Ch 26: Illya's Interrogation
"So eel can also be grilled huh?"
Split open, gutted, grilled, steamed, glazed in sauce and then grilled again over charcoal made from local trees. A crispy brown caramelized glaze over soft white tender flesh courtesy of what Kiritsugu called the Maillard reaction. Now I can't imagine how this would have smelled a century ago before that french upstart ruined the mystery…..
Salty, sweet and savory. Salty, sweet and savory. Salty, sweet and savory. That was all I could think about when it hit my tongue, but I knew there was more. I couldn't put it into words.
The fat that was stored to protect the eel from the cold months covers my tongue. I try to feel around for any bones, but the only thing I could find was the skewer! Even though it wasn't smoked, there was no lack of flavor. When eating räucheraal, I usually had Sella remove the bones beforehand, but the result never looked as visually appealing as what Archer had made. Not a bad way to spend my afternoon.
"Milady, I advise eating in a more dignified manner," was Sella's nagging voice as her eyes are trained on Rin doing whatever she was doing in the distance, but getting a second skewer was more important.
"Say Archer, I'm pretty sure I walked by a stall selling eel just like this? Did you steal their recipe?" is the question I ask of Rin's Servant. Was his cooking as legitimate as the weapons he makes? He was adorned with a pink apron that suited him a bit too well for a hero from the past. Well, pink is a blend of white like his hair and red like his coat.
"Grilling was one of the first cooking methods man had devised once he discovered fire, so it isn't so strange is it? Strange should be the fact locals eat eel religiously during mid-summer," was his excuse.
"When the eel are as scrawny as they can be?"
"Marketers exist in every age. A doctor's word goes a long way," was the small answer he gives.
He claims he cannot recall his identity, but that may simply be Rin's little ploy once our temporary alliance dissolves, though not like it really matters to me. I was in a good mood right now. I got my maids back and now we were having a celebratory barbeque in the Einzbern Garden. It's important to enjoy Archer's cooking while I still can. After eating a second one, I can easily imagine myself eating grilled eel year round. As I take another bite, the buzzing little star shaped thing called Ruby interjects.
"If it's no longer long and slippery, what's even the point? Such a missed opportunity," was Ruby's complaint about Archer's cooking.
"It's not like the Wizard Marshall equipped you with any sense of taste," I say.
Sella glares at Ruby before examining her own portion. She opens her mouth, but not to take a bite.
"I apologize Archer, but I don't think we can stomach eel after…..," were the words Sella never finishes as Liz steals a bite.
"Still no poison," was Leysritt's announcement. It seemed Liz wasn't satisfied with seconds or fifths. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if eel was an endangered animal in this country or something.
At times like this, Sella would have said something, but she simply resigns herself being Leysritt's "right hand". Liz didn't seem too disappointed with the reality of having only one hand to eat with. I contemplated a replacement, but a hastily crafted one that cannot match her base specs would be more trouble than it's worth. Maybe it wasn't the right time to be celebrating, but celebration was not our only aim.
In the distance where the fountain used to be was a bottomless bog of perfect order. Filled with the five great elements rendered inert, it was a place where no mage-craft could be activated. Squatting over her handiwork, Rin waves a skewer of eel in front of our guest after having had her fill. I had put Berserker on lookout duty as Rin needed Archer for her plan.
We do not know exactly what sort of relationship he has with "Sakura", but only a child would be ignorant of what they were up to last night. His mind may be tough, but it was proof that his body was still human. He was not completely devoid of his base instincts. That was what Rin had counted on, but it seemed it wasn't working out and thus she got impatient. Well, I just wanted to try more of Archer's cooking, but as I look onto the empty skewer in my hand….
I peer back at the boy in the distance who hadn't taken the bite.
Are you seriously not impressed with Archer's cooking? Don't you smell the savory aroma? The special Einzbern oak charcoal? You don't want any? Did Berserker scare the hunger out of you? No? I admit your body is well toned, but what sort of mental conditioning did you go through?
"Am I stupid for believing in Rin, even if it was just a second?" is the question I mutter to myself.
I continue to stare at our captive submerged in Rin's handiwork from afar, but his eyes did not change after all this time. His arms and legs were bound. The boy was unable to call forth his weapons. Rin of all people was staring down at him. He was powerless, yet he could still hold his head high?
I take a third skewer from the grill and walk over to him, scooting Rin away. I bend over, holding the grilled eel inches from his face. Rin couldn't get him to talk, but if my little sister….
"Your pout has nothing on Miyu's," were his words for me.
Really, why did I expect anything else? I wanted to kick him.
"Is she all you ever think about? Was that why "Sakura" was so rough on you last night?"
I wait for a reaction, but my own little attack does not phase him at all. Though it did phase someone else as I could feel someone's hand on my shoulder. Regardless, we continued our staring contest. An interrogation is a give and take after all.
"Aren't you a little young to ask questions like that?" is the question he throws at me. I guess I'll entertain him.
"Sella and Liz saw the entire thing. By extension, I saw it too. I could replay it in your head if you let me."
The hand on my shoulder gets just a bit tighter, before Liz grabs the offending hand. My words had more sway on Rin than the very person I was interrogating but it didn't really matter to me.
"So you really want to know all the details of how your little sister's room became so….disheveled, Rin?" Ruby interjects.
Rin pauses. She pays Ruby no mind. She gently brushes off Liz's hand. She simply takes one breath before turning her ice blue pupils towards amber ones with that cute resolve of hers. From this clash of wills fought by sight, the fiery resolve of my "brother" was at last dampened, but not by terror, but relief.
"I see….You and Sakura are…," are the words he thoughtlessly lets out.
"Real sisters…..," was what Rin confesses.
"So that's why you were always spying on us on the Archery range."
"Don't get the wrong idea. All I'm doing is fulfilling my obligations as the Second Owner. All magi who operate in this city are under my jurisdiction," were Rin's cold words that fool absolutely no one with all of her actions so far. It doesn't phase Shirou at all, but at least we got him to talk by playing the sister card.
"Second Owner? I was under the impression that Kotomine was the one who...," were his perfectly rational words that Rin did not allow him to finish.
"I am the Second Owner of Fuyuki, Tohsaka Rin and I know for a fact you already know that. As a rogue magus I've apprehended, your life is in my hands and your deeds subject to my judgement, so this isn't the time to be making jokes, Emiya," was her attack in defense of her pride. She's too easy.
"I can't imagine a third rate like me knows anything that the Second Owner doesn't already know," was his indirect jab.
"Third rate? Those cards your sister uses, that card Sakura had and the Noble Phantasms you casually throw around…... Are you really going to continue playing dumb?" was the accusation Rin finally makes, but I knew better. Even if he was teasing Rin by acting thick, there were no lies within his words.
"I didn't make those cards. I simply collected them," he says with no emotion.
"So who is our Alberich?" Rin asks without reservation.
"I'm sorry, but you lost me," were the words from Shirou I expected.
I lean in closer, with my chin resting on my hands. Shirou wasn't stupid. When it came to magi and their craft, there were various holes in his knowledge but I don't blame him. A tool only knows what is needed.
"The gist of it is that these cards must have a maker and we can't imagine you know nothing about the origin of them if you entrusted them to that little sister of yours you cherish so much," I explain.
As lackluster as Rin seemed, she was the only one of us planned to be a magus by our makers. I am the Einzbern masterpiece, Sakura was Zouken's experimental side project, but what of these two who bear my father's name? Despite his peculiar use of mage-craft and how effective he was with it, he was only an ordinary human. He doesn't react at all as I run my fingers through the mud on his face, revealing the blotches of darkened skin beneath. Near the root of some of his hairs, I could make out white. Like a light bulb that received too much wattage. The price of power beyond his body.
"Isn't your family at the center of this ritual? I imagine you of all people would know what they were," was his challenge, but I don't bite.
"Your body is looking a little worse for wear. How did you know Miyu wouldn't suffer the same effects as you?" I ask him straight.
"Because….they were made for her?" was the answer he was in doubt with, but there shouldn't be any doubts.
"And Sakura has one because….," Rin interjects.
"I'm sorry," he apologizes without hesitation, doubts or excuses.
"I don't want to hear something worthless like that," Rin says as Rin grabs my hand and rams the eel skewer into his cheek.
Still, the pain doesn't register on Shirou's face. He simply stares forward, accepting his punishment, but I couldn't accept what had transpired. I take the skewer out of his cheek and perform a minor healing ritual while trying to avoid the muck that was in the way. Thankfully, it won't leave a scar. I turn to my "ally".
"Your little sister hates me enough as it is, why are you further incriminating me?"
Rin's face shows absolutely no remorse.
"Sakura can't possibly hate you anymore than she already does now can she?" was the conclusion she came to. So childish, but right now wasn't the time to bicker amongst ourselves.
Rin stares at the boy that gave us so much trouble.
"Whether Sakura is my sister is of no consequence, but that girl trusts you more than anyone else, so I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. All I want from you are details."
"Details?" Ruby had to repeat.
Shirou never breaks his gaze.
"Trust…..," was the one word he parrots.
Trust. It should be a simple concept, but one our "family" never got right.
"Trust…..maybe there wasn't ever such a thing between us," he admits.
"Is that all," is Rin's response. Her face this time held no emotion. She had found her center. She had already drawn her conclusions about the boy we had caught. There was no reason to get worked up over someone who was so transparently at fault. I on the other hand couldn't stop myself from grinning.
"So, your saying she's nothing more than some convenient tool of comfort you happened to seduce?"
He looks forward, straight at me and meets my smile with his own.
"If you can get angry for someone else's sake, then maybe I was wrong about you, Illya."
Illya? I gather my thoughts.
"Don't misunderstand. Rin may care for that girl, but she's….well, she's not completely unrelated."
I couldn't completely deny his words. Even though I didn't like that girl considering what she had done, I couldn't say I didn't understand her feelings. I was probably one of the few in this world that could. Besides, if I said anything else, I would earn Rin's ire, though that's never stopped me before.
"Fighting doesn't suit you," he had the gall to say in that one moment of weakness.
"I'm still going to kill that illegitimate child" I say right to his face.
"Illegitimate child? What are you talking about?" with his mouth agape.
I was finally able to get a rise out of him, so I'm going all out.
"Well, she might be legitimate considering how close her functionality comes to mine. Well, I really don't know nor do I really care," was what I admit.
"You're prepared to kill someone without knowing anything about them?" was a question he didn't have to ask.
Well, it's not that I don't want to know more about her. In fact there are a lot of things I want to know, but...
"It's the Holy Grail War. Everyone who participates should have already accepted such a thing," was the obvious truth.
"Miyu didn't want any part in the Holy Grail War," he says.
"Of course. She only summoned Saber when I tried to kill her," I say.
The calm expression on his face finally falters and I couldn't help but smile. So riling him up was just this easy?
"Why?" was that simple word from his lips.
"Why?" was that simple word I parrot.
"Why wouldn't I? She has everything that should have been mine, but if you promise to be mine, I might let her go," was the little lie I made right in front of him.
His eyes darted away from ours. He looks past us.
"Hey, Ally of Justice, are you going to let yourself become an accomplice!" were his words that he directed at Archer who was grilling more eel, trying hard not to pay attention to us.
Archer pauses. He couldn't deny Shirou's challenge it seemed. He steps away from the charcoal grill and walks towards us without putting away the tacky apron that simply suited him a bit too well. He stands tall over the boy submerged in the artificial bog.
"And what of it? Just like you, I'm playing favorites," was Archer's response as his steel grey eyes bear down on amber ones.
"Favorites? If you really care about these girls, are you really allowing them to go down this path, Archer?"
"It's unfortunate, but we can only save those we side with. You should understand that better than anyone, Emiya Shirou."
The kid Kiritsugu adopted could not refute Archer's words, but his resolve wasn't broken.
"You're right, but you must understand you aren't saving a thing on this path you're walking. Are you really helping this small girl commit a double suicide?" was the question he posed to Archer that revealed he knew quite a bit about the Holy Grail War just like I had suspected.
"So, you know that much already and yet you continue to play dumb?" I ask.
"What's this about a double suicide Einzbern?" is the question Rin poses to me, but I don't answer it.
"You have your own life don't you, so why are you wasting it?" was the trifling question he asks of me. A question the young naive me would ask around the Einzbern castle back in Germany only for no one to listen. Berserker was the only one who ever did.
"Because I was born for the Holy Grail War," was the answer I hated but had come to accept.
"Are you really going to accept that answer?" he says.
"What choice do I even have? I have no future after this war. That's all there is to it," I say.
"No future? As long as you're alive, there's always a future," was the ignorance of his he revealed I couldn't help but pick at.
"That's right. As long as I'm alive, but grandfather had already accounted for such a thing whether this ritual is successful or not," was the little tidbit I reveal that I hoped would silence him.
"Grandfather. You call such a man your grandfather?"
He does not relent, does he? How annoying.
"Well, he isn't really a man and some would argue, he isn't really even alive, but I know Sakura's situation isn't all that different from mine, yet I'm sure you've known her a lot longer you hypocrite. You're just saying whatever might get you out of this, but my ears are deaf to the words of a liar," I say.
Like Kiritsugu, there was always one thing that outweighed everything else. That is why his kindness is hollow, yet he continues to pretend that it isn't the case. That hollow kindness of his was why he was in this situation in the first place.
"You're right. Lying to others is bad, but lying to yourself is too," he says.
Talking to him was frustrating. Not that I had much practice.
"Giving advice you yourself don't…..there must be something wrong with your brain," I conclude.
I had almost run out of patience, but Rin got there sooner.
"Enough of this talk about family. I know you won't say anything that will endanger your sister, but Sakura is a problem for all of us involved. Those shadows, those chains and all those Noble Phantasms she casually threw around. Do you have any useful information on her or was my decision to save you from her wrong?"
"Gilgamesh, mankind's oldest King of Heroes."
Huh?
"That's the identity of the hero she's impersonating, the 8th Servant, Archer," he says without skipping a beat.
"8th Servant? A Servant I don't know shouldn't exist….," I mutter to myself.
Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk. The first recorded hero who collected all the treasures in the world in his quest for immortality. A heroic spirit with a vault full of Noble Phantasms. I wanted to deny his words, but I couldn't deny that this Holy Grail War was nothing but surprises for me who was supposed to be at the center of it all. I glanced at Rin and she reached the same conclusion.
"You talk as if you've encountered this Archer Servant before?" Rin asks. We both couldn't help but remain skeptical, yet the boy's eyes were clear.
"Well, Saber has met him. Crossed swords. That's what the flash of light 2 days ago was. He's a remnant of the last Holy Grail War, the strongest hero," was what Shirou tried to pass on as fact.
I tense up, but as a glance over to my "ally", she seemed to be elated.
"So, the winner of the last Holy Grail War was an Archer?" was what Rin had to be smug about?
"So, are all Archer Servants cheap Noble Phantasm dispensers or something?" I ask.
"No, unlike our Archer here, his Noble Phantasms are the real deal," was his jab at Rin's Servant.
"And what does that make you exactly?" was Archer's response. What did they have against each other?
"An ally, because none of us can take the King of Heroes alone in any form," was Shirou's response.
"That won't be necessary because we aren't alone."
"You finally believe in the power of friendship?" was the comment Ruby had to make.
We? I parsed through my poorly chosen words I used to reject his offer. I steal a glance at all the people around me. Sella, Liz, Rin, Archer, Ruby and Berserker.
"Of course you aren't," was what Shirou had to be smug about?
My patience had run thin.
"Lock him up in the dungeon."
The charcoal fire dies out as the sun sets. As my maids take care of cleaning duty, Archer perches himself on top of the highest tower, surveying all angles of attack. I tried to reassure myself, but I knew how that little sister of Rin's was able to waltz right in despite my eyes covering the entire forest. That girl could be standing over me and I wouldn't be able to notice.
"The Gate of Babylon doesn't only contain weapons," was what Shirou had said as we locked him away.
With something like the Tarnhelm or anything of that nature, waltzing anywhere she liked must have been trivial. She could be anywhere. I try to remember that girl before she put on the mask of that king. She was taller than me, more voluptuous than Rin, yet back then in that hallway, I could only see a small animal. Still, small animals weren't harmless. Kiritsugu told me I was lucky because we didn't have to deal with mosquitoes.
Someone strong who thought of themselves as weak. Those were the most infuriating to deal with.
I lay on my bed as I curse the weak body I was born with. Everything was sacrificed to improve my functionality as a Master and a vessel. I was only able to wake up this morning because Assassin was poured into me. I stare at my outstretched hand. How small it was. How could such a thing grip onto anything for long? As I lay it on the bed, I'm reminded it could fit eight of me. I stare around at the stuffed toys I had to fill up the space. The castle was a lot more spacious than Tohsaka's little shanty. Instead of wallpaper, my walls were actually engraved.
"Quite the heavy sleeper aren't you? Young girls are supposed to be energetic, but then again," was the nonsense the buzzing thing called Ruby spouts.
"I'm not that old," were words that carelessly left my lips.
"The blood I got from you wasn't so fresh. Around a factor of 2, I suppose," was its attempt at being coy. I knew for a fact it knew my age.
"Noisy little mosquito aren't you?"
"Were you lying about hailing from a land of ice and snow?" was the question it throws back at me.
Lying? Stuck in that castle, it was only natural to be curious about the world beyond the borders. Where troublesome children are forced into prisons called "schools" where they are sorted by age. Of bloodsucking pests that spawn in swarms when the temperature rises. Where savages cut open their guts...
There really was something wrong with the brains of the people in this city, but maybe that's the Holy Grail's doing. Maybe something was wrong with me? Rin was probably the most normal out of all of us and right now she was continuing the interrogation down in the dungeon below. The protective older sister.
"Who do you think is luckier, Sakura or me?"
"Shirou really is that popular isn't he?" as Ruby breaks the tension once again.
"The Master gender ratio in this war is just skewed is all. Did we even meet a male Master?"
"Maybe he thinks of himself as the protagonist in some eroge? He should be thankful we saved him from a bad end, maybe...," as Ruby goes off saying something I didn't quite understand, but could easily infer.
"Not interested."
I lay on the canopy bed in a room adorned with as many toys as gold. Even as I'm surrounded by luxuries, I was no princess. I'm not someone to be saved. If someone asked me if I needed a hero, I would tell them I already had the strongest with me. Berserker won't ever lose...