Chapter 19: Old friends

I stare in shock at the blue haired man as he gives me a wide grin.

"Kid!" He beams and slaps me on the shoulder, a little too hard as I stumble slightly "I wasn't expecting to see you here! How have you been?" he looks around "Is the little lady about?"

"W-wait a second here!" I throw my hands up "What are you doing here!? How are you here!?"

"Huh?" Lancer looks at me funny for a few seconds "I got summoned." he shrugs "How else?"

"I meant how'd you get summoned…" I pause and look around before leaning towards him "How'd you get summoned outside a grail war!?"

"Oh that." He nods his head at me "I didn't actually get summoned here, here. Me and my Master are just visiting." he grins at me "Get this, I actually got summoned on another world. Its crazy! You got all sorts of monsters and stuff running around that I get to kill! It's great!" his grin morphs into a smirk "Also my Master is pretty cute so that's a plus."

I sigh and face palm "Of course."

"Emiya?" A voice behind me calls out, I turn around to see Kobayashi and Tohru staring at the two of us in confusion "You know him?"

"A-ah, yes." I wince and nod my head "Kobayashi-san, Tohru. This is Lancer he's an...old acquaintance of mine. Lancer this is Kobayashi-san and Tohru."

"Yikes, acquaintance?" Lancer cringes "I know we didn't really meet under the best of circumstances, but I like to think we put that behind us." I suppress a remark that getting murdered goes a little beyond poor circumstances.

"Ladies." Lancer slides towards them, he looks over Kobayashi and narrows his eyes "I knew it…" he suddenly breaks into wide grin "You'd be a lot prettier if you smiled."

"Wha-" Kobayashi gapes at him in surprise, I pinch the bridge of my nose and await Tohru's inevitable breakdown.

"How dare you try and seduce Kobayashi-san from me!" I didn't have to wait long as she growls and stops towards him "Her virginity is mine to claim spirit!"

Lancer blinks as he seemingly realise Tohru is in his face before he backs off with a slightly panicked expression "Oi, oi! Kid what's with the Dragon!?"

"Eh?" Kobayashi blinks "You know what she is?"

"You kiddin me?" Lancer stares at her in shock "The amount of power she's radiating, she can't be anything else!"

"Tohru." I step forwards "He's not trying to seduce her, that's just how he greets people." Tohru looks to me and then back to Lancer before she huffs.

"Fine." She jabs a finger in his direction "But I'm keeping an eye on you! If I catch you making moves on Kobayashi I'll send you back to the afterlife!"

"Back to?" Kobayashi blinks and looks at the three of us in confusion.

"Ah…" I wince "It's complicated."

"Magic stuff?"

"Magic stuff."

"Nevermind then." She grumbles and shakes her head "So you two have met before then?"

"Yeah." I nod "A few years ago...back home. A couple things happened." I gesture at Lancer, who's still staring at Tohru with a strange expression "He's a little blunt but...he's not that bad once you get to know him."

"Ah, I knew you liked me kid!" Lancer grins and throws an arm over my shoulder "You gotta tell me how everything ended up! What happened to that Archer bastard and- wait, wait! Don't tell me now! We gotta talk over drinks!"

"Drinks?" Kobayashi suddenly perks up "Like...Alcohol?"

"Yep!" Lancer grins "Best type for telling stories! Whadda say kid?"

"I don't drink." I try and worm my way out of his grasp, he frowns at me. A look which Kobayashi mirrors.

"Yikes...Take it the little girl hasn't whipped you into shape yet?"

"Tohsaka does not 'whip me into shape.'" I shoot back at him, he raises an amused eyebrow.

"Trust me kid. She will." He leans back and stares down at me "She's looked like a lotta work but I'd still say you do eachother some good." he frowns "Where is she anyway?"

"That...Is a little complicated…"

"She's not dead is she?"

"No!"

"Can't be that complicated then."

"Lancer." I sigh "Please focus, so you're visiting here from another world then?"

"Yeah." He nods and gestures over to Tohru "Probably the same one she's from all things considered. So...she the only one here or will I be expectin more dragons to drop in? With how bad my luck is I can't ever put things past you."

"Well…" I wince "There might be one or two more. And a couple Goddesses."

"Ex-Goddesses. Lucoa is no longer considered a Goddess!" Tohru pipes up "It's just the Great Mother who's a full blown Goddess."

"...Eh?" Lancer's face scrunches up in confusion and looks down at me for clarification. I let out a breath and elaborate.

"By Lucoa, she means Quetzalcoatl...and the Great Mother is Tiamat. She's around here somewhere."

"Kid." Lancer unhands me and looks at me with a face that just screams confusion and pity "I didn't think it was possible to meet someone with worse luck than me...You keep defying my expectations every time we meet."

"I'm not doing it on purpose." I snark back "My situation isn't too different from yours."

"I figured." Lancer sighs "Should have realised it when no one had ever heard of Fuyuki before." he shakes his head then smiles "Still! All the more reason to have a drink! We can catch up and compare notes!"

"You don't make notes, Lancer."

"Yeah, but we can still have a drink!"

"He sounds like a pretty wise guy, Emiya." Kobayashi speaks up, I shoot her a betrayed look while Lancer grins "Its going to be a busy day, I don't see why we can't enjoy ourselves after this."

"Ah, a woman after my own heart!" He raises his hand just before Tohru can fly into another rant "Cool yourself there, I'm not after your woman." he smirks at Kobayashi "Man, you're quite lucky, a phantasmal has fallen in love with you and she's quite the looker too."

"I'm not her woman!" Kobayashi slams her palm onto her face "Don't listen to her, she's crazy!"

"Kobayashi is just shy about our relationship." Tohru grins "I'll get her to accept me both emotionally and physically!"

"Good luck with that girl!" Lancer gives her a thumbs up, then turns to me "Come on kid, I want you to meet my Master. She's a real down to earth kinda gal."

I let out a sigh "Fine, fine...I assume you've probably told her all about our last meeting."

"I told her bits and pieces." He shrugged "She asked about me...Told her a little about myself and the last time I was summoned." he looks over to Kobayashi and Tohru "You told them yet?"

"No."

"Why not?" He asks as we walk away, I actually recognise some this direction "You survived a grail war! That's the kind of stuff you sing songs about! Go out and boast about that kind of stuff."

"I'm not all that prideful." I reply with a sigh "Besides, I don't really see the need to tell them about it."

"Jeez kid, you're starting to sound like that Archer." I withhold a bitter chuckle.

"You have no idea."

"Ah! Cu! Over here!" A high pitched voice calls out, myself and Lancer look over and I spot the woman that Fafnir outed to me as a witch "You brought customers!" she's a little shorter than I am, shoulder length brown hair, bright blue eyes, black robes and a pointy hat. She does have quite the rounded face, so I could see what Lancer met when he called her cute.

"Nah, brought a friend." Lancer gives me a pat on the back "Met him the last time I got summoned."

"Oh!" She slumps slightly before she gives me a puzzled look "I thought that…" she looks at Lancer "You said you got summoned on a different world?"

"He did." I reply "Similar situation to him." I give her a smile and extend my hand "Emiya Shirou, but you can call me Shirou if you like."

"Violet Green." She bows her head slightly and shakes my hand "Nice to meet you, Shirou. Any friend of Cu is a friend of mine."

"I'm more impressed you can put up with him." I chuckle "He's a little...blunt."

"Oi."

"He can be a little overbearing." She giggles "But he's not too bad."

"I suppose." I shrug "I didn't know him that long, but once you get past first impressions he seems reliable."

"Oh he is!" She beams "Collecting ingredients for my potions and charms has never been easier!"

"Gardening charms?" I look over her wares with a raised eyebrow, I pick up one of the leaflets "Grow ripe tomatoes in record time." I raise an eyebrow at her "I didn't think you'd be so...public in the display of minor magecraft."

"Huh?" She tilts her head at me before her eyes widen and she snaps her fingers "Ah yes! Cu said that the mages where you are from are a bit more secretive!"

Secretive enough that they'd probably have you killed for doing this.

"They aren't all that public." I give her a shaky expression "Like to keep things underwraps."

"Well...We have an unspoken rule to try and keep our magic use to a minimum." She puffs out her chest "Small charms like this are typically the limit of what we allow...Sometimes we use healing crystals too."

"Those things work?" I blink at her "I thought they were just scams."

"A lot of them are." She gives me a mischievous grin "But don't tell the customers that, we actually have a little trading ring going on."

I roll my eyes at her "Dubious business practices asides, how did you end up with Lancer?"

"Familiar summoning ritual." She replies with a slightly embarrassed look "Usually we summon a little animal...I was actually expecting to summon a dog."

I snort. I'm rewarded with a super powered flick to the side of my head that feels like a punch. I cast a glance to see Lancer glaring at me and Violet looks between us in confusion.

"Sorry, sorry." I wave the servant off and turn to the witch, still holding the side of my head "A little inside joke is all."

"Hmph." She frowns and shoots Lancer a disapproving glare "Cu, we've talked about you using your super strength."

"I did control it." He shrugs "I actually wanted to stab him."

"You have a poor track record of success in that regard." I smirk at him. His eye twitches and he gives me a challenging look.

"I can always rectify that kid."

"No threatening your friends Cu!" Violet scolds him, Lancer scoffs.

"Threats? Me?" He shakes his head "No, more of a spar between friends! I mean you've got to have some skill ain't you?" his eyes glint "You're here right now, so obviously you survived against Archer."

"Cu and Shirou." Violet growls "No. Fighting."

"It's a spa-"

"No. Fighting." She crosses her arms "Or the next potion I try on you will me a transformation spell and we'll see just how literal my dog jokes can get."

Lancer stares at her with wide eyes before he turns to me and shakes his head "See what I mean? Even when she's trying to be threatening she comes across like a maiden."

"Hey!" She blushes furiously "Shirou! Back me up here." Lancer begins laughing at her.

I look away, she does have a certain...adorable nature to her. Nothing romantic but I won't deny its quite funny to look at.

"Shirou!" Ah, now she reminds me of Taiga.

"Anyway, kid." Lancer stops laughing "On a more serious note, who have I got to watch out for here? Dragons and Goddesses aren't exactly the usual kind of thing I run into here."

"Wait, what!?" Violet screeches and stares at us, mouth agape "Wha-wha-wha-what do you mean dragons and goddesses!?"

"Probably refers to myself and my children."

"Jesus-!/Holy-!/What the Shi-!" The three of us virtually leap into the air as Tiamat materialises next to Lancer.

"I knew I sensed another Servant here." Tiamats eyes narrow and start glowing "I won't allow you to bring harm to my child. Prepare to die, foolish on-"

"No, no!" I exclaim and jump out in front of her, waving my arms "They weren't threatening me! Lancer is a friend, a friend and Violet-san was telling me about her garden charms!"

"Oh." Like that, the hostile aura fades away and Tiamat goes back to her usual serene expression "In that case, why don't you introduce your friends, little one."

"Kid…" I turn around to see Lancer staring at me with a pale expression while Violet clings to his arm "I don't know whether to be jealous that your servant is a looker, or to panic that she could probably kill me. So I'm going to do both."

AN: Lancer returns!

Only for a few chapters like I said, and no...he probably won't be dying.

But anyway we are getting towards the end of the fiction.

Probably in the last third. Maybe less.

But we're still here for now. So its not worth worrying about just yet.

Omake: All for a smile.

I promised that I'll protect Sakura from everything.

I can't selfishly die.

I want to live with Sakura.

So ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶

" ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ Projection ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶"

...But there's no other way.

Sakura's crime. The absolute requirement for Sakura's happiness is the destruction of this curse.

...Only a single grain of my consciousness is left.

Sakura, I ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶

" ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ Projection, start."

The promise I made with you ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶ ̶

A noise fills my ears. The sound of shattering rock.

The static allows me to barely see in front of me.

My neck burns as I force my head to look up, there's a grinding sound of steel grating against itself as I force my body to obey my commands.

I see…

I can't see all that well…

...But I see green.

I hear...voices...They're loud but…

But I can't make out the words all that well…

"...miya!...esus...rist!" A voice shouts out.

Its a woman...I can't make out the words, the static gets louder.

"...hru!...lp...m!" The green gets closer to me, the voices pick up in intensity.

"...nna!"

Something collides with me, a small white blob...I mistake it for…

Someone for a few seconds...I...I don't remember who though…

I think its a child...she grabs me...uncaring of the sword sticking from my body…

I'm too weak to throw push her away.

"Its...ight...an." A soft voice calls out to me, I feel a glow around my body and my knees collpase forwards, the child effortlessly catches me.

I...I feel my eyelids flutter as the warmth spreads through my body.

"I have you, Onii-chan." The voice repeats, much clearer this time "You can sleep...My and Tohru-sama can take care of this…"

"W-...who?"

I pass out...but...I don't think that's a bad thing right now.