Fate Triumvirate
By: Bubbajack
Beta: Heliosion
Disclaimer: I do not own FSN.
Ch.2: Infighting.
His whole body just stopped. Shirou's every inch of flesh and bone shook like a sheet in the wind as the wound fired its pain all over his entire body. His bones shook, his knees wobbled as the weight of possible death swallowed him whole. One leg gave way under the pressure but his sheer will to live defied the inevitable second limb giving way.
Shirou Emiya was not going to die on his knees like some punk assed bitch.
His chest wound bled readily, staining him in a glorious red that he rarely saw coming from himself. The beautiful spear, his Structural Analysis telling him it was called 'Gáe Bolg' from the fact he was unfortunately connected to it a little too intimately for his taste and indeed it belonged to a woman named Scáthach, a legend from Celtic myth who went beyond 'humanity' to reach a higher form in ancient Scotland and Ireland that made the gods quiver. She became more than human through sheer effort, ruled the Land of Shadows, Dun Scaith, defying everything that was supposed to be greater than her that tried to take it from the woman and taught many others, legends in their own right including one Hound of Ulster whom had once himself touched this spear.
It was nice and all that his magecraft told him exactly who'd tried to kill him but seriously…
Shirou buckled again like a galleon trapped in a storm and this time the second knee fell down. He was really in trouble here.
"Master, your bleeding!" Saber saw the gaping wound in her master's chest and didn't hesitate to help. She unsheathed one of her blades and promptly cut off one of her long billowing sleeves, wrapping it around his torso as best she could, forming a makeshift tourniquet. Pressing both of his hands to the rapidly staining piece of blue cloth, Saber told him, "Just hold it there as hard as you can Master, while I go deal with the intruder."
Saber watched her groaning master put pressure in the right way then turned with a scowl on her face and walked out of the shed, her green eyes locked onto the crimson of Lancer's own. The pair had a stare down, eyes sharper than the weapons they carried in the narrow courtyard. Murder was in the air, thicker than titanium. "You attacked that boy in there didn't you?"
Lancer saw no point in denying it. She swung her crimson spear over one shoulder and challengingly showed her lack of fear in admitting her deeds. Saber's hackles rose, a low growl emitting from her throat at the audacity of this woman.
"I did, my master and I had hoped to end him before he could summon a Servant. We failed. I do not like being sloppy with my work"
Saber's scowl deepened. To even hint at a murder being 'sloppy' just made the honorable woman want to spit blood. She had killed many but never did she cheapen that death with such uncaring nonchalance. "People like you who trample on others pride, I can't stand people like you."
Lancer readied her weapons, one spear for each hand twirling like a baton over one another yet her skill prevented the two spears from ever touching at ridiculous speeds that could uplift a helicopter. "Then quit talking and do something about it, girl."
"I intend to! I, Saber of Yellow, will make you pay for what you've done!" The pinkette charged, right foot forward and swung with elegance like a swallow diving into the river to catch prey.
'Did she just say?' Scáthach asked her master. 'Master? Did I hear her right?'
Her beseeching tone unnerved her Master who stuttered ever so slightly but not out of nerves more sheer surprise. The voice didn't belong to the kind of person who got flustered easily so it was even more comical than usual.
'Saber of Yellow?' Her master finished. 'For fecking sake! You cannae be fooking serious!'
Her devolving into local accent, the thick Irish brogue of an angry Irish woman would've scared the only male in the area into compliance alone.
Lancer didn't have a chance to think on her Master's humorous devolution into proper, well for lack of a better term Irish-ness, for the samurai-esque Saber was upon her in moments having crossed the space between the stone shed and the porch of the house in an instant. Lancer just barely had time to stop posing to cross her spears to deflect the downward chop aimed to cut into her head like a melon and the follow up where she made a feint, one sword strike where she 'overreached' for the one meant to cut her with the other sword from above. 'She is strong, stronger than me at the moment.' Lancer smiled. Sometimes, it was good to answer the call to be a Servant in the morning. 'Good, that means I'm actually going to have to try. Let me see if this girl can handle this so well when I actually try!'
Scáthach was the queen and keeper of the realm of the dead, it was a place that existed outside of space and time, much like the Throne of Heroes. When a hero perished their souls would pass through her realm, however transiently it may be, on their way to either the Throne or some other afterlife. Once there, she could learn their skills, so long as they were not something truly unique to them. That was her right as queen of the abyss. She could access the abilities of almost all heroes except those divinely given or attained due to unique circumstances.
For she possessed the wisdom of the haunted ground.
Scáthach easily pushed Saber back her strength having increased by two ranks thanks to a quick application of Natural Monster, and Monstrous Strength making the simple push seem like she was swatting a fly. She swung her spears about like they had the weight of feathers, tips gouging out chunks of earth like a hot knife through warm butter. The momentum created when the spears rejected anything solid as just being in the way and not taking away their force, hell the power only grew as she destroyed anything and everything, whipping up currents of wind, moving them so quickly they were a blur of red motion in her hands.
Saber, having had the early advantage was upstaged extremely quickly and was forced back to the speed at which her opponent was moving, creating a barrier of steel between the two of them, the song of metal clashing together producing a violent symphony with a promised dramatic ending. However, Scáthach wasn't done yet. Oh, she was someone with more than just a single trick up her sleeve. After smashing her foot against the flat of one of Saber's sword to send her head in the direction that wasn't facing her foe, Scathach wasn't above making cheap shots by the way copies of the same spears in her hands, dozens of them, appeared in the air above her and shot towards Saber as Lancer slowly continued her advance.
Lancer wasn't the only one with tricks up her sleeve though. Saber had a few of her own. Saber had been born with a special pair of eyes. Empyrean Eyes, the Eyes of Heaven, that saw her the victor of over a hundred battles. For with them she could render a particular outcome 'inevitable', and right now, what she really wanted, was to cut off the arm of the Lancer in front of her. She didn't need to see for the outcome had already been revealed to her. So, without turning at first, she spun on the spot almost one hundred and eighty degrees, her sword knocking a single spear aside. With the flat of both swords, two more were pushed aside which horizontally spun as they were deflected and collided with many more caught in their flight path, scattering them all like sakura blossoms. Saber of Yellow with a clear window of movement dashed into the rain of crimson spears at both sides of her heedless of their deadly cursed points hitting her, for she knew none of them would if she kept running in the centre where none would able to find her. That had been made impossible as it would get in the way of her goal of dismembering her opponent.
Saber swung both of her katana, one burned with a crimson heat, while the other was surrounded by a gale. Swinging them in concert produced a gout of flame that Lancer rushed headlong into, not fearing magecraft of any rank due to her magic resistance. The two warriors clashed once again. Spear shafts were bit into by the edges of blades, and the two found their weapons locked once Saber swiftly slapped them edges like a pair of fans so the blades could force the two spears together into a checkmate..
For reasons she didn't fully understand, the Queen of the Land of Shadows felt her right arm growing steadily weaker as this skirmish dragged on. She glanced at her arm and noticed that the small cut the boy had inflicted on her hadn't healed.
"Now," Scáthach replied as even more spears appeared around them both. "I've got you."
Yet, Saber just smiled as the spears began to fall. She twirled around Lancer whispering in her ear as she did, "No, you don't. You never did."
As she spun, Saber of Yellow drew one of her two remaining blades from her sheath, there was a wet meaty ripping sound as her sword sliced clean through Lancer's right arm, sending it flying into a nearby koi pond, spear still clasped in her hand. If Lancer was concerned with the loss of her forearm, she didn't show it. She just glanced at Saber, then at her severed limb, then to Saber who took a step back at the satisfied smile on her face.
Her next sentence drove a spear deeper into her pride than any could into her body.
"This is the boy's victory, not yours."
Before Saber could ask what she meant, saw Lancer's arm miraculously reattach itself as if the wound she inflicted was flowing in reverse. Blood flowed back into the arm, flesh and bone reattached, and even cloth was stitched back together.
'No, not all of it.' Saber noted a small flesh wound on her arm refused to heal and kept on bleeding. It was a stranger sight than the arm that told time it was not the right well time to lose a limb.
"It has been many years since someone has been able to cut off one of my limbs. You should be proud." Lancer praised. She tensed the hand, muscle bulging but not unsightly. "It's always stiff when it gets cut off. I had nearly forgotten that."
"It doesn't really mean anything if it'll just reattach." Saber rebutted, her pride hot like a poker had been shoved through it. That comment just didn't sit right to her as if she had been in a duel that she ended up sitting out so someone else could win it for her.
Lancer nodded solemnly. Her words were wise but the Lancer could see that the wisdom they evoked didn't match the tone of her foe. Saber's pride and honor was easily spotted behind her calm visage. Both were poisons in the real battlefield.
"True. I am one who has stepped beyond mortality and into the realm of the Divine. I cannot be killed so easily."
"Is that so?" Saber sounded intrigued if not a bit suspicious too. That line made her sound like she was a very old Servant. "How'd you manage that?"
Lancer gave a wan smile. "I killed. I killed, and I killed, and I killed. Humans, wraiths, spirits, demons, and Gods. I have killed all manner of creatures to the point I could no longer be considered human due to my prowess with murder. I murdered my way to divinity, blood spilled on me would make even the greatest soldier in this age green with nausea."
If Lancer was trying to discourage Saber, she failed utterly. Saber was no coward! "So, in other words, I just have to try harder!"
Lancer laughed. "My, my, if it only was that easy I guess? Your quite spirited, aren't you?" Lancer drew a rune across her wounded flesh causing it to seal shut, yet despite that, it still left a scar. Scáthach wanted to scowl but acting was a skill every warrior needed on the battlefield at times and she retained that unattached, 'stare at ants' look on her face. 'The curse on the sword of that boy's must be potent indeed to resist the power of primordial runes. It is a shame I cannot ask him what he has done yet though hopefully after this I may get an answer or two. What an interesting Master she has fufufufufufu.'' Lancer tilted her head back when a blade came swooping for her neck. "That's not very chivalrous of you," she mocked slightly, "I had you pegged as someone who told a girl what she was going to stick something pointy at them, not just attack me when I'm unprepared."
"You should pay attention when your foe is right in front of you!" Saber shot back. "It doesn't matter how I win, as long as I win." Her swords clanged as they bounced off one another. "Even if I have to run away and fight you another time, as long as I don't die, I can always come back and claim victory later."
"An opportunist." Lancer commented drolly. "Hmm, so you're that kind of person. I had not thought you were a cheater."
"Strategist," Saber corrected, as she swung as Lancer again. "Cheaters always prosper in duels."
"We will see little cheater," Lancer sang out as she lunged for her foe.
The clanging of weapons rang out in the night, and irregular gusts of wind blew forth from the Emiya Estate as two warriors of legend clashed dozens of times within the span of a few seconds. The ground was torn asunder with every turned blow, the crack of a gunshot rang out with every movement the two made as they tried ever harder to kill each other. Yet, despite how hard each was trying to take the life of the other, both women wore the biggest of smiles on their faces. They were enjoying themselves at the moment. For nothing mattered but the two of them, stuck as they were in this deadly dance.
"Emiya-kun!" Saber looked over to see a girl with dark hair in twintails wearing a red coat and orange scarf along with a younger girl wearing a blue coat that covered her entire form standing off to the side.
Next to them were what could only be two other Servants. The first had long pink hair much like Saber's own, with two horns jutting out of her forehead and separating her bangs, and her bright crimson eyes. She wore an elaborate kimono and intricate samurai armor. She was armed with a katana and naginata, but her main weapon seemed to be the massive yumi bow she carried in her left hand.
The other Servant had purple hair, skin the color of onyx, and had a bone mask covering the upper half of her face. She was clad in a leotard that was low cut to the point of going all the way down to her bellybutton and the bizarre appearing woman had a brace of daggers ready to be thrown in one hand.
"Girl," Saber shouted. "Make yourself useful and see to my Master! He is wounded in the shed over there."
Rin jumped at being addressed so harshly, but considering the Servant was in combat at the moment, she decided not to argue. "Right, c'mon Miyu. Archer help Saber!"
"Yes Nee-chan, Assassin, cover us!" Miyu gave instructions to her own Servant as she followed after her adoptive sister.
Flame tipped arrows rained down on the Queen of the Land of Shadows, but she deftly deflected them all utilizing Protection from Arrows, before returning fire with her own volley of spears.
Archer nocked another three arrows and shot the crimson spears out of the air. "Saber!"
"I'm on it!" Saber replied, dashing in and slashing an 'x' across Lancer's chest. The wound did little but distract her for a moment, as Lancer's flesh quickly knit itself back together.
"Why won't she die?!" Archer yelled out over the din of battle. "Bullshit healing powers!"
Her swearing felt more off than the Lancer who wouldn't let death get the memo and off her.
Slicing off Lancer's hand to get a moment of reprieve, Saber replied, "It's because she's immortal or so she claims."
"Fantastic." Archer drawled as she loosened another flaming volley. "Just fucking fantastic!"
Again, the swearing was more jarring than the Lancer messing with the space time continuum like she was going for a walk to the park.
While both Archer and Saber were keeping the immortal Lancer busy, Rin and anxious enough that the saying 'Ants in her pants' had a picture of her beside it in a book somewhere Miyu had finally made it into the shed. The rather obvious summoning circle was still crackling with leftover prana, blood had stained it and in the middle facedown and not looking his usual dashing self was...
"Sempai!" Miyu gasped out, upon seeing him bleeding on the floor. "Sempai!" She panicked when there was no answer. "Sempai! Nee-san! Sempai isn't talking back to me! What if he's dead?" Her sister tried to speak but her panicking younger sister made it impossible to say anything and it was so damn cute! Rin just wanted to learn how to use a phone just to record it. "Sempai! You can't… You can't die! Who will take me to the cinema? Who will I marry…"
"Tohsaka, Miyu-chan… nice night isn't it?" Shirou joked through the pain. Inwardly, he was regretting not sweeping the floor his face was squished against more often. It was just as worrying as the 'marry' word Miyu was babbling, having devolved into one word sentences with a side of intense babbling that not even the guys who decoded the Enigma code could comprehend.
Rin huffed, getting on her knees as she looked over the wound. "You must not be too banged up if you can crack jokes Emiya-kun." Rin noticed the Yakuza tattoos on his shoulders but chose not to comment on them just then. She didn't want the boy she liked bleeding out in front of her.
Miyu wasn't the only one with designs on potential marriage one day. What? She was a tsundere, but still a teenage girl!
When she saw the injury Lancer had inflicted, Rin cursed. "Shit, shit, shit! I don't have enough mana to heal something like this even if I use up all my jewels, and you don't have the experience Miyu."
"Nee-san, what about that pendant? The one your Tou-san left you?" Miyu reminded her adoptive big sister.
Rin's eyes widened before her hand went down her shirt, fishing for something. "Miyu-chan, you're a genius." The Tohsaka heir pulled up a silver chain upon the end of which was a large ruby in the shape of a heater shield. She held it by its chain just above the wound of her object of her affections. "You'd better appreciate what I'm about to do here Emiya-kun! These sorts of stones are not easy to come by baka!"
"Now isn't the time to act like a tsundere nee-chan, Sempai needs help!" Miyu was so not in the mood for this right now. She couldn't lose Sempai, he was too precious to her. Who was going to one day take her on more dates, maybe one day to a hotel…
The rest of her thoughts were too X-rated to be written down.
"What did you just call…"
"Ladies!" Shirou interrupted. "I'm bleeding out here, so if your going to do something please get on with it!"
Neither of them had ever heard the gentle spoken and kind Shirou be so assertive before. 'Must be the blood loss.' They both thought at the same time. To Rin, it was blackmail for later on if she needed something and to Miyu it just made her pout that sempai was so impatient.
Rin took a breath. "Ok." She began to chant in a tongue that was foreign to Shirou's ears, it might've been German, he wasn't sure, but his shed was soon filled with a blinding white light… When it cleared not only was Shirou's wounds gone, but he felt like he'd just drank a whole carafe of coffee.
Shirou sat bolt upright, only for Rin and Miyu to try and force him back down. "Don't move you idiot! I just healed you! Your body needs time to process the excess mana in your system right now!"
"Please stay still sempai!" Miyu pleaded. "I don't want to see you get hurt anymore."
Forcing himself up, Shirou revealed his back in full to the two girls causing them to ogle the tattoo on his back. "There's just one problem with that… I have an unwelcome guest in my home… and she needs to go. I forgot to buy tea to present to her." He added mentally, 'And kick her fucking teeth in for smashing up my house.'
Shiro calmly walked outside and Miyu turned to her older sister figure. "Nee-san, is Shirou-kun a gangster?"
"I… think so," Rin replied, feeling a heartbreak for her little sister was imminent.
"Wow… that's so cool!" Miyu cheered. "My husband is a gangster! Just like in that movie!"
Rin snapped her head to look at the awe struck Miyu. Big sister protocols were now in full effect. Awooga awooga went her mental siren.
"What?!"
Archer had moved in front of the shed to provide her master with extra protection as she continued to send salvo after salvo of flaming arrow at Lancer. When someone exited from the confines of the storage unit, Archer glanced at them out of the corner of her eye, and her breath caught.
'Yoshinaka-dono?' Archer thought, her eyes were deceiving her, that the fervor of battle was playing tricks upon her, but it certainly looked like him. He was younger certainly, but she could never forget her lord's golden-brown eyes and reddish hair, something that made him exotic among the courts in his day. His face was superimposed over the younger man in front of her and the blurred vision from the lack of a difference startled her badly. The youth surveyed the scene with the eyes of a hawk before glancing at her bow and the unfired arrow she had in her hand.
"Excuse me miss, but I'm going to have to borrow that." Archer was so stunned she didn't even try and stop him from taking the bow and arrow from her grip. Shirou structurally analyzed the bow and arrow in his hands. The bow was heavy and had an inhuman draw weight. He would have to brace it against the ground, and then again brace his reinforced leg against the bow just to pull the drawstring. Secondly, there was the arrow. This archer was firing forked arrowheads. Shirou was used to firing practice arrows, or broadheads. Casting his gaze around for something to use as a replacement, Shirou saw the other girl with the dirks. Without even asking, he snatched one out of her hands.
"Wait don't those are… poisoned?" Assassin was shocked the boy wasn't falling over dead after so much as touching one of her weapons. Instead she watched in fascination as he fixed her dirk to the end of one of Archers arrows by bending the metal of Archer's arrowhead like a snake around her throwing knife turning it into a broadhead.
Shirou winced as the feeling of a hot knife being inserted into his spine was felt. This happened every single time he created a magic circuit out of his own nerves. "Trace, on."
The aria that defined what little he could do. To trace a blueprint of an object, with structural analysis, enhance it with Reinforcement, grant it new properties with Alteration, and to project illusionary copies of an object with Projection. The School of Material Transmutation. That was all Shirou Emiya knew of magecraft, and he wasn't even very good at it, but he was nothing if not stubborn, and right now, all his hard work paid off.
The forked metal of the arrowhead wrapped around the dirk seamlessly. Shirou nocked it on the bow, causing the arrow to burn with flames which burned acidic green at the tip of the arrow. Shirou then reinforced both his leg and his arm as much as he could and pulled the drawstring back before sighting in his target. The usual state of calm overtook him as he prepared to fire. Shirou knew without a doubt, he would hit his mark. Just to be sure however, he called out, before he loosened.
"Hey you damn kids, get the fuck off my lawn!"
Scáthach didn't know why the barrage of arrows had ceased and she didn't have time to find out for Saber hounded her relentlessly, like a dog with a bone. Her swords flowed like water around her spears, it was as if her spears were reeds in a pond, and her blades were the pond, surrounding her weapons at every turn. Scáthach had been cut numerous times now, nothing that her divine curse wouldn't heal, but still. She couldn't help but be impressed. Even if this girl couldn't kill her, she was tenacious, a woman who didn't take no for an answer. She was a woman after her own heart.
Then, she heard it, something so incredulous it stunned her for just a second at how utterly retarded it was.
"Hey you damn kids, get the fuck off my lawn!"
Lancer's heartbeat of stillness caused her to turn a second after she meant to and just in time for an arrow to strike her just above the valley of her chest. She was thrown off her feet, momentum carrying her like a battering ram and smashed halfway her through the porch of the Emiya Estate, digging up a three foot, six hundred metre trench through stone, wood and earth where she lay in a dazed heap. With blood trickling down from her mouth, Scáthach's head playing the church bells felt a minute after the twelve o'clock bells, the burning pain of both fiery fire and the cold feeling of poison coursing through her body in unison. She had skills she could use to counter both of these things of course, but the idea of that boy, that same mortal boy, managing to wound her twice in the same fight, had sent her laughing. Yes, the Queen of the Land of Shadows, laughed as she lay in a crater of shattered wood, a trail denoting her brief occupation as a digger.
"That makes twice now boyo. Twice you have wounded me. I usually make a policy of sleeping with anyone who does it three times, not that it ever has." Lancer locked her crimson eyes with his own from all the way across the yard. She stood up from the rubble, never removing her eyes from his whose cheeks were adorably red ever so slightly. "You've caught my interest. I've had my fill of battle this night, don't die boyo. I have plans for you."
Lancer disappeared then, her presence completely fading into nothingness.
"How can a Lancer have presence concealment, I thought that was a skill restricted to my Class?" The purple hair woman exclaimed in confusion as she noted how the woman left. "Not fair! Stop stealing my thing, you damn cheating bitch!"
Shirou butted in. "I don't know about what you are upset about or anything really... Could someone I dunno please tell me what the hell is going on here?! Or get off my fucking lawn! It's going to take me ages to fill in that damn hole!"
"Emiya-kun!" Tohsaka and Miyu had come out from the shelter of the shed having seen his shot on Lancer, "That was reckless, you could've gotten hurt, again!"
Turning to her with a deadpan glare, Shirou reiterated. "What is going on here?"
"Just how long have you been a Magus on my property?" Rin was steaming, adopting what her friends called the 'Tohsaka lecturing pose number 4' at the fact that he was practicing right under her nose. Like seriously, Rin saw the guy every day thanks to her little sister's adorable crush on the oblivious Yakuza idiot. If anyone at the Clocktower found this out, she as the Second Owner, would never live it down. She could already hear them in London with their noses so high they obstructed aircraft and stiffly disclaiming their disdain over tea and crumpets.
Shirou ignored her and headed towards the girl who'd saved his life. He bowed respectfully. "Thank you, I owe you one. I'm Shirou Emiya."
The girl put her blades back in their sheathes. Shirou blinked at how he had forgotten the rather easy task of identifying her by her swords. Well, he had the excuse that some damn Celtic warrior woman had distracted him by trying to turn his intestines into balloon animals.
Rubbing the back of her head, the swordswoman replied to his greeting, "I'm… Saber I guess and it was nothing really. If you want to repay me though, I could go for some food. I worked up an appetite fighting that Lancer."
'She reminds me of Taiga for some reason,' Shirou thought to himself before smiling. "That can be arranged Saber. It seems we have much to discuss and I at least owe you a new kimono."
She waved off his perceived debt. "No, no, don't worry about it. I couldn't just let you bleed out, now could I?"
"Ahem!" Rin said rather loudly from right next to the two. If she was a cat her ears would've been twitching in irritation.
"Oh, Tohsaka, forgot you were there." The biting jape had those metaphorical ears twitching so hard Shirou almost laughed at the mental image he had in his head. He didn't of course and not just because he was a smart guy who liked living but simply to preserve the seriousness of the situation. He could mock her later on or ask Miyu if she thought her sister having cat ears was funny and the girl would, having the reputation for it buy some out of impulse. "Are you done yammering and ready to pony up some actual answers now?" Shirou asked.
'Maybe it wasn't just the blood loss,' both Rin and Miyu thought to themselves. 'Maybe there is a whole other side to sempai/Emiya-kun I don't know about. He's so cute when he's all alpha male.'
That last part was only Miyu's thoughts. Tsundere Rin couldn't even compliment a male in her thoughts.
Clearing her throat again and doing her best to suppress her blush, Rin began with her best fake smile. "I think we should go inside and have a little chat Emiya-kun."
Shirou nodded silently, feeling someone walking on his grave for just a second. 'Finally, some answers.' He paused for a moment. "Just a second Tohsaka."
Shirou made his way back to the shed. The moment he opened the door, Miyu flung herself on him. "Sempai, you were so cool back there!" Arms wrapped around his neck, she looked at him worriedly. "Are you alright? You didn't strain yourself after your injury, did you?" She pushed him back, both arms on his sides to check his bloody t-shirt. "Nee-san did fix you right?"
Rin silently was appalled at the lack of faith from her imouto.
Shirou found himself incapable of smiling at the little ball of sunshine that was Miyu Sakatsuki, the little sister archetype incarnate… Well until he found out she thought they had a date on Valentine's day. He was going to have tread carefully for a bit with her. Break her heart and Rin would break him.
"I'm fine Miyu-chan." He returned the hug then gently pulled her away before picking up the sword, sheath and scroll, all three of which were stained in blood. "I just came here for these." He handed Miyu the scroll with clear instructions. "Please don't roll up the scroll, I'd like to try and get the blood out if possible."
Shirou meanwhile, picked up the bloodstained rag that was the sleeve of Saber's kimono, and used it to wipe of the edge of his old man's burial sword. He then gently, slowly, reverently, placed it back in its sheath. 'Even in death, you're still looking out for me old man.'
Miyu looked at the bloodstained scroll she was holding. 'This is clearly important to sempai. I wish I could fix it somehow.' Then, much to her shock, the blood began to disappear from the manuscript.
"Oh, did you get my blood off with magecraft Miyu?" Shirou asked upon seeing the scroll free of contaminants.
"I… yes. So, you really are a magus sempai?" Miyu asked as the two made their way out of the shed.
Shirou glanced at her as they walked. "Sort of." He then noticed his porch was fixed and blinked in amazement. "Um, wow, who did this?"
"It was a simple bit of magecraft nothing more. You probably could've done it yourself Emiya," Rin stated airily, as if she was trying and failing not to be smug.
Shirou looked sheepish. "No, when it comes to magecraft I'm not very good. But I'd like to think I make up for it in other areas."
"Eh!" Rin was knocked out of smug mode and right into tsundere. "You don't just go around telling other magi how good you are or aren't at magecraft, idiot! That could get you killed!"
"We both know neither you nor Miyu-chan are going to kill me Tohsaka." Shirou was feeling too drained for this right now. He just wanted to know what kind of mess he'd stumbled into.
Rin glared at Emiya. 'Acting so sure of himself, when he was all but squatting on my property! Damn squatter! I'll squat him if he isn't careful.' She challenged his declaration, "What makes you so sure of that?" Shirou just stared at her, not saying anything. Eventually, Rin sputtered and blushed before turning around in a huff. "W…Well anyway, we should head inside."
"Yes," Archer said, speaking for the first time. Her tone was low yet regal and respectful. "It would not do for Shirou-dono to catch his death of cold. Better to head inside where it is warm."
Shirou quirked an eyebrow at the suffix, glimpsing at her stare, remembering the trio's warnings about the female gender but in the end just shaking his head and saying nothing. That was impossible. Choosing instead to lead the way back into his house stopping only briefly to put his shirt and jacket back on (earning a disappointed 'aww' from Miyu when he did, not that he heard it and a 'meep' worthy of the Roadrunner from Rin) and to respectfully return his father's sword to its place at its shrine. He clapped his hands together three times and sent a silent prayer of thanks towards his old man in the afterlife. Shirou then turned towards his waiting guests, all of whom had remained respectfully quiet.
"Alright, now who wants to tell me just what is going on here?"
Everyone, even Saber who knew only a little bit more than her master, turned and looked at Rin.
Seeing the stared the Tohsaka heiress blushed. "Oh fine! Yes let's dump this all on me." She glared at Shirou hard, like a lioness telling her lion partner to be nice to the cubs while she was away. "Let's talk about this over tea Emiya-kun."
"Alright, if you will follow me."
"Allow me Shirou-dono, you have been through enough tonight." Archer bowed subserviently before making her way through the house.
'Well, I guess the honorific is here to stay I guess,' Shirou thought as he made his way towards the kitchen to make sure Archer found everything alright... that and ensuring she didn't make a mess.
Pacing worriedly back and forth in the small apartment she'd rented, Bazett Fraga McRemitz, Enforcer for the Mage's Association, frantically waited for her Servant's return. When she found out she had been selected by the Greater Grail to participate in the Holy Grail War, she already knew who she intended to summon.
Cu Chulainn, greatest hero of Irish legend. She had idolized him since she was a little girl, but always hated how tragically he died. Her wish for the Grail, should she be able to attain it, would be to change his fate. She used the earrings she wore, crystal that had runes carved on them by Chulainn himself as a catalyst himself, to summon him…
Only she didn't get Ireland's Son of Light.
Instead, she had summoned someone else. Someone close to him in his legend. His mentor, the Queen of the Land of Shadows and Witch of Dun Scaith, Scáthach. Bazett was a little disappointed to get the master instead of the pupil and she even found the summoning itself to be weird, Scáthach stepping out of a massive black gate instead of materializing in a burst of prana like all previous accounts of Servant summonings went. When she told the Queen of Shadows her wish, she laughed, ruffled her hair, and called her quaint.
"No student of mine would die with regrets in their hearts."
That is what she'd told her and Bazett couldn't wrap her head around it. How could someone who died so young, having killed both his best friend and only son, die with no regrets? Bazett had been pondering that ever since Scáthach had told it to her.
Though her Servant's words still vexed her, that was not why Bazett paced now. She had inadvertently attacked one of her allies. She had jumped the gun so to speak upon seeing the Einzbern Homunculus for this War and didn't think she would be a part of her own faction. Now she had all but alienated herself from her potential allies. 'This is bad, lancer and I could be all alone, an island surrounded by a sea of enemies.'
Besides that, Bazett thought it prudent to take out a Master before they could summon a Servant. As the Holy Grail, despite summoning three times the usual allotted Servants, only needed seven to die in order to grant a wish. Less Masters meant less Servants which in the end, meant the Grail would be less likely to activate with a dozen or more Servants racing to claim it for themselves.
"Don't be so worried Master." Bazett leapt a foot in the air, turning mid jump to find Scáthach sitting in a chair across the room, lounging in it as if it were a throne, one elbow supporting her face on the arm rest like a bored king giving out orders.
"Don't do that Lancer!" Bazett chided, a crimson haze of embarrassment staining her cheeks. She added meekly, "You scared me."
The Queen of Shadows smirked like a cat and crossed her legs. Bazett's heart jumped a beat at that much sexy lady, a gay man would have such was her beauty. "I see that. Still, don't worry too much about the boy. I feel he's the forgiving sort."
Bazett quirked an eyebrow. "How can you be so sure?"
"One can tell a lot about someone by crossing blades with them." Scáthach's reply was cryptic yet knowing.
Bazett looked away, her gaze facing towards her window wall with gave her a panoramic view of the city sprawling all below her. "I wish I had your confidence Lancer."
"You forget Master, I can see the future," Scáthach said, reminding her fretting contractor.
Bazett sighed in relief pressing her head against the cool glass of the window. "So, it all works out then?"
"Indeed." Scáthach didn't bother to elaborate, as she didn't want all the Enforcer's blood to rush to her face instead of her brain, causing her to faint. 'She can barely handle me crossing my legs. Best to let her experience it for herself besides it'll be much more fun to watch that way.'
Bazett would come to hate her Lancer's strange humour.
"So, let me see if I've got this straight," Shirou's tone was measured after Tohsaka had explained everything to him. Before they had talked though Shirou had made everyone a snack, Miyu spending her time eating the cake as if every morsel was precious. "Every sixty years or so, seven magi and Servant familiars get together for a death battle that so far nobody has won, and put thousands of innocent lives in danger every time?" Shirou leveled a cold gaze at the Second Owner of Fuyuki. Let me ask you something Tohsaka, does your Family care about the people of this City at all?"
Rin jerked as if she had just been slapped. "Wha… what kind of question is that?! It's been my family's job for generations to protect this land and its people from mystical threats!"
"Yet every sixty years or so, your family casts aside their oaths to the safety of the people living in this city to chase after a magical cup!" Shirou retorted, raising his voice an octave.
Rin bristled. The Grail War was her family's legacy, her birthright. She would not have it belittled to be seen as a mere cup. "It is no mere cup Emiya, it can grant any wish to the winner of the Grail War."
Shirou remained unmoved. "But at what cost? Your family are the Second Owners of Fuyuki, that makes you the Lord of these lands and everyone else your serfs. It is your duty to see to their safety. By allowing this Grail War to continue as it has, the Tohsaka family has failed in their duty to protect the people beneath them."
Rin was on the verge of attacking Emiya with a Finn Shot, crush on him be damned. That is, until someone else spoke up.
"I think your being a little unfair to Nee-san, sempai." Miyu began sipping at the tea that had been provided for her before continuing. "It's not Nee-san's fault any of this happened. She was the same age as you the last time a Grail War happened. The War wasn't supposed to start for another fifty years. This surprised everyone, even her. Plus, is it really fair to hold Nee-chan accountable for the actions of her ancestors?"
Shirou sighed. It had been a rough night. "No, I suppose not." He bowed politely to Rin. "I apologize for being a bad host Tohsaka… tonight has been… stressful and I was taking it out on you unnecessarily. I apologize."
Rin looked away. "I guess I can forgive you this time Emiya. You did almost die after all. I'll just chalk you disrespecting me like this to blood loss." The Second Owner glared at him like a hawk. "It better not happen again." Rin let out a little sigh. "Though, I will admit a lot of people got hurt in the last War somehow... I don't have much hope of limiting casualties this time around either, not with three times the number of Servants running around." Rin clawed at her scalp. "This is nuts! How are we supposed to stop innocent people from dying much less magecraft from being discovered with this many Servants running around?!"
Miyu patted her adoptive big sister's arm comfortingly. "There, there, nee-san, I'm sure we'll manage somehow."
Seeing Tohsaka fretting about the safety of the citizens of Fuyuki, he saw that she did indeed care. The Yakuza let this scene play out then turned to Miyu. "Thanks for setting me straight Miyu-chan."
She smiled at him warmly as she kept rubbing her sisters back. "Sempai?" Miyu asked when Shirou abruptly got up. "Where are you going?"
"Getting dressed," Shirou replied shortly before making his way to his room. After all, one didn't visit the boss without looking their best. "I have to go out for a bit."
Shirou went to his closet and pulled out a black pinstripe suit. He slipped into a white dress shirt pulled up a pair of black pants, slung a red tie around his neck and slipped on a pair of gleaming black dress shoes. He then went to his bathroom and slicked back his unruly auburn hair with a bit of mousse before tying his tie. To finish his look, he took his old man's coat from out of his closet and threw it on. Shirou looked at himself in the mirror for a moment. He looked presentable enough to visit Riaga-oyabun in an official capacity. He still had a slight horizontal scar just beneath his right eye from where Lancer had nicked him, (it was probably going be hailed as a good thing by his aniki when they saw it) but other than that, he was ready.
Shirou walked back into the living room to his waiting guests who all blinked owlishly at his apparent transformation from humble boy to Yakuza member. A wolf whistle rang out and all eyes turned to Miyu.
"You clean up nice sempai! What's with the getup?"
"Thank you Miyu-chan, as for my attire… well one should look presentable when they go to meet their oyabun."
"So, you really do work for one of the Yakuza around town Emiya-kun?" Rin was surprised to hear this. It was her job to deal with magical threats, so she usually kept her nose out of the more mundane facets of city life. Only magical crimes concerned her.
"I do, I feel morally obligated to inform them that this War is happening early if they don't already know." Shirou headed to the door. "If you could all see yourselves out, I'd appreciate it."
Rin had somehow managed to get in front of him in the time it took for him to turn and face the door. Her arms were outstretched preventing him from getting into the hallway. "Now just hang on one second here! You can't just go telling normal people about the Grail War!"
"Tohsaka, they all but adopted me after my old man died. I owe them this and more. Stand aside."
Shirou's voice was cold like ice. So cold that Rin couldn't hide the slightly hot feeling in her chest that alarmed her. Was she a masochist?
Hearing him talk like that made the Queen of Homurahara look at the school's fake janitor in a new light. "E…Emiya-kun you, you can't tell them right now, not tonight… at the very least not before talking to the moderator of the War?"
Shirou quirked an eyebrow. There was someone in charge after all. "Moderator?"
"Yes Emiya-dono," Archer had spoken up for her Masters sake. "The local priest does… I believe the proper word is damage control?"
Shirou sighed. "In other words, it's his job to sweep messes under the rug." He fixed his gaze on the school idol. "Why shouldn't I go and inform my boss about this mess again?"
"Oi, Master, maybe we should at least hear what this guy has to say first?" Saber suggested lazily.
Shirou glanced at Saber. "I'm no one's Master, Saber."
The pinkette grinned. "You summoned me. Those command seals on your hand make you my Master… though since you're in the Yakuza, I suppose I could call you aniki if you'd like?"
Shirou glanced at his hand. What he thought was an accidental wound were his command seals. Three Mushin symbols circles left open ended, each painted inside the other, were on display on the back of his right hand. smiled a bit at that. He'd never had a kohai in the Yakuza sense before. "Fine then imouto." That sounded weird seeing as no women worked for the Yakuza as far as he knew. "You can start by moving Tohsaka so we can leave the house."
"Yes aniki!" Saber singsonged before getting up and picking up the school idol as if she were a sack of grain and setting her beside her Servant. "I think this belongs to you Archer."
"You… you need to register!" Rin yelled at his back.
Shirou paused and turned back to the Second Owner. "Hmm?"
"The war, you need to register at the church… the light of realization lit in her aquamarine eyes. "Also, your people, they can probably seek asylum in the church!"
Shirou placed his hands on his hips and sighed. He had been doing a lot of that tonight. "Hmm… alright, alright I'll go to this church of yours. If something feels off though…"
"I'll come with you to explain things myself tomorrow after school," Rin promised.
"Fair enough, let's get going then."
Miyu asked what everyone else was thinking. "Going sempai?"
Shirou embarrassedly admitted. "I don't know where the church is. Never been there, and it is not a part of my group's territory. I'll need someone to show me the way."
Shirou kept himself on high alert after they crossed the bridge into the Shion District of Fuyuki. Shion was split between the four families that ran Fuyuki. The Fujimura-gumi had a firm grip on the restaurant district to the East. The Amakichi controlled the hotels to the West, the Oboro controlled the gambling and entertainment areas to the North. Lastly, the Nakamura controlled the harbor, earning their profits from the import and export market.
To get to the church which sat upon its own little hill, they would have to pass through the Oboro territory. 'Meaning the chances are high that we are going to run into that guy.'
"Sempai," Miyu questioned, "Why are you so nervous?" She glanced at his right hand, the one holding the lethal weapon that had made a little old lady who for some reason was wandering around late run like she was trying to outrun a hungry lion upon seeing it. "Also why did you bring your tou-san's sword with you?"
Shirou glanced down at the katana he had only recently returned to its rightful place at the shrine in his home. "Leaving my home without being armed after what happened earlier tonight would be foolish."
"Aniki is wise," Saber complimented. "A warrior should never leave his home unarmed."
Miyu wasn't so sure but if sempai thought it necessary, she wasn't going to complain.
The group turned the corner onto the main road that would lead to the church when Shirou stopped dead in his tracks. For just down the street lay the home base of the Oboro Yakuza family. It was far from okay as it was burning, swathed in fucking blue-black flames of all things. Shirou blinked first. That wasn't something you saw every day… But after that he didn't think, he didn't need to he ran towards the burning building looking for survivors.
The smoke damaged doors were kicked in as if by a great force or someone had used a battering ram and Shirou grimaced at what he found within what had survived of their compound. Charred corpses lay scattered about, some still burning, flesh blackening from the burns while others had blades stabbed into them, and limbs hacked off, all were beyond saving. There were dozens of them scattered throughout the courtyard alone.
Shirou gripped the sheath of his katana tighter as he bore witness to the carnage, softly quietening his hurried gait, adrenaline dripping away slowly like a loud drum that had been loudly drowning out the memories of the fire that had given birth to him a decade earlier. The drums fell silent and Shirou embraced the past. There was no time like the present.
He walked slowly forward towards the closest body, the past following after him soon after.
"Emiya-kun what are you doing?" Tohsaka asked of him while doing her best to keep Miyu away from the horrific scene.
Placing a hand on one of the corpses that had a blade sticking in its back, Shirou muttered. "Checking something. Trace on."
The history of both the weapon plus the victim flowed into him and Shirou couldn't make sense of it. He felt… Rage. The tang of it tasted inside his soul like rust on corroded steel, a tang you would never forget because you were never supposed to taste it anyway. It followed with the smell of rancid, unbridled hatred as if he was standing in a room of spoiled meat flowed from both the wielder of the sword and the victim. It was a murderous grudge, a ravenous nigh unstoppable feeling that spread like a virus, infecting the entire Oboro family, causing them to kill each other in a fit of violent passion.
'That still doesn't explain the fire.' Shirou mused. 'Either a master or a Servant was at work here probably… but to what end?' That was something Shirou couldn't figure out. He stared at the fire again, those colours forever etched in his memory, reminding him that he was not in the past but in the very real present where consequences existed if he did not solve the mystery. Regret didn't exist here yet. It would if he failed to intervene. He glanced back at Rin, and Saber whose head was darting left and right, as if looking for an enemy to strike down. It was too grim a scene to laugh nor appropriate to but if it was Saber reminded him of a meerkat on the lookout for predators. "Tohsaka, I'm going to have a look inside. Saber, you come with us in case whoever did this is still here."
"I should go with you Emiya-kun," Rin protested.
Shirou cut her off. "No, you need to say here and keep Miyu-chan safe. Like I said, whatever did this… might not be gone. Stay on guard and shout if you need backup."
Rin tried to protest further but bared her teeth in frustration as Shirou walked into the burning complex with Saber at his back. Inside, a once wondrous front room not unlike his own home were littered with more corpses. Men, women, even children and elderly. The rules of modern warfare ignored, none spared by whatever did this. Shirou grit his teeth, his knuckles were clenched so hard they were white, his fingernails dug into his palms hard enough to draw blood.
Saber's hand gently landed on his shoulder. "I understand your anger at this senseless slaughter Master. I do not like it either, and the person responsible for it will pay." Saber's tone lacked its usual exuberance. Instead it was cold, mature yet resolute as if having seen this many times but never getting used to it, the one thing that separated her from sociopaths or psychopaths. "But for now, you must bottle up your anger, use it instead of it using you and look over everything with a critical eye lest you miss something that may prove important later on."
Shirou nodded, taking a slow breath of the smoky air, and letting it go. He glanced at his Servant with a grim smile. "Thanks Saber."
Saber didn't smile at the compliment, for this was not the place for it, she did nod in acceptance, however. Master and Servant continued on into the depths of the complex. Past more bodies than anyone had a right to see in a place that was not battlefield, the scent of burning flesh and wood clung in the air, and on more than one occasion, Saber had to cut through a wall so they could continue their advance.
The duo finally made it to the center of the stronghold and came upon a grisly scene. Bodies ripped apart, as if by some animal the weapons of the Oyabun's personal bodyguards were still firmly in their sheaths. Blood stained the tatami mats and the head of the oyabun, his wife, daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren, had been placed in the center of the dinner table like the centerpiece to a meal.
"Whatever happened, it started here and worked its way outward," Shirou stated, taking in the macabre scene without so much as blinking. He had seen much worse when walking through the flames a decade prior… What little there was to remember of that night.
"Emiya..." Shirou's head snapped around till his eyes locked with Kenji 'Kenny the Kaiju' Nemura. He was a mountain of a man of European-Japanese descent with his dark hair usually in an immaculate pompadour, now it was a disheveled mess, and he was missing an arm. The Oboro's head enforcer had cauterized the wound with the strange flames, but they had not ceased burning his flesh.
Shirou was kneeling by his side in moments. "What happened here Nemura-san?"
It was too late though. Nemura died in that moment, his bunched up hand relaxing to reveal a bloody piece of paper. Shirou accepted his final testament and noted it was a series of numbers. Shirou at first didn't understand what these numbers meant. They seemingly looked random until he remembered that it was the man's birthday from the one time he had actually punched the guy and the dude actually was happy that something good was happening on the birthday in question.
So what did these numbers mean? What he meant was how did having this information benefit him? It wasn't long until Mr Stupid in his head was bum rushed by the guy called Eureka. It was the combination to something, a safe maybe? Shirou took the bloody piece of paper and placed it in his pocket and looked around. He bowed to the fallen enforcer and searched the burning room, Saber following suit. It was after a brief search that lady luck said hello and an oil painting fell off the wall after having caught fire to reveal the indentation of a hidden door in the wooden structure. Saber smacked it clean off the wall to reveal of all things an unused panic room.
Had they been hit that hard, that fast that nobody at all in this big house made it to the safety of the room? Saber grimaced, entering first and Shirou sighed. Of course someone had tried, Shirou noted as he entered the plain looking bunker filled with camera equipment, ruined almost beyond repair of course and the grisly remains of a small child clutching an equally dead baby. Shirou looked away in disgust and blindly groped for the controls of a set of video cameras that were wired through the place. He was fortunate that some of it was still salvageable.
It was lucky it was a digital interface and easy to use. He rolled the digital recording back as far it could on the only camera that still worked, the one behind this small panic room and through all the degradation all he had seen was a blur of movement too fast to be human then a lot of dead bodies as if they were puppets that had their wires cut. Shirou frowned and played it back, this time slowing down the footage but again the damn Servant was too fucking fast for the modern surveillance system to keep up.
"Saber," Shirou muttered, "Can you see who or what the fuck that was?"
Saber shook her head regretfully. "Master, the monster was much too fast for even my eyes to follow completely. All I can see is fire and grey. They made the effort to conceal themselves well from anyone even a Servant."
"Fuck," Shirou said, banging a wall that with some luck revealed a safe. He punched in the code that he had been given and inside waiting was not vitally important information but instead a small box. He opened it and found a wedding ring…
The man had died before he could even propose?
"Master?" Saber was even more solemn than before. "You should give those to the man who died holding the key to them."
"Sure," Shirou said, depression marring him deeply. "He gave us what we really needed so let me return the favour."
It was quiet as they left the mansion, first returning the ring to the dead enforcer and leaving, regret echoing through every step.
Rin was pacing like a tigress in a cage, waiting for Emiya and Saber to return. 'That idiot, rushing into a burning building like that!' Rin stomped her foot on the ground petulantly. 'At least he had enough common sense to take Saber with him. He'd better not have gotten himself killed in there after I went and used my best jewel on him!'
"Nee-san, relax, will you? I doubt Saber-chan will let anything happen to sempai." Miyu said this, but the look on her face was anything but calm as her eyes were locked on the place the duo entered the burning structure.
Archer chipped in her two yen. "I agree with Miyu-san Master. Shirou-dono is quite capable. It shall take more than flames to do him in."
"Agreed," Assassin chirped. "He handled one of my poisoned knives like it was nothing when he should've died immediately. It was most impressive."
'Poison resistance magecraft?' Rin pondered. 'Emiya said he wasn't very good at magecraft. Yet he was able to withstand a poison that should've immediately stopped his heart also melted his flesh, and he was capable of firing Archer's bow. Maybe he lied?' This thought caused Rin to smile happily as that meant he wasn't a complete fool like she first thought.
Rin was brought out of her reverie by a sound of breaking wood coming from the building. A nearby wall was slashed to tinder, and from the newly made exit Saber and Shirou himself emerged, both covered in ash and soot but looking no worse for the wear otherwise. Rin raced up to them as they made it into the courtyard. She wanted to pat Shirou's back as he sputtered from the smoke but her pride, something instilled in her from her father wouldn't let her. She watched with a grimace as Miyu did what she couldn't bring herself to do.
"Are you alright sempai? You were in there a long time." Miyu allowed her emotions to show on her face. Rin envied her adoptive little sister that sometimes. Rin always had to be cool and collected. She was the Second Owner and she had a certain image she needed to uphold.
Shirou smiled at the little pixie who was fretting over him, all wandering hands that wanted to touch but something was holding her back.
"I'm fine Miyu-chan."
Rin noticed his clothes were covered in soot. Tutting, she marched her way up to him and grumbled as she started dusting him off muttering a bit of Finnish to hurry things along. "You can't go visiting the Fake Priest like that Emiya-kun. You need to look at least presentable, not an idiot who ran into an unnatural fire after an unknown threat."
Shirou smiled. The tsun-tsun was translated as 'You worried me jackass!' He was very adept in this strange language. "Thanks again Tohsaka, you always seem to help me out when I need it."
Rin blushed and looked away. Miyu was smirking impishly and Rin looked the opposite direction. There was a conspiracy damn it! "Yes well, someone needs to keep an eye on you Emiya-kun or you'll do something crazy." Saber saw her blush, deciding the stranger was the best of three choices and endured when Saber sent her a knowing wink, causing her to splutter. Once she got her emotions under control she asked, "Did you find any survivors?"
Shirou sighed and shook his head. "No, none. Everyone was dead. Women, children, men… the Servant that did this left no survivors."
Miyu covered her face in shock and Rin grimaced. "How can you be so sure it was a Servant?"
Shirou made his way to the street where the firetrucks and police cars were starting to arrive. "I saw the surveillance tape on one Oyabun's bodyguards didn't even have time to draw their swords before they were cut down by a blur moving too fast for Saber or the cameras to pick up and only a Servant could move that fast. Things just got a lot more complicated."
Rin took the liberty of hypnotizing the common folk allowing them to pass without answering any questions. They made their way up the hill prompting Rin to ask, "What do you mean?"
Shirou stared up at the sky swallowed up by acrid smoke. "This is going to lead to another sort of war…."
The priest got up from where he had been praying on the floor, the Fake Priest, Kirei Kotomine stared at someone he hadn't seen for sixteen years. Not since he'd dropped her off as a toddler to his late wife's parents, had they even seen each other. It was Kirei's own daughter, his flesh and blood he'd abandoned to find his own purpose in life in the last Holy Grail War.
Her name was Caren.
She hauntingly looked so much like her mother, that for a brief moment, Kirei thought his wife's spirit had come back to haunt him. She had her mother's long silver hair and golden eyes. Those eyes were filled with resentment for him for abandoning her. A normal person would've felt bad for abandoning their child but seeing the anger in her eyes filled Kirei's heart with an uplifting black joy. For he was one who could only take pleasure from the misery of others.
Well that, and mapo tofu.
Caren, garbed in the vestments of the church, clasped her hands together in prayer. "O' Lord, please forgive this wretched soul for being a deadbeat father and help me find the strength in my heart forgive him for abandoning me. If you cannot find the power to forgive him oh Lord I would not be unhappy if you smote him for his sins. Amen."
Kirei was even more amused than before, the rumble of a nearby thundercloud actually making him smirk at the image of God taking a pot shot. 'She may have her mother's looks, but it seems she takes after me in terms of personality… I wonder, does she feel hollow like me? Wondering why the world brought her into existence? Will we have something in common after all?'
The reunion of father and daughter was interrupted by the sound of the church doors smashing open, the war cry of the girl he'd replaced his own daughter for. He wondered if his daughters would play nice.
"Hey Fake Priest! We need to talk!"
Kirei swept his arms wide in welcome, smiling fakely just to see his daughter twitch. "Why hello there Rin, I was wondering when you would come to see me."
The Second Owner stalked up to her legal guardian. "Cut the crap Fake Priest! You know why I'm here."
"To register for the Grail War of course. Just like this young lady here, I'm assuming." Kirei felt his grin growing, oh it felt so good to sow discord by hand. He would hold back on the introductions just because it would be funny to see if his biological daughter could get angry or if his fostered daughter would go all tsun-tsun. That was always amusing.
Kirei watched as his estranged daughter and ward stared each other down. The one he had a hand in raising with outright hostility and suspicion, and the one he didn't with an angelic smile on her face.
"My, my, what a hostile girl." Caren mused. "May God have mercy on you and soothe the rage in your heart."
"Why you." Rin was just about ready to gandr her into oblivion, (maybe cursing her with syphilis would shut her up?) when someone stepped in and stopped her.
Shirou put a hand on her shoulder. "That's enough Tohsaka. If you kill a nun in a church, you'll be punching a one-way ticket to hell." Shirou spared a glance Caren's way. "Even if said nun has it coming."
"Dear lord, please forgive this heathen for he knows not of your glory and those that do work in your name." Caren prayed.
'So, you wanna be passive aggressive huh? We'll two can play at that game,' Shirou thought. Usually, he kept his more caustic side contained to his thoughts, but if this girl insisted, well… "Yo God," Shirou said, deliberately hamming it up for extra pissed off points, "May you help this nun pull the stick out of her ass."
The only sound in the church was the sound of Shirou's three claps as he finished his mockery of a prayer. For a moment dead silence hung in the air of the church as everyone stared at Shirou in amazement, then Saber burst out laughing. She laughed so hard, she was holding her stomach as tears fell from her eyes.
"Aniki," She spoke through gasps, "Did you just out asshole that nun?"
Shirou smirked at Caren's shocked expression. "I don't know what you mean imouto, I was simply sending up an honest prayer for her sake. Mind you, God might find it a challenge to find the right lubricant as that stick is really stuck up there tight."
His answer just made his Servant laugh louder.
Caren, for her part was impressed. Usually, when she poked at people they got upset or angry. She would admit, to herself at least that she enjoyed upsetting people. Never before had someone actually thrown her shtick back in her face before.
Until today that is.
The boy before he was tall for someone of Asian descent, with reddish hair, golden-brown eyes, and a scar on his left cheek. He was well dressed in a suit and tie and he had a sheathed sword in his left hand. Caren found herself curious about this man. She smiled and bowed politely.
"Hello there, my name is Caren Hortensia, and you are?"
They were interrupted for a moment by a chuckling Fake Priest like he'd won a bet or something.
"Shirou Emiya," the Yakuza replied.
Caren rose and committed his name to memory. "Shirou Emiya… I'll remember it."
Shirou then turned to face Kirei, the laughing priest. Laughing was just wrong with that guy like listening to a dying puppy and drawing amusement from it. "I hear you're the guy in charge of this War?"
Kirei nodded. "Indeed, young man, have you come to register or do you require shelter?"
Shirou shook his head. "No, I've come to see a man about a mule. I've heard the sellers name was Jesus, is he around?"
To his credit, Kirei only quirked an eyebrow at his question. "You said your name was Shirou Emiya? Any relation to Kiritsugu Emiya?"
Shirou nodded. "Yeah he was my old man. He also told me to tell you if I ever ran into you to remind you to take the ball gag out of your choir boy's mouth, feed and water him and put ointment on his lash marks. That was just in case you forgot."
Caren had begun to pray again. "Heavenly Father, please forgive your lost sheep Kirei Kotomine for his sins of the flesh, and may he remember to see to the needs of his choir children. Amen." Caren walked past Shirou and his allies but whispered in his ear as she passed, "I'll see you on the battlefield Emiya-san."
With the nun now gone, Shirou took a seat in one of the pews, resting his arms on the back he looked Kotomine right in the eyes. "So, overseer, just what do I need to know?" Before Kirei could even open his mouth to respond, Shirou continued. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about the burning Oboro compound down the hill, would you?"
This was news to Kotomine. Quirking an eyebrow, the overseer asked. "Someone attacked them? This is the first I've heard of it. I'll pray for their souls."
Shirou carried on his gaze fixed on the ceiling of the church. "I just find it very convenient. With the Oboro massacred, a gang war is sure to ensue… meaning you have a ready-made excuse for anything that happens in this Grail War… funny isn't it?" Shirou fixed his gaze on Kotomine.
Kirei smiled a little. "I assure you, I know nothing of the attack on the Oboro Family… however, you aren't wrong that it does make a perfect smokescreen for this Grail War. Thank you for the suggestion young man. As for what you need to know about the War, should your Servant be defeated in battle, you use up all of your Command Seals, or simply no longer wish to participate as a Master, you may come here and seek refuge at the church."
"I see." That was all Shirou said before he stood up and made his way towards the double doors.
"Rejoice Shirou Emiya, for your wish is about to be granted." Kotomine called to his retreating back.
Shirou stopped for just a moment to turn back and glare at Kotomine, who was smiling at him.
'I really don't like that guy,' Shirou decided as he left the church grounds.
Rin was concerned about a lot of different things as she followed behind Emiya. The War, the number of potential casualties, and on top of it all, a potential Yakuza war. All of her thoughts and worries circled back to one person.
'Emiya-kun what will you do?' Tohsaka couldn't help but wonder. Yet she couldn't bring herself to pry into his affairs. Magi just didn't do that with each other. Not unless there was some benefit in it for them of course, and Rin couldn't help but think that Kirei was correct. That a turf war between Yakuza would make a perfect smokescreen for the Grail War. Yet, a small part of herself, the still human part that had been forcibly woken up by Emiya's browbeating earlier, was screaming in protest of just allowing this to happen.
Rin Tohsaka was at a loss. The Magus in her knew she gained nothing from trying to stop this gang war from happening, as it didn't benefit her at all from putting a stop to it, she would actually lose an advantage if she did. The human in her didn't like the needless loss of life this would cause.
'What should I do? What would Otou-san do?' Rin was pulled out of her thoughts when she bumped into Emiya's outstretched arm. Rin gave her head a shake. "Emiya why are you… oh."
Just a few dozen meters in front of them, Caren Hortensia stood smiling serenely. Standing next to her was another nun she had blue-black hair and deep-blue eyes. Shirou took in the handles of her weapons she held between her fingers at a glance and he knew she was no normal woman, but a former vessel of a Dead Apostle Ancestor, and a member of the church's Burial Agency. He also learned her name.
Elesia.
"Hortensia-san do we have to do this right now? I have other business to attend to. I don't have time to entertain you or Elesia-san."
The woman tensed as if she were a hunting hound who just caught a scent on the wind. Glaring at him murderously, addressed Shirou. "How do you know that name?"
Shirou didn't see the harm in answering "Your weapons speak volumes. They tell your story." Shirou let his hand hover over the hilt of his sword. "I'd really rather not do this tonight, Yumi-chan."
Ciel, the seventh member of the Burial Agency clicked her tongue in annoyance. The fact that this… this boy could read her so easily when she tried so hard to keep her past hidden and locked away annoyed her to no end. She wanted to turn him into a pincushion on sheer principle of spying. She glanced at her partner Caren, as if asking for permission.
Caren nodded, as if resigning herself to the coming conflict. "If you must. I'm sure the Lord understands."
That was all the answer Ciel needed as she dashed in steel talons sprouting from between her fingertips in the form of the church's Black Keys. A fan of five blades flew towards Shirou and he unsheathed his old man's sword in one smooth motion, shattering the prana created blades the executor flung his way before he charged at her, ignoring the pain that lanced down his back as he created a magic circuit and reinforced himself.
Ciel was mildly surprised. She could fling her Keys at the speed of bullets, yet he was capable of deflecting them with a sword. 'He must be well trained.' So, thinking she readied her other handful of Black Keys aiming for his vitals before she let them fly.
Shirou found himself unconsciously grinning. This girl, Elesia, Ciel, Yumi, whatever she chose to call herself, was good. So much so, Shirou found himself using that suicidal sword technique he'd developed during his spars with Taiga for the second time tonight. Shirou willingly left openings in his defense and baited his opponents into attacking them. If he knew where they would strike, he knew where to defend. It was crazy, but it wasn't crazy if it worked, and it did work. Shirou batted aside the rapier-like sword flying towards his face, used his sheath to swat away another three that were aimed at his chest, and the last he caught in his sheath and flung back at Ciel with a swing of his own sword.
'He's enjoying this.' The Executor noticed the smile on his face and the joyful gleam in his eyes. 'I'm trying to kill him and he's having fun.' Perhaps his smile was infectious, but Ciel found herself smiling too.
Seeing the former immortal smiling as their bout continued caused Shirou to let out a little laugh even as he evaded being skewered by a trio of swords.
"If you don't keep focused, you'll die." Ciel playfully admonished.
"Only if you manage to hit me." Shirou shot back as he closed in on her. He had her measure now. She was good… but she was no Taiga Fujimura.
"Tch." Ciel felt insulted, but met him halfway, her Black Keys like the adamantium coated claws of a certain Marvel comic hero as they clashed with the sword her opponent held.
As she watched the two clash, Caren felt the condition she inherited from her mother begin to act up. Masochistic Pneumatic Automatism Diathesis; or the ability for her body to detect those who have been possessed via reflecting their own symptoms upon herself, began to manifest. Horrid pain lanced through her body, and Caren pulled up the sleeve of her coat, to see black lines, like that of a tattoo inking itself on her snow-white skin. On top of that, something was forcing itself out of her flesh, causing her to bleed…
Pulling one of the many objects out of her flesh, Caren held it up to eye level and noted that it looked to be a razor blade. The demon detector fixed her gaze upon the one fighting Ciel.
'Just who are you, Shirou Emiya?' Seeing the Servants ready to jump in at any second, Caren decided to level the playing field. "Go forth in the name of the Lord and conquer, Berserker."
Maddening bloodlust filled the air to the point Shirou choked, stumbling, and just barely dodging a Black Key aimed at his head. Even Ciel turned her head in annoyance as the Raging Titan manifested, drawing upon her magic circuits as it did so.
He was tall, almost twelve foot, with a bald headed and bronze skinned with golden eyes full of wrath. In either hand he held ornate golden axes, which were on fire due to the braziers on the back, and the Servant was bedecked in finery. Golden torcs held chains, priceless gold links that ran through armbands, and even rings lined his muscular frame while a swath of regal purple cloth covered his lower half. The Servant's lips peeled back, revealing gold plated teeth as he let loose a battle cry in the form of a person's name before he charged, the pressure of a mere footstep shattering the stone beneath his feet.
Shirou summed it all up in his head stupidly as the most gaudy man he had ever seen despite his intense apprehension at being jumped by a fucking man made of gold.
"ISKANDAAR!"
Shirou's gaze fixed upon the flaming axes for through them and instantly he knew the history of their bearer. The last king of the Persian Empire before it fell to Iskandar the Great, the man who stood like a wall, a great adversary to the King of Conquerors, whose armies clashed many times over his reigned and whose soldiers would be lauded as in the future as invincible and the immortal ten thousand.
His name was Darius III… and he was charging right for Shirou.
The redheaded magus didn't have time to get out of the way so he did the only thing he could and readied himself for combat. The first flaming axe blade came down and Shirou hopped to the side at the last possible second, avoiding death by a hair's margin. Scurrying like a mouse up an elephant's trunk, Shirou soon found himself atop the Servant's shoulders as he tried to buck him off, all the while screaming out the name of his hated foe like a battlecry. In response to the bloody hate filled noise, Shirou, wrapping his legs around the Berserker's neck with both hands and after firmly gripping his old man's sword plunged it diagonally through the Berserker's neck.
He waited for a moment, blood sprayed out from both ends of the wound then viciously Shirou tore his weapon away, moments before he was flung from his precarious perch due to Berserker's bucking like a dying bull at a bullfight.
"Aniki!" Shirou fell into the waiting arms of Saber who spirited him away to the relative safety of the other Masters. Setting him down, Saber chided, "That was stupidly dangerous Aniki…" Saber then smiled a bit, "But it was also pretty cool." Saber turned and faced Berserker who was swatting Archer's flaming arrows out of the sky like so many annoying fireflies, before nodding resolutely. Turning her head, she gave Shirou a little smirk. "Watch your imouto in action Aniki!"
Saber drew two of her katana and bounded into the fray with the grace of a gazelle. The moment she did Shirou knew the name of his Servant. She was Japan's sword saint, writer of the Go Rin no Sho, the Book of Five Rings, and a swordswoman who never lost a battle in her lifetime.
Her name was Miyamoto Musashi and she was supposed to be a guy... She entered battle with a smile on her face, the thrum and flow of the battlefield like a familiar melody. It ebbed, flowed, and would reach a crescendo, with any luck, herself and her allies would be the victors. Saber dashed in-between volleys of flaming arrows swiping at Berserker's legs hoping to cripple him while he was off-guard. It was not to be as mad though Berserker may have been, his battle sense was impeccable. His right golden axe head coming down to block her swing at his kneecaps. Saber was forced to retreat, least her kimono be set ablaze from the magical inferno being emitted by the brazier-axes.
"Archer!" Saber called out, "Your arrows are useless!"
"Shit… I'm open to suggestions Saber!" Archer retorted.
Saber just barely deflected an axe stroke aimed at her head, the strength this behemoth brought to bear was prodigious indeed. "Yes, join me in melee. You have a katana and naginata don't you?"
Archer glanced to her Master who nodded. "Go Archer, your bow isn't doing anything."
Archer smiled. "Yes Master." Drawing her katana and naginata, both igniting with demonic flames, Archer blitzed into battle meeting Berserker's strength with her own. The two Servants were locked in a test of Strength, allowing Saber to sneak up behind him and deliver a lethal stab to his back…
Or that was the plan anyway. Saber did not expect the girl her Aniki was fighting to intervene, brace of blades in both hands. Saber was surprised but she admired the girl's tenacity. Quirking an eyebrow, she couldn't help but question. "Do you really want to take me on? Surely you know you stand no chance?"
Ciel nodded. "In killing you? Yes, I stand no chance… However, I don't need to kill you."
Musashi found herself liking this girl. "That's true. If you delay me long enough, Berserker will likely win. Which means…" Saber saw the path to victory and made it a reality with her Empyrean Eyes. "That I need to finish this quickly." She charged in, one blade held high, while the other was swooping in from down below. Saber was prepared to cleave clean through her weapons from any angle to cut the girl in front of her down…
A sword and sheath flashed out from the side, blocking her two-pronged attack. She did not expect her Aniki to get in her way. Saber stared at him in surprise for a moment. He just smiled. "Sorry Saber, but this is my fight."
Saber gave a mirthless chuckle. "Is that how it is? I see. Sorry for being rude Master." Saber looked past Shiro to the priestess who looked confused. "Another time perhaps?"
Ciel gave a silent but curt nod.
Shirou turned to face his confused opponent. "Now, where were we?"
With that concluded the Servant of the Sword flipped over the two humans and rejoined the melee. Archer despite being of the Archer Class, was holding her own, having taken the fight to the nearby graveyard. The heat coming off of her swings scorching and in some cases outright melting the nearby headstones. Archer's naginata swept wide, keeping Berserker at bay while she poked and prodded at his defenses with her katana. Saber was impressed at how Archer managed to lure their behemoth of an enemy into a confined space, using his bulk against him and then hary him with her weaponry.
"Saber, if you could keep him busy for a couple of minutes, I think I could best him."
Saber looked into her comrades' eyes and saw confidence there. She gave a nod and a grin. "Leave it to me. He may be faster and stronger than me, but since when do I fight fair?"
"I'll leave it to you then." Archer leaped back, and Saber quickly took her place before Berserker could charge after her.
Saber stuck her tongue out at Berserker. "Sorry, but I've tagged in."
"ISKAANDAR!" Berserker screamed in fury, raising both of his axes over his head in fury before bringing them down to smash Saber into paste.
Saber flipped over his blatantly over extended strike, striking him in the shoulder and kicking off his back causing him to stumble ever so slightly. "Sorry, no Iskandar here, just little old me. I hope I'll suffice for a dancing partner? Or do you only go for men?"
"GRAA!" Berserker screamed in rage, not even grunting in pain when a trio of dirks found new homes in his left leg, while the poison that coated them couldn't kill him they did hamper his speed somewhat.
"Thanks for the assist Assassin-chan!" Saber called out.
Assassin who was looming on a tree branch smiled. "Just doing my part Saber."
Now that she could keep up with him, Saber found the skirmish to be much easier. She bobbed and wove between his strikes and delivered narrow cuts to his gold laden torso that let rivulets of blood stream down his chest. Try as she might, Saber couldn't take his head so she had to make do with superficial wounds, hoping she could waylay him long enough for Archer to ready herself.
Ciel couldn't help but stare at Shirou. His Servant had her dead to rights, she knew it, and he must have too. Yet, the strange Master intervened on her behalf.
'Why?' That was the question ringing around in her head. She wanted to ask, but at the same time, she didn't.
As if he could read her thoughts, Shirou addressed her. "Do you have something on your mind Elisa-san?"
Hearing that name, the name she had forsaken when Roa took her and used her as his new body snapped Ciel back to the present. She glowered at her 'savior'. That name was not allowed! It was a relic of a time very much so past!
"My name," she said, gritting her teeth, "Is Ciel."
Shirou accepted that as if it was the gospel truth. Somehow, this easy acceptance still irked her. It was a confusing ambivalent feeling.
"Alright then Ciel-san. Do you have something on your mind?"
Gritting her teeth further that some would be amazed it hadn't caught fire in her mouth, the Executor ground out, "Just wondering how you know that name."
Shirou gave her a look that said, 'you are kidding right?'. "I already told you that your weapons told your story."
Ciel threw some of her few remaining Black Keys at the infuriating boy. "That doesn't tell me anything!"
As before, Shirou's sword sliced through them like a hot knife through butter. "I don't know what you want me to say."
"The truth!"
"I am telling you the truth." Shirou had yet to lose his temper while Ciel was at the end of her rope.
The magus' words caused the executor to pause. 'Could he really tell my history from my weapons? Does he have a Mystic Eye perhaps?' Ciel didn't dare ask outright. He was her enemy, and a magi. Magi were conniving little cowards who hid behind their power, wealth and their ability to be utter cunts, using blackmail and other horrible methods to further their goals to locate Akasha. He would lie on principle. Yet… a part of her argued he'd been forthright with her so far. She decided to go for it despite her head telling her otherwise. "Do you have a set of Mystic Eyes that let you read the history of objects?"
Shirou was flummoxed. His face squirmed like someone who had been asked a very difficult maths question and barely understood the question never mind coming up with a solution.
"What are Mystic Eyes?"
Ciel chuckled. "Well that answers that… why did you save me from your Servant?"
"You would've died if I hadn't." Shirou's response was swift and his shrug derailed the tension that no matter what Ciel tried wasn't building. This man was frustrating to say the least.
"I'm your enemy," Ciel pointed out.
Shirou acknowledged that fact with a bob of his head. "True but I have no desire to kill you."
"Even if it would bring a swift end to this conflict?" Ciel inquired.
"Even so," Shirou admitted. "When I look at you, I don't see an evil person who needs to be cut down. If that was the case, I'd have let Saber finish things. No, instead, I see someone who has been hurt and needs help. I can't help you if you're dead."
Ciel was a bit irked at being thought of as a damsel in distress but she understood where he was coming from if he could truly read her history. The Executor gave him a melancholy smile. "I see… but if you want to help me, you'll have to defeat me first."
Shirou readied his katana. "I figured as such."
Ciel had only a fistful of Black Keys left. She prepared herself for a charge, Shirou doing much the same. A rustle of wind through sleeping tree limbs was all the signal the two needed to charge each other down. The moment she was close enough Shirou threw his sheath up into the air both distracting and surprising Ciel. With his left hand now free he formed it into a fist and swung it at a right angle, hitting the Executor on the back of the head, catching her off balance. Shirou wasn't done though, he tucked his arm in, leading into an elbow strike to her chin, before using his momentum to spin around her and release a punishing strike between her shoulder blades.
Ciel fell to her knees and coughed up blood. For just a brief moment she felt her heart stop from the blow to her back. Then it started to beat again as her vision came back to her and she felt the keen edge of her opponent's katana at her throat. She looked up at him knowing it was her loss, and that she'd fallen for the oldest trick in the book. When she looked into his eyes she didn't see smugness or arrogance, just relief.
That he survived or that he won, to Ciel it was the only question she wanted to know but didn't know in herself what the answer was… A tiny part of her questioned herself for the first time in a long, long time.
"Looks like its my win Ciel-san… for a moment there, I thought I'd overdone it and killed you. I'm glad to see that wasn't the case though."
'Ah, so that was it.' Ciel thought 'He really doesn't want to kill me.' She opened her mouth to speak only for a dark red bolt of cloth to wrap around her conqueror, rendering him immobile. 'The Shroud of Magdalene.' Ciel looked over to see her partner, Caren, holding the other end of the cloth.
"Ciel-sempai are you alright?" Caren sounded concerned but her golden eyes gleamed in amusement, showing she actually enjoyed her misfortune.
The Executor found herself annoyed that Caren took it upon herself to interfere in her fight even though she'd clearly already lost. Ciel spat out some blood that lingered in her mouth.
"I'm fine."
Caren nodded before fixing her gaze on Shirou who kept staring at the Holy Shroud. "It's quite something isn't it? The burial shroud of Mary Magdalene herself turned into a conceptual weapon that binds men, making them incapable of harming, nor being harmed."
"Quite impressive Hortensia-san." Shirou meant that. He'd never seen a Holy Shroud before much less been captured in one. Along with participating in a Grail War, this night was full of new experiences for him. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to let me go?"
Caren pretended to think about it. "No, I don't think so Emiya-san."
Shirou played his ace in the hole. "Even if I told you I had to go to the bathroom?"
"You had better hold it in," the nun retorted flatly, her golden eyes narrowed dangerously.
Ciel looked between the two before her eyes settled on Shirou. "Emiya? Your surname is Emiya? Any relation to Kiritsugu Emiya?"
Tonight, it seemed was full of surprises for Shirou. "How do you know my old man?"
How could Ciel not know the name of the infamous Magus Killer? He was a legendary killer of magi and Dead Apostle alike, a man who acted more like a machine, one who coldly calculated the risks involved to take out his targets, as if weighing the lives of those involved on some sort of scale, one that only he could perceive. Just thinking of that man caused even the hardened Executor to shiver. Now here was his son, seemingly oblivious to his father's deeds and reputation.
'Ignorance is truly bliss,' Ciel thought to herself bitterly. She could likely shatter this boy's worldview with but a few words. But did she dare? Worse could she find the heart to do it either?
Someone else took the decision out of her hands. "My, my, are you truly the son of that man? I had no idea the two of you were related. I thought it was just a coincidence."
Shirou's head shot to Caren who seemed amused. "You know my old man too Hortensia-san?"
"Only by reputation, but what a reputation the Magus Killer had," Caren said airily.
"Magus Killer?" Shirou tested the words in his mouth. It didn't sound very heroic to him.
"Oh yes indeed. Your otou-san was a prolific mercenary. He would kill dangerous magi and vampires and he didn't care who got in his way. Hundreds of innocent people died because of him. Why, I recall one instance of him blowing up an entire airliner with all of its passengers just to bring down a single vampire."
"Caren, that's enough," Ciel said coldly.
Shirou's face became blank much to Caren's annoyance. She had hoped to see some measure of pain on his face upon learning the truth of his father. Not that she wanted to hurt Shirou of course. She just couldn't let him live in ignorance like that. She believed one must face the truth head on, no matter how ugly it might be. In her mind, she was being helpful, like ripping off a band aid.
It seems Shirou agreed, for he opened his golden-brown eyes and smiled at her. "Thanks Hortensia-san. I may not agree with everything my old man did, but I didn't know that man. The man I knew was a different person entirely. He was tired, but warm, and kind."
Caren nodded. She understood. Shirou didn't grow up with Kiritsugu Emiya, the Magus Killer. Instead he grew up with Kiritsugu Emiya the father. The demon detector felt a tinge of jealousy in her chest. That was more than she ever got. Yet it went as quickly as it came. Her father from their first meeting in over a decade, was not a kind man. She could tell that much. Likely the only kind thing he ever did for her was leaving her with her grandparents.
A tower of flame caught her eye and Caren led Shirou like a dog on a leash to the edge of the hill overlooking the church cemetery. There, they beheld a clash of titans known as Servants.
Saber was holding her own against Berserker whose speed was slowed due to the dirks in his leg. His attacks were so predictable with no form or grace to them at all, just pure brutish power that Saber had little trouble avoiding them. She would flip behind headstones, in-between Berserker's legs and even scurried up a cherry blossom tree like a cat at one point, all the while leading the Servant of Madness around by his nose.
"Archer, not that I'm not having fun, but are you almost ready?"
An aura of flames had surrounded Archer of Yellow, her hair had turned an even brighter shade of pink, as her teeth, and nails sharpened to fine points. She opened her eyes from where she had been previously in a trance-like state, to reveal they were a bloody crimson red and silted. The horns on her brow were now bathed crimson red as if they had been dipped in human blood.
Archer dashed forward flames trailing off her like the tail end of a comet, before she sucker-punched Berserker in the jaw with a rising uppercut, sending him flying. Saber was awed at the feat of strength.
"Archer that was amazing!... Archer?" Saber was concerned when all Archer did was stand there huffing as if she'd ran a marathon.
When Saber reached out towards her comrade in arms, Archer turned and glared at her in near animalistic fury, her now pointed teeth bared as if she wanted to gnaw her arm off.
"Don't!"
It was a one worded warning but it rang out with the promise of a billion deaths if Saber laid her hands on her right now. Saber wisely chose to back away and Archer, katana and naginata in hand, leapt after Berserker. Saber couldn't help but compare the scene to that of a hawk diving after a snake. Archer swooping down from the heavens wreathed in flames and fury, while Berserker reared back prepared to meet her head on.
The two Servants met in an explosion of flame, sending a torrent of fire flying into the night sky. They didn't lock weapons this time however, for now Archer was clearly superior to Berserker batting away his axes aside like they were toys wielded by a child. Fighting with the full ferocity of her demonic heritage. Berserker was soon covered in deep cuts and gouges were torn out of his flesh, yet he carried on regardless. Heedless of his wounds. The two, bathed in an inferno, fought like demons out of hell, but one was clearly superior to the other.
"Die… Die… Die, die… DIE! DIE! FUCKING DIE YOU GODDAMN DAMAGE SPONGE!" Archer screamed to the heavens as her flame infused weapons failed yet again to kill her opponent. A cross slash sent Berserker flying back blood seeping from his chest.
Berserker lowered his head looking at the wound, only for his body to surge with mana. "Athanaton Ten Thousand!"
There was a brilliant flash of light which blinded everyone. When it cleared they were no longer standing in the church's graveyard. Instead, they stood in the middle of a desert, white sand stretching as far as the eye could see, with black thunderclouds looming overhead. Archer, Saber, Assassin and their masters gasped in awe for in front of them was an army of ten thousand undead skeletons. Garbed in purple cloth and bronze armor, wielding every ancient implement of war imaginable, their empty eye sockets burning with ethereal purple fire. This was the immortal invincible army of Darius III manifesting to support their ligege in his never ending war once more.
Towering over the hoard, was a massive undead elephant, a mass of undead black flesh. Its trunk was barbed with bronze spikes and spears jutting out at random angles from its body. Berserker sat atop this massive steed, along with Caren, Ciel and the still captive Shirou.
Seeing the army splayed out below him, Shirou just couldn't help himself. He started humming the chorus to 'Undead' by Hollywood Undead, earning him looks by his captors. "Sorry couldn't resist. In any case, this is where I say goodbye to you both."
Without further ado, Shirou jumped off the side of the undead pachyderm, the Shroud of Magdalene unraveling as he fell causing him to spin and gain momentum. As he fell, Shirou picked out his target, a mounted skeleton on what looked to be an emaciated unicorn.
'Here goes nothing,' Shirou thought. Using his built-up momentum, Shirou sliced clean through the neck of the rider and kicked him off his mount all in one smooth motion. Mounting the beast bareback, Shirou grabbed its wispy white mane and kicked its ribs with his feet, shouting, "Heeya!"
The phantom horse whinnied and reared before taking off like a shot, Shirou holding on with one hand and his knees, while taking swings at the enemy with his sword. Meanwhile he was lopping off the head of anyone who stood in the way of him and his pilfered mount.
Ciel and Caren watch the scene with interest. The Executor was the first to comment. "He's insane, isn't he? He would have to be to actually try and pull off such a maneuver in the air in the first place, but to actually succeed? Something about him is… off."
Caren silently agreed with her sempai's assessment of their former prisoner. She would have to clean that shroud later. "Shirou-san has a peculiar way of thinking for a human being. One could almost call it alien to a normal person's common sense."
Ciel grimaced at that. For she knew what Caren was hinting at. "Is he possessed?"
Caren shook her head. "I don't believe so. At least not in the traditional sense."
Ciel watched as Shirou finished cutting a path back to his allies. "Shouldn't we have had Berserker stop him?"
Caren shrugged. "Why bother? We have their Servants totally outnumbered. Unless they have Anti-Army Noble Phantasms, this is our victory. We have them all dead to rights." Caren smiled as she finished stating what seemed like certain facts with no question of their accuracy.
Ciel couldn't help but agree. Unless a miracle happened, the participation of those three in this war ended here and now.
"Excuse me, but I would like to parlay on the behalf of my faction."
The two members of the church turned to find a flaxen-haired maiden, her long golden tresses tied in a long braid and her buxom form covered in gleaming steel armor, and black cloth. In one hand, she held a long white standard, tipped with a spearhead, the golden Fleur de Lys fluttering behind her on a white field. Her sapphire blue eyes were currently hard, and she bore a serious expression.
The two members of the faith knew who she was on sight. There was no way either of them could not recognize the Maiden of Orleans, Jeanne d'Arc.
Caren bowed in respect to the Saintess. "So, you are the chosen Commander of the Yellow Faction I take it, Saint Jeanne?"
Unused to such respect, Jeanne didn't know how to respond. She decided to stay formal. "I am. I have come to parlay."
"Isn't that just our luck sempai? The enemy gets a Saintess, while we, the faithful, get stuck with a heathen as our general." Caren said, cheerfully bemoaning their misfortune.
"Hmm..." Ciel hadn't taken her eyes off the Saintess since she arrived, her body tensed for a fight. She may work for the church, but she had no faith to speak of, all she saw in front of her was another enemy.
Caren smiled serenely. "So, you wish to bargain for the safety of your faction? Alright, I'll bite but what do you bring to the table Saint Jeanne?"
"Command Spells." Those two words immediately had the two's attention. "My unique class designation gives me extra command Seals that I may distribute as I see fit. If you call off your Berserker and leave. I will not only reimburse you for the Command Seal you lost but I am willing to grant you an extra one as thanks for showing mercy."
Ciel narrowed her eyes. "How do we know you'll keep your word after Caren calls off Berserker?"
Jeanne could not begrudge the woman her skepticism. She was a fellow enemy combatant in this Grail War after all. "I swear an oath on the Lord, I shall uphold my end of our bargain."
"That's good enough for me." Caren raised her left hand, revealing her Command Seal that took the form of a crude elephant. "By the power of my Command Seal, I order you to withdraw Berserker."
"GRAAA! ISKANDAR!" Berserker screamed in rage, but complied, his Reality Marble fading away in a flash of light.
The battlefield had returned to that of the mostly ruined Western cemetery near the church. The Yellow Faction Masters and their Servants looked around in confusion. Their enemy had them dead to rights just moments ago, why would they pull back when they had victory in their grasp?
Shirou, who was still mounted on the unicorn was the first to notice the new arrival due to his vantage point atop his steed. "Who is that?"
"I… I have no idea Emiya." Rin was at a loss. "I think she might've saved us though."
Jeanne paid her clueless troops no mind for a moment. Instead she laid a hand above Caren's which was now missing a Command Seal. The demon detectors wrist glowed for a moment, then her Command Seal in the form of an elephant regained the tusk that was missing and her crude elephant symbol gained a tail. Caren admired her four command seals for a moment before curtsying to the Saint. "It was an honor to meet you, Maiden of Orleans. Come sempai, we are done for tonight."
Ciel looked Jeanne for a moment saying nothing, before turning to look at Shirou. "Emiya… I'll… I'll see you around. Don't think you'll be able to beat me so easily next time." With her warning delivered, Ciel turned her back to the group and followed Caren off into the night.
"Not that this isn't great for us and all, but would someone like to explain what just happened? I for one was ready to go down in a blaze of glory and take as many of those undead bastards with me as I could." Saber managed to sound both relieved she wasn't dead and disappointed she didn't get to fight an undead hoard at the same time.
Jeanne approached the group, stopping several feet away lest the view her as a threat. "That would be my doing. Greetings Servants and Masters of the Yellow Faction, I am Ruler of Yellow, Commander of the Yellow Faction as appointed by the Holy Grail."
Everyone blinked at the announcement. Rin was the first to gather her wits. "Commander of the Yellow Faction? As in you're the one in charge?"
Jeanne smiled warmly. "Something like that. I would explain more, but this is not something that should be talked about in the middle of the street. Is there perhaps somewhere private we could continue this discussion?"
Everyone turned and looked to Shirou who was still mounted on the undead unicorn, the phantasmal beast somehow staying behind when Berserker and his masters had already fled the scene. Seeing all the gazes being sent his way Shirou sighed in defeat. "We can all head back to my house… but what the hell am I going to do with Coal here?" Shirou affectionately patted the Phantasmal Beast's neck, causing said beast to huff in contentment.
Rin quirked an eyebrow. "Coal? You named it already Emiya-kun?"
Shirou shrugged. "He must've stayed around for a reason. Maybe he likes me?" Coal huffed again and shook his head up and down, as if agreeing with Shirou's assessment of the situation. He smiled. "See?"
Rin would not facepalm, not in front of Emiya and her little sister. "Let's just get to your house Emiya…" She took a deep breath and proved that she had not watched My Little Pony as a small child. "... And bring the unicorn!"
"C'mon Coal." Shirou nudged his undead unicorn into a steady trot down the road.
Taking a moment to stable Coal behind his shed, Shirou let everyone back into his house and proceeded to make tea as everyone else made themselves comfortable. Assuming Shirou could hear everything from the kitchen, Rin began her grilling of this unknown variable. Putting on her sweetest fake smile, the inquisition began.
"So, Ruler, what's this about you being the person in charge?"
"I would like to wait for our host if it is all the same to you," Ruler said, easily deflecting her question.
Rin frowned but sullenly nodded. Shirou returned with tea and snacks not too long after. Only once he'd served everyone, and Ruler took a long draught of her tea did she deign to speak.
"This Grail War is far from normal. Instead of the usual seven Servant-Master pairs, there are twenty-one Servant Master pairs. These pairs are split evenly into three factions. Red, Blue, and Yellow. Each Faction is lead by one of the Extra Classes, of which I am one. The Ruler Class. I am sure you are all wondering why each faction has its own leader correct?" Seeing the various nods she was getting, Ruler elaborated. "Usually, whatever Servant-Master pair survives the War is able to claim the Grail with Servant being able to interact directly with the Lesser Grail due to possessing a Spiritual Body… However, that is no longer the case."
"What?" Rin's tone was dead flat.
Ruler nodded. "It is so, only the Leaders of each Faction are able to directly interact with the Grail. This right has been revoked from every other Servant. Should I or any other Faction leader fall in battle, then that Faction's chances of winning the Grail War are lost."
"What's stopping those who have lost their leader from joining another faction?" Shirou couldn't help but ask.
Ruler gave a wan smile. "Absolutely nothing. There is nothing stopping former factions from allying with one another. Additionally, each Faction leader comes with benefits for their group."
Rin perked up. "Benefits?"
"Yes. I for example can tell the True Name of any Servant I come in contact with. Of course this is in addition to coming with extra Command Seals."
You could almost hear the 'cha-ching' go off as stars gathered in Rin's eyes. "How many extra Command Seals are we talking about here?"
"Currently I possess thirty-eight command seals. I used two as bargaining chips to get you out of your predicament earlier and one Master has yet to summon their servant, upon which I will get two more."
Rin was grinning like a cat. "Sixty-three Command Spells divided between the eight of us? This War is in the bag."
Ruler was quick to burst Rin's bubble. "Don't be too sure of that. We have yet to gather all of our faction members and the others also have their own leaders which come with their own benefits I'm sure."
Rin glowered, but nodded. It was far, far too early to be celebrating especially since they'd almost all died not half an hour ago to a single Servant. "What do you suggest then?"
Ruler took another long sip of her tea, it was quite good, and it gave her a moment to collect her thoughts. "Firstly, we must gather the rest of our allies. Once we do so, we can discuss our next course of action."
"You can stay here for the duration of the War, Ruler-san," Shirou said. Ruler raised an eyebrow at Shirou who had made a polite offer and turned his home into ground zero. "I have plenty of rooms available."
Ruler sent her host a serene smile. "Thank you… ah, I've not asked any of your names have I? My apologies."
Ruler bowed politely. The saint in her made Miyu fidget from just how shiny the woman appeared to be.
Shirou waved her off. "It's fine, its fine. I'm Shirou Emiya, this is Rin Tohsaka, and this is her little sister Miyu Sakatsuki."
Ruler smiled as she was introduced to her troops. "Nice to meet you all. Emiya-san, it seems I will be in your care for the foreseeable future."
Shirou rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Just Shirou is fine. No need to be so formal Ruler, or do you prefer Jeanne?"
Ruler was thrown for a loop. "You recognize me too? I could expect that from members of the church I suppose, but I'm surprised you could tell who I was on sight."
Rin waved her arms around in confusion. "Wait, your Jeanne, as in Jeanne d'Arc?" When Ruler nodded Rin slumped down, "Wow, I'm being led in the Grail War by a bona fide Saint of the church."
It was safe to say that the church and the Mage association did not get along...
Ruler gave an embarrassed smile. "I only did as God commanded, nothing more or less." She focused her gaze back onto her host. "How did you recognize me Shirou-san?"
Shirou, rubbed the back of his head again, something Ruler noted he did when embarrassed. "I… this is going to sound crazy…"
Rin's retort was deadpan flat. "Emiya-kun, we are in a three-way battle royale with ghosts from throughout history over a mythical cup. Anything you have to say will sound pretty normal compared to this."
Shirou bit the bullet and elaborated. "Ok, I don't really know how, but I can see the history of the weapons people are holding. When I looked at your standard I saw its history… your history. Same with Berserker from earlier, and Lancer before that." Shirou looked over at his own Servant. "Same goes for you Saber."
Saber blinked in surprised and pointed at herself. "Me? So, you know who I am then?"
"Yeah your…"
Rin cut him off. "Emiya-kun, I think you should keep the name of your Servant a secret."
Shirou quirked an eyebrow. "Why? We're all allies here, right?"
Rin gave a stiff nod. "Yes, we are… for now. However, what happens when the other teams are eliminated? We may have to fight each other since only one of us can get a wish and once a Servant's name is known, so are their weaknesses."
"But Tohsaka, I already know the names of both Archer and Assassin. I've seen their weapons remember?" Shirou was quick to point out he had seen, hell he had handled both Archer's bow and one of Assassin's dirks.
Rin made as noise as if she was choking, prompting Archer to pat her on the back. "There, there Master. I doubt Shirou-dono means any harm to us." Archer then bowed to Shirou, I'm sorry you had to see me like that earlier Shirou-dono, I do not like having to utilize my oni nature, but I had no choice."
Shirou still had no idea what he did to be called lord by Tomoe Gozen of all people but he figured he should just roll with it at this point. "Don't worry about it, Archer."
"Please, call me Tomoe when we are not in the battlefield Shirou-dono," the Servant of the bow politely requested.
The redheaded magus saw no reason to deny the request. "Tomoe-san then."
"Archer!" Rin said with a raised voice, protesting her Servant revealing her true name. It was against etiquette to just reveal your name without… She shook her head at her 'Magus' head showing. "Just do what you want."
Miyu who had stayed quiet all this time, merely absorbing all the information that had been given by Ruler, felt her Servants eyes on her. "Do you want to introduce yourself as well Assassin?"
Assassin nodded, removing her skull mask and revealing the beautiful face she hid underneath. "I would, but I have no name to give. I was simply known as Hassan-I-Sabbah, or by my epitaph, the Hassan of Serenity."
"Would it be alright if we just called you Serenity then?" Shirou proposed. "I think it's a cute name for a girl like you."
Assassin stiffened almost imperceptibly but Miyu being so close to her caught it. 'Is Assassin… blushing?' Miyu couldn't be certain, but she thought there was a slight haze on her servant's cheeks. She felt a small stabbing pain in her chest that she couldn't identitfy at the thought of someone being interested in her sempai.
Was this jealousy? She stared at 'Serenity's' bust unconsciously and compared it to her own more modest figure… That pain in her heart stung again… A maiden's heart was a very delicate thing and Miyu was too innocent to understand that for the first time she understood what a rival was.
It throbbed like Jason Voorhees stabbing someone in the chest over and over when it took the rather beautiful Servant of Murder a moment to collect herself and reply.
"That would be fine, thank you."
Shirou was confused. All he had done was save himself a mouthful every time he addressed the woman. "For what?"
Serenity gave Shirou a warm, heart melting smile. Miyu twitched. Becoming a woman was a very arduous time and this was one of Miyu's trials of womanhood. Not to slap a bitch for going after her man… Where had that come from? Miyu was going to have to consult her magazines on love again for reference.
"Giving me a name. It's much nicer than just going by Hassan-I-Sabbah."
"You're welcome?" Shirou honestly didn't feel like he did all that much. Miyu's unexplainable pout of cuteness was more concerning though. Was he going to be tackled again? Speaking of siblings, Rin's eyebrow was doing the hula dance for some reason.
Miyu coughed though it did not banish the pout, promising a glomp to end all glomps. This glomp would destroy the heav… No it would reinforce her claim… Wait why was she claiming sempai? 'Mouuu… Miyu is confused'. "It's getting quite late sempai, and we all have school tomorrow. We should really be going."
Wow, she had really covered herself there. Sempai had to have been wondering why she was mad at him. The truth?
Shirou was wanting to buy her a teddy bear and ask her what was wrong.
Startled out of his plan to make it up for whatever reason it was to Miyu, Shirou looked at the clock. It was almost midnight! Little girls needed their sleep! "You're right Miyu-chan. I'll see you both tomorrow at school."
Rin got to her feet. "Right. You'd best bring Saber to school with you Emiya. We don't know if any enemy Masters are on campus or not. It's best to be prepared."
Shirou was lost. "Umm, how do I do that?"
Rin sighed, it sucked having a total greenhorn on her team, even if he did cool things on a regular basis… not that she would ever tell him he was cool to his face. Satan would rise up and beat Alaya and Gaia at strip poker before that ever happened. "Just have her go into astral form and follow you around. Archer, demonstrate."
Tomoe dematerialized right in front of Shirou like the ghostly being she was, only to materialize again moments later. Seeing this, Saber gave a shaky laugh. "Eheheheh. I don't think I can do that."
Rin and Ruler quirked an eyebrow. The magus of the two asked. "Why not?"
Scratching at her cheek, Saber replied awkwardly. "Well, my summoning was… odd? Yeah that's the best way to put it. Suffice it to say the whole arterializing thing? I can't do that."
Ruler came to a swift decision as if guided by a higher power. "That won't be a problem. You'll just need to attend classes with Shirou and myself tomorrow."
"Attend…" Shirou began.
"Classes?" Rin continued.
"Tomorrow?" Miyu finished.
The anime connotations were hard not to see here. Miyu was already imagining the hijinks and yawned. She was tired from all this heart hurting stuff.
Ruler nodded with confidence, her mind made up. "Yes, provided Rin can get us some spare uniforms, I believe I can convince the staff we are exchange students with little difficulty."
Rin blinked. It was getting too late and she didn't feel like arguing with a Servant. "I'll swing by early tomorrow morning and drop off a couple of spare uniforms." Her face soured as she noted both Servants had rather prominent busts. Her tsun-tsun sulked. "Though the shirts and coats might need letting out."
"That's no trouble, I know how to sew." Ruler either completely missed or chose to ignore Rin's tone at that last statement. If it was the latter she had saved herself a very upset group member.
Rin took to her feet, as did her Servant and little sister. Assassin just bowed politely towards Shirou before disappearing using Presence Concealment. "Well, we should be going Emiya-kun."
"I'll see you to the door."
As Shirou saw his two friends out, he saw fit to remind Rin of her earlier commitments. "Remember Tohsaka, you promised to come with me and talk with Raiga-oyabun tomorrow after club activities."
Rin bit her lip. She'd half hoped he'd forgotten about that. "I did, and I will Emiya-kun. It might go even smoother if we bring Ruler with us and explains all the craziness that's going on."
Shirou hadn't thought of that. "Good idea Tohsaka. There's a reason you're at the top of the class I guess."
Rin turned her head away sharply. She refused to let him see her blush. "I just don't want your second family's death on my conscience ok? That's all there is to it!"
"Right. Goodnight Tohsaka, Miyu-chan."
Rin wasn't quite done though. "A…another thing! If we're going to be working together, you shouldn't be so formal! No more Tohsaka this and Tohsaka that got it?!" Rin looked at her feet and mumbled, "It's Rin from now on."
Shirou felt like he was missing something important, but if she was fine with him calling her by her first name, then he didn't mind. "Goodnight, Rin-san."
Shirou could've sworn he heard her gulp just then. "G…Good night Emi… Shirou-kun."
"Bye bye Shirou," Miyu said, deciding to simply take what Rin had been given and up it up a notch. Shirou was startled at this, Rin firing up the cylinders for full tsun-tsun mode when she simply lost all her fire when her sister swiftly hugged her sempai and kissed him on the cheek. Looking confused at her actions, feeling her lips for a moment she grabbed her sister and once she'd turned the corner with her charge, Miyu turned to her with a sly look, having regained control of herself and said, "That was quite bold of you Nee-san. I'm impressed."
"Quiet you! We need to get home and both of us need to get to bed."
Miyu giggled at her big sisters' discomfort, happy for her, even if they both liked the same dense boy.
Shirou stood in confusion on his doorstep wondering what prompted Tohsaka… no, Rin he reminded himself to suddenly switch to a first name basis. He was simply refusing to think about Miyu's thing right now. His little sister just did not kiss him! He was in full blown denial!
'Well we did go through a lot tonight, maybe that's what did it.' He thought as he closed his door and made his way back inside to his waiting guests. "Shall I show you where you'll be sleeping?"
Though Shirou didn't often have guests if he didn't count Taiga staying over when he was younger or his sempai stumbling in after a bender he kept his guest rooms immaculate, if a bit spartan. The futons were rolled up in a corner of the room and the sheets were folded atop them. Shirou with quick and practiced movements, had two rooms ready in a matter of minutes, both just down the hall from his own.
"I hope this will be alright for the two of you while you're here Ruler-san? If you need anything else just ask."
Ruler sent her host a warm smile. "This is more than enough, than you Shirou-san, thank you, and please, as with the others feel free to refer to me as Jeanne when we are not on the battlefield."
Right. Good night Jeanne."
Good night Shirou." Ruler shut her door and slumped down against it. Once again, she let the Revelation from the Lord play out through her mind…
Shirou stood blade in hand, a black and green pinstriped holy shroud draped over his frame, a gun of some sort holstered under his right arm. Musashi stood at his right side, with herself at his left. Behind him, stood others. A woman with long dark hair, and crimson eyes, in a black bodysuit, spears in either hand. An older woman in a business suit who was casually tossing a lead sphere up and down in one hand. Rin, Miyu, and their Servants were present as well.
There were others, but their faces and forms were obscured at the moment. The Lord would reveal more when it was time, she was sure. Jeanne knew this though. Shirou was important to their victory in this war.
Jeanne knew that much.
Shirou showed Saber to her room right across the hall from Jeanne's. "Will this be alright Saber?"
Saber looked around her room giddily. "This is great aniki, much better than the hut I built outside my old man's house just to spite him. Stubborn old man." She finished with an angry huff.
"I'm sorry?" Shirou wasn't quite sure how to respond to that.
Saber waved away his apology. "Nah, don't apologize. This is nice." Saber flopped down on her futon and spread out lazily. "Yep, much nicer than my old shack."
Seeing her look so relaxed caused Shirou to smile. "Good night Musashi."
Japan's sword saint perked her head up and smiled a bit at her name being used for the first time. "Night, Shirou."
Shirou retired to his own room. Today had been… insane was a good word for it. He made new friends, found out he had multiple crushes, met back up with Shinji who was (Decent? Does not compute) now, met Illya who knew Kiritsugu… somehow. Then he got stabbed. That sucked. Summoned Saber somehow. He would need to check out his shed tomorrow. Fought off Lancer who hit on him…
'Should I be worried about that?' Shirou wondered to himself. So many thoughts churned in his head it was hard to concentrate on any one thing for too long. He met Kirei, Caren, and Ciel… fought his way through Darius III's undead army and had a Phantasmal Beast chopping down on grass behind his shed. 'I should see about building a stall for Coal tomorrow but I've got to see Raiga-Oyabun tomorrow too. So much to do, so little time already.'
It took some time, but Shirou finally managed to settle down to sleep. Tomorrow would be a better day, or so he hoped.
Words: 21,674 Pages: 53 Date Completed: 4/4/2019
AN:
Yo Heliosion here and today I thought we could do something a bit different today and talk about the rules that govern our little group. Why I am doing it today you ask? Just because I have nothing better to say!
Here is the rules of Ink Bros: Marvel in their amazing! Stan Lee you god of all gods! EXCELSIOR!
The rules of Ink Bros
We do NOT talk about Ink Bros to anyone but us.
We do NOT talk about Ink Bros to anyone but us.
We speak honestly and without mercy.
No drugs are allowed in case of judgement calls or run the risk of pissing the editor off! Alcohol and glue are not permitted to be consumed during the work process. Scary Heliosion is a polite one.
Lastly, seeing as this is the most important if Bubba is high, all editing must cease because he's too chill with prescription meds to argue back properly.
There you go everyone just how we maintain order in the universe without Stan Lee to guide us! See you around Space Cowboys and I will hand you over to Bubbajack who at the moment is NOT stoned much to his dismay!
I NEED to be high to put up with half of your scathing remarks and general stupidity Helios! You make me want to do drugs… I hope you know that! I kid (Mostly) But my codependent relationship with Helios aside (I put up with his shit because he's a good editor) I hope you all enjoyed the chap! Thanks for the reviews everyone! I'm glad this new story of mine has been so well received. I honestly thought I'd get some hate for Shinji being portrayed in a good light… But anyway, till next time everyone… Inkblot Bros out!
I'll leave you now with Four Servant profiles Starting with Musashi:
Master: Shirou Emiya
Servant: Saber of Yellow
Secondary Classes: None
True Name: Miyamoto no Musashi
Title: Kensei (Sword Saint), Flower of Tengen.
Gender: Female
Height/Weight: 167cm/56kg – 6'2/123lbs
Hair/Eye Color: Pink/Green
Complexion: light
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Parameters:
STR: A MAG: D
END: A LUK: A
AGI: A NP: A
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance: Ability to outright nullify magical effects. (A): Immune to modern magecraft. It is not an understatement to call this Servant a Magus Killer.
Riding: Ability to ride mounts. (E): Musashi is notably bad at riding, having fallen off her mount at the Battle of Shimabara Rebellion.
Personal Skills:
Battle Continuation: is a Skill that allows for the continuation of combat after sustaining mortal wounds. It will also reduce mortality rate from injury. This Skill represents the ability to survive and/or the mentality of one who doesn't know when to give up, consisting of one's strength of vitality in predicaments. It is also one of the powers of a vampire. The best result is achieved when a resilient body is combined with this Skill. (EX): Tries every dirty trick in the book to survive. Playing dead not to lose a fight is one of her fortes. She confuses the enemies with her speeches and pulls off amazing comebacks from disgraceful escapes. She is a shameless realist to the core and seems to use "If I win at the end, I'm the winner, right? That's why I have to run away now! After all, if I'm dead, I can't win at the end, can I?" as a convenient excuse for it. This is who Girl Musashi is.
Book of Five Rings: is a book made by Miyamoto Musashi, compiling the mental state he attained during his lifetime and his cultivated techniques into the book right before his death. Divided into the five volumes of Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Void, this book was the culmination of the human being called "Musashi". The Book of Five Rings gives an outline of the Niten Ichi-ryu and explains its ideology as an art of war in the Book of Earth, explains concrete techniques in the Book of Water, talks about the art of war in the dimensions of tactics and strategy, and - just like the above-mentioned - explains the fundamental understanding of the Niten Ichi-ryu by means of a repudiation of other schools. Finally, it has been said that Musashi's own understanding about "emptiness", as well as the above-mentioned technique of "confrontation", has been written down in the Book of Void. (-): Grants Musashi's four blades the each a different elemental effect. Wind, Fire, Water, and Earth.
Empyrean Eye: is a Mystic Eye ability that permits the resolution of a desired result as 'inevitable' by way of committing the entirety of the user's existence to the act of achieving the outcome. (A+): Musashi's application of the Empyrean Eye generally defines that "such and such location should be cut"; for example, seeking that "the opponent's right arm should be sliced off" effects, of the set of all possible methods and means available to her, the most efficient path toward this particular outcome - "without waste, a single slice that inevitably falls", "Without waste, a single slice that pins down time and space"; that is, the ability defines that a particular movement through a particular space at a particular time is the only permissible outcome). To rephrase, this is an ability that focuses "the means to an end" to "a single solution"; an ability that effects the restriction of all possible futures to a "single outcome."
Fifth Form: Ninten Ichu-Ryu in the form of a Skill. (A+): A stance that instantly maximizes on power, the main advantage of using two swords. The Niten Ichi-ryuu is a style that fights while going along with the circumstances, letting the sword fight as it wants to, but in exceptional situations, when she is facing against a powerful opponent; when she is facing against destiny, she calms herself down, turns her sword's heart into Zero, and takes the stance.
Nothingness: is the highest order a swordsman can attain. The ultimate mental state. It corresponds to the concept of Suigetsu of the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū. One is nothing, thus invincible. Only a swordsman who has reached the infinite mental state can perceive this. (A+): Not even a slash that uses the Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon can reach someone voiles.
NP:
Six Realms, Five Rings: The Divine Figure of Kulika. Type: Anti-unit/Fate Rank: A+ Range: 4-40 Max # of Targets: 1
Lore: A sword-roaring battou. Still wielding two swords, she takes a firm stance and: Lesser Celestial Thrust… then after overpowering the opponent with her swords' energy to damage their spirit; Greater Celestial Phenomenon… Musashi lets out her final blow with all her might. The Niou appearing behind her is just a side-effect of her swords' pressure. It can be considered an embodiment of the sword of "Zero", the concept of "Void" Musashi has yet to master. It's called an Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm, but it is actually an Anti-Fate Noble Phantasm. A Buddha sword that wards off all forms of untimely deaths, karmic damage, curses and tragedies in a single sweep. "After you scraped off something's existence to the extreme, to the point you could say it no longer has any, "something" still remains." The extreme "One" they say "no two of" can be found. The "Zero" that is beyond it… the concept of「 」.
The Flower of Tengen keeps striving to reach this throne.
When she draws her sword for the Greater Celestial Phenomenon, she mentions Tenman Dai-Jizai Tenjin's name. The historical Musashi Miyamoto was a devout of Tenman Dai-Jizai Tenjin, and he can be considered his guardian deity. Tenman Dai-Jizai Tenjin is the name given to the heavenly god of the Dazai Prefecture's Tenmanguu Shrine; in other words, the amalgamation of the thunder god and Japan's most prominent vengeful spirit Sugawara-no-Michizane and Dai-Jizai Ten Mahesvara (also known as Shiva, the Hindu God of Destruction). Additionally, Dai-Jizai Ten is also considered an avatar of Guanyin. In reality, before Sugawara-no-Michizane started to be worshipped as the heavenly god of scholarship at the end of the Heian Era, he had already been conferred the divine name of Tenman Dai-Jizai Tenjin, so, putting it bluntly, Tenman Dai-Jizai Tenjin is Sugawara-no-Michizane's aspect as a wrathful god traced over to Shiva. It is speculated that the reason Musashi chose the thunder god as the object of his devotion is because most kenjutsu practitioners before him and their schools were devout to the Kashima Shrine, and the god Takemizuchi worshipped there was said to be the thunder god's ancestor. Takemizuchi, the god of thunder-turned-god of kenjutsu. In response to that, since Musashi chose to perfect himself on "the art of the sword" instead of "the technique of the sword", he did not devote himself to the same god of thunder or kenjutsu, but to Tenman Dai-Jizai Tenjin, who also has an aspect as the god of scholarship. Or so it is speculated. Additionally, at the time (and even now), Dai-Jizai Ten was often confused with Ishana Ten, the king of a place named Take-Jizai Ten, due to their similar names. Ishana Ten is considered to be on the same god as Izanagi, the ancestor god of Japan. And, due to how its name is pronounced, he is associated with Shana-ou (Minamoto no Yoshitsune). Since Yoshitsune was, even at the time, considered the originator of the samurais' militarization, Ishana is implied to be connected to both Japan and the origin of samurais.
Master: Rin Tohsaka
Servant: Archer of Yellow
Secondary Classes: Lancer, Saber
True Name: Tomoe Gozen
Title: Demoness of the Battlefield.
Gender: Female
Height/Weight: 162/50kg – 5'9/110lbs.
Hair/Eye Color: Pink/Red
Complexion: Fair
Alignment: True Neutral
Parameters:
STR: A+ + MAG: A
END: B LUK: A+
AGI: B+ NP: A+
Class Skills:
Independent Action: Ability for a Servant to act without mana from a Master. Skill of the Archer Class. (A+): The Servant can operate without a Master. With a Rank of A+ that exceeds even A, the support of a Master is unnecessary even while unleashing a large amount of Magical Energy. It is an ability that bends the rules and allows for the continued materialization of Servants even after the conclusion of a Holy Grail War. Gained due to the being summoned in Japan and being recognized as a Nature Spirit by the World.
Magic Resistance: Ability to outright nullify magical effects. (A): Immune to modern thaumaturgy. It is not an understatement to call this Servant a Magus Killer.
Personal Skills:
Blood Excitation: A form of battle hypnosis that allowed Tomoe to tap into and enhance her Onikind abilities. (A+): A type of self-suggestion that Tomoe unconsciously performed while alive. Upon manifesting as a Servant, it has been defined as a Skill that temporarily amplifies her powers as an Oni Kind. Ranked-Up due to being summoned in Japan.
Clairvoyance: is a visual ability that is generally a must-have ability of the Archer class. It is also frequently used during scouting. In addition, Clairvoyance also affects the accuracy of bows. It connotes superior visual perception and dynamic occipital capture, such as to supplement the long-range aiming of projectile weapons. At higher ranks, it is possible that the bearers of this Skill have acquired abilities such as precognition and other forms of perception beyond standard. (D): Though a skilled archer, due to preferring to be in the thick of battle, Tomoe's rank in this skill is quite low. Can keep track of fast-moving objects within a range of 2km. Ranked-Up from E rank due to being summoned in Japan.
Knowledge of the Melee's: is a methodology regarding crowd-combat in which friends and foes are all jumbled together. Not the ability to take command of a military force but combat techniques to persevere as a single warrior within the troops of an army. (A): Tomoe is well familiar with battles of many against many and one against all. Ranked-Up due to being summoned in Japan.
Mad Enhancement: Skill of the Berserker Class. Trades sanity for Power. (D): Strength and Endurance parameters are Ranked-Up. Language ability is simple. Continuing complex thoughts over long periods of time are difficult. Due to being an Onikind, Tomoe's thought process was rather warped from the jump. She merely wishes to serve her beloved lord. Thus, complex thought is not required. Ranked-Up due to being summoned in Japan.
Onikind Demon: A Skill that represents the superpower as well as the demonic nature of an Oni. Only Oni and mixed-race beings with Oni blood can acquire this skill. A mixed Skill of Natural Monster, Monstrous Strength, Charisma, Mana Burst, etc. The version of Mana Burst depends on the user, but it is usually 'Heat'. (A+): Grants two Rank-Ups to the STR Parameter, and Mana Burst Flames, which lets her ignite her weapons with magical fire and even fly. Rank was originally B but was increased to A+ due to Blood Excitation Skill and being summoned in Japan.
NP:
Oṃ Ālolik Svāhā: Mantra of the Aryāvalokiteśvara. Type: Anti-unit Rank: A Range: 1-12 Max # of Targets: 1
Lore: is the Noble Phantasm of Tomoe Gozen. The grief and sadness of not being able to meet her last moments together with Yoshinaka were coupled with her inborn abilities over flames and the monstrous strength of the Oni Kind, together sublimated into a Noble Phantasm.
The Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva that acts as the honzon of the Gichu-ji, the temple that held the memorial services for her beloved Kiso no Yoshinaka—after confirming "the love towards Yoshinaka within herself" by chanting its mantra, she grabs and hurls the enemy, and fires an incandescent arrow into them, causing damage with a magical energy that resembles the sun which symbolizes her feelings for Yoshinaka, and his perceived reincarnation, Shirou Emiya.
Master: Miyu Sakatsuki
Servant: Assassin
Secondary Classes: N/A
True Name: Hassan-I-Sabbah
Title: Hassan of Serenity
Gender: Female
Height/Weight: 161cm/42kg – 5'3/92lbs.
Hair/Eye Color: Purple/Purple
Complexion: Obsidian
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Parameters:
STR: D MAN: C
END: D LUK: A
AGI: A+ NP: C
Class Skills:
Presence Concealment: Ability to hide ones presence as a Servant. Skill of the Assassin Class. (A+): Hides one's presence as a Servant. Suitable for spying. It is possible to disappear completely and become almost impossible to be detected, even against a Servant's perception. However, efficiency will decrease once preparations to attack are taken.
Personal Skills:
Independent Action: Ability to act without mana from the master. Skill of the Archer Class. (A): Can last for up to a week without a contract.
Poisoned Blade: Ability to accurately throw envenomed blades. (C++): Although the effect is generally the same as the Projectile (Daggers) Skill, it possesses a secondary effect of bestowing onto the target a poison status.
Shapeshift (Infiltration specialization): A variation of the shapeshift skill, specializing in infiltrating an enemy position. (C): The ability to literally "shapeshift". It is possible for her to change her appearance at will and get close to her target of assassination. However, she is only able to shapeshift into a figure with a physique that is close to her own's. As long as this condition is satisfied, it is also possible for her to shapeshift into a figure exactly like that of a particular individual. Because the condition does not have an impact on the little differences the shapeshifted form may have, it is even possible for her to shapeshift into the opposite sex.
Silent Dance: An alluring dance she used in life to enthrall her targets, turned into a skill. (B): The dance of the Hassan of the Serenity scatters poison, weakening the target, and enhancing the success rate of her Noble Phantasm's application. It is primarily a Skill that functions as fascination.
NP:
Zabaniya: Delusional Poison Body. Type: Anti-unit Rank: C+ Range: - Max # of Targets: 1
Lore: is the ability possessed by the Hassan of Serenity, an attempt by the Assassin Order to replicate the Indian Visha Kanya (Poison Girl). It turns every part of her body, including all her bodily fluids, her nails and skin, and even her breath, into deadly poison.
It is the Hassan of Serenity's state of being of killing everyone who comes into contact with her by poison, transformed into a Noble Phantasm. It results in death to living things that touches her skin and bodily fluids. It is also possible for armaments that are not Noble Phantasms to corrode instantly when coming into contact with her poison. Because she is not able to "adjust" the amount of her poison given towards living beings, opponents who touched her will be killed without fail. However, she is able to voluntarily determine whether the armaments she touches would be corroded or not.
Towards Servants, the Hassan of Serenity is not able to "kill them by simply touching them", but it is more than possible to cause them pain that slightly weakens their movements. It is also possible to give them damage and a bad status effect if they happen to come into contact with her mucous membrane, such as through oral means, etc. It is generally death for any being that comes into contact with her mucous membrane for a total of "three times".
The Hassan of Serenity also possesses a trump card that can be used only once… she scatters her body in all directions at point-blank range, throwing towards her enemy a massive quantity of her poisonous blood.
Master: Caren Hortensia (Command Seals), Ciel (Mana supply)
Servant: Berserker of Blue
Secondary Classes: Rider
True Name: Darius III
Title: Last True King of Persia
Height/Weight: 345cm/280kg – 11'4/616lbs.
Hair/Eye Color: None/Yellow
Complexion: Onyx
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Parameters:
STR: A+ MAG: D
END: A++ LUK: C
AGI: A NP: A
Class Skills:
Mad Enhancement: Berserker Class Skill. Sacrifices sanity for power. (B): Rank up for all parameters but takes away most of sanity.
Personal Skills:
Battle Continuation: is a Skill that allows for the continuation of combat after sustaining mortal wounds. It will also reduce mortality rate from injury. This Skill represents the ability to survive and/or the mentality of one who doesn't know when to give up, consisting of one's strength of vitality in predicaments. It is also one of the powers of a vampire. The best result is achieved when a resilient body is combined with this Skill. (A+): Can continue fighting even with wounds that place them on the verge of death. An ability representing the strong will to stay alive on the battlefield.
Disengage: is the ability to withdraw from the battlefield in the midst of combat or reset the battle conditions. (A+): Bonus effect of returning battle conditions to what they were at the beginning of the battle and restores the condition of this Skill to the initial value. At the same time, it forcibly releases all of the bad status ailments inflicted on the user of this Skill.
Golden Rule: is a Skill that refers to the measurement of one's fortune to acquire wealth. (B): Since he had enough assets to challenge Iskandar several times during his life, Darius III possesses this skill at Rank B. His financial power is a part of his strength as much as his combat ability.
NP:
Atanathon Ten Thousand: Immortal Ten Thousand Soldiers. Type: Anti-Army Rank: A+ Range: 1-99 Max # of Targets: 500
Lore: is the immortal Athanatoi corps of Darius III, his army of ten thousand elite men turned into a Noble Phantasm. Having existed as historical fact, the legends established in later years causes their nature as indestructible and immortal to be emphasized. Transformed into moving corpses and walking skeletons, they gather to become a "War Elephant of Death", a "colonial organism of sorts", that exterminates Darius's enemies with a "terrifying blow of magical power." It moves only under the commands of Darius, and it's devoted to annihilating the enemies of the king. In life, Darius and his army fought against Alexander the Great's Ionioi Hetairoi many times, and his greatest wish as a Servant is to have a rematch of their forces.
