It seems like everyone pretty much guessed what was going to happen next. XD


Hikaru hummed as she led the way to the nearby supermarket. Archer was in casual clothes and a couple steps behind her. The whole afternoon had been strange. First there was the whole kiss thing and then Archer had decided that he had to brush out her hair! Her fingers twitched as she resisted the urge to run her fingers through her tangle-free hair. It had been so awkward to just sit there and let Archer brush it out. He had been so good at it though. He was careful to not pull on her hair too much and he was never forceful with the brush.

He had practice, she reminded herself. He had told her that he had brushed the hair for the woman he loved. What kind of woman was she? What kind of woman could put up with Archer's attitude? You do like him though…

She sighed to herself. Just thinking about this was making her brain hurt. Plus what was the point of thinking about this? Archer did not like her in that way at all. He was just being a good Servant and keeping the relationship between them good.

"So do you have any preference for dinner by the way Master?"

Hikaru shook her head. "No. Anything is fine. I can eat pretty much anything."

"Why am I not surprised?" he chuckled and petted her on the head.

"Hey!" Hikaru ducked away and put her hands protectively on her head. "What does that mean?"

Archer shrugged and took a couple of large steps so he was walking in front of her now. "Nothing at all."

Hikaru frowned but she knew there was no point in trying to drag an answer out of him. She only took a few steps before she bumped into her Servant. "Ack. Why did you…" She trailed off as she looked at what Archer was staring at. The supermarket was bustling. There were tons of people coming in and out. Hikaru had to face-palm. "Oh yeah. Today is the monthly sale day."

"Of course it is," Archer sighed. "I always wanted to fight housewives for groceries."

"Great!" Hikaru said cheerfully. She pulled out her wallet and shoved it into Archer's hand. "Have fun!"

Archer looked down at the wallet and then at Hikaru. "Hang on. What are you going to do?"

Hikaru pointed to the railing that separated the sidewalk from the busy street. "I'll just hang out there and people watch. Cause you know, I love people watching. Doing an experiment for school you know? I want some fresh air. Outside air. Yum!"

"You can stop with the excuses." Archer shook his head. "My Master is sending me on a suicide mission."

"Oh you'll be fine. You're taller than all of those housewives. Just reach over them and get stuff!" She walked over to the railing and hoisted herself onto it. "Don't worry. The street is crowded, nothing bad can happen right?"

"With your luck, I highly doubt it. Just stay here okay? I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Don't worry." Hikaru pulled out her phone. "I will be exploring the wonderful world known as the internet."

"And now I'm going to worry so much more. See you soon Master."

Hikaru waved goodbye to Archer and she giggled to herself as he pushed his way through the crowd to get into the store. He looked so out of place with all of the housewives storming the store. "You are a brave solider Archer. Hopefully you will make it through this endeavor alive!"

She fell silent as she began wandering various websites on the internet as she waited for Archer to return. After ten minutes she wondered why she even said she was going to wait. With all of those housewives here it was going to take forever for Archer to get out of there.

"Too late now…" She did promise him she would stay here and she was going to keep that promise. Every other time she had wandered away something went wrong and she already hit her quota for something-going-wrong today.

She returned her attention to her phone and called Rin. Nothing again. If only there was someway to know how many Masters were still in the War. Then she could have some idea if Rin was okay or not. No. Rin was okay! She was probably hiding out for now. Tomorrow her friend would be back and she would be complaining about how whoever attacked her was an idiot.

She smiled. Yeah. That was exactly how it was going to happen. She was sure of it! Her butt was getting tired of sitting on the railing so she jumped off and leaned against it instead. She wondered how Archer was doing in there. He was a Servant but he was against the vicious species known as the housewives. Hikaru remembered the one time she went into battle against them. Never again. The housewives could have whatever they wanted.

"Found you," whispered a voice in her ear.

Before she could move, two arms snaked around her body and wrapped around her stomach and she felt weight on her left shoulder. With it still sore from being shot by Rider, it started aching from the extra weight on it.

"GAH!" she cried, recognizing the blond hair man that was currently hugging her. No way! It was the blond pervert! Since he wasn't holding her tightly, she was able to jump out of his grasp with no problem. Or did he let her go? She whirled around and saw that he had scaled the railing. Like before he was staring at her with those crimson eyes with an intensity that frightened her.

"What's with that look?" He had his hands in the pockets of his pants as he leaned in closer to her. His eyes narrowed. "You still have no idea who I am, do you?"

Hikaru's mind was racing on what to do. They were on a busy street so it wasn't like he could do anything. If he did try she could always scream. She held her arms to her chest with her right hand over the left. It would be a waste of command seals to call Archer if she could not help it. She shook her head. "No…I don't…"

He gritted his teeth and rubbed the back of his head. Hikaru had a small hope that he was going to give up and leave her alone. Obviously she was not the girl he was looking for. "Stop looking so pitiful," he snapped suddenly.

"W…what?"

The intensity in his eyes were back in full force. "Hold your head up high like a queen! Stop looking like a commoner." His voice was rising and a few people walking by stopped to stare at the weird foreigner.

Hikaru had to agree with all of them. What in the world was he talking about? What did he mean by holding her head high? Why did he care? She jumped slightly as he grabbed her arm and his face got dangerously close to hers. Was he going to kiss her again? Was she going to have to scream and kick him where it hurts?

"Gilgamesh."

"Huh?"

He released her and backed up a couple of inches. Not by much but it gave Hikaru room to breathe and think. "My name. Gilgamesh."

Gilgamesh? What kind of name was-wait! Hikaru's eyes widen. The half-god, half-human king of Uruk!? No way! She backed up a couple of steps out of fear. He was a Servant! That explained the weird inhuman feeling she got from him. What was he though? The only Masters he could have would either be Leo or Julius. A Saber or an Assassin. She couldn't tell. She couldn't tell what he was.

"Stop staring at me with those huge doe-eyes!" he snapped.

Hikaru winced. It did spurn her thoughts into action though. If he was a Servant of Leo or Julius, why didn't he try to kill her? Heck, why did he even approach her? Why did he kiss her!? "Who…" she whispered. "Whose your Master? Is it Leo? Julius?"

Surprise flashed across Gilgamesh's face but it was quickly replaced with a smug look. "You think those weaklings could contain my power? You know better than that."

She should know? What was he talking about? However this did tell her that he was not one of the Servants involved in the War. Then who was he? Hang on…why did she trust that he was telling the truth? She wanted to go with the assumption that he was lying but she just…couldn't. Her brain was telling her it was impossible to doubt him. What was going on?

Gilgamesh sighed. "I thought that saying my name would be able to jog your memory but it looks like that didn't work." He grabbed her arm again and pulled her close to him and his other arm was around her waist to hold her in place.

"W…what are you doing!?" Hikaru's eyes looked around for an escape. People had stopped to stare at the two of them. Ack! They were making a scene in the middle of the street! Wait. Why was that important!?

"Maybe the commoner needs something a little more intense to turn into the queen."

Oh no. Gilgamesh's face was closing in. Ack! He was going to kiss her again! No way. No way. This was not going to happen again! They were in public too! People were watching! Her thoughts ran back to earlier today when she had head-butted Archer. She couldn't remember it hurting at all and she hadn't even gotten a bump out of it.

She leaned her head back as far as she could and slammed it against Gilgamesh's. Stars dotted her vision and pain ripped through her skull. "That hurt!" she cried, putting her hands over the aching spot. How did she do this before with no pain!? In surprise Gilgamesh had released her and he was clutching his own head. She opened her magic circuits and used her powers to lessen the throbbing pain so she could be ready for whatever Gilgamesh did next.

"You were always feisty," he said with a chuckle as he rubbed the spot. She was happy to note that it was really red. He was going to get a bump out of this. "Looks like we attracted an audience." He grinned at the people who were staring and whispering among themselves. "I guess that's all I can do today. I'll see you again soon Hikaru." He turned to walk away but he paused and turned back to her. "Before I go…" He was next to her before she could react and he lightly kissed her forehead on the spot that was starting to bruise "You need to be more careful. It would be a shame if you got a scar."

Hikaru stared in shock as he disappeared into the crowd. She didn't move from the spot until she was sure she could not see his golden hair anymore. Legs shaking, she walked over to the railing and rested against it. What in the world was that?

Someone came up to her and asked if she was alright and she shook the concern away. She was fine. Just confused. So very confused.

Hikaru gently touched her forehead. Ugh. She could feel a bump beginning to form. She would try to heal that but she didn't know how much of her prana that would take and she did not want to risk having to resort to Archer carrying her home because she felt dizzy.

"Gilgamesh…" she whispered, trying to jog her mind. He said she knew who he was but she still had no idea who he was. What was he to her? Hang on! What was she thinking? She shook her head. Why was she worried about that pervert!? Again he had done something weird. But at the same time…she knew he didn't do it out of malice or anything of that sort. She pressed a hand to her face and shut her eyes as she thought about it. Even though Gilgamesh was acting like a pervert and was so forward and was a Servant that could kill her without a second thought…she trusted him. She lifted her head in shock at the revelation. She trusted Gilgamesh. How? How was that possible?

This feeling…it was exactly like how she felt when she had first met Archer. "What in the world is going on here?" Now she really wished she could talk to Rin. Rin would know what was going on. And she might be able to tell Hikaru how there could be an eight Servant when the Grail War was supposed to only have seven.

"Wow. I think this is the first time you've actually stayed in one place."

Hikaru looked up in surprise. Archer was carrying a lot of shopping bags filled with so many ingredients that it looked like he was getting ready to cook for a huge party instead of for one girl. "Oh, hi."

"Master, those housewives were cruel and vicious. I would rather face down Servants than fight them again-hang on." Archer reached out and carefully moved her bangs. "What in the world did you do? Trip and fall? That's a huge bump."

Hikaru could feel heat rise to her face. She wasn't sure if it was from Archer's touch or from the memory of Gilgamesh kissing her there. "It's nothing!" she said quickly. She backed up a step and covered the spot with a hand.

She thought she saw hurt flash across Archer's face but he straightened and pulled her wallet out of his pocket and handed it back to her. "I got enough to last for another week and a half."

"Great." Hikaru pocketed her wallet. "Shall we go?" She began walking in the direction of home. It would be great to get away from the crowds. Maybe then she could clear her head and try to figure out what in the world was happening to her.

"Master," began Archer. "Did something happen?"

She shook her head. "No. Nothing happened." After the words left her mouth, her eyes widen slightly and she began walking faster so Archer could not see her face. Why did she just lie to him? Heck, why was she so hesitant to tell him about Gilgamesh? That was important wasn't it? He was a Servant but not one that was in the War! And I trust him on top of everything else… What was going on with her?


Archer knew something was wrong.

When he had walked out of the supermarket she was deep in thought and from her body language he read that she was worried about something. Then there was that mysterious bump on her forehead. Also she had quickly denied that something had not happened.

Was someone threatening her? There was no way that someone could have hit her on the busy street. There were too many witnesses around that it would have caused a commotion. Then…how did she get that? "You know you can trust me right," he said quietly.

Hikaru winced. "Yeah…I know that…" Nothing. No explanation.

The rest of the walk home reminded Archer of this afternoon after the first meeting with Caster. What could have happened in the short time he was inside the supermarket?

Once they reached her house, she silently opened the door and walked inside. She held out her hands to take some of the bags. "I can put stuff away." She was not looking at him again.

He silently handed her a couple of bags and she disappeared into the kitchen. He followed her and began putting groceries away as well. Every now and then he would stop her from putting something away since he was going to use it for tonight's dinner.

When they were done Hikaru put her arms behind her back. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm still trying to figure out stuff myself so…"

It was worrying her? "Well, I'll be here when you want to tell me." He gave her a small smile.

"Thank you Archer." It seemed like a weight had lifted off her shoulders as she looked up and smiled back at him.

"It's nothing bad though right?"

"I…I'm not sure." She bit her lip and shook her head. "No. It's not bad…I think." She gently touched the bump on her head. "This one is my fault." She seemed like she wanted to say more but she stopped herself. From the way it started to shrink she was using her magic on it. Once it was gone, she sighed and put her hand down. "I'm sorry Archer but I…I just…can't…"

He couldn't stand to see her look so miserable. Without even thinking he put an arm around her and pulled her into a hug. "As long as you don't get hurt I can wait."

"Thanks Archer…" she gave him a quick hug back before she stepped away. "Do you need any help?"

Archer waved her away. "Don't worry about it. It'll be faster if I…" He paused when he saw her face fall slightly. Oh well. He pointed to the vegetables. "If you are sure you can hold a knife without cutting yourself, you can prep."

"I can hold a knife without cutting myself, thank you very much!" she huffed but she was grinning to show she was not mad. "I managed just fine before you decided to take over the kitchen." She grabbed the apron off the hook and tied it around herself. "Oh wait. Hang on." She ran over to the pantry and pulled another apron from a stack and threw it at Archer.

He unfolded it and stared at the weird streaky colors that covered the whole apron. It looked like a child had just taken a paintbrush and just threw paint on it in every color possible.

"That's the best one we have." Hikaru gestured to the others in the pantry. "My aunt likes to get the weird ones from her travels. Trust me. That's the tamest one she brought back."

He didn't doubt her words. He silently put the apron on. "Time to get started Master."


Hikaru took a bite of the fried chicken. Dang! Archer could cook. No matter how many times she had it, she was still impressed that a grumpy guy like him could make such good food. "You really need to teach me how you can cook four things at the same time," she said in between bites.

Archer shrugged. "It's not that hard."

She blinked slowly and shrugged. "Seriously though…" She pointed to the spot across from her. "Why don't you eat something too? It's…unnerving to have you stand there and just watch me."

Archer shook his head. "Master. It's fine. I don't need to-"

"Don't make me use a command seal to make you eat," threatened Hikaru.

"You wouldn't. That would be a waste of-"

Hikaru lifted up her left hand. "Archer. I use my command-"

"Alright, alright!" he said. "You would get really hung up and use a command seal on something like this. Let me go get a place setting…"

Hikaru grinned to herself. A small victory but it was something. He was so impressive in the kitchen, like a professional chef. She felt bad for all of the times she had eaten by herself in the past. It seemed like such a waste for him do all that work just for her to eat it. Her smile slipped slightly as she thought of what happened in the kitchen before they had began cooking. The mystery of Gilgamesh. Archer had understood her hesitance to speak about it, thankfully. However she still felt bad for keeping it from him. I'll tell him after I talk to Rin.

For now though, she smiled at Archer who returned with a place setting for himself, it would remain her little secret.