"Urahara!"
While Shirou stared blankly at the newly arrived person, Isshin shouted while Yoruichi raised her eyebrow slightly as acknowledgment to his arrival.
"Took you a long time!" Isshin complained, frowning. "So it's indeed a reishi construct like Quincy's bow?"
"That's correct," Urahara said calmly before turning his head towards Shirou. "The young lad over there has potential. In terms of latent talent, he exceeds the quincies' bloodline inherited through the generations."
A compliment, Shirou noted. However, it sounded empty considering it came from someone he had just met.
At least he should wait till the conversation reached somewhere interesting.
However, his father's expression suddenly turned worried upon hearing the compliment as if he understood hidden meanings behind Urahara's statement.
Power meant trouble. Even on Earth and Magus society, having more power didn't mean he could escape responsibility. Worse, if it attracted unwanted attention to him and those around him...
'Don't even think about it.'
Shirou reminded himself that the best way to survive peacefully is to avoid troublesome situations. This includes not drawing too much attention to himself, staying under the radar and keeping a low profile.
But then again, sometimes trouble had an uncanny habit of finding those who sought peace and quiet above everything else.
"What makes me wonder is that he created a sword and not a bow like usual Quincy." The man, Urahara Kisuke, opened a fan and covered half his face. "Say, boy. Can you also make a bow?"
"I can." Shirou replied.
Creating bows wouldn't be difficult at all for an archer.
Especially Shirou, since he actually possessed Archer's experience and his armory of weapons. He let go of the sword and made it disappear before tracing the bow he was familiar with.
A black bow created from unknown material. It had accompanied Archer in his journey as a Counter Guardian. It materialized as he uttered his usual words.
"Wow." Urahara whistled admiringly. "Impressive."
"A sword and a bow..." Isshin noted with a hint of nervousness. "Hey, Kisuke... You aren't thinking of something dangerous like recruiting him, are you?"
"Oh no," Urahara denied. "It's only my observation. Besides, I'd be scared if a Shinigami captain comes here to punish me for using child labor."
Another new word, shinigami. Shirou wondered what that meant. A reaper?
The air grew tense between these two adults, making Shirou uncomfortable. Thankfully, the tension diffused almost immediately afterwards as Urahara shrugged casually.
The conversation continued as the man called Urahara asked a few questions to Isshin which he answered as concisely as possible.
Afterwards, they both shared information related to Masaki's loss of power and the mysterious sudden increase of Hollow activity in this city.
It involved something about her Quincy clan losing most of their power due to certain circumstances and that someone planned to attack Karakura town.
'But what is the connection between mom's loss of power and this sudden increase of Hollows?'
Something was strange here. However, the answers weren't available to him since neither Isshin nor Urahara discussed further.
After the conversation had ended, silence fell between the two. As they stared intently at each other, Urahara broke the silence by pointing out the important points.
"Kurosaki Shirou, is it?" Urahara looked straight into Shirou's eyes.
"I can't give you a proper answer until we discover what exactly is going on. However, your ability is genuine. It's unique in nature, yes, but nothing that should be feared off. Please don't hesitate to ask me anything you're curious about. But don't try to fight any hollow, not yet. You're still too young and inexperienced."
Although he wanted to retort back that he'd faced worse enemies than hollows, because seriously, the hollow paled in comparison to Heroic Spirits, but decided against it after thinking carefully about how it might sound to others if he did so.
And so he merely nodded in understanding.
"Great." The green and white striped hat-wearing man said as he stood up and stretched his arms. "Now then... If you want to train, feel free to come to this store. I don't know much about Quincy, but I can make a safe environment to train in."
Shirou looked at his father.
"It's okay, Shirou." He got a nod of confirmation from Isshin. "This man is strange but you can trust him."
"Wow, Kurosaki-san! How can you call me strange? My tears won't stop flowing if I hear that from you!" Urahara dramatically wiped fake tears from his eyes.
"Ignore him." Yoruichi sighed tiredly. "He's always like that."
"Yes! Now let's eat! Tessai made dango!" Urahara excitedly exclaimed. "Today is my treat!"
'This adult... acting like children.'
Sometimes it was hard for him to believe whether these people were reliable. Yet, he had seen someone who acted like a child but could be reliable when needed. He wondered how she was doing without him.
'Sakura will take care of her better than I do.' With a faint smile, Shirou tried to reassure himself.
***
After the revelation of his mother's power, Shirou's days changed slightly.
Everyday, after school, he visited Urahara Shoten to learn about his abilities from the owner.
For example, Reiatsu was the basic terminology that referred to spiritual energy. Those with high level of spiritual power were more attuned to supernatural activities.
Things like seeing ghostly apparition, supernatural beings, and monsters that devoured souls.
According to Isshin and Kisuke, Shirou carried exceptional reiatsu in his body, more than the usual Quincy or Shinigami.
'Too much spiritual power draws unnecessary attention. Keep it low and stead. Don't stand out.' He concluded.
Mages preferred to blend in with normal people. He learnt the necessity for secrecy early from Tohsaka. Thus, Shirou often suppressed his own power while being observant to his surroundings.
Even the smallest detail could decide life or death in battlefields and Magecraft world.
So he learned how to suppress his reiatsu from Yoruichi in Urahara Shoten for a few months. He didn't learn how to fight yet, only hiding his presence. The lady told him not to learn about fighting yet, saying it would attract too many monsters.
'Might as well continue my practice alone, just like usual.' He thought inwardly.
Such were Kurosaki Shirou's thoughts as he lived a peaceful life, going to school everyday, training in the shady shop, eating dinner with family, and sleeping in bed.
Years quickly passed by.
During that time, Shirou could see growth happening to him. He grew taller, his limbs strengthened and muscles developed. His facial features became sharper. Most of the girls in his school complimented his handsome appearance.
Shirou paid them no heed, however. Not when his brain was filled with swords.
If his friend heard it, surely they'd be laughing. Even worse...
"These girls are annoying."
Walking beside Shirou wearing gray high school uniform was Ichigo who grumbled complaints non-stop. His twin brother had also grown with him, although slightly taller and leaner than him.
"Hahaha..." Shirou laughed awkwardly while scratching his cheek.
He sympathized with his orange-haired brother.
Despite all of the troubles, he appreciated being able to spend time with family. Having been here for 18 years now, he began to regard them more like his real family. All the experiences he experienced with them since then formed a sense of attachment in him.
'It's great.'
Their peaceful life was interrupted sometimes by hollows appearing to devour souls nearby. Even though there was usually a black-robed figure with a sword patrolling the area, the situation worsened recently.
'They'll be fine. These Shinigami did their job properly.'
Shirou had learned many things in the past year from Urahara and Yoruichi. He was now used to the strangeness of Kamakura City and learned how to ignore them completely.
Though there were still occasional occurrences involving ghostly creatures revolving around them.
As they walked to the school together, a voice called out to them.
"Kurosaki-kun!"
Stopping in their tracks, both Kurosaki turned around to see a brown-haired girl holding a bag full of bread running toward them while waving her hand.
"Yahoo!"
"Inoue." Ichigo greeted her with a slight nod.
Inoue Orihime, a girl in their class. A gentle soul, she had become good friends with Ichigo and Shirou.
Ichigo liked to help those in need whenever they came across one, just like Shirou. As such, he often got dragged into all sorts of trouble.
One day, they helped Inoue from a group of delinquents harassing her. Since then, they became friends and she always hung out with them.
"Ah, I forgot." She gasped and stopped before us. "Good morning, Ichigo-kun, Shirou-kun!"
She smiled brightly and greeted cheerfully. Both brothers couldn't help but smile back at her.
"Good morning." They greeted her together.
"Hmhm! Here!"
Out of the blue, Inoue handed her bag to Ichigo. Curious, he took it hesitantly. Opening it revealed bread. A lot of red bean buns and other baked goods stuffed within the small space.
"I got it from the bakery. Share it with your family, okay?" She winked.
"Thanks..."
"No problem! Ah! We gotta go fast, or we're gonna be late! Come on, hurry up, both of you!"
She started running ahead of them, leaving them behind. Realizing their situation, the Kurosaki siblings hurried to catch up to her pace.
"Wait for us, Inoue!"
They ran to school while trying to keep up with the hyperactive Orihime.
*** Chapter end ***
Our boy grew up! As a parent, I can't help but be happy.
And yeah, he trained. This is cheating, totally cheating!
However, as you know, Shirou grow faster in battle, especially when he's against Archer in Holy Grail War.
But maybe, maybe he's stronger than his past self now? Only he knows! And maybe next chapter.