He Who Protects the Living
AN: I'm sorry this was so late. I ran out of time, and then school started. But it's here now.
Well, it looks like you guys are enjoying the story so far. I'm glad. I didn't think this was going to be so popular when I first posted it. Thank you to everyone who has read, who has reviewed, and everything else. You guys actually give me ideas that I use every time that you review. So keep on doing it. (Hint, Hint) :)
I have a reference to another VN in this chapter. Find it, you get a cookie! :)
I do not believe I have anything I really need to say or make clear this chapter. If you have any questions, PM me, or review. I always respond as fast as I can. Progress on each chapter is on my profile.
Heads up, school starts Sep. 4, so I will definitely update only once a week. Sorry, I wish I could update faster than that, but school is important. Chapter progress will be on my profile. I will also put notes on my profile if, for whatever reason, I can't write that week. Updates will most likely be on Sunday's.
Disclaimer: I do not own FSN or Bleach in any way, shape, or form. Now I can't get sued. Hooray!
Last Time: "You cook Shirou?" Saber questioned, also standing.
"Yup. I must say though, servants, exhaustion, hunger, we sure do have a lot of enemies don't we." he asked, walking to the door.
"That we do Shirou, that we do." Saber said with a completely serious face as her stomach growled again. Turning red once again, Shirou laughed and hurried up. He had someone to feed.
Chapter 4: Training Begins
Shirou was making something simple and fast. He had woken up a bit late for breakfast, but not late enough for lunch, so he had decided on a quick breakfast.
Shirou sighed happily as he did all the preparations, cutting what needed to be cut, washing what needed to be washed, stirring, cooking.
Shirou was forced to learn how to cook from an early age. His father Kiritsugu couldn't cook for fear of burning down the house. The same with Taiga. So, he had to learn fast or risk another great Fuyuki fire or starvation.
At first it had been a bit of a disaster, but he had learned surprisingly quickly. He had also quickly come to greatly enjoy his time in the kitchen. There was just nothing so relaxing as taking the time to turn a bunch of unassuming ingredients and spices into something edible and delicious.
It cleared his mind of worries, and he quickly lost himself in it every time he did it.
Within a few minutes, he was done. Taking it out quickly, he set it on the table. Saber shot a curious glance at the food she had never eaten before. With a quick, "Ittadakimasu!" they began eating.
He watched with great enjoyment as Saber took her first bite, and that small smile that she put on when she tasted what he had made.
Shirou greatly enjoyed the reactions people made when they tried his cooking.
Knowing that they liked it, that they were thankful for his efforts and appreciated them made him happy. He loved doing it to make his family happy.
He only wished Fuji-nee appreciated his food enough to do more than scarf it all down.
Shirou was quickly done, but watched Saber eat surprised. She was eating slowly, gracefully, with etiquette. He would have expected that out of a girl like Saber though. The surprising part was that although she ate slowly and gracefully, she just wasn't stopping.
He watched as she slowly devoured her food, vaguely wondering where it was all going. He had not thought that a small and petite girl like Saber would eat so much.
Finally finishing every morsel that Shirou had made, Saber sighed in contentment, muttering a quick, "Thanks for the meal."
"That was a good meal Shirou." Saber admitted, the smile he had seen when she took her first bite still present on her face.
"I'm sorry it was Eastern though, but I wanted to make something quick and I'm more familiar with Eastern." Shirou apologized bowing his head.
"Not at all Shirou." Saber denied. "As long as it's good and filling, there is no reason for me to complain. Your cooking is quite good. Were I still a king, I might have made you into my personal cook."
A small hue of red, almost unnoticeable made its way onto Saber's face as she admitted this. Shirou smiled widely.
"Thanks a lot Saber." he told her. "Ah, I forgot you were a king in life Saber." he said as he began gathering all the dishes.
Saber stood and helped him. "Really? Well, I suppose it isn't a matter that would concern you much."
Shirou looked at her, and suddenly remembered the dream he had had last night.
"Last night I had a dream about that. A girl pulling a sword out of a stone. Those, were your memories?" Shirou asked, unsure.
Saber nodded. "I am not surprised Shirou. That is known as the dream cycle. A master will often dream of his servant's life through his dreams."
"I had thought," Saber continued, "that I would have to hide my name from you when you first summoned me. However, you proved yourself to be strong when you fought Berserker together with me."
Shirou blinked in slight confusion. "Why would you do that?" he asked.
"Knowing a servant's name allows you to know their weaknesses." she replied. "Had you not been strong enough to defend yourself, then I would have preferred you not know so you can't be tortured for the knowledge."
"But, you're supposed to have no weaknesses as far as I can remember." Shirou stated, still slightly confused. "I thought you had that sheath, Avalon, that made it so you can't get hurt."
A look passed Saber's face that he could not identify. "Avalon was stolen from me before my death. I have it no longer, and so I can be hurt."
Shirou could tell it was probably a sore subject to her. "I see. So like how I figured out that Berserker would have twelve lives because of the twelve labors."
Saber, happy that they had left the subject, nodded. "Yes. I'm glad you figured it out so quickly, we now know how many lives Berserker has left."
"And thanks to our battle with him, we know that he gains an immunity to whatever kills him." Shirou finished.
"Yes. Berserker will be tough to beat with that immunity, but you and I together should be able to take him because of his mindlessness. Ilyasviel revealed that you took three lives, so it is possible that my own Noble Phantasm will take more than that." proposed Saber.
"Noble Phantasm? What exactly is that?" asked Shirou. "Is it some power you have?"
"A Noble Phantasm is a crystallized mystery. The symbol of a hero. They can be a weapon, a concept, an ability, etc. They are unique to the Heroic Spirit who uses them, and can only be used by them. One example would be my sword, Excalibur. They are a trump card, used to kill the enemy in one shot. This is because they can reveal the identity of the one who uses it." Saber explained.
"I see. And what does Excalibur do exactly?" asked Shirou.
"It does almost exactly what your Zangetsu does actually." Saber admitted. "My own attack is at least twice as strong as yours, but it is almost exactly the same. Your own zanpakutou is extremely similar to a Noble Phantasm."
"Maybe the similar powers is why you were summoned as my servant?" Shirou proposed.
"It is certainly possible." Saber agreed. "There was no catalyst used to summon me, so the similar powers and personalities made the grail choose me as your partner."
"Okay. I think I understand that now." said Shirou, a contemplative look on his face. "What are we going to do about the other servants and masters?"
"You do not have any skills to try and track them down as you are not a magi. So the best thing to do is probably to patrol the city and look. Perhaps servants will come to challenge us." Saber said, thinking.
"That sounds good." Shirou agreed. "It also allows us to react faster if any civilians are getting hurt."
"That's right, you are fighting this war to protect all those you can correct?" asked Saber.
"Well, yeah. But you're helping me every step of the way right? Together we'll defeat every master and servant. Then at the end, I will get the grail for you." Shirou told her seriously.
Saber could feel her face reddening. 'Why is my face red?'
Just then the phone started ringing. Shirou, oblivious to Saber's red face, went and answered it. Saber quickly calmed down. 'Why, did I react so strongly?' she wondered.
Saber wondered at Shirou also. Although he was strong, she wondered whether he could survive the war if he had no resolve to win. To win for her? For another person? Saber did not believe that this was enough resolve to get the grail.
Shirou returned, scowling. "Fuji-nee wants me to bring her lunch. I'm going to make her a quick bento."
"Shirou." she called out to him. "Be careful on the path you have chosen. You are strong, especially so for a human, but you may end up regretting it.'
Her words resounding in his ears, his eyebrows bunched together, but he nodded.
Saber nodded, watching him go back to the kitchen. In a few minutes, Shirou had leftovers from the day before ready, the omelet ready, and he called out to Saber. "I'm going to go get this to Fuji-nee, I'll be back in a little bit."
"I will come with you Shirou." Saber stated, standing up.
"Normally I wouldn't mind Saber." Shirou started. "But look at what your wearing. I don't have any clothes you can wear, and that stands out too much."
Saber looked at her clothes and frowned. 'This is a problem I did not foresee.' In the last war, Kiritsugu had provided her with a suit to wear.
Her master wasn't expecting her however, so it was expected he probably would not have any clothing for her.
"I'll get you some clothes too while I'm out. I'll be back as soon as I can." Shirou stated, beginning to put his shoes on.
"Ah. I'm sorry I have to ask something this personal, but what are your sizes?" Shirou asked, looking away with a blush and a scowl.
Saber blinked. "I am your sword Shirou. It is only right that you know the important things about your weapons." She then told him her sizes.
Shirou sighed. He just couldn't seem to get her to lighten up on her not being a weapon.
"Do not hesitate to call me if you are in trouble Shirou." said Saber frowning. Shirou could fend off a servant for at least the minute needed to use a command seal.
-I am the bone of my sword-
Shirou made his way quickly. Although Saber trusted him to be gone alone for a short time, she would not be happy if he took more time than necessary.
Arriving at the gates, he paused as he smelled something strange. Sniffing the air discretely, he frowned. 'What, is this smell?' he thought.
It was strange. Deciding it was probably nothing, he made his way inside. Going his way to the archery club, he saw Mitsuzuri Ayako, the captain of the archery club.
"Emiya!" she called out to me. "You brought Taiga's meal?"
"Yeah." Shirou sad, scowling.
"Good. She was starting to get a little edgy." Ayako sighed in relief.
"Figures. That Taiga is like a real tiger when it comes to food." Shirou said, scowling. (Taiga means tiger).
"I see your still scowling Shirou. Don't you know that your face will get stuck like that?" Ayako said with a teasing smile.
Shirou grunted and moved on. He didn't have time to hear that more than once a day.
Fuji-nee would probably get mad if Shirou didn't see her. He would suffer for it later. But he could probably go as soon as he gave her her lunch.
Going inside the range, he was assaulted by a cacophony of voices complaining to Taiga. 'Huh. This place's the same as always.'
'Ah. There's Sakura.' Shirou thought.
"Excellent timing. Oi, Sakura!" he called out. He could see surprise running through her face.
"Senpai!" she called out in surprise, heading over to him.
"Why are you here today senpai?" Sakura asked, smiling. "C-could it, be, um..."
Not noticing her last sentence stumbling, Shirou told her, "I brought lunch for you and Fuji-nee. She's starting to give out absurd orders because she's hungry right."
Sakura looked disappointed for a moment, but quickly brightened up. "Will you stay here all today senpai?" she asked him.
"Sorry. I would like to, but I have a guest over. One of my fathers friends, came to do something for a little while, didn't know he was dead. By the way, you should come to dinner tonight, I'm cooking." Shirou told her.
Sakura once again looked disappointed, but once again brightened up when Shirou invited her to dinner.. "Ah, okay senpai. I'll come tonight. I'll call Fujimura-sensei over."
Sakura scurried off to get Fuji-nee.
-Steel is my body-
In the break room, Fuji-nee sighed as she finished her lunch. The tiger had been sated apparently.
"Thanks for the meal Shirou!" she told Shirou happily.
"I'm glad you liked it, Fuji-nee." Shirou said with a scowl.
"Mou, Shirou, you're scowling again!" Fuji-nee said, hands aiming out to pinch my cheeks.
Shirou dodged with skill that said years of experience. "Well what can you expect when you call me out to bring you lunch when I'm entertaining a guest?"
Fuji-nee blinked. "Oh yeah, Sakura said something like that. A friend of your dad's right?"
"Yeah. Pops was always going off to other countries. Didn't know he was dead, so I'm letting 'em stay." Shirou stated.
"Yeah. Sure sound like you Shirou." Fuji-nee said with a smile. "So, I guess your not staying?"
"No. I promised I would be right back." Shirou said.
"Alrighty then. See ya at dinner Shirou!" Fuji-nee stated, going out the room. Shirou also stood.
Saying a quick good bye to Sakura, who was also going back out, he headed out.
Making his way out, Ayako called him. "Oi, Emiya." Turning, he took a look at her.
"Mitsuzuri. What's up?" he asked, still scowling.
"Oh nothing much. Just came to see if you would stay and shoot." she said, smiling.
"I would like to, but I have a guest waiting for me back at home." Shirou said.
"Ah. Well, I also wanted to tell you you need to lighten up. That's why Sakura's a little upset too, you never laugh, never have any fun. All you do is scowl all the time." she said, smile disappearing.
"Hmm. I must be bad if even my classmates are telling me to lighten up." Shirou stated, scowl lightening up a bit.
"Hey, where's Shinji? I wanted to talk to him." asked Shirou, a dark look coming over his face.
"We don't know. We haven't seen him for a while." stated Ayako with a shrug.
"I see. If you see him, tell him I'm coming for him. And that him running will just make it more fun for me." said Shirou, his tone somewhat dark.
Ayako laughed, nodding, smile appearing back on her face. "Take care then, Emiya." She left back to the range.
'Hmm. Is that why Sakura seemed upset before?' he wondered, thinking back to her shoulders slumping in a bit of disappointment. He took a look at the archery range.
He hadn't shot in a long time. Everyone said he was really good, though Shirou himself didn't think much of his skill. He had only ever missed one time.
When Ayako had come to see what his reaction was, she had been surprised to see him acting normally, stating that he had imagined missing.
'Perhaps.' Shirou thought. 'I could use this skill somehow. I mainly use my swo-zanpakutou to fight, but maybe I can use a bow and arrow for long range.'
He quickly dismissed the idea however, remembering how Archer's arrows had not left a mark on Berserker's skin. It would probably be for the best if he sticked to close range.
-And fire is my stomach-
Leaving the range, Shirou quickly left to go buy clothes for Saber. There was a market just by his house where he could buy her some clothing.
Shirou looked around one of the stores, wondering what he could get her. He remembered her dress and figured that she might like one like it. Just modern. Looking around, he grinned as he saw something he thought she might like.
Quickly grabbing it, he paid for it and went back home. It was time for him and Saber to train.
-I have created-
Arriving home quickly, Shirou called out, "I'm back!"
He took his shoes off, going to the dojo. He wasn't gone long, Saber was probably waiting there for him to start training.
Opening the door to the dojo, he was treated to the same sight he had seen that morning. Saber sitting on seiza, sunlight hitting her.
She opened her eyes when he came in. "Welcome back Shirou." She seemed to relax a bit when she saw him.
'Probably because she was worried I would be attacked.' he thought. "I got you some clothes Saber. You can put those on later, I would rather we train with your armor on."
Saber nodded. "You are strong enough that the clothes would most likely tear in our fight."
Shirou put the clothes he had bought for her down near the door. "Let me change into something a bit more suitable for training. I'll be right back."
Disappearing out back to the house, he was back in just a few minutes wearing a gi. Saber stood when she saw him.
"So what is it that we will be doing, Saber?" Shirou asked, summoning Zangetsu in a flurry of black particles.
Donning her armor and sword, Saber spoke up. "You fought well against Berserker Shirou. However, you would have died had I not been there. You tired quickly, your body has limits that we servants don't."
Shirou scowled. It was true. Although he had fought his hardest against Berserker, he would have died eventually. He had only one attack that could really hurt Berserker, and he had already used it. Now it would be ineffective because of Berserker's immunity to attacks that had killed it.
"Due to this," Saber continued, "You will need to build up stamina and experience. I will come at you as if to kill you, and you will learn and get stronger that way. Perhaps you will find a different spell that you can use besides your Getsuga Tensho."
Shirou furrowed his eyebrows. "I see. Alright then, let's start." He took up a stance with his giant cleaver facing forward. He began to reinforce his body.
Saber readied herself as well. 'That invisible sword is going to be some trouble.' Shirou thought.
As if by some unseen signal, they launched at each other, delivering a flurry of strikes.
Shirou grunted as he blocked a horizontal slash. 'She's so fast. Every blow makes my arms shake.' he thought, having trouble with her multitude of attacks.
With a yell, Shirou tried for an overhead strike, but Saber blocked it without any sign of strain.
Gritting his teeth, Shirou tried to go on the offensive, slashing at Saber so many times they seemed to blur together. Up. Horizontally. Upwards slash. Diagonal. The sound of steel on steel filled the room as Shirou and Saber fought.
"This is not enough Shirou." Saber berated him, effortlessly blocking every attack. "Where is the strength you used to fight Berserker? Is this all your resolve?"
Saber went on the offensive in an instant, pressure coming off her body. Shirou desperately tried to block, but was soon receiving slash marks all over his body.
'How am I supposed to block when I can't see what I'm blocking!?' Shirou thought incredulously as he quickly brought his sword up, but was pushed back.
'What's different from last night? Why can't I fight like that now?' Shirou tried to think back to the night before. 'What am I doing wrong!'
Suddenly, Shirou remembered. The feeling of power welling up inside of him, and exploding around him. This memory cost him however, when he was knocked out by the side of Saber's sword.
A few minuted later
Shirou groaned as he fought back a small headache. He opened his eyes. Light streamed by his vision. He saw Saber looking over him.
"Are you alright master?" she asked him, reverting back to calling him master. "I did not expect you to become distracted. Master, is everything okay?"
"Y-yeah." Shirou muttered as he sat up. "And hey, didn't I tell you to call me Shirou?" he suddenly said with a scowl.
Saber relaxed, but then quickly frowned. "Shirou. Why did you not fight me as you fought Berserker last night? Is it because of my gender once again?"
Shirou sighed, looking down. "I don't know why. Yesterday, I felt this well of power just explode out of my, reinforcing my body, making me stronger and faster."
Saber looked at him, a small look of thought on her face. "I see. Shirou, yesterday power flooded out of your body in much the way my prana burst does to me. Do you remember saying our similar abilities may have brought us together? Perhaps I was meant to do more than just fight with you."
Shirou looked at Saber, a little confused. "I will teach you to use prana burst." Saber announced.
Shirou looked at her, somewhat befuddled. "Wha-"
"Do you not see Shirou?" Saber asked him. "Fate has clearly seen fit to put us together so that I can train you. Your purpose goes beyond this grail war. You have power, so much more than any normal human should have any right to.
Shirou, you will be a hero someday."
Shirou gaped at her. 'Me a hero? One of these monsters like Berserker and Lancer?'
Shirou got over it quickly however and grinned. 'Trained by a heroic spirit. Even Saber says that I will be strong someday. Tou-san, our dream, to be a hero of justice. With Saber's help, I will achieve it!'
Shirou stood up suddenly. "Let's do it Saber! I will become a hero of justice!" He pumped his fist.
Were Saber less of a lady, she might have sweatdropped. She simply stood, telling Shirou, "Then we will start now. The basics of prana burst are..."
-Over a thousand blades-
A few hours later, Shirou stood in front of Saber, gasping for breath. Saber had been ruthless in her training of him.
"We should stop for the day now Shirou. You have started to grasp the basics, and you must rest. Exhaustion is the enemy." Saber stated, making her sword and armor disappear.
Shirou nodded, allowing Zangetsu to disappear as well. He collapsed on the floor.
"You did well today Shirou." Saber told him, a small smile on her face.
"Thank you, Saber. Actually, now that your training me, should I call you Saber-sensei?" he asked, a questioning look on his face.
Saber blinked. She had never had someone call her that before. "That is unnecessary Shirou. We are partners after all."
Shirou nodded. He looked over the bruises and cuts littering his body. He blinked however, when he saw nothing. "Wha-" he began to say.
Saber looked over him in confusion, only to blink as she realized what he was looking at. "I did not know you knew healing mysteries."
Shirou looked at his body in wonder. "I don't." he answered honestly.
Saber frowned. "Perhaps it is a power of your zanpakutou." As expected, she remembered the name of his type of sword after only hearing it once.
"Maybe. Zangetsu-ossan never said anything about healing, but yeah, it's probably him." Shirou agreed.
Shirou stood up, cracking his back. "Whew. I'm going to go start on dinner. Here let me get you your clothes."
Shirou went and got her clothes where he had left them. "I tried to find something you would like."
Saber accepted the bag from him, thanking him.
"You should get dressed, Fuji-nee and Sakura are coming over for dinner tonight." Shirou stated, beginning to walk out the door.
Saber called out to him. "Is that wise Shirou?"
Shirou looked back over his shoulder.
"Is it not best that we not let your family stay away for the time being so that they are safe?" Saber asked him.
"Don't worry about it. If they find out, they're both strong people. They can deal with it. And if not, I will protect them at the cost my own life." Shirou stated this with absolute certainty. With such certainty as if not even God would dare to try and prove him wrong.
It was this certainty that caused Saber's face to flush red. "Very well, master. If that is your wish."
"Jeez, again with the master." Shirou scowled and complained on his way out.
Alone in the dojo, Saber began to change, thinking, 'Shirou indeed has much steel in him. What an interesting...partner, I have ended up with.'
-Unknown to death-
Shirou sighed as his hands began to cook dinner. He was totally relaxed at that moment. Nothing could disturb him.
In some time, he had a big dinner ready. 'Both Fuji-nee and Saber eat a lot. Though, Saber at least has manners.'
Stretching, he decided he would take a quick shower before heading down and waiting for Fuji-nee and Sakura.
Going upstairs, he grabbed his clothes and toiletries, then headed to the bathroom.
He opened the door to the bathroom, and was treated to a sight he would remember for the rest of his life.
Saber looked at Shirou with a bit of surprise, but not much else. "Ah, Shirou." she greeted him completely normally.
"Were you going to use the shower before serving dinner?" she asked him, oblivious to his crimson red face. "I am using it at the moment, but I'm almost done. Could you wait a few minutes?"
Shirou tried to stammer out a response as more and more blood flooded to his face. Many thoughts ran through his mind as he looked at Saber's slightly muscular body. More blood flooded to his head as he looked at her uncovered breasts.
Finally, it was too much for him, and he blasted off backwards with a stream of red erupting from his nose. He fainted on the floor with a goofy smile on his face, listening to someone call out his name.
A few minutes later
Shirou awoke with his head on something soft. He groaned, burrowing his head deeper into it, but shot up when he heard a soft moan. Turning, blood flooded to his face as he looked at the beautiful, but very naked body of Saber.
Remembering something soft when he woke up, he looked at her legs and wondered, 'That's what I woke up in? And then that moan was because...'
Looking at Saber's blushing face, he covered his eyes with his hand. Most people would have seen this as a good thing to do in this situation. It's effect was ruined however, because he had one eye clearly uncovered to peek at her.
"S-s-s-sab-ber!" he vaguely shouted out. He vowed his head and got on his knees, screaming out, "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Saber looked at Shirou apologizing with a slight blush on her face. She remembered Shirou burrowing his head close to her private spot, and her moan.
"I-it's alright Shirou." Saber looked away, also stuttering. "I-i was worried when you fainted. I'm just sorry you had to look at my unattractive body."
Normally Shirou would have told her to put clothes on and run away. Embarrassed and not thinking straight as he was however, he said something without thinking. "Are you kidding! You're the most pretty girl I've ever seen!"
Saber blushed harder than she thought she had in her entire life. No one had ever complimented her like that before.
Shirou quickly told her to put some clothes on, and ran away, not noticing what he had said.
When he was gone, Saber looked down at her hands. 'Pretty? Me?'
-Nor known to life-
A few minutes later, Shirou was sitting down in his room, trying hard to forget what he had just seen, but finding it extremely difficult.
'That was the first time I ever saw a naked girl.' he thought a little numbly.
Suddenly, he heard a knock on his door. Telling her to come in, Saber walked in the door. Shirou stopped thinking when he saw the dress she was wearing. It was a blue summer dress, and it looked quite good on her. (Like a dress Rukia would wear. I think she had, a yellow version of this. Just turn blue.)
She blushed when she saw him staring at her, looking away somewhat shyly. Shirou snapped out of it and told her, "You look good in that dress, Saber."
Saber looked at him, but didn't acknowledge his compliment with anything more than a small hue of red on her cheeks. "You can use the bath now Shirou. I'm done with it."
Thanking her, Saber left for the dining room, and he quickly went and took a bath. Shirou came out of the bath refreshed. 'Ah, nothing like a nice bath to make you forget your worries.'
He went down and quickly started grabbing plates in the kitchen. 'Fuji-nee and Sakura should be here any second.' he thought. His thoughts were proven right when, not a second later, he heard footsteps.
Taking the food out, he began to set it on the table, looking at Saber to see her reaction to the meal. She was looking at the meal curiously, most likely because she had never had anything like this. She was from medieval Britain after all.
"SHIROU! I'M HUNGRY!" screamed out a tiger, running into the room and grabbing a bowl of rice. The tiger happily chowed down on his food, oblivious to the world. Behind her, Sakura suddenly froze as she took a look at Saber.
"S-shirou, this is, your guest?" she asked him timidly. In front of her, Fuji-nee suddenly remembered they had a guest, and looked to give him a greeting, when that greeting died in her throat as she saw that him was a her.
Fuji-nee was frozen for a second, before she suddenly exploded. "SHIROU! INDECENT, HOW DARE YOU HAVE A GIRL IN THE HOUSE!"
Shirou looked at Fuji-nee with a scowl. "I told you I had a guest didn't I? I said they came to see pops and didn't know he was dead!" he argued back.
"You didn't say that the guest was a girl! I refuse to accept this!" Fuji-nee roared out.
They were both interrupted by a voice telling Fuji-nee, "Kiritsugu entrusted me to protect Shirou."
They looked over to Saber who was looking at Fuji-nee. "I will protect Shirou for the entire time I will be here."
Sakura then spoke up. "So, Emiya-kun, this is the kind of girl you like?"
Shirou looked at Sakura surprised, then blushing as he remembered what had transpired a few minutes ago.
Sakura took this blush as a yes, and looked down with a look of disappointment.
Shirou tried to defend himself. "Look, she won't be here long, and it's not like we're sleeping in the same room! I have plenty of room here!"
Fuji-nee, looked at his face intensely. She seemed to see something there, because she suddenly said, "Shirou, do you like this girl?"
Shirou and Saber both froze. Fuji-nee suddenly got a smirk like the cat that got the canary. "AHA!" she screamed out, pointing a finger at the two of them.
"I understand what's going on now! Shirou accepted this girl being his usual self, and now Shirou doesn't want her to go away because he fell in love with her! And she has as well!" Fuji-nee nodded with a proud look on her face.
Shirou and Saber both tried to sputter out denials, but not doing a good job of it.
Sakura suddenly donned a look of sadness at these words. "A-h, senpai, I just remembered, I need to go home, my grandfather's expecting me." She turned and half ran out the room.
Shirou frowned, looking at Taiga. "Can you go with her please? It's pretty late. I don't want her getting hurt."
Still grinning, Fuji-nee nodded. "Sure Shirou, I'll miss your cooking just this once, so you can get to know your lady friend. Just don't make me an aunt okay!"
She was out the room before Shirou could sputter out anymore denials.
Saber and Shirou looked at each other with matching blushes on their faces.
"W-well, looks like it's just us tonight after all." he said, sitting down.
Saber nodded. "Perhaps it is for the best. Now maybe they will get a little less involved."
They ate the rest of their dinner in silence. Neither was really a talkative person. When dinner was finished, Saber told him the tempura he made was good. At this, Shirou smiled. He had made his tempura special that day.
They washed the dishes together, then went upstairs. They stood in front of the doors to their rooms, looking at each other.
Shirou spoke. "I have school tomorrow Saber. War or no war, it's important to get myself an education."
Saber looked upset, but nodded. "Very well Shirou. Remember to call out to me if you are in trouble. Use a command seal if necessary, you still cannot fight the stronger servants like Berserker on your own."
Shirou looked at her. "I trust you my back then."
Saber looked back. "And you mine."
-Have withstood pain to create many weapons-
It wasn't a surprise to Shirou when he awoke in a desert, swords stabbed into the ground everywhere like a graveyard for them. Zangetsu had told him they would be training together. He looked up and saw the skyscrapers jutting out sideways across the sky.
Looking down, he saw a figure dressed in black approach him.
"Zangetsu-ossan." he greeted. The figure did not reply.
"I let you borrow my power against Berserker Ichigo. Now Saber has started to teach you to fight." Zangtsu got straight to the point.
"The only thing you still need training in, is me. The Getsuga Tensho is only the beginning of our power. Why do you think all these swords are still here?" asked Zangetsu, arm stretched to show him the expanse of blades around him.
Shirou furrowed his eyebrows. "I thought that the swords were here because my mind sees myself as a sword. A hero of justice."
"That is not entirely incorrect Ichigo." Zangetsu stated. "There is much more to it than that however. But to teach you, I need to know how strong you are."
Shirou grinned a cocky grin. "Alright. Bring it on, Zangetsu-ossan!" he called out, readying himself.
Zangetsu did nothing however. "I will not be your opponent Ichigo." A part of his coat then started to stretch, making a human figure.
"Who you will fight, is yourself." Zangetsu stated, as his coat took the form of Shirou, but not.
Shirou stared in surprise at, well, himself. It would be like looking in a mirror, except this person was completely white. He took in the yellow eyes, the inverted colors of Zangetsu.
"Hello king. I will be killing you today!" the figure spoke in an odd double tone voice.
-Yet those hands will never hold anything-
-Chapter 4 End-
AN: Yeah, that's it. I wanted to do a little more, but I kept you waiting long enough. If the quality was bad, tell me. I may rewrite this chapter, as I wasn't completely satisfied with it.
For those of you who do not go on my profile, I have been accepted onto one of the teams for the FIRST Robotics FTC tournament. It's rigorous, so I may have to update once every two weeks from now on. We'll see how it goes.
Please review and tell me your thoughts. Sorry it was a bit slow, but my next chapter should be up pretty soon. Sooner than a week soon, but we'll see how that goes too.
Ja ne!
