Ch 17: Tohsaka's Tenuous Treasures
Under the night sky, in the redheaded boy's hands is that familiar glow no different from mine those years ago when my father was still around teaching me. If he wasn't standing right before me, I wouldn't have even noticed. Magical energy swirls in his palm, before it takes the shape of the image in his head, a projection? The earliest tricks an apprentice would learn to hone their control over their circuits was Gradation Air. To give form, to one's mind. A parlor trick that created items inferior to equivalents made without mage-craft. It was commonly regarded as a dead end. Instead of projecting an inferior tool as a means, mana would be better spent to simply accomplish the end. If you needed a fire for example, casting a fire spell was more efficient than projecting a lighter. The constructs I made in my youth were always weak and temporal, yet the thing in Emiya's hands was the farthest thing from that description.
"Hrunting…."
A red jagged arrow that was almost alive, with the aura of a predator and the mystery of something ancient; not something hastily made seconds ago. It was a Noble Phantasm, a weaponized legend and it was a projection…
My head aches and my eyes burn. What was I doing? What the life of Tohsaka Rin leading to? I could only vaguely recall, yet there was something in my hand. My face muscles were sore, but staring at the thing in my hand, I understood why. Morning had come and night had passed. Did I spend all of last night grinning like an idiot passed out on my desk? Or was it something I stashed along with the blueprints…..Whatever was the case, I was late for school, but right now school wasn't important.
The Holy Grail War up to this point was an unabated disaster for me personally. I wanted to summon Saber, but got an Archer Servant instead. The complications the Emiya siblings raised didn't have to be mentioned. I wanted to ignore Sakura, to believe that she would have no involvement in this competition, but she was a Matou. There was no way she wouldn't get involved and it seemed she had quite a few secret weapons under her sleeves. The same kind the Emiya's had. I was careless. It seemed I wasn't immune to wishful thinking. Why couldn't they just have been a normal couple? If Sakura was able to push back that brat with Berserker in tow, then what were my chances? Despite not being normal, I was acutely aware of Sakura's preference for the current status quo which aligned with mine. Everyone will avoid fighting under daylight, that was the unsaid rule of this Holy Grail War, but considering that bounded field that was set up at the school before, I'm not sure. That was Shinji's doing wasn't it? Yet, Shinji was likely to be Sakura's pawn. She was able to avoid being outed as a Master by using him as a covering. The headache won't subside.
It was always one thing after the other, but it seems there was a silver lining. As I get my thoughts into order, the thing in my hands though was an illusion, it was something I could grasp. Something beyond my reach, something I was determined to hold one day, yet it was already in my hand before I even reached my second decade of life.
The light refracts off it in unpredictable ways. Rainbow light swirls that could barely be contained. Several bands that logically shouldn't have been the product of the cat's eye effect somehow adorned the ever changing surface. Despite the aesthetically crude appearance, from my eyes, it held both majesty and authority.
The Jewel Sword Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, or at least a rough forgery of it.
The favored weapon of my family's great master, the Wizard Marshall. Filled within were energies from other worlds.
In order to overcome the enemy Masters who casually threw around Noble Phantasms, I needed a conceptual weapon of my own to compete, so I dug around for the blueprints I needed. Even if my spells were ineffective, sheer quantity had a quality all on its own. It was crass, but sometimes brute force was the only solution and the thing in my hands granted me exactly that in mana. The gem sword was a test given to us by one of the True Magicians in this world who had taken a liking to my ancestor. It was an assignment for our family line that stumped us for generations and Archer really just…...projected it for me like I asked him to.
"Are you really that happy about cheating on your homework, Master?" is the annoying voice of my Servant breaking my mood. I repay his remark with my own.
"Honestly, who in this war isn't cheating?"
Yes, my pride took a beating, but that wasn't the time for that now. If Archer could project Noble Phantasms of all things, then it was worth a try to consult him and the crystalline blade in my hands is the result. I turn my head to the side to see the scattered papers and broken furniture. My thoughts about last night were still fuzzy.
The smell of tea and a plate of cold breakfast is laid out before me, but my attention is elsewhere. How much did I oversleep? Yet, better question was simply, how? I stare at the breakfast he prepared. I stare at the change in my fortunes in my hand. It was only a rushed projection Archer made and he didn't seem satisfied at all with his handiwork, but it was still an example of a multi-dimensional refractory phenomenon. Looking at the crystal blade, I knew if that if I tried to recreate it, I would run out of money a quarter of the way if I was being optimistic about my family's funds. Kirei really….
"Besides, aren't you a cheater yourself? What are the laws of equivalent exchange to you?"
An archer adept at housework, sword fighting, cooking and smithing? Quite the list of abilities, but none describe a hero I know of.
"I appreciate the praise, but I can't say I was even a magus by any stretch of the imagination. I"m a maker, not a user, scholar or engineer. That thing in your hands, I honestly can't even begin to understand how I would use it," is what he tells me as he ponders something with that uncertain tone.
He might have held it before? Well, if his mage-craft is his Noble Phantasm, then it's understandable. In the end, the actual abilities of a hero in life are irrelevant compared to the people's perception of that hero.
A heroic spirit derives their power, their Noble Phantasm from the mystique of that perception. Heracles overcame 12 trials that should have killed him in his legend, so his Noble Phantasm grants him 12 extra lives as a heroic spirit. If Archer was a legendary smith believed to be able to craft any sword, then his Noble Phantasm would be exactly that despite whatever actual proficiency he had in life if he existed at all. Even though he knows nothing of the Second True Magic, he was able to produce an example of it simply because it was sword shaped.
"And I thought magi were supposed to be cheaters."
In the end, the nature of magi are of cheaters, but heroic spirits were something else. To practice mage-craft was to rebel against the natural law of things, but to be a hero was to do the impossible. I was tempted to pry more into my Servant's identity, but considering I had already gotten what I had wanted out of him, asking for more was just tempting fate considering all the other things that have went wrong these past few days. They were only starting to go right….
It was quiet, but that shouldn't be the case. That brat who was used to living in castles was now living here and surely she didn't strike me as someone that can stay still if her antics at school yesterday are anything to go by. She must have left the house. Was she going to antagonize the Emiya siblings again? Well, that encounter with Sakura must have at least made her less brazen….Who am I kidding? We'll probably need to bail her out again.
"If you're wondering about Berserker's Master, then she left the house an hour ago," is what my Servant confesses.
That girl didn't like being tailed. Her Berserker, Heracles, the greatest of Greek Heroes was still apprehensive about my Archer. Probably didn't agree completely with what was done to "free" him of that shadow yesterday. Well, considering Archer is still trying to feign amnesia, hiding his true name from me, his Master, logically dictates that I should be apprehensive too. I had 2 command spells, but I wasn't really sure if they would prove useful against Archer.
If he was able to project something like the gem sword of all things, I wouldn't be surprised if he could project some sort of contract severing dagger. The ability to "project any sword" is just too vague and he has projected plenty of things that are not swords. Emiya, his counterfeit was able to project that shield of light in our first encounter, so who knows what's up Archer's sleeves? The journey to the closing days can't be anything but troublesome. I can only continue to ask him things he'll be certain to answer.
"Archer, where did she run off to?"
"Off trying to pawn off that thing you pawned on her, but what was that thing anyways?" was the question he asks me.
I enter the living room, looking around, there were clearly signs of clean up. A lot of clean up. Holes here and there. It seems Archer had a lot of things to do other than preparing breakfast. Archer could recreate the gem sword, but he had to fix the house with a hammer and nails? Guess he wasn't a famous carpenter or else his Noble Phantasm would have covered it. I finish the last bites of my breakfast sandwich, pocketing the gem sword and quickly dawn my red coat, before making my way out the door as my head clears up. I run past the houses and wonder what my life would be like if I wasn't a magus, but I dismiss the thoughts. Another day of cleaning I suppose.
Pawned on her? Well, if I took out the blueprints for the gem sword last night, then….it had to be….
"It seems you had quite the hobby, so does this box contain your family's dark history or something?" were that little devil's words, but it seemed she was holding onto something worse than the devil. Well, it should be inactive so I shouldn't have to worry about anything. I wanted to tell her to put it down carefully, but she brushes the tacky pink star wand against her hair to clear out the dust and the twigs from the Einzbern forest.
"This blood, this blood….tastes off….." was that synthetic, yet natural sounding voice from my nightmares. Was her ear scuffed or did that cross shaped pommel draw blood?
Oh no.
The ominous glow that cuts through the world. That glow that naturally draws our eyes to it. A red glow even worse than the glow of Berserker's eye. It was something that didn't belong to this world, but neither are the Servants in this Holy Grail War. If I'm to win against heroes of legend, then this thing in front of me shouldn't…...but that giggling…...that giggling…..
"Six years…...six years…...six years…..you've grown up Rin! …..That's a shame….…but who's this you brought me? Boys or girls, it never really mattered to you, but..." that thing says with that chilling enthusiasm.
"It talks?" is the little devil's faked exasperation at the cursed artifact that was twisting around her palm. The red beady orbs meet red beady orbs.
"Sorry, sorry, but you must be my new master! Nice to meet you. I'm the Kaleidostick of Love and Justice, Magical Ruby!" was what it introduced itself as, but there was no love or justice to be found in that thing. That thing doesn't understand human feelings, despite its knack for manipulating human feelings.
"If a little blood is all you need to register as a master…..that's some lousy security," was the little white haired devil's ignorance. Better her than me right? No that was irresponsible. That isn't the Tohsaka way. Be elegant. I fill my lungs with air. I was going to warn her, well, I was at least contemplating it, but Ruby makes its next move.
"So, where did Rin kidnap you from? Are you her apprentice…... or perhaps…...heheheh," is that ominous giggle.
"What are you insinuating?" was Illyasviel questioning the obvious. It's fine when you insinuate unsavory things, but it's a different story when someone else does it? Are you related to Shinji? Are you seriously playing along with that thing? She tries to pry her hand off the handle, but Ruby won't let her.
"Don't talk to it. It won't end well," is my warning, but it falls on deaf ears. Illyasviel continues to stare in interest and wonder at the unusual thing. If only she knew what that thing truly was, but she was sure to find out soon.
"Well, when it comes to boys or girls, I always suspected Rin was fine with either, but looking at you, it seems my tastes must have rubbed off on her somehow, but it's unfortunate for you isn't it? A girl with no where to go, no name, no family nor home…...stuck with that old hag…...but don't worry, you're my master now.."
Is that brat really getting flustered over something like that? She's more innocent than she appeared to be then. The smell of magical energy. She was calling her Servant to her side.
"I have a name and it's Illyasviel von Einzbern and my Servant is Berserker, not you!" is that shrill cry.
Blood, contact, "love" and a name are the terms of contract or something Ruby insists are the terms, but my mind blanks out as the world turns pink...
"The new Kaleido Ruby Prisma Illya is born!.." is that giddy voice that never knows when to stop and as Illyasviel's giant guardian appears to snap that stick in two, I worry for my home.
"The Kaleidostick, Magical Ruby….," were the words a bluntly spit out as I walk down the empty streets as everybody else had already gotten to work or school. So that's why the living room was...in the state that it was. I had ignored the ruckus last night and locked myself in my room to test out the gem sword's functionality.
The gem sword blueprints could be called our family treasure, but it was locked away inside that special treasure box along with …..Magical Ruby, which to be honest couldn't really be called a treasure. Though it was a magical wand with the same capabilities of the gem sword and many other extraneous functions; it was difficult to see it as anything else but a cursed item that was pawned off on us. Still, I didn't pawn it on her, Ruby latched onto her on its own. At least I won't have to deal with Ruby is that small reassurance enough to put a smile on my face.
"...You're sending me mixed messages right now," were the words of my guardian ghost that mundanes could not see tailing behind me.
"It's one of the most powerful mystic codes of the modern era created by the Wizard Marshall, user of the Second Sorcery our family owes everything to."
"Still sending me mixed messages here," is my Servant's way of playing dumb. In some ways, he and that sentient wand were alike. I wanted to avoid walking into a trap if possible.
"So, after witnessing what happened last night, do you think Ruby is some sort of masterpi….to put it simply, it's the the Kaleidostick that Zelretch didn't want. The failed first attempt...or Sapphire's older sister as it likes to puts it."
"So they come in a pair..," was Archer's takeaway because he doesn't say anything more as I pound the pavement. A pair? If Emiya derived his power from the spirit I was contracted to, then were those two swords that he always uses the key to figuring out Archer's identity? Well, that comes later. I fling my Amethyst into the air and let the resulting crystalline owls search from the sky, hidden in the sun's light.
Target of interest spotted.
I leap into Archer's arms and he takes to the air.
The Rin in my memories was always cost conscious, but that "sword" I projected for her must have made her feel rich. Despite being well off, Rin was someone who always felt poor, but that's the result of practicing gem-craft. To be fair, the research of any magus is bound to be expensive. Gems were quite frankly one of the tamest of the consumables I had encountered in my life as Emiya Shirou.
Human sacrifice.
That "KaleidoStick", that thing that called itself "Ruby", I wouldn't be surprised if "Ruby" wasn't some malevolent spirit of the sacrificial victim, but the Wizard Marshall wasn't such a person despite being a dead apostle. That old man in all intents and purposes was an ally of humanity, a hero that surpassed the moon. As a guardian of balance, the concept of time was meaningless to me and as such my memories for the most part were an incomprehensible mess, but his sword was clearly recorded somewhere within my Reality Marble. That was why I was able to project his sword for Rin after glancing at the blueprints I couldn't really understand. For one who was never a proper mage, it was useless to me, but Rin, whose ancestor was chosen by that man was a different story.
In humanity's pursuit for progress, to gain what they desired, throughout history and folklore, humans have always concluded that human sacrifice was unavoidable, directly or indirectly. It can't be ignored that many of the conveniences modern humans in developed countries enjoy were adapted from military technology. Canned goods and microwaves were such conveniences, but I tried to avoid them as there were things I will not compromise even after forsaking my ideals. It was conflict that pushed the field of metallurgy to its limits in the heat treatment of swords, armor and eventually gun chambers a scholar must have proposed, but…
Kanshou and Bakuya.
Ancient Chinese swords. Crafted for the sake of crafting. Swords without vanity or purpose. The lack of decor had a utilitarian appeal to them that I'm sure even my foster father would have understood, but the story behind them was something he wouldn't have enjoyed.
Gan Jiang was ordered to forge an imperial sword by the King of Wu, yet he came up short. He could not forge a sword that that would suffice with his own power. That was why his wife Mo Ye threw herself into the furnace, burning her life away to feed the flames of the forge. From those flames, a pair of identical swords was forged.
One black and the other white.
The sister I didn't know and the sister I didn't know enough of.
"Miyu" and "Illya".
Rin's familiars had spotted them in the park and now we spy on them from a nearby rooftop as they sit side by side on the swings with fish shaped pastries in hand. It should have been a precious scene, but I knew that was wishful thinking. My Master says nothing, only watching them because Saber was watching us from one of the few trees in the park in the most conspicuous manner as she tries to swat the winged wand "Ruby" away.
" A lion stuck in a tree? Well, lions are just big cats after all. Are you sure you can get down? Need help? Need a push?" was that lively artificial voice that escaped no pair of lips that I was somehow able to read.
Kings always had trouble concealing their presence, but Saber was on another level. Even the mad giant Illya commanded was better at hiding, but that was because he had the luxury of a spiritual form like me. I was having trouble keeping my composure. Dressed like a cartoon lion, holed up in a tree, my lips couldn't help but quiver. Was this some sort of strategy "Miyu" had devised? Well, it mattered not because our position was already compromised as the roof of the house we were perched on provided no cover. Saber's intuition guaranteed that she would spot us. We focus our eyes on that empty playground save for two.
The one that was kept and the one that was not.
When Gan Jiang was ordered to present what he had produced, only Bakuya, named after his wife was presented. Kanshou, the smith had kept hidden away from his employer. In the end, his deception was discovered and the blacksmith was put to death. Even though separated, the two swords were destined to meet.
"Hey, if that's the case, can you tell me why Kiritsugu chose to keep you and not me?" was that ominous melancholy smile from the white haired girl from my memories.