A/N: It's afternoon in here, and I still need to grind my head out for related literature for my research, since they said that the following literature that I had presented to them is not enough.
Although the final defense is finished, I have to look for further evidences still, which annoys me to no end. Added to that fact is that my Grand Order Account gave me Angra as consolation for not rolling 5* Servants.
Yep, it's not really working for me, but then this is the best that my account can do. I can't pay big like the others out there just to get a decent 5* Servant.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything and everything stated in this chapter, or the whole fanfiction for that matter. Credits go to Hiro Mashima for Fairy Tail and Kinoko Nasu and his associates for the TYPE MOON works of Fate/Stay Night, Tsukihime and Kagetsu Tohya.
Chapter 17: Confront
Day 3: Morning
She should be at peace, yet, there is something bothering her to no end.
As Assassin is now admiring the wonders of the city life, she pondered on many things that can and will go wrong in case that True Assassin might come to their house sooner or later.
But then, her Master is Mirajane, so why there are such worries plaguing her mind?
Ah, right, not in Magnolia.
She saw her Master returning from the park where she is on. From what she can gather from their Shared Perception, it seems that she has encountered the Master of Berserker and, to her big surprise, had a civil conversation with her as though there is no war that is going on.
She never meant to pry on her Master's actions while she is away of her own accord, but then she must do it in order to change her plans the moment that she or her Master has found something dire.
Her golden eyes now meet hers. But she saw that her expression is of a serious one, one that looks like she has found something about this war that can change everything.
Before she can even ask a question, Mirajane now ran as fast as she can. She can only wonder why, until she realized that something went very wrong with their house.
And so, she can only follow her Master to their house.
Day 3: Morning
As she peacefully meditated on the room where she is now, she felt a sudden spike of prana that is too commanding even for her to comprehend. She then tried to walk outside to find out who dared to invade her abode, only to freeze in her place in utter shock.
She tried to run away, but she can only stand in front of the man in a sleek black leather jacket. The man with golden hair and ominous crimson eyes now greeted her as if he knew her for a long time.
"Ten years have passed, abominable goddess. Yet you haven't found the perfect time to reveal yourself to the boy." The man started as the so – called goddess can only stare down at him. "You haven't made even the slightest move to make this farce of a war enjoyable."
"Trust me, your highness, I guarantee you that this war will be finished before you even know it." The goddess can only grit her teeth as she clenched her fist. But it seems that the man is getting bored of her for every second that passed.
"You have worn my patience long enough, miserable creature." The man has his eyes on her, as if the subject did not deliver what the king is hoping for.
And so, the man can only open up the pride of his life that is his vault to finish her. The vault revealed eight Noble Phantasms aimed to kill the spirit.
But then, those are not ordinary, for one of these weapons can damage her form in the worst way possible. All of the Phantasms that he revealed are designed to kill spirits. The vault opened wide to deliver his judgment.
"Die, filthy sham of a goddess." He spat the word in disgust as he motioned for the vault to release its weapons. The fox spirit can only close her eyes as she meets her inevitable fate.
I have failed, Tamamo – sama. I am sorry. Her now closed eyes shed drops of tears as she can never tell them the truth about the war that they are having right now. She can only despair at the failure that she has as she is about to die by his hands.
But what is supposed to happen did not happen.
She felt a gust of cool and calming wind, and as she opened her eyes, she saw the back of a lady in a velvet red dress with touches of white frills on the edges. Standing still are the eight Noble Phantasms aimed at her by the man's judgment.
But there is something even more surprising than the Noble Phantasms standing still.
The weapons are standing still, not because the man withheld them, but because the woman in front of her stopped the attack. The man glared at the woman who dared to stop his judgment.
"Demon, who do you think you are to stop the punishment of a sham of a goddess such as her?" The man flatly asked as the demon now opened her eyes. The Noble Phantasms are now heating up from the glare of the woman alone.
"You have your answer, Heroic Spirit." The woman now replied as she still stared down the man in front of him.
"You do realize that your insolence will get you nowhere." The man now narrowed his eyes on the woman. "Your act will end the moment you dare to lay your filthy hands on me."
"And that is why I dare to lay my hands on you." She smirked as the Noble Phantasms are about to get red – hot under her stare. "My act is not finished, not unless the boy will know of you."
He now gritted his teeth at the insolence of his piece. For that, no punishment is more fitting for the revolting piece than a slow and agonizing death.
"Such pointless vote of confidence coming from a demon. Let us see how your impudence can keep up." He replied just as he motioned for his vault to release weapons simultaneously on his command.
The woman can only steady her gait as she successfully stopped all of his Noble Phantasms coming from all directions in mid – air. The ground is breaking up as the sheer impact of the released Phantasms now threatens to shake her stance.
She now deflected each and every weapon coming her way, using the Phantasms against her opponent, her eyes alert for attacks in all directions, protecting the spirit as she seemingly stops the weapons from coming at them and being deflected by the weapons that she got from him not long after.
The man can only grit his teeth at the situation. Given that he said to her that she must put up a fine act, the woman did as he required. The woman then let out a small smile on her seeming victory.
"How dare you!" He now widened his eyes in anger. "Are you trying to force my hand, lowly cur of a demon?"
"I think I may correct you on that last one, it's 'one who mastered control over the demons'." She replied, her voice ever as flat as the ground that she is standing on. She now holds one sword and stabs it to the ground to catch another weapon and throwing it back at him with sheer force that contradicts with her light body build.
He can only grit his teeth in annoyance. But then, he saw something in the fox goddess.
And so, he laughed.
He laughed at the pointless struggle of modern humanity, now he gets to see the pointless suffering of the goddess.
"So that is how you have survived all of these years!" He laughed as he now withheld the vault. "It seems that you have discovered something from Kirei's enemy and you have been putting it in a way that stumps my knowledge at first."
The goddess can only glare at the man who found out her secret. Mirajane can only narrow her eyes as she saw that something is amiss about the one that they are attempting to put up a fight.
"But it does not matter anymore. You have given me entertainment to cease my judgment. Be glad, impostor, for I have spared your lives yet again."
He now disappeared in a golden mist as he left the place, taking along with him several Noble Phantasms. Mirajane can only sigh in relief as she almost exhausted all of her power.
She then turned her head towards the spirit. The one who is called a goddess can only lower her head in shame as she knelt on the ground.
"It seems that you are not telling us everything." Mirajane talked in an eerily calm voice. "I know that if you tell me all of this, it will give me second thoughts on ever joining the war."
The goddess can only hang her head in embarrassment and self – loathing. It seems that her only hope in the Holy Grail War is about to turn on her. She can only blame herself for her miserable existence.
"In fact, I must be thankful for him for revealing the boy's potential. His occasional slips led me to conclude that this man is not what I thought he is."
"Wh…wha…" The goddess can only open her mouth in amazement as Mirajane casually lets out her deductions like it was nothing.
"And I think it is time for us to widen our view of this world, shall we?" Mirajane smiled above them as Assassin is now appearing from the shadows of their house. Assassin jumped off from the roof and she made a graceful land on the ground, making sure to never let them hear her steps.
"S…since when…"
"In the middle of the man's conversation." Assassin flatly replied as she closed her eyes. She is still clad in her casual clothes as she adjusts her sleeves. "He knows almost everything. Emphasis is on almost. Still, that treasure trove of knowledge that he has is never meant to be ignored."
"I am right to say that he is never to be underestimated. Once he gets hold of how we live our existences, he can hold sway to our minds by his words. His words hold authority." She deduced in a matter – of – fact tone. "Only those who he treats as his subjects or friends, or those who can or able to defy him completely in mind, body and soul can resist him."
"And professional assassins fear the targets who know their every move even before they can get to them." Mirajane concluded. "But this is where we can still pull off a surprise, given that they still watch our every move. Every reckless move is still counted as a legal move, right?"
The spirit lowered her eyes as she remembered how the goddess pulled off an elaborate trick, in front of the king no less, before being found out by the man just today. For ten years she has endured time.
Ten years is an impossible feat, even with the special Bounded Field that they have, yet the spirit accomplished it for some reason.
She can only chuckle at the same recklessness that they see in them. If only she can see them now, they may even make high fives for the plans that what seemed to most of the people as absurd.
"I have seen what you have done at the Einzbern mansion." The goddess now talked, her flat voice almost faltering. "It is insane, yet it is effective. You have known what they are capable of, and yet, you still took them on, face to face."
"In some ways, you are a professional Magus through and through." She continued as she now revealed the mirror. "And yet, you still have the compassion of a human being. I'm sure that whatever you have endured before, you succeeded. "
"It is because I bear the mark of a guild that makes the impossible possible." She replied with a confident smile. "It is also because of this guild that I made my resolve to protect my family and our world. And because of that, I can even go out there with a smile."
"Sorry, but my fortune telling says that you will not die in this war, or any other war." Her voice is as flat as the ground once again as she saw how confident she is on her words. "Whatever you have inside you, they made sure that you will not die before they have laid their hands on you first."
"That is reassuring." Mirajane replied as she radiantly smiled. Assassin let out a small smile as she walked beside her Master.
"By the way, how did you stop those things?"
Mirajane smiled in a mild manner hiding her panicking side. The familiar's stare really did a number on her, and this is one of these times that she narrowed her eyes on her. Mirajane can only sigh in defeat as she now reveals the secret.
"I expanded your Bounded Field through my Water Magic. And yes, that is how he found out about your Bounded Field of time." Mirajane told the familiar in remorse. But then, the familiar said something that Mirajane could have sworn that it was out of character for her.
"I have nothing to lose anyway, now that you have revealed our cards in his plain sight." The familiar smiled, with not a single worry in her voice. It is as though she expected it to happen anyways.
Day 3: Morning
"Well, Emiya – kun, I think your fears are not unfounded after all…" Rin observed as she sensed that there is someone using Magecraft over their school. "But we don't know who did it as of this day…"
Emiya Shirou has long been feeling sick to the bone ever since he came to the school. And the only way to stop that feeling is to go to the source of the problem.
But, he doesn't know where to start.
So when Tohsaka Rin asked for his help, he can only accept her offer. After all, he still doesn't know about how a Bounded Field exactly works. The only Bounded Field that he knows is of his foster father, and it still doesn't feel like that field at all, not like today.
The Bounded Field that he is thinking of is a Bounded Field that is designed for a Magus' peaceful life, away from indefinite or even harmful circumstances that may affect someone who only wants peace of heart and mind. .
But then, Shinji's house is more different than he thinks it is, as it often chokes unknown visitors by sucking the air out of them if they so much as dare to enter inside it and peer its secrets. By then, he took a mental note to smell or even touch Bounded Fields first before entering the place.
However, none of the Bounded Fields that he thinks of compares to what he is feeling now. He is now somewhat attracted to what is inside the room.
"Before you faint from this room, let us use your senses to disable a few markers." Rin smiled in a conniving manner as Emiya Shirou can only sigh at his plight.
Day 3: Midday
At an enigmatic basement, filled with creatures too horrible even for biological experts to illustrate, Matou Zouken chuckled sinisterly to himself as he still got his Craft and his prana levels working. The leylines starting up for the Holy Grail War to actually commence helped him in saturating the levels to a certain undisclosed location for him to get himself working.
And so, he decided upon one thing that has never been done by the Masters in this war.
He still has his circle, and he has the artifact needed to summon a Servant. Because this war is not a proper war in the first place, might as well let him exploit this war to the fullest.
He now placed the artifact wrapped on a purple shroud on a circle, then he now chanted the lines that can guarantee him to let him summon another Servant.
"Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg.
The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate."
Three winds now gathered in a center, creating a circular boundary to facilitate the descent of a Servant. Matou Zouken now chanted louder as he felt his mana levels getting higher at each word's utterance.
"Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Repeat every five times. Simply, shatter once filled."
He now has his arm outstretched, his other arm holding the cane and supporting his body. Matou Zouken now opened his eyes, or rather his eye sockets, as he finishes the chant. The light grew ominous as he attempts to summon a powerful Servant.
"I announce. Your self is under me, my fate is in your sword. In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.
"Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead. I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead."
He gritted his teeth as he now announced his chant in a commanding voice. The whole mansion is now filled with an immense sense of dread as he completes the chant as one of the Founders of Heaven's Feel.
"You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance!"
No, not again.
The being that is about to be summoned from the Throne of Heroes can only face the summoning with fear.
Fear that the being might repeat the events all over again.
Fear that the being might kill someone again.
Fear that the ritual had taken an interest in the being's suffering.
I don't want to do this! Please, just leave me alone!
The being can only close its eyes as the suffering will repeat all over again.
The entire basement now glowed with an ominous ray of light, before it dissipated. The artifact that is originally placed there is now gone as the Servant is now summoned.
As the chant is now finished, the Founder can only look at the Servant that he summoned with disappointment. This is not the Servant that he expected when he tried to summon someone.
The Servant held an ornate staff. The Servant has a youthful appearance, like an optimistic child who is still amazed at how the world is. There is no cloak to hide the being's appearance.
But with a mind unlike a child's, the being now answered Matou Zouken's call.
"Servant Caster, Medea." Her voice has a flair that filled the air in stark contrast to what they are standing on now. "I take it that you are the arrogant Master who summoned me?"
He now narrowed his eyes on the child. A child can already be considered as dead in a normal Holy Grail War. But since children are involved in this, he can make short work of them by him having a child Servant deal with them in this war.
"Witch of Betrayal, I take it that you don't like me as your Master. But I still have control over the Command Seals, and I can kill you whenever I feel like it."
He now studied Medea's current statistics, and specifically looked for something useful, but to his disappointment, he found out that she is less useful than the Caster that he has known.
"Even less useful aside from potent healing and regenerating spells. What a disappoint…"
Before he can even finish the sentence, she casually pointed her staff at the wall of the basement.
Uttering a simple Greek word for "fire", the wall of the basement now has a perfectly made hole looking like it's fired at point – blank range when she is meters away from it, edges of the circle at forging heat temperatures, and incinerating away all of the creatures along with it, before the elder Matou can even make his point.
Caster's eyes are still narrowed over the man who summoned her and who disturbed her peace. Her maiden hair and her silken dress flow along with the wind as she accomplished a brutal feat.
"…ment?"
The child now spoke. Her voice sounds like a child's, but her manner of speaking is unlike it.
"And you still underestimate me, Founder of Heaven's Feel. You are now talking to a Magus from the Age of the Gods. Now, I will arrange the events point by point. Please decide if there's anything that I have missed."
Before the elder Matou can even speak, Caster now spoke in a cold and calculating thinking unlike a child's.
"You summoned me because you expect me to have the Argon Coin, which can let me summon a dragon. Sorry to disappoint you, but I only have the Golden Fleece.
"Second, you summoned me because I'm the only one capable of determining what will be the better substitute for this ritual. I think I remember some things, but if you will just let me, I can go to the Ryuudou Temple to facilitate a ritual that we can conduct ourselves to make it work.
"Third, you need me to sustain your health through my spells. I'm perfectly capable of doing that and even more. Doing it with my older self can't just cut it."
She made her deductions on – point, without a chance for a rebuttal. Matou Zouken can only laugh at the absurdity that he created, something that Medea can only narrow her eyes to even further. The elder Matou now spoke after hearing those deductions.
"You know that I am going to feed you to my Assassin should you fail my expectations."
"I remember my past life." She bitterly bites her lower lip as she remembered all of her atrocities. "Being eaten by a monster is a much better fate than being subjected to a Master's whims and false hopes that is the Holy Grail. I can't believe I'm being used again, with a monster disguised in a human skin of all people."
"Your scathing remarks only prove of my brilliance and my prestige, Medea." Matou Zouken replied with a noble's gratitude. "I remember bits and pieces, but in the prime of my life I had summoned 3 Servants. I don't even know if that's possible, but one of my creatures reminded me of my prowess. It's a good thing that I utilized that prowess in this war."
"So much for gratification and glorification of the self." She casted an aside comment, to which thankfully her Master did not notice it. "So, for priorities, would you like me to move to Ryuudou Temple to make my preparations there?"
"By all means, go. My Assassin will keep watch." Matou Zouken replied in a satisfied manner. "Your plans almost matched mine, but I had to admit that your plan is better. While you're at it, you can try to summon a dragon."
"To make this war more glorious?" Medea narrowed her eyes. "I don't think so."
"You made your point." The elder Matou can only grin in excitement for this war. "I will also make my preparations, and Assassin will report on your progress."
"As expected." She now sighed as she made her staff disappear, and at a blink of the eye, she now changed her clothes in her dirty white denim jeans, black chemise and blue leather jacket.
She now brought out a small lacrima sphere, and uttering a Greek spell, she now saw what she is looking for, before placing the sphere in her jacket pocket.
"The remnant of the Fourth Holy Grail War is still here. I can't utilize that one."
"You mean the priest?" He replied off – handedly. "We will face him sooner or later, so we can only make preparations until that day arrives."
Caster can only wince at the sight of the park that she is seeing right now. The park is filled with utter dread that not even Servants can survive it.
"Not the priest, the entire land where the Fourth Holy Grail appeared."
"You only have to worry about the preparations." He dismissed as he replied. "After all, your wish is still to return home."
"I've lost that concept of 'home' ever since I saw my past life." The little lady chuckled bitterly. "Do you think I still believe in that after I saw all of those things and how I became the legendary Witch?"
"It's your choice to become insane and be used by others, though." Matou Zouken genuinely replied with the supposed wisdom of aging men. "Have you ever wondered why I still live like this?"
She can only furrow her eyebrows at that statement, as though she has doubts on those words. But then, slowly, his words are starting to make sense. For a human to have lived this long, he has to be insane. Or for him, it has to be…
"And now you inspired me to make my own plans." Caster appreciated in a genuine manner. "How clever of you, Master Matou."
"Please, call me Zouken." He curtly replied as he left. "I'll just kill you if you are now useless in my opinion. As of now, you still prove useful for me, unlike my grandchildren."
Day 3: Mid - afternoon
The Ryuudou Temple is still undergoing repair, but then Caster simply passed by the construction workers using her allure as a child. The workers have permitted her to enter the grounds on the condition that she will have to complete her prayer there.
She obliged, of course, for the tradition of appeasing the spirits still lies although there are no spirits in the temple itself. Still, it serves its purpose as the cauldron for the ritual, and so, she can only skirt on a few regulations that weak Magi had set – up earlier.
The task is too easy in Caster's opinion, since she, or more exactly her older self, has set up her workshop earlier in this temple. All she has to do is to reinforce the spells that she set up, and they are good for the rest of the days of this war.
But then, she saw a mound marked for someone. She narrowed her eyes, and she now read the words that are marked in the grave.
Kuzuki Souichirou
As she read the name, her mind is now filled with the memories that are not supposed to be there in the first place, for those memories are her older self's. She knows of her love for that man, who until the end, is as serene as her older self can remember.
But then, as those memories flooded in her head, she now saw two people who laid her older self to rest together with someone who is in the grave right now. She heard her older self mutter those names.
"The boy and Saber…"
In her final moments, these are the two people who laid her to a blissful rest. She brought out her lacrima sphere, and closed her eyes as she placed the clear sphere on her forehead.
Suddenly, she is overwhelmed by a view of a world of blades. She dropped the sphere involuntarily and stood speechless as she sees something that no other person or Servant can see.
She is standing on grassy plains. The boy is standing on the hill of swords, still forging with his own hands. He has no forging equipment, let alone a forge. But this world is his forge. He still continues to forge in meaningless abandon…
Sword after sword…
Sword after sword…
Sword after sword…
Ideals being broken, the boy still clings on to his one hope.
That she will arrive at the place. That he will be on that place, and meet her.
It is a dismal fate, yet it is a bittersweet fate. The child can only cry at such ignorant bliss that those two have held on to. She can only cry at their ignorant love for each other. She can only cry that she can never achieve that same bliss as them.
"So, I take it that you have seen it, the end of their dream…"
She turned around, and she saw a man in a cloak. She quickly dried her tears with her jacket. But then, she is caught off – guard as she saw the legend takes off his cloak to reveal himself. This act alone can make other Casters squirm in disgust because of how he does things.
With one word, she now uttered the name of the legend from the Round Table.
"Merlin…"
"No need to be hostile, Princess of Colchis…" He replied slyly as he saw Caster looking like she has just watched a clichéd drama scene straight out of the movies. "I'm just here skirting around my prophetic dreams and visions."
"I should have known." Caster deadpanned, but her voice sounds like she is about to cry again. "They're basically chasing each other to the ends of the worlds to achieve that utopia. 'Tis a cruel fate indeed for the both of them if one of them cannot keep up with that dream any longer."
"And yet they have achieved it." Merlin chuckled. "It's every woman's dream after all to find love."
"Say that to my face once again, Sir Merlin." Caster's voice is now dangerously low, unfit of her child form. "I can personally guarantee you that I can burn this dream to ashes if I wanted to."
"But you haven't." Merlin replied as he walked away. "And you have made sure to fulfill their dreams even though if it costs something."
She can only look at the man with utter contempt for his way with words, before realizing what he actually meant. For her, it is an absurd thing to think that he knew it all along. She is the Princess of Colchis, yet this man knew what was going to happen on the basis of him knowing her.
But then again, it makes sense for him to know her. She is that one after all.
"Wait." Caster tried to call out to the man, but to no avail, he slowly disappears from her sight. "How did you…"
Before she can even ask, the lad now spoke to her as he disappears.
"Give my regards to Saber. She knows who I am."
In an instant, she is now being brought back to reality, with Assassin still watching her over the trees of the Ryuudou Temple. She can only sigh as she shakes her head.
It is a good thing that the conversations take place on her mind or else everything will be for naught. She then picked up the lacrima again and placed it in her jacket pocket.
"Your surveillance is in poor taste." Caster quipped as she now marked the last post with her spell. "I can't tell you to be more useful since you are robbed of your intelligence and identity."
"CaN…StIlL…FiGHt…" He quipped as he searches for onlookers, only to find out that there are none. "MusT…Eat yOu…iF…yOu…dO nOt…obEY."
"And here I thought he couldn't get any more insane than this." She closed her eyes in disapproval of her Master's methods, but then, she would have done the same in dire situations such as this.
Assassin now looked on the grave where she is looking at earlier. He can only grin in anticipation of what it can actually do to his reserves, and consequently, to his intelligence.
"ThE…GRavE…fuLL…oF EnERgy…" The beastly Servant replied "MUst…eaT…"
Before he can even finish his sentence, he is now being glared at by Caster. Her glare pierced its way down to the very core of his soul as she stared down at him. Assassin can only retract his form to watch again from above the trees.
"Let me remind you that this is a grave not meant to be disturbed." She replied instinctively, without even realizing the consequences for her present actions. "I shall slit your throat if your fingers ever touch his grave. This is my older self's beloved, and so it must stay as such until the end of time."
Clinging to what is left of his civility, Assassin now curtly bowed to the princess. He barely remembers the etiquettes of social interaction on his missions in his past life as a Hassan, and so he can deal with the princess as such.
"VEry…wELl…" He replied in a short sentence, before disappearing from her presence.
It is then that Caster realized what she has done, and blushed in utter embarrassment at the situation.
She can only shake her head as she is now blushing mad like a child who had her first crush on a boy that she likes.
Something's definitely wrong with my life if I fell in love with a man I don't even know. She thought as she marched her way through.
This is her next destination. It's a good thing that Assassin is now out of her reach, but to be sure, she puts on a silk scarf that she brought out from her pocket.
But that scarf is not ordinary, for it bestows upon the wearer a sort of concealment of their powers, making them ordinary humans until they remove the scarf. She then begins her journey to the place where she will meet someone.
Homurahara High School.
Day 3: Afternoon
By the time that they had finished disabling the sigils, it is already afternoon in their school. It's a good thing that there are no students witnessing their act.
"By the way, how's your training going?" Rin asked out of the blue after they have disabled a few prominent markers that the unknown Servant has placed. "I'm sure that you're not idling at all ever since I let you swallow the switch."
Emiya Shirou can only grimace on the fact that he had swallowed a gem. But as much as he hated to admit it, the gem helped him much in practicing his reinforcement Magecraft skills. It is even better than what his father has taught him long ago.
But then, he has to thank his father for the rigorous physical training that he gave him, for that helped him adjust his body to the changes that the switch has made in no time at all.
And so, he can only answer one thing.
"I'm doing well." Emiya Shirou replied, his eyes casually observing for some things that may come their way. "It's even better than the last time I used Reinforcement. Thanks, Tohsaka."
With a wave of her hand, she just dismissed the matter as though the act of gratitude does not need thanks.
"You're welcome." She replied in a short and concise manner.
But then, there is something bothering her ever since the day that Emiya Shirou came in her life. She hesitated to ask questions at first. But then, she can only close her eyes as she let herself ask this question to the boy.
"Do you really know what you are doing?" Rin now wondered aloud, her back facing the boy. The boy can only be confused at what the lady in red is implying, and so he can only give this answer.
"What do you even mean by that?" The boy asked, to which the girl can only close her eyes and sigh at the boy being clueless of what she's even talking about.
"You always put yourself in danger first." The heiress now listed all of her concerns to the boy's surprise. "In a choice between saving yourself and saving others, you save others first. You have a complete disregard for your own life. Heck, you even tried to jump on the wrong side of the bar many times in futile…!"
She now stopped herself from saying the thing that she saw on that day. She hopes that the boy did not realize that last sentence that she said. The boy can only be even more confused by what the lady is trying to point at.
She now tried to return her composure to her proper self.
"Why are you even saying all of this?" Emiya Shirou asked in amazement. "I'm not sure what you are getting at here, Tohsaka."
"You have that look in your eyes." She now described. "Although I know you, it seems that I'm still picking up the pieces on who you really are. Each and every time I get close to an answer, it still slips in my grasp."
She then continued her discourse.
"Your eyes are still dead even though they are full of life." She herself is confused at what she is getting at. "It's a contradiction not meant to exist, yet here you are. Most people won't look like that unless they stared death right at its face and lived to see another day."
Emiya Shirou can only cast his glance aside in confusion. Tohsaka Rin has proven what his existence really is. She is getting close to that answer as he expected.
"To tell you the truth, I died that day…" Emiya Shirou replied as he bitterly recalled those memories. "I should have died out there."
"So I am right then…" Rin Tohsaka gave him an examining stare, as though she has proven one of her points right. "You, somehow, managed to be alive. You, somehow, felt guilty for living again when you should have died. What month is that anyway?"
"February, ten years ago." Shirou gave a concise answer, to which the Tohsaka heiress went numb at the answer that Emiya Shirou gave him.
"Tohsaka…" Shirou walked closer to the heiress, when the heiress snapped back to her senses.
"Ah, it's nothing." The lady in red dismissed his suspicions with a wave of her hand. "Just make sure to get home early to practice the ones that I have taught you. Is that clear?"
"Okay. But what about you?" The lad asked, to which the heiress laughed it off.
"I'll just get my groceries. Archer is on my side after all." She replied with confidence, to which Shirou can only wave goodbye to her as they are near the exit of the school gates.
"Take care out there." He now said as he sees her off, to which the lady replied with a confident smirk.
"It is you who should take care out there."
Just as Emiya Shirou is about to leave the school, he then caught a whiff of a flower's scent that is unlike any other, for there are no flowers at their school that had that smell. He then turned his head around, only to see a child.
But then that child smiled at him, as though she knew him for a long time. This makes him even more confused than the one Tohsaka laid on him a while ago.
The child now gave him a knowing smile and greeted him as though they are friends.
"Good evening, boy." She greeted him. "We might not know each other, but you appear in my memories for some reason."
He is confused at first, until he realized what she is getting at. Remembering her dagger, he gritted his teeth in pain at the thought of it. The child can only tilt her head, and it is then that she realizes something about the boy.
"Yes, I am that lady, boy." She admitted. "It seems that you know of me through my older self's Noble Phantasm."
The boy can only put out a word from his mouth, one that he can consider as an impossible occurrence. Yet here she is, standing right in front of her, in child form to boot.
"M…Medea?"
A/N: Yep, all finished.
Been wanting to compensate for the past months' no release.
Work has been draining my mind lately. I apologize if this comes as a weak story telling.
Please rate and review.