A/N

I forced myself to cough up another chapter today, and here it is. Enjoy.

End A/N

Author's Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night. In other words, I do not own the original intellectual property.

Chapter 8

Shirou, Emiya Residence.

"Hey Shirou, is lunch ready yet?" A curious Arturia poked her head in through the doors into the kitchen.

"Not yet, but soon. Really soon, I promise." Saying so, I turned my back to her, and concentrated on the task at hand. I did not want to burn anything, nor ruin any of the dishes. After all, this is the first meal I cooked for Arturia since she returned.

"Take your time, I would like to take a bath in the meanwhile." Arturia closed the doors, and her steps softly faded into the distance.

I checked on my cooking. The Unagi and the other dishes were perfect, and only the Ebi remained. I bit my lips, these were the most difficult out of all the dishes to cook. Taking a deep breathe, I plunged into my task.

Twenty minutes and a few burnt Ebi's later, I finally got what I wanted: a plate of Ebi that I deemed edible. I slowly set the dishes on the dining table, and took my rightful seat. I began to reflect on what happened an hour ago, and I closed my eyes.

Unconsciously, without even knowing it, a plan began to formulate in my mind; a plan that would finally allow me to land a hit on Arturia. My conscious self caught on quickly, and soon, after a few adjustments and modifications to the plan, I finally got what I wanted. I looked up at the clock. It read 3.15p.m.

There was still enough time to put that plan into action. Slowly, I rose up from the table, covered up the food, and quietly crept out of the kitchen. I smiled to myself, gazing up at the sky as I headed towards the dojo. It was clear, blue and sunny.

Today would be a good day.

Archer, Tousaka Residence.

"Ummm… Archer…?" A female voice drifted from over the other end of the room. I looked up from the newspaper in my lap. My jaw dropped at the sight that greeted me.

It was a scantily-dressed Rin. Her normally-worn black dress was unbelievably shorter, and her top was more of a bikini than a shirt. Is it even legal to wear those type of clothes?

Quickly, I picked up my jaw off the ground before I got screamed at. I eyed her up and down while she fidgeted nervously.

"What's with the clothes?" I pointed at her to emphasize my point.

"What clothes? Theses are just the ones I normally wear, aren't they?" She innocently replied.

I suppressed the gulp that was coming from within. Beads of sweat trickled down my forehead, and I could scarcely believe that this was Rin in front of me. That devious girl.

"Well, shall we get going now? After all, you did promise to accompany me on my errands." She smiled slyly. From the tone of her voice, I knew something was up.

"Okay… Where to first?" I slowly put aside my newspaper, and stood up, bracing myself for a long day ahead. One filled with temptations and lots of distance to cover.

"Hmmm… The mall." She took awhile to reply, as thought checking against some sort of plan in that brain of hers.

I inwardly groaned.

Arturia, Emiya Residence.

"Arrrr…." I slowly let myself drift away while in the bathtub. It seems that a good soak never fails to carry away your tiredness. I had made it a point to lock the bathroom door before I began, to ensure that a certain incident would not occur again.

On second thought… I rose up from my position, walked over to the door, and unlocked it, before I sank back into the warm water again. I felt surprised by my boldness, yet, I felt sure that there was nothing that I could or should hide from Shirou.

From here, I could smell the heavenly aroma emanating from the kitchen wafting through the air, up my nostrils. I smiled to myself, it was Shirou's cooking all right. Then suddenly, I heard a crash not far off. I jumped at the sound of it.

"Shirou!? Is everything okay?" I yelled at the top of my voice, grabbing a nearby tower and wrapping it around my torso.

"Everything's fine! Go back to whatever you were doing!" I heard Shirou's voice faintly, as though a hundred walls stood between him and me.

"Are you sure?" My lungs were strained by the end of the sentence and I gulped down huge quantities of air.

"Yes!"

I relaxed a bit, took off the towel, and sank back into the beckoning waters once more. I allowed myself to drift away to my thoughts again, memories to be precise. Memories of Shirou and I during the Holy Grail War. I could not help myself but smile. Even though we went through excruciating pain, both physically and mentally, I felt that it was all worthwhile when I am with Shirou, regardless of the circumstances.

Then, a sudden thought rammed it home.

Just what was Shirou doing? I frowned slightly.

Shirou, Emiya Residence.

"Cough, cough." I looked at the object grasped between my hands. I had long ago put it aside in storage since I reckoned it was no longer needed. It was covered in dust and was dirty, but otherwise it seems usable. I scrutinized it thoroughly, it seemed to be in good shape.

"Trace, on!" The tracing sorcery confirmed my opinion of it, and I nodded in approval. Carefully, I placed it aside, hidden from view, but easily accessible. My confidence perked up immensely.

I looked at the clock, 3.30 pm. Almost time that Arturia got out of her bath. Women, they always took so long in the bathroom. I shook my head slightly, feeling slightly disappointed. Of course, Arturia is an exception. She always is. She can take as long as she want and I will not mind it one bit.

I exited the stuffy and dusty storeroom, and headed towards the kitchen, hands tucked in pockets, smirking deviously to myself. I will definitely land a hit on Arturia now!

I entered the kitchen, and was surprised to see a famished Arturia already in her seat. I looked at the food. Miraculously, not one bit was touched. That thought seemed to be evident on my face.

"Why? Surprised that I didn't touch the food?" Arturia seemed to be slightly miffed by my surprise. I shook my head immediately, and a urgent need suddenly arose in me to rectify this misunderstanding.

"N… No! Just… Sur-… Surprised that you got here so fast…" It did not seem to help the situation, for Arturia frowned even more. I decided to engage the best policy that was as old as time itself: Honesty.

"Arturia… I admit, I was quite… Shocked." She frown a bit more.

"Arturia, please forgive my childish thoughts?" I gave a quick peck on her cheek. That seemed to have done the trick, for she flushed slightly and nodded soon after.

"I… I forgive your childish thoughts." She looked up and smiled at me, a genuine one. I pushed the master plan to the back of my head, and took up the serving spoon as well as her bowl, all the while smiling back at her.

"Rice?"

"Yes, please." It was adorable when she said that.

Rin, Fuyuki Shopping Centre.

"Hurry up Archer! We will never get to anywhere at this rate!" I yelled to an exhausted Archer thirty paces behind me, his shoulders slouched in defeat, and his head hung low. His arms were filled with shopping bags, and his back seemed to be strained under the weight of it.

"J-Just… H-Hold u-up…" Archer dropped the bags there and then, and stretched one hand out onto the railing, grabbing it for support, at the same time taking in huge gulps of air, his face red from exhaustion.

"And you are supposed to be a Servant!" I mocked him, just for the fun of it.

"I am no-…not one anymore… Tou-…Tousaka Rin." He was still perspiring profusely, and sweat drops lined his forehead.

"Well, even for a mere human, you sure tire fast." I defended myself.

"Eh…? How long we been at this?" He seemed shocked, unnerved even.

"Only about an hour. I still have a lot of places to go, like for example, that shop right at the end of this walkway. There's a dress I been dying to try on. Then there's this stall two stories up that has this beautiful earrings. And after that…" I tried to make the task seem as exhausting as possible.

"……" Something extraordinary happened then that made me grinned from ear to ear:

Archer had winced.

Then, seemingly through some sheer force of willpower, Archer stood up, gathered up the bags that lay forgotten on the floor, and took big strides towards me. I flashed him a smile, spun around, and disappeared down the walkway.

I was determined to have my plan come to fruition today.

A/N

Well, things have been hectic for the past few weeks, with my important examinations coming on, and my teachers whipping us all into good shape for it. I know, it sounds silly, examinations after examinations... But, that's life.

On a side note, I have decided to read the amazingly well-translated novel of The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. Its really well done in my opinion, and hopefully when I'm done reading it, my English will improve just that bit more. Update won't be up for a few days, as I rush to read finish the novel and juggle studies at the same time. So, do look out for any improvements in my next chapter! It's good to know whether my efforts are paying off.

Finally, as always, please Read and Review (R&R).

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