Author's Note: Nonstop listening to "On My Own" from Les Misérables and "He Doesn't See Me" by Sarah Brightman (the latter of which being the inspiration for the one-shot's title) led to this one-shot.

A King Who Deserves a Queen

Smile, Ayaka Sajyou told herself as she headed down the school's hallway to a room marked 2-A, attempting to force her lips into a small grin. She didn't have to see her reflection to know her smile looked fake, and all efforts to appear pleasant were dropped by the time she entered the classroom.

She half regretted it the instant she saw the blond-haired boy already sitting at his desk. As Ayaka walked to her own seat, she sneaked a glance at Saber, whose eyes had not even flickered at her arrival. He looked exactly as he had in her dream last night: flawless. Everything about him was perfect—the unkempt golden hair, the cool blue-green eyes, the straight posture, the pale hands neatly folded on the table.

After Ayaka was seated at the desk right behind Saber's, her blue eyes remained focused on him. She wondered if he could feel her staring at him and if he would turn in her direction. He had once, the day she transferred to Homurahara Academy. He'd turned around in his seat to look at her, one of his eyebrows raised in question, and she'd hurriedly lowered her gaze and busied herself with cleaning her glasses, embarrassed at being caught.

At present, if Saber sensed that he was being watched, he ignored it completely, and maybe that was for the best. Ayaka did not know what she'd do if he looked at her again. Oh, she knew what she'd like to do—strike up a conversation, maybe begin with small talk that would gradually lead to him asking her if she wanted to spend time with him after school. But the chances of that happening were less than zero, and not just because Ayaka had never been known for having the best social skills.

It was also because Saber, the most sought after guy in school, already had a girlfriend. Said girlfriend was not the very popular Rin Tohsaka, as one might have expected, but Shira Emiya, who, while not necessarily school idol material, was everything Ayaka was not: cheerful, friendly, warmhearted, and quite pretty when it came to looks. Even if Ayaka could muster whatever courage she had to talk to Saber, how could she ever compete with the girl who had apparently stolen his heart before he even enrolled in this school?

And if that wasn't enough, Yua, Emiko, and Aina, three girls in Ayaka and Saber's class, got great, even cruel amusement out of the entire situation.

"Really, Sajyou! Of all the boys you could pine after, it has to be Mr. Foreign, Gorgeous, and Off-Limits," Emiko said with a giggle at the start of that day's lunch break.

Ayaka, who had been staring at Saber as he stood in the lunch line, turned her head towards the girl who had just spoken, belatedly realizing that Emiko, along with Yua and Aina, had walked up to the cafeteria table she was sitting at.

"Uh...well..." Ayaka's voice was small as her insides clenched, and she had barely gotten those two words out before Aina starting talking.

"You've been staring at Saber for, like, two minutes straight. What, you think he'll notice you if you burn a hole through his head?"

"Of course he wouldn't," Yua declared as Aina laughed at her own joke. "Sajyou's so mousy that it'd be a miracle if a guy like Saber even knew she existed. Isn't that right, Sajyou?" she added, smirking.

"H-hey—!" Ayaka began to protest, her face flushing.

"Oh, don't try to pretend it's not true," Emiko interrupted, rolling her brown eyes. "You'll only embarrass yourself."

"She's embarrassing herself enough as it is," Aina said, addressing Emiko and Yua as though Ayaka wasn't there to hear her every word. "Even if Saber wasn't with Emiya, he's still way out of Sajyou's league."

The bespectacled girl stared at her lap, her throat feeling tight. "Stop it."

But the taunts only continued, Aina, Emiko, and Yua paying no heed to Ayaka's feeble plea.

"Face it, Sajyou; you're pathetic."

"What makes you think Saber would have anything to do with a plain Jane like you?"

"And you're too much of a coward to even talk to him!"

"It'd be funny if it wasn't so sad."

Just as tears were pricking at the corners of Ayaka's eyes, a male voice broke in.

"I believe that is quite enough."

Ayaka could barely suppress a shocked gasp as she looked up. That voice, that calm, dignified voice—she had listened to it plenty of times before, of course, but never as more than an eavesdropper to a conversation. She felt her heart begin to race as her eyes took in the very real sight of Saber standing across from where she sat, carrying a bento box in his hands and furrowing his brow disapprovingly at the girls bullying her.

For their part, Emiko, Yua, and Aina seemed as surprised as Ayaka was once they realized that the blond was there.

Yua was the first to find her voice. "Saber!" she exclaimed, plastering a smile on her face. "We were just talking about you!"

"Yes, I surmised as much," Saber said coolly. "My apologies, but I could not help but overhear you tormenting this girl."

He spared a glance at Ayaka, who resumed staring at her lap as if it was the most interesting thing in the world, feeling a blush creeping to her cheeks.

"Tormenting?" Emiko repeated. "We were just having some fun."

"Oh?" Saber fixed another glare at the three girls. "From what I saw, it looked as though she was not enjoying having insults thrown at her. Or were my eyes deceiving me?"

Neither Aina, Emiko, nor Yua had any answer; Ayaka did not look to see their expressions, but she imagined they were quite unnerved by Saber's frosty demeanor.

"I suggest you leave," he said after several seconds of silence.

A few more seconds passed, and then Aina muttered something that Ayaka could barely hear. When she finally lifted her head, she saw that the girls were walking off towards the other side of the cafeteria.

"Are you all right?" Saber questioned, his voice now less cool but no less even.

Ayaka gave a start as she shifted her gaze to him, noticing how those perfect blue-green eyes of his were looking at her in polite concern. Her own eyes quickly stared out into space; even now, she could hardly work up the nerve to maintain eye contact with Saber.

"Um...I...I'm fine," she stammered out quietly. "Th-thank you for...you know, for what you did, S-Saber..."

She could feel her cheeks burning even further. Was this the best she could do? She had lost count of how many times she'd fantasized about the moment she would have her first conversation with Saber, and now that the moment had arrived—and after he had defended her from bullies, at that—she could do nothing more than stutter out her words in little more than a whisper. Oh, what must he think of her?

But Saber did not seem at all put off by Ayaka's timidity. "You are welcome, though I'm sorry those girls teased you so. They should not have said any of those things."

They didn't say anything that wasn't true, Ayaka thought gloomily. I'm a coward, I'm pathetic, and I'm so hopelessly average in absolutely everything: looks, grades...magecraft. I stand out so little that I might as well blend myself into a wall. You wouldn't even have noticed me if Yua, Emiko, and Aina hadn't decided to make fun of me.

Out loud, though, Ayaka let out a noncommittal hum.

"If something like that happens again," Saber told her, "you know who to find for help, Miss..." His voice trailed off expectantly.

"Oh!" Ayaka forced herself to meet his gaze. "Sajyou. Th-that is..." she paused momentarily, "m-my name is Ayaka Sajyou."

"I see." Saber nodded. "Well then, Ayaka, I am supposed to meet Shira for lunch, but perhaps we can talk at a later time. Goodbye."

"Um...yeah; g-goodbye," Ayaka mumbled as Saber politely bowed his head. She watched him leave the cafeteria in disappointment; a part of her had hoped that maybe he'd want to eat lunch with her, but she knew it was pointless as soon as he mentioned his girlfriend's name.

On the other hand, though...Ayaka's eyes widened slightly. Hadn't Saber said they could talk later? And he'd stepped in and stuck up for her even when he didn't have to. He had been so nice to her, and never before had he shown so much interest; it surely meant that he liked her, too! Right?

It was a pleasant thought, and the slow smile that appeared on Ayaka's face was much more genuine than her morning's attempt at a smile had been. As she finally starting eating her lunch, daydreams about Saber filled her head. They would have that talk, she'd properly thank him for helping her out, he'd invite her out on a rendezvous...

But how were those daydreams supposed to become a reality, especially with Shira in the picture? Ayaka mused on this for a moment, and an idea began to form.

Well, they say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach...

Saber strode out of his classroom shortly after the bell signaling lunchtime rang. That morning had found Shira realizing that she'd forgotten to make a lunch for herself—and she had no money on her person to buy one—just as she and Saber were about to reach school. He'd assured her that he would use his own money to buy a lunch for both of them to share from the cafeteria, which was where he now intended to go before meeting with Shira on the school's rooftop.

He was walking through the halls, about halfway to his first destination, when he heard a voice call out to him.

"Saber."

The blond stopped and looked over his shoulder to see Ayaka Sajyou, the bullied girl he had helped the other day, stepping towards him, a boxed lunch in hand.

"Hello, Ayaka," Saber greeted. "Has someone else been bothering you?"

"Uh...no," Ayaka shook her head, "nothing like that. Um...I just..." Her voice, almost as soft as it had been yesterday, trailed off uncertainly, and she cast her gaze downward.

"Yes?" Saber prompted after a few seconds of silence.

"I...um...made this for you," Ayaka finally said, looking up at him and holding out the boxed lunch.

Saber accepted it with a puzzled frown. "You prepared a lunch for me?"

"Yeah..." Ayaka confirmed, pushing a lock of shoulder-length black hair behind her ear. "You helped me out yesterday, and I...I thought I should thank you for it."

Saber hummed in response, not failing to notice the telling blush on the bespectacled girl's face. He had little doubt that Ayaka genuinely wanted to thank him for defending her from the girls who'd been bullying her, but he was also acutely aware of the likelihood that it was more than simple gratitude that had caused her to approach him. He was no stranger to girls being infatuated with him despite his relationship with Shira, and if Ayaka had been the simpering and fawning type, he would have very firmly rejected whatever advances she tried to make.

But the girl in front of him was neither simpering nor fawning over him; truthfully, she was painfully shy and seemed rather fragile to Saber. He could imagine that a blunt rejection would not go over very well, so he would have to take a different approach—namely, pretending that he was oblivious. Perhaps if he simply did not react to Ayaka's feelings towards him, she would give up any hope she had of dislodging Shira's place in his heart.

So rather than mention how red she was, with a slight smile, he said, "Well, I suppose it's my turn to thank you, Ayaka. I am certain that Shira and I will enjoy your cooking."

The smile that had begun to spread across Ayaka's face when Saber started talking disappeared once he said Shira's name.

"S-Shira?" she parroted, her face returning to its natural color.

"Yes; Shira left for school this morning without a lunch, so I told her I would buy something for us to share. She was initially rather adamant that I not 'waste money on her,' as she put it, but I was insistent."

Saber's smile broadened a little as he remembered how the conversation had gone.

"Look, Saber, I'll be fine. It's not like I make a habit out of skipping meals," Shira said as they stood in front of the school's gate. "Besides, I can always ask Sakura or Tohsaka if they'd share their lunches with me."

"Even so, Shira," Saber replied patiently, "it would not be right for me to not provide you with food if I have the means to do it."

Shira huffed, shaking her head. "You make it sound like I'll starve. And that's your money you'll be spending; you don't need to spend it on me."

"What if I told you I wanted to?" A small grin crossed Saber's lips. "And to be more accurate, I would be spending money on both of us."

The redhead opened her mouth, then closed it as she realized that she couldn't come up with anything to contradict what Saber had said. After a few seconds of thought, she chuckled a bit.

"Is this your way of spoiling me, Saber?" Shira teased.

"Not at all." Although the question had been meant as a joke, Saber responded seriously. "I merely do not enjoy the thought of you going hungry."

His statement caused Shira to give pause, then she let out a sigh and nodded after a momentary silence. "Okay." She took his hand, and the couple walked through the gate and towards the school building.

"Thanks, Saber," Shira told him quietly.

He turned his head to look at her. "What are you thanking me for?"

The soft smile she gave him caused his heart to skip a beat. "For just being you."

"In any case," Saber continued after mentally shaking himself out of the memory, "you giving this lunch to me saves me from having to go to the cafeteria, so I thank you again."

"Oh." Ayaka looked away from him after that subdued, monosyllabic reply. "Well...y-you're welcome. I'll just get going, then...See you later."

With that said, she turned on her heel and hurried past Saber before he could think to say anything.

"Saber!" Shira greeted once he made it to the roof, getting up from where she'd sat on a bench and walking over to him. "I see you've got us food."

"I did, but as it turned out, I did not have to buy it," Saber told her as he handed the boxed lunch to her. "It was given to me by a girl in my class."

Shira looked up from examining the contents of the lunch, her initial grin slowly giving way to a frown. "A girl?"

"Yes, Ayaka Sajyou." As the two headed towards the bench Shira had been sitting on, Saber continued explaining. "I helped her out when a few girls were harassing her yesterday, so she gave me that lunch to thank me."

"Why do I get the feeling that she wants to thank you in an entirely different way?" Shira could not quite hide the peevish note in her voice.

"Are you jealous?" Saber asked once they were seated, only half serious.

"Of course not!" Shira insisted, despite the reddening of her cheeks.

"Your face seems to be telling a different story."

"Oh, shut up." The redhead averted her gaze from Saber, her blush deepening.

He sighed after a moment. "Shira," he began, all traces of humor abandoned, "you already know I favor you."

"It's not about that," she confessed as she refocused on him, the blush having faded. "It's just that girls have a tendency of throwing themselves at you. Can you blame me for being annoyed?"

"I suppose not," Saber admitted. "But I believe this means that you can no longer accuse me of acting like a Neanderthal whenever I feel envious," he added, resuming his teasing.

Shira scoffed and rolled her eyes, though she was now smiling again. "Says the guy who tried to kill Issei with his eyes—more than once. But anyway," she set the boxed lunch down between herself and Saber, "how about we see if this Ayaka Sajyou is a good cook?"

And with that, the couple began eating.

Author's Note: I had planned on only having Ayaka appear in this one-shot, but if anyone wants to see more of her, I'll see if I can come up with anything.