After about a minute of hugging and crying into her Senpai's shoulder, Sakura started shaking.
"Sakura, what's wrong?" Shirou asked worriedly as her body began heating up and her breathing became shallow.
N-no, why now?! Not in front of Senpai! Sakura mentally screamed as the Crest Worms sent their aphrodisiac into her bloodstream. Apparently her literal roller-coaster of emotions and the happiness of seeing her Senpai alive and well were agitating the worms.
"N-no, it's nothing..." Sakura replied with a blushing face and a half-lidded gaze, making Shirou gulp. Sakura fought with all of her being to not pin Shirou down to the floor and take him right then and there.
I've never seen her with a face like that... Shirou thought to himself before he replied. "Are you sure? You can stay here if you want-"
"It's okay, I'll be here later for dinner. Ishouldreallygonow!"
Sakura quickly stood up and bowed to Shirou, Gudako, and Mashu, not noticing Saber at all as she awkwardly shuffled away and ran outside while trying not to move her thighs too much.
"Well, that was odd." Gudako spoke up after a bit of awkward silence.
Sakura ran all the way home without stopping and immediately entered her bedroom and locked the door.
Her body still burning with desire, she quickly threw off all her clothes and lay down on her bed.
"I... I ran away..." Sakura curled up into a ball as she trembled with shame.
"Senpai will never accept a filthy girl like me..." Sakura mumbled to herself as her hands reached towards her lower body...
"Itadakimasu!"
Mashu and Saber looked at the food curiously. It was miso soup, rice, vegetables and some fish prepared in typical Japanese style.
"Ahh~ I haven't had real food in so long! Chaldea food is so bland." Gudako was excited at the prospect of eating an actual home-cooked meal.
"I-I've never eaten anything outside of Chaldea, so I wouldn't know..." Mashu added.
"I hope the food is to your liking, Saber. You look like a ruler of a country or something along that line, so you're probably used to eating only the highest quality meals-"
"Shirou." Saber grabbed Shirou by the shoulders after taking a few bites. "Your cooking is delicious."
"Ah, really? To have my food praised by a hero of legend is an honor." Shirou scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I am curious, though. What kind of food did you eat in your own era?"
"I-I don't want to talk about it." For a moment, Saber looked truly haunted as she thought about the "food" that she and her subordinates ate every day. "Just know that I infinitely prefer your cooking to what I ate in life."
"Amazing, so this is what home-cooked food tastes like." Mashu commented with stars in her eyes.
"Hey, I was just curious, so I hope you don't mind, but where are you from?" Shirou asked Gudako.
"Hmm, that's actually a difficult question to answer. Should we tell them, Mashu?"
"If we're to be allies with them, then yes, I think that's a good idea, Senpai."
"Alright then. In short, we're like time travelers. We're from around, what, a decade in the future?"
"Yes, a decade sounds about right. We might be in a different timeline, though."
Shirou and Saber were openly staring at the two of them.
"We're from Chaldea Security Organization. Basically they send Masters all over the timelines to make sure that no anomalies show up and mess up the Human Order." Gudako explained.
"Yes, if anyone tries to do anything that would modify human history, then a team is sent out to deal with the problem as soon as possible. If major turning points in history are changed, then it would lead to the collapse of humanity's future." Mashu added.
"Holy Grail Wars seem to be hotspots for this sort of stuff. Honestly, we don't particularly care about actually winning the Grail, we just need to make sure that someone doesn't make a crazy wish that would incinerate all of humanity or something like that."
There was an awkward silence that lingered in the air for a bit.
"I'm sorry, this was just a lot to take in. But do you have any proof that you really are from the future?" Saber asked.
"Um, do we have anything to prove that we're from the future?" Gudako asked Mashu.
"How about your phone?" she asked.
"Oh! Right, this will definitely work." Gudako pulled out a futuristic looking phone (by 2004 standards) eliciting a curious stare from Shirou.
Gudako pointed the ServantDex at Saber.
Artoria Pendragon, the King of Knights.
This particular King Arthur was from a timeline where the King was in fact, a female. She boasts excellent statistics across all of her parameters, but as a result, requires a high amount of magical energy from the Master to properly unleash her full power in combat. Her most famous sword, Excalibur, is shrouded in Invisible Air to conceal it from the enemy, for even the slightest glance would be enough to discern her true identity.
Her current class is Saber, though she can also qualify for other classes as well, such as Rider or Lancer. But her other weapons are lacking in fame compared to Excalibur, so summoning her in a different class is less likely.
Saber fell silent.
"So, that device allows you to instantly see a Servant's identity, huh? So you do speak the truth." Saber spoke up after a moment's pause.
"Saber is King Arthur?!" Shirou exclaimed.
Saber nodded. "Yes. Despite the legends, I am indeed a woman. But for the sake of my kingdom and my people, I concealed my gender."
"Wow... It must have been tough having to live like that. But still, the sacrifices you made are worthy of respect."
"You really think that?" Saber asked, and Shirou just nodded.
"And also, Mashu is what you call a Demi-Servant."
"That's right. I am a human who has a Heroic Spirit bonded to my body. As a result, I can switch between my human a Servant form, but ultimately I'm still a living human." Mashu transformed into her Shielder form to make a point.
"With this irrefutable proof, I can only accept your words as the truth. I have many questions I would like to ask, but I will save them for a later date." Saber said.
"So," Shirou spoke up. "You guys are basically trying to prevent any disasters from happening because of the War, right?"
Gudako and Mashu nodded.
"I also hope to prevent innocent people from getting dragged into the conflict, so will you help us?"
"Of course. I mean, you fed us and let us stay in this nice house, and we're not actually planning on taking the Grail anyways. As long as you don't make a destructive wish, we have no issue with helping you."
The two shook hands, and as they did so, Mashu's protective aura seemed to wash over both Shirou and Saber.
"Ah, that must be one of my defensive skills. It increases the defensive power of all of our allies. It's not a big boost as most of it goes towards Senpai, but I hope it will help."
"Do not worry, your help is greatly appreciated. You must guard your own Master above all others, as I, too, have put the greatest priority on ensuring my own Master's safety. It is completely understandable." Saber replied.
Mashu and Gudako offered to do the dishes, so Shirou and Saber went to do some planning on their own.
After a while, they came back outside and announced that they had to go to the Church for something.
"I see. Me and Mashu planned on heading outside to buy some clothes too."
"Anyways, we'll be off. Here, hold onto this." Shirou produces a house key and hands it to Gudako.
"Wow, you're really trusting me with this?"
"Yeah, I figured it would be nice to have some trust between us since we're going to be allies. Besides, we're pretending to be siblings, so I thought it was fitting."
"I see, thanks a lot, Emiya!"
The two were about to walk out, when Gudako realized Saber wasn't in spirit form.
"Wait, is Saber planning to follow you around in her armor?"
"Ah, I didn't think about that! Hang on, maybe there's something in the shed that she can wear."
Shirou runs off to his shed. After a while, he returns with a black suit and tie.
Saber's eyes widen when she sees the outfit.
"This was what I found in the storage. For some reason, I felt like it would fit you. It's still clean since it was well stored. You don't mind, do you...?"
"Ah, no. I was just slightly surprised, that's all. Just give me a moment to change."
Saber quickly exited the room and returned with the suit on.
"Wow, it really does fit you, Saber."
"Er, yes. Shall we be on our way? I will explain everything as we walk."
The two of them left towards the Church to do whatever it was that they were planning to do.
"Well, Mashu, let's go down to the shopping district."
At the Miyama Shopping District
"Wow, this is a pretty nice town." Gudako commented as they strolled down the streets. Mashu was completely captivated by the sights.
"Amazing, there's so many people here. It's so lively!"
"I know, right? Here, let's go to that clothing store."
The two girls entered and went around trying on different outfits.
"Have you ever been shopping before, Mashu?"
"Ah, no. I've never left Chaldea before, so there's a lot of things that I've never experienced yet."
"Is that so? In that case, we'll just have to make a lot of memories, okay?"
"Y-yes!"
Mashu ended up picking out a blue and white plaid sundress. Gudako went for a white skirt with an orange top. They also stocked up on basic things like socks and underwear.
"Should we also get something for Saber, Senpai?"
"Yeah, that's a good idea. We can repay them even if it's just a tiny bit. She's around our size, so it shouldn't be too hard to pick something out."
They ended up picking a blue dress with a white blouse. For some reason, they thought it would suit her. She also picked up a Hawaiian shirt and some pants for Lancer. She didn't want him to be left out.
Gudako paid for everything with her bank card that contained her winnings (which currently consisted of Tohsaka Rin's money) and they left.
The two of them spent the next hour taking a stroll around the shopping district since Mashu wanted to see more Miyama. They went around looking at stores and buying food from the various shops.
"Did you have fun, Mashu?"
"Yes! All of these new things, I enjoyed experiencing them all with you!"
They started to head back to the Emiya residence, only to see Rin off in the distance. They didn't go unnoticed, as Rin also saw them.
"Mashu, run! Blend into the crowd!"
It was a bit difficult trying to run through the crowd while carrying bags of clothing, but they managed. Gudako looked behind her shoulder to see Rin start to catch up. Clearly she was sneaking a bit of reinforcement into her legs.
"I-is she going to call out her Servant?" Mashu asked as they ran.
"I doubt it, there's way too many people here. As long as you don't change into Shielder, she won't be able to track you!" Gudako looked behind her shoulder again to see that Rin was getting even closer.
"Mashu, turn left into that store! I am going to activate my Noble Phantasm!"
"Senpai, what-" Mashu was cut off as Gudako shoved her into a random store on the left.
"Excuse me, did you see an orange-haired girl pass by here?" Rin asked a young man with black hair and blue eyes.
"Orange-haired girl? Yeah, I saw her run over there." Gudao pointed in a random direction.
"I see, thank you very much." Rin gave a polite bow before running off in that direction.
"Whew..." Gudao sighed as he let out a breath that he had been holding.
"W-w-w-wha?" Mashu, who had witnessed the whole thing, was gaping like a fish as her mouth kept opening and closing.
"Shhh... this is my secret, okay?" Gudao covered Mashu's mouth.
The two of them left the shopping district as they headed back towards the Emiya residence.
"This is my secret skill. I can change gender at will!" Gudao explained.
"B-but but but?" Mashu babbled incoherently.
Gudao shrugged. "Most mobage protagonists can switch genders at will. It's nothing special." Gudao replied.
Mashu reached out with her hands and started rubbing and poking at Gudao's face and chest in an attempt to see if this was real or if her eyes were playing tricks on her.
"You having fun?"
Mashu's face turned a bright shade of scarlet as she started stammering. "O-of course not! I-I mean..."
"Haha, I was just teasing you." Gudao looked around to make sure there were no witnesses. Then, he changed.
There was no bright flash, no burst of magical energy. It just simply happened. One moment he was Gudao, the next moment she was Gudako. The clothes also changed to match the current gender.
Mashu was gawking at the impossible event that had just happened.
"Hehe, this will be our secret, okay?" Gudako asked.
"Y-yes, Senpai."
"Come on then, let's go."
Gudako grabbed Mashu by the arm and gave her a big smile as they continued down the road.
At that moment, Mashu decided that she would always follow her Senpai, even if s/he? was a strange person.