Chapter 159
Saber slept a dreamless sleep until dawn, her eyelids shut tightly and never stirring until the first rays of sunlight struck her face. When she woke up, she found herself near the edges of the forest, in a clearing filled with white flowers releasing a pungent aroma, six petals forming a star, with clusters of these petals grouped together to form one flower. They pricked her clothes, and the scent clung to her body, but she didn't mind these things at the moment.
Opening her hand, she looked at the broken practice sword in her hands. The tip was now jagged and uneven, the wooden fibers easily visible if one looked at it horizontally. It wasn't even longer than her forearm, a mere piece of wood that would only be good as fuel for a campfire.
The images flashed through her head, the hideous teeth and pulsating throat, her ragged breath in her ears as muscles all throughout her body burned and ached.
The events of the past night were like a dream, but the sword served as proof that it had all happened, a reminder of how she came this close to dying, and her fruitless efforts in evading that fate. Gritting her teeth, her grip tightened on the sword, the sun behind her back shadowing her face. Shirou sat on the ground against a nearby tree, staring at her.
The man in white who he assumed was Merlin, though his appearance was quite far from his expectations, had went through the forest while levitating the injured and sleeping Saber through the trees and undergrowth, maintaining her body in a stable manner that left her undisturbed as they traversed the terrain. Shirou couldn't tell how long they had walked for, but they had reached this area filled with ramsons flowers before the moon had yet to give way to the sun. Merlin had placed Saber down on this area, then left without a word, leaving her to rest fitfully. Shirou didn't know when, but somewhere along the way while the magus and Saber were traveling to this spot, Saber's wounds had almost completely healed, with only a few faint lines that weren't enough to form scars, and small bruises that were likely to disappear in a few hours time.
Twice, Saber had been saved by outside forces, coming close to losing her life in one night two times in a row, and she was powerless to save herself.
It was a large contrast from the Saber who was his Servant, an almighty being that could destroy half of Fuyuki by herself given enough resources and time. To think that even she had a time where she was...weak.
Just like he was now.
The two of them sat there, the sun casting shadows across their faces as it rose into the sky, nature running its course heedless of their actions and thoughts.
At that point, without Shirou himself noticing, the surroundings faded away, his mind sinking into a dark mire as he was pulled back into the embrace of sleep.
"Sh-u───h-o───Shi──r─"
"Shirou."
Blearily, he opened his eyes, surprised to see the sun already shining brightly through the paper doors. Barely a hand away from his face, Saber's green eyes stared down at him. It felt so close that if Shirou sat up, their faces would meet.
"Uwa, Saber!"
Shirou's eyes almost popped out as the eyelids flipped open, his body trembling for a moment as he registered their closeness. However, as soon as he opened his eyes, Saber backed off, sitting upright in a proper posture.
"I was worried that you would oversleep Shirou. You were sleeping far past your usual waking time."
Shirou sat up on the futon and scratched the back of his head, embarrassed that he had made Saber wait for him like that.
"Thanks for waking me up Saber. I guess I missed breakfast then huh."
"No, Souichirou-san insisted that a portion of breakfast be left for you."
She motioned a hand towards the tray containing the breakfast that the monks and Castoria had made earlier today. Suspiciously, there seemed to be less food than he'd expect, like only two tofu where there was usually a trio, or only half a bowl of miso soup. There was no trace of food anywhere on Saber's lips, but there was no other person who could have eaten it.
Well, it was fine. She needed more energy than him as a Servant, so it was alright.
Unbeknownst to him, Kuzuki had actually given Saber four trays of breakfast, each one heavily laden with food that it was difficult even for him to balance, though Saber had easily taken them and carried them with ease on her arms. It was far from being just half a tray of food eaten, but instead six times that amount. If Shirou had witnessed her devouring the contents, he would've thought she had become a vacuum cleaner, turning those trays cleaner than a shirt fresh out of the washer.
"Is that so? I'll have to thank sen-Souichirou-san later then. I'll go get washed then Saber."
"Very well then. I await you in the dojo, Shirou."
His body involuntarily shivered, but he suppressed it and continued what he was doing, though as Saber left the room, a single tear rolled down his cheek.
There was no helping it, he desperately needed the training from Saber in order to get stronger and actually be useful, but it was still an extremely excruciatingly painful process that automatically made his body react whenever he thought about it.
His mind wandered to the scene of Saber training in her youth, the vigour and spirit she had shown as she swung the wooden practice sword in his dreams. Her dedication was something that he could feel as he watched her practice from dusk to dawn. A certain boy had also jumped all day, trying to pass a bar he could never hope to overcome, but he had tried all the same until someone forced him to stop.
His fist clenched, his heart stirred by seeing Saber's change from back then and now. He too, would try to catch up to her back, no matter how far away it was. Putting the futon properly in its place, he went off to brush his teeth, a newfound spring in his step.