Chapter 12: School life.
Straight ahead, past the sprawling landscape, lie the sun in all its brilliance, illuminating Fuyuki's skyline. After disembarking from the plane, I mixed in with the environment to prevent people from seeing me and sprinted home. The run took no more than a few minutes at best, not even tiring me in the slightest.
Passing the walls of the Emiya residence, I felt a Bounded Field, one of my own creation, wash over my whole being. After a decade of incessant studying, I finally became skilled enough to erect my own barriers on the same level as Kiritsugu's. It sure took a while since the intricacies of the craft kept turning opaque in my mind due to the effects of [Sword Incarnation].
Pulling the front door open, I was greeted by a small Shiba Inu - a type of dog breed - happily swaying its curled tail from side to side. In its excitement, the dog stood on her hind legs and pawed at me, prompting me to crouch and catch the animal, welcoming it with the same amount of enthusiasm.
"Hello there, Rou," I said to the dog, my tone waggish. After playing some more, she turned around and bolted deeper into the house in order notify her creator of my arrival. That's right, her "creator." Rou wasn't an ordinary animal—nay, it was no animal to begin with, but a construct made from clay and needed no more than magical energy to function.
Standing, I trailed behind it and entered the living room where a purple-haired girl, dressed in a resplendent dress, awaited alongside Rou, who calmly sat on the floor. The young woman—Sakura Matou—sported a smile, equal in radiance with the sun itself, as she approached me. We pulled each other into a loving embrace, separating shortly after. The two of us exchanged some words; I asked if she was doing fine, shooting a swift glance at the magical construct lounging on the wooden ground, to which she positively replied, stating that nothing was wrong.
'That's good,' I internally sighed. Though admittedly, worry still plagued my mind. After a long time recovering, Sakura mustered the courage to utilize the Matou family's Magic Crest - the ability to bind oneself to another - that was quite literally engraved into her body by Zouken all those years ago. I tried dissuading her, but she remained adamant on using it to help however she can.
To my surprise, her application of the magecraft was entirely different from her predecessor. Instead of binding an existing familiar to herself, she plucked a strand of her soul and fused it with the earth itself. From there, Sakura molded its shape how she saw fit and created a myriad of artificial life-forms, all the while avoiding insects for obvious reasons. Rou, the adorable Shiba Inu, was one of such creatures made from her ability.
Then comes the cause for concern; unlike Zouken's methods, hers was extremely dangerous because Sakura's familiars are in-part an extension of herself, for a piece of her soul dwells within them. If they were to suddenly perish, she would feel their sufferring as if it happened to her. Due to this, she made sure to limit the amount of constructs she made to stop me from worrying too much. At the moment, she had 10 beings at her command; five being birds that flew across the vast skies of Fuyuki like a watchful eye, while the remaining ones were small mammals that could roam the streets without garnering much attention. In case something awry did arise, I was fully prepared to give her a copy of Avalon.
"Hey, Sakura," Shirou called out, catching her attention. He then spoke of his recent acquisition of the former Matou estate and offered to pass it to her. But Sakura refused with a head shake, allowing Shirou to do whatever he wishes with it. She'd long since considered the Emiya manor to be her one true home, as it contained everything she needed in life. The young girl peeked at the red-haired boy, her eyes filled of yearning. Throughout the years, Shirou had become dear to her, irreplaceable by anyone or anything.
Sakura already knew of the deal he had struck with the Church, but that doesn't mean she liked it very much; these religious folks were stealing her precious time with Shirou. The desire to keep him surfaced in her mind, ignited by the entity hiding within. Blinking repeatedly, her cheeks flushed pink upon catching herself forming such embarrassing thoughts. She placed a hand over her chest, quelling her pounding heart. There's no need to be possessive, Sakura knew that Shirou would always be there for her—like always.
Nodding, I went deep in thought, thinking on how to turn the vacant abode into my ideal workshop. The shed at the back had served me well enough, but some upgrades would be welcome. Smithing wasn't the only art I was pursuing, after all. After our brief reunion, we went on with our day like usual and started cooking food together.
Right on cue, the door flung wide open to reveal a familiar short-haired brunette wearing casual clothing—Taiga Fujimura. Sending us a quick hello, she captured Rou in her arms then dropped to the floor. Cuddling the furry animal, Taiga felt all the piled up stress in her body melt away. Watching her antics, Sakura and I let out a heartfelt giggle. If there was one thing that didn't change throughout the years, it was definitely Taiga's energetic personality.
"Look at you two, acting all lovey-dovey. Why can't you just get married already!" Taiga comments while gazing at the boy and girl pair working in the kitchen. Shirou and Sakura's inseparable bond was well known around town, but rarely does anybody mention it, instead choosing to watch from the sidelines with knowing looks. Though when someone did, the two would wholly deny it. Hearing her words, Sakura faltered for a brief moment, while the boy simple ignored it in favour of plating the finished cuisine.
I set the dishes down on the table and poured Rou her share of food inside a bowl. Taiga begrudgingly released Rou from her grasp and felt as if a big part of her had vanished. While she might not be a real animal, Rou still possessed the ability to consume food by turning what she eats into usable energy. Sitting down, the three of us spoke a short prayer before eating.
Gulping down a mouthful of rice, Taiga spoke of a gossip she learned before coming here, "Hey, did you guys hear about the amount of priests suddenly popping up around the city? Not the Shinto ones, but from the Church."
"Did something happen?" despite knowing the reason herself, Sakura still asked with mild interest.
"I dunno. Some say a demon had been spotted hiding amongst the people," Taiga replied, her voice uncertain. She was never the type to start such talks, but the presence of foreign clerics around the city did make her head turn.
"That doesn't sound good, be sure to keep youself safe, Fujimura-san," Sakura expressed her concern, like the ever gentle girl that she was. While not as much as Shirou's, the young girl still cherished Taiga's addition to her new life.
"Now that just sounds ridiculous," I chimed in, shaking my head at the idea. The congregation of priests over Fuyuki was due to my request, in preparation for what's to come. "Are you sure it wasn't your cursed bamboo sword that they caught wind of?" I mentioned with a chuckle, pulling the conversation elsewhere.
"Why you—my shinai is not cursed, why does everyone keep saying that!" she voiced out in complaint. Pointing her chopsticks at me, she spoke, "Why can't you be as worried for me like Sakura, Shirou. It's like you don't care for me at all!"
"Hey, don't get all heated up, I'm speaking nothing but the truth. If it really wasn't, you wouldn't have been disqualified for the Kendo championship for, and I quote, "being in possession of a wicked tool" yeah?" I pointed out, jogging her memory about the incident. Some time ago, several people were hospitalized after competing against Taiga, resulting in her ban from Kendo tournaments.
"Those kids were just weak, that's all. And I did not get banned because of that, stop making stuff up! Help me out here, Sakura. Your Shirou isn't showing respect to his guardian one bit!" Taiga turned to the purple-haired girl, pleading. She had been my legal-guardian for a while now, which I had no problems with.
Processing Taiga's words, Sakura stumbled a bit, "S-Senpai, p-please don't bully Fujimura-sensei." At that, I quickly shut my mouth. On the other side of the table, Taiga raised her chin high, appearing victorious, causing the corners of my lips to twitch.
We bantered some more, enjoying in each other's company, until we emptied the table. And due to her responsibilities as a teacher, Taiga had to leave first. She waved at us by the entrance before riding away on her scooter. With the dishes cleaned, Sakura and I switched to our school uniforms then vacated the house, and together we walked to Homurahara highschool. Upon arriving at the school campus, however, we had to split off to different buildings; she was still in her first year, while I was in my second.
The hours went by in a flash, and the bell rung to indicate the start of lunch break. I exited my classroom, passing by many students flushing into the halls, and made my way down to the Archery Club.
I stepped into the archery range and found a brown-haired girl, dressed in a kyudo uniform made up of a white tsutsusode top paired with blue hakama pants, standing by the foyer. Ayako Mitsuzuri—Captain of the Archery Club—spoke up upon seeing me, "And who do we have here? Did you change your mind, maybe?"
I greeted her with a polite smile, then stated, "No, Mitsuzuri. I already told you this many times; I am not joining the club." In response to my firm refusal, I heard her audibly click her tongue. "Did you just click you tongue at me?" I alleged.
"You must be hearing things. Have you ever thought of getting your ears checked?" she denied without breaking character. From under her breath, I caught her saying something that made my mouth tremble in agitation, "So much wasted potential. Should I ask Sakura to convince him?"
Since the start of my highschool years, I went through many clubs out of boredom and, to my regret, tried out the Archery Club. Familiar with their choice of armament, I struck every target's center, no matter the distance, without fail, much to the shock of its club members. Ever since then, Ayako had been pestering me to join everytime I pass their clubroom, but I've refused everytime.
"Whatever," she grudgingly accepted my answer. Then, as if her disappointment never occurred, her attitude made a full 180-degree turn and asked in a teasing tone, "So, what brings you here, Emiya?"
"I'm here for Sakura. May I please go now?" I conveyed the purpose of my visit without playing into her little game. As if recalling something, I added, "Is Rin inside by any chance?"
"Yep," she delivered a one word reply while popping the end of it. "A flower in each hand, eh? I didn't think you hand it in you," she remarked with a smirk.
"Stop. It's not like that," I sighed, waving my hand in dismissal. As I was about to brush past the young archer, her next words gave me a small pause.
"Whatever you say, Nii-san." She laughed at my reaction before patting my shoulder. Due to my tendency to act like an older sibling towards everyone else, stemmed from my adult frame of mind, I had built up quite an endearing reputation around the school. In fact, a certain nickname of mine had gotten so prevalent that the System even gave me a title for it, aptly named [Homurahara's older brother]. It boosted my parameters by a single point whenever I'm inside campus. It wasn't a lot, but better than nothing.
Sighing once more, I went further into the space and neared two indivuals speaking to one another at the end of the corridor—Rin Tohsaka and Sakura Matou. As for why they're here, the former often comes to visit the latter, who's taken interest with the art and was even one of the club's best archers. Sensing my approach, the pair turned around and warmly welcomed me.
The situation between the two siblings, to my surprise, had not changed. Well, it'd be a lie to say that no progress had been made; Rin actually interacts with her younger sister more so than her television show counterpart, however, this level of intimacy betwixt them never went outside of the school grounds. Additionally, Sakura's opinion of the twin-tailed lass wasn't terrible as it was. I gave the two sisters their lunchboxes, as I've always done, and invited Rin to hang out, but she declined and walked away after talking some more.
As the twin-tailed magus crossed the halls, she shot a troubled glance at her younger sibling, before moving on. She wanted to get closer, bridge the gap between her and Sakura, alas, she could not because of an agreement made by the Tohsaka and Matou family. At the very least, the knowledge that Shirou would be there for Sakura eased Rin's mind.
Lunch time eventually came to an end, making Sakura and I go back to our respective classrooms. Even more time passed, and the bell went off much like earlier. But this time, its rings signified the end of school hours. Standing, I crossed the busy aisles and arrived at the teacher's lounge in search for one person in particular. I quickly found the man on his desk, placing a bunch of papers inside a folder.
He had black hair and a robust build covered by a fine suit. Finishing his task, the man rose from his chair and faced me, his expression detached with eyes pitiless as the sun. We acknowledged each other with a simple nod and headed out.
END.
A/N: I was making some food and messed up, almost burning the kitchen down. I am not good at cooking.
Extra Content.
Extra 1: Shikuna.
"Archer, take point." Rin Tohsaka ordered me, her Archer-class Servant, to prepare. Instead of gaining distance, however, I shuffled over towards the Berserker-class Servant standing at the end of the road, surrounded by an air of untamed power. Seeing my action, Rin barked at me, "Archer, what are you doing? Move!"
"Don't worry, Master. I can take care of him, easy-peasy," I reassured. Taking my hands out of my pant pockets, I lowered myself, nonchalantly stretching my legs.
"That's Heracles, you dolt! You don't stand a chance, you'd lose!" the Magus of Thighs yelled in incredulity, unable to see where her Servant's confidence was coming from. She knew her Servant was odd since she had summoned him, but she didn't think he'd be crazy enough to challenge the famed Greek hero alone.
"Nah, I'd win," my words came out as if it were a fact, not an extremely imperious comment. Finishing my warm ups, I shot to my feet and glared at the towering giant before me, my figure brimming with utmost confidence.
"Your Servant doesn't seem to know who he's up against," Illyasviel Von Einzbern, Master of Berserker, commented. She leaned forward, arms folded behind her back, then ordered in a soft tone that did not fit her next words, "Berserker, kill him."
With a burst of speed that belied his size, Heracles' figure flickered out of sight and reappeared right before me in the blink of an eye, arm extended skyward. Reacting swiftly, I raised my reinforced arm and deflected the stone-axe he brandished with ease. The force of the impact shattered the ground beneath me, sending shards of stone flying in all directions.
Moving, I went out of the Greek demi-god's sight with a flurry of dust and materialized to their flank, arm pulled back in preparation for a powerful punch. Before he could respond, my clenched fist embedded itself on the Servant's face, launching him backward with incredible force. The Greek hero crashed through the brick wall of a nearby building, debris rained down around him as he tumbled across the floor, before finally skidding to a halt.
With a crazed smile, I leaped forward and landed near the Servant's rising form. Taking a closer look, he appeared to be unharmed despite taking a direct hit to the face. I wasn't discouraged by this, a simple punch like that wouldn't be enough to hurt a demi-god such as himself.
"Cleave," I whispered while throwing my open hand in a diagonal sweep. Following my act, a deep slash suddenly ran across Heracles' chest, causing their blood to splatter in the wind like confetti.
Due to my body's unique properties as a "sword", I was able to develop the ability to cut and slice through anything within a certain range with either a thought of a simple gesture. Even the System acknowledged my efforts and created a Skill known as [Dismantle and Cleave], much to my surprise and delight.
The Servant ignored the wound as if it never existed and swung his weapon at me. Anticipating it, I quickly crouched, letting the axe pass harmlessly, then delivered a retaliatory strike that knocked the demi-god off his feet.
Undeterred, Heracles swiftly recovered and released an ear piercing roar that made the surroundings quiver like a terrified child. He twisted his wrist, directing the jagged edge of his stone-axe in my direction. Lifting a hand, I intercepted the weapon and threw an attack of my own that he effortlessly blocked.
Our scuffle quickly turned into a clash of sparks, limbs blurring due to the inhuman speed in which we delivered our blows. With a flurry, the demi-god aimed to breach my defenses with his superior strength, but my impeccable timing and reflexes allowed me to weave through every attack. Despite the madness that plagued his mind, removing his ability to make rational decisions, he still retained the majority of his martial prowess.
Even with my dexterity, however, the son of Zeus proved to be my better in single combat, capitalizing on a mistake I unknowingly made and managed to break through my guard to land a decisive hit. The power behind it flung me across the room like a missle, smashing through the structure, before slamming into a parked car with a deafening crash, denting the metal and shattering the windows.
A cacophony of screams erupted from all directions accompanied panicked shuffling of footsteps. I payed the civilians no mind, letting their voices blend into the background in favour of pushing myself off the vehicle.
Out of the blue, my instincts sent warning signals in my mind, prompting me to jump to the side and narrowly evaded a weighty chop aimed for my head, splintering the car into pieces.
"Cleave," I said, aiming to deprive the giant of his sight by gouging his eyes. In response, the Servant let out nothing more than a growl. Bending his knees slighty, Heracles lunged forward while sending a torrent of wide cuts and slashes at my figure. Using nothing but his sense of hearing to pin point my location, he charge at me with determination.
I deftly maneuvered around his axe using the surrounding buildings as cover, taking advantage of every opening I could find to deliver swift cuts and slashes. Our duel tore through countless structures, resulting in our preceded path to be bestrewed with death and destruction. In the midst of our clash, I made a simple slashing motion at his neck, which in turn caused his head to fly off his shoulders, killing him instantaneously. His body slumped forward as it lost strength, dropping to the ground with a thud.
Instead of relaxing, however, the air around me only grew more tense. I watched as a burst of smoke engulfed the demi-god's corpse, sealing his wounds shut and regenerating his lost head in the blink of an eye, before rising to his feet the next second without issue. Heracles' Noble Phantasm, God Hand, was a tricky one; not only did it give him 11 additional lives to spare, but also gain an exceptional amount of resistance to whatever killed him upon resurrection. Taking a breath, I spoke, "That's one. Eleven more to go."
Kicking off the ground, the two of us launched ourselves at each other without hesitation, engaging in another fierce battle that sent shockwaves across the busy streets of Fuyuki. The Servant raised his arm to intercept a swing directed at his head, but I pulled back at the last second and used the the momentum to spin around, landing a powerful kick to his face.
Without pausing, he snatched me off the air and sent me hurtling like a leaf in the wind. I flew through several walls before crashing into a storefront. Shards of glass rained around me as I rolled across the tiled floor, finally coming to rest amid the wreckage of shattered displays.
To the side, the partition crumbled to reveal the sprinting form of Heracles. He tackled me off the ground and drove through the wall behind me, which shattered under the impact. Raising his hand, the demi-god took hold of my clothes and brutally hammered me into the asphalt road, scraping my head as he ran along. With a twist, I slithered out of the giant's hold and delivered a cut through his neck, followed up by another, then another, until his head got lopped off once again, killing him.
"Two," I announced. Before he could fully regenerate, I grabbed him by the arm and threw him over my shoulders, sending him to the sky. Sifting through my Reality Marble, I summoned a dozen swords of immense power and launched them at the airborne Servant, hitting them with precision, resulting in another extra life being lost. Before he could touch the ground, I crouched low, knees flexed, and then propelled myself into the air, shouting, "That makes three. Is that all you got, Heracles!?"
Regaining conciousness, Berserker bellowed loudly and brought his weapon to bear, swinging in a deadly arc as I neared his position. Dodging it, I then delivered a horizontal cut to the Servant's neck, but failed to inflict any lasting damage for he had gained some level of immunity to my technique.
"Tch," I clicked my tongue as I dodged his ensuing attack. Using Projection, I created a sturdy line of chains and lashed out, enfolding the towering giant with it. Using his weight to accelerate my spin, I tossed him to the ground at the apex of my rotation. The following collision cratered the earth and produced a loud boom that shattered all nearby windows.
I fell down as gravity took hold over me and made a graceful touchdown. From under the dirt and rubble, Heracles emerged with a vengeance and rushed towards me, axe in hand. However, he was denied from moving any further by the chains wrapped around his chest.
Taking the opportunity, I empowered my next slash with more magical energy and pierced the demi-god's heightened defenses with a bit of struggle, killing him for the fourth time. Heracles came back to life shortly after, brimming with renewed vigour. Roaring in defiance, the shackles that bound him creaked as he exerted more strength into his muscles. Through sheer physical might, he broke the chains and ran, executing a storm ofr destructive blows at my figure.
I ducked and rolled, avoiding the majority of his strikes, but not all. However, I was not at all worried; even if I did get injured, Avalon—the Ever Distant Utopia, immediately went into action and let out a subtle glow, mending my wounds.
Spinning, I threw a downward chop at my opponent. Seeing this, Berserker raised a hand to block it, but the attack never came. My figure faded, revealing itself as nothing more than an after image, while the real attack came from the opposite direction. My left hand delivered a cut the giant's center, flinging him back with force and tearing the ground like paper.
As he tumbled across the road, a tsunami of swords showered the Servant from above, pinning him onto the ground like a pincushion. Using another drove of blades, I riddled his head with holes, taking his fifth life. As he lied down on the ground, regenerating, I stood before him, hand grasping at a beautiful sword that invoked a sense of elegance and dignity.
I waited for his cranium to reform, then acted. "O Sword of Selection, give me strength," I held the brilliant sword high above my head, then brought it down while calling out the weapon's name, "Merodach!" The Original Sin, Sword of Choosing, decapitated the Servant in one clean slice, removing his sixth life.
"Another six to go," I said, dismissing the blade. Taking advantage of my momentary lapse in attention, the newly revived Heracles gripped my ankles and hurled me to the other side of the street. The Servant released a roar laced with rage and gave chase, obliterating everything that obstructed its path towards me.
Halting my roll, I spun and made a cutting gesture, successfully removing my opponent's right arm off their shoulder. Unperturbed, Berserker caught the stone-axe with his other hand and threw it at me with a mighty heave, taking me by surprise. I hastily raised my arm to redirect the weapon's trajectory, which in turn shattered my forearm from the sheer force behind it. The axe flew past me, smashing into a random abode and destroying it.
After some more exchanges, he retrieved his weapon and our battle went on uninterrupted like a natural disaster, terrorizing the citizens of the city. We passed through many roads and structures, causing an incalculable amount of damage and the deaths of hundreds of people unfortunate enough to be in our way. He broke a pillar from an elevated highway and casted it in my direction, letting the road collapse. Flicking my wrist, I chopped the column into small slabs, preventing myself from being struck.
Using everything in my arsenal without reserve, I managed to kill the demi-god for the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth time, but was unable to continue the streak due to an unexpected move my opponent did.
"Kuh!" I pained grunt escaped my lips as Berserker's fist dug into my stomach, followed by an overhead strike that buried me to the earthen ground. Lifting his legs, Heracles kicked me off the floor, launching me across the dirt at high-speeds. With gritted teeth, I Projected countless armaments in the air and fired them, but the demi-god skillfully deflected and evaded them, making light of my projectiles, only keeping him in place for a few seconds.
However, that small window was all I need to employ my next move. While raising my hands, the world seemed to gradually still, all noise fading into obscurity as if bracing for what's to come. I folded my pinky and ring fingers, leaving the others open, and pressed them together. With a smirk, I pronounced with resolution, "Domain Expansion: Shrine of Unlimited Blades."
Without warning, everything within a 200 meter radius with me as the center disintegrated into non-existence, minced by an invisible force that repeatedly cut and sliced through anything that there was, including the famed Greek hero, Heracles, leading him to lose another life, the eleventh one.
Shrine of Unlimited Blades was something I've developed over the years by using Unlimited Blade Works as a reference. Instead of creating a whole separate dimension like a usual Reality Marble would, a 'Domain Expansion' takes what already exist in the world and transforms it to manifest the caster's inner-self for a limited amount of time.
"One more," I said while keeping my hands together. The grin on my face quickly morphed into one of surprise; in the distance, I watched as the demi-god defied all odds and restored his form amongst the discord of slashes, slowly trudging towards me with an unstoppable gait. After dying over half a dozen times from my [Dismantle and Cleave] Skill, the Berserker-class Servant had become effectively immune to the technique no matter how much I increased its output.
A smile reappeared on my face as I pulled my hands apart, steadily weakening the effects of my Domain Expansion. If cutting him wasn't enough, then I'll just use something else. The ground beneath me suddenly glowed an iridescent orange and turned into molten slag as a large sword etched with intricate symbols that shone like a second sun manifested in my grasp, accompanied by a bow that released a wave of divine essence.
Using Alteration, the sun-like blade stretched itself into a more aerodynamic form before being notched into the divine bow with familiarity. The bow of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, one of the few genuine Noble Phantasms in my possession, groaned as I pulled the string back. My arm quivered under the strain, but I pushed through and aimed at the demi-god in front, who just happened to have finished his resurrection.
"Laevateinn!" I called out while letting the blade surge forward. The sword of Surtr, bringer of Ragnarok, tore through the air, soaring across the sky like a beacon. With this, I can confidently say that my qualifications for the Archer-class has been proven.
The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the air, stirring the winds into a frenzy. It was as if the sun itself had appeared on Earth, melting the ground and filling the air with nothing ash and cinder. The buildings, whatever remained of them, crumbled into fine dust as pillars of flame that ate anything it touched exploded outward. It was safe to say that Heracles did not survive the cataclysmic explosion, eliminating him for the last time.
"Ah, I shouldn't have done that." My mind was going in and out of conciousness from the rebound of using a Divine Construct—Laevateinn. Why did I immediately resort to using such powerful armament when there were other things I could have used? Was I just that desperate to use it because I never did so back when I was alive? Oh well, no point worrying about it now.
I turned around, gazing at the apocalyptic landscape with a blank stare. Raising my hands, I clapped, prompting a stream of magical energy encapsulated the entire city in an instant. Opening my mouth, I commanded the world, "This never happened."
With that, the threads of fate stirred as history shifted to fulfill my wishes.
"I'm dreaming… that's the only logical answer; I am inside a dream." Rin Tohsaka paced back and forth inside her abode, the events that occurred earlier still fresh in her mind. Not only did her Servant kill Berserker 12 times in a row, but he also utter obliterated most of Fuyuki with his Noble Phantasm.
'Who the hell is he?' the magus wondered. Had she unknowingly summoned the Devil, perhaps? She didn't think it was even possible to do that! And that wasn't even where it ends. Just when she thought the whole city was doomed, her Servant spoke some gibberish words she could not understand and restored everything to how it was in the blink of an eye. Scratching her head, she shouted in frustration, "How!?"
"What's going through your mind, Master?" Speak of the... Devil, her Servant appeared from the kitchen with a tray of delicious meals. He gently placed the dishes on the table and spoke, "Here, sit-sit."
Not wanting to defy the being before her, she immediately sat down, shaking as if an earthquake had accosted her body. On the other side of the table, a little girl with snow-white hair stared at the foodstuff, then nervously asked, "Uhm, sir… what is this?"
"This, Illya, is a gift before I leave this place." Archer neared the albino and caressed her head, causing her to let out an adorable squeal. Rin, unable to resist the delicious aroma, was already stuffing her face with a face full of joyful tears. After a bit of hesitation, Illya joined the feast.
A while later, after cleaning the dishes, the three sat down in the living room in silence.
"So, anything you guys want to ask?" Archer asked, breaking the stillness between them.
"Uhm," Illya spoke up, raising her pallid hand. "Who… who are you?"
"Oh, you know me," the Servant returned, smirking.
"I do? I-I don't think I k-know anyone like you…" the young girl responded, her words tripping over themselves.
"I am Emiya Shirou, your brother," he revealed, deciding to not beat around the bush anymore. He stood up and placed the young Einzbern onto his lap, pulling her in a tender embrace and scaring the living daylights out of her. "Well, not exactly. I'm from the future, after all," he clarified to his astounded companions.
Much, much later, after they had calmed down from the revelation, the group once again sat in silence. Illya was still sitting on Shirou's lap, now in a state of utter confusion and disbelief.
"So let me get this straight." Rin pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're a different version of that idiot?" The Servant responded with a simple "Yep" while continuing to rub the albino's hair.
Illya interjected, her voice shaking, "But-but…uhm, how did big brother get so strong?"
"Training," the redhead cooly replied, before playfully pinching Illya's cheeks.
"Unbelievable," Rin voiced out her thoughts, directing her eyes at the man. "That worry-wart of an idiot became a Heroic Spirit, a pretty strong one at that. Just how did that idiot do it!"
"I love you too, Rin," said the so-called idiot. Rin faltered after processing his words, her cheeks flushing bright crimson. She quickly averted her gaze, feeling herself melt from the myriad of emotions sweeping through her mind. The young woman couldn't help but feel more self-conscious even more so than before, how can she look at Shirou's face after this? Her heart just wouldn't stop beating loudly inside her chest.
On the other hand, Illya could only slump in Shirou's arms, still shocked by the information he's told her prior; her father, Kiritsugu Emiya, never left her and was actively searching for her since the end of the Holy Grail War, but failed in the end due to her grandfather's interference. Her eyes were misting over, swimming with unshed droplets. But then, she felt the comforting presence of her brother wrap around her form. She soon found herself drifting off into a deep slumber, encased by the warmth of her family, a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time.
END.