Chapter 30: Saber's Streak

I still my sword before the unseen edge makes contact with bare skin. My little Master's gaze is unbroken as she dismisses the cursed spear she had been wielding. It bothered me a bit that a sword was not in her hands, but I could not deny that this was good training for when I had to inevitably face Lancer. Was it her resolve to face the inevitable or was it her faith in me? It wasn't so easy to discern what was reflected in that amber. It was the same with my subjects and it was the same with Kiritsugu. As long as we moved in the same direction, I believed everything would turn out right, but I was mistaken both times.

Even if both summoner and heroic spirit shared the same feelings, they were tied to different eras. Ultimately, the world I sought to save was not the world that I was summoned into. The people in this era had their own things to protect.

In the corner of my eye I spy Sakura's hand made red by the tea kettle she was haphazardly holding. Certainly, her mind was somewhere else in contrast to Rider who had the foresight to bring a towel. She spoke little to me, but I was no different from her perspective. It was only natural she be apprehensive of me as I am of her, but I could tell she was a thoughtful individual.

Even if there was something off about the pair, the compassion they had for those around them wasn't one of those things. That was precisely why I had to be wary because my knights were the same. I won't repeat my mistakes. I continue to watch them in the corner of my eye.

"It's one thing to wake up early, but please promise me you'll stay hydrated," were the older girl's words to my little Master.

"Thank you, Sakura," was Miyu's response.

I wanted to take that casual exchange at face value, but it was evidently clear that Sakura did not consider them equals. It was only natural for someone older to think that way of someone younger. The one who protects stands above those being protected.

As Rider hands Miyu a towel, her unseen gaze settles on her Master's injured hand. Sakura had left herself with a single command spell after binding Rider to our benefit, but it was the Matou from which she belonged that devised such a mechanism in the first place.

I let out a sigh. The day begins and it begins with breakfast.

A simple meal of that bean based soup called miso, a bowl of rice and some grilled saury. I had 3 servings so far as the woman named Taiga stared at me throughout the meal. Miyu on the other hand was paying close attention to Sakura.

"I'll do some grocery shopping today," the school teacher says with a sigh.

The chilled pantry known as the refrigerator was always low these past few days even though we did some shopping yesterday night. It was something Sakura had said she would do but didn't. The energetic school teacher was a life saver, but as the days pass, Shirou's absence becomes increasingly harder to ignore even to a stranger like me.

"Sakura, when is Shirou coming home?" was the question the adult woman asks.

"He just wanted to check on his friends that were hospitalized these past few days," was the lie she continues to perpetuate without skipping a beat.

"Say, your brother Shinji also ended up in the hospital didn't he? Shouldn't we pay him a visit too?" the tiger continues to dig.

"I already did. I told Senpai that he was fine, but he never seems to trust my words," was Sakura's half truth.

The school teacher turns to the small unlicensed doctor before her eyes settle back on Sakura. The relation my Master had with doctors was the same magi had with each other which was not much.

"Hopefully he's doing what he says he's doing and didn't grow up into a sinful man like. ….," was Taiga's probing.

"He already was one," were Sakura's gentle words that caused the older woman to choke.

"...…..Are you alright!?" were my Master's words to the one who was recovering.

"It was just a little joke," was Sakura's defense.

"Well, if Sakura thinks there's nothing to worry about, then there's nothing to worry about," was the school teacher's conclusion.

Breakfast passes without much fanfare. As the dishes are cleared, Taiga goes off on her way taking the solace with her. There was no reason to get her involved in our matters, unless she too was hiding something. We see her off, but once again, we were alone in the house with Rider and her Master.

There was only a heavy silence and that unnervingly gentle smile. Sakura's gaze was like a weapon. Maybe that's another thing Master and Servant had in common. The older girl bends down to meet my summoner's eyes.

"I know things aren't looking too good right now, but even as smart and strong as you are, don't forget you're still a kid so don't feel bad about relying on Saber and Rider. I'm sorry I'm not as reliable as I should be," were words delivered in tandem with a head pat.

Miyu stares at the older girl, but in the end could only whisper,

"It's fine."

As much praise she gives us in front of Miyu, Sakura had little respect for us who were summoned by the Grail, but that wasn't anything I was unused to. Respect from her was something I had yet to earn and may never do so. From my kingship to the Holy Grail War 10 years ago, her aversion to me was but a drop in the River Thames.

Miyu tugs on the sleeve of my sports jacket, telling me it was time to go.

Aside from the generous reserves, I was truly lucky to be summoned by Miyu. That was why a part of me wanted the reverse to be true, yet I couldn't deny I was no different than her brother or Sakura. Something like that couldn't continue in a partnership.

"Well, I wish you good luck. Though considering you have no Assassin to worry about, you're already quite lucky," Sakura whispers to me.

Assassin? It was a tidbit of information I had to repeat a few times in my head because it certainly did not sound like she was joking. Would that affect our plans? It seems she had already given up the facade of hiding anything, yet I was not in a position to ask for more.

Even if Sakura didn't like me, I couldn't say I disliked her, though a part of that may have been the food she cooked for me. Not everyone can be a good cook, but good food cannot be made without care. Sakura was undeniably a caring person, but it is those same feelings that make me wary because a few knights of mine were no different. Under different circumstances, I was sure we could have been friends. I liked to believe we were on that track before we discovered each other's circumstances, but that was the way people were. I liked to believe that everyone wants the same thing, but that is precisely why we fight. The only thing she trusted in me was my competence as a hero. The only thing I trusted of her was that she genuinely had my Master's interests at heart.

"I wish you the same."

Sakura sees us off once again. Of the 7 Masters, we knew the identity of four and none of them were the Master of Caster who had passed. Lancer was the remaining unknown if Sakura's words are to be believed. The probability of Sakura being captured while we were gone was not zero even under the illumination of the sun, but it was preferable to the night.

My summoner was by my side with Rider trailing behind as an unseen haze to onlookers as we walked the streets. We take a detour to our destination. Miyu picks up the pace with her face devoid of any doubts for what she needs to do. Last night we had devised a short plan. There were parts I didn't like, but it was a plan she made by accepting that she was still an ignorant little girl. An ignorant little girl who had a potent hand of cards. Unlike in the previous confrontations with Illyasviel, her brother's life was at stake. Even so, I still ask,

"Are you certain this is what you wish for?"

"Right now, there is nothing else I wish for," was her immediate answer.

Sometimes the decision to fight is all that matters. Even if our wishes differed, our path was the same.

"May both our wishes be granted."

My Master pulls a certain card from her sleeves.

Assassin.

The edge of the forest I remember well is within our sight. From what I could pick up from the air and what Rider could pick up from the earth, there were no bystanders. Well save for some squirrels and insects. Within that forest of endless trees was a certain castle. A castle I once protected was the target for today's siege. I wanted to take back the past, yet I continue to endlessly repeat it.

To rush into another magi's territory was paramount to suicide under normal circumstances. That was especially true for my Master who couldn't be considered one despite her obvious magical potential or the cards she possessed. Despite all the knowledge magi hoarded, there was common sense available to everyone.

The one who creates the battlefield holds an undisputed advantage, so to take away that advantage one simply has to destroy that battlefield.

I unsheathe my sword from the planet's breath.

Above me was the radiance of the noon sun. Under the moon, my blade is a golden beacon that pierces the night sky. The sibling of Galatine. I call it's name...

"Excalibur."

The torrent of light surges from my blade into the ocean of light in the sky. Concealing daylight, I bring down golden flare splitting the Einzbern territory in twain. The earth shakes from its gushing wound. More than a mere gas explosion, the earth spilling all around us from the sky creates a physical veil that we hoped Archer could not see through.

It was a crass method, but it suited us who had ample power but lacked the knowledge of modern mages, but my instincts flared up as I realized it was insufficient.

A single arrow pierces my chest, or it would have if I hadn't deflected it with my blade. The shroud of earth had become a double edged sword, but it was only a temporary thing.

A storm of arrows assaults my position, but they do not escape my sword. Precise they were, but I was more so. They were notably lacking for arrows fired by a supposed hero of legend. Was Archer telling me to kindly vacate the premises with this half hearted attack?

The arrows stop and the minutes pass as Archer realizes I'm not advancing a single step. There was only the sound of rustling leaves and snapping branches but branches weren't the only things that were snapped.

"The defenses are down," was the voice of my Master ringing in my head.

The forest was no longer our enemy and so I raised my sword, pointing the tip forward giving Rider the signal to appear.

Bursting from thin air above me, true to her class designation, she advances forward on the back of a great phantasmal beast. A white winged horse that my Master could presumably summon as well with the power of Rider's card.

"Hrunting," was Archer's response in the form of a red streak cutting through the blue sky. The same sword-arrow Shirou had used against Caster.

"Bellerophon," was the word Rider uttered to become a white comet.

The red streak could not be dodged, but that was all. It meets the white comet to be harmlessly subsumed without slowing Rider's charge at all for her Noble Phantasm proved to be stronger.

I let out a breath and waited.

On the ruined Einzbern land, the Einzbern guardian appears before me with his gigantic stone hewn sword coming down on my head. I break away as the earth shatters before me. Behind me, ethereal birds unfurl into threads that surround us, enclosing us in a boundary but I sever it before it becomes anything. I was about to flee to a better position, but hanging from the neck of the giant berserker was Illyasviel and in his off hand was a motion sick Shirou bound in thread…...

Illyasviel had already seen through us.

The small Master jumps down onto the earth covering herself in a pink dress and cape that surpassed any modern armor. I was at a disadvantage. Her guardian held both a formidable weapon in his right hand and an even more formidable shield in his left. There is no doubt in my opponent's skill. If I were to swing my sword, Shirou would be killed for sure. With my Master's older brother as a shield, I could not recklessly attack nor could I flee and Archer took no time to take advantage of my second of hesitation.

An arrow pierces my cloak of air and lands true into the ball of my left shoulder while narrowly missing my neck.

I wasn't able to discern if that outcome was brought about by my sharp instincts or Archer's own hesitation, but not a moment later, Berserker's crying stone sword aims for my weakened left.

"Geh," was the sound that left my lips as I deflected the first blow.

2 more from the left, 2 from below, 3 from the right and an overhead blow in the span of seconds. With the whisper of the wind that concealed my blade, I was able to hold my ground against those 9 fatal strikes. Without the Barrier of the Wind King, I would have surely died.

Fortunately, the fingers in my right hand had not gotten numb from deflecting his attacks, but it was still uncertain how I'll manage in the next couple of seconds. With only one hand usable, I won't be able to get a clean hit on someone of Berserker's caliber as long as he had Shirou as a shield. The Wind King wraps around my broken arm to do what my muscles could no longer. This was a battle I couldn't lose.

"Your Master is surprisingly simpleminded isn't she Saber? Though I guess, anyone would become arrogant if they could become a hero just by playing a card," was the small girl's taunt.

After clearing a path, my role was to draw out the enemy out of the castle while Miyu snuck in by borrowing Assassin's unseen form while Caster's magecraft could be used scry for her brother. The Einzbern defenses should have been no different from the Tohsaka's under Caster's gaze, but Illyasviel already knew that from what transpired yesterday.

"It seems we have underestimated you."

Even if they were the same height, the girl in front of me was far older than the one I was summoned by.

"You overestimated yourselves. Don't think of me like my mama. I am my papa's daughter, though not like a Servant like you would understand that," she says with an unconcealed smile.

I couldn't help but smile too.

"My Master is quite predictable. That's something that cannot be denied."

I could barely keep my eyes open as they were enveloped in the white light of a comet that concealed a murderous red core.

"Gae Bolg," was my Master's announcement.

The dust settles. Warmth fills my core and I'm slowly restored. In the center of my vision was Berserker's corpse. A granite statue with a red spear protruding from its chest. The glow in the eyes dissipate and his fingers go limp.

"Waahhh, that's pretty barbaric for a magical girl isn't it?" was the cry of Illyasviel's strange wand.

Atop a galant winged horse, Rider stares down Berserker's Master, pinning her in place as Miyu retrieves her nauseous brother from Berserker's cold hands. Was it Illyasviel's strange dress or her innate magical potential that saved her from dying to Rider's petrifying gaze?

"Berserker!" she yells for her guardian and her guardian responds.

He rises above death and even the curse on his heart with a ferocity that made what he was like before a lie. I gather my reserves with the wind at my beck and call.

"Strike Air."

Before he could strike Rider's neck, I blew him away with the Wind King's Hammer, but his attention did not turn to me even as I rushed him. Rider will not escape him even with his eyes shut for he doesn't need them. Atop of her horse she rushes towards the Emiya siblings and Illyasviel does too. Before Shirou could get onto Rider's mount with his sister, Illyasviel acted.

"Zelle," she summons her ethereal avian constructs before launching them as swords.

"Rho Aias."

The swords shatter into threads against Shirou's shield of light and wrap around it before Berserker's sword crashes violently against it. Even though the shield wasn't pierced, the shock was able to knock Shirou off his feet.

"Ah," escapes his lips.

Without wasting a moment, a red bolt had pinned Shirou's leg to the ground.

"Onii-chan!" my Master yells. She tried to dismount to rejoin the battle, but she could not escape Rider's hug or even grasp at the cards in her holster. Rider's orders were absolute and Miyu had no power against those orders. Rider will protect her, even if that thing is from herself. With our plan in shambles, escaping is the logical thing to do. Prolonging this battle will only serve to endanger Miyu's life and the docile creature Rider rode already harbored such a desire. Against Miyu's wishes, they escape leaving the white tail of a comet behind them.

The earth shakes as Berserker gives chase, but I hold him back anew. He strikes with his fists, but they were noticeably slower. Even though he could move, the curse on his heart remained in some form. I could outrun him with the aid of the wind, but the motion sick Shirou could not and I could not protect him against Archer without my sword in hand. In a prolonged fight while outnumbered my defeat was certain, so all I could do was flee. My grip grows strong with disgust.

Strong fingers grasp empty air. Refracting light and altering trajectories, I did everything in my power to avoid getting hit. I could not allow myself to be captured too, but my blade could not wound him unless I unleashed its name. As resilient as Heracles was, his Noble Phantasm had to feed off of his Master's reserves just like mine. The victor would be decided by whose Master had the bigger reserves and that wasn't something I could gamble on. I couldn't guarantee the lives of her family if I did such a thing.

Berserker pushes me out of the edge of the forest and onto the road. I narrowly avoid being hit by a car. Archer won't carelessly fire his more potent arrows in the vicinity of bystanders and Berserker won't give chase.

It was frustrating, but I was unable to grant a small girl's wish this day.

The day had yet to end and all we were able to obtain were wounds when we got home.

"Welcome back," was Sakura's greeting.

"Miyu and Rider are already eating lunch inside," she informs me with a genuine smile.

Despite our failure, Sakura wasn't upset. I take my undeserved seat and stare at the white crustless sandwiches at the center. A variety of fillings from breaded pork to dressed egg.

"Aren't you going to eat Saber?" was the question Miyu asks of me.

"I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for. You listened to my ideas and they turned out wrong," was the blame she places on herself.

More than anyone else, she should have been the most frustrated, yet she kept on moving forward.

"After today's siege, I'm certain Illyasviel and Rin will set up base somewhere else considering how easily we broke in," was the fact I state.

"Is that the story behind this house?" was my Master's perceptive question.

She takes my silence as confirmation.

"Saber's a sore loser isn't she?" was Sakura's offhand comment.

I make no comment.

"Stop it Sakura. She's getting flustered," Miyu came in my defense.

I turned to Rider who was nibbling away off to the side.

"It's not a bad thing. The fact you can be frustrated for what happens here in some foreign land hundreds of years into the future shows that you care," was the closest thing to a compliment Sakura had ever given me as of late.

When someone is hurting, it's only natural to reach out to them. That shouldn't be something anyone should forget.

"I'm sure that's a feeling everyone harbors, though Kiritsugu probably disagrees."

"If they only did," Sakura whispers.

"People are weak. That's why they need each other….. That's why they can find the strength to worry about people other than themselves…. People aren't meant to be alone or do things alone…...There isn't a person in this world that isn't like that…Even if people die….their actions remain…..so...," Miyu mumbles while trying to reminisce about something. Words for all of us here.

"Alone...," I say to myself.

Humans don't have claws or fur. They can't run very fast. That was why they founded kingdoms to protect themselves from the world. If the land won't provide, they'll build farms. They'll stockpile food in times of plenty to prepare for the times of famine. When disease spreads, they'll seek a cure. When someone can no longer work, others will provide.

Humans were naturally stubborn creatures that refused to let the world be as it is and that's what made them both foolish and strong.