Emiya I

"It was the best of times," he felt his eyes twitch at the stilted English coming from the dining table, almost distracting him from the "It was the worst of times," she could be so loud when…well, okay, she was always loud, now that he thought about it, "It was an age of wisdom, it was an age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief," he had to give it to her, though, pronouncing "epoch" that well as a native English speaker was impressive, "it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness," though he could do without her theatrics, this wasn't Shakespeare, after all, "it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we were all going Heaven," she then stopped, and gave him a withering look, "we were all going direct the other way."

"Do you really need to read that out while I'm cooking," he looked down at the scallion he had just finished mincing. He slammed the knife down on the cutting board, and slid it to the side, catching the herb in his hand, before tossing it over into the miso soup currently boiling next to him, "And telling me I'm going to hell isn't going to get the tofu to cook faster."

"SHIROU!" Taiga, waving her hands up into the air. His guardian and english teacher let out a growl, "I just get so bored when you are cooking," she leaned forward, nearly reaching all the way across the table, "It's been all day since I had anything to eat-"

"You had lunch at no-"
"All day since I had any of your food to eat," she said again, and he could only sigh, "A full day, don't you know how hungry I am Shirou," she then pulled up her spoon from where it sat, and pointed it at him, "And I hurry over here, so I can deal with my famishment," she said the last word in English, whether from habit or desire to pretty up her gluttony, he could not say, "And what do I find," before he could answer, she continued, her eyes beginning to water, "I find that you haven't even come here from school," she turned her head away, "You went of on some kind off like some kind of delinquent, leaving me here to worry about you."

"I was helping Sakura get her class's festi-"

"Helping our competition!" Taiga pointed at him with a shriek of accusation, "oh, you spend all your time on your sweet little kohai," he decided at this point it was better to just keep stirring the soup, while also keeping his eye on the bowl of rice, "but you abandon your guardian," she then leaned back, a hand on her forehead, "Oh, to be abandoned by the boy you raised as your own. All for a younger and more pliant girl," she was using English words again, just to taunt him, "And because I was so busy worrying about you, pacing back and forth in terror of the fate that must have befallen you," he had found her lying on the couch taking a nap when he'd gotten back, "I wasn't able to begin my plans for next weeks lessons on English Literature," she then reached over, grabbed up the book on the side of the table, "So, I must use this time you have left me to do work so I may maintain my place as a respected and admired educator of young minds."

'Okay,' he stopped, plopping in the tofu, 'Now while the tofu cooks, I can make the onigiri.'

"So, that, Shirou," she was now pointing the book at him, and he was fairly sure she was damaging the spine of the book, "Is why I was doing you the great favor of reading the greatest opening line in English Literature."

'Arguably,' he thought, 'I mean, Moby Dick, or Fahrenheit 451 or if we stick with Dickens a Chrstmas Caro-,' his eyes widening, 'Wait, how do I know those?' he then looked over at Taiga, 'and she never had an English Literature course,' he slapped the side of his head, 'I don't think we even read Shakespeare, much less had any Dickens.'

"Shirou," she stood up over the zataku, and then walked over, the pages of the book flapping in the air, "This is my chance to introduce all of you to the greatness of English LIterature and culture," as she got closer, for some reason, she seemed even more bratty than usual. Shorter too, "And to get to introduce you to the story of a Tale of Two Cities!" she threw her arms out, "It's an amazing novel. A story of-"

"Oh," Emiya looked down, the disconnect finally disappearing as he saw that his hands were tanned from magical exposure. This cut Taiga off again, who glared at him, but there was that strange understanding that sometimes hid in them. The one that would come out when they had talked about life after his dad had died, "I see, this is one of my dreams, isn't it?"

"You just have to ruin all the fun, huh?"

He turned around, and as he did so, he looked to see Hakuno in Sakura's apron carefully molding dried seaweed around a ball of rice she had pulled out from the pot he'd been working with the soup. She stared blankly at him for a moment, before holding it up. He felt his eye twitch, though he was not proud to say it was more from her misshapen oni giri than from her presence. Finally, defeated, he gave her a nod, and she placed it on the little platter he'd set aside for the rice balls, picking up another piece of seaweed. He then turned to Taiga, who just continued to stare at him sadly.

"Shirou," she reached her hand out, and placed the tips of her fingers along his cheek, "What happened to you?"

No, no, he did not like this.

"I got older," he answered as quickly as he could. He nearly snapped his lips together on seeing how she responded, "I mean it," he watched as she continued to look directly into his eyes, "Taiga, please," she shook her head, "I…I did a lot of things, I probably shouldn't have," he looked down at the Miso Soup, "And, I cooked my body in the process," that was the best explanation he could give her.

"I guess that would be something you do," she said, and he could tell from the way her voice sat that she was actually fighting to keep back tears. And that was when you knew Taiga was actually sad. If Taiga was crying usually, it was her doing whatever she could to get a good meal or some kind of favor that she probably shouldn't. If she was trying not to cry.

'God damn it,' he sighed, remembering that this wasn't just Taiga from the age she had been. This was a Taiga who had likely lived a full life, and somehow had come back in this simulated manner for this moment, 'Of course I was going to have to meet her again,' he looked at her, expecting a goofy smile, or at least two spotted cat ears to stick out of her head.

Never thought he'd wish she'd act more like Jaguar Man, but…

"Oni Giri's done," Hakuno declared, holding up the tray. She scooted past him, while he sighed, pulling the pot of the soup off the burning eye. He then reached over, grabbed a ladle, and then began to process of filling the bowls. As he did so, he watched as Hakuno lead Taiga back to their table, where both lowered themselves to sit down, "I must say Nanashi, you really have had a whole variety of women care for you."

"Vari-SHIROU!" Taiga's tears were now flowing freely, holding her hands together tightly, "How could you!" he sighed, glad at least his guardian had lost some of her melancholy, "How could you betray Sakura and Rin like this?"

"We grew apart," Emiya picked up the bowls,and carried all three over to the table. He set them down, "Just what happens when you get older."

"Never thought I'd see that little boy hanging onto Kitsurugu's shirt grow into an old crotchety man," Taiga sighed, before lifting the spoon into her mouth, taking both MIso and tofu up. A second later, she slapped her hand to her face, and let out a squeal, "But at least it hasn't hurt your cooking. My god, you make the best miso soup I've ever tasted!"

"It is very good."

"So," Emiya returned his gaze to the heavenly guardian at his table, "Why are you here now?" her eyes remained expressionless as she stared at him, "It's been a while, about a week if you push it."

"You are getting ready to begin the next stage of your journey," Hakuno said, "This is mostly just a check in, to make sure you haven't let yourself fall back into your melancholy," Emiya gave her a nod, "This is going to be a difficult time, and I wished to check in to make sure you are prepared for when you see Artoria again."

"I haven't thought about killing myself for all the time I've been on the ship," he answered. Which, considering his history, was an actually impressive time period, if you counted the amount of time he'd spent imagining killing Shirou Emiya, than doing something like slitting his own throat, "Though honestly, I appreciate you giving me a bit of a break," he looked over at Taiga. She was smiling at him, "You chose to bring Taiga here because there is less tragedy tied up in her, right?"

"Oh," Taiga made a move to faint backward, "Do you not remember our tragic love affai-"

"Have the rest of my soup," he slid his bowl to Taiga, who began to demolish his tofu. He looked over at Hakuno, who had only the vaguest hints of a smirk, though on her face that meant as much as outright laughing on most, "I'm not dumb, I know that there are others you are going to probably bring in my dreams, and as much as Taiga means to me," there was a goofy sounding giggle, "I just don't have much to say, other than I'm sorry that I left and didn't come back as much as I should."
"Glad to hear it," Taiga spoke up. Hakuno pointed toward Taiga, and he turned his head to his guardian. And now, she had changed once more. She was no longer in her twenties, not with the way there were wrinkles around the edges of her eyes, "I really did miss you, Shirou."

"...I am sorry."

"But I'm more angry about how you have been acting outside of that," Taiga snapped. Despite her clearly being older, she was actually speaking with the force of her younger self, "I meet this girl," she waved her hand to Hakuno, "And all I hear from her is that you keep getting down in the dumps," she pushed on his shoulder, "I mean, that's not the hero I knew."

"You knew a pig headed teenage bo–"

"What's the difference," Taiga cut him off, while Hakuno seemed to be stuffing her face with one of the Oni Giri, "Now, I know you want to go on one of your rants, but I don't care what you have to say."

'Some things truly never change,' he thought.

"What I care about," she brought her hand down, and pointed her finger into his right pectoral, "Is right here," she stopped, blinked for a second, and then pulled the finger over and placed it on the left pectoral, "I meant here, of course."

"You never were an biology teacher," he couldn't help but smile as her face puffed out, "But, I think I get what you mean," he reached over, and pulled the older woman into his arms, hugging her tightly around her shoulders, "I'll…I'll do my best to do the best I can do," that was what Ciel had said, more or less, and while he never would have thought to compare them while he had been alive, he couldn't help but connect them now that time had passed, "So trust me, you don't have to worry about me anymore."

"I don't have to," her voice was lower now, as she pulled up her arms, and retuned his embrace, "But I want to, Shirou," a second later, she pushed back. She was crying again, though her smile was big and earnest, "Just…just don't forget that people love you. No matter what you do, or what you say, we love you."

"...Okay," he bowed his head toward the older woman, "I will…I'll take care of myself."

"That isn't exactly what I meant," Emiya blinked, "I mean, be yourself, the one I know you can be. Because you do care about people. You care, and if you think you know what is best for the people you care about, do it," Emiya for some reason pulled in a gulp, as the world seemed to transform around him, the dining room of his youth beginning to fade away in a growing fog, "I mean, do what you think you need to do," she pushed her head in front of his, "We humans are mysterious things. Despite how I act, I can't know everything about you, but despite those secrets in your heart and mind, I know you are one of the best," she gave him one final smile, tears flowing down her face, "Just…just please know that we love you. And we always will."

"I," he stopped, before giving Taiga one final nod, as the fog began to cover them both, "Thank you."

"Thank you so much Taiga."

"Land HO!"

'Can't help but be stereotypical,' Emiya groaned, twisting over in his hammock, 'Can they,' the memories of this last dream, his third in the strange conversations that that girl Hakuno had give him, still held him like fresh fishing net, 'God, somehow this feels like it's only going to get worse.'

It had been nearly eight days since they had taken the Victory out of Braavos. The experience had been surprisingly refreshing, considering that Emiya had never been a particular fan of the ocean or sailing. It wasn't like this was a cruise or anything, he certainly hadn't been able to enjoy fruity drinks or sunbathing. Hell, he wouldn't even think of the latter, considering the waters they were traveling across had more than earned the name "Shivering Sea". There hadn't been any icebergs or the like, but it wasn't comfortable to be out here.

'Still,' Emiya threw his arms up, and let out a sigh as he felt some pops in his back, 'I guess it has been nice to have a break where we just have nothing to do.'

That had mostly been it. After Musashi had jumped off to Chaldea, they had spent the past week more or less hanging out around Victory. That had meant that they had a full week of just sitting around the ship, watching as the sailors that staffed the ship to sail it. This was far less taxing than their other travels over Essos, with the ship being staffed by dozens who could run it without their input. They had more or less been free to simply lay about for a bit.

'Which was probably needed,' Emiya looked over at the hammock where Ritsuka Fujimaru slept, 'Master was still so tired from everything we had to deal with in Braavos, he needed some time for his body to recuperate,' he then thought about the tired looks of everyone else he'd seen in the other hammocks, 'Though, everyone really needed to rest up, after all the running around we'd done.'

As he went out into the bright sun of the day, he took in the sights. Mostly, just the usual look of many sailors rushing around the deck, doing all the things that sailors in the eighteenth century tended to do. He thought for a moment to ask one of those near him, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Finally feeling awake?" he turned to see Mata Hari standing behind him. When he nodded, she gave him a short nod, before pointing back up a set of stairs, "That's good, Master says we will be landing shortly."

"That's good," he said, watching as Mata gave him the biggest smile she could manage. Which told him that she wasn't perhaps as excited as she had seemed, "So, are you really fine with Master's plan for our cover story?"

"Oh," Mata blinked before reaching up and running her hand through her hair, "I am fine with that," she was lying through her teeth, and they both knew that she was, "It will be," she stopped, and he imagined how hard it was to even think about that role, but she was ready, "It will be interesting to be "Married" again."

"I am sorry about this," Emiya really was. It wasn't that he didn't find Mata attractive, he wasn't blind. But he had more than enough issues with many, many other women to think about Mata in any kind of close manner. Unfortunately, due to Emiya having characteristics of the people known as the Valyrians, of which Mata's niece and nephew were descended, it was decided that he would perform as Mata's husband, and the children's father, "Unfortunately," he rubbed the back of his head, "It's probably the best way to keep any sort of questions about their heritage."

After all, they were the surviving prince and princess of the previous ruling dynasty.

"That is true," there was a twitch in Mata's features, but she let out a sigh, and gave him a nod, "I know this is just what I need to do to protect Elia children," she turned her head, and Emiya followed her gaze to catch sight of the two, one a young man with naturally dark hair, the other a young woman with hair dyed black. He turned his eyes quickly back to Mata, and suddenly saw the growing smile on Mata's face. And he couldn't help but smile too.

It was strange, in a way, to take in how much she had changed from her time in Chaldea. He had not been close to any of the rest of the team during his time in Chaldea-

unless one counted Cu, which he didn't-

-But, as one of the resident cooks, he had spent more than enough time people watching during his time in Chaldea to get a feel of the other servants. And while Mata had never been anything but buoyant, doing whatever she could to be helpful and kind as possible, it was impossible not to notice how much happier she seemed now. Anyone with Mata Hari's life would have a right to a melancholic spirit. And on the surface, it seemed that Mata Sand's life would have had a similar impact on her disposition. Yet that was not the case, and while it had taken some time, it was relatively easy to see why.

"Baelon has been doing well then?" he asked, watching as the sides of Mata's cheeks puffed out slightly.

"That boy," she shook her head, placing her hands on her hips, "I make him promise to me not to go running off in that pirate fight, and he nearly got himself killed."

As far as Emiya had heard, Baelon had done about as well as a young man in his first fight could be expected. Certainly better than when the fool had attempted to fight Irish Hercules with a slightly reinforced pipe. But Baelon had been…well, it wasn't the word used, but "Grounded" more or less covered it. He had been forced to spend the whole trip doing the most menial of tasks while Colan, the other young boy of their group, got to do things like climb to the crows nest. Emiya had thought to give him a break, but followed Mata's orders when she had asked him to keep Baelon disciplined.

'You really needed them,' he thought, looking at her look around, 'Both of them.'

Mata had spent the whole time looking after Rhenys. They had had a rockier relationship that Mata and her "son", but the time they had been spending together while Baelon dealt with his punishment had been good for them. Emiya had seen them laughing together, and it seemed the younger woman's nerves had been calmed.

'You needed to have a family once more,' he watched as Mata opened the door, and they came into the main room, 'You lost your children so cruelly in your first life. But even with everything you suffered, this new place has given you a second chance.'

"Rhaneys has been getting better," Mata admitted, though there was still some guilt, "But she is still fearful. We are going to a place she has had nightmares of," Mata then smirked, "Luckily, our story has made it far easier to tell her she will be hidden," Mata then waved out her hand, "After all, what a better way to hide ourselves than to be traveling mummers," she then waved her hand, "Anyone who worries about Rhanyes dying her hair," which was natuarlly silver blonde and thus a reason to suspect her hated heritage, "will just think it's part of her life as a traveling troubadour."

"You're having too much fun," he laughed, and she smirked back, "Why don't you get those kids ready to disembark," he looked over the side, towards a barren but encroaching coast, "It won't be but a few hours."

"That is probably for the best," Mata sighed, "Rhaneys can still be a bit," she looked for the most understanding word, "Jumpy."

As Mata left, he just shook his head. He could only sighed when he heard a bit too loud squeak come from that end of the ship. Honestly, he still couldn't believe that eventually they'd be taking so many people from this plane. He'd been completely floored when Cu had shown up with a son, and he'd been mostly in denial in hoping that he'd be able to talk Cu into dumping Colan to get back quicker. That hadn't happened, and once again, he'd been proven wrong. Colan had saved his life at least twice by this point. And really, it made Cu just slightly more tolerable, that sudden staring of parental responsibility making the dog less of a dumb beast.

He'd had a harder time with the other ones. Yes, Baelon and Rhaenys had been raised by Mata, but they weren't her biological children. And Asha Greyjoy was just a hanger on who happened to be the only one that survived from Dra-Elizabeth's crew. He still privately thought that if they could find the rest of their family, and ensure they would be taken care of, it wouldn't be too hard to leave them behind.

'I don't see it,' he thought to himself, 'None of them have any real stake in Chaldea, they are all from this plane. Bringing them on to Storm Glider would probably just be a waste of time for a native. Not worth even considering.'

"Lord Emiya."

'Though,' Emiya turned to see the older visage he'd come to expect the last week or so, 'At least I don't have to worry about figuring out how to get a full ship transported up to Storm Glider.'

"Yes Nelson," it felt sort of wrong not to add the title of Admiral, but the other servant had insisted, "Is there anything I can do for you."

"I just wished to ensure you were ready for your disembarkment," the former admiral said, "Your Master has said you are all prepared, I just wished to make the final rounds."

"I'm fine," Emiya nodded at the older man, "I'm ready to get moving again," after all, this was the place where Artoria was. The reason he had jumped at this mission in the first place was only a couple hundred miles away, and their next target, "I know what I am going to do next."

"I honestly wish I had your conviction," Nelson shook his head, "I am not sure when the next time Queen Elizabeth will call Rule Britannia."

Created a famous mage by the name of John Dee in order to fight off the Spanish Armada, Rule Britannia allowed British Monarch Heroic Spirits to call upon every ship that had ever served in the British Navy. A powerful Noble Phantasm, but one with several drawbacks. You needed a lot of mana to get the full power from it, which was why Elizabeth had only been able to get Victory instead of the whole fleet, or even a more modern ship like the Belfast. THen there was the problem that it was powered at least partially by the sea itself, so it was completely unusable in a place without an already considerable amount of water.

So it made sense that they had decided to dissipate the Victory and her crew after they made land. The ship was too large, too conspicuous, and was too great a drain on Master and Elizabeth. So they would be sent away, only for when they were next called.

If they were called again.

"I can understand that frustration," Emiya said, "No way to know the next time we are going to be fighting by the sea," he rubbed the back of his head, "I don't even know if we are going to travel by sea anymore on this plane."

"Those were not my main concern," Nelson corrected. Emiya saw he was looking up toward the helm, where Elizabeth was standing, talking back and forth with that brown haired girl Asha she'd picked up along her adventures, "I worry she will return to her rejection of her duty, and she will simply never call us forth again," he looked back at Emiya, a sadness in his eyes, "Rule Britannia is always seen as a burden."

"I can see why Elizabeth would fight against using you again," Emiya added, "I mean, she gave up her name, why wouldn't she give you all up," the grunt of affirmation was enough to tell he'd managed a direct hit, "Though I wouldn't worry too much. If Master is sure you'd be useful, he'd make her summon you," Emiya flexed the fingers of his right hand, "Command seals are burdens too, but I'm pretty sure he'd know how useful you will be."
"Yes," Nelson allowed the edges of his lips to twist upward, "Yes, I suppose he does," he then waved as he began to walk away, "Well, it was nice to speak with you again, Lord Emiya," Emiya waved back, leaving him alone with his thoughts again.

'That lack of control,' there was part of Emiya that got Nelson's plight. His time as a Counter-Guardian meant he often had been at the whims of that force called Alaya. The supposed collective will of mankind, forcing him to do whatever it wanted, 'It can drive you insane.'

Still, there was nothing to do. He'd tried to end his eternity of atrocities, even if he wasn't sure about the specifics. He'd attempted several times to kill the fool before he could make the deal, but that had never worked out. Instead, he was doomed to be Alaya's scourge until the end of time. He honestly had to take advantage of his time he was getting in Chaldea, the one time he had felt that he was able to live like a hero.

"Hey Emiya!" Ritsuka's voice was enough to pull him out of his head, and he looked up toward the railing above his head. The young man was waving down at him, and Emiya couldn't help but smile at his young master. He waved his hand back, and Ritsuka almost immediately pulled back, and Emiya listened as he heard the sound of a young man running down the nearest set of stairs.

"How are you handling everything Master?" Emiya asked as Ritsuka ran up to him. Ritsuka had been taking time to rest up like the rest of them, and he seemed to have been unflappable as always. He then gave his cruelest smirk, and asked, "Feeling refreshed after the morning workout?"

"Fuck you," RItsuka flipped him off. Emiya and Cu had been taking turns running a training regime for Ritsuka to help him recover from the stabbings. It had been a long time coming, especially considering how Ritsuka had never been a particularly physical young man to begin with, but he was coming along.

"I'm sure you are worried about someone else when it comes to that," Emiya mused, though looking at the wince on Ritsuka's face, he could tell that he might have crossed a line on that, "Jeanne Alter is still having problems then?"

"Yeah," Ritsuka sighed. He looked down to the deck, before adding, "Jeannette has been-I mean, I get why she is," It would hard not to considering her existence on this plane had been unimaginably awful, "But it just feels like there is this barrier between us," he sighed, "Sometimes it feels like she's both pulling me in and pushing me away at the same time. I get worried that," he took another pause before adding, "Like I'm only hurting her, but I don't know if getting closer or growing apart would make it worse."

"That's life as a human," Emiya could only rub the back of his head, "There is always a push and pull, and you need to make yourself available to help her with that sort of thing."

'Why does he keep coming to me to ask about relat-,' he stopped that thought, 'Well considering his options are Me, a man famous for ruining every relationship he had by acting like a horndog, a female horndog pirate who never cared about making a real relationship, a celibate monk, and Mata Hari…yeah, I may actually be the best option,' he felt the need to slap his forehead, 'Heaven forbid.'

"Look," Emiya could only give the same advice he'd given before. Jalter was an out and out victim of one of the worst things that could happen to anybody, and that she was alive and this stable at all was something of a miracle, "You just need to be there for her. Let her take control when she is ready, and be ready to take control when she asks you to do so."

"...So just what i-

"Yes," Emiya could tell this wasn't what the younger man had been hoping for, "Just keep doing what you were doing."

"God damnit."

Emiya could only place his hand on the younger man's shoulder. Ritsuka looked up and gave Emiya a weary smile. There was something here that Emiya couldn't help but be happy about, like all of his existence wasn't just a horrible mistake. If he could just make this one kid a better person, then he may have possibly been some kind of hero after all.

And they just stood there for a few minutes, only the sounds of the men sailing Victory to the shore and the waves to break the silence. This would probably be the last time they'd have to really take a breath before getting on the move again, and it would be wrong to rush forward too quickly.

"So," Emiya looked over at his Master, "How are you feeling about our plan?"

"It makes sense," Emiya considered, "A group of traveling minstre-mummers," god, if he ever found out who created this fictional world, he was gonna strangle them. The sheer need to fill it out with terms to "Fantasy" it made him want to tear out his hair, "Will be easy to pass through, with Cu serving as our obvious body guard," he then looked over, toward the door, "Have all the costumes and props ready?"

"Yes," Ritsuka added, "We'll be able to sneak around easier with all these disguises too."

'Also with that automatic disguise I stole from the Faceless Men,' Emiya unconsciously brought his hand to his pocket, and felt the fleshy mass still in there.

"Though, I want for you to be ready," Ritsuka tapped him on the back, "You were closest to Artoria of anyone, and if anyone is going to know how to wake her up, it's probably going to be you," Emiya clenched his teeth at that, but luckily Ritsuka added, "And I'm going to need you to be ready for it. That other girl talked to you again in your dreams?"

"Yeah," Emiya nodded, "Though it was a lot shorter this time," he gave RItsuka a look, "Brought in Taiga to talk this time," when Ritsuka twisted his head, Emiya added, "The woman Jaguar Man is incarnated in."

"Ah," Ritsuka nodded. There was another moment of silence, before he then looked over at the door, and left Emiya's side, "Might as well get the last bits of stuff ready to leave," he waved as he headed inside, "See you in a few minutes."

Emiya waved wordlessly, before returning his gaze out toward the shore, to the north, and to the land that Artoria was. He had told Ritsuka about Hakuno, about how this woman that knew him had rescued him during a dream, and how she was using figures from his past to try and improve him. That had been something he'd felt comfortable telling, and while Ritsuka had seemed a bit miffed at Emiya two-timing him, he'd accepted that.

What Emiya hadn't told RItsuka was exactly what he and the ghosts of his past had been talking about.

If you think you know what is best for the people you care about, do it.

'You'll know what to do when the time comes.

Be her advocate.

'God damnit,' he sighed. Things could just never be easy, could they?

"It is a good thing this cart didn't disappear with the ship," Xuanzang said aloud, pulling the two wheeled thing up behind her as they made their way down the road, 'Though it might have been good to get a horse or something so we all don't have to pull it ourselves."

"Hey," Elizabeth snapped, hair a bit too shiny black, while pointing directly at the monk, "I can generate ships, not pack mules," she then folded her arms together, teeth grinding slightly into one another, "Should be glad that cart was on there, or else we'd all have to be carrying all our supplies."

It had been almost the rest of the day to get here. Admittedly, they had made relatively good time, with all of their possessions and the five human members of the team loaded into the small cart that Elizabeth had been able to generate. Then they had gone a bit out from the road just to keep to themselves, no need to announce themselves, and then took off at the highest united speed they could muster. It wasn't what normal servants could achieve, but with food in their systems and a relatively healthy master, their bodies were able to keep up a ten mile an hour pace even on uneven terrain. With half a day of travel, they had made it close enough to slow down, and eventually get back onto the road, with Emiya and his fellow servants only showing mild forms of exertion.

'Helped that we kept switching off which of us pulled,' he considered, looked over to Xuanzang, 'Though Xuan always does do the best when it come to things like this,' he shook his head, 'I'll take over when we get into the town itself, just so there are fewer questions about why a woman is pulling something like that,' he stopped for a second, 'Also, should probably get the rest out of there.'

"Alright you lot," he pointed at the passengers of the cart, "Get out."

"Oh thank the gods," he watched as Baelon jumped out of the cart. He looked a little green around his throat, "Please, never have us do something like that again," Emiya watched as Baelon's sister slid out from the cart, and gave a similar, beaten nod. Emiya could only snort at that.

"Oh, do you see the rest of your friends acting like that," Emiya looked over to Ritsuka, Colan and Asha, all of whom seemed to have taken it better. Not great, all of their clothes were at least slightly rumpled from all the movement, they had been going over uneven fields, hills and gullies instead of taking a road after all, but they weren't acting like they'd been punched in the gut.

"Just because we are used to this," Ristuka said, pointing a finger into the sky as he forced himself out of the cart, "Doesn't mean it's fun, Emiya."

"It was like going through a storm at sea," Asha groaned. Colan could only nod to that, joining her as they stood out from the cart, "I get enough of such feelings on the water, I do not need to be buffeted on dry land, thank you very much."

"The only reason I don think I'm leaning over like Baelon over there," Colan added, "Is I got used to this sort of thing when you all carried me on your backs those times after Qaarth," Emiya could only vaguely remember. It had probably been half a year or so since that day, after all, and so much had happened in the months since that it was surprising that anyone remembered anything from all the way back then.

"Well," Xuanzang said, doing her best, and failing despite that, to keep any offense from her features, "At least we made good time."

And they quite clearly had. Before them, down along this costal road, laid a city. It was smaller than Braavos, really, smaller than most of the great cities they had visited on the previous continent. By size only really Pentos seemed a fair comparison, and even then, this White Harbour seemed smaller. Perhaps bigger than that Mantarys, but that town had been so cut into the rough hills and mountains of its area that it would be hard to make a fair comparison.

From where they stood, at the very eastern edge of the port, Emiya could pick out some characteristics of White Harbour. Firstly, there was a giant rock at the eastern edge of the town, around which stone parapets rose up even higher into the sky. Emiya could see the guards standing atop it, and even a few scorpions. Down below this fortress, covered with sun bathing seals, was the harbour itself, or rather two harbours, separated by a wall about half the size of the great black ones they had torn down in Volantis. On the western side of the harbour was a titanic fortress that was also connected to the long wall. The Fortress was old, with stone crumbling, though it appeared to have so much stone put into it in its original construction that it could afford a thousand years or more of weather and erosion before it could possibly be diminished.

Inside the wall, which seemed to take in several square miles of towns, was a well put together medieval town of stone and wood. The docks of this harbour were fewer than outside, though they were wider, and the ships at them were larger and more illustrious.

'I suppose the inner harbour is deeper,' he considered, focusing his eyes along the water, following it up, 'I also don't see a stopping point, so perhaps this is the mouth of a river. That would explain why there developed a deep pocket for ships to dock in.'

"Okay," Emiya turned to look at Cu, who was pointing not at the inner harbour, but at a modest building with a paddock beside it. That was only about a hundred yards past the original tall rock fortress that guarded the easternmost part of the port. Emiya could vaguely see several horses along the side, "That place looks about right. We'll buy a couple of horses and a big enough cart, and take that up."

Emiya nodded. That had been the plan. They knew Artoria was married to the high lord of these lands. They knew she had children. They didn't know much else. It would probably be better to sneak all the way up to "Winterfell", and then scout out what they could learn from it. See if there was anything to exploit in waking her up, anything to worry about Ned Stark. Then, pop up with Cu in the lead when they were ready.

Of course, that meant they weren't going to be able to get to stay in inns like they were able to in most of the other cities they had visited. They'd be lying out beneath the stars, or at least some tarps, while they traveled. It wouldn't be comfortable, but it would be the best way to get through without any kind of notice from the locals.

"Now," Cu said, "Master, you and Mata should probably go in. She knows common better and a Rhoynar is only odd instead of," he vaguely waved at Xuanzang and Jeanne Alter, "Weird."

"Hey," the Ash Valyrian snarled. That there was not smoke at all bursting from her mouth at a perceived insult was enough for Emiya to mentally congratulate her on her progress in controlling her temper.

Xuan just chuckled and waved Cu off. Elizabeth and Asha both were about to raise their hands, only to drop them, as both were quick to realize that while they would not stand out in a crowd as they were, it would still probably be best to keep themselves from being looked at too closely.

"Alright," Ritsuka nodded. He reached into a pocket and grabbed a bag of coins. They were Braavosi Irons, alongside a few jewels they had managed to pull together, and that should be enough to get their transport. As the two walked inside the stable, Cu let out a sigh.

"Gods, I hope the stablemaster doesn't ask too many questions. Master was able to get away with his looks much better in Essos," he then pointed to the rest, "Course, he's still the best of us to do this, considering the rest of us men either have too much Valyrian in them or too much me."

"And this is still a medieval society," Xuanzang offered, "So getting them to buy with only Mata in there might be difficult."

"Maybe if she was clearly a noble she could get away with it, but a foreign woman on her own, no," Emiya could only nod at Cu's logic. For the next few minutes, they could only wait. The sun, already in its long descent to the west, was now growing more orange. After about ten minutes, the clear sound of hooves caught their attention, and soon two horses pulled out a four wheeled cart to them, Mata and Ritsuka waving sitting at the front.

"Thank God," Elizabeth groaned, before reaching back into the cart she generated, "Let's get this thing unloaded so I can let this thing dissipate like the rest of the Victory," as Xuan and Asha began to work to help her move their supplies, Emiya and Cu walked up to Ritsuka and Mata.

"Any kind of trouble?" Cu asked. The warrior reached out, and grabbed the reins of the horse from Mata, allowing the woman to hop down, and Cu to take her place as driver. Emiya reached out and ran his hand over the snout of one of the two beasts, which seemed to take the stroking quite just shook his head.

"Nah," Rtisuka smiled, before rubbing the back of his head, "Though it did take everything in that bag, so it's probably good we aren't planning on sleeping in an inn," Emiya could see Mata puff out her cheeks a bit. He agreed that a bed would be better than not, but still, the plan was working so far. Now, as long as they got out of White Harbour without someone important spotting them-

"Ser Cu?"

Everyone stopped. Rtisuka's hand was frozen behind his bed. The reins of the horses went slack in Cu's hands. Emiya's hand seemed to lock right above the horse's nostrils. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Elizabeth standing like a statue, the first box of clothing held on the wall of the cart's bed.

"Ser Cu?" the question came again, and all of them turned their heads away from the paddock, and towards the harbour. There was a corpulent man, armor barely containing his girth, only somewhat covered by a seagreen surcoat with a white mermaid holding a trident. His face was distinctly walrus-like, a thick brown mustache hanging over his lips, and his jowls jiggled as he now trusted his eyes completely, "Ser Cu! By Thunder, It's Ser Cu! It's the Hound of Winterfell!"

He was shouting to what appeared to be around three dozen much thinner men, all armed with crossbows or pikes or other pointy things. Said men were staring up at Cu, sitting on his cart, and Emiya could not help but inwardly curse that they had not taken the final step of subterfuge to actually die Cu's blue hair black.

"Hello," Cu raised his hand, "Ser…Wendel?"

"Yes Ser," the man laughed, before thrusting his elbow into one of the thinner men next to him, almost sending him sprawling to the ground, "He remembers me, Ser Cu does," he then turned back to Cu, "Gods, Cu, I haven't seen you since I was a squire."

"Yes," Cu said through nearly gritted teeth. Clearly, he had grabbed the name of this man out of the back of his mind, and assigned it to someone older he had fought alongside. Still, best use that good impression, "You look so much like your father," Wendel's mustache shuffled about a bit as a clear smile developed on his face, though Emiya could tell from Cu's thinking it had not exactly been meant as a compliment, "How's ol' Wyman doing?" he asked.

"Ah, well you know us Manderlys," Wendel continued, the other soldiers simply staring slack jawed at Cu, "His waist finally grew too wide and he can't ride a horse anymore. And you would not be surprised that Wylis will probably join him in that fate soon enough too," probably a brother, and the relaxing of muscles on Cu's face that that had been the name he'd been reaching for, "But I'm still nimble enough, why, that's why I am lucky enough to meet you again," he gave a small hop, "I was given the task of completing some renovations on old Seal Rock," his hand flew up to the rock that they had just passed to get in the outskirts of the city, "And the day guard finished up. We were just on our way back to New Castle, when I caught a shock of blue hair," he leaned forward, "I don't mean to tell you, I've only met one man with natural grown blue hair," he then turned his head, "Or well, two now I see."

'And he saw Colan,' Emiya groaned, 'Great.'

"You have a son," Wendel laughed, "Oh, Ser Cu, this is a most terrific encounter I never thought I would have," he then walked over, and grabbed Cu's hand, "Come, you have come to White Harbour, you and your son and," he looked over everyone else, all somehow still stuck in their statue like poses, "The rest," everyone at that moment seemed to regain motion, if only to allow their bodies to avoid locking up, "Must join us in the Merman's Court," he clapped his hand, and one of the men dropped a pike, and began to sprint down the road deeper into town, "We Manderly's could not let such an chance for hospitality go to waste."

"Well, Wendel," Cu began, "Not that this hasn't been a great treat to meet you once again. But I and my companions must get going," Wendel didn't let go, continuing to shake the fitter man's hand. Emiya watched as Cu tried to pull his hand free of the corpulent fellow, but for some reason his mana infused muscles didn't seem to allow him to break free, "I'm serious, we couldn't allow you and your family to cause some delay with a-"

The table was massive, at least thirty yards long, made of shining polished wood, covered on both sides with steel plates, forks and spoons. Glass cups had shined in the fire light, though they were slightly dimmer now that they were filled with a golden wine. There were already bowls in front of them filled with differing types of bread, rye and wheat, all of which was clearly an appetizer as dozens of servants came around, two to a platter,each holding some kind of hot food. Salty steaming lutefish plates, several plates of pork and beef, and pies that had a strange, sea soaked smell. There was laughter in the air, though Emiya could tell it was not coming from his seated companions, but rather the group of noblemen around them who had somehow appeared to be a herd of walruses.

"A fucking party," Cu slid down further into his seat, directly across from Emiya clearly the most uncomfortable of them all.

"Was there something you were saying Ser Cu?" the largest of all those Walruses was sitting right next to Cu. He did not turn his head toward the much thinner man, and Emiya wasn't quite sure this man could through all the blubber, but the way Cu snapped straight at the question was enough to tell him that Cu was not feeling comfortable whatsoever.

"Nothing," Cu answered, waving his hand at what was easily one of the ten fattest men Emiya had met in his entire existence. Wendel, sitting at another end of the table and speaking quite loudly with Xuanzang and Colan, was still far more fit. Wyman had had to be carried into the hall on a litter, and nearly fallen over when he had waddled up the stairs. Yet Cu seemed to allow this man to dictate the flow of all the conversation, in a way that Emiya had never seen before.

'And it seems foolish to me,' Wyman was a very important lord, the dozens of mermaid banners and the rich feast on offer with less than a few hours of warning, but, 'He does not seem to have any ill will. Though,' the other seat next to Cu was filled with a young woman who was not fat, and in fact rather good looking, with long brown hair, calmly cutting into her bread but making sure to act in the most lady-like of manner, 'Maybe it's that he's having politics played around him.'

Everyone else was a bit uncomfortable, but that mostly seemed just to have been from the sudden change in plans. Already, he could see that some of the others were beginning to allow themselves to slide into some level of amusement at the whole thing. Xuanzang was always in a state or relative equilibrium, and nearby Colan and Nitocris seemed to use her as an anchor. Though Colan was in a somewhat similar situation to Cu, as there was another girl with a braid sitting next to him, though her hair was dyed green instead of the chestnut brown of this Wynafryd girl. Mata had slid back rather comfortably into being a Westerosi lady, as she comfortably picked up conversation with Wylis, Wendel's older and fatter brother. So, for all her fears of the north, had Rhaenys, who seemed to have held onto some old lessons. And Baelon followed both their leads to keep his head clear. Elizabeth and Asha were remaining quiet, but they were drinking calmly and no one seemed to notice them.

And then of course-

"I must thank you for allowing us to come into your home Lord Manderly," RItsuka cut as Cu remained cowed, and the fat man's eyes slid over to Ritsuka. Ritsuka had somehow found himself directly in front of Wyman, directly next to Emiya on one side and Jeanne Alter on the other. He was busy cutting into the cod he'd placed on his plate, though his eyes were directly on the old noble, "It is an honor to finally meet someone such as yourself. Cu told us so many stories about his time in the North, that we were all looking forward to the chance to meet you."

"I am glad I present a figure of notice," Wyman laughed, reaching toward a platter and pulling out a boiled crab. His sausage like thumb and forefinger stuck at the edges of the crustaecan's face, and he popped it open with barely any effort, "Or, I had presented a figure of notice," he mused as he lifted the bottom of the crab to his face, and began to slurp its steaming insides.

'Okay,' Emiya considered, 'so he is stronger than the average man. That still doesn't show why Cu is weary of him.'

"He spoke of his home and its people often," Risuka said, "In fact, after we met him and Cu in," he turned to Emiya, "Qarth I think, it's been a while," Emiya nodded, "yes it was Qarth. We wandered around there for a bit, and have spent the past many months heading West. Mummers such as us have to keep moving you see," he then leaned over his plate, making to whisper this secret, "A troop such as ours are not particularly welcome in places with more…established actors."

"I see," Wyman's chin moved up in down, but whether that was from nodding or from simply speaking Emiya couldn't tell. Emiya returned his gaze to Cu, who was looking back and forth between the Merman lord and his Master, and looking as though he might have a heart attack the longer RItsuka continued to talk.

"So, it was our friend Cu there who suggested that we come to your lands here," he then paused, and looked over at Cu. Cu stopped, and then finally spoke up.

"We had run into some problems" he said, finally drawing the attention of Wyman to himself, "I'm sure as the Lord of White Harbour, you've been hearing about all the messes that are happening across the Narrow Sea," Wyman looked deeply toward the younger man, and Cu continued, "There are the slaver wars in that wretched bay," and for the first time Wyman frowned.

"Scum like that will always turn on themselves," he reached forward, grabbed his glass of wine, and placed it to his lips. He downed it quickly, before shaking his head, "Luckily, they don't tend to come this far North, though I"ve had to tell a few Volantine to keep their noses clean," he then placed his cup down, picked up his knife, and stabbed it down into a platter of beef, and stuffed the steak into his mouth with the point of his knife, "Or make them clean myself."

"Don't think you'd have anything left if you tried to clean a man from Volantis," Jalter snarked, and that got a slight chuckle from Wyman.

"You certainly would have that opinion," the witch blinked, "Though I hope you are not in such a similar state no-"

"No, no," Ritsuka said, waving his hands, "No slavery here," he chuckled, and Emiya had to sigh, remembering how they had all been practicing calling RItsuka by his name instead of "Master". That would probably be too big a problem to overcome, "Unless," he turned his head, and bowed to Jeanne Atler, "You consider yourself the master of my heart."

Jalter looked like she was torn between turning green and blushing.

"Oh, my dear boy," Wyman was shaking his head, a twinkle in his eye, "Were I forty years younger I might have to take that from you," he then slapped his side, "Though, maybe if I were four stone lighter, it might still work on a worn down crone."

Jeanne Alter flinched. Emiya cut in quickly, "We also spent quite a bit of time recently in Pentos and in Bravos," Wyman turned his head back to Emiya, while the witch gave herself a second to sneer in frustration, "It has been an interesting time in both. We were lucky to avoid the most recent fracas in Bravos itself, but we did see some of the turmoil that was leading up to it," he hoped that would be enough to keep the man from asking them more about what exactly happened in their last adventure. After all, if crows could provide long distance messages, best to get ahead of that.

"Oh, I was more interested in Pentos actually," the lord laughed. Cu blanked, as instead of a walrus there was a large cat now sitting at the middle of the table, "There have been reports of a certain claimant to the throne finally passing from this world," he leaned forward, "There were reports of strange things going on there," Wyman actually leaned toward Cu, his smile definitely catlike now, "Very strange things."

"Yes," Cu coughed, doing his best to keep eye contact, but not "Yes, very strange."

There was a pause.

"Well then," Wyman readjusted himself back into the middle of his seat, "We shall have to wait to find out who did our people such a favor," he turned by to Ritsuka, who nodded, "Though I must ask, if you are mummers, why are you coming here?"

"Cu suggested that it might be good to try and ply our trade," Wyman barked a laugh, but allowed the younger man to continue, "in Winterfell," Ritsuka saw the confusion on Wyman's face, and then quickly added, "He is great friends with Lord Eddard Stark, and we hoped we might be able to introduce ourselves, and begin to work for him for a while."

'Best cover we can come up with,' it had been the agreed on story for when they got to Winterfell itself, 'though it's going to rely on Ritsuka actually pulling off some entertainment out of his ass,' which, when Emiya considered it, was probably why Ritsuka chose this to be their cover in the first place.

Wyman rolled his head to the side, "Oh, well I'm not so sure that Lord Stark will be all that amenable," Ritsuka raised an eyebrow, "There are many compliments one can give Ned Stark, but an lover of art is not one of them," Wyman then quickly raised his hand, "I believe he prefers his stories in ink than in song, if you understand my meaning," that had been what Cu said, though Ritsuka gave the older man a smile, rubbing the back of his head.

"That was a possibility we were considering, Lord Manderly," Ritsuka continued, "Mostly, it is just a starting point, since Ser Cu should be able to help us get in," he leaned forward, "Now, not that I wish to ruin the surprise, but if you could swear to secrecy, I was wondering if I may try and run by my planned first performance with you," Ritsuka just seemed a bit too excited, and Emiya agreed in spirit if nothing else with Jalter, who grabbed her forehead in frustration.

"Oh," Wyman waved his hand, "I know the importance of surprise-"

"So Ser Cu," Emiya was drawn away as Ritsuka continued to keep the conversation with the great lord across from him going, and instead turned to the braided haired girl sitting next to Cu, "It is an honor to meet a man of your standing," she gave a slight tilt of her head, "To believe I would be sitting near a man of such deeds and reputation."

"Yes," Cu coughed, and Emiya had to hold back a laugh.

"That is your son over on there then," she pointed down toward the end of the table, where Colan and Xuanzang were sitting.

"Yes," he was speaking to quickly, "Next to my wife."

"Oh."

Wynafryd became straighter, and Emiya could see out of the corner of his eye a the smile on Wyman's face fall just a hair. It was rather clear what this girl was here to do, just as her likely sister near Colan was attempting something similar. This was a hierarchical society, and if Cu was a close to Eddard Stark as it seemed he was, then Wynafryd marrying Cu would likely be good for their family. Cu being married put an end to that.

'Why it was good for him and Xuan to keep up that charade,' he turned to Mata, who gave him a wave, 'And good for me and Mata to look the same. Less chance of suspicion of us moving around,' he looked down into his cup, 'Much easier to trust me around his wife if Lord Stark already knows I am a father with a beautiful wife.'

…

He put the cup to his lips.

'Think about this shit later,' he decided, as he saw Wyman raise his hands.

"Now, my friends new and old," he clapped his flabby sausage fingers together, "I hope you do not mind if I may call in some music!" the great door at the end of the hall opened, and through the door came around a dozen men in sea green silk, several of them carrying wooden or brass instruments. Emiya looked to his left, and saw that Jeanne Alter looked like she was about to groan audibly, though Ritsuka had placed a hand over hers.

'Good work,' he thought, as the musicians tuned their instruments, and several singers stood out happily, 'Don't want to do anything that might insult Lord Manderly,' he finally tipped back the glass. The wine tasted well enough, though he woul-

"Gather up, all of the crew-"

PFFFBBTTTT

"Thank goodness you were facing Cu when you spat up."

Emiya wanted to strangle his master, and the only thing holding him back was that he was pretty sure if he tried, Cu would go out of his way to strangle him.

It was dark out, well past midnight, when all the servants and Ritsuka had managed to find a meeting place to discuss what had happened. Emiya had been forced to excuse himself after his accident, though since they weren't all in chains, it was good that it did not appear that he had offended Wyman too greatly with his outburst.

'Food likely wasn't good anyway,' Emiya told himself. He could tell by his smelling that the Lamprey Pie had been allowed to steam for too many hours an-

"So I hope he did not take too much offense at me leaving?" he asked. Best not to dwell on his own need to excuse his failure to have a proper etiquette.

"Mostly just mocked you for not being able to "Hold your cups"," Ritsuka gave Emiya a side eye, "Though, just for future reference, you should probably try and apologize," he sighed, "He's decided he's going to join us in heading up to Winterfell," Emiya could see the frustration on several of their faces, in particular the two pirates, with Elizabeth reaching up and grabbing her black hair.

"This dye better not be permanent," she then paused, "though, I do suppose when we get back to Chaldea, our bodies should be returned to normal."

"Hopefully," Jeanne Alter snapped. Of them all, she had the best reason of them all.

"Thank you for handling all the problems I caused," Emiya groaned. At least he had had this little episode in White Harbour and not in Winterfell itself. If he had, he was pretty sure he would have lost quite a bit of standing in front of Artoria. Even in this life, he'd imagine she'd find such behavior irritating. He then looked up, "I just wasn't expecting to hear a One Piece song like that."

"A wh-"
"I know right," Jeanne Alter cut off Ritsuka, "Honesty, it was probably good I wasn't drinking, because if I had been, I'd have done the exact same thing," she then pointed over at Emiya, "Thanks for taking the fall for me, Harem Protagonist."

"Me too," Elizabeth said, raising her hand. Asha looked over at her strangely, causing Elizabeth to shrug, "I got bored, and I wasn't allowed to work with Disney Plus anymore bu-"

"Hold up," Ritsuka raised his hand, "What are you all talking about."

…

"That song is Bink's Sake," Emiya explained, as the rest of the group looked over toward him, "It's a famous song from One Piece."

"One pi-"

"An anime you idiot," Jeanne Alter slammed her head into her palms, "The Anime really. God damn it, you're Japanese, you should know One Piece," she waved her hands out to everyone else, "Unlike the everyone else, it's your country!"

"Look, I'm Japanese American," Ritsuka Fujimaru, with his family name last, declared, crossing his arms, "And I was raised where we understood that cartoons are for kids under twelves so-OWOWOW!"

As Jeanne Alter took out her frustration on her boyfriend, with everyone else taking a few moments to just watch it happen, Emiya rubbed his chin. It was strange. He knew that this place was a constructed world, so a song from an anime appearing shouldn't be that surprising. All it would take would be the one constructing it to simply insert it into the world as a house song, and leave it at that. It had been normal enough that had he not known, he could have likely ignored it.

But, this was a One Piece song. Someone had taken a song from One Piece, and slotted it into the world that already existed, just to fill in a gap of some kind.

'But who would try to do something like that?'