Chapter Eleven

Weiss and Blake had been chosen to organize the upcoming dance. Blake didn't want to have anything to do with it, of course, and Ruby didn't really care for that kind of thing either, so Weiss had to settle for him as a replacement. As much as he was willing to help, he didn't have a sense for those kinds of things, so he had ended up becoming a glorified pack-mule. Put this here, put this there, oh, no, put it over there and so and so on. Not that he minded, actually. It was nice to help people, and even though he didn't have no interest of going to the dance, it would make many people happy. He was glad, for the bottom of his heart, that he had the opportunity to help with it.

But such thoughts didn't not fill his head. What filled his head was Blake. Well, not really. Ruby was the reason he was thinking so much about Blake right now, even though it was a little embarrassing to admit. He just didn't want to see Ruby sad, and Blake was running herself ragged with investigating the White Fang and Torchwick. He was thinking of the best way to approach the situation. He was concerned about her, of course he was. He wasn't as close to her as he was to Ruby, but she was an teammate and, more importantly, she was his friend. He didn't like seeing her like that anymore that he liked seeing Ruby sad. Still, what he wanted the most was get the situation over and done with so Ruby could smile again. Man. He really was getting greedy.

He tried to concentrate on his work, but he couldn't. His thoughts kept running to that, and he looked over his shoulder every once in a while towards the sulking Ruby sitting at one of the tables. He kept turning back, but he also kept doing that. Weiss didn't notice. Or at least, she pretended not to notice. He really wasn't sure. One of the times he did, he ended up noticing Weiss, whose face was half-turned to the side. He stared. The scar in her eye was faded, but still visible. He couldn't do nothing about Blake until he finished things here, but maybe he could do something about her. He had always been curious about it.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead." she didn't protest. He didn't know when it had started to happen, but he noticed not too long ago that she had started smiling more around all three of them. That was good. It made her less guarded. During the first months, when he looked at her he always had the sense she was ready to pick a fight, so it was nice to see her like that every once in a while. Even though she was still kind of cranky. But well, that was just part of who she was. As much as he liked Ruby, he understood Weiss couldn't be like her, who greeted even strangers with a wide grin.

"That scar on your left eye..." she tensed. "How did that happen?"

Weiss closed her eyes, took a deep breath, released it and opened them again. He noticed her hands were trembling, just a little bit.

"If you don't want to, you don't..."

"No, no." she interjected. "I have been preparing for this, since you told us about your past. I meant, you and Blake did it, so it was only natural Iwould do it too. But I kept putting it off, telling myself that it wasn't the right time for that and..." she let out a breath. "I have to say it right now. I don't think I'll be capable of telling anybody, if I stop now."

Ruby. He thought about Weiss words, and then about telling her. He didn't like the idea at al, but Weiss needed his help, their help, and having another one of her teammates listen to her could do her much good. Push had come to shove, far earlier that he had expected. He would have laughed, but it wasn't funny at all.

"Do you want to..."

"No, don't call Ruby. The last thing she needs, now of all things, is another reason to worry." he felt his smile grow wider at that. There was also shame for leaving the decision in her hands, instead of actually dealing with his problem. Weiss was a better team-player that most gave her credit for. Even he himself, really. He had expected her to get mad because she hadn't be chosen as the team leader, but she hadn't said anything about that. "Kept this between us, for now. At least until the situation with Blake is out of the way. Or maybe never. That would be better. The whole thing is a bit... fucked up, so I don't want to give her a reason to storm the Schnee's headquarters."

He expected her to chuckle or something, but not. She hadn't meant that last sentence as a joke. Now he was really getting nervous. He didn't know what to think anymore.

"I'm gonna tell this from the beginning... no, to be honest, I'm looking from excuses to get a few things out of my chest. But if digress too much, stop me. Okay?"

"Okay." he said, without really feeling it. No way he would interrupt her. He wanted to heard every word she had to say, because it would help him understand her and, most of all, she needed to say it for her peace mind.

"When I thought about telling this to you three, I was really nervous that you would even laugh. Think of it as petty. I meant, I don't even know if what I have to say compares to the fire nor what Blake has to dealt with. And I was born into a rich family. I had everything I wanted to have. But." she bit her lip. "Since I had any conscious of myself, I was trained to be a proper lady. How to walk, the little rituals of courtesy of the high class, how to dance. I started singing when I was five. I didn't like singing. I still don't. But that didn't matter, since my father wanted it. And for what? Because I had to be a proper lady. Well mannered, beautiful, polite, graceful. A woman who would be perfect, unreachable. Pure like snow. Only that kind of person deserved to inherit the Schnee Dust Company. I was allowed to got outside. I wasn't a prison... technically. But bodyguards followed me around, and I wasn't allowed to interact with normal people. Just with other rich kids.

I wasn't interested in what they had to say, in the life they wanted to live. I just wanted to felt loved, but I knew I wouldn't get that from them. I was just one more piece of the puzzle from them, of the way their life had been laid out by the snotty rich people they had for parents. Piece... that was more literal, when it came to the boys. Surely their parents told them to try to curry my favor, so that marriage would happen between us and their family would rise in standing. Nobody looked at me because I was me, but because I was a Schnee.

I wanted some kind of... warm. But father never hugged me, told me he loved me or anything like that. He didn't even praise me when I got something right. Still doesn't. And my mother... I like to think that she loved me. I loved her, too. But she spend so much time as a Schnee, as snow, that she clearly forgot what warm was."

Shirou bit his lip. He could see the suffering in her eyes, and also he knew he couldn't make things better. Her mother was already dead, and he couldn't change her father, his family. There was nothing he would to compensate for the kind of childhood he had. That sense of isolation and being worthless. He had felt like that once, too.

"When I was old enough to hold a sword, I was given Myrtenaster and I trained with the best, because my father wanted it. The training was hard. They didn't pull any punches, even though I was only eight years old. I was really hard to hold, since it was heavier that me, but my father didn't really care. The point was that I could hold it, one way or another, and I had to start learning. My mother hadn't not say in it. My instructors didn't care either, because my father was paying them a lot of money. I almost fainted at the end of the first lesson. I went to complain to father, and he only told me to stop whining. That a Schnee had to be strong. It felt like a kick in the teeth.

So I went ahead, trying to become strong. I set aside all the aspirations I had, the illusions that my life would be mine, and by the time I was twelve, I surpassed even my instructors. One day, he made one of the instructors take me outside of Vale for training against Grimm. I held my own but an Ursa managed to knock me down to the ground. I was good, but there just too many for me to handle because I lacked real experience and because I was still a child. My Aura was already depleted. And its claws slowly made that scar in my left eye, like it was enjoying it. I screamed, screamed, screamed. When the sensation of its claws on my skin stopped, the area around my left eye felt like it was on fire, and so much blood was flowing from the injury that I had to close that eye to see correctly. One of the instructors rescued me, and took me back to the headquarters.

I clearly remember that I waked up hearing his voice. He was shouting at father. That he would sue it, that I was just a child. That such a thing was inhumane treatment. He didn't have the right to do it. I remember feeling happy somebody had stood up to me. But that happiness didn't last long. I never saw him again. Nobody did."

Shirou's head almost started spinning. He felt sick. He felt so sick he could puke his own guts out.

"I couldn't stand living there anymore, so I became a Huntress. He wouldn't have left me go, if I couldn't become the best in the academy. It would be a stain in the family. But I could, so he left me go. I thought that, maybe, in this way I would take back what was mine. My life. That I wouldn't live tied down by what other people wanted me to be."

"Weiss, I..." he swallowed. He didn't know what he could say. He would destroy the Schnee corporation, for their actives and what they had done to her. Her story only furthered his resolve. But for now, it would have been only an empty promise. She didn't need such a thing.

"I'm not finished." she softly said, unshed tears shining in the corner of her eyes. He didn't say anything about it. She didn't, either. "I was only a foolish hope. The academy was like everywhere else, but at least I had more room to breath. Then you came. And Ruby, and Blake. Neither of you cared about who I was, but about me. I was... so happy. I know I'm difficult, most of the time. But I can't help it. Really, I try, but... I suppose there's still some remains of that education. I meant, first day, in Professor Port's class I got mad with Ruby because she was being attentive, lazy and made a rude drawing of him. Because... Because I envied her. She could be like that, and still be strong." she closed her eyes. "I'm messed up, like I said. I just I'm just afraid of looking down, and finding out that there's no ground below my feet but melting snow... and I will be left to wonder just how long will the fall be. But you all have done much for me. So thank you. And thank you for tolerating me. Pass my thanks to Ruby when its appropriate. And to Blake, too.

"...I will." he said. "And you really don't have to thank me, or Ruby or Blake. They would appreciate it, that's for sure, but they did it because they are good people and nothing else. We're your teammates, Weiss. And we will stick together."

Then, he suddenly hugged her.

"Hey, you idiot." she harshly whispered. "Let go of me. I appreciate it, but Ruby's going to misunderstand if she sees it, and she really doesn't need that. Especially at a time like this."

"Sorry." he muttered, and let got of her. He didn't actually understand what was she talking about, but well. Better safe that sorry.

Weiss went away, towards Ruby, carrying two tablecloths of different colors of similar or outright identical shades of white. Ruby was still hunched over, her head almost buried between her hands. She either didn't heard Weiss coming, or pretend like she didn't. Weiss, smiling perhaps a little too widely, put the tablecloths of the table.

"I need you to pick a tablecloth."

Ruby raised her head, and looked at the objects in front of her for a few seconds. Then she looked up, confusion clear in her face.

"Aren't they both the same?"

"I don't even know why I asked." Weiss said, then sighed, in what seemed like fake frustration. At least, to him. Then she walked away. Shirou had finished what he had to do while Weiss told him her story, so he approached Ruby's table.

"Ruby." he said, and she looked up at him. Her expression brightened a bit, but it didn't hide the sadness. "I'm going to look for Blake, see if I can convince her to go the dance. Even if it has to been by herself. Can't promise anything, but I'll try my best."

Ruby had asked Blake, not too long ago, if she was thinking to go to the dance and she had only answered that she didn't have time for a stupid dance. That it was only a colossal waste of time. To be honest, he didn't really care if Blake went to the dance or not. He himself wasn't thinking of going, even though he knew he would go anyway. But there were a lot of signs that worry him about her. She couldn't sleep most of the time, and hardly eaten. And her grades had fallen a lot, too. He didn't much care about grades, but if her grades fell lot enough, next years she could get kicked up off Beacon.

"That's all I can ask." she said. "Thank you."

"Hey," he shrugged. "I have to act like the leader I am every once in a while, right?"

"Right." she smiled, and laughed. The sound and that sight made his heart beat faster.

"Ouch." he complained, smiling like a loon. "See you later, you fox."

"See you later, Shirou." she said, and waved him goodbye as he went towards the door. He waved back.

The library was far for full, most of the time. The times where it got them most traffic was a few days before an exam, and even them not that many people visited it. Today was not exception. He found Blake sitting by herself, in front of a computer. He didn't look over her shoulder to see what she was doing. What he took notice off was that her head occasionally bobbed up and down. It was quite clear that she was struggling to kept her eyes open. She seemed really out of it. He approached her, and stopped at the right of her chair.

"Leave me alone." Blake muttered.

"I will. Just listen to me for a moment." Shirou calmly replied. "I think that you're doing the right thing. If you want to kept on doing it, I won't intervene."

"Then go away." she hissed. He took her hand in his, throwing her off balance. Almost literally.

"But," he squeezed her hand. ",think about the people you will be leaving behind."

He waited. She looked up at him. He could clearly see the bags under her eyes, and her tired expression. They stayed that like for about a minute. He slowly took his hand out of hers, still holding her gaze. When he was about to complete it, Blake squeezed his hand.

"Fine." she grudgingly said. "I go to that stupid dance."

Shirou felt himself smiling.

"But please take a nap first."

"Fine." she said, then grumbled. It was uncharacteristic of her, but that only showed just how ragged she was because of that whole mess. "I was thinking of that, anyway."

She stood, and went away. Hopefully towards their room, and not to simply continue her investigation once he was out of sight. That doubt nagged at him, and he almost ran after her, but he stopped himself. It was a silly worry. Blake was a bit impulsive, at times, and very stubborn, but she was good people. She wouldn't do something like that.

Still smiling, Shirou send out to go back to Ruby.

She was still sulking at that table. Weiss was still in that room, too, examining his handiwork with a hand cupping her own chin. He hoped that she was satisfied. Now that he thought about it, he never actually asked if she wanted to change something. He didn't really mind the work, but that didn't mind he wanted to redo it. He stopped near Ruby's desk.

"Blake has agreed to go to the dance." he said. Ruby almost jumped. Her face light up. There wasn't even a shade of her earlier mood remaining in those wide, bright silver eyes.

"Really?"

"Really, I couldn't joke around about something like this."

Ruby got out of the chair, and tackled him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she buried her head on his shoulder. The force of the impact made him reel back a few steps, but he managed to straighten himself. He hugged her back.

"That's great!"

"Be careful. You could have knocked us back down to the ground."

"Uh." she pouted. "I wouldn't have minded."

For some reason, he vividly visualized it happening. Her on the top of him, her body pressed against him, her short black hair brushing his skin, her rosy lips close to his mouth. Very close. He would have swore his heart skipped a beat.

"Hey, Shirou?" she sounded nervous, for some reason. That made him tense. "Can we talk in private?

"Sure."

"And by private, I mean private. I don't want anybody to overhear, not even Weiss or Blake." her head tilted to the side. "Especially then."

"...I get it. Let's go." if she needed help, it would be better for to rely on the whole team. But it was a direct request from her. He couldn't refuse her.

Her arms unwrapped from around his throat. He found himself wishing that had kept up her embrace, even just a little more, but he didn't voice his wish. He turned, and started walking. Ruby followed. The only real private spot in the academy were their own room, but Blake should be sleeping there. He didn't want to assume she had broken her promise, and he wanted even less to willfully break his promise to Ruby, even if Blake was at sleep. So he just found a nice, secluded spot in the hallways. She asked him on the way why weren't they going to the room, and he answered that Blake was sleeping there. He checked and double checked until he was sure there was nobody to overhead their conversation. He even used his reinforced hearing to check every door, just in case. He took his promises seriously.

"It's safe now. I think. Go ahead."

"Do you..." she swallowed. "Do you want to go to the dance with me?"

Those word left him stunned. For a moment, he doubted he had heard right. But he had. Ruby had just asked him to the dance. Him, of all people. He took a deep breath. I-it was only natural, really. As far as he knew, she the only boys she was friends with were Ren, Jaune Arc and himself. It made sense for her to ask the boy she knew the best.

"I meant," she shuttered out, her arms wildly moving about in nervousness. ", as friends. You know?"

As irrational as it seemed, he had expected to felt a sense of relief when he would heard her admit that they were just friends, that she hadn't asked him for any special reason. But he didn't. He only felt disappointment, and bitterness. He understood. Not, he had understood from the beginning, he just didn't want to admit it because he was damage goods and he didn't deserve such a thing. He loved Ruby Rose. But now, he really couldn't say it. What she had said was as good as a direct confession that she wasn't interested it him. Oh, well.

"Sure, Ruby. I love to." he said, his voice tinged with warm, and gave her his best smile. He should have imagined things would turn like this, so he didn't have the right to felt disappointed. If anything, he should been feeling gland she hadn't made the mistake of loving him. Things were better this way.

"Great!" she hugged him again.

Shirou hugged her back, perhaps more tightly that he should have. But she didn't comment on it.

Shirou was nervous about today's dance, and what would happen in it. He didn't have an eye for fashion, never had. He just dressed in what was practical for him, so h e felt really awkward in the black tuxedo and white tie he had ordered just yesterday. He wore one of his white shirts underneath it, but that didn't mitigate that. Not really. And to top it all off, he didn't know how to dance. She probably didn't know, either, but still... He knew they were stupid worries, since they were going just as friends, but he couldn't help it. It didn't make sense. Lately, not many things made sense. His head was a mess.

"Have you been waiting for long?" Ruby playfully said. He turned around, and almost stopped breathing.

Ruby was wearing a short, red sleeveless dress that reached about halfway down her upper leg and a pair of black slippers. He wouldn't never have imagined her in that kind of attire, but she was absolutely stunning. He couldn't have taken her eyes off her even if he tried.

"You're beautiful." he let out, without thinking.

She yelped, her face heating up. That only made her look more stunning to him. Still. He probably shouldn't have said it. He didn't want to make this awkward. In fact, in this instant, she might be already wondering if he had a thing for her. Or if he was developing one now, which for all intents and purposes amounted to the same thing.

"You're also looking good." she said, after a moment. That made him blush. "I didn't peg you as a tuxedo and tie kind of man, but you somehow manage to pull it off."

He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to hug her, lift her up and twirl her in the air like in those movies and never let go of her again.

"You're telling me." Shirou said, then chuckled. There weren't any traces of bitterness in his voice. Or so he hoped. "I never thought I would see you in a dress and slippers. This is probably going to be the last time."

"I would wear the dress again, but these things," she said, tapping the ground with her foot. ", are horrendous. I don't understand how Weiss fights can fight like this."

"Practice." he curtly replied, gland that she didn't show any awkwardness. Things were still good between them. She wouldn't be with him, but she would be his friend. "Loads and loads of practice." he shrugged. "The heiress of the Schnee's Dust Company has to look stylish even while slaughtering Grimm."

She laughed. That convinced him, more that anything he could say to himself, that this was good enough for him.

"Yeah, I've to remember that one."

They stood side by side, and walked together towards the entrance. She didn't take his arm and, even though he liked the idea, he was too nervous to do so. Even to a casual observer, it would be obvious they were just friends. That thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. Beyond the door, there was Yang in a simple white dress, behind a podium. He almost jumped, but he saw that when she saw them walking in together her face had brightened. That was... strange. Pleasant, but strange. He quite clearly remembered her putting herself between them almost protectively after the exam and after that, they didn't have any notable interactions. Sure, Ruby sought her company frequently because she wasn't only her big sister but also her surrogate mom, and he usually followed his team around, so he had been in a some of their conversations. But Yang and he never really bonded, or anything. He didn't understand what lend her to have a change of heart.

What he thought next was that he could use this. That he could talk to Yang and find out what was Ruby's type, or even try to make her give a good word of him to her little sister. He squashed that train of thought before it could go too far.

"Oh, Ruby! You look wonderful. So..." her grin grew wider. "Who asked who? Come on, tell me."

"Actually," Shirou interjected. "It was Ruby. But we're going just as friends."

Yang's eyes narrowed, for some reason.

"Just... friends?"

"Yup."

She sighed, looking exasperated, sidestepped the podium and walked forward. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ruby had taken a step back and looked completely mortified. It was only natural. Being put on the spot like that, and by her own sister. Yang stopped in front of Ruby.

"Shirou." Yang said, grabbed Ruby by the arm and pulled her forward. "Sorry to take your date from the dance, but I could borrow her from a few minutes?"

"Uh..."he wondered, for a moment, if it was best to stop her. Yang might think he was a good match for her little sister, but Ruby clearly saw him only as a friend. But. A nagging voice in the back of his mind told him to agree, because there was still hope she could manage to change her mind. He caved to that voice. In the end, he was only human. "Sure."

"Great!" and with that, she dragged Ruby away, up the stairs to the side. He looked at the balcony above. It was pretty much empty, since the party was here. The perfect place to talk in private.

Shirou thought, for a moment, about approaching the balcony until he could listen in to their conversation, but he dismissed that as quickly as it had gone through his head. He hadn't no right to do that. He looked wishfully at Ruby, leaning on the rail by her sister's side. She really was beautiful, but it was more than that. She was a beautiful person. She was kind and caring and the pain of others hurt her. She understood him, and he understood her. He had connection to her that he wouldn't never have with another person. He sighed, and he went to hide at the pouch bowl. He grabbed a cup, and tried some of it. It tasted terrible. He almost gagged.

He looked around. The decorations, the dancing pairs, the students who had come alone. It all reminded him that he didn't belong here. He didn't deserve going with Ruby, even as friends. He didn't deserve anything. He had let so many people disappear because he was afraid of the pain, afraid of dying, so... he felt tears sting at the corner of his eyes. He took a deep breath, and released it. He wiped his eyes with the back of his free hand, and tried to calm himself down. Strange. He hadn't cried in eight years, and now he had been about to do it. Everything was so strange lately. He felt like his mind was unraveling. No, that was exactly what was happening. The foundation that had kept Emiya Shirou alive for eight years was collapsing.

He tried to distract himself from these thoughts. He saw Weiss alone, at a close table, trying to coach life out of a wilting white rose. She tried her best, but the flower was obviously unsalvageable. Even thought she had to know that too, she looked visibly upset when she failed. He thought about going to her side, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the talk between them had finished. Ruby nodded, looking resolute, and stepped forward. She staggered, and almost fell, but managed to straighten herself. He chuckled under his breath. She was so cute.

He watched her as she went down the stairs, grabbing into the handrail for support. Once she was on the ground floor again, she started looking around. She spotted him. Her face brightened, and she started walking towards him. His heart started racing, and stupid questions came and went through his head. She stopped in front of him.

"So..." she muttered, and swallowed. Then she extend her hands towards him. "Want to dance?"

"...I don't know how to dance." he confessed.

"Its fine. Just follow my lead."

"Okay."

He grabbed her hands, and she lead him into the dance floor. Nobody gave them a second glace. She wrapped one hand around his waist, and the other around his shoulder. She pressed her small body against him. He tensed. He became painfully aware of her hot breath, and just how close they really were. He did the same. When she started moving, he followed her movements as best as he could. It wasn't too hard. It was like Projection, in a way. Ruby's movements were the 'blueprint' he had as the guide. He felt really awkward, but that could be ignored. At the moment, he was simply happy he could be this close to her. To anyone who saw them like this, they wouldn't think they were just friends. That thought made him felt a little happy, but also disappointed.

"I didn't think you knew how to dance." he said.

"I didn't. I asked Yang to give me dancing lessons, about a month or so ago." she answered. "You're sure you never dance before?"

"Yes." he curtly replied. "But why did you want lessons? I didn't think you cared for this kind of thing."

"I don't care, but..." she buried her head against his chest. "I suppose I have to been straightforward with you, but its hard. I meant, I got all embarrassed and said something I shouldn't, and you took it in stride, so now I'm worried. But..."

"What do you meant?" his heart started beating even faster.

"When I asked you to the dance, I... I asked you seriously. I had not intention of going as friends." She looked up at him, and held his gaze. "Shirou, I love you."

He was strangely calm; those words had washed away everything from his head. He kissed her. It was a pleasant sensation. Just skin against skin, but it was more pleasant that anything he had experience before. He wrapped his right arm around her waist, and pressed her even more tightly against him. He ran his free hand through her short, smooth black hair. They parted. It had felt like a long of time, but it couldn't have been more that a minute. Ruby's face was as red as her dress, and she was looking up at him with a dazed expression.

"Shirou..." she muttered. He kissed her again. With tongue, this time. Through the hazy-mess his head had turned, he heard somebody cheer. He was fairly sure it was Yang's voice. Ruby responded eagerly to his movements. Neither of them knew what they were doing, but they didn't care. This kiss lasted longer. After they parted from the second time, he had the impulse of kissing her again. But he didn't.

"I love you, Ruby." he confessed, his voice warm, holding her gaze. "I love you so much."

She started crying, her smile wide. Then she kissed him. He could hardly believe this was happening for real. He didn't deserve this, he knew he didn't, but he didn't care. She was what mattered, what truly mattered. He had held on to that ideal from so long that he had lost sight of being human. Saving people was the right think to do, but that didn't meant he had to throw himself away for that. He understood. He understood himself better that he had ever did in all his life. If push came to shove, Ruby would always come first for him. They parted again.

Somebody tapped him in the shoulder. He turned his head, annoyed, and saw the boy who had surrendered to avoid fighting. He was accompanied by a woman with red eyes, green hair and a dress of darker side of grin. Behind both of them, there was an older woman in a black gown.

"What do you want now?" that was the first thing that came out of Shirou's mouth. "Can't you see that I'm..."

The boy raised his hand, which had been in his pocket, revealing a strange gun. His thoughts ground to a halt. The gun discharged three times. Two of them hit his Aura in rapid succession, breaking it down, and the third bullet went through his throat. Gurgling, he raised his hands towards it. Blood. There was so much blood. His hands were completely stained in it. There were screams, but they all seemed a world away. The only thing he clearly heard was Ruby crying out his name.

He fell to the ground. His vision went black for an instant. She dashed past him, enraged, and tried to puch that woman in the face. Mercury stepped between them, easily caught her, turned her around and put the gun against her head. Shirou struggled to get up, putting his whole existence in the line. She had told him to take care of himself, but she was in danger now. He could think about himself once she was safe.

He somehow managed to sit up, but then the woman in the black gown kneeled in front of him, and stuck her hand through his chest. His world exploded in pain. He screamed, screamed, screamed. His vision swayed, black spots dancing around it. The pain ended in an instant. After that, his vision gained a strange clarity. The woman had pulled back her hand, and in it she was now holding a sheath. But it was more that a mere sheath. His heart understood faster that his mind than that was King Arthur's sheath. The Noble Phantasm called Avalon.

Shirou fell again, on his back, feeling what little streght that had remained in his body suddenly leave him.