A/N: Well, the cliffhanger probably left you on your toes. Hope you like the story so far! Don't forget to post lots of reviews, and enjoy chapter 3!

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Chapter 3: The First Assault

When Saber awoke she noticed something was amiss. She couldn't exactly put her finger on it, but something was wrong.

One, someone had been here.

Two, someone had left. Actually, make that more than one person had left. But why? Plus, someone, or something, was still lurking around. Saber couldn't go back to sleep, so she got up to inspect. Waking Shirou could put him in danger, because he'd want to search with her.

Rin had told Saber about the current situations, with the "White Shadows" as the townspeople called them, the white beings who terrorized the city. Rin had also mentioned that Shirou was trying to fight them off single-handedly. Saber didn't think he'd improve in such a short time. But had he'd really improved enough to fight the new terrors in the city? Saber had her doubts.

Searching the house, Saber realized that the presence was not in the house, but in the dojo. Slowly approaching the door, she got ready for anything but what she came to face when she threw open the door.

Nothing.

"Wh-What?" Saber stuttered out loud, confused by the emptiness of the dojo. She was sure that there was still someone or something in the house, which she had searched, so the only option left was here, in the dojo. But… where was it?

"SCCHHHEREEECCHH!!!" an earsplitting screech from above broke the silence.

"What."

The figure lunged at her from the ceiling.

"The."

It raised a hooked claw.

"HELL!!" Saber yelled as she drew Invisible Air and swung up at the attacking figure.

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Shirou jolted up with a start at the sound of metal meeting…whatever it met at that moment. It was horribly loud, and sounded like…

"… Don't tell me…"

But what Shirou was thinking was true. The White Shadows had found him. The only person who was capable of standing up to them. The only obstacle. It was only a matter of time before the master of these beasts decided that that obstacle had to be eradicated. That obstacle was in this house.

Shirou's first thought was to help whoever was fighting off these beasts, but before he left, he realized that he needed to get dressed. How embarrassing would it be to go out not properly dressed? Very.

When Shirou was ready (considering he was dressed, nothing more), Shirou had to find the source of the sounds. Not too hard, considering that the noises were loud, metallic, and irritating to some. Shirou found the sounds to be coming from the dojo, so he traced Kansho and Bakuya (Archer's yin-yang swords, to those who don't know), and ran into the fray.

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This isn't good.

Saber dashed forward at the white beast, only to have to stop short and go on the defensive once more. She parried a blow to her left, and then ducked under a swipe to her head. The beast jumped back, distancing it and Saber, but its claws seemed to get closer. It was too late that Saber realized that they were. The claws would've run her chest through, if not for one person who couldn't stand on the sidelines, even if it was better for everyone if he did.

"Saber!"

Shirou threw Bakuya, the curved white shortsword parrying the blow at the last moment. The stunned beast's claw retracted in an attempt to be ready to block off Shirou, but the attempt failed.

"Too slow."

Faster than the eye can register, Shirou had dashed, almost flew, up to the beast and slashed its waist with Kansho. At this time, Shirou traced Bakuya again and uppercutted the wounded beast in an attempt to finish it off. However, the White Shadow crossed its claws and blocked the blow, only to have its head filled with puncture wounds from Kansho. The White Shadow nearly collapsed, but suddenly Saber, seeing an opportunity, put Invisible Air behind the beast, so when it collapsed, it got sliced in half. How gruesome.

"Ugh. Now I have to clean this mess up."

Yes, the White Shadows didn't disappear like servants did in the Holy Grail Wars; they just made a big mess of purple blood and body parts. This sight made Saber want to hurl. However, her composed self and strict discipline helped her refrain from doing so all over the dojo floor. Well, living with Shirou and his friends changed the discipline part a lot, but, oh well. It wasn't bad, though, was it?

"This place rots like hell." Saber emotionlessly stated.

Shirou froze. That was… unexpected from a composed person like Saber. Shirou didn't say anything, but was shocked nonetheless. He left the dojo and returned with cleaning supplies. Naturally, Saber, disregarding that the place 'rots like hell,' helped Shirou clean up the body.

"By the way, where's Tosaka?" Shirou asked Saber, suddenly realizing her absence. Saber shrugged in response.

Panic suddenly overwhelmed Shirou. Where was she? Had the White Shadow they encountered 'taken' her? That would be bad. Actually, bad isn't enough to describe it. Oh no.

Much, much later…

"Saber, why don't we go in for lunch and—"

A white and blue blur zipped past Shirou, and he heard the word "lunch" repeated over and over.

"—discuss where Rin may be," Shirou finished.

At least someone was happy.

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"I… can't keep this up much longer… hurry… Shirou…"
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A/N...again: Yeah, all my chapters seem really rushed in the plot. Wow. This is my first fanfic, though, and I'm proud of it. Anyway, seeing as all my chapters are unbelievably short, I think I'm going to make a bunch of small chapters for this fanfic. The good news is that they won't take long to make! See you next chapter!