Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night nor anything of the Fate series. If I did, Mordred would rejoice...I think.
KingofBeasts Productions Present:
Clarent Blood Arthur: A Fate/Stay Night Fanfiction
Chapter 5: The Aftermath
"Welcome home, Ilya-sama."
Sella and Leysritt, clad in their white maid uniforms, awaited as the young Einzbern, with her Servant and butler in tow, arrived at the front door of the manor with a rather disgruntled look on her face. Without even saying a word to acknowledged their presence, Ilyasviel stomped her way towards her room.
"Forgive the young mistress." Daigoro Morimoto, butler to the Einzberns, shook his head in dismay as he stopped to talk to the homunculi maids. "She has had a rough night, and will need some form of relaxation to ease her stress."
"I see..." Sella, the more nurturing and gentle of the two maids, nodded as she assessed the situation "Would the mistress want a warm bath while Leysritt and I prepare a light snack for her?"
"I don't think she'll need the snack. All that will do is make her as fat as you, Sella." Leysritt dead-panned in her usual monotonous fashion.
She did smirk a little when she got the reaction she wanted from her fellow maid: pure, unadulterated indignation.
"Excuse me?!" Sella's red eyes narrowed as she addressed her constantly stoic companion in a voice that indicated that her feathers got ruffled "I'll have you know that I happen to be the perfect picture of physical health!"
"If that is the case, then I worry for your future as a maid." the other homunculi stuck her tongue out while maintaining her deadpan expression. Needless to say, Sella, who's translucent pale skin was as red as a turnip, was ready to jump on her counterpart and throttle her had Morimoto not intervened.
"Now, now. No need to stress yourself out, Sella-san. Leysritt was only teasing." The old man chuckled as he watched Sella calm down slightly, though she still retained her indignation at her fellow maid.
He then noticed the look on Berserker's face as her jagged armor dissipated while she shifted into her civilian wear; a frown etched her fair features and her emerald green eyes were as clouded as a fog. Her movements, while they exuded the same air of dignity he had come to expect of her, were oozing with frustration.
He had seen this before, and knew that feeling all too well. Alas, that is another story.
"Kindly go on without me." The old man told the two homunculi kindly "I shall attend to our disgruntled Berserker-sama."
The two maids nodded in understanding before going off to accomplish their duties, not wanting to be around her whenever she's in one of her "moods".
"You seem to have something on your mind." The old butler began as he addressed the Servant "I find that
strange, considering your dominant showing over Saber earlier."
"For one, those two maids disturb me." Servant Berserker spoke in an irritated tone of voice.
"Ah, I see." Morimoto nodded sagely. After hearing a rumor that Mordred was a homunculus as well, he
somewhat understood her misgivings.
"Probably one of many reasons why she and young Ilya work so well together." He mused with a subtle smirk
he hid from her well.
"That may be true, but that does not seem to be the heart of the issue." He continued as his hawk-like eyes studied her, taking note of even the slightest shifts in movement she made "I can easily tell that, deep down, you did not agree with the young mistress' order. Yet, even without a Command Spell, you followed anyway."
"What of it, butler?" Berserker spat back, her voice dripping in frustration "My misgivings are between me and my Master alone. You would do well to stay out of it!"
"Please understand that, as a servant of the Einzbern Household, it is my responsibility to make sure that ojou-sama is well protected during the course of the war." Morimoto countered in a stoic manner that told Berserker that, even though she was a Servant and many times stronger than him, he was not going to back down "Therefore, it IS my business, since part of keeping ojou-sama safe is making sure you work in tandem with her."
Now, Berserker wished to argue, she really did. However, she could deny that his reasoning was sound and that his logic had a completely understandable basis. Predictably, she was at a loss at what to say.
"Very well." The blonde swordswoman finally relented, a snarl distorting her fair features "You wish for an honest answer? Yes, I am frustrated. Frustrated that my Master held me back at the worst possible moment. Frustrated that she quailed during what could have been our finest hour!"
She took a deep breath, taking a brief pause before continuing to vent out her frustrations.
"In many things, I have trusted my Master's judgement, no matter how dire the consequences were. I do so even now...but my heart is clouded, torn between following my Master and fulfilling my own desires."
As he listened, Morimoto let a small smile creep into his wizened features, his eyes twinkling with mild amusement as he listened to her rant.
"Now, where have I heard this before?" He asked himself mirthfully.
"This is a normal occurrence in these Grail Wars." Morimoto said with a sigh "Your Master has made a choice that you do not necessarily approve of. However, let me tell you that these moments are what either makes or breaks both Master and Servant."
Berserker kept a neutral expression on her face, listening to him intently. "Explain." she urged him.
"So good to see that you're curious, Mordred-sama." Morimoto chuckled as he stood before the girl "Now, as you know, the Grail War is won not by a Master or a Servant's individual ability, but rather by their cohesiveness as a team."
"Yes, yes I have heard all that before." The blonde warrior said with a tinge of frustration as she listened to Morimoto's explanation. "But what does this have to do with me and my Master?"
"I was about to get to that. It seems that there is a reason that patience was not a defining mark in your legend." Morimoto jested, earning him a frown from the red-clad knight. "Consider this; the fact that you and Ilya-sama have so much in common has become your greatest weapon. The way you two emphasize with each other makes for a rather strong bond, which translates into an amazing Luck parameter."
Berserker was about to urge him to get to the point before she paused to consider his words. After giving it some thought, she shrugged as a sign to continue.
"Now, it is inevitable that, no matter how much chemistry a Master and Servant have, they will encounter a circumstance where they differ in opinions. In these cases, I cannot stress enough the importance of trust; Trusting in your Master, as well as trusting in her Servant for Ilya. It is only by believing in each other that you can truly prosper in the Grail War."
Mordred remained silent for a few moments, finding herself unable to speak. In a way, Morimoto had proven himself right; she needed to trust Ilya's decision, despite her misgivings.
"That does not mean I have to like it." Berserker grunted, choosing to keep these thoughts to herself for now.
"I shall give your advice some consideration." she said when she finally found her voice, her green orbs eyeing the old man warily "You are a strange mortal, Daigoro Morimoto."
"How so, Berserker-sama?"
"You suddenly come out of yonder to serve a Magus family, display knowledge in Magecraft, exceptional skill with the sword, wield a Mystic Code, and have an intimate, perhaps too intimate, understanding of the inner workings of the Master-Servant dynamic." The fair-skinned knight gave the butler a triumphant grin "Need I go on?"
"Dear me, you are terribly inquisitive for your Class, Berserker-sama." the old man laughed, admitting defeat in the face of the Servant "Perhaps I underestimated you. Do not worry, I shall reveal as much of myself as I can allow in due time. It would not do to reveal all my secrets"
"Perhaps." Berserker nodded, content with his answer for now "But that does not mean I shall overlook this."
"It is as well." The old man conceded with a faint smile "I will tell you this, as a small reward for your observation: You and your 'father' act quite similar to a person I know too well-"
He was abruptly interrupted when he felt cold steel press against his neck. Despite being out of her armor, Berserker whipped Clarent out in an instant, her emerald eye turning crimson and her fair features formed a cold glare that stared straight into your soul.
"Never compare me to my father." she said in a tone of voice that was as frigid as the harsh, wintry wasteland the Einzberns called home "The next time you do, not even my respect for you will save you from my wrath. Are we clear?"
If Morimoto was even the most slightly ruffled at her display of callousness, he did a good job of hiding it. "Pardon me, Berserker-sama. I had spoken out of turn and it will not happen again."
"See that it does not." With that final command, Servant Berserker desummoned her sword and strode to her Master's quarters in a huff. As soon as she left, the tense atmosphere dissipated and the butler took this moment to catch his breath.
"Dear me..." he sighed in relief at having narrowly averted a horrible death "I had forgotten how scary it was to anger a Servant such as her like that..."
Regardless, he still had duty to perform, and tomorrow to plan for. So Daigoro Morimoto, Butler to the Einzbern Family, strode through the castle with dignity despite his experience, eager to see his tasks through. If one would notice, however, they could see that he had less of a spring in his step than he had before.
Emiya Household, the Next Morning...
"Please tell me you're joking."
Much to Servant Archer's dismay, he found that his Master Rin Tohsaka was dead serious about her latest course of action. A course of action, mind you, that was decided in the comfort of Shirou Emiya's home.
She, Archer and Saber had just managed to bring the red-head home after get impaled by that Berserker's sword. Saber had chosen to stay by Shirou's side while Rin and Archer spoke in the dining room. The honor student was sitting on futon at the table while Archer leaned on the wall with his arms crossed.
"I'm dead serious, Archer." Rin engaged in a heated conversation with her Servant as they waited for Shirou to wake."We're going to need to make an alliance with Emiya-kun if we want to survive this Grail war."
"Why bother? He's as good as done anyway." The red-clad Counter Guardian shrugged as he attempted see her reasoning "If both Saber and I were wounded, I would've understood. But, as you can see, I'm at full strength right now. If you really want to win the War, I say let's cut our losses and leave that kid to his fate."
"And what, get our asses handed to us by Einzbern's Berserker again? You should've seen her parameters, they outmatch yours!" Rin countered with a slight frown on her face, though she noted to herself that she was only able to see them when Berserker removed her helmet.
"Face it, Archer; as hopeless as Emiya-kun is as a mage, we need his help. The most dangerous Servant we've faced so far is that Berserker and if we want to have at least the slightest chance of defeating her, as well as the other Masters, teaming up with him is our best option."
"Oh, is that so?" Counter Guardian EMIYA said in his usual condescending tone "What happens after we deal with the others, then? Will you be willing to possibly kill him and his Saber, then claim the Grail for yourself?"
This caused Rin to stop at mid-walk, quite stunned by the sudden gravity of his question. Will she really be willing to kill a person she could call an ally once his usefulness expired? Was she really that cutthroat enough to do so?
It is said that to be a magus means embracing death, but could Rin bring herself to kill the man she just saved?
"...If it comes to that, then yes." She answered in a tone that, while still displayed her fiery spirit, sounded subdued "But for now, we need to focus on surviving the early stages of the war."
There was a moment of silence afterwards, something Rin took as her Servant contemplating her answer.
"Geez, you're a troublesome Master, you know that?" Archer finally spoke, sighing as he submitted to her reasoning "I still think it's a bad idea, but hey, you're the Master. I'm just the guy who follows your orders. Just be prepared for an 'I told you so' later on."
"Noted." Rin nodded as she looked around the dining area, her silence signaling the end of this conversation. As for Saber, she was busy staying by Shirou's side until he woke up, the result being that she was not with Rin and Arhcer at the moment. As she pondered on her next move and how she was going to approach Emiya about this alliance, part of her felt that it wasn't Archer that needed convincing.
Speaking of Archer...
"Mind explaining why you had such a hard time dealing with one butler?"
That question managed to ruffle the usually unflappable Counter Guardian, and with good reason; While he was admittedly holding back greatly against the Einzbern butler, he should've been able to kill him with little effort.
Instead, the old man managed to surprise him, even breaking through a good number of Rho Ahias' petals with one thrust. The butler was certainly formidable, but the Counter Guardian was holding back the entire time.
"Heh, looks like I have no excuse for that one." The red-clad Servant sighed, knowing this would be rather difficult to explain to Rin "I promise not to take it easy on him next time."
This was the only explanation he could give, though this did not stop Tohsaka from eyeing warily. Archer was sure that he felt her scrutinizing gaze peer into his soul.
"Fine, I'll let this slide for now."
At that, the Servant sighed in relief, though he couldn't help but chuckle at her annoyed expression. If anything, this experience served to remind him just how cute, and terrifying, an irritated Rin Tohsaka can be.
Meanwhile, in the forests outside Einzbern Castle...
"Get ready, Berserker!"
"Yes, Master!" The red knight, clad in her battle regalia, stood close to Ilya, her posture rigid as her glowing red eyes searched the fog for their foe. She waited in anticipation, as if she was a coiled v
iper ready to spring on to her target. She searched for a sign, any sign, that the opponent will make the attack.
That sign came in a glimmering light among the shroud.
Berserker immediately sprung into action, raising her weapon to successfully deflect three Black Keys that flew her way. A fourth one came in too quickly for her to react and, as a result, left a slight cut on her right arm.
"Berserker!" Ilya yelled as her body emanated a green glow, a tell-tale sign that she just used Healing Magic. Sure enough, the cut closed almost instantaneously, leaving no marks as if it was never there at all.
"You have my thanks, Ilya." Berserker said with a smile, though her helmet obscured it from view. She was pretty impressed with how far Ilya came in her studies as a Magus. Initially, the plan was to let Berserker (who was at the time going to be Heracles) plow his way through the opposition with sheer brute strength while Ilya would just sit back and watch.
"What a thoughtless strategy." Berserker thought as golems came out of the mist to face the Master-Servant pair. While she did not mind doing majority of the fighting, there was no guarantee that an enemy Master would take advantage of her being busy battling another Servant to ambush Ilya from the shadows. Servant Assassin definitely would.
So, it was agreed that if there was to be a chance of victory, Ilya would have to pursue her studies as a Magus even further, learning the best spells the Einzberns, as well as magi before them, had crafted. She was confident that, with a little more polishing, Ilyasviel von Einzbern would become a competent mage.
If only she did not hesitate.
Up until now, Berserker found it hard to understand why her Master urged her to stay her blade, and why she obeyed even without a Command Spell compelling her to do so.
"Does she not want him dead?" From what Berserker could gather from the dreams she shared with her, Ilya harbored an intense hatred for Shirou Emiya. As he was the one who took her beloved father Kiritsugu from her, it was understandable that she wanted him dead for what he did. The Knight of Treachery understood her position, as she too felt betrayed by her "father" and wanted to take the throne for herself. To her, Ilya had every right to kill that oaf then and there.
But why didn't she? Why did Ilyasviel von Einzbern, who had the boy at her mercy, not kill him when he had the chance?
"Berserker, look out!"
The red-clad knight barely had time to react as the golem bounded towards her with a raised fist, shaking her out of her thoughts immediately. She ran her sword through it's arm with enough force to pierce steel, but she was not done yet. Using her free hand she grabbed the hapless automaton's arm and, with her strength augmented by Prana Burst, she swung the thing around and around, gathering enough momentum before tossing it back with a mighty roar at the other golem, causing both to shatter into hundreds of fragments.
"Nice one!" Ilya grinned as she cheered her Servant on "But you seemed out of it for a moment there. What's up?"
"My apologies, Master." Berserker chuckled nervously as Secret of Pedigree dissipated into prana particles "It seems I was not paying attention to my opponent earlier."
"Geez, Berserker! How're we gonna win if you space out like that?" The pale-skinned homunculus huffed, crossing her arms and puffing her cheeks as her expression turned into a frown.
Despite her turbulent thoughts, Berserker could not help but chuckle. She had always found her Master's animated expressions and childlike demeanor adorable.
"I shall do better next time, I promise." The Servant said with a small smile, choosing to set aside her misgivings for the time being. She remembered Morimoto's advice the other night and, despite the fact that she'll never admit it to his face, he was right about trusting in her Master.
"Now, I believe it's time for lunch." Ilya sighed as the fog vanished, revealing the trees that make up the forest on the outskirts of Einzbern Castle.
"Indeed. This training exercise has certainly worked up an appetite. I can eat enough to feed an army." Berserker nodded with a devilish grin. For she knew that somewhere in the forest, one Daigoro Morimoto paled at the prospect of feeding the Servant.
The next day...
Shirou Emiya was literally dragging his feet to school, having somehow recovered from that life threatening injury he had endured two nights before.
He kept reminding himself to thank Tohsaka the moment he reached school. As she had explained earlier in the morning, she and Archer teamed up to bring him and Saber, who had been heavily wounded during her battle with Berserker, back to the Emiya Residence (despite Archer's misgivings and pointing out that killing them takes them out of the War). She also mentioned the part about an alliance, which he accepted gratefully as the extra help was appreciated even if they were fated to fight each other in the end.
"Still, it was nothing compared to this morning." He sighed to himself, remembering how hard it was explaining the twin-tailed's presence to Taiga Fujimura, his legal guardian, and to Sakura Matou, his childhood friend and junior in school. It was admittedly quick-thinking on Rin's part when she managed to talk Taiga into letting her stay over. Sakura was possibly even more reluctant than the "Tiger of Fuyuki" was, but decided to go with what Shirou wanted in the end.
Still, he wondered why she decided to live with him during the duration of the war. Sure, being an ally meant that she it would best if she bunked with him for a while, but the idea of the school idol and her Servant living with him further complicated matters.
Speaking of complicated, he remembered his conversation with the blonde King of Knights before leaving for school this morning..
"Are you sure about this, Master?" Saber had asked the red-headed boy "I should be by your side at all times. As it will be easier to protect you should an enemy attack."
"I already told you to call me Shirou, and it's a yes." he said firmly, not backing down from his position "No Master in his right mind is going to attack me during school hours and risk revealing the existence of magic to the world. Also, Rin will be with me, and Archer will be keeping an eye on the entire school all day, so you don't need to worry about me, okay?"
The expression on Saber's face told him that she vehemently wanted to object, but found that she couldn't; He had a point, as no sane Master dared to break the rules of not just the Holy Grail War, but of the Magus Association as well. Yet, she could not help but feel uneasy; while she was willing to trust the Tohsaka Master, her Servant was another matter. While they did not interact much, something about him bugged the blonde Servant. She just didn't know what.
"Very well." Saber finally relented "I shall follow your orders, Master. However, I still cannot approve of your actions last night. Even if the opponent were to be my own flesh and blood, I cannot hesitate if we are to win the Grail."
Ah, this again. Even if his Servant was the legendary King Arthur, he simply cannot believe that she would have to face her own family like this, and that she was more than willing to spill the other's blood. Even if Berserker were the enemy, did she not feel any hesitation at all?
That very idea infuriated him to no end. However, he knew better than to let it out at this time of day.
"Listen, it's too early for this discussion." Shirou sighed exasperatedly as he began to walk out the door "Please, just stay home and rest. After last night, I don't think it'll feel right if I'll let you fight against your own family. No one should."
"Yes, Master."
With that last remark, he walked out the door, leaving Servant Saber to her thoughts. If he had stayed a second longer, he would have heard her murmur to herself.
"It seems that our children have gotten themselves caught in our war. Kiritsugu…Irisviel…"
"Perhaps I was too hard on her." Shirou sighed, thinking of a way to make it up to Saber, as he trudged closer to the gate, still sore from last night, when he suddenly felt a painful spike throughout his weary body.
"Ngh...This again..." The boy experienced a pain unlike any other, as if his breath was being taken away from him. Fortunately, it disappeared as quickly as it came.
"That was…" He found himself unable to finish his thoughts as the school bell rang to signal the start of classes. Deciding to consult Tohsaka later, he marched his way into Homurahara Gakuen, unaware that a female was watching him from afar.
"To meet the other Masters." the unknown girl in the Homurahara Gakuen uniform's lips curled into a small, regal smile "This shall be a most interesting day."
With that, she walked into the school, melding with crowd with almost flawless ease just as the morning bell rang. After all, it would be most fortuitous to get to know the Masters of this War, right?
End Chapter 5
A/N: Whew, thought I'd never finish this! Anyway, here's King of Beasts bringing you the rewrite of Chapter 5. Why the rewrite you ask? Well, to be honest, reading the VN put many things in a fresh perspective for me, such as the timeline of the Grail War and other things. To be fair, I haven't gotten to Heaven's Feel yet, but I'll do the best with what I know now to make this a better fic for all of you to read.
Ilya: Isn't it time to address the elephant in the room?
Yes, yes it is. Now, I've read reviews saying that Archer got worfed unjustly to Morimoto. I took another long read again, and I agree; EMIYA should've given the guy a tougher time. Sure, he was holding back the entire time, but that still was no excuse and I apologize to all the GARcher fans out there. Don't worry, the butler's not OP as one may think; the power to fight a Servant came with a price, which we will see as the course of the story goes on.
Oh, almost forgot to mention; I'm splitting the original Chapter 5 into two chapters: Aftermath and the new Chapter 6: Delacroix. With that in mind, wanna wrap this up, Ilya?
Ilya: Sure! Next time on Clarent Blood Arthur: Delacroix! Don't forget to leave a review, okay? Byeeeeee!