Author Note

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of Avalon Bond.

I will have to admit that while not many have reviewed, by the number of favorites and followers, I guess that the first chapter was enjoyable, which I am glad for. One reviewer ended up complaining that it would not be credible that Rin did not share Shirou's feelings. Well, in UBW, only Shirou was completely honest and said that he had fallen for her, but all she ever did was to blush and look away. It was only in the epilogue, that we see her more or less thinking of Shirou as a love interest, at least my opinion at least. Well, this story will focus more on the three's friendship for a great while, so no romance scenes for quite a while. The first aspect of the story is Shirou's training as a battle magus, then it will be time for him to follow what he wished to do in his life. Yes, eventually, he would follow Archer's footsteps. It said so in the epilogue, but he will not be alone.

There will be many obstacles in their path, including adding small pieces of other anime into the mix, which will be revealed later on.

The romance part will certainly come later, but I have planned a nice twist.

Well, since they were no reviews to answer, shall we proceed with the chapter.


Fate: Avalon Bond

Chapter 2 – Daily Life


A week has passed since Rin had implanted one of her father's magic crests on Shirou.

While it was still painful on occasion, the boy was already used to the feeling somewhat. Today was the first day that he got clearance from his tutors to use magic. Of course, it did not mean that he had simply stood still this past week, doing nothing training wise. Every day, he had his morning workout with Saber in sword fighting. Ever since he had acquired better grasp at his fighting style from Archer, Shirou had become a better sparring partner for Saber. Their fights would begin at six in the morning and would go on until close to eight when Shirou would collapse on the ground, afterward. Despite Saber still being aghast seeing Shirou using Archer's style, she eventually relented seeing it did suit her sparring partner better.

Still, she would be damned if Shirou was limited to a single fighting style. So, the servant pretty much obligated Shirou to learn at least the basics of her own style.

It did not take long for him to learn the movements as he found out that Saber could be quite the slave driver when it comes to sword fighting these days. Every time, he wronged a move, Saber would strike him and obviously it was not merely a gentle strike. He could not argue against its effectiveness, however, much to Saber and even Rin's amusement. He now had two vicious women in his life training him with the same method. Get it right or else…Saber would use her shinai on him and Rin would fire a Gandr shot. Highly effective indeed.

Today, Shirou fought against Saber using Archer's style, while at the same time using mana bursts just for body movement purposes.

If they focused it on the wooden swords, it would not handle the strain.

"You have to be faster and more precise, Shirou…" The boy attacked with one of the shinai while keeping the other close to his body. He nodded and increased the pace.

"You need to keep focused on my movements at all times…" Saber got inside Shirou's defense, forcing him to back off as he blocked her strike.

"When you block, your mind has to visualize where I am going next…each movement you do will have a counter-movement of mine. And the same applies to me…sword fighting is a dance…" Shirou flinched as he failed to block a frontal assault that landed on his shoulder. Still, he recovered from the pain quickly and used both his short shinai to block Saber's attack from above that aimed for his head. His knees buckled at the strain before he used his arms to push Saber away. Bursting his movement forward, Shirou went on the offensive, earning an approval nod from his instructor.

"Good…maintain that, one sword attacking and one defending. Keep it alternated and your opponent will be guessing the entire time." Shirou then joined both his sword and made one horizontal slash.

Saber blocked them and like she did with Lancer, used her sword to send both Shirou's swords upwards and slashed his stomach clean.

Shirou coughed up blood at that strike.

That move was met with a disappointed look from her.

"If you decide to do that move in the middle of the fight, then you must be absolutely certain that the opponent won't be able to retaliate. It certainly leaves you exposed. Now, get up…we still have half an hour left before your archery drills and then breakfast." Shirou nodded with a smile on his face as he took his position within a safe distance from Saber. When they started these spars, still in war time, Shirou looked much too clumsy. It was a one-sided battle every time. Now, Saber could still mop the floor with him, but he could tell that she was enjoying these sessions as much as he did. He could see her smile on her face despite the look of concentration. Right now, was time for them to kick it up a notch as Shirou moved to the offensive, increasing his speed.

"Oh, you are challenging me Shirou."

Saber parried his offensive sword. He could see the look on her face as his blood pumped in high gear. It was indeed exhilarating.

"Won't know until I try, right Saber?" Like him, she increased her pace. If one were to enter the dojo, it would be difficult to follow their movements and Shirou was hard pressed to use only one sword to defend against Saber's onslaught. Still, his awareness of her movement had improved, even if he was now only on the defensive. Saber would even usher her voice within each of her strikes, using her breathing to increase the power. Eventually, Saber realized that she and Shirou had indeed started an entrancing dance with one another. Sure, she could have finished quicker, but she had downed her effort somewhat to equal Shirou's and now they were in deep synchronization of movement. So much so, that Saber had stopped looking at Shirou as a student she needed to correct occasionally. Also, she had forgotten that she was not fighting a regular human being.

Indeed, Shirou was learning from Rin how to use his reinforcement on himself and the results were showing in their spars.

This faster style of fighting lasted fifteen minutes, until Shirou's arms buckled and he could not block Saber's shinai from hitting him square on the shoulder. The strength was so much that he was on the ground in deep pain. Saber looked at her shinai in surprise to see it had broken in half. She was by his side immediately, wondering what possessed her to take it this far.

"I'm sorry Shirou, are you alright?" She was relieved to see a smile beneath the pained visage.

"Hahaha, I'm alright Saber. You don't need to apologize…I could tell you're enjoying as much as I did." Avalon was already working its magic as Shirou quietly observed his mana being directed to heal his wounds. Rin's book on healing magic was quite thorough. Saber looked embarrassed at what Shirou said.

Yes, she was indeed enjoying it.

"W…well, yes it was indeed satisfactory, but you are still suffering from last week…" She handed me a towel to drench his sweat and a bottle of water.

"Once more, do not need to worry about me, Saber, I can take it. Now, how about your mana supply?"

Ever since Shirou started supplying her with his blood on a daily basis, Saber found that she did not have to worry about mana as much. She still had Rin's supply and in a couple of days, Rin would extend her contract with Shirou, meaning that Saber would receive both mana regularly. It was a necessity of her to tell both him and Rin about her mana supply, so as to be able to regulate it throughout the day. While she had enough sleep and food to compensate somewhat, without the Grail supporting her, her entire supply depended on them.

"After our session from today, I still have plenty to rely on."

"That's good to know, though please don't hesitant to come to me if you need more. I will practice my arrows drills and then I will cock breakfast for us…Rin will have woken up by then."

They both exchanged snorts of derision at that, knowing that the black-haired magus would only wake up after Shirou or Saber knocked on her door rather loud. Saber was specially amused one day when they both got inside Rin's room and Shirou tried shaking her awake, before Rin pulled him to the bed as if he was a comfortable pillow. When Rin realized what she had happened, she screamed and pushed him to the ground calling him a no good pervert, much to his own dismay.

Shirou's archery drills were pretty straight forward as he had multiple targets located in the house garden.

He would either be stationary and aim at them, or he would be on the move. The last part was added by Saber once she saw that he was not challenging himself by simply staying in one place and hitting it dead on every time. While Shirou would do that, Saber went to the washing machine and took their clothes away to dry. Despite Shirou protesting that she was a king once and did not need to worry about house chores, she had insisted. That lead to a two-day crash course by the housewife Shirou Emiya. Saber was surprised to see that Shirou pretty much handled this entire house on his own. As such, she at least became responsible for the clothes, while Shirou did the rest of the chores.

Rin was simply comfortable being served, with the occasional step-up in the kitchen once in a while.


===The Kitchen===

Once Shirou was done with his practice, he went inside the bathroom for a quick shower, before stepping inside the kitchen to see Saber folding their clothes like he had taught her. It was amazing to see how quickly she had learned and Shirou could only imagine how was it to see her at work ruling a country in the middle of war. Saber was completely focused in every chore she set her mind to and Shirou did not wish to take her focus away. He already knew what she wanted for breakfast and Rin…well Rin would come up eventually. Saber then approached the kitchen with a pile of Shirou's clothes and told him that she would place it inside his bedroom, earning a nod from the boy as he finished their breakfast.

In no time, Saber retuned and took a seat by the table as she became mesmerized by the sound and smell of her eggs and bacon coming from Shirou's kitchen.

"Saber, Fuji-nee will take you today for clothes shopping, right?"

"Yes, she was most kind, Shirou. I will have to retribute the favor someday to her." Shirou flipped her eggs and seasoned to her taste.

"I bet you already are, she loves playing dress up." Saber nodded with a comfort smile. Indeed, Shirou's sister figure enjoyed it.

"We can meet after school and head to work together."

Another thing that Saber had insisted on was to help Shirou with the house expenses. Since she and Rin were now living with him, Shirou had trouble keeping up with the expenses and was working extra hours to supply for them. Sakura, Taiga and even Rin brought some food on occasion, but Saber had a very big appetite. So, Shirou talked with his boss and convinced them to hire Saber as well. Usually, Shirou alone would take care of the work in five hours, but with Saber there to help him, they were able to take care in half the time and even aid with more.

Neko, the owner's daughter, was quite thrilled to have the blond girl helping him.

"Yes, I would like that Shirou." Saber, for her chance, was thrilled to be working with him. The job was easy enough and thus she was able to help out.

Neither bothered to be surprised to see a zombie opening the door to the kitchen and walking towards the counter as if no one were there. It was the same every morning as Rin would need her morning coffee before even acknowledging anyone. This was the scene that Sakura and Taiga walked in and Sakura had to giggle at Rin's haggard appearance. Sakura soon joined the table by Saber's side and greeted the blond girl, while Taiga appeared by Rin's side with unparalleled energy.

"Rin, are you still sleeping here? When your house is going to be ready?" the aforementioned girl quietly drank her coffee, ignoring the question.

These types of question were easily handled.

"It will take even more time, I fear and Emiya here was gentleman enough to allow me to stay as long as I needed."

"Oh, but little Shirou is too kind-hearted, I mean, not only Saber is sleeping here, but you are too. It's not okay for two exuberant girls such as yourselves to take advantage on my little Shirou." Shirou's mumble in demise at those words was loud and clear.

"Fuji-nee, please stop calling me 'little Shirou' already and Tohsaka's right…she can stay as long as she wants."

Saber knew from Rin and Shirou that this talk was just formality. As if she had ever considered living anywhere else but with Shirou. Even if she had been living in his house for less than a month, she had already grown quite fond of this place. The dojo, the garden, the quietness, the soothing atmosphere and even better, was the amazing hospitality provided by the house's host, not to mention his amazing culinary skills. For some reason, every time she left this place, even if it were simply to buy groceries, Saber felt the need to return quickly. She missed this place every time she was away. Before their last battle, she wanted to memorize every corner of this place. Now that she had the opportunity to stay with them…stay with him, she found that she wanted to view this place as her home as well.

As she looked at the table and looked at Shirou's family, it was quite a pleasant feeling, many times more than any of her previous experiences.

Each one of them had their own quirks and personalities.

"Oh and Saber, I bet you're eager for clothes shopping, I will take you to many shops and we can find something you like in no time."

Saber nodded with a smile in appreciation.

"Not fair…they can go shopping and I have to go to school..." Everyone laughed at Rin's complaint. For all intents and purposes, school was merely a hobby for Rin as she was a magus and her studies would be focused in knowing as much as she possibly could. School, thus, became irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.


===On the way to school===

Eventually, Shirou took care of the dishes with Sakura's help while Rin got dressed for school.

Saber and Taiga would accompany them to school and then head straight to the shopping district. Rin was the last one to get ready before they left to school. Sakura was with Taiga and Shirou was talking with Rin and Saber. They had discussed Saber and Shirou's sparring match from today and how Shirou had improved his reinforcement and mana burst abilities. Shirou had even told that he had been feeling his mana healing his wounds like Rin's book instructed it. Shirou had even reported that he was progressing on the early stages of fire elemental spells, courtesy of his newly implanted magic crest. Rin had looked at the boy, often wondering how much driven he was now and could only smile. Surely, both her and Saber knew precisely why Shirou was pushing himself so hard.

While it was worrying in the long run, they were at ease knowing that Shirou would at least take his sweet time getting stronger.

"Emiya, do you still feel pain using mana?" Shirou looked at his hand as he felt his mana passing through his magic circuits.

"Much less, right now it feels like the occasional pinch. It is now more annoying than pain to be honest." Rin had her hand on her chin as her eyes inspected Shirou.

"Well, for sure, it won't take more time for you to adapt…but please save some use for tomorrow as I will replicate with you the contract I have with Saber."

Shirou nodded with a smile as he was counting on it.

This way, he would be a better help to both Rin and Saber, which was a win-win in his book.

Rin had thought deeply about the subject and realized that despite having Saber as a strong familiar, her mana supply was feeling the strain. And being a researcher in heart, Rin wished to improve on her knowledge and her skills as a magus. With her having to supply Saber constantly, it was weighting on her reserves. Since Shirou had started supplying Saber with his blood, she could feel less strain on her reserves, thus allowing her more to use on her own experiments. She thus figured that by Shirou supplying Saber the most, she would have even more for herself to use.

Not to mention that Shirou had already expressed to her that his skills as a magus would be limited to what he could use in the battlefield.

Thus, the magic he used took less and less of his mana supply now that he had another magic crest to rely on.

Eventually, they reached the school and said their goodbyes to Saber and Taiga.


===After school===

Shirou was calmly walking from school towards the shopping district when he would meet Saber and then walk straight to their work.

According to Taiga, who had sent him a text message, they would be now finishing lunch in one of the local diners. It didn't take long for him to find them as he inspected Saber's new wardrobe. The overall color appeared the same, with her long dark blue skirt that reached her knee. Now, though, she was wearing a more loosened short sleeve white shirt and a short blue middle-sleeve dress on top of the shirt. Both the shirt and the dress had golden flower drawings on it.

"Ah Shirou, over here…" Both Taiga and Saber looked to him and waved and Shirou waved him back.

"So, how was it?"

"Well, Saber here was a delight and she even picked up these clothes, doesn't she look gorgeous Shirou?"

The servant was looking down blushing at the praise from the boisterous woman.

While she did enjoy the fabric of these clothes, she did not enjoy being put on the spotlight like that.

"Ah, very nice choice Saber, it looks good on you." The girl looked up at Shirou and blushed at the praise, before nodding in appreciation.

"Well, off you go to work then, Neko must be waiting for you two."

"Thank you, Taiga…for accompanying me." The woman nodded with a bright smile and then jumped on her motorbike, leaving them alone.

"Say Saber, do you have other clothes to change…moving boxes around will definitely ruin your new clothes." Saber nodded, showing a bag with her regular clothes inside.

The two then walked side by side until they reached the liquor shop + bar they would be working on.

Saber had used one of the facilities and quickly changed to her regular clothing. When she came out, Shirou was already waiting with his working apron looking at a list of chores for them to perform. Tonight, the bar would be closed for a company event, so they had to fix up the tables and select some bottles from the liquor shop. As usual, Shirou would guide her through and then both of them would be seen carrying boxes and then clean up the premises. All the while, their boss would be looking on with a smile on her face. Shirou alone was already an immense help, but with Saber here helping him, it became way more efficient. And they could see how focused Saber was while Shirou was explaining things to her.

In no time, Shirou and Saber had lined up in front of Neko and went through the list of chores finished, before collecting their paycheck.

It was already nighttime by the time they left the bar as now they had to do a quick shopping for dinner as probably Rin was waiting for them to arrive.

"Say Saber, what do you wish for me to cook tonight…perhaps a western style dish."

The girl negated her head. She enjoyed European food, but in her mind, Shirou's Japanese style cooking was the best.

"I would not mind having some yakisoba…it was quite tasty Shirou." He smiled at her, remembering how her eyes sparkled at the time she first ate it.

"Okay, I shall even improve on last time and serve a side dish of smoked salmon." Saber was already drooling at the dinner prospects as they left the town market.

"Say Shirou, how's the shoulder?"

She could see in their work that Shirou was having some trouble while carrying the tables, though she wondered if the slight pain was due to his new magic circuits or the injury, she had given him.

"No need to worry Saber, it still hurts a little, but by tomorrow it will be good as new."

In no time they had arrived home and Shirou started making them dinner. Rin was busy in the kitchen table with many books from school. Saber went for a quick shower before placing her new clothes inside her wardrobe. Once Saber returned to the kitchen, Rin had already piled her books elsewhere as Shirou served dinner. The trio would then exchange quick conversation and then go to bed as tomorrow would require a lot of concentration.


===Next day===

After school, the three of them were in Shirou's and Rin's workshop, seating on top of a blue-colored sealing design of Rin's making.

Saber for the first time since the war was wearing her battle armor and dress.

Rin had done wonders for this place as all of their books on magic were kept in tiny shelves around the premises. There was a nice mahogany desk just below the stairways where she would scribble her notes. She had left Shirou's stuff untouched, which really wasn't much, just some old junk that he used to fix it ever now and then, although with the training he was undertaking and the studies that Rin had made him do, Shirou barely had the time to indulge in his little hobbies anymore. He now on occasion would take a look at the neighbor's cars and motorcycle. Right now, the three of them had their eyes closed as Rin was busy reciting her enchantment in german language.

One of her hands was holding Saber's while the other was on Shirou's chest, joined by Saber's other hand.

The shed itself was only barely illuminated by the moon light outside as the blue colored seal started glowing. Saber and Rin's hands were together as well as they passed on the energy to Shirou's. In essence, Rin and Saber had a contract together and with their joined hands, they were replicating said contract to Shirou. Shirou would then regulate his mana back to Saber so as to become the other half of her mana supply and anchor in this world. The entire procedure would be quite slow as they were slowly but surely establishing the connection between Saber and Shirou. Rin had to be careful in this procedure so as not to completely pass her contract to Shirou. Shirou may be stronger now, but right now he would not be able to hold Saber by himself.

Perhaps in a couple of years when he became more accustomed to it, but not right now.

The sealing design was glowing in a darker blue hue right now and it enveloped the three like they were inside an energy shield.

As the procedure went on, each one felt different things. Rin felt her mana less strained while Shirou felt the opposite. However, he was happy to feel his connection to Saber once more like they were master and servant. Saber, for her chance, felt a strong yellow light inside of her body and she missed that feeling. While she felt it when she drank blood from Shirou, this time the embracing energy of Avalon was flowing inside of her through her reinstated link with her master. Yes, while Saber had become Rin's servant due to Caster severing her link with Shirou, she had always felt that Shirou was her true master.

And right now, she could feel that bond with him once more. The energy that flowed through both of them…the energy that once more reunited them…Avalon.

Once the three opened their eyes, Saber and Shirou looked at one another and simply nodded at each other with a deep smile.

There were no words to be exchanged as they could both feel each other once more, through their bond.

Shirou could feel his mana supply steadily supplying her together with Rin's.

"Is it finished, Tohsaka?" Shirou could see her smug smile aimed at him. She took great pride in her work after all.

"Can't you feel it Emiya?" Of course, it is finished…now you have to take your sweet time modulating your own mana supply. Your projections and reinforcement do not take much out of you, with the exception of the reality marble, but we can still make some tests to see how easy you can summon it now that you have a new magic crest. In time as you get better used to it, you will be able to use your abilities without much consumption. Now, I can't say for sure that Saber won't be needing your blood anymore, but I can guess that it will be less now, right Saber?"

The servant was simply in her own little world enjoying this old feeling of when she was Shirou's master when she noticed that Rin had asked her a question.

"What…oh sorry…yes Rin, I won't need as much. With both of you supplying me this much, perhaps, once or twice a week." Rin and Shirou both nodded in acceptance, before the three of them moved to the kitchen for a quick dinner. Saber and Shirou had already discussed that tomorrow their practice would be in Shirou's reality marble, so things would get rough. They needed to practice their strongest attacks, so as to ascertain the amount of mana they could withstand in their current level. Not today, however, was the both of them needed to conserve their energy for tomorrow.

When morning came, Shirou and Saber were staring at each other in the house's garden.

Shirou had his eyes closed in concentration while Saber was with her battle armor and Excalibur in her hands.

She did not need to hide her weapon in a spar.

Rin was there too as she had to reinforce the bounded field inside the house so as to keep damage to a minimum. Shirou's inside circuits started buzzing in electricity, at least his original ones aided by Rin's first magic crest implanted on his right shoulder. He kept the circuits from his second magic crest supplying Saber. When he opened his eyes, he transported all three of them to his reality marble. Rin was looking around in awe, as she was not with them when Shirou faced Archer. She could see the swords lining up all around the field just like the images she remembered from Archer's memory. Touching one sword, Rin was surprised to see a flash of memory about a man being pierced by this very sword, probably by Archer's…or Emiya's…she did not know anymore.

Probably, Shirou's element and origin had a huge play in him being able to sustain this reality marble.

Saber looked at her master with a fierce smile on her face. Fighting her master like this would allow her to truly get loose without fear of hurting him.

"Are you ready Shirou?" The boy summoned his Kanshou and Bakuya and even reinforced them. Against Excalibur, the regular ones would not last long.

"Come Saber…" Shirou had fallen into position as Saber had used her mana burst to move forward fast with a slash of her sword but was blocked by Shirou's now longer swords. The sound surprised Rin. While she had witnessed some of their spars with a wooden sword, she had no idea that these two would be fighting like this. Still, Shirou's swords were similar to Archers, although longer and with scales coming out close to the hilt. Shirou and Saber were going all out, or at least Shirou was. No one can ever know if Saber was indeed going all out or just keeping pace with him. Still, it was an amazing dance in Rin's eyes as master and servant were at one another.

Saber took special caution not to attack Shirou's vital spots, but she took an opening when provided, slim as they were.

As such, Shirou had a couple of cuts on his arms and legs. Saber was just about to make a deep slash with Excalibur when Shirou made a spin movement with both his swords, blocking her strike and posing a threat. Saber saw the sudden move and she admitted being taken by surprise. When both of Shirou's weapons smashed on hers, the ground beneath her cracked. Shirou backed away just as Saber burst in front of his former position with a wind energy slash that would have skewered him. Rin shrudded at seeing Excalibur glowing in yellow energy. She could see that Saber's face was entirely involved in this fight, same as Shirou.

The saber servant would skillfully dodge Shirou's projected swords that came flying at her.

Then Shirou had increased the number of swords and even shape of them, summoning some swords that were twice his body in size and length.

Excalibur was slicing them all in half with ease, though.

Rin had lost track on how many swords Shirou had summoned to his side and even how many Kanshou and Bakuya. In her eyes, this was no longer a spar.

"Shirou…"

She heard Saber scream at him as she had closed her eyes to manifest her noble phantasm. Shirou looked on at the gathering of energy and smirked at her. He could feel his energy being drenched. There was only enough for one more technique. Saber knew that, so she had decided to use it after all. Shirou would fight fire with fire. He placed both hands closer together with an open palm as he gathered energy in them for Archer's signal move. When Saber had enough gathered energy, she opened her mouth and screamed. Shirou did the same. Rin had just shielded her eyes at the sheer intensity of Saber's noble phantasm.


EX-CALIBURRR

RHO ARIAS


Excalibur's powerful wave of energy met the unbreakable flower petals from Shirou's defense. The resulting clash was a bright light that enveloped them all. When the light cleared, Shirou's defense was no more and a huge gash on the mountain appeared courtesy of Saber's attack. Shirou just could not hold his defense for long and managed to get the hell away from the rest of her onslaught. Saber by now was using her own supply of mana as she had used plenty of Shirou's by releasing her noble phantasm.

She could feel Shirou on the ground panting for breath just as he released his reality marble, returning safely to the garden.

As Saber kneeled next to her master, she had placed her hand on his chest and transferred her own supply of mana to him. Avalon would work on his wounds and replenish his strength long enough for Saber to be safe. She saw Shirou's content visage and could not help but share it. They could be stronger than this, she knew that. Excitement was written in both their faces. In fact, none of them even realized that there was a third person gawking at such an display. Who would ever think that these two were such monsters...well, she already saw Saber's display when she destroyed the Grail, but seeing Shirou fight like this...fight like Archer did, was mind-blowing to say the least.


Author Note

Ok, that's it for now as I covered plenty of changes and even how Shirou had progressed in his fighting capabilities. For those who believe that Shirou is too overpowered, not only he had accumulated some of Archer's experience and prowess, but he also have access to more magic circuits than he had in Fate Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works. Like I said before, I will be covering his training for the first three to five chapters. By the end of the fitfth chapter, it will be the time of their graduation and hence I will move on to the second part, which I will not review for now.

So, please tell me your thoughts as I would love to read about them.

Until next chapter.