Day 5: Shirou — Awkward Evening

Returning home from his shopping excursion, Shirou was loathe to speak to Rin and Saber; he could already imagine the tongue-lashing that they would give him when they learned that he'd gone out into town without a Servant and encountered an enemy Master. The fact that he was fine and Ilyasviel hadn't even been interested in fighting — which, he felt, should stand as evidence that reasonable conversation with other Masters was possible and indeed preferable to violence — would no doubt somehow be dismissed as besides the point. Still, what he had spoken about with the girl was important enough that Shirou felt he had no choice but to brave their wrath. The knowledge that Kiritsugu had participated in the previous Grail War on behalf of the Einzberns, and subsequently betrayed them, could have important ramifications for their strategy. And then there was what she had said about Avenger — another potential enemy they might have to face.

Shirou finished relaying the story, then spent a few minutes cowering before Rin as she let loose with the expected outburst about his carelessness, foolhardiness, stubborn idiot naivete, and piles of other uncomplimentary adjectives. Eventually, she trailed off in exhaustion and was forced to pause to take several deep breaths. As soon as she'd caught her wind, she launched right back into berating him, quickly picking up steam once more:

"...and why are you even assuming anything that conniving doll told you is true?" Rin admonished. "She's an enemy; she was probably just making stuff up to get inside your head — which she could have literally done, if you'd made the mistake of looking into her eyes, need I remind you, so don't kid yourself that you could've won even though she was without her Servant and you're twice her size, because you were one misplaced glance from death by hypnotism..."

"The Einzbern Master was not lying." Saber said

The seriousness and certitude with which she delivered the statement caused Rin to freeze mid-rant and turn to look at her.

"There is something I must confess that I have been keeping from you." Saber said. "This is not the first time I have been summoned to fight in the Holy Grail War. My previous summoning was during the Fourth War — and my Master was Kiritsugu Emiya."

"Really?" Rin asked.

"You must have wondered how a weak and untrained magus like Shirou could have summoned me, one of the greatest knights of the Saber class." Saber said. "The fact that he was my former Master's son must have acted as a Catalyst — a bond of familiarity between myself and him which made up for his otherwise deficient skill and allowed him to summon me rather than some lesser hero."

"And... you say that what Ilya told me was true?" Shirou asked.

"I cannot verify her claims about Servant Avenger." Saber said. "But the cold and cruel Kiritsugu of the past, who betrayed the Einzberns... yes, that is the Kiritsugu I knew."

"Why did you never tell me you were Kiritsugu's Servant?" Shirou asked.

"I wished to spare your feelings." Saber said. "You seem to think highly of the man; and truly, I cannot know how he might have changed after the War. But when I was Kiritsugu's Servant, he betrayed not only the Einzberns, but me as well. In the final moments of the War, when the Holy Grail was at long last within my grasp... he used his Command Spells to order me to destroy it. I was facing the dream which I had pursued for so long, sacrificed so much to obtain, and he forced me to shatter it with my own hands. I hated him for that."

Saber hung her head. "You are not Kiritsugu, and his crimes should not be held against you. But I feared that if I told you that your father had betrayed me, you might suspect treachery from me in turn, and reject me in order to contract solely with Crow. Please forgive me for my deception; I did not lie, but I withheld the truth, which is just another form of deceit. I have disgraced my honor as a knight of the round table with such unforgivable conduct."

"Don't be stupid; of course I forgive you." Shirou said. "It's clear there a lot I never knew about my father. But I hope you can see by now that I'm nothing like the way Kiritsugu was during the War. I won't betray you, Saber. I'll win this War and let you make your wish upon the Holy Grail."

There was the distant sound of the house's door opening, then Taiga's cheerful voice echoed down the hallway.

"Shirou~!" she called. "I'm ho~me!"

"Well, Taiga's here." Shirou said, and looked at Rin. "I guess we have to break the news to her that you and Bazett are going to be staying over. Hopefully she won't be too upset about it."

They sat around the table: Taiga at one end, Shirou at the other, and Saber, Rin, and Bazett between them.

"So... Shirou." Taiga said. "You're telling me that these ladies are going to be staying at the house now as well?"

"Yeah." Shirou said. "You know Rin Tohsaka from school, of course; and this is Bazett Fraga McRemitz."

"Pleased to meet you." Bazett said.

"I have to say, I'm not entirely comfortable with you cohabiting with so many women." Taiga said. "If anyone else found out about this, it would give rise to all kinds of indecent rumors!"

"Please don't blame Shirou for this." Rin said, her faced a perfect picture of earnest innocence. "I was in a big pinch and he's really helping me out. My house is undergoing renovations, and my plans for other accommodations fell through at the last minute. He's the only person at school I know well enough to trust to let me live with until the remodeling is complete, so I don't know what I'd have done if he hadn't offered to help."

"Uh, well, yes, Shirou is reliable that way." Taiga said, then turned sharply on Bazett. "But that doesn't explain who you are, or why he's invited you into the house!"

"I came to Japan on a... business trip." Bazett said awkwardly. "I met Mr. Emiya and he agreed to provide me with lodgings in exchange for assistance with... er, business assistance."

"Really?" Taiga asked dubiously. "And just what business are you in that Shirou needs your assistance?"

Bazett fidgeted uncomfortably.

"General assorted business-related business practices..." she mumbled.

It occurred to Shirou that, as a dedicated battle-mage, Bazett probably had very little experience with talking to non-mages. Rin must have realized the same thing, because she immediately moved to cover for her.

"Oh, Bazett, you're such a joker!" Rin said with a strained laugh. "But it's fine, you can tell Taiga the truth — that you're a relative of Saber, and that you heard that she was staying here, and wanted to come visit her for a shot while. Right, Bazett?"

"Oh... yes, of course." Bazett shifted position and straightened her tie. "That's the truth of the matter."

Rin turned to Saber and raised her eyebrows.

"That is right, isn't it, Saber?" she hinted.

"Yes, that is correct." Saber said. "Bazett is my cousin, and I invited her to stay with me."

"Hmph." Taiga crossed her arms and glanced back and forth between the other three women. "This all seems pretty fishy to me. Are you sure there's nothing else going on?"

"Not a thing." Shirou said, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "I'm just trying to help out some friends, that's all."

"Well, in the future, I'd appreciate if you'd get my permission before inviting anyone else to move in." Taiga said. "And I don't know what you're going to tell Sakura. That poor girl's gotten so used to coming over and spending time alone with you; when she finds out there you're letting other women stay with you, she'll probably throw a fit."

"Where is Sakura, anyway?" Shirou asked. "She didn't come over today, and she wasn't at school yesterday either."

"Shinji told me she was ill and might not be coming to school for the next few days." Taiga said. "He had a note from their grandfather."

"Really?" Shirou asked. "I'd heard she wasn't feeling well, but I didn't know it was that bad. It's a been a while since there's been anything serious enough to stop her from coming over."

"You know, Sakura's been coming and over and making meals for you ever since your injury." Taiga said. "Maybe it's about time you reciprocated and went and cooked for her a bit."

"I don't think that's a good idea." Rin said, giving Shirou a significant look. "The Matous are a very private family. You wouldn't want to intrude on their personal lives."

Right. Shinji was a competitor in the Holy Grail War. Even if they were friends, Shirou couldn't exactly go barging into his house so long as they remained competitors.

"I'll have to find some other way to pay her back, then." Shirou said.

"You be sure to..." Taiga began, then trailed off. "Uh, Ms. Bazett... I see you're wearing gloves."

"Yes?" Bazett asked, looking down at her hands.

"Aren't you going to take them off to eat?" Taiga asked.

"I'd prefer not to, actually." Bazett said calmly.

"And, er, why would that be, exactly...?" Taiga asked.

"I've grown accustomed to wearing them at all times in case of..." Bazett paused, then frowned and rubbed her chin. "I mean, because of... because of... ah, an embarrassing tattoo."

She nodded to herself, then resumed eating as though that explanation should have been perfectly satisfactory.

"Please forgive my cousin her eccentricities." Saber said, making a valiant attempt at a save. "She isn't used to staying with people who aren't already familiar with her unusual habits."

"I can believe that." Taiga said. "It sounds like you two must have spent a lot of time together when you were growing up. I imagine you've got some great stories to tell about that! So c'mon, what was it like?"

"Er..." Saber paled. "Growing up together... as cousins... well, as to that..."

Simultaneously, Shirou and Rin sighed and buried their heads in their hands.

They somehow managed to struggle through dinner without the increasingly precarious house of cards they'd built with their lies falling down around their ears, albeit only just barely. Everyone quickly claimed to be full in order to put an end to the meal and thus Taiga's unending stream of pointed questions.

Once Taiga was safely out of the way, Shirou, Rin, Bazett, the two Sabers, and the two Archers all gathered for a strategy meeting. Rin immediately took charge of the conversation and went straight to the heart of the matter: the opposing Master and Servant teams.

"First, and most dangerous, is Ilyasviel von Einzbern." Rin said. "Her Servant, Berserker, is the great Grecian hero Heracles, and his Noble Phantasm renders him nearly impervious to attack. Even with all four of our Servants working together, we weren't able to scratch him. Maybe Excalibur would work, but we've seen what a high cost using it takes on Saber. We should probably target weaker enemies first and save Berserker for later; that way, we can go all out without worrying about another Master taking advantage of our exhaustion."

"I have confirmed that Ilyasviel's home base is a mansion in the forest outside of Fuyuki." Bazett said. "However, the whole forest is a bounded field, making a surprise attack impossible. I doubt we could prevail against the Einzbern Servant on its own home turf."

"Second, there's Luvia Edelfelt." Rin said. "Right now, she's busy with tracking down the Fuyuki serial killer. However, as soon as she eliminates him, she'll enter the War. Because there's a personal grudge between our families, I think it's fairly safe to say that she'll target me first. Her Servant is a Lancer, but I don't know anything about its identity."

"While performing scouting, I located Luvia's place of residence." Black Archer said. "She has rented a room in an expensive hotel in downtown Fuyuki and fortified it with magic barriers. Their quality is impressive for a mere student, but not nearly enough to stop Servants. If she is not yet ready to enter the War, I believe a preemptive attack could easily eliminate her."

"I can't condone that." Shirou said firmly. "One, it would be cowardly to attack someone who isn't even competing for the Grail yet. Two, her hunting for the serial killer can only be a good thing — it's in everyone's interests that that maniac be stopped. Three, we can't just go attacking a hotel in the middle of downtown — there would be way too many innocent bystanders in the building."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Rin said, waving her hand. "Luvia is my problem anyway; I don't expect you to help with her. I won't be able to claim true victory in the feud between the Tohsaka and Edelfelt families unless I settle matters with my own hands. I'm just giving you fair warning that, since I'm going to be staying at your house for a while, there's a chance that she might come barging in looking to pick a fight with me. And while I promise I'll win, I can't give any guarantee I won't wreck the place in the process."

"So I should come up with some excuse to prevent Fuji-nee from hanging around all the time." Shirou said. "I wouldn't want her to get caught in the crossfire."

"What a well-thought-out plan." Rin said with a roll of her eyes. "I certainly can't see any grounds on which Fujimura-sensei might be somewhat reluctant to leave you unsupervised in a house into which three gorgeous woman happen to have recently moved."

Staring into Shirou's dull, blank eyes, Rin could already see the next question coming. She wasn't going to dignify his stupidity by waiting for him to actually speak it.

"Oh, I know you don't see what the problem is; that's because you're as thick as a slab of concrete when it comes to matters of romantic nuance and perceptions of propriety. Just take my word for it that, from Fujimura-sensei's perspective, matters would seem dodgy as hell; and if you tried to explain things to her, your inimitable manner with words would no doubt make things a thousand times worse."

"Then do you have any idea about how to get her somewhere safe for the duration of the War?" Shirou asked, sounding slightly miffed.

"I'm going to cast a mental compulsion on her." Rin said. "It'll make her think that it would be good idea to spend some time taking a trip to visit a relative for now, and will cause her to trust you in her absence more than she otherwise might. And before you ask, it won't hurt or cause her any harm, and it'll wear off on its own just as soon as your house is safe to hang around again."

"I suppose, if that's what's necessary to keep her safe." Shirou said. "I'll also tell Sakura to stop coming over for the time being the next time I see her. I can't risk her getting caught in the crossfire, either."

"Good." Rin said. "That brings us to our final known enemy team: Shinji Matou and Rider."

"Do you really have to count Shinji as an enemy?" Shirou asked. "He's my friend; and he was telling the truth about the Caster at Ryuudou Temple."

"Any Master who refuses to drop out is our enemy." Rin said. "Though, I don't consider Shinji to be very serious competition. He's not even a magus, since the Matou bloodline has thinned out so much that he was born without Magic Circuits; he's probably only a Master in this war by technicality. The Matous are one of the Three Great Families, so one of them has to be chosen as a Master — whether he's competent or not."

"I performed surveillance of the Matou house." Black Archer said. "However, I have not seen Shinji return to it. I believe that after he revealed to Shirou that he was a Master, he realized that the location was no longer secure and moved somewhere more discreet."

"More likely his grandfather kicked him out when he learned that, thanks to Shinji's loose lips, he might have a Servant knocking down his door at any moment." Rin said. "I doubt a dullard like Shinji is capable of any sort of tactical thought, or has enough spine to leave his comfortable home for some seedy hiding spot."

"It shouldn't be too difficult to locate Shinji's new hideout." Black Archer said. "If he shows up at school, I can follow him in spiritual form when he departs and let him lead me to wherever he's living now."

"Let's not do anything too aggressive." Shirou said. "If Shinji really is over his head, then he'll probably give up and surrender his rights as a Master when he realizes how serious the War is."

"Shinji give up, just because he's over his head?" Rin asked. "Are we talking about the same kid here?"

"We at least owe him the benefit of the doubt." Shirou insisted.

"Look, I won't actively hunt him down, but that's the best I can offer." Rin said. "We go to the same school, so we're bound to run into each other; and if he attacks me, I'll have to defend myself."

"That's... fair, I suppose." Shirou said reluctantly.

"And that takes care of our known enemies." Rin said. "We also know that three Servants have been eliminated: Bazett's Lancer, the Caster at Ryuudou Temple, and Assassin Sasaki Kojirou. That leaves three about which we have no information: the second Rider, the second Caster, and the second Assassin. And here's where I'm hoping Bazett can fill in some of the gaps."

She stared meaningfully at the older woman.

"I never had any contact with the Rider or Caster." Bazett stated. "However, I can provide you information about the Servant which defeated Lancer — Assassin. In appearance, it is a young adult female. Its favored weapon is a knife. Its Noble Phantasm appears to be the supernatural ability to destroy any object which it cuts — even another Noble Phantasm. Thus, I believe Archer would be better suited to combating it than Saber, if you do not wish to risk losing that golden sword."

"Do you know anything about its Master?" Rin pressed.

"No." Bazett said. "I did not sense any other maguses at the temple, and the Assassin's Presence Concealment ability made it impossible to track."

"Figures." Rin said. "Well, at least knowing it's Noble Phantasm gives us a much better chance when we do actually face it. Assassins are usually pretty weak in terms of parameters, relying on some trick in order to kill their opponents."

"How about this Servant Avenger that Ilya spoke of?" Shirou asked. "Do you know anything about that?"

Bazett frowned.

"I'm aware that there are Servant classes beyond the traditional seven, but it is quite rare for any of them to be summoned." she said. "Thus, their strengths and weaknesses were not covered during my training for the War. Perhaps you should ask your Servants; the Holy Grail is said to impart them with knowledge related to the War when they are summoned."

Shirou turned to Saber and Crow.

"If I knew anything, I would have informed you by now." Saber said. "The only information I have been given is that Avenger is considered a forbidden class which should never be summoned."

"So far, we only have the Einzbern Master's word that this Avenger even exists." Rin said. "I don't think we should waste time worrying about it when there are so many known threats."

"Speaking of known threats, I believe we can add another to the list." Red Archer said. "It's taken me a while to be sure, but I believe there is an enemy Servant lurking around outside the house, beyond the edge of the bounded field."

"What?" Shirou yelped.

He turned to look out the nearest window. He could see nothing but the darkness of night.

"Don't bother." Red Archer said. "It is remaining in spiritual form. Even were it in range of your eyes, you would see nothing."

"What's it doing? Is it going to attack?" Shirou asked.

"Don't get hysterical." Red Archer said. "In all probability, it is only doing surveillance. If it entered the house to attack, you would sense it crossing your bounded field. If it attempted to launch a long-distance attack from beyond the boundary of the field, we would sense the buildup of prana in plenty of time to protect you. Since it has taken no action so far, it likely knows it is outnumbered four-to-one and sees no possibility of victory. Mostly likely, it is waiting in the hope that you will let your guard down and allow it an opportune moment to strike. You're quite lucky it wasn't around when you went unguarded on your shopping errand earlier; it is a common strategy for Assassin-class Servants to stalk an any Master and kill them when they're away from their Servant."

"You think it's the remaining Assassin, then?" Shirou asked.

"Not likely." Red Archer said. "If an Assassin was stalking you, it would be able to avoid detection entirely using its Presence Concealment ability. It probably isn't a Berserker either, since they don't go much for stealth. The most likely possibilities are Luvia Edelfelt's Lancer, Shinji Matou's Rider, or one of the still-unknown Servants."

"Picking off Masters is a cowardly tactic used by Servants who can't win in a straight-up fight, so we'll probably be fine so long as we keep a Servant with us at all times." Rin said. "At all times, Shirou. Got that?"

"Okay already, I messed up today, I get it." Shirou said. "I'll take Saber or Crow with me whenever I go out from now on, I promise."

"Good." Rin said. "Oh, and Bazett; you probably don't need to be told, but this applies to you too. Other Masters likely still see you as a valid target, so don't go wandering off on your own. Saber stays at the house while we're at school, so you can count on her guard you."

Shirou glanced at Saber to see if she was okay with this arrangement; Saber nodded.

"Alright." Shirou said. "Thanks for the heads-up, Archer."

"It was only for Rin's sake." Red Archer said. "You can go and get yourself killed, for all I care."

He shifted into spiritual form before Shirou could respond, vanishing into thin air.

"What's his problem, anyway?" Shirou asked Rin.

"Well, you can be pretty annoying." she said, then smirked to show she was kidding. "Truthfully, I don't know, and I don't particularly care. He can act as petulant and grumpy as he likes, so long as he obeys my orders. You don't have to worry about him betraying you, cause I made very clear that if he broke our alliance I'd get rid of him and make a contract with Saber instead."

"Well, so long as — wait, what?" Shirou asked.

"Well, if he killed you, Saber would be available, right?" Rin said innocently. "And it'd e a shame to let a Servant that powerful go to waste..."

"Don't joke about that." Shirou said seriously. "Saber's a person, not a tool to be passed around."

"You're wrong." Rin said. "She may have been a human once, but she gave that up when she swore her service to the World as a heroic spirit. Servants are weapons to be wielded in the Holy Grail War; they are summoned to fight, and they disappear after the fighting ends. The sooner you figure that out, the more heartbreak you'll save yourself."

Shirou looked to his Servants, expecting them to offer an objection, but Saber was silent and Crow merely shrugged.

"She's right, you know." Crow said. "This body of mine is made of magic borrowed from the Grail. Win or lose, once the War is over, it's back to where I came from. So, you seem like a nice kid, but don't go getting too invested in my friendship, because I won't be around for long."

With that, he vanished into spiritual form as well. Black Archer followed without a word, then Rin stretched and yawned.

"Anyway, I think this meeting is pretty much over." she said. "I'm going to bed now."

"Then I shall retire as well." Bazett said. "Thank you for your generosity in lending me your roof."

She and Saber departed the room, and Shirou was left alone with his thoughts. He had grown accustomed over the past several days to Saber and Crow's presence. It was startling to realize how fragile and ephemeral their existences were. Called to this world by the Grail, they would depart with the Grail, even should they prevail in their struggle to attain it. It all seemed so tragic. A meaningless fight, bringing pointless suffering.

There was the wish, of course. If the Grail truly was an omnipotent wishing device, then there was no reason it shouldn't be possible for a victorious Servant to wish for the ability to remain in the world even after the Grail itself had gone. However, Crow had already stated that he had no wish for the Grail. He was participating in the War solely for the thrill of facing other Servants in mortal combat, and Shirou suspected that he'd view being killed by a worthy opponent more of a victory than achieving the Grail and then being forced to hang around with no one to fight. And as for Saber, he had seen in his dreams of her life how she'd sacrificed all she was, all mortal happiness she might ever attain, for the sake of her duty as King Arthur. He couldn't imagine her using her wish on something selfish like preserving her own life — she would act the same as a Heroic Spirit as she had as a human, sacrificing her own dreams and desires for the sake of others.

That left Shirou's own wish. If he won, he could use it to wish for his Servants to stay following the end of the War. However, that didn't sit right with him. Death for Servants wasn't true death; it only meant a return to the Throne of Heroes. If that was what they desired, did he have any right to bind them to this world? And yet... Shirou couldn't bear that thought of seeing Saber disappear. It would be far too sad to witness Saber once more sacrifice herself for the sake of others. She had sworn her life to her subjects as King and her afterlife to the World as a heroic spirit; when would she ever get a chance to live her life for herself?

Shirou realized that he had subconsciously clenched his hands into fists. He had sworn to become a hero who would save everyone. If Saber was going to make a wish which would save everyone but herself, then it fell to Shirou to be the one to save her.