仮面セイバー
Kamen Saber
第1話: 出現！仮面セイバーという名の剣の騎士誕生
Chapter 1: Arrival! Birth of the Sword-Bearing Knight Called Kamen Saber
Footsteps echoed eerily down the ancient stone catacombs. Drops of water dripped from the ceiling, landing with distracting loudness on the living corpses of countless children. It was a nasty business, but one that was necessary.
Ten years. Ten years of preparation, all for this moment.
A ghostly blue glow provided Kirei Kotomine with all the light he needed to see. Flanked on all sides by the grisly remains of his former charges, he ascended the steps to the large stone altar. He gazed at the carvings in the altar's surface with the same dispassion as he always had before, yet now his hands trembled as the traced the outlines of the seven Servants. There was Saber, the sword-bearing knight; Archer, the bow-bearing knight; Lancer, the spear-bearing knight; Caster, the warlock; Berserker, the crazed warrior; and Assassin, the assassin. The seven Servants of King Gilgamesh.
And now I can resurrect them, Kirei thought. With their power then Gilgamesh shall rise again, and I shall possess his power!
Kirei raised his arms and the drained power of the children began to fill the altar, making the carvings glow. A carving of the Sun glowed the brightest, the illumination almost painful to look at, but Kirei forced himself to persevere. "Servants of Gilgamesh! Arise and restore your Master to life! Lend him your power and strength, defeated heroes, and live once more to serve the Golden King!"
A blinding golden light fired directly up from the altar. Kirei stumbled back, shielding his eyes. The catacombs rattled, and the church above exploded with brilliant gold light.
Kirei's eyes stung, but he laughed in triumph in spite of his pain. His years of planning had finally paid off.
With caution, Kirei lowered his hands—and was horrified by what he saw. The awesome pillar of light was flickering like a damaged neon tube. Something was wrong!
"No!" He rushed back to the altar and saw the glow from the Saber and Archer carvings had faded. With a cry of rage, Kirei slammed his fists on the ancient stone. Someone was sabotaging his ritual! There was a very real possibility that Gilgamesh might not be able to return without the strength of Saber and Archer, and even if he did return, he would be far from peak strength.
The two rubies, each the size of a man's fist, glowed brightly, sitting side-by-side. Placed in front of each ruby was a worn card. The ruby on the left had a card depicting a knight in full plate armor, a blood-red plume coming from the helmet. The knight held a sword high, and written in English beneath the knight was the word "Saber". The other card depicted a slim woman in profile wearing a long red skirt, armored gauntlets and grieves adorning her. She was facing to the left, a huge bow in her hands, a fearsome arrow drawn. The caption read in English "Archer".
Kaleido Ruby smirked at her handiwork. Saber and Archer were the two best Servants of King Gilgamesh, according to her research in London. If she were to resurrect them, she could enslave them and use them as her invincible bodyguards.
More importantly, she thought, I will have finally shown that stupid Kaleido Sapphire who is truly the better warlock!
"The ritual is underway!" Magical Ruby chimed. The crimson rod floated over to Kaleido Ruby, who was rubbing her hands with glee.
"Yes, I see that, Ruby," she cackled.
They were perched on the Center Building in Shinto, the tallest structure in Fuyuki City. Across the black Mion River, Miyama Town lay glittering like a thousand tiny jewels in the night. One of those jewels was Kaleido Ruby's home. That was why she moved to Center Building, in case the ritual became messy. She wasn't about to accidentally devastate her own house.
The two rubies fired beams of crimson light into the night sky. Kaleido Ruby laughed hideously, basking in the triumph and glory that was herself.
"It works! Victory is mine!"
"Erm, Master?"
Kaleido Ruby turned to Magical Ruby, annoyed. "What is it?" she asked crossly. "Can't you let me enjoy this moment?"
"Master, please look in the opposite direction!"
Kaleido Ruby sighed and turned around so she was looking at Shinto. A vast pillar of golden light was shooting up from further back in Shinto. "Eh? What that…?"
Whirling around, Kaleido Ruby saw her summoning rubies were shaking violently, red energy swirling violently around them. Cracks were beginning to form in the surfaces.
"No!" she shrieked. Her black cat ears springing stiffly up, she ran to her rubies and clutched them with her hands, trying to keep them stable.
"Someone else must be trying to summon them!" Magical Ruby said.
"Summoning all of them!" Kaleido Ruby said. "They can't have these Servants! They're mine!"
"The other ritual! The lights are flickering!" Magical Ruby informed its master. "We must be affecting them too!"
"Shut up and help me with these!" Kaleido Ruby snapped.
Magical Ruby floated over and began adding its magic to Kaleido Ruby's. The light of one of the rubies began to fade while the other began to brighten. Kaleido Ruby growled in anger. She didn't know what was happening, but she was determined to have the two Servants for herself.
The bright ruby suddenly exploded. Kaleido Ruby was hurled back by the force, and her back struck something solid and warm. Two large arms suddenly wrapped around her small frame, steadying her.
"Are you all right?" a male voice asked gruffly.
Kaleido Ruby turned around. A tall man with short, wild white hair and a long red coat stood there. His muscles were well defined and stood out from under the black bodysuit he wore beneath his coat. He regarded her coolly with gray eyes.
"So, you summoned me?" he asked.
Kaleido Ruby straightened herself. "Yes, I am," she said grandly. She held out her hand, and Magical Ruby flew into it. "I am Magical Girl Kaleido Ruby, and I am your Master from now on."
The man shrugged. "Yeah, whatever," he said nonchalantly. "You can't be worse than the last guy."
Kaleido Ruby narrowed her eyes. She didn't like the Servant's tone at all. "You! Tell me your name!"
"I'm Archer," he said.
"That's your class," Kaleido Ruby seethed, really beginning to not like her Servant. "I asked you, what is your name?"
"I don't feel like telling you," was the answer.
Kaleido Ruby stared incredulously. "What?"
"I said, 'I don't fell like telling you'," said Archer. "Clean your ears out sometime, little girl."
Kaleido Ruby clutch on Magical Ruby tightened so much that her knuckles hurt. "Fine then!" she exploded. "I'll have Saber teach you some manners! Saber! Come to your new master and thrash this impudent slave!"
"Saber?" Archer asked. He lazily turned his head, scanning the area. "You meant to summon Saber too?"
"Of course I did! Now where is that stupid Servant! Come to me, Saber!"
Nothing happened.
"No one else's here, little girl," Archer pointed out.
"What?" Kaleido Ruby turned this way and that, trying to see if any armored knights had joined them. "No. No! This isn't happening! It's not fair!"
"Master! Look! The rubies!" Magical Ruby urged.
Kaleido Ruby slowly turned back to her rubies. One had shattered completely, leaving almost nothing left. The other was cracked, but intact. The Saber card was still pinned beneath it.
Kaleido Ruby fell to her knees in disbelief. "What does this mean?" she asked.
"The other ritual's over now, Master," Magical Ruby said.
Archer looked into the sky, holding his arms out. "I feel them," he said. "The other Servants. No—wait. I don't feel Saber with them."
Kaleido Ruby looked at him hopefully. "So Saber's here? Was I successful?"
"No, stupid girl," Archer said. "I mean I don't feel Saber at all. You weren't successful, and whoever is summoning the others wasn't successful either. Saber's just gone."
Dazed, Kaleido Ruby walked to the edge of the building and stared off into the night. If Saber wasn't with anyone, where had it gone?
A little boy sobbed, his face blacked from the smoke. A little girl was too numb to cry, to scream, or do anything beyond stare as everything she ever knew was annihilated. Blistering flame devoured the buildings, roaring like a hungry beast. She and the boy were next. There was no escape, the fire had spread everywhere.
The girl keeled over, coughing uncontrollably. Her throat and lungs were scorched. Her stomach heaved painfully, but nothing came out. She hadn't eaten dinner when the fire started. Her parents had gotten her out of the house before the fire destroyed it. She was certain she would never see them again.
Please, let us die from the smoke before the fire…
She watched the wall of flame in front of her, flames flickering constantly. Something seemed to move behind it. A fireman? Were they going to be rescued?
She blinked, trying to dispel the phantom. No one was coming to help them. Everyone was dead. It was better not to get her hopes up.
The shape didn't go away though. It came closer, taking shape as a human. It was bulky and short. Was it really a fireman? The girl couldn't tell.
A human immerged from the wall of fire, walking forwardly slowly. The girl's vision blurred. Dizzy, ready to black out, she pitched forward. Strong, warm arms stopped her fall. She felt herself being lifted off the street and a warm cheek met her own.
Like when Mama holds me. Is this an angel?
"You poor children," a woman's voice said. The girl felt something wet and warm on the woman's cheek. Was she crying? "This is my fault, and I must atone."
The little boy's crying come closer. The girl realized the woman must have picked him up too. Then everything—the death of her parents, the destruction of her home, the loss of everything she ever knew—came pouring out. The girl bawled, unable to hold back any longer.
"I'm sorry," the woman whispered. "I'm so sorry…"
A bright white flash blinded the little girl, replacing the heat with something cool and gentle.
Am I going to Heaven…?
Aruto Hide awoke with a start. Sweat rolled down her brow, soaking her pillow. She sat up in her futon, gasping. She told her racing heart to calm down. Her straight, shoulder-length blonde hair hung over her green eyes. She pushed it back, hating when hair got in her eyes.
"A dream, just a dream…" she whispered in the darkness, clutching at her white nightshirt. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to cry. She didn't know how she survived that horrible night with the fire, but she was certain the woman was a hallucination brought on by smoke inhalation. Or perhaps it had been when a distorted memory of when Kiritsugu Emiya saved her and Shirou.
The scent of breakfast touched her nose. Shirou must have been in the kitchen, getting the food ready. Her stomach growled loudly thinking of his cooking. She smiled as she imagined him working hard in there for the benefit of her and their guests.
Shirou, always thinking of everyone else.
After brushing her teeth and getting changed into her school uniform, Aruto entered the fragrant-smelling dinning room. Lanky, spiky-haired Shirou Emiya, the boy she thought of as a younger brother, was wearing his pink apron and setting breakfast up. Fuji nee was already there, eating greedily. Sakura Matou was there as well. Shirou noticed her and smiled warmly. Good morning, Nee-chan!" he said.
Aruto smiled back as she took a seat. "Good morning, Shirou." She turned to the others. "Fuji-nee, Sakura; good morning."
Sakura returned the smile. "Good morning, Hide-senpai." Her smile and voice were as gentle and kind as could be. It was terrible, but Aruto could never help but feel envy toward Sakura's beauty. Her eyes and hair were a shimmering plum color, and she was truly blossoming into a woman. Aruto felt small and boyish compared to her.
"'Morning Aruto," Fuji nee acknowledged after swallowing her food. "Ah, Shirou, this is great!"
Taiga Fujimura was something of a parent to Aruto and Shirou. Her grandfather was a "local landowner" who had known Kiritsugu, and when he died, Fujimura set everything up so Aruto and Shirou would have no problems with owning Emiya residence. Still, Fuji nee lived with them to supervise. It seemed to Aruto that Shirou took care of Fuji nee more than Fuji nee took care of them. This was a good thing though; taking good care of their homeroom teacher made it easier for her to overlook mistakes on tests.
Aruto took a seat and began to partake in the feast Shirou made. Aruto loved food—it was one of her foremost pleasures. She was very thankful to be gifted with a younger brother who was so skilled at cooking.
Soon it was time for Fuji nee to run screaming out the door, ranting about how she had tests to grade. Shirou and Sakura moved to the kitchen to wash dishes together, taking about Fuji nee's high tensions. Aruto went to the private dojo for some exercise, mostly sit-ups and kendo practice, before school. She felt so alive when she had a bokken in her hands. Swords had always fascinated her, especially straight, European swords.
Maybe because I'm part Briton? I know I have some British ancestors.
When it was time to leave, she joined Shirou and Sakura, walking to school with them along the sloping hills of Miyama Town. She stayed silently behind Shirou and Sakura, feeling another stinging jealousy: how close Sakura was to Shirou. Whenever she saw them together, she felt a need to guard Shirou. It was silly of course; Sakura was the kindest person Aruto knew, and Shirou wasn't a little boy needing the protection of Onee-chan. In fact, he hated when she had to protect him, and would go on about how a man shouldn't need a woman's help in fights, even if she was much stronger. She had to let him grow up.
And yet…
Aruto banished the improper thoughts as Private Homurabara Academy appeared. Another tedious day of school.
While in the hall, Shirou was stopped by his handsome, bespectacled friend, Issei Ryuudou. "Emiya," he said. "Could you do the school a favor?"
"Sure," Shirou answered. There was no hurry; Fuji nee might have been waiting for them in room 2-C, but probably not. She tended to be late for her homeroom class.
Aruto followed as they walked to the student government office. "A heater's broken down," Issei said to Shirou, "and with it being winter, we can't allow that to stand."
"I see," Shirou laughed. "That is a big problem. Don't worry, I've got this."
Issei opened the door for them. At the other end of the room was a portable heater, a box of tools sitting beside it. Shirou moved to the heater, inspecting it.
"Can you fix it?" Issei asked.
"Yeah; it's just a short circuit problem with the wires."
"I'm very pleased," Issei said, adjusting his glasses. "The school is stingy in allocating money to clubs. You repairing the equipment saves a small but precious amount of money."
Aruto always thought Issei spoke in an overly pompous tone.
"Hey, Issei," said Shirou. "I need to concentrate, so could you leave us for a while?"
"Certainly. I won't be a bother." Iseei got up to leave.
"Yes," Aruto said curtly.
Not saying anything else, Issei slipped out. Aruto went to Shirou's side. He placed his hands on the heater, his eyes closed in concentration.
"Two electric heat lines are disconnected," he said, more to himself than to her. "This should be simple."
Their father always said that Shirou's talent was to visualize the interior structure of objects.
"Trace On."
A green glow surrounded Shirou's hands. He held onto the heater for a moment, then withdrew. "There," he said, and flicked the switch. Aruto felt a gentle heat from where she stood. She nodded.
"That did it."
"Yeah," Shirou said. "It's not much, but I can at least I can repair stuff with my magic. I'll never be a warlock though."
Aruto shook her head. "Raised by a warlock, but neither of us have any potential as one. All you can do is repair machines, and I can't do anything at all."
"Yeah," Shirou chuckled.
They rejoined Issei in the hall. "I thank you again, Emiya," Issei said.
"Ah, it's no problem, Issei."
A girl suddenly walked gracefully past, long black twin tails fluttering behind her. Her hair was worn to shoulder length and her twin tails were tied with black ribbons. She bore a certain frigid regality. Aruto watched her silently. She had seen the girl a few times before, but didn't know who she was.
"Rin Toosaka," Issei muttered once the girl walked into class 2-A. "Beautiful, perfect scores, completely scandal-free."
"Yeah, she looks pretty good," Shirou said.
"In truth, I don't like her at all," Iseei said.
"Why not?" Aruto asked.
"There is something…unwelcome about her. An ineffable feeling of foreboding. I wouldn't go after her if I were you, Emiya."
"What!" Shirou demanded. "I'm not interested in her!"
Good, Aruto thought. I don't need you thinking about other girls.
Upon reaching class 2-C, Aruto took her seat and sat quietly. It took five minutes, but Fuji nee eventually burst in, panting and wheezing.
"Hey, Tiger-sensei's here!" someone called.
"If you don't call me 'Fujimura-sensei', I will be very angry!" she thundered. The foolish student quickly shrunk in his seat, cowed by Fuji nee's tiger-like ferocity.
And so another day begins, Aruto thought.
The day stretched on, the sky turning red. Rin Toosaka marched toward the Archery Club's building, fuming so much that she didn't notice the beautiful sunset.
That imbecile's been tolerated for far too long!
Yanking the door open, Rin stormed inside amid the archery enthusiasts. Her eyes picked out the distinctive wavy hair of her target, Shinji Matou.
"Oh? What brings you here, Toosaka?" he asked, that smug smile of his rising. She wanted to punch him every time she saw him. It might come to that if things went badly enough.
She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him roughly close. He let out a squawk of protest.
"Listen to me, Matou," she hissed. "Ayako Mitsuzuri told me all about how you treat the rookie members of the club."
"Did she now?" Matou asked with a sneer. He squirmed, but Rin held on fast. He reminded her of a worm, so slimy and wriggling.
"You mock them when they fail to get a perfect shot, and even strike them with the bows!" she accused. "People like you are just sickening. I suggest you get your act together, or else no one will join this club as long as you're in it!"
She shoved Matou away amid the startled students. He crashed into a stand of archery equipment, knocking much of it to the floor. Without another word, she turned and marched out.
"You can't do this to me, Toosaka!" Matou swore from behind her, his cool demeanor evaporating. "Toosaka! I won't forget this!"
Rin allowed herself a brief smirk at Matou's expense. It was petty, but it felt good to finally put Matou in his place.
Her bag rustled, and Magical Ruby poked out slightly. "That wasn't necessary," it said.
"I know, but it felt good."
"Please concentrate on the spell we're setting up. Don't make Archer's job harder by wondering around."
Rin nodded. "Fine, I'll return to the spell. I'd rather have everyone leave first though."
She looked to the roof of the school. There was a flash of red, but it was gone in a second. Archer was keeping watch over them.
If anything happens he'll take care of it.
After fixing a television for Issei, Shirou and Aruto were finally going home. They crossed along the path to the gate.
"You could've left on your own, Nee-chan," Shirou said. "You don't have to wait for me each time."
"I can't leave you alone. What kind of big sister would I be if I left you at school?"
"What. You're still here, Emiya?" a voice called. A voice Aruto hated.
Shinji Matou, Sakura's older brother and Shirou's friend since junior high, strolled up to them, a group of girls following him. He smiled at Shirou, but Aruto felt her skin crawl. Shirou smiled back though.
"Yeah, I had to do some repairs for Issei," he said.
"Oh you're so kind!" Shinji laughed. He turned to his girls. "This guy, he's so helpful to his friends. I'm sure he won't mind cleaning up the mess Toosaka made."
"What? Did something happen with Toosaka?" Shirou asked.
Aruto raised an eyebrow. Toosaka stood up to Shinji? That was admirable in her book. She never said anything to Shirou because he—for whatever reason—liked Shinji, but if she could she would've beaten Shinji until he learned some manners.
"Toosaka was so rude!" a girl said. "She just barged in and knocked Matou-senpai around! I thought she was graceful, but it isn't true at all!"
Aruto remained passive even if she wanted to jeer at Shinji how a girl "knocked him around".
"A lot of the equipment's on the floor," Shinji said. "Emiya, you'll clean it up right?"
Aruto's blood boiled. "Shinji, Shirou's tired and we really should be home right now," she said as calmly as she could. It was moments like that she had to stay with Shirou and protect him.
"No, it's all right," Shirou said. "I'll clean up for you."
Shinji laughed. "See girls! I told you he'd do it!"
"Oh, is that really all right?" a girl asked.
"Hey, if we cleaned then all the shops would close by the time we left!" Shinji said. He looked to Shirou. "Don't worry Emiya! With Onee-chan here to help you can work twice as fast!"
Aruto's fists clenched so tightly her knuckled drained of blood. Still, she said nothing as Shinji and girls walled off, laughing at them. "Wow, those two are stupid!" someone said.
"Hey, they can hear you!" another said.
Shirou walked to the Archery Club house. "You go home, Nee-chan," he said. "I've got this taken care of."
"No!" Aruto snapped. "Shirou, let's just leave! You don't have to do this!"
Shirou shrugged. "Shinji's my friend. I need to help friends out."
The inside of the house had archery equipment strewn around the floor in disarray. Shirou bent down to start picking stuff up. Aruto sighed. There would be no talking Shirou out of cleaning up.
"Let me help. We'll finish faster that way."
"I can't ask you to do that," Shirou said. "It wouldn't be right for me ask you to help."
With a grunt of frustration, Aruto moved to a corner. "I'm not leaving you," she said. "I'll just sit here then."
Shirou shook his head. "All right, but you're wasting your time, Nee-chan."
Aruto looked away, angry with Shirou and Shinji. Why did Shirou think he needed to help everyone? Especially her? She was tougher than he. She should've been helping him more often.
We're just too stubborn to agree on these things.
A golden light illuminated the catacombs. Kirei winced as he entered the usually dim area; it was going to take a while before he got used to the brilliance underground.
The end of the passage was glowing like a miniature sun. A young man in polished, ornate golden armor sat brooding at the altar, his spiked hair equally gold in color. Five dark figures stood around him. His eyes were a hellish, enraged crimson. His breathing was labored, and just to exist seemed to take incredible effort. He looked wearily up at Kirei, but his eyes still held the arrogance of a man who was used to getting his way.
"Kotomine," he spoke, his voice dry. "My strength…It will be years before I can recover at this rate. I need Archer and Saber to lend me their power…Damn them…"
Kirei nodded. "I understand, King Gilgamesh-sama. We shall simply have to restore your strength through different means."
Gilgamesh looked to the dark ones around him. "Each of my Servants can bring me 'od'. By killing life they can restore my strength little by little. But I'm not strong enough to give my Servants the power they need."
"They shall require Warlocks to stabilize their bodies," Kirei said. "Therefore, I grant strength to this one."
He touched on of the shadows. It let out a scream, and the darkness shrouding it slowly bled away. A lean, well-muscled young man was revealed beneath, wearing a tight blue bodysuit, his short hair the same shade of blue. His eyes, like Gilgamesh's, were a deep angry red.
The young man fell to his knees, gasping. Kirei allowed him a few minutes to catch his breath.
"Ah, Lancer," Gilgamesh sneered. "My most agile Servant. You chose wisely Kotomine; this bastard has a true lust for blood. He can kill scores of humans in minutes!"
Kirei raised an eyebrow. It wasn't much, but it was a start to control the most agile Servant. In time, he would control them all along with Gilgamesh.
"Lancer, I control you now. I command you, go to Private Homurabara Academy. I sense something amiss there. Kill anyone you find there."
Lancer looked up at Kirei and grinned savagely. "Yes, Master!" he hissed.
One second Lancer was kneeling before Kirei. The next he was gone. Kirei smiled, pleased by his choice.
This first test shall be interesting.
Rin stood around the magical array she had made on the school roof. She was impressed by her ability, if she said so herself.
"With this," she explained to Archer and Magical Ruby, "I can discover the other Servants, namely Saber."
"Someone else must have Saber," Archer said, arms folder over his chest. "You're just going to draw attention to yourself with this."
"I have to know what happened!" Rin snapped. "No one takes a Servant from me!"
Night was falling as she began her incantations. She would not need to be Kaleido Ruby for the ritual. The array began to glow, lighting up the top of the school. Rin's eyes gleamed.
"Yes! Now reveal to me Saber!"
Archer suddenly grabbed Rin and dragged her away from her array. She screamed in protest, beating ineffectually at the strong arms. "Let me—"
A man in blue appeared where Rin had been standing, a long red spear in his hand. The spear had stabbed right through the roof. He looked up and met her eyes, grinning.
"Ah, Archer!" he said. "Long time no see!"
"Lancer," Archer said. He dropped Rin, leaving her to stumble away. Magical Ruby quickly joined her at her side.
Lancer held out his hand. "King Gilgamesh-sama's returned," he said. "Come back to us and lend him your strength. He needs the Servants to restore him completely!"
"King Gilgamesh!" Rin gasped. That man had really returned? It was inconceivable!
"No," Archer said simply. He drew a pair of broadswords and charged Lancer recklessly. Rin was astonished. The idiot was supposed to fight with a bow and arrow! That's why he was called 'Archer' in the first place! Why was he fighting with swords?
Surprisingly, he was holding his own against the other Servant. Archer weaved deftly away from Lancer's lance, parrying with his swords.
Perhaps he has those swords for close-quarters combat, Rin thought. She supposed he would need secondary weapons to defeat closer threats. How long would he last though?
The array suddenly exploded into a column of white light. Rin staggered back, covering her eyes. She cursed her luck; she might miss seeing who Saber was. All that work for nothing!
Aruto walked out from behind an exhausted Shirou. "Finally," she grumbled. "If I had done some of that then we could have left long ago."
"Hey, don't bother yourself over me," Shirou laughed.
The sharp sound of metal clashing on metal rang through the air. Aruto's ears pricked up at the sound. She scanned the area, then spotted two people on the roof of the school. It looked like they were having a…sword fight?
"Shirou! Look up there!" she yelled, pointing.
"What's that?" he asked.
A dazzling white pillar shot up from the roof into the sky. Aruto stared at it, mesmerized.
"I'll check it out, Nee-chan!" Shirou said, his voice sounding far away. Aruto saw white flames rising everywhere, an intense heat overpowering her. She hyperventilated, stepping slowly away from the fire. But it was everywhere. She was boxed inside a tiny area surround by fire.
"Shirou!" she screamed. "Get out of here! Run!"
"Eh? What's going on?" she heard Shirou say.
Flames flashed through Aruto's memory. The town on fire, the woman who comforted her. Who was she? Where did she go?
I need you again. Please…
Aruto's clothes burned away in the flames, her lithe, muscular body exposed yet unburned. Only her ribbon wasn't burned. She leaned her head back, eyes closed and tearful. Molten metal flowed up from the earth to cover her body. It cooled and hardened, shaping itself into fine blue and silver plate armor. A portion remained on her face, molding over her eyes to form a metal visor.
Looking at the world through new eyes, she felt no fear of the fire or anything else. She walked forward, dispelling the flames. In their place lay a gleaming silver motorcycle, which she recognized as her Knightcycle. Without a word she mounted Knightcycle and revved it up. She looked up and noticed a boy gaping at her.
"Nee-chan?" he asked, plainly confused. "What's…Where did you get those?"
"Stay back, boy," she told him. "This is a danger zone. You might get hurt."
"No!" he cried. To her confusion, he ran up and took her hand. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm gonna go check out what's on the roof! You go home, Nee-chan! A girl shouldn't get involved in this."
She pulled her hand away, offended. "Please stay out of this," she told the boy. "I don't know who you are, but you can't possibly help."
The boy's face registered shock. "Nee-chan, it's me, Shirou."
"I know no one by that name," she said. Without another word, she zoomed toward the wall of the building. She fell pulled toward the roof, knowing her former comrades were there. She wanted answers, and she was going to get them.
Knightcycle's front tire met the wall. Sticking to it, Knightcycle drove vertically up the side, the wind blowing against her smooth face. Knightcycle leapt over the edge and landed on the roof, driving between two men fighting with swords. Both dodged, and she parked between them and dismounted. She took a quick look at each man.
"Archer," she noted. "Lancer."
"Saber?" Lancer spoke with disbelief. He lowered his lance slightly, but was still on guard.
"No," she answered. "I am something new, different." She clenched her gauntlet-covered hands. "I don't understand it myself, but I'm independent now. Gilgamesh shall never again rule me."
"What is this!" Lancer demanded. He launched a flurry of stabs at her. Cyber-Excalibur appeared in her hands, and she struck back, deflecting his blows.
"I'll bring you back even if you're in pieces, Saber!" Lancer roared.
"I am not Saber—I am a defender of justice, Kamen Saber!" she declared.
"Kamen Saber?" Something red appeared to Kamen Saber's right, also pressing an attack against the lance-wielding Servant.
"Archer?" she asked.
"We're on the same side, for now," he said. "I'm no longer with Gilgamesh either."
"Traitors!" Lancer roared. "I'll throw you before King Gilgamesh-sama for judgment!"
"Out of the way you two!" a female voice called. Kamen Saber and Archer dodged to different sides just before a beam of white light struck Lancer in the chest. He let out a pained grunt, giving him no time before a barrage of beams hit him. Kamen Saber turned to see a girl in a red dress with black cat ears pointing a colorful wand at Lancer.
"Never underestimate Kaleido Ruby!" the girl laughed.
Kamen Saber drew Cyber-Excalibur on Lancer. "Leave, or I kill you," she said.
Lancer grunted, his body smoking from the attack he received. Kaleido Ruby must have been quite powerful to have hurt him at all.
A door behind her opened, banging against the wall. "Nee-chan!" the boy from before called, sounding exhausted. He must have run all the way to the top.
Lancer grinned, and suddenly threw his lance. It flew past Kamen Saber. She knew immediately that she wasn't the target. Everything moved in slow motion. The boy stood in the doorway, frozen as the lance hurled directly toward his chest. Kamen Saber sprung into action, having only seconds to act. She sprinted across the roof, fast enough to get ahead of the spear. As she moved in front of the boy, she spun around, with one hand pushing him down behind her, her other hand raising Cyber-Excalibur. The lance would hit her in a moment.
"Invisible Air!" she cried, swinging Cyber-Excalibur around to meet the spear. A massive burst of wind exploded from her blade, flinging the spear off course, straight into the air. Archer and Kaleido Ruby scrambled for cover, but the spear was flung away from the rood and landed somewhere on the ground below.
Kamen Saber looked around, and saw Lancer was no where to be seen. She frowned, realized he tried to kill the boy as a distraction. He would be impossible to track down.
Archer approached her with a small smile. "I see you haven't lost your edge at all since we last met," he said.
Kamen Saber was about to answer, when she felt very faint. She fell to the floor, the world going black.
Aruto opened her eyes. Shirou, Rin Toosaka, and a white-haired man she knew as Archer were looking down at her.
She groaned and tried to sit up.
"No! Don't move!" Shirou scolded, pushing her back down gently.
"What happened?" Aruto asked. "I was…someone else. I couldn't recognize you, Shirou."
"So you're back to normal!" Shirou said. He looked relieved. "I'm so glad!"
"Kamen Saber…" Aruto said. "Who is that?"
"I'll tell you all we know," Archer said.
Aruto lay on her back, staring at the star. "A defender of justice, Kamen Saber…"
続く…
To be continued…
Author's note: Kamen Saber. A stupid pun on the long-running Kamen Rider franchise and the favorite program of Youko Asagiri in my original story Muscle Cuties! Based of course on Fate/stay night. I look forward to releasing more of this story so you can enjoy it.
…Wait, I was fired from making these English adaptations of the program? Oh, well it looks like Kamen Saber is cancelled. Sorry about that everyone.
Happy April Fools Day!