Chapter 14 – Stains
(Published: 10.16.12 - Beta: RavingScholar, Cloud Link Zero, Zaralann)
She was no longer cold. Her body floated unresponsively in a warm cocoon.
Through half lidded eyes, she saw the outline of a person moving around her. His touch was gentle and warm. There was no malice and no ill intentions in it. She didn't know who he was, but he was taking care of her with a gentleness she had long since forgotten.
She had questions, many of them…but they could wait. Right then, all she wanted was to keep floating in that never-ending warmness. Closing her eyes, she settled herself in a restful slumber; one she hadn't experienced in years, her plights put aside and forgotten, at least for a short time.
Shirou's face burned with the force of a thousand suns. Never before in his life had he been forced to go through such an ordeal. Actually, never before had he thought such a thing would qualify as an ordeal, but it did. Busy as he was, he had never really stopped to consider the thought of having a relationship with a girl, with all the benefits that came with it. Despite that, he was still a male, and while his mind sometimes went into the gutter he always quickly snapped out of it.
That being said, he'd never imagined that the first time his hands roamed over a woman's body, it would be done in such a manner.
Undressing Caster had been bad enough: her heavily wet clothes had clung to her body like a glove, making it all the more difficult to remove them without touching her in… improper places. In hindsight, all his efforts to keep his hands to himself as much as he could were for naught, seeing how the next step was drying her very naked body.
Not looking wasn't an option if he didn't want to accidentally grope her as he went about his task, so he was forced to use his peripheral vision to avoid staring at specific parts. Focusing as much as he could on her face, Shirou couldn't help but think that Caster was probably the most beautiful woman he had seen in his life… and then he promptly punched himself in the face for being a pervert.
By the end of it, his face looked like he had been on the wrong end of a beating, but at least the 'impure thoughts' had been smacked out of his mind. Redressing her was the least embarrassing part by that point. Thankfully, there was plenty of clothing that belong to Kiritsugu's wife, Irisviel, and a few pieces left behind by Taiga for one reason or another.
When he was done, he allowed himself to take a bath before dragging his exhausted body to bed where he finally managed to fall asleep.
Blink, breathe… Blink, breathe.
… Something was different. He could see. He could hear. He could smell. He could move. He had eyes, he had ears, he had a nose and he had limbs.
He had a body!
No…. it wasn't quite his as it was HIS. He inhabited it, he saw the world through it, but could not interact with nor control it.
…Until now.
Something had changed. Something that brought HIM closer to him, and he had a good idea of what it was.
A sin had been committed.
HE was stained, if only a little: comparable to speck of darkness in an otherwise overwhelming light.
It was already being cleansed, though. Such a tiny little stain couldn't reach HIS soul. It was only a droplet, after all. His control was already waning, and his consciousness was retiring to the depths of HIS soul.
It was such a pity. He wouldn't have minded being in control for a little while longer. Then again, there was a serious chance that HE would be stained a lot more in the future, and even if that failed there was still another path.
One way or another, his time would come.
Blink, breathe… blink, breathe.
Medea woke up with a feeling of surprise because, well, she really shouldn't have woken up at all. In fact, the last thing she could recall was blacking out under the rain, her energy fading into the brink of oblivion.
And now she was in a place she had never seen before, laying in one of those strange covers that the people of Japan seemed so fond of. The room she was in was made of wood, and aside from a small table and the…futon she had been sleeping in, there was no other furniture. The only other object that deserved attention was the bundle of robes neatly folded beside her. Among those, she could recognize a familiar piece of clothing: her robes.
A surge of panic went through her as she realized she had been undressed. Taking a peek under the covers, she saw that she was wearing a set of sleepwear…pajamas, if she wasn't mistaken. A quick check of her body confirmed that whomever had brought her there hadn't taken advantage of her unconscious state. She was relieved, of course, though the reasons and the identity of her rescuer were still to be determined.
Taking another moment to check her condition, she registered that her Prana reserves were low, though she was nowhere close to disappearing. She could hardly cast more than a couple of spells before having to recharge, though.
And speaking of recharging, the method used to transfer Prana to her fading body wasn't much to her liking. The taste of copper in her mouth told her all she needed to know. The Magus, whoever he or she was, had forced her to drink blood to maintain her existence.
Granted, there weren't many other less invasive methods to supply her with Prana while she was unconscious. Nevertheless, her recently acquired disgust for blood based Magecraft wasn't something she could easily dismiss.
Putting her confirmed well being aside, Caster slipped out from under the covers and slowly moved to the sliding door. She opened it just a little, enough to peek outside without being seen. From what she could gather, she was in a relatively big mansion, somewhere in the middle of Fuyuki judging by the roofs of other houses that she could see behind the walls.
It wasn't like she didn't expect Magi to live within the city limits, but it was absurd to keep a Servant without restraining her in such a place, considering that exposing Magecraft was a taboo in the current era. Either this Magus was an idiot, or they didn't care about what she could or would do.
Either way was fine with her, but she had no intention to leave before finding out why and by whom she had been helped. Not only out of gratitude or honor, of which she was perfectly capable, but also because she didn't like being ignorant of events that involved her so closely.
Taking a look back at her robes, she noticed another set of clothes right beside them. Picking them up, she found herself holding a simple yet well made purple gown and a cream colored long sleeved shirt.
Well, that was different. It appeared that her host had a better sense of hospitality than her deceased Master. He had a higher level of respect as well: Vincent hadn't bothered to provide her with anything. Clothes, quarters and all the things living humans used… she didn't require any of those to sustain herself or to perform her tasks, so she wasn't given any.
She considered slipping back into her robes for a moment before leaving the room, but finally decided to indulge her host. Quickly, she changed into the clothes she had been given. They weren't exactly her size, but they were still comfortable enough. She would have normally used more caution before touching or wearing anything from an unknown source, but she didn't think she was in any immediate danger, especially considering that she had been defenseless for several hours up to that point. Besides, showing a modicum of acceptance would serve to better hide her discomfort to the present situation when facing the resident Magus.
Now, speaking of Magi: how was she going to find her host in this huge place? She could feel no lingering trace of Prana, and there was no noise to speak of besides the faint buzzing of the car traffic she could hear in the distance. The only thing even remotely close to a clue was the faint smell of food being cooked not too far away.
… Food?
In spite of being dead tired, Shirou hadn't been able to sleep much. The nightmare of the fire tormented him for the couple of hours he managed to actually sleep. When Sakura and Taiga arrived that morning he told them he had a cold and wouldn't go to school. Considering his rather pale complexion that morning, it wasn't a hard excuse to believe.
Taiga had the gall to cheer the first cold Shirou had ever caught, saying something about him no longer being an idiot or some such nonsense. Shirou was too tired to retort and simply waved her off as she left with a worried looking Sakura.
His guest had yet to wake up, which was a good thing considering that he didn't want to explain her presence to his usual visitors. He wasn't particularly looking forward to the confrontation with the now master-less Servant, as he didn't know what sort of feelings she would have in regards to his meddling. As he had learned from Kiritsugu, not everyone wanted to be saved. Some people craved their own demise and would curse whoever was foolish enough to interfere with their self-destructive tendencies.
He was quite convinced that Caster's case wasn't of that type. However, Heroic Spirits were supposed to be people with a strong ego, and such a person might react badly to the unrequested acts of kindness of other people. He honestly hoped that it wasn't the case, but it was better be ready for anything.
On that note, it was a good idea to set up an environment where violence was the farthest thing from anyone's mind and he possessed a single, well-honed skill to achieve that result: cooking.
No one in their right mind would desecrate the holy ground sanctioned by the presence of a delicious meal. Even the most temperamental of all creatures, one Fujimura Taiga, would restrain her destructive impulses in the presence of Shirou's unparalleled kitchen skills. That's right: Shirou was quite confident that his culinary techniques could stop even Heroic Spirits in their tracks if only for the few short minutes required to consume their meal.
Rolling up his sleeves, he made a beeline toward his kitchen to set up the appropriate meeting place.
Medea moved through the sun-bathed corridors of the house, awed by the quiet atmosphere of the place. There was a sense of peace about the mansion that was in stark contrast with Vincent's mansion, something that Caster thought didn't fit the standards of Magi's residences in this age.
According to the information provided by the Grail during her summoning, modern Magi were even more hostile toward strangers than in her times, protecting their secrets with everything they had. At the very least, they would set up a Bounded Field to repel others by forcing a sense of dread that would fend off the weak minded as a preliminary form of defense.
This place had nothing of the sort. She could only describe it as warm and welcoming, though it could still be a façade to lull eventual intruders in a false sense of security. She certainly wasn't going to lower her guard just for that reason; she was better than that, but she could at the very least appreciate a far less gloomy environment.
It took her less than a minute to move from the room she had woken up into to the source of the –admittedly appetizing – smell of food.
She poked her head inside the room, a rather nice if mundane living room with one of those low-set tables and a… television set, the Grail provided, against one wall. The hallway led to what appeared to be a small kitchen where a redheaded boy, dressed in jeans and a white colored shirt with blue sleeves, was handling several pots and pans. He was humming to himself contentedly.
"Good morning," he greeted turning around to meet her stare. Pure-looking golden eyes met her gaze, and she immediately understood whom she was dealing with.
"Archer…-san," she acknowledged as a greeting, adding the proper suffix as an afterthought. A Heroic Spirit and a Servant she was, but she was also a Princess of Colchis, if merely a fallen one. She knew etiquette and proper behavior, and addressing her host, as well as the man who was most likely her savior, was the least she could do. It was a far cry from the way she called him the night before, but then again, the circumstances were just as different.
"I'm glad to see you're awake. Are you feeling any better?"
She considered his question in a way deeper than he probably meant. Her Prana reserves were a little on the low side, but not worse than how Vincent kept them while she was under his control. The lack of a stable energy source was troubling but not an immediate concern. Her physical condition was fine as well, seeing as the only wound was self-inflicted. Not to mention Rule Breaker wasn't meant as a weapon of physical offense, so there was probably not even a scar on her body.
However, all of that was the least of her concerns. She was alive and free. The Master she loathed so much was dead and gone. His plans for the war were in shambles, and all of his enemies were alive and well, to the best of her knowledge. Yes, she was feeling completely satisfied with Vincent's absolute defeat, and that made her feel better than she ever had since the day of her summoning a few weeks prior.
"I am well," she answered with a tiny smile she couldn't hold back. "Not in small part thanks to you, I suppose. You have my gratitude."
"Think nothing of it," he waved her off with what appeared to be a tinge of embarrassment. It looked like he didn't react well to praise. An interesting tidbit of knowledge she filed away for later. "I just did what I thought was right."
"Nevertheless, I would have died if not for your assistance. Speaking of which… your method to restore my Prana reserves…"
"Ah. Yeah… I hope it doesn't make you uncomfortable, but I honestly didn't have any other way…"
"It's all right," she explained. "My former Master made a horrible use of his blood and Magecraft, but I can't fault your intentions nor their results."
"That's a relief," he sighed. "I wasn't sure how you'd react at being force-fed a stranger's blood. I mean, it does sound rather creepy."
Medea nodded. "That it does, and though I would have preferred another method, it's still preferable to the alternative. Speaking of which, it must have taken a great deal of blood and Prana to restore my reserves. Are you really sure you should be up and about so early after everything that happened last night?"
"It's okay," he reassured, waving his hand as if to brush away her concerns. "I heal faster than most people… and I really didn't feel like sleeping. Not after what I discovered last night. No offense, but I had hoped that the Grail War wouldn't happen ever again."
"Ah, yes. As I recall you seemed to have a deeper insight on the inner working of the Grail System than what I was summoned with. Would you mind clarifying a few things for me?"
"Sure but before that… are you hungry? It's a bit late for breakfast, but I didn't eat anything since last night. I'm absolutely starving."
"… As a Servant, my existence is sustained sufficiently by Prana alone. There's no need for me to eat any food."
"That's… great, I guess," Archer said, scratching his head. "But that's not what I asked."
Indeed it wasn't. She considered his offer for a moment. Truth to be told, her former Master had never even thought about offering her something. Food was one of the many things that Vincent didn't even consider offering her. In addition to that, she had to admit that the smell coming from behind the boy was positively enticing. While she didn't need it to survive, she could still enjoy it.
"… I would like some. Thank you."
"Great," he exclaimed with clear satisfaction in his eyes. "Have a seat. I'll be there in a moment."
Nodding her appreciation she took a seat on one of the cushions placed around the low-set table that served as chairs. She didn't quite understand this country's fixation with sleeping and eating on the floor, and while the Grail had provided her with enough knowledge of the local ways and customs for her to get by, she still felt uncomfortable sitting in such a position.
Then again, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Hospitality, no matter how unusual to her standards, wasn't something she was accustomed to both in her lifetime and her existence as a Servant so far. It was a nice change, one she intended to enjoy to its fullest without shame. She felt entitled to at least that much.
The Archer boy soon came out of the kitchenette, balancing a couple of trays with the finesse of an accomplished waiter. She hadn't quite pegged him as the 'housewife' type upon their first meeting, but who was she to judge what he did with his free time? It was a stark and somewhat amusing contrast to the persona he showed the previous night, as well as a considerably refreshing change in the type of characters she had grown accustomed to dealing with.
Then again, the boy probably had no idea just who he had rescued and welcomed into his home. She was quite convinced that, if he knew, he wouldn't have looked at her twice, much less helped her in any way.
Speaking of which…
"Excuse my bluntness, but I have to as ask," she began as the boy set the plates up in front of her. "Why did you come to my aid last night?"
"Hm? Do I need a reason to help anyone beside wanting to help?" he asked with genuine curiosity in his voice, as if the thought of gaining something from his deed had never once crossed his thoughts.
She blinked in surprise. Twice. It wasn't like she believed that selfless kindness didn't exist…she just wasn't supposed to be able to receive it. The Witch of Betrayal had been scorned and despised for far too long to immediately think that that was the right answer to her question.
"I suppose not," she finally conceded.
"I thought so," he replied with a grin as he finished setting up the table. He sat in front of her on the other side of the table, looking satisfied for some reason.
Medea looked at the plates in front of her. It looked like a fairly simple meal of vegetable, fish, rice and some sliced fruits. Nothing fancy, but everything had been arranged with great care.
"Itadakimasu," he said, giving his approval to start the meal.
Medea served herself a portion of just about everything, not really expecting anything out of the ordinary from her host's cuisine. She was forced to reconsider her initial assessment on the very first bite. The range of flavors was simple, yes, but the way the spices and seasoning blended together subtly but firmly gave her tongue an entirely new level of appreciation for his skill behind the counter. She used to be a Princess, and as such someone entitled to savor the best recipes cooked by the greatest chefs of her country. Even with that experience, the level of Archer's cuisine was something else entirely.
The meal was consumed in silence even though Medea had several questions she wanted answered. Her mouth was far too occupied savoring every bite to waste time on things that could be said later. She didn't even bother considering her discomfort in using those strange sticks, lost as she was in her culinary bliss.
She didn't believe it could be just mundane cuisine. No, it had to be some sort of Magecraft, perhaps Alchemy. Yes, that most certainly more sense, because she couldn't possibly believe otherwise. She would have to pry into his Mysteries later on. This wasn't the kind of Craft she could pass up.
But that was for later. Now it was time for yet another portion…
Shirou didn't quite know what to think. He was quite relieved that Caster had reacted positively to his help and his method to replenish her Prana. He was even happier when he managed to overcome her reticence in having breakfast with him, but….
Where was she putting all of that food?
With fast yet graceful movements, she was emptying every single plate on the table. He couldn't quite understand how she could be so elegant while devouring everything at that speed. Of course, he liked when his cooking was appreciated; who didn't? But something like this, that was just so beyond the concept of human appetite? Yeah, it had to be a Servant thing.
He wasn't foolish enough to comment aloud on her appetite, of course. He knew enough about women to know better than to point out anything along the lines of calorie intake. He had no intention to step on that specific landmine. Ever. He was reckless, yes, but not suicidal.
He made a mental note to stock up on food, just in case, but now he had to start eating too before there was nothing left for himself.
Five minutes later, the plates were crystal clean. Not a single crumb could be found on the table.
"It was excellent," Caster said wiping her mouth with a napkin, satisfaction clearly shining in her eyes. She seemed a little embarrassed with her show of appetite, though.
"Good to know," Shirou chuckled as he began cleaning the table. "I'm quite confident in my cooking skills."
"With good reason," Caster agreed with a solemn nod, somewhat restoring her dignity with that single praise.
Shirou was secretly relieved that he had managed to break the ice with the mysterious woman. He wasn't quite sure how to handle her but it seemed that she was in a rather good mood–definitely different from the previous night. Then again, Guilford probably had a way of bringing the worst out of most people, so he wasn't quite sure of which was her true character.
Leaving the plates in the sink to wash later, he quickly returned to the table were Caster was patiently waiting for him.
"So…," he began returning to his place in front of her, "the Grail War."
"Indeed. Judging by our last conversation on this topic you seem to know more than my Master did. Unless he was holding things back from me, but I don't think that's the case. How did come across this knowledge if you don't mind me asking? Do you belong to one of the founding families, perhaps?"
Archer shook his head. "No, though my late father participated in the previous war as representative of one of them: the Einzbern. Everything I know comes from his experience in the past conflict, as well as from what he could gather by investigating the Grail afterward."
If possible, Medea's attention was even more focused now. Granted, knowledge of the Heroes who participated in the previous conflicts was hardly relevant since they didn't carry over to the next War. Nevertheless, the experience of a Master who had lived through the entire conflict was truly priceless, for even if those who fought it weren't the same, the system didn't change from installment to installment.
"I see," she replied evenly, carefully hiding her enthusiasm. It would do no good to show too much eagerness. "What did he found out?"
"Before that," Archer interrupted, "there is something I need to know from you. Depending on the answer, I might have to refrain from sharing what I know."
She had been expecting that. It was fair, all things considered. He had already done more than enough for her without asking anything in return. Though if he wanted to know her identity, as she expected he did, there was hardly any chance he would willingly share what he knew if he had any insight on her legend.
Sadly, she didn't have the resources to force him to speak without again risking disappearing. Besides, she didn't really want to turn against him while she owed him so much. Though she was the Witch of Betrayal and had ascended to the Throne of Heroes thanks to the atrocities and sins she had committed in life, she hadn't walked down that path of her own volition.
"What is it?" she asked prepared to see him change from friendly to hostile.
"What is it that you wanted the Grail for?"
Wait…just that? That was an incredibly silly question. Sure, he could determine a lot from her motives, but he could have deduced that and more by discovering her identity. Wouldn't her name make for a far more valuable piece of information? It was the most important thing that every other Master and Servant would have wanted to know, after all.
He just didn't make sense in her opinion. Then again, she didn't know his motives either. As he obviously was not interested in owning the wish-granting device, his thought processes about the entire situation might be different.
It was her luck that she wouldn't have to reveal her identity, and yet… she felt a bit embarrassed to openly admit her wish. It was like admitting she was ashamed of herself, which incidentally happened to be the truth. Even though her sins weren't her choice, even if they had been forced upon her they still stained her soul to this very day. If only she could make up for them. If only she could have…
"A second chance," she said with a feeble voice and without looking at him. "I desired to live again as a free person and to make up for the mistakes I committed in my lifetime."
"… I see," he acknowledged after a moment. "I'm sorry if I asked something unpleasant, but I had to know. The Grail can't fall into the wrong hands, you understand."
"I do," she agreed firmly. She actually did understand. She knew full well that an all-powerful wish-granting machine shouldn't belong to someone who'd use it for despicable things; such as forcing other people to commit acts they didn't want to do. A person like her late Master would have brought nothing but sorrow for everyone but himself, and while she was willing to commit even more sins on her way to the Grail, she didn't believe it was a good thing. Hers was, after all, a completely selfish wish.
"That's good, but like I said the Grail is just one huge hoax. If you know how to make your wish come true on your own, I'd suggest you forget about it entirely."
"Why should I?" She inquired. "Even though it's not what it's claimed to be, it would still make a very powerful catalyst."
"Because it's broken."
"Broken?" Caster asked, brows furrowing.
"Yes," he confirmed. "I'm not privy to all details since most of the this knowledge was gathered after my father… fell out of grace with the Einzbern, but as far as I know during the Third War an irregular Servant was summoned. I don't know who he or she was, only that it was of the Avenger Class."
"Avenger? There is no such class as far as I know."
"I know. The Einzbern abused their knowledge of the System to rig the War in their favor, though it didn't seem to have worked as they intended. Apparently, the Servant they summoned was quite weak, barely above a human in terms of strength. However, its presence became a problem after he was defeated."
"After? How could it affect the War after his death…unless his Noble Phantasm was something that activated only after being defeated? Perhaps a weapon that worked on the principle of retribution?"
"It could be, but he didn't manage to gather much info in that regard. All I know is that from that moment onward, the Grail was stained and the summoning of Anti-Heroes had become possible.
"Is that a bad thing?" she asked, obviously wanting to know what his stance was on the subject.
"Not necessarily. I mean, through history one's hero was usually someone else's villain. I can't exactly judge a person I don't know personally based on their legends alone. I wasn't planning on meeting any of your kind in my lifetime, but considering who my father's Servant turned out to be I prefer to keep an open mind about it."
"… A most wise decision," she said in an even tone.
"Thank you. Anyway that's not what I'm concerned about. The problem is that since that Servant died, the Grail became something capable of realizing wishes only through destruction. In the course of the last war, the cursed substance that spilled from the Grail caused a fire that claimed the lives of over five hundred people."
"That seems a little farfetched. How can you say that with absolute certainty? Couldn't it be that the Master or Servant who had reached the Grail had wished for such a thing in the first place?"
"No," he answered bitterly. "Seeing how it was my father who obtained the Grail as well as the one who destroyed it upon discovering its corrupted nature."
"Your… father was the winner of the previous War?" Caster asked. She just couldn't believe her luck. Even though she didn't really desire the Grail anymore, if she wanted her wish fulfilled she still had to survive the coming conflict. That meant winning, which in turn meant gaining possession of the not-so-holy Cup. Having access to the knowledge of the previous winner was a priceless advantage. "Wait…what do you mean destroyed?"
"When he realized what the Grail actually was, he forced his Servant to use her Noble Phantasm to destroy its physical manifestation. Mind you, even though it was destroyed by an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm it still possessed enough energy and maliciousness to destroy a good portion of the city."
That was undoubtedly unsettling. If this information was accurate, then possessing the Grail itself might have been a bigger problem than the struggle to obtain it. However, she couldn't just take his words at face value without some kind of proof. It wasn't like she didn't believe his honesty, because the boy was far too transparent for lies, but he might have been deceived or mislead.
"I'm sorry if I sound ungrateful for doubting you after all you've done for me, but do you have any proof of what you're saying?"
"No, you don't have to apologize. I would probably question my words in your place if I didn't trust the source…" he trailed off. "There is actually something I can show you, if you want to realize just how wicked the Grail actually is. Are you feeling up for a walk?"
Dojima groaned and woke up. His head was throbbing painfully, and he couldn't focus on where he was. It took him a long minute to realize he was in his car, with his head resting against the wheel in a most uncomfortable position.
"Hmmrrgg… What the hell?"
Why was he in his car again? Oh, right. He had been watching Emiya's place hoping to find a definite connection between him and Archer. He had to have fallen asleep at some point during the night, though it was quite strange since it had never happened before.
Pulling himself to a straight position in his seat, his backbone creaked loudly as did his neck.
"Damn… I'm too old for this shit," he protested. He stretched his arms as much as he could as he yawned loudly. It was in this outstretched position that he noticed the first of many discrepancies. When his eyes fell on the odometer, he almost got stuck with his jaw stretched open in a yawn, and it took him a serious effort to recompose himself from the surprise.
"What the fuck?" he asked to no one in particular as he held the steering wheel with both hands, almost sticking his nose in it to look beyond. He blinked, rubbed his eyes and blinked again. No fucking way.
The mark of a good detective was his eye for details. Being able to notice the tiniest details meant being able to discern the truth in an ocean of lies. On this regard, Dojima made for a terrific detective. In particular, he always made a point of committing to mind how many kilometers his car had travelled every time he stopped it. It was a good way to communicate his general position to the station during a car chase in an unfamiliar part of town or outside the city limits.
That's why he could help but notice the difference of over fifty kilometers from the number he remembered when he last stopped the car. Normally he would have chalked it up to a mistake, but that wasn't the only thing that wasn't as he recalled.
He was no longer wearing his coat, for one thing. Looking around he found it on the back seat, wrinkled in a way that suggested that something moderately heavy had been place on it. His shirt was slightly damp, as if he had spent at least a small amount of time under the rain that had obviously fallen during the night while he 'slept.'
Something didn't add up. He didn't understand how but if he had to judge by what he could see he, or at least his car had gone somewhere the previous night. But how could it be? He could understand falling asleep while on the watch but not everything else. He hadn't heard of sleep-driving before, and unless he was the first known case of such a condition something else had to have happened. Something he had no recollection of.
He had jokingly compared Fuyuki's situation to that old American TV series on aliens and other paranormal activities but that was what it amounted to: a joke. He wasn't Fox-fucking-Mulder, and this was Japan, not the United States.
There wasn't some freaking shadow government plotting the conquest of Earth with a hostile alien species or something ridiculous like that…
Or was there? He was beginning to doubt his rationality, to be honest. Archer's words about an organization that could easily reach and eliminate anyone with none the wiser now had a lot more weight. An organization the vigilante had connections with.
Could it really be true? Could the strange sightings, suicides, disappearances and murders have something to do with the paranormal? A week ago he would have laughed at the notion, now he wasn't so fast at dismissing the concept anymore.
Now that he thought about it, he had heard in passing of two JSDF jets disappearing over the city after transmitting something about monsters and some other nonsense like that. He hadn't bothered to connect that rumor to his investigation because he had put it out of his mind right after he heard it from none other than Adachi himself. After all, the man was famous for talking about everything that passed through his head, be it confidential or not.
Now he couldn't just ignore all of this senseless stuff that was happening around him all the time, not after having a blackout of several hours he couldn't account for. Had he been abducted and later made to forget about something he wasn't supposed to see? Was Earth's invasion by alien forces really starting from Fuyuki?
And more importantly… was he just out of his fucking mind?
No, no, no. He had to stay calm and think this through before going off the deep end. He had to go back home, get some proper sleep and then try to remember all he could about the previous night. If necessary he would visit a therapist, a hypnotist or whatever and have this mess sorted out.
Starting the engine he sped down the road without bothering to look back in the rear mirror. If he did he might have seen his prime suspect leaving his house accompanied by a woman with strangely pointed ears….
"Archer-san, where are we going?" Medea asked as she walked by his side. I'll show you proof, he had said to her before leaving his house with her.
"It's Emiya Shirou. My name I mean," the redhead said. "Don't call me that in public or you'll put me in trouble. You know… secret identity and all that stuff."
"Oh my," she chuckled amusedly. "You are just like a Servant, aren't you? Hiding yourself behind a title that sums up the core of your skills but says nothing of your true potential."
"Yeah. I didn't miss the irony either; trust me. In my defense, it wasn't a name of my choosing: it just kind of stuck on me. I've just never seen any reason to point out otherwise."
"Shirou-san it is, then. You will excuse me if I don't reveal my true name as of now."
"Sure," he conceded. "I know that Servants aren't supposed to reveal their names to anyone but their Masters. Don't worry about it."
"That's much appreciated… though I have to admit you are quite the strange individual for a Magus."
"I'm not a Magus. Neither my father nor I call ourselves by that title. Well, technically we do for convenience's sake but we don't really identify ourselves with that term."
"Why is that? Is there something wrong with being a Magus?"
"Not really wrong, just different," he said as he shrugged. "In this day and age, a proper Magus is someone whose efforts are entirely for the sake of advancing their Craft. I and my father prefer the title of 'Magic Users' to that because we are people whose reason to practice and wield Magecraft doesn't lie in the Craft itself."
"I see. It is indeed an important distinction, though in my era there wasn't much choice between the two. Those who wielded power, no matter what kind were feared, coveted, and involved in conflicts often against their will."
"Yeah, that's another thing that sets us apart. Magi hide their Craft because they don't want to share it and because they don't want to be bothered for it. My father always told me that Magic had to be kept secret because power breeds conflict."
"It sounds like he was a very wise man," she commented honestly. Medea didn't know much about Archer…Shirou's father, but it was obvious that the boy held his deceased parent in high regard and, by the sound of it with at least some good reason. To be able to easily throw away such power, no matter how corrupted, was the mark of a great man and a trait that had perhaps been inherited by his son.
"He was," he confirmed, "but the price for his wisdom was a steep one and eventually drove him to an early grave."
"That is often the case," she agreed before they both fell silent. Medea capitalized on the lack of conversation to ponder the current development.
Much to her surprise she was still in the game. Though the Grail was probably no longer a viable resource, she still had a chance to make her wish come true with her own hands. It wouldn't be easy, but she knew enough about Magecraft to achieve True Incarnation if she managed to survive the conflict. Her relationship with the closest Magus she knew about was at the very least cordial, which was a great improvement compared with her late Master. She didn't still know with absolute certainty what his stance in regard to the War was, but if his behavior so far was any indication he would involve himself in the coming conflict if only to stop it once and for all.
She could use that. A painfully good guy like him was the prime example of an exploitable resource, both as an exceptional front line fighter and as a decent source of Prana. In addition, she could also leech all the energy she required from the local leylines if she could locate a nexus to tap from. Adding that to the early time of her summoning would give her an enormous advantage over the competition.
As she considered several scenarios and their various outcomes, they travelled from the residential area to the center of the city. Finally, they stood in front of an area that desperately wanted to pass for a park…and failed badly.
"What… is this?" She almost choked out her question.
The place was pregnant with malice and hatred to the point that it was almost suffocating to a spiritual entity such as her. The effect was further amplified by her natural sensitivity to Magecrafts.
"This is the place where the Grail appeared at the end of the last War. You can feel it, right? Over such a wide area and after almost ten years, it still lingers like a curse. Do you actually think that anything even remotely human could harbor such hatred and malevolence after being destroyed by an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm?"
"No," she choked out, "it definitely can't be human."
"Angra Mainyu," he said. "That's how the Grail presented itself to my father. It's the name of a Zoroastrian god that embodies humanity's wickedness and evils."
"That's not possible. Actual divinities cannot be summoned by the Grail, much less be bound into a Servant's existence."
"I know. I have no idea how it happened, but the best explanation we came up with is that it had a connection with Servant Avenger somehow. Maybe it was a personal curse that affected the Servant's soul and then passed over to the Grail, or maybe it was something else entirely. Regardless of the reason, when it came into contact with the Grail it infected it."
"It shouldn't work like that," she objected. "Even if the Grail works by consuming the souls of the defeated Servants, it shouldn't be affected by them."
"Yes, and Anti-Heroes shouldn't be available to be summoned either ,and yet…"
"… I can see your point," she reluctantly agreed. Coincidentally, from the third war on the summoning of Anti-Heroes had become possible. Her former Master had told her as much without being able to explain the cause. Her own presence was a testament that the System was not working as originally intended. In addition to that, the severely cursed area she was now standing on was proof enough that whatever 'malfunction' the Grail had incurred was heavily malignant. It was definitely not something to meddle with, if possible. Unlimited power and ill intentions were an extremely bad combination even in the eyes of a Witch. That aside…
"Shirou-san, you don't seem to be affected by this place as much as I am."
That was a detail that bothered her. Of course her own susceptibility to this curse was far greater than any human being, but the lingering maliciousness was so intense that even normal humans kept themselves away from that place. How was a Magus, a person sensible to the World's inner workings, standing there without looking any worse for the wear?
"I'm used to it," he shrugged. "I've been coming to this place from time to time. A reminder of what I fight for, if you will."
There was more than that to his statement, she could tell as much. However, she preferred not to pry in what was obviously a personal matter, not until it proved to be relevant. His motives for wanting to fight were already clear to her. Whatever the cause, Shirou wasn't a person that would just stand aside and watch people suffer.
He proved it the night before, when he raided the mansion of another Magus to help two girls in peril. He showed it even more when he went out of his way to save her, as she was about to die, offering her warm bed and food.
Emiya Shirou was a person who fought for other people. Whether the motives were selfish or selfless it didn't matter. He knew what he would do in the coming conflict. The question now was… what would she do?
When Rin finished the ritual to purify Yukiko from the remnants of Guilford's Magecraft and to modify her memories, the sun was already up in the sky. She contacted Yukiko's parents and the school to inform they would not attend classes that morning due to a cold.
She dragged herself in the shower and then to her bed, where she collapsed in an exhausted slumber. When she woke up again it was nearly noon and yet she was still tired. Yukiko was still sleeping, and she would continue for at least another few hours. She had been affected by Guilford's spell far longer than Rin. That worked in her favor for a change, as she had several things she wanted to do, even if she was reluctant to leave her friend out of her sight for too long.
Too bad that she couldn't postpone it at all. She had to get to the bottom of this sick business.
After a quick meal she left her house, heading to the only place where she could get some answers: Fuyuki Church.
"Kirei!" she shouted as she barged into the building.
"My, my, Rin," Kotomine chuckled at his disciple's distress from behind his altar. "I didn't raise you to be such an uncivil person. What would your parents think if they saw you now?"
"Cut the crap. I'm not in the mood for your mind games. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Hm? What are you referring to exactly?"
"The Grail War, what else? Why didn't you tell me that the Servants were already being summoned?"
"Oh? Is that is what this is all about? Very well, then. Rin, why should I have mentioned it to you?"
"Why should… Are you kidding me? I'm the heir of Tohsaka and the Second Owner of this land!"
"What exactly is your point? What are you to the Grail as of now? Are you a Master, perhaps?"
"Urgh…," she groaned. Count on Kirei to twist the knife in the wound.
"No, you are not," he continued as if he were talking to a small child. "As of today your connection to the Grail is non-existent, and as such there was no reason for me to inform you of anything."
"Are you kidding me? Master or not I'm still the Magus in charge of this land. I have to be kept updated on these events."
"Is that so? So long as the War doesn't begin, you and the rest of this city aren't going to be affected."
Like hell she wasn't. She barely got away with her life just a few short hours before. How could this jerk say something so… Wait a moment…
"You don't know, do you? I met a Servant, here in this town, just last night," she said this with the sweet smile of someone who had just one-upped a person she disliked profoundly. She was satisfied to see his amusement at her expense melt like snow.
"What?"
"Servant Caster and her Master to be precise, though the latter might now be a different person since the last time I saw them."
Kirei brows furrowed. It was obvious that, while aware of the Grail's movement as expected from the appointed supervisor, he had no idea that the Servants were already visiting the battlefield.
"Tell me everything," he demanded. She half-considered telling him no, but she was still in debt to him for the help he gave her to find Yukiko. Besides, his duties as overseer were not to be taken lightly, and in her capacity of Second Owner she couldn't keep any critical information to herself.
And so she told him what happened the night before, from the kidnapping to her escape from Guilford's mansion. It took a good half an hour to retell the whole tale, but by the end of it Kirei looked positively troubled.
"Another Magus," he said pensively.
"It's safe to assume so, since I can't see who else could be both interested and skilled enough to slip past the Wards and eliminate a fully trained Magus and Master, even with the help of his Servant."
"… This is troubling news indeed. Though the early summoning of a Servant is not unexpected, their acting outside of the boundaries of the conflict might cause a violation of the rule of secrecy."
"True. If we are to control this situation, then I need to know everything I can. Why is the War starting earlier? Which Servants have been summoned already?"
"Only Servant Berserker and Servant Caster have been summoned, and so far no one has been defeated."
"Which means that whomever killed Guilford made a contract with his Servant. I assumed as much. The question is, what's wrong with the Grail? Why the early start and why didn't I get a Command Seal yet?"
"Rin, you misunderstand the Grail. It's his decision who gets a Command Seal, and while the founding families are usually the first to be chosen that is not an absolute rule. If the Grail hasn't chosen you, then it doesn't deem you fit to fight to claim it."
"What nonsense. I spent the past ten years of my life in preparation; how could anyone be more fit to participate in the War than me?"
"The answer to that question would be obvious to just about anyone who knows the real you, Rin."
"W-what do you mean by that?"
"Simply that you don't desire the Grail strongly enough for it to answer your will to fight," the fake priest said in his usual monotone voice.
"That's complete nonsense," she protested vehemently.
"Believe what you wish," he sighed. "You alone can make or unmake your delusions, after all. Moving onto more important topics, the reason for the Grail to be acting up so early lies in the end of the last War. As the winner rejected the prize of the conflict ten years ago, the Grail had never consumed its power to fulfill a wish. As such, it took only a portion of the intended time to return to a proper condition to start another War. However, I believe that the meddling of the Einzberns might have changed the way the Servants are summoned."
"What do you mean?"
"It's my belief that the Einzberns have forced the Grail to assign them a Command Seal and to summon a Servant before it had reached its full power. If I had to guess, I think that the Grail is now assigning a Command Seal every time he gathers enough power to do so, where normally he would wait to be fully charged and then choose the Masters at the same time."
"Wait," Rin halted him, "if what you're saying it's true, then it means that there might be an interval of several weeks or even months before each Master is chosen."
"That would be a logical assumption. Berserker was summoned over two months ago, Caster around five weeks later. By my estimation, the next Servant could be summoned in a little over a month. If you sharpen your resolve by then, the Grail might actually choose you this time."
"Hmpf. I don't need you of all people to tell me that," she said. "What do you plan to do with Caster's new Master?"
"Nothing at all," he replied with that annoying calmness of his. "So long as they don't act in a manner that would compromise the secret, then there is no reason for me to move against them. Besides, what would you expect me to do? Barring betrayals on the Servant's part, only another Master and Servant could properly fight against them."
"Nevermind. I see that I have to take care of everything myself in this instance. Well, thank you for nothing I guess."
"I wish you the best of luck then," he said amiably…as amiably as Kirei could, anyway. "Try not to get yourself killed before the War has even properly started, would you?"
Rin left the building without bothering to reply. She had more pressing things to deal with. The preparations for the summoning were complex and time consuming, not to mention that she had lost to Guilford her family pendant, which had several years of stored Prana. She had intended to use it to fuel her ritual and to summon a Servant of the Saber class when the time came. Now she would have to start from scratch, hoping that the Grail would acknowledge her as worthy of being a Master.
All in all, she did not expect to be in a fouler mood after her meeting with Kirei, but in all honesty, she should have seen it coming.
"You appear to be amused, Kirei," a smooth voice said from a corner of the chapel.
"Why, I certainly am. The War has yet to properly, begin and yet the aspiring contestants are slaughtering each other just to participate in the conflict."
"What a bunch of lowlifes curs," the golden haired man said as he stepped out from the darkness. "Biting and barking at each other for a treasure they have no right to hold. Dogs and thieves the lot of them."
"Ah, but it's at a time like this that a few worthy individuals step up to the challenge, don't they? The mad barking of rabid dogs is bound to gather the attention of far more interesting people, if anything."
"Hmpf," the golden man scoffed, unconvinced. "I shall trust your judgment in this regard. You have always provided the best sort of entertainment, after all. I shall look forward to whatever show you set up this time."
"I won't disappoint, King of Heroes."
"See that you do not, Kirei. A bored King is a dangerous one."
Kirei held back his remark that the King in front of him was dangerous just about all the time, choosing to bow politely as he watched him leave. In the past ten years they had developed an odd relationship, similar to that of a King with his confidant, but Kirei never once deluded himself into thinking that Gilgamesh considered him a friend. He knew quite well that the golden king considered him no more than a playwright, a subject that worked for his amusement.
It was only because he was looking forward to the next Grail War that Gilgamesh had not yet cleansed the putrid modern world that sullied his eyes. That was probably the only thing they truly had in common: an unlimited amount of patience. Yes, patience. For even if the King of Heroes was a temperamental man with no tolerance to everything and anything he perceived as not up to his standards, he knew how to wait for a fruit to be ripe before picking it.
And so Kirei would strive to satisfy the King's expectation. Not so much because he cared whether he was satisfied or not, but because he knew that whatever amused the incarnated Hero would likely entertain himself even more.
'That's strange,' Adachi Tohru mused as he closed his cell phone. That morning he had been ready to receive a call from his nameless employer to confirm that the girl he intended to kidnap had in fact been abducted. At that point, he was supposed to report any and all progress his colleagues made in the following investigation…but apparently there was no missing girl at all.
He immediately tried to call his employer to ask what had changed and why hadn't he been informed. There was no answer. He tried several times, and each and every time the line was disconnected. Something was extremely wrong. When someone disappeared without warning during a job, then it probably meant that said someone had been compromised.
Adachi wasn't a fool. The money for him was just an added bonus to the amusement he got from playing other people from the shadows. He wasn't greedy, and he had no intention of spending any time in jail. As soon as he realized that the situation was no longer safe, he got rid of that number, which wasn't registered in his name but "confiscated" from a criminal a few months back; emptied the bank account he used to receive his payment, the one registered under an assumed identity; and generally cut any ties he had made with the ongoing operations.
It was better to lay low for a while, but that didn't mean he would remain inactive. He had to make sure that whatever had happened to his "business partner" hadn't exposed him as well. So far he only had an address out of town linked to the telephone number he used to contact him. He wasn't stupid enough to go check out the place immediately. Someone might keeping an eye on it, after all.
He could, however, take a look into that Tohsaka girl's life and see why a man was willing to pay considerable amounts of money to get his hands on her. Certainly, if someone was willing to go to such lengths, then there had to be something worth the effort, right?
XXX
AN: Not really much to say about this one. I hope you enjoyed and thanks for all the reviews.