Rest of April
I slowly got used to my routine of nightly activities and even started to make a name for myself as the Steel-Eyed Raven, or at least that's what they called me. I even got a bounty put on my head by the police department for 2000 Yen, asking for any information from its citizens on me and to call it in when they see me. The fallout from my annihilation of the Dragon gang put the fear of God into the criminals of Fuyuki, which made it much harder to find crimes to stop.
Of course, that didn't stop me as I just spent a night breaking into the police station to find their files on known criminal elements and trace them so I have a copy on hand at all times. After that, I sneakily made my way to the armory and altered the door to give me access to all their weapons. I had a great time tracing everything and got myself a few pieces of heavy duty gear, must have called this stuff in after the Fourth Grail War.
May
I spent my time this month furthering my practice with Alteration and experimenting with Reinforcement to see if I could pull off a mana burst. I also bought a goddamn bed and my back thanked me for that consideration with no back pain. Of course, Fuji-nee questioned me on the purchase when I could have just asked her family for one instead, I saw the truth in her words and let her know I'll do that next time.
My relationship with Sakura deepened this month as we got closer and spent more time hanging out and talking about our future interests. I noticed how she would always look subdued when I asked her about her dreams, which only made me deepen my resolve in saving her after my fight with CG EMIYA.
Back to the topic of practice, I seem to have hit a breakthrough with alteration as I was now able to alter things a lot easier and even change my weapons into pieces of armor on the fly. I used this new breakthrough by projecting knives and turning them into knuckle dusters and armor pieces for the back of my hand.
June
I practiced enough with alteration and reinforcement that I started crafting my own costume, something that would give me identity. It was slow going as this was uncharted territory, but I was able to make armored footwear and combat pants similar to the ones CG EMIYA was wearing in the grail war. I removed the heels from the footwear and kept them more flat like normal footwear and removed the belts on the legs as they felt uncomfortable and unnecessary.
The pants were made from altered kevlar, bulletproof glass, and leather while the footwear had it's soles altered to make less sound with the combination of acoustic foam and the armored parts of the footwear were an altered mix of iron and bulletproof materials, all altered to be lighter without losing any armored effectiveness. The materials were supplied by the Fujimura family and an interested Raiga who most likely knew what it was for because of my dad.
I intergrated the pants and footwear into my night activities and became more confident in fighting without reinforcement of my clothes and let my costumed legs block blades for better openings. Seeing the success of my pants and footwear, I jumped into making a chest piece with great fervour, using a combination of steel, iron, kevlar, twaron, and nylon to create the chest piece of Archer EMIYA. It was both lightweight and extra strong, making it bullet and knife proof, meaning I don't need to armor that area anymore and conserve magical energy for key moments.
July
The dreaded exam season before school lets out for the summer, I was not looking forward to doing exams again. It was also around this time that I started encountering freelancers who were looking to identify me and then eliminate me because of my fragrant use of magic in front of ordinary citizens.
I was so happy to have a challenge for once that I ambushed the first freelancer I saw, and killed them in quick fashion. I analyzed their body and found a ring for hypnosis and immediately traced it when I found no protection on it and put it on afterward. I must have set off a chain reaction because 3 days a week a freelancer would show up when I attack criminals and try to kill me.
None of them succeeded but a few got close due to their experience in identification and killing missions. They helped me fine tune my perception and situational awareness, something I will always be grateful for, which is why I gave them quick deaths and traced all their items. I was able to amass quite a collection of guns, blades, and mystic codes that would help me immensely after the grail war.
I passed the exams.
August
Summer has started and I bid farewell to my home to go out into the world and explore for a bit before returning for the new year. Before I left though, I rented a room at a hotel in the city and spent 3 whole days wiping out the criminal element from Fuyuki except for the Fujimura family. At this point the Freelancers took the hint and only those cocky or experienced enough tried to take me on.
After those 3 days I slept for a whole day before returning home and then booking a flight for the middle east, somewhere I knew I could find the most action. Fuji-nee and Sakura were distraught that I was leaving Sakura, especially as I was her only light in this dark world. I promised to send them a letter whenever I had a chance and let them know I'd be back by the end of the month.
I got on the plane and it was a 10 hour flight to Dubai, time I spent image training with the freelancers I met and Kiritsugu from the experience I absorbed when tracing his weapons. It was a glorious battle that put his fight with Kirei to shame and one that ended the moment we landed with my victory. I got off and went through security before checking into a hotel for a night.
I killed some time by watching TV and doing intense exercise that really got the blood pumping. I took a nap, woke up and ate dinner, and then slept until morning where I checked out and rented a car that I used to drive to Madripoor. It was a 10 hour drive and if you're wondering how I was able to rent a car well it's because all that vigilante justice really improved my physique and removed most of my body fat, improving my looks and making me look older than I am.
I made it to Madripoor where I changed my hair and eye color before parking and checking into a hotel for the next two weeks. It was hella expensive but I intend to make all that money back and more by completing contracts by a fixer. That's what I did by going through the hotel catalogue and calling the concierge asking for work, where he gave me a location and a time.
I suited up and set out at night to the area where I found a building with a forum inside with other freelancers and a bounty board. Looking at the bounty board, I found a multitude of missions, ranging from assassinations to even rescue missions. Looking at the multitude of missions I got ready to speedrun money and fame, which is exactly what I did.
For the next two weeks I made a name for the steel-eyed Raven in Madripoor with my 100% mission success rate and quick time completing each one. I met a few magus in my time here and had a fun time fighting against different types of magic, which helped increase my innate magic resistance. I even encountered a mystic code creator, who I paid a hefty price to add magic and physical resistance to my armor. I kept him in mind for the future.
After two weeks I cemented the name Steel-eyed Raven in Madripoor as the greatest bounty hunter this city has ever seen. I might be summoned as an Assassin servant because of this after death and my time in this city has ended. I had the money I made wired to an account I had Raiga Fujimura set up for me in Japan.
With the remaining two weeks I took a flight back to Japan and spent some time in Tokyo enjoying the sights and having a relaxing time beating up regular criminals and wiping out the criminal element in Tokyo. I bought a few duffel bags and went back to every base I emptied and loaded them with cash, traced every weapon, and left the moniker Steel-eyed Raven to build my fame.
With the two weeks over I returned the color of my hair and eyes to the original and stored my costume away before catching a cab and returning home. I did visit Raiga before going home and letting him know that Tokyo is free reign.
September
I returned home to a warm reception and smiles from my family members Sakura and Fuji-nee. Yeah, even though we were getting closer, I only see Sakura as a sister and nothing more which is why I'll never let her know otherwise she might go Heaven's Feel early. On different news, I spent time with them until September 10th which was when school started again.
Once school started I took a break on my vigilante justice to practice my magecraft and try to manifest my reality marble. I resumed practice on trying to do a mana burst and I found varying success but it was a technique that needed to be refined. I also got a gym membership for me to go and build my natural strength up so the reinforcement is more potent when applied.
I kept practicing day and night for the entire month, mastering alteration magic in use and efficiency, adding it to my well of abilities. I also never pushed myself when I got too tired as I didn't want my body to change too early, especially when none of my natural growth has been completed. The highlight of the month was my success in using a bastardized mana burst that had horrible magic efficiency and even worse control.
I was elated.
October
I went to the museum this month and I was able to see so many different pieces of treasures and even traced the weapons of Sakamoto Ryoma, The great spear Tonbokiri, Miyamoto Iori, Yagyuu Munenori, Sasaki Kojirou, and learned about Senji Muramasa. It was a few great noble phantasms that were added to my reality marble and the knowledge on how to perform the Tsubame Gaeshi.
I know I can use this technique because Shirou Emiya in Heaven's Feel was able to use Nine Lives Blade Works and strike Heracles eight times using "godspeed". If he can do it, then so can I. I just have to make sure my body is up to par with the ability to do that, otherwise I may break after the attempt.
I also visited Ryuudou Temple and sensed the leyline under me and where it's at its strongest. Since I memorized the circle array in the shed, I waited until nightfall before coming to the temple and drawing the array with chalk. Once that was done, I let it sit there and covered it up with a mat that I altered to stick to the floor in case anyone tried to remove it.
November
I met Tohsaka in the halls and she looked stressed, must be because of all the trouble I caused leading up to August. While I do feel some guilt for her condition, I also don't because I learned and grew so much in that city, even now when I patrol there I encounter freelancers and Assassins for me to fight. Well, maybe I'll help her out by making some of my godly food, unreinforced since I don't want her to find out I'm a magus.
My idea to make Tohsaka food was a successful one, she was skeptical at first but remembered the beating I gave Shinji and took the food. In short, she enjoyed it and so I found myself making her lunch for some money since she doesn't like just being given things. My interactions with her when I give her lunch lead to us taking lunch breaks together and getting to know one another.
Of course, we never let each other know all about us since it's not until the war that Shirou and Tohsaka really got to know what each other were like in the hardest of moments. Even still, I had a great time spending my lunch breaks having conversation with her and learning about her. She even pointed out my change in character since February and I teased her about stalking me which she reacted like a total tsundere about.
I just let her know that I grew up and got therapy from the Fuyuki fire since I was a survivor. That killed the mood real quick, but it did end up with her confessing her own depression with the death of her father and vegetable mother. We bonded over the trauma the previous war brought us, and that conversation only made us closer.
December
I mainly spent this month in the Ryuudou temple at night where I used the array to absorb mana and refine mana burst until December 17th where I was able to perform a correct mana burst. I was so excited that I performed it again 2 more times before the mana that I absorbed ran out. I then tried it with my full power and found out that I could perform a max of 2 with the first causing a burst of wind and cracked ground that had me travel 10 meters in the blink of an eye.
The second one had no visible effect on the environment around me but it still caused me to travel 5 meters in the blink of an eye. After that my circuits were really tired and my body was feeling the effects of such rapid accelerations and sudden stops. After resting for a day, I went back to the temple at night and practiced Mana bursts again and again for 12 days until I reached some good efficiency.
It's now December 30th and for the first time I'll be projecting a sword and turning it into an arrow. I took Sasaki's sword and reinforced it to cut a bunch of logs from a tree at night, I then dispelled it and stacked them into a line and altered their shapes to connect and turn into my image of Archers Bow. I project a nameless sword from the museum and alter it into an arrow, I then pump it full of mana and release it with perfect posture and aim. It travels 1 km into the air before exploding with a bang and a blast radius that would have annihilated 10 people.
Oh yeah, I'm a badass.