17

RING, RING, RING

The school bell rang to snap Shirou out of his stupor. It was the next day, and he was in the middle of a particularly boring class. Almost on the verge of falling asleep, the sound of the bell was a relief to his ears, an interruption from the mindless droning on of his teachers. He stood up, grabbed his bag, and headed to the library.

"You made it." Rin was waiting there for him, eyeing the bookshelves for anything out of the ordinary. "I've been looking for anything, but a second pair of eyes would be good."

Shirou walked over. "Something like another Blood Fort?"
"Perhaps. But I don't think even Shinji would be so stupid as to try it again." She began inspecting the bookshelves, eyeing for runes or anything that seemed out of place. "But in any case, it's worth looking wherever he's been. We might find a clue to his plan, at least."

Shirou nodded, and then began looking as well. He was constantly keeping an eye out for anyone watching, or who might look at them- But the library today was quite desolate. After some time of searching, and coming up empty, he turned to Rin.

"Hey, what do you think his plan might even be?" Shirou asked. Rin turned to look at him, tilting her head.

"We only have Lancer's word to go on, so we don't know if there even is one. But if we find one, I know it'll be bad. Maybe not 'melting the entire school' bad, but it'd no doubt involve murder." She stopped looking through the shelves, shrugging and letting out a sigh. "Alas… I can't find anything."

"So you think there's no actual threat?"

Rin mused to herself for a moment, placing a hand to her chin. "Well, if there was a bounded field, we'd have sensed something off when entering the designated zone, which we didn't. If there was an attack planned, even for him that would be incredibly stupid- sending a Servant to attack civilians in a public space. And keep in mind- Kuzuki is still here. If Caster wasn't keeping tabs on his safety, I'd eat my own skirt."

Shirou put the books he'd taken out back on the shelf in neat and tidy fashion, and proceeded to follow Rin out of the library and towards the exit once again. School was done, and tonight they'd be putting their plan to kill the rogue Berserker into motion.

But as they walked out into the now desolate courtyard, they found the one person they were trying to avoid. And as he locked eyes with them, his face twisted into a sneer of pure repulsion.

"...What do you two want?" He asked, as a figure walked beside him. Shirou recognised him as none other than Kaito, which only made it all the more suspicious.

"We just want to put this debacle to bed, got it?" Rin stepped forward, her hands on her hips and her expression clearly ready to confront him if he tried anything. "And don't think we'll go easy on you like last time." Beside her, Shirou nodded.

Shinji, clearly taken aback, balled his fists. "You're walking on thin ice, Tohsaka! If I wanted, I could have you both torn to pieces and-"

Kaito put a hand on Shinji's shoulder, whispering something into his ear. Shinji seemed to take it badly, shoving him aside. "I don't want your advice, damnit!"

"Let's just go." He grabbed Shinji on the shoulder again, and finally the boy relented. Swatting Kaito's hand away one last time, he turned on his heels and left, but Kaito stopped before he could follow him. He turned around, facing the pair with an expression that showed that he knew something. And so did Rin, because when she responded it was with conviction.

"...You're a Servant, aren't you?"

The accusation rang out through the empty courtyard, echoing in the sunset sky. But the brief silence soon was erased when Kaito laughed, a look of pure amusement in his face.

"It took you that long? I…" He caught his breath, before continuing. "I jest, I jest. Yes, I am. And we don't have to say what gave it away, do we?"

Rin listed the suspicious features anyway. "Your physique being out of place, you clinging to Shinji like a leech, your half-threats…"

"I said we don't have to list it!" He chuckled again, but not in a derogatory manner. He seemed to be genuinely entertained by this conversation, a smile on his face as he continued. "You two make me laugh to no end, I swear. I have to ask, now that we're on the same page- is it true you two won the Holy Grail War?"

Shirou scoffed. "The term 'won' never applied to that thing. It was more 'erased' the war, and good riddance."

"Well, you clearly didn't if I'm here, did you?" He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "But I digress. Look… You're getting into some hideous business."
"We know that." Shirou said, a challenging tone in his voice. "You can't stop us."

"Can't I?" Suddenly his smile fell, and a cold glare filled his eyes. They became hollow, the emerald irises pale and the pupils drawing in all the light like a vortex of shadows. He looked down at them, his chin raised, as he spoke in an ice-cold voice. "I assure you two, for your own sake, that I am capable of killing you in ways you've never wished upon anyone. I take no pleasure in it, but that is the truth, and if that is my order I'll cut you down and regret it later. Do you get it now?"

There was silence. Rin and Shirou looked at each other. Neither were scared- they'd been through enough trauma in the past month to write a Greek tragedy- but the threat still stood, and even Shirou knew it was idiotic to ignore it entirely.

But the lives that could be lost… He remembered the dead women he'd had to come across, murdered by the rogue Berserker. He knew there'd be more, and they'd all be innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire. Perhaps they'd be a friend. Maybe even Rin. Or Sakura…
And so he stood forward, glaring at the Servant with a fire that clashed with the coldness of the man's gaze.

"I know what you're saying, Servant. And I can't ignore that you'll try and kill us if we continue. But there are innocents who will die, for no reason other than the meddling of forces stuck in their fantasies of power or delusion. I am a Hero of Justice, and if you want to take my head for stepping forward, then you'll have to strike with all you have, and strike fast, because if you don't… I'll draw my own blade and react in kind."

Silence. No-one dared speak. Even the Servant seemed shocked.
And then he nodded. A look of respect crossed his face, and he turned to leave, but not before uttering one sentence.

"You are the most heroic of fools I've ever met."

Shirou and Rin were now alone, in the courtyard, as the sun fell beyond the horizon of the hills behind them. She had a look of shock on her face at what he'd said, a glimmer in her eyes. He approached her, confused. "Uh… Was what I said… was it really that incr-"

He didn't have time to finish as she pulled him in close, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. He returned the kiss, pulling back after a few seconds to see her smirking up at him.

"You're so sexy when you talk like that, you know."

NOTES

You're probably wondering where I've been. Well, I've been... not so great.

I've had some low moments recently- nothing serious, might I add, but I've been down for the past week or two. At first, I tried to write the chapters in parts, but I was only producing a few sentences, so I decided to take a break from writing for a bit.

I can't exactly confirm that this is the return of the schedule, because I have a lot on my mind right now. And I'm truly sorry for it. But I value my mental health, and so I'm going to focus on that. But if I feel up to it, if I have the right mind and the creativity to put out the best quality chapters, I will.

It's sad because I have so much to write that I really want to, and so much to do- I love to hear your comments and I'd love to do something like a Q with fans when I get enough to put together a significant list of Q's to A, so to speak. And your support has been incredible, all of you, so thank you.
That being said, enjoy this chapter and remember to like and leave a review comment if you want to critique! I welcome any and all constructive feedback!
-Jason