Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night.
Summary: The sparks of battle; the clash of steel. That night turned out more different than anyone could have imagined. Ayako Route.
Boundless Quiver
Chapter Zero: The Ninth Day
My eyes are straight, my aim is true. Breathing's important, very important. I need to calm down. The opponent's far away; everything was going to according to plan. The scent of the forest tickles my nose; pine cones and grass, moist from the morning dew. I hear a roar; no, it's more of a howl; like a wolf tracking down its next meal. I have the clear advantage here; it's up to me to use this chance well. The enemy's not just a half-baked gang of thugs or grunts. There are two. The forest is vast and thick; it provides ample cover. I have enough time to think of something; something to get me out of this jam. Something... anything. The trees shake with the rumble of footsteps.
The marks are close enough to be a threat.
The grey colossus takes step after step some distance away. My gaze is still upon them, unflinching, waiting. My palms begin to sweat; I'm not nervous. I'm just growing impatient. He's a titan in his own right; his skin looks like its made of stone and marble rather than flesh. Even from this distance, I can see his blinded eye, glowing like a an ominous star behind the shaggy black curtain that was his mane. Even from here; this far out on this hill, I can see the shroud of death that follows in his wake; someone that cannot, in any circumstances, be taken likely; I have to wait. He's still not where he's supposed to be. He's too near. One attack from this range would allow him to notice me. He'd cleave me in half before I could take him down.
His partner was just as dangerous. But she would be dealt with later. She can't do much without stepping in; she'd only get in his way. She doesn't look much of a threat from here. The purple dress dances as she jogs by his side like a lost cat, keeping in stride with his massive steps. She's just a little girl; or at least she looks the part. Pale skin, puffy gloved mittens, platinum blonde locks of hair shining in the morning sky; no, not shining, it's more like a mirror, reflecting the sun's rays. A small beauty. A deceiving appearance; power; intelligence; cunning; she has all those. Behind that smile; behind that lying innocence. It's all a front, after all.
That same smile that stayed as Tohsaka fell.
I can't think of her as anything but an enemy.
Ilyasviel Von Einzbern and her Servant; Heracles of the Twelve Labours, Berserker, make a fatal pair.
'I'm getting bored, Onii-chan.' a feminine voice, it could not belong to anyone other than a young girl.
Crap – has she found me?
No. No; she hasn't. I can't trace a link back to her; rather than a whisper, it's more like a school public announcement. She's amplifying her thoughts to the whole forest; she can't find me. In my moment of panic, I almost trip on a root; how embarrassing. I'm on my own here, but it's no less an effect. Ayako would be laughing if she saw me now; and here I thought I was all cool...
My plan is set.
'I was never good at hide and seek.' a giggle echoes; she's on the move.
Good. My breathing evens out; I grab my bow and quiver. The sleek black material of my weapon is comfortable in my hands; the quiver is loaded with ammo. Arrows of magical steel and ruby tips. Fitting, it would seem; Tohsaka never liked letting people go with a win over her pride; Tohsaka was a lioness.
'Leysritt would always find me when we played!' another giggle rings throughout the forest, 'And when I went to look for them, I'd never find them. It'd be like they disappeared!'
Berserker rears his head. The both of them have stopped moving. Ilyasviel glows. My eyes begin to water; the seal on them has been broken for too long; they've eaten too much prana; more than I had expected... the battle from before had more adverse effects on me, after all.
No, I still have to keep them going.
Kotomine had said the safety limit on them was, at the most, six minutes. It's been almost ten; he was right. Five minutes before, I didn't feel small, but potent, spikes of pain racing through my body. I still do now; my circuits negate the pain... I don't feel it, but my body does. As soon as the seal is reactivated I'm going to be in pain.
'So you know what I do when it takes too long to find them?'
A sing-song voice.
Berserker roars.
'I cheat.'
A laugh like the winter chimes of a church.
I hear the sound of the whispering wind.
Damn; she's better than I expected.
No, not better. Just as good as I expected.
Ilya's powerful, after all.
Tracking magic. She's got me. I felt the surge of foreign energy creeping up my legs. Crap – Berserker's on the move already; now or never. They kill me, or I take them down; it was a battle to the finish. I ready my bow; three of my twenty-seven magical circuits activate. The area around my eyes feels like it's burning; those three circuits have released a ninth of the pain I should be feeling. No time to waste. He's coming my way.
'Got you, Onii-chan!' it's like a child playing tag.
Six-hundred and twenty-three feet up a hill is the distance. Berserker's a unique beast; essentially immortal, he was quite possibly the perfect Servant in a battle royale such as this. Twelve lives to echo twelve deeds. A foe of Berserker would have to deal twelve fatal blows; but I don't have to. I only need nine. The Red Knight and the Blue Spearman have given me that much.
Berserker charges. The pain grows like a leech sucking blood; I can't last much longer using these eyes. Three circuits infuse the arrow; I stay firm and open fire on Berserker, aiming for a sure kill. These eyes could do it; they will find a weak spot. These eyes Emiya Shirou was bestowed!
There.
I've torn open his left shoulder; it's slowed him down for a moment.
'One.'
Ilyasviel was hidden right behind the charging titan; Berserker had taken the full blow. He'd continue to do what he had just done; even though he's a demon of an enemy, Berserker was still going to protect his Master; he was still a Servant. Berserker would keep charging; I release one more circuit. The pain builds; my hands are still steady. I want to hiss and cry out in pain, but I can't. There's no time to scream. Not now. Not now. Not now.
The battle has begun.
It's a match of offensive strength against inhuman endurance. Berserker's charge is relentless; the trees standing between him and I are turned into toothpicks and splinters by that massive strength of his – !
Berserker swings his axe-like weapon with an incredible motion. Surely, any normal weapons would be blown away by that massive hulk of a blade.
But with these eyes, Berserker might as well be standing still!
I will kill you before you reach me.
Is what my arrows scream.
I will reach you before you kill me.
Is what Berserker's swings howl.
Opposing thoughts.
Opposing wishes.
It doesn't take words to know what our instincts are.
It doesn't take me anything but the maddened gaze for me to know what Berserker will do. What he wills to bring to an end.
Berserker will come for my head.
Half his head is gone.
'Two.'
There's a two foot hole in his chest.
'Three.'
I blow his neck apart.
'Four.'
His stomach spills guts.
No good; Berserker's charge is fierce. My infused shots seem like sticks being thrown to an enraged bull!
But it's what I must do. It's hurting him.
'Five.'
His thigh is a bloody stump.
It slows him down, but Berserker had enough momentum. His whirlwind continues its deadly advance.
'Six.'
I blow off the other half of his head.
The smoking stump that is his neck is ignored – ! He keeps moving as though he has no wounds!
No, it's working. Every shot is fatal. Every wound kills!
'Seven.'
'His upper torso is torn asunder.
It's the end.
'Eight.'
He's here.
My arrows are gone; I've used all that I had prepared. I can't get back away fast enough; Berserker has recovered; his limbs are back.
Berserker's red eye bears down, claiming triumph.
His massive blade approaches. Ilyasviel giggles in that instant; I must look helpless. I'm like a rat, aren't I? Cornered by a lion; that swing of his weapon is going to kill me. Berserker's attack is unstoppable; truly, he's a Servant among Servants. The moment it touches me, I would be dead.
Godhand is truly an incredible ability.
I won't let him reach me.
I won't.
I can't.
Not now.
Berserker hasn't won yet.
My neck feels like its burning.
Another circuit is freed.
And another.
And another.
And another.
Twenty-three in total are released.
The pain returns with a vengeance, but there's no time for weakness.
'Trace: On.'
Nine feet left.
Fitting.
'BERSERKER!'
The scream is one of realization.
The broken phantasm is complete.
And as calm as the silence that echoes my bow fires the finishing blow – !
'Caladbolg.'
The cry of the wind. The anguish of the heavens. A surge of power. It's enough to send the only two mortal presences back, slamming into trees. I see Ilyasviel rolling some way back downhill, crashing into a bush from the gust. The giant that was my foe is torn apart in a pillar of brilliant white flame. Strange; the fire doesn't burn the grass, I notice. He lets out one final howl; one of pain; maybe even fear.
This is my win.
'Nine.'
It almost makes my ears bleed. My hands are fulls of callouses and burn marks. The adrenaline is gone; the feeling of hurt comes to my senses. I've used my eyes too much; my arms feel like they're being chewed on by tigers.
My magical circuits are strained by the excess manipulation.
My bow's snapped in half; releasing an attack of such power was too great a burden for the weapon.
With this final assault, I had pushed beyond the realm of humans.
But it doesn't change anything. Heracles of the Twelve Labours falls a charred body, burnt beyond recognition; just a massive hunk of lifeless black flesh.
The red glow of Ilyasviel's magic circuits enter my vision.
'No, Berserker...'
It looks like I won't be able to enjoy this victory.
No, this is a defeat – I had been so focused on Berserker; so proud to take him down that Ilyasviel slipped quietly away. I had used up too much of my prana; even if I get up, I don't think I could fight her – she's still a powerful magus. I'm not much more than a corpse; prana burned out, stamina gone. I can just hear Tohsaka's voice, her disapproving stare and those crossed arms.
Geez, Shirou; you're always biting off more anpan than you can swallow, is what she would probably say right now.
'I'm sorry, Tohsaka. Guess you were right.' Tohsaka's voice is so clear; a teacher chastising a troublesome student.
But the thing that I regret the most... the fact that I had failed the only person left who would depend on me... I couldn't, after all that; talking so proudly about coming to her rescue. I couldn't. This is... this is as far as I go.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Please be all right.
Please...
'Mitsu...zuri..'
Ayako...
The sun is bright today, and the birds sing.
Don't you remember that morning?
That fateful morning where it all began?
'S – rou – !' a kind voice.
'Shi – !' a strong voice.
And the sun is so bright...
A/N: I was reading through F/SN again, and I wanted an Ayako Route. So, I decided to make one myself.