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OMG YOU GUYS IT'S AN UPDATE AND IT'S ALL SHINY AND STUFF.
...
*cough*
So, yes, an update. Chapter 4, at long last! And heavily modified from what I originally had in mind for the story, but in the end, this moment needed a chapter of its own. Damn you for being right, Moczo. Damn you.
Chapter 4: Warmth
“And the world has somehow shifted.”
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The room was dark, and warm; it was still far too early in the morning for the sun to begin rising, to spill any light over the land, and the fact that the drapes of the windows were firmly drawn shut only added more absoluteness to the darkness, as if to deepen it, to ensure that it never went away even when the sun came up.
Things were easier in the darkness, sometimes.
A soft rustling came from the bed, a shifting, a sign of movement and life; deeply tangled between the twisted sheets and her sister’s warm, surprisingly firm grasp, Rin did her best to try and crawl away, keeping as quiet as possible. She was nearly off the side of the bed when a hand reached out, gently catching her wrist.
“Sakura?” She didn’t know why her voice was so soft, so breathless; it was if she feared that if she spoke too loudly, the moment would end. The thought bothered her for some reason, and she didn’t know why.
“Mmmm, Nee-san…” Sakura shifted and curled tightly against her pillow, never opening her eyes. Rin wondered if she was even awake. Slowly, the older girl shifted again, pulling away from her sister’s hand.
Only for the younger girl’s arm to move again in a flash of movement, her fingers closing firmly and gently on her wrist.
…
Either Sakura was awake, or she was really good at sensing when someone was trying to get away from her, even in sleep. Rin licked her lips and tried again. “Sakura?” she asked softly.
The younger girl’s grip on her tightened a little, and she gave her wrist a gentle tug. “Stay.” Her voice was soft, and thick with sleep, but…. There was a pleading tone to it, a request, a whimper.
Please stay. Don’t leave me here alone.
Rin hesitated. Staying wasn’t smart. Staying meant getting attached, talking about it, lingering on how soft and warm and sweet her sister was. Staying meant making things much, much more complicated than they needed to be. Leaving now was best; leaving now would establish distance, establish that this had been for mana, and was a one time thing at best.
“Nee… san?”
Silently, Rin crawled back into her original spot, unable to resist the small, soft smile when Sakura immediately latched onto her and curled tightly around her, murmuring happily in her sleep.
“Don’t worry,” she whispered, lifting a hand to stroke her sister’s hair. “I’ll stay.”
She didn’t know who she was telling to not worry, Sakura or herself.
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At long last, it was time to move.
Saber Alter wasn’t a being meant to feel more than dull rage; she felt no surge of excitement or anticipation, no sharp bite of concern or even the brief entertainment of strategy. No, when all was said and done, Alter was nothing more than a glorified hunting hound, meant only to obey orders as they were given.
And her Master had ordered her to take the small white princess of Einzbern.
“No strategy meeting?”
Saber sounded just a little concerned, a change that caught Alter’s attention. “There is no need,” she said calmly. “I know my orders.”
“Well, it’s all well and good to know your orders, but it’s somewhat pointless if you have no strategy, yes? You have my memories, so you know that Berserker won’t be easy to take down—“
Wordlessly, Alter shouldered the corrupt Excalibur, and was swallowed by the surge of black shadows.
“—Or you could just ignore me.”
Alter didn’t even bother to grace her comment with a response.
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Sakura wasn’t used to waking up with a feeling of warmth and safety; her room in the Matou mansion wasn’t a place where she was meant to feel safe or at home. It was something she had learned years ago, and over time it was something she had come to understand and accept. In the end, not even her own room could offer her a haven from the hell she experienced on a daily basis; her room was the place where it all began, really.
But something was wrong. She was waking up, she was beginning to stir and feeling the faded sunlight against her naked skin, and she felt… warm, safe, protected. Almost loved, somehow. This wasn’t how she normally felt waking up in her room, and it was the first clue to her still groggy mind that something was different, this morning had changed from all the mornings of her past.
That wasn’t the only difference, though. She didn’t feel free, exactly, but her body felt infinitely lighter than it had last night, cooler, somehow more collected and solid, in a sense. It was a strange sensation, and she couldn’t explain why she felt so good physically when her mind was still so cloudy. Maybe it was a new kind of cold?
Yawning and deciding not to worry about it until she had fully woken up, Sakura stretched and blinked groggily, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. Her vision blurred for a moment, then adjusted to the lighting of the room…
And the first thing she saw was long, silky strands of black hair spilling onto her pillow.
Well, now, that was odd. She made it a firm habit of sleeping alone, even when Shinji came in to have his way with her; last she had checked, her hair wasn’t this long, and while it had certainly been black at one point in her life, it was now purple, stained by Matou magic that had been forced onto her unwilling body from childhood. So the hair certainly wasn’t hers, that much she knew.
Which circled right back around to the biggest issue: someone was in bed with her. Someone warm, and soft; someone who definitely preferred cuddling as their method of slumber. But someone nonetheless.
Okay. I won’t panic. I won’t scream. I’ll simply pull the sheets back and politely ask them to leave. If they refuse, I’ll ask Rider to remove them as silently as possible so Nee-san doesn’t hear.
With that in mind, Sakura nodded to herself and glanced down, enough to glimpse the face of the person sleeping beside her.
And, for a moment, could only stare blankly at the peaceful, sleeping face of one Tohsaka Rin, the older girl snuggled against her and, at some point during the night, having managed to bury her face in her sister’s neck.
For a moment, Sakura’s clouded brain sparked and went dead. Why was Rin in her bed? Why was Rin cuddling her? Why was Rin naked? Why was Rin—
Oh. OH.
At long last, the drunken high that had occupied the younger woman’s brain cleared, leaving her with nothing but incredibly vivid memories of what had happened last night. Immediately, Sakura blushed so red that it seemed all of the blood rushed into her face. Right, that’s… that’s why she’s here…
Tentatively, still red enough to make a tomato jealous, Sakura lifted a hand and gently ran it through Rin’s hair. Now that her mind was clear and she could accurately assess how her body felt, she could only conclude that the… mana transfer… had been successful. The fever and sickness she had felt yesterday was gone, replaced with strong, clean energy surging through her blood and making her feel lighter and stronger than she really was.
That was good. Rin would be happy to hear that. She had wanted to help, after all; she would feel better knowing that her suggestion had succeeded. Sakura knew that now was probably the time to wake the older girl up, to let her know that she was okay…
…
…
…
She’d wake her up later. There was no rush. It had never hurt anyone to sleep in a little, right? Being an active Master in the War, Rin needed as much sleep as she could, after all. It was only fair to let her sleep in at least a few minutes.
“Ne, Rider.” Her voice soft so as to not wake her sleeping sister, Sakura continued gently stroking Rin’s hair. “Would you mind doing me a favor?”
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He’d made too much food.
Shirou stared blankly at the breakfast he had prepared, and in the back of his mind realized it was far too much for one person alone to eat. It wasn’t as if he’d done it on purpose; he had simply worked out of habit, making a large breakfast to satisfy the cravings of Taiga, the bottomless pit of Saber, the shyness of Sakura. In a matter of days, he had become used to having many people in his home, many people who demanded food.
Now, he was the only one left in his home.
Taiga would probably be away until the War ended; for all of her playfulness and immaturity, she took her job as a teacher seriously, and did her best to look after her students. She wouldn’t come back to his house until she was absolutely certain that the school was safe, even if his cooking was much better than hers had ever been. When push came to shove, the woman everyone affectionately called Tiger still put duty ahead of her own fun.
Sakura was at Rin’s house now, and she would probably stay there until the War was over, if not long after. It only made sense; they were sisters, and they were working to rebuild the bond they had lost. Shirou hadn’t wanted to interfere with that, and he doubted that Sakura would stay away from his house forever; no doubt when it was safe again, she would visit him as she always had. But she would probably never, ever live in his house again.
Saber was…
His chest clenched painfully before the thought could fully form; grimacing and biting down on his bottom lip, Shirou gripped the edge of the kitchen counter to steady himself, taking a deep breath.
Saber was gone; she was dead. She would never come back. She had only been in his home for a few days, only since the War had started, and her death had been an attempt to keep him from harm. It was the natural cycle of a Servant, one that he shouldn’t have questioned or felt any pain from, but…
I miss her.
Taking another breath, Shirou shook his head and slapped his cheeks, trying to shake off the emotions he felt. Now wasn’t the time to grieve. Perhaps when the War was over and the threat of Zouken was destroyed, he would take the time to honestly grieve for the partner he had lost. But right now, in her memory and to protect Sakura, he couldn’t afford to be overwhelmed.
His mind cleared, the red-haired boy once again found himself gazing at far more food than he could ever possibly eat by himself.
“… I suppose I can wrap some of it and save it for later,” he said at last. It would make just as much sense to throw some of it away, but he hated to waste so much good food. Besides, perhaps he could bring the rest over to Rin’s house? She would probably appreciate it, and it would be a good chance for him to check on Sakura.
“Shirou.”
His heart jumped into his throat. He knew that voice; he knew that tone. Cool, businesslike, almost emotionless to someone who didn’t know her; but beneath it all, whenever she said his name, that small trace of amusement and affection, genuine caring for the boy she had formed a contract with. He turned. “Sab—“
She was taller than him. He had never noticed that before, but with her standing right in front of him, Shirou could now see that she stood a good few inches above him. Her pale purple hair swished silently at her hip, blindfolded eyes meeting his in a gaze he felt even though he couldn’t see her face. And always present, always there, was the scent of blood.
“—Rider.” Reality crashed into Shirou like a speeding train, and he could only hope the tall Servant hadn’t noticed his brief lapse.
… Um, why is she in my house?
As if sensing the question that had crossed his mind, Rider spoke. “It was Sakura’s request that I check on you. She was worried about your wellbeing.”
Despite himself, Shirou smiled softly. Yes, that certainly sounded like Sakura; even when she was in danger, she would worry more about other people than she ever would about herself. And deep down, he was happy that even though she couldn’t leave Rin’s house on her own to visit him, she had thought to send Rider.
Even if, for a crazy moment, he had thought she was Saber.
“I see,” he managed, noticing that she was expecting some kind of response from him. He rubbed the back of his neck, then managed a smile that she could see. “Thank you for coming Rider. I appreciate it.” He hesitated. “But…”
Rider shifted from foot to foot. “Yes?”
“Um…” How exactly did he say this without sounding rude? “The accent you just used to say my name. I’d like it better if you pronounced my name the right way.”
“Right way…?”
There was a moment of silence; Rider surprised Shirou by actually seeming to think it over, bringing a hand to her mouth in contemplation. The boy, meanwhile, stood there silently; he hadn’t expected the black Servant to heed his request, much less think about how she should heed his request. He was further surprised when he heard her mumbling softly under her breath.
“Sh.. Shirou… no, um… Shirou… Shirou… Shirou… Shirou.” She nodded to herself after a moment, then repeated his name one last time to herself, as if confirming it, before looking at him again. “Is that better?”
Shirou swallowed a little. What had just happened? For a moment there, Rider had been… well…. Cute. Who had ever thought that the tall, agile Servant dressed in black and smelling of blood would be so eager to appease his request?
I guess she’s just really awkward around people…
“Yeah, that’s much better. Thank you.” He bowed his head in thanks.
“Please, don’t thank me.” Rider waved her hand, as if dismissing it. “You didn’t like the way I said your name. It’s only fair that you would ask me to correct it.”
Lifting his head, Shirou chuckled and turned his back to the Servant, putting some of the food he had made on a plate. “It’s not that I didn’t like it,” he murmured. “It’s just that, I prefer you say my name correctly.”
That’s right. The only person I ever wanted to call me like that… she’s the only one who had that right.
Rider might have nodded, or made some small sound of agreement or understanding; Shirou wasn’t quite sure, with his back to her. All he was aware of was that several minutes passed as he finished setting the table, and the lilac-haired woman was still in his kitchen, watching him. He couldn’t tell if she was still under orders at this point, or if she just was unsure about leaving him alone.
Finally, he untied his apron and hung it up in the kitchen, prepared to eat. He paused for a moment, then glanced at Rider. “Ne, Rider.”
“Yes?”
“Would you like to stay for breakfast?”
There was a pause as Rider seemed to consider this; deep down, Shirou was prepared for her to say no. She was a Servant, with a fully formed contract with her Master; unlike Saber, she had no reason to eat food. It would make sense for her to turn down his offer.
So he was shocked when he noticed a small, barely noticeable smile curve her lips. “Since you asked so nicely.”
Shirou blinked. “Rider…”
“Yes?”
“Did you just smile?”
And as quickly as it had appeared, her smile was gone. “I did no such thing.”
Shirou decided to not push his luck.
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It wasn’t unusual for Rin to be slow at waking up. Even when she had been under threat of school and maintaining her perfect school idol image, she had never been quick to roll out of bed and start the day. It had always escaped her mind as to why anyone would be so eager to jump out of a warm, soft bed into the cold air.
This morning in particular was especially good. Her bed felt incredibly warm and extremely soft and smooth, even if the sensation against her body didn’t exactly match her bed. Ah, well. Maybe she had fallen asleep in one of the other empty rooms in the house; it wasn’t unusual…
Something soft tickled her nose. She grunted softly and shifted, trying to get away from it, but she still felt the soft thing against her cheek. In and of itself not a bad sensation, but certainly very odd, and enough to stir her cloudy mind into waking. Grumbling, she opened her eyes, squinting against the faint sunlight.
“Good morning, Nee-san.” Sakura’s voice was warm, somewhere close to her ear. In her still waking state, Rin didn’t find it odd.
She yawned and stretched, like a cat in a patch of sunlight. “Morning, Sakura.” She rubbed her eyes sleepily with the back of her hand, then blinked.
Wait.
Was Sakura in her… no, this wasn’t her bed, it felt different, so that meant… that she…
Why am I in Sakura’s bed?
Her now fully awoken mind noticed something else odd. Namely, that she was completely naked—how had her skirt ended up on a lamp?—and her hair was free from the usual ribbons that tied it back. Very slowly, she shifted.
Sakura was pressed against her side, lightly hugging her pillow, gazing at her sister with purple eyes that were both loving and nervous.
She was also naked.
And at long last, her mind connected all of the dots.
Slowly, Rin opened her mouth; she intended to say something, she knew that, but the only sound that came out was a small squeak. The two sisters stared at each other for a good, long moment. The silence stretched on, and seemed to have no end. Finally, noticing something red dangling from the ceiling, she slowly lifted her eyes and blinked.
… I didn’t know Sakura’s room had a ceiling fan. At least now she knew where her sweater had gone off to.
Rin’s eyes lowered; once again, they stared at each other. After a long moment, she coughed. “Um… your clothes are…”
Sakura gestured to her side of the bed, where her clothes were neatly folded.
“… Right.” Trying her hardest to not blush at the implications, Rin took a deep breath. She would be calm and composed about this. Her voice came out as a breathless, high-pitched squeak. “So, um… breakfast?”
Sakura latched onto the suggestion like it was a lifeline, nodding frantically and murmuring a soft “That sounds good” as she shifted and pulled the sheets back, reaching for her clothes. Blushing and hastily ripping her eyes away from her sister’s form, Rin grabbed her skirt from the lamp, then once again lifted her eyes to the ceiling.
… How do I get my shirt down?
Sighing and rubbing her eyes, she sat up and shifted, standing to her full height and reaching up to grasp the red material, hoping it wouldn’t rip. In the meantime, still getting dressed herself, Sakura saw the blur of flesh out of the corner of her eye; unable to resist, she hesitantly peeked back over her shoulder, letting her eyes linger…
Then hastily snapped her gaze back around when Rin glanced at her, her cheeks burning hot enough to burst into flames. She heard a grunt and felt the bed squeaking under her, but she dared not look back, not for an instant; how would she explain if Rin caught her peeking?
…
Her eyes slowly crept back to her sister’s naked figure before she caught herself again and jerked away, yanking on her shirt with unneeded savagery.
After a moment, Rin groaned. “Sakura?”
“Yes, Nee-san?”
“Where are my stockings?”
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“S-so, um, you… you have enough mana now, right?”
Rin was the one who broke the silence, her voice still far too strained and nervous to be considered her natural tone. She and Sakura sat back-to-back on the bed, the purple-haired girl staring resolutely at the wall as her sister finished dressing, having finally found all of her clothes after a brief hunt through the bedroom.
Very slowly, judging it was safe, Sakura glanced back at Rin; the older girl wasn’t looking at her, but to her relief, she was fully dressed, simply tying her ribbons back into her hair. She cleared her throat. “I-I’m fine, Nee-san,” she managed. “I… feel much better than I did before. So I… I think.. it w-worked.”
At that, they both blushed. Saying it had ‘worked’ was hardly the right word to describe what had happened last night.
Rin finished tying her ribbons and tossed her hair back. “Well, I’m glad,” she managed, running her hand through her black strands. “It would have been bad if we had failed.”
Sakura’s blush deepened, and she clasped her hands together. “I don’t think we could have failed,” she murmured. “You’re… a very strong magus, Nee-san. You had plenty of mana.”
It sounded calm, almost clinical in describing what had happened. It didn’t make their blushes fade a bit.
Rin cleared her throat and hastily stood up, moving so fast that Sakura jumped and looked at her in surprise. “So! Breakfast! It’s late, and you can’t work on an empty stomach, right? We should get started now!”
Baffled, Sakura slowly nodded and stood up, smoothing out her skirt. Figuring the issue was resolved, at least for the time being, she headed for the door.
… Dammit. “Sakura.”
She paused, glancing back. “Yes?”
“It was, um…” Rin hesitated, cursed herself, then sighed, running her hand through her hair again; a nervous habit she had never known she had. “I, uh… I hope last night was… good… for you.” She practically spit the words out, relieved when her returning blush didn’t get any deeper. “I’d never had sex before last night.”
For a long moment, the two sisters stared at each other again. Finally, understanding what Rin was doing, Sakura giggled softly and smiled at the older girl; a true, honest, amused smile.
“Don’t worry, Nee-san. Before last night, I’d never had sex with a girl.”
With that, looking as if she glowed with the sun’s radiance, Sakura headed out of the bedroom and downstairs. Dimly, in the back of her mind, Rin realized she had to move quickly if she wanted to claim breakfast making rights and make things fair, so the cooking was split between the two of them as she had intended.
But for a good minute or two she simply stood there, dumbstruck by the genuine warmth she had seen in Sakura’s smile and, quite suddenly, feeling as if butterflies had come alive and were fluttering about in her chest and stomach.
FF.net linkage. (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6457747/4/)
As A Result of Bad Planning (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=3241975&postcount=84)
The Contradiction of Tohsaka Rin (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=3243657&postcount=91)
The Situation of Matou Sakura (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=3303189&postcount=205)
Very nice chapter as usual, Beams. The character interaction was just golden; Rin's shyness, Sakura's easy acceptance, Rider's utterly adorable little attempt to socialize, all of it just made me melt. And the image of Rin hunting for her clothes is just... well, silly but so in-character I couldn't mind at all. :D There were some darker moments in among it all... poor Shirou, all alone at breakfast. And let's not get started on Saber!... but overall, this was just a fluffy, warm, wonderfully uplifting chapter. I'm glad you agreed with my advice because yeah... the angsty moments certain to come really don't fit with such touching scenes.
Wonderful as always, and I can't wait to see more.
And I noticed that stocking scene at the end. Don't think I didn't. :D
Kuroi Hadou
2011-02-17, 22:43
OMG YOU GUYS IT'S AN UPDATE AND IT'S ALL SHINY AND STUFF.
...
*cough*
So, yes, an update. Chapter 4, at long last! And heavily modified from what I originally had in mind for the story, but in the end, this moment needed a chapter of its own. Damn you for being right, Moczo. Damn you.
Chapter 4: Warmth
“And the world has somehow shifted.”
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The room was dark, and warm; it was still far too early in the morning for the sun to begin rising, to spill any light over the land, and the fact that the drapes of the windows were firmly drawn shut only added more absoluteness to the darkness, as if to deepen it, to ensure that it never went away even when the sun came up.
Things were easier in the darkness, sometimes.
A soft rustling came from the bed, a shifting, a sign of movement and life; deeply tangled between the twisted sheets and her sister’s warm, surprisingly firm grasp, Rin did her best to try and crawl away, keeping as quiet as possible. She was nearly off the side of the bed when a hand reached out, gently catching her wrist.
“Sakura?” She didn’t know why her voice was so soft, so breathless; it was if she feared that if she spoke too loudly, the moment would end. The thought bothered her for some reason, and she didn’t know why.
“Mmmm, Nee-san…” Sakura shifted and curled tightly against her pillow, never opening her eyes. Rin wondered if she was even awake. Slowly, the older girl shifted again, pulling away from her sister’s hand.
Only for the younger girl’s arm to move again in a flash of movement, her fingers closing firmly and gently on her wrist.
…
Either Sakura was awake, or she was really good at sensing when someone was trying to get away from her, even in sleep. Rin licked her lips and tried again. “Sakura?” she asked softly.
The younger girl’s grip on her tightened a little, and she gave her wrist a gentle tug. “Stay.” Her voice was soft, and thick with sleep, but…. There was a pleading tone to it, a request, a whimper.
Please stay. Don’t leave me here alone.
Rin hesitated. Staying wasn’t smart. Staying meant getting attached, talking about it, lingering on how soft and warm and sweet her sister was. Staying meant making things much, much more complicated than they needed to be. Leaving now was best; leaving now would establish distance, establish that this had been for mana, and was a one time thing at best.
“Nee… san?”
Silently, Rin crawled back into her original spot, unable to resist the small, soft smile when Sakura immediately latched onto her and curled tightly around her, murmuring happily in her sleep.
“Don’t worry,” she whispered, lifting a hand to stroke her sister’s hair. “I’ll stay.”
She didn’t know who she was telling to not worry, Sakura or herself.
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At long last, it was time to move.
Saber Alter wasn’t a being meant to feel more than dull rage; she felt no surge of excitement or anticipation, no sharp bite of concern or even the brief entertainment of strategy. No, when all was said and done, Alter was nothing more than a glorified hunting hound, meant only to obey orders as they were given.
And her Master had ordered her to take the small white princess of Einzbern.
“No strategy meeting?”
Saber sounded just a little concerned, a change that caught Alter’s attention. “There is no need,” she said calmly. “I know my orders.”
“Well, it’s all well and good to know your orders, but it’s somewhat pointless if you have no strategy, yes? You have my memories, so you know that Berserker won’t be easy to take down—“
Wordlessly, Alter shouldered the corrupt Excalibur, and was swallowed by the surge of black shadows.
“—Or you could just ignore me.”
Alter didn’t even bother to grace her comment with a response.
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Sakura wasn’t used to waking up with a feeling of warmth and safety; her room in the Matou mansion wasn’t a place where she was meant to feel safe or at home. It was something she had learned years ago, and over time it was something she had come to understand and accept. In the end, not even her own room could offer her a haven from the hell she experienced on a daily basis; her room was the place where it all began, really.
But something was wrong. She was waking up, she was beginning to stir and feeling the faded sunlight against her naked skin, and she felt… warm, safe, protected. Almost loved, somehow. This wasn’t how she normally felt waking up in her room, and it was the first clue to her still groggy mind that something was different, this morning had changed from all the mornings of her past.
That wasn’t the only difference, though. She didn’t feel free, exactly, but her body felt infinitely lighter than it had last night, cooler, somehow more collected and solid, in a sense. It was a strange sensation, and she couldn’t explain why she felt so good physically when her mind was still so cloudy. Maybe it was a new kind of cold?
Yawning and deciding not to worry about it until she had fully woken up, Sakura stretched and blinked groggily, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. Her vision blurred for a moment, then adjusted to the lighting of the room…
And the first thing she saw was long, silky strands of black hair spilling onto her pillow.
Well, now, that was odd. She made it a firm habit of sleeping alone, even when Shinji came in to have his way with her; last she had checked, her hair wasn’t this long, and while it had certainly been black at one point in her life, it was now purple, stained by Matou magic that had been forced onto her unwilling body from childhood. So the hair certainly wasn’t hers, that much she knew.
Which circled right back around to the biggest issue: someone was in bed with her. Someone warm, and soft; someone who definitely preferred cuddling as their method of slumber. But someone nonetheless.
Okay. I won’t panic. I won’t scream. I’ll simply pull the sheets back and politely ask them to leave. If they refuse, I’ll ask Rider to remove them as silently as possible so Nee-san doesn’t hear.
With that in mind, Sakura nodded to herself and glanced down, enough to glimpse the face of the person sleeping beside her.
And, for a moment, could only stare blankly at the peaceful, sleeping face of one Tohsaka Rin, the older girl snuggled against her and, at some point during the night, having managed to bury her face in her sister’s neck.
For a moment, Sakura’s clouded brain sparked and went dead. Why was Rin in her bed? Why was Rin cuddling her? Why was Rin naked? Why was Rin—
Oh. OH.
At long last, the drunken high that had occupied the younger woman’s brain cleared, leaving her with nothing but incredibly vivid memories of what had happened last night. Immediately, Sakura blushed so red that it seemed all of the blood rushed into her face. Right, that’s… that’s why she’s here…
Tentatively, still red enough to make a tomato jealous, Sakura lifted a hand and gently ran it through Rin’s hair. Now that her mind was clear and she could accurately assess how her body felt, she could only conclude that the… mana transfer… had been successful. The fever and sickness she had felt yesterday was gone, replaced with strong, clean energy surging through her blood and making her feel lighter and stronger than she really was.
That was good. Rin would be happy to hear that. She had wanted to help, after all; she would feel better knowing that her suggestion had succeeded. Sakura knew that now was probably the time to wake the older girl up, to let her know that she was okay…
…
…
…
She’d wake her up later. There was no rush. It had never hurt anyone to sleep in a little, right? Being an active Master in the War, Rin needed as much sleep as she could, after all. It was only fair to let her sleep in at least a few minutes.
“Ne, Rider.” Her voice soft so as to not wake her sleeping sister, Sakura continued gently stroking Rin’s hair. “Would you mind doing me a favor?”
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He’d made too much food.
Shirou stared blankly at the breakfast he had prepared, and in the back of his mind realized it was far too much for one person alone to eat. It wasn’t as if he’d done it on purpose; he had simply worked out of habit, making a large breakfast to satisfy the cravings of Taiga, the bottomless pit of Saber, the shyness of Sakura. In a matter of days, he had become used to having many people in his home, many people who demanded food.
Now, he was the only one left in his home.
Taiga would probably be away until the War ended; for all of her playfulness and immaturity, she took her job as a teacher seriously, and did her best to look after her students. She wouldn’t come back to his house until she was absolutely certain that the school was safe, even if his cooking was much better than hers had ever been. When push came to shove, the woman everyone affectionately called Tiger still put duty ahead of her own fun.
Sakura was at Rin’s house now, and she would probably stay there until the War was over, if not long after. It only made sense; they were sisters, and they were working to rebuild the bond they had lost. Shirou hadn’t wanted to interfere with that, and he doubted that Sakura would stay away from his house forever; no doubt when it was safe again, she would visit him as she always had. But she would probably never, ever live in his house again.
Saber was…
His chest clenched painfully before the thought could fully form; grimacing and biting down on his bottom lip, Shirou gripped the edge of the kitchen counter to steady himself, taking a deep breath.
Saber was gone; she was dead. She would never come back. She had only been in his home for a few days, only since the War had started, and her death had been an attempt to keep him from harm. It was the natural cycle of a Servant, one that he shouldn’t have questioned or felt any pain from, but…
I miss her.
Taking another breath, Shirou shook his head and slapped his cheeks, trying to shake off the emotions he felt. Now wasn’t the time to grieve. Perhaps when the War was over and the threat of Zouken was destroyed, he would take the time to honestly grieve for the partner he had lost. But right now, in her memory and to protect Sakura, he couldn’t afford to be overwhelmed.
His mind cleared, the red-haired boy once again found himself gazing at far more food than he could ever possibly eat by himself.
“… I suppose I can wrap some of it and save it for later,” he said at last. It would make just as much sense to throw some of it away, but he hated to waste so much good food. Besides, perhaps he could bring the rest over to Rin’s house? She would probably appreciate it, and it would be a good chance for him to check on Sakura.
“Shirou.”
His heart jumped into his throat. He knew that voice; he knew that tone. Cool, businesslike, almost emotionless to someone who didn’t know her; but beneath it all, whenever she said his name, that small trace of amusement and affection, genuine caring for the boy she had formed a contract with. He turned. “Sab—“
She was taller than him. He had never noticed that before, but with her standing right in front of him, Shirou could now see that she stood a good few inches above him. Her pale purple hair swished silently at her hip, blindfolded eyes meeting his in a gaze he felt even though he couldn’t see her face. And always present, always there, was the scent of blood.
“—Rider.” Reality crashed into Shirou like a speeding train, and he could only hope the tall Servant hadn’t noticed his brief lapse.
… Um, why is she in my house?
As if sensing the question that had crossed his mind, Rider spoke. “It was Sakura’s request that I check on you. She was worried about your wellbeing.”
Despite himself, Shirou smiled softly. Yes, that certainly sounded like Sakura; even when she was in danger, she would worry more about other people than she ever would about herself. And deep down, he was happy that even though she couldn’t leave Rin’s house on her own to visit him, she had thought to send Rider.
Even if, for a crazy moment, he had thought she was Saber.
“I see,” he managed, noticing that she was expecting some kind of response from him. He rubbed the back of his neck, then managed a smile that she could see. “Thank you for coming Rider. I appreciate it.” He hesitated. “But…”
Rider shifted from foot to foot. “Yes?”
“Um…” How exactly did he say this without sounding rude? “The accent you just used to say my name. I’d like it better if you pronounced my name the right way.”
“Right way…?”
There was a moment of silence; Rider surprised Shirou by actually seeming to think it over, bringing a hand to her mouth in contemplation. The boy, meanwhile, stood there silently; he hadn’t expected the black Servant to heed his request, much less think about how she should heed his request. He was further surprised when he heard her mumbling softly under her breath.
“Sh.. Shirou… no, um… Shirou… Shirou… Shirou… Shirou.” She nodded to herself after a moment, then repeated his name one last time to herself, as if confirming it, before looking at him again. “Is that better?”
Shirou swallowed a little. What had just happened? For a moment there, Rider had been… well…. Cute. Who had ever thought that the tall, agile Servant dressed in black and smelling of blood would be so eager to appease his request?
I guess she’s just really awkward around people…
“Yeah, that’s much better. Thank you.” He bowed his head in thanks.
“Please, don’t thank me.” Rider waved her hand, as if dismissing it. “You didn’t like the way I said your name. It’s only fair that you would ask me to correct it.”
Lifting his head, Shirou chuckled and turned his back to the Servant, putting some of the food he had made on a plate. “It’s not that I didn’t like it,” he murmured. “It’s just that, I prefer you say my name correctly.”
That’s right. The only person I ever wanted to call me like that… she’s the only one who had that right.
Rider might have nodded, or made some small sound of agreement or understanding; Shirou wasn’t quite sure, with his back to her. All he was aware of was that several minutes passed as he finished setting the table, and the lilac-haired woman was still in his kitchen, watching him. He couldn’t tell if she was still under orders at this point, or if she just was unsure about leaving him alone.
Finally, he untied his apron and hung it up in the kitchen, prepared to eat. He paused for a moment, then glanced at Rider. “Ne, Rider.”
“Yes?”
“Would you like to stay for breakfast?”
There was a pause as Rider seemed to consider this; deep down, Shirou was prepared for her to say no. She was a Servant, with a fully formed contract with her Master; unlike Saber, she had no reason to eat food. It would make sense for her to turn down his offer.
So he was shocked when he noticed a small, barely noticeable smile curve her lips. “Since you asked so nicely.”
Shirou blinked. “Rider…”
“Yes?”
“Did you just smile?”
And as quickly as it had appeared, her smile was gone. “I did no such thing.”
Shirou decided to not push his luck.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
It wasn’t unusual for Rin to be slow at waking up. Even when she had been under threat of school and maintaining her perfect school idol image, she had never been quick to roll out of bed and start the day. It had always escaped her mind as to why anyone would be so eager to jump out of a warm, soft bed into the cold air.
This morning in particular was especially good. Her bed felt incredibly warm and extremely soft and smooth, even if the sensation against her body didn’t exactly match her bed. Ah, well. Maybe she had fallen asleep in one of the other empty rooms in the house; it wasn’t unusual…
Something soft tickled her nose. She grunted softly and shifted, trying to get away from it, but she still felt the soft thing against her cheek. In and of itself not a bad sensation, but certainly very odd, and enough to stir her cloudy mind into waking. Grumbling, she opened her eyes, squinting against the faint sunlight.
“Good morning, Nee-san.” Sakura’s voice was warm, somewhere close to her ear. In her still waking state, Rin didn’t find it odd.
She yawned and stretched, like a cat in a patch of sunlight. “Morning, Sakura.” She rubbed her eyes sleepily with the back of her hand, then blinked.
Wait.
Was Sakura in her… no, this wasn’t her bed, it felt different, so that meant… that she…
Why am I in Sakura’s bed?
Her now fully awoken mind noticed something else odd. Namely, that she was completely naked—how had her skirt ended up on a lamp?—and her hair was free from the usual ribbons that tied it back. Very slowly, she shifted.
Sakura was pressed against her side, lightly hugging her pillow, gazing at her sister with purple eyes that were both loving and nervous.
She was also naked.
And at long last, her mind connected all of the dots.
Slowly, Rin opened her mouth; she intended to say something, she knew that, but the only sound that came out was a small squeak. The two sisters stared at each other for a good, long moment. The silence stretched on, and seemed to have no end. Finally, noticing something red dangling from the ceiling, she slowly lifted her eyes and blinked.
… I didn’t know Sakura’s room had a ceiling fan. At least now she knew where her sweater had gone off to.
Rin’s eyes lowered; once again, they stared at each other. After a long moment, she coughed. “Um… your clothes are…”
Sakura gestured to her side of the bed, where her clothes were neatly folded.
“… Right.” Trying her hardest to not blush at the implications, Rin took a deep breath. She would be calm and composed about this. Her voice came out as a breathless, high-pitched squeak. “So, um… breakfast?”
Sakura latched onto the suggestion like it was a lifeline, nodding frantically and murmuring a soft “That sounds good” as she shifted and pulled the sheets back, reaching for her clothes. Blushing and hastily ripping her eyes away from her sister’s form, Rin grabbed her skirt from the lamp, then once again lifted her eyes to the ceiling.
… How do I get my shirt down?
Sighing and rubbing her eyes, she sat up and shifted, standing to her full height and reaching up to grasp the red material, hoping it wouldn’t rip. In the meantime, still getting dressed herself, Sakura saw the blur of flesh out of the corner of her eye; unable to resist, she hesitantly peeked back over her shoulder, letting her eyes linger…
Then hastily snapped her gaze back around when Rin glanced at her, her cheeks burning hot enough to burst into flames. She heard a grunt and felt the bed squeaking under her, but she dared not look back, not for an instant; how would she explain if Rin caught her peeking?
…
Her eyes slowly crept back to her sister’s naked figure before she caught herself again and jerked away, yanking on her shirt with unneeded savagery.
After a moment, Rin groaned. “Sakura?”
“Yes, Nee-san?”
“Where are my stockings?”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
“S-so, um, you… you have enough mana now, right?”
Rin was the one who broke the silence, her voice still far too strained and nervous to be considered her natural tone. She and Sakura sat back-to-back on the bed, the purple-haired girl staring resolutely at the wall as her sister finished dressing, having finally found all of her clothes after a brief hunt through the bedroom.
Very slowly, judging it was safe, Sakura glanced back at Rin; the older girl wasn’t looking at her, but to her relief, she was fully dressed, simply tying her ribbons back into her hair. She cleared her throat. “I-I’m fine, Nee-san,” she managed. “I… feel much better than I did before. So I… I think.. it w-worked.”
At that, they both blushed. Saying it had ‘worked’ was hardly the right word to describe what had happened last night.
Rin finished tying her ribbons and tossed her hair back. “Well, I’m glad,” she managed, running her hand through her black strands. “It would have been bad if we had failed.”
Sakura’s blush deepened, and she clasped her hands together. “I don’t think we could have failed,” she murmured. “You’re… a very strong magus, Nee-san. You had plenty of mana.”
It sounded calm, almost clinical in describing what had happened. It didn’t make their blushes fade a bit.
Rin cleared her throat and hastily stood up, moving so fast that Sakura jumped and looked at her in surprise. “So! Breakfast! It’s late, and you can’t work on an empty stomach, right? We should get started now!”
Baffled, Sakura slowly nodded and stood up, smoothing out her skirt. Figuring the issue was resolved, at least for the time being, she headed for the door.
… Dammit. “Sakura.”
She paused, glancing back. “Yes?”
“It was, um…” Rin hesitated, cursed herself, then sighed, running her hand through her hair again; a nervous habit she had never known she had. “I, uh… I hope last night was… good… for you.” She practically spit the words out, relieved when her returning blush didn’t get any deeper. “I’d never had sex before last night.”
For a long moment, the two sisters stared at each other again. Finally, understanding what Rin was doing, Sakura giggled softly and smiled at the older girl; a true, honest, amused smile.
“Don’t worry, Nee-san. Before last night, I’d never had sex with a girl.”
With that, looking as if she glowed with the sun’s radiance, Sakura headed out of the bedroom and downstairs. Dimly, in the back of her mind, Rin realized she had to move quickly if she wanted to claim breakfast making rights and make things fair, so the cooking was split between the two of them as she had intended.
But for a good minute or two she simply stood there, dumbstruck by the genuine warmth she had seen in Sakura’s smile and, quite suddenly, feeling as if butterflies had come alive and were fluttering about in her chest and stomach.
FF.net linkage. (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6457747/4/)
As A Result of Bad Planning (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=3241975&postcount=84)
The Contradiction of Tohsaka Rin (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=3243657&postcount=91)
The Situation of Matou Sakura (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=3303189&postcount=205)
I think I just felt hell freeze over.:p
Nice chapter, by the way.:) Almost worth the wait.:p
DezoPenguin
2011-02-18, 00:03
RAIN! :D
You know, nothing more really needs to be said. :)
It's good for business because it'll keep those people interested...maybe.
Actually, I was thinking storyline-wise. If you're a HF/Sakura fan then you can't help but perceive Sakura's absence in Fate/UBW to be kind of like a middle finger to everything Fate/UBW stand for (which are the exact opposite to HF). Shirou banging on about ideals and saving the world appears horribly ineffective or pointless when you consider Sakura is still sufferring. It's as if it's proof that Shirou's ideals don't really work in it's application. This is from an HF/Sakura fans perspective, mind you.
Great update. Mostly a breather episode, but with some very touching moments. I laughed at the way Rin managed to scatter her cloths while Sakura's were so neatly folded.
*wrinkles brow in accusation*
Are you setting up Shirou/Rider?!?!
More when you can.
EDITED: because I always find something spelled wrong /after/ posting it.
RadiantBeam
2011-02-18, 13:14
*wrinkles brow in accusation*
Are you setting up Shirou/Rider?!?!
Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe. :innocent:
Flere821
2011-02-18, 20:47
Nice to see another chapter of Rain :) I'd like to comment more on the specifics, but I'm too overwhelmed by the WAFF right now ^.^;
RadiantBeam
2011-02-18, 22:18
I'd like to comment more on the specifics, but I'm too overwhelmed by the WAFF right now ^.^;
Mission accomplished. :cool:
Cherry_Lover
2011-02-19, 21:26
Yeah, very nice chapter. I love the interactions between Rin and Sakura, and how Rin's heart keeps getting the better of the part of her that is saying "no, I have to act like a proper magus".
So, yeah, definite WAFF from this chapter....
Also, I do like where you're heading with Shirou. Shirou x Rider isn't a pairing I would normally condone, because I simply can't see it forming due to how much Rider cares for Sakura and her well-being, but with Sakura paired with Rin here it fits perfectly.
I'm not quite done with this part just yet; this is what I have for it so far.
Part 4
It was the silence.
I had been at the Emiya-tei by myself before, on more than one occasion. At the time, I seemed to find at least one thing to focus my mind on, to the point that I hardly noticed the lack of sound around me.
Or, maybe... that wasn't it. Maybe it was more like the peace and quiet I found there was in such contrast to what awaited me back at the Matou residence, that I found it to be more of a relief than anything.
I'm not sure which was true; maybe they both were.
Things had been different after the seihai sensou, of course; now the Matou-tei was quiet, save for the occasional weak greeting that nii-san would make when he passed by, or the shuffling I would hear once in a while when Grandfather was going to and from... wherever he was taking himself recently.
Up until last month, it had been the opposite; the Emiya-tei was filled with sound, or so it seemed to me at least.
It had reached a crescendo last month, as the final preparations for the departure came to pass.
Even so, while voices carried to and fro, while footsteps left their aural imprint upon the wooden floors, while the air was charged with the efforts of the living... it didn't feel like it was really happening.
It was only then, after I had left the airport to wish them well on their new journey, after I stepped into this place for the first time, after Fujimura-sensei went on her own way home...
...that the silence hit me.
Sempai, nee-san and Saber-san were going to London.
And all that was left in their wake was silence.
------
BGM: Trevor Morris – Anne’s Premonition (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6slx1MEjKY)
The creature stood in a clearing in the midst of the darkened jungle, its left claw-like hand locked in a vice-like grip around the throat of its most recently-deceased victim, its feral eyes taking in the sight of the full moon surrounded by the glittering stars in the clear night sky above.
It had staked a claim to surroundings such as this before; in other parts of the world, seeking prey among any number of potential victims; all but a few able to even summon a weak murmur, let alone to scream, in order to give voice to their terror.
It had no fear of any mortal being on this Earth; and held little regard for most of its immortal kindred, for that matter. Few individuals, of either bent, had attempted to lay this entity low; none had been left with more than a broken, drained carcass left as an example for others not to follow. Such efforts had caused certain members of its most favoured prey-species to place it upon the list of their kind’s most dire foes; though it chafed at the position it had been granted among those it grudgingly referred to as its “peers”.
And yet…
It had seen into the mind of this latest prey; one who had stood apart from the others of his kind who had been escorting, or perhaps shepherding, him in the last moments before their mutual demise. There, in the surprisingly less-than-shallow recesses of the victim’s consciousness, it had found an unseen filament tying it to some other presence in this land. Something different, foreign, alien, was nearby; almost as if it lay in waiting, for any who dared encroach upon its sovereignty.
The creature, casting the hollowed-out shell to one side, turned its head towards what it sensed to be the hidden entrance to the alien’s lair; then, in a motion which would have been impossible for the victim’s eyes to even follow had they still functioned, the creature entered a preternatural, almost ghost-like state as it carried itself onwards.
Soon it found itself approaching a circular portal, somehow embedded in a rock face despite having no apparent physical presence therein. Still, the creature recognised it for what it was’ the entrance it sought.
Heady from the fresh blood still between its fangs, a feeling which cast its already-tenuous sense of restraint to the wind, it dove through to face what lay upon the other side.
When it emerged through the other end, it took one moment for it to get its bearings, a second to register the deep sub-conscious chill it felt from the unfamiliar environment it had rashly exposed itself to, and a third to focus its gaze upon the One which sat in the centre of this crystalline reality.
It was in that third, terrible moment, when the creature felt something it had not sensed in all the years since that fateful day it had been turned by its ancient progenitor.
An inexorable sense that cast out all others in its path, during the final few seconds of its existence, as the groundswell of energy coalesced around the One before being unleashed in the creature’s direction.
A final reminder that, for all its temporal power, it too proved all too mortal.
Fear.
------
September 14, 2005
Seonac’s eyelids shot open as he found himself gasping for air. A hand he had not remembered moving was pressed against his chest, as if trying to carry out a sub-conscious will to breathe in that first gulp of fresh oxygen. His other hand shook, as he tried to move it to one side, trying to place it as a lever with which he could try to force himself upright.
After a few desperate breaths, during which he managed to sit up on the bed, he felt… whatever it was that had startled him begin to subside. With each deeper, more measured breath, he felt his mind wind down from panic mode and towards a more stable degree of lucidity.
“What was…” he voiced to no-one in particular, as he found himself struggling to understand what had just caused him to wake in such a manner. There were times when he would wake, the memory of his dreams lingering long enough for him to try and process them; this, alas, was not one of them.
He took the hand which had helped him up and held it to his face, wiping his eyelids to try and adjust to the morning light. When his eyes opened again, he turned them to the face of the alarm clock on a nearby shelf; it wouldn’t go off for another hour or so. “Just my luck,” he sighed quietly, “but I guess I don’t have to rush over to it this morning.”
He shifted to the side of the bed, and reached over to the mobile phone on his bedside table. To his surprise, there were already a couple of fresh messages he had received earlier that morning. Looks like I wasn’t the only one up earlier than usual, he thought to himself.
The first message he opened was short, and to the point; even so, it was enough to draw the first smile of the day.
“’Happy birthday’, is it?” Seonac said. “Well… I’ll see what I can do.”
------
“Good morning, Seo- dear God, what happened to you?”
Mike stood near Waver’s desk, as the two watched the younger Irishman enter the room. “Did you not get any sleep last night, or something?”
“I think so,” Seonac answered, trying to stifle a yawn. “Just not enough of it, or so it would seem.”
Mike crossed his armed, frowning at this. “Up too late, were we?”
Seonac shook his head. “Nope; too early.”
He took a moment to explain what had happened that morning. “I still couldn’t tell you what it was, but I’d just as well not look forward to a repeat performance.”
“Quite.” Waver, calling time on this part of the discussion, moved to another topic he wanted to get done and over with before the three could start talking about more pertinent matters. “So, word has it that today marks a certain anniversary for you.”
“So I’m told,” Seonac replied, “though there’s not a whole lot I recall from that particular event, either…”
Mike rolled his eyes at that. “I’d be asking questions of you did, lad.”
With that, he reached over to a wrapped parcel, then picked it up and presented it to Seonac. “This came in a few days ago from your ‘aunt’ Flo.”
Seonac knew that Bláthnaid would kill Mike if she ever heard him call her that, but left that matter aside as he opened the present. Within lay a birthday card, as well as an oblong present with a tag hanging on the end.
He flicked the tag around and read it aloud. “’If it hasn’t happened already, the day will come where the scourge of every expat will strike. When that happens, and you start wondering what would have been had you chosen a different path, read this.’“
At that, he tore off the packaging, and saw the front cover of the book therein; a tome called The Logistics of Reality, by Rani IV.
“Oh, that one,” Waver noted, as he saw the cover for himself. “I have a copy of the English translation in my personal collection. In fact, I…”
He paused for a moment, as he contained the flash of anger he felt at that moment. “…I was going to offer it to one of my other students, but she brushed it off, saying she had a first-run copy in its original language! That shitty-Japanese bitch, gloating over a rare copy like that…”
“Now now,” Mike stepped in. “There’s no need to take that personally.” Besides, you’re one to talk; you never shut up about your collection.
Seonac, unfamiliar with Waver’s other students, refrained from making any comment, as he put the book and card to one side.
“Fine,” Waver sulked, before reaching for another book; he didn’t bother wrapping this one up before presenting it. “Here… happy birthday.”
Seonac, seeing the wisdom in avoiding Waver’s ire, made a point of showing his gratitude. “Thank you kindly, sir.”
“Sir?” Mike sighed. “I thought I… wait, was that one of the things I told you never to call him?”
“Call him?” Waver stopped, before rounding on his colleague. “So it was you who told him not to address me by my proper title?”
“I won’t call you by that title, Waver,” Mike countered, standing his ground. “I’d feel personally let down if he started to.”
While the two continued their argument, Seonac found himself a little confused as he read the title. “’War for the Moon Cell’, by T.H. Peaceman? What is this, exactly?” And what kind of pen name was that?
“You tell me, Mr. Ó’Conaill,” Waver answered, side-slipping the rest of his “debate” with Mike. “Or rather, you will tell me, after you go through that book with a fine toothcomb.”
“O… kay?” Seonac stopped, wondering if Waver really was the kind to give him a major assignment on his birthday.
Waver stepped over and gestured to the book. “That thing’s as rare as they come, and it’s… well, let’s say its provenance is somewhat disputed, even among the relative few who’ve ever read it. I’d go over it myself, but I’m busy; and I’ve been trying to figure out what I’m supposed to have you study while you’re here anyway, so there you go.”
“There I go...” Seonac still wasn’t quite sure what it was he was supposed to gain by reading this book, not least since Waver seemed to imply it may well be a forgery; still, he thought, I guess it would be a way to practice my analytical skills.
Mike seemed to start reaching for something else, but stopped himself almost as soon as he had started to. “…”
Seonac took a look up from the book and picked up on his mentor’s sudden reticence. “Something on your mind, Mike?”
“Well, I…” Mike paused again, finding himself struggling with the order in which he had hoped to go through things. “I was going to show you my own present first, and then… get on to something else I needed to talk to you about, but…”
“The present can wait, then,” Seonac tried to reassure him. “If it’s something important enough to cause even you to pause for reflection like this, I’d probably want to get it over with sooner rather than later.”
“Okay,” Mike sighed. “But I should warn you; you might not like what I have to say.”
Seonac glanced over to Waver, who said nothing, but whose expression (from what Seonac could read of it, at least) seemed to indicate that he knew what was coming. He turned back to Mike, and said “it wouldn’t be the first time. Go on, out with it.”
Mike, biting the bullet, nodded.
“Lad, I’ve go some bad news for you.”
------
(to be continued)
RadiantBeam
2011-02-25, 23:32
So, I was talking to Moczo on AIM recently, and we got to talking about, for some odd reason, the pairings. And I was thinking about Chaos Theory, and it crossed my mind... we all blame Shirou (and even Shirou blames himself, in-story) for being a lolicon, but technically Ilya is a the one who is "wrong"; she's a shotacon! :heh: Shirou is under eighteen!
Oh, won't that be fun when they figure it out...
DezoPenguin
2011-02-26, 00:34
So, I was talking to Moczo on AIM recently, and we got to talking about, for some odd reason, the pairings. And I was thinking about Chaos Theory, and it crossed my mind... we all blame Shirou (and even Shirou blames himself, in-story) for being a lolicon, but technically Ilya is a the one who is "wrong"; she's a shotacon! :heh: Shirou is under eighteen!
Oh, won't that be fun when they figure it out...
I smugly note that I pointed that out in my Chapter 10 review. :D
Shirou is under eighteen!
So you say but...
All characters appearing in this game are over 18 years of age...
:heh:
So, I was talking to Moczo on AIM recently, and we got to talking about, for some odd reason, the pairings. And I was thinking about Chaos Theory, and it crossed my mind... we all blame Shirou (and even Shirou blames himself, in-story) for being a lolicon, but technically Ilya is a the one who is "wrong"; she's a shotacon! :heh: Shirou is under eighteen!
Oh, won't that be fun when they figure it out...
I smugly note that I pointed that out in my Chapter 10 review. :D
So you say but...
All characters appearing in this game are over 18 years of age...
:heh:
... ... okay, I am morally obligated to lampshade this in future chapters. I wasn't going to, but I simply have no choice now. :D
So, I was talking to Moczo on AIM recently, and we got to talking about, for some odd reason, the pairings. And I was thinking about Chaos Theory, and it crossed my mind... we all blame Shirou (and even Shirou blames himself, in-story) for being a lolicon, but technically Ilya is a the one who is "wrong"; she's a shotacon! :heh: Shirou is under eighteen!
Oh, won't that be fun when they figure it out...
He's not really a shota, though. While age can certainly be a factor, it's mostly about appearance. I mean, no one's going to call Shirou a lolicon for loving Rin, Sakura, or Saber, only with Ilya. In turn, it's the same. He's not a cute little boy; he's a roughened near-adult.
Tiresias
2011-02-26, 12:08
... ... okay, I am morally obligated to lampshade this in future chapters. I wasn't going to, but I simply have no choice now. :D
You might want to confirm all the ages first though. Considering their appearance and education level, I somehow doubt Shirou, Rin and Sakura to be over 18.
You might want to confirm all the ages first though. Considering their appearance and education level, I somehow doubt Shirou, Rin and Sakura to be over 18.
As I understand it, Shirou and Rin are 17 and Sakura is 16. I know only Ilya is 18+, though, which is really all I need to make a joke about it. :D
Well, Saber is as 18+ as Ilya is technically. Just like Ilya, her body stopped aging, but she's technically at least in her 30s. She was what, 14 when her body stopped aging? And King Arthur is stated to have been in at least two battles that were about 20 years apart (around 518-537, in the most conservative estimate) in the 6th century, so that puts her in her 30s. But Arthur is also said to have been around in the late 5th century to fight invaders, so that means she'd be at least in her 50s.
And she has a kid... OH GOD, SABER'S A MILF!!
Cherry_Lover
2011-02-26, 12:38
As I understand it, Shirou and Rin are 17 and Sakura is 16. I know only Ilya is 18+, though, which is really all I need to make a joke about it. :D
Shirou is 16 or 17 (probably 17). Rin is 16 at the beginning of the game, but her 17th birthday is on the 4th or 5th day. Sakura is 15, but her 16th birthday is in a month's time.
Flere821
2011-02-26, 19:33
Well, Saber is as 18+ as Ilya is technically. Just like Ilya, her body stopped aging, but she's technically at least in her 30s. She was what, 14 when her body stopped aging? And King Arthur is stated to have been in at least two battles that were about 20 years apart (around 518-537, in the most conservative estimate) in the 6th century, so that puts her in her 30s. But Arthur is also said to have been around in the late 5th century to fight invaders, so that means she'd be at least in her 50s.
And she has a kid... OH GOD, SABER'S A MILF!!
... Wth? I thought Saber's back story said that the heir after Arturia was her nephew in the VN? And that in Fate/Zero Lancelot went against Arturia due to Arturia's 'queen' have to play the role and in the end cannot be happy as a woman?
Saber AFAIK never gave birth to a kid... or is there a reference anyone can point to me which suggest otherwise?
Saber was technically the father, but she's a woman with a kid so she qualifies as a milf.
Endscape
2011-02-27, 08:18
... Wth? I thought Saber's back story said that the heir after Arturia was her nephew in the VN? And that in Fate/Zero Lancelot went against Arturia due to Arturia's 'queen' have to play the role and in the end cannot be happy as a woman?
Saber AFAIK never gave birth to a kid... or is there a reference anyone can point to me which suggest otherwise?
Saber never gave birth to any kid. They're talking about Mordred, who is her clone.
Tiresias
2011-02-27, 10:04
I know only Ilya is 18+, though, which is really all I need to make a joke about it. :D
How old is she anyway? Christmas Cake?
How old is she anyway? Christmas Cake?
She's 18 on the dot.
RadiantBeam
2011-02-27, 11:17
Well, if you want to be technical, Saber was at least 25 when she died; she just doesn't look like it since Caliburn stopped her physical aging.
GlancingReverse
2011-02-27, 19:12
Wait, Caliburn? I thought it was Avalon.
Mozzy1979
2011-02-27, 19:17
Well, Avalon would make more logical sense, but since she never actually received it until several years after she became king, it doesn't seem to fit with the timeline. Plus, I'm pretty sure that the game states that she stopped ageing as soon as she became king, rather than when she received Avalon.
Yeah, the game says she stopped aging the moment she pulled the sword (Caliburn) from the stone.
RadiantBeam
2011-03-01, 22:26
So, any suggestions on how to handle an emotional scene with a character who isn't usually an emotional mess without making it into Narm?
Kuroi Hadou
2011-03-02, 08:45
So, any suggestions on how to handle an emotional scene with a character who isn't usually an emotional mess without making it into Narm?
Any emotional scene is going to be Narm to someone. :p
The only advice I can give you (which probably isn't worth much) is to not completely derail the character in the process, focus on their actual emotions rather than physical actions/reactions, and for the love of God avoid cliches and contrived coincidences. :)
DezoPenguin
2011-03-02, 19:48
So, any suggestions on how to handle an emotional scene with a character who isn't usually an emotional mess without making it into Narm?
Hmm, as Kuroi Hadou already suggested, the key thing is to not derail the character in the process.
AFAIK, the real producers of "Narm" and "Wangst" are when the character's reaction to the emotional stimulus are out of balance with the audience's expectations. For an in-universe example (that I just watched), in Black Butler v.4 the Indian prince whines to Ciel about the way Mina left him and went off to England. Given Ciel's hellishly awful backstory, this struck him as a big wad of Wangst and he basically told the prince to shut the heck up and stop whining about something so inconsequential.
So the question is...the character is normally unemotional. What is it about this particular scene that would make them cross that line? Is it better for them to play it in an understated fashion? Or is there some established-in-story reason why this would affect them more deeply? Archer, for example, would be more motivated to reckless action by something bad happening to Ilya or Rin, whereas he might shrug off the same thing happening to Shirou or Saber.
So long as the character is "true to him/herself," then the only people who will likely find Narm are those who find the underlying emotion itself to be Narmful ("X is a Badass! Badasses never cry, even if they watch their children tortured to death in front of them and are force-fed sausages made from their lover's intestines!"). On the other hand, if the character needs to act in a certain emotional way for the scene to play out (such as if you need a big argument between lovers, but one of the lovers is not the kind of person who would participate in such a fight), then you might well run into Narm. It isn't likely to work well to make the characters bow to the scene. On the other hand, seeing a normally understated character have a strong emotional reaction can be a very affecting and powerful moment if the reasons for it led properly to that reaction.
So, any suggestions on how to handle an emotional scene with a character who isn't usually an emotional mess without making it into Narm?
Off-hand? I would suggest 'keep it subtle' as the rule for this. Make the breakdown... emotional, but not extremely so. No top-of-the-lungs screaming and gnashing of teeth. Indeed, the character just... silently falling to pieces can be far more powerful and show far more clearly how damaged they are.
Altima of the Gates
2011-03-02, 21:29
So, any suggestions on how to handle an emotional scene with a character who isn't usually an emotional mess without making it into Narm?
I'd say it depends on who it is.
Rin get's very, very passionate if you do the right things. She can be business like, but she can become really unreasonable, especially if it is about people or things she cares about.
In the heat of the moment, we all can become rather silly looking, but that is how it is. I'm sure if you had someone tape you when you blew up, at some points you would laugh at how you looked. Sure it looks cheesy, but sometimes that's how it is.
Cherry_Lover
2011-03-03, 20:01
So, any suggestions on how to handle an emotional scene with a character who isn't usually an emotional mess without making it into Narm?
Well, assuming you're talking about Rin here, I don't think she's as well-adjusted (emotionally) as you think. She just acts like she is.
RadiantBeam
2011-03-03, 21:03
Well, assuming you're talking about Rin here, I don't think she's as well-adjusted (emotionally) as you think. She just acts like she is.
I'm well aware of the fact that Rin isn't as emotionally well adjusted as she likes to pretend she is. What I'm concerned about is how she would come across in a genuine breakdown. Most of her emotional outbursts in the game were driven by anger, and had something she could lash out at. The scene I have in mind is different.
Cherry_Lover
2011-03-03, 21:49
Yeah, I can see your issue, because I assume this will be somehow related to Sakura, and like you say she usually has someone she can be angry at when such a situation happens, whereas here she has no-one to "blame" but herself and no-one she can take her anger out on.
I'd imagine that the closest you could get to a genuine (non-angry) Rin breakdown would be at the end of HF, but even then she's pretty calm.
but even then she's pretty calm.
Blood loss and blacking out tend to have that effect.
RadiantBeam
2011-03-04, 13:40
I'd imagine that the closest you could get to a genuine (non-angry) Rin breakdown would be at the end of HF, but even then she's pretty calm.
Meh. IMO that was less of a breakdown and more of Rin realizing something she'd be in denial about all along, and accepting it.
I'm well aware of the fact that Rin isn't as emotionally well adjusted as she likes to pretend she is. What I'm concerned about is how she would come across in a genuine breakdown. Most of her emotional outbursts in the game were driven by anger, and had something she could lash out at. The scene I have in mind is different.
Wasn't there something similar to that in UBW when Archer betrayed her and Shirou had to lift her spirits? Would that make a good reference point?
RadiantBeam
2011-03-04, 13:45
Wasn't there something similar to that in UBW when Archer betrayed her and Shirou had to lift her spirits? Would that make a good reference point?
It definitely helps, yeah. :heh: But part of the problem is that Rin had that reaction in UBW largely because Shirou was there as someone she could lean on, so it felt "okay" for her to do it. I'm just trying to grasp how she would handle a situation where she's breaking down with nothing to lash out at and nothing to hold on to.
Cherry_Lover
2011-03-04, 13:51
nothing to hold on to.
Sakura?
Stupid post length limit....
RadiantBeam
2011-03-04, 13:55
Sakura?
Stupid post length limit....
Kind of hard to hold on to the thing that plays a major role in your breakdown in the first place. :heh: At least, at first.
It definitely helps, yeah. :heh: But part of the problem is that Rin had that reaction in UBW largely because Shirou was there as someone she could lean on, so it felt "okay" for her to do it. I'm just trying to grasp how she would handle a situation where she's breaking down with nothing to lash out at and nothing to hold on to.
If I had to guess...
I would say the situation you're describing would result in her probably going into denial. She would have a brief period of sitting helplessly before trying to move her focus to a problem she CAN solve. Her breakdown would probably be short and quiet before she started trying her damnedest to ignore the problem.
I think she'd just throw a fit and trash her place (or the place that she might be in at the time). Then eventually she'd become a stoic and do whatever she thinks has to be done (like in the Bad ending in UBW when you don't recuit Lancer's help) even if it's suicidal.
Cherry_Lover
2011-03-04, 14:09
Kind of hard to hold on to the thing that plays a major role in your breakdown in the first place. :heh:
Well, technically, Shirou was the cause of her breakdown in UBW :P
If I had to guess...
I would say the situation you're describing would result in her probably going into denial. She would have a brief period of sitting helplessly before trying to move her focus to a problem she CAN solve. Her breakdown would probably be short and quiet before she started trying her damnedest to ignore the problem.
Yeah, this sounds about right.
However, I get the impression that this isn't a problem she's going to be able to ignore, because I would assume it involves something about Sakura (either her past, Rin's feelings for her or the true nature of the shadow).
Argent Solbright
2011-03-04, 21:46
B-but what about us people who don't drink alcohol? :heh:
The young redhead strapped to the Animus went into convulsions, screaming unintelligible words as the machine’s Bleeding Effect warped his mind. Only after he was sedated had the researchers managed to gain control of the situation.
“What’s going on here, people?” A man entered the room and barked at the technicians. “I only left you for like, what, two days?”
“Sorry Doctor Clarke, but there’s been a severe malfunction and we‘ve yet to know what caused it,” a technician pointed at the broken machine.
“What were you doing?”
“As per your instructions, 37 hours ago we’ve strapped the subject into the Animus in order to relive the memory of his ancestor, an Ottoman Sipahi who also secretly supervised Assassin operations in the Middle East during the time of Grandmaster Ezio Auditore el Firenze. But after a few minutes we lost control of the machine; it didn’t respond to any of our command and for 21 hours forced the subject to flash-relive the life of his ancestor.”
“Twenty-one hours?” Clarke interrogated. “Then what happened for the next sixteen?”
“W-well, we still haven’t figured out exactly how, but apparently the Animus also subjected him to the life of another Assassin, one that we never knew to be related to him. There’s no concrete proof yet, but we speculated it to be the memory of Altair ibn al-Ahad.”
Clarke fell into silence as he processed those words. They had initially been interested with the boy merely because their research had discovered that one of his ancestors served Ezio Auditore, a prominent Assassin figure of the Renaissance. Had they known that he was also related to Altair, the Assassin Grandmaster during the Crusades whose memory was considered the ultimate prize for the Animus Project, they would have done extra precautions with the boy. Now how the heck was he supposed to salvage this situation?
“I want all videos of activities for the last 38 hours, and all of you must submit a report immediately; heads will roll, I swear it! And get the subject into Secured Room 4 - stabilize him!”
“Doctor Clarke?” A woman called for his name, ignoring the panicking group of researchers.
“What is it, magus? Good news?”
She shook her head before answering. “Bad. Really bad. Let’s speak at your office.” Both of them then walked away, where the woman broke the news of the Holy Grail War.
Phantom Hero of Justice(Tentative title, any suggestion will be appreciated)
Prologue
A man in a lab coat sat in front of his computer as the connection for the video conference was established. “Vidic, we have a problem.”
“Again, Clarke?” the man on the other side snarked. “Where was the confidence that managed to persuade the council into expanding the Animus Project on a new location?”
“Shove it, Vidic, this is an emergency,” Doctor Clarke hissed, aware that his compatriot still held a grudge over losing monopoly of his pet project. “My team needs to evacuate, fast.”
Noticing Clarke’s expression, Doctor Warren Vidic decided to humour the man. “Something related to the ‘string of unnatural events over Fuyuki City’ that you keep reporting, I suppose?”
“Yes. The magus-” Clarke noticed the scientist’s eyes flared on hearing the word, ”-in our group thought that it’s most likely magical in nature, so a few days ago we allowed her to do some research. Just a few minutes ago he finally got the answer from an insider at the London Clock Tower. It’s a secret war between magi.”
“What?!” Vidic could barely hold his composure. “H-how bad?”
“Terrible. The combatants seem to care little of collateral damage. My team is gonna have to move away unti-“
Doctor Clarke never finished his sentence.
An explosion happened, followed by a great conflagration. The building he was in was not an Abstergo stronghold but merely a temporary space, a makeshift lab to hold experiments until their planned base has been constructed; only the Secured Rooms were fireproof. The doctor spent a few minutes flailing in agony as the flames engulfed him, but his body finally gave up and sunk to the ground, lifeless. Most of his researchers succumbed to the same fate.
Vidic wouldn’t know the true nature of the war until several years later.
---
Emiya Kiritsugu walked the desolate battlefield, wandering without direction. The Holy Grail has been destroyed and the Golden King slain, the many has been saved at the cost of the few. But his body was broken, Kotomine Kirei somehow survived, his wife was dead, and Fuyuki City was burning. He didn’t know what he was exactly looking for but he was desperate to found anything - any spark of hope to salvage the situation.
Screams of agony were heard from a nearby building and Kiritsugu set haste to give whatever aid he could. Most of the structure had collapsed but some rooms were still intact. He encountered some people but they were dying and it was too late to do anything for them. But then he found a relatively unscathed room; there was a burned corpse inside but another person was still alive, unconscious even as fire licked his body. Immediately Kiritsugu put them down and carried him away, stopping only when he had found a safe place, but the boy was dying. With no other options left, the Magus Killer reached for the artifact Avalon and embedded them into the boy, saving him.
When they boy woke up, Kiritsugu found that he had amnesia; no memories beyond his first name and basic Japanese. The old man decided not to pressure the lad since he seemed to agonize when trying to remember anything else, concluding that he must be traumatized. Now free of the heartless killer’s mask he had been donning his entire life, Emiya Kiritsugu decided to make what little amends he could and adopted the boy.
Several Years Later
It was a quiet funeral, for Emiya Kiritsugu had few relatives. Aside from his adopted son Shirou, his friend Fujimura Taiga along with her grandfather, and a few neighbours, nobody else attended. Till the end the Einzberns had never allowed him to be reunited with his daughter, a punishment for him breaking their deal and destroying the Grail.
Now Emiya Shirou walked aimlessly over Fuyuki City, frustrated and depressed over the sudden loneliness. For the brief moment of his life Kiritsugu had not only been his father but also his mentor and his idol; even though Emiya Sr. was tormented by his inability to save everyone, Shirou still admired his effort and wanted to be like him. That was why at Kiritsugu’s deathbed the young redhead had sworn to follow his father’s footsteps and become a Hero of Justice.
But how? Shirou thought. It took him desperate measures to persuade Kiritsugu to teach him some magecraft since the old man insisted that he had no need to learn such skill, and thought he had managed to sneak into his father’s room and copied his secret journal they were incomplete and he could barely understand any of it. At this rate, he would end up as a half-assed magus at best.
When the boy finally took notice of his surroundings he realized just how far had he strayed from the Emiya residence. He could hear distant shouting in front of him, and when he looked for the source he noticed that sound came from a high school.
Homuraba School…hey, that’s where Taiga recently got employed…
Curious with all the commotion, Shirou sneaked inside and found that the sound came from the training grounds. It looks like the Track and Field team was doing intense training; he could saw the athletes practicing throwing, running and jumping with great vigor.
There seemed to be a quarrel, with a huge muscled boy rudely pointing his fingers at three other members, spouting degrading insults that the kind boy believed a civilized man should never say to another human being. A large fight almost broke out, but the other members tried to mediate and it seemed all of them were now trying to resolve the situation in their club room, leaving the training equipments unattended.
Young Emiya’s eyes became fixated towards the high jump equipment; he didn’t know why, but after seeing one of the athletes put all his might during practice the boy suddenly had an urge to try. Perhaps because it was interesting, or maybe he was trying to occupy his mind with something else to drown his sadness, but whatever the reason it may be Emiya Shirou suddenly found himself mustering his strength, preparing to jump.
“Ergh!” He could’ve sworn he could felt the tips of his hair touching the pole, but the boy was undeterred. Second try, third…they boy continued the ritual, oblivious to the fact that his little stunt was being observed from afar by two girls. He had performed an incredible twenty jumps when he realized that the Track and Field club had returned and was currently staring at him.
“Errr…ahaha…sorry for intruding?”
“Whelp!” The muscled boy growled. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Calm down, he’s just a kid. Let’s just-”
“Don’t you dare tell me what to do, sissy!” With a menacing face the rude athlete reached for the frightened boy. “I’ll teach you to mess with- hrgh!”
It happened in a blur.
Young Emiya didn’t understand how, but as he felt fear towards the athlete his eyes moved widely, instinctively looking at all the members to gauge their hostility level while simultaneously searching for viable escape paths. And when the athlete’s hand almost reached him, all his mind would register was Enemy Attacking…Must Neutralize!
Not expecting the little boy to fight back, the muscled bully never saw the attack coming. Shirou’s bodies moved without his consent and proceeded to launch a flurry of attacks. The first was a left hand throat punch which collapsed the airway, followed by a right hand attack between the eyes. Next was an arm lock, momentarily disabling the arm that was reaching for the boy, followed by a hip throw. Not giving the larger boy a chance to retaliate, Shirou then proceeded to embed his knee into his opponent’s nether region.
It was the sight of the burly high-schooler writhing in pain on the ground that snapped Shirou from his trance. There was a moment of silence as the spectators tried to register what had just happened before one the other athlete finally cried “Get Him!”
Eeek! Shirou panicked. And just like that, his body once again moved by instinct, his mind giving evasion instructions as angry athletes raged to avenge their uncouth comrade.
“Why you-!”
“Get back here!”
“Stop running!”
The boy ignored all the shouting, his mind flooded with thoughts on how to escape this mess. His pursuers were faster, but somehow they looked slow in his eyes, and he somehow kept making efficient moves that allowed him to barely dodge every grab attempts while navigating across the school. However, just as he almost reached the gate he realized that something was wrong.
His body was surrendering, and he realized in horror why: it couldn’t take it anymore. Back then he was already tired form the jumping and it was the adrenaline rush that gave him much needed boost, but now it almost ran out, so physically demanding were the string of action that had followed. He had never did much exercise before which meant he’s not physically prepared for the feats he had just done, and now his mind is giving commands his body cannot follow.
“Got you!” Shirou’s train of thought abruptly ended as one of the runners tackled him to the ground. As he tried to stand up Shirou grabbed some sand and threw them at the tacklers eyes, but his friends soon arrived and now they’ve completely disabled him. It’s over, he’s finished. Some hero I am, can’t even handle a few thugs…
Just before the athletes could make an example however, an unexpected savior arrived…
“You beasts! What are you trying to do that poor little boy?”
“Oh shit…” one of the athletes trembled in fear.
“It’s her…”
“Tiger!!!!!”
Fujimura Taiga roared at the name pun. “Who are you calling Tiger!!!!! And get your hands away from that boy before I eat you!!!!!”
“But Ti- err, sensei, he was-” the sentence stopped as the dreaded Tora-shinai made its appearance.
“Wait sensei, ain’t teachers giving physical punishment ille-”
“Get. Away. From. The boy!”
“Ma’am, yes ma’am!”
“Go home, your club activity for today is dismissed! Tomorrow ALL of you are gonna come to my office, do I make myself clear, ladies?”
“Ma’am, yes ma’am!” The athletes swiftly run away, not willing to earn the ire of the mad woman.
“Now you,” Taiga glared at the redhead, “What were you doing here?”
“I was…uh…sightseeing?” Smooth, boy, now she’s gonna maul you…
Surprisingly, it wasn’t mauling that ensued, but a hug. “You stupid boy…you’re not the only one who missed him, you know?”
Shirou noticed that Taiga was crying. “Nee, Shirou. If there’s anything wrong, talk to me, okay? Talk to Fuji-nee, Shirou, we’re family…”
“I…I’m sorry, Fu- ergh, wha?” Shirou found himself being carried on Taiga’s back.
“Err, Fuji-nee, this is kinda embarrassing…” No answer. Oh well. He made a mental note to cook Taiga some meal for tomorrow’s breakfast; he may be just an amateur cook, be even now he’s certain that he could do better than her.
One thing intrigued him though. Today he did things he never thought he could. His brain knew how to hide, how to run, how to ride, how to…to fight!
Perhaps he can be more than a half-assed hero wannabe afterall.
They boy would later realized that it was this day that he started having those dreams. Dreams of other people’s life. Dreams of the shadow warriors. Dreams of his Assassin ancestors.
OOOH. Just returning to the forum after a month or more of break. Nice to found this. :)
Still running pages backward to check for backlogs...
RadiantBeam
2011-03-04, 22:03
However, I get the impression that this isn't a problem she's going to be able to ignore, because I would assume it involves something about Sakura (either her past, Rin's feelings for her or the true nature of the shadow).
If it makes any sense, she's going to start out trying very badly to ignore it. :heh: But since it's at the core of her whole decision at this point in the story to save Sakura, eventually it's going to catch up with her. Right now she's trying to run away from it as fast as she can and never look back.
Cherry_Lover
2011-03-05, 00:51
If it makes any sense, she's going to start out trying very badly to ignore it. :heh:
Well, of course, she's Rin. What else would she do?
But since it's at the core of her whole decision at this point in the story to save Sakura, eventually it's going to catch up with her.
Well, yeah, exactly.
I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to here, but there are several issues which she is going to have to deal with eventually.
Right now she's trying to run away from it as fast as she can and never look back.
Yep, sounds like Rin....
DezoPenguin
2011-03-05, 01:41
If it makes any sense, she's going to start out trying very badly to ignore it. :heh: But since it's at the core of her whole decision at this point in the story to save Sakura, eventually it's going to catch up with her. Right now she's trying to run away from it as fast as she can and never look back.
Don't forget the "find an obviously transparent excuse why doing whatever she did is really the kind of thing a cold, callous JerkAss magus would naturally do, no matter how it looks" step! ;)
Heroslayer
2011-03-22, 23:24
Right, so I've finally gotten started on my next Omake file thing and I was wondering if you guys had any ideas you'd like to throw out.
Looking back, Shiro really should have seen this coming.
It had all started so innocently. Rin had asked him to help her with an experiment. Something that happened pretty often considering that he was her apprentice. He had entered the workshop to see her pouring over some really old texts and what seemed to be blueprints. That should have been the first warning. Rin's magic rarely included blueprints of any kind. Her magic research rarely had to do with constructs or devices.
Curious, he asked her what she was working on.
"This? Well this is something that my family has been working on for generations. It was a gift from the Sorcerer Zelretch. Apparently it's some sort of Magic Crest that is the key to the Second Magic." She explained absent mindly as she made a few more corrections.
Shiro choked at the disregard to one of the five True Magics. "You mean the Kaleidoscope?"
Rin nodded, "Yes, I found it recently and I was hoping that you could help me make a breakthrough with this."
And so it all started with the fact that Shiro's girlfriend/master/tsundere wanted him to help her recreate the god damned Second Magic. She had had this great idea for it too. She wasn't just going to go head on, no she was going to have Shiro conjure up the Magic Crest that was used to manipulate the Kaleidoscope and then study that. It was a bit more complicated than that, but I'd rather not have to write the specifics.
So with blueprints, research, a lot of trial and error, more research, and more Prana transfer rituals that were probably deemed nessesary, Shiro had a semi working copy of the Jewel Sword Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg.
Too bad that semi working is not good enough for using something like the Second Magic.
Shiro looked at his copy of the Jeweled Sword curiously and waved it around to test it's balance. In all honestly, the dagger was useless as a weapon. It was more ornament then anything and he doubted that he had the talent to use the dagger for anything near it's intended use.
"Hey Tohsaka. How does this thing work anyways? Do you just yell out Jewel Sword Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg or something?" The amateur magus asked as he took another experimental swing with the blade.
What happened next was simply mind boggling. The creation of the Jewel Sword had not been perfect. Normally when utilizing his Reality Marble, Shiro used the exact amount of Od needed to create the weapon and nothing more. He didn't have the magical stores to waste any more than was necessary for each weapon. Luckily his Reality Marble and the stolen memories he had taken from Archer allowed him to roughly gauge how much each weapon needed.
When he created this copy of the Jewel Sword, he was working off of blueprints and trial and error. He had honestly expected the Magic Crest to need a large amount of energy to create and thus each time he attempted to create the weapon he used a large amount of Od. This was unnecessary. The Jewel Sword was a complex structure, but it's true power was that it needed little Prana from it's user. It drew it's energy from the infinite realms that made up the multi verse.
Thus when Shiro spoke the blades true name, it used the left over Prana from it's creation to attempt to draw energies from the multi verse. Unfortunetly the copy was not even close to a fully functioning model and shattered when it drew too much Prana from the multi verse. This left a small tear in the space next to Emiya Shiro that led to possibly an infinite amount of places and times.
Obviously, Shiro fell into the tear.
And thus started Shiro's journey across the multiverse. Armed with a Reality Marble, subpar magic circuits and a copy of the Jewel Sword he cuts his way across different worlds hoping to find his own.
Kaleido Ruby
Shiro didn't really know what was worse. The fact that his counter part was an idiot that would probably feel quite at home in some harem anime or the fact that the clone of the girl he had failed to save was attempting to molest him after calling dibs.
"Damnit Kuro, get off of Onii-chan!" Ilya or rather Kaleido Ruby grabbed her counterpart and pulled her off of him.
Free from the girl's grasps, Shiro let out a breathe of relief. The girl was nothing if not determined. He watched Ilya somehow managed to hogtie Kuro while Ruby watched and shouted encouragement with a sigh. This world was crazy.
He had arrived at this world and thought that he finally made it back home. The city looked like Fuyuki City and after a bit of wondering there was no site of anything like Kamen Rider Archer or anything ridiculous like that. So he decided that he would take a trip home before calling Rin to tell her he was finally back.
He found that the Emiya Estate had been changed. Gone was the large traditional styled Japanese house and in it's place was a normal house. Weary of what he would find, Shiro decided that maybe he had been too hasty in declaring this his home and went out to explore this world some more. He walked across the street and found a large western manor that he knew wasn't there before. Curiously enough it had a large Boundary Field around it to preventing him from looking inside.
He found the front gate to be open and so looked inside. What he saw spurred the dimensional traveler into action.
The large manor had been destroyed. It lay in a smoking wreckage as if someone had knocked the supports out from under it. And in the front yard were three people. A woman dressed in a business suit and wearing gloves. Bazett Fraga McRemitz, he had seen her in a few worlds. Most of the time she was some sort of law enforcement officer. A police woman or a detective. In all of them she was a powerful fighter that rarely needed saving.
Beside her lay a set of twins in ridiculous outfits. The first was a girl that laid facedown on the ground seeming unconscious. She was dressed in some sort of copy of Archer's outfit and judging from the swords that littered the battlefield she had copied more than Archer's look.
The other girl was one that was much more familiar to Shiro. Ilya dressed in what had to have been the most ridiculous outfit he had seen in a long while. Now Shiro never could rid himself of his soft spot for Ilya. Sure the girl had tried to off him with her insane Servant, but she was also a little girl that he had failed to save. Not to mention most Ilya's he met in his travels were cute, helpful and upbeat.
Enraged at seeing the girl beaten, Shiro rushed forward and quickly chanted out a familiar aria.
"I am the bone of my sword..."
His Reality Marble had worked like a charm. Sure Bazett had kicked his ass around for the first few minutes of the fight before Shiro had resorted to using some of his Noble Phantasms, and sure he was pretty sure that the look Kuro had given him while using Excalibur to kick the Enforcer around was going to haunt his dreams for a while, but his Reality Marble had done the job.
He was broken out of his thoughts by several things occurring at once. The first thing was the door being blown open and Rin and Luvia, both dirty and wearing torn clothing, rushed into the room and stared at him. Ilya had squawked at the sudden entrance and flipped off of Kuro in surprise, which also revealed her underwear to Shiro. Finally Kuro had somehow cut herself free and lunged at him. The familiar feeling of a girl's lips meeting his along with the odd feeling of having his Prana drained followed. He wasn't really sure which of these was the catalyst for an explosion that happened.
One destroyed Emiya house, two versions of his little sister figure, one black hoping to bed him, one white hoping to stop the former, two crazy maid Homunculi after his blood, one counter part of his dead father figure, and an adult version of Ilya chasing after him, several Gandr spells and explosive magic gems from two Tsundere Magus, and one really confused native Emiya Shiro later, Shiro had decided on an action.
He was so getting the hell out of this Universe.
So the premise was that I wanted to throw Shiro into different worlds. A crack based crossover idea. I really don't want debates over how I butchered the Second Magic as this is crack.
So Shiro wanders into different worlds as he tries to find his way home. Along the way he'll pick up swords, unwittingly attract girls, attempt to save as many people he can, and generally screw with Destiny.
I was wondering if you guys had any ideas for worlds that Shiro can fall into and where/when he falls into?
Though if you do request an idea, I kinda hope that you avoid mainstream anime, since I really don't want to have to throw Shiro into Naruto or into Bleach.
RadiantBeam
2011-03-23, 10:13
Right, so I've finally gotten started on my next Omake file thing and I was wondering if you guys had any ideas you'd like to throw out.
Looking back, Shiro really should have seen this coming.
It had all started so innocently. Rin had asked him to help her with an experiment. Something that happened pretty often considering that he was her apprentice. He had entered the workshop to see her pouring over some really old texts and what seemed to be blueprints. That should have been the first warning. Rin's magic rarely included blueprints of any kind. Her magic research rarely had to do with constructs or devices.
Curious, he asked her what she was working on.
"This? Well this is something that my family has been working on for generations. It was a gift from the Sorcerer Zelretch. Apparently it's some sort of Magic Crest that is the key to the Second Magic." She explained absent mindly as she made a few more corrections.
Shiro choked at the disregard to one of the five True Magics. "You mean the Kaleidoscope?"
Rin nodded, "Yes, I found it recently and I was hoping that you could help me make a breakthrough with this."
And so it all started with the fact that Shiro's girlfriend/master/tsundere wanted him to help her recreate the god damned Second Magic. She had had this great idea for it too. She wasn't just going to go head on, no she was going to have Shiro conjure up the Magic Crest that was used to manipulate the Kaleidoscope and then study that. It was a bit more complicated than that, but I'd rather not have to write the specifics.
So with blueprints, research, a lot of trial and error, more research, and more Prana transfer rituals that were probably deemed nessesary, Shiro had a semi working copy of the Jewel Sword Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg.
Too bad that semi working is not good enough for using something like the Second Magic.
Shiro looked at his copy of the Jeweled Sword curiously and waved it around to test it's balance. In all honestly, the dagger was useless as a weapon. It was more ornament then anything and he doubted that he had the talent to use the dagger for anything near it's intended use.
"Hey Tohsaka. How does this thing work anyways? Do you just yell out Jewel Sword Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg or something?" The amateur magus asked as he took another experimental swing with the blade.
What happened next was simply mind boggling. The creation of the Jewel Sword had not been perfect. Normally when utilizing his Reality Marble, Shiro used the exact amount of Od needed to create the weapon and nothing more. He didn't have the magical stores to waste any more than was necessary for each weapon. Luckily his Reality Marble and the stolen memories he had taken from Archer allowed him to roughly gauge how much each weapon needed.
When he created this copy of the Jewel Sword, he was working off of blueprints and trial and error. He had honestly expected the Magic Crest to need a large amount of energy to create and thus each time he attempted to create the weapon he used a large amount of Od. This was unnecessary. The Jewel Sword was a complex structure, but it's true power was that it needed little Prana from it's user. It drew it's energy from the infinite realms that made up the multi verse.
Thus when Shiro spoke the blades true name, it used the left over Prana from it's creation to attempt to draw energies from the multi verse. Unfortunetly the copy was not even close to a fully functioning model and shattered when it drew too much Prana from the multi verse. This left a small tear in the space next to Emiya Shiro that led to possibly an infinite amount of places and times.
Obviously, Shiro fell into the tear.
And thus started Shiro's journey across the multiverse. Armed with a Reality Marble, subpar magic circuits and a copy of the Jewel Sword he cuts his way across different worlds hoping to find his own.
Kaleido Ruby
Shiro didn't really know what was worse. The fact that his counter part was an idiot that would probably feel quite at home in some harem anime or the fact that the clone of the girl he had failed to save was attempting to molest him after calling dibs.
"Damnit Kuro, get off of Onii-chan!" Ilya or rather Kaleido Ruby grabbed her counterpart and pulled her off of him.
Free from the girl's grasps, Shiro let out a breathe of relief. The girl was nothing if not determined. He watched Ilya somehow managed to hogtie Kuro while Ruby watched and shouted encouragement with a sigh. This world was crazy.
He had arrived at this world and thought that he finally made it back home. The city looked like Fuyuki City and after a bit of wondering there was no site of anything like Kamen Rider Archer or anything ridiculous like that. So he decided that he would take a trip home before calling Rin to tell her he was finally back.
He found that the Emiya Estate had been changed. Gone was the large traditional styled Japanese house and in it's place was a normal house. Weary of what he would find, Shiro decided that maybe he had been too hasty in declaring this his home and went out to explore this world some more. He walked across the street and found a large western manor that he knew wasn't there before. Curiously enough it had a large Boundary Field around it to preventing him from looking inside.
He found the front gate to be open and so looked inside. What he saw spurred the dimensional traveler into action.
The large manor had been destroyed. It lay in a smoking wreckage as if someone had knocked the supports out from under it. And in the front yard were three people. A woman dressed in a business suit and wearing gloves. Bazett Fraga McRemitz, he had seen her in a few worlds. Most of the time she was some sort of law enforcement officer. A police woman or a detective. In all of them she was a powerful fighter that rarely needed saving.
Beside her lay a set of twins in ridiculous outfits. The first was a girl that laid facedown on the ground seeming unconscious. She was dressed in some sort of copy of Archer's outfit and judging from the swords that littered the battlefield she had copied more than Archer's look.
The other girl was one that was much more familiar to Shiro. Ilya dressed in what had to have been the most ridiculous outfit he had seen in a long while. Now Shiro never could rid himself of his soft spot for Ilya. Sure the girl had tried to off him with her insane Servant, but she was also a little girl that he had failed to save. Not to mention most Ilya's he met in his travels were cute, helpful and upbeat.
Enraged at seeing the girl beaten, Shiro rushed forward and quickly chanted out a familiar aria.
"I am the bone of my sword..."
His Reality Marble had worked like a charm. Sure Bazett had kicked his ass around for the first few minutes of the fight before Shiro had resorted to using some of his Noble Phantasms, and sure he was pretty sure that the look Kuro had given him while using Excalibur to kick the Enforcer around was going to haunt his dreams for a while, but his Reality Marble had done the job.
He was broken out of his thoughts by several things occurring at once. The first thing was the door being blown open and Rin and Luvia, both dirty and wearing torn clothing, rushed into the room and stared at him. Ilya had squawked at the sudden entrance and flipped off of Kuro in surprise, which also revealed her underwear to Shiro. Finally Kuro had somehow cut herself free and lunged at him. The familiar feeling of a girl's lips meeting his along with the odd feeling of having his Prana drained followed. He wasn't really sure which of these was the catalyst for an explosion that happened.
One destroyed Emiya house, two versions of his little sister figure, one black hoping to bed him, one white hoping to stop the former, two crazy maid Homunculi after his blood, one counter part of his dead father figure, and an adult version of Ilya chasing after him, several Gandr spells and explosive magic gems from two Tsundere Magus, and one really confused native Emiya Shiro later, Shiro had decided on an action.
He was so getting the hell out of this Universe.
So the premise was that I wanted to throw Shiro into different worlds. A crack based crossover idea. I really don't want debates over how I butchered the Second Magic as this is crack.
So Shiro wanders into different worlds as he tries to find his way home. Along the way he'll pick up swords, unwittingly attract girls, attempt to save as many people he can, and generally screw with Destiny.
I was wondering if you guys had any ideas for worlds that Shiro can fall into and where/when he falls into?
Though if you do request an idea, I kinda hope that you avoid mainstream anime, since I really don't want to have to throw Shiro into Naruto or into Bleach.
Hm, question. Could Shirou actually trace the crest for the Second Magic? I don't think it's within his skill range, and I don't think the Second Magic requires a specific kind of crest.
Heroslayer
2011-03-23, 14:17
Hm, question. Could Shirou actually trace the crest for the Second Magic? I don't think it's within his skill range, and I don't think the Second Magic requires a specific kind of crest.
I've probably taken a few liberties with Shirou being able to Project a copy of the Jewel Sword, but he's done something similar in Heaven's Feel so I felt justified enough to write it in.
And the Second Magic doesn't require a specific crest, it's just an amplifier, or a gateway for the magic. I'm sure that the creator could access the Kaliedoscope without the Jewel Sword, just that it makes it easier.
dragon20990
2011-03-31, 22:59
Right, so I've finally gotten started on my next Omake file thing and I was wondering if you guys had any ideas you'd like to throw out.
Looking back, Shiro really should have seen this coming.
It had all started so innocently. Rin had asked him to help her with an experiment. Something that happened pretty often considering that he was her apprentice. He had entered the workshop to see her pouring over some really old texts and what seemed to be blueprints. That should have been the first warning. Rin's magic rarely included blueprints of any kind. Her magic research rarely had to do with constructs or devices.
Curious, he asked her what she was working on.
"This? Well this is something that my family has been working on for generations. It was a gift from the Sorcerer Zelretch. Apparently it's some sort of Magic Crest that is the key to the Second Magic." She explained absent mindly as she made a few more corrections.
Shiro choked at the disregard to one of the five True Magics. "You mean the Kaleidoscope?"
Rin nodded, "Yes, I found it recently and I was hoping that you could help me make a breakthrough with this."
And so it all started with the fact that Shiro's girlfriend/master/tsundere wanted him to help her recreate the god damned Second Magic. She had had this great idea for it too. She wasn't just going to go head on, no she was going to have Shiro conjure up the Magic Crest that was used to manipulate the Kaleidoscope and then study that. It was a bit more complicated than that, but I'd rather not have to write the specifics.
So with blueprints, research, a lot of trial and error, more research, and more Prana transfer rituals that were probably deemed nessesary, Shiro had a semi working copy of the Jewel Sword Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg.
Too bad that semi working is not good enough for using something like the Second Magic.
Shiro looked at his copy of the Jeweled Sword curiously and waved it around to test it's balance. In all honestly, the dagger was useless as a weapon. It was more ornament then anything and he doubted that he had the talent to use the dagger for anything near it's intended use.
"Hey Tohsaka. How does this thing work anyways? Do you just yell out Jewel Sword Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg or something?" The amateur magus asked as he took another experimental swing with the blade.
What happened next was simply mind boggling. The creation of the Jewel Sword had not been perfect. Normally when utilizing his Reality Marble, Shiro used the exact amount of Od needed to create the weapon and nothing more. He didn't have the magical stores to waste any more than was necessary for each weapon. Luckily his Reality Marble and the stolen memories he had taken from Archer allowed him to roughly gauge how much each weapon needed.
When he created this copy of the Jewel Sword, he was working off of blueprints and trial and error. He had honestly expected the Magic Crest to need a large amount of energy to create and thus each time he attempted to create the weapon he used a large amount of Od. This was unnecessary. The Jewel Sword was a complex structure, but it's true power was that it needed little Prana from it's user. It drew it's energy from the infinite realms that made up the multi verse.
Thus when Shiro spoke the blades true name, it used the left over Prana from it's creation to attempt to draw energies from the multi verse. Unfortunetly the copy was not even close to a fully functioning model and shattered when it drew too much Prana from the multi verse. This left a small tear in the space next to Emiya Shiro that led to possibly an infinite amount of places and times.
Obviously, Shiro fell into the tear.
And thus started Shiro's journey across the multiverse. Armed with a Reality Marble, subpar magic circuits and a copy of the Jewel Sword he cuts his way across different worlds hoping to find his own.
Kaleido Ruby
Shiro didn't really know what was worse. The fact that his counter part was an idiot that would probably feel quite at home in some harem anime or the fact that the clone of the girl he had failed to save was attempting to molest him after calling dibs.
"Damnit Kuro, get off of Onii-chan!" Ilya or rather Kaleido Ruby grabbed her counterpart and pulled her off of him.
Free from the girl's grasps, Shiro let out a breathe of relief. The girl was nothing if not determined. He watched Ilya somehow managed to hogtie Kuro while Ruby watched and shouted encouragement with a sigh. This world was crazy.
He had arrived at this world and thought that he finally made it back home. The city looked like Fuyuki City and after a bit of wondering there was no site of anything like Kamen Rider Archer or anything ridiculous like that. So he decided that he would take a trip home before calling Rin to tell her he was finally back.
He found that the Emiya Estate had been changed. Gone was the large traditional styled Japanese house and in it's place was a normal house. Weary of what he would find, Shiro decided that maybe he had been too hasty in declaring this his home and went out to explore this world some more. He walked across the street and found a large western manor that he knew wasn't there before. Curiously enough it had a large Boundary Field around it to preventing him from looking inside.
He found the front gate to be open and so looked inside. What he saw spurred the dimensional traveler into action.
The large manor had been destroyed. It lay in a smoking wreckage as if someone had knocked the supports out from under it. And in the front yard were three people. A woman dressed in a business suit and wearing gloves. Bazett Fraga McRemitz, he had seen her in a few worlds. Most of the time she was some sort of law enforcement officer. A police woman or a detective. In all of them she was a powerful fighter that rarely needed saving.
Beside her lay a set of twins in ridiculous outfits. The first was a girl that laid facedown on the ground seeming unconscious. She was dressed in some sort of copy of Archer's outfit and judging from the swords that littered the battlefield she had copied more than Archer's look.
The other girl was one that was much more familiar to Shiro. Ilya dressed in what had to have been the most ridiculous outfit he had seen in a long while. Now Shiro never could rid himself of his soft spot for Ilya. Sure the girl had tried to off him with her insane Servant, but she was also a little girl that he had failed to save. Not to mention most Ilya's he met in his travels were cute, helpful and upbeat.
Enraged at seeing the girl beaten, Shiro rushed forward and quickly chanted out a familiar aria.
"I am the bone of my sword..."
His Reality Marble had worked like a charm. Sure Bazett had kicked his ass around for the first few minutes of the fight before Shiro had resorted to using some of his Noble Phantasms, and sure he was pretty sure that the look Kuro had given him while using Excalibur to kick the Enforcer around was going to haunt his dreams for a while, but his Reality Marble had done the job.
He was broken out of his thoughts by several things occurring at once. The first thing was the door being blown open and Rin and Luvia, both dirty and wearing torn clothing, rushed into the room and stared at him. Ilya had squawked at the sudden entrance and flipped off of Kuro in surprise, which also revealed her underwear to Shiro. Finally Kuro had somehow cut herself free and lunged at him. The familiar feeling of a girl's lips meeting his along with the odd feeling of having his Prana drained followed. He wasn't really sure which of these was the catalyst for an explosion that happened.
One destroyed Emiya house, two versions of his little sister figure, one black hoping to bed him, one white hoping to stop the former, two crazy maid Homunculi after his blood, one counter part of his dead father figure, and an adult version of Ilya chasing after him, several Gandr spells and explosive magic gems from two Tsundere Magus, and one really confused native Emiya Shiro later, Shiro had decided on an action.
He was so getting the hell out of this Universe.
So the premise was that I wanted to throw Shiro into different worlds. A crack based crossover idea. I really don't want debates over how I butchered the Second Magic as this is crack.
So Shiro wanders into different worlds as he tries to find his way home. Along the way he'll pick up swords, unwittingly attract girls, attempt to save as many people he can, and generally screw with Destiny.
I was wondering if you guys had any ideas for worlds that Shiro can fall into and where/when he falls into?
Though if you do request an idea, I kinda hope that you avoid mainstream anime, since I really don't want to have to throw Shiro into Naruto or into Bleach.
Your looking for Ideas right? Here are some.
Code Geass - Imagine if Saber's wish was ever granted, and that world would pretty much be code geass. I mean that world of C is basically Akasha, CC is a greater holy Grail, and geass is a lesser grail, a master contract, and a servant contract rolled into one.
Naruto - A proven Fan favorite, but instead of doing it seriously you crack the f%$^ out of it. I think personally it would be cool to see bellephron on kyuubi or see kunouchi on missions to get his baby.
Soul Eater - Could you Imagine all of the death Scythes trying to become his partner like rabid animals? Or him meeting excalibur?
Magical Lyrical Nanoha - Seeing magical girls firing super magical blasts will give him flash backs and I can imagine him unconsciously hating that familiar that looks like Archer. Other scenarios is if he is eaten by the book of darkness, or he is the host of the book of darkness, or that weird doctor dude tries to study his strange magic. Plus Shirou with an intelligent device? Oh the possibilities!
Dr. Who - Imagine the Doctor going bonkers over someone who cuts reality through magic.
Hellsing - Have Shirou compare Alucard to Arcruied. And laugh...hard.
Fate/zero - just to be a bastard and pwn everyone including his father, Saber, and especially Gilgamesh.
Negima - Jack Rakan vs. Emiya Shirou = super trace on! Man with 1000 pactio cards across dimensions! The magus hero who got beat up by a ten year old kid!
Tengen Toppa Guren Lagaan - The only universe with more broken powers than the Nasuverse.
Tiger Dojo Colliseum - Him being in a tournament ran by Taiga and getting his @$$ beat by Saber dressed in a lion outfit.
Finally - Him being chased through the dimensions by a mega-perverted Tohsaka (Rin or Sakura) who is better at using the second magic.
RadiantBeam
2011-04-01, 12:33
I find it interesting that most of my ideas for Fate/stay night fanfiction seem to focus on Sakura in some way. :heh:
Cherry_Lover
2011-04-01, 13:19
Well, it just shows that you grasp her true importance as a character :p
Heroslayer
2011-04-01, 23:58
Code Geass - Imagine if Saber's wish was ever granted, and that world would pretty much be code geass. I mean that world of C is basically Akasha, CC is a greater holy Grail, and geass is a lesser grail, a master contract, and a servant contract rolled into one.
Naruto - A proven Fan favorite, but instead of doing it seriously you crack the f%$^ out of it. I think personally it would be cool to see bellephron on kyuubi or see kunouchi on missions to get his baby.
Soul Eater - Could you Imagine all of the death Scythes trying to become his partner like rabid animals? Or him meeting excalibur?
Magical Lyrical Nanoha - Seeing magical girls firing super magical blasts will give him flash backs and I can imagine him unconsciously hating that familiar that looks like Archer. Other scenarios is if he is eaten by the book of darkness, or he is the host of the book of darkness, or that weird doctor dude tries to study his strange magic. Plus Shirou with an intelligent device? Oh the possibilities!
Dr. Who - Imagine the Doctor going bonkers over someone who cuts reality through magic.
Hellsing - Have Shirou compare Alucard to Arcruied. And laugh...hard.
Fate/zero - just to be a bastard and pwn everyone including his father, Saber, and especially Gilgamesh.
Negima - Jack Rakan vs. Emiya Shirou = super trace on! Man with 1000 pactio cards across dimensions! The magus hero who got beat up by a ten year old kid!
Tengen Toppa Guren Lagaan - The only universe with more broken powers than the Nasuverse.
Tiger Dojo Colliseum - Him being in a tournament ran by Taiga and getting his @$$ beat by Saber dressed in a lion outfit.
Finally - Him being chased through the dimensions by a mega-perverted Tohsaka (Rin or Sakura) who is better at using the second magic.
Okay, nice to see some ideas being thrown out.
Naruto- I'm kinda hoping to stay way from the really mainstream manga/anime. This, bleach and one piece are the ones I'm trying to avoid doing.
Soul Eater- I honestly don't know enough of this other than to throw out a few paragraph joke.
Nanoha- Well, There's an idea. No intelligence device for Shiro, but I can imagine the havoc he'll play on the time line.
Book of Darkness meets Rule Breaker
Knights versus Unlimited Blade Works
Starlight Breaker versus Excalibur
Oh gods, the possibilities.
Dr Who and Hellsing- Same as Soul Eater
Fate/Zero- Huh... I... can't believe I didn't think of this. I feel stupid.
Negima- I have one planned out already. I would have done the whole, 'Hero of a Thousand Faces' Versus 'Unlimited Blade Works' when I remembered that Jack can just punch Shiro back to his own dimension... so yea, no go.
Guren Laggan- I... don't want to think about what'll happen to Shiro if he's exposed to Kamina.
RadiantBeam
2011-04-02, 14:40
Guren Laggan- I... don't want to think about what'll happen to Shiro if he's exposed to Kamina.
Yoko and Nia would be added to his harem, that's for sure. And Darry, when she's old enough. And all three of Kittan's sisters. :uhoh:
Heroslayer
2011-04-03, 00:44
Yoko and Nia would be added to his harem, that's for sure. And Darry, when she's old enough. And all three of Kittan's sisters.
I somehow doubt that.
Here's a question I've been wondering. I'm writing a fighting scene with Shiro and while it's half crack and I don't need to exactly follow the rules of FSN I still want to get this part right for future reference if I write a serious piece.
Unlimited Blade Works.
I understand that it copies the weapon's power and age, to the point where Shiro can use the skills imparted on the blade. Does that also imply strength.
For example. Nine Lives Blade Works. Shiro states that the blade is too large for Emiya Shiro to use, but Archer's arm will reproduce Berserker's strength.
Is that reproduction from UBW or from Reinforcement?
RadiantBeam
2011-04-03, 01:38
I somehow doubt that.
Aw, you're no fun. :p
Cherry_Lover
2011-04-03, 12:03
Hero: Yeah, when Shirou/Archer traces a weapon, he gets the skills of the wielder, which includes their strength, hence being able to use weapons that he couldn't even lift with his normal strength.
Hey, remember me? :heh:
Well, I know you remember this...
Chapter Ten: Season of the Witch
It was a catastrophe of epic proportions. The single worst disaster that had ever befallen this world. A thing of corruption and destruction that despoiled all it touched.
"Ojou-sama has been out of the house all day. More than once…" Sella, the elder and less cheerful of Ilya's maids (not that this was immediately obvious, since for both of them the largest visible reaction they commonly showed was a sort of mild stare) murmured.
Out of the house. All day. More than once.
Horrible.
"If Ojou-sama desires it, we have no right to question her tactics in this War." Leysritt reminded her 'sister'. The two maids conspired outside the door to Ilya's bedroom, the Clan Einzbern's pride and joy having skipped in, danced up the stairs whistling, and practically leapt into bed to cuddle her teddy bear and giggle. "She is the pride of the Einzbern. We are mere failures, to be used and cast aside. Should she wish to pursue an unorthodox strategy…"
"She is not pursuing any strategy!" The elder twin snapped. "She goes out every day, and returns every night when the fighting begins! Not a single Master has fallen or even been encountered."
(It should be noted that this last was not exactly true, as Ilya had in fact encountered one of the other Masters and let him take a nap using her lap as a pillow. But Ilya had not shared the details of her daily outings with her attendants, so Sella had no real way of knowing this.)
"Ojou-sama has assured us that her outings each day, and return each night, are crucial to her overall plans," (This was exactly true, but Ilya had deliberately left out the fact that her overall plans had less to do with winning the Holy Grail War and more to do with going on dates.) "She deliberately pursues a plan she believes the other Masters will not predict, and rightly understands that our own, inferior, minds will not be able to properly comprehend it."
"Still, the Lord requested that we guide and foster Lady Ilyasviel, push her onto the right path, and facilitate her victory in the War. At the moment, we have only her word for it that she is even participating in the Holy Grail War, and… forgive me for saying as much… Ojou-sama is… rather flighty."
"Sella."
"I know! It pains me to say it as well." Sella said, with a slight (very slight, almost invisible) wince. "But our duty from the Lord Einzbern is very clear. We must speak with Ojou-sama regarding her plans, and see if her daily activities are, indeed, in the best interests of the Clan. And if they are not, we must set her back on the course to bring glory to the family, as is her destiny. If needed, we shall… we shall… … chastise her."
There was silence for several minutes.
"Perhaps in the morning."
"If Ojou-sama is in a good mood."
"A very good mood."
"And if Berserker is asleep."
"Very asleep."
Their course of very, very careful action decided, the two maids left to continue their duties. The castle was huge and would not clean itself, after all. (Honestly, you would have thought that after 1,000 years, someone would have devised a spell for that).
Though she gave no outward sign of her dissatisfaction, Sella could not help but think, Honestly… Ojou-sama and her fickle moods… truly, I have the worst of all possible lives.
***
Zouken Matou fell to his knees, gasping in anguish. Black blood flowed freely from his ears, nose, and from beneath his fingernails. His very existence could be defined as 'living pain'.
So, the point here would be that perhaps Sella was overestimating the severity of her own situation.
Still, if there was one thing that Zouken was familiar with, it was pain. Agony was his constant companion, no matter what body he took, and he knew how to focus his mind through it well enough. And so, even as his body fell to pieces, his mind worked in overdrive to discern why.
The backlash from the loss of so many familiars at once had been considerable, but nothing he could not have handled under normal circumstances. However, this particular loss had been laced with something else… a cold, aching hunger that had actually traced his connection to his familiars back to him, striking directly at his essence and attempting to devour him from the inside out. Had his core not been safely elsewhere, he most likely would have been killed instantly. As it was, his current body was most certainly cut down to a fraction of its expected lifespan; he would need to replace it, and soon.
One of his eyes fell out, trailing more of that foul-smelling black blood and small, weakly writhing worms.
Apparently, he would need to replace it very soon.
How had this happened? It made less than no sense. Assassin had played his part perfectly at the Temple. Lancer had been lured into an inescapable situation, the second sacrifice to the Grail. The weapon had attacked, as planned, eager to devour its second meal.
And then, from within the heart of Zouken's own secret weapon, she had emerged.
Caster.
She had survived. He didn't know how she had survived, but she had. More than that, she had opposed him, entered the darkness and emerged with at least some vestige of her mind intact! Even if she had returned, she should have been altered beyond recognition, warped into nothing more than a tool of the Shadow, a method by which it could expand its power and influence. And yet… she had not.
How had this happened? A Servant had entered the Holy Grail, and returned. Not merely alive but free and thriving. Under other circumstances, it might have been intriguing indeed; a new facet of the Grail's functions to explore and possibly exploit.
Under the current ones, with all his plans for the future poised on the edge of a knife, the success and failure of his life's ambitions a single error apart… it simply worried him a great, great deal.
***
Lancer tried his hardest to keep from staring in open amazement. He couldn't afford the lapse in judgment.
As hard as it was for him to admit, the Shadow… frightened him. It was simply something he couldn't comprehend, a thing that screamed into the core of his being that he could not defeat it, could not fight it, could not even touch it; to do so would mean his end, or worse.
And yet there she was; the dark woman, standing right in the middle of the worst of it, the tentacles whipping harmlessly around her. Every instinct in his body told him she should have been dead or worse. And yet she stood in the darkness, vibrantly happy and very much alive.
For the first time in his life, Cu Chulainn seriously considered just running away. There was nothing wrong with fighting an opponent you couldn't beat, but one you couldn't understand, that was another matter. And then there was that black static that played in the back of his mind as he looked at the Shadow… the whispers that what awaited him was far, far worse than death…
"Caster…" Assassin murmured. "But you were consumed."
"That's…" Lancer muttered. No way. As part of his Master's orders, Lancer had engaged all of the other Servants, and Caster was no exception… though he'd really been fighting her bizarre Master. And this was… well, not her. It kind of looked like her, now that he actually saw it, but the presence, the essence of the Servant he had tested was entirely different. She had never exactly been fluffy and happy, but now… "What the Hell is going on?"
The smile on her perfect lips was warm and calming, in contrast to the aura of wrongness she exuded. Her black eyes seemed to glitter with amusement. "Hmmmmm? Oh, yes, I believe I was consumed. It seems I've gotten better." She said. Her tone was musical, and beautiful, and wrong. "And just in time, it seems. For starters, Assassin, have you absolutely no common sense? To just throw away such a valuable pet as this fine hound is unforgivable.
"Lancer… Assassin will be nothing but food, the first part of my revenge. But you, I intend to keep all to myself. My new puppy." She purred.
Lancer fell back into a combat stance, leveling his spear at the writhing mass of darkness. "Nah. Don't get me wrong, you're cute and all, but if there's one thing I learned in my life it's that women with too much power don't make the best companions."
Caster chuckled, and it choked like glass dust in the air. "It's simply adorable that you think you have a choice."
She raised her hands, and Lancer got the impression that it might be a good idea to move.
The writhing mass of darkness surrounding her split, and split again, breaking from monstrous tentacles into tinier, razor-thin whips; thousands of them, dividing up evenly to target both Lancer and Assassin.
"Just like I taught you, my pet. You know how to do it, even if you don't know you know…" Caster purred.
"Oh, f-" Lancer said, just before the storm began.
The spears snapped out in a hail that blocked out even the waning starlight, a seemingly endless stream of black blades. Lancer's ability to defend against projectiles was extreme, but he had his limits; his spear simply could not be fast enough to defend against a simultaneous attack against every point on his body.
But he wasn't on the middle of a lake, anymore. He was on dry land and he had options.
Gathering power in his legs, he leapt straight backwards, then again, then again. His speed was vastly beyond human, and even with a forest in the way he was able to get quite a bit of distance before…
The spears came crashing down, tearing the mountain trees to kindling. No... it wasn't that they cut the trees, or tore into them. It was as if the living wood simply ceased to exist where the razor-thin blades touched it. Trees fell, cuts smooth as glass along the length of them. The rain of black blades filled the forest… but not as much as it would have if he hadn't retreated to the outer edges of the attack before it landed. He slashed aside the spears of black, but a few dozen, not a thousand. And he had to admit, he was relieved to see Gae Bolg could actually cut the damn things. He'd been worried about that.
A blade slipped through his guard, grazing his thigh. With a wince, he took another flying leap, slashing wildly at it. The cut was shallow, and thin, but the fact that such a light blow had cut at all was enough to confirm his suspicions… whatever that black thing was, it was very, very bad news. He couldn't even imagine what would have happened if he'd been caught by it on the open water; Caster might be trying to eat him right now, but he kinda owed her one.
Well… as much as he hated leaving debts unpaid, he might have to skip that one.
Back on the lake, Caster considered her options. "Well done, my pet. Hunt him down and consume him… alive, if possible, but we need to keep you well-fed."
The tendrils of darkness coiled around Caster's body like a lover's arms, and the Servant chuckled warmly. "Of course. You'll have Assassin as well. That one, I shall bring to you personally and in pieces. Now go, Lancer isn't going to just feed himself to you. Scoot!"
If a thing could be said to move 'like a plague', the Shadow did so; oozing out of the lake and into the forest in pursuit of Lancer and sustenance.
Now alone, Caster turned toward the opposite bank of the lake, where Assassin had stood. The masked Servant had vanished in the storm of her initial attack, but Caster seriously doubted he had been killed; most likely he hid among the trees even now, watching and waiting, invisible and undetectable.
Undetectable. Not un-findable.
Caster raised her arms, palms up, and said, "Ξίφος Νύχτα του Θεού." Above her outstretched hands, discs of black flame appeared, dark against the darkness.
She threw them into the forest behind Ryudou Temple, and the sound was a bit like a thousand chainsaws going violently insane in perfect unison as trees began to fall…
***
"Archer…" Rin asked again. "What am I looking at?"
The panic was clear in her voice, as much as she might try to hide it. Panic and something else… ever since the Black Servant's boundary field had overtaken the area, she had felt ill. Her head hurt, her blood burned in her veins, her muscles felt like lead. The boundary field was…
"I don't know, and it doesn't matter: we need to get you out of here so I can deal with it." Archer said, as if reading her mind. "This boundary field is sucking your life dry."
"Like Hell." Rin growled. "I'm a Master, I'm not just going to run away like som-"
"Yes, you, are." Archer said. "Right now, you're next to useless, particularly with Assassin and Caster…"
"Caster?" Rin snapped. "That thing is… no way! It's just not possible for that to be a hero of any kind! Not even an anti-hero could be so vile. You can't possibly think that..."
"Rin," Archer said, in a low, soft voice. "I need you to listen to me. Something I don't fully understand is going on here, but I have a chance to stop it. Please… can you trust me?"
Rin thought of this. She heard the urgency in Archer's voice, saw the thinly veiled fear in his eyes. And she gave the only answer that she could.
"No."
"… what?"
"I said 'no'. You clearly know more about this… about everything… than you're telling me. And I'm starting to think that's been the case since I first summoned you," Rin said. "So no, I don't trust you. How could I? I'm staying right here."
Archer considered her response. "All right, that's fair." He admitted. "I wouldn't trust me either. So we're going to do this the hard way."
"The…"
"I'm going to pick you up bodily, drag you to the steps, and throw you outside the mountain's boundary field." Archer said.
"… what?" Rin asked, not quite sure she'd heard right.
"Throw you. Kind of like a javelin, only it's you."
"… … …" Rin said.
"Don't worry. I'm good with projectile weapons. You won't die. I'll make sure you land in a bush or something." Archer said.
"… … …"
"You'll just get hurt. Between the draining effect of this sorcery and the wounds I'll be inflicting, you won't be able to get back to the fight, most likely. You'll be stuck safely outside the boundary field, while I deal with all of this madness." Archer said. "Magi heal fast, you'll be fine."
"Archer…" Rin said slowly. "Don't you dare."
Thirty-five seconds later, as Rin screamed, tears in her eyes, flying awfully fast towards a bush that didn't look at all soft enough for her tastes, she wondered why she'd ever thought this stupid war was something to look forward to.
***
Archer turned back towards the Temple, a screaming in his blood that he could not ignore. His true Master calling him to action.
But... the normal haze over his actions when performing his duties as a Guardian was not there. If that meant the situation was not yet dire enough, or the Servant summoning interfered with the process, he couldn't tell, but it meant he could face this crisis as himself. If he could deal with this problem now, while he still had his sanity, then...
Maybe, this time, my actions don't have to end in a massacre.
That was a rare thing for him, and something worth fighting for indeed.
Time to save the world, then.
***
Lancer went sprawling as the blades of darkness nicked him again.
Agile as he was, maintaining a perfect dodge rate against an enemy that could attack from any direction and seemed to be part of every shadow under every tree was a tall order. And since even the tiniest contact with the dark, twisted substance made him feel exhausted, he couldn't afford less than perfect.
At the least, his spear seemed able to do some damage. It hadn't really hurt the thing in any visible way, but it was able to slash aside the tendrils, cut the shadowy 'flesh'. He wasn't defenseless... completely.
But he couldn't win. He knew that much. Nothing seemed to do any lasting damage, the tendrils coiled around his legs, snapped from the dark spaces between every tree, surrounding, consuming...
He didn't bother to get to his feet, more 'throwing' himself from a prone position with his one free arm; not graceful, but it was movement and that was what he needed right this moment. Black spears slammed into the ground where he had just been as he flipped through the air, slamming his spear into the ground to steady himself and get back to his feet in time to slash aside the next attack. But he was being worn down, and the Shadow was between him and the only exit from the mountain; the main gate. The boundary field around the mountain would heavily resist a Servant on entry or exit, except for the main gates, the only hole in it. No way he could power through the boundary field with that thing on his tail, and no way he could kill it, at least not that he could see.
The tendrils were moving to surround him again, attempting to strike from all angles. And to make matters worse, the darkness was starting to ooze along the forest floor, a pool of infinite black that would soon leave him without even a perch to stand on.
Brilliant silver arrows struck down, igniting brilliant lights throughout the clearing and making the encroaching darkness pull back with a pained shriek.
Lancer looked up... and groaned. "If it's going to be you saving me, I'd rather take my chances with that thing."
Archer fought the urge to roll his eyes. "I'd rather have your help, but if you'd prefer to be devoured, I guess we can work with that too."
Lancer chose not to dignify that with a response. "Your arrows... not sure how, but they seemed to hurt that thing more than my spear. How..."
"Fighting a curse with a demonic lance isn't good tactics. I stuck to Holy blades." Archer said, watching as the Shadow reformed; the extended cloud of darkness coalescing into a vaguely humanoid, or at least human-sized, shape. "And even then I'd say it's not too upset."
"I don't think anything upsets it." Lancer said. "... Look, I'm not suggesting we work together or anything, but how about I wait to kill you until after we get out of this alive?"
"You heroes and your pride." Archer murmured in amusement. "Very well, if it keeps you off my back, call it a cease-fire." he said more loudly, as a half-dozen brilliant silver blades materialized around him.
"You can have a sneak preview of what I'm going to do to you when that fight you want finally comes." Archer said, and charged.
***
Caster looked at the devastation she had wrought and smiled. It really was amazing what one could do with the proper power source, wasn't it?
The forest by the lakeside had been devastated, and not one single throwing blade or curse had come from it in return. Not that it would have mattered particularly if Assassin had managed a counterattack, given Caster's raw power and defenses, but the fact that he hadn't even made the attempt told Caster that he most likely couldn't. She would have preferred to witness his death more closely, and preferably insure the pain involved in it was intense as possible, but she would accept this. There was, after all a certain glee to be found in the knowledge that she had crushed him like an insect. His death had been as anticlimactic and sudden as Soichirou-sama's.
There was a small measure of justice in that.
And now...
A silver flash tore through her mind. Not exactly painful, but shocking.
A man in a red coat, silver swords dancing around him, illuminating the darkness, tearing through the shadows the filled the sacred mountain.
No... no, her pet was...
The blue knight drove his spear forward, and something hissed as it pierced semi-solid black 'flesh'.
Caster was a part of the Shadow, and the Shadow was a part of Caster. Now, it was in distress, and the pain tore through her link as it called her to its side, seeking protection. Lancer had found an ally, and as much as she had taught her pet it was not yet strong enough to face this new threat with the blazing silver blades.
Caster took to the skies, not remotely happy with the state her new toy was in and not at all shy about sharing this fact with its tormentors.
And in the decimated forest she had left behind, a white skull briefly appeared among the fallen trees before once again fading from sight...
***
It wasn't exactly beautiful.
The swordsmanship displayed by the red knight was not the graceful beauty of Saber's otherworldly skill, nor the fierce beauty of Lancer's inhuman speed and strength. The silver swords appeared from nowhere and were ruthlessly discarded; each one piercing the Shadow's form, being devoured, and vanishing only to be replaced just as quickly. The knight had no grace, no beyond-human skill, just ruthless practicality and efficiency.
Lancer didn't honestly care; it was damn effective, and that's what mattered. He still didn't get the impression that they were really harming the bizarre thing, but the holy swords were shredding the black mass and pushing the monster back, and that was good enough.
Or, rather, it had been good enough.
"Μαύρη Φλόγα Βροχή ."
Pillars of ebon flame smashed down around the Shadow from above, tearing craters in the ground and driving back the two knights slashing away at its mass.
Above the treetops, Caster hovered, her cape spread like the wings of a bat and runes of power glowing with black light in the sky around her.
"Bad dogs." She purred. "If you can't play nicely with my new pet, I shall have to put some effort into taming you."
"Damn..." Archer muttered. Two-on-two, he was not sure of his chances, not this time. He was already cheating, tapping into powers that a Servant shouldn't have had, and he hadn't been doing a whole lot of damage. Now he had artillery to deal with too.
"You think we can take her?" Lancer asked.
"Do you?" Archer asked.
"Doesn't really matter, I'm trying anyway."
"... fair enough." It wasn't as though they had a lot of other options.
Caster descended, landing inside the Shadow, which dissolved around her into a pool of darkness that began to spread. "Now, my pet, we strike as..."
Something as black as the Shadow around her feet slammed into her back, jerking her body. She looked down at her chest in disbelief, two holes in her chest from projectiles that had gone into her back and pierced completely through. She fell to her hands and knees, blood flowing freely from her mouth and chest, her eyes wide with shock and agony.
A white skull hovered silently among the trees. "You missed," Assassin said.
Archer smirked. Three-on-two was a little bit better.
"You... you... you... you..." Caster murmured. Rather than fading away, she seemed to make everything else around her fading away... power gathering to her, drowning out what tiny bits of light remained on the mountain. Caster rose to her feet shakily, a globe of dark power encircling her, the hole through her chest already halfway closed.
"Damn..." Archer said. "You missed too."
"I see that." Assassin said, his tone somehow managing to be emotionless and yet mocking. "That cloak is partially alive, and it disrupted the course of my knives."
"Seems like she's got a major mana supply. She's healing fast." Lancer said, shifting his focus from Assassin back to Caster. "Also, she looks pissed."
Caster's black eyes were mad. There was no other word for it; she was simply and utterly insane as she turned to cast her gaze on Assassin.
"You... do you think that I would fall to your parlor tricks... you won't take me like you took Soichirou-sama... not me... never me...!" She snarled, a thin line of reddened drool running from the corner of her mouth. The Shadow snarled around her in sympathy to her madness, flowing into her wounds and accelerating her healing.
Seeking vengeance.
"I'm going to tear you all limb from bloody limb!" Caster roared, the darkness erupting from her in an explosion of power that shook the mountain.
"This is going to suck." Lancer said.
Kuroi Hadou
2011-04-03, 21:14
Hey, remember me? :heh:
Well, I know you remember this...
*snip*
That... was awesome. :love:
"This is going to suck" indeed. :heh:
RadiantBeam
2011-04-03, 21:22
Hey, remember me? :heh:
Well, I know you remember this...
Chapter Ten: Season of the Witch
It was a catastrophe of epic proportions. The single worst disaster that had ever befallen this world. A thing of corruption and destruction that despoiled all it touched.
"Ojou-sama has been out of the house all day. More than once…" Sella, the elder and less cheerful of Ilya's maids (not that this was immediately obvious, since for both of them the largest visible reaction they commonly showed was a sort of mild stare) murmured.
Out of the house. All day. More than once.
Horrible.
"If Ojou-sama desires it, we have no right to question her tactics in this War." Leysritt reminded her 'sister'. The two maids conspired outside the door to Ilya's bedroom, the Clan Einzbern's pride and joy having skipped him, danced up the stairs whistling, and practically leapt into bed to cuddle her teddy bear and giggle. "She is the pride of the Einzbern. We are mere failures, to be used and cast aside. Should she wish to pursue an unorthodox strategy…"
"She is not pursuing any strategy!" The elder twin snapped. "She goes out every day, and returns every night when the fighting begins! Not a single Master has fallen or even been encountered."
(It should be noted that this last was not exactly true, as Ilya had in fact encountered one of the other Masters and let him take a nap using her lap as a pillow. But Ilya had not shared the details of her daily outings with her attendants, so Sella had no real way of knowing this.)
"Ojou-sama has assured us that her outings each day, and return each night, are crucial to her overall plans," (This was exactly true, but Ilya had deliberately left out the fact that her overall plans had less to do with winning the Holy Grail War and more to do with going on dates.) "She deliberately pursues a plan she believes the other Masters will not predict, and rightly understands that our own, inferior, minds will not be able to properly comprehend it."
"Still, the Lord requested that we guide and foster Lady Ilyasviel, push her onto the right path, and facilitate her victory in the War. At the moment, we have only her word for it that she is even participating in the Holy Grail War, and… forgive me for saying as much… Ojou-sama is… rather flighty."
"Sella."
"I know! It pains me to say it as well." Sella said, with a slight (very slight, almost invisible) wince. "But our duty from the Lord Einzbern is very clear. We must speak with Ojou-sama regarding her plans, and see if her daily activities are, indeed, in the best interests of the Clan. And if they are not, we must set her back on the course to bring glory to the family, as is her destiny. If needed, we shall… we shall… … chastise her."
There was silence for several minutes.
"Perhaps in the morning."
"If Ojou-sama is in a good mood."
"A very good mood."
"And if Berserker is asleep."
"Very asleep."
Their course of very, very careful action decided, the two maids left to continue their duties. The castle was huge and would not clean itself, after all. (Honestly, you would have thought that after 1,000 years, someone would have devised a spell for that).
Though she gave no outward sign of her dissatisfaction, Sella could not help but think, Honestly… Ojou-sama and her fickle moods… truly, I have the worst of all possible lives.
***
Zouken Matou fell to his knees, gasping in anguish. Black blood flowed freely from his ears, nose, and from beneath his fingernails. His very existence could be defined as 'living pain'.
So, the point here would be that perhaps Sella was overestimating the severity of her own situation.
Still, if there was one thing that Zouken was familiar with, it was pain. Agony was his constant companion, no matter what body he took, and he knew how to focus his mind through it well enough. And so, even as his body fell to pieces, his mind worked in overdrive to discern why.
The backlash from the loss of so many familiars at once had been considerable, but nothing he could not have handled under normal circumstances. However, this particular loss had been laced with something else… a cold, aching hunger that had actually traced his connection to his familiars back to him, striking directly at his essence and attempting to devour him from the inside out. Had his core not been safely elsewhere, he most likely would have been killed instantly. As it was, his current body was most certainly cut down to a fraction of its expected lifespan; he would need to replace it, and soon.
One of his eyes fell out, trailing more of that foul-smelling black blood and small, weakly writhing worms.
Apparently, he would need to replace it very soon.
How had this happened? It made less than no sense. Assassin had played his part perfectly at the Temple. Lancer had been lured into an inescapable situation, the second sacrifice to the Grail. The weapon had attacked, as planned, eager to devour its second meal.
And then, from within the heart of Zouken's own secret weapon, she had emerged.
Caster.
She had survived. He didn't know how she had survived, but she had. More than that, she had opposed him, entered the darkness and emerged with at least some vestige of her mind intact! Even if she had returned, she should have been altered beyond recognition, warped into nothing more than a tool of the Shadow, a method by which it could expand its power and influence. And yet… she had not.
How had this happened? A Servant had entered the Holy Grail, and returned. Not merely alive but free and thriving. Under other circumstances, it might have been intriguing indeed; a new facet of the Grail's functions to explore and possibly exploit.
Under the current ones, with all his plans for the future poised on the edge of a knife, the success and failure of his life's ambitions a single error apart… it simply worried him a great, great deal.
***
Lancer tried his hardest to keep from staring in open amazement. He couldn't afford the lapse in judgment.
As hard as it was for him to admit, the Shadow… frightened him. It was simply something he couldn't comprehend, a thing that screamed into the core of his being that he could not defeat it, could not fight it, could not even touch it; to do so would mean his end, or worse.
And yet there she was; the dark woman, standing right in the middle of the worst of it, the tentacles whipping harmlessly around her. Every instinct in his body told him she should have been dead or worse. And yet she stood in the darkness, vibrantly happy and very much alive.
For the first time in his life, Cu Chulainn seriously considered just running away. There was nothing wrong with fighting an opponent you couldn't beat, but one you couldn't understand, that was another matter. And then there was that black static that played in the back of his mind as he looked at the Shadow… the whispers that what awaited him was far, far worse than death…
"Caster…" Assassin murmured. "But you were consumed."
"That's…" Lancer muttered. No way. As part of his Master's orders, Lancer had engaged all of the other Servants, and Caster was no exception… though he'd really been fighting her bizarre Master. And this was… well, not her. It kind of looked like her, now that he actually saw it, but the presence, the essence of the Servant he had tested was entirely different. She had never exactly been fluffy and happy, but now… "What the Hell is going on?"
The smile on her perfect lips was warm and calming, in contrast to the aura of wrongness she exuded. Her black eyes seemed to glitter with amusement. "Hmmmmm? Oh, yes, I believe I was consumed. It seems I've gotten better." She said. Her tone was musical, and beautiful, and wrong. "And just in time, it seems. For starters, Assassin, have you absolutely no common sense? To just throw away such a valuable pet as this fine hound is unforgivable.
"Lancer… Assassin will be nothing but food, the first part of my revenge. But you, I intend to keep all to myself. My new puppy." She purred.
Lancer fell back into a combat stance, leveling his spear at the writhing mass of darkness. "Nah. Don't get me wrong, you're cute and all, but if there's one thing I learned in my life it's that women with too much power don't make the best companions."
Caster chuckled, and it choked like glass dust in the air. "It's simply adorable that you think you have a choice."
She raised her hands, and Lancer got the impression that it might be a good idea to move.
The writhing mass of darkness surrounding her split, and split again, breaking from monstrous tentacles into tinier, razor-thin whips; thousands of them, dividing up evenly to target both Lancer and Assassin.
"Just like I taught you, my pet. You know how to do it, even if you don't know you know…" Caster purred.
"Oh, f-" Lancer said, just before the storm began.
The spears snapped out in a hail that blocked out even the waning starlight, a seemingly endless stream of black blades. Lancer's ability to defend against projectiles was extreme, but he had his limits; his spear simply could not be fast enough to defend against a simultaneous attack against every point on his body.
But he wasn't on the middle of a lake, anymore. He was on dry land and he had options.
Gathering power in his legs, he leapt straight backwards, then again, then again. His speed was vastly beyond human, and even with a forest in the way he was able to get quite a bit of distance before…
The spears came crashing down, tearing the mountain trees to kindling. No... it wasn't that they cut the trees, or tore into them. It was as if the living wood simply ceased to exist where the razor-thin blades touched it. Trees fell, cuts smooth as glass along the length of them. The rain of black blades filled the forest… but not as much as it would have if he hadn't retreated to the outer edges of the attack before it landed. He slashed aside the spears of black, but a few dozen, not a thousand. And he had to admit, he was relieved to see Gae Bolg could actually cut the damn things. He'd been worried about that.
A blade slipped through his guard, grazing his thigh. With a wince, he took another flying leap, slashing wildly at it. The cut was shallow, and thin, but the fact that such a light blow had cut at all was enough to confirm his suspicions… whatever that black thing was, it was very, very bad news. He couldn't even imagine what would have happened if he'd been caught by it on the open water; Caster might be trying to eat him right now, but he kinda owed her one.
Well… as much as he hated leaving debts unpaid, he might have to skip that one.
Back on the lake, Caster considered her options. "Well done, my pet. Hunt him down and consume him… alive, if possible, but we need to keep you well-fed."
The tendrils of darkness coiled around Caster's body like a lover's arms, and the Servant chuckled warmly. "Of course. You'll have Assassin as well. That one, I shall bring to you personally and in pieces. Now go, Lancer isn't going to just feed himself to you. Scoot!"
If a thing could be said to move 'like a plague', the Shadow did so; oozing out of the lake and into the forest in pursuit of Lancer and sustenance.
Now alone, Caster turned toward the opposite bank of the lake, where Assassin had stood. The masked Servant had vanished in the storm of her initial attack, but Caster seriously doubted he had been killed; most likely he hid among the trees even now, watching and waiting, invisible and undetectable.
Undetectable. Not un-findable.
Caster raised her arms, palms up, and said, "Ξίφος Νύχτα του Θεού." Above her outstretched hands, discs of black flame appeared, dark against the darkness.
She threw them into the forest behind Ryudou Temple, and the sound was a bit like a thousand chainsaws going violently insane in perfect unison as trees began to fall…
***
"Archer…" Rin asked again. "What am I looking at?"
The panic was clear in her voice, as much as she might try to hide it. Panic and something else… ever since the Black Servant's boundary field had overtaken the area, she had felt ill. Her head hurt, her blood burned in her veins, her muscles felt like lead. The boundary field was…
"I don't know, and it doesn't matter: we need to get you out of here so I can deal with it." Archer said, as if reading her mind. "This boundary field is sucking your life dry."
"Like Hell." Rin growled. "I'm a Master, I'm not just going to run away like som-"
"Yes, you, are." Archer said. "Right now, you're next to useless, particularly with Assassin and Caster…"
"Caster?" Rin snapped. "That thing is… no way! It's just not possible for that to be a hero of any kind! Not even an anti-hero could be so vile. You can't possibly think that..."
"Rin," Archer said, in a low, soft voice. "I need you to listen to me. Something I don't fully understand is going on here, but I have a chance to stop it. Please… can you trust me?"
Rin thought of this. She heard the urgency in Archer's voice, saw the thinly veiled fear in his eyes. And she gave the only answer that she could.
"No."
"… what?"
"I said 'no'. You clearly know more about this… about everything… than you're telling me. And I'm starting to think that's been the case since I first summoned you," Rin said. "So no, I don't trust you. How could I? I'm staying right here."
Archer considered her response. "All right, that's fair." He admitted. "I wouldn't trust me either. So we're going to do this the hard way."
"The…"
"I'm going to pick you up bodily, drag you to the steps, and throw you outside the mountain's boundary field." Archer said.
"… what?" Rin asked, not quite sure she'd heard right.
"Throw you. Kind of like a javelin, only it's you."
"… … …" Rin said.
"Don't worry. I'm good with projectile weapons. You won't die. I'll make sure you land in a bush or something." Archer said.
"… … …"
"You'll just get hurt. Between the draining effect of this sorcery and the wounds I'll be inflicting, you won't be able to get back to the fight, most likely. You'll be stuck safely outside the boundary field, while I deal with all of this madness." Archer said. "Magi heal fast, you'll be fine."
"Archer…" Rin said slowly. "Don't you dare."
Thirty-five seconds later, as Rin screamed, tears in her eyes, flying awfully fast towards a bush that didn't look at all soft enough for her tastes, she wondered why she'd ever thought this stupid war was something to look forward to.
***
Archer turned back towards the Temple, a screaming in his blood that he could not ignore. His true Master calling him to action.
But... the normal haze over his actions when performing his duties as a Guardian was not there. If that meant the situation was not yet dire enough, or the Servant summoning interfered with the process, he couldn't tell, but it meant he could face this crisis as himself. If he could deal with this problem now, while he still had his sanity, then...
Maybe, this time, my actions don't have to end in a massacre.
That was a rare thing for him, and something worth fighting for indeed.
Time to save the world, then.
***
Lancer went sprawling as the blades of darkness nicked him again.
Agile as he was, maintaining a perfect dodge rate against an enemy that could attack from any direction and seemed to be part of every shadow under every tree was a tall order. And since even the tiniest contact with the dark, twisted substance made him feel exhausted, he couldn't afford less than perfect.
At the least, his spear seemed able to do some damage. It hadn't really hurt the thing in any visible way, but it was able to slash aside the tendrils, cut the shadowy 'flesh'. He wasn't defenseless... completely.
But he couldn't win. He knew that much. Nothing seemed to do any lasting damage, the tendrils coiled around his legs, snapped from the dark spaces between every tree, surrounding, consuming...
He didn't bother to get to his feet, more 'throwing' himself from a prone position with his one free arm; not graceful, but it was movement and that was what he needed right this moment. Black spears slammed into the ground where he had just been as he flipped through the air, slamming his spear into the ground to steady himself and get back to his feet in time to slash aside the next attack. But he was being worn down, and the Shadow was between him and the only exit from the mountain; the main gate. The boundary field around the mountain would heavily resist a Servant on entry or exit, except for the main gates, the only hole in it. No way he could power through the boundary field with that thing on his tail, and no way he could kill it, at least not that he could see.
The tendrils were moving to surround him again, attempting to strike from all angles. And to make matters worse, the darkness was starting to ooze along the forest floor, a pool of infinite black that would soon leave him without even a perch to stand on.
Brilliant silver arrows struck down, igniting brilliant lights throughout the clearing and making the encroaching darkness pull back with a pained shriek.
Lancer looked up... and groaned. "If it's going to be you saving me, I'd rather take my chances with that thing."
Archer fought the urge to roll his eyes. "I'd rather have your help, but if you'd prefer to be devoured, I guess we can work with that too."
Lancer chose not to dignify that with a response. "Your arrows... not sure how, but they seemed to hurt that thing more than my spear. How..."
"Fighting a curse with a demonic lance isn't good tactics. I stuck to Holy blades." Archer said, watching as the Shadow reformed; the extended cloud of darkness coalescing into a vaguely humanoid, or at least human-sized, shape. "And even then I'd say it's not too upset."
"I don't think anything upsets it." Lancer said. "... Look, I'm not suggesting we work together or anything, but how about I wait to kill you until after we get out of this alive?"
"You heroes and your pride." Archer murmured in amusement. "Very well, if it keeps you off my back, call it a cease-fire." he said more loudly, as a half-dozen brilliant silver blades materialized around him.
"You can have a sneak preview of what I'm going to do to you when that fight you want finally comes." Archer said, and charged.
***
Caster looked at the devastation she had wrought and smiled. It really was amazing what one could do with the proper power source, wasn't it?
The forest by the lakeside had been devastated, and not one single throwing blade or curse had come from it in return. Not that it would have mattered particularly if Assassin had managed a counterattack, given Caster's raw power and defenses, but the fact that he hadn't even made the attempt told Caster that he most likely couldn't. She would have preferred to witness his death more closely, and preferably insure the pain involved in it was intense as possible, but she would accept this. There was, after all a certain glee to be found in the knowledge that she had crushed him like an insect. His death had been as anticlimactic and sudden as Soichirou-sama's.
There was a small measure of justice in that.
And now...
A silver flash tore through her mind. Not exactly painful, but shocking.
A man in a red coat, silver swords dancing around him, illuminating the darkness, tearing through the shadows the filled the sacred mountain.
No... no, her pet was...
The blue knight drove his spear forward, and something hissed as it pierced semi-solid black 'flesh'.
Caster was a part of the Shadow, and the Shadow was a part of Caster. Now, it was in distress, and the pain tore through her link as it called her to its side, seeking protection. Lancer had found an ally, and as much as she had taught her pet it was not yet strong enough to face this new threat with the blazing silver blades.
Caster took to the skies, not remotely happy with the state her new toy was in and not at all shy about sharing this fact with its tormentors.
And in the decimated forest she had left behind, a white skull briefly appeared among the fallen trees before once again fading from sight...
***
It wasn't exactly beautiful.
The swordsmanship displayed by the red knight was not the graceful beauty of Saber's otherworldly skill, nor the fierce beauty of Lancer's inhuman speed and strength. The silver swords appeared from nowhere and were ruthlessly discarded; each one piercing the Shadow's form, being devoured, and vanishing only to be replaced just as quickly. The knight had no grace, no beyond-human skill, just ruthless practicality and efficiency.
Lancer didn't honestly care; it was damn effective, and that's what mattered. He still didn't get the impression that they were really harming the bizarre thing, but the holy swords were shredding the black mass and pushing the monster back, and that was good enough.
Or, rather, it had been good enough.
"Μαύρη Φλόγα Βροχή ."
Pillars of ebon flame smashed down around the Shadow from above, tearing craters in the ground and driving back the two knights slashing away at its mass.
Above the treetops, Caster hovered, her cape spread like the wings of a bat and runes of power glowing with black light in the sky around her.
"Bad dogs." She purred. "If you can't play nicely with my new pet, I shall have to put some effort into taming you."
"Damn..." Archer muttered. Two-on-two, he was not sure of his chances, not this time. He was already cheating, tapping into powers that a Servant shouldn't have had, and he hadn't been doing a whole lot of damage. Now he had artillery to deal with too.
"You think we can take her?" Lancer asked.
"Do you?" Archer asked.
"Doesn't really matter, I'm trying anyway."
"... fair enough." It wasn't as though they had a lot of other options.
Caster descended, landing inside the Shadow, which dissolved around her into a pool of darkness that began to spread. "Now, my pet, we strike as..."
Something as black as the Shadow around her feet slammed into her back, jerking her body. She looked down at her chest in disbelief, two holes in her chest from projectiles that had gone into her back and pierced completely through. She fell to her hands and knees, blood flowing freely from her mouth and chest, her eyes wide with shock and agony.
A white skull hovered silently among the trees. "You missed," Assassin said.
Archer smirked. Three-on-two was a little bit better.
"You... you... you... you..." Caster murmured. Rather than fading away, she seemed to make everything else around her fading away... power gathering to her, drowning out what tiny bits of light remained on the mountain. Caster rose to her feet shakily, a globe of dark power encircling her, the hole through her chest already halfway closed.
"Damn..." Archer said. "You missed too."
"I see that." Assassin said, his tone somehow managing to be emotionless and yet mocking. "That cloak is partially alive, and it disrupted the course of my knives."
"Seems like she's got a major mana supply. She's healing fast." Lancer said, shifting his focus from Assassin back to Caster. "Also, she looks pissed."
Caster's black eyes were mad. There was no other word for it; she was simply and utterly insane as she turned to cast her gaze on Assassin.
"You... do you think that I would fall to your parlor tricks... you won't take me like you took Soichirou-sama... not me... never me...!" She snarled, a thin line of reddened drool running from the corner of her mouth. The Shadow snarled around her in sympathy to her madness, flowing into her wounds and accelerating her healing.
Seeking vengeance.
"I'm going to tear you all limb from bloody limb!" Caster roared, the darkness erupting from her in an explosion of power that shook the mountain.
"This is going to suck." Lancer said.
CHAOS THEORY!
... Ahem. Sorry. I have been trained to do that.
And for a chapter that is so focused on the showdown with Caster Alter and pretty much the big "Oh crap!" moment of the story, it's also one of the funniest, IMO. The little exchange between Sella and Leysritt had be snickering, and how calmly Archer was talking about throwing Rin--followed by her reaction to him telling her all of this--was absolutely priceless. Oh, Archer, you smooth, smooth man. You have such a way with the ladies.
Also, of course, Archer and Lancer teaming up is made of pure awesome and win, even if right now they're facing an extremely pissed off Caster. Though on the upside, they now have Assassin's help, so maybe that will make things at least a little bit easier before it all ends in hell.
Heroslayer
2011-04-03, 21:28
Hey, remember me? :heh:
Well, I know you remember this...
Chapter Ten: Season of the Witch
It was a catastrophe of epic proportions. The single worst disaster that had ever befallen this world. A thing of corruption and destruction that despoiled all it touched.
"Ojou-sama has been out of the house all day. More than once…" Sella, the elder and less cheerful of Ilya's maids (not that this was immediately obvious, since for both of them the largest visible reaction they commonly showed was a sort of mild stare) murmured.
Out of the house. All day. More than once.
Horrible.
"If Ojou-sama desires it, we have no right to question her tactics in this War." Leysritt reminded her 'sister'. The two maids conspired outside the door to Ilya's bedroom, the Clan Einzbern's pride and joy having skipped him, danced up the stairs whistling, and practically leapt into bed to cuddle her teddy bear and giggle. "She is the pride of the Einzbern. We are mere failures, to be used and cast aside. Should she wish to pursue an unorthodox strategy…"
"She is not pursuing any strategy!" The elder twin snapped. "She goes out every day, and returns every night when the fighting begins! Not a single Master has fallen or even been encountered."
(It should be noted that this last was not exactly true, as Ilya had in fact encountered one of the other Masters and let him take a nap using her lap as a pillow. But Ilya had not shared the details of her daily outings with her attendants, so Sella had no real way of knowing this.)
"Ojou-sama has assured us that her outings each day, and return each night, are crucial to her overall plans," (This was exactly true, but Ilya had deliberately left out the fact that her overall plans had less to do with winning the Holy Grail War and more to do with going on dates.) "She deliberately pursues a plan she believes the other Masters will not predict, and rightly understands that our own, inferior, minds will not be able to properly comprehend it."
"Still, the Lord requested that we guide and foster Lady Ilyasviel, push her onto the right path, and facilitate her victory in the War. At the moment, we have only her word for it that she is even participating in the Holy Grail War, and… forgive me for saying as much… Ojou-sama is… rather flighty."
"Sella."
"I know! It pains me to say it as well." Sella said, with a slight (very slight, almost invisible) wince. "But our duty from the Lord Einzbern is very clear. We must speak with Ojou-sama regarding her plans, and see if her daily activities are, indeed, in the best interests of the Clan. And if they are not, we must set her back on the course to bring glory to the family, as is her destiny. If needed, we shall… we shall… … chastise her."
There was silence for several minutes.
"Perhaps in the morning."
"If Ojou-sama is in a good mood."
"A very good mood."
"And if Berserker is asleep."
"Very asleep."
Their course of very, very careful action decided, the two maids left to continue their duties. The castle was huge and would not clean itself, after all. (Honestly, you would have thought that after 1,000 years, someone would have devised a spell for that).
Though she gave no outward sign of her dissatisfaction, Sella could not help but think, Honestly… Ojou-sama and her fickle moods… truly, I have the worst of all possible lives.
***
Zouken Matou fell to his knees, gasping in anguish. Black blood flowed freely from his ears, nose, and from beneath his fingernails. His very existence could be defined as 'living pain'.
So, the point here would be that perhaps Sella was overestimating the severity of her own situation.
Still, if there was one thing that Zouken was familiar with, it was pain. Agony was his constant companion, no matter what body he took, and he knew how to focus his mind through it well enough. And so, even as his body fell to pieces, his mind worked in overdrive to discern why.
The backlash from the loss of so many familiars at once had been considerable, but nothing he could not have handled under normal circumstances. However, this particular loss had been laced with something else… a cold, aching hunger that had actually traced his connection to his familiars back to him, striking directly at his essence and attempting to devour him from the inside out. Had his core not been safely elsewhere, he most likely would have been killed instantly. As it was, his current body was most certainly cut down to a fraction of its expected lifespan; he would need to replace it, and soon.
One of his eyes fell out, trailing more of that foul-smelling black blood and small, weakly writhing worms.
Apparently, he would need to replace it very soon.
How had this happened? It made less than no sense. Assassin had played his part perfectly at the Temple. Lancer had been lured into an inescapable situation, the second sacrifice to the Grail. The weapon had attacked, as planned, eager to devour its second meal.
And then, from within the heart of Zouken's own secret weapon, she had emerged.
Caster.
She had survived. He didn't know how she had survived, but she had. More than that, she had opposed him, entered the darkness and emerged with at least some vestige of her mind intact! Even if she had returned, she should have been altered beyond recognition, warped into nothing more than a tool of the Shadow, a method by which it could expand its power and influence. And yet… she had not.
How had this happened? A Servant had entered the Holy Grail, and returned. Not merely alive but free and thriving. Under other circumstances, it might have been intriguing indeed; a new facet of the Grail's functions to explore and possibly exploit.
Under the current ones, with all his plans for the future poised on the edge of a knife, the success and failure of his life's ambitions a single error apart… it simply worried him a great, great deal.
***
Lancer tried his hardest to keep from staring in open amazement. He couldn't afford the lapse in judgment.
As hard as it was for him to admit, the Shadow… frightened him. It was simply something he couldn't comprehend, a thing that screamed into the core of his being that he could not defeat it, could not fight it, could not even touch it; to do so would mean his end, or worse.
And yet there she was; the dark woman, standing right in the middle of the worst of it, the tentacles whipping harmlessly around her. Every instinct in his body told him she should have been dead or worse. And yet she stood in the darkness, vibrantly happy and very much alive.
For the first time in his life, Cu Chulainn seriously considered just running away. There was nothing wrong with fighting an opponent you couldn't beat, but one you couldn't understand, that was another matter. And then there was that black static that played in the back of his mind as he looked at the Shadow… the whispers that what awaited him was far, far worse than death…
"Caster…" Assassin murmured. "But you were consumed."
"That's…" Lancer muttered. No way. As part of his Master's orders, Lancer had engaged all of the other Servants, and Caster was no exception… though he'd really been fighting her bizarre Master. And this was… well, not her. It kind of looked like her, now that he actually saw it, but the presence, the essence of the Servant he had tested was entirely different. She had never exactly been fluffy and happy, but now… "What the Hell is going on?"
The smile on her perfect lips was warm and calming, in contrast to the aura of wrongness she exuded. Her black eyes seemed to glitter with amusement. "Hmmmmm? Oh, yes, I believe I was consumed. It seems I've gotten better." She said. Her tone was musical, and beautiful, and wrong. "And just in time, it seems. For starters, Assassin, have you absolutely no common sense? To just throw away such a valuable pet as this fine hound is unforgivable.
"Lancer… Assassin will be nothing but food, the first part of my revenge. But you, I intend to keep all to myself. My new puppy." She purred.
Lancer fell back into a combat stance, leveling his spear at the writhing mass of darkness. "Nah. Don't get me wrong, you're cute and all, but if there's one thing I learned in my life it's that women with too much power don't make the best companions."
Caster chuckled, and it choked like glass dust in the air. "It's simply adorable that you think you have a choice."
She raised her hands, and Lancer got the impression that it might be a good idea to move.
The writhing mass of darkness surrounding her split, and split again, breaking from monstrous tentacles into tinier, razor-thin whips; thousands of them, dividing up evenly to target both Lancer and Assassin.
"Just like I taught you, my pet. You know how to do it, even if you don't know you know…" Caster purred.
"Oh, f-" Lancer said, just before the storm began.
The spears snapped out in a hail that blocked out even the waning starlight, a seemingly endless stream of black blades. Lancer's ability to defend against projectiles was extreme, but he had his limits; his spear simply could not be fast enough to defend against a simultaneous attack against every point on his body.
But he wasn't on the middle of a lake, anymore. He was on dry land and he had options.
Gathering power in his legs, he leapt straight backwards, then again, then again. His speed was vastly beyond human, and even with a forest in the way he was able to get quite a bit of distance before…
The spears came crashing down, tearing the mountain trees to kindling. No... it wasn't that they cut the trees, or tore into them. It was as if the living wood simply ceased to exist where the razor-thin blades touched it. Trees fell, cuts smooth as glass along the length of them. The rain of black blades filled the forest… but not as much as it would have if he hadn't retreated to the outer edges of the attack before it landed. He slashed aside the spears of black, but a few dozen, not a thousand. And he had to admit, he was relieved to see Gae Bolg could actually cut the damn things. He'd been worried about that.
A blade slipped through his guard, grazing his thigh. With a wince, he took another flying leap, slashing wildly at it. The cut was shallow, and thin, but the fact that such a light blow had cut at all was enough to confirm his suspicions… whatever that black thing was, it was very, very bad news. He couldn't even imagine what would have happened if he'd been caught by it on the open water; Caster might be trying to eat him right now, but he kinda owed her one.
Well… as much as he hated leaving debts unpaid, he might have to skip that one.
Back on the lake, Caster considered her options. "Well done, my pet. Hunt him down and consume him… alive, if possible, but we need to keep you well-fed."
The tendrils of darkness coiled around Caster's body like a lover's arms, and the Servant chuckled warmly. "Of course. You'll have Assassin as well. That one, I shall bring to you personally and in pieces. Now go, Lancer isn't going to just feed himself to you. Scoot!"
If a thing could be said to move 'like a plague', the Shadow did so; oozing out of the lake and into the forest in pursuit of Lancer and sustenance.
Now alone, Caster turned toward the opposite bank of the lake, where Assassin had stood. The masked Servant had vanished in the storm of her initial attack, but Caster seriously doubted he had been killed; most likely he hid among the trees even now, watching and waiting, invisible and undetectable.
Undetectable. Not un-findable.
Caster raised her arms, palms up, and said, "Ξίφος Νύχτα του Θεού." Above her outstretched hands, discs of black flame appeared, dark against the darkness.
She threw them into the forest behind Ryudou Temple, and the sound was a bit like a thousand chainsaws going violently insane in perfect unison as trees began to fall…
***
"Archer…" Rin asked again. "What am I looking at?"
The panic was clear in her voice, as much as she might try to hide it. Panic and something else… ever since the Black Servant's boundary field had overtaken the area, she had felt ill. Her head hurt, her blood burned in her veins, her muscles felt like lead. The boundary field was…
"I don't know, and it doesn't matter: we need to get you out of here so I can deal with it." Archer said, as if reading her mind. "This boundary field is sucking your life dry."
"Like Hell." Rin growled. "I'm a Master, I'm not just going to run away like som-"
"Yes, you, are." Archer said. "Right now, you're next to useless, particularly with Assassin and Caster…"
"Caster?" Rin snapped. "That thing is… no way! It's just not possible for that to be a hero of any kind! Not even an anti-hero could be so vile. You can't possibly think that..."
"Rin," Archer said, in a low, soft voice. "I need you to listen to me. Something I don't fully understand is going on here, but I have a chance to stop it. Please… can you trust me?"
Rin thought of this. She heard the urgency in Archer's voice, saw the thinly veiled fear in his eyes. And she gave the only answer that she could.
"No."
"… what?"
"I said 'no'. You clearly know more about this… about everything… than you're telling me. And I'm starting to think that's been the case since I first summoned you," Rin said. "So no, I don't trust you. How could I? I'm staying right here."
Archer considered her response. "All right, that's fair." He admitted. "I wouldn't trust me either. So we're going to do this the hard way."
"The…"
"I'm going to pick you up bodily, drag you to the steps, and throw you outside the mountain's boundary field." Archer said.
"… what?" Rin asked, not quite sure she'd heard right.
"Throw you. Kind of like a javelin, only it's you."
"… … …" Rin said.
"Don't worry. I'm good with projectile weapons. You won't die. I'll make sure you land in a bush or something." Archer said.
"… … …"
"You'll just get hurt. Between the draining effect of this sorcery and the wounds I'll be inflicting, you won't be able to get back to the fight, most likely. You'll be stuck safely outside the boundary field, while I deal with all of this madness." Archer said. "Magi heal fast, you'll be fine."
"Archer…" Rin said slowly. "Don't you dare."
Thirty-five seconds later, as Rin screamed, tears in her eyes, flying awfully fast towards a bush that didn't look at all soft enough for her tastes, she wondered why she'd ever thought this stupid war was something to look forward to.
***
Archer turned back towards the Temple, a screaming in his blood that he could not ignore. His true Master calling him to action.
But... the normal haze over his actions when performing his duties as a Guardian was not there. If that meant the situation was not yet dire enough, or the Servant summoning interfered with the process, he couldn't tell, but it meant he could face this crisis as himself. If he could deal with this problem now, while he still had his sanity, then...
Maybe, this time, my actions don't have to end in a massacre.
That was a rare thing for him, and something worth fighting for indeed.
Time to save the world, then.
***
Lancer went sprawling as the blades of darkness nicked him again.
Agile as he was, maintaining a perfect dodge rate against an enemy that could attack from any direction and seemed to be part of every shadow under every tree was a tall order. And since even the tiniest contact with the dark, twisted substance made him feel exhausted, he couldn't afford less than perfect.
At the least, his spear seemed able to do some damage. It hadn't really hurt the thing in any visible way, but it was able to slash aside the tendrils, cut the shadowy 'flesh'. He wasn't defenseless... completely.
But he couldn't win. He knew that much. Nothing seemed to do any lasting damage, the tendrils coiled around his legs, snapped from the dark spaces between every tree, surrounding, consuming...
He didn't bother to get to his feet, more 'throwing' himself from a prone position with his one free arm; not graceful, but it was movement and that was what he needed right this moment. Black spears slammed into the ground where he had just been as he flipped through the air, slamming his spear into the ground to steady himself and get back to his feet in time to slash aside the next attack. But he was being worn down, and the Shadow was between him and the only exit from the mountain; the main gate. The boundary field around the mountain would heavily resist a Servant on entry or exit, except for the main gates, the only hole in it. No way he could power through the boundary field with that thing on his tail, and no way he could kill it, at least not that he could see.
The tendrils were moving to surround him again, attempting to strike from all angles. And to make matters worse, the darkness was starting to ooze along the forest floor, a pool of infinite black that would soon leave him without even a perch to stand on.
Brilliant silver arrows struck down, igniting brilliant lights throughout the clearing and making the encroaching darkness pull back with a pained shriek.
Lancer looked up... and groaned. "If it's going to be you saving me, I'd rather take my chances with that thing."
Archer fought the urge to roll his eyes. "I'd rather have your help, but if you'd prefer to be devoured, I guess we can work with that too."
Lancer chose not to dignify that with a response. "Your arrows... not sure how, but they seemed to hurt that thing more than my spear. How..."
"Fighting a curse with a demonic lance isn't good tactics. I stuck to Holy blades." Archer said, watching as the Shadow reformed; the extended cloud of darkness coalescing into a vaguely humanoid, or at least human-sized, shape. "And even then I'd say it's not too upset."
"I don't think anything upsets it." Lancer said. "... Look, I'm not suggesting we work together or anything, but how about I wait to kill you until after we get out of this alive?"
"You heroes and your pride." Archer murmured in amusement. "Very well, if it keeps you off my back, call it a cease-fire." he said more loudly, as a half-dozen brilliant silver blades materialized around him.
"You can have a sneak preview of what I'm going to do to you when that fight you want finally comes." Archer said, and charged.
***
Caster looked at the devastation she had wrought and smiled. It really was amazing what one could do with the proper power source, wasn't it?
The forest by the lakeside had been devastated, and not one single throwing blade or curse had come from it in return. Not that it would have mattered particularly if Assassin had managed a counterattack, given Caster's raw power and defenses, but the fact that he hadn't even made the attempt told Caster that he most likely couldn't. She would have preferred to witness his death more closely, and preferably insure the pain involved in it was intense as possible, but she would accept this. There was, after all a certain glee to be found in the knowledge that she had crushed him like an insect. His death had been as anticlimactic and sudden as Soichirou-sama's.
There was a small measure of justice in that.
And now...
A silver flash tore through her mind. Not exactly painful, but shocking.
A man in a red coat, silver swords dancing around him, illuminating the darkness, tearing through the shadows the filled the sacred mountain.
No... no, her pet was...
The blue knight drove his spear forward, and something hissed as it pierced semi-solid black 'flesh'.
Caster was a part of the Shadow, and the Shadow was a part of Caster. Now, it was in distress, and the pain tore through her link as it called her to its side, seeking protection. Lancer had found an ally, and as much as she had taught her pet it was not yet strong enough to face this new threat with the blazing silver blades.
Caster took to the skies, not remotely happy with the state her new toy was in and not at all shy about sharing this fact with its tormentors.
And in the decimated forest she had left behind, a white skull briefly appeared among the fallen trees before once again fading from sight...
***
It wasn't exactly beautiful.
The swordsmanship displayed by the red knight was not the graceful beauty of Saber's otherworldly skill, nor the fierce beauty of Lancer's inhuman speed and strength. The silver swords appeared from nowhere and were ruthlessly discarded; each one piercing the Shadow's form, being devoured, and vanishing only to be replaced just as quickly. The knight had no grace, no beyond-human skill, just ruthless practicality and efficiency.
Lancer didn't honestly care; it was damn effective, and that's what mattered. He still didn't get the impression that they were really harming the bizarre thing, but the holy swords were shredding the black mass and pushing the monster back, and that was good enough.
Or, rather, it had been good enough.
"Μαύρη Φλόγα Βροχή ."
Pillars of ebon flame smashed down around the Shadow from above, tearing craters in the ground and driving back the two knights slashing away at its mass.
Above the treetops, Caster hovered, her cape spread like the wings of a bat and runes of power glowing with black light in the sky around her.
"Bad dogs." She purred. "If you can't play nicely with my new pet, I shall have to put some effort into taming you."
"Damn..." Archer muttered. Two-on-two, he was not sure of his chances, not this time. He was already cheating, tapping into powers that a Servant shouldn't have had, and he hadn't been doing a whole lot of damage. Now he had artillery to deal with too.
"You think we can take her?" Lancer asked.
"Do you?" Archer asked.
"Doesn't really matter, I'm trying anyway."
"... fair enough." It wasn't as though they had a lot of other options.
Caster descended, landing inside the Shadow, which dissolved around her into a pool of darkness that began to spread. "Now, my pet, we strike as..."
Something as black as the Shadow around her feet slammed into her back, jerking her body. She looked down at her chest in disbelief, two holes in her chest from projectiles that had gone into her back and pierced completely through. She fell to her hands and knees, blood flowing freely from her mouth and chest, her eyes wide with shock and agony.
A white skull hovered silently among the trees. "You missed," Assassin said.
Archer smirked. Three-on-two was a little bit better.
"You... you... you... you..." Caster murmured. Rather than fading away, she seemed to make everything else around her fading away... power gathering to her, drowning out what tiny bits of light remained on the mountain. Caster rose to her feet shakily, a globe of dark power encircling her, the hole through her chest already halfway closed.
"Damn..." Archer said. "You missed too."
"I see that." Assassin said, his tone somehow managing to be emotionless and yet mocking. "That cloak is partially alive, and it disrupted the course of my knives."
"Seems like she's got a major mana supply. She's healing fast." Lancer said, shifting his focus from Assassin back to Caster. "Also, she looks pissed."
Caster's black eyes were mad. There was no other word for it; she was simply and utterly insane as she turned to cast her gaze on Assassin.
"You... do you think that I would fall to your parlor tricks... you won't take me like you took Soichirou-sama... not me... never me...!" She snarled, a thin line of reddened drool running from the corner of her mouth. The Shadow snarled around her in sympathy to her madness, flowing into her wounds and accelerating her healing.
Seeking vengeance.
"I'm going to tear you all limb from bloody limb!" Caster roared, the darkness erupting from her in an explosion of power that shook the mountain.
"This is going to suck." Lancer said.
New Chaos Theory!
Alright, now that that's out of my system. Holy crap they're screwed. I mean, Archer is made of pure Win, but it doesn't change the fact that he basically always loses in the War... and we can add that definition to Lancer too...
I repeat, they're screwed.
Though I liked how Archer just casually throws Rin away. Independent Movement has to one of the most useful skills for him, ne?
Argent Solbright
2011-04-03, 22:15
Hey, remember me? :heh:
Well, I know you remember this...
Chapter Ten: Season of the Witch
It was a catastrophe of epic proportions. The single worst disaster that had ever befallen this world. A thing of corruption and destruction that despoiled all it touched.
"Ojou-sama has been out of the house all day. More than once…" Sella, the elder and less cheerful of Ilya's maids (not that this was immediately obvious, since for both of them the largest visible reaction they commonly showed was a sort of mild stare) murmured.
Out of the house. All day. More than once.
Horrible.
"If Ojou-sama desires it, we have no right to question her tactics in this War." Leysritt reminded her 'sister'. The two maids conspired outside the door to Ilya's bedroom, the Clan Einzbern's pride and joy having skipped him, danced up the stairs whistling, and practically leapt into bed to cuddle her teddy bear and giggle. "She is the pride of the Einzbern. We are mere failures, to be used and cast aside. Should she wish to pursue an unorthodox strategy…"
"She is not pursuing any strategy!" The elder twin snapped. "She goes out every day, and returns every night when the fighting begins! Not a single Master has fallen or even been encountered."
(It should be noted that this last was not exactly true, as Ilya had in fact encountered one of the other Masters and let him take a nap using her lap as a pillow. But Ilya had not shared the details of her daily outings with her attendants, so Sella had no real way of knowing this.)
"Ojou-sama has assured us that her outings each day, and return each night, are crucial to her overall plans," (This was exactly true, but Ilya had deliberately left out the fact that her overall plans had less to do with winning the Holy Grail War and more to do with going on dates.) "She deliberately pursues a plan she believes the other Masters will not predict, and rightly understands that our own, inferior, minds will not be able to properly comprehend it."
"Still, the Lord requested that we guide and foster Lady Ilyasviel, push her onto the right path, and facilitate her victory in the War. At the moment, we have only her word for it that she is even participating in the Holy Grail War, and… forgive me for saying as much… Ojou-sama is… rather flighty."
"Sella."
"I know! It pains me to say it as well." Sella said, with a slight (very slight, almost invisible) wince. "But our duty from the Lord Einzbern is very clear. We must speak with Ojou-sama regarding her plans, and see if her daily activities are, indeed, in the best interests of the Clan. And if they are not, we must set her back on the course to bring glory to the family, as is her destiny. If needed, we shall… we shall… … chastise her."
There was silence for several minutes.
"Perhaps in the morning."
"If Ojou-sama is in a good mood."
"A very good mood."
"And if Berserker is asleep."
"Very asleep."
Their course of very, very careful action decided, the two maids left to continue their duties. The castle was huge and would not clean itself, after all. (Honestly, you would have thought that after 1,000 years, someone would have devised a spell for that).
Though she gave no outward sign of her dissatisfaction, Sella could not help but think, Honestly… Ojou-sama and her fickle moods… truly, I have the worst of all possible lives.
***
Zouken Matou fell to his knees, gasping in anguish. Black blood flowed freely from his ears, nose, and from beneath his fingernails. His very existence could be defined as 'living pain'.
So, the point here would be that perhaps Sella was overestimating the severity of her own situation.
Still, if there was one thing that Zouken was familiar with, it was pain. Agony was his constant companion, no matter what body he took, and he knew how to focus his mind through it well enough. And so, even as his body fell to pieces, his mind worked in overdrive to discern why.
The backlash from the loss of so many familiars at once had been considerable, but nothing he could not have handled under normal circumstances. However, this particular loss had been laced with something else… a cold, aching hunger that had actually traced his connection to his familiars back to him, striking directly at his essence and attempting to devour him from the inside out. Had his core not been safely elsewhere, he most likely would have been killed instantly. As it was, his current body was most certainly cut down to a fraction of its expected lifespan; he would need to replace it, and soon.
One of his eyes fell out, trailing more of that foul-smelling black blood and small, weakly writhing worms.
Apparently, he would need to replace it very soon.
How had this happened? It made less than no sense. Assassin had played his part perfectly at the Temple. Lancer had been lured into an inescapable situation, the second sacrifice to the Grail. The weapon had attacked, as planned, eager to devour its second meal.
And then, from within the heart of Zouken's own secret weapon, she had emerged.
Caster.
She had survived. He didn't know how she had survived, but she had. More than that, she had opposed him, entered the darkness and emerged with at least some vestige of her mind intact! Even if she had returned, she should have been altered beyond recognition, warped into nothing more than a tool of the Shadow, a method by which it could expand its power and influence. And yet… she had not.
How had this happened? A Servant had entered the Holy Grail, and returned. Not merely alive but free and thriving. Under other circumstances, it might have been intriguing indeed; a new facet of the Grail's functions to explore and possibly exploit.
Under the current ones, with all his plans for the future poised on the edge of a knife, the success and failure of his life's ambitions a single error apart… it simply worried him a great, great deal.
***
Lancer tried his hardest to keep from staring in open amazement. He couldn't afford the lapse in judgment.
As hard as it was for him to admit, the Shadow… frightened him. It was simply something he couldn't comprehend, a thing that screamed into the core of his being that he could not defeat it, could not fight it, could not even touch it; to do so would mean his end, or worse.
And yet there she was; the dark woman, standing right in the middle of the worst of it, the tentacles whipping harmlessly around her. Every instinct in his body told him she should have been dead or worse. And yet she stood in the darkness, vibrantly happy and very much alive.
For the first time in his life, Cu Chulainn seriously considered just running away. There was nothing wrong with fighting an opponent you couldn't beat, but one you couldn't understand, that was another matter. And then there was that black static that played in the back of his mind as he looked at the Shadow… the whispers that what awaited him was far, far worse than death…
"Caster…" Assassin murmured. "But you were consumed."
"That's…" Lancer muttered. No way. As part of his Master's orders, Lancer had engaged all of the other Servants, and Caster was no exception… though he'd really been fighting her bizarre Master. And this was… well, not her. It kind of looked like her, now that he actually saw it, but the presence, the essence of the Servant he had tested was entirely different. She had never exactly been fluffy and happy, but now… "What the Hell is going on?"
The smile on her perfect lips was warm and calming, in contrast to the aura of wrongness she exuded. Her black eyes seemed to glitter with amusement. "Hmmmmm? Oh, yes, I believe I was consumed. It seems I've gotten better." She said. Her tone was musical, and beautiful, and wrong. "And just in time, it seems. For starters, Assassin, have you absolutely no common sense? To just throw away such a valuable pet as this fine hound is unforgivable.
"Lancer… Assassin will be nothing but food, the first part of my revenge. But you, I intend to keep all to myself. My new puppy." She purred.
Lancer fell back into a combat stance, leveling his spear at the writhing mass of darkness. "Nah. Don't get me wrong, you're cute and all, but if there's one thing I learned in my life it's that women with too much power don't make the best companions."
Caster chuckled, and it choked like glass dust in the air. "It's simply adorable that you think you have a choice."
She raised her hands, and Lancer got the impression that it might be a good idea to move.
The writhing mass of darkness surrounding her split, and split again, breaking from monstrous tentacles into tinier, razor-thin whips; thousands of them, dividing up evenly to target both Lancer and Assassin.
"Just like I taught you, my pet. You know how to do it, even if you don't know you know…" Caster purred.
"Oh, f-" Lancer said, just before the storm began.
The spears snapped out in a hail that blocked out even the waning starlight, a seemingly endless stream of black blades. Lancer's ability to defend against projectiles was extreme, but he had his limits; his spear simply could not be fast enough to defend against a simultaneous attack against every point on his body.
But he wasn't on the middle of a lake, anymore. He was on dry land and he had options.
Gathering power in his legs, he leapt straight backwards, then again, then again. His speed was vastly beyond human, and even with a forest in the way he was able to get quite a bit of distance before…
The spears came crashing down, tearing the mountain trees to kindling. No... it wasn't that they cut the trees, or tore into them. It was as if the living wood simply ceased to exist where the razor-thin blades touched it. Trees fell, cuts smooth as glass along the length of them. The rain of black blades filled the forest… but not as much as it would have if he hadn't retreated to the outer edges of the attack before it landed. He slashed aside the spears of black, but a few dozen, not a thousand. And he had to admit, he was relieved to see Gae Bolg could actually cut the damn things. He'd been worried about that.
A blade slipped through his guard, grazing his thigh. With a wince, he took another flying leap, slashing wildly at it. The cut was shallow, and thin, but the fact that such a light blow had cut at all was enough to confirm his suspicions… whatever that black thing was, it was very, very bad news. He couldn't even imagine what would have happened if he'd been caught by it on the open water; Caster might be trying to eat him right now, but he kinda owed her one.
Well… as much as he hated leaving debts unpaid, he might have to skip that one.
Back on the lake, Caster considered her options. "Well done, my pet. Hunt him down and consume him… alive, if possible, but we need to keep you well-fed."
The tendrils of darkness coiled around Caster's body like a lover's arms, and the Servant chuckled warmly. "Of course. You'll have Assassin as well. That one, I shall bring to you personally and in pieces. Now go, Lancer isn't going to just feed himself to you. Scoot!"
If a thing could be said to move 'like a plague', the Shadow did so; oozing out of the lake and into the forest in pursuit of Lancer and sustenance.
Now alone, Caster turned toward the opposite bank of the lake, where Assassin had stood. The masked Servant had vanished in the storm of her initial attack, but Caster seriously doubted he had been killed; most likely he hid among the trees even now, watching and waiting, invisible and undetectable.
Undetectable. Not un-findable.
Caster raised her arms, palms up, and said, "Ξίφος Νύχτα του Θεού." Above her outstretched hands, discs of black flame appeared, dark against the darkness.
She threw them into the forest behind Ryudou Temple, and the sound was a bit like a thousand chainsaws going violently insane in perfect unison as trees began to fall…
***
"Archer…" Rin asked again. "What am I looking at?"
The panic was clear in her voice, as much as she might try to hide it. Panic and something else… ever since the Black Servant's boundary field had overtaken the area, she had felt ill. Her head hurt, her blood burned in her veins, her muscles felt like lead. The boundary field was…
"I don't know, and it doesn't matter: we need to get you out of here so I can deal with it." Archer said, as if reading her mind. "This boundary field is sucking your life dry."
"Like Hell." Rin growled. "I'm a Master, I'm not just going to run away like som-"
"Yes, you, are." Archer said. "Right now, you're next to useless, particularly with Assassin and Caster…"
"Caster?" Rin snapped. "That thing is… no way! It's just not possible for that to be a hero of any kind! Not even an anti-hero could be so vile. You can't possibly think that..."
"Rin," Archer said, in a low, soft voice. "I need you to listen to me. Something I don't fully understand is going on here, but I have a chance to stop it. Please… can you trust me?"
Rin thought of this. She heard the urgency in Archer's voice, saw the thinly veiled fear in his eyes. And she gave the only answer that she could.
"No."
"… what?"
"I said 'no'. You clearly know more about this… about everything… than you're telling me. And I'm starting to think that's been the case since I first summoned you," Rin said. "So no, I don't trust you. How could I? I'm staying right here."
Archer considered her response. "All right, that's fair." He admitted. "I wouldn't trust me either. So we're going to do this the hard way."
"The…"
"I'm going to pick you up bodily, drag you to the steps, and throw you outside the mountain's boundary field." Archer said.
"… what?" Rin asked, not quite sure she'd heard right.
"Throw you. Kind of like a javelin, only it's you."
"… … …" Rin said.
"Don't worry. I'm good with projectile weapons. You won't die. I'll make sure you land in a bush or something." Archer said.
"… … …"
"You'll just get hurt. Between the draining effect of this sorcery and the wounds I'll be inflicting, you won't be able to get back to the fight, most likely. You'll be stuck safely outside the boundary field, while I deal with all of this madness." Archer said. "Magi heal fast, you'll be fine."
"Archer…" Rin said slowly. "Don't you dare."
Thirty-five seconds later, as Rin screamed, tears in her eyes, flying awfully fast towards a bush that didn't look at all soft enough for her tastes, she wondered why she'd ever thought this stupid war was something to look forward to.
***
Archer turned back towards the Temple, a screaming in his blood that he could not ignore. His true Master calling him to action.
But... the normal haze over his actions when performing his duties as a Guardian was not there. If that meant the situation was not yet dire enough, or the Servant summoning interfered with the process, he couldn't tell, but it meant he could face this crisis as himself. If he could deal with this problem now, while he still had his sanity, then...
Maybe, this time, my actions don't have to end in a massacre.
That was a rare thing for him, and something worth fighting for indeed.
Time to save the world, then.
***
Lancer went sprawling as the blades of darkness nicked him again.
Agile as he was, maintaining a perfect dodge rate against an enemy that could attack from any direction and seemed to be part of every shadow under every tree was a tall order. And since even the tiniest contact with the dark, twisted substance made him feel exhausted, he couldn't afford less than perfect.
At the least, his spear seemed able to do some damage. It hadn't really hurt the thing in any visible way, but it was able to slash aside the tendrils, cut the shadowy 'flesh'. He wasn't defenseless... completely.
But he couldn't win. He knew that much. Nothing seemed to do any lasting damage, the tendrils coiled around his legs, snapped from the dark spaces between every tree, surrounding, consuming...
He didn't bother to get to his feet, more 'throwing' himself from a prone position with his one free arm; not graceful, but it was movement and that was what he needed right this moment. Black spears slammed into the ground where he had just been as he flipped through the air, slamming his spear into the ground to steady himself and get back to his feet in time to slash aside the next attack. But he was being worn down, and the Shadow was between him and the only exit from the mountain; the main gate. The boundary field around the mountain would heavily resist a Servant on entry or exit, except for the main gates, the only hole in it. No way he could power through the boundary field with that thing on his tail, and no way he could kill it, at least not that he could see.
The tendrils were moving to surround him again, attempting to strike from all angles. And to make matters worse, the darkness was starting to ooze along the forest floor, a pool of infinite black that would soon leave him without even a perch to stand on.
Brilliant silver arrows struck down, igniting brilliant lights throughout the clearing and making the encroaching darkness pull back with a pained shriek.
Lancer looked up... and groaned. "If it's going to be you saving me, I'd rather take my chances with that thing."
Archer fought the urge to roll his eyes. "I'd rather have your help, but if you'd prefer to be devoured, I guess we can work with that too."
Lancer chose not to dignify that with a response. "Your arrows... not sure how, but they seemed to hurt that thing more than my spear. How..."
"Fighting a curse with a demonic lance isn't good tactics. I stuck to Holy blades." Archer said, watching as the Shadow reformed; the extended cloud of darkness coalescing into a vaguely humanoid, or at least human-sized, shape. "And even then I'd say it's not too upset."
"I don't think anything upsets it." Lancer said. "... Look, I'm not suggesting we work together or anything, but how about I wait to kill you until after we get out of this alive?"
"You heroes and your pride." Archer murmured in amusement. "Very well, if it keeps you off my back, call it a cease-fire." he said more loudly, as a half-dozen brilliant silver blades materialized around him.
"You can have a sneak preview of what I'm going to do to you when that fight you want finally comes." Archer said, and charged.
***
Caster looked at the devastation she had wrought and smiled. It really was amazing what one could do with the proper power source, wasn't it?
The forest by the lakeside had been devastated, and not one single throwing blade or curse had come from it in return. Not that it would have mattered particularly if Assassin had managed a counterattack, given Caster's raw power and defenses, but the fact that he hadn't even made the attempt told Caster that he most likely couldn't. She would have preferred to witness his death more closely, and preferably insure the pain involved in it was intense as possible, but she would accept this. There was, after all a certain glee to be found in the knowledge that she had crushed him like an insect. His death had been as anticlimactic and sudden as Soichirou-sama's.
There was a small measure of justice in that.
And now...
A silver flash tore through her mind. Not exactly painful, but shocking.
A man in a red coat, silver swords dancing around him, illuminating the darkness, tearing through the shadows the filled the sacred mountain.
No... no, her pet was...
The blue knight drove his spear forward, and something hissed as it pierced semi-solid black 'flesh'.
Caster was a part of the Shadow, and the Shadow was a part of Caster. Now, it was in distress, and the pain tore through her link as it called her to its side, seeking protection. Lancer had found an ally, and as much as she had taught her pet it was not yet strong enough to face this new threat with the blazing silver blades.
Caster took to the skies, not remotely happy with the state her new toy was in and not at all shy about sharing this fact with its tormentors.
And in the decimated forest she had left behind, a white skull briefly appeared among the fallen trees before once again fading from sight...
***
It wasn't exactly beautiful.
The swordsmanship displayed by the red knight was not the graceful beauty of Saber's otherworldly skill, nor the fierce beauty of Lancer's inhuman speed and strength. The silver swords appeared from nowhere and were ruthlessly discarded; each one piercing the Shadow's form, being devoured, and vanishing only to be replaced just as quickly. The knight had no grace, no beyond-human skill, just ruthless practicality and efficiency.
Lancer didn't honestly care; it was damn effective, and that's what mattered. He still didn't get the impression that they were really harming the bizarre thing, but the holy swords were shredding the black mass and pushing the monster back, and that was good enough.
Or, rather, it had been good enough.
"Μαύρη Φλόγα Βροχή ."
Pillars of ebon flame smashed down around the Shadow from above, tearing craters in the ground and driving back the two knights slashing away at its mass.
Above the treetops, Caster hovered, her cape spread like the wings of a bat and runes of power glowing with black light in the sky around her.
"Bad dogs." She purred. "If you can't play nicely with my new pet, I shall have to put some effort into taming you."
"Damn..." Archer muttered. Two-on-two, he was not sure of his chances, not this time. He was already cheating, tapping into powers that a Servant shouldn't have had, and he hadn't been doing a whole lot of damage. Now he had artillery to deal with too.
"You think we can take her?" Lancer asked.
"Do you?" Archer asked.
"Doesn't really matter, I'm trying anyway."
"... fair enough." It wasn't as though they had a lot of other options.
Caster descended, landing inside the Shadow, which dissolved around her into a pool of darkness that began to spread. "Now, my pet, we strike as..."
Something as black as the Shadow around her feet slammed into her back, jerking her body. She looked down at her chest in disbelief, two holes in her chest from projectiles that had gone into her back and pierced completely through. She fell to her hands and knees, blood flowing freely from her mouth and chest, her eyes wide with shock and agony.
A white skull hovered silently among the trees. "You missed," Assassin said.
Archer smirked. Three-on-two was a little bit better.
"You... you... you... you..." Caster murmured. Rather than fading away, she seemed to make everything else around her fading away... power gathering to her, drowning out what tiny bits of light remained on the mountain. Caster rose to her feet shakily, a globe of dark power encircling her, the hole through her chest already halfway closed.
"Damn..." Archer said. "You missed too."
"I see that." Assassin said, his tone somehow managing to be emotionless and yet mocking. "That cloak is partially alive, and it disrupted the course of my knives."
"Seems like she's got a major mana supply. She's healing fast." Lancer said, shifting his focus from Assassin back to Caster. "Also, she looks pissed."
Caster's black eyes were mad. There was no other word for it; she was simply and utterly insane as she turned to cast her gaze on Assassin.
"You... do you think that I would fall to your parlor tricks... you won't take me like you took Soichirou-sama... not me... never me...!" She snarled, a thin line of reddened drool running from the corner of her mouth. The Shadow snarled around her in sympathy to her madness, flowing into her wounds and accelerating her healing.
Seeking vengeance.
"I'm going to tear you all limb from bloody limb!" Caster roared, the darkness erupting from her in an explosion of power that shook the mountain.
"This is going to suck." Lancer said.
Wow, man I almost queal when I see this. :D (I've just read, well skimmed, through a bunch of idiotic fanfics so this is very welcome).
I love the image of Rin flying through the air. :D
DezoPenguin
2011-04-03, 22:26
Hey, remember me? :heh:
Well, I know you remember this...
Chapter Ten: Season of the Witch
It was a catastrophe of epic proportions. The single worst disaster that had ever befallen this world. A thing of corruption and destruction that despoiled all it touched.
"Ojou-sama has been out of the house all day. More than once…" Sella, the elder and less cheerful of Ilya's maids (not that this was immediately obvious, since for both of them the largest visible reaction they commonly showed was a sort of mild stare) murmured.
Out of the house. All day. More than once.
Horrible.
"If Ojou-sama desires it, we have no right to question her tactics in this War." Leysritt reminded her 'sister'. The two maids conspired outside the door to Ilya's bedroom, the Clan Einzbern's pride and joy having skipped him, danced up the stairs whistling, and practically leapt into bed to cuddle her teddy bear and giggle. "She is the pride of the Einzbern. We are mere failures, to be used and cast aside. Should she wish to pursue an unorthodox strategy…"
"She is not pursuing any strategy!" The elder twin snapped. "She goes out every day, and returns every night when the fighting begins! Not a single Master has fallen or even been encountered."
(It should be noted that this last was not exactly true, as Ilya had in fact encountered one of the other Masters and let him take a nap using her lap as a pillow. But Ilya had not shared the details of her daily outings with her attendants, so Sella had no real way of knowing this.)
"Ojou-sama has assured us that her outings each day, and return each night, are crucial to her overall plans," (This was exactly true, but Ilya had deliberately left out the fact that her overall plans had less to do with winning the Holy Grail War and more to do with going on dates.) "She deliberately pursues a plan she believes the other Masters will not predict, and rightly understands that our own, inferior, minds will not be able to properly comprehend it."
"Still, the Lord requested that we guide and foster Lady Ilyasviel, push her onto the right path, and facilitate her victory in the War. At the moment, we have only her word for it that she is even participating in the Holy Grail War, and… forgive me for saying as much… Ojou-sama is… rather flighty."
"Sella."
"I know! It pains me to say it as well." Sella said, with a slight (very slight, almost invisible) wince. "But our duty from the Lord Einzbern is very clear. We must speak with Ojou-sama regarding her plans, and see if her daily activities are, indeed, in the best interests of the Clan. And if they are not, we must set her back on the course to bring glory to the family, as is her destiny. If needed, we shall… we shall… … chastise her."
There was silence for several minutes.
"Perhaps in the morning."
"If Ojou-sama is in a good mood."
"A very good mood."
"And if Berserker is asleep."
"Very asleep."
Their course of very, very careful action decided, the two maids left to continue their duties. The castle was huge and would not clean itself, after all. (Honestly, you would have thought that after 1,000 years, someone would have devised a spell for that).
Though she gave no outward sign of her dissatisfaction, Sella could not help but think, Honestly… Ojou-sama and her fickle moods… truly, I have the worst of all possible lives.
***
Zouken Matou fell to his knees, gasping in anguish. Black blood flowed freely from his ears, nose, and from beneath his fingernails. His very existence could be defined as 'living pain'.
So, the point here would be that perhaps Sella was overestimating the severity of her own situation.
Still, if there was one thing that Zouken was familiar with, it was pain. Agony was his constant companion, no matter what body he took, and he knew how to focus his mind through it well enough. And so, even as his body fell to pieces, his mind worked in overdrive to discern why.
The backlash from the loss of so many familiars at once had been considerable, but nothing he could not have handled under normal circumstances. However, this particular loss had been laced with something else… a cold, aching hunger that had actually traced his connection to his familiars back to him, striking directly at his essence and attempting to devour him from the inside out. Had his core not been safely elsewhere, he most likely would have been killed instantly. As it was, his current body was most certainly cut down to a fraction of its expected lifespan; he would need to replace it, and soon.
One of his eyes fell out, trailing more of that foul-smelling black blood and small, weakly writhing worms.
Apparently, he would need to replace it very soon.
How had this happened? It made less than no sense. Assassin had played his part perfectly at the Temple. Lancer had been lured into an inescapable situation, the second sacrifice to the Grail. The weapon had attacked, as planned, eager to devour its second meal.
And then, from within the heart of Zouken's own secret weapon, she had emerged.
Caster.
She had survived. He didn't know how she had survived, but she had. More than that, she had opposed him, entered the darkness and emerged with at least some vestige of her mind intact! Even if she had returned, she should have been altered beyond recognition, warped into nothing more than a tool of the Shadow, a method by which it could expand its power and influence. And yet… she had not.
How had this happened? A Servant had entered the Holy Grail, and returned. Not merely alive but free and thriving. Under other circumstances, it might have been intriguing indeed; a new facet of the Grail's functions to explore and possibly exploit.
Under the current ones, with all his plans for the future poised on the edge of a knife, the success and failure of his life's ambitions a single error apart… it simply worried him a great, great deal.
***
Lancer tried his hardest to keep from staring in open amazement. He couldn't afford the lapse in judgment.
As hard as it was for him to admit, the Shadow… frightened him. It was simply something he couldn't comprehend, a thing that screamed into the core of his being that he could not defeat it, could not fight it, could not even touch it; to do so would mean his end, or worse.
And yet there she was; the dark woman, standing right in the middle of the worst of it, the tentacles whipping harmlessly around her. Every instinct in his body told him she should have been dead or worse. And yet she stood in the darkness, vibrantly happy and very much alive.
For the first time in his life, Cu Chulainn seriously considered just running away. There was nothing wrong with fighting an opponent you couldn't beat, but one you couldn't understand, that was another matter. And then there was that black static that played in the back of his mind as he looked at the Shadow… the whispers that what awaited him was far, far worse than death…
"Caster…" Assassin murmured. "But you were consumed."
"That's…" Lancer muttered. No way. As part of his Master's orders, Lancer had engaged all of the other Servants, and Caster was no exception… though he'd really been fighting her bizarre Master. And this was… well, not her. It kind of looked like her, now that he actually saw it, but the presence, the essence of the Servant he had tested was entirely different. She had never exactly been fluffy and happy, but now… "What the Hell is going on?"
The smile on her perfect lips was warm and calming, in contrast to the aura of wrongness she exuded. Her black eyes seemed to glitter with amusement. "Hmmmmm? Oh, yes, I believe I was consumed. It seems I've gotten better." She said. Her tone was musical, and beautiful, and wrong. "And just in time, it seems. For starters, Assassin, have you absolutely no common sense? To just throw away such a valuable pet as this fine hound is unforgivable.
"Lancer… Assassin will be nothing but food, the first part of my revenge. But you, I intend to keep all to myself. My new puppy." She purred.
Lancer fell back into a combat stance, leveling his spear at the writhing mass of darkness. "Nah. Don't get me wrong, you're cute and all, but if there's one thing I learned in my life it's that women with too much power don't make the best companions."
Caster chuckled, and it choked like glass dust in the air. "It's simply adorable that you think you have a choice."
She raised her hands, and Lancer got the impression that it might be a good idea to move.
The writhing mass of darkness surrounding her split, and split again, breaking from monstrous tentacles into tinier, razor-thin whips; thousands of them, dividing up evenly to target both Lancer and Assassin.
"Just like I taught you, my pet. You know how to do it, even if you don't know you know…" Caster purred.
"Oh, f-" Lancer said, just before the storm began.
The spears snapped out in a hail that blocked out even the waning starlight, a seemingly endless stream of black blades. Lancer's ability to defend against projectiles was extreme, but he had his limits; his spear simply could not be fast enough to defend against a simultaneous attack against every point on his body.
But he wasn't on the middle of a lake, anymore. He was on dry land and he had options.
Gathering power in his legs, he leapt straight backwards, then again, then again. His speed was vastly beyond human, and even with a forest in the way he was able to get quite a bit of distance before…
The spears came crashing down, tearing the mountain trees to kindling. No... it wasn't that they cut the trees, or tore into them. It was as if the living wood simply ceased to exist where the razor-thin blades touched it. Trees fell, cuts smooth as glass along the length of them. The rain of black blades filled the forest… but not as much as it would have if he hadn't retreated to the outer edges of the attack before it landed. He slashed aside the spears of black, but a few dozen, not a thousand. And he had to admit, he was relieved to see Gae Bolg could actually cut the damn things. He'd been worried about that.
A blade slipped through his guard, grazing his thigh. With a wince, he took another flying leap, slashing wildly at it. The cut was shallow, and thin, but the fact that such a light blow had cut at all was enough to confirm his suspicions… whatever that black thing was, it was very, very bad news. He couldn't even imagine what would have happened if he'd been caught by it on the open water; Caster might be trying to eat him right now, but he kinda owed her one.
Well… as much as he hated leaving debts unpaid, he might have to skip that one.
Back on the lake, Caster considered her options. "Well done, my pet. Hunt him down and consume him… alive, if possible, but we need to keep you well-fed."
The tendrils of darkness coiled around Caster's body like a lover's arms, and the Servant chuckled warmly. "Of course. You'll have Assassin as well. That one, I shall bring to you personally and in pieces. Now go, Lancer isn't going to just feed himself to you. Scoot!"
If a thing could be said to move 'like a plague', the Shadow did so; oozing out of the lake and into the forest in pursuit of Lancer and sustenance.
Now alone, Caster turned toward the opposite bank of the lake, where Assassin had stood. The masked Servant had vanished in the storm of her initial attack, but Caster seriously doubted he had been killed; most likely he hid among the trees even now, watching and waiting, invisible and undetectable.
Undetectable. Not un-findable.
Caster raised her arms, palms up, and said, "Ξίφος Νύχτα του Θεού." Above her outstretched hands, discs of black flame appeared, dark against the darkness.
She threw them into the forest behind Ryudou Temple, and the sound was a bit like a thousand chainsaws going violently insane in perfect unison as trees began to fall…
***
"Archer…" Rin asked again. "What am I looking at?"
The panic was clear in her voice, as much as she might try to hide it. Panic and something else… ever since the Black Servant's boundary field had overtaken the area, she had felt ill. Her head hurt, her blood burned in her veins, her muscles felt like lead. The boundary field was…
"I don't know, and it doesn't matter: we need to get you out of here so I can deal with it." Archer said, as if reading her mind. "This boundary field is sucking your life dry."
"Like Hell." Rin growled. "I'm a Master, I'm not just going to run away like som-"
"Yes, you, are." Archer said. "Right now, you're next to useless, particularly with Assassin and Caster…"
"Caster?" Rin snapped. "That thing is… no way! It's just not possible for that to be a hero of any kind! Not even an anti-hero could be so vile. You can't possibly think that..."
"Rin," Archer said, in a low, soft voice. "I need you to listen to me. Something I don't fully understand is going on here, but I have a chance to stop it. Please… can you trust me?"
Rin thought of this. She heard the urgency in Archer's voice, saw the thinly veiled fear in his eyes. And she gave the only answer that she could.
"No."
"… what?"
"I said 'no'. You clearly know more about this… about everything… than you're telling me. And I'm starting to think that's been the case since I first summoned you," Rin said. "So no, I don't trust you. How could I? I'm staying right here."
Archer considered her response. "All right, that's fair." He admitted. "I wouldn't trust me either. So we're going to do this the hard way."
"The…"
"I'm going to pick you up bodily, drag you to the steps, and throw you outside the mountain's boundary field." Archer said.
"… what?" Rin asked, not quite sure she'd heard right.
"Throw you. Kind of like a javelin, only it's you."
"… … …" Rin said.
"Don't worry. I'm good with projectile weapons. You won't die. I'll make sure you land in a bush or something." Archer said.
"… … …"
"You'll just get hurt. Between the draining effect of this sorcery and the wounds I'll be inflicting, you won't be able to get back to the fight, most likely. You'll be stuck safely outside the boundary field, while I deal with all of this madness." Archer said. "Magi heal fast, you'll be fine."
"Archer…" Rin said slowly. "Don't you dare."
Thirty-five seconds later, as Rin screamed, tears in her eyes, flying awfully fast towards a bush that didn't look at all soft enough for her tastes, she wondered why she'd ever thought this stupid war was something to look forward to.
***
Archer turned back towards the Temple, a screaming in his blood that he could not ignore. His true Master calling him to action.
But... the normal haze over his actions when performing his duties as a Guardian was not there. If that meant the situation was not yet dire enough, or the Servant summoning interfered with the process, he couldn't tell, but it meant he could face this crisis as himself. If he could deal with this problem now, while he still had his sanity, then...
Maybe, this time, my actions don't have to end in a massacre.
That was a rare thing for him, and something worth fighting for indeed.
Time to save the world, then.
***
Lancer went sprawling as the blades of darkness nicked him again.
Agile as he was, maintaining a perfect dodge rate against an enemy that could attack from any direction and seemed to be part of every shadow under every tree was a tall order. And since even the tiniest contact with the dark, twisted substance made him feel exhausted, he couldn't afford less than perfect.
At the least, his spear seemed able to do some damage. It hadn't really hurt the thing in any visible way, but it was able to slash aside the tendrils, cut the shadowy 'flesh'. He wasn't defenseless... completely.
But he couldn't win. He knew that much. Nothing seemed to do any lasting damage, the tendrils coiled around his legs, snapped from the dark spaces between every tree, surrounding, consuming...
He didn't bother to get to his feet, more 'throwing' himself from a prone position with his one free arm; not graceful, but it was movement and that was what he needed right this moment. Black spears slammed into the ground where he had just been as he flipped through the air, slamming his spear into the ground to steady himself and get back to his feet in time to slash aside the next attack. But he was being worn down, and the Shadow was between him and the only exit from the mountain; the main gate. The boundary field around the mountain would heavily resist a Servant on entry or exit, except for the main gates, the only hole in it. No way he could power through the boundary field with that thing on his tail, and no way he could kill it, at least not that he could see.
The tendrils were moving to surround him again, attempting to strike from all angles. And to make matters worse, the darkness was starting to ooze along the forest floor, a pool of infinite black that would soon leave him without even a perch to stand on.
Brilliant silver arrows struck down, igniting brilliant lights throughout the clearing and making the encroaching darkness pull back with a pained shriek.
Lancer looked up... and groaned. "If it's going to be you saving me, I'd rather take my chances with that thing."
Archer fought the urge to roll his eyes. "I'd rather have your help, but if you'd prefer to be devoured, I guess we can work with that too."
Lancer chose not to dignify that with a response. "Your arrows... not sure how, but they seemed to hurt that thing more than my spear. How..."
"Fighting a curse with a demonic lance isn't good tactics. I stuck to Holy blades." Archer said, watching as the Shadow reformed; the extended cloud of darkness coalescing into a vaguely humanoid, or at least human-sized, shape. "And even then I'd say it's not too upset."
"I don't think anything upsets it." Lancer said. "... Look, I'm not suggesting we work together or anything, but how about I wait to kill you until after we get out of this alive?"
"You heroes and your pride." Archer murmured in amusement. "Very well, if it keeps you off my back, call it a cease-fire." he said more loudly, as a half-dozen brilliant silver blades materialized around him.
"You can have a sneak preview of what I'm going to do to you when that fight you want finally comes." Archer said, and charged.
***
Caster looked at the devastation she had wrought and smiled. It really was amazing what one could do with the proper power source, wasn't it?
The forest by the lakeside had been devastated, and not one single throwing blade or curse had come from it in return. Not that it would have mattered particularly if Assassin had managed a counterattack, given Caster's raw power and defenses, but the fact that he hadn't even made the attempt told Caster that he most likely couldn't. She would have preferred to witness his death more closely, and preferably insure the pain involved in it was intense as possible, but she would accept this. There was, after all a certain glee to be found in the knowledge that she had crushed him like an insect. His death had been as anticlimactic and sudden as Soichirou-sama's.
There was a small measure of justice in that.
And now...
A silver flash tore through her mind. Not exactly painful, but shocking.
A man in a red coat, silver swords dancing around him, illuminating the darkness, tearing through the shadows the filled the sacred mountain.
No... no, her pet was...
The blue knight drove his spear forward, and something hissed as it pierced semi-solid black 'flesh'.
Caster was a part of the Shadow, and the Shadow was a part of Caster. Now, it was in distress, and the pain tore through her link as it called her to its side, seeking protection. Lancer had found an ally, and as much as she had taught her pet it was not yet strong enough to face this new threat with the blazing silver blades.
Caster took to the skies, not remotely happy with the state her new toy was in and not at all shy about sharing this fact with its tormentors.
And in the decimated forest she had left behind, a white skull briefly appeared among the fallen trees before once again fading from sight...
***
It wasn't exactly beautiful.
The swordsmanship displayed by the red knight was not the graceful beauty of Saber's otherworldly skill, nor the fierce beauty of Lancer's inhuman speed and strength. The silver swords appeared from nowhere and were ruthlessly discarded; each one piercing the Shadow's form, being devoured, and vanishing only to be replaced just as quickly. The knight had no grace, no beyond-human skill, just ruthless practicality and efficiency.
Lancer didn't honestly care; it was damn effective, and that's what mattered. He still didn't get the impression that they were really harming the bizarre thing, but the holy swords were shredding the black mass and pushing the monster back, and that was good enough.
Or, rather, it had been good enough.
"Μαύρη Φλόγα Βροχή ."
Pillars of ebon flame smashed down around the Shadow from above, tearing craters in the ground and driving back the two knights slashing away at its mass.
Above the treetops, Caster hovered, her cape spread like the wings of a bat and runes of power glowing with black light in the sky around her.
"Bad dogs." She purred. "If you can't play nicely with my new pet, I shall have to put some effort into taming you."
"Damn..." Archer muttered. Two-on-two, he was not sure of his chances, not this time. He was already cheating, tapping into powers that a Servant shouldn't have had, and he hadn't been doing a whole lot of damage. Now he had artillery to deal with too.
"You think we can take her?" Lancer asked.
"Do you?" Archer asked.
"Doesn't really matter, I'm trying anyway."
"... fair enough." It wasn't as though they had a lot of other options.
Caster descended, landing inside the Shadow, which dissolved around her into a pool of darkness that began to spread. "Now, my pet, we strike as..."
Something as black as the Shadow around her feet slammed into her back, jerking her body. She looked down at her chest in disbelief, two holes in her chest from projectiles that had gone into her back and pierced completely through. She fell to her hands and knees, blood flowing freely from her mouth and chest, her eyes wide with shock and agony.
A white skull hovered silently among the trees. "You missed," Assassin said.
Archer smirked. Three-on-two was a little bit better.
"You... you... you... you..." Caster murmured. Rather than fading away, she seemed to make everything else around her fading away... power gathering to her, drowning out what tiny bits of light remained on the mountain. Caster rose to her feet shakily, a globe of dark power encircling her, the hole through her chest already halfway closed.
"Damn..." Archer said. "You missed too."
"I see that." Assassin said, his tone somehow managing to be emotionless and yet mocking. "That cloak is partially alive, and it disrupted the course of my knives."
"Seems like she's got a major mana supply. She's healing fast." Lancer said, shifting his focus from Assassin back to Caster. "Also, she looks pissed."
Caster's black eyes were mad. There was no other word for it; she was simply and utterly insane as she turned to cast her gaze on Assassin.
"You... do you think that I would fall to your parlor tricks... you won't take me like you took Soichirou-sama... not me... never me...!" She snarled, a thin line of reddened drool running from the corner of her mouth. The Shadow snarled around her in sympathy to her madness, flowing into her wounds and accelerating her healing.
Seeking vengeance.
"I'm going to tear you all limb from bloody limb!" Caster roared, the darkness erupting from her in an explosion of power that shook the mountain.
"This is going to suck." Lancer said.
Whoa, big fight scene! Now I know why this chapter took so long to write...Nonetheless, this scene contained the customary 100% of the recommended monthly allowance of Awesome. And as a bonus we get the maids being cute and Zouken suffering (which is always fun)! So...Caster Alter can be shortsightedly smug. This is good to know. Though if they drive her off, Lancer had better keep a very close eye on Assassin or things will end up right back where they started before Caster interfered. Loved Archer dealing with Rin!
One typo in the first section; you wrote "walked him" instead of "walked in." (I might also suggest "literally true" instead of "exactly true" in the same section, but that's more of a style thing.)
Loved the chapter. Had so many great images played out in my mind as I read it. Rin getting thrown, with cliche giant anime tears in her eyes as she screamed. Lancer fighting with smooth spins, stabs, slashes, and overall graceful movement, while Archer just calmly marched forward, sword-spamming Gilgamesh style.
After reading this, I realized how long it's been since I last did a chapter for my second war fic. Staring at a computer at work all day's made it hard to sit down and type out coherent paragraphs while at home.
Lol the Sella and Leysritt bit at the start was awesome, but I wonder about the comedy placement. Archer bodily throwing Rin is all good and funny but I was thinking a situation like that would be all drama and no grim wit. Well that's how it was in the Novel anyway. Is this just your writing style?
Everything else was awesome.
Flere821
2011-04-04, 03:04
Hey, remember me? :heh:
Well, I know you remember this...
Chapter Ten: Season of the Witch
It was a catastrophe of epic proportions. The single worst disaster that had ever befallen this world. A thing of corruption and destruction that despoiled all it touched.
"Ojou-sama has been out of the house all day. More than once…" Sella, the elder and less cheerful of Ilya's maids (not that this was immediately obvious, since for both of them the largest visible reaction they commonly showed was a sort of mild stare) murmured.
Out of the house. All day. More than once.
Horrible.
"If Ojou-sama desires it, we have no right to question her tactics in this War." Leysritt reminded her 'sister'. The two maids conspired outside the door to Ilya's bedroom, the Clan Einzbern's pride and joy having skipped in, danced up the stairs whistling, and practically leapt into bed to cuddle her teddy bear and giggle. "She is the pride of the Einzbern. We are mere failures, to be used and cast aside. Should she wish to pursue an unorthodox strategy…"
"She is not pursuing any strategy!" The elder twin snapped. "She goes out every day, and returns every night when the fighting begins! Not a single Master has fallen or even been encountered."
(It should be noted that this last was not exactly true, as Ilya had in fact encountered one of the other Masters and let him take a nap using her lap as a pillow. But Ilya had not shared the details of her daily outings with her attendants, so Sella had no real way of knowing this.)
"Ojou-sama has assured us that her outings each day, and return each night, are crucial to her overall plans," (This was exactly true, but Ilya had deliberately left out the fact that her overall plans had less to do with winning the Holy Grail War and more to do with going on dates.) "She deliberately pursues a plan she believes the other Masters will not predict, and rightly understands that our own, inferior, minds will not be able to properly comprehend it."
"Still, the Lord requested that we guide and foster Lady Ilyasviel, push her onto the right path, and facilitate her victory in the War. At the moment, we have only her word for it that she is even participating in the Holy Grail War, and… forgive me for saying as much… Ojou-sama is… rather flighty."
"Sella."
"I know! It pains me to say it as well." Sella said, with a slight (very slight, almost invisible) wince. "But our duty from the Lord Einzbern is very clear. We must speak with Ojou-sama regarding her plans, and see if her daily activities are, indeed, in the best interests of the Clan. And if they are not, we must set her back on the course to bring glory to the family, as is her destiny. If needed, we shall… we shall… … chastise her."
There was silence for several minutes.
"Perhaps in the morning."
"If Ojou-sama is in a good mood."
"A very good mood."
"And if Berserker is asleep."
"Very asleep."
Their course of very, very careful action decided, the two maids left to continue their duties. The castle was huge and would not clean itself, after all. (Honestly, you would have thought that after 1,000 years, someone would have devised a spell for that).
Though she gave no outward sign of her dissatisfaction, Sella could not help but think, Honestly… Ojou-sama and her fickle moods… truly, I have the worst of all possible lives.
***
Zouken Matou fell to his knees, gasping in anguish. Black blood flowed freely from his ears, nose, and from beneath his fingernails. His very existence could be defined as 'living pain'.
So, the point here would be that perhaps Sella was overestimating the severity of her own situation.
Still, if there was one thing that Zouken was familiar with, it was pain. Agony was his constant companion, no matter what body he took, and he knew how to focus his mind through it well enough. And so, even as his body fell to pieces, his mind worked in overdrive to discern why.
The backlash from the loss of so many familiars at once had been considerable, but nothing he could not have handled under normal circumstances. However, this particular loss had been laced with something else… a cold, aching hunger that had actually traced his connection to his familiars back to him, striking directly at his essence and attempting to devour him from the inside out. Had his core not been safely elsewhere, he most likely would have been killed instantly. As it was, his current body was most certainly cut down to a fraction of its expected lifespan; he would need to replace it, and soon.
One of his eyes fell out, trailing more of that foul-smelling black blood and small, weakly writhing worms.
Apparently, he would need to replace it very soon.
How had this happened? It made less than no sense. Assassin had played his part perfectly at the Temple. Lancer had been lured into an inescapable situation, the second sacrifice to the Grail. The weapon had attacked, as planned, eager to devour its second meal.
And then, from within the heart of Zouken's own secret weapon, she had emerged.
Caster.
She had survived. He didn't know how she had survived, but she had. More than that, she had opposed him, entered the darkness and emerged with at least some vestige of her mind intact! Even if she had returned, she should have been altered beyond recognition, warped into nothing more than a tool of the Shadow, a method by which it could expand its power and influence. And yet… she had not.
How had this happened? A Servant had entered the Holy Grail, and returned. Not merely alive but free and thriving. Under other circumstances, it might have been intriguing indeed; a new facet of the Grail's functions to explore and possibly exploit.
Under the current ones, with all his plans for the future poised on the edge of a knife, the success and failure of his life's ambitions a single error apart… it simply worried him a great, great deal.
***
Lancer tried his hardest to keep from staring in open amazement. He couldn't afford the lapse in judgment.
As hard as it was for him to admit, the Shadow… frightened him. It was simply something he couldn't comprehend, a thing that screamed into the core of his being that he could not defeat it, could not fight it, could not even touch it; to do so would mean his end, or worse.
And yet there she was; the dark woman, standing right in the middle of the worst of it, the tentacles whipping harmlessly around her. Every instinct in his body told him she should have been dead or worse. And yet she stood in the darkness, vibrantly happy and very much alive.
For the first time in his life, Cu Chulainn seriously considered just running away. There was nothing wrong with fighting an opponent you couldn't beat, but one you couldn't understand, that was another matter. And then there was that black static that played in the back of his mind as he looked at the Shadow… the whispers that what awaited him was far, far worse than death…
"Caster…" Assassin murmured. "But you were consumed."
"That's…" Lancer muttered. No way. As part of his Master's orders, Lancer had engaged all of the other Servants, and Caster was no exception… though he'd really been fighting her bizarre Master. And this was… well, not her. It kind of looked like her, now that he actually saw it, but the presence, the essence of the Servant he had tested was entirely different. She had never exactly been fluffy and happy, but now… "What the Hell is going on?"
The smile on her perfect lips was warm and calming, in contrast to the aura of wrongness she exuded. Her black eyes seemed to glitter with amusement. "Hmmmmm? Oh, yes, I believe I was consumed. It seems I've gotten better." She said. Her tone was musical, and beautiful, and wrong. "And just in time, it seems. For starters, Assassin, have you absolutely no common sense? To just throw away such a valuable pet as this fine hound is unforgivable.
"Lancer… Assassin will be nothing but food, the first part of my revenge. But you, I intend to keep all to myself. My new puppy." She purred.
Lancer fell back into a combat stance, leveling his spear at the writhing mass of darkness. "Nah. Don't get me wrong, you're cute and all, but if there's one thing I learned in my life it's that women with too much power don't make the best companions."
Caster chuckled, and it choked like glass dust in the air. "It's simply adorable that you think you have a choice."
She raised her hands, and Lancer got the impression that it might be a good idea to move.
The writhing mass of darkness surrounding her split, and split again, breaking from monstrous tentacles into tinier, razor-thin whips; thousands of them, dividing up evenly to target both Lancer and Assassin.
"Just like I taught you, my pet. You know how to do it, even if you don't know you know…" Caster purred.
"Oh, f-" Lancer said, just before the storm began.
The spears snapped out in a hail that blocked out even the waning starlight, a seemingly endless stream of black blades. Lancer's ability to defend against projectiles was extreme, but he had his limits; his spear simply could not be fast enough to defend against a simultaneous attack against every point on his body.
But he wasn't on the middle of a lake, anymore. He was on dry land and he had options.
Gathering power in his legs, he leapt straight backwards, then again, then again. His speed was vastly beyond human, and even with a forest in the way he was able to get quite a bit of distance before…
The spears came crashing down, tearing the mountain trees to kindling. No... it wasn't that they cut the trees, or tore into them. It was as if the living wood simply ceased to exist where the razor-thin blades touched it. Trees fell, cuts smooth as glass along the length of them. The rain of black blades filled the forest… but not as much as it would have if he hadn't retreated to the outer edges of the attack before it landed. He slashed aside the spears of black, but a few dozen, not a thousand. And he had to admit, he was relieved to see Gae Bolg could actually cut the damn things. He'd been worried about that.
A blade slipped through his guard, grazing his thigh. With a wince, he took another flying leap, slashing wildly at it. The cut was shallow, and thin, but the fact that such a light blow had cut at all was enough to confirm his suspicions… whatever that black thing was, it was very, very bad news. He couldn't even imagine what would have happened if he'd been caught by it on the open water; Caster might be trying to eat him right now, but he kinda owed her one.
Well… as much as he hated leaving debts unpaid, he might have to skip that one.
Back on the lake, Caster considered her options. "Well done, my pet. Hunt him down and consume him… alive, if possible, but we need to keep you well-fed."
The tendrils of darkness coiled around Caster's body like a lover's arms, and the Servant chuckled warmly. "Of course. You'll have Assassin as well. That one, I shall bring to you personally and in pieces. Now go, Lancer isn't going to just feed himself to you. Scoot!"
If a thing could be said to move 'like a plague', the Shadow did so; oozing out of the lake and into the forest in pursuit of Lancer and sustenance.
Now alone, Caster turned toward the opposite bank of the lake, where Assassin had stood. The masked Servant had vanished in the storm of her initial attack, but Caster seriously doubted he had been killed; most likely he hid among the trees even now, watching and waiting, invisible and undetectable.
Undetectable. Not un-findable.
Caster raised her arms, palms up, and said, "Ξίφος Νύχτα του Θεού." Above her outstretched hands, discs of black flame appeared, dark against the darkness.
She threw them into the forest behind Ryudou Temple, and the sound was a bit like a thousand chainsaws going violently insane in perfect unison as trees began to fall…
***
"Archer…" Rin asked again. "What am I looking at?"
The panic was clear in her voice, as much as she might try to hide it. Panic and something else… ever since the Black Servant's boundary field had overtaken the area, she had felt ill. Her head hurt, her blood burned in her veins, her muscles felt like lead. The boundary field was…
"I don't know, and it doesn't matter: we need to get you out of here so I can deal with it." Archer said, as if reading her mind. "This boundary field is sucking your life dry."
"Like Hell." Rin growled. "I'm a Master, I'm not just going to run away like som-"
"Yes, you, are." Archer said. "Right now, you're next to useless, particularly with Assassin and Caster…"
"Caster?" Rin snapped. "That thing is… no way! It's just not possible for that to be a hero of any kind! Not even an anti-hero could be so vile. You can't possibly think that..."
"Rin," Archer said, in a low, soft voice. "I need you to listen to me. Something I don't fully understand is going on here, but I have a chance to stop it. Please… can you trust me?"
Rin thought of this. She heard the urgency in Archer's voice, saw the thinly veiled fear in his eyes. And she gave the only answer that she could.
"No."
"… what?"
"I said 'no'. You clearly know more about this… about everything… than you're telling me. And I'm starting to think that's been the case since I first summoned you," Rin said. "So no, I don't trust you. How could I? I'm staying right here."
Archer considered her response. "All right, that's fair." He admitted. "I wouldn't trust me either. So we're going to do this the hard way."
"The…"
"I'm going to pick you up bodily, drag you to the steps, and throw you outside the mountain's boundary field." Archer said.
"… what?" Rin asked, not quite sure she'd heard right.
"Throw you. Kind of like a javelin, only it's you."
"… … …" Rin said.
"Don't worry. I'm good with projectile weapons. You won't die. I'll make sure you land in a bush or something." Archer said.
"… … …"
"You'll just get hurt. Between the draining effect of this sorcery and the wounds I'll be inflicting, you won't be able to get back to the fight, most likely. You'll be stuck safely outside the boundary field, while I deal with all of this madness." Archer said. "Magi heal fast, you'll be fine."
"Archer…" Rin said slowly. "Don't you dare."
Thirty-five seconds later, as Rin screamed, tears in her eyes, flying awfully fast towards a bush that didn't look at all soft enough for her tastes, she wondered why she'd ever thought this stupid war was something to look forward to.
***
Archer turned back towards the Temple, a screaming in his blood that he could not ignore. His true Master calling him to action.
But... the normal haze over his actions when performing his duties as a Guardian was not there. If that meant the situation was not yet dire enough, or the Servant summoning interfered with the process, he couldn't tell, but it meant he could face this crisis as himself. If he could deal with this problem now, while he still had his sanity, then...
Maybe, this time, my actions don't have to end in a massacre.
That was a rare thing for him, and something worth fighting for indeed.
Time to save the world, then.
***
Lancer went sprawling as the blades of darkness nicked him again.
Agile as he was, maintaining a perfect dodge rate against an enemy that could attack from any direction and seemed to be part of every shadow under every tree was a tall order. And since even the tiniest contact with the dark, twisted substance made him feel exhausted, he couldn't afford less than perfect.
At the least, his spear seemed able to do some damage. It hadn't really hurt the thing in any visible way, but it was able to slash aside the tendrils, cut the shadowy 'flesh'. He wasn't defenseless... completely.
But he couldn't win. He knew that much. Nothing seemed to do any lasting damage, the tendrils coiled around his legs, snapped from the dark spaces between every tree, surrounding, consuming...
He didn't bother to get to his feet, more 'throwing' himself from a prone position with his one free arm; not graceful, but it was movement and that was what he needed right this moment. Black spears slammed into the ground where he had just been as he flipped through the air, slamming his spear into the ground to steady himself and get back to his feet in time to slash aside the next attack. But he was being worn down, and the Shadow was between him and the only exit from the mountain; the main gate. The boundary field around the mountain would heavily resist a Servant on entry or exit, except for the main gates, the only hole in it. No way he could power through the boundary field with that thing on his tail, and no way he could kill it, at least not that he could see.
The tendrils were moving to surround him again, attempting to strike from all angles. And to make matters worse, the darkness was starting to ooze along the forest floor, a pool of infinite black that would soon leave him without even a perch to stand on.
Brilliant silver arrows struck down, igniting brilliant lights throughout the clearing and making the encroaching darkness pull back with a pained shriek.
Lancer looked up... and groaned. "If it's going to be you saving me, I'd rather take my chances with that thing."
Archer fought the urge to roll his eyes. "I'd rather have your help, but if you'd prefer to be devoured, I guess we can work with that too."
Lancer chose not to dignify that with a response. "Your arrows... not sure how, but they seemed to hurt that thing more than my spear. How..."
"Fighting a curse with a demonic lance isn't good tactics. I stuck to Holy blades." Archer said, watching as the Shadow reformed; the extended cloud of darkness coalescing into a vaguely humanoid, or at least human-sized, shape. "And even then I'd say it's not too upset."
"I don't think anything upsets it." Lancer said. "... Look, I'm not suggesting we work together or anything, but how about I wait to kill you until after we get out of this alive?"
"You heroes and your pride." Archer murmured in amusement. "Very well, if it keeps you off my back, call it a cease-fire." he said more loudly, as a half-dozen brilliant silver blades materialized around him.
"You can have a sneak preview of what I'm going to do to you when that fight you want finally comes." Archer said, and charged.
***
Caster looked at the devastation she had wrought and smiled. It really was amazing what one could do with the proper power source, wasn't it?
The forest by the lakeside had been devastated, and not one single throwing blade or curse had come from it in return. Not that it would have mattered particularly if Assassin had managed a counterattack, given Caster's raw power and defenses, but the fact that he hadn't even made the attempt told Caster that he most likely couldn't. She would have preferred to witness his death more closely, and preferably insure the pain involved in it was intense as possible, but she would accept this. There was, after all a certain glee to be found in the knowledge that she had crushed him like an insect. His death had been as anticlimactic and sudden as Soichirou-sama's.
There was a small measure of justice in that.
And now...
A silver flash tore through her mind. Not exactly painful, but shocking.
A man in a red coat, silver swords dancing around him, illuminating the darkness, tearing through the shadows the filled the sacred mountain.
No... no, her pet was...
The blue knight drove his spear forward, and something hissed as it pierced semi-solid black 'flesh'.
Caster was a part of the Shadow, and the Shadow was a part of Caster. Now, it was in distress, and the pain tore through her link as it called her to its side, seeking protection. Lancer had found an ally, and as much as she had taught her pet it was not yet strong enough to face this new threat with the blazing silver blades.
Caster took to the skies, not remotely happy with the state her new toy was in and not at all shy about sharing this fact with its tormentors.
And in the decimated forest she had left behind, a white skull briefly appeared among the fallen trees before once again fading from sight...
***
It wasn't exactly beautiful.
The swordsmanship displayed by the red knight was not the graceful beauty of Saber's otherworldly skill, nor the fierce beauty of Lancer's inhuman speed and strength. The silver swords appeared from nowhere and were ruthlessly discarded; each one piercing the Shadow's form, being devoured, and vanishing only to be replaced just as quickly. The knight had no grace, no beyond-human skill, just ruthless practicality and efficiency.
Lancer didn't honestly care; it was damn effective, and that's what mattered. He still didn't get the impression that they were really harming the bizarre thing, but the holy swords were shredding the black mass and pushing the monster back, and that was good enough.
Or, rather, it had been good enough.
"Μαύρη Φλόγα Βροχή ."
Pillars of ebon flame smashed down around the Shadow from above, tearing craters in the ground and driving back the two knights slashing away at its mass.
Above the treetops, Caster hovered, her cape spread like the wings of a bat and runes of power glowing with black light in the sky around her.
"Bad dogs." She purred. "If you can't play nicely with my new pet, I shall have to put some effort into taming you."
"Damn..." Archer muttered. Two-on-two, he was not sure of his chances, not this time. He was already cheating, tapping into powers that a Servant shouldn't have had, and he hadn't been doing a whole lot of damage. Now he had artillery to deal with too.
"You think we can take her?" Lancer asked.
"Do you?" Archer asked.
"Doesn't really matter, I'm trying anyway."
"... fair enough." It wasn't as though they had a lot of other options.
Caster descended, landing inside the Shadow, which dissolved around her into a pool of darkness that began to spread. "Now, my pet, we strike as..."
Something as black as the Shadow around her feet slammed into her back, jerking her body. She looked down at her chest in disbelief, two holes in her chest from projectiles that had gone into her back and pierced completely through. She fell to her hands and knees, blood flowing freely from her mouth and chest, her eyes wide with shock and agony.
A white skull hovered silently among the trees. "You missed," Assassin said.
Archer smirked. Three-on-two was a little bit better.
"You... you... you... you..." Caster murmured. Rather than fading away, she seemed to make everything else around her fading away... power gathering to her, drowning out what tiny bits of light remained on the mountain. Caster rose to her feet shakily, a globe of dark power encircling her, the hole through her chest already halfway closed.
"Damn..." Archer said. "You missed too."
"I see that." Assassin said, his tone somehow managing to be emotionless and yet mocking. "That cloak is partially alive, and it disrupted the course of my knives."
"Seems like she's got a major mana supply. She's healing fast." Lancer said, shifting his focus from Assassin back to Caster. "Also, she looks pissed."
Caster's black eyes were mad. There was no other word for it; she was simply and utterly insane as she turned to cast her gaze on Assassin.
"You... do you think that I would fall to your parlor tricks... you won't take me like you took Soichirou-sama... not me... never me...!" She snarled, a thin line of reddened drool running from the corner of her mouth. The Shadow snarled around her in sympathy to her madness, flowing into her wounds and accelerating her healing.
Seeking vengeance.
"I'm going to tear you all limb from bloody limb!" Caster roared, the darkness erupting from her in an explosion of power that shook the mountain.
"This is going to suck." Lancer said.
OMG yes new Chaos Theory xD
*hyperventilates for 10 minutes before calming down*
Loved this chapter. Especially the bit with Rin being chucked down the mountain, and Archer's words. The fight scenes are epic too.
Lol the Sella and Leysritt bit at the start was awesome, but I wonder about the comedy placement. Archer bodily throwing Rin is all good and funny but I was thinking a situation like that would be all drama and no grim wit. Well that's how it was in the Novel anyway. Is this just your writing style?
Everything else was awesome.
Pretty much, yes. I'm simply not as big a fan of 'grim' as Nasu. I like to lighten things up. The story will, of course, descend into the sort of grit that he went to, but not until things are more severe. :heh:
And speaking Chaos Theory, the next chapter is now Up on FF.net. (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6372400/11/Chaos_Theory)
RadiantBeam
2011-04-04, 11:57
Pretty much, yes. I'm simply not as big a fan of 'grim' as Nasu. I like to lighten things up.
And I'm the one who fills in for the grim stuff while you try to make everything light. :D
Kuroi Hadou
2011-04-04, 12:02
And I'm the one who fills in for the grim stuff while you try to make everything light. :D
Speaking of, should we expect an update of Into the Rain this century or next? :p
GlancingReverse
2011-04-05, 21:58
Speaking of, should we expect an update of Into the Rain this century or next? :pYou're so optimistic.
RadiantBeam
2011-04-05, 21:59
Oh, you people.
Oh, you people.
We tease because we like you and we hope for an update. :)
But that said, take your time and do the story right when you have the time and inspiration. No sense rushing anything.
RadiantBeam
2011-04-08, 21:18
And short time! Because my bunnies cooperate just fine when I feel like doing a one-shot, but head for the hills when I try to focus on chapter fics.
Her hands are shaking.
Dimly, Rin can hear muffled voices behind her as she makes her way into the small room; it seems Kirei has come out to keep Shirou company. She is sure they are saying something important, something she should pause and listen to, because deep down she knows she needs to understand this new Shirou, grasp what makes him tick, if she wants to win the War.
If you want to live.
But that isn’t important right now, and she keeps walking.
The room in the back, the place that serves as Kirei’s home within the church, seems laughably small at the moment when compared to the place that houses it. Rin closes the door behind her without a sound, pauses, and locks it behind her.
The sound of the lock clicking into place rings in her head like a gunshot.
“Rin.”
Archer’s voice is soft, right by her ear, but she ignores him. On the bed, she sleeps; Matou Sakura is blissfully unaware of the fate that awaits her. There is some small, small comfort in that; at least right now, she has no idea of what is coming.
How the man she loved betrayed her.
How the sister she idolized will kill her.
“Rin.”
Archer’s hand is on her shoulder now. She ignores the warm, rough weight of it, stopping beside the bed. For a long moment, she gazes down at her sleeping sister. Her vision blurs, her throat burns, and she has to swallow hard, hastily swiping at her eyes so the tears won’t fall, won’t wake Sakura.
“Rin.”
When her hand lowers, her eyes are cold, focused. The Crest in her arm bursts to life, brilliant sparks of light blue against the red of her sweater. “Be quiet, Archer.” Her voice is tight, pained; she sounds on the verge of tears, even as she composes herself.
Archer’s hand falls away. The loss of it allows her to focus.
The knife is in her hand before she can think, but her arm won’t move. She simply stares at the younger girl, as if trying to memorize every piece of her, as if she is trying to burn this moment into her memory so that even in death, she can never escape it.
After a moment, she presses the knife against Sakura’s throat. For an instant, she thinks she feels the younger girl stiffen.
She trembles.
The tears are falling again, and she can’t even feel them. She lowers her head; black hair spills around both of them like a curtain, as if to briefly shield them from the world. She presses a soft, warm kiss to Sakura’s forehead as she sobs.
“I’m sorry, Sakura. I’m so, so sorry.”
For just an instant, she can swear she sees the younger girl smile.
It just makes her cry harder.
She kills her sister in a single motion, and when Sakura dies, Rin’s heart dies with her.
Of all the bad endings you can get in Heaven's Feel, I've always found the Mind of Steel end by far the most fascinating, especially from Rin's perspective. Her actions in that end are true to her magus nature, but completely go against her natural personality. Sadly, since the story is told from Shirou's POV, we only get some brief mentioning of what Rin could become after this point, and I liked the thought of delving into her mind at that moment when she goes to kill Sakura.
And short time! Because my bunnies cooperate just fine when I feel like doing a one-shot, but head for the hills when I try to focus on chapter fics.
Her hands are shaking.
Dimly, Rin can hear muffled voices behind her as she makes her way into the small room; it seems Kirei has come out to keep Shirou company. She is sure they are saying something important, something she should pause and listen to, because deep down she knows she needs to understand this new Shirou, grasp what makes him tick, if she wants to win the War.
If you want to live.
But that isn’t important right now, and she keeps walking.
The room in the back, the place that serves as Kirei’s home within the church, seems laughably small at the moment when compared to the place that houses it. Rin closes the door behind her without a sound, pauses, and locks it behind her.
The sound of the lock clicking into place rings in her head like a gunshot.
“Rin.”
Archer’s voice is soft, right by her ear, but she ignores him. On the bed, she sleeps; Matou Sakura is blissfully unaware of the fate that awaits her. There is some small, small comfort in that; at least right now, she has no idea of what is coming.
How the man she loved betrayed her.
How the sister she idolized will kill her.
“Rin.”
Archer’s hand is on her shoulder now. She ignores the warm, rough weight of it, stopping beside the bed. For a long moment, she gazes down at her sleeping sister. Her vision blurs, her throat burns, and she has to swallow hard, hastily swiping at her eyes so the tears won’t fall, won’t wake Sakura.
“Rin.”
When her hand lowers, her eyes are cold, focused. The Crest in her arm bursts to life, brilliant sparks of light blue against the red of her sweater. “Be quiet, Archer.” Her voice is tight, pained; she sounds on the verge of tears, even as she composes herself.
Archer’s hand falls away. The loss of it allows her to focus.
The knife is in her hand before she can think, but her arm won’t move. She simply stares at the younger girl, as if trying to memorize every piece of her, as if she is trying to burn this moment into her memory so that even in death, she can never escape it.
After a moment, she presses the knife against Sakura’s throat. For an instant, she thinks she feels the younger girl stiffen.
She trembles.
The tears are falling again, and she can’t even feel them. She lowers her head; black hair spills around both of them like a curtain, as if to briefly shield them from the world. She presses a soft, warm kiss to Sakura’s forehead as she sobs.
“I’m sorry, Sakura. I’m so, so sorry.”
For just an instant, she can swear she sees the younger girl smile.
It just makes her cry harder.
She kills her sister in a single motion, and when Sakura dies, Rin’s heart dies with her.
Of all the bad endings you can get in Heaven's Feel, I've always found the Mind of Steel end by far the most fascinating, especially from Rin's perspective. Her actions in that end are true to her magus nature, but completely go against her natural personality. Sadly, since the story is told from Shirou's POV, we only get some brief mentioning of what Rin could become after this point, and I liked the thought of delving into her mind at that moment when she goes to kill Sakura.
... ... ... I'm trying to think of a comment more eloquent and helpful than 'Gah, my soul, you hurt my soul'. I can't.
Well done, as usual. Gaaaah.
Flere821
2011-04-08, 23:36
And short time! Because my bunnies cooperate just fine when I feel like doing a one-shot, but head for the hills when I try to focus on chapter fics.
Her hands are shaking.
Dimly, Rin can hear muffled voices behind her as she makes her way into the small room; it seems Kirei has come out to keep Shirou company. She is sure they are saying something important, something she should pause and listen to, because deep down she knows she needs to understand this new Shirou, grasp what makes him tick, if she wants to win the War.
If you want to live.
But that isn’t important right now, and she keeps walking.
The room in the back, the place that serves as Kirei’s home within the church, seems laughably small at the moment when compared to the place that houses it. Rin closes the door behind her without a sound, pauses, and locks it behind her.
The sound of the lock clicking into place rings in her head like a gunshot.
“Rin.”
Archer’s voice is soft, right by her ear, but she ignores him. On the bed, she sleeps; Matou Sakura is blissfully unaware of the fate that awaits her. There is some small, small comfort in that; at least right now, she has no idea of what is coming.
How the man she loved betrayed her.
How the sister she idolized will kill her.
“Rin.”
Archer’s hand is on her shoulder now. She ignores the warm, rough weight of it, stopping beside the bed. For a long moment, she gazes down at her sleeping sister. Her vision blurs, her throat burns, and she has to swallow hard, hastily swiping at her eyes so the tears won’t fall, won’t wake Sakura.
“Rin.”
When her hand lowers, her eyes are cold, focused. The Crest in her arm bursts to life, brilliant sparks of light blue against the red of her sweater. “Be quiet, Archer.” Her voice is tight, pained; she sounds on the verge of tears, even as she composes herself.
Archer’s hand falls away. The loss of it allows her to focus.
The knife is in her hand before she can think, but her arm won’t move. She simply stares at the younger girl, as if trying to memorize every piece of her, as if she is trying to burn this moment into her memory so that even in death, she can never escape it.
After a moment, she presses the knife against Sakura’s throat. For an instant, she thinks she feels the younger girl stiffen.
She trembles.
The tears are falling again, and she can’t even feel them. She lowers her head; black hair spills around both of them like a curtain, as if to briefly shield them from the world. She presses a soft, warm kiss to Sakura’s forehead as she sobs.
“I’m sorry, Sakura. I’m so, so sorry.”
For just an instant, she can swear she sees the younger girl smile.
It just makes her cry harder.
She kills her sister in a single motion, and when Sakura dies, Rin’s heart dies with her.
Of all the bad endings you can get in Heaven's Feel, I've always found the Mind of Steel end by far the most fascinating, especially from Rin's perspective. Her actions in that end are true to her magus nature, but completely go against her natural personality. Sadly, since the story is told from Shirou's POV, we only get some brief mentioning of what Rin could become after this point, and I liked the thought of delving into her mind at that moment when she goes to kill Sakura.
Hmm... it's been a while since I last played Heaven's Feel route, but didn't Shirou tried to kill Sakura once in her sleep and got killed by Rider and/or the Shadow? Is there a reason that didn't happen here?
RadiantBeam
2011-04-08, 23:42
Hmm... it's been a while since I last played Heaven's Feel route, but didn't Shirou tried to kill Sakura once in her sleep and got killed by Rider and/or the Shadow? Is there a reason that didn't happen here?
Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. In the MoS ending, it's stated/implied that Rin killed Sakura without a problem from Rider or the shadow, so I don't know exactly how she managed it when Shirou tries to do the same thing later in the game if you don't get MoS and is killed by Rider for it. I suppose it depends on what the plot demands at that moment.
Cherry_Lover
2011-04-09, 21:17
Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. In the MoS ending, it's stated/implied that Rin killed Sakura without a problem from Rider or the shadow, so I don't know exactly how she managed it when Shirou tries to do the same thing later in the game if you don't get MoS and is killed by Rider for it. I suppose it depends on what the plot demands at that moment.
Rider isn't there, it's as simple as that (if she were, Archer would have noticed). Presumably, after she tried to eat the entire school, Shirou and Rin weren't in the mood to trust her, and Rider couldn't afford to risk fighting them whilst Sakura was led there potentially dying.
But, anyway, God that's depressing. Well-written, but depressing....
Altima of the Gates
2011-04-10, 13:24
And short time! Because my bunnies cooperate just fine when I feel like doing a one-shot, but head for the hills when I try to focus on chapter fics.
Her hands are shaking.
Dimly, Rin can hear muffled voices behind her as she makes her way into the small room; it seems Kirei has come out to keep Shirou company. She is sure they are saying something important, something she should pause and listen to, because deep down she knows she needs to understand this new Shirou, grasp what makes him tick, if she wants to win the War.
If you want to live.
But that isn’t important right now, and she keeps walking.
The room in the back, the place that serves as Kirei’s home within the church, seems laughably small at the moment when compared to the place that houses it. Rin closes the door behind her without a sound, pauses, and locks it behind her.
The sound of the lock clicking into place rings in her head like a gunshot.
“Rin.”
Archer’s voice is soft, right by her ear, but she ignores him. On the bed, she sleeps; Matou Sakura is blissfully unaware of the fate that awaits her. There is some small, small comfort in that; at least right now, she has no idea of what is coming.
How the man she loved betrayed her.
How the sister she idolized will kill her.
“Rin.”
Archer’s hand is on her shoulder now. She ignores the warm, rough weight of it, stopping beside the bed. For a long moment, she gazes down at her sleeping sister. Her vision blurs, her throat burns, and she has to swallow hard, hastily swiping at her eyes so the tears won’t fall, won’t wake Sakura.
“Rin.”
When her hand lowers, her eyes are cold, focused. The Crest in her arm bursts to life, brilliant sparks of light blue against the red of her sweater. “Be quiet, Archer.” Her voice is tight, pained; she sounds on the verge of tears, even as she composes herself.
Archer’s hand falls away. The loss of it allows her to focus.
The knife is in her hand before she can think, but her arm won’t move. She simply stares at the younger girl, as if trying to memorize every piece of her, as if she is trying to burn this moment into her memory so that even in death, she can never escape it.
After a moment, she presses the knife against Sakura’s throat. For an instant, she thinks she feels the younger girl stiffen.
She trembles.
The tears are falling again, and she can’t even feel them. She lowers her head; black hair spills around both of them like a curtain, as if to briefly shield them from the world. She presses a soft, warm kiss to Sakura’s forehead as she sobs.
“I’m sorry, Sakura. I’m so, so sorry.”
For just an instant, she can swear she sees the younger girl smile.
It just makes her cry harder.
She kills her sister in a single motion, and when Sakura dies, Rin’s heart dies with her.
Of all the bad endings you can get in Heaven's Feel, I've always found the Mind of Steel end by far the most fascinating, especially from Rin's perspective. Her actions in that end are true to her magus nature, but completely go against her natural personality. Sadly, since the story is told from Shirou's POV, we only get some brief mentioning of what Rin could become after this point, and I liked the thought of delving into her mind at that moment when she goes to kill Sakura.
It's interesting from a literary perspective most definitely. But I can see why Nasu didn't do it that way, the route would just be unbearable (for some, maybe some enjoyment from other people) to watch, at least for me. I know I'd struggle not to have to get into the market for a new monitor at that point. The thing I guess most people find so fascinating with the "Superhero" (odd that people always call it Mind of Steel now) ending is that it is cut short. And of course of all the feelings most people have when getting to that ending, some would rather it follow through.
Mercifully though, I thank Nasu for not going that route.
Heh. I'd like to see that kind of route since an actual road to perdition route would be sorta interesting...
Altima of the Gates
2011-04-10, 13:31
Heh. I'd like to see that kind of route since an actual road to perdition route would be kinda interesting...
*shrug* Different strokes I guess. Curiosity has been one of man's greatest wonders and follies.
I suppose it depends on what the plot demands at that moment.
Pretty much this. She was able to survive getting Gate of Bably'owned three times and decapitated. A knife really shouldn't do much. Neither Zouken nor AM could afford for her to die at the moment, so she shouldn't. If it did happen, what I'd say is that Sakura's soul would disperse (and honestly, in this situation, I'd find that a better recourse than staying in that world) and the body would Zouken's/AM's. And then they'd be screwed.
RadiantBeam
2011-04-10, 18:50
It's interesting from a literary perspective most definitely. But I can see why Nasu didn't do it that way, the route would just be unbearable (for some, maybe some enjoyment from other people) to watch, at least for me. I know I'd struggle not to have to get into the market for a new monitor at that point. The thing I guess most people find so fascinating with the "Superhero" (odd that people always call it Mind of Steel now) ending is that it is cut short. And of course of all the feelings most people have when getting to that ending, some would rather it follow through.
Mercifully though, I thank Nasu for not going that route.
Honestly, I would find a Mind of Steel fic hopelessly boring if it was focused on Shirou. I would find it much more interesting to see that kind of scenario explored from Rin's perspective, especially since of the main cast at this point, she would be by far the worst off.
Cherry_Lover
2011-04-10, 20:51
Honestly, I would find a Mind of Steel fic hopelessly boring if it was focused on Shirou.
Well, yeah, because he can't actually do much. His only way of winning is to hide away and snipe enemies when he gets the chance. The idea of him following in his father's footsteps and winning the Grail War single-handed might sound heroic, but his father was no hero. He was a purely pragmatic man who did whatever it took to win, regardless of the cost to others. Shirou taking up his mantle means a lot of sitting around waiting and then a few surprise master assassinations when they're not paying attention (or, alternately (and much preferably), an early meeting with a very angry Rider followed immediately by a painful lesson on the effects of having long, thick metal nails shoved up one's anus...).
I would find it much more interesting to see that kind of scenario explored from Rin's perspective, especially since of the main cast at this point, she would be by far the worst off.
Well, I'd find it interesting in a "Berserker raping her to death after Archer deserts her for trying to order him to kill Ilya would be very cathargic" sense, but otherwise I would have no interest in a fic which followed that bitch's attempts to win the Grail for her own damn benefit after murdering her sister. (In case you can't tell, I don't like MoS Rin much...).
RadiantBeam
2011-04-10, 21:11
Well, yeah, because he can't actually do much. His only way of winning is to hide away and snipe enemies when he gets the chance. The idea of him following in his father's footsteps and winning the Grail War single-handed might sound heroic, but his father was no hero. He was a purely pragmatic man who did whatever it took to win, regardless of the cost to others. Shirou taking up his mantle means a lot of sitting around waiting and then a few surprise master assassinations when they're not paying attention (or, alternately (and much preferably), an early meeting with a very angry Rider followed immediately by a painful lesson on the effects of having long, thick metal nails shoved up one's anus...).
Well, I'd find it interesting in a "Berserker raping her to death after Archer deserts her for trying to order him to kill Ilya would be very cathargic" sense, but otherwise I would have no interest in a fic which followed that bitch's attempts to win the Grail for her own damn benefit after murdering her sister. (In case you can't tell, I don't like MoS Rin much...).
*shoves MoS!Rin story plans out of sight* Never mind those, then. :heh:
Cherry_Lover
2011-04-10, 23:48
*shoves MoS!Rin story plans out of sight* Never mind those, then. :heh:
Well, you can hardly expect me to like the version of Rin who murdered my favourite character in cold blood because of some retarded "true magus" ideal....
I think Altima summed it up pretty well, actually, and honestly I think I hate MoS Rin even more than MoS Shirou (although, the Geas Rin is even worse still...).
RadiantBeam
2011-04-10, 23:51
Eh, to be honest, my version wouldn't be so much MoS!Rin as it would be a Rin who went through events similar to MoS!Rin, and was given a chance to go back and try everything again to prevent her future from happening; kind of like Archer, in a way.
But then again, I just find MoS as a whole fascinating. The thought of how all of the characters would break is something that appeals to me.
Cherry_Lover
2011-04-11, 02:57
Eh, to be honest, my version wouldn't be so much MoS!Rin as it would be a Rin who went through events similar to MoS!Rin, and was given a chance to go back and try everything again to prevent her future from happening; kind of like Archer, in a way.
Well, that I don't really mind, since I would assume that she would have suffered a hell of a lot as a result of that decision, and would make every effort to make amends (which I would assume would mean saving Sakura)
But then again, I just find MoS as a whole fascinating. The thought of how all of the characters would break is something that appeals to me.
Well, yes, I agree, actually. I particularly like the thought of how Rin would break after being horribly tortured by Ilya :p
Eh, to be honest, my version wouldn't be so much MoS!Rin as it would be a Rin who went through events similar to MoS!Rin, and was given a chance to go back and try everything again to prevent her future from happening; kind of like Archer, in a way.
But then again, I just find MoS as a whole fascinating. The thought of how all of the characters would break is something that appeals to me.
... ... ... .... ... you'd derive far too much joy from breaking these poor people. :heh:
Kuroi Hadou
2011-04-11, 08:58
... ... ... .... ... you'd derive far too much joy from breaking these poor people. :heh:
At least she wouldn't be enlisting dc's help. I shudder to think of how that would turn out. :p
RadiantBeam
2011-04-11, 11:29
... ... ... .... ... you'd derive far too much joy from breaking these poor people. :heh:
At least I give them a happy ending. :p
*shoves MoS!Rin story plans out of sight* Never mind those, then. :heh:
*Tries to take a peek*
At least I give them a happy ending. :p
I'm sure that's a tremendous comfort to them after the weeks of agonizing heartbreak. :p
Kuroi Hadou
2011-04-11, 12:06
I'm sure that's a tremendous comfort to them after the weeks of agonizing heartbreak. :p
Well, it's a tremendous comfort to those who actually manage to live through the weeks of agonizing heartbreak. :p
Heroslayer
2011-04-15, 03:00
Well, it's a tremendous comfort to those who actually manage to live through the weeks of agonizing heartbreak
Agonizing Heartbreak, mental torture (physical torture if you're Shirou) and the complete breakdown of your ideals of the world.
Anyways, I want to try something but I'm missing a few details. Anyone know the months in which Fate/Zero had taken place. I don't really need the direct dates, but a season would be nice.
I'm kinda under the impression that it's around the same time as FSN, So winter?
Cherry_Lover
2011-04-15, 16:23
I believe it's winter or early spring.
RadiantBeam
2011-04-15, 19:51
I'm now amused by the implication that Rin was running around in a short skirt and only a sweater during winter while she fought the War. When she wasn't wearing her school uniform, obviously.
Cherry_Lover
2011-04-16, 10:19
Well, the fifth war is stated to be early Febuary (the dates are given in-game), so we know that for certain.
Altima of the Gates
2011-04-16, 17:26
At least I give them a happy ending. :p
....I can't trust you! :p
But really, well, there is only but so much you could really do to someone before they shut themselves off, and we know someone who is quite good at doing that. Beyond erasing their memories so their guard is lowered and then doing it again, the whole thing becomes redundant, and then you just get a bad taste in your mouth (unless you don't have a soul, lol).
I'm now amused by the implication that Rin was running around in a short skirt and only a sweater during winter while she fought the War. When she wasn't wearing her school uniform, obviously.
And at the same time, she was the only character besides Ilya (who came from a cold country, she damn well better have one)who ever wore a coat (though this is only when she wears a uniform). Saber wore what Rin gave her, which I don't think is very warm, Kotomine wears thick clothes, Shirou only has his uniform or his t-shirt and pants, Sakura (uniform) (taiga's clothes) (shadow - which mind you, she is buck naked, that is just prana, so not warm at all I would think). Good thing they get enough exercise, or it'd be pretty uncomfortable.
Cherry_Lover
2011-04-17, 19:15
Well, I would assume that Dark Sakura can make the shadow act as a thermal insulator, actually. Not that it probably matters at that point, honestly....
I'd imagine any magus beyond the level of complete novice could use minute levels of magic to warm themselves.
Cherry_Lover
2011-04-17, 22:25
Yeah, exactly.
Just to reiterate it's definitely winter since we see a scene in HF where Ilya is playing with snow falling:
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb362/haak1/0340.jpg
As stated before, it's not Stay Night that has its time in any level of question. The game gives you a date by date breakdown of events, starting early February. Zero is the one being truly questioned.
Cherry_Lover
2011-04-18, 15:51
As stated before, it's not Stay Night that has its time in any level of question. The game gives you a date by date breakdown of events, starting early February. Zero is the one being truly questioned.
Actually, IIRC day 1 is the 31st January.
Just flipped through the prologue, and here's some material for when the 4th took place:
"It has been ten years since the winter day on which my father went to war. I haven't exactly been waiting for this moment, but I am excited."
And yeah, if you count from Rin's first day of the war it's 1/31, otherwise it's in February if you follow Shirou's first day.
biodude711
2011-05-10, 16:03
Pretty much, yes. I'm simply not as big a fan of 'grim' as Nasu. I like to lighten things up. The story will, of course, descend into the sort of grit that he went to, but not until things are more severe. :heh:
And speaking Chaos Theory, the next chapter is now Up on FF.net. (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6372400/11/Chaos_Theory)
Have I told you how much I love this story?
Keep up the wonderful work!
BTW, how's the new chapter coming along?
Have I told you how much I love this story?
Keep up the wonderful work!
BTW, how's the new chapter coming along?
I was actually planning to start it today. I've been working on another story for awhile, so CT is behind.
RadiantBeam
2011-05-10, 16:19
I was actually planning to start it today. I've been working on another story for awhile, so CT is behind.
"Planning to" being the two key words, here. :p
Hypocritical humor is hypocritical.
"Planning to" being the two key words, here. :p
Hypocritical humor is hypocritical.
... denial would be a futile effort. I will almost certainly get a paragraph or two, though! :heh:
As long as you admit it.
biodude711
2011-05-10, 16:27
I was actually planning to start it today. I've been working on another story for awhile, so CT is behind.
That was fast!
I especially loved it when Saber kicked Shinji's ass in chapter 10. I guess he learned the hard way that Saber is very protective of her friends.
... denial would be a futile effort. I will almost certainly get a paragraph or two, though! :heh:
See, before people were just getting squirmy waiting. Now we got an announcement, and we'll be truly itching for it! :p
RadiantBeam
2011-05-10, 16:31
See, before people were just getting squirmy waiting. Now we got an announcement, and we'll be truly itching for it! :p
This is why I rarely ever announce anything, ever. :heh:
See, before people were just getting squirmy waiting. Now we got an announcement, and we'll be truly itching for it! :p
This is why I rarely ever announce anything, ever. :heh:
You two act like I have ever expressed any feeling other than open, cheerfully admitted sadism towards my readers. :p
Wouldn't sadism caused by action be of greater satisfaction than sadism caused by inaction?
Flere821
2011-05-11, 01:26
I was actually planning to start it today. I've been working on another story for awhile, so CT is behind.
So what's this other story? Some of us might be interested in reading it...
Kuroi Hadou
2011-05-11, 02:23
I believe he's referring to Infinity, his Nanoha fic.
RadiantBeam
2011-05-11, 21:19
I have been rec'd on the Beast's Lair Fanfiction Recommendations thread.
I feel very proud of this. :D
DezoPenguin
2011-05-12, 00:16
I have been rec'd on the Beast's Lair Fanfiction Recommendations thread.
I feel very proud of this. :D
*applause* :D
Flere821
2011-05-12, 01:56
I believe he's referring to Infinity, his Nanoha fic.
Thanks, I might go check it out later :)
RadiantBeam
2011-05-17, 17:58
For those who are curious, Rain has been posted to BL (http://nrvnqsr.us.to/showthread.php/539-Into-The-Rain) if you prefer to follow it there.
wavehawk
2011-05-24, 20:46
Something I did a long time ago, don't even remember if I posted to Anisuki before, but...
...does this count as Fate/Stay Night Fanfiction? :p
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v612/Wavehawk/Tempbook/DCDFT01.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v612/Wavehawk/Tempbook/DCDFT02.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v612/Wavehawk/Tempbook/DCDFT03.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v612/Wavehawk/Tempbook/DCDFT04.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v612/Wavehawk/Tempbook/DCDFT05.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v612/Wavehawk/Tempbook/DCDFT06.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v612/Wavehawk/Tempbook/DCDFT07.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v612/Wavehawk/Tempbook/DCDFT08.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v612/Wavehawk/Tempbook/DCDFT09.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v612/Wavehawk/Tempbook/DCDFT10.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v612/Wavehawk/Tempbook/DCDFT11.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v612/Wavehawk/Tempbook/DCDFT12.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v612/Wavehawk/Tempbook/DCDFT13.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v612/Wavehawk/Tempbook/DCDFT14.jpg
I'm tempted to do gag pics like this for To Aru..., Bakemono..., and Madoka Magica... once the figmas of those characters turn up...nothing serious, just me messing around (believably) with different Light Novel/Anime worlds.
RadiantBeam
2011-05-24, 22:10
What did I just read?
wavehawk
2011-05-25, 00:15
The further adventures of a Passing-Through Kamen Rider in Fate/Stay Night No Sekai?
As I said, it was set up as a gag/fic. :p
RadiantBeam
2011-06-10, 18:37
So, replayed through HF the other night and stumbled across a scene that sort of puts a hitch in my original timeline and planning for Rain; let's just say, I planned for there to only be two sex scenes tops in the story, and to cut the third one that was in HF between Shirou and Sakura for personal and story reasons. However, the second sex scene with Sakura happens much sooner than I originally thought, so, let's hear it, guys:
Should I cut the third scene? Or should I ride with the VN and do a Rin/Sakura version of all Shirou/Sakura sex scenes? Granted, no description, but hey.
Kuroi Hadou
2011-06-10, 18:55
Should I cut the third scene? Or should I ride with the VN and do a Rin/Sakura version of all Shirou/Sakura sex scenes? Granted, no description, but hey.
Which would require less revision of the outline you had for the story?
RadiantBeam
2011-06-10, 19:04
Which would require less revision of the outline you had for the story?
It could go either way, really. I'm just not a major fan of the third Sakura/Shirou sex scene in HF, so I'm not sure how well I'd be able to approach a rewrite of it.
Kuroi Hadou
2011-06-10, 19:09
It could go either way, really. I'm just not a major fan of the third Sakura/Shirou sex scene in HF, so I'm not sure how well I'd be able to approach a rewrite of it.
Go with what you're more comfortable writing, then. :)
DezoPenguin
2011-06-10, 20:45
It could go either way, really. I'm just not a major fan of the third Sakura/Shirou sex scene in HF, so I'm not sure how well I'd be able to approach a rewrite of it.
Coming at this from the "clueless as to specifics" point of view, what bugs you about it?
RadiantBeam
2011-06-10, 21:10
Coming at this from the "clueless as to specifics" point of view, what bugs you about it?
Well, it might just be my interpretation of it, but I tend to dislike the third sex scene between Sakura and Shirou because it has some rapey undertones.
Tiresias
2011-06-10, 22:15
do a Rin/Sakura version of all Shirou/Sakura sex scenes?
Personally I see no reason for you to copy all the scenes from the original story. The story itself is already a deviation from canon afterall :heh:. Whatever makes the story flows, I say.
Altima of the Gates
2011-06-11, 10:05
Well, it might just be my interpretation of it, but I tend to dislike the third sex scene between Sakura and Shirou because it has some rapey undertones.
Wasn't so much rape-y as they had rather rougher, more passionate sex. Shirou even apologized about it later on. The important part of that is that Shirou initiated (or, well, tried to) not because of the prana transfer, but because he wanted to. Which would be an important point to use, if not using the same scene, in the story, emphasizing that this person that she's with 'wants' her for her, and not just for sex.
Also, if that one pissed you off, even when both parties had total consent, then UBW's must make you rage.
RadiantBeam
2011-06-11, 10:19
Wasn't so much rape-y as they had rather rougher, more passionate sex. Shirou even apologized about it later on. The important part of that is that Shirou initiated (or, well, tried to) not because of the prana transfer, but because he wanted to. Which would be an important point to use, if not using the same scene, in the story, emphasizing that this person that she's with 'wants' her for her, and not just for sex.
Also, if that one pissed you off, even when both parties had total consent, then UBW's must make you rage.
Actually, I felt fine with the UBW one. I just felt that the third scene in HF had some odd rape undertones, and that sort of made the whole thing awkward to play through.
DezoPenguin
2011-06-11, 10:30
Well, it might just be my interpretation of it, but I tend to dislike the third sex scene between Sakura and Shirou because it has some rapey undertones.
Personally I see no reason for you to copy all the scenes from the original story. The story itself is already a deviation from canon afterall :heh:. Whatever makes the story flows, I say.
Wasn't so much rape-y as they had rather rougher, more passionate sex. Shirou even apologized about it later on. The important part of that is that Shirou initiated (or, well, tried to) not because of the prana transfer, but because he wanted to. Which would be an important point to use, if not using the same scene, in the story, emphasizing that this person that she's with 'wants' her for her, and not just for sex.
Also, if that one pissed you off, even when both parties had total consent, then UBW's must make you rage.
Hmm, I don't necessarily see that you have a problem here, then. After all:
1. The point of Into the Rain is to have Rin as Sakura's love interest instead of Shirou. Rin's a different person than Shirou, so she'll react differently to things than Shirou would, and similarly Sakura would react differently to Rin than she would to Shirou, even in the same circumstances. Therefore, the only things that have be the same are matters where external circumstances impose them on the characters (i.e. if Sakura needs prana at time X, she's going to need prana at time X regardless of who she's getting the infusion from).
2. The way that sex scenes play out is probably the single most obvious change that would result from the switch in protagonist. Rin is a different gender, has a different personality, and has a different past relationship with Sakura than Shirou does, all of which would play into having the sex play out differently. (In a weird sort of way, I'm actually sorry that you're not doing the lemon thing here, because the differences between Rin/Sakura sex and Shirou/Sakura sex would actually be important in terms of plot--and specifically in how Rain differs from HF; these intimate moments will help to shape later encounters between the sisters when it all hits the fan.)
So, would I include the sex scene? I'd say yes (although not necessarily at the exact same time), both for the balance involved and because as Altima suggests, it would help to show that Rin's coming to be attracted to Sakura for Sakura, not just to help her deal with the prana problem. This is especially significant here, because Rin's major character riff is her tsundere-ness by which she always finds an excuse, however thin, for doing something which is either kind and generous or self-indulgently emotional (basically, anything other than being a cold, practical, goal-oriented magus). Having her step up and say "I am about to sleep with Sakura because I want to sleep with Sakura" is something that would be important to her own emotional development in the story, and also significant for helping to cement Sakura's own feelings.
However, as to the way the scene actually plays out, that's something that you should determine based on how Rin actually feels about Sakura and how Sakura feels about her within the context of Rain, not feel yourself bound by the actual events of HF. (Indeed, if you do just take off from HF, you run the risk of making the scene seem OOC for what you've established in previous chapters!)
Altima of the Gates
2011-06-11, 11:35
Actually, I felt fine with the UBW one. I just felt that the third scene in HF had some odd rape undertones, and that sort of made the whole thing awkward to play through.
Really? Hmm, well we all have different interpretations. In both, Shirou turns it up a notch, and we see that he in facts likes rougher (not rape) sex. Funny thing is, considering how she went after Saber, if Rin's switch is flipped, she's likely not far behind in the passionate aspect.
Also thanks for the support there DezoPenguin. Ultimately, beyond the h-scenes, it's the feelings behind them that ultimately matter. It's why I looked past the notoriously bad writing for them, and saw what led up to it with more importance.
RadiantBeam
2011-06-11, 13:33
(In a weird sort of way, I'm actually sorry that you're not doing the lemon thing here, because the differences between Rin/Sakura sex and Shirou/Sakura sex would actually be important in terms of plot--and specifically in how Rain differs from HF; these intimate moments will help to shape later encounters between the sisters when it all hits the fan.)
Well, I have some basic idea of how Rin differs from Shirou in terms of sexual encounters, at least from what we're shown of Shirou when he has sex with one of the girls. But alas, I tend to avoid doing lemons since I have no experience to draw from, and the last thing I want to do is try my hand at it and get it all completely wrong. :uhoh:
I have already made my feelings perfectly clear over AIM, but I might as well reiterate... I think the important part of that scene is, as Altima said, not the sex but the emotional aspect. Making Sakura feel loved and accepted. And I maintain that the other choice we've discussed has a greater impact on that front.
The choice, as always, belongs to the authoress. Just my opinion.
Cherry_Lover
2011-06-12, 12:54
Well, it might just be my interpretation of it, but I tend to dislike the third sex scene between Sakura and Shirou because it has some rapey undertones.
How?
Shirou is quite aggressive, yes, but there's nothing whatsoever "rapey" about it. Sakura has absolutely no problem with what he does.
So, would I include the sex scene? I'd say yes (although not necessarily at the exact same time), both for the balance involved and because as Altima suggests, it would help to show that Rin's coming to be attracted to Sakura for Sakura, not just to help her deal with the prana problem.
Yeah, that's the function that scene serves in HF too, although in that case it's more to convince Sakura of that fact rather than Shirou.
RadiantBeam
2011-06-12, 20:59
How?
Shirou is quite aggressive, yes, but there's nothing whatsoever "rapey" about it. Sakura has absolutely no problem with what he does.
*shrug*
It's just how I interpret it, is all. I get what the feeling is supposed to be behind it and all, but the writing in that section is horrific and really takes away from what is happening. Hence, I don't like it.
Altima of the Gates
2011-06-13, 01:00
*shrug*
It's just how I interpret it, is all. I get what the feeling is supposed to be behind it and all, but the writing in that section is horrific and really takes away from what is happening. Hence, I don't like it.
Ah, I see. ell, that is Nasu for you. He kinda flubbed up some romantic parts.
The Rin/Shirou scene I can only look at as comedy, in both Hollow and F/SN Although the one in Hollow is kinda dawww so you'll enjoy it. Also, given the AM happenings, some of hat leaked into the scenes, in HF, giving it a bit of a nightmarish feel.
Plus the gems of "so good I could vomit" "She's good like a skilled prostitute" and "Pots of meat" don't help.
*sigh* Thanks a lot for that, Nasu.....
Icy.Tear
2011-06-13, 03:00
I always found Nasu's erotic writings as amusing.
DezoPenguin
2011-06-13, 11:43
Plus the gems of "so good I could vomit"
If this is a standard reaction, it could go a long way towards explaining why Japanese men...don't have the greatest reputation as lovers. ;)
"She's good like a skilled prostitute"
Love to hear the story of why Shirou feels able to make that comparison. :p
and "Pots of meat" don't help.
...Okay, I've got nothing. :twitch:
*sigh* Thanks a lot for that, Nasu.....
And thank you, for confirming that I really do want to see F/SN without H-scenes. :D
Altima of the Gates
2011-06-13, 16:12
Well, if that piques your interest, there is a Let's Play somewhere, that replaced the first ero scene with Shirou/Sakura with cooking metaphors. Makes for double the hilarity.
Heroslayer
2011-06-15, 22:12
I finally wrote this thing. A FSN and Lyrical Nanoha Crossover.
Tell me what you think.
I don't own any of the copied righted material that ends up in this story.
Enjoy
...
This universe is a bit different from any of the others that we've seen. This world is not bound so tightly by the rules of Fate.
A difference is made years ago, a tiny rock that derails the tracks of destiny. A boy is born in Fuyuki City and forged in fire. The boy is burned away and the image of a Hero is burned deep into his soul. Emiya Shirou was created on that day. That will not change.
The change is made when Emiya Kiritsugu leaves Fuyuki city. The man is tired and his body weary. He has done what he could to stop the Holy Grail from ever appearing again, but he no longer wishes to remain in this city where he is constantly reminded of his failures, the death of his lover, and the betrayal of his own ideals. So he leaves the city and doesn't return. He takes the little boy that he pulled from the fires that he created far away from the scorched earth that he found him in.
So Emiya Shirou does not grow up in Fuyuki City. He finds solace in the fact that the boy he was before is left in that city and that his new life as Emiya Shirou can be created in a new environment.
And yet, despite the change in setting there is no change to the boy's dream. So even in this new city, the boy's origins stay the same. The boy yearns to be a Hero, and attempts and fails to learn Magecraft. The father leaves constantly in his quest to find the daughter that he promised to return to.
The years pass until Shirou is nine years old.
And so the Wheel of Fate turns. A distorted boy with the ambition to be a Hero a boy whose fate is normally filled with hardship and trials. His future is filled with swords and battles. On the other side is the cheerful girl that is searching for her niche in life. The role that she will find will eventually take her beyond the stars themselves. The day these two cross is the day where the Fate of several change.
Where will this track of destiny take us?
Let's take a peek, shall we?
...
Hero Slayer Presents:
Mahou Senki: Lyrical Days
Chapter One: A Mysterious Encounter. A Magus, a Magical Girl, and a Talking Ferret?
…
A white room, one that gave off the image of being pristine and unblemished, that is the kind of room that I wake up to. The clean room fills me with an odd sense of comfort. I look around. The room is big and I see many beds filled with different people. Most of them are like me, children that are covered in bandages and hooked up to machines.
But there is no sense of pain or death. No, everyone in this room had been hurt but now they are healing. These people were safe. I was safe.
I relax and let my eyes wander outside of the room. My sight falls to the window against the wall, or rather what's outside the window. The sky looked so beautiful. My eyes were captivated with the bright blue sky that seemed to go on forever.
It took me a few days to remember. I eventually recall what had happened to me.
There had been a terrible fire, one that had consumed the town, or a small part of the town. I had been saved and was in the hospital wrapped in bandages. Just me. My parents, my family were gone. The situation didn't make sense to me at the time, but there was some part of me that understood. I was alone now. I like to think that I understood that fact quickly, that I absorbed the knowledge with the rest of the children that surrounded me.
But after that. When I had accepted the fact that I was alone, when thoughts of what would happen to me filled me with panic and worry, that man came. He came the day my bandages came off. An unkempt man that was dressed in a wrinkled coat. This was the first time I spoke to Emiya Kiritsugu.
"Hello. You must be Shirou."
A smile that seemed to reflect the sunlight streaming through the window. His voice sounded a bit odd, but I thought it was a very kind voice.
This was the man that offered to adopt me. He looked like a man with no future, but it was either him or the orphanage. So when he asked, I decided to go with him. He seemed happy with the choice and messily began to pack up my stuff.
"Ah, I forgot to mention something important. I have to tell you one thing before you come with me. Is that okay?" He turned to me and lightheartedly and said, "Yeah, to start off with. I'm a sorcerer." He said it in a serious and exaggerated tone.
Honestly, I was really a child back then. I automatically believed those words. Maybe it was the way he said it or the expression on his face, but I didn't doubt the man for a second. It was that single instant that it happened.
"Wow, you're awesome." I looked up at the amazing man in front of me.
This moment was the catalyst. It was probably as I said those words that my path was set. If I could use magic, I could be like this man who saved me.
Ever since that day I had been that man's son. I even took up his name, Emiya.
Emiya Shirou. Just hearing the sound of that used to bring a smile to my lips. Just the sheer fact that I shared his name brought me joy. This was the man I would be chasing for the rest of my life.
…
"Emiya-kun, Wake up!"
The loud shout along with the startling noise of a ruler crashing down on a desk sends Emiya Shirou out of his dream and back into the real world. It also had the side effect of scaring the boy so much that he threw his body backwards much too quickly for his chair to catch and keep on four legs. For a moment, the boy is suspended in the air with a look of horror and surprise on his face. The moment ends and the chair tips.
"Wah!"
Crash!
The nine year old boy had toppled over and even managed to catch the desk behind him with the back of his head. The entire class winced in unison before laughing at the boy's misfortune.
"Ow…" Shirou whined as he rubbed the back of his head. He looked up from the ground to see his teacher standing over him with an angry expression on her face. "A…ahahaha…" He laughed sheepishly before resigning himself to the lecture that the teacher was going to give him.
As the nine year old stood in the corner holding the punishment sign that had the words 'Slept in Class' on it, he thought about the dream he just had. It had been a while since he had dreamed of his first meeting with his adoptive father, or anything else that had to do with Fuyuki City. His dreams were usually a lot more violent and nightmarish. His dreams were normally filled with fire.
"Hmm." Shirou yawned and fiddled with the sign around his neck. "Maybe I need to get a better sleeping schedule." The little boy had stayed up all night practicing the Reinforcement magic that Kiritsugu had showed him. He had gotten the basics of forging a Magic Circuit for the magic, but he still hadn't succeeded at properly Reinforcing an object.
The boy felt a sudden weight fall on his shoulders as he recalled his failure. He had been progressing so well lately too. His ability to analyze objects was top notch, if useless from what Kiritsugu had told him, and he had been able to successfully create a magic circuit with nearly a hundred percent success lately. Yet every time he tried to Reinforce an object he seemed to fail. Shirou felt like he was going nowhere lately and that was depressing.
"Shirou!" The boy straightened up at the teacher's voice. "Just because you're in the corner doesn't mean you don't have to pay attention. Now, why don't you tell the class what you plan on being in the future."
Shirou nodded and smiled brightly at his teacher. The nine year old red head knew exactly what he was going to be in the future. His path had been set the day he had been taken in by Kiritsugu, no, it was set the day he had been saved from that fire.
"I'm going to be a super hero." Shirou told the teacher. It was a baseless claim, but the boy said it completely seriously.
The class stayed silent for a moment at the boy's words before the dam broke. The entire class rang out with laughter and even the teacher giggled at the boy's enthusiasm for what they thought was a fictional profession.
"A super hero? Is he joking?" One of his classmates asked the person next to him.
"I don't think so. Emiya isn't the type to joke around." The girl giggled. "He honestly thinks he can be a super hero."
Shirou paid the laughter no mind and ignored the teacher's words about choosing a serious profession. He was used to the laughter and disbelief from other people. They didn't understand the world that Shirou wanted to live in.
…
"You should have taken that project seriously, Shirou-san."
Shirou looked up from his lunch to see his normal lunch companions. The three girls, Nanoha Takamachi, Alisa Bannings, and Suzuka Tsukimura were probably the cutest girls in their grade. They had a tendency to hang around each other and all three were pretty popular. Shirou spent a fair amount of time with the trio. Mostly because he spent a lot of time training with Nanoha's older brother, Kouya, in their family dojo and quickly became friends with Nanoha. The other two girls liked Shirou enough and he quickly became part of their little group.
"Ah, I am taking it seriously Tsukimura-san." Shirou responded and clenched a fist tightly. The fires of his passions burned brightly behind him. "I'm going to be a Hero of Justice and save people."
"Ah, what is with our group? First Nanoha doesn't give an answer at all to the assignment then you give this joke of a speech on being a comic book hero." Alisa sighed as she pressed a hand to her forehead.
"I think that Alisa-chan and Suzuka-chan are more amazing for knowing what they want to do." Nanoha sighed and tried to think of what she would do in her future. So far the choices that were presented to her didn't seem right.
"Ah that's right." Shirou nodded and recalled that while most of the class had vague answers for their future or simply put they were undecided both Alisa and Suzuka had concrete answers for their future. "Alisa-san is going to succeed her parents and Suzuka-san is planning to become an engineer, right?"
Suzuka nodded and smiled at the boy. "Yes. I like machines and such so I thought it would be nice to go into engineering."
Shirou looked over to Nanoha who looked to be deep in thought. "What about you, Nanoha-san. Are you going to take over the Midoriya?" He said referring to the café that the Takamachi owned.
"Hai, that's one option." The girl sighed and stared into the distance. "But I feel like there's something else out there that's more suited for me. I just wish I knew what that thing was."
Shirou took another bite of his lunch box before attempting to reassure the girl. "I'm sure you'll find it eventually." It was unrealistic to find the path you wanted to take at such a young age. Or so Kiritsugu told him whenever he said he wanted to follow in his footsteps.
Suzuka nodded and smiled at the girl. "Yes, you shouldn't take this decision lightly. I'm sure you'll find the path that fits you best." Seeing Shirou agree with her, she turned to the boy and frowned at him in disappointment. "That goes for you too Shirou-san. You shouldn't joke around about your future."
"I'm not joking. I'm going to be a Hero." Shirou retorted. Both Alisa and Suzuka sighed at the boy's stubbornness while Nanoha giggled at all of them.
"Being a hero isn't an occupation you idiot!" Alisa shouted at him. The boy was always so stubborn about things like this. Sure if you ask him to help you with something he'll agree right away, but if you debate the way things worked the boy would dig his heels into the ground.
"Says you." Shirou pouted when he realized that none of the three were taking his future ambition seriously. He really couldn't blame them. They didn't know that people like Kiritsugu were out there saving people. He was chasing after an entirely different world. "There are plenty of Heroes out there."
"Argh, I give up!" Alisa threw her arms in the air. There was no way to convince Shirou when he got like this.
The conversation eventually turned to other subjects and Shirou spent the rest of the lunch period in idle conversation with the girls. Shirou didn't really contribute too much as he was more occupied with his own dreams. The boy somehow completely missed the scuffle Nanoha and Alisa got into until Suzuka asked him to help calm the two down. It eventually degenerated into a three way wrestling match with Shirou valiantly attempting to stop the struggle.
Needless to say, Nanoha won.
…
"Hurry up Shirou!" Shirou wasn't really sure which of the girls had shouted that, but he quickened his pace just the same.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." Shirou rolled his eyes but smiled as the girls ran ahead of him. He adjusted the strap on a duffle bag to a more comfortable position and jogged after the girls.
After school had ended, Shirou quickly gathered his stuff and ran out to meet the girls. Since he had started taking lessons from Kouya, he had been assigned the duty of escorting Nanoha and her friends to cram school. He would grab his extra bag and follow the girls along to make sure they made it safe before running to the Takamachi's dojo for his daily lessons.
It was a daily habit and Shirou quickly learned to keep the idle chatter mostly about neutral subjects or to just keep quiet. He had no real desire to get sucked into girl talk on a daily basis, though he would gladly join any conversation that had to do with cooking. The boy's obsession with cooking had weirded out the girls at first, but they quickly accepted it as one of his quirks. It helped that the boy would share some of his better successes with the girls during lunch.
Today it seemed like the girls wanted to take a short cut through the woods. Shirou had protested lightly stating that it could be dangerous, but it didn't take much for the three girls to convince him. The three girls had a lot of practice with convincing Shirou to do something against his will and had gotten very good at it.
Shirou followed the trio of girls and started going over the forms and attacks that he would be practicing today with Kouya. He didn't really mind walking the girls to cram school but he would rather be training. His thoughts were halted when he bumped into someone.
"Ack." The boy looked up to see that Nanoha had stopped in the middle of the path. The girl looked distracted and she was staring at something in the distance. "Nanoha?"
"Didn't you hear that?" Nanoha tilted her head and tried to find the source of the sound.
"Hear what?" Shirou looked around for any noise. He hadn't been paying much attention to their surroundings. Before he could even try to locate the noise, Nanoha had taken off into the woods. "Oi, Nanoha!"
Shirou chased after the girl. He normally would have no problem keeping up with the girl but weighted down by his kendo bag the boy had a hard time keeping up with the girl.
"It came from over here!" Nanoha called back to them. She pointed out a small clearing in the woods.
Shirou picked up his pace and silently wished he could just magic himself over there. When he reached the clearing he looked around for any sign of a person hurt or in danger, but the clearing was empty. "Nanoha, I don't see anyone."
"Ah…" Nanoha stepped in front of Shirou and knelt down on the floor. In front of her was a ferret curled up on the ground. Judging from its beat up appearance the thing had been injured somehow. Shirou sighed and mentally yelled at himself for feeling disappointed that there was no one to save.
"N-nanoha, Shirou, why did you start running like that?" Both Alisa and Suzuka had caught up to the two of them. At the sight of the wounded animal both of the girls joined Nanoha and started cooing over it. "It's injured. We need to take it a hospital, no a vet."
Shirou sighed as the girls started panicking over what to do with the ferret and took charge. He reached into his kendo bag for some soft material. He found an extra shirt and used it to wrap the ferret in and keep it warm. As he picked up the ferret and wrapped it in the shirt his hand brushed over the red gem that hung on its collar. A small shock rushed through up Shirou's arm and he paused for a moment. He stared at the animal intently before brushing it off as nothing. "Come on, there should be a vet around here somewhere, right?"
Alisa nodded and pulled out her cell phone. Shirou guessed that the girl had a map or something on the thing as she nodded and started running in a direction. "There's one over in this direction." She shouted back to them.
Shirou adjusted his kendo bag before running after him. A stray thought went through his head. Magic was real after all, why couldn't magical animals be real too? He gave the ferret one curious look that quickly shifted over to Nahoha as he recalled her saying she heard something. Maybe there was something special about it after all.
…
The key to success is both a strong mind and a strong body. Those words were spoken to him by Kiritsugu Emiya. When Shirou had finally gotten Kiritsugu to agree to teach him magic the first thing they did was exercise. It didn't make much sense to Shirou until later, but the key to magic was not only study but having a sturdy body also. Shirou wasn't really sure how their exercises turned into Kendo sparring, but learning swordsmanship had become something of a hobby for the child.
When Kiritsugu first left on one of his many trips, Shirou found himself without a sparring partner. He had tried to join the school's Kendo club, but he felt that the club was too rigid and that the sport based swords style was too gentle for his tastes. So he had looked for any dojo in the area to join. His search had been rather fruitless until he made his displeasure known in class. Nanoha had told him that both her brother and sister practiced a family style and Shirou had immediately latched onto the girl and begged her to ask them to teach him. Oddly enough, they had agreed.
So Shirou spent several days in the week training with one of the Tachamichi family after school. It had started out as Miyuki teaching him, but most of the time it was Kouya teaching him.
It was something that Shirou himself enjoyed on a great level. Both Kouya and Miyuki were extremely good at swordsmanship and in the years that Shirou had been studying under them, not once had he scored a point on either of them.
Shirou gasped for breath as he blocked a flurry of attacks. His hands were covered with sweat and his practice sword grew heavier with every block and every swing. He attempted to twist away from his assailant for a breather. But it was not meant to be.
"You're open!" His teacher called out before applying his own practice sword to Shirou's head.
Whack! Thud!
"Gah!" Shirou fell on the ground and dropped his practice sword in favor of holding his head with his hands. Beneath his hands was the start of a small bruise. If you looked closer you would see several similar bruises on his arms and there was no doubt there were similar bruises on the boy's body. "Owwy…"
Kouya sighed but couldn't help the amused smile on his face. When Nanoha had first asked him to train a friend of hers from school, he had been skeptic at best. But Shirou had already learned the basics from Kiritsugu and he was an attentive student, so the training continued. The boy was almost unnaturally determined to become strong but there were moments like this in the middle of training that showed the boy's age. In the middle of battle the boy's focus was unbreakable, but the moment the battle was over the boy had no qualms about complaining, politely of course.
"I think we've done today Shirou." Kouya tossed the boy a water bottle and chuckled as Shirou greedily drained the entire thing. "You seem a bit distracted, any reason why?"
Shirou finished his water and shook his head. "It's nothing. I-" Shirou paused in the middle of his statement. What was bothering him? They had dropped the ferret off at a vet and the girls went off to cram school. Then Shirou had left for his lesson from Kouya, but he couldn't concentrate. There was nothing that should have bothered him and yet here he was, completely distracted from his training.
Kouya dismissed Shirou for the day and told him to come back when his mind was clearer. Shirou sighed and slowly made his way back home. The boy dragged his feet. He didn't really have much to look forward to. Kiritsugu was out on another errand for a few days. He probably had another night spent practicing his Magecraft and failing as usual. The Emiya residence in Uminari city was a far cry from the traditional estate that Shirou vaguely remembered when Kiritsugu first adopted him. A two story western style house, the Emiya residence was no different than any other house on the block. The only difference between Shirou's home and the rest was the subtle Boundary Field that surrounded the house. It was something that Kiritsugu had built as soon as they moved in. The Boundary Field was a warning system that alerted any of the users if someone entered the area with violent intentions.
"I'm home." Shirou's voice echoed throughout the empty house before he tossed his bag in the corner of the living room. There was no reply of 'Welcome Home' or 'How was your day?' but Shirou never expected an answer. He had grown used to the act of returning to an empty home and even the few times Kiritsugu was home he rarely gave answered the call back without some prompting. He gave a brief thought of how his father was doing before turning his attention to the kitchen. His last attempt at beef stew had been a failure, but he was sure that he could get the recipe to work this time.
…
The room that Shirou sat in was Spartan at best. The only objects in the room were a single desk covered in papers, Shirou himself and a single pipe. Magecraft was a dangerous practice and at his current level, Shirou couldn't afford any distractions. A single mistake could cripple him for life at best or even kill him at worst.
It was a lesson that Shirou quickly learned. To learn Magecraft is to walk with death.
Shirou placed a hand over the pipe and began.
Inhale
Focus, clear your thoughts.
Exhale
Empty your mind.
Inhale
Slowly forge the magic circuit.
Exhale
It has to be perfect, or else the nerves that are the materials for the circuit with burn out too early.
Inhale
A rush of heat invades Shirou's body, almost as if someone shoved a blowtorch into his spine and replaced the blood in his veins with lava. His head grew heavy as he pushed past the pain.
A forced exhale through clenched teeth
The Magic Circuit was in place. Shirou had already scanned the pipe with Structural Analysis earlier so he knew exactly where he needed to push his Od into.
Inhale. The oxygen is greedily sucked into the boy's body as he strained to push what little magic he could into the object that he held in his hands.
Reinforcement Complete
The boy let out the breath he had been holding and fell backwards onto his back. His breathing was labored and his face flushed with exhaustion. His entire body felt heavy like he had run a marathon but his elation at success overran any pain or exhaustion. The magus in training struggled back up into a sitting position and looked down at the Reinforced pipe. The feelings of pride and success were quickly dashed when his eyes fell on the pipe. He had been able to push Od into the pipe, but the pipe hadn't been able to take the amount of Prana that was pushed into it. The pipe had warped and twisted and there were parts of the pipe that were completely fractured.
Shirou just stared at the broken pipe for a moment before falling back onto his back. "Damn…" He felt his eyes grow heavy and Emiya Shirou fell asleep contemplating another failure.
…
"…elp…"
"Huh?"
"So…one…hel…me…"
Shirou groaned and slowly roused himself. He opened his eyes and gazed around the room in confusion. The house was empty and Kiritsugu wouldn't be home for another few days. So where was that voice coming from?
Before the voice could be dismissed as being from his dreams, it rang out again. "Hurry, someone come and help!"
Any trace of sleep was brushed aside when Shirou heard that cry. The boy froze and looked around for the source of the voice. He ran out of his house as the voice continued to cry out for help only pausing to grab his wooden practice sword. He ran out into the streets and followed his instinct as the voice echoed in his head. When the voice grew more frantic, Shirou picked up the pace until he reached the source.
"This is…" He had been to this building earlier this afternoon. This is the vet where they had dropped off the ferret Nanoha found. His magical senses were still new but even he could feel the sheer amount of magical energy pulsing out of the building. It was a surprise that no one else had felt something and came to investigate.
"Shirou-kun?" A familiar voice called out from behind him. Shirou spun around and stared at the speaker in complete bewilderment.
"Nanoha? What are you doing here?" It was pretty late at night and there wasn't any reason for the girl to be out here. She was in here pajamas too. But before he could get any answers from the girl the building behind him shuttered as if struck. Both of the children turned around to stare at the building in confusion.
CRASH!
The wall of the building exploded and sent pieces of shrapnel everywhere. Shirou threw himself in front of Nanoha to protect her. When the cloud of dust had settled both of them looked up and saw the creator of the explosion. In front of the nine year olds were two things. The first was the ferret he had just been thinking about. That was fine. He had thought that the animal was a bit different anyways.
It was the other being that was confusing. A black ball of darkness that looked almost like a solid cloud of black cotton with a demonic face on it flew out of the building.
Both of the children stared at the sight of a small rodent being attacked by a magic cloud of darkness for a moment before Shirou snapped out of his shock. "Did… did I just see a magic black fur ball attack a ferret?" Shirou's question was directed more to the air than anything, but Nanoha nodded none the less. The girl's shock was quickly replaced with worry and shock as she remembered what was going on.
"Ah, we have to help Ferret-san!" Before he could stop her, Nanoha ran over and picked up the ferret. Shirou swore as he saw the monster dove down for another attack. Shirou darted in front of the two of them and swung his practice sword before the thing could get to them. The strike was a solid one and knocked the monster back. It quickly reoriented itself and roared at the boy that was in its way. The monster rushed at the boy this time much faster than before.
Shirou raised his sword up to block the strike and felt the monster connect with the wooden blade, but the sheer force of the monster's attack sent him flying across the street. He hit the ground and rolled a few feet before stopping.
"Gah…" Shirou struggled to his feet and look down at his practice blade. His hadn't done anything? No, his strike simply was too light. He just needed to hit it harder or find a weak point. The monster roared and decided to destroy the annoying one that struck it first.
It spiraled into the sky and dove down to crush the small boy with its with body. Shirou saw the thing falling and dove away. The monster shot back into the sky again and attempted to crush the boy several times, only for the boy to dive away before it could strike. Finally it stopped on the ground and shot horizontally at the boy rather than from the sky.
That was just what Shirou was hoping for. The boy rushed forward at the monster to meet the monster's charge. He would meet the monster head on with his strongest strike.
"Ahhh!"
Except it wasn't meant to be. A flash of pink light flared out to the side of them. The monster froze at the sight of the light and stopped in mid air. This left Shirou, who was completely committed to his attack, to miss and smash his sword into the ground. The boy tumbled from overextending but quickly rushed back to his feet to stare at the light in amazement.
"What is that…?" He whispered. It felt completely different than the power that was coming out of the monster. The light faded quickly and left Nanoha standing there confused clutching a staff and in a new dress. "Nanoha?"
The monster roared at the new threat that actually posed a danger to it and rose into the air for another charge. It shot down at the girl causing her to flinch. Shirou swore as he realized that he was too far to knock her out of the way or block the strike. "Nanoha!"
A flare of power once again flooded over Shirou's senses as a pink barrier appeared in front of Nanoha. The monster struggled to smash through like it had with Shirou's guard but the barrier held. The rebound of the force threw the monster backwards and caused it to explode into several gooey pieces.
"Eh…" Shirou couldn't believe his eyes. That was definitely magic. Nanoha Takamachi had just used magic. Ridiculously strong magic at that.
Before Shirou could ask her what was going on, he saw something in the corner of his sight. The pieces of the monsters were moving together and reassembling themselves again.
"What does it take to kill this thing?" Shirou pulled his sword up for another strike when something spoke to his side.
"We're not going to kill it. We need to seal it." Shirou looked at the source of the voice and saw the ferret from earlier.
"It… can talk…" Shirou grinned and pointed at it with a triumphant expression on his face. "I knew it, you are a magical animal!"
"His name is Yuuno and this is his staff." Nanoha giggled at Shirou's excitement as she gestured to the staff in her hands.
"Alright, so how do we seal it?" Shirou asked. He wanted to ask several questions but he knew his priorities. Beat the monster and then came the cool explanations for what's going on. He didn't posses anything near the magical ability to seal something like a monster.
"Nanoha can do it. She just needs some time to figure it out." Yuuno's answer was calm despite the fact that they were fighting a monster at the moment.
Shirou frowned for a moment but quickly came to a decision. "Alright then I'll distract it while she does that."
"No you won't. It's too dangerous." Nanoha was quick to reject his offer but Shirou grinned at her.
"Come on Nanoha. What kind of Hero would I be if I left you to face this thing alone?" After he said that the boy looked down at the wooden practice sword in his hands. It wouldn't be enough to fight a monster. He would need something better. A determined expression crossed Shirou's face. "And you're not the only one that can do magic either Nanoha."
"Eh?" Both Nanoha and Yuuno looked at him in confusion.
"Don't worry about it." Shirou waved them off and ran to confront the reforming monster.
Shirou knew that Magecraft in this kind of situation would be suicide. He could barely form a Magic Circuit in an ideal environment let alone a battle situation, but he didn't really have much choice. Shirou braced himself before declaring his aria.
"Trace… On!" Fire flooded into Shirou's veins once more as he hastily formed a Magic Circuit. He ignored the familiar pain and tried to estimate how much the wooden sword could take without using Structural Analysis for an extended period of time. The blueprint of the practice blade formed in an instant. The shape of the wood, the miniscule cracks that were unseen to the naked eye and even the polish were all mapped out in a single moment. Od flooded through Shirou's crudely constructed Magic Circuit and into the blade itself. The Od rushed into the blade and made it stronger, Reinforcing the structure of the practice sword done to its basic elements.
Finally the intense moment was over and the fire faded from his veins. Shirou shakily looked up to see that the monster had finished reassembling itself. It dove down at him. On well trained instinct the boy rolled to the side just in time to dodge the strike. The monster's blow drove a crater into the ground but it quickly shot out of the dust cloud that the attack had create.
The boy didn't think. He just acted. He tightened his grip on his sword and rushed forward at the monster. It would all come down to this. If he succeeded he would win, if he failed then the sword would break and the monster would kill him. It was simple as that. No other thoughts were necessary.
Shirou jumped up and swung at the monster before it could recover and strike again. The wooden practice sword smashed into the monster and roughly carved through the black substance that it was made of.
Shirou landed on his feet and looked down at his practice sword in amazement. "I can't believe it…" He whispered. A normal wooden sword would have never been able to do that. It would have broken under the pressure of that kind of blow but the wooden practice sword didn't have any new cracks on it. That meant that he had succeeded! He had used proper Magecraft for the first time!
"Shirou, look out!"
The mental celebration that Shirou was planning on having was cut short as the monster roared again and reformed itself. It rocketed down in another rush. Caught off guard, Shirou wasn't able to dodge in time and twisted around to block.
The strike knocked the practice sword backward into Shirou's body and knocked him across the area once more. His aided flight was interrupted by the wall of the animal clinic. He slid down the wall and curled into a ball in pain. The initial strike hadn't been that bad, but he could have sworn that he felt a rib crack when he crashed into the wall.
"Ugh…" The Magus in training pressed a hand to his and winced when the light pressure caused pain. "That didn't work as well as I hoped."
"Jewel Seed Seal!" Nanoha's voice calling out was a relief to the boy as he had no idea how he was going to keep the thing busy for another second.
Shirou watched in amazement from the wall as the staff that Nanoha held sent pink ribbons made of magic out and wrapped them around the monster. The beast roared one last desperate roar as it struggled against its bonds. Then it froze as the Roman numeral for twenty one lit up between its eyes and it dissolved.
"That…was pretty cool." Shirou admitted to himself. When he heard that Nanoha had to seal it, he had to admit he was expecting worse. A lot of posing and girly backgrounds, not chains of magic and a cool light show.
A small jewel dropped to the ground. Shirou picked himself up and slowly made his way to the jewel and watched as Nanoha poked it with the staff. The jewel glowed for a moment before disappearing into the staff.
"Receipt number twenty one." The staff spoke in a rather mechanical voice as it lit up the Roman numeral to match the number it just spoke.
"So the staff is sentient?" Shirou looked over at the device in curiosity. He knew that magic was out there, but so far all he knew about was Magecraft. He knew that powerful artifacts and Mystic Codes could be enchanted with intelligence but he had never seen one before. He would have asked more questions but a small noise at his feet caused him to look down at the collapsed ferret.
"Yuuno!" Nanoha ran over to the small animal. "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine." Yuuno reassured the girl. "We should get out of here before we're noticed though."
"Ah…" Shirou flinched when he heard sirens approaching the area. Magic was to be kept a secret. That was another lessons that Kiritsugu beat into his head. "We should go, like right now."
"Ah…" The staff that Nanoha was holding disappeared along with the new dress she was wearing. "Let's run!"
Shirou grabbed Nanoha's wrist and took off. The both of them ran for a while until they entered a park. Since it was so late the entire park was empty. Shirou stopped to catch his breath. The adrenaline from the battle was starting to fade and he could feel his ribs strain when he breathed too deeply. The two of them along with Yuuno sat down on a bench to talk.
"Alright." Shirou loomed over Yuuno and resisted the urge to poke him a few times. "So you're magical?"
"Well yes." Yunno paused to get comfortable. "It's a long explanation but first. I am sorry for getting you involved in this."
Shirou waved off his apology. "Don't worry about it. This kind of thing is what I've been training for."
"Oh." Nanoha thought of something and paused to introduce them. "My name is Takamachi Nanoha and this is Emiya Shirou."
Yunno gave a small bow. This looked a little cute since it was a small ferret doing the bowing. "I am Yuuno Scrya. I am glad to make your acquaintance." He introduced himself. Shirou noticed that the ferret spoke rather formally.
"As for me and that monster." Yuuno paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "It's my fault. I was the one to find them so I am the one responsible for collecting them again. They are called Jewel Seeds."
Shirou listened intently as the ferret began his explanation. He had learned quickly that not paying attention during important explanations was dangerous. He had fallen asleep during a lecture from Kiritsugu about forming Magic Circuits and when he tried to fill in the blanks by himself… well… let's just say that he learned his lesson.
"My clan and I are archeologists." Yuuno continued, a little nervous at the attention that Shirou was paying him. "It was on a dig that I found them. They are part of an ancient civilization, and particular artifacts of this classification are called Lost Logia. The Jewel Seeds are believed to be capable of granting wishes, but as that creature showed, they can have far different effects."
"So someone wished for that creature?" Nanoha asked as he tilted her head.
"Not exactly. We don't really know what their original purpose was. But they run on desires. So if there is no one around when they activate, their effects are random and unpredictable. So we decided that it would be best to have them sealed and stored." Yuuno curled up in Nanoha's lap and continued. "Instead they were scattered across this world during transit. I was the one that found them, so I am going to be the one to seal them back up. I just need to rest first. I just need a few days.
"We'll help." Nanoha smiled. "Right Shirou?"
Shirou nodded. "Of course. A Hero would never leave something like the Jewel Seeds out in the open where they can hurt people. Anyways…" Shirou scratched the side of his cheek. "I kinda want to see more of your magic anyways."
"You can't." Yuuno shot to his feet. "It's my responsibility!"
"And you're in no shape for monster hunting." Shirou frowned. It was a little selfish, but he wanted to do this. He wanted to be a Hero. So he wasn't about to accept the ferret's reasons so easily. "We can't just leave them alone. People'll get hurt."
"Right!" Nanoha nodded. Then she remembered something and turned to Shirou. "Ah that's right. Shirou-kun, what did you do earlier when you cut the monster?"
Shirou blinked and then remembered that he had Reinforced his sword. He had done Magecraft!
Yuuno paused in his attempts to persuade these two from doing this and looked at the boy. "That's right. I don't think a wooden sword would have done that much damage. Not to mention you said something before you struck the monster."
"Race on. I think." Nanoha tilted her head at the odd English phrase.
"Ah…ahaha…" Shirou laughed nervously before sighing. "It's 'Trace On.' It's my personal aria for Magecraft."
"Magecraft?" Both Nanoha and Yuuno repeated in confusion.
"Yes. I Reinforced the sword with my Magecraft." Shirou nodded. "I am one who uses Magecraft. I am a magus."
"Magus… I didn't know that Earth had magic users." Yuuno stared at the boy curiously before making a decision. "Shirou, would you mind holding Raising Heart."
"Huh?" Shirou blinked when Nanoha handed him the red gem that used to hang around Yuuno's neck. He rolled the gem with his fingers for a moment before he felt something odd. Shirou closed his eyes and felt something tug at him.
"Access Denied, mana levels insufficient." The gem flashed as it chimed back.
"Huh, it didn't work?" Shirou frowned. He didn't really expect the thing to work, but he couldn't say he didn't hope that he could use the staff too. Still, he wasn't too disappointed. He wasn't a proper magus so he didn't have Magic Circuits to channel magic.
"Raising Heart requires a certain amount of magic energy to activate. If the user's magical stores don't match a certain level then it will deny the user access." Yuuno yawned and curled into a ball. "Even at its lowest levels you would probably be drained after a week or so of constantly feeding it mana. You do have magic just not a lot of it." That was interesting. He wondered if this planet had adapted to lower magic levels and created magic from that.
"So Nanoha has a lot of mana then?" Shirou stared at the girl. She didn't seem like a magus like Kiristugu, but then again this was a different type of magic. Maybe it required a different type of mana.
"Master Shirou's magical level rating is inconclusive, this unit places it at Rank D-. Master Nanoha's magical level rated at rank A." The device lit up as it ranked the both of them.
"Rank?" Shirou wondered what that meant exactly.
"E through S plus." Yuuno mumbled. "D is below average and A rank is something like one in one thousand on Mid-Childa. That's just magical level. Most people can't really use it right even if they have enough magical energy."
Yuuno's words sunk into Shirou's mind and he realized a harsh truth. "Huh, so I'm a failure at this magic too." Shirou muttered to himself.
"Incorrect. Master simply does not match the magical threshold needed to activate this device. Magical pathways are unused but properly formed." The device replied to Shirou's muttering. He looked down at the gem in confusion.
"Magical pathways…?" Shirou repeated. The statement sunk into the boy's mind immediately and he had to suppress the urge to start shaking the device and demanding it explain what it meant.
"I think we should go home." Nanoha lifted a now sleeping Yuuno carefully. "We can talk about this later."
"Right..." Shirou didn't want to leave just yet, but his ribs still hurt and he was too tired to think straight. He got to his feet and winced at the pain he felt in his chest. He pressed a hand to it and found that the pressure didn't hurt it anymore. He would have to be careful on his way home, but he should be fine.
"Are you okay?" Nanoha frowned at his pained expression. "That monster hit you pretty hard."
Shirou tried to reassure her, but he moved too quickly and winced at the spike of pain that shot through his chest. "Don't worry about it. I'll be a little sore tomorrow but this isn't anything worse than when I spar with your brother." That was a blatant lie. Kouya never hurt Shirou this badly once during their spars.
"If you say so." Nanoha didn't seem convinced but let it go. "Then I'll see you tomorrow Shirou."
Shirou nodded and started his long painful walk back to his house. It was only after a few painful steps that Shirou realized a big problem.
"Which way is my house?"
The Magical Chronicles of Emiya Shirou is split into several parts. Most of them following along the path of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and all its sequels. Lyrical Days which will follow the scramble for the Jewel Seeds. The War of the Night Sky, which follows the Book of Darkness incident. And if I get around to it, Of Kaisers and Knights, which will follow the limited interaction that Shirou has with the incident that occurs during Strikers. Added into that is the records of the Holy Grail War and Shirou's participation in that.
Anyways, tell me what you think.
Tiresias
2011-06-16, 21:57
Promising start. I'm looking forward for more :)
Tiresias
2011-06-17, 06:55
*Notices that this thread seems devoid of life for a while*
Prologue (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6746128/1/Phantom_Hero_of_Justice)
Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Assassin’s Creed. They belong to their respective owners.
---
There were those who vehemently claim that when a person realized he or she was dreaming then that person would woke up. For Emiya Shirou, those people were liars. He was not awake, and he knew that this was a dream.
Many times had his dreams felt inexplicably realistic, but of all only one could he recognize as a memory of his past. It was when he had awoken after being rescued by Kiritsugu, preventing him from becoming another victim of the great fire. He had never forgotten that day; it was so unfair that only he had survived while the others were left to perish, and he had never forgiven himself because of it.
But that’s it, the only dream that he knew was part of his past. And yet there were others, dreams with similarly realistic feel, extremely detailed and vivid every time he saw them. They were disjointed and confusing but not entirely undecipherable, and not only could he remember what he had seen, but there are time where he could vaguely understand what was going on. And that’s how he knew those dreams couldn’t be his; the people spoke with many different languages (yet for unknown reasons he could understand them), dressed in different clothes, lived in cities with buildings of definitely un-Japanese architecture and behaved in different manners. And then there were the weapons some of them wielded: longswords, scimitars, Saracen bows, yatagans, crossbows, matchlock muskets…it’s as if he’s not even dreaming the current era!
Only two things could he concluded from all those. Apparently he was seeing - no, perhaps reliving would be the better word - the memories of at least two person, judging by the names used to address him and the how dreams could be loosely categorized into two different time periods judging by all the details.
And the second thing? These two people had things in common: they’re ruthless, calculative, patient, determined…and lethal.
They reminded him of the other side of Kiritsugu.
---
Phantom Hero of Justice
Chapter 1: The Call to Arms
---
“So it has begun?” Vidic’s voice could be heard from the phone.
“That is correct, my good doctor,” the priest acknowledged. “The Fifth Holy Grail War has begun, and I am its supervisor.”
Kotomine Kirei had not always been a Templar. Heck, he didn’t even know of their existence went beyond being an order of knights that once waged war on the Holy Land, that they have actually existed long before and how their actions have influenced events beyond his imaginations, until a few years ago right after the death of Emiya Kiritsugu. Oh sure, he had heard the rumors from fellow Executors and there had been some suspicions regarding a number unnatural events which were intriguingly different from what they were familiar with, but there had been no absolute proof before. The appearance of their agent had therefore been surprising, the person being a member of London Clock Tower even more; the selection of a Templar from that particular occupation was a smart show of force, a hint to just how far reaching their influence were.
And now here he was, conversing to one of their prominent member as their sole magus agent in Fuyuki City.
“Then it’s just as you said, Kotomine. The war came even faster than before. Dammit! Change of plans, then. I’m giving you a contact to our nearest magus, currently residing in Tokyo.” The scientist muttered a name, followed by a string of numbers. “Have him participate as a Master. He has a poor reputation in being cautious but we have no better option – we have few mage operatives in Japan and most of them are currently occupied.”
“Considering your position as the supervisor of the current one well as a veteran of the previous, I assume you will be support him indirectly?”
“I can.” Kotomine answered, deliberately using the word can instead of will. The fools thought that he serves their cause, but the false priest only serves himself and the twisted joy of suffering inside. Their reaction to his eventual betrayal will be a source amusement for him.
“Good. Like to others I don’t think that this…Grail of yours is a Piece of Eden, but I acknowledge that its power is exceptional. We are gaining the upper hand for now, but overall success is far from certain. We need every advantage we can get. Make sure it gets completed and secure it, Kotomine.”
The priest voiced his assurance before ending the conversation. “Don’t worry; I’ll do my best to ensure its completion.”
He’s not lying. After realizing how he couldn’t find happiness aside from committing evil, Kirei had continuously questioned his own existence, on why a person as unnatural and wicked as him was allowed to be brought to this world. His encounter with the corrupted Grail that had materialized during the fourth war had intrigued him, for he had felt a twisted sense of similarity with the incomplete abomination. And now he will allow the thing which he saw as a larger version of himself it to be fully born; perhaps then, his questions would be answered.
A pity the he has no Servant of his own. Sometimes he wondered whether Gilgamesh would have been able to live long after the fourth war had he also been touched by the tainted water from the Holy Grail. Unfortunately he never had a chance to know the answer – Servant Saber had managed to slay the king of Heroes during the final hours of the battle, though she and her Master had been too late to notice and prevent him from praying for his wish to be fulfilled by the artifact.
“Father Kotomine, are you here?” a woman’s voice was heard from the doorstep following a knock at the front door. Ah, she’s come, Kirei mused. A few days ago he had contacted the woman, and answering his invitation sorcerer-hunter Bazett Fraga McRemitz had come from the Mage Association. He had met the young woman during a mission and after a string of events she grown to trust him to the point that she had been obviously enthusiastic over the message he had given him, no hints of suspicion coming from her tone.
Poor girl. Even had Kotomine not been a Templar she was fated for a doomed end, for the false priest merely sees her as a chess piece. The only question was how valuable her servant would be; if it turns out to be exceptionally powerful then the priest would allow her to live for a few days to pit her with other masters, and if not…well, he could use an extra hand.
“Please enter, Bazett, I’ve been expecting you!” His voice hauntingly echoed across the church, and a few hours later the war officially began in its earnest.
---
Punch, parry, jab, dodge, stab. Inside the spacious Emiya dojo, its young owner was performing his daily image training.
Both his hands were donning thin leather gauntlets and gloves, form-fitting enough to feel as if wearing nothing at all. Below the wrists were his personally crafted contraptions, its construction guided by the unexplainable dreams whispering its design and utilization. With a specific hand motion the mechanism would trigger and a small hidden blade would protrude for use; another specific hand motion would retract it back inside the gauntlet.
He has no idea on how the medieval and renaissance warriors in his dreams could get a hold of such advanced design, but Shirou had took little thought in it as he had learned to appreciate them. The gauntlets were compact and unobtrusive so he could partially conceal them with long-sleeved clothing, allowing him to use them to parry and its blades for sneak attacks or as last-ditch weapons. But what made them truly special was the material he had forged the blades with: Kiritsugu’s Origin Bullets - leftover from the previous war, now too few and precious to be used as projectiles, his secret weapon against the supernatural. He has yet to actually use them in real combat though, so he could only guess its actual efficiency from the dreams, notes and his image training.
The clock stroked at ten, signaling the boy to end his practice, loosen the equipments and store them safely away from curious eyes. After he finished the boy closed the dojo doors and made way to another part of his house where his magus workshop was –it could barely qualify as one, but it’s not like he has a better term for it- to initiate the next activity in his agenda.
Magecraft training.
---
Spell book on her right hand, her personal red pendant on the left, and a snake skin as a catalyst, the last given by her ‘Mentor’ -the girl was always reluctant to consider the creepy priest as one- as a gift, saying that if she’s lucky she just might be able to summon an exceptional Servant with it. Standing at the middle of the meticulously crafted summoning circle, Tohsaka Rin was preparing to enter the Holy Grail War.
She never knew what servant had her esteemed father previously summoned since the jerk priest had always dodged the question, refusing to tell even the Servant Class let alone the name and instead replied with his annoying smirk, but from the few hints here and there which he had dropped she had come to conclude that it was at least phenomenally strong, formidable enough to last till the final rounds of the war. Of course, the prodigious girl knew better than to rely solely on the words of her ambiguous mentor. Her ritual would be carefully executed, befitting the high standards of excellence of the elite Tohsaka family; she had spent her entire life honing her skill in magecraft, the summoning circle had been drawn with extreme precision, and hear peak moment of power was near. She had managed to screw up the last one but thankfully she had noticed the potential disaster and had corrected all the clocks in her house; another thorough check and recheck had soon followed, and now she was confident that nothing would go wrong.
It would be perfect.
The clocks inside her mansion stroke, and Rin wasted no time to begin the ritual. The incantations flowed flawlessly from her mouth, the creed of the Tohsaka family embedded in it. As she almost finished the summoning, the twintails could swear she sensed the coming of her Servant, ready to heed her calling…
…and nothing.
What? Where is he? The girl started to lose her composure.
No, no no no. NO! Don’t tell me I did something wrong?
Why? What? Where? When? How?
Grr… Alright baka-Rin, stay calm and analyze the situation…
A loud sound upstairs caught her attention. Running towards the upper levels, she found one of her rooms wrecked; the furnitures were broken and the windows shattered. But what really surprised her was the man in golden armor, sitting haughtily in one of her damaged sofa.
A Servant? Her hopes returned. MY Servant?
The man took a look on the girl for a while, only to turn his head towards the rest of the room as if her presence was nothing worth accounting. Feeling insulted, Rin braved herself to strike a perfectly civilized conversation.
“You there. Are you my Servant?”
The man took another look at her and frowned. “Mongrel. Is that the way to address your King?”
What? Tohsaka was infuriated. How dare he…!
Calm down Rin, calm down, Servants came from different eras and civilizations after all; of course there would be some dissonance…
She made a slight bow and introduced herself. “Greetings. My name is Tohsaka Rin, a magus. Who are you, and are you my Servant?”
“Ahahaha!” The man let out an arrogant laughter. “Not bad, peasant girl, not bad, but you still have a long way to go…”
SNAP. That’s it. The Tohsaka maiden was prideful; there’s no way she would let that one slip. The Servant realized the surge of power too late and was unable to do anything as she used a Command Spell…
“Dammit, you! Behave yourself!”
“Ergh!” the armored man jerked, trying to resist, but the power of his Command Spell overwhelmed him.
“Now. Since it’s obvious that you are my Servant, please politely introduce yourself.”
The man winced for a moment, but then let out a smile. Interesting, he thought. What he had thought to be a frail little magus girl turned out to have some backbone. Hmph, perhaps it would be amusing to see how the spitfire would fare in this war; he needed some entertainment anyway. Who knows, maybe she has the quality to serve in his kingdom…
“Rejoice, young Master, for you have summoned the greatest champion of all. Know that I am Gilgamesh, King of Heroes!”
---
“Gwargh!” A cry of pain escaped Shirou’s lips as he tasted firsthand the result of his training gone wrong. The blast had sent hundreds of small metal shards flying, many hitting the part of him closest – the left hand that Projected the now broken blade.
Sigh. “And here I thought this is a thing of the past.” He reached the first-aid kit nearby and began nursing his arm as well as some other parts graced by the shards. It’s a good thing the world has already began to erase them – picking them out of his flesh would be a hassle, even if they’re not deeply embedded in it. Am I really that half-assed a magus?
It is funny how one setback could wash away all the optimism built by earlier strings of success. Just about a few months ago he had been celebrating on how he had finally got the hang on his success. A small success by the standards of your average, properly taught magi, but it had been satisfying for him since Emiya Shirou never had a proper teacher; Kiritsugu had only enlightened him in the basics, and he had been forced to infiltrate his father’s room when the latter hadn’t been present. They had been hidden very well, and Shirou suspected that his father burned every last one of them after noticing the changes in his room. Thus the boy had been forced to rely on the basics taught to him and the booty from his raid.
Unfortunately, the notes he had copied from Kiritsugu’s journal were confusing, filled with many terminologies and phrases he couldn’t understand, something which he suspected to have been a standard and deliberate attempt by every magus to confuse any common people that happened to stumble on their stuff. The few skills which Kiritsugu had taught him had helped the boy make sense on some parts, but in the end most of his Magecraft practice had been based on his own experimentation. He knew it was dangerous but the lack of other options had left him with little choice, so it was most fortunate that there were at least some fruits to his labor. Great joy had filled his heart the first time he had succeeded with Reinforcement, and a series of more intense training followed suit; shinai, toy cars, soccer ball, heater, cooking knife…he had tried his newfound skill on all of those (and more. Bless the Japanese and their habit of putting broken utensils on specific spots and allowing others to claim possession of it) and thus had been optimistic than nothing could go wrong.
So naturally, things had gone wrong.
Not all of his later Reinforcement practice had actually been completely successful, but they had not been complete failure either. At worse, the objects would only be partially fixed. To have the object explode, even at a non-life threatening level, was thus a truly disheartening setback.
But though the boy’s now low self-esteem wouldn’t recognize it, it’s not as if he had suddenly return to being stupid. The notes might have penned Projection as a more complex form of Reinforcement but that didn’t mean they’re the same; just because he’s now passable at the latter didn’t mean he’s automatically going to be good at the former.
Then again, the boy had also missed the addendum saying how Projection was seen as mostly useless by most magi except for certain situations, rare urgent matters that put availability above quality. Curse his not being able to copy and understand all parts of Kiritsugu’s journal!
Screw it, the boy thought. What kind of hero would just surrender like this?! A useful thing, that insane determination of his. It would not fix his self-loathing, but it did wonders to his will to endure hardship. As he started to bandage his arm, Shirou was already making plans to practice more this night…
…I never knew wounds could be this shapely?
---
Servant Rider stiffened as the old man passed her. Even in Astral from she could feel him staring at her, watching her every movement and action. But it’s not the stare that made her uneasy; even when he’s not around, the feeling of being watched could be felt all around the house. No, what really agitated her was how inhuman he was.
Rider herself was a monster, but even she found his existence to be displeasing. The man, if you could even call it that, was sinister in nature; his decaying body, maintained with the flesh of those not of his own while his crest worms swarmed inside of him was good proof of it. His magic was unnatural, filled with the utmost desire to consume anything, ANYTHING, and leaving none. The way he saw and treated his grandchildren was merely the final nail on the coffin.
“Rider, time to go!” Heeding the orders from her Master, the Servant spirited herself away from the mansion.
Zouken briefly observed the Master-Servant pair and shook his head. The boy was of no real value of him and the woman was nothing special; the only reason he had allowed the boy to take command of her was because her real Master was too precious to be caught in the crossfire. It was a masterpiece-in-making, molded through years of carefully placed mental manipulation and physical torture while Crest Worms remodeled her body to suit his purpose. No, he had put too much investment in it to let it be used prematurely.
Speaking of which, the string of events that had unfolded the last few days had been giving him some extra thought. Inside the Einzberns Castle was their latest Grail-to-be homunculus, guarded by the nigh-invulnerable Servant it had summoned before coming here. The false priest only has one Servant, stolen from the gullible woman who was supposed to be his ally, but as the previous war had shown the man was unpredictable in nature; underestimating him would risk throwing a wrench into the works, doubly so since he seemed to have connections with influential people outside Fuyuki City, far beyond the reach of his eyes. The Tohsaka heir had, against all odds, summoned the exact same Servant as her father’s, one whose game-breaking powers was only limited by his own hubris. Master of Caster, another person who was suspacted to be working with Kotomine, had died at the hands of his own Servant and now the sorceress had formed a contract with another person and took refuge inside the Ryuudou temple complex. She’s currently harmless, with barely enough strength to cast a spell that would prey on the strength of nearby people, but soon she would recover and if she’s really the Witch from the Age of Gods as he suspected, than she would be able to perform game-breaking magic of her own, magic like…
…summoning a Servant.
Time to add another pawn, it seemed. What he was about to do was undoubtedly unfair, but he had existed and participated in the wars, directly and indirectly, large role and small, long before the current set of rules were established. There’s no way he would be hampered by mere technicalities.
Below the mansion was a ritual chamber, the floor having only recently been decorated with a summoning circle drawn with human blood. With a mental command the worms put a huge chunk of barely moving flesh at the nearby sacrificial platform; the person was alive but not for long, as his soul and flesh was to be consumed and in exchange the Makiri patriarch would have his extra puppet. Satisfied with the preparation, Matou Zouken stepped into the circle and began the dark ritual.
The circle glowed as the incantations were voiced, and as more words left his mouth the round platform started to tremble and the magic circle covering the sacrificial offering also shined. Life finally departed the body, its soul and flesh reacted to the ritual and was consumed wholly. When Zouken finally finished, in the platform stood something different from what the object had placed on it.
A person. Middle-Eastern by his features, along with a short black beard as facial decoration and a hood covering his head. There was a scar in his right eye but the organ itself seemed to be fully functional, most likely caused by the Grail fixing the Servants it summoned to allow them to fight at their best ability, but not appearance. He wore a light armored black robe and in both hands were gauntlets, the left one suspiciously bulkier than the right as if hiding something. In his belt were a slightly curved longsword and, more interestingly, a spherical artifact from which Zouken could feel great power, something that he was certain to be a Noble Phantasm.
“Servant Assassin awaiting your bidding, My Lord.”
Not bad, Zouken thought. Not exactly war-winning material, but still more promising than the purple-haired one.
“Come, Servant. We have much to do.”
---
“Senpai, please wake up.” An angelic voice awakened Emiya Shirou from his slumber.
“Ah, Sakura, good morning.” The reply came out as he opened his eyes and noticed the purple-haired maiden. He then noticed that she was staring at his mouth. “Err…I guess I was drooling in my sleep again, wasn’t I?”
His kouhai merely smiled and pulled out her handkerchief for him. “Seriously senpai, sleeping like this is bad for your health.”
“Ahahaha…” Knowing that he’s a bad liar, Shirou instead tried to just laugh it off. Thankfully, Sakura didn’t press the issue. Good thing I always practice magecraft last, he thought. Reinforced objects were easier to handwave, while he couldn’t imagine what to do if she caught him red-handed with the gauntlets…cosplay didn’t seem like the wisest of excuse.
As the two of them entered the dining room, he noticed that a usually present figure was absent today. “Hmm, where’s Fuji-nee, Sakura?” he asked.
“Ah, it seems that Fujimura-sensei has a morning meeting with the staff today,” she answered as both of them brought the meals into the table. “Something about safety concerns for the students due to recent incidents, I think.”
Shirou’s face slightly darkened, but if Sakura noticed it she didn’t show them. “Oh, the one in the news, was it? Something about people being attacked with unusual weapons?”
“Most likely.” Sakura nodded, but then let out a slight blush when she realized that her senpai was staring at her. “Senpai, is there something on my face?”
“Hmm?” The question snapped Shirou out of his reverie. “Eh? No, no, no…it’s just that…” I was wondering if there was more to this than simple homicide, since this city had become victim to a supernatural conflict years before. He didn’t say it out loud, concluding that he was putting too much thought in it, though a small part of his brain kept saying “Careless!”
“It’s quite unsettling, these news.” He spoke, deciding to voice a more pressing concern of his. “Is it safe for you to come so early and leave so late like always?”
“Eh? Senpai, do you perhaps dislike my presence?” She looked disappointed.
“What? No!” A quick rebuttal. “Definitely not! You’re very kind, and it’s very nice to eat with others, and-” you’re quite pretty, with beautiful hair and b-, he panicked at the unexpected extra thought, wait, what were you thinking? She’s practically family; shame on you, Emiya, shame on you! “-and uh, Fuji-nee really likes you!”
”It’s just that I’m worried for your safety…things seems to have gotten dangerous lately.”
“Ah, I see.” Sakura smiled, glad at both the assurance and concern. “Don’t worry senpai, I’ll be careful. Speaking of which, how was your arm?”
“Oh, this?” Shirou waved his bandaged left arm. “It’s fine. Doesn’t hurt at all, actually; I just bandaged them because it looked weird.”
“Senpai, you really should be more careful with your hobby.” He nervously laughed her worry off, and both of them continued their meal.
---
The feeling of nausea that she immediately felt just as she entered her school put the Tohsaka heir on guard. Analyzing the whole premise for a while, she concluded that what covered the entire area was an abominable boundary field, one designed to consume the flesh and soul of everyone unlucky enough to be caught within, converting them into power which the spellcaster would then feed on. It was freshly made, meaning that there would be some time before it activates, but when it does…
Unacceptable.
Tohsaka Rin was not a knight, she was a magus. And like others of similar profession, she was capable to engage in manipulation and trickery should the situation demands. But there were lines she would not cross, despicable things she would never do as they would go against everything she stood for.
Homuraba School was her territory, and its students, however distant she were with them, her friends. Once she gets her hands on them, whoever responsible for this transgression will not live to see the dawn.
As she entered her school with suppressed fury, the astralized Golden King couldn’t help but snicker at her reaction. “My, my. Possessive little vixen, aren’t you?”
---
“Senpai, I’ll be going to the Archery Club now.” With a bow, Matou Sakura parted with him along with one Mitsuzuri Ayako.
When he entered the school Shirou had tried to enter the various martial arts club, training to be a hero in mind, but his …shocking… performance during the membership tests had made it no longer possible.
Archery? Him bringing an unusual looking self-made bow, with a wooden maple core, animal horn on the side facing the archer, and sinew on the back, had been surprising. Him using unorthodox shooting forms - Turkish style he’d said - had been frown-inducing. And him actually achieving perfect accuracy with all those irregularities had been jealousy-inducing. Despite the protestation of some members who had appreciated his talent, a certain Mitsuzuri Ayako in particular, he had then been dismissed on the grounds of being too “un-Japanese”.
Swordsmanship? When he tried to enter the Kendo Club, the seniors had pitted him, just as it was with the rest of the candidates, with their Ace in order to see just how long he would last and how strong would he endure; weeding out the weak, they’d said. All of them jeered and sneered at him when he had held his shinai with one hand, seeing it as a sign of total amateurism. Then the taunts were replaced with anger as he ignored tradition by refusing to announce his attacks, aim at officially forbidden spots and, most importantly to their pride, to actually send their Ace to the ground unconscious when the champion had decided to humor the boy, along with seven other seniors who had tried to avenge their friend’s honor.
Unarmed martial arts? Well let’s just say that after a series of bruised limbs, displaced joints, broken bones, and temporarily emasculated men, the victims being the many seniors that had tried to “show him his place”, both in their dojo and at the streets (the latter attempted by the less chivalrous, seeking to ambush him unprepared and outside the rules), his three weeks suspension had been considered too lenient by many.
What? It’s not my fault they’re acting strange – in a real fight there’s no such thing as ‘fair’!
Ah, well. It was a most unfortunate setback, but there’s no point in being disheartened. The determination-filled existence that was Emiya Shirou has a dream, after all, and if he couldn’t remove the obstacle he’ll bypass them one way or another. Taiga had been helpful with his sword training since she herself was never a big fan in tradition, being the ferocious woman who had been disqualified for having insisted to use the Tora-shinai on a tournament. For archery practice he would usually spend the weekend in a forest a few train stops away, in which he was able to practice many kinds of shooting: long-distance shooting, target shooting, hard-object penetration, all the stuff. Hand-to-hand was unfortunately limited to image training inside the Emiya dojo though, along with knife-throwing and hidden-blades practice since there’s no way he could practice those two on people without having a price on his head.
If only his skill with magecraft had been similarly progressive…
“Ara, ara…” A female voice interrupted his reverie. “Such a big sigh this early in the morning, Shero? Tsk, tsk, that just won’t do~”
This voice…”Ah good morning, Edelfelt-san! I thought you were going overseas for some family matter?”
Luviagelita Edelfelt faked a sulk. “Please, haven’t I told you to call me Luvia?”
“Well, yeah,” he scrubbed his head. “But, uhm, it’s not just polite for me t-”
“Lu. Vi. A.” She insisted before mellowing a bit as she saw his uneasiness. “Fine, for now, I’ll settle for Luvia-san.”
“Ehm, if you say so, Edel – err, I mean Luvia-san…” he paused as she let a graceful smile, “by the way, my name is not Shero, it’s -”
“So what caused you sadness worthy of such a big sigh, Shero?” The girl continued, oblivious to his attempt to correct her.
“…it’s nothing really, just thinking about my-” He was stopped by the odd feeling that engulfed him as he entered the school perimeter. “Did you smell that?”
“Smell what, Shero?”
No, not smelled. Felt. Tasted. “I don’t know what, but it’s as if something’s wrong with the air…”
“Are you sick, Shero?” she looked worried. “Shall I walk you to the infirmary?”
“No, it is fine, Luvia-san.” Shirou politely rejected the offer. He couldn’t identify the oddity, but it felt like magic. Involving unwitting civilians like Luvia into the supernatural is a big no-no.
“Let’s go to the classroom. Maybe I just need to sit down.”
They both walked together, the boy deep in thought on what might caused his uneasiness. He didn’t notice that Luvia stopped for a short moment, first looking at –no, analyzing- the surrounding school yard, then at him. The first was followed by an easy-to-miss frown, the second, an intense gaze filled with curiosity.
---
Servant Caster watched as the morning turned into day, day turned into afternoon. Despite being entrenched in her temple she could freely observe the entire city by ways of magic. The betrayal she had committed against her summoner had left her severely weakened, but by a stroke of luck her new Master resided inside a spiritually rich land, where Leylines all over the area were connected in that particular spot. Her being badly wounded by her previous Master, surprisingly defiant despite being mediocre in skill, had cost her precious time wasted in healing, but being in such a strategic location had offset the balance. Even now power was surging into her, and soon she will return to full power. By tomorrow night she would even have harvested enough power for a group of servants, and when that happens, she would conquer.
But there were only two of them, and twelve enemies to fight. Granted, chances were her enemies would also fight each other so she wouldn’t need to defeat all of them, but as her beloved Soichirou’s encounter against the blue Servant last night had shown, it’s safer for her to set up a guard dog. A Servant summoned by another might not be the best of champions, but she wouldn’t need him for too long anyway – with careful planning, she’ll be able to steal better Servants afterwards. This one would just be a stopgap while she upped the defenses surrounding the mountain.
She only needed to wait until night, and then she would have enough power to summon one…
---
“You’re going to dispel that? Such a waste!” An irritating voice interrupted Rin from neutralizing one of the sigil arming the Boundary Field surrounding her school.
“Archer!”
She leapt away from him and ordered her Servant to defend her. Gilgamesh immediately de-astralized, wearing black and white clothing more suitable for a leisure walk instead of a life-and-death battle. Lancer was irritated to have his demands for Archer to properly arm himself denied with a smug grin, the latter obviously not seeing him as a credible threat.
“Suit yourself! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!” He chased the Master-Servant pair as the blonde took the twintails and leapt into the school yard.
“There.” Archer smirked. “Wouldn’t an open field like this be a better spot for an epic battle between heroes?”
“You think being on a wide area gives you enough advantage?” Lancer barked and dashed with superhuman speed. Archer hasn’t even drawn his weapon yet, and Lancer was already closing the distance. It’s a bit of a pity, really, to not fight the Servant at his full power, but when the smug blonde himself has denied his generous offer for a fair fight…
A sizeable projectile flying towards his head stopped Lancer from charging, his body reflexively setting a proper footing before deflecting the attack with his spear. The projectile stroke him heavy, and from where he had deflected it a loud impact sound could be heard.
“Like what you see?” Archer boasted towards his gawking Master.
“Wha…” How? She wondered. There was no bow, crossbow, sling, arquebus - any kind of projectile-launching weapon, really. Instead, her Servant merely snapped his finger, and…
Projection? But the King of Uruk was never a magus!
Her Servant merely laughed at her reaction: confusion with a hint of awe. Good, that was what he had hoped for. While he had not showed it to her, but to be honest he had been a bit insulted at her displeasure for not getting a Saber, even after knowing his true name.
The blonde’s celebration was cut short as Lancer, undeterred at having a spear flying his way at supersonic speed mere seconds ago, resumed his charge. Archer, of course, was similarly undeterred, calmly sending more projectiles to intercept his assailant.
First flew another spear, differing in design compared to the previous attack, which he dodged.
Swiftly following was a broadsword, the kind of weapon Lancer had no idea why someone would throw instead of swing, which he countered with a slight parry with his spear. He could feel the weight of the sword before it was hastily redirected sideways. His balance was barely interrupted, but his speed diminished for a while.
Better to dodge than to parry, then. Lancer still couldn’t comprehend just how did Archer fired those Phantasms but they were more powerful than he had initially thought. But countering one of them had now given him a good grasp on the impending firepower. He judged that with the current distance, even taking a slight detour to avoid Archer’s barrage wouldn’t buy the latter much time anyway. Better than fending them one by one.
Having let three more projectiles hit empty air, Lancer now found himself within spear-length of his target. A predatory grin formed and he swung the weapon to sweep Archer’s leg, which was to be followed by a killing stab.
The sound of metal hitting metal caught his attention.
In front of him stood Archer, still as haughty as before, having blocked his attack with…a huge, thick shield?
“What kind of Servant are you?!!”
“The best in the world!!” Following the boast Lancer noticed three spearheads of different shapes coming out if thin air. It didn’t take a genius to know that those three would soon be followed by the rest of their bodies. Even with his speed, at such proximity retreating or dodging would not save him from at least two of them.
Screw this, I’m going all out! He didn’t care about the priest’s order anymore; he never liked the creepy guy anyway. And while Lancer was irritated by Archer’s smug face, that particular emotion was being overridden by glee as the fighter in him acknowledged the strength of his opponent. The minute Kotomine gave him instructions to not killing other Servants during scouting missions he had already contemplated to go against it anyway. Now seemed like a good time to test just how powerful the spent Command Spell would be in leashing him.
“Gae…” Mana poured into the spearhead, readying the attack. On the other side were the three spears, almost fully formed and ready to impale him in less than a second…
The sound something not caused by their fight caught both side’s attention, preventing the clash. The three individuals saw the person responsible, a girl with drill-like hairs, cursing in disbelief at how her clumsiness alerted them of her presence. It didn’t last long, as a boy immediately leapt from behind her, held her hand, and both ran away from the scene as fast as they could. But both Archer and Lancer were already coming to the same conclusion.
No witnesses.
---
“All right, everything’s clean!” Emiya Shirou said to no one. The Archery Dojo was now spotless and tidy. All the training equipments have been carefully put in storage and the floor had been not wiped clean. Satisfied, the boy brought the cleaning equipments back in place and left for home.
Heading towards the gate, Shirou slowed his steps when he spotted Luvia near a first level classroom. The girl was standing near a wall, taking a peek at …well he didn’t actually know what she was looking at but her eyes were focused at the field outside. He considered saying hi but then he heard a rumbling voice outside. Was that what Luvia was staring at? His curiosity gotten the better of him, he decided to take a look himself.
What he saw alerted his senses like nothing before.
It was a duel. An absurd one, he noticed, with all those spears and swords materializing out of nowhere and the man in ridiculously tight blue outfit surviving them being launched at him. A part of him wondered whether he was dreaming but the magus in him, however half-assed he was, reminded him of the supernatural reality that was his life. However, he was still an amateur as a magus and was locked in his stance for a while, unsure of what to do.
Adding to his distraught, his senses felt like they were in a maelstrom. Like his fights before his mind started to work like mad, calculating possible escape routes not just out of the school area but all the way to his house. But a new sensation, one he had never felt before, also surged in him.
His eyes. Were they deceiving him? He could still see things normally, but periodically he could somehow also saw other colors illuminating the figures, the two fighters covered in blood red that made him even more alert while yellow gold wrapped the girl…isn’t that Tohsaka Rin?
He considered leaping outside, despite every inch of his body telling to get the heck out of there. The hero wannabe in him refused – how could he let a civilian die? But then another voice came with a sound argument: she didn’t even try to run, and the blonde not only seemed to know her as they could be seen talking amidst the fight but he also positioned himself as if to guard her. She was an accomplice.
Tohsaka, what have you done?
A nearby clang broke his dismay. He turned his head to see that Luvia had just knocked a mop and bucket near her. Understandable; she was of course naturally shocked to see such scene.
Then his senses got even screwier. Despite not looking at the combatants his brain kept telling that the “Reds” were on to him. Sure enough, he turned his gaze back to see hostile stares coming from the “Reds”, stares directed at him and…
“Luvia!!” He screamed. No use in holding his voice; they already knew he was there. He took the girl by her hand and dragged her out of the scene. Rin might be an accomplice but Luvia wasn’t; he couldn’t simply run and abandon her to these…what were they? Were they even human? He had read stories of man-shaped vampires, demons, homunculi and many others afterall.
First thing first. He tightened his grip and talked to the girl, trying to sound as confident as he can. “We must get somewhere safe!”
---
For the umpteenth time since he had been summoned, Lancer cursed his luck. The last fight had just started to get interesting, so of course something must get in his way. Tsk. He could have been at the school yard, fighting like a mad dog, and instead here he was, tailing the couple trying to fled the scene.
Curse the magi and all their secrecy nonsense!
It didn’t took him long to find the duo. His class was one of the fastest. But he couldn’t find a good spot to ambush them. The streets were getting dark and there was no secluded place to finish them off. He had half-expected them to run inside the school but hadn’t been particularly surprised when they instead ran straight to the gate. It’s like a coin toss.
The way they were heading was odd, though. He had memorized all police stations during the previous sorties and none was on the path the duo was heading. Just where were they heading? Maybe home? Panicked people tend to not react rationally, and running to the familiar comfort of your own residence after encountering the unfamiliar was a normal reflex.
Good for him then; easier for him to hide the bodies inside a house than in the middle of the street. And if there’re other occupants inside, that would just mean more stabbing inside a relatively confined perimeter for him.
---
To Shirou’s surprise, Luvia managed to keep up with him just fine with no signs of fatigue or visible panic. Soon they will reach his house, and then…
I knew I forgot something.
Just what was he supposed to do anyway? He’s a no-name magus. He had no relation with any Mage Association, no phone numbers or e-mail address (do they even use those?) to any magical authority, even if there’s any. Cops were out of the question; they would deem him crazy for the last five minutes of their lives before his pursuer tore them to shreds. It’s not like he could light a Bat-signal or call for Ultraman! And the Boundary Field surrounding his house was only useful as an alarm, and when did Fuyuki starts to look like a scene out of Lawrence of Arabia?
Oh, shit.
Oh, no.
No, no, no, no!
It’s not enough that his sleep was filled with those dreams, now he’s starting to hallucinate about them as well??!!
He was still panicking as he neared his workshop when his instincts started to go haywire again. Appropriately enough a person soon made his grand entrance. The blue spearman leaped out of nowhere and landed just a few meters from him, still inside his house.
“Good evening.” His smile turned nasty. “And good night.”
Throb. In a split second his brain felt intense pain, and he was no longer seeing his house, the spearman, or Luvia. Instead he was surrounded by a familiar sensation with his dreams, but without the scenery it usually entails. Yet the sword in his hand felt real and more; for the first time he could analyze its structure. And not only just the shape and substance of the object, like how it usually went; this time, he could actually fell its history – the process of its making and the skill involved, all the practices in using it, all the kills made with it, everything.
His mind returned to the real world, and as the spearman materialized his weapon Shirou instinctively activated his Magecraft.
“Trace On!”
This time, his Projection was perfect. In his right hand was now a sword. Its blade was simple yet sharp, while its guard was shaped like and eagle’s wing and the bottom of the hilt an eagle’s head.
He imagined Luvia to be quivering in fear by now, but he couldn’t say anything to her. Instead motioned his idle hand as if to block the path between her and the spearman, his way of saying “don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”
Lancer was amused. Not only did the boy show a fang, he also bravely guarded his woman. Such a shame a gentleman like him must die. He considered killing the boy instantly but decided to humor the latter by starting a bit easy, show him step by step just how outclassed he was. If the boy starts to whimper and try to flee, maybe Lancer wouldn’t have to feel so bad about offing him.
He started with a thrust.
For Lancer it was mediocre in speed, but Shirou could barely saw it coming. The former was pleasantly surprised though to see the boy not losing his balance and following-up by a sword slash. In response the former retracted his spear with speed, dodge, and set out for another attack.
Thrust. Dodge. Slash. Parry. The fighting grew more heated, and as he gradually stepped up his speed Lancer admitted the boy’s fine swordsmanship. Nonetheless his body was nowhere comparable to a Servant. This would be over soon.
Something hit him in the torso.
Looking for the source, Lancer noticed the drill-hair pointing her index finger at him, her hands trembling furiously. A black cloud formed at its point, and again Lancer was hit by a similar attack.
A magus? But surely she knew that a curse like that wouldn’t do much against a Servant? Why didn’t she try to run when her man gave the chance?
That’s…actually kinda sweet. Lancer now felt really bad about having to kill the couple. The Servant kicked the exhausted boy into a nearby room which door was luckily open. It’s better to end this quickly and painlessly. Well, aside from the pains the boy had suffered.
Running inside, he noticed how the room started to glow, and how mana swirled within. Perhaps it was the boy’s last trump card. Oh well. One more wouldn’t hurt.
Being attacked by an invisible blade changed his opinion.
---
Emiya Shirou had been sure he was dead. His assailant had flung him away like a ragdoll. His luck was at an end.
And then something behind him glowed brightly, and a blue flash fended off the spearman.
It was a woman.
He would later remember how beautiful she was. Her glowing blond hair, her regal stance, her majestic walk, how the moonlight seemed to celebrate her presence. But right now, only one thing was registered in his mind.
“I ask of you. Are you my Master?”
And it all came back to him. The slip-of-tongues his father had sometimes accidently made and the notes he had managed to salvage pointed him to one particular topic.
Servants. Masters. The Holy Grail.
His father had never told him the details of his past life, so what little Emiya had mostly gotten was the ideals of a hero. It was what his entire childhood had been – all the studies and training, physical and magical, was all preparations for his true calling. And now duty has called for him, earlier than he had expected, and he was not fully ready. But there was no doubt in him, for this was a duty he would not foreswear.
Emiya Shirou will become a Hero of Justice.
*drops this and goes for another hour of Dragon Age 2*
The thread was devoid of life.
Was.
Chapter Twelve: Blackest Night
Night had fallen.
***
Shirou Emiya dreamt of flames.
He walked through the inferno, his nostrils filled with the stench of ash and boiling human fat, his ears filled with the crackling of blazing flame and the screams of the dying.
He walked helplessly, unable to help anyone, unable to help himself, unable to do anything but walk through the pain.
It hurt.
It hurt.
It hurt.
The heat hurt his skin, the smoke hurt his eyes and his nose, the screams hurt his ears, and the need to leave behind these, his family, bonded in suffering, struck deep into the soul of Shirou Emiya with a pain that no flame could match.
Everything burned. Everything.
He continued his meaningless crawl through the flames, alone. And behind them, something he had never seen before, a darkness so deep that even the blaze that ended his world could not illuminate it...
***
The sky over the sacred mountain was starless.
***
Saber sat, sleepless. Her senses were weak, but even she could feel a tinge of unease in the air, the vague sense of something wrong with the world.
She should have been out there, she knew. She should have been in the night, fighting her War. Something was inexplicably but undoubtedly wrong, and the King of Knights should have been on the front lines, her sword in hand, charging headlong into battle without restraint.
Sakura and Shirou needed her protection, and she would not abandon them. But her hands gripped the hilt of her sword so tightly her hands went bone white.
***
A bottomless void from which not even light could escape.
***
In her room, Sakura Matou clutched her chest, gasping for air. Sweat poured down her body, her skin had gone ghostly pale, and her nails had drawn blood on her chest from where she tried in vain to alleviate the tightness in her heart. And yet, despite the obvious agony she was in, she did not stir from her slumber.
Any who saw her might notice something dark twisting between her fingers, even as they desperately clawed at her heart...
***
But to those who held true power…
***
Kirei Kotomine looked at Caster through Lancer's eyes, and wasn't sure if he should frown or smile. On the one hand, he feared she represented some trick of Makiri that he didn't yet understand. And for all that Kirei loved general suffering, he hated Zouken very, very much. On the other hand…
She was beautiful, there was no denying that. The bringer of the end times, a black gem in the night, the personification of the suffering that he was so enamored of.
So, so beautiful.
"How many?" Kotomine asked softly, "How many people will find their meaning in you, I wonder?"
So beautiful.
***
… for those who had eyes to see the truth…
***
Ilyasviel von Einzbern sat in her bed, staring at the ceiling, her good mood dissolved.
She would have to deal with this, she knew. It wasn't anything she really wanted to do with her time, it wasn't exactly her idea of fun, but she would have to.
The Holy Grail… if it was that, it was her responsibility. It was nothing that grandpapa had told her, she wouldn't have to listen to that; this was an instinct burned into her blood, the fate of those who held the Grail.
She simply had no choice but to care, this time.
I'm sorry, Shirou. She thought.
***
… the formless black illuminated far more than the pale light of a waning moon.
***
The Golden King inclined his head in the direction of RyudouTemple, as if listening to a sound only he could hear.
"Tch." He said, his expression one of disgusted annoyance. He might have to deal with this at some point, no matter what Kirei thought.
Well, for the moment, it still wasn't really an issue. He uncorked another sample from Kirei's wine cellar and poured a glass.
Still, it didn't taste as good as it should have.
***
And the darkness was only growing deeper.
***
"We're screwed, huh?" Lancer said, almost conversationally.
"That attitude is not helping." Archer said, pulling a blade from the air. It should have been glowing like the sun, but the pall over the mountain drowned out even the holy light from the weapon.
"She is still a Servant. Aim for the heart and the head." Assassin said. "I doubt I need to say this, but do not touch the darkness. It will devour your mana with even brief contact."
"Why are you even helping us?" Lancer asked.
"I have already assassinated this woman once. Consider this professional pride." Assassin said.
"Also, she seems to want to kill you more than she wants to kill us." Archer said dryly.
Assassin chose not to dignify this with a response. In his defense, at this point Caster seemed to want to kill everyone equally.
But then, that might have been because the thing before them wasn't exactly Caster anymore. It wasn't exactly the Shadow, either. It was as if Caster wore the Shadow as a suit of armor… no. More like the Shadow had become a second skin to her, a merger between the two into a single entity. Darkness flowed from her rapidly closing wounds instead of blood, traces of a black mist whirled around her eyes and the corners of her lips. The thing before them was, despite what Assassin might have said, not exactly a Servant any longer. A Servant at its core, but the merger with the Shadow had clearly left Caster as… something else. It was clear, however, which of the two portions of the composite being had more control over the monster they had become.
"You. Will. Suffer." Caster growled.
And then she attacked.
Tendrils of darkness gathered in her palm, compressing in on themselves until they ceased to have any physical presence, igniting into a flame that seemed to burn without light, doing nothing to illuminate the gathering darkness. The blue-black flame lashed out in arcs that tore furrows along the ground, not digging up trenches in the ground but killing every blade of grass or plant they passed near, carving chunks out of entire trees so smoothly the wood ended up looking almost like polished glass…
"Break!" Archer snapped, leaping backwards as the life-stealing flames continued their hunt, splitting off like a three-headed serpent to track each of the three Servants. On a hunch, Archer hurled the blade in his hands as he moved.
The golden blade struck the black flames, and vanished harmlessly with a hiss.
Very, very not good. Archer thought. Whatever Caster had done here, the holy blades he'd been projecting until now were losing their edge. If he lost his ability to cut the enemy, there wasn't much he could do.
This is not the time, I think. Strategic retreat might be in order. Archer thought. He had thought he understood the nature of his adversary, but it was becoming more and more obvious that this wasn't the case. He had his suspicions as to the nature of the Shadow entity, but the actual creature had proven borderline-invincible, more like a curse than a real being. He had been hoping to destroy it here, but a few minutes into the battle, wasn't sure he could have managed even with Lancer's aid.
Now, he was more-or-less certain he could not. Whatever this thing was, Caster understood it far better than he did, and her knowledge of its strengths vastly outweighed the few minor weaknesses he'd been able to confirm. He'd made some analysis and had a better of idea of what he was up against; now was the time to get out of here, move Rin far away, and begin plans to deal with the situation in a more sensible fashion.
The operative term being 'get out.' He suspected Caster wasn't just going to let them leave…
The woman shifted her arm, and the serpentine flames all turned to direct themselves right at him. The first, that had been coming directly at him, continued it's implacable path, while the other two snapped like whips, leaving Archer wholly surrounded by black flame that began to constrict inwards.
Charming. He'd been hurting her pet the most, and she was taking him out first. He'd been hoping she would aim at Assassin, he was the one who backstabbed her.
He also can't hurt her. Assassin was the Servant who specialized in targeting Masters… one-on-one, he wasn't much for combat with other Servants. But then, Caster wasn't supposed to be much good at that either, and she was currently about to kill him so…
A bolt of scarlet lightning ripped through the black flames, scattering them.
Archer blinked as the cage vanished into the ether.
"You should dodge faster." Lancer said, flicking his spear to clear a few black sparks from it.
"Your spear…" Archer said. "How did you…?"
"It cut the darkness." Lancer said with a shrug. "Didn't really hurt it, but cut it. Figured it would do the same for that... she's just playing around with the same shadow-stuff."
That doesn't make any…
Of course it does. Archer thought. I just didn't see how for a moment. All right, perhaps we do have some options. And that's good, because... if I can destroy her here, and now, before this can get too far out of hand...
I have to, if it's at all possible.
Caster extended a hand. Several of the black tendrils gathered together, merging together, lengthening, extending from the palm of her hand as a blade of solid black that continued to draw in darkness and grow further out. And out. And out.
And out.
Archer gazed at the ebon lance, which was now nearly five times larger than the woman whose arm it was growing from, and still getting larger as it drew in more and more of the darkness.
He turned to Lancer and said, "Hers is bigger than yours."
"I hate you." Lancer said.
Caster whipped her arm around at approximately neck-height, and the forest began to fall.
***
Assassin really did have to thank them. All of them, to be honest, every last fool among them.
Archer and Lancer, he had to thank for wearing brilliant primary colors in a dark forest in the dead of night. They really couldn't have been better targets if they tried.
Caster, he had to thank for being a bit of a dolt. She had been so focused on his death, back at the lake; had she continued with that single-minded pursuit she most probably could have destroyed him with relative ease. Instead, she had gotten angry, and then she had gotten sloppy. She had let Assassin slip once more into the darkness.
He was not a Servant for face-to-face combat. He did his best work when he wasn't noticed, and it seemed that nobody at all noticed him right now.
The skull mask faded into the night. Or at least, it faded from sight, for the moment...
***
"Milady, this is highly unusual. Your own plans were…" Sella began, following a few steps behind her Mistress as the young princess gathered her winter clothes.
"My plans were what they were, and they are what they are. They've changed. I intended to only go out during the day, but I can't do that anymore." Ilya said, adjusting her coat. "There's some things I need to look at."
"Milady, if you could tell us even a bit more…" Leysritt implored.
"You don't need to know." Ilya said, placing her hat firmly into place and walking for the door.
"Milady, stop." Sella said sharply (Or rather, as sharply as she was capable of speaking to Ilya).
The daughter of Einzbern did indeed stop in her tracks, but not for the reason Sella had most likely been hoping. She did not turn to face her attendants, but merely said, very, very softly. "Did a broken doll… just tell me what to do…?"
Sella's face, if it was possible, paled even further. But she remained resolute, even going so far as to step forward between her mistress and the door. "I… I am sorry, milady. But your behavior has been… erratic, of late. Your grandfather…"
"Is not here. I will conduct this war as I choose, and I don't need your approval. Move, Sella." Ilya said.
"Your grandfather…" Sella continued. "Has asked that we foster and guide you, for the glory of the Family, and you have not permitted us to act in our role. Please, milady, you must…"
"I must do nothing." Ilya said, her eyes going very, very cold. "You, on the other hand, must move."
With the command, a sudden ominous aura filled the room, and something giant and bronze and black filled the air behind Ilya.
Ilya did not command Sella to move again. She did not really have to.
"… … yes, Milady." Sella said, lowering her eyes and stepping aside.
"I will forgive your disobedience," Ilya said, a bit smugly, as Berserker picked her up and placed her on his shoulder. "This time. Let's go, Berserker. There's something I need to have a look at."
The black giant and the white princess surged off into the night.
"... ... ... I thought we were not going to chastise her until morning." Leysritt said, after they were gone.
Had Sella been a less dignified existence, she most likely would have told her sister to shut up.
***
Servants, it must be noted, are physically far more powerful than humans. Lancer proved this effectively by leaping nearly forty meters straight up with a single swift motion, clearing the horizontally swung blade of darkness by a huge distance. It was a display of truly phenomenal agility and power; one moment, the blue knight was on the ground. The next, he soared.
Archer, ever the efficient soul, chose instead to just duck, letting it go over his head by about an inch.
Show-off. The two Servants thought of each other at the exact same instant.
Caster raised her other hand, and the Shadow warped itself again. The blade she had swung dissolved, turning liquid and seeping across the ground, a pool of darkness that began to spread across the ground like water... with the exception that water did not draw in any living thing it touched, and this darkness most certainly did.
Archer leapt into one of the trees that had no yet been felled, but the growing pool of darkness was already dissolving it from the bottom up, and he couldn't exactly keep jumping from tree to tree like a chimp. Just staying alive was pointless. Victory was what mattered.
Lancer landed next to him. "What are you doing? You could cut the damn thing before, so get to it!"
"Those blades were just imitations. Forgeries. They worked... passably well against an incomplete thing like that darkness, but Caster's magic is a power from the Age of Gods, a genuine Divine Mystery. Merged, they can easily devour such frauds. A true Noble Phantasm like your spear would be required to cut it, by piercing it with a greater Mystery, but the cursed nature of the lance impedes its effects."
"Feh. So you're saying we're both useless, then? Doesn't surprise m-"
"No, I'm saying I need to try harder." Archer said.
"Eh?" Lancer said. "What the Hell does that m-"
But Archer's mind was already gone.
Searching.
Reality Marble accessed.
Recreating basic form. Recreating exterior structure. Examine, every detail, and perfectly recreate form, ability...
Recreate history.
Every detail, down to the most minute irregularity in the sheen of the metal, must be perfectly copied. As exact a recreation as is possible.
I am the bone of my sword. Steel is my body and fire is my blood.
"Holy-!" Lancer said.
He was absolutely correct.
The blade that now shone in Archer's hands was as different from those he'd conjured before as the sun was from a flashlight. This broadsword was not a mere image, but a true Noble Phantasm.
No... the swords before were one thing, but that's not the weapon of an Archer, it simply can't be! Lancer thought. This was a holy blade, a weapon of power and history that belonged in the hands of a great swordsman. Anyone who mastered a sword like that would simply not be...
"Lancer." Archer said, the weapon in his hands burning back the gloom that pervaded the mountain. "Watch my back."
And he leapt down into the pool of darkness, his blade leading the way. Lancer half-expected him to simply vanish into the shadows, but the holy sword sliced aside the extended darkness as easily as the morning sun burning through fog. A landing space cleared, he dropped to his knees, built power in his legs, and charged...
The Sword of Victory sang as it cleaved through the shadows. His charge had caught her off her guard, and if his initial rush could cut her down with a single stroke...
"Caliburn!"
The blade ignited with the call of its true name, and Archer couldn't help but smirk at the irony. Here he was, battling evil with her sword, a shining knight... it was almost like he was a real Hero. Of course, the image of heroism wouldn't hold up well if Caster burned him down before his blade could reach her, and her hands were raised.
She opened her mouth to chant the words that would quite likely reduce him to ash. The runes appeared behind her, ready to release the dark fire. Archer prepared his blade to cut her down, hoping that the Holy light would afford some protection... it was too late to dodge, and this plan hadn't gone as planned, to say the least.
Time seemed to slow down.
Archer's blade sliced the night air...
Caster's lips formed the words to her next spell, seeking to protect herself and her 'pet'...
A black dart slipped through the scene, just below her chin.
The words died on Caster's lips, her spell forgotten, as her hand clamped down on her throat, the slit jugular pumping blood.
The white skull mask looked on from atop a fallen tree, grinning horribly.
Archer's blade began to swing down.
Caster slammed her palm into the ground, let out a wordless, blood-choked cry, and everything went straight to Hell.
The leyline that ran through the mountain pulsed, a wild, raw surge of uncontrolled power. Archer thought he heard screams... men, women, and children alike.
She harvested the souls of the town for power...! Archer thought, just before the Shadow exploded. The sudden influx of pure mana was drawn into the Shadow through the leyline, as Caster's Temple reached out across Fuyuki and ripped the power from the citizenry.
Archer was hurled back, his blade falling from his hands. He sought it, but the sudden storm of power blinded him, tossing him through a hailstorm of leaves, entire trees being hurled around like they were twigs.
A hand clamped down on his wrist, and he projected and swung the sword in a single, smooth motion.
It collided with a scarlet lance. "Idiot, it's me!" Lancer screamed. "We need to get out of here!"
"No... I can't leave her to..." Archer said. He had to stop it. Had to. This was his chance to end it, he couldn't...
He turned to see the Shadow. He didn't have to turn far.
Caster was no longer visible. The darkness that had once been surrounding her now completely blocked her from view, a towering wall of black and writhing tentacles. It began to grow further... no, to inflate, in preparation to...
Explode?
"We can damn well leave." Lancer said.
The Shadow burst, and the tides of darkness tore through the forest behind the two, quite suddenly fleeing Servants.
***
Assassin was the first to escape, as it should be. There was absolutely no reason for him to remain on the mountain; he had begun his retreat as soon as Archer had been repelled. At this point, victory was not possible. Escape was the only option.
He slid through the gate, instantly feeling lighter on his feet outside the oppressive boundary field. He descended the steps seven at a time, preparing to leap to the street and vanish from this place once and for...
Ah.
A soft moaning emerged from the underbrush. Something stirred in the bushes, once again thoughtfully wearing a brilliant primary color. Bright red in a forest in the dead of night was not ideal for camoflauge in any sense of the term. (Admittedly, black was not either, being generally too dark to truly blend in with nightime shadows. Gray or dark green would have been better, from a visual perspective, but Assassin had other means of remaining hidden and could get away with it). She was laying there, stirring from unconsciousness, totally defenseless...
She was a Master. He could sense that much. The Master of Archer or Lancer, he couldn't be certain, but it hardly mattered. At this point, the battle with Caster was over, one way or the other, and so they no longer mattered. She was a Master, alone in the Holy Grail War, without her Servant to shield her. She was prey.
He slid a knife into his fingers. Such an opportunity was not to be missed. He drew back his arm, fairly certain that this one's head wouldn't have a shield of darkness to push aside bladed weapons...
No. Said the voice in his mind.
Master? Assassin thought. You have been out of contact for some time.
I was indisposed. Leave the girl and attend me, immediately.
But...
I have a use for this one. Zouken thought, observing the heir of Tohsaka through Assassin's eyes. Yes. Yes, I do...
This is foolish, Master. Whatever plan you may have, the chance to eliminate her so early and without risk is...
The air ahead of him took on a sudden similarity with the air behind him: not the same clawing emptiness, but disturbingly similar vicious, murderous intent and the oppressive aura of rippling, barely-controlled power. Outside the darkness, with streetlights and the moon no longer obscured, he could just barely make out the outline two figures; one childlike, but the other very clearly something much, much larger than a person.
Perhaps revealing his location was unwise after all.
On the other hand. He said, discarding the knife and slipping back into the darkness, You are the Master, here.
***
Ilya sighed. "It's not here."
Berserker did not reply, of course, but talking to him helped her organize her thoughts. "I mean, it's here, it's strongest here, but this isn't the source. Even if we deal with what's here, we won't solve the issue. Follow my eyes, Berserker. We'll trace this back to its heart and end it right now, while it's still early. I won't let something this vile run around and-" Put Shirou in danger. "-endanger the completion of the Grail."
She could sense it. The main 'mass' of the darkness was here. But it was like a pool fed by an underground spring. The visible water was what you drowned in, but the source was somewhere else entirely. Most, she supposed, would have missed that, but then most didn't have Ilya's rather unique senses. Even a great Magus wouldn't be able to feel this phenomenon with the clarity she could; she might be the only person in the world who could truly understand a bit of what had happened, see some small measure of the truth.
Caster, one of the Seven, had been drawn into the Holy Grail. And then she'd come out, but that hardly mattered. The important thing was that the Grail she had been drawn into wasn't Ilya.
A second Grail. Someone was breaking the rules severely, and Ilya strongly suspected who it might be. "To the old Makiri's nest, Berserker."
If one had to travel, in Berserker's arms was not a bad way to do so. The Servant's muscled frame wasn't exactly comfortable, but at a full run he was faster than a speeding car and got to his destination far more quickly by virtue of not having to follow the roads. Buildings were hurdles, not obstacles, and Berserker was very, very good at jumping hurdles.
They were well on the way to the Matou manor within two minutes, but Ilya frowned regardless. Something was wrong.
The trail didn't lead to Zouken?
She hadn't been expecting that, but she could hardly deny the evidence of her own senses. There was a silvery line of magic linking towards the House of Makiri, this much was true. Zouken was, indeed, somehow connected to the incident that had caught her eye this night. But the darker of the two 'source lines', the one connected most strongly to the Second Grail...
No. Ilya thought.
Berserker followed her mind, turning towards the blackness and pursuing it. But that direction...
It can't be. It isn't. There's no way it could be something to do with him... he doesn't know anything, he can't do anything, he's weak, barely a Magus at all... a Magecraft of this level would be as far beyond him as trying to grasp the sun in his hands... She thought desperately.
Berserker stormed down the empty streets, each step bringing them closer and closer to something that Ilya feared more than anything else she could have imagined...
No... no, no, no, it's not possible, there's simply no way he could...
The thin, black line of magic didn't lie. It remained... hollow and insubstantial and deathly cold, but it clearly existed, and it traced back fully from the Shadow devouring the temple to this place. The house of Emiya...
The wellspring of the Dark Grail was someone or something in Shirou's own home.
Oh, Shirou. Ilya thought, her heart falling. What have you done?
And what will I have to do to deal with this...?
***
"We're not going to make it to the Gate..." Lancer said.
"We are." Archer replied.
The Servants had managed to stay ahead of the black flood, but not by nearly so much as either would have preferred. Archer was not remotely sure what to do. Even Lancer could only retreat so quickly in a forest at night. Added to the fact that they could only escape through the main gate...
And the darkness was, indeed, gaining on them.
"Your girl's down there, right? The cute one. Pigtails, dresses in red." Lancer said, oddly conversationally considering they were running for their lives.
"Yes! You tried to kill her once! Move faster!"
"Girl that pretty is a bad thing to waste. And... I hate to admit it, but I owe you one for keeping me alive this long." Lancer said. "This mountain's a lost cause. Get your girl and get out, I have this."
"But…" Archer began.
"Go." Lancer repeated, sounding almost bored. "I have this."
The wave of darkness was descending, Assassin had abandoned them, and Rin was at the foot of the mountain…
"Fine," Archer said. Then, before he descended the temple steps, out of some sense of bizarre sentimentality that he'd thought himself long rid of, he added, "Try to die well."
Lancer screeched to a halt, drawing his arm back. Die? Not if I can help it.
The spear had cut the darkness. The Divine Mystery behind the lance cutting the magic. The damage had been limited by Gae Bolg's dark nature, but the Mystery…
His blade could cut this darkness. All he needed to do was compensate for the handicap with just a little extra effort.
"Gae…" He intoned, drawing his weapon back further. Gae Bolg, the cursed lance that would always pierce the target's heart… even if by virtue of the fact that it could, if pressed, destroy their entire body.
He doubted Caster was familiar enough with his life as a hero to know it was supposed to be used as a javelin.
He charged the tidal wave of nightmare, a grim smile on his face.
"…Bolg!"
Lancer leapt, calling out the weapon's true name even as he took to the sky. And with a single smooth motion, he hurled the unstoppable spear.
Gae Bolg was a cursed, bloodthirsty lance, an instrument of darkness. Despite this, it lit up the night as even the holy blade could not, the weapon's true name calling forth its ultimate power as a Noble Phantasm.
The light that shone down was not a holy strength, but the light of raw destruction.
The blast of light and energy tore through the wave of darkness, the Shadow releasing a keening wail of agony as it was torn apart by the javelin of Cu Chulainn; The Spear of Striking Death Flight.
When the blast finally cleared, all that remained of the darkness was a pool of a weakly flailing tendrils on the ground where the abomination had been struck.
Lancer sighed in admitted relief. He hadn't been at all sure that would work, but it had been his only remaining tactic. At least it seemed to have wounded the thing, and Caster was nowhere to be seen. If she had been inside the mass, she was destroyed. And good riddance. He thought.
Something sharp pricked his neck. A flash of light blinded him suddenly.
He had a hero's instincts and reflexes; had he not detected the attack, the wound to his neck would have been a slashed jugular, not a minor pinprick. He was a bit nervous about the strange light, but managed to roll to the side, calling his spear back to his hand and leveling it at…
"Caster…" her murmured. "You left the Shadow while it was hunting us and snuck around? Bitch."
"Soooooo clever." She purred.
"Guess it was too much to hope you were dead, at that."
The witch stood where Lancer had made his final stand against her pet, an oddly jagged black dagger in her hand. The blade was purely ebon, making the single brilliant scarlet drop of Lancer's blood on the tip stand out all the more. "Hope, my dear? You have no hope." She said. "This battle has reached its conclusion. Not as seamless as I'd hoped, but victory is mine."
"Yeah. It is." His mana situation wasn't exactly perfect, but, he had enough left for this much. "Gae…"
"Don't move." She said, and against all odds, against his own will, Lancer's muscles locked, his lips clamped shut. He tried to complete the incantation, to take her heart, but he couldn't budge a millimeter no matter how hard he tried. It was as if…
With a beautiful, mocking smile, Caster shifted the hand holding her strange dagger to reveal Lancer's Command Seals on her hand, one of the three marks now faded.
That dagger…!
Caster smiled more widely. "Your Noble Phantasm is brilliant, Lancer. One of the most destructive weapons I've seen in some time. Mine, I'm afraid, is not nearly so magnificent, though it does have its uses, as you're learning now. My dagger is called Rule Breaker, and there is no finer tool for piercing magical oaths and sigils. Your contract with your Master is broken, Lancer. Your command seals are mine. You, my dear, are mine.
"And you are food."
The tiny tendrils of darkness looked, suddenly, like the snapping teeth of a gigantic predator as they slowly but inexorably began to grow again around Lancer's legs...
"Be devoured."
***
Rin finally managed to extricate herself from the thorn bush (Yes, thorns. Archer had thrown her into a thorn bush. Bastard), falling to her hands and knees, breathing heavily. Getting out of tangled thorns was not fun on the best of days, and she had to admit that her time in the boundary field around the Temple had not been good for her health. Shakily, she stood…
And had the wind knocked out of her as a red blur slammed into her. She felt an arm clamp around her waist and suddenly she was moving and not at all sure what was going on…
"Archer…!" She said when she could breathe again.
"Yes, I'm here." Archer said as he carried his Master to safety, his voice more bitter than she had ever heard it. "For all the good that does."
"What happened? Why are we...?"
"The Temple is lost. Lancer is dead. We can't come back here again." Archer snapped. "Challenging her here won't work, it never would..."
Rin was briefly silent. "What... what do we do now?"
"I don't know, Rin. I honestly don't know." Archer said.
And Rin Tohsaka thought that might have been the most genuinely frightening thing she'd ever heard.
***
Night had fallen.
The sky over the sacred mountain was starless, a void from which not even light could escape.
Something stirred in the darkness. A jet-black spear pierced the night air. Something jagged and so black it stood out even against the night took shape, then. A malevolence that smelled of blood. The presence took its first steps onto a doomed world, and smiled.
The little remaining light over Ryudou Temple died.
And the darkness was only growing deeper...
And now, between this chapter and the last, you learn of my own little joy... breaking chapters that should be one up into two, based on what I think would be a good point to end a chapter. :D
Enjoy!
Kuroi Hadou
2011-06-18, 23:51
*snip*
That was awesome as always. :D And totally unexpected at the end. :eek:
Flere821
2011-06-19, 00:25
It's time these that I wished there was a more expressive smily icon that could express my joy of a update this EPIC.
Very good Moczo, loved the update :D
I noticed some typos:
He walked through the inferno, her nostrils filled with the stench of ash and boiling human fat, his ears filled with the crackling of blazing flame and the screams of the dying.
The Golden King inclined his head in the direction of RyudouTemple, as if listening to a sound only he could hear.
Very, very not good. Archer said. Whatever Caster had done here, the holy blades he'd been projecting until now were losing their edge. If he lost his ability to cut the enemy, there wasn't much he could do.
Archer leapt into one of the trees that had no yet been felled, but the growing pool of darkness was already dissolving it from the bottom up, and he couldn't exactly keep jumping from tree to tree like a chimp. Just staying alive was pointless. Victory was what mattered.
The Shadow burst, and the tides of darkness tore through the forest behind the two, quite suddenly fleeing Servants.
Rin finally managed to extricate herself from the thorn bush (Yes, thorns. Archer had thrown her into a thorn bush. Bastard), falling to her hands and knees, breathing heavily. Getting out of tangled thorns was not fun on the best of days, and she had to admit that her time in the boundary field around theTemplehad not been good for her health. Shakily, she stood…
Everything was brilliant but I think this hints at something: [Saber] Sakura and Shirou needed her protection, and she would not abandon them.
So she's going to try and protect Sakura too? That seems like a bit of stretch here, to actually consider Sakura aswell. It's been awhile since i read it but was there much shown of what Saber thought of Sakura after having to deal with Shinji?
*snip*
Loved it. Beginning was a little jarring with how much it was bouncing around, but the meat of it was awesome.
Poor Lancer. At least he didn't get jobbed like he did in Heaven's Feel.
Also, why do I have this feeling that the last scene was the emergence of Avenger? Of course, it could always just be Lancer Alter, but I dunno...
I noticed some typos:
Everything was brilliant but I think this hints at something: [Saber] Sakura and Shirou needed her protection, and she would not abandon them.
So she's going to try and protect Sakura too? That seems like a bit of stretch here, to actually consider Sakura aswell. It's been awhile since i read it but was there much shown of what Saber thought of Sakura after having to deal with Shinji?
Not really, since unfortunately Saber has not been a major focus character. But really... the Knight in Shining Armor protects the Fair Lady. Even if she had never met Sakura, if they were living in the same house, Saber would protect her. :p
Also, the new chapter is now up on fanfiction.net. (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6372400/12/) Though the formatting went a bit 'weird' somehow... -_-
Cherry_Lover
2011-06-19, 13:37
So she's going to try and protect Sakura too? That seems like a bit of stretch here, to actually consider Sakura aswell. It's been awhile since i read it but was there much shown of what Saber thought of Sakura after having to deal with Shinji?
Sakura is Shirou's friend, and Shirou would want her protected, ergo Saber would protect her, it's as simple as that. Plus, I don't see Saber being willing to leave an innocent girl to die, especially one who has placed herself under her master's protection.
But, even ignoring that, Saber and Sakura do actually get on quite well once Sakura gets over the whole "shit, she's a servant, she's putting Shirou in danger" thing. Plus, they both care more about Shirou than anything else, so they can bond quite easily (if you look at the ninth chapter, that seems to have happened). Plus, Shinji showing up at Shirou's door and attacking her probably put Saber in protective mode, because there's no way in hell she's going to let any harm come to Shirou's guest.
I believe the formatting issues on the FF.net version have been, with some annoyance and effort, fixed. :)
RadiantBeam
2011-06-19, 20:51
It seems the words in italics are still causing trouble for the spacing, for some reason. Rather annoying little bug.
It seems the words in italics are still causing trouble for the spacing, for some reason. Rather annoying little bug.
Bah, I think I see what you mean. I'll try to fix that. Thanks for letting me know. :heh:
RadiantBeam
2011-06-19, 20:56
Bah, I think I see what you mean. I'll try to fix that. Thanks for letting me know. :heh:
Yeah, it's becoming quite the annoyance, so keep an eye out for it. :heh: I noticed it a couple of times while reading through the FF.net version.
Yeah, it's becoming quite the annoyance, so keep an eye out for it. :heh: I noticed it a couple of times while reading through the FF.net version.
I think I got all of it this time. It's... not a fun bug. :heh:
...
Well, no bugs are fun, but this one is slightly less fun. :heh:
Argent Solbright
2011-06-20, 05:48
ITTT IIIISSS CHAOSS THEOORRYYYY!!!!
*ahem*
It's been a while since I lurk around here. That was my reaction when I saw what's in my inbox earlier :D
Great job as always. :) It seems lately I've became more a fan of lancer. His banter is always enjoyable. Pity what happened to him
I see there are some other nice update as well :).
*Notices that this thread seems devoid of life for a while*
Prologue (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6746128/1/Phantom_Hero_of_Justice)
snip
*drops this and goes for another hour of Dragon Age 2*
:D:D:D
I'm glad to see this. I thought you has dropped it. Very interesting. Some nitpick though:
Projection? But the King of Uruk was never a magus!
How does lancer recognize Gilgamesh?
Yet the sword in his hand felt real and more
What sword from where?
Gilgamesh seems to be.. less of a jerk in this story. Not that it a bad thing, just feel a bit odd.
Tiresias
2011-06-20, 06:19
How does lancer recognize Gilgamesh?
He didn't. That was Rin's line.
What sword from where?
Hmm. Maybe I should expand the paragraphs for this point and the previous, just to clarify things...
Say, do any of you know whether you can edit already uploaded-and-published chapters on FF.net without deleting the old one and putting up the revision, and how?
Argent Solbright
2011-06-20, 06:20
He didn't. That was Rin's line.
Hmm. Maybe I should expand the paragraphs for this point and the previous, just to clarify things...
Say, do any of you know whether you can edit already uploaded-and-published chapters on FF.net without deleting the old one and putting up the revision, and how?
Oh, I see.
Sadly I can't help with The FF..
Heroslayer
2011-06-20, 12:47
This is almost ready for posting, but I thought I'd put it up here for you guys first.
Tell me what you think.
HeroSlayer Presents:
Mahou Senki: Lyrical Days
Chapter Two: Jewel Seed Scramble
…
He was dreaming again.
The same dream repeated itself night after night. A single life changing day that would haunt him for the rest of his life. The details of the dream do not fade over time, nor does that day get any clearer. They continue unchanged.
Fire.
There is fire all around him. His lungs burn from exhaustion more than the smoke that clouded the area. He pushed himself for another step and another. He has to keep going.
Just a little further. That's what he tells himself. He just has to go a little further. He had survived, so that meant he should live. The boy wandered the area aimlessly since he had no idea where it was safe. He only knew that it would be dangerous to stay still.
He must have had the devils luck because he was the only thing left alive. Could he call it luck, when he lingered in this inferno while the others were able to die?
Even a child could understand that this place was hell. There was no hope of being saved. It was a wonder that he had made it this far at all. So maybe calling it luck was wrong.
Another step and another until, finally, his body finally gave out. The world tilts and the ground suddenly envelops his vision. He had fallen. His legs couldn't take another step. There was no energy, no life preserving instinct left. He had burned out. The fire had consumed him completely. There was nothing left but his body to burn.
The boy stared up at the sky and saw dark clouds looming over the area. That was good. The rain would put out the fire.
"It hurts." The boy whispers. The statement is less for himself and more for the people that can no longer speak the words. He closes his eyes and braces himself for what is to come.
…
"Ugh." Shirou groaned as the light from the window moved over his face. He turned over to keep the light away. "It's too early." It had taken him an hour to get back home after the fight and even after that he hadn't gotten much sleep. The rough process of patching up his ribs took a long time and sleeping with them was even worse.
"Ah." Shirou remembered his injury from last night and pressed a hand to his chest. He took a deep breath. "No pain. I guess it healed." Shirou smiled. That was great. He was worried about going to school with cracked ribs. He must have judged the wound a lot worse than it had been.
Shirou looked over at the clock near his bed and gasped at the time. "Oh geez, I overslept." He would barely have enough time to make lunch if he ate toast rather than making a proper breakfast. There wasn't even enough time for him to go through his morning exercise routine.
The boy dressed quickly and rushed to the kitchen to get a start on lunch. He hummed lightly as he sliced the slits on the sausages before frying them. He had mentally checked what else he had to put in the box and frowned when he realized that he would need to go shopping soon.
He poured some oil on the pan and started slicing up some vegetables as the pan warmed up.
'Shirou?'
Shirou paused in his slicing when he heard that. "Nanoha?" He looked around but saw nothing. It sounded weird to. It didn't sound like his ears caught sound more like he heard her voice in his head. 'Great. Now I'm hearing things.'
A girl giggling in his head causing him to freeze. 'You aren't hearing things.'
Shirou froze. That was definitely Nanoha, and she responded to his thoughts. Feeling a little silly he focused on Nanoha. 'Is this more of your magic?'
'Yuuno was explaining a few things to me and showed me this method to talk. I wanted to see if I could talk with you as well.' The girl explained.
Shriou couldn't help but marvel at the ease of which the girl was learning magic. It had taken him years to even get a single success with the easiest of Magecraft and now…
'Oh my god!' He had succeeded in Reinforcement.
'Ah! Shirou. Are you alright?' Nanoha's worried voice reminded him that she could still hear his thoughts.
Despite the fact that no one could see him, Shirou blushed and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. 'Sorry, I just realized something.'
'It's no problem.' Nanoha sounded relieved that he was okay. 'I'm glad you're alright. And thank you for helping last night Shirou.'
'You don't need to thank me for that.' Shirou grinned and shook his head. He didn't need to be thanked for something like that. He wanted to do something like that desperately. His entire life was dedicated to being a Hero. 'I would have helped you no matter what. It's-'
'What a Hero would do, right?' Nanoha teased.
'Of course.' He shot back and scowled as his cheeks burned again. Maybe he should stop his constant reassurances that he'll be a Hero.
…
Shirou ignored the teacher's lesson and looked down at his notebook. Written in it were several notes about what he learned last night.
Yuuno was a magical ferret. He was searching for several dangerous objects called Jewel Seeds. These objects can causes wishes or something but if left alone they would create monsters.
The staff, Raising Heart, could only be used by high level magic users which included Yuuno and Nanoha. So far Nanoha had displayed sealing magic, barrier magic, and now some sort of communication magic. Yuuno had said that she had talent that was extremely rare, so did that mean those spells were innate to her or part of that odd Mystic Code.
Raising Heart had displayed sentience and ranked him as below average in magical capacity and unfit for a user. Though it had mentioned that he had magical pathways.
That final fact had been underlined several times. Shirou was desperate to know what that meant. He thought that he was a normal person incapable of using magic. Yet the device said he had the ability if not the talent.
He tapped the notebook a few times before adding a small comment next to the underlined sentence.
Magic Circuit?
He would have to wait until Kiristugu came home from his trip to ask about that. If he did actually possess Magic Circuits that meant that he could be an actual Magus instead of an imitator like he was. He could be a Hero just like Kiristugu.
Shirou sighed and closed the notebook and carefully placed it in his backpack. He pulled out his normal notebook for the rest of the lesson. There was nothing he could do about it right now.
When the bell finally rang and signaled the end of class Shirou quickly gathered his stuff and ran out to meet Nanoha and Yuuno. As he was dashing through the halls, a hand reached out and grabbed his arm. Shirou paused at the tug and looked behind him to see a girl from his class on the ground. He had tugged her off her feet.
"Ack, Hino-san, I'm so sorry!" The boy quickly helped her to her feet.
"Geez, Emiya. I didn't think you would be this excited about shrine work." The girl rubbed her shoulder before giving the boy an odd look.
"Shrine work?" Shirou's mind was so filled with theories and questions to ask Yuuno that he pushed everything else in his mind aside.
"You forgot?" The girl glared at him. Shirou winced and started to stammer some sort of an apology but the glare that she shot him shut him up. He racked his brain for any requests at a shrine but all he could think of was the possibility of using Magecraft.
"Look," The girl pressed a finger to Shirou's chest, "You promised my grandfather that you would help out at the shrine to give me the day off and you're going to make good on your promise."
Shirou opened his mouth to object but remembered that he did promise that he would help at the Shrine. He hung his head, defeated. "Yes ma'am."
…
Shirou found himself dressed in shrine robes at the Hino Shrine. He looked around the large shrine grounds and the leaves that littered the area. He then looked down at the broom in his hands and sighed. "I'm starting to see why people tell me that helping everyone is going to get me in trouble."
He had escorted Nanoha and her friends to Cram School like usual and ran off to help at the shrine. It was something he had done in exchange for the lessons on meditation that the resident priest gave him. He hadn't really learned anything that would aid his Magecraft, but he had learned some interesting things and wanted to repay the Shrine Owner. Eventually they agreed that Shirou would help out at the shrine for one day.
"Alright." Shirou finally finished sweeping the ground of the leaves into a pile and wiped the sweat off his brow. Then he looked down at the hundreds of stairs that lead up to the shrine. The sight made him groan. "I'm not even close to being done."
There was no chance of him asking Yuuno anything today. Maybe he should try to keep the questions and his apprehension out of mind. It would be good practice for Magecraft.
"Ah, is this the Hino Shrine?"
Shirou looked up from his sweeping of the stairs to see a teenage girl smiling at him. Shirou smiled earnestly at the girl and nodded. "Yep, this is the Hino Shrine. Do you need any help?"
The girl giggled and ruffled the boy's hair. He looked so cute. "I thought I would buy some charms for my exams coming up. Do you have those kinds of things here?"
Shirou tilted his head and tried to recall if they made those here. "I'm not sure. If you would follow me I can lead you to the Shrine owner." He led the girl up the stairs and asked to her to wait in front of the main building.
He ran around the entire shrine calling out for Hino-san but he didn't get an answer. After checking the innermost room of the shrine for the second time, Shirou was about ready to give up. "Man, did he go out and forget to tell m-" An odd feeling passed over Shirou causing him to pause in mid sentence. The boy looked around for the source of the feeling when he caught the scent of something that had no place in the shrine.
"Kyaa!" By the time the scream cut through the quiet shrine, Shirou was already running towards the source.
"Hey, get away from h- Big Doggy!"
Standing in front of the teenage girl from earlier was the largest dog that Shirou had ever seen. He wasn't even sure if this thing qualified as a dog anymore. It was probably the size of a van or a small truck. The beast's skin was black and spikes protruded from it. The crimson horns and mouth full of sharp teeth added to its demonic image.
The girl that had come to the shrine had fallen down and was just staring at the dog in horror.
"Oi, run away!" Shirou shouted at her but the girl just fainted as the demonic dog slowly stalked closer to her. "Aw man!"
Shirou shot forward and struck the back of the dog with his broom. The wooden handle bounced off the beast's hide but did no damage. It did however draw the attention of the dog away from the girl onto him. The beast snarled Shirou and the red head paled at the sight of the monster so close to him. "Ahaha, I did not think this through, did I?."
A swat of the dog's paw struck Shirou hard and launched him across the shrine grounds. "Argh!"
Shirou groaned. He really needed to start wearing some armor or something because this was starting to become a bad habit.
'Shirou!' A familiar voice cut through Shirou's thoughts on the benefits of body armor.
'Nanoha!' Shirou had forgotten that she could do this.
'Shirou, there's another Jewel Shard activating. It's coming from the shrine on-'
'I know. I'm already there.' Shirou frantically sent back as he got up and ran away from the charging dog. Whatever the dog was thinking, it seemed to want to play with the running boy more than it wanted to kill him. It thankfully let him get a small distance away before lunging for a bite. Like a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
'You're already there?' Nanoha then remembered how a disappointed Shirou told her he had to help out at a shrine. 'Ah that's right. Do you see-'
'Yes!' Shirou shouted at the girl as he jumped out of the way of another charge. This one taking out one of the trees that surrounded the area. Shirou watched the wreckage wearily and silently hoped that the tree fell on the dog. 'Please tell me you're close!'
'We're almost there. Just hold on a little longer.' The girl's reply was thankfully quick.
'Please hurry.' Shirou managed to duck away after the dog had missed a lunge. As he caught his breathe behind a tree he looked down at the broom in his hands. It wasn't the best object for this, but…
"Trace On." He gritted out as he felt something like a red hot iron pole be shoved into his spine. His entire body burned as he went through the perilous process of forging his nerves into a Magic Circuit.
"Magic Circuit set."
"Analyzing base materials." Shirou examined the broom with Structural Analysis. He saw the interior cracks that were made because of rough handling during manufacturing. The outer layers that had been eroded from use and time. He let the magic fade after examining the handle. The bristles were unimportant so they were ignored.
"Reinforcing base materials" Finally when that was complete, he poured Od through the hastily made Circuit into the broom handle. The temporary circuit strained even against the small amount of Od that he was pushing through it.
"Reinforcement complete."
Shirou let out the breathe he had been holding and gave the broom a quick glance over. It would hold for the time being. He looked around for the dog again when he felt something warm and moist pass over the side of his head. The Jewel Seed embedded dog had snuck up on the boy while he had been busy with his Magecraft.
"Argh!" The boy rolled away as the monster smashed the tree he had been hiding behind. Shirou dodged past the trees and ran back into the clearing in front of the shrine with the dog close behind him. Shirou spun around and swung the broom as hard as he could at the dog. The hard as steel broom handle struck the dog on the nose and stunned it for a moment.
Shirou hopped backwards and held up the broom in a defensive stance. The dog pawed at its nose before glaring at him. Shirou took a step backwards when the dog growled at him, but he stood his ground and met the dog's stare with his own. For a moment the beast and Shirou locked eyes and stood still.
'Shirou, we're almost there!' Nanoha's voice in his head broke the silence and Shirou looked over towards the stairs before he remembered the dog.
Too late. Shirou spun around just in time for the dog's tackle. Shirou was pinned down by its paws and the only thing keeping his body from getting mauled was the fact that he had lodged his broom in the dog's mouth.
"Ah! Shirou!" Shirou vaguely heard Nanoha panicking but his attention was pretty much focused on big mouth full of sharp teeth trying to separate his head from his body. The boy struggled with the beast and hoped to god that the broom wouldn't break.
Suddenly the beast paused in his attempts at eating Shirou and turned to the shrine entrance. The dog had noticed Nanoha and Yuuno and decided that they were a better treat then the struggling boy underneath him.
The dog growled and shut its mouth. Snapping the Reinforced broom into pieces before charging at the girl and ferret. Shirou abandoned his shattered broom and watched in horror as the dog went towards his new target.
"Ah, Nanoha!" The girl was just standing there while the monster charged at her. He could see Yuuno yelling at her to do something, but the girl was panicking about something.
Shirou pulled himself to his feet just in time to see Nanoha activate Raising Heart. A dust cloud was formed when the beast crashed into the girl. He sighed in relief when the dust cleared. Nanoha was sitting on the floor unharmed with Raising Heart in its staff mode. She must have summoned her barrier in time to defend herself.
"Thank god." Shirou sighed in relief at the sight of the girl unharmed.
That barrier was ridiculously strong. It looked like the beast had hit and rebounded off a solid steel wall. Nanoha was completely unharmed even when the dog went for a second charge. The barrier repulsed it even harder this time and this gave Nanoha enough time to seal the Jewel Seed.
Shirou watched carefully as Nanoha once again sealed the Jewel Seed in a flurry of pink energy ribbons. The ribbons covered the beast before the dog glowed. After a bit of glowing, a small dog and the Jewel Seed dropped to the ground.
"Receipt No. XVI," Raising Heart confirmed the sealing.
"That was too close." Now that he was sure that the action was over, Shirou fell to the ground in exhaustion. It was just after he hit the ground that he remembered something important. "Ah, I can't believe I forgot."
"Eh?" Nanoha had deactivated Raising Heart and picked up Yuuno when she saw Shirou run off in a hurry. "Shirou?" She ran after him only to stop when she saw him fretting over a teenage girl that was unconscious on the shrine grounds.
Yuuno shook his head at the sight of the small boy attempting to rouse the girl. The ferret saw the red streams running down the boy's right arm and wondered if Shirou even felt those injuries or if he was simply ignoring them. "He just had a fight with a monster and the first thing on his mind is to make sure that someone else is okay."
"That's Shirou alright." Nanoha giggled as Shirou tried and failed to pick up the girl who had fainted. "Always thinking of others."
…
By the time the girl had woken up, reassured Shirou that she was fine several times, and left with the small dog that had been affected by the Jewel Seed the sun had begun to set. The sky was painted in brilliant colors as the girl left the shrine completely unaware of what had just happened there.
"Well, I'd say this was a job well done, right?" Nanoha watched the girl leave with a smile on her face.
"Yeah. I'd say so." Yunno was sitting next to her. The two had agreed to wait for Shirou to change out of the shrine robes and back into his normal clothes.
"Hey, sorry to make you wait." Shirou ran up to the two once again in his school uniform. "Did the girl leave?"
"Mhm, she even took the little dog with her." Nanoha smiled and placed Yuuno back on her shoulders.
"That's great." Shirou smiled brightly. His first rescue and it had been pulled off fine. Sure he needed help from Nanoha, but he wasn't a Magus yet so that was to be expected.
Nanoha giggled at Shirou's happy expression. "Come on. All that excitement made me hungry. Let's go grab some snacks." Nanoha paused as she noticed the setting sun and frowned. "Oh wait, you have to get home for dinner, don't you?"
"Huh, oh don't worry about it. Kiristugu is on anoth-Urk!" Shirou froze as he realized what he had just let slip.
His little mistake didn't go unnoticed.
"Shirou," Nanoha stopped walking and turned to glare at Shirou. The boy squirmed under her gaze. "Is your father on a trip again?"
"What? Why would you think that?" Shirou's frantic attempt at deflecting the question failed miserably. It didn't help that he was panicking wildly or that he had no poker face at all.
Yuuno looked between the two in confusion. He hadn't seen Nanoha angry about something before and it was surprising to see the girl look so frustrated by something. "Kiristugu? Trip? What are the two of you talking about?"
"Shirou's father goes on a lot of trips." Nanoha explained as she glared at the sheepish looking boy. "However this leaves Shirou home alone. My family found out that Shirou has been fending for himself during these times and offered to take care of him when Emiya-san is out of town."
"It was a short trip this time. He'll be back soon." Shirou tried to defend himself. "I've taken care of myself for longer."
"It doesn't matter!" Nanoha applied a vice grip on Shirou's arm and started to drag him along. "You're going home with us and then you're going to tell my parents that you've been staying home alone again."
"What? No way!" Shirou tried to dig his feet into the ground. "Your parents are just going to scold me. And your mom might do that again."
"Is staying with them really that bad? Nanoha's family seemed really nice." Yuuno looked over at the boy and wondered what was causing him to try to escape. It seemed unlikely that he would get anything more than a mild lecture for his actions.
Nanoha rolled her eyes. "It's nothing bad, but my mom found the perfect punishment for when Shirou stays with us and doesn't behave."
Yuuno wondered what would scare a boy that would fearlessly face a Jewel Seed created monster without a second thought. He tried to imagine a fitting punishment with the image of Nanoha's kind mother and something that would freak Shirou out this much but couldn't come up with anything. Unwilling to let his morbid curiosity be unfulfilled he asked Nanoha. "What is the punishment?"
Shirou wailed out an explanation.
Yuuno almost fell off of Nanoha's shoulder when he heard what had scared the boy so badly. He stared at the struggling boy and just shook his head. "I don't get you people at all."
"It's just Shirou." Nanoha shook her head as she dragged along the crying red headed boy.
…
In all of his life, Shirou has faced more horrors that any nine years old should have to face. His unspoken memory of the day that Kiristugu found him, the constant threat of death that followed his Magecraft practicing, the pain that Magecraft induced, and just recently, monsters created from the latent desires of people all around. Yet nothing scared him more than the threat in front of him.
Momoko Takamachi stood in front of the boy with a disappointed expression on her face. Beside her was her husband, Shirou Takamachi, looking sternly down at him.
"Shirou-chan, you know that you're supposed to tell us when your father is out of town. We have no problem taking you in for a little while." The mother scolded him.
Shirou squirmed under the disappointed looks and tried to think of a good defense. He didn't really want to lie to the two of them so he just looked down and mumbled his answer. "I didn't want to be a bother."
The older Shirou sighed at defeated expression on the boy's face. "You're not a bother. I'm sure we've told that to you several times, and even Kiristugu has agreed that it would be best if you stayed with us when he's not there for you."
Momoko nodded and gathered herself. With a stern expression on her face she pointed at the smaller Shirou. The boy flinched at the motion and braced himself for the verdict to fall. There was no escape and he would be trapped here with no way out. Nanoha would make sure that he followed the decree even outside of the house.
"I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ban you from the kitchen, Shirou-chan." Momoko solemnly announced.
The wail of despair that came out of Shirou's lips echoed throughout the house. It was a familiar wail. So familiar that when Miyuki peeked her head to see what was going on, she did so with a good idea of what was going on.
"Did Shirou-chan get banned from the kitchen again?"
"Yep." Nanoha passed her by with some tea on a tray. She set it down for her parent and Shirou and glowered at Shirou, who at this point was on all fours on the ground with a cloud of depression over him. "He didn't tell us that his father was on a trip. He was living by himself for days."
Miyuki winced. "Ouch. So I'm guessing the ban is for his entire stay then."
Nanoha's father laughed weakly. "I'm afraid so."
…
"I can't believe that you got so worked up about not being able to cook." Yuuno wondered how cooking could be so important to a person.
After Shirou had recovered from his depression, the boy was sent up for a bath. He sat in another lively dinner with the Takamachi family and gave the kitchen a look of longing before going up with Nanoha to her room to talk with her and Yuuno.
"But I'm so close to getting a recipe down. If I don't practice I'll lose all that progress." His beef stew had almost been perfect the other day. He was sure that he was about to make a breakthrough with the recipe but now it would be days before he could make another attempt. It was tormenting.
"Don't try to understand him Yuuno-kun." Nanoha sighed at the boy's antics. He was usually so normal, but give him a sword or a ladle and he'll turn into something else completely.
"Anyways, this is good. I had some questions I wanted to ask Shirou about his magic." Yuuno threw off the weirdness that had followed Takamachi-san's decree and got down to business. Shirou heard the mention of magic and turned to the ferret with a serious expression. Yuuno wasn't the only one that wanted to learn more about magic.
"There is no knowledge of Earth being able to house a magical community. It was thought that any magical people would simply have too little magical energy to do anything." Yuuno pondered whether or not this was accurate. The two kids in front of him were two completely opposite sides of the spectrum. Nanoha had a talent that was one in a million while Shirou was in terms of magical energy a complete failure. Yet Shirou had shown the capacity for magic without any device or external signature for magic. "I'm not really sure how accurate that statement is, but what I do know is that whatever kind of magic Shirou used is completely different from anything I've seen."
Nanoha nodded. "It didn't really look like magic. I mean, you made the wooden sword shiny for a moment, but other than that, it looked like nothing happened."
Shirou winced. "Well, Reinforcement is the most basic of basics for Magecraft." It was also something he had only just succeeded at doing. "I guess I could show you something else."
Shirou closed his eyes and emptied his mind. He once again went through the difficult process of turning his body into a Magic Circuit for his magic to flow.
Both Nanoha and Yuuno watched Shirou closely. Nanoha was excited to see what kind of magic that Shirou would perform, while Yuuno was trying to figure out what Shirou was doing. The amount of magic that the boy was using was miniscule so it couldn't be anything big.
Sudden the air in front of Shirou's hands glowed and the light condensed itself into a tight sphere. When the light faded, a small circular red gem was sitting in Shirou's hands.
"Raising Heart!" Nanoha cried out before reaching for the small gem.
"Teleporation?" Yuuno couldn't believe it. Did earth have the capacity for teleportation with such low amounts of energy?
"Eh? It's still here." Nanoha found the small gem and looked at it and the double that was sitting in Shirou's hands. Yuuno blinked as he saw that the Device was still in Nanoha's possession.
"I didn't teleport it. I just copied it." Shirou wiped off the sweat on his head and rolled the gem with his fingers. "This is called Gradation Air, but I like to call it Projection. It basically makes a copy of an object that I picture in my head."
"So it's another Raising Heart?" Nanoha looked closely at the second red gem and poked it to test its solidity.
"Not exactly." Shirou frowned at the small gem in his hands. "It just has the shape of the object. I can't copy Raising Hearts abilities or anything like that. Projection just makes a physical copy of the object."
Shirou put the Projected gem on the bed for Yuuno to examine. The ferret picked up the gem and marveled at the object. This was a solid object created from nothing but magic. An impossibly small amount of magic at that. The weight was similar to the original and its look would pass anything but a scrutinizing check.
"This is amazing." The ferret whispered.
Shirou shrugged. "It's also useless. Projections don't last long and they're pretty fragile. So other than for rituals, most Magus don't do anything with it." It was just his luck that his two talents, Structural Analysis and Gradation Air were both useless for a Magus.
Yuuno looked up at the boy as Nanoha held both Raising Hearts and was comparing them. "They don't last long?"
Shirou shook his head. "Things created from Gradation Air are unnatural so the world actively tries to get rid of that unnatural addition. So constant attention and magical energy is needed to maintain the object for long periods of time." He couldn't remember the exact explanation that Kiritsugu gave to him, but that sounded about right. "I can make them last pretty long, but they go away after half a day or so at most."
"Ne, ne Shirou. What else can you make?" Nanoha had abandoned the extra Raising Heart and smiled at Shirou in anticipation.
Shirou blinked at the girl's attention and shrugged. "Well simple stuff really. The more complicated it is, the harder it is to Project. See Gradation Air is all about how well I can project my personal image onto the-"
Yuuno idly listened to the explanation that Shirou was giving to a confused Nanoha but his focus was on the second Raising Heart and the magic that Shirou just displayed. The possibilities of such a magic were endless even with the limitations that were imposed on it. It was something to think about and with Shirou staying at the Takamachi's for the time being, he would have plenty of time to explore it.
…
The days spent at the Takamachi house went by quickly. Shirou was busy the entire time. School, helping out at the Midoriya, sparring with Kouya and Miyuki and finally when helping out Nanoha with the Jewel Seeds. Three more Jewel Seeds had activated. The first of which he had been busy helping at the Midoriya and couldn't go help Nanoha without raising suspicion.
Shirou leaned heavily on his wooden sword. He had used Reinforcement on it earlier, but even with the prana boosting its durability the sword had several cracks running down the blade. He had been running around trying to keep the latest Jewel Seed monster still long enough for Nanoha to seal it. The third Jewel Seed activation during his stay at the Takamachi residence had created another formless being that was a lot more aggressive than the last.
The black cloud shot downward at the boy and attempted to smash him one more time. Shirou jumped backwards and let it collide with the ground. The collision sent up a cloud of dust, but Shirou didn't let that stop him. He charged forward and unleashed a barrage of slices at the monster.
He felt his sword sink in several times and pieces of the monster all shot out of the dust cloud to reform.
"Gotcha." Shirou grinned viciously as the pieces all swirled around one spot to mold back together.
"Lyrical Magical! Jewel Seed Serial XX, Seal!" Nanoha fired out several ribbons that enveloped the formless monster and reduced it to a single jewel which was promptly absorbed by Raising Heart.
"Receipt No. XX" Raising Heart toned out.
Yuuno ran up to a panting Nanoha. "Good job Nanoha. This makes the fifth Jewel Seed in our possession."
After they were done, the trio slowly made their way back to the Takamachi residence. Nanoha was using Raising Heart's staff mode as a crutch and Shirou was favoring one leg pretty heavily.
"Are the two of you okay?" Yuuno looked over at the two kids and couldn't help but feel responsible for their haggard appearance.
"I'll be good by morning." Shirou grinned weakly before wincing as he put too much pressure on his bad leg. Yuuno was quickly learning that Shirou could recover from pretty bad injuries rather quickly. It probably had to do with the odd magic that the boy was using but Yuuno was worried about the inconsistency of the boy's magical healing. He had healed up from the injuries he got at the Shrine before they had even gotten home but the cuts and bruises he got from the last Jewel Seed had yet to finish healing.
"I'm fine, but…I'm just a little tired…" Nanoha trailed off and collapsed on the floor.
"Nanoha!" Both Yuuno and Shirou quickly rushed to the girl's side.
"Oi, Nanoha, are you alright?" Shirou lifted the girl's head up and shook her lightly.
"Zzz…"
Both Yuuno and Shirou were silent for a moment when they realized that the girl had just fallen asleep. The two shared a look of exasperation.
"She's out cold." Shirou groaned as he picked up the girl. After a bit of awkward shifting, Shirou was carrying Nanoha piggyback style. Yuuno had returned Raising Heart to its standby mode and followed after the limping boy.
…
"Good mo-mo-morning." Shirou yawned as he slowly padded his way to the kitchen table for breakfast. It was a testament to how tired the red haired boy was that he didn't even give the kitchen a second glance as he sat down.
"Good morning Shirou-chan." Momoko greeted the boy. She was glad that she didn't have to catch the boy trying to cook breakfast again. It was endearing normally, but after a few days it could get tiring. "Is Nanoha up?"
"Ung." The boy shook his head and mumbled his thanks as he was served his breakfast. He had carried Nanoha to her room and woke her up to get dressed in her pajama so her parents didn't catch wind of what they were doing.
After that was done he and Yuuno had discussed magic for an hour and he had finished off the night with some Magecraft practice.
Shirou had been running himself ragged like this for the last few days and it was really hitting him hard. He stifled a yawn and attempted to figure out his schedule for the day.
Today was Sunday which meant no school. Nanoha's father was coaching a soccer team and they had a game this morning. So he had volunteered to help at the café while Nanoha and her friends went to watch the game.
The boy quickly ate his breakfast and shouted his thanks to Takamachi-san and ran off to get dressed.
…
"Here you go." Shirou served up the last of the room for the soccer team's victory party. Nanoha's dad had treated them for their victory. He flitted throughout the store making sure the party had enough food and taking orders from some customers that had entered.
Momoko took the latest batch of plates from the boy with a smile. "Shirou. Nanoha and her friends are outside playing with Yuuno. You should join them."
"Right, I'll see if they need anything." Shirou ran outside before she could tell him he was wrong.
Miyuki giggled at her mother's expression. "That boy seriously needs to get his priorities right."
The girls were at one of the outside tables of the café. They already had their food and when Shirou walked out, Alisa was playing with a struggling Yuuno. Shirou wondered for a moment how uncomfortable Yuuno felt playing the normal Ferret.
"Geez, Bannings-san. Let Yuuno breathe." Shirou came to the little ferrets rescue. He plucked the rodent out of the blonde girl's grasps and placed him back on the table.
'Oh thank god.' Yuuno opened up the mental connection to Shirou and slumped in relief. 'Thanks for the save Shirou.'
"No problem little guy." Shirou placed the animal on his shoulder and gathered the used plates up.
"Well then, I guess we're all done for today." Alisa picked up her bag and got up.
Suzuka picked up her purse and nodded to Shirou as he picked up her plate. "I guess so."
"Oh, that's right. You both have plans for this afternoon, don't you?" Nanoha smiled at her friends.
Shirou picked up the last of the plates and paused for a moment to let Yuuno hop to Nanoha's shoulder before heading inside. He passed by Nanoha's dad and headed inside to help clean up the plates from the party.
…
The streets were packed in the afternoon and Shirou wiped his brow as he continued his run. His lack of stamina was starting to catch up to him and he needed to train harder if he was going to keep up with Nanoha he needed to get even stronger.
His mind wondered to the Jewel Seed encounters that he had been a part of. In all of them he had been able to do nothing more than distract the monster so that Nanoha could seal it. Even then, his distractions were only because the monsters had the grace to treat him as an annoyance. He doubted that he was even a threat to any of them.
Shirou had been thinking of how he could more helpful but the only thing he could think of was to be stronger. He could Reinforce objects, but he was too weak to use them in any useful way.
The barrier that Nanoha possessed was a lot more useful than him so far. He needed to be even stronger. His Magecraft wasn't going to get any better than it was at the moment without Kiristugu to teach him more. So his only option was to train his body.
Shirou shook his head and ran faster. His breath was starting to get ragged and his muscles burned with every movement. He was starting to reach his limit. The boy speed through the streets and dodged past the crowds and objects that littered the streets.
When he could finally run no more, Shirou collapsed onto a bench and fought to regain his breathe. He panted and cursed himself for only being able to run this far. He had planned to go so much farther.
Shirou pushed himself onto his shaky legs and stumbled towards the nearest restaurant for a drink. As he walked further he stopped as he felt the ground shake. He wondered if an earthquake was going on when the rumbling got worse.
The earth shook worse and worse and plants erupted out of the ground. Shirou yelled as the buildings around him had pieces of them knocked off by the rapidly growing trees.
"What is…?" Shirou threw his arms up as another branch of the tree shot up in front of him. He shuddered as a familiar wave of magic passed over him. "Is this a Jewel Seed?"
Shirou waited until the crowds cleared from the area and looked around. There were giant trees growing out of the ground and a few of the building in the area had holes knocked out of them by the branches.
A small noise broke Shirou out of his amazement. Shirou shook his head. He couldn't afford to stand still in this kind of situation. There was work to do.
Shirou ran towards the nearest cry for help.
…
"So did you hear about what happened in town today?" Kouya questioned the table.
If he had been paying attention, Shirou would have noticed Nanoha stiffen. However he was occupied with his own thoughts and nodded weakly. "There was some sort of an attack and a lot of buildings were damaged."
Miyuki shook her head. "Some people were saying some crazy things like they saw a giant tree growing out of the city."
Nanoha's father turned to Shirou. "Weren't you in the city around that time? Did you see what happened?"
Momoko turned to younger Shirou with worried eyes. "Is that true? Were you hurt Shirou-chan?"
Nanoha turned to Shirou in surprise. "You were in the city?"
Shirou started when he heard his name and it took him a moment to answer the question. "Oh, yeah. I went running." Shirou gave a weak shrug. "A lot of people were panicking so I got caught up in the crowd."
"Geez, who could do a thing?" Miyuki shook her head at the audacity of such a crime.
Nanoha stared at Shirou who was glaring at his own hand like it had done something wrong. 'Shirou, are you okay?'
Shirou twitched but gave no other outer expression. 'I'm fine, I'll… I'm just a little tired.'
The dinner went by and Shirou shook himself out of his funk when the conversation turned to what everyone did during the day.
Even as Shirou joined the conversation again, Nanoha made sure to keep an eye on the boy. The look in his eyes when he was staring at his own hand scared her.
…
It was late at night when Shirou got up and left the room he shared with Kouya when he stayed over at the Takamachi residence. The boy wandered out of the house and into the Takamachi's dojo. He picked one of the practice swords off the wall and walked to the center of the dojo.
Shirou moved into a practice stance and started to practice. Shirou paused in the middle of a slash and dropped the practice sword in disgust.
"What am I doing?" The boy fell his knees and slammed a fist into the ground. "Am I still this weak?"
Tears gathered in the corners of Shirou's eyes as he recalled this afternoon.
Shirou ran into the nearest building and looked around frantically.
"Somebody! Help!" A voice called out from the upper floor.
"Just wait, I'll be right there!" Shirou ran up the stairs as fast as he could. When he got up there and looked around. There was a girl a bit older than him trying to pull a piece of the building. Shirou swore when he saw that a boy was trapped under the debris.
Shirou ran over and started to help the girl. The both of them pulled as hard as they could but they could barely get the piece of the wall to move. The two of them paused when pieces of the ceiling started to crumble. Shirou looked up to see cracks forming in the ceiling. Shirou slapped a hand to the wall and with a cry of "Trace on!" scanned it.
The wall was starting to fail from the weight. They weren't going to be able to save the boy before it fell. Shirou made an instant decision and started the process for Reinforcement. If he could strengthen the wall then they would have time to get the boy out.
As Shirou focused on magically strengthening the wall the girl looked at him like he was crazy. The boy had stopped helping her with the pillar on her brother and was now focusing on the wall. She shook her head and was going to pull harder on the pillar when she noticed something.
"Look out!"
Shirou opened his eyes and stopped his Reinforcement when something collided into him. He felt his body fly a few feet away and heard a large crash. Dust clouded the room and Shirou coughed and choked on it. "Hey… are you okay?"
The magus-in-training looked up and froze. The girl that he had just been helping was on the floor with a piece of the ceiling on top of her.
"No…" Shirou ran over and struggled with the debris until he shifted it off of the girl. He started shaking the girl. "Hey, wake up!"
The boy sat there and tried to wake the girl. He stayed there until the trees faded and rescue workers came. He stayed there even when the rescue workers took the girl from him and moved the pillar and took the boy too. Shirou watched with haunted eyes as the girl who knocked him over was pulled into an ambulance.
Shirou opened his eyes and hit the ground again. "Damnit. What kind of Hero am I?"
"You're a little young to be a hero aren't you?" A voice cut through the darkness of the dojo causing Shirou to freeze. He turned and found Yuuno on the ground looking at him with a curious expression.
"Yuuno." Shirou shook his head. "Everyone keeps telling me that, but I can't accept that. Nanoha is-"
"Making mistakes just like you do." Yuuno interjected. At Shirou's surprised expression the ferret continued. "Nanoha noticed a Jewel Seed right after you left but dismissed it as her imagination. It later activated and caused the accident with the trees."
Shirou stared at the ferret and slowly processed what he just said.
Yuuno recalled Nanoha's expression when she saw the damage from the Jewel Seed and compared it to the expression on Shirou's face a moment ago. "Nanoha was beating herself up about it but she's been running herself ragged as it is."
"Yeah… but what can I do?" Shirou sighed and looked down as his hand again. "She doesn't even need me there. All she has to do is cast that barrier to protect herself."
Yuuno shook his head. "You're a big help. I'm sure you know, but using magic like that is not easy for a beginner to use. Any strain that you can keep off of Nanoha is going to make a difference."
Shirou swallowed as he heard that and remembered how Nanoha had collapsed last night. He had to carry her home because the girl was too exhausted to even stay conscious.
"Yeah, you're right. I just have to help her as much as I possibly can." The boy grabbed the wooden sword he dropped and stood up. "That just means I have to work harder to help even more."
Yuuno watched as the boy started to go through another sword kata before silently heading back up to Nanoha's room. He was glad that Shirou was back to normal. Hopefully having him support Nanoha would keep her from going beyond her own limits. The little changeling felt ashamed that he had to place this burden on Shirou, but Nanoha was the one that could seal the Jewel Seeds until he regained his strength.
The two boys fought to gather strength. Yuuno to regain his former powers, and Shirou fighting to gain new ones. Yet tonight, they both vowed to fight for the same reason. To support Nanoha.
…
In the night sky a figure watched Uminari city. This was the place that the Jewel Seeds seemed to have gathered. Several had activated in the city in a short amount of time and more will surely activate within the city once more.
Golden blonde hair danced in the wind and the girl's black clothes melted into the night. A black staff was held in her hands and a red wolf like creature rested on the building below her.
"The Lost Logia is around here." The girl's cool voice cut through the air. "It manifests as a small blue gem that is generally called a 'Jewel Seed.'"
The red familiar stared at her partner and silently listened to the review of their mission.
"Ah, that's right." The girl's voice is filled with emotion. The goal is within sight. "It will be mine soon."
Moments later the girl and the familiar are both gone.
It seems the scramble for the Jewel Seeds would only get harder for our Heroes.
AN: There we have it. Chapter two of Mahou Senki: Lyrical Days. This contains the events of Episode two and three. I've been mainly sticking to what Shirou is involved with and other things that involve Shirou, but that is quickly going to change as the things that happen start to go all over the place.
A small thing that I think I'm going to keep for a few chapters are the dream segments in the beginning. It's a good integration to Shirou's backstory which will come up later and I have a few plans for it and a future event a little further on. It's going to be a good luck at how Shirou's outlook is affected by the events all around him.
One thing I've trying to convey is Shirou's odd priorities. His overly helpfulness and his lack of self are too important to leave out. Did I get that down?
Another problem that's been bothering me is the odd Slice of Life feeling that I'm getting from this chapter. It feels a little awkward so far, but I can't really tell if it adds or detracts from the story.
Not really, since unfortunately Saber has not been a major focus character. But really... the Knight in Shining Armor protects the Fair Lady. Even if she had never met Sakura, if they were living in the same house, Saber would protect her. :p
Sakura is Shirou's friend, and Shirou would want her protected, ergo Saber would protect her, it's as simple as that. Plus, I don't see Saber being willing to leave an innocent girl to die, especially one who has placed herself under her master's protection.
But, even ignoring that, Saber and Sakura do actually get on quite well once Sakura gets over the whole "shit, she's a servant, she's putting Shirou in danger" thing. Plus, they both care more about Shirou than anything else, so they can bond quite easily (if you look at the ninth chapter, that seems to have happened). Plus, Shinji showing up at Shirou's door and attacking her probably put Saber in protective mode, because there's no way in hell she's going to let any harm come to Shirou's guest.
I know that Saber would protect her, but it's just that I've always thought Saber put Shirou slightly higher up on her priority list what with him being her master and all. And it's just that line seems to imply that Sakura and Shirou are on the same level which makes me think something must've happened between Sakura and Saber. If that WAS the the angle you were playing it at and it's because of Saber dealing with Shinji, then I just thought it would've been cool and kinda sweet if there was a scene afterwards where Saber considers Sakura in a new light and makes a mental to note to look over her too. But I'm just saying that.
warlock7
2011-06-21, 16:13
why are there no fics about shirou's biological perentage? it seems such a plot bunny...
Flere821
2011-06-21, 22:30
why are there no fics about shirou's biological perentage? it seems such a plot bunny...
gabriel blessing's fic 'In Flight' did focus on that (somewhat), saying Shirou's parents were out of town when the Fuyuki fire started and Shirou met one of them years later. That wasn't the main focus of the fic though.
warlock7
2011-06-22, 00:18
i know that great fic, but it is the only one using it.
just imagine, after the grail war, some unknown reletive finds shirou, maybe shirou's family has magi in it, maybe they are old and powerful. maybe not, maybe they are rich, maybe he inherits money, property, or some duty or responsibility from them? maybe they are afliated with the church, or dislike mages? maybe they are yakuza, or militery, or police, or politicians, or buisinessmen? maybe someone famous, posibly a celebrity? they stumble unbelieving on shirou, shocked, thinking he died, or find him after long search?
maybe its an aunt, acousin, or other distent reletive?
and just what kind of surprises shirou the magus unleash on the unsuspecting reletives, can you imagine the chaos, the posibilities?
please someone write about it.
I challenge thy!
Argent Solbright
2011-06-22, 04:28
why are there no fics about shirou's biological perentage? it seems such a plot bunny...
Heh, I have some ideas about that. Something about Shiro's biological twin sister inspired by someone else fic... but I'm too lazy to actually write it down.
RadiantBeam
2011-06-22, 10:14
gabriel blessing's fic 'In Flight' did focus on that (somewhat), saying Shirou's parents were out of town when the Fuyuki fire started and Shirou met one of them years later. That wasn't the main focus of the fic though.
I still think that's an inherent plot hole in "In Flight", though. The game does specifically state at one point that Shirou's parents definitely died in the fire, though I know all GB needed was an excuse to get Shirou into his predicament in the first place. :heh:
Heroslayer
2011-06-22, 11:46
I think we're all entitled to a little creative license.
Also, Kiritsugu died when Shirou was around eleven or twelve right? He came back from another trip (Looking for Ilya) and had one last conversation with Shirou before dying in their home?
warlock7
2011-06-22, 12:34
maybe the perents dead, but some other blood relation lives...
and it can be used for almost any crossover, or twist (english roots dating to 6th century? inheritance? familiy buissines? mob connections, connections to politicians- mundane intrigue between politicians and some magus twist maybe? shirou or his pararent being someone dirty little secret? and more)...
its just that its something i'd like to read , but cant find, unsuplied damends...
RadiantBeam
2011-06-22, 15:09
maybe the perents dead, but some other blood relation lives...
and it can be used for almost any crossover, or twist (english roots dating to 6th century? inheritance? familiy buissines? mob connections, connections to politicians- mundane intrigue between politicians and some magus twist maybe? shirou or his pararent being someone dirty little secret? and more)...
its just that its something i'd like to read , but cant find, unsuplied damends...
Part of the problem being that if Shirou had any blood relatives, he probably wouldn't have ended up being adopted by Kiritsugu in the first place and participating in the Grail War. So it sort of renders the whole plot of FSN moot.
Heroslayer
2011-06-22, 17:20
Part of the problem being that if Shirou had any blood relatives, he probably wouldn't have ended up being adopted by Kiritsugu in the first place and participating in the Grail War. So it sort of renders the whole plot of FSN moot.
The only real way to bypass that would be to give Shirou a different original name. Like in In Flight where 'Shirou' is a nickname that he used. Though that's a toss up without a solid reason.
I guess theoretically you could do a long lost relative thing, but I don't think Shirou would be that receptive.
Cherry_Lover
2011-06-23, 16:55
I know that Saber would protect her, but it's just that I've always thought Saber put Shirou slightly higher up on her priority list what with him being her master and all. And it's just that line seems to imply that Sakura and Shirou are on the same level which makes me think something must've happened between Sakura and Saber. If that WAS the the angle you were playing it at and it's because of Saber dealing with Shinji, then I just thought it would've been cool and kinda sweet if there was a scene afterwards where Saber considers Sakura in a new light and makes a mental to note to look over her too. But I'm just saying that.
Well, she clearly would put Shirou first, yes, but I don't see how what she said implies otherwise. Just because she's protecting them both that doesn't mean she cares about them both equally.
Heroslayer
2011-06-25, 19:36
What kind of father do you think Kiritsugu was?
Laidback, strict, or that happy median. I mean we know that he was frequently absent but what do you think he was when he was there for Shirou?
RadiantBeam
2011-06-25, 19:37
What kind of father do you think Kiritsugu was?
Laidback, strict, or that happy median. I mean we know that he was frequently absent but what do you think he was when he was there for Shirou?
From what we saw of him, at least, he seemed sort of laidback from what I could tell. Not especially strict with Shirou, unless he was doing something that could only end badly. But that's just my guess.
Cherry_Lover
2011-06-28, 15:48
From what we saw of him, at least, he seemed sort of laidback from what I could tell. Not especially strict with Shirou, unless he was doing something that could only end badly. But that's just my guess.
Yeah, I'd have to go with "laid back" too.
Heroslayer
2011-06-28, 23:47
From what we saw of him, at least, he seemed sort of laidback from what I could tell. Not especially strict with Shirou, unless he was doing something that could only end badly. But that's just my guess.
I agree, the problem is how laid back is he really.
Whatever, I'm going with a hands off parent. We see don't see much interaction between him and Shirou so I guess I'm going with creative licence here.
The only scene that I recall that has some normal interaction (barring the first meeting and final words which I take as special) is Shirou describing their sparring sessions which was basically them just beating the crap out of each other in Kendo gear if I recall.
warlock7
2011-06-30, 23:04
still,
also a story involving the less used charecters of issei, taiga, and other non involved entities, and their reaction to discovery of the magical conspirecy, or atleast some strangeness surounding shirou will be interesting too, the few such stories i found (one where ayako witnesses shirou in combat and he explains his inhuman battle- fanfic after the grail wars events, another where issei gets to summon archer) are too rare, and seem to be ob hiatus.
Tiresias
2011-06-30, 23:35
Well there is that one fic where they became Heroic Spirits and got summoned at the 5th war (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5204307/1/Fuyuki_High_Class_Reunion)
RadiantBeam
2011-07-02, 19:34
Well there is that one fic where they became Heroic Spirits and got summoned at the 5th war (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5204307/1/Fuyuki_High_Class_Reunion)
Oh Lord, I loved that fic. I had a hell of a time understanding what was going on, but when I did... priceless, simply priceless.
Heroslayer
2011-07-04, 19:40
Okay I've got a question. Before he summons Saber Shirou mentions that he dreams of swords and the background shows a blurry picture of what might by Caliburn.
I'm not sure if this is just Type Moon being lazy with their backgrounds or if this is Shirou actually dreaming of Caliburn before he summons Saber.
Well, he already has a connection to her due to Avalon, so it isn't a total stretch. Plus his affinity is Swords.
RadiantBeam
2011-07-13, 20:53
Okay, so no, Rider and Saber don't actually fight crime in these shorts... not yet, anyway. No major plot, no real bad guy, just two women who might or might not be friends hanging out, goofing around, and generally trying to survive their second lives and keep their sanity whenever Shirou and Sakura have sex. Might tread into Vitriolic Best Buds territory later depending on my mood with the shorts I write, since the very first attempt sort of came out nicer and fluffier than I intended.
Also, I apologize if both are OOC. This is my first time really attempting a major fic, even if only a drabble dump, with these two.
Now, onwards!
They Fight Crime
01.
It was half past midnight, and Saber was awake.
This was rather unusual. Saber always made it a point for her to be asleep well before, if not exactly at, midnight. It was early to go to bed and maybe she was picky about it, but it had been her schedule now for two years, ever since she had shed the corruption of the Grail and had started to live her second life in Fuyuki, a Servant bound to Matou Sakura. Early to bed, early to rise and all of that.
Usually.
The first problem was that she had trained Shirou a little later than usual today; the result of him getting a new upgrade in his body, and wanting to test out any new limitations he had as a result as he adjusted to the upgrade. So they had trained harder tonight, longer, and as a result hadn’t ended until well past eleven.
The second problem was that she had decided to shower after the training session, being sweaty and stinky and generally uncomfortable. In general, though, she didn’t linger in the bath and had been out relatively quickly, even if a little bit later than usual. It had still delayed her for getting to bed.
The third problem was that Saber, while a very heavy sleeper when she actually finally fell asleep—capable of sleeping through anything short of a threat against either of her Masters—needed time to actually get comfortable, close her eyes, and drift off. It was the real reason she went to sleep early.
The fourth and largest problem? Sakura and Shirou were having sex.
Loudly.
Saber had never known the walls between their rooms was so thin until tonight. She had also never known until tonight that Sakura was a screamer.
“Oh, yes! Oh God! Senpai! Do it harder!”
Groaning, Saber shoved her head under her pillow in a vain attempt to drown out the sound, already curled up in her blanket like a caterpillar in a cocoon. So far, short of knocking herself out with the blunt end of Excalibur, nothing she had tried was allowing her to ignore the noise and go to sleep.
Silence fell on the other side of the wall. Tentatively, Saber peeked out from under her pillow. Maybe they had finished for the night?
“I want more, Senpai!”
“… Dammit,” the blonde Servant muttered, and shoved her head back under her pillow. This wasn’t working.
Time for plan B, then.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
Under the soft amber glow of her lamp, Rider figured she would read for another hour or so before calling it a night; she was working a late shift at the library tomorrow, so she could afford to stay up late and enjoy her favorite pastime.
It wasn’t like she needed the job; when she had decided to move out of the Emiya household and live on her own, Sakura had insisted that she take part of the money the other girl had made from selling the Matou mansion, despite Rider’s protests. All things considered, she was rather comfortable; she just liked the job, and enjoyed having something to do.
She was getting up to the rather steamy love scene in the novel when she heard a knock on her door. She blinked, adjusted her glasses, and glanced at her clock; yep, it was almost one in the morning. Who could possibly be visiting at this time?
Since her first thought was about Sakura and possibly trouble, she was out of her chair and unlocking her door in a minute. She blinked when, instead of seeing her purple-haired Master, she saw a small, blonde-haired, green-eyed, rather frazzled looking woman.
“Hello, Rider. Do you mind if I spend the night?”
Rider blinked… then smirked, a small, slightly amused gleam entering her eyes. “Shirou and Sakura?”
Saber nodded, her pillow hugged to her chest and a spare blanket under her other arm. “They’re very…” She twitched. “Energetic. I can sleep on the couch.”
“Oh, please. Sakura would scold me.” Rider closed the door as Saber came in, then followed at her heels, lightly guiding her to the bedroom even as the smaller woman balked at the entry, a problem quickly solved by a light shove. “We’ve shared a bed before, remember? You’re one of my better bedmates.”
A brief memory flashed for both of them; bloody and battered, exhausted from the battle and destroying the Grail, collapsing on the nearest bed they could find and passing out, not even caring they were still covered in blood.
Saber nodded after a moment. “You have a large bed, anyway. I don’t take up much room.”
“Exactly.” Pleased that the other Servant understood her logic, Rider plucked her book up from her dresser. “I’m leaving the lamp on, though. I want to finish this book.”
“It’s perfectly fine. I can sleep through anything.” Except Shirou and Sakura, she mused, and barely suppressed a shudder as she set down her pillow on the bed and crawled under the covers, leaving her blanket folded neatly in Rider’s nearby rocking chair. “I hope I don’t disturb you. I need to get up a little early to run some errands for Raiga.”
“As long as you don’t snore, we’re fine.”
Saber snorted and shook her head. “I don’t even want to know.”
Rider smirked.
DezoPenguin
2011-07-13, 23:00
Okay, so no, Rider and Saber don't actually fight crime in these shorts... not yet, anyway. No major plot, no real bad guy, just two women who might or might not be friends hanging out, goofing around, and generally trying to survive their second lives and keep their sanity whenever Shirou and Sakura have sex. Might tread into Vitriolic Best Buds territory later depending on my mood with the shorts I write, since the very first attempt sort of came out nicer and fluffier than I intended.
Also, I apologize if both are OOC. This is my first time really attempting a major fic, even if only a drabble dump, with these two.
Now, onwards!
They Fight Crime
01.
It was half past midnight, and Saber was awake.
This was rather unusual. Saber always made it a point for her to be asleep well before, if not exactly at, midnight. It was early to go to bed and maybe she was picky about it, but it had been her schedule now for two years, ever since she had shed the corruption of the Grail and had started to live her second life in Fuyuki, a Servant bound to Matou Sakura. Early to bed, early to rise and all of that.
Usually.
The first problem was that she had trained Shirou a little later than usual today; the result of him getting a new upgrade in his body, and wanting to test out any new limitations he had as a result as he adjusted to the upgrade. So they had trained harder tonight, longer, and as a result hadn’t ended until well past eleven.
The second problem was that she had decided to shower after the training session, being sweaty and stinky and generally uncomfortable. In general, though, she didn’t linger in the bath and had been out relatively quickly, even if a little bit later than usual. It had still delayed her for getting to bed.
The third problem was that Saber, while a very heavy sleeper when she actually finally fell asleep—capable of sleeping through anything short of a threat against either of her Masters—needed time to actually get comfortable, close her eyes, and drift off. It was the real reason she went to sleep early.
The fourth and largest problem? Sakura and Shirou were having sex.
Loudly.
Saber had never known the walls between their rooms was so thin until tonight. She had also never known until tonight that Sakura was a screamer.
“Oh, yes! Oh God! Senpai! Do it harder!”
Groaning, Saber shoved her head under her pillow in a vain attempt to drown out the sound, already curled up in her blanket like a caterpillar in a cocoon. So far, short of knocking herself out with the blunt end of Excalibur, nothing she had tried was allowing her to ignore the noise and go to sleep.
Silence fell on the other side of the wall. Tentatively, Saber peeked out from under her pillow. Maybe they had finished for the night?
“I want more, Senpai!”
“… Dammit,” the blonde Servant muttered, and shoved her head back under her pillow. This wasn’t working.
Time for plan B, then.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
Under the soft amber glow of her lamp, Rider figured she would read for another hour or so before calling it a night; she was working a late shift at the library tomorrow, so she could afford to stay up late and enjoy her favorite pastime.
It wasn’t like she needed the job; when she had decided to move out of the Emiya household and live on her own, Sakura had insisted that she take part of the money the other girl had made from selling the Matou mansion, despite Rider’s protests. All things considered, she was rather comfortable; she just liked the job, and enjoyed having something to do.
She was getting up to the rather steamy love scene in the novel when she heard a knock on her door. She blinked, adjusted her glasses, and glanced at her clock; yep, it was almost one in the morning. Who could possibly be visiting at this time?
Since her first thought was about Sakura and possibly trouble, she was out of her chair and unlocking her door in a minute. She blinked when, instead of seeing her purple-haired Master, she saw a small, blonde-haired, green-eyed, rather frazzled looking woman.
“Hello, Rider. Do you mind if I spend the night?”
Rider blinked… then smirked, a small, slightly amused gleam entering her eyes. “Shirou and Sakura?”
Saber nodded, her pillow hugged to her chest and a spare blanket under her other arm. “They’re very…” She twitched. “Energetic. I can sleep on the couch.”
“Oh, please. Sakura would scold me.” Rider closed the door as Saber came in, then followed at her heels, lightly guiding her to the bedroom even as the smaller woman balked at the entry, a problem quickly solved by a light shove. “We’ve shared a bed before, remember? You’re one of my better bedmates.”
A brief memory flashed for both of them; bloody and battered, exhausted from the battle and destroying the Grail, collapsing on the nearest bed they could find and passing out, not even caring they were still covered in blood.
Saber nodded after a moment. “You have a large bed, anyway. I don’t take up much room.”
“Exactly.” Pleased that the other Servant understood her logic, Rider plucked her book up from her dresser. “I’m leaving the lamp on, though. I want to finish this book.”
“It’s perfectly fine. I can sleep through anything.” Except Shirou and Sakura, she mused, and barely suppressed a shudder as she set down her pillow on the bed and crawled under the covers, leaving her blanket folded neatly in Rider’s nearby rocking chair. “I hope I don’t disturb you. I need to get up a little early to run some errands for Raiga.”
“As long as you don’t snore, we’re fine.”
Saber snorted and shook her head. “I don’t even want to know.”
Rider smirked.
*snicker* at the whole thing. :D Screamer jokes seem to be in. :p So...this is something like a HF True AU where Saber somehow survived, then?
(Saber is so cute when she's flustered! :D )
Okay, so no, Rider and Saber don't actually fight crime in these shorts... not yet, anyway. No major plot, no real bad guy, just two women who might or might not be friends hanging out, goofing around, and generally trying to survive their second lives and keep their sanity whenever Shirou and Sakura have sex. Might tread into Vitriolic Best Buds territory later depending on my mood with the shorts I write, since the very first attempt sort of came out nicer and fluffier than I intended.
Also, I apologize if both are OOC. This is my first time really attempting a major fic, even if only a drabble dump, with these two.
Now, onwards!
They Fight Crime
01.
It was half past midnight, and Saber was awake.
This was rather unusual. Saber always made it a point for her to be asleep well before, if not exactly at, midnight. It was early to go to bed and maybe she was picky about it, but it had been her schedule now for two years, ever since she had shed the corruption of the Grail and had started to live her second life in Fuyuki, a Servant bound to Matou Sakura. Early to bed, early to rise and all of that.
Usually.
The first problem was that she had trained Shirou a little later than usual today; the result of him getting a new upgrade in his body, and wanting to test out any new limitations he had as a result as he adjusted to the upgrade. So they had trained harder tonight, longer, and as a result hadn’t ended until well past eleven.
The second problem was that she had decided to shower after the training session, being sweaty and stinky and generally uncomfortable. In general, though, she didn’t linger in the bath and had been out relatively quickly, even if a little bit later than usual. It had still delayed her for getting to bed.
The third problem was that Saber, while a very heavy sleeper when she actually finally fell asleep—capable of sleeping through anything short of a threat against either of her Masters—needed time to actually get comfortable, close her eyes, and drift off. It was the real reason she went to sleep early.
The fourth and largest problem? Sakura and Shirou were having sex.
Loudly.
Saber had never known the walls between their rooms was so thin until tonight. She had also never known until tonight that Sakura was a screamer.
“Oh, yes! Oh God! Senpai! Do it harder!”
Groaning, Saber shoved her head under her pillow in a vain attempt to drown out the sound, already curled up in her blanket like a caterpillar in a cocoon. So far, short of knocking herself out with the blunt end of Excalibur, nothing she had tried was allowing her to ignore the noise and go to sleep.
Silence fell on the other side of the wall. Tentatively, Saber peeked out from under her pillow. Maybe they had finished for the night?
“I want more, Senpai!”
“… Dammit,” the blonde Servant muttered, and shoved her head back under her pillow. This wasn’t working.
Time for plan B, then.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
Under the soft amber glow of her lamp, Rider figured she would read for another hour or so before calling it a night; she was working a late shift at the library tomorrow, so she could afford to stay up late and enjoy her favorite pastime.
It wasn’t like she needed the job; when she had decided to move out of the Emiya household and live on her own, Sakura had insisted that she take part of the money the other girl had made from selling the Matou mansion, despite Rider’s protests. All things considered, she was rather comfortable; she just liked the job, and enjoyed having something to do.
She was getting up to the rather steamy love scene in the novel when she heard a knock on her door. She blinked, adjusted her glasses, and glanced at her clock; yep, it was almost one in the morning. Who could possibly be visiting at this time?
Since her first thought was about Sakura and possibly trouble, she was out of her chair and unlocking her door in a minute. She blinked when, instead of seeing her purple-haired Master, she saw a small, blonde-haired, green-eyed, rather frazzled looking woman.
“Hello, Rider. Do you mind if I spend the night?”
Rider blinked… then smirked, a small, slightly amused gleam entering her eyes. “Shirou and Sakura?”
Saber nodded, her pillow hugged to her chest and a spare blanket under her other arm. “They’re very…” She twitched. “Energetic. I can sleep on the couch.”
“Oh, please. Sakura would scold me.” Rider closed the door as Saber came in, then followed at her heels, lightly guiding her to the bedroom even as the smaller woman balked at the entry, a problem quickly solved by a light shove. “We’ve shared a bed before, remember? You’re one of my better bedmates.”
A brief memory flashed for both of them; bloody and battered, exhausted from the battle and destroying the Grail, collapsing on the nearest bed they could find and passing out, not even caring they were still covered in blood.
Saber nodded after a moment. “You have a large bed, anyway. I don’t take up much room.”
“Exactly.” Pleased that the other Servant understood her logic, Rider plucked her book up from her dresser. “I’m leaving the lamp on, though. I want to finish this book.”
“It’s perfectly fine. I can sleep through anything.” Except Shirou and Sakura, she mused, and barely suppressed a shudder as she set down her pillow on the bed and crawled under the covers, leaving her blanket folded neatly in Rider’s nearby rocking chair. “I hope I don’t disturb you. I need to get up a little early to run some errands for Raiga.”
“As long as you don’t snore, we’re fine.”
Saber snorted and shook her head. “I don’t even want to know.”
Rider smirked.
Hee hee hee. :D
Poor Saber. The sad thing is that I can picture Sakura as a screamer all-too-easily. I imagine Rider spends a lot of sleepless nights in HF True. XD
As before, Beams, a vet promising start. I approve and can't wait to see more. :)
RadiantBeam
2011-07-14, 08:01
So...this is something like a HF True AU where Saber somehow survived, then?
Yep, yep. Backstory isn't really a major issue at the moment since this is mostly a humor friendship piece, but it'll come up every now and again.
Kuroi Hadou
2011-07-14, 08:07
Okay, so no, Rider and Saber don't actually fight crime in these shorts... not yet, anyway. No major plot, no real bad guy, just two women who might or might not be friends hanging out, goofing around, and generally trying to survive their second lives and keep their sanity whenever Shirou and Sakura have sex. Might tread into Vitriolic Best Buds territory later depending on my mood with the shorts I write, since the very first attempt sort of came out nicer and fluffier than I intended.
Also, I apologize if both are OOC. This is my first time really attempting a major fic, even if only a drabble dump, with these two.
Now, onwards!
*snip*
Great start; can't wait to see where, exactly, you're going with the story. Though it seems like it'll be a collection of one-shots, but I could be wrong. So will this take place over a few weeks, or will it be much longer in span?
RadiantBeam
2011-07-14, 08:10
Great start; can't wait to see where, exactly, you're going with the story. Though it seems like it'll be a collection of one-shots, but I could be wrong. So will this take place over a few weeks, or will it be much longer in span?
There's no set time limit for the story. At the moment it's just going to be a lighthearted little drabble dump. It pretty much jumps all over the place.
Kuroi Hadou
2011-07-14, 08:10
There's no set time limit for the story. At the moment it's just going to be a lighthearted little drabble dump. It pretty much jumps all over the place.
So... a collection of one-shots? :heh:
RadiantBeam
2011-07-14, 10:40
02.
“Absolutely not.”
Saber pouted.
It was rare for her to do such a thing, but even she had her moments where a pout seemed to be in order. Considering that she was God only knew how old in mind and at the least fifteen years old in body, the effect was rather staggering for anyone who wasn’t Rider.
The taller woman scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. “I said no. Do you know how long it took me to save up enough money to get that bike?”
“I am highly ranked in riding, in case you forgot,” the green-eyed woman reminded her companion. “And I rode a motorcycle in the Fourth War.”
The look on Rider’s face told her that it didn’t make one lick of difference. Saber sighed. “Rider, it’s just a motorcycle. Even if by some chance I scratch it, it can be repainted.”
“That really isn’t the main problem here…”
“I’m good enough to not crash.”
Cue eyebrow raise.
“The way you doubt my skill is a real confidence booster, Rider.”
“I’m not doubting your skill, Saber. I just don’t want you anywhere near my bike.”
The truth was, Rider was probably being a little bit overprotective of her motorcycle. It wasn’t like it was brand new, and it had gotten its fair share of bangs and scratches while she owned it. The point was, it was hers; it was something she had bought after saving up from working at the library, something she had bought with her own money instead of the money Sakura had given her when she had moved out.
So in her mind, any and all overprotective gestures were warranted. It was her bike, dammit. She had worked hard to buy it.
Rider grimaced and decided on a compromise of sorts. “Look, if you really want to ride it, you can hold on to me and I’ll drive.”
Now Saber lifted an eyebrow.
“It’s not like we’ll have sex on it, Saber.”
“I doubt it’s large enough to support the two of us, anyway.”
“You’ve been hearing Shirou and Sakura going at it too much lately,” Rider decided, now sliding her hands into her pockets.
Saber grimaced. “Now you know why I’m usually out of the house all day.”
This awkward turn in the conversation was thankfully saved when Sakura came into the kitchen, evidently looking for a snack to hold her through the day until Shirou came home and was ready to cook dinner with her. She paused when she saw the two Servants, then blinked. “Oh, Rider! Um, I forgot, but about your bike…”
Rider glanced at her Master, sliding her glasses up her nose as they slipped. “Yes, Sakura?”
“Well, uh, Nee-san borrowed it this afternoon. Said something about crossing into alternate dimensions and outracing wrestling blondes. She promised to try and bring it back in one piece, and… Rider? You’ve gone pale.”
“That shade of white is rather unhealthy,” Saber noted, and tried to swallow her snickers even as her shoulders shook.
A bit shorter than the first drabble, but sadly I could only take this gag so far. Ah well.
Cherry_Lover
2011-07-14, 14:28
Poor Saber. The sad thing is that I can picture Sakura as a screamer all-too-easily. I imagine Rider spends a lot of sleepless nights in HF True. XD
Well, Rider is a servant, so she doesn't actually need to sleep. And, knowing her, she probably sneaks in and watches or something....
Flere821
2011-07-14, 17:03
02.*snip*.
A bit shorter than the first drabble, but sadly I could only take this gag so far. Ah well.
Well, that certainly gave me a few chuckles. Good job :)
RadiantBeam
2011-07-17, 20:54
So originally I planned to write out something more funny, namely the short focused on Rider's hair and its effect on Saber while riding a motorcycle. But the discussion between Mike and Lethum on BL inspired me, so I blame them for this.
03.
It always impressed Rider just how good at video games Saber was. Granted, her preferences for games ran about as far as “fantasy adventure” before she stopped hunting around for something to play, but it was still overall rather impressive to watch a woman from ancient times playing a PlayStation 2 like it was nothing.
And watching Saber helped distract Rider from some of her darker, more serious thoughts at times.
Usually.
“Hey, Saber.” Absently setting down her book when it was clear she wouldn’t be able to get into the story, Rider rested her chin in her propped up hand as she watched the blonde Servant play, killing time before Sakura and Shirou returned home from shopping with Taiga. “Do you think you could ever have a relationship with Shirou?”
Saber blinked, the only sign that her concentration had been rattled. The other sign was when her player character failed to complete its attack and was brutally squashed by the invading dragon. Ignoring the now flashing “Game Over” sign, she lowered her controller and glanced at Rider. “That was sudden.”
Rider shrugged.
After a moment of contemplative silence, Saber shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said honestly. “I care for Shirou, as a friend. But a part of me will always want to protect him first, and I don’t think that would ever be good if we wanted to be together. Romantically.”
“Oh?”
“He is my Master.”
To Saber, it was just that simple; she didn’t need to say anything else, and Rider seemed to understand. Turning back to the game, Saber clicked the button for it to resume, and once again set about to trying to slay the pesky dragon. She played on like this for a few moments in silence, before she finally accepted her own curiosity.
“Hey, Rider.”
“Hm?”
“Did you ever consider the same thing with Sakura?”
Her player character died again, this time because she didn’t bother ordering it to move when the mobs started attacking things with fire and pitchforks. Saber paid it no mind, waiting to see if Rider would answer her.
Finally, after the silence had stretched and thickened to a point where Saber wondered if maybe she had crossed a line, Rider spoke.
“I admit, I did.” She sounded sheepish and amused with herself, making the shorter woman glance back at her. “But, well, she has Shirou. And I don’t know if our relationship would ever be… right, if it had happened.”
“… Right?”
“Like you said, Sakura is my Master.” Rider slid her glasses up her nose and adjusted them, needing something to do with her hands. “I care about her deeply, and I want what’s best for her. I always have. But…” She shrugged again. “It would be hard. Part of me would always see her as my Master, as someone I should value and care for more than myself. I don’t think we could ever have an equal relationship with my mindset like that, at least not without a lot of work.”
“And she has Shirou,” Saber murmured, meeting the taller woman’s gaze.
“And she has Shirou,” Rider repeated, picking up her book and going back to it, apparently.
Saber continued to gaze at Rider, mulling her words over; she blinked, as if something had finally snapped itself together in her mind. “Rider,” she began cautiously, “is that why you moved out?”
Rider glanced up from her book. Her only response to Saber’s question was a small, slight smile.
Deciding to leave it at that, Saber turned back and started her game over again, letting the noise of the battle drown out the thickening silence. After a moment, she reached over and plucked up the extra controller, offering it to Rider. “Here.”
Startled, Rider looked blankly at her. “Excuse me?”
“Play with me, Rider. It’s more entertaining in two-person battle mode.”
Rider blinked several times, as if processing this strange request; it wasn’t as if Saber had never played with anyone before, but she had never asked the lilac-haired woman before this moment. After a few seconds, she set down her book and scooted down onto the floor to sit beside Saber, accepting the controller she offered. “Don’t blame me if I take out your last life,” she warned, eyeing the controller dubiously. “I’ve never played this game before.”
Saber chuckled and hit the reset button. “Don’t worry. There are save points.”
So yeah.
I realize in canon Rider has a thing for Shirou, but.... AU, so she has a thing for Sakura only here instead. How this messes with her sexuality and her preferences, I am not touching with a ten foot pole. I'm simply going to say that I always sort of imagined Rider as bisexual. I was also purposely vague on Rider's reasons for moving out; you can assume it was because of Sakura, or for some other reason that hasn't been mentioned or explained yet.
So originally I planned to write out something more funny, namely the short focused on Rider's hair and its effect on Saber while riding a motorcycle. But the discussion between Mike and Lethum on BL inspired me, so I blame them for this.
03.
It always impressed Rider just how good at video games Saber was. Granted, her preferences for games ran about as far as “fantasy adventure” before she stopped hunting around for something to play, but it was still overall rather impressive to watch a woman from ancient times playing a PlayStation 2 like it was nothing.
And watching Saber helped distract Rider from some of her darker, more serious thoughts at times.
Usually.
“Hey, Saber.” Absently setting down her book when it was clear she wouldn’t be able to get into the story, Rider rested her chin in her propped up hand as she watched the blonde Servant play, killing time before Sakura and Shirou returned home from shopping with Taiga. “Do you think you could ever have a relationship with Shirou?”
Saber blinked, the only sign that her concentration had been rattled. The other sign was when her player character failed to complete its attack and was brutally squashed by the invading dragon. Ignoring the now flashing “Game Over” sign, she lowered her controller and glanced at Rider. “That was sudden.”
Rider shrugged.
After a moment of contemplative silence, Saber shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said honestly. “I care for Shirou, as a friend. But a part of me will always want to protect him first, and I don’t think that would ever be good if we wanted to be together. Romantically.”
“Oh?”
“He is my Master.”
To Saber, it was just that simple; she didn’t need to say anything else, and Rider seemed to understand. Turning back to the game, Saber clicked the button for it to resume, and once again set about to trying to slay the pesky dragon. She played on like this for a few moments in silence, before she finally accepted her own curiosity.
“Hey, Rider.”
“Hm?”
“Did you ever consider the same thing with Sakura?”
Her player character died again, this time because she didn’t bother ordering it to move when the mobs started attacking things with fire and pitchforks. Saber paid it no mind, waiting to see if Rider would answer her.
Finally, after the silence had stretched and thickened to a point where Saber wondered if maybe she had crossed a line, Rider spoke.
“I admit, I did.” She sounded sheepish and amused with herself, making the shorter woman glance back at her. “But, well, she has Shirou. And I don’t know if our relationship would ever be… right, if it had happened.”
“… Right?”
“Like you said, Sakura is my Master.” Rider slid her glasses up her nose and adjusted them, needing something to do with her hands. “I care about her deeply, and I want what’s best for her. I always have. But…” She shrugged again. “It would be hard. Part of me would always see her as my Master, as someone I should value and care for more than myself. I don’t think we could ever have an equal relationship with my mindset like that, at least not without a lot of work.”
“And she has Shirou,” Saber murmured, meeting the taller woman’s gaze.
“And she has Shirou,” Rider repeated, picking up her book and going back to it, apparently.
Saber continued to gaze at Rider, mulling her words over; she blinked, as if something had finally snapped itself together in her mind. “Rider,” she began cautiously, “is that why you moved out?”
Rider glanced up from her book. Her only response to Saber’s question was a small, slight smile.
Deciding to leave it at that, Saber turned back and started her game over again, letting the noise of the battle drown out the thickening silence. After a moment, she reached over and plucked up the extra controller, offering it to Rider. “Here.”
Startled, Rider looked blankly at her. “Excuse me?”
“Play with me, Rider. It’s more entertaining in two-person battle mode.”
Rider blinked several times, as if processing this strange request; it wasn’t as if Saber had never played with anyone before, but she had never asked the lilac-haired woman before this moment. After a few seconds, she set down her book and scooted down onto the floor to sit beside Saber, accepting the controller she offered. “Don’t blame me if I take out your last life,” she warned, eyeing the controller dubiously. “I’ve never played this game before.”
Saber chuckled and hit the reset button. “Don’t worry. There are save points.”
So yeah.
I realize in canon Rider has a thing for Shirou, but.... AU, so she has a thing for Sakura only here instead. How this messes with her sexuality and her preferences, I am not touching with a ten foot pole. I'm simply going to say that I always sort of imagined Rider as bisexual. I was also purposely vague on Rider's reasons for moving out; you can assume it was because of Sakura, or for some other reason that hasn't been mentioned or explained yet.
I'm not sure why, exactly, but I find it pretty easy to picture Saber as being good at video games. She just seems like one of those people who would seem bad at them but actually surprise everyone by being awesome when she actually tries them. :heh:
... also, good short, and a solid beginning to the more serious side of this drabble dump. XD
Tiresias
2011-07-17, 21:11
Also, I apologize if both are OOC. This is my first time really attempting a major fic, even if only a drabble dump, with these two.
*Looks at your other works*
What constitutes as a major fic, again? :heh:
They Fight Crime
...I thought all H-game girls are screamers? :naughty:
RadiantBeam
2011-07-17, 21:12
...I thought all H-game girls are screamers? :naughty:
Saber curses the fact that the wall between her room and Shirou's is so thin. :p
DezoPenguin
2011-07-17, 21:57
So originally I planned to write out something more funny, namely the short focused on Rider's hair and its effect on Saber while riding a motorcycle. But the discussion between Mike and Lethum on BL inspired me, so I blame them for this.
03.
It always impressed Rider just how good at video games Saber was. Granted, her preferences for games ran about as far as “fantasy adventure” before she stopped hunting around for something to play, but it was still overall rather impressive to watch a woman from ancient times playing a PlayStation 2 like it was nothing.
And watching Saber helped distract Rider from some of her darker, more serious thoughts at times.
Usually.
“Hey, Saber.” Absently setting down her book when it was clear she wouldn’t be able to get into the story, Rider rested her chin in her propped up hand as she watched the blonde Servant play, killing time before Sakura and Shirou returned home from shopping with Taiga. “Do you think you could ever have a relationship with Shirou?”
Saber blinked, the only sign that her concentration had been rattled. The other sign was when her player character failed to complete its attack and was brutally squashed by the invading dragon. Ignoring the now flashing “Game Over” sign, she lowered her controller and glanced at Rider. “That was sudden.”
Rider shrugged.
After a moment of contemplative silence, Saber shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said honestly. “I care for Shirou, as a friend. But a part of me will always want to protect him first, and I don’t think that would ever be good if we wanted to be together. Romantically.”
“Oh?”
“He is my Master.”
To Saber, it was just that simple; she didn’t need to say anything else, and Rider seemed to understand. Turning back to the game, Saber clicked the button for it to resume, and once again set about to trying to slay the pesky dragon. She played on like this for a few moments in silence, before she finally accepted her own curiosity.
“Hey, Rider.”
“Hm?”
“Did you ever consider the same thing with Sakura?”
Her player character died again, this time because she didn’t bother ordering it to move when the mobs started attacking things with fire and pitchforks. Saber paid it no mind, waiting to see if Rider would answer her.
Finally, after the silence had stretched and thickened to a point where Saber wondered if maybe she had crossed a line, Rider spoke.
“I admit, I did.” She sounded sheepish and amused with herself, making the shorter woman glance back at her. “But, well, she has Shirou. And I don’t know if our relationship would ever be… right, if it had happened.”
“… Right?”
“Like you said, Sakura is my Master.” Rider slid her glasses up her nose and adjusted them, needing something to do with her hands. “I care about her deeply, and I want what’s best for her. I always have. But…” She shrugged again. “It would be hard. Part of me would always see her as my Master, as someone I should value and care for more than myself. I don’t think we could ever have an equal relationship with my mindset like that, at least not without a lot of work.”
“And she has Shirou,” Saber murmured, meeting the taller woman’s gaze.
“And she has Shirou,” Rider repeated, picking up her book and going back to it, apparently.
Saber continued to gaze at Rider, mulling her words over; she blinked, as if something had finally snapped itself together in her mind. “Rider,” she began cautiously, “is that why you moved out?”
Rider glanced up from her book. Her only response to Saber’s question was a small, slight smile.
Deciding to leave it at that, Saber turned back and started her game over again, letting the noise of the battle drown out the thickening silence. After a moment, she reached over and plucked up the extra controller, offering it to Rider. “Here.”
Startled, Rider looked blankly at her. “Excuse me?”
“Play with me, Rider. It’s more entertaining in two-person battle mode.”
Rider blinked several times, as if processing this strange request; it wasn’t as if Saber had never played with anyone before, but she had never asked the lilac-haired woman before this moment. After a few seconds, she set down her book and scooted down onto the floor to sit beside Saber, accepting the controller she offered. “Don’t blame me if I take out your last life,” she warned, eyeing the controller dubiously. “I’ve never played this game before.”
Saber chuckled and hit the reset button. “Don’t worry. There are save points.”
So yeah.
I realize in canon Rider has a thing for Shirou, but.... AU, so she has a thing for Sakura only here instead. How this messes with her sexuality and her preferences, I am not touching with a ten foot pole. I'm simply going to say that I always sort of imagined Rider as bisexual. I was also purposely vague on Rider's reasons for moving out; you can assume it was because of Sakura, or for some other reason that hasn't been mentioned or explained yet.
Isn't Sakura Saber's Master now? (Though I certainly can see Saber not thinking of previous loyalties as vanishing due to mere flukes of chance). And as far as Rider...am I totally off, or wasn't she once thinking threesome in /hollow ataraxia? She certainly has the requisite feelings of love, care, and devotion for Sakura, so it's merely a question of whether there's also sexual attraction...
Rin: *stretching* If they're not all bi now, they will be. :naughty:
(More seriously, since Saber never asked about Shirou, canon is not disturbed in this case...)
And I agree with Moczo; Saber seems the sort of person who would surprise with unexpected proficiency--though if she started with a motion-capture game system, her first play she'd probably try to hit her opponent with the Wiimote before getting straightened out with the instructions. :heh:
RadiantBeam
2011-07-17, 22:01
Isn't Sakura Saber's Master now? (Though I certainly can see Saber not thinking of previous loyalties as vanishing due to mere flukes of chance). And as far as Rider...am I totally off, or wasn't she once thinking threesome in /hollow ataraxia? She certainly has the requisite feelings of love, care, and devotion for Sakura, so it's merely a question of whether there's also sexual attraction...
Well, my take on Saber here is similar to how she was in UBW when Rin was her Master; she would obey her duty and protect Rin, but for her, Shirou came first and always would, and I just figured that even after everything, she'd have the same kind of attitude with Sakura as her Master. And yes, Rider was involved in the threesome, though I have never actually seen it.
And I agree with Moczo; Saber seems the sort of person who would surprise with unexpected proficiency--though if she started with a motion-capture game system, her first play she'd probably try to hit her opponent with the Wiimote before getting straightened out with the instructions. :heh:
Shirou: Saber, what happened to the TV?
Saber: *holding beaten Wii remote* Uh...
Tiresias
2011-07-17, 22:09
Shirou: Saber, what happened to the TV?
Saber: *holding beaten Wii remote* Uh...
Reminded me of that one story of Sagara Sousuke, his personal sidearm, and a shooting arcade :heh:
Cherry_Lover
2011-07-18, 15:49
Isn't Sakura Saber's Master now? (Though I certainly can see Saber not thinking of previous loyalties as vanishing due to mere flukes of chance).
Yes, technically, but Sakura is hardly likely to complain if Saber puts Shirou first, and Saber seems more likely to remain attached to her "original" master even if she is technically Sakura's servant (like she does in UBW).
And as far as Rider...am I totally off, or wasn't she once thinking threesome in /hollow ataraxia?
She actually creates an avatar of Sakura to have a threesome with Shirou in a dream, in fact (and then has said avatar humiliate her in front of him...). So, yeah, there are definite signs there.
She certainly has the requisite feelings of love, care, and devotion for Sakura, so it's merely a question of whether there's also sexual attraction...
Well, Sakura is hot, and Rider is definitely bisexual, so it would make sense that she would be attracted to her.
Well, my take on Saber here is similar to how she was in UBW when Rin was her Master; she would obey her duty and protect Rin, but for her, Shirou came first and always would, and I just figured that even after everything, she'd have the same kind of attitude with Sakura as her Master.
Yeah. And it's hardly like there's any conflict there, either, because if she asked Sakura about it, she would likely want Saber to protect Shirou even at her expense, so (much like with Rin in UBW) being Sakura's servant would come with an implicit instruction to protect Shirou anyway.
With our own Beamspam's permission, I have written a short for They Fight Crime which I now wish to present. I may have others, if this gets a good response.
Rider arced one perfect eyebrow, the slightest of smiles curving her lips. “Again?” was the only word she spoke.
Saber sighed. “Again.”
“Well, it’s good that they’re… vigorous, I suppose.” Rider said, attempting to suppress her giggles. “Healthy.”
“Loud.” Saber said. “I realize it is inconvenient, but may I please spend the night here again? I will get absolutely no sleep at my normal lodgings.”
“Of course. As I mentioned earlier, you’re among the better bedmates I’ve had.”
“Fortunately, I did foresee this eventuality, and prepared accordingly. I am no longer sorely unprepared, as I was in my previous, overhasty visit. I have compiled a travel kit containing toiletries, pajamas, and clothing for tomorrow.”
Unable to contain her mirth fully, Rider allowed a gentle laugh. “You don’t have to treat staying here like preparing for combat.”
Saber blinked a few times. “Preparation is key for any situation.”
“You can take the knight out of the war, but you can’t take the war out of the knight.” Rider said, allowing another small chuckle. “Feel free to unpack anywhere. I was actually planning to turn in early, so I’ll be in bed. Tuck yourself in whenever you like.”
With that, the blonde Servant nodded and went into the bathroom to change, while Rider went to her small bedroom and crawled into bed. She was a fairly light sleeper, and so when Saber entered the room and crawled into bed she was still quite awake... and thus able to give another tiny smile as Saber literally fell asleep within seconds of her head hitting the pillow, not so much sleeping as lapsing into an instant coma.
Honestly… one wonders how she stayed so thin in her mortal life, considering how much she takes to food and sleep. Rider thought. As odd as it was, she was still smiling. She had to admit, Saber brought out a certain amused spirit that didn’t often come to the surface with her personali—
“GAAAAAAAAK!” Rider squawked, leaping out of the bed as something so cold it nearly hurt pressed against her bare calf.
Rider tore the covers away, seeking the scorpion that had apparently burst into her bed while she wasn’t looking, but saw nothing untoward. Saber, amazingly, had slept through Rider’s near-death-experience without even stirring. She was still sound asleep in her simple flannel pajamas; modest, comfortable things that covered her from the neck down except for her hands and…
It couldn’t be. Rider thought.
Saber’s feet were bare. She usually wore stockings to sleep, but… and this had only just occurred to Rider… she had also never worn her pajamas when they’d shared a bed. The first time she had been in her armor, half-dead, the second in her street clothes after a frenzied rush away from Sakura.
Certainly her feet couldn’t be that cold. Perhaps I… imagined it? Or it was just the shock, and I will acclimate. I hate to wake her, she’s had a difficult day…
As quietly as she could (though Saber was such a deep sleeper she really needn’t have bothered), Rider tucked herself back in. She inched a little further from Saber, letting her eyes drift closed…
A razor blade made of liquid nitrogen ran down the small of her back, felt easily through the thin t-shirt she wore.
Geeeeeeeeeesh! She thought, biting her tongue to keep down the shriek.
All right, yes. It was Saber’s feet she felt, and they were freezing. Insanely, impossibly cold, the feet of a wild yeti ice beast attached to a tiny blonde.
I have to deal with this. I can’t sleep if she’s going to keep brushing those ice cubes against meEEEEEEEEEEEEK! Rider thought as the touch of Jack Frost slid down the front of her thigh. Wait, how’d she get her feet in front of me?!
“All right, this is ridiculous. Saber, wake up.” Rider said firmly. “GAAAAAAAAAAH!” She followed that up with, as a tiny shard of the Arctic pressed into her kidney.
“Oh, come on.” Rider muttered. Throwing off the blankets, she rolled over and shook Saber. “You cannot possibly be sleeping through this! You need to wake UAAAAAAAAH!” Rider squeaked as an icy dagger slid down the length of her shin. Damn, even asleep she was awfully fast!
“Okay, that is the last straw.” She snarled. “If I have to pick you up and force socks onto you, I w—“
White lights flashed behind Rider’s eyes as something impossibly fast, painfully strong, and seriously freaking cold slammed into the bridge of her nose, hurling her across the room.
More from shock than the pain (though there was, to be fair, pain), Rider stared at the sleeping Saber.
“… … … Face. Kick. How?!” She said. Her feet weren’t anywhere near my… how did she… what the huh?!
Still asleep, Saber murmured something incoherent and rolled until the comforter was once again gathered around her.
***
As the light of the early morning crept through the windows, Saber’s eyes fluttered open. “Ah. Thank you again, Rider, I doubt my night would have been so restful at my own… Rider?” Saber asked, looking next to her to find herself the sole occupant of the bed. Perhaps she awoke early to prepare breakfast?
Untangling herself from the sheets, Saber stood and exited the room to find something slightly… off.
Rider, her hair frazzled and a look of dissatisfaction on her face, was seated on her small sofa, staring at the bedroom door. She gave no indication of seeing Saber come through it.
“… Rider?” Saber said, a bit disconcerted by the not-quite-there look in the other Servant’s eyes. “Are you well?”
“Had to watch the bedroom. The feet could reach the couch. The door, worthless…” Rider murmured.
“… … … huh?” Saber said, eloquently.
“Saber!” Rider said, startling, as though she had only just noticed the other Servant entering the room.
“I… I have been here for…” Saber began. “Are you quite all right?”
Rider reached out, taking Saber’s hand. “We’re going. Right now. Shopping. Come with me, no questions. Right now..”
“Eh?”
“If you’re going to keep sleeping here, you need your own bed.” Rider said very, very firmly.
Then, after a moment, she added. “… and some thick socks.”
RadiantBeam
2011-07-29, 19:11
With our own Beamspam's permission, I have written a short for They Fight Crime which I now wish to present. I may have others, if this gets a good response.
Rider arced one perfect eyebrow, the slightest of smiles curving her lips. “Again?” was the only word she spoke.
Saber sighed. “Again.”
“Well, it’s good that they’re… vigorous, I suppose.” Rider said, attempting to suppress her giggles. “Healthy.”
“Loud.” Saber said. “I realize it is inconvenient, but may I please spend the night here again? I will get absolutely no sleep at my normal lodgings.”
“Of course. As I mentioned earlier, you’re among the better bedmates I’ve had.”
“Fortunately, I did foresee this eventuality, and prepared accordingly. I am no longer sorely unprepared, as I was in my previous, overhasty visit. I have compiled a travel kit containing toiletries, pajamas, and clothing for tomorrow.”
Unable to contain her mirth fully, Rider allowed a gentle laugh. “You don’t have to treat staying here like preparing for combat.”
Saber blinked a few times. “Preparation is key for any situation.”
“You can take the knight out of the war, but you can’t take the war out of the knight.” Rider said, allowing another small chuckle. “Feel free to unpack anywhere. I was actually planning to turn in early, so I’ll be in bed. Tuck yourself in whenever you like.”
With that, the blonde Servant nodded and went into the bathroom to change, while Rider went to her small bedroom and crawled into bed. She was a fairly light sleeper, and so when Saber entered the room and crawled into bed she was still quite awake... and thus able to give another tiny smile as Saber literally fell asleep within seconds of her head hitting the pillow, not so much sleeping as lapsing into an instant coma.
Honestly… one wonders how she stayed so thin in her mortal life, considering how much she takes to food and sleep. Rider thought. As odd as it was, she was still smiling. She had to admit, Saber brought out a certain amused spirit that didn’t often come to the surface with her personali—
“GAAAAAAAAK!” Rider squawked, leaping out of the bed as something so cold it nearly hurt pressed against her bare calf.
Rider tore the covers away, seeking the scorpion that had apparently burst into her bed while she wasn’t looking, but saw nothing untoward. Saber, amazingly, had slept through Rider’s near-death-experience without even stirring. She was still sound asleep in her simple flannel pajamas; modest, comfortable things that covered her from the neck down except for her hands and…
It couldn’t be. Rider thought.
Saber’s feet were bare. She usually wore stockings to sleep, but… and this had only just occurred to Rider… she had also never worn her pajamas when they’d shared a bed. The first time she had been in her armor, half-dead, the second in her street clothes after a frenzied rush away from Sakura.
Certainly her feet couldn’t be that cold. Perhaps I… imagined it? Or it was just the shock, and I will acclimate. I hate to wake her, she’s had a difficult day…
As quietly as she could (though Saber was such a deep sleeper she really needn’t have bothered), Rider tucked herself back in. She inched a little further from Saber, letting her eyes drift closed…
A razor blade made of liquid nitrogen ran down the small of her back, felt easily through the thin t-shirt she wore.
Geeeeeeeeeesh! She thought, biting her tongue to keep down the shriek.
All right, yes. It was Saber’s feet she felt, and they were freezing. Insanely, impossibly cold, the feet of a wild yeti ice beast attached to a tiny blonde.
I have to deal with this. I can’t sleep if she’s going to keep brushing those ice cubes against meEEEEEEEEEEEEK! Rider thought as the touch of Jack Frost slid down the front of her thigh. Wait, how’d she get her feet in front of me?!
“All right, this is ridiculous. Saber, wake up.” Rider said firmly. “GAAAAAAAAAAH!” She followed that up with, as a tiny shard of the Arctic pressed into her kidney.
“Oh, come on.” Rider muttered. Throwing off the blankets, she rolled over and shook Saber. “You cannot possibly be sleeping through this! You need to wake UAAAAAAAAH!” Rider squeaked as an icy dagger slid down the length of her shin. Damn, even asleep she was awfully fast!
“Okay, that is the last straw.” She snarled. “If I have to pick you up and force socks onto you, I w—“
White lights flashed behind Rider’s eyes as something impossibly fast, painfully strong, and seriously freaking cold slammed into the bridge of her nose, hurling her across the room.
More from shock than the pain (though there was, to be fair, pain), Rider stared at the sleeping Saber.
“… … … Face. Kick. How?!” She said. Her feet weren’t anywhere near my… how did she… what the huh?!
Still asleep, Saber murmured something incoherent and rolled until the comforter was once again gathered around her.
***
As the light of the early morning crept through the windows, Saber’s eyes fluttered open. “Ah. Thank you again, Rider, I doubt my night would have been so restful at my own… Rider?” Saber asked, looking next to her to find herself the sole occupant of the bed. Perhaps she awoke early to prepare breakfast?
Untangling herself from the sheets, Saber stood and exited the room to find something slightly… off.
Rider, her hair frazzled and a look of dissatisfaction on her face, was seated on her small sofa, staring at the bedroom door. She gave no indication of seeing Saber come through it.
“… Rider?” Saber said, a bit disconcerted by the not-quite-there look in the other Servant’s eyes. “Are you well?”
“Had to watch the bedroom. The feet could reach the couch. The door, worthless…” Rider murmured.
“… … … huh?” Saber said, eloquently.
“Saber!” Rider said, startling, as though she had only just noticed the other Servant entering the room.
“I… I have been here for…” Saber began. “Are you quite all right?”
Rider reached out, taking Saber’s hand. “We’re going. Right now. Shopping. Come with me, no questions. Right now..”
“Eh?”
“If you’re going to keep sleeping here, you need your own bed.” Rider said very, very firmly.
Then, after a moment, she added. “… and some thick socks.”
Saber's cold feet could be their own Noble Phantasm.
Flere821
2011-07-29, 22:42
With our own Beamspam's permission, I have written a short for They Fight Crime which I now wish to present. I may have others, if this gets a good response.
*snip*
*grins widely*
*gives Thumb's Up*
That is all. Carry on with your good work. :D
DezoPenguin
2011-08-01, 07:04
With our own Beamspam's permission, I have written a short for They Fight Crime which I now wish to present. I may have others, if this gets a good response.
Rider arced one perfect eyebrow, the slightest of smiles curving her lips. “Again?” was the only word she spoke.
Saber sighed. “Again.”
“Well, it’s good that they’re… vigorous, I suppose.” Rider said, attempting to suppress her giggles. “Healthy.”
“Loud.” Saber said. “I realize it is inconvenient, but may I please spend the night here again? I will get absolutely no sleep at my normal lodgings.”
“Of course. As I mentioned earlier, you’re among the better bedmates I’ve had.”
“Fortunately, I did foresee this eventuality, and prepared accordingly. I am no longer sorely unprepared, as I was in my previous, overhasty visit. I have compiled a travel kit containing toiletries, pajamas, and clothing for tomorrow.”
Unable to contain her mirth fully, Rider allowed a gentle laugh. “You don’t have to treat staying here like preparing for combat.”
Saber blinked a few times. “Preparation is key for any situation.”
“You can take the knight out of the war, but you can’t take the war out of the knight.” Rider said, allowing another small chuckle. “Feel free to unpack anywhere. I was actually planning to turn in early, so I’ll be in bed. Tuck yourself in whenever you like.”
With that, the blonde Servant nodded and went into the bathroom to change, while Rider went to her small bedroom and crawled into bed. She was a fairly light sleeper, and so when Saber entered the room and crawled into bed she was still quite awake... and thus able to give another tiny smile as Saber literally fell asleep within seconds of her head hitting the pillow, not so much sleeping as lapsing into an instant coma.
Honestly… one wonders how she stayed so thin in her mortal life, considering how much she takes to food and sleep. Rider thought. As odd as it was, she was still smiling. She had to admit, Saber brought out a certain amused spirit that didn’t often come to the surface with her personali—
“GAAAAAAAAK!” Rider squawked, leaping out of the bed as something so cold it nearly hurt pressed against her bare calf.
Rider tore the covers away, seeking the scorpion that had apparently burst into her bed while she wasn’t looking, but saw nothing untoward. Saber, amazingly, had slept through Rider’s near-death-experience without even stirring. She was still sound asleep in her simple flannel pajamas; modest, comfortable things that covered her from the neck down except for her hands and…
It couldn’t be. Rider thought.
Saber’s feet were bare. She usually wore stockings to sleep, but… and this had only just occurred to Rider… she had also never worn her pajamas when they’d shared a bed. The first time she had been in her armor, half-dead, the second in her street clothes after a frenzied rush away from Sakura.
Certainly her feet couldn’t be that cold. Perhaps I… imagined it? Or it was just the shock, and I will acclimate. I hate to wake her, she’s had a difficult day…
As quietly as she could (though Saber was such a deep sleeper she really needn’t have bothered), Rider tucked herself back in. She inched a little further from Saber, letting her eyes drift closed…
A razor blade made of liquid nitrogen ran down the small of her back, felt easily through the thin t-shirt she wore.
Geeeeeeeeeesh! She thought, biting her tongue to keep down the shriek.
All right, yes. It was Saber’s feet she felt, and they were freezing. Insanely, impossibly cold, the feet of a wild yeti ice beast attached to a tiny blonde.
I have to deal with this. I can’t sleep if she’s going to keep brushing those ice cubes against meEEEEEEEEEEEEK! Rider thought as the touch of Jack Frost slid down the front of her thigh. Wait, how’d she get her feet in front of me?!
“All right, this is ridiculous. Saber, wake up.” Rider said firmly. “GAAAAAAAAAAH!” She followed that up with, as a tiny shard of the Arctic pressed into her kidney.
“Oh, come on.” Rider muttered. Throwing off the blankets, she rolled over and shook Saber. “You cannot possibly be sleeping through this! You need to wake UAAAAAAAAH!” Rider squeaked as an icy dagger slid down the length of her shin. Damn, even asleep she was awfully fast!
“Okay, that is the last straw.” She snarled. “If I have to pick you up and force socks onto you, I w—“
White lights flashed behind Rider’s eyes as something impossibly fast, painfully strong, and seriously freaking cold slammed into the bridge of her nose, hurling her across the room.
More from shock than the pain (though there was, to be fair, pain), Rider stared at the sleeping Saber.
“… … … Face. Kick. How?!” She said. Her feet weren’t anywhere near my… how did she… what the huh?!
Still asleep, Saber murmured something incoherent and rolled until the comforter was once again gathered around her.
***
As the light of the early morning crept through the windows, Saber’s eyes fluttered open. “Ah. Thank you again, Rider, I doubt my night would have been so restful at my own… Rider?” Saber asked, looking next to her to find herself the sole occupant of the bed. Perhaps she awoke early to prepare breakfast?
Untangling herself from the sheets, Saber stood and exited the room to find something slightly… off.
Rider, her hair frazzled and a look of dissatisfaction on her face, was seated on her small sofa, staring at the bedroom door. She gave no indication of seeing Saber come through it.
“… Rider?” Saber said, a bit disconcerted by the not-quite-there look in the other Servant’s eyes. “Are you well?”
“Had to watch the bedroom. The feet could reach the couch. The door, worthless…” Rider murmured.
“… … … huh?” Saber said, eloquently.
“Saber!” Rider said, startling, as though she had only just noticed the other Servant entering the room.
“I… I have been here for…” Saber began. “Are you quite all right?”
Rider reached out, taking Saber’s hand. “We’re going. Right now. Shopping. Come with me, no questions. Right now..”
“Eh?”
“If you’re going to keep sleeping here, you need your own bed.” Rider said very, very firmly.
Then, after a moment, she added. “… and some thick socks.”
As always, your comedy writing provokes loud snerking from me. :)
(Rider's a nice person, though, insisting on getting Saber some socks despite making her sleep in her own bed. Either that or she has future plans... :naughty: )
As always, your comedy writing provokes loud snerking from me. :)
(Rider's a nice person, though, insisting on getting Saber some socks despite making her sleep in her own bed. Either that or she has future plans... :naughty: )
Sorry, no. Beams has said it's non-romantic and I'm sticking to that unless she says otherwise. :heh:
The implication, if you look through the fic, was that Saber's dimensional feet were still occasionally... somehow... kicking Rider even after she went to the couch. I thought it was funnier to just imply that than actually say it. :heh:
DezoPenguin
2011-08-01, 16:08
Sorry, no. Beams has said it's non-romantic and I'm sticking to that unless she says otherwise. :heh:
The implication, if you look through the fic, was that Saber's dimensional feet were still occasionally... somehow... kicking Rider even after she went to the couch. I thought it was funnier to just imply that than actually say it. :heh:
Actually, I sort of needed the explanation, because I just thought that Saber subconsciously heard the threat of "SOCKS!" and reacted with a lightning-fast face-kick that Rider was unable to defend against (and that Rider was just, well, wigging out over the feet due to their superhuman coldness and rapid reflexes the next morning).
RadiantBeam
2011-08-04, 19:20
04.
“Rider, I don’t really think this is a good idea.”
This was the second time Saber had voiced her thoughts, which were growing increasingly uneasy with each passing minute. Like she had the first time, Rider waved off the smaller woman’s concerns as she slid her jacket on. “Relax, Saber,” she said. “All you have to do is hold on.”
The blonde cast a wary eye at the purring Hayabusa, the machine vibrating and ready for a ride. It wasn’t like she had an issue holding on to Rider while in motion, exactly. It was just that she thought she was perfectly capable of riding it herself, without the taller woman. She had a high riding rank!
Ignoring the thoughts running through her companion’s head, Rider slid onto the Hayabusa, glancing at Saber. “You coming?”
Shaking her head to try and clear it, Saber sighed inwardly and accepted the fact that for now, if she wanted to ride the damned thing, she would have to do it as Rider’s companion. She stepped over behind the taller woman, intent on boosting herself up…
And paused, startled. She could have sworn she’d heard… hissing?
“Rider?”
“Hm?”
“Did you hear that?”
Rider glanced back at her, baffled. “Hear what?”
Saber blinked. She knew she’d heard something hiss, but she couldn’t see any obvious explanation of what had made the sound. Certainly, there were legends of Medusa having snakes for hair, but Saber was all too familiar with how certain legends could get the real facts straight.
And besides, if Rider had had snakes for hair, Saber would have noticed long before this point.
Shrugging it off and deciding maybe it was just her imagination, Saber slid onto the motorcycle behind Rider, her arms tentatively coming around her waist and holding on. “No helmet, Rider?”
Rider grinned. “I don’t need one.”
Right before she revved the motorcycle, Saber could have sworn she heard hissing again.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
Rider whistled as she dismounted the Hayabusa, pleased with how the ride had gone. It had been a quick ride through the city, to help get Saber outside and relieve some of the nerves that had been building up in her lately; everyone saw how she paced restlessly around the house these days, confusion and hunger faintly gleaming in her eyes.
I’ll have to ask her about that, come to think of it…
Nodding to herself as she made this decision, Rider turned to face her companion. “See what I mean? Not so…”
Her sentence died on her lips as she stared blankly, unable to comprehend what she saw.
Saber was the absolute picture of cold, calm reserve; she would have looked quite majestic, if not for the huge, dark bruises and slashes along her cheeks, chin, and nose. There were faint marks around her wrists, as if something had wrapped itself around her there, and… was that a bite mark on her neck?
“Saber?” Rider asked weakly.
“Rider.” Saber’s voice was calm. “Were you aware your hair was sentient?”
Rider shook her head dumbly, unable to think of a verbal reply to this news.
Saber wiped at her eyes, flicking droplets of blood off her fingers. She looked for all the world like a conquering hero who had slain the dragon. Briefly, the other woman wondered if any of her hair was still intact.
“Well, now you know.”
An old gag, an idea I had for awhile that I just wanted to get out now. Figured I'd write it real quick and post it now, since it was easy and all of my other ideas have been a bit on the dark side lately.
DezoPenguin
2011-08-04, 22:03
04.
“Rider, I don’t really think this is a good idea.”
This was the second time Saber had voiced her thoughts, which were growing increasingly uneasy with each passing minute. Like she had the first time, Rider waved off the smaller woman’s concerns as she slid her jacket on. “Relax, Saber,” she said. “All you have to do is hold on.”
The blonde cast a wary eye at the purring Hayabusa, the machine vibrating and ready for a ride. It wasn’t like she had an issue holding on to Rider while in motion, exactly. It was just that she thought she was perfectly capable of riding it herself, without the taller woman. She had a high riding rank!
Ignoring the thoughts running through her companion’s head, Rider slid onto the Hayabusa, glancing at Saber. “You coming?”
Shaking her head to try and clear it, Saber sighed inwardly and accepted the fact that for now, if she wanted to ride the damned thing, she would have to do it as Rider’s companion. She stepped over behind the taller woman, intent on boosting herself up…
And paused, startled. She could have sworn she’d heard… hissing?
“Rider?”
“Hm?”
“Did you hear that?”
Rider glanced back at her, baffled. “Hear what?”
Saber blinked. She knew she’d heard something hiss, but she couldn’t see any obvious explanation of what had made the sound. Certainly, there were legends of Medusa having snakes for hair, but Saber was all too familiar with how certain legends could get the real facts straight.
And besides, if Rider had had snakes for hair, Saber would have noticed long before this point.
Shrugging it off and deciding maybe it was just her imagination, Saber slid onto the motorcycle behind Rider, her arms tentatively coming around her waist and holding on. “No helmet, Rider?”
Rider grinned. “I don’t need one.”
Right before she revved the motorcycle, Saber could have sworn she heard hissing again.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
Rider whistled as she dismounted the Hayabusa, pleased with how the ride had gone. It had been a quick ride through the city, to help get Saber outside and relieve some of the nerves that had been building up in her lately; everyone saw how she paced restlessly around the house these days, confusion and hunger faintly gleaming in her eyes.
I’ll have to ask her about that, come to think of it…
Nodding to herself as she made this decision, Rider turned to face her companion. “See what I mean? Not so…”
Her sentence died on her lips as she stared blankly, unable to comprehend what she saw.
Saber was the absolute picture of cold, calm reserve; she would have looked quite majestic, if not for the huge, dark bruises and slashes along her cheeks, chin, and nose. There were faint marks around her wrists, as if something had wrapped itself around her there, and… was that a bite mark on her neck?
“Saber?” Rider asked weakly.
“Rider.” Saber’s voice was calm. “Were you aware your hair was sentient?”
Rider shook her head dumbly, unable to think of a verbal reply to this news.
Saber wiped at her eyes, flicking droplets of blood off her fingers. She looked for all the world like a conquering hero who had slain the dragon. Briefly, other woman wondered if any of her hair was still intact.
“Well, now you know.”
An old gag, an idea I had for awhile that I just wanted to get out now. Figured I'd write it real quick and post it now, since it was easy and all of my other ideas have been a bit on the dark side lately.
You know, that was actually pretty creepy and dark for itself...with Rider's comments here: to help get Saber outside and relieve some of the nerves that had been building up in her lately; everyone saw how she paced restlessly around the house these days, confusion and hunger faintly gleaming in her eyes, it really makes me wonder what really went on with Rider's hair and Saber's fight with it. That somehow Rider didn't even notice happening right behind her (and on her own head). :uhoh: For some weird reason I'm hearing cicadas chirping... :twitch:
Oh, and a "the" is missing in the next-to-last line. :heh:
RadiantBeam
2011-08-04, 22:18
You know, that was actually pretty creepy and dark for itself...with Rider's comments here: to help get Saber outside and relieve some of the nerves that had been building up in her lately; everyone saw how she paced restlessly around the house these days, confusion and hunger faintly gleaming in her eyes, it really makes me wonder what really went on with Rider's hair and Saber's fight with it. That somehow Rider didn't even notice happening right behind her (and on her own head). :uhoh: For some weird reason I'm hearing cicadas chirping... :twitch:
Oh, and a "the" is missing in the next-to-last line. :heh:
Fridge Horror? :heh:
Thanks, I'll fix that right away!
Tiresias
2011-08-04, 23:38
...I wanna see a fight between Rider's hair and Saber's feet :heh:
RadiantBeam
2011-08-31, 15:22
An update for Rain! Haven't had one of those in awhile.
Apologies in advance for the shortness; I originally intended for it to be longer and include an additional scene, but from the feel of the chapter and how it was turning out, I didn't think it would fit. Still, this chapter felt needed, at least as build up for what comes in chapters 6, 7, and 8.
Chapter 5: Before the Storm
Rider was wearing glasses.
She didn’t know how it had happened. It turned out Shirou liked to make small conversation while he finished up what little cooking he had left and set the table, probably from his habit of being in the house with Taiga and Sakura, and she hadn’t wanted to be rude and ignore him while he talked. And somehow, the suggestion had come up that she should remove her blindfold.
Rider had initially refused, on account of the fact that her eyes could petrify. Sakura would not approve of her petrifying the boy.
Shirou had insisted, though, apparently finding the blindfold creepy and her eyes rather pretty, for some reason or another.
And now she sat at the table wearing a pair of reading glasses. She still wasn’t sure how she had gotten to that point.
She decided not to linger on it as she continued eating, quite enjoying the meal. She didn’t make a habit of eating in general; she had no need for it, and since she had usually been at Shinji’s mercy until the moment at school, she hadn’t had the chance to enjoy Sakura’s cooking.
More than that, though, she enjoyed it because it seemed to make Shirou happy that she was there. She had never thought she was fitting company for anyone, but the boy genuinely seemed to enjoy her presence. It felt… oddly nice.
“You say you taught Sakura?” Rider blew gently on her spoon to cool her meal before taking a mouthful, chewing slowly to savor the taste. Throughout the quiet morning, they had somehow stumbled onto the topic of Shirou teaching Sakura how to cook.
The redhead nodded, a sheepish smile on his lips as he continued eating. “I did, but she’s gotten much better than me now.” He swallowed his own food, wiping absently at the side of his mouth with his thumb. “If you ate anything she cooked, you wouldn’t be impressed by what I’ve made.”
“I’m not so sure.” Rider glanced at him. “This food is delicious.”
The smile he gave her this time was less sheepish; Shirou clearly enjoyed the praise he was getting for his meal. Rider figured it had been awhile since anyone had complimented him on it.
“I’m surprised, though,” she continued. “I would think you’d visit Sakura and Rin first thing in the morning.”
“Because of the Grail, right?”
Rider nodded absently, setting down her spoon. “You’ve had all night to think about it. Surely a plan or two crossed your mind.”
Shirou tilted his head to the side, curious. “Tohsaka didn’t come up with anything?”
It was probably wise to not mention what Rin had spent her night doing, for his sake. “Rin was very busy last night,” Rider said vaguely. “Sakura felt a little ill, so she was looking after her.”
It was the truth, anyway.
“I see.” Shirou frowned thoughtfully, then rocked back in his place as his mind mulled over the chances they still had. Zouken was a powerful opponent, with years of experience and magecraft at his disposal. If they wanted to stand even a chance against him, they needed someone who could match him at least in power, if not years.
He jolted upright, slapping his hand on the table and causing Rider to jolt in surprise. “That’s it!”
Lilac eyes blinked in confusion; Rider coughed and brushed loose strands of hair out of her eyes. “You thought of something?”
“Rider, have you ever heard of Illyasviel von Einzbern?”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
“I’m heading out for a bit.”
Rin made the announcement after breakfast; in some ways, Sakura had expected it. The older girl had been restless ever since coming down from the bedroom, clearly bothered by something and not willing to talk about it. The fact that she was going out now seemed like a natural response to whatever was bothering her.
Without really thinking about it, the purple-haired girl followed her older sister to the door. “Aren’t you taking your jacket? It’s chilly outside.”
Rin paused, thinking about it, then shrugged. “I won’t be gone long, so I should be fine. I just want to take a walk.” She pushed the door open, then paused in the doorway and turned to Sakura, her hand still on the knob. “Archer is still here, so he’ll watch over you in case something happens.”
Sakura made a small, quiet sound in response; a sort of muffled “Mmm” to let Rin know she understood. Absently, she clasped her hands together in front of her skirt. “You should be careful,” she murmured, glancing up at her sister. “If another Master sees you out without your Servant, you’ll be an easy target.”
Rin shrugged again, smiling slightly. “I’ll manage. Thanks for worrying, though.” She rubbed the back of her neck, then nodded to herself as if she had decided something. “I’m off then, Sakura.”
“Wait, Nee-san.”
Rin paused at that. It was only for a moment, but it was long enough.
It was quick; had she not felt it clearly, Rin would have sworn she’d imagined it happening at all. Soft warmth against her wrist, the sensation of fingers grasping gently, then something even warmer, even softer, pressed against the corner of her mouth; a fleeting sensation, gone before she could even register it had happened.
Sakura stepped back slightly; just a small step. Her hands once more clasped in front of her skirt, and when she met Rin’s gaze, she smiled slightly, her eyes warm. “Be careful, Nee-san.”
“R-right.” Not sure if she was dazed or stunned by what had just happened—and noticeably concerned by the lack of a small voice in her head scolding her for allowing her sister to kiss her like that—Rin turned her back to Sakura and stepped out of the house.
The door closed behind her with a soft click. For some reason, it sounded as loud and as sharp as the sudden crack of a whip.
After a moment that lasted both an eternity and a second, Rin slumped back against the closed door, rubbing her eyes with her fingers.
“… I’m really fucked, aren’t I?” she asked, and expected no response.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
With Rin gone, some of the life, the energy, of the Tohsaka mansion seemed to go with her; it was as if someone had taken a bright light bulb and dimmed it slightly. Now infected with the same restlessness that had haunted her sister, Sakura briefly considered exploring the large house simply for old times’ sake, out of curiosity to see what had changed.
In the end, though, that thought dissipated and she instead settled on the large red chair that Rin seemed to enjoy sitting in, resting her chin in the palm of her hand and gazing absently at nothing. When Rin had left, she’d noticed light gray clouds forming in the sky overhead; was it going to rain again?
Maybe I should have insisted she bring her coat, otherwise she’ll come home with a cold…
She felt the small, subtle shift that warned her of a nearby Servant. She blinked and glanced up, and somehow, wasn’t surprised to see Archer in front of her.
A long, awkward pause passed in which the two just looked at each other. Sakura felt as if she should say something, but didn’t know exactly what she should say at all. The awkward pause became slightly longer.
Finally, Archer sighed and bit the bullet. “Would you like some tea, Sakura?”
Sakura blinked once.
Twice.
Thrice.
“… Tea sounds lovely.”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
Maybe I should have brought my coat, after all…
Rin could have sworn when she’d left the house that there had still been some warmth in the air; not all that much, but enough to get by with just her sweater, though in retrospect she probably would have been better off wearing pants instead of her usual skirt and stockings.
All the same, though, there had been a definite dip in temperature as she walked; the chill nipped lightly at her neck and her cheeks, brushed teasingly against her legs, and sent a small shiver down her back. And it looked like it would start raining, too…
Best to keep the visit short, then. If she could.
She knew the path by heart; blowing lightly on her hands and rubbing them together, Rin spotted the small gate and reached out, opening it with one hand and quickly pulling her hand back at the shock of cold metal against her skin. She grimaced, withdrawing her fingers into the warmth of her sleeve, and continued walking.
“They really should hire someone to clean this place up,” she muttered, speaking out loud to fill the silence that hung over her head like a cloud. “The weeds are starting to get out of hand. I nearly missed the gate.”
No response.
Rin smiled grimly and kept walking. She didn’t know if the silence made her want to laugh or cry.
At last, she found it; an aged stone, a stone beaten down by weather and changes in the season, a stone that looked much older than it had any right to be. Kneeling down, she carefully tore away the weeds that had sprouted along its base, brushed aside the dust that had gathered.
Her fingers lingered for a moment, gently tracing the name carved there, before she pulled away at last and stood up straight, dusting off her skirt. She stood out; a figure of bright red in a sea of gray tombstones.
Finally, she cleared her throat and spoke, her voice soft.
“It’s been awhile, Father.”
As A Result of Bad Planning (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=3241975&postcount=84)
The Contradiction of Tohsaka Rin (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=3243657&postcount=91)
The Situation of Matou Sakura (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=3303189&postcount=205)
Warmth (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=3492374&postcount=750)
EDIT: And a link (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6457747/5/) for the version posted to FF.net. Special thanks to Cherry Lover for pointing out the fact about Rider's glasses, which is the reason for the rewritten intro in the FF.net version.
An update for Rain! Haven't had one of those in awhile.
Apologies in advance for the shortness; I originally intended for it to be longer and include an additional scene, but from the feel of the chapter and how it was turning out, I didn't think it would fit. Still, this chapter felt needed, at least as build up for what comes in chapters 6, 7, and 8.
Chapter 5: Before the Storm
Rider was wearing glasses.
She didn’t know how it had happened. It turned out Shirou liked to make small conversation while he finished up what little cooking he had left and set the table, probably from his habit of being in the house with Taiga and Sakura, and she hadn’t wanted to be rude and ignore him while he talked. And somehow, the suggestion had come up that she should remove her blindfold.
Rider had initially refused, on account of the fact that her eyes could petrify. Sakura would not approve of her petrifying the boy.
Shirou had insisted, though, apparently finding the blindfold creepy and her eyes rather pretty, for some reason or another.
And now she sat at the table wearing a pair of reading glasses. She still wasn’t sure how she had gotten to that point.
She decided not to linger on it as she continued eating, quite enjoying the meal. She didn’t make a habit of eating in general; she had no need for it, and since she had usually been at Shinji’s mercy until the moment at school, she hadn’t had the chance to enjoy Sakura’s cooking.
More than that, though, she enjoyed it because it seemed to make Shirou happy that she was there. She had never thought she was fitting company for anyone, but the boy genuinely seemed to enjoy her presence. It felt… oddly nice.
“You say you taught Sakura?” Rider blew gently on her spoon to cool her meal before taking a mouthful, chewing slowly to savor the taste. Throughout the quiet morning, they had somehow stumbled onto the topic of Shirou teaching Sakura how to cook.
The redhead nodded, a sheepish smile on his lips as he continued eating. “I did, but she’s gotten much better than me now.” He swallowed his own food, wiping absently at the side of his mouth with his thumb. “If you ate anything she cooked, you wouldn’t be impressed by what I’ve made.”
“I’m not so sure.” Rider glanced at him. “This food is delicious.”
The smile he gave her this time was less sheepish; Shirou clearly enjoyed the praise he was getting for his meal. Rider figured it had been awhile since anyone had complimented him on it.
“I’m surprised, though,” she continued. “I would think you’d visit Sakura and Rin first thing in the morning.”
“Because of the Grail, right?”
Rider nodded absently, setting down her spoon. “You’ve had all night to think about it. Surely a plan or two crossed your mind.”
Shirou tilted his head to the side, curious. “Tohsaka didn’t come up with anything?”
It was probably wise to not mention what Rin had spent her night doing, for his sake. “Rin was very busy last night,” Rider said vaguely. “Sakura felt a little ill, so she was looking after her.”
It was the truth, anyway.
“I see.” Shirou frowned thoughtfully, then rocked back in his place as his mind mulled over the chances they still had. Zouken was a powerful opponent, with years of experience and magecraft at his disposal. If they wanted to stand even a chance against him, they needed someone who could match him at least in power, if not years.
He jolted upright, slapping his hand on the table and causing Rider to jolt in surprise. “That’s it!”
Lilac eyes blinked in confusion; Rider coughed and brushed loose strands of hair out of her eyes. “You thought of something?”
“Rider, have you ever heard of Illyasviel von Einzbern?”
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“I’m heading out for a bit.”
Rin made the announcement after breakfast; in some ways, Sakura had expected it. The older girl had been restless ever since coming down from the bedroom, clearly bothered by something and not willing to talk about it. The fact that she was going out now seemed like a natural response to whatever was bothering her.
Without really thinking about it, the purple-haired girl followed her older sister to the door. “Aren’t you taking your jacket? It’s chilly outside.”
Rin paused, thinking about it, then shrugged. “I won’t be gone long, so I should be fine. I just want to take a walk.” She pushed the door open, then paused in the doorway and turned to Sakura, her hand still on the knob. “Archer is still here, so he’ll watch over you in case something happens.”
Sakura made a small, quiet sound in response; a sort of muffled “Mmm” to let Rin know she understood. Absently, she clasped her hands together in front of her skirt. “You should be careful,” she murmured, glancing up at her sister. “If another Master sees you out without your Servant, you’ll be an easy target.”
Rin shrugged again, smiling slightly. “I’ll manage. Thanks for worrying, though.” She rubbed the back of her neck, then nodded to herself as if she had decided something. “I’m off then, Sakura.”
“Wait, Nee-san.”
Rin paused at that. It was only for a moment, but it was long enough.
It was quick; had she not felt it clearly, Rin would have sworn she’d imagined it happening at all. Soft warmth against her wrist, the sensation of fingers grasping gently, then something even warmer, even softer, pressed against the corner of her mouth; a fleeting sensation, gone before she could even register it had happened.
Sakura stepped back slightly; just a small step. Her hands once more clasped in front of her skirt, and when she met Rin’s gaze, she smiled slightly, her eyes warm. “Be careful, Nee-san.”
“R-right.” Not sure if she was dazed or stunned by what had just happened—and noticeably concerned by the lack of a small voice in her head scolding her for allowing her sister to kiss her like that—Rin turned her back to Sakura and stepped out of the house.
The door closed behind her with a soft click. For some reason, it sounded as loud and as sharp as the sudden crack of a whip.
After a moment that lasted both an eternity and a second, Rin slumped back against the closed door, rubbing her eyes with her fingers.
“… I’m really fucked, aren’t I?” she asked, and expected no response.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
With Rin gone, some of the life, the energy, of the Tohsaka mansion seemed to go with her; it was as if someone had taken a bright light bulb and dimmed it slightly. Now infected with the same restlessness that had haunted her sister, Sakura briefly considered exploring the large house simply for old times’ sake, out of curiosity to see what had changed.
In the end, though, that thought dissipated and she instead settled on the large red chair that Rin seemed to enjoy sitting in, resting her chin in the palm of her hand and gazing absently at nothing. When Rin had left, she’d noticed light gray clouds forming in the sky overhead; was it going to rain again?
Maybe I should have insisted she bring her coat, otherwise she’ll come home with a cold…
She felt the small, subtle shift that warned her of a nearby Servant. She blinked and glanced up, and somehow, wasn’t surprised to see Archer in front of her.
A long, awkward pause passed in which the two just looked at each other. Sakura felt as if she should say something, but didn’t know exactly what she should say at all. The awkward pause became slightly longer.
Finally, Archer sighed and bit the bullet. “Would you like some tea, Sakura?”
Sakura blinked once.
Twice.
Thrice.
“… Tea sounds lovely.”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
Maybe I should have brought my coat, after all…
Rin could have sworn when she’d left the house that there had still been some warmth in the air; not all that much, but enough to get by with just her sweater, though in retrospect she probably would have been better off wearing pants instead of her usual skirt and stockings.
All the same, though, there had been a definite dip in temperature as she walked; the chill nipped lightly at her neck and her cheeks, brushed teasingly against her legs, and sent a small shiver down her back. And it looked like it would start raining, too…
Best to keep the visit short, then. If she could.
She knew the path by heart; blowing lightly on her hands and rubbing them together, Rin spotted the small gate and reached out, opening it with one hand and quickly pulling her hand back at the shock of cold metal against her skin. She grimaced, withdrawing her fingers into the warmth of her sleeve, and continued walking.
“They really should hire someone to clean this place up,” she muttered, speaking out loud to fill the silence that hung over her head like a cloud. “The weeds are starting to get out of hand. I nearly missed the gate.”
No response.
Rin smiled grimly and kept walking. She didn’t know if the silence made her want to laugh or cry.
At last, she found it; an aged stone, a stone beaten down by weather and changes in the season, a stone that looked much older than it had any right to be. Kneeling down, she carefully tore away the weeds that had sprouted along its base, brushed aside the dust that had gathered.
Her fingers lingered for a moment, gently tracing the name carved there, before she pulled away at last and stood up straight, dusting off her skirt. She stood out; a figure of bright red in a sea of gray tombstones.
Finally, she cleared her throat and spoke, her voice soft.
“It’s been awhile, Father.”
As A Result of Bad Planning (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=3241975&postcount=84)
The Contradiction of Tohsaka Rin (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=3243657&postcount=91)
The Situation of Matou Sakura (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=3303189&postcount=205)
Warmth (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=3492374&postcount=750)
EDIT: And a link (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6457747/5/) for the version posted to FF.net. Special thanks to Cherry Lover for pointing out the fact about Rider's glasses, which is the reason for the rewritten intro in the FF.net version.
... damn. All I have to say that I didn't already say in the FF.net review is that it's a shame Rider's glasses are 'special', because I do kinda like this version a bit better. Her befuddlement is adorable. :heh:
RadiantBeam
2011-09-01, 09:05
... damn. All I have to say that I didn't already say in the FF.net review is that it's a shame Rider's glasses are 'special', because I do kinda like this version a bit better. Her befuddlement is adorable. :heh:
Yeah, I really was sad to lose that segment. :heh: I quite liked writing it, but alas, foiled by Nasu canon.
The somewhat delayed continuation of Crystallized Moments, part 4:
(continued)
------
A few moments after Mike had made his statement, both he and Waver were left looking over at the pile of books that had recently, and suddenly, been violently transferred from their original location on the table counter to the ragged pile they had fallen into after hitting against the opposite wall.
Both men were somewhat stunned at the turn of events; at least for the length of time it had taken for the third person who had been in the room to make an uncharacteristically abrupt exit.
"Well, come on, you idiot," Waver almost shouted, being the first to blink. "Get after him and fix this!"
------
Two years ago, on his sixteenth birthday, Seonac's mind was prized open.
For the two years prior to that, the occasional wisp of doubt, echo of derision, or sense of dismissal had, at times, danced around the edge of his conscious being; there or almost-there one moment, only to be gone the next. A part of him wondered if it was not simply his subconscious acting up, reflecting the concerns he felt when talking to all too many others (those who weren't more blunt in their dislikes, that is).
That day, however, the veil which held back the unspoken words of his peers was ripped away. Every fake smile, every insult whispered behind one's breath, every projected sense of inadequacy, every hidden concern from a friend or family member, every sharp word held on the tip of another's tongue; all of it suddenly bombarded his mind relentlessly every time he drew near another, in a cacophany which increased exponentially the larger the crowd he was in the midst of.
And worst of all, he could sense, with terrible certainty, that even if this deluge was real and not the sign of some deep psychosis, that even daring to disclose it to anyone would invite ridicule at best... or a permanent re-location to an insane asylum at worst.
Fortunately, since the day he had learned the truth from Mike and Bláthnaid about just how real this intrinsic aspect of his new life was, the careful training and guidance had helped him learn to shield his mind from the ocean of broadcasted telepathic noise; to learn how to dam it out, in order to slowly learn how to assume command of the mental locks in a more refined manner.
Now, however, in the wake of this latest news, something cracked.
------
"...I can't miss another lecture at this rate!..."
"...maybe if I try another letter he'll..."
"...how could they side with that accursed..."
"...middle of time..."
"...wish she'd stop following..."
"...can't think clearly..."
"...I'm so angry, I'd..."
Make it stop, make it stop, MAKE IT STOP!
Seonac's mind was reeling as he walked - nay, almost ran - down the maze of corridors away from the room. He was barely able to keep his eyes on the way before him; his stream of thought warped and weft by the tidal waves of thoughts petty and profound, unwittingly pumped into the invisible air by the exposed minds he desperately tried to pass, to get around, to get away from.
Suddenly, before he relaised it, more mundane senses registered a loud thump followed by an awkward crashing onto the floor.
He blinked, and felt a sort of shock as he realized he was lying across from another person; someone he had just collided with. The echo of that impact soon caught up with him; his free hand reaching to his head, an act matched by the groggy response the other person made in the event.
Yet, it felt as if his eyes could not focus on the other person; his sense of vision was still almost blinded by the sheer background noise his mind was awash in.
A few moments later, before he could bring anything else into focus, a familiar voice echoed down the hallway.
"...nac, Seonac, Seonac!"
He shook his head, and found a wave of directed thought clear the shoals of loose psionic static from around his mind.
It was Mike.
"Why did..." Seonac started to speak, the pain of the collision taking up much of the unwanted attention the clearing mist had been claiming.
"What the hell was that? Seriously," Mike shouted in exasperation. "Two years' worth of effort, and this is how it goes?"
Seonac was reminded of just what had happened to spark this collapse, and turned away from Mike in a flush of anger. "And how much of that would you know about, you fucking traitor!"
Even as he said it, he knew it was harsh... far too harsh a term for what was set to happen. He could feel the deep pang of regret at once; along with the icy dagger it had lodged in his mentor's mind.
"I..." Mike knew the truth of the matter, but couldn't help but feel wounded all the same ; not least since a part of him felt that it was all too true. "You know it's..."
As both of them fell silent, unable to process what it was they were supposed to say next, a third voice emerged.
"Um, ano..." the source of the voice, a young man with red hear, brown eyes and a sore temple, tried to say. "I didn't mean to walk into the middle of..."
Both Mike and Seonac turned to the young man; the latter feeling sick at the double blow of both walking into this bystander, and in risking to drag him into an argument which should never have happened. "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going... please, forgive me."
As Seonac and the other man slowly stood up again, the response indicated a surprising degree of forgiveness; or rather, an insistence that there was nothing to forgive. "Oh no, it's okay; I just hope you are okay. Are you in any trouble?"
At this point, Seonac, whose mental control was gradually restoring itself, was surprised at the sheer sense of... honesty from this person. Many of the people he ran into (not literally) so far in the Clock Tower were singularly guarded behind a concrete wall of politesse, or more thinly veiling their callousness or contempt behind a thin veneer of obliged tolerance. this time, however, the young man was broadcasting a genuine sense of concern, along with an honest wish to help if he could.
Which made his sense of sheer embarrassment all the more acute.
"I'm sorry," Seonac said abruptly, before rushing off once again; this time keeping more care as to his surroundings.
"Wait!" the other man said, before sighing at the unfortunate outcome. He turned to Mike and felt like he wanted to say something, but felt lost for words.
Mike, for his part, was in part trying to process his own role in this pantomime, part piecing together what he should say and do to settle things once he caught up with Seonac...
..and part registering what language the two young men had just been speaking to each other.
------
"There you are."
Mike called over to his Irish protégé, who was resting against a short wall on one side of the rooftop. An unused telescope lay upon a tripod nearby; left there by a would-be stargazer who had refrained from marking the device as their property. Despite no-one quite remembering how it got there, however, no attempt at moving, or removing, it had been made.
Seonac, for his part, was staring into the sky above; it was later in the day, the blue of the morning sky shifting to a dull orange. "Mike, I..."
Mike raised a hand, waving off what he knew would be said. "Seonac, you never have to apologise to me; especially since, in this case, I deserve it."
"Although," he followed up, gesturing with his other hand to the red-head standing beside him, "I'm not sure if that's the case with him."
Seonac sharpened his gaze as he turned it away from the sky and towards the new arrivals, and felt a further tug of emnarrassment when he saw the other young man again.
"Well," he said, as he walked over to the two others, "I suppose I was going to have to think of how to set things right about all of this eventually."
"Please, again, don't worry about it," the brown-eyed youth responded cheerfully. "It can happen to anyone."
"Look, Seonac," Mike then said telepathically, "I want to sit down and talk about things more fully, but that can wait a little bit longer. If you're willing to do so, that is."
The Irishman nodded. "I don't want to leave things on a bad note, before you..."
"...but right now, perhaps you'd like to exchange formal introductions with this nice young man here," Mike referred once again to the red-head. "So long as you're both willing to make a new friend."
"I'd be happy to," the red-head said, before offering his hand. "I believe we haven't met... sort of!"
"Sort of!" Seonac broke a smile at that, as he offered his own hand in return. "My name is Seonac O'Conaill, and it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr..."
"Emiya", his new friend replied. "Emiya Shirou."
Also, as posted on BL, a snapshot look at who this Seonac person is.
A chara,
On the day I write this, the subject of this summary, Seonac O'Conaill, will have reached his eighteenth birthday. While it may seem to be a defining event when living through it, I hope that one day he may look back on this snapshot at some later date, and reflect positively on how far he will have come since then.
Seonac was born in the Rotunda Hospital on the 14th of September 1987, to Niall and Sadhbh O'Conaill. Unbeknownst to his parents, who were not part of a magus lineage, Seonac possessed latent thaumaturgic potential; yet this untapped seam lay almost completely dormant at first. Though I have no direct evidence to verify this, I tend to believe that the first stumbling embers of his potential began to flicker in and out of his subconscious from as young as 14, his first true awakening was to take place upon his sixteenth birthday.
In Seonac's case, by far the most prominent, and thus far defining, aspect of this process saw him manifest a relatively rare phenomenon; telepathy. This gift, or curse depending on one's viewpoint, is relatively little understood compared to more traditional forms of thaumaturgy; at least, in the manner it seems to have emerged in Seonac's mind. Unfortunately, with no forewarning or experience in dealing with such matters in his own family, or among those who first attempted to diagnose his condition in the wake of this traumatic event, Seonac found it difficult to adjust to a cacophany of voices which may or may not have been real.
Eventually, his file first found itself upon my desk, at which point I soon discovered his more-than-mundane nature. I was able to contact another magus-telepath based over in London (the Nova Scotian Michael Mackenzie, who was working alongside Lord El-Melloi II at the time) and together make "first contact" of sorts with Seonac. Fortunately, the young magus decided to take up the mantle of responsibility unwittingly placed upon him, which was, technically speaking, no less than the onset of a brand new sorcerous lineage.
However, while Mr. Mackenzie's mental training was able to help Seonac gain a greater sense of control over the filter he could place around his mind, one substantial mystery soon presented itself. In terms of raw numbers, Seonac's latent sorcerous potential and prana reserves are substantial; indeed, his innate alignments approach Average One levels of diversity. Despite this, his reservoir of prana remains untapped; he has so far been unable to cast even introductory low-level spells, to say nothing of the kind of sorcerous manifestations which magi of his age from a more established family could accomplish with even half of his raw potential. (His mental abilities seem to lie apart from this source, though how this is so remains unclear.) As an interim measure, I have provided him with a limited number of wards and amulets I fashioned using my own Atlas heritage; not least one designed to hide his true potential from would-be predators. Even so, I fear that unless some means of allowing him access to his built-in font of abilities is found, he may risk becoming dangerously exposed at a critical moment.
On a personal level, Seonac's character is defined in part by his living with Asperger Syndrome (which I was able to diagnose personally); though not by as much as he might tend to believe at times. On the one hand, the "folk physics" aspect of his mind is very sharp, when operating under ideal conditions; he is an excellent student of history, can pick up new concepts quickly (at least on a theoretical level) and possesses a knack for lateral thinking at his best. On the other hand, his "folk psychology" aspect can be more problematic; he can be uncomfortable gauging body language (not least eye contact), can be prone to using a hundred words to describe a concept when only twenty will do, and can have trouble dealing with less... rational aspects of human nature. Still, while there will be a shade of this dichotomy with him for the remainder of his life, I am confident that as he matures and develops into the kind of man I believe he can become, he will master the means by which he can make the most of his gifts, learn to tackle the issues he is able to do something about, and to accept those he can't as part of the checks and balances of life itself.
Is mise,
Bláthnaid Ní hAodha, Baile Átha Cliath, 14 Meán Fómhair 2005.
Ricky Controversy
2011-10-13, 23:55
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6421384/2/Last_Forge
Kicking off the redaction of Last Forge as the first part of my return to fanfiction. Hooray.
Yu Ominae
2011-10-14, 14:38
Been looking around ff.net to see if I can read some fics with Maiya Hisau involved. If anyone wants to help, it's appreciated.
Cherry_Lover
2011-10-22, 11:59
Been looking around ff.net to see if I can read some fics with Maiya Hisau involved. If anyone wants to help, it's appreciated.
I doubt there are many at the moment, although with the Zero anime coming out there might be a few coming soon....
Terminator98
2011-10-23, 21:10
So I just watched Fate/Zero and rewatched Fate/Stay Night, which really deviated me from my original Fic writing (was working on Infinite Stratos and Hidan No Aria).
But details aside. Here is what I came up with for now.
Prologue (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M_oF-sOwUaaqPoH8hB8BYCMYYlB2UaeqFepKjnPhClE/edit?hl=en_GB)
Chapter 1 (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TQCNQzEPt_c10v4_pewwwnggVRw08uIsN9emXV910Lo/edit?hl=en_GB)
Chapter 2 (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yOp1auTuGaTuU67N_OcZG-c2Zv860-GGMxYkaYO3-O8/edit)
And I assure you, I'm just getting started >:D
Feedback and appreciations are welcome.
Part 5 of Crystalllized Moments.
Part 5
When sempai-tachi were still living at the Emiya-tei, there was one part of what had become my daily routine that, one way or another, never failed to be quite... lively. As she fulfilled the roles of teacher and guardian, Fujimura-sensei was never too far away from the residence; not least when there was the prospect of food on the table.
She had been far more vocal about her feelings than I was in the run-up to the departure; and in its aftermath, the sheer bravado she made a point of presenting didn't do much to hide her true feelings. "I'm so proud that Shirou's off to study in a foreign country," she'd say; "but all of that cooking he'll do over there is going to go to waste!"
Even when she wasn't trying, she was always able to draw a smile from my face.
So, we both found that when a certain time of day came around, we would both be in the same place as always; cooking together (or rather, her watching me cook while her excitement for the coming meal built up), eating at the same table, talking about no end of little things (usually those involving her latest mishaps and misadventures), and sharing stories from the times when there were still more plates to lay upon the dinner table.
One of those stories we shared was from a day which, even still, seemed both so recent yet so long ago; when a fearless young boy drove himself, again and again, to vault himself over a high-mounted bar.
I had never forgotten that day, or that boy; and of course Fujimura-sensei laughed as she thought back at how foolishly determined sempai had been to drive himself to such injury over it.
But while, to her, it had been just one day out of many, to me it had been so much more; for it had borne the wrenching, bittersweet, longing-yet-fearful contradiction which had driven me to approach that boy, to talk to him, to try and learn as much about him as I possibly could...
...and to do everything I could to ensure that, no matter how close our relationship became, it would never go so far as to risk condemning him to a fate worse than death.
------
September 24, 2005
*knock knock*
Emiya Shirou knocked firmly, yet politely, on the door of Seonac's apartment. He wasn't quite sure if he had remembered correctly about whether or not the Irishman would be at home by this time or not, but figured he may as well try the door anyway.
After about a minute or so, in which he hadn't heard anything by way of a reply, he started to turn down the corridor when he saw someone emerge from the distant flight of steps.
"Oh, hi!" Seonac, who was carrying a pair of shopping bags, rushed over to the front door of his apartment as soon as he noticed Shirou's presence, shifting the bags to one hand as he reached for his door key with the other. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting company. I hope you haven't been waiting long."
Shirou shook his head, and reached out a hand in an offer to help with the bags. "No, I just got here. Can I help you with one of those?"
"No, no, don't worry about it," Seonac replied, as he unlocked the door and used his free forearm to push it open. "Would you like to come in? I'll need a second to put this stuff away, if that's okay."
Shirou used the hand he would have used to carry a bag to help hold the door open instead, as he followed Seonac into the apartment. "Thank you."
As Shirou closed the door behind him, he looked over to see Seonac go into the kitchen and put the bags on one of the countertops. From where he was standing, it looked like various food items, some of which he didn't recognise. "Do you mind if I see what kind of food you have there?"
"Here you go," Seonac responded as he stepped to one side, the various containers and packets now sitting on the shelf, out of the bags and ready to be stored away in their proper locations. "I wouldn't expect to see anything too appealing in there, though."
Shirou went over to the kitchen countertop, and looked down at some of the less familiar items. "Which ones are these? I haven't seen them before."
"Oh, this one," Seonac pointed to one of the rectangular boxes on one side, "is a serving of aloo matar; potatoes in a kind of Indian curry sauce."
Those boxes had been stacked atop a pile of others of the same size; Seonac spread them out to show the labels and images on each. "Generally, you go by the type of food in the pack, along with the specific sauce used. That one there is matar paneer; it has the same type of curry as the aloo matar, but uses cottage cheese instead of potatoes. This one here, with the chickpeas in the different colour sauce, is channa masala; you can get a rajma masala, the same sauce with a kind of reddish bean instead, but I'm not as big a fan of those."
"I see," Shirou noted. "So do these packets go with anything else, or do you eat them as they are?"
"Well, that depends, I guess," Seonac answered, referring now to some of the other items on the table. "I usually eat them with a serving of rice, as well as some naan; that flatbread you see in the other packet there. Though if I'm at a proper Indian restaurant, instead of being stuck in here with these, I would usually get some lentil soup with poppadoms as a starter."
Shirou had another side to that question he wanted to clarify. "But do you ever put anything else in the sauce itself; any meat, or vegetables or anything?"
"Oh, right," Seonac said, cottoning on to what Shirou had been driving at. "Well, they do make things like chicken tikka masala and so forth, and some places do like to throw in all sorts of vegetables and spices into the mix. I'd skip the first because I'm a vegetarian, but the second is more down to my, erm, less than stellar food palette. Sorry."
"No need to apologise," Shirou reassured him. The part of his mind that enjoyed to cook was already thinking of what kind of recipes he might like to try for himself at some point; though he reasoned that going to eat freshly-prepared food at a proper restaurant, rather than just relying on the kind of packs he saw before him, might give him a better opportunity to gauge the kind of meal he'd want to aim for.
He stored another useful piece of information in the back of his mind at this time, too; Seonac doesn't eat meat, and might not be great with more adventurous food. If I'm ever hosting him as a guest, I'll have to plan accordingly.
Shirou picked up one of the food packets, and turned it over to read the English instructions. As he did so, his mind turned to one of the main issues he had wanted to try and deal with that day. "You know, Seonac," he pointed out, "I seem to be finding it a lot easier to read this lately than I would have done before we first met..."
Seonac, who had been putting some milk away in the fridge, turned around and sighed. "It's interesting you mention that; since I seem to be finding your language a lot easier nowadays, too."
Shirou already had an idea about when the change had taken place, but wanted to find answers regarding the hows and whys of the matter. "Did something happen that time we ran into each other on your birthday?"
Seonac tried not to sigh again, as he started to go through his own ideas on what had happened. "I think so, but it wasn't anything deliberate on my part. You see, usually as part of my training, I try to block my mind from picking up on outside connections or stray mental broadcasts; but that day I was, well... I hadn't been as careful, or rather I hadn't reacted as well to the news Mike had given me just before then."
"Telepathy," Shirou commented. "I'm not sure that's something I'd like to deal with, myself."
Seonac nodded in agreement, and felt his spirits sag a little at the implications of where the rest of his reconstruction would go. "You're a lucky man in that regard, Shirou. But yeah, I... I think what happened was that some sort of subconscious link, or exchange, took place when our heads knocked together. Like, some sort of automatic translation matrix; porting the knowledge of one language over to another mind and vice versa."
Seonac tried to reassure his new friend as we went on. "I don't know if that was really true; it's never happened to me before, and it's certainly not a thing I would ever have chosen to do even if I had known how to do it. I can't think of another good explanation for what happened, but I don't want it to be an excuse. I'm sorry, Shirou. I really am; but for what it's worth, I don't think anything else was exchanged; I don't suddenly know your phone number or favourite colour or anything like that."
Shirou remained silent for a moment, but held no ill will over it. "If that was what happened, it's okay; I don't consider it an intrusion or an invasion of privacy. I trust that you wouldn't look into my thoughts, or anyone else's, without permission; if anything, I see this as more of a help than anything. I don't know your phone number either, but I do know a lot more about how to communicate with you, and with other people here in this country. That kind of gift is something I'm grateful for; and if it means you can handle Japanese in turn, I'm happy to help in that regard, too."
At this, Seonac breathed a sigh of relief. He had been seriously worried that if his theory was true, or even if the idea had been given voice, that it would have constituted a gross dereliction of his personal responsibility that Shirou would not have forgiven. However, since all it seemed to involve was language skills, the exchange seemed to be something else, even if Seonac had preferred it happen under more controlled - and more pre-agreed upon - circumstances. "Thank you for your understanding."
"That's no problem at all," Shirou reassured his friend once more.
"Okay," Seonac accepted.
"So, now that that's settled," Shirou went on, "would you like to go over the rest of what happened that evening?"
------
Several hours after Seonac and Shirou had been introduced on the 14th of that month, the latter had gone his own way, while the former was seated across from his soon-to-be-former-mentor, Mike Mackenzie; the two using what was likely to be their last conversation for quite some time to come as a means of setting the record straight between them.
"Seonac," Mike said simply, "this isn't about trying to get rid of you as a student, or as a friend. I know that it's not easy to accept this, but I have to make that as clear as I can."
"I..." Seonac's anger from earlier in the day had long subsided, but he still felt slow to digest what was about to happen. "I know. You're not the kind of guy to do something like this without good reason. I just... well, to be honest, I'm not too sure I'm eager to know what that reason is."
Mike wasn't finding the going much easier, himself; all the more so due to the information which, despite the level of trust the Nova Scotian placed in the Irish youth, he felt bound not to mention.
"When I went away back in 2004, Waver had wanted me to go somewhere. At the time, I was fairly set on what he had in mind; I mean, it was related to the very thing he had done which earned him my original attention in the first place, and which had... well, left David and I on the first boat out of Halifax not long before."
Seonac already knew about the split which had seen Mike and his younger brother, David Mackenzie, leave their home town, carrying their side of a family feud across continents... and away from the rest of their clan. "That thing involving your distant relatives?"
"The very same," Mike nodded. He had explained how Waver Velvet had used his thaumaturgic trickery to make a temporary home for himself in Japan with Glen and Martha Mackenzie, part of a distant and non-magical branch of Mike's extended family. He had also noted how Mike's own father, one of the ranking Association in the annex run underneath Halifax's Town Clock, had "suggested" Waver contact the elder couple, without running it past them first; an act which had infuriated the brothers both from its callousness in exploiting their distant kin, and for its dangerousness in terms of risking the lives of two innocent lives for no good reason. This split had seen Mike come to London, where he ironically found himself working alongside the newly-minted Lord El-Melloi II (but not before making his displeasure over the Glen and Martha business quite clear); while David had signed up with the Canadian Forces and been deployed to Afghanistan as part of Canada's ongoing military commitment in that country.
What Mike had not explained, however, was why Waver had gone to Japan in the first place.
"But when I got to the airport, I found that by the time I had stopped to notice, the flight I had booked was taking me somewhere else instead." The plane Mike had boarded would take him nowhere near Japan, but would prove no less fateful for that. "I can't go into details right now, but to make a long story short... I have to go back. And this time, I can't leave again until things are settled, one way or another."
"And you can't tell me where this is because..." Seonac knew that even if Mike did tell him, the end result would be the same.
"Because you need to be here," Mike stated flatly. "You are still only beginning to walk your own path, and there is still-"
"-still the fact that I can't do anything, or that I'd probably get myself killed if I tried to follow you, you mean? That sort of reason?" There was more bitterness in those words than he had hoped to give them, but he couldn't deny the anger, and guilt, he felt towards his own limitations.
Mike took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, his left hand pressed to his eyelids. It was getting harder to push through this. "One day, lad, you'll be ready to step out that door, and to make the kind of life for yourself that I know you are capable of living. But it cannot be today."
Seonac had no answer to that.
"Here's what I can promise to you," Mike said, after a deep pause. "When this is all over, and if I am still alive at the end of it, I'll come back and tell you all of the things that you deserve to know, but what you don't need to know right now. But in return, you have to promise me that by the time that conversation happens, you'll be more than just my former student; that you'll be ready to shake my hand as a friend, and to greet me on level terms.
"Can you do that for me, Seonac?"
It wasn't a lot, but as the offer sank in, it proved to be enough.
"Yes."
------
"So you still don't know what was going on?" Shirou and Seonac had moved to the living room, and were seated across from each other not far from where Seonac and Mike had been sitting ten days earlier.
"If I were to hazard a guess," Seonac reasoned, "he's off hunting down some rogue teep or something. He had been sent to various parts of the world to investigate newly-emergent telepaths; I wouldn't think all of them would settle down amicably."
Something about that idea didn't sit right for Shirou with that idea. "If that were true, why would he not simply tell you? If you already know what kind of work he was involved in, would it be that much more of a deal to trust that you'd understand the problem without rushing off after him?"
Seonac had thought of that, too. "I suppose... but if there was something about one of those cases, something he had dealt with before, that had been more important, or perhaps more personal, than he was comfortable talking about, maybe that would explain why he wasn't ready to talk about it?"
"To be honest," Seonac admitted, "I can't help but think the real reason he's gone is to do with a former student of his, or something like that. I don't know how many other lost young mind-readers he had tried to help before he met me; what if one of those attempts to help had backfired on him?"
"That would explain why he'd be reluctant to talk about it with you," Shirou thought. "It's not always easy for someone who felt like they failed others in the past to feel comfortable admitting it to those they try to protect later on."
All Shirou had to do was to close his eyes and think of the words of Emiya Kiritsugu, the man who had done so much to save him, while bearing the burden of those for whom he could not do the same, to recognise that.
That legacy had done so much to shape the young adopted orphan's mind; to set him on the path of what he felt was the realization of a beautiful ideal, one he might have continued forever had the series of events which had now led him in this new direction not taken place.
But that was a discussion for another time.
"Well, I suppose I'll find out one day, assuming we're not both dead by then," Seonac concluded. "In the meantime, I might as well try to figure out how not to be so useless, hm?"
"Ha ha," Shirou laughed. He was in no such hurry to rush to such judgement. "You'll be fine, and you know what? When it comes to matters of magic and sorcery, there might be only one thing I can do well; but for what it's worth, if there's anything I can help with, I'll be more than happy to do so. And that's my promise!"
Seonac was about to reply, when a fresh voice carried across the room. "Although I should warn you; he's useful to have around in a fight, but in most cases Emiya-kun can be quite the idiot."
By the time the speaker had finished, several moments in Seonac’s mind had passed in rapid succession.
In the first, he had been startled to register a third voice in the room; he hadn’t been aware of the door opening and closing, let alone any footsteps indicating the distance the person must have taken to get to where she now stood; just behind Shirou’s seat. (Who is she, and how did she get in?)
In the second, he picked up on the voice; a woman’s, speaking Japanese, with the kind of tone and diction that seemed in itself to carry an innumerable degree of nuances about the personality of the speaker, clear in its expectation that he as a foreigner would understand completely. (Did she know about what had happened with Shirou?)
In the third, he stood up almost instinctively, his gaze lifting to gaze upon… the most striking, playful, powerful, vivid, incredible opal eyes he had ever seen; the kind he hadn’t imagined to actually exist before that very instant. (My God, she’s incredible…)
And in the fourth, as he glanced down to note the exquisite hand she had placed upon Shirou’s shoulder, the ease in which it found such rest, despite the latter’s own surprise at her sudden arrival, the moment of Planck time it took for the meaning to register in Seonac’s mind drove a stake through a heart that had barely just registered bursting. (…and I will never be good enough for her.)
Shirou, if you truly are my friend, he almost-but-not-quite managed to say aloud, then kill me now.
“You shouldn’t just barge in to the home of someone you don’t know like that, Tohsaka!” Shirou said, upset at his significant other’s lack of good manners.
“Fine then,” the young woman shrugged, before bowing to her new Irish guest. “Hello, we haven’t met. My name is Tohsaka Rin; it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Seonac blinked, did his best to bury the exceedingly unfortunate discovery he had just made prior to her greeting, and bowed in reply. “Seonac Ó’Conaill; welcome to my home.”
“Oh, also,” Rin added, offering her hand. “Shaking hands might be the done thing in this part of the world when meeting new acquaintances, yes?”
“S-sure…” Seonac was surprised at her forthrightness, but offered his own hand in return almost by default. Her touch almost crackled in his hand.
As they each drew their hands back to themselves, Rin smiled, and sent a triumphant look down Shirou’s way. “See, we’re not strangers now, so what was it you were concerned about again?”
“Never mind…” Shirou surrendered, once again bowing to her indomitable will.
And as Rin’s laughter echoed around his living room, Seonac knew that, somehow, he was going to have to find a way to exorcise that indescribable feeling this woman had unleashed, with the fury of a supernova, within the depths of his soul; and hope that the nebula of lingering emotion this shockwave left behind wouldn’t end up haunting him for the rest of his life.
It was going to take one hell of an effort.
Yu Ominae
2011-11-08, 19:51
I doubt there are many at the moment, although with the Zero anime coming out there might be a few coming soon....
I do remember reading a fic in FF.net with Shirou who knows Maiya. Can't remember if she's alive or what...
John117xCortana
2011-11-09, 10:00
Has anyone made a Soldier class Servant ?
Yu Ominae
2011-11-12, 23:49
Some interesting fanfics I came across recently:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7129868/1/Will_O_The_Wisp
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5232496/1/All_Over_Again (This one has Maiya alive)
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6746128/1/Phantom_Hero_of_Justice (The Templars want the Grail)
Soooooooo... um... * embarrassed chuckle*
I kiiiiiiinda updated Chaos Theory a little over a week ago and forgot to mention it here.
Whoops? :heh:
There's the link. (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6372400/13/Chaos_Theory) Sorry about that. :heh:
On another note? CT now also has its own page on TV Tropes! It's still small, but it's always nice to see something like that pop up, so feel free to check it out right over here. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanFic/ChaosTheory)
biodude711
2011-11-16, 20:49
Soooooooo... um... * embarrassed chuckle*
I kiiiiiiinda updated Chaos Theory a little over a week ago and forgot to mention it here.
Whoops? :heh:
There's the link. (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6372400/13/Chaos_Theory) Sorry about that. :heh:
On another note? CT now also has its own page on TV Tropes! It's still small, but it's always nice to see something like that pop up, so feel free to check it out right over here. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanFic/ChaosTheory)
Goddamn it, Moczo, stop making us worry!:p
Goddamn it, Moczo, stop making us worry!:p
Sorry? :heh:
I don't come by AS very often anymore, and I didn't think to post it here. I actually feel bad about it. :heh:
DezoPenguin
2011-11-16, 21:06
'Tis a good last few weeks. First R.C. gets back into writing Last Forge, and now we have new chapters of Chaos Theory and Into the Rain. All my favorite F/sn fics are updating again. :)
(In other news, I believe that's now three fics of yours with TV Tropes pages, Moczo? Do you pull them out of the Gate of Babylon or something? :p ;) )
Yu Ominae
2011-11-20, 03:13
Now I feel like setting up a fic with a Xover to Assassin's Creed with a Servant who's no tied to the Grail Wars being used as a supporting character to someone else.
MrTerrorist
2012-01-06, 04:02
The first fanfic based on Fate/Prototype has just appeared. (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7714579/1/Look_Out_The_Window)
Kuroi Hadou
2012-01-06, 07:16
The first fanfic based on Fate/Prototype has just appeared. (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7714579/1/Look_Out_The_Window)
That took longer than I expected. :heh:
MeisterBabylon
2012-01-06, 09:57
The first fanfic based on Fate/Prototype has just appeared. (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7714579/1/Look_Out_The_Window)Well, it already appeared a long time ago. Its called the Nanoha OC Thread Ein. :uhoh:
blitz1/2
2012-01-07, 01:17
I started to read Tainted Ideals, nice idea for a Kotomine Shirou and Jack the Ripper as his servant. :D
Although, I would still prefer that Rin had an Archer Class, just to prove the fan theory that the Tohsaka family always summon Archers. xD
Tiresias
2012-01-07, 02:10
I thought the theory is that the Tohsaka's always summon trolls? :p
Brand spankin' new Chaos Theory up for viewing on FF.net! (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6372400/14/Chaos_Theory)
And this time, I didn't forget you guys. :heh:
Yu Ominae
2012-04-25, 21:55
The first fanfic based on Fate/Prototype has just appeared. (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7714579/1/Look_Out_The_Window)
That story is gone from the FF.net database as of this month.
MrTerrorist
2012-06-15, 05:32
That story is gone from the FF.net database as of this month.
Here's the reboot of that fanfic.
Set in Stone (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7741386/1/Set_in_Stone)
*Waves to the FSN FFT*
Those of you who hang out in the Nanoha subforum know who I am. Those who don't, well, I write fanfics, a lot of fanfics.
This is what happens when I drink a massive amount of caffeine and am awake for 22 hours straight... I work out an entire fic in my head and I can't help but write it down...
Sadly, my outline only covers the LATTER part of the fic, so I have to get to it. :heh:
Anyway, if you're wondering...
Here's my Fate/Stay Fic...
Fate/Stay Another Night
...
Not the most imaginative title, I admit. :heh:
Word of warning, this is a crossover fic, so, if you don't like that, well, sorry.
Also, it's not the most serious fic around.
So, with those warnings, I hope you enjoy.
The Holy Grail War...
A war played out every few decades between seven masters and the seven servants they would summon to aid them in battle.
Saber
Lancer
Archer
Rider
Berserker
Caster
Assassin
These were the seven servants of heroes of history, myth and legend, called forth to do battle.
The last one standing would receive his or her prize, a single wish from the Holy Grail itself.
However, despite the near perfection of the grail, it still had some minor flaws.
And once in awhile, those flaws led to...
Hiccups.
And when the Grail hiccuped...
Nothing went right.
________________________
"So, do you get it now?" Rin Tohsaka looked at the redheaded boy and the blonde servant in front of her. They were currently in his house after a blue-haired man by the name of Lancer had attacked his home.
"Kind of," Shirou Emiya was still confused, first he had seen that Lancer guy fighting a man in red at the school, then he had been chased by the Lancer guy, got stabbed by that spear of his, which should have killed him, but Shirou wasn't going to complain about not dying when he was killed after all. Then, when he got home, that Lancer guy had followed him, only to be driven off by some strange blue-clad and armored blond haired, green eyed girl calling herself Saber. And now, Tohsaka, the school idol, was trying to explain things to him. "But I still have some questions."
"I should have guessed this," Rin said as she closed her eyes and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "So, come with me, I'll take you to someone who understands what's going on and can teach you a thing or two about what's happening."
"And," Shirou gave her a flat stare, "where are we going to find someone like that, at this time of night, on a Wednesday?"
(---)
"Welcome to church," a man with a deep voice, dark hair and a priest outfit said as he saw Rin and Shirou walk through the front doors. "Ah, Rin, I didn't expect to see you show up. Is something the matter?"
"Not for me, Kirei." Rin said as she gestured to Shirou. "But he, on the other hand..."
"Let me guess, he just discovered magic and you're too busy to teach him how to use it?" Kirei raised an eyebrow when she shook her head. "Oh, is it about the other thing?"
"Yes." Rin grumbled as he chuckled. "He somehow summoned Saber to the war."
"Ah, how interesting," Kirei nodded and smirked. "Alright, listen up, boy. This is a small war between legendary warriors of myth, legend and history. There's seven servants and seven masters, the servants and masters fight until there's only one left alive, the winner gets a wish granted by the Holy Grail."
"Wait, you mean that thing that..."
"Not that one." Kirei shook his head at Shirou. "That one got lost in an Earthquake back in World War 2. This one calls forth heroic spirits, and the last spirit and master combination alive gets a single wish."
Shirou sweat-dropped at the answer. "So, to win, I have to..."
"Kill the other masters and servants." Kirei chuckled at the dark look on Shirou's face. "Well, there's a couple of other ways to win. If you can get a master to surrender their command seals to you, they will drop out and you can continue on."
"And, these command seals..?"
Kirei rolled his eyes. "Man, you know nothing. Alright, listen up. A command seal is what's used to keep a bond between master and servant. Since servants are generally a lot more powerful than their master, the command seals act as a limiter of sorts. Servants know they can't get too out of control, a single command seal can put them back in their place. But, at the same time," he grinned at Shirou, making him uncomfortable at the look, "screw up too much and your servant will kill you when you least expect it. You only have three command seals, use them wisely." He smirked at Shirou. "Or did you use one already? Not a good idea, considering you have to last out the rest of the war."
Shirou twitched, he didn't like this guy already.
"Anyway, the question I have for you, Shirou, is, will you accept being a master and continue fighting this war?" He turned away from Rin and Shirou. "I warn you, if you choose to accept, it will be nothing but difficult battles. Friends and foes, those who were once your ally will now be your enemy." He narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Heck, the very reality that you know will be shattered. If you wish to give up your command seals, do so and I will offer you protection at the church until the war is over."
"No," Shirou shook his head, "no, I'll fight in this war. But not because I can, but because I want to keep people safe."
"Really?" Kirei chuckled at him. "I suppose I should tell you then. If you're so eager to protect people, what would you do if you knew that the grail could grant such a wish? Or, perhaps, what would you do if you knew that servants could steal the life of people from just a touch, a glance or even a thought?" Shirou's eyes widened and Kirei chuckled. "Just ten years ago, the fourth Grail War was completed, during that time, the servant Caster helped a mass murdering psychopath slaughter dozens of people in incredibly brutal and horrifying ways."
Shirou shuddered at that thought. "It doesn't matter, I'll stop that. I'll fight to stop all of that!"
Kirei chuckled heavily. "Well then, see to it that the tragedy of ten years ago isn't repeated." Shirou's eyes widened as he smirked. "I will tell you and Rin both this though, as the mediator of this war, I do not want either of you to come through those doors unless you either give up on being a master and wish to bow out of the war or if you are in need of council. Though, I'd prefer if you just gave me a phone call. I won't give you any information about who has what servant that you don't know, but I can tell you that Saber was the final servant summoned."
"Right..." Rin nodded and turned around. "Kirei, just leave the war to me, okay? Fuyuki is my prefecture after all."
Kirei just smirked as the two teenagers left the building. "How... Interesting." Still, things were looking somewhat amusing for the upcoming war.
(---)
"What happens now?" Shirou asked as he, Rin and Saber walked away from the church and onto the street corner.
"Now?" Rin gave him a flat stare. "Now you know the truth of this war. I'll walk with you for a little bit longer, but afterwords, we split up and are no longer allies."
"Ah, well, in that case, thank you, Tohsaka." Shirou rubbed the back of his head.
"Maybe you shouldn't thank her just yet." A new voice spoke up and Rin, Shirou and Saber all turned to see a young looking girl with white hair, red eyes standing a few feet from them. She had a large purple hat on her head, a white scarf and a purple dress. "Hello, Rin, Onii-chan." She grabbed her dress and bowed slightly. "My name is Ilya, Ilya von Einzbern."
"Von Einzbern?" Rin gasped as she looked at the young girl. "You're their representative this time?"
Ilya gave her a grim smile. "Indeed, I do represent the von Einzbern family this time."
"I believe," a new voice spoke up as a tall woman wearing a black, sleeveless shirt that clung to her body, revealing the fact that she had decently large breasts and short dress materialized behind Ilya, "that you have taken enough time, master." The woman had long silver hair, fingerless gloves on her hands, eyes so red that they seemed to be rubies rather than eyeballs, and six black wings on her back. She had short boots on her feet and one sock that ran way up her right leg, leaving her left one almost completely bare. "Shall we?"
"Of course, Caster."
"That's your servant?" Shirou asked as Ilya nodded. Even if she was challenging him, he was just struck by how... Similar Caster and Ilya looked. The eyes, the hair, granted Caster's hair was darker than Ilya's, but other than that...
"Ohohohohoho!" Rin started laughing at Ilya. "Too bad for you, Ilya... You called up a Caster class, and Saber here is a natural enemy for all Caster class servants."
Ilya didn't look worried, if anything, she looked amused more than anything else. "Oh, Rin, how foolish you are. I admit, I too was under the impression that my Caster wasn't that strong of a servant," she winked and held up a finger, "however, it turns out that she's a natural twenty."
Both Rin and Saber's eyes widened at that. "A... Natural twenty?" Rin shivered. She had heard about that before.
"What's with that?" Shirou didn't understand what was going on, why would twenty make them so nervous?
"Occasionally, someone gets summoned to a class that they're well suited for, but it turns out that they don't have the weaknesses of that class. In Caster's case, her weakness should be close range combat, but..." Rin trailed off as she took a step back, "if she really is a natural twenty, she'd be almost as good as a Rider class in close range combat."
"Even so," Saber narrowed her eyes as she looked at Caster, "she is still a Caster class, and I am still a Saber class servant. If I stay close to her, she would be unable to use her strongest magic against us."
"Who says you're going to get away?" A voice similar to Ilya's spoke up and Rin, Shirou and Saber slowly turned around to see another girl, this one looked very similar to Ilya, other than her dark skin. Behind her, a bronze-skinned giant with dark hair, thick muscles and a stone sword-axe stood silently. "After all... Onii-chan, Ilya, I want to kill both of you."
"Ilyasviel." Ilya said softly. "Grandfather sent you?"
"After I properly summoned Berserker, which you were unable to do," the dark-skinned girl narrowed her red eyes at Ilya, "grandfather sent me to Fuyuki to make sure that we got the grail."
"I am not liking these odds." Saber muttered as she looked at both Caster and Berserker. She could probably beat one or the other fairly easily, but if it came down to a crossfire situation, she wasn't sure if she could beat one without the other taking cheap shots at her.
"Perhaps I should even them then?" A familiar voice spoke up and Rin sighed as Archer appeared next to Saber. "Two on two is a lot more balanced, don't you think?"
Ilya crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "Well, Rin, consider yourself lucky, I'll let you and your servant leave. After all," she narrowed her eyes at the group in front of her, "this is a family matter."
"In that case," Archer smirked at Ilya, "I doubt I could leave." He chuckled softly, "even if I wanted to, my master seems to want to owe Emiya something." There was more to it than what he said, of course. In his hands, two swords appeared, one black as night, the other one was white, almost looking like the moon itself. "Before you say anything, Saber, I am only doing this because my master isn't one to leave, even if it would make things easier."
Rin twitched. "It's not like that! Stupid servant, I don't want to owe him anything, that's all!"
"Didn't you already pay him back for saving your life?" Archer smirked at Rin, who just twitched. "As for this, though..." He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Berserker while Saber faced off with that weird Caster girl. 'What is going on here? Ilya, how did you summon a Caster servant?' He might not have remembered too much, but he knew that Ilya summoned Hercules as Berserker, so why were there two Ilyas and why did one of them have Caster?
The tension in the air was tremendous, all it would take would be one small thing to set off the fireworks.
A body crashing to the ground and sliding up to Saber and Archer's feet almost did the trick. "GAH!" The body said as it sat up, revealing it to be a female body as she clutched her chest. "That bitch! She kicked me in the boobs!"
There was a soft noise of two feet touching down onto the ground. "Considering your size," a rather tall woman with purple hair, black stocking, black arm covers and a black dress that left her upper thighs and shoulders exposed, spoke up, "it was a hard target to hit." One thing that was noticeable on the woman, besides the chains with spiked ends in her hands, was the purple blindfold she had over her face.
The girl jumped to her feet, revealing that she wasn't too tall, she had light blonde, almost white hair, dull red eyes, while wearing ankle boots, a cape around her waist that revealed biker shorts from the front, an armored top with a coat that was very similar to Archer's jacket. "What did you say?!" She yelled while glaring at the tall woman.
"Urgh," Ilyasviel twitched as she looked at the group. "Berserker... Kill all of them."
The dark skinned girl's servant let out one massive yell before charging at the group.
The Holy Grail War had finally begun in earnest.
(---)
The giant's roar caught both newcomer's attention. Snarling at the five in front of him, Berserker charged forward, his stone sword held up and to the side. Ignoring how the one in red and the one in blue grabbed the non-servants and jumped away, Berserker homed in on the petite girl in skimpy clothing and swung his sword down at her. He growled when she rolled out of the way. Letting out a roar, he charged her again.
Meanwhile, Saber and Archer both put down their masters and looked at each other with distrust. Saber narrowed her eyes as Archer smirked at her. "Archer you..."
"May want to deal with Ilyasviel's Berserker." Archer, Saber, Rin and Shirou turned to see Ilya standing a foot away and looking at the battle as Berserker charged the small servant while the purple haired servant threw two chains at Berserker's back, bouncing off of his muscles and doing no damage. "After all, once he's done with them, he'll come for you." She smirked and turned her head to look at them. "Unless Oniichan thinks that he can be a hero and kill Berserker down there by himself."
Shirou looked at Ilya and down at Berserker and shivered slightly. The raw power, the blood lust, the rage, it was just incredible.
"And why should we stick around to fight?" Rin asked Ilya. "We're here, we can get our servants to grab us and leave."
Ilya sighed and pointed up. Looking up, Rin's eyes widened as she saw Caster in the air with a black sphere in one out-stretched hand pointing down at them while her attention was drawn to Berserker fighting the two girls. While neither of them could hurt the brute, he wasn't able to catch either of them. As Shirou looked at the petite girl, he wondered if maybe she was some sort of Saber servant as she was able to use several swords rapidly to defend herself with.
"And, besides," Ilya narrowed her eyes, "if Oniichan leaves now, I'll have no choice. I'll have Caster destroy this entire city." Ilya wondered if they'd run or if they'd fight. She had no problems destroying stuff to get what she wanted, and what she wanted the most was...
"Fine," Archer said as he turned to look at the battlefield. "But you'll have to excuse me if I vacate the battlefield. I am an Archer, after all."
"I don't care about you. I just want Oniichan to stay."
Shirou squeezed his hands into fists. "Fine! I'll stay. Saber, take care of that guy, will ya?"
"As you command," Saber nodded and rushed down towards Berserker.
Watching Saber leave to fight, Ilya let out a small sigh of relief. She really didn't want to have to have them call her bluff. Killing people wasn't a problem for her, but there were other reasons why she didn't want to go so far as to nuke the city.
Strangely enough, the Magic Association's possible anger never entered her mind.
(---)
Watching from a nearby tree, Lancer narrowed his eyes. 'Six... All six... DAMMIT!' He snarled mentally. He had no doubt that Berserker would likely fall, Saber should be able to handle such a creature and Caster, from what he heard of her master, was probably strong enough to kill him, he wasn't sure about the Archer, but there was something...
'Oh, wanting to get out there and fight?' An amused deep voice said in the back of his mind. 'Six servants fighting at once? Reminds me of my war. Though, I suppose you just want to get in there and fight someone?'
"Yes, dammit! Just... One... Fight..."
'Hmm... Very well then, Lancer.' Lancer's eyes widened as he felt 'shackles' on his body suddenly loosen. 'For today, I'll let you fight to your heart's content. However, you aren't to harm any of the masters, and if any of them are in danger...'
"Fine, I'll protect them," Lancer smirked as he called forth his weapon, "but don't expect me to hold back!"
(---)
Kirei chuckled as he continued to observe what was going on through Lancer's eyes. "Interesting, even in the last war, all the servants didn't show up right away." An arrogant voice spoke up and Kirei turned to see a familiar blond haired man standing there, looking at the far walls of the church and narrowing his eyes. "Someone cheated, there's two Archers out there."
"Are you sure, Gilgamesh?" Kirei asked, wondering what this meant to the whole grail wars this time.
Gilgamesh turned to look at Kirei with narrowed eyes. "Are you forgetting who you're talking to?"
"Ah." Kirei held up his hands in surrender. "You'll have to forgive me, Golden King, I am not as perfect as you are. And, as a flawed human, I have to admit, I thought I may have misheard you."
"Very well, I'll forgive you for your transgression in assuming that I was mistaken. But there's two Archer-class servants out there." His eyes narrowed as he looked out at the walls. "I may have to... Get involved early."
"Might I ask that you don't?" Kirei asked while bowing to Gilgamesh. The shorter king narrowed his eyes at the priest. "After all, if you got involved, it would take the fun out of the war. And besides," he stood up fully, "this isn't the first time a war has summoned something unusual. After all, the third war was noted for having two Saber class servants and Avenger instead of Berserker."
"Hmm..." Gilgamesh closed his eyes and rubbed his chin in thought. "I suppose so," he smirked as an amused thought came to him, "perhaps the two Archers were summoned at the same time then. If two masters were trying to get an Archer, then perhaps the grail decided to give them what they wanted."
Kirei fought the urge to sigh. Gilgamesh's temper really could cause a problem if he decided he wouldn't rein it in any longer.
"Kotomine!" Gilgamesh turned and walked off. "I grow bored of my current entertainment downstairs, I need some new video games."
Kirei sweat-dropped, the last time Gilgamesh wanted video games, he ordered everything in stock. "I'll see what I can do." Then again, from what Kirei had heard about Rider from the previous war...
"Maybe this is his way of showing that man some respect?" Who knew what went through Gilgamesh's mind at any point, but Kirei knew that Gilgamesh didn't respect too much and only Saber and Rider from the last war had managed to earn that much from him.
(---)
Landing in front of Berserker, Lancer grinned and stabbed forward, hitting the brute in the chest and drawing some blood. "Your fight's with me, big guy."
The only response he got was a roar.
Lancer smirked as he ducked out of the way of a swipe at his head. "Ha ha ha, excellent!" Lancer laughed as he stabbed forward as fast as he could, and since he considered himself made of goes fast, it was pretty impressive. Most people couldn't even try to block against that many stabs. Nearly everyone who was attacked would be nothing but paste on the sidewalk, the tougher ones would just have holes in their bodies as they bled out.
It was too bad that he was going up against the one opponent that could ignore those wounds and keep going. Lancer's eyes widened as, instead of being a bloody pulp on the ground, Berserker was suddenly in front of him, with rapidly healing holes in his body, grabbing Lancer by the leg and lifting him off the ground before slamming him down.
Lancer let out a grunt as he was smashed into the ground hard enough to drive the air out of his lungs. The next thing he knew, he was being swung over Berserker's head and slammed onto his back on the other side of the giant. The next thing he knew, Berserker was spinning in place before letting Lancer go and throwing him up at the floating Caster.
Caster raised an eyebrow and held a hand in front of her. When Lancer smashed into her barrier, she snorted as he started to slide down before she grabbed him by his hair and held him up. "I believe that your fight is with Berserker." Spinning around twice, she threw Lancer, head first, back at Berserker.
If Berserker could, he would have grinned as he gripped his weapon and swung upwards at the descending Lancer.
"Don't..." Lancer grunted as he twisted in mid-air to avoid the swing, "underestimate," he landed on Berserker's shoulders and jumped up and away from the giant, "me!" He turned and readied his weapon, only to pale as Berserker was right in front of him in mid air. "Oh crap."
Berserker let out a scream as he slammed his weapon into Lancer, driving him down to the ground and making a deep impression. Standing up, Berserker lifted his weapon up to finish Lancer off when the blue-haired Servant etched something into the air with a trembling finger. The next thing Berserker knew, an eruption occurred around his head, causing him to scream and stumble back as Lancer flipped out of the hole and jumped backwards, "alright then, big guy, let's see you take THIS!" He jumped into the air and notched his spear backwards. "Gae... BOLG!"
Berserker took one step forward before he was struck in the chest by a red barbed spear. Lancer's eyes widened as Berserker's chest wasn't pierced, but was able to stop the spear. "Impossible!"
"Not really." A young voice spoke up and Lancer turned to see the dark skinned Ilyasviel standing there, smirking with her arms crossed over her chest. "If it's a weapon or power of B rank or less, it can't hurt Berserker. And even if you could poke holes in his skin, you didn't get too far, did you? Just the tip entered his skin. And I'm guessing that your Noble Phantasm is only B rank, isn't it?"
"Heh, okay then..." The spear in front of Berserker disappeared and reappeared in Lancer's hand. "Then, how about..." He drew something on the shaft of his spear and Ilyasviel's eyes widened as she felt a burst of power.
"Berserker! Kill him!" Ilyasviel screamed and Berserker roared as he rushed forward.
"Gae BOLG!" The spear suddenly shone so brightly that Lancer and Ilyasviel had to look away as the whole street was suddenly bathed in enough light that one would think it was daytime.
This time, the spear managed to pierce Berserker's chest, striking him in the heart and causing Berserker to scream out as his heart exploded.
"Heh, well, that's..." Lancer smirked, knowing that no one could get up from Gae Bolg after it stabbed their heart.
The next thing he knew, he was flying backwards from an incredibly strong and fast punch that sent him crashing into a street light. "What the?"
"Ohohohohohoho!" Ilyasviel laughed as she put her hand up to her mouth. "It's impressive that you took one of Berserker's lives, Lancer, but, you should know something, Cu Chulainn..." She had a nasty grin on her face as Berserker glared at Lancer, "that Berserker is Greece's strongest hero of legend."
"...Her...Herakles?" Lancer trembled. "Why would you summon him?" Just his luck, one of the few Heroes of legend that could be called to nearly any class and he had to get called to the Berserker class. "I suppose he can't die too easily, huh?"
Ilyasviel laughed again. "Fool! His legend was that he had to complete twelve tasks so impossible that, when each one was done, he was given immortality, the twelve trials!"
Lancer stood up and bit his lower lip. "So, not only do I need to kill him once, but twelve times?" And for some reason, he wasn't sure if he could kill him with Gae Bolg again.
Ilyasviel blinked as Lancer suddenly broke out into a massive grin. "What?"
"YES! This is what I wanted!" Lancer started laughing and took a stance. "Come on, big guy! Let's go again!"
Ilyasviel could only stare as Berserker charged at Lancer again with a roar. "...Oh yeah, Chulainn was a battle maniac, wasn't he?"
(---)
When Lancer appeared, Rider wasn't sure what he had in mind, but when the blue-haired Servant drew Berserker's attention, the tall Servant nodded and turned her attention to the Archer she had been battling. "Well then," she threw her spiked chain at her opponent, who jumped out of the way as the nail stuck itself into the ground. "Perhaps you could stand still and die."
"No way!" The female Archer cried out as she scooted backwards and flipped to her feet. "If I did that, well, dying sucks, you know? I did that once already." Rider paused when two swords formed in the Archer's hands and she looked over to where Archer and Saber were at. "...Interesting, that you would summon a pair of swords just like he has."
"Well, I am an Archer." She smirked at Rider. "Besides, what do you care?" Rider's strike was more than strong enough to send her sliding backwards.
"Well, for one thing, Archers tend to not use swords." Rider pointed out and looked at the other Archer before looking back at her opponent. "...You know what? I think that the world went stupid when I wasn't looking. Two Archers, both using swords? Since when does that happen?"
"Who said it couldn't?" The female Archer smirked at Rider. "...You know what? Call me Archerko when he's around." She pointed her sword at the other Archer. "It'll be easier than going 'hey Archer, not you, the other Archer' all the time."
"Fine." Rider nodded to her and the next thing Archerko knew, Rider's foot was planted into her stomach sending her flying backwards and tumbling end over end. "...You're not much of a fighter, huh?"
"Guh!" Archerko flipped to her feet and grimaced. "Not against someone who's moving at the speed of sound!" She narrowed her eyes as Rider gave her a small smirk. "Well then, I'll have to make it impossible for you to get to me."
"Really?" Rider lowered herself into a three-point stance, allowing a perfect view down her dress and at her breasts. "Let me see what you can do then."
Rider rushed forward and Archerko smirked as spears, lots of spears, suddenly started erupting from the ground upwards and from different angles at such speeds that Rider was forced to jump back to avoid them. "Interesting that you can do that." Archerko just shrugged and Rider quickly jumped back as another spear ripped through where she was a moment ago. If Rider was more emotive, she would have narrowed her eyes as Archerko was suddenly in front of her, slashing forward with her swords. Rider barely got her spikes up in time to hold off the attack.
(---)
"I have to say, Saber..." Archer looked at the blonde, who looked back at him with narrowed eyes, "if this were other circumstances, we would be allies, however," he smirked while calling his two blades out, "it seems that Lancer is keeping Berserker busy."
"Archer," Saber hissed as she held up her weapon, "we should ally ourselves with Lancer to defeat Berserker. If we allow someone of that class to run around free..."
"As strong as Berserker is, Saber..." Archer narrowed his eyes at the petite woman, "Lancer seems intent on fighting him alone. Would you interfere with another Servant's pride like that?"
Saber narrowed her eyes at Archer as she stepped away, slowly circling him. "What would you know about that?"
He sighed, shaking his head. "Saber, you and Lancer, you two and your damnable honor refuse to take the advantages given to you. After all, if Lancer were to die here and now, would that not make it easier to win the grail? His Gae Bolg can kill any of us in one hit, do you think that your luck can hold out forever?"
When she swung her blade at him, Archer nearly smirked in victory. There wasn't much he wanted in his existence, ending it was one thing, but part of him, a deep part, still saw Saber as the best sword fighter ever. It was that part, the part that still idolized her, that wanted to see just how he compared to the legendary King of Knights.
There were plenty of others who were more powerful, stronger, or skilled than Saber was, even as she was now. However, none of that mattered to Archer, she was the measuring stick he used to determine how far he had gotten in his life and his skills.
There was no more time for words as Saber rushed in, swinging her invisible sword at Archer. There were sparks as her blade met his and he parried her sword to the side.
Saber narrowed her eyes as she watched him do that, something about that disturbed her.
(---)
Shirou took his eyes off the battlefield and looked at Rin. "So, tell me, Tohsaka... What do you want out of all of this?"
Rin narrowed her eyes at him. "It doesn't matter what I want." She waved her hand dismissively. "Consider this payment in full that I didn't take Ilya's offer to leave the battlefield early."
"For some reason, I think her partner should be Ruby, not Archer." Ilya commented, drawing their attention. "I have no idea why, but I'm imagining something called Ruby near you and making you do embarrassing things." Her mind really wasn't on the battle, none of the servants were hers, and from what she could see, Berserker would kill that Lancer soon enough, even if Lancer was faster than Berserker, Gae Bolg wasn't going to kill him again. No, her mind was on two people at that moment, "Rin, I understand that the Japanese do not like to get involved with affairs that aren't their business," Ilya said with her eyes closed. "So, I'll ask you, just step aside so I can talk to Ilyasviel and Oniichan, okay?" She grinned and tilted her head to the side, her hair moving with her motion.
"And what makes you think I won't take a shot at you three when you're distracted?" Rin was already backing up. She had no real reason to protect Shirou and even less reasons to help either Ilya out.
Ilya pointed upwards at Caster. "Because my Servant isn't engaged in any battles, Rin, if you tried anything, you'd be dead before you could call your Servant to protect you." She giggled at the raw frustration that formed on Rin's face. "You should work on your temper, Rin."
Even if she was frustrated, Rin didn't think she could handle three masters and a Servant at the same time. Even with her gems, if she tried attacking a Servant, well... Right now the Servants seemed content to fight each other, and she didn't think she'd want to draw their attentions right now anyway. "Fine..." Rin turned around and walked a short distance until she stood by a tree. Even if Shirou wasn't too bad looking, she wasn't going to risk the ire of a Caster-class servant who apparently won the super power lottery.
"Ilya," Ilyasviel narrowed her eyes, "you could just give up, let Berserker and myself handle this. Grandfather doesn't expect you to win after all." She looked at Shirou and narrowed her eyes, "of course, if you want first shot, I won't complain too much."
"First shot?" Shirou looked at the dark skinned girl in confusion. "What's going on?"
"Really, Oniichan, did you think that it wouldn't matter? After what happened, how can you be so blind?" Ilyasviel shook her head. "Maybe it would be best if you weren't part of this war anymore? How about it?" She smiled at him. "Give up your command spells and I promise not to hurt you too much."
"Hey!" Ilya narrowed her eyes at the dark skinned girl. "Leave Oniichan alone! I get to do that stuff to him!"
"You know, Ilya..." Shirou said as he tried to ignore the fact that the girls seemed to want to kill him, "if you keep calling me that, I might think you are my sister."
Ilya blinked at him. "Didn't Kiritsugu tell you?" Seeing Shirou's confused look, she sighed and shook her head. "Never mind, I guess it wasn't too important for him."
Shirou wasn't sure why, but, that tone of voice that she used, it was so... Different than before. He didn't know what it was, but there was something in the way that she spoke that just reminded him of what it was like for him when Kiritsugu died. "Ilya..."
"Bah! I'm bored." Ilya looked away with her eyes closed. "Caster! We're leaving!" She turned to glare at Shirou. "Try to stay alive for at least a few days, Oniichan." Caster landed next to her and picked her up before flying off herself.
(---)
Rider looked at Archerko. "It seems my master wants me to withdraw," the purple haired Servant stood to her full height and turned around while fading from sight.
Archerko sighed and stretched her neck from side to side, working a few kinks out of it. "Damn, I knew I should have avoided her." She just had to fight the fastest Servant on the first night, didn't she? Looking at Berserker and Lancer, she shook her head before looking at Saber and Archer and sighing. "...Later." She disappeared from view, leaving just the four servants alone.
Just after she disappeared, Lancer found himself crashing on his back where Archerko was. "Nngh," he winced and looked at Berserker as the giant growled before turning and walking over to his master. "Hey! Are you just going to leave?! Come on! I was just getting my second wind!" He sat up and forced himself to his feet before grimacing as he felt his leg suddenly break. "Gah! This is nothing! Get back here!"
Berserker ignored him as he continued to walk towards his master.
"Berserker!" Archer jumped away from Saber and held his swords out defensively in front of him. If Berserker attacked, he'd have to get Saber to distract the giant until he could get some distance, like about two miles, and fire some of his favorite weapons to deal with Berserker.
The giant ignored the two of them and continued to Ilyasviel. As she was picked up by Berserker, Ilyasviel grinned at Shirou. "We'll meet again."
Rin looked at Shirou and let out a sigh. "Emiya-kun, if you keep Saber from attacking anymore, I think I'll call it a night as well."
"Master," Saber looked at him while keeping one eye on Archer. "Do you wish to leave?"
"Yeah, I need to think about stuff." Shirou nodded and the two Servants walked back to their masters, while keeping an eye on each other.
"Well, I suppose it can't be helped." Archer snorted as he looked at the two of them. "With a master like him, you probably won't last too long, Saber." He picked up Rin and jumped away.
"Let's go home, Saber." Shirou tried to ignore the fact that Rin's Archer annoyed him to no end, and he didn't even have to do anything.
"Very well, let us go." Saber nodded as they walked towards the Emiya estate.
"HEY!" Lancer cried out as everyone ignored him. "What about me?!"
mega1987
2012-11-27, 20:58
*Waves to the FSN FFT*
Those of you who hang out in the Nanoha subforum know who I am. Those who don't, well, I write fanfics, a lot of fanfics.
This is what happens when I drink a massive amount of caffeine and am awake for 22 hours straight... I work out an entire fic in my head and I can't help but write it down...
Sadly, my outline only covers the LATTER part of the fic, so I have to get to it. :heh:
Anyway, if you're wondering...
Here's my Fate/Stay Fic...
Fate/Stay Another Night
...
Not the most imaginative title, I admit. :heh:
Word of warning, this is a crossover fic, so, if you don't like that, well, sorry.
Also, it's not the most serious fic around.
So, with those warnings, I hope you enjoy.
The Holy Grail War...
A war played out every few decades between seven masters and the seven servants they would summon to aid them in battle.
Saber
Lancer
Archer
Rider
Berserker
Caster
Assassin
These were the seven servants of heroes of history, myth and legend, called forth to do battle.
The last one standing would receive his or her prize, a single wish from the Holy Grail itself.
However, despite the near perfection of the grail, it still had some minor flaws.
And once in awhile, those flaws led to...
Hiccups.
And when the Grail hiccuped...
Nothing went right.
________________________
"So, do you get it now?" Rin Tohsaka looked at the redheaded boy and the blonde servant in front of her. They were currently in his house after a blue-haired man by the name of Lancer had attacked his home.
"Kind of," Shirou Emiya was still confused, first he had seen that Lancer guy fighting a man in red at the school, then he had been chased by the Lancer guy, got stabbed by that spear of his, which should have killed him, but Shirou wasn't going to complain about not dying when he was killed after all. Then, when he got home, that Lancer guy had followed him, only to be driven off by some strange blue-clad and armored blond haired, green eyed girl calling herself Saber. And now, Tohsaka, the school idol, was trying to explain things to him. "But I still have some questions."
"I should have guessed this," Rin said as she closed her eyes and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "So, come with me, I'll take you to someone who understands what's going on and can teach you a thing or two about what's happening."
"And," Shirou gave her a flat stare, "where are we going to find someone like that, at this time of night, on a Wednesday?"
(---)
"Welcome to church," a man with a deep voice, dark hair and a priest outfit said as he saw Rin and Shirou walk through the front doors. "Ah, Rin, I didn't expect to see you show up. Is something the matter?"
"Not for me, Kirei." Rin said as she gestured to Shirou. "But he, on the other hand..."
"Let me guess, he just discovered magic and you're too busy to teach him how to use it?" Kirei raised an eyebrow when she shook her head. "Oh, is it about the other thing?"
"Yes." Rin grumbled as he chuckled. "He somehow summoned Saber to the war."
"Ah, how interesting," Kirei nodded and smirked. "Alright, listen up, boy. This is a small war between legendary warriors of myth, legend and history. There's seven servants and seven masters, the servants and masters fight until there's only one left alive, the winner gets a wish granted by the Holy Grail."
"Wait, you mean that thing that..."
"Not that one." Kirei shook his head at Shirou. "That one got lost in an Earthquake back in World War 2. This one calls forth heroic spirits, and the last spirit and master combination alive gets a single wish."
Shirou sweat-dropped at the answer. "So, to win, I have to..."
"Kill the other masters and servants." Kirei chuckled at the dark look on Shirou's face. "Well, there's a couple of other ways to win. If you can get a master to surrender their command seals to you, they will drop out and you can continue on."
"And, these command seals..?"
Kirei rolled his eyes. "Man, you know nothing. Alright, listen up. A command seal is what's used to keep a bond between master and servant. Since servants are generally a lot more powerful than their master, the command seals act as a limiter of sorts. Servants know they can't get too out of control, a single command seal can put them back in their place. But, at the same time," he grinned at Shirou, making him uncomfortable at the look, "screw up too much and your servant will kill you when you least expect it. You only have three command seals, use them wisely." He smirked at Shirou. "Or did you use one already? Not a good idea, considering you have to last out the rest of the war."
Shirou twitched, he didn't like this guy already.
"Anyway, the question I have for you, Shirou, is, will you accept being a master and continue fighting this war?" He turned away from Rin and Shirou. "I warn you, if you choose to accept, it will be nothing but difficult battles. Friends and foes, those who were once your ally will now be your enemy." He narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Heck, the very reality that you know will be shattered. If you wish to give up your command seals, do so and I will offer you protection at the church until the war is over."
"No," Shirou shook his head, "no, I'll fight in this war. But not because I can, but because I want to keep people safe."
"Really?" Kirei chuckled at him. "I suppose I should tell you then. If you're so eager to protect people, what would you do if you knew that the grail could grant such a wish? Or, perhaps, what would you do if you knew that servants could steal the life of people from just a touch, a glance or even a thought?" Shirou's eyes widened and Kirei chuckled. "Just ten years ago, the fourth Grail War was completed, during that time, the servant Caster helped a mass murdering psychopath slaughter dozens of people in incredibly brutal and horrifying ways."
Shirou shuddered at that thought. "It doesn't matter, I'll stop that. I'll fight to stop all of that!"
Kirei chuckled heavily. "Well then, see to it that the tragedy of ten years ago isn't repeated." Shirou's eyes widened as he smirked. "I will tell you and Rin both this though, as the mediator of this war, I do not want either of you to come through those doors unless you either give up on being a master and wish to bow out of the war or if you are in need of council. Though, I'd prefer if you just gave me a phone call. I won't give you any information about who has what servant that you don't know, but I can tell you that Saber was the final servant summoned."
"Right..." Rin nodded and turned around. "Kirei, just leave the war to me, okay? Fuyuki is my prefecture after all."
Kirei just smirked as the two teenagers left the building. "How... Interesting." Still, things were looking somewhat amusing for the upcoming war.
(---)
"What happens now?" Shirou asked as he, Rin and Saber walked away from the church and onto the street corner.
"Now?" Rin gave him a flat stare. "Now you know the truth of this war. I'll walk with you for a little bit longer, but afterwords, we split up and are no longer allies."
"Ah, well, in that case, thank you, Tohsaka." Shirou rubbed the back of his head.
"Maybe you shouldn't thank her just yet." A new voice spoke up and Rin, Shirou and Saber all turned to see a young looking girl with white hair, red eyes standing a few feet from them. She had a large purple hat on her head, a white scarf and a purple dress. "Hello, Rin, Onii-chan." She grabbed her dress and bowed slightly. "My name is Ilya, Ilya von Einzbern."
"Von Einzbern?" Rin gasped as she looked at the young girl. "You're their representative this time?"
Ilya gave her a grim smile. "Indeed, I do represent the von Einzbern family this time."
"I believe," a new voice spoke up as a tall woman wearing a black, sleeveless shirt that clung to her body, revealing the fact that she had decently large breasts and short dress materialized behind Ilya, "that you have taken enough time, master." The woman had long silver hair, fingerless gloves on her hands, eyes so red that they seemed to be rubies rather than eyeballs, and six black wings on her back. She had short boots on her feet and one sock that ran way up her right leg, leaving her left one almost completely bare. "Shall we?"
"Of course, Caster."
"That's your servant?" Shirou asked as Ilya nodded. Even if she was challenging him, he was just struck by how... Similar Caster and Ilya looked. The eyes, the hair, granted Caster's hair was darker than Ilya's, but other than that...
"Ohohohohoho!" Rin started laughing at Ilya. "Too bad for you, Ilya... You called up a Caster class, and Saber here is a natural enemy for all Caster class servants."
Ilya didn't look worried, if anything, she looked amused more than anything else. "Oh, Rin, how foolish you are. I admit, I too was under the impression that my Caster wasn't that strong of a servant," she winked and held up a finger, "however, it turns out that she's a natural twenty."
Both Rin and Saber's eyes widened at that. "A... Natural twenty?" Rin shivered. She had heard about that before.
"What's with that?" Shirou didn't understand what was going on, why would twenty make them so nervous?
"Occasionally, someone gets summoned to a class that they're well suited for, but it turns out that they don't have the weaknesses of that class. In Caster's case, her weakness should be close range combat, but..." Rin trailed off as she took a step back, "if she really is a natural twenty, she'd be almost as good as a Rider class in close range combat."
"Even so," Saber narrowed her eyes as she looked at Caster, "she is still a Caster class, and I am still a Saber class servant. If I stay close to her, she would be unable to use her strongest magic against us."
"Who says you're going to get away?" A voice similar to Ilya's spoke up and Rin, Shirou and Saber slowly turned around to see another girl, this one looked very similar to Ilya, other than her dark skin. Behind her, a bronze-skinned giant with dark hair, thick muscles and a stone sword-axe stood silently. "After all... Onii-chan, Ilya, I want to kill both of you."
"Ilyasviel." Ilya said softly. "Grandfather sent you?"
"After I properly summoned Berserker, which you were unable to do," the dark-skinned girl narrowed her red eyes at Ilya, "grandfather sent me to Fuyuki to make sure that we got the grail."
"I am not liking these odds." Saber muttered as she looked at both Caster and Berserker. She could probably beat one or the other fairly easily, but if it came down to a crossfire situation, she wasn't sure if she could beat one without the other taking cheap shots at her.
"Perhaps I should even them then?" A familiar voice spoke up and Rin sighed as Archer appeared next to Saber. "Two on two is a lot more balanced, don't you think?"
Ilya crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "Well, Rin, consider yourself lucky, I'll let you and your servant leave. After all," she narrowed her eyes at the group in front of her, "this is a family matter."
"In that case," Archer smirked at Ilya, "I doubt I could leave." He chuckled softly, "even if I wanted to, my master seems to want to owe Emiya something." There was more to it than what he said, of course. In his hands, two swords appeared, one black as night, the other one was white, almost looking like the moon itself. "Before you say anything, Saber, I am only doing this because my master isn't one to leave, even if it would make things easier."
Rin twitched. "It's not like that! Stupid servant, I don't want to owe him anything, that's all!"
"Didn't you already pay him back for saving your life?" Archer smirked at Rin, who just twitched. "As for this, though..." He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Berserker while Saber faced off with that weird Caster girl. 'What is going on here? Ilya, how did you summon a Caster servant?' He might not have remembered too much, but he knew that Ilya summoned Hercules as Berserker, so why were there two Ilyas and why did one of them have Caster?
The tension in the air was tremendous, all it would take would be one small thing to set off the fireworks.
A body crashing to the ground and sliding up to Saber and Archer's feet almost did the trick. "GAH!" The body said as it sat up, revealing it to be a female body as she clutched her chest. "That bitch! She kicked me in the boobs!"
There was a soft noise of two feet touching down onto the ground. "Considering your size," a rather tall woman with purple hair, black stocking, black arm covers and a black dress that left her upper thighs and shoulders exposed, spoke up, "it was a hard target to hit." One thing that was noticeable on the woman, besides the chains with spiked ends in her hands, was the purple blindfold she had over her face.
The girl jumped to her feet, revealing that she wasn't too tall, she had light blonde, almost white hair, dull red eyes, while wearing ankle boots, a cape around her waist that revealed biker shorts from the front, an armored top with a coat that was very similar to Archer's jacket. "What did you say?!" She yelled while glaring at the tall woman.
"Urgh," Ilyasviel twitched as she looked at the group. "Berserker... Kill all of them."
The dark skinned girl's servant let out one massive yell before charging at the group.
The Holy Grail War had finally begun in earnest.
(---)
The giant's roar caught both newcomer's attention. Snarling at the five in front of him, Berserker charged forward, his stone sword held up and to the side. Ignoring how the one in red and the one in blue grabbed the non-servants and jumped away, Berserker homed in on the petite girl in skimpy clothing and swung his sword down at her. He growled when she rolled out of the way. Letting out a roar, he charged her again.
Meanwhile, Saber and Archer both put down their masters and looked at each other with distrust. Saber narrowed her eyes as Archer smirked at her. "Archer you..."
"May want to deal with Ilyasviel's Berserker." Archer, Saber, Rin and Shirou turned to see Ilya standing a foot away and looking at the battle as Berserker charged the small servant while the purple haired servant threw two chains at Berserker's back, bouncing off of his muscles and doing no damage. "After all, once he's done with them, he'll come for you." She smirked and turned her head to look at them. "Unless Oniichan thinks that he can be a hero and kill Berserker down there by himself."
Shirou looked at Ilya and down at Berserker and shivered slightly. The raw power, the blood lust, the rage, it was just incredible.
"And why should we stick around to fight?" Rin asked Ilya. "We're here, we can get our servants to grab us and leave."
Ilya sighed and pointed up. Looking up, Rin's eyes widened as she saw Caster in the air with a black sphere in one out-stretched hand pointing down at them while her attention was drawn to Berserker fighting the two girls. While neither of them could hurt the brute, he wasn't able to catch either of them. As Shirou looked at the petite girl, he wondered if maybe she was some sort of Saber servant as she was able to use several swords rapidly to defend herself with.
"And, besides," Ilya narrowed her eyes, "if Oniichan leaves now, I'll have no choice. I'll have Caster destroy this entire city." Ilya wondered if they'd run or if they'd fight. She had no problems destroying stuff to get what she wanted, and what she wanted the most was...
"Fine," Archer said as he turned to look at the battlefield. "But you'll have to excuse me if I vacate the battlefield. I am an Archer, after all."
"I don't care about you. I just want Oniichan to stay."
Shirou squeezed his hands into fists. "Fine! I'll stay. Saber, take care of that guy, will ya?"
"As you command," Saber nodded and rushed down towards Berserker.
Watching Saber leave to fight, Ilya let out a small sigh of relief. She really didn't want to have to have them call her bluff. Killing people wasn't a problem for her, but there were other reasons why she didn't want to go so far as to nuke the city.
Strangely enough, the Magic Association's possible anger never entered her mind.
(---)
Watching from a nearby tree, Lancer narrowed his eyes. 'Six... All six... DAMMIT!' He snarled mentally. He had no doubt that Berserker would likely fall, Saber should be able to handle such a creature and Caster, from what he heard of her master, was probably strong enough to kill him, he wasn't sure about the Archer, but there was something...
'Oh, wanting to get out there and fight?' An amused deep voice said in the back of his mind. 'Six servants fighting at once? Reminds me of my war. Though, I suppose you just want to get in there and fight someone?'
"Yes, dammit! Just... One... Fight..."
'Hmm... Very well then, Lancer.' Lancer's eyes widened as he felt 'shackles' on his body suddenly loosen. 'For today, I'll let you fight to your heart's content. However, you aren't to harm any of the masters, and if any of them are in danger...'
"Fine, I'll protect them," Lancer smirked as he called forth his weapon, "but don't expect me to hold back!"
(---)
Kirei chuckled as he continued to observe what was going on through Lancer's eyes. "Interesting, even in the last war, all the servants didn't show up right away." An arrogant voice spoke up and Kirei turned to see a familiar blond haired man standing there, looking at the far walls of the church and narrowing his eyes. "Someone cheated, there's two Archers out there."
"Are you sure, Gilgamesh?" Kirei asked, wondering what this meant to the whole grail wars this time.
Gilgamesh turned to look at Kirei with narrowed eyes. "Are you forgetting who you're talking to?"
"Ah." Kirei held up his hands in surrender. "You'll have to forgive me, Golden King, I am not as perfect as you are. And, as a flawed human, I have to admit, I thought I may have misheard you."
"Very well, I'll forgive you for your transgression in assuming that I was mistaken. But there's two Archer-class servants out there." His eyes narrowed as he looked out at the walls. "I may have to... Get involved early."
"Might I ask that you don't?" Kirei asked while bowing to Gilgamesh. The shorter king narrowed his eyes at the priest. "After all, if you got involved, it would take the fun out of the war. And besides," he stood up fully, "this isn't the first time a war has summoned something unusual. After all, the third war was noted for having two Saber class servants and Avenger instead of Berserker."
"Hmm..." Gilgamesh closed his eyes and rubbed his chin in thought. "I suppose so," he smirked as an amused thought came to him, "perhaps the two Archers were summoned at the same time then. If two masters were trying to get an Archer, then perhaps the grail decided to give them what they wanted."
Kirei fought the urge to sigh. Gilgamesh's temper really could cause a problem if he decided he wouldn't rein it in any longer.
"Kotomine!" Gilgamesh turned and walked off. "I grow bored of my current entertainment downstairs, I need some new video games."
Kirei sweat-dropped, the last time Gilgamesh wanted video games, he ordered everything in stock. "I'll see what I can do." Then again, from what Kirei had heard about Rider from the previous war...
"Maybe this is his way of showing that man some respect?" Who knew what went through Gilgamesh's mind at any point, but Kirei knew that Gilgamesh didn't respect too much and only Saber and Rider from the last war had managed to earn that much from him.
(---)
Landing in front of Berserker, Lancer grinned and stabbed forward, hitting the brute in the chest and drawing some blood. "Your fight's with me, big guy."
The only response he got was a roar.
Lancer smirked as he ducked out of the way of a swipe at his head. "Ha ha ha, excellent!" Lancer laughed as he stabbed forward as fast as he could, and since he considered himself made of goes fast, it was pretty impressive. Most people couldn't even try to block against that many stabs. Nearly everyone who was attacked would be nothing but paste on the sidewalk, the tougher ones would just have holes in their bodies as they bled out.
It was too bad that he was going up against the one opponent that could ignore those wounds and keep going. Lancer's eyes widened as, instead of being a bloody pulp on the ground, Berserker was suddenly in front of him, with rapidly healing holes in his body, grabbing Lancer by the leg and lifting him off the ground before slamming him down.
Lancer let out a grunt as he was smashed into the ground hard enough to drive the air out of his lungs. The next thing he knew, he was being swung over Berserker's head and slammed onto his back on the other side of the giant. The next thing he knew, Berserker was spinning in place before letting Lancer go and throwing him up at the floating Caster.
Caster raised an eyebrow and held a hand in front of her. When Lancer smashed into her barrier, she snorted as he started to slide down before she grabbed him by his hair and held him up. "I believe that your fight is with Berserker." Spinning around twice, she threw Lancer, head first, back at Berserker.
If Berserker could, he would have grinned as he gripped his weapon and swung upwards at the descending Lancer.
"Don't..." Lancer grunted as he twisted in mid-air to avoid the swing, "underestimate," he landed on Berserker's shoulders and jumped up and away from the giant, "me!" He turned and readied his weapon, only to pale as Berserker was right in front of him in mid air. "Oh crap."
Berserker let out a scream as he slammed his weapon into Lancer, driving him down to the ground and making a deep impression. Standing up, Berserker lifted his weapon up to finish Lancer off when the blue-haired Servant etched something into the air with a trembling finger. The next thing Berserker knew, an eruption occurred around his head, causing him to scream and stumble back as Lancer flipped out of the hole and jumped backwards, "alright then, big guy, let's see you take THIS!" He jumped into the air and notched his spear backwards. "Gae... BOLG!"
Berserker took one step forward before he was struck in the chest by a red barbed spear. Lancer's eyes widened as Berserker's chest wasn't pierced, but was able to stop the spear. "Impossible!"
"Not really." A young voice spoke up and Lancer turned to see the dark skinned Ilyasviel standing there, smirking with her arms crossed over her chest. "If it's a weapon or power of B rank or less, it can't hurt Berserker. And even if you could poke holes in his skin, you didn't get too far, did you? Just the tip entered his skin. And I'm guessing that your Noble Phantasm is only B rank, isn't it?"
"Heh, okay then..." The spear in front of Berserker disappeared and reappeared in Lancer's hand. "Then, how about..." He drew something on the shaft of his spear and Ilyasviel's eyes widened as she felt a burst of power.
"Berserker! Kill him!" Ilyasviel screamed and Berserker roared as he rushed forward.
"Gae BOLG!" The spear suddenly shone so brightly that Lancer and Ilyasviel had to look away as the whole street was suddenly bathed in enough light that one would think it was daytime.
This time, the spear managed to pierce Berserker's chest, striking him in the heart and causing Berserker to scream out as his heart exploded.
"Heh, well, that's..." Lancer smirked, knowing that no one could get up from Gae Bolg after it stabbed their heart.
The next thing he knew, he was flying backwards from an incredibly strong and fast punch that sent him crashing into a street light. "What the?"
"Ohohohohohoho!" Ilyasviel laughed as she put her hand up to her mouth. "It's impressive that you took one of Berserker's lives, Lancer, but, you should know something, Cu Chulainn..." She had a nasty grin on her face as Berserker glared at Lancer, "that Berserker is Greece's strongest hero of legend."
"...Her...Herakles?" Lancer trembled. "Why would you summon him?" Just his luck, one of the few Heroes of legend that could be called to nearly any class and he had to get called to the Berserker class. "I suppose he can't die too easily, huh?"
Ilyasviel laughed again. "Fool! His legend was that he had to complete twelve tasks so impossible that, when each one was done, he was given immortality, the twelve trials!"
Lancer stood up and bit his lower lip. "So, not only do I need to kill him once, but twelve times?" And for some reason, he wasn't sure if he could kill him with Gae Bolg again.
Ilyasviel blinked as Lancer suddenly broke out into a massive grin. "What?"
"YES! This is what I wanted!" Lancer started laughing and took a stance. "Come on, big guy! Let's go again!"
Ilyasviel could only stare as Berserker charged at Lancer again with a roar. "...Oh yeah, Chulainn was a battle maniac, wasn't he?"
(---)
When Lancer appeared, Rider wasn't sure what he had in mind, but when the blue-haired Servant drew Berserker's attention, the tall Servant nodded and turned her attention to the Archer she had been battling. "Well then," she threw her spiked chain at her opponent, who jumped out of the way as the nail stuck itself into the ground. "Perhaps you could stand still and die."
"No way!" The female Archer cried out as she scooted backwards and flipped to her feet. "If I did that, well, dying sucks, you know? I did that once already." Rider paused when two swords formed in the Archer's hands and she looked over to where Archer and Saber were at. "...Interesting, that you would summon a pair of swords just like he has."
"Well, I am an Archer." She smirked at Rider. "Besides, what do you care?" Rider's strike was more than strong enough to send her sliding backwards.
"Well, for one thing, Archers tend to not use swords." Rider pointed out and looked at the other Archer before looking back at her opponent. "...You know what? I think that the world went stupid when I wasn't looking. Two Archers, both using swords? Since when does that happen?"
"Who said it couldn't?" The female Archer smirked at Rider. "...You know what? Call me Archerko when he's around." She pointed her sword at the other Archer. "It'll be easier than going 'hey Archer, not you, the other Archer' all the time."
"Fine." Rider nodded to her and the next thing Archerko knew, Rider's foot was planted into her stomach sending her flying backwards and tumbling end over end. "...You're not much of a fighter, huh?"
"Guh!" Archerko flipped to her feet and grimaced. "Not against someone who's moving at the speed of sound!" She narrowed her eyes as Rider gave her a small smirk. "Well then, I'll have to make it impossible for you to get to me."
"Really?" Rider lowered herself into a three-point stance, allowing a perfect view down her dress and at her breasts. "Let me see what you can do then."
Rider rushed forward and Archerko smirked as spears, lots of spears, suddenly started erupting from the ground upwards and from different angles at such speeds that Rider was forced to jump back to avoid them. "Interesting that you can do that." Archerko just shrugged and Rider quickly jumped back as another spear ripped through where she was a moment ago. If Rider was more emotive, she would have narrowed her eyes as Archerko was suddenly in front of her, slashing forward with her swords. Rider barely got her spikes up in time to hold off the attack.
(---)
"I have to say, Saber..." Archer looked at the blonde, who looked back at him with narrowed eyes, "if this were other circumstances, we would be allies, however," he smirked while calling his two blades out, "it seems that Lancer is keeping Berserker busy."
"Archer," Saber hissed as she held up her weapon, "we should ally ourselves with Lancer to defeat Berserker. If we allow someone of that class to run around free..."
"As strong as Berserker is, Saber..." Archer narrowed his eyes at the petite woman, "Lancer seems intent on fighting him alone. Would you interfere with another Servant's pride like that?"
Saber narrowed her eyes at Archer as she stepped away, slowly circling him. "What would you know about that?"
He sighed, shaking his head. "Saber, you and Lancer, you two and your damnable honor refuse to take the advantages given to you. After all, if Lancer were to die here and now, would that not make it easier to win the grail? His Gae Bolg can kill any of us in one hit, do you think that your luck can hold out forever?"
When she swung her blade at him, Archer nearly smirked in victory. There wasn't much he wanted in his existence, ending it was one thing, but part of him, a deep part, still saw Saber as the best sword fighter ever. It was that part, the part that still idolized her, that wanted to see just how he compared to the legendary King of Knights.
There were plenty of others who were more powerful, stronger, or skilled than Saber was, even as she was now. However, none of that mattered to Archer, she was the measuring stick he used to determine how far he had gotten in his life and his skills.
There was no more time for words as Saber rushed in, swinging her invisible sword at Archer. There were sparks as her blade met his and he parried her sword to the side.
Saber narrowed her eyes as she watched him do that, something about that disturbed her.
(---)
Shirou took his eyes off the battlefield and looked at Rin. "So, tell me, Tohsaka... What do you want out of all of this?"
Rin narrowed her eyes at him. "It doesn't matter what I want." She waved her hand dismissively. "Consider this payment in full that I didn't take Ilya's offer to leave the battlefield early."
"For some reason, I think her partner should be Ruby, not Archer." Ilya commented, drawing their attention. "I have no idea why, but I'm imagining something called Ruby near you and making you do embarrassing things." Her mind really wasn't on the battle, none of the servants were hers, and from what she could see, Berserker would kill that Lancer soon enough, even if Lancer was faster than Berserker, Gae Bolg wasn't going to kill him again. No, her mind was on two people at that moment, "Rin, I understand that the Japanese do not like to get involved with affairs that aren't their business," Ilya said with her eyes closed. "So, I'll ask you, just step aside so I can talk to Ilyasviel and Oniichan, okay?" She grinned and tilted her head to the side, her hair moving with her motion.
"And what makes you think I won't take a shot at you three when you're distracted?" Rin was already backing up. She had no real reason to protect Shirou and even less reasons to help either Ilya out.
Ilya pointed upwards at Caster. "Because my Servant isn't engaged in any battles, Rin, if you tried anything, you'd be dead before you could call your Servant to protect you." She giggled at the raw frustration that formed on Rin's face. "You should work on your temper, Rin."
Even if she was frustrated, Rin didn't think she could handle three masters and a Servant at the same time. Even with her gems, if she tried attacking a Servant, well... Right now the Servants seemed content to fight each other, and she didn't think she'd want to draw their attentions right now anyway. "Fine..." Rin turned around and walked a short distance until she stood by a tree. Even if Shirou wasn't too bad looking, she wasn't going to risk the ire of a Caster-class servant who apparently won the super power lottery.
"Ilya," Ilyasviel narrowed her eyes, "you could just give up, let Berserker and myself handle this. Grandfather doesn't expect you to win after all." She looked at Shirou and narrowed her eyes, "of course, if you want first shot, I won't complain too much."
"First shot?" Shirou looked at the dark skinned girl in confusion. "What's going on?"
"Really, Oniichan, did you think that it wouldn't matter? After what happened, how can you be so blind?" Ilyasviel shook her head. "Maybe it would be best if you weren't part of this war anymore? How about it?" She smiled at him. "Give up your command spells and I promise not to hurt you too much."
"Hey!" Ilya narrowed her eyes at the dark skinned girl. "Leave Oniichan alone! I get to do that stuff to him!"
"You know, Ilya..." Shirou said as he tried to ignore the fact that the girls seemed to want to kill him, "if you keep calling me that, I might think you are my sister."
Ilya blinked at him. "Didn't Kiritsugu tell you?" Seeing Shirou's confused look, she sighed and shook her head. "Never mind, I guess it wasn't too important for him."
Shirou wasn't sure why, but, that tone of voice that she used, it was so... Different than before. He didn't know what it was, but there was something in the way that she spoke that just reminded him of what it was like for him when Kiritsugu died. "Ilya..."
"Bah! I'm bored." Ilya looked away with her eyes closed. "Caster! We're leaving!" She turned to glare at Shirou. "Try to stay alive for at least a few days, Oniichan." Caster landed next to her and picked her up before flying off herself.
(---)
Rider looked at Archerko. "It seems my master wants me to withdraw," the purple haired Servant stood to her full height and turned around while fading from sight.
Archerko sighed and stretched her neck from side to side, working a few kinks out of it. "Damn, I knew I should have avoided her." She just had to fight the fastest Servant on the first night, didn't she? Looking at Berserker and Lancer, she shook her head before looking at Saber and Archer and sighing. "...Later." She disappeared from view, leaving just the four servants alone.
Just after she disappeared, Lancer found himself crashing on his back where Archerko was. "Nngh," he winced and looked at Berserker as the giant growled before turning and walking over to his master. "Hey! Are you just going to leave?! Come on! I was just getting my second wind!" He sat up and forced himself to his feet before grimacing as he felt his leg suddenly break. "Gah! This is nothing! Get back here!"
Berserker ignored him as he continued to walk towards his master.
"Berserker!" Archer jumped away from Saber and held his swords out defensively in front of him. If Berserker attacked, he'd have to get Saber to distract the giant until he could get some distance, like about two miles, and fire some of his favorite weapons to deal with Berserker.
The giant ignored the two of them and continued to Ilyasviel. As she was picked up by Berserker, Ilyasviel grinned at Shirou. "We'll meet again."
Rin looked at Shirou and let out a sigh. "Emiya-kun, if you keep Saber from attacking anymore, I think I'll call it a night as well."
"Master," Saber looked at him while keeping one eye on Archer. "Do you wish to leave?"
"Yeah, I need to think about stuff." Shirou nodded and the two Servants walked back to their masters, while keeping an eye on each other.
"Well, I suppose it can't be helped." Archer snorted as he looked at the two of them. "With a master like him, you probably won't last too long, Saber." He picked up Rin and jumped away.
"Let's go home, Saber." Shirou tried to ignore the fact that Rin's Archer annoyed him to no end, and he didn't even have to do anything.
"Very well, let us go." Saber nodded as they walked towards the Emiya estate.
"HEY!" Lancer cried out as everyone ignored him. "What about me?!"
Me:Weeeeeeeeee!!! Guess Who?
Odin: :eyebrow: The NEET who's working in a train depot which is currently underneath a mall.
Me: Odin!!!!!
Val: this reminds me of the time I end up replacing the Idiot here due to a certain troll of an apostle...
*Cue Zelretch sneezed while watching Kirito and the rest of the SAO survivors in his set.*
Sarah: Very refined from the initial draft...
Me: He got time to make the necessary changes anyways.
Iris: Should we warn the authors her about His muse's Muse eating tendency?
Mariemeia: NAH!!!! Where's the fun in that? *Got frozen with a mind charged Bufudyne.*
Meer: Silence or I'll execute you even more!
Cagali: Leave some for us to beat down, Meer.
Lacus: I don't mind the aphrodisiac treatment ducting the party but there's a fine line on doing it and OVERDOING it...
Reia: I don't think Cu Chuliann needs any buffs for luck.
Me: Considering he's the butt-monkey in the Fate series, don't bother.
Odin: Unless you curse him with Murphy's calling, I'm sure we and the readers won't mind him suffer for laughs.
Val: He DID have a rank E on luck in the canon.
*A massive cat fight broke out as Amelia, Moka, Kurumu, Mizore and Ruby fought on how's gonna get to sleep with Odin*
Elane: *sweatdrops* Boy... Can you even control your Harem, Odin?
Odin: *deadpans* I'm a soldier. Not a Magnificent Bastard who enjoy manipulating everyone just for the lulz...
Me: Anyways.... Before we got the MEoDP couple arrive with the rest of the crew... I'm gonna say that expect I'll be tossing MST3K alot in reviews...
*Cue a broken Lancer from the fight crawls in front of the cat fight.*
Lancer: This isn't my day.
*Odin kicked him into the cat fight.*
Odin: *troll face* Indeed. It's not your day.
*Everyone hears Lancer's screams as he got caught in the multiple attacks between the fighting girls.*
Elane: Well... At least we know that Lancer can scream like a girl... :D
Me: *facepalms*
Well, seeing as no one but Mega cares about the story, here's the next part.
Fate Stay Another Night 1 (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=4453716#post4453716)
"HEY! What about me?!"
"What about you? A female voice spoke up as she watched Lancer struggle to move away from the battlefield. It didn't matter in the end, she knew he couldn't hear her, considering how far away she was. Her eyes were narrowed as she ran the battle through her mind again. "Heracles is here?" That alone was cause for concern, but there were two other factors bothering her. Namely the Rider, something about her was familiar, and then there was that Caster... "How? How is she Caster?"
The thoughts running through her mind at that moment were... Unpleasant.
(---)
"Master," Rider appeared before her master, kneeling down. She knew she didn't have to kneel before him, but she did just drop in from about fifty feet in the air. "Is something wrong?" She looked up and was concerned by how pale her master seemed.
"Rider," he shook his head and took a deep breath. "You did good out there, but..." She tilted her head to the side in confusion. "I need to make a call... That one Servant, the one in the air..."
"Caster?" Rider asked in confusion as her master nodded. "What about Caster?"
"I recognize her." Her master's words had Rider's eyes widening behind her mask. "And, I need to call someone about this."
Rider sighed softly and walked up to her master as he picked up the phone. "Please, master," she put her hands on his shoulders. "You know that you shouldn't involve anyone who's not part of this..."
He sighed and nodded. "I know, but that changed when I saw Caster. This does involve others." He grimaced slightly, "damn, answering machine." He took a deep breath as he waited for the beep. "Hey, it's me. I know you have caller I.D., so call me back as soon as you get this message... Hayate. I'm in Fuyuki City and you need to know what I saw. Call back soon."
"Master..." Rider watched as he turned to face her, giving her a grim smile.
"Didn't I tell you, Rider? Call me by my name."
"I'm sorry..." She took a deep breath. "My past experiences with men have not been... Pleasant... Yuuno."
Yuuno smiled at that. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" He scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Though, I still don't know who you are. You said your name was Medusa?" She nodded and he sighed. "Sorry, I never went to school on this planet, that name doesn't mean as much to me as it probably should."
"Do not worry about it." She looked around the small apartment. "How did you get this place anyway?"
"Let's just say that I've got plenty of money. But, are those the only clothes you have?"
"I am a Servant, I have no need for other clothes."
Yuuno shook his head. "No, that's not right. Look, I'll take you out tomorrow, we'll get you some nice casual clothes, okay?"
She smiled lightly. "I would like that, but..." She touched her blindfold. "While I can see out of this, I cannot take it off without turning everyone around me into stone."
"We'll just say that you're extra sensitive to light or something." Rider nodded as she disappeared to her Astral form.
"Boy, Nanoha's going to be mad if she misses this." Yuuno chuckled softly, though, he still wondered just why he was chosen to be Rider's master. All he had been doing was passing through when a weird mark formed on his hand and then she appeared in front of him, asking him if he was her master.
"This is going to be one hell of a story when it's all said and done, isn't it?" Yuuno asked no one in particular as he went to go to sleep for the night.
(---)
"You FOOL!" Archerko looked at her master as he seethed at her. "You were facing Rider. Rider! She's not even one of the three knight classes and you, ARRGH!"
Archerko yawned and leaned back. "Aww... Is my master a little upset that I didn't kick the purple amazon across town?" Stretching, she ignored the way her master screamed at her. "Really now, even with my eyes, I could barely keep up with her, plus she kicked me in the boob, do you have any idea how much that hurts?"
Her master scoffed at her. "You hardly have anything! You're supposed to..."
"Enough!" An ancient voice spoke up and her master quieted down as an older man seemed to appear in the room. Though, considering how gray his skin was, the lack of hair and the way his skin seemed stuck to his bones, it was a little generous to call him male.
Most would call him a walking corpse.
"Shinji, you've done your research into the Grail Wars, haven't you?" The man gave Shinji a scowl. "The Rider of the previous war was powerful enough that he could have won the whole thing had things been a little different. Saber and Berserker are the only two Classes that are considered the strongest, the rest of the Servants can fall to anyone at any time. That Rider seems a lot stronger than she appears. Now get out of here."
"Y...Yes, grandfather..." Shinji stuttered and started to walk out, only to stop when Archerko grabbed his arm. "What?"
"I'll give you this piece of advice, master, while I won't stop you, I really suggest that you stop with the beatings you give your sister." She snorted at his angry look. "Perhaps someday someone will do to you what you do to your sister." Archerko let go of his arm and turned her focus on his grandfather.
Shinji twitched and stumbled out of the room as fast as he could.
"You wanted to talk to me, Zouken?" Archerko asked as she looked at him with narrowed eyes. Oh, she hated this man with a passion, but being near him, it just made her want to kill him even more.
The man's sunken eyes took in Archerko's appearance before snorting. "Just wondering why you seem to try an antagonize my grandson."
"He's not my real master, and you know that." A pearl spear formed in Archerko's hands. "Before you say anything, I'm not going to stab you with it. I'm going to be heading out later, but I need a charge of Prana first."
"Well, that makes me feel better," Zouken snorted and turned from her. "We'll talk more later."
"Oh, I'm sure we will..." Archerko grumbled to herself softly.
"Before I go, something's been bothering me," Zouken looked back at her, "several of my familiars have been horribly drained of Prana lately. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
"Know what? I have no clue what you mean." Archerko grinned at him. "They're still alive, aren't they?"
"Yes, but the constant drain on my Prana is troubling." Zouken snorted, he had a feeling it was this Servant who was doing stuff to him, but he'd deal with her later.
After Zouken left, Archerko growled and squeezed the spear tightly as she stood up. "Enjoy what time you have left, old man." She growled as she spun the spear in her hands and threw it into a corner, stabbing several familiars that were in the corner. "Heh, Mage's bane, quite... Appropriate of a name for a spear that doesn't injure the victim, but transfers Prana to the user."
Snapping her fingers after absorbing most of Zouken's familiar's Prana, she opened up a window and jumped out of it. She had an appointment to keep after all.
(---)
Standing on top of the Tohsaka household, Archer narrowed his eyes as he stood guard over Rin. Oh, he knew she was asleep, she had fallen asleep as soon as she got to bed after all. As for the male Archer...
"What changed?" He whispered to himself. Two Ilyas? And one of them had Caster? That wasn't normal, neither was Lancer being allowed to actually fight. At least Berserker showed up on time, which was about the only thing he could really think of that was good in this situation.
Well, having two Ilyas running around wasn't a real big concern for him. He didn't understand everything that went on with Ilya's family after all. For all he knew, she just had twins this time around. "Can't expect this to be exactly the same as my time."
His eyes widened as he heard a soft tap on the rooftop from behind him. Spinning around, he stared at the female that had been fighting against Rider. "You're the other Archer..?" She nodded and grinned at him. Archer wasn't sure why, but he felt that he should have known her from somewhere. He then snorted mentally, he should have known who everyone in this war was, but he didn't recognize the Caster that Ilya had either.
Smiling at him, Archerko tilted her head and her white, almost blonde hair moved to cover her shoulder. "Yeah." Her eyes widened when he pulled out a very familiar pair of broadswords. "Hey, calm down, if I wanted to fight, I would have attacked." He snorted at her. "Why would I want to fight you?"
"We're servants, why wouldn't you want to fight me?"
"Because..." Archerko took a deep breath while smiling at him. "Why would I want to hurt my Oniichan?"
Archer's eyes widened and his swords slipped from his hands. "It can't be..." There was only one person who ever called him THAT. "I..Ilya?"
She smiled softly and walked up to him, giving him a hug. "Hello, Shirou..."
Archer's eyes practically bugged out of his skull as she put her lips against his and pushed him down onto the roof. "Wanted to do that for the longest time." She giggled at his look. "And we've got all night to get caught up, don't we?"
"But..." He blinked when she put a finger on his lips.
"Rin won't wake until it's time for school. The two of us, we're going to have some fun... Then I'll tell you, okay?"
When she took her top off, Archer mentally sighed and decided he could go along with it.
After all, there were worse ways to spend a night on a rooftop.
(---)
"Is something wrong, master?" Saber asked as she and Shirou made their way to his home. For some reason, he suddenly stopped and shivered. It wasn't cold outside, so Saber was wondering if maybe something was wrong.
"Sorry, just felt like something happened that might get me in trouble normally." Shirou chuckled softly before yawning. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little tired."
Saber nodded to him. "That is fine, after all, summoning a Servant takes a lot out of a master."
"Yeah, about that..." Shirou trailed off as he looked at her. "You can call me by my name. I'd prefer it if you called me Shirou instead of master."
"Yes, I like that, Shirou." She smiled at him as they turned a corner. "Shirou, I've been curious, your family name, what is it?" She had remembered that in the previous war almost everyone had a family name of some kind. From what she had learned, it was almost odd to not have a family name of some kind.
"Oh, guess you didn't know." Shirou rubbed the back of his head. "It's Emiya. Shirou Emiya."
He didn't notice Saber's eyes widen at that. "Shirou... You wouldn't happen to know a man by the name of Kiritsugu Emiya, would you?"
"He was my dad, why?" Shirou looked at her confused as she stopped and closed her eyes. For some reason, and he wasn't sure why, but it seemed like Saber was... Upset, for the lack of a better word.
"Nothing, I was just curious."
Shirou blinked and nodded slowly. He didn't know why Saber had brought it up, but if she wasn't going to say anything more about it, then what could he do about it? He'd ask her again some other time. "Anyway, let's get back to my place, I'm really tired."
Saber nodded and walked with him in silence. Still, so far Shirou hadn't acted anything like her previous master, so that was something at least. "Hey, Saber..." He looked at her as they entered his home. "Do you have any other clothes or..?" He trailed off as she dismissed her armor, revealing a rather fancy blue dress. "...That's probably not much better to sleep in, is it?"
Saber blinked at him. "As a Servant, I do not need to sleep, but, I do admit, if I was to sleep, this would not be comfortable."
"I thought so," Shirou nodded as he led Saber through the kitchen and towards one of the guest rooms, "so, for now, I'll just get you some sleepware."
Saber blinked as Shirou led her into one of the spare rooms. It was fairly sparse, other than the window, the closet and the dresser, there wasn't anything in it. "No, this isn't your room, I just use this to store Fuji-nee and Sakura's extra clothes. Sometimes they stay overnight here, and it's just easier to keep some of their spare clothes here." He shook his head and yawned while walking over to the dresser. "Hmm, here we go."
Saber blinked as Shirou held up a large t-shirt. "That seems a bit large."
Shirou nodded to her. "Yeah, it's one Fuji-nee wears on her days off and she's lounging around here. I'll get you some better clothes tomorrow, okay?"
Saber nodded as he handed her the shirt. "Very well, Shirou. Where are the bedrooms?"
Shirou stepped outside and pointed down the hallway. "Just this way. My room is the last one on the right side. You can use any room you want, we'll talk more in the morning, I promise."
Saber nodded and watched Shirou walk down the hallway. She looked at the shirt and nodded as she took her dress off and let it fall to the floor, revealing that she had no clothes on underneath her dress. Grabbing the shirt, she slipped it on and moved her dress to the corner of the room. After all, her master was being nice and giving her an option.
As if there was any place she would sleep. She was, after all, supposed to be by her master's side at all times. After checking to make sure that she had the right room, she looked at her master, who was already in bed and asleep. "Shirou? Are you awake?" She nodded when all he did was roll over and spread his arms to the side. "Well then..."
Slipping into bed and under the sheets with him, Saber closed her eyes and waited for sleep to claim her.
He did tell her she could sleep anywhere she wanted to after all.
(---)
Elsewhere...
"Master..."
"What is it, Caster?" Ilya grumbled as the two of them walked down the street. "I didn't think grandfather would... GAH! My own sister?! Okay, so maybe grandfather wants to ensure that we win the war this time, but still..."
"You could use this opportunity to..."
"No." Ilya shook her head and gave Caster a flat stare. "Why should I?" She sighed and turned away, trying to hide the look on her face.
"Because," Caster picked up Ilya and walked towards the building that they had taken over for the duration of the war, "I think that, despite everything else, you want your brother and sister as your family. At least more of a family than you had after your grandfather..."
"I don't wish to talk anymore, just let me get some sleep."
Caster sighed as Ilya put her head on Caster's chest. "Very well, master. You get some sleep, I'll worry about anyone who tries to bother us."
"Thanks." Ilya closed her eyes as Caster carried her to the room they shared. While she could afford to live more lavishly, Ilya had decided to try and live differently for this war.
After all, who would look for her in a small apartment in the middle of the city if they knew about her family's wealth?
(---)
Kirei raised an eyebrow as he saw Lancer limp his way back into the Church. "...Why didn't you just go astral?"
The amount of swearing that Lancer suddenly did would have made a real priest faint.
(---)
Hours later...
Archerko sighed as she rested her head on Archer's chest. "Mmm... That was so good, Oniichan..." The way he would grab her sensitive spots, squeeze her curves and do other things just right...
"Ilya..." She looked up and into his eyes. "How..?" He groaned as she kissed him again and reached down to squeeze him between the legs. "Nnngh..."
"Love you, Oniichan." She whispered after breaking the kiss and sighing. "Wish we didn't have to fight, but we do... As for how... How what? How did I know it was you? Or how did I become a Heroic Spirit?"
"Either would work." Archer said as he rubbed her back. "I think after I made you cum six times, I deserve an answer."
She giggled and kissed his neck. Oh, she was probably going to be sore as hell after a bit, but she could stand that. It was a delicious soreness. "Before I died, my Shirou had already gotten darker skin and white hair..." She reached up and ran her fingers through it. "So," she gave him a soft smile again, "it wasn't hard to realize who you were."
"Your hair and skin are darker than what I..." Archer trailed off as he squeezed her rear, getting a moan of pleasure from her. "You learned how to Trace, didn't you?" She nodded and he sighed. "Why?"
"It was the only way to keep you out of trouble." She sighed and pushed herself off of him. "But, I have to go now... I don't doubt my master's going to be up soon." He blinked at her. "Plus, well..." She looked to the East and Archer looked as well, staring in shock as he saw the sun start to rise. "Having sex until the sun rises... There isn't a woman alive or dead who wouldn't give to have a lover that can keep going like you, Oniichan."
Archer sighed and blinked as something hit him in the chest. "...Ilya?!"
She giggled as she bent over, giving him a perfect view of her ass and private parts, as she picked up her clothes. "Don't worry, you can keep my panties, Oniichan, to remember this night."
As he watched her go, Archer just groaned and grabbed his clothes, at least it wouldn't be hard to put them on, seeing as he could just materialize them around his body. "I don't think remembering this night is going to be a problem." Still, he wondered just what she had gone through and why she had to keep her version of Shirou out of trouble.
"Then again, he is nothing more than an idiot." Archer grumbled and disappeared, phasing through the roof into the kitchen. Seeing Rin stumble around, he made sure to hide Archerko's panties in his pocket and materialized in front of Rin. "Something the matter? You look horrible."
"I had a weird dream that I was doing something naughty with my brother..." Rin grumbled, missing the sudden look of shock on Archer's face. "I don't even have a brother."
"I see..." Archer quickly got his emotions under control. "Aren't you going to be late for school?"
"ACK!" Rin suddenly spun and ran out of the room to get dressed for school.
Archer sighed and was glad that Rin slept like a rock. If she was a light sleeper, she might have investigated the noise. And that... Could have been either awkward, painful or kinky. After all, it had been awhile since he was in a kinky three-some.
(---)
Shirou slowly and reluctantly woke up. He didn't know why his bed was so warm, but he wasn't complaining, it felt nice, though, his right arm was kind of numb for some reason.
As more and more of his brain started to wake up, he realized that his right arm was wrapped around something, which was pressing against his chest, and squirming, and his left arm was grabbing onto something round, warm, kind of firm and felt like a light shirt... Taking a deep breath, he moved his right arm, ignoring the tingling that ran through it and hoped that he was wrong.
As the covers came up, his eyes bugged out as he saw Saber sleeping in bed next to him, her head on his chest and... "GAH!" He saw his left hand... Which was currently giving Saber's butt a squeeze. Sure, it felt nice, but... "GAH!"
"Shirou!?" Saber's eyes snapped open and she pushed herself up to look at him. "Are you okay?"
"You... Bed... Me... GAH!"
Saber blinked and tilted her head in confusion. "You said I could sleep in any bed I chose. I choose this one." For some reason, his face went completely red. "What is wrong, Shirou? I am a Servant, I should be in the same bed as my master. If an attack came when you were asleep, I would not be able to defend you properly."
Shirou was having a hard time synchronizing his mouth and his brain, considering that he was completely panicking while letting go of Saber and stumbling out of the bed. "Bu...But... Girl, bed, naked, not..."
"I am not a girl, I am a Servant," Saber rolled her eyes and stood on his bed fully. "If I was a girl, master, I would not do this."
Shirou's eyes bugged out as Saber suddenly pulled the shirt up and off of her body, letting it flop to the bed, as she stood there naked in front of him. "N...N...N..."
"Master, if I was a girl, I would be embarrassed to stand here. But I am a Servant, nothing more than a weapon. If you needed me to fight like this, I would, without hesitation." She sighed as he turned even redder. "What is wrong with you?"
"Imnotusedtoseeingprettygirlsnakedinmyroom!" Shirou said all at once as he tried to look away, well, tried, because it was REALLY hard to ignore the fact that Saber was so pretty.
Saber sighed heavily. "Shirou, I have no clue what..."
"PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!" Shirou finally managed to get his thoughts together. "If someone saw you like this, they'd get the wrong impression of us both and..."
"SEMPAI!" A familiar voice rang through the house. "Are you awake?"
A sense of dread came over Shirou as he stood up. "Sakura! Yeah! I over-slept a little bit! Can you start with breakfast?!" He yelled through the open door and grimaced as he realized Saber didn't close it. "Don't come this way, I'm not decent!"
"Okay!" She yelled back at him.
"Please, Saber," Shirou tried to ignore the naked pretty girl in his room again, "get some clothes on, and I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Very well, Shirou." Saber nodded and grabbed her shirt before putting it back on.
"Ah, wait!" Shirou stepped in front of Saber as she reached the door. "I'll keep Sakura distracted, you get dressed before she finds out."
"Of course." Saber nodded at him. "I'm not an exhibitionist."
As Shirou walked out of the room, he twitched. "Could have fooled me." He mumbled to himself. Man, it was going to be hell later, he could just feel it.
Like it was stated...
The grail hiccuped.
blitz1/2
2012-11-30, 02:52
and wincest brings it home!
mega1987
2012-12-01, 08:52
Well, seeing as no one but Mega cares about the story, here's the next part.
Fate Stay Another Night 1 (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=4453716#post4453716)
"HEY! What about me?!"
"What about you? A female voice spoke up as she watched Lancer struggle to move away from the battlefield. It didn't matter in the end, she knew he couldn't hear her, considering how far away she was. Her eyes were narrowed as she ran the battle through her mind again. "Heracles is here?" That alone was cause for concern, but there were two other factors bothering her. Namely the Rider, something about her was familiar, and then there was that Caster... "How? How is she Caster?"
The thoughts running through her mind at that moment were... Unpleasant.
(---)
"Master," Rider appeared before her master, kneeling down. She knew she didn't have to kneel before him, but she did just drop in from about fifty feet in the air. "Is something wrong?" She looked up and was concerned by how pale her master seemed.
"Rider," he shook his head and took a deep breath. "You did good out there, but..." She tilted her head to the side in confusion. "I need to make a call... That one Servant, the one in the air..."
"Caster?" Rider asked in confusion as her master nodded. "What about Caster?"
"I recognize her." Her master's words had Rider's eyes widening behind her mask. "And, I need to call someone about this."
Rider sighed softly and walked up to her master as he picked up the phone. "Please, master," she put her hands on his shoulders. "You know that you shouldn't involve anyone who's not part of this..."
He sighed and nodded. "I know, but that changed when I saw Caster. This does involve others." He grimaced slightly, "damn, answering machine." He took a deep breath as he waited for the beep. "Hey, it's me. I know you have caller I.D., so call me back as soon as you get this message... Hayate. I'm in Fuyuki City and you need to know what I saw. Call back soon."
"Master..." Rider watched as he turned to face her, giving her a grim smile.
"Didn't I tell you, Rider? Call me by my name."
"I'm sorry..." She took a deep breath. "My past experiences with men have not been... Pleasant... Yuuno."
Yuuno smiled at that. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" He scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Though, I still don't know who you are. You said your name was Medusa?" She nodded and he sighed. "Sorry, I never went to school on this planet, that name doesn't mean as much to me as it probably should."
"Do not worry about it." She looked around the small apartment. "How did you get this place anyway?"
"Let's just say that I've got plenty of money. But, are those the only clothes you have?"
"I am a Servant, I have no need for other clothes."
Yuuno shook his head. "No, that's not right. Look, I'll take you out tomorrow, we'll get you some nice casual clothes, okay?"
She smiled lightly. "I would like that, but..." She touched her blindfold. "While I can see out of this, I cannot take it off without turning everyone around me into stone."
"We'll just say that you're extra sensitive to light or something." Rider nodded as she disappeared to her Astral form.
"Boy, Nanoha's going to be mad if she misses this." Yuuno chuckled softly, though, he still wondered just why he was chosen to be Rider's master. All he had been doing was passing through when a weird mark formed on his hand and then she appeared in front of him, asking him if he was her master.
"This is going to be one hell of a story when it's all said and done, isn't it?" Yuuno asked no one in particular as he went to go to sleep for the night.
(---)
"You FOOL!" Archerko looked at her master as he seethed at her. "You were facing Rider. Rider! She's not even one of the three knight classes and you, ARRGH!"
Archerko yawned and leaned back. "Aww... Is my master a little upset that I didn't kick the purple amazon across town?" Stretching, she ignored the way her master screamed at her. "Really now, even with my eyes, I could barely keep up with her, plus she kicked me in the boob, do you have any idea how much that hurts?"
Her master scoffed at her. "You hardly have anything! You're supposed to..."
"Enough!" An ancient voice spoke up and her master quieted down as an older man seemed to appear in the room. Though, considering how gray his skin was, the lack of hair and the way his skin seemed stuck to his bones, it was a little generous to call him male.
Most would call him a walking corpse.
"Shinji, you've done your research into the Grail Wars, haven't you?" The man gave Shinji a scowl. "The Rider of the previous war was powerful enough that he could have won the whole thing had things been a little different. Saber and Berserker are the only two Classes that are considered the strongest, the rest of the Servants can fall to anyone at any time. That Rider seems a lot stronger than she appears. Now get out of here."
"Y...Yes, grandfather..." Shinji stuttered and started to walk out, only to stop when Archerko grabbed his arm. "What?"
"I'll give you this piece of advice, master, while I won't stop you, I really suggest that you stop with the beatings you give your sister." She snorted at his angry look. "Perhaps someday someone will do to you what you do to your sister." Archerko let go of his arm and turned her focus on his grandfather.
Shinji twitched and stumbled out of the room as fast as he could.
"You wanted to talk to me, Zouken?" Archerko asked as she looked at him with narrowed eyes. Oh, she hated this man with a passion, but being near him, it just made her want to kill him even more.
The man's sunken eyes took in Archerko's appearance before snorting. "Just wondering why you seem to try an antagonize my grandson."
"He's not my real master, and you know that." A pearl spear formed in Archerko's hands. "Before you say anything, I'm not going to stab you with it. I'm going to be heading out later, but I need a charge of Prana first."
"Well, that makes me feel better," Zouken snorted and turned from her. "We'll talk more later."
"Oh, I'm sure we will..." Archerko grumbled to herself softly.
"Before I go, something's been bothering me," Zouken looked back at her, "several of my familiars have been horribly drained of Prana lately. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
"Know what? I have no clue what you mean." Archerko grinned at him. "They're still alive, aren't they?"
"Yes, but the constant drain on my Prana is troubling." Zouken snorted, he had a feeling it was this Servant who was doing stuff to him, but he'd deal with her later.
After Zouken left, Archerko growled and squeezed the spear tightly as she stood up. "Enjoy what time you have left, old man." She growled as she spun the spear in her hands and threw it into a corner, stabbing several familiars that were in the corner. "Heh, Mage's bane, quite... Appropriate of a name for a spear that doesn't injure the victim, but transfers Prana to the user."
Snapping her fingers after absorbing most of Zouken's familiar's Prana, she opened up a window and jumped out of it. She had an appointment to keep after all.
(---)
Standing on top of the Tohsaka household, Archer narrowed his eyes as he stood guard over Rin. Oh, he knew she was asleep, she had fallen asleep as soon as she got to bed after all. As for the male Archer...
"What changed?" He whispered to himself. Two Ilyas? And one of them had Caster? That wasn't normal, neither was Lancer being allowed to actually fight. At least Berserker showed up on time, which was about the only thing he could really think of that was good in this situation.
Well, having two Ilyas running around wasn't a real big concern for him. He didn't understand everything that went on with Ilya's family after all. For all he knew, she just had twins this time around. "Can't expect this to be exactly the same as my time."
His eyes widened as he heard a soft tap on the rooftop from behind him. Spinning around, he stared at the female that had been fighting against Rider. "You're the other Archer..?" She nodded and grinned at him. Archer wasn't sure why, but he felt that he should have known her from somewhere. He then snorted mentally, he should have known who everyone in this war was, but he didn't recognize the Caster that Ilya had either.
Smiling at him, Archerko tilted her head and her white, almost blonde hair moved to cover her shoulder. "Yeah." Her eyes widened when he pulled out a very familiar pair of broadswords. "Hey, calm down, if I wanted to fight, I would have attacked." He snorted at her. "Why would I want to fight you?"
"We're servants, why wouldn't you want to fight me?"
"Because..." Archerko took a deep breath while smiling at him. "Why would I want to hurt my Oniichan?"
Archer's eyes widened and his swords slipped from his hands. "It can't be..." There was only one person who ever called him THAT. "I..Ilya?"
She smiled softly and walked up to him, giving him a hug. "Hello, Shirou..."
Archer's eyes practically bugged out of his skull as she put her lips against his and pushed him down onto the roof. "Wanted to do that for the longest time." She giggled at his look. "And we've got all night to get caught up, don't we?"
"But..." He blinked when she put a finger on his lips.
"Rin won't wake until it's time for school. The two of us, we're going to have some fun... Then I'll tell you, okay?"
When she took her top off, Archer mentally sighed and decided he could go along with it.
After all, there were worse ways to spend a night on a rooftop.
(---)
"Is something wrong, master?" Saber asked as she and Shirou made their way to his home. For some reason, he suddenly stopped and shivered. It wasn't cold outside, so Saber was wondering if maybe something was wrong.
"Sorry, just felt like something happened that might get me in trouble normally." Shirou chuckled softly before yawning. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little tired."
Saber nodded to him. "That is fine, after all, summoning a Servant takes a lot out of a master."
"Yeah, about that..." Shirou trailed off as he looked at her. "You can call me by my name. I'd prefer it if you called me Shirou instead of master."
"Yes, I like that, Shirou." She smiled at him as they turned a corner. "Shirou, I've been curious, your family name, what is it?" She had remembered that in the previous war almost everyone had a family name of some kind. From what she had learned, it was almost odd to not have a family name of some kind.
"Oh, guess you didn't know." Shirou rubbed the back of his head. "It's Emiya. Shirou Emiya."
He didn't notice Saber's eyes widen at that. "Shirou... You wouldn't happen to know a man by the name of Kiritsugu Emiya, would you?"
"He was my dad, why?" Shirou looked at her confused as she stopped and closed her eyes. For some reason, and he wasn't sure why, but it seemed like Saber was... Upset, for the lack of a better word.
"Nothing, I was just curious."
Shirou blinked and nodded slowly. He didn't know why Saber had brought it up, but if she wasn't going to say anything more about it, then what could he do about it? He'd ask her again some other time. "Anyway, let's get back to my place, I'm really tired."
Saber nodded and walked with him in silence. Still, so far Shirou hadn't acted anything like her previous master, so that was something at least. "Hey, Saber..." He looked at her as they entered his home. "Do you have any other clothes or..?" He trailed off as she dismissed her armor, revealing a rather fancy blue dress. "...That's probably not much better to sleep in, is it?"
Saber blinked at him. "As a Servant, I do not need to sleep, but, I do admit, if I was to sleep, this would not be comfortable."
"I thought so," Shirou nodded as he led Saber through the kitchen and towards one of the guest rooms, "so, for now, I'll just get you some sleepware."
Saber blinked as Shirou led her into one of the spare rooms. It was fairly sparse, other than the window, the closet and the dresser, there wasn't anything in it. "No, this isn't your room, I just use this to store Fuji-nee and Sakura's extra clothes. Sometimes they stay overnight here, and it's just easier to keep some of their spare clothes here." He shook his head and yawned while walking over to the dresser. "Hmm, here we go."
Saber blinked as Shirou held up a large t-shirt. "That seems a bit large."
Shirou nodded to her. "Yeah, it's one Fuji-nee wears on her days off and she's lounging around here. I'll get you some better clothes tomorrow, okay?"
Saber nodded as he handed her the shirt. "Very well, Shirou. Where are the bedrooms?"
Shirou stepped outside and pointed down the hallway. "Just this way. My room is the last one on the right side. You can use any room you want, we'll talk more in the morning, I promise."
Saber nodded and watched Shirou walk down the hallway. She looked at the shirt and nodded as she took her dress off and let it fall to the floor, revealing that she had no clothes on underneath her dress. Grabbing the shirt, she slipped it on and moved her dress to the corner of the room. After all, her master was being nice and giving her an option.
As if there was any place she would sleep. She was, after all, supposed to be by her master's side at all times. After checking to make sure that she had the right room, she looked at her master, who was already in bed and asleep. "Shirou? Are you awake?" She nodded when all he did was roll over and spread his arms to the side. "Well then..."
Slipping into bed and under the sheets with him, Saber closed her eyes and waited for sleep to claim her.
He did tell her she could sleep anywhere she wanted to after all.
(---)
Elsewhere...
"Master..."
"What is it, Caster?" Ilya grumbled as the two of them walked down the street. "I didn't think grandfather would... GAH! My own sister?! Okay, so maybe grandfather wants to ensure that we win the war this time, but still..."
"You could use this opportunity to..."
"No." Ilya shook her head and gave Caster a flat stare. "Why should I?" She sighed and turned away, trying to hide the look on her face.
"Because," Caster picked up Ilya and walked towards the building that they had taken over for the duration of the war, "I think that, despite everything else, you want your brother and sister as your family. At least more of a family than you had after your grandfather..."
"I don't wish to talk anymore, just let me get some sleep."
Caster sighed as Ilya put her head on Caster's chest. "Very well, master. You get some sleep, I'll worry about anyone who tries to bother us."
"Thanks." Ilya closed her eyes as Caster carried her to the room they shared. While she could afford to live more lavishly, Ilya had decided to try and live differently for this war.
After all, who would look for her in a small apartment in the middle of the city if they knew about her family's wealth?
(---)
Kirei raised an eyebrow as he saw Lancer limp his way back into the Church. "...Why didn't you just go astral?"
The amount of swearing that Lancer suddenly did would have made a real priest faint.
(---)
Hours later...
Archerko sighed as she rested her head on Archer's chest. "Mmm... That was so good, Oniichan..." The way he would grab her sensitive spots, squeeze her curves and do other things just right...
"Ilya..." She looked up and into his eyes. "How..?" He groaned as she kissed him again and reached down to squeeze him between the legs. "Nnngh..."
"Love you, Oniichan." She whispered after breaking the kiss and sighing. "Wish we didn't have to fight, but we do... As for how... How what? How did I know it was you? Or how did I become a Heroic Spirit?"
"Either would work." Archer said as he rubbed her back. "I think after I made you cum six times, I deserve an answer."
She giggled and kissed his neck. Oh, she was probably going to be sore as hell after a bit, but she could stand that. It was a delicious soreness. "Before I died, my Shirou had already gotten darker skin and white hair..." She reached up and ran her fingers through it. "So," she gave him a soft smile again, "it wasn't hard to realize who you were."
"Your hair and skin are darker than what I..." Archer trailed off as he squeezed her rear, getting a moan of pleasure from her. "You learned how to Trace, didn't you?" She nodded and he sighed. "Why?"
"It was the only way to keep you out of trouble." She sighed and pushed herself off of him. "But, I have to go now... I don't doubt my master's going to be up soon." He blinked at her. "Plus, well..." She looked to the East and Archer looked as well, staring in shock as he saw the sun start to rise. "Having sex until the sun rises... There isn't a woman alive or dead who wouldn't give to have a lover that can keep going like you, Oniichan."
Archer sighed and blinked as something hit him in the chest. "...Ilya?!"
She giggled as she bent over, giving him a perfect view of her ass and private parts, as she picked up her clothes. "Don't worry, you can keep my panties, Oniichan, to remember this night."
As he watched her go, Archer just groaned and grabbed his clothes, at least it wouldn't be hard to put them on, seeing as he could just materialize them around his body. "I don't think remembering this night is going to be a problem." Still, he wondered just what she had gone through and why she had to keep her version of Shirou out of trouble.
"Then again, he is nothing more than an idiot." Archer grumbled and disappeared, phasing through the roof into the kitchen. Seeing Rin stumble around, he made sure to hide Archerko's panties in his pocket and materialized in front of Rin. "Something the matter? You look horrible."
"I had a weird dream that I was doing something naughty with my brother..." Rin grumbled, missing the sudden look of shock on Archer's face. "I don't even have a brother."
"I see..." Archer quickly got his emotions under control. "Aren't you going to be late for school?"
"ACK!" Rin suddenly spun and ran out of the room to get dressed for school.
Archer sighed and was glad that Rin slept like a rock. If she was a light sleeper, she might have investigated the noise. And that... Could have been either awkward, painful or kinky. After all, it had been awhile since he was in a kinky three-some.
(---)
Shirou slowly and reluctantly woke up. He didn't know why his bed was so warm, but he wasn't complaining, it felt nice, though, his right arm was kind of numb for some reason.
As more and more of his brain started to wake up, he realized that his right arm was wrapped around something, which was pressing against his chest, and squirming, and his left arm was grabbing onto something round, warm, kind of firm and felt like a light shirt... Taking a deep breath, he moved his right arm, ignoring the tingling that ran through it and hoped that he was wrong.
As the covers came up, his eyes bugged out as he saw Saber sleeping in bed next to him, her head on his chest and... "GAH!" He saw his left hand... Which was currently giving Saber's butt a squeeze. Sure, it felt nice, but... "GAH!"
"Shirou!?" Saber's eyes snapped open and she pushed herself up to look at him. "Are you okay?"
"You... Bed... Me... GAH!"
Saber blinked and tilted her head in confusion. "You said I could sleep in any bed I chose. I choose this one." For some reason, his face went completely red. "What is wrong, Shirou? I am a Servant, I should be in the same bed as my master. If an attack came when you were asleep, I would not be able to defend you properly."
Shirou was having a hard time synchronizing his mouth and his brain, considering that he was completely panicking while letting go of Saber and stumbling out of the bed. "Bu...But... Girl, bed, naked, not..."
"I am not a girl, I am a Servant," Saber rolled her eyes and stood on his bed fully. "If I was a girl, master, I would not do this."
Shirou's eyes bugged out as Saber suddenly pulled the shirt up and off of her body, letting it flop to the bed, as she stood there naked in front of him. "N...N...N..."
"Master, if I was a girl, I would be embarrassed to stand here. But I am a Servant, nothing more than a weapon. If you needed me to fight like this, I would, without hesitation." She sighed as he turned even redder. "What is wrong with you?"
"Imnotusedtoseeingprettygirlsnakedinmyroom!" Shirou said all at once as he tried to look away, well, tried, because it was REALLY hard to ignore the fact that Saber was so pretty.
Saber sighed heavily. "Shirou, I have no clue what..."
"PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!" Shirou finally managed to get his thoughts together. "If someone saw you like this, they'd get the wrong impression of us both and..."
"SEMPAI!" A familiar voice rang through the house. "Are you awake?"
A sense of dread came over Shirou as he stood up. "Sakura! Yeah! I over-slept a little bit! Can you start with breakfast?!" He yelled through the open door and grimaced as he realized Saber didn't close it. "Don't come this way, I'm not decent!"
"Okay!" She yelled back at him.
"Please, Saber," Shirou tried to ignore the naked pretty girl in his room again, "get some clothes on, and I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Very well, Shirou." Saber nodded and grabbed her shirt before putting it back on.
"Ah, wait!" Shirou stepped in front of Saber as she reached the door. "I'll keep Sakura distracted, you get dressed before she finds out."
"Of course." Saber nodded at him. "I'm not an exhibitionist."
As Shirou walked out of the room, he twitched. "Could have fooled me." He mumbled to himself. Man, it was going to be hell later, he could just feel it.
Like it was stated...
The grail hiccuped.
Me: You know...
Odin: Lemme guess... You're glad Nanoha, Hayate nor Vita is around Fuyuki or someone will be a bloody paste on the ground.
Me: YUP! And I think the extra mess Lancer ends up with the harem cat fight made him forgot to go astral form there....
Moka: He needs To learn his place.
Odin: You should have kicked him right on the groin and send him flying towards to my direction so I can give him a free trip to the nearest outdoor hotspring resort. Female side hopefully.
Me: :uhoh::uhoh::uhoh::uhoh:
Moka: Next time dear.
Mariemeia: *managed to escape the "Execution"* HEY! Look, Mom! Triplets! *points at Illya, Illyasviel and EINZBERN(Archerko).*
Illya: WAH!!!!!
Illyasviel: Drat!
Mariemeia: What's wrong now? :confused::confused::confused:
Illya: I'm gonna grow up as flat as a board.
Aschen: If that's the case, *brought out a marker.* I shall write something insulting in that billboard that both of you call a chest.
Illyasviel: You WOULDN'T Dare!?
EINZBERN: At least I manage to get my fantasy with Onii-chan! Although I wish I got both of them.
*both Shirou and EMIYA felt shivers from the backs wherever they are atm...*
Me: Hehehe... Enjoyed you night, Shirou? :naughty::naughty:
Odin: Lucky for EMIYA and EINZBERN, Rin sleep like a fossil...
Fate Stay Another Night 1 (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=4453716#post4453716)
Fate Stay Another Night 2 (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=4455993#post4455993)
Rider watched as her master led her outside of their apartment. Rider honestly didn't know what to think of it. To her, it was a bit small, even if it had two bedrooms, and a small bathroom. She mentally snorted, the bathroom was so small that you had to either jump in the shower stall or stand on the toilet just to be able to open the door properly. "I can go astral if you wish me to, master." She bowed to him. "I have no real need to be physical right now anyway." She sighed as he shook his head. "Very well, where are we going?"
"Well, I have a bike and I was just planning on biking around the city and taking in the atmosphere before this happened." He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled softly. As they walked to the alley next to the building they were staying at, Rider stopped and stared, well, Yuuno wasn't sure, since he couldn't see her eyes, at the bike he had. "It's just an old one, but the previous owner said that it was still good and he used it when traveling across Japan."
"Master, please, let me drive it." Rider bowed to him. "My riding technique is A+, do not worry about crashing and just let me take us to the clothing store." Before he could protest, she was already sitting on the bike's seat.
Yuuno shrugged and got onto the seat behind her. "Well then, Rider, shall we?"
"Hang on tightly, Master." Rider pushed the bike forward. "I would not wish you to fall off."
"Um, okay." Yuuno blushed a bit and put his arms around her mid-section. "Go as fast as you want to."
If Yuuno could see her eyes at that moment, he would have started to panic. His eyes widened and he let out a yelp as she suddenly took off at a speed that would make a motorcycle green with envy. "Riiiideeeerrr!!!"
"Do not worry, Yuuno!" Rider grinned as she bobbed and weaved with the bike while passing and weaving through traffic. "We shall get to the clothing store more quickly this way. Hold on!"
"AHHH!" Yuuno yelled and squeezed Rider more tightly as she jumped the curb and ended up on the fence, going highway speeds on chainlink fences would have been cause for praise... If anyone had seen them for more than a few seconds at a time. Well, anyone but two girls who just blinked as the two passed them at those speeds.
"Hey, Emi..."
"Yeah?"
"Think that's..."
"No, now shut up, we need to get the boss lady some stuff here before heading back home."
"Okay. Can I fly the chopper this time?"
"NO!"
(---)
Caster sighed as she watched Ilya sleep. She needed to talk to Shirou, even if he couldn't help completely, there was just some things that only he could do. She stood up and was prepared to hunt him down when she blinked and sighed. "...Where the heck does he live anyway?" She frowned and was about to start a scan of the city for Shirou when she stiffened. "...Did someone try and scry me?" Narrowing her eyes, she concentrated and blinked. "Seems that someone's been busy."
(---)
"Dammit!" She cursed as her attempt at scrying failed. "I should have known better than to try and scry a Caster."
"Yeah, you probably should have." She glared at the voice who spoke. "I mean, seriously, even if she's unusual, you, of all people should know better."
"Shut up, Assassin!" She stood to her full height, which, wasn't that impressive. "Why aren't you doing your job?"
He rolled his eyes at her. "Well, the Grail War just started yesterday, and thanks to that little trick you figured out, I can move anywhere on this temple hill without any problems. And besides, didn't your little scrying reveal that most of the masters are children?"
She scoffed and walked out of the room. "In your age, they'd be adults already."
"Yep." He nodded and walked next to her. "So..." She looked at him and wondered just why his hair and eyes were so blue that they almost matched the purple hakama and kimono he was wearing. "Last one to the computer doesn't get to use the internet!"
Her eyes widened as he took off. "Dammit! No fair! I wanna check out my social networking!" She growled as he rounded a corner, dropped his long Katana across his lap and laughed at her while clicking the appropriate files. "Damn you!" She pouted and turned away. "Fine! I'll just go and work in my private study for today."
"Do try to keep your toys off the floor this time," Assassin smirked when she yelled that they were figmas, not toys. "Sure, sure. Now then... Oooh! Finally! The third season of Rurouni Kenshin is downloaded! Now I can find out what happens next!" He was, after all, a Samurai himself, he couldn't help but enjoy a fictional one's story.
Not too far from where Assassin was watching Rurouni Kenshin, the woman pouted as she walked away from the computer. "We need another one."
"Even if we got one, there's no wifi up here," a male spoke up and she let out a small shriek and spun around to look at him. He was taller than she was, fairly well built, he was wearing black pants and a white tank top. His long, dark hair was done up in a loose ponytail that brushed past his shoulders and his bangs were long enough that they almost hid the blue color of his eyes. "And I can't get permission to put another internet line in up here."
"Master..." She sighed and nodded. "I know, but... I thought..." She sniffled softly. "I thought I was the only Caster of this war..." He blinked at her. "But... It turns out, there's a second Caster that's out there! She's bigger than me, silver hair, red eyes and... And..." Caster twitched, her elven ears flattening down as she narrowed her eyes, "she's got A plus stats..."
"You mean..." Her master trailed off, sweat-dropping as Caster let out a scream and started marching back and forth in the hallway. "Don't let it get to you."
"GAH! She's a natural twenty and her breast stats are an A plus?! Not fair! I only have a C plus rank breast statistic! Even that Rider has an A rank in her breasts!" She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, her blue hair swayed from side to side as she shook her head. "Not fair! Not fair! At least I'm not as bad as Saber or the female Archer."
"Caster..." Her master sighed and grabbed her shoulders, causing her to stiffen before sighing as he pulled her against him. "Calm down. I don't care too much about breast sizes, and you know that." She nodded, enjoying the contact. "I'm going to get dressed and go to town, okay?"
Her eyes widened and she spun to look at him. "But... Master... Even if you're good, there's the other Servants, what if one of them..?"
"They don't know who I am, they don't know about us here and since you haven't done anything to trip them off..." He smirked at her and the blue haired Caster swooned softly. "We shouldn't have to worry. Though... What color is the other Caster's hair?"
"Silver, why?"
He smirked at her confused look. "Well, we'll call her Silver Caster and you Blue Caster, for now, okay?"
She sighed, but nodded. "...What if there's two copies of every class in this war?" She trembled at the thought of two Sabers and two Berserkers. That would be... Insane.
"It's possible. If that happens, you pin them down and have Assassin finish them off." He shrugged and walked with her towards the room they shared.
"What about you?" She knew he was a good fighter, even if she had never fought like a warrior in her day, the way he moved reminded her heavily of the man that the gods had used to cause her to betray everything. "With my reinforcement abilities, you'd be able to fight any servant easily."
"Nah." He shook his head. "If I fought, this war would be over in two days."
Caster giggled as she heard that. Sure, it might have been borderline arrogant, but she had a feeling he could back it up, at least somewhat. "Even if you're good, master, you're no match for a Saber or a Lancer in combat." He shrugged and she shook her head, almost wishing that she could get more out of him. There was such sadness in his eyes when he spoke of fighting. "Well, have a good day, master."
"There's plenty of time today, Caster." He turned and gave her a small smile while holding the door open. "I don't need to be in town until later this afternoon anyway." He smirked at her blush as the two of them entered the bedroom.
Neither of them would be leaving for at least six more hours.
(---)
"Here we are, Yuuno." Rider stopped the bike and looked at her Master, who was trembling slightly. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Usually when I go that fast, I'm in the air... Flying... And not driving bikes up the sides of buildings to avoid traffic."
"It was the fastest way." Rider nodded as they entered the store. "So, um... What about getting me clothes?"
Yuuno shook his head and nodded. "S...Sure, just trying to catch my breath is all." He was glad that he wasn't even eighteen yet. If he had been any older, he probably would have had a heart attack at some point during that ride.
Rider nodded as they walked deeper into the store. "Master, um, people are staring at me."
Yuuno chuckled softly and smiled as a clerk came up to them. "Excuse me, miss, can you help my friend find some clothes?"
"Sure..." She trailed off and looked at the tall Servant. "Do you have any other clothes or..?"
"Ah, I'm sorry, but my house was robbed and my clothes were mostly destroyed last night." Rider bowed to the woman. "I just got out of surgury and I need this eye mask to keep my eyes from hurting too much."
"I see. Well then, allow me to lead you this way and we'll get you fitted for some new clothes then."
Rider allowed a small smile as she followed the woman in. "I would like that."
(---)
Shirou was sighing as he tried to talk Saber out of joining him at school. "Look, I'll be fine. Despite everything else, school's too public for an open confrontation." It hadn't been easy to explain to Sakura or Fuji-nee about Saber, but at least she had explained it to them.
*Flash*
Saber blinked at Fujimura Taiga as she accused Shirou of doing inappropriate things to her. "Ah, that would be my fault." She bowed to Taiga and Sakura, both of whom looked at her in confusion. "I'm from Wales and just arrived last night, however, I forgot about the time difference."
"So, why did you come to Japan anyway?" Taiga narrowed her eyes and nearly crawled forward like the tiger people accused her of being.
"Ah, I am an acquaintance of Kiritsugu Emiya's, I was looking for him when I found out that he was not here. His son, Shirou, was kind enough to let me stay here while I sort my business in Japan out."
Taiga sighed and shook her head. "Shirou! What would you have done if she was here to kill Kiritsugu and decided to kill you since he's already dead?" She blinked at the looks that Shirou, Sakura and Saber gave her. "What? My dad's had people come to kill him a few times in the past. And Kiritsugu was a good friend to my dad." She sighed and waved her hands. "Whatever, I need to go take care of some stuff."
Sakura, Shirou and Saber all blinked as she left.
"Sempai... Do you think something's wrong with sensei?"
*End Flash*
Shirou shuddered mentally, he couldn't imagine what Fuji-nee would do if she wasn't alright. Well, alright for her. He long suspected that Taiga wasn't right in the head. "Anyway, Saber, I promise, there won't be anything that will happen at school today."
"And what if Ilya attacks with Caster?" Saber narrowed her eyes at him. "Or Rin with her Archer when you are alone? At the very least, Shirou, I should not be far. If you are taken out in a surprise attack, then I would disappear from this world quickly."
Shirou winced, he hadn't thought of that. "Well... Saber, I don't think it would be a good idea. I mean, you'd have nothing to do but stand around, I'd have to think up a bunch of different reasons and eventually someone would find out the lie and..."
Saber held up a hand and nodded. "Very well, perhaps you are right. Just going with you would cause problems. Fine. But, please, promise me that no matter what, if you're in danger, you'll summon me with a Command Seal. Even if I was in Wales at this moment, a Command Seal would summon me to your side in an instant."
Shirou blinked and nodded slowly. "Ah, sure. No problem." He smiled at her. "I promise, if something bad happens, I'll call you up."
That seemed to mollify Saber and she nodded. "Thank you, Shirou."
(---)
"I could take him out from here." Archer narrowed his eyes as he saw Shirou walking near his friend, Issei, if he recalled the boy's name correctly, as they walked towards the school. "I wouldn't even need to use anything special, just some reinforced wooden sticks where the skull meets his spine, he'd be dead before he hit the pavement and Saber would be one less threat."
"Tempting as that is, Archer, I think I'll pass this morning." Rin replied, somewhat grumpy. "You seem eager to kill something this morning."
"Do I?" Archer smirked at her as he walked next to her in his incorporeal form. "I'm just offering my services as your Servant."
"Yeah, well, right now, you have to remember we know about the other Servants, but not all of the masters." Rin cupped her chin in thought. "Let's leave Saber and Shirou alone for right now, Archer. We know who they are and where they live, we can take them out at any time."
Archer mentally sighed and shook his head. 'Rin, you're too nice.' Still, it wasn't like it was a bad plan. Besides, if he waited until at least Berserker was dead, then he could take care of Saber when she was exhausted.
(---)
"Hey, Issei..." Shirou smiled as his friend turned to look at him. "Hey, how's it been going? I noticed that you've been kind of distracted lately. Did something bad happen?"
"Heh, no," Issei shook his head and adjusted his glasses, "nothing bad, Emiya, just been tired lately. I told you about the new guy that came up to the temple a few months ago?"
"You mean that guy that looked like he fought against the Devil, managed to walk away but could barely move for a week?" Issei nodded at Shirou's question, "what about him?"
"Well, he seems to have found a girlfriend a couple of months ago and she's living with him. And then there's this weird samurai guy that moved in as well."
Shirou tilted his head. "Sounds like the temple's gotten crowded."
"You'd think so, but at least they're all well mannered." Well, so long as one ignored the sheer amount of lovemaking that the new guy and his girlfriend did, or the fights that the Samurai and that girl got into over the use of the computer. "It's strange though, that girl, she's rather unusual. The blue hair isn't unusual at all, but she acts like a newlywed wife instead of a girlfriend."
Shirou chuckled softly. "You almost sound jealous." He laughed as Issei blushed. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, but at least they sound like nice people."
"Yeah, but," Issei got closer to Shirou and started to whisper to him, "something about that man, the one who brought his girlfriend to live with him, there's something about him that sets me on edge. He moves with such grace that it's like watching a panther move, and when I'm near him..."
Shirou blinked as Issei shuddered almost violently. "Is he dangerous?"
The monk in training nodded hastily. "Yeah, it's almost like nature itself coils around him. I don't know how to explain it though."
"That's fine." Shirou nodded. He trusted Issei's insight on the matter. "How long do you think he'll be there?"
"He said something about the foreseeable future, but when his business was done he'd move on." Issei shrugged as they came near the school. "Don't worry, I'll be fine, but I'm just worried that something bad is going to happen."
Shirou wasn't sure what Issei meant and idly wondered if maybe one of the masters was set up at the temple. It would make sense, but then again, there wasn't any sort of samurai that had appeared during that battle. "Don't worry, I'm sure that it won't be too bad."
Issei smiled at Shirou, "at least someone does."
(---)
Yuuno looked up as Rider came out of the dressing room, her hair was still loose and hung down to her knees, and she still had her mask on over her eyes, but she was wearing tight jeans and a dark sweater that hugged her in all of the right places. "Wow... You look gorgeous."
Rider stilled and looked away and down, a soft blush on her face.
"Now, now, dear." The sales lady smiled as she put her hands on Rider's shoulders, which was a little hard to do with how tall the woman was. "I told you that he'd like it. And we've got several other pairs of clothing that you liked."
Rider nodded softly. "Yes." She was a little surprised, she would have thought that her master would have preferred her in her skimpy outfit to her current modest one. Still, if he liked it, she wasn't going to complain. He had been a really nice guy over-all and he was more interested in understanding stuff than fighting, but he hadn't been trying to hold her back when she fought at least.
Not that Rider liked fighting, since that led her to a miserable existence in her last life.
Yuuno smiled at her. "Well, if they're like what you have now, they'll all look good." He blinked when Rider's face went completely red and she looked away. "...Uh..."
"Nothing." Rider said as she turned to get the outfits that had been picked out and hoped the he could afford to buy them all.
(---)
As they walked out with all the clothes that Rider had chosen, the Servant decided that, yes, Yuuno was far and above any man she had ever met. He didn't want to use her for her beauty or power and he didn't try to take advantage of the fact that he could make her do anything and she couldn't resist, no matter what.
She couldn't even begin to imagine what would have happened if she had a master that was a wimpy pushover, or even worse, a male that acted like the men in her day.
(---)
For some unknown reason, both Sakura and Shinji Matou sneezed at the same time, though, in Shinji's case, he did it while stepping on a water puddle, which, combined with how hard he sneezed, sent him falling face first into the puddle.
Archerko snorted as she watched him fall down. It was amusing, it would have been funnier if his sister had fallen at the same time, but she'd take what she could get.
"BAH!" Shinji growled as he stood up. "Archerko," he hissed softly, "you remember the plan, right? There's at least two other masters at school. I want you to deal with them."
"Hmm, you sure?"
"Yes." He snarled as he took another step and yelped as some sort of metal pole got between his legs and sent him tumbling to the ground again. "GAH! Archerko!"
"Sorry, master, I must have been careless when I called up that spear." She grinned in her Astral form. Sure, he could hear her, but that didn't mean he could see her. "Anyway, master... We need to talk later."
Shinji twitched as he stood up. "Fine, just do it after you deal with those two masters."
"One of them is Shirou Emiya." She said, causing Shinji to pause. "Considering how sweet your sister is for him..."
Shinji blinked as he heard her trail off. If he didn't know any better, he would have sworn that he heard some disgust or anger in her voice. "Hmm, you do have a point. Very well, try to deal with the other one, but leave Emiya alone, I think I want to rekindle our friendship." He chuckled as he started walking towards the school.
"And what if he tries to stop me?" Shinji shrugged and Archerko smirked. "Very well then, Master, you could just always say that it was my Independent Action that made me ignore your orders if that happens."
"Sounds good." Shinji nodded, wondering why his grandfather had warned him about the Archer class, so far Archerko didn't seem to be too bad.
Archerko mentally thought about the upcoming plan and idly wondered about how this plan was going to go down. Oh well, she had some nice little surprises in sore.
Besides, Shinji had said to 'take care of them', not kill them.
She wondered how long it would take for him to realize his mistake.
Can you catch the crossover cameo I slipped in? Hint, it's the two girls that were there when Rider took off.
mega1987
2012-12-02, 18:41
Fate Stay Another Night 1 (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=4453716#post4453716)
Fate Stay Another Night 2 (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=4455993#post4455993)
Rider watched as her master led her outside of their apartment. Rider honestly didn't know what to think of it. To her, it was a bit small, even if it had two bedrooms, and a small bathroom. She mentally snorted, the bathroom was so small that you had to either jump in the shower stall or stand on the toilet just to be able to open the door properly. "I can go astral if you wish me to, master." She bowed to him. "I have no real need to be physical right now anyway." She sighed as he shook his head. "Very well, where are we going?"
"Well, I have a bike and I was just planning on biking around the city and taking in the atmosphere before this happened." He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled softly. As they walked to the alley next to the building they were staying at, Rider stopped and stared, well, Yuuno wasn't sure, since he couldn't see her eyes, at the bike he had. "It's just an old one, but the previous owner said that it was still good and he used it when traveling across Japan."
"Master, please, let me drive it." Rider bowed to him. "My riding technique is A+, do not worry about crashing and just let me take us to the clothing store." Before he could protest, she was already sitting on the bike's seat.
Yuuno shrugged and got onto the seat behind her. "Well then, Rider, shall we?"
"Hang on tightly, Master." Rider pushed the bike forward. "I would not wish you to fall off."
"Um, okay." Yuuno blushed a bit and put his arms around her mid-section. "Go as fast as you want to."
If Yuuno could see her eyes at that moment, he would have started to panic. His eyes widened and he let out a yelp as she suddenly took off at a speed that would make a motorcycle green with envy. "Riiiideeeerrr!!!"
"Do not worry, Yuuno!" Rider grinned as she bobbed and weaved with the bike while passing and weaving through traffic. "We shall get to the clothing store more quickly this way. Hold on!"
"AHHH!" Yuuno yelled and squeezed Rider more tightly as she jumped the curb and ended up on the fence, going highway speeds on chainlink fences would have been cause for praise... If anyone had seen them for more than a few seconds at a time. Well, anyone but two girls who just blinked as the two passed them at those speeds.
"Hey, Emi..."
"Yeah?"
"Think that's..."
"No, now shut up, we need to get the boss lady some stuff here before heading back home."
"Okay. Can I fly the chopper this time?"
"NO!"
(---)
Caster sighed as she watched Ilya sleep. She needed to talk to Shirou, even if he couldn't help completely, there was just some things that only he could do. She stood up and was prepared to hunt him down when she blinked and sighed. "...Where the heck does he live anyway?" She frowned and was about to start a scan of the city for Shirou when she stiffened. "...Did someone try and scry me?" Narrowing her eyes, she concentrated and blinked. "Seems that someone's been busy."
(---)
"Dammit!" She cursed as her attempt at scrying failed. "I should have known better than to try and scry a Caster."
"Yeah, you probably should have." She glared at the voice who spoke. "I mean, seriously, even if she's unusual, you, of all people should know better."
"Shut up, Assassin!" She stood to her full height, which, wasn't that impressive. "Why aren't you doing your job?"
He rolled his eyes at her. "Well, the Grail War just started yesterday, and thanks to that little trick you figured out, I can move anywhere on this temple hill without any problems. And besides, didn't your little scrying reveal that most of the masters are children?"
She scoffed and walked out of the room. "In your age, they'd be adults already."
"Yep." He nodded and walked next to her. "So..." She looked at him and wondered just why his hair and eyes were so blue that they almost matched the purple hakama and kimono he was wearing. "Last one to the computer doesn't get to use the internet!"
Her eyes widened as he took off. "Dammit! No fair! I wanna check out my social networking!" She growled as he rounded a corner, dropped his long Katana across his lap and laughed at her while clicking the appropriate files. "Damn you!" She pouted and turned away. "Fine! I'll just go and work in my private study for today."
"Do try to keep your toys off the floor this time," Assassin smirked when she yelled that they were figmas, not toys. "Sure, sure. Now then... Oooh! Finally! The third season of Rurouni Kenshin is downloaded! Now I can find out what happens next!" He was, after all, a Samurai himself, he couldn't help but enjoy a fictional one's story.
Not too far from where Assassin was watching Rurouni Kenshin, the woman pouted as she walked away from the computer. "We need another one."
"Even if we got one, there's no wifi up here," a male spoke up and she let out a small shriek and spun around to look at him. He was taller than she was, fairly well built, he was wearing black pants and a white tank top. His long, dark hair was done up in a loose ponytail that brushed past his shoulders and his bangs were long enough that they almost hid the blue color of his eyes. "And I can't get permission to put another internet line in up here."
"Master..." She sighed and nodded. "I know, but... I thought..." She sniffled softly. "I thought I was the only Caster of this war..." He blinked at her. "But... It turns out, there's a second Caster that's out there! She's bigger than me, silver hair, red eyes and... And..." Caster twitched, her elven ears flattening down as she narrowed her eyes, "she's got A plus stats..."
"You mean..." Her master trailed off, sweat-dropping as Caster let out a scream and started marching back and forth in the hallway. "Don't let it get to you."
"GAH! She's a natural twenty and her breast stats are an A plus?! Not fair! I only have a C plus rank breast statistic! Even that Rider has an A rank in her breasts!" She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, her blue hair swayed from side to side as she shook her head. "Not fair! Not fair! At least I'm not as bad as Saber or the female Archer."
"Caster..." Her master sighed and grabbed her shoulders, causing her to stiffen before sighing as he pulled her against him. "Calm down. I don't care too much about breast sizes, and you know that." She nodded, enjoying the contact. "I'm going to get dressed and go to town, okay?"
Her eyes widened and she spun to look at him. "But... Master... Even if you're good, there's the other Servants, what if one of them..?"
"They don't know who I am, they don't know about us here and since you haven't done anything to trip them off..." He smirked at her and the blue haired Caster swooned softly. "We shouldn't have to worry. Though... What color is the other Caster's hair?"
"Silver, why?"
He smirked at her confused look. "Well, we'll call her Silver Caster and you Blue Caster, for now, okay?"
She sighed, but nodded. "...What if there's two copies of every class in this war?" She trembled at the thought of two Sabers and two Berserkers. That would be... Insane.
"It's possible. If that happens, you pin them down and have Assassin finish them off." He shrugged and walked with her towards the room they shared.
"What about you?" She knew he was a good fighter, even if she had never fought like a warrior in her day, the way he moved reminded her heavily of the man that the gods had used to cause her to betray everything. "With my reinforcement abilities, you'd be able to fight any servant easily."
"Nah." He shook his head. "If I fought, this war would be over in two days."
Caster giggled as she heard that. Sure, it might have been borderline arrogant, but she had a feeling he could back it up, at least somewhat. "Even if you're good, master, you're no match for a Saber or a Lancer in combat." He shrugged and she shook her head, almost wishing that she could get more out of him. There was such sadness in his eyes when he spoke of fighting. "Well, have a good day, master."
"There's plenty of time today, Caster." He turned and gave her a small smile while holding the door open. "I don't need to be in town until later this afternoon anyway." He smirked at her blush as the two of them entered the bedroom.
Neither of them would be leaving for at least six more hours.
(---)
"Here we are, Yuuno." Rider stopped the bike and looked at her Master, who was trembling slightly. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Usually when I go that fast, I'm in the air... Flying... And not driving bikes up the sides of buildings to avoid traffic."
"It was the fastest way." Rider nodded as they entered the store. "So, um... What about getting me clothes?"
Yuuno shook his head and nodded. "S...Sure, just trying to catch my breath is all." He was glad that he wasn't even eighteen yet. If he had been any older, he probably would have had a heart attack at some point during that ride.
Rider nodded as they walked deeper into the store. "Master, um, people are staring at me."
Yuuno chuckled softly and smiled as a clerk came up to them. "Excuse me, miss, can you help my friend find some clothes?"
"Sure..." She trailed off and looked at the tall Servant. "Do you have any other clothes or..?"
"Ah, I'm sorry, but my house was robbed and my clothes were mostly destroyed last night." Rider bowed to the woman. "I just got out of surgury and I need this eye mask to keep my eyes from hurting too much."
"I see. Well then, allow me to lead you this way and we'll get you fitted for some new clothes then."
Rider allowed a small smile as she followed the woman in. "I would like that."
(---)
Shirou was sighing as he tried to talk Saber out of joining him at school. "Look, I'll be fine. Despite everything else, school's too public for an open confrontation." It hadn't been easy to explain to Sakura or Fuji-nee about Saber, but at least she had explained it to them.
*Flash*
Saber blinked at Fujimura Taiga as she accused Shirou of doing inappropriate things to her. "Ah, that would be my fault." She bowed to Taiga and Sakura, both of whom looked at her in confusion. "I'm from Wales and just arrived last night, however, I forgot about the time difference."
"So, why did you come to Japan anyway?" Taiga narrowed her eyes and nearly crawled forward like the tiger people accused her of being.
"Ah, I am an acquaintance of Kiritsugu Emiya's, I was looking for him when I found out that he was not here. His son, Shirou, was kind enough to let me stay here while I sort my business in Japan out."
Taiga sighed and shook her head. "Shirou! What would you have done if she was here to kill Kiritsugu and decided to kill you since he's already dead?" She blinked at the looks that Shirou, Sakura and Saber gave her. "What? My dad's had people come to kill him a few times in the past. And Kiritsugu was a good friend to my dad." She sighed and waved her hands. "Whatever, I need to go take care of some stuff."
Sakura, Shirou and Saber all blinked as she left.
"Sempai... Do you think something's wrong with sensei?"
*End Flash*
Shirou shuddered mentally, he couldn't imagine what Fuji-nee would do if she wasn't alright. Well, alright for her. He long suspected that Taiga wasn't right in the head. "Anyway, Saber, I promise, there won't be anything that will happen at school today."
"And what if Ilya attacks with Caster?" Saber narrowed her eyes at him. "Or Rin with her Archer when you are alone? At the very least, Shirou, I should not be far. If you are taken out in a surprise attack, then I would disappear from this world quickly."
Shirou winced, he hadn't thought of that. "Well... Saber, I don't think it would be a good idea. I mean, you'd have nothing to do but stand around, I'd have to think up a bunch of different reasons and eventually someone would find out the lie and..."
Saber held up a hand and nodded. "Very well, perhaps you are right. Just going with you would cause problems. Fine. But, please, promise me that no matter what, if you're in danger, you'll summon me with a Command Seal. Even if I was in Wales at this moment, a Command Seal would summon me to your side in an instant."
Shirou blinked and nodded slowly. "Ah, sure. No problem." He smiled at her. "I promise, if something bad happens, I'll call you up."
That seemed to mollify Saber and she nodded. "Thank you, Shirou."
(---)
"I could take him out from here." Archer narrowed his eyes as he saw Shirou walking near his friend, Issei, if he recalled the boy's name correctly, as they walked towards the school. "I wouldn't even need to use anything special, just some reinforced wooden sticks where the skull meets his spine, he'd be dead before he hit the pavement and Saber would be one less threat."
"Tempting as that is, Archer, I think I'll pass this morning." Rin replied, somewhat grumpy. "You seem eager to kill something this morning."
"Do I?" Archer smirked at her as he walked next to her in his incorporeal form. "I'm just offering my services as your Servant."
"Yeah, well, right now, you have to remember we know about the other Servants, but not all of the masters." Rin cupped her chin in thought. "Let's leave Saber and Shirou alone for right now, Archer. We know who they are and where they live, we can take them out at any time."
Archer mentally sighed and shook his head. 'Rin, you're too nice.' Still, it wasn't like it was a bad plan. Besides, if he waited until at least Berserker was dead, then he could take care of Saber when she was exhausted.
(---)
"Hey, Issei..." Shirou smiled as his friend turned to look at him. "Hey, how's it been going? I noticed that you've been kind of distracted lately. Did something bad happen?"
"Heh, no," Issei shook his head and adjusted his glasses, "nothing bad, Emiya, just been tired lately. I told you about the new guy that came up to the temple a few months ago?"
"You mean that guy that looked like he fought against the Devil, managed to walk away but could barely move for a week?" Issei nodded at Shirou's question, "what about him?"
"Well, he seems to have found a girlfriend a couple of months ago and she's living with him. And then there's this weird samurai guy that moved in as well."
Shirou tilted his head. "Sounds like the temple's gotten crowded."
"You'd think so, but at least they're all well mannered." Well, so long as one ignored the sheer amount of lovemaking that the new guy and his girlfriend did, or the fights that the Samurai and that girl got into over the use of the computer. "It's strange though, that girl, she's rather unusual. The blue hair isn't unusual at all, but she acts like a newlywed wife instead of a girlfriend."
Shirou chuckled softly. "You almost sound jealous." He laughed as Issei blushed. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, but at least they sound like nice people."
"Yeah, but," Issei got closer to Shirou and started to whisper to him, "something about that man, the one who brought his girlfriend to live with him, there's something about him that sets me on edge. He moves with such grace that it's like watching a panther move, and when I'm near him..."
Shirou blinked as Issei shuddered almost violently. "Is he dangerous?"
The monk in training nodded hastily. "Yeah, it's almost like nature itself coils around him. I don't know how to explain it though."
"That's fine." Shirou nodded. He trusted Issei's insight on the matter. "How long do you think he'll be there?"
"He said something about the foreseeable future, but when his business was done he'd move on." Issei shrugged as they came near the school. "Don't worry, I'll be fine, but I'm just worried that something bad is going to happen."
Shirou wasn't sure what Issei meant and idly wondered if maybe one of the masters was set up at the temple. It would make sense, but then again, there wasn't any sort of samurai that had appeared during that battle. "Don't worry, I'm sure that it won't be too bad."
Issei smiled at Shirou, "at least someone does."
(---)
Yuuno looked up as Rider came out of the dressing room, her hair was still loose and hung down to her knees, and she still had her mask on over her eyes, but she was wearing tight jeans and a dark sweater that hugged her in all of the right places. "Wow... You look gorgeous."
Rider stilled and looked away and down, a soft blush on her face.
"Now, now, dear." The sales lady smiled as she put her hands on Rider's shoulders, which was a little hard to do with how tall the woman was. "I told you that he'd like it. And we've got several other pairs of clothing that you liked."
Rider nodded softly. "Yes." She was a little surprised, she would have thought that her master would have preferred her in her skimpy outfit to her current modest one. Still, if he liked it, she wasn't going to complain. He had been a really nice guy over-all and he was more interested in understanding stuff than fighting, but he hadn't been trying to hold her back when she fought at least.
Not that Rider liked fighting, since that led her to a miserable existence in her last life.
Yuuno smiled at her. "Well, if they're like what you have now, they'll all look good." He blinked when Rider's face went completely red and she looked away. "...Uh..."
"Nothing." Rider said as she turned to get the outfits that had been picked out and hoped the he could afford to buy them all.
(---)
As they walked out with all the clothes that Rider had chosen, the Servant decided that, yes, Yuuno was far and above any man she had ever met. He didn't want to use her for her beauty or power and he didn't try to take advantage of the fact that he could make her do anything and she couldn't resist, no matter what.
She couldn't even begin to imagine what would have happened if she had a master that was a wimpy pushover, or even worse, a male that acted like the men in her day.
(---)
For some unknown reason, both Sakura and Shinji Matou sneezed at the same time, though, in Shinji's case, he did it while stepping on a water puddle, which, combined with how hard he sneezed, sent him falling face first into the puddle.
Archerko snorted as she watched him fall down. It was amusing, it would have been funnier if his sister had fallen at the same time, but she'd take what she could get.
"BAH!" Shinji growled as he stood up. "Archerko," he hissed softly, "you remember the plan, right? There's at least two other masters at school. I want you to deal with them."
"Hmm, you sure?"
"Yes." He snarled as he took another step and yelped as some sort of metal pole got between his legs and sent him tumbling to the ground again. "GAH! Archerko!"
"Sorry, master, I must have been careless when I called up that spear." She grinned in her Astral form. Sure, he could hear her, but that didn't mean he could see her. "Anyway, master... We need to talk later."
Shinji twitched as he stood up. "Fine, just do it after you deal with those two masters."
"One of them is Shirou Emiya." She said, causing Shinji to pause. "Considering how sweet your sister is for him..."
Shinji blinked as he heard her trail off. If he didn't know any better, he would have sworn that he heard some disgust or anger in her voice. "Hmm, you do have a point. Very well, try to deal with the other one, but leave Emiya alone, I think I want to rekindle our friendship." He chuckled as he started walking towards the school.
"And what if he tries to stop me?" Shinji shrugged and Archerko smirked. "Very well then, Master, you could just always say that it was my Independent Action that made me ignore your orders if that happens."
"Sounds good." Shinji nodded, wondering why his grandfather had warned him about the Archer class, so far Archerko didn't seem to be too bad.
Archerko mentally thought about the upcoming plan and idly wondered about how this plan was going to go down. Oh well, she had some nice little surprises in sore.
Besides, Shinji had said to 'take care of them', not kill them.
She wondered how long it would take for him to realize his mistake.
Can you catch the crossover cameo I slipped in? Hint, it's the two girls that were there when Rider took off.
Me: (Insert Spoiler's title here.)
Odin: Oh shut up, NEET.
Me: What!?
Hayate: Rider! Can you try this one? *Got a Motoko Aoyama kendo outfit.*
Carim: Here. Try these, Ms. Medusa. *Got a Kallen Kozuki formal gown attire.*
Amelia: NO! try this one for size, Rider! * brought out Jura Basil Elden's Casual outfit.*
Me: :twitch::twitch::twitch: Jura's Casual outfit!? One of the ultra revealing outfits ever appeared in Vandread!? *nose began to bleed.*
Medea: Rider, How about this cute outfit I've made just for you during my Honeymoon? *Brought out Nanako Dojima's up-sized summer wear.*
Yuuno: :uhoh::uhoh::uhoh: Rider?
*Rider is currently gone with Val in his adventure of Rune Midgard, current location: lower section of Glast Hiem.*
Me: This is the birth of OTAKU!!!!! ASSASSIN!!!!!!!!
Koujiro: Why. Thank you, kid.
Me: XD
Odin: Did anyone got the number of that granny bike? I think Ruby want to get run over by it.... again. *in a straight face.*
Ruby: *Currently in her post... whatever....*
Me: You know, Shirou.... Many men would kill for your position there....
Elane: Poor worm yes-man.... there's so many ways "Take care of them" can be interpreted...
Sarah: His servant is not on the same book as him so, expect his words will be twisted in her version...
Fate Stay Another Night 1 (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=4453716#post4453716)
Fate Stay Another Night 2 (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=4455993#post4455993)
Fate Stay Another Night 3 (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=4458196#post4458196)
Shirou yawned as school finally let out for the day. He was a bit tired from the previous night and all he could hope for was a day or two to figure out what to do next. As it was, he really didn't want to stick around the school at that moment. It wasn't like being at school after dark was scary, but there was something that was seriously setting his nerves on edge.
Besides, if he stayed too long, Saber might get upset and it really wasn't fair to make her wait, was it?
(---)
As she watched him leave, Archerko smirked, how easy it would be to take him down and do so much to him. Oh the fun she could have with him, some rope and... Her thoughts trailed off as Shirou started to move away from the crowd. "Drat." Oh well, she'd deal with him another day. "For now though..."
Oh, she couldn't pull off something like Blood Fort Andromeda, but that didn't mean she couldn't make things interesting in the days to come. "Fufufufufufufu..."
(---)
"Master," Caster popped her head out of her workshop, "are you out..." She trailed off as she saw a blue haired teenager with glasses, "oh, you." Sighing, Caster stood up and stepped outside before closing the door behind her. "What do you want?"
"We're going to have dinner soon, I thought I'd be nice and tell you."
"You don't like me, huh?" Caster chuckled softly at the monk in training. "That's fine, I don't like you much either, just put up with me for a little while longer and we won't need to see each other ever again." She gave him an annoyed smile and he twitched heavily.
"Now see here!" He raised his voice at her. "Just because we're monks doesn't mean we won't throw out trouble makers like..."
"Excuse me," the argument stopped as the temperature in the room suddenly dropped by twelve degrees. "Issei, are you bothering my girlfriend again?" Issei turned with dread and gulped as he saw Caster's master giving him a blank stare. "And you," he looked at Caster, "are you trying to get a rise out of him?"
Caster giggled softly. "I'm sorry, master, but I couldn't help it." She stopped giggling and gulped when his eyes narrowed at her. "Please, I'm sorry, I was just teasing him because I was annoyed you weren't out here."
He sighed and shook his head. "Story of my life," both Caster and Issei sighed as they felt the temperature of the room return to normal, "you said it was time to eat?" He looked at Issei, who nodded, "you better hurry up, or the Samurai will eat everything."
"Gah!" Issei's eyes widened and he spun to run out of the room.
"Um, I'm sorry," Caster looked down at her feet nervously, "can you forgive me?" She almost flinched when he put a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm not mad at you, I just don't want a fight to start in a place that was kind enough to take me in and treat me for all my injuries." She looked up at him and smiled. "Medea," he whispered her true name and she blushed heavily as she heard it from his lips, "I said I'd help you fight in this war, didn't I?"
Still blushing, the blue haired woman wrapped her arms around her master and pressed her head against his chest. "Some day, you'll need to tell me how you got so injured." She blinked when he shivered. "Master?" She leaned back to look up at him. "What is it?"
"Let's just say that woman is seriously scary and leave it at that."
Caster blinked, wondering who that woman was and what she did to her master.
(---)
"Ma, ah, Yuuno," Rider nodded to Yuuno as the two walked down the street. They had put the clothes she had bought back in their apartment a few hours ago and were just walking around the city, trying to familiarize themselves with it. "A Servant is heading this way."
Before Yuuno could say anything, Rider was in front of him. "It's that Caster..." She whispered softly as she looked down the street, her vision almost zooming through the crowd to see the Servant heading their way. "What should we..?"
"Relax," Yuuno put a hand on Rider's shoulder. The Servant tried not to show it, but she did tense up under his touch, "I doubt she'll start something here. And if she does, well, we'll cross that bridge when it comes to it." Yuuno didn't relish the thought of facing Reinforce in combat, not without Nanoha, Fate, Hayate, Signum and Vita standing between him and Reinforce at least. Even if Rider was super strong and fast, he didn't think she could fly at all. "Rider, I have to know, just why were you called up as Rider?"
"Ah," Rider was about to begin when Caster suddenly stopped less than twenty feet from the two of them. "I'll tell you later."
"You are Rider and you..." She trailed off, her pupils shrinking as she looked at Yuuno. "...You look so... So familiar to me... Why?"
"If I told you that it took two chains, several spikes, a giant hammer, pink beams, energy swords, an arrow, stone, ice and a massive teleportation spell to deal with..."
"You were that boy that helped stop me," Caster gasped, staring at Yuuno as she trembled, "I... I never wanted to meet you like this."
"I think we could stand to talk, don't you?" Yuuno smiled at her.
Caster just nodded.
(---)
"A Karaoke booth?" Rider looked around the small room dubiously. "Why here? It won't keep anyone from scrying us magically..."
"True, but it's sound proofed, and I've already set up fields to keep anyone from listening in." Yuuno looked at Caster and smiled. "It's been eight years."
"Yes," Caster nodded and looked at Rider before sighing, "how has my family been doing?"
"Well, actually, Zafira's still with Hayate, protecting her, Vita works with Nanoha now as a trainer, Signum is basically an independent investigator and Hayate is well on her way to becoming a colonel now."
"Master," Rider spoke up as she looked at Caster, "are you sure we can..."
"I mean you no harm today. I was merely..." Caster gave a soft smile, "shopping for Enerlope batteries for my master." She giggled at Rider's look, "even with your mask on, I can tell, you're confused. My master was playing a video game when the batteries started to run low. She has backups, but she needs some replacements by tomorrow."
"...Why would a Magus play video games?" Rider asked no one in particular.
Caster shrugged at her. "They're a way to burn time and not think about the world around you. What about you?" She looked at Yuuno again, "how have you been doing?"
"Actually, I'm on a month-long vacation. I came back to Earth to visit everyone, and, ah..." He rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I messed up on the coordinates slightly and ended up near here instead." He nodded to Rider, "and I summoned her by accident after my arm started to bleed."
"I see." Caster nodded and sighed. "I should be going, but, Yuuno..." She stood up and before Rider could react, she grabbed Yuuno and gave him a tight hug, "tell Hayate hello for me, okay?" Her eyes watered up as he nodded. "Thank you." Letting him go, she turned to look at Rider and nodded to her. "Please, take care of him. He's a kind person and someone I know you can trust."
"We are enemies." Rider pointed out to Caster, who shrugged at her. "Do you not find it..."
"No, I don't. My previous life was filled with nothing but enemies. Your master is not one of them, so, even if we're on different sides of this war, we're not enemies to each other."
Rider watched as a black triangle formed under Caster and she disappeared. 'Not enemies?' She thought to herself, wondering about that.
She never had a life of no enemies, after all.
(---)
"I'm back!" Shirou called out and blinked as Saber walked out from around a corner in a blue dress, white shirt and socks. "Hey, Saber, you okay?"
"Ah," she nodded to him, "I just woke up from a nap." She tilted her head as she looked at him, "there was no problems then?"
Shirou shook his head. "Nah. Didn't look like Tohsaka wanted to try anything and I couldn't feel any other Magus or Servant at the school." Granted, he didn't have much in terms of sensing anything, but no one tried anything, so, that counted for something, right?
Saber nodded as he slipped his shoes off. "Shirou, we should plan on how to deal with the other Servants." She almost sighed as he tilted his head in confusion. "Please do not tell me that you were just going to coast through this war and let the enemies come to you."
"No," Shirou shook his head, "I'm just trying to figure out who those last two Servants were."
Saber's eyes widened slightly before easing up and she smiled at him. "I admit, I am... Surprised you'd say that. I thought you would tell me not to worry and then you would go out and fight Servants on your own and not summon me at all."
Shirou sweat-dropped heavily. Did he really look that unreliable? "Ah, well... Anyway, Saber, we saw all the Servants, right? So, we just have to..." He trailed off as Saber shook her head. "What's wrong?"
"I have this feeling that I'm missing something, Shirou," she cupped her chin in thought, "but neither of those last two Servants looked like an Assassin Servant. In fact, the one that had white hair looked closer to an Archer-class Servant than an Assassin. Then again, she may be Assassin and just happens to look similar to Rin's Archer."
"Wait, are you saying Rin has two Archers?" Saber shook her head and Shirou let out a sigh of relief. "That's good, I know you'd be able to beat them, but if one of them kept you busy while another one attacked me..." He blushed at Saber's look of surprise. "Hey, I know how good I am, and I saw all the Servants fighting last night, if Lancer really wanted to, he could have killed me again easily."
"Wait, what do you mean again?" Saber narrowed her eyes and Shirou winced at the look in them. "Shirou! Did you actually try to fight a Servant on your own?!"
"Not on purpose!" Shirou waved his hands back and forth. "Hey, Saber, it was..." He trailed off as he heard a loud growling sound. Saber blushed as she realized it was her stomach that was letting out that noise. "How about I cook some dinner first, then you can yell at me for being attacked by Lancer at school and trying to defend myself at home when you weren't around."
Saber had the decency to blush at hearing that. "Ah, yes, my mistake then. But, Shirou, please tell me that you would never do something so stupid." She blushed when her stomach growled again. "Ah, perhaps you should make dinner then?"
Shirou nodded and tried not to laugh. Even if she was being stern, Saber sure was cute. Besides, he had to think of other things...
Like what to make for dinner.
(---)
"Alright, Archer," Rin sighed as she sat down and took a sip of the tea he had prepared for her. At least he was good for that. "I couldn't keep up with most of the action last night, we need to go over the other Servants."
Archer nodded at that, while he knew who most of the Servants were, having to talk out loud about them might help him collect his thoughts. "Fine. Mind if I start with the simple ones first?" Rin gestured for him to go ahead. "Lancer, while we don't know who his master is, we've figured out his identity from that fight."
"He said Gae Bolg when fighting Berserker, so..." Rin narrowed her eyes in thought. "I can't quite..."
"Cu Chulainn, the Hound of Ireland," Archer supplied for her. "Master of both the spear and of Runic magic." He sighed when Rin rolled her eyes at that. "Rin, while Runic magic has fallen out of favor, he's still a master at it."
She blushed softly, "I know that. It's just..."
"Compared to what you're familiar with, it doesn't seem like much." Archer nodded to her. "While that's true, he could do things with it that you wouldn't see very often from most magus out there. Despite knowing who he is, unless we've got dog meat..." He trailed off when Rin shook her head and sighed. "Well, for now, we'll just play a waiting game with him. He'll pop up sooner or later."
"Alright, next?"
"Berserker, or, as Ilyasviel called him, Herakles." Rin nodded and leaned back into her chair. "Then again, we should probably call him Hercules, since he's more known by that name." Archer waved his hand to dismiss any objection Rin may or may not have had. "Anyway, the problem is, that man had no real weaknesses, other than his temper, so figuring out how to deal with him..."
"I get it," Rin sighed heavily. "We should probably team up with one of the other masters to deal with Berserker. What about Saber?"
"Well, despite the fact that her weapon can't be seen..." Archer gave Rin a smirk, "I did figure a few things out about it and her." Rin blinked in surprise. "Well, for one thing," Archer materialized his twin broadswords, "she only uses one sword, not two like I do. In addition, her sword seems to be sharp on both sides," he sighed when Rin blinked in confusion, "which means, Rin, that she likely has a European broadsword. Oriental swords, whether Chinese or Japanese, tended to have only one cutting side compared to European versions. Also, since it's a Broadsword, I can safely say that she was probably from the Middle Ages."
"Why do you say that?" Rin found this interesting, but she wondered just how he knew all this.
"Well, ancient European swords were shorter, used in conjecture with a spear and shield." Archer smiled as a look of understanding came over her face. "Now then, the only problem is, even with all of that, we have no idea who she is, but, we can probably limit it to Northern and Central Europe."
"Her hair and eyes, huh?" Rin nodded as she thought about it. "...I'm drawing a blank, Archer, why is that?"
Archer sighed and shook his head. "You need to study more history." He smirked as Rin's eyes narrowed in anger. "Anyway, people with blonde hair and blue or green eyes tend to come from Northern and Central Europe. Scandinavian Vikings, Aryan descendants and others have this, it's more prominent in places like modern day German, Norway, Sweden, Britain and Northern France."
"So, by that, we can probably figure out that..." Rin trailed off, narrowing her eyes in thought. Archer watched her for several minutes before her eyes widened in shock. "...Joan of Arc?"
Archer almost fell over at that. "E..Excuse me?"
"She might be Joan of Arc." Rin shivered at that. She may not have been to keen on the history of Europe, but she did remember that Joan of Arc was known for having blonde hair and blue or green eyes. "Great, just what we need, someone who can see the future."
"Well, that is," Archer sweat-dropped, how could he explain who Saber was without letting her know who HE was?
Rin shook her head. "I need to think. What about the others? That Caster and those other two?"
"I'm not sure about that purple-haired Servant, but the other one is an Archer as well." Rin looked at him in shock and he shrugged. "I heard her opponent call her 'Archer' as well. So, it's safe to say that there's two in this war." Rin bit her lower lip. "As for that Caster..." He smirked at her. "Despite the fact that she's more dangerous than normal, I'd say that this Caster is a combat Magus, not a traditional one. Which means..."
"She's less likely to use traps and bounded fields than a traditional Magus would." Rin let out a sigh of relief. Sure, Combat Magus were almost impossible to fight one on one, but they tended to ignore some of the more potent set-up spells that a Magus like her would use. "Alright then... Archer, we're going to go out scouting tonight. If we come across a Master or Servant that's not close to Berserker, we'll see about teaming up with them, at least until after Berserker's been dealt with."
"Sounds like a plan, but, Rin..." Archer smirked at her. "I didn't think you'd want to team up with anyone. After all, you have the best Servant in this war."
"E... Even so," Rin blushed lightly, "we're dealing with Hercules, we need at least one ally for this. And if our ally's Servant dies while fighting him, then at least that's one less problem in our way."
Archer nodded and wondered if he could keep Rin from teaming up with Shirou Emiya. "How about we just do scouting for now? If an opportunity comes up, we jump on the chance to take Berserker out and only fight enemies that come to us?"
"Sounds good." Rin nodded, glad that she could take time to gather her thoughts on the matter.
mega1987
2012-12-07, 04:48
Fate Stay Another Night 1 (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=4453716#post4453716)
Fate Stay Another Night 2 (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=4455993#post4455993)
Fate Stay Another Night 3 (http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=4458196#post4458196)
Shirou yawned as school finally let out for the day. He was a bit tired from the previous night and all he could hope for was a day or two to figure out what to do next. As it was, he really didn't want to stick around the school at that moment. It wasn't like being at school after dark was scary, but there was something that was seriously setting his nerves on edge.
Besides, if he stayed too long, Saber might get upset and it really wasn't fair to make her wait, was it?
(---)
As she watched him leave, Archerko smirked, how easy it would be to take him down and do so much to him. Oh the fun she could have with him, some rope and... Her thoughts trailed off as Shirou started to move away from the crowd. "Drat." Oh well, she'd deal with him another day. "For now though..."
Oh, she couldn't pull off something like Blood Fort Andromeda, but that didn't mean she couldn't make things interesting in the days to come. "Fufufufufufufu..."
(---)
"Master," Caster popped her head out of her workshop, "are you out..." She trailed off as she saw a blue haired teenager with glasses, "oh, you." Sighing, Caster stood up and stepped outside before closing the door behind her. "What do you want?"
"We're going to have dinner soon, I thought I'd be nice and tell you."
"You don't like me, huh?" Caster chuckled softly at the monk in training. "That's fine, I don't like you much either, just put up with me for a little while longer and we won't need to see each other ever again." She gave him an annoyed smile and he twitched heavily.
"Now see here!" He raised his voice at her. "Just because we're monks doesn't mean we won't throw out trouble makers like..."
"Excuse me," the argument stopped as the temperature in the room suddenly dropped by twelve degrees. "Issei, are you bothering my girlfriend again?" Issei turned with dread and gulped as he saw Caster's master giving him a blank stare. "And you," he looked at Caster, "are you trying to get a rise out of him?"
Caster giggled softly. "I'm sorry, master, but I couldn't help it." She stopped giggling and gulped when his eyes narrowed at her. "Please, I'm sorry, I was just teasing him because I was annoyed you weren't out here."
He sighed and shook his head. "Story of my life," both Caster and Issei sighed as they felt the temperature of the room return to normal, "you said it was time to eat?" He looked at Issei, who nodded, "you better hurry up, or the Samurai will eat everything."
"Gah!" Issei's eyes widened and he spun to run out of the room.
"Um, I'm sorry," Caster looked down at her feet nervously, "can you forgive me?" She almost flinched when he put a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm not mad at you, I just don't want a fight to start in a place that was kind enough to take me in and treat me for all my injuries." She looked up at him and smiled. "Medea," he whispered her true name and she blushed heavily as she heard it from his lips, "I said I'd help you fight in this war, didn't I?"
Still blushing, the blue haired woman wrapped her arms around her master and pressed her head against his chest. "Some day, you'll need to tell me how you got so injured." She blinked when he shivered. "Master?" She leaned back to look up at him. "What is it?"
"Let's just say that woman is seriously scary and leave it at that."
Caster blinked, wondering who that woman was and what she did to her master.
(---)
"Ma, ah, Yuuno," Rider nodded to Yuuno as the two walked down the street. They had put the clothes she had bought back in their apartment a few hours ago and were just walking around the city, trying to familiarize themselves with it. "A Servant is heading this way."
Before Yuuno could say anything, Rider was in front of him. "It's that Caster..." She whispered softly as she looked down the street, her vision almost zooming through the crowd to see the Servant heading their way. "What should we..?"
"Relax," Yuuno put a hand on Rider's shoulder. The Servant tried not to show it, but she did tense up under his touch, "I doubt she'll start something here. And if she does, well, we'll cross that bridge when it comes to it." Yuuno didn't relish the thought of facing Reinforce in combat, not without Nanoha, Fate, Hayate, Signum and Vita standing between him and Reinforce at least. Even if Rider was super strong and fast, he didn't think she could fly at all. "Rider, I have to know, just why were you called up as Rider?"
"Ah," Rider was about to begin when Caster suddenly stopped less than twenty feet from the two of them. "I'll tell you later."
"You are Rider and you..." She trailed off, her pupils shrinking as she looked at Yuuno. "...You look so... So familiar to me... Why?"
"If I told you that it took two chains, several spikes, a giant hammer, pink beams, energy swords, an arrow, stone, ice and a massive teleportation spell to deal with..."
"You were that boy that helped stop me," Caster gasped, staring at Yuuno as she trembled, "I... I never wanted to meet you like this."
"I think we could stand to talk, don't you?" Yuuno smiled at her.
Caster just nodded.
(---)
"A Karaoke booth?" Rider looked around the small room dubiously. "Why here? It won't keep anyone from scrying us magically..."
"True, but it's sound proofed, and I've already set up fields to keep anyone from listening in." Yuuno looked at Caster and smiled. "It's been eight years."
"Yes," Caster nodded and looked at Rider before sighing, "how has my family been doing?"
"Well, actually, Zafira's still with Hayate, protecting her, Vita works with Nanoha now as a trainer, Signum is basically an independent investigator and Hayate is well on her way to becoming a colonel now."
"Master," Rider spoke up as she looked at Caster, "are you sure we can..."
"I mean you no harm today. I was merely..." Caster gave a soft smile, "shopping for Enerlope batteries for my master." She giggled at Rider's look, "even with your mask on, I can tell, you're confused. My master was playing a video game when the batteries started to run low. She has backups, but she needs some replacements by tomorrow."
"...Why would a Magus play video games?" Rider asked no one in particular.
Caster shrugged at her. "They're a way to burn time and not think about the world around you. What about you?" She looked at Yuuno again, "how have you been doing?"
"Actually, I'm on a month-long vacation. I came back to Earth to visit everyone, and, ah..." He rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I messed up on the coordinates slightly and ended up near here instead." He nodded to Rider, "and I summoned her by accident after my arm started to bleed."
"I see." Caster nodded and sighed. "I should be going, but, Yuuno..." She stood up and before Rider could react, she grabbed Yuuno and gave him a tight hug, "tell Hayate hello for me, okay?" Her eyes watered up as he nodded. "Thank you." Letting him go, she turned to look at Rider and nodded to her. "Please, take care of him. He's a kind person and someone I know you can trust."
"We are enemies." Rider pointed out to Caster, who shrugged at her. "Do you not find it..."
"No, I don't. My previous life was filled with nothing but enemies. Your master is not one of them, so, even if we're on different sides of this war, we're not enemies to each other."
Rider watched as a black triangle formed under Caster and she disappeared. 'Not enemies?' She thought to herself, wondering about that.
She never had a life of no enemies, after all.
(---)
"I'm back!" Shirou called out and blinked as Saber walked out from around a corner in a blue dress, white shirt and socks. "Hey, Saber, you okay?"
"Ah," she nodded to him, "I just woke up from a nap." She tilted her head as she looked at him, "there was no problems then?"
Shirou shook his head. "Nah. Didn't look like Tohsaka wanted to try anything and I couldn't feel any other Magus or Servant at the school." Granted, he didn't have much in terms of sensing anything, but no one tried anything, so, that counted for something, right?
Saber nodded as he slipped his shoes off. "Shirou, we should plan on how to deal with the other Servants." She almost sighed as he tilted his head in confusion. "Please do not tell me that you were just going to coast through this war and let the enemies come to you."
"No," Shirou shook his head, "I'm just trying to figure out who those last two Servants were."
Saber's eyes widened slightly before easing up and she smiled at him. "I admit, I am... Surprised you'd say that. I thought you would tell me not to worry and then you would go out and fight Servants on your own and not summon me at all."
Shirou sweat-dropped heavily. Did he really look that unreliable? "Ah, well... Anyway, Saber, we saw all the Servants, right? So, we just have to..." He trailed off as Saber shook her head. "What's wrong?"
"I have this feeling that I'm missing something, Shirou," she cupped her chin in thought, "but neither of those last two Servants looked like an Assassin Servant. In fact, the one that had white hair looked closer to an Archer-class Servant than an Assassin. Then again, she may be Assassin and just happens to look similar to Rin's Archer."
"Wait, are you saying Rin has two Archers?" Saber shook her head and Shirou let out a sigh of relief. "That's good, I know you'd be able to beat them, but if one of them kept you busy while another one attacked me..." He blushed at Saber's look of surprise. "Hey, I know how good I am, and I saw all the Servants fighting last night, if Lancer really wanted to, he could have killed me again easily."
"Wait, what do you mean again?" Saber narrowed her eyes and Shirou winced at the look in them. "Shirou! Did you actually try to fight a Servant on your own?!"
"Not on purpose!" Shirou waved his hands back and forth. "Hey, Saber, it was..." He trailed off as he heard a loud growling sound. Saber blushed as she realized it was her stomach that was letting out that noise. "How about I cook some dinner first, then you can yell at me for being attacked by Lancer at school and trying to defend myself at home when you weren't around."
Saber had the decency to blush at hearing that. "Ah, yes, my mistake then. But, Shirou, please tell me that you would never do something so stupid." She blushed when her stomach growled again. "Ah, perhaps you should make dinner then?"
Shirou nodded and tried not to laugh. Even if she was being stern, Saber sure was cute. Besides, he had to think of other things...
Like what to make for dinner.
(---)
"Alright, Archer," Rin sighed as she sat down and took a sip of the tea he had prepared for her. At least he was good for that. "I couldn't keep up with most of the action last night, we need to go over the other Servants."
Archer nodded at that, while he knew who most of the Servants were, having to talk out loud about them might help him collect his thoughts. "Fine. Mind if I start with the simple ones first?" Rin gestured for him to go ahead. "Lancer, while we don't know who his master is, we've figured out his identity from that fight."
"He said Gae Bolg when fighting Berserker, so..." Rin narrowed her eyes in thought. "I can't quite..."
"Cu Chulainn, the Hound of Ireland," Archer supplied for her. "Master of both the spear and of Runic magic." He sighed when Rin rolled her eyes at that. "Rin, while Runic magic has fallen out of favor, he's still a master at it."
She blushed softly, "I know that. It's just..."
"Compared to what you're familiar with, it doesn't seem like much." Archer nodded to her. "While that's true, he could do things with it that you wouldn't see very often from most magus out there. Despite knowing who he is, unless we've got dog meat..." He trailed off when Rin shook her head and sighed. "Well, for now, we'll just play a waiting game with him. He'll pop up sooner or later."
"Alright, next?"
"Berserker, or, as Ilyasviel called him, Herakles." Rin nodded and leaned back into her chair. "Then again, we should probably call him Hercules, since he's more known by that name." Archer waved his hand to dismiss any objection Rin may or may not have had. "Anyway, the problem is, that man had no real weaknesses, other than his temper, so figuring out how to deal with him..."
"I get it," Rin sighed heavily. "We should probably team up with one of the other masters to deal with Berserker. What about Saber?"
"Well, despite the fact that her weapon can't be seen..." Archer gave Rin a smirk, "I did figure a few things out about it and her." Rin blinked in surprise. "Well, for one thing," Archer materialized his twin broadswords, "she only uses one sword, not two like I do. In addition, her sword seems to be sharp on both sides," he sighed when Rin blinked in confusion, "which means, Rin, that she likely has a European broadsword. Oriental swords, whether Chinese or Japanese, tended to have only one cutting side compared to European versions. Also, since it's a Broadsword, I can safely say that she was probably from the Middle Ages."
"Why do you say that?" Rin found this interesting, but she wondered just how he knew all this.
"Well, ancient European swords were shorter, used in conjecture with a spear and shield." Archer smiled as a look of understanding came over her face. "Now then, the only problem is, even with all of that, we have no idea who she is, but, we can probably limit it to Northern and Central Europe."
"Her hair and eyes, huh?" Rin nodded as she thought about it. "...I'm drawing a blank, Archer, why is that?"
Archer sighed and shook his head. "You need to study more history." He smirked as Rin's eyes narrowed in anger. "Anyway, people with blonde hair and blue or green eyes tend to come from Northern and Central Europe. Scandinavian Vikings, Aryan descendants and others have this, it's more prominent in places like modern day German, Norway, Sweden, Britain and Northern France."
"So, by that, we can probably figure out that..." Rin trailed off, narrowing her eyes in thought. Archer watched her for several minutes before her eyes widened in shock. "...Joan of Arc?"
Archer almost fell over at that. "E..Excuse me?"
"She might be Joan of Arc." Rin shivered at that. She may not have been to keen on the history of Europe, but she did remember that Joan of Arc was known for having blonde hair and blue or green eyes. "Great, just what we need, someone who can see the future."
"Well, that is," Archer sweat-dropped, how could he explain who Saber was without letting her know who HE was?
Rin shook her head. "I need to think. What about the others? That Caster and those other two?"
"I'm not sure about that purple-haired Servant, but the other one is an Archer as well." Rin looked at him in shock and he shrugged. "I heard her opponent call her 'Archer' as well. So, it's safe to say that there's two in this war." Rin bit her lower lip. "As for that Caster..." He smirked at her. "Despite the fact that she's more dangerous than normal, I'd say that this Caster is a combat Magus, not a traditional one. Which means..."
"She's less likely to use traps and bounded fields than a traditional Magus would." Rin let out a sigh of relief. Sure, Combat Magus were almost impossible to fight one on one, but they tended to ignore some of the more potent set-up spells that a Magus like her would use. "Alright then... Archer, we're going to go out scouting tonight. If we come across a Master or Servant that's not close to Berserker, we'll see about teaming up with them, at least until after Berserker's been dealt with."
"Sounds like a plan, but, Rin..." Archer smirked at her. "I didn't think you'd want to team up with anyone. After all, you have the best Servant in this war."
"E... Even so," Rin blushed lightly, "we're dealing with Hercules, we need at least one ally for this. And if our ally's Servant dies while fighting him, then at least that's one less problem in our way."
Archer nodded and wondered if he could keep Rin from teaming up with Shirou Emiya. "How about we just do scouting for now? If an opportunity comes up, we jump on the chance to take Berserker out and only fight enemies that come to us?"
"Sounds good." Rin nodded, glad that she could take time to gather her thoughts on the matter.
I'm kinda lazy going for a MST3k script... mentally fatigue from work....
Anyways... Carnival shout out anyone?
And Rider, You thought your past is dark... You just met someone who got a darker history than yours...
Crossover Fanfics I find interesting:
Silver Swords, Black Crows (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8943333/1/)
Summary: Fate stay night / Fate prototype crossover. When Rin Tohsaka saved a boy from certain death, she had been relieved. Relieved, and tired. Which made her forget to check up on him. Which led Servant Lancer to come after him without interference- at first, anyway. Fortunately for the red-haired magus, there is a witch who can help him in her stead. A witch on the night of fate.
This is one of the few Fate/Prototype fanfics I've found and the only one to hold my interest. There is an alternate backstory for the Grail War to include the Fate Prototype characters, but it seemed to get off to a good start.
Path of the King (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7657235/1/)
Summary: "With swords that aren't yours, with skills that aren't yours, for dreams that aren't yours. Your entire existence is a lie!" - "Then I'll show you that even fake dreams can become reality." A different choice, a different path, a different FATE. Shirou/Multi
This. This is the best of the three I'm recommending right now. It is one of the few Shirou x Caster stories on FF and starts with Shirou as a Vigilante, working on the principle that for someone who wanted to be a hero, until the Grail War, Shirou hadn't done so. It only gets better as he teams up with Caster, deals with agents of the Clock Tower, evil Masters, and a swordsman named Sasaki.
Tvtropes Page (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/PathOfTheKing)
The Artist and the Faker (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8556725/1/)
Summary: When the Einzberns summon a different Servant for the 5th War, Shirou Emiya winds up summoning the Red Saber from Fate/Extra. With this Servant by his side, Shirou's in for a Grail War unlike any other. Done as a response to The Infamous Man's challenge.
It's Shirou summoning Fate Extra's Nero. A crossover done somewhat decently and one of the few crossing Extra with the main series.
Tvtropes Page (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanFic/TheArtistAndTheFaker)
Kariya's Legacy
Summary: Due to a chance meeting with Kariya before the events of Fate/Zero, Shinji strives to follow in his uncle's footsteps and save Sakura from damnation of the Matou Clan. To do so, he must make many sacrifices and will endure pain like no other to compete in the next Holy Grail War, including becoming a Spellcaster—all for Sakura's sake.
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9007329/1/Kariya-s-Legacy
blitz1/2
2013-03-15, 00:56
Severed Bonds 2 is out, at least it's not dead lol.
From Fake Dreams has been updated. (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7207791/28/)
RadiantBeam
2013-04-04, 07:54
Fellows (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7554948/4/Fellows) updated for anyone interested.
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