Chapter 57

Kuzuki followed Caster back to his private room near the edges of the temple ground, watching her lay the scabbard on the ground and unroll the futon for him to lie on.

"How will we do this?"

Although Caster had mentioned that Avalon could help heal him, she hadn't really told him the specifics yet.

"Just lie down on the futon, and I'll reopen the stump on your left arm to reattach the rest of the left arm, keep it in place somehow and disassemble Avalon into your body for the passive regeneration to work. With its original owner nearby, even something like a missing limb should be a piece of cake for it."

Though whether reopening the wound on his stump would qualify it as an injury that could reconnect his arm, or whether the stump would register as the natural state that the scabbard would revert to was still something she was unsure of. Even so, she still had to try. After all, it was because she couldn't protect her Master properly that made him lose his arm.

"Just wait here, I'll fetch your arm."

She left him in the room and headed to the kitchen. Opening the fridge the monks kept there to store ice packs and various foodstuff used for Shojin Ryori (Buddhist cuisine), such as abura-age (fried soybean curd), natto (fermented soybeans) and konnyaku (konjac plant firm jelly). There were also the usual soy sauce, mirin and dashi stock in there as well. But located in the deep freeze shelf, where meat products were usually placed, and which was almost exclusively packed with ice packs in the by the monks, was a long irregular package wrapped in cloth and bound with twine, with one end soaked red, the liquid frozen and making the arm stick to the floor of the fridge shelf.

Caster didn't have any knowledge regarding the preservation of body parts, and could only erect a primitive Bounded Field keeping out dust and other harmful particles in the air around it, so Kuzuki suggested using the fridge when she asked about any possible methods to preserve his arm for future use with modern technology.

Fortunately, her illusion magecraft she had learnt from Merlin helped her disguise the arm as part of the ice packs, allowing it to elude the monks' notice every time they opened the fridge.

Taking out the rock solid piece of flesh, she closed the fridge and hurried back to Kuzuki's room, carrying the icy arm tightly to avoid dropping it and smashing it in the frozen state it was in.

Kuzuki had already taken off his usual clothes, and was waiting in the room with his upper body bare, his lean, toned muscles packed into every inch of his thin body visible for the world to see. Caster barely spared them a glance, instead focusing on the stump that had just healed over in the past few days. Hopefully it wasn't completely healed yet.

She summoned the catalyst Dyrnwyn, the White Hilt that was known as one of the Thirteen Treasures of Britain. The blade ignited upon appearing, the simple white hilt turning red through the flames, yet the hilt also shone brighter than if it was flameless, the white on the hilt almost blinding, the origin of it's namesake coming from the blinding white hilt. Caster lowered the burning sword until it was close to the severed arm on the floor, allowing the heat to defrost it.

"Please lie down on the futon." Kuzuki complied, turning his back to her, and then lying down on it, relaxing his breathing as Caster pulled out the scalpel they had managed to procure.

She knelt down next to her Master on the left side, her knees pressed against the tatami mat as she leaned forward, the scalpel placed on the side of the futon as she shifted her body into a comfortable and secure position. Once she was satisfied, she picked up the scalpel, and braced her left hand on the stump, holding the scalpel gingerly as she attempted to make the first cut.

The scalpel slipped into the white skin, cutting into the uneven, ridged flesh that was scabbed and dark all over, dried blood still clinging to small crevices in the half-healed area. The white of the bone was no longer visible, but several small tubes and the muscle structure could be observed through the indentations in the growing scabs covering the area, charred black bits of skin still clinging on stubbornly from when the heat of the lightsaber cauterized it. She had attempted first aid at the time, and used some rudimentary spells, but had ended up opening new wounds near the stump while she tried to treat him, making it even worse.

This time though she vowed to heal him. Her hand remained steady for a few seconds, cutting through the flesh like water.

*Shlck*

Then it slipped, passing through a large swath of flesh swiftly to carve a needlessly large chunk of flesh from the stump. Instantly, Kuzuki's body tensed, the muscles flexing and contracting from the pain as it stiffened, yet all he let out was a simple grunt.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

With her hands shaking even more badly, she picked up the scalpel and went to work once more, but no matter how long she waited, the scalpel still kept trembling in her hands.

Then a warm, calloused and bony hand clutched her wrist, firmly gripping it.

"Master?"

He didn't say anything, simply holding her wrist while it trembled.

The warmth of his hand passed through her cool skin and into her body, the room silent besides the sound of Caster's rough, unsteady breathing, and Kuzuki's silent, controlled breaths.

Then the shaking died down in her hand. Looking down at the scalpel, she realized it was no longer shivering uncontrollably. She was inhaling and exhaling at a much slower rate now as well, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

Kuzuki let go of her wrist, and laid back on the bed, patiently waiting for her to start.

Despite the sudden cold sensation on her wrist from his hand leaving it, it didn't shake at all, remaining steady.

Moving towards the stump, she positioned the scalpel once more, and pressed onto the flesh, slicing through the wound to reopen it.

This time, the scalpel traced a line around the circular stump, cutting in a circle that just cut away at the skin that was growing on it without cutting away any excess flesh. The white bone and red marrow was exposed one more, before Caster hurriedly cut open the package and pushed the bloody, dripping arm into the wound, a sickening squelch occurring when the two came into contact.

Quickly, she grabbed two wooden boards and set them on both sides, the side of the boards parallel to the floor, then she cut large strips of duct tape and bound the boards together tightly, holding the severed arm and stump in place. Without missing a beat, she raised the scabbard and closed her eyes, the golden sheath disintegrated into sparks of light that descended onto Kuzuki's body, the flesh absorbing it until all traces of the golden shower were gone.

Throughout the entire process, Kuzuki remained silent barring the occasional grunt of pain, trusting his Servant to do everything perfectly.

Once she confirmed Kuzuki had taken the scabbard into his body, Caster spoke to him.

"It's done. Rest up for now, and the next morning we should now know if it works or not."

With that, she dematerialized, leaving Kuzuki in the room to rest as best he could.

Kuzuki closed his eyes, compartmentalizing the pain and then falling into a trance-like state that rested his body, while allowing him to remain conscious enough to keep his arm from unconsciously moving.

Outside the room, Caster gazed at the moon as she thought back to what had just happened.

"It seems that no matter what I do, I'm bound to meet with difficulties."

But even after Atrum died, she had met Kuzuki. Even after Kuzuki lost his arm, she had met Saber and Emiya-san, and then obtained Avalon to heal him as well.

"But as long as I continue walking down this path, I'll always meet people who will help me overcome them."

Not just a strengthening of physical abilities, this was her ability that called people to her, her fate that entangled many so that she borrowed their strength to reach the end of her journey. With Kuzuki healed again, she'd have one less worry in her heart. He could have reopened the wound himself, but in the end he had trusted her to do it. Once again, she was astounded she'd found such a strange, but tolerant Master. Clearly, her last Master's Command Seals had been highly effective.

Now, all she had to do was wait for morning to come.