1.3 - Friends and Fiends

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Shirou’s body disagreed on the input his brain was sending it so he kept tripping as he tried to keep up. Miso had gotten annoyed with his slow pace and picked him up before racing off.

She hopped across the rooftops while he gave directions to where the source of the danger was coming from.

The two of them stopped at the ledge of a three storey building overlooking a park. The park was boxed in by the road the building 50 meters to the other side and the church to the right. It was an expansive pavement jungle with trees dotted here and there. A basketball court near the playground.

“What is this place?”

“346 W 26th St New York or Penn South Playground.”

Shirou simply nodded not at all noticing her gaze.

When he looked back he saw her disappointed gaze, “What?”

“Nothing. Just-” she murmered to the ground.

Shirou noticed something to his peripheral, “There.” Interrupting her mid-sentence, he pointed to the edge of road where a large gorilla like monster with a goat head and antlers, lumbered through the fence of the court behind a disabled brown haired kid hop walking as fast as he could.

“What is that thing?”

“A Druid? A Fiend? I don’t really know-Oh no!”

“What's wrong?” Shirou said trying to keep an eye on the monster.

“No not that, it’s heading for the church!”

“And why is that an issue?” feeling an inexplicable desire to see it destroyed. As he searched for a weapon.

“Old Man said it was always a place to go if I wanted help. Some of them were also nice to me even if they couldn’t take care of me...” She trailed off as Shirou broke a pipe off the building, and hopped off the edge.

“Then we better kill it quick.”

Strangely the entire park had been deserted, and something of this magnitude out in the open without anyone noticing was strange. Especially with the tall apartment buildings on the other side of the road.

The large tree creature lumbered at a storey tall and about a car’s width wide.

It was a good the monster lumbered at the speed of a stone golem or else the disabled kid would have died.

Shirou callously remarked on his observations within his head as he ran towards the giant lumbering beast with his pipe.

“Hey!” Miso shouted.

The behemoth abruptly stopped before dropping to all fours and turned with such sudden speed it didn't have two seconds prior the both of them were caught off guard. It rammed into the wall of the building she was standing on, ignoring Shirou altogether.

Miso jumped to the building over as it followed her, she tried to keep from going out the area they were in due to the people walking on the sidewalks and the cars which were not too far from where she was.

It was honestly a miracle something this big had made its way through the city without hitting something. Or someone.

Shirou couldn’t follow as it was much to fast, and it was running around like a massive dog as it bounded on top of the building chasing her over the rooftops.

He knew she would start to tire soon so they had to kill it soon and quickly.

“What did you guys do!!” screamed the brown haired kid.

“Nows not the time kid-”

He latched on to him with strength that wasn’t normal for a human kid and Shirou got a good look at him.

“Don't call me kid, my name is Grover!” He had the face of a person in their later twenties, and the air of maturity to match, “Why did you attack!? I had him docile enough and was leading him out of the city to where the parks were!”

Shirou was honestly shocked, but not for being yelled at. Now that he was closer and had a hand on Grover he found that the kid wasn’t a kid.

He wasn’t even human.

“You’re 22!?”

“How did you- Never mind that, get your jumping friend down here and let me calm him down again.” Grover didn’t seem to believe himself even as he said that.

Shirou remained skeptical, “How sure are you about this?” Grover looked conflicted.

“About forty percent...”

He didn't deal with uncertainties, with his friend? With his friend's life on the line, “Alright what else can you do?”

“I can draw its attention and-.”

“Do it.”

“But-”

“I have a plan. You can trust me. “

Grover looked back at the blonde who had been weaving in and out of its legs near the road causing the monster to spin before stopping and slamming its arms on the ground. The small aftershock throwing her off her feet.

Grover realized he had no more time to choose but to leave it to the red haired kid's plan or else the blonde haired one was going to die.

“Trace-” The pipe glowed blue and Shirou’s feet carried him forward as he charged a second before the disabled guy in his twenties began to move.

Grover drew in breath, holding it. Then let loose, “HEY!” releasing a strange guttural cry of challenge.

Shirou didn’t know how it was coming from him but he all he knew was that he could smell the danger emanating from Grover.

It definitely got the Fiend's attention as it turned so fast he barely remembered to finish.

“-On.” A meter from where he was, Shirou could see the Fiend flex power into its hind legs aiming to charge forward when the ground burst and small roots wrapped around its feet.

The roots caused the giant beast off balance, slamming into the ground before getting enough momentum. All its speed hit the ground, bleeding out momentum. Even then it was still pushing itself back into a run.

Shirou knew while it was still level this was his opportunity as he pumped more power into his legs. Instinctively recognizing the muscles wrapped around his ankles were going to be ripped apart. He poured the energy into them stretching to their limit before he crossed the distance and was in front of the Fiend.

Before he knew what he was doing he shoved his pipe through its nose and into its mouth continuing to its spine.

Then he overloaded his weapon causing it to explode.

He was airborne.

The Fiend in immense pain had swung its massive arms throwing him across the pavement and into the church doors.

He slammed into the wall. He couldn’t feel anything, except his ankle which looking at it from his position on the floor, was a bloody mess.

The podium in pieces around him alongside bits of the door which had cushioned him.

The light from the outside was too bright but he could hear something speeding across towards him. Maybe-

The scream of pain told him otherwise as it ran towards him, and fell to a stop. Right on the floor in front of him.

He closed his eyes and began to dream.