Taiasu slides around the corner, leaving Emiya, Ryuudou and the teacher with whom he the Echo had just resonated behind him, and conceals himself before collapsing against the nearest wall. His heart hammers against his rib-cage as he tries to catch his breath. Less the act of running away from a perilous situation, and more the situation itself, is what makes catching his breath and calming down necessary.
A situation perilous less to his health than his anonymity, but perilous nonetheless.
That was… way too much…
His ears pick up on the approach of a set of soft footsteps, and he turns his head in time to see Emiya poke around the corner. Taiasu can feel his entire form lock up as the boy looks up and down the hall.
Okay, don't look down please… I just want… to catch my breath…
He steps around the boy, hiding behind his back.
The boy sighs. "Weird… Something familiar about that kid…"
Taiasu frowns.
I'm not a kid…
Emiya shrugs, and makes his way back, and the small man remains glued to his shadow.
After school, Emiya leaves the classroom and Taiasu follows. Still on school grounds, they both make their way to a building with which he is well familiar; the archery range.
"Geez, what am I doing?" Emiya mutters to himself, sighing. "Shinji gets mad, and then he just doesn't know when to quit…"
Taiasu grins.
So he talks to himself too…
"Oh, Tohsaka's not here." Emiya lets another thought slip free.
"Oh, who's not here?"
An unexpected voice cuts into Emiya's apparent inner monologue, and Ryuudou, having gone unnoticed until now, is repeating himself.
"So… who's not here?" he asks again, arms crossed, eyes narrowed behind his glasses.
"Jeez, you scared me…" Emiya says, hand on his chest.
"If anyone around here was suspicious, it was you based on how you were looking at the dojo." Then he repeats his question a third time.
"Huh? Oh… Tohsaka. I heard she got into it with Shinji, so I was going to see what it was about."
Ryuudou raises an eyebrow. "Yeah, that's suspicious… You told me why, and I didn't even ask."
The boy huffs. "That's… How is what I do any of your concern?"
"True enough. But Tohsaka skipped school today, so I'm afraid your efforts here are in vain."
"Okay… how can you say she skipped just because she's not here?"
He stares at the ground, hands on his sides. "Well, she's never sick, so it's the only other possibility. You shouldn't let her deceive you."
Emiya shakes his head. "You're saying too much. She can't be that bad."
"So you're after her too? Sorry, please disregard my rude comment."
"I never said that! Don't put words in my mouth. I just thought it would be bad if Shinji got into trouble again."
"So, you were going to defend her from Shinji, then? It's your choice if you want to do things for no reward, I guess… Though I question your tastes, Emiya."
"I haven't even done anything, so what's there to reward? But what were you saying about my tastes?"
Ryuudou shrugs. "Just that pursuing her is in poor taste, is all."
"Okay, but why though. She's popular, and I haven't heard anything bad about her."
Ryuudou gazes at the ground. "Yes, and it's that which I find suspicious. No one can be that perfect."
Emiya's head tilts. "I… still don't understand."
Ryuudou folds his arms and goes on a rant. "Everything. The woman is a vixen and a monster. I just don't like her on an unconscious level. I won't say anything bad, but you should just be careful about her and trust my instincts on this."
Emiya eyes him. "Aren't you the one always saying we shouldn't talk about people behind their backs?"
"This doesn't count. If she were around, she could hear me, so it doesn't count."
The boy scratches his head awkwardly. "I still think you shouldn't…"
"Fine, if you say so. But I meant no insult. I am only saying to be on guard. There should be nothing wrong with that."
"Sure, except for that bit about her being a vixen and a monster."
Ryuudou shakes his head. "That was commendation. Good vixens and monsters are a thing, after all." He laughs for a few seconds, apparently having amused himself. "I'll be leaving. I have some work at the student council room. You have work, right? Do you have time to be idling around here like this?"
Not waiting for a response, he strolls away, and Emiya can only stare at his retreating form.
Taiasu's head is pressing into his shoulder.
That was a lot of weird conversation.
Taiasu follows Emiya as he boards a large vehicle, taking care to avoid bumping into anyone or anything. He considers the apparatus as they ride for a while.
This is… familiar. It reminds me of magitek, but it seems mundane.
The vehicle is large, appears to move under its own power, and serves as a shuttle, carrying groups of people from place to place. He remains near Emiya as he considers this new experience.
It also feels less… clean.
The vehicle stops after crossing a large bridge, and the two disembark.
"Guess I have some time to kill…" Emiya mutters to himself.
He wanders through town, with the small man in tow, of course, and they come to an extensive park.
Taiasu glances around.
This place looks… dead. Every blade of grass and every tree. Not a shred of green to in sight.
Emiya glances around as well. "Same as it ever was…"
Taiasu's feet shift restlessly as he glances toward the park.
This place… It feels similar to a time locked space…
"They should plant some grass or something… It's such a waste." Emiya continues muttering to himself.
The sound of a gong ringing five consecutive times cuts into the boy's thoughts, and his eyes widen a bit.
"Five already," he mutters.
Taiasu follows as he leaves the park. What comes is watching Emiya do hard labor involving lifting and hauling various construction materials. Large bags that form around his shoulder, blocks and bricks of assorted shapes and sizes, and bundles of some long, thin, metallic poles, the purpose of which the small man isn't savvy enough to grasp. Each being loaded into the open back of another four-wheeled vehicle.
Taiasu can offer not but a vacant stare. After a short time, his legs begin to twitch and he starts fidgeting with his hands. Finally, he heaves a weighty sigh.
Okay… forget this. He's obviously working. He's going nowhere, so I'll be back later.
He yields to his tendencies and allows his feet to carry him where they will. Those feet take him back to the dead park where he spots something interesting. At the very least, something that feels out of place.
Hm…?
A girl. The girl with the long black hair stands before the park in her long, red dress coat. In fact, she's dressed exactly the same as she was the first time he'd seen her.
Tohsaka… They said she skipped school. I guess it's true…?
Curious, but mostly bored, he lets the 'red-head' be, and pursue this more interesting course instead. Though it proves more interesting because she seems to speak to someone he can't see. That, or she's talking to herself. He moves closer for a bit of a listen.
"This is Shinto's park. Now that we've seen all the important locations, what are your thoughts?" she asks… someone?
That's not normal 'talking-to-yourself' behavior…
Her tone and her appearance are not erratic, but quite normal.
She's not nuts… or maybe she's practiced at being nuts?
"It's a considerable park. But is there some reason there's no one here?" A voice from nothing confirms her sanity, and Taiasu has to keep himself from blurting out loud.
His eyes dart around, attempting to discern the source of the voice, and find nothing.
Tohsaka offers only a solemn nod. "So it shows, huh? That's because of the history of this place." She stares out over the park for a few minutes, looking around before speaking to her invisible, but very real, friend. "About a decade ago. This huge fire burned for an entire day. It went out just as it started to rain, in some cruel twist of irony." Her gaze falls to the ground as she speaks, and her eyes close for a few seconds. "They rebuilt the town, but this place hasn't changed. From the ashes, they built it into this park."
She continues talking, her voice sounding sad. "This is where the last Holy Grail War ended."
Taiasu's ears twitch.
Holy… Grail War…? Wait. Didn't that woman… Caster? Didn't she say something about a Holy Grail?
Tohsaka's explanation to her invisible friend continues. "I don't know everything, but this place has been like this ever since that day."
"… I see. That explains all the grudges I feel here," the voice says. Her imaginary real friend maintains an even tone.
"You can sense those sorts of things?"
"Servants are spirits. We're similar to grudges and formed obsessions."
Taiasu's invisible head tilts to one side.
Wait… Servant, there's that word again.. Servant, Servant… what is that? Spirits? Like, ghosts? Even that Caster woman said it before they…
He can feel his face heating as he recalls the last few moments before that vision cut out.
The voice goes on.
"We're sensitive to the like for that reason. A few places in town felt similar, but this is far beyond them. It feels like a Reality Marble."
Taiasu almost opens his mouth to ask.
Reality Marble…?
The girl stares vacantly at the park, lost in her thoughts.
"Rin?"
"No, it's fine. I was just surprised. That you know the term 'Reality Marble' seemed unlikely for an Archer."
"Is it that strange?"
"Of course! It's taboo even among the taboos. It makes no sense an Archer would know about it."
The voice heaves a heavy sigh before continuing.
"Heroes have to be multifaceted. It's fine if you want to think that an Archer is bound only to bows, but if you hang onto such naïve misconceptions, then you'll be in trouble facing the other servants."
The girl sighs. "All right, I get it… It was a careless thing to say, so I'll be careful from now on. Is that okay?"
Taiasu's brow shifts upward.
She… doesn't enjoy yielding very much.
The disembodied voice continues. "You're quite skilled and powerful, but to be honest, that makes you underestimate others. It's something you must work on."
The small man can almost hear the smirk in the voice.
It seems Tohsaka can too, and she frowns. "That's… really rude."
"I think you took it the wrong way." The voice without a body continues to poke fun at her. "I only spoke like that because it seemed to fit your personality."
"That's even worse…!"
She winces, grabbing her right arm.
"—Rin?"
"Stop talking, Archer."
Archer…? Wait, that's his name?
"—Someone's watching us…"
FU—!
Taiasu stumbles backward.
NO WAY!
The girl holds out her hand, and he can feel something otherwise imperceivable passing over him. His eyes widen to saucers.
AH, AH! I wanted to introduce myself, but this is… NOT THE BEST WAY!
After a few moments, the girl sighs.
"… Can't find them… Archer? Can you sense them?"
"… I can't even feel the stare."
Taiasu heaves a relieved sigh as his panic alert level goes from 'Defconn brown-pants' to 'Stand down and go clean up'.
Tohsaka's eyes narrow. "Must be a Master then…"
Master…? So it wasn't me? Wait, what's a master? I mean, I know what a master is, but not in this context…
"Command Spells react to the like," Archer says. "Then as a Master, that means you can recognize your own when you see them, so you should be able to identify this one too, yes?"
Command… Spells…?
Taiasu's internal note-taking device has gained quite a few blank spaces over the past little while, and he goes over them in his head.
Reality Marble… Servants… Holy Grail War… Masters… Command Spells… That woman, Caster… She spoke of a few of these things as well…
An eager grin splits his face lengthwise.
Sounds like an adventure, alright…
"Generally, but skilled magus can conceal them by shutting off their Magic Circuit," Tohsaka says, answering the question the voice had asked. "That's what happened here, it seems…"
"Then they're baiting us…"
"Seems so," Tohsaka says, shrugging. "Well, I can shut mine off too… probably. I'll have to look around my house to find something first… But if I leave it open, they'll come to us, right? That'll save us the trouble of looking for them."
The voice sighs again, but says nothing.
"What? You think I'm being overconfident?"
"No, it's fine. You can string the small fry along for a bit."
The girl turns and begins walking away from the park. Taiasu steps aside to avoid her bumping into him. Then a chill runs down his spine, and his hairs stand on end.
Huh…?
"Rin."
She stops. "Yeah, I know."
He stares at her.
Huh? She knows what?
She resumes her stride, and Taiasu follows in her shadow now, unable to shake the feeling that someone is still watching his every move.
Tohsaka and the disembodied voice make their way through town, stopping at various locations and sites, and even a place to grab some food. Taiasu follows along, his stomach growling at that last instance.
Going to have to eat soon…
The girl stands up from her table and heads out, and Taiasu continues in their wake, smirking at something.
Maybe the old man meant 'hot-head'? She seems like she could have some hot-headed tendencies… At the very least, it's been infinitely more interesting than watching the boy move stuff around…
The girl makes her way into an immensely tall building, and Taiasu follows. She stands in front of two sets of doors recessed into a wall. She presses a single button between them, and with a chime, one set of doors opens, revealing a room with no exit. The girl steps through the door into the room, and Taiasu follows. She presses another button on a panel with at least forty different buttons. The button lights up as the door in front of them closes.
Then he feels the floor shift underneath him.
Ah… this must be a lift…
"Rin. They're still…"
She nods. "I know. Not here. Not yet."
Again, the hairs on the back of the small man's neck bristle.
Their ascent concludes and the doors to the lift open. Tohsaka steps out, with Taiasu behind her. She ascends a few more flights of stairs to reach her destination. After several flights, they come out on the roof, high above the city streets. She casts her gaze over the city skyline.
"Grand view, don't you think, Archer?"
Though unasked, Taiasu only nods his silent agreement. Then he pokes his head over the edge.
Uh…
And quickly takes a step back as his view spins.
Heights… I didn't know I was… afraid of heights…
He falls backward with a soft plop.
"I'll pray for the man you make yours. All you've done is drag me along all day…"
Tohsaka frowns. "What was that, Archer?"
"Just thinking out loud… But this is a nice place. We should have come here first and saved all that time we spent walking around."
She sighs. "What are you even saying? It's a pleasant view, but you need to walk around the town to know the layout. Otherwise, all you have is a vague idea."
"Untrue. Archer isn't just a fancy title, and you can't shoot properly if you don't have an acute sense of sight."
Her eyes widen slightly. "Really? So can you see my house, Archer?"
"It's not that good… I can't see as far as the neighboring town. The best I can see is the bridge, but I can count the number of tiles on it at least." His tone carries no trace of conceit.
"The tiles…!? That's… You really are Archer…"
"I'd like to think you're not actually making fun of me, Rin."
She shrugs. "Of course not. I just thought you don't feel like an Archer."
"I must ask you what you mean by that once we get home." The voice carries a note of irritation.
The girl steps away from the source of the voice and moves closer to one edge of the roof. Seeing her approach the edge makes Taiasu's stomach flip and flop, remembering his recently discovered loathing of high places. At least, high places from which he could plummet toward a sudden and unceremonious stop.
The adventuring lifestyle affords many advantages to those who choose to pursue it. One such advantage is having access to a varied array of beasts and machines that one can use to traverse vast distances in little time and even ascend to dizzying heights. High altitudes are not a new thing for him, but without access to one of these, there is the definite concern of a quick and painful end after having fallen just long enough a time to wish well every friend he has ever made.
The girl scrutinizes the ground below. "One has to be based here…" Her sweeping gaze stops as something catches her notice. "From below…?"
"Did you find something, Rin?"
"No.. Just someone I know. No one who has anything to do with this."
Someone she knows?
"Rin, don't you think it's time we…?"
She turns from the edge of the roof.
"Yeah, I think so too."
Hm? They're leaving? Well, I suppose this is as good—
Tohsaka scans the roof, her arms folded across her chest. "Well, they've been around since the park. If we can force them out, maybe we can eliminate an enemy early."
Huh? Someone since the park?
Taiasu can feel those eyes on him again, and his hair on his neck stands stiff.
Uh oh…
"How do you plan on doing that? Are we just going to blow up the roof?"
The girl scoffs. "Nothing so flashy. We have to maintain some anonymity."
"But you can't just force a Servant that's not yours to materialize, can you? Unless there's a spell you have that I don't know."
Taiasu shakes his head slowly.
No… It's not a servant… Whatever that even is.
"Well, I suppose we could just ask nicely." Tohsaka says. She narrows her eyes and directs her stare—
"Don't you think it's time you show yourself and greet us proper?"
—right at him.
Taiasu sighs.
Damn…
"Well?" Tohsaka says, staring at him. "We don't have all night."
I mean… I wanted to introduce myself… so maybe this is better…?
After taking in a deep breath, he lets it out over a couple seconds, steels himself, and drops his concealment. "I mean, it was clear you knew I was here, but I'd still like to know…?"
He begins asking the obvious question, but the appearance of an imposing figure, hiding the girl from view, puts an end to that.
A man, tall and tan with white hair, steel-colored eyes, a matching red jacket and waist cape covering his form-fitting black chest piece and pants. His face bears what can only be a well-practiced, condescending scowl.
The sudden appearance forces Taiasu back a few steps.
"I can't believe it. That… That worked…?" He can hear Tohsaka's voice, laden with surprise, from behind the new figure, who nods.
"Yes. Neither can I, but let us deal with this before they choose to flee, yes?"
"Yeah. You can take care of them, Archer," Tohsaka says, surprise having melted from her voice.
Saying nothing, one weapon appears in each of Archer's hands. One blade black, the other white. The black blade contains a yin-yang symbol at the hilt, the white of which extends to a point halfway into the blade, and the white blade contains the same symbol, only in this case it's the black that extends into the blade.
Antithetical mirrored sibling swords.
Archer is on him in a second, swinging his blades down and across.
Oh, shi—!
Taiasu rolls backward, and lands on his feet as the weapons cut across where just was.
"No, wait! This is just—!"
He stops trying to explain as Archer moves forward in a blur, swinging both swords down in an 'X' pattern.
He's faster than that other guy…!
The small man rolls to the side, and the blades strike the ground, sending sparks outward.
"Please, just wait a second! I was only—!"
Again, Archer's unabated assault cuts him off.
"If you have time to speak, might I suggest you use it to draw your weapons? You are insulting my pride."
Taiasu twists, ducks, and weaves between each attack. "But I don't want to fight!"
Each time Archer swings his weapons, they come closer and closer to hitting their mark.
His eyes narrow as he bares his teeth in a sneer. "Absurd. There is no Servant who does not desire battle. Your poor attempt at deception is an insult!"
Damn it…!
For the first time since arriving in this world, Taiasu's hands find their place at his weapons, and he draws them from their respective sheathes. For kodachi, the blades are quite long, bearing the signature style of a ninja's weapons. Thin and vorpal. Each blade could cut to, and through, bone in the hands of a well-trained assassin. Black, and beyond their deadly appearance, they are quite plain.
Designed in mind with function over form, they are quite unpronounced.
Each comes up and locks against one of Archer's, sending another small shower of sparks into the night. The position is disadvantageous. The last attack has forced him onto his back, and Archer is using gravity and his full weight, forcing his blades down.
"See? Your pathetic ruse has failed, so just die with dignity. I'll at least grant you a quick and painless death!"
The blades inch closer.
"What… ruse…?!" Taiasu says, struggling.
Damn… it…!
A cloud obscures the small man's form and Archer's weapons pass through, leaving wispy trails in their wake.
"What…!" On his feet in a second, Archer spins around and spots him before he finishes reappearing some distance away. "That's good. I was afraid this might not be a challenge." Archer says, smirking. He rushes across the roof, closing the distance in an instant.
"Damn it, will you just wait!" Taiasu's weapons are at his sides. "I said I don't want—!"
"The time for talk is over!" Archer yells, barreling down.
"Yeah, apparently it was never even a thing…!"
Their blades again come against each other, but now on his feet, Taiasu denies Archer the advantage of gravity. Still, being taller than two of him affords a significant advantage during this melee.
Maybe I could turn into a log…?
Taiasu slaps his head internally.
Yeah, that was never even a thing…
Archer's sneer turns into a frustrated scowl. "Are you ever going to take this seriously?!"
He brings his weapons down and through, breaking their blade-lock, and preparing to strike again.
"I AM taking this seriously…!" Taiasu says, plaintively. "You're just not listening to me!"
He lunges backward, away from Archer's next two swings, and then to the side to avoid one that comes after.
"Stand… still!"
"So you can gut me?!"
"YES!"
"Why would I do…?"
Taiasu lunges backward, avoiding another of Archer's lethal cross-slashes, but the time between when his feet disconnect from the solid surface, and when they should have reconnected is a touch disconcerting.
Archer's eyes are wide, and his mouth slacks.
Tohsaka's face is a near perfect mirror of Archer's.
Taiasu doesn't even need to look down, but he does anyway. Below him, below his feet, is the city street.
Far, far below.
His mouth goes slack as his eyes widen. His brain overheats as it searches for a way to prevent its own death. He can feel the color drain from his face. His grip on his weapons nearly fails.
"Oh… gods… damn… everything…"
Gravity is an instant from taking over what Archer has been trying to do for the past several minutes. Before that natural force can commandeer him, a dark cloud again obscures his form, and he reappears, clinging to Tohsaka's legs, shaking so hard she can feel it in the pendant around her neck.
"Hah… hah… I thought I was gonna die…!"
Tohsaka's stare shifts from the cloud to the form clutching her legs. Archer, who has also been trying to make something of this absurdity, finds his gaze now drawn toward her.
Tohsaka's mouth forms a line on her face as her eyes narrow.
"Archer…"
"Yeah…"
Some uncommunicated thought reaches the man and his blades vanish.
The small man continues to tremble. "Just… let me… explain… please… I can… explain… please…"
"Let's hear him out… I don't think this guy's a Servant… At least, not a proper one. If we don't like what he has to say, you can…"
Archer only nods.
A short time later, her strange new house-guest is stuffing his face with food as fast as he can shovel it in.
"This is amazing…!" Taiasu says between bites. "I thought I could cook well, but this is beyond anything!" He grins, his feet dangling from the floor as he sits in the chair, as tall as the table's surface.
Tohsaka sits on the opposite side, staring in wonder.
As he processes his current mouthful of food, he glances around the room.
Four oak dining chairs with beige seat cushions surround the rectangular, polished oak table at which he currently eats. The one he occupies sits at the narrow end of the table, and the girl occupies the one opposite him. The two seats in which they sit have cushioned backs, while the two to his left have their backs left open.
To his right is a comfortable looking couch, matching the chairs surrounding the table, and the chairs, couch and table all sit atop a deep red-colored rug. The rug rests on a cream-colored carpet that covers the entire living/dining area.
In the corner of the room behind him and to his right, Archer stands in front of a tall Grandfather Clock, silently scrutinizing his every word and gesture. Two windows flank Archer and the clock, each with sheer curtains drawn, and each flanked on both sides by red blackout curtains held in place by red cloth loops fastened to the frame.
Behind Taiasu rests a fine oak half-cabinet with three drawers. A fancy desk lamp rests atop the cabinet, flanked by two jade colored statues. Above the lamp hangs a painting of someone he doesn't recognize.
After all, why would he?
Behind him, to his left, next to the cabinet is another window with a drawn sheer curtain and two more blackout curtains held in place on either side of it by red cloth loops fastened to the window's frame. In front of the window sit two chairs, both matching the ones to his immediate right. The walls of the living space are painted to match well with the carpet and tie the entire room together quite nicely.
Everything is well kept and orderly, and shows the pride the owner takes in keeping things tidy.
Taiasu spends perhaps too much time considering the surroundings, as he turns his head back to his host and finds her staring heatedly at him.
He had tried explaining about himself on the roof, but his stomach kept interrupting, being unsated for the past two days. He'd refused, or rather, been unable to keep his focus long enough to explain more than a few sentences before his words devolved into a series of appetizers, meals, and desserts, many of which she'd never heard before. Begrudgingly, Tohsaka had prepared the quickest, easiest meal she could think of after they had returned to her residence.
Before, what she could only describe as a very faithful ninja cosplay, replete with actual kodachi, had graced his form. After she had presented the meal, that changed. He had taken from his pack an amber-colored stone with three parallel lines etched into its surface. When he held the stone in his hand, a shining light enveloped his form while the air shook around him. Once the light had subsided, he was wearing an entirely different set of attire. A complete set of leather gloves, boots, pants, and jacket, all varying shades of red, and a red mantle and cape which stopped about his knees. His weapons had vanished, and as far as she could tell, he was no longer armed.
"Okay, so let's start from the beginning," the girl says, staring at this apparent child.
He sits there, continuing to shovel her humble meal into his face like it's the first time he's tasted proper food.
"Ophkay…." Taiasu says, and Tohsaka palms her face.
"Swallow, please. Then talk."
His eyes widen for a second, and he forces the mouthful of food down, pounding his chest. "Right, sorry. It's just good…" he says, face split by a broad grin.
"It's noodles and broth with some egg… It's not even proper to call it ramen…" she says, shaking her head.
"Well, it's been days since I ate proper…" he says, his gaze dropping.
Tohsaka's eyes grow slightly. "Days…?"
"Yeah… I mean, I ate before I left. That was two days ago."
"Alright, well that aside… let's start at the beginning. You say you're not a Servant?" she asks, and Taiasu shakes his head.
"Nope. That other girl before said that too, but I met her on the ground, so it wasn't as scary…" he says. He shudders, recalling his near plummet of not even an hour ago.
Her head tilts slightly.
"Other… girl…?" she says, forgetting the very next thing she was going to ask.
Apparently, Taiasu has an innate talent for derailing every conversation, ever.
"Yeah! She was short… well, I mean, she was taller than I am, but everyone is." He looks up, grinning again. "But she was shorter than you guys. She looked young…" Taiasu looks at the food, about to dig in again, but Tohsaka reaches across the table and smacks his hand, causing him to recoil.
"Ow! Why…?"
She leans forward, eyes narrowing.
"Talk now. Eat later."
"Right, sorry…" he says, turning a shade of red and looking down. "That was rude… I'm sorry."
Her eyes stop narrowing and widen slightly. "It's… fine. Anyway, with that stunt on the roof, it was apparent you weren't a Servant," she says, folding her hands in front of her face.
"I said I wasn't…" he says, a bit upset. "But everyone has just been greeting me by trying to kill me. Is that normal in your culture?"
Her chair tips backward, but she manages to right it. "Wh-what!? No! But.. YOU'RE not normal…!" She palms her face, thinking of a way to bring the conversation back on track. "Okay… so you were there in the park…"
It's not a question, but he nods anyway.
"Yup. It surprised me when you were talking to nobody, but I was even more surprised when nobody started talking back," he says, smiling and sated now that he's been able to quell his raging appetite.
"Right… That was when Archer first saw you. After that—"
"I wondered… I felt someone watching me, but I couldn't see… Wait. Why didn't you say anything then?"
Tohsaka's brow half-arches. "Huh? Well… we weren't in a place to figure it out yet. On the ground, where people could see everything that was going on. We have to keep a low profile. Normal people can't know about us."
Taiasu's head tilts. "How did you know I was there? You said Archer saw me, but I didn't hear him tell you…"
"Servants and Masters can communicate nonverbally. He told me as soon as he saw you that someone was there. Anyway, after that, you were following us around. All those places we went, that restaurant, and then to that rooftop."
She stares at the table, pressing her head into her folded hands.
"Why?" Tohsaka asks a question after reviewing everything.
Taiasu shrugs. "I was bored…"
Tohsaka's chair falls backward, and she slams hard into the ground.
"Because you were BORED?!"
She leaps to her feet as she yells this, and Taiasu shrinks back, nodding.
Did her head just get bigger…?
Her only response is another beleaguered palming of her face.
"Yeah… I'd been following that other guy… the kid with the red hair… What did the glasses guy say his name was… Emiya!" he yells, then covers his mouth quickly. He lets his hands drop after a second.
"I'd been following him around, but it got boring, so I wandered off, and then I saw you." He leans forward some now that her head has returned to normal proportions. "I saw you at the school, and then the glasses guy said you skipped, so I was curious… Then I heard you talking to yourself, and… well, it seemed a lot more interesting than watching Emiya move stuff from place to place."
The girl's eyes narrow again. "You've been following Emiya-kun around?"
Taiasu nods.
She sighs. "For how long?"
"Since I got here yesterday."
"So… for two days, then."
He nods again.
"I'm going to have a hangover from this, but I still have to ask—why?"
"Because the old man asked me to." Again, he says this like he's explaining something someone should already know.
"Okay…" She stops herself, and her brow half-arches again. "Wait, what old man?"
"The old man who asked me to come here. Well, he's not old, he just acts old…" Taiasu says. "He seems really sad too, but he tries to hide—"
"Okay, stop talking now." Tohsaka truncates his meandering rambling. "So this old man, what do you mean when you say he 'asked you to come here'?" she says. She lowers her guard some, having seen his behavior and mannerisms. Hearing his story is making her more and more curious.
"Ah…" Taiasu looks down. "The girl asked that too… It shocked me when I learned this wasn't Hydaelyn… But I got over it. I heard you talking about all that stuff with Archer at the—"
Tohsaka slams her palms on the table. "FOCUS, PIPSQUEAK!"
He shrinks back a bit, but then nods.
"Ah, right… Sorry…" He takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "So… This is Earth, but I'm not from here. I'm from a world called 'Hydaelyn'. The old man… He told me to call him 'Watcher', but I think 'old man' suits him better… That guy didn't say much, but he really didn't need to…" He looks down again. "I enjoy going places, and meeting new people, so this—" He gestures around the room and to the girl and the man in the corner "—has been pretty fun and exciting for me. And I've enjoyed adventuring for a while now. I wish he'd told me I was going to a different planet, though…"
Tohsaka frowns, arms crossed and tapping her finger. "There are only a few things you said in that entire sentence I understood. So let's start from the top. What's 'Hydaelyn'?"
Taiasu sits upright. "The world I'm from."
"Okay, good. So you said you came here from there?"
He nods.
"Why?"
His head tilts slightly. "I… told you. The old man asked me to."
Her head becomes heated. "Right… but… I mean… why would you just… accept a request like that…?"
"Huh? Why wouldn't I?" His head tilts further. "I mean, I was suspicious at first, but it's not the first time I've accepted a strange request."
She takes in a series of deep breaths of her own to regain some composure. "Okay… Alright… Just… Alright… So you're saying you're from another planet?" Tohsaka says, shaking her head.
He nods.
"And that you're here because some old guy asked you to come here… What did he ask you to do when you got here?"
"Eh?" Taiasu looks down. "That's the weird part… He didn't really ask me to do anything… I mean, except for what I do when I come to a new place. You know, adventurer stuff."
He says this like everyone should know it, and Tohsaka's head slams into the table. Sitting up, she rubs the forming red circle gingerly as her eye twitches.
"What… what is… 'adventurer stuff'…?"
"You know? Adventurer stuff? Talk to people, help them out if they need it, maybe take something from one place to another… I mean, and fight monsters if I need to, but I've only seen one since I got—"
"Okay, fine, I get it, so stop talking now. I need to think."
Taiasu closes his mouth… for a few seconds before he resumes scarfing more egg and noodles.
Tohsaka remains in quiet contemplation for a few minutes as Taiasu finishes the food with which she has provided him. After slurping down the broth, he wipes his mouth, which turns upward in another satisfied smile before his attention returns to Tohsaka, whose head looks moments away from immolation as she tries to comprehend the incomprehensible.
Here at her table, a midget claiming to be from another planet had just wolfed down a bowl of plain food like it was his last meal as a condemned man. A person with the strength to fight on par with a Servant who yet somehow also dodges off the side of a forty-story skyscraper.
The small man allows a few minutes of uncomfortable silence to pass before speaking up.
"Um… Tohsaka…?"
"From another planet…? What's with all this?"
"Tohsaka?" he says again, a bit louder.
"We have enough going on… What are we supposed to do with this now…?"
"Rin…?" Taiasu tries her 'other' name, and her focus snaps to him, her brow drawing into a point.
"Don't call me that… Wait… How do you know my name…?" Her brow relaxes before lifting. "I never told you."
"Ah… well, when I was following Emiya around… He said it when you guys met yesterday… And then I heard that shy girl with the purple hair say your other name—AH!" Taiasu stands up in his chair. "With everything happening, I totally forgot!"
He hops down and walks up to her. His sudden movement puts Archer on guard, but Tohsaka only eyes him and shakes her head.
"I'm sorry I waited so long, but I'm Taiasu. Taiasu Taruko, from Hydaelyn. Thank you for the food, and for not killing me…? I feel like I said something similar already…" He bows at the waist, cutting his already diminutive stature to below her knee. Tohsaka only tilts her head, and Archer smirks sardonically.
"It's… fine, I guess…? Nice to meet you, Taruko-kun."
He rights himself, smiling as he nods, and makes his way back to his seat.
"It's nice to meet you as well… There were a few other things… I kept getting distracted but the old man said three things…" he says, looking down. "He said to keep a low-profile, which I… failed at doing…"
Tohsaka smirks at this obvious statement. "Also, he said… to 'follow the 'red-head'', and that's why I was following Emiya. He was the only person I'd seen with red hair. There was another, but her hair was reddish-brown… or brownish-red…"
"Ayako," Tohsaka says from his description.
"Huh? Oh, right. Emiya called her 'Mitsuzuri'…"
He folds his arms across his chest, still staring at the floor. "Hey, can I ask you something? I mean, another thing besides that?"
Her head tilts. "Huh?"
"Well… I mean, 'Can I ask you something?' is already a question, so I'd have to ask 'Can I ask you two things'…"
Taiasu says this with a sincere tone and Archer palms his face.
"Is this guy even for real?" he says.
"Come on, it's cute," Tohsaka says, laughing. "But sure, go ahead."
"Okay… I noticed it in the classroom, but… the way you all address each-other is…" He swallows before continuing. "Weird."
He looks up.
Tohsaka has stopped laughing, and her eye twitches again.
"Weird?"
"Ah, I'm sorry! That was rude! I didn't mean it like that! I meant it confuses me a lot!" he says, his words tumbling out.
Her eye twitch subsides, but she still bears a sharp frown. "Okay… what's confusing about it?"
"Well… like… the glasses guy… People called him 'Issei', but I heard other people call him 'Ryuudou'… And then that jerk with blue hair… Emiya called him 'Shinji', but then glasses-guy called him 'Matou'…" Taiasu says, rubbing the sides of his head. "Emiya called you 'Tohsaka', but Archer keeps calling you 'Rin'… and you got mad when I called you 'Rin'… I didn't want to upset or offend, but it just… I don't understand…"
Tohsaka's eyes widen and she nods. "I see… That could be confusing if you're not used to it, so I'll explain. Usually, given names, 'Rin' in my case, only people close to each other use. Family, close friends, lovers, and the like. Unless someone gives express permission, it's better to either ask, or just use their family name, which in my case is 'Tohsaka'. Does that help?"
"So, I should only call you 'Tohsaka' then? Okay, and then everyone else… that makes sense… Thanks…" he says, nodding. Some other as yet unspoken thought plays across his face and he turns a shade of red. "Ah… wait, so Archer calls you 'Rin'… does that mean you guys are l… l… l-l-l-… lovers?"
*SLAM*
Tohsaka falls back in her chair again, her head plowing hard into the floor, while Archer erupts, laughing hysterically. The red in Taiasu's face deepens a few more shades.
"I'm sorry, was that a rude question to ask?"
Archer only doubles in laughter, which in seconds devolves into a coughing fit, while Tohsaka launches herself up from the floor to obliterate this critical misunderstanding.
"Like HELL, and NEVER SAY THAT AGAIN!"
Taiasu presses his back into his seat.
Fire? Did she just… breathe fire? No, I'm imagining things.
"I'm sorry… But you said—"
"NOTHING. OF. THE. SORT. That's just how he is, and I've had to learn to deal with it!" she says, stomping her foot.
"Ah… I understand… I'm sorry, I jumped to a hasty conclusion…" he says, bowing in his seat.
The gesture serves to dull Tohsaka's frustration.
"No… I mean, I can see how you might have drawn that conclusion… Wait." Tohsaka's brow arches. "Why lovers?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" he says.
"Well, I said 'family, close friends, and lovers'. Why was that your first assumption?" she asks, her tone serious now.
"I'm not sure… You didn't look related… Wait, are you his sister—"
She lifts him up by the head before he can finish speaking and squeezes both sides until his face turns red.
"Stop. Talking. Now."
Her voice drips venom, while Archer collapses to the floor, red in the face, wheezing for breath.
Taiasu nods, but with his body suspended in the air by his head, still held firmly in place by Tohsaka's hands on either side, it results in his body swaying back and forth. She takes this as his understanding and releases her grip, causing him to plop softly into his chair.
The girl sits back in her chair and stares at the small man for a few seconds more. He glances down at the bowl and sighs.
"Something wrong? You can't still be hungry, small as you are," she says, smirking. "I've seen few people eat that much that quickly…"
"No… nothing was wrong with it… It just felt lacking… somehow." He stares at the bowl, but the heated sensation he can from the one seated in front of him captures his attention. As he looks up, he can see Tohsaka's face reddening as she bares her teeth.
"No, no! It's not what you think, it was very good!" he says, shrinking back. "I promise!"
She's… frightening. I'll need to be more careful with what I say.
"It's nothing you could do anything about…" he says, sighing again as he reaches into his pack and pulls from it six distinct aether clusters, laying them out in two groups of three.
The battle with Archer had been draining. Not so much he was in danger, but having augmented his natural agility with his aethereal reserves had taxed them significantly. And needing to avoid death twice, the first being from Archer's blades, and the second from his own lack of situational awareness, had also been draining.
Tohsaka watches intently, teeth receding behind her lips, and her color returning to normal. Each stone glows softly with a distinct color. Crystalline in structure and appearance, yet none are like any she has ever seen. All are identical in shape, but differ in color; one amber, one violet, one crimson, one larimar, one sapphire and one emerald. She watches as Taiasu rests one hand on each group. He closes his eyes and the color from each stone fades, and after a few seconds vanishes.
Her eyes widen. "What?" Her mouth slacks as she looks up from the stones to the small man who seems to have just consumed their essence.
"It's the aether…" he says. "It's lacking in this world, if it's even present at all. On Hydaelyn, it's everywhere. The water we drink, the air we breathe, even the food we eat. We need it to live. When I came here, I almost died because there wasn't any. These sustain me."
He lifts one of the spent crystals and pays it proper consideration.
Tohsaka reaches over and grabs one. "I know something about gemstones, but I've never seen anything like this…"
"No, I should think you wouldn't have," he says, shaking his head. "They're native to Hydaelyn and the worlds connected to it."
She turns the inert stone in her hand. One of the sharp edges catches on her finger, and she winces as a minute drop of blood falls to its surface. Her mouth slacks again as the stone absorbs something from her blood and regains a miniscule measure of its former glow, though not the same hue. The color shifts between one of four—crimson, amber, silver, and lapis—at regular intervals. Her eyes widen and shine as she comes to understand the implications. Taiasu is too busy collecting and storing the remaining stones to notice.
"How… many of these do you have?" she says. Her mouth turns upward in a smile so wide and eager that the corners of it reach the corners of her eyes.
"Huh? A few, why…?"
He looks up and sees her staring at the stone with a scary, hungry look in her eyes. Then he notices the crystal has regained some of its glow.
"Wait, what?"
He reaches for it, but she moves it out of his grasp.
"I'll take this as compensation for your meal, and a place to stay tonight," she says. "Well, the meal. I wasn't planning on letting you run around doing god only knows what."
His eyes narrow. "Wait, why do you want the crystal? I mean, it's worthless to me now… But if you're going to do something bad with it, I can't just let you have it."
"Settle down, short man," she says, grinning. "Nothing of the sort. These things are like capacitors. It takes a long time to store magical energy into a gemstone, but this thing sucked it up like it was water in a desert. I'll need to do some experimenting to know how much they can hold, and what their uses are, but if I'm right… I'll never want for money or jewels… You said a few, right?"
Taiasu nods, but his eyes narrow further. "I… appreciate the offer… but your face is a little concerning."
She gives a near maniacal laugh. "What's concerning? I'm not interested in world domination or anything! I just don't want to keep spending money on jewels, and if there's an alternative, I'd be stupid not to seize it!"
His eyes stop narrowing as he rubs his chin.
So she's not a megalomaniac. She's just… frugal. I can appreciate that. And I owe her a lot. I mean, not just for the food, but she also stopped Archer from killing me.
He sighs. "Um… okay… I'm still not super comfortable with it, but I owe you a lot. You might start with something a little less… potent."
He reaches into his pack and pulls out one of his six spent shards, and one of his twelve spent crystals. Tohsaka's eyes grow wider with each second as she reaches out with her hand.
"How… many did you say you have?"
"Hold on, I need to tell you a few things first!" he says, hugging them away from her reach. "This is a bunch of uncharted territory. I've never even heard of them being used like this. Discovering it was just a happy accident that saved my life."
She withdraws her hand. "Alright, spill and be quick," she says, folding her arms and narrowing her eyes.
He offers as succinct an explanation as he can about the crystals. How he uses them, their relative density levels, and overstating his lack of understanding about why the crystals are even behaving how they are. Tohsaka listens well to the information about the density levels, but her eyes glaze over as soon as he talks about knowing sweet little and less about the details.
"So I'd start with these," Taiasu says, holding up a shard. "At least if it explodes, you might not die… And you'll know how much it can hold. Once you know that, you can do whatever with the rest."
"Sure, sure… So, any you've not exhausted? I want to run an experiment to see just how powerful these things are."
He nods again. "The smallest ones drain fast… After less than a second. I'll toss it to you, since I can't control that. Just let me know when you're ready."
"Sure, just toss one over," she says, shrugging. "I'll catch it, no problem."
"Alright…" Taiasu reaches into his pack and flips one of the crimson-colored shards from it toward Tohsaka, who's deft reflexes allow her to catch it with ease.
"Ah! Hot…? Wait, it's not hot…" she says after almost dropping it. "Why did I think this was hot?"
"That's crystalized, condensed fire aspected aether," he says. "I'm not an authority on the details, but maybe it's just an instinct you have…" He strokes his chin, looking toward the floor. "That makes me wonder if the magical energy of this world is so incompatible with the aether of my world."
Archer, Tohsaka and Taiasu gather in a spacious area outside of her house. The most noteworthy feature is the large empty basin. Besides that, there is little of note. The yard is fenced in and has a well-manicured lawn with a few trees standing on the outside of the fence.
"We'll use the pool to run the test," she says, eyeing the small flame-aspected shard in her hand. "You said these were the lowest, so that should give us an idea of what the other two grades can do."
The small man swallows hard. "I'm… not sure this is such a great idea."
For some reason, the image of a mushroom cloud continues to pop into his head.
"It'll be fine," she says with an eager grin.
She holds the small shard in her left hand and extends her left arm outward. An intricate pattern on her arm glows with a soft blue light.
It wasn't as bad as it could have been.
A few moments after Tohsaka's arm started shining, the glow within the shard intensified. The moment she detected it fracturing, she used her magical energy as a shield to protect her from any blow-back. The result was a heated crimson frontal conal blast wave that shot forward for about five meters.
Her quick thinking had protected her from any harm and dictated the blast shape. The 'experiment' had generated a shockwave that blew back her twin tails. It had also produced a bright enough flash to negate the night's darkness for a sound few moments.
The pool was still intact.
Mostly.
The ground smolders where the blast scorched it, after overshooting the pool. The vegetation releases its last gasps as a wispy smoke into the night air.
Tohsaka frowns.
How the hell am I going to explain this to a pool technician…
Taiasu's eyes are blank.
"Thank every god we used the lowest grade first," he says in a complete monotone.
The mushroom cloud in his head now feels completely inadequate to describe the chaos and destruction wrought had they chosen to use a crystal, or worse, a cluster. Tohsaka looks at her hand where the shard had been. A few wisps of smoke and fragments are all that remain, yet her hand is little worse for the wear.
"So that's the lowest grade… What did you say about the other two?"
Taiasu snaps from his shock. "Yeah… Crystals are about twenty-five times that, and a single cluster is double what you get from a crystal. Also, we rarely, if ever, use them for reckless, wanton destruction. I've only ever used them for forging armor, weapons, and whatever else have you."
Tohsaka shrugs. "Well, it was just a simple over-charge experiment," she says. "I added a bit of my own magical energy into what was already there. I wasn't expecting anything, but this is…" Her mouth turns upward in an eager grin. "Pretty enticing."
"Well, I'm glad you're happy with it, but I can't just give you every single one I have." he says, frowning. "I can give you five more of those shards. I can't use them anymore because… reasons…" His frown deepens.
Getting into aether corruption would take more time than it's worth, and it's irrelevant.
Tohsaka's eyes shine. "Five charged crystals, each capable of this?"
He nods. "Like I said, I can't use them anymore. At least, not here. When I get back, I'll…?"
Wait… 'when' I get back?
It hadn't occurred to him until that moment that this might not even be a possibility.