Shirou Emiya, the third-year student of Kuoh High, the man who is unknowingly ranked at the top of Kuoh High's most desired men alongside Yuuto Kiba by the female population, and secretly, a Magus, did not know whether to laugh or cry as he stared at the phone shoved into his face.
"You see this!? Are you jealous yet? Senpai? Are you? Because Motohama and Matsuda were really jealous for sure."
Shirou turned at the mention of those names, spotting said duo squatting at the back of the club room, where they glared daggers with curses on their lips despite being glared at by the female population around them.
'How did I end up in this situation?'
It was supposed to be an ordinary day after the groundbreaking crash course on supernatural history he had with Zelretch last night. A much needed peace of daily routine to take his mind off the colossal headache shoved on him abruptly by the immortal magus.
However, somehow, the moment he walked into the archery club room after classes were over, Issei Hyoudou darted over like a man possessed and shoved his phone into his face.
It was only the fact that Shirou was subtly signalling the others that kept Issei from being pounded into the ground by the group of girls for trying to taint their 'innocent' senpai.
The glares alone would be enough for most men to cover and run with their tails between their legs. Unfortunately, the perverted trio had long since developed a thick skin and ignored those glares with practiced ease.
Shirou looked at the photo in the phone, spotting the girl who looked just like any other Japanese beauty. With long black hair and violet eyes similar to Akeno Himejima.
Shirou smiled wryly and placed a hand on Issei's shoulder.
"Issei. While I am glad that you are not spending time on something as scandalous as peeping on the girls, I must remind you."
Shirou's eyes became half-lidded as his expression became neutral, followed by the pressure on Issei's shoulder increasing severalfold while Shirou's hand dug into his body.
"Taking pictures of girls without their permission is wrong. If you go down this route, I assure you, you will find truly unpleasant retribution coming for you-"
Issei Hyoudou's panic went into full blown histeria under the scary gaze of his senior.
"Wait! Wait! Its not what you think! This is my girlfriend! Amano Yuuma-chan! I took her picture after she gave me permission, I swear!!"
That finally broke Shirou out of his anger and made him stare at the boy with a dumbfounded look, a look shared by the rest of the club members who stared at Issei as if they saw a ghost in broad daylight.
Shirou's face morphed to one of concern as he placed his palm on Issei's forehead.
"I don't feel any temperature. Maybe a concussion? Did you hit your head or something?"
Shirou held up two fingers in front of Issei's eyes.
"How many fingers am I holding up? Do you feel anything strange? Are you seeing things where there shouldn't be anything?'
Somehow, Issei felt at a loss at Shirou's concerned look, a feeling that increased several-fold when he spotted the pitying and worried looks on the faces of the girls around them.
Finally, his brain caught up with what was happening, and he finally exploded.
"Fuck you! Emiya! Yuuma-chan really is my girlfriend! And we really are going on a date this week! You are just jealous that I have a girlfriend and you don't, despite being a handsome bastard!"
Issei ran out of the club without turning back while Motohama and Matsuda took the chance to escape as well, intending to spread some 'good' rumors about their bestie for this 'betrayal'.
However, Shirou still felt very confused about this situation.
'Now that I think about it, why did he even come to me to speak about his girlfriend? Is it really just to show off? And Amano? Isn't that the same name as Yae?'
Shirou turned to stare at Amano Yae, the president of the archery club, and tried to compare her face with this Yuuma that Issei showed him.
The facial features, the eye color, and the general demeanor, it all felt similar to the photo.
"Hey, Amano"
"Yeah!? What is it, President ~?"
At Shirou's annoyed look, she giggled a bit before walking towards him.
"Fine, fine. What is it? Shirou-kun?"
"Do you have a sister or relative called Amano Yuuma?"
Yae shook her head.
"Nope. I am an only child, and so was my dad. The Amano family only consisted of me, my parents, and my grandparents on my dad's side before they passed away long ago."
She gained a thoughtful look.
"Is this about that girl that Hyoudou claims to be his girlfriend?"
"Yeah. She looks eerily similar to you and has the same family name. I thought you would know something about it."
Yae shrugged her.
"It could be a coincidence. I mean, Amano is not exactly a common name, but it is still not that rare a family name, right?"
"...True. Anyways, thanks for the info."
"Anytime ~"
With that, the girl went back to her friends and rejoined whatever gossip they were discussing, while Shirou stared at the entrance of the club, lost in thought.
'I don't think I have ever heard of anyone called Amano Yuuma in the neighborhood. Based on her apparent age and interest in Hyoudou, I guess she should be a high school student as well. And given that there are only two High Schools in this town and that Yae has not heard about her, which is literally impossible given that girl's nature as a gossip queen, she must be from my old school.'
'Looks like I need to reach out to some old friends from Homurahara to look into this girl.'
Truthfully, Shirou could not care less about who dates whom and who shares what relationship.
However, when it comes to Issei Hyoudou, Shirou always paid some special attention to the boy ever since he enrolled in this school.
For some reason, Shirou always felt that something was wrong with the boy.
He did not feel any different from any other human, so he could not be a phantasmal in hiding, like the girls in his class and a few other students in the building. (and wasn't that a surprise for him, to find out that he was sharing a school with literal Devils hiding within humanity).
Issei Hyoudou did not feel any different from any regular human.
And yet, Shirou's instincts screamed at him to be cautious of the boy. A feeling that a few weapons within his reality marble agreed with, if the way some of them reacted to Issei's presence was anything to go by.
That was why Shirou was so invested in looking into this Amano Yuuma person.
If Issei Hyoudou had some kind of potential hidden within him, something that even he, as a third-rate Magus, felt. Then there was no doubt that the phantasmals of this world, which were still in the Age of Gods, would have also sensed this wrongness.
And given what he knew about the alien thought process of most phantasmals, Issei Hyoudou, and by extension, the school and its students, which included Shirou, could be in danger. This, by extension, meant that this whole incident could be a threat to his family through him.
Shirou sighed and shook his head before heading out, not even bothering to join the club activities for the day, and heading towards the Junior High section to pick up Illya.
The thought of his little sister and the shenanigans that she got caught up with recently once again made Shirou sigh heavily in exhaustion.
'Seriously, I think we need to invent a new rank below the E rank, because clearly, my luck has long since surpassed the E rank and fallen even lower with the way things are going right now.'
Of course, Shirou's bad luck streak kept up as she was told that his sister had already left to chase after a new transfer student called Miyu. A name that made Shirou sigh for the hundredth time that day.
As for said girls, they were having a rather interesting conversation in the park near the Junior High division.
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Author Notes: Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/Ruijard1