Chapter 2: Fateful Night II

Cover image: Caster standing over Shirou in the Shed.

Shirou had awoken and found himself laying in a pool of his own blood in the middle of his school's hallway. He recalled what had happened moments ago.

The man in blue had chased after him after witnessing a battle to the death. He had stabbed him in the chest afterwards and almost died. No. That isn't right. Shirou was killed but somehow, he was brought back to life. As Shirou looked around, he happened to see something on the floor next to him. "Huh? What's this...?" It was a heart-shaped pendant left behind by whoever saved him.

Still in a daze, the auburn-haired teen grabbed the pendant and quickly left the building and rushed home, knowing full well, that the man in blue, or the Blue lancer as Shirou came to call him, was still out there. As soon as he came in, he laid on the floor, and tried to catch his breath.

"Just who were those guys?" Shirou said to himself, thinking about how he was killed by that man. Then, all of a sudden, he came.

The blue lancer had appeared right above him, with his spear aiming for the auburn haired-teen's head. Luckily, Shirou was quick enough to evade his surprise attack.

"You know, I was trying to be considerate, figuring it would hurt more if you saw it coming." The blue lancer said in a casual tone. Shirou looked around frantically for a weapon he could use to defend himself, only to find a rolled up poster left behind by Fujimura.

"Looks like the human world is a bloody place, whatever the era." Lancer said as he pointed his spear at him.

"Trace, on." Shirou had reinforced the poster to the strength of steel. He then held up his weapon as he took a step back.

"Try findin' your way to the other side, kid." Lancer had poised his lance for a thrust towards his chest, only to be blocked and deflected by the reinforced poster.

"Odd style you got there. This will be fun." He continued to thrust his weapon at the auburn-haired youth, who continued to clock the attacks as best he could. When he found the chance, he ran into the hallway, then smashed his body into one of the windows and rolled outside. As Shirou was about to run, Lancer had performed a roundhouse kick on him, which sent him flying into the wall of the shed. The Auburn haired-teen quickly stood up, and ran in the shed, in hopes of finding a better weapon and as he made his way inside, the demonic red spear was thrust again at him. Shirou had acted quick and opened up the poster to act as a shield. Although it protected him briefly, the poster was shattered and the auburn-haired teen had no weapon.

"Checkmate. I must admit, that last move was quite surprisin' boy. I still don't get it though... You think fast on your feet, yet you're hopeless at magecraft. Maybe you were meant to be the seventh after all." Lancer said as he pointed his spear at the auburn haired teen.

"Even if that's so, this is the end for ya. Stay dead this time kid."

Shirou sat up as he faced his killer. "Screw this... My life was spared, and now I'm going to have it taken again?" Shirou denied the fate that was before him. He would die without being called a hero, that he would die without ever accomplishing anything. And for the fact that he will die twice in the same day after having his life spared. This angered the red haired youth to no end. As his life was on the verge of ending, An old red rapier stored in the back of the shed began to glow as an old summoning circle covered by boxes, began to glow as well, causing a blue lighst to fill the shed.

It was then that a dark blur shot passed him and brushed off the thrust of the spear in a clash of steel. Without a pause, the parry was followed with by a blinding slash.

Sparks flew as the blue lancer raised his weapon to defend himself. "Kuh!" The force of the strike, sent Lancer staggering backwards. He glared at Shirou then leaped out of the shed. With the immediate danger gone, Shirou's savior turned to face him, allowing him to get a clear look.

Shirou's first thought was that his savior was that she was beautiful and quite young, only looking to be a few years older than himself. She had long hair that was as black as night, and cold blue eyes that would never waver. She was garbed in a navy blue cloth that was covered by black and gold body armor with her hands and back exposed revealing 3 strange tattoos.

"Who...are you?" Shirou asked the mysterious black-haired woman.

"I am Caster. You summoned me here, did you not, master?" The woman said as she kept her gaze fixed on Shirou. Her expression and demeanor seemed impassive, making it almost impossible for one to know what she was really thinking.

"Master...?" The auburn-haired teen felt a sharp pain on his hand, as three marks taking the form of a sword appeared on his hand.

"The contract is now complete. I shall deal with the enemy outside. You remain here, master." With that said, the young woman called Caster, summoned a silver sword and rushed off to face the blue Lancer.

The woman called Caster rushed forward from the shed and began her assault on Lancer. Lancer parried the woman's strikes then jumped back to observe his enemy.

"Heh. A magician trying to be a swordswoman huh?!" Caster had ignored Lancer's words and continued to attack. She swung the silver blade at her enemy's neck only to be parried by the red Lance. The two warriors attacks grew more fierce and their movements became so fast that Shirou's eyes couldn't keep up with them.

"Ha!" Caster continued to trade blows then jumped back, and summoned 3 daggers in one hand. She threw the daggers at Lancer all at once who deflected them with great speed. Lancer glared at Caster, now aware that this wasn't an opponent he could take lightly.

"Just who are you?! I've never heard of a Caster using swords before!" Lancer shouted as he crouched ready to attack. Caster said nothing as she rushed forward again, only this time her sword had been replaced by a battle axe.

"Eh?!" Caster swung the axe down at Lancer who blocked the attack with his spear. Lancer was on the defensive now. He was already aware that Caster wasn't an ordinary opponent, and most certainly with skills not what he would expect from a Caster class servant, but the weapon switch caught him completely off guard. Caster swung the axe at Lancer who was blocking all of the strikes, but then, that weapon was replaced by a spear, thrust at Lancer's chest.

"Gah!" Lancer was unable to block that one, luckily for him, he managed to dodge it allowing it to graze the side of his body.

"Tch!" Lancer jumped back holding his wound. the spear was then replaced by a large Hammer which was swung at Lancer. He managed to block the attack with his spear, but the force of the strike sent him flying halfway across the yard. Caster then summoned five daggers, and threw them at the blue Lancer who was able to deflect two of them, but the other three struck him.

One dagger struck his left leg, the second one, struck his shoulder and the third one struck him in the torso.

Blood ran down from the blue servant as he stared at Caster from the newly opened distance.

Caster had then summoned a red Rapier that emanated with a magic glow, preparing to make her next move.

"Heh, Tell me, which Land's heroic spirit are ya? I've never heard of a Caster who uses swords and spears in battle." Lancer asked the Black-Haired woman.

"And you. Tell me which Heroic spirit are you." Caster said coolly, with her gaze fixed on Lancer. "It would not be fair if I were to tell you my name and you not give me yours."

"Heh, guess you got a point there." Lancer nodded and gave her a feral grin. "Still, pretty impressive for a Caster to use a variety of weapons like that." Lancer stood up, ignoring his wounds. "A pity you're about to die now."

"Oh?" Caster stared at lancer. "It seems that the situation does not favor you Lancer. The last I recall, I was not the one who received four wounds. "

Lancer lowered his stance. "Keep talking, Caster." Shirou saw his stance and realized something wasn't right. The auburn-haired teen knew that Lancer's next attack would be dangerous. Shirou locked his eyes on the enemy servant's spear. It is the same stance he took when he fought Saber in the school courtyard, the stance that would mean the sure-shot blow that would kill the opponent no matter what.

"Let me ask you this Caster, would you consider calling this a draw?" Lancer asked as his grin turned into a serious expression.

"You intend to give up then?" Caster replied, taking note of Lancer's action. "I suppose those wounds will give you trouble."

"Nope, It's not that." Lancer said. "I'm only gonna ask this, since this match was enjoyable."

Caster hesitated. It was a tempting offer, but she did not know much about the situation she was in.

"It's not a bad deal right? My master prefers not to start, fights unprepared, and your master seems like he doesn't even know what he gotten himself into." Lancer nodded and continued. "I think it's in our best interests if we both finish this when we're better prepared, don't you agree?"

Caster turned back towards Shirou. "Well?"

The red-haired teen blinked. "Eh?"

"Should I continue fighting master, or should we take up his offer?"

Shirou was aware that if she kept fighting, Caster will surely die. He knew that that stance, Lancer took, was to signal an inescapable death.

"No, let him go. That next move... will be fatal."

Lancer grinned. "Oho? Seems like your master isn't as useless as I thought. He is right though, this next move will be the end for ya." The blue Lancer waved his spear nonchalantly.

"Very well Lancer, we will continue this at another time." The red rapier in Caster's hand disappeared. At that moment, the hostility in the air had faded and the tension that had been present since the beginning of the fight, had been replaced by a sense of relief.

"Well then Caster, this is it for now." With a single bound, Lancer leaped over the wall and disappeared into the night.

Shirou glanced at Caster then took a step back. Despite the fact that this beautiful woman saved Shirou's life and protected him from the Lancer that attacked him, she was still a strange being, with powers far surpassing an ordinary human. Until Shirou confirmed who the woman was, he couldn't afford to lower his guard. "Just, who the heck are you?"

"I believe I already told you, I am Caster, your servant. You summoned me here master." Caster said in a cool voice.

Shirou shook his head and took another step back. "Hold on, a minute, I'm not your master! I don't even know what a 'master' is."

A burning sensation hi the auburn-haired youth's hand as he noticed 3 markings on it. "W-What are these?" Shirou asked, while still feeling the pain in his hand.

"Those are your command seals. They signify a master's control over their servant." Caster explained. "Try not to use them carelessly. You are only given three."

"S-Servant? Are you saying that you're a servant and I'm your 'master'?" Shirou replied, while still confused about his situation.

"That is correct. I am your servant Caster, and you are my master." Caster nodded and continued. "So as such, please call me Caster for the time being."

"I'm Shirou. Shirou Emiya. This is the house that I live in." Shirou's face flushed, realizing how stupid he sounded, not to mention the fact that he gave away key information about himself. It was quite obvious he lived there, but it was the principle that mattered.

"I see then, Master Shirou. You are not a proper master are you? Yet you are my master all the same." Caster said as she stared at him. She would then snap her head towards something beyond the walls of the house and summoned her silver spear.

"What is it Caster?" Shirou asked.

"There appears to be two enemies heading this way." Caster said as she readied her weapon. "Master Shirou, what are your orders?"

Shirou hesitated for a moment and looked at the command seals on his hand, then he faced Caster to give her an answer. "Let's wait for them. We don't know who it is, so we should just wait and see before we do anything rash."

Caster nodded in agreement. "Very well, if that is your order."

Caster still had her weapon ready waiting for who would show up at the Emiya residence. Before long the gate had opened and the two visitors showed themselves. It was the blonde-haired servant from earlier who Shirou had saw fight Lancer, and next to her, was someone he would never expected to see involved in this.

"No way... Soma?!" Shirou was surprised to see his best friend, Soma Kurusu with a servant, the one who fought the one called Lancer.

"S-Shirou?" Soma said, shocked by this turn of events. "Don't tell me... you're the seventh Master?"