Taiasu swallows hard against the lump in his throat and shakes his head aggressively, trying to free the image of Tohsaka's graceful, bewitching movements from his mind. His eyes squeeze shut as he tries to recall the image of the woman and the scene that had played out in his dream last night, and takes in a large breath. Finally, his heart settles down and he opens his eyes and looks back up at his friend with a clear head.

"Yeah… It was incredible," he says, with a shy grin. "It reminds me a lot of that troupe I saw back when I got that crystal."

Tohsaka's head leans slightly as she watches his internal struggle play out, and she blushes a shade of red at his statement.

"It was that good, huh?" she says with a sly grin.

He gives a single, firm nod. "It was. You have a natural talent for it."

Her slight redness deepens, and she frowns, turning her head away. "Humph. I don't know what you're thinking, trying to flatter me like that."

"What are you planning to do now, Rin?" Archer interjects. "Will you be remaining here?"

She turns to him now and shakes her head. "Sorry, but you'll be on your own for a while. We'll be going back to Shirou's place for now." She smiles sadly. "I'll trust your judgement for when you're fit to join us. Until then, just focus on your recovery."

"You are going to Emiya Shirou's house?" Archer asks, leaning his head slightly. "Is that wise?"

"It should be fine. Why wouldn't it?"

"Because the boy is a Master who has a Servant, right?"

She shakes her head again. "He's a master pretty much in name only. We've agreed to cooperate, and he's a pretty level-headed fellow, so I don't think he'll be doing anything bad."

Archer sighs. "That is good to hear, but what about his Servant? This Saber?"

"She seems fine too," Taiasu says. "She doesn't seem like the sort of person who would attack someone unprovoked. She said she let Lancer leave after he stopped fighting, right?"

Tohsaka nods. "If you want to complain, I'll listen after you recover, Archer," she says, tweaking his nose and forcing him back a step. "Until then, just do what I said and focus on your recovery. You can join us after that, alright?"

He folds his arms and stares at the floor before offering a silent, curt nod and returning to the carved circle in the floor of her basement. His legs cross as he sits in the center, and his form fades and then vanishes.


"Can you carry that all the way?" Tohsaka asks, pointing at the chest.

Taiasu grins and nods. "Shouldn't be a problem. I'll just think of it as some exercise."

Her eyebrow arches slightly as she looks him up and down. "Are you going to walk the entire way in that?" she asks, gesturing to his set of red leathers.

He nods. "Don't know why I wouldn't. I imagine a walking chest would draw less attention than a floating chest, right?"

She smiles and nods. "Fair point."

Her mouth hangs just slightly as she watches him heft the chest over his head with what seems like no effort at all.

That's just far too strange… He's way too small to be that strong.

Her mind flashes to when he'd held back Berserker's attack last night, and she shakes her head in disbelief as she lifts the large tote from the ground and slings the strap over her shoulder.

Taiasu trots the chest to where he'd taken off his footwear and sets it down for a moment as he dons his red leather boots. Tohsaka leans down to slip on her flats and walks past as Taiasu lifts the chest over his head and carries it over the threshold. He hears the door swing closed behind him and pokes his head out from under the chest as he turns to see her briefly gesture toward the door.

"All set. Let's go," she says, turning and heading down the path toward the large, gated entrance of her mansion.

He keeps his eyes on her feet as they walk, being able to see little else.


Emiya lies on his back on a couple of the green tatami mats of his living room floor, heaving an exhausted sigh. Taiasu and Tohsaka have just left, and a measure of peace has returned to his life for the moment. He stares at the ceiling, blinking a few times and frowning thoughtfully. Other than his soft breathing, only the ticking sound of a wall clock is there to keep him company.

"A fight between master's, huh?" He rolls onto his side. "At least, that's what it's supposed to be, but things seem to have become a lot more than that…"

Even without Taiasu's 'friend', that guy in the cloak, adding complications to this, I still wouldn't have a clue… Then there's that stupid 'prize'…

He flops over onto his back and stares at the ceiling some more. "Why is loathing all I feel toward this 'Holy Grail' thing? Even after everything Tohsaka said, I couldn't care less about it…"

His eyes slip closed for a moment.

Even if I was sure it was real… using something like that, taking the easy way out.

His frown deepens. "It feels like a cheat… Even if that weren't the case, the thing picks its owner using such a violent method. Can it really be a good thing to have?"

His eyes gradually open, and he reaches his hand up toward the ceiling.

I don't care about this stupid war. I'm not in this for such a lame prize.

His hand closes, and he lets it drop to the mat beside him. "I only care about stopping people who would put others in harm's way."

He takes in a deep breath and winces slightly.

Even with what Taiasu did, I guess I'm still not completely recovered…!

The image of the girl, standing, supporting herself with her unseen sword flashes into his mind. Armor split, holding her side, and generous amounts of red flowing from her injury over her hand, pouring to the ground.

He sits bolt upright and then scrambles to his feet. "Right, her! How could I forget that! Tohsaka never even told me anything about Saber except that she carried me back…"

The image of her holding him and carrying him causes his breath to stop short for a moment.

She carried me…?

Her face flashes through his mind. Gorgeous green eyes. Fine, soft features. Delicate golden hair. He claps the sides of his head and shakes it aggressively.

Stop that, stupid! I need to go find her…

He begins his search of the house. From the living room into the hallway, flanked on one side by several glass paned sliding doors leading to the yard, and the other side by several vacant guest rooms. He grunts a bit as his head swirls slightly.

"Stupid… brain! My body is fine, so just catch up already!" He claps the back of his head again to stop his mind's baseless protests as he moves through the hall, stumbling a few times, and checks each of the guest rooms, finding all of them to be vacant.

Damn it… Where could she be?

He frowns hard and rubs his forehead. "Tohsaka said they can go into spirit form, but Saber said that she can't…" He grumbles and shakes his head. "Why do they keep saying I'm a Master if I can't even do something as basic as finding my own Servant?"

It's like handing a grunt a nuclear warhead… Well, at least this nuke can fly itself—!

"Damn it, stupid!" He thumps his forehead into the nearest wall. "She's not a weapon!"

His search takes him to the entrance hall of his residence. Crowded with several dressers of similar height, each laden with boxes, chests, cabinets, and other miscellaneous odds and ends.

Stupid house… If it weren't for Fuji-nee and me playing here as a kid, I'd be getting lost each time I had to use the bathroom.

"Not here either…" He closes the door he'd just opened after a cursory examination of the room behind it and frowns. "So the yard then… Either the shed or—!"

The dojo?

He follows the entrance hall to the hall leading to the yard, and proceeds to the large dojo that sits on the property alongside the main residence. His hand rests on the door that leads in and he hesitates.

What if she's not there… She wouldn't just leave, would she?

He shakes his head.

Wait… I know nothing about her but…

He swallows hard and completes his thought.

I still want her to be here? I want her to stay?

He swallows again and pushes against the door, and it glides open effortlessly, revealing the room within. A simple room with a flat ceiling, a wooden floor polished to a reflective shine, four walls, and little else worth mentioning. Light pours into the room from the window facing the yard.

He glances around and he breathes a silent sigh of relief.

She's here… Thank god.

Sitting as she had been the previous night when she was sipping her tea, the young woman now sits in the room's corner, resting on her legs which sit side by side, tucked underneath her. Different from the preceding night, she wears a perfectly normal set of clothing. A white blouse with a narrow strip of blue cloth under the collar which rests tied in a bow at the neck, a dark blue skirt which comes down to her knees, and a pair of black stockings. The light from the sun basks over her still and silent form as she rests in the warmth it provides with her eyes gently closed.

And she looks okay… better than okay. Beautiful, even—jeez, what the hell is wrong with me!?

He smacks the back of his head again.

The room is silent and peaceful, and the tranquil atmosphere is enhanced simply by the young woman's presence.

She looks younger than me. Where did she learn to sit Japanese-style like that…?

He continues to stare at her and think silly thoughts, unable to even take a single step closer.

This is… just like yesterday…

He swallows again, recalling the scene. Her standing over him, asking him for an order before turning and leaving him and Tohsaka in the shed. Just thinking about it again causes his face to grow warm. His stare grows more intense as she remains still and silent.

Is she… Will she really be okay with someone like me as her Master?

Time passes. The amount is impossible to measure for how deeply lost in her and his observations of her he is before her eyes slowly open. A soft gasp slips through his lips and he can feel himself frown for the moment ending. Saber stands upright and turns toward him, and he walks toward her without uttering a single word.

"You are awake now, Shirou?" she says, her voice calm, tranquil, and a perfect match for the atmosphere. It echoes softly for the room being so vacant.

"Yeah… Just a little while ago," he says, turning his stare to the floor.

She takes a half step forward, bringing herself closer to him. "Shirou? Your face is pale. Are you ill?"

If his face had been pale, it stops being the case and he can feel it quickly progress through every shade of red as he takes a quick step back.

"N-no, I'm fine! I promise, everything's fine!" he stammers out.

Saber slightly shifts her head to one side, watching his reaction, as he takes in a deep breath to calm his chest's hammering heart.

"Why am I so nervous? Seriously…"

Despite his efforts, his heart continues to thrum incessantly.

"Maybe it's her clothes… Her clothes?" He gives a brief head shake. "She changed clothes?"

He looks back up at her and realizes what his eyes had seen, yet failed to communicate to him effectively. Simple, casual clothes, in stark contrast to the armor she had been wearing the day before.

Gh… she's…

He forces his gaze to the floor again.

I knew she was, but she's just way too beautiful…

"Shirou?"

He looks up at her face when she calls out to him, and his mind locks up again. He gives himself another vigorous head-shake.

Come on, stupid. Get your head in gear!

"Sorry… Saber, right? I know we haven't had much of a chance to talk, but—"

She locks him in a hard stare. "Before that, I need to talk to you about last night."

"Last night? What about last night?"

"Your behavior was ill advised, at best," she says, frowning. "You endangered your life to save not just one, but two enemy Masters. The choice you made was…" Her stare intensifies into a glare. "It was incomprehensible. I cannot understand it."

"Ah…" Shirou's mouth hangs as he grasps for words. "You're… upset over that?"

She nods once firmly and continues to glare at him. "Unless you can provide a satisfying explanation for your actions, I cannot accept them."

"You want me to explain why I shoved two girls out of the way of a monster's sword-swing?" he says. His stare drops to the floor. "It wasn't like I was planning to get hurt or killed… Tohsaka is a classmate, and that other girl…" He looks back up at Saber again.

"I just didn't want to see either of them get hurt or killed, okay? I'm sorry I upset you. I still don't understand a lot of this. This war, this 'Holy Grail' thing. Being a Master, you being a Servant, I don't get any of it right now!" His words come loud and fast. "But for me they were just two girls about to be killed, and I can't stand by and let that happen if I can do something to stop it!"

His hand comes up and covers his mouth as Saber's eyes widen.

"Sorry…" he mutters. "I shouldn't have yelled like that."

She sighs. "That is what you were thinking?"

Shirou nods. "I'm sorry I upset you. It wasn't my plan to get hurt," he mutters.

Saber's eyes return to normal and she smiles softly. "I can accept that," she says. "But in the future, please do not place yourself in harm's way if you can avoid it. It would have been quite upsetting for me if you had been killed last night."

He looks back up at her and his eyes widen slightly.

She'd have been upset?

"I… can't promise that," he says, and her eyes widen again. "My feelings on that won't change. If I can do something to save someone, even at the cost of my body, I will… If that's a problem, then…" He grasps for his words, but comes up short, and his gaze hits the floor.

She stares at him unblinkingly for several seconds.

He would risk his own life for something like that?

"I have to thank you, though… for bringing me home last… night…" He looks back up at her and goes red again.

Damn it, every time I think about that, I remember she's a girl, and that a girl that beautiful was carrying me like that…!

He claps his face and bows toward her. "So… thank you for that."

She smiles warmly. "You are welcome. It is only natural for a Servant to act in such a manner, but hearing you thank me does make me happy. Not every Master is so polite."

He shakes his head while righting himself. "I'm not sure if I'm going to be an exception… Sorry, I never asked, but is it okay for me to call you Saber?"

She nods. "That form of address is fine. Since we have formed this contract, I will follow your orders. I will act as your sword to defeat your enemies, and as your shield to protect you."

Shirou's brow arches upward. "I… was just asking about what I should call you. I don't know about the rest of that stuff… But my sword? To win this Holy Grail War?"

Her eyes widen, and her mouth drops slightly. "That is why you summoned me, yes? Am I mistaken?"

He shakes his head. "No, that was… an emergency. I summoned you because Tohsaka said a bunch of stuff, and then that other guy was fighting against that guy in blue. Lancer, right?" He frowns and stares at the floor. "Though if I hadn't, it sounds like he probably would have killed us all, so I guess it's a good thing I did…"

He sighs heavily.

Even if it was an emergency, it doesn't change things. I'm just some amateur, and in way over my head here…

"It doesn't matter though, right? I decided I have to fight."

"Shirou?"

"Huh?" He looks up and her eyes draw him in again. "Gh… sorry. I was just talking to myself."

He takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "I owe you a proper answer. I didn't summon you because I planned on participating in this Holy Grail War." Her eyes narrow, but he holds up his hands. "Please let me finish. It wasn't my intent, but… after some things I've heard, I've decided that I'll fight after all."

Her face relaxes with a soft smile and she nods. "It makes me glad to hear you say that."

Another sigh escapes him and his gaze hits the floor again. Had his gaze carried actual weight, the floor would be pitted by now. "I have to tell you though, if I'm being honest… I don't like our chances of winning are with me as your Master. I'm not as smart or as qualified as a Magus as Tohsaka, and I'm not able to fight like Taiasu can…" His mouth forms into a thin line. "Even though that's true, I'm also not going to stand by and do nothing when someone's in trouble, so I can't promise things won't turn out like they did yesterday. Or worse…"

He forces himself to look her in the eye. "Are… are you going to be okay with that?"

"Are you saying you lack the will to fight?" She matches his gaze, and he shakes his head.

"No. I'm willing… I just don't think we have much of a chance is all. I'm asking if you're okay with being the Servant of such a Master…"

"You are my Master, Shirou," she answers calmly. "This fact will not change. A Servant does not have the freedom to choose their Master."

"I wasn't asking that…" he mutters. "I understand your circumstances, but I wanted to know if you were okay with them. I'll try asking it this way—Saber, are you content with me as your Master?"

She nods. "I am. But Shirou." She locks him in her gaze. "I will not allow defeat for my Master. If you feel you do not have a chance for victory, then I will make one for you. By whatever means possible, I will have you obtain the Holy Grail."

Shirou blushes under her gaze and warm smile, but smiles softly himself and glances down at the floor.

To obtain the Holy Grail, huh? Didn't Tohsaka say Servants also have wishes they want granted?

He looks back up at her.

I wonder what she wants from it… Wait… She said whatever means?

"Sorry, hold on Saber." His smile drops. "You said whatever means… Does that mean you don't care what you have to do? Like attacking innocent people to gain pow—"

Her eyes narrow and she frowns sharply. "Shirou, I said whatever means possible. What you are describing is not a possibility for me." She speaks with a cutting tone. "I will only do the things that do not conflict with my personal beliefs and attacking innocents or those who are unarmed violates my oath as a knight." Her hands tighten and she lets her gaze fall to the floor. "If you wish for me to act in such a way, it will require you to use one of your Command Spells."

Shirou's eyes widen for a moment, but he smiles and sighs in relief.

I was worried… I thought she'd be some sort of emotionless machine.

"I see… Thank god." He shakes his head. "I'd never ask you to do something like that. It's like you said. We can only do what's possible for us. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you like that."

He bows in contrition. Her eyes widen, and her mouth drops slightly at his reply.

"No… Please raise your head," she says with a soft smile. "You are not to blame. It was my misunderstanding. I drew a conclusion without understanding your intention."

"Huh?" He stands upright and looks into her face again. "Oh, sorry. I apologized before I was even aware…" Seeing her expression evokes another relieved sigh.

She's smiling at least… That's good. Oh right, there was that other thing —

"There was something else. The girl yesterday, Tohsaka. We've agreed to cooperate for the time being."

"You mean Rin?" Her smile dissolves into a fine line. "That is a prudent decision. I am certain she will be a great asset in helping you to become a more proper Master."

"That's a relief… I was worried what you might say…" he says, resting his hand on his chest and his gaze naturally traces her form to the floor.

Huh…? Oh yeah, that too…

"I know this is sort of sudden, but where did you get those clothes, Saber?"

She glances down at herself and then back up. "Rin prepared them for me. Since I cannot enter spirit form, she lent me these so I would not draw undue attention. Why do you ask?"

"Ah, I just thought they looked good on you—!"

No sooner do the words fall from his mouth than every drop of blood his body has to spare pools into his face, heating it like a furnace and turning it shades of red for which no names yet exist.

Gah, what the hell did I just say!?

Saber turns a soft shade of red, but beyond that maintains her composure.

Shirou claps himself with both hands and drags them down his face. "But besides that, I was also wondering, what about your armor?" he stammers out quickly. "The armor you were wearing yesterday? I was wondering what happened to it?" His face cools slightly as the blood returns from it to his brain.

"Please do not concern yourself with that," she says, her face returning to its normal, light colored complexion. "I am able to control when I wear the armor, so when I am dressed like this, I will be leaving it off. It is woven by my magical energy. I can bring it out as necessary."

"You can call it out when you like?" He sighs. "That's amazing… Sort of like what Taiasu could do?"

"Taiasu? You mean the small person?" she says, her mouth turning in a sad frown.

"Yeah… I forgot to mention—"

"I feel bad for what happened to him…" she says, cutting him off. "I felt bad for Rin, having to carry his body back here like that."

Shirou's eyes widen and his head shifts slightly to one side.

His… body?

"He fought well. I would have liked to have gotten to know him better."

"Wait, Saber, do you think—"

Shirou's inquiry is truncated by the sound of something dropping to the floor.


"Just hold on a bit longer, Taiasu," Tohsaka says.

He grunts under the chest, which remains suspended over his head by his arms.

This is so dumb… I can't believe I got this tired from carrying this stupid thing.

The return trip had been uneventful, except for a few children laughing and calling him a 'mimic'. Uneventful though it had been, he had failed spectacularly in his estimation of both his own endurance, and the distance he had to walk with the chest held aloft.

The door to Emiya's residence clicks open and Tohsaka steps inside, looking around for a few seconds.

"Tohsaka, your… shoes…" he grunts, following her just inside. He steps on the toe of his left boot and slides his foot out before doing the same with his right.

"I don't think he's in here… Saber went to his dojo after we got back. We should check there first."

Taiasu frowns "Damn… it! You might… have said that before… I got these… stupid things off…"

She chuckles. "You can always set it down, you know."

He shakes his head, which causes the chest to twist to and fro. "No… way! My pride… is at stake… I won't be… done in by a stupid… box!" he grunts as he attempts to slip his boots back on, finding a measure of success that comes only after biting back more than a few of the more colorful swears he knows.

"Alright… Dojo, you… said?" he grunts as he finishes sliding his left boot on. "Lead on… I'll… follow…!"

She sighs and shakes her head.

So he has that sort of side to him too, huh? Must be a guy thing…

He watches her feet and follows carefully, swaying a bit but managing to steady himself. She leads him through the house and out into the yard before arriving at a large building. From inside, he can hear Saber's muffled voice.

"He fought well. I would have liked to have gotten to know him better."

Taiasu grunts again as Tohsaka slides the door open and steps through, with him walking in behind her.

"Wait, Saber, do you think—"

Tohsaka lets the bag down and Emiya and Saber turn toward the sound of it dropping.

"Huh?" Emiya's gaze traces a path to her and her bag, and his brain locks up.

Wait, what?

His gaze then moves back to her, and his eyes widen.

Wait, she changed—those are her casual clothes?

Then his eyes fall to the two bladed rings suspended at her sides.

Those too… Okay, wait… What?

"Tohsaka? What happened? Why are you here again?"

His gaze moves to the chest that seems to wobble back and forth on two legs, and his head leans to one side.

"Wait… you have a mimic? Wait, before that, mimics are real?"

"Tohsaka, can I… set this thing down… please?"

"I said you could, but you were muttering about your pride," she says, smirking. "Now I kind of want to see how long you can hold it over your head."

"Tohsakaaaa!"

Saber glances down at the chest wobbling about and leans her head slightly.

"Fine, just be careful with it," Tohsaka says with a slight laugh.

With another grunt, he makes his way out from under it and lets it come to a rest with a gentle thump on the floor. He wipes his forehead and brings his gloved hand back, saturated with perspiration.

Jeez, I'm never going to do that again if I can help it…

Saber's eyes widen and her mouth opens slightly as she takes a few steps forward.

He survived?

He stretches and groans as his back pops in a few places while he heaves an exhausted sigh as he glances around the room.

"Wait, it's not a mimic?" Emiya's head straightens, and he rubs his neck. "Hold on, you walked all the way through town with that thing over your head?"

Taiasu's red face returns to normal after being freed from the weighty burden. "Yeah, but I won't be doing it again if I can help it," he mutters. "And yeah, mimics are real."

"Wait, they are?" Tohsaka and Emiya both respond in unison, looking down at him, and he nods.

"And very difficult to deal with," he grumbles "They make it impossible to naturally recover from injuries for a really long time."

"You…" Saber, silent until now, speaks while walking toward him and kneeling down to his level. "You survived?"

He can see his reflection in her eyes, and her sudden closeness forces him back a step.

Gh… why the hell is everyone in this world so damned pretty…!

She regards him with careful consideration. "I believed Berserker had ended you. How did you withstand such an attack?"

"Huh? Wait, you thought…? Tohsaka, you let her think—Hey!"

She grabs his shoulders and spins him around, lifting his cape and tracing with her hand the path where Berserker's weapon had nearly split the small man in half.

"H-hey! That t-tickles! Wait, wh-why does that t-tickle?!" He twitches and squirms under her attentions.

Right… Berserker split my armor, that's why…

"And you have already recovered to such a degree?"

He takes a couple steps forward to put himself out of her reach and sighs before turning to look at her face to face. "It's like I said last night, I can recover pretty quickly once I'm out of a fight," he mutters, fixing his cape. "As long as I have the aether for it. Also, I used the Dancer's Soul Crystal this morning to help Emiya recover from his injury as well, and that helped me too. As for why I'm not dead—"

"Shingan…"

Taiasu looks up at Emiya as the words pass through his mouth. "Y… yeah. Shingan. You knew?"

Emiya nods. "The more I watched you fight, the more I remembered from the stone…"

"What is Shingan?" Saber asks, standing up again.

"It's kind of hard to explain…" Taiasu says, frowning thoughtfully. "When I'm attuned with the Samurai's Soul Crystal, I can channel a small amount of aether into my mind to allow me to glimpse a moment in time when an enemy's attack will be less severe, and how I can make that moment be the one that happens…"

"Future sight?" Tohsaka says as her eyes widen.

"I guess…? But the window is tiny," he says, looking back up at Emiya. "Only a few seconds. But there's more—"

Emiya nods. "Jigen, right?"

Taiasu grins. "Yep. Jeez, you'd be a natural Samurai… Jigen can force a fresh wound closed, to a certain degree, but only if it was predicted by Shingan." His grin dips. "It hurts to think about… but after I fell, I knew the hit was coming. Shingan helped me see how I could avoid a fatal blow… Turns out the best way was to just lay there, oddly enough. Then I used Jigen to keep myself from bleeding out after he ripped his weapon from my back."

"That is… remarkable," Saber says, staring down at him.

He shakes his head. "It would have been better if I hadn't fallen, but…" He frowns. "I went too hard again. Not so hard as I had against Lancer, but hard enough for that to happen… And even if I didn't die, I was still taken out of the fight."

"That explains how you're not dead, and we're glad for that, but…" Emiya gestures toward the bladed rings at Tohsaka's side. "What about those?"

"He let me use the Soul Dancer's Crystal," Tohsaka says, grinning. "It was… pretty amazing."

Taiasu's head leans to one side.

Soul Dancer…? No, it's… Actually, I think I like the sound of that better.

"What for?" Emiya asks.

"For the same thing, he used it for this morning, only for Archer's sake," she says. "It wasn't as helpful as it was for you, but Archer said it did something for him at least."

"He said that before. He used it on Shirou?" Saber says, and Taiasu nods.

"Waltz of Healing," he and Tohsaka say in unison. He glances up at her, and she nods, showing her deference. "Soul Dancer's can meld and manipulate aether into something that can be released to help speed up natural healing processes," he says.

"It's healing magic," Tohsaka says, smiling.

Taiasu shrugs. "Close enough. We have that too, but I never learned any of it… Wait, you have healing magics here?"

She and Emiya nod in unison, and then Emiya's gaze drops again to the large bag and chest now on the floor near the entrance to the dojo.

"So why are you here, again? I asked, but I got… distracted." He mumbles the last part.

"Oh, that?" She lightly kicks the bag with her foot. "I was always coming back. I had to go get some stuff from my house, since I'll be staying here, right?"

Emiya's eyes widen and he balks. "You—living here? Since when!?"

"Since we're cooperating," she says, pushing her hair back. "It only makes sense, after all."

His mouth flaps a few times, but fails to produce more than a few inarticulate mutterings.

Something terrible is happening…

"So where's my room?" she says, smiling with her entire face. "Unless you don't have one ready. In that case, I can prepare it myself."

"Hey, hold on, I didn't—"

This is awful. If people find out the school's idol is living with me—that's how rumors get spread! It'll be like throwing a lit match into a pile of dry leaves! And that's if Fuji-nee doesn't flay me first!

"You should probably prepare a room for her also," she says, gesturing toward Saber. "Since she can't dematerialize, she'll need someplace to sleep. Unless you planned to share your room with her?" She grins like an imp.

"S-stupid! That's impossible! We can't share a room, she's a girl!" His words tumble out like the marbles he's so desperately trying to keep himself from losing.

"He'd probably like someplace to sleep too, right, Taiasu?" she says, ignoring his protests.

"I mean… I'd rather sleep indoors than outside, if it's an option," he says, scuffing his foot on the polished dojo floor.

"Hey, don't ignore me! We're not done talking about where Saber will sleep yet!"

"You're still going on about that?" Tohsaka folds her arms and sighs. "But if that's how he feels. You heard what Shirou said, right Saber? He doesn't want to be in the same room as a girl."

Taiasu quickly turns red.

Please don't remember, please don't —

She grins and glances down at him. "Oh yeah… That reminds me—"

He looks up at her, pleading and begging silently with his eyes.

"—of you staying at my place, Taiasu."

His gaze hits the floor like a slab of concrete.

She's… ruthless. Merciless…

"Huh?" Emiya looks down at him the hole he's currently trying to stare into the floor. "What's she mean?"

Her grin broadens. "Oh, just that he didn't want to sleep in my room."

Taiasu whimpers, covering his head.

"So where did he sleep?" Emiya asks, his head tilting slightly.

"In my room," she says plainly. "On the floor… at least until Archer—"

"STOP! PLEASE JUST STOP!" he says, holding his head between his knees, and Tohsaka finally yields after laughing for a moment.

"You're evil…" he mutters as she finishes her brief laughing fit.

She settles down, but still wears her playful smirk. "No, you're just fun to pick on. Same as him," she says, turning back to Emiya. "And on that note, what are you going to do about Saber?"

"What's there to do?" he says, turning red. "She can't stay in my room!"

"That is not acceptable, Shirou. The times you are sleeping are when you are most vulnerable, and I cannot act as your shield if I am not with you during those times." Saber stares hard at Emiya, wearing a small frown with her eyebrows tilting inward.

"You can glare at me all you like, but I won't be changing my mind!" he says desperately. "Don't you even get what it means for a guy and a girl to be sharing the same room!?"

Both of their eyes widen and their mouths slack slightly as they stare at him without responding.

"Servants are just Servants," Tohsaka says after a few moments. "Treating them like a human being is pointless."

"You can't say that!" Taiasu says, looking up at her. "I mean, she looks just as much a Hyur as you do! You might say that about Berserker, but her, Archer, even Lancer are as much the same as you are!" He scuffs his foot a bit. "Just… you know, really super-strong."

Emiya glances down at him. "Wait, Hyur?"

"Gh…" He bites his lower lip. "Damn it… Yeah, Hyur… Well, you call them human here. Sorry… I'll try to keep that straight."

"They may look the same as us, but I promise you they aren't," Tohsaka says. "But I guess it's useless trying to convince Shirou of that."

Emiya frowns softly on hearing her speak again.

Wait, something's off…

"Hold on, Tohsaka… When did you start using my name?"

Her eyes widen slightly and her mouth hangs a bit. "I am? I guess I wasn't aware. Must have been for a while now."

He frowns and mutters something to himself.

"If it's a problem, I can stop, but is it a problem? You don't like it?"

His frown cuts deeper into his face and he folds his arms, glancing away.

She just does what she wants. Damn it, Issei, why'd you have to be so right about her…?

"Fine, whatever. I don't care, whichever you prefer."

"If you're sure, I'll do that then," she says with a small smile.

"I'll still call you Emiya," Taiasu says.

"Gh…" He glances down at him and frowns.

Right, he asked me that a while ago too. I never did answer him…

He sighs "No, it's fine… I'd feel weird if only one person is doing it. Just call me like they are," he says.

"R-really? I mean, if you're sure… I don't want to offend…" He scuffs the floor with his red boot a few times. "It will probably take me some time to switch over… I got used to using your last name."

Shirou smiles a bit. "Well, take your time with it, it's fine."

"Sorry, but can we please address the issue of where I will be sleeping?" Saber says with a small frown.

"We can try, but I think it will be hard with Shirou acting like he is," Tohsaka says with a small smile and her inner brow arching upward. "He can't seem to see you as anything but human. You may have to give up."

Saber holds her hands on her hips and continues to try staring Shirou down. "I did not hear him say that he was dead-set against it, Rin. It just seems troublesome for him at this point."

"Well, that's what you're saying, but what are you saying, Shirou?" Tohsaka smirks with her entire face as she also stares him down

His gaze hits the ground like a stone.

She really doesn't care and just keeps using my first name like that… Fine, whatever. I'll just have to get used to it, but the big problem is Saber's room.

"Shirou, I will ask you again. A Servant's duty is to guard their Master at all times, and especially when they are sleeping." Saber continues to hold him fast in her gaze. "You understand that in this case, as my Master, that means that I have to be guarding you as your Servant, yes?"

He glances up at her and sees her small frown, but he still shakes his head.

How am I supposed to keep my cool with someone like that sleeping in the same room?

"I'm sorry, I'll prepare a separate room nearby. One as close as possible. Can you please be happy with that?"

Saber continues to glare at him, and Tohsaka maintains her impish grin. Taiasu frowns and shakes his head.

Poor guy… I get where he's coming from—!

The image of the woman he believes to be his wife from his dream flashes through his mind and he winces slightly against it.

No… actually, I only think I do. I need to get this sorted out sooner, rather than later…

"Y-you can't change my mind with intimidation, alright?" he stammers out against Saber's vexed glare. "I won't yield on this! See it from my perspective, alright?"

"I do not understand, Shirou," Saber says. "Please explain it more clearly."

"Kh-!" His face burns like a stove top that someone forgot to turn off.

Damn it, is she really going to make me say it…!

He fidgets, wringing his hands. "F-fine… I can't stay in the same room with you because—"

"Don't you understand?" Tohsaka says, grinning. "He doesn't want you in the same room as him because he's afraid he might attack you."

"T-TOHSAKA!" Shirou yells as his face turns even more new shades of red.

"Attack? That would be most unwise," Saber says obliviously. "I am reasonably certain that I could defend myself were he to choose to do so."

Tohsaka shakes her head and sighs. "No, not like that. I mean—"

She leans in close and speaks low into Saber's ear. Shirou's head feels about two seconds away from bursting into flames.

Damn you, you evil witch!

Taiasu glances between all three of them, rubbing the back of his head. As Tohsaka speaks, Saber's eyes widen, narrow, and her face goes slightly red for a few seconds.

"Understand now?" Tohsaka says, pulling away.

"Not entirely," Saber says. "Though such things have happened between Master and Servant in the past, it is not as if he could force such a thing to occur, so I do not understand his concern."

"It is a concern!" Shirou says plaintively. "Even if I couldn't, and I absolutely positively would never even consider thinking of even trying such a thing, unless we were both okay with it, it would still be a huge problem for me!" His words pour out like water from a broken faucet.

"Unless you were—"

"How am I supposed to sleep if you're sleeping right next to me like that!?" He cuts Tohsaka's prodding question off before she can finish. "If I can't make you understand something like that, I'll just have to use my Command Spell!"

Saber frowns slightly. "That you would do such a thing is problematic," she says sharply. "We will fail for a certainty if you were to force me into a position where I could not protect you like that."

Tohsaka crosses her arms and sighs. "He'd be the first and last. I'd imagine there are some Masters who would use it to force sex on their Servants, but I never heard of one who would use it to force them to abstain."

"Kh, TOHSAKA!" Shirou groans in near agony at her tactless bluntness. "Please at least ACT with some decency!"

"I am not pleased with this, but if it is the only way, I will follow Master's plan," she says, sighing. "But what if you were attacked? Some Servants, like Assassin, can hide themselves. Would you be able to protect yourself until I arrive?"

"Uh, well…" He stares at the floor, wringing his hands.

Tohsaka smirks. "That shouldn't be an issue," she says. "This house has a boundary field that can let us know if we have any uninvited guests. Having to deal with a large group would still be a problem, but you should be able to reach him in time otherwise, so you can choose whichever room you like."

Saber's face is still fraught with concern. "I am still not okay with this…"

"What about right next to Shirou's room?" Tohsaka says, still smirking and clearly loving every moment. "It's fine if she's not in your room, right, Emiya-kun?"

He frowns hard.

Gh… Why is she switching back now?

"Fine. I guess I can work with that," he grumbles.

"So with that resolved, where will I be staying?" Tohsaka asks as she grabs her bag and walks off. She stops at the door and glances down at her chest. "Taiasu, can you get that for me once I find a good enough room?"

He sighs heavily and nods. "As long as the room isn't back at your place, sure."

Tohsaka nods and heads from the dojo toward the house.

"What… is that?" Shirou asks, pointing at the chest.

"It's like my pack, apparently," Taiasu says. "We met the guy who made it. Zelretch, I think he said his name was?"

"Zelretch?" Saber stares down at him now. "Kischur Zelretch?"

Taiasu nods. "I think he said that's what his name was… Apparently when Tohsaka got in contact with… whoever—! Oh, that reminds me!"

He digs into his pack and pulls out a small blue oyster shell. It flashes in his hand briefly before he pops it open, removing a small blue pearl.

"Tohsaka told me about something in your world called a phone, and it reminded me of this," he says, holding it out to Shirou. "She also said I should be careful about it because someone called 'Big Tel-Com' might come kill me if they found out I had it."

"We would not allow such a thing to happen, Taiasu," Saber says, smiling softly.

"Saber, Taiasu… Big Tel-Com isn't a person…" Shirou says, reaching out and taking the pearl. "But we can talk about that later… maybe. So what—!?"

'Seriously, why are there so many rooms here?'

Tohsaka's frustrated voice beaming directly into Shirou's mind causes him to nearly drop the pearl, and he spins around behind him. "Hah!? Tohsaka?"

'What? Shirou? Where?'

Taiasu watches their conversation with a sly grin.

'It's okay, Tohsaka. I gave him one of those blue pearls. I'm guessing you're still getting used to it. I've been filtering out your thoughts for a while now,' he communes to them both.

"Wait, she can hear me?" Shirou says, his eyes going wide.

'Yes, I can hear you. And what do you mean, filtering out my thoughts, short man?'

"It's something you can do if you don't want to hear someone's thoughts," Taiasu says, both out loud and through the pearl.

Shirou shakes his head. "This is already giving me a headache."