Chapter 16: Warzone

Hisashi's eyes strained open, greeted by the pristine white light of the moon shining through the window. He struggled to rise from his futon, every muscle in his body sore and strained. Looking around him it was as if nothing had changed. His room was the same as it always was and the comforter that he laid on was the same one that he always fell into day after day. But he would be a fool to think such a thing. Nothing was the same, in fact his entire life had changed.

He was trapped in a war between Servants, a war that he never wanted to be part of. His left arm was now completely nonexistent, torn away from his body in the most painful way imaginable. He didn't know what to think about it. He had always thought he would sail through life aimlessly, content with the worthlessness he had always associated with himself, but now everyone was counting on him for reasons unknown to himself. Archer, his mother and maybe even Natsumi. Just thinking about it made his stomach churn.

The door creaked open and a small sliver of light slipped through and into the room. His mother, Rin, peaked around the door, a relieved smile on her face.

"You're awake," she said, Hisashi could make out small tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"Yeah, I guess I am," replied Hisashi, his voice was raspy and worn out. He was a lot more tired than he thought.

Rin walked into the room, her footsteps tapped across the wooden floor. She took her son in her arms and held him close to her. Hisashi was taken aback, she had never done this before and quite frankly it was a little disturbing.

"You're not Assassin are you?" he asked.

"Of course not!" yelled Rin, her eyebrow twitching with a contained rage, "Isn't it a mother's job to be worried about her own son! Don't think this excuses your stupid decision though!" She was the real deal alright.

"I'm sorry," said Hisashi, recoiling from his mother's wrath, "Can't be too careful is all." The two laughed together and the smile on his mother's face helped relieve some of the building pressure that was on Hisashi's shoulders.

"How is your arm?" asked Rin.

"It's fine, I guess. It'll take some getting used to, but I can live with it."

"That's good to hear." Hisashi could tell that talking about his arm gave Rin a great deal of discomfort but she hid it away, probably hoping that she wouldn't upset him any further.

"How long was I asleep?" he asked, changing the subject.

"About three days."

"Three days?"

"That's correct. I was a little surprised myself, but it makes sense seeing as how grievous your wounds were."

"How bad was it?"

"You are better off not knowing."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Hisashi brought up his left arm, or what was left of it, and simply stared at the blank stump. Rin placed her soft hand onto it and helped him up onto his feet.

"Come on," she said, "I've made dinner and it's about time you got yourself something to eat."

"Now that you say it, I am a bit hungry," said Hisashi, chuckling.

Before they could leave, Hisashi's head perked up and asked, "Where's Natsumi?"

He could see his mother shiver and she simply gave him a worried stare.

"What happened to her?" Hisashi was in a panic, did she get hurt? Did Assassin get to her? "Is she okay? Where is she?"

"It's fine Hisashi," said Rin, struggling to smile, "She's with your father right now."

"Father was here? When did he get here?"

"Just a few days ago, he took Natsumi with him. We figured that we would be able to watch over the two of you better."

Hisashi looked at his mother's face closely. He could tell she was lying. If father had visited she would be in an unbelievably good mood, instead, she was somber and on edge. He didn't want to push his luck however, it was obvious she wasn't going to give him a straight answer.

"Makes sense," he said, smiling.

The two left and Hisashi followed her into the dining room only to jump at the sight of a pair of odd looking strangers. One was dressed almost entirely in violet, with the exception of his pants while the other was a beautiful, tall woman dressed in a revealing black outfit.

He stuttered in a panic, "Wh-Wh-Who the hell are you two?"

"They are some...Old friends of mine," said Rin, hesitating for a moment before saying the word Friend.

"How's it going Hisashi-kun. Your mother here's been going on and on and on about you ever since-" Rin shot him a cold stare and he flinched before saying, "Anyway my name's Shinji Matou. You must have heard all about me, being the awesome guy that I am."

"No, not really."

"Oh, well...Oh come on really?"

"I tend to keep murderous perverts out of my children's bed time stories," said Rin with a smirk.

"Whatever," said Shinji, sitting back down into the table dejected.

"Who is this?" Hisashi looked over at the woman in black. She had an air of mystery about her, and Hisashi himself couldn't help but feel, afraid of her.

"She is Rider, my new Servant," said Rin.

"Servant?" gasped Hisashi, "Wait, your a Master now? Isn't there already a Rider?"

"This Rider is the one from the previous war. From what Shinji has told me, this new Grail has enough power to fuel thousands of Servants. It is, in a sense, a superior system."

"Wait, so, if this Rider is from the last war, how has she managed to stay in our world for so long?"

"It's a long story Hisashi," said Rin with a bored expression, "We'll be here for ages if I tried to explain it."

"Yeah, yeah I get it." Hisashi looked around for a moment, "Where's Archer?"

"She's right behind you."

Hisashi turned around and there was Archer, standing as stoic as ever. He jumped in his seat, completely taken by surprise at Archer's sudden appearance.

"Holy shit! You scared me!" he yelled.

"Don't be such a drama queen Hisashi," said Rin over Shinji's laughter, "Now go and eat your din-" Rin's head perked up, and a panic began to spread throughout her body. Hisashi could see it bright as day, and so did Shinji.

"Somebody's here," said Shinji, his face was serious and his eyebrows furrowed, "We need to get out of the-"

Before Shinji could finish his sentence the walls of the home tore open. Archer grabbed Hisashi and jumped out of the way. Splinters of wood and plaster shot throughout the dining room, it was like a bomb had just gone off. Standing in the middle of the gaping hole in the wall was a warrior garbed entirely in black armor. In his left hand was a cracked, red shield and in the other was a huge sword that glowed a violent bright red.

Looking around him Hisashi could see that the others had narrowly avoided the enemy's violent attack. In an instant Archer drew her sword, but it's shape did not change. She looked at it for a moment, puzzled.

Rider herself drew a pair of long, menacing nails attached to long lengths of chain and proceeded to throw it at the black warrior. However, something happened that shocked Hisashi. What should have been a direct hit, deliberately avoided the black warrior's body. It was like the nails had a mind of their own and that they chose not to strike at the warrior.

From behind the black warrior appeared a cloaked figure that Hisashi had become all too familiar with.

"Nice to see you again," said Assassin, he turned his head to face Shinji, "Well, well, well if it isn't the traitor."

"Shut it!" yelled Shinji.

"As snake tongued as always," Assassin chuckled, "You should know better than to place your trust in someone like him, Tohsaka. If he betrayed me and my Master, what do you think he is going to do to you?"

Rin merely smirked at Assassin's statement, "I don't trust Shinji as far as I can throw him. But to be honest, I trust you even less."

Assassin was quiet for a moment and then suddenly burst into laughter, "Smart girl. You must feel so proud of yourself for that comment don't you?"

"Of course I do. Please, go on with your flattery."

"You must feel so superior, so powerful. Not powerful enough though. Not even the great Tohsaka could save her son from becoming a one armed, useless freak!"

With that one sentence Rin's confidence melted away. She was silent, trying desperately to find the words that would help her turn this argument to her favor, but to no avail.

"Hey! You shut the hell up, asshole!" yelled Hisashi, "Don't you dare talk to my mother like that!"

"Oh, it's you. Don't worry little boy, I haven't forgotten about you."

In a split second a shower of knives shot out of Assassin's cloak and rained down on Hisashi. Archer jumped between them and deflected the blades with her sword, sending them back at Assassin who drew his own pair of rippling blades and deflected them back at Archer. The blades traveled back and forth between the two, like a deadly game of tennis. It was a beautiful display with sparks and the din of metal slamming against metal ringing throughout the now ruined house.

The black warrior struck out at Rider who simply weaved and snaked around his blows, her body was lithe and flexible and Hisashi found himself entranced by her movements. She stabbed at the warrior, but her daggers would suddenly change direction and avoid him completely. The warrior's sword, missing Rider over and over again, would slice into the walls of the house like butter, splintering wood and sending a shower of debris every which way.

It was like hundreds of bombs were going off in Hisashi's home and he found himself dragged away by the collar. It was his mother, who was shouting something that he could not quite hear. She dragged him outside, probably to get him away from the chaos and the pair were followed by a shaken Shinji and their respective Servants.

Archer jumped to Hisashi's side and Rider soon appeared beside Rin. Their two foes clambered out of the ruined household, kicking away the debris at their feet.

"As you can see," said Assassin, "Me and my associate are far too much for you and your petty Servants to handle."

"I know who that is," said Rin, "That's Kijiro's Rider isn't it!"

"It was Kijiro's Rider. The key word being was." Assassin chuckled to himself.

"How? How could you corrupt a Servant in such a way!"

"Because of Sakura," spoke up Shinji.

"What?" asked Rin, taken by surprise.

"I did not tell you this, mostly because it would only hurt you. But Sakura, is less than a human now. She has been completely corrupted by the Grail."

Rin's fists clenched, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"I'm sorry that you had to hear it from me of all people. But it is the reason I became an alchemist after all. I wanted to release her from her torment. The torment that my Grandfather has put her through."

"Look at you two," mocked Assassin, "So righteous. A loving family indeed. But you are too late. Your precious Sakura is past redeeming. She is nothing but a monst-"

Before Assassin could finish his sentence, Rider swiftly threw her pair of giant nails at him, stabbing him in the arm. Assassin screamed out in pain and tried to pry it out of his body, but to no avail. She lifted him from the ground and spun him around like a rag doll, slamming him into the dirt and grass repeatedly.

"She is not a monster. Your Master is the monster and I will make sure he lets Sakura go. If it is the last thing I ever do." Rider pulled Assassin to her, the cloaked Servant forcibly dragged along by the chains, and landed a powerful knee into his masked face. The blow was so powerful that it's impact echoed throughout the dark night.

"Help me you fool!" yelled Assassin to the Altered Rider, who simply stood there watching the beating.

In a split second the black warrior moved like lightning, crossing the patio towards Rider in a split second. However, Archer intercepted him, attempting to slash him across the belly with her sword. However, her black blade arced around the black soldier and his body, as if it were avoiding him. He lashed out at her and his black sword narrowly missed the lithe ninja's neck as it sung through the air.

Archer leaped backwards, she knew that she could not defeat this corrupt warrior with brute force alone. Her sword itself refused to change shape, probably detecting that the warrior had no weakness in combat. She felt a pang of regret at having to fight him. After all, many days ago he had saved her life. He was an honorable, albeit overly confident, warrior, but she learned to respect him. Now, he was an enemy. So be it, it had to be done.

From what she remembered he was the great warrior Achilles. An unstoppable fighting machine with no weakness...save for his heels.

She placed her hands together and chanted, "Aori." In a split second, a storm of divination symbols shot out from the ground and a powerful gust of wind blasted towards the Altered Rider. The shrieking gale of wind appeared to slice apart the ground as it tore it's way towards Altered Rider, uplifting grass and dirt. The black warrior, jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding it. However, it only confirmed Archer's hypothesis.

The wind magic she unleashed was designed to engulf an opponent in wind and slice apart their body. If it had struck Altered Rider it would have swallowed his body whole...including his famous heels. She jumped towards the black warrior with the speed of a bullet, her lithe body barely making a sound as she shot through the air.

The imposing black warrior lashed out at her, his massive black sword roaring through the young, night air. Archer barely dodged it, sliding underneath the blade and striking at Altered Rider's legs. The Black Warrior screamed out in a panic, his once noble voice now an incomprehensible mess of demonic gibberish.

As expected, Archer's blade failed to hit Altered Rider, avoiding him completely. But now, she was behind him, in a perfect position to strike at his heels. She readied her blade, dropped to the floor and swung it towards the vulnerable area. However, her attack was rebuked, with Altered Rider sidestepping the attempted attack and slamming his shield into Archer's face.

The ninja failed to react in time, the warrior's speed suddenly almost equal to her own. She was thrown into the wall of the house, almost breaking through it completely. The Altered Rider charged towards her, howling through the night like a rabid wolf. His blade lashed out at her head, but she narrowly avoided it by leaping into the air and landing opposite of him.

Suddenly, Assassin, still hopelessly attached to Rider's chain, was thrown into the black warrior. His body slid around the corrupted warrior, missing him completely. Standing next to Archer was her new ally Rider, who withdrew her enormous nails from Assassin's battered body.

"You...damn, bitch!" yelled Assassin, it was the first time that Archer had ever seen him break his cool, "You will pay for this!"

Rider was silent, saying absolutely nothing. The black warrior suddenly darted towards both Rider and Archer, his blade held high and his shield held close to his body. However, something happened that Archer did not expect. Assassin motioned his hand and the Altered Rider stopped dead in his tracks. In a split second, the pair retreated into the night.

"Excellent job you two," said Rin, walking towards them, "However, this is not the time for celebration."

"They know they can catch us off guard here now," spoke up Shinji, his hand on his chin, "It's not safe here."

"For once, I'll have to agree with you."

"Then, where will we go?" asked Hisashi. Assassin and that Altered Rider, although defeated for now were obviously a very deadly pair. The two had appeared to come out of nowhere and their attack was sudden and precise. Although he was a bastard, Hisashi had to give credit where it was due, Assassin certainly deserved his title.

Rin was silent, although she said nothing Hisashi could tell she was flustered. This was truly a terrible situation for them to be in but she remained calm. Hisashi had always admired that about his mother. She was a pillar of confidence, never allowing even the most dire of situations to upset or affect her.

"You should all stay at my house!" squeaked a familiar voice. Hisashi knew who it was, even before he and his family turned to see who it was.

It was Imizviel. The silver haired, red eyed beauty he had seen many days ago. She gave him a warm smile and Hisashi's heart began to flutter in his chest.

"Who are you?" asked Rin.

"I am Imizviel von Einzbern."

"I figured as much," Rin said so with an obvious mistrust in her voice.

Hisashi turned to his mother, "It's fine. I know her."

Rin's eyes flicked to Hisashi, "Do you?" It was a simple question, but the intonation behind it was crystal clear to Hisashi. His mother didn't trust Imizviel at all. Hisashi couldn't really blame her. After all, now that he thought about it, Imizviel was an Einzbern. One of the Master's from before who had tried to kill her.

Hisashi quickly began to doubt his own words. Although he and Imizviel had spent time together before, how could he be sure she was trustworthy? Here she was, it was obvious she was probably a Master in the war. How long has she known about it? However, he didn't know why, but he couldn't help but trust her. She was cheerful, happy and calm, not like the other volatile Masters in the war he's met so far. In a way, besides his own family, she was the most trustworthy person she's met so far.

"We have to trust her, mother," whispered Hisashi.

"And why should we?" Rin snapped at Hisashi, it was so abrupt the he flinched in surprise.

"I agree with the kid," interrupted Shinji, who gave Hisashi a friendly nudge.

"Who gave you a say in this?"

"I believe I have earned it, y'know, after saving your ass! Besides look at your house! It's busted up beyond recognition. Where else are we going to go? Assassin and that Other Rider could come back and then what'll we do? Kindly ask them to leave? I don't think so."

"He is right," spoke up Archer, "Although I share your suspicions Master Rin, I believe it is our only option."

Rin thought to herself for a moment, her eyebrows furrowed in deep thought.

"Very well," she said, turning to face Imizviel, "We accept your offer."