Prelude to War (IV)
In the thick of the forest around Fuyuki, the silence was broken by the sound of consecutive explosions. Several trees fell, crashing loudly into the underbrush.
After what seemed like an eternity, the ruckus quieted down. With the inhabitants of the forest having run for their lives a long time before, the only sound that could be heard was the ragged breathing of an exhausted Magus.
As he regained his bearing, Shirou examined the devastation he had wrought. Needless to say, Gaia wouldn't be particularly fond of him on that day.
Since he returned from Misaki, he had a lot on his mind. Chief among them was the techniques he had brought to bear that night in the museum.
The Overedge applications of Kanshou and Bakuya had proven themselves to be a formidable tool with an incredible amount of destructive power.
That night, he had replicated - traced - them in rapid succession, using them in a way that he realized was unique to himself. With his aligned Element and Origin, his range of applications for anything bladed was beyond that of any of other living human.
He could replicate priceless Mystic Codes, overloading and destroying them repeatedly as necessary. In a world where Magecraft was dwindling it was an outrageous skillset to have.
Even so, it paled compared to what came next.
He closed his eyes and called forth the image inside his mind. He did not follow his usual steps, instead recalled the intense focus of that night and pulled.
"I am the bone of my sword."
He opened his eyes again and sure enough there it was, firmly in his hand.
Rule Breaker.
The serpentine blade that was the trademark of the Witch of Betrayal. He hadn't told Medea that he could do this yet. Even though it was proof she had lived a cursed existence, her Noble Phantasm was inherently a part of her history and callously replicating it without even a fraction of the price she had been forced to pay was an insult at best.
It was, after all, the sublimation of her legend into a concept that transcended time and space to rest upon the Throne of Heroes.
It was different than with Avalon. Shirou had been living with the sacred scabbard inside himself for most of his life. It was almost a part of himself at that point.
To be honest, he still couldn't wrap his mind around the concept. It was beyond ludicrous. Shirou himself realized as much, just as he realized that he did not understand the true reach of his abilities yet.
Hence he secluded himself deep into the forest, one afternoon after school.
In the wilderness, far away from civilization he could go all out without fearing to destroy private property (mostly his own) or accidentally harm bystanders.
Of course, he put up a Boundary Field just in case. There was no point in taking chances.
Having regained his energy a little, he dismissed the Noble Phantasm and called forth another set of the Married Blades.
Slowly letting Prana trickle inside them, they stretched to their wing-like form of jagged feathers. It had taken more than a few attempt to reach a point where he could make them this way without risking to have them blow up in his face.
In this state, not only their offensive abilities were highly enhanced but also their their attraction factor. It took a whole lot of effort to keep them apart. If by any chance he stepped beyond the line between Overedge and truly Broken form, the feather-like shards would explode in rapid succession and he would have the equivalent of unstable rockets in his hands. Back in the museum, he had to let them go quickly lest they dragged him with them.
"..."
He glanced between the two swords and the large tree several dozen meters in front of him.
"What if...," he wondered and then brought both Swords behind his back as if they truly were a set of wings.
Caster was working on preparing dinner when the doorbell rang.
She already knew who it was. She could tell Saber was coming closer long before she actually sensed her, since they had tripped her warning Bounded Field.
Of course, where Saber went her Master followed. Or vice-versa. Hence, she wasn't surprised when she opened the door to find them standing there.
"Greetings Caster," Tohsaka said cordially. In the past few weeks, as they worked side by side into making the fail-safes for the Grail, they had warmed up a little to each other. For the younger Magus, Caster was a supreme expert in Magecraft, therefore she soaked in every bit of knowledge the Servant of the spell was willing to part with, even if they used two separate casting systems that were useless to one another.
Caster on her part had to admit that Tohsaka was an fast learner with a very keen mind. Magecraft might have changed and dwindled with the passing of the centuries, but the importance of sharp wits hadn't diminished any. That much, she could respect.
Thus, with the possibility of conflict between them completely removed an improvement of their relationship was the least that could happen.
Saber was still wary of her, but that was to be expected.
"Rin, Saber. Do come inside," she welcomed, motioning for them to step in the house.
"Is Emiya home? I've brought the blood he asked me," the younger Magus said patting the bag she had with her. Draining enough blood to make a Mystic Code using the methods available made it necessary to make several small withdrawals over the course of several days, lest she jeopardized her own health. At last, it seemed she had gathered the required amount for the first stage.
"Shirou is out right now, but it shouldn't be long before he returns."
"Good, I wanted to discuss some details about this Mystic Code he said he wants to make. Do you think it would be possible to integrate some jewels into the design?"
"As backup power sources? It should be simple enough. Shirou wanted to focus entirely on defensive features. He said something about you being able to take care of the offensive on your own."
Tohsaka made a half smile, something between wry and actually amused.
"I'm not really sure how I'd rank against someone who takes on the Church's Executors and is planning to join Apostle Hunts, but I'm confident that I can pack a decent punch myself."
Medea decided that Rin was being very literal and pressed the matter no further.
"I see. I'll leave it to your judgement then. What about you, Saber?"
"What about me?" the blond Servant asked in turn.
"Do you want something better looking than that suit of armor you haul around? It's a shame for a pretty face like your to be trapped into something that bulky."
Saber frowned slightly. "That's hardly a reason to consider swapping equipment."
"I don't know," Rin said at her side, amusement dripping in her voice. "I can see where she's coming from. It is kind of a shame."
"Master!" Saber protested.
"Isn't it?" Caster agreed. "It's really a waste of her refined features. The color suits her, but the design is just horrid. And what about the gauntlet? I can understand the defensive advantages, but did it have to look that ugly? Don't get me started on the greaves."
If there was a thing women took seriously, regardless of the era the hailed from, was footwear.
"Listen, Caster-" Saber tried to object, only to be cut short by her own Master.
"I know, right? Beside, they are Mana constructs so it's not like the shape would have affected their capabilities either way. It's really just a design flaw. No excuses."
Caster nodded emphatically. "Absolutely. I see you understand pretty well. We should do something about it."
"I agree. I have a few outfits back home that fit her, but nothing that truly brings out her beauty."
"I think ribbons would suit her facials features extremely well. They would make a good contrast with her stern expression."
"That's genius! But what about the color?"
Saber took a cautious step back, eyeing her Master and the other Servant as they plotted against her, exchanging dark chuckles.
She was about to put her foot down and stop such shenanigans, when Caster jerked her head up.
"Shirou? What happened?" she asked into empty air. Her eyes widened immediately after she posed that question.
"What's wrong?" Rin asked, mood shifting immediately.
"Shirou's hurt!" Caster said urgently. The air rippled and a moment later she was donning her own battle garments. Her hands reached out for them and they both took it after a rapid exchange of glances.
A dark cloud wrapped them and space bent under Caster's Magecraft to grant them passage.
When light returned, Saber already wore her armor. They were standing in the middle of a forest, ready to face any threat that could be waiting.
The first thing they all noticed, was the kneeling form of Emiya Shirou. The upper part of the outfit he was wearing was completely gone while his back and arms sported burns and deep cuts that were bleeding profusely.
"Shirou!" Caster cried in alarm as she run to him, healing spells already on her fingertips. "Shirou, what happened?"
He coughed weakly.
"...dea," he murmured. "I screwed up."
Rin's ears twitched as she caught something that sounded like the end tail of a name. She filed it away for later while she inspected their surroundings.
She could feel no presence, supernatural or otherwise and even Saber seemed not to perceive any immediate threat. In addition to Emiya's words, this looked like a Magecraft-related accident.
"You big oaf," she scolded without any of the vitriol she usually employed around him. "What were you thinking, experimenting without my supervision? You gave me a scare for nothing."
"Sorry. Didn't mean to. I underestimated the power output."
'Underestimated the power output?' Rin wondered as they approached him. Then, she saw exactly what he referred to.
About dozen meters away from where he knelt, the landscape had taken an entirely different appearance.
A huge crater, more than then meters in diameter and just as deep, had torn the land open. Trees laid uprooted and horribly cracked. A number of branches were burning, although it seemed it wouldn't turn into a forest fire.
This kind of sheer destructive power was the work of a first generation Magus? It must have been the effect of a Mystic Code - it had to be - but Emiya's hands were conspicuously empty. Maybe it was a consumable like her jewels, but the quantity of Mana required for that kind of damage…
Regardless, that was some serious firepower right there. Even a Servant would get away unscathed from something of that magnitude if taken head on.
"Gee, Emiya. I hope the Mystic Code you're making for me won't end up like this when I use it," she told him.
Shirou blinked at her, clearly having just realized that they had tagged along.
"Tohsaka? Saber? What are you doing here?"
"They were at our place when you called for me. I thought you were being attacked so I brought them along."
"Huh. Sorry. Didn't mean to make you worry either. Yeah. Gonna have to make a more specific protection for testing new techniques. I got lucky this time."
"Techniques?" Rin asked warily. "Not Codes or spells?"
"Ah? Sort of both? I did have to sacrifice a couple of Mystic Codes after all. Doesn't matter. I can make more."
Well, Rin thought, it was really a good thing for her that they were allies in this war. She didn't really like her odds if she'd ever have to go against Emiya directly. She trusted Saber's skills and her Magic Resistence made her Caster's natural enemy, but if it ever came down to Master versus Master... yeah. Thank goodness that possibility was off the table.
"I see. Yes, you better be careful Emiya. If you kick the bucket before the war even starts I'll fix the Grail and bring you back to life so that I can kill you myself."
Emiya coughed but smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. Somehow, I don't think you'd make it quick business either. I'm not really looking forward to that."
"I would help her too," Caster pitched in, "just to make sure the fun would last longer."
"Got it," Shirou resolved. "Safety first from now on."
"Good. Don't make it an habit to give me scares like this or I won't even wait for you to die the first time before starting to skin you slowly."
"I already said I got it."
"Just making sure I made my point. Come now, let's go back home. Dinner is almost..."
"What is it?" he asked.
"I forgot. I left everything on the stoveee!" the witch wailed.
Saber and Rin exchanged glances. Was this really the fearsome Witch they had grown familiar with?
A few minutes later, they were all back into Shirou's living room. Back in her plain clothes, Caster was relieved to find that nothing was burned and that dinner was going to proceed as expected.
With his wounds completely healed thanks to Caster's Magecraft, Shirou only had to clean himself up to be presentable again.
Afterwards, he helped Caster with the finishing touches and dinner was quickly served.
Tohsaka and Saber were invited to stay and Rin quickly accepted. Mostly because keeping Saber fed was starting to become a big drain on her limited finances.
Shirou seemed already resigned to throw huge amounts of money into the same endeavor with Caster, with the added presence of Satsuki, who had to eat a whole lot more on account of requiring extra intake of non-human DNA to supplement her diet.
Then there was Fujimura Taiga, who ate just as much as Vampires and Servants on account of being, well, Taiga.
It was a strange sight to behold. Two Magi, two Heroic Spirits, a Vampire and the nutjob grandaughter of a Yakuza oyabun, all sitting at the same table eating merrily as if nothing was out of place.
It was a scene right out of some kind of demented sit-com.
No one was about to complain though, least of all Saber. The food was very good and it just kept coming. Furthermore, she it gave her the opportunity to examine Caster up close and more importantly her Master.
Though she would not easily admit it, she was drawn to this young man. Curiosity about him was certainly a factor, but there was also something else. A sense of familiarity she couldn't place.
She only had third parties retellings of his exploits, some of which he considered more reliable than others. In truth, she would have liked to see first hand how he behaved. In part, because he was raised by Kiritsugu, a man whose methods she could not agree with and partly because she wanted to know what chivalry looked like in this day and age.
No, Emiya Shirou wasn't a knight, that much was obvious. No one who followed the precepts of Magecraft could really call themselves such, but by the same token could not be truly be considered a Magus either.
Something in between maybe. Not quite what her knights had been, but maybe the closest approximation she could hope to find in this era.
What she found even more surprising was that he been raised, at least in part, by the daughter of the boss of a criminal organization, who had their base right next door.
Rin explained her that these Yakuza organizations were bound by strict codes of honor (probably nothing Saber would endorse anyway, but still more than just random rabble) and that in time of natural catastrophes were among the first to offer relief to ordinary people struck by tragedy. The members of the Fujimura group, Taiga's family, had sheltered many of the survivor of the fire caused by the Grail until they found different accommodations.
Saber couldn't wrap her mind around the concept of outlaws acting in the best interests of others without profiting, but it seemed that such was the case. She then wondered how much their influence had impacted on the young hero upbringing.
In short, he was an enigma she couldn't quite figure out and it intrigued her. Nothing strange about that. Wanting to understand the motives and methods of your allies was just common sense.
"So, Yumizuka-san, how is to be a Dead Apostle?" Rin asked while their host cleared the table.
The young woman looked startled to be addressed directly but composed herself quickly.
"I still can't... I still feels like I'm dreaming sometimes. I don't need to feed on blood more than once a week and because of Shirou I don't have to go looking for it either."
"Huh. Shirou sure is reliable," Rin said putting a strange inflection on his name, glancing at this back as he washed the dishes.
"Yes," Yumizuka agreed, "I was very lucky to meet him. I don't know what I would have done... what I would have become if I hadn't."
"I guess it could have been worse," Rin agreed, dropping the subject. "I had always wondered."
"Because one of your ancestors was a vampire too?"
"Yes... Wait, how do you know that?"
"Uhhh. Shirou told me."
"And how did Shirou know, exactly?" she asked, clearly directing her question to said young man.
"Kiritsugu did a lot of research in the background of the other Masters of the previous war," he answered without turning. "You never know when a seemingly useless piece of information can become vital. Better to have it and never need it than needing it and not having it. I figured that you wouldn't be hostile to a Dead Apostles on racial grounds since you descend from one."
"Hmm. I feel like I got my own stalker. Be honest now, how long have you been keeping an eye on me?"
"Keeping an eye on you?" he asked, turning to give her a weird glance. "I kept as much distance as possible from you at all times without making it obvious."
"Fat lot of good that did." she teased. "In the end, you came after me yourself."
"What was I supposed to do? Leave you and Yukiko with Guilford?"
"I didn't mean to sound ungrateful," she shook her head. "Just wondering about your inclinations."
He dried his hands and came back to the table.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well. I can't help but notice that every person I know you've rescued is a woman. There's me, Yukiko, Yumizuka-san and if we want to be technical there's also Caster, since she still needed a Master after you killed her previous one. I understand that even Ortensia-san relied on you for protection. "
"I don't see what's your point," Shirou frowned.
"I would think it's fairly obvious," she replied.
"What is she on about?" he asked, turning to Caster. The Servant of the spell giggled in response.
"I get what you mean, Rin," Caster said, smile still etched on her face. "I guess that's just how his fortune runs. Shirou can be quite chivalrous that way, but he wouldn't discriminate because of genders."
"Hah? What has gender have to do with anything?"
"Nothing you need to worry about, Shirou. Rin was just making a joke."
"I feel like you're both making fun of me," he protested.
"That's because we are," Caster and Rin replied as one.
"Should've known," he muttered, causing laughter to erupt around the room. Even Saber couldn't help but smile at the light atmosphere that clung around this oblivious young man.
He was, she guessed, the kind of person that naturally put people at ease. At least, when he wasn't engaged in activities that put him in peril.
It was nice having the opportunity to experience times like these, even if they were all too ephemeral.
One must hold on the good things while they last, after all.
The next morning.
Yukizuka Satsuki was a kind girl, no matter what anyone said. Shy and introverted, she was the kind of person that wouldn't hurt a fly.
Vampirization changed that. Although at heart she was the same gentle creature, she had been cursed with the instincts of an apex predator. She would not easily admit it, but it was thrilling. Being the creature that skulked in the darkness, unseen and undetected, was extremely empowering.
Then of course it mattered very little when she was pinned down, face on the ground and arms twisted behind her back.
"Ow ow ow," she cried. "I give! I give!"
Shirou let her go and stepped away.
"As you can see, enhanced strength and speed matter little against a prepared opponent with the skills to counter them."
"You didn't even use magic," she argued, nursing her sore arms.
"Didn't need to. Even if you are much faster than my normal self it's easy to predict your next move and your movements are clumsy. Even an ordinary master martial artist could subdue you if they were prepared. Against people experienced with the supernatural, you wouldn't stand a chance."
"What can I do then?"
"Training your muscles is pointless at this point. You already have more raw strength that any normal human could achieve with weight training. What you lack is combat experience. Stand up and I'll show you some basic punching and kicking forms."
Satsuki picked herself up from the floor of the dojo.
"Spread your feet, shoulder-wide. Put one foot back. Yes, just like that. Put one fist near your waist, the other in front of you. Keep the arm loose. Alright, this is a basic karate guard."
"It feels weird," Satsuki observed.
"That's just because you aren't used to it yet and that's precisely what we have to work on right now. Muscle memory. Now, try to punch with the fist near your waist. Pretend to hit someone who's standing right in front of you in the face. Do it slowly for now. That's right. At the same time, pull back the other arm to your waist and take a step forward."
Satsuki did as instructed, feeling like a fool all along. Shirou didn't seem to notice or care.
"See? Now you have thrown a punch and you are in the position to throw another one."
"It looks pretty simple."
"It only looks like it is. In truth, it's a whole lot more complex. The rotation of the hip allows you to put the power of your legs and a portion of your weight into the punch. With this method, the power of the arm is secondary, which makes the quality of your motions much more important than sheer muscle strength. In addition, with this style your punch follows the shortest route to its target, making it faster without losing power or opening yourself to an easy counter. If you refine this movements, you'll be much stronger."
"But the punches I threw earlier felt much stronger."
"Those are called telephone punches, you know? Because they basically warn you in advance they are coming. In addition they leave your guard completely open and they make you overextend yourself at the end. Really, they wouldn't hit anyone unless they were completely drunk and even then I wouldn't bet on it."
"That's harsh, Shirou," Satsuki pouted.
"I'm fine with being harsh if it keeps you safe," he flat out admitted. "Oh, and another thing. Don't jump around so much. In fact, don't jump at all unless you absolutely can't avoid it."
"What? Why?"
"In most martial arts, ninety percent of the power comes from the push your feet have against the ground. Your weight alone doesn't matter really much if you can't leverage it properly. More importantly, you can't change direction in mid-air. You'd be basically target practice. In a fight, the ground is the greatest weapon anyone has. Giving it up will only put you at disadvantage. DO I make myself clear?"
Satsuki nodded emphatically. She never imagined that fighting could be so intricate. To her, until then, it was just people throwing their limbs around trying to hit each other.
"Good. By the way, everything I just taught works only if Magecraft isn't involved. When you throw a Magus into the mix, all bets are off."
"Because Magecraft is a subversion of the natural order, right?"
"Right. I see Caster's lessons have stuck with you."
"Megissa-san gets really scary when I forget something she told me," Satsuki said timidly, eyes unfocusing as she recalled the events that taught her to never forget anything the resident Witch said.
Shirou could relate perfectly. Although he enjoyed a more cordial relationship with Medea, even he knew better than not retaining every piece of knowledge she imparted on him. She had trained him well.
After that moment of shared trauma, Satsuki kept practicing the movement Shirou had taught her, while he supervised her and addressed any mistake she made.
No one expected her to become a superlative fighter in the span of a few days, but if they could correct her most obvious weaknesses they would be a lot more secure in her ability to stay alive during a crisis.
Later, while Shirou was at school, Satsuki sat with Medea in the Workshop underneath the Emiya property. Under the Heroic Spirit's guidance, the Vampire had learned how to open her Magic Circuits.
She wouldn't be learning any Mysteries. In the first place, Magecraft had changed from Medea's times. The only reason why the Servant still could use her own brand of magic was because it was part of her existence as a Heroic Spirit and worked separately from Gaia's Reality Marble.
As for modern day Mysteries, it would take way too long for her to learn them in any effective way. She was given the basis and she was expected to practice them, but realistically no one expected her to develop them to a degree where they would be useful anytime soon.
The primary objective was giving her control over her own Mana pool, so that she could use the Mystic Codes that Shirou was making for her. However, before anything was completed, the first call from the Church arrived.
A Dead Apostle had appeared in Japan.
The next day, Shirou and Satsuki left Fuyuki once again.
Medea watched her Master leave once more to a place where she could not follow, where she could not keep him safe.
At least, this time he wasn't alone.
Although Satsuki wasn't currently much of a fighter, Medea understood that the shy girl wasn't the type to turn tail and run leaving people to die by themselves. It might have seemed like a small consolation, but Medea knew better than anyone else just how important it was to have someone on your side.
They came back late the next day, uninjured but completely exhausted. Satsuki in particular was as pale as a ghost.
"How did it go?" Caster asked once they had cleaned themselves up and sat at the table for a meal.
Shirou shook his head. "Not good. The entire town was completely overrun by the Dead. It was a very small place in the mountains, but it was still some hundreds people."
"And the Dead Apostle?"
"Gone by the time we even got there. The entire thing was just a huge decoy to give him more time to get away."
"I see. How did the people from the Church treat you?"
"They didn't trust us, obviously. They probably expected us to turn on them as soon as they gave us an opening. They were more surprised about that not happening than not finding the Dead Apostle."
"And you didn't suspect they'd do the same to you if given the chance?"
"I considered it. Hence why I sent Satsuki to pick off stragglers before they could get to other settlements while I sniped at the horde from the roofs."
"Is that so? I would have expected you to either stick close to Satsuki or join the Executors on the frontline."
"There would have been no point in doing either one of those. To fight efficiently in a group, you need lots practice and trust in each other. We had neither. As for Satsuki, she has an excellent presence detection so I told her to just cut and run if she felt that something she couldn't deal with approached. Plus, we were in constant contact through our phones and headsets, so in the unlikely event that the enemy decided that she was the threat he had to eliminate first, I would have been on her position in a matter of seconds. Besides, even if that wasn't the case, someone had to be on the lookout for ambushes and clusters of undeads, and who better than an archer with an eagle eye over the entire town could do that and still provide combat support?"
Through his explanation, Caster nodded several times. By his retelling he had employed an excellent strategy and maximized his efficiency according to the circumstances. She was thoroughly satisfied with his approach to the situation.
"And how did you do instead?" she asked to Satsuki.
"I... I don't really..."
"She's understandably upset," Shirou came to her rescue. "Even though they were already dead, cutting apart human bodies is bound to upset anyone."
"Cutting apart?" She blinked. "I thought-"
"That I'd make her tear people to pieces with her bare hands? No. Horrible as it is, people killing people is human behavior but ripping them apart barehanded is very much not. I'd rather if she kept that as a last resort, so I traced her a random sword. With her enhanced body, a few lone ghouls are no threat, even if she has no experience with blades. That being said, it's not something one gets easily used to."
"I understand," she dipped her head in acknowledgment. "For what it's worth, you have done well, Satsuki."
The Vampire looked up at her and nodded weakly, trying to give a thankful smile and failing abysmally.
In the end, it was something that only time and experience could help her deal with.
"What about you, Shirou? I would have expected you to be just as upset as her if not more."
"I am angry about the entire affair, sure, but dead bodies have stopped being upsetting years ago."
Medea didn't say anything in response. After all, the Dream Cycle told her just how often her Master dreamt of the hellish landscape that was his earliest memory.
"Don't worry about it," he told her, seemingly understanding her apologetic look before she could actually say anything. "Like I said, I'm used to it."
She gave him a rueful smile and said nothing more about the matter. She could always count on Shirou to grant her forgiveness.
"Well, you have both done your part egregiously, regardless of the circumstances. Now you should get some rest. Tomorrow is back to school for you Shirou and Satsuki has her own lessons with me to keep her busy. You both need to be well rested."
"Yeah. I'm really tired," Satsuki agreed. "I'm off to bed."
"So am I. Thank you for the late dinner, Caster."
"You're welcome, Shirou. I'll see you in the morning."
Later that night.
Shirou lay in his futon, pondering about his first sortie with the Church Executors. Even though the mission had been a complete failure in his opinion, everything had gone smoothly, operational-wise.
The Executors had been understandably wary of two of them, but professionalism prevailed and they managed to contain the incident save for the still missing Dead Apostle, but there was nothing anyone could have done about it.
That being said, it had been an invaluable experience. He got to see how Executors worked on a clean up mission and by the end of it they had warmed up to him and Satsuki somewhat. Working together without double-crossings work wonders on human relationships.
There was also the matter of introducing Satsuki to the Moonlit World at large. Shirou would have wanted nothing but to keep her from such things, but the Moonlit World was part of her now, whether he wanted it or not.
Under those circumstances, preparing her for it was the best way to increase her chances of survival in the long term. To do otherwise would be criminal negligence. Both he and Satsuki understood that.
Still, all the reasoning in the world helped next to nothing to give people peace of mind, therefore Shirou wasn't all that surprised when the door opened with Satsuki's silhouette standing silently against the faint moonlight.
When a girl slips into a guy's room at night, one is supposed feel excited, but all that Shirou could had in his chest was a sense of unadulterated pity.
Without saying anything, he slid out of the cover and went to the closet, where he took another futon that he laid next to his own.
Just as silently, Satsuki slipped into the proffered bedding, curling into a ball underneath the covers.
Shirou returned to his futon, sparing one last glance at the scared girl next to him. Putting aside needless thoughts, he allowed himself to fall asleep.
A few minutes later, Satsuki head poked out of the covers, eyes fixed on Shirou's sleeping form. Silently as possible, she slipped out and approached the sleeping young man.
In her room, Medea's eyes snapped open, a faint sense of alarm pressing down on her.
What had woken her? She mentally checked the Bounded Fields she had put up around the house. No intrusion had been detected, so they weren't under attack.
So why did she feel threatened? Her instinct was warning her, but of what?
Questioning herself would give no answer. She quickly swapped her nightwear for her robes and slid out of the room with naught a sound.
The night was perfectly quiet, with just a faint breeze rustling the trees. Still, her heart was not at peace.
She checked the perimeter, but everything was in perfect order. No one in this day and age was her equal in Magecraft, so it was preposterous to think someone could have slipped past her detection wards short of Assassin, and she knew that the next Servant had still to be summoned.
Still, overconfidence had killed many powerful figures in history, so she double and triple checked every defense. She found nothing out of place and yet that feeling did not leave her.
Unable to find peace, she decided to check on Shirou, just in case.
She slid his door open just enough to peek inside and promptly froze in place.
Two human figures were visible in the darkness. Shirou and Satsuki, laying next to each other.
No, that much wouldn't have been enough to shock the Witch into perfect stillness. It was the fact that the diminutive Vampire was resting her head on Shirou's arm, comfortably snuggled into his side that put her brain into freeze.
Medea had learned her lesson the last time something like this happened. She could see that Shirou had laid out another futon for Satsuki, distant enough that it wouldn't give the impression of sharing the same bed.
Now that second futon was empty, forgotten where it had been laid, as Satsuki had taken advantage of Shirou's sleep to sneak into his futon with him.
'Unforgivable. Unforgivable, unforgivable, unforgivable! Who does this... this... this little skank think she is?'
Medea seethed inwardly. She had yet to come to a decision about her feelings for Shirou, true, but that didn't mean that any interloper could just come in between them.
She understood that this wasn't a romantic overture on Satsuki's part, that she was scared and looking for comfort but what did the Witch care?
In the first place, it wasn't a matter of feelings, but a territorial dispute. This was trespassing, plain and simple.
Medea hadn't survived as long as she did by letting people trampling all over her. Not without exacting retribution.
She took a step into the room, eyes locked onto Satsuki's sleeping form, hand reaching out to enact her malicious intent.
... No. She couldn't do that. Shirou's disappointment with her with her notwithstanding, if she resorted to violence in such a situation it would be the same as admitting that their bond was weak.
She could tolerate that even less.
'Fine. If that's the game you want to play, I'll be your opponent.'
The two sleeping teens could not see the way Medea's dark aura whipped around like a black flame and how her smile stretched impossibly wide. Otherwise, they would have run for the hills.
[br]
The next morning, Shirou woke up feeling strangely heavy. Opening his eyes quickly told him exactly why he felt that way.
To his left, Satsuki slept curled into his side, using his arm as a makeshift pillow. Poor girl must have been sleeping restlessly and ended up rolling against him. He could understand that.
What he could not understand for the life of him was why on his other side Medea was much in the same position.
No, it was even worse than that.
Whereas Satsuki was curled on herself, Medea was very much draped over him, with her head resting on his chest while one of her long legs poked out of her gown to wrap around his own and… was that her hand he could feel inside his shirt?
Even knowing Satsuki's circumstances, waking with a pretty girl in his arms would have been reason enough to make him flustered. Having a second woman on his other side without any reason that he could think of was pretty much causing him to become uncomfortably warm.
The only reason why he was spared from developing compromising physiological reactions was the absolute certainty that he was in extreme danger.
He didn't know why and he knew even less how to get himself out of it. He couldn't move without waking both of them and that was exactly what he feared would happen, as he couldn't imagine what would come next, what kind of twilight zone he'd end up into.
The unknown has always been mankind's greatest fear and he was really no exception in that regard.
Thus, for the first time in a very long while, Emiya Shirou just hoped someone would come and save his sorry ass.
At the very least, even in this conditions, he could still wish for impossible things.
XXX
AN: What is this? Another update so soon? Oh, boy. It sure looks like it.
Anyway, we're finally here 300K words into this story and we're finally getting some romantic overtures. The narration has also sped up. With Shirou working with the Church, I have reasonable justification to make him progressively more capable without delving into more "side quests". Behind the scenes Shirou is going to do his own thing and the results of his efforts will be shown in due time.
That being said, I just wanted to let you know I started my own P atreon account. If you would like to support me, I'd appreciate it.
P atreon [dotcom] / neoalfa
At the very least, I hope you'd leave a review.
See you all soon.