Shattered Blade

by DrakeValkyr

After several years of traveling the world's battlefields, Enforcer Shirou Emiya finds himself in Shin Tokyo. Leave it to him to go on vacation and end up trapped in yet another battle royal between magical beings. Inspired by Gabriel Blessing's In Flight.

6. Chapter 6: Angry Crow Takes Flight

Disclaimer: Render onto Caesar that which is Caesar's.

Chapter 6: Angry Crow Takes Flight

*Chapter Start*

*Minato*

As soon as we stepped into the forest, I felt…odd. A heavy presence in the woods seemed to wash everything else out. Soon enough, I couldn't even hear or smell the smoldering metal coming from the destroyed trucks. I breathed deep, taking in the refreshing scent of loam and wood.

I didn't understand it, but… it was like something in the forest was messing with me. Not in a bad way. It was just… something about the tranquil atmosphere of the Botanical Gardens bled the fear and anxiety away from me.

A moment ago I was cowering behind a building in the middle (edge really) of a fire fight and realizing the mortal peril I had so foolishly placed myself in by following Seo. My nerves had me shaking and stuttering as I crept out from behind my cover and followed him (and the girls) into the woods.

Now though, I felt fine. Settled.

Calm.

I had no problem walking with them, no… no now I was leading them deeper into the labyrinthine forest.

"Seo." I broke the silence that hung between us. The pervasive feeling gave me a strange sense of confidence. Otherwise, I wasn't sure I'd have been able to ask the question I was about to. Especially not after seeing the unprovoked and irrationally vicious attack the three of them launched against those soldiers. With this strange feeling empowering me, I felt I had to know why they did it. Despite today being my only lengthy interaction with them (that didn't involve being accidentally electrocuted while walking down the street), I felt that I had changed my opinion on them.

Seo, Hikari and Hibiki looked wild, uncouth, scary and mean… but they were also helpful, kind, giving and adventurous. I was having trouble reconciling their actions of a few minutes ago against their actions earlier this afternoon.

"Why did you attack those guys?"

"They're MBI." Seo growled, as if that was an explanation in and of itself. He had a… not quite hard look on his face, but it was definitely angry. Maybe it was this alien sense of serenity, but I wasn't concerned: his anger wasn't directed at me. If it was, then it would have been joined by countless volts of electricity running through my body. But the look of anger faded just as soon, replacing itself with a look of… melancholy? Helplessness? I wasn't able to accurately describe his expression.

"What's so bad about them? They're a major biomedical company that makes medicine and medical equipment."

"That's not the only thing they do. They're the people behind the Sekirei Plan." He said the words as if they were a curse.

I… didn't really understand what he was getting at. MBI was involved with the Sekirei that much was irrefutable. Their CEO personally called (and threatened) each Ashikabi (I assumed) to instruct them as to the rules of the game. They funded any needs of the Ashikabi and Sekirei participants. Their personnel monitored the participants and kept the game a secret.

My confusion must have shown on my face as he elaborated. "Do you really think that the Sekirei want to fight against one another?" The question struck me. To be honest, I think I did. Er, well, that wasn't quite right.

I didn't want to fight anyone.

I didn't want Musubi to fight anyone.

I didn't want anyone to get hurt.

But… Shirou, Musubi, Hikari, Hibiki, Uzume… all they talked about was fighting. Musubi couldn't wait to fight any and every Sekirei we met. The twins were fighting Musubi when we first met, and based on their attack on the soldiers it looked like they didn't mind fighting.

Out of all of them, it seemed Uzume was the only one that differed. She seemed sad that she would have to fight with Musubi eventually… but what did she tell me? 'We're Sekirei, fighting is what we do?' No, that wasn't quite right, but it was something along those lines. Of all of the Sekirei I'd met so far (and admittedly, that was only a small number), she was the only one who seemed resigned to fighting instead of excited.

Well, maybe Akitsu was different. It was hard to tell with the quiet woman, especially since I'd only just met her yesterday.

"To MBI, you, me, the Sekirei, we're all just toys to them. Something to watch break. They're all despicable." He snarled. "They don't care how many people they endanger or that die so long as they get what they want. Every single one of them, the scientists, Minaka, his pet soldiers, they're all culpable. If it wasn't for them, then Aki-"

A flash of light interrupted his spiel.

"-what the hell?" It was a girl. A girl made of translucent light hung between us. Vibrant green eyes stared at me from beneath a halo of golden yellow hair, flowing down to her knees and splayed around her pale crème dress. She was so tiny, hanging in midair, one of her hands brought up to her mouth in a nervous gesture. Were it not for Seo's staring at the same phenomena, I'd have thought I was hallucinating. It would explain my rapid and unexplained mood swing if the stress of the past few days had finally gotten to me and I'd cracked. Yes, seeing ghost girls hanging in midair was the next logical step in my descent into insanity –

Wait…

"Ku-chan?" I gasped. It was her. Kusano: the girl from my dreams. I was right, she was in here. Her hand pulled away from her mouth, giving a beautiful and happy smile. Cherubic. Onii-chan. I felt the words pulse in my head more than I heard them. Her other hand came up and pointed further into the forest, down a different direction from how Seo and I had been walking. "You're… in there?" Was she… leading us to her? Was this part of her powers as a Sekirei? Was she a Sekirei? Granted, that last one seemed to be answered by her appearing to me in dreams and flashes of light, but still.

She suddenly tore her eyes away, her smile gone as she looked fearfully behind her. When she turned back her eyes were wide and watery. Onii-chan! Help! The words pulsed through me once more as she disappeared into motes of light.

"Kusano?" I started, stumbling forward as if to catch her as she disappeared. "Kusano!"

"Well, well, well. This does look interesting." Seo muttered, drawing me back from where Kusano's shade disappeared. Interesting? Interesting?!

"That little girl is alone and scared in the middle of the forest and you think that's interesting?!" I snarled at him. Fear be dammed, I was pissed. What kind of man just stood idly by while a kid cried? While they were scared and alone and desperate? "What kind of man are you? If you think that her plight is interesting then why don't you just stay here and fight more innocent people. That's a manly job for you right?" I was probably up lightning-bolt-to-the-face creek without a rubber suit, but I didn't care. He could kill me all he wanted, but I was going to save that little girl. "But me? I'm going to go after her."

I turned to storm away, but a strong grip held onto my shoulder, spinning me back. The move unbalanced me slightly, but I looked back with a glare and a clenched fist. I'd never thrown a punch before. Never been on the aggressors (or victors) side of a fight, but now was as good a time as any to break that pattern.

"Those are some good eyes you have." Seo's words, delivered in a grave, serious tone stopped me before I could go through with it. What? "That's a manly face you have there, the face of a cool man. It's a good face." Um… that was a little creepy, but I held my glare even as he gave me a roguish wink and adopted what he thought (and I had to reluctantly admit) was a cool pose. It was probably his height. Damn tall people looking down on the rest of us. "I knew there was something special about you, something I liked, and there it is. You might be small and scrawny and a bit meek, but you've got a good heart. I like that."

He continued, letting go of my shoulder. His words were embarrassing, creepy, slightly insulting and for some reason I felt like I passed some sort of test.

"I had originally just wanted to check this out for myself. But after seeing her come to you like that, well… You're right: I couldn't really call myself a man if I left a kid like that all alone. So how about I make sure you meet her?"

I dropped my glare, oddly touched at his proclamation. "Alright." I nodded. "Let's go find her-"

"Minato!"

My attention snapped to the right – just in time for a red and white blur to fill my entire vision –

"Oof!"

– and knock me to the ground. Ow… that hurt.

"Minato! I'm so glad I found you!" The familiar bubbly voice continued from above me. It was slightly muffled by whatever was smothering my head. The weight pressing against me was suddenly gone as Musubi sat up from where her tackle hug carried me to the ground.

"Mu…Musubi?" I asked. Of course it was the exuberant shine girl that fell into my life and changed it forever. There was no denying that. The real question though was: "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

"I missed you, so I came to find you silly!" She grinned. "I tried calling, but you left your phone upstairs, so I came to give it to you. Although to be honest, I got really lost!" She exclaimed with a proud grin. I had to hold in a sigh; only Musubi could be proud of that fact. The girl had a terrible sense of direction. "If it wasn't for running into Homura-san I'd probably be jumping around the city still!"

Homura-san?

Angling up so I could look past Musubi I saw another man. He was dressed in all black, complete with a balaclava pulled up over the lower portion of his face. The top portion was pulled down, resting at the back of his neck and letting his dark grey, chin-length hair free. A black cloak worn over the rest of his clothes completed his outfit, making him look like something out of Yukari's shonen manga. Actually, the mask was tight enough over his face to blur his distinguishing features, but from the angle of his face and his well sculpted body, he was definitely what she would refer to as 'bishonen.'

"Why am I not surprised to see you two when there is a loose Sekirei around?" The man spoke softly, but with a definite edge to his voice. Idly, I wondered if he practiced that: he sounded really cool with that mysterious hardline tone. I was a bit startled when flames started to lick up his arm from his palm. Surprisingly, the flames didn't ignite his clothing. "Hmm? Have you upgraded from attacking helpless Sekirei to attacking Ashikabi? As if you couldn't get much lower…"

"H-Homura?" One of the girls, Hibiki, stuttered as the twins hid slightly behind Seo. Their former confidant stances were gone as they meekly cowered behind their Ashikabi.

"W-We aren't up to anything this time, right Seo?" Hikari continued for her sister. "We're just helping that kid find the Green Girl."

"That's right Homura, relax." Seo was as unruffled as ever. Which, I had to say was pretty cool: to be brave in the face of someone who had even your Sekirei intimidated. Then again, it looked like he was a Sekirei as well, though the fire was a big giveaway. He was also the first male Sekirei I'd seen. "Looks like the Green Girl chose him to be her partner. We're just making sure he gets to her safely, right Minato?"

"Ah, that's right." I said as I climbed up from the ground. With Musubi and this new Homura guy here, my unfound confidence was a little more substantiated; I wasn't alone with another Ashikabi and his Sekirei anymore.

Despite his clear distaste for MBI and the violence he perpetrated on those related to the company, Seo's was sincere when he offered to protect me. Obviously, he was strongly opinionated when it came to MBI, but he didn't harm me. He might have scared me, but he didn't harm me. Maybe… maybe he was more dependable than I was giving him credit for.

Really, I think I had to stop judging based on every different action. I should let a little more time pass and let them explain their actions before I make up my mind about them. Meeting Seo has really been a roller coaster for my thoughts and moods and that probably wasn't healthy. At this rate I might give myself ulcers… or a heart attack.

"Minato?" Homura turned to regard me. In fact, he did more than just turn, as he walked up and leaned down to look in my eyes.

"M-may I help you?" I asked, leaning back away from him uncomfortably.

"You're Minato Sahashi, right?" He asked, still staring at me. How the… how the hell did he know my name? I could only nod, being really, really creeped out. He held his gaze for a few more seconds before nodding to himself and straightening. "Hmm. Then if she chose you I'll help you meet her too. Be warned though, if you try to force her, I'll be forced to stop you."

Force her? Force her to do what?

"Umm… okay. In that case we should probably be hurrying." I said, backing away from the strange man and his piercing gaze. Too many weird things were happening today. I really just wanted to go save Kusano, go home, visit Mom and have a nice dinner with my siblings and Musubi. Was that too much to ask? "There's a scared girl out there and wasting time here isn't helping her."

With that said, I turned towards the direction that Kusano pointed before she disappeared and started walking.

Just wait Ku, we're coming.

*Minato*

Of course, even with Kusano's directions, the transformed Gardens was massive. Walking through the thick underbrush was hard enough without a path and the ground being broken up by impassible roots, monolithic tree trunks and sunken pits. I was pretty sure there was some horribly mutated poison ivy we passed by a few dozen meters back.

To make matters worse, Kusano hadn't reappeared again. Not since she looked so fearful of whatever was behind her. I couldn't help but think that we were running out of time to find her before someone else did.

"Onii-chan!" Once more I heard Kusano's call. I spun, waiting to see her glowing avatar appear, hopefully to give us directions. Nothing. No sign of Kusano anywhere. Wait… that one was different. Before, I hadn't been hearing her speak so much as feeling her words. That last call of hers though, that one I heard. "No! Get away! Onii-chan, help!"

"Kusano!" I yelled, already running towards where I thought her voice was coming from.

"Get back here you stubborn little brat!" Another voice came from the other side of a copse. I dove through without thinking. Kusano was in trouble and judging by the sound someone had found her first. Leaves and bristles scratched at my face and tore at my skin and clothes.

The sight that greeted me on the other side of the wall of vegetation was… hardly ideal. No, that was putting it lightly. Kusano was on the ground, crying. Her once pristine crème colored dress was stained with dirt and grass and one of her sleeves was torn. Anger burned cold in my veins. My fists clenched tight. I'd like to say (correctly) that I was a pretty passive person. I didn't like to start trouble. I didn't raise my voice or complain. But this I could not abide, no sir.

There was another girl, an older one standing over Kusano, wearing a black vest with red trimming over a white dress. Brown hair was tied to a black ribbon at the back of her head. Heeled boots were pulled up to mid-thigh high black leggings. In her hands, raised above her head and posed to strike the sobbing girl at her feet, was a wicked looking red and black scythe.

For once in my life, I acted without thinking, throwing myself forward.

Thwack!

Holy shit I think I just broke my hand, I thought as I shook my throbbing hand. It could no longer be said that I have never thrown a fist in anger, I thought with a small amount of satisfaction. The girl staggered back slightly, though I suspected more from surprise than actual pain.

"What?! You filthy beast, how dare you touch me!" Her eyes turned to where I now stood between her and Ku, blazing with fury. "Who do you think you are?"

"Musubi! Seo!" I yelled, not backing down. The others were close by, only a couple of meters away from where I took off running from. Like hell I was going to let this bitch (Yeah, I cuss sometimes too!) get at the girl behind me. It was an older brother's prerogative to protect his siblings, and even if she wasn't my sister… she was someone's, and that meant I'd have to be her substitute big brother till he got here.

Growling, the other girl stalked forward, once more raising her scythe. "No, no more interruptions. If you won't behave I'll just have to kill this boy and cut your legs from under you. I'm sure my Master will understand if you're only slightly damaged."

I spread my arms out, making sure that Kusano was further shielded by my body from this lunatic. Before she could take another step, however, a gout of flame lanced through the air between us. Er, less between us and more where she was standing as the girl was forced to jump away from me and Ku.

"Minato!" Musubi cried, leaping through the air and landing next to and lightly in front of me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I nodded, leaning down to pick up the frightened girl clutching my leg. "There we go, Ku-chan. You're safe now." I took a moment to settle Ku in my arms and console her. She was safe now. I wouldn't let any harm come to her.

"Minato, can I fight her?" Musubi's kilowatt grin was audible in her voice. She hadn't taken her eyes off the scythe wielding girls since she landed next to me.

Normally, I would do anything to prevent her from fighting. I didn't want anyone to get hurt. I especially didn't want Musubi to get hurt. As excited as she got at the prospect of fighting another of her kind… her display with Miya-san today showed me that, while fast, Musubi was only a beginner. If she lost this fight… then I'd lose her. And I didn't want that.

But I didn't think this girl would let us go without a fight, and to be honest I was still mad at her treatment of Kusano. Only, before I could tell her 'yes,' someone beat me to it.

"Musubi! Stand down!"

That sounds like…

"Shirou-san?" Musubi cried.

I half turned as Kusano was still wrapped around my legs, to see Shirou walk out from the shadows between two of the massive trees. There was… something off about him though. For some reason I couldn't move. My throat felt closed, as if something was squeezing my neck. My breath froze in my lungs. Golden eyes narrowed in a piercing glare towards the crazy scythe wielding girl. This was… was this what Shirou really looked like?

Once again I was having trouble reconciling the domestic-oriented older brother I'd come to know recently with my impression from the first time I saw him. It was like there were two sides; the caring older brother that played and joked around with Yukari and Musubi… and the man standing in front of me right now. This was the Shirou that scared me, the soldier with the steely eyes.

Following at his heels was the woman he introduced yesterday. The tall, quiet woman was his Sekirei partner, Akitsu. Her normally impassive expression was intense, her eyes locked onto the other Sekirei.

The wind blew through the clearing and I felt a shiver run down the back of my neck. Was it getting… colder?

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" The gothic girl – Yomi, asked with a sneer.

"I have some questions for you." His voice was clear and strong as he advanced into the clearing towards the girl. I didn't know why, but I could feel a tremor in my legs.

"Like what?" Yomi grinned, what could only be called sadistically. "I guess I can satisfy your curiosity before I slice you apart."

"I see. Then you are the one who attacked the MBI personnel here yesterday afternoon."

"Yeah? What of it?" The girl sneered again. "My Ashikabi wants her so I came to take her for, but you pests keep showing up. It was bad enough I had to chase her down after I killed her babysitters. Now hand over the brat so I can kill you swiftly!"

"You won't be killing anyone else today." Shirou took a step forward, his red coat flaring out as he reached for something at his back. Were those… were those swords?! "You are responsible for the deaths of seven people and the critical injury of another." Another step. "You may not have been aware, so I'll say it now: The assault, injury or death of any non-Ashikabi or Sekirei by a participant of the Sekirei Plan is hereby forbidden." Step. "Any violation of this rule will be punished by death." The last step took him between Yomi and the rest of us. Even Akitsu didn't move from her position at the edge of the clearing.

Did he… just say this girl killed seven people?

"My name is Shirou Emiya." He said as he drew the swords from behind his back. What was he doing? In one hand he held a black sword and in the other was a white one. Was he going to fight her? Why not let Akitsu or Musubi handle this? "You are in violation of this rule. Your life is hereby forfeit."

Were they… really going to kill each other?

"Hahaha! What's a silly human like you going to do?" Yomi let out an ugly laugh. "It's no fun fighting men either! But if I want to teach these vermin their place, then I have no choice but to oblige. This number 43, Yomi, will be taking your head."

But… this was just a game… right?

"You can't fight her, man!"

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Is he insane?"

"Go Shirou-san! Fight! Fight! Fight!" Several cries ring out simultaneously from Seo, Homura, Hikari and Musubi.

"Akitsu. No one interferes."

Crack!

The sound of ice cracking under water was deafening as it drowned out my own cry for him to stop amid the other objections. The sound wasn't accompanied by cracking ice however, but by several huge icicles rising sharply from the ground. The ice formed a deadly barrier, cutting Shirou and Yomi off from the rest of us.

"Yes," Akitsu's voice was soft and implacable as the ice prison she created, "Shirou-sama."

*Shirou*

I'm sorry Rin, I thought as I readjusted my grip on Kanshou and Bakuya, but it looks like I'm going to break that promise to you.

What I was about to do was stupid. No, it was beyond stupid. How many times during the Grail War did Rin and Saber try to explain that only a Servant could stand up to another Servant? How many times did my own experience fighting the legendary spirits show me just how one-sided a fight like that can be? Fighting Berserker would have killed me on that first night. No, it did kill me. If it weren't for Avalon I would have stayed that way. Twice I'd died in almost as many hours. And now, seven years later, it felt like I was making the same stupid choices I made back then.

The smart thing to do would be to have Akitsu pin her down and let Karasuba finish her off. If the opponent was an Assassin, then using a Saber in close was her natural enemy, especially with Caster support preventing the Assassin from disengaging. If there weren't witnesses, including Akitsu and Karasuba, then my esoteric arsenal of options would be available. Archer had shown me that even a Servant was susceptible to a Broken Phantasm, regardless of the power differential between combatants. It had taken quite a while to successfully Break my first Phantasm without almost killing myself and destroying my workshop, but I could do it.

Unfortunately, there were witnesses.

Although I could still use Akitsu and Karasuba to bring justice to the rogue Sekirei, that would only show me as a powerful Ashikabi in the Plan. Minato would realize this wasn't the case, but the other three Sekirei and the Ashikabi with him wouldn't know that I wasn't an Ashikabi at all. Well, that and having witnesses afforded me an opportunity I couldn't pass up: I could announce the formation of the rule that no non-combatants could be harmed. What good was a declaration without any surviving witnesses to spread the message? Of course, if I were to make such an announcement, such as I had just done, then I needed to be able to back it up.

My response had to be swift, brutal, and more importantly memorable. And for those reasons I couldn't let either of my companions fight in my stead. If I was going to make a rule, I had to show that I could enforce it.

I wasn't sure if I was fortunate or not that I was facing off against an Assassin. In terms of Servants, Assassins were one of the physically weakest class next to Casters. Without the advantage of concealment or surprise, I might actually be able to take out a Servant of this class with the combination of Reinforcement, Runes and the twin noble phantasms in my hands.

Maybe. I hoped.

My mind flashed back to the last Assassin I faced. Sasaki Kojirou could go toe to toe with Saber, the strongest swordsman and arguably the strongest class, and win with only pure swordsmanship. His noble phantasm wasn't his sword, Monohoshi Zao, the nodachihe wielded on those accursed steps, but his skills with the sword itself. If the Assassin in front of me, Yomi, had a power anything like that in addition to her long range, wide cone type attack, then I was as good as dead.

Of course, even if I died, that had a purpose too. Karasuba was my ace, waiting in the hole to kill her if I fell. I wasn't exactly sure why she was allowing me to take the first crack at the girl, truth be told. I thought for sure that she would have wanted first blood. Minato was watching as well. Which was a good thing, I felt, this might even be a lesson to him. A stark example to show him the seriousness and lethality of this Sekirei Plan he had been dragged into. Granted, dying wasn't the first plan, but it was always good to have contingencies.

My last reason for taking on Yomi, the one I didn't justify with any logic or plans, was that I was angry. No, I was beyond angry. I was furious. Even if I didn't find her needless killing to be abhorrent, I was angry at more than just the loss at the people she had killed. She had attacked the person I was truly starting to see as a mother, as family. She had made this fight personal for me. I wanted to be the one that took her down, reason be damned. I didn't like to think of myself as an angry person. I could count the number of people I could honestly say I hated on one hand.

I could also say that not one of those people still lived.

I took a step forward, swords held outward in an open stance, legs slightly bent. Another couple steps and I would be within the range of her scythe, evident by the tensing of her leg muscles. Her hands readjusted on the haft, chocking up on the grip for a better swing.

Her choice of weapons was a concern. If she was a true Servant instead of a Sekirei, then her scythe would have given me an idea of what to expect from her in terms of style and tactics. The first and most easily accessible ability of my Reality Marble, Unlimited Blade Works, was to instantly be able to memorize any weapon I saw. Its blueprints for manufacture and replication, down to the very process that forged it would be available to be. Once I had a weapon catalogued into my Reality Marble, its entire history was open to me.

However, the scythe was almost blank, only forged by MBI thirteen months ago. No notable battles and only two deaths to its name I didn't know about.

To see such an empty weapon in the hand of such a powerful adversary didn't sit well with me.

There was a reason that scythes were not a commonly used weapon. Due to its original design as a tool to thresh wheat, the scythe was first adopted as a crude weapon by uprising peasant farmers. The real draw to the scythe was less its effectiveness as a weapon and more that it was available and had an edge. However, the length and weight of the blade made the scythe a top heavy weapon, making the swings heavy but slow. In addition, the blade was crescent shaped and held the blade along the inside edge, meaning that the only avenue for attacking with the weapon was with a slash or a hook. There was no way to thrust or change the angle of the strike with such a heavy, concave blade.

The length of the blade also precluded the haft of the weapon from being used in either an offensive or defensive capacity, a marked weakness from other pole arms. Using the haft on the offense ran the risk of accidentally catching yourself with the tip of the curve. On the defense, if you had to block or fend off with the haft, then it was hard to maneuver the blade back into position to strike again – a position that was just as dangerous for the attacker however, since you ran the same risk of catching yourself on curve that swept towards you and limited your own movement. The one strength of the scythe was that any wound inflicted by it was most likely lethal: the momentum generated by the swing and the shape of the tip of the blade meant that it had amazing penetrative power. A direct hit to the torso could and would pierce armor and bone, pulping and tearing organs with ease. Even a glancing blow had the ability to amputate limbs.

On my next step the brown haired girl exploded into action, rapidly closing the distance between us, her scythe pulled back for a strong horizontal swing. Instead of pulling back and deflecting the outside of the scythe, which would allow her to continue the momentum of her strikes, I stepped into the swing instead. I raised Bakuya up, catching the haft of the wicked black weapon just under the blade, guarding against any attempt to hook me on the draw if she spun away. Using the momentum I bled from her attack, the force behind it causing my feet to slide a few inches along the ground, to power my own.

Normally, being in between the blade and the haft of the scythe wasn't a position I would advocate. It was just as dangerous, if not more so, for the attacker than it was for the wielder. However, the danger could be mitigated if you had the proper method to deal with the danger posed by letting the three foot long curved blade hook around at your back. In my case, the method I used was a two sword fighting style. One of the benefits of using two swords was that you could both attack and defend simultaneously. So as Bakuya warded against the blade, I brought Bakuya up in a retaliatory slash.

"What?!" She growled. Her eyes widened in surprise as the white sword whipped towards her neck. She jerked the back of the haft, barely catching Bakuya before it lodged in her face. The force of my blow forced her back, unintentionally breaking the lock that Kanshou held on the head of her scythe. "Impertinent wretch!" she shrieked, anger coloring her face an angry red, drawing the scythe up in a rising diagonal slice. "Die you filthy dog!" But I wasn't there anymore; her attack catching nothing but air as I spun out and to the right, clearing the attack by feet.

"Hm… you're better than those other guys. Maybe I could even have a little fun with you before cut you limb from limb." She leered before scowling. "Then again, you pests just continue to interfere with my masters wishes. And I guess I have to kill you before I can teach that top-heavy cow a lesson."

Something wasn't right here.

Something didn't make sense.

Her movements were slow. Granted, if I was normal or if I wasn't reinforcing my body with my mage craft and runes, then her movement would be hard to follow. She might have been pulling her punches, baiting me, probing my defenses in order to find a weakness.

But I didn't think so. From what I saw of the remnants of her attack on MBI, she didn't strike me as the type to cautiously analyze her opponent and counter them once she found their weaknesses. From the pattern in her attacks I figured that she was a sadist; someone who played with their victims before ultimately killing them. I highly doubted that between the speed at which she had to attack Takami and her security detail and the brutality in which she dispatched them, she was the type to hold back at any point.

"Fine them, no more playing around! So be a good little boy and just die!"

With those words she launched herself forward again, blurring towards me. This was… now that I was watching for it, she was slow. No, that wasn't true. She was fast, fast enough that she could butcher several men armed with semi-automatics and get away without a scratch. But compared to a Servant? Memories of fending off Rider behind the archery club flashed through my mind. Compared to a Servant she was standing still. I was having no trouble keeping up with her. There was something… something wrong about this.

I met her charge once more, crossing Kanshou over and in front of Bakuya and feinting with another attempt at pinning the head of the scythe. She fell for it, the wicked black blade passing where I would have been had I not juked to the left. I caught the outside of the sickle with a downward swing of Kanshou, deflecting the blow low and out of position for her to block the follow up strike like she did last time. The black blade cut through the air in a vicious backslash, arcing through the air faster than she could raise the other end of the scythe to prevent it.

So it was a surprise when instead of the Noble Phantasm opening her throat, it passed almost harmlessly through the air in front of her face. What should have been a dark crimson gout of arterial blood was replaced with a diffusive cloud of brown hair: what used to be half of her bangs floated between us from where it was shorn.

"A-ah!" She yelped. Sheer terror laced her tone and showed on her bone white face as she faced her own mortality. Her life was saved by a lucky stumble at overreaching with her attack.

This was what was bothering me. From the moment she first moved in our fight, nothing about this felt right. I didn't retreat this time as her panic fueled counter came in her desperate attempt to open space between us. Without the full torque of her body behind it, her attack was almost causally turned aside by both of the twin blades, the force of the block shoving her even further back on unstable legs. "N-no. T-this can't be h-h-happening! I can't l-lose! I c-can't lose t-t-to some filthy h-human!"

That was it! I finally realized what felt so off about this encounter. From the time I first stepped foot in Shin Tokyo, from when I first sensed the smell of blood emanating from Karasuba, I had been plunged back into remembering my days during the fifth Grail War. Every encounter, every turn I faced another phantom of the past. And so I began to compare everything back to that time. How many times during the past day have I said to myself 'Back in the War,' or some variant thereof?

But this wasn't the War.

Yomi wasn't anything like a Servant. Servants were beings of legend; all of the power, the skill, the experience and wisdom of demi-deities forced into a Class container. Fights between Servants were unlike anything else I'd ever seen because each Servant was a master at their chosen field and weapon. The weapons associated with each one had been wielded for longer than they even lived, becoming more than just a part of them. Each of their Noble Phantasms were linked to their very core, the identity that composed their existence as a Servant, as a Heroic Spirit.

Yomi had none of these things.

She was fast, yes, but couldn't hold a candle to Rider or Saber's speed. I was matching her with the combination of runic and active reinforcement. Her strength was enough to shear metal and tear concrete, but it was nothing compared to Berserker or Lancer.

Lancer's attacks, even when I was fortunate enough to block, battered me about like a leaf in a gale. And if Lancer was a gale, Berseker was a hurricane. Merely by swinging his crude sword, the air displaced by his attacks hit like a sledgehammer, capable of smashing concrete and bone and metal without his sword landing a blow.

Yomi wasn't even close to Lancer's level of strength. Without the added force of momentum behind her swings, as our last exchange had proven, I was stronger than she was. I had faced Apostles that were more dangerous and cunning, not to mention faster and stronger, than the slip of a girl trying to kill me.

But it was the last nail that sealed her fate. I had been wondering why it had been so easy to pin her down, to ward off the heavy scythe blade she'd been swinging around. With a weapon like that, with so few avenues for attack, you would want to be constantly moving both yourself and the weapon, preferably in the same or opposite spin as the blade. That way, even if your opponent deflected your attack or tried to get in close, you were already circling to the outside and away from their attack. From there you could either catch them with a sweeping hook as you span past them or continued the circular movement of the scythe and attacked again without losing any momentum.

Yomi had done neither of these things.

Twice now I'd safely gotten in close, almost killed her and escaped unscathed. That her scythe was essentially blank should have clued me in, but it wasn't a noble phantasm and I had thought that maybe it was a replacement for an older weapon. I had given her the benefit of the doubt, building her up in my mind to be someone that I couldn't face. That she would be something I couldn't beat. But I was wrong about everything. This… this girl wasn't the combatant I had assumed she was. There was no skill behind her movements. It was like... it was like she'd never used that scythe before.

What a disappointment.

The thought honestly shocked me. I was disappointed that my opponent, who I'd been vaunting in my mind, lacked in every quality. Since I had first laid eyes on Karasuba, my blood had rushed a little faster. I provoked her a little more, reacted to her sharper. I wanted to fight her. I wanted to test myself against the literal heroes of my youth.

The skill and control they had wielded back then, when I was only first picking up my own swords, had imprinted itself upon my very soul. Every day, every battle I learned more. But there was nothing to compare myself to but their memories. When I discovered Karasuba, I had mistakenly thought I had found another being that rivalled them. I thought I had found a method to see once and for all if I measured up to the figures that inspired me. I wanted to pit myself against these new creatures.

I didn't even realize I would want that opportunity, let alone how much I wanted it, until just now. And felt the sting of disappointment. This was no battle of equals. This was a one-sided battle alright, but not the way I imagined. While I only came even (or close enough not to matter) against the girl physically, I outmatched her in the way that counted under such circumstances.

Yomi regained her footing and jumped back, a desperate bid to open more space between us, proving that long jumps were a racial trait gifted to Sekirei as her powerful legs brought her clear of my next strike. A sharp note of something I couldn't identify cut through the heavy scent of moss and wet wood. Being in the middle of number 108's territory had blinded me to the ambient unnatural aura that the other Sekirei exuded until it was right in front of me. This must be that attack that she used on Takami, if she had to build up enough energy for me to notice it in these woods.

The smart thing to do would be to pull back myself. She had given herself the space to launch her wide area, mid to long range attack that I'd seen evidence of before, but had yet to see firsthand. She had been pressed hard, so this must be her ace, her effort to end both me and this fight in one attack. I could bait it out, avoid it, study it, and find a counter. That was fighting like a true magus, finding the weak points in your opponent's techniques, unravelling them and using the insight to penetrate their defenses. It was also the smart way of going about fighting unknown opponents. I could have also called upon Akitsu. She had shown on two occasions now her ability to create those walls of ice. I could have called her in to block Yomi's attack.

But I didn't need to do either of those. The pseudo-scent peaked, a distortion appearing at the head of her scythe. But I already knew that her attack was launched from her weapon, which is why when she leapt, I followed her, charging headlong at her and closed the distance she created. For the same reason I knew her attack would come from her scythe, I also knew she couldn't hit me with it: Yomi telegraphed all of her attacks.

The difference in our skill levels were the deciding factor of this battle.

I knew what I was doing. I had faced creatures more powerful than I was and walked away. Maybe not victorious, and maybe not always unscathed, but I was alive. I had years of experience in pitched battle with the kinds of things nightmares were made of – and mine definitely were. She didn't. Her lack of experience fighting against an opponent that could keep up with her speed and strength was painfully obvious. She relied on those attributes to carry her through her battles and never needed to learn how to actually fight because of it. And now she was going to die because of it.

"N-no! Get away! Get Away!" She shrieked and swung her scythe for the deathblow. But it was too little too late. I threw myself forward, ducking under the path of the blow even as I swung Kanshou up to deflect it higher. The roar of wind filled my ears as a strong gust of wind burst from her scythe, sailing harmlessly overhead. A wind based attack then, I idly noted, ignoring the distinct crack of Akitsu depositing ice from the air – followed half a second later by a muted chipping sound. Good girl, I thought as I straightened, using the momentum of my upper body rising to attack with Bakuya.

Clang!

I struck true, my blow landing right between her hands as she overextended on the swing. The girl hissed as her grip unintentionally and reflexively released, sending the wicked scythe spiraling into the air behind me. Yomi's eyes were white, her pupils contracted to pinpricks in pure, unadulterated fear. She couldn't run anymore, having backed herself against a tree in her last desperate bid for space. She couldn't fight either with her weapon a few dozen feet on the other side of me from her. This was the end. Her mouth opened to say something –

Shlick!

But I didn't let her. There was a muted, wet thump, like tearing through wet paper as I buried Bakuya to the hilt in her abdomen. She gasped as the blade impaled her, the white blade stained crimson where it poked through her back. She mouthed wordlessly, the air driven from her lungs in shock, as she slowly looked at the blade sticking through –

Shlick!

She jerked as I stabbed Kanshou into her other side. The twin swords all but holding her together as they crossed from either side of her naval and lanced up under her rib cage. It may have been slightly overkill, cutting through almost all of her major internal abdominal organs, but this fight had shown me the errors of my assumptions. I was back to actually knowing nothing about these Sekirei at all, so I might as well make sure if I killed them they stayed dead.

"Ashikabi…sama…" She managed to pull enough air through her shredded diaphragm to whisper one last line before she trailed off, her eyes losing focus. For a moment, I felt pity for the poor creature. She was nothing but a child, I realized, crying out for her master, her partner to save her with her last breath. It didn't matter in the end, but I wondered if her viciousness was a reflection of her true self, or the act of immaturity in a world much weaker than she was. Did she truly delight in the murder of men, or was this just a child, without guidance or proper morals, pulling the wings off of insects for amusement.

"May you find peace in the next life." I whispered. In the end it didn't matter. She had killed people. She had to be held accountable for her actions and I… I needed her to die to prove a point. "For you shall receive none from me." I finished, harshly pulling both blades free. Her life blood exploded from the massive wounds, arcing along the backswing of the blades and forming a line on either side of me. The visceral trail formed a V where they led back to where her body still swayed upright. Pale navy light emanated from her back and flickered as she struggled to remain upright, her body not quite realizing she was already dead. Then the light faded and she crumpled, falling to the ground with a muted, wet thump.

I held my breath. One beat. Two. When Yomi's body didn't move or seem to knit itself back together I exhaled. So Sekirei could only take so much damage. That meant they'd die when I killed them, a good thing to know given the things I'd seen before. I wasn't sure if that gave me a better judgment of their capabilities yet though, given out of the six or seven Sekirei I've seen thus far, the only common aspects between them were their gender and their jumping. Maybe Akitsu or Karasuba could shed some light on that later.

For now, there was still one more loose end. I took a deep, calming breath to settle down the adrenaline and fortify myself for what was to come. Fighting was the easy part, now I had to address the witness and make sure the message spread properly. And there was also Minato. From what I knew of my younger brother, and it was still a little strange to think of him as such, this would be the first time he ever saw a dead body. That the body in question had been butchered so viciously in front of his eyes only complicated things. This might require a delicate hand. I ignored the thought that I wished Rin was here right now. I asked for a delicate hand, not a sledgehammer –

A jolt shot up my spine, the surrounding scent of moss and loam instantly overpowered by the sudden and familiar copper smell of blood -

"Shirou Emiya!"

My name was screamed. I was turning before I even registered the sound. A black and grey blur descending from the treetops –

Crack!

– blurring over and passed a half formed wall of ice that rose to meet it, landing not five paces from me was –

Crack!

– but Karasuba was already in motion, spinning around another wall of ice erupted in front of me as soon as her feet hit the ground. Too Slow! I barely had enough time to raise Kanshou and Bakuya as she cleared the last barrier. Her blow, utilizing the full rotation of her spin and the draw of her long blade, slammed into the flats of the twin Noble Phantasms with the full force of a freight train. Shit! My hastily set guard collapsed, her blow pinning the wide flats against my body as she followed through. Metal screamed and sparks flew as her strike failed to break through the Noble Phantasms, but I was carried off my feet and flung out of the clearing by the power of her blow.

Shit she was strong! My entire left side was numb. I had no doubt that were it not for the armor and Shroud she might have even broken a rib.

"What the hell Karasuba?" I wheezed, catching my breath. I had barely recovered, my feet just brushing the dirt when she was already in front of me, her second slash already chambered. Shit! Shitshitshit! I put together another hasty guard, reversing the twin blades in my hands so that the flats of the blades lay across my forearms and brought them together. Steel rang as her attack landed. Already airborne, I was helpless as her attack sent me careening further up and away from Akitsu and the others.

Despite my protesting arms, I could work with that.

"Akitsu!" I called out, locking eyes with her as she sprinted headlong across the clearing towards Karasuba and me. Not fast enough to help, but I didn't need her to help (I hoped). No, I needed to her keep everyone else away. I spun, barely missing one of the massive tree trunks and used it as a platform to jump away – not a second too soon as Karasuba's blade tore a cleft through where I had just shoved off.

I didn't understand why she had turned on me, but if it was a fight she wanted I was more than happy to oblige. She wasn't like Yomi at all: her sword had a sordid history and I knew from unpleasant experience that Karasuba wasn't the weak and inexperienced girl that Yomi was. Away from the others I'd be free to bring the full extent of my abilities to bear against the woman.

"No one follows!" I shouted my last order to the ice user before I lost sight of the clearing entirely. Jumping and dodging at top speed I let Karasuba chase me further into the forest.

Okay, let may have been the wrong term. Sparks flew and the sound of clashing steel followed my retreat, for that's what it was. Even fully reinforced and taking full advantage of my rune inscribed armor, I was barely able to keep one step ahead of the crazy demon hunting me. Forget being unlike Yomi, Karasuba was on an entirely different level from her, and from what I saw before being launched from the clearing, even Akitsu.

Even fully concentrated on defending myself and running I was hard pressed. Blueprint after blueprint was called to mind before being immediately discarded. Damn she was fast! I barely had any time between being flung away by one of her attacks before she was right on me again. This was like fighting Rider all over again and not just because the scenery. Her attacks were so fast they were almost invisible, the only indication of her attacks were the black-grey blur of her body darting out from between the trees.

My saving grace so far had been that, although my feet had yet to touch solid ground since her unprovoked assault began; she could only attack from one direction and had to be midair for it as well. Well, at least she wasn't as fast as the purple haired Heroic Spirit of my nightmares or she would have been able to overtake my barely controlled flight and attack me from every angle.

I might have been able to use a Bullet Trace or several to pin her down, make her back off long enough to prepare a better solution, but I doubted it. I could barely follow her with flesh and steel, never mind buying the time to focus on magecraft. Even if I could get a shot off, she'd be able to see it coming and counter or avoid it easily.

No, that sort of edge was better held hidden until a more opportune moment. No need to show my hand – There! The telltale blur of her descending alerted me to her next attack, her nodachi held overhead. I raised my swords to once more ward off a sure kill strike. No doubt she was using the added power of her descent and the two handed attack to break through my almost pitiful attempts at stopping her completely. Her nodachiwas invisible as it cleaved through the air, the sound of tortured metal ringing in my ears as her meteoric attack send me plummeting downwards.

Damn! If it weren't for the superior quality of Kanshou and Bakuya as Noble Phantasms, I might have died from her first attack! Initially I had compared Karasuba to a darker version of my Saber in my head and this fight confirmed that I was right. Thankfully my ashen haired assailant wasn't nearly as strong as the King of Knights, but she was much too close to it for my comfort. Blocking her attacks left my arms almost completely numb. It was only through stubborn determination and grit that I kept my grip on the twin swords that were my current lifeline in this fight.

But Karasuba's last attack launched me downwards and for the first time during the fight I could do something more than just defending myself. As soon as my feet hit the ground I rolled, barely dodging Karasuba's plunging stab as she tried to pin me down. No sooner did I find my feet once more and I was moving, ducking low as the follow up stab I didn't even see coming whistled past my head, and spinning away on to her outside left.

"Karasuba?" It was usually against my beliefs to talk during a fight. I had done too much of that when I first set out from Fuyuki; before I found out that the only thing talking bought you was your own hesitation.

Now though, I had come to understand that any breath you wasted with words was better put to use fighting instead. If you had to talk that meant you shouldn't even be on the battlefield as your resolve was wanting. And yet here I was, breaking one of the first cardinal rules of combat I'd struggled to piece together over the past seven years because I didn't understand Karasuba's actions.

Her response was two more lightning fast blows, lashing out so fast they were almost indistinguishable. Karasuba was not only leagues stronger and faster than Yomi, but she was also a very skilled swordswoman.

Luckily for me, a facing a skilled opponent was more of an advantage to me than a disadvantage. My entire fighting style was based on the premise that my opponents were faster and stronger than I was. The premise was that: if your opponents were too fast to properly react to their attack, then react before their attack was launched instead. By opening up specific openings in my guard, I could limit the areas in which they would attack me. By reducing the avenues of attack, all it came down to was reacting to those avenues of attack before they struck and counterattacking once they had.

Really, it was a suicidal style unsuited to normal combat, but to me, it was perfect. The first blow rang sharply off my guard, almost shoving me back a full step even as I used the imparted momentum to power my counter. As I said before, the use of a two sword style allowed for both attack and defense simultaneously. This was important, for when the opening covered by one of the blades was picked, the other sword was free to counter with.

Clang!

And the second of her blows neatly deflected my near simultaneous counter to her first attack. Dammit! She was still too quick. It really looked like I would have to use more than just Kanshou and Bakuya for this. I pivoted back, another brief exchange of attacks following my retreat. Okay, never mind. I knew Kanshou and Bakuya wouldn't be enough. Wasn't that why I let her draw me off in the first place? Now would be a real good time to start riddling her with swords, limit her movement, blow up the whole damn woods, anything really!

"Karasuba!" I barked, trying to get her to answer. It was a little strange, but I didn't want to resort to those options yet. Admittedly, there was also the factor that she was pressing me too hard to pull out the greater bulk of my magecraft. Still, I didn't want to resort to such methods while I still didn't know what was going on. This situation didn't make any sense at all. There was nothing resembling the Karasuba I have come to known in this fight.

There was no teasing.

No obnoxiously smug grins.

No gloating that she held the obvious edge.

Maybe this was what she was like when she got serious? Somehow I doubted it. This was an entirely different Karasuba than the woman I've gotten to know this past month. All of our interactions, all of our little fights and threats and murder attempts had a touch of lightheartedness to them. Like we shared some sort of morbid inside joke. This was just too alien.

I deflected another horizontal cut away, trying to close back into range for my own counter, but Karasuba dropped back, pivoting left and dragging her much longer blade back across in a reverse and forcing me to abandon my attack. I caught the reverse slash low on Bakuya, but too slowly to entirely protect myself as the curved flair drew across my upper arm when she pulled back on the blade. I hissed, sucking the air through my clenched teeth. Her sword failed to cut through the crimson Shroud or the armor under it, but the two only turned the cutting force into blunt force.

I almost dropped the white blade as my bones creaked in protest. I had no time for that as Karasuba transitioned perfectly into her next strike, using the draw from that reverse and her pivot to align a modified thrust: her legs slightly more than shoulder width apart, knees bent low and the sword held parallel to the ground at shoulder height.

I gasped as I threw myself backwards and arced my back, the expelled air misting from my increased body temperature; the cost of keeping on par with Karasuba was the blistering heat of my circuits as I pushed my body past its maximum capabilities. Her nodachi blurred past where my throat was less than a second ago, slicing into the vest over my collar bone. She twisted the blade, bringing it down in another abrupt reverse slash as she followed my retreat, but I managed to shove Bakuya between my body and the blade. The torque of her slash and the length of her long sword sent me stumbling further, but once more the tip of her blade caught me, opening another small gash in the reinforced Kevlar along my thigh.

Shit, I cursed again. The nicks weren't deep enough to penetrate the material and draw blood, but they were a clear sign of what I feared. She was good at using the extra reach afforded to her by her sword to prevent me from closing. The extra time it took for my attacks to travel allowed her to recover from my blocks and counter herself. My breathing had never recovered from that first disastrous last minute guard against her opening strike. The result was that every time we crossed blades, my strikes were a little weaker and my dodges a little slower. I had to change the pace of battle now if I were to win.

Unfortunately, Karasuba pressed her advantage, turning another thrust I caught with Kanshou into a body check. With Kanshou warding off the tip of her sword, I was forced to once more shove Bakuya between me and the middle of her sword lest she use the high block as a fulcrum to cut across my side. Our swords locked, she pushed. Even with only one hand on her sword, her greater strength was enough to shove me sideways, the twin blades sliding towards each other near the tip of her sword. Then her sword dipped, twisting low against my dual block before flipping sharply up; catching the twin Noble Phantasms at the handle and wrenching away.

"Karasuba, what the hell are you doing?" I tried one last time, watching the twin swords spinning out of my hands. I could have recalled them, or rather, Traced another copy of the black and white sabers to replace them. But I didn't. Instead I spun, ducking under a diagonal and arcing around Karasuba and into her blind spot. A stopgap measure to be sure; not enough time to strike with a new weapon and I wasn't in the position to anyway as she was already twisting back around. But it was more than enough time to call my next weapon to hand and decide my next strategy.

Once more there was no response from the unusually quite woman. She didn't even look like her usual self. Her breathing was shallow and rapid, her chest heaving in exaggerated movement. I knew for a fact that it wasn't from excursion either. She hadn't shown a single change in pace or sign of tiring since she first launched herself from her perch. Her face was flushed as well, her normally pristine complexion now a bright, feverish red. Her grey eyes were dilated, and jerky.

But I couldn't give any more thought to her as she completed the turn, her nodachi lashing out in a wide horizontal slash.

"Trace On!"

Her blade rang off the haft of my new weapon, a crimson long spear, the longer weapon absorbing more of the impact before my already strained arms. Part two of my counter attack began now. I didn't know what was up with her, but I couldn't allow myself to be distracted. She was playing for keeps; each of her attacks would have been lethal blows had they landed. Much as I didn't like to admit, I was having trouble keeping up with her. If I wanted to survive this fight then I had to take this just as seriously as she was and there was nothing more serious than the spear of mortal pain.

The change in weapons turned the tide of the battle. Lance or spear combat progressed much differently that swordsmanship. Now that I exceeded her range, she couldn't attack with impunity anymore; the burden of closing was shifted on her. Batting her first blow down and away to the left kept her body in line with the spears head. I lashed out with the crimson spear, the point flashing though the air. It was nothing more than a probing stab, but I wasn't testing her reflexes so much as my own.

Although I aspired to join the ranks of those considered Heroes, the truth was that I wasn't a paragon of swordsmanship. I may favor Kanshou and Bakuya, the twin swords that more and more defined my views, but only because of their utilitarian uses. Inside my Unlimited Blade Works, the Reality Marble that allowed me to catalogue and recreate any weapon I'd ever see were weapons beyond count, too many weapons in too many variations to master them all in a single lifetime. So I took the alternate route. I became good enough with most so that I could pick the best weapon for any given problem.

After all, Emiya Shirou wasn't someone who wielded weapons, but someone who created them.

So it was no surprise to me when she parried the point away. The purpose of changing weapons wasn't that I was any more skilled with a spear than with a sword. If anything, the reverse was true; my time wielding the twin blades had increased my affinity and skill with them. The purpose of changing weapons was to equip the proper tool for the occasion, and the crimson spear of mortal pain, Gae Bolg, was no ordinary spear.

In the legends of Cu Chulainn, the Hound of Ireland was renowned for always being able to pierce the heart of those he threw it at. The spear I wielded now, however, was not that spear. In my hands was the Noble Phantasm wielded by the Heroic Spirit of Cu Chulainn, the crystalized embodiment of his myths and legends. This Gae Bolg held the unique ability to rewrite causality: where the original may have held the property 'the spear is swung, so the heart must be pierced,' the Noble Phantasm held the property 'the heart is pierced, so the spear must be swung.'

I once held a deep resentment for the spear that had killed me once already. My first night during the Holy Grail War had begun with this same spear running me through. It was the cause of the angry red starburst scar over my heart. My mistrust of Cu Chulainn for killing me, even if I survived, had transferred over to this spear. Especially since a spear what could only kill was of no use to someone who, at his core, wanted to save people.

But time and necessity had broken me of such useless feelings. Sometimes, the only way to save someone was for another person to die. When Kiritsugu first said those words to me, I had told him that I would become someone who could save everyone. But I failed. I had done much worse than failed to save someone, someone very important to me. My hands were as stained with blood as this cursed weapon, so it was only too fitting that I used it now.

The extra reach the spear granted me meant that it took Karasuba several steps to close back in, for which I only had to pivot away to avoid her attack completely. Still, I spun the spear in my hands, knocking her blade away with the tip and sweeping at her legs with the blunt end of the half. She hopped, tumbling over the trip attempt in a smooth recover to once again charge me while my back was turned, but her dodge had taken me even further away as we circled each other. I finished my spin, sinking into a deep stance, left leg extended far in front and my weight settled on my back right leg. The gleaming red point of the spear held low to the ground by my front foot, the spear pointing diagonally downward, my leading hand in the middle of the haft and my back hand low on the back of the haft and raised to shoulder level. In my mind, I called forth the image of Lancer, mimicking his movements perfectly as I prepared his signature attack.

My body is made of swords.

Iron is my blood and glass is my heart.

Flooded with prana, the crimson spear awakened, flooding the air with its desire – no its need, its purpose – to kill. Karasuba's eyes widened, even she must have felt the change, the sudden oppressive aura in the air that exploded between the two of us. She must have realized call of her own mortality, the unescapable feeling given to all who face down the demonic spear.

She reacted faster that I thought she would, but it wasn't nearly enough as she threw her sword. It was nothing less than a desperate gambit to alter the spears path, and I thought nothing of it as I batted the sword aside with the point as I rose, beginning the death lunge. It didn't matter if the head was out of position for having batted away her sword. This was a spear that rewrote causality. So long as I swung, it didn't matter where I swung; Karasuba's heart would be pierced.

"Gae –" My incantation was abruptly interrupted by a tongue shoving its way down my throat. For a second, the sheer incredulity of the action made me realize that it was an effective method for stopping an aria. The present, and momentum, quickly caught up to me as Karasuba bodily slammed into me. The red spear was torn from my grasp, flung away as we crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Elbows, fists and knees followed as we rolled, struggling for dominance. I had Reinforced my body beyond human levels; faster, stronger, and tougher than any un-augmented human could hope to be. The runes imbued in my clothes and armor enhanced me even further. It wasn't enough. I had said before that Karasuba was not human, and she proved it. She may not have been as Strong as Saber, but she didn't need to be; she was still inhumanely strong.

Despite my efforts I was still only human. Once she had me in her grasp there was no escape from it. Even blunted by my magic and the Holy Shroud, my back slammed painfully against the ground. An involuntary gasp escaped my lips, only to be devoured by the ashen haired demon as she straddled me, pinning me to the ground with her superior strength and leverage.

She had one of my arms pinned over my head, but the other had gotten free in our brief roll across the ground. Gripped tightly between white knuckles was my last resort: unarmed and pinned, this would have been the end for be if I couldn't win against her superior strength. But I was never unarmed, I thought as I shoved the hilt of the Black Key against her side.

I should kill her. Before the hand trailing my face reached my neck: it would be too easy for her to snap the bone or collapse my trachea. I may have made the first mistake, misjudging her intent with her thrown sword, losing both Gae Bolg and the advantage with it. But she made the mistake of not killing me when I had the chance, and now I'd finish this fight.

Except…

Except she wasn't fighting me anymore. Throughout our tussle, her lips never left mine; locked in a kiss as brutal and relentles as our struggle. Despite it all, despite the oddness of it all, for that moment I let go the fact that we were trying to kill each other. She wasn't trying to kill me. The strange softness of her lips on mine, tongues continuing the struggle for dominance she already won, the weight of her body on top of and against mine. I hesitated.

"Gah!" A gasped as a sharp pain signaled her release of my lips. Darkness erupted from her shoulders, reaching to the boughs of the tree in the form of two great wings. They flapped once, sending a cascade of black-light feathers dancing to the ground like fallen leaves. The skeletal remains of her wings flapped once again and stretched, the bony protrusions reaching into the treetops. Her left hand left where it was pinning my wrist, joining its twin as she stroked my face before sliding down my chest to support her as she sat up. Half-lidded grey eyes the color of steel gazed down at my widened surprised ones. Her lips tilted upwards at the corners, her bottom lip red with blood. A crimson droplet lazily trialed down her chin.

My hand shook. I should kill her. My body screamed out that I should kill her. Every instinct shrieking at once that this fight wasn't done!

She was dangerous.

She was a threat.

She was a killer, a demon drenched in the blood of a thousand battlefields.

Her very existence was a threat to humanity. For one who wanted more than anything else to save lives, didn't I have a duty, an obligation, to end her now, before she could threaten them? I could do it. She may be the one on top, but I was the one who was armed. With a thought, a simple pull of the trigger, I could spear her black heart with the charm clutched in my hand and end her.

But I…

This was… I didn't know. I couldn't think. My mind had dissolved, had melted away at the ludicrousness of the situation. Karasuba… Karasuba just bound herself to me. What did this mean given that she was just trying to kill me? Worse, unlike my partnership with Akitsu, to whom I was only Ashikabi in name, this made me an official participant of the Sekirei Plan. Was being an Ashikabi like being a master?

Today had shown me that, contrary to how I'd been thinking of them, Sekirei were vastly different from Servants. Too many similarities and the memories of being back in Japan had me overestimating the many more misconceptions between Ashikabi and Masters did I have? There was still so much about this Sekirei Plan that I didn't know. If being bound to a Sekirei was similar to having a Servant, then killing her would be a horrible mistake. Just like a Servant-less Master in the war, I would become a target for every paired Ashikabi in the city. I should spare her, even if only for my own ends.

No, I should just kill her. I already had Akitsu with me. So what if I was an official Ashikabi now, I still had a Sekirei to fight beside me. It wouldn't be just me alone against the one hundred and eight – no, the one hundred and five opponents I'd have to face if I killed Karasuba. For all my initial doubts about her, I was starting to see Akitsu as a real asset. She was gaining my trust, a definite markup as a partner from the crow on top of me. Becoming a target for the other participants could also be a boon: by encouraging them to come to me, I could deal with them on my own terms. Yes, kill her now and I was sure Akitsu and I could cover the rest.

That was… if Akitsu was still alive. I had left her behind so that she could distract the others, preventing them from following so that I could bring my mage craft to bear on Karasuba. That would leave me and maybe Akitsu against many opponents, each with unknown abilities and varying levels of power. Fighting just the two had shown me just how much variation these Sekirei had in strength: from the inexperienced child Yomi who was only slightly faster and stronger than a dead apostle, to the deadly Karasuba whose raw strength and speed were pushing into Servant levels. Even if Karasuba couldn't be trusted entirely, having an ally of her caliber could be invaluable in protecting the innocent citizens of the city, let alone actually surviving to the end. Maybe I shouldn't kill her. A hasty decision could leave me in the middle of this war with no allies at all.

I unclenched and clenched my fingers, tightening my grip on the blade. It as simple as that at all: killing her now would leave me with more than just the odd hundred Sekirei and their Ashikabi to contend with. She was also one of MBI's enforcers, lest I forget how we first met. There was no way they'd let me go after having killed their peerless sword. Having to deal with so many magical opponents would be difficult enough, especially while trying to minimize the amount of collateral damage done to the city and maintain the secret of the existence of both magic and the Sekirei. Having MBI as an enemy on top of that, in the city they control and with my name and face in their records was beyond stupid.

Suicidal didn't even come close.

Killing Karasuba would be a declaration of war on every participant and its moderators. Every day would be one assassination or battle after the next. Every single Ashikabi, Sekirei and MBI employee with ties to the Plan would have to die. More importantly, they'd have to die before the breakdown of power over the city allowed anyone to escape the culling. It would be hard, but doable. I could kill them. I could kill them all. MBI had maybe a couple hundred employees in the city. What was a few hundred against the odd thousand lives? More blood would have to be spilt than I wanted, much more, but that could end this whole scenario for good.

But I wasn't the only one protecting the people from the dangers the Sekirei presented, was I? From her work with Takami and the hints she'd dropped over the past few weeks I had the impression that Karasuba was one of, if not the lead, enforcer of MBI's will in the city. Wasn't she burdened with the same responsibility for protecting the people of Shin Tokyo from the other Sekirei? As soon as they knew of the attack they had cordoned off the area, evacuating the area and preventing anyone from getting caught in the crossfire between the Green Girl and Yomi. If both MBI and myself were trying to protect the lives of others, maybe instead of killing Karasuba and forcing us to be enemies… I should spare her in the hopes of becoming their ally.

After all, wasn't it her contacts, her experience in the city and position in MBI that allowed me to get this far? Karasuba did imply that MBI was looking to deal with Yomi in response to her assault yesterday. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have found Yomi or killed her before Minato fought her. I wasn't sure if Minato had it in him to give Musubi the order to kill.

In fact, I was almost positive he didn't have the resolve. He was too passive, idealistically peaceful and naïve; he just didn't believe the danger he was in and probably wouldn't until he was brought face to face with the truth of his situation.

He is very similar to how I was back in the beginning of the Grail War.

I was also unsure about Musubi. It wasn't that I didn't feel she was strong enough to protect my brother, but despite her thirst for battle she lacked that same killer instinct. I could personally attest to the fact that Yomi went straight for killing blows once her first attack was deflected. I didn't know if Minato and Musubi could win that fight if they held back. Didn't I owe Karasuba for helping me to protect them?

No. Their safety was an unintentional benefit of our alliance. She was letting me join her, for whatever reasons I still didn't know, to pit me against Yomi. Hadn't she been pushing me, subtly, to fight the rogue Sekirei? Asking me what I was going to do when I saw her, using me to track her down when she lost the trail, even allowing me to be the first to fight against her? That Minato, Musubi or anyone else was saved by my killing Yomi wasn't attributable to Karasuba's magnanimity, but her selfishness. Could I trust such a person at my back in the conflicts to come? No. Absolutely not.

But I didn't know her reasons, either for pitting me against Yomi or for attacking me afterwards. Even now her eyes were still dilated and unfocused, her face flushed and her breathing heavy. She had been like this even before we had crossed blades, and while we did she was uncharacteristically silent.

No taunts, innuendo or talking of any kind since she first called my name at the start of her attack.

My real name. Shirou Emiya. By the words of my promise so long ago, I should kill her.

One person, no matter what they could or couldn't do, shouldn't weigh so heavily on the scales that I should hesitate so. Did my words, did my past deeds mean so little? Or was it because this scenario was different than the one back then? Why did I lacking the resolve?

It wasn't just Minato and Musubi that she ended up protecting either. Her existence, her work for MBI protected more than just the people of the city, but also the safety of the other Sekirei and Ashikabi from the dangers of the outside world. Didn't I first meet her and Takami when they thought I was a spy? Karasuba was their ward against the militaries, governments and other companies that would otherwise prey upon Sekirei and Ashikabi alike. If the Sekirei ever left the confines of the city, if they were ever removed from MBI's protection, the results would be catastrophic. Simply the mundane threat of having so many inhuman soldiers was dire, especially if this race of supernatural beings could be bred true or cloned. An army of super human soldiers would completely redistribute the world's power.

But their mage craft… Yomi's attack was a single action that I'd seen some wind magi cast as a one line aria. Akitsu's walls and barriers were much the same way, but the scale of her ability to instantly deposition large amounts of water-vapor from the air into ice and sculpt it simultaneously, was something I'd never seen outside of frozen environments without the use of a ritual or Code.

These were only three examples out of the hundred and eight. I wasn't sure if Karasuba had any such abilities as one of the Power types, but her physical abilities alone were pushing Servant levels. Even if I assume she's one of the strongest of these Sekirei, an assumption I have no confidence making, removing her puts all of the others at risk. She was the check that kept MBI's competitors away.

The Church would see these alien beings as an abomination, issuing the order for Exterminatus of the race. In a way, I couldn't even blame them. When Musubi first kissed Minato, I thought that she was attacking him and I was a hair's breadth away from attempting to purge her and her entire race from the world myself. If their contract involved blood instead of a kiss, I know I would have. And the Chiurch wasn't the only threat out there either.

The Mages Association, Atlas, even Sealing Designates and Apostles would view the Sekirei as a worthy enough prize to risk detection for the chance to grab a few for study and experimentation. The worst part is that I wasn't even sure they'd be wrong in that belief. How many extra-terrestrial magical phenomena could be safely studied? Not very many. Their entire race was in danger solely by existing on earth. Killing Karasuba here could risk everyone I'm trying to save by killing her.

I didn't know what to do…

Do I kill her? Let her live? Decide! I clenched my teeth in grimace. Decide dammit!

"You're mine now, Shirou Emiya. My Ashikabi. " She half purred, half growled. The feathers lightened and faded, disappearing back into motes of black and then nothingness, as her skeletal wings retracted. "Forever and ever, until the world burns to nothing but ashes."

My eyes widened as I almost reflectively pulled the trigger. No. I couldn't have misjudged her so, could I? Was she so bloodthirsty, so demented that she wanted to burn the whole planet into oblivion? I hadn't thought so… but I knew how dangerous she was. I knew how steeped in blood and death she was, only now I realized it might be because she chose to be. I almost killed her right there. It would be so easy. Hell, it was half done already!

But if I killed her, where would it stop? MBI wouldn't forgive me, not if I took out their ace. They had military hardware and apparently the professionals to use it. I didn't know how many soldiers they had, but if they were geared to enforce the rules against Sekirei then it had to be at least a battalion in strength. It wouldn't be me against Minaka and the Sekirei. I'd have to fight or run from every man and woman they sent after me. How many would I be forced to kill? And that was only the start. Without MBI's deterrent to the competitors who knew of the Sekirei – or might find out with their espionage – every Sekirei and Ashikabi was in danger. But I couldn't guard them like she could. If she died, then I had to prevent anyone who knew of their existence to leave the city.

And that meant limiting the exposure of the Sekirei. End the plan as soon as possible so that no one could escape, no one could learn of them that already wasn't involved. In order to prevent the devastation Sekirei proliferation would herald… I had to kill them all. And not just them, but everyone that had come in contact with them too, just as if I was enforcing the secrecy of Magic. Every Sekirei had to die to prevent a greater tragedy. That meant their Ashikabi would most likely have to go too, but maybe not.

However, MBI was a different story: Minaka, the soldiers, the scientists, the receptionists. Everyone who worked there would have to die. My life from this moment on, and I was sure it wouldn't be a long life either, would devolve into killing and killing and killing and killing and killing. Musubi, Akitsu, Minato, Yukari… Mom. I would once more descend into a city of the dead, only this time I was the one killing them.

Even if I survived, even if I ended this 'game' here in Shin Tokyo… there was no way that a killing spree of that magnitude wouldn't go unnoticed. People knew I was here. They'd connect the dots. I was always one mistake away from a Sealing Designate as it was, but if I did this I was guaranteeing myself one. No matter what, this path ended only in death. Mine and a whole lot of others.

So what was the greater path? Kill Karasuba and become Archer; delving into a life of murder after murder until my own eventual demise? Or did I risk it and let her live, try to curb her machinations as a proper Master?

"I was right…." Karasuba's solemn words broke my train of thought.

What?

She smiled down sadly at me. Her face had cleared most of the flush that made her look so feverish while she was attacking, composure and control returning to her features. Even her eyes were no longer as dilated, her pupils focusing on mine. "You have such interesting eyes when you contemplate killing someone."

She knew. Of course she knew. She'd have to be daft not to realize the blade I held against her. So why hadn't she struggled? No, she'd done the opposite. She hadn't moved since letting go of me, straddling me calmly as if I didn't hold her life in my hands. Or maybe she had resigned her fate to my decision? She had tested me, manipulated me, and contracted me. This was her declaration of interest in partnership and now she was waiting on my answer. So accept and she lives? Or refuse and she dies?

I explosively sighed, letting the key drop from numb fingers. I couldn't do it. It was a gamble, but maybe I wasn't wrong after all. If she was willing to put her life in my hands after what she just put me through… she was either confident that I would accept, or there was more to her than I thought. Or, maybe more accurately, there wasn't as little to her as I feared.

"Shit." I muttered, making the effort to meet her eyes. "I accept your contract, Karasuba. I will be your Ashikabi."

There it was. My decision was made.

"So, what happens now?" I asked. She flashed me a grin that was all teeth, reveling in her complete victory. She gambled long odds and won big. I was only slightly resentful at her coming out on top. And no, that wasn't a comment on our positioning.

"Now we go report back to MBI. The extraction copters for Yomi's body should be en route."

That wasn't quite what I meant, but she was right about the first part. Already a crude sort of plan was forming in my head. She was a high level member of MBI, and unless I missed my guess then she was in charge of security in one way or another. If I was her Ashikabi, her Master, then I could insert myself into the Sekirei Plan in a more official capacity. It was a gamble, one I wasn't sure if I was confident in taking.

On one hand, it would become my duty to keep Karasuba shackled, to keep her directed less she lash out like she just did moments ago. But if it worked, I might be able to save everyone. Save them like I was unable to during the Holy Grail War. Too many people had been hurt and killed in Fuyuki, simply because there was no rule against it and no interest in enforcing such policy. If Karasuba was the key to MBI, then what better way to enforce a rule of my own creation than to make sure it became a real rule of this death match? And maybe even get a view of this Plan's Grail.

But first there were other things to take care of before I could turn my attention to what if scenarios.

"If that's the case then we should recall Akitsu." That was if she was still alive. Guilt flashed painfully in my chest before it was smothered with cool rationalization. Yes, it would be a shame if my first real orders for her got her killed. Even more so since instead of using her distraction to kill Karasuba, I contracted with her. But she only needed to prevent anyone from following. I didn't really expect that she'd have to fight at all. Who would willingly throw themselves in front of a rampaging Karasuba? Alright, stupid question. Who else would do something so suicidal just to save another's life? At the same time, I couldn't deny that leaving a Sekirei unattended with two (or was it three) unknown participants was a recipe for disaster. If I were in their place I would have taken advantage of the situation to snuff out the competition. Yes, that meant the first priority was to see if Akitsu was still alive and, if so, safety extract her.

"Hmm," Karasuba pretended to think before giving me a smile I could only describe as sultry. "Why don't we take just another minute? I'm sure she's fine on her own. Besides, shouldn't I get a reward for my victory?"

"Your reward is staying alive, now get off." I deadpan. Besides, I still trusted Akitsu more than her and more so I was beginning to like the quite woman. Karasuba rose with a snort that sounded distinctly like 'spoilsport.' As one we collected our fallen weapons. Gae Bolg and her nodachi rested not far from where we went tumbling across the ground. Kanshou and Bakuya were... ah, well one had imbedded itself in a tree trunk a dozen meters away and the other must be close. Normally, I wouldn't bother to pick up my discarded weapons, letting them dissipate into motes of prana instead. But Karasuba hadn't seen me Trace yet, so there was no need to so casually reveal the nature of my weapons.

"Saha…Emiya-kun?" Karasuba's faltering start was punctuated by the snap of her blade fully sheathing. "You may be a decent enough fighter, for a human anyway, but it would be faster for me to go get the Scrap by myself." That was actually a good idea.

"Alright." I said, somewhat dubiously. I wouldn't put it passed Karasuba to meander and let the ice woman die. Or intervene if she needed to and had the chance to save her. "Go get her. But don't dally! If she isn't safely with you when I catch up then," well, I didn't know what I'd do really. "Never mind, just go!"

Karasuba jumped up into the trees and disappeared along the way back to the others. It wasn't that hard a trail to follow, I mused, just look for the trees with gouges cut into them. As she disappeared and the scent of blood as eclipsed by moss and loam I let out a sigh.

"Did I make the right choice? Saber…?"

*Akitsu*

"Akitsu!" Shirou-sama, my chosen Ashikabi, yelled. Dread hastened my steps as I flew towards them. Slow. I was too slow to protect him. Failure. The word burned. Once more I was failing, yet more proof of my nature as a broken Sekirei. Danger. Shirou-sama was in danger and I couldn't protect him. That vile woman, number 04, the Black Sekirei danced passed my barricades like they were nothing! Too close! She was too close to him, launching him through the air and further away with every step I took.

I should have driven her off when I first saw her. I knew she was dangerous, even if Shirou-sama didn't. I tried to tell him, impress upon him the risk of having her near. I should have killed her yesterday, when she was trapped and I had the chance. But Shirou-sama told me not to fight her. Not to harm her and I had obeyed. But how could I protect him when he put himself in such danger?!

I gathered myself, the air becoming more comfortable as I wrapped myself in my powers. I'd be in range soon, able to divide them, to separate Karasuba and Shirou-sama. He could run as I bought him the time to –

"No one follows!"

He issued his last order before being flung out of sight, the Black Sekirei hot in pursuit.

My legs stopped, muscles rigid in mid leap. No one follows. Shirou-sama… he didn't plan on engaging her by himself did he? Watching him engage that other Sekirei, that fallen one, had been hard enough. Every time she swung her weapon at him I had to stop myself from intervening, to stop from making a wall between them. From isolating her, binding her, and freezing the very blood in her veins for even daring to harm Shirou-sama with the very ice of my pledge.

But he had ordered me not to interfere. I obeyed. Just as when he fought before, every fiber of my being screamed. I should be following. I should be between him and all who sought to bring him sorrow or anger or harm. That was my duty as his Sekirei, even if I wasn't.

So why did I not move?

Pain! I clutched my head as it seared in agony.

Save him! My body rebelled against my thoughts. It always rebelled. I should be there, his shield against that black-hearted monster. Even if it cost me my life, I would ensure his. That was the duty of a Sekirei: to love and protect their Ashikabi. He was my Ashikabi, even if I couldn't be his Sekirei. No, especially since I couldn't be his Sekirei. I – No one follows.

I…

I just stood there. A failure.

Crack!

I didn't think, only reacted. My power swelled and ice speared up, warding off and halting the figure that almost ran right passed me.

No one follows.

"What the hell are you doing?" He yelled, kicking off the icy barrier and reversing his momentum moments before he'd otherwise be impaled. What was I… doing? He was a Sekirei too, dressed from head to toe in black clothes. His lower face was covered by a mask and much of his body was hidden behind a baggy black cloak, but his silvery-grey hair was visible. Gray hair…

Flames sprang from his hands, a wave crashed against my conjured spears, dispersing both fire and ice in a cloud of mist. His path clear, he sprang forward once more – No! I jumped ahead, cutting him off with my body even as I conjured another wave of ice. The frozen javelins halted him once more, driving him back as he unleashed another torrent of flames to counter them. Again, the meeting of our powers left only vapor.

"Shirou is your Ashikabi right? Don't you see he's going to die if we don't get to him?" Die? I flinched back, struck. The pain surged forth, stronger. Fingers fisted in my hair, trying to push down the agony. Shirou-sama was going to die. It didn't matter that he could overcome the other one, the black dog was going to kill him unless I protected him. Failure, even though it was predetermined, wasn't an option. I stumbled back, giving ground to the male Sekirei. He was right, Shirou was going to – No one follows.

One more my powers reached out. Hoarfrost broke across the ground in jagged lines. Spires of ice lanced upward, checking the grey haired man once more – he had used my distraction to try and bypass me, seeking Shirou-sama. Seeking Shirou-sama? I hadn't seen him go for the opening until I headed him off.

Twin gouts of fire responded, the first crashing against the impediment and dissolving both attacks. The second curved around the impact of the first, seeking to cut me off from his pursuit. Was he pursuing Shirou too? I gave more ground, leaping away from the roaring blaze.

"Don't you understand anything?! Don't you care?!" the man smoldered, smoke rising from his arms and shoulders as he pressed further. His cries echoing my own hysteria. Care? Of course I cared. Shirou-sama was fighting – trapped with that murderess and I was here away from him. I should run! Go to him now! If I ran as fast as I could, maybe I could still – No one follows! "Why aren't you helping him?!"

Why…

"I.." I struggled to speak. I didn't know. I should have gone after him. I should go now! My heart seized and my head burned, twin agonies begging, pleading me to follow after him. Yet I didn't. I was shorn in two standing still. Half of me chased after him, the part yearning to shatter his enemies, his troubles, his misfortunes – I faltered, pain spiking unbearably in time with my thoughts. The other part wasn't allowing me to give in, to pursue him and protect him and it was torture!

Worse than any test! Worse than needles in my flesh! Worse than knives in my bone! Worse than even fire! My stomach turned in sickness. My heart ached, pulling painfully in my chest. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I couldn't –

My eyes napped open, darting to the left even as I brought up an arm. Ice followed my motion, a half-dome rising from the frozen ground just in time to catch a bolt of lightning before it pierced me through. The bolt crackled against my shield, a few loose jagged segments breaking off, but it was only superficial damage. More enemies?

"Homura, ignore her!" Another Sekirei called. Lightning danced across her fingers as she flew through the air, approaching swiftly from the far left. "She's obviously crazy!"

"We'll distract her." Another voice, a mirror image of the female Sekirei, called as she circled to the right. "Go after that guy when there's an opening!"

They were after Shirou too! Not acceptable! Lightning crackled and lanced through the air, the unpleasant odor of ozone and flash-heated air in their wake. Their pinpoint strikes were fast, accurate and annoying. The lingering heat in the air was more detrimental than their actual attacks as they failed to penetrate my conjured barriers.

But I was losing ground. Every bolt that I caught on a shield took my eyes away from the real threat. I couldn't stand still, despite the burning in my skull and the sweltering air. Every time I summoned ice he took the opportunity to try and pass me by, single mindedly pursuing Shirou, and forcing me to cut off his escape my leaping in front of him. Spears of ice met waves of fire, the two dousing and countering one another in plumes of mist. But his ferocity pushed me back. Pulses of fire whipped frantically through the air as he tried to press his advance.

He was the most dangerous of the three. He was fast, but so far I'd managed to keep up and head him off even with the annoying Sekirei girls' interference. He was strong too. Compared to the other two opponents, whose attacks were more like angry, impotent gnats, he was an unstoppable force. Every defense and counter I launched was countered with equal measure. No, that wasn't true. He was weaker, if only just, but he was the worst possible opponent for me. Fire naturally triumphed over ice, and it was so here too. I was using more energy turning aside his attacks than he was using in our stalemate.

My vision swam as I staggered back, pushing myself away from the fire using man. If he wasn't here, I could have ended the other two and gone to protect Shirou-sama. Equally, if those two weren't supporting him I could have driven him off. If they weren't… didn't they see? If they weren't here then Shirou-sama wouldn't have been concerned. If they were all gone, I wouldn't have to stay and prevent them from pursuing. If they were gone… I would be free to protect Shirou-sama.

My back knocked against solid wood. The surprise locked my legs and paralyzed my thoughts. I had been driven back to the very edge of the clearing where Shirou-sama had disappeared to. I couldn't retreat anymore without risking losing them in the deeper woods. If I lost them, there was nothing to stop them from catching Shirou-sama. If they caught him…

I couldn't finish the thought.

Or I could flee. I could run, use the trees to escape. If I reached Shirou-sama before them, before that woman got to him, then we could disappear. At the very least, I could ensure he survived. I half turned, frozen in indecision. Go or stay? Go or Stay?!

I took one step back, half pivot that –

No one follows

– I immediately turned back to face the three Sekirei bearing down on me, launching a volley of icy javelins at the two women whose flanking maneuvers had brought them too close to the tree line. A sweep of my arm sent a spire of ice rising from the ground just in time to catch another burst of fire, but I didn't stop there. My breath misted the air as I instantly chilled the steam from the resulting collision, sending a secondary spread of icy missiles streaking through the air in a wide swath. The male Sekirei's charge halted, forced into a retreat to avoid being skewered by the projectiles even as he batted several out of the air.

The agonizing brand on my head didn't stop burning, but the pain no longer mattered so much. Instead, I felt the phantom sensation of a weight settling over my shoulders, and with it unusually comfortable warmth rose in my chest. Come with me. Shirou's voice echoed in my ears. I'll take care of you. I felt his presence, his kindness settle my nerves. I couldn't run. If I did that I would truly be a failure.

"Shit!" The loud woman on the right cursed, "We don't have time for this!" She was right. Every moment they halted me here was another moment that Shirou was in danger. "Seo! Get over here!"

"Homura," the other one spoke softly, even if it still carried through the air, as the two girls touched down flanking the one they called Homura. "We'll use our Norito to break through. You go stop Karasuba before it is too late!"

Their Ashikabi, a large, uncouth looking man approached them from where he and Shirou's brother were watching on the other end of the clearing. A Norito: the ultimate expression of a Sekirei's power, an attack symbolizing the bond that they and their Ashikabi shared. An attack only a fully realized Sekirei, a winged Sekirei, with the blessings and love of their Ashikabi could perform. A joy I would never know.

A surge of anger and jealousy rose up as he embraced the girls, quieting the agony with a different type of ache. The irrational desire to crush them all now was quashed, but not quickly and not completely. It was against the rules to attack an Ashikabi, but when it came to Shirou-sama's safety I would break any barrier. Unfortunately, the fire user was between her and them and didn't break his focus as he stood watch over them.

Their activation crests lit with jagged yellow wings shining from their back in the form of artistically curved bolts of lightning signaled their Norito was ready. Bitterness laced my heart. A Norito, being the most powerful attack a Sekirei can bring into a fight, could only be opposed by another Norito. As broken as I was, incapable of bearing the mark of an Ashikabi, meant that I could never use one of my own. I was useless to Shirou-sama.

I don't understand what you mean by being broken.

He had told me.

I don't know what it means that you're a scrap number, but I don't care.

His words confirmed my thoughts about him. Despite the monotonous tone of his statement, his seriousness told me that he was sincere. This was my Ashikabi, I thought. Even if he had been taken from me, I had found him.

If I am to be your Ashikabi, then there will be conditions. If you cannot abide and comply with them then our partnership is impossible.

The twin Sekirei clasped their hands, sparks arcing along their joined fingers and arms. "We're the pledged thunderclap." They intoned as one.

Will you obey my orders without question?

Yes.

Confused as I was, torn as I was, that was why I hadn't left the clearing and chased after him myself. I forced back the sudden resurgence of pain grinding through my skull. Pain was nothing compared to disappointing Shirou-sama. I had only had two things to give him, broken as I was, and the first was unwavering loyalty: the proof of my bond to him.

"No disaster will hit our Ashikabi." The smell of ionized air increased, tiny jolts arcing along the ground from where they stood.

Even if they don't make sense to you? Even if they put you in danger?

Yes.

Danger was the life of a Sekirei. Our purpose was to live for and fight for our chosen ones. If I were to question any of his decisions, other than his ties to that black witch, it would have been his accepting a broken bird like me. Accepting that point was easy.

Will you protect my family: Minato, Yukari and Takami above me or even yourself?

Yes.

I can honestly say I didn't understand this point at the time, but it was within my power. If it would make Shirou-sama happy, then that was definitely something I could do. Prioritizing them over myself was easy as well for someone so worthless, but Shirou-sama? I told myself that I would just make sure I never had to choose between him and his family.

A coarse breeze picked up in the clearing, roiling between the high temperature ionized air from the girls charging Norito and my own preparations. Unpleasantly hot sweat formed against my skin as I charged my own focus, was chilled almost instantly. Frost layered the ground at my feet, ice sprouting up and against my bare legs under the cotton shift I was wearing. The deep crackling sound of ice moving against ice was almost as comforting as the coldness rooting me in place, the somatic feel of holding myself in place doused the burning pain in my mind with cold resolve. I will not move. I will not falter.

"God's Song!" At their last cry, the name of their Norito, the charged electricity discharged with a massive flash. I closed my eyes. By the time the echoing crack of the guided bolt of lightning issued forth to deafen as well as blind, the attack had already exploded against my barriers. Ice cracked, shattered and regrew as the bolt drilled through wall after wall I conjured to stop it. Sweat poured down my face. My muscles trembled as I forced more and more ice to grow. My core burned, taxing my power to conjure and shape my shields so quickly.

Will you follow me, even if I call for your life?

Yes.

This was the only other thing I could offer him besides my loyalty: my life. I would gladly trade my life for his happiness.

Flash heated water exploded, steam expanding in every direction as my icy walls melted and burst, helping the massive bolt to pierce even further through my defenses. Blinded, deafened and swealtering, all I could do was hold my ground. Steam cooled, condensed, hardened, shattered and exploded once more.

And then it was over.

The pressure against me was done, the lightning having burnt itself out. The only remnant of the Norito was a cylindrical hole piercing almost all the way to me through a giant, half-melted hemisphere of ice. Chips and fragments littered the steaming forest floor. I let out a breath. I had stopped it. I had stopped their Norito. I let my shield collapse, sublimating the construct back into the air. The instant change in air pressure sent a pulse of wind through the clearing that dispersed the thick screen of steam.

"Holy shit." The Sekirei clad in the darker of the two matching uniforms uttered in disbelief. If it weren't for that Shirou was still in danger I might have smiled. Three Sekirei versus one? There was no other option, no other outcome. This was my victory. "She blocked it?" the lighter clad of the two all but whispered. "She blocked it all on her own."

This was the proof that my decision was right; my desires, my loyalty to Shirou-sama, my resolve to him and his cause. They couldn't break me any more than I already was. No one would stand against Shirou-sama so long as I was here to shield him. Drawing all of the gravity I could, I uttered the four words that defined this epiphany.

"You shall not proceed."

The words hung in the silence as impassible and inexorable as ice.

I straightened my back and let my arms hang down naturally at my sides. The pain was gone, shattered by the strength of my resolve. My head was clear, my purpose resolute. I allowed the ice I held myself in place with to disappear now that I no longer needed it. I would not hesitate or falter anymore. The fight left my opponents. The twin girls looked shaken and pale, persuading their Ashikabi to flee in the face of a superior opponent. The man looked pained, despite his mask, looking as drawn and desperate as I had probably looked not ten seconds ago.

Footsteps whispered in the grass behind me. They approached with calm, even steps. My heart soared and I couldn't help but preen slightly. Shirou must have been victorious. I felt bad for doubting him, regardless of how well he acquitted himself against his first opponent, but I consoled myself with the thought that I was only concerned for his safety.

"Hey, Scrap head." No. Nonono. Relief and hope crumbled to despair at the feminine voice behind me. No, it wasn't fair. It wasn't right! I won. I had proven myself worthy of carrying Shirou-sama's will. How dare she? How dare she take him from me already!

My whole body burned, but not in pain this time. This time it was definitely anger.

*Minato*

I almost dropped Ku-chan as Karasuba, the nice lady that showed up to talk to Shirou last night and the same person who just viciously drove him away with her attack, walked out from the woods behind Akitsu. Akitsu's response was much more passionate, her face shifting into an animalistic snarl. The abrupt change from her (from what little interaction I've had with the soft spoken and formerly demure woman) impassive face caught me aback. Even if I wasn't the subject of her ire, the fear from her blatant rage sent a shiver of fear though me.

And then she abruptly turned on her heel and tore after a rapidly fleeing Karasuba with all the likeness and fury of an avalanche. A literal wall of rolling ice and snow follows the surprisingly panicked grey haired woman back into the massive forest. As the roar of their passing died down, only silence and disbelieving witnesses remained.

Thunk!

Homura-san, the black clad Sekirei, slammed his smoking fist against the ground, his body trembling. Although, I idly noticed, it wasn't his just his fist. Smoke was rising off his shoulders and back too, like he was about to burst into the fire he manipulated.

"Wow! Akitsu-san is so strong!" Musubi broke the grave silence that had fallen over us like a pall. "And she didn't even have Shirou-san with her for a Norito! I wonder how strong she is! Minato-san, when can we fight her and Karasuba-san?"

I didn't really hear the words she was saying, my thoughts moving at the rapid pace of molasses. Even Kusano's fidgeting didn't draw any response other than to mechanically shift her into a better position. Thankfully, she had kept her head buried in my shoulder, not watching as Shirou killed the girl who was bullying her.

Shirou…

…killed…

I didn't know what to think or what to feel, the events were happening too quickly. The wounds were too raw. Just as I was starting to think that Shirou was right, that this Sekirei game could become dangerous with characters like Seo, Hikari and Hibiki who ruthlessly attacked MBI's soldiers; I witnessed said older brother brutally dismantle and murder a little girl in front of my eyes.

Yomi… I think that was her name? My eyes were glued to her body, her blood still leaking out of her bisected middle. Two great red streaks arced out from her from when Shirou disemboweled her. She was just a girl. She was cruel and malicious, attacking Musubi and picking on Kusano, but she was just… she didn't need to die like that. We could have fought her together, could have beaten her and rescued Ku-chan without anyone getting hurt. Without any deaths.

And Karasuba, the nice young friend of Shirou's that had come to tell us about Mom's accident. I had been thankful to her all day. It was only because of her that we knew something had gone wrong and that Mom had been injured in the first place. But she had attacked Shirou just as suddenly and unprovoked as his murder of that girl bullying Ku. What kind of friend tries to kill you? Hikari, Hibiki, Seo, Homura… they were all fighting to save Shirou who was fighting for his life for the second time in as many minutes. And I … my eyes were stuck on that poor dead girl he killed.

Killed…

"Is Shirou.." I croaked, my tongue feeling raspy in my mouth. I felt sick. My stomach roiled. Were it not for that I was holding Kusano up I might have even hurled. Swallowing hard, I tried to force the words. "Is Shirou dead?"

The forest was silent as a grave.

*Chapter End*

So, yes. Many of you have been reviewing and saying that 'Servants are much stronger than Sekirei,' and I agree with you. I've been planning this chapter since before I started Shattered. All of Shirou's thinking that Sekirei were similar to Servants was his own bias, given he'd never seen one fight or fought against one. Now he knows just how mistaken he was, and how much weaker his opponents are than he was expecting. I hope this allays a lot of your concerns that I'd been messing up the power levels of the two universes.

I would like to apologize to Ranmyaku Kiritsu for lying. This chapter and the last one were supposed to be joined, and the name for it was 'Angry Crow Takes Flight.' When I split the chapter into two parts, the combat and winging scenes all ended up being in this chapter, so I changed the name. I hope the events of this chapter make up for it.

Next Up: Chapter 7, Hostile Takeovers