Ch 27: Archer's Path
My eyes readjust to the absence of light with the exception of the moon that hung above the sky. My eyes scan the perimeter of the Einzbern Castle. A castle hidden by trees indeed. Staking out like this was no different from how it was when I was alive. It seems I haven't changed at all in some respects from the boy who was now enjoying his time in the castle dungeon. A boy who went out patrolling, getting into trouble with kids older than him…I was sure I grew out of it by the time I was his age, but the boy in the dungeon wasn't me and would never be.
Right from the start, that boy had someone he was responsible for, though right now I cannot say he acted responsibly. I could say he was more skillful and more capable than I ever was at that age, but all the more foolish for those reasons it seemed. Here I thought he had already chosen a side, chosen what he wanted to protect and knew where he needed to be…...
I remove myself from my perch. The moon was too blinding. Through one of the many castle windows, I descend into the hallways. No lights or even candle flames, but simply darkness, but my eyes were already attuned to the absence of light. Even if my eyes could not see, my wealth of experience often compensated. Down this long hall was Illya's room with Berserker on guard. Protecting his Master's beauty sleep?
I make my way to the stairs. How ornate they were. Even with all that gold, it wasn't garish. It was quite the change of scenery for me. At the very least it wasn't another battlefield; though I may be jinxing it. Regardless of how a place looks, tragedy can erupt anywhere. A fire can spring out in a seemingly peaceful city and take everything from you. As otherworldly and imposing the castle was, all its occupants had met early graves without exception. It was tragic, but this castle was a place that had always failed at its function and will continue to do so. It was a wonder how Illya could sleep so soundly, but with Heracles at your beck and call, it's hard not to feel safe I suppose.
I descended down the floors. This castle was honestly too big. In front of me was a barren hallway with ornate walls. A castle too big for only 4. Were there originally supposed to be more servants? The air was still, but that was a given considering the time of day. I must hand it to those Einzbern maids, keeping the place clean must have been a monumental task. It wasn't a wonder how Illya could so easily escape their grasps with so much work to do.
My steps stop. Maybe my mind's eye was wrong, and hopefully it was, but I'm always proven correct at the most inconvenient of times. It was screaming at me all afternoon.
I was waiting for someone. It might have been foolish to someone else, but I had no doubts she would suddenly appear in front of me. Just like how she did in my youth.
"Master of Rider."
There was no response to my words. Even if I was correct, would she really reveal herself to me? After all, this castle was no shed. Maybe time had eroded my mind. I had gone mad long ago or was I like that from the start? If I was mad, there was no reason to trust my intuition.
If only that were true.
As if on cue, lavender strands pour out of the darkness. Darkness that adorned the girl in question like a scarf. Hade's cap?
"I have a name you know? Or am I that unnoteworthy?" was that nostalgic voice that welcomed me.
"If you were, I wouldn't have called out to you," was my defense.
She meets my gaze as she plays around with her "scarf".
"How did you know?" was that inevitable question.
"Lucky guess."
No longer hidden in the shadows, the girl gently smiles at me, linking her fingers behind her back under the light of the moon.
"So are you here to scold me?" she asks of me with that playful tone.
"The one who would is the one being scolded right now," I casually say.
"So…... are you saying you'll turn a blind eye?" she casually asks.
"You're a Master, the enemy of mine. Coming here without your Servant, aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself?"
"If we really were beyond negotiations, you would have relayed your sight to her, but you didn't. Could it be, you fell for me?" was her little joke that threw me off for a moment.
Was Sakura always such a forceful girl? I think back to my youth, about the girl I lost to; the girl I couldn't refuse. Coming to my house day after day. Maybe she was. I wasn't dense, but….
"I'm sure you're very popular with young men and I would have if I was younger."
"I'm not anything special," she tries to argue.
It was a poor argument. Sakura was a beautiful young lady. It was a simple fact anyone with eyes would acknowledge at the back of their mind, but words were ultimately cheap. Words alone can't save anything.
"That aside, fooling around and getting in trouble doesn't suit a good girl like you."
"I've lost many things by staying out of trouble you see," as she confesses her frustrations beneath her breath.
A side she never let Emiya Shirou see.
"..As for being a good girl….. Are you mocking me?" she asks of me with her gentle features evaporating into a cold malice. Poor choice of words on my part.
"At the very least, you aren't acting as wild as last time. That sort of thing is hard to forget."
Of the things I learned about this girl, there were sides of herself she desperately tried to hide from the people she valued. Two of those people are down stairs in the dungeon. The reason why she was able to attack this place with impunity last time was because Illya herself was just a stranger at best. In fact, Illya and Berserker would exercise the same impunity if they found her here and that was something to be avoided.
"Am I not allowed to? That Illyasviel's behavior gets a pass?" were her words with a venom I couldn't have imagined coming from her.
"Have you already lost yourself that much?"
"And if this me right now was who I truly was, what would you do Ally of Justice?" she asks of me.
I realized I had winced, but I compose my thoughts.
She had been watching me grill eel this afternoon while that boy was being interrogated. While his cheek was being skewered by none other than her own sister. What I knew of the two "Tohsaka" sisters was that they were both dishonest. Well, such a thing is natural for magi. With "treasures" such as that scarf adorning her shoulders, it would have been trivial for her to rescue Emiya Shirou if that was her intent for being here. She must have had another aim. The reason she answered by call…...
"The person before me is a most reasonable young lady. If only my Master was as level headed."
For a moment she smiles.
"You really are a bully," was her casual response.
"I can only reason that you came here before me to negotiate because I was the only one you had the courage to face. Is that correct?"
Her smile evaporates. Her eyes downcast.
"I must look pathetic right now, but you aren't wrong. Does that mean you'll listen?" was her plea.
I could not afford to hesitate.
"Of course."
"Of all the Masters in this Holy Grail War, that "Illya" is the only outsider. Before she came to this city. Before she brought this Holy Grail War…...I would be lying if everything was perfect, but at least everything was peaceful. I wish to return to those days..…to end this Holy Grail War...Is it bad of me to wish for her to be gone, Mr. Archer?" was her honest, sinful plea.
Illya is the Lesser Grail Vessel. Without the Lesser Grail, the ritual cannot be completed. To put it simply, there is no Holy Grail War with no Holy Grail to fight over, but if only things were that simple. Humans whether alive or dead were hopelessly stupid creatures. The contestants that actually have a concrete wish for the Grail were definitely a minority.
"I'm sorry to say, but getting rid of her won't end the Holy Grail War."
I load my trusted pair in the forefront of my mind. Illya may have been her intended target from the start.
"Of course it will. The end of the ritual and hers are one and the same. You've already heard it from her haven't you?" was her irrefutable logic.
She smiles at me with her gentle features.
"I simply wish to speed things up with your help Mr. Archer. Two souls have already filled the cup. Together we can fill it with the others. You and Berserker can take care of that other Archer. My Rider and Saber will take care of Lancer. When the time comes, you, Rider and Saber will take out Berserker. Then we'll take out Saber and I'll get rid of Rider myself. I don't mind giving you and your Master the prize as long as Fuyuki can go back to the way it was," was the agenda she lays out for me.
"Is that really your plan?"
"I don't like it, but the dungeon here is probably the safest place for senpai to be. At the very least, he won't be running around at night getting into trouble. That way, I can focus on watching over Miyu, so she doesn't get into trouble," was what she admits to me.
"Am I supposed to be a babysitter?"
"Isn't that what you have been doing all this time?" were words I couldn't refute.
The ending Sakura envisions is an ending where no one she knows dies except for Illya. The ending Illya envisions is one where she herself dies anyways while dragging someone else with her.
"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?"
It was something even that boy could see. It was proof we were different people. Maybe it was precisely because we were different that I'm regressing. There was no saving Illya. It's a fact I already knew from the start. It's a fact Illya herself had already accepted. There shouldn't even be a choice.
"You're correct about that."
"Well, senpai never wins an argument against me either so don't feel too bad," were poor words of comfort.
"That's not an accomplishment to gloat over."
"If possible, I would like this talk between us to be our little secret," were gentle words that contrasted with the situation.
"It will," were words that carelessly left my lips.
"I'm glad," were her words of acknowledgement as she closed her eyes with a smile on her face.
I could have reported her at this instant, but that would only lead to unnecessary violence. Even though Rin never said it, I knew she didn't want to face her sister even if it was the most expedient path. That's why she decided to raid the Matou household in favor of a direct confrontation. To her, a direct confrontation was the last resort, but that didn't mean she didn't make preparations for such an outcome. Sakura was no different.
In hindsight, her smile was always a bit painful to look at. It was proof of how naive I was back then. Always ignorant to the cruel fates of those around me until it was too late.
Taking my words as a promise, she ends our conversation with a practiced bow. A window opens. As suddenly as she appeared, the girl I thought I knew disappears into the moonlight.
As the evening breeze caresses my face, I stare up at the moon.
Even though I dreaded it, it won't stay night forever.