A Thousand Years

by IlurThVir

How does it feel to be forgotten? To be looked at by someone with the same face, the same voice, and to not see recognition cross their eyes? Artoria Pendragon would find out very soon. Emiya Shirou, Demi-Servant vessel to Sengo Muramasa, is summoned to Chaldea, but without his memories of her. Will this be enough to stop the King of Knights from pursuing her beloved? (FiveChapter)

2. Part 1 of 5

PART 1 OF 5

---

Chaldea.

An extremely advanced organization whose only and primary objective is to protect humanity. Among its ranks, the leading exponents are: the last Master of humanity, Fujimaru Ritsuka – his faithful companion, Mashu Kyrielight – the genius of the Renaissance era, Leonardo da Vinci – the greatest expert of Chaldea, Doctor Roman – along with the rest of Chaldea's staff and many other Servants summoned from the Throne of Heroes.

Due to the large number of Servants around, as you can imagine, usually every day in Chaldea is extremely busy. However, no one could have predicted what happened that day… that calm and seemingly normal day when a certain Hero was summoned into the ranks of Chaldea. A Hero extremely different from the others.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the story of his arrival in Chaldea, and of his fated encounter with the person who, unbeknownst to him, had been waiting for him for a lifetime.

The story of a boy with no memories, and the longing King who has been waiting for him all her life.

---

Ritsuka sighed as he headed for the summoning room. Once again, after countless hours of grinding for saint quarts, he had finally gotten enough elements to attempt a new summon. And this time, with a little bit of luck, he could try to summon a Heroic Spirit instead of craft essences, Black Keys or Mapo Tofu as had happened in the last six summoning events.

As he walked through the white corridors of Chaldea, many Servants who saw him waved to him, greeting him from afar. Among them, Ritsuka recognized Siegfried, Lord El Melloi II, Cú Chulainn, Tamamo, and even Nightingale. All of them nodded towards him, wishing him good luck.

And, oh boy, he really, REALLY, needed it.

At the present time, Chaldea could count approximately on 73 Servants, all of them different and with various abilities and classes respective to their legend. However, even if it was not a small number, it still wasn't enough. Ritsuka knew it, as did everyone who lived here in Chaldea. With Solomon's threat ever closer and his power growing, their current strength was not enough. It was nowhere near enough. If they were to survive, if they were to defeat Solomon and save humanity from his threat, they had to increase their ranks and gain powerful allies. It was the only thing they could do. It was their duty, and they couldn't evade it.

After all, the future of their world depended on this.

Ritsuka shook his head, putting those negative thoughts aside. Now it wasn't the time to get anxious, he decided, observing the entrance to the summoning room. He took a deep breath before entering. "Today will be different. I'm sure of it. I will summon something good," he declared in his thoughts, walking slowly through the entrance.

Mashu was waiting for him inside the room. Her violet eyes and her cheerful smile welcomed him like a ray of sunshine in the midst of the storm that haunted the walls of Chaldea, calming him instantly. "Senpai! You're finally here," the girl greeted, with that sweet tone she reserved only for him. "We are ready. We can start whenever you want."

Yes, they were definitely ready. Ritsuka smiled confidently as he placed the saint quartz on the summoning altar. "Let's begin, Mashu," he said, trying to be optimistic.

The girl nodded. "Are you sure about this?" she asked.

The young Master nodded in turn. "Yes. We need this, and we can't wait anymore. After all these weeks of grinding for saint quartz and summon tickets, we are finally ready. It's time to summon some new Servants."

This time it would be successful. He felt it. It had to be.

Mashu hesitated for a couple of seconds, before smiling again and nodding emphatically. "All right. Let's do our best, Senpai," she said.

So, they started.

---

Meanwhile, in the Cafeteria, a tiny strand of blonde hair shook occasionally with its owner's movement, moving left and right with each sway of the head.

Artoria sipped from her glass filled with hot tea, silently enjoying its familiar and nostalgic taste. Her green eyes seemed distant as she gazed forward. While maintaining her regal posture she smoothed out her ocean blue, sleeveless halter dress. A golden necklace adorned her otherwise bare neck since her hair was tied up with blue ribbon in the servant's usual crowned bun. Resting both hands on her lap, the young woman listened to the light piano music that resounded in the air, enjoying Mozart's elegant sonata.

"Hi Arty," came a cheerful voice to her side.

She smiled back and replied. "Hi, Jeanne."

The Saint waved before sitting down at the table next to her, with a tray filled with pastes in hand. Artoria looked at her with a smile full of affection. She was close friends with Jeanne, and with her and Mashu they made quite the trio on the fields. The only qualm she had regarding the beautiful girl was that sometimes others would joke they were sisters since they had identical faces. While she could see that, their eyes and hairstyles definitely separated them as individuals much to her relief. It was just a nitpick though.

"You came here early, today," Jeanne commented, noting the lack of food in front of her friend. "Have you already eaten in the Dining Room?"

Artoria tried to answer, but she didn't make it in time.

"She just finished."

Across the table, busy wiping his hands with an apron, Emiya made his appearance, with his lips pulled in a knowing and sarcastic smile. "Honestly… she asked for seconds three times today. At this rate I'll have to hire someone else in the kitchen, or I'll end up exhausted because of her," he joked, giving her a wink.

The King of Knights blushed furiously as Jeanne laughed. "I-I do not eat that much!" she protested weakly, crossing her arms with a pout.

The white-haired man only smirked wider before sitting down. "Brooding will never suit you, Saber."

"Neither does tardiness suit you, Archer," the woman grumbled in response, causing a small chuckle at her feeble attempt to get back at the older man.

Jeanne laughed even more at that scene. "Come on, don't make fun of her, Emiya. I personally find her appetite very cute…" she said, trying to defend her. Instead, that statement made Artoria blush even more, prompting her to sink her face into her hands in attempt to regain some composure. Both of her friends laughed seeing her so embarrassed.

A third voice entered the scene soon after. "Grumbling over something, King Arthur? Did your Knights cause trouble again? Or is it that Emiya never cooks enough for you?" asked Diarmuid, making her blush at how all of her friends knew her so well at this point.

"…something like that," she stated, trying to cool herself. "At least you don't joke with me about it."

The Irish Lacer smiled, sitting next to Emiya. "Angering the King of Knights is not something I enjoy too much," he said simply with a friendly wink.

The four friends giggled among themselves, before starting to chat as usual. Although some of them had shared a hostile past – Artoria had to fight both Emiya and Diarmuid during her past experiences on the Holy Grail Wars – now that they were reunited in Chaldea, they found some sort of bond between them. A sort of balance achieved after months of living together and fighting side by side. It had been inevitable, in a sense, given the threat to humanity from Solomon. And because of this, the three of them decided to put aside their resentment and join forces for the sake of the mission.

So, they could call themselves companions now. Friends, even, given how well they got along lately.

"Hey. Look at that, guys."

Their talk was suddenly interrupted when Diarmuid motioned for them to look to their right. Artoria complied, observing a pair of Servants as they entered the Cafeteria. A tall, fat man dressed in Roman clothing, accompanied by a short, long-haired woman whose appearance was undoubtedly regal. They walked side by side, with their arms joined together and their eyes always fixed on the other's face. They were talking happily, laughing, lost in their own little world. They looked like a couple.

And in fact, given their identities, they really were.

"Oh my… look at them! They're so sweet! " Jeanne exclaimed softly, gushing.

Emiya smirked. "Oh? Caesar and Cleopatra finally made peace with each other?" he asked sarcastically.

"Seems like it. About damn time," Diarmuid added, smiling as well.

"You guys are terrible. They've always been in love with each other, even when they were forced to part in life. It's good to see them together again now," sighed Jeanne, shaking her head.

The two men laughed, but didn't say anything. It was just too fun for them. Although plenty of Servants had been in a relationship in their previous life, it was still rare for two Heroic Spirits to find each other after death. From this point of view, Caesar and Cleopatra were a rare case. Unique, even. Not to mention, also, that it was even more difficult for two Servants from different time periods to fall in love with each other. So, it was fun to watch.

Jeanne smiled with barely contained happiness. "I'm so happy for them," she said in the end.

"Yeah… I envy them, to be honest. I too wish I could see my dear Gràinne once again," admitted Diarmuid, lost in his thoughts.

Emiya closed his eyes, sinking his back into the chair and crossing his arms. "Unfortunately, not everyone has the same luck as they do," he said bitterly with a sad smile. His eyes flickered to the blond woman in front of him. "Don't you think so, Saber?"

But Artoria did not answer. While her friends were talking, she kept watching the interaction between the two Servants with a smile on her face, completely lost in her thoughts. Seeing things like this made her remember the old times… her past experience with a young redhead boy, during an Holy Grail War that happened many, many years ago, in another timeline entirely.

And for a moment, after she thought about it, she was overwhelmed with nostalgia. Even here, in this place where she was reunited with people she could call friends like her knights, Merlin or Jeanne… she couldn't help but long the man who managed to make her accept her life and her mistakes. The man who made her forget about the Holy Grail, who made her feel like a woman again.

The man who saved her and, more than anything else, the man she came to love.

After all, how could she forget? Artoria Pendragon came from Avalon, the ever distant utopia where King Arthur is fated to rest until the world needs her again. The place where she has been waiting for thousands of years, hoping for a miracle to happen and be finally reunited with him again, before being summoned here, in Chaldea. But Artoria knew that, just as she has been waiting eternally for him, he has been searching endlessly for her.

That was their destiny, after all. To be together. She had, and has even now, complete confidence in him. She knew that they will be reunited, one day. But at the same time, she couldn´t help but feel a growing emptiness and pain in her heart knowing how tiny their chances of meeting again were.

"When will I be able to see you again, Shirou? How much longer do I have to wait? I… I miss you, you know?"

A lone tear fell from her eye.

"I miss you so much."

The red archer was the first to notice the change. His stern gaze changed to one of compassion as he saw Artoria's eyes fill with tears. "...You're still thinking about him, aren't you?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Jeanne and Diarmuid turned, and their eyes widened as they saw the pain in their friend's face. It didn't take them long to figure out what – who – she was thinking about.

Artoria nodded weakly, unable to answer with words.

Silence fell between them. No one was able to speak for some time. Until, finally, Jeanne took courage and put a hand on her shoulder. "Do not cry, Arty. We're here for you," she said, smiling softly in attempt to support her. "One day… One day you will be able to see him again. I'm sure of it."

The crying King nodded, while Emiya and Diarmuid exchanged worried looks.

"Yes," she said, wiping away her tears. "Yes, I will."

---

Despair.

That was the one and only thing that Ritsuka was feeling in that moment. Total despair as the saint quartz and summoning tickets he was saving up for were completely wasted… because all that came out of the summoning system was the exact same thing from last time: craft essences.

It only worsened when he realized that most of the craft essences were Mapo Tofu and Black Keys.

He had failed.

He had failed once again.

"Damn it, not again..." he muttered as he collapsed to the ground, crying. "This is just like the last time…"

Mashu rushed to his side, her eyes filled with worry. "Senpai… please, don't cry," she said worryingly. "The summoning didn't go well today... but we can always try again next week."

Ritsuka shook his head bitterly. "This is the ninth time I have failed a summoning, Mashu," he said in a devastated tone of voice. His disappointment was painfully noticeable. "I've never failed so many times in a row."

Mash looked at his Master with sadness, desperately trying to find something to say to make him feel better. However, before she could open her mouth to speak, the door behind them opened suddently, revealing a platinum blonde-haired female figure, wearing a Taisho-style Kimono that consisted of a Hakama and long leather boots.

"I knew I would find you here," the young woman said, stepping in front of them.

Ritsuka blinked confusedly. "Okita?" he exhaled, surprised by her unexpected entry in the summoning room. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you two," replied the woman – Okita – adjusting a lock of hair with a casual motion of her hand. She cast an indifferent look at the young Master still on the ground. "From what I see, I take it that the summoning has failed again, right?"

Mashu nodded. "Unfortunately… yes," she admitted slowly. Ritsuka just looked down with shame.

Okita sighed, shaking her head. "It seems that I was right to worry," she thought to herself. Then, she solemnly stepped in front of the Master, forcing him to raise his head to look at her. "Since we've come to this… here. You can have this," she said, handing him a few saint quartz.

Ritsuka looked at her in shock. Mashu gaped as well. "O-Okita, you..." he stammered.

"Yeah, I know. It's not much... but take it," repeated the Servant, nonchalant.

Ritsuka hesitated for several seconds, still obviously shocked. Then, finally, he got to his feet and grabbed the saint quartz from her hand. He gave her a stiff nod of gratitude. "Thank you."

The young Saber just smiled slightly.

After Ritsuka released himself from the stupor, he then went up to the summoning altar and placed the saint quartz there. As the summoning system glowed up once again, Ritsuka made one last prayer.

"Please… Please! Give me something good! I beg you!"

Then, unexpectedly, something happened.

As he prayed, the altar lit up, temporarily blinding the three of them from how bright the light was. The saint quartz suddently disappeared, then formed into multiple blue orbs. Then the blue orbs started to connect with each other and turned into a ring of blue sparks swirling around. Then the ring split into three and continued to swirl around.

Then, something unexpected happened. An immense column of energy and white light suddenly appeared from the ground, blinding everything and forcing Ritsuka, Mashu and Okita to cover their eyes with a hiss of pain and a gasp on shock. Then, the pillar of light started to cackle as gold sparks moved around it, causing it to implode from within. And then, after a couple of seconds, the entire column of energy disappeared as another explosion of light occurred.

The light flooded the whole room again. Ritsuka, Mashu and even Okita had to cover their eyes to resist the flash of light that pervaded everything, blinding them for what seemed like an eternity.

"S-Senpai! What's going on?" yelled Mashu, still blinded by the flash.

"What the hell is this?" cried Okita, just as confused as the others were.

Ritsuka gritted his teeth. "W-What is this?! This has never happened before!"

They received no answers to their doubts. None of the three could say how long that glow lasted, but finally, after an indefinite period of time, the light began to thin out more and more, until the room returned to normal at last. Then, when they finally opened their eyes, they saw him.

Ritsuka and the others blinked in amazement as a figure, a man, had appeared at the center of the room.

The man looked like a young boy in his mid twenties. He had red hair, golden brown eyes, and judging from his facial features he was without a doubt of Japanese origins. He was shirtless, with an extremely developed musculature and prominent abs in his chest. On his left arm there was a red shroud with markings, and a white cape similar to a kimono hung on his shoulders. On his legs he wore black pants and steeled boots, along with a Katana that was strapped on his side. He looked like a samurai of some sorts.

After a few moments full of tension, the new Servant slowly opened his eyes, observing with a serious and penetrating gaze the three young people still frozen from shock in front of him. Then, in a deep, calm voice, he addressed his first words towards the boy, Ritsuka.

"Saber-Class Servant: Emiya Shirou. Pseudo-Servant vessel to Sengo Muramasa, the demonic blacksmith. I have responded to your summoning call. I ask you… are you my Master?"

The seconds become endless and the tension grew in the air as the three of them looked at each other before answering the man. After a few minutes of silence, Ritsuka finally spoke out.

"…Y-Yes," he replied, trying to recover from the shock. He looked at the man in front of them, swallowing nervously from the tension. That Servant was... weird. A strange aura of power and confidence surrounded him completely, and his mere presence seemed to inspire respect and apprehension at the same time. And that worried Ritsuka… a lot. Very few times he had met Servants with such a pressing aura around them. Servants such as Gilgamesh or Ozymandias. And if his instincts weren't fooling him, this feeling meant that this Emiya Shirou was as powerful and dangerous as they were... if not more.

And besides that, this man was also a Pseudo-Servant, something that he has not seen in a while. Also, his summoning was different from the usual procedure. There has never been such a burst of light during a summoning before. So, who was this guy? He had never met such a warrior before.

"Ritsuka! Mashu! Just what is going on here?" A new voice came in.

Ritsuka, Mashu and Okita looked behind them to see Da Vinci coming into the room. She was running furiously towards them, with a tense expression on her face. "We just detected an incredible blast of energy coming from here! What happened?"

Mashu blinked confusedly. "S-Senpai managed to summon a new Servant," she explained quickly, regaining control of her voice. "But an immense energy force came out during the summoning. I-It has never happened before."

Da Vinci stopped, watching the new Servant with narrowed eyes. The red-haired man returned the woman's gaze with an impassive look. "Who are you?" she asked.

"…I'm a Saber-Class Servant. And I see no reason to reveal my name to another Servant," he replied, reaching out for the hilt of his sword.

Ritsuka's eyes widened. "Wait, Shirou-san!" he exclaimed frantically. "She is not an enemy! We are all allies here! No need to fight! I swear!"

The man – Shirou – hesitated upon hearing this. He gazed at the young boy for several seconds, before relaxing and letting go of the sword hilt. "As you wish, Master. Then I apologize for the misunderstanding. It's just that I didn't expect to see other Servants right after being summoned," he explained, observing Okita, Mashu and Da Vinci with a puzzled look. "A Master with multiple Servants… I take this isn't an Holy Grail War, is it?"

"No, it's not," confirmed Da Vinci, relaxing as well. Mashu and Okita soon followed her example. "We are in Chaldea, a containment facility full of Servants just like us. Our goal is to join forces to defend the future of the world from Solomon who threatens to destroy it. Chaldea is an organization designed to protect humanity. What we do is pretty simple: we find the various singularities that threaten the stability of the planet, and we fix them."

Shirou stared at them for a long time before nodding. "A noble purpose, indeed. Then, if this is my Master's will, I'll join forces with Chaldea too," he replied without batting an eye, as if it were obvious to do so.

Mashu looked at the new Servant carefully. He was strange, no doubt. "Da Vinci, can you check Shirou's stats, please?" she asked then.

The older woman did so immediately. As Da Vinci looked at Shirou's stats on the computer, she noticed something unexpected. Something that made her gasp in shock.

Servant: Emiya Shirou (Saber)

Strength: A

Endurance: B+

Agility: B+

Mana: B

Luck: E

Noble Phantasm: ?

"Che cosa? Why can't I see his Noble Phantasm?" she thought.

"What's wrong?" Okita asked, still looking at the new Servant wairly.

Da Vinci swallowed. "Well...Ritsuka, Mashu, you might wanna see this."

Ritsuka and Mashu then went over to see what was going on with Shirou's stats. While Ritsuka was inwardly smiling as he finally got something good for once – his stats were freaking high compared to the average Servants – they were also surprised at how his Noble Phantasm was completely blurred out. This did not make any sense.

"What's the meaning of this? Why can't we see his Noble Phantasm?" he asked.

Mashu looked at Da Vinci. "Is it even possible for this to happen?" she asked as well.

The Italian genius shrugged. "Honestly, even with my genius and experience, this is something that I am stumped on as well. We never had a case like this before… so this is a first. I don't know what to think."

"I think I can answer that for you," Shirou stated suddently.

The four of them looked at the new Servant, their eyes wide in surprise. "What do you mean?" asked Okita.

The man named Shirou merely crossed his arms, bowing his head slightly to the side. "I believe something went wrong with the summoning system," he explained. "When I sensed Master's call right before the summoning, the connection between us suddently broke. I do not know how or why it happened, but the Contract between us has weakened slightly. The proof of this… is that I cannot remember my life."

The room fell into silence.

Seconds passed, followed by minutes.

It was at that point that Ritsuka could not take it anymore. "W-What do you mean? You can't remember your life?" he repeated, completely lost and confused just like the others.

Shirou nodded. "That is correct, Master. Even though I'm still somehow aware of my original name, I do not recall my full identity. All I remember is that Sengo Muramasa gave me his powers from a lack of interest on his part to participate in a Holy Grail War. Other than that, I remember nothing."

Fujimaru, Mashu and Okita looked at him with wide eyes. "But… how is that even possible?" asked Da Vinci.

Shirou took a small breath before answering. "The circumstances of my summoning were unusual," he said calmly. "You were supposed to summon Sengo Muramasa with my body as his vessel, but he decided I would fulfill this role better than he could. So, he gave me control again, but the summoning went wrong… and that did something to me. I lost all of my original memories. All I know is that this body's name — my name — is Shirou Emiya."

He was expecting blank looks and confusion at having never heard of him.

Instead, Ritsuka jolted in surprise on hearing that name again. "Wait a second… EMIYA?!" he exclaimed, stunned.

Shirou stared at him, looking as startled as the others felt. "Are you familiar with my...name, Master?" he asked.

Da Vinci narrowed her eyes and stared at his features. "I did have some suspects when I read his name. And he does kind of look like that Archer," she muttered. "Does being a Servant run in the family or something?"

Shirou looked at his interlocutors with obvious confusion. "I'm afraid I missed something here...?"

"We have two others Heroic Spirits called Emiya here in Chaldea," Okita explained succinctly, looking at him with a sharp look. It was as if she was studying him from head to toe. "Maybe you're related to them, or something."

The red-haired boy arched an eyebrow, nodding slowly. "I see..."

"Maybe we should take you to them?" Mashu offered, smiling sincerely. "It might be useful to find out your real identity."

Yet, much to everyone's surprise, Shirou just shook his head casually. "Thank you for your concern, but it's not necessary," he declared without any major interest. The others gaped at his response. "My lack of memories will not interfere in the slightest with my battle skills. I still possess all of Muramasa's teachiques, as well as my Noble Phantasm, even though you couldn't read its name on the stats."

"So you can still use it?" Da Vinci asked.

"Of course. Although I rarely use it, to be honest. I consider it as a last resort for when things get really ugly."

Ritsuka stepped forward. "But what about your memories?" he asked him seriously, perplexed. "Are you really not interested in getting them back?

Shirou smiled at him. "As I said, Master, with or without memories, my abilities will not suffer. My one and only priority is to safeguard you, and to guarantee your victory in the battles to come. Isn't this the most important thing for Servants? Our usefulness is in battle, our purpose in the fight. Even under these... unusual conditions... I can still give my all fighting in your name. Therefore, there is no need to bother you with the task of recovering my lost memories. I can safely live and fight for you without them."

The young Master hesitated. "But still..."

Shirou sighed as he saw his stubbornness. "However, if you really are interested in finding out about my real identity, then I have no objection to it. You're still my Master. I will follow your will anyway," he finally conceded, smiling slightly with his lips.

The boy smiled broadly at that, easygoing and cheerful. "Alright then! Welcome to Chaldea, Shirou!" he said, holding out a hand for him to shake. "I'm Fujimaru Ritsuka. I hope we can get along."

Shirou shook his hand with his own. "I hope so too, Master." He then turned his attention to the others. "May I know your names as well?"

"Of course! I'm the genius inventor Leonardo da Vinci! I'm sure you've heard of me. Servant Caster, by the way," exclaimed the cheerful woman of the group, smiling to him and making a little a bow.

Mashu stepped forward right after her. "P-Pleased to meet you, Shirou-san. I'm Mashu Kyrielight, Servant Shielder. I hope we can get along as well," she said shyly.

Shirou was confused by that introduction. "Shielder? I've never heard of such class," he stated.

In response, Mashu transformed into her battle attire, summoning her shield right in front of him. "I'm actually a Demi-Servant, just like you. I got my powers from a Knight of the Round Table: Sir Galahad," she explained.

Without even thinking about it, Shirou's eyes Structurally Analyzed and recorded that shield. He then smiled at her with renewed curiosity. "I see… Sir Galahad's shield, the Round Table itself incarnate. I guess I'm not the only strange Servant around here, huh?" he joked, making her laugh with a slight blush. He then turned his gaze towards the last Servant in the room…

…and stopped.

A strange feeling of pain crossed his mind as he looked at the girl's face. For some mysterious reason, seeing that face of hers took all the breath away from his lungs. A strange sense of nostalgia pervaded him, mixed with deja vù, desire and... something. Something else that he couldn't quite identify yet.

"W-What the… What is this feeling?" he thought, confused beyond words by those feelings. He stared at the young girl with obvious hesitation. "Do... Do I know this girl from somewhere? That face… I don't recall…"

However, the girl with platinum blonde hair did not seem to notice his inner turmoil at all. She just looked at him right in the eyes, without care. "Servant Saber, Okita Souji, former captain of the first unit of the Shinsengumi. Nice to meet you," she said, her voice cold and strict as ice.

The new Servant mentally hesitated before recovering quickly. "…It seems I was mistaken," he simply thought, putting aside his previous confusion. "I see. Even if I have no memories of my homeland, it will be a pleasure to fight alongside a compatriot. I hope we can get along well, fellow Saber," he eventually said, smiling at her with his usual confidence.

The young woman did not answer. Instead, for some reason, she just turned her head away, trying to hold back the sudden blush that had mysteriously formed on her cheeks. Ritsuka and Mashu looked at her strangely when they saw her react that way, while Da Vinci started giggling for some unknown reasons. Shirou, on the other hand, seemed completely confused by her reaction, but did not voice his thoughts out of respect.

Ritsuka cleared his throat at that point. "Alright then, Shirou. Let's give you a tour around Chaldea to get you familiarize with the place. I can also explain a few things while we're walking, if that's okay with you?" he asked, gesturing towards the door.

The young Saber just shrugged. "Certainly, Master."

"Please, just call me Ritsuka. All my friends call me that way, and I hope you can become one of them as well, ok?"

Shirou smiled fondly, feeling something akin to nostalgia starting to arise within him for some unknown reasons. "As you wish, Ritsuka."

---

"Umu~ The mission was a complete success. Go on, feel free to praise me, my fellow Socii!"

"Well done today, Mordred."

"Uwah! Don't ignore me!" Nero complained with a pout as she half glared at Iskandar's back. The tall Rider simply smirked without looking back at the Empress as she sulked off down the hallway towards Medusa and Jekyll in an attempt to find more praise.

Mordred laughed, openly grinning with amusement at the scene. "Heh! Thanks, King of Conquerors."

"That was a truly glorious charge, indeed," Iskandar bellowed again as he quickly approached her with his red cape billowing behind him. She smiled and nodded back as they walked side by side along the corridors. "I expected nothing less from you. The quick initiative… the audacity of charging into a bad match… the brazen, sheer confidence of your body motion… and that proud smirk at the end! You're like a little me!"

Mordred gave him a mock glare and swatted at his large hand on her shoulder, making the man raise his hands in joking surrender. "No way I am a little you!"

The Rider let out his signature laugh, making some of the remaining Servants cringe. But Mordred simply laughed as well. The two of them had begun to get along decently some time before, but thanks to the recent training session where they were working within the same attack team, things had improved visibly. Despite the obvious differences, their fighting styles matched almost perfectly, with the two confident and daring Servants practically finding a battle mate in the other. Mordred's wild fighting style helped divert attention from Iskandar's equally daring maneuvers, allowing him to properly set up his mount for another calculated but daring mobile offensive. For the two Servants to discover that the other also enjoyed a more direct action was becoming a point of connection.

So after the recent sessions, Mordred was really starting to trust Iskandar as a friend and companion, and this was a rare, almost unique thing ever since she was summoned here in Chaldea. "Got any plans for the rest of the day? We can go for a drink in the Night Pub after reporting to Master, if you want," the King of Conquerors offered.

The Knight of Treachery dissolved her armor with a mental command. "I don't think I have plans, but I'll see," she merely replied. That was a total lie, considering that Mordred never had any real plans while in Chaldea. She simply went with whatever came, usually winding up getting frustrated at one thing or another whether the offending party did it intentionally or not. It was usually the latter.

"I see. Well, if you do decide, the offer still stands," Iskandar said with a grin and a small nod, before entering the Control Room along with her, Jekyll, Nero and Medusa.

The four Servants passed the entrance and found themselves immersed in the familiar sight of computers, screens and white walls that filled the Control Room.

"Praetor! My companions and I are back from training!" Nero exclaimed in a loud voice, practically running in front of the group and putting her hands on her hips in a theatrical manner. She was smiling mischievously with her chin raised and eyes closed, waiting to be praised as always. Mordred and the others held yet another sigh at her antics.

They expected to hear the familiar laughter that usually followed the Empress's funny behavior, but were surprised when they realized that the only thing they received was absolute silence. Mordred stifled a chuckle as Nero blinked confusedly at the silence that greeted her declaration.

The Director of Chaldea gave them an embarrassed smile. "Ah, sorry guys," Roman greeted them, scratching his neck with embarrassment. Along with him, Master Ritsuka, Mashu and Da Vinci sat around the meeting table, along with a new Servant that Mordred had never seen before. "I totally forgot about your training mission today. I apologize, but we had... an unexpected surprise just a few hours ago," he explained to them, pointing at the newcomer sitting next to Mashu, intent on observing them with a serious and partially confused look.

"Hoho? A new Servant?" Iskandar grinned as Mordred stared at the newcomer with interest. That was indeed unexpected.

Jekyll smiled cheerfully. "This is great," he exclaimed with relief. "It has been a long time since we had a new entry. Your summoning was finally successful, Master."

Ritsuka chuckled. "Yeah, it was a surprise for us too," he admitted without hesitation.

Right at that moment, before anyone could say anything else, Nero suddently rushed in front of the red-haired Servant, leaning on the table and studying him from head to toe with an inquisitive gaze. The young man looked at the shorter woman with a raised eyebrow, trying not to rest his gaze on some parts of her body that her dress left plainly on display. "...Can I help you?" he asked innocently.

Nero stared at him for another couple of seconds, before breaking into a broad smile. "Umu~ Not bad. Not bad at all! You look really good for a Servant. And powerful, too! My instincts never lie!" She nodded to herself, crossing her arms in approval. "I am pleased! I, the great Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, approve of you!"

Shirou stared at her, completely lost. "...thank you?"

"You're welcome, Umu~"

Nobody knew what to say after that strange interaction, until Iskandar laughed loudly, attracting everyone's attention. "Not bad, boy. To be able to impress an Emperor on your first encounter, you must have quite the potential," he said confidently. His eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the red-haired boy study him as well. "And I can sense it too. You have a pretty powerful aura around your body. A strong one. You're pretty special, aren't you?" he asked sarcastically.

"…I don't know about that," he replied. "But thank you for the compliment."

"Oh? Humble and cautious, too. Hehe, I like you, boy. But now, it's time for introductions!" he proudly declared with a wave of his cape. "I am the great Iskandar, the King of Conquerors, and I was summoned as a Rider-Class Servant! You better not forget that! And these are-"

"We can introduce ourselves, Iskandar, thanks," Jekyll cut him off gently. The blonde man took a couple of steps, placing himself next to Mordred. "Nice to meet you. I'm Doctor Henry Jekyll, Servant Assassin. I work as a psychologist here in Chaldea."

Mordred grinned after him, crossing her arms and puffing out her chest confidently. "Yo, newbie. I am Mordred, Saber-Class, the one and true heir of Arthur Pendragon, the King of Britain," she declared without hesitation. Most of those present rolled their eyes with a smile at her presentation, already used to her antics. "If you're really as powerful as you look, then I hope I can fight with you some other time. I do love challenges," she said eagerly. Her smile seemed almost hungry in trepidation at that thought.

Again, Shirou could only blink in confusion after those statements, trying his best to assimilate all that informations. "I see..." was all he could say.

Roman gave him an encouraging smile. "Why don't you introduce yourself now?"

"Y-Yes, sorry, I was just digesting all the informations," he apologized quickly, scratching his neck with one hand. Mordred arched an eyebrow when she saw him rise from the table and stare at them one by one. "Nice to meet you. I am a Saber-Class Servant. More specifically, I'm a Pseudo-Servant, a vessel to Sengo Muramasa, the demonic blacksmith. My name is-"

"Shirou."

The young man blinked again, turning to the only Servant who had remained on the sidelines until that moment. The others in the room did the same, turning to the tall woman with long purple hair, surprised by the interruption.

"You are Shirou Emiya, aren't you?" the woman continued, staring at him with her wide, yellow eyes. She looked shocked, judging by the expression on her face. "There is no mistake, it is you. I can sense it. How is it possible? How did you get here?"

Shirou looked at her in confusion. "I'm sorry, what?" he asked in turn.

"You know him, Medusa?" Jekyll asked, surprised.

The woman, Medusa, nodded. Then she moved in front of the young man, staring at his face with a strange look. "I didn't think I'd see you again... especially here, in Chaldea." Her lips flickered in a knowing smile. "Well, at least I'm sure that Saber will be ha-"

"How do you know my name?" Shirou interrupted.

Medusa stopped. Her eyes widened further.

"How do you know my name?" Shirou repeated again, deadly serious. "I don't know you. I've never seen you before. So, tell me, how do you know me?" he asked, reaching out for his katana instinctively.

Mordred watched that interaction with obvious confusion. "What the hell is going on here?" she thought.

Medusa looked at him, visibly shocked. "You don't know me?" she repeated, stunned. "It's me, Rider. Medusa, the Gorgon. We fought during the Fifth Holy Grail War, in Fuyuki. I was defeated by your Servant back then, remeber?"

Shirou watched her for some time, his gaze impassive and cold as ice. Then, he slowly dropped his hand from the hilt of the sword, but continued to look at her with no emotion. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember you. I don't remeber anything from my past. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever seen you."

The woman was speechless. "W-What are you saying?"

"Actually, about that," Da Vinci quickly broke in, trying to calm the waters before the situation could escalate further. "There are a couple of things we need to explain to you about our dear Shirou here... but basically, the main detail of the story is that he has lost all of his memories."

Mordred, Iskandar, Medusa and the rest of the Servants looked at the Caster in shock after those words.

Therefore, with patience and dedication, Da Vinci, Ritsuka and Mashu explained to them in detail everything that happened during the summoning a few hours earlier, together with the current situation in which Shirou ended up.

"I see," Iskandar said when they finally finished explaining the situation. He placed a hand on Shirou's shoulder. "You ended up in an unfortunate situation, boy. You have my sympathy, truly."

Shirou merely nodded in appreciation.

Medusa looked carefully at the young man once again, a hint of sadness and pain in her yellow eyes. "You really don't remember anything?" she asked him again.

Shirou shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"It's my fault," Ritsuka admitted dejectedly. "I must have consumed too much mana during the previous summons. Shirou ended up in this situation because of me."

The red-haired Servant shook his head once more. "Please, Master Ritsuka, don't say that. I told you, even if my summoning was unusual, I didn't suffer any physical or emotional damage. I still have all my strength. So don't blame yourself, please. I have no hard feelings towards you, I assure you," he declared quickly, with a sincere smile on his face. "My memories are not important in this situation."

Medusa winced hearing that. Then, she lowered her gaze to the floor, running a hand over her temple. A terrible doubt began to form in her mind after that revelation. "Fuck," she cursed in her head. "This is bad. Really bad. When Saber hears about this... she won't be happy. She'll be devastated. Even I don't want to see that…"

On the other hand, Mordred watched that interaction with little interest, scratching her arm and yawning openly throughout all the conversation. She couldn't care less if that guy had lost his memories or not. If he could fight, then nothing could stop her from fighting him in the training grounds to see how strong he was. The rest was something she didn't care about.

However, as she finished yawning, she noticed something. That red-haired Saber was now staring at her with a strange look. Mordred frowned at that. She looked at him again. Yep, he was definetly staring at her. She frowned further. Why the hell was he looking at her like that? Who did he think she was?

"Hey, newbie. Why are you staring at me?" she asked haughtily, narrowing her eyes in irritation.

Shirou jumped physically after hearing her words, as if he had been awakened from a state of trance. "I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he quickly apologized, raising his hands and blushing slightly in embarassment. "It's just... we didn't happen to meet each other before, right?"

Mordred raised an eyebrow. "What?" Even the others seemed taken aback by his question. "Huh? What are you saying? Of course not," she retorted.

"Y-Your face," Shirou admitted, as if he was immersed in some deep thoughts. "I feel like I've seen your face before... But it's probably just my imagination. I apologize."

Modred looked at him suspiciously, completely lost on what to think. Medusa, on the other hand, widened her eyes as she watched their interaction. A suspicion began to make its way into her thoughts. "Maybe there's still something inside him..."

Da Vinci turned her gaze to Jekyll. "Henry, you have a degree in psychology. Do you know anything about his situation? His conditions?" she asked him directly.

The Assassin merely shrugged. "It's hard to tell without a definite diagnosis. If Shirou is willing, I can try to help him during some private sessions in my office. But right now, with my current knowledge of the situation, I can't tell if he will be able to recover his memory or not." He addressed him directly at that point. "What do you say, Shirou?"

The young man tried to say that it wasn't really necessary to bother him over something so trivial, but a single glance from Ritsuka, Da Vinci and – strangely – even Medusa made him quickly shut his mouth. He sighed with resignation. "Alright, I'll come to one of your sessions in the future."

Jekyll nodded, adjusting his glasses with two fingers. "I'm looking forward to it," he said with a smile.

"Very well, then," Ritsuka said at that point. "Now that this is settled, it's best if we let Shirou get a little more comfortable around the place." His eyes flickered to a certain Knight of Treachery as he spoke. "Mordred, may I ask you to accompany Shirou around Chaldea? Show him the quarters and main halls, and introduce him to the main activities?"

The blonde knight looked at the young Master in confusion. Shirou simply stared at her impassively. "Huh? Me? Why? Can't you or someone else do it?" she asked him back.

"I have to do some paperwork," he replied, before looking at Shirou apologetically. "I've already explained to you how things work here with Mashu and Roman, but I haven't been able to give you a full tour of the facility yet. I would have done this myself right away, but after the last singularity, well... things just got too busy for Da Vinci and Doctor Roman to handle alone. They need me here."

Shirou nodded placidly. "Don't worry, Master. I understand," he simply said.

Ritsuka nodded as well, then turned his attention back to Mordred. "Can you do it, Mordred?" he asked her again.

The blonde sighed, running a hand through her hair. "All right, all right," she conceded finally. "I'll see what I can do, Master."

Mashu chuckled. "Just be careful not to cause another mess with the other Knights," she warned her softly, making the proud Knight blush slightly.

Nero suddenly broke into the conversation. "Umu! If Mordred isn't up for the challenge, then I, the great Emperor Nero Claudius, will grant Shirou the honor of accompanying him around the-"

"Nope, you guys are staying here," Da Vinci interrupted, putting a hand on Nero's shoulder. She gave her and the other Servants a sinister smile. "We still have to get your report, right?"

Roman chuckled nervously. "Da Vinci-chan, don't scare them like that, please," he urged her with a laugh.

"All right, then," Iskandar laughed, patting Mordred on the shoulder. "I was hoping to join you, but we'll have a chance to do so another time. Make sure you show him the whole facility and not just the Training Room, Mordred."

"Yeah, yeah, I know what to do," she retorted, waving a hand casually. "See you later, King of Conquerors."

"Oh, and make sure to bring him to the Infirmary. I briefly explained to Nightingale his situation a few minutes ago, and she wants to have a look at him," Ritsuka called out to her again, before turning to Shirou and giving him an encouraging smile. "You are free to go, Shirou. We will call you tomorrow morning to evaluate your skills in battle. We will then arrange a meeting with the Emiya family, if that's ok with you. But until then, you are free to do whatever you want."

The young man nodded with a smile. "I understand. Then I'll wait for your call, Ritsuka."

"Make sure to rest well tonight," Mashu suggested, smiling to him as well.

"I will, thank you."

Mordred called out to him."Hey, newbie. Let's go already. I don't have all day," she said as she started walking out of the room. The others smiled at that scene, shaking their heads at her antics.

Shirou arched an eyebrow, but remained silent as he followed the knight with a confused look on his face.

---

Hans Christian Andersen knew people better than they knew themselves. Similarly, he knew himself far better than he was comfortable with. Both were reasons why he was so pessimistic and cynical, traits that had not endeared him to some other residents of Chaldea. In life, he had struggled to keep that understanding to himself, knowing that sometimes people did not wish to confront the sides of themselves they had not known existed or even kept secret deliberately.

It was only human to shy away from your own flaws, whether it be in spirit, wisdom, intelligence, or body. It was a mark of distinction if one embraced their flaws and made them truly a part of who they were. Such people were rare when considering the whole of humanity, but one of the more gratifying parts of being summoned to Chaldea was meeting one of these people every other door you opened and stuck your head into.

But this was not the case.

"…Mordred," he sighed, running a hand over his face in exasperation. "Why are you here in my Library?"

The Knight of Treachery restrained a sneer as she looked at the tiny Servant in front of her. "Relax, old man. I'm not here to cause trouble... not today, at least," she said, smirking a little on the last part.

Hans did not believe her. "Then what do you want?" he asked a second time.

Mordred simply nodded to her right, pointing to the red-haired young man who was observing with an impassive gaze the immense mass of shelves and books that made up the great Library of Chaldea. "We have a newcomer," she explained simply. "Master asked me to show him around. And since I'm not good with questions, I thought it would be useful to take him to a smart guy to answer his doubts. So, here we are."

That answer left him inwardly surprised. He didn't expect such a display of concern for a new Servant from the infamous Knight of Treachery. "Huh... I admit that this is not what I was expecting from you," he admitted, blinking in stupor. A small smile curled his lips after that. "You must have taken a liking to him, huh?"

The sudden blush on the girl's cheeks was extremely amusing to watch. "Shut up, old man," she hissed.

"Uhm... Mordred?" Shirou called out to her, obviously confused. "Did you just call a child 'old man'?"

In a strict baritone voice, far too old to rightly belong to a child, the kid with blue hair talked to him. "Worry not, young man. Despite my current appearance, I am a fully-grown adult." He then turned his full attention to him. "What's your name?"

"I'm Shirou Emiya," the man in question said politely. "And you?"

"I see, you are polite. I'm Hans Christian Andersen, Caster-Class Servant." He rose from his chair and with practiced motions made his way through the counter and planted himself in front of Shirou. The writer's head barely came up to his chest, and Shirou shook his tiny, outstretched hand bemusedly. "A pleasure," Hans said.

"Likewise," riplied Shirou.

The little Caster returned to the other side of the counter. "You seem to be full of questions," he said casually.

"And you read people well," noted Shirou.

"I always have," said Hans primly, picking up a stack of books sitting on top of a chair and setting it aside. "Tell me the doubts that plague you, and I'll try to give you the answers you seek."

The young man glanced at Mordred, but she only nodded to urge him to speak. "All right, how many Servants have been summoned to Chaldea?" he asked first.

"Counting you, we have 74 Servants," Hans answered easily, nodding at Shirou's surprised expression. "Indeed, it is quite the motley collection of personalities we have here. Luckily, we have practically an entire mountain to ourselves, so housing and living space are not an issue."

"...Interesting. Are there any Servants I should be wary of? More specifically, stay away from?" Shirou asked then, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Hans smiled thinly. Even Mordred looked at him with a surprised and suspicious look. "You don't feel safe," the writer deduced, observing his expression. "Is there a reason for this?"

Shirou nodded after a moment of hesitation. "Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I have lost all my memories. And while I still have all the knowledge that the Throne of Heroes has given me about the other Heroes of the world, I would like to avoid any problems," he explained slowly.

Hans nodded in understanding. "I see, how unfortunate. Well, any kind of hostility between Servants is forbidden within Chaldea. Fights are only allowed during training sessions and singularities. Any violation of this rule is severely punished by the Master and the Security staff… so I wouldn't worry too much about this, if I were you. However, to answer your question, I simply recommend you to avoid extreme personalities like Gilgamesh, or Ozymandias. They tend to be a bit too arrogant for everyone's tastes. These two, or some of the Berserker-Class Servants that are too much to handle," he explained, without batting an eye.

Shirou listened carefully, digesting the writer's advice. Then he took a deep breath and voiced his last question for him. "Aside from Singularity, Missions and Element Gathering Quests, are there any other obligation that Servants have to fulfill during their time here?"

The short Caster shook his head. "Not really. Sometimes Da Vinci and Roman might come to some of us and ask for favors, but basically, when we're not on a mission, we're free."

"Then… what should I do with my free time?" Shirou asked, looking completely lost on this subject.

Hans chuckled in his baritone voice. "Oh, that's simple. You can train, sleep, or find yourself a hobby to keep yourself busy. Most Servants usually find a hobby to pass their time. Some of them work in the kitchen, for example, and others organize a lot of different activities around the facility."

"Like you chose to work here in the Library?" the red-haired Saber asked, looking around the books.

"Exactly, but there are a lot of different choices. I'm sure you will find something that fits your tastes, young man. Everyone does," replied the other Servant, knowingly.

Shirou nodded in gratitude after that explanation. "Thank you very much, Hans. You were really helpful," he finally said, giving him a small bow.

"What, that's it?" Mordred asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes. I think that's enough for now," replied the other, looking at her with a smile.

Hans waved his hand to him. "Come back to me if you ever need it. But now I suggest you go and see for yourself what Chaldea looks like."

"I'll do just that," Shirou replied, nodding in thanks. "Thanks again, Caster."

"No problem, young man."

Shirou then turned to Mordred. "Can we go?" he simply asked.

"All right... follow me," she urged him with a shrug.

That being said, the two of them quickly left the Library without another word, leaving the short blue-haired Caster alone in the room, immersed in silence once again. Hans smiled, staring for a couple of seconds at the entrance from where they left, before returning his attention to one of his many books.

"What an interesting kid," he thought.

---

Mordred and Shirou walked side by side along the white corridors of the facility. They moved at a slow pace, without saying a word, neither of them willing to break the silence. They walked for several minutes, turning a lot of corners and climbing a couple of stairs. From time to time, when they passed in front of a room that housed something special like the swimming pool or the Game Room, Mordred just hinted at it with a few words, going straight to the point without getting lost in chatter.

Shirou looked at her curiously the whole time, watching as the knight grumbled in silence as she walked. Finally, after about ten minutes, he made up his mind to speak. "I'm sorry, you know," he said suddenly.

The Knight of Treachery turned to him. "Huh?"

"I'm sorry I inadvertently forced you to bring me to a tour around Chaldea," he clarified, trying to sound sincere. Her irritation during the current task was simply too much to ignore. "I know you problaly had other plans before, and I really didn't want to cause trouble for others on my first day here."

His apology seemed to make her flinch, as if she had been caught off guard by his words."I-It's not like that," she grumbled quickly, perhaps a little too excessively. Seeing the genuine concern in his golden eyes, Mordred sighed, running a hand through her hair. "It's just... I'm not good at this sort of thing, that's all," she explained through gritted teeth. "Besides, Master asked me, not you. It's not y-your fault, not at all.…"

The red-haired Saber looked at the shorter girl, tilting his head to the side with confusion. "Then, why are you nervous?" he asked.

"I-I'm not!" she protested, glaring at him. "I'm not nervous!"

"Ok, ok, I apologize," he chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck with his hand. Despite the glare she was sending him, he could see a faint blush on her face and ears. He inwardly smiled. It seemed that he was right. "I just… didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable," he added at the end, sincere.

"…whatever," she said quietly as her eyes danced between him and the ground. There was a comfortable silence as Shirou's eyes quickly darted to Mordred and the corridors.

"Awesome leather jacket, by the way. The silver accents are pretty cool," he complimented after a while, making her look down at the article she was wearing and then towards him.

"Thanks," she responded with a small grin, taking the unusual compliment to heart. It was rare for her to receive compliments or words of appreciation from another Servant. Her legend and her history with her father had given her an unsavory reputation, even here in Chaldea. "My previous Master wore one similar all the time. I secretly wanted one too."

"You had a Master with a leather jacket? Sounds like a pretty interesting guy."

Her gaze softened at that, her lips turning into a small smirk as she walked. "For a magus, yeah, he was. He was a total badass. Definitely tough! We got along really well in my previous Holy Grail War! It was… surprising, at first," she admitted quitely.

Shirou smiled as he finally heard her speak more freely. "How so?" he asked.

Mordred smiled as well. "Most mages are rather arrogant, you know. I learned that from my mother. But he was like me, and it turned out alright... Except for his insistence on sleeping in crypts because of his necromancy," she added at the end, smiling with a bit of nostalgia at the memory.

"I see. I'm glad you met a Master you got along with," he said.

The knight looked at him quizzically with narrowed eyes. She had just realized she had opened up to conversation with this guy rather quickly… and that unnerved her slightly. It had never happened before, exept with Iskandar, Jekyll and Mashu (and those three were his only friends here). The cause for most of her curiosity was this guy next to her, however. It was more than just being an easy person to talk to. "...You're rather comfortable around a Heroic Spirit like me," she noted with suspicion.

The other Saber merely crossed his arms with a smile. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Is that a serious question? You do know who I am, right? My legend? Even if you lost your own memories, you should at least have heard of me since you know of the Throne of Heroes," she asked him again.

Shirou nodded, his expression thoughtful. "I do know your story, more or less. Something to do with a Rebellion, I think. If I recall, you rebelled against your father, King Arthur, and caused the destruction of Camelot because of that, right?"

"…that's right," she admitted with a frown, clenching her fists. For some reason, seeing him react so indifferently after that statement irritated her even more. "Everywhere I go, I always get negative reactions because of my past. Even here most of the other Servants either ignore me or stay away from me when they learn of my identity. And yet, you don't. Why?" she questioned him, feeling conflicted. "What are you after?"

In response, Shirou merely shrugged with a smile. "You seem like a decent person to me," he simply said.

Mordred stopped in her tracks. "...That's it?" she asked, still partially perplexed. "You're not terrified of what I might do?"

Shirou blinked at her, still keeping his smile. "Why should I be? You don't look that bad at all. I mean, seriously, have you caused a civil war within Chaldea yet? I don't mean to bring up bad memories, but honestly… I simply think that the big bad Mordred from the Tale of King Arthur can't be that bad if you've been in Chaldea for all this time and haven't beheaded anyone or something, right?" he joked with a friendly laugh.

"Even if you know what I've done in my life?" she questioned him further, her voice full of both frustration, irritation and – quite surprisingly – hope.

He shook his head, closing his eyes. "Even knowing that, I still have no right to judge you. All I know is that we just met over half an hour ago, and you still haven't done anything bad to me. So, I have no reason to be distrustful or to suspect you;" he explained simply. "And besides," he added again, opening his eyes and looking at her with the same smile full of sincerity and fondness from before. "Something inside me is telling me that you are a good person."

Mordred gaped, absolutely astonished by his answer. She wanted to scoff at that simple explanation. It was absurd at its very core as it left his mouth. But at the same time… she quietly appreciated how plain and straightforward this man was. As simple as his reasoning was, it was still an absurd notion to her. It bothered and intrigued her immensly.

And yet at the same time, it made her feel… happy. It made her feel welcomed here. Even more welcome than she actually felt for the first time in weeks. Here was this young man, a man with no memories and no recollection to his past, casually making conversation with the dreaded knight that brought down Camelot... as if she was just another person looking for a nice, relaxed conversation in Chaldea. It boggled her mind, but it also gave her more respect for this man. Very few people had managed to leave her so speechless in her life.

"…Thanks," she found herself saying in an unusually soft voice, so much so it greatly surprised and irritated her.

But Shirou simply nodded with his usual smile, before resuming to walk along the corridor. "Besides, I'm kinda looking forward to see how good you are with a sword," he said right after that speech. Mordred's eyes widened slightly when she saw him smirk at her with confidence. "We're both Saber-Class Servants. And you said you wanted to test my strength, didn't you? I could really use a training partner right now... what do you say?"

She paused and looked at him with her mouth agape. Then she smiled, quickly shaking her head and grinning right back at him.

"Hell yeah! Let's see how long you can last against the Knight of Rebellion!" she declared with trepidation.

---

"Breakfast. Sparring with her knights. Lunch. Relax with Jeanne, Emiya and Diarmuid. Training session with Lancer. Afternoon rest. And now, dinner… just another average day in Chaldea," the blonde-haired woman thought to herself.

With a small smile, Artoria Pendragon looked into her mirror to fix the folds of her elegant blue dress. Running a hand through her loose, blonde hair, her fingers moved with expert movements to tie her locks in her usual crowned bun, tying them together at the end with a blue ribbon. With a small sigh, she took one last look in the mirror before her eyes wandered across her room. Although she had initially preferred something more modest, her room was now a sight that instilled royalty and elegance from every corncer of it (save for a certain lion-shaped plush toy on the shelf and some recent pictures of her and her friends). Now, however, the eyes of the female king landed on the only interesting furniture besides her full-length mirror next to the dark-wood closet. As she gazed at the little piece of jewelry placed above her nightstand, there was a knock at the door, but it did not slide open.

"My liege, we are ready to go, if you wish," came a familiar voice from the other side of the door.

Artoria smiled lightly. As usual, her knights were right on time. "I'll be ready in just a moment, Bedivere," she said.

She took the little piece of jewelry in her hands, gazing sweetly at the golden necklace with a smile. That little ornament was undoubtedly the most precious thing to her. Her one and only memento of the red-haired, golden-eyed boy she fell in love with during the Fifth Holy Grail War. Shirou had insisted on taking her on a date, and he had bought her that necklace on that very same occasion.

Artoria almost blinked tears from her eyes at that memory. She had tried to resist his idea back then, but now she was eternally grateful that she had accepted his request. It had allowed her to get this neckalce, this memory of her beloved, after all. And thanks to that, she could remember him even here, on a different timeline entirely from the one in which the two of them met long, long ago, almost by a miracle.

The last words they had spoken to each other back then echoed in her head once again.

"Shirou… I love you."

"Yeah, I know. One day… One day, I'll see you again, Saber. I'll look for you, until the end of days."

"I promise."

The King of Knights smiled fondly as she tied the necklace around her neck. "I hope you're keeping your end of the deal, Shirou. I've been doing my best waiting for you for the last thousand years."

The young woman quickly roused herself from these thoughts with a deep breath, bringing her attention back to the present. Once she finished fixing her appearance, she opened the door and walked out of her room. There, as expected, her trusted Knights and friends were already waiting for her in the corridor. Artoria smiled when she saw Gawain, Bedivere and Tristan talking to each other, just like in the good old days. She had missed those times, really.

Gawain brightened as he saw her approach. "My King, have you rested well today?" he asked her, bowing a little to her along with the others.

"Yes, I have recovered well from my last training session, thank you," she replied, smiling at them. "Are we ready to go?"

"Jeanne and Isthar will join us as we go," Bedivere said in his usual calm and gentle voice. Then, the platinum-haired knight looked around in confusion. "However, we are still waiting for..."

"I apologize for being late, my King," said a new voice suddenly, almost panting as it spoke.

Artoria turned with the others, her gaze resting on the kneeling form of Lancelot behind her. The Knight looked rather embarrassed and tired for some reason. "Yesterday Mashu asked me to participate in a sparring with Oda Nobunaga planned for this afternoon. Things escalated a bit during training, and-"

"Nonsense," she assured him with a shake of her head. "I just left my room. You have no reason to apologize, Lancelot. I know very well how hard that woman is during training. You did not make us wait at all. So raise your head, my friend, please."

Lancelot nodded with a small smile, catching his breath. "Thank you, my liege."

Gawain snorted slightly. "You were lucky this time," he said sarcastically. After all, even though they were reunited again here in Chaldea, there still was some bad blood between him and Lancelot. It was inevitable, given what happened between them in the past. Because of this, their interactions usually were rather… stormy, at best. Even now.

Lancelot looked down in shame after hearing that, but Artoria intervened immediatly. "Gawain," she said seriously, rounding on the Knight of the Sun and staring at him sternly. The blond knight hesitated under her stern gaze. "I have told you many times not to talk to him like that. Lancelot apologized countless times to me for what happened when we were alive. And even though he never really committed any true crime against me, I have forgiven him all the same. He's not at fault here, as neither are you or the others. It wasn't because of him that Camelot fell, but because of my mistakes," she said with conviction. All of her Knights looked down with shame upon hearing her words. "So, please, put your resentment aside, and try to be together once again. You are my friends. It would hurt me beyond words to see my friends fight among each other… again," she finally said, trying to convey her emotions to everyone.

Gawain visibly hesitated in shame, unable to look her in the eyes. However, after a few seconds, he nodded his head weakly. "A-As you wish, my King. I apologize," he finally conceded, nodding towards Lancelot as well in apology. The other knight simply accepted it in silence.

Artoria smiled at that scene. Tristan and Bedivere relaxed as well. "Very well. Let's go, then. I'm feeling quite famished today," she finally said with a smile, starting to walk towards the Dining Room.

"As always," everyone chuckled inwardly. "Lead the way then, my King," Bedivere said with a laugh.

The five of them walked together along the corridors, leaving the Sleeping Quarters and heading to the main area of the facility. While they walked, they occasionally talked to each other with serenity, making jokes or chatting about everything and nothing in particular. As they approached their destination, more and more Servants and staff members began to appear in sight. After all, hardly anyone in all of Chaldea skipped meals. Emiya and his cooking skills had become quite famous around here, after all. Artoria almost drooled at the thought of todays food, chuckling to herself.

Just as expected, their friends were waiting for them in front of the entrance to the Dining Room. Jeanne and Isthar greeted her with a wave of their hands, smiling at her fondly. "Hey, Arty!" the Maid of Orleans greeted her as they approached.

"Hi Jeanne. And hello to you too, Isthar," Artoria said, looking to the other girl next to her friend with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't think you'd join us. You usually skip dinner every day."

The goddess giggled with that voice and those familiar movements of hers. Honestly, it still felt strange for Artoria to think that there was a goddess inside that body. Seeing Rin Tohsaka's face and knowing it wasn't really her had been quite unnerving at first. Emiya had almost passed out from shock the first time they met. Now they just got used to it after a while.

"I skipped breakfast today," she explained simply, brushing back a lock of black hair with one hand in an easy motion. "Besides, every now and then I need to spend some time with my friends."

Jeanne smirked. "So you consider Artoria your friend now?" she asked with amusement.

The goddess widened her smile. "Of course! Even if I am my own person, I still have all the memories collected from this body," she said, pointing to her head. "If this Rin girl considered Saber a friend, it is my duty to maintain that status between us. Think of it as a personal favor to my mortal vessel," she explained, as if it was obvious.

Artoria shook her head in amusement, chuckling softly. Without wasting any more time, they all entered the Dining Room together, being immediately hit by the scent of food that filled the air. The King of Knights began to salivate unconsciously at the smell. Food always had this effect on her.

As they walked to the counter to get their trays and cutlery, Jeanne suddenly turned to Artoria with an excited smile. "Oh, I almost forgot! Did you hear the news?" she asked her with trepidation.

The blonde king and her knights blinked. "News?" Tristan repeated.

"That's right. I heard that Ritsuka finally managed to summon a new Servant today!" she exclaimed gleefully, jumping with excitement.

"Oh, yeah. I heard it too. Everyone was talking about it on my way here," Isthar admitted, nodding to herself with a growing smile and newfound pleasure.

Artoria and the others gasped in amazement after hearing that. They didn't expect this at all. It had been a long time since Ritsuka had been able to carry out a successful summon, after all. Some of the staff was starting to lose hope. Bedivere smiled broadly. "Really? That's great. We haven't seen some new faces around here in almost three months," he said happily.

Jeanne nodded. "That's right. I was surprised too when I found out!"

"Who told you?" Artoria asked, curious.

"Amakusa Shirou heard it from Okita," explained the Saint of Orleans, placing her tray on the counter and waiting for her turn with the others. "He told me right before I came here. He said that Okita told him that she witnessed the summoning right after luch, but she couldn't tell him anything about the new Servant because of Master's oders."

"Are you serious?" the king asked again, perplexed.

Her blonde friend nodded. "Yep. As far as I know, those who have seen this new guy have been asked not to spread too many rumors about him. I have no idea why, though."

Gawain frowned at that. "Really now? That's weird. Usually, the identity of a new Servant would have spread across Chaldea in a few hours. Why are the others being so secretive now? Something like this has never happened before," he noted, obviously confused like the rest of them.

"Indeed, it is quite strange," Isthar agreed, scratching her chin with a pensive look.

Artoria frowned, but quickly put her confusion aside after one second. She trusted Ritsuka. Therefore, if the young Master had made such a decision, he probably had good reasons. Even if she suspected that Da Vinci had something to do with said decision. That woman always ended up plotting weird things just for her own fun. "I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens, then," she said in the end.

The goddess nodded, her mood lifted by that thought. "I wonder what kind of Servants it is this time," she said, more to hersfelf than anyone else.

"Is it a girl again?" asked Lancelot, eying the other Servants sitting throughout the tables scattered around the hall.

Jeanne shook her head. "Amakusa said it was a guy, I think," she answered with a shrug.

The others giggled when they saw him sigh softly. Even Artoria had to hold back a smirk. They were all completely aware of the fact that Lancelot was particularly inclined to... flirt with Servants of the opposite sex. Not that it worked often for him, of course; but it was always fun to watch… except for Mashu.

"Oh? Talking about the new Servant, are we?"

Artoria, Jeanne and the others blinked when their eyes found the sight of Emiya's sarcastic grin. The Archer was standing across the counter, dressed in his chef uniform, serving food to the Servants lined up in front of him along with the rest of the kitchen staff. Artoria smiled when her turn came, moving in front of him with her friends, her tray in hand and ready to receive food.

"Archer," Isthar greeted him with a grin. "Busy as ever, huh?"

"You've finally come for dinner, Isthar," replied the tanned man, handing some plates to Artoria and her knights. "What a surprise."

"You've heard of the news too?" Bedivere asked him.

Emiya nodded, still smirking as before. "Of course. Everyone knows by now. And I have to admit that I'm quite curious as well. It's been several hours already, and still no one knows who this new guy is. I've been asking around here, and still none of those I've asked got to meet him," he replied in his deep voice, doing his best to hide his interest.

Artoria turned once she received her food. Her eyes carefully searched the big Dining Room, studying one by one the numerous Servants already seated throughout the white tables and intent on eating and chatting among themselves. "So he hasn't come here yet?" she deduced, seeing only familiar or already seen faces no matter how long she looked.

The white-haired man shook his head. "Not yet. Being new and all, I assume he's still looking around Chaldea with someone. He's problably on his way here as we speak," he answered with a shrug.

"Well, there's no point in talking about it. We'll see him once he comes to dinner, I'm sure," Isthar sighed. She took her tray and began leading their group towards one of the vacant tables on the western part of the room. "I'll keep you a free seat with us, Archer. Try to be not too late," she joked wryly, making the older man chuckle.

Artoria smiled as well, following the goddess and taking a seat at the center of the table with her Knights and Jeanne at her sides.

---

CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.

Shirou smiled in amusement, deflecting another thrust of his opponent's sword with a casual movement of his arm. The female knight in front of him growled, but did not give up, attempting yet another offensive with a spinning kick that would certainly have crushed his skull if she had hit the mark. The young man merely squatted, pushing his free hand forward and pushing the attacker away, sending her to the air with a pulse of mana.

Mordred shuffled her feet on the ground for several meters before coming to a stop. She sank Clarent's tip into the ground, leaning on her sword as she panted heavily. "No... fucking... way..." she muttered incredulously, panting.

Sheathing his katana, Shirou looked at the girl with a cheerful smile. "I'm impressed," he admitted at that point. "You are strong Mordred. Very, very strong. Your attacks are powerful and decisive, but they lack technique. Nice kick, by the way."

"H-How the heck can you be so relaxed?" she gasped, her eyes wide. "We've been here for more than two hours, and you don't look tired at all! And more importantly, I haven't been able to hit you! Not even ONCE!" she exclaimed with rage, more shocked than anything.

The young man just smiled at her shocked expression. "I told you, you lack technique," he explained seriously. "You use too much strength in your attacks, and therefore you tend to tire too quickly. Also, you can have all the strength you want, but attacking blindly and furiously as you do is extremely risky in a duel. The longer the fight is, the higher is also the chance that your opponent will be able to predict your movements. That's why you haven't been able to hit me."

Mordred dissolved her armor and sword in the air as she sat heavily on the ground, her face a mask of fatigue and, more importantly, shock. "I can't believe it. This is the first time I've failed to hit an opponent..." she muttered with irritation.

Shirou took back his white cape from the ground, wrapping it around his shoulders with one arm. "Don't be too hard on yourself," he reassured her. "We were both holding back. A duel is different from a fight to the death. We could not use our true potential. If we had truly come to fight in a Holy Grail War as enemies, I am sure you would have been able to hit me far more than once. The power of your attacks is truly scary," he complimented sincerely.

She nodded, before her face broke into a large grin. "Heh! Of course! It would have been a legendary fight! You're a pretty good opponent, you know?" she complimented as well.

He grinned back, helping to her stand up with one outstretched hand. "Then, we can practice together again some other time, if you'd like," he offered her.

"You bet! I'll be damned If I'd ever miss such a chance! I won't give up until I'll hit you at least once, you'll see!"

Shirou smirked. "That's the spirit," he nodded in approval.

Mordred grinned right back at him, before looking at the large clock on the central wall of the Training Room. Her expression fell instantly as she remembered something. "Oh shit!" she cursed, turning to him. "We'd better leave immediately!" she exclaimed frantically, paling more and more by the second.

The taller man looked at her with obvious confusion. "Huh? Why?" he asked, not understanding.

She only grabbed him by the arm, starting to drag him away towards the exit with renewed vigor. "S-Shut up! Let's just leave before that woman comes he-"

"Stop right there, Mordred."

The female knight jumped physically, her shoulders collapsing in defeat. "...crap."

Shirou turned slowly his head, looking with a raised eyebrow at the figure who had just entered the room from the very exit towards which Mordred was dragging him: a woman with long braided sliver pink hair and red eyes. She was wearing a red coat and a black skirt with res trim, with white boots and gloves.

The woman was staring at Mordred with narrowed eyes filled with disappointment and irritation. "I've been looking for you for hours," she said suddently, glaring at her. "Ritsuka told me there was a new Servant that I needed to check as fast as possible, and that you were showing him around the place. I've been waiting for you to bring him to the Infirmery for hours... but I should have imagined that you would come here to the Training Room instead." She was making a smile that was anything but reassuring. "What a fortuitous coincidence to find you here now that it is my turn to use the Training Room, isnt't that right?"

Mordred swallowed, turning pale as she sweated profusely. "H-Hi, Nightingale! Y-You see, I-I... how do I say this... I c-completely forgot that the procedure for newcomers involved a visit to your Infirmary," she finally admitted, laughing nervously as she waved her hands in front of her in defense. "I-I didn't do it on purpose, honest!"

The other woman sighed, rubbing her temples in an attempt to calm down. "I wonder why that guy entrusted this task to you, given how unreliable you are," she sighed, shaking her head and ignoring her words of protest.

"Don't blame Mordred," Shirou broke in seriously. The woman looked up to see that the taller man was looking at her straight in the eyes. "I was the one who asked her to train. She just agreed to my request. If you want to blame someone, then blame me. Leave her out of this."

The woman's red eyes narrowed slightly at the boy's firm tone. Even she seemed to be inwardly surprised by the force he used to spoke in order to defend Mordred. This was unexpected. The Knight of Treachery wasn't known for having many friends that would stand up for her. And yet, this guy was. Even the female knight herself was looking at him with a blush and wide eyes, noted the woman.

"I see. Very well, then," was all she said, deciding to close that matter for good. She folded her arms in front of her, looking at the young man with a veiled smile. "Florence Nightingale, Berserker Servant. I work at the Infirmary as the Head of the Health, Hygiene and Treatment Staff," she declared seriously.

"Shirou Emiya, Saber-Class. I'm a Pseudo-Servant," he replied, still using that firm tone from before.

Nightingale's smile widened slightly. "Oh? A Pseudo-Servant? That's rare. This explains why your body is still alive unlike the astral form of us regular Servants," she said seriously, studying him from head to toe. Her expression became even more serious. "One more reason for you to come to the Infirmary, then. We must check your condition as soon as possible, given your unusual summoning. Ritsuka told me what happened some time ago."

Shirou calmed down slightly. "I see. Should we go right now?" he simply asked.

The Berserker nodded. "It'll save us time. Don't worry, it'll only take five minutes," her eyes flickered to Mordred's irritated face. "You should come too. I doubt you've shown him much of Chaldea, and I don't want him to get lost once he leaves the Infirmary."

"All right, all right," she grumbled with a pout.

As they exited the Training Room and followed Nightingale through the corridors, Shirou walked over to Mordred, talking to her with a low voice and a raised brow. "You look pretty tense around that Servant," he noted, seeing her unusual hesitation during the current situation.

Modred looked at him like he was stupid. "Are you kidding me? Oh, that's right, you just met her, so you don't know," she murmured, running a hand through her hair as she sighed. "Let's just say that this woman is... pretty scary when she gets angry. If you care about your life, you'd better not make her mad," she tried to explain while glaring at the woman who walked impassively in front of them.

Shirou blinked, tilting his head to the side. "...I see. Well, she did say she's a Berserker… but thank you for the advice."

The female knight glanced to him briefly. "A-Also..." she added quickly after a moment, looking down to the ground with a blush. Shirou watched her reaction with obvious confusion. "T-Thank you... for s-standing up for me..." she said softly as she fiddled with her fingers, unable to meet his gaze.

The red-haired boy looked at her for several seconds, without saying anything for a long time. Unbeknown to Mordred, seeing her react that way had a strange effect on him.

He felt a twinge of nostalgia growing inside him, a feeling of… affection, and desire to protect this girl. It was... strange. Weird, really. There was no other way to describe it. This girl… her face so stangely familiar, her bashful and completely embarrassed expression, her green eyes that were always fixed on the ground... it was all painfully familiar to him. As if, for some reason, he'd seen all of this before.

But that was impossible… right?

He just shook his head, ignoring both his thoughts and those questions he was unable to answer. He simply smiled, unconsciously placing a hand on Mordred's head and stroking her hair fondly. The female knight whirled towards him immediatly, staring at him with wide eyes and mouth agape.

"Don't worry," he told her calmly, looking at her with a look full of determination and sincerity. "I will always stand up for you. That's what friends are for, right?" he smiled at her, his face completely sincere about his words.

The effect was immediate. The blush on Mordred's face grew until her face became redder than a tomato, and some strange little spinning swirls began to appear in her eyes. "W-W-Wha…?" she stammered incoherently, unable to form proper words.

Shirou just looked at her with a raised eyebrow, completely confused by her reaction. That was definitely unexpected. He had expected her to rebel, or to fiercely remove his hand from her head, but she simply remained quiet instead, lowering her head even further and hiding her face from him. He could almost swear he saw smoke coming out of her ears.

"What's wrong with her?" he thought, completely lost.

But at the same time, both of them were oblivious to the fact that Nightingale had seen that scene as well. The woman was smiling covertly, observing their interactions with interest and a growing tinge of amusement as she guided them along the white corridors of Chaldea. "I see... so Artoria's child finally found someone that is able to handle her. How amusing," she chuckled mentally.

They arrived at the Infirmary soon after, and once inside, Nightingale made Shirou sit on a clean cot, while Mordered stood on the sidelines leaning against a wall near the exit to give them some privacy. Then, the woman began a brief check-up procedure on the red-haired boy, asking him some protocol questions such as weight, height and so on. She even took some blood from him with a syringe, setting it aside to study it later.

"Your vessel's physical condition looks good, and you don't seem to be suffering any physical or spiritual injury from the summoning," she explained after all the procedure, nodding to herself as she reported her diagnosis. "In case of future problems, however, I recommend that you come back here as soon as possible. We never had a Servant suffering from memory loss before, so we will have to monitor you for a while. I know it might be frustrating, but it is for your own safety and health."

Shirou merely nodded. "I understand," he said.

Nightingale smiled at him. "Also, when you go to your room, I highly recommend that you improve the sanitation of the bed and the room in general," she added with utmost seriousness. "Usually this job is covered by some specifically designed robots, but they often do a terrible job at sanitizing all the rooms. So, I suggest you act accordingly for your own health."

"A-All right," he stated uncertainly. If he had doubts about this woman's obsession with hygiene before, now he had his answer.

The Berserker peered at his sitting form from above. "We're done here," she then began to say. "Make sure you intake enough nutrition before going to bed. I'm guessing you're going to have a busy day tomorrow, seeing that Ritsuka wants to test your skills in battle. You'll need a lot of energy."

Shirou blinked. "Nutrition? Are you saying that Servants can even eat here?" he asked after a moment of hesitation, pulling himself away from the cot.

Nightingale raised an eyebrow at him. "What? Haven't you seen the Dining Room or the Cafeteria yet?" she asked him, in a tone that sounded entirely rhetorical.

"I didn't even know we had those until now," he admitted, smiling in blissful ignorance.

The pink-haired woman's eyes widened for a moment before turning abruptly to Mordred. "Really? No, seriously, really? You kept him in the Traning Room for hours and you didn't even show him the main halls before?" she questioned her, incredulous.

The Knight of Treachery swallowed nervously. "Heheh... sorry?" she said with a sheepish grin.

The Berserker stared at her, before sighing heavily with a shake of the head. "Bring him there immediately," she ordered, with a tone that left no room for discussion. "He's a Pseudo-Servant, just like Mashu. Their body needs nutrients, unlike ours. So get a move on and take him there. Dinner has started long ago, and it ends after three hours. You still have a hour and a half before it ends."

Mordred sighed. "All right," she complied.

Shirou nodded in thanks to the older woman as he made his way towards the female knight. "Thanks for the check up. And sorry again for the trouble I caused you."

Nightingale smiled again. "At least he's polite, unlike her," she thought, dismissing him with a nod and a simple wave of her hand.

Once they exited the Infirmary, the two of them quickly made their way towards their next and, hopefully, last destination for the day. Unfortunately for them, however, the Dining Room was on the other side of the structure, so they had to walk quite a bit to reach it.

"Hey... I'm sorry I was a bad guide today," Mordred suddenly apologized, causing Shirou to turn his attention to her in mild surprise. "I know I'm not really good at this, and I was too eager to fight you and see how strong you were that I completely forgot this is your first day here. I should have just shown you around the place, not ask you to train with me. I'm... sorry."

"What are you saying? If I recall correctly, I am the one who asked you to train, not the other way around. You have nothing to apologize for, really," he reassured her, shaking his head with a smile. "Besides, dinner isn't over yet. We can still eat together."

Modred jumped at that, as if visibly struck. "T-Together?" she repeated, blushing for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. Seriously, what was wrong with her?

Shirou smiled at her. "Yeah, together," he replied, as if it was obvious. "You haven't eaten today, right? And I like sticking around you. So, let's have dinner together," he said, his voice and smile both full of optimism.

The blonde couldn't say anything for a long time, still too surprised and embarrassed at the same time to be able to formulate a coherent sentence. This was actually the first time that someone asked to eat with her. She didn't know what to do. She just glued her gaze on the ground as she walked, trying to hide the smile that was growing on her lips.

Shirou seemed to read her silence as a rejection, though. "I mean... if you want, of course. I don't mean to impose, you know. Maybe you had other plans..." he added seeing her hesitation, scratching his neck with growing embarrassment.

"N-No!" she exclaimed quickly – maybe a little too quickly – before coughing in shame and trying to calm herself. "It's ok, really. I just... I usually skip meals, and I've never shared a meal with others. I-I didn't expect that you would ask me this sort of thing, that's it..." she grumbled with obvious embarrassment, scratching her arm without looking at the young man. All of her former confidence was gone as she spoke those words.

Shirou looked at her carefully after hearing that. "Why do you skips meals?" he asked her curiously.

Mordred hesitated before answering. "...people are not exactly fond of me around here," she answered, as if that was enough to explain everything.

"It's because of your past," Shirou realized, remembering their previous conversation. "So what? Don't you have some friends to share a meal with? You seemed to get along pretty well with Iskandar and Jekyll when we first met before. Aren't you friends with them?"

"Y-Yeah, but that only happened recently, and we never really had a chance to spend time together outside the fields..." she admitted, looking down. "So, I usually prefer to spare myself an embarrassing and boring meal by myself and be on my way."

Shirou continued to look at her for some time, his expression unreadable. "I see," he said eventually. "A shame. A Knight such as yourself isn't suited to hiding in the shadows."

Modred gaped at him, hidind her growing happiness with a mock glare. "O-Of course," she stuttered. It was the first time that someone other than Master Ritsuka had actually acknowledged her desire to be addressed as a proper knight. Not that she cared about other people's opinions, of course, but it still felt nice to hear. "But a strong warrior like you shouldn't be spending time with an evil knight like me."

The young man smirked at the rebutle. "I'm not a warrior."

"What? Of course you are! You're a Saber, like me!"

"Yes, but I'm not a warrior."

Mordred furrowed her brows. What mind games was he playing at? She couldn't believe him. No man should posses the amount of sword skill he had and not be considered a warrior. The question was: why would he say something like that? "Then what?" she asked, deciding to humour him.

Shirou stared at her, his smile full of sincerity and support. "Just a friend," he said.

Mordred's eyes widened at that response, causing her to completely shut her mind and forget her words. She just turned her head away from him, glaring sharply at the ground as she fought hard to hold back a smile along with the rising heat on her cheeks and ears. Because for the first time in a long, long while, she was starting to feel an emotion that she wasn't used to feel. A warm and pleasant emotion that continued to grow inside her thanks to the boy next to her: gratitude.

Neither of them said anything after those words. If Shirou noticed something in the Knight of Treachery's behaviour, he didn't say a word. He only wore a proud smile as he crossed his arms.

It was the quietest walk in Chaldea the two of them would ever remember.

They reached their destination after ten minutes. "Here we are," Mordred finally said as they stopped in front of the door of the Dining Room. Before entering, however, she gave the red-haired boy one last look in the eyes. "I'm warning you: once we get in, we will make quite a stir. Many Servants will wonder why the hell I'm here today of all days, and since you're new they will probably stare at you, whispering behind your back. We will be at the center of attention."

Shirou merely shrugged, without caring. "I don't mind. As long as they don't bother me or you directly, they can talk or stare all they want," he reassured her, smiling as always, unfazed.

The female knight hesitated, studying him with her eyes for another moment. Then she broke into a defeated sigh, before nodding with mild irritation and pushing the door open with one hand. Shirou stepped inside right after her, and his eyes widened slightly in front of the scene he found himself in.

To say the room was large was an understatement. It was huge, like a great public refectory. The walls were white, like almost everything here in Chaldea, but the floor was made of a well-defined translucent marble that seemed to shine, just like the ceiling. On the right, several large windows were located on the wall, revealing to his eyes a blizzard that was raging outside the structure. Several lights hung throughout the room, illuminating it brightly. But what really surprised Shirou, above all, were the occupants that filled the room.

Countless white tables were scattered throughout the area. Tables full of people. Of Servants, to be precise. Their numbers were insane! There must have been at least sixty of them, but it was impossible, litterally, to see them all inside that gigantic room. They were sitting in different groups around the tables, intent on eating, chatting, laughing and joking with each other. The shouting of their words echoed throughout the hall, and a pleasant scent of food hung in the air. At last, at the far end of the room, barely visible from the entrance, there were a few people bustling about in the kitchen, making a lot of noise.

Shirou almost gaped at that scene, before quickly composing himself. "...I've never seen so many Servants before," he admitted, his voice dripping with stupor.

Modred scoffed at him. "We all have that same reaction at the beginning. You'll get used to it in a couple of hours," she dismissed him casually. "Let's go."

The young man blinked, but started to follow her as she marched towards the counter on the right where, based on what he saw, they were supposed to grab trays and cutlery before ordering food. As he walked behind her, he noticed that several Servants were gradually turning their gaze to him, observing him. Some of them were even looking at both him and Mordred with looks of obvious confusion and – seemingly – amazement.

He simply chose to ignore them. They reached the counter and took their trays and cutlery, approaching the kitchen staff who were watching them in obvious amazement. It was inevitable, since they had never seen them before.

"Uhm... hi," Shirou greeted them cheerfully, speaking even for Mordred who chose to remain silent with an expression that was both tense and annoyed at the same time. "What's today's special?" he simply asked.

One of the staff members, a young boy dressed in a white chef's uniform, recovered from his astonishment after a few seconds and offered them a big smile. "Oh, sorry!" he quickly apologized, handing them a couple of plates and filling them with food. Judging from the looks (and smell), it was really good, Shirou decided. "Here you go. Forgive me for staring before, it's just that I've never seen you two around here." The boy's face became embarrassed as he saw Modred's angry frown. "I-I mean, I know about Modred, of course!" he added, laughing sheepishly as she glared at him. "I just didnt'think that she would come here so suddently. It has never happened before."

"...tch. Whatever," she replied, ignoring the growing whispers from the staff and Servants in the room.

The young boy chuckled nervously, before returning his gaze to the taller man next to the blonde. "You... You're new here, right?" he asked with a smile.

Shirou nodded, smiling as well. "I am. This looks delicious, by the way," he said, pointing to the food they were placing on his tray.

"T-Thanks! We have a very good chef here! He's a Servant like you guys!" he explained.

A few murmurs ran through the room once more. Seeing that Mordred was getting more and more irritated by this, Shirou decided to get a move on. "I see. I'd like to chat more, but we're quite hungry. We'll be on our way, then. I hope we can get along in the future," he simply said to the boy and staff members with a friendly nod. He then motioned to the blond knight to follow, and the two of them began to head towards one of the few empty tables on their right.

Shirou gave her a smile as they walked next to each other. "That wasn't so bad, right?" he asked, blissfully ignoring the constant whispering around them.

Modred looked at him, torn between being irritated or incredulous. "How can you ignore them so well?" she hissed under her breath, glancing several times at all the Servants who were watching them.

He just shrugged his shoulders, unfazed. "Why should I care about their stares or whispers? All I want is to share a meal with my friend. What they might think because of this is of no concern to me," he retorted, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The blonde girl sighed, shaking her head. "You're weird, you know that?"

Shirou smirked as he placed his tray on the table. "I'm sure that a lot of people will agree with that."

The two Sabers sat down next to each other, starting to eat in silence as they enjoyed the food. To their amazement, it was truly delicious. Its quality was definitely higher from standards. They had barely taken two mouthfuls of it, however, when suddenly a new voice caught their attention. A voice powerful and strong that went above all the murmurs and stares of the others in the room.

"Hoho? I didn't expect to find you here, boy. Let alone with Mordred!" exclaimed a tall, muscular man with reddish hair and beard, laughing openly with a toothy grin. He approached their table with a firm step under everyone's confused gaze. "What a pleasant surprise!"

Shirou recognized him instantly. "King of the Conquerors, Iskandar," he greeted, offering him a respectful nod. "You're here as well."

The tall man sat down in front of them at their table, holding a large goblet filled with beer. "Heh. When I saw Mordred I just knew I had to say hi. She never came here for lunch or dinner. I even invited her a couple of times for a drink, but we never got the chance to do so until now," he explained with a grin, pulling a couple of glasses out of nowhere and handing them to the two.

Shirou smiled as he took one. "See? You do have some friends," he told her wryly, turning to the Knight of Treachery with an amused expression.

She glared at him, her face getting red with embarrassment. "S-Shut up!" she hissed, trying to sound firm but failing miserably. Both Shirou and Iskandar couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. She was weak to teasing, it seemed.

The King of Conquerors looked at the blonde with a friendly smile. "So? Did you show him the whole facility yet?" he asked her as he poured some beer into their glasses.

Modred flinched at that question, putting a strained smile on her lips. "Weeeell..."

"Yep, she did," Shirou answered for her, making her turn abruptly to stare at him with wide eyes. "We even trained together for a couple of hours, actually," he added, casually taking another bite of food.

That seemed to catch the older man's interest. "Oh? Did you, now?" he said with a sly smile. His eyes narrowed with amusement at Mordred. "And what's the verdict, then? Is he really as strong as he seems, Mordred?"

She hesitated for a couple of moments before breaking into a wide grin, nodding emphatically. "Yeah! He's pretty powerful, I can admit that. We trained for two hours, and I couldn't deal a single blow at all! I was really shocked, you know," she revealed sincerely, waving a hand to emphasize it.

Iskandar's eyes widened. That information seemed to affect even him, given the way he began to look at Shirou as if he was a great enigma. "Really? That's surprising, boy. Mordred is one of the best Sabers around here. To be able to compete with her without taking a hit… you must have quite the skills. Even I couldn't do it, even if my Class is different from yours," he said with a broad smile and a laugh. Several Servants began to observe that scene upon hearing the king's thunderous laugh. "Say, would you be interested in joining my army?" Iskandar asked again, leaning towards the young man with a grin.

Mordred stifled a chuckle as she watched Shirou's face blush suddently after those words of compliment. "I-I'm not that great, really," he tried to say, scratching his neck with obvious embarrassment.

The Rider smirked with fun. "Humble, huh? Now I really want you to join my ranks, boy!" he joked again, laughing heartily. He quickly grabbed his goblet soon after saying that, urging the other two to do the same with one hand. "Very well, then!" he declared loudly, raising his glass. "Let's have a toast! To the newcomer, Shirou, and his new life within our ranks of Chaldea!" he exclaimed in a deep, strong voice.

"Hell yeah!" Mordred yelled, joining Iskandar and raising her glass with a grin directed towards the red-haired man.

Shirou simply sighed, now feeling more embarrassed than ever, even without all the strange looks that the other Servans in the room were giving him during that scene. He bemusedly took his glass and moved to join the other two, raising his arm along them to-

CRASH!

The sudden sound of shattering plates and glass made them jump suddenly. Shirou spun around in a swift motion, startled, his eyes quickly scanning towards the direction of the noise. Along with him, Mordred, Iskandar and all of the other Servants did the same. He found the source of the commotion in less than a second.

A female Servant, a few meters behind him, dressed in an elegant blue dress and with blonde hair. At her feet, an entire tray of plates was discarded on the ground, scattering food and shattered glasses everywhere. She was looking at him, staring, with wide emerald eyes full of shock and tears.

Shirou's heart stopped inside his chest when he saw her.

"S-S-Shirou...?" the woman asked, her voice as trembling as her body, her hands shaking completely.

He did not register her words. All he did, all he could do, all he had to do, was murmur one word.

He did not know why, nor how. But he had to say it.

And so, he did.

"Saber?"

---

Just a couple of minutes before this, however, Artoria was still busy eating together with her fellow Knights and friends, talking quitely to them and minding her own business as usual. Emiya had joined them a few minutes ago, having finished his shift in the kitchen, and was now busy listening to Isthar's interminable speeches with a strained smile on his face. Artoria almost laughed at the scene, absorbed in nostalgia.

She simply continued to entertain herself with her friends for a while, until something strange happened.

"Hey, what are they doing?" Gawain suddenly exclaimed, looking around cautiously.

Artoria turned to her Knight, confused by his words. Her green eyes noticed that Jeanne, Bedivere and Emiya were also looking around the Dining Room in confusion.

Tristan took a quick sip of wine before speaking with his eyes closed. "If you're referring to the fact that everyone suddently started murmuring for some strange reason, then I can tell you that it has started three minutes ago," he informed, turning to Gawain.

"Huh? Why didn't you say something then?" he asked in turn.

"My hearing is more developed than average," Tristan simply said with a shrug. "But sometimes it's better to just watch than act."

Jeanne cracked an excited smile. "Looks like the newcomer is finally here," she realized, looking around in attempt to see him.

Blinking, Artoria did the same, scanning the room with her eyes, searching for any new face. Yet, no matter how hard she looked, she found nothing. Even the Servants seated at the nearest tables around them seemed to be as confused as they were.

"Does any of you see him?" Isthar asked, looking through the crowd of Servant as well.

Emiya looked at a precise point of the hall. "He's probably at the entrance," he reasoned, pointing his eyes to the left, in the direction of the room's entrance. "The others are all looking in that direction. Unfortunately, I doubt we'll be able to see it from here. We are on the west side, and the room is too big."

"It's just another Servant. There's no need to be so excited over this," Lancelot scoffed, crossing his arms.

Isthar glared at him. "Of course it is! We haven't got a new Servant in a long time! How can you not be curious about this?" she retorted, making him flinch with a frown.

Jeanne looked at Artoria with a smile. "Should we go check on this for everybody?" she asked, watching with amusement as the others began to quarrel with each other.

The King of Knights nodded. "We shall," she agreed, looking to her now nearly empty tray of food. "I still need to get my second fill, after all."

"I'll go with you," Emiya promptly offered, more than determined to escape the endless talk of the goddess Isthar.

Bedivere nodded to them. "Tell us what you'll see then, my liege."

Artoria nodded as well, taking her tray with her and getting up from the table. Flanked by Jeanne and Emiya, she began to make her way to the kitchen counter to request a second serving, all the while looking around with her eyes in search of this elusive new Servant. It was only when she arrived directly in front of the counter and had filled her plates with a second portion of food that the blonde noticed that even the staff's eyes were pointed in a specific direction.

She was almost on the verge of sighing in exasperation at that point. Seriously, the whole room seemed to be so strangely interested on observing this Servant. Was he really that special? She didn't even care that much about this whole thing.

"…hey… isn't that Mordred?" Jeanne whispered beside her, her voice obviously shocked.

Artoria stopped in her tracks. Mordred? Here? In the Dining Room? That was a first. She was about to ask Jeanne where did she saw her 'son', when she noticed that even Emiya had assumed a shocked expression on his usually impassive face.

"…Archer?" she called out to him, perplexed.

The white-haired man didn't answer. His face was paler than normal and his eyes wide. His gaze was glued to the right, unwavering as he looked at something with a look that was almost obsessive and… incredulous. "I-It can't be..." he muttered to himself, incoherently. Artoria frowned. This wasn't like him at all. What the hell did he just saw?

Jeanne touched her shoulder, pointing to a table about thirty meters to her right. Artoria followed her gaze, her eyes narrowed in suspicion and confusion, turning in the direction her friends were looking at…

And then, she saw him.

Artoria gasped. Her eyes widened, her lips parted.

A table with three people. Two of them, she knew pretty well. Iskandar, the King of the Conquerors was one. The other one was Mordred, her prodigal son. But it was the third figure sitting next to her son that left her completely breathless.

A tall, muscular young boy sitting with his back to her. He had red hair and a fair complexion, with features that were delicate and painfully familiar to her. On his left arm there was a red shroud with markings, while on his shoulders hung a white cape similar to a kimono. He wore black pants and steeled boots on his legs, along with a Katana that was strapped on his side even as he ate.

But what struck her most was his face.

He looked like... he looked exactly like...

No. No, it couldn't be…

Her body moved on its own. Artoria only vaguely realized that she had started walking, slowly making her way towards that young man in front of her and leaving her friends behind. She didn't register her actions anymore. Her mind was a mess on the inside.

"It can't be... he's not... he cannot be here..."

As she got closer, she could hear him talk. The boy was laughing, nervously scratching his neck as he talked to his companions. And his voice... his voice sounded like... it sounded exactly as she reme-

"No... It can't be... It can't be him..." she thought, her body shaking.

He laughed, again, and when she heard his voice her heart stopped beating. Her breath was stuck, and she couldn't move a single muscle. Was her mind playing tricks on her? Was she imagining his voice and his laughter because she had been thinking of him before? It couldn't be true. It simply couldn't be!

While her brain was trying to answer those and a thousands more questions, the blonde King could only watch with wide eyes as the man who was still sitting with his back at her began making a toast with Mordred and Iskandar, raising his arm with a glass in his hand.

"Let's have a toast! To the newcomer, Shirou, and his new life within our ranks of Chaldea!" exclaimed loudly the King of Conquerors, raising a large goblet filled with beer.

Artoria gasped.

That name!

…Shirou…

CRASH!

She didn't even realize that her tray had fallen from her hands, scattering the plates on the floor and attracting everyone's attention. Her eyes remained glued to the red-haired young man as he turned towards her, his face full of surprise and confusion in equal measure. She didn't even see Mordred looking at her with wide and stunned eyes. She didn't even care of Iskandar's surprised gaze fixed carefully on her. All that mattered was him, and his eyes glued into hers.

And in that moment, in that exact, same moment in which the man rose from his seat with his head turned to look at her... she knew. As soon as she saw those same golden eyes that made her melt each time they looked at her, as soon as she looked more closely at his messy red hair, and as soon as she saw that handsome face she adored so much... she knew.

She knew that this boy in front of her was her Sheath.

"It's him," she thought, raising her hands to cover her trembling lips. "It's him. It's really him!"

She felt something drip on her face. She didn't know why or when, but at some point during this time that felt like an eternity, she had started to cry.

Because this boy in front of her was her love. Her beloved. Her Sheath. Her Scabbard.

He was older, but still him.

He was her Shirou.

Artoria sobbed, calling out loud his name for the first time in a thousand years. "S-S-Shirou...?" she stuttered, her voice quivering from emotions.

Total silence followed that scene for several seconds filled with tension. She knew she was probably making quite a face in that moment, but she didn't care at all. Her teary eyes were always glued to the man who froze upon hearing that name. He slowly narrowed his eyes to look at her with a stunned expression. Then, he seemed to recover as something flashed inside his golden brown eyes. Something nostalgic. Something like an indistinct and confused emotion that he wasn't used to feel since ages ago.

Whatever it was, however, it led him to assume a calm and serene expression on his face.

And then, after a couple of seconds, he called out to her as well, in the same way he used to do back when they first met during their fated encounter under the moon.

"Saber?"

Artoria melted completely as her mind broke with an explosion of emotions.

She couldn't resist anymore. She quickly threw herself at him, hugging him tightly within her arms as she buried her face in his chest, crying and sobbing and smiling in joy as she breathed his scent and felt his skin under her touch. And then, right then, for the first time after a thousand years, she finally felt at peace again.

Because now, in that moment, he was finally back with her.

At that's all that mattered.

---

Shirou didn't know what came over him in that moment.

His mind was confused, full of questions, and most of all: it throbbed. It throbbed so much that it was painfully impossible to ignore. And the pain was only increasing as he watched that woman cry in front of him.

He had no idea of who she was, nor of why he had called her 'Saber' ... but something inside him had subconsciously made him say that name. Almost... Almost like it was the right thing to do; the only thing to do in that moment.

He still felt confused, though.

But he had no time to collect his thoughts. Shirou almost grunted when said girl suddenly rushed forward and hugged him, squeezing him with a considerable force that was only aggravating the pain in his head. And yet, as soon as their bodies touched, every single thought of pushing her away vanished completely from his mind.

A strange and confused feeling of nostalgia and yearning pervaded him once again at that moment, similar to the one he had experienced with Modred and Okita. And indeed, now that he looked at her better, this strange blond girl had the exact same face as them, expecially compared to Modred's. Were they related? He didn't know. He had no way of knowing. But the feeling he was experiencing right now as she touched him was the exact same one as before. He was certain of this.

Shirou blinked as he felt his chest getting wet. The woman was crying onto him, wailing and sobbing softly as she hugged him for dear life. He felt his cheeks burn with embarassment and confusion, completely lost on what was happening to her. And the shocked looks and outraged stares he was recieving right now did nothing to help his current situation. On the contrary, they were really unnerving. He could pratically feel Mordred's eyes burning on his back with scandalized shock, along with Iskandar's surprised gaze and the eyes of every single Servant in the room. And knowing all of this didn't make him feel any better.

"I guess this is what happens when you have an E rank Luck, huh?" he inwardly mused, sighing.

He slowly, carefully, turned his gaze back on the girl. "Uuuh... excuse me, ma'am?" he tried to snap her out of her sobbing, gently putting his hands on her shoulders. "Can you please tell me what's going on here?" he whispered, trying to ignore the fact that probably every single one of the Servants of Chaldea just saw their strange interaction.

The blonde girl gave no sign of hearing his words. On the contrary, she buried her face even deeper into his chest and squeezed him tighter, continuing to cry. Shirou blushed, deeply embarrassed by her actions, and snapped his head towards Mordred and Iskandar. Please help me! his eyes were pratically screaming.

Mordred was no good. Shirou could already tell that much. She was staring incredously at them, her gaze flickering frantically between him and the girl in his chest. Her face was red like a tomato, with eyes as wide as plates and her jaw almost on the floor. She looked like she completely lost her mind for some unknown reasons. Iskandar was simply enjoying the scene with a strange smirk instead, seeming perfectly content to just keep observing him without doing anything. Traitor.

Shirou sighed. There was no way he could just run away from this mess, was it? So, he merely chose to resign himself and wait until she calmed down with a shake of his head. Therefore, after a long moment of hesitation, he simply did what it was right next. He slowly, tentatively wrapped his arms around the girl as well, trying his best to provide some comfort. He may not know her, but he certainly couldn't leave a crying girl just like that without first trying to calm her down. It simply wasn't in his nature to do something like that.

Several seconds passed, followed by minutes.

Then, slowly and gradually, the short, blonde woman in his arms started to calm down as her sobs quieted and the shaking of her body stopped. Taking advantage of this, Shirou broke the embrace with a gentle movement, placing his hands on her shoulders and gently pulling her away. "…Are you feeling better now?" he asked, looking at her in the face. That exact, same face that was so painfully familiar and unfamiliar at the same time for him.

Artoria sniffled, then raised her head slowly, her eyes locked on his. Neither she nor Shirou had noticed how close their faces were in that moment. She simply looked at him, her eyes glossy and burning with desire, love, and affection. "Shirou…" she whispered once again, her voice carrying in the sudden silence that filled the room.

The red-haired boy tried to say something, but she didn't give him the chance to speak.

With a swift movement that surprised everyone – including him – she lifted her hands from his chest and placed them on his cheeks. Then, she gently pulled his head down and pressed her lips over his.

She kissed him.

If the crowd was shocked before, now it went absolutely crazy! The Servants around them were watching, making some noise, but Artoria didn't care. For once in her tortured life she didn't care at all of what the others would say of her actions. She just kept kissing him, her eyes closed and her heart beating madly within her chest. With her trained senses, she could hear his heart beating at the exact same pace as hers, and that fact alone almost made her cry in sheer joy all over again.

The spell was broken after a while, and Artoria could feel her loved one trying to move and part their lips; but she wouldn't let him. She kissed him again, with more force than before; propriety and discipline and manners and onlookers and the world be damned, because she deserved this! They both deserved this! And now, now the missing piece of herself was finally filled. The piece of her that grew achingly large every time she saw Ritsuka and Mashu together, or Emiya and Ishtar, or Jeanne and Sieg and all of her Knights; only to realize that someone was still missing. That one was still missing, above all of the other Knights, all the other Masters or Servants who could still be walking around Chaldea, waiting in Singularities, or living their life.

And now, he was finally here.

He who had done so much for her, who stood by her side, who showed her love and compassion when she felt she was broken, who picked up her pieces and made her whole again, who helped her letting go of her foolish wish and managed to ensnare her heart when she thought it long gone, despite the circumstances and hardships before him.

Her Shirou.

"My Shirou."

There was no way she would let him go again.

And yet, the keen but strangely familiar cry that reached her ears in that moment managed to put an end to that kiss that lasted an eternity for her.

"F-F-Father, what are you doing?!"

Artoria broke the kiss slowly, turning her eyes away from Shirou and his absolutely intoxicated gaze to look at Mordred's face. Her 'son' was currentily watching their interaction with her mouth agape and a finger pointed accusingly at her, her face redder than a tomato. "Y-You just hugged and k-k-kissed my friend out of nowhere! What the hell is wrong with you?" she exclaimed frantically. It wasn't easy to tell if she was angry or just plain shocked by what she just witnessed.

Artoria barely held back her blush at the accusation, but her green eyes narrowed slightly when she registered a certain word her child had used. "Friend?" she repeated, looking at the red-haired young man in wonder.

Shirou unconsciously took a step back from her, touching his lips with his fingers. He still seemed to be completely shaken by what just happened. "Is this how you guys greet a new Servant around here?" he muttered to himself, glancing at Iskandar who was laughing loudly at the table behind him and Mordred.

"Bwahahaha! By the gods! You just arrived here and you already got a kiss from a girl!" the King of Conquerors laughed loudly, shaking his head in disbelief as everyone in the room turned to watch him. "This is simply ridiculous. You are an enigma, boy. Even I have no idea if you're either extremely skilled or just plain lucky. Anyway, it was pretty damn fun to watch," he admitted with a tumbs up and a wink.

The young man sweat-dropped. "I'm just as confused as everyone, though?" he inwardly cringed.

Artoria opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted when Emiya, Jeanne, Isthar and all of her Knights joined the scene soon after that interaction. Shirou shifted his gaze to the new entries, silently studying them one by one. He did not fail to notice the exchange of tense and – strange as it was – hostile glances that took place between Mordred and some of the Knights of the Round.

"That was quite the show indeed," Emiya chuckled, smirking at the King of Knights with obvious amusement. "Honestly, couldn't you hold back a bit? Now everyone won't stop talking about this for at least two weeks," he joked, glancing at the huge crowd of onlookers with a shake of his head.

Lancelot coughed loudly, turning his attention to the other tables. "That's enough! The show is over, everyone! Mind your own business like before," he said loudly, urging everyone to stop staring at their King and the red-haired young man.

With a couple of murmurs of disappointment, everyone in the room went back to eat and talk to each other.

Now that this matter was settled, Shirou and the others looked back to each other, studying each other for some time in what seemed like a rather embarrassing silence. Isthar was the first to break the ice, though, quickly levitating in front of Shirou with her powers and studying him with an inquisitive gaze. The boy merely raised an eyebrow at her. "Uhm?"

"So you really are that boy, huh?" the goddes mused to herself, tilting her head to the side as she watched him. "Emiya-kun, right? This vessel of mine was rather fond of you in her life. You can call me Tohsaka if it's more easy for you; but know that my real name is Isthar, Goddes of Love and Fertility. I guess it is better to clear things right away, don't you agree?"

He blinked in total confusion at her words, but he didn't have time to reply as another girl with long, blonde hair planted herself in front of him, looking up to him with a broad smile and a friendly expression. "So you are the famous Shirou? I must say that you look exactly as I imagined you," she exclaimed softly, stretching out one hand towards him. He blinked slowly before shaking it with hesitation. "It's very nice to meet you. I'm Jeanne d'Arc, Servant Ruler. My friend Artoria told me a lot about you. I've always wanted to meet you." Her eyes gleamed gleefully as she looked at the blonde King next to the boy. "I'm very, very glad you two could meet again. Our Lord must have listened to your prayers, Arty."

The King of Knights looked at Shirou with teary eyes and a smile. "I have long waited to see the continuation of my dream," she said. "But still some part of me wonders if I am even awake."

Bedivere chuckled. "This is not a dream, my liege. I assure you," he said, nodding in respect to Shirou along with Gawain, Tristan and Lancelot.

And yet, the young man said nothing.

All the presents glanced at Shirou with clear confusion, perplexed by the fact that he had been silent for all this time. Even Mordred and Iskandar where observing him silently, waiting for his reaction. And in fact, for his part, Shirou had been in a compete daze ever since Ishtar approached him. Images of a young girl that looked exactly like her but with red clothes and a cheerful smile entered his mind before he began to wince, shaking his head slightly.

Emiya's eyes narrowed when he noticed his clear discomfort.

Something was wrong here.

The fact that Shirou's expression was so stiff should have tipped him off earlier.

"Are you alright, Shirou?" Artoria asked, moving towards him to check on his condition. From the tenderness of her actions and gaze, it wasn't hard for Mordred and Iskandar to realize that there was some past history between them. The very fact that Artoria – King Artoria, of all the Servants – had burst into tears and kissed him in front of everyone was proof enough for them.

And for some reasons, Mordred wasn't happy about it.

Not because she was jealous of her father… but because she already knew the truth.

Shirou did not remember her.

That would definetly affect her. She would be saddened a lot by the revelation. And Mordred would rather have her father happy rather than sad. Even if she herself didn't know why.

But putting away her internal musings, the Knight of Treachery and the King of Conquerors braced themselves for what they knew that was coming from the moment Shirou opened his mouth.

"I'm fine," Shirou was quick to force away the pain that plagued his mind. He stared at the people around him with apprehension before speaking again. "Listen, this may come as a shock to you all, but I really think you guys have the wrong person. Even if you just called me Shirou, it might just be some mistake," he tried to explain.

Their reaction was immediate. Emiya and Jeanne's expressions stiffened, just as Artoria and her Knights jumped back in shock, as if physically struck. Even Ishtar widened her eyes at that. The happiness and mirth they obtained from the previous situation suddenly vanished as if it has never existed thanks to those simple words of his.

The room fell into silence again.

Seconds passed, followed by minutes.

Until, at that point, one of them couldn't take it anymore. "S-Shirou, w-what are you s-saying?" Artoria asked, stuttering, her eyes wide and her voice trembling with fear. She tried to move closer to him, but to her and everyone else's shock, he took several steps back.

"I'm sorry, but… I think this is just a big misunderstanding," he repeated, looking at the blonde King with a conflicted expression and furrowed brows.

Artoria was growing more and more distressed by the second. "Shirou, what-"

"Stand back, Saber," Emiya suddently said, stopping her in her tracks with an outhstretched arm in order to block her path. The blonde woman looked at the white-haired Archer with confusion, her face a growing mask of fear, confusion, hurt and denial. "This is not what we thought it was," he said, looking at the other man straight into the eyes with a narrowed gaze.

Shirou returned the tanned man's gaze with veiled hostility. He didn't know why, but he didn't feel safe around him. That man… he was terribly familiar and revolting at the same time. Looking at him gave him a strange sense of hatred, anger and confusion. "Who are you?" he asked him directly, narrowing his eyes as well. His hand moved instinctively to the hilt of his sword. "My back gets... itchy, when I look at you."

Emiya stared at him for a couple of seconds before answering. "...You don't remember me," he deduced seriously. His eyes flickered to Mordred and Iskandar as well, quickly catching on what their gazes were saying. "You don't remember any of us."

"Of course not. I've never met you guys," Shirou quickly replied, annoyed.

That statement made everyone hold their breath instantly. Especially Artoria, whose eyes widened in a comical, almost inhuman way as her arms began to tremble. "S-Sh-Shirou... y-you... you don't mean..." she stammered, struggling to accept what she was starting to realize inside her head.

The young man looked at her, frowning confusedly. "I'm sorry, but... who are you? I've never met you before, and yet you kissed me right in front of everyone. Can you tell me what's going on? I'm completely lost here," he asked, trying to sound discreet.

Artoria didn't answer. Her face had become pale. The strength in her legs nearly gave way, and if not for her fortitude she may have dropped to her knees. "Y-You don't remember me?" she was hyperventilating, her breaths coming out unevenly.

Shirou hesitated, watching her for several seconds with a conflicted expression. He tried to say something, anything, but someone beat him on time.

"Unfortunately, King of the Knights, I'm afraid that it is just as you think," Iskandar cut in suddently, walking up beside the confused young man and offering a sad look to the distressed woman. "Our Shirou here has lost his memory after being summoned. Even if you two have met before, I doubt he can remember you. The same thing happened with Medusa before."

Artoria's eyes widened inhumanly as her breathing stopped. She looked absolutely floored, just as everyone else. Jeanne stepped in front of Shirou, her face sad. "...you don't really remember her? The woman you fell in love with?" she asked him.

He blinked, astonished. "Eh?"

Mordred gaped. "W-W-WHAAT!?" she yelled, shocked.

"How can you not remember her? You are Shirou! I can sense it, I can feel it! There is no mistake!" Isthar exclaimed, stunned. "This can't be! This is bullshit!"

Shirou winced, desperately trying to ignore the throbbing in his head. Seeing the tears dripping from the blonde girl's face and the panic that flashed in her friends faces only served to aggravate the sense of pain he was feeling inside. "I-I'm sorry... but Iskandar is right. I have no memory of my life. I don't recall ever meeting her, or any of you," he explained slowly, hesitantly, in the end. He couldn't lie about this. He simply couldn't. "I'm really sorry."

Nobody could say anything for some time. Artoria simply shivered, silently bursting into tears as she watched his face with eyes full of pain, heartbreak and denial. Shirou felt like shit seeing her like that, but what could he do? There was no way he could return her hope if he couldn't even remember who she or he himself was!

The tanned man from earlier sighed, running a hand through his white hair in frustration. "Lets get this over with... you are Shirou, aren't you? Shirou Emiya?" he asked then, trying to clarify his question while staring at him intently.

The red-haired man nodded.

"What class are you?" he asked again.

"...I'm a Saber. A vessel of the blacksmith Sengo Muramasa," he replied, trying not to think about how much this man was getting on his nerves with his mere presence. Why the hell did he feel such hatred towards him?

Emiya's narrowed eyes widened slightly. "Do you remember how old you were when you died?"

Shirou had a moment of confusion after that question. "I don't think I have died yet," he said. "I'm a Demi-Servant. Muramasa gave me his powers from a lack of interest on his part to participate in a Holy Grail War. That's why I'm still me instead of him."

"I see... but that means that you can't astralize?" Emiya asked, putting a hand to his chin in thought as everyone looked at him.

Shirou paused a moment, taken aback by this man's insight, before nodding. "That's true. I can't feel the ability to do so."

"And a Demi-Servant like Mashu and Lord El Melloi II," continued Emiya soon after. He sighed, before looking at him with obvious confusion. "You still retain most of your personality then, as they do, but in your case something must have gone wrong since, unlike them, you can't remember your true identity, nor your previous memories."

Ishtar looked at Shirou with suspicion. "How is that possible? I'm possessing this body too, and yet I stll have all of Rin's memories," she retorted.

"Yours is a special case. You're a goddess. Gods and humans don't work the same way," replied the white-haired man.

Shirou said nothing, absorbing the explanation silently as he pondered in his head. The man's words made sense, even if there was no way to tell if they were true or not. Not even he knew why he had lost all his memories, after all. There was simply no way to find out the truth without trying something more specific. Maybe Master Ritsuka would come up with something, in the future. Not that he cared that much, though.

A Servant is just a tool. A machine of war summoned to ensure its Master's victory. As long as he could fight, he was fine. He could safely live without his memories, for all he cared.

Though, if he had to be honest, that woman's devastated face was terribly hard for him to ignore even in this circumstance.

"That's enough!" Mordred exploded, throwing her arms in the air and staring at Shirou and Artoria with obvious annoyance and shock. "Can anyone move on already and explain what's going on here? How the hell do you know my friend, Father? What's your relatioship with him?" she questioned, glaring towards the blonde King.

Some of the Knights of the Round reacted immediately. Lancelot and Tristan stiffened, and Bedivere sighed as Gawain advanced menacingly, staring at Mordred with blatant hostility. "Watch your tone when you're in front of the King, Mordred! You're lucky you can even be in her presence right now. Any other time, I would already have forced you to leave by now," he growled, glaring at her.

Mordred bared her teeth in a snarl. "Shut up! Get out of the way, Gawain. I'm not talking to you," she spat out menacingly.

"I don't take orders from you." Gawain's glare intensified.

"You don't take orders from anyone it seems," the female knight growled. "This is the second time you're mocking me in public. Remember what happened last week on mission? You'll be breaking Master's orders, again, if you continue to threaten me!"

Gawain bristled. He knew that she was right. Back then, he had risked being hit by an enemy during a battle, and Mordred had defended him at the last second. However, things escalated quickly right after that, ending yet in another confrontation between the two of them. Ritsuka had to intervene to distance them from each other to not compromise the mission.

But, instead, Gawain scoffed loudly. "Like you're one to talk, Mordred… you broke the same order I did."

"Gawain. Mordred. Please don't fight." Bedivere attempted firmly, but he was completely ignored.

"I did it to save you from getting yourself recklessly killed!" Mordred yelled. "Had you followed orders, I wouldn't have done so, idiot!"

"Keep it down, Mordred. You're scaring the others," Iskandar said in an serious voice as he passed a glance towards the now deadly quiet room. The Servants were staring back at them along with several faces from the kitchen. Even Emiya, Isthar, Artoria and Jeanne seemed concerned now. Yet, this only served to anger Mordred further.

Gawain continued. "I didn't need your help. And right now, I only want to remind you how to address a King! Even you should still know what a Knight should do to uphold chivalry!"

Mordred's eyes turned ferocious. "How dare you infer I would ever forget the Code, especially after I saved your ass during last mission!"

"My mistake. I guess you followed it properly when you seized the throne for yourself and destroyed Camelot… Don't think your actions for me could make up for that."

Artoria gasped, rousing immediately from the pain that had kept her frozen until that moment because of Shirou's revelation. "That was uncalled for! Stop this nonsense right now, both of you!" she interjected, but she was only listened by Gawain. She inwardly sighed as Mordred took the bait anyway.

"Do not start a fight with me, Gawain," the blonde knight threatened slowly, making everyone in the room very, very nervous. "You remember how it ended last time on that hill."

Gawain dared to chuckle darkly. "Threatening to attack me? How typical of you, Knight of Treachery," he spat. "But I will not entertain such a notion. I don't wish to make a habit of striking ladies with my sword, anywa-"

CRUNCH!

What happened next shocked everyone. All the Servants in the room widened their eyes as they saw a fist quickly connect itself to Gawain's face while he was still speaking. The tall, muscular knight collapsed heavily to the ground, with one hand clutched on his aching chin. His wide eyes rested on Mordred's stunned face for a second, only to realize that it wasn't her the one who had attacked him. All his doubts and questions were answered when he found the tip of Shirou's sword just a mere inch from his face, threatening to cut his nose with the sharp metal.

The gaze of the red-haired young man was cold and menacing as he glared at him. No one had ever seen him like this before. "Take that back," Shirou ordered coldly.

The others acted immediately. Emiya and Jeanne quickly moved to stand between Shirou and Artoria, just as Tristan, Bedivere and Lancelot joined Gawain, protecting him from the young man's sword. Iskandar was restraining Mordred, but the Knight of Treachery was too busy staring at Shirou with wide eyes and a shocked expression to do anything.

"Emiya-kun!? What are you doing!?" Ishtar cried, stunned.

Shirou continued to glare at Gawain. "Take that back," he repeated again. "Nobody threatens my friends in my presence. If you do it again, I will attack you," he threatened, deadly serious.

Mordred felt her jaw drop to the ground. "Y-You... why did you...?"

Gawain slowly got to his feet, held by the arms of his fellow Knights as he looked at Shirou with an incredulous and confused look, too shocked to be able to speak.

Emiya sighed heavily. "What a fucking mess..."

However, before the situation could escalate further, someone decided to put an end to that farce.

With a gentle movement, Artoria grabbed Shirou's arm as he kept pointing his sword at her knight. "Shirou... please, stop," she pleaded weakly, her eyes downcast while hot, wet tears were running freely down her cheeks. "Just... stop it. Nobody wants to start a fight here. Please."

Shirou hesitated, looking from Gawain to the woman's weeping face and studying her for several tense moments. Ten seconds passed. Then, slowly, his arm lowered and the young man sheathed his sword, turning towards the King of Knights with his whole body. He looked down at her with an unreadable expression for some time before speaking again.

"So you are Mordred's Father," he said, glancing quickly at her friend who was still too shocked to be able to speak. "King Arthur. I see. Now I understand why I felt those emotions when I saw you."

Artoria'eyes rose slowly to lock into his cold gaze. "...y-you... felt something?" she repeated, in a small, hopeful voice. "W-What did you feel?"

"You felt strangely familiar," he replied immediatly, looking at her straight in the eyes as he adjusted his cape around his shoulders. "Just like I felt when I first saw Mordred."

The light in Artoria's eyes dimmed, the pallor of her complexion falling rapidly.

'...what?'

Artoria felt a great, terrible doubt begin to creep into her mind. She knew that Mordred looked almost exactly like her. They were pratically twins if based on their appearance. And if what Shirou was saying was true, then maybe he... he... he could have directed his previous feelings for her towards the knight by mistake. In other words...

He was replacing her with Mordred…?

"No… No, it can't be…"

In terms of memory loss, sometimes only a trigger was needed. Mordred's face was near identical to hers, and with no memory to recall her and their previous experience during the Holy Grail War, that possibility was high.

It clearly wasn't what Artoria had been hoping. She staggered back as if visibly struck, her earlier conjecture solidifying in her mind.

Shirou watched in confusion as her expression fell and filled with horror. There was an air of desperation and grief in her that he could not explain. And yet, now that he was staring at her, the feelings of familiarity intensified again insied him. It grew, and grew, and grew, until it reached a point even greater than when he looked directly at Mordred.

His head began to ache, and he almost moved a hand to clutch it over his temples.

However, suddenly, Artoria's hands placed themselves over his shoulders in his daze.

"I-I'm the real one!" she said hoarsely, as if deeply afraid that he would not understand her meaning. "Me, it's me! Saber! Artoria! Artoria Pendragon! Your Sword! Your Servant!" she exclaimed, her tone growing more and more desperate as she yelled and shaked his shoulders.

Her insistence only served to confuse him further. Shirou abruptly pulled away from her, staring at her with apprehension and confusion after her violent reaction. Even the others were looking at her strangely, shocked by her actions.

"Sorry, ma'am... but I don't remember you," he repeated once more, instantly shattering all her hopes like glass. "I know that saying this may hurt you, but I am not the man you believe me to be. Maybe I was, once… but not anymore. I truly am sorry."

Artoria gasped, feeling all of her former hope vanish in the air like a thin smoke. She pursed her lips in silence in attempt to hold back the sobs, utterly unable to maintain her calm any longer.

Then, she burst into tears, whirling around abruptly and starting to run towards the exit while she sobbed and cried non-stop, under the gaze of every single Servant in the hall.

"A-Artoria! Wait!" Jeanne exclaimed, panicking, following her friend among the tables and the crowd along with Isthar.

"My King!" cried Bedivere, moving quickly to follow her along with his fellow Knights. Before they all disappeared in the crowd, however, Gawain turned to Shirou and Mordred once again, throwing them a glare filled with anger and resentment. "This isn't over," he swore, before going after the others and disappearing as well.

Shirou watched them leave with a raised eyebrow, feeling strangely sad for that blonde woman and her unfortunate situation. However, he knew he did the right thing. There was no way he could lie about such a thing. He had to say it. He had to tell the truth.

No matter how much pain he had to inflict on that poor soul.

He turned to look at the stunned faces of Mordred and Iskandar and at the shaking head of Emiya.

"That was weird," he simply said.

Emiya sighed as he rubbed his temples in exasperation.

---

This is a five-chapter story.

I got the idea of writing this fanfic after seeing a fanart of Artoria and Muramasa meeting in Chaldea. She remembered him, but he didn't, and that made her cry. Therefore, I wondered what would happen if our Shirou really ended up being summoned to Chaldea with no recollection of his past with Saber. The result is what you have read.

As mentioned before on the Warning, the fanart from which I took inspiration for the story can be found in the Tumblr blog of the user 'akampana'. I don't know if it's right to publicy reveal this, but since I want to be 100% honest after all the shit that happened to this story, I decided to give credit to that artist as well. There are a lot of fanart about Artoria/Diarmuid/Archer and many other Servants on his/her blog (I don't know the gender) so I won't be telling from which one I took inspiration specifically. Go find out yourself, if you are interested.

I ask you to forgive me in case there are many mistakes and grammatical errors in the story. As I said in the previous Warning, I'm Italian, and I'm not very good at writing in English. And Google Translate is not always the best at translating every word or sentence. I ask for your forgiveness for this.