Chapter 7 - A Tale of Two Pairs
...
After basically passing out right after we got done fucking, Illya and I slept peacefully together. The calm, happy moment could last forever...
BIIING BIIING BIIING BIIING
"God... DAMMIT!" I shout, slamming my hand down on the alarm clock and breaking the damn thing without care, starting the day in an almost annoyingly cliche manner.
"Muuuuuh..." Illya groans, squinting her eyes over at me. "Eh? Did you break your alarm clock...?" She asks, sleepily.
"I'll fix it with magic." I wave her concern off.
"Mmmmm..." She groans, making an upset face.
"What's with that face?" I ask.
"I don't wanna get up." She whines.
"Yeah, well... It's Monday, so..." I say, earning another groan from her.
"We kinda got carried away, last night, huh?" Illya asks, looking up at me while rubbing her hand on my chest lovingly.
"Yeah... You regret it?"
"No. Never." She says quickly. "Though... I wish my hips weren't so sore..."
"I'll fix it after we get up." I reassure her.
Slowly, we both get up and sit on the edge of the bed. Illya crawls over before hugging my side. I happily wrap my arm around her nude form, pulling her even closer. We sit there for a while before bothering to get dressed, completely content just being together like this.
"Hey, Ruby?" The young girl says, her brother having left his room first.
"Yes, Illya-san?" The Kaleidostick says in a sing-song voice.
"Thanks for helping me out last night." The albino girl says with a thankful smile.
"Aww, it's fine." Ruby says, moving her wing down like she's pushing away the thanks. "We Kaleidosticks were made to help our Masters in more than just collecting the Class Cards. If helping out means I can make you something as simple as condoms and sexy lingerie, then I'm more than glad to do it!" She then holds her wing to her face like one would hide their mouth. "Also, seeing Shirou-san's face when he saw you dressed like that was priceless!" The stick whispers.
Illya just awkwardly giggles, a blush shown brightly on her face. "Still, thanks, Ruby."
Aside from Sella asking about why Illya was so happy that morning, nothing else interesting happened for the first part of the day.
Also, I realized that the other soul inside of her is aware as it reached out towards me while we were fucking. I gave it the equivalent of another reassuring headpat before it retreated, seeming satisfied. I still have many questions about that, but I'll save it for another time. Maybe after this Class Card shit is done. Perhaps I can make her a body? I just hope removing her from Illya won't hurt either of them.
This whole week has been odd, that's for sure. Illya and Miyu have grown by leaps and bounds in using their magic and the Kaleidosticks. Rin and Luvia kept pestering me about allying with one of them over the other, which I kept turning down- much to their frustration and Sakura's joy, despite that latter not knowing the specifics. That purplette is a real sadist when she wants to be. Interestingly, I saw Rin and Ayako hanging out. I guess they hit it off in this timeline too.
This morning, that normalcy went away, Rin having stuffed a letter in our mailbox, before ringing the doorbell and running off like a child. As if I already didn't feel that spatial bullshit by the river yesterday on my date.
I worry if the Class Cards are mirroring the Servants from the Fifth Grail War, specifically from Fate/Stay Night. Miyu and Illya used 'Install' to fuse their Kaleidosticks with the Class Cards left by the older girls. Illya Archer card turned into EMIYA's bow- sans 'arrows'-, and Miyu's Lancer card into Gáe Bolg.
There's also Rider, who was Medusa. If this keeps up, then that means Caster will be Medea, which I worry they won't be able to handle. She's a tricky one, and will likely be- weakened or not. Medea can also fly, which those two have already got covered, thankfully.
Assassin will be Hassan of the Cursed Arm most likely- dangerous, but not as worrisome as the others. Though I'd be surprised if Sasaki Kojirou showed up instead. If Saber is Artoria, they're also in trouble. Excalibur is a fucking force to be reckoned with- again, weakened or not. That thing finished off SEFAR when being wielded by a random human, after all. Then again, Sefar was weak to the blade, being an alien.
Speaking of worrisome, that means Berserker will likely be Heracles. That last one I am certainly dreading. I've fought the bastard in my pocket dimension a couple of times now and he STILL gives me trouble, the tough bastard. I can understand fully how scary he was in Stay Night now. I can only hope he has less lives in addition to being weakened, whatever good that'll do- already having A in every fucking stat.
I won't be surprised if Illya gives up. Miyu on the other hand... she's serious about getting those cards, more than anyone else. She's personally invested in this for reasons I can only guess about.
Regardless, those two have a hard road ahead, whether or not the Servants are gonna be who I think they are.
That night, Illya, Ruby, and I left the house to near the river at around midnight. The three of us stayed up, due to me being able to negate exhaustion easily. My sister hopped onto my back, Ruby hanging onto her, and I began to run through the streets to where we were to meet with the others.
"Where did the note say again, Onii-chan?" Illya asks.
"By the river." I say. "The one they fought over the other day."
"That dumb woman. Couldn't she have just told us to our faces?" Ruby groans.
"I know right?" I agree.
"Still, it's still a bit surprising how much cool stuff you can do. I didn't know anyone could run this fast, Onii-chan." Illya says, rewetting to my sprinting speed.
"I trained a lot, like I said. One of those things I worked on was my speed, not just in combat, but for things like this." I explain.
"Good thing your crazy over preparation came in handy." Ruby jokes, knowing about me wanting to keep Illya safe.
"Hey, in a world with moralless Magi, pseudo-vampires, and an eldritch spider thing, one can never be too prepared." I say dryly.
"Eldritch spider thing?" Illya asks.
"Less you know about that fucking thing, the better." I say, seriously.
"Ah. You know about that too." Ruby says, with a tinge of surprise and fear.
"Zelretch tell ya about it?" I ask. Ruby hums and nods. "Good. Then here's a tip: stay the fuck away from South America."
Illya just shakes her head at my antics as Ruby nods with a chuckle.
After a few more minutes of running, we arrive at our meeting spot, Rin, Luvia, and Miyu already there, the latter transformed as Sapphire hovers near her. I come to a hard stop, kicking up dirt as I drag my feet across the grass. The three girls and stick all blink in surprise at my entrance. I note Luvia is wearing a dress/nightgown thing. Why?
"Hello there." I greet, Illya awkwardly chuckling on my back. Miyu smiles and shakes her head as Illya climbs down.
"Honestly, I'm starting to think I need to temper my expectations around you, Emiya-kun." Rin grumbles.
"Oh? And what gave ya that clue?" I deadpan, much to Rin's frustration, which brings a smile to Luvia's face. I thank god that she doesn't do the ojou-sama laugh before me. "Anyway, you two ready?" Illya and Miyu resolutely nod at my question. "Good." I smile. "Use those cards only if need be, although you shouldn't need 'em." I'll see if I can do something about that dumb cooldown they have after this fight.
"I take it you know which Servants are in the cards, Sherou?" Luvia asks. Ah right, she started calling me by my first name, after I got annoyed by the formality.
I nod. "Lancer is Cú Chulainn. Pretty easy to guess." I shrug. "Plus, it helps to know that there's an alternate timeline to this one where these exact Servants got summoned for a Grail War around this time." I notice Miyu tense.
"Grail War?" Illya asks.
"Also known as the 'Murder Death Kill' to those who know what it's actually about." I joke, chuckling.
"This is the first I'm hearing of this 'Grail War'." Rin admits.
"Huh?" I blink in surprise. How does she not know about it?
"Oh-ho! So even you can get caught off guard, Sherou." Luvia smirks.
"I suppose I should figure out when the last one happened." I muse. "Anyway, to summarize: Seven assholes summon seven Servants, kill each other, and the last one around gets a wish- just the one who wins, not their Servant. Though, in that alternate timeline no one ever got a wish, they all just killed each other every time."
Illya's brows furrow and Miyu's eyes narrow.
"From what I understand, there have only been three Holy Grail Wars in this timeline, Shirou-san." Sapphire explains. "The last occurring seventy years ago."
"So the fourth never happened..." I muse. As I expected.
"Didn't that thing happen every sixty years?" Ruby asks. "If it's the same as it was here, wouldn't the fifth be fifty years from now?"
"No." I correct. "Again, to summarize: Some idiots summoned an evil god as an Avenger class Servant in the third one, then he lost and went back to the Grail- not the Throne of Heroes-, corrupting it. When the Grail showed up near the end of the fourth, one of the Masters realized it'd kill everyone or worse, so he used all three Command Seals to make his Servant use their Noble Phantasm on the thing to destroy it. Problem is, it just cracked like an egg, released cursed mud and fire everywhere, destroying most of the city and killing a bunch of people. To make it worse, the Grail absorbed the mana from the Noble Phantasm, specifically fifty years worth, making the Fifth War happen ten years after the last."
Everyone takes on a thinking expression, mulling over that info.
I continue. "Anyway, the pattern has followed the Servants from that Fifth War exactly, so I can guess who's next."
"So you know which Servants are in the cards?" Miyu asks.
"Already mentioned Lancer, Rider is Medusa, Archer is a fucking asshole. Less said about him, the better." I groan, thinking about that asshole. Maybe it's a Shirou Emiya thing to not get along with him.
"Why?" Illya asks.
" 'Cause I said so." My girlfriend pouts at my non-answer. "I know what he can do, but I'd rather you not know who that guy is. He's... hard to get along with, let's leave it at that." I explain. Miyu's face turns to one of confusion at that. Ah, she knows who it is. I guess she doesn't know how her brother could be mean.
"So, who will be fighting next?" Miyu asks.
"If I'm right, then Caster will most likely be Medea." I say, causing the two magi to grimace. "Assassin will either be Hassan of the Cursed Arm or Sasaki Kojirou."
"Either? Where there two Servants summoned?" Sapphire asks.
"Kinda. Caster summoned Assassin herself, being Medea, but there technically was already one. Like I said, that War was messy." I explain. "Saber will likely be King Arthur, though as a woman."
"Eh? Seriously?" Illya asks, surprised.
"History gets shit wrong sometimes." I shrug.
"And Berserker?" Luvia asks.
"Heracles."
Silence reigns after I say that.
"Well... It's not that bad... right...?" Illya says, cautiously.
"All of his stats, save Luck are A-plus or A, save for Luck, which is B." I say, causing the Magi and sticks to grimace. "He can't be hurt by anything under A-rank. Also, one of his Noble Phantasms gives him twelve lives, and when killed, gets a resistance to whatever killed him. That means you need to kill him twelve different ways or take multiple of his lives at once."
"...That's." Luvia grimaces further.
"Yeah." I say. "Thankfully, if we run into him, he'll be weakened. Not by much, but still." I turn to the smaller girls. "Let me be clear, unless it's Berserker, you two are gonna fight him. I won't interfere unless absolutely necessary. But for Berserker? I'll deal with him. Unless you girls get four to five times as strong as you are now, he's absolutely OUT of your fucking league." I stress. "Understand me?"
The smaller girls nod, clearly taking my warning seriously. I REALLY hope Berserker doesn't pop up next. If they're so serious about fighting and getting the cards, then I won't intervene.
I smile. "Good. Now enough talk, let's go and get 'em."
Entering the Mirror World, we all freeze, seeing Caster Medea flying high above us. She's placed giant magic circles EVERYWHERE.
"What are those?" Illya asks, worried.
"Magic circles." I say.
"Th-There's so many of them..." My sister says.
"These are..." Rin mutters, looking worried as everyone else does. I'm still calm though.
"Yeah, it looks like our enemy..." Ruby begins, as the magic circles use small, red lasers, all of them on Illya. It's like red dot sights on a gun. "...is well prepared."
Right then, a part of the wall of circles fire off, shooting MASSIVE lasers of mana right at us.
The girls all stumble. I hear Illya gasp as I hold out one hand, making a barrier around us, blocking all of Medea's shots.
"Miyu, you've got precision, and Illya's got power and speed. Illya, stick to distracting Caster so that Miyu can hit her hard." I 'order', suggesting a plan.
"G-Good idea." Illya stutters.
"Nn." Miyu nods.
"Once I drop the barrier, run for it." I say.
After the shots stop, I drop the barrier.
"Go!"
With my shout, the two magical girls run forward before leaping up. Illya begins to fly as Miyu jumps off of the air itself, both ascending towards the Shadow Servant. Illya then jolts, noticing Caster aiming for her. But she's too small and quick, so they all miss as she continues to ascend while Miyu keeps jumping up and up.
"Just keep flying until you're above the magical circles! The attacks won't reach you there!" Ruby says. Illya dodges every blast, before firing a barrage of her own at Caster, who blocks it easily. Seems the dodging training really helped.
This causes the Servant to focus on Illya while Miyu kicks forward off of air. "Lancer, Inclu-" She begins, but is stopped as Medea teleports behind her, hitting her with a spell that causes the brunette magical girl to slam into the bridge.
"Miyu-san!" Illya cries as the other girl slams into the ground. Looking closer, I see Miyu's leg is bleeding, thankfully the magical girl transformation comes with regeneration. Medea, however, is aiming for the downed girl. Before I can move to intervene, I notice something moving fast. Just before the blasts can reach, Illya manages to swoop down and scoop up her fellow magical girl before the worst happens. "That was a close one!"
"Nice, Illya!" Rin cheers.
"T-That was bad for my heart." Luvia says, sighing in relief. I agree with ya.
"Miyu-san, are you okay?" Illya asks as she flies just over the water, causing the liquids to ripple.
"There's no problem. My injury will heal soon." Miyu says. "Let me go. I'm fine."
"Oh, okay." Illya says, letting the other girl go, who then 'stands' on the air.
"As expected of a witch from the Age of the Gods. Being able to use magic to teleport is cheating." Ruby comments.
"What should we do?" Illya asks.
"There's still a way." Miyu says, determined. Oh, has she got a plan? "I'll need you to distract her."
After a moment of planning, the two girls ascend towards Caster, each in their own way. Illya shoots at the Servant, but it's blocked by her Bounded Field. While Illya is attacking the Servant, Miyu is above the magic circles.
"Here we go, Ruby! Extra Large Barrage!" Illya shouts, firing off a massive plethora of magic shots from the Kaleidostick. Dammit, I told her to stop naming her attacks. It doesn't do anything to the barrier, but... Ah, it's a distraction. Miyu is above, gathering energy into Sapphire.
"Shoot!" The girl cries, firing a green-blue blast of magic directly against Caster's back and continuing onwards, where it razes the ground.
"D-Did we get her?" The albino girl asks.
"Not yet. Keep attacking, quickly!" Ruby answers.
Rin and Luvia are quick to capitalize on Caster being slammed into the ground. "Anfang!" "Zeichen!" They shout, tossing gems at the downed Servant. "Five gale/Seven flare Blasts: Rotor Strum!"
An explosion of fire and wind hits Caster dead on, creating a column of light.
"Whoa, impressive." Illya praises.
"I thought they'd just watch, but they're surprisingly useful." The red stick comments.
Illya looks up. "The magical circles disappeared. That means we did it!"
I wouldn't be so sure... Despite this, Rin and Luvia casually walk up to the crater before arguing to each other about how Rin only used five gems. Illya lands next to them and awkwardly laughs.
"Excellent work, Miyu-sama." Sapphire praises. "That was a magnificent plan."
"That's not true. If she had continuously teleported, it wouldn't have worked." Miyu argues. "It was a dangerous gamble."
"Come down, Miyu!" Luvia shouts. "Come collect the card so we can leave!"
"Let's go, Miyu-sama." The blue stick says.
Miyu begins to walk down the air. "Okay, now that's two cards-", but she gasps upon seeing Caster in the air. Everyone turns to see Medea, mostly unharmed, but definitely singed. She floats down towards the ground, a sadistic and hateful grin peeking out from under her hood. The girls all tense, ready to continue. I'm still calm, but-
I tense hard as I feel a new source of energy. The fuck is that...?
Clanking metal rings out as we all turn to the side and see a figure emerge from the trees.
"Wait, who is that?" Rin shouts.
"Saber." I grimace. But it's not just Artoria, it's the blackened version of her: Saber Artoria Alter, complete with he visor and everything. A black, purple, and red energy oozes from Excalibur Morgan, in her armored hand.
Oh fuck. This is worse than I expected it to be. Then again, I figured Saber would be a hard opponent, but to fight two in a row? And have the second one be Saber Alter?! Fuck, this is bad.
"Since when can there be two Servants in the same distortion?!" Luvia shouts.
"Does it matter?" I ask, shouting. Caster seems focused on the girls, but Saber's gaze hasn't left me. "Y'all can deal with Caster. Saber's mine."
"Onii-chan, it's fine. W-We can-"
"No, you can't." I interrupt, stopping my girlfriend's delusions in their tracks. "This isn't just King Arthur."
"I see that. Why is she so...?" The Japanese magus asks.
"Evil?" I finish. "In one of those timelines I mentioned before, the Fifth War ended up getting... messy. More so than the other versions of that war. Saber got corrupted by the Grail's mud, empowering her by a stupidly large amount. The Berserker of that War, who was nigh-unkillable, would fuck her up normally, but in that Blackened state, she kicked his ass easily."
The girls' eyes widen, seeming to understand the threat.
"I'll handle Saber, draw her away from you girls. Focus on Caster, got it?" I ask.
They all nod. "Okay, Onii-chan." Illya says.
"Good." I smile, before holding my hand out, a demonic claymore appearing in it. "Sorry, but I'll be killin' ya, Saber."
The Blackened Servant tenses, grasping her black blade with both hands.
Grinning, I dash at her. She moves to block, but I put lots of energy into the blade. Upon impact with her sword, the Devil Sword Dante sends Artoria flying away, knocking down some trees in the process. I run after her.
Good luck, girls. Caster oughta be a breeze compared to this idiot.
"Will Onii-chan be okay?" Illya asks, worried for her brother. Is this what he feels like, worrying about her?
"He will. We have to trust him." Miyu says, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. As much as she wants to help, she is well aware that the only one that can match Saber is Shirou. The albino looks at her and nods, before they both turn to face Caster.
"We'll stick back." Rin says. "Don't go easy on her."
"Good luck, you two." Luvia adds as the two magi take some steps back.
The two magical girls tighten their grips on their Kaleidosticks.
Caster's mouth moves quickly, muttering words quicker than be me understood as magic builds in and around her. She grips her staff tightly, then she MOVES. Casters are usually squishy mages, focusing on ranged attacks, but this is Medea, a denizen of the Age of the Gods. Reinforcement is easy for her.
Illya's and Miyu's eyes widen as Medea blasts towards them. They quickly hold their sticks out, forming magic barriers in front, blocking Medea's staff from hitting them.
"She swapped to a close-ranged assault?!" Sapphire asks.
"She's using a crazy-strong level of Reinforcement magecraft!" Ruby realizes. "Be really careful, Illya-san, Miyu-san."
Both girls hop to the side, dropping the barrier as Medea continues forward. Both girls twist, holding their wands out as they fire blasts of magic at the witch. But she teleports again, right behind Illya, smacking her in the head.
"Illya!" Miyu cries as her friend slams into the ground, clutching her head. Baring her teeth, Miyu coats Sapphire in mana, forming a blue energy blade around the Kaleidostick. She dashes towards Medea, but is forced to block as she quickly fires off a gout of fire at her. It's strong, so it sends her flying back, singeing her outfit a bit. The brunette grits her teeth as she stops her backwards momentum.
Medea dashes towards her once again.
"Illya-san, are you alright?!" Ruby asks, frantic.
"I-I think so..." The albino manages out, her head throbbing as she tries to stand up, to no avail.
"Just stay down for a moment, you'll-"
"No." The girl interrupts. "Miyu's not as fast as I am, she can't dodge Caster forever. I need to..." She clenches her fist. "I need to..." Her body refuses to move.
Then, something happens. Something interesting...
The small brunette finds herself on the backfoot as Caster implements new spells into her arsenal. If it was just large-scale spells, like before, it wouldn't be hard, but since she's using melee with Reinforcement on top of that, Medea is proving how formidable of a foe she really can be, even if she's weakened. And this isn't simple Reinforcement, but a stronger version of it from the Age of the Gods.
'Since when are Casters front-line fighters?' Miyu curses to herself, dodging another swing of Caster's staff.
Despite not having high stats save for Mana, the Reinforcement makes up for that, elevating the Servant to one of the Knight classes (Saber, Archer & Lancer).
Miyu barely dodges another spell from Caster, before the Servant dashes forward-
whoosh
-only to stop on a dime and desperately lean back, dodging a projectile. The brunette follows the attack's trail and sees a... arrow impaled in a tree. Can it even be called an arrow? It's almost a sword.
'A... sword...? Hang on...' The magical girl thinks to herself.
Both Caster and Miyu turn to see the person who fired it. The young girl's golden eyes widen upon seeing her friend, holding a massive bow.
'Did she... Install the Archer card...? But how?'
Sure enough, there is Illya, clad in a rather revealing black and red outfit, her hair turned a light pink. Her eyes are now gold and orange, like a sunset. Her skin has also tanned.
Miyu racks her brain, trying to figure out how she found out about the Install ability. But before her thoughts become too much, something else causes her to pause. If that girl is Illya, using the Install ability...
...then why is she unconscious behind the tan girl?
Caster lets out a low growl, before turning back towards Miyu. The magical girl tenses, but before Caster can react, the tan Illya is upon her, twin blades in hand. Caster barely manages to block them with her staff, but then the blades dissolve, letting the girl fall down. As she lands, the tan girl forms another of the white blade in her hand, quickly, slashing through Caster's stomach.
"UGH!" The Servant cries, bending down in pain, only to have her head impaled by a black sword, freshly made in the girl's other hand. Caster tries to speak, to no avail, as she begins to fade away, leaving a card behind. As it falls to the ground, the girl dispels her swords again, catching the card before it lands.
The tan Illya smirks, her gold-orange eyes resting on Miyu as she holds the card up.
Miyu grips Sapphire hard, not due to being annoyed that this girl beat Caster, but due to her not being strong enough to do it herself.
Not strong enough to do it, even with Illya's help...
"Phew." The two girls turn to see Shirou walking towards them from the forest. He has that demonic sword slung over his shoulder and seems completely unharmed. In his free hand is another card.
Upon knocking Saber away from the girls, we engaged in a one-sided duel. I basically just played with her, using the Devil Sword Dante and Beowulf to beat her without taking a hit. I felt Caster stop spamming magic, so I figure they took care of her.
"Phew." I sigh, walking back towards the girls. Upon seeing them, I pause.
There's Miyu, standing next to Illya, who's holding the Caster card. But why is she wearing a lewd version of EMIYA's outfit? And why is her hair pink, and eyes orange-gold? And why's her skin tan?
My confusion only increases when I see Illya to the side, knocked out as Ruby floats next to her. Rin and Luvia are also near her, completely baffled by there being two Illyas.
"I figured that you'd beat her easily, Onii-chan." The other Illya smirks.
I nod, shrugging with a smile. "And you somehow used the card to make yourself a body and break that magic on ya."
"Seems like it." The tan girl grins, looking herself over.
"I knew it was a good idea to weaken that lock." I smile. "Though I didn't expect this to happen."
"Neither did I." She grins, shrugging as if to say 'what can you do'.
"Okay, what the heck is going on?!" Rin shouts. "Why are there TWO Illyas?!"
Ruby is also looking back and forth at both girls.
I sigh, noticing the dimension cracking. With a pulse of magic, we all teleport back to the real world. "How's about this: I don't know all the answers, so how about we all sit down and talk about this tomorrow?" I suggest, eyeing the nearby clock next to the sidewalk, reading twelve-thirty nine. "It's late and we all need rest."
Rin opens her mouth, before closing it. "Fine." She sighs.
Luvia speaks next, "Very well. We can worry about this tomorrow."
"Good." I nod. "We'll meet up at Luvia's tomorrow after school." I look at Miyu, a little bit scraped up from her fight. "She gave ya a tough time, huh?"
Her golden eyes widen, but Miyu nods, looking ashamed of herself and also pissed off. Smiling, I walk over to her and pat her on the head, while also using magic to heal her up.
"Get some good sleep, Miyu." I smile.
Her eyes widen, a small blush on her face as she nods. I smile and let her go, before walking over to Illya. I pick up the still unconscious girl as Ruby floats by us.
Turning around, I face the other Illya. "You coming?"
"Huh?" Tan Illya blinks.
"Are you coming?" I repeat, slowly. "C'mon." I motion towards myself with my head.
She stares at me for a moment, before sighing, a small smile on her face. "Alright."
Opening a portal, I walk through back to my room, Illya in hand as my other sister and Ruby follow. Closing the portal behind us, I lay Illya on the bed. Ruby, taking the hint, slips away, likely going to Illya's room- she also has another little bed there.
"So... are you alright?" I ask.
The tan girl looks at me weirdly. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well your soul just got pulled out and fused with a magic card before being put in a new body. I was a touch worried there'd be some discomfort or something." I explain my concern.
"No, I feel fine." She reassures.
"Good, good." I smile.
"I'm surprised you're reacting like this, Onii-chan." She says, giving me a strange look.
"I already knew about your soul being there." I admit. "Considering Illya didn't know about magecraft and since she had two souls- yours feeling older-, I figure Mom tried to erase her- your- memories of magic, not knowing she basically made a clone of your soul- minus the memories of magic- while leaving you inside."
The tan girl blinks, before she grins, clearly impressed. "I'm surprised. You really figured it all out at once, Onii-chan."
"Well, not all of it. I was still trying to figure out how to talk to you, maybe make you a body. Though, it seems that worked itself out." I say. "I'm glad to see you aren't hurt by this all..." I then narrow my eyes. "Though, you could stand to ease up on those glares you're sending Illya."
Her gold-orange eyes widen, before they narrow. "You noticed that?"
"And the killing intent? Of course I did, I ain't stupid, Kuro." I shoot back.
"Kuro? What am I, a cat?" She growls, looking like a cat, funnily enough.
"Well I met Illya first-" I say, pointing my thumb at my sleeping sister. "-, so I can't call ya both that. Besides, it's just a nickname, seeing as you've got darker skin than her, thanks to Archer."
She calms down slightly, still wary of me.
"I'm guessing you're angry at Illya for being stuck in your own body like that, huh?" I guess.
"Of course I am! Mama shouldn't have... I don't know why she..." Kuro trails off, looking more hurt than angry.
"Well... seeing as how you've split, I'd say you're now free to live your life how you want." I say.
Her eyes snap up to meet mine. "Just like how she's free to keep fighting those Servants." She says, eyeing Illya.
"After what happened this evening, I won't be surprised if she gives this job up." I say, looking at the sleeping albino girl. "But no matter what, I won't let her get hurt. I promised myself that when I found out about this side of the world."
Kuro scoffs. "Considering you messed up hiding this from her, what makes you think you can keep this promise, Onii-chan?"
"...Good question." I admit, somberly. I already fucked up once, so... That aside, I smile, turning back to my other sister. "Still, you don't sound like you hate her all that much."
She looks away. "Mama wanted us to have a normal life, that's why she sealed me away."
"I'd wager she didn't know what she did to you." I argue. "You know how spontaneous and careless she can be."
Kuro lets out a dry chuckle.
"Is that what you want?"
"What?" She looks at me, confused.
"Is that what you want?" I repeat. "To live a normal life?"
"Why are you asking me that?" Kuro asks.
"Because you're free to live your own life now." I point out. "And you're my sister just as much as Illya is. If there's something I can do to help ya, I'll do it without hesitation."
She blinks in surprise, before letting out a genuine laugh at that. "You really do see me as your sister. Just like that."
"You are and aren't Illya, therefore, you're my sister." I shrug.
Kuro smiles at that, before her smile turns teasing. "You really are a sis-con, Onii-chan."
"Nope, I'm just an Illya-con." I retort, smirking back.
"Hahaha!" Kuro laughs hard at that. I chuckle a bit as well.
After we calm down, I look at her in the eyes. "It's nice to meet you, Chloe."
"Chloe?" She blinks.
"It's a foreign name, just like Illya." I point out. "Plus, it kinda sounds like Kuro when pronounced in Japanese."
She smirks. "Chloe... Chloe von Einzbern... Yeah, I think that's fine." Chloe nods, looking back at me. "It's nice to meet you too, Shirou-onii-chan."
We both genuinely smile at one another.
"But you're right." Chloe says. "I do want to live a normal life, especially after being locked away like that for so long. Mama wanted that for me, so I want to live the life she denied me... Maybe I could go to school?" She asks.
I nod, quickly forming a clone of myself. "You know what to do." I tell him.
He nods, hopping through a portal.
Chloe eyes me. "What was that for?"
"Just getting yourself some identification so you can get enrolled in school." I shrug. "Tomorrow's Monday, so maybe you can go right ahead and go." Might need a touch of hypnotism here and there, as well as some extra magical fuckery, but the clone oughta get things done quick.
"...You really are willing to do anything for me, aren't you?" Chloe realizes.
"I told ya, you're my sister. I'll do what I can to help you, especially after being fucked over like you've been. It's the right thing to do." I explain. Chloe's been dealt a shit hand thus far, so It's only natural I wanna help her. The fact that she's my sister only makes me want to help even more.
She merely smiles a genuine smile. "Thanks, Onii-chan."
I just shrug.
Her smile turns teasing again as she takes a step towards me. She leans forward, hand on her hip, trying to be as seductive as possible. "But... are you sure that's all? I look exactly like your other sister- your girlfriend. Are you just trying to get on my good side, Onii-chan?"
Dammit, tan girls have always been a weakness of mine. Regardless...
"And what if I am?" I ask, smiling as I take a step closer to her. Chloe blinks, standing upright again. "Maybe I want to get a taste of you too, Kuro-chan."
Her eyes widen, a furious blush on her face. Geez, she's the type that can give, but not receive, huh? I laugh at her reaction, much to her ire. She scoffs at me, trying to play her embarrassment off. "Honestly..."
"Hehe, sorry." I say, raising my hands in surrender. "Still, we oughta get to bed."
"Yeah." Chloe nods.
I walk over to Illya and use a bit of magic on her, teleporting her clothes off, teleporting clean sleepwear on, and cleaning all of the sweat and stuff off her all at once.
"Lolicon Onii-chan." Chloe accuses.
"Oh, hush." I chide playfully. "It's best to be comfortable while sleeping."
Chloe rolls her eyes, before they snap open when I use magic to instantly swap to my sleepwear- underwear and pants. Her eyes are glued to my chest.
"Chloe?"
She doesn't budge.
"Chlooooeeee?"
She still doesn't budge.
Rolling my eyes, I flick her on the nose, snapping her out of her trance. "I, uh... what?"
"You want me to make you some clothes too?" I ask.
"Uh... sure...?" She asks, still eyeing my muscles. Heh, I'm guessing it's a different sight in reality as opposed to watching it through Illya.
With an outstretched hand, I change her clothes to be similar to Illya's- A long-sleeved pajama top and bottom, as well as panties. Chloe takes a moment to look herself over.
"Good?" I ask. She nods, satisfied.
Smiling, I move over to my bed and lay down next to Illya. To my surprise, she instinctually moves over and lays her head on my chest, wrapping her soft legs around one of mine. I blink, surprised that she's still asleep. Was that done on instinct?
Looking over, Chloe seems surprised too. Smiling at the situation, I use my right hand to hold Illya against me, while my left pats the bed invitingly.
"Really...?" Chloe asks, deadpan. My only response is to nod and pat the bed faster. She rolls her gold-orange eyes and lays down in bed, laying against me just like Illya. Geez, it's like looking at a damn mirror. The tan girl looks a bit embarrassed, her face slightly red. Smiling, I use my left hand to pull her close, just like with Illya. She jolts and widens her eyes, but doesn't resist, nor does she hide the small smile on her face. She for sure was watching Illya and I together for... probably all the time we've been together. Maybe she was jealous about more than just Illya living a normal life?
Regardless of that, my new sister closes her eyes, smiling as she snuggles against me. I find myself doing the same, too relaxed from having the warmth of two cute girls on either side.
I fall asleep pretty quickly.
"WH-WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?!"
I'm awoken in the morning to Illya shouting, sounding frantic.
"Wha?" I ask, opening by eyes despite the sudden brightness from the sun. Illya is looking over to where Chloe was, her face bright red and aghast. Looking over, I see Chloe...
Only she's noticeably less clothed than last night. She still has on the pajama top and panties, but the pants are nowhere to be found and the top's moved in such a way to nearly reveal her petite breasts... Wait, the pants are on the ground. Still, her smooth, tan legs are wrapped around my left leg.
She lets out a whine at her twin's volume. "Mmm... What's...?" She opens her eyes. As they fall on me, they widen, before they relax, a big smile on her face. "Ah, good morning, Onii-chan."
Illya looked upset, but now she looks downright murderous. "Onii... chan...?"
I sigh, smiling at their antics. "Morning, Illya. Morning, Chloe."
The tan girl giggles, whereas Illya, "Onii-chan! Who is this and why does she look like me?!"
"Huh? If anything, you look like me." Chloe argues, causing Illya to practically growl at her- like a small animal.
"Alright, alright, settle down." I say. "To keep a long story short- you had another soul inside ya. She then fused with the Archer card, gaining its abilities and beat Caster, but doing so knocked you out."
"Another soul...?" Illya asks, dumbfounded.
"More like you're the other soul." Chloe reveals. "I'M the original Illya, it's just that instead of getting my memories wiped, you got made and I was sealed inside of our body- forced to watch you live my life instead of me." She said 'our' body, not 'my'. Interesting.
Illya's anger immediately dies at that, looking somberly at the tan doppelgänger. "You were... sealed...?"
Chloe nods at her question.
Illya sighs. "This is all pretty weird, but... if Onii-chan isn't throwing you out, you must not be dangerous."
The tan girl raises an eyebrow. "I have all of the abilities of the Servant in the Archer card."
"You know what I mean!" The albino snaps, much to Chloe's joy. "Onii-chan said your name was... Chloe, right?"
"It's actually Illya, but since that's been yours for a while now..." Chloe begins, before looking at me. "Onii-chan figured I shouldn't take that from you."
"A new name for a new start at life." I add. "It's fitting." Especially since it helped me out after being reborn like I was.
"So... I suppose I should say, it's nice to meet you, um... What should I call you?" Illya asks.
"Probably Onee-chan. She IS older." I suggest.
"Yeah, but she's been 'reborn', right? So maybe I should call her imouto." Illya says, before her face slowly turns red. She leans over to Chloe. "Chloe, call me Onee-chan!"
"Huh? Not a chance! I'M the older one!" Chloe snaps.
"Not a chance, Kuro!"
"Gah! You two really are siblings, calling me by that stupid nickname!"
"I think it's cute." I interject, causing the tan girl to grumble.
Illya sighs, calming down. "Still, it's nice to meet you, Chloe."
Chloe smiles, genuinely. "It's nice to meet you too, Illya."
Illya smiles back, great big smiles on both of their faces.
"And..." Chloe begins, turning back to me. "It's good to meet you too, Onii-chan."
I deadpan at her. "I gave you pants to wear last night."
"Yeah, but they were uncomfortable, so I took them off." Chloe explains, pouting. "Though I slept reeeeally well on your muscles, Onii-chan. I wanna touch 'em more." She grins, rubbing her hand on my abs.
Illya looks aghast once again. "I was wrong! You ARE dangerous!"
"Fufufu~" Kuro giggles. "Don't be jealous, Illya-chan. We look the same, so I'm sure Onii-chan will give me as much love as he did you."
"What do you...?" Illya asks, narrowing her eyes. Then, they widen. "Wait, wait, wait! You saw us?!" She shouts, face red as a tomato.
"I've seen EVERYTHING." Chloe grins, savagely. "From you two confessing to you two consummating your love the other night."
"?!" Illya freezes, face red, eyes wide, and mouth agape in horror and embarrassment.
"Fufu~ I didn't know Onii-chan could be such a beast~!" Kuro teases, much to Illya's still growing horror.
"Chloe?"
"Hm? What is it, Onii-chan?" She asks, turning back to me.
"You two are definitely identical. Maybe..."
fwap!
"Ahh!" Chloe shouts, jolting as my hand smacks against her soft, tan ass.
I lean forward, my face nearly touching hers. "...I think I should see exactly how DEEP your similarities go. Would you like that, Chlo~e~chan~?" I ask, my voice deepening at the end, a teasing grin on my face.
"I-Wha-Ugh...!" Chloe chokes out as her body shivers from my tone, her face looking exactly like Illya did a moment ago.
I smugly chuckle, pulling away. "You have good offense, Chloe, but your defense is worse than Illya's."
"What does that mean?" Illya shouts, upset.
"It means you're both super weak to teasing." I say, before pulling Illya down-
"Ah!"
-, holding both girls against me. "It just goes to show that you're both twins... or something like that."
The two girls eye each other curiously. ""Twins...?""
"Oh and my clone got the paperwork done. You'd both better get ready for school." I smile, earning a surprised look from Chloe and a shocked look from Illya.
AN
As a reminder, this story and the Blue Archive one are on Ao3 and Wattpad under the same name. Also, I uploaded a pseudo-sequel to this set in Grand Order. Go and give it a read, if you would.
Well, well, well. It's another curveball. Chloe showed up early somehow!
I thought it was only appropriate. I didn't want to lean too close to canon and didn't want to wait until Season 2 to introduce Chloe, so I just introduced her here instead!
Are you surprised? Tell me what you think!
Also, it was funny that people were complaining about Shirou shouting in the fight in the original story- albeit only on FanFiction. It was just lines from DMC, why were they bad? It was Shirou doing what Dante does: show off in a fight. I just didn't think it was as 'cringey' as some people strongly did.
I ultimately decided to cut the Shirou vs Saber fight in this one. Just know he kicked her ass easily.
The image at the top on Wattpad is from Danbooru, post number 6957488.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next!