Chapter 2: Strange Allies

Fuuka Academy

"Sugiura, are you sure about this?" asked the Arbiter.

He and Midori were standing in the woods surrounding the Fuuka Academy Dormitories. The red haired woman looked up at the elite and smiled.

"Of course! You'll fit right in with our little band of misfits!"

"But the people of your world have never seen a Sanghelli before, won't my sudden appearance frighten them? I'd prefer to not start another war with humanity."

"Oh relax, would you? Things like you are a common sight around here. Now, can we go meet the other Hime?"

"(sigh) It seems there is no arguing with you. Very well, let's go."

Within moments, they arrived at the door to Mai, Natsuki, Mikoto, and Tate's room. Midori knocked on the door a few times.

"Who is it?" came a grumpy voice from inside.

"It's Midori, open up. I've brought a guest with me."

"A guest?" said a more calm voice.

The door opened to allow them entry. Stepping inside, the Arbiter observed the room's occupants. There was a girl with a large bust and orangish-red hair, a girl wearing a leather biker outfit with dark hair, and a man with short blonde-brown hair. All three of them stared at him in surprise. Standing up straight, he held up his hand in greeting.

"Greetings, I am the Arbiter. Are you the Hime Sugiura spoke of?"

In response, Mai and Natsuki summoned their elements, and Tate took out his wooden sword. They all aimed their weapons at the Arbiter.

"I'll fit right in, huh?" he said glaring at Midori.

The red haired woman chuckled nervously while she tried to get everyone to calm down. After explaining the situation, the others put away their weapons.

"So that's why Mikoto disappeared so suddenly, she's in the tournament as well." said Mai.

Midori nodded. "Yep, and I'm pretty sure I saw Akira and Miyu as well."

"So where is the little bottomless stomach now?" asked Natsuki.

"Probably with Ichigo, her teammate. Don't worry, he didn't strike me as a bad guy, so I'm sure Mikoto's fine."

"As long as he can keep up with her appetite." mumbled Tate.

Everyone but the Arbiter laughed a bit at this. The elite simply stared in confusion.

"Is this person you speak of, this Mikoto, always as hungry as you say?" he asked.

"She sure is. It's a real challenge trying to keep her fed sometimes." answered Mai.

"Anyway, the reason I brought Arby here-" Midori started.

"I said not to call me that."

"-was so I could find him a place to stay. Since Mikoto's gonna be gone for a while, you won't mind if he stays with you guys, right?"

"What?!" Tate, Mai, and Natsuki said at once.

"Why can't he stay at your place?" asked Natsuki.

"Are you kidding? I don't have room for another person, with all my stuff taking up so much room."

"B-But he's a freaking alien! No offense, Arbiter."

"None taken." Racist.

"We don't know what he eats, what kind of environment he needs, what kind of habits he has…"

"I live a similar lifestyle to humans, especially like the ones in this country. I will be training most of the day, so I'll mainly be around during evenings. As for food, I will accept whatever you offer."

"What if people notice you?"

"There is a camouflage device in my armor that renders me invisible."

"Well, when you put it that way…" started Mai.

"Then it's settled! Arby will spend his nights here until further notice." Midori declared.

Instead of complaining, the Arbiter simply sighed as Midori left the room.

Resembool, Rockbell Household

Winry Rockbell stood leaning on the sill of her bedroom window, looking out across the plains of Resembool. On the ground below, a suit of armor sat on the porch of the house.

"See anything, Winry?" came a child's voice from within the armor.

"No Alphonse, I don't see him."

"Oh…okay."

Where are you Ed? Don't you realize how worried Al and I are? Winry thought. The young alchemist had suddenly disappeared a few hours earlier, leaving his younger brother behind. Just as she was about to go inside and take a break, she noticed a pair of silhouettes coming up the road, one shorter than the other. Her eyes widened with joy as she recognized the red coat the shorter figure wore.

"Al! I see him! He's coming!" she said as she ran downstairs.

"Brother!" said the armor, standing up.

Now on the porch beside Al, Winry watched as Ed approached the house with a strange companion. Walking slightly in front of Ed was a girl with milk white skin, black hair that was tied into two ponytails of different lengths, and bright blue eyes. The girl wore a black jacket with white stripes down the arms, no shirt over her bra, very short shorts, and combat boots.

"I'm back!" Edward exclaimed as he stopped in front of Winry and Al.

Winry's eyebrow twitched a bit as she stared at him.

"Uh, Winry?"

"EDWARD ELRIC, WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? WHO'S THAT GIRL STANDING NEXT TO YOU? IS SHE YOUR GIRLFRIEND OR SOMETHING? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED WE WERE ABOUT YOU?" Winry yelled angrily.

"Jeez! Calm down, will ya? I'm sorry for disappearing so suddenly, it's not like I had a choice. Will you calm down so I can explain?"

Winry became silent, but she still kept up her angry look.

"Thank you. I got called into this big tournament thing for blade wielders, probably because I usually make a blade on my wrist when I fight. If I win, I get the title of 'Grand Edgemaster' and can have any personal desire I want granted."

"You mean…" started Alphonse.

"That's right, if I win I can get our bodies back! We won't need to think about the Philosophers Stone anymore!"

"That's great!"

"Okay, that explains where you went, now who's the girl?" asked Winry.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention her. Since there's a lot of people in this tournament, they split us up into pairs for the first couple rounds. She's my teammate."

"Okay then, what's your name Ms. Teammate?"

"Black Rock Shooter." answered the pale girl plainly. There was no trace of emotion as she spoke.

"I just call her Rock. She's not really much of a talker." explained Ed.

"Black Rock Shooter? That doesn't sound like someone who uses a blade." stated Al.

As if in response, a black and white sword suddenly appeared in Rock's hand.

"Uh, forget I said that."

"It's alright if she stays here, right?" Ed asked.

"I don't know, how can I be sure I can trust her?" Winry answered.

"Edward has told me you are a mechanic. If I let you examine this…" a massive black gun suddenly materialized around Rock's right arm. "…will you trust me then?"

Winry's eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh my gosh! That's so cool! Yeah, you can stay."

The four of them headed inside, Winry investigating every inch of Rock's gun.

Emiya Estate

"…and therefore, the two of us have become allies." said Saber.

She was sitting in front of a table, along with a man with short brown hair, a girl with black hair tied in ponytails, a girl with long purple hair, and a short blonde kid. The three older teens looked at each other in confusion for a moment, then the man turned to Saber.

"You said this isn't another holy grail war, right?" he asked.

"Correct, Shiro. It seems that the man in charge of this tournament is supplying me and the other competing Servants with a large supply of mana, so that we may compete."

"Well, it's good to be able to see you again, Saber." Shiro smiled as he said her name.

Saber returned the smile. The dark haired girl rolled her eyes at them.

"Anyway, who are you, kid?" she asked.

"Rex Owen." answered the kid.

"What kind of blade do you use?" asked the purple haired girl.

"It's called the Dinoblade, I got it when I went on one seriously crazy adventure. I'm kind of new with swords, but I've beaten a lot of powerful enemies, so I think I'm relatively skilled."

"Oh really?" said the dark haired girl, smiling fiendishly. She turned her attention to Shiro.

"Tohsaka, are you thinking about what I think you're thinking about?" he asked.

"For once, I think so."

"Oh, are you talking about that?" asked the purple haired girl.

"Yes, Sakura, we are."

"Talking about what?" asked Rex, starting to get nervous.

"Well, we figure that since you're going to be fighting alongside Saber, you and her should have a training match or two. You can show us your skills then."

"Sounds good to me."

"Well, how about it Saber?"

"If it will benefit us in the tournament, I have no objections."

"Okay then! Rex, meet us in the dojo when you're ready."

"Okay..." Somehow, I have a bad feeling about this.

After they had eaten lunch, they headed over to the dojo. Shiro, Rin (Tohsaka), and Sakura sat down on the side to watch. Rex and Saber stood apart from each other, each with a wooden sword.

"Do not hold back against me. Use any technique you wish." Saber instructed.

"You sure sound confident." said Rex. "However…"

he charged at Saber with great speed. "…can you back up those words?"

Rex swung quickly at Saber, then paused as he suddenly stood behind her. His hands were now empty.

"Wha?" he stuttered.

"That was good, but you have much to learn." Saber said from behind him.

Rex turned around and stared at her in disbelief. Saber had not only her sword, but his as well. He stood there, mouth agape, hearing some quiet laughter from the sidelines.

"Shiro! It is rude to laugh at another's expense." Saber said.

"Sorry, I was enjoying watching you kick someone else's ass for a change."

"(sigh) Rex, shall we continue?"

"Uh, y-yeah."

For the remainder of the day, Rex continued to attack Saber with everything he had. But each time, he would either get disarmed or smacked harshly. Finally, beaten to his knees, he dropped his sword and collapsed, exhausted.

"I assume we are done for today?"

"So…many….bruises….ugh…"

"Just as I thought."

The five of them decided to retire for the day. That night, Rex sat outside the dojo, gazing at some pictures he held in his hand.

"Amu…Zoey…Mayura…" he whispered. "(sigh) but which do I care about more?"

"Having some relationship issues?" said a voice.

Rex turned in surprise. Shiro was standing next to him.

"Dude! Don't startle me like that."

"Sorry. I couldn't sleep, so I came out for some fresh air. Then I saw you looking at those photos."

"Oh…so, you heard me then?"

"Yep."

"Oh…"

"Don't worry, I won't say anything."

"Thanks…..hey, Shiro, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"You like those three girls, right?"

"Well, uh, yeah. I mean, I've known Sakura for a long time, and Tohsaka is a good friend, and Saber…well, she's saved my ass I don't know how many times."

"Do you…prefer one over the others?"

Shiro paused for a moment. Then smiled and looked up into the night sky.

"I guess I can be honest with you, since you'll be here a while. I love Saber. Since the day I met her, I've loved her. I just didn't fully realize it until the holy grail war was nearly over."

"Does…she love you?"

Shiro closed his eyes. "Yes, she does."

"But, how did you decide?"

Shiro now looked over at Rex. "It's not something you can just decide, you have to figure it out yourself who it is you hold most dear." Heh, listen to me. I sound like Archer.

Shiro started to walk back toward his house. "Don't worry Rex, I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Rex watched him disappear inside the house. He sat there for a few more moments before putting the photos back in his pocket. As he walked toward the house, he pondered over Shiro's words. Maybe he's right. Maybe when the time comes, I'll know for sure who's most important.