Fate/Dawn Arising
Chapter 4: Day 1 – Something Precious
Leaning back against tree that held her dying body upright, the King exhaled a sigh of relief, the last of her work completed. Having finally come to terms with her life, she could finally relax. After countless battles, victories and defeats, losses and gains, her only regret was that she would never again see the face of the man she had fallen in love with.
"Shirou," she whispered aloud, "I'll be waiting right here for you."
Her vision clouded, her consciousness faded, and she waited for death's embrace…
Until she felt her body lurched forward as though she were given a tremendous shove from behind. The warrior knew exactly what this meant, so her reaction was not one of surprise, but puzzlement. For a third time, she would be denied the death she had forever longed for, and once again she would be called to battle for something she no longer had any desire to obtain.
Magical energy was infused into the King as she was transmogrified into a Heroic Spirit. Her fatal wounds were sealed in an instant, and incredible strength surged through her every nerve. Idle thoughts swirled through her head during this process, as though being summoned to a different time and space were as common as the rise and fall of the sun. Who was going to be her master this time, what time period she would be transported to, and what perils would befall her this time?
She hoped, though the idea coming to fruition was likely impossible, that she would repeat the last iteration of the battle, for she longed more than anything to see that man's face…just one more time.
"Shirou," she exclaimed as soon as her armored feet touched the ground, her heart overcoming her sensibility. Alas, it was not Shirou standing before the Servant, but a man whom she did not recognize. As was her custom, she looked the man in his eyes, feeling outwardly with her newfound magical energy to judge if the man before her was her new Master.
This process was interrupted, however, when the man began to back away from the Servant with his arms outstretched towards her, his visage as though she were a monster. "Master?" She called out to him, taking a single step forward.
Shrieking manically, the man stumbled and fell to his knees, covering his mouth with his hands. "What's the matter with you? Hey!" The warrior continued to call out to panic-stricken man. Muttering some incoherent words as he began to hyperventilate, the man's eyes rolled back into his head and he fell forward, slumping to the stone floor with a dull thud.
Looking about for any signs of danger in the unfamiliar room and finding none, Saber moved immediately to the man's side as she dispersed her magical armor. Rolling the man over, she breathed a tiny sigh of relief when she saw that the man was still breathing, and appeared to have simply lost consciousness. "What have I gotten into this time?" she asked quietly.
Sensing an unknown presence from behind with her uncanny ability to notice danger, Saber stood and whirled about to face her assailant, her magical armor reforming about her body in the blink of an eye. Her expression and her aggressive stance softened, however, when her eyes met a familiar face.
"Saber?" the woman standing in the archway asked with trepidation, looking at the warrior standing over her Master's body as though she was staring into the eyes of a ghost.
"Hello, Rin."
It's the worst feeling in the world; when I am asleep and a sudden falling sensation, as though the very earth were removed underneath me, jolts me awake. Even worse, when that happens and I bolt upright only to find I am in some foreign room I can't recognize, I feel as though my heart is about to burst from my chest in a panic.
Nothing looks familiar! Where am I? What happened to me? Wasn't everything that happened before just a dream? Someone please come in and tell me that it was.
Digging my nails into my forearm, the pain confirms that indeed, the four-post bed I was lying in was very real. I begin to calm down as I absorb the environment with my eyes.
I was in a large, Western styled bedroom. At least, it was a large bedroom to me. The walls were covered in rich, floral-patterned wallpaper, the floor with thick shag carpeting. A mahogany chest of drawers with a mirror rested against one wall, an expensive-looking chaise lounge in another. Faint red sunlight was peeking into the room through the lush drapery covering a huge window on the wall opposite the bed. Whether the sun had just rose or was about to set, I could not be sure.
That's right, I remember now, I'm in Rin's house. But how did I get here from the basement? Don't tell me she carried me all the way to…wherever the heck this is.
In the world of chaos I found myself in, one thing was for certain: I needed a bathroom, and fast. Throwing off the down comforter covering me, I rolled off the king-sized bed and padded across the floor towards the single door in the room. Reaching for the doorknob, I see that my arm is covered with a striped shirt, rather than my white dress shirt I had been wearing before I collapsed. Looking down at myself, I notice that my clothes have been changed, and I'm now wearing a set of men's pajamas.
Who could have done this, I thought, and I can feel my face heating up as I recall there was only one person who could have possibly been responsible. "That's embarrassing," I tell the door before pulling the portal open.
Out of the frying pan, and into a maze of doors. A long, wide hallway lay before me, with many doors on either side. A groan escapes my lips. I've got to take a leak so bad I can taste it, and now I have to go on a quest to find a bathroom? A more devious part of my brain considered relieving myself in the vase sitting on a small table with a large bouquet of flowers in it.
Not gonna chance it. There's no telling what Rin would do to me if she caught me doing such a thing. Where the hell was she, anyway? Not that I was expecting her to be by my bedside the whole time I was unconscious, but is it too much to ask to leave a note?
Luckily, the very first door I happened upon was a full washroom, complete with a bath large enough for at least two people, a marble double sink, and of course, the toilet I so desperately required.
Having a moment in which to pause and ponder over the happenings of the previous day (at least, I hoped it was only the next day, and not some inordinate amount of time), I thought about everything that happened and how in the hell I ended up where I am. The cold-blooded murders of all of my co-workers; was I really the intended target? How could I possibly live with myself knowing that I was at least partially responsible for their deaths? How could anyone carry such a burden?
And about my former schoolmate, Rin Tohsaka. Where does she fit into all of this? Why was she in my office in the first place? Only a crazy person would even consider waltzing in to the scene of a brutal massacre, and she did it seemingly without a second thought. I recall she said she was some sort of caretaker. What in the hell does that even mean? If everything she's said to me is true, why is she going out of her way to try to protect someone she doesn't even know? What does she stand to gain from protecting a marked man?
The existence of magic…if anyone had told me prior to yesterday's events that there were people out there capable of conjuring fire from their bare hands, or making an object move with naught but a flick of their wrists, I would have laughed in his face. My skepticism and doubts remained, but I couldn't deny the events of the previous evening. If I am truly able to use some form of these abilities, where did this latent talent of mine come from? Is it something one is born with, or is it only something that can be taught?
I'm beginning to get a headache from all of this. Any answer I can think of only results in two more questions, and the only thing I can conclude for certain is that Rin Tohsaka has a hell of a lot of explaining to do.
After washing my hands and face, I feel much better than I did just a few scant minutes ago. Taking a glance at myself in the elegantly framed mirror above the sink, I give a curt laugh at my bedraggled hair. Trying to comb it over with my hands did nothing to improve my appearance. I was a beautiful mess.
Just like my life.
The only thing to do now is to find the one responsible. Finding the stairs leading down to the foyer was a simple task in itself, and when I take my first step onto the cold marble staircase, a wonderful smell assaults my nostrils. My stomach growls in response, reminding me that it has been at least half a day since my last meal. My nose points me directly to my objective.
Beyond the door in front of me was obviously the kitchen, as I could hear the telltale symphony of pots being stirred and the sizzle and snap of something frying in a pan. I can not tell exactly what the dishes were based on smell alone, but the fragrance tells me that whatever it is, it's going to be delicious.
As I reach out to push the door open, muffled voices from beyond the portal cause me to hesitate. Unable to make out what is being said, I shuffle closer to the door and press my ear against it. What the hell am I doing? I'm acting like an adolescent sneaking around the house at night trying to not get caught by his parents.
"Hold, Rin. Someone is at the door."
I snap back to an upright position. What the hell? Is someone else here? Beyond that, how did that person know I was there? And why on earth am I still standing here like an idiot?
Trying to act as casually as possible, I give two soft knocks on the door before opening it. "Excuse me," I say politely as I step in the kitchen. The smell in the room is by an order of magnitude more powerful, and my stomach replies in kind with another sharp growl. Shut up, damn you! Walking around some rich girl's house in this get-up is embarrassing enough!
Before I could take a second step into the kitchen, I was halted by a beautiful young woman standing directly in my path, looking up at me, with her arms akimbo, with a look my mother might have given me whenever I had gotten into trouble as a small child.
Wearing a long-sleeved white blouse tied off at the neck with a blue ribbon that matched perfectly with her knee-length skirt of the exact same color, a pair of black stockings completed her ensemble. I might have thought her a foreign exchange student from a local high school, but the way she stared at me like a teacher about to reprimand me for running through the hallway makes me think twice about my assertion.
She had her blond hair tied back and…wait a minute, I've seen this scowling face before. My memory is hazy, and I can't recall exactly what happened, but…what happened when I finished the summoning ritual? This girl…who is she?
"Why were you eavesdropping on our conversation, Master?" the girl sternly speaks to me, her unwavering eyes boring holes through my own. Her voice is smooth and polished, like a veteran politician giving an important stump speech. And more surprisingly, her Japanese is utterly flawless. And what did she call me?
"I'm sorry, but who are you?" I answer with a question of my own, looking down at the lithe woman who was trying to appear as imposing as possible despite her tiny frame.
"Ah, Fukuya-kun. Good evening."
I turn my attention to the owner of the second voice that greeted me while the blond girl continued to stare at me like she was trying to start a fight. If I had been surprised before, now my jaw might as well have hit the floor. Rin stood across the kitchen, tending to the delicious smelling food cooking on the gas-powered stainless steel stovetop. She wore a cute, pink apron above clothing similar to the ones she wore the last time I saw her. I'm surprised at how girlish she appears, when last night she seemed anything but. And boy, she sure does love to wear red, doesn't she?
"Good evening," I reply timidly, feeling the pressure from two attractive females staring at me in my current state of dress. So it is evening, after all, but how many days have passed?
"You might want to properly meet your Servant. Your life is going to be in her hands from here on out, you know," Rin said in an off-the-cuff manner while she stirred the contents of a saucepan with a wooden spoon. The glance she gave me after stating this, however, seemed a strong word of warning that I should do as she told.
Wait just a minute now. This tiny girl standing in front of me, looking like she could be no older than, what, fourteen or fifteen, was the best I could muster after all our effort? Outside of having a strong pair of eyes, what good could a little girl like this do in a real fight? How could she possibly manage to protect me when it seemed the situation should be reversed? Obviously, the girl does not like the expression on my face right now, as she begins to glower at me.
In a hasty attempt to defuse the situation, I give the girl my name and greet her properly in as polite a manner I could muster. She is not impressed, as she shifts her weight and folds her arms over her chest. She tilts her head to one side as she says darkly, "You do not think very highly of me, do you?"
"I told you so," Rin remarks with a sly grin without halting her task.
Told her what, exactly, I wondered, but there was no time to dwell on that. This was getting out of hand. Quickly shifting my attention between Rin and the woman in front of me, I told my hands out in front of my body and wave them about. "No, it's not that," I say in a panic. "You just aren't what I was expecting."
Oh boy, I shouldn't have said that. Now she looks seriously pissed off. "You believe me incapable of fighting on your behalf." Her tone implied a statement rather than a question. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't agree with her, though. As I feel it improper to say such a thing, I simply stand there in silence.
"Very well, then," the woman says softly as she begins to turn her back to me.
I don't rightly remember what happened in the moment after that.
All I know is that one second I'm standing, and in the next I'm lying on my back with the wind knocked out of my chest, my equilibrium shot to hell, and I couldn't tell up from down. The blond woman is kneeling above me, pressing her knee painfully into my chest and looking at me with a strangely peaceful smile on her face.
I'll never forget the way she looked directly into my eyes, or the words she so eloquently spoke to me:
"Servant Saber has arrived as summoned. I shall be your blade, and your fate shall be with me. To you I swear an oath that I shall protect you with all of my strength until my dying breath. With this, Master, our contract is established."
While I nurse my aching neck with a borrowed bag of frozen peas, Rin graciously places a plate of steaming food on the table directly in front of me. The aroma wafting from this plate might be the only thing able to make me forget about the pain and embarrassment from what happened just a few short minutes ago.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
The girl who called herself Saber is the next to receive her plate, which was, to my surprise, filled with even more food than my own. She makes no outward response that would indicate something was amiss about the mountain of food on her plate. If anything, the smile adorning her face grows yet wider, her visage as though everything is right with the world.
"Thank you very much, Rin."
"I've been working on my Japanese dishes recently," Rin replies to the Servant. "I hope you'll find this to your liking."
"If the aroma of these dishes are any indication, I am certain that they are absolutely delicious."
Something is strange about this whole thing. These girls are awfully chummy for having just met. "Do you two know each other?" I inquire, pointing a finger at one and then the other.
Rin chuckles as she sits in her place at the table and scoots her chair in. "I suppose some explanation is in order here."
She could say that again. "Yes, please," I reply eagerly.
Rin proceeds to tell me everything. She speaks of magic and why it should remain secret from the non-magic society; a wholly different world operating right under the noses of the ignorant masses. There are those gifted at birth with the ability to harness this power at a level others simply cannot. Rin was blessed with such a gift, able to use all sorts of different disciplines. She suspects I'm capable of the same, given the successful summoning of Saber the night before.
I remain skeptical about this. "I really didn't do anything other than what you told me to do," I argue.
Rin nods with the softest of smiles playing across her face. "That only confirms my suspicions even more." Turning her attention to Saber, who is greedily consuming the overflowing contents of her plate with incredible speed, Rin quips, "That's too bad for you, though, Saber. Yet again you've been summoned by an illegitimate Master."
Pausing to swallow the food in her mouth politely before replying, Saber says with a shake of her head, "I do not believe Kosuke can be considered illegitimate."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because I am receiving the normal flow of magical energy from him that I would receive from any other skilled Master. Moreover, my combat abilities more closely resemble the abilities I had when I was the Servant of Kiritsugu Emiya."
Rin seems impressed, as she's looking at me with a smug grin on her face. This girl obviously likes to be proven right. "See?"
I shake my head, nonplussed. "I didn't understand a word of anything either of you two just said."
Rin explains more to me, but what she tells me sounds like the plot of a manga. The Holy Grail War. Masters and Servants fighting to the death, and only one will remain at the end of the battle. By the time she's finished talking, I've lost whatever appetite I might have had.
"You're lucky though," Rin says, gesturing towards Saber with a flourish. "Your Heroic Spirit was the victor of the previous two Wars, so despite the fact you know exactly nil about being a magus, the odds tip into your favor to come out of this thing alive."
How could anything about this situation I find myself embroiled in be considered good luck? "Heroic Spirit?" I ask.
Rin explains about the seven classes of Servants: The warrior classes of Saber, Archer, Lancer and Rider. The magician, Caster. The silent and deadly Assassin. And finally, the Mad One, Berserker. Each of these classes is represented by a Servant in this battle, each having a Heroic Spirit attributed to his or her class, the embodiment of a legendary hero.
Rin means to tell me that this girl sitting at the table with us, wolfing down food as though she had not eaten in days was the quintessence of a hero of legend? Sure, she was strong as hell, able to take down a man nearly twice her size with no effort, but a hero? Sorry, but I'm not buying it.
"You don't have any idea who she is, do you?" Rin asks playfully in response to my disbelief. "You probably won't believe me when I tell you, anyway."
I'm glad at least one of us is having fun with this. Saber, on the other hand, is not amused in the slightest. She stops wolfing down her food and stares at me with her most intense look yet, made amusing by the fact she had grains of rice sticking to her cheeks from eating so fast.
"I'm sorry, I really don't have a clue," I reply, trying to keep from laughing out loud.
"Arturia Pendragon," Saber says. "Daughter of Uther Pendragon, King of Britain."
With a few smoothly spoken words, the smile is wiped from my face. Something about this name sounds familiar…
Reading the inquisitive expression on my face, Rin rolled her eyes and filled in the blanks for me. "King Arthur."
Now I think I've finally lost it, and I start to laugh uncontrollably. This has got to be some kind of a sick joke. I look around the room, as though a bunch of people with handheld cameras were about to burst into the room and tell me this was all an elaborate prank. "You've got to be kidding me, right? Joan of Arc would have at least been somewhat believable. But King Arthur? She's not even the right sex!"
"Are you finished?" Rin says with a straight face as I continue to laugh.
I'm not laughing any more.
"Do not worry yourself, Rin. I would have found it strange had he believed who I am from the start." Saber's voice is calm, and she is completely unfazed. "It is not as though the ramblings of one unfamiliar with history could interfere with my sovereignty."
Damn this woman knows how to push my buttons. "Wait a second here. You mean to tell me that all of those people that wrote stories about Arthur had it all wrong?"
"Not all wrong, no."
"Come on, you know what I mean. About your…" my voice trails off. For crying out loud, don't make me say it.
"Yes."
"You pulled the sword from the stone?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Because I was the rightful heir to the throne."
"This really doesn't make any sense."
"Think about it, Fukuya-kun," Rin interrupts. "Do you think the people of that time would have united under the banner of a woman? Of course they had to hide the fact Arthur was a young girl. They probably would have revolted otherwise."
If I were to turn the chessboard around and assume what these two ladies were telling me was true, it made at least a little bit of sense, especially after considering Rin's hypothesis. "Suppose you're right, and you really are King Arthur. Does that mean you really married another woman?"
"Marrying Guinevere was essential for the kingdom to survive."
Not even a moment's hesitation…
My head hurts, and I pinch the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger. What had begun as surreal had since delved into the territory of sheer madness.
"The question we should be asking is how you managed to summon this Heroic Spirit specifically," Rin said.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"The summoning ritual requires that in order to obtain the services of a specific Heroic Spirit, you must have in your possession a relic somehow tied to that person when he or she once lived. Otherwise, the Heroic Spirit summoned will be one that is most suited for your personality."
"I believe we can rule out the latter," Saber says almost immediately. I want to be mad at her for that, but I can't honestly disagree with her sentiment.
"So I have something that ties me to King Arthur? But that can't be possible," I reply. "I don't have any family heirlooms or anything like that with me."
"Well, what's most important is that you've got yourself an awesome Servant," Rin says.
So she says, but I wouldn't know this Saber, or Arturia, from Eve. I'll just have to take her word for it, I suppose. What else am I supposed to do?
"Something still bothers me though," Rin said, her tone much more serious than before. "The Holy Grail, originally a device that would grant any wish the victor of the War desires, was corrupted and eventually dismantled after the last battle five years ago. I witnessed this myself, so it's hard to believe Lord El-Melloi II could have fabricated the evidence."
"What does that mean?" I ask.
"It means that I have no idea who or what is behind any of this. Whatever ideas we might have had about what to expect this time might as well get chucked out with the trash. We're on our own."
Lovely…
"What should we do?" Saber inquires. It appears she's finished eating, though whether or not this was by choice I could not be certain. There was not even a speck of food left in front of her.
"We need to bring in more help. Fukuya-kun is as green as it gets, so he's going to need at least some rudimentary training in order to be able to defend himself properly, and not just magical training either."
I have a bad feeling about this. These girls are starting to talk about me like I'm not in the same room again, and I'm quickly learning that this is never a good sign.
"Physical training as well? I agree. Though it may not make a tremendous difference in battle, even a few days' worth of a rigorous training regimen could mean the difference between life and death."
"I know just the guy to help us as well," Rin said, pointing with her chopsticks towards Saber, who perked up in her chair, looking suddenly excited to hear what Rin has to say. "You know him pretty well, I might add, Saber."
"Shirou," Saber stated softly, looking down at the table with what appears to be a touch of trepidation.
"That's right," Rin replies to the Servant. "I should warn you though. He's not quite the same as you might remember."
"What do you mean?" Saber asks.
"It's been five years since you left, and, well…you are just going to have to see for yourself, Saber."
"Not to interrupt or anything, but, uh…what about me?" I ask. I'm starting to feel as though I'm watching a non-interactive movie about my own life. "It's not as though I don't appreciate your hospitality, Rin, but I would like to go home. I don't even have a change of clothes."
"Sorry, but you can't go home," Rin replies flatly.
"What do you mean I can't go home?"
"Nightfall is approaching, Kosuke," Saber interjects. "That is when it is most dangerous to be outside."
"Okay, what about tomorrow then?"
"We'll be heading out to Shirou's place first thing in the morning. We aren't going to have time to make a stop in the city," Rin explains. "I've had your other clothes washed and pressed, so it shouldn't make a difference anyway."
"You don't understand," I begin to say, but Saber cuts me off.
"No, Master, it is you that does not understand. Leaving here tonight would mean placing your life in terrible danger. It is a risk that we can ill afford."
"Everything I have is in that place! My whole life is there!"
"And the enemy knows this," Rin counters. "If they know where you work, then they obviously know where you live, and it would be the first place they would look for you."
"I'm certain you have nothing there that is irreplaceable," Saber adds.
Nothing irreplaceable? What the hell does this woman think she knows about me? How could she say something so crass? Sure, I might not be as well off as most, but I have certain things that matter to me and could not be replaced.
I'm beside myself with anger, and I'm certainly showing it, as Rin tries to calm me down to no avail. "It's just not safe right now," she tries to assure me, but I'm not having any of it.
"Alright, fine," I say, biting my tongue in order to keep from saying anything further. I'm not happy about this, but I know there's nothing else I can say that will sway either of their opinions on the matter.
I'll just have to deal with this myself.
After cleaning up after our meal, Rin directs me to a bathroom downstairs that had my clothes placed on the sink counter, cleaned, pressed and neatly folded.
"There's towels in the cabinet there," she says, pointing to an area behind the bathroom door. "I'm sure you would like to shower."
I nod quietly in reply. As Rin turned to leave, I call out to her. "Thanks a lot."
"No problem," she replies with a smile. "Let me know if you need anything else."
The moment Rin pulls the door shut behind her, I move towards my clothes and fish around in the pockets of my pants until I find my wallet and my phone. After checking the to make sure I had sufficient cash, I use my phone to call the dispatch center of the taxi company I normally use when I need to travel around town where there is no access to a train.
I've no idea what the address is here, but when I mention I am at the Tohsaka residence, the kindly lady on the other end of the line knew exactly where to find me, and she informs me a taxi will arrive within twenty minutes.
I hang up after informing her to instruct the driver to wait outside the premises.
Yeah, what I'm about to do is undoubtedly stupid and practically suicidal. At this very moment in time, however, I honestly don't give a shit. I'm not going to just abandon my home. There is something precious that I refuse to leave behind. I don't expect either Rin or Saber to understand, and that's why I decide to do this on my own.
I reach into the generously sized shower and turn the water on in order to keep appearances. I strip out of the embarrassing attire I had been in and put my own clothes back on, feeling much better after having done so. I must be feeling at least a little bit guilty, as I neatly fold the pajamas and place them where my own clothes had been.
Sneaking out of the house proves to be no simple task, as the halls stretch on and have intersections as though the place were laid out like a maze. I step as softly as possible on the hard floor, listening intently for the sound of any approaching footsteps. All is quiet…strangely quiet. There are only two other people in this large house, but the deathly silence rings in my ears as I approach the exit.
I've made my way out successfully, and as soon as I pull the front door shut, I break into a full sprint, running across the courtyard as quickly as my feet would carry me. The entry gate on the far end of the courtyard was unlocked, so I was able to slip past without effort, thankfully.
The cab was parked on the street just a few meters away from the gate. My escape all but assured, I slow my pace and enter the cab casually. I give the driver my address and we're on our way, and I breath a sigh of relief as we pull away from the property.
Go in, get what I need, and get out. That was the plan I devised during the half-hour drive back to my place. I make mental notes of certain things that I absolutely cannot forget to take, as there was nothing else better to do other than make small talk with the cabbie about how cold the weather has been lately.
As we pull up to my apartment, I can't help but feel something strange about the surroundings as I look about for any obvious signs of danger before getting out of the car. Despite the fact it's early in the evening on a weekend, not a soul was on the street. "Hey, did something happen around here?"
"What do you mean?" the driver asks me, sounding confused.
"Anything out of the ordinary?"
"Not that I know of."
I would understand if people kept off the streets because of a mass murder in an office building just a few blocks away from here, but the cabbie didn't seem to know anything about it. I guess Rin was right about the Magic Association covering up events of such nature.
"Hey man, I've got other fares I need to get to, so…"
"Oh, sorry," I loose from the grip of my thoughts and hand the driver some bills and step out of the car. I look around as the cab pulls away. There are no signs of life anywhere. Not even a stray cat. "Strange," I say as I turn to walk towards home.
"What's strange, Kosuke?" In front of my door stands a familiar face. A face I could have sworn was not there even five seconds ago.
"Shouji," I exclaim, relieved to see that my co-worker was still alive. "You're all right! Thank goodness."
Shouji chuckles. "Yeah, and you too, it seems."
I can't help but feel as though something's off about this. Why is Shouji acting so laissez-faire when just yesterday everyone he worked with was killed? Wary of this, I ask him, "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you, naturally. I heard that you'd vanished after what happened yesterday, and I assumed the worst."
I have a terrible feeling about this.
"And it seems my assumption was correct."
Taking a step away from Shouji, I ask, "What do you mean?"
Laughing softly, Shouji shakes his head at me. "I think you know perfectly what I mean."
The air grows even more frigid as a shadowy figure appears from behind Shouji, as though stepping out of the darkness into the light. Standing a full head above him, the figure's appearance is obscured by a dark green ghillie suit that covers its body from head to toe. In its hands it clutches to its breast an old, scoped rifle.
"You shouldn't have come here without your Servant, Kosuke," Shouji says menacingly, giving me a wicked grin the likes of which I've never seen cross his face.
"Shouji, you?"
"Surprised? Don't worry, you aren't the only one. Imagine my surprise when I learned that one of my own co-corkers was also a fellow Master." Shouji's voice is cold and haughty.
"You murdered all those people just to get to me?"
Shouji laughs again. "Well, I couldn't just kill you and leave witnesses, now could I?"
"How could you do such a thing?"
"Weren't you the one who told me all those times how much you wished that bastard of a boss would just die?"
"Those were just words, you sick son of a bitch! I would never be able to kill someone like that!"
Shouji glowers at me. "You'd be surprised what you can do with the power of a Servant. Allow me to show you just what a Master is capable of."
The surrounding area grows dark, and the air turns thick as molten glass. I want to turn and run, but I'm unable to budge a muscle. The scent of death reaches my nostrils as Shouji gives his Servant a simple order. "Kill him, Assassin."
The figure behind Shouji, the Servant Assassin, wordlessly raises his rifle and points the muzzle directly at my head. The silent killer pulls the trigger with no hesitation, and a loud bang pierces my ears as a tremendous force knocks me off my feet and onto my back.
"What?" Shouji barks in annoyance.
I look up in confusion, wondering why I am still alive. An armored warrior stands over me, looking at me with a concerned, but relieved expression.
"Saber!"
Turning about to face my attacker, Saber says sternly, "Master, remain where you are."
Thrusting her arms outward, a two-handed sword appears in Saber's hands in a flash of brilliant light that pierces through the gloom. With a blued and gilded hilt, its silvered blade polished to mirror sheen; it is as elegant as it is beautiful, in a manner equal to its owner.
"So this is your Servant, Kosuke?" Shouji asks with amused disdain. "She's nothing more than a little girl with a knife!"
"Stay your tongue, vile cretin!" Saber roars in reply. "If you wish to take my Master's life, you must first cross swords with me!"
Well, perhaps I might have overstated Saber's elegance just a touch…
Shouji laughs maniacally. "As you wish, Saber…"
Both Shouji and Assassin's bodies become transparent, and they vanish into the night air as if they were never there, though the shadows enveloping the area remain.
Scrambling to my feet, I run towards the flank of the knight who just saved my life. "Saber, how did you?"
Loosing one hand from her sword, Saber holds up her hand and glares about, ordering me to be silent. And then I notice it. The smell of something dying lingers in the chilly air. I move closer still to Saber, so that I am less than a pace behind her. "They're still here, aren't they?"
Saber replies with a single, curt nod as she whirls about, curling a free arm around me in order to keep my body positioned at her back. I'm scared halfway out of my wits. My hands are trembling, and my breath stutters. The only keeping me from running for dear life is Saber's gauntlet-covered hand grasping at my arm.
Sensing something from behind, Saber moves with inhuman speed, pushing me to the side and slicing with her sword one-handed at the empty air in one continuous motion. Her blade is a blur, and though it seems to cut through naught but air, it crashes against…something…with a tremendous sound of metal smashing against metal.
Saber instantly interposes herself between the target's direction and me. The knight's instantaneous movement, coupled with the loud clanging sound ringing in my ears, causes me to lose the remaining half of my wits. "What the hell was that?"
"Silence!" Saber orders me, clutching my arm with her free hand to the point of pain as she continues to gaze into the darkness around us.
Just then a short popping sound, like a firecracker detonating somewhere off in the distance, reaches my ears. Was that a gunshot? If so, it had to be from somewhere far away. Does that mean Saber just deflected a bullet with her sword in midair? How is that possible?
"Over here!" Saber exclaims, pushing me aside again as she cuts down another bullet from behind us and assumes a defensive position in front of me.
A few seconds later, I hear another popping sound. How the hell is he firing from so far away in two different directions? Is this the power of a Noble Phantasm?
"I trust this is not all you can do, Assassin," Saber calls out into the night. "This tactic may be useful against a normal person, but you waste your effort against me. I shall not allow you a single strike against me or my Master."
A laugh, cold as the stale air, is heard from behind, and Saber turns around, once again keeping me behind her. Shouji's body manifests back into sight before our eyes, giving mock applause. "I would have expected no less from one of the Saber class."
Saber takes half a step toward the opposing Master, but Shouji waves a finger at her. "Come now, Saber. You might be quick on your feet, but I do not think you have the speed to outrun a bullet. Do you honestly think you can cut me down while protecting your precious Master?"
"Who's to say she can't, Shouji? You just saw with your own eyes that she did it twice," I counter.
Shouji chuckles at me and shakes his head. "Boy, you really are clueless, aren't you? You don't even understand your own Servant's abilities. I should just end this trifling little fight right here and now. If I don't finish you off now, another Master is bound to sooner or later."
"I invite you to try, Master of Assassin," Saber says haughtily, though the caution in her stance belies the confidence of her words. "Or is your Servant too cowardly to show himself?"
Shouji lifts his head to the sky and lets out a belly laugh. "I like this Servant of yours, Kosuke. She's…feisty. I like them when they're feisty." The perverted grin on Shouji's face sends a chill down my spine. "You know as well as I that an Assassin stands no chance in a head-to-head fight against one of the Saber class. Don't take me for an idiot like you do your own Master, woman."
"Then we have reached an impasse," Saber says without lowering her blade a single inch.
"So it would appear," Shouji replies, still wearing that nasty grin. "Although…"
Shouji raises his hand, and a ball of magical fire appears in his palm. "If I can't take your life, I'll just have to take something else, instead." He moves his arm to the side and turns his wrist, pointing the fireball suspended in his hand towards…
"Shouji, no!"
The magical flame is loosed, and it strikes my apartment building, blossoming into a tremendous plume of intense flame that covers the entirety of the front wall.
Thoughts of my parents enter my mind upon the sight. How they met a grisly end while they slept peacefully in their bed. How within the confines of my apartment, they were about to meet the same fate once again.
"Shouji, you son of a bitch!" Only the strength of my Servant could hold me back as something within me snaps. "I'm going to fucking kill you!"
"Master, you must contain yourself!" Saber screams, struggling to keep me in her grasp.
"Like your Servant said, Kosuke," Shouji said, laughing maniacally, "I'd like to see you try. But don't fret. I'll be back to finish what I started. I'll see you soon."
The object of my rage turns around, waves a hand, and disappears into the darkness, the sound of his laugh echoing over the blazing fire.
"Let me go," I yell, pulling my arm free from Saber's steely grip. I break into a run the instant I am freed, though I run not towards my enemy, but to the burning building. Though the entire front of the building is covered in flame, there may yet still be time.
"Kosuke!" Saber calls out, her voice reaching deaf ears.
Braving the magically created flame, I run to my apartment and knock the door from its hinges with a mighty kick. The room is smoky, and the fire has already claimed one half of my belongings. Thankfully, it was not the half I feared.
I fill my lungs with as much fresh air as I can and dive headlong into the intensely hot room. The smoke burns my eyes, and I can barely see anything beyond my outstretched hands. But I am able to find what I am looking for quickly, and I tuck the framed picture of my parents under my jacket and turn to leave.
I'm trapped. Flames cover any avenue of escape. The front entry I came through no more than fifteen seconds ago was already ablaze. The fire approached me from all directions, closing its jaws around its prey.
As I closed my eyes to accept my fate, an incredible blast of cold air blows through the room, taking me off my feet and slamming my back against the only wall not yet in flames.
I collapse in a coughing fit as I look up to see Saber standing amidst the freshly extinguished fire, smoky air swirling about her sword like a tempest. "These flames cannot be extinguished by normal means. Quickly, before it spreads again," she says, holding out her hand to me.
I take her hand as I continue to cough, and she pulls me out of the building with her amazing strength and speed. The night air hits my overheated body as though I had jumped into a cold lake in summer during the heat of the day. Saber releases me a safe distance from the flames as I fall to my hands and knees, coughing the remaining half of my lungs out.
Saber takes a knee in front of me. "Are you alright?"
My coughing fit begins to die down, and I move to a seated position. I reach under my jacket and pull the framed picture out. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see that the picture is undamaged. "I think so," I finally reply to Saber.
We can only watch as the conflagration swallows the whole of my apartment building, taking everything with it.
A/N: Fourth chapter is now in the books. For those that have come this far, thanks for taking the time to read this story. I'd appreciate any feedback you can provide, so don't hesitate to click the Review button and leave your thoughts/concerns/criticisms regarding this story so far.