"Rin, is everything alright?" Shirou asked. The girl in question was frowning, seeming frustrated, but also confused. Almost like she was trying to understand something but failing. And as such, she did not even register the redhead's question. "Rin?"

Shirou was starting to grow slightly concerned for his friend now. She had barely eaten the food on her plate, more so just moving it around with her fork. While he still had his reservations and would rather try to handle this calmly, Jeanne did not share that stance.

*FLICK* "OW!"

A flick to the forehead seemed to have gotten the girl back to reality. "What was that for!?"

"You were zoning out."

"Doesn't mean you need to rattle my entire skull!"

"Okay, okay, that's enough. Rin, what got you zoning out like that?"

"Huh… Oh. Well, it isn't anything important, I was just thinking about something that Archer told me and what it meant."

"Archer?" This instantly grabbed the attention of the pair.

"Yeah, so I never really told ya about in detail what happened when he destroyed the grail. First of all, he did not summon Jeanne."

"Not surprised honestly, he always seemed kind of uninterested when he was around me." Jeanne noted.

"So who did he summon?" Shirou was interested in who else he could have possibly summoned if not Jeanne.

"He didn't tell me her name, just noted that it was a she and someone "more proper", his words, not mine."

"She sounds boring." Jeanne remarked.

"The thing is though, when he destroyed the Grail, Archer said something about the Noble Phantasm he used, it was supposedly the sword his servant had used."

"Did you catch the name of it?"

"Yeah, and that is what's gotten me confused, the blade he used was called Excalibur."

"As in, the sword of King Arthur? Archer summoned King Arthur in his War?"

"That seems to be the case, but then why did her refer to Arthur as a she?"

.

.

.

Within the silence one could probably hear the collective gears of the trio turning. It was Shirou who broke the silence first. "Wait a second, you can't be implying tha-..."

"KING ARTHUR WAS A CHICK?!" Shirou's girlfriend decided to complete his sentence for him, if a little bit more callous than he would have liked to.

The revelation about one of humanity's greatest legends has created quite the awkward silence amongst the trio. After a few minutes in said silence, Jeanne decided to voice her thoughts. "You think they fucked?"

"Probably." Rin's response was unnaturally fast.

"I think we should drop the topic here." Shirou had by now lost all interest in finding out more about his alternate self's servant.

The two girls agreed with quiet hums.

Rin did however decide to ask one more question about Archer that was on her mind, one thankfully unrelated to the new revelation.

"You think he's doing okay?"

/

'BZZZZT'

'Seems this damn headache won't disappear anytime soon, I suppose that's what I get for projecting a divine construct.' Archer thought to himself as he leaped from rooftop to rooftop with his master, Rin Tohsaka, in his arms.

They had encountered Lancer at the school grounds. After their fight was interrupted by a bystander, they raced Lancer to stop him from eliminating the unlucky witness. They were too slow sadly, and Lancer killed his target and then retreated, seemingly no longer interested in continuing the fight.

The rules of the Holy Grail War and those of the Moonlit world state that the existence of magic must be kept secret from the common masses. Despite that however, Rin could not let this one die. Why? Well, there are many reasons. It could be that her no longer younger sister cared deeply for him, or maybe even the fact that she cared for him herself.

Regardless of the reason, she revived the boy, using all the mana that was stored in the gem her father gave to her before he died. Mana that was stored for several years, used up to save one boy… he better make it worth it. The boy was of course, none but Emiya Shirou himself, the past self of the Archer in this war.

Some time ago, Archer believed that Shirou Emiya was nothing less but a suicidal fool chasing a foolish dream. To an extent, he was right, but he wasn't exactly being fair. Well, not that it matters now, after various summonings to the 5th Holy Grail War, he has been given the opportunity to see many ways these 2 short weeks could change the course of Emiya Shirou's life.

And often enough, the things he saw made him act in a way he thought he abandoned so long ago. Like when took on the Berserker Heracles on his own and even took 6 entire lives away from the mad warrior, all so he could give Rin, Shirou and Saber a chance to survive. But more importantly, to give Shirou a chance to save Saber from her own foolishness. Hoping that this Shirou could do what he could not.

Or maybe even his latest war just before this one. The one where he confronted Emiya Shirou directly, where he tried with all his might to show him the hell that he would end up in if he kept following the path of a hero. But the boy did not back down, if anything, his convictions grew stronger. And whether that was his goal or not, he even managed to restore some of Archer's hope as well. Maybe there was more to this Hero of Justice thing than he thought.

Although, despite that, the most interesting thing about that war was definitely the servant the boy had summoned. Instead of the King of Knights, the servant under Shirou Emiya's command was the altered version of Jeanne d'arc, the Saint of Orleans. Or as she called herself now, the Dragon Witch. Frankly as far as EMIYA was concerned, the Witch of Betrayal was enough of a headache, he did not need another one.

Alas, he saw how she would be summoned by the boy, they shared many similar traits, even if they might not be obvious at first. 'Hmph, those two, honestly. Making me act so recklessly.'

From taking Gilgamesh's attack to protect Shirou, all the way to projecting Excalibur to destroy the grail. Despite his memories of the event being a little fuzzy, mainly because his brain was fried at the time, he remembered enough. He was worried a bit, the grail had imploded before he could destroy it, he estimates that no damage should have been done to the city or civilians. But Rin and those two idiots were close enough… 'oh and Shinji was there too I guess'. He believed that Rin was safe, she was right next to him and Excalibur should have kept the mud away from them.

Jeanne and Shirou on the other hand, were on their own, exhausted from fighting Gilgamesh and completely unaware of the Grail's state. It was concerning, knowing them, at least one of the two acted to protect the other. And he did not want to even begin to think what would happen to the one that survives if it costs the other their life.

But Archer could do nothing but hope they made it out ok, who knows, maybe the mud managed to reincarnate Jeanne and she got to stay with them. 'Wow, I really have started going soft from all these summonings, having such hopeful thoughts. Alaya is going to have to toughen me up a bit if she doesn't want me to get rusty.'

In any case, he had to focus, new summoning, new 5th Holy Grail War, new world. And this time he couldn't help but notice how much the words "Alternate world" truly applied. Minor but very obvious changes were spread out throughout this world. Brand names were slightly off, he noticed some stores were in different places from normal. And something caught his eye the most was the change to Rin.

He was so familiar with her usual red top and black skirt, he would hardly believe she ever wore anything other than her favorite red and black. But in this world, it was black and red, a minor change, but rather noticeable. She is sporting a black sweater and red skirt, and EMIYA has to admit, it looks good on her. He wonders what other small changes he would see in these summonings. If there is one good thing he had to say about being a Counter Guardian, it was the fact it was never really boring.

Finally, they had arrived at the Emiya residence, if his memory served him well, Saber should jump over that wall and strike at them at breakneck speeds any moment now. Just as he prepared himself for the ambush, he saw it. A blue and white blur rushed at him, landing in front of him and striking. He thanked the heavens for his Mind's Eye (True) skill, it allowed him to analyze any situation in a mere moment, allowing him to assess the best course of action.

It was what not only allowed him to block the strike, but also notice the oddity about it. It was a kick, Saber was as the name implied, a master of the sword, and while he knew his Saber would use her arms and legs for attacking if that was the best course of action, he never really expected her to open with it.

While he did block it, the force of it was still far too much, causing him to slide several meters back, stopping right next to Rin who had already backed up so he could take the front line.

Finally, he focused on the image of his opponent and something was… off. He looked at the face of the servant before him, it was Artoria alright, but she was different somehow. While he knew her sword was invisible, this time she did not even seem to be holding onto anything. Was she unarmed? Was that why she started with a kick?

Wait wait wait, there is more to this. She herself seems different, her face seemed older, more mature, not to mention she was taller. In fact, he believed she was taller than his younger self. Her hair was much longer as well, instead of the usual bun, her hair was styled into a ponytail that went down her back. She was absolutely radiant… maybe even more so than usual. But… he could still tell that wasn't it. There was more, but what was it? For some reason EMIYA struggled to put his finger on it.

And then it hit him, could it be… the… bunny suit?

She was wearing…. a bunny suit…

'Artoria… in a bunny suit…'

It was like his brain refused to notice it as a way to a shutdown, but now that his mind noticed it, and it registered. He… had no words.

He could see it now in its complete glory, using the Mind's Eye (True) to its absolute maximum to analyze every detail he could see. The way the suit hugged her now much curvier and developed form, the beautiful texture of both the white leotard and the blue stockings. The golden lining on the edges, the adorable pair of bunny ears that was located at the top of her head. The small blue tie with golden engravings that was connected to the collar around her neck.

It was more than he could handle. Yet unlike before when he would struggle to comprehend something, this time he could not look away. His mind was racing. His mind was engraving this sight deep into his mind. He used to have only two memories that survived the test of time, but now he believes a new one has been added.

'You know, looking at everything in hindsight, the horrors of the Fuyuki fire, the fact I almost died several times in my first Grail War, then all the things I have seen on my travels after it. And then I even went on to become a Counter Guardian, now greeted with a new horror that rivaled the Fuyuki fire on the daily.

I have seen more horror in a week than most people see in a lifetime. It has left me scarred beyond recognition to the point I have abandoned my name, I have hunted myself across time and space in a mad attempt to free myself from this torment. And yet, as I'm standing here, I realize that despite all that. Despite all that I have suffered.

Right here, right now, greete-... no. Blessed by this divine sight before me, I can with utmost certainty say….

Worth it.'

Heroic Spirit Emiya has suffered for a long time, always in servitude of others. But now, he has found his own happiness.

His face was adorned with a beautiful smile, one that was so at peace that anyone observing it would not believe that there was a kick coming at the Archer at mach 6.

And fitting in with that peaceful smile that could outshine the heavens, he did not mind his incoming fate, because he knew that he still had a job to do.

'Emiya Shirou. I swear to you, on all that is holy and unholy, on my pride as a Hero of Justice, on Kiritsugu, on Illya, on Rin, on Sakura, on Fuji-nee, on every blade in my marble. I, Heroic Spirit Emiya, promise you that I will get you laid in this timeline even if it's the last thing I do.'

And so, the Wrought Iron Hero set his sights on a new goal, ready to take on the world.

Author notes:

Yeah I just kinda had this sitting in my head for a while, thought it would be funny.

Have a good one dear readers.