Rin awoke puffy eyed and groggy when a ray of morning sunshine finally flittered its way into her room. She had been an early riser ever since she was a girl and over sleeping always made her feel like she'd wasted the day. A quick glance at her clock told her that it wasn't yet noon, but it was definitely much later than she was used to getting up. She shuffled blearily into the bathroom and ignored the disheveled apparition of bed head and rumpled pajamas that glared at her judgmentally in the bathroom mirror.
It's alright. If I'm going to stay up at all hours of the night chasing Servants I guess I'm going to have to get my beauty sleep in sometime. She rationalized to her self.
She refreshed herself with a quick shower and by the time she swept down the stairs she was just as in control of herself as ever. She was also ravenously hungry. Luckily Melva was in the kitchen doing dishes, the clatter of plates and pots giving the house a homey feel. She had saved Rin a plate of scrambled eggs which she reheated in the microwave. They were a little rubbery from sitting out but Rin wolfed down every bite.
"Where's Ilya?" She asked when she had finished, daintily dabbing at the corners of her mouth with a napkin. The act was somewhat incongruous considering the gusto with which she'd been shoveling in food just seconds before.
"The last I saw she was still out in the garage." Melva replied absentmindedly, humming to herself over the clink of china as she worked.
Rin's eyes narrowed and she thanked Melva for the meal, hurrying off to find her friend. She was greeted by a gale of laughter when she entered the garage. Ilya and, to Rin's surprise, Estavio were both there. Estavio was hunched over the workbench, his knobbly hands tinkering with what looked like a transistor radio. Ilya was sitting on a stool swinging her legs and giggling like a schoolgirl. She didn't notice until he spoke but Shane's legs were sticking out from under one of the broken cars that was up on jack stands. Mechanical ratcheting sounds could be heard as he tinkered with it.
"...Talk about bad luck. Anyway, I made it to about twenty miles outside of Kansas City before the blasted thing broke down for good. Pushed the car until I found a little...could you hand me that?" He said, pointing to a tool that was lying on the floor out of his reach.
Ilya jumped up and brought it to him, beaming.
"Thanks kiddo. So I pushed the car until I found a little auto parts..."
"Rin!" Ilya interrupted as she spotted Rin, jumping up and rushing forwards to throw her arms around her friend's waist.
"Are you okay? Shane told me all about what happened at the restaurant! I'm so glad you didn't get hurt!" She burst out.
There was the sound of wheels on concrete as Shane rolled himself out from under the car. Rin glared at him over Ilya's shoulder and he gave her a guilty looking grin.
"Oh yeah?" She asked, hugging Ilya back but still glaring at Shane. "What did he tell you?"
"About the attack? He said you went in by yourself, by yourself! And that the Servant attacked you before he and Berserker could get there. It's just a miracle that Burial Agent was there to put a stop to to things!" Ilya said.
"And how does mister Shane Rowe know about Burial Agents." Rin asked flatly.
Ilya paused.
"Well...erm, I suppose you could have told him?" She guessed.
"Can I talk to you for a second? In private." Rin said, her eyes shooting daggers at Shane as she pulled Ilya out into the hallway.
"What do you really know about Shane? Who he is, where he comes from?" She asked tersely.
Ilya pulled her arm free sourly and spun around, crossing her arms in a huff.
"He's from America, if you must know. He's an auto mechanic or a handyman or something like that. He came here to look for work. He's good with his hands, he's always polite, he likes old movies, and I saw him first!" She whirled back, pointing an accusative finger at Rin.
Rin took a step back, her hands held up in surrender.
"What are you talking about?" She asked.
Ilya clapped her hands to her cheeks. A dreamy expression floated onto her features.
"He's strong and funny and he looks great in a tank top. I'm gonna wear him down and warm him up and then, before he realizes what's happening, BAM!" Ilya slapped her tiny fist into her palm, an absolutely fiendish look on her delicate features. "I'll make him my boyfriend!"
Despite the seriousness of the situation Rin couldn't help but laugh. She covered her mouth with her hands trying to keep from giggling. Ilya stalked forwards and thumped her finger against Rin's chest as she spoke.
"And just what is so funny?" She demanded.
Her tiny impotent fury was too much and Rin broke down in peals of laughter.
"You! You sound like you're hunting for turkeys, not trying to entice a boy. Besides, isn't Shane a little old for you?"
Ilya crossed her arms and turned up her nose with a humph, refusing to look at Rin.
"I'm sixteen now, Rin. I'm old enough to have a boyfriend if I want to."
Rin mastered herself and looked Ilya up and down.
"Yes, I suppose you are." She said thoughtfully.
"I'm sorry I said that, you've grown into a beautiful young woman. I'm sure you could get anyone to be your boyfriend if you wanted them to. But not Shane, okay?"
Ilya looked surprised and pleased at first but then her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Why notShane? I'm telling you, I saw him first. You can't have him."
Rin was completely serious now, concern for her friend overriding the levity of the moment before. Ilya's words took her by surprise
"What? I-I-I'm not interested in him l-like that. He's dangerous. There's something he's not telling us. For one thing I'm pretty sure Shane isn't his real name."
"What would it be then?" Ilya asked, a note of uncertainty in her voice.
"Let's find out." Rin said. She turned back to the garage with Ilya on her heels.
Shane was leaning back up against the car waiting for them, obviously expecting what was coming. Estavio had left while Rin and Ilya were talking.
"Sooooo, uh, what's going..." He began.
"Quiet! We'll ask the questions here." Rin interrupted him.
"Shane isn't your real name, is it?" She asked, hands on her hips. Ilya looked back and forth between the two of them uncertainly.
Shane held her gaze for a long moment and then broke into an awkward grin, scratching at the back of his head guiltily.
"No." He said sheepishly.
"Well, what is it then? You told me your name was Shane Rowe. That Burial Agent called you Samuel. You got upset when I called you Shirou. Which is it?"
Hostility rose in her voice as he admitted his deception. Rin was getting angrier and angrier. Not only had he been fooling her friend but he had lied to her!
"It's..." He paused for a long moment, seemingly lost in thought. He looked at Ilya and then at Rin for a long moment. Just as she was beginning to think he wouldn't answer he seemed to come to a decision. His face grew stern and he nodded to himself.
"It's Shirou." He said with an air of finality.
Rin narrowed her eyes. She knew that he was using an alias so his cover was blown. But was he telling her his real name? Or was he just picking one of the options that he knew she was aware of to make her think that he had told her his real name? Feints within feints, deception within deception. Still, there would be no way of finding out for sure if he had simply lied again until she found out more about him.
"But why lie about your name?" Ilya asked. She was obviously distraught by the new turn of events, finding out that her crush had been lying to her.
"Neither of us know you, who are you hiding from?"
Shirou broke into one of his trademark grins and spread his hands.
"Maybe I'm a super hero." He said jokingly.
"Don't make light of the situation!" Rin snapped. "Who are you really, Shirou?" She asked, putting a biting emphasis on his name.
He took a deep breath.
"Okay, okay. I'm...oh jeez. This always sounds so ridiculous when I say it out loud. I'm a paranormal investigator. An occult detective. I travel around tracking down sources of the supernatural and preventing them from harming civilians. That's how Carlos knows me. We were both chasing after the same lesser Zaebos demon a couple years back and ran across each other. Ended up teaming up to take it down. I use a false name as a matter of course, to protect myself and anyone that meets me. You can think of me as sort of a freelance Burial Agent 'cept I don't do what I do to serve the church. I just wanna help people."
It was a little hard to swallow but his words rang true. It explained his odd behavior, why Carlos the Wolf had called him by name, and even why he hadn't seemed surprised when he found out Rin and Ilya were mages. Rin still didn't trust Shirou any farther than she could throw him but at least he had a reason for his deception. If he wasn't lying about being a paranormal detective too. But the impression that Rin got was that Shirou was a very earnest person. He really wasn't a good liar, she could see all his emotions writ plain on his face. And deep down she wanted to believe him. She didn't examine why too closely.
"So, detective, why are you here in Valencia? Are you here to interfere with the Grail War?" Rin asked. She kept her voice harsh and full of suspicion, still mockingly emphasizing his self applied title.
"Actually no." Shirou said.
Rin quirked an eyebrow.
"I'm...okay. Look. You trusted me so I'll trust you. But this is super, super secret. Neither of you can tell anyone about this, okay?"
Ilya and Rin both looked at each other.
"Nobody!" Shirou insisted.
"Fine. What is it?" Rin snapped back.
"The Grail War is just a coincidence. I'm here after something else, a secret project funded by the Mages Association and spearheaded by the Church. A project that could tip the balance of power across the entire world. It's codenamed Omega and it's some kind of weapon or doomsday device or something. I'm here to find it and destroy it."
Rin carefully kept the shock from her face. The Omega weapon was a collaboration between he Mages Association and the Church? The fact that the two ancestral enemy organizations were working together was shocking enough. But that Shirou would know about it? That the weapon would be in Valencia at the same time as the war? That the mysterious church operative Kirei would send the mages to search for it? Too many coincidences. It all smacked of someone pulling strings behind the scenes.
Rin kept all of this out of her voice as she replied casually.
"Yes, Omega. I've heard of it. In fact I'm seeking it myself as a tool to aid me in the War."
It was Shirou's turn to look shocked and, unlike Rin, his emotions were all plainly visible on his face. It took him a moment to master himself before he replied.
"W-well then. I guess it looks like we have the same goal." He said.
"Yes. At least for now." Rin replied. She walked towards him in measured steps, her heels clicking on the concrete floor of the garage. He involuntarily backed up but bumped into the car, pressing his back against it as she advanced on him. Even though he towered a full head above her Rin's icy gaze cowed him.
"But if I find out you're still lying..." Rin said, placing a dainty finger in the middle of Shirou's broad chest.
"I'll have Berserker pull your arms out. Do I make myself clear?"
He gulped. Her face was just inches away from his. She could see the sweat beading on his brow and run down the line of his jaw. She tried not to let that distract her. The moment dragged on, tension vibrating in the air like a string instrument tightened to the snapping point.,
Then, without warning, Shirou beamed a grin and brought up his hand between them.
"Deal." He said. "We'll team up, and you'll hold off on the arm yankin'."
Rin shook his hand cautiously, her eyes still fixed on his and still narrowed in warning. She had no doubt that Shirou intended to use her to find the Omega weapon so he could destroy it, just as she intended to use him to find it so she could wield it. But he was an idiot, and she was a master manipulator. And at the very least she could keep him around. To keep an eye on him. To make sure he didn't betray them. Of course.
Without another word Rin turned on her heel and marched out of the garage, Ilya scurrying after her.
"That was so cool!" She said once they were alone.
"I thought he was going to pass out, you were so scary! I'd hate to get on your bad side. So Rin, what do we do now?" The younger girl asked.
Rin tapped a finger against her bottom lip.
"Now we wait. I have a letter coming that may clear some things up. But in the meantime all we can do is wait."