Chapter 12, Interlude - "Emiya Shirou (Attacking Key Signature)" Part 1
Shirou knew he had to get stronger. That much was undeniable and inevitable.
He had discussed it with Saber, who had agreed to train him.
And there was no better person to train him (and to work out his bad habits). After all, Saber knew about Shirou's stubborn and foolishly bull-headed nature better than anyone.
And thus, his training with Saber had began.
First, it was to physical training and spars, and then to Projection magecraft.
It was strange (or perhaps not so strange), but as Saber and Shirou were even just sword sparring in the dojo, even just exchanging sword parries, Shirou could feel himself improving at a rapid rate. Even Saber seemed to be surprised by how quickly his younger self was improving, and the lack of his need to correct any reckless fighting tendencies that he himself had to go through when Artoria had trained him.
It was as if Shirou was naturally somehow subconsciously correcting himself and imitating Saber's style. He somehow seemed to be picking it up naturally, including the nuances of the style, despite there still being many tricks and tips that Saber hadn't yet shared with him.
And it wasn't just in his sword-handling technique either, but Shirou could somehow feel his knowledge in tracing, projection, and reinforcement also start to clarify and solidify. It was as if Saber's own knowledge and experience was somehow very slowly, but very surely, flowing and trickling into him.
It was a truly mysterious phenomenon, though it was one that Shirou really found himself enjoying.
It was somehow as if he was learning more about himself, just by training with Saber.
Finishing up their spar cheerfully, they headed to Shirou's room to go over the basics of magecraft training.
(Shirou had wanted to use the warehouse at first - but Saber had told him that just for the basics, at least, they should go over the information in a more relaxed environment, to get the information more fluidly into Shirou's mind. And Shirou accepted, seeing no reason to object.)
...
They had just started projection training.
Shirou sat on his bed and focused as Saber started instructing and lecturing him.
First though, Saber and Shirou agreed that he would have to have a means with which to protect himself (since Shirou was the kind of naive blockhead that would blindly jump headfirst extremely dangerous situations without preparation, if it meant he could save or protect someone).
And here, Saber had pondered a little bit about what sort weapon would suit him best.
The True Excalibur would undoubtedly be too much for Shirou to handle at this point. Even as Archer, its pure form was too much for him to handle (except in extremely lenient circumstances).
The only reason Saber himself was able to handle it was because of the change in his Origin and Element (and Attribute), and because of Avalon's support. Not to mention the approval of Artoria, Merlin, and of Excalibur itself, along with the help of the Faes. And even with all that, he still needed Merlin's workaround method in order to use it properly (as expected of The Greatest Holy Sword, made by and from within The World itself).
So naturally, it would be of far too high a capacity for Emiya Shirou, as a mere novice (though very quickly improving) magus to handle.
"Hmmm..."
And so, Saber had decided upon a blade.
Well, it might be a bit much for Shirou right now, but FalseCalibur, the heavily degraded version of Excalibur that Saber had used as a sword extensively during his own lifetime, especially in England and the rest of The Celtic Isles, might be a good fit for him. It should be a sword that he'd be able grow into and eventually surpass the need for.
And so, Saber had decided on giving Shirou his FalseCalibur (NiseXcalibur), His Mimicked Blade of Chasing Victory.
He was a bit rusty in creating the blade, but he extended his hand, and tried to remember and go through the process of it again, of trying to intentionally create a very human Excalibur, one that had the impression of chasing after the True Excalibur.
Cheapening the concept of creation.
Outlining the basic structure.
Degrading the composition material.
It was quite the arduous task, not having done so and gone through the modified process for many, many centuries.
Reducing the skill of its making.
Understanding the experience of its growth.
Shirou, however, stared on at awe as the golden-arured blade started to manifest in Saber's hands.
Falsifying the accumulated years.
Accepting mediocre manufacturing processes.
As his blade started to form out of light, he knew he had succeeded.
Before him was FalseCalibur (NiseXcalibur), His Mimicked Blade of Chasing Victory. Smiling fondly at seeing his old partner, he handed the blade casually over to Shirou.
"Here," Saber said, giving it over to Shirou, as Shirou continued to looked on in awe; at both the blade and at Saber, who had forged it.
Shirou looked hesitant to take on the blade.
"...Is, is it okay for me to have this? It's such a beautiful blade!"
Saber laughed a bit, awkwardly.
FalseCalibur was actually based on his first poor attempt at replicating Excalibur in human terms, so it felt strange to have his younger self compliment it so highly.
But then again, this was also his younger self who had never seen any other beautiful Holy Swords before, and had only at most caught a glance at Kanshou and Bakuya, so for even just a degraded copy of Excalibur to amaze the inexperienced teenage Shirou so much was no surprise, Saber supposed.
After all, even though he had grown accustomed to it, the Real Excalibur was still undoubtedly the most Awe-Inspiring and Beautiful Pinnacle of Holy Swords that Saber had ever seen or known.
"Sure." Saber replied, "I made it just for you, so keep it close at all times!"
In truth, it wasn't the blade Saber cared much about, but the safety of his younger self. After all, these sorts of blades he could easily mass-produce.
Shirou nodded fervently. "I will. I'll definitely treasure it!"
Saber lightly laughed a bit awkwardly again. "Well, make sure to put it to good use. It's not an ornamental sword to treasure, but an actual sword to use in real combat, you know?"
Shirou nodded, though a bit hesitantly. It felt like a waste, to Shirou, to use it in battle, but he knew that was the reason that Saber gave it to him in the first place. Besides, Shirou had a feeling that Saber could probably mass-produce these kinds of blades. Shirou didn't know how he knew that (the mysterious knowledge leakage process?), but he somehow understood that to be the case.
Shirou received the blade in his hands, and as he grasped it, he could feel an impression Saber's emotions in the blade, the unique emotions and ideals imbedded within that that blade that even the real Excalibur lacked.
Admiration for a higher ideal, for a certain unreachable girl beyond the horizon.
The idea of chasing after, endlessly, and eventually reaching that which was once thought to be unattainable ideal; the ideal of heroism, and of that girl that he so loved, with all his heart.
Shirou felt a tear roll down his cheek, from only just the impression that the sword had given him, alone.
Saber, seeing Shirou being so moved, added,
"Well, don't worry about breaking that blade. I can make countless others just like it." Then, Saber scratched his cheek awkwardly before explaining further, "Though, my own Excalibur is the only Holy Sword I can make perfectly."
Saber nodded, wiping away his tear his arm, a bit embarrassed.
"But wait, if you can make blades with magecraft, does that mean I can also make blades?"
Shirou didn't sound very surprised at that fact. It was like, somewhere deep down in his heart, he had a feeling he had that he always had that sort of capacity. But he never consciously mentioned or knew about it until now.
Saber nodded, as he just now realized that Shirou hadn't consciously realized about that yet - It was so common sense to him that he had forgotten he started his own holy grail war just as ignorant (or rather, even more ignorant) than this version of Emiya Shirou was.
"Yes." Saber said, "But you don't make them externally." He added, staring to explain the process.
Shirou gave Saber a curious look, eager to know what Saber meant.
"You make them in your inner world, and pull them out to reality." Saber explained, "That's the true nature of our magecraft as Emiya Shirou. It's a sword-forging magecraft, devoted entirely to making swords."
Shirou looked on again, in awe.
"Wow..." Shirou looked back at NiseXcalibur, "So I'll also be able to make countless numbers of this blade later on?"
He stared at the sword, amazed.
"Yes, and countless others, too, though a bit degraded."
"Wow..." Shirou repeated, "That's amazing..."
He could hardly believe. Such a beautiful sword, and to be able to recreate it endless. Somehow, that seemed all so amazing. Shirou felt a bit moved.
Shirou looked again at Saber in awe, asking more to satisfy his curiosity, "So you're able to make other types of blades? And I'll be able to make other blades, too?"
Saber nodded. "Yeah. Though in my case, it's a bit different. I took a bit of a different route from you and Archer."
Shirou looked on curiously, as Saber continued.
"To be able to perfectly reproduce Excalibur alone, I had to give up a lot of my proficiency in making other blades."
Shirou looked a bit skeptical at that decision, though with the impressions imbedded in FalseCalibur, with how much Saber admired and chased after the ideal of that girl in white, he could kind of understand that choice. Well, more on an emotional level than on a practical level, but he didn't know if he would make that choice or choose to go down the road of that kind of specialization for himself, though.
"But," Saber added, "It's more useful than it sounds! Even if it's a bit situationally limited, and even though I can't always use its full power that often."
Indeed, Excalibur was only the one Sword that Saber could make perfectly. Even if he needed them, all the other swords he could project where degraded even further, and he had even lost his ability to use "Unlimited Blade Works" in exchange.
All in order to be able to further replicate this one sword, Excalibur, perfectly.
Even his ability to project non-swords had practically been lost, except for weapons he had been extremely familiar with, like Gae Bolg, and the other weapons and shields of the Celtic Isles.
Shirou nodded. "Then, should I do the same? To project only Excalibur?"
Shirou was hoping Saber would say yes, seeing Nisecalibur and wanting in his heart to project and to create an even more perfect version of it.
And Saber considered it for a little bit, seeing Shirou's awe at his blade.
At this point, it wasn't as if Shirou would be losing much. After all, he hadn't even see any Holy Swords yet, and had at most caught a glimpse of Kanshou and Bakuya.
But Saber shook his head.
"You don't have to have to follow my same path, you know?" Saber said, "It might even be more useful, if you kept your magecraft the way it is."
"And in the first place," Saber added, "I only took this path, no, I was only able to take this path because I found something I wanted even more than being a hero. If you blindly followed my path because you admired me, then I don't think be able to achieve the same results."
"Oh..." Shirou sounded a bit disappointed, but relented. What Saber was saying made sense, after all.
Saber patted is shoulder, comfortingly.
"Don't worry though," Saber laughed, seeing Shirou's downcast expression, "Being able to almost perfectly copy countless weapons is an incredible magecraft, even if it is one I personally don't regret sacrificing."
Saber smiled at Shirou, "So take pride in what you do have, and make good use of it!"
Even Saber hadn't realized how amazing his magecraft really was until a few decades into his life, and Saber had certainly learned to make good use of it while he still lived. It really was an incredibly versatile ability, especially with blades like Rulebreaker and shields like Rho Aias.
Shirou smiled back, and nodded.
"Yeah!"
...
Author's Notes:
So this was original all just one chapter, but like Saber's Melody, I broke it up into 2 parts because it was honestly getting kinda long!
...
We're approaching the climax, though!
Chapter 13 is Rider and Kotomine, peacefully talking.
And the last three chapters will accelerate towards the the climax.
Chapter 14 will be Assassin and Zouken making a move, when Ilya and Sakura show up.
Chapter 15 will be Assassin VS Berserker - The Heaven's Feel Showdown. Sakura's Personal Hero VS The Mind of Steel. Caster finally makes an appearance, too.
Chapter 16 will be the Climax, Saber VS The ? ? ?, The ? ? ?. Saber finally reveals his true power, and Archer helps out, too!
And after that will be the Epilogue in two parts, Epilogue Part 1 - The Parting, and Epilogue Part 2 - Musings.
Anyways, next chapter is Emiya Shirou - Part 2, about Shirou's ideals and his way of living.
In my opinion, the last three post-climax chapters, are pretty good.
Next chapter is Emiya Shirou - Part 2, look forward to it.
And please stay tuned towards the end!
...
The second half part of the chapter will be reflecting on Emiya Shirou's ideals and the nature of this war itself, so look forward to it!