Chapter 2.
See Chapter 1 for Disclaimer.
Rin Tohsaka approached the Emiya house in a slight panic, frantically running through one scenario after another in her head, each becoming more grim and hopeless than the last. Her mental marathon was cut short by Archer.
"Master, I can sense two Servants nearby. One seems to be fleeing." Looking around, Rin noticed the slightly blurry form of a person quickly moving away from the very house she had in mind.
"And the other?" she asked hesitantly, to which the white haired man simply hummed as if pondering something.
"Stationary, at the moment." was his reply. "We should hurry." Rin nodded as she approached the front door and knocked solidly on it.
"Emiya? Are you okay?" she called out, her concern was clear in her voice.
"Just a moment." came the reply in that familiar voice, Rin let out a sigh of relief, and a breath she hadn't known she was holding.
Shirou looked up towards the door as the knocking came, as had Arturia, who stood quickly and pulled her sword.
"Emiya? Are you okay?" came a feminine voice, clearly concerned.
"It's okay, Arturia." he said, placing a hand on her arm. "It's just Tohsaka. I'll get the door."
"Can you be sure it's her?" Arturia asked hurriedly, to which Shirou just chuckled softly.
"Don't worry, I'm sure it's her." he replied as he got up and went over to the door and opened it.
"Ah, Tohsaka, good to see you." he said with a smile. "Rather late though, don't you think?"
"That doesn't matter right now. Are you okay?" she asked, an all business tone in her voice.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Why don't you come in?" Shirou offered as he stepped aside. "Your friend can join us." he added, grinning softly as the brown haired girl began to sputter quickly.
"Who're you talking about? There's no one else here, just me." she said quickly.
"Don't worry." he said softly while showing her the gleaming red mark on his hand. "I can tell he's there. Why don't you sit down in the living room while I make some tea?" he offered jovially. Sighing softly, Rin nodded as she trudged into the house, stopping suddenly when she saw a beautiful blonde woman in an equally beautiful blue dress sitting on a couch.
"Shirou?" she asked slowly. "Do you know there's a blonde woman in your house?"
"Of course I do." Shirou replied as he walked in, behind him, Archer walked in, the Servant's eyes widening as he caught sight of the woman as well.
"Who is she?" Rin asked, staring at her
"That's my Servant, Saber." came the all too casual reply as Shirou came in with a plate with cups and a pot of steaming tea. The three of them sat at the small table as Shirou passed around cups of tea before sitting down with his own.
"So, What did you come over for?" he asked after taking a sip.
"Are we just going to blow passed the fact that you're a master?" Rin asked loudly. "That's a pretty big thing."
"Well, you're a master too, aren't you?" Shirou replied. To which Rin stopped short.
"How did you know?" she asked, suspiciously, all the while,preparing a Gandr shot.
"Two things, One, your command seal is pretty prominent, and two, I can sense the Servant with you."
Archer stared at the redhead, analyzing him coldly. 'Something's different. Very different.' was all he could think.
"How can you sense a Servant? Can't only other Servants do that" Rin asked incredulously.
"Mostly. But some mages are much more observant." Shirou explained. Meanwhile, something nagged at the back of Rin's mind, until she finally voiced her thoughts.
"You seem a lot stronger now than you did even earlier today. What happened to you, Emiya?" she asked in an almost accusatory tone. Surprisingly, Shirou began to chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Rin snapped.
"Well, it's just… I haven't been called Emiya for a long time. Tell me, Tohsaka. Does the name Ashton ring any bells?" Shirou asked, leaning forward.
"You mean that old British family of Phantasmal Beast tamers and hunters? What about them?"
Shirou grinned again as a familiar crest appeared over his heart, glowing softly and pulsing in time with his heartbeat.
"What? How?! The Ashton family died out during King Arthur's reign!" Rin said loudly, prompting both Shirou, and Saber to begin chuckling again.
"Remember, Tohsaka. Arthur wasn't the only famous ruler during that time." the Saber said with a grin.
"What do you mean? The only other famous king then was...Sh-Shirou…" Realization began dawning on both her, and Archer's faces "It can't be, He died centuries ago…" Rin said softly as if trying to convince herself of it.
"True. But then, I came back." Shirou replied before standing. "You're right Tohsaka, I am a lot stronger now. I'm not Shirou Emiya, not anymore. I am Shirou Ashton, once great King of Britain. And beside me, sits my wife and Queen, Arturia Pendragon." he said, his voice like quiet thunder, an air of command fit for a king serving only to confirm his words.
'Very different indeed.' Archer thought numbly. 'This is going to be harder than I thought.'
Author's note: Holy crap guys. Three days and 1,194 views, 7 reviews and 40 followers. That's insane for me. Thanks so much for the feedback, even negative, as it despite how small it may seem, it gave me a hell of a confidence boost, so much so, that I almost immediately began writing this. Seriously, Thanks.
