6th Day – Part 1 – Guilt

Fault. My fault. It's my fault. Shirou wasn't even sure anymore if it was just his own voice or the world shouted it in his ears. He was dreaming. Dreaming of Sakura being swallowed by a swarm of worms, terror stamped in her face. And it's your fault! Everything seemed to be telling him that. It's because you weren't paying attention. She was smiling for you, but that was because she couldn't do it at home, and you were unable to realize that. You were her hope but you betrayed it. How can you call yourself a hero of justice?

The condemnation came over and over. But what else could I have done? What can I do? It was a plea for an answer, an answer for the anguish that he felt. He failed Sakura completely, what could he do now? No. He didn't fail her completely, she was still alive. All he had to do was protect her. But how? How can I protect her?

Call on us. Make us. A strange sensation came over him. Shirou looked down. Blades. Blades as far as he could see. His body was made of blades. Panic flooded him.

Emiya Shirou woke up sweating and panting. What kind of dream was that? He looked at the clock, it was still before six.

"Shirou! Are you alright?" It seemed that Rider reacted to her Master's anxiousness, opening hurriedly the division between their rooms.

Shirou tried to be reassuring. "It's nothing. I just didn't have a very good dream." Strictly speaking, that was the truth.

Rider's expression grew more concerned. "Don't lie to me, whatever that happened yesterday is still torturing you, is it not?" It was awkward. Shirou wanted to be angry and steer the conversation from that but he couldn't, not now that he was calmer and keeping it to himself would be simply childish.

"I… Just give me a little more time, please. I'll talk about it after breakfast." The look that rider gave him suggested that she would hold him to his word.

Shirou quickly went to wash his face, then went to the outbuilding, there Sakura should still be sleeping. On the way he met with Tohsaka, they just nodded to each other in acknowledgement. The important part was Sakura, was she okay?

He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that her face's color seemed okay. She wasn't smiling, but her face seemed peaceful as she slept. For a few moments, Shirou lost himself merely watching her. Suddenly she opened her eyes slowly.

"Huh? Senpai? Why is Senpai waking me up?" She said in a drowsy voice. She wasn't completely awake. "I'm glad, that Senpai is waking me up." Her smile was so warm that Shirou even forgot for a moment the immense guilt that was weighing him down.

"Yeah, I'm waking you up."

That moment was not to last, however, as when Sakura completely woke up, she realizes the situation. "No!" With a cry she pushed Shirou back, who fell from the chair on which he was sitting. "You, you saw me Senpai. You saw how dirty, how defiled I am." It wasn't an accusation. She spoke in between sobs as a lament. "Don't come near me."

"Sakura…" He wanted to do something. He wanted to convince her, he wanted to tell her. No matter how many worms or other vermin attacked her, she would never be dirty in his eyes.

But first of all, he had to do something about that angry Rin that was attacking him. "What are you doing to Sakura?" The cry really didn't make the situation easy.

"No, Tohsaka, you're wrong?"

"Eh, Tohsaka-Senpai?"

"Wrong? No girl cries like that unless she's being attacked by a monster or something! Heavenly punishment!"

He had to do something about the whole situation before it got even more out of hand.

"Shirou, how can you assault a defenseless woman? As a knight, I cannot let such unsightly behavior happen without consequences."

"I'm disappointed in you, Shirou. Even if you might be my Master, I can't really condone such actions. Prepare to reflect on them."

That was it. He was done for. His adventure was rapidly coming to an end. He made peace with his creator and thought to himself his last wish. Please, at least make this quick and painless.

"Eh, Senpai? Senpai!" At least the last thing he would get to see was Sakura's worried face. She looked so cute.

DEAD END

Just kidding.

It took some time until Shirou finally got them to settle down and stop attacking him. Even though he had promised to talk with them after breakfast, the result was that they were now all siting at the table. Three women were applying enough pressure to freeze boiling water with their looks alone. The other was acting awkwardly, not really knowing what to do.

"So, are you going to explain exactly what has just happened, Emiya-kun? While you're at that, I would also really like to know what happened yesterday. You know, since you refused to say anything and were even quite indelicate." Rider and Saber nodded in agreement. Shirou looked at Sakura for some sort of support, but she just blushed and looked away. The glares got even more intense. That isn't helping…

He took a deep breath and started explaining from what happened the day before. He talked about how the Servant, Assassin, knocked Rin unconscious to talk with Shirou. Then he explained how the Servant's Master was Shinji and how he said that he needed Shirou's help for Sakura. He declined to give any details on the scene in the Matou's worm chamber, for which he got an awkward smile of gratitude from Sakura. Then he talked about how he was just too angry and frustrated to think straight as he went back home. He hoped it would suffice.

"Well, I guess we'll have to accept this information on yesterday for now, even if it omits the most important part." Rider and Saber nodded. "However! That still leaves Sakura's cry unexplained." Rider and Saber nodded. Damn you, Rider, you traitor. The glares continued.

It was Sakura who saved him. "Umh, you're wrong Tohsaka-Senpai. Senpai just happened to be there as I woke up from a terrible nightmare, he didn't do anything." As if to prove her point, she smiled. Shirou felt as if something had just clenched his heart.

Rin finally relented. "Fine, we'll leave it at that then. Wait. It took quite a while from when I saw you pass by me to Sakura's cry. Could it be…" That damned smile was back. "You have a fetish or something for watching a woman's sleeping face?" She suppressed a giggle and Sakura blushed scarlet.

"That cannot be Rin." Rider calmly put forth her rebuttal. "After all, he vehemently rejected the idea of both of us sleeping in the same room. Even if the stated objective was for me to protect him, there's no way he should let pass an opportunity to satisfy his needs." Rin burst out laughing. Rider and Saber looked impassive. Sakura opened and closed her mouth as if trying to say something.

"Don't say it like that! It sounds weird." Shirou tried to do some damage control, but it was useless.

"Maybe, haha, it's only, haha, Sakura's face, haha, that he wants to see?" It seemed like a sacrifice to her, but Rin stopped her laughter enough to deliver that killing blow. Sakura seemed like she was going to pass out, from how red her face was.

"Damn you, Tohsaka!" He would never recover his dignity like that.

At least the ridiculousness of the situation diminished the tension. That was probably for the better. Or so Shirou wanted to keep thinking. In the end he was making breakfast along with Sakura.

"It was just a nightmare."

She turned to him, slightly confused. "Senpai?"

"It was all just a nightmare, I'll make sure you never see it again, okay?" He gave her his best reassuring smile.

Sakura lowered her head and replied softly. "Okay."

You think it'll go that well? Shirou gritted his teeth as an image of Shinji popped in his head, it felt like he was being mocked. He wasn't sure how, but Shinji seemed different than usual. As if he was more dangerous. Idiot, leave that for later. For now he was making breakfast with Sakura.

After the breakfast was the time for a strategy meeting. Tohsaka was the one starting it. "Well, now would be the time when we would be discussing what to do, but I guess first of all we owe some sort of explanation to Sakura." She stated it clearly that they were participants in the war, Saber being Rin's Servant and Rider being Shirou's.

"Ah, I know. Grandfather and Nii-Sama talked about it. I, uh, I apologize for the trouble that Nii-Sama has caused." Sakura lowered her head in apology. Both Rin and Shirou dismissed it awkwardly.

"You know, it's not something you should have to apologize for Sakura." Shirou nodded in agreement with Tohsaka. "But still, that Shinji, I have a feeling that he's going to give us trouble. That was quite unexpected." She talked about him as if she had discovered that a bee was actually a hornet. "What is his Servant like, anyway? Shirou, you saw him in action, didn't you?"

Shirou nodded, they weren't very good memories, but were deeply engraved in him. "I saw him using a small knife, a pistol and a sword. I don't think any of them were his Noble Phantasm, but he seemed quite skilled in his use of them. I think he's also good at dealing with poisons." Rin nodded, but this information wasn't all that useful, such skills were to be expected of an Assassin. "If it helps, he seemed to wear clergymen clothes."

"Not much actually, there were quite a few people from the church that could be good candidates for being Assassin. But then again, if he's not Hassan, then there's already something wrong."

They kept discussing about the enemy Servants. "Yes, you're right, Berserker's dragon form probably drains a lot of energy from the summoner, but I don't think that's a problem for that little girl. We have to think of a way to deal with that ridiculous armor of his."

They kept talking, trying to make sense of their enemies' abilities. "Anyway, what is up with that Archer? He uses a bunch of different weapons from different times. He even ran away on a jet? How ridiculous is that? How are we supposed to know what is his Noble phantasm?"

They kept on going, until they were nearing the end of their collective knowledge about the enemy Servants. "Well, I guess the only one we haven't seen yet was Caster, right Tohsaka?"

Rin was looking like she felt uncomfortable. "That is untrue, Shirou, we have confronted Caster. Yesterday." It was Saber who said it.

"Saber!"

Yes, it was embarrassing the way we were beaten up, but we did end up with our enemy's identity." Rin's face showed mostly frustration, but she did not deny Saber's words.

"Really, who was Caster?"

Rin's face grew graver. "It's probably something even more ridiculous than what we talked about until now. Nikola Tesla. One of the most important men in the development of electrical infrastructure and a bunch of other things. He's not even a Magus, how can he be Caster?" She seemed to have started to rant more than explain. "That he was a genius in his field is hardly disputable, but I suddenly thought of it: What if a scientific researcher of that caliber gained knowledge of Magic? He might have claimed that all he wanted to do was to research. But I have a bad feeling about him." That concluded it.

They looked at the clock. It was past seven. "Whoa, look at the time. Tohsaka, don't you think we should be going to school?"

Rin considered for a moment. "Actually I was thinking it might be better to stop going to school for now. But I'm still worried about what Shinji might do." They'd have to work it out.

In the end they decided to stay home. Since the situation wasn't completely clear, it was probably better if they stayed on the defensive until the night.

After they realized what had been missing, the news provided the necessary information: Fujimura was among the people who were recently drained by Caster, which was why she was absent. Shirou felt it might be slightly cruel but he silently thanked Caster for making an explanation unneeded, at least for now.

He felt like he needed to do something though. Just lazing around all day would do him no good, perhaps he'd talk with Tohsaka about magic, or maybe he'd ask for some training with Saber or Rider.

Matou Shinji let a frown appear in his face as he realized that Emiya and Tohsaka weren't coming to school. What is the point in me being here? Damn it. He started to walk away from the school's gate but stopped after a few paces. That Mitsuzuri bitch is there, I could have some fun with her.

With a click of the tongue Shinji drove the thought away. Assassin had told him that attacking her was a bad idea, after all no matter how aggravating he felt her to be, it could only harm the righteousness of his vengeance if he attacked defenseless people on a whim. He might not like it, but he saw the point.

It was a wasted day then, at that point. His plan hadn't matured to the point where storming the Emiya household was either feasible or meaningful. Going back home and indirectly tormenting the crappy old man it was. He couldn't touch Shinji, not as long as Shinji had Assassin, but he hardly counted as defenseless.

Shinji let out a sigh, but he quickly swallowed it as he realized Assassin was trying to catch his attention with a sense of urgency. "What is it?" He had an idea.

"A Servant, Master, closer than I'd like it to be." Assassin's voice had an edge to it but he remained composed.

Shinji thought for a moment. It was in broad daylight, but the road to the school after classes had started wasn't all that crowded. While Masters customarily fought at night, so long as there were no witnesses any time was fair game.

"How close?" He asked as he prepared a simple binding spell. He knew that the pain of using it would be excruciating, but he'd rather have some insurance that he would be able to escape alive an encounter with whoever it could be.

"They should be coming into view any time now." With his presence still concealed, Assassin materialized, preparing to ambush any fool that carelessly charged his Master. He expected something of the sort, since they approached so brazenly, as if they were walking in the park.

No such attack came. The Master and Servant and merely kept walking as they came into view. First was the woman. And what a woman. Shinji couldn't help himself from thinking so.

She had a slightly wavy dark hair, she wore an elegant one piece white dress that clung enough that it gave any who looked a good idea of her many curves. The dress showed enough of her above average cleavage that it became a sort of black hole for men's looks. Because of her high heels she was quite taller than Shinji, she would probably still be a little over him without them. At the very least she wasn't dressed for a fight.

The Servant coming behind her attracted attention in his own way, what with the old fashioned clothes and all. Archer whistled carelessly as if he was oblivious to Assassin. Now that Shinji thought about it, he probably was. That was a good opportunity, he could have Assassin kill the woman… He paused his thought. Two trains of thought were in conflict inside of him. On one hand, he had such an easy opportunity in front of him, on the other hand, he didn't feel like having Assassin simply kill such a fine woman. He was startled as the woman suddenly stopped and started laughing.

"What? Trying to decide whether this is a trap? Or are you too entranced by me?" It took a moment for Shinji to register that she was talking to him.

He flexed his knees, ready to dodge whatever she or Archer threw at him, Assassin tensed and slowly approached the enemy. "What do you want?" He said it calmly enough, but it was harder to hide the blush that appeared on his face.

"Don't worry, that was on purpose." She ignored Shinji's question. "Not to sound arrogant, but I've always been told that whenever I put my mind to it, I can charm any man." She talked in a manner akin to how some might talk with a complete stranger in an elevator.

"What do you want?" Shinji repeated the question, more because he just wasn't sure of what to say. Assassin was close enough that he could kill her equally fast with a bullet or a knife. All he needed was an order.

Archer coughed and nonchalantly put himself between Assassin and his Master, was that a coincidence? "I apologize for my Master teasing you, Matou Shinji. But believe me when I say that we merely wish to talk with you." Somehow, the smile Archer gave him irritated Shinji to no end, it felt like that of a sleazy salesman.

"And if I refuse to talk?" Fine, he felt testy anyway, since Emiya and Tohsaka didn't show up he'd have to compensate somehow.

Archer shrugged. "We'll just have to make you." A strange blue portal appeared behind him, from where he pulled a shotgun and pointed directly at Assassin. Shinji froze. Did he know? Nobody did anything for a few seconds, then Archer lowered his weapon. "Wrong place? I knew my instincts were bad." He let out a sigh.

Was that just luck then? Shinji repressed an incredibly large urge to shout that out. "Just use something more… Area effective, Archer." The portal appeared again. The shotgun disappeared and Archer pulled a grenade launcher from the portal. "How about a talk, now? Actually, can you just tell your Servant to stop concealing himself, please? It's un-com-for-ta-ble, Shinji-kun." The woman spoke in an increasingly cutesy voice.

Curses, woman, you won't… Charm me with your charms, or your... Shinji realized that there was no way for his look to move to her breasts, the whole time his eyes were glued. "Damn it, talking is all you want, right?" He shot a furtive glance to Assassin, who started to move to Shinji.

The woman smiled and shot a naughty look at him. "You know, depending on what we agree on, there might be more than talking to be done." She blew him a kiss.

Control yourself, Matou Shinji! You're hardly a novice when it comes to women. Even though his only experience came from pushing down his sister, he still felt like he had some kind of pride to protect. He gave her a calm enough answer. "Fine, let us talk, Assassin, stop hiding." Assassin showed himself.

It was Archer who looked delighted. "Wonderful! Let us head to a café then, so we can discuss things as proper gentlemen. I think I saw a nice looking one during my adventures, follow me."

Assassin nodded in agreement. "Yes, talking at a café is proper of gentlemen." They started to walk together silently.

By the time that they arrived at the café, the streets weren't quite as crowded, so they didn't have much problem finding a place to sit.

"Now that I think about it, I don' know your name." Shinji had all that time to put himself under control, he managed it somehow.

"Fair enough, I am Carmen de Castro, though I doubt that this name means anything to you, Matou Shinji." It really didn't, but it was nice to be able to put a name to the pair of… He meant the woman. "The one doing the talking will be Archer."

Archer put down the cup of coffee that he was sipping. "I'll try to be direct with you. First of all, do you have any idea of the danger of triggering a more intimate relationship between Matou Sakura and Emiya Shirou?" His tone was all business.

"Can't say I do, unless you mean the danger of them shagging, considering that she has the hots for him." A frown escaped Archer as Shinji used the tasteless word.

"Well yes, that is part of it. It would take too long to explain, but all you need to know is that if she receives any sort of meaningful human interaction, things could get quite dangerous, for all of us." He didn't look like he was lying.

It didn't take Shinji too long to realize that it made sense. "So the crappy old man did something stupid to her, I take it?" That certainly was like Zouken.

Archer smiled. "It's good that you are smart, Matou Shinji. This makes things fast. Plainly speaking, completely eliminating Matou Zouken would be the end of this problem." He sat back in his chair and crossed his fingers. "If I interpret your dislike of Matou Zouken correctly, that would also be your objective, but you don't have the means with which to do it. Am I wrong?" He nonchalantly picked up the cup of coffee.

Shinji considered it for a moment. He certainly would like to be rid of the creepy old man, but he didn't feel comfortable going along with other people's plans, that was after all one of the reasons that he wanted to eliminate Zouken. "So… What? You're going to give me the means with which to kill Zouken so long as I go along with something else?" That was his best guess.

Archer choked on the coffee that he was sipping as if taken by complete surprise. "Heavens, no! I wouldn't dream of giving someone anything with the condition that they do something else." He took on a more explanatory tone. "You see, even though I'm participating in this War, I'm a salesman at heart, so I merely wish to sell you some of my wares, if it just happens to be something able to kill someone that you want to kill, hey, things happen, eh?" He gave Shinji a wink as if he had just told a joke.

"So…" he was just checking that he understood it right. "You want to sell me the means with which I can kill Matou Zouken, but you don't need any guarantees that I will actually do the deed?"

"Exactly. Oh boy, I know I've told you this before, but you really do understand everything. So, how about it, deal?" He held out his hand.

Shinji almost let himself get carried away by the flattery, but got brought back to earth by Assassin's cough. He stopped before taking Archer's hand. "What are the terms of the deal?"

Archer gave a sly smile. "Of course, it's hard to agree with something before you know the details." He raised three fingers. "Three transactions. First, I will give you information needed to kill him and parts of the arms. Second, I will receive your payment. Third, I will give you the rest of the arms. Is that acceptable?"

Shinji came this far, should he really trust Archer, it was after all a one-time transaction. He looked at Assassin, who had been quiet the whole time. Suddenly he entered the conversation. "We want to inspect the wares before the transactions take place, is that acceptable, Archer?" The offer was really tempting, it was no wonder that, if Archers claims were true, that both and Shinji wanted to accept.

Archer shrugged. "Sure, I always let my clients inspect my wares to prove their quality. I'd show them to you right now, but I don't think that they are something to be shown in public." You're not something to be shown in public. Shinji resisted to urge to say that. "Am I correct in assuming, then, that you are satisfied with my conditions?" He held out his hand once again.

Assassin stopped Shinji for a second time. "What is the payment that you require?"

Archer looked confused for a moment. "The only thing that can be used as currency in this War, of course! Magical Energy. I suppose that you know how you're going to transfer that to my Master, eh boy?" It didn't take Shinji too long to realize what Archer meant.

"So that's what you meant by there being more than talking to be done if I agreed." Carmen blew him another kiss.

She took a paper from her purse and quickly scribbled something on it. "I will be waiting for you here if you want to take me up on my offer. You have until nightfall to decide." She gave it to Shinji, it was the address of a hotel and a room number.

I swear that the whole dead end joke was a much a surprise for me as it might be for you, no really, damn thing just popped in my head. The whole sistuation.