Chapter 4: The Fine Tuning of Rin Tohsaka
The impenetrable iron studded doors of the council room groaned as they opened. Out from Hades, that Orpheus walked out, looking back once before continuing on. Tristan tried to smile, but apparently he could do no more than an aggravated smirk. As soon as Shiro opened the door, light flooded in from the adjacent glass wall.
"Is it my turn already?" Rin asked.
Shiro nodded before taking a seat on the ground in the same exact way Rin had done. Shiro didn't want to have too much hope in Tristan. No one, especially Tristan, could overpower a person's will. He assumed it was all a lie to persuade him into moderating the next War.
Rin struggled to stand up, but finally managed to do so with the help of the wall. She brushed her dress and played around with her hair. As she continued, her black stilettos clacked on the marble floor in rhythm with the grandfather clock's ticking. Shiro looked back at the barely lit room and saw Rin stand under the naked, swinging light bulb. As if magic, the doors slowly closed themselves before locking.
Rin stared up at the figures. They were all too familiar faces even in the blinding darkness.
With a smile, Tristan asked, "Rin, I assume you can figure out why you're here."
She frowned and closed her eyes in pain. She took a light breath and opened her crystal eyes once more. "The War."
Tristan brightly responded, "Well then, that takes care of a lot of explaining."
"No- you've haven't explained why it's starting so early. Last time it was 10 years after. Now it's 25? What in the world is going on Tristan?"
Tristan explained, "The world is changing Rin. I can't explain it. None of us can, but all we know is that Zelretch said it was time. I could hardly believe it myself, but this… this is a definite truth."
Tristan walked down from his large podium and clicked on a couple of the lights. No longer was the council completely concealed by the darkness. Rin smiled at the familiar faces. Tristan pulled out a couple pictures. When Rin saw the pictures, her jaw fell open.
Rin stammered, "This- This is-"
"Fuyuki City. I had to make sure Zelretch didn't get something wrong or his old eyes didn't mess up, but it's obvious. Mana is slowly collecting at this city once again. That means the Holy Grail is getting ready to be reborn."
Rin became silent.
"Rin. I'm going to ask you a favor."
Rin looked up at Tristan in fear.
"Do what you can for Kamatari, but I have one even more important job for you."
Rin coughed out, "What is it?"
"You overheard that Shiro is the Magi Moderator right?"
Rin nodded.
"I need you to assist him. You have the closest relationship with Shiro, so he'll listen to you."
Rin calmed down, regained her composure, and asked, "How am I suppose to assist him? He's stronger than many of the current magi and much stronger than any of the Vatican agents. I've trained him that way."
Tristan was glad that Rin was a little more reasonable. "That's not the only thing. We want you to keep Shiro in check."
Rin spat, "Keep Shiro in check? Is that why you gave Shiro a Servant? By all means Tristan, why won't we give Shiro a damn army?"
"Rin Tohsaka, do not act so arrogant." wheezed the old one.
"Elder, I'm not being arrogant, I'm being reasonable. I honestly don't think I'll have the power to keep Shiro in check if he has a Servant. A Saber-class of all kinds.
Linda responded, "Rin, you know we wouldn't send you into an impossible situation."
Tristan continued, "Exactly. Servants are mere tools. The tools of the trade if you will. Command them, tell them what you want them to and they will do it."
Rin tightened her hand into a fist. She gritted her teeth and shouted, "Tools? Since when were people tools? Are they nothing to you? By what definition is Shiro then? You know what his fate is, you've been friends for over ten years. Is he nothing more than a tool? A mere pawn in your sick game? God alive Tristan, if you could hear yourself now."
Tristan apologized, "Rin, I was only trying to make a metaphor. Don't take it the wrong way."
Rin looked away with a few tears running down her cheeks. "It's okay. I'm just still worked up over… over…"
"I'll try to slow down the War as long as possible."
Rin wiped her tears and thanked Tristan. "How are you going to prevent Shiro from entering the War?"
"Rin, there are a few Epic Spirits who chose to stay neutral."
"What do you mean?"
"Unlike Servants, these Epic Spirits would enter the world when anything was off balance. In this case, it is true. The Holy Grail War is starting far too early and Nature has finally taken a step in investigating this matter. Rather than Servants, these few are the Guardians of the world. They do not possess a single wish, but are willing to continue fighting for mankind. Her curiosity reflected off of her clear blue eyes, they shined in want for more. Tristan was the server the happily delivered more, his face seemed more clearer because of the fact that he leaned in. His facial features were soft, by the look of his face, his age could be guessed to be around 35 to 40. He was definitely the youngest person on the council. Rin's personal quest for knowledge grew as her voice began to grow frantic.
"Who is the Guardian?"
Tristan shrugged, "To tell you the truth, we have absolutely no idea. Zelretch does, but he keeps on saying it's a secret. That rat bastard."
Rin nodded. She forgot everything that had happened before because of this new information that kept her eagerly waiting for more. She realized something and asked, "Wait, you never told me how I could watch Shiro. He could still participate even with this Guardian."
Immediately, Tristan climbed down the stairs in the back of his podium, the hard boots crashed down onto the soft wood, bringing a sickening cracking sound each time. He acted as he was ready for this event, a sort of surprise present on an anniversary. He seemed to be holding something in his hand. As he got closer to the light, Rin noticed beams of blue light periodically flashing on and off. Once Tristan brought the object into the light, Rin immediately noticed how odd it looked. It seemed like a large crossbow, but a giant barrel extended from the base to the front. The silver had a number of spinning rings. They spun slowly, displaying Sanskrit words turning around it with verses from the Upanishads flowing around like a blue river. The string in that the bow was equipped with glowed gold, just like Tristan's eyes. Rin was dumbfounded.
"This can't be... Where did you..."
Tristan looked back as if he remembered it from yesterday.
"Two weeks ago, an expedition was made into the Ganges River because of some information that an ancient weapon might be buried in there. We sent a team of elite special operations agents inside. We lost two of them, but they managed to pull the weapon out before a whirlpool sucked in the rest of them."
"But, this is the Bow of Pashupatastra. It couldn't have been found that easily. I always thought it was a myth."
"No, this is very real. The guardian of the weapon was none other than Saddyojat."
Rin's eyes focused on the glowing weapon, the one that Shiva himself laid hands on was now in her possession, or at least she wanted to keep it. Rin was curious, hoping to obtain the weapon for herself.
"Why did you bring this out?
Tristan smiled. "Isn't it obvious? It's yours."
Rin warily commented, "Tristan, the Bow of Pashupatastra is a weapon wield by Shiva. She was the goddess of destruction. That means this weapon is only good for killing. That's all that can come out of a weapon like this."
Tristan coldly replied, "That's exactly what you need. In the event Shirou does something to help the Masters, or becomes an active Master himself, you are to kill him, no questions asked."
"No questions... asked... I'm not going to play part of your insane death squad Tristan."
Tristan coldly stared at Rin, his icy glare pieced the darkness and buried itself deep into Rin's heart.
"You didn't seem to mind killing that young boy in New Zealand, Rin."
Rin grabbed her heart, she knew Tristan dealt a low blow, but she couldn't react, her memories clouded her thinking and made her vulnerable. Tristan's eyes began to soften, even he began to break apart, as if him saying that killed him inside a little.
"Rin, you may leave, we will supply you with this after you make land in the city."