Dammit, w-why is she here?!
The servant who lured me into a trap the other day now stands before me once more. Oddly, her countenance seems rather relaxed. Probably because she knows I'm alone right now. All my bows are in the shed. Luckily, I have my arrow in my pants, but will that be enough?
"You look troubled, Emiya Shirou." She mumbles, taking a step forward.
"Eh!" I grunt while taking my phone out and chucking it at her in one swift motion.
The phone hits her square on the nose, her having made no attempt to dodge it, before falling and clanking against the ground below. I turn and run after the puny strike, hoping to have at least disoriented her a bit.
"Wait, Emiya Shirou." I hear her call out from behind me. "There's no need to run."
I continue blitzing towards the backyard, ignoring her statement. I just have to make it to the shed and get my bow. I'll figure out how to defeat her afterwards. My running skids to a halt when I see a purple haze sprint past and in front of me, blocking my path.
"Didn't I tell you to stop for a moment?" She grumbles, sounding slightly annoyed.
"Yeah, and let you put one of your daggers in my neck?" I spit back, yanking my arrow from my pantline. "Not a chance!" I rush at her and ready the arrow.
"Hmph." Is all she says as I close the distance. I jab my hand clutching the arrow forward and at her midsection.
In a single instant, the servant wraps one of her hands around the wrist, before twisting my arm and planting it behind my back. My grip weakens and the arrow slips from my fingers, falling down to the grass.
"D-Dammit." I state, exasperated. With my free hand, I reach to grab the one that she has locked around my wrist.
In another swift motion, the servant kicks her foot out underneath mine, knocking me off my feet. I watch helplessly as she wraps her arm underneath my armpit and around the back of my neck in a chokehold. The tight, choking embrace presses me against her body and sandwiches my face between her bosom.
"Mmph!" I try in vain to voice my protest but get muffled.
"Finished yet?" She questions, looking unamused.
"Mmhm." I mumble while nodding. She nods before releasing her choke and spinning me away by the arm she has in her grasp. I inhale, finally being able to breathe, before reaching down and snatching the arrow I had disarmed.
While picking it up and catching my breath, I look warily at the servant who remains in a neutral stance, waiting. Odd. She really doesn't seem to be hostile. Slowly and cautiously, I retract my hand holding the arrow and tuck it back into my pants. Why did she come here then?
"You're… better than last time." I state, trying to ease the tension.
"I could've sworn I clarified that I merely underestimated you last time." She instantly retorts.
"Yeah, sure. Speaking of last time, how are you even alive, anyways? I recall shooting you straight through your head." She nods.
"Yes, and it hurt very much so. If you had managed another hit like that, or had even been a tad more precise with the first one, I wouldn't be standing before you now. However, I managed to pull through your injury, if only barely."
"Well, regardless," I continue "why are you here tonight? I assumed you wanted to finish the job but now I'm getting mixed signals."
"Oh, don't beat yourself up about it, Emiya Shirou." She responds. "I may still kill you, as well. I just had to make sure of something first and foremost." My frown deepens at what she says.
"You're not really making it easy to cooperate with you…" I mumble. "What emboldened you to make a move on me anyways? Aren't you worried Archer or Saber might be around?" She shakes her head.
"Of course not. I've been observing this place from afar almost all of today. I knew they both left detectable range of me, so I made my move."
Ok, a little creepy. But smart, I suppose. I recall the incident today that Archer mentioned to me. Oh, so perhaps she was the servant Archer said he sensed briefly… She must've got too close for comfort. My train of thought halts when a finger taps me lightly on my forehead.
"Gyah?!" I quickly backstep from the servant who just touched me before covering my forehead.
"Just making sure you were still with me." She explains after seeing my reaction. "You spaced out for a moment."
"A-Anyways," I begin "what exactly did you come here to make sure of? Depending on what it is, I may still have to fight…" I say the last part under my breath.
The servant responds only by pointing towards my lower body. I follow the direction her extended finger is pointed to arrive at the front of my pants. I look to her to clarify, but after she remains silent and just continues to point, I become self-conscious and cover myself.
"If you're asking what I think you're asking, I'm going to have to refuse…" I answer, sheepishly. She tilts her head at what I say in confusion.
"Why? I only want to see it for a few seconds. That's all I need."
"N-No! How could you ask that?!" She frowns.
"You needn't be so protective of it. It's not like I'm planning on stealing it from you or anything."
"Well I would certainly hope not!" I spit back louder than I'd anticipated.
Jeez, what the hell is wrong with this servant? She's literally in the middle of a war, on enemy turf, asking me to- oh wait she's talking about the arrow, isn't she? I mentally facepalm myself while pulling the arrow from the hem of my pants.
I extend my arm to offer it to her but hesitate. Even if this is what she meant, I still think I should refuse. After all, I'd be handing over the only tool I have in my possession that can help defend me from her. As if she read my mind, the servant retracts her hand and instead takes a slow step forward.
"Shirou… may I call you Shirou?" She asks softly. The sudden gentleness in her voice, and grace in her step, catches me off guard. I nod. "Please, I need only hold it and look upon it with my eyes for a moment. Believe me when I say, if it's what I believe it to be, I have no desire of taking it. I promise."
Her words shake me thoroughly. Many different, confusing things lie packed within them. Someone supposed to be my enemy seeming to act out of concern, the familiarity she offered in referring to me by name, and the unnerving way she referred to my arrow. Before I knew it, I'd already handed the arrow over to her.
The servant wastes no time in investigating the object. She reaches up with her free hand and seemingly wafts it over the front of her blindfold mask. The latch on it comes off and the corner over her right eye peels back. She hunches over, veiling her face with her long hair as she inspects the arrow.
I subtly try to garner a peek at her uncovered eye, to no avail. Her hair acts like a wall between her face and my prying eyes. After a brief moment, she straightens back up to her feet. I almost catch a glimpse of her eye, but her hand darts up and quickly fastens the blindfold back on as it was prior. It's like she knows I'm trying to look… Darn, I'm so curious.
She gestures for me to take the arrow back. I grab and remove it from her hands. Then, she begins walking past me, towards the front of the house. I stand, baffled, as she just continues walking away. I turn around to see she's leaving without so much as a second glance.
"U-Um!" I call out, not sure exactly what to say.
The servant stops walking upon me calling her before turning back to face me. She doesn't reply in any way, so I assume she's waiting for me to ask whatever I stopped her for.
"Uh, what exactly was that? Why did you want to see my arrow?" She pauses for a moment at my question, as though she's thinking how to respond. Then, she answers.
"When you cut me with it during our fight, I was frazzled. Admittedly, I was shocked you actually had something in your possession that could damage me, but I was moreso surprised of what it specifically seemed to be. Then, after having it speared through my skull, I was almost certain my assumption of it was correct. And now, after having seen it with my own eyes, I know." My eyes light up in surprise at her explanation.
"You… You know what my arrow is?!" She nods. "W-Well, tell me! Where did it come from? What's it made of?" Her mouth opens slightly in surprise.
"You… don't know?" She asks, dumbfounded. Her reaction unsettles me, but I still shake my head.
"No. It kinda fell into my possession. It was given to me, you see." My answer causes a slight frown to spread across her face and her head to dip slightly.
"I see…" She says, quietly. Then, even more quietly, she murmurs: "Then, that's even more heartbreaking…" I immediately open my mouth to demand her to be straightforward with me, but she continues before I can manage a single word.
"I will not fight you again, Emiya Shirou. Though I will likely be forced to eventually cross blades with one of the two servants you are allied with, you, I will not harm. This may change if I'm put under the influence of a command seal, but… no. Even then, I swear I won't raise my weapon to you. That is the one solace I can offer you." She confidently states all of this while holding her hand against her chest. My lip twitches slightly into a nervous smile.
"H-Hey… what do you mean?" I can't tell whether to feel as though a heavy weight was lifted from my shoulders or if another was just loaded onto it. "T… Tell me what this arrow is!" For some reason, I suddenly feel threatened. She shakes her head, maintaining her disheartened frown.
"No." She states, firmly and immediately. "I've already done more than enough in burying all hostility towards you, now and forever. Besides… Telling you won't change anything. Not a single thing. Rather, it'd only make things worse."
My hand holding the arrow tremors slightly. I can't help but feel terrified at what the servant is telling me. What in the world could it be… for it to make my enemy turn docile; to pity me?!
She seems to notice my unnerved stance. After pondering for a moment, she takes a step towards me.
"If it's not too forthright of me, may I offer you one other thing before I leave you?" Having already been given far too much to swallow, I simply nod at her question without thinking. She offers me a subtle smile as she diminishes the last few steps between us. "Then, pardon me."
I jump slightly as she places her hands on my shoulders. I begin to feel she might be planning to attack to me, but that fear dissipates after her next move. She pulls me into a hug. My head presses against her cushioned chest as she holds me.
"Huh?" I ask, confused.
"This is something humans do to try and console one another, yes? Though, I don't know if it means much coming from someone who's not important to you. Someone who was recently your enemy, even." I'm taken aback by her unexpected gesture. Yet, I can't help but feel myself be put at ease because of it, even if only slightly.
"Thank you, uh… could I maybe know your name?" Another unexpected surprise hits me when she laughs slightly at my question, causing her chest to bounce against my head.
"Bold of you to think you could slip my true name from me under these one-time-only circumstances. Apologies, but I can't let you know my name. You'll likely tell your ally servants which would be a real problem. Instead… just call me Rider."
"Rider…" It's a shame she refused to give me her name… I genuinely wanted to know. However, it is good to finally know what class she is. As I let out a content, relieved sigh, the servant loosens her embrace on me and pulls away.
"I have to go now, Shirou." She states, blandly. All traces of the kind, affectionate nature she just displayed are nowhere to be seen. She's back to her normal self.
"Um, Rider, I-" I begin to try and press her to tell me the true nature of the arrow again but stop myself. She already sternly told me she wouldn't budge on that, so there's no point in asking again. If anything, she might go back on her word and decide to make me her enemy again. While thinking this, I notice she's waiting expectantly for me to finish my sentence. "…I just wanted to say I hope we meet again." She once more offers me a smile before beginning to walk off.
"Worry not, Emiya Shirou." She calls back to me. "We will cross paths once more. I will make sure of it. Until then, good luck… and be safe." She mumbled the last part of her sentence quietly before jumping over the gate and onto the street in front, out of my sight. I listen to her rapid footsteps, followed shortly by the sound of her bounding and jumping away.
I sigh heavily once I'm sure she's far enough away, letting my composed, comforted visage crumble. I did not expect anywhere near this much stress as soon as I stepped out of the door tonight. Am I even up for the trip to Tohsaka's anymore? I alternate my gaze between the gate and the door several times before exhaling heavily and trudging to the gate. I told Irisviel I'd help the girl… so might as well.
Once out on the street and on my way to Tohsaka's house, I let my eyes lower to the hand still tightly clutching my arrow. A disturbing feeling settles in my stomach, reminding me of the lingering warmth left by the strange moment when I collapsed earlier today. What exactly did I accept when the man gave me the arrow that day…? Ever since then, I've only seen the arrow in a positive light; as a boon, or a lucky charm. So, why did it seem to unsettle Rider so much? I don't know, but… I'm worried.
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I sit quietly from my perch, a few blocks past Shirou Emiya's home. Though I can't see him because of my blindfold, I know by the sound of his gate opening and closing, and by his subtle scent being carried on the wind, that he has left to go forth on this night.
Alongside his scent that I've come to known, I also pick up the too-familiar, pungent smell of his "arrow". Why is it that I decided to linger a while longer before returning? I think to myself. It seems absurd to believe I actually worry about the boy, and yet…
I rise to my feet and descend from my perch atop the streetlight once I can no longer detect his smell or hear the treading of his shoes. Despite all signs of him having faded from the distance he's made between us, still I can discern the lingering odor of his weapon. I shake my head before turning and leaping to the first roof towards my route back to the Matou residence.
"Shirou Emiya…" I state while jumping and running from roof to roof. "Perhaps… I should go the extra mile and ensure I survive as long as I can in this War." I will be waiting with bated breath to see what Fate has in store for him.