister here all alone. She is still inside picking out clothes." He said, glad to see that Saki was not the unreasonable person he thought her to be in the beginning.

"Your sister is here!?" Saki exclaimed loudly, hastily taking a mirror from her pocket and checking her makeup and hair. "Why didn't you tell me sooner!? I don't look presentable at all!" The rain had not only ruined her hair, but her makeup as well. 

"You're overreacting. I don't see why you'd be concerned about how my sister would judge you based on appearance. Your face is already fine, there is no need to apply any more makeup." Like seriously, Mikan was too mature to judge someone on how pretty they were, and unironically, she was still a young child.

"—!" Saki wondered if she heard him wrong, "Did you just call me cu—"

"Shirou! I think you need to come over here to help with Lala… what?" The blonde was broken off her thoughts when she heard the voice of a young girl coming over from the women's clothing section. What emerged was the cutest young girl, probably around twelve years old, that she'd ever seen. With brown coloured hair with a few locks tied like a pineapple on top, pink frilly clothes that gave her an innocent, and an adorable face.

"Cute!" Saki moved like the wind, nearly causing Mikan to experience a heart attack as she came face to face with a stranger invading her personal space and grabbing onto her hands. "So nice to meet you, Emiya's little sister, my name is Tenjōin Saki, but you can call me Onee-chan! It's a pleasure to meet you!" 

"…" The little girl's confused face turned into a frown, her squinted eyes warily looking at Saki. "Who are you and what is your business with my brother? Also let go of my hands, it's uncomfortable and I would rather not call a stranger 'Onee-chan' or anything else anytime soon." 

The heiress nearly squealed with pure adoration at how similarly Mikan acted like her older brother. Even Rin was looking back and forth from Mikan and Emiya before amusedly scoffing. "She's his sister alright." Even the dry tone was so alike!

It was like seeing a mini female Emiya.

She wondered if she was as good in swordsmanship as the redhead. 

Mikan slipped away from Saki's hold, not liking the stranger one bit and hid behind Emiya's back, peeking her head out cutely by his side while also giving him a stink eye. "Shirou, I left you for not even an hour and you're already flirting with more girls." Furthermore, the blonde girl was just as beautiful as Lala and seemed to be quite close with him when she saw them together. 

Mikan hoped her brother wouldn't become a gigolo in the future. 

Meanwhile, Emiya was speechless, what was this baseless accusation on his character? He was just peacefully sitting at the waiting area and reading some magazine before Saki and her clique appeared out of nowhere and started encircling him. 

"I am not at fault here." 

"You say that a lot," Mikan matched his tone, not backing down even for a bit. "I guess last time when I came to wake you up was also not your fault. Mister not-a-playboy here can do no wrong and pretty girls just happen to surround him everywhere he goes." 

Her sarcasm was improving, Emiya did not know whether to feel proud or worried that Mikan was taking after him more than anyone else in the family. Then again, both Saibai and Ringo were barely present in their lives due to work and Rito wasn't the best role model to take after for a young girl… and she had always been quite clingy with him as a young child. 

'I hope she doesn't act like me at school,' that was the best way to push away any potential friends. 'I'll talk to her teacher or check up on her one of these days at school to see how she's doing. Don't want her to be some social outcast.'

His attention went back to Saki who was trying to get to Mikan but the latter dodged her by quickly hiding behind him. "A-Ah, please don't be afraid of me, Mikan-chan! I promise that your Onee-chan only wants to hold you and get to know you better!" 

"What the heck is your problem!? Go away!" 

"Please don't be so cold to your sister~"

"I'm not your sister!" 

"I'll give you lots of hugs and kisses! Do you want candy? Toys? I'll buy you the entire mall~" 

"I'm literally going to call the police, you weirdo! Shirou, help me! Stranger danger!"

Emiya's eyes twitched as he found himself in the center of a cat and mouse chase, the latter being his sister instead of him. He shot Rin a glare, silently asking her to take care of this situation. But to his disappointment, she only shrugged and sat down to read the magazine he was reading before. He could sense the satisfaction she was expecting at this moment, to see him in such an uncomfortable situation was her form of revenge — he knew it.

Aya was no better. She was just staring at the rain, ignoring the outside world.

"Shirou!" Then came another source of headaches for him, running from the dressing room clad in nothing but a red laced lingerie along with flower patterns on the see through fabric that barely hid anything at all! Hugging her figure tight enough that made it seem like it would snap at any moment. Wait, now that he looked closely, wasn't this one of Ringo's designs? "I asked the lady at the counter for something that will excite you, and she showed me this! She said it would make my boyfriend more enamored with me compared to the red dress I chose earlier! Do you find it pretty? It was the biggest they had." 

Bringing her here was a mistake and he was going to have a word with that woman who was feeding Lala these ridiculous ideas.

"I like it, this is the first time I've tried wearing something like this! Though now that I think about it, this would suit Momo a lot more, she always likes these kinds of clothing. So, how is it? Are you in love with me now?" 

"No, I'm more embarrassed for you than anything." Such taste in clothing fitted Mikado more than anyone else, Lala, while physically gifted, did not blend well with this type of lingerie given her personality. 

Not that he would ever say it outloud.

"Aw, oh well, I still have a few sets left to check out. One of them will work for sure!" She sure was enthusiastic, not even allowing herself to get discouraged for even a second. Though after looking around, Lala finally noticed the other girls around him and her gaze landed on Rin. "I remember, you're Shirou's best friend!" 

""We're not friends."" Both of them answered at the same time. 

"Woah, since you're his best friend, can you help me choose something that Shirou will like and have him fall for me?" Lala asked, going over to Rin and dragging her along by the hand. 

"He's not yours, Saki-sama already owns him." She said with a slight frown, while trying, and failing, to break out of Lala's grip. 

"Since when did I become an object to be owned?" Said Emiya tiredly. His problem was just about to begin, as Saki who's been beside him was now shaking with eyes full of anger. Her previous bull rage returned tenfold as she pointed a finger at Lala.

"W-Who do you think you are!?" 

"Oh, hi! I'm Lala, Shirou's fiancée!" The pink haired princess answered without missing a beat.

"..."

"Hoh, was that the sound of a heart shattering into a thousand pieces?" He heard Mikan say, the girl smirking while watching the fallout that was about to happen between Saki and Lala. "Having Lala around is more fun than I expected." 

He really was a bad influence on her. Maybe he should have her spend more time with Rito. 

"WH-WH-WH-WHAT IS GOING ON HERE EMIYA SHIROU!?"

{Break}

(A few days later)

"It's been a while since I last came to school like this. No aliens teleporting into my bathroom, no more having to fight idiotic bodyguards for the smallest reason, and no worrying about one of Lala's fiancé candidates." 

Ever since that day at the shop, where Saki had been on the verge of challenging Lala to a duel, Emiya kept a low profile for himself and Lala. Things hadn't gone that far last time, he made sure to forcefully drag the heiress somewhere far away from Lala and slowly explain to her that he was not her fiancé. Adding that Lala was just a naturally affectionate person and asked her to forget about the incident. 

But Saki had a few conditions first. 

"Alright, first, I want to meet your sister more often." 

Weird request, but he agreed, much to Mikan's dismay. The girl looked at him as if he committed the biggest act of betrayal, throwing her to the wolves like a defenseless and unwilling lamb. 

"Second of all… Y-You… y-y-you must visit my house at least o-once every t-two weeks. Cause th-that's what friends do, right!?" 

At least she wasn't demanding for him to become her butler again. Comparatively speaking, this was a harmless condition which he agreed to as well. That finally made Saki calm down considerably, but she did throw Lala a deadly glare before leaving the store. The princess, of course, was oblivious to everything and had continued to try on other sorts of lingeries and dresses the whole time, all weirdly coloured red. 

Maybe that was her favorite color… she admittedly had good tastes, at least.

"Foo~"

"—!"

His senses went awry when a warm breeze of hair touched his neck, he jerked backwards, "Risa, I told you to never do such a thing!" Normally, he would have spotted her approaching and punished her with a quick flick to the forehead. 

"Heh, seeing you so distracted is a rare sight, I couldn't miss the chance to do it." She said with a giant grin, enjoying his annoyed face as he rubbed his neck. Guess his tranquil morning was never going to last for long with this girl around. "And I didn't forget about you, Lala!"  

She jumped over to Lala, those snake-like arms going around her waist before roaming up to her bountiful chest and giving them a good squeeze. "Wah, these puppies are truly one of a kind! Emiya you lucky dog~!"

"Heheh, good morning, Risa." Lala greeted normally as if she wasn't getting molested at this very moment. Emiya saw how the other boys in the class had blood dripping down their nose from the scene, and realized that today was going to be another one of those days. 

"Tch, even with this you don't get flustered." Mio said, "Are you sure you're into girls? Or do you swing the other way? Because if it's the second one, then I'd be more than happy to help you find the love of your life." 

The bespectacled menace appeared, examining his face with a magnifying glass for some reason. 

"I can punch myself to cause a nosebleed if that's what you're concerned about. And frankly, it shouldn't be natural for a boy to get such a reaction just from witnessing a scene like this."

"I think it's unnatural that a boy your age doesn't get a reaction in the first place… are you impote—"

"If you finish that sentence, Mio, then I swear there will be no more bento boxes for you or Risa for the remainder of your lives."

The girl immediately got into a dogeza position in front of him with her forehead pressed against the ground. "Please forgive me, I made a terrible lapse in my judgment!" This ended up being a bigger scene than both Lala and Risa as the rest of the class now turned their attention to him. The boys especially gnashed their teeth, whispering rather colorful words at him that he could hear from his seat. Was the teenage life of a boy this stressful last time? 

"Eh, are you practicing BDSM with Mio? I never thought you'd have such an extreme taste, Emiya. Then again, you do give me the impression of a sadist." Risa said, coming over with Lala. "Hey Mio, I think you forgot your phone in the locker room."

"What!? I'll be right back!" She got back up to her feet and ran out of the class, leaving the three of them behind. The jubilant atmosphere slowly trickled down to a more tame and slightly awkward one.

Risa was the first one to speak, "So, how's your life living with an alien princess going so far?" She whispered quietly, looking around nervously so that no one would eavesdrop on their conversation. She was nervous, he could tell. Perhaps she wasn't all that nonchalant from the revelation as he'd expected her to be. "I hope our school doesn't have to experience an alien invasion, because I am totally NOT prepared for a tentacle monster invasion. Though I wouldn't mind if the aliens are as beautiful as Lala over here~!" 

"Don't worry, other than Lala and her bodyguard group, there are no aliens here as far as I know. Then again, I have no means to confirm that, so take my words with a grain of salt. Unless you have something to add, Lala?"

"Hmmm, I'm not sure." She said, looking up in thought, "Species from different planets have hundreds of different cloaking devices and ways to change their appearances. Though for the most part, most of the aliens and humans share the same facial traits and type of body. Visually, both Devilukeans and humans are very similar aside from our tails and strength." Her tail twirled around, making Risa mesmerized by the heart-shaped tail now that she knew it was the real deal. 

"…Can I touch it?" Her hands were inching towards it.

"No!" 

"Ah!" Risa yelped as Emiya acted quickly, pulling the light brunette away from the princess before she accidentally caused Lala to sensually moan in front of the whole class just by touching the tail. "Hey, don't pull my hand like that, unless you want people to get the wrong idea — which I don't mind~" 

He rolled his eyes. 

"Don't try to hide your nervousness by teasing me." 

"I-I'm not nervous! You're nervous, you tsundere!" 

"Whatever," she just couldn't be honest could she… " Lala's tail is very sensitive to touch, so don't grab it in any circumstances or you'll end up in an… awkward situation." 

"Then why isn't she hiding it?" 

"Because it's very uncomfortable when I try to hide it." Lala answered, happily making her tail wave around the redhead's face, the tip of the heart shaped appendage brushing against Emiya's chin a couple of times in an affectionate manner. 

'Is she also teasing me or doing it unconsciously?' The fact that a mere touch was enough to weaken her knees worried the Counter Guardian more than anything. 

It was an enormous weakness!

Thankfully, Lala's tail moved away from his face and was now caressing Risa's cheeks. "Hehe, it tickles!" The human girl laughed along with Lala as they started to mess with each other. 

"You can touch it, I can handle that much without any issues. It's just when someone grasps it too tightly that I get weak, you just have to be gentle with it." 

"…That sounded way too erotic." It was a fun experience to see Risa tredge into unfamiliar territory with a worried face that she couldn't hide from him. Slowly, she brought her hand to Lala's tail, feeling the soft and smooth texture which felt surprisingly pleasant. Ever since the incident with Ghi Bree, she had been getting frequent nightmares. The cold and slimy sensation of his tendrils binding her limbs from moving an inch further fueling the fear of these aliens in her heart. 

When she saw both Lala and Emiya in the classroom, Risa was a bit hesitant to come in and face the pink haired girl. But she steeled herself and did her best to act like normal. Too bad she was seen through by Emiya. Now touching the alien girl's tail, she discovered that the sensation was the opposite of those slimy tendrils. Her goosebumps did not surface, which relieved Risa tremendously. Lala was a good girl, she did not want to be afraid of her because of a single incident and also potentially ruin her ties with Emiya. 

Her fingers played with the tail, the texture of it was as smooth as polished leather yet glossy like rubber. Warm, not a single sensation of disgust arose from her mind. In fact, it was kind of fun to watch it twitch whenever she squeezed it slightly.

"Hn!" Lala flinched slightly, biting her lips so as to not accidentally moan in front of everyone. "C-Can you be more g-gentle? You're pulling it hard like Shirou d-did last time."

"Eh?" Risa's head went black from Lala's sudden sensual voice, she glanced at the alien princess' blushing face, panting hard with her eyes half closed which drew the attention of many boys in the class, then looked back at the tail in her grasp. Emiya's previous warning replayed in her mind again and again until everything finally clicked.

"—!" 

Bam!

She fell on her butt, hurriedly scurrying away while uttering a stream of apologies to Lala. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean t-to do that! I got distracted and didn't pay attention!" And just like Mio, she ran out of the classroom with a crimson face, unable to bring herself to look Lala or Emiya in the eye again.

The entire time, the latter just chuckled at her reaction. In the middle there, the scene was getting a bit too dangerous for his liking so he was about to intervene before Lala lost control of her voice. Though it looked like Risa came back to her senses and managed to put the clues together. 

"She didn't have to run away, I wasn't hurt by her touch," Lala said with a pout, misunderstanding the other girl's reaction. 

"I think she was scared that you were liking it too much. Also, don't allow anyone to touch your tail again. I trust Risa, but you can never be like that with any other person in this school." Risa, despite sexually harassing every girl at school on the on the daily,, was surprisingly someone he could trust with Lala… To a certain extent. She knew her boundaries and her reaction just now was proof of that. 

"Don't worry, Shirou! From now on, only you can touch my tail whenever you like! I can even give you my whole body if you want!" 

"That's… not what I was going for, but let's just focus on the tail first." One thing he learned about Lala was that trying to overcomplicate any kind of advice to her or even attempting to resolve a misunderstanding could all too easily just all too easily just worsen the situation. 

Honestly, how could someone this smart be such a ditz?

{Break}

Soon, the bell rang and classes were about to start. Their homeroom teacher came with a special announcement.

"Settle down everyone, I know this may be a bit sudden given it's way past the date for new enrollments, but we have a new transfer student who just joined." As soon as he said that, the class buzzed with sounds of excitement and enthusiasm. The boys hoped for another cute girl like Lala to join while the girls were hoping for at the bare minimum — a normal guy who was not a creep. 

"A new transfer student huh… the timing is too convenient," Emiya muttered to himself. He'd been on the lookout for any new arrival or changes in both the student population and the staff — all to ensure that the Ghi Bree incident never occurred again. Risa and Mio were his informants for any kind of gossip or rumors amongst the students and Mikado kept him up to date with any news concerning her colleagues. 

None of them informed him about a newcomer, meaning that this transfer must have happened overnight through some sketchy means. 

"Ooooh, I wonder who it will be!" At least Lala was enthusiastic, he wondered if the girl even felt any sort of worry or fear about the idea of any more of her numerous fiancé candidates coming after her. 

The doors opened, and everyone held their breath as a figure entered the room. Having white hair along with hints of blue strands, hot pink eyes, and an open-collar boy's school uniform.

'At least he looks human. His hair color is a bit strange, but not a concrete sign of him being an alien just on its own.'

"This is Ren Elsie Jewelria, please be nice to him." 

In an instant, every girl in the class cheered out loud while the boys moaned in despair. 

"Another ikemen! We are doomed! Why wasn't he at least transferred to another class instead!? We already have Emiya here!" 

"Tch, look at that smiling face of his. He's thinking about stealing our girls and depriving us of our glorious harem!" 

"Why couldn't it be a cute girl!?" 

"All hail the Anti-Ren Brotherhood!"

While the boys were crying bloody murder and acting like complete dumbasses, the girls on the other hand were practically swooning at the newest arrival. 

"Oh my god, he looks so handsome!" 

"He looks like a foreigner with that face, even his name sounds exotic!" 

"Please don't be a creep, please don't be a creep, please don't be a creep!" 

"What are you complaining about? I would be ecstatic if a cutie like him acted like a pervert toward me! Kya~!" 

"Huh, you've actually got a point there." 

Everyone clamored loudly, drowning out the teacher's voice who'd been trying to quiet them down and was wildly unsuccessful. Ren walked forward, going past the teacher and in front of the class before stopping right in front of Lala's desk. Emiya tensed up, hoping the guy wouldn't transform into a monster out of nowhere and try to kidnap Lala right in front of him. A thin invisible wisp of Magical Energy already started to coalesce above the boy's head. If he were to so much as to show the slightest sign… just like the Sword of Damocles, he would grant him a painful and sudden end if pushed that far. 

Ren's body twitched, and he looked around hastily, as out of nowhere he had suddenly felt a sense of impending doom, the feeling that there was some catastrophic threat looming over him. Finding nothing, he recomposed himself and lovingly took Lala's hand into his own. 

"I finally found you, Lala-chan. My bride." 

The students grew speechless, even Emiya was caught off guard by those words. 

"My dear... I recognized you at first sight. The way you shine cannot be hidden even in the midst of a crowd. You were always so beautiful when you were playing in the palace garden. Your smile shed light into my heart just like the sun. And now! your dazzling shine is even more beautiful after all these years. YOU REALLY ARE A GODDESS!" 

'What's with this guy…' Emiya suddenly felt like an idiot for thinking of him as a threat. It hadn't even been a minute and all apprehension he had within him had evaporated in record time.

"Ah! Once again a heartfelt meeting!! I'm glad I came all the way to this remote region. Now, Lala-chan!! Let's share this joy and get married!" 

Before he could mention anything else, Lala just tilted her head and looked at him with confusion. "Erm… who are you?"

The boy crumbled to the ground as if hit on the head by a boulder. 

"Also, don't touch me, my body already belongs to Shirou, including my tail." 

"…"

"…"

The sound of a palm hitting one's forehead broke the deafening silence, the person responsible being none other than Emiya. 

Ren's soul, which had momentarily left his body, returned as he now glared directly at Emiya. 

"YOU!! It was you who stole Lala from me!!! You bastard!!" 

The idea of Tracing a sword above this new nuisance sounded more and more attractive to the tired and frankly fed up redhead. 

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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, Harry Potter and my 3 other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post monthly commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.