Shirou started awake.
"Baka, lie down. You need more rest."
"How long was I out for?" Shirou followed Rin's command. He was laying in his room at the Emiya estate, so whatever happened couldn't have been too bad, but he wasn't certain how he had gotten there. The last thing he remembered was Rin in danger. He turned his head. She looked the same as always now, though - being helpful in her own inimitable way.
"Not long enough. It's just past dinner time."
"Oh,.. Fujimora! She'll be here momentarily."
"She was already here. I told her that you were feeling ill, and that she would have to fend for herself and make her own food, for once in her adult life."
Shirou was nonplussed by the vehemence in Rin's voice.
"But I like cooking," he almost whined.
"Right now, you're in no shape. I want you to rest. I ordered out some pizza from the American place down the street." Rin paused, "Also, I'm going to move in here to keep an eye on you." The idiot kept messing up all her plans. She couldn't even break things off with him without risking that he would get himself killed.
Shirou nodded, and then stood up, "I'm fine. See? You don't need to move in here to keep watch."
And he did indeed look fine: despite the injuries he had sustained, he didn't appear the least bit unsteady.
"There is no way you can have healed that fast. You should have been out on your back for at least a week."
"Not in my day," Saber interrupted. Shirou hadn't noticed her kneeling on the mat, behind Rin. "Shirou does heal quickly, but it is not unheard of for great knights to do so." She smiled at Shirou.
Shirou could hear Rin's teeth grind together. "Ok, he may have healed unnaturally fast, ut I sbtill need to keep an eye on him to keep him from doing something stupid."
"Like participating a murderous contest for no good reason?" Shirou asked.
Rin looked ready to explode. She should yell at him him to just stay out of it, that all he was doing was endangering his own life and making her task harder. She glared at the idiot. He looked like an over-eager puppy. She couldn't bring herself to say it. "I will be sleeping in the room down the hall. Get used to it."
^Trackless^
"So, are you helping Shirou with breakfast now as well?" Fuji asked as she took a bite of her fish, "Maybe you should just move in here and be done with it." She smirked. The Taiga was now a playful kitten instead of a vengeful beast.
Shirou almost choked on his miso soup. "Ah, you certainly seem cheerful today."
"Yeah, I don't know why, but I've been feeling pretty good since last night." She glanced at her watch, "Oh, I gotta go!" She bounced to her feet and raced out, half dragging / half riding her moped. She hadn't even commented on Saber being at the table, though that may have been because Saber had sat quietly throughout the exchange, observing (which had given her more freedom to shovel food into her mouth).
Shirou turned towards Rin, "What did you do to her last night?"
"Nothing!" Rin had her best 'wide eyed innocent' look on display, but Shirou knew her well enough to know that it was a complete fake. He just waited. Finally Rin gave a long suffering sigh. "I just used a little hypnosis, to make her a little more.. tractable. And ignore Saber. I didn't think she would start trying to set us up."
"Rin, you have been coming over to my house for ages, and you haven't noticed that Fuji-nee is an incurable romantic? She reads those trashy novels of hers nonstop. Of course she's going to get the wrong idea. What?" Shirou wasn't certain why Rin was glaring at him. Or Saber was glaring at Rin.
^Trackless^
Rin walked into school feeling at peace for the first time since this whole Grail War started. She had had a restful night without dreaming about battles and dying, and she had eaten one of Shirou's breakfasts.
And now she was walking to school side by side with him, like they used to. She momentarily considered taking his hand, but the Baka would get the wrong idea: He was just an ally for the duration of the war. That's all. Once it was done, he was gone.
Instead, as soon as they entered the school, she pivoted to go her own way, without acknowledging him. Rin was just heading up the stairs to her homeroom when a figure shambled in front of her, blocking her path. "Hey, Rin. Can I call you Rin? We have so much in common that I feel close to you." It was Shinji, except he had changed. He walked like half his nerves were fried, and one eye had gone milky white. And if you looked close, you could almost see something moving under his skin.
Shinji noticed her looking, "This? Yeah, my asshole of a granddad decided to make some improvements, for the duration of the Heavens Feel. It hurt like hell, but at least now I am a magus, like you."
Rin unobtrusively palmed a gem with her left hand, in case Shinji tried anything.
"And I'm a Master. Just like you. Did you know that our families were allies for a long time? It only makes sense that we work together to win this Gail War. You can have the wish. I just want my body back."
Rin nodded, "So what do you propose?" She didn't quite understand what Shinji meant by 'getting his body back', but she would figure out what the idiot was talking about later. For now, she would milk him for any information that the little creep was willing to let slip.
"We should team up to take out the witch up in the temple. That place is a fucking fortress, magically speaking, and neither one of us can crack it alone."
Rin smiled, "I'll think about it." She started up the stairs until she was face to face with Shinji, "are you going to let me through?"
Shinji paused to consider before turning to make room for his intended ally. Rin nodded her thanks, but she kept a watchful eye on Shinji.
She was almost past him when he reached out and groped her ass.
^Trackless^
Shirou was just putting his outdoor shoes on to go home when Issei came up. It was the end of the school day, and it had been a very good day. The school felt cleaner with the sigils disarmed. There was still a faint miasma, but nowhere near as bad. And Fuji-nee was back to normal. She seemed a little hyper, but with Taiga, who could tell if that was naturally occurring or if it was caused by Rin's spell ?
"Shirou, I have to bring Shinji his homework." Issei held up a sheaf of papers. "I don't feel comfortable going out to his house myself, what with him being a criminal. Mind coming along?"
"Oh, is he sick?" Shinji had not looked well last time he saw him. Which was only fair – he shouldn't look well, not after what he had done to Sakura.
"No, he fell down the stairs. Apparently he's not very coordinated, because he fell ALL the way down without managing to catch himself."
"Huh. Ok, I'll walk with you."
They spent most of the walk talking about school and Ayako. Issei had taken to visiting her daily after she was attacked. "So, are the two of you an item?" Shirou asked.
"No, I am just bringing her the school work that she is missing, and then I stay and go over it with her. Its hard to follow class notes if you completely missed the class. And I am in most of her classes. " Issei adjusted the collar of his shirt, "It's very hot today. Oh, we're here."
They stopped in front of the Matou mansion. Somehow it gave the sense of decay despite not appearing to be in particularly bad shape. "Ah, let's just leave the papers in the mail slot and leave?"
"Fair enough," Issei took one of the manila envelopes from his book bag and jammed it through. "Um, I gotta go bring this next set to Ayako. She's home from the hospital, and she's hoping to come back to class next week." He added nonchalantly, not looking at Shirou.
Shirou waved him off and made his way back to the Emiya estate.
He was just considering stopping off at the market to get some groceries – having a pair of live-in guests was going to deplete his larder fast – when the strange white haired girl from a couple of days back jumped off of the swings in the park he was passing. "Hello Shirou-kun."
"Um, hi?" Shirou asked, puzzled at the familiarity with which the girl greeted him.
"Come, sit down. We have a lot to discuss. You didn't summon your servant." She led the way to a wooden bench off to one side of the play park. "And after some consideration, I have decided that I would rather you didn't die."
Shirou was getting progressively more creeped out. While she looked like a 10 year old girl, her mannerisms and vocabulary were those of somebody much older. She patted the bench beside her and smiled invitingly.
"Do I know you?" He asked, sitting down tentatively.
"No, we have never met, but I am your step sister. Older step sister. And as you have no doubt guessed, unless you are a complete dumkoff, I am also a Master in the Grail War. You also had the potential to be a Master – that bruise on your arm is a vestigial command seal – but all the servants have already been summoned, so you are out of luck."
"Ok..." Shirou nodded along. Actually, he hadn't guessed. And with the way his life was going, he hadn't even thought about the strange girl after that night. Rin had told him that he should take care to avoid other Masters in the Grail War, as they could be unpredictable, and if they were to discover that he was allied with her, he might be in danger. But this odd little girl (little woman?) seemed harmless enough.
"I have also gotten to know you fairly well over the past couple of days, and I know that despite not being involved in the Grail War, your life is still in danger because you are a heroic idiot who is set on throwing himself into harms way in a foolish yet noble attempt to help others. Thus, in order to keep you from dying, you will train with my Servant, Archer." Seeing that Shirou was still hesitating, she added, "It's ok. He doesn't want to kill you anymore."
"Ah, maybe tomorrow. I really need to get going," Shirou quickly stood up, only to stumble and collapse to the ground.
"Just to be clear, that wasn't a request. It was an order," Illyasviel stood up and dusted herself off before commanding, "Archer."
The white haired Archer faded into view. He was dressed in his typical red overcoat over black body armor. And he wore his typical long suffering look. But Illyasviel stood up on tiptoe to give him a quick peck on the cheek, and that melted the exasperation right off. "Bring him to my castle."
^Trackless^
"Where is that idiot?" Rin paced Shirou's dining room as Saber sat and watched. Dinner time had come and gone. The two had waited patiently for the provider of good, tasty food to appear, but nothing had happened.
That had been bothersome.
Now, it was almost eight o'clock, and there was still no Shirou, and Rin was starting to get a little worried. Her stomach was roiling. She had tried to grab a snack from Shirou's fridge, but she couldn't bring herself to eat it. She couldn't believe that idiot was doing this to her. He had forced himself into her life, refusing to let her push him away, and now he had disappeared! For all she knew, he was lying in a gutter somewhere, bleeding to death because he tried to save some little old lady from a Servant.
"Master, we should work on our strategy for the next couple of days. Nothing is gained by worrying." Saber was the voice of reason, "Once we discover where Shirou is, we can mount a rescue." Saber was mildly concerned about Shirou, but he had earned her respect – she assumed he could take care of himself, whatever the situation he found himself in.
"I know that!" Rin snapped. After pacing some more, she was just about to sit down when the front door opened. She leaped back to her feet.
"Hey, guys. You're never going to believe what happened." Shirou walked in, looking tired but happy.
"You better have been run over by a car and spent the past five hours in the hospital!" Rin snarled.
Shirou was taken a little aback at her vehemence.
"Don't worry, Shirou. Rin was just concerned for your safety," Saber interrupted as she walked over to Shirou and patted him on the shoulder. "It is good to have you back." She reached out to give his shoulder an extra squeeze.
"So what happened?" Rin asked, back to her normal, controlled self.
Shirou retold his encounter with Illyasviel, "And when I woke up I was in this giant ballroom, with her Servant. He spent the next couple of hours drilling me in sword fighting. He was kind of a jerk, but he really knew his stuff. And for some reason, he attacked me with an entire armory's worth of magic weapons. I don't know what he was trying to accomplish, but I was able to Structurally Grasp most of the weapons - it was incredibly useful." Not only that, but Archer was a genius – despite the very limited training time, everything he showed Shirou made perfect sense, so he only had to see it once or twice. He must have been a master teacher in life.
But he skipped mentioning that part, as Rin would get competitive (as always). And there was no reason for it – she was a perfectly good teacher herself.
Saber's blood ran cold, "Was this servant Archer class? With light colored hair?"
"Yes?"
Saber nodded. If she could be summoned into two consecutive Grail wars, it stood to reason that it could happen to other servants as well. "I know him. He an intolerable man, with an unrequited fascination for me." She scowled in distaste.
"Speaking of hentai perverts, I learned some useful information from Shinji today."
Shirou frowned in confusion, "Was this before he fell down the stairs?"
"Just before," Rin smirked. "First off, it turns out that the little monster is also a Master. If we hadn't been in school, I would have ended him. As it is, he should be out of action for some time. But the really interesting thing that he said was that there is a Servant based up in the Ryuudo temple. That's right where all the lei lines converge. If her master is a talented enough magus, they could use that to cast spells all over the city."
"The 'gas leaks'," Shirou pronounced. "We should go investigate that, after I call Fuji-nee. She's probably also worried, after I missed dinner."
"Actually," Rin looked slightly abashed, "She called to say that she wouldn't make it to dinner, as she had to go shopping for a bridesmaid dress."
"I didn't know that one her friends was getting married..." Shirou looks up as a sudden thought occurred to him - "she's not thinking you and I... What did you do to her brain?"
"Ok, so I might have put a little too much juice into that hypnosis, but it shouldn't have brainwashed her or anything – it should have just steered her thoughts into a 'better' channel. She must have already had a couple of screws loose!"
Shirou sighed, "Fine, I guess I can talk Taiga out of her tree later. Right now we should head up to the Ryuudo."
"Now, hold up, Shirou. We still don't know which Servant is up there. And this thing with Archer – I don't trust that little girl's motives. We should wait." Rin prevaricated. Let the other Servants murder each other a little – there was no need to be the first ones rushing into the fight.
"Actually, I agree with Shirou," Saber interrupted. "We should go up to the temple, at least to scout it out. We aren't going to learn anything here." Saber didn't add that the attacks on innocent people was bothering her, but looking at Shirou, she could see the same concern reflected in her fellow knight's eyes.
"Fine, I give up. My own Servant is ganging up on me with... Arg!" Rin threw up her hands in frustration, "I'm going to get my gear together. Be ready in half an hour."
^Trackless^
Shinji floated in pool of worms. The pain was excruciating as they tunneled into his flesh, but after prison, he was used to pain. He even welcomed it, for when it was done, he would be better than he was before. His wounds would be healed, he would be stronger, and he would be able to hurt all those that had hurt him.
And for this, all that he had had to do was to accept grandfather's offer.
He gasped in pain as another piece of grandfather penetrated into him.
^Trackless^
"I think that went well" Illya pranced around her bedroom. Illya had never pranced before, but it was surprisingly enjoyable.
'He wasn't totally inept,' Archer sent silently, 'But I don't understand why I have to sit out here and watch over him as well. Don't we have a Grail war to win? Besides, I don't like leaving you unprotected.' He added.
"You worry too much, I have Stella and Leysritt, and the castle is heavily warded." Illya smiled. This was another new, enjoyable, experience: she had never before had somebody worry about her. 'And we watch over him because he is a good man, just like you. And just like you, he is also an idiot.'
Archer rolled his eyes, but he couldn't keep a small smile from creeping onto his face. It was extremely strange to have an overprotective older sister. In his memories, Illya was always slightly childish and not very serious. But then again, his Master could be excused - sharing the memories of his life was always a downer.
He went back to observing the Emiya estate from his perch on the Fuyuki river bridge. It was good to be an Archer class.
^Trackless^
Shirou again woke up in a strange place. Except this time, instead of a perky preteen, he was faced with a fae adult woman. "Ah, good. You are awake," she smiled. It did not look quite natural on her face – she was not a woman used to much joy.
"Where am I?" Shirou looked around. He was laying on a small futon in a plain, almost monastic room. Again a big change from waking up on a huge four poster bed in an opulent European style chamber. Somehow, Shirou suspected that there wouldn't be any training with a sardonic Servant here either.
This was not good. He wasn't retrained, but he was pretty confident that he couldn't get past the Servant without being killed.
The last thing he remembered was walking up to the stairs of Ryuudo temple. He had turned back to make a joke to Rin about her not needing to do any cardio this week when everything had faded to black.
"You are at my headquarters, at Ryuudo Temple," The woman's voice was very soft. But that didn't make it comforting. It was too sibilant. "I have a small favor to ask of you: you are a Master in this Grail war, but you lack a servant. I am a Servant, but I don't have a master. I think it would be wise for you to become my Master." She tried to hide it, but she made a small grimace of distaste when she said 'master'.
"Um.." Shirou looked around some more, as he desperately tried to buy time to think. "What class of Servant are you?"
"Why, Caster, of course. " Caster ran a hand along Shirou's jaw in an affectionate fashion, "Come, this is not a hard decision. Become my Master and get a chance to win a wish, or I break your mind and take you by force."