Ichigo, Rukia, and Ishida were able to meet up with Urahara and the others safely. They retreated to the Urahara Shoten when an explosion caught their attention.
"What was that?" Ishida asked in surprise.
The others also looked at the direction of the explosion.
Meanwhile, the shady shopkeeper held his hat firmly as he watched the Great Hollow, Menos Grande, get killed in one shot.
"Whoa~ Shirou-kun is amazing. He's able to use the bow like that... I wonder where he learned about it." He commented lightly while smiling under his hat.
"That was Shirou?" Ichigo asked in disbelief, unable to avert his gaze away.
Urahara nodded, affirming his question.
"Urahara, what is he?" Rukia narrowed her eyes and stared intently at Urahara.
Ishida also stared at him intensely. His eyes narrowed dangerously, demanding an answer from the mysterious shopkeeper.
Said man smiled at them both and answered cryptically, "I wonder~ The boy himself said that he is Quincy."
"That's impossible!" Ishida shouted in disbelief, "I'm the last Quincy, and there's no one other than me surviving. Besides, if he's Quincy, that doesn't explain why Kurosaki is a Shinigami!"
"Well, let's just ask him later." Urahara waved his hand dismissively, "You guys go inside. We have some Shinigami to hide from."
***
After killing Menos Grande, Shirou decided to return to his house first to check on his family. He found a black cat perched on the gate in front of his house.
"Yoruichi-san, is my family safe?" Shirou asked, standing in front of the gate, staring at the cat with an expectant expression.
"Yes, they're fine." She flicked her tail and jumped onto his shoulder, "They didn't see anything and just thought that there's something happening in town. Like a gas explosion."
Hearing that, Shirou couldn't help but sigh in relief.
Ideally, he would be the one protecting them, upholding the promise he had to protect his family. But he had another matter to do, protecting his twin brother and his friends.
He couldn't just abandon them.
His ideal, always binding him even when he arrived at the new world, refused to let him go. He needed to save them, he had to protect everyone he cared about.
That was the ideal he lived for all this time.
'I thought I had changed, but I guess it's really hard to do it. I kind of understand why Archer sought the Holy Grail, but if I don't want to end up like him I have to be more careful.'
"Yoruichi-san, can I ask you to keep an eye on this place again? I am worried that my family will get caught up in something I can't see." Shirou asked, his face etched in concern.
He wanted to be the one protecting his family, but he had no choice.
The two Shinigami he saw were still out there aiming for Rukia and Ichigo.
While he could trust Urahara to help them, he didn't know what the shady shopkeeper might do. And besides, the Shinigami was probably stronger than he was, especially the one in a haori.
So, Shirou had to be the one to do something.
"I'll watch them." The cat nodded, purring contentedly as it curled up closer against him.
"You don't need to worry, I won't let them do something that could put you or your family in danger. Hah, Isshin could probably defeat a Hollow right now that his spiritual power slowly returns to him."
"Even so, please be careful."
With that said, he turned around and ran toward Urahara Shop, using his movement technique to dash quickly.
This was the first unexpected trouble that he experienced in this world.
One that shed the normalcy he once had, plunging him into the strange and dangerous world. However, this wasn't his first rodeo. He was no longer the naive boy who knew nothing, a normal high school boy with a dream too big for himself.
Emiya Shirou was a man who knew what it meant to fight, he had seen many lives, many people, many places, and many deaths.
He knew the weight of a weapon, the feeling of death, and the pain of being betrayed. He was not someone who would waver in fear because he faced the unknown.
Holy Grail War had made him familiar with it.
The world where supernatural existed, a fight to death between magus, the Holy Grail, and the miracle that was born from the union of heroes.
A war between seven people with the help of Servants, heroes from the past that were summoned by the Grail and fought to grant the wish of their Masters.
Now he was part of another war. A fight against monsters that ate souls. And those Shinigami that might become an enemy if they wanted to target his precious ones.
Before long, he arrived at Urahara Shoten and entered, finding everyone dining happily and chatting.
"Hey, this curry is good. For a shady shopkeeper, the food he serves is surprisingly great." Ichigo exclaimed.
"Right? It's delicious." Jinta added.
Among them, Urahara spread his fan and laughed loudly.
"Ahaha, I am glad you guys enjoy it."
"Ichigo, can you give me another portion?"
"You, Rukia, how can you eat this much?"
Ichigo, Ishida, Rukia, and the kids were eating with Urahara. They were happily eating together.
After seeing them, tension was lifted from Shirou's shoulders. His frown ceased and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. They seemed safe.
"That smells delicious." He said, approaching them. He had run far to reach here, and the smell of good food was enticing, "Can I join in?"
Everyone stopped their movements and stared at Shirou, eyes widening in surprise.
"Shirou-kun! I didn't hear you come in." The shopkeeper exclaimed cheerily, spreading his fan over his face to cover his grin. "Of course, sit here! Tessai made so much curry, there's a lot more."
"Thank you."
He took the offered seat and immediately got the food served in front of him. He looked around and saw everyone was still staring at him, and so he decided to break the ice.
"What's wrong?"
"Ah, nothing!" Ichigo replied quickly, "It's just that we're worried about you, you know?"
"Is that so? Well, as you can see, I am perfectly fine." He said nonchalantly while eating the food. The curry tasted great. "How's your body? Are you injured? How about you, Kuchiki-san? And Ishida too, you okay?"
The two nodded their heads quickly in unison.
Shirou sighed in relief. "That's good."
"You're acting as if you're our mother." Ichigo commented with a wry smile on his face.
The comment earned him an annoyed glance from his older brother. He ignored it though. It's just a habit, something that he did every time after fighting.
"But, I want to ask you something." Ishida said.
Shirou didn't stop eating the curry when he answered him, "What is it?"
The boy seemed to hesitate at first, glancing at the two children who sat nearby, but decided to voice his question out loud.
"Are you really Quincy?"
Shirou glanced at Urahara and saw the shady shopkeeper only smiling. He couldn't help but sigh at the irresponsibility of that man.
Answering the question was easy, yes. But was that really the case?
Shirou was no longer sure what he was anymore. His body, his magic circuit, was something that was no different than a normal human. His power could be traced back to being a Quincy, he could use their technique, but his origin was different.
Quincy used a bow and arrows created from gathering Reishi while he was using a sword created by unknown method.
A third-rate magus.
A faker.
Still, he wouldn't reject his new origin, not after he had lived his second life with it. Not after it had helped him protect his family, awakening his power to save his new mother and brother.
Traced back, his mother was Quincy. So in that regard, he was a true descendant of Quincy.
Shirou sighed. He didn't know whether he should tell the truth or just lie.
"I am." He finally answered, deciding that lying would only cause more trouble, "My father married a woman that descended from Quincy. I learned about the technique and trained by myself. Well, Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san helped me."
"And what about that thing you used? That bow, it's not a Spirit Weapon or something similar at all." Ishida pressed, pushing his glasses, "And you didn't use any cross to create it. It's just there."
'Cross?'
This time Shirou was confused. He knew about the Quincy Cross from his mother, even showed one, but never said anything about using it to create a weapon. In fact, he thought it was something that served no other purpose than an insignia of the clan.
What was Ishida talking about?
"I don't know what-"
Clap!
"Now, now. Save the talk for later or the curry will go cold. I don't think Tessai will be happy to see leftovers." Urahara clapped his hands together to interrupt them, "You should finish your food first and rest. Your family must've been worried sick. Right, Ishida-kun?"
"..."
Ishida didn't reply and continued to stare at Shirou. He wanted to say something but then decided against it and turned to his food.
It wasn't like he was afraid of the large man looking at them while clutching a stool menacingly.
Feeling that he was saved from some trouble, Shirou sighed in relief and continued eating.
***Chapter End***
Unique Quincy, indeed!
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