"Sunny Side Up"
General idea is to see about Caster getting a route. I wrote this to get my creativity working, so it's pretty rough. Let me know if it's worth working on still?
- Scene Break -
Shirou Emiya let out a large yawn, and sheepishly moved to cover his hand.
His friend, Issei Ryuudou, let out a hearty laugh. "I'm sorry I had to keep you so late, Emiya-kun." The priest in training and school president smiled at his best friend.
"Don't worry about it." The redhead shrugged it off, putting on his shoes as he rose in the entryway.
"You should have told me about the heater that broke down in Kuzuki-sensei's room." He chided with a wag of his finger. "I would have come to fix it."
"Well..." Issei sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck as he walked out with Shirou. "He didn't bother to tell us until I walked into his room last night to bring him some tea while he graded some papers."
Shirou shook his head in mild disbelief. "I know there's selfless stoicism, but I think he could even outdo you, Issei." He laughed, shamelessly unaware of how hypocritic that was coming from him.
Issei had a bland look on his face. "Well yes, but you didn't have to stay here so long just to fix it. For free nonetheless." He replied, pointing out the flaw in his friend's logic. "At least let the temple repay you for your time, Kuzuki-sensei is our honored guest, after all..."
Shirou laughed, clicking his tongue a bit in annoyance at being seen through. So much for that excuse.
"Sorry! I have to get home before Taiga gets back. See ya, Issei!" With that, the boy began to dash away.
"Wait! At least stay for dinner-!" Issei chased after him a few feet before stopping helplessly. "Kuzuki-sensei was going to bring the groceries soon..." He tsked as he saw his friend descend the stairs.
Shirou paused a quarter of the way down the steps, glancing back to assure himself Issei didn't follow.
He let out a sigh of relief. "That was good. Hate when Issei tries that." The boy muttered, awkward about how often his friend tried to repay him for just merely helping.
It wasn't like he did this for any thanks.
The redhead shook his head before pulling his beige coat a bit tighter around his torso and casually descended the rest of the way down. In his other hand he grasped onto his toolkit as he finally arrived at the bottom of the steps a few minutes later.
The night was pretty cold. It was good he got here tonight or they would've been really frigid up there on the hill. Still, with the moon starting to rise, Taiga was probably going to be home soon. What would he make tonight? Perhaps some sushi? Or...
Floating on the wind was the strange smell, not quite burned fish... no, but ashy...was someone burning something in the alley?
He turned from his route home, glancing into the dark side street, noticing someone there fallen on the floor, a battered bedsheet over them. This...someone homeless? He moved closer. Was this really where the burning smell had come from. "Hello? Are you alright?"
A pained moan answered her. The figure moved, causing the sight of that bedsheet to shift and reveal it was really a rich looking blue robe.
A woman with the bluest eyes he had ever seen looked up at him from an ashen face.
She tried to drag herself to her hands and knees, but immediately collapsed.
"You..." He stuttered a moment. Was this some victim of abuse? Driven from her home? He had so little to go on, but it was hard to believe she'd been out on the street...and those were bruises on her body.
He crouched down, gently wrapping an arm around her. "I'll protect you. My name is Shirou Emiya. Do you have anywhere to go?"
"...no." The woman sighed, sounding terribly resigned. Like if she was waiting for her death. "I have...nothing."
"No, that's not true..." He pulled off his jacket, wrapping it around her and lifting her up in a bridal carry. "I'll let you stay at my place," He started jogging off, heading back to his home. Taiga wouldn't be happy, but he couldn't just leave some abused woman on the side of the road. Even if she smelled strange.
It was pretty awkward holding onto the woman despite his own natural strength. His hands were trying desperately to not grab onto anything that they shouldn't - and why was this robe so thin and the woman so full and oh god don't think that way.
The blue haired woman merely continued gazing up at Shirou in wonder as she stayed silent the whole trip.
"You left your things behind..."
Shirou didn't look back at the tool box he had left in the middle of the road. "It's not as important." He simply replied.
The rest of the trip was quiet.
With a foot he opened the gate to his home, pushing in and heading in to the main room, carrying her to the guest bedroom and gently laying her against a wall. "One second..."
The doorbell rang...
He frowned, hurrying a bit as he set out a futon and gently settled her down on it. "I'll be back in a moment with some ointment and hopefully some clothes."
"SHIIIIROU," Taiga hungrily demanded as he was making his way back out.
"T-taiga..." Shirou flinched, taking two steps back from his guardian. "Why didn't you let yourself in?"
"The lights weren't on yet. I wanted to make sure you were home," She stalked over, eying him. "What stray did you pick up?" She instantly caught onto his flinching.
"...no one!" Shirou immediately blew it by trying to shift his body to block a certain door from view.
"...one?" Taiga's stomach rumbled. "I thought you brought a cat or something home. Did you bring someone who shouldn't be here? And you don't even trust your big sister?" She almost sounded growling. "And you forgot dinner too?"
Shirou flinched, but merely stood his ground instead of digging himself deeper. He crossed his arms in front of him.
Probably to add more armor to protect his heart.
"There's left overs. I had to help Ryuudou-kun at the temple."
She gave a smile. "Let's heat it up and eat... I know my Shirou-kun wouldn't let someone just starve in another room during dinner though," She smirked as she walked over to the table, patting his head. He was a good boy, but hiding something from her? Impossible!
"...er..." Shirou guiltily glanced away.
He really was adorably stupid about hiding things from her.
"Coming? Or do we need to go get someone?" She innocently blinked. "I mean dinner waits for no one!"
Shirou shuffled a bit. "...sorry!" He quickly bowed before dashing back into the room.
"...Good boy," She smirked, just wondering who he found. She might have to protect him from someone preying on his good nature.
The purple haired woman was lying quietly on the futon, looking almost blankly up at the ceiling, a sense of hopelessness about her.
Shirou entered the room a few moments later.
Medea glanced up, "Are you going to use me too? To force me to be your way?" She asked softly, as if she expected to be fitted with a slave collar.
"What?" Shirou yelped in alarm. His eyes suddenly narrowed and he pressed himself up against the door. "No!" He hissed at a lower tone of voice. "God - no. Not at all!" The teenager shook his head empathetically.
"Y...You're a mage too. Why did you rescue me? I'll fade soon," She sounded quite bitter about that, sitting up, her hair brushing across her shoulders. Despite how battered she seemed, she was gorgeous.
Shirou went pale at her observation.
So it was a secret? Could she take advantage of this? She couldn't even sense one of those damned Command Seals on him.
"W-what do you mean...?" He stammered.
She closed her eyes, "I want to live...but...I don't want to be a slave again. Can you give me that, Magus?" She stared, stepping toward him, tottering on her feet, yet demanding.
"Don't say that...!" Shirou's heart began hammering as he sweated. Who knew if Taiga was listening in. "W-why would I ever want a slave?"
He squeezed back against the door, desperately trapped between the woman and his guardian in the hall.
"Will you promise me that? Freedom in our contract? As a magus, I can bind to you, part of the Holy Grail War...To grant our wishes," She seemed to have trouble breathing. "Understand?"
Oh, like that was coherent... Maybe she just needed some food? But she seemed so serious. The Grail War? Like when Kiritsugu met him?
Shirou gasped, expression drawn back in horror. "I-it...it's started again?" He blurted in shock.
"Did you really not know?" She stared. "What kind of magus are you?" She was beginning to fade, semi-translucent.
"Oh...hell." Shirou took a deep breath, closing his eyes.
The ever familiar sensation of a hot iron stabbing into his spine made his body tremble a bit from the rushed activation of his circuits, but Shirou held steady as he took a step towards her.
"Shirou Emiya agrees to the contract." He blurted, knowing their time was up.
Medea's light blue eyes stared into him, widening a bit at just how weirdly he was forming the contract, a seal wrapping around them a moment as a burning sensation went into his hand...
On it, three sigils were being inscribed, Medea's body solidifying as she drained his prana. "This.. You are a strange one, but for now we are bound together," She sounded nervous, hiding it behind a tense face. She seemed so pretty a moment ago, it was a shame to see her so tense.
"What...a command seal?" He dumbly asked, looking at it in mute horror.
And what it represented, according to his deceased father.
She was looking at him deeply. "You...weren't trained were you? Do you even know anything about the Grail?"
"...enough that I need to destroy it." Shirou replied, but he quickly shook off his mood as he leaned forwards to grasp Caster by the shoulders. "You look much better now..." He mused, eyes concerned as he inspected her. "Are you still in pain?"
He could feel a faint burning from his magic circuits, indicating something had happened between the two of them.
"Y...you care?" She showed a briefly vulnerable gaze.
The door behind them slammed open, "Shirou, I'm Hungry...huh?" Taiga blinked, looking over the scene, the battered Medea in clear view. "What's this?"
"...so, who's up for dinner." Shirou quickly let go of the woman and stepped a safe amount of space away from Medea.
"But...who, Shirou, why are you taking home strange gorgeous woman and hiding them in your house?" Taiga was all strict as she looked over the very curvy Medea. "And...what happened to you?" She stared. "Are you alright?" A gentleness escaped from her petulant rage, noticing the still healing wounds on Medea.
"I..." Medea stammered, emotions turbulent as she glanced at Shirou and then at Taiga in confusion. Were these signs of concern fake?
She remembered the reason she was summoned, though.
"Your...brother," Medea's pitch changed questioningly as she stepped back from Taiga. "Helped me when he ran into me unconscious."
"You poor thing," Taiga just wrapped the girl up. "How could you just hide her back her, Shirou-kun? She needs food, caring, blankets, a real bed, and food," Taiga's own stomach rumbled.
"Y-yes, right away, Fuji-nee!" Shirou saluted, turning to rush off to get things ready.
Leaving Medea and Taiga alone.
The ancient sorceress glanced at the other woman, still feeling so weak from her near death experience. Worry sprang from her heart as she knelt down on the ground, trying to conserve her strength as she looked at Taiga a bit suspiciously.
"Don't work yourself up. Are you wounded anywhere Shirou can't see?" She walked over, tugging some bandages from a closet and walking back to Medea, her eyes that of a fierce tigress, caring for her children.
Medea distrustfully shied away, shaking her head a little. "No...I'm alright."
"No, you're not. I don't know why Shirou brought a poor girl like you here instead of the hospital, but that doesn't mean we won't take care of you. Now come on," She started tugging at Medea's clothing,
"We'll bandage you up, get you in warm clothes, and then we can all eat delicious cooking."
"I-I'm fine, really!" Medea barely managed to keep from panicking when the other woman laid her hands on her. She gripped onto her robe and pulled away from Taiga as quickly as possible. "P-please don't touch me."
"...were you?" She wondered, her eyes sympathetic and kind, "Did someone force themselves on you, miss?"
Medea's looked away, but her eyes were hard. "...I took care of it." She simply responded. Not wanting to talk about her problems anymore, she addressed Taiga from the side of her vision. "Tell me, why have you not trained your brother in the Art?"
"The art?" She asked with an innocent confusion that simple deception could manage. Either she was better at deception than Medea herself...or she truly didn't know? What kind of age was this?
"...may I get some privacy please?" Medea warily asked, disturbed at the reaction. "I'll bandage myself up, don't worry."
"...If you insist. But if you cause trouble to yourself, I'll be right back in here," The surprisingly strong young woman stepped out.
- Scene Break -
Shirou wiped his brow, the table just finished being set. He'd made a little more than usual, but he was hoping that the girl would be able to eat with them.
A knock at the door drew his attention, "May I come in?" Sakura's voice wondered.
"Of course you can, Sakura!" Shirou laughed a little, looking up as he saw his junior enter the door. "Did Ayako keep you late again?"
"Yup. It's just not the same without you, senpai. She's gotten her standards too high," She took off her slippers, walking into the house and softly smiling. "I guess I'm not too late if there's still food."
"Ahah, looks like we were all busy today." Shirou's humor faded a bit. "Eh, Sakura. Could I ask you for a favor?"
"Of...course?" She meekly replied, giving him a soft smile. "What is it?"
"Er..." Shirou awkwardly shifted in place. "I have a woman staying here. I think she was hurt, but I'm not really sure." He paused for a second to compose himself. "Could I ask for your help taking care of her?"
A slight flare of jealousy passed through Sakura's eyes. Another one? What was that sensation though? Another mage in this house? How...what had Shirou found? She had to see more.
"Well, I'll see what I can do, senpai. What's going on?"
Shirou felt guilty lying, but he swallowed the nagging urge. "Well, I think she might have been abused..." He quietly admitted, using the more shocking of the truths to conceal that she was a supernatural entity.
"Abused?" A witch getting...well, that actually wasn't too far to think. Sakura's eyes suddenly went flat, a neutral mask covering her face. Why did Shirou save that other girl...why not her?
"That's terrible."
"Yes, I saw her stumbling down by the mountains." Shirou shook his head with a genuinely worried expression. "I'm glad I found her. I don't think anyone else would have found her otherwise."
"That can happen," She said offhandedly. "Where is she now?" Sakura's voice was just carefully neutral. Missing a bit of the friendly charm she always wore.
"Uh, she's with Taiga-nee. In the third room past the staircase." Shirou gave her a slightly befuddled look. "I'll get everything ready down here."
"Alright," Sakura looked hesitant, "I'll take a look."
Walking down the halls, she spotted Taiga, giving a short wave. "Hello, Taiga-sensei." She sounded much more reserved than normal to the excessive teacher.
"Sakura-chan!" Taiga whined, moving up to the girl to hug her. "You gotta help me!" Her tone continued in the same vein. "There's this woman in the other room that was talking about The Art and then she locked me out and won't listen to me and I just wanted to help!" She babbled.
The Matou magus froze at the term Taiga used.
"...art? Like paintings?" Sakura tried to pleasantly brush the words off, but knew better.
Was...was this another Master for the Holy Grail War? So soon?
"I asked that too, but she insisted I should know better. Shirou might've rescued her but she seems a bit crazy," Taiga pouted a little.
"How about I go ahead and check on her?" Sakura gently tried to console her teacher. Her mind began to raise with frightening possibilities.
"Well..." She tapped her cheek. "We don't want to frighten her. I think she's been abused."
"...I heard." Sakura gripped her skirt a bit.
"I don't think she's trying to seduce him," The older woman tapped her cheek. "So you shouldn't get this uptight." In her own blunt way she was completely getting it wrong.
Sakura winced. "I-it isn't like that." She wiggled her hands in front of her, letting go of her crumbled skirt.
"Mmm, it shouldn't be. But I know the heat of the moment..." She tapped her shoulder. "I can spot a jealous girl."
The plum haired girl's hand twitched a bit. "C-can you go help senp-pai p-please, Fujimura-sensei?"
"Mmm...Alright, but don't tire her out too much," She patted her head. "And come down soon or I'll eat it all!"
"Thank you, Fujimura-sensei." Sakura dipped in a quick bow, watching her teacher head off. She turned towards the door and knocked.
"Shirou-san, is that you?" Medea's voice rang out, her eyes flicking suspiciously to the door. She told them she was getting cleaned up.
Outside, Sakura frowned as she did something she was loath to do.
She reached for the magic in her, and with the sensation of having her body bound with thick ropes, embraced her magecraft.
"N-no...senpai asked me to check on you." She timidly replied, her worry with her friend's safety foremost on her mind. It was enough to keep her from being disgusted at intentionally setting off the worms inside her body.
"Who are you?" The voice was cold, almost a hint of fear and anger coming through. The door still closed as Medea tugged some bandages tight, all tense like a coiled spring.
"I'm Sakura, senpai's friend." She stated, tensing at the tone in the woman's voice. The one fortunate thing about having these evil creatures in her was that her magecraft was stealthy. No modern magus should be able to detect her abilities.
If worse came to worse, that'd be what'd let her walk away from this alive if she snuck attack the potential enemy.
"Senpai sent me to help you." She paused. "Since Fujimura-sensei isn't a delicate touch."
Medea hissed, "Then how come you stand ready to attack me?" Her voice sounded fierce. "Is that it, a distraction? He seemed so kind...and so did she...but that was just to distract me?"
Sakura felt panic rise up in her. "Sorry, senpai!" With that she reinforced herself and blasted through the door, getting ready to drain the woman to death if needed.
"Sakura?" Shirou's voice wondered as he stepped into the hall. "What's going on?" He'd smelled it from both of them, overpowering the scent of his cooking. Gathering power from behind the door.
me: The door to Medea's room had been knocked down.
On the other side, was a scary sight.
Sakura was straddling the older woman, but seemed close to death. Her expression was ashen and pained as her own hands gripped Medea.
The older woman was almost completely gone, her body terribly transparent.
Shirou went white, feeling his heart leapt to his throat. "Sakura! Caster!"
Leaping towards the two, he could already feel the older of the two women hit dangerously low levels of magic. With no recourse, he smashed the back of Sakura's head, sending her unconscious to stop the curse she was actively pouring into Caster.
The girl let out a gasp of betrayal, eyes wide in fright as she passed out. Toppling over to the side and slumping onto the ground, he turned towards Caster.
"Cut the curse off!" He knew Sakura didn't have much more time either. Even the fact she hadn't instantly died was probably due to how weak Caster was already.
"T-traitor! Join her in death!" Caster wheezed, practically at death herself.
"Fine, switch the curse to me." Shirou insisted, falling ot his knees. "Eat my soul instead to restore yourself! Just spare Sakura!"
Caster's eyes widened. Her body began to dissolve as she turned to look at Shirou one last time.
That girl's power...
She clenched her jaw as she lunged, stumbling towards Sakura. The moment she hit her, her body exploded in a storm of motes of lights.
Shirou got blown backwards as an intense gale erupted from Sakura as the energy was drawn into her body.
Portraits and furniture crashed loudly into the ground. In the distance, Shirou could hear Taiga shouting for attention.
Sakura gasped, body twitching as her eyes snapped open. But unlike before, her plum eyes had been exchanged with a soft blue.
"You both only live because I chose to do this." A new voice came out of Sakura's throat. "Prove to me you aren't a traitor. Work with me to win the Holy Grail War for me."
Caster smiled at Shirou. "Or this girl will die."
- Scene Break -
Shirou's heart rapidly hammered in his chest. Standing in front of him was Medea, wearing the body of a girl he practically considered family. He nervously licked his lips, his face flushed from how badly everything had gone within moments.
Medea's eyes, currently gazing out through Sakura's, narrowed.
"What?" She demanded. "Are you going to back off now?"
The woman's voice had an undercurrent of pain. Of course the boy in front of her would act like this. Men had betrayed her time and again. Why wouldn't an immature, weak version of the same gender do it?
The anchor she had forcibly created by sacrificing her physical form was slowly coming apart. The magical nature of the body she had forcibly possessed was slowly undoing the bonds she had made. The girl's ability to siphon mana would have been interesting to study if she had had more time, but as it was...
Well, at least she could make it hurt for the boy before she left.
Whispering a word of power beneath her breath, the atmosphere around the room rapidly chilled, forming a razor sharp blade of ice at the throat of the girl she was using. "Speak!" She demanded, throat burning with the venom in her throat.
Her fists clenched her at her sides, drawing blood from the host body.
Shirou, realizing that he had run out of time, opened his mouth.
"Torture me instead."
He blurted the first thing, the only thing that he could think of.
Medea froze.
"What?" Her hands relaxed. Disbelieving what she heard, she prompted him to continue with bloodstained fingers. "Continue."
"If..." Shirou's voice was steady. His eyes were only for Medea. "I wanted to help you, but you only got hurt." Almost as if he didn't want to scare her, he raised his hands towards her. "It was my fault. My ignorance got you and my friend hurt."
The witch stared at his offered hand.
"I was negligent." The command seals were offered to her. "Just...please let Sakura go. I'll give you these." He paused, a hopeful look in his eyes as he tried to sweeten the deal.
Medea's mouth gaped open slightly.
A flash of a beautiful man, clad in bronze armor, appeared before her. The foamy waves of the sea crashed behind him, making him look like a god before her eyes.
"Some day, I will make you my queen." He smiled. "Trust me."
She smiled, a wicked look crossing her features.
"Liar."
With a command, the icicle twisted in mid-air, and launched itself at Shirou at incredible speeds. The weapon embedded itself in Shirou's thigh, sending him crashing to the ground with a muffled scream.
Medea walked over to the squirming figure of her Master. For some reason, the boy's arms were held stiffly at his sides, refusing to even attempt to pull the ice out of his injured thigh.
"What's wrong?" She sneered down at him. "Where's your silver tongue?" With a vicious kick, she smashed the ice further into his thigh, spilling more of her Master's blood onto the floor.
Shirou continued to tremble, but he finally looked up at her.
"I told you this was alright."
Medea staggered back. Angered by her body's reaction, she gestured at him, whispering another word of power.
"Then scream!" She shouted, making Shirou's body incredibly sensitive. Ignoring the faint shout of the Fujimura woman, Medea only cared about the fact that a painful wail ripped its way out of Shirou's throat. Throwing herself next to Shirou, she reached for the icicle and tore it free from his leg.
She reached for the open wound. Shirou thrashed, but his arms refused to move to defend himself.
"Don't ignore it!"
Her fingers reached in. Scraps of flesh tickled her knuckles.
"Don't ignore me!"
"Shirou!" Taiga shouted, her footsteps crashing on the hard ground. "What's going on h-Sakura?"
"This is what everyone who betrays me deserves!" Medea screeched. "They all deserve to suffer and die and-!"
LEAVE SENPAI ALONE!
Medea gagged, leaning away from Shirou like she had been physically struck. Spittle flew from her mouth. It felt like her own neck was trying to choke the life out of her. Seeing her chance, Taiga launched herself at the girl, slamming into her side and carrying the both of them away from Shirou. The shock of the two attacks on her was enough to rattle Medea out of her haze.
The first thing she noticed was the strong smell of urine in the air.
"W-wha...?" Medea babbled, but a coldly furious Taiga gazed down at her. "This is-" Stars exploded in her eyes as the older woman lay into her, the fists coming down on her face fast and furious. Medea let out a wheezing shriek from her clenched throat. She tried to raise her hands, sending Shirou's blood flying up into Taiga's face.
The woman looked even more apocalyptic.
"STOP!" A ragged voice roared.
Taiga froze in place. The older woman and Medea felt sick to her stomachs when they glanced to the side, and saw Shirou drag himself towards Medea. His expression was pale and blood stained the ground below him where his injured leg rubbed against the ground.
"...continue." His sherry eyes were steely.
- Scene Break -
It was an awkward dinner that night.
Taiga gripped onto her sides to prevent herself from attacking Sakura.
The girl was wearing a bandage over her left eye and smaller ones on her cheeks where the older woman had attacked her. She had a fragile air to her, like an antique doll that would shatter at any moment.
She refused to look at Taiga, focusing on Shirou while he finished placing the last band-aid on her face.
Shirou, moving away from the girl now that he applied the last bandage, took his own seat. The shorts he was wearing displayed the gauze that was wrapped around his thigh. Just looking at it made Taiga clutch at herself to try and restrain her temper.
"What happened?" She finally demanded, growling angrily. "Why can't we take you to the hospital? Where's that woman from before?"
Shirou, embarrassed at having relieved himself in front of the two girls, said nothing for a few moments. "Fuji-nee, how long have we known each other now?" He asked instead, picking at food that was woefully cold at this point.
A bit of nausea filled him as he looked at the shredded beef they were going to have tonight.
"That doesn't matt-!" Taiga began, slamming her hands on the table as she reared up, ready to spit fire.
Sakura trembled.
"Taiga." Shirou's voice was clear. The older woman froze, amazed at what she heard. "Please call Shinji and tell him that Sakura will be staying with me. To take care of the woman."
Taiga quietly shook her head, an expression of confusion and building anxiety.
"Please..." He reached out towards her. Shirou froze in mid motion as he saw the blue and purple eyes gazing back at him. He just couldn't finish his statement in the face of those heterochromic eyes.
So, this was going to be how it was, huh?
Shirou flashed Taiga a weary smile. Hiding the throb of pain in his leg, the boy shifted so he could face Taiga fully. Both other women were painfully aware of how he left his back open for Sakura.
"Fuji-nee, remember the fire ten years ago...?"
If he was going to win Medea over then he was going to have to be truthful from now on. No matter how much it began to hurt him to see Taiga's face begin to fall into deeper despair as he told her about how he met his father.
I'm sorry Fuji-nee.
- Scene Break -*
Fetid darkness surrounded him.
The magus who called himself Zouken Matou glanced up from where he was working on an experiment. The remains of a corpse he had dragged into the workshop underneath his home twitched while his latest familiar attempted to grant it locomotion again. A centipede like creature which was residing within the corpse eventually gave up at his mental command, sliding out from the cavity Zouken had created by having his crest worms crush the man's spine into powder.
"Hm. No, this breed won't do." The man mused, stroking his chin. "Perhaps I should make another trip to the Amazons next month."
His grandchildren, Shinji and Sakura - failures that they were - had finally gained enough experience that he could leave them behind without having to waste money on keeping them alive. Plus the crest worms within Sakura had been strengthened enough that they didn't need him monitoring them as intensely to make sure they weren't rejected.
A brief moment of nostalgia struck him as he walked away from the corpse, releasing his familiars to feast on it now that the experiment had failed. Ignoring the crunching and tearing sounds behind him, the magus walked to the center of his workshop.
If he was going to be heading out soon, it was best if he double checked on the status on the crest worms one last time.
With that thought, Zouken stood above the grating he used to use to lower Sakura down into the training pit. The murky, foul waters beneath him greeted his nostrils as he idly accessed them to check on their condition.
Pain!
"Gah-!"
A solar flare exploded before the magus' eyes. With a howl of fury and agony, he blindly struck in front of him. Raving like a mad man, he threw his head from side to side, staggering drunkenly through the workshop.
Yet the infernal sun refused to vanish.
Desperate to escape this searing pain, Zouken Matou did the only thing he had available. Collapsing to his hands and knees, his entire body quaked. A large lump flowed up his throat towards his mouth. Black ichor and worms were spewed forth onto the ground.
With great, heavy breaths, the magus - who's skin was rapidly looking more rubbery by the moment - continued to vomit forth great mouthful of worms. Zouken knew that it wasn't enough to escape his fate, though.
The man's form exploded as a backwash of magical power flowed through the connections between the crest worms inside Sakura and the ones inside Zouken. Pus erupted out of his skin as the thin layer of flesh he wore was torn apart. A few of the bulbous headed worms erupted into flame before they even hit the ground, the survivors shrieking and thrashing.
Getawaygetawaygetawaygetaway!
The majority of the collective angrily raced into the pits, splashing into the water to try and drive the burning image from the hive mind that was Zouken Matou. The hoard of creatures squirmed against each other, swimming in the darkness, and huddling fearfully.
!
Above them, aware that their master had been hurt, the familiars of the Matou family raged. They assaulted the walls in mindless fury, their screeches and shrieks echoing in the dank catacombs. Several of them simply dropped dead - their simple minds unable to handle the link they shared with their master when he had gone mad.
PainPAINPaINPaInpaIN
Yet it was this very same diffusion of madness; which was eased with the deaths of Zouken's familiars, that was the ancient magus' saving grace. With the death of all the creatures, Zouken's mind began to mend, the maddened beasts taking their master's insanity to the grave. It was the Matou magecraft, summed up in all its inglorious vileness.
Uncaring that he was profiting by taking the lives of the beasts above - the magus' mind, having been reduced to an infantile state all this time, began to rapidly evolve. There was only one goal in mind.
Revenge.
- Scene Break -
"Taiga-chan, you know I haven't had to do this for years, right?" Ernesto Arvayo, a grey haired member of the Fujimura group, rumbled as he gestured for Taiga and Sakura to bring Shirou into the house.
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't remember anyone else that could do this at this time." She apologized, shamefully aware of what she was asking the licensed doctor to do. Making sure not to touch Sakura's hand, she shifted Shirou, placing him on top of the table in the center of the kitchen.
"It's fine." The former back alley doctor sighed. "I'm just glad you called me ahead of time. Just let me see what we have to do here." He knelt down by the red head's legs, unwrapping the gauze from them.
Taiga, gaze turning flinty, looked askew at Sakura.
Or was that Medea?
Sakura refused to move away from Shirou's side, clutching at his arm. The boy offered her a heartfelt smile in return. In the dim light of the Fujimura doctor's kitchen, the girl's blue and purple eyes glowed strangely.
The woman shuddered a little. How much was Sakura after Medea had seemingly taken her over?
Shirou glanced at Taiga, but his guardian glanced away. Feeling the bottom of his stomach drop, he mindlessly grunted, nodding or shaking his head to the inquiries of the doctor that the two women had brought him to.
A pregnant silence descended on them as the doctor cleaned the wound.
I said too much. Shirou anxiously thought, ignoring the man threading a needle before him. Now she's wrapped in this mess too. He clutched Sakura's hand, making her mistakenly offer him a brave smile as she squeezed back.
He really didn't care much about the needle entering his skin.
They're both in danger.
Shirou bit his lip, glancing between both Taiga and Sakura. The stories that his father had told him about the Grail War, even in what had to be their diluted states, were frightening accounts.
What am I going to do now?
Unbeknownst to Shirou, Taiga was thinking the same thing as she looked at Shirou and Sakura.
- Scene Break -
Medea was lost in a haze. Her surroundings kept changing on her, and the only thing that kept her in the here and now was her grip on Shirou's stained shirt. The dried blood on her hands clashed with the white shirt.
Her own aches were ignored in favor of offering her shoulder to the boy. Both teenagers stumbled a bit, the body that Medea had taken command of unable to support the male without the aid of Taiga. The adult looked over at them suspiciously for a few moments, but turned back to look at the doctor to continue her conversation with him.
"Are you both alright?" Shirou's hesitant question made another little piece of her shrivel up and die. When Medea refused to speak, despite being directly looked at by Shirou, she felt her presence get shoved aside.
"She's fine, senpai." Sakura spoke, causing Medea's head to grow foggier still. "Just tired." Now that Medea wasn't in direct control, Sakura's voice sounded incredibly fatigued.
"You're both going to have to rest." Taiga's sharp command heralded the woman's arrival. Behind her, the door to the doctor they had visited softly shut, leaving the three of them in the moonlit backyard. "Here, take these, Shirou."
Without another word, she thrust two crutches at Shirou's direction. The boy fumbled them for a brief moment, but was able to right himself with Sakura's help. The older woman glanced over at Sakura with an intense gaze, causing the teenager to flinch away.
Taiga looked like she had bitten something rotten when she saw Sakura's reaction.
"Let's go. I have to return the car to grandfather's place soon."
Sakura glanced at the ground as Taiga turned away. The blood on her hands taunted her as her entire body convulsed, but Shirou merely leaned up against her. Her instinctive reaction slowed and spastic twitches smoothed out into trembling.
Medea quietly took back control. As her mind cleared, the woman clutched at Shirou's shirt as both teenagers followed Taiga away to the nearby car.
- Scene Break -
The ride was quiet back to the Emiya house. Once they arrived, the driver that had originally brought the car over moved over to briefly talk to Taiga.
Shirou and Medea, both of them exhausted, moved towards the entrance of the house, drawing the attention of the driver.
"Are you sure he shouldn't go?" He asked.
Taiga grimaced and shook her head.
"Alright. You've always known best about that knucklehead." A look of fondness, shared amongst several of the Fujimura group when Taiga brought Shirou to them, flashed in front of the man's eyes. "Take care of him."
"I will." She sharply nodded. "Thank you for being quiet about all this, big brother."
The little brother of the Fujimura group looked at the serious expression on Taiga's face and broke out in an aborted snicker. The look on Taiga's face was priceless as her temper began to flare.
"What? What is it?" Her back heel instinctively slammed on the ground a bit. "I-it was just a simple
mistake!"
"Don't try and pretend to be part of the group." He chided, shaking his head as he finished swallowing his sniggers. "Your grandfather didn't want this for you, Fujimura-san."
Taiga glumly looked over at the house.
Her next words sent a shiver down the man's spine.
"I...might have to do something my grandfather won't like though." She gazed at him with a commanding gaze. "Let grandfather know that I know about Kiritsugu Emiya." She paused. "The whole truth." She concluded with a sad longing.
If he couldn't trust her in life.
"I need grandfather to give me the weapons he left behind."
The little brother sputtered.
"What? That isn-"
"Grandfather and Kiritsugu were close enough that he handles the estate for Shirou. He would have taken the weapons to secure them."
Maybe Taiga could earn Kiritsugu's trust in death.
She'd protect her boy from this monster called 'The Holy Grail War'!
- Scene Break -
"Are you sure that is alright?"
"Yes, this is fine." Shirou replied as Medea and him shuffled their pained bodies over to the veranda overlooking the yard. With her assistance, he moved to sit down on the edge, resting his side against one of the pillars.
Medea silently stood behind him, casting a shadow that wasn't even hers over the boy.
"The night...is really beautiful, isn't it?" Shirou wondered, looking up at the silver sliver of light hanging in the sky. Hearing no response from Medea nor Sakura, he thoughtfully continued. "I used to sit out here with my father all the time."
"O-oh...?"
From the tone of voice, it was hard to tell which of the two had answered him.
"Sounds kind of cheesy, huh?" He laughed. "Well, I guess I'm just as bad in my own way."
"Senpai, you should never dismiss yourself or your father." Sakura's voice blurted out. "Never..." She whispered.
The terrible story he had shared with them...
Sakura could feel tears begin to pool in her eyes.
Medea briefly thought about Jason. Was the idea that hateful man represented that important to Shirou and his father?
"Yeah." Shirou reached over, pulling the crutches away from the ground next to him. "Father thought that the moon, which shines brightest in the night, would always reveal the truth."
An open invitation.
Medea froze on the spot. Her mind began to frantically thrash within, trying to roll the idea over and over for any sign of foul play. The woman began to softly hyperventilate when she couldn't find anything wrong with the idea.
The early sight of Shirou, bloodied and dragging himself to her, flashed before her mind.
I'm sorry, Medea. For hurting you. Please don't stay mad with him.
Sakura's voice drove her out of her delusional state of over analysis.
I...love him.
"Hey, are you alright?" Shirou looked up at both of them, attracted by Medea's panic attack. Without even a glance at his crutches, the redhead shifted his hurt leg so he could lean towards her. Medea noticed the tightening around his eyes.
I love him so much it hurts. Sakura's voice was tired. I think I would kill for him if it kept him safe. But maybe that's just me being hopeful.
Medea wrapped her arms around her, taking a step back from him. Shirou's expression fell, but he remained where he was.
Before...always...run...away...
"...Sakura?" Medea blurted, eyes widening. Shirou's expression grew scared as she continued in a higher tone.
...protect him...
"Sakura, answer me!" She angrily demanded. "You still have to pay, do you hear me?"
The fog over Medea's mind cleared up, but the stunned Heroic Spirit only could buckle to her knees and stare at Shirou.
"What's going on?" He demanded.
The sight of her two toned eyes silently crying was a terrible premonition.
"I..." Medea was stunned. "I don't know, Master."
The Command Seals on Shirou's arms, having been dull all along, lit up with a harsh red glare across the moonlight veranda.
Day had briefly returned to light up the night.
- Scene Break -
Deep beneath Mount Enzou, a presence began to stir.
- Scene Break -
From the depths of the crypt, a wave of enraged worms rose, skittering towards the sewer exit. Their enraged shrieks were like the cries of a newborn babe as they slid along the dirty pipes and foul wastes. With a new lease on existence, the collective will known as Zouken Matou only had two thoughts in his mind for now.
The first was to acquire a brand new body.
The second was to get revenge on whoever had stolen his Grail from him.
No matter what.