Author's Note: Since I have a couple of anonymous reviews from last chapter that had some questions, I decided to answer them here.

Guest: The main reason Rin revived Shirou was not that she had a crush on him; it was an added bonus, yes, but that's not the primary reason she saved him. The biggest reason motivating Rin to save Shirou's life is simply that she's not as ruthless as she wants to believe. Remember, she was very shook up and guilt-ridden over an innocent bystander being killed even before she realized it was Shirou. I believe Rin would've saved a female Shirou for the same reason.

And Rin is at least aware that Shira is quite possibly the only friend Sakura (who is often very quiet and solitary at school) has, so saving Shira for her sister's sake is another reason for her to do it.

And if Rin didn't save Shira, the story would be over already. :P

Blanchimont: Yes, Kiritsugu summoned Guy!Saber during the fourth War, but Gilgamesh is a tricky one, I'll give you that. I've actually been going back and forth on whether or not to gender-flip him as well. On one hand, having Gilgamesh as a female would make things a lot easier, but on the other hand, I think having Gilgamesh stay as a male would be more challenging and therefore more fun (I actually have a really good idea of what could happen during Saber and Shira's fight with him). Besides, what would I even name Girl!Gilgamesh? Gilgamisha? If I were her, I would kill Lugalbanda and Ninsun for giving me such a stupid name.

As far as Gil's feelings towards a male Saber goes, rest assured that he won't be gay for him (Gilgamesh is supposedly canonically bisexual, but I'd rather not go there). According to Unlimited Blade Works, Gilgamesh's ultimate goal is to kill everyone he thinks of as weak and let only people he deems worthy to survive; I won't spoil too much, but this should give you some idea of how Gil will interact with Guy!Saber.

In other news, I will admit right now that battle scenes are not my forte. I personally think it's much more fun to watch or read about a fight than it is to write about one. If anyone has any advice to give on writing fight scenes, I'm all for it.

Chapter 3: Questions and Answers

Saber wasted no time in engaging the Lancer Servant in battle.

Lancer made to strike Saber, but the knight parried the blow of the lance with his invisible sword. Saber proceeded to knock away all of Lancer's following attacks, sparks flying as steel met steel.

The older man was backed away by the force of his opponent's blows. The two combatants leapt into the air and charged at each other, swinging their weapons. The force of the attack knocked them back at opposite ends of the yard. Lancer charged forward with a yell, thrusting his spear, but Saber parried the attacks, once again forcing Lancer to back away.

Screaming out a battle cry, Saber lifted up his sword, now engulfed in light, and swung it down. Lancer just barely blocked it.

"What are you, a coward?" Lancer demanded. "Why not stop hiding behind that weapon and reveal it!"

Saber's answer was to charge forward with a few more strikes of his still invisible sword, the light having faded. Lancer blocked these attacks as well and jumped backward out of Saber's range, a few tiny nicks now in the red spear.

The young knight regarded the spearman coolly. "Come now, Lancer. Quit now and you will disgrace your own kind. If you won't come to me, then I'll come to you."

"Let me just ask one question. Your Noble Phantasm, it's a sword, isn't it?"

Saber was not put off his guard for even an instant. A cocky little smirk tugged at his lips. "My, my, you should never assume. It could be a sword, but it could just as easily be an axe or even a bow."

Lancer scoffed. "Don't get cheeky, Saber." He crouched down, pointing the tip of his spear to the ground. "This is just our first encounter. Whaddya say we give it a rest and call it a draw?"

"Sorry," Saber replied, not sounding sorry at all, "but I prefer to finish what I start."

"My only objective tonight was to gather information." As Lancer spoke, his spear began to glow, the air around it suddenly charged with mana. "I had no intention of tangling with a Servant. However, if you're going to insist on this—"

The spearman charged forward, his weapon now glowing brightly.

"GAE—" Lancer thrust his spear...at Saber's feet.

Saber turned and jumped out of the way—

"—BOLG!"

But in the next second, the knight was sent reeling backward as the spear was stabbed into his chest, dangerously close to his heart.

Saber doubled over, pressing a hand to the bleeding wound.

Was that a hex? he wondered. The lance had been aimed at his feet, yet, as impossible as it sounded, it had pierced his chest. No, perhaps a cause-effect reversal.

"So," Lancer commented, "you dodged my Gae Bolg's fatal blow."

Saber's gaze snapped back to Lancer, momentarily ignoring his wound (which had already begun to heal). "What did you say? Does this mean that you are the Hound of Ulster?"

He did not wait for an answer. "Gae Bolg is enchanted to breach any defense. The spear targets its enemy's heart, then moves on its own to avoid anything that impedes its target." Saber straightened up. "And that spear is only handled by the Irish hero Cúchulainn."

Lancer's smile was slightly bitter. "I hate that. Every time I use that attack, I run the risk of exposing myself. I guess there is such a thing as being too famous." He turned around and started to walk away. "I know the rules say I have to fight to the death if my true identity is revealed, but my Master's a coward. I was given explicit orders to head back if my attacks failed."

"You're leaving?!" Saber demanded furiously.

Lancer stopped walking, his back still turned. "Follow me if you want, but you better be prepared to die."

And with that, he jumped into the air and was gone in seconds, even as Saber angrily shouted for him to stop.

He clutched at his chest, the wound not fully healed yet. A pity, really; had the wound healed itself by now, Saber would have been inclined to go after Lancer and finish their battle.

At present, the knight turned around to see his Master run up to him. For a few seconds, the girl, her face tinged red, stared at him just as she had done before his fight with Lancer, as though she had never seen someone of the opposite gender before.

Saber remained unfazed. During his human life, it wasn't very uncommon for him to get looks from various women (a few of said looks were...not pleasant, but he had absolutely no wish to think of that), so he supposed it was no surprise that his female Master would react to him in such a way.

She seemed to realize she was blatantly staring at him. She quickly shook her head as her blush faded, then opened her mouth to speak.

"Who are you?"

"Must you even ask that?" Saber asked, not letting his own confusion show. "I am a Saber, your Servant. You are the one who summoned me, so you should know all too well why I am here."

The girl blinked quizzically. "You're a Saber Servant?"

"Yes," Saber said patiently, "so it might be easier to call me Saber."

"Okay, then." She nodded slowly. "That's kind of an odd name, though. My name is Shira Emiya."

It took everything Saber had to remain neutral, to not react to that last word his Master had uttered.

She is an Emiya? he thought. My luck must be even lower than last time. But if this girl was truly a member of the Emiya family, how could she not know why he had been summoned? Surely he would have told her...

"So," Shira began, "I guess my next question is—"

"You are not a typical Master, are you?" Saber interrupted.

"Uh..." Shira's voice trailed off, a confused expression on her face again.

"Be it as it may, you are still my Master," Saber said. "Now that our contract has been completed, I vow to never do anything to betray you."

Shira's confusion gave way to frustration. "Hey, don't call me Master; you're freaking me out here!"

"Then I shall call you Shira." Saber paused slightly, considering it. "Yes; I think I like the sound of that name much better, anyway."

Shira gasped in pain, looking down at her left hand as she rubbed it with her right; at that same moment, Saber turned away from her, sensing the presence of another Master-Servant pair nearby.

Deciding he may as well confront the enemy sooner rather than later, Saber turned back to face Shira and let his hand fall from his chest.

"Shira, heal this wound for me," he commanded.

The girl now looked rather embarrassed as she looked up at him. "Um...healing is far beyond what I can do. Sorry. Besides, it looks like it's healed on its own."

This time, Saber could not stop his eyes from widening slightly. Not only was his Master an Emiya, but she was also apparently an amateur magus? How could she have summoned him, then?

"Very well," he said, his voice remaining impassive as he stared into the direction where he'd sensed another presence. "My regeneration only healed the exposed part. Nonetheless, one more battle should not hinder me."

So saying, Saber leapt up and away, over the estate's gate, and into the night.

"Saber, wait!"

Shira wasted no time in hurrying after the boy who claimed to be her Servant. She rushed to the gate, opened it, and continued running into the streets.

She turned a corner just in time to see Saber fighting the red-clad swordswoman. With a single, powerful strike, Saber broke through the defense of the woman's twin blades and sliced her along her chest. The woman stumbled and fell to her knees, gasping for breath and staring at Saber with an odd look that Shira could not identify; was it...surprise?

"Archer, vanish!" a female voice called out as Saber prepared a finishing blow. The woman—Archer, Shira supposed—disappeared like dust in the wind.

A gem was thrown at Saber, but it vaporized before it could even touch him. He charged forward, his sword raised.

Shira knew at once what he intended to do.

"Saber, no! Stop!" she yelled desperately.

Saber stopped dead in his tracks, looking over his shoulder at Shira, his sword still raised.

"This is Archer's Master," he said. "We'd be foolish not to kill her now!"

Shira's frustration was now close to boiling point. "Alright, look, I don't know why you're here or what the heck you're talking about. Before you continue trying to randomly kill people, please explain to me what's going on."

"'Randomly kill people'?" Saber repeated. "You're the one who is not making any sense. You never turn down a chance to slay an enemy. I will not obey such a command."

"Saber," Shira fixed him with a glare, "put the sword down, now! You shouldn't even be fighting while you're still injured."

A few seconds of silence passed.

"So, are you going to lower your sword now?" the girl asked.

Saber shifted his gaze to her. "If an enemy is before me, I have no choice but to strike them down."

The girl sounded amused. "So you're telling me that a Servant—a Saber at that—is willing to disobey a direct order from his Master?"

The seconds crawled by. For an instant, Shira wondered if Saber would go ahead and kill the girl anyway, but he finally lowered his sword. Shira let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding.

She looked over towards the girl; up until now, she'd been too focused on preventing Saber from committing murder to spare a glance at his intended victim. What she saw caused her lips to part slightly in shock.

Dressed in a red top and black miniskirt, with long, wavy black hair tied in twin tails, it could only be—

"Tohsaka?!"

Rin Tohsaka smiled as easily as if she hadn't spent the last few minutes on the wrong end of an invisible sword. "Good evening, Emiya."

A few minutes later, Shira, Saber, and Rin were standing out on the porch of the estate. Rin picked up a piece of shattered glass and ran a finger over it; in seconds, the window fixed itself as if it had never been broken.

"Better," Rin said. "I expect that you're at least capable of that, Emiya."

"Incredible," Shira replied, impressed. She then sobered. "Actually, I can't do anything like that."

Rin frowned. "You're kidding. That's like the first thing they teach you."

Shira shifted uncomfortably. "Well, what little magic I know is the stuff my dad taught me, and none of that is exactly formal."

"So, you can't create a path or control the five elements or anything?" Rin sounded more and more incredulous with each word.

"No," was the only thing Shira could say.

"Which means you're a complete novice," Rin concluded, folding her arms across her chest.

"Not completely," Shira contradicted, feeling a little defensive. "I know some reinforcement spells."

This did not seem to please Rin. "Out of all the magic you could learn, you chose that?"

Would you rather I knew no magic at all? Shira thought testily, but she kept it to herself.

"How is it that you were able to summon Saber, then?" Rin glanced at the knight, who'd spent the whole time in silence, then glanced back at Shira. "So I'm guessing you have no idea of the situation you're in."

"Situation?" Shira prompted, ignoring her annoyance at Rin's bluntness in favor of her eagerness at finally getting some answers.

"You've been drafted into a tournament of sorts, the Holy Grail War," Rin said. "It's a battle royale that occurs every six decades."

Shira blinked; whatever she'd been expecting, it hadn't been that. "There's a war?"

Rin nodded, continuing. "Seven magi are chosen as Masters and are granted a Servant and three Command Seals—those markings on your hand. I was chosen to be a Master, as well. Once all seven Masters and Servants are chosen, a battle begins to unfold to determine who will obtain the Holy Grail.

"Your Command Seals give you absolute authority over your Servant. You can even use a Command Seal to force your Servant to do something they don't want to do. However, every time you use one, you lose a command, so you should always keep your last Command Seal in reserve."

Shira stared at Rin as though she were speaking Latin. "Okay...you lost me there."

Rin ignored her and stepped over to Saber. "It looks like you haven't fully materialized. I'm guessing it has something to do with your Master; her incompetence must have interfered with your summoning."

"Correct," Saber said calmly. "Shira does not possess nearly enough mana to complete the process, so I can't take spirit form, and regenerating my life force will take time."

"Good grief!" Rin exclaimed. "If I were your Master, I could take care of both those problems in a matter of seconds!"

"Are you saying I'm not cut out to be a Master?" Shira asked.

Rin shot her a dismissive look. "Not even close."

Shira bit her lip to keep from saying anything. It wasn't like she was in any position to argue. But if Miss Superiority over there didn't stop with the snide comments, no matter how truthful they were, Shira would not be responsible for her words.

"Well, we should get going," Rin was now saying.

"Go where?" Shira questioned.

"We're going to pay a visit to the man who oversees this whole War."

The next hour was spent walking through the silent town. All the houses that could be seen were dark, and the only light came from the occasional streetlamp, the stars, and the moon. Before they left the Emiya estate, Shira had tried to get Saber to take off his armor, since it would be very conspicuous if anyone saw them, but he refused. As a last resort, Shira draped her old yellow raincoat over Saber. It made him stick out even more, but at least it hid his armor.

At last, they made it to a grand-looking church.

"So this supervisor guy lives here?" Shira wondered out loud.

"Yes," Rin answered. "This is Kotomine Church."

"Shira," Saber spoke up. "I think it would be best if I stayed outside."

Shira turned to look at him, an eyebrow raised in question.

"I accompanied you here so I could protect you," Saber explained. "If anything happens, I should be able to find you within its proximity. Be on your guard, Master."

Shira mutely nodded.

The church's interior was almost pitch-black as Rin opened the doors; even so, Shira could tell that the room was just as impressive as the building's exterior.

"Tohsaka," Shira began, "how well do you know this priest?"

"Well, I can tell you that he's a magus," Rin said as the girls continued walking towards the front of the chapel, "and he's also my legal guardian. You see, he's kind of served as my second teacher."

"Are you serious? So this guy is both a priest and a magus?" Last Shira checked, people who practiced magic and people who worked in the church did not get along at all. A priest who was also a magus should have been unthinkable as far as the Holy Church was concerned.

"Yes, not to mention he can be a pain in the ass," Rin replied flatly. By now, they had reached the altar. "His name is Kirei Kotomine. He was one of my father's pupils, so we've basically been forced to put up with each other for ten years now. We would have nothing to do with each other if I'd had it my way."

A deep baritone broke in. "And I would have preferred not to have a student who can't show her teacher respect."

A tall man stepped out of the darkness and towards the opposite side of the altar.

"I've brought the seventh Master here to talk with you," Rin told him. "She's technically a magus, but she's such an amateur that it pained me to ignore it."

Kotomine's lip curled upward as he looked at Shira. "Tell me, child, what would your name be?"

Shira tried not to flinch under the priest's stare. His dark eyes seemed just as penetrating as Saber's, but while the knight's gaze had left her breathless, Kotomine's did nothing but make her skin crawl.

"Shira Emiya," she said, thankful that her voice was steady.

"Well, Emiya." Kotomine smiled even more, a soft chuckle rumbling from his throat. "And you are certain that you're Saber's Master?"

"No, I'm not," Shira said at once. "All this stuff about Masters and Grail Wars—I don't understand any of it."

Kotomine hummed. "Yes, that is a bit of a problem. And since this is the first time Rin has ever asked for my help, I suppose the least I can do for you, Shira, is oblige."

His smile faded. "Being a Master is not something you can hand over from one person to the next. Once you become a Master, you cannot simply walk away from it. Those Command Seals on your hand are a stigmata. The role of Master is a trial that has been rewarded to you. You can't turn away simply because it's inconvenient.

"If you truly wish to give up your role as Master, you only choice is to win the Grail and make your wish."

"And what wish would that be?" Shira asked.

"It can be anything your heart desires," Kotomine answered, spreading his arms out in a grand gesture. "If you win the Grail, you have the chance for the contents of your soul to be wiped clean. In fact, you could also go back in time and start your life all over. If you have your wish come true, you'll be thanking your lucky stars that you were chosen to be a Master."

"Kirei, would you get to the point?" Rin cut in impatiently, putting her hands on her hips. "I only brought Emiya here so you could explain the rules to her."

Kotomine closed his eyes briefly. "Guess I'll cut to the chase, then. Here are the underlying principles behind the Grail War: It's a series of battles fought between seven Masters and their Servants. Participants are not chosen simply because they wish to be; they are chosen as part of a ritual to determine who is the most worthy to possess the Holy Grail."

Shira's eyes widened. "Are you talking about an actual Holy Grail? But that's only a myth!"

Kotomine smirked. "Trust me, when the Holy Grail materializes in this city, it will be the genuine article. The miracles performed by the Servants should be enough to prove that this is real.

"Servants are the spirits of historical or legendary figures who are summoned forth by the Holy Grail and materialize here in physical form. In theory, they are supposed to stay in spirit form and stay close to their Master's side, only materializing to fight when the need arises."

"Yes, but Emiya's Servant is a bit different," Rin interrupted, her voice laced with disdain. "Because his Master is so incredibly inept, he can't take spirit form."

Shira didn't bother resisting the glare she shot at Rin. Okay, Tohsaka, I get it; I suck at magic. Let's move on.

Kotomine continued as though Rin hadn't spoken. "The Grail's ability to resurrect the dead can easily be considered magic. If the Grail is capable of such power, it is safe to assume that it can grant equal or greater power to its possessor. In light of this, questions about its authenticity should be moot."

"All right, then; I'll assume the Holy Grail really exists." Shira frowned. "But why do you have to kill people over it? If the Grail has all this power, why not just share it instead?"

"A logical question," Kotomine concurred, "but unfortunately, we don't have that choice. The seven Masters are those the Grail feels are worthy to possess it, and it uses these Wars to determine who is the most capable of all. Everything is carried out by the Grail itself: the selection of the Masters, the summoning of the Servants, all of it."

He spread out his arms again. "This War is a tradition, a ritual where people have fought and died in an effort to obtain the Holy Grail."

Fought and died...? Shira thought, her insides clenching.

"But," she burst out, "just because only one Master can win doesn't mean you have to kill all the others!"

"Wait a minute," Rin said barely after Shira had finished. "There's no rule saying that you must eliminate all other Masters to win the Holy Grail."

"There's not?" Shira asked, looking at Rin.

"The Holy Grail is a spiritual object," the older girl said. "Humans can't even touch it; only Servants can do that. So the objective is to eliminate all Servants except your own."

Shira huffed even as she felt herself relaxing. "Well, you could've said that in the first place. Just because you choose to fight in the Grail War, it doesn't necessarily mean you'll end up dead."

"Let me ask you a question," Kotomine spoke. "Do you think you can defeat your own Servant?"

What kind of question is that? Shira thought as she turned back to the priest. She had a feeling that this question was rhetorical, so she remained silent.

"Servants are quite powerful," Kotomine went on. "It's hard for other Servants to defeat them, much less an ordinary Master. But a Servant can't exist without a Master, which means..." His voice trailed off.

"The easiest way to take out a Servant," Shira realized, "is to take out their Master."

"Yes, but a Servant doesn't immediately disappear after they've lost their Master," Rin said. "Another Master—one who's lost their original Servant—can use their Command Seals and form a new contract with them."

"I see." Shira bobbed her head slightly. "But what happens if you lose all your Command Seals? Wouldn't that break your contract with your Servant?"

"That is entirely plausible," Kotomine said. "If you use up all three Command Seals, you are relieved of your duty as Master. However, if a magus were actually to do this, he or she would be forever branded as a complete and utter fool."

Kotomine smiled at Shira, who felt a sudden chill run through her body. Perhaps the smile was meant to reassure her, but she couldn't help but think of it as a leer.

"Of course, if that were to happen to you, I will personally guarantee your safety. That is my role as supervisor of this War," the priest put a hand to his heart, "and I will do everything to uphold that position.

"This is the fifth time our fair city has hosted the Grail War." Kotomine folded his hands behind his back. "The last one was ten years ago."

Ten years ago...? Shira thought, but mentally shook herself before she could continue that line of thought. She couldn't think of that now.

Instead, she addressed the first thing Kotomine had said. "Fifth time?! So the Grail War's been done before? What are you, crazy?"

Kotomine spoke as if he hadn't heard Shira's outburst. "In the past, the Grail Wars grew to be incredibly brutal. Masters were driven solely by their desires and butchered each other indiscriminately. At the beginning of the third War, the Magic Association appointed my father as supervisor." He gestured towards the church. "You could say I inherited that same post."

"Well," Shira declared, "it sounds to me like these Grail Wars really bring out the ugly sides in people."

"Oh?" Kotomine prompted.

"The earlier Masters were willing to break the rules of the magi to get what they wanted." Shira's eyes narrowed. "What do you think would happen if some bloodthirsty maniac won the Grail and got their wish? It'd be nothing more than a disaster."

"It does not matter who obtains the Holy Grail," Kotomine said indifferently. "The Association will not interfere. Our only role is to ensure that the rules continue to be followed. If you take issue with that, then become the victor. After all, relying on others can be incredibly insufficient."

Shira glared at him. "Don't patronize me," she said hotly. "I have no interest in this stupid War of yours."

Kotomine merely smiled. "Are you telling me you don't care even if someone unfit obtains the Grail, knowing that they could cause great harm to others?"

Shira's glare softened. He did have a point, she had to admit.

"And you're saying that none of these facts have piqued your interest about what happened ten years ago?"

Shira's body tensed. Don't go there, please don't go there!

But of course, Kotomine did not hear her silent plea. "At the end of the fourth War, the Grail was touched by someone unworthy to possess it. We have no idea what this Master meant to do, but we are all aware of the atrocity that emerged as a result of his actions."

A strangled gasp tore from Shira's throat. Suddenly, she wasn't in the darkened church at all, but back inside that burning wasteland from a decade prior.

Fire, so much fire, smoke, can't breathe, have to keep running, keep running, stay alive—

"What's wrong? Are you all right?"

Rin's voice snapped Shira out of the flashback.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Shira said quickly, suddenly registering her racing heart and that she'd placed her fingers against her temple. A few beads of sweat were trickling down her face.

"Officially, the cause of that fire is still unknown," Kotomine said, "but it's a scar left by the fourth Holy Grail War."

"So what was the outcome?" Shira asked.

Kotomine paused before answering. "There wasn't one. As I said, the Holy Grail was touched by someone who was unworthy and the War ended. But before him, there was another man who touched it. This man had done his best to avoid fighting, so the Grail would not fully materialize and refused to acknowledge him as its rightful owner."

"That's why any strategy that tries to avoid confrontation is pointless," Rin summarized. "This guy he's referring to was basically a coward."

A moment of silence passed. "This Master you're talking about was you, wasn't it?" Shira asked Kotomine.

"About halfway through the battle, I quit," the priest replied. "Unfortunately, I had lost my Servant, so I asked my father for protection." He turned his back on Shira and Rin. "That is all I wish to say on that subject."

Kotomine continued speaking as he took a few paces away. "Without a Servant, a Master is not qualified to win the Grail." He turned back to face the girls. "Once the tournament reduces the seven of you down to just one, the Holy Grail will reveal itself to the victor."

He fixed his hard gaze on Shira. "I will ask you again, Shira Emiya. Will you or will you not be a Master in the Holy Grail War?"

Shira looked down at the floor. A few minutes ago, her answer would have been to refuse, but now...now she knew there was only one answer to give.

"I'll do it," she said quietly, looking up at Kotomine. "If what you're saying is true, if the Grail Wars did cause that fire, then there's no way I can just stand by and let something like that happen again."

"Okay, that's settled then," Rin said pleasantly. "Let's go."

She turned around to walk out of the church building, and Shira started to follow her.

"Rejoice, child," Kotomine's voice rang out. "You have the chance for your wish to be granted."

Shira stopped walking.

"But you need a distinguishable enemy to see your wish come to fruition," the priest continued. "You may not want to admit it, but in order for virtue to prevail, I'm afraid there first needs to be an evil that must be defeated."

"What are you saying?" Shira asked a little sharply.

"For you, your most noble aspirations and your most despicable desires all flow from the same source." Kotomine smirked. "Please, do not pretend you don't already know this. Human beings have had this conflict since the beginning of the world."

Shira continued walking out of the church, choosing to ignore Kotomine's words.

It was well after midnight by the time Shira, Saber, and Rin made it to the intersection separating Shira's neighborhood from Rin's, and a white mist had begun creeping into the air.

"I've helped you as much as I can," Rin told Shira.

"Thanks, Tohsaka; I appreciate it," Shira responded, and it was the truth, no matter how rude the school idol had been to her.

Rin frowned. "Don't waste your breath. We are enemies, remember?"

"Shira!" Saber suddenly called out.

Shira turned around just as she heard giggling—rather familiar giggling. From out of the mist, the white-haired little girl from last night approached.

And standing beside her—Shira forced back a gulp—was a gray-skinned giant of a man.

"Hello again, miss," the little girl greeted. Her sweet tone was at odds with the cruel gleam in her red eyes. "This makes it the second time that we've met."

Author's Note: Here's a bit of trivia for y'all: According to the BabyNames website, "Saber" is a French name for boys.

Sorry if this chapter was kinda boring, but on the bright side, I managed to stick in some foreshadowing (and no, it's not about Kotomine).

In summary, Shira and Rin are ten seconds away from singing "Loathing" from Wicked, Saber continues being pretty, Shira's "Kotomine is a creep" senses are tingling, and Ilya has decided to pay her Onee-chan (if that's the right term) a visit.