And here's the next chapter.
Disclaimer: First chapter
Night 5
A voice came from the television. Lily watched from her seat at the dining table with soothing tea to calm her nerves thoroughly while the consequences of Archer's actions played in the background. "In today's news, astronomic institutes from around the world report of a strange projectile, shot from our country of Japan, pierced through the atmosphere at record-breaking speeds. Japan's Special Defense Force are under fire due to a possible threat that the military institution created nuclear warheads." The newscaster shook her head. "SDF claims they haven't done such, but many national leaders are skeptical. Despite the global scientific response that whatever this foreign object may be wasn't a nuclear warhead, global tension is rising. You don't need to be a fortune teller to know people are already readying their weapons for a war." Lily frowned. Why did Archer go to such lengths just to miss? His Master is bedridden, he's nowhere to be found, and now the world is in the starting stages of a new Cold War because of his missed shot. Lily took a deep sip of her tea then sighed. "In other news, the massive, unexpected heatwave here in Fuyuki city has caused the week's forecast to drastically change…"
"How bad is it?" Rin asked as she walked to the dining table.
"Terrible." Lily answered. "The world's nations are readying their armies if an invasion on their territory comes. A new arms race has been developed because of Archer's sloppiness." Rin scowled. This was not good. Things went out of hand, and now the world will pay for it.
"Why didn't the Mage's Association prevent any of this?" She asked herself aloud.
Lily offered her insight. "Too many witnesses saw it at the same time. Can't silence them from telling anyone about this." Rin understood.
For the billions of people that inhabit the world, only a minuscule chunk of that number are Mages. With the concentration of Magi based in London, the news would spread far too quickly before even a fraction of the astronomers are silenced.
Archer has single-handedly screwed over the world of Magi because he missed a shot. Rin foresaw a lot of headache coming. No doubt within the week, the Mages Association would hound her for escalating this situation to this unmanageable level. This was her land, her responsibility, and she failed to hide the anomalous event within her home.
If she went by technicality, none of the people around the world know of magecraft and Magi, just of a powerful ballistic missile. If they accept her excuse, she may get off with a warning. She hoped for the latter. She could always make the argument that people will try to rationalize the irrational to make sense of it all. The less conservative Magi should be able to see reason if she does mention that; however, against leading Magi, who are fettered to generations of unchanged tradition, may not agree with her.
Saber, who somehow snuck in the room, took a sip of her own cup of tea without a hint of worry. She heard the Master and Servant pair's conversation. She dealt with the chaos that came with being a Servant of Naruto. She knew of troubles that could brew just from Naruto being in the area. Suffice to say…this was not the first time Naruto accidentally caused a more prominent worldwide Cold-War in his era than the one already made from the previous Shinobi War. All the man could do was ready himself for a berating from the Hokage. "Your luck stat is horrendously placed, Archer." She mumbled while she delightfully sipped from her cup again. Rin and Lily turned to the new presence, and were shockingly surprised at Saber's arrival.
"S-Saber! H-How?!" Rin stammered due to the stealth the King of Knights applied.
"You'd be surprised how many things a person can learn when in an era of empowered assassins." Saber cryptically explained.
"…"
"…"
"…What?" Rin shook her head. Whatever Saber said had less prominence compared to Shir- erm…Emiya's wellbeing. Saber could see the Tohsaka Master blush slightly when the girl wished to change the topic at hand. It's almost endearing to see a maiden who can't express her feelings well. "Saber…shouldn't you be with Emiya-kun to check on his recovery?"
"I believe I've done enough by being there. My words will never truly express the speed of my Master's recovery. I'm no envoy, nor am I a nurse who should report my patient's status, so see for yourself what's become of my Master." Saber replied to the Rin. She took another calm sip of her tea then lowered it to the table. "Besides, I trust you not to do anything to him."
"…At all?"
"Mhm." Saber nodded. Rin, skeptical of it all, hesitantly left the room to check on the man of the house.
Lily stared at her dimensional counterpart. "You are a strange one."
"Says the woman who has the same face and personality as me." Saber supplied. Lily had the decency to look bashful at the blue Saber's quip. "But enough of that. How's life as a female ruler of Britain? I could only imagine the backlash that unfolded with how society placed gender roles." The knight in white cupped her teacup tighter. Her head lowered to the table. "That bad?"
"It's understandable why they did that. My knights, who wholly believed I was a man, reacted so predictably when I announced my gender to the kingdom." Lily sighed lowly. "First came the gasps of surprise. Then…the shouts of denial encompassed the plaza. After denial came the jabs at my gender. A coup initiated, and a third of my knights turned on the kingdom." The Princess of Knights gripped her cup even tighter than before, almost threatening to break the handle.
"…"
"My most loyal men stayed, and fought for my honor that the deserters trampled upon. I however refused to allow them to harm those men." Saber listened intently since Lily's voice began to waver. "My knights questioned my sanity on why I would give deserters mercy. I…I told them that as their ruler that I'd deal with this problem myself. I declared a battle where all those deserters would fight against me and me alone. The one who could slay me and receive Caliburn's blessing would be King." Saber flinched. Her counterpart decided to declared that so easily? There had to be more to this story. A knight of her caliber could only be slain by one of the best, and from what Lily said, the best ones stayed at her side. "Uproar erupted from the deserting knights. They exhibited vomiting amounts of hubris. I, for one, didn't plan on giving away the throne so easily. If they wished for it, they bled for it." Lily's eyes flashed with pride.
'Ah…so that's what happened.' Saber realized. "Say no more. I know the outcome of this. You wouldn't be here if you lost the crown. As a plus, Caliburn deems those worthy. No simple knight could remove you as the sword's proper wielder; if that happened, then that person passed all the qualities of a King to near perfection to lift it." Lily nodded. She considered that option as well should she be defeated.
The white knight's mind wandered back.
She stood on a hillside east of the kingdom. Her back faced the setting sun and her kingdom's walls. Her loyal knights stayed at the top of those walls to view this massacre. Lily stabbed Caliburn to the ground, and faced the army in front of her. They cluttered the horizon. Part of her wished it didn't need to escalate into this, but if it's to assert her role as a ruler, then so be it.
"Knights!" She called out. "Those of you who are here to claim the crown, I commend your bravery. However, there are some of you who wield your blades with doubt placed on your faces." She scanned the army before her. Some few, young men, Squires amongst the group, shivered at her voice. "Hesitant ones, I shall allow you to leave with full pardons. To those who wish to continue, I bid thee good luck for failure means your death." She raised Caliburn from its stabbed position on the ground, and set it at her side. "En garde, knights!"
"A fascinating story I must say." Archer's voice said from behind Lily. Blasted out of memory lane, Lily fumbled in shock. Her teacup flew up to the ceiling. Archer deftly caught the airborne piece of china without any of the contents being spilt. "Woah there. Easy on the tableware, Lily."
"How did the scouting mission go, Archer?" Saber questioned.
"Yeah…about that. Let's not talk about that for a moment, shall we?" He pleaded slightly. "If I do talk about it, no doubt chaos would ensue."
Saber smirked. "You already do that by merely existing, so what else could go wrong?"
"Hey! Don't say that! Don't ever say that!" Archer commanded. "You're testing Murphy by doing that!" Saber's eyes grew at Archer's new tone. It was a mix of anger and caution. Oh. Archer's eyes darted to and fro. He mumbled gibberish like a mantra. Then, he paced to the kitchen and back while looking at the corners of the room with great interest. Both Saber and Lily stared at the man fidget uncontrollably. They saw Archer place his hands on the wall, and pushed Prana into it.
Saber knew what he did: traps.
"I thought you didn't believe in Fate?" Saber genuinely asked. Archer scoffed. They had this conversation before, though it seemed Saber forgot.
"No, I don't. But I am a firm believer of contingencies for contingencies of contingencies." Archer glanced back, and snapped at his elder sister figure.
"Ah…right. I forgot you became paranoid."
"No. It's being tactical." Archer substituted.
"So is that missed shot all part of the plan?"
Archer stopped in his meddling of the walls, and from Lily's position, his shoulders visibly slumped and he muttered, "I'm never going to live that one down, am I?" Saber continued scrutinizing the hooded Servant.
"You do realize you started a Cold War, right? What warranted an attack of that level? Our Master suffered because of it, and now the world is at arms against a phantom." Archer's hands balled into fists as he was reminded of the pain he had caused his Master because of his actions. He punched the wall out of frustration.
Lily sipped her tea to hide her shock at the mood whiplash she experienced. First casual mischief then now…this.
Archer's head slammed the wall. "Dammit… Another screw up." He mumbled. "If you must know…Gilgamesh was there." He said to Saber. "I let my anger get the better of me, and wasted a shot on something that that bastard could dodge." He seethed at that fact. He could factor it into Servants always had better reflexes than a person, so Gilgamesh could at least avoid the arrow fully. "It's not fully my fault, but I'll admit I screwed up by losing myself to rage." He turned around. "So what do you want me to do? Mind wipe everyone? Kay." A clone popped out, and the Servant ordered the clone to knock every person in the world. Saber and Lily raised an eyebrow at the simple order. Surely one individual, a doppelgänger at that, doesn't have the ability to just knock every person in the world to forget what happened last night? The clone saluted and ran out the door.
"…" Saber and Lily looked at the Servant irritably. It wasn't as simple as that.
Archer looked at the two knights. "…What?"
Night 6
"In today's news, everyone suffered short-term memory loss. From the reports shown, people couldn't recall yesterday's events. Among them, I too am suffering this condition as well." Mouths agape from the news, Lily, Saber, and Rin stared at the television intently.
"I can't believe it…" Rin muttered in disbelief. "I'm off scot free."
Meanwhile, Archer ate a bowl of ramen while writing the next scene of his novel's manuscript. With chopsticks in his right hand, and a pencil in the other, Archer wrote at blinding speeds without the need to edit his work. Experience of almost a century led him to just find the inspiration, and fill in the rest with experience. He thought he could leave a piece of him in this reality. Selling his novels would net a hefty sum of money if his previous works were any indication. Without even looking at the three women, Archer said, "Ye of little faith. See? And you thought I couldn't do it. Now what'll those pompous Magi do now that I've cleared up the problem?"
"I…guess the War continues." Rin answered. "But…I want to take a nap."
"Master?" Lily questioned as she cradled her Master's shoulders. "Are you alright?"
"This has to be a dream. Wake me now, Lily." Lily sweatdropped. So her Master could be dramatic eh? Both women heard the scribbling from Archer's pencil write faster and louder. Rin's eyes opened slightly; her dream was being shattered by Archer's business. "Could you keep it down? I'm having a moment."
"I am too, if you didn't notice." Archer shot back. "I'm creating a masterpiece here." Saber stood up, and walked up to the kitchen sink, where Archer occupied the countertop for writing.
"He's writing an erotic novel if you must know." Archer was unfazed by the bluntness. Rin and Lily were too stunned to do anything at that instant.
This was the start of the sixth day of the Holy Grail War. Or at least a start to another reality born from this event.
Now what truly happened on the fifth day was that Saber smacked the clone, and demanded that Archer talked. Method of choice? Try castration; mental torture of past horrors humorous to some. Saber however chose the third and simplest choice: talking. Why would she need to hurt her surrogate little brother? She could always ask nicely.
"Don't hold information." Saber warned. "Tell me what happened, Archer. You can't hide the truth from us. And you know hiding anything won't help us in the long run." Archer groaned. He didn't like it when Saber went sister lecturer mode. She would always make the right points, which left him without any counterarguments to stall him from revealing the news. "Informatino is key here, Archer, so reveal you findings now."
Archer leaned his back on the wall, then crossed his arms. He sucked his teeth while his brain tried to find a way to say what needed to be said with the least words possible without causing any panic. "I thought the Grail wouldn't let it happen again, Saber-nee, but it did." Saber and Lily sported puzzled looks. Archer snarled, "It shouldn't be possible!" His left arm swung out, and slammed the wall behind him. "Why would the Grail allow another summoning?!"
Both Saber and Lily's palms thumped on the table. "What?! There's a new Servant?!"
Archer nods. "Very under the radar. You can reason the Servant class of yourself with that little fact. I need to look at Master's condition to see if he's in top form." He left the room to see Shirou's condition.
Saber and Lily proceeded to uncover the new Servant's class. Both women placed a hand on their chin while they looked at the absurdly minimal fact given by Archer. "Under the radar?" Lily repeated. "Assassin?" She guessed. "It's the only one that could be possible if he speaks of a stealthy summoning. If so, then who? It should be Hassan." She reasoned since that individual is the one usually summoned into the class.
"There are a unique few who could occupy the Assassin Class." Saber told her counterpart. "Archer is one of them." Lily threw herself back a little at the information drop. "He is called the Shadow of Heroes for a reason, and it's because he's mastered techniques befitting all of the Servant classes. He is a wild card who can do anything beyond the rules with some limit. However, he prefers the straightforward way as you saw. He only assassinates if it's a job." Lily kept silent. Saber continued her spiel. "Archer's friend is the current Assassin under the command of that Edelfelt girl. So whoever summoned this new one must know about the War."
"Could it be the Matou?" Lily suggested.
"Rider is the Servant of the Matou. Berserker is the Einzbern, and you are Tohsaka's. There should be no need for either of the founding families to summon another Servant. It could be Caster's Master or Caster herself who summoned the new Assassin. Then remains the question about how this mystery Master was even allowed to summon a ninth/tenth Servant. Nine is supposedly beyond the limit of the Grail, but ten? That should have ended the ritual then and there."
Lily had a theory, and faced her counterpart. "How were you summoned, if I may ask?"
"With a catalyst." Saber replied. "Why do you need to know?"
"What was the catalyst?" Lily asked.
"Avalon, my scabbard." Lily got a lightbulb moment. Saber saw the sparkle in Lily's eyes. "You have a theory, I presume?" Lily nodded. This theory had to be the only reason why a new Servant to be summoned.
"The Grail might be allowing anything to be summoned provided the Master supplies a very powerful catalyst that specifically ties to a Heroic Spirit. Avalon is a direct Phantasm tied to your existence, so it's natural for you and only you to be summoned." Lily explained. Saber leaned back to comprehend the information. She could see the foundation of that theory, but it doesn't explain why the Grail would act up like this.
'Could it be the corruption?' Saber wondered to herself? 'Is it trying to start an Apocrypha by using the Seven Masters in this War, or is it something else?'
Rin exited Shirou's room quietly.
"How is he?" Archer asked from the wall adjacent to the door. Rin turned to the source. The lass noticed Archer's thousand-yard stare into the opposite wall. His eyes closed a second later. "Is he fully healed?" The girl stepped back when she heard genuine concern in Archer's voice. She swiftly returned to her collected self, and nodded in confirmation.
"Yes…he's fine physically, but I fear last night's fight did quite a number on his reserves." Rin answered morbidly.
"As I feared." Archer mumbled coherently. He shook in anger. "I'm such an idiot!" His right arm swung out to meet the wall. The house rattled slightly, and the wall sported a hole inside it. The sudden burst of anger made Rin yelp and back away in fear. Archer heard Rin's distress, and looked at her with shaking, red, animalistic eyes. Rin backs away even more due to the monstrous look he gave her. The Servant cradles his head, and regains his composure. "Forgive me, Tohsaka. My anger has gotten the better of me again." He sighed deeply.
Rin looked puzzled. "Again?" She repeated.
"The arrow that I shot wasn't meant for Rider, but for Gilgamesh, who was behind Rider at the time." Archer explained. "I harmed Shirou right down to his own reserves just because I had a grudge against the guy. Now I hear I've screwed up the world, and my Master lost an arm." He sucked his teeth. "Fantastic run so far, wouldn't you say?"
Rin heard an inconsistency to Archer's words, and spoke out. "A-Archer…Emiya-kun's arm and chest has fully healed."
"Hm? I know that part. My Master carries within him the scabbard of King Arthur, the scabbard that gave a sort of immortality. Where one would die from blood loss and the lack of a lung, Avalon immediately heals all fatal wounds immediately. Since he's in a contract with Saber, Master get's the same benefits since it's implanted in him. Others can have this as well, but Saber needs to be as close as possible to achieve the same results." Rin looked taken aback by the information dumped on her. Now it makes sense why Shirou looked normal in the morning.
"I see…thanks for the explanations, Archer." She turned around, and headed for the dining room. "I'm surprised that you've other emotions. I thought you were a Court Jester with how much you like to play."
"Just because I like to goof off doesn't mean I can't be serious, girly." Archer grumbled. He faced the door of his Master's room. 'Sheesh…children today have no respect for their elders. Well I guess it's the moment of truth.' He knocked on the door. "Master? Are you awake?" He heard a grunt, and let himself in. As he opened the door, light seeped into the room. Shirou's right arm shielded himself from the direct source of light.
"Archer…" Shirou groaned. The boy used his left elbow to support his weight as he attempts to sit up.
"I see the arm's fine and dandy. How're you feeling?"
"Like my right arm wants to rip itself off." The young Master replied uneasily.
"Try not to exert it then." Archer suggested. "What may come because of it could cause problems if you do." Shirou nodded at his suggestion. Both remained in silence until Shirou spoke up.
"I overheard."
Archer perked up. "What did you hear?"
"You screwed up." Shirou summarized. Archer let out a small chuckle.
Archer kneeled to his Master with his head facing the floor. "I've failed in my duty as your sword and shield. I'm sorry about that, Master."
Shirou shook his head. "You've done far more than I expected, Archer. You got angry. It's understandable." A long silence ushered itself into the room. Neither male knew how to progress from the topic without making it dreary. Shirou had the faintest idea, but it fit into morbid topics; however, it would help him delve into Archer's past -a bleak life from what he'd seen so far- even more. "Speaking of the angry, your Archer did quite a number on you. He was quite angry about how you handled your life."
Archer repositioned himself in a seiza style. His legs went underneath his thighs, and supported his weight. He placed his hands on his lap, and sat straight. He mentally prepared himself for an argument. He answered the boy with a simple, "Yes, he did. I was…an impressionable person as a young man. I decided to be a hero because I wanted my loved ones safe from harm. I was naive to the workings of the world, and hoped that people would get along if the world was rid of conflict…" He scratched his left cheek. "He…more or less got me to reevaluate my lifestyle for a little bit because I became blinded by my ideal."
'Blinded by ideal?' Shirou wondered. 'Is that what I'm doing? Is that why the guy's voice is splitting my head open?' His mind refocuses on Archer. "If that's how he makes people change their minds, I don't want to know what you'd do." Shirou told seriously to his Servant.
"Hahaha…" Archer mentally cringed. He actually considered the fact that history would repeat itself and Archer would have to preach to the boy using force. Maybe this way, it won't happen like the others. "Don't worry, Master. I won't do something like that. I know your dream is childish and borrowed, but what makes a hero is the fact that he follows on that desire for his life without regrets. Eventually, one who remembers a hero's ideal will try to achieve the same, and in turn become his own legend. My village's creed is somewhat like my hypothetical situation."
"What does the creed say?" Shirou waited silently to hear Archer's words.
Archer cleared his throat to attempt to act a little sagely. "When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames. The fire's shadow will illuminate the village, and once again, tree leaves bud anew." Archer recited. "I was part of my village's military force. We were the leaves, and when we go to action, we fight to protect our village. When the leaves die, the next generation will take our place. Our leader, the fire's shadow, instills that drive, the fire, in us and to the next generation, who would take up arms to defend our home." He rubbed his head a little. "Okay…not exactly what I meant, but it's the passing of ideals, and the man who pushed to make those ideals real, and in turn inspire others to take up the same ideal is what makes a hero in my book." Blue eyes met amber. "That is what my Servant Archer told me to be."
"…" Shirou stared oddly at the Servant who spoke of that man with a smile.
"Heroic Spirit Emiya used fear given by Counter Guardian EMIYA to change this measly Archer into what he is today. But I won't do the same to you. I only wish for you to realize the consequences of your decision, and what obstacles may come with it. Your ideal…it may be fake, but if it's one you wish to reach, go for it. It's the ideal you want to achieve; it's not anyone else's to dictate." The two returned to silence once more. A minute later, Archer stood up.
"Are my ideals fake, Archer? I saw the bodies that man killed to get to his position. How is he a hero?"
"Kiritsugu passed his ideals onto you, Master. That in itself makes him a hero in his own right in my book. However, it's your choices in life that will decide whether or not that ideal is real or fake. Blindly following an ideal without knowing the detrimental effects will be the end of you. The negative voices in your head come from Counter Guardian EMIYA. He blindly followed his ideals, but reached them. Only when he became a Guardian did he realize the consequences of his ideals. The Heroic Spirit Emiya realized this during his confrontation with the Guardian. Learn from his mistakes as well, and you may go further, even become a more popular legend than he did in life."
"Go further?" Shirou repeated uneasily.
Archer poked his Master's head. The boy winced a little, but nothing too bad came after it. "There's no guarantee I changed your mind from a blind follower to a decisive man with a brain with just a conversation, Master. Even if I did, there's also no guarantee I changed your future. For all I know you'll end up in the same path as your heroic selves. The only difference is how far you make it."
Shirou let the words sink in for a minute. The future isn't set in stone just as Archer said. Those two versions of him are a possibility, but it could mean that he would live the same way, but go farther in the path previously walked. "Would you say you've gone farther than them, Archer? You must have followed your dream and became a Heroic Spirit if you're here."
"I've become a hero, haven't I?" He stated it with wonder in his voice. "This coming from the guy who was called Dead-Last. Anyway…since I'm a Heroic Spirit, I can't get any further than the finish line than that." Archer turned around. Shirou's eyes widened when he realized his chance to keep talking with Archer some more would close.
Shirou stretched his hand out. "Wait! Why am I getting these dreams? And why can't I hear your name? Every time there's an opportunity to hear your name, it's muted or there's a distraction so I can't hear it!"
"The dream cycle is a staple of the Master/Servant bond we have. You get to see my past, and I get to see yours. Almost as dreary an mine gotta say." Shirou winced at the blunt words, and almost shot back with the same insult. But with Archer being a hero and all, there's no point in bringing up such insignificant details. "If you want my name…you find out for yourself, or force me to say my name. I doubt you'd want to use another Spell when you only have one left. Plus, if the cycle isn't giving you my name, then there might be a reason for it. I don't personally know what's going on, but I don't want to go against the wishes of the system. Come on. I'll go make breakfast for us. In ten minutes, your Kouhai and Nee-san will be here, so tidy up, Master." The orange-clad Servant left the room, and returned to the dining room.
Archer left the door ajar to let the light seep into Shirou's room. He judged that there was more to his Servant's past than he'd like to actually want to know. He only saw Servant Archer interact with his Servant, and it had dialogue compared to the wordless visions of scenes that seem to skip through Archer life like a movie without plot or context in them being there. Sure he understood that with a change in Servants meant the new evolution in Archer emerged. It did not mean it showed Archer's inner thoughts and struggles; however there was something there in that smile of his. Part untrue, part genuine. What could his Servant be hiding from him?
Could it be the people he killed? No. He accepted that part of his life already. He swung those weapons with the knowledge that any of them could kill if they weren't blocked, dodged, or parried away. His skills show dedication to the mastery of weapons, and to master many, if not all weapons within his hands would mean that he killed many to achieve that level of proficiency. That proficiency also needed the conviction to end a life. And from what that man implied, Archer was a person who would defeat his enemies by knockout.
What made Archer accept to kill? Why did he kill? In a much narrower scale, what did his ideals mean? To what extent did that lead the Servant to reaching that ideal? All these questions arise without any answers to fill the void in between. No matter how much Archer discloses his past, they are mere fractions of his life story.
What made the Servant take up the blade? From the glimpses of memories in Archer's life. It was a golden sword forged with the most polished gold and extravagant blue that Archer first wielded to fight. He scanned its form, evaluated its strength, sharpness, and craft. This is the blade Rin's Saber wielded. Shirou marveled at the craft, a sword fit for a King. The bevels were sharp enough to cut against chainmail. The blade was sturdy enough to fight multiple battles with others, and without a chip anywhere to boot. Why did Archer have the sword? Could Archer be a royal in his lifetime? He scanned the sword deeper. Unknowingly, he projected the blade in front of him.
A sharp 'thwap' into the tatami brought the boy out of consciousness. His eyes widened when he realized where the sword landed, or at least nearly landed. Thank goodness he liked to sleep with his legs apart.
Another quick scan, and Shirou's peripheral vision picked up something strange. The scene was clear as day. He was in a forest, and behind him a cave, where just outside, a few men in gray army fatigues, and what looked to be Archer's teammates, one was a boy with a bowl cut, the other the pink-haired girl, and the one-eyed teacher, standing in awe. He turned to face the blade, then saw that the blade was stabbed into a boulder, far from where it originally set itself. Archer was in front of him looking at the blade intently. The echoed words brought a shiver to Shirou's bones.
I am the blade that deems whether or not a person is capable of being King. You've reached the threshold, knight, are you ready to accept the responsibilities of a leader? You've bathed me in the blood of many, and each time, you did it for your friends and the innocent. You've conviction to fight for what's right; you wield me to protect; to cut down those who would disrupt the peace; however, that alone isn't suffice to make me your blade. What are you willing to sacrifice to truly wield me?
Archer stared intently at the blade in deep silence. No fauna in the forest stirred, no wind blew to make a sound, not even the sounds of the sea far off to the coast could break the silence between sword and man. Archer did not speak a word, but his thoughts were projected clearly into Shirou's mind.
'I sacrifice my life.'
Your life? Quite the retrograde answer. How will you wield me if you're dead?
'I sacrifice my life of an assassin to take up the way of an honorable knight. I will deal justice to the wicked, and cut them down.'
You choose justice over deceit and dishonor? Very well then. I accept you as my wielder, Sir Uzumaki. You are now the new wielder of this sword, Caliburn!
His vision blurred until his surroundings returned to normal. Shirou shook his head. 'What was that? Another piece of the puzzle that's Archer's past? Do you mean to tell me Archer became King?!' Well it made sense to him now why his voice sounded regal at times. His mind then picked up a crucial fact. He got a name! Not the given name, but a part of the full at least. "Uzumaki eh? Sounds Japanese enough." He said to himself while confirming Archer's story. He turned to his right, and saw the clock nearing the sixth hour. "I guess I really do have to get out of bed." The projected Caliburn dissolved into thin air, and allowed the boy to move out of his futon.
When Shirou reached the dining room, he was greeted with silence as the news played. "More breaking news today. Just at daybreak, the body of one Homurahara student, Shinji Matou, is found dead inside a building under construction. Police say the cause of death is unknown since no fatal wound is found. There are signs of struggle as the boy's hands are covered in dirt like his uniform. The murderer carried a blade of sorts since the tears in the uniform are clean. No eyewitnesses have come forth to shed light on the matter." Eyes turned to Archer to seek answers. The women wanted to know what happened during that scouting mission. However, Shirou stood still as a statue. How could this have happened? Did Archer kill Shinji for the betterment of the city? His quivering eyes begged Archer to tell what happened.
"As you heard, Shinji is dead." Archer spoke calmly. He leaned on a wall, and looked off to the distance on his right. "Why don't you tell us all about it, Assassin? After all, it was by your hand that the guy died. You can all tell them about the new Assassin in this War as well." Heads turned to the direction Archer faced. Assassin fizzled into existence, and shocked the Masters into preparing for a battle. Rin aimed her left hand at the Servant while Shirou projected Kanshou and Bakuya.
"Easy. Wouldn't want a set of broken arms now would you?" He turned to the Tohsaka heir, "You may aim well, but I can easily evade that shot." He then moved his gaze to Shirou, "I see you're getting the hang of your projections, boy. Still imperfect, but almost there."
Archer broke into a little snickering fit. The Servant knew his friend took a liking to teaching Genin before leaving the village to be a nomad. Apparently, his Genin were one of the best around when they took the exams. No surprise there with the Uchiha as a teacher. The three little tykes admired the man like a father, and he treated them almost his own kin to some extent. It still baffled Archer that his friend could act…fatherly, but that was something to expect as time produces inevitable change. Just look at Archer; naive and dumb before, awesome and badass now.
Assassin spoke calmly. "I've no intention of assassinating you yet. Though if my own Master ordered it, I could do it now without any hesitation. After all, we're at War. But as a sign of friendship, I won't. I take it you have questions?"
And I'm done for now. Sorry if it's exposition heavy, but I feel the need to address the real life consequences of the battle in the previous night. Something as powerful as Naruto's attack wouldn't go unnoticed to the normal populace. In fact any of the big booms that happened in the animated adaptation of UBW irked me in the way that no one reacted a little fearfully that random explosions, powerful enough to be heard, are just written off as gas explosions. Sure some could be speculated as such, but come on!
And Shinji's dead, and a new Assassin is in the War. Yay. The plot thickens. And I gave some background to Lily and Naruto; I hoped you liked it.
So review, follow, favorite, I don't care.
This is Azure, signing off.
