(Author's Notes: New chapter! Sorry for not updating for a few days. Had no imagination to write how to continue the story. Here it is now though! Enjoy!)
Chapter 3: Dilemma, Training, Singularity
Ritsuka sucked in a breath before letting it out and asked, "Shirou, would it be alright for you to train me?"
Shirou: "Huh?"
After that early encounter straight in the morning, both Shirou and Ritsuka decided to go to the cafeteria to eat breakfast first.
Right now, Shirou is cooking so karaage chicken while also stir frying some cold day old rise from yesterday that wasn't eaten.
Shirou: "So master…" He started. "What made you decide that you want me to train you, and so suddenly too?" He asked. "Is there a particular reason for you to suddenly train properly?" He asked another question as he stirred the rice in the frying pan.
Ritsuka: "Well…" He said with a down voice. "It's about the last Singularity that I did with some of the Servants you know of, Shirou."
Shirou: "The last Singularity you did with some of the Servants of the Servants I know of?" He asked before getting into his thoughts a bit before continuing. "What about it? Did something happen during you last Rayshift?" He asked.
Ristuka: "Well…" He said before recalling back about the last Singularity he did a few days ago.
A few days ago…
Archer EMIYA: "That should be the last of them, Master." He said as he killed off another bandit.
Ritsuka: "Thanks, EMIYA." He said, thanking him.
Lancer Cu then suddenly turned his head around with a piercing gaze. "HEY KID, WATCH OUT!" He shouted as an arrow got shot from a bandit from afar.
Ritsuka tried to dodge but it was a little too late, luckily though; Archer EMIYA was there to block the shot.
Archer EMIYA: "Are you alright, Master?" He asked in a worried tone.
Ritsuka: "Y-Yeah. I'm fine. Thanks, EMIYA." He said before dropping to his butt on the grass floor.
Lancer Cu: "Tch! He's getting away!" He informed them. "Archer, do your thing!"
Archer EMIYA: "No need to ask me twice!" He then traced a black bow and a black twisted sword appeared and he plucked it in the bow string. "Go into the red plains… HRUNTING!" He shouted as he shot the Broken Phantasm arrow, killing the bandit.
Lancer Cu then came to them and got Ritsuka up on his feet again. "Tch. That was a close one. If it weren't for Archer, you would've died there, kid."
Ritsuka nodded his head. "Y-Yeah… Thanks again, EMIYA." He said with a low voice as he looked down at the floor. "Why am I always like this…?" He thought to himself quietly in his head.
Back to the present…
Ritsuka: "And that's what happened…" He finished as Shirou placed the Karaage Chicken and Fried Rice in front of his table.
Shirou: "So let me get this straight. Ever since that incident, you've been feeling down about yourself because you feel that you're useless as a Master by not being able to help or dodge an arrow if it wasn't for your Servants?" He questioned before getting a nod from Ritsuka.
Ritsuka: "Yeah… So I wanted you to train me so that I can be of more use than just standing there like an easy target." He said to Shirou. "It's pathetic isn't it?" He asked, however, Shirou's answer surprised him.
Shirou shook his head. "Not really. I was actually a lot like you back then. I thought that if I could've just been stronger, more powerful, I could've saved everyone back then as well." He said before memories of the Fuyuki Fire came into his mind. "I wanted to be more of use so that those that I left behind would find peace in the way I did things. But, I learned things the hard way that you can't save everyone, but you can save whoever you can. Even if the guilt is too much to bear."
Ritsuka was left speechless at what Shirou just said. "That's…" Was the only thing that he could say to what Shirou have said.
"Look, my point is; you don't always have to be strong to be helpful, Master. No matter what happens, we are strong in our way. Just like I'm strong in my own way as well. But that doesn't mean that we can't show our weakness when we really need it. Master, if you feel too much guilt from every small actions that you do, you'll end up with lots of guilt when you die and fall into despair. So no matter what happens, don't always say that you aren't strong enough. Everyone is strong and weak in their own way after all." Shirou concluded with a warm smile on his face.
Ritsuka slowly brightened up and soon grew a smile on his face. "Thank you, Shirou. I feel much better after hearing what you said." He then started eating the food that Shirou prepared for him.
Shirou just smiled even more as he finally reassured his Master, before grabbing his Haori on the kitchen counter and walked to the Cafeteria door, before stopping once the door opened and turned to Ritsuka and saying, "Finish that meal soon, Master. There's something that I want to show you in the training room. Don't keep me waiting." Before finally leaving the Cafeteria and going to the training room.
"Wait, Shirou. What do you mean by… that…?" Before he could asked, Shirou was already gone from the Cafeteria, leaving Ristuka confused yet also curious as to what Shirou wanted to show him.
A few minutes later, Rituska finished his meal and placed the plates on the kitchen counter before rushing a bit to the training room.
Once in the training room, Ritsuka saw Shirou standing in the middle. He then opened the door and walked inside and approached Shirou a bit and now stood in the opposite side of Shirou.
Ritsuka: "Shirou, I'm here." He said. "What did you wanted to show me?"
Shirou turned around and eyed his Master from bottom to top and then traced a wooden katana and threw it towards Ritsuka.
Shirou: "Pick that up." He only said.
Ritsuka: "Eh? Why do you- WAH!?" Before he could finish his sentence, Shirou already slashed his own wooden katana at him and he barely dodge before grabbing the wooden katana on the floor.
Ritsuka: "That was so sudden, Shirou!" He shouted.
Shirou just chuckled as he turned to Ritsuka on the floor and pointed his wooden katana at him. "That was a good reaction time, Master." He complemented. "You wanted to be stronger, didn't you? You wanted me to teach you, didn't you? Well here's your first lesson!" He said before charging to Ritsuka again and slashing down his wooden katana.
Ritsuka blocked Shirou's strike, but felt a heavy pressure from it. "But I thought you said I didn't need to be strong?! Why the sudden change of mind?!" He asked confusedly as he got out of Shirou's heavy strike and huffed air for a bit.
Shirou just chuckled again and placed his wooden katana over his shoulder. "I said that you didn't need to be strong. Didn't said that you can't train to become stronger, Master." He then pointed his wooden katana at Ritsuka again with a grin on his face. "Now come on! Raise that katana and let's start your first training!"
Ritsuka just sighed before looking at Shirou with a grin of his own. "You sly Servant of mine!" He said before slashing towards Shirou with his own wooden katana, making Shirou grin even more.
Shirou laughed a bit before following up with his own strike from his wooden katan. "That's the spirit! We'll continue to train like this until we're done!"
Ritsuka nodded his head in agreement. "Right!" He said as he slashed at Shirou again.
Unbeknownst to the both of them, some Servants came as well after hearing a loud bang from a sword strike in the training room.
Mashu: "Senpai…"
Da Vinci: "Oh my, it seems like both Shirou and Master are having quite a lot of fun training like that." She said as she continued to watch Shirou train Ritsuka with the sword.
Arturia then came into the room. "Mashu, what's happening here? I heard a loud bang." She asked to Mashu before turning to the center of attention in the training room. "Is that…?"
Mashu nodded her head. "Yes, Arturia-san. Right now, you're seeing Shirou-san train Senpai with the sword."
Arturia: "Shirou… training Master…?" She said with a slight shock as she continue to watch both the duelers in the training room. "It's like the time I did for him as well back then in Fuyuki…" Arturia thought in her mind as she reminisced her time with Shirou during the Fifth Fuyuki Holy Grail war when she trained him. "But now, he's doing it for Master." She muttered quietly.
Mashu: "Uh… Arturia-san…?" She asked worriedly
Arturia: "Hm? Oh, it's nothing. Just remembering somethings." She said, reassuring her in the process.
Mashu nodded her head. "I see…"
Back to both the duelers in the field…
Shirou: "Master, swing harder during that attack!" He said as he slashed again.
Ritsuka: "Like this? ORA!" He slashed back at Shirou's wooden katana as both connected to each other.
Shirou: "That's more like it!" Shirou then slashed at Ritsuka's side faster than Ritsuka expected. "Keep your guard up though. You're full of openings right now."
Ritsuka grunted as he felt the slight pain from the hit. "Right…" He then swung again and Shirou met his sword with his own.
Shirou: "Square up your shoulders." He taught Ritsuka. "Keep your legs spread apart, it enables you to maneuver a lot quicker in order to either dodge another attack or to strike your own." He said as he swung his wooden katana again and hitting Ritsuka's side.
Ritsuka grunted again. "Like this?" He then followed Shirou's instruction and saw some improvements with his strikes and decided to land multiple blows at Shirou again.
Needless to say, Shirou blocked them all. "Good! That's it!" He complemented, however… "But, you're still too slow for multiple fast strikes like that, Master!" He shouted as he got out of the barrage Ritsuka was giving him and thrusted his wooden katana on Ritsuka's chest, making him fall on the floor.
He then pointed his wooden katana at Ritsuka's neck. "And you're dead." He said casually. "Although, not bad, Master. You still need proper training though. More than you can ever imagine." He concluded as he gave his hand for Ritsuka to grab.
Ritsuka huffed heavy air as he felt tired but grabbed Shirou's hand and stood up, feeling exhausted. "Thanks… hah… Shirou…" He huffed as he placed both his hands on his knees. "And yeah… hah… I need to train even more."
Ritsuka was huffing and breathing air heavily so Shirou decided to grab water from the vending machine at the corner of the training room. "Here, Master. Drink up." He said as he gave the water bottle to Ritsuka.
Ritsuka gladly accepted it. "Thanks, Shirou." He opened the cap and gulped it down completely. "Ah~… That felt really refreshing." He let out a sigh of relief as he walked towards the benches and sat down. "So how was my performance today, Shirou?" He asked
Shirou closed his eyes and nodded slightly. "Not bad. Although you didn't landed a single strike on me, your speed on the spar was good, but as I said earlier; it wasn't fast enough. Your striking power with the katana isn't bad either, but it isn't above average just yet. Your posture was also lacking, it left too many openings. Without a second weapon to dual wield, you could've died there and then, if you haven't noticed. So in conclusion; still need more training." Shirou concluded.
Ritsuka just sighed deeply again and looked up at the ceiling. "Guess, I need to train some more, huh?" He wondered. "Say Shirou, can you also teach me magecraft?" He asked as he turned back to Shirou.
Shirou shook his head. "Unfortunately, I'm not an expert at magecraft. Sure I'm excellent at Tracing weapons, using Reinforcement, and using my Structural Analysis to grasps somethings, but that's just it. I'm not good at any other magecraft, sorry to disappoint you Master. If you want to, you can ask Merlin to help you with that."
Ritsuka let out another sigh, slightly disappointed, but got over it quickly. "Well, it was worth a shot to ask." He concluded. "So, same time tomorrow?" He asked Shirou.
Shirou nodded his head in agreement. "Same time tomorrow, Master. We'll continue doing this everyday if you want to?" He asked, getting a nod from Ritsuka.
Ritsuka: "That would be fine by me, Shirou. If it means that I'll be able to help in combat and not just stand on the side to support." Shirou then nodded his head in agreement to that sentence.
Meanwhile…
Da Vinci: "Well, it looks like Master has got himself a trainer." She said, getting a nod from Mashu and Arturia.
Arturia: "Yes. And it seems like they'll continue to train from now on." She nodded her head in acknowledgement. "He really has gone far. But, why do I always feel so worried…?" She thought.
Mashu nodded her head as well. "Yes. I'm glad that Senpai is taking his training into consideration, but I do hope he doesn't go overboard with it." Mashu said in a worried tone.
Da Vinci: "Well, let's just hope that Shirou's training help him more in the upcoming future! I can't wait to see how strong Master can become in the future with Shirou's tutelage!" She said in an excited voice and a hopeful smile.
A few days has gone by after Shirou has started training Ritsuka. Ritsuka has gotten better with wielding the sword, performing a lot better in their spars. His strikes are more powerful and precise, his speed in his strikes and maneuvers has gone up increasingly, and his posters were more refined than the first. Thanks to Shirou's tutelage, Ritsuka has gotten a lot better in fighting in just 4 weeks. Although Ritsuka didn't focus much in his magecraft, he did also asked Merlin to help him in some of it. He now learned how to use Mana Burst, although it isn't as strong as Shirou's nor Arturia's just yet, he didn't mind. "Practice makes perfect and Strength and power takes time to build up after all." Shirou said to him in one of their training sessions after all, making him even more motivated to train harder.
He felt confident in himself, more confident than back then, but not too much for him to become extremely prideful and egotistical of his strength, unlike a certain Golden Archer…
Today though, was another day, but this time; he'll be seeing it first hand on how strong he's really gotten through his training with Shirou.
Right now, both Ritsuka, Mashu, and Artoria was inside the Command Center with Da Vinci, waiting for Shirou to come.
Shirou then entered the room and everyone turned their heads towards him.
Shirou: "Sorry, I'm late." He apologized as he walked inside the Command Center. "What did I miss?" He asked.
Da Vinci: "You're just in time actually. Alright, I'll get straight to the point here." She said as she projected a hologram from the computer. "Your mission this time is another singularity to fix. Once you've finished that singularity, we'll send you back here through another Rayshift." Da Vinci concluded. "So, any questions?"
Ritsuka: "None here."
Mashu: "None, Da Vinci-san."
Arturia just shook her head.
Shirou: "None here as well."
With that said and done, Da Vinci nodded. "Alright then! We'll start the Rayshift, so be ready you four."
A few minutes after the Rayshift, all four of the participants were walking throughout the singularity.
Ritsuka was slashing through enemies around the battlefield they are in right now. Monsters summoned from a holy grail were everywhere ever since they started the Rayshift a few minutes ago. Shirou was helping Arturia clean up more of the big guys on the enemy side, while Mashu was supporting him as both traded taking turns from damaging to defending. He felt comfortable being able to fight alongside his servants, but also self-conscious that he might mess up again.
After clearing up the big guys, Shirou and Arturia came to both Ritsuka's and Mashu's side to aid them.
Shirou: "How are things going on here, Master?" He asked as he slashed another enemy in front of them.
Ritsuka was doing the same as he answered his Servant's question. "All fine here. Just didn't expected to start fighting so early once we landed."
Arturia nodded in agreement. "Yeah, no kidding. The holy grail in this place must be a greater grail to summon lots of these monsters for it to be protected."
Mashu nodded her head as well. "We'll do as what Master say or ordered. Let's keep doing our best together." She encouraged them.
Ritsuka let out a smile as he continued to slash through some of their enemies as well. "Yeah! And thanks to Shirou's training, I'm able to help out a lot more than before!" He exclaimed happily.
Shirou just chuckled as he continued to slash away with his own katana that was on his hip. "Don't try to get ahead of yourself way too much, Master. Remember, let us handle the big guys for now. You aren't yet capable to handle strong servants or strong enemies for that manner." Arturia nodded her head in agreement to what Shirou said.
Ritsuka nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Right!"
They soon continued to strike and slash off through the monsters that the Holy Grail summoned.
Two days has passed since then, and now they were facing the biggest boss that the Holy Grail summoned for them to face. They were struggling a bit, because Shirou doesn't want to reveal too much of his powers, because Arturia was getting a bit crowded by enemies, and because Mashu was a bit more injured than the rest because of protecting Ritsuka from a sudden strong blast the last monster of the Holy Grail shot at them.
Ritsuka was feeling desperate at this point in time as he struggled to slash the tentacles away from the monster.
Ritsuka: "This is getting us nowhere! Mashu, are you alright?" He asked in a very worried tone.
Mashu nodded and stood up again. "I'm alright, Master." She said, getting a nod from Ritsuka.
Shirou was in an even more dangerous situation than the rest of them, the reason? The enemy boss as completely focused on him because he wanted to get its attention to cover for the rest.
"Shit. I didn't thought this through." He cursed to himself.
"SHIROU, TO YOUR LEFT!" Arturia shouted at Shirou, making him turn to his left and got injured by an attack from the enemy boss, making Arturia more worried and scared. "SHIROU!" She shouted again, worried about her Scabbard.
Shirou got up from his knees. "I'm fine, Arturia." He said as Avalon started to heal his injury. "Tch. That was a lot stronger than I expected." He muttered.
Arturia finished off the enemies blocking her way and rushed towards Shirou's side. "I'm glad you're alright, but that was dangerous, Shirou. I knew I should've joined with you in targeting the boss." She said, worriedly.
"And let Master and Mashu, take on the other remaining enemies? I don't think so. They could die with so much of them bombarding them." Shirou rebutted to Arturia, making her a little bit guilty.
Ritsuka and Mashu finally caught up to them after taking care of their own enemies. "This is getting us nowhere. The grail is right in front of us and we barely even managed to take down the boss." He said. "Shirou, have you learned anything from getting the agro of the boss most of the time?" He asked as he turned to Shirou.
Shirou nodded and said. "Well, I think this boss is in more into the Demonic trait. Its attacks felt a bit cursed whenever I swung my katana at it." He concluded.
Mashu then snapped her fingers as it clicked. "That's it!" She exclaimed, making everyone turn to her. "Since this is a monster with a Demonic trait, wouldn't Arturia-san's Noble Phantasm work best here since her Excalibur is the strongest Holy Sword?" She concluded.
Ritsuka then widened his eyes. "Of course! Why didn't I thought about that?!" He asked himself as he turned to Arturia. "Arturia!"
"No need to ask twice, Master. Just give me the command! Ask and you shall receive!" Arturia said as she raised Excalibur in the air.
Ritsuka nodded his head as he turned to both Shirou and Mashu. "Shirou, get behind Mashu. This could get ugly." To which, Shirou nodded as he got behind Mashu's shield. Ritsuka then raised his right arm forwards and activated his Command Seal. "By this Command Seal, I order you Arturia Pendragon, King of Knights" His Command Seal started to glow as the bottom part disappeared. "Use your Noble Phantasm to destroy the monster in front us, so that we can claim the Holy Grail!"
With a bright flash, Arturia didn't waste any time as she lifted Excalibur over her shoulders and chanted her aria.
"You, who have strayed…" Light particles started to come from Excalibur.
"Giant of Darkness that threatens the Human Order…" The sword shun its light brightly as she closed her eyes.
"Look upon it." She then opened her eyes.
"And feel its full wrath!" She got into her stance.
"This light is the planet's hope" Excalibur's blade grew with light.
"A torrent of life that illuminates this world!" She then swung down Excalibur.
"EXCALIBUR!" A bright shine of light illuminated the whole battle field as Excalibur shot at the enemy boss, its light burning it away until no dust nor ashes remain as the light died down.
Ritsuka fell onto his knees as he finally relaxed. "We did it…" He said with a heavy breathe. "We finally did it!" He exclaimed happily.
Mashu nodded her head in response and hugged him tightly. "Yes, Master! We finally did it! We completed this singularity!"
The Holy Grail then floated towards Ritsuka's hands as he contacted Da Vinci. "Da Vinci, we finally cleared it!"
A hologram of Da Vinci then appeared before them and nodded her head. "Great work, everyone! We'll start the Rayshift again soon for you all to get back!" She said as she started pressing buttons on the Command Board in the Command Center to start the Rayshift.
After a few minutes, all four of them finally returned to Chaldea with Da Vinci greeting all of them. "Once again, great work, everyone! You did all your best and finally succeeded! Take as much needed rest as you need." She said as Ritsuka gave the Holy Grail to her.
Although with all of the celebration, Arturia was still worried for Shirou as she turned towards him.
Arturia: "Shirou, are you really alright…?" She asked with a worried tone.
Shirou nodded his head for her not to worry. "I'm fine, Arturia. There's really no need for you to worry about be." He gave a small smile to her.
Arturia shook her head. "Even so, that isn't enough. If I hadn't warned you about the upcoming attack, you wouldn't have been able to dodge it." She argued.
Shirou: "But that's…" He tried to argue back. "That's because I didn't want to go all out. I was being careful…" He said in his mind before Arturia spoke again.
Arturia: "I won't deny that you've become strong and I won't deny that you are strong, but I won't accept it if you fall injured again because of your lack of awareness in the battlefield." She argued again.
At this point, everyone in the Command Center all turned to the couple.
Arturia continued. "I won't accept it that you are lacking in your combat awareness earlier during that last battle. I just won't accept it!" She said loudly. "If you say that you have already gotten stronger than you were back then, then show it to me!" Her eyes full of burning conviction. "Show me how strong you've gotten ever since your time alive after the Fifth Fuyuki Holy Grail War ender!" She said with fierce determination. "Shirou Emiya… I challenge you to a duel in two days' time!"
With that said, everyone in the Command Center gasped at what Arturia just announced in front of everyone, even Shirou was left speechless.
Ritsuka tried to calm things down before it even escalates further. "H-Hold on, Arturia. Isn't that a bit too much? I mean, I get that Shirou didn't expected that last hit he got from the enemy boss, but that doesn't mean that you should-"
"I'll do it." Shirou said, surprising everyone again even more as Ritsuka turned towards him.
Ritsuka: "Are you sure, Shirou…?" He asked with a worried tone.
"I am." Shirou said as he nodded his head. "This isn't the first I've had to cross blades in order for others to understand." Shirou then turned to Arturia. "If crossing blades with you means to show how much I have gotten stronger as the years went by back then, then so be it. I'll show you just how strong I've gotten, Arturia" Shirou said with a strong fire in his eyes.
Arturia nodded her head in acknowledgement. "Then I shall see you in two days' time, Shirou. I hope you are prepared." She said before leaving the Command Center through the door.
Mashu walked towards Shirou with a worried look. "Are you sure about this, Shirou-san? This is Arturia-san we're talking about. You know strong she is."
Shirou nodded his head. "I know, Mashu. But if this is the way to show her how strong I really have gotten over the past few years after the Holy Grail War that we were in, then so be it. I'll duel her for her to understand." He concluded.
Mashu: "If you say so, Shirou-san…" She said worriedly as Shirou left the Commande Center.
Da Vinci: "Oh my… I didn't expected that." She said softly.
Ritsuka: "Yeah… I hope Shirou could do it. I know he's strong, but this is Arturia we're talking about. She's King Arthur, THE King Arthur in the legends."
And after that scene, news spread around the whole of Chaldea about the upcoming duel between the King of Knights and the Nameless Auburn Hero. Both Servants and Staffs felt mixed feelings about the situation. Some were excited about the duel to commence, some were worried about Shirou because they knew how strong Arturia is, while some even started betting on who will win the duel. In conclusion; this duel is a duel that should never be missed.
(Author's Notes: And that's a wrap of this chapter! Took way too long to write again, but managed to finish it in one day though! I hope you guys had fun reading this chapter and I'll see you all in the next one! If there are any spelling mistakes, please tell me! BYE BYE!)