Before Shirou stood a young woman of indescribable beauty. Her eyes, a blue that shone like the moon, blond hair that shone like gold in the gentle night light. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her blond hair was perfectly combed, and combined with the oddly fitting armored blue dress, and the gentle moonlight barely leaking into the small shed, he was rendered speechless from her radiance.
It took his brain a while to reboot to finally notice the floating box above her head, which identified her as Saber. Specifically "Servant Saber, 'Servant Saber' Level 60."
"I am Servant Saber, and I ask of you, are you my master?" she asked. Almost dumbly, Shirou nodded, and only reacted when her eyes widened at the sight of Archer. "Master, are these two attacking?" she demanded, taking up a notably combat stance, with an apparently invisible two-handed weapon in hand. Grunting slightly, and ignoring two screens on the edge of his vision, he frantically got between Saber and Archer. "Ah! N-no, we are currently allied. I am sorry to say, but I did not plan to summon you, please forgive me." Over the small attempt at peace, Shirou managed to level his voice from frantic, to a fairly flat diplomatic tone, ending his sentence with a formal Japanese bow.
After a short clank, his newly summoned Servant nodded, "Very well." Taking that as a dismissal Shirou returned to his full height, immediately mentally winced when he saw his Servant's definite European features. It wasn't as if a traditional bow was a true mistake, but if he had considered her appearance in his actions, he likely would have made his statement much more effective.
Despite the mess-up, the female Saber did not appear to mind, and simply nodded. Shirou, slightly relieved that the western hero didn't notice, or at least didn't mind his mistake, smiled. "Pardon me, but would any of you like some tea or anything. I guess haven't been a very nice host yet." he chuckle. At once, all three of his guests turned their gaze to him in an utter deadpan. Winching a little, Shirou chuckle nervously."Just asking."
Sighing, Rin nodded. "Very well, I would very much like some tea." she sighed, walking out from his workshop. Seeing this, both Archer and Saber copied, moving in the vague direction their masters were.
Once inside, Shirou showed Rin to a seat at his table, and went into his kitchen to make her, and the rest of his company, a cup of tea. Since his cooking was unnaturally high, and he had the ability to use magic to help him, he managed to not only finish the tea in half the time it rightfully should have taken, but also increase the pleasant aroma, delicate taste, and overall flavor of the drink well beyond its normal capabilities.
It was during this time that he decided it would be acceptable to check the two screens he had so far ignored. The first was an official notification that he had, indeed, summoned Saber, giving the warning that she would take a very large amount of his Mana. It didn't seem to be very much, so he left that slide. It also informed him that she was both weakened and strengthened by his summoning. On one hand, she took a massive 20% dip thanks to inexperience with the summoning spell, and on the other she a ten percent increase by their alike Origins, with a small, but growing increase thanks to his Necromancy skill.
The other was a notification that, by summoning this particular Saber, Avalon had partially activated, and would feed off of her Mana as much as its user's.
When he came back to a slightly surprised Archer, a noble looking Saber, and an expectant Tohsaka, he was eager to see them try his cooking. Tohaska accepted the warm drink from his hands gracefully, taking a small sip of it. By the look in her eyes, she liked it. Archer seemed to treat his creation with a creator's eye, evaluating the taste, heat, and aroma while enjoying the flavor, like a chef. Saber, in contrast, seemed to drink with gusto, completely breaking the noble image she had maintained before.
Of course, he had only known Saber for the entirety of two minutes, and most of that was spent away from her, so this wasn't a huge break in character.
After a few seconds of silent observing, Rin set her cup down, "So. You are now the Master of Saber, and, as I am the Master of Archer, we must decide what to do." she explained. Shirou, knowing that Magi were generally not to be trusted, and thus this apprehension making sense, nodded, before voicing his own thoughts. "Right now, I have no reason as to why our Servants would have to fight each other. I myself have very little I would wish into existence, and very little I would wish that I can't do myself with some time." he explained, "So, as far as I am concerned, I have no reason to fight you. If Saber wishes we can team up, and she and Archer can battle it out at the end, alright?"
Rin, almost shocked that he would give her such a fair, if not in her favor, deal when he had the stronger, and potentially the strongest Servant, alongside his ridiculous ability to at least block a Servant, agreed. Nodding to signify her agreement, she was rather grateful for a partnership, as it was likely that several of her enemies would do the same against her. She would have to find out a way for Archer to beat Saber, but besides that, she had no problems with the deal, especially since her Archer would probably not win against Saber with no preparations.
The deal was very likely her best way of winning, since she could put Saber in danger, if needed, and their Servants together would take down any enemy Servants her Archer could not take down alone. So, Rin nodded. Looking to Saber herself, both Masters were relieved to find her nodding in agreement. Granted, her own agreement was based more on actual use of such an agreement, rather than a hope to win, or a wish to not hurt a classmate.
Seeing this, Shirou smiled, before thinking. "Is there any official channels we have to go through to team up, or to get me signed into the War, for that matter?" he asked. Rin nodded, "Now that you're a Master, we have to go see the Fake Priest to register you into the Holy Grail War."
Shirou nodded, "Alright, lead the way."
It took ten minutes for Shirou to convince Saber to wear some decent clothing. He had recorded a few heavy coats while trying to find a good costume for his Hero days and was able to find one that matched her dress. Overall, she looked like an oddball, but not someone who actually wore armor. Sadly, she couldn't go into Astral form because of a fault in her summoning, which was his fault, and wouldn't take off her armor even when he activated Noble Presence and Charisma actively.
It was a sad moment when using his full charismatic prowess failed to even make her consider doing what he had asked.
The walk itself was rather awkward, with complete silence for almost half of it, and only occasional, awkward conversation, mostly about rules and why or why not things should be done. Saber wanted to sleep in his bed in order to protect him better. Shirou told her about the barrier he had around her house, and several protective charms and items he could make if he wanted, and told her that one more room would be more than enough to protect him. "Besides," he had added, "if it was truly so bad you had to lay in my bed to protect me, I could just sleep in my Workshop."
All of their conversations went like this, he managed to avoid some awkward situations, and gleam a bit more information to help with his alarming lack of knowledge about the Holy Grail War, but that was it.
At long last, after almost an hour of almost no conversation between awkward silence, the four arrived at the Fake Priest's church.
As Shirou stepped through the gates, he had to ask. "So, the war's supervisor lives here?" After all, while a priest living in his church wouldn't be that odd, a Magus living in the Catholic church, which once went on witch hunts, was surprising. His father had never said anything about an alliance between Magi and the Church. "Yes," Rin confirmed, "this is the Kotomine church." Seeing the situation as quite odd, and perhaps something to be wary of, but not something of immediate harm, Shirou tried to walk in when Saber stopped him. "Shirou, I think it best if I wait out here."
Shirou turned, trying to read her face and tell what she was thinking. "I accompanied you to this place so I could protect you. If this church is where you'll be tonight then I'm sure I'll be able to find you within its proximity." Not wanting to disagree with her, and having no reason to drag her along, especially since she could be a hero with problems against the catholic church, Shirou nodded.
The door opened with a loud creak, and a quick look around the place showed it to look much like any normal church, if slightly more spooky. It was painted white with large columns around the corners, and had empty wooden pews on both sides. "Tohsaka, just how much do you know about this priest anyway?" he asked, idly wondering why a Magus would even live in a church? Rin continued forward without so much as a pause. "Well, I can tell you that he is a Magus, and happens to be my legal guardian, he's kind of served as my second teacher." her voice didn't sound very happy about that. In fact, he got the feeling that Rin did not like this priest.
"So this priest also belongs to a pagan council of mages?" Shirou asked. He had know the priest looked over the event, and that Rin called him a Fake Priest, but he had assumed that the event was some competition for the christian artifact, and the priest would object to using witchcraft. "Yes," Rin answered neutrally, "and that's why he can be such a pain to deal with."
Turning to look Shirou in the eye, Rin continued. "His name is Kotomine Kirei. His father, Kotomine Risei, worked alongside my father in the 4th Grail War. Kirei was my father's apprentice. I've known him for quite a while, though I would have preferred not to." Just then, a strange man wearing a black priest robe walked out from inside the shadows, taking his place behind the alter. "And I would have preferred to have a student who showed respect to her teacher." he chuckled.
The chuckle had a strange, humorous mirth, and gave Shirou the feeling he needed to watch the man in front of him. The small box floating above his head only reinforced that. "Kirei Kotomine, Fake Priest, Level 32." Shirou hadn't seen anyone with a level above his own in years, with the possible exception of Sakura's Grandfather, for years and then suddenly he found four in the same night.
It was both concerning and invigorating. He knew he needed to get a few levels higher is he was going to be a modern hero, but he could have just gained a few levels passing through life and thought he was ready. Now he knew that he needed to pick up at least ten levels, as well as equipment, and then he could hope to work as a lower-scale hero. Even better, sparring or fighting with them would cut out months, if not years of his training time!
Right now, however, he needed to get officially registered into the Holy Grail War.
Rin sneered, "I brought the seventh master. He seems to be a magus of some skill. Also, I would like to document that the two of us are allied." Kirei raised an eyebrow but did not comment. "Very well, and what is your name, my son?" the priest asked, leaning just within Shirou's personal space. Shirou, slightly unnerved by the strange fake priest's demeanor and question, stepped back slightly, before steadying his resolve. "Emiya Shirou."
The priest went slack for a mere moment, before he regained composure. "Emiya...Shirou?" he mimicked. There was that something, something strange that put Shirou on guard, but that he couldn't place. Then, just for a moment, the priest's lips quirked upwards, and that sensation was suddenly placed. A strange feeling of sickening desire, a strange feeling washed over him, before stopping just as suddenly as it began
The priest straightened himself out, "You are Saber's master, correct?" he asked. Shirou nodded. "That I am. Though I am afraid I am currently acting upon general assumptions of what that means. I only know that the grail grants one wish, and that there are several Servants fighting for it. Sadly, I only know of three of these Servants and have no idea what we have to do to win, or what the actual war is about." Shirou sighed, getting that out of his chest was tough. He wished he could have just had Rin wait outside, but the fake priest was giving him the creeps and he did not want to be alone with him.
The priest gained a look of mischievousness, before gaining a small smile. "Very well, there are seven Servants, Lancer, Saber, Archer, Caster, Berserker, Rider, and, of course, Assassin. To win, every Servant except your own must be eliminated, and the actual war is the fight between these seven heroes of legend. The last Master and Servant will gain one absolute wish.
The Holy Grail itself chooses seven Servants and seven Masters to fight. The Holy Grail War is a spirit descending ritual where you were chosen to fight for its sole possession." The priest's voice was perfectly, unnaturally calm. At the same time, Shirou felt small wave after wave of whatever was washing over him, covered by some sort of strange barrier. Still, there was an obvious hole in this whole event.
"Why can't the grail just choose one Master, the most suitable? There is no need to kill anyone, and no reason at all for Servants to kill Masters!" Shirou's thoughts were sound, and the priest did not help, wording his words to support the misunderstanding. Rin shook her head, "Shirou, there is no rule that says you have to kill masters. The Holy Grail is a spiritual object, only Servants can touch it. The Holy Grail war is to kill all opposing Servants. However, without a Master a Servant cannot stay in this world, so some Masters kill other Masters to keep from fighting their Servants."
Shirou sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. I thought I would have to kill other Masters." "Do you think defeating Servants is so easy?" Kirei asked, "Can you honestly think you can kill any Servant that can challenge your own?" he asked. Shirou smiled. "If Saber cannot defeat her enemy, then it is my job to help her win, right?" he smiled. "Killing Masters might be an easier way to win, but it is wrong. Besides, I have Archer and Rin's help for any opponent we still can't defeat." His voice was as lighthearted as he could muster, but on the inside Shirou recoiled at the very thought of this war.
In a way, it was like a good idea was turned evil, a way to save many, at the cost of some. It was something that Shirou found unacceptable.
Rin nodded, "Still, a Master who is left alive may rejoin the battle with another Servant, so long as they themselves still have a Command Seal and the Servant is without a Master."
Shirou nodded. "And what happens if we were to use all of our command seals?" he asked, "Would the Servants be set free?" Kirei nodded, "Exactly, if you use up all of your command seals, you will be set free from the role of being a Master. Of course, such a Magus would be marked as an incompetent fool." Shirou nodded. "If one were to do that, I would insure their safety, as that is my role."
"This is the Fifth Holy Grail War, the last one was fought ten years ago." Shirou sighed, "You mean you've already done this four times and nobody has wished away the world yet?" he joked. At this Kirei looked up, slightly wide-eyed. "Such a thing would end up in disaster. The wish ten years ago ended with the infamous Fuyuki Fire. If you do not wish for such a thing to happen again, I suggest you try to win yourself." the priest chuckled. "It is far more reliable than relying on others, after all.
Shirou saw the obvious flaw in the man's logic, but nodded. "I have no desire for the Holy Grail, but I will fight since Saber desires it. I guess I'll wish to save people, or wish for Rin's wish or something." He smiled, activating his Charismatic skills. Blatantly ignoring Rin's light blush, the Fake Priest nodded, "Without killing all seven Servants the Holy Grail will not accept you as its Master, so I suggest you make sure that all have been defeated if you plan on winning."
Finally, quite a bit too late for such a lighthearted, yet tense conversation, in Shirou's opinion, the priest turned around. "This is the end of our conversation. I have to go complete the paperwork for your registration, and your alliance with Archer's Master."
Sighing in relief, Shirou turned to Rin. "I guess we better start heading back as well. We also need to make plans for the War, but we can probably do that tomorrow."
Rin nodded, and the two walked out of the church, picked up Saber, and walked home in a now comfortable silence. When they reached the crossroads, where the two would have had to go different directions to go home, they stopped. "Are we going to your house, or mine? Splitting up?" Shirou asked, confused by the situation.
The three stood there awkwardly for several seconds, before being interrupted by as strange call.
"Oii-Chan?"
Random Sentence!: Random Philosophical Question!: Tell me, what is the difference between a hero and a king?