Author's Note: Okay, well, that last one didn't go over well, did it? This one is a little more ambivalent towards Shirou/Rin, probably because it only mentions it briefly. On the other hand, slash, so some of you may still not be happy. I tried.

During the eighth day of the Grail War, Emiya Shirou was stabbed to death.

Or… to what would have been death or at least severe injury, were it not for a certain glowing sheath embedded in his body.

"This pawn has served its purpose," Caster/Issei continued, oblivious to Shirou's rapid healing. She lifted the knife coated with Shirou's blood to her neck.

With lightning speed, Shirou grabbed her arm and forced it away from her. "Forget it, Caster…!"

"Hm?" Caster/Issei's eyes widened in surprise. "You should be dead by now!" She gritted her teeth and tried to pull her arm out of Shirou's grip, to no avail.

Shirou didn't know how long he could keep this tug-of-war up. He was bleeding, his strength was failing and the only reason Caster/Issei hadn't overpowered him yet was because Issei was much weaker than him. But the moment he gave up, Caster was going to kill both him and Issei. He couldn't let that happen.

When it seemed as though Caster would finally win, she suddenly stopped pulling. The loss of an opposing force caused Shirou to topple backwards, pulling Caster/Issei down on top of him.

The red from Issei's eyes drained directly into his cheeks.

"E… Emiya?" he squeaked.

Shirou smiled at him, letting out a sigh of relief. "Are you all right, Issei?"

Issei's blush darkened as he stood up, helping Shirou to his feet. "I don't know. The last thing I remember, you were asking about Kuzuki's fiancée, then-" He got his first good look at Shirou and gasped, "You're bleeding!"

"It's not as bad as it looks," Shirou reassured him.

"But you're… why are you…"

The knife that had been in his hand clattered to the ground.

Issei looked down at it, then back at Shirou with a growing horror. "E-Emiya. What did I do?"

"Hey, Tohsaka?" Shirou called out as he reached the roof. "If someone takes control of somebody else, but they lose the control, can they do it again?"

"It depends on-" Rin cut off when she saw the state he was in. "What happened?"

Shirou explained how he had been asking Issei about Caster when she took control and tried to kill them both, and how he'd managed to stop Caster from doing it. He finished with, "I told him I didn't remember what happened and came up here. On the bright side, since Caster was going to kill him, we know Issei isn't her Master."

Rin nodded, deep in thought. "…It sounds like Caster was using a one-time spell, so she shouldn't be able to take control of him until she casts it again, but… I wouldn't be in a room with him alone, if I were you."

"That's probably a good idea," he agreed.

A few hours and a change of clothes later, Shirou waved off Issei's worries with a "No, really, I'm fine."

"You are not fine," Issei repeated. "You were bleeding heavily a few hours ago, we both have identical gaps in our memory - at the very least you should be lying down!"

"It wasn't as bad as it looked, and I've got bandages on now," Shirou told him. "If you really want to help, then just remind me never to ask you if you like a girl again, okay?"

Issei smiled despite himself. "Of course. If I ever do like someone, I'll tell you without being asked, Emiya."

"Great. As long as you do that, we shouldn't have any problems," Shirou replied.

"…But can you at least go home right away?" Issei asked. "You're in no state to be cleaning the archery dojo."

"All right, but you had better…" Shirou trailed off as he realized something.

Caster. Caster was at the temple. Caster was going to kill Issei as soon as he got home.

Issei blinked. "I had better do what?"

"…Nothing. Listen, could you maybe stay over at my house tonight?" Shirou asked hurriedly. "Your arm looked pretty bad, too, and I don't know when you're going to black out again. It'd be safer if we were together."

The other student raised an eyebrow. "Well, if that's what you think is best… I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

"So when I tell you that Ryudo might still be dangerous," Rin hissed, "you invite him over to your house!?"

"I couldn't let him go back to the temple!" Shirou protested, careful to keep his voice low so that Issei, in the other room, couldn't hear. "Caster would have killed him!"

"He could kill you! And even if he isn't dangerous, him being here keeps us from making any kind of action in the War. Not to mention that staying here puts him into danger anyway."

"He'll be gone tomorrow," Shirou promised. "I'll think of something."

Rin sighed. "You had better."

They returned to where Issei was sitting. He immediately fixed a glare on Rin, who ignored him.

"Sorry about that," Shirou said, oblivious. "I should have warned you that Tohsaka was staying here too."

"It's fine. As a guest, I should not criticize my host unduly." He paused and added. "But, can I ask why she's staying here?"

"It's kind of like what happened with you, actually…" Shirou began.

"She fell on top of you?" Issei interrupted sharply.

Shirou shook his head.

"He fell on top of you?" Rin asked.

Shirou nodded, and Issei flushed slightly.

"How did that happen?"

"No idea."

"Emiya, most people can't cause memory loss just by being talked about," Issei said dryly. "I don't think Kuzuki's fiancée is an exception."

"I know that, but…" Shirou tried again. "Doesn't it seem suspicious that the last thing we remember is talking about her?"

"Slightly. But that's no reason to stay away from the temple entirely."

Shirou sighed. "Issei… please. I can't let you stay at my house any longer because you and Tohsaka don't get along, but please don't go back to the temple."

"I understand your concern, but-"

"For me?"

Issei looked at Shirou for a few moments before shaking his head. "…I can't refuse you anything, it seems," he replied. "I'll look into getting a hotel room."

"Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing, really." Issei sighed. "Just… Kuzuki hasn't been seen for a few days."

Shirou winced. That was at least partially his fault.

"I shouldn't be worrying about him," Issei continued, oblivious to his friend's discomfort, "I know he can take care of himself, but it's troubling."

"I'm sure he's fine," Shirou assured him. "He wouldn't get himself into danger."

Issei nodded. "You're right, as usual. …Thank you."

It wasn't really lying if it made Issei feel better.

Rin and Issei stared each other down. Shirou looked from one to the other, a puzzled expression on his face.

Finally, Issei growled, "If you ever do anything to hurt him…"

"You'll do what, Ryudo?" Rin asked smoothly. Issei's only reply was a glare.

Deciding that he ought to say something, even if he wasn't sure what, Shirou said, "It's okay, Issei. Tohsaka isn't like that."

"You just say that because she's… you…!"

"I know you two got off to a bad start, but if you get to know her better I'm sure you'd like her. …Or at least hate her a little less."

Issei sighed. "Even if you ask me to do that, Emiya, it's impossible. I will hate her until the day that I die."

"You'll probably find someone else before then, Ryudo," she pointed out.

"Grr…"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Haha… I'll explain it to you later, Shirou."

"Y-You wouldn't dare!"

"Do you know what she's talking about, Issei?"

"It's, it's kind of a long story…"