Chapter 15: Gathering Shadow.
He struggled to catch his breath, even as the darkness of sleep slowly faded. It felt, for a few moments, like something was strangling the life out of him, and he thrashed, his arms meeting some resistance before it gave with a splintering sound, his greenish battle aura lighting up the room around him.
Ryoga abruptly came fully awake as the oppressive draining feeling faded, at the same moment the chair he'd been sleeping in fell completely to pieces and dumped him onto the carpeted floor. "Wh… what?" He croaked, rolling to his hands and knees as he looked around. Recent events slowly came back to him, and he remembered that he was in a hospital room, a plum-haired woman sleeping peacefully on the bed he was kneeling beside.
"Right, the nurse let me…" He cut himself off, as he noticed something strange about the sleeping woman. On her arm, just above the iv needle, a collection of intricately wrought blue runes were glowing faintly, winding up until they vanished under the hospital gown at her shoulder.
As the lost boy slowly stood, stepping towards the bed, he realized something else. The entire hospital was eerily silent. The omnipresent quiet noises of the on-duty nurses weren't present in the background, and even the air felt oddly still and stale.
Moving slowly past the sleeping woman's bed, the one next to it in the room was empty, but the covers were disturbed, and there were several leads and an iv tube leading under them.
"Hey, anyone out there?" He asked, his voice sounding as loud as a gunshot even though he was almost whispering. When he got no response, he jerked open the room's door, blinking in the bright light from the hallway. When his eyes recovered, he almost wasn't surprised to see a completely empty hallway, the floor dotted with a few discarded clipboards.
"I've seen this movie," the lost boy said, trying to fill the silence. "The guy dies."
As if in response to that statement, the lights at one end of the hall flickered out with a sizzling sound, and a shadowed figure stepped from the stairwell entrance. It was hard to make out, save the white hair that flowed from its head and across its black and red garments.
'I was joking,' he thought, his heart rate picking up as the figure started down the hallway towards him, the lights shorting as it got close to them. "H-hey, who the hell are you?! What's going on?" He demanded, wincing at the quaver in his voice.
The figure didn't respond, but it did raise its head, revealing a woman's face. This didn't reassure the lost martial artist in the least, however, as her eyes were a flat, almost glowing crimson, completely unmarred by pupils or irises, her mouth quirked up in a broken looking smile.
After taking a few more steps, she raised one arm, and the darkness around her seemed to boil up, the shadows stretching out from the walls, brushing service carts and a wheelchair aside as they raced for him. The instincts he'd honed over a life of managing not to die in some of the world's most hostile places screamed that letting any of the strange shadow tendrils touch him would be a terrible idea.
Ryoga snapped up one hand, green and purple aura gathering in it. "Shishi Hokodan!" the ball of depression chi roared free, enveloping the hallway as it raced down it, until it touched the writhing shadows. The moment it came into contact with the first of them, it began to dwindle away, until the tiniest wisp of it brushed past the strange, ethereal girl.
"Yeah, definitely seen this movie before." He turned on a heel, preparing to run down the hallway in the opposite direction, when he remembered the woman who was still laying in a hospital bed less than ten feet from him. Cursing under his breath, he ran into the room, slamming the door behind him closed a second before a loud crash shook it in its frame. His eyes flickered around the room, but there was really only one other way out.
"I really hope they stabilized you well enough," he muttered, walking up to the occupied hospital bed and yanking out the iv and monitoring leads, paying no attention to the loudly protesting machinery, or another crash at the door.
Hoisting the unconscious woman into his arms, he leapt through the window, falling towards the parking lot below in a hail of broken glass. A second after he landed, his danger sense screamed at him and he dove sideways, just getting out of the way of a nearly foot-long arrow that buried itself in the concrete, its shaft gleaming silver.
When he tracked it back to where it had come from, he spotted a shadowed figure on the edge of the hospital's roof, holding a bow and… Another leap barely dodged another arrow, but this time, a second after it hit the ground it exploded, pelting the lost boy with shards of concrete.
Deciding to take a leaf from Ranma's book, the fanged martial artist turned, running as fast as he could. "If there was ever a time I wanted to get lost, now would be it!" He yelled, panicked, as he swerved to put a few parked cars and an ambulance between himself and the rooftop archer. A fraction of a second later, the air before him tore itself open in a yawning, crackling crevice of black and red energy. His feet gouged chunks out of the concrete as he tried to stop, but he couldn't cancel all of his forward momentum in time, tumbling headlong through the portal, and into hell.
HR - Ripple 01 - Dream of a Fate defied.
He shifted the pack on his back uncomfortably, cursing under his breath even as he walked across the uneven ground next to the shoulder of a darkened highway. The last dojo and its master had been yet another dead end. He'd been on this training trip for weeks, and still had nothing to show for it. Well, that wasn't entirely true.
He'd picked up a few neat little tricks, but his major problem was still present. Squinting in the dim light from a nearby street lamp, he glanced at the list of Dojos he'd made before leaving Nerima. He doubted the last few would have any more for him, but if that were the case, he only really had two choices. He could stick around for another couple of weeks, trying to work things out on his own, or he could go home early.
His stomach grumbled, putting in its vote for an early return. He really missed Kasumi's cooking, and hadn't quite recalled how tiresome boiled rice and wild greens could get.
- - - Train Alone.
- = - Go home.
It was settled, then, he decided. He was pretty close to Fuyuki, but he'd never been there, so he decided to turn back for the little town he'd passed a little less than a day back. He knew where the train station was there, at least.
He was about to turn and start walking when he blinked. There was another person walking down the road. An older man, dressed in a black suit, and stepping towards him at an even, efficient pace. His eyes narrowed as he took in the man's appearance, and came to a quick conclusion. He was a martial artist, though he was trying to hide it pretty obviously.
Wanting to get at least a little more out of his training trip, if he were going to end it, Ranma met the man's eyes, and smirked before starting towards him.
The man returned the gaze with little change in expression, his eyes flicking up and down Ranma's form for a moment before he shook his head, turning on one foot and walking in the other direction.
The pigtailed martial artist's shoulders slumped. "So much for that," he muttered under his breath, turning and beginning to retrace his steps.
His mind wandered for the next several minutes, turning over the problem of his vanishing battle aura, and what he was going to do about it back in Nerima. He was interrupted in his pondering, however, by the faint sound of heavy breathing, and a pained gasp coming from the woods next to the road.
Peering into the forest in the direction the sound had come from, he caught a glimpse of dark blue and a brighter shade against the trees. "Hey, anybody out there?" He called, stepping into the woods. The pained breathing abruptly stopped for a second or two, and then resumed, along with another grunt and the rustling of leaves. He followed it until he broke into an overgrown trail through the trees, catching sight of a shadowed figure, pushing themselves along by shoving off of the trees and stumbling forward, an ornate dark robe draped haphazardly over their body.
"Hey, you okay?" It was a stupid question, but the first that came to mind. Given the limping, stumbling gait and the ragged breathing, they were obviously badly hurt and in a lot of pain.
The figure tried to turn to face him, but instead lost its balance and crumpled to the ground with a groan. Ranma moved to catch it before it could actually hit the ground, and blinked as the hood over its head fell back to reveal a feminine face, with blue hair and pointed ears.
"I… I… need to…" The woman stammered, before her injuries got to her and she passed out.
Ranma gently lay her down, and pondered what he should do. He wasn't all that close to the city, and wasn't sure if moving the woman would be a good idea even if he was. Muttering a quiet apology under his breath, he pulled away her robe, and then winced. What was wrong with her was obvious, even without any further examination. Her side was caked with blood, staining the silken dress she wore around a ragged tear which revealed a grizzly looking open wound that looked like someone had stabbed her with a spear.
Frantically, he ripped open his pack, digging through it even as his frustration mounted. It suddenly came to him that he'd forgotten to replenish his medical supplies after that failed training idea with the throwing knives. He winced at his old man's idiocy, but managed to come up with a bottle of disinfectant and some over-the-counter painkillers, but not nearly enough gauze or thread for a wound that deep. Frowning, he pulled out one of his cotton undershirts and a hunting knife.
HR. - END Ripple.
"-not abandoning our son, and that is the end of this discussion!" Nodoka Saotome's furious voice rose from the room she and her husband shared, causing Soun to wince. He had never heard the woman so angry, and that included the time she learned what 'Neko-ken' meant.
The sliding door to the room slammed so hard it could be heard rattling, and a moment later, Genma trudged down the stairs to the main floor,
"A little disagreement there, Saotome?" Normally, Soun wouldn't think of poking at something like that, but some of Nodoka's previous outbursts had made it pretty clear what the couple was arguing about, and he himself wasn't thrilled with his old friend at the moment.
Genma winced, but didn't seem angered by the jab as he slumped to his seat across from Soun at the shogi board. "If it helps, I would have encouraged you and the girls to run, too," he said, moodily plucking a tile from its place, studying it in his fingers.
"It does, a little," Soun nodded. "But I'm inclined to agree with Nodoka. I'm not willing to leave my ancestral home, and I think you're under-estimating the boy. Didn't you tell me he faced off against some sort of fire throwing phoenix in china?"
"Heh," Genma snorted. "With backup, a magical artifact, and almost getting your daughter killed." At Soun's surprised expression, he continued. "There's no question that seeing the boy face down that monster was my proudest moment, as a father and a sensei, but this… this is so much different. He won't be fighting power here, at least not power alone, and he's not ready for any of it."
"Genma," Soun took a sip from the cup next to his seat, tea this time, rather than the usual sake. "I've never seen you this afraid in my life, and we went through the master's hell together. That is the one and only reason I'm still trying to understand what you're thinking, rather than demanding that you leave here for some of what you've done and suggested in the last few days." The Tendo patriarch felt the tears begin to trickle down his cheeks, even as he'd been trying to hold them back more, recently. "Please, tell me what you're so scared of."
Genma paused for a moment, and then reached into his dirty white gi. What he produced was a small bottle of sake, which he unsealed and took a heavy gulp from. "The Master," he chuckled harshly. "I was with him before he took you, you know. You assumed that I'd been bullied into it, the same way you did, and I didn't correct you." He began fiddling with the shogi tile again. "I never corrected you. But the truth is, I joined him of my own free will. And if I had the choice to make again, I would do it again."
"You wha…" Soun looked horrified. "But what he-"
"What he did was nothing!" Genma roared, vaulting to his feet. "Yes, it was painful, and humiliating, and when you came up with the plan to get out of it I helped you, but… he freed me from my family's crest. I sought him out, when I heard rumors of what his chi mastery could do, and when I found him, he delivered." He slumped back to his seat, and took another swig from his bottle. "He did it for free. Said what was done to me was so twisted it made him sick."
Soun's face paled. "It disgusted…"
"Yes," Genma nodded solemnly, and then his expression twisted a bit. "I've seen the end result of what my family's crest worms can do to you. Ten years ago, during the last holy grail war, my brother managed to get a message to me through an old contact. He said he needed my help with something. I should have just ignored it, but I…" His voice seemed to be getting faster, even as it shook and cracked. "He was my brother. It took me a while to get to Fuyuki, because I wanted to make sure no one could track me back if I got caught. When I got there… the damned worms had hollowed him out. He weighed… maybe a hundred pounds, his hair was bleached white, I could… I could see them moving… under his skin." This time, tears were gathering in Genma's eyes. "I tried to talk to him but he was incoherent. I couldn't tell if he was overjoyed to see me, or if he hated me. There was something he wanted, something about a girl, but I… I couldn't stand it anymore. I ran. And I don't think I've stopped running since then."
"Saotome…" Soun reached for his tea, now wishing he had his own bottle of sake. "I still don't-" he stopped talking as Genma tilted his head, and then winced. Leaping to his feet, the heavyset man ran out into the dojo's side yard, paying no heed to the shogi board he'd knocked over.
"Soun! Get ready!" he barked. The mustached man was about to ask what he should be getting ready for, when the air next to the Koi pond rippled, and then seemed to twist unnaturally, flecks of red light flickering into existence. A moment later, a… hole… tore itself open in the middle of the empty space, revealing a kaleidoscopic maelstrom of light. A fraction of a second after that, a mud-caked arm shot through the hole,frantically grasping. Tendrils of darkness seemed to tear free of it, before a familiar voice roared in rage, a flash of eye-searing greenish-purple obscuring the portal before fading again.
Soun immediately moved, grasping the arm and pulling, even as his hand burned at the point of contact and a sense of nausea built up in his stomach. Ryoga Hibiki came tumbling through the strange hole, shedding globs of mud even as his battle aura burned so brightly it almost hurt to look at. He caught himself on one arm and both knees, his other arm cradling an unconscious woman in a hospital gown.
"Could someone… take her?" He asked, his voice ragged and tense. Genma immediately moved forward to grab the woman, even as the lights in the Tendo sisters' windows flickered on, and shuffling could be heard from inside the house.
"Thank you…" Ryoga said, faintly. "Now back up." The two adults exchanged puzzled glances, but then hurriedly did so as Ryoga's green and purple battle aura exploded outward and upward, the mud covering him vapourizing as it did.
"My yard…" Soun said, faintly, as the perfect Shishi Hokodan crashed down on its creator, carving a crater that extended half-way across the lawn and completely destroyed the koi pond.
"What is going-" Nabiki's voice trailed off as she stepped out onto the side porch, gaping at the damage.
"Oh… oh my," Kasumi exclaimed in a pained tone. "Hibiki-san, is there a reason you felt the need to do that?"
"Uh… sorry, Kasumi-san," Ryoga said, tiredly, as he struggled to his feet in the bottom of the crater. "It was kinda an emergency."
"What happened?" Akane asked, her shinai held in her hands as she stood in front of her sisters. "And who's that woman?" She gestured towards the figure held in Genma's arms with her head.
"It's… a long story," Ryoga said. "Can I come in and sit down?"
"I'll make something," Kasumi agreed, nodding. Before she went back into the house, however, she paused for a moment and reached into her apron's front pocket. "Oh, y-" She glanced to her sisters, and obviously changed what she was about to say. "Someone wanted to get a letter to you." She held out the battered, dirty envelope, and Ryoga took it as he reached the edge of the crater, looking down at it curiously.
HR.
The air in the Tendo dining room was heavy as Ryoga looked up from the paper in front of him and stuck it into a pocket. "That… explains some things," he admitted.
"That's all you're giving us?" Nabiki, who had been trying to get a look at the paper since they'd all sat down, looked irritated.
"No, but I'm not letting you read that thing," Ryoga replied, looking a bit grim.
"You are going to tell us what's going on, though, right?" Akane asked, as Kasumi and Nodoka entered the room.
"Our guest is resting on a futon in my room for the moment," Kasumi explained. "She's obviously very weak, but I think she'll be fine, at least until we can get Dr. Tofu over in the morning."
"Yeah, because that will make things so much better," Nabiki muttered sarcastically.
No one else spoke after that, but they looked at Ryoga expectantly. As he often did when confronted with a large number of people, the lost boy shifted nervously. "First, I don't know who she is either," he started. "I found her in some weird abandoned church a couple of days ago, and she looked pretty bad so I took her to the hospital."
"Fuyuki general," Kasumi clarified. When everyone looked at her strangely, she shrugged. "It was written on her patient identification band."
"Fuyuki…" Akane said, quietly. "That's where Ranma was going." She looked down, and her sisters and father shared a worried glance.
"So if you got her to a hospital, what ended up with you carrying her out of a portal in the backyard?" Nabiki asked.
"The hospital was attacked by something," Ryoga scowled down at his hands. "I'm pretty sure it killed everyone in it but us. I grabbed her and ran, but I have no idea how the portal happened."
"The war's gotten that severe?" Genma mumbled, almost to himself. At the curious glances from the others, he explained. "Normally, the church is supposed to keep things like that under control. Though, I heard that they weren't very good at doing that in the last war, either."
"There's something out there that can kill an entire hospital full of people?" Kasumi seemed aghast.
"And it ate a Shishi Hokodan like candy," Ryoga chipped in.
"Suddenly your warnings are sounding very sensible, Saotome," Soun said, his face pale.
"I'm… I'm glad you got out safe, Ryoga," Akane said, though her voice sounded shaky. "That sounds horrible."
"I'm sure my son can handle it," Nodoka said, though her tone was tense, as if she were trying to convince herself.
"Yeah…" Ryoga looked down at his pocket. "I'm not." Everyone looked at him, their expressions mixed. "If you can take care of the woman I brought in, I'm going back."
"That's a mistake, boy," Genma said gravely.
Ryoga's eyes were distant for a moment, before he nodded. "Yeah… but it would probably happen even if I didn't want to go back," he answered. "Just how my luck goes."
"He's got a point," Nabiki admitted reluctantly.
"You can rest here for the night, at least," Kasumi offered. "You look exhausted."
Soun nodded in agreement with his eldest daughter's pronouncement.
Ryoga privately admitted to himself that he was, in spite of the fact that he'd slept for several hours before waking in the hospital. "Thank you, Kasumi-san, Tendo-san." he bowed.
Genma muttered something under his breath, then removed his glasses, staring down at them for a long moment. "Take these," he said, abruptly, thrusting them at Ryoga. "Don't lose them."
"You're giving him… your glasses?" Akane asked, puzzled.
Genma nodded. "He's got no magical ability. You saw what I did to Ranma, when he wasn't ready for it. And what that girl did to Akane."
The youngest Tendo winced in remembrance, and Ryoga's fist clenched. "What happened to-"
"That's not important right now," Genma cut him off. "Magi have a lot of ways of completely overwhelming regular people, powerful martial artists or not. I've heard that there are techniques to get around it, but I never found any. So I made these." He held up the glasses. "The only mystic code I ever made. Should stop any mana from affecting the eyes when worn. It'll stop anyone from easily hypnotizing you, at least."
"Should?" Nabiki picked up on the word, raising her eyebrows.
"They worked against me, but that was the only test I could do," Genma admitted. "I'm not sure if they could handle something like the mystic eyes that hit Akane. It's better than nothing if you're going into a city full of mages, though."
"Thanks," Ryoga nodded, taking the glasses from Ranma's father and turning them over in his hands.
The room descended into silence for a few awkward moments, before Akane spoke. "Hey Ryoga, let me help you get to the dojo, okay?"
The other Tendos exchanged a look which the lost boy totally missed as he stood, hurriedly sticking Genma's glasses into a pocket on his pack. "Of course, thank you, Akane-san!"
The youngest Tendo sister took his hand, guiding him out of the room, even as her worried expression remained unchanged.
HR.
Breakfast at the small dining area in the Einzbern guesthouse was surprisingly similar to that at the Emiya house, Illyasviel and Lancer fitting in without really causing a hitch as Shiro cooked, Ranma occasionally lending a hand when asked.
As the two boys stepped out of the kitchen, Saber's eyes never left the plates they were carrying until Shiro placed several in front of her. As Ranma placed down the last one he was carrying in front of an empty space, he looked up. "Tohsaka still asleep?"
Shiro winced. "I'm pretty sure she shoved the dresser in front of the door to her room," he admitted. The twintailed girl had been very clear the night before. All of them were exhausted, and she'd spent an almost uninterrupted day tied to a chair and unable to sleep. She'd made a quick survey of the castle's wards, declared them good enough, announced that they weren't walking back home until the next day and gone to bed in the largest bedroom in the guesthouse. She'd also issued threats of bodily harm to anyone who woke her before noon.
"Can't really blame her," Ranma admitted. "Most people aren't used to going two days without sleep, and we're out of danger for now."
"For now?" Illyasviel asked. "Saber and Lancer are the last two Servants, right? At this point, we just have to decide when to have the final fight." She narrowed her eyes speculatively at Saber, who glanced back with her mouth full, making a startled "Mmmph" sound.
"Know what you're thinkin," Lancer said hurriedly, "And I'd rather wait for her master to wake up."
"I suppose we should," Illyasviel admitted, reluctantly. "Especially since we're not really competing for a wish on the grail anymore."
Saber swallowed so hard that it looked painful. "We what?" She asked, her tone unreadable.
"Guess we didn't tell ya about that," Ranma winced. "So you know how Illyasviel changed from a homunculi to a human?"
"I was the vessel for the lesser grail," the dark haired girl cut his explanation off. "Apparently the process that changed me expelled and destroyed it."
"I see," Saber seemed to wrestle with herself for a moment, before nodding. "Given the situation, I… understand."
"We're still going to have our final fight, right?" Lancer asked. "I didn't sign up for this for the wish. I mean, especially if the grail's gone, how long do we have left until the war's officially over and we vanish?"
"It can't be that much longer," Illyasviel answered, frowning. "I don't… think… there's an official time limit, but a ritual this complex can only hold out for so long, especially with a major part destroyed."
"Damnit," Lancer scowled . "I wanna say 'let's go as soon as possible,' but springing it on Saber's master the second she wakes up feels kinda scummy. I wanna give 'em some time to strategize."
"So, what about tomorrow morning?" Shiro offered, glancing over at Saber. "Unless you guys feel yourselves going before then, or something. You don't, right?"
The blonde servant shook her head, followed by the blue haired one. "Guess I'll have to go with that," he decided after a moment. "Better enjoy that breakfast, Saber, 'cuz it's a day 'till I finish this."
Saber merely raised an eyebrow, somehow managing to convey a sense of skepticism so tangible that it could be cut with a knife. "Indeed?"
This caused the other servant to burst out laughing. Conversation died out for the rest of the meal, even as Ranma and Saber seemed to be racing each other to put away food more quickly. Saber was winning, as Ranma's left hand was moving too awkwardly to really be used. Illyasviel gave Shiro an incredulous look, though he simply shrugged back at her.
When he'd finished his last bite, the pigtailed boy looked up at the blonde servant. "Your offer to help me train still open?"
Saber simply nodded, and the two stood. "Thanks for the meal," Ranma said, Saber quickly following, before they left the room.
"Feeding those two is a bit of a workout," Shiro said, though he was smiling slightly. As he began to gather the plates, Illyasviel stood and walked up next to him.
"Excuse me," she said, sounding a little reluctant, her fingers twisting together in front of her. "Could I talk to you for a minute?"
The red haired boy looked puzzled, but nodded. "Sure, you mind helping with the dishes?"
She shook her head, gathering a few of them up. In spite of her request, the two worked in silence until they entered the kitchen, arranging the dishes to be washed. "People are complicated," she muttered under her breath.
"Hmm?" Shiro glanced over at her as he turned on the water in the sink and reached for the dish soap.
"Shiro Emiya," she started after another moment of hesitation, the last word seeming to be emphasized. "Could you… tell me about your father?"
"My father?" He asked, obviously surprised by the request.
"You talked about him yesterday in your battle with Archer," she explained. "I'd… heard of him before. What you said didn't match what I'd heard, so I was curious. I understand if it's too private."
"No… No, that's okay. But… you don't really like Kiritsugu, do you?" The former Homunculus watched carefully as he placed the glass he'd been washing down and turned to her, studying her with a reserved, yet curious expression.
"It's complicated," she mumbled, studying her darker skinned hands as fingers tangled aimlessly. Once again Archer's words rang in her mind. The next statement struggled its way free as though she were chewing mud. "I just… need to know what happened ten years ago. It's very important."
"I can't really tell you that." Shiro looked as if he wanted to start fidgeting as well, but instead he grabbed the next dish and began to scrub. "I don't really remember much of that time… or anything before it." Something flickered behind his eyes before he looked away to what he was doing, but the girl couldn't read it.
"You did know him though," she pushed. "After, I mean." As she spoke she resumed her own work.
"Yeah." Shiro's hands kept going through the rhythm of busywork as he spoke. "I'd like to think I got to know him pretty well." The red haired boy shook one hand free of water and brushed it through his hair. "I'll tell you what I can, but… when you're ready, could you tell me why this is so important to you?"
Illyasviel paused for a long moment, and then picked up one of the cups Shiro had finished with, beginning to dry it carefully. "Yes," She nodded. "I think I might actually like that."
He gave her a sidelong glance, one eyebrow raised, before nodding back. "Okay, then. I think he was a lot different, back then."
Illyasviel listened intently as the red haired boy talked, the two of them methodically working their way through the breakfast dishes and cookware.
HR.
"Huh,, that's…" Ranma mumbled, as he and Saber stepped out into the main courtyard of the Einzbern castle. At her questioning glance, he pointed to one of the relatively clear areas in the rubble filled yard. "You guys clear away Gil-whoever?"
The servant of the sword apparently found something about that question amusing, smiling slightly. "He was a servant, our bodies vanish when we're killed."
"Yeah, I know," Ranma agreed. "But I coulda sworn his didn't, yesterday." He shrugged. "Guess I was just seein' things, after that fight."
"I'm surprised you're up and ready to train this morning," Saber agreed. "Are you certain this is a good idea?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ranma shrugged. "But I just realized, we don't got any training blades here. Guess you'll just have to use your sword."
Saber gave him a very flat look. "I'm certain that is a bad idea."
"Yeah, you're probably right," he said reluctantly, before looking around. "With how bad this place got torn up, there's probably a piece of wood that should work." She nodded, and the two of them headed for the front of the castle itself. As they searched through the demolished entry hall, Ranma glanced over at his companion. "Not sure if it means much comin' from me, since I'm the one who destroyed it, but I'm pretty sure wishing on the grail would've been a bad idea."
"Hmm?" Saber paused, glancing back at him, surprised.
"You've been kinda tense ever since we told you it was gone," he explained. "I mean, yeah, you accepted the explanation, but it's obvious you didn't like it."
"I… wasn't aware it was so obvious," the blonde said quietly, frowning to herself.
"I was kinda sure some magic wish granting device was gunna go wrong from the start, but that grail…" Ranma paused, grunting as he heaved a door off of a rubble pile he was looking through. "It didn't want anything good for anybody, I don't think. If whatever's in there could control how your wish turned out, it wouldn't go great for you no matter what you asked for."
Saber was about to respond, but paused for a moment as she reached down and picked up a thin section of window frame, testing its weight. "That… makes more sense than I'd like to admit," she said, her eyes going distant as if in memory. Shaking her head violently, she glanced down at the stick she was still holding. "I think I've found something that will work. Let's begin."
"Yeah, sure,"Ranma said, dropping the debris he was holding as the two made their way out to a clear part of the courtyard.
HR.
The sounds of rapidly moving feet and soft impacts came to Illyasviel's ears as she stepped out of the guesthouse, her mind reeling. All of the things Shiro had said fit together with her own memories in ways that upturned everything she'd been told for the past ten years, and made her sick to her stomach.
He hadn't realized the significance of some of it, but with the context she had, it painted the actions of Kiritsugu Emiya after the fourth holy grail war in an entirely different light. There were still some aspects she was uncertain of, and even Shiro had confirmed some of the unsavory things her family had told her, but… "He was trying to see me…" She whispered to herself,
Tears gathered in her eyes. That was, really, the most damning fact. Her father hadn't abandoned her, discarded their family like garbage. He'd still cared, and had been desperately trying to get to her even as his health slowly failed. Shiro had described a man wracked with regrets, one who lamented a failed dream of heroism, even as he couldn't bear to crush Shiro's own.
Shiro described a man who, while deeply flawed, was not a callous monster bent on spiteing the Einzbern family, who coldly murdered her mother for no reason. And without the poisonous whispers constantly in her ear from the grail, she had to admit that her memories of her father didn't describe that sort of man, either.
And what did that leave? She had failed in the task her family laid out for her, and she'd found out that the vengeance she sought was misguided, the only recipient left being a kind boy who definitely didn't deserve any of it.
She was jolted out of her thoughts when a figure came plummeting down from the castle's roof, bouncing off of one wall, and leaping into open air. A second figure came darting after the first, Ranma desperately deflecting a flurry of blows from Saber with his left hand, even as his right was held tightly to his side. The two hit the ground, the pigtailed martial artist dancing backwards until there was a deafening crack, and a fragment of a stick bounced across the cobblestones, coming to rest neatly at the girl's feet.
Bemused, she picked it up as the two combatants separated, Ranma panting while Saber merely clasped her hands behind her back, waiting for him to recover. "That was a major improvement," the blonde complimented. "Your reflexes are on a level I've rarely seen. But breaking the stick is cheating."
"Yeah… laugh it up…" Ranma gasped, slowly recovering his posture.
Illyasviel stepped forward, clapping softly. The Servant and martial artist glanced around to the noise, each reacting slightly differently. For his part, Ranma just rose out of his combat stance, smiling at her.
"Hey, Illyasviel," he said casually. Saber looked her up and down, but said nothing, discarding what was left of her wooden blade. Saying that she relaxed, however, would be untrue, as she stood gazing at the dark haired girl steadily.
Before the blonde could say anything, Illyasviel found herself blurting out "Ranma, we're going to the shopping district."
"We're… what?" The pigtailed boy seemed totally caught off-guard by the statement.
"You promised you would take me there," She didn't give him a chance to catch his balance. "So if we're waiting until tomorrow to truly fight Saber and end the Grail War, we may as well do it today."
"I see," Saber nodded. "Well, if you gave your word, I won't be keeping you."
Was she… smirking? The expression only flashed across the short woman's face for a fraction of a second, and Illyasviel could almost convince herself that she'd missed it.
"I don't actually got much money," Ranma said, looking between the two. "You won't be-"
"I've got plenty," the dark haired girl said. "I recovered it from my room in the castle.
"Huh…" The boy looked at Illyasviel oddly, but eventually shrugged. "Sure, I guess."
Illyasviel let off an internal sigh of relief. Throwing herself at a new experience as a distraction wasn't the most subtle way to silence her thoughts, she had to admit, but also didn't particularly care. Saber nodded to her, as she and Ranma headed for the guesthouse.
"So, got anything you actually want, or…" Ranma asked, still obviously confused.
Illyasviel smiled.
HR.
"Video games!"
"Yeah… I can see that," Ranma said, dubiously, pushing the white cardboard box out of his face, catching the name "Nintendo" written on the corner. "So, you're supposed to be the bearer of the grail and some super robot mage, and the first thing you do is buy a gameboy?"
"Gameboy ADVANCE!" She put special emphasis on the final word, to which he just stared blankly. "And Homunculi aren't robots." Another slow nod, and more blankness.
She huffed. "I've wanted to try one of these ever since I saw a little boy playing one on the plane from germany." She then held up her other hand, which held a very large battery charger. "And I won't go scrounging around for extra batteries like he did!"
"...right." The pigtailed martial artist decided that it wasn't worth his time trying to figure out her thought process. He'd been following her through the Fuyuki shopping district for the past hour or so, and she seemed to want to visit every store with a shiny display in the window. This also meant that he was weighed down with several full shopping bags.
Shifting them to sit more comfortably in his hands, he followed the dark haired woman as she grabbed several boxes off of the shelves, reading them carefully. Catching sight of one, he wondered why you'd set an emblem on fire.
When they made it back to the front of the store, Illyasviel skipped up to the counter, radiating giddy excitement. The cashier shifted nervously as he rang up her purchases, looking away from her for most of the process.
When she'd gotten her change back and bagged her video games, the former homunculus turned to Ranma and handed him another bag. Her obvious glee seemed to fade as the two exited the store onto the sparsely occupied street. "Why did he react to me like that?" She asked after a moment, her voice subdued.
Ranma glanced at her, surprised. She seemed so knowledgeable on most of the things related to the grail war that he wasn't sure how to react, both to the way she'd been acting and a question like that. "You can't really pull off the cute little girl act anymore," he blurted, not really thinking.
She stumbled to a halt, looking at him in shock before raising a hand to her cheek. "What…? But I…"
Ranma raised his hands and the bags slid down his arms as his mind finally caught up to his mouth. "Wait, that ain't what I… I mean, yeah, it's what I meant, but I don't mean you're not pretty or anything!" This was a sensation he hadn't felt in the past month, that of steadily digging himself into a deeper hole, and he didn't miss it. Growling under his breath, he lowered his arms and shut up.
Several moments passed in awkward silence before Illyasviel spoke. "Well? What did you mean, then?"
He opened his mouth, but then shut it, and began to think. She didn't look happy, her eyes narrowed, but she was giving him a chance to explain that he didn't want to screw up. Having her run off and leave him holding a pile of bags without getting lunch wasn't something he wanted.
"When I was a kid," he started, "my old man taught me how to get food from people."
Illyasviel blinked, obviously not expecting this, but didn't interrupt.
"It was all about looking cute, sad and hungry, so people'd feel sorry for the poor starving kid. Thing is, as I got older, that stopped working so well. That's when he started me on hunting, and just stealin' stuff."
"Your father is an… interesting person," Illyasviel said, her tone very dry.
"Yeah, I've kinda figured that out," Ranma nodded. "Thing is, it stopped workin' because someone older acting like that poor, starving cute kid isn't sympathetic, it's just kinda weird. I got really confused when I sorta accidentally did it in one village in China, and it worked. 'Cuz apparently my girl self gives off the right…" He waved his hands, trying to think of a word, and then gave up.
"Impression?" Illyasviel tried, getting a nod. "So you're saying that some of the things I do seem off-putting because I'm so used to a small, cute body?"
"Pretty much, yeah," Ranma agreed. Appearing to flinch, he continued, "Not that I'm sayin' you aren't pretty, like I said, it's just more… refined and delicate, or whatever, rather than cute and energetic."
Illyasviel's eyes widened for a moment, before she brought her expression under control. "You have a very strange way of complimenting people," she offered mildly.
Ranma glanced around for something to change the subject, forcing his hand to stay at his side rather than going for his pigtail in an obvious show of nervousness. He'd often thought that being able to explain himself when he said something stupid would make him feel better, but this seemed to be good evidence against that idea. "Hey, what's that?" He asked, as a flash of bright yellow on the block ahead caught his attention.
"What's what?" Illyasviel was ignored as Ranma shifted the bags back into a comfortable carrying position and headed for the anomalous color. As he got closer, he recognized a police cordon, surrounding a large white building in the middle of the block.
"A hospital?" As he approached the building, he felt a much different sinking feeling. The entire area around the building made him uncomfortable, for reasons he found it hard to explain. "Can you feel that?" He asked, turning. Illyasviel was standing behind him, confused.
"Feel what?" She asked.
"Yeah, didn't think so." He stepped into the parking lot next to the hospital, which mostly lay outside of the police barricades. Kneeling between a bulky silver van and an ambulance, he reached out and touched the ground, where several discolored blotches surrounded a small gouged crater. "This is…"
At a footstep behind him, he glanced up to see a concerned look on Illyasviel's face. "I… think I sense it now," she said quietly. "How is the grail here?"
"The what now?" Illyasviel yelped and Ranma fell sideways into the car he was kneeling beside as Lancer's voice intruded on the tension.
"Lancer?!" The master demanded, one hand resting on her chest. "Where did you come from?"
The blue haired man shrugged, fiddling with the collar of his loud Hawaiian shirt. "Your little date was funny and all, especially the last bit, but I'd be an idiot to leave my master alone this late in the war."
"M… my what?" Illyasviel sputtered.
"That ain't important right now," Ranma interrupted, climbing to his feet. "Somethin' related to the grail was here. Pretty recently." He gestured to the cordon around the building. "I don't think anything good came from it."
"Agreed," Illyasviel nodded. "Lancer, can you return to spiritual form and see if you can see what's going on? Then I think we need to get back to the others."
"Sure thing, boss," The Servant of the lance nodded, fading away in a sparkle of mana. Ranma glanced between his last location and the gouge in the ground, worried.
HR.
"What… What the hell is this?!" Rin Tohsaka shrieked in righteous fury, as she, Shiro and Saber stood before the smoldering rubble that had once been her home. She charged forward, tearing at chunks of splintered wood, trying to make some headway into the mass, before Shiro's hand rested on her shoulder.
"That's not a good idea, it could fall on you."
She turned on him, snarling. "Do you have any idea what's in there?! I need to-"
"We need to figure out who did this," Saber's clear, calm voice interrupted. "Lancer and I are the last Servants in the war. This rubble looks like an explosion, not just a fire."
Rin whirled on her Servant. "You think Lancer and that homunculus did this?!" She demanded.
"I did not say that," Saber replied reprovingly. "In fact, I doubt that anything Lancer has could do this kind of damage. My own Noble Phantasm could do it easily, but his is far more precise."
"Then what?" Rin growled. "Do we have another rogue Servant, like Gilgamesh?"
"It is a possibility," Saber nodded. "It would be a good idea to regroup with the others."
"They were going to meet us here, right?" Shiro asked. "We could wait. Maybe we could try and recover some of Rin's stuff."
"I'm not sure if staying here is…" Saber trailed off, and then dashed forward. Her invisible blade appeared in her hand , her armor forming as she brought the weapon up in one smooth motion. Sparks flashed in mid-air mere feet in front of Shiro, and a gleaming steel arrow deflected off into the Tohsaka mansion's rubble.
"Your reflexes are as good as ever, Saber, but you really shouldn't be protecting that faker." The voice was similar in pitch and tone to that of Shiro, but it dripped with such contempt and anger that the blonde could almost feel it.
Looking along the path the arrow had traveled, her eyes narrowed. "What is this?"
The red haired boy, disconcertingly similar to Shiro save the spidery lines that ran across his skin, said nothing further, a fresh arrow notching itself to his bow in a flash of red energy. Next to him, the white haired girl in the red and black dress smiled broadly.
"This is the end of the war."
END.
Not much to say here today, so I didn't bother with the full Taiga Dojo format. . I'd just like to explain the 'Ripple' scene up there. I tend to view this fic, and describe it, as if it were a route in a VN. That section is a glimpse into a choice point. Specifically, it's one of the choices that determine which route you're on. There's a reason it's being shown here. And no, the choice he made in that segment does not lead to the UBW route.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy, and please let me know what you think in a review if you have time.
Happy reading!
