"Medic squad #5! Over the north!"

Many people with white clothes were in the block of Benazio. An earthquake with the scale of 8.7 struck the small city some hours ago. While it was going to be a long night for the medical and SAR team, it was a miraculous one for its citizen. You see, all one hundred of them were safe. No one died.

A man sat on one of the building that was still standing. From his position, he could overlook the situation. He could watch the medic patiently treated the victims, or the man embracing his family on the other corner. For him, to be treated with such a scene was something worth his life, where people could live and be in joy because of it.

"Shirou?"

Someone called his name. His first name. The voice was very nostalgic, like it somehow came out from the memory of the past. He lifted his head up and turned his head, towards the one who called him.

A woman figure, covered in black cloak, stood behind him. Her long silky black hair slightly flowed in the air. Those blue eyes showed the signs that their owner never wavered.

"Rin?"

His heart leaped in joy. In this foreign part of the world, after he had strayed his way from home, he was allowed to meet his old companion again. Be it a coincidence or some sort of fate, he was happy to see Tohsaka Rin here.

"Shirou, is this really you? You really change!" She quickly babbled.

"You too, Rin." He replied.

She ignored his reply, though. For her eyes, this Shirou here was incredibly different with the Shirou she had always remembered. She walked around him.

"Your hair's white? Did you undergo a longtime stress after we part ways? It's strange since you are still 26 –same with me." She commented. "And your skin, how come it's so dark? And your eyes-"

She stopped midway, gulped a bit and continued, "They're really different."

Hollow. Cold. Those words weren't the right words to describe someone's eyes, especially one who was like they suddenly appeared after disappearing for a long time.

Shirou chuckled a bit. "Yeah. You see, it isn't because I sunbathed or became stylish."

"Projection." She quickly concluded. "You've always used that for years."

"Even until now."

Projection magecraft. One that Emiya Shirou had mastered over the years. He was great at imitating things that were seen by his eyes. Swords, even more. By using the Reinforcement magecraft, he could make the copies of swords out of nowhere and add deadly quality to them, such as sharpness and durability. Hence his name, the Blacksmith Hero.

"How are you, Rin?"

"Eh, me?" She averted her eyes. "Well, I'm alive and fine. The clock tower is always busy and I don't really have much time to think of nothing. So mostly, I'm fine and busy."

"You seem happy enough with that, though." He smiled.

Out of the blue, she blushed a bit. "Er yeah whatever. And you, Shirou? I heard that you've always been in the location where there are wars and miseries. Are you still living that ideal up?"

"Yes. I still strive for that."

"And you're happy with that?"

"Happy as happy can be. You can stop worrying me, Rin."

"Huft. It's not like I worry about a rock-headed man like you. You can fend for yourself, after all." She awkwardly flipped her hair.

He laughed a little. It was so good to see Rin with her usual soft-and-harsh personality.

"Despite your changing appearance, you really don't change, Shirou." She said.

"Neither do you." He told her and got up.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Somewhere."

"Why don't we go to a café? It's 5 kilometers from here."

Shirou was about to turn that invitation off. But when he saw the glint of Rin's eyes, there was something that begged him to comply.

Or maybe forced him.

"Okay." He sighed and walked with her.

"So, you are still under the old man Kischur Zeltrech something?" Asked Shirou while he ate the cheesecake.

"Yup. He's a sadist." Rin gulped her cappuccino down. "One day he told me to extinguish a farm in fire by myself. I worked hard using kaleidostick and managed to do that, at the cost of most of my magical energy. Turned out that he made it himself, and actually, that fire didn't even burn."

The vibrating in Rin's tone sounded like 'Had not that mage been my teacher, I'd kick his ass off.'

Shirou laughed. "Hahaha, that's so you, Rin."

"Excuse me? I'm very sure that you don't mean it as compliment."

"Of course I do mean it. You're heroic."

The black-haired girl fell silent. She stared at the brown liquid decorated the milk foam that formed a butterfly –now torn because she drank it a bit, and started to speak again.

"It's been awhile since we talked like this, right?"

"Yes. Since the 5th Holy Grail War years ago." He drank his espresso.

"Saber vanished just as you got the grail. And Ilyasviel…"

"She died the next year." He finished. "I'm still feeling guilty over that."

"It was the fast degeneration in her body. You shouldn't be sorry for that, there wasn't anything you can do."

"But still-"

But still, Ilya was Kiritsugu's daughter. Not only I couldn't make up for her loss, I let her die. I don't even know if she was happy or not.

He didn't answer anything. His heart was fueled with grief and guilt. He couldn't save what he wanted to save. For him, Ilyasviel von Einzbern was his biggest mistake. He remembered, the moment before he went from Fuyuki, in front of her grave, he swore that the silver-haired girl would be the last fault he would ever do. There would be no more like her.

He wouldn't let anyone in front of him die anymore.

"Hey Shirou?"

Shirou jerked her head a bit. Rin's beautiful aqua eyes were right in front of his face. He could even see his reflection on them.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Uh, err, yes, no problem." He scratched his head nervously.

Rin finished her cappuccino. "I see. Well, looks like you are picked up." Said her while averting her eyes to a certain direction.

Behind him, the magus of space was standing. She didn't say something, though.

"Okay, I'll be going too." Rin got up. "My works aren't done yet."

"Will we meet again, Rin?" Shirou asked.

She replied. "It depends on you, Shirou. Do you want to meet me again? Because if you really want to, we will meet somewhere."

Though sensing an ambiguity in her words, he decided to smile. "Okay. Farewell then."

The two went towards different paths. The leftovers of coffees and cakes were the only proof that Emiya Shirou and Tohsaka Rin ever had a chat, long after the 5th Holy Grail War ended.

I sincerely thank all of you who read this tale. And I do appreciate your comments and favorite-this-and-that thing. Sorry, I don't understand what it is called.

For Mr. Nxkris, from what I've read from your bio, it seems like your interest is about time travel. If there's anything I can tell you about what actually this story is about, it's just that this story is not about Shirou time-travelling. And if I may add, to be honest, that confusion of yours is exactly what I'm aiming at. So well, thanks for your comment and time for reading this. I appreciate it.

And once again, thank you for reading this, people.