Note: I probably should've released this earlier, but it took a while since I originally wrote this story on my phone while in a hotel resting from a long walk in Sydney, Australia, so I nearly forgot about this. Nonetheless. Continuing on the Healing Over Time AU stories, here's a scene I enjoyed writing because it is a pianist calling out her second Archer Servant on his distance. The first time the Green Archer showed up in my writing, actually. Robin Hood isn't good at being a loner.

For a song, I highly recommend Inori no Uta from Yuki Yuna is a Hero, sung by Inobouzaki Itsuki-chan. Because before anyone else, I always imagined Tomoko singing this for the Faceless King if they ever got to know each other like this.

Sparkle 39: Listen

"Hey, Master?"

I didn't look up from my book, simply putting the preserved leaf bookmark in between the pages before answering. "What is it, Robin?"

The wind blew past us a bit, accompanied by the quiet chirping of birds — almost expected of the forest we were in. It wasn't exactly rainforest quality with the Hashirama trees and it being within Konoha's walls, but for the Green Archer who decided to strike up a conversation, it seemed to be enough. "Not to be rude or anything…"

"Uh-huh…" I absently turned back a page, but still kept my ears open.

"Why are you spending time with me, a petty bowman?" The extra rustle of leaves seemed to merely accentuate the apparent confusion in the Servant's voice. "I don't have much to offer you aside from a rogue's knowledge at best. Archery and poison is all I have. Not to mention…" A deep exhale. I could guess from the faint smell that it was a cigarette. "I don't recall you liking this smell that much."

Just in case, I held back the first instinctual reply I had and waited. A pause followed, and then Robin said, "…It'd be better if you cut off ties sooner or later, Master. I've nearly run out of tricks."

He didn't use my name. That said something.

I took a breath to calm any impending anxiety-action rushes, and brushed a stray strand of my bangs back. "Even if I don't like tobacco, that doesn't mean I don't like you, Robin. Even if I don't use archery or poison that much in my life, it's useful for something, but that's not what defines all the things I like about you." It was an obvious answer. "I never said I wanted you out of my life."

"But…"

The open book in my arms felt unnecessary, so I gently closed its pages before raising a hand in what I could only assume was Robin's direction. He was being the Faceless King again, hiding away for some reason. I couldn't force him to come out, there was no way I could consent to that matter of thinking, so instead I said, "Just listen for a little?"

Another pause, then: "What are you planning, oh so strange Master of mine?"

"Just to ramble like the strange village girl she is, fellow Green Archer," I threw back as gently as I could, before closing my eyes. "Nothing more, nothing less."

A bit more of leaf rustling followed my words, and the wait for a reply didn't last long. There was a slight shaking of the tree trunk I was leaning against, and then it came in the form of a closer voice. "Ramble away then, ojou-san."

A smile played with my lips. "Robin Hood. Green Archer." I raised my right palm up towards my chest, counting off fingers. "A bit stubborn in talking."

"H-Hey."

"Smokes a lot when he thinks no one is looking."

"Oi."

"Takes care of the kitchen when Shirou's on his break."

"H-Hah?!"

Hee hee. "Finds time to clean up the backyard after Papa and Art-san's sparred a bit too much. Also never fails in trying to talk Achi down when he's too battle-thirsty."

"Wh-When did you notice all that—!?"

My dad was a former ninja. My best friends were all ninja. It took some work, but observation could be honed in on and trained.

"Aaaaaand." I imitated a magic stick with my pointer finger, drawing a circle in the air for extra effect. "A rogue who carefully watches over me when I need a break away from ninja and the cafe. A rogue who makes the forest feel like another home." My heart beat once against my ribs, and I found myself finishing with a soft voice. "A rogue that I love and care for very much, away from the archery, poison, and smoking."

This time, what greeted my words was silence. The smile on my face was undeniable, but just in case, I hid it as best as I could before looking up towards the tree foliage.

"Did I make it through to you, Kaze-san? Were you able to listen to the words of such a silly Master?"

There wasn't even a pause this time. A single THUMP sounded nearby, and I didn't have to turn my head because the small corner of a green cloak covering the left hem of my summer dress said it all. "…Yes," was Robin's gentle reply, and a hand roughly landed atop of my head, ruffling my hair. "You might be worse at cutting your losses than me, Tomoko."

"But it looks like you're smiling, Robin." The hand may have been rough on my hair, but I still leaned in that direction anyway. It paid off in letting me find a perch on a very familiar muscular shoulder. Of course, covered by that same dark green cloak. A giggle left me before I concluded with an equally cheery, "So I think we're two birds of a feather with that!"

Robin scoffed but didn't push me away, the hand from before going on to wind around and press against my right shoulder. "My bow will always be yours, Master."

"And I hope I do well in making you happy enough to even feel that way."

My companion had the slightest hint of tobacco smoke lingering on him, but the warmth in his presence was most certainly real. "You do, Master. You really do."