"You know Shirou... I am sorry. From the bottom of my heart. For Kiritsugu's actions. Even if what he did saved you... a child should never be cursed with this. As with Illyasviel too..."

In a chair, next to Shirou's bed in the Infirmary, was Paylor Sakaki, with his glasses off and an unusually sad look on his face.

"I just wish... if maybe he hadn't met her... No. Then only he would suffer. But, I suppose, when it comes to those with such an impossible ideal, tragedy is sure to follow..."

Saying this, he then looked to the sleeping youth in the bed, his once vibrant red hair tainted a stark white. Before he could continue to think on the what-ifs and could-have-beens, as dreamers like him are prone to, he was interrupted by the door opening.

Looking up he saw...

*Page Break - Around a minute ago, other side of the door*

Making his way out of the elevator and down the hallway, Archer thought on what he was going to say. It had been a month since Shirou was hospitalized, and things had gotten better.

Sakura was allowed to go around freely, but she still needed to stay within Fenrir for medical reasons. Apparently, some remaining effects of the Oracle Cells. Rin was still visiting Shirou and doing her job, finding a kind of balance in it all. Saber had begun visiting Shirou as well, and spent less time on missions, seeming to find a proper balance. Or she was close at least.

Illya, on the other hand, hadn't changed much. That was, in fact, the reason for Archer's visit. To make sure everything goes down right, he needs to talk to Illya, to build a connection.

But, he would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. After all, it was the first time in a while he would have seen Shirou Emiya. What should he say? What should he do? Maybe he should just ignore him for Illya?

Before he could sink too deeply into wondering on what he should do, he arrived at the door. Rubbing his face, and sighing, he opened the door to the Infirmary.

Inside, instead of the snow angel he expected to see next to Shirou, he saw Sakaki with his glasses off. Pausing from the surprise, all Archer could do was stare in shock.

The silence stretched until Sakaki shook his head, put his glasses on, and stood up. Moving around the bed and towards the exit, he paused before saying,

"I don't know if you're there. But if you are, then please keep an eye on him. The path he is going down is likely one rife with personal tragedy. On that path, he needs a faithful companion. So please, if you can't stop him, then help him."

Seemingly done, Sakaki continued walking, until he went right out the door, never once glancing away from the doorway.

Archer stood against the wall, with a look of contemplation on his face, before turning back to Shirou. Moving over to him, he took the seat Sakaki had recently occupied.

"Keep an eye on him, huh? Hmph."

Archer then closed his eyes, deciding to wait for Illya to arrive. Unaware to him, his and Shirou's hands seemed to inch closer together.

*Page Break - Maybe an hour or two later*

Illya was fairly upset. Not only had she been taken away from her onii-chan while she was sleeping so she could sleep in a 'proper bed'. They also had the gall to keep her from him so she could have a 'proper breakfast'.The only good thing was that she was able to eat with Saber. But as soon as she was done, she made to leave, with Saber offering to escort her.

Now here they were, in the doorway of the Infirmary, only to see some big guy with white hair holding her onii-chan's hand. As Illya began to stamp her way inside, absolutely peeved at how her day has gone, Saber also walked in and, seeing the man on the bed, said,

"Nameless?"

With that, the man, who Illya could now see had tan skin, jumped, as if startled from sleep. Looking around, he saw Saber and smiled, before looking at Illya and letting a strange expression overcoming his face.

"What are you doing here Nameless? I was not aware that you knew Shirou."

Looking back to Saber, the man smiled again, before answering,

"Well... I know him through association, and figured I might as well visit the guy."

Looking back to Illya, his expression went back to the weird one from earlier, before he nodded and put out his hand towards her.

"Hello there Little Lady. What's your name?"

Slightly shocked, but still angry, she was able to cooly respond,

"Illyasviel von Einsbern. Who are you meant to be?"

Seemingly unaffected by her harsh words, he smirked lightly and said,

"You, Little Lady, may call me Nameless. A bit strange, but, if it works."

Confused at his cryptic name, and still put off by his actions, her anger had begun to fade, now just a flicker of what it was. As he let go of her hand, he stood and cast another look towards Shirou.

In that moment, Nameless' face had softened, and Illya felt as if she were looking at an altered photograph. Quickly looking to Shirou's face, then back, she had to question whether Nameless' expression was something she imagined, as his face returned to normal.

He then began to leave, saying goodbye to Saber on his way out. Looking out the door he left through, Illya then looked back to Shirou. After a pause, she took the seat Nameless had occupied.

It was warm.

*Page Break - The next day*

Archer was standing in an out-of-the-way hallway, looking down at his Armlets. They were both wrapped in bandages, with slight gaps letting anyone see the colour of the Armlets.

Reaching for the bandages, he slowly took them off, revealing the Armlets' true appearances. The one on his right wrist was composed of three metal bangles, all of them kept together by two bars of metal. On his left wrist was...

An Armlet, with a solid red appearance, only interrupted by a silver oval surrounded by a thick black lline.

Closing his eyes, he felt for the flow of Bias Factor constantly flowing through his body, and followed it out of his Armlets. From there, it reached for five different people.

Opening his eyes, he breathed out.

"Well then. Time for you to wake up, Shirou Emiya."

*Page Break*

Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, this chapter feels... meh. I didn't have much of an idea, and was very distracted for the first part of this. So I'm sorry if the quality of this chapter is lacking.

Second, I may have made a slight joke about the homoerotic tension visible between Archer and Shirou. It's already a joke, and quite a funny one at that, but don't worry. I don't ship that. Nor am I making a pass at homosexuals.

Third, Archer calling Illya Little Lady. It just works, cause it's also Oujou-sama, but more for children than teenagers or women. Also, Archer introducing himself to Illya as Nameless. Saber was in hearing range, and there's already a reason why he didn't introduce himself to her as such.

Thank you to Genesis09 for following.

Goodbye.

Word count: 1100