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Another battle scene, my weakness. The first battles against the enemies.
I guess this fic will only be updated sporadically. The days of regular updates are long gone.
I split this chapter from this point, it was supposed to continue until the planning session, but I got lazy and only wrote until they all went to sleep.
Chapter 19 – Strength
"What are you doing here child?"
Calling out the child from a distance, Kirei kept his eyes on the surroundings. The situation he found himself in was quite… unique. A young child about the same age as Rin cooking in the middle of the woods. If that didn't clue him in that something was strange, he was able to tell that the boy is a Magus.
'Perhaps a homunculus?' Looking at the young child in front of him, he noticed several things. First, he seems to be ignoring him in favor of focusing on his current action, cooking. His movements were skilled. As a person who learned cuisine in an attempt to quench his desire for the suffering of others, he can tell that his movements were that of an expert's. Another is the terrain, many trees were close to each other in this part of the forest. Perhaps this place was chosen deliberately by the child—
"You're not my enemy." The child states without any deceit. "You're probably here to check on what's happening here, right?"
After a moment of deliberation, he nodded. If he was inclined to share his knowledge with him, it would make his job as temporary Second Owner much easier. Besides, he doesn't feel any hostility directed at him.
"Then sit down." The child added tofu and gently stirred the pan. "This is going to take a while to explain, you see—"
"I have no idea what's going on." Rin explained. "And as the future Second Owner of Fuyuki, I should be able to know what's going on in my territory."
She tried acting dignified, but to Kariya's eyes, it simply looked like a child trying to bear the burdens of an adult.
"Rin-chan, you don't have to do anything yet. You're still too young." He reasoned. "Just let us adults handle it."
Had Kariya actually been a competent Magus, Rin would've been assured, but unfortunately, he was even worse than Rin, and she was not even ten years old.
"Kariya-oji-san, don't you want to know what's happening too?" Rin pointed at her research by the board. It was filled with dates, pictures of recent events cut from newspapers, and comments of how suspicious they were. "These events are definitely caused by Magic. They happened right after otou-sama…"
Kariya realized that it wasn't about duty, Rin simply wanted to know what happened to her father. Scratching his head, he decided to accompany her. Rin is very stubborn after all, if he forbade her from going, she would probably just sneak out. He let out a deep sigh as he told his answer.
"Fine." Rin's expression brightened up. "But when and where are we going to investigate? Just so you know, the police are keeping an eye out during the evening because of what's happening right now."
"Oh…" If only she had enough skill in Magecraft to make people ignore them… "It can't be helped then, lets investigate the murder and the center of the Fuyuki Fire, we'll definitely get clues there!"
And so began Rin's investigation.
"Angra Mainyu…" It seems that this situation was a tad more serious than he expected. "I knew that the opponent was strong since they were able to annihilate the Magi that were sent here, but…"
"I'm going to camp out here to take out the shades." The boy, who introduced himself as Shirou, offered him a bowl of Mapo Tofu. "Here, eat some, the spiciness will keep you awake."
They both sat down and took their respective bites.
'Hmmm, good, my cooking skills are intact, but…' Shirou immediately brought up his thermos filled with ice cold water. 'It looks like I overestimated my tolerance.'
'T-this…' Kirei was surprised, he actually felt happy when eating this dish. He ate rapidly fearing that it was a trick of the mind.
As Kirei finished his plate, he was left with the burning happiness that Mapo has given him.
'How wonderful.' Not only did he experience happiness without others suffering, he also got to see someone endure and keep on eating Mapo even when he was clearly out of his depth.
"Shades?"
"They're familiars of Angra Mainyu. Right now, I can't possibly go against the real fighters, but I can eliminate small fries like those." He didn't like that he was being excluded, but Archer was right, as he is right now, he would be a liability against Servants. His body was simply too young, if he was around ten years old or so, he could probably assist, but right now? Simply impossible. "You probably can't beat them either, you don't have the necessary level of Mystery to kill them."
'His assessment is correct.' Kirei knew from the beginning that he would be no match. He was simply here to investigate and pass it along to the Church to see what move they will make.
"Is there anyone else who is fighting?" From the information he has amassed, they have no realistic way to prevent Angra Mainyu from being born. The only way to victory is—
"Archer is recruiting the other Servants." Shirou explained. "He asked me and a few people who I don't know to defend the city while the group he gathered will be the ones who will raid the location inside the barrier."
'Ah yes, that simple, yet extremely powerful barrier.' It suddenly sprung up without notice, and from what he read of its level of Magical Energy, punching through that is but a pipe dream.
"They'll manage, they're heroes after all." The night was slowly approaching… "All we have to do is fulfill the roles given to us."
Kirei nodded at his words.
The two of them prepared themselves for what's to come. Leaving Kirei's line of sight, he readied the card and locked his eyes in the direction of the barrier.
Kirei stretched his muscles, it was time to work. He would have to eliminate these Shades and protect the boy. After all, it would be a tragedy if such an accomplished chef of Mapo Tofu were to die.
"Get ready."
After [Installing] the Class Card, Kiritsugu got up a tree and set his scope on the barrier. 'No movements yet… but they will definitely send out the familiars if only to tire us out.'
Hearing his words, Taiga transformed once again, wearing her Magical Girl(?) armor. She concentrated, swinging her blade in a variety of ways without using too much Magical Energy. This time will be different, she will show that her training paid off!
Minutes passed by. Taiga continuously practiced as Kiritsugu was on overwatch. The sky turned into night, allowing the moon and the stars to make their presence known, and then—
"███████████████"
*Bang*
She heard the familiar unsettling roar as well as the shot fired by Kiritsugu.
She charged ahead to meet the enemy. After judging the distance between her, Kiritsugu, and the enemy, she stopped at the most optimal location, an open area.
As she waited for them to come, she heard the sound of guns going off, and a sound as if something heavy was hitting the ground repeatedly.
"███████████████"
She was taken out of her thoughts as the first wave went out of the treeline and mercilessly gunned down. Wave after wave of pitch-black darkness charged through, intent on tearing her to shreds.
Finally, even the guns weren't enough to kill them as they appeared, their numbers too great even for the assault rifles Kiritsugu-san was using.
Taiga cut down those that were able to get past the hail of bullets with ease. Compared to her panicking self back then, the difference was like night and day. Her wild swings became efficient strikes that mowed down multiple enemies with minimal movement, her wide dodges became tilts and steps that allowed her to evade by a small margin, and her mental strength was at its peak. Not only that, as she fought more, her moves became sharper, more refined, more efficient.
She didn't know how long much time has passed, cut, step, bash, tilt, thrust, cut, jump…
Eventually, the cries of the beasts weakened, their numbers thinning. She kept on going at them with vigor, and finally—
Taiga brought her blade down on the last beast, its roar of hatred never abating even when it turns to nothing but air.
"Phew…" She relaxed her tensed muscles.
*Boom*
Taiga went alert as something crashed in the middle of the field. As the dust cleared, she saw a pale skinned woman with blonde hair and dark armor.
"!" Her instincts went haywire, it told her to run, defeat was inevitable, but it was also telling her that retreat was going to be near impossible, even with Kiritsugu-san's assistance.
*Bang*
She deflected the bullet aimed at her skull. Taiga seized the initiative and struck with all her might.
"Haa—!"
"…"
*Clang*
The woman receives the blow like it was nothing. The Magical Energy and momentum didn't matter, she repels the attack without flinching.
"Guh…!"
Taiga, the one who attacked, was forced to retreat. Not only is it blocked, but her body lost its balance as well.
*Bang*
The moment that the woman blocked the second bullet, Taiga adjusted her stance, but—
Their blades clashed, the woman went on to attack like surging waves. Taiga could only defend against it, she knew that the moment she tries to counterattack, she will lose her life. Even the backup from Kiritsugu-san was meaningless.
'But how?!' Her sword was invisible, such a thing should've allowed her to force her opponent on the defensive, after all, not knowing the range of your opponent's weapon was fatal in combat. But the woman moved as if she knew its length from the very beginning. 'Wait, now that I look at her, she's—'
"…You lasted longer than I expected." She finally spoke. "The moment we crossed blades, your swordsmanship also improved. I suppose this is the resonance of like souls." [1]
Her words confirmed Taiga's question. Her powers came from this woman. She started to doubt, how could they possibly beat someone like her?
A hail of bullets was shot towards the woman, but they did virtually no damage. Immediately after, a blur passed by her vision.
Kiritsugu saw that using his guns against the Servant was useless. Changing his approach, he pulled out his trump card.
"[Chronos Rose]" He immediately activated his Noble Phantasm and went for the kill.
By some unseen force, Saber seems to know exactly where he was going to strike. Shallow wounds were ignored as they regenerated near instantly, and every time he goes for a crippling blow or a fatal strike, her blade and armor stonewalled his efforts.
Realizing that his knife didn't have the necessary power to punch through her armor, Saber stopped paying attention to her defense and attacked ferociously.
Despite the massive gap in their speed, Kiritsugu found himself struggling to evade the incoming storm of attacks. Such was Saber's skill in the blade.
Regaining her senses, Taiga joined the battle, focusing on messing with the enemy's balance. Yet even with their combined efforts, she was barely fazed.
"Haaa—!"
Taiga attempts to break her guard, but she was parried. Kiritsugu follows up by striking on the back of her skull, but with her instinct, there was simply no chance of it landing.
An armored hand blocks the knife, and a swing of the blade was returned in reprisal. Kiritsugu manages to avoid it and leaps backward.
With such an arrangement, Taiga, while still forced to mainly defend, could counterattack as Saber was forced to be careful with her attacks lest she makes herself open to the other enemy.
Saber mercilessly continued to pressure Taiga. Every time she sees a potential opening, she was assaulted by the other enemy, for two people who only had a few days of knowing each other, they were quite an effective duo.
A few more back and forth showed Saber that her approach was not working, therefore—
"Enough of this." She declared. Her blade was engulfed in darkness as she swung. "Die." She used brute force to break the stalemate.
Taiga forced her core into overdrive, seeing that evasion was impossible, she attempted to cancel out her opponent's Mana Burst with her own.
"Guh…!"
It ended with less than stellar results. The attack overwhelmed her and gave her quite a heavy injury. Fortunately, Avalon immediately got to work repairing it.
The shockwave from the clash disoriented Kiritsugu and forced him out of [Chronos Rose]. Saber, seeing the opportunity, delivered a diagonal cut on his torso. He feebly triedto deflect it with his knife, but it broke past his guard and struck him.
It wasn't a fatal wound, but it definitely a heavy wound that affected his mobility. Not even five minutes have passed, but their defeat was imminent.
Taiga's entire body felt numb, but in a few seconds, she should be able to get up. As for Kiritsugu—
"K-Kiritsugu-san…!" She called out in a pained cough.
Saber prepared her blade to execute her weakened enemy.
"▅▅▂▃▂▃▃▅▅▂▂▅▅" A roar of madness echoed in the forest.
Saber immediately leapt away as she kept her eyes peeled on the surroundings. Suddenly—
*Clang*
Two beings of great power clashed.
Saber was sent skidding back from the force of the attack. Digging in her feet, she halted her momentum and focused on the enemy ahead.
Standing at an immense two and a half meters tall, Berserker glared menacingly at Saber.
In another part of the forest—
A storm of stabs rained down on Archer who deflects them. The speed of Lancer's attacks is phenomenal, if Archer didn't have assistance, didn't get stronger, or didn't use his [Mind's Eye], he would've already fallen.
Assassin appears from behind, intent on landing a blow on Lancer's arm or legs.
In a single sweep of his spear, he forced Assassin to retreat, but it also allowed Archer to take his distance.
"Strange…" Lancer muttered. "You're much stronger than the last time we met."
Compared to the past Holy Grail War he participated in, the conditions were quite favorable this time around. He didn't need to hold back during battles, his strength improved, and his Master is a first-class Mana battery. On the other corner, both Archer and Assassin don't have Masters. He is confused that instead of weakening, Archer seems to have become stronger, and not running out of Mana. He was confident that he could kill Archer quickly without using Gae Bolg due to that.
He was reserving it as a surprise attack for Assassin, but his plan ended up in smoke when Archer was harder to kill than he thought. And there were also—
*Boom*
"Tch—!" Lancer clicked his tongue. The explosives made by Assassin were quite an annoyance. They did little damage, but they force him back and allows those two to reach a better vantage point.
"!" A red projectile was launched at him. With a strong thrust, he crushes it utterly. His arms, which strained from this feat, were healed by the runes he prepared.
Assassin capitalized on his momentary distraction, but Lancer easily forces him back. Raising his spear—
"!" Another incoming red projectile was destroyed, but the unexpected increase in strength caused him to react a little late as Assassin cut his thigh open with a cursed blade before he made him retreat. "…Curses that prevent healing huh…"
The situation was quite unfavorable for him.
{Retreat.} His Master ordered.
He frowned, but accepted the order.
With his [Disengage] skill, escaping from these two were child's play. [2]
Saber was pushed back once more, but she wasn't helpless as she offered a riposte against the following strike.
With agile movements unbefitting of a muscular giant of a man, he avoided the blade and retaliated with a punch. She was sent flying back, but the damage she received was minimized as she blocked it with her arm.
"…" He was strong, this is how strong he is without being weakened by Sakura, Saber realized. [3]
By some unseen signal, they both rushed at each other. Saber used her [Mana Burst] extensively to bridge the gap between their power and speed.
Berserker swung his blade with reckless abandon, each and every one of his strikes were fatal if they hit her directly. Saber was on the defensive, waiting for an appropriate time to create an opening.
Their battle rattled trees and shook the earth. Berserker's storm-like offensive went on without pause, battering the dark monolith that is Saber.
Finally, after blocking an innumerable number of blows, Saber coated her blade in darkness and swung, meeting Berserker's overhead strike.
After a brief struggle, Berserker was slowly pushed back, before—
"Guh…?!"
As she cut down Berserker, he swung his trunk-like legs upwards, delivering a strike to her chin.
Saber was sent upwards from the force of the blow and Berserker's corpse landed on the earth. As she landed, Saber tried to shake off her dizziness.
[God Hand] got to work, regenerating Berserker's body which was cut in twain by Saber's attack.
"▅▅▂▃▂▃▅▂▃▅▅▂" With a roar, he returned to battle.
Despite the concussion making her concentration wane, she was able to fend off Berserker's attacks with the same skill she displayed before. Her injury healed quickly. She has strong regenerative abilities, coupled with an almost infinite source of magical energy. If one were to kill her, they need to crush her Spiritual Core or take off her head.
{Retreat.} Her Master ordered.
Gritting her teeth, she swung her blade and sent Berserker back with a blast using her [Mana Burst] and followed up with a stronger blast that devastated the area.
With that, Saber withdrew from battle. Berserker unable to give chase due to the distance and his body regenerating from his most recent death.
"Amazing…" Taiga was awestruck at what she just witnessed, a battle of legends. "Wait, not the time!"
Gently laying down Kiritsugu who she carried away from the battle, she wracked her brain on what she can do.
"Oh! That's right, I have that don't I?" Concentrating on herself, she pulled out Avalon and pressed it on Kiritsugu's chest.
The sheathe broke down in motes of light and entered his body. Within seconds, his injuries healed, and his breathing stabilized.
"Woah…" Seeing how it just closed such a large wound just goes to show how awesome it is. "And he gave it to me just like that…"
It warms her heart that Kiritsugu-san was such a caring person. Leaving such an important item to her so that she would be safe.
Kiritsugu stirred, before he bolted up and scanned the surroundings.
"You're awake!" Taiga's joyful face greeted him. "I gave you Avalon back so that your injury would heal."
"Thank you…" He stood up and faced Taiga. "We lost, didn't we?"
"…Yeah."
Saber's power was tyrannical, her skill divine, her defense impenetrable, and she wasn't even taking them seriously. If it weren't for that muscular giant with a sword, they would've been killed. Speaking of which…
"So that's one of our allies, he's really strong! He could keep up with Saber." She expressed her admiration and gazed at the fully recovered giant. "With guys like him, winning is possible!"
Kiritsugu turned his head to see who Taiga was talking about.
"Berserker, huh." It seems that Archer made good on his promise of recruiting the Servant.
His walkie-talkie, which miraculously survived the battle, was activated.
"Emiya Kiritsugu, do you read me? Over." Archer's voice resounded in the quiet forest.
"Loud and clear." He responded. "Me, Berserker, and… an ally I have are all accounted for. Over."
'An ally?' Archer wonders who could that possibly be.
"Me and Assassin are also alive. After the Shades were cleaned up, we were assaulted by Lancer who we managed to repel. What happened on your end? Over."
"We were attacked by Saber. After she defeated the two of us, Berserker appeared and pushed her back. Over."
'So they decided to be more proactive, but considering they retreated, they're still playing it safe.'
"I have gathered as much allies as possible, we can continue with the planning of the assault tomorrow. We will meet in the place we last saw each other. Do you have any preference in time? Over."
Kiritsugu thought about it. Considering that their enemies come out mainly at night, that time of the day was already out of the question.
They would need the morning tomorrow to fully recover and train for a bit, so that was out too. That leaves him—
"Around 13:00 would be good. Over." Getting the plan on track as soon as possible is to their best interest.
"Roger that, we shall meet again tomorrow. Bring with you everyone you managed to gather. Please inform Berserker of the schedule. Over and out."
Putting the walkie-talkie away, Kiritsugu turned to face a thoughtful Taiga.
"Come to think of it, how many people did Archer-san recruit, Kiritsugu-san?"
Their enemies were Saber and Lancer, which would leave them with Caster and Rider as the only Servants unaccounted for. If someone factors in the Class Cards, the maximum number of people that Archer can recruit is—
"On our side, we already have Archer, Assassin, and Berserker. At most, the number of people he can recruit is six. Two Servants and four Class Card users." [4]
"I see, that's not a lot of people." She pointed out. "I'm getting really confident about our chances now!"
"I should tell Berserker about the schedule. Wait here for a bit." Kiritsugu approached Berserker with Taiga following after him. When he gave her a questioning glance, she replied:
"I want to thank him for saving us, and I want to see him up close too."
"…Do as you like then."
Shirou's arm was numb from shooting so many arrows. Having such a young body was quite inconvenient for a fighter. He could've helped a bit in fighting off Saber by shooting some arrows if he wasn't so restricted in what he could do.
Looking down from his vantage point, he saw Kotomine walking up to him. He slid down to the ground and [Uninstalled] the card.
Kirei didn't bat an eye, thinking that it was simply a Mystic Code that astralizes and deastralizes his equipment. Not that he was wrong…
"Seeing the damage their clash has done to the area, I suppose that focusing on defending the civilians would be a much better alternative than attempting to join the battle." He assessed.
"Yeah, it's better this way so that they can focus on the attack the day after tomorrow."
"There isn't time for me to gather enough forces from the Church to oppose the evil god and the Servants. Do you have anything that can increase their chances of success?"
Kirei looked at the situation with logic and professionalism. Since it was impossible for him to complete the mission, he decided that assisting the group with the highest chance of succeeding is the best course of action.
"Except for defending the city so that they don't have to divert any forces here, I can't do anything else. Though if you can lend them some Holy Artifacts, that would probably help a bit."
"Unfortunately, the Holy Artifact in this city won't be of much help." The Shroud of Martin wasn't exactly an artifact used for battle.
Shirou knew what Kotomine was talking about, he simply asked to deflect suspicion and gather information on the off chance that there was another Holy Artifact they could use.
"A bounded field then. One that would prevent others from approaching the battlefield and another that should weaken the Shades."
"That is doable. The authority of temporary Second Owner allows me to modify the land. I shall assist in protecting the city in my capacity as an Executor of the Church. I am Kotomine Kirei, you are?"
"…Shirou, just Shirou." It was technically the truth. After all, he wasn't adopted by Kiritsugu yet, and he didn't remember his original surname either.
"Well then Shirou, I shall take my leave. I shall pray for your survival and the other's success."
Saying his piece, he left the forest to prepare for the next assault.
"I still can't get used to this new, or rather, past, him…" He muttered.
The Kirei he saw and the Kirei he knew were too different. Still, he wasn't going to complain, working with the Kirei in this world was far easier than the one in his.
He owed a lot to him. Saving both Sakura and his life, if only to see them suffer more, rescuing Illya, forcing him to choose between his ideals and Sakura…
True, his actions were filled with malicious intent to make them miserable, but those same actions saved them.
But still, if he tried to pull something like the birth of Angra Mainyu, he won't hesitate to do another battle to the death.
Seeing the reaction of the Mana Compass, Rin remembered her father's warning.
"Some things in this world contain their own mana." The compass let off violent sparks. "Anything that causes a reaction like that is beyond your ability, so be careful."
Sweat fell from her brow. She and Kariya-oji-san were exploring the city for clues of magical activity, but all of a sudden, the compass pointed in the direction of the forest and let off sparks, signifying that it was beyond her current level.
"Rin-chan? What's wrong?" He peered at her sweating brow in concern. "We should probably go home now, it's already very late."
"…Yes, let's hurry oji-san. The compass is telling me that there's something dangerous nearby." She informed him urgently.
"Wha— let's hurry back, it may—"
"What are you doing?" Despite what others may say, Rin didn't go kyaaaa. No, she was an elegant and composed lady of house Tohsaka.
Kariya, tensing his muscles, looked at the direction of the voice, ready to run and take Rin away with him. In a few steps, the person who questioned them stepped into the light.
"Kirei?" Rin recognized him. He was her father's apprentice and the son of the father of the Church, Kotomine Kirei. "Why are you here?"
"I was doing my duty, protecting the city from harm. Now will you answer my question? What are you doing here so late at night?"
"I was doing investigations. I'll find out what's causing the events in Fuyuki and—"
"There is no need." Kirei interrupted. "I have finished the investigation already. I shall inform you of the situation tomorrow, but for now, please return to your home."
"…Fine, but you definitely have to tell us tomorrow!"
With a nod at Rin's order, Kirei made his way home.
"We didn't find anything…" She sullenly muttered.
"See Rin-chan? We have a reliable adult to protect Fuyuki. You don't need to continue investigating anymore."
Rin let herself be led home, her investigation turning up nothing at all.
"Phew~" Taiga was relaxing in a bathtub, washing away the sweat from battle before going to sleep.
She was glad that everyone got out alive. She thought that they were finished back then, but the big guy really saved their bacon.
The final battle is coming soon. She hoped that everyone will get out of this alive.
Afterwards, feeling fresh enough, Taiga dried herself and put on the bathrobe that was a bit too large on her and went out to get her clothes.
She kept on drying her long hair, which was stubbornly remaining wet.
Kiritsugu entered the room and saw Taiga struggling to dry her hair.
"Want some help?" He offered. He was quite experienced in drying off long hair thanks to his wife and daughter.
"Eh? Ummm, y-yes please." She didn't even have time to be embarrassed as he got to work.
'Ah… ohhhhh.' Taiga was surprised that Kiritsugu was proficient in this kind of thing. He gently dried off her scalp first before moving on to the rest of her hair. 'It feels nice…' While her hair was being dried, she thought of questions that she should ask. 'Alright, just be casual Taiga!'
"Kiritsugu-san."
"What's the matter? Am I being too rough?" He stopped moving his hands.
"No, it's not that, I just want to ask if you like long hair or short hair."
Kiritsugu felt that the question came out of nowhere, but he responded honestly.
"I prefer long hair." He continued to dry her hair. "Why do you ask?"
"N-nothing! I… was just curious." Info GET!
"Your hair is dry now. Oh, and before I forget."
Putting his hand to his chest, he retrieved Avalon and returned it to Taiga.
"Don't you need it more than me?" She asked in concern.
"No, take it. It's best that Avalon is with you."
Although she was a bit reluctant, Taiga took Avalon and reabsorbed it into her body.
"You should change your clothes before you sleep. I'll immediately go to sleep, so you don't need to worry about me seeing anything."
Laying down on the bed, he relaxed as he went to dreamland.
"So fast?!" It wasn't even a minute!
Still, it was embarrassing to change her clothes even if she knows that he was asleep.
'He wasn't even a little bit flustered when he saw me like this. I guess I'm lacking charm as a woman…' She slapped her cheeks to pump herself up. 'No, don't give up, Taiga. You still have time to grow into a sexy, beautiful onee-chan!'
She immediately started changing her clothes and got ready for bed. 'Oh, my clothes are running out, maybe I should ask for some money to buy some? But I guess that this should be exactly enough until the final battle.'
She looked at Kiritsugu's sleeping form. It looked very rigid, body straight, and arms on his chest, looking like a corpse on a funeral.
Thinking of how to show off her feminine charm, Taiga got a daring idea. She laid down beside Kiritsugu, taking up half of the bed. It seems that he left that space open for when Maiya comes back.
'Sorry, Maiya-san.' Now that she was in position, her embarrassment grew. 'Nonono, you can do it!' She creeped closer and finally latched on to his arm. 'I-I did it!' She tried to calm her beating heart, but it simply went faster.
Taiga took a while before she was able to finally sleep.
Kiritsugu, who saw all of this happen, being a light sleeper, chose not to say anything and allowed her to lay down beside him.
'She's probably stressed about what happened today.' Was his thought before he went back immediately to sleep.
Maiya, who defended another area from the Shades, got home and slept on the vacant bed.
Ashes everywhere the eye can see. Bones littered the ground, though most of them were already cleaned up. Houses were utterly demolished.
It was just as he remembered. The hell he experienced all those years ago. Walking around the devastated area, he reached the house that he lived in before he was adopted.
"…" Just as expected, not a single thing was intact.
He went closer and saw two sets of bones.
"Shirou! Wake up!" He was then carried by someone.
"Wait outside, ok?" He went out of the house, and when he turned back, his home was gone.
He couldn't wait anymore, so he ran. To somewhere with less heat. To somewhere with less smoke.
The smell of the burning air.
It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.
A wall of fire with no way out.
It's hot. It's hot. It's hot. It's hot. It's hot. It's hot. It's hot. It's hot. It's hot. It's hot. It's hot. It's hot. It's hot. It's hot. It's hot. It's hot. It's hot. It's hot.
He snapped back to reality, spending quite some time there, looking at what could've been.
"I'm sorry, I'm so very sorry… but I won't change my resolve." That's right, he betrayed all of them. An unforgivable crime, yet he stood by his decision, even when it hurts his heart so much.
Tears flowed as he stood in front of his former home.
"Hey, kid!" He turned around to see the nurse from the hospital and some guys in matching uniforms. "Geez, you had us worried! What were you—oh…"
The nurse lost her fire as she took in the scene. A child crying in front of a burnt house with two sets of bones.
It didn't paint a very good story.
"Ah… I'm… sorry for running way." He sobbed as he wiped his tears away. "I'm… ready to go back now."
The way back was silent. None of them daring to say a word.
Sakura's consciousness was hazy. Looking around, she saw Rider, who is always by her side.
{Rider?} She mentally called out.
{I'm here Sakura.} She floated towards her, sitting beside her bed.
{I'm happy to see you.} She gave a bright smile. {Shirou is…}
She felt it in the link, the guilt, the sorrow. This cannot stand. Connecting herself to Shirou, she felt her consciousness take a hit. Regardless, she persevered to send her message.
{Shirou, please don't be sad. No matter where we are, we'll… always… be… by… your… side…}
Darkness claimed her once more, but her message did its intended purpose.
Berserker returned to Einzbern Castle.
"Berserker!" His tiny Master greeted and lunged at him.
Floating off the ground, she sat on his shoulder.
He really couldn't understand what his Master was saying to him, but that was fine.
This time, he'll protect her till the very end.
[1] Like Shirou and Archer, just toned down.
[2] This is not Berserker Cu Chulainn Alter to clarify. He's simply Alter Cu Chulainn.
Str: A
End: A
Agi: A
Mana: D
Luck: E
Magic Resistance C
Battle Continuation A
Rune D (Down due to alterification)
Divinity C (Down due to alterification)
Protection From Arrows D (Down due to alterification)
Disengage B (More willing to use it I guess…)
[3] When a Servant gets hit by the Sakura tentacles or whatever you call them, they get weaker. HF Day 10, Hassan talks about it.
[4] Caster
Rider
Archer Class Card User
Caster Class Card User
Rider Class Card User
Berserker Class Card User
Unfortunately, he couldn't get them all.
AN:
Saber vs Taiga & Kiritsugu!
Saber vs. Berserker!
Lancer vs. Archer & Assassin!
According to google, saying over means you are done speaking.