"Ah~ Now that hits the spot! You really should try some, kid."

"I told you, I'm underage."

The two now found themselves in the Lounge, Lancer drinking like a fish and Shirou forced by his own will to bear witness to the almost amazing sight. Almost.

"Man, Lancer. You are one heavy drinker. Makes me think of myself a few years back. Now that I think about it, I have an important question to ask. When you first meet a woman, where is the first place your eyes rest?"

Accompanying them was Haruomi, longtime captain of the 4th Unit and passing acquaintance of Shirou. Passing because Shirou tries to avoid womanizers. He had short, green hair with long, spiky bangs, and was wearing a black leather jacket and red leather pants.

"Hm? Well... her hands."

Haruomi looked confused and slightly disturbed.

"Her hands? Why?"

"To see if she has any calluses. Any fighter would have calluses somewhere. And I love me a fighter. After that it would be... her ass."

At that, Haruomi seemed to have a heart attack. With one hand to his chest and the other hand against the bar to balance him, he said,

"A-Ass!? So close, yet so far! I thought I had found a comrade! But I was instead betrayed!"

Picking his ear with his pinky, Lancer asked,

"If you're so broken up about it, then tell me what's the first thing you look at."

Suddenly, Haruomi pushed himself up from the bar, clenching his fist.

"Why of course, it is the thighs! That absolute zone between knee-sock and skirt! The exposed flesh of their legs! Truly, there is nothing greater! Right, Shirou!?"

Jumping, Shirou turned to Haruomi in confusion, only barely able to stutter out a what, before Haruomi continued.

"I have seen the way you have looked at the thighs of some of your friends. That Rin girl, she is the perfect example. Am I wrong?"

Blushing, Shirou looked away.

"W-Well, no, you're not. B-But the thigh isn't all that matters! It's about the whole image, not just one part!"

Shirou, saying that, suddenly felt a chill down his spine and looked over, only to see Haruomi and Lancer smirking at him.

"Oh? A romantic, are ya kid? You certainly don't look the type with your weird skin and hair."

"Oh, how innocent. Makes me think of my brother when I was younger. Ah, those were the good days."

The blush Shirou had then grew in intensity, prompting him to say,

"Shut up, idiots!"

He then looked away and pouted while the two chuckled at him and got back to their drinking.

Lancer must have been drinking for an hour with Haruomi, yet somehow didn't even look drunk. Haruomi was out of it, possibly bordering on death, and had to be escorted out, while Lancer was pulled out by Shirou.

Shirou was insistent that they should at least visit the rest of the Den before anything else. He was annoyed at how unresponsive Lancer was to the idea, and had to drag the guy out before he finally decided to walk on his own. Lancer was annoyed at how much of a stick in the mud Shirou was.

From there, the tension only grew. As they went around, Shirou was growing more irritated at Lancer's lack of cooperation, and Lancer was getting annoyed at Shirou's overall pushiness.

By the time they arrived at Sakaki's office, they were almost at each other's throats. Sakaki was actually quite shocked at the tension between the two. Lancer was an unknown, but Shirou definitely wasn't the type to be aggressive.

"Hey Professor. I showed this guy around, so I'll be leaving now."

Saying that, Shirou turned and stiffly moved towards the door. Standing Sakaki called out,

"Ah, wait, Shirou!"

Shirou stopped and turned around, giving him a questioning look.

"I was actually going to tell you about another request I had. Would you mind going on a mission with Lancer tomorrow?"

Shirou looked at Sakaki, before turning his head, thinking on whether he should or not. He would immediately say yes, if not for the fact that Lancer irritated him so much. Sighing, he turned back to Sakaki, saying,

"Yeah, fine. What will we be fighting, Professor?"

"That's good. You two will be fighting against two Vajras in the City of Mercy. Will that be a problem?"

"Hah. No, it'll be fine."

"I don't see any problem with it. But first, there's something I gotta say."

Turning to Shirou, Lancer pointed at him and said,

"You've been annoying me since the moment we met kid. So, I challenge you to a contest. Whoever does the most damage to those Vajra win."

Raising a brow, Shirou asked,

"And what do you get if you win?"

Grinning, Lancer responded,

"The winner gets to make one absolute order of the loser. How does that sound?"

Closing his eyes, Shirou thought on it, before nodding his head and opening his eyes.

"Alright. That sounds good. But don't complain when I destroy you."

"Heh. I guess you got some spunk after all, kid."

With that, Shirou left, psyching himself up for the mission tomorrow and thinking up an embarrassing punishment for Lancer.

The next day, Shirou exited the elevator into the Den, walking towards Hibari. Descending the staircase, he saw Hibari behind her desk, and Lancer standing there, talking her up.

Shirou couldn't continue, both surprised at how Lancer was blatantly hitting on Hibari, and at Lancer's combat outfit. At least, that's what he assumes it's supposed to be.

He was wearing a skin-tight blue bodysuit, with silver highlights detailing his muscles, and some pauldrons made of steel too. He looked absolutely ridiculous.

As Hibari turned down Lancer and his advances, she turned and happened to see Shirou.

"Oh, Shirou. Are you here for your mission with Lancer?"

Hearing Shirou's name, Lancer turned to where Shirou was standing, only to have his expression go blank.

"What... are you wearing?"

"Oi, why are you saying it as if I'm the one wearing something completely insane?"

As opposed to the casual clothes that Shirou wore when he went on missions before the Zouken incident, he was now wearing black, sleeveless body-armour with white lines defining his muscles, black pants with pouches for items, black boots, and a red waist cape, similar to the latter half of Archer's own coat.

It was actually requisitioned for him by Rin and Saber, who wanted him to have some 'decent' bodily protection while suiting him. So they decided on something close to Archer's outfit.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with my outfit! It has nothing unnecessary, letting me manoeuvre however I need. Unlike your... what is that, a skirt?"

"Hey, it's not a skirt, it's a folded cloak! It lets me hide any surprises from enemies, and provides my legs some protection! At least it doesn't make me look like some weird kind of male str--"

"Okay, okay. You two need to calm down, otherwise you get no mission."

Hibari had gotten in the way of the two's squabbling, and with her threat on the table, the two went silent.

"Good. Now, your mission is all ready. Please get your God Arcs and head out of the Den to the jeep waiting for you. Stay safe."

The two, still silent, made their way into the God Arc Bay, hoping that Hibari wouldn't be able to hear them in there. Entering, they made their way for their respective God Arcs. Lancer didn't have to walk far, stopping almost immediately after entering, while Shirou went to the usual place.

Grabbing his God Arcs, Shirou gave the blades another look, still held up by the subtle changes to them. It was merely the shape of the blades, ending less in a curved point and more a straight one, and the patterns on each blade being slightly different. They were small, but it felt like they made a world of difference.

Looking over to Lancer, Shirou tried to look at his God Arc. Seeing it made his breath stop. It was a Charge Spear God Arc, possessing a blood red tinge from the handle all the way to the blade. The only part of it that wasn't red was the black Aragami core.

Unlike most Charge Spears, it had a flat blade, useful for slash attacks as well as pierce. It was named Gae Bolg, also different to the original Gae Bolg God Arc. But the thing that stood out the most about it was the pure feeling of danger Shirou sensed from it.

"Hey, kid. You alright?"

Lancer's voice snapped Shirou out of his analysis, letting him breathe again. Looking to him, Shirou saw that Lancer was looking at him quizzically.

"Ah, yeah. I'm fine. Just... admiring your spear, that's all."

Tilting his head, Lancer then looked up to Gae Bolg.

"My spear, huh? Yeah, it is pretty nice. It's especially good at shedding blood. Your blades, on the other hand...," and here he looked to Shirou's blades, "Your blades don't seem like they were made for such bloodshed. Ah well, a sword's a sword, and it will shed blood, no matter what."

Shirou blinked. He never thought Lancer could be so... eloquent on the subject of blades. Shaking his head, he turned to the Den's exit, calling over his shoulder,

"Whatever you say. Let's just get this over with, alright?"

After all, they had a contest to complete.

Crackle.

"Okay, Shirou, Lancer, are you both ready for the operation?"

"Yup./Yeah!"

"You'll be fighting against two Vajras today, who will be appearing in Points K and L. Will you both be fine fighting them one-on-one?"

"Yeah! And you better keep watch Hibari, so you can tell this kid how hard I beat him."

"Hmph. Tough words. I'll make sure you eat them whole."

The two were standing on the little cliff where Shirou normally begins his operations. They were facing each other, each looking confident and smirking at the other.

"Alright you two, calm it down. I don't need you getting each other killed because of your carelessness."

"Hah. Yeah. Sorry about that."

"Yeah, I guess I got kind of carried away, huh?"

The two then looked at each other before stretching out their hands for a handshake. The underlying message being, I trust you, but I'll still kick your ass.

"Okay you two, the operation is about to begin. Get ready."

Grabbing their God Arcs, the two moved for the edge of the cliff.

"I'll go for K, alright kid?"

"Then I'll go for L."

"The operation has begun. Good luck."

Smiling, the two jumped off, calling out their battle-cries.

"I won't lose! Trace On!"

"This better be a good damn fight!"

After landing, the two immediately went their separate ways, Shirou going left and Lancer going right. The left path led to a dirt clearing that split into another two paths that loop around.

Point L was the uppermost path, which was the 'entrance' to a warehouse. The Vajra was just coming out of the hole in the ceiling, meaning it wasn't even remotely expecting Shirou's sudden assault.

As it jumped down, Shirou threw Bakuya straight into the Vajra's neck, causing the entire Aragami to jerk to the right. This led to it landing wrongly and falling onto its right side.

Shirou quickly followed that up with Kanshou, jamming it right underneath the wound inflicted by Bakuya, before he quickly ripped them both out at once, leaving a giant gash on the side of its neck.

With his blades in hand, Shirou dashed to face the Vajra's face, and from there began to combo on the enemy. A horizontal with Kanshou, a downward vertical with Bakuya, then a thrust from Kanshou.

Pulling back his blade, Shirou tried for another combo, crossing his blades to deliver a cross-slash, before pulling both of his blades together in two opposite horizontal strikes, then finishing it by bringing both of his blades down on the Vajra's head. He then jumped back as he heard the sound of a bond breaking.

The Vajra had, meanwhile, been trying to stand up, but couldn't because of the constant pressure on it. But when Shirou jumped back after finishing his combo, the Vajra used its waning strength to force itself upward in a leap.

As it began its descent, Shirou took Bakuya in a back-handed grip before leaping upwards to meet the Vajra. Just before they collided, he began to spin, enough to make a full rotation, and slice into the Vajra's outstretched paw.

Slicing through it, Shirou was then in place next to the Vajra's neck, where he impaled his blades, before pulling and pushing upwards and downwards, trying to rip apart its neck.

The Vajra cried out in agony at the action, before it hit the floor, now on its left side instead of its right. With two more powerful slashes, Shirou finished off the Vajra. Breathing a sigh of relief, Shirou quickly devoured the Aragami for materials, before leaving the warehouse.

Shirou wondered on Lancer's own progress, before hearing a loud noise, similar to an Aragami's cry and someone... laughing. Looking up towards the direction of the noise, Shirou then saw...

A Vajra being flung over the roof of the church.

"What."

Following it was Lancer, jumping onto the church's roof, yelling,

"Hey, kid! Watch this!"

As the Vajra fell lower and lower, closer to the dirt clearing, Lancer took up a strange pose. With his legs spread in an upside-down v, bending over and putting his left palm on the floor, while he held his God Arc aloft in his right hand, he looked ridiculous.

But from him, Shirou felt something. It was the same something he felt when they first met, and when he saw his God Arc. It's... bloodlust. He vaguely remembered the Oracle-infused Matou family giving off a similar feeling.

As the Vajra finally hit the floor, Lancer took off in a sprint, before jumping at the lip of the roof, leaving him at an almost 20 degree angle from the Vajra. Then, he threw his God Arc, intoning,

"Gae Bolg!"

It began to glow a crimson red, as did Lancer's Armlet, before it struck the Vajra, resulting in a massive explosion, big enough to engulf the Vajra. A cloud of dust was dislodged from it, but when it cleared, all that was left was the Vajra, now with a sizable hole in its side, and Gae Bolg, sticking out of the ground proudly.

Lander walked up to it, and picked it up, grinning.

"How was that, kid?"

"It was... alright. I've seen better."

"Heh. Sure you have. Well, come on. Let's go back to base so Hibari can tell us which one did better."

"Fine."

As they were walking back, however...

Rumble.

Stopping, Lancer turned to Shirou, asking,

"Did you hear that?"

Shirou nodded.

Rumble.

"There it was again."

The two had begun turning, trying to see where the noise was coming from.

Crackle.

"Oh no! How did this happen!?"

"Hibari? What's wrong?"

"You two have to get out of there! You've been surrounded by multiple small Aragami!"

"How many?"

"Ten, twenty, thirty... It just keeps growing! You two seriously need to go!"

At this point, the two were now standing back to back with God Arcs in hand.

"Hey, kid."

"Yeah?"

"What if, instead of deciding a winner based on who defeated the Vajra better, we decide it on who killed the most Aragami?"

"Hmm. Deal."

Rumble, Crack!

At that, some Ogretails had begun to force their way out of the ground.

"Good. 'Cause there's no way I'm gonna lose!"

Saying that, Lancer threw himself into combat.

"Hey, that's my line!"

Shirou then followed suit.

"Actually..."

Snapping out of his reminiscing, Shirou looked over to Sakura. She looked as though she were thinking on something, then nodded her head.

"It's better if he's not here, right? Then you won't do stupid things."

Then she looked at Shirou with a glare oddly reminiscent of the look Oracle Sakura gave him. That is, a terrifying one.

"Y-Yeah! And I'll only do stupid things with him around! D-Definitely!"

Shirou then hurried back to his meal, only hearing unsettling chuckling from Sakura, and resolved to avoid that blue Lancer at all costs.

Thank you for reading. This is Cee and, this stuff has recently been a decent length for some reason. Hope you guys are enjoying it. I honestly don't know.

Second, Haru and Lancer. Haru poses the old question from GE2 because how else do you make friends? Also, I personally feel Lancer's an ass-guy and Shirou's a thigh-guy.

Third, not sure if it's clear, but when a character says, Hah, that's me vocalizing a sigh without writing sigh in asterisks.

Fourth, Shirou's combat outfit. Just imagine the Shirou from Oath Under Snow in Archer form, but without the headband and the red sleeve on his left arm.

Thank you to lDavel for favouriting and following.

Goodbye.

Word count: 2625