DxD : Emiya Shirou

It was there but for an instant, a flash of colour that was gone just as quickly as it had appeared, disappearing back again into the shifting tides of the crowd.

The glimpse I caught of it was too short for me to identify the source. But it was enough, I didn't need a second glance to know who it was. There was only one person I knew who had that particular shade of red.

It had barely been a couple of minutes since the first of the morning classes had ended and already the hallways were jam-packed, filled with the bodies of both students and parents alike.

Their footsteps filled the background with a never ending beat, intermixing with the sound of their chatter as they created a symphony of noise that could be found anywhere that large groups of people gathered.

Normally the corridors would have been empty at this time as everyone rushed to get to their next class but in consideration to all the families visiting today, the school decided to shorten the lessons to half their usual time, allowing the parents a chance to interact with their children and their teachers.

I had been walking through the crowds looking for Ilya, my height advantage allowing me to look over the heads of both the students and parents with ease as I searched for her. It was then that I had caught sight of that familiar crimson-red hair.

I didn't bother to confirm my suspicion, there was no way it could have been anyone else, not with my luck. So instead of continuing down the corridor, and closer to him, I turned back around and frantically started to look for a place to hide in.

I knew I had to get away now before he saw me, so when I finally spotted a possible hiding place, I did not hesitate. I lunged for door of the janitor closet, leaping towards it like a hero from some action movie diving for cover, moving as fast as I could without breaking human limits.

The moment my hand touched the handle, I yanked it down and pulled the door open before quickly slamming it shut behind me when I slipped in an instant later.

Turning around, I backed away from the door until I hit a wall, making sure to keep both eyes on it, looking for any sign of him coming in after me. However, the door remained motionless, and other than the noise of the crowds spilling into the room and the rhythmic pounding of my heart racing in my chest, I could hear nothing else.

After a tense minute passed, followed by a second minute and still nothing happened, I finally allowed myself to believe I've gotten away. Releasing a breath I didn't even realize I was holding, I relaxed, my whole body slouching in relief.

Still, even though it looked like I got away without being spotted I decided to stay put for the time being. While it was only a small chance, it was better to safely wait here for a little while longer just in case he was still wandering around out there. And it was then, just as I was settling in for the wait, that I noticed that I wasn't the only one in here.

"Yamato-Sensei?" I gaped at my balding chemistry teacher. He was pressing his back flat along one of the walls of the room, squeezing his eyes shut in some apparent childish attempt to remain hidden from view. "What are you doing in here?"

"Emiya?" He opened his eyes and blinked in surprise a couple of times before pushing himself off from the wall and peering blindly around him. "Emiya, is that you?" It took me a moment to realize he was having trouble seeing me in the darkness of the closet.

"Yes, it's me Sensei." I made sure to raise my voice as I answered so that he could tell where I was.

"Oh, thank god." I watched as the normally jolly teacher slumped forward in relief. "Don't scare me like that Emiya. My heart isn't as young as it used to be anymore."

"Sorry Sensei, I didn't know anyone else was in here." And wasn't that the truth. Yamato-sensei was a rather eccentric teacher compare to most but he a good one and well like among the student body. But for all of his oddities I never thought I'd ever find him cowering in a janitor closet. Even for him that was more than a little unusual. "Sensei, if you don't mind asking, what are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to wipe the sweat off his brow. "I'm hiding from Shitori-san."

"Shitori?" That name sounded oddly familiar but I had trouble placing it, and it took me a second to recognize where I heard it before. "Wait, you mean Sona?" I question and the teacher nodded in return.

Shitori was apparently the Japanese version of Sitri. Sona believed it would help her blend in better if she had a native sounding name and altered her clan name so that is both sounded Japanese and can be spelled with Japanese characters.

Still, even though I figured who he was taking about his answer did nothing but confused me even more than I already was. What does Sona have to do with all of this?

"Why are you hiding from – oh!" Catching sight of a brown stain on the front side of his shirt, I started putting the pieces together in my head. "You spilled some coffee on your shirt again didn't you?"

Now things are beginning to make more sense. Sona has always been a stickler for the rules and tended to enforce them with an iron fist. And if what I had seen was anything to go by, she was even stricter with the teachers than students as I had quickly discovered since my arrival.

Almost from the very first day I was here I could tell that the teachers were absolutely terrified of her. Now that I think about it, this isn't the first time I've seen a teacher leap in terror into a janitor closet when they see her walking in their direction.

Really though, aren't they taking things a little bit too far? I never understood why they were so scared of Sona. If they wanted to meet a teenage girl they can rightfully feel terrified of I could just introduce them to an angry Rin. Or Ilya for that matter. Sona was a teddy bear compared to Ilya when she has one of her temper tantrums.

"Yes, yes I did. Sitri-san's reprimands are rather harsh on a normal school day. If she spots me like this when there are parents about she'll be furious." He froze for a second, blinking a couple of times before he peered intently up at me.

"Hmmm, you must have remarkably good eyes Emiya. It's so dark in here that I can barely even tell you're there but you had no trouble spotting a stain on my shirt. Remarkably good eyes indeed."

This was one of the reasons why Yamato was so well liked. Other than his amiable personality, he was also ridiculously sharp at times. "Chalk it up to good genetics, Sensei. I've always had good eyesight for as long as I could remember."

Fortunately he decided to drop the topic, as he backed off and looked around. "And you? What are you doing in here Emiya? I don't believe it's normal for students to hide in closets, unless it's some kind of new trend that I've yet to hear about."

"Hiding from a family member of one the students. I have a, I guess you can call it an unusual relationship with him and would rather avoid making a scene."

"Say no more my boy, I understand." He nodded knowingly. "I have seen my share of fights break out between students during my time as a teacher, and there is no shame in hiding if it means avoiding trouble."

"Like you're doing right now Sensei?" I pointed out.

Instead of taking offence, Yamato just cheerfully laughed. "Exactly Emiya, exactly. Now, I'll tell you what." He leaned forward and motioned me to the same.

"I'll make a deal with you," he whispered in a quiet voice, even though there was no one in here that could overhear us, "how about we keep this little incident between you and me. You don't tell anyone you found me in here and I'll do the same for you. Deal?"

"Deal." I nodded back, more out of amusement than any real need to keep my presence here a secret.

"Good, good." He cheered out while leaning back. "Now how about we take a look outside and see if our pursuers have left, shall we?"

Yamato then walked up to the door and slowly cracked it open, just an inch, before peeking out through the gap. Apparently finding nothing to be concerned about, he widened the gap and stuck is head out. A moment later he pulled his head back in and turned to me.

"Looks like the coast is clear Emiya. I'll be heading on now. I expect I'll to see you in class later on. And remember, keep this just between the two of us."

"I will Sensei. See you in class."

Then with a cheerful wink goodbye he was gone, slipping through the door and blending seamlessly with the crowds outside.

The moment I was sure he was gone and out of hearing range I broke down laughing. Really, it was amazing how many bizarre situations I kept on finding myself in. Sometimes I wonder whether this whole universe had always been this insane or was there just something about me that made the world go crazy the moment I had arrived.

Then again, I don't recall anything like this happening to me before Serafall brought me into this world, so I guess there was just something about this universe that made all of it's inhabitants act crazy.

After the fire, except for my studies in Magecraft, I had a completely normal life until the start of the Holy Grail War, with nothing particularly odd or unusual occurring. Not like my life has been since I got here.

I mean here I have a school filled with Devils and teachers hiding from their students in closets, while back home my old school was completely run of the mill ordinary. It was made up of completely normal teachers and student.

Well, expect for my social studies teacher who turned out to be an emotionless assassin that was trained from childhood to become the ultimate killing machine in human form and had the raw skills to match Servants in combat.

And then there was Rin who was the heir for one of the oldest family of magus in Japan and a skilled genius in the art of magecraft to boot, talented enough become one of the greatest magi of her generation.

And there was Shinji of course. And…and…and holy crap it was me! It was me wasn't it? This world isn't crazy, it just happens to go crazy around me. Does this mean that all the insane stuff that's been happening around me is my fault? That normal people don't have to go through all the crap I have to do all time?

I… I don't know how should I feel about that. Does this mean I am some kind of trouble magnet? Or am I just the source of all chaos and madness in the world the same way that Angra Mainyu is the source of all evil? Is that why magical girl Devils and cross-dressing vampires keep popping up, because of me?

Stunned by that revelation, I blankly walked out of the open door of the janitor closet, shutting the door behind as I left the room in pure reflex, and joined the crowds of wandering students. And it was then, lost in my thoughts as I pondered this possibility, that I made my mistake.

If I hadn't been so engrossed in my own thoughts, I might have noticed the footsteps that were quickly approaching me from behind. If only I hadn't been so amused by Yamato-Sensei's behavior I might have realized that he didn't know who I was hiding from and thus could not have possibly known if he was still lurking outside.

But I didn't, and by the time I realized what was happening it was already too late. I was caught.

A pair of arms encircled me from behind, far stronger than limbs had any right to be, trapping my arms to my side as they closed around me before lifting me straight off my feet.

"Queenie!" The owner of the arms called out from behind.

It was a rather cheerful voice, one filled with genuine warmth and joy as it spoke to me. It was also a voice that I learned to utterly loathe over the last several months.

Damn it all to hell. "Hello, Sirzechs." I muttered out in a completely emotionless tone, knowing better than to try and fight his hold. I was so close to getting away too. "Could you please put me down?"

"No," Instead the arms hugged me even tighter, "it's been so long since we've last seen each other and I missed you."

I resisted the urge to sigh, knowing it will just encourage him, and tilted my head back so I could get a better look at him. "I'd tell you to go to Hell Sirzechs but I fear you'd feel right at home there."

"Oh come on," The fully-grown man pouted like a petulant child, but I didn't buy it for second, not with the way his aqua-blue eyes glimmered with amusement, "don't be like that. I know you missed me too."

"Like a heart attack." I deadpanned and, to my growing ire, the Devil just laughed.

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