Many believe it impossible for Tohsaka Rin to get sick. Well, let me tell you something. That isn't true. I am very capable of getting sick. Like today for instance. And to my great displeasure, I have been found out. By Shirou of all people. It isn't all that surprising, really. This isn't the first time he has noticed I am sick. For someone as thick as him, he is very perceptive of such things. I thought I would be able to hide the fact and went to school at the time. Oh, how wrong I was.
It was during middle school. Just like in high school, I was practically an idol during that time. Also just like high school, I was always alone. For the most part people left me alone. When they don't just a look from me is enough to send them away. Seeing as I was sick, the last thing I wanted was people around me. Being who I am, I flawlessly hid my illness during class and coldly brushed off anyone who bothered me after it. It was working too. Nobody could tell the difference. Except for one.
Emiya Shirou.
He was the one person who noticed. Ironically, I never even talked to him. I didn't even notice him but somehow he knew. The first day went by fine. It was the day after that sent everything to hell. Perhaps that's too harsh since it was actually nicer even though I will never admit that. It was during lunch. I had been resting under the shade of a tree for maybe five minutes when he showed up. I looked up in surprise and didn't know what to say to the kind face smiling at me.
Maybe because of this he became a bit nervous or maybe it was simply because every guy who could see him was glaring death at him or staring in disbelief. In his defense, he didn't back down. With that same smile on his face he handed a thermostat to me. Upon seeing my dumbfounded expression, having tilted my head at him, his expression turned somewhat sheepish and he told me it's soup.
"What?" I said in confusion.
"You're sick, right?" Shirou said simply. "This will help."
I was so astonished at the time that I said nothing. I only blinked at him in surprise and wondered how he was the only one to figure it out. I almost asked how he knew but I stopped myself. I didn't know Shirou well but I had the feeling it would turn out to be something that should have been obvious so I kept my mouth shut.
Having managed to calm myself down, I gave him a cold expression and told him I didn't need it. That I was fine. Shirou looked surprised. Apparently, he didn't expect me to deny it. Instead of backing down, cowering in fear, or twiddling his thumbs nervously in a struggle to ignore my look like everyone else did he made an unbelievable comment.
"It's not poison." Shirou said.
Again, I didn't know what to say. What do you say when someone tells you that? This guy caught me completely off guard again. Silence filled the air. He patiently awaited my answer yet again. I didn't know what to do or what to say. He was being stubborn. I wasn't used to dealing with such stubborn people. I gave him a suspicious look before responding.
"...Are you trying to hit on me?" I asked.
It must have sounded like it was coming out of nowhere but there had never been a time that a guy my own age came up to me to do anything other than hit on me or ask me out. The instant he stepped in front of me I was expecting it. Usually I won't outright call the person out. If they asked me out I would crush them immediately and if they tried flirting I glared at them and scared them away. That wasn't working with him though so I used the route of people who particularly annoyed or bothered me. Although he admittedly wasn't one of them.
"I...Wha...?" Shirou had a shocked expression. "N-No! It's not like that! I... I was just...! Trying to be helpful..."
His entire face turned as red as a tomato. I glared at him and he looked away but to his credit stayed exactly where he was. Honestly, I wasn't sure if this was a pathetic attempt at denying the truth or not. However... he striked me as an honest guy and I later learned that I was right about that. As a result, I slowly fell into a fit of giggles. Shirou and everyone watching us stared in shock. It would have been the first time they saw such a scene.
I'd never smiled, never mind laughed, since my father died. It surprised even me. It also frustrated me to no end since it nearly destroyed my whole image which I worked so hard to create. It was an image expected of a Tohsaka, as a member of a proud and noble magi family. At that time though, for that one day, I gave into being the girl underneath the surface. I took the thermostat from Shirou and he sat down next to me.
"Oh man, that's the first time I've heard that." I snickered. "And believed it, anyway."
"This... happens often?" Shirou asked hesitantly.
"Often enough." I said.
Shirou said nothing to that and simply watched me. I opened the thermostat, filled with the warm contents of an unnamed soup. Before I ate any of it, as if only just remembering, he makes sure I'm not allergic to anything in it. I smiled a little, he really was a thoughtful guy. Thinking of everything. That's what I thought at the time and ate the soup.
It was delicious. I wanted to ask who made it but my mask was still somewhat in place so I said nothing, not even telling him that it was good. He didn't ask but he seemed content with it. Maybe he just assumed it tasted good because I ate all of it. After I finished I didn't expect him to stay with me but he kept me company for that one day. After that, things went back to how they used to be and the students-maybe him too-forgot all about that day. However, I never forgot.
Never. Not once. I cherished that memory because it was one of the few happy ones I had. And because it was a rare day that I wasn't alone. It must have been then that I started developing feelings for that auburn haired boy.
"Hey, what's with that face Rin?" Shirou asks.
"Shut up! I'm telling you I'm fine!" I snap. "We have more important things to worry about. Like the next time we'll be attacked by a Servant."
"That can wait until you're better again." Shirou says, unfazed by the glare that would have anyone else running away while crying for there mother.
Why does he have to be immune to the bloody look?
"Anyway, it really can't be helped." Shirou says. "I guess you pushed yourself too hard with everything that's happened. It's really a wonder the rest of us aren't sick too."
"Epic Spirits can't get sick." I mutter. "The closest thing to them getting sick is being low on mana."
"Really? I didn't know that." Shirou states the obvious. "Anyway, we'll just have to depend on them for the time being. With the two of them, I'm sure we'll be fine. So instead of fighting me why don't you concentrate of getting better?"
Shirou smiles at me and hands a bowl of soup over to me after saying that. I mindless take it from him and wonder when he got so fucking clever. Whether he knew Saber and Archer are incapable of getting sick or not, he definitely was waiting for the opportunity to use them as a reason to shut me up. I grit my teeth in annoyance and glare daggers at him.
He must have realized I figured him out because he laughs nervously and looks away. Oh, so now the look is working? What the hell is wrong with him?! Shirou coughs nervously and takes a step back, apparently sensing my desire to throttle him. Stuttering, he continues with his argument.
"Between Saber and Archer's sensory abilities," Shirou says, "it really is unlikely that we'll be caught off guard. Besides, my father was a magus so there are some barriers up. Then there are the ones you put up too so... we should be fine here."
"You're annoyingly stubborn." I sigh.
"Ah, I see." Shirou says and decides it's best not to say anything else.
I smile a little at him in amusement and take a bite of the soup. Then I frown. It tastes... familiar. Seeing the look on my face, Shirou forgets about me being irritated with him and walks over to me.
"What's wrong?" Shirou asks.
"Nothing. It just... tastes familiar." I say.
"Hm? Really?" Shirou says and ponders something. "Oh! Could it be...?"
"What?" I ask.
"Well, maybe I made it for you before." Shirou says. "You know, that day in middle school. When you were sick?"
"...You made the soup back then?" I ask.
I nearly want to rip my hair out. Why did I say that of all things? Of course he made the soup back then. I should have realized it by now. Sure, it was impossible for me to know back then but now...
"I guess you never thought about it huh?" Shirou says after calming down from his surprise. "I mean, you wouldn't have known that I was living alone back then. But yeah, I made it. Just like now."
Pointing out my own stupidity. Of course, he's nice about it. Ugh, he even makes it sound reasonable and he probably believes it too. Honestly, I still should have realized it by now. I was just thinking about that day, you would think it would occur to me that he was living alone at that time. Oh well, it doesn't matter now. At least I didn't say something like, "You still remember that day?" And if I had said that with a happy or hopeful voice... Ugh. Yeah, the soup comment is better.
"Did you learn to cook on your own?" I ask curiously.
"Hm? No, Kiritsugu taught me." Shirou says. "He liked to travel and he started after I was old enough to stay home alone. He made sure I could cook and all that before he left though. He paid for the house ahead of time and gave me money for living expenses while he was gone."
"That seems... rather irresponsible. " I say.
"I guess but he always made sure the house was stocked up and if I ever did mess up he had some kind of agreement with Raiga and he would take care of it." Shirou rubs his head sheepishly.
"I see..." I say.
Shirou smiles at me as he sits on the edge of the futon. I watch him silently and neither of us say anything. I sigh and finish the soup. Then I hand him the bowl with a grumbled "here" and a "you can go away now" as I roll onto my side. I close my eyes with my back to him and Shirou laughs quietly. Without looking at him, I listen to him get up and leave the room. When I hear the door slide shut behind him I open my eyes and stare at the wall moodily.
I wake up to the intruder alarm going off. The sound of fighting can already be heard. I rush to my feet and immediately stumble with a groan. I catch myself on the wall and grab my head. It's pounding mercilessly and I feel like I'm going to throw my insides up. Ugh, why now of all times?! I stumble out of the room and make my way to where the sound of the fighting is going on. Shirou turns the corner I'm about to make and I stumble into him.
"Rin!" Shirou exclaims and catches me.
Despite myself, I find myself leaning on him more. I press my forehead against his chest and clench his shirt. I pant against him and close my eyes, my brows furrowed. Damn it! Shirou tightens his arms around me and I don't know if I'm happy or mad about that. This is so frustrating. I hate feeling so weak. I just breath against him and he says nothing. He's probably looking at me with a worried expression and trying to think of a way out of this mess. I smile bitterly.
"Do you know who's attacking us?" I ask quietly.
"It's Berserker." Shirou says.
I groan inwardly. That is the last Servant I wanted to hear. Shirou's hands gently squeeze me, understanding the situation we're in. I desperately try to ignore the nausea and pounding in my head and try to come up with a plan. Escaping Berserker is next to impossible and coming up with a way to defeat him altogether is even closer to impossible. I can feel Shirou staring at me, but I know that it is with worry and not expectation.
Damn it! I have to come up with something. At this rate, he might do something stupid because he thinks I'm pushing myself too hard. I know I am right now but it can't be helped. Shirou makes an unsettled noise and I get a bad feeling from it. I look up, prepared to tell him off depending on the look on his face but then I find myself lifted off the ground. More accurately, he's holding me in a bridal style.
"What are you doing?!" I snap indignantly.
"Getting you out of here." Shirou says with a determined face.
I don't know what to say to this and before I can come up with anything Shirou starts running. He exits into the battlefield. I see Saber and Archer struggling to fight against Berserker. He calls out to Saber and now I'm really worried. For him to call out to her at a time like this and with that face. I have a terrible feeling.
Saber looks over and so does Archer. Instantly, Archer rushes in to keep Berserker at bay and Saber runs over to us. She asks what's going on. To both of our surprises and horror, he tells Saber to take me somewhere safe. Shirou tells us that he'll stay back to help Archer. Both of us exclaim, "What?!" at the same time.
Under different circumstances Shirou would get nervous or uncomfortable but right now he only gives a determined face. He says he has a plan and not to worry, which only instills the opposite in us. In what could be considered a long argument due to the circumstances, I end up being passed over to a reluctant Saber who has relented to my mortification and disbelief. Then she rushes off while warning Shirou there will be hell to pay if anything happens to him.
Shirou smiles at us as we go and then runs to Archer's side. Archer gives him an irritated look and there is a brief conversation before even Archer sides with him. I don't hear it but I can tell from the look on his face. If I could, I would hit him. Both of them. Archer manifests weapons for him and the two work together against Berserker. It must be a first for them. After that, I'm too far away to see them.
Unsurprisingly, Saber doesn't know anywhere safe. I, myself, can't say I know a place that guarantees our safety but I doubt such a place exists in the first place. We decide that my mansion is our best bet. At the very least, it has protection spells in place. Far more than Shirou's place does and stronger ones too. Saber sets me down on the couch in my living room and immediately starts pacing. We're both worried about them, mainly Shirou.
It is nearly an hour, Saber about ready to go back for them, when they arrive. Actually, I expected Saber to leave long before now. It's probably because I'm in no state to protect myself that she stayed. Anyway, Shirou is the only one to enter. I'm not surprised. Archer is probably outside somewhere, keeping watch. I sigh in relief and smile while Saber rushes over to check on him. Miraculously, he's only roughed up and exhausted. Against Berserker of all things, I would have expected him to be far worse off.
"You survived that, huh?" I smirk. "Apparently, I don't give you enough credit."
"...Ahaha. I'm glad you're starting to have some faith in me." Shirou laughs while grinning at me.
After confirming that Shirou is indeed alright, Saber leaves to keep watch with Archer. Or maybe to send him in to rest. He probably needs it. Shirou slowly walks over to me and then crashes next to me. He leans back, closing his eyes, and sighs in relief. I smile a little at him.
"I'm relieved that you're okay." I say without thinking.
I mentally curse and cover my mouth. I drop my hands and look away when Shirou looks at me in surprise.
"...Heh. Yeah, me too." Shirou says.
"...Idiot! That was way too reckless!" I yell and smack him, like I've wanted to since he came up with that ridiculous plan.
"But it worked out in the end, right?" Shirou smiles softly and rubs his shoulder.
"That means nothing." I glare. "Next time, you won't be so lucky. Why do you always...? Haa."
Shirou gives me a knowing look. An apologetic one.
"We should get some rest." Shirou says.
"Yeah, you're right." I say. "This time."
Shirou makes an "I had that coming, didn't I?" face. Then he gets up and offers me his hand. I sigh as I take it. He pulls me to my feet and when I see vertigo he catches me around the waist. When I look up I find our faces inches from each other. Shirou and I both instantly look away, matching blushes on our cheeks. He mutters about taking me to my room and I nod.
We don't move and I look up at him in confusion. He smiles sheepishly and tells me he doesn't know the way. I close my eyes, wanting to hit myself. Of course he doesn't. He's never been here before so why would he? I tell him where to go and we start walking together. Shirou stands there awkwardly as I fall onto my bed. He looks a little unsure of what to do. Actually, he wouldn't even know where to go even if he left.
I tell him where he can rest and he nods, turning to leave. I stop him, telling him to tell me everything that happened first. Shirou turns to me in surprise. I know he's exhausted but I was really worried. I don't want him to leave yet. Those words will not be coming out of my mouth though. So he knows that he has no say in the matter, I glare at him. With a weak smile, he sits beside me on my bed.
With alert eyes, I watch him as he tells me the story. Honestly, this is making my headache a lot worse. Telling him the truth would have been a lot less painful but this is how it is. I'm fine with that. Shirou tells me the story with tired eyes. I wonder if he would notice that I can hardly absorb a thing he's saying if he wasn't about to pass out. Well, he's definitely too tired to notice, seeing as he ends up falling asleep before he can finish. I find myself relieved when this happens.
I consider waking him up to kick him out but I decide against it. That would be too cruel and after forcing him to stay too. I settle down on my bed and close my eyes. Despite the hammering in my head, I easily manage to find sleep. It appears I was exhausted too.
"Ueh...nn." I groan softly as I wake up.
Thankfully, the pounding in my head appears to have subsided. Although it will likely return if I get up and do anything. Hm? Wait... What am I lying on? Or holding onto for that matter? It certainly isn't my pillow. I rub my eyes with one hand and look up, my eyes widening in disbelief. Sh-Shirou? I know he fell asleep in here but when did I start using him as a pillow?! The shock has left me frozen in place. It takes me a moment but I realize that his hand is tangled in the hair at my neck. My face heats up even more and I look away.
Finally getting ahold of my body again, I roll away from him. I hide under my covers, burying my face in them. I jump at the sound of him groaning quietly afterwards. He mutters something incoherent as he wakes up and I tensely continue to hide under my sheets. Yes, now go away Shirou. Leave. He makes a surprised sound and then a startled one.
"Shit! I fell asleep!" Shirou says.
The sound of the bed creaking as he sits up.
"Huh? It's already this early?" Shirou mutters. "And Rin's asleep... I guess she doesn't care then."
...What? I care! I care! Now leave. To my horror, the sound of sheets shuffling can be heard as he lies down. Shirou grunts softly and quietly mutters something about being sore. He yawns and more shuffling can be heard and then nothing. I listen closely and it looks like he fell asleep again. Carefully, cautiously, I roll onto my other side. Shirou is on his side facing me. I stare at his peacefully sleeping face and sigh. I smile at him a little.
"I'm hopeless." I mutter. "So hopeless."
"What are you talking about?" Shirou asks, furrowing his brows in confusion.
"You're... awake?" I ask quietly.
Shirou makes a non-commital sound and opens his eyes. Seeing my twitching face, he grows a little worried. He looks like he's struggling with the appropriate words to say. He coughs nervously, then...
"I find it hard to believe that you're hopeless in anything so," Shirou says, "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Besides, if there ever is something you can't do alone then you have me."
"Y... Haa. You're an idiot." I say firmly.
"Uwah!" Shirou says with a surprised face.
I stare at him silently and think, I'm crazy. Then I lean in and kiss him. Shirou stares at me with a startled expression and doesn't appear to know what to say. It was just a simple peck on the lips and after staring at him for all of three seconds, I roll onto my other side. A minute or so passes and then his arm drapes itself over my waist. I relax, sighing in relief. Shirou lightly presses into my back and nuzzles my neck.
"See? Not hopeless at all." Shirou whispers.
"...Heh! You're right." I smile. "You must be having a lucky streak."
"Wha... Hey!" Shirou yells.
I chuckle lightheartedly and grab his hand. Shirou makes a quiet sound and settles down, snuggling more into me. With a small smile, I close my eyes again. Sleep is sounding too grand right now.