"Why do I have to get all the crappy jobs?" Saitou Ryoma complained. He angrily pulled his paper cap off and stuffed it into his apron pocket. "Am I really that disposable?"
Well, of course he was. The fact he was wandering across the unkempt yard of the Matou home was enough to prove that. Exactly what possessed them to send him on this suicide mission, especially when one of the Three Families were involved, was beyond him.
'I'm not going to go out quietly! Even if I have to give them heartburn when I go down their pets throats!'
Nothing was left to lose at this point, his supervisors would flay him alive if he abandoned it. So, under the ever present eye of the security camera installed on his falafel stand on him, he extended etherlite towards the door. The solitary string trembled with his repressed emotions, slowly moving to come into contact with the bronze latches on the side of the door.
Saitou clenched his eyes, wishing he could've gotten a chance to buy that netsuke of Tamamo-no-Mae he had been eying for a while now. The sensation of the etherlite tapping the door carried through to him, making him grunt in confusion as he opened his eyes.
"Eh?"
Brain death hadn't come, which was more than what Saitou had expected when he started off this endeavor. Further investigation revealed that the boundary field around the mansion had been corrupted.
Saitou stuck his tongue out a little, wetting his lips as he tried to peak into the protective enchantments on the building.
No, not corrupted. It was more like the mansion's boundary field had been devoured. Whatever fearsome strength it had was gone now.
"No good, huh? Let's get this done." Saitou laughed afterward, manipulating his string to undo the screws on the hinge. Feeling bold, he also put on a heavy glove over his hand and reached for the door knob. It clacked as the lock on the door refused to budge beneath his grasp.
The latches fell when they were unscrewed, allowing Saitou to enter the Matou home moments later.
*-*-*
Fate/Stay Night and its spin offs are properties of Type-Moon, Nitroplus, Image Epoch. All additional references belong to their respective companies.
Chapter 12: Structural Analysis, I
*-*-*
Shirou Emiya's life had been in danger last night. His death would have been assured if it wasn't for the protection of his guardian.
Even now, she was on her last legs, practically collapsing onto the ground. If it wasn't for his support, they would have fallen. Simple movement was a labor in of itself as the duo somehow had forced themselves across town and to Taiga's apartment.
Despite the long trip, ignoring the hot morning sun, and not even acknowledging the intense stares at their dress.
In this lobby, they had finally met their match.
"What sort of lifestyle are you leading, young man?" A fifty year old man demanded. The man's build was tall and reedy. Sort of like a bamboo stalk, with wrinkles, maybe. Spittle flew from the old man's mouth as he tried to water Shirou like a plant. "Taiga Fujimura may be allowing it, but I will not stand for rebellious youth to be wandering the streets so late at night! And look at yourselves, why are you two even wearing those ridiculous outfits!"
Over to the side, a doddering old man was getting in Berserker's face. Shirou used old in this case since he was like - way too old. Much older than his partner. The short, stout man kind of looked like some kind of melon. Very rolypoly.
They had just stumbled into the lobby of Taiga's apartment when this two member 'Security Team' had accosted them.
Shirou assumed they had nothing better to do at the hour.
The few younger adults around them merely gave the two teenagers tolerant smiles. Some of them looked openly sympathetic. Oh, great.
He couldn't even rely on Berserker this time.
While hassling a Heroic Spirit was normally a dangerous, stupid shortcut to the hereafter, she was tolerating it. In fact, she seemed to be positively enchanted with the rather shrunken senior citizen, eying him like one did some sort of miniature poodle. Even failing at trying to pet him, and just riling the poor man up in the process.
"Waah," Berserker breathed out. She was totally phasing out the other man's rants. "He looks so worldly."
Berserker's arm lifted from beneath the plastic bike cover he had hastily stripped from the Matou house's garage. It was the only thing he could think of to cover her bloody dress. She pressed a unhealthily pale, perhaps one could even call it transparent, hand against her cheek.
"I bet you'd look dashing with some grey hair too, Master." Berserker claimed. The singsong tone she had, and continued glances over at the shriveled old man were incredibly worrying.
"When are you going to grow up, Master?"
"... why?"
Berserker turned to face him, eyes large and filled with conviction. During that moment, the old man that was the center of her unnerving attention wisely pulled out of the young girl's grasp. Smart for him.
Unfortunately he could't do the same.
"A bright and fresh Master has his charms too." She helpfully patted him on the head. "Master is always going to be Master. So I'm fine with either!"
She gave him a thumbs up.
"Please stop."
Yes, geriatrics would succeed where a Heroic Spirit had failed.
What a terrible fate.
"Hey!" A Tiger came to save them. A very annoyed Tiger that was bounding towards them from the elevator. "What are you two doing?! Abe-san, Kozue-san, that's my Shirou!" The portly Abe, and suspender wearing Kozue, looked briefly like they had their hands caught in a cookie jar.
Berserker's eyes narrowed.
"And some other person, I guess." Taiga looked away briefly, but recovered from her near brush with disaster to swat at Kozue. "Stop harassing him! Stop being such nosy old men!" She leaned in towards them to hiss in a quiet voice. "I swear, who ever heard of 'neighborhood watch' yakuza?"
"We're just looking out for the boss's granddaughter!" Abe sounded dismayed, stamping his walking cane against the ground. "It's the least we can do now that you live here!"
"You old fart, you don't have to do that kind of stuff anymore!" Taiga said, and stamped her foot to make her point.
"So what? You're still wet behind the ears, girl! Don't you know how many conmen would die to get at the Fujimura fortunes?" Kozue sneered, thumbing over at Shirou. The boy in question
simply stared back at Kozue with a flat, somewhat tired expression.
"I'm a grown woman!" Taiga wailed in dismay, offended and outraged. "Plus I don't need money to find a man!"
"Couldn't hurt." Shirou volunteered.
"Shut up, idiot!"
"Well, I remember changing your diapers, so there!" Abe's counter made Taiga go furiously bright yet.
"D-don't say that kind of stuff!" She shrieked.
"I could've led a very healthy, productive life without that." Shirou raised a hand, and was immediately shut down by two old men and a young woman's shouts. "...shutting up now, okay."
And so the Fujimura dirty laundry continued to be aired.
"Look, all I'm saying is that he's my responsibility! Shirou's always been mine, so please stand back and let me take care of-"
"-and just look at the hours he comes in! With a Jezebel on his arm to boot!"
"What century are you living in, old man?! I'll have you know-"
Meanwhile, Berserker continued to eerily observe a rather timid Abe.
A new party was slowly drawn in by the gravitational pull of their insanity. Shirou had no recourse but to watch the fool approach, trapped as he was. The boy could at least read the man his last rights.
"Reiji-san," Shirou spoke out to the suited man. "You don't have your chain on today."
The other yakuza member forced a smile.
"So you live here now, Shirou-kun? You do realize only the Fujimura live here."
"I suppose so. And now I do, yes." He listlessly replied. Feeling Berserker try to leave his side, he yanked her back close to him.
"Master," Of course, this just reinforced her attitude, causing her to cuddle him. "Don't be jealous. He doesn't even have a blowtorch."
Reiji caught onto Shirou's expression. "A-are you okay?"
"Heroes of Justice don't cry." Shirou created a new mantra that day.
*-*-*
Taiga was anxiously prowling around the living room, moving around the mountain of pillows that were strewn around. If she had a tail, it would probably be lashing about. Perhaps with her ears twitching agitatedly every few moments.
Shirou needed to stop that dangerous line of thinking, he didn't want to tempt fate right now. The whole ordeal with Abe and Kozue was still kind of a sour subject for his guardian at the moment. Kind of a weird one with Berserker too, come to think of it.
"Ah, that grey hair." Berserker wistfully sighed, lying on several pillows. "I hope Master-" She broke out in giggles.
Scary.
"So, Fujimura-san put a whole division of men here. I didn't know that. You're just that dangerous around an electric oven, huh?" Still, it had been going on a minute of silence. It was unnerving him, and he made stupid word choices when he got nervous.
One step forward, two back.
Taiga glared at him, shutting him up. Actually, she had been doing that for a while now. It probably didn't help that Shirou was trying to keep the situation light at the moment. Possibly was the blood that was liberally smeared and caked on his clothing.
In fact, it was probably that.
"Can you please, please tell me why you two look like you're extras from a horror movie?" To be fair, Berserker was the one that had taken all the damage. His attempt to point this out merely caused him to dodge as a little bit of an eraser was chucked at him. Seemed that Taiga had been trying to do her homework while they were gone, but all the blank pages sort of told him that she hadn't been successful at it.
"We ran into some trouble." Shirou spun a new answer.
"Sorry." Berserker looked contrite for once. It was made all the more pitiable by the fact she was lying flat on the ground of Taiga's apartment. Without the allure of the old man around, and the combination of the enforced grounding by Shirou and the reminder of her failure from Taiga were enough to rob the girl of her normal happy expression.
Shirou briefly considered bringing the old timers back in, just to get a smile back from the girl.
"So you two bit off more than you could chew?" Taiga sounded frightened, taking a seat on the patch of ground directly across from Shirou. She rapidly shook her hand towards Berserker. "Something actually wounded that rampaging monster?" She paused. Then offered a sickly sweet smile. "Uhm, no disrespect meant, of course."
Berserker pouted, the sides of her eyes scrunching up slightly.
"Please don't cry." Shirou reached over, patting the top of her hand. Once he got a determined nod, he turned towards Taiga with a frown. "Shinji is in trouble. When we got to the mansion, it looked like there was a fight. There was stuff scattered all over the place."
"Is that where you were attacked?"
Shirou nodded.
"Whatever attacked us could actually hurt Berserker."
"Master...could have gotten hurt." Berserker squirmed, clearly not enjoying the memories from the expression on her face. Taiga glanced over at the other girl in sympathy. Her hand clenched and unclenched in helplessness.
"What now?" Taiga asked.
Shirou helplessly looked around them. "Berserker's hurting. She managed to restore the injuries, but we're running low on power again. We're going to at least knock down the electrical grid in the building for a while, sorry."
Taiga looked at the past evidence of cuts that the gawdy yellow tarp had been hiding on Berserker's body. Where new, healthy looking skin was now shown, the actual dress itself still was bloodied and frayed.
"Okay, but what do we do after?" Taiga didn't mind, but there were bigger things to deal with. "Is there anything else you can tell me?"
Shirou bit his lip, looking conflicted. He wanted nothing more than to go jump out and keep looking for Shinji. Especially after that sudden attack at the Matou home, but one look at Berserker stopped him from voicing his desires outloud.
She wasn't going to be up for a fight for a while.
"I don't know." Shirou hung his head, looking ill at ease. "There isn't anything we can do."
"Will we be attacked here?"
Shirou glanced at Berserker, who answered for him.
"No, safe during the day." Berserker's voice was actually serious for a moment, surprising the two humans. Something in her insisted that was the way it should be. "Nothing followed." She concluded with confidence.
Taiga closed her eyes, feeling guilty for the relief that she felt at that moment. Still, she could volunteer one idea.
"You two need to rest," She insisted, looking at Berserker and Shirou.
Shirou's silent nod, followed by Berserker's chimed in response, was enough for Taiga. Taiga rose to her feet. Afterward she pulled a stuttering boy up with her.
"H-hey, what about Berserker?" Shirou demanded, trying to resist. "We have to heal her up first!"
Taiga looked at the young woman.
"You doing fine?" She asked.
"I'm okay~"
Taiga looked over at Shirou, staring at him evenly. "She says she's okay." The head of the household shook her head to interrupt Shirou. "We hit her with a car. She isn't doing that fading thing this time. And she says she's fine."
Taiga lightly pushed Shirou towards the hallway entrance in the back of the room. Her apartment had the sitting room up front, with a hallway leading deeper inside, which connected to bathroom, kitchen, and her bedroom.
"So, that means, you go to the bath." Taiga declared. "While you do that, I'll get you some new clothes. I had some of grandpa's men bring some when you two were gone last night."
"Oh yeah," Shirou nodded, remembering the few things they had gotten for his stay. "That sounds good to me."
"Yep, then we'll burn the clothes you got." Taiga said something outrageous, making Shirou sputter.
"What?! We can still clean them!"
Taiga's nose wrinkled. "They're too far gone. Plus I never liked the fact you always wear the same type of clothes. That isn't something a boy your age should be doing."
Oh dear, was this about the adoption situation?
"What, but I like it!" Shirou weakly defended, his footing unsure now. Especially since he really hadn't denied Taiga's request. "These clothes are sturdy. And they're pretty cheap too."
"Teenagers shouldn't think that way." Taiga ignored his protests, pushing him into the hallway. "So we'll get you some nicer clothing now."
"Uwa!" Berserker cried out. When the two humans turned to her, her eyes practically sparkled. "What about me? I need a bath too! Can I go with Master?"
"No!" Shirou bleated, turning bright red. "You're not taking a bath with me!"
Taiga's useless smack to her head didn't even phase her. Shirou's denial was what drew a betrayed look from the Hero.
"Pleease?"
"No! That's too dangerous!" Shirou was hyper-aware of Taiga at his side. "For various reasons!"
"I'm water and rust proof." Berserker proudly declared. The way she shoved her chest forward, making her dress rags shift about were pretty eye catching. The young girl caught onto Shirou's stare with a tiny smile. "I won't shock you~"
"Have some dignity!" Taiga finally exploded, bouncing a pillow onto Berserker's face. She bumped the side of her hips into Shirou, sending him out of the room and the conversation. He was eternally grateful - scurrying out of the line of fire. "You're a legendary person, so act like it, dammit!"
"Tch. I could bump hips with him too." Berserker snorted, looking off to the side with a pout. When Taiga glared, she petulantly replied. "What? Legendary people can't bump hips? News to me."
Taiga threw up her hands with a frustrated cry, storming to the bedroom to get their things.
Berserker waited until the crazy woman was gone before proceeding with her plan. At the moment, she was dangerously low on mana, but that would only really be an issue if she remained materialized.
Which really wasn't an issue for her!
An invisible and intangible Berserker rose to her feet, mission clear. It was far too dangerous for her Master to be alone. Especially in a bathroom. She would just have to monitor him.
For safety reasons.
*-*-*
Shirou's mechanically removed his bloody clothing. No real attention was given to the motions. He just let his body run on autopilot while he thought.
'I'm screwed up.'
Everything from the fire to the attack last night, with Shinji and Sakura's abduction and Taiga's offer to adopt him, were jumbling together in a nightmarish stew in the back of his head. Worse were the emotions.
Shirou was sure that he was going through emotional highs and lows too fast. He could feel himself start to wear away at the edges. It wasn't anything serious yet, nothing would ever compare to his memories of the day he had met his father, but he had lost his control. Something he was feeling incredibly guilty about, right now.
Letting the clothing fall in a pile at his feet, he was shocked out of his fugue when a loud thud echoed in the small room. Blinking to clear his head, Shirou knelt down on the fluffy white rug in Taiga's bathroom. A small, leather book stood out in contrast to the faux fur.
Was this...?
Shirou snorted, of course it was. Opening the book, he could see the pages of information that Shinji had tirelessly written down. He had even grabbed the book last night before everything had gone to hell when that runaway monster had attacked them.
Another sign that he was starting to turn into a giblet head.
"At least I won't have to take down the power-grid." That would lead to uncomfortable things. Like the brave little toaster. Or that amorous cell phone. The clingy electric blanket was also an issue in of itself.
Speaking of which, that was another thing he was going to have to address too, wasn't he?
Shirou groaned, frustration building up. Deciding to let his mind relax, he set the book away on top of the nearby sink. Afterward, he stepped into the bathtub, unwilling to delay things any longer.
Water splashed amongst his legs, the sound growing louder as he sank into the tub. Once it was up to his chest, Shirou let out a sigh of contentment. He lazily took in his surroundings, with the little bunny wallpaper.
The pink towels and lavender candles were just rubbing it in his face at that point.
"She is a girl." Shirou conceded. In a dry tone, he completed his sentence while staring at a jar full of bath beads. "Oh my god - it's full of stars."
"That's pretty mean, Master." Berserker's voice suddenly cut in. "Girls don't like it when they aren't appreciated."
Shirou immediately sunk beneath the water with a tremendous splash.
"Master?!" A shimmer began to form in the room.
"Gbkcht!" Shirou popped back up, hacking out soapy water, and rubbing at his eyes. Once he was ready, his voice came out in a bellow. "-Berserker, how long have you been here?!"
"It's fine. I've seen lots of autopsies in my time." The voice floated over to the side. Shirou immediately rolled to try not to be seen. "You don't have to worry. It's super cute!"
Shirou wanted to die.
"Berserker?"
"Yes?"
"Kill me."
"No. That's a command I'll never follow." Berserker's voice was cold. In fact, the entire room darkened substantially. The smell of ozone made Shirou's upper body rise from where he was trying to tactically retreat deeper into the tub, looking around with wide eyes. "Once a life is taken, it cannot be given back, Master. Not even Father could master defy death to that level."
Shirou felt sick to his stomach. He leaned forwards, pressing his chin against his knees. Being naked didn't really matter anymore.
"I really have been a giblet head."
"Huh?"
"I've been a jackass." Shirou answered. "Look at me, cowering in a freaking bathtub while the world burns. Making these kind of jokes to you. Just being plain-argh!" He angrily scratched at his scalp, messing his hair up and sending it flying around.
Silence answered him.
"Sorry, Berserker." Shirou looked up, relaxing his body. "I really haven't been a good Master lately."
Berserker's cry of disbelief was surprising.
"No! You've done everything you could to keep me in this world. And you did the same for my other selves." He felt something airy, ethereal, float across his cheek. "It doesn't matter what you've done, you're my Master."
Shirou began to smile.
"And you're not a donkey, either."
Shirou laughed.
"It's cute down there." Shirou began to sqwack as Berserker naively continued. "Much smaller, but that's okay. It's kind of scary if it was like that, you'd be horribly out of proportion! That's the greatest of sins."
The young boy reddened. It was a struggle resisting the urge to flee back into the comfortable, but rather stupid, habits he had been forming. They paid off as he spoke his words outloud, but in a terrible, somewhat spastic voice.
"Can... who was your Father again?" It was best to just direct all his ire, stress, and irrational desires towards that man. He could take it, the guy was long gone after all.
"Oh, that's right! Nice follow up, Master!" Berserker's voice pepped up. Probably because he had finally asked a question to get to know her better. "Father is going to be your father too someday. Tell me about your Father next, okay?" She dropped such dangerous notions down without care.
"S-so, who is he?"
"Why, he's the greatest of all scientists of Europe!" Berserker began, all sunshine. Her tone grew more energetic. "He was a graduate from famed Prague! And he's the one who mastered the flow of life and death. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't even exist. His name is Victor Von Frankenstein."
Shirou imagined she would have curtsied if she could. As it was, the love and enthusiasm in her voice just prevented him from reacting badly. The sensation of panic was strong, especially when his Berserker's identity shortly followed the speech. Perhaps this talk, as surreal as it was, had helped stabilize his emotions.
Well, either way, Shirou felt that the urge to spastically react was so last year. Maybe even two years ago.
So what if he had Frankenstein's Monster in the bath with him. So what if the Monster could probably see everything he was born with. That was fine, live life to the fullest. C'est la pie, or however that motto went.
It wasn't like Berserker was dropping stupid revelations on him left and right.
Like... uh, like King Arthur being a woman. Or something like that. He was too tired to think up of anything really outlandish right now.
"So, yeah." Shirou oriented himself, "My dad's name was Kiritsugu Emiya. He was a superhero. When I was a child, I got horribly injured, and if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be alive either."
Berserker's face appeared, hovering before him.
"I loved him very much. He was... everything to me."
She smiled, manifesting the rest of her body in a sitting position.
"Sometimes I wonder if he'd be proud of me."
"Of course he would be, Master!"
Shirou's cheeks turned slightly red.
*-*-*
Taiga silently rested on the wall next to the door. A set of clothes were in her hands. Clothing she had been playing with for the last few minutes.
Once she began to hear soft laughter on the other side of the door, she softly began to pad away from the door. The clothing was left in a neat bundle next to the bathroom entrance.
Inside, Berserker was throwing her arms animatedly into the air while in the midst of her own anecdote. Shirou was occasionally shaking his head, making his own gestures in response. Berserker pouted once when he gave her a thumbs down.
In another part of town, a panicking middle eastern man escaped from an abandoned mansion. Simultaneously, a dark girl living in a shrine frowned, having seen the man's desperate escape through the eyes of a dead familiar.
Her servant, matching the character of that girl, rose in response to the girl's silent command.
And a priest...
*-*-*
"You there!" A screechy, whistling voice called out. A pair of elderly men, one short and somewhat obese, and the other one tall and gaunt, called out to him. The taller of the two continued where he left off. "Where do you think you're going?"
Kirei Kotomine bemusedly watched them approach.
"Ah, I've come to speak to Shirou Emiya." The priest reached into one of his cassock's pockets, showing them paperwork from Shirou's middleschool. "His school listed Taiga Fujimura as his guardian."
The two men eyed him suspiciously in between glances of the paperwork. His name was typed in, and the stamp of the school's president was on the document. Not that they would find anything wrong with that form.
"Where's your ID?"
Kirei smiled at their visible frustration, and showed them his identification.
"The score was concerned, so they sent me to act as council, if it's needed." The priest began, sounding sympathetic. "To lose one's home right after the affair at the school. Terrible, truly one of God's many challenges."
The elderly men exchanged strange looks. Almost shameful ones, at that.
"Uh, right." The shorter of the two handed Kirei his paperwork back. "Taiga-chan's apartment is on the-"
Just then, a ringing went off in his ear. Kirei asked for the directions once again, but the elder's instructions were once again blocked by the ringing. The priest stood in eerie silence for a few moments, making the two men stare at him like he had grown another head.
"Excuse me." Kirei bowed to them, bringing his watch to his eyes. "I seem I'm late for a meeting. My apologies."
"Wait, where are you going?"
They followed Kirei out into the street, calling out to him, but the priest simply ignored them as he steadfastedly walked away. Several gazes turned towards them, but Kirei's poker face and straight back made the onus fall on the elders. A quick duck into an alley, far away from most prying eyes, and Kirei simply -moved-.
Neither of the elders even so much as caught the flapping tail of his cassock.
Kirei answered the communicator, tapping the device set behind his ear.
"Master Kirei, Ryoma actually found the Servant." While the communications agent sounded stunned at Saitou's once in a lifetime moment of competence, Kirei was left feeling disappointed. Disappointed in Emiya's prodigy - to think the apple hadn't even come close to the tree. Disappointed in himself - Gilgamesh would have laughed himself to death because of his sentimentality.
Angry at who had caused the disappointment.
"The Matou grow bold." Kirei spoke, stopping several blocks away.
"Sir?"
The priest's expression showed neither exhaustion nor emotion.
"Perhaps we need to remind them about their position, in regards to the Church."
"Of course, sir." The operator's words were fanged. "I'll get the word out, Master Kirei. We'll find those cockroaches, no matter where they went to hide."
Kirei hummed, walking in the direction of the church. His next question was casually asked. "Where is Misaya-kun? She wasn't waiting for me at the Fujimura apartment."
"I...don't know, Master Kirei."
"Hm, strange. Well, someone else will take her place in the front lines, then." He paused. The gasp on the other end of the line made him smile. The repercussions would be amusing to watch."Also, send her to wipe out the memories of two doddering old fools when she arrives."
The drudgery should reinforce his point.
"Y-yes."
Kirei tapped the device again, shutting it off. He would have to go arm himself. A battle with a Heroic Spirit wasn't something one decided to do on a whim. Fortunately, there were ways one could work around the limitations of the human body.
*-*-*
Night began to fall.
White chalk scrapped against concrete ground. Off to the side, torn pieces of carpet lay in rough strips.
It would soon be his hour. The time when magecraft would work best for him. At least, it would be if his friend's information was correct.
Lines curved, forming a perfect circle. The words of power, and symbols that represented the greatest mysteries of mankind were to follow. Powdery dust clung onto pants legs, sleeves, and several rags from previous failures.
Supplements couldn't be used this time. This circle was much smaller. There wasn't space to use the right size. Still, supplements shouldn't be needed if the preparation was done right.
A smiling woman, more of a young girl, stepped into the circle. The contents briefly burned green.
If he - no, if they succeeded, it was back to the front lines. The woman observing the ritual also knew this, keeping her council to herself. A boy was shown reflected in her eyes, placing his hands on two smaller circles within the circle.
The clock struck eight P.M.
"Trace on!"
The young girl opened her arms wide, letting her senses expand. Lights flickered, the room going pitch black before lighting back up. Countless lights on the floor and throughout the home, matching the one on the girl's stunted horn, glowed green in the dark.
This invisible tug of war continued for several moments.
Everything went dark.
Noisy complaints from their next door neighbors ensued.
"Master," Berserker spoke up, her glowing horn remaining in the dark. The light bobbed in place as she shifted from side to side. Several rips in her dress began to mend themselves. "This is sort of embarrassing."
"You feel better, though?"
"Mmhmm~"
On the other side of the room, Taiga was holding onto coffee maker. The device was emitting a soft glow of its own, bringing her face up in contrast.
"Well, we can be the glow in the house home now." She brought herself closer, illuminating Shirou.
Shirou, feeling like he had just fought a bull, simply stayed on the ground. In the dim light of the sapient appliance, his eyes shined with victory.
"We did it, Shinji."
Taiga's eyes were hooded. "So, you're going, right?" She wondered, quiet in tone.
"Yeah." Shirou matched her mood, sitting up as he picked up the book. He rose to his feet after stuffing it into one of the pockets of his new jacket. "There's one lead we still have."
"Sajyou. They were at the school with you and Matou, right?" Berserker mused, looking out across the city. "My other self went with them. I can probably find them from those memories, Master."
"How?"
"Do it like a phone, of course." She fluttered her eyes at him. "Can I eat the batteries in some phone poles, please?"
Shirou laughed, walking towards the door with Berserker.
Taiga moved to his side before he could open the door.
"Hey." The older woman told him, with a hand on his shoulder. "Be careful."
She squeezed.
Shirou glanced up at her. "Don't take up my futon when you fall asleep. We'll be bushed when we get back."
Taiga smiled, and stepped aside.
"I'll watch out for him." Berserker promised, the glow in her horn dying out. She stuck out the smallest finger on her left hand towards Taiga. "Pinkie promise!"
"My, that's a pretty serious promise, Fran." Taiga breathed out, taking her pale digit with hers.
"...Fran?" Shirou asked, turning towars the two of them curiously.
"I like it better than 'Berserker'." Taiga puffed out her cheeks. "It's way more cute. It fits a girl like Fran here."
Berserker sounded out the word silently, and finding it appealing, grinned at Taiga.
"Shirou's right!" She lightly tapped the older woman on the shoulder, drawing a confused frown from Taiga. "You really are a girl!"
Taiga froze.
Two people ran- no, walked into the dark that night. Fear held no sway over the duo because nothing that goes bump in the night was more dangerous than the tiger they left behind. Unseen behind them, a third figure stalked them from afar.
A cheap plastic yoyo, concealing material of immense value within, was casually spun about the girl's figure as she followed after her targets.
A/N: It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry, but I had a lot of personal issues going on. Going to try and come back to writing now. I truly appreciate the time you took reading this chapter.