Rider VI

I must kill him. I must kill him. I must kill him.

The words echoed in my mind.

Was there no way out? Would the summons and inbuilt systems of the Holy Grail, which seemed like an afterthought in my mortal life, now serve to trap me in my own personal hell?

No. I would not accept that. I will find a way out or make one. The right moment will present itself.

I grit my teeth as I followed Shinji through the streets of Miyama Town in my spirit form.

The fool wanted to arrange an alliance with the Emiya Shirou of this world, the Shirou Emiya that used to be me.

I scoffed.

His proposal would be rebuffed. In all the worlds of the multiverse, the notion of this vile snake allying with the empty shell of a man that is Emiya Shirou was an impossibility.

"Hahaha," he laughed to himself, "you'll see Rider. We'll get Emiya on our side! He's too naive, too much of a stranger to the world of magi! He'll be begging to follow someone who is his superior in every way!"

I responded with silence.

"What's the matter, Rider?" he said. He turned his head and sneered. "Cat got your tongue? Oh, wait! I get it now. You just like to watch things like a voyeur, don't ya?"

I wanted to snap every bone in his body and leave him to the carrion birds. I would start with the legs, smashing his ankles and shredding his achilles tendon. Oh to hear his pleas they pecked away at his dying flesh. But I suppressed the craving.

Kill the heart. Steel the mind.

The nostalgic Japanese tiling of the Emiya household peeked over the smaller and more modern suburban houses of Miyama Town.

A hollow feeling filled my soul. Like remembering an old friend that you had driven away.

"Hah! Here we are! It's been a while since I've come here," Shinji said, "still just as boring of an eyesore as it ever was."

Cowardly lies. You never had a choice in coming back. Emiya Shirou would never have allowed you to step foot in his home again.

He ruffled his curly blue hair and gave me a look of self importance.

"Watch the natural charisma of your Master at work, Rider."

I stopped short of the boundary field that Kiritsugu set up so long ago. Shinji's tan colored uniform grew distant as he strutted with his chest puffed out towards the entrance of the Emiya household.

My eyes narrowed. Killing him right now would be so easy. So easy to trace even the simplest of weapons and stab him in the back.

I cursed as the command seals that stayed my hands.

Emiya Shirou emerged from his home awash in the warm hues of evening and pulled a green coat over his shirt to guard against the sudden gust of wind.

Shinji readied himself to give some grandiose introduction. He placed one hand on his hip and raised the other into the air like some fop.

But, he froze.

Rin walked out and joined Shirou, her voice echoed as she complained about how no one in Miyama Town locked their doors.

Shinji stumbled back towards me before the two could spot him, his face scrunched in anger and disgust.

"That fucking bitch! THAT FUCKING BITCH! I'll show them! I DON'T NEED EITHER ONE OF THEM! I'M A GREAT MAGUS!"

He balled his fists in frustration as he threw a tantrum.

"I know what to do... I'll just show them how great of a magus I am. Then they'll beg to join me."

He cackled.

"And then I'll say no!"

He laughed at a joke that only his warped mind could understand.

"But what should I do?" he said. His eyes darted back and forth. He seemed to consider his options, tapping his chin as he walked the empty evening streets. "Caster... we'll go after Caster!"

"We do not presently know the location of Caster," I muttered.

He glared at me.

"Don't talk to me like I'm some idiot! I'd already considered that. Any Caster worth his weight would naturally set up their territory at a location of high prana. That means that the only place they'd go is the only place of natural ley line convergence."

His wicked grin grew.

"Our road to victory begins at the Ryuudou Temple."

He looked so self-satisfied, so smug.

I was unimpressed. All I wanted to do was carve out his eyes and set him aflame like I had in another life. This time I would watch as the inferno consumed him. I would watch as his skin boiled and popped as he begged for death.

My moment would come soon.

I only needed to wait.