Once Saber and I return home, we soon find Tohsaka and Irisviel engaged in serious talking within the dining room. And the table, devoid of any food. I notice Saber staring at the empty plates and bowls atop the table with a longing expression. She denies it, but she's obviously craving some food.
Once I finish politely picking up and washing the dishes, I quickly throw together and put on a stew to cook for dinner tonight, after seeing the fridge stocked with fresh groceries. Whether this be because of Tohsaka or Irisviel, I do not know. While doing all this, I hear bits and pieces of what they're talking about. Tohsaka discusses all the leads she has on the servants and even proposes a few ideas as to the whereabouts of the masters. It doesn't take long for Saber to cut her off and mention the giant slash mark she saw in the street today. At this point, I've set the pot of stew on at low heat to slow cook, and I join them at the table.
"Very interesting, Saber." Tohsaka comments. "A sword or axe… then it's likely the cause of a Rider or Beserker class. Considering the carelessness of leaving evidence in the middle of the street, I'd venture to say it was Berserker." I silently applaud Tohsaka in the back of my head for guessing correctly. "However, even if it is evidence of Berserker engaging in a tussle with someone, it doesn't give us much to go on. I'll be sure to go look around the site extensively later, but I wholeheartedly believe we should focus on Caster first and foremost." Irisviel nods energetically in agreement.
"I agree with Rin. Trust me when I say that Caster is by far the most dangerous servant class if left to their own devices. A general rule of thumb: the longer a war draws on, the more dangerous they become. I know from experience." Experience? Oh, she must be referring to the Caster from the previous war…
"That's right," Tohsaka adds "and since we already have instances pointing to Caster's motives, it makes sense to prioritize them." Irisviel and I look at her in confusion. "What? Oh, by 'instances' I'm referring to the 'gas leak' incidents popping up across town." Irisviel and I still look at her in confusion. "Have… Have you not heard about these? They've been plastered all over the news for a while now." Irisviel avoids eye contact with Rin and I know exactly why.
"Rin," I begin "we uh… we don't really use the tv. Irisviel just has it to watch anime and cartoons." She appears flabbergasted by this revelation and looks at Irisviel in disappointment. I can tell by her expression; she's losing admiration for Irisviel by the second. "Anyways," I continue "can you catch us up to speed on these gas leaks?"
"Oh, yes. Basically, several instances have occurred where an office or residence has all the inhabitants fall unconscious for seemingly no reason. The news channels sum it up to being gas leaks, but the affected show too severe of symptoms for it to just be that. And, oddly enough, these 'gas leaks' only occur in buildings with many workers or inhabitants." After Tohsaka's explanation, Irisviel's eyes light up in understanding.
"You're proposing that Caster is siphoning their souls for energy?" Irisviel asks. Tohsaka nods.
"Of course, I don't have any solid proof yet. I was planning to go check out one of the quarantined buildings after we discussed what our plan would be." I see. It makes sense now why she was so anxious to start making a game plan last night. After pondering her suggestion for a moment, Irisviel responds.
"Well, if you're going off to investigate one of these quarantined buildings by yourself, what is it you want Saber and I to do?" Tohsaka smiles.
"I'm glad you asked. I've determined a few possible places Caster may be taking up residence at. The places of interest may seem unremarkable, but I have reason to believe…" After hearing Tohsaka clarify that she's interested in the help of Irisviel and Saber, not mine, I tune out and begin fiddling with my cast instead. I get that I'm not a mage… I understand that I'm no heroic spirit… but if they'd just give me a chance… "…and finally, this one seems lowest priority, but there's a tiny lake about a mile deep into the forest east of Fuyuki…" My attention gets anchored back to Tohsaka all at once upon her mentioning this lake. A small lake in the forest east of Fuyuki? Why does that… I know the lake, it's-
"Horizon Creek." Tohsaka's eyes light up upon hearing me interject with the name of the landmark.
"Yes, that's the name. Are you familiar with it?" I open my mouth to respond, but pause, drawing a blank for how to answer her. I've… I must've heard of it before or- have I been there before? I rub my left temple, trying to stimulate my mind to dig up the memory. Tohsaka sighs after waiting a moment for my response.
"Well, regardless, strange activity has been happening in the area surrounding the lake. Shattered trees, craters in the ground, skeletons of wild game picked clean, and other signs of someone, or something, lingering there are evident." I continue attempting to recall where I heard about the lake while Irisviel answers Tohsaka.
"So, you just want Saber and I to examine these locations and see if there's anything to indicate if Caster is residing there?"
"Yes, that's mainly it. However, it's not just Caster we need to be wary of; any servant could be standing by there. Really, any suspicious activity or evidence is what we're looking for. It won't take long; excluding the lake in the east forest, the other locations can all be checked thoroughly within a single day trip. In fact, taking that into account, perhaps Emiya should go check out the lake while you and Saber evaluate the other locations, since he's familiar with the place. It would allow us to check all of our leads effectively in one day." Hearing Tohsaka state she wants my help drags my attention away from figuring out where I heard about the lake from. "Of course, I'm not sure he'd know what to look for… maybe it's-"
"No, no! I can handle it!" I nearly lunge across the table at her while affirming I can do it, not wanting to miss my chance to prove my worth.
"A-Alright," she answers, appearing shaken at my desperateness "then I'll leave it to you, Emiya." I settle back down in my seat while trying to hide my embarrassment from that outburst. "Well then, now that that's settled, I'll be leaving for tonight." Irisviel gasps in a pouty tone at Tohsaka's statement.
"Whaa? You're leaving already? You're not going to investigate that building place tonight, are you?" Tohsaka nods.
"Of course," Tohsaka replies "why wouldn't I? It will be easiest to do at night. I also must go attend to some other business at my home. Afterwards, I'll probably set up residence here for the remainder of the War, if that's ok."
"Of course!"No." Irisviel and I spit out in unison. Irisviel glares at me.
"Of course you can stay, Rin!" She repeats, in a slightly louder tone. I yield to her decision and just quietly glare at Tohsaka's triumphant smirk.
"Wellll, since you insist…" I get up from the table and enter the kitchen to check the stew, before I accidentally mouth of to the smug woman.
Tohsaka converses with Irisviel and Saber a while longer before finally excusing herself and standing up from her seat. I hear her walk into the kitchen and turn to see her staring at me expectantly from the doorway.
"Do you need something?" I ask her. She frowns at me as though I've offended her in some way.
"Shouldn't you see your guest out the front door? Actually, shouldn't you offer to walk me home? It's dangerous late at night, you know?" Her questions perplex me; I know full well she doesn't want me to accompany her. I grit my teeth in irritation.
"Well, that shouldn't be a problem for you. You're accompanied by the crimson gargoyle, after all." She tilts her head and gives my response a confused look. "…Archer." She dons her irritated grimace again and grabs me by my sleeve.
"Just come on!" She shouts. I let myself be dragged by her, not wanting my shirt's sleeve to stretch or tear. Instead of following, Irisviel scurries into the kitchen once Tohsaka and I exit. Probably to see what I'm whipping up for dinner.
Once outside, Tohsaka slings the door shut and continues dragging me until we're outside the front gate. She finally unhands me and soon Archer materializes behind her. I wait expectantly for her to say whatever she brought me out here for, but instead she just converses and bickers with Archer. I tap my foot impatiently while she brings him up to speed on what's happening and discusses what they're doing tonight. After respectfully waiting a few minutes, I give up and begin walking back inside.
"Hey!" Tohsaka shouts while once again latching onto my sleeve.
"What!?" I shout back while brushing her hand off.
"Don't just up and leave on me, I want to talk to you about something."
"Which is?" She gives me the 'oh, you know what' look, and I feel like I do know what. If what Saber randomly requested of me yesterday at school is any indicator, she's going to ask me to stay out of their business. I sigh. "Why are you two gunning so hard to get me to ignore this Holy Grail business?"
"You two?" She asks. "I assume you're referring to Saber? I can't speak on her behalf, but I personally just want you to stay out of the way. With you involved, I have to worry about Irisviel worrying about you and you worrying about Irisviel. You're also stupid and reckless; I don't want you going off thinking you can fight a servant. And GOD FORBID if you up and died on us; Irisviel and Saber would be so caught up in that mess. How would I get their help to win the war then?"
"Piss. Off." I tried laughing it off with Saber when she asked, but that's mostly because her intentions were out of concern for Irisviel, which made me happy. This girl, however, seems to just see me as a nuisance, and I can't help but get angry when I talk to her. Tohsaka surprises me by laughing in response to my answer.
"Haha, yeah I figured you'd say that. Don't worry, I've given up on convincing you to stay out of it. However, if you are going to be involved with us, I want to at least better prepare you for it." I become intrigued by her proposal. She's the last person I'd expect wanting to help me.
"What did you have in mind?" I ask.
"I was thinking magecraft." I get taken aback by her idea, as does Archer who appears severely concerned by the notion. Archer quickly interjects with his opinion.
"Rin, surely you can't be serious. I see no reason to teach him magecraft. Even if you were to, what could be taught in such a short span of time?" Tohsaka shakes her head at him.
"There are plenty of basic things he can learn, if he has the aptitude. Anything to help increase his survivability will be a great help." He quickly rebuttals, and they begin arguing back and forth. It doesn't take me long to decide how to answer her, the pace at which I did being hastened by their annoying arguing, and I interrupt them.
"Neither of you have to worry yourselves; I have no intention to learn magic." It doesn't take long for Tohsaka to fume up at my answer.
"What. Do. You. Mean?! I so graciously offer my mentorship and you turn me down? Do you have any idea what an honor it is to be taught by me? Why I oughta-"
"He gave his answer, Rin." Archer interrupts her speech. "We have to respect that." He seems oddly pleased that I'm not interested in it.
"Oh, shut up Archer!" Tohsaka fires back. "You didn't want him to learn it anyways! Why wouldn't you want to learn magecraft, Emiya? It seems like something a power junkie like you would love." Power junkie?
"Well," I begin "mostly because it sounds like a lot of work, and I'm already dealing with enough now. However, it's also because Irisviel knows magic." She rapidly taps her foot in irritation.
"Stop calling it that! It's not magic, it's magecraft! Do you know how unintelligent you sound when you call it that?" I rub my temple in annoyance, but also because my head's begun to ache from her shouting so much.
"Whatever! What's the difference, anyways?!" I shout back. Before she can open her mouth to tell me, Archer answers.
"Magecraft is basically the act of doing something that is humanly possible, just quicker. Magic is magic. Like time travel and immortality. Basically, everything humans think is impossible." Both Tohsaka and I look at him in surprise.
"Yeah, that's basically it. How do you know so much about it?" Archer ponders her question for a moment.
"Just something I heard once." She doesn't look convinced by his answer, but for me that settles it.
"In that case, I definitely don't want to learn it. If I can already do anything magecraft can, what's the point in learning it? That sounds stupid. My bow's enough. I'll take some of that real magic though, if you have any." I could tell I really pushed her buttons now, she looked like she would explode any second. Suddenly, her anger dissipates, and she regains a calm, composed expression.
"Archer!" She firmly states. "We're leaving, we have business to attend to. We can't waste anymore time here." With that, she turns on her foot and walks away, not even saying goodbye. Archer and I both sigh, almost in unison. Once she's out of earshot, Archer turns to me and smirks.
"You shouldn't antagonize her so much." I scoff at his suggestion. Trust me… being an irksome snide is the only way I'd manage to talk to her. "What about your other reason?" I raise my brow inquisitively at him, not knowing what he's referring to. "For not wanting to learn magecraft? You said it's because Irisviel already knows it. What does that have to do with anything?" Oh, that.
"Simple," I answer "if she's been a mage this whole time and never taught me magi- *ahem* magecraft, then she must think I don't need to know it. If that's the case, it's useless to me." Archer's eyes exhibit understanding of my explanation, as though he already assumed that was what I meant.
"I see. This is similar to you not wanting to discuss the child, Berserker's master, with her, yes? You assume she's hiding these things from you for a reason?" I nod. Well, I wouldn't quite use the term "hiding". I feel it's more her trying to ignore these things; block them away from herself, just as much as me.
"I see…" He continues. "Is that really a safe mindset to have? Should you revere another individual's words and actions, or lack thereof, to the point they become absolutes to you?" I look at him in pure confusion. His words allude me. In fact,
I'm not quite sure I understand what he means.
If it's not her…
"Does anything else matter?"
Archer steps back from me and his face dons an expression that looks very troubled.
"Archer? What's wrong?" I become worried I might've said something strange or offended him somehow. He opens his mouth to respond.
"ARCHER!" Before he can say anything, we're interrupted by Tohsaka who's angrily yelling from a few streetlights down the road. "Quit talking to him and get down here now!" She shouts out at him in a tone proving she's still peeved from earlier. He sighs then once again gives me his weary smirk.
"I'm sure it won't be long before we're back." He then turns and begins following the direction of his master while talking. "Until then, try not to get yourself killed, yeah?" I also turn and begin heading back inside.
"Yeah," I mutter "right back at you."
After stepping into the dining room, I'm greeted by Irisviel passed out on the floor and Saber sipping on some tea at a corner of the table by herself. I notice a bowl on top of the table with a little bit of broth left in the bottom of it, telling me someone already had dinner. Knowing Saber's reservations about eating, it isn't hard to guess who it was.
"How long's she been asleep?" I ask Saber. She finishes her drawn out sip of tea and places her cup on the table.
"Ever since she finished her meal. A good while, basically." I sigh in disappointment at Saber's answer and begin picking Irisviel up to go carry her off to bed. You slept almost all of today, how are you still sleepy? I decide against brushing her teeth tonight, not wanting Saber to have more embarrassing ammo to use on me.
After tucking Irisviel in and returning to the kitchen, I clean up her dishes and fix two more bowls of stew before joining Saber at the table. Once seated, I push a bowl across the table to Saber, along with a spoon.
"What, for me?" She asks, surprised. I nod before digging into my own bowl. "No, it's fine, thank you. Servants don't need to eat, it would just be a waste of food." I answer her between spoonfuls.
"Oh come on, I've seen you eyeing the food. I already fixed the bowl, might as well help yourself. Besides, there's more than enough, we need your help to finish it." She fidgets nervously and looks at the bowl with hesitation, despite drool practically dripping down the corner of her mouth. "Irisviel feels the same way, trust me; she wants you to enjoy our meals with us." Once I say this, she quickly grabs the bowl with one hand and the spoon with the other.
"Well, I guess it can't be helped then." After uttering this, all restraint escapes her, and she indulges herself thoroughly in the meal. I watch her, feeling a tremendous amount of respect, quickly down the bowl after savoring a few heaping spoonfuls.
I spend the next few minutes checking my email on my phone and watching Saber make trips back and forth to the kitchen to refill her bowl. Eventually, she makes another trip into the kitchen and I hear a loud "aha!" I look at the doorway inquisitively and soon she emerges with the stew pot. The empty stew pot.
"Shirou, I've done it! I've helped you finished the stew!" She proclaims triumphantly. I laugh nervously, trying to mask my shock.
"Yep, you sure did. Good job!" I may have made a huge mistake…
Saber helps me finish washing the dishes and soon we find ourselves in the dining room, sipping tea. I occasionally tap my foot impatiently or twiddle my fingers in boredom. Man, I really have an itch to go shoot my bow, but I can't just leave her. She's probably going to go back into that old dojo for the night; I don't want to sentence her to that…
"Shirou?" Saber draws my attention by breaking the silence with my name.
"Yes?"
"I overheard a bit of your conversation with Archer and Rin, just a while ago." Oh boy, I get to hear her tell me to stay uninvolved again. "I've decided to respect your decision to help Irisviel in this war." Oh. "However, I agree with Rin when she says you must take appropriate measures to increase your survivability. If you will not learn magic, then I'd like to propose engaging in combat training with me from now on." I'm honored to see everyone so eager to help me stay on my feet in this situation, but…
"I would love to take you up on your offer Saber, but I don't use a sword." She bobs her head knowingly.
"Yes, I'm aware. As I understand it, you have a love of archery, no? I wouldn't say I'm proficient in the art, but I do know a thing or two; I once knew a knight who was tremendously skilled with the bow, the best I've ever seen." At this point, she really captures my interest. I'd be crazy to pass up any opportunity to better myself with the bow.
"I'll graciously accept your offer, Saber. I'm ready to begin whenever you are. Would you be willing to start tonight?" She shakes her head.
"No, it is far too late. We have a busy day tomorrow too; don't forget, you told Rin you would go investigate the… 'Horizon Creek', was it?" I become deflated at her turning me down, but sigh in defeat nonetheless. I still haven't slept, so it's for the best, I suppose.
"Alright, I'll head to bed for now then. However, you and Irisviel should try to finish up quickly tomorrow; the quicker you can begin training me, the better." She nods and finishes her last sip of tea before standing to her feet.
"I'm surprised you're so eager for this, Shirou. You must be more enthusiastic about archery than Irisviel let on." With that she leaves the room, probably to go back to the old dojo. Once she's gone, I pick up the tea cups and walk into the kitchen to wash them. While running the water, I realize that we had a semi-decent conversation just now with no bickering. Maybe she's warming up to me? I probably should put in an effort to get on her good side if I want to learn her training secrets.
After brushing my teeth, changing into my pajamas, fixing the bundled mess of a futon Tohsaka left behind, and stuffing my arrow beneath my pillow, I finally snuggle in and close my eyes to sleep. Now… I rest…
….I continue laying with my eyes closed in the darkness for what feels like hours. I turn on my side, stomach, back, and then repeat to try and find a position comfortable enough to lull me to sleep. I can only endure doing this so long, and soon I find myself on my stomach, with my hand tucked under my pillow, holding my arrow reassuringly. Maybe if I go take a couple of shots, I'll be less anxious and can finally get some sleep? Once this thought crosses my mind, I can do nothing to stop my psyche from slowly convincing me that this is the case.
"Ah, what the hell?" I give in to my desire and jump up from my futon to go retrieve the bow I left in the grass this morning. I need to make this snappy, gotta be well rested for tomorrow.
After entering the backyard and seeing the bow wasn't in the grass, I walk back to my shed to see if someone moved it there. Sure enough, the bow and quiver are on my work table. I once again pause to admire the intricate design of the bow. Man, for being such a stiff, that guy can make one hell of a bow… I don't spend too much time admiring the bow before grabbing it and the quiver and stepping out into the yard.
No sooner than my foot hits the grass after exiting the shed, I hear the sound of glass shattering. I look to the direction I heard it. The front of the house? I begin lightly jogging across the yard and around the house to see what happened. A plant must've been tipped over by a cat and smashed or something…
I reach the front yard and see… The gate's open? I could've sworn I shut it once Archer and I finished talking. I walk up to the gate and begin to close it, but then I notice something. Smashed on the sidewalk, just in front of the gate, is a cola bottle. The brown puddle surrounding the glass has almost completely diminished from being sucked into the stone surface underneath.
I tighten my grip on my bow. What is this? While standing next to the beverage someone smashed on the ground, I hear another glass shattering to my left, further down the street. I look and see another shattered glass bottle, with the previously held contents flowing out into a puddle. Should I go get Saber? I continue debating whether or not to go seek assistance when I hear another one get smashed, even further away; a few houses down. If I go get Saber, whatever it is might get too far for me to find it. I go with my instincts and begin my pursuit.
After a short jog and a little bit of snooping, I find the third bottle I heard get smashed. The way the shattered glass is arranged… and the splatter pattern of the soda, it's just like the others; these are being thrown at the ground from a distance and… from above? I glance up at the roof of the house I'm kneeling next to, just in time to see a figure turn and run away.
"Hey!" I shout. "Wait!" I run between the neighboring houses and follow the mysterious person into the back network of alleyways. As soon as I reach the alley that all the houses are lined in front of, I hear the footsteps above pause before resuming on the next building, heading down a direction further away from my house. They jumped to another roof. Are they trying to get away? I waste no time and quickly run down the adjacent alley, following in pursuit of the direction they ran.
It doesn't take long for me to lose track of the pitter-patter above, and I find myself in an unknown part of town. Shit! What the hell? I first thought that whoever this person is, they're a servant. But if so, why are they running away?!
For the time being, I drop my worries of the stranger and instead try to figure out where I've found myself. It's at this moment I realize I've run down a long back alley, ending with a dead end. Wait… could this have been planned? Were they not running, but instead herding me into a trap?
I reach into my quiver and quietly pull out an arrow, all while darting my eyes in every possible direction and subtly moving my head. If that's true… then within the next few moments, they'll make their move. I listen closely with my ears and analyze thoroughly, the above ledges of the surrounding buildings, with my eyes. I hear it. Behind me, on the roof of the apartment complex, heavily muffled by the AC condensers, a piece of cloth, someone's clothes, brushes against the stone ledge as they lean over.
I knock the arrow and snap my body to face them. The person has their arm raised with yet another soda in their grasp, prepared to throw it down to the ground. Bingo. I aim and release the knocked arrow. The person jumps back in shock just as the arrow collides into and shatters the soda they're holding. "Enough!" I yell up at the person. "There's no point in hiding anymore; show yourself!" After a brief pause, I hear a response from the overhanging ledge.
"Hmph, so it would seem." That tone… A woman? Without further delay, the woman finally jumps off the structure and falls to the ground a few feet in front of me, unveiling herself for the world to see. "You're quite the perceptive one, Shirou Emiya." I lose my composure slightly at the appearance of the woman who's graced me with her presence.
"I… thank you, I guess. And who are you supposed to be?" The woman has vibrant, pink hair that reaches down almost to her feet. A black stretch of cloth with a purple design is wrapped around her eyes as a blindfold. Even though she's currently crouched on the ground on all fours… for whatever reason, I can clearly tell she's tall, taller than me even. It seems the sugary fluids within the bottle I just shot sprayed all over her, making here short, black garb cling to her and accentuate all of her… curves and bits.
"I," she begins, snapping me out of my analysis of her body "am a servant." I laugh nervously, not quite sure how else to deal with the situation.
"I see. If I hadn't heard about this Holy Grail War recently, I'd think anime con must be in town." She tilts her head at me in confusion. "Your… your hair and clothes, they make you look like a… oh forget it, it's a bad joke anyways." She rises up to her feet.
"Oh, a joke? You like jokes? Knock knock." I stare at her in confusion, not expecting a turn of events like this.
"Uh, who's there?"
"Cash."
"Cash who?"
"No, thank you. I prefer almonds." I force a chuckle at the corny joke. Her expression doesn't falter, and she remains as stoic as a statue. I awkwardly tug at the string of my bow. This girl is strange.
"You said you're a servant? Why did you lure me all the way out here? And what's the deal with all the sodas?" She doesn't answer me immediately, whether it be because she didn't intend to tell me or because she is thinking how to respond, I don't know. Because with that blindfold and her blank face, I can't tell what she's thinking at all.
"Because," she finally states "I needed something bizarre enough to capture your interest. Soda bottles seemed like a good idea. Why would anyone waste something that tastes so good? Strange, right?" Not my first thought, but yes, I suppose… "As for why I lured you out this far, I know if I tried to kill you while so close to the other two servants, they'd find me and probably kill me." Once she finally clarifies her hostility, all playfulness evaporates from the air. I alter my soft expression and fake smile to harshly glare at her.
"You used my name earlier. This means your master, the one who sent you to kill me, knows me, yeah?" She nods.
"He has a particular distaste for you." So, it's a "he".
"So, your plan was to lure me out here with the 'bizarre' bottle smashing, then distract me with that last bottle by throwing it in a direction to anchor my attention? After which, you would dispatch me as soon as I was focused on the bottle." She nods again.
"Basically." She answers. "However, he said to not be discovered before I assassinate you. So, now that you've found me, I'm at a loss for what to do." I see… just like a machine, without being instructed down to the T on what to do, she can't continue on. "Perhaps I should still kill you? Maybe I should retreat for now?" Is she… asking me?
"If…" I begin "you want to live… then yes, you should retreat." Her face finally changes upon hearing my proclamation. A slight smile graces her lips.
"Is that so? That sounds like a challenge to me." I shake my head and watch as chains materialize around her wrists and two metallic stakes fall to the ground at her feet.
"A challenge? No." I rip off the messy cast and throw it to the side before pulling out three arrows from my quiver. "A promise." She laughs while whipping the chains, causing the stakes to clank up from the ground and fly into the air, before snatching them up in each hand.
"I quite like you, Shirou Emiya. If only you were a mage; I could imagine being the servant of one such as you." I knock the first arrow while ignoring her and scowl at her once it's fully drawn.
"Can't say I feel the same." She giggles slightly at my response and lowers herself as though she's going to fall on all fours again.
Steel yourself, Shirou. This fight will show to them you are a contender.
Right when her hands holding the stakes are about to touch the ground, she lunges forward at me. I release the arrow and immediately ready to shoot the other two simultaneously. The woman dodges the shot effortlessly and the arrow sinks into the darkness of the alley behind her. I shoot off the other two at her, one aimed at her head and the other at her feet; she's only a few steps away from me when I shoot them. Dammit, why is my right forearm aching? I recall what Irisviel said; about her healing possibly making the bone not mend back perfectly.
The servant dodges the one aimed at her feet and swats away the other. When she enters striking distance of me, instead of going for another arrow. I throw my bow in the air and catch it with both hands on the lower limb. "Back-" I tighten my grip around the limb and slug it horizontally, a moment before her stakes can reach me. "the fuck up!"
She folds over on my bow swatting into her before flying back to the left side of the alley. Before she can collide with the building, she grabs the iron hand rail of the fire escape and perches on it. I don't stop. I rip out another arrow and shoot it off, despite my forearm really hurting. She jumps from the rail and descends upon me. My eyes widen in confusion as I see her making no effort to dodge the arrow. Can she not see it because of the blindfold? What the hell?
I become less tense, thinking the battle was just about over once the arrow hit her. Then the arrow hits her chest. And tinks off, as though it collided with steel plating. "Wh-What?!" I quickly raise my arms to block, no longer having enough time to dodge. I manage to knock her right stake back with my bow in my left hand, but I can do nothing to stop the opposite one which sinks itself into my right forearm.
"Ngrh!" I grunt while shoving her away with the bow. She backsteps a few strides down the alley, leaving her stake embedded within my arm. I angrily drop my bow and reach to grab the spike and rip it out of my arm. Just as I'm about to grab it, the spike vanishes. I stare at my arm in confusion before turning back to the servant. She retains her devilish smile as though she's won. I wouldn't get so cocky. Just because you managed to land one hit doesn't… mean… I stop when I realize what she seems so happy about.
My right arm is being tugged forward and towards her, of its own volition. What the?! I desperately try to figure out what's happening, and then I notice she's reeling an invisible line towards her; and I realize I still feel the pressure of the stake in the puncture hole. Is it still stuck in there?! Did she make it invisible? All at once, she yanks the invisible chain towards her, making me fly into the qir and rocket towards her. She picks up the other stake and readies her arm to drive it into me as I approach.
Think! Think! As soon as I get close enough and she jabs the stake at me, I barrel roll over her arm that yanked me to her and I huck a punch at the back of her head as hard as I can. She grunts and falters over slightly, to which I turn right as I hit the ground behind her and roundhouse kick my left foot into her neck.
"*cough*" She lets out a scratchy cough after the impact from a kick which would've crushed the windpipe of any normal person. Man, these heroic spirits really are monsters.
I jump to my feet just as she turns to swipe at me with her weapon again. By instinct, I whip my arrow out that was tucked in my pantline within my left hand and meet her stake with a strike of my own. The two clash and we soon find ourselves locked by an ethereal chain and each of our "blades" pressed firmly against the other. I hear her clear her throat.
"*ahem*, you… your bow, this arrow. What are they?" I stop exerting force against our interlocked weapons and duck to dodge the strike from her stake. As soon as it swings through the empty air above me, I twirl the arrow in my left hand to hold in an icepick grip.
"Mine." I respond. I drag the clutched arrow swiftly across her stomach, then back again and up her midsection, ending with a punctuated uppercut into her right jawline. She staggers back a few steps and the chained spike embedded within my arm rematerializes. "Hngg!" I grunt while wasting no time wrapping my hand around it and yanking it out of my arm. As soon as it's out, I heave and scramble to turn and run back to the bow I dropped before she yanked me to her.
My hand reaches it. Grab. Turn. Knock. Aim. I kneel with my lucky arrow fastened, only a slight move of my thumb away from flying towards the servant. She has regained her composure and looks quite pissed now; a stark contrast to her expressionless face from earlier. I notice that for whatever reason, my arrow was now able to damage her; the bloody cross embedded in her midsection being proof of that. I sit, dead still, waiting to see what her next move will be.
"I," she finally states "…I do not know what that arrow is, or how it works. However, don't think I shall be so foolish to let you touch me with it again. Once I come at you full speed, you won't be able to keep afloat as you have been thus far." I laugh slightly at her declaration.
"Is that right? I highly implore you, use your… what were they called? Oh yeah, 'Noble Phantasm' if you want to kill me." She shakes her head and readies her dual weapons.
"There's no need. And even if there was, I'd sooner retreat than waste it on you. You see, my master is a very poor mage; he cannot supplement me with as much mana as a proper master. Given our tight supply of mana, every use of my Noble Phantasm must be an absolute necessity." I frown at her. Then you lose…
She lowers herself again, in the same fashion as before, preparing to lunge at me.
"Let us see!" I shout. "If the superstition still holds true!" Despite my right arm burning from the hole in it, I pull the drawn string even further back. Just one. One shot. Just a shot. Just this one shot… please. The servant pushes off the ground and propels herself through the air.
The thumb and two fingers sandwiching the base of my arrow part from each other. The bow bends into shape and jettisons the shot to meet her. I clearly see her body shift and move seamlessly to the side, to a position the arrow will miss her by quite a lot.
"It will miss." That thought crosses my mind. However, against what I think, against my intuition, against what I can see, I know it not to be true. It will hit…
"Your right eye." I state. When she's only a single breath away from me, I step to the left and watch as the arrow flies into the right half of her blindfold and out the back of her head. She goes limp before crashing down and skidding across the ground I stood at a second ago. I sigh deeply in relief, finally feeling how rapidly my heart is beating in my chest.
How strange though. Did her body move again so that the arrow would hit? Or did the arrow itself move? I couldn't tell. It seems that in one moment it was flying wildly inaccurate and then the next, everything was lined up as though it was already traversing the correct path. I couldn't make sense of it, but regardless, now isn't the time. I once again grab my bow in a manner to be swung and turn to finish the servant.
Once I turn, I see her already back on her feet, her hands covering her wounded eye.
"Agh! Hnn!" She softly mutters in pain while steadying her feet. Seeing she isn't down for the count yet, I hoist my bow back and rush at her. "It seems… I've made a mistake." After saying this, she dodges my swing at her and shoves me back with her left hand. I ungracefully topple on my ass and watch her begin striding down the alley to escape.
"Stop! You're not getting away!" I turn around and run down the alley to collect my lucky arrow that shot clean through her head. I find it at the base of the right wall, next to a tin garbage can. After snatching it up, I whip around and see… no sign of her.
"Dammit! Shit!" I angrily throw my bow down and collapse onto my knees. "Ughhhhhhhhhhh." I groan in annoyance before rolling backwards onto my back and staring up into the darkness. There goes my chance to take out one of the big players in this thing. Still though… an arrow through the head didn't finish her? Did I miss her vital? Or are they really just that durable? While pondering this, I realize that the arrow I'm holding in my right hand has become slick with blood; a mixture from the servant's and my own leaking down from the wound in my arm.
I stand to my feet and feel myself wobble. Dammit, I'm getting woozy. I must've lost more blood than I thought. I pick up my bow and the remnants of my cast that I slung off. I quietly hobble down the alley to head home, trying to figure out how to wrap the ribbon of fabric from the cast in a way that'll help stop the bleeding.