[EMIYA SHIROU]
[THE GAMER]
[LV 38 - 15000/37000]
[HP: 3800][MP: 35][MC: 27][ST: 920][SP: 14]
[STR: 50][DEX: 50][INT: 50][WIS: 33][CHR: 102]
[ATK: 100] [DEF:100]
[You have slept in a bed. HP, MP and STR are completely restored]
Shirou's eyes opened to the unchanged scenery of his room's replica in the Reverse Side. The perpetual night made it difficult for him to know how long he had slept. Additionally, being mere reflections of their real world counterparts, electronics didn't work down there. As such the clock on the nightstand was nothing more than an useless lump of parts.
He got out of the futon and checked over his body. As expected, the wounds were all gone, but he was still covered in dried up blood. The noise he had made in the process woke the other occupant of the room.
"Shirou?" Saeko called out.
Startled, Shirou turned around to find her leaning against the wall. She had to have fallen asleep watching over him.
"Saeko. How are you feeling? Are you alrigh-!"
He was cut off mid-sentence as he found his face buried into her bosom, which shuddered as a loud sob escaped Saeko's lips.
"You are alive. I thought you were dead. Gone. She said you would be fine but your injuries were all so horrible and you weren't breathing and… and..."
"Shhh, I'm okay," he said after he wiggled his face out from between the valley of her breasts. "I'm not dead. In fact I'm totally fine."
"How is this possible?" she asked, pulling away from him to look him all over. "Magecraft?"
"Something like that," he replied vaguely. "I have an… unnatural constitution. Let's just say that it takes a whole lot more to kill me than a regular human. Don't worry."
Yet, Saeko didn't look convinced. Or rather she couldn't believe that he was, in fact, still alive. She hugged him again as to confirm that no, it wasn't a dream or any other byproduct of her imagination.
"Don't do that to me ever again," she said in a voice that brooked no compromises.
"I can't promise you that, you know," he replied.
His superhuman resilience didn't make him immortal and one day he would die a gruesome death. Such was the path he had chosen for himself, and however much she disliked it, Saeko loved him because he was that way.
There was nothing that either one could say in addition to that and Shirou slowly pushed Saeko away.
"Where is Mikado-san?"
"... who?" Saeko asked.
"Mikado-san," he repeated. "Wasn't she the one who told you I was going to be fine?"
A look of understanding dawned upon Saeko's face, which soon morphed in one of boiling rage.
"That bitch!" she growled, jumping to her feet and rushing out of the room, grabbing her own sword on the way out.
"Saeko, wait," Shirou called out, following after her, but Saeko didn't seem to hear him, They arrived at his dojo, where Mikado was sitting seiza with her eyes closed. She didn't even open them when the hiss of Saeko's sword coming out of her scabbard echoed through the room.
Shirou knew he had to intervene, or things would take a turn for the worse. He stepped between them, facing Saeko with his arms spread open.
"Shirou! What are you doing? Get out of the way and let me kill this bitch."
"Saeko, calm down. The situation has already been resolved."
"Resolved? She very nearly killed both of us and she could do the same again."
"She won't! She can't! And even if she could she wouldn't. We have come to an agreement," he explained.
"And you trust her to honor it?" Saeko asked.
"She doesn't really have a choice in the matter anymore."
"It's exactly as he says, Busujima Saeko," Mikado said, opening her eyes for the first time since they both walked into the room. "I have signed a Self-Geas scroll that I would not do him or his people any further harm. I am as dangerous as a newborn kitten to you now."
"Why is that you are only trying to kill her now, anyway?" Shirou asked "Didn't she tell you her identity earlier?"
"Obviously, or I would have cut her where she stood when I came to. She just said that she was your ally and showed me to your room. I believed her, because why else would she have been there?"
"Well… considering your reaction, I can't really blame her for not telling you who she was."
"Indeed," Mikado agreed. "I feared she would not believe what I told her if she knew my name."
"With good reason," Saeko growled.
"Now, now. The situation has been resolved. There's no need for anyone to kill anybody, alright. Put away your sword, Saeko."
Saeko turned her glare onto him, but Shirou didn't flinch or look away. Saeko closed her eyes and let out a long breath through her nose.
"Very well. Since you're vouching for her, I'll let the matter go, but if she puts one toe over the line, I'm cutting it."
"Yeah, that's fair," Shirou agreed. "Now, if I can trust you two to do nothing beyond glaring at each other, I'm going to get myself cleaned. Then we'll figure what to do."
"Go ahead," Saeko said. "I'll keep an eye on her."
"There better be the same number of limbs per person when I'm done," he said as he left.
"That depends entirely on her," Saeko muttered, turning to keep guard over Mikado, whose eyes were entirely apathetic.
Shirou sighed and went to get the dried up blood off his body. Talking was something done better when he didn't look like a murder victim.
"... this is going to become a regular thing, isn't it?" he asked himself.
The answer to that question… he'd rather not know it yet.
[br]
Some time later, the three of them had gathered in the living room. There was no power, but Shirou had candles around the house that he could use and food in his inventory that he could share around. A candlelit breakfast might have been a romantic date, if not for the fact that there were three people and that at least one wished to kill another.
Such was the state of Emiya Shirou's life.
"You have agreed to what?" Saeko asked sharply.
"To find a cure for her wounded friend," Shirou repeated.
"Not that part!" Saeko explained.
"She refers to the likelihood of having to face a Divine Spirit," Mikado supplied.
"You shut your mouth," she snapped. "This is all your fault. Shirou! Why did you agree to something so foolish?"
"... since when do you know me for turning down a sincere request for help?" he asked rhetorically.
"Still! There's a limit to the risks you should be willing to take."
Signing the scroll was also the most expedient way to help Saeko, but Shirou didn't mention that for obvious reasons. The last thing he wanted was for Saeko to blame herself.
"You know that's not how I work, Saeko" he told her patiently.
"I know that! I know that… still…"
"Besides, there is no guarantee I actually have to fight Scáthach. Perhaps an accord can be found. How did you end up being at odds with someone like that, anyway?" he asked of Mikado
"The Queen of the Land of Shadows doesn't take kindly to trespassers. Tearju and I… our attempts at reaching the Root infringed upon her domain."
"And she tried to kill your friend, just like that?" Shirou asked.
"She… to be frank she did warn us off, and we retreated immediately. However… at a time when I was away Tearju… she tried again without me. When I returned, she was lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. Her Crest was the only thing keeping her alive and it was all I could do to keep her in stasis."
"How do you know it was Scáthach that did it then?" Saeko asked.
"The residual energy from the Land of Shadows for one thing, and the cursed wound that wouldn't heal no matter what I did for another."
"Hmm. Did you try to contact Scáthach after the fact?"
"No. I knew that if I opened the gate again I would meet the same fate as Tearju and if I died, there would have been no one left to save her."
"Hm. That was probably for the best," Shirou agreed. "How long ago was that?"
"Three years ago," she explained. "Since then I've been scouring the world for a counter-curse but I couldn't find anything of that caliber."
"So, when you came to know about my ability to regenerate from wounds that should be lethal, you thought you could use it for her."
"Pretty much, but from what I saw until now it cannot be called healing. Rather, it looks like a time-reversal ability that some high tier Dead Apostles have developed."
"And that doesn't interest you?" Saeko asked, stealing glances at Shirou in the meantime.
"Time Reversal isn't the same as time-travel," Mikado explained. "It brings the user back to the state they were when they first applied the spell upon themselves. It would have been different if she had it before getting stabbed, but it's useless at this junction."
"So, there is no other way than dispelling the curse," Shirou concluded. "Either by finding something of greater power than Gae Bolg, or by killing something unkillable."
"Whether it's Magecraft or fighting prowess, isn't that the same as surpassing Scáthach herself?" Saeko asked.
"That is pretty much the case," Mikado agreed. "Which is why I have turned to you for help, Emiya Shirou. I believe from what I saw that you have the potential of becoming her match, in time."
"That's quite a lot of trust you're putting in me," Shirou frowned.
"I don't know where your ability originates from, but I have eye for potential. You don't die even when you are killed. I can't think of anyone who could be a better match for that woman."
"You make it sound so easy," Shirou shook his head. "I'm not as good as you think I am."
"No, I know that. However, I firmly believe that you might become that one day."
"And what exactly makes you think so?" he asked.
"Because you have the power of surpassing you own limits," she explained. "I saw it happen with my own eyes. Whether that will prove to be enough or not, that remains to be seen. However, it's a bet I must make."
Shirou scratched his head. She had pretty much nailed the nature of his power on the head. The whole point of experiencing life as a game was exactly that of leveling up over and over again. It was a metaphor of surpassing oneself.
"Well, whatever the case I have already agreed to see it through, so there's no point arguing about the feasibility of it."
"I shouldn't have expected anything different, Geas or no Geas," Saeko sighed.
"Sorry about that, Saeko," he apologized.
"It's alright. As someone who has been saved by you, I have no right to complain. Still," she turned towards Mikado. "Should he perish in this quest of yours, I'll kill you myself."
"That's fair," Mikado agreed.
Shirou knew that if he failed, the former enemy Magus would die, whether Saeko did anything about it or not. That just meant he couldn't fail, though meeting Mikado's expectations meant he had to take a different approach to his future training.
That, however, required they got out of the Reverse Side first, but that also brought up the question on how they had gotten there in the first place.
"Say, Mikado-san, how did you manage to bring us here forcibly despite the Boundary Field around the house?"
"Hm? With a similar method through which I can open a gate to the Shadow Land. Well, it's not quite the same thing, but the base concepts still apply. Given enough energy, it's quite simple to tear a hole through the layers of the world. Of course collecting sufficient energy is a daunting task in and of itself. I had to sacrifice a precious family heirloom as a catalyst to make it happen with the Mana I had available."
"Can you reverse it?" he asked.
"There is no such thing as simple in Magecraft," she replied evenly. "Case in point, I could if had the necessary energy, which I no longer do."
"How do you open portals to the Land of Shadows then?" Saeko asked.
"By tapping into the leyline and accumulating energy over the course of several weeks I can open a person-sized portal. If we consider that the the Land of Shadows is much deeper than here, I can make it happen from here to the real world once a week."
"Is that how you usually get in and out?" Shirou inquired further.
"That would be a waste of time and resources unless it's an emergency," she explained. "Currently I don't have that kind of energy. I spent all of it controlling the Wraiths I sent against you."
"So… how do we get out of here?" he asked.
"On foot," she replied. "We can go back to the first layer of the Reverse Side from the Ryuudou Temple.
"Why there specifically?"
"It's where the leylines that run under Fuyuki City met," Mikado explained. "The walls between realities are naturally thinner over there. It takes very little effort to break through."
"Hmm. Alright then, we should get moving," Shirou decided.
"If it's all the same to you," Mikado said, "I'll remain here. I cannot just leave Tearju behind undefended. I'll follow you back to the real world once I have sufficient energy to open a gate and move."
"Well.. that's fine," Shirou agreed. "Do you have everything you need. I kind of wrecked your place."
"Of course. Being a Magus is all about preparation after all. I have several other bases hidden away down here. I can safely relocate without issues and survive for years. You don't need to concern yourself about me."
"Alright then. I expect to see you in a week time then."
"As you wish, Emiya-san," she agreed.
Shirou sighed. For someone who had basically bound herself in service to him, she surely acted as if it didn't matter. Maybe this too was part of the preparation of a Magus in the end.
[br]
Shirou and Saeko departed the replica of the Emiya household and made their way towards the mountain. Usually that place was about forty minutes away from Shirou's house on foot if her ran all the way there, however there were still wild Wraiths on the streets and with Saeko in tow Shirou had to be extra cautious. While his former teacher could hold her own, she was a match for a single Wraith at a time down there, and she wasn't unkillable as him.
Fortunately, without Mikado manipulating them, they didn't run into any cluster and the two of them together made short work of any opponent they came across.
However, Saeko was acutely aware that her strength was barely sufficient in this place, while Shirou had taken groups of opponents on his own in his quest to protect her. The difference between their strength was like that between day and night and it would only keep on growing.
'I am going to be left behind,' Saeko realized. Of course she already knew that would happen one day. She just didn't think it would happen so soon. She wasn't his match. His existence transcended her own by such magnitude that making a comparison was a bad joke.
She knew she had to let go, and she would.
Just not of him, that is.
To stand by his side she would abandon her pride. Even if she would just be a footnote in his legend that would be fine. No, that was more than she deserved to begin with. She'd have to ask a woman she detested to help her become stronger.
He was worth that much and more.
Eventually, they arrived at the stone stairs leading up to the Ryuudou Temple. Luckily, Mikado had already dispersed the group of Wraiths she had keeping guard, otherwise there would have been a heated battle.
"How are you holding up, Saeko?" he asked. "You seem worried."
"Hmm? Did I give that impression? I was just thinking about that woman. Even though she's bound by a geas, you should be wary of her."
"I don't plan on trusting her easily," he reassured. "I could have let it go if she just went after me, but she had no hesitation in involving you as well. I understand that she might have been desperate in her own way, but that's no excuse. At the very least, I'll make sure she won't do something like that ever again."
"Just be careful, alright? Magi are a deceitful sort… present company excluded."
"... you do know I keep secrets from you as well, don't you?" he asked.
"Yes, but you are upfront about it. Besides, I know you you mean well, unlike the rest of them."
"Thank you," he nodded. "It means a great deal to me that you trust me this much."
"After you risked yourself twice to save me, how could I not?" she laughed. "Seriously, Shirou. Don't ever doubt my feelings for you."
"Even I know that taking a woman's feelings for granted is a recipe for disaster," he snorted.
"You keep up the sweet talking and I'm going to punish you later," she promised.
"Is that supposed to deter or encourage me?" he asked.
"Why don't you find out for yourself?" she purred, dancing her fingers across his face.
"L-Let's not get distracted just yet," he stuttered, face flushing. Although he was getting comfortable flirting with her, his smooth facade cracked with just a bit of skin contact.
"Fuhuhu," Saeko laughed. "You are far too cute for your own good."
"I… I'll take your words for it. Come on let's go."
They climbed up the stairs, expecting any number of monsters to come out from the thick forest on each side. However, nothing of the sort happened and they made it up to the top unhindered.
Unlike the rest of the city that was overgrown by vegetation, the Ryuudou temple looked pristine as ever. Was it because it was closer to the first layer? It could be, but they had no way to confirm or deny it.
However, what interested them was right in front of their eyes, exactly where Mikado had said they would find it. There was something like a crack in the landscape, right in the middle of the courtyard. It twisted the light in the same way a broken windowpane would. One could still see through it, but the image was distorted.
They approached it cautiously, not really knowing what to expect. They could see behind it almost as if it wasn't there, except for the visual distortion it caused. However when Saeko moved on the other side of this phenomena, Shirou could no longer see her.
What they could see through the crack was not what stood behind it, but rather a completely different place. A different layer of the Reverse Side.
"I think we can really go back up from here," Shirou said. "Come over here, Saeko."
Saeko returned to Shirou's side and took the hand he was offering. Then he reached towards the Fracture and pushed forward.
Under the pressure, the crack expanded, tearing open a piece of the sky in a kaleidoscope of colors. It grew until it encompassed them both. Then, suddenly, they were on the other side of it. Behind them the fracture returned to its starting size.
They looked like they were still in the same place as before, but the air felt cooler, lighter.
"We did it," said Saeko. "This must be the first layer."
"Yes," Shirou agreed. "The ambient Mana is much more manageable here."
"Thank goodness. Even with this amulet, it felt like breathing water down there."
"Yeah. I wonder how the deeper layers fare. It must be dreadful."
"They are not places where human beings can live," Saeko warned.
"I know. I'd rather not go there unless it's necessary," Shirou assured. "I could probably manage between my innate resistance and the Mikado-san's amulet, but I have no clue what manner of creatures dwell there."
"Hm," Saeko agreed with a nod. "Moreover, doesn't modern Magecraft cease working when you get closer to a world similar to the Age of Gods?"
"Yes, more complex mysteries stop working altogether. Fortunately for me, I only use the most basic ones, so they will probably function even at the bottom layer. If there's one to begin with."
"Let's not find out anytime soon, shall we? I've had enough of this place to last me a while."
"I agree. Come on, let's return home. Taiga is probably worried sick by now."
"... I completely forgot about that," Saeko admitted.
"Yeah, she's going to tear me a new one. Then she's going to lock me up in the kitchen to cook for her for a week straight."
"Surely Fujimura-sensei wouldn't…"
Shirou gave her a hopeless look that told volumes about what lengths Fujimura Taiga was willing to go, when suitably provoked. Considering what she knew of the woman, Saeko wasn't willing to dismiss Shirou's claims that easily.
They descended the stairs down the mountain and returned back to the real world without major issues.
[br]
Rangiku was quietly sipping sake when the door of the Ahnenerbe that faced the Reverse Side opened and Emiya Shirou and Busujima Saeko came walking in.
She blinked. When had they come down there? She wasn't precisely always at the Ahnenerbe, but she had left lookouts for them, to warn her whenever they came or went and none of them had informed her of their arrival.
So when did they descend to the Mirror World, exactly? Or better, from where?
"Ah, Matsumoto-san," Shirou greeted upon seeing her.
"Why, if it isn't Shirou-kun," she greeted back with a smile. "I didn't know you were out hunting."
"That's because I wasn't," he replied with smile. "I was busy being hunted for a change."
Rangiku laughed. "Well, that's not exactly unusual down here. It's good that you've made it back in one piece."
"Isn't it. Though I don't have you to thank for that," he told her, still smiling. "Mikado-san and I have had an interesting… discussion a little while ago, you see."
"Did you, now?" she asked, smile dropping a little.
"Yes," he confirmed. "Now, taking into account what came up during that discussion, I will consider my debt to you repaid in full. Therefore, the next time you send someone after me, for whatever reason, I will take that as a declaration of hostility on your part and deal with it accordingly," at this point he dropped the amiable smile like it was never there to begin with. "Do I make myself clear?"
All of a sudden, Rangiku felt trapped by Shirou's gaze, pinned in place like as if a blade had been struck through her and the chair on which she was sitting. She found herself unable to breathe and she had the definitive conviction that she would be killed right there on that spot.
Then the oppressive feeling was gone, just as suddenly as it had arrived and she could breathe again. She didn't quite gasp for hair, but it was a near thing. Her mouth moved on her own, out of sheer survival instinct.
"Y-yes," she managed to say.
"Then I'll consider this matter behind us. Have a good evening, Matsumoto-san. He walked past her, with Busujima following suit.
"He might have decided to call it even, but not I," the sword-maiden whispered as she passed next to him. "If I ever find you just looking at him the wrong way, I'll kill you where you stand."
They went out of the opposite door and back to the real world. The poignant silence was interrupted a moment later, when one of the other patrons called out.
"Oi, Matsumoto. How long did it take you to piss out this one? Isn't it a new record?"
There was a round of laughter at her expenses. It was the first time in a long while.
Death threats were daily things in the Moonlit World, and Rangiku had received her fair share of them. However, no one ever managed to scare her at such a deep level just by receiving it. Rangiku had been utterly convinced that she would have died right there and then, to the point that she even forgot that the Ahnenerbe would tolerate no violence on its premises.
Just what kind of person could make her, a veteran of the Moonlit World, feel that way with a mere look?
Far from being intimidated at the prospect of being killed, Rangiku's desire to figure him out only grew stronger.
No one had ever accused her of being a smart woman.
[br]
Once they both were inside the elevator to the surface, Shirou let out a frustrated sigh. He didn't like threatening people, even less so by applying the Eye of the Tyrant. It was so out of character for him that he was almost tempted of letting it slide.
However, he firmly pushed that option out of his mind. He didn't enjoy having people after him, and if he could prevent that with a few vague threats, it was in everyone best interest that he made them.
All the more so when other people could get caught into the crossfire, like it had happened with Saeko. Shirou had no wish to see that happen ever again, thank you very much.
"You know," Saeko said while the elevator took them to the surface. "I like seeing you threaten people. You should do it more often."
"Seeing how things are turning out to be, I'm afraid I'm going to have to in any case."
"Do you have regrets?" she asked.
"If I wanted a quiet life for myself I got in the wrong line of business. Though I must admit I didn't think it would be this bad."
"You are doing a better job than anyone could ever expect from you," she said as she rubbed his head affectionately.
Maybe she was right, but did exceeding expectation also mean being good enough? Shirou couldn't be sure of that, but then again, who could ever?
XXX