Chapter 6:
Crunch, crunch.
Artoria sat patiently as she watched Shirou Trace weapons for Gudao. Gabby stood a few steps away from her, a microphone set up in front of her. Occasionally Gabby would give Shirou a question, or a thoughtful noise that signalled she had come up with a use for Shirou's abilities on the battlefield.
Crunch, crunch.
Lily sat patiently and conferred quietly with Zhuge Liang, no, Lord El Melloi the Second. From what Artoria could hear of their conversation, they were speaking of systems of governance and how those systems might be applied to Britain. Artoria could respect her younger self's ambition to succeed where she had failed, but the point to it was moot. Servant's did not retain the memories they made upon being summoned, with herself as an exception.
History was cruel in dictating that Lily would become her, would eventually reach the top of that sunset hill someday. But that was something for later, after their mission to save the world was over.
Crunch, crunch.
Cu Chulainn was here as well, his hands held together behind his head as he lounged in his seat. The man made a habit of watching the battle evaluations of the new Servants. But...
Crunch, crunch.
I suppose Da Vinci crafted him such a luridly designed shirt, she thought, taking a glance at the so-called 'Hawaiian' shirt. It was a riotous display of bright green, yellow, and orange. He wore black trousers as well but such a sombre accessory only seemed to heighten the ridiculousness that was this shirt.
Artoria almost preferred the blue tights.
Crunch, crunch.
Sitting next to Cu Chulainn was EMIYA in his regular garb, looking as if he wanted to be anywhere else in the world now, but concentrating on Shirou's evaluation with as much focus as the Lancer was.
Crunch, crunch.
Enough was enough. Artoria took a deep breath. "You need not be so loud," she said stonily.
"Hmf," said Alter, who was eating potato chips from a bag almost as tall as she was.
"She's got a point you know," said Lily with a frown.
"Hmf."
Crunch, crunch.
Lily sighed, realizing when someone was being obstinate for the sake of it.
"So how did this Shirou's Holy Grail War go, Artoria?" asked EMIYA.
"The mother of Chaldea's at work again." Cu Chulainn sang under his breath.
Crunch, crunch.
EMIYA's pacifying expression turned blank. "It's unfortunate I cannot understand the mewling of a dog," said EMIYA off-handedly. "Else that might have actually been a little insulting."
Cu Chulainn unlaced his fingers and sat up straighter. "What'd you just say?"
Crunch, crunch.
"Cu," said Gabby without looking away from the practise field. "Let it go. EMIYA, that was uncalled for. And Alter?"
The pale Servant paused chewing.
Gabby turned around smiled at the Servant, amber eyes bright as light glinting off the edge of a sword. "That's beginning to annoy me too."
"...hm." Alter swallowed.
Gabby nodded firmly, before turning back to the microphone and responding loudly to something Gudao had said. "What do you mean you're sorry?! I barely did anything!"
Artoria turned to EMIYA to answer his old question.
"He grew remarkably," said Artoria. "In the span of seven days, he progressed from a self-described 'third-rate magus' to someone who was capable of holding his ground against Gilgamesh for a time."
Cu Chulainn scoffed. "You're saying that a guy like this once fought the King of Heroes?" He drawled derisively, jabbing a thumb to his right. EMIYA scowled.
"Even as a human, he lasted at least longer than you did, yes," said Artoria blandly.
"Oi," growled Cu Chulainn, a muscle above his eye twitching.
"You deserved that one, Cu," said Gabby off-handedly.
Artoria sighed. The enmity between these two was unquestionably difficult at times to settle down, and simply too draining to try when they truly got into the swing of it.
Swords appeared in the air above Shirou, flashing forward to destroy a training dummy moments later.
"Hey, EMIYA," Cu drawled.
"What is it now?" said EMIYA irritably.
"What can you do that he can't?"
EMIYA's fingers twitched as if about to grasp something. "His evaluation's not over yet."
"Give it your best guess then."
"I'd prefer to keep you guessing."
"Bastard."
EMIYA smirked. "Guilty."
Alter scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Boys," she muttered.
"My body is made of swords."
All eyes swivelled once more towards the glass, as Shirou held out his left arm over the field, shrouded in a haze of glowing blue prana.
"That's one difference already," said EMIYA quietly. Artoria inclined her head.
"My blood is of iron and my heart of glass."
"Slow to start up ain't it?" muttered Cu Chulainn.
"I have overcome countless battlefields,"
"You haven't even seen what he's doing yet," reminded Lily.
Cu Chulainn shrugged. "If that Noble Phantasm's anything like this guy's here, then it ain't anything I can't handle."
"Not everyone has Protection from Arrows," said EMIYA with a scowl.
"Not even once retreating."
A moment of silence. It stretched on, and EMIYA vocalized what Artoria was thinking:
"Something's wrong."
Shirou slowly lowered his arm, turning to Gudao. His next words were as clear as they were shocking. "I can't use my Reality Marble," he said, amber eyes wide.
"What?!" Yelled Gabby over the microphone.
"What?" said EMIYA.
"Hah?" said Cu Chulainn.
"What," said Alter flatly.
Lord El Melloi II said nothing as he held his chin, considering. Shirou and Gudao were speaking now in concerned tones, but their conversation was quieter, the words difficult to pick up.
"What's a Reality Marble?" asked Lily, confused.
"An advanced form of magecraft," Lord El Melloi II said distractedly. "It projects one's inner world into reality. EMIYA's younger counterpart seems to possess one but for whatever reason..." He trailed off, muttering under his breath.
"Artoria?"
She blinked and looked at EMIYA.
"Any thoughts?" He asked. Gabby was babbling into the microphone some more, but Artoria barely heard her.
She shook her head slowly. "I know of some magecraft, but nothing as complicated as a Reality Marble."
"Well, you know this Shirou better than anyone and you've seen my Unlimited Blade Works. What were the differences that you saw in your time?"
She shook her head. "I apologize for giving that impression. I was not there to see what it looked like when he used his Reality Marble. He faced Gilgamesh alone, and it was after his Reality Marble collapsed that together we defeated the King of Heroes."
"We'll figure something out," Gabby said optimistically. "We've got 60 legendary heroes of ages past all here in one place! One of them is bound to have at least one good idea. Heck, Hans and Zhuge Liang basically know everything already."
Lord El Melloi II turned an annoyed look at the Master. "That is entirely inaccurate."
Gabby looked at him expectantly and gestured to Shirou. "Well, what do you got Mister Clocktower-Mage-Three-Kingdoms-Strategic-Genius-Man?"
Mister Clocktower-Mage-Three-Kingdoms-Strategic-Genius-Man rolled his eyes, reaching into his coat and pulling out a cigarette, which EMIYA promptly plucked out of his hands.
At Lord El Melloi II's glare, EMIYA pointed at Lily, who was looking amused.
Lord El Melloi II shook the flames from his fingertip and crossed his arms. "A few unlikely theories."
"Well, hit me."
"I'll simplify, I suppose," he muttered, clearing his throat. "First is that Shirou may have had some damage done to his soul from a conceptual weapon, but given how recent his summoning was and the lack of combat he's faced so far, this is not likely. Or this 'block' may be due to his Saint Graph being incomplete as a result of his Pseudo-Servant status."
Artoria frowned. Saint Graphs were the basis for a Servant's materialization. A core of how a Servant's powers and appearance that was recorded in Chaldea. Even in Singularities, Gudao and Gabby only used shadows of Saint Graphs to summon Servants from Chaldea, as the risk of destroying a Saint Graph was too high.
"Incomplete?" asked Gabby.
"Some aspects of a Servant's legend are not always present once they are summoned. Some aspects may even be highlighted over others," said Lord El Melloi II. "Case in point, Caesar or Sasaki Koujirou. Why was Caesar not a Rider or Sasaki Koujirou a Saber?" He shrugged. "Perhaps Chaldea's summoning system could not, at that moment of summoning, create a suitable Saint Graph. As a Pseudo-Servant myself, my Saint Graph is markedly different from that of regular Servants, and Shirou is likely no exception."
"I guess this makes sense," said Gabby, crossing her arms in thought. "But that Caesar could have been a Rider?"
Lord El Melloi II opened his mouth to explain further when light flared from the practise field, luminescent blue.
By the time the light had died down Artoria and Gabby had reached Gudao's side and Mashu was just lowering her guard.
The Pseudo-Servant himself sat almost deadly still. His eyes were closed and the only sign of life the excruciatingly slow rise and fall of his chest.
Artoria kneeled by Shirou's side, one of her hands hovering over his shoulder, not quite touching but still feeling the intense heat generated by his magic circuits working overtime.
She looked up. "What is wrong with him?" She asked Gudao. Calmly.
Gudao shook his head. "That's the thing. I can't feel anything from him over the bond. Gabby?"
His sister came back to herself with a start. "Same here," she said quietly. "I've never had a connection with a Servant feel so weak before."
Gudao nodded and said, "The only thing comparable to that for me would have been..." Something occurred to him. "Huh. Just before Mashu unlocked her Lord Chaldeas."
"You never told me that, senpai!" said Mashu with surprise.
"I was worried about you enough as it was," Gudao said with a sheepish smile.
"But that all happened in the middle of the Fuyuki Singularity, didn't it?" asked Gabby loudly as Mashu began mumbling in a blushing mess. "Chaldea is practically our own backyard!"
"And Caster Cu isn't around, I get that," said Gudao.
"Did he say anything before sitting down?" Asked Artoria.
"Not much. He just asked for a minute before he sat down and nearly bowled me over with that burst of prana."
"Well, it's been about a minute already," muttered Gabby. "So you're saying that he's going to come out of this with his Noble Phantasm unlocked? Just like that, after we made all that fuss about it?"
Gudao shrugged. "He's in a weird position even as a Pseudo-Servant. I don't know. Maybe?"
None of this mattered so much to Artoria as the strong possibility that he would be okay. She rested her hands on top of her lap. "All we can do is wait, then?"
Gudao tapped the side of his head with a finger. "I've been sending messages to him as much as I can, but for you, I guess..." Gudao looked apologetic.
"He will simply have much to explain when he awakes," said Artoria. She sighed, frowning at his profile.
There were some things that never changed about the man named Shirou Emiya. Whether it was as EMIYA charging at dragons in Orleans or recklessly going into a near-coma. She grasped one of his hands in her own and held it firmly.
She did not know exactly what was going on, but she would be there for him regardless.
Lily and EMIYA stepped onto the field. The other Servants had chosen to stay in the observation booth, having had not much personal interest in the matter. Alter and Cu Chulainn, in particular, looked like they were about ready to leave.
Lily's eyes widened at seeing Shirou and her older self together.
At seeing Artoria gazing at Shirou's face with loving eyes.
"Oh," said Lily, stopping in place for a split second and feeling like heading back through the door again and punching something.
"What's wrong?" said EMIYA, glancing at her.
She shook her head quickly. Over before it began. "It's nothing," she said.
EMIYA followed her and her line of sight.
"Oh," he remarked, putting two and two together. "Really?" He didn't sound sure if the question was directed at Shirou or Lily.
Lily blushed. "It doesn't really matter that much," she said quietly.
"I'm just surprised," said EMIYA. "I hadn't thought...well, it makes sense I guess."
"What does?" Lily asked in spite of herself.
"I might be mistaken."
"Still."
EMIYA shrugged. "You're really similar to each other."
"Well, that goes without saying," said Lily a little sourly.
"No, not you and her. I meant you and Shirou."
Lily stared. "Sorry?"
EMIYA shrugged and started walking. "We only spoke for a little while, but I can tell that much."
She caught up with him quickly. "What do we have in common then?"
"Well, you're both Sabers for one." He smirked under her unimpressed stare. "You both desire to protect people dear to you, you're both idealistic despite knowing where those convictions will lead to at their conclusion," said EMIYA, holding up fingers and lowering them one by one. "And you both actually have future selves to talk to and learn from, but most of all, honestly?" He chuckled, reaching up and ruffling her hair roughly. "You're both stubborn."
She brushed off EMIYA's hand with a small smile. "You're right about that."
Just as they said their greetings to their Masters, bright blue light flared once more from the man sitting down.
The first thing he felt upon coming back to the world was the warmth of something in his left hand. Soft but firm.
Shirou opened his eyes and looked to his left, into a pair of deep emerald eyes that he knew and loved. He lifted up his hand and held her fingers against his cheek, closing his eyes and feeling their warmth.
"Are my fingers so dear to you?" He heard Artoria say with laughter in her voice.
"Every part of you is so dear to me," said Shirou softly.
He felt her fingers turn warmer and opened his eyes to see her blushing to the very roots of her golden hair, looking away bashfully.
"That was terrible," Artoria mumbled. "But effective."
Shirou smiled and looked around at their audience.
Gudao had his eyebrows raised and Gabby scratched at the back of her neck, both of their faces tinted red. Lily was looking at her feet with her lips pursed and EMIYA had his arms crossed, looking suitably dry about the display of affection.
Mashu, curiously enough, was looking envious and shooting glances towards Gudao.
He stood up slowly, still holding hands with Artoria, and lowered his head towards his Masters. "Sorry if I made you worried. I was just settling things with Muramasa."
"You did make us worried," said Gudao adopting a more serious expression. "Our bond almost disappeared. If I didn't have some experience with that and we were out in the middle of a supply run or a Singularity even, we might have assumed the worst and had to use a Command Seal to bring you back."
Gabby smirked and lightly punched Gudao in the shoulder. "We're just glad that we didn't lose a Servant on the same day we summoned him. That would have ruined our perfect record," she teased. "Now what's this about 'settling things with Muramasa'?"
Shirou explained what he had experienced inside his mind, to general astonishment.
"So you won't be doing this again?" asked Artoria sternly.
Shirou nodded. "Muramasa said this was the last of his power I had to take. I won't be worrying you in the future," he said with a smile.
"That's good," she said, tightening her grip on his hand.
"Agreed," said Gudao. "Shirou, are you still up to showing us your Noble Phantasm then, now that you can actually use it?"
"You don't have to," Gabby said quickly. "If you're not feeling too great we can do this some other time."
"It's alright," Shirou assured them. "I even think..."
He closed his eyes and checked something. His magic circuits along the left side of his body pulsed brightly with bright teal light and he nodded absent-mindedly to himself.
He could do that now. What was once a technique he would only use in desperation was now something he could do easily with the power he had taken from Muramasa and the massive prana reserves of Chaldea.
"Are you fine with seeing it now?" He asked, his eyes still closed.
"I'm cool with it," said Gabby.
"Sure," agreed Gudao.
Shirou nodded and opened his eyes. He glanced around at the people who he would take into his Reality Marble. They were looking on with clear interest.
The prana gathered all at once, and Shirou found the words come as easily as they ever had.
"Unlimited Blade Works."
He was in his forest of blades once more. Somehow he was not surprised to see the forest floor covered not with steel-grey tree roots but with tall grass up to his knees, verdant green tinged with outlines of steel grey.
But he was surprised to see a sun high in the sky, casting the shadow of the canopy onto the ground. The light it gave off was warm and nothing more or less. A familiar kind of light. Shirou looked down at Artoria, who had just turned to look at him. They smiled at each other in the shared understanding of what that light meant.
Shirou could have sworn he felt the light get ever slightly warmer in that moment.
The Masters and Lily looked around with wide eyes at the forest.
"What happened to your aria?" EMIYA asked quietly, looking at Shirou.
"I can still invoke my Unlimited Blade Works using an aria," explained Shirou. "And if I do my version's Projections take a half a rank or so downgrade from their original versions. But that costs a lot more prana and time. I didn't want to burden Chaldea and those two any more than was necessary," he said to the masters, who turned to look at him.
"You don't really have to worry about that from now on," said Gudao. "Aside from some really ridiculously prana heavy Noble Phantasms, like Gilgamesh's trump card, we've practically got prana to burn."
Shirou raised his eyebrows. "I'll keep that in mind," he said, already thinking about his more prana intensive Projections.
"I have some questions about this Reality Marble though," said Gabby as she spun around in place, looking at everything again. "What are these trees? When I touched them they were cold, and this grass is really weird too."
"The trees are a...metaphor, I guess. Each one is a representation of a weapon I have stored."
Shirou let go of Artoria's hand slowly and held out his left hand towards the tree closest to him, and in a flash of blue sparks, it transformed into an unforgettable weapon. The air seemed to sing as the axe-blade's hilt flew into his hand.
The crude axe-blade had been unwieldy the first time he had lifted it, lacking the strength to use it properly as a human, needing to rely on the weapon's own history to get any use out of it.
As a Servant, however, he rested it on his shoulder comfortably.
"That weapon," said EMIYA bitterly.
Something in his other self's voice quashed the little pride he felt in showing off.
"She didn't make it in your timeline, did she?" asked Shirou quietly. Artoria's eyes were wide.
EMIYA looked away.
Shirou let go of the axe-sword, letting it disappear. The tree reappeared at the same time in its original place.
"Sorry," Shirou muttered, scratching at his nape.
"It was a long time ago," said EMIYA, shaking his head. "But something about this place just brings out the memories for me easier." The Archer looked up at the canopy with a faraway look in his steel grey eyes. The golden light was not blinding, but he squinted all the same.
"Gilgamesh was one of our enemies in both of our Grail Wars," explained Shirou to Lily and the Masters. "In my timeline, he tried to kill my sister, but we stopped him. In EMIYA's..."
"He turned her into a Grail that would have destroyed the world if Saber and I hadn't destroyed it." said EMIYA. "It was the moment I truly realized I couldn't save everyone."
"EMIYA," Gudao said softly.
"I know, Ritsuka," said the Archer, shaking his head. "I know."
Gabby let out a heavy breath and tried to change the subject. "So this Reality Marble works the same way that EMIYA's does? You can 'store' weapons and armours with a look and Trace it almost perfectly in the real world based on prana cost, and you can spam them against enemies when you bring them into this world?"
Shirou nodded. "That's essentially correct. But I still haven't shown you Muramasa's Noble Phantasm. A sword 'technique' named the Tsumugari Muramasa."
"What do you mean by technique?" asked Artoria, noticing his both his unusual inflexion and willingness to change the topic.
"It's like Sasaki Koujirou's Noble Phantasm. It's an expression of skill so great it becomes a Noble Phantasm. But the Tsumugari Muramasa is different from the Tsubame Gaeshi in a lot of ways. I'll show you first, I guess. EMIYA, can you trace Kanshou and Bakuya?"
EMIYA looked curious in spite of himself and did so.
Shirou was about to do the same when he heard something from the blades. A familiar tune that had echoed when he had brought forth Berserker's axe-blade but was now ringing out in earnest as he looked at Kanshou and Bakuya. Muramasa's memories told him the old man had called this a 'blacksmith's song'. A song he had heard when creating great, but not divine, works.
A song he heard emanating from all things, not just the sword itself, upon looking upon a divine work.
Shirou had in his mind the recorded history of Kanshou and Bakuya from his Structural analysis, the knowledge of forging Muramasa had acquired in life, the complete understanding of Muramasa's peerless swordsmanship, and the complete understanding of what kind of weapon his style and the Tsumugari Muramasa would best fit.
So as he Traced, he Traced one blade.
And in a flash of blue light, Kanshou and Bakuya II appeared in his left hand.
It was a sword that, if forged by regular means, was impractical. It was a double-edged sword, it's hundred centimetre blade flaring wider towards the hilt and crossguard, which was decorated by a Yin and Yang circle at its centre. The blade was split down the middle, one side black and covered with a hexagonal pattern, and the other side white, with faint grey waves along its surface.
"That's Kanshou and Bakuya," said EMIYA, clearly surprised. He lowered his own swords and chuckled. "You've married the Married Swords."
Shirou swung Kanshou and Bakuya II once. The song faded but was still sweet, almost even content with the quality of the work he had created. "This is just the best form for both I and Muramasa to fight in," mused Shirou. "The original blades lacked purpose, as I'm sure you knew already."
"True enough," said EMIYA, raising his twin swords up once more. "Now, are you going to come at me or not?"
Shirou raised an eyebrow. "I was just going to show our Master's my other Noble Phantasm, but if you want to be beaten that badly..."
EMIYA smirked. "Oho? Someone's confident."
As one, the two turned to Gabby and Gudao. The former was nodding enthusiastically, while the latter shook his head. Gabby turned to look at him quizzically and Gudao responded with a dead-eyed stare. Gabby folded her arms and frowned with disapproval at Gudao, who sighed and threw up his hands.
"Since Gabby says she's going to push the paperwork onto me if I don't consent to this, you guys can beat each other up. Just as long as there's only swordplay involved. No blowing stuff up, okay?"
"I'll give you guys the signal then!" said Gabby with a bright smile. "On three!"
EMIYA and Shirou nodded, as they readied themselves. EMIYA crossed Kanshou and Bakuya out in front of him and set his feet nearly shoulder-length apart. Shirou merely held Kanshou and Bakuya II at his side, blade parallel to the ground. Artoria and Lily both frowned at this display of unorthodox swordsmanship, with Lily even crossing her arms in disapproval.
Artoria's expression was less severe as she was familiar with their respective styles, but to her surprise, Shirou's new style reminded her of a certain False Assassin's.
The Archer's eyes narrowed. "Well isn't that something," he said.
"Really," said Shirou lightly, "It's nothing."
"One," said Gabby, apparently content to allow them pre-fight banter.
"Muramasa's swordsmanship was peerless in his lifetime," said Shirou. "And I've inherited all of his skills seamlessly. Did you fight Sasaki Koujirou in your Grail War?"
"Two!"
EMIYA lost all trace of emotion in his expression and gripped Kanshou and Bakuya more tightly.
"Muramasa was that man's master."
"This changes nothing," said EMIYA, his eyes focusing entirely on the opponent in front of him.
That's right, thought Shirou. That's the kind of look I want from you.
"Three!"
A/N:
Sorry for the long delay. As I said, school is really putting the hurt on me and I'm not exactly a consistent writer as well so that makes these updates hard to come by. Doesn't help that I'm trying to get my FGO JP account back after my backup software didn't save my memos, where my bind code was located, so I'm sweating over losing my multi-SSR account forever. Special thanks to two people who helpfully forwarded information I forgot from my friends list, you two are great :D.
Reading over Septem again makes me really question my ability to salvage that train wreck though, my god. And considering the Saint Graph shadow thing from EoR 3 I'm thinking of confining Septem to a small chapter or so with MuramaShirou only being summoned for a few fights. Maybe. I DON'T REALLY KNOW, I'VE GOT ONLY FAINT STUFF PLANNED OUT.
Also, I moved the Merlin interlude from this story to another story for interludes and omakes. Sorry for the confusion I caused! That story will be exactly what is written on the tin, stuff that doesn't fit in the current continuity, but too fun for me to drop. I have a few ideas, but nothing really substantial yet, so I'm just leaving that option open.
Thanks for the reviews and kind words. They really do warm my heart, and I really do encourage constructive criticism. I don't really know what a few reviews meant by me deleting prior reviews since I don't remember doing anything of the sort, but I ticked off the moderation period so that might have caused it? I don't know.
I want to make clear once again: feel free to poke as many holes in this story as you want, as long you back those holes up with reasons. If you don't do that, then really you're just being a dickhead and nobody likes those.
Next time we see bleeding, of a sort.