Tobi looked at him in concern, "Well good luck. Hopefully with your ‘main character status’ you’re in her class.” Tobi remarked, “Do you remember her at all? All I got are some weird memories until I saw Rin and everything just clicked in place for me." He said as he followed me.

  More memories flooded Roy as he made his way down the stairs, Taiga was his homeroom teacher and the names of his classmates who he was certain he had never met before.

  Sakura was also a student here and she works in student clinic... what's the word for that? He didn’t think it was ‘nurse’. He remembered her tinkering with what looked like a laser gun but he could be wrong and it was just something fixed the plumbing.

  Roy replied, "You shouldn’t be assuming that we’re the main character right away. Especially when we have enough spiky hair between the two of us." Roy walked down the stairs and straight to where he was certain Taiga was at the moment. The Teacher’s Lounge. Roy continued, "It’s more likely we're only side characters. But there is a way to change that."

  "Taiga! I challenge you to a duel!" And thus plot. That wouldn’t immediately kill him. He wasn’t going to deal with ghosts until he had himself a ghost sword. If he couldn’t be sure about anything the best way forward was to at the very least get his mind off it and simultaneously cause a butterfly effect and hope for the best.

  "DON'T CALL ME TIGER!" Brandishing a shinai Taiga lunged at you before you could react and attempting to smack Roy in the head who blocked it but the sheer force made his arms numb.

  "ALRIGHT, YOU. ME. DOJO. NOW." She then marched off to the Dojo.

  "Well, that is a way to go about things" From a distance Tobi watched the chaos happened, as people started to whisper about the upcoming match. He watched and listed all the people coming out of their classrooms in droves to see the beat down.

  Few moments later, Tobi found the Taiga and Roy at the school dojo with Bamboo swords in hand. An intense face off between teacher and student, both wore Kendo armor for protection.

  "A tiger is a wonderful fluffy creature of awesome. Why would you not want to be called one?" Roy used taunt and compliment.

  "Compliments will get you nowhere," A dark aura surrounded her and you could feel the murderous intent all coming from her and the tiger strap on her Shinai.

  His hopes she would be confused had been dashed.

  Roy had seen kendo matches of that level before, he didn’t even bother to pretend he was going to win. What he knew was she would have a certain pattern of movements and her instincts were really good. He would have to make the prediction of his one move based off her stance. She looked mad enough for a simple overhead strike.

  Roy wasn’t any sort of master, but what he needed to do was be remembered.

  She lunged and thrust her Shinai, "I will not hold back!" She wasn’t even attempting any kind of cautious step, probably didn’t expect anything of him.

  He didn’t either. He made a pre-planned move to follow through even if he were to lose. The plan: Feint twice and go for a powerful swing.

  Suddenly he remembered old words of wisdom, “Blades are pointless when broken.”

  Switching direction immediately Taiga went for an overhead smash.

  He backed up immediately dodging her swing, clapping his hands and grasping the Shinai in his hands, parrying the next strike of her’s at full force which she met with all her strength.

  He heard a distinctive crask along hers. She noticed and adjusted.

  He knew there was something there, I just needed to grasp it.

  Distracted he didn't notice that Taiga had changed her stance with minimal movement. Soon Roy had lost his grip on that "understanding" and quickly fell behind in the fight as she knocked him out of the ring.

  "VICTORY!" Holding her broken weapon in the air she let out a large victory cry which got all the students joining in.

  "Here," Tobi appeared behind Roy and held him up while the rest of the students were busy holding Taiga up in the air and throwing her around. She was lapping it up and she laughed.

  ‘Damn’, he had been close to an understanding there. The answer to what was happening had been in that fight. If he had just a second more...

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  She then jumped down to walk to them, "Great match. But kendo isn't about strength it’s about finding the right moment to strike. Sometimes even faking that for other opponents." Seeing as she had won with a broken bamboo sword it wasn’t exactly wrong. Power wasn’t all there was.

  Roy took in her words, "Thanks for the match Teach." He really was, it had given him insight there was more to that met the on his existence here.

  There had also been the second fruitfulness he hadn’t expected the gathering of many of the students here he had been scanning the sea of faces taking in the odd ones out. Spotting what looked to potential characters of importance.

  "Could I ask for tips later on Teach?"

  She seemed happy and accepted.“Your attacks were not all useless” she mentioned.

  “Hmm?”

  “You did break my shinai.”

  Roy looked at her, “I don’t think that means anything.”

  She was about to reply when someone else walked in, "What is all this Ruckus!" A familiar and dreadful voice rang out sending a chill up your spine.

  Everyone stood still and even Taiga stood frozen with some sweat dripping down her brow. "Fujimura sensei what are you doing taking students outside their class room, do you not have a transfer student to introduce today"

  He was dressed differently but both Tobi and Roy recognized that person, he did not have any malicious intent but held up more of a questioning interrogative stance.

  Kotomine Kirei was here.

  "I challenged her to a duel because I was thinking of joining the kendo club. Now we’re going back."

  Roy quickly pushed Taiga along and out the door along with Tobi, "Don't worry we'll be on our way." Why was he here, wasn’t he supposed to be brooding up in the Chapel with his frat boyfriend blonde McFraud?

  "See that it does not happen again," Kotomine attempted to bore his eyes into their existence causing Tobi dread, "Now continue on to you classes everyone or I will put penalties on you all." His last comment made everyone rush out back to their classes.

  +++

  “So… since you put a huge death flag on yourself for everyone to witness, I am going to see if anything has changed or something. You go to class you’ll be safe there at least”

  “Better than being collateral, and you should see the number of death flags on Emiya. He turns out...I see what you mean.” He paused before shrugging, “It’ll be fine.”

  Tobi left to go explore the rest of the school, Roy, on the other hand, followed Taiga back to class.

  Having sat down he tried to think of his next move.

  "Good now that everyone is here, let's welcome our new transfer student,” the door slid open and a person clad in red regal clothing walked in.

  "Thank you Fujimura Sensei," A measured tone responded to her and everyone's attention was on that person.

  He looked to be wearing a waiter’s waistcoat with a red suit and pants drawn over them. The black gloves he wore gave the appearance he was ready for combat, even with open lazy he stood. with had blond hair and piercing green eyes. By the looks of the class he had a charisma that was just drawing people but to Roy, there was something off about him.

  "Allow me to introduce myself, tough out time is short I look forward to our time together" With a flourish of his hand, he waved to the class.

  "My name is Leonard B. Harway, the future ruler of this world," he felt like someone who was cosplaying bit too hard. Roy tried to remember where he was from because it certainly wasn’t Fate Stay or Grand Order.

  Where was he from? Clearly, he was at a plot point.

  The students around him asked the new student questions as the class continued. Questions ranging from his personal life to actual questions about the lessons.

  Roy dismissed him because it was clear he wasn’t going to have the chance to interrogate him, not that he would be considering he didn’t have powers and the walking, talking, plot device looked like a magus. The lunatic Satanists, with a hard-on for torture, while trying to keep it classy. Blondie had gotten the last bit down, Roy wasn’t psyched about testing the former.

  With each question answered a certain blue-haired boy got angrier and angrier.

  Roy considered punching him. But the blue-haired stuck up idiot could be a good person in this world.

  Maybe, Roy wondered, he could talk to Shinji, after throwing him out the window.

  "Hey, shi-nji how are you?" That was polite.

  "Oh? Who’s asking," With an arrogant smile he turned to you so quickly, "Have you come to ask the great Shinji Matou a question?" Shinji taking notice of him, "Oh. It’s just you Roy. Here to ask me about that show-off Harway." his smile turning brittle and hostile.

  "Partially yeah."

  "Look at him.." Shinji goes on a long rant about how much better he was than Leo, as the one-sided conversation goes on Roy learned to tune him out paying attention when he seemed to be talking about something important.

  Shinji and Leo were two completely different characters they were as far apart as night and day.

  Leo was polite, ‘thoughtful’ and fully engages when someone is talking to him but he had this light unattached. It was not arrogant only that he held this impression that it was his duty to take care of people which not forced but felt off.

  Shinji was on the opposite end of the spectrum, from all you could hear from his rant you pieced together that he was just the same self-absorbed idiot he was in the normal fate series. Only he felt real the emotions may have been selfish and self-absorbed but they felt real compared to Leo.

  "Today's class is over everyone do your homework" Taiga gave an energetic shout as she closed a book she was holding.

  Class soon ended and Leo stood up walking to the teacher desk.

  "Even though it was a short while I must regret to inform you that it is time for me to leave, it was an intriguing experience living as a normal student. I shall remember you all as I ascend to the end."

  " As long as you get me a lifetime supply of mango ice cream."

  "Ahh Roy was it, regretfully I do not think you will live a long for me to fulfill that wish. However since I have did not get the chance to converse with you, why don't you come to the next stage. I have a feeling that we would meet once more"

  With those ominous words Leo left.

  He's going to die. He raises death flags with every step.

  "My dream of ice cream will remain unfulfilled..."

  Walking around Roy talked to some passing students getting whatever information he could scrounge up, where did Tobi go he wonder.

  He came across a really scary guy, or should I say he exuded some kind of presence something that made me want to fight him on instinct. but knowing his inexperience with actual fighting, Roy concluded that he would probably lose in 2.3 seconds.