Fate: Bonds Beyond Humanity

Shirou reached the club, it was one of the most well conserved buildings, a dojo of moderate size. Shirou expected the door to be locked considering the time but he opened it.

Once he was inside he saw the leftovers of a party, a banner saying 'Good Luck in Kuoh', cups and bottles. It wasn't much and it wasn't a proper party from what Shirou could see but it was a pre-party.

"They must have gone to sensei's home." Shirou whispers, noting on the table beside the drinks covered sword. It was in a small bag made to carry kendo swords or bats and after turning on the lights he moved to it.

There was a tag with his name on it. "This must be it." Opening it he pulls out the wooden sword.

It was well crafted and made in the style where it could be used as a one hand sword, medium size and slick… It was not a sword for competitions but it was the style he prefered. Someone must have remembered when he said that once.

Shirou studied the sword for a bit until he noticed a tag on the handle, it was like Taiga's-sensei but instead of a tiger it had the symbol of yin and yang stamped. He couldn't understand why.

'Maybe I should go to the party-' The smell of burned earth came back to his nose.

"You took your time leaving the school magus." The voice was of a girl, full of confidence and a bit of arrogance. Shirou turns around and sees her once again, the girl with crimson hair from earlier.

The uniform really was out of place in his school but before he had time to think about it he processed what she said. "Magus? I am sorry but you must be confusing me with someone else."

The girl's smile didn't diminish, if anything it became more pronounced and the smell became stronger. "Are you telling me you can't feel my energy? Then why are you sweating."

With that comment Shirou changed his posture from confused to alert. "What gave me away?" The smell disappeared and she looked at him confused.

"What do you mean? You called me for a contract, magus." Now Shirou was the one confused.

"I am sorry but I don't remember wanting to make a contract." The girl placed a hand on her chin to think but Shirou had his own questions. "Who are you? And how do you know that I am a magus?"

"You felt my energy, it was supposed to be the sign and I was going to wait for you to go to an isolated place for a meeting."

"That… sounds overly complicated."

"Tell me about it!" The girl wasn't shouting but it was almost there. "I mean, the other magus sends a familiar with an obviously modulated voice, tells me that there is a stray devil in this school and then this whole set up when I asked her for a cellphone number." She starts to massage her eyes. "I thought that it was you and that the other magus was a truly skilled detector but apparently you are the better one!"

Shirou gives her a time to rest after the small rant, going to a drinking fountain reserved for members of the club he projects a small cup of plastic since he couldn't find any.

"Feel better?" He offers the cup and she accepts.

"Yes, thanks." She then examines the cup. "You made this?"

"Projected actually. It is something basic for a magus…" Shirou shuts up when he remembers that he shouldn't be talking about it and he didn't know who this girl was.

"Interesting. I always saw the magus as just the researcher you know? Compared to magicians who can use spells from other races and true mages, sorcerers, who can bend the laws of the world with skill and knowledge alone." She then finishes the water and Shirou stops supplying the prana to keep the cup existing, as little as it was.

"Mostly are, but my education was… specialized." Shirou then looks straight into the girl's eyes. "Who are you?"

"Oh. I apologize, I haven't introduced myself yet." The girl then did a courtesy. "My name is Rias Gremory and I am a devil."

Gremory was a name that Shirou knew, his mother had a book that spoke in length of those who carried that name and their similarity. "Gremory? From the Ars Goetia?"

"... You never have met a devil before, have you?" Rias' mirth was paupable on her voice.

"Well… no. But isn't that name a big deal?" She laughs and he just glares a bit.

"...haha, I am sorry. I am sorry. You really sound like the first time that some people summon devils." She controls herself and smiles some more. "You also believe in people too easily, I could be lying about being a devil."

"Why would you lie?" She shrugged at that.

"No idea." Then she unfolds a pair of bat wings on her back. "But just so we have no doubts here. Yes I am a devil and you are a magus. Correct?" He nods and she continues. "Are you sure you aren't the one that summoned me?"

"I don't even know how to do that." He decides to be honest.

"It has to do with these pamphlets." She pulls a piece of paper with a magic circle in it. "You make a wish and either me or one member of my… let's call them my household, comes to grant it if possible."

"Then how you don't know who called you." Rias could just sigh at the question.

"Because that person left a familiar where I showed up…" Rias then looks at Shirou and asks. "Are all magus that paranoid?"

"Don't know many, in my family… well technically there is only my sister and me that are magus and I am not that great of a magus."

"That makes no sense on a lot of levels but… to each their own I suppose." Rias smiles again and asks. "Speaking of family, what is your name?"