interlude 6-1 Other Night
Kibisis
In the middle of the western-style room in the Emiya residence outbuilding, dematerialised but still fully alert, a sole Servant stands guard silently.
"—"
She is monitoring the woman feed her feverish Master her breakfast, taking note of every single minute detail in her actions.
Spoon into bowl. Picks up food — likely rice mixed with soup. Blows at spoon of food to cool it. Sends it to her Master's mouth. Spoon back into bowl.
She registers all this through her sensitive senses, picking up the smell of the food, the slight movements in the air from the movements of the spoon, the telltale clink of spoon against bowl.
And she also takes note of her Master's dwindling magical signature.
"—"
She continues to stand motionlessly in the middle of the room in astral form, listening to the mundane conversation held between the loud woman and her Master.
"—That's why I'm saying, Sakura-chan, you need to get better soon and help me get a grip on the bonehead! He can't keep bringing more and more girls into the house!"
"I-I'm sure senpai isn't doing this for any u-ulterior motive…"
"Hah! You're too trusting, Sakura-chan! All men are wolves, you know! Wolves!"
"Really now, Fujimura-sensei…"
Her Master is given another spoon of food and she dutifully opens her mouth to receive it.
"But at least it looks like his affections are being shared in the right direction, that dense bonehead. He's definitely going to be late for school now, but he's willing to do that just to make sure your portion of the breakfast is specially made. See? He made this broth just for you I bet."
She feels her Master's heart rate increasing.
"R-Really? Did senpai really specially make it just for me…?"
"Of course he did! To him, Sakura-chan is more than just an underclassman. You're part of his family now for him, just as you are for me."
"I…"
"—Of course, it might even grow to become something more…like romance—!"
Her Master's heart rate skyrockets and she can feel her temperature shooting up again.
"F-F-Fujimura-sensei!"
"Ahahaha, look at that cute reaction! I wish he was here to see it, then we could make him fall head over heels for you!"
Another spoon of food.
"Why, if you just flaunt that bountiful developed body of yours, I'm sure he'll not be able to resist anymore—"
"—?!"
Her Master squeaks in embarrassment, but with her mouth full of food, she holds her tongue.
"Please, it's nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, it's an amazing weapon! I still can't believe you're thirteen centimetres bigger than last year…"
"FUJIMURA-SENSEI—!"
Her Master shouts uncharacteristically. The Servant recoils slightly in surprise, but the other woman continues to laugh heartily without a care in the world.
"Hee hee, what if I told him you're now an E-cup, he'd be head over heels—"
"—How about you, Fujimura-sensei! You're turning twenty-five this year, so please go find a boyfriend first—!"
"Geh—?!"
A spluttered but vicious rebuttal from her Master sends the woman into shocked silence.
A pause.
"…I should just show him the new underwear I'm buying for you, that should do the trick."
"Fujimura-sensei—!"
The Servant listens on wordlessly.
She continues to monitor her Master's condition and the woman's every action, but she lets her mind wander to the events last night.
She knows that the reason for her Master's condition is tied to prana deprivation due to her Master's…unique circumstances. So she decided to take matters into her own hands to solve this problem.
There were no issues whatsoever sneaking into the room without notice, especially since she had no reason to display any form of hostility. She would just come in, get what she needed, and get back out. No one would know, and no one could have known.
But the boy somehow awoke through the sweet dream she created, stopped her from divesting him of his reserves.
When his eyes snapped open and his gaze landed on her, it was all she could do to control her fight-or-flight instincts to not immediately drive a nail into his throat. Doing so would've no doubt alerted the attentive Saber in the next room, and she could not be confident in getting out of that situation alive.
"Oh no."
Instead, as she spoke involuntarily in a soft voice to herself, she spiked the pace of the prana transfer, causing his already tired body to instinctively send him to unconsciousness.
"—"
But even then, it was not enough. She only managed to sap perhaps a tenth or even less of his reserves, due to his prompt awakening. And she definitely could not stay in this room any longer if she did not want to cross a certain Servant's well-honed protective instinct.
So the only thing she could do was get up, put the blanket over the boy, and slink silently back into the shadows, her mission incomplete.
And now the Servant is forced to see her Master so weakened by her prana deprivation, putting up a brave face for the woman who wouldn't stop talking.
If the Servant has any less self-control, she would have sent her nail swinging into the woman's neck for making her Master so uncomfortable. But she understands.
To her Master, this woman is family. If she were to act right now, her Master would never forgive her. Her Master would also likely never recover from that shock. Besides, the woman is not part of the War.
…Which brings her to the topic of the other thorn in her side.
Saber's Master is a liability.
This much is certain. His very presence causes his Master to feel emotions that she would not normally feel, to dream about things that she would never attain. Normally, this would not be an issue at all; if anything she would do all she can to cheer them on.
Her greatest priority is the well-being of her Master, and a healthy romance would do her broken heart good.
But she cannot welcome this development right now. The head of the Makiri is probing her Master's defences seeking to further open the slight crack in her defences.
The fact that that has already materialised is a bad sign, and if she is to be pushed further along this path only ruin would await her at the end of it all. She would be used as a tool to reach the Makiri's goals, then discarded and broken once it is all over.
The Servant cannot accept this conclusion.
That is why she has followed her Master's every command so far, to the point of even accepting physical relations with the slimy boy who dared to lay hands on her Master without a single word of protest. Her body being defiled is a small price to pay for her Master's safety. The Servant is willing to sacrifice everything in order to reach her goal.
And to that extent, Emiya Shirou is a liability.
She was willing to keep him alive previously due to her Master's strong attachment to him and her explicit command to never turn on him or Saber. She also saw him as a useful tool to use to relieve her Master of her prana deprivation.
But that all changed last night.
The boy is too sensitive to her movements. She is not sure if it is because of the sudden opening and subsequent warming up of his Magic Circuits that has caused this, or an external influence has somehow imprinted upon him so much that his mind will not fall to carnal pleasures easily.
Or maybe this external influence is the reason behind his Circuits' sudden activity, and his sudden increased aptitude for magecraft.
The Servant does not care either way. All she cares about is results, balancing risk and liability coldly as she focuses on her sole goal in this War.
Therefore.
To the Servant, Emiya Shirou has outlived his usefulness.
But she will not act now. She will continue to bide her time, waiting for the perfect opening to get rid of him and his Servant.
It would do no good if her Master ever found out about this after all.