Author's Note:

Hello readers, do forgive the title change. I know that titles should be locked in at the beginning of the stories, but I can't help but think that the previous title should be changed.

Apart from that, I need to inform you guys of my uploading schedule. Although I try my best to use the free time I have to write, I cannot guarantee even one chapter every 2 weeks (I hate school life). However, I will definitely try my utmost best to upload one chapter per month, at the very least. So, please be patient and stick with me on this.

Regarding correlation to the actual lore, I try to be as Typemoon-accurate as possible, but as with almost every fanfiction writer, I may make some inaccuracies, or even intentionally deviate away from the actual lore at certain points to continue the smooth flow of the story. Please overlook these things even if they stand out.

All right, it's time for the second chapter. Do post a review afterwards if you have any queries/feedback about my work!

Chapter 2: Home

The forests that bordered the seemingly endless expanse of grassland. The green hills beyond that had surprisingly gentle slopes and were thus easy to climb. And even further were the steep cliffs overlooking the rough seas that surrounded the land. Saber was bringing Shirou to one place after another without rest. Granted, Shirou had become more fit than before, but it was still very tiring since Saber never seemed to run out of energy. He had already forgotten all that she said earlier, his mind slipping into a daze.

"So, how did you find these places?" Saber asked. The direct question snapped him out of the trance he was in.

"Ah… They were very nice." Shirou gave the vaguest answer he could, hoping that she did not notice his lack of attention over the past few hours.

"I hope you came to a decision where to build our home."

"Eh?" The confusion on his face was obvious.

"You mean you weren't paying attention? I'm disappointed, Shirou. I've always been wanting to show you this place, and now that I do, you don't even bother to listen." She chided.

"Sorry Saber, I'll pay attention this time." He gave her an apologetic smile.

"We'll keep walking until you start paying attention." She warned.

After an even longer period of time, they finally returned to where they were before, atop the vertical cliff. Saber turned to him. "So, have you come up with a decision yet?"

During the repeat of the trip, Shirou had observed her as she had talked about the locations. Noticing the nostalgic look on her face when she talked about the magnificent sea view from the cliff, Shirou wanted to confirm his guess. "Saber, was your hometown by the sea?"

"Yes. How did you know, Shirou?"

"Just a hunch. Saber, I've decided. We're going to live here. You've grown up by the sea, it's only fair that we live by the sea now."

"Yes, Shirou." The soft smile on her face as she gazed out at the sea lifted his spirits as well.

A brief moment passed in which neither of them spoke. However, Saber eventually broke the silence. Turning around to face him, she said, "Shirou. Build your house here."

His jaw dropped. "What?"

"Shirou, supply of magical energy is not a problem in Avalon. Furthermore, Avalon is on the Reverse Side of the World, which does not erase magical constructs that weren't originally from it. This is why all the Phantasmal Species came here when the Age of Man began."

"But why my home? It's too big for just the two of us. Wouldn't a smaller hut be more efficient?"

"Shirou, you said we should live by the sea because I spent my childhood years there. Using the same logic, shouldn't we be living in that house?"

He shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "All right, Saber. This might take a while, though. Please, wait." He closed his eyes and pictured the house he grew up in. "Trace, on."

Judging the concept of creation,

hypothesising the basic structure,

During the time he spent lazing around his house when he was younger, he had examined, and became somewhat familiar with the structural layout of his house. By re-imagining it as a magical weapon, he was able to use his projection skills to recreate the altered house as best as he could.

duplicating the composition material,

imitating the skill of its making,

He gritted his teeth. The surrounding magical energy, in all its abundance, was surprisingly difficult to control. His urge to cry out in pain was only suppressed by the sheer amount of experience in projection he gained throughout the entirety of his life.

sympathising with the experience of its growth,

reproducing the accumulated years,

excelling every manufacturing process-

The overloading of his magic circuits signalled that he was close to completion. He couldn't lose focus now, not even due to the extreme pain he felt, not at this point-!

With a flash of light, the house he knew so well came into being in front of him. Standing at the entrance of the place he called home, he couldn't help but reminiscence about old memories, not only those during the Grail War, but also the ones before, with Taiga, Sakura and even Kiritsugu. Placing a hand against the wall to keep himself upright, he waited for himself to recover enough to be able to move on his own.

It came as a surprise to him when he felt a hand slip under his arm. "Seriously, Shirou, you should learn to rely on others." Supporting his weight on her smaller frame, she made her way into the house.

Entering the living room, she helped him to sit down. His head swam, and it was then that he realised he had nothing to rest on. Not even the tatami mat in his room, or the beds in other rooms. He had forgot to project the furniture the house contained along with the house itself. Although he knew that he could project them later, he knew he could collapse at any moment now.

Saber proposed an absurd solution. "Shirou, you need rest. Place your head on my lap."

"Wha-"

His feeble protests were ignored and he was too tired to resist. Saber rested his head on her thighs, ignoring both his and her embarrassment at the overly intimate situation they were in.

After a while, his weariness got to him, and he began to doze off. Before he wholly lost his consciousness, however, he heard and felt a loud rumble.

For an instant, he panicked, thinking that the house was disappearing or even collapsing on them. His eyes shot open, and when he glanced up at Saber, expecting her to be alarmed as well, he was confused when seeing her face flushed red and turned away from him.

At least, he was initially confused about it. When he heard the second, and even louder, rumble with the ear pressed against her stomach, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"I'll prepare a feast for you when I wake up, Saber." He was relieved when he saw her nod in agreement.

Drifting off into sleep again, he decided to keep the fact that the house he projected was a magical explosive hidden for the time being. He was the only one who could detonate the "weapon", after all.

Tracking herself was proving to be extremely easy. Although she travelled on foot, she used the magical energy around her to sustain the rapid pace she was constantly travelling in. Munching on a golden apple she picked from a tree she passed by, she considered the distance she needed to travel and was confident that it would be a mere matter of weeks before she caught up with herself.

However, there was still the matter of the large usage of magical energy that recently occurred where her weak self was. Did her counterpart realise her existence? And was she taking measures against her? She did not know. She would worry about it when she faced herself.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed several goblins peeking out at her behind rocks. When she stopped and fixed her hardened gaze on them, they were terrified and went back into hiding. She returned to walking, unperturbed by what had just happened. Her subjects feared her. Just like they always had, and just like they always would.

She had known the truth since she was young. The ideal king that her country needed so badly could not be human, nor possess human emotions. The king had to be different from everyone else. Just as the first knight who left said that she "did not understand human emotions", no one could understand her emotions either. Why then, should she try to seek the loyalty and devotion of subjects who could not understand her?

She had learnt the bitter lesson only after the battle of Camlann, when she was forced to slay many who were once her subjects. She witnessed personally their fear and hatred towards her, and although her weak self did not comprehend it then, she now saw it all too clearly.

Having been forced to abandon her human emotions to bring her countrymen a brief period of peace, she had become too different from the people she served. During that brief period of peace, however, the people turned their attention away from the invaders. They suddenly realised that they could not understand the king. Forgetting all that the king had done for them, fear and hate towards the king spawned from that lack of understanding. And so, her rule began to crumble.

But it was meant to be. As king, she was destined to be hated and ostracised due to being misunderstood by the very people she served. She only had to perform her duty as king, no matter what happened. A duty that persisted to this day since her rule had yet to end.

To save everyone by killing everyone. To protect the lands she ruled, both Britain and Avalon, by cutting down every foe with all her might.

Including, no, especially, her weak self.