AN: Arrrg rewatching UBW movie has me itching to write Shirou x Rin fluff. MUST CONCENTRATE.

Actually, I'm pretty happy with how well I've been able to concentrate on this all. Usually I think up more ideas than I can produce narrative and my head becomes a jumble. If you check out the last post I did on Escaping Fate on BL, you might see that I do more worldbuilding than ever actually comes out in the story (just don't necro the thread…). Same here, as I'll probably not even touch a lot of what I have written down, information-wise, about this story.

Fate/Far Side: Healing Hands

Chapter 4

Short Stays

The fact that Hisui didn't seem particularly skilled at deception, though, meant that there was something else going on here and Tohno-san obviously had come to the same conclusion. We made for the kitchen where Kohaku was preparing dinner, the energetic maid humming off-key to herself as she was tossing a salad.

"Kohaku!" Tohno-san bellowed. It was kind of scary, actually.

Kohaku thought so as well, as she jumped in place and the flacon she was seasoning the salad with went flying out of her grip. She juggled the container in hand and tried to keep what looked like olive oil from sloshing out. "Yes, A-Akiha-sama?"

Tohno-san glared, hands on her hips, looking every bit like the oldest sister who has just been had by the younger siblings. "Explain yourself."

"Er, I'm making salad?"

Hmm. Tohsaka looked funny when she was glaring and scary when she smiled. I think I'd have to say that Tohno-san was the opposite, as she actually looked scary when she glared, but her smiles were actually quite pleasant. "You know what I mean," Tohno-san said.

The maid put her hand behind her head in that same over-exaggerated way that you see people on television do when they were nervous or caught doing something wrong. It gave me that same disjointed feeling as before, that I couldn't quite resolve that Kohaku was the one I had met years ago. The person in front of me seemed…

Well…

Like me, a little bit. A fake.

"I don't know what to say," Kohaku said. "When the request came, I thought it was best not to disturb you with it. You've been working so hard on entrance exams for college and whatnot that I didn't want you to concern yourself over us."

It made sense, though I got the feeling there was something going on that wasn't being said. I just couldn't tell if it was Kohaku hiding something, Tohno-san hiding something, or the both of them just being careful in front of an outsider like me.

"I really think you should let me make that decision," Tohno-san said. "At least when it comes to business with the other families."

"Roger!" Kohaku said, giving a salute. She then broke into a nervous smile. "So…does that mean Hisui-chan is staying?"

Something in that…just…

Akiha huffed, crossing her arms. "No…they have everything arranged now. I could only put it off until the day after tomorrow."

I couldn't tell what, exactly, bothered me, but I had this odd sense now that they were both in on something that was being left unsaid. Tohno-san sounded less indignant about Hisui leaving so much as she sounded upset that everything had been kept from her; Kohaku sounded more concerned that her sister would be staying than leaving. It didn't sound quite like what I had built up in my head about the two of them and the pseudo-family they had going here.

Then again, I'm not sure I know what a regular family is like. Fuji-nee's family was about as close as I got to that, and they weren't exactly normal either.

…Families with more sugar intake were closer to normal?

No, wait, Illya was pretty hyper too, and her family was far from normal. Scratch that.

I sighed. "Kohaku, you're not upset that you're being separated from your sister?"

Kohaku's expression sort of melted into a thoughtful one. "Well, of course, but I think it'll be a good experience for her. Did you know that Hisui-chan hasn't left the grounds of the mansion in years?"

"Tohno-san just told me."

"She really needs to, you know, get out and explore a bit. The Touzaki family isn't going to be demanding of her or anything. I think it'll be a good experience. And it isn't like we'll never see each other again."

I sighed again. "And Hisui's feelings on this?"

Kohaku gave me a sympathetic look. "You're really concerned about my sister, aren't you?"

Maybe it was all the assumptions that Hisui would be fine with all of this, that she could shoulder all of the weight of going off on her own like this. It may be extremely minor compared to Saber, but, the similarities just made me bristle. "I don't like seeing people get hurt."

Tohno-san was giving me an appraising look, and Kohaku's expression turned a little melancholy. "Yeah," Kohaku said, "I can tell."

I couldn't make out whether there was supposed to be sarcasm there. "I know it isn't my place here, but, I'd kind of like to hear Hisui's side of it."

"I won't stop you," Kohaku said. "But I know what she's going to say."

I shrugged. I had a feeling I knew what she would say too, but still.

I knocked on Hisui's door and heard the quiet "Come in" from beyond.

Hisui had not bothered to unpack, her suitcase set to one side. She sat at a vanity, the same neutral expression on her face, but the way that her posture seemed forced, made me think that, through this all, she really was a little forlorn within.

"Is there something you require, Emiya-sama?"

I sighed. Now that I was here, it seemed harder to spit out what I wanted to say. "Um, well, it has to do with this whole moving business—"

"If you do not require anything, I have little else to speak of."

Frowning, I just brought up the first thing to come to mind. "Is it true you haven't left the mansion in years?"

There was a slight twitch of Hisui's cheek and I almost cheered. While the maid had an excellent game face, any sign of a so-called "tell" was enough to show she actually was not nearly as composed beneath it all as she liked to project. "Yes, that is true."

Forget being rude, this was pretty intrusive. But I just had to know. "Why?"

Hisui was a little red in the face, and she looked away. "I do not like people."

Wait, what? "You seem to get along with everyone fine."

The maid was outright fidgeting now, her fingers twiddling in her lap. "I do not like people other than nee-san and Akiha-sama and Shiki-sama."

I grinned. "Mm, I admit, I'm a pretty strange person to like."

"I mean…" Hisui swayed in place, though she kept her gaze away from me. She seemed to think better than to dig any further hole, though. "That is different."

Not that I was actually insulted. "Then why are you okay with moving in with a family you don't even know? And honestly," I couldn't help but hear a little frustration in my voice, "don't give the 'duty' excuse. We both know you're not a robot."

Some of the tension in her shoulders seemed to give, and I knew I had achieved a victory. "I must get over it somehow, correct?"

"Somehow, I don't think you're actually going for that reason."

"There is plenty you do not know, Emiya-sama," Hisui said, turning to look me in the eyes. "And that is why I do not like people. Everyone hides something."

Again, I felt like there was more to it than she was letting on, though this was much deeper and closer to what was actually going through her head than anything I'd caught wind of before.

"Yeah, everyone has a hidden side, Hisui." I shrugged. "But you can't jump at shadows waiting for it to show, or else you'll never move forward, even if you do put yourself out of your comfort zone." I gave her a grin. "Besides, not everyone's hidden side is all that bad. My friend Tohsaka's hidden side is that she's actually stingy and a bully beneath the princess-like exterior she gives…hmm, maybe a bad example."

Sometimes I have this odd feeling like Tohsaka has a magical bug somewhere on me and anything I say can and will be used against me. Best not to call that down onto myself.

"You are not going to scare me into not going," Hisui said.

"Not my intention, honest." I shrugged. "I just don't want anyone jumping into a situation that may prove to be needlessly troubling or painful."

I grinned. I'm such a hypocrite.

I have no regrets, this is the only path.

Shaking off that thought, I asked, "So, what will you do there? I mean, do they expect different things of you than here?"

Hisui looked down at that, fidgeting a little with her hands again. "I am not sure. The Touzaki family specializes in swordsmithing, and so I would expect that cleaning up after their work would be required."

Swordsmithing. My mind rewound to the bodyguard that had been with the car outside the main gate and considered that. It made sense that such a bodyguard then would carry around a sword; even some of Raiga's people carried knockoffs for the sake of the standard yakuza appearance.

Although swords made of bones…

Well, I really don't have the right to criticize.

"I suppose that would require help in the cleaning department," I said, thinking it through. "Smiths get hot and sparks go flying everywhere even if you are careful, and I'd imagine forge chimneys and the water basin need to be cleaned pretty regularly."

Hisui tilted her head. "You appear to be very knowledgeable about forges."

I laughed. "Not really. Well…maybe." Wow, trying to explain might be difficult.

Actually…

Everyone has a hidden side…

"Here, maybe this will help," I said. "I mean, I'm not them, but, well, if you're going to acquaint yourself with hidden sides that aren't, uh, negative. This is my hidden side, and while I wouldn't call it normal, it certainly is pretty boring once you get past the oddity of it."

Kiritsugu did say that magic really should not be concealed. Mine was pretty useless anyway, even if it was abnormal. It's not like I could get away with much using it.

I held out my hands and closed my eyes.

"Trace, on."

Maybe it was the easy comparison between them, but the first sword to come to mind was one of Saber's. Caliburn formed, the perfect weight of it settling into my hands, and I sighed. I dreamed about it so frequently that it took reminders like this to tell me that yes, in fact, it truly was a part of my reality.

My eyes opened to find Hisui staring at the sword in outright amazement, quite possibly the most different expression I'd seen the maid give since coming here. She looked up and down the length of the blade, and then slowly reached out, as if convinced it would be nothing more than an illusion. "No, it's real," I said.

"What…I do not…"

"My hidden side is that I'm a magus. A pretty terrible one, as I'm only really good at this." I handed her the sword, and she settled it in her lap, unable to decide what to do with it. "I can recreate swords and spears that I've seen. Full Trace, standby."

Kanshou and Bakuya were next, just to show that I wasn't somehow tricking her before. She watched as the shapes took form in my hands, was able to see the weight catch in my grip and my arms move to accommodate the newly formed weapons. I again handed her one, Kanshou, to show they were real, and this time she took the blade by the grip.

"Why are you—ah?" Hisui gave a startled gasp as the weapon drew back toward me, clicking back against Bakuya.

"Er, sorry, these ones are…magnetized."

Hisui stared at the weapons, looking them over carefully, then back up to me. "Why are you telling me this?"

I shrugged. "Now you know the side of me that only one other person in the world knows. Not that terrifying, is it? I mean, strange, yeah, but that's it. I make swords. Besides the magic part, it isn't all that different than if I were secretly hammering away metal in my backyard, right?"

Actually, I was surprised she hadn't brought up the whole magic thing to begin with. But then again, Hisui did strike me as the type of person that accepted what she saw with her own eyes. Maybe tomorrow I would point out that her huge stake wouldn't actually be helpful against real vampires.

Her eyes narrowed. "This would be your way of trying to convince me to not go?"

I barked out a laugh at that. "Hisui, I don't really mind whether you go or not—that isn't my place, and I'm not a member of this family or anything. But I do want you to go for the right reasons, and if you do go, to not be afraid of what you may find when you get there."

"You sound like you have done such a thing yourself."

"I guess you could say that." I thought back to the old man, thought of his words when he told me what he was. "My father, Kiritsugu, was a magus. He told me out of the blue one day. And I had decided long before that to emulate him in every way possible. I jumped at the prospect of being one too, and did everything I could to make that my reality." I gave Hisui a grin and a roll of the eyes. "It was difficult, and I have very little to show for it. And what it has brought me is…well, maybe I'll tell you about that some other time. It wasn't all positive, I can say that much."

Hisui stared at me, eyebrows furrowed, and I was once again struck by how much tiny little changes in her expression gave away. It was…well, cute, now that I thought about it.

"But I'm not afraid of what comes, and I don't regret making that decision, scary as it was. I just want you to do the same. No regrets, and no lying to yourself. Make the choice, and follow through with everything you have."

"You have nightmares."

Ah, yes. I guess she could add that up in her head: that this choice also brought me into a world of real terror. "Then call me an idiot for charging forward like I do. It can be a scary world out there. I just don't see why I shouldn't try and do everything I can to make it better." I smirked. "Even if right now, it's just to make sure you know that it is both more and less scary than you might think."

I probably had said too much, really, so I took the swords back from her and dismissed them, then went for the door to let her mull over the hammer I had just beaten her over the head with. Yeah, I needed to work on my people skills.

Somewhere, Tohsaka was laughing, I just knew it.

"You would trust me with this? What if I told someone about you?" Hisui asked.

I found myself in the doorway, our positions now reversed from times before, and I wondered if that was always going to be my fate: to stand at either ends of every connection I made. "Then you tell them. I can take care of myself." I shrugged. "I should probably leave when you do, anyway, so I don't cause Tohno-san and Kohaku any more trouble than they need. I'm sure they don't need a third wheel like me about."

Yeah…I probably wasn't being of use here, really. And if tomorrow I couldn't find this doctor Kiritsugu went to, I didn't really have an excuse to intrude on their hospitality any further.

Besides, Hisui had reminded me…

There was a world out there, a rather unforgiving one.

And I still had a dream to reach.

Healing Hands: Short Stays, End