Aftermath (6)

"How about this one?"

Shirou wordlessly accepted the tree branch from Rin, closing his eyes as he began to examine it, following its life and purpose in a backwards path that lead him to the base of its existence...and subsequent attempts to Trace it were met with failure, the outline of a similar branch showing up in a haze of blue before dissipating like so many broken panes of glass.

"Are you kidding me?! How are you able to replicate Noble-damned-Phantasms of all kinds of rank, even if they contain traces of divinity, but not a stupid sapling?! You make no sense!"

The closest sign of irritation Shirou would probably ever come to—a slight furrowing of his brows—accompanied a mildly frustrated toss of the branch onto their research table, hand rubbing one of his temples as he replied, "I grew up with one of those aforementioned Noble Phantasms residing within my soul. I didn't grow up with a piece of wood residing in my soul."

Not mollified in the slightest the dark-haired Magus scowled at the innocent shard of wood as if it had personally affronted her, remarking, "Well that doesn't change the fact that we need to come up with some kind of solution to this problem of ours. My apprenticeship relies upon fixing your shortcomings, so we're not leaving this room until we figure it out!"

A low groan echoed across the room, Illya muttering, "Stop being so loud, Tohsaka...and stop being mean to Onii-chan."

Setting her hands on her hips the other young woman glared at the Homunculus, retorting, "Well instead of just laying there how about you lend a helping hand, huh?"

A single ruby eye glared at Rin before once more disappearing beneath a damp towel, Shirou rising to his feet and replacing the cloth with a fresh, cooler one.

"Thank you, Onii-chan. You're much nicer than Tohsaka."

The other young woman rolled her eyes as she turned her attention back to the collection of objects they had been working with, a mishmash of mundane and innocuous objects that looked like they belonged at a garage sale, not a Magus' workshop.

Rocks, sticks, picture frames, old shoes and record players...their attempt at completing the latest task set upon them by their Magician tutors.

Rin felt her gaze drift back towards the duo she was currently being held up by, expression souring as Shirou once more took a seat before the table, Illya settled on his lap as she possessively wrapped her arms around his neck, damp towel still covering the albino's eyes and scalp.

"Well aren't you two just so relaxed and at ease? Must be nice, not being worried about your future education."

"We're the ones that have to fight during the Aylesbury, not you. Stop making noise, I still have a headache."

Rin fought down the urge to 'accidentally' knock a collection of rocks onto the floor, instead mentally grumbling as she too collapsed before the table, sullenly glaring at the inanimate objects as if they were personally responsible for her predicament.

Not more than two days ago both Zelretch and the Blue had given the three of them a 'group project', that being to expand Shirou's breadth of ability to include the many esoteric and powerful Phantasms or Mystic Codes he had stored in his Reality Marble.

...It had taken her awhile to get over the fact that the slightly distant and aloof maybe-Magus that had gone around repairing equipment in the school for free was also an Incarnation that possessed a Reality Marble, trained by two of the most notorious killers in recent history.

But she had managed without suffering an aneurysm, only to repeat the process all over again when it had been revealed that within said Reality Marble he contained the blueprints of weapons and tools that had once been wielded by both God and Hero alike.

And therewithin laid an opportunity. If Shirou's unique nature could be advanced to the point where he could actually manifest and wield such power, well...he'd need it, if what Rin had been able to discern from random snippets of conversation.

Fighting the Beast of Gaia? Yeah, she was happy to sit that one out, thank you very much.

But her cantankerous and willful Vampire of a tutor had made it a point to refuse her further instruction until she helped the other Apostle get past this hurdle, stating that it would 'help her understand True Magic'.

...Rin still wasn't convinced that Zelretch was being serious when he named her a successor to the art.

But with that particular Sword of Damocles hanging overhead she had dragged the two of them to her room after hours, demanding that they get started sooner rather than later.

Neither had argued much but quite frankly the albino had seemed to be in a daze when she returned after a day of normal tutelage, unsteady on her feet and complaining of a migraine thanks to 'that geriatric asshole'.

One wet rag, a few painkillers—Magus weren't adverse to all forms of modern invention, simple pharmaceuticals being a rather popular item—and a soft couch had led to a brainstorming session, their method of advancement quickly becoming clear.

According to Shirou, in order to fully manifest a weapon or similar enough tool, he had to be able to understand both the composition and mystical 'weight and history' of the object in question. It was thanks to his status as an Incarnation that he was able to sympathize with objects most Humans wouldn't be able to understand, recreating them to such an extent that they were nearly indistinguishable from their originals, flaws or degradations only becoming apparent when dealing with things like Noble Phantasms or high-end Mystic Codes, thanks to their incredibly complicated and often extensive history.

And yet some objects remained out of his ability to fully manifest, despite them being recorded in his Reality Marble. Divine Weapons or Noble Phantasms of such unique usage or construction that Human understanding eluded them.

Rin had immediately picked up on a few key hints in listening to his description of his abilities that could potentially lead to a quick and rapid increase in the Ancestor's breadth of ability.

"Emiya-"

Both Homunculus and vampire turned to look at her, prompting an eye roll from the Magus.

"The Vampire one. Look, the sooner you pick this up the sooner we can all go home."

"We can go home now. You're the one keeping us here with your pushy demands."

Ignoring the absolutely true statement from Illya Rin pushed on with, "You say you can't Trace these divine or unique objects, but you absolutely can. With both the Gema de Kukulkan and Avalon you've proven you can do just that. One's a pretty tame level of divinity while the other was made from the ground up by the damned Fae. If that isn't construction beyond mortal hands then I don't know what is."

"But Avalon was-"

"Shoved inside of your soul for years, yes, I know. But you have all of these other constructs of equal, greater or lesser complexity within a Reality Marble, an expression of who you are as a person. If that doesn't count as being inside of your soul then I don't know what does. Thus, the only explanation is that the problem is on your end, not theirs."

She pointed a finger at the expressionless Vampire.

"You're right, a Human could never hope to understand and comprehend the sheer weight of these Phantasms without suffering an aneurysm, a stroke, a heart attack or any other kind of stress-related organ failure before falling over dead. But you're not Human anymore. Hell, you don't even have a brain."

"That's mean, Tohsaka."

Growling at the albino's teasing tone the Magus finished her statement with, "You know what I mean. And face the facts, Emiya. You're not Human anymore. Hell, I wouldn't even really call you an Apostle, at least not a proper one. How much blood have you drank since turning?"

"Not enough..."

Ignoring the Homunculus's petulant grumble Shirou thought about Rin's inquiry for a moment, eventually replying, "I might be off by a drop or two...but I think two fluid ounces is as much as I've had thus far."

Rin pinched the bridge of her nose, huffing out an aggrieved sigh before stating, "According to the Kaliedoscope most newly turned Apostles, over the time you've been one, need at least twenty times that amount. Whatever your sister did to your soul it changed your needs and requirements on a fundamental level, if anyone can break free of their 'constraints' then it's going to be you, Emiya."

The young woman pointed to the random collection of items on the table, finishing her spiel with, "So keep at it. That old bastard keeps going on and on about how the secret to the True Magics is based on belief and certainty, I'm willing to bet my education that's the secret to unlocking your abilities as well. Since a Reality Marble is already pretty close in application to a True Magic anyway..."

Shirou doubtfully stared at the rounded and mundane rock, stating, "While I don't think you're wrong, I find it difficult to believe that I'll ever be able to replicate something like a simple stone. It's just a rock. The only reason I can trace Archer's clothing is because it was such an integral part of his being for so long, an expression of the man that was a weapon-"

Her temper finally snapping in the face of the male's stubborn insistence Rin picked up the aforementioned rock, chucking it as hard as she could at the Vampire's chest, the improvised projectile bouncing off his muscles with a dull thump before falling onto Illya's lap.

"Ow?"

Violently pointing at the rounded object Rin hissed, "There, it's a weapon! I threw it like an arrow and it hit like a dull bullet, are you happy?! Now get to comprehending, dammit!"

To her consternation the Ancestor merely seemed perplexed by her rage instead of cowed, gently picking up the stone in question, staring at it with an unreadable expression.

...The Tohsaka was confidant in her assessment of things. The only trick was in seeing if the male could pull things off according to her specifications.

Because if there was a hitch in this experiment of theirs...it was that the young man was-according to both himself and Illyasviel-quite the literal and pragmatic individual. Forcing himself to not be those things would have been like asking Kirei to not be a reprehensible piece of Human filth.

But he stuck at it regardless, Rin letting her mind wander as the minutes dragged on-

"Why didn't you go see Sakura before Onii-chan, Papa and that creepy priest ended up rescuing her?"

The Magus flinched at Illya's sudden question, averting her eyes as she neutrally replied, "What's it to you?"

"Because the Matou is sort of my friend now. And if not a friend then an ally, at the very least."

A humorless snort left the Japanese woman, tone apathetic as she responded, "Bet you got a kick out of her publicly tearing away whatever pride I had, huh?"

"It was pretty crazy, I'll admit that...but that's between you and her. I'm curious why you never tried to at least talk to her. If I've got my dates right there was about a year where you could have asked to speak-"

"Because I didn't, alright?!"

Frustration and regret warred for dominance, Rin's tone filled to the brim with venom as she spat, "I didn't do that because I'm a heartless bitch of a Magus, okay?! I could have asked to see her, to tell her our father was dead or mother was crippled...but I didn't. I could have inquired about her general progress in the Matou magics, but I didn't. I could have even asked to see her not as a sister, not as a friend but just as a distant associate, if that's what it took...but I didn't."

Regret won out.

"If I'd just asked to see her once, just one time...I might have been able to see what was happening to her. I could have helped, or gotten someone else to do it for me. Hell, it sounds like Kirei was happy to put Zouken out of his unnatural misery."

Rin blinked rapidly as her vision began to blur, furiously forcing back tears that she didn't have any right to shed.

"So...do you want to get back at Sakura? She was pretty harsh and us Magi handle insults about as gracefully as Berserker did the fine china."

Illya's neutral question caused Rin to dismally shake her head.

"Half of me wants to return the favor. The other half feels like I didn't suffer a fraction of what I should have. What my sister went through..."

A tremor raced through Rin's body, darkness clawing at the fringes of her mind before she shoved it away through force of will.

"It doesn't bear repeating."

"But you relive it ever night, don't you?"

The girl jerked, staring at Shirou as he continued to focus on the rock with closed eyes, Illya taking over with, "Onii-chan heard you having a nightmare last night. About the Crest Worms."

Rin had to avert her gaze, unable to meet the eyes of the other two at such a blatant sign of weakness.

She hadn't gotten much in the way of sleep the past few days. She knew enough of Magecraft to know what a horrific process Crest Worm alteration was and Sakura's violent reaction had been the final nail in the coffin. Now?

Now the night was plagued by fantasies of what her life would have been like, had she been the one tossed into that writhing, festering pit, of screaming herself senseless as every facet of herself was raped by monsters-

"Hey, Tohsaka. Snap out of it, that's not the kind of pride a Magus of the founding families should be showcasing."

Rin jerked as a slim hand placed itself on her shoulder, squeezing lightly as her sky blue eyes focused on Illya's ruby own, the Magus hastily stating, "I...I wasn't-"

Tohsaka violently shook her head, dark hair waving wildly in its unbound state as she bitterly asked, "Why do you even care? Isn't my sister the one who's side you should be on? And you're always going on about how you don't care about your family name!"

The albino huffed, removing her hand and crossing her arms, one of the damp rags slipping down her skull until she irritably threw it aside.

"Siblings shouldn't hate each other! And incase you forgot me and Onii-chan are going to be spending a lot of time with you over the course of the coming months. So I'd rather you be stable and friendly instead of crazy and spiteful. And, you know..."

Illya blushed suddenly, averting her eyes.

"...I like having friends. Even if every single one of the friends I've made so far are mentally insane, leaving me as the only normal one."

Rin found herself wanting to comment on that last bit but was a bit too bewildered by the blatant and very un-Magus like request, as well as more than a little bit touched by the offer.

"Oh...uh. Umm..."

"Come on, Rin! You're more verbose than that!"

Clearing her throat the Japanese woman eventually forced out, "W-well I don't think that such an arrangement is entirely necessary, but if you insist then I guess I have no choice but to acquiesce, out of our shared interest in mutual advancement."

Illya blinked at Rin's words...and promptly placed her rag back over her eyes, letting her head fall into a very startled Rin's lap.

"She's a tsundere, Onii-chan."

"I suppose she is, Illya."

Squawking in indignation the Tohsaka tried to find a good rebuttal for the blatantly untrue statement...and found her protests dying as she saw the slight smile tugging at Shirou's lips as he continued to examine the rock, Illya commenting, "Stop moving so much, Rin. While Onii-chan is really comfortable your legs are much softer."

That pretty much sealed it for the jewel Magus, resigning herself to being in the company of the two weirdos until they finally managed to break past whatever barrier Shirou was working on.

And as she stared down at the pretty teen resting on her thighs with a peaceful expression on flawless features, attractive white hair enticingly flowing across her face in shimmering waves...Rin almost burst out laughing at the out-of-nowhere realization that hit her, fingers hesitantly running through the albino's tresses.

"Yeah, that settles it. I'm definitely bi."


Everybody be talking about the Shirou harem...yet no one talks about the Illya harem.

Never underestimate the appeal of white hair, red eyes, mildly homicidal personality and absurd levels of power.

Also, going by the number of events in which Rin is going to town on basically everybody and anybody with genitalia of pleasure organs I just kinda assumed she was shades of gay.