DISCLAIMER
The following is a fan-based
FICTION
F/SN, F/Z, F/KPI and other products related to the Fate Series are all owned by TYPE-MOON, Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi.
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Chapter 8: Bow (3)
Shirou Emiya partly regretted having had a nap in the open for a long time the previous day.
When Kiritsugu had come to knock at his room's door, the boy woke up with quite the heavy sensation in his nose.
Oddly tired and quite sloppy in his movements, his guardian has easily diagnosed it as a mere case of cold.
That is why when Taiga had asked him to come to the park early in the morning, he had to wear a small white mask and a simple hat to cover his sore ears.
He wondered if Fujimura would have recognised him with that pseudo-camouflage and... he was forgotten.
At first he had thought that the girl was just going to be late as she would once in a while do so with her lessons but then an hour passed and he was still alone.
It was after that moment of waiting that he remembered a very crucial detail that Taiga had to have forgotten about today.
She had double lessons of Kendo today early in the morning and.. she had forgotten about that.
Disappointment washed over him at this realisation and Shirou was more than happy to start to walk back home when he felt just few rapid footsteps approaching as he was yanked towards the bushes on the side, the culprit crouching near him.
He turned to stare at the responsible of this aggression and.. he was stumped by the figure he was looking at.
Black hair pulled in a twin-tailed style, blue eyes as if those were glowing gems and.. she was his age.
Who was she?
"W-Wha-" Her hand pressed on his white mask as she shushed him quietly. "Be quiet."
A frown later and Shirou nodded at her and, as her hand recoiled back, he tried to figure out who was she.
Clearly not someone he had met recently as he would have remembered meeting someone as short as him.
Someone from his past? Unlikely, her appearance didn't ring any bell to his mind about having encountered her before the fire.
And so the boy decided to patiently wait for the girl to explain herself and her actions but... few minutes passed and she kept silent about it all.
"Who are you?"
She gave a quick glance at him before returning to stare at the main path to the park's entrance.
"Tohsaka Rin."
The short presentation didn't give him anything to work with at first but then he remembered that someone that he had met quite recently shared her surname.
Was Rin a relative to Aoi? He narrowed his eyes as he tried to draw some comparison between the green-haired woman and the little girl that had pulled him in some bushes.
His staring didn't pass unnoticed to the child, which huffed in annoyance at the unwanted attention.
"C-Can you not stare this much?" She snorted again as she returned to her spying. "I should have picked a better thug for this little mission."
Thug? What was she talking about now? Was this because he was wearing an hat and a mask?
That sounded rubbish to his ears!
"What are you talking about?!"
She sighed tiredly. "A minion, a grunt, someone that works under me for only this little task."
...What?
Rin noticed his confusion and fully turned towards him. "Listen. I don't care if you want to fawn over me but please keep the creepiness to a minimum. We need to capture him once he arrives."
Fawning over? Creepiness?
He could still remember when he had met with Aoi and how confusing it had been for him at the time but Rin was beating that situation without even trying with her gibberish.
"Who is 'he'?" This time Shirou's voice was a bit louder, making the girl panic at the sudden question.
"D-Don't be too loud!" She scowled, crossing her arms close to her chest. "I need your temporary help to subdue the boy I will indicate you."
...She was crazy. There was no doubt about it as there was no way that someone her age could easily plot a kidnapping, even through her 'plan' sounded a lot like one of those created by villains from cartoons.
"W-Why would you even want to kidnap someone-"
Her eyes widened at the accusation. "T-This is not a kidnapping!" She seemed ready to protest further but paused for a moment. "I mean, my plans is to put him unconscious and drag him to my mother and... I don't know."
He blinked at the context given this calmly.
Rin was Aoi's daughter and wanted to... kidnap him? She was sounding the most confusing to him.
Why would she want to kidnap the Emiya? What had he done to warrant this?!
"Why you want to kidnap me?"
The girl was so much taken by the accusations that at first she didn't notice the wording of the question and was ready to deliver a lenghty motivation but-
Her mouth closed, her eyes narrowed at him and he felt like he was facing a blue tsunami as she growled.
"You are Emiya Shirou!"
Her yell made him flinch but he managed a nod as the girl approached him closely. "And you didn't tell me before- WHY?!"
Massaging his sore ears through the hat, the boy sighed. "Do you prefer the 'kidnap' excuse or the 'creepy' excuse?"
She snorted at the accusations. "Then you know that you have to follow me and-" "No."
..."What?"
"No. You just said you wanted to subdue me and take me where you live for your mother, but I don't know why I should do that?"
"B-because you have to! Yes, you have hurted my mom and-" "Aoi-san seemed fine the last time I saw her."
She pouted as her bluff was intercepted and dismantled so mercilessly. "Fine!"
Rin took a quick breath and turned serious in that moment. "My mother is... repeating your name."
"Really?" Sure, the woman had taken to repeat his name the last few moments she had seen here before she was taken back home but... she was still repeating it?
"Really. And that is... important." Her hands grasped at his shirt. "My m-mother couldn't even talk properly until now and she... she is speaking your name. What did you do to make her like this?"
He blinked at this as he hadn't realised until then that the damage Aoi had suffered was this extensive.
"I-I didn't do anything." Shirou replied at the senseless question. "I was just taking a nap and then I woke up with her sitting nearby."
... "Truly?" Her voice cracked a little and she sighed as he nodded. "T-Then there is no way that- that she will never return to normal." She sniffed as her tears started to buildup, a grimace appearing in the redhead's face at the idea of seeing another girl crying.
So he decided to speak up and try to avoid this situation to end with that.
"Wait! Why are you surrendering now?" He tried to appear encouraging, even through he didn't felt encouraged himself. "There are infinite choices that could be studied and-"
He paused as his eyes noticed her expression, one that Shirou knew more than he should at his age.
It was a sorrowful one, one that showed defeat at the oppressive odds that were constantly stacking and.. Rin felt so frail to look at. "And I will help you!"
.. "W-What?"
"I said that I will help you! It's unfair that you are doing all of this alone and... I want to help Aoi-san!"
She blinked in surprise at the declaration, tears starting to fall but she was staring at him wide-eyed.
A small smile appearing in her visage as she tried to brush her own tears away with her white sleeve.
"T-Thank you." Her smile widened even more, a genuine representation of gratitude from the young Tohsaka. "Emiya-kun."
Shirou was surprised at the house he was brought into by Rin.
It was a western style mansion, developed vertically and having been built with materials different from traditional houses.
A beautiful sight, that was for sure, and yet it seemed poorly-maintained as if someone had completely forgotten to clean the place.
The girl continued to walk over the gates and towards the entrance, never skipping a beat as she took a set of keys from her pouch and opened the the door quickly. "Go!" She whispered panicking but the Emiya entered quickly inside, awed by the gorgeous interior of the Tohsaka's home.
"Be quiet and.. continue to follow me." He nodded and the girl started to walk softly through the first hallway, looking at the second door on the left as she quickly walked towards it.
It was a living room, white being dominant in the furnitures and Shirou quickly spotted the familiar woman, Aoi, resting in one of the comfy chairs.
Green eyes blinked and soon she turned her attention away from the carpet and onto the two children.
"Shirou."
He cracked a small smile. "Aoi-san." He walked calmly towards her and went to greet her, leaving the young girl to stare at the exchange by the doorstep, trying to understand what the boy was going to do.
"Do you need something, Aoi-san?"
She continued to smile but she didn't speak further and Shirou frowned at the lack of reactions now.
Soon his attention turned to something trembling and he saw her left arm shivering, her hand turned to point at...
He turned to follow the direction and he saw only one thing she could be asking for. "The picture frame?"
Rin blinked as she had almost taken the shivering as something insignificant and yet-
Shirou returned back with the frame and turned for it to face the woman. "This?"
She didn't react at first to the picture but soon she spoke again.
"R-Rin."
The girl felt warm at her name being called out after so much time while the boy looked at the frame and pointed at her image.
"Yes. That is Rin-san."
It was subtle at first but the Gamer noticed that her green eyes were moving as she moved to the next individual.
"To-To-Tokiomi."
Rin gulped nervously, the name of his father still a sore point in her soul as she was still grieving it.
Shirou frowned at the man. He was sporting a goatee and was wearing elegant red clothes, a big smile on his face as his blue eyes- The boy paused at this details, connecting the dots quickly and dreadfully.
That was Rin's deceased father and the man... seemed to be happy with his family.
"That's... your husband?"
Finally Aoi paused, her smile freezing a little but soon that instance was replaced by her previous expression. Was she remembering something about her husband's death?
Her eyes moved once more and on the other corner of the picture... Shirou frowned in confusion.
The girl looked to be younger than Rin, dressed in a red shirt and white skirt. Actually those were the same clothes Rin was wearing, the colors being inverted in her case.
"S-Sa-Sakura."
Rin paled a little at the name and panicked even more the moment Shirou didn't answer her mother's word.
"Shirou?"
The redhead frowned at the photo as he felt like... he had seen this girl before.
Silent words were being exchanged in the memory, then she smiled widely and nodded at one of his proposal and he returned the sight with a grin of his own.
Soon a man approached and picked her slowly and softly, walking away from his as the girl waved at him with a happy smile.
A promise to meet again in the future.
It didn't happen. He knew that for some reason she didn't come back to the park, leaving him clueless as of why.
A soft hand set on his head, caressing it calmly and caringly.
Shirou blinked as he saw teardrops falling on the carpet below him, turning slowly to the woman as she smiled kindly.
"S-Sorry."
He blinked again and nodded at the comforting gesture. "T-Thank you, Aoi-san."
The woman didn't say anything else as she continued to pat his head.
Rin smiled a little at the sight, remembering when her mother would do the same thing when she was sad or tearful for a reason or another.
Yet her nostalgia was washed away the same moment a familiar hand grasped at her shoulder.
She looked up and saw the blank face of one Kotomine Kirei, her father's former apprentice.
"Rin." His voice sounded empty, monotone. "Did you invite someone for lunch?"
She blinked at the question and nodded slowly, cursing the bad timing of the man. "Yes."
The priest didn't spare further questions as he turned his attention on the redhead standing near the older Tohsaka.
Inside Kirei's mind, the words of the King of Heroes echoed the confusing warning about a new individual, someone that he will have to treat... rightfully.
"I suppose I will have to get the servants to know that they will have to prepare extra food for our young guest."
And as he said those words, the boy turned to stare at him. Yellow eyes, filled with emotions, met with ruthless brown ones, the very eyes that were hiding the evil nature of the soul of the priest.
For Kirei, it sounded like a delightful story to hear. One that would end with quite the harsh finale for the little 'Hero' of the tale.
AN
Rin is adorably smart about using her 'looks' to get minions. She is growing to be a devious individual, isn't she?
Also I decided to add another reason for Shirou's fondness for Sakura. I know that it is stated that Shirou's knows of his past but he is too pained to linger too much with it... but this is already an AU, so why shouldn't I play a little with the circumnstances?
Next chapter will see the lunch and boi, things get spicy! (Mapo Tofu is going to burn hellishly!)
Lastly! SEARCHING FOR BETA-READER!
This is not a drill! The hunt for someone ready to waste some time to merely find and adjust the mistakes of the chapters is a daring one but... hopefully it will be successful!
FANFIC VULT!
REVIEW Q&A!
antenesis: Yes.
merendinoemiliano: Thank you and Buona Pasqua in ritardo!
PasiveNox: Bah! I reply to everyone! :)
Cadelorbe12: Thank you!
surya25addanki: I have plans about Aoi and her recovery and thank you for your kind words!
JumpingToaster: Life is filled with uncertainity and this story is somewhat starting from that. While this is the Nasuverse, one small change can change every story in it.
reader0007: It is not anything Yandere-related... at least not yet as I haven't planned anything like that with her. The reason she chuckled while saying Shirou's name is mostly a personal victory. Since Aoi is brain-damaged, being able to.. say something smoothly is something to be prideful of, especially if you can say only one word at the time.
Marco Geddes: Thank you!
demonic hellfire: I have lots of question about what I just read in your comment.
