He Who Protects the Living
AN: IMPORTANT – Okay, so this chapter's pretty late. I was still figuring a schedule out, and while that isn't a proper excuse, I'm sorry. I think that I have a schedule for everything pretty much done now. Updates should take one week to one and a half weeks now. Progress will be on my profile as always.
Okay, it's been a long time since I've played FSN. I remember the Fate and UBW routes well because of the anime and movie, but I can barely remember Heavens Feel. So, my next update may or may not take a little longer than usual as well. After that though, updates will be according to schedule. There is plenty of story left plus the sequel, so you'll definitely get more.
I have a couple of reviews to respond to this time.
*To Magnus(Guest) – I'm glad you like it so far. I'll consider your suggestion for my Harry Potter story, it is certainly possible. Like I told NIX'S WARDEN, I would like to do that with Kiritsugu, but unfortunately, the way I have written the story so far does not allow it. I'm sorry, because I liked the idea as well, I wish I had had it sooner.
*To Taromaru – Thank you so much for your amazing review. Really guys, take a look at the review he gave me. Best damn review ever. This chapter's for you man!
I don't really have much to say. Thank all of you for reading.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not Fate/Stay Night, not Bleach, nor any other reference I may have.
Last Time: His head twisted in anger. "Stupid bitch! Can't you do anything right!"
Shirou and Saber scowled simultaneously at Shinji's treatment of his servant. "Well Shinji. You can't fight anymore, and my servant outclasses yours. Give up."
Chapter 6: Souls
Shinji shook. This was supposed to be easy. He had not expected Emiya to be there. He looked at the sword he was carrying. He had not expected Emiya to be a competent magus either. He took a look at Saber. Nor had he expected Saber.
His face twisted in anger. It was all because he had a weak servant. That was why he just couldn't win. If only he had a stronger servant! Then he could show that he was great!
Shinji tried to shake his fear off. "You're kidding right? Right!?"
Shinji laughed a mad laugh. "You're not beating me here Emiya! I can still win! Rider! Attack them! Kill Emiya, then Saber will be easy pickings!"
"Master." Rider began to try to reason with Shinji. "Saber is stronger than me. And her master appears to be able to fight as well. It would be advisable to retreat for no-"
Shinji slapped Rider hard. Shirou's eyes hardened. "Stupid bitch!" Shinji yelled at her in anger. "I gave you an order! Follow it and kill that bastard!"
Rider forced her face to go blank.
Shirou scowled as Shinji declared his intent. He readied himself. It appeared that he would be fighting a servant today. Beside him, Saber also readied herself.
Shirou looked at Shinji. After seeing how he treated his servant, he would feel just a little better about killing him. He tightened his grip on Zangetsu. It had not needed to be this way, but Shinji seemed dead set on fighting till the bitter end.
In front of them, Rider spun into action. Her face was set blank, as she struck at Shirou with her nail. Shirou jumped to avoid it, even as Saber burst forward, attacking at Rider's extended arm.
Rider cartwheeled to the side, showing her speed. Rider ignored Saber, and went after Shirou. Shirou blocked Rider's kick with his own, and swung at the same time. Rider bended to an almost ninety degree angle.
As Shirou's sword passed her head, she flipped back, avoiding Saber's sword. Saber blocked Shirou's view for a split second, which allowed Rider to get behind him and kick him towards Saber.
Shirou cried out slightly in surprise, but stuck Zangetsu in the ground to stop himself. Saber defended him from the nail that Rider had sent at his back. Saber made to move forward, but Rider was already gone.
Shirou looked around frantically, and just put his sword out as Rider appeared in front of him, nail aimed at one of his eyes. He tried to throw the nail to the side, but Rider was suddenly above him, leg aiming down for a kick.
Shirou channeled reiatsu into his body, and disappeared, leaving Rider to make a small crater. Saber went forward, her invisible sword pointed at Rider's neck.
Rider once again twisted her body at an impossible angle, avoiding the blow, and sending a chain at Saber's hand.
Saber avoided using her speed technique. Rider moved as Saber appeared behind her, slashing upwards. She kicked backwards at Saber, who was blown slightly back. Rider jumped straight up, chains maneuvering to entrap Saber.
Shirou was on her in an instant, slashing at the chains and sending them back. Rider was surprised, but quickly brought them back under her control. Rider landed in a crouch and shot towards Shirou. Saber went to her side and thrusted forward.
Rider twisted around like a spiral in midair, still aiming for Shirou. Shirou tried to put his sword out to block, but was hit in his hand from a chain. Rider jumped onto a tree, pulling Shirou up. Shirou cried in pain and released his hold on Zangetsu.
Saber pushed reiatsu into her legs and blasted off the ground towards Rider. She kicked Rider, then spun around and cut through the chain holding Shirou's hand.
Shirou was released and ripped the nail out of his hand. He had fought both Lancer and Berserker, but that did not prepare him for Rider's speed. She was terribly fast, faster than he could possibly keep up with.
Saber was the only reason he could fight back. If it wasn't for her guarding him he would have died several times over by now.
Shirou grit his teeth, and extended an arm to Zangetsu. Zangetsu's cloth extended towards him, wrapping around his hand as a make-shift bandage. He listened to the clangs of Saber and Rider's exchanges as he stood.
Looking down at the cloth, Shirou sent the cloth from Zangetsu to Rider's arm, and caught it. Rider, who has been in a furious exchange with Saber, was caught off guard. Startled, Rider tried to move, but was thrown up into the air.
Shirou and Saber both followed, and sent simultaneous slashes at Rider, who got her nail up in time to prevent her death, but still received two slashes on her chest and stomach.
Shirou and Saber moved in almost perfect tandem. Although Shirou had only trained one day under Saber, it showed in the way he moved. The way he swung his sword. Saber's style of fighting was starting to show in his own.
Rider got up somewhat weakly. Some meters away, Shinji trembled as he looked at the intense fight. He couldn't fight anywhere near that level. 'Emiya. What in the hell are you!? How can anyone fight like that!?' Shinji could barely follow the fight. He only caught flashes of steel, the sound or panting the clangs of battle.
Shinji wondered if he had done the right thing, as he watched a battle so fast his eyes could not follow the movement. He knew that if he ran, either Shirou or Saber would be on him in less time than it took him to blink.
Shirou and Saber landed behind Rider.
Shirou began to spin his sword on his cloth, an ominous blue glow forming. Swinging forward, Shirou declared, "Getsuga Tensho!" A blue beam in the form of a crescent descended upon Rider.
Rider showed however, that she was the fastest class. Even as injured as she was, she still made it out of the way as the slash carved a trench into the ground. Beside Shirou, Saber once again marveled at the similarities between Excalibur and Shirou's Getsuga Tensho.
Beside Saber, Shirou panted as he executed his attack. That was more draining than he thought it would be. And it hadn't even hit Rider. He could feel his body getting tired, but shook it off. There would be time for rest later.
Shinji was shaking as he saw this attack. 'How is it possible? A human fighting like this, it's not real!' Behind Shirou, Shinji saw the illusion of a laughing skull. He looked down at his book.
The Book of False Attendant, what allowed him to control and be Rider's master even if he wasn't a servant. He convinced himself that he could use the book.
He watched as Saber raised her sword to block Rider's remaining nail. He opened the book and desperately sent more weak shadows to her in an attempt to distract her. Saber looked at the shadows with surprise, but they did nothing but splash against her body.
Behind Shinji, Shirou's face twisted into a fierce scowl as he saw this. "Shinji!" He roared out, running toward Shinji. Saber tried to follow but was blocked by Rider. Even for a servant, Rider's injuries were getting too big, it was a wonder she continued to fight.
Saber took a moment to acknowledge Rider's resilience. Shinji tried to run as Shirou came after him. Shirou used Zangetsu's cloth to tie his legs, causing him to trip. Shinji tried to crawl, but Shirou appeared in front of him.
"This is my last warning Shinji. Give up now, or I will kill you." Shirou told him, face set in stone. Shinji shook his head, like he couldn't comprehend his current situation.
"Shinji!" Shirou shook him. Shinji looked up at him, fear in his eyes as he grabbed his book from his pocket and tried to use the shadows to attack once more.
Shirou roared as he slashed forward. Shinji only knew his shadows immediately getting erased, and a blue flash before he knew nothing else. The attack had cut through the shadows with incredible ease, and mangled Shinji's body just as easily. His body was cleanly cut in half.
Shirou looked at Shinji's body with an unreadable expression.
Shinji's book burned.
Although he found Shinji to be an annoyance, and he had always hated how he treated Sakura, he hadn't wanted him to die. Shirou tried to crush this feeling down, but could feel himself regretting having to kill him. He had given Shinji a choice and yet Shinji had spit it back in his face. He could not understand Shinji's motives.
When it came down to it, Shinji had tried to kill him and Saber. He had attacked Saber, someone who he had sworn to protect. Shinji made his choice. Shirou was a shinigami. He walked with death far closer than any magus. It was only right for him to kill him, to protect his family. Shinji was the kind of person that would have killed anyone who stood in his way.
Shirou was only slightly surprised when Shinji appeared a few feet away from his mangled corpse, chain on his chest.
-When life gives you lemons, throw them at Shinji-
Rider stopped fighting when she felt Shinji die. She looked at Saber, then fled. Now that Shinji was dead, there was another who she needed to attend to more. She went into spirit form, disappearing from view.
Saber did not try to run after her. If Rider was truly running away, she wouldn't be able to keep up. She still did not know what Rider's steed is, so she might be in trouble if Rider decided that she would take Saber down with her.
She would die soon without a master anyway. She walked over to Shirou as soon as she could no longer feel Rider's presence. She came upon the surprising scene of a dead person standing over his body.
Saber blinked. "Shirou?" Shirou looked at her, as Shinji looked at his chest in fear, pulling on his chain and screaming in pain.
"He's dead. This is what happens to people when they die. They form as a spirit over their body with a chain in their chest." Shirou told her, looking back at Shinji, who started to come to a realization as he looked at his body.
"It didn't have to be this way Shinji. You didn't need to die." Shirou told him. Shinji only shook, looking at his mangled corpse.
Shirou sighed. In his head, he heard a voice. 'It is only right that you allow him to rest Shirou.'
Shirou nodded in acceptance. He walked up to Shinji, raising his sword. Shinji yelped, wondering if he was going to die twice.
Shirou raised his hilt, light starting to shine from it. Shinji backed away, still shaking, but was not very fast. Shirou placed the hilt on Shinji's forehead. Light began to shine from it.
Shirou expected the mud he had heard from other spirits. He was surprised then, when the light on Shinji's forehead turned to energy that was sucked up by the ground, which in turn cracked, and an ominous gate started coming out. There were skeletons on the gate, arms held to the edge that opened it. Chains holding the doors closed rattled as they became undone.
Shirou and Saber watched stunned as the doors opened and a monster could vaguely be seen, with a sword in hand that skewered Shinji. Shinji looked as if he was crying as the blade pulled him in, crazed laughter coming from the doors.
Shinji disappeared and the gates closed once more, chains wrapping around it. It once more descended into the ground, the ground healing as if nothing had happened.
"Wha-what was that?" Shirou voiced his thought. Saber beside him was silent, although she felt she knew.
'I did not expect that. Those were the gates of hell. When a soul commits great evil in life, the gates open when konso is performed. It seems that Shinji truly was not a good person.' Zangetsu told Shirou, voice carrying a note of sadness.
Shirou felt whatever sympathy he had held for Shinji fade away. To have committed such acts that he would be sent to hell...
Shirou was almost sure this had something to do with how he treated Sakura. That bruise he had seen on her what seemed like a life time ago. He had no doubt it was Shinji that caused it.
Shirou explained all of this to Saber. Saber nodded, not looking like she felt any remorse either as she heard Shirou speak.
Shirou sighed. Zangetsu disappeared in a flurry of black particles. "Let's go Saber. Fuji-nee will be home soon." As soon as he spoke these words, he felt his vision waver as he felt the adrenaline leaving his system. He felt his body collapse as Saber caught him with a loud cry of "Shirou!"
"Are you alright master!? What's wrong?" Saber demanded of him as she let her armor fade and placed his head on her lap. Shirou had to internally laugh at Saber's cute worried expression.
At the same time he felt his face flush red as he felt the increasingly familiar feel of Saber's thighs. "I guess I overdid it, hehehe." Shirou weakly muttered. Saber sighed as Shirou said this.
"You shouldn't have tried so hard to keep up master. You will destroy your body this way. A human body is just not made for servant level fights. You should rely on me more." Saber told him, a scary look on her face.
Shirou muttered out something about not calling him master, but did not otherwise answer her. Saber grabbed him in her arms. Shirou felt his face flush red again. Usually it was the man who carried the woman after a difficult fight.
"Sleep master. Exhaustion is the enemy." Saber told him as she started to walk back home. Shirou never remembered about the girl that was 'unconscious.'
-When life gives you lemons, throw them at Shinji-
In the distance Rin was a little shaken as she watched Shirou and Saber fight Rider. She could barely keep up with Saber and Rider, which was expected, as they were servants. But Shirou...
A human should not be capable of fighting to that extent. To keep up with servants. She watched just a little horrified as Shinji was bisected. Beside her Archer watched with narrowed eyes. It seemed that this Shirou really wasn't him.
Killing his past self would only work if he was killing his self from his original time line. He felt a spike of pain in his head as he thought this. Archer was confused about that. The head pains, what did they mean? The image he had seen in the fight with Berserker...
He watched with mixed feelings as Shinji died. He felt somewhat relieved that Shirou was a little less broken than he remembered. But still. If Shirou went down the path he did, not his past self or not, it would be a mercy to kill him now, before his ideals shattered.
He was happy that Rin at least seemed like she was angry enough to not try to fight him when he would try to kill his other self. She still seemed to have a soft spot for this Shirou, but was offset by her anger at him lying to her.
He watched Shirou collapse, but was not surprised. A human shouldn't be able to fight on that level without some consequence. Now would be the ideal time to attack.
He looked at Rin with a questioning glance. Rin looked at Archer, who was looking at her expectantly. "We won't attack right now. He won't heal from that any time soon. Let's go after Rider. Now that she has no master, we can take her out quickly."
Archer felt that there was another reason she didn't want to attack but kept quiet. He grabbed Rin's waist and jumped, running after where Rider had gone.
The time to kill Shirou would come.
-When life gives you lemons, throw them at Shinji-
Saber hurried back. With Shirou in her arms, she quickly arrived at Shirou's home. She looked down at Shirou. It seemed as if he had taken her advice, as he was out cold. Saber took the keys out of Shirou's pocket and let them in.
In the doorway, she took her and Shirou's shoes off. As she was starting to walk to Shirou's room to put him to bed, a figure appeared.
"SHIROU! I'M HUNGRY!" Wailed a tiger that had somehow gotten inside. Said tiger blinked as she saw Shirou in Saber's arms.
Saber quickly thought something up. "My apologies Fujimura-san. We were training and it appears that I worked him too hard."
Taiga bowed her head in regret, tears in her eyes. "Mou. Now what are we going to eat! Sakura isn't here either. She called and said she had a guest."
Saber blinked. This was a problem she had not foreseen. "Allow me to put Shirou to bed, then I will come down and help you make something."
Taiga grinned. "Yeah! Shirou's not the only one that can cook!"
Saber went up to Shirou's room and laid out his futon. She gently laid him on it, then went down. She regretted not being able to eat Shirou's cooking, but hunger was the enemy, and Shirou was sleeping.
A few minutes later
Shirou woke up. He was exhausted, so he would not have normally woken up so soon, but...
What was that smell? Shirou sat up and sniffed the air. He narrowed his eyes. There was a disturbance. Sitting up and wincing a bit at his injuries. He looked down at his body in wonder. He had gotten really beat up. Why had his injuries healed so fast?
He remembered Saber telling him it might be his Zanpakutou. He thought about the bandages he used both to fight and wrap his injuries, and decided that Zangetsu probably had some kind of healing property.
He smelled the air once again and decided there was something a little more important that he had to attend to. He stood and made his way down.
Another few minutes later
Saber and Taiga sat seiza as Shirou lectured them on the travesty that they had made in the kitchen. They were trying to make a stew, Fuji-nee's choice, but what they had done in there...
Shirou was ashamed that he had passed out when there was food to be cooked. Saber and Fuji-nee didn't seem to know the difference of some of the things they had tried to do.
"...and that is why you two are never going to do that again. I don't know how you made that...thing, but I will prevent that from ever happening again." Shirou finished.
Saber looked up and spoke. "Should you be up Shirou? Although I have committed a great misdeed, it was to allow you time to recover. Should you strain yourself, you will be worse off for it."
Beside her, Fuji-nee nodded frantically, hoping her punishment would be lessened if Saber put Shirou in a good mood.
Shirou sighed. "I feel fine. I'm going to see if there's something that I can salvage, though I doubt it. You two stay here and wait."
They bowed their heads at him. As he left, Fuji-nee whispered to Saber. "Is he this domineering with you? Or is this just a kitchen thing?"
"Shirou is a very firm person. Although, I have never seen him this in charge before." Saber replied back in a hushed tone.
"No talking behind my back!" They both froze as an aura of fear overtook them.
Some time later at the table.
Fuji-nee ate her stew with gusto. Beside her, Saber ate slow but sure and precise bites as she slowly devoured her meal. Shirou looked at them, happy that they were enjoying his meal. A thought suddenly came to mind.
"Fuji-nee. Has there been any progress with Ayako?" He asked her. Fuji-nee was a clown, but she was still a teacher. She must know something.
Fuji-nee stopped her advance for a moment. "Ayako-chan? Yeah, we found her. She wasn't badly hurt, just a little confused. She's at a hospital near here, so go and talk to her yourself if your so worried."
She resumed her attack twice as hard. To make up for lost time. Shirou sighed in relief. He had been worried, but there had been more important things to worry about at the time.
After dinner
Shirou laid back down in his futon and sighed. What a tiresome day. The morning at school with Rin, Ayako going missing, Shinji's death, Rider's escape, and, worst of all, Fuji-nee and Saber's little...concoction.
There had been no time to train that night, but Shirou was too tired anyway. He had just said goodnight to Saber and come to his room.
His body ached all over. Well, at least the day was over. He would need his rest, as he and Saber would most likely attack the master atop the Ryudou Temple the next day. He closed his eyes.
-When life gives you lemons, throw them at Shinji-
Shirou opened his eyes. He looked around the increasingly familiar surroundings of his soul. The endless desert stabbed with countless swords. The skyscrapers that came out of nowhere in the distance. Zangetsu stood some meters away.
"It's time to train Zangetsu." Shirou said as a way of greeting. Zangetsu nodded in agreement.
"Prepare yourself, Ichigo." Zangetsu stated as he materialized himself in his hands. Shirou's hands went to his back, but he was not there anymore.
"You will learn to shape me however you want today. I will continuously attack you so you can learn to do this in the midst of battle." Zangetsu told him.
Shirou rolled his head on his shoulders and prepared himself. He thought about which weapon he could use. His mind flashed to Lancer. The lance with the feel of death. Like his own powers. Holding his arms out, he forced his vision of Gae Bolg into existance.
A pitch black lance formed in his hands. Somewhere in his mind, something clicked and he took a ready stance he had seen Lancer use. He stared Zangetsu down. Zangetsu's coat flickered, and Shirou took off.
-When life gives you lemons, throw them at Shinji-
At an unknown location
"Sir, someone a spirit has just gone to hell from a konso." Spoke a man with spiky brown hair, and three small horns in his forehead. The man he was speaking to, wearing a white coat with his face full of make up, like a clown, responded.
"People go to hell every day. What's so special about this one?" asked the man, as he worked on a set of paper work.
"The location Captain. Captain, this place doesn't exist." Spoke the man, holding a report out for the Captains eyes.
Intrigued, the Captain took a look. He frowned. 'Where is this supposed to be? This location. I've never heard of it before.' The man rubbed at his head absentmindedly as he felt a small pain.
-When life gives you lemons, throw them at Shinji-
Shirou opened his eyes wearily. The sun was streaming in his window. Zangetsu was just as much a slave master as Saber was. He stood, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and stretching out. Absentmindedly he wondered if Saber was awake yet.
He looked at the clock and was startled to see how late it was. Sakura had to be there already. He dressed as quickly as he could and hurried down. "Huh?" he asked as he took a look around the house. Sakura wasn't there. He checked the kitchen, the living room, and the shed.
Taking a look in the dojo, he saw Saber but not Sakura. Saber opened her eyes. "Good morning, Shirou. How are you feeling this morning?"
"I'm fine. More importantly, has Sakura already been here?" he asked distractedly, wondering where she could be. Saber shook her head.
"I have not. Perhaps she still has business with her grandfather." She told him. Shirou scowled, thinking.
"That's an awful lot of time to spend helping your grandfather. It's been days." he said. Turning to go out, he was interrupted as Fuji-nee came in. Prepared for screaming, he was instead surprised to see her semi-serious.
"Shirou, come into the dining room. Someone's died." she told him, quite seriously. Shirou's eyes widened, and he shared a look with Saber, who looked serious.
At the dining room
"What's this about someone dying?" Shirou asked as he sat down.
Fuji-nee looked about as serious as she could be. "We found her this morning by the emergency exit. We can't identify the cause of death right now, but she was a student. We think might have been attacked because there is no identifiable cause of death."
Shirou's eyes widened in horror as his mind flashed back to yesterdays events. 'That girl. The one I decided was just passed out. I passed out after the fight, so she never got any help. But she was just passed out!' Shirou's mind thought numbly.
Saber, who had not seen her, just looked at Shirou confusedly. She wondered why his face was twisting into that shape. Fuji-nee continued. "There isn't any school today while we try to figure this out. I'm going to be out for all of today too. Everyone is going to get a call. That's probably why Sakura isn't here today."
Shirou felt numb. He had seen that girl. Pronounced her okay. It was his fault that she died.
"That's the only reason I came. I'm going to get breakfast later, you stay here with Saber. Try not to go out today." Fuji-nee finished. She stood and made her way out.
"I'll be back for dinner Shirou." she called out to him. Shirou did not respond.
As soon as Fujimura was gone, Saber began to question him. "Shirou? What's wrong?"
Shirou numbly began to tell her the events of yesterday, after they had heard that scream and Rider. Saber listened closely. As soon as Shirou finished, she began to speak.
"That is not your fault Shirou. She died as a result of this war, but you avenged her. You killed Rider's master, and Rider will soon die without a master as well. We knew people were going to die Shirou, that's why you're fighting." Saber told him coolly.
Shirou knew she was right. He knew he couldn't save everyone. But she was right in front of him! He had had the chance but he had done nothing!
Shirou could do nothing but sit there blankly. He stood. "I'm going for a walk. Stay here Saber." Saber blocked his path.
"You're not going out alone Shirou. I'm going with you." She stated. Shirou almost growled at her.
"You're staying here Saber. I want to be alone." Shirou told her. He took a few steps to the door, then hurried when Saber did nothing to stop him.
Outside, Shirou tried to pretend there wasn't an aura of anger right behind him. Saber looked at his back somewhat coldly. Shirou did nothing but wander around town for a few hours.
Eventually, he found himself coming to the street where he had beaten up the thugs a few days ago. He stood at the flower vase set out for that child. He noticed that the child was no longer there.
Behind Shirou, Saber looked at his back angrily. She was about to speak, when a cry rang through the area. Startled, both she and Shirou stood stock still, then exploded into action as they heard it once more.
Shirou forgot about why he was out there as he followed the cry. He looked behind him at Saber, who followed swiftly. She was wearing her armor.
Not too far away, they once again stopped as they saw the oddest sight. Shirou knew where the cry had come from now. In front of him, was the child that he had helped a few days ago. He was surrounded in a cocoon of black mud.
Surprised, Saber also stopped beside him. "What is happening to him, is this the work of a master?"
Shirou shook his head. "I've never actually seen this before. This is what other spirits have described to me as a soul passing on."
Saber looked back, stunned. "This is what happens when someone passes on?" Her voice sounded incredulous. Shirou nodded in agreement.
'Shirou. That is not how people pass on.' Shirou frowned, dread coming upon him as he heard Zangetsu. Creeping horror in his voice, Shirou asked, "What do you mean?"
Saber looked at him as he started talking to himself, and correctly deduced that he was talking to Zangetsu.
'A soul passes on when they find a shinigami to take them to the Soul Society. If this doesn't happen, they become a hollow. There is nothing else.' Zangetsu told him.
'I'm not sure what is happening to this young one, but it is likely his soul is being harmed. Shirou, you must perform a konso on him.' Zangetsu finished with a note of urgency. Shirou nodded, approaching the child looking at him with fear in his eyes.
Shirou raised his arm and allowed Zangetsu to manifest. "Shirou?" Saber asked him silently what was going on. Shirou ignored her, there would be time for that later.
Raising Zangetsu's hilt, he gently placed it on the forehead of the disappearing child. "Don't worry kid."
The child was enveloped in a soft white glow. The mud started dissolving off his form. "You're going to rest now." The child slowly disappeared in white, looking at Shirou with wonder.
A few feet behind Saber looked on in wonder. 'This is what a shinigami does?'
The child disappeared without a trace, leaving behind a black butterfly that slowly disappeared into the sky. Shirou watched it leave with a soft expression that he had not shown on his face in a while.
Saber looked at Shirou, who was staring into the sky with a smile she did not think he was possible of giving.
Shirou looked at her staring and started explaining what he thought was going on. "...and so I just performed a konso so the kid could go to the Soul Society."
Saber nodded in understanding. "Then, what is this black mud that is harming them? Do you believe that it is destroying their souls?"
Saber looked upset. Shirou shrugged. "I don't know. The only thing that is clear to me is that souls are being harmed by this black mud. I have never seen another shinigami, or a hollow, yet I have had powers all my life. Why is that?"
Shirou thought for a moment, then decided. "Lets go around town and perform konso on every soul we can find. There is something not right here, I would rather that the souls are able to pass on without worries."
Saber nodded in acceptance. Shirou was in this to protect as many people as he could. It was natural that he would do this. Moreover, she expected he would no longer be able to fight if he did not do this. He would regret it and it would weigh on his mind while they fought.
Together, they spent a couple more hourse going around town and performing konso on every soul they found. There were some souls that Shirou had known that were no longer there, which made him regret he had been too late. Some had been like the child. Some had just been floating around.
Finally though, they finished. Walking home, Shirou looked at Saber. "I'm sorry I wasted this day Saber. I-" Saber interrupted him.
"Don't worry about it Shirou. This gives us more time to form a plan of action and rest for the attack on Ryudou Temple. You have still not fully healed, so we would not have been able to go today." Saber told him as they slowly approached Shirou's home.
It was night time, and Shirou caught himself looking at Saber's face many times throughout the night. Her hair shined in the moonlight.
They arrived home quickly, and took off their shoes. "Fuji-nee must be pissed off that we're so late." Shirou despaired a little.
They walked into the living room, then stopped dead. Saber jumped backwards, armor forming around her body. Shirou immediately put his arms out and summoned Zangetsu. He twirled it a bit, and took a ready stance.
"Senpai. I'm sorry but we need to talk."
Shirou's eyes widened in horror as he heard the familiar voice. His hand trembled a little. In front of him, a figure dressed in black clothes with long purple hair was looking at him and Saber wearily. In front of her, was a person he had not seen in days. Sakura looked uncomfortable at Shirou's scrutiny, and a little scared at his sword.
Shirou choked.
-When life gives you lemons, throw them at Shinji-
At an unknown location
A figure dressed with a white coat looked at a computer with a frown. 'It happened again. Several times in fact. This place. These souls. Where are they coming from?'
-Chapter 6 end-
AN: I know what you're thinking. I took this long, then I give you a chapter this pitiful? Well, I have no excuse. I have just about figured out a schedule that should work for me as far as writing goes, so I hope this does not happen again. I also got sick this weekend, so my writing probably suffered a little because of that. But, I promised to have it out today.
IMPORTANT – I have to replay Heavens Feel because I'm starting to need that info, and I haven't played it in a long time. It won't take me long, but the next chapter will take a little longer than I'm comfortable with. Updates will start coming regularly after I finish. There is still plenty of story left, and there is no way I will give up.
I know that it's a little odd that Saber would let Rider go, but I need her alive. A little bad way to do it, but yeah. I'm starting to leave canon more and more, so at least it won't be that bad.
Progress on my next chapter will be on my profile as always. Check there, I update it often. I'm sorry for the poor quality, length, etc.
Ja ne!
