Rider was staring outside the tiny window of her room. The morning was well underway, at least by the standards of the people living in this house. Caster had probably not slept at all, and Shirou was up and about long before sunrise doing his own stuff.
No one demanded her presence until now, so she sat in her room with only her thoughts to keep her company. At least until someone knocked at her door.
"Rider? Are you ready to go?" Her Master called.
She got up, her long mane following after her. The snakes were sleeping quietly, sated and content. The meal they had been offered the previous night was more than sufficient to quell them for the time being.
"I'm ready," she said, opening the door.
"Excellent. Come on, then."
He turned and Rider followed after him.
"All this effort for my sake is unnecessary," she protested.
"I recall having this conversation with you once already," he said. "The decision has already been made. Stop questioning it."
"You are a stubborn man," she grumbled.
"I guess that makes us a good team, then," he replied.
Rider snorted but didn't object to that statement. The circumstances of their contract were twisted, to say the least, and she used to accept them simply because she had no particular reason to object.
Now she was glad to some degree that her contractor was this person. Especially since her permanence in this world had been extended for an undetermined amount of time. He was the only one that understood what it meant to be Master to one such as her. The responsibility and the burden that came with the task.
Of course, being the kind of guy that he was, he wouldn't stop at dealing with her impulses but would provide her with all the other amenities as well.
She didn't dislike it, even though she thought it was unnecessary and somewhat foolish. "Medea, we are going," he said once they reached the foyer.
"Alright, have fun and stay out of trouble," the witch said from the other room.
"I'll do my best," her Master replied.
Even now, Rider was surprised by the dynamics of these two. She didn't have any clue how such two diametrically opposite people could have gotten in a relationship.
Or rather, she didn't know until recently.
She had seen first hand the lengths at which Emiya Shirou would go to help someone without any kind of ulterior motive. It wasn't unthinkable that a person who would seek to save a monster like herself would also try to redeem a witch like the fallen princess of Colchis.
At the very least, this time, the witch had picked a better partner than the last time. Although nobody could blame her for that one.
They stepped out of the house. It was still fairly early in the morning, and since they were supposed to go shopping, taking the motorbike would have been impractical. There was the option of public transportation, but Shirou had a different idea and thus there was instead a black sedan waiting for them outside the house.
"What is this?"
"I asked Taiga if the Fujimura group could lend us one of their cars for a day."
Running her fingers against the body of the car, Rider appreciated the smooth lines. It wouldn't be as fast as the bike, but she knew she could make the engine inside this baby sing just the same.
She stepped into the car and found the keys waiting for her inside the ignition. She turned it on and gently pushed on the accelerator, making the engine roar with a pleasant sound.
Shirou took his place at her side on the passenger seat, fastening the seatbelt. "Do you mind if we take the scenic route?" she asked.
"Go ahead, just make sure to keep under the speed limit."
"Hmm," she grumbled. "Where is the fun in that?"
"The fun is in not being stopped by the police."
"Don't be ridiculous. They would never be able to catch up with me."
"Not the point, Rider," he grumbled.
She couldn't keep the tug that pulled at the corners of her lips. Perhaps this endeavor would prove to be of some amusement if anything.
[br]
When her mother knocked on her door, that morning, Ayako was already wide awake. She had woken up a couple of hours before dawn and had been loitering in her room ever since.
Now she was sitting on her bed, fully clothed and with the blinds half-drawn. A little bit of sunlight cast shadows across the opposite wall.
This was a common occurrence since she was released from the hospital. Her dreams were restless, and she couldn't squeeze out more than a few hours of sleep each night. It wasn't to the point where her health would decline, but it was still there.
She didn't exactly have nightmares or anything of the sort. Just the vague impression of a looming danger, almost as if she was being watched in her sleep from afar.
She didn't remember anything of the night she was attacked. It wasn't that she didn't see the face or her assailant or anything, but rather that she had no recollection whatsoever after she walked out of the archery club.
It was one inscrutable black hole in her memory.
No, not black. Purple. She didn't know whether it was the fragment of a forgotten memory, or just a figment of her imagination. However, in her sleep that color tormented her.
Dark, slithering strands of hungry purple.
Of course it made no sense, even to herself, but that's what she had to deal with all the same. She tried with everything she had to recall anything about that night,and maybe process it, but that was the only thing she could bring forth from that otherwise blank slate.
Fortunately, or unfortunately as it were, the people closest to her took notice of the bags under her eyes and her unusual pallor. She didn't need to say anything for them to take action spontaneously.
"Ayako, your friends are here," her mother said through the door. Her voice contained a hint of worry and that couldn't be helped. She had come very close to losing her daughter that night, and she wasn't blind to the persistent trauma, even if Ayako didn't let it affect her behavior.
"I'm coming," she replied.
She got up from the bed, straightened her clothes and looked at her reflection in the mirror for several long seconds. Then she sighed and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Outside the house there where three people waiting. Three young women to be more precise.
"Yo, Mitsuzuri!" Kaede Makidera greeted cheerfully.
She was a slender girl, whose skin was always a shade darker than anybody else, from the long hours she spent exercising outdoors.
"Good morning Mitsuzuri-san," said the short girl at her side, Saegusa. Unlike Makidera, she was very soft spoken, and despite her diminutive size she had the aura of a big sister. Which wasn't surprising, since she had several younger siblings she took care of on a daily basis.
"How do you do, Mitsuzuri?" asked the last girl, Himuro. The bespectacled girl was the brain of the group. She was extremely observant and sharp witted. Undoubtedly she was the one to realize Ayako's state of mind first, alerting the others.
Saegusa would have then decided that they had to help, while Makidera would have come up with the idea of going out all together. Such was the dynamic of this ragtag group. The brain, the heart and the muscle.
"Hi everyone," she greeted. "Ready to go?"
"You betcha!" Makidera exclaimed. "Today we hit the town!"
"Pipe down before you attract too much attention. This kind of neighborhood isn't used to a wild beast like you," Himuro warned.
"Ugh. Why do you always have to be that way, Himuro?"
"Someone has to keep your leash short, otherwise you are going to bite someone."
"What am I, some kind of animal?"
"You are the one who calls herself the Panther of Homura," Ayako agreed.
"Oi, Mitsuzuri. Not you too..."
"Now, now, Maki. If you take it so seriously, you are just going to invite even more teasing," Saegusa warned.
"You aren't supposed to tell her that. Saegusa," lamented Himuro. "How am I supposed to have fun now?" Himuro lamented.
"Ah! You were doing it on purpose! You evil woman! Demon Lord! She's the Demon Lord."
"Oh goodness. So much for keeping it down," Himuro sighed, as she adjusted her glassed and at the same time hid the smirk that tugged at her lips.
Ayako, too, smiled. With friends like these, what could she possibly have to fear? [br]
Rider pulled the car into the underground parking lot and finally turned off the engine, letting out a satisfied sigh.
It had taken them a whole hour to get to their destination, when they could have gotten there in twenty minutes or so. The simple act of driving the car into the streets of the city had a soothing effect on her.
She was a Rider Class, after all.
Wordlessly, Shirou got out of the car and stretched his arms. Throughout the entire trip, he didn't say a word and he never urged her to make haste.
"Thanks for letting me drive around," she said as she got out of the car herself. "How did you find the car?" he asked.
"It's not the fastest ride, to be sure, but it's reliable. The Fujimura group has been taking good care of this little one. The engine is well tuned indeed."
"Glad to hear it," he said, drumming his fingers on the hood. "Oh, right. I recall hearing you are their mechanic."
"Ah, no. I can't take credit for this one. I haven't been toying with anything mechanical since I finished fixing my bike and that was... uhh... around the time I met Caster."
"Do you ever take a break?"
"What am I doing just now?" he asked with a frown.
"I scarcely think that assisting me fitting into the modern world counts as such," she objected.
"I'm not sure why you would think that. I enjoy your company."
Rider was momentarily at loss for words, but quickly recovered.
"I see," she nodded. "I shouldn't be surprised. I already knew that your tastes are bizarre." Shirou snorted.
"Well, whatever. If it's weird, so be it. Anyway, here we are. Where should we start from?"
While they spoke, they had come up from the parking lot and into the middle of the city center. The place was crowded as ever and being a weekend the average age was lower than usual with all the students that normally would be in school flooding the streets and the shops.
Rider look around. There were plenty of stores all around them, and while the Grail did give her lots of knowledge upon her summoning, it wasn't precisely a tourist guide.
"What would you recommend?" she asked.
"I usually buy my stuff at that mall over there," he said, pointing at said building.
"Then it's a good place to start as any," she decided and made her way in that direction with Shirou in tow.
The walkways were exactly packed, but it was impossible to walk without bumping elbows every now and then.
Except that when it came to Rider, the crowd opened like the red sea before Moses, only with a lot more gawking involved. She knew she was an uncommon sight normally, but after the metamorphosis it had gotten even worse. She was a good head taller than most people.
She stood out like a walking lampost.
She didn't mind if ordinary people distanced themselves from her. It was perfectly understandable. But the blatant staring annoyed her. Normally, that kind of gawking would be followed by a rapid transformation into stone, and since that wasn't happening she was growing progressively more upset.
Moreover, the smell of prey in this place was overwhelming. Each and every one of these people would be morsel to her palate. Some more than others. She neither could nor would act upon that impulse, but it was getting to her.
Her hair were starting to sway and bundle together.
That was when someone touched her arm. She snapped her head around, only to find that it was Shirou himself.
"You okay?" he asked
"I'm fine," she lied, pulling away her arm. Her heart rate had suddenly spiked.
"Let's keep going then."
So they did, and Rider was too busy wondering about her strange reaction to notice that nobody had stopped staring at her at all.
They made it to the mall and she picked the first clothing store she saw without even looking properly precisely what they were selling.
"R-Rider...," Shirou stuttered behind her.
She stopped, and looked around puzzled. Only then she noticed he hadn't waltzed into just any store, but one that catered exclusively to female underclothes.
"Well... I guess you are going to need that stuff too," he said awkwardly. "I'll wait outside if you don't mind."
"Understood!" she replied a bit more mechanically than she would have liked.
She didn't know what was wrong with her. She wasn't familiar with this feeling at all. She needed to figure out what was going on before she made a fool of herself even further.
[br]
Shirou leaned against the wall next to the entrance of the store and rubbed his face with both hands. The day had barely started and he was already having problems
Being around Rider was never easy and her metamorphosis made things even more complicated. It wasn't simply that she was outwardly more attractive, but also that her aura had been cranked up to eleven.
A Goddess born from humanity's wish for perfect beauty, even degraded, wasn't something a human like him could easily ignore. It didn't help that despite her fierce presence, Shirou had also witnessed her hidden fragility.
For a hotblooded guy, it wasn't possible not to be feeling something. Once upon a time he could have dealt with this attraction more easily, but Medea had done a very through job of breaking down his resistance. Now that he was aware of a woman felt under his touch, and how she tasted in his mouth he could not avoid projecting that onto Rider as well.
Much like the contents of Pandora's box, there was no putting away those emotions anymore. His perception of the world was forever changed, and he had to deal with it.
A task much easier said than done, especially with Medea's offer to... sample other women.
Never before in his life Emiya Shirou had been tempted to this level. Fortunately, he wasn't so weak that he would give in to something like that. Particularly at a time like this. With this abnormal Grail War going on, the last thing anyone needed were further emotional complications.
But he still had to cope with the annoyance.
Mercifully, he didn't have to wait long as Rider came out about half a hour later. However, she hadn't bought anything and was looking pointedly down at her feet.
"What happened. Didn't you find anything you like?" Shirou asked. "..."
"What? I didn't get that."
"They didn't have anything that fit me," she said morosely. "They said I should have something custom made done."
"Ah... Ahhh..."
Shirou's eyes inevitably fell to Rider's ample bosom. Indeed, there were probably few women with Rider's current physique, both very fit and curvaceous .Particularly in Japan. Clothing franchises like this one catered to the masses, not the outliers.
"I'm... I'm sure that Medea will be able to help you with that part. Let's... let's just move to something else for the time being."
"If you think it will hold better results," she said, clearly not believing it one bit. "We'll definitely find something," he insisted. "Let's try that one."
And so they went into another store. Not that he was in any way an expert, but even he knew that a good bra required to fit properly. Outer clothes shouldn't have the same issue. This time, Rider quickly selected a few items that struck her fancy and squirreled away into a changing booth, while Shirou waited just outside.
As before, the moment they walked into the store all eyes were turned to Rider until she disappeared from view, then some furious whispering started. None of this was surprising in the least. Even as a regular human, Rider would have been a head turner and with the backing of her aura she was bound to attract attention wherever she went.
Making her fit in the present era would be more troublesome than he thought. Moments later, Rider pulled the curtain open and walked out.
"What do you think of this?" she asked.
Shirou's eyebrow twitched.
Her outfit was simple enough, a very loose sweater that fell down to her mid-thigh and underneath that just a set of stretchy yoga pants. Nothing to write home about... if it had been worn by a regular human woman.
On this mature Rider, it basically oozed charms. No bloody wonder she and her sisters had to feel to an uninhabited island to be safe from harassment.
"Yeah, it looks good on you," he said.
That seemed to be enough for Rider, who nodded in satisfaction.
"I'm glad. It's also fairly comfortable. It won't hinder my movements at all. I think I will take a few of these."
"Alright, but you might want to look for other stuff as well. There is no reason your wardrobe shouldn't have some variety."
"Oh, but you are adamant about this," she said with a corner of her lips tugging lightly. "Very well, if this is my contractor's earnest desire, I shall do my best to fulfill it."
She went back inside the changing booth and Shirou smiled to himself. It seemed that little by little Rider was starting to become more comfortable with the circumstances. It was a small, but it was a victory nonetheless.
Of course, Shirou should have known better than letting a woman loose in a clothing store, especially one such as Rider. Some lessons had to be learned the hard way.
[br]
Mirrors weren't Rider's favorite thing. Not just because they were her weakness, but because they reflected her image back at her. She hadn't liked her appearance in very long time and she despised it more and more the longer her degradation advanced.
She could barely move inside of the small changing booth. Raising her arms to remove her shirt nearly made her touch the ceiling. Unsurprisingly, she wouldn't fit into normal human clothes. At it core, her form was an aberration and no matter how many people liked it, she never would. It was something she had to coexist with, begrudgingly.
After she removed the clothes, she put on another set and instead of looking in the mirror, she just walked out.
"How does this look?" she asked to Shirou, who was waiting outside.
His face was turning slightly red, as he played with the collar of his shirt. He looked at her and then immediately look away, only to be drawn to her figure once again.
"It... it looks very good on you, Rider," he said stiffly.
"Then I'll take this one as well," she decided and quickly retreated into the booth.
Perhaps not everything about this body of hers was bad, all things considered. Perhaps, this day might be somewhat better than she thought it would. Maybe, just maybe, she could actually indulge herself a little bit.
She changed into another outfit and then another. With each new one she gauged his reaction and bought those that seemed to trouble him the most. His emotions were so transparent on his face, it was like looking through a window.
Emiya Shirou was a good man but he was a man nonetheless. The more she showed off, the more frustrated he grew.
At some level, she knew it was wrong. It was very cruel in a harmless sort of way. She wasn't trying to seduce him, it was simply that his reaction spurred her sadistic tendencies into action. Another part of her, however, enjoyed how he seemed to eat her with his eyes.
She made a blunder and forgot that by playing with fire, one could very well end up burning themselves.
While Shirou's frustration mounted, so did Rider's excitement. By the time she realized that it might not have been such a good idea, it was already past the point of no return.
She pulled off her shirt, excited for Shirou's reaction to her next outfit, when she caught sight of something in the mirror.
A fully formed hair snake, that looked around curiously as if wondering what had woken it.
It swerved its head left and right. Finding nothing it sniffed the air around before poking out of the curtain of the changing booth.
"No!" she whispered and quickly grabbed it, pulling it back inside. However, her sudden agitation didn't help her case, as more and more hair bundled up together in the process of forming additional snakes.
The more she struggled, the more it escalated.
"Rider?" Shirou called from outside. "Do you need help?" "I... I'm not..."
Yes, she did need help, but how was she supposed to ask when this was the result of her own foolish behavior? However, she should have known that anything short of a strongly worded denial would have resulted in him taking action on his own.
The curtain opened and quickly closed again. Suddenly, in the tight space, there were two bodies in close proximity.
Shirou was tall. Not as tall as Rider in her current form, but just enough that she would not dwarf him completely. However, in that moment, Rider wasn't standing at her full height, being slightly curled in an attempt to restrain herself. In a rare occurrence, she found herself staring up at someone else for a change.
"Sorry, I caught a glimpse of your snake and I just had to," he said in a whisper. "I'm... I'm sorry, I was just..."
"Having a bit too much fun?"
There was no judgment of condemnation in his voice, only a bit of amusement. He looked uncomfortable and his face was unsurprisingly beet red, considering that Rider was naked from the waist up and that her hands too busy to worry about covering her chest.
"Y...Yes..."
He reached out to her snake and instead of it biting his hand, it nuzzled its head into his palm.
"????"
To say that Rider was flabbergasted would be the understatement of a lifetime. She had never any sort of control upon the snakes. Although they protected her and attacked any enemy, they did so in response to her emotions, not her will.
For one of them to act like this...
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The loud thumping in her ears originated not from the outside, but from within her own body.
Shirou pulled aside the collar of his shirt and exposed his neck. The silent invitation was obvious, but Rider feared that it wouldn't help her case this time. She wasn't feeling hungry at all.
A completely different emotion was making her heart race wildly.
And yet, the skin of his neck was ever so inviting. This close, the heat radiating from his body was drawing her in. Before she knew it, her arms were already behind his back and her face buried in his collar.
The sound of flesh tearing open preceded the taste of blood flooding her mouth. Just like the rest of him, it was warm, but rather than being satisfying, it was comforting.
As the warmth spread, her heartbeat subsided. It didn't quite go back to normal, but it calmed down enough that her hair unfurled and returned to its regular state.
But even though she stopped drinking his blood, she didn't let go of him just yet.
It was ridiculous. What the hell was she even doing? Even before, her behavior was completely off the charts. She wasn't supposed to be this way. She was acting almost like...
Almost like Stheno and Euryale. Playful and seductive with a little bit of cruelty sprinkled on top. Why was she acting like the sisters she had killed? She was never this way.
No, that wasn't true. The three of them were just the same. Three separate pieces of the same concept, until their fates diverged. If her degradation didn't occur, the three of them would have been like triplets.
Perhaps... perhaps this was the real self, after all.
Perhaps this mysterious spot into his arms was one place where the person she could have been could come to life.
Wait...
Into his arms?
How long had his arms been wrapped around her naked back? How long had her breasts been pressed into his chest? How long had she stopped drinking his blood and was nuzzling her head into his neck?
"I... I I should probably go now," he said.
"Yes... you should," she replied and yet removing her arms from around him was almost too difficult to accomplish.
They disentangled from each other and Shirou stepped out of the changing booth a moment later, leaving Rider to sort her tumultuous feelings.
[br]
Outside of the booth, Shirou adjusted his clothes and went back to waiting for Rider to get dressed. Something just happened back there that went beyond merely feeding her impulses. He didn't know what exactly, but it was different from the last time, he was sure of it.
It wasn't just that they embraced with her half naked. Actually, that embarrassing detail was the part that bothered him less. He expected that state of undress when he rushed into the changing booth. He had made its peace beforehand when he saw the snake peek out from the curtain. Preventing those from manifesting in broad daylight in a densely populate area was much more important than any reservation he might have had about propriety.
No, what bothered him was how Rider behaved.
He was happy that she was having fun, even if she was doing so at his expenses. It was perfectly harmless. However what happened inside the changing booth was different.
His head was spinning, and it was definitely not from the minor loss of blood. Before he could elaborate his feelings any further, he heard a familiar voice.
"Uh, Emiya?" [br]
As the morning passed by, Ayako and the Homurahara trio went from one store to another, window shopping for the most part, as they didn't have much cash to begin with. They talked and the laughed without a break. It was a good time to be alive and the phantom of Ayako's trauma was chased in a deep corner of her mind where it wouldn't bother her for quite some time.
They were having a blast, and nothing on the horizon could threaten to ruin it.
It was in the midst of this cheerful day that Ayako saw someone she wasn't expecting to see. "Uh? Emiya?"
"Ah? Mitsuzuri. Hi."
Unlike the rest of the week, today he was dressed in jeans and sweater. Unsurprisingly, the standard school uniform didn't do his physique much justice, whereas his casual clothes were much more flattering. However, she wasn't as interested in the way his clothes clung to his chiseled chest, but rather to thing he was trying to hide on his neck.
"Hello yourself. I didn't think I would meet you in a place like this."
"Yeah, ha ha," he laughed awkwardly. "Life is full of surprises, am I right?"
"Well if it isn't the former ace of the Archery club," said Himuro, coming up from behind Ayako.
"Oh, it really is him. Sup, Emiya," greeted Makidera.
"Hello, Emiya-san," Saegusa said politely
"Hi. How are you all doing?"
"Same old, as you can imagine," Himuro replied
"Whatcha doing in here? Don't tell me you came to perv on all the pretty ladies," the Panther of Fuyuki accused jokingly.
"Clearly, he's accompanying someone" said Himuro. "Maybe his girlfriend?" "Actually -"
"Shirou, I'm done," a voice said from the same booth Emiya had come out from. The curtain was pulled open and a creature walked out.
Four jaws fell simultaneously.
The thing that came out of the changing room couldn't be called a woman. After all, there was a limit to how good one could look, and this person had clearly stepped over that line a few miles back without bothering to notice.
She was even taller than Emiya, who could already pass for a full grown adult most of the time. However, it wasn't her height that stood out the most, shockingly enough. It was...
It was everything, to be perfectly honest. From the smoothness of her skin and hair to the angle of her eyes, passing through or the proportion of her measurements, no one could find any fault in her figure.
It was then that the creature finally noticed the presence of Ayako and her friends. Her eyes fell upon them and it was like a huge weight had been placed upon their shoulders. But for Ayako it was even worse. What she felt was an irrational fear, almost as if she was standing in front of some kind of big predator and she was her next meal.
The thing that frightened her the most was the hair. It was precisely that shade of purple, the one that haunted her dreams almost every night. Even though it was irrational, that detail above all else made her dislike this woman from the bottom of her heart.
"Are these your friends, Shirou?" she asked.
"Ah, yes. These are Mitsuzuri-san, Makidera-san, Saegusa-san, and Himuro-san," he said, uneasily "We go to the same school."
"A pleasure to meet you," she said with a nod. "My name is Rider."
"Yes, charmed," Ayako replied barely managing to keep her voice steady.
Despite this person not having done anything against her, Ayako couldn't keep the chill from her voice. Even the usually oblivious Emiya noticed as he raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Uhmm, it's a pleasure to meet you, Rider-san," said Saegusa who had a natural soothing presence.
"So, you must be the famous foreigner that came to visit our school a few days ago," said Himuro, as she adjusted her glasses. "I was sure the rumors were exaggerated as usual, but if anything they were surprisingly... conservative."
"Please, don't even bring up that day," Emiya said rubbing his nose. "Indeed. It was all a big misunderstanding," Rider agreed.
"Oh, so you aren't his girlfriend then," Ayako said with a nod.
"I am definitely not," she confirmed.
"Is that so?" Ayako asked. "Just now, I saw Emiya come out from there. And he's hiding something that looks suspiciously like a hickey."
Emiya made a face like a deer caught in the headlights.
"It's not what it looks like," he said, holding up his hand, but still covering his neck with the other.
"It's alright," she replied. "It's definitely none of my business what Emiya is doing in own free time. It's not like he's part of the archery club or anything else anymore, right?"
"Yes, that's right," Emiya agreed, then blinked. "Wait! That's not what I meant."
Ayako was more than a little puzzled. She knew what she saw. A man doesn't walk in on just any woman changing unless they are at least that intimate, but why would he deny it so vehemently? It's not like she had any claim on him, and she knew that he and Tohsaka were not dating so it wasn't about being caught cheating.
"I'm hot hiding anything," he insisted. "I just strained my neck a little, see?" He removed his hand, and indeed there was nothing but unblemished skin.
"That' right," the woman confirmed. "I simply got a zipper stuck and I couldn't reach it. I had to ask Shirou to help or I might have ripped the dress."
"Oh, yeah that make sense," Makidera nodded. "Still, it's pretty bold of you to just walk in on a woman like that, Emiya."
"The rumors weren't baseless after all," said Himuro. "Emiya Shirou is a womanizer, they said."
"I am not!" he protested, red faced. "This is baseless slandering."
"Hey, since we met like this, how about we go get something to eat all together?" Ayako proposed. "I'm starting to get hungry."
"Wait, is it already that late?" Emiya glanced at his wristwatch. "Uh. Where did the time go? Yeah, sure, let's go eat something. Is that okay with you, Rider?"
"Of course. I just need to pay for the clothes."
"Yeah, sure," he said with a nod handing over a credit card. "Use this."
"Sooo... do you come here often, Emiya?" said Makidera trying to break the awkward atmosphere that had formed. Even though no one knew why it was awkward in the first place.
"First time ever," he said. "Women's clothing stores aren't exactly my usual hanging spot."
"I didn't know you had hanging spots at all," Ayako replied with narrowed eyes. "I thought you quit the archery club because you were too busy. Is that what's keeping you occupied?"
"Mi...Mitsuzuri-san" Saegusa stuttered.
Ayako knew that she was acting strange and way over the line, but she couldn't help herself. "Among other things, yes."
"Eh!" Ayako exclaimed. She didn't think that he would admit it so easily and without the slightest hint of embarrassment or remorse on his face. Did the Archery Club mean so little to him?
Did she?
"I'm ready," Rider said as she returned with several bags in hand. It looked like she had bought half the store and on Emiya's dime.
"Alright, let's go," he said.
Now more than ever, Ayako had questions that she was hitching to have answered. [br]
Shirou walked ahead of the group, with Rider tailing him close behind while the other girls followed. Rider didn't need to have eyes in the back of her head to know that the brunette, Ayako, was drilling holes into her.
'DoyouthinkAyakorememberswhathappened?'S hirouaskedtelepathically.
'Unlikely. I have used Breaker Gorgon on her. At the very worst, she might experience some vague nightmare and a feeling of mistrust in my regards. Though I suspect half her animosity comes from being found in your company.'
'I'm not sure how I should feel about that.'
It wasn't a question and Rider wouldn't have had an answer to give even if it was. 'How do you wish me to handle this?' she asked.
'I dunno. Just be as vague as you can. The closer to the truth we stay without giving out important details, the better off we are going to be."
'As you wish,' she agreed.
This was all irrelevant to her. The only thing to do here was protect Shirou's daily life dynamics and nothing else. Although she was intrigued. It seemed he really was quite the teenage heartthrob.
'How many women did unwittingly fell to his charms so far? Caster, of course. The little Vampire, too, obviously. Saber's Master as well, probably. And maybe... maybe also mys-'
'Rider, I can still hear you, you know?'
'Ah... please excuse me. It was just a stray thought.'
She quickly closed the connection, shutting him out of her mind. At least he spoke up before she finished that thought. If he hadn't, she wasn't sure she'd be able to meet his eye ever again. It nothing more than an intrusive thought. But even so, if he heard it coming unbidden straight from her mind, she would never be able to convince him otherwise.
Or herself, for that matter.
Some things were just better left not thinking about at all. [br]
The six of them headed out in the busy shopping district of Fuyuki. Much like inside the shop, all eyes turned to stare at the tall woman as they passed. She appeared to be completely indifferent to all the attention.
Ayako didn't understand. In her innate dislike for this person, she expected that she would strut pridefully under the envious stares. However, that wasn't the case.
She walked behind Emiya as if she was watching over him, and at the same time, it felt like she was hiding behind his back, somehow. Yes, it was as if they were watching over one another protectively.
They denied being in any sort of romantic relationship, but in Ayako's eyes, they were definitely way closer than ordinary friends. Even during their one-sided rivalry at the archery club, Ayako had never that kind of relationship with him. How did this woman get so close to him?
If this was anybody else, she would have simply dismissed it. The rumors that he and Tosahaka were a thing didn't bother her nearly as much, for instance, but because it was this person she was irrationally upset.
Of course, the other three girls had to have picked up on her foul mood, and even though they weren't saying a word, they were likely to be coming up with some wild theory of their own. Well, Makidera definitely was. Saegusa was too kind-hearted to do anything but worry about Ayako's, while Himuro was certainly dissecting every word and interaction with her analytical mind to reach the most accurate possible conclusion.
Frigging detective.
However, Ayako couldn't be bothered to hide her emotions. She needed to figure out what was going on between those two, and it wasn't out of jealousy no matter what anyone thought.
She was worried about him. The uneasy feeling this woman gave her would have sent Ayako running for the hills if Emiya hadn't been involved. This wasn't about her unrequited crush, but about his safety.
"Is here alright with you?" he asked, stopping in front of a place called Copenhagen.
"Anywhere's fine," Ayako replied without looking at him. Her eyes were firmly on the woman's back, and her unnerving hair.
He pushed the door open and they walked in. "Welcome... oh, if it isn't Emiyan!"
"Hello, Otoko-san," he greeted with a wave of his hand. "I've brought some friends with me today."
"And here I was hoping you were going to ask for your job back," she said jokingly. "Please, come on in. It's still a bit early but the kitchen is almost ready. If you want food I can have it prepared in a little while."
"Ah, thank you," he said with a nod. "Come, the best table is this way."
He led them further inside the store. It was fairly small and it couldn't accommodate more than a dozen people. It was a very quaint place.
"I didn't know this was your place, Emiya," said Makidera as she gladly took a seat, with the others following suit.
"It's not. I only used to work here every now and then a little while ago." Ayako frowned. He also left his job, not only the archery club?
"Why did you stop?" she asked.
"Well... I figured that since my house has got lots of empty rooms, I could very well rent them out to help cover cost. Turns out it's more lucrative than any part time job and I can literally work from home."
"That's why there are all of those people living at your place," said Makidera in a sudden flash of enlightenment. "Well, that's way more realistic than the rumors that you are building up a harem."
"Oh, for the love of God," he exclaimed. "Are you kidding me?"
"You wish," Makidera cackled. "Everyone is saying that Emiya is a casanova. Her visit to the school didn't really help either," she said, jerking her thumb at the purple-haired woman, who listened in silence.
"So you are one of his tenants?" Ayako asked.
"I suppose I have been his guest for some time now, yes. Shirou has been taking very good care of me."
Ayako shot a glance at Emiya, but he was looking at the woman with a puzzled expression.
"Where are you from, if I may ask?" said Himuro. "There aren't that many foreigners in a small city like Fuyuki."
"I come from a small island south of Greece. You wouldn't know its name." "And what has brought you to Japan?" she pressed on.
Ayako looked at Himuro, who didn't look back. Whether the bespectacled girl was acting on her own curiosity or was trying to help her out, Ayako didn't care. It worked in her favor anyway.
"I was invited to take part in a tournament."
"Wait, like, in martial arts?" Makidera asked, leaning forward, looking at the woman from head to toe for entirely different reasons. "What kind?"
"Ever heard of Pankration? No. I guess it's better known as mixed martial arts then." Makidera leapt to her feet, slamming both hands on the table.
"You are an MMA fighter?" her eyes were ablaze. "That's so cool!"
"Kaede, calm down," urged Saegusa.
"Yes, this isn't the place for this kind of behavior," Himuro agreed. "Please forgive her. Our friend here is a complete meathead."
"I am not!"
At that moment, the owner came by.
"My, what I lively group we have here."
"Ah, please excuse all the noise," said Ayako. "We'll keep it low."
"That's not a problem at all. There are scarcely any customers at this hour. Besides I'm happy that Emiyan has brought some friends over for a change. I was worried he was so busy being a productive member of society that he wouldn't wouldn't learn how to properly socialize at all."
"If you keep worrying about me like that, I might start to call you auntie," he said.
She lightly smacked him over the head with her tray.
"Youmeanttosayonee-san, didn'tyou?"sheaskedsweetly.
"Of course, Neko-san. My bad," he quickly agreed, while at the same time avoiding to call her the way she demanded.
"Hmph! Anyway, can I take your orders?"
Everyone ordered something to eat and a few moments later they were served tea and a tray with assorted sandwiches, from which they all had their pick.
"So, a tournament, uh? I didn't know they were holding one in Fuyuki," Ayako probed.
"You wouldn't. It's actually a small private event organized by a few wealthy families and a handful of contestants," Rider explained. "Unfortunately, there have been some mishaps with the event and some of the fights had to be postponed. Some of the contestants have yet to arrive and some others got tired of waiting and went their own way. Thus, my stay in this country has been prolonged and I found myself in need to restock my wardrobe."
"So you got Emiya to show you around, I see," Himuro concluded. "I must say, of all the things I imagined, I didn't picture you as a professional fighter."
"Most people don't," Rider agreed. "Which suits me just fine. Being underestimated has worked to my advantage many times."
"I bet you knocked some fool who thought you were just eye candy back on their ass," said Makidera with a grin.
"I don't know about this eye candy that you speak of, but yes, that's about it." "Cool. Do you think you could show us some moves?" the dark skinned girl asked.
"I'm afraid this is neither the place or time for that," she replied. "More importantly, I would need a sparring partner."
"I could do that," Makidera suggested.
"Uh-uh, no way," Emiya quickly intervened.
"Why? I'll have you know I'm a fair hand in martial arts too. Watch! Taaah- AH!"
She threw a couple of karate punches, which were surprisingly well executed, but she still looked quite foolish.
"I'm sure you are pretty good, Makidera-san, but there's no way you can spar with Rider. Even putting the weight class aside, you wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight. I'm sorry."
"Whatever, it's not like I need your permission, Emiya. What do you say, Rider-san?" "I refuse. As Shirou pointed out, you are not suited for this task."
"Aw! How do you know without even trying?"
"Because of this."
Rider opened her hand, holding out a single button, which had come from the collar of Makidera's shirt.
"Wait, what? When did you...?" she asked, touching her neck. "I didn't even see you move." "Precisely," Rider said, sliding the button over to her. "Sorry about ruining your shirt."
"Ahh, that's fine. I can fix it later. Not my face, though. Damn, I thought you were strong but this... Did any of you see anything?" she asked to the others.
"Not even a blur," said Himuro adjusting her glasses. "One moment the button was there, were in place, the next it was in her hand. It's almost like a magic trick."
"I didn't know humans could move so fast. That's amazing," Saegusa gushed.
"Yeah, amazing," Ayako parroted. The dislike she harbored for Rider didn't get any better now that she knew how dangerous she could be. She shifted her eyes to Emiya, who appeared unsurprised by her display of prowess. He had to have seen her fight, then, but where would have he had the chance if the tournament was a private event?
"Emiya... don't tell me you are also taking part in this weird tournament," she said.
She knew the answer before he could even open his mouth. If there was one thing about him that hadn't changed in the past months was the transparency of his emotions. He had the looks of someone caught doing something he shouldn't.
It was different from before at the store, when she all but accused him to be fooling around with Rider. Back then, he was embarrassed at being caught in a compromising situation.
This, right here, was his reaction at being called out on something that he didn't want anybody to know.
"Ha! The Homurahara brownie? That's funny, Mitsuzuri," Makidera laughed. Ayako wasn't amused. Neither was Emiya, clearly.
"He isn't denying it, though," Himuro observed.
Emiya looked at her morosely, but not angry.
"What do you expect me to say?" he grumbled, scratching his head.
"No way!" Makidera exclaimed. "Everyone knows this guy is a huge sandbag. Why would hide that he's strong?"
The gears in Ayako's mind spun. Pieces of a loose puzzle fell into place. And all of a sudden she knew. It was so darn obvious that she was stupefied she hadn't seen it before.
"Arch-..."
The words died in her throat, stabbed in place by a piercing gaze. It was the first time she was that kind of expression on his face, and she knew she was about to step over a line she couldn't uncross. As for the consequences of doing so, she couldn't even imagine them.
At her side, Himuro was conspicuously silent. She was too damn smart not to have reached the same conclusion.
"Uhmm, maybe we shouldn't poke our nose into his business?" Saegusa suggested, seeing that the atmosphere had gotten extraordinarily tense.
"Thank you, Saegusa," Emiya replied, looking at the small girl and offering her a genuine smile.
"At least tell me what martial art do you practice," Makidera insisted slamming her hands on the table.
"Bajiquan," he replied shortly. "Can we drop it, now?"
"Damn, you really don't want to talk about it. Fine, I guess," Makidera conceded, sitting back down with her arms crossed.
Saegusa and Makidera had missed the clearly obvious connection that Ayako and Himuro had picked up upon. Perhaps they would realize it one day, or maybe not. It had been a few months since the masked vigilante had made his last appearance and his legend was already fading from the mind of most people.
However, that didn't mean he was gone. The man behind the mask still existed. And he was sitting right across them.
"So... you have been up to all sort of stuff," Ayako eventually said.
"Yeah," he admitted. "I've been keeping kind of busy."
Another thought flashed through her mind. Ayako was the last of several people that had been assaulted and hospitalized. The culprit was never identified but the violence spree stopped shortly after.
She wondered... was it him who stopped them?
The answer was obvious. Emiya Shirou wasn't the kind of man that would let something like that slide, but before this moment Ayako didn't think he could do anything about it even if he wanted.
Now she knew better.
She had a hundred questions running through her mind and she couldn't ask even a single one here. No, even if it was just the two of them, he would probably refuse to answer any of them.
She understood now. From the very beginning they existed in completely separate worlds, and if she wanted to know about his she would have to step outside her own. She didn't have the courage to do that. She didn't even have the guts to tell him about her feelings.
He wasn't a man that a woman like her could chase after.
"Well, I think you made the right call quitting the club, then," she said encouragingly. "Sorry if I pestered you to come back."
"Ah, don't worry about it. I wish I still had the time to practice every day. Unfortunately..."
At that moment, Emiya's phone started to ring.
"Ah, please excuse me. I need to take this."
He got up from the table and walked some distance away so that he wouldn't be overheard.
"Ahh... Rider-san," Ayako said turning to the purple haired woman. "I need to apologize for my behavior just now. I know I came off too strongly but Emiya is a good friend of mine and he has the bad habit of sticking his head into trouble."
The unnerving woman stared right back. Again, Ayako felt on the verge of being eaten by an enormous creature.
"Don't worry. My skin is thicker than that. Besides you are not wrong. Shirou does have that habit."
Ayako nodded. She still didn't like Rider any more than before, but now that she knew that Shirou could take care of himself she felt more at ease. Besides if they were in good
relations, she couldn't be that bad. Heck, if Matou Shinji could show signs of changing for the better, there was hope for everyone.
"Say what?!" Emiya exclaimed from the other room. "Yeah. Yeah, of course. We'll be right there."
He put away the phone and he stormed right back. "Rider, we need to go. Something came up."
"I understand," the woman said getting up from her seat without bothering to finish her sandwich. In fact, she hadn't so much as taken a bite out of it.
"Sorry, everyone. I need to cut this short. Don't worry about the bill. It's on me." "Way to go, Emiya!" Makidera cheered.
"Ano... that wasn't necessary," Saegusa objected.
"Is everything alright?" Ayako asked, standing up from her own seat.
"Yeah... It's nothing important," he replied, but he wasn't looking at her in the eyes. "See you around, everyone."
He quickly left with Rider in tow, leaving the quartet of girls sitting at the table.
"That guy can't lie worth a damn," said Himuro.
"Yeah," Ayako agreed, staring at the door from which they had left.
"Aren't you going after him?" Saegusa asked. "You like him, don't you?"
"Yeah, but... he isn't the guy for me. My chance has already passed and he doesn't like me back anyway. I think I'm ready to move on, actually."
"Hmm. It sounds like he's got a lot of baggage too," Himuro agreed. "You are probably better off forgetting about him."
Ayako smiled ruefully. She didn't know if she could do something like that, but she would have to try anyway.
"Well, are we going to continue shopping or what?" she asked.
This was a day for good thoughts and smiles. She wouldn't let anyone take it from her, not even Emiya Shirou.
[br]
Outside Copenhagen, Shirou was making his way through the crowd with Rider following behind. After they walked some distance away and seeing that none of the girls were following them, Rider called out.
"Shirou, what happened? Who was on the phone?"
"It was Caster," he replied. "Tohsaka and Saber have vanished. We need to go back immediately."
And just like that, the Grail War came rushing at them with all of its weight. The time for relaxation had already come to an end.
[br]
Around a hour later, Rider parked the car next to the curb opposite to the Tohsaka estate, with Shirou riding shotgun and Caster sitting in the back. They quickly got out of the car and approached the gate on foot.
Caster held up on hand, and with a mere word the Boundary Field around the property briefly flickered into view, before disappearing again.
"The protections were still up," she observed as she pushed the gate open. "Come. I keyed us into the wards. It's safe."
Shirou and Rider nodded, taking point in front of Caster.
Tohsaka and Saber were gone. Disappeared. When Caster tried to contact them earlier, they didn't pick up the phone. When she tried to scry for them, she couldn't find them. They inevitably feared the worst and came to investigate.
Shirou went to open the door but Rider cut in front of him. "I'll go first," she said.
"Okay," he agreed.
She gently turned the knob and pushed the heavy-looking door. It opened slowly, smoothly, and without a creak. Inside everything was perfectly quiet, except for the ticking of a pendulum clock somewhere.
"Whatever happened, at least Saber should still be alive," Caster said as they stepped inside. "I checked the Grail and unless I'm missing something huge, now Servant has died or has been summoned."
"Considering what happened the other night, can we really assume that isn't the case?" Rider asked.
Caster grimaced, but couldn't deny that.
They had yet to find an explanation for the Grail's recent behavior. The things it did shouldn't have been part of its functions, yet they happened anyway. If something like that could happen under Caster's nose, who knew what else could.
They advanced slowly through the mansion. They weren't expecting a trap, but the situation warranted extreme caution. If something could get the drop on a Master and Servant like Tohsaka and Saber seemingly without causing major destruction or alert their allies, no one was safe.
They found some documents sprawled across the coffee table in the living room, next to a half-empty cup of tea. Shirou picked them up and browsed through them before handing them over to Caster.
"These are Rins' notes about the Grail," she said. "Nothing useful about them, though." "Hm." Shirou agreed as he scanned the area for clues.
"It doesn't seem like there has been an altercation," Rider said. "It's almost like they just got up and left."
"Rin is not the type of Magus that would leave stuff like that hanging around the house unless she planned to return right away," said Caster.
"The door wasn't locked either," Shirou observed
"I don't really think she would bother. Anyone who can get past a Boundary Field wouldn't be slowed down by an ordinary lock."
"True, but Tohsaka dots her i's and crosses her t's all the time unless she's in a hurry."
"I don't believe that anything would make her rush out so quick to disregard her habits and not inform us," Caster objected.
"So either I'm mistaken or she didn't leave of her own volition," Shirou concluded. "I really hope to be wrong in this case."
They went from one room to another, and Caster even tried several spells to make the unseen appear. There were many secrets and dormant spells around the mansion, but nothing that would give them any help.
"There has to be something. A clue of some kind."
"Let's check the Workshop," said Caster. "Anything of real importance would be kept there." "Yeah, let's go," Shirou agreed.
The access to the Workshop was extremely well hidden and just as protected, but with Caster leading the way getting in was a trivial matter. The place was essentially a crypt. Dark and gloomy, illuminated only by oil lamps that turned on as they approached.
"Let's take a look around and see if we can find out something," Caster ordered.
They split and started rummaging around as carefully as possible, however, nothing really stood out to them and there were too many books and scrolls to read if they really wanted to be thorough.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing," Shirou said after a solid hour.
"Yes, it's evident that nothing here will lead us to them," Caster agreed." At this point, I suspect they left for unrelated reasons and were ambushed somewhere along the way."
"In broad daylight?" Rider asked.
"Either that or they are hiding from us, for whatever reason."
"Every new hypothesis is less reasonable than the other," Shirou said. "We must be missing something. I'll take another look around the house."
"Fine. I'll go back home and try divination again. I refuse to believe anyone could hide a Servant as powerful as Saber from my vision for too long a time."
"I will stay with Shirou," said Rider.
"Don't let him out of your sight even for a second," Caster warned. "Knowing him he'd fall into a hole in the space-time continuum the moment you look away even for a moment."
Shirou said nothing. His thoughts were elsewhere entirely.
Where had Tohsaka and Saber gone? He refused to believe anyone could get the drop on them and hide from Caster's view. Similarly, he didn't think that nothing could make them switch betray their alliance. No, the explanation had to be something entirely different. Only, he had no idea what it could be.
"Come on, let's go back up," he said.
The three of them walked the cramped stairs back to the world above ground. "I'm heading back first, then," said Caster and teleported away.
"Let's make another round of all the other rooms," said Shirou.
Rider nodded and together they carefully explored each space. They spent two hours looking in every nook and cranny without finding anything. Then they climbed the stairs to
the next floor and spent even more time up there, but it made no difference. Everything was in proper order with the exception of Tohsaka's bed, which had been left unmade from the morning.
"Shirou, there's nothing," Rider eventually said. "Whatever went down might not even have happened here."
"I know that," he said. "But unless you have another suggestion where to look, I'm going to check this place with a fine-tooth comb."
Rider didn't say anything else. At the very least, she knew that it was impossible to change his mind once he made a decision. They returned to the stairs to make their way back to the ground floor and search it all when Rider stopped in her tracks.
"Wait a minute, Shirou. I'm no expert but wouldn't a house like this wouldn't also have an attic?
Shirou stopped midway down the stairs, eyes narrowing.
"You are right. There should be a ladder somewhere. Let's find it."
They checked the upper floor again, this time looking at the ceiling rather than the floor until they found a barely-visible trap door.
"There it is, but how does it open?" Shirou asked. There was no obvious mechanism or latch
"Hmm..." Rider looked around. She grabbed the wall lamp closest to her and it wiggled a little bit. "Look. I think there is a hidden switch here. You better take a step back."
She turned the lamp and the trap door opened, releasing a ladder that would have fallen on Shirou's head had he not moved.
"Good job, Rider," he said as he approached the stair. "Wait, let me go first," she said.
She didn't need to use the ladder and simply jumped through the opening in one smooth motion.
"It looks safe enough," she said.
Hearing that, Shirou quickly climbed after her.
The attic was crammed full of sort of stuff, but surprisingly devoid of dust and cobwebs so it was impossible to tell when was the last time anyone went up there. The place was far less
orderly than the rest of the house, though, which made it a lot more difficult to understand whether something was out of place or not.
Nothing stood out at a first glance.
Except for an old fashioned trunk, shoved at the very end of the room, against the wall. Shirou didn't know why his attention was drawn to it. It looked neither too old nor too new. It was remarkable in its unremarkableness.
Perhaps that was what set off his curiosity.
There was no lock, and the latch was flipped open. He was almost drawn towards it, but even as he approached, his sixth sense didn't give the slightest of warnings. He was nearly about to kneel and open it when he stopped.
Instead, he looked up almost as if he could see through the ceiling. "Shirou, what wrong?" Rider asked
"It's happening again," he said. "The same thing from the other night." "Are you certain?"
He nodded.
"We need to go back. We don't have much time," he said grimly.
"What about Rin and Saber?" she asked.
He stood up, clenching his fists.
"There is nothing we can do about that right now. I refuse to accept that those two could be defeated so easily. I'm sure they are fine, wherever they might be."
And if he was wrong, he didn't say, somebody would regret it even more than he would. They left the attic. forgetting all about the old wooden trunk.
A few minutes after they had left a loud thump came from within the container. It jumped a few inches up in the air. However, there was already no one around that could notice this event.
After a few more impacts like that, whatever was inside seemed to give up, and the trunk stood perfectly silent and still. Its unfortunate occupants wouldn't be seeing the outside world for quite some time.
[XXX]