Bros' Day (Part I), by Daneel Rush
Originally posted on July 1st, 2012
Things at Takamachi Nanoha's residence, the one she shared with Fate T. Harlaown, were rather tense that evening. Unless you were Emiya Shirou, that is. For once, this was an occasion in which his legendary denseness proved a blessing. So, while the young man blissfully worked on one of his sumptuous meals, the three young ladies popularly known as the Three Aces of TSAB idled the time away while drowning in awkward tension.
It was Tuesday. That Sunday would mark the anniversary of Emiya Kiritsugu's death.
Normally, it was a day in which even the likes of Hayate knew it was better to keep a distance from the boy. They thought it unhealthy, but Shirou preferred to spend that day alone in quiet melancholy. However, this time was different.
Emiya Shirou had a promise to fulfill on that day.
Emiya Shirou was also doing the performance of his life for the past three weeks. He just thought he could not forgive himself if he openly displayed just how bothered he was by all this. He made a promise and he intended to fulfill it, but it was not easy. His mind hurt from all the thinking he had done in the past twenty or so days. The choices were fairly simple and very clearly defined, but that did not make it easy to make a decision. At this point his brain would collapse before Sunday.
Uncomfortably aware of the unsubtle glances the girls shot his way almost every second, Shirou worked in the kitchen with a heavy heart. It was yet another reason to get thing done and over with: the current situation was even hindering his enjoyment of the act of cooking. Vita even said the quality of his meals had taken a small yet noticeable dip.
She might as well have stabbed him in the heart instead.
"Next comes the parsley, right?"
Shirou smiled as he glanced at the small figure seated on his shoulder.
"That's right, Reinforce. How did you tell?"
"Ah, ah, it's not the first time I see Shirou-san cooking this kind of thing."
"So you've memorized the whole recipe?"
"Um!" The small Unison Device nodded proudly.
"Hmm…would you like to give cooking a try next time, then?"
The girl's eyes glittered with excitement.
"Um!"
The doorbell suddenly rang, promptly drawing everyone's attention. The Aces exchanged dubious glances, for they did not expect visitors at dinnertime.
"Ah, that's probably Vita," Shirou said while sprinkling the chopped parsley on the boiling pot.
"Huh?" Nanoha uttered while standing up from the ample chair she had been resting on till this point. "You invited Vita-chan?"
"Not…really. I'm just used to her popping up when I'm cooking…"
"That…is somehow not right…" Nanoha muttered while she took to the front door. Hayate had never taken her eyes off the holo-console. Everybody had noticed she was quite busy in the last weeks. She had yet to share the details with Shirou, but it seemed to be related to the latest series of drone attacks. It was a matter that worried him as well; he did not like not knowing the name of his and his precious people's enemy.
Half a minute or so later, Nanoha returned to the spacious modern living room with their new guest.
"Yo!" The Knight of the Hammer greeted boisterously. She nodded in the direction of the evening's cook. "Emiya." Then she greeted the women present. "Inferior female specimens."
"You're really asking for the fist, aren't you?" Hayate retorted without looking up from her work.
"But Hayate, it's not my fault I'm so amazing," Vita responded without a hint of jest. In the last years the content and rating of these girls' jokes has gone up several levels, really. "Right, Emiya?"
"Yes, you're Belka's gift to mankind, Vita," Shirou replied matter-of-factly. Busy as he was in the kitchen, only Reinforce Zwei next to him could see his petite smile, brimming with amusement.
"Mm-hmm!" Vita nodded in utmost approval. "That's why I like you, Emiya."
"And because I feed you."
"And because you feed me~"
"When did my knight become so shameless, I wonder…?"
I think we can agree she was always like this. She just did not have an Emiya Shirou in her life before.
"So!" Vita plopped herself down on one of the available seats as if she owned the place. "You guys not going in one of your dates this weekend, aren't ya?"
"Vi-Vita!" Fate spoke out in a scolding tone. "Sunday, it's—"
"Yeah, yeah, Kerry's anniversary, of course I know."
"Kerry…?" Shirou muttered, trying out the bizarre and awfully spontaneous name Vita had just come up with for his father.
"But that still leaves Friday evening and Saturday. So?"
"Well, no...?" Nanoha said with some hesitation.
It was really rather pathetic, how it took them the whole of ten years to reach this point in their relationship. Then again, these kids are not precisely normal, functional young men and women. Still, it is rather astounding that it took so long for these girls to actually ponder the possibility of having the boy they liked take them out on dates, especially because Shirou did not put much in the way of resistance against the request. Hell, once he was asked to take Fate on a date, he asked the other two out himself—albeit mostly out of a sense of fairness and self-preservation.
They could only pray their relationship would progress faster in the future. Hayate would like to lose her virginity before the end of the year, in fact. Nanoha would probably not mind getting to at least first base.
Fate-san would be happy with merely holding hands, bless her innocence.
But, before that, these lovely yet pitiful girls would have to muster their courage to entice Shirou more aggressively.
"Cool." Vita concluded and thus turned her full attention to the young man in the kitchen.
"So, Emiya, spend a night with me."
"Too fast!" Hayate finally jumped off her seat because screw work. "That's way too fast!"
"Sure," Shirou replied in his usual easygoing manner.
"Eeeeeeeeeh!?" The Aces exclaimed in outrage.
And thus Vita of the Wolkenritter achieved in a few seconds what these nigh-legendary mages have failed to do after ten years of affection.
Isn't it sad, girls?
BROS' DAY (First Day)
Inspired by Heroslayer's 'Mahou Senki: Lyrical Days'
"Hi-ho, Eeeeee-miyaaaan~"
Fuyuki City. Friday, 6:00 AM.
Emiya Shirou looked down at the grinning girl with the red duffel bag hanging over her right shoulder.
"Yo!" She said.
Emiya Shirou looked some more, until Vita noticed the awkward silence.
"What is it?"
"…you are early."
"Yaaaah, you know…"
"No, I don't know," Shirou retorted, his lips however twitching a little.
"Well…" Vita began to explain in what passed as 'coy' to her. "…since we agreed to meet at nine, I thought I might as well pop up for breakfast~"
Suddenly, her face changed to one of utter mortification.
"Don't tell me, you already cooked for one person only…?"
Looking at the honest, heart-wrenching dismay in the girl's expression, Shirou could not help but feel something like butterflies in his stomach. To have someone who loved eating his food as much as he loved cooking it, it was truly the highest of blessings.
He sighed and tried not to show that he was brimming with happiness.
"Come on in; your breakfast's already on the table."
Vita's face exploded with happiness.
Under different circumstances, Shirou thought, he might have fallen in love with that smile.
"I also prepared bento boxes we can eat on the train," Shirou added. "The trip will be long, so we'll probably get hungry—wah!"
Shirou froze in response to the unexpected. He really did not know what to do, what with Vita suddenly hugging him tightly from behind.
"Vi—Vita…?"
"Why…?"
For a moment there he thought Vita was in the verge of tears. But this is Vita we're talking about.
"Vita…?" Shirou insisted.
"Why couldn't you be my Master, Emiya…?"
"That's a horrible thing to say, Vita," Shirou replied with a comforting smile. Not that Vita could see it, though.
"I know, damn it! But…!"
"Well…" Shirou thought of something to say. "Maybe, in some other dimension out there, I am indeed the Master of the Book of the Night Sky, and we enjoy a wonderful life together."
"…was that supposed to make me feel better?"
"…nah, not really."
"Asshole."
They chuckled together.
"By the way, this hug never happened."
"Um, that might be a little too hard to conceal…"
"Why," Vita uttered in a darker tone, her small arms strengthening her hold on the boy in a threatening manner.
"Well, you see…"
Shirou pointed ahead, towards the interior of the residence and the far end of the entrance hallway.
"…Sakura saw everything."
Indeed, Matou Sakura stood there, her legs meeting at the knees and looking like she had just seen something nobody should have ever seen…which was pretty much the case.
"Doki-doki…waku-waku…"
"Wha-wha—what's with that 'I'm seriously misunderstanding things' face, Sakuraaaaaa!?" Shirou shouted at the current Owner of the Fuyuki lands.
"Wah! Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa—" Vita promptly jumped away from Shirou to gape and rudely point at the unexpected person. "Ma-Ma-Ma, Ma…Matou Sakura!"
"Uh, um…hello…?" The purple-haired young beauty greeted the Belkan knight, sounding rather unsure of how to act in these circumstances.
"Wha-wha—what are you doing here!?" Vita turned to Shirou to her right. "What is she doing here!?"
Suddenly the small redhead gasped and glared at Shirou.
"Don't tell me…another one!? You bastard!"
"How did you even reach that conclusion!?"
A few minutes later, the three were seated around the low dining table and partaking on breakfast. As it turned out, Sakura would be staying at Shirou's Fuyuki residence at least for the weekend. The last of the Matou lived a curious life, hopping between the Emiya, Tohsaka and Matou residences and acting as caretaker of all three. She did not want to use the combined fortunes of Tohsaka and Matou in something as "mundane" as hiring cleaning staff for the large houses, it seemed.
"Hmm…" Vita murmured in a moment in which her mouth happened to be empty of food; a most rare of occurrences at breakfast time. "That's very nice of you, girl."
"Ah, it, it is my pleasure, Vita-san," Sakura cordially replied. The red knight, however, responded with a naughty grin that made Shirou grimace.
"Now, you can just admit it, seriously." Vita snickered before continuing. "You want inside Shirou's pants too, don't cha?"
Shirou choked in his glass of water.
"Buh!" Sakura blurted out. "No! No, no, no, no, no! N-n—not at all, Vita-san! I, I have utmost gratitude towards Shirou-san, bu-but, I, I, I do-do—don't have any feelings of that sort!"
"…ya sure?"
"Yes!" Sakura insisted most wholeheartedly.
"Aren't you supposed to be on Hayate's side or something!?" Shirou finally regained his breathing, thus allowing him to voice his thoughts.
"Most of the time, yes, but in general I'm on the side that entertains me the most," Vita shamelessly admitted. "Besides, in the end, no matter how many women you end up with, the fact remains that you are to feed me until the end of my days."
"Is that everything I am to you!?"
"Ah, ahaha…" Sakura laughed rather strainedly. She was not accustomed to this side of Emiya Shirou.
"Ku-hi-hi~" A delighted young-looking knight giggled childishly as she stuffed her mouth with food. "Sandwiches, sandwiches, Emiya's chicken sandwiches~"
On his train seat in front of Vita's, Shirou watched her with something resembling awe.
"…where does all that food go, really?"
"Ha!" The girl barked. "I'll let you know that my body is perfect in every conceivable way. Not an ounce of extra fat."
"Yes, I can clearly see that. No extra fat at all."
"Whe-where are you looking at, idiot!?" Vita exclaimed outraged while covering her chest with both arms. "I thought you were better than this, Emiya."
"Uh, sorry…" Suddenly uncomfortable by having touched an obviously sensitive topic, Shirou chose to instead look at the countryside from the ample window.
"I'll have you know, boy, that if I showed you my Adult Mode you'd fall for me like this!"
"If I love anyone it won't be because of some transformation magic."
"Hmm…" Vita uttered while she, too, looked at the rapidly moving world outside the train. "Well, I guess those three don't really need anything like that…"
"I'm not talking about those three, Vita."
Vita's eyes sharply turned to look at Shirou's clear expression. After a few seconds of silent exchange, Vita's pupils drifted back to the world beyond the window.
"Huh…"
After a minute of two of quiet contemplation, Shirou spoke again.
"So, why did you invite me?"
"Hmm, well, Chrono and Yuuno are taken, and Zafira's sorta like a real brother to me, so it would be kind of creepy."
"Creepy…?" Shirou muttered, unsure of what Vita meant with that.
"So, by process of elimination, you were my primary choice."
"Why not inviting you mistress? I'm sure she would really like this kind of thing," Shirou proposed.
"Nah, Hayate can't take holidays right now, not even if she wanted to, what with getting everything ready for Long Arch."
"Long Arch?"
Vita promptly grimaced at her slip of the tongue.
"Ugh, right, she hasn't told you yet. Don't mind me, I guess Hayate will tell you eventually. Look forward to it, or something…?"
Shirou frowned at the girl's lame dismissal, but knew better than to waste his time insisting.
"But anyway, Hayate's too busy right now and, besides, I said I would have my revenge for those three intruding in our Mortal Kombat night."
Vita's expression softened, and she presented a tender smile to the young man in front of her.
"And you looked like you could use some time away from your harem before Sunday."
"Haa…" Shirou sighed, even if he was smiling. "As thoughtful as ever, Vita?"
"I know! I'm so thoughtful sometimes I scare myself! Like," Vita said before assuming what she took for a thoughtful posture, with her hand to her chin. "'Damn it girl, it's like, precognition or something. Serious shit.'" Her expression relaxed. "You know?"
"Not…really. Actually, what the hell was that monologue?"
"Ahaha~"
Shirou shook his head in equal parts amusement and exasperation.
"Really, and we had just cleared up all the misunderstandings…"
"Mah, mah…" Vita dismissed her travelling companion's worries with a hand gesture. "Somebody has to show those girls her place from time to time. The Emiya Pecking Order, ya know."
"There is no such thing!"
"Ku-hi-hi~" Vita's laughter was more high-pitched than usual. Shirou recognized it as a sign of her pleasure.
"Ne…" Vita suddenly called out to him in an unusually subdued tone for her. "It should be fine…if I call you…"
The young Earth magus chuckled quietly.
"Of course."
The reason Vita, in spite of being one of Shirou's closest friends, did not call him by his first name was fairly obvious: those three young women who strove for Shirou's love were already annoying enough. Shirou did not see it as a problem, but Vita really did not need that kind of problems.
"Alright, then, let's look forward to our onsen trip, Shirou!"
"Aah, sure thing."
"Whoa!" Vita exclaimed excitedly as the door to the room she would share with Shirou was revealed to them by the matron. "Nnnnnnice."
It was, expectedly, more spacious than the rooms in his house in Fuyuki, although the classic Japanese style was the same. Also, the view was undeniably superior. Rather than the spacious room, Shirou's and Vita's eyes were on the fabulous autumnal view of the mountains, painted orange by the sun already in its descending route.
"Beautiful," Shirou voiced the two's feelings.
"Aah," Vita agreed. "I guess this is what they call a romantic view, huh."
"Ma-make yourselves at home, then…" the middle-aged woman in a plain forest green yukata spoke before departing with an overt bow. Shirou and Vita nodded in return, acknowledging the woman's words before turning their attention back to the amazing view from their room.
"Ne, Vita…"
"Hmm?"
"Is it just or I've been getting all sorts of strange looks from the people in this place?"
"Ahaha…" Vita laughed somewhat strainedly. "Well, this place's a vacation spot for couples, so I guess by now they must have made all sorts of weird assumptions about us."
"Buh!" Shirou spat out. "Wha—the-then why did you bring me to this place!?"
"Be-caaaaaause…" Vita drawled while rolling her eyes. "…I won the raffle at Uminari's market street and got an invitation to come here with a second person. We already went through that in the train, ya know."
"Bu—if you knew this is…this kind of place, you should have come by yourself!"
"Wha—by myself!?" Vita raised her tone to express her outrage. "How pathetic would that be!?"
"And that's what bothers you!?"
After changing to the ryokan's loose yukata, Shirou and Vita decided to enjoy nature more closely. It was a truly enjoyable and relaxing stroll through the woods painted in tones of orange and ochre. While Shirou enjoyed filling his lungs with the clean autumnal air, Vita played like a child, kicking up the fallen leaves just to raise some mayhem.
At one point, the thick sea of trees gave way to a clearing and forest became rolling prairie, the cool wind caressing golden grass no taller than their heels. Shirou felt himself transported to a distant, ancient past, and he wondered just how long this mountain had remained pristine and unharmed by human hands. Most of the couples visiting the ryokan would probably stay in the marked paths into the mountain; that is, if they even thought of straying too far from the comforts of the traditional residence.
This place, this natural scenery as beautiful as it was virginal, was a blessing just for the two of them.
Shirou glanced at the girl who invited him along to this completely spontaneous trip. It was somewhat pleasing to see that even Vita could show the kind of placid, peaceful expression she had on her face at that moment. He could go as far as claiming she looked rather mature like that. He would not say it to her face, lest it would get all the way to her head.
"So, Shirou…"
It was weird to be called by his name, but it still made him happy. They were friends, very dear friends, so this was the way it should be.
"Hmm?"
"Well, ya know…" Vita murmured, even if her eyes did not move away from the autumnal vista in front of them.
"No, I don't know."
"Nah, you know…" The girl insisted, her smile gaining a noticeable hint of mischief. "A man and a woman, clad in loose clothes, in a remote mountain with no other company but each other…"
Vita inclined her head slightly and glanced at the young magus out of the corners of her eyes.
"…there's only one thing to do in these circumstances, isn't there…?"
Her suggestive voice told Shirou everything he needed to know.
"Hmm…" He uttered in an assenting tone.
They turned slowly to properly face each other. While Vita's naughty smile was a silent invitation, Shirou's calm smile was an acknowledgement of Vita's feelings and a confirmation of his own.
"Come and get me, Shirou."
"Please look forward to it."
The air exploded.
Scattered leaves and blades of grass flew chaotically as, in a split instant, the two magic users put twenty meters of distance between them. Vita's right hand held her precious Device: the Iron Count, Graf Eisen. Shirou's hands held the anti-symmetrical blades of the Fifth Heaven's Feel's Servant Archer; weapons which had come to define him almost as much as they did that "nameless" hero.
"I am the bone of my sword."
The single sentence was the aria. He just needed to allow his prana to flow for his soul to create the images he was looking for.
He threw the broadswords at the same time Graf Eisen spoke.
"Pferde."
It was almost miraculous that Shirou managed to bring a second copy of Kanshou and Bakuya in time to block the hammer before it turned his face into paste. The swords crossed in front of his eyes clashed against the flat hammerhead, but Shirou's reinforced body withstood the attack's might without faltering or retreating a step back.
The swing of the hammer finally separated it from the blades. The same momentum forced Vita to spin in front of Shirou as her hammer fell and was raised again by her tiny hands. Shirou tried to seize the chance: the white sword in his right hand fell vertically as it to sever Vita's right arm. A flick of vita's wrist send the hammer tracing a wide arc until the dangerous metal head reached over her right shoulder and into the sword's path. The sword in Shirou's left hand was stopped from slicing Vita's neck when the girl's left hand caught the Shirou's wrist.
Vita pulled, and Shirou squeaked as he was subjected to the small girl's surprising strength until they had completely switched places. The two swords Shirou had thrown earlier had traced an eight-shape and were on the way back—Vita was readying her hammer for another blow, his wrist was still in her grasp and his back was exposed to the flying weapons…!
No big deal.
Shirou relaxed his pull on the seized arm, which inevitably pulled him towards Vita while crossing his left arm in front of the rest of his body. At such a close range, his shorter weapon should have the advantage…!
The hammer's pole was suddenly planted horizontally before Vita's chest, effortlessly stopping the blade in Shirou's right hand. He felt her right foot hooking his own from the inside at the same time the space between the pole and the head of Graf Eisen came to rest on the right side of his neck.
Her foot pushed in one direction. The hammer pushed in the other.
The world spun upside-down before Emiya Shirou's eyes.
Vita let go of Shirou's wrist at the same time the boy spread his legs open in midair.
The flying married swords, Kanshou and Bakuya, flew through the space between Shirou's legs towards Vita's face, only to bounce off twin iron balls between her fingers.
Shirou fell hard in the back of his neck, but did not stop fighting. Vita had to block his desperate kick with the back of her right hand…
"Explosion!"
…but she immediately swung down her Device, for she was not giving Shirou any quarter. Graf Eisen met Shirou's crossed blades, which pushed back the hammer but shattered under the strain of the magically-enhanced blow.
But, that was precisely what Shirou had hoped for…!
Vita was on a holiday and wearing a yukata, so she could not go crazy with the cartridges like usual. The second swing was powered "only" by her considerable strength. A new weapon came into existence in Shirou's left hand, which he swung to meet Vita's hammer.
A thunderous resonance of booming sounds, like many explosions taking place almost at the same time, roared through the clearing like the roars of an apocalyptic beast.
Vita was completely overwhelmed the moment her hammer met Shirou's new weapon, as she was blown away as if she were weightless. This allowed Shirou to get back on his feet.
Even if the impact that blew her away was absurdly strong, Vita corrected her posture in midair and landed on her feet without issue. Only then did she get a good look at Shirou's newest Projection.
She guffawed.
It clicked inside her. Everything.
Suddenly, it just made sense.
To Hayate, she was a knight and a guardian.
To her fellow Cloud Knights, she was a sister, both in battle and outside it.
To the Aces, a precious friend.
To Chrono and Yuuno, their awesome bro.
But, before she was all those things, at the most fundamental level she was, after all, a woman.
Her shoulders shook as her amusement grew with every breath and every chuckle, until it exploded into full-blown laughter. Shirou did not laugh, but returned Vita's merriment with a smile of his own, his chest brimming with joy, for Vita's happiness was his own.
The weapon in his left hand, it was a hammer.
Not a war hammer, but a worker's steel hammer, with a wooden handle as long as Shirou's arm. Trails of discoloration along the length of the wood portrayed how much sweat had been poured in the use of that tool. Vita could not know this, but that was no mere hammer, but the tool of a folk hero amongst African-American laborers.
"Yes, yes, I wanted to try out something special today," Shirou explained while adjusting his grip on John Henry's hammer.
Vita was still laughing, to the point she feared tears would escape from her eyes; that would just be embarrassing. She took a deep breath.
"Shiroooooooooooooooouuu!" She yelled, with her child-like voice bursting with delight. The young man relaxed his posture and tilted his head; a wordless cue for Vita to say what he knew she wanted to say.
It was the right place to say it, as well as the right time. Nobody would hear, and thus nobody would misunderstand or ridicule the simple purity of the red knight's feelings.
She inhaled one more time, feeling her lungs with air as much as she could—if this was her only chance, in their solitude, to bare her heart to this person, then she would do it at the top of her lungs!
"I love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"
She laughed and almost choked in her laughter.
"I love you, love you, love you so much! Dining with you, playing with you, fighting with you, drinking with you; every moment I spend with you, I love it! I love it, love it, love it, love it!"
She took air once more.
"I love you because thanks to you and the others I've become the kind of person who can say these words!"
She looked at the old hammer in Shirou's hand. She sighed happily and allowed her voice to drop until it was just loud enough for Shirou to hear.
"I love you because you're always doing your best! Because all my worries disappear when I'm having fun with you! Because I feel I can share everything with you!"
Her shoulders shuddered, for she still wanted to laugh uncontrollably. She did not know what to say anymore, so she said the simplest thing her simple heart could conceive.
"I love you because you make me happy."
Shirou closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, reveling in the strong, sincere emotions in Vita's words.
He had done it. Clearly, undeniably, absolutely, he could see the realization of his dream in a way he had only dreamt of before.
He had, beyond the shadow of a doubt, made a person happy.
Images—memories—flashed through his mind: he saw the tired, tear-stricken smile of a man who found salvation. He saw the sweet, affectionate smile of a childhood friend who declared her feelings for him. He saw hair like gold and mesmerizing red eyes looking at him almost worshipfully, silently swearing to stay by his side, even if it meant being dragged to Hell itself. He saw a determined face, boldly stating that her feelings were second to nobody's.
He saw a somewhat clumsy young librarian; his rather aggressive, multi-faceted girlfriend, and her quiet and collected little sister.
He saw a cool mage admiral, the most reliable pillar; the wonderful woman who supported him, and the three magical beings who always stood close to the one who had saved them, united in their love and loyalty.
He saw an adorable magical tome, a magnificent guardian blade, a dependable healer like the calm waters of a lake, and a proud and trustworthy guardian beast.
He saw many people in many places. He saw their smiles, and their smiles filled him like never before as they overlapped with the purest, most eloquent and most explicit smile of the girl—no, the woman—in front of him.
And, in that moment, Emiya Shirou understood.
And, by understanding, he ceased to be Emiya Shirou.
"I…" He said, not caring for the tears his eyes could not stop releasing, but minding that his voice had come out quiet faint. So, he inhaled deeply, just like Vita before.
He, too, would respond to Vita's confession with his brightest smile!
"I love you too, Vita!" He declared. Boldly, proudly. Ecstatically. "I love you too, so…so…"
Shirou's smile changed almost imperceptibly, but Vita could tell, because she knew even without being told. She had not planned this to happen in this trip but, regardless, the conclusion of this spontaneous exposure of their hearts had already been decided.
"Um!" She hummed, and nodded effusively. She did not mind crying anymore; she was just so happy!
To finally understand what lied within her heart, and to be able to expose it without worry, it was truly wonderful!
To be told by a loved person that he loves you as well, how amazing a feeling!
"Shirooooooooooouuu!" She yelled again, as loud as her lung allowed. His name, the name of a loved person!
"Let's…!" The words died in her throat, which was already sore, just like her eyes. The smile on Shirou's crying face somehow shone even more radiantly, encouraging her with words to write the conclusion to this story.
In the same minute Vita of the Wolkenritter discovered the wonderful feeling that is love, she also experienced the terrible pain of heartbreak.
But she was Vita, Knight of the Hammer.
The only thing that she would never break, was her smile!
"Let's be best friends forever, Shirou!"
Shirou closed his eyes. Just like Vita's happiness was his own, her grief he also experienced as if it were his. Just like he had given her happiness, he had now caused her sadness.
This pain, it was not a bad thing. Just like so many other things, it was a precious feeling they would share and keep in their hearts forever.
This, Emiya Shirou could now understand, because he was not Emiya Shirou anymore.
He assumed a ready stance, grabbing John Henry's hammer with both hands as if preparing a swing.
And then, he answered.
"It can only be you, Vita!"
She laughed. Even in rejection, she found bliss.
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" She exclaimed. "It can only be me! This place in your heart is mine! Nobody else can have it! I won't allow it!"
The rest of the words did not need to be pronounced. Shirou could see them in her eyes, and he could only resign himself to accept them.
"Even if you are not mine, and even if I am not yours, I will make you happy."
"So! With that said!"
Letting her trusty Device rest on her right shoulder, Vita outstretched her free left hand to taunt her dear friend with a cool, inviting gesture.
"Come at me, bro."
Shirou grinned almost wickedly, something those Aces would find absolutely bizarre—Hayate would probably be aroused by it, though. His right foot stamped the grass as he lowered his body to a predatory posture.
"Trace. Fucking. On."
Magic Circuits came to life, summoning yet another legendary tool from within the vault in his soul: a beautiful golden hammer, maybe even too beautiful to be used in battle, adorned with countless hieroglyphs and shaped to roughly resemble a bull's head.
Hapi-ankh – The Words of Creation.
The hammer of the Egyptian god Ptah, the world artisan who hammers out the copper sky.
Vita's grin was so wide it looked deranged.
"Another hammer," she said while slowly shaking her head. "Gods damn it all, I love you."
She disturbed the air in front of her with Graf Eisen.
"Explosion!"
"Let's do this!"
The battle that followed could only very loosely be called such. It was, as its core, pure and undiluted madness. They were like two berserkers, desperately seeking the chance to bash the other's skull in. Vita soon figured out the supernatural power of John Henry's hammer: upon activation, the hammer would simultaneously execute up to 160 swings. In other words, while Shirou only made a single swing, Vita felt the impact of up to 160 hammers striking the same spot at the same time. And so, the berserker clash became a berserker dance, for the two knew that a single hit would define the result of their fight. They put their reflexes to the test, weaving and swaying around the dangerous weapons that split the air in every swing. When Vita sacrificed a cartridge to deal a blow that shattered Shirou's steel hammer, the power of Hapi-ankh allowed him to conjure a new one almost instantaneously and effortlessly.
So they fought recklessly and endlessly, savagely and determinedly, pouring their joy and their love for each other in every swing, for each knew the other would not tolerate anything but their very best.
And they never, never stopped laughing.
"Whoo!" Vita wheezed as she allowed her body to just drop on the grass. "Damn."
"Indeed," an exhausted Shirou uttered next to her. He as well had taken to the soft grass for the purpose of resting. He was not sure he could even make the walk back to the ryokan in his current state.
"That was amazing. Easily into the Top 5 of my most awesome fights ever. Top 3, even."
"Ahaha…" Even his laughter came out lame and tiredly.
"Ne, Shirou…"
"Hmm?"
"…I think I'm pregnant."
He could not help it. He laughed.
Certainly, that fight would be the closest thing to sex they would experience together in their lives. If anything, the exhilarating peace following its conclusion very closely resembled post-coital afterglow. Both young man and young-looking woman were smiling like idiots who had just lost their virginity, their faces flushed after the long exertion and their bodies soaked in sweat.
"Silly Vita, no girl can tell she's pregnant so quickly."
"Oh, but you did such a work on me, darling~" Vita quickly played along in an abnormally high-pitched voice.
"…you won at the end, Vita. And don't use that voice ever again, it's creepy."
"Ni-shi-shi~" Vita snickered. "Indeed, as expected, I was the victor! That means a penalty game for you, Shirou! Ufufu, I can't wait~"
"Wah—wait! Why!?"
"Well of course!" The girl exclaimed while stretching her arms and legs like a snow angel. "It was an official Bro Battle, following the canon Bro Battle Rules of Engagement!"
"You just made that up!"
"That doesn't change anything!"
"You actually admitted it! How shameless can you be!?"
"Accept your loss like a man, Emiya Shirou! Wahahaha!"
Shirou flatly stared at the laughing girl before resigning to his fate and sighing.
"Man…I still have a ways to go, hmm?"
"Yup!" Vita mercilessly agreed. "You still gotta at least match Zafira's level before you have a chance against Vita-sama." There was no mockery in her words, though, and her grin was nothing but encouraging. "But don't worry; even in the unlikely event of you ever surpassing me, this Vita here will still watch your back."
Shirou exhaled through his nostrils.
"Vita…is there anything I can do to make you change your mind about that promis—ow."
Shirou frowned upon his head being lightly bumped by the Belkan hammer-type Armed Device.
"Don't say stupid things, Shirou. Zafira, Yuuno, Chrono, those three idiotic girls and me; like it or not, you're stuck with us forever."
Shirou chuckled somewhat bitterly. Yes, he had come to understand that as well.
"So!" The girl exclaimed, startling Shirou a bit. "Feel up to hitting that onsen?"
Even the likes of Emiya Shirou could find enjoyment in a good warm hot spring bath. Easing himself in the naturally warm water, the young magus sighed contentedly as he allowed his sore muscles to relax. Really, a place like that was the best after a nice workout. Then again, only the likes of those two redheads would call that insane fight a "workout".
The only bad thing about the onsen was that, once he allowed his body to relax and remain calm and still, his mind took over and began to wander. When Emiya Shirou's body eases down, his mind stupidly overworks itself. He is a hopeless person in many ways.
Naturally, his thoughts drifted towards those three. It was not a rare event for those girls to appear foremost in his mind—say what you wish about Emiya Shirou; he is still a warm-blooded young male, and the so-called Aces of TSAB are definitely beautiful young women. Fate T. Harlaown had won the unofficial Mid-Childa "Girl I want to be my girlfriend", "Girl I want as my daughter" and "Girl I want to see in a bikini" contests for nine, eight and five years in a row, respectively…which says a lot about Mid-Childan society, considering Fate was a minor for most of those years.
Shirou had already found his answer, thanks to Vita. But from there to actually act on what his mind and his heart told him he had to do was a wholly new can of worms.
After all, this is the boy who had nothing but a dream.
"Ah, but…that…that is not really true, is it…?"
The image of an angry eight-year-old brunette with crescent-shaped side-tails filled his mind…only to be dispelled when the door to the outdoors bath was opened with a rude slam.
"Haha!" Vita stepped out, a white towel covering her body and a wooden tray on her right palm. "Yes, this is what I'm talking about!"
"Wash yourself properly before getting in," Shirou commanded, his eyes turning back to stargazing after acknowledging Vita's presence.
The girl overtly rolled her eyes.
"Yes, moooooooom…"
Shirou snickered at that.
It took all of five minutes, but Vita eventually joined her friend in the hot spring, sighing contentedly as her body sank into the pool of warm delight.
"Haa…this is the best…" She said, but then hesitated for a moment. "Okay, a close second."
She had chosen a spot on the opposite edge of the hot spring, where she and Shirou could directly face each other. That way he could see her radiant, cheeky grin.
"First is and will always be your food, Shirou."
It was enough to make Shirou's cheeks tickle, so he grinned in return.
The tray floated next to Vita's seated form, and the small knight reached for the jar resting on it. Shirou shook his head.
"Really, you're drinking already."
"I want sake with my onsen and I'm getting goddamn sake with my goddamned onsen, Shirou."
"Yes, yes…"
With that said, Vita filled a tiny cup with the liquid and eagerly emptied it in her mouth, quickly letting it burn its way down her throat.
"Puagh! Yes, this is the stuff!" The grinning girl declared her approval of the hotel's alcohol. Across the hot spring, Shirou smiled at the girl's loud antics, although his eyes never looked away from the night sky and his mind drifted back to what he was supposed to do on Sunday.
Vita watched him somewhat subtly, for she did not want to get caught staring. The hot spring happened to be a mixed bath. In any case, sharing a hot spring was not such a big deal for them. At this point, they had already seen each other at their worst. Not just these two, but Chrono, Yuuno and Zafira as well. In Yuuno's archeological expeditions these five would always end up doing everything together, of course. They would gather food and cook it together, bathe together in the nearest water source, and squeeze themselves into the same cramped tent at night. They were brothers in battle, and they were already pretty used to the other's nude body.
Which made it all the more bothersome that now Vita kind of hoped Shirou would be at least a little conscious of her naked body.
"Really, love is so annoying…" she mumbled. But she still would not replace the happiness she felt earlier for anything in the world. At least she knew they would not be the kind of couple whose friendship ended up in tatters after love showed its ugly face.
While refilling her porcelain cup with warm sake, Vita noted the distant look on Shirou's upturned face, and she knew it was not just because he was stargazing.
"…you looked distressed, bro."
"I am distressed, and you know why."
Vita sighed. It sounded almost disappointed.
"Haa…just relax, son." Her free hand childishly splashed water all over the place. "Enjoy every moment! You fight, then eat good food. You fight, then drink fine wine. You fight, then sleep with beautiful women—hell, fight beautiful women!" She made a grandiose gesture with her free arm, while raising the hand holding the sake cup in salute. "That, is what it means to live!"
Shirou did not look particularly impressed.
"…stop quoting Asura's Wrath, Vita."
"But that game's godly!" Vita's excited grin was positively wicked. Shirou wondered what it said about him, that he actually got the reference. Maybe Hayate had a point and he did spend too much time with Vita.
"But seriously, Shirou," the girl continued, dropping her voice to a more eased tone. "Just relax and enjoy the onsen for now. When we get back to the room and we've had a few drinks together, then we can talk." Vita patted her undeveloped chest proudly. "Let onee-san hear all your worries!"
Vita's easygoing smile and kind offer was like a panacea to Shirou's troubled heart, reminding him of just why he spent so much time with Vita in the first place.
She said she loved him because she felt her troubles disappeared when he was around; because she could share anything and everything with him.
It was not a one-sided feeling.
"I think I'll do just that, then," he said, and Vita's grin grew wider and sweeter.
"Good! You do yourself a favor by listening to Vita-sama!"
"Yes, yes…" Shirou retorted in a lighthearted tone. "Don't drink too much; I'm not carrying you back to the room."
The small knight's irises sparkled.
"Oooh, that doesn't sound half bad—"
"Not happening."
"Tch, stingy~" Vita mock-whined. "I bet you wouldn't mind carrying Fate 'Titanic Boobs' Harlaown, would ya? Huh!?"
"Don't give her outrageous names!"
"I'll let you know, I'm light as a feather!"
"Weight has nothing to do with it!"
Standing on opposite sides across the low table, Shirou and Vita looked down at the feast served for them. While Vita could not be grinning harder, Shirou's stare remained flat and inexpressive.
"What," he said. "Is this."
"Dinner," Vita responded, her grin never faltering.
Shirou's right eyebrow twitched.
"Why is it so heavy on calories and chock full of natural aphrodisiacs?"
"Because I don't intend on letting you sleep tonight, darling~"
Shirou's mouth remained a flat line as he turned to stare straight at Vita.
"…try again, Vita."
"Well, you know…" The hammer knight grinned cheekily white resting her hands on the back of her head.
"No, I really, really don't this time."
"Maa…I saw the words 'Inexhaustible Night' in the list of dinner menus, and I knew I just had to order that!"
Shirou's palm met Shirou's face. Hard.
"Vita…"
"Oh, come on!" Her voice switched to what she believed was 'sexy'. "Inexhaustible Night. You can't tell me it's not awesome."
"If they didn't have weird ideas before…"
"Screw them and whatever they think," the small girl dismissed Shirou's complains. "Let's eat!" Plopping herself down before the feast, Vita reached for a bowl and a pair of chopsticks. "It won't be as good as what I normally get from you, but it's nice to be served by others for a change."
After considerable pestering, Shirou agreed to join Vita in a drinking binge. While the Knight of the Hammer was away on a bathroom break, Shirou sat against the border of the sliding door leading to the room's balcony. From there, he enjoyed the cool autumn breeze and the night view of the ominous forest and the starry sky above. It was really a beautiful place, and Shirou could see why couples would choose it for their romantic holidays.
He feared Vita might have fallen asleep while on the toilet when the girl announced her return as boisterously as ever.
"I'm back!"
Exactly.
"Ni-shi-shi~" The girl chuckled amusedly as she walked over to join Shirou on the boundary between the bedroom and the veranda, picking a pair of cold beers along the way. "Come on, bro. A promise is a promise! Let's have a nice talk as we drink."
After handing over one of the beers, Vita unceremoniously sat in front of the young man. Regardless of the fact she was wearing a short-skirted yukata, she sat in a most unfeminine way. Then again, the fact that she wore that yukata so loosely and slovenly showed how little thought Vita put in 'acting feminine'.
"So, Shirou. You've already made your choice, huh?"
The aspiring hero of justice sighed and smiled bitterly.
"…yeah."
And Vita could see that he meant it.
"Good. I'm happy for ya."
Shirou shook his head.
"That's it…isn't it…? I…I should be happy, but…"
"Cheers," Vita interrupted by raising her beer in an obvious cue. Shirou smiled at that. That girl always knew how to make him feel at ease.
"Cheers, Vita."
Their bottles met with a little 'clink'. While Shirou took merely a brief sip to moisten his lips and refresh himself, Vita chugged down half the bottle.
"Phew! That's the stuff."
"You're drinking too fast."
"Mah, it's not like you'll take advantage of me when I'm drunk or anything."
"Don't even joke about that, Vita."
"Ni-shi-shi~"
They remained silent for a while. Vita simply waited for her partner to find the words in his heart.
"Vita, I…"
"Hmm?"
"I…a part of me…a part of me wishes I had never met Nanoha and the others," he admitted. "They're so…fond, of me. Without me, maybe, they could live truly happy lives, without having to care for someone like me…"
"Haa…really, I fell for such a stupid guy…"
Shirou could only offer a pained, apologetic look at the rather tipsy young woman.
"Really, whenever I think you've finally gotten it, you go and say that kind of stupid thing…"
"It's not stupid!" Shirou insisted. "They could do so much better…!"
"They don't want better, you goddamned fool!" Vita retorted. "They want you."
"But I'm no good!"
"Emiya Shirou!"
Foamy beer burst out of the bottle when Vita slammed its base on the tatami mat. Shirou flinched and feared his friend would make a mess on the floor.
"Just because you can't figure your own worth doesn't give you the right to deny the feelings of others, god damn you!"
She pointed at the boy with the same hand that held her beer.
"And just because you can't see your own worth doesn't mean it doesn't exist, idiot!"
She consumed half of the beet left in the bottle in three deep gulps.
"Puagh! Moron." She glared, although her head swayed a little as the booze did its job. "I can't speak for those three, but lemme tell ya, I feel for no…no nobody. Damn it, Shirou, you've helped me so much…and the Shirou who helped me was no 'hero of justice' or whatever."
"Don't…" Shirou said in a weak voice. "…my dream…"
"This world doesn't need ideal heroes, Shirou," Vita declared, and her voice was an ultimatum. However, there was no condemnation in her tone, only the warmth of a woman who wants nothing but the best for her precious person.
"But, you know, Shirou…?" She said, in as comforting a tone as her booze-addled brain could muster. "You don't need to be a hero to save others."
Shirou gentle twirled the bottle of beer under his nose, as if hesitating to drink more. Eventually, he went with it and took a long swig.
"But, Vita…" he said after swallowing the bitter liquid. "My dream…is to save everyone."
The girl nodded sagely. "And it's an awesome dream to have, Shirou. It's just another thing I like about you; the fact you can carry such a dream. But that dream is exactly that and nothing more, and adults are not allowed to stick to nothing but dreams. Adults wake up and face the real world, Shirou."
"Then you are saying it is not possible…? You're saying I should not bother…?" Shirou confronted his best friend with those dangerous questions, his voice laden with bitter venom. He was angry. Angry, and maybe a little drunk.
"If a single person could save everyone else, then wouldn't that person be anything but a god?" Vita declared with a shrug. "There's only so much power a single person can muster. That alone should answer your question. But…"
Vita sighed as she was defeated by her own feelings. She would like nothing more than to tell him to give up and live a normal life, but her heart would not allow her to do that. To do that would be to destroy the existence that is Emiya Shirou, and her love for him made that impossible.
"…just because it's an impossible dream…doesn't mean it isn't worth striving for it."
Shirou's dazed yet hopeful face looked at the girl with the resigned smile.
"I'm not broken like Testarossa, but my feelings are the same, Shirou," she said. "I've said it before, haven't I? I'm watching your back. Today, tomorrow and until the day I die." Vita quickly regained her usual good humor. "And I'll make sure you live a long life so you can see how stupid you are every single day."
"Vita…" Shirou's whisper was like a desperate cry; for he felt he was condemning ever his best friend to the Hill of Swords. Regardless, the girl quickly chugged down the rest of her beer, put the bottle aside and stood on her knees. Reaching for Shirou's shoulders with both hands, the small girl pushed him down and for once towered over the much taller man.
"Aim for the sky, Shirou!" She whispered excitedly. In their closeness, she filled Shirou's nostrils with the scent of beer. "You believe you have to choose between love and dreams, but you don't! You can be selfish, Shirou!"
Her forehead fell until it met his.
"And it proves to be too much, you can share your burden with your best friend who loves ya," Vita concluded. "I'll be there. Always."
They stayed like that for a while, just partaking in the silence and the closeness. As usual, Vita patiently allowed Shirou to digest her words in his indecisive mind.
"Vita…" Shirou finally spoke. His face wore a promising smile. "If you keep saying things like that, you're gonna make me fall for you, you know?"
Vita grinned delightedly.
"Ku-hihi~" Her body trembled in drunken excitement. "I wouldn't blame ya. I'm just that charming."
She did not stop Shirou when he rested his hands on her slim waist. Why would she? Their faces were close enough to feel the other's breath, and their eyes could see little beyond the other's. And, well, Vita has always been the kind of person who does as she likes and faces the consequences as they come.
So, when she kissed him and found no resistance, she abandoned all pretense of holding back on her feelings.
Yagami Hayate never crossed her mind, not even for a second. The alcohol probably helped.
Their love had no witness but the stars above.