Chapter 4: The Silver Haired Beauty

Hisashi's opening eyes were nearly blinded by the small stream of sunlight that poured in through his snow white curtains. Rising up from bed he gave a heavy sigh as he looked down at his right hand, the hand that bore the Command Spells. He felt more tired than a rising person should be. It was mostly in part due to his inability to sleep last night. What happened was far too much for him to take. He still couldn't believe that he was a Master in the Holy Grail War.

He rolled onto his side, lifted himself up...and then saw Archer.

"Holy crap!" he screamed, jumping from the bed, "What the hell?"

"It is my duty to watch over my master," responded Archer in her usual monotone.

"Well, yeah, but I don't think you need to stand over me while I sleep!"

"If it is a problem simply say so."

"A problem? Of course it's a problem! Do you know how awkward it is to have a girl standing around in your room watching you sleep?"

"No."

"Well it ain't pleasant I can tell you that!"

Without another word Archer stepped outside and into the hallway not even giving Hisashi so much as a second glance. Upon her departure Hisashi scratched his head with great irritation. It was going to take a while for him to get accustomed to this Master and Servant business.

After taking a quick bath and putting on his school uniform, Hisashi walked out into the dining room of his expansive home. His mother was up already. Something he did not expect. He was all too familiar with his mother's frightening mood during mornings, to see her so calm and collected this early in the day put Hisashi on edge.

"Good morning," stated Rin. She lifted a cup to her lips and took a sip before softly placing it down onto the table.

"Good morning." Hisashi looked around for a while before asking, "Where's Natsumi?"

"She left early today for kendo club" replied Rin, "Sit down, I made breakfast."

Hisashi's eyes widened with glee upon hearing that his mother had cooked breakfast. She seldom cooked, Hisashi himself could barely even recount the last time she did. However, when Rin did decide to cook, the meal was usually exquisite and tasted incredibly delicious. He jumped at the chance to indulge in such a meal and seated himself.

"Thank you for the meal," he exclaimed before digging in. It was as delicious as he expected it to be.

"Hisashi," said Rin, "How are you after last night? Berserker didn't manage to wound you did he?"

"Of course not, Archer's got my back after all. I should be the one whose worried. After all you were the one who got sliced up pretty bad by Berserker. Is it healing alright?"

"Yes, Natsumi used another gem this morning. The wound should be completely healed by tonight at the latest."

"That's good to hear," said Hisashi, relieved.

"Now on to more important matters," she gave Hisashi a commanding look, "You need to bring Archer with you to school."

"What?" asked Hisashi with surprise, "I can't do that! Dad didn't bring his Servant with him during his war what makes you think I would?"

"That is because your father was being difficult," said Rin harshly, "You, however, actually have a brain. Berserker's master already knows where we live it would be safe to assume he knows where you go to school as well. Anyway, with a steady supply of prana from you Archer should be able to properly hide herself from the view of your peers while you are there."

"But I don't even know if I can generate that much."

"Don't be silly, you have many circuits Hisashi, not even I have your number of circuits."

Rin spoke the truth. When Hisashi was found Rin herself was amazed at the number of circuits that the young boy possessed. However it was not the amount of prana he generated that was the problem, the boy generated incredible amounts of it every second. It was the horrible quality and stability that his circuits were in that prevented him from being a true mage. They were akin to powerful electrical cords that could power a whole city. The cords themselves had immense power. Now imagine the cords having a multitude of rips and tears. Although they generate a large amount of energy the horrible state of the cords would cause more harm than good.

This odd malady first developed in Hisashi when he was thirteen years of age. He had just learned the basics of magecraft during his childhood under the tutelage of his mother. One morning Hisashi attempted to practice channeling by placing his mana into a jewel just like his mother and sister. His body suddenly throbbed with pain and he began to bleed from his nose, eyes and even his own pores. His circuits then began to overload with pure prana and the resulting backlash almost tore the shed apart.

After the incident his mother and father forbade him from using magic in order to prevent it from happening again. Ever since, Hisashi has been living like a regular human, although he was learned in the basics of magecraft he could not do so ever again in fear of his body completely breaking down.

"Well, if you say so," replied Hisashi.

"If it bothers you master I can stay in spirit form for the entire day. I promise to not exit it unless you are in direct danger," spoke up Archer from behind Hisashi. He almost jumped out of his seat, he did not even know that she was in the room.

"That would be great Archer thank you," responded Rin with a nod.

"Hey! Don't I get any say in this?"

"No. Because I will force you to agree either way."

Hisashi sighed, "Fine, so long as she follows from a distance. I don't want her to be directly behind me...That's just awkward."

"As you wish," answered Archer, as she quickly disappeared into her spirit form.

After gulping down his meal Hisashi grabbed his bag, slung it over his shoulder and headed for the front door. "Goodbye," he yelled into the house, getting no response. He peered behind him, knowing full well that Archer was there, and strolled out into the street.

The walk was a long one and Hisashi honestly could not tell what time it was when he had first left the house. He decided to take a small break, even if he was late it wouldn't hurt him. He may be known as a slacker but he has never missed a day of school before. His mother would kill him if he did.

He decided to sit on a nearby bench and take a minute to collect himself. He lowered his head and stared at the sidewalk in deep thought about the war and what he was supposed to do. He wondered how that man Tanaka knew so much about his family, he had to talk to his mother about finding a new place to stay. Tanaka could come back at anytime and he wasn't going to risk him going after his family again. However, his thoughts were interrupted by a sing song voice that resonated in front of him.

"Hello there!"

Raising his head he saw a girl, roughly the same age as himself standing before him with a bright smile on her face. She wore a pure white coat that was incredibly lavish and stunning to behold and a small, fur hat was on her head. Her hair was of an elegant silver and it reached the small of her back in length. She stared curiously at him with her crimson red eyes. She was incredibly beautiful, probably one of the most beautiful girls Hisashi had ever seen.

"What were you looking at?" she asked curiously.

"I uh...Was looking...at...Uh." Hisashi had been caught off guard. What was he supposed to say?

"At what?" asked the pretty girl, a quirky expression on her face, "Oh I get it. You were looking at the sidewalk weren't you?"

"Well, kind of," replied Hisashi.

"Why? Is there something interesting on it?" the girl than seated herself next to Hisashi, an action which made him blush and she looked at the exact spot that he was a few seconds ago. "I don't see anything interesting here."

"That's because there isn't. I wasn't really looking at anything. I was just thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"Y'know...Stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Okay, seriously, this is getting way too weird." Hisashi got up from the bench and began to pace in front of the unknown girl. "What do you want?"

"Nothing really." The girl's smile was so delightful that Hisashi expected tiny sparkles to start flying out of it. "You just looked like someone interesting."

"Me? Interesting?" said Hisashi with a laugh, "You've got the wrong person if your looking for-"

Hisashi cut out mid sentence as he had the odd feeling that someone was watching them, someone other than Archer. Turning to his right he noticed that there was a man not far from where they were. He was looking at both him and the girl with a stern and dutiful expression. The man was in his late twenties and he appeared both intimidating and handsome at the same time. His hair was a dark brown and it was slicked back, giving him a very professional appearance.

"Oh," said the girl, noticing where Hisashi was staring, "Don't mind him. He is just my escort, Verner."

"Escort? Are you someone famous? Like a pop idol or something?" Hisashi returned to his seat on the bench, still feeling uneasy about Verner's presence.

"No, not at all. My family is just very strict about my safety. They wanted me to bring him along during my visit here."

"Oh. You're a foreigner?"

"Yep. I came all the way from Germany."

"Wow, that's pretty cool. When did you guys arrive?" Hisashi smiled a little. He had met a few foreigners before but he had never met one as pretty or as lively as her. He found himself to be enjoying her company, although Verner's watchful eyes sent chills down his spine.

"I don't really remember," the girl looked over at Verner and delicately asked, "Verner! When did we arrive here?"

"Exactly two weeks ago," answered Verner. His voice smooth and imposing.

"Exactly two weeks ago," she said, repeating Verner's statement.

"You've been here for a while then haven't you? How are you liking it so far?"

"It's very nice here. If it weren't for Verner being so strict all the time I would have explored the entire city by now."

"Really? What's keeping you from just taking a stroll every now and then?"

"Well, you see, me and Verner have a lot of business to attend to while we are here."

"What kind of business?"

"It's a family mat-"

"Mistress," interrupted Verner, shaking his head in a disapproving gesture.

"Sorry," apologized the girl, hanging her head low. "I forgot."

"It's okay," said Hisashi, "You didn't need to tell me anything in the first place. It's none of my business after all."

The girl giggled and stood up from the bench in an eccentric fashion. "Well then," she said, "I must be off now we have a lot to do today."

"I'm sure," said Hisashi with a small laugh, "By the way," he said, before the girl disappeared into the street, "I didn't catch your name, I'm Emiya Hisashi."

The girl smiled and said, "I am Imizviel von Einzbern. It was nice to meet you Emiya-kun."

"Imizviel huh?" said Hisashi, "I'll remember it. If you want I could take you on a tour of the city sometime if you'd like."

"That would be nice," she said, "I'll take you up on that offer the next time I see you."

Imizviel and Verner continued down the street and Hisashi watched until they were completely out of sight. He got up from the bench and slung his bag across his shoulder. He hoped that he would be able to see her again.

"Einzbern," he whispered to himself, "Where have I heard that name before?"