Author's Notes: I don't want to put an exact number on it, but after the next couple of chapters, the final time-skip will take place before we begin heading into the War Arc. So if everything goes according to plan, the War Arc will be about 15 chapters in all, pushing this story to at least, with emphasis on the "at least", 35 chapters long.
Expect the next update to come out next week. But for now, enjoy!
.
.
.
.
.
"Artoria-san seemed really worried back there…"
Illya nodded at Sakura's words. The bus ride to Shinto had been unnaturally silent and these were the first words uttered between them ever since they were seated.
"Yeah, that makes sense. She's only been living with us for about a year but she cares a lot about me and Shirou. Though I don't give her as much trouble as he does."
Sakura tilted her head in question.
"What do you mean by that? Is Shirou-senpai actually a delinquent or something?"
Illya laughed lightly at the thought before shaking his head.
"No no, nothing like that. It's just… you know how I told you about how we started working on our Magecraft together right?"
"You have mentioned something like that before, yes."
"Shirou is actually pretty bad at most stuff Mages usually find to be easy. And yet he's also the sort of person to surprise you with something you didn't even think was possible out of nowhere."
Sakura seemed confused at that.
"That's not really a bad thing though. Some people are more unique than others. Just like some people are inherently more talented in everything than everyone else…"
Sakura's tone was laced with only a small amount of bitterness at that last part but Illya chose to ignore it, agreeing with her point.
"It isn't. But being this unique has it's own set of problems. For starters, he has to figure out most of the things he can do on his own. We can't even help him improve, we're just there to test what his limitations are."
Sakura nodded and Illya took this as a sign to continue.
"This in turn makes him push himself even more than he usually would. And that's where Artoria comes in."
Illya sighed as she pointed her gaze out the window, lost in her thoughts.
"She's so much like him, she can instantly tell when he's about to reach his limits. She always manages to get him to take it easy and is even actively trying to work out a way for his stupid brain to think ahead before rushing head-first into something he might not be ready for."
"She sounds like an amazing person…" Sakura reckoned before a grin appeared on Illya's face.
"Yeah, but deep down, she's actually just a sore loser. Whenever Shirou does something stupid or discards caution despite her teachings, Artoria sees it as a personal failure. That's why I understand why she can worry over Shirou more. Not to mention, she's like this with everything."
The Matou girl's eyes widened.
"Everything?"
"Everything. Be it sports, card games, bets or even competition, she always feels disappointed in herself whenever she loses."
Sakura chuckled at the mental image of Artoria pouting with a losing hand of cards in front of her, demanding a rematch until she finally won.
"That's unexpected of Artoria-san. She usually seems so calm and collected…"
"Tell me about it…"
After a moment, the bus grinded to halt as it finally reached Shinto. The shining, tall buildings and crowded streets were a sight to behold as they were illuminated by a golden backdrop, the setting sun overlooking the city steadily making way for the dark of night.
But this specific moment was undeniably beautiful. On that, both Sakura and Illya could agree.
They finally got off the bus and made their way towards the local Arcade. It had been a while since their last outing to the city and they had already thought of a schedule for the night. It would save them time better spent on enjoying themselves.
Overlooking the same scene was none other than the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh. However, in comparison to the pair of young girls hurriedly making their way towards their destination, the Golden King was aimless in his wanderings, opting to take the time to experience life among his subjects with an open mind, letting his feet carry him through the day without a care in the world.
Much like all the other days where he observed daily life in Fuyuki, Gilgamesh found that he had to struggle to keep a frown from showing on his features.
Truly, life for humans of this era was exceptionally dull. Every new day was practically a copy of the last, with only small variations that were few and far between. It was all so incredibly disappointing.
There wasn't a single redeeming quality about the way humans went through their daily lives. They were merely existing, going with the flow until the time came when they finally grew old and died off.
He didn't know why he expected this to change in the slightest in the year he had already spent in this time. Perhaps, some part of him wished for them to prove him wrong. That there was beauty to be found in simply wishing to live, without striving to achieve anything beyond that.
Those were the words the child known as Shirou Emiya had spoken to him back then. Now, after all this time, they were beginning to sound more and more like childish nonsense, instead of words of wisdom beyond his years.
He dearly wished it wasn't the case. But the truth was being laid bare in front of him, with no sign of change to be found anywhere.
As a King who had seen everything Humanity was capable of achieving, their current state seemed more and more like a sickness he had the responsibility to correct.
After all, his eyes that could see past his time and into the future showed a brighter end for Humankind. Perhaps the reason he was here, was to lead them towards that vision, as he had done so in the past.
However, he was not an impatient man. And he had entrusted the boy with something that may yet prove to be what he needs to make a change great enough to reach that ending.
Whether he had the ability to do so would be revealed sooner or later.
.
.
.
.
.
"So let me get this straight. You were under the impression that Illya was actually an Einzbern Homonculus sent to infiltrate Fuyuki."
"Correct."
"And that she used Magecraft to hypnotize me into believing we are related, giving her the perfect cover to operate without suspicion at all times."
"It made complete sense and you can't deny that."
"To what end? The Grail War? You said it yourself, the Einzberns are gone. Along with their ambitions for the ritual. Illya has nothing to do with them."
"It's not my fault she goes around calling herself an Einzbern. What else am I supposed to think?"
"I'll give you this and only this. You had no way of knowing about her circumstances. A lapse in judgement could easily be made. But did you have to go about it in the way that you did? Why not just go to her, ask her if she really was an Einzbern and what her goals are?"
Rin finally had enough and pinched Shirou's cheek. Hard.
"Are you actually stupid? Why the hell would I approach someone who could be my enemy directly without a plan?"
"So instead you came at me…"
Shirou's face fell. The girl known as Rin Tohsaka had been nothing like what he expected her to be. The longer they talked, the more the image of an elegant and sophisticated Magus shattered in his mind.
"Well, obviously you as her target would have some information on her. The plan was for me to interrogate you after I lifted the hypnosis she had placed on you."
"I have no words. Literally."
"Ok so what if she's actually not a Homonculus? She's still an Einzbern in Fuyuki. It's obvious she's going to be a part of the next war. That makes us enemies."
"I'm a Magus too. I'll probably be a Master too and yet you don't seem that concerned about it."
"Yeah, because I already beat you once today. I'm confident I can do it again in a few years."
Shirou refused to say anything to that. Better for her to think she had the edge than coaxing her into another fight.
"Ok. Say you caught me. What did you even want to get out of me? Especially if I really was just a nobody with no connection to her…"
Rin stopped and actually gave the question some thought before shrugging.
"I don't know. Information on her could be her form of Magecraft. Things you would know simply by interacting with her as her victim. Basic stuff."
"Would it have been worth the trouble?"
"Shut up!"
She lightly kicked at him before looking away and he could feel himself getting exhausted just trying to keep up with Rin's logic. However, a moment of silence later and Shirou could see Rin performing some kind of breathing exercise. He could only guess she was trying to calm herself down. That was good.
It wasn't long after that when Rin finally spoke up once more.
"So, you two are actually siblings?"
The way she spoke was a lot different than previously. In Shirou's mind, this quieter vesrion of Rin Tohsaka felt more like what he initially thought she might be like and it was a pleasant surprise.
"Yeah. Although I was adopted into the Family by her Dad, I still feel like it doesn't make any difference. We're still Family all the same."
"I see. And what about your Mom? Is she… you know…"
"If what you're asking is if she died along with the rest of the Einzberns, then no. Apparently, she died right here in Fuyuki during the last Holy Grail War…"
Rin processed the information for a brief moment before coming to a harsh realization.
If an Einzbern Homonculus was here in Fuyuki during the 4th Holy Grail War, then they had to have been sent here to act as the Vessel for the Grail. In all honesty, she had no idea how a Homonculus could find it in them to have a kid in the first place. From what she understood, they were programmed to function according to their roles. For them to not only have a personality, but also the desire to build a Family…
"It must have been rough, losing her."
"Actually, I never met her. Illya thinks the world of her, and I have the feeling she would have loved to be here with all of us, but I was adopted after she was already gone."
"After she was gone… when her death was during the Grail War. Then that must mean…"
Rin gasped at the realization before turning to stare at the boy beside her.
"Yup. I was orphaned because of the 4th Holy Grail War. I have no memories from before the Shinto fire but I still don't really know how to feel about that. I guess you could say it's all in the past anyway…"
Rin had no response to that. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like to have a family, only to lose them but also not even remember them.
If she was being honest with herself, some nights she wished the memories she held so dearly to her heart could miraculously disappear so she would be spared the pain. But after hearing Shirou's story, she came to realize that forgetting would only lead to more pain. If not for her, then for Sakura.
"This got a little too heavy for my liking anyway. I prefer it when people are happy and smiling if I'm being honest." Shirou finally said and Rin was roused from her thoughts until she nodded in agreement.
"In any case, if you ever want to talk about anything, don't forget you can just ask. We may become enemies in the future, but that doesn't mean we have to hate each other now." Shirou once again spoke and Rin was inclined to believe him. After all, he seemed like an honest person and despite how much she made a fool of herself in front of him, he didn't judge her too badly.
"Sure thing, Emiya-kun. I'll remember that. But don't forget, as Second Owner, I am responsible for any Mages that operate in Fuyuki. That means I'll be counting on you to let me know about anything else that's important."
"That's fine. There's a lot more to say but now is not the time. It's almost night-time anyway."
With a shared nod of understanding between them, they both stood to their feet to leave when suddenly, a dark figure landed with a resounding thud in front of them, the shockwave blowing them back ever so slightly.
As the dust settled, Shirou struggled to make out the identity of the mysterious figure when a familiar looking black suit was revealed to him, along with that head of golden hair peering through the cloud of shattered concrete.
"Artoria, w-what are you doing here?!"
Shirou stammered while frantically checking between the King of Knights and Rin, waiting for her reaction.
"Kiritsugu and I noticed that your Projection disappeared sooner than usual, and we feared you may have gotten yourself into trouble. Therefore, I took the liberty of coming to check on you." Artoria stated matter-of-factly and Shirou was wondering just what might have caused this when he recalled the fact that he lost consciousness earlier that evening, his eyes lighting up at the realization.
"Oh, I know. You see, I passed out earlier today. That's probably when that happened. Don't worry, I'll make Kiritsugu a new one when we get home."
"Passed out?! Shirou, just what could have possibly happened that would lead to you passing out in school?"
Artoria's eyes narrowed before turning to look at Rin with a suspicious look.
"Is there any possibility that you might be responsible for Shirou's condition, miss-
Rin, now entirely focused due to being the center of attention, approached Shirou cautiously before whispering in his ear.
"Emiya-kun. Am I hallucinating or is that a Servant right in front of me at this very moment?"
Shirou sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, desperately thinking of a way to avoid answering that question.
"You are correct in your assessment, young Magus. During the previous Holy Grail War, I was summoned into this world as Servant Saber."
Shirou was flabbergasted as he watched Rin process that response with a few nods before turning her back on the pair.
"Emiya-kun, I do believe we came to an agreement earlier regarding matters that I feel like I should be informed about, yes?"
Shirou sighed. This really wasn't his day.
"Excellent. Tomorrow, we will be meeting here after class to discuss why there is a Servant still in Fuyuki after all this time. I trust you will be forthcoming with this information."
Without any delay, she made to leave the rooftop and descended the flight of stairs that lead to it as calmly and swiftly as she could manage. Shirou had to admit he was impressed at just how well she reacted to something like this, all things considered.
Artoria's face fell and she timidly raised her voice to speak.
"Shirou, I do believe I may have inconvenienced you with my arrival. If so, allow me to apologize."
Shirou shook his head before turning to look at Artoria who was now bowing deeply.
"Don't sweat it. She would have hounded me for less anyway. I'll just have to talk to Kiritsugu, ask him how much I can afford to say without making our situation worse…"
Artoria nodded, moving to pick up Shirou before he had a chance to say anything.
With him now in her arms, stunned at the sudden closeness between them, Artoria leapt off the rooftop, much like the way she made her appearance.
Releasing him from her hold, Artoria lead him to where she had stationed her bike and promptly took her rightful seat on her mount, forcing Shirou to cling to her from behind as they made their way back to the Emiya Household when suddenly, a thought managed to worm it's way into Shirou's head.
"Damn it, we all left without fixing up the rooftop…"
Artoria could only blush in embarrassment. Her entrance may have been just a tad bit overdramatic. That much she could admit. So she begrudgingly turned around to head towards Homurahara once more.
Sadly, this meant they would be late for dinner. The repairs needed would likely take more than what Shirou could manage using only Magecraft…
Hunger really was the enemy…
.
.
.
.
.
Review Corner Time!
We actually reached a new record for reviews per chapter (excluding Chapter 1 obviously). This may take a while...
.
Josnacio mentioned something that actually bummed me out before realising it doesn't change much for the story in the long run. Which is weirdly timed because most likely, the next chapter will be focusing on what I originally had in mind regarding the topic. Some revisions had to be made, but I hope I can at least please the majority of people.
Rhomanion1: This is now becoming the second most discussed topic regarding the story after Gilgamesh's portrayal and I love it.
So, Garden of Avalon Drama CD and other sources explicitly state that King Arthur stopped aging the moment Caliburn was drawn, completing his training with it didn't take that long and after that, she began to fight back against Vortigern. Eventually Caliburn was lost and was replaced with Excalibur. However, her halted againg wasn't stopped. This has caused much confusion, especially since Lancer Artoria was introduced to the fanbase.
For all intents and purposes, according to established lore, she shouldn't have grown any more than Saber Artoria unless Excalibur too played some part in her halted aging. Leading us to believe that when she took up Rhongomyniad instead, her body started maturing. So for all intents and purposes, if one leans more towards the first instance of Caliburn halting her maturity forever, Lancer Artoria becomes a plot hole. So for this story, Excalibur is also halting her aging to coincide with other TYPE-MOON works, however, they won't have anything to do with the plot in any way.
Nearsighted: Well, Rin finding him creepy and downright a horrible person doesn't mean she has reason to believe he's also a liar. It definitely won't come back to bite her in the defenseless ass in the future. Definitely.
Kaleidoscope's Beauty: Wonderfully put. Rin's only connection with our established cast so far has been with Sakura. And I think it's sad that her deepest troubles regarding how alone she must have felt growing up often go unnoticed. For god's sake she was raised by Kirei Kotomine and had almost no personal life aside from her interactions at school. A far cry from the horrors that Sakura went through, but also sad. I'm trying to weave that into her role in this story.
Reinkasahi: I can only hope clusterfuck in this case is used in a positive manner. The last thing I want anyone to experience while reading this story is a sense of incohesion or confusion. That's a big part of why the Review Corner exists.
Love-to-peace: Miyuverse Shirou was basically what normal Shirou was at the end of UBW with the exception of Archer's influence. Basically, further ahead in his very specialised form of Magecraft, had basic combat training and functioning Magic Circuits. Overall not too different from my portrayal, but as Miyuverse Shirou grew to develop his own Marble and abilities, so will this one. I can't say anything more than that.
SentinalSlice: You mentioned wanting to see when Rin would meet Kirei again. You'll have to correct me if I'm wrong but I think it was made clear that he has been a major part in her daily life, and that he can still fight even with a missing hand. I will try to go more in depth with what style of combat he uses right now, since I don't consider that much of a spoiler.
Kirei has always used a mix of varying Martial Arts with a focus towards Bajiquan. A fighting style that often employs the use of fists, elbows and most of all speed. He is missing one hand, so he often tends to use that specific limb to block or stun opponents with his elbow similarly to how he did in the fight against Maiya. Anything else he performs with his other hand. The only thing he has lost in terms of combat ability, is the option of wielding more than five Black Keys at a time. When and how that will come into play is a question for another day.
Also, I can see how Artoria's words made it seem like she was asking Kerry to basically go ahead and die so I wanted to emphasize the fact that Kiritsugu isn't extending his lifetime doing anything of note for his kids other than improving their arsenal. He spends most of his time absorbed in his ledgers, taking note of anything and everything he can use to turn the coming tide when he has already done more than enough. He should instead continue using Avalon in order to spend more time with Shirou and Illya. I hope I could clear this up sufficiently.
Rhomanion1: You also raised a point that I thought was already quite established regarding the Projections and their time limit. Basically, anything that shouldn't belong and is anachronistic in nature is removed by the world as quickly as possible, with the only thing effecting that is the amount of Mana each projection had. However, normal appliances, knifes and everyday objects are not subject to this phenomenon, so they stay around until Shirou dismisses them. I only make a note of Noble Phantasms disappearing after a set time exactly because of this.
NotSpecialDude: Interesting interaction you pointed out there in regards to Independent Action and a Servant's ability to stay in the world regardless of Master. However, Gilgamesh has an independent action rank of A when in Tokiomi's contract. And there's nothing to say that Gil wouldn't ever need a Master eventually with Tokiomi out of the picture. So I don't believe there is a rank of Independent Action out there than can efficiently allow a Servant to remain in this world indefinitely without any source of Energy. As such, Angra's "reincarnation" as we put it, remains unique in a way, though as we have already seen, it too has drawbacks.
And that concludes the Review Corner for this Chapter. And it damn near feels like a very short Chapter in and of itself. Oops.
As always, don't forget to stay safe and I'll see you all next week!
.