ACT VIII - Double Date
After talking with Kohaku the tofu had finished cooking and everyone was sitting at the table with Akiha and Shiki at each end of the long table. Hisui stood behind Shiki and Kohaku stood behind Akiha apparently to deal with anything they needed. Akiha fit the setting perfectly, as she looked elegant enough to be in one of those magazines that rich people read.
"Kohaku, the tofu tastes a bit different than your normal cooking. Did you try something different?" Akiha asked after forking a small bit of it into her mouth. Apparently her taste was good enough she was able to spot Shirou's modifications.
"Actually Shirou-san insisted that I let him help me cook if he was going to be staying with us. Is it not to your liking Akiha-sama?" Kohaku explained but she always held that small smile on her face, as if it was nothing.
Akiha looked surprised when Kohaku mentioned Shirou's name. "Is this true Shirou-san?" That was all she asked as she put her fork down took a sip of the tea that was before all of them. Saber, who was sitting across the table from Shirou looked like she belonged there as well as she had on the dress that was normally under her armor. She truly looked like royalty when sitting near Akiha.
"Yes, I added a few things to make it a bit more flavorful. I apologize if I did something I shouldn't have." Shirou looked up at Akiha and admitted.
"On the contrary. If you continue doing so you're welcome to help Kohaku in my kitchen any time you want." Akiha had a pleased look on her face as she picked up her fork again. Behind her Kohaku gave Shirou a wide smile and offered him a thumbs up.
Around the table everyone had began to dig in to Kohaku and Shirou's combined cooking and they looked equally surprised as Akiha at how good it was. Arcueid finished first and Shiki glanced over at Shirou, "You might have to give me some lessons Shirou. If Arcueid starts liking your cooking more than mine I might be in trouble." Everyone at the table including Akiha chuckled at Shiki's comment.
Saber looked content as she ate; she enjoyed Shirou's cooking which she hadn't had for quite some time now. She had as much manners as Akiha had thanks to her being a king in the past, every time she picked up a fork or a cup it was such a fluid motion it was almost beautiful just to watch her.
After dinner and desert with everyone it had become quite dark outside. Everyone looked relaxed as they sat in the sitting room and chatted for awhile. Outside the crickets were starting to chirp.
"Are you ready to leave Akiha? It should be about time." Shiki turned to her and asked. Shirou guessed they had plans somewhere in the city tonight and Arcueid looked rather curious as well.
"Hm? Where are you two going tonight?" Arcueid asked curiously with a mischievous smile on her face.
"Nee-san promised he would take me on a gondola tonight. I hear the canals are quite beautiful at night." Akiha answered as she set down her tea cup.
"If it isn't too much trouble would you mind if Shirou and I joined the two of you?" Saber turned to Akiha and asked thinking that it would be nice for them to relax for a night, there didn't seem to be any pressing matters on hand during the night so they might as well enjoy themselves for once.
"Nee-san is that fine with you?" Akiha asked Shiki.
"Yeah, I don't mind. What about you though Arcueid? If it's just the four of us won't you feel left out?" Shiki let Hisui take his empty teacup from him and everyone else did the same, it still bothered Shirou a little to watch them bustle around the house and work but Kohaku and Hisui didn't seem unhappy.
Arcueid shook her head, "Nah, I have plans tonight anyway. There's somebody I want to talk to, I appreciate your concern though Shiki." She smiled at him and then stood up. "You guys have fun; I'll be back later tonight." With those words Arcueid left the room and the house to do whatever it was she was going to do.
Akiha stood up from the chair she sat in and looked at Shiki with a smile on her face. "Shall we go Nee-san?" Shirou could tell she had been looking forward to this trip for awhile by the way Akiha was acting, that was the first time he had seen her smile since he, Saber, and Arcueid had met her. Shiki nodded and stood up as well followed by Saber and Shirou. Kohaku disappeared into the kitchen to take care of the dishes no doubt, and Hisui was probably off cleaning something.
The four of them walked to the door and stepped out into the night. It was quiet and peaceful on the top of the large hill the Tohno household set on, outside Hisui met them and opened the large iron gate for them. "Please be careful on your way." She said with a bow and saw them out. The city of Venice could be seen from the top of the hill and hundreds of lights dotted the area below the hill. The four of them thanked Hisui and started down the hill, the smell of the canals already starting to fill Shirou's nose.
There were many people walking around the streets just as one would expect, and the group looked rather odd to everyone else as everyone besides Saber was Japanese. The city was aglow with street lamps and flashes of the tourist's cameras, even the gondolas had tiny lamps on them.
"So tell me how the two of you met." Akiha turned to Shirou and asked him, her raven hair blowing slightly in the cool night breeze.
"I met Saber several years ago when she saved my life after which we fought through many battles side by side. In the end though she couldn't stay so she left, it wasn't until recently we were reunited." Shirou told her as much as possible without revealing anything about the Holy Grail or magecraft. These two seemed like nice people, and anybody who got themselves caught up in magic seemed to have a hard life. "She used to be very much like Hisui, but she's started to show her true self recently." He turned to Saber and offered her a smile; she returned it and walked a little closer to him.
The group turned onto a side street, Shiki was probably leading them towards the docks where the gondolas set out from. The sounds of the canals were never far away and the group passed many benches where couples were sitting in a romantic setting. At every one they passed Shirou began to see himself and Saber sitting at the benches.
"What about you and Shiki? Have you been living together your whole lives?" Saber asked as she gazed at the lantern lit water below them.
Akiha thought for a moment as if unsure how to answer Saber's question. "No we haven't, he was sent to live with a branch family when he was young, when my father became ill and died and I became head of the family a few years later I sent for him to return. We have been living together ever since." Akiha glanced over at Shiki as if for confirmation she told the story right.
The sound of water became louder and more gondolas could be seen in the canals indicating they were nearing the docks. "Actually we're not blood related at all; I was adopted by Akiha's father." Shiki said something out of the blue and Akiha looked at him wide-eyed as if she was surprised he revealed such a thing. "Even so I love Akiha as my own sister. She's family even if we don't share the same blood." Shiki smiled and the moonlight shined off his glasses.
They had only just met a few hours before and it already seemed like everyone was getting along. Hisui and Kohaku were nice enough even if Hisui never talked that much or even smiled, Shirou could tell that deep down Kohaku's description of her was correct. Akiha was an extremely beautiful woman with as much love for her brother as was humanly possible. Not much was known about Shiki himself but everyone in his house certainly cared about him quite a lot even if (according to Akiha) he did make her worry all the time.
The group neared the docks and they found a gondola that would take them along the canals, both Akiha and Saber looked rather restless as some of the boats looked quite old. Shirou and Shiki looked at each other. "Maybe it would be better if we were to take separate boats?" Shirou suggested and Shiki nodded in agreement. Luckily two boats had pulled up side by side.
"I guess that answers your question." Shiki stepped into the boat and Shirou stepped into his. Both of them held out their hands, Akiha taking Shiki's and Saber taking Shirou's they helped them into the boats and sat next to one another. Soon the two gondolas were off being pushed by a man with a large pole wearing black and white striped outfits with red ascots. The boat rocked only slightly on the water of the canals, as they were pushed smoothly along the watery streets.
Ahead of him Shirou could see Shiki and Akiha sitting next to each other in their own boat. Akiha was leaning her head against Shiki's shoulder and they looked like they were talking about something. Saber scooted close to him and hugged his arm affectionately; she was looking at the lights lining the canal. The small lanterns gave off an ambient light on the boat and were quite a romantic setting, the light made Saber's hair shine beautifully along with her eyes.
The small breeze ruffled their hair. "It really is quite beautiful isn't it?" Saber said turning her emerald eyes towards Shirou. Shirou tried to think of something clever to say but his mind drew a blank. "Yeah, it really is. I'm glad we ended up here." He smiled and wrapped his arm that Saber had been hugging loosely around her back, she looked a little surprised at this action because Shirou didn't normally do things like that. Considering the atmosphere however, it seemed to bring the romantic side out in people. Saber leaned against Shirou as the cool air of the canals washed over them. They both fell silent unable to think of anything to say.
Shirou began to notice that his heart was fluttering and he wondered if Saber's was as well. Now that he thought about it, this was the first time he'd been alone with Saber in quite a while. Behind them, the man driving the gondola began to sing a soft song in Italian. Shirou couldn't understand any of it and looked curiously at Saber, she was the only one he knew of who could speak Italian.
"He's singing about two people who loved each other but got separated; they spent the rest of their lives searching for one another." Saber said with a rather sad tone in her voice as if she could feel what the people in the song were feeling. As the man's song neared its end Saber slowly inched herself closer to Shirou. Shirou turned his head and looked down at her; she gave him a smile that made Shirou's heart explode. It was as if she put all her feeling into it and it radiated out from her face like a solar flare. Shirou reached out and touched Saber's smooth cheek with his fingers. Her emerald eyes glowed in the faint light of the canal and stared back at him, Shirou's heart began to pound in his chest.
Saber's eyes closed and she tilted her head against his hand. Shirou began to lean in closer to her, he gently caressed her cheek with his fingertips and she wrapped her arms around Shirou's waist. She leaned up towards Shirou and their lips met, Shirou's heart pounded so hard he was almost sure Saber could feel it herself. Shirou's eyes closed as the two of them entered a world all their own, the gondola driver's song still fresh in their ears. After a few seconds their lips parted with a soft noise and the both of them opened their eyes. Neither of them said anything, nor did either of them think that there was a need to. For the rest of the trip they simply held onto each other and let the gondola driver sing.
Soon both Shiki and Shirou's gondolas ended up back at the port where they'd started. Shirou exited the boat first and helped Saber out, she smiled when she grabbed onto his hand and stepped back onto solid ground. Shiki and Akiha were already out and both of them were looking relaxed.
"Did the both of you enjoy yourselves?" Akiha turned towards Shirou and Saber and asked.
"Yeah, how about you Akiha-san?" Shirou answered her with a smile and a nod towards Shiki.
"We had a great time, isn't that right Nee-san?" Akiha replied with a glance towards Shiki.
Shiki nodded, "Yeah, it really was relaxing." Shirou didn't know about the term "relaxing", but he guessed to a brother and sister it would be.
The group began to walk away from the docks and back to the streets; they took a different route than they had before through what looked like a shopping district. Saber and Akiha occasionally walked up to a store window and looked at the dresses that were on display if they saw something that caught their eye. Shirou and Shiki caught each other's eyes and Shiki shrugged, watching the two girls made one think they were just normal pair of women.
The two girls wandered around the shopping district with Shirou and Shiki following behind them. Both of them were obviously having a good time and they seemed to be getting along well. Shirou looked up at the sky at the full moon that was shining through the clouds above them. They had things they could be doing, but for now Shirou was content on doing these meaningless things with friends.
"I can see why you like her." Shiki spoke up as he walked next to Shirou and behind the girls. His hands were in his pockets and he was walking casually.
"Hm? Oh, you mean Saber." Shirou was confused for a moment but then realized what Shiki was talking about. "Yeah, she's really something else isn't she?"
Shiki nodded with a smirk. "I gotta warn you though. I've seen you looking at Akiha too. Go after my sister and I'll have to kill you." He playfully elbowed Shirou in the arm.
"Me and Akiha-san?" Shirou chuckled. "I don't think you have to worry much about that. I'd say the chances of her and I getting together are slim to none." Sure Shirou liked Akiha, but he just couldn't see her in a romantic light. She seemed too pure for such things. Besides, if he started looking at other women he would probably wake up one morning to Saber standing over him with Excalibur raised. He got a brief image of her blowing up his house in his head and he shivered, Saber sure looked scary when she was angry.
"Speaking of which, what exactly do you see in Arcueid?" Arcueid was in fact Shiki's girlfriend or so he once claimed anyway, the question had been on Shirou's mind for awhile.
"Well, she is extremely spontaneous and sometimes not great in social situations. However even so she's extremely cute and has a lot of knowledge from being around for a long time." Shiki replied and watched Akiha and Saber run from window to window.
"Hm, I can see where you're coming from. She is rather beautiful when she isn't doing something dumb." Shirou thought for a moment before speaking.
"Well she is royalty after all." Shiki shrugged. Shirou looked at him wide-eyed, he hadn't realized that nor would he have ever thought that Arcueid was royalty.
"This is the same Arcueid we're talking about here right?" Shirou asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, the True Ancestors used to call her the White Princess." Shiki said as he watched Akiha and Saber go into one of the stores.
Shirou looked around and saw there was an ice cream shop across from the store the girls went into. "Come on, let's surprise them." he suggested and pointed the ice cream out to Shiki.
"Excellent idea." Shiki grinned.
Both of them approached the stand and bought an ice cream. Shirou had gotten Saber a strawberry cone while Shiki got Akiha French Vanilla in a cup with a spoon. It was a bit difficult because neither of them could speak Italian so it just came down to pointing at the menu. Soon after the girls came out of the store and were greeted by Shirou and Shiki offering the ice cream.
"Thank you Shirou." Saber smiled and took the strawberry cone from him immediately dragging her tongue across it.
"Nee-san, what a nice surprise. Thank you." Akiha said with a smile and spooned a small amount of ice cream into her mouth.
"Tonight has been fun but it's getting rather late. I think we should head back home." Akiha looked up at the sky and heaved a relaxed sigh. Nobody else seemed to disagree with her and they all began to walk slowly back to the Tohno place as the girls ate their ice cream. The four of them retraced their steps until they once again walked up the large hill to the mansion, the cool wind blowing through their hair and the full moon shining brightly above the large house.
"By the way Akiha, are you going to need my help tonight?" Shiki asked as he looked up at the moon. He didn't reveal what exactly it was he was asking if his sister needed help was. Shirou wondered what it could be.
Akiha looked a bit upset at her brother's words. "Unfortunately yes. The new shipment is late this week and I'd rather not trouble Kohaku any more than I have to." She said with a sigh and they reached the iron gates out front.
"Don't worry about it Akiha, I'm glad to do it." Shiki reassured her with a smile.
They found that Hisui had been standing there waiting for them, her dress fluttering in the breeze. "Welcome home." She said with a bow and let the four of them in the gate.
"Are you alright Hisui-san? You look a little cold, how long have you been standing out here?" Shirou asked as he and Saber waited behind for Hisui.
The gate gave off a loud metallic click as Hisui locked it behind them. "I have been waiting for an hour. Akiha-sama must have been enjoying herself." She said and began to walk back to the house while avoiding his question on whether or not she was cold.
"Maybe you can come along next time." Shirou suggested, as he and Saber followed her back to the front door.
"That is not possible. I will see you in the morning Shirou-san. Good night." Hisui bowed and began to close the front door.
Shirou grabbed the door before Hisui could close it and she gave a slight yelp. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just thought of something, when does Kohaku-san get up to cook breakfast?" Shirou wanted to cook with Kohaku more, even if it meant getting up at the same time that she did.
Hisui who had cringed at Shirou grabbing the door snapped back to her normal appearance. "Nee-san gets up at six o'clock normally to prepare breakfast." She said still looking a little shaken at the sudden movement by Shirou.
"Thank you Hisui-san. Good night and I apologize again for scaring you." Shirou bowed his head apologetically and let Hisui close the door. He and Saber then made their way around the back of the house to the small Japanese-style house that was in the back.
"Shirou, thank you for tonight. I enjoyed myself." Saber smiled as they reached the small house. Shirou opened the door and ushered Saber inside first.
"Yeah, I did too." Shirou smiled and slid open that led to the bedroom. The two of them entered together and laid down, Saber taking her usual position of letting her hair down and laying her head on Shirou's chest. The two of them closed their eyes and fell asleep holding onto each other.
