Chapter 53

Love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own.- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

"See ya!" Rin called after them. "Bring me back something!"

"Use protection!" Harry added.

Shirou felt his cheeks flush slightly and he gave them a rude hand gesture as he and Saber made their way away from the house. As he passed an odd crack in the street he shivered slightly.

"So," Saber asked. "What are we going to do exactly, Shirou?"

"We'll go to New City," he said. "There's a bus from the intersection, so let's take that."

Saber made no objection as they made their way down the quiet street. Even though it was nine o'clock on a weekday, the town was only now starting to come alive. The closing of the high school meant that the rush of students hadn't come and many of them were likely enjoying the morning at home. He and Saber had the street to themselves.

"It's funny," he commented idly. "I'm starting to feel no resistance to the idea of skipping school. I've spent so much time at home recently."

"Of course," Saber replied. "You are a Master, so going out during the day is most unusual." Her tone was slightly sharper than usual, her tactical disapproval of the day's plan was obvious.

Shirou summoned up his patience and tried to come up with some sort of a plan for the day as the reached the corner and boarded the next bus that came.

Just like with the street to the station, the bus was largely empty, the only other occupants being an elderly woman and a child. An hour ago, it would have been full of commuters to the city for work and they would've had a much more difficult time getting seats.

Shirou suggested they sit in the back and Saber joined him with no objections. The bus made its way from the stop to the city and Saber passed the time watching the scenery while Shirou watched her.

He was struck, once again, by the presence of Saber. The bus was an ordinary sight to him, but the girl sitting next to him was something truly amazing. Her blonde hair and jade green eyes would mark her to others as a foreigner, but even if she hadn't had those features, Saber had a regal air about her wherever she went.

She carried herself like royalty who had donned the clothes of the common man to wander among their masses to watch how they lived their lives. She was beautiful, confident, and walked with more purpose than anyone else around her.

Shirou glanced away as his mind started twisting with the reality of the situation. He was going out on a date with Saber. He started to get nervous, his will beginning to crumble at the mere idea of what he was doing.

He took a deep breath to regain his composure and prayed that Saber didn't notice. Against his better judgement, he glanced at her again.

His heart nearly stopped as he noticed something different. Saber looked the same and the scene was unchanged, but the air around Saber seemed to have shifted slightly.

This was the first time he'd really been able to see Saber in comparison to the world around them. Her golden hair and green eyes seemed to shine with the sunlight streaming in from the windows.

He found himself remembering the first time they'd met, how her hair and eyes had shone in the moonlight streaming in from the shed. He'd felt something then, a fascination that had shaped his perceptions of the Servant for the entire war. No matter what she said, she'd always be a woman before a swordsman to him.

Even more striking than the way her appearance compared to the world around her, Saber's bearing had shifted subtly. It was so slightly he doubted even she would notice it. She looked curious. In that moment, she was more than someone who looked like royalty sneaking out to see the town. She was royalty sneaking out to see the town.

That was when Shirou realized what it was like to go out on a date with a girl you like. He was terrified that he would mess something up and that their relationship would fall apart, that he'd lose that special connection between them.

He grabbed hold of his will before he psyched himself out. All he could do was his best and it was too late to back out now.

The bus passed over the bridge and Shirou took a breath to dispel his nerves. He wanted Saber to enjoy herself. Even if that was all that happened today, he could live with that.


As a direct contrast to the bus, the area outside the bus station was crowded. Most of the shops would open at ten, but the bookstores and cafes in the area were already open. Rider's destruction of the school was backfiring here. The crowd was about as bad as it was on a weekend.

Saber and Shirou disembarked and Saber looked around unhappily. She was getting a fair amount of passing attention from the crowd and she clearly wasn't feeling too happy about that. Which was probably something Shirou should have taken into account when he decided to ask Saber out. Granted it wouldn't matter what time of the day they'd left or gone out. They would've gotten attention no matter what.

The easiest solution was to have Saber have so much fun that she stopped noticing the attention of the crowd.

"Alright," Shirou said and turned toward Saber. "Is there any place you want to go? We've come all the way into the city, so we should be able to do whatever we want today."

"I don't know," Saber answered. "I have no place that interests me, and I have no knowledge on which to base such a decision."

"Really?" Shirou asked. "Well, that's too bad. Then I guess it really is up to luck. The future looks pretty bad if you don't have anywhere you want to go and I don't have any idea where to go."

Saber's expression became nervous. "I don't want to ask this," she said. "But do you not have a plan, Shirou?"

"I have an idea," he answered. "But nothing with details." He stuck his hands in his pockets to give them something to do. "Let's check out some stores."

Saber sighed. "Honestly," she said. "Please don't take offense, but how can you not have a plan for this? You were so set on it to begin with."

That wasn't a good sign. If Saber was complaining now, then the atmosphere and attention was getting to her far more than it looked to Shirou.

"I've always wanted to object to your lack of planning, Shirou," Saber continued. "You are very aware of those around you, but you treat yourself too carelessly. As a result, you have to pay for this discrepancy." Saber stopped for a moment. "Are you listening to me, Shirou?"

Something odd was in his pocket and the sensation was distracting. "I am," he answered, honestly. "Basically, you're not happy about being here right now, right? I guess that's pretty natural you wouldn't like it, since it's pretty obvious it's going to be boring going anywhere with me."

Saber's annoyance promptly shattered at that. "I…" she said. "That is… I am saying that now is not the time to be doing such things. You were so certain earlier, and to see that you didn't have a plan is disheartening."

Shirou sighed. "I know," he admitted. "But I'm still set to do this, as long as you are okay with it. If you say you don't want this to be a date, then I'll think of something else. If you have a complaint, I'd like to hear it now so that I won't have to worry about making you unhappy."

Saber looked slightly embarrassed. "N-no," she said. "I don't think you need to go that far. I… um…" She fell silent.

The thing in Shirou's pocket had finally driven him crazy enough for him to pull it out. It was a silver plastic card with a pair of paper clips on it with notes. The front note read: Use this. It's on me. Have fun today. Shirou flipped it over and read the back note, which said: Chivalry, thy name is Knight.

"What is it, Shirou?" Saber asked.

"A cryptic note," Shirou answered and tried to puzzle out the meaning. The card itself was a credit card, but with no marking to indicate a company. All it had was a magnetic strip and a number.

The first note's meaning was clear. Someone wanted to cover the potential costs of the date. The second note, written in different handwriting from the first, was the odd one. What did chivalry have to do with this? Opening doors for Saber wasn't likely to find make her want to stay. She probably wouldn't even think anything of it.

He put the notes in his pocket and made a mental note about the credit card. He wasn't exactly a fan of receiving charity, but he was also fairly sure who the card belonged to.

He held out a hand for Saber, palm up, for her to take. There was a moment of silence before Saber spoke.

"T-there's no need to hold my hand, Shirou," she said.

"I don't want to waste time," he told her. "So we'll probably be running for a while. I don't want us to get separated."

"Yes, but-" she said and stopped. Her cheeks flushed slightly and she gave him her hand. Shirou smiled and the made their way through the crowd.


The next two hours passed by in a blur. Shirou had decided that the best way to find something fun for Saber was to take her to as many different places and do as many different activities as possible.

He took her to a boutique that he didn't usually go to, and afterward he took her bowling, explaining the rules as they played. He avoided the movie theater but took her to a park where they fed some birds.

Several things became clear in those two hours. Saber's base mood and outlook weren't likely to change easily. She stayed largely the same no matter where she was taken and Shirou was starting to get worried that she was upset with him.

Saber also got extremely into contests. If she was put into a competitive setting, she became single-mindedly determined to win. If she lost, she wanted to try again until she won. Not only that, but she drew far more attention than she wanted and would grow uncomfortable.

The final thing he'd realized, was that he really didn't have a clue what he was doing. To be fair, it wasn't like he went out on dates himself, or went out much.

At about noon, Saber reminded him that it was time for lunch and he took her to the only piece of advice Rin had given him.

"What is this place?" Shirou complained as they were brought to a table. The restaurant was very… pretty. The tables had crisp, white tablecloths, small glass vases with flowers in them, and, overall, the place looked very expensive.

Shirou reflexively pulled out a chair for Saber as he ogled the establishment and then took a seat himself.

Saber had an odd expression on her face as they were handed menus. Shirou had a moment of panic until he saw the meals were listed in Japanese as well as English. Granted, that didn't mean he had a clue what kind of food was listed on the menu, and the prices were ridiculously high as well.

"It's like I'm on another planet," he groaned as he examined the menu.

"Shirou," Saber asked. "Did we not come here to eat lunch?" Saber's voice was, not so much weak, as it was quiet.

"Yeah," he said. "But it's too different from what I'm used to." He glanced up and saw Saber sitting across from him, looking like a rabbit that was about to bolt for cover.

"If this place is not suitable for lunch, then let us return home. I prefer the food you make, Shirou."

"Do you want to stop?" he asked.

"No," Saber answered. "I don't want to stop yet, but… today has been exhausting so I'm more tired than usual."

"Oh," Shirou said, feeling crestfallen. "I was hoping to go back into town after lunch, but if you're tired we can rest here for a while."

Saber shook her head. "Tired is not what I meant to say. A better word would have been-" There was a small gurgling sound from her side of the table and Saber looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I was trying to say that it might be helpful if we ate lunch quickly."

"Good point. It's less adventurous, but we should order something safe and eat quickly."

After they finished eating, they settled back enjoyed tea and coffee, letting their meal digest a little.

Shirou was enjoying some coffee, but Saber had ordered English tea and appeared to be enjoying it immensely. Shirou didn't have any English tea at his house, and he used instant tea bags anyway. He'd have to take that into account the time he went shopping.

Other than that, there really wasn't anything different about Saber. She didn't look happy or bored, simply… natural.

She sat straight in her chair and sipped her tea with practiced ease and regality. Something about that tickled in the back of his mind. The second note came back to him. 'Chivalry thy name is Knight'.

Saber was a warrior, and she always presented herself as such. But it was difficult to see that in this context. When Saber sat there, drinking tea, she didn't give off the aura of a swordsman. It seemed unnatural to look at her and picture her fighting.

But she did fight and obsessed over it, despite the fact that she looked more calm and natural when she didn't fight.

"Have you thought of anywhere you might want to go?" he asked.

"Me?" she asked and shook her head. "No, I have not. I cannot tell, so I will leave it up to you."


Shirou paid for the meal with the credit card that had been given to him. If it was going to serve any sort of purpose, it might as well be to cover the cost of the expensive restaurant that Rin had suggested.

After that he proceeded much like he had that morning, going to every place he could think of. It wasn't quite as hard as it had been in the morning, though. There were even moments when he caught her leaving a shop with light steps.

Once a couple of hours had passed, Shirou played what he hoped was his trump card for the date.

"Shirou," she said. "This is…"

"The biggest stuffed animal shop in town," he answered. "I've never been in here before, so I thought we'd try it out together."

Stuffed animals of all shapes, sizes, and colors were set out on displays and lined the shelves. Lions, tigers, bears, dogs, cats, reptiles, fish, animals of all descriptions out for purchase.

As always, Saber's simple presence drew attention, but since many of the people nearby were girls, Shirou drew more. He was okay with that, since it would help keep Saber more comfortable.

"Well," he said ignoring everyone, men and women alike, except for Saber. "We should look around. Is there an animal you like?"

"I think that lions and panthers are lovely," Saber said after a moment. Her cheeks were slightly pink has she made the admission. "Is that strange?"

Shirou had to fight back a burst of laughter. He turned his head to avoid making eye contact with Saber.

"I feel like I should be angry at you," Saber said, her voice threateningly level. "Perhaps I am simply imagining it."

"Sorry," Shirou answered, still suppressing laughter. "Liking lions is so like you, I had to laugh."

A dangerous light flashed in Saber's eyes. "There's nothing wrong with lions!" she protested.

"I said I was sorry," he replied. "I was just an image that popped into my head. It fit so well."

They made their way around the store for an hour, seeing maybe half of what was available. They likely could have covered the entire store in that time, but Saber kept pausing in frozen admiration at the animals on display.

They made their way down more of the store before Saber spoke to him.

"Shirou," she said. "Are you tired? You've been sighing."

"Yeah," Shirou admitted. "I'm not used to places like this, so I'm a little tired." He glanced at her. "How about you, Saber? This is your first time in a place like this."

"I have been fine," Saber replied. "Though I've noticed that you look uncomfortable. If it were just for here, that would be understandable, but the last few stores we have visited have gotten the same reaction from you.

"I don't want you to be uncomfortable, Shirou. Have you been choosing places that you do not wish to visit?"

Most of Shirou's discomfort vanished. The fact that Saber was nervous about asking that question, which her tone implied, meant that she was, at least on some level, enjoying herself. But her desire to protect him would get in the way of that now that she'd noticed.

"Yeah," he answered. "If I'm being honest, I have been choosing places I don't like."

"But, why?" Saber asked.

"Because we've been nothing but fighting for about two weeks now," Shirou answered. "And I wanted you to enjoy the city while the fighting had stopped. And it's the guy's job to take a girl he likes out to places she might find fun."

Saber froze for a moment, seemingly rocked by something unexpected. Then her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I am a Servant, Shirou. Even when I am unarmed. You don't need to treat me like a woman simply because we are out."

"But you are a woman," Shirou told her. "And it's not like I've been treating you any differently than usual."

Saber didn't answer. She glanced at her hands and, strangely, flexed her left thumb.

"I think I am done with this store, Shirou," she said and made her way to the exit. Shirou stared at her for a moment, before setting to a quick task and hurrying after her.


Author's note: -sigh- Those two really are just a pair of lovestruck dorks, aren't they? Pretty straightforward chapter this week. But things are about to get a little more… interesting, so some down time is definitely good.

Coronadomontes: Hey, it's been a while. :) Thanks.

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