Chapter 6: Wakame

Up until now nothing unusual happened. We all woke up and Tohsaka helped me out making breakfast. As always, the gluttons were very active and Archer randomly appeared to report that he had not seen any suspicious things last night. Afterwards, we just did some ordinary housework and also looked after Sakura. It was quite a normal day until now. The sun is saying goodbye to us and sending us her last gifts as the bell rings. I am sitting in front of Straw Hat who insisted on a starring contest. Due to the bell however, I lost. That is quite unfortunate, but I have to live with this. I stand up and quickly run to the door. Hopefully it is not a tax collect- wait, no what am I thinking! I do not even pay taxes. Must be Shinji who mentioned yesterday that he will return. Quite unusual, I thought he would just wait until Sakura returns on her own. As I open the door, I see that I was right. Today, Shinji is standing there rather relaxed and for his standards, happy.

"Emiya, glad to see you today. I said that I will return today and here I am. So, where is Sakura?"

I partly also hoped Shinji would not return, because Sakura has still not woken up, although she is recovering very well. How do I explain this to him now?

"You see, Shinji… Sakura is still not feeling very well, so she can't go home yet. I'm deeply sorry, you must be worried"

I bow down as a sign of remorse and in fact, I really feel remorseful. I can hear Shinji sighing.

"It's okay, Emiya. Get up already. Just keep her as long as you intend to, in fact keep her as long as you can live"

Shinji smiles and leaves the house again. What the hell was that? He voluntarily agrees that Sakura can stay here? Did he now lose all of his sanity or what is wrong here. Despite that, I close the door and go back.

"Who was it, Shirou? You just lost and I won, so you must have to agree that cereal is a soup"

"It was Shinji, the elder brother of Sakura. He already came yesterday night to pick up Sakura, but I told him that he shall return today. As you know, Sakura is still not ready"

"I see. So, when is it my turn to stand guard again?"

"Between seven AM and nine AM. Yours is tomorrow"

We made a list for Archer, Saber and Straw Hat for observing the area. Currently, it is Archer's turn.

"Ah man, why do I have to stand up in the morning-"

So, you do not oversleep

"-that is unfair. Oh, where is knight-girl actually? I didn't see her around for some time now"

"Saber is doing some errands, she said that it is too dangerous for me to go buying some stuff for food, so she…"

"Food? So, she is buying something to eat right now? Why didn't you tell me this, I would have gone, too"

His eyes reveal that his actual intentions are to get as much food as possible. I am happy that I forgot to tell him this.

"This also means… here are only three people now. Red Devil and us"

"You forgot Sakura"

"Well, she doesn't count. She is not conscious"

Ouch, that must hurt for Sakura.

"It's so stuffy in here, let's go outside"

I agree, the house is currently too stuffed, but this is caused by all the new people who live here now. Good that Tohsaka is not here. She said that she wanted to set up her workshop now, so we should not disturb her and now here we are. Since then, we played various games to overcome the boredom.

"Hey, I've got an idea. How about we play baseball outside while the others are busy?"

"You have baseball equipment?", Straw Hat asks. His eyes are glowing of anticipation.

"No, not really, but I have a pipe outside and here is certainly a ball around"

Straw Hat stands up and points with his right arm at the door.

"Alright, you will get this pipe and I will search for a ball. Let's play baseball!"

Then he left off searching for a ball. I also get up and go to the door to go outside. This is also the perfect possibility to train my magic, since I will reinforce the pipe. The outside is not too chilling today, even though it is late winter. I step outside and walk through the little garden. A leaf flies by what reminds me of Sakura. Soon, she will recover and then I can let her go home. It is very kind from Tohsaka to care for her. In fact, she treats her very often. She also does not speak while doing this and really concentrates on her job. Usually, Tohsaka would not do this which is strange...

I bow down to pick up the leaf and look at it. Spring is arriving quite early this year… Hm, the wind is also making weird sounds. It sounds like chains or something. Hmmm, on a closer look this leaf is also from a Sakura tree, although it is a different type, darker than the usual one. The wind is really getting louder and louder, hope there will be no storm tonight. I think I will gift this leaf to her when she wakes up, hence I stuff it into my jacket. She will certainly be happy about this…

Suddenly, I hear metal slide across the ground and then I feel unbearable pain.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, THE HECK IS THAAAAAAA-"

Once again, I feel pain flicking through my body. I look down at my left arm as the pain originates from there. There is a chain entering one side of my arm and exiting on the other side and I can tell from how the arm looks like, that it is broken. The other pain emanates from my neck, but luckily my neck did not get pierced. Bad news on the other hand is that someone wrapped a chain around my neck and I cannot get oxygen and I cannot cry out for help, since it is so tight. I try with my right arm to find the end of the chain and remove it while I simultaneously try to get rid of the chain in my arm by pulling my arm towards me, so the chain gets thrown out. Despite of the effort, it is all useless, because there are so many layers around my neck that I cannot find the end of the chain and the chain piercing my arm has a barb. I am dead, I will die here. Whoever this Servant is, they do not play around and get to business very quickly. Could it be the mysterious person? No, they would not need a chain for killing me, so this must be another Servant! But which one?

I have no time to think about it as I feel someone pulling me back in direction of the chains and my efforts to withstand the power came to no fruition. So, I fell on my back and get dragged over the ground towards the Servant. I cannot die here, not yet! The Grail must be still destroyed, I have to fight. Also, Saber should be here in some minutes, but then it may be too late. That means I just have to delay my death as long as I can.

Finally, I do not just see the sky as I get dragged along the ground, but now I can see the Servant. Well, I can see the Servant upside down as the Servant pulled my arm so hard that my body got lifted slightly and I almost broke my neck there, but still I am stunned. It is a woman almost as tall as me with long purple hair that nearly touches the ground. I cannot see her eyes because of a blindfold covering them, but she wears a sleeveless dress and boots reaching up the thighs while gloves cover her outer hand and reach up until her upper arm. Also, a purple collar is decorating her neck. The rest of her clothes are all colored black with purple accents, fitting to her hair. Although she is about to kill me, I cannot deny that looking at her increased my heart rate. Decently.

But this is no time to think about this! I am about to get strangulated if she continues. Perhaps I should use my command spell to call Saber; I cannot delay this any further. Before I can do this, I feel the pressure decreasing on me and I fall on my back again.

"Not yet, let him live, Rider. I've still got some things to discuss with him"

I know this voice… Yes, I heard it just right before!

"Sh-shinji"

"Ah, you can still speak, Emiya? Seems like you're too weak for this as expected. I didn't predict you to be a Master"

I can barely speak, but this is too important, so I have to urge my body.

"Neither did I think you are a Master"

Apparently, Shinji seems to be pissed off by this and kicks me in my face. To be honest, Rider caused more pain than he does right now.

"Of course, I am the Master of the Matou, what did you expect?! So, your Servant isn't around here, right? How useless. Rider could finish you off just in the moment as I command her. It would be a simple move and your life would end"

I try to stand up and turn around to look Shinji into his face. He looks very condescending and seems like he is experiencing the biggest joy in his life. Shinji definitely feels superior right now. Well, no one is here right now, so he IS in a superior position.

"There is nowhere to run, Emiya. However, I still got a proposal for you. We both are not the best magi. I am still learning and you are certainly a worse magus. So, why don't we fight together? As a reward, I will spare your life"

Is he serious right now? Did he really say that?

"Just over my corpse. I will never work together with someone like you, Shinji"

Shinji grits his teeth and he raises his right arm. Nothing happens.

"Come on, Rider! Obey me, you useless trash! Or should I use a command spell?"

Rider apparently seems to understand and pulls at one of her chains and I almost suffocate at it. I fall to my knees and I desperately try to loosen the chain with my still intact arm.

"If you don't consent, I have another deal. You immediately give me Sakura and I'll only rip off one of your arms. You can even decide which one and remember: This will end your career in the archery dojo. This is all your fault, you should have agreed to my kind invitation"

Now Shinji makes me furious. He is threatening me just for Sakura? He should know very well himself that she needs to recover. Also, why should I care so much for my career in the archery dojo? This here is much more important; I am not concentrated on careers. Besides…

"You just want her back, so you can hurt her, am I right?", I stutter.

I think this angered Shinji too much, because he now looks furious, too. He raises his arm once more and I am prepared to call Saber if I must. I will not die here! However… nothing happens again. Shinji turns away from me and looks at Rider angrily.

"Hey, Rider why are you not obeying my orders?! You're supposed to be my Servant, my slave, so DO SOMETHING!"

Even now, Rider does not do anything, she looks very troubled and looks on the ground. Is she overthinking her orders right now?

"Very well, I will use a Command Spell, if you don't obey"

He takes out a strange book out of his jacket and holds it up like he is about to pray.

"Kill him. Kill him now"

Rider seems to be twitching and the book is glowing. What is Shinji doing right now?

Suddenly, I feel someone touching my shoulder, so I look up and see…

"Straw Hat?"

He gazes over to Shinji and his Servant and he is dead serious right now. Straw Hat grabs both chains and pulls at them with a force that it looks like he wants to destroy them. The other end of the chain which was in Rider's hands flew over to us and the force on my arm and neck looses.

"Thank you, Straw Hat! I almost died and you saved… me… Straw Hat?"

He still gazes over to them and he starts approaching Rider. Simultaneously, Rider and Shinji noticed what happened and they look over to the other side again. Shinji's eyes widen at seeing Straw Hat and he steps back.

"W-who are you!? I thought your Servant was that girl back then, no one told me you had another Servant! R-Rider, I command you now to kill his Servant"

Shinji is obviously in sheer panic and tries to protect himself with Rider. The situation is escalating. In Rider's hand, a new chain appears and she thrusts it with immense speed. It aims for Straw Hat's head who just avoids it! He was so fast that I could not even see him moving, he just was at another position. Another attempt, another fail. Straw Hat meanwhile does not change his mood nor his speed. He slowly but steadily closes the distance between them.

"C-come on Rider! Don't be so useless and finally hit him!"

Another shot, another fail. To my surprise, he does not go to Rider, no- he goes straight for Shinji. Another shot, another fail. He now stands directly before Shinji who is frozen in place. Straw Hat's glance would terrify anyone, even me. This is not the glance of a human nor a beast nor a monster, it is the sheer personification of anger. He clenches his fists like he is about to crush his own hands.

"D-don't!"

Those were Shinji's famous last words before Straw Hat punches him in his face so hard that I fear Shinji's whole skull is now dust. He is blown away in slow motion, because I cannot believe what just happened, to the wall of my garden where he collapses and apparently is traumatized. No one, literally no one expected this.

Straw Hat seems to cool down again somewhat, but he still is mad by human measures. Despite this crazy action that made me speechless, he forgot about Rider who is rushing towards him, but suddenly, Saber jumps over the wall into the chaos and blocks the chains of Rider before they can pierce Straw Hat. He on the other hand, does not react or move. He does not even look like he is surprised. Straw Hat walks over to Saber and touches her right shoulder like he did to me.

"Straw Hat"

Saber seems very irritated, but Straw Hat simply nods and Saber steps back. Rider jumps up and her chain speeds up as she swings it around. I cannot see where the current position of the chain is, but it seems like the endless chain is now… everywhere. Straw Hat meanwhile remains calm and does not move his body at all. In fact, he does not even look at the chains, but on the ground. What is he doing there? If he does not pay attention, he will be pierced in mere moments.

Then, Rider throws herself at Straw Hat from around two meters above him with a speed that could be compared to a racing car. However, a chain is also rushing towards Straw Hat from behind, so it is a surprise attack!

"Look out, Straw Hat!", Saber yells to him.

He finally looks up, grabs the chain, Rider gets an Uppercut from him and he throws the chain in the direction of where Rider lands.

She does not move anymore and remains on the ground. I fear that Shinji might use another command spell, but as I look back at him, I see that he has already been knocked out. Straw Hat walks over to Rider and stops before her.

"There is no reason to fight anymore. I think your master over there is already beaten, so you don't have to fight anymore. You seemed to not like obeying this Master's orders, so he must treat you badly. So why, why are you fighting? There is no reason to fight for such an idiot, you should choose yourself"

Rider manages to sit up somehow and face Straw Hat.

"I will… not go back without Sakura"

Did she just speak? Did she just say she wants Sakura? But why?

Straw Hat on the other hand smiles now.

"I see. Unfortunately, she is currently not able to return home. I am sorry, but we cannot let her return home yet. I will not harm you any further, but please go back with your Master"

Rider takes her chain again and stands up.

"I will… not return without Sakura"

As Rider lifts her left hand behind her head, I feel a chill run down my spine. Actually, it is so cold it might be frozen in place already. Even time might be frozen in that instance.

"Saber, don't look at her now, look away!", Straw Hat suddenly shouts to Saber, but it is already too late. Rider's blindfold falls down and Saber is frozen as she looks Rider into her eyes.

"I-I cannot move"

Rider's hair swings around like her chains and her eyes are… beautiful, but also terrifying. It feels like she is starring into my soul.

"Saber!"

I try to run to her, but I cannot move, too. I wanted to see why I cannot move but then I noticed: My body is turning into stone! What is happening right now?

"Emiya-kun, what is going on here?"

Tohsaka? What is she doing here now?

"Tohsaka, don't look her into the eyes, she can petrify you! Stay back and get Archer or something"

But it is already too late as Tohsaka already cached a glimpse of her glowing eyes.

"Huh? So, she is a Servant? Why… why can't I move?"

She would not make a good Sherlock.

"Rin, can you get Archer here? He can snipe her from a distance, so he does not have to look Rider into her eyes"

"I understand. Good idea, Saber"

I already said this, but whatever. Rider is about to unleash her Chain fury, so we have to hurry up!

"Wait, red devil! I have a question for you"

We all are frozen right now, but not because we are petrified, but because Straw Hat… can still move? He seems unaffected by this. Even Rider is startled.

"Y-you can still move? You are not affected by my eyes?"

Rider is blushing and indicates embarrassment. It is as if a guy asks a shy girl for a date and she is unsure about it. What the hell.

"If we destroy this, she is free, right?"

Straw Hat points to the book next to Shinji who let it fall down as he was launched against the wall.

"Is that… a Book of the False Attendant? Well, if you destroy it, the Servant will no longer be under the command of this Master. However-"

As Straw Hat heard this he rushes forward to Rider.

"What?"

Ironically, Rider is unable to move as he takes her chain and pierces the book with it. The book lights up in purple flames and burns down. Straw Hat lets the chain fall down as Rider fell down too on her ground looking at Straw Hat astonished.

"You are free now! Go and do whatever you now like to do, but put on the blindfold again"

It seems like Rider needed some time to process what Straw Hat mentioned, but she finally takes her blindfold again and covers her eyes with them. We all can move again.

"Is everything okay, Straw Hat?"

We all run to Straw Hat and Rider. It is evening now.

In case you are wondering: The title "Wakame" is Shinji's nickname, because his hair looks like it