The world of infinite blades vanished like a mirage, the dark scenery of my backyard coming back into focus. Lancer stood there, blood dripping on the grass from the stump on his left arm, Artoria's sword impaled through his chest.
"Not bad, kid," he said, those red eyes not leaving me even as he coughed a mouthful of blood. "I take back what I said earlier. You're a wild card in this War."
Blue motes flaked off his body, shimmering in the moonlight like fireflies as he began to fade away. Cú smirked, gaze shifting to Saber, her grip tight around Excalibur's handle. "Maybe we'll get to have a proper duel one day."
Artoria nodded wordlessly, her face a steely mask.
"Watch out for Caster. She's a tricky woman." And with that, Lancer burst apart into ethereal mist, scattering into the night.
Caster, huh…
Silence filled the yard as I stared at the empty spot, Artoria lowering her weapon, but not dismissing it. My hands clenched tightly at my side, a sour feeling twisting in my chest. I wanted to be a Hero of Justice, but… people like Lancer, who would so easily and callously take a life…
If I had to choose…
A heavy sigh pushed through my nose. If saving those people meant innocents dying, then how could I?
To save a life at the cost of another, just like Kiritsugu…
I shook my head, pushing that memory away. Dad did his best, but he'd given up. His dream lived through me now.
I wanted to save everyone, but… some people couldn't be saved.
A tired sigh escaped me. If some people couldn't be saved, then I'd just save everyone I could.
A Sword cut down the evil in front of it to protect the innocent.
A smile came to my face. Yes, that's how it was. Simple, really—
"I'd like to ask you some questions, Master." Saber's measured voice cleaved through my thoughts like a steel edge.
Yeah, I'd bet she had some interesting questions.
Saber turned around, the dim moonlight striking her face as her emerald eyes pinned me with an inquisitive look. I pulled absentmindedly at my stuffy jacket, the crisp night air doing little to cool my body.
Thank god the fight didn't go on for any longer. I already felt like I had a coal furnace inside me.
I pushed a tired smile to my lips. I couldn't wait to lie down and rest. "Sure, but first–
A flash of agony twisted my face into a grimace, my right side feeling as if stabbed by a thousand hot needles. Gritting my teeth, I hunched over, breathing heavily as sweat pooled on my brow.
A steel-clad hand rested on my shoulder, and I looked up to see Artoria's kingly poker face replaced by a flash of concern.
"Master, what ails you?"
I took a deep breath, pushing it out through the nose as I weathered through the pain and straightened myself like a spear. "I'm fine, it's not that bad. I just overtaxed some of my circuits."
A memory flashed to mind, and I could only grimace. This was pretty bad… If anyone jumped us right now, I'd have to rely on the holy sword beam.
"Please, be more careful in the future, Master. There was no need for you to take on Lancer all by yourself," Artoria said, mouth curled slightly with a frown.
Why was she upset? This was the best outcome we could've had. I couldn't let him get an opening to use that spear on her.
"I'll be careful," I said, a pained smile on my face. "Everything good on your side?"
"Yes, I haven't sustained any injuries," she paused, brow creasing slightly. "It appears that I'm not getting sufficient mana. It shouldn't pose a problem for now, but I won't be able to fight at my best if I must conserve energy."
A chill crawled up my spine at her words. How the hell…? Even with sixty circuits she wasn't getting enough?
Was it because I'd strained them? But those were only the original twenty-seven. The rest were fine and should've picked up the slack. She wasn't friggin' Heracles.
What the hell was going on here—
"If worst comes to pass, I will use my Noble Phantasm, though I won't be able to fight much beyond that."
I nodded along, smiling ruefully. "That's fine, Saber. I don't plan to go looking for any more trouble tonight."
"Then, let us hope that trouble doesn't come looking for us," she spoke, the ghost of a smile twitching on her lips. With her slender frame bathed in moonlight like that, she looked like a porcelain doll.
A flash of heat, different from the one burning in my veins, crept up my neck, and I looked away from those emerald eyes, a beat of slightly awkward silence passing as I rubbed sheepishly at my hair.
What the hell, why was I getting flustered like this?
"I'm Shirou. Emiya Shirou," I said, holding out a hand in front of her. "Please call me Shirou. Master sounds kinda awkward."
Saber blinked, eyes widening ever so slightly as a flash of realization crossed her face. "Very well." She grabbed my hand, her grip cold and firm as she gave it a shake. "I shall call you 'Shirou', then. I much prefer the way that sounds."
"Let's head inside," I gestured with a hand at my house, waiting for her to follow, but she suddenly paused mid-step, head turning towards the street.
"There are two enemies outside. Stay here while I deal with them," Artoria said, grip tightening around her sword as she looked up at the roof.
My eyes widened as another memory surfaced to mind. Crap. Archer and Tōsaka!
"Saber, wait!" I reached instinctively towards her with my right hand, only to grunt in pain as I stumbled. Artoria paused, a frown on her face as I straightened myself.
"Don't rush. They might not be enemies."
She seemed to consider it for a moment, eyes narrowing. "You're exposing yourself to needless risk, Shirou."
"Maybe." I shrugged. "But you're strong enough to repel them even without having to make the first move."
A beat of tense silence passed while Saber regarded me, not a single muscle twitching on her face, save for the faint curl that pulled down at her lips. "While your faith in me is admirable, I advise that you proceed with much more caution."
A tired sigh escaped me. What a stubborn woman…
"They haven't attacked yet. They might not even be looking for a fight. Let's not give them a reason." I met her glare unflinchingly, a brief staring contest following as she went quiet. Part of me expected her to go off on her own like in that different future, but in the end, she nodded curtly, gaze shifting to the far wall.
I sucked on my front teeth, tense, slightly awkward silence falling between us while I racked my mind for anything resembling of a plan.
"Are they still there?"
"Yes," she said, voice clipped. "They haven't moved yet."
Well, then…
"I have an idea."
It probably wouldn't work, but you never knew until you tried.
I breathed in deeply, cupping my hands around my mouth and yelled, "Yo! Unknown Master and Servant, show yourselves!" As my voice echoed through the night, it occurred to me that my idea might not have been that smart. A wave of embarrassment rose up my neck as Saber stared at me like I was an idiot.
I averted my eyes, looking around the deathly quiet yard while trying to the awkward air and the heat burning at my ears—
"Shirou."
Artoria slipped in a battle-ready stance, invisible sword gripped tightly in both hands as a tall figure clad in red and black jumped over the property wall, landing at the other end of the yard.
Huh. I can't believe that worked.
"It's fine, Saber. I know her. She's a classmate," I told Artoria with a smile. She didn't look very convinced, but she'd yet to attack, so that was probably fine.
GAR—Archer lowered Tōsaka to the ground, a tense silence falling between us while the raven-haired girl studied me, brows furrowed.
Archer was glaring at me, face blank as if uncertain on what expression to wear, but I pretended not to notice. I wasn't dealing with this asshole right now–
"I can't believe how stupid you are," Rin finally broke the awkward silence, her tone tinged with disbelief.
Not cool.
"Oh, it's you, Tōsaka." I gave her a friendly wave as she approached with a fake smile plastered over her face. "Hey."
"Don't you 'hey' me, Emiya." She pointed a finger at me, eyes narrowing. "Since when were you a magus and why didn't you tell me?"
My brow furrowed. That's what was bugging her? Why did it even matter? It wasn't like she ever told me she was a magus—
I opened my mouth, only to close it immediately after. Ah, right. She was that Second Owner thing. It was probably magus etiquette or something.
"Since twenty minutes ago, give or take." I made a vague so-so gesture with my hand.
Rin blinked owlishly. "What." she said, tone as flat as her expression. "Do you seriously expect me to believe that?"
Well, it was the truth. I'd never been able to do any proper magecraft until tonight, so I couldn't call myself a magus. Fixing appliances with projected parts made me more of a magical handyman…
I shrugged. "I just opened my meridians—
"Circuits," she corrected, almost on reflex.
—for the first time," I said, trying not to break into a grin at the way her face twitched in annoyance. I could see where the other Shirou was coming from. Rin was fun to mess with.
"Is that so?" Tōsaka arched a brow, eyeing me skeptically. "And how did you practice magecraft until now if you've 'just opened your circuits'?"
My lips pursed as a memory flashed to mind. Uh… "I was using one circuit every time I needed to." Looking back, that probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. I should've asked Kiritsugu about it after the first few times of spine-melting pain…
"What?" Rin's expression scrunched up in confusion.
"Well," I gestured vaguely with my hands. "You know, imagining a new one opening. The pain made it hard, but I got used to it after a while."
"Pain? It's not supposed to hurt—
She paused, eyes widening in horrified realization. "Nerve circuits…"
"So, that's what they're called," I nodded sagely, a smile twitching on my lips while Rin stared at me like I was insane. Were makeshift circuits really that unusual among magi? The other me had no idea either.
An awkwardly long moment later, Tōsaka schooled her expression, pushing a terribly fake smile to her face. "Shirou, who exactly taught you magecraft?"
"My dad, but mostly theory," I said. "He refused to teach me a lot of practical stuff, so I just figured it out on my own."
Rin stood there, smile seemingly frozen in place, a beat of silence passing before she let out a sigh, head tilting slightly to the side. "Emiya," she said, tone sickly sweet and eyes holding a terrifying gleam. "I think we should go inside and have a talk."
Uh-oh. Have I accidentally triggered her?
I shared a brief look with Artoria, lips pursing. "Are you okay with this, Saber?"
A flash of surprise crossed the woman's face before her kingly mask slid back in place. "That's your decision to make as my Master."
Of course not.
"It involves you, too. We're partners in this, aren't we? You should have a say in it."
Artoria gave me an odd look, her piercing eyes shifting briefly to Rin, before she nodded. "I have nothing against her joining us for a peaceful talk," she said, a hint of steel in her voice as she finally dismissed her sword.
A quiet breath escaped me, shoulders sagging in relief. Diplomacy was hard.
__________________________________________
We sat at the table in the living room, Rin taking a sip from her warm tea, eyes briefly closing in appreciation.
I scratched at my chest, trying to think of something to break the awkward silence. The pain was mostly gone, but my right side was starting to feel numb. Crap. I might actually need to ask that jackass for help.
"Where did your Servant go, Tōsaka?"
Knowing him, Archer probably just didn't feel like breathing the same air as me, even if he might have some questions.
"On the roof, keeping watch."
Ah, right. Of course he did that. I really had to sit down and sort through everything I knew about this mess.
"That's a good call."
But not having to deal with him right off the bat was nice.
Rin smiled, placing her cup on the table, her poise perfectly measured. "Now, I have a question for you."
Here we go…
"Sure."
Rin folded her hands on her lap, fixing me with an intense glare. "Why didn't you tell me that you are a magus? I am the overseer of Fuyuki. Informing me is basic courtesy."
"I had no idea you were a magus."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"Look, Tōsaka, my dad only told me a few stories about this stuff. He never said there were other magi in the city."
A beat of silence passed while Rin kept searching my face for lies, her glare vanishing as she palmed her face with a tired sigh. "A third-rate magus…"
Harsh, but true.
"I assume that you have a degree of knowledge about what's going on," Rin said after a moment, and I nodded.
"The Holy Grail War. I know the basics."
"Good," she smiled. "That makes things easier." The 'for me' remained unspoken as she paused, taking a quiet sip from her cup. "Now," all traces of amusement suddenly left her face, her eyes piercing me like a lance. "What the hell was that?"
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, brow furrowed. "You'll have to be more specific, Tōsaka." What was this moody girl even talking about this time?
"You have an honest to god Reality Marble."
Oh, that.
"Yeah. I just found out tonight. It was pretty cool."
Rin stilled in her seat, expression blanking in a way that made me think she was about to have a stroke. Which, fair. UBW was kinda busted, especially now—
A sudden thought gave me pause. "Wait, how do you even know about that?"
"She was close enough to get caught in it during our fight," Saber spoke from her seat to the right, her painfully straight posture the epitome of propriety.
British people were really built different, huh?
"I was too focused on Lancer to notice, I guess," I said, grabbing my own cup and idly stirring the green liquid with the teaspoon. I had no idea how I could drink this stuff without honey in the past, but never again.
"You sure you don't want some tea, Saber? I think I have some biscuits, too."
British people liked biscuits with their tea, right?
A flash of surprise crossed Artoria's face as she regarded me for a moment, before her brows furrowed slightly. "Thank you, Shirou, but no," she said politely. "Perhaps another time."
I shrugged, taking a sip from my warm, sweet tea while absentmindedly fiddling with the teaspoon. It was kinda unwieldy, to be honest. The balance was off, and it wasn't sharp enough. I guess it was good enough for stirring tea, but not much else. And you could stir tea even with a sharp stick.
Tōsaka was still quiet, but maybe she needed a little more time to process. I certainly wasn't even halfway through processing all this craziness.
Sighing, I briefly closed my eyes, searching for the magic circuits deep within me. Those twenty-seven were still messed up in a way that I had no idea how to describe, but the other thirty-three felt alright.
I focused on one of them, and, just to make sure, pictured a sword emerging from its sheath. Trace on. A smile came to my lips as Od flowed unhindered through the tiny pathway, reaching all the way to the spoon in my hand and making it better.
Well, at least I wasn't going to be defenseless if Archer randomly decided to be a dick.
As I opened my eyes, I was met with a confused Rin giving me a weird look and held back a sigh. What was it this time?
"Uhh, do I have something on my face, Tōsaka?"
"What exactly are you doing?"
I followed her gaze, all the way down to the spoon in my hand, which didn't resemble one anymore. The scoop had elongated to a sharp point, and it looked more like a stinger than a spoon. Or a sword-spoon. Swordoon? Spoonsaber?
Whatever.
I shrugged, holding up the new and improved item for everyone to behold. "I thought it would look better as a sword."
Rin's gaze shifted from the sharp implement to my face, brows climbing up a fraction and eyes narrowing in pained confusion.
"Please refrain from turning the cutlery into swords, Shirou," Saber's measured voice broke the brief silence. "We can't eat using those."
I nodded along, brow creasing in thought. Well, maybe not soup, but I didn't see why it wouldn't work for solid food? I could give it two small prongs, and we wouldn't need forks anymore either—
"Is Reinforcement another thing you figured on your own?"
Rin's voice snapped me out from my musing, and I looked up to meet her tight smile.
"I knew the theory, but I couldn't always do it properly until tonight."
She stared even harder. "Do you understand how crazy that sounds?"
No, not really. Why was it even weird to begin with? Didn't others do the same? Wait, how did people even learn magecraft? Was everything just spelled out in their books?
I shrugged again. "Well, I wasn't very good at Magecraft before, but now I guess I just get it, you know? The sword related stuff anyway."
Rin studied my face for a moment longer, before shaking her head with a disbelieving sigh. "Sword related?"
"Yeah." I nodded. "I project weapons, but mostly swords."
"What does projecting weapons have to do with that?"
"That?"
"That army you repeatedly conjured out of thin air inside your Reality Marble."
Ah. The Legion of Shirou.
What was so hard to understand about it, though?
"Well, I can trace swords." I held up a finger before pointing at myself. "I'm a sword, so obviously I can trace myself."
It made perfect sense. And it was something that even Archer couldn't do.
"What do you mean you're a sword—
Tōsaka stilled in her seat, eyes widening in something akin to horror. "Oh god, you've awakened your Origin."
Awakened my Origin? Lips pursing, my gaze shifted to the table as I thought back to that moment before the fight.
Yeah… that played out a little weirdly, didn't it?
"I guess I did?"
There was a beat of silence, a muscle jumping in Tōsaka's jaw, before she slapped her hands against the table, the cups clattering at the force. She was stronger than she looked—
"You utter fool," she hissed. "Do you have any idea what that means?"
"I sword harder?" I said with a shrug, watching as Tōsaka leaned back in her seat, her expression turning worryingly blank, save for the slight twitch to her left eye.
I had no idea why she was getting so worked up over this, though. It wasn't such a big deal. I wasn't the first person to awaken their Origin, and I certainly wouldn't be the last.
Rin took a slow breath, shaking her head. "Yeah, no. I'm not doing this, especially not at," she threw a glance over her shoulder, "two in the morning."
My eyes snapped to the clock an instant later. It already got that late? I had school in the morning—no, wait. Should I really be worrying about school at this point?
A beat of awkward silence passed while Rin kept staring at me.
"Sooo…" I tried, only to grimace as her glare returned twofold.
"I think the word you're looking for is sealing designation."
Huh. I blinked. That sounded familia—oh. That could be a problem.
"So, you know what that means." Rin shook her head, a complicated look on her face. "I should turn you in, but we're in the middle of a Grail War, and you're just a novice, who did it on accident…" she let out a sigh, eyeing me closely. "You seem stable."
"Thanks?"
She ignored me, frowning as she massaged at her temples. Honestly, I felt a little bad for her. She was clearly not prepared for any of this.
"I suppose I have to keep an eye on you before making a decision."
"That's fair."
"Unless you do something to force my hand." That terribly fake smile returned to her face. "You're not going to do that, Emiya, are you?"
A shiver crawled up my back. "I'm not planning to."
A Hero of Justice would never do something like that.
"Please refrain from threatening my Master in front of me."
Saber's voice cut like a knife through our conversation, Rin standing a little straighter in her seat.
"Don't be so harsh on her, Saber. She probably didn't mean it that way."
Artoria didn't say anything else, merely sat there observing us with a slight frown, the atmosphere turning a little awkward as we lapsed into silence. Rin took a sip from her tea, before fixing me with a mild look.
"I suppose we should go visit the overseer. You have to officially introduce yourself as the seventh master."
I considered her proposal for a moment, cocking a skeptical brow. "Is it mandatory?" That fake priest was an even bigger bastard than Archer.
"No, but it is a matter of proper etiquette."
Proper etiquette? Did anyone else even introduce themselves in this Grail War?
"At this hour?"
"The earlier, the better. And the Church is neutral ground, so you don't have to worry about getting attacked by anyone."
Huh. Well, in that case—
I froze as a memory surfaced to mind.
Hell no. That crazy albino brat was probably already camping the whole area. I'd only be putting Tōsaka and Saber in needless danger if I went now—
My eyes flew wide. Wait, Illya—
More images flashed to mind, of a future that could be—that would be—if I didn't do anything to stop it.
My jaw tensed, a knot twisting in my stomach. I had to do something about her, too. Help her.
But how…
I had this power, but what good could it do for her? I only made swords, and swords couldn't fix her problem…
My hands clenched in my lap.
And then, there was the part where she only entered this war to kill me… what could I do about that?
Would she attack here if I didn't show up at the church? She'd already been stalking me, so would going anywhere else even help?
Man, this sucked—
"Emiya?" Rin's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "Are you done spacing out?"
"Yeah." I smiled sheepishly, a wave of heat warming my face. "Sorry about that. I was thinking."
"I figured as much," Rin said, an amused note in her tone. "So? Are you going or not?"
"I think I'll pass for tonight." I'd rather not get jumped by Berserker. At least, not when half my circuits were half fried.
"Suit yourself." She waved a hand dismissively, and I glanced again at the clock, lips pursing thoughtfully.
Still, what if Illya decided to do a home visit? She could have a bedtime hour for all I knew, but I wasn't going to gamble on that.
"Hey, Tōsaka." I looked her in the eye, pushing as much confidence in my tone as I could. "What do you say about spending the night with me?" Not even Illya might be crazy enough to attack two Masters on their home turf.
Pin-drop silence filled the room. Rin froze in her seat, like a deer in the headlights, eyes going wide, before she jabbed a finger in my direction, face coloring a bright red.
"Wh-what the hell are you saying, Emiya! Do you really expect me to—there's no way I'd agree to something like that," she said, blushing all the way up to her ears while I bit my tongue to stave off the laughter.
She was so easy to rile up.
"I'm saying that there could be other Masters prowling the streets, waiting to ambush us. It would be safer to stay here for the night. I have a lot of free rooms for you to pick from."
Rin paused again, a flash of realization crossing her face as she let her hand drop back on her lap, before looking away in embarrassment.
"That's a valid point," she said, voice much quieter than before.
"Yeah, I'm genuinely concerned," I said, sharing a brief look with Saber, who watched us curiously. "What if someone else decides to attack this place?"
I knew for sure that some people had been watching that fight with Lancer, and even if they didn't catch glimpse of Unlimited Blade Works, they should be much warier of Saber and I now.
Getting a surprise attack on the first night would suck. Rin was the only one I could count on to watch my back right now.
"Is that why you want me here?" Rin asked, idly tapping a finger on the table. "Just in case someone attacks you?"
"Strength in numbers?" I shrugged, smiling sheepishly as she pinned me with a glare, the wind returning to her sails.
"I'm not your personal bodyguard, Emiya."
The smile slipped off my face, and I held back a sigh. Yeah, I should've expected this. Rin was still a magus. She didn't do much charity even during her 'route'.
"I'll help you out when you're in a pinch."
Tōsaka leaned forward in her seat, a glint in her eyes. "Is that so?"
"Yeah. It's a promise." I'd help her out, regardless. I could never call myself a Hero of Justice if I let her get hurt before my eyes. I couldn't even call myself a man if I let that happen.
Rin leaned back, crossing her arms with a sigh. "I don't have a change of clothes with me."
That was her problem?
"You can ask Archer to bring you some. Or I can give you a pair of pajamas."
"What?" Tōsaka recoiled as if burned, mouth agape, before she turned her head away with a blush. "I'm not wearing your stuff."
It was pretty comfy, though. Her loss.
"Then send Archer to bring you clothes."
"I still have school tomorrow. I already took a day off."
I palmed my face with a sigh. Was she just looking for excuses at this point? Did she enjoy being contrarian?
"You can leave early in the morning."
Brief silence stretched between us while Rin carefully thought it over, before reaching for her cup of tea with a huff. "Fine. I'll ask Archer to bring me a change of clothes."
Finally.
This girl was a real handful.
__________________________________________
"Interesting stunt you pulled against Lancer."
A deep, grouchy voice suddenly made itself known, and I looked up from where I was readying my futon, meeting Archer's steely glare as I rose to my feet. Of course he had questions, too…
I wasn't sure how to feel about this guy. On one hand, he was really cool. On the other though, he gave up. And now he was being a dick about it.
Talk about loser mentality…
"Yeah, but I might have gone a little overboard. Half my body is starting to feel numb for some reason." But, well, since he was already here, maybe I could get him to fix me.
"That's hardly surprising," he said dryly, and I fought back the urge to roll my eyes. If he wanted to needle me, he'd have to try harder.
"Do you think that Rin knows what's wrong?"
Archer studied me for a moment, eyes narrowing slightly. "Maybe. But I've seen this before."
"Cool." I flashed him a smile, biting back a laugh at the way his face twitched. "Can you fix it?"
"I suppose I can," he said, walking closer. "But I want you to answer me a question in exchange."
Oh boy. Here we go.
"Sure."
Archer stopped an arm's length away, his frame imposing next to me. "How did you find out you had a Reality Marble?"
Huh. That's it?
"I didn't," I told him with a shrug. "It just came to me earlier, and I did it."
Archer studied me closely, a beat of silence passing as his brow furrowed deeply. Part of me hoped he'd give himself a headache while trying to make sense of all this isekai insanity.
"Take your shirt off."
"Please be gentle," I said with a cheeky smile, biting the inside of my mouth as a flash of disgust briefly crossed his face. Turnabout was fair play.
Turning around, I quickly pulled my shirt off and waited. I fought back the urge to let out an exaggerated moan when he laid a hand flatly on my back, though. His reaction would've been funny, but he might just try to kill me on the spot if I ever did that.
"Have you been practicing magecraft for long?" Archer said, his gruff tone laced with a hint of confusion.
"Only a few years."
He went quiet at that, the atmosphere turning a little awkward as the weight of his hand became a little heavier on my back. If only I could hear what was going through his head right now.
A sudden jolt pierced through my back, muscles tensing as my mouth opened with a silent scream. The pain vanished as fast as it came, and I took a deep breath, clenching my hands to stop them from shaking.
"Done," he said with clinical detachment, and I turned around, flexing my hands experimentally. The numbness was mostly gone, and a night of sleep would probably fix the rest.
"Thanks, Archer."
The jackass ignored me and walked to the door, only to abruptly stop before he could step out, those steely eyes pinning me with a glare.
"You have no idea about what you've done, do you?"
I paused, blinking owlishly. The hell was this about?
"You'll have to be more specific."
Archer's eyes narrowed, a beat of tense silence filling the room. "You'll end up killing everyone around you," he said after a moment, his tone carrying the same finality to it as a falling guillotine.
A muscle jumped in my jaw, hot anger sparking in my chest. "No, I won't." And this bastard could take his bullshit and shove it up his ass.
"Swords are meant to kill. You've dug your own grave, and you can't avoid lying in it anymore."
"That's where you're wrong, Archer." I met his condescending look with a glare of my own. "Swords are meant to protect."
Archer scoffed. "What a naïve view."
"So, what?" I crossed my arms, looking at him petulantly. "I'd rather be naïve than a bitter prick."
There was another tense pause as the jackass frowned, eyes narrowing. "Do you think that you're going to survive this War just because you took out a Servant by sheer luck and surprise?"
"No. I'm going to survive because I have to." For everyone.
"Oh?" Archer cocked a brow, a sardonic edge to his tone. "Didn't you just say that swords are meant to protect?"
"Yes, and that's exactly what I'll do. I'll stop people like Lancer from killing innocents."
Another scoff left him. "Again, with this foolishness? Your hands aren't big enough to save everyone."
"So, what? I don't need hands to save people. All I need is swords."
A beat of silence passed while Archer glared at me, brows deeply furrowed. Of course he wouldn't understand. His passion for swords had become as hollow as his heart.
"And why do you even care, Archer?"
"You're right, I don't," he grunted out, finally stepping out of the room, his voice carrying from around the corner. "You'll find out soon enough where that road leads you to."
Quiet filled the place as I stood there, shoulders drooping. What an absolute jackass.
A moment later, the door to the nearby room slid open, revealing a frowning Artoria. "Quite the unpleasant man. Take his words with a grain of salt, Shirou."
That was putting it mildly. If I ever ended up like that, I was going to put myself out of my misery.
__________________________________________
I sat down on my futon with a quiet sigh, looking awkwardly across the room, where my guardian angel kept vigil. I could've tried to talk her out of this, but I knew better than to tempt fate.
I could endure some teenage hormones if it meant not getting Caster'd, or worse.
"Do you have enough mana now, Saber?"
"Yes," Artoria spoke curtly. "You can rest without worry, Shirou."
It took me asking Rin a couple dumb questions, but I finally figured out why I wasn't supplying Artoria enough mana. I had to periodically channel Od through my circuits to 'feed' her. It was embarrassingly simple, but counter intuitive enough that a complete noob like me wouldn't have figured it out from the get-go.
Artoria was sitting next to her futon in a seiza, her sharp, green eyes watching me like a hawk. Her blue dress contrasted with her exotic beauty in a way that I couldn't even put into words, and the dim light made her look ethereal, like a fairy.
I wished she'd watch me less intently, though. The attention was nice, but it made the atmosphere even more awkward.
Feeling a familiar heat start to creep up my neck, I looked down at my futon, running a hand absentmindedly along the blanket. This thing was so weird. Maybe I had to buy a normal bed—
"You know who I am, don't you?" Artoria's measured voice cut through the quiet like a sharp edge.
I nodded. "I do."
I wasn't trying to keep it a secret, but she'd figured it out pretty fast.
"I take it that your father told you about the previous war?"
"Not much," I said, wincing as that hellish landscape flashed to mind before I quickly banished it away. "I got a brief glimpse at your sword during the fight."
Artoria's eyes widened a fraction, a look of understanding crossing her face. "I see. It has something to do with your magecraft."
"Yeah." I nodded. "When I see a weapon, swords especially, I learn everything about them and their history from a glance."
"And you glimpsed my sword."
I shook my head. "Not long enough to copy it inside Unlimited Blade Works. And I doubt that I could ever replicate it even if I did. Your sword was made by the Fae, and I'd probably fry my brain if I tried to trace it."
"Then, you shouldn't," she said, the corner of her lips quirking ever so slightly. It was enough to bring a smile to my face, too.
"Yeah. That would make it pretty hard to fight a War." That blonde guy tried his best, but his wheelchair didn't get him too far.
Artoria kept watching me as we lapsed into silence, and just when I was about to look away, she spoke again, "What is your wish for the Grail, Shirou?"
Her question took me off guard, my lips pursing. All I wanted was to save people, but this Grail—
I smothered that thought, hands clenching tightly in my lap. "I don't think I need the Grail for my wish, but I'll fight to help you achieve yours." I'd have to break the bad news to her tomorrow…
Those sharp, green eyes studied me for a long, quiet moment, before Artoria nodded to herself. "I see." And with that, she resumed her quiet vigil, silence filling the room, though a lot less awkward than before.
I laid down on my futon, eyes wandering to the dark ceiling before I closed them, waiting for sleep to come. My wish for the grail, huh…
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