#13-Words can be in disunity with their speaker. Trust nothing at face value.

"You can't do it, Shirou."

I stare up at the twintailed girl as my breaths come out hard and fast. The evening air does nothing to cool the heat that had been building with every failed jump, but I push myself off the mat again.

"Not now, at least," she says as I pace over to the line I made in the dirt. "You're just going to end up hurting yourself."

I turn back to the high jump, my breathing leveling out. I take a few deep breaths before running to it once more. I jump, curling my body over the bar, only for my legs to catch it on the way down. The bar is knocked from the stand and clutters to the ground.

I feel sweat bead on my forehead and run down my face, and I begin to push myself up. Rin's suddenly on top of me, pushing me back down with her left hand. I don't put up much of a fight, taking the extra rest.

"That's enough for today," she looks me in the eye sternly. "You'll have plenty of time to do this later."

My breaths slow as I close my eyes and lay my head back against the mat.

I come back the next day and try again.

The walls of the castle were in shambles. In all honesty, it was surprising that the more focused battle between these two Servants caused greater damage than the carnage of the previous fight. The Servants bounded around the area in gold and red streaks, flashing about and bashing against any barrier only to rebound into one another.

The nausea that had afflicted me was finally fading, allowing me stand under my own power once more. Rin hadn't seemed to notice, her arms remaining linked under mine as her attention was transfixed by the duel. I couldn't blame her.

Lancer wore a joyous grin as he rushed forward, spear lancing in rapid succession as the stoic Saber swiped her blade through the air. Metallic ringing crashed out in continuous streams as the warriors danced fervently around with their weapons. Despite the power on display, neither had dealt anything resembling damage to their opponent.

Saber's sword wove through Lancer's defenses and stabbed toward his head. Lancer's head slid to the side, his spear already moving to counter. Saber didn't flinch.

Torrents of air lashed out from the sword, flailing out in a mass of force that threatened to send me and Rin to the ground despite the distance. Surprise crossed Lancer's face as he careened away to break another wall down, the stone structure crumbling over him.

Saber turned to the rubble, the yellow glow of her body nothing compared to the light of her blade, its golden glory as striking as the previous night. She charged the destroyed wall, leaping into the air with her sword raised high.

The mound of stone exploded as Lancer lept to meet her, spear flashing against her weapon.

"About time you brought it out!" Lancer yelled excitedly before whirling and slamming the spear atop the swordswoman.

Saber was driven back to the ground, her heels digging through the dirt of a ruined flower bed, Excalibur moving to block a new onslaught from Lancer.

The tide of battle seemed to finally choose a side as Saber's rebuttal began bearing fruit. Lines of red suddenly opened on Lancer with every passing moment, her blade finding its mark every slash.

Saber moved even faster now, Excalibur flashing into Lancer's guard time and again to add another cut to his body. The spearman was quickly finding himself on the receiving end of a less balanced battle, but his smile only seemed to grow more ferocious.

His actions became more primal, his speed and movements like that of an animal, the spear in his hands becoming an extension of that animalist fury. He dashed around erratically, striking at the swordswoman from every possible angle almost faster than I could see. Every attack was met was by the golden blade, another patch of red appearing each clash.

"She can't keep this up," Rin finally said. There was no fear in her words. I wasn't sure she even realized she said them.

She was right though. The painfully slow progress she was making against Lancer was only due to the command spell's power, and I could see the yellow glow ebbing from her form. Soon, they'd return to the stalemate of neither making any headway. It would come down to a battle of endurance, and Saber would lose.

"How annoying."

Lancer stopped several meters away from his opponent, his face a disturbing mix of battle insanity and clarity as crimson dripped from the gashes dotting his body. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as though he heard something.

"It seems I've reached the end of my time," he shifted his hands' grip on the spear, adopting a familiar stance. "And just when it was getting good."

A meaningful look passed between the two, and their weapons burned with power. The soft yellow glow that had been fading from Saber flowed into her sword, igniting it like a flame. Lancer's spear bled a deep red as it had the night I first saw him.

A final blow. A single strike.

Mana thrummed through the air like fire around Saber and froze like ice around Lancer as they stared each other down, their weapons growing brighter by the second. Then, they charged, Lancer declaring the final words of the duel.

"Gáe Bolg!"

The Servants blurred for an instant, each speeding forward at impossible velocities. A powerful thrust, spear and sword flashing past each other before finding their marks, ending with them jutting from each Servants' back.

A strange calm swept across the area as the warriors stood still as statues in the middle of the courtyard, their blades slowly dripping blood as Lancer's body slumped onto Saber's shoulder. Finally, the silence was broken.

"Damn," a racking cough seized Lancer, a glob of blood splashing from his mouth to the rubble. "I was hoping I'd be the one to kill him."

More than anything, the Servant sounded disappointed, as if he had just missed a sale at the supermarket.

"Tell me, Lancer," a thin trail of blood runs from Saber's lips. "How is it that he can be here as well?"

My eyes narrowed, the pieces starting to fall into place

"I honestly can't say," he shook his head. "I believe only my master could answer your question."

"And who is that?"

He looked over at me with a smirk.

"Ask the kid. I think he's about figured it out."

Rin gave me a confused look as Lancer's form deteriorated.

"That was a wonderful battle, Saber," Lancer moved his right hand from the spear and placed it on her shoulder. "We should do it again some time."

Blue dust swirled gently into the sky as Lancer and his weapon vanished. Saber's blade slowly drifted down until it *tinked* against the stones, the tension instantly running out of her body as her armor shattered into light to reveal the elegant blue dress beneath.

I slip my arm out of Rin's and tread across the uneven terrain to Saber. I placed a hand on her rising and falling shoulder, glancing at where the spear had exited her back. The blood staining her dress was less than I expected for a wound that went all the way through, but that hardly mattered. She was alive, which meant we had survived. For the moment.

"Saber," I resisted the question eating away at my mind. "How badly are you injured?"

Her sword disappeared as she fell to one knee, moving her right hand over the front of the wound.

"He almost pierced my heart," she got out between breaths. "My mana's working to repair the damage."

I grimaced at her words. She was already recovering from Rider, and now, a near fatal wound. We needed time to recover, but, if my suspicions were correct, we might not have that time.

"Can you still fight?" I asked Saber as Rin walked over to us.

"I will need time," she turned emerald eyes to mine. "But yes. I can fight."

"That man with Lancer," I searched her face as I spoke. "Can you beat him?"

I saw it immediately. Uncertainty moved across her face in a wave, her eyes losing their luster. Her mouth moved to speak, but I continued.

"You called him 'Archer' before he left. He launched weapons at you and pulled Illya into a golden portal. I want you to tell me right now that I'm wrong, because if I'm not, I know the answer to my previous question."

That was the first time I saw anger in Saber's eyes. It was only there for a moment, and I got the feeling it wasn't directed at me. I could see her composing herself before answering.

"You are correct."

I knew they were coming, yet the words still caused my features to tighten. This was not good.

"Shirou," a tinge of worry laced Rin's voice. "Who is he?"

I looked at her and found the concern of her words shown in her eyes.

"That man was Gilgamesh. The King of Heroes, widely considered the strongest Servant to have ever been summoned, Archer of the Fourth Holy Grail War…"

Her eyes widened as she realized the connection I had already made.

"And the Servant of Kirei Kotomine. "

The main body of the castle remained mostly undamaged by the destructives battles, but I was still hesitant to remain there any longer. In the end, I realized that we'd be just as vulnerable out in the woods as in the castle, so allowing Saber time to recover could only benefit us.

It took some time, but we eventually found a bedroom to put Saber in. I shut the door as we left, telling Saber I'd come get her when it was time.

"We really should have brought some food," Rin eyed me as I began walking down the hall. "None of us have eaten since breakfast."

"One of the maids mentioned the market," I said thoughtfully. "They probably have some fresh produce in the kitchen. If we can find it."

I paused before amending.

"If it's still intact."

I looked out one of the uncracked windows into the courtyard.

"There's something I want to do first, though."

Rin tilted her head before following me back the way we came.

I believed the warriors took care to avoid the two homunculi during their battle as their bodies remained untouched, save for the layer of stone dust that had been kicked up.

I knelt and gently closed the two maids' eyes, bringing their hands to their chests and placing a black key in them.

"May you both find rest in the arms of our Father."

There wasn't time for a burial, nor would there be a reason to perform one. From what little I knew; homunculi were beings composed mostly of magical energy. Rather than rotting away, their bodies would likely return to their base forms and rejoin the mana within the world. Still, I could do this much.

"Forgive me."

I rose and turned to face Rin.

"Do you really think you can do it?" Rin asked with her arms crossed, purposely avoiding looking at the homunculi.

"I don't have much choice, do I?" I slipped my hands into the jacket pockets. "If Father is Archer's master, a fight is inevitable."

"Even so," she looked around at the ruined courtyard. "We should probably hold off on it as long as possible. Give Saber time to regain her lost energy."

She was right.

"I can't do that."

She gave me a surprised look.

"It only requires five of the seven Servants to manifest the Grail, with sixth to allow it to grant a wish. Three Servants remain, four with Gilgamesh, but if Lancer has been scouting around the city this entire time, then they likely know both Caster and Assassin are at Ryuudo Temple."

"Both of which they would believe to be easier targets," Rin continued my thought as it came to her.

"Or that Lancer would finish off Saber," which he very nearly did.

"Meaning we only have the few hours till nightfall before the last Servants they need are killed," Rin finished.

I didn't think we could have given Father a better path to victory.

She closed her eyes and put her hand to her chin.

"As we are now, we don't stand a chance at defeating that Archer. There has to be a way to bring Saber back to full power."

There wasn't any way I could see. It had become rather obvious that I was the issue. I knew my circuits were below average, but that had never mattered before now. The only reason Saber became drained after using her full power was because her master wasn't capable of providing enough energy to supplement it.

…But what if they were?

I eyed Rin for several moments before coming to a decision.

"I'm going to go find the kitchen," I said as I moved back towards the house entrance. "No matter what we decide on, a meal will only help us."

"Alright" Rin watched me leave. "I'll be waiting for you in Saber's room. I will probably have an answer to our problem by then."

She didn't see my frown as I exited the courtyard.

It was unfortunate that whatever circumstance prevented Saber's ability to enter spirit form also made communication along our link an impossibility. We would've been gone before Rin could realize.

Illya's scream echoed in my mind as all I could do was watch her be taken away.

Rationally, I knew it wasn't my fault. Rationally, I knew Lancer, and therefore my father, were the ones responsible for what happened today. Rationally, my anger should be directed toward them.

In actuality, the only person I felt ire towards was myself.

In my weakness, I allowed another person to be hurt. So many people have been hurt in this war, and I knew I shouldn't care, knew that it shouldn't affect me, knew that I should keep moving forward, no matter who had to fall in my wake, but I now saw that for what it was.

I looked down at the last command seal emblazoned on my hand. It took four days, three servants, two command spells, and one uncompromising girl to make me realize the thing I'd buried for ten years. I couldn't rationalize my way around it.

"Archer saw a lot more than I thought," I turned a corner, my eyes continuing to rove the passing doors.

How could Archer have known so much? It was like he knew the exact words to say to affect me. And that Noble Phantasm. Why did I feel like something coiled around my stomach and squeezed when I saw it? I could still remember how my head had pounded every second I stared into that bladed horizon. And why had it felt so familiar?

"The better question," I muttered to myself. "Is what did you want me to see?"

An hour had passed before I returned to the room. Rin's eyes flicked open when I entered, her head moving from the perch of her hand as she gave me her attention.

"The food's ready?" she asked, and I noticed the form on the bed to my left twitch at her words.

"And waiting in the dining room," I moved to and took the other seat at the small table.

"You act like we know where that is," She sighed, resting her arm on the table. "I somehow managed to get lost on my way back here. Everything in this castle looks the same."

My eyes were unconsciously drawn to her hand, faded red marks close to disappearing.

"But, more importantly," she gave me a triumphant smile. "I believe I have the answer to our problem."

"And what might that be?" I asked, resting my arm on the table as well.

A small smile lit her lips.

"Well," she drew out the word a little. "There's this obscure method of mana transferal I remembered, and it works well, considering your genders…"

"I'm not even going to pretend to entertain that idea," I rolled my eyes as her smile widened, not the least bit ashamed.

"So quick to dismiss it," she said mischievously. "Are you saving yourself for someone?"

I looked out the window at our backs to see the sun in its descent to the horizon, the view marred by the dead forest stretched out as far as I could see. From the looks of it, we only had around four hours left before night fell.

"I'm not breaking my contract with Saber," I turned my eyes back to her.

The Servant who had been getting off the bed gave us her full attention as I moved my eyes back to Rin, her face having taken on a more curious expression.

"Do you have a better plan then?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"None whatsoever," I shook my head. "But I'm not going to give you my servant."

"Well, that goes without saying," her smile returned as she leaned a little over the table. "After all, I plan to take her from you."

I felt a smile of my own grow as Saber frowned in our direction.

"Is that a fact?"

"We made a bet, after all," she glanced at the frowning Saber. "It'd be a shame not to see it through."

I followed her eyes, and Saber's contemplative frown slowly morphed to one of discomfort under our gazes.

"Saber," I kept my tone light, which I knew only served to make her more uncertain. "You should go get some food. I'll sort this out."

Her eyes flicked between us, brows knitting together.

"Is this wise, Master?" her voice came out slightly troubled. "We shouldn't be fighting each other with such a bigger threat presenting itself."

"There's nothing to concern yourself with," I waved my right hand and her words aside. "This won't take too long. We'll join you shortly."

Her eyes narrowed as I lowered my arm, though I was almost certain she hadn't noticed the black key slip from my sleeve to my palm.

"As you wish," she conceded with a sigh, quickly exiting the room.

I waited several moments before speaking again.

"We weren't very subtle, were we?" I looked at Rin's grinning face.

"Sometimes you have to be blatant," she replied.

I barely had time to reinforce myself before the table exploded into me, the force sending me flying through the wall into the next room.

I tumbled across the floor before righting myself, two more handles falling into my grip and extending into blades with dulled edges and rounded points. They could still kill with the power I threw them, but her own reinforcement would mitigate them.

I hadn't checked this room, but it was like most of the rooms we'd seen in our search for the bedroom. An empty room, devoid of even carpet. I thought the living room had looked ironically unlived in, but it at least had furniture.

This place really was too big.

"That was more devious than I expected," I called through the dusty hole I'd created.

"You would've done the same," familiar red orbs shot through the hole towards me, sending me jumping to the side.

I threw one key in my hand at the area of the wall I'd heard her. The blunted metal smashed through into the other room. This proved useless as Rin leapt through the hole and rebounded on a wall, her left arm having a swelling gandr on every finger. I projected more keys into my hands, slashing them through the air and sending the curses blasting into the room around us.

I launched two keys at her while sending two more into the floor where she'd be landing. She was able to twist herself midair, narrowly avoiding one while the other clipped her leg, drawing a pained grunt from between her teeth. As she fell toward them, I sent energy into the keys under her, causing them to lengthen and shoot up quickly. While one completely missed, the other smacked the left side, spinning her before she hit the ground.

I took her time recovering from the attack to dash forward, the remaining keys in my hands spread out in preparation to strike. Rather than rising, Rin placed her right hand on the floor as a rapid string of words flowed from her mouth.

"Von mir brennt eine sengende Welle alles!"

I bounced back as I recognized the words, retreating as a wave of fire flared around her. The flames quickly dissapated as Rin recovered her footing, the blue gem in her other hand glinting.

"You could have powered through that," she tossed the gem, the crystal splitting into thirds that streaked towards me.

"Didn't want to stop and change on the way," I slashed through one, whirled to avoid the second, and kicked the third. As my shoe made contact, ice immediately encased my foot. I brought my foot down, shattering the newly formed crystals.

Rin was in front of me, delivering two swift strikes to my shoulder and chest. My reinforcement held, but I had a feeling the only thing keeping me from bruises was Avalon.

Rin jumped up, her leg raising above my head. I released the keys in my hands, suspending them mid-fall as I grasped her ankle. A sudden impact and chill from behind sent me stumbling, but I held my grip on her leg, using the movement to throw her a few meters away. She landed easily and closed the distance between us as I lifted myself on my hands and brought my back forward, slamming it into the floor to break off the newly formed ice.

Rin's hand glowed red, but my hovering keys took aim and shot towards her. One hit her stomach while the other managed to snag her coat, sending her into the wall and shallowly pinning her there.

Instead of standing, I brought my fists up, focusing the force of the movements into them, and smashed them into the floor. The wood under me collapsed from the blow, causing me to fall into the room below.

I landed on top of one of the few pieces of furniture in this room, that being a desk. Shattered boards fell around me as I pushed off the desk to my feet. I didn't waste time bursting through the door into the hallway and dashing down the carpeted path. I rounded a corner and slipped into another room, as barren as the newly destroyed one.

I projected four keys in each hand, releasing them to float around the room before moving to the center. I made three more for good measure, the dulled blades moving slowly through the air as I waited. Whichever direction she came from, I'd be ready.

I heard the sound of glass shattering from outside my window, and a key spun through it. I moved to peer out, the key still spinning outside and ready for redirection. I looked down, expecting to see her on the grounds two stories below. Instead, I only found stonework and dead grass. I frowned, aware that the longer I looked out, the more vulnerable I was.

I allowed myself another quick glance and saw it. A window to my right on the lower level had been broken. I looked up for confirmation and found another window above was also shattered. I must not have heard it when I rushed there.

I moved back with the key flying in after me. If she were on a lower level, she could be moving to take me by surprise. I could follow after her and try to catch her off-guard, but she may have predicted that. She might be doing the same thing I was, setting up an ambush in a defendable location. If that were true, neither of us could afford to waste too long waiting. One would have to confront the other on their terms, and I was always more patient then she was.

This idea was shot down as I felt a large surge of energy from below. With no time to think, I launched myself toward the window, grabbing a key from the air with my right before gripping the window frame with my left and swinging into the castle's side, planting the key into the stonework. I had a moment to register the sharp pain in my left palm before the room exploded in a hail of red orbs firing from the floor. The keys still moving aimlessly in the air were shredded and broken as gandr blasted through them and the ceiling, scattering sharpened debris everywhere. After several seconds, the hailstorm of curses ceased.

"You think so narrowly," I heard her muffled yell through the floorboards.

I released the stone and pulled the blade from the wall, falling to plant it above the lower window and swing back into the castle. Rin stood ready, gandr blazing on her hand. I rapidly projected keys and threw them; many being destroyed by the volley she fired. I dodged the blasts my keys didn't intercept and generated two more, overcharging them with energy before throwing them.

They sailed through the barrage and exploded in an array of glittering shards. Rin rolled away, another gem in her hand as I rushed her, closing the space between us in an instant. I delivered a quick strike to her wrist in an attempt to dislodge the gem, following it with an open palm to the same place my key hit earlier.

She was hurled away as a glowing red gem hung briefly in the air. I barely got my arms in front of me before it exploded and sent me out the window to my back.

I flew through the air before my back painfully smashed into the ground below. I took a moment to notice my charred sleeves as I brought myself to my feet. I realized it wasn't just my sleeves, but a few good portions of my jacket had been torn or singed in the explosion.

"Dammit," I hissed between my teeth, and was a bit taken aback by the flash of anger. It was only a jacket. I could just buy a new one. That thought didn't seem to help, though, so I dismissed it immediately.

I was pulled from my musings as Rin bounded out overhead. Several gandr streaked through the air, sending me dancing away as she landed. She immediately dashed toward me, eschewing any prepared spells. I readied myself only to notice a light beginning to emanate from the torn inside of my jacket.

A hot flash of white light blinded me as a fist slammed into my stomach. I felt what must have been a shoe crash into the side of my head, sending my mind tumbling as hands whirled me around and my legs were swept from under me.

I was pinned, my right arm pulled tightly behind my back as Rin placed herself on top of me.

"That was good," her breaths came a little faster than normal. "But I'd say I've won."

"Who says I'm finished?" the spots had begun clearing from my vision, and my head cleared enough to form an idea.

"I do," my arm was pulled tighter, sending pain coursing up its length.

"Well," I focused on the space behind her, pulling the image from my mind. "I can't always let you have your way."

As it formed, I sent the dulled key whirling toward her, slashing bluntly into her side. She tumbled away from the surprise and force, allowing me to push myself up and give my arm a few testing shakes.

"So that's how you found me so quickly," I said as the key slipped into place between my fingers. "You planted a gemstone on me and followed the mana."

"I probably didn't need to," she was on her feet as well, giving me a confident smile. "You didn't run very far."

Four black keys appeared in each of my hands, a plan forming as I glanced over the flat ground around us and felt the wound in my left palm closing.

"I remember back when that pin would end the fight," she mused, another gem being pulled from her jacket pocket. "Thought it might work again."

"It didn't work the last five times," I smirked as I spread the keys to each side. "But it does make you predictable."

"At least I have more variety than you," she said as she pointed her arm towards me again. "You only ever use those priest blades."

"And the only things that change are your gems," I began lobbing keys into the air, sending more to join the as I dashed to avoid a fresh bout of gandr.

"Watch what you say," magic thrummed in the air as crimson orbs sailed towards me. "Or I might forget I still want you able to fight after this."

The keys hailed down across the grounds, jutting up like markers in the dirt around us. I continued projecting, feeling the rising heat as mana flowed through my circuits with every blade. Soon, the dead grass of the estate was littered with scorch marks and blades rising in awkward angles both near and far from one another.

I threw the three last keys at my feet, my circuits burning as my mana continued draining. I sent one final pulse into all the blades, bringing me another step closer to running out of energy. The blades expanded and rose, the three in front of me taking the incoming curses as they all rose into a series of walls and pillars around us.

I dove over to another metal wall and began weaving through the metallic maze with my head lowered.

"This is a new one," I heard her call somewhere to my right. "But you can't honestly think this is enough."

I didn't, but that was part of the plan.

I began taking shots at her with every pass between keys, moving around and dodging viscous responses from Rin. After a few throws Rin started destroying the metal barriers, working to remove all my protection.

Whenever my keys weren't shattered by Rin's retaliations, I infused them with mana, forming more pillars around her. I focused my aim, working to send more keys into the stone wall of the castle without making it obvious while maneuvering towards it. Every step closer made the reality of losing all my cover and mana more prominent. I was running dry with my circuits on fire, and I wasn't sure I could even pull off my plan anymore. I gripped my remaining mana tightly, letting it pool and grow like a dammed river.

Just before I reached the wall, Rin let out a Germanic string of words and threw a gem above her head. The gem spun and glowed brighter with every passing second before erupting in a ball of flame that started flaring out blasts in every direction. Intense heat seared easily through my cover and almost through my leg, leaving me exposed as many more keys fell as molten metal onto the grass.

The dry, dead grass surrounding us caught as the orb above Rin petered out, fire rising to cast flares of light between us. I saw a few blades had managed to remain intact and readied myself. This would use every last bit of mana I had left, so it had to count.

Rin opened her mouth to speak as I overcharged the keys imbedded in the wall beside me. The stones erupted in a cloud of dust and sharp shards that I dove into. The dust parted and swirled as gandr sailed over me as I blindly scooped up a piece of debris. The cold feeling told me it was from a key rather than the wall.

I dashed out the other side, Using the last of my mana to pull the enlarged keys from the soil and send them flying towards Rin. The reinforcement lining my skin dispersed as I swiped the shard into my left palm over the already healed cut from earlier. A bright stream of red welled up in my hand as Rin dodged, shot, and even bashed the large projectiles aside. I quickly deposited the shard in my pocket.

I rushed forward, feeling slow without the extra power my reinforcement allowed. I was still able to reach her a few seconds after she finished dealing with the barrage. She was prepared, already moving to counter whatever move I could make. Even if I was the better fighter, she had more options and advantages in this moment.

I swiped my hand in front of me, an arc of blood splashing into her eyes. Naturally, she was taken off-guard by this and reeled away with a small cry. I yanked her arm over my head, driving my elbow into her gut. Even against reinforcement, the force was enough to stun anyone. Continuing the movement, I curled my leg behind hers and pulled it out from under her, putting my right hand to her sternum and slamming her into the ground. I pushed down, slipping the shard from my pocket and bringing it to her throat.

Neither of us moved as breath worked its way back into her chest, rising under my hand. Her hand moved as though to rise but stopped, her eyes tightly shut as my blood ran down the sides of her face. I took a moment to decide before putting the shard away and wiping the blood from her eyes. Her eyes opened slowly, careful not to have any I might have missed running into them.

"I'd say I won this match," I replaced the shard back at her throat but left it hovering over it. Even if she was down, I didn't want to risk her pulling something until she admitted it. Not that I was putting the broken edge toward the skin.

We stared silently into each other's eyes as the fires cast orange hues over us with me realizing we should really do something about them before they got worse.

"How many does that make it now?" she asked with a sigh.

"Forty-seven to fifty-three," I let myself roll to the side. "Your favor."

"You just keep catching up," she let out a small laugh before falling silent again. Seconds passed before she continued. "You didn't use Archer's swords."

I shook my head, laying it on the rough grass.

"Those swords are amazing," the beautiful blades flitted across my vision. "But, as ridiculous as it sounds, it didn't even cross my mind."

Another pause before her laugh filled the air.

"We both know that's a lie," she tilted her head to look at me. "Not after that show Archer put on."

I frowned slightly. It wasn't a convincing lie, but I had hoped she might let it go. The reason was as ridiculous as just forgetting about them. It felt… wrong to use them in this kind of fight. The power in those blades wasn't something you used unless you aimed to kill.

And it would have been over sooner.

"Doesn't matter in the end," I shook my head. "I beat you this time."

"Yeah, yeah," she waved a raised hand dismissively. "So then, Master, what do you want to do now?"

I somehow managed to keep from rolling my eyes at the words.

"It's likely that, by the time we arrive at the temple, both Caster and Assassin will be killed. We will have nothing between us and them."

"And Saber will have to take on that Archer, which leads us back to the issue of mana."

One I couldn't resolve without forfeiting her to Rin. Though, with this victory, I supposed it would be a little less stinging if I commanded her to be Saber's master, but that brought on another set of issues. In the end, there wasn't a clean solution.

I felt Rin's hand close over mine and looked to see she had rolled onto her side. I was about to speak when I realized there was something cold now pressed into my hand.

"I think this will solve that problem," she gave that same confident smile.

I drew my hand from hers and lifted it over me, letting the object dangle from my fingers.

A red triangular pendant hung from a simple silver chain, the gem showing dancing images from the firelight. The fact that it was a gemstone would have been enough to clue me in, but, holding it in my hands, I could feel the energy held within the small stone. It was immense. I doubted I could have expended that much energy over the course of several decades, let alone collect it into a single source.

"A final gift from my father," Rin's eyes were fixed on the pendant as well. "I discovered it the night before I summoned Archer."

I felt a frown grow as she spoke.

"I was planning to use it as a last resort. The power in that gem Is enough to do almost anything. Maybe even miracles."

I sighed and let the hand and gem fall to my chest.

"You don't play fair, Rin," I looked at her grinning face.

"I don't remember a lesson in fairness. Do you?"

I let my frown fade. I had lost.

"Then," I looked back to the sky. "You'll be staying here for the night."

"Don't give me that!" I cringed from the volume. "I'm not gonna let you fight Kirei alone."

"He'll kill you," I said simply.

"And you're different?"

"Maybe not, but I at least have a chance."

Her hand fell on my chest, grasping the gem laying there.

"I wasn't giving this to you so you could just abandon me," despite her words, she didn't move to take it away.

"But what more can you do?" I stared into her eyes. "Father isn't even the priority here, and I'm not foolish enough to fight Gilgamesh. You'd only be giving them an extra target."

"But you're going to fight Kirei anyway," she countered. "And you can't win by yourself."

I felt a sudden sting of worry flow through me, and it must have shown on my face because her grip tightened on the gem.

"Stop pushing me away and let me help you," her words were more fervent this time.

A part of me wanted to agree, to continue as we were, letting her carry me along, but then, what was the point of this fight? What was the point in me winning the war? What was the point in me fighting her?

"You can't," I closed my grip on the chain. "Not this time."

I looped the chain around my hand before grasping her forearm and pulling her over me, rolling with her. Caught off-guard, it was easy for me to pin her on her back again. Her other arm moved to hit me, but I pushed it down with my open hand, our position placing our faces only a decimeter apart.

"As your master," I gazed intently into her eyes. "I am commanding you to not go to the temple."

A familiar look of stubbornness that I knew too well was set on her face. Her eyes traced my face, searching for something. She must have found it, because her eye stopped roving, returning to look into my own.

"You had better not lose," she said firmly. "Otherwise, I'm never letting you out of my sight again."

I felt a smile return to my face.

"All the more reason to win."

The mask of obstinance broke as a soft smile slid across her lips. I gazed into her eyes as heat seemed to rise around us. I quickly realized that was because the fire had gotten even closer.

"We should put these flames out before they spread to the trees," I glanced around at the walls of fire sluggishly moving across the grass.

I pulled myself up and reached a hand toward Rin, noticing a frown usurping the smile. I raised an eyebrow before she spoke.

"I liked that jacket," she said disappointedly, though I couldn't say where the disappointment was directed.

Rin took my hand and I helped her to her feet. Rin gave the fires a look-over before muttering a spell under her breath. She put her hands together then separated them to reveal a long mass of water linking them together. As it stretched, chunks began separating into floating orbs of moisture that bobbed toward clumps of flames before promptly bursting over them. In less than a minute, the only light being cast was from the sinking sun.

She put her hands together once more and drew them away dry, no trace remaining of the magecraft she'd just performed.

"Well then, Shirou," the smile had returned. "I think it's about time we checked on Saber."