Shirou's only response was to rise from his chair and asked to be excused. The Teacher, upon seeing the look on the teen's face, merely nodded in understanding before ordering the rest of the class to resume their seats, the Faker calmly making his way out of the class, unaware of the looks of concern sent his way by his classmates and several parents.
Hours Later...
Shirou sighed as he watched the arrow bury itself into the target, ignoring the exclamations & cheers of his audience as he calmly notched another arrow, drawing it back with practiced ease, feeling the tension in his body seep into the bowstring only to evaporate the moment he let his arrow fly.
Even before the Holy Grail War, the Faker had always found Archery to be a relaxing activity. While he'd initially only joined the club out of admiration for its principles, that didn't stop him from occasionally stopping by the range after-school to let off some steam, knowing full well that Ayako & Taiga would be okay with his presence, as unlike the full-time members he at least cleaned up after himself.
It was for this reason, and also to ensure his skills remained sharp, that he'd sought out the Archery Club not long after enrolling at Kuoh Academy, though much like at home, he'd put off officially joining despite the many, many attempts of the Team to convince him otherwise.
"So, this is where you disappeared to." Sona noted, adjusting her glasses pointedly as she stepped onto the Archery Range, drawing Shirou's attention to the impressive crowd of students and parents that had gathered while he was blowing off steam "It would seem Fujimatsu-san wasn't exaggerating her assessment of your skills during our last meeting."
"Sorry about that, Kaichou." Shirou offered with an embarrassed smile, knowing all too well how insistent the Archery Club captain could get in her attempts to get him to join the club "Did you need me for something?"
"Not really," Sona admitted, walking alongside him as he went about returning his equipment, the Archery Club members assuring him they would retrieve the arrows, allowing the Sitri heiress to lead him out of the range "I'd just finished a meeting with the chess club when I received a report that you'd been excused from class earlier." She regarded the Faker carefully "Is something bothering you, Emiya-kun?"
"…I'd be lying if I said I was fine." Shirou admitted solemnly, recalling how tense he'd been when he'd arrived at the Archery range "It's nothing immediately serious however…just bad memories."
"Regarding your 'Sister'?" Sona pressed, adjusting her glasses primly at his sharp look "I apologise if this comes off as prying, but as President that's simply one of my duties. As the teacher's report didn't say precisely why you left the class, I had to rely on input from your classmates, quite a few of whom claimed Hyoudo Issei's…compatriots," she couldn't quite keep her lip from curling in distaste "were responsible."
"That's not the case at all." Shirou assured her with a sigh "My leaving wasn't on account of anything they said, though if you need a reason to reprimand them, they've been purposefully spreading rumours about Issei and Kiba being in some sort of affair to rile up the student body."
"Ah, yes, those." Sona sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in irritation "Rest assured, Tsubaki will be taking them into account for that, among other things." She promised with a hint of dark amusement before reverting to her normal prim and proper tone "That being said, regarding my earlier question?"
"My sister died prior to my enrollment at Kuoh." Shirou replied flatly, not wanting to discuss the matter further yet unwilling to take his frustrations out on Sona. After all, as Student Council President it was her job to ensure the physical and mental well-being of the Students, and just like his old friend Issei she took her duties very seriously "I'd be lying if I said I was over it, but it won't interfere with my studies."
"I…see." Sona noted, her normally stern visage replaced not with pity, but understanding "My apologies, Emiya-kun, as a younger sibling myself, I should've known better than to press you about something so personal."
"You were just doing your job, Kaichou." Shirou assured the girl, honestly more surprised than anything that she'd actually felt the need to apologise, the two of them walking in silence as they made their way back to the main building "I'm guessing open house is almost over for the day?"
"Yes, thankfully." Sona sighed, looking honestly relieved, as if she'd somehow dodged a bullet "All that remains is my meeting with Lord Zeoticus Gremory to discuss the upcoming summit."
"That'd be Rias-san's father, right?" Shirou noted, dimly recalling Akeno mentioning that the Gremory Clan Head was the current Director of Kuoh Academy, only to blink as a veritable stampede of male students thundered past on the way to the gym "What the hell?"
"You there!" Sona snapped out, Shirou suppressing the urge to shiver at the feeling of power in her voice even as those students at the tail end of the stampede froze in their tracks "What is the meaning of this? Why are you acting in such an inappropriate manner?"
"Ah, sorry, Shitori-Kaichou." One of the poor sods stammered, trembling in the face of Sona's shining glasses and stern glare "But Matsuda & Motohama" both Shirou and Sona sighed in exasperation at the mention of the pair "spotted a Magical Girl Cosplayer performing at the Gym and we were in a rush to…"
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