Emiya Shirou awoke to the pervading feeling of being watched.
The morning had started innocently, even pleasantly enough. With Saber recovering from the worst of her injuries after the fight with Writer, Shirou had thought he should take the opportunity to put himself back in order as well. The unexpected break might have been just the thing for him to catch up on his rest and get ready for the next leg of the tournament.
The usual early morning alarm, which woke him far before the sun in order to get the day's food and regimen ready for his fighter, had been left blessedly off for once. Of course, Shirou had no intention of lazing the day away—his father would rise from his grave in disgust if he did—but he had decided he could spare himself a few extra hours in order to make sure he himself was in tip-top shape too.
...So why was Shirou's extra rest interrupted by the slightly prickly feeling one got when they had been alone in a room, and suddenly realized that was no longer the case?
Because of that feeling, he was not particularly surprised to find his small room had gained another occupant at some point.
"Are you awake, Shirou?" the stoic voice of his prizefighter greeted his newly opened eyes along with the soft sunlight drifting in through the window.
Blinking sleep out of his vision, Shirou was unable to figure out why his boxer was not still in bed herself. He had run himself ragged lately, true, but after the fight with the Blood Writer, she should have been out for far longer than him.
"...Saber. You should be in bed." Shirou said, not without kindness.
"I suspected you would say that, and I waited as long as I could...but, I was worried."
Worried? Shirou had to ruthlessly repress a smile; Saber was worried about him. Well, he had to fight off those goons yesterday, but he was fine, certainly less injured than she was. Still, it was nice to see she cared.
"You don't have to worry about that, Saber." Shirou responded, a little warmth entering his cheeks.
"Ah, that is good." Saber laid a hand over her chest in contentment. "So then, will we be having breakfast soon?"
...
...
...What?
Oh, come to think about it, while Shirou would not have served more than a shake at this point, he would usually have prepared or started to cook a real meal as well. No, actually, considering the time, he should have at least readied his ingredients long since.
And Saber had been worried because there had been no signs of her meal this morning.
Of course she was.
Shirou coughed past a moment of internal embarrassment and started about getting himself up. Saber turned to leave to give him a modicum of privacy.
"Oh, Saber?" Shirou called back before she left.
Saber turned back, a question in her face.
"Good morning," he said simply.
"Yes," the blond haired girl smiled back. "Good morning, Shirou."
Unfortunately, the peaceful morning did not last terribly long. Behind him, his boxer stood with a trusting smile on her face, completely at odds with the chill creeping up his spine.
They were completely out of food.
It had to be some kind of terrible mistake. A miscount on his last shopping trip...?
..No, impossible. Tired or not, Shirou never would have made a rookie mistake like that. Then that meant...
Shirou tracked backwards past the gym and opened up the door to a storage shed not connected to the main building. As he approached, his curious fighter in tow, a strange rumbling sound coming from within tipped him off as to what he would find inside.
The shed was filled with mostly with various bric-a-brac that was valuable enough to hang onto but not used enough to be stored in the gym itself. It also contained, lying on the floor wrapped up in a pink comforter he distinctly remembered having folded up heaving the large, entirely contented snores he had heard while approaching, his one and only older sister, Fujimura Taiga. And all around her were the remnants of what had once been his leftover food supplies. Empty to the last rice ball.
Actually, looking closely, Shirou could even see the white of rice resting on top a thin dribble of drool just under Taiga's mouth as she happily snored off the aftereffects of consuming such a large meal that Shirou had thought he could have even fed Saber twice with.
"...Ngh...?" Taiga stirred a little, rubbing one of her (thieving!) hands sleepily across one eye. "Shirou...?"
In response, Shirou grabbed the door of the shed and slammed it shut, sealing Taiga and the sight of what remained of the dojo's food supply away, hopefully before Saber would realize exactly what it was and he placed his back to the door, looking at Saber.
"Are we still making breakfast?" Saber said, apparently deciding to ignore Shirou's outburst and strange actions in favor of her priorities.
"Erm..." Shirou began nervously, running a hand through his hair. "Actually...for various reasons, I...actually don't have any food I can make for you today, err...ahahaha...sorry."
*Thump*
*Thump Thump*
Just then, Shirou had that feeling, communicated to his brain by the spike of adrenaline coursing through his veins and the beat of his hammering heart, that something had happened that could not be taken back, a mistake that sent the foolish off the true path into the Dead End...
And even so, the smile on the kind face of his fighter, so often a source of warmth and comfort, seemed to twist slightly, filling with sharp teeth.
"Nothing to eat, Shirou~" Saber's voice held a dangerous coo that he had never heard before and hoped he never would again. She approached slowly, placing her hands on her hips.
"That's not true, hee hee..."Saber giggled, madness tinging her voice, "After all..." At that, Saber gripped her body on her sides, and with a sharp tearing sound, tore not just her clothes but her very body in half, out of which stepped a terrifying beast straight out of a nightmare.
The creature was a strange, pint-sized, but wickedly toothed maned lion with Saber's face, it had a short tail that ended in a puff of fur, and it stood on two legs.
"After all, I can just eat SHIROU instead, GAOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the monster roared, leaping at him with fangs and claws glinting darkly.
And with his life passing before his eyes, Shirou closed his eyes with futility against the horror of being eaten alive...
Shirou shook his head, feeling his back press against the door he had just slammed shut. No, something like that, that wouldn't happen! No, it definitely wouldn't! Probably!
"Shirou?" Saber said, concern tinging her soft tone. "Did you not hear me? I asked if we were still to make breakfast now?"
"Umm..." Shirou cleared his throat, the fantasy still lingering on his subconscious. "Err...That's right!" Shirou said, holding a rebellious fist upward against the gods that had decreed his cruel fate.
"Saber, you did so well against the Blood Writer, and we have the extra money, and so, I, Emiya Shirou, your wonderful trainer, have decided that I will go to town and get fresh ingredients for a truly 5 star meal!
"Eh?" Saber started, blood rushing clearly to her cheeks. Truly, she looked delighted. "Did you say that—"
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!" The roar came from inside the shed; Shirou and Saber both had quite forgotten the occupant resting within. An attractive brown-haired head cracked the door and leaned out, looking, if possible, even happier then Saber herself.
"Shirou-chaaaan, did onee-chan hear you right, are you really cooking a big meHUUURK!" The sound of Taiga's voice was cut off when Shirou, without changing expression, gripped the head of his tormenter and forced it back inside the shed, slamming the door even more forcefully than before.
"Anyway, Saber" Shirou continued, as if nothing had happened, "I think you deserve a reward. That is why I am going to go get everything ready!"
"Well...I am happy..." Saber started, seemingly unsure. "But...what about breakfast?
"Oh, breakfast? Well, if I whip something up… It's already almost too late for sales, but I could probably make you a protein shake. Actually, protein shakes are healthier, maybe we should skip the big meal and have one for breakfast."
"...And lunch."
"...And dinner."
For once, Saber appeared to be set back on her heel, and Shirou ruthlessly pressed the advantage. It was either this or facing that great lion Saber...!
"In fact, if you like shakes, I should probably start managing your meals more tightly. We can probably just have shakes every other —no, perhaps every dinn—"
"Shirou!" Saber cut him off, panic in her voice, "I would like a large meal! If you have to leave now, that is fine, I'll wait! No, I demand that you go!" Saber's voice had risen to a panicked, fever pitch, fear clutching at her throat.
"Oh, are you sure?" Shirou asked with false solicitude. "I mean, you would have to miss breakfast..."
"That will just make dinner more enjoyable!" Saber said in a rush. Shirou was almost sorry for manipulating her, but this was a matter of lunch or death!
"In that case, stretch yourself out a bit while I am gone and get some rest" Shirou said, the situation finally cooling to the point he could reestablish himself as her manager. "I won't be gone long, and I'll start cooking as soon as I get back."
After that, Shirou hotfooted it out to the front of his gym as quickly as he could without arousing suspicion. The old shopping bike, which normally would have rested inside the shed or even in the gym, was chained out in front those days, due to how much more often Shirou was using it.
The old junker still brought a tinge of regret to the back of Shirou's mind. In the old days the gym had several bikes of good quality for different purposes, but the number one and two bikes had long since been sold off. The one he used now was an older model he had cleaned up as best he could and thrown a basket in the front to help him ferry food from the market to Taiga and Saber's gullet.
Well, right now his funds had better uses, but maybe if and when Saber won the tournament, he could buy a better model. Even better if he could find one of the original gym bikes, though. Every time he had had to sell something to cover day-to-day expenses it had galled him immensely, and he still felt that sting.
Just as Shirou finished adjusting the straps and budgeting how much he thought he could spend out of their newfound wealth, a muscle-bound young man with a shock of bleached hair and a barbed wire tattoo visible on one bicep that made Shirou unpleasantly think of the Yakuza, came jogging up to him.
Though, Shirou already knew he would have to just get used to that kind of thing. One of the perks of winning a fight with a rival is some of their members tended to switch gyms. Blood Writer's crew would probably be worse.
"Coach," the man called out, quite pleasantly, in contrast to his brusk appearance, "There is a phone call for you inside. We weren't sure if we should have answered, but..." The man shrugged.
"Ah...no, it's fine," Shirou said, waving his hand in half-apology. "Thanks for letting me know." Shirou kicked the stand on the bike and picked up the phone at his front desk. He didn't have a receptionist or anything, and with all his time spent on the tournament a frightening number of messages and phone calls were falling by the wayside.
Conveniently, the handful of people Shirou actually needed to contact him understood these things well enough and accounted for them, though it was unavoidable that potential recruits to his stable weren't always aware of this. Anyway, since the new member had come and get him, Shirou felt he should at least answer.
He might have felt differently had it occurred to him to find out who was calling though.
"Emiya Shirou."
The voice on the other end of line was gravelly, rough, and also familiar.
"...Guardian," Shirou couldn't keep the sigh out of his voice. Hanging up the phone would be rude, right? Yes, of course, he wouldn't do something like that.
"I have a message from my manager." The older man said in a clipped tone, cutting across all pleasantries.
Shirou couldn't help but straighten up a little, which oddly enough irked him. It was true that he owed Tohsaka Rin, but he wasn't sure he liked involuntarily standing at attention at the mere mention of her name. They were both managers after all.
"All right, what is it, and how much will it cost me?" Shirou asked frankly. With Rin you always knew her information was good, but whether or not it was worth it, well, that was different. And it did not escape Shirou he was getting a phone call the day after receiving an unexpected influx of cash.
"The information is two-fold," Archer said, all but ignoring Shirou's inquiry. "A rumor has been making the rounds that one of Hound Dog's old managers is in town. It seems that she had entered in the tournament, but her fighter was defeated in the qualifying round rather easily. She is often seen eating at a local ramen store"
The Guardian gave Shirou the name and address. Shirou actually knew the place, though he personally detested the style. Cheap and quick food, with little to no attention given to flavor or even nutritional value. It had no point except as something someone used to quickly fill their belly and no more.
"What was the other thing?" Shirou asked, his reflexive dislike for the Guardian temporarily overtaken by the fact that Rin's boxer was freely offering information he would have paid well for, as she certainly knew.
"That..." For once, the Guardian seemed to have trouble putting his thoughts together. "There seems to be some kind of irregularity at the Treasury. And your fighter's name has been coming up a lot."
"Is it about the match with the Hound Dog?" Shirou asked, naming the obvious guess. Normally the treasury only supported the Golden Boy, but perhaps Saber was being targeted?
"No, it doesn't seem so. Money is flowing to the Treasury, not from it. Someone appears to be working behind the scenes to affect the tournament, but Rin's informants either do not know the reason or are not willing to speak about it. And I assure you, Rin's prepared well in advance the contacts she would need to gather information."
The Guardian's voice carried a note of scorn towards Shirou as he said that. Naturally it was times like this when the difference between a top-tier manager who had a solid foundation to launch a warrior into the fight and an unskilled manager who could only muddle along as best he could was most apparent.
"So...something is happening, but you do not know what it is?" Shirou asked after a moment of thought. Well, I will stay alert, tell Rin..."
"That is incorrect," The Guardian cut him off, a rare note of humor in his voice. "It is more accurate to say that something is happening and my manager does not know what it is."
Shirou once again had to resist the urge to simply hang up. So while Rin hadn't figured it out, the Guardian had pieced it together. And he was clearly dangling that in front of Shirou in order to make him ask for help.
Well, if the question was his pride against getting Saber what she needed to win, Shirou knew what his answer had to be. But still...
Shirou felt like he was about to stick his hand into the fireplace when he breathed in to humble himself enough before the Guardian.
"The Sparkling Gem Corporation," the Guardian's voice cut in, just one second before Shirou spoke, "while large, has most of its feelers inside the city for the tournament right now. If someone were operating inside the city, even the Treasury wouldn't have been able to keep it quiet. Rin would have already found out what is going on without even needing her contacts. Secondly, Tohsaka Rin has been unable to learn of what is happening from the people who do know what's going on.
The Guardian paused significantly, as if expecting Shirou to see something he did not. After a moment, the Guardian sighed and continued. "Whatever her good sides, my manager is not psychologically equipped to deal with failure. Her meddling in a fight she already lost may be considered an example of this. As a result, she rarely thinks about her own mistakes even when those failures should teach her something." The Guardian cleared his throat, and though he did not know it, assumed a teaching voice that sounded very similar to the woman he was criticizing at that moment.
"If Rin herself could not learn who was spreading money around, that means the organization must be located primarily outside the city; in other words, foreigners. But despite the general opinion of foreigners, Rin's own power and influence is not enough to learn what happened. So it is safe to assume the organization has either wealth to exceed that of Rin, or is even more powerful as a factor in the tournament, if not both."
Shirou felt like his head was spinning, but he tried to keep up with the Guardian's train of thought.
The Guardian continued. "As your current opponent not only does not fit those specifications, but, and more to the point, also is himself a member of the stable of Kotomine Kirei, it is unlikely this is related to your match with him. It's also unlikely, considering the cost of influencing the treasury, that this is an attempt to lay the groundwork for a large bet. So this is probably personal between you and him, or her.
"In summary..." the Guardian concluded, "your opponent is a foreign manager with resources capable of equaling Rin's, even in her home territory. This person is most likely still in the tournament, and has either enough of an interest or enough of a vendetta against you and Saber personally to be showing her hand early. I would guess because that person is looking to influence your next match. No, more precisely, to ensure your next opponent. Well, if I am right, you shouldn't worry overmuch. That one will be looking for you soon enough anyway."
The Guardian seemed to know, or thought he knew, exactly who was moving against him, but it seemed to Shirou that for whatever reason he did not feel like sharing. Well, admittedly he had been given far more then he had started with.
"Guardian, do thank Rin for me," Shirou said feelingly. "This couldn't have been easy to come by. I won't waste it."
"Oh, yesss...that reminds me," the Guardian said, a trademarked hint of malicious pleasure in his voice. "My manager wanted me to tell you in no uncertain terms that this information was not difficult at all to collect. In fact, it was merely things she happened to learn accidentally. That's why she certainly did not stay up most of the last three nights making phone calls, and why she hasn't had me propped up in a hospital bed with a laptop. That's also why she didn't pay several workers overtime to help with legwork.
"Because this was all just random tidbits she already knew, which is what I was to ensure I informed you of, you see." At that the Guardian let out a breathy chuckle and hung up without even waiting for a response from Shirou.
Shirou could only but stare in disbelief at the phone in his hand for a moment, his mind on fire. The mysterious manager of Hound Dog, someone who would prove invaluable to his effort to defeat the Heartthrob Kid, the threat of a new enemy working behind the scenes — just what was their motive? And most important of all...
The call had delayed him and he hadn't gotten Saber's food yet!
As Shirou left his beloved gym and hopped on the bike, pedaling into town...
...He couldn't help but think it was going to be one wild day.
