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Fate Coiling Sword Chapter 34
🕑 Added 2025-01-12 15:47:40 +0000 UTCBeta read by Shigiya, GameCrusher55 and Darklord331
Next update is Snafu followed by An Archer's Promise.
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-Fuyuki-
-Fuyuki-
(Ayako’s residence)
If Ayako had to sum up her day, she'd call it mind-numbingly boring. Between the repetitive tasks and endless routine, she was about ready to fall asleep at her desk.
“Sis, you have a guest… again.” Her brother's voice carried a hint of amusement. "At this rate, we should just give them a spare key."
Finally, something interesting. The news was exactly what she needed to break up the monotony. Tossing her pen aside, Ayako practically jumped from her chair and headed downstairs, her previous lethargy completely forgotten.
Standing in the entryway was Minori, her younger brother. He was taller than her now, though still younger by a year. His hair was nearly the same shade as hers, though, under certain lighting, it leaned closer to reddish-brown. At the moment, he was lounging by the doorway, wearing a simple shirt and shorts, lazily spooning pudding from a cup. Ayako’s eyes narrowed immediately.
That pudding cup was supposed to be hers.
“You jackass!” she barked, her voice sharp and unamused.
Minori barely had time to flinch before Ayako’s fist met his thick skull—not hard enough to hurt, but enough to make her point clear that she was angry.
“I was saving that for myself, and you have the nerve to steal it!?”
“Stop it! Your name wasn’t on it!” Minori shot back, retreating a step but still holding onto his ill-gotten treat. “And Mom said I could have it!”
“That doesn’t make it yours!” Ayako growled, glaring at him. She considered chasing him down to wrestle it out of his hands but decided against it. Instead, she huffed and turned her attention to the guest he’d mentioned.
Standing just inside the doorway was Yukika Saegusa, a familiar face Ayako had been seeing more often recently. Yukika was from the same year at their school and same classroom, and their paths had crossed enough times that they’d started to grow closer with how often she helped her out with several tasks and some club-related paperwork. Now, at least in Ayako's opinion, they were becoming genuine friends, so much so that she had invited her over for a study session.
“Glad to see you could make it, Yukika,” Ayako said with a smile that softened her earlier frustration.
Yukika returned the smile, her presence was small and almost delicate. She had a certain charm, like a quiet but lovable child, though Ayako knew better than to underestimate her. She was part of a trio of girls at school that caused mischief and havoc in their wake, though she seemed to be the least well-known of the three—perhaps intentionally.
“It’s no trouble!” Yukika said cheerfully. “I live pretty close by, so it was easy to get here.”
Originally, this study session had been planned for a group, but everyone else had canceled for various reasons. That left just Ayako and Yukika to tackle their assignments together. Ayako didn’t mind. The company was welcome, and Yukika’s presence had a way of making her feel less stressed.
“All right, we’ll be upstairs,” the brunette said, shooting a warning look at Minori. “Don’t bother us, that’s your punishment for my pudding…and stay out of trouble.”
“Whatever,” Minori muttered, rolling his eyes before retreating further into the house. Ayako watched him go, still slightly annoyed about the pudding but deciding to let it slide for now.
As they climbed the stairs, Yukika glanced back. “That’s your brother right? I haven’t seen him since that last study session last year. I didn’t get a good look at him then, but he looks a lot like you!”
“Pfft! Maybe a little in the face,” she admitted with a shrug. “But other than that, we couldn’t be more different. That brat spends all his time gaming ‘ I do that a lot too.’, eating everything in sight, and being a general pain. Though… he’s not all bad. At least he listens to me when I ask him nicely. Sometimes.”
“He seems sweet, though, he reminds me of my brothers,” Yukika said, giggling.
Ayako smirked. “He’s a tsundere. Acts tough and independent, but he’s soft inside. Lately, though, he’s been calmer than usual. Makes me wonder what he’s hiding.”
“Oh? What do you think it is?” Yukika asked, curiosity piqued.
“I think it’s because he’s fallen in love,” the girl revealed with a sly grin, enjoying the way Yukika’s eyes widened in surprise.
“No way! Really?”
“Way. He thinks he can hide it from me, but I’ve known him since he was in diapers. That boy has a crush on one of the new first-years. I just haven’t figured out who it is yet.”
Yukika tapped her chin thoughtfully, a spark of interest crossing her face. “I know some of the first-year girls. Want me to help you figure it out?”
“Absolutely! If I can find out, I can use it as blackmail material,” Ayako joked to Yukika, with a mischievous glint in her eye. Wasn't it the duty of a big sister to get blackmail material on their little brother so as to use it as a weapon to get whatever she wanted? It didn’t sound evil in the least, in fact she thought of it rather as an obligation.
They both laughed as they reached Ayako’s room. She opened the door and gestured for her guest to step inside.
“Welcome to my humble abode.” Letting Yukika into her room for the first time.
Yukika's mouth fell open as she took in the room. "Oh wow, I wasn't expecting this at all! I thought it'd be more... you know, sporty? But it's actually really cute in here. And is that a designer lamp? It looks expensive."
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ayako asked, frowning. “And it's not expensive…
“Well, you’re so sporty and tough. I kind of imagined your room would look like a gym. Maybe with punching bags or a mini dojo where you could practice archery or beat up training dummies.”
“Why the hell would you think that!?” she cried, lightly tugging on Yukika’s cheek. “Stop spreading weird rumors!”
Yukika laughed, playfully dodging Ayako’s hand. “I’m just saying! You’ve got a reputation at school, you know.”
Rolling her eyes, Ayako let the matter drop and motioned for Yukika to sit down. They quickly got to work, the earlier banter giving way to focus. To her surprise, they made significant progress, and an hour passed before she even realized it — for all that innocence, the innocent-looking girl was surprisingly sharp-witted when it came to numbers.
As they reached the end of their session, Yukika hesitated, pausing her pen mid-word. She glanced at Ayako, thoughtfully.
“Hey, Ayako… can I ask you something? You don’t have to answer if it’s too personal.”
"Eh? Sure, you can say anything you want to." She looked at the girl with a mix of curiosity and confusion, wondering why she’d suddenly put on such a serious expression.
“Well, are you and Shirou dating?”
“PFT—!”
If she had been drinking anything, it would have sprayed all over the girl and the papers on the table, ruining everything. Thankfully, Ayako only choked on air, though it left her coughing and pounding her chest to regain her breath.
“Cough!! Cough!!! W-What?! Where the hell did that come from!?” she managed to sputter, her voice rising in both volume and disbelief. Sure, she was close to Shirou, but at no point had they done anything at school—or anywhere—that could be mistaken as dating…at least she hoped so. Then again, if a new student were to see them hanging out together that idea would seem plausible. And she knew his secrets and went so far as to save him from a dangerou—
“—Oh, I guess that makes sense,” Yukika replied casually, shrugging her shoulders and going back to focus on her paper.
“Hah?”
The train of thought was stopped in an instant. Ayako’s initial shock and incredulity were suddenly replaced by irritation with a twitching eyebrow. What the hell does she mean by that? Did she think she and Shirou weren’t good enough for each other? That they couldn’t be more than friends? It rubbed her entirely the wrong way—not that she was interested in him, of course. But still!
“Well, yeah. Since he already has a girlfriend.”
Ayako’s hand, which had been jotting something down subconsciously on the paper in front of her, froze mid-motion. Her grip tightened, and the tip of her pen pressed so hard against the page it nearly snapped.
“Him? A girlfriend?” she repeated in disbelief.
The idea was almost laughable. Shirou was terrible at lying, and she’d known him long enough to believe he had no such secrets. Finding out he was a magician, or mage as he liked for her to call instead, had been a shock, but something as mundane as him hiding a girlfriend? Impossible.
“Rin?” Ayako ventured. “They’re just acquaintances. They know each other, sure, but there’s nothing that suggests that.” Her mind briefly flickered to Sakura, the violet-haired girl they’d run into at the school café where Shirou worked. There was something slightly odd about her, but nothing that seemed to point to romance. Besides, Sakura had just started her first year of high school.
But Saegusa shook her head vehemently. “No, not her, obviously. There’s someone else—a beautiful woman who likes to cosplay. She’s always with him, both in and out of school. I saw them recently at the park. With how close they looked, there’s definitely something going on between them! And I can’t even blame him. She’s stunning! Her long bright purple hair is so beautiful. I really like that blindfold cosplay she has, it makes her look mysterious! And her outfit is so skin tight it kinda makes me wonder how she can walk around in public with that, also, it looks quite expensive.”
“—?”
Ayako's brow furrowed as she mentally counted the women in Shirou's life. There was his boss at the Copenhagen café, that psychotic woman who'd tried to kill her that one time, and their English teacher who basically mothered him. None of them fit what Yukika was describing. She tried to think of any new people lately that could fit the bill, but couldn’t think of anything.
"Are you absolutely sure about what you saw?" she asked, unable to hide the skepticism in her voice. "Because this is the first I'm hearing about any girlfriend."
“I’m not lying!” Saegusa insisted, her tone sounding genuine. “For some reason, everyone ignores her or acts like she doesn’t exist, but I swear she’s real. I even talked to her for a few seconds. She was super nice when I talked to her that one time! She's not Japanese obviously. Don’t know where she came from but her accent was spot on, and she spoke so clearly. But what was really amazing was her chest! It was the biggest I've ever seen! Wait, are you all pretending you can't see her? That's not nice.”
Ayako frowned, a twinge of unease creeping in. "Tell me more about this person. I'm curious."
If there really was someone lingering so close to Shirou—someone important enough to be mistaken for his girlfriend—it was something Ayako felt she had to know. She’d made a silent promise to herself to help Shirou with his duties as the town’s protector, even if he insisted she stay uninvolved.
The next time he found himself in a life-or-death situation, she was determined to be there for him, whether he wanted her to or not.
Not to mention, she had been feeling like someone… or something was watching her whenever she was with him.
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(Fuyuki Park)
What an atrocious week this has been! She had to deal with continuous taunting from a fake priest who had taken the liberty of ignoring her for the better part of a week. She also had a constant headache with Luvia’s arrival, which spelled so many potential issues that would end up just falling on her head to deal with. Especially if Luvia’s taunts were on the mark. Not to mention she had to get herself involved with fixing the schools decision of sudden grade lifting. She couldn’t count the sleepless nights she and Issei were forced to work together to fix everything. Her only solace were the study sessions Ayako set up which let her ironically cool down and focus on something else.
Rin was tired—there was no other way to describe it. Between her duties as a student, her role as the second owner of the land, and the looming shadow of the upcoming Holy Grail War, she felt like she was juggling too much at once. Truthfully, she was worried. She’d spent years preparing for this moment, yet doubts lingered in her mind. Would everything go as planned? Or would it all go horribly awry?
Rin had initially planned to begin her summoning ritual at 2 a.m. sharp. She had lucked out today and found an incredibly powerful gem that her father had hidden next to a fossilized snake. She immediately could tell that no other gem in her family’s collection was this pure. The red gem was so powerful, and it even had ten years worth of magic energy from her own within it. A true last gift from her father he must have prepared for her. She could perform incredible magecraft with it that was far beyond what she was currently capable of.As soon as her clock hit 2 a.m. she’d perform the summoning. However, the weight of her responsibilities had grown unbearable, and she decided to clear her head with a walk before embarking on the dangerous and life-changing ritual.
Yet, her worries weren’t solely tied to the Grail War. There was Sakura—the source of a gnawing guilt she couldn’t shake—who had run away from home to live with someone she had suspicions of. And on top of that, both a Lord and an Enforcer had made their presence known in Fuyuki, complicating matters further.
Still, Rin reminded herself that was why she needed to stay calm and focus. A walk was her best option to center herself.
What she didn’t expect was to find Sakura at the very same park between the forest and the Tohsaka Residence where they’d crossed paths once before. Worse, Sakura's state made something deep within Rin snap.
All thoughts of her preparations for the summoning ritual, the Lord, Enforcer, Luvia, or even Kirei vanished from her mind, swallowed by a rising tide of concern for the fragile girl sitting in front of her.
Rin rushed to Sakura’s side, a fire igniting in her heart—a fire fueled by anger and blame. This has to be HIS FAULT. She didn’t need to name Shirou; the redhead was the only one who came to mind. Whatever had happened to make Sakura look so miserable, Rin was certain he was the cause, and she was going to confront him.
But before she stormed off to confront him, she needed the details. She crouched beside Sakura, her determination solidifying. If it meant staying by her sister’s side all night and sacrificing her plans, as well as even prying the truth out by force, Rin was willing to do it.
She couldn’t describe this feeling accurately, but right now nothing else mattered—not the Grail War, not her duties, not even the risks she was taking. For now, her only priority was Sakura.
Yet before she could get any answer, her life flashed before her eyes the moment a strange white-haired girl appeared along with a giant shadow towering over her.
At that moment, Rin felt at the mercy of a power beyond her abilities. The touch of death whose mere presence made every single muscle fiber in her body tense up. “Anfang!”
She couldn't afford to waste any movement, conjuring the image of a knife stabbing into her heart as a trigger, with her hands already holding a handful of gems that were tossed in front. Each one brimming with Magical Energy, they all let out a loud piercing sound before detonating in a bright flash of light.
At first, they intended to act as a powerful blast, but they played their roles as stun bombs with more success when both girls felt the air pressure, as the giant slab of stone, shaped like a sword, proceeded to slice through the group right next to them.
▂▂▃▃▅▅ーーー!?
The mini earthquake that resulted from the sword hitting the floor coupled with the bone-chilling roar that he let out, rather than bringing forth a sense of fear inside them, brought along a powerful desire to survive.
“Ah!” Sakura let out a small yelp as Rin pulled her inside the woods next to the park, grabbing onto her waist and pushing a quick rush of her energy to her legs for Reinforcement — her body leaped off the ground and landed on the side of the forest. Running without even giving Sakura any time to recover, her sole priority was to get out of there for that creature was the last thing any mage would want to deal with.
“Someone has already summoned a Servant!” She muttered this out loud, cursing her luck for perhaps being too late in her summoning. But the actual date of the war was only a few days away!
“Watch out, Nee-san!”
Rin heard the sound of a wall getting obliterated. That Servant, who, from just this brief interaction, made her believe to be a Berserker, was already on their pursuit, making her feet hasten more. Since she hadn’t summoned her Servant yet she couldn't see his stats but why did she get the feeling she wouldn't like it. Several stone projectiles had been thrown at her, and she saw several tree trunks obliterated with stones the size of fists.
Strangely enough, none were able to hit her even while she tried to jump out of the way, logically a few should have reached her body given how widespread it was, regardless, her suspicions of this being the doing of her sister's went to the back of her mind.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Running won't solve anything, it's a Servant! Why is a Master after you, I didn't see any Command Seals on your hand, Sakura!” the twin-tailed girl shouted, wanting to cry on the spot while her mind stormed to find a way to survive.
Going up against a Servant without one herself was no different from suicide, only an idiot of the highest order or an equally dangerous monster would face one. But she was not a blue blood, not from a thousand year old family, nor a fool, so facing that thing was out of the question! If she had one chance it would be… she could feel a specific gem moving in her skirt pocket.
“I-I’m not!” Sakura answered, her response only confusing the Tohsaka heiress even further. “Drop me, you'll only put yourself in danger!”
“Shut up! Stop being crazy!”
“It's after me!”
“Why the hell would it be after you!? The Master was obviously talking to us, or more likely me! Since I am the Second Owner.” There was absolutely no way she was letting go, even if it meant taking the most dangerous option that cut off most routes leading to her survival. She wasn’t finished talking with Sakura. “Just keep a lout for me!”
“I can run on my own!”
For some reason, Rin highly doubted that claim, having never seen the girl physically exert herself that much in the past or even when she secretly observed the violet-haired heiress from the window during the latter's PE classes. “Don't take this the wrong way, Sakura, but from what I'm feeling I doubt you can do much running.”
“Excuse me!?”
“Stop shouting! I'm trying to think!” The entire time, her hands grabbed what little stash of her gems remained to scatter them all across the forest—forcing each to burst into a blinding light hoping to buy some small window of opportunity to slip through.
‘If I knew where the Master is hiding, I can at least try to get to her first rather than confronting the Servant directly… I can try to set a summoning circle—no, I don't have time or the materials to do so! What the hell am I supposed to do here!?’ No matter what she tried to come up with, it just could not work without having a Servant of her own or relying on pure luck to work.
“Fufufu, keep running~! It's more fun for Berserker to hunt you down like this. Don't worry, I'll keep your heads clean as a gift for Nii-san!”
That accursed smug voice came back, seeing the Einzbern brat at the corner of her eyes, Rin raised her hands making a finger gun, a dark red energy at the tip of her fingertips. With the help of her crest, she wasted no time in shooting several blasts of Gandr straight at her. Watching in frustration when the enemy just turned some strings of hair into ethereal sword constructs which struck her rune spell midair.
A few had closed in and nearly pierced her had she not jumped away. “Ein Körper ist ein Körper!” Another round of gems flew from her hands, exploding with a blinding white light. This one definitely intended to hurt her opponent, but her eyes widened when a black figure stood tall right in front of the Einzbern. Letting spell attacks strike his chest without having so much as a burn mark on his dark skin.
Treating what could have destroyed one of those chimera monsters that came to the city like nothing but a gust of wind. “So this is a Servant…” she let out a helpless chuckle, having expected this outcome truthfully but it was still frustrating to be pushed into such a corner. Having not prepared enough gems for this outing, her stash had dried up, mostly leaving her with only a handful of topazes, emeralds, and a few rubies.
Not much for any powerful spells, not that it mattered even if she tried. Even by the happenings of a miracle by possibly bypassing the mountain of muscles in front of her, killing the Master herself would prove to be another issue in itself. An Einzbern at the end of the day could not be taken down so easily, regardless whether she was a small child or not.
Time… she needed time.
"You do realize there are consequences for attacking non-participants, right?" Rin called out, her voice steady despite the situation. Her eyes darted around, searching for any possible escape route while she spoke. "We're not even Masters, and we certainly haven't done anything to provoke you."
“Consequences? Let's be honest here, you were going to be involved in this war sooner than later as the Second Owner. There is no rule from killing the competition before they get to summon and even if there was… I don't really care.” She spoke cheerfully, not at all angered or bothered by her attempt to buy time. “Besides, I want to see his reaction if I brought your heads over to him. Would he be sad? Angry? Despairing? In denial? So many possibilities, I need to know~!”
Alright, it became clear that this girl was crazy.
“That's awfully confident of you to think you won't get into any trouble. Just so you know, there are certain people in Fuyuki with whom you really don't want to have any issues. Given I am working with them at the moment, trying to get rid of me will only cause you more issues than anything else.” She was not sure if this girl was aware of the presence of a Lord and an Enforcer, But given she was part of the Einzbern family, The chances of her acquiring that information were very high and she had to take advantage of that.
Much to her surprise, the girl hummed rather than ordering her Servant to attack them.
“I suppose it would be quite a hassle if I have to deal with those two. Not that I am particularly afraid of them, but with Berserker by my side, I am practically the strongest and most dangerous being in the city at the moment. Even if you had a Servant, they would have been killed and torn apart by now — so don't get any ideas on trying to escape the situation. So come up with something more creative to escape the situation alive before I get bored. I am not interested in torturing you in particular, my eyes are set on someone else. “
Arrogance, a trait she definitely expected to hear from a member of such a prestigious family. Not that she could even tell her otherwise for everything mentioned held weight including the comment about her Heroic Spirit. Just looking at his giant mane of uncapped hair and dark red eyes sent a chill down her spine, a pure force of nature he could rip her apart at any moment. But the fact that it had not done so made her understand that perhaps that little girl was just playing with her this entire time!
“Ah, I got it!” Suddenly, the white-haired Mage perked up with an interested face on her expression. Showing a smile that neither Rin nor Sakura liked at all, for it spelled nothing but trouble. “How about this, I won't kill you if you want but I cannot just let you go without accomplishing anything. So here is my offer to you… kill the girl next to you and earn your freedom. Simple as that~! But of course, if you don't follow my orders, I'll just have Berserk rape both of you.”
Both of the sisters' eyes widened in disbelief at the proposed offer, especially at the horrifying alternative.
The prior emotions of fear within Rin soon were overtaken by rage. “Listen here you sadistic brat, while I admit that we aren’t in the best scenario, I am not a fan of hearing such low-level jokes.” She said that through her gritted teeth, trying her best to remain calm as her fists started to bleed with how hard she clenched them.
Much to her dismay, those amused crimson eyes did not falter and instead continued to look down upon her with clear arrogance. “So that's a no?”
“Nee-san,” perhaps it was because of the stressful situation, but Rin had not noticed how Sakura started to call her that instead of her name. Creating a wave of mixed feelings but she did not hate it, nor did any thoughts of asking her to stop it rise. “It's fine, I-I’ll try to create a distraction and you can use the opportunity to escape.”
Saying such words with that kind of smile on her face was not fair.
“Idiot, do you even know any spells that can help you here?” She knew Sakura was not inept as a Magus but definitely possessed talent as the heir to the Matou. But so far, nothing was shown to suggest she would be able to stall for time whatsoever.
“That doesn’t matter, Grandfather won't let me die,” the violet-haired woman replied confidently, placing a hand over her stomach.
“You honestly expect me to believe that?” She became conflicted, unable to consider that old freak put such value that he would get in the way of a Servant. In the end, she chose to not believe that, knowing that just leaving would be no different than running away and abandoning her. It just did not sit right with her, and she hated how another part of her agreed with Sakura that this was their best option. “I still have a few gems left, I have been working on a few new spells and I can give them a tr—”
“I am bored, get this over with, Berserker.” That brat’s voice sounded out, and the next moment, moving faster than previously to the point it was no different to teleportation. The giant weapon, already a few inches away from her face, with no other way to escape this situation… she—
Crash!
—saw her life flash before her eyes…huh?
A massive crash reverberated through the air like a thunderclap. From above, a dark purple figure descended with blinding speed, her heeled boots slamming into Berserker's towering frame. The force of her impact was nothing short of cataclysmic, driving the massive Servant into the ground and creating a crater so large and deep that debris and dust exploded outward in a violent shockwave.
Rin and Sakura were sent tumbling backward by the shockwave, landing hard on the ground. Barely able to stop themselves and get a foothold. Dazed, they looked up in disbelief.
“Rider?!” Sakura's voice trembled as she tried to process the scene before her.
The beautiful figure of Rider stood atop Berserker, her chains coiling like serpents around the giant sword itself as her blindfolded gaze bore down on the hulking monster beneath her feet who, unfortunately, managed to resist getting pushed down to his knees.
▅▅ーー!
His body moved, easily flipping back up and swinging his weapon. Pulling onto the chains themselves and forcing her off, the Servant slid on the ground with her boot drifting on the earth till she ended up near the two girls.
“Are you okay, Sakura?” Rider asked, not taking her attention off Berserker who looked no worse for wear, not even a single scratch on his body. “...”
“I am here as well you know,” Rin muttered, “Wait, a Servant? Are you…” she quickly looked down at Sakura's hands and confirmed once more there were no Command Seals anywhere in sight. But she obviously came to save her, are the Command Seals located somewhere else…unusual but not impossible. Yet she didn’t think Sakura was lying when she said she wasn’t a Master.
Her mind raced. Of all the people who could be a Master and intervene, only one name came to mind, and it only frustrated her further. ‘Has he been hiding under my nose this entire time!? Wait… I feel like I have seen her somewhere before…ah! This is not the time for that!’
Even the white-haired Einzbern mage was momentarily stunned. Her crimson eyes widened, her usual smug demeanor replaced with uncharacteristic hesitation. She recovered quickly, however, pointing toward Rider with an almost childish indignation. “Berserker, get rid of her!”
Upon her command, the Servant let out another roar before charging forward. Blade coming down to slash Rider only for her figure to disappear, already behind him with her nails held firmly to pierce his skin. She thrust. “Hn!”
No different from metal, the weapon failed to cause any damage. “—!” Rendering her open for a vicious kick to her guts, rendering the Servant briefly stunned as she was pushed away, only for the chains to pull her back as he tried to go for a grab.
“Rider!”
Despite getting air forcefully pushed out of her lungs, Rider recovered in an instant. Twisting her body around in an almost inhuman degree to barely avoid the grab. Twirling in the air until her chains wrapped around Berserker’s leg, pulling with such monstrous strength that it was able to break his balance. She used her chains to propel herself around the man, going for the same attack as she used at first to kick his chest and send him flying backward, but this time there was more motion. The connecting force doing the trick, and managing to make him move.
Afterward, she gracefully landed back in front of the girls, yet no one was happy with the outcome. Especially Rin who watched the Servant once again easily get back up without any injuries on his body.
“You have to be kidding me! That kind of defensive ability has to be some kind of skill! Who the hell stays unharmed after so many of those attacks!?” She wanted to pull her hair out, the kind of kick Rider showcased was enough to kill a Magus with reinforcement in a single attack, yet it did nothing against that… thing!
“Are most of his stats A? I can't even check, but it has to be… this is not good.” Even with a Servant now on their side, their chances of winning did not seem so high. Had she gotten the opportunity to summon Saber, then things would have been very different. “Oi, Rider right? I don't know who you are or what your abilities are, but if you don't have anything that can bypass that defense, then our best option is to retreat. Buy us some time.”
She was not her Master, and Rin had little to no idea what could her Noble Phantasm even be in the first place. Forcing her to use it right now would not work unless ordered by her Master or the woman herself decided to do so.
“It's fine, I already bought enough time for us.”
“Eh?”
But before Rin could ask further what she meant by that, her answer came immediately upon seeing the Einzbern mage in the distance freeze up along with her Servant. Her expression twisted into confusion, then anger, as a cold press of metal touched her forehead as she stared back at the newcomer.
“Don’t move,” came a calm yet steely voice from behind her. Behind her stood Shirou, gasping for air but composed nonetheless whilst holding a handgun. A bittersweet smile on his face when golden brown eyes met crimson, hesitation along with uncertainty swum within them for a brief moment till he took a deep breath.
Several strings surrounded his body, close to his skin, almost decapitating him on the spot. But he showed no regard to them as if they would bring him no harm.
“You…”
Shirou sighed, “I'm sorry we had to meet this way for the first time… Nee-san.”
“Sister?”
Rin's mind went blank, slowly turning to look at Sakura, wondering if she was aware that whatever had just happened was real.
Only to see Sakura having the same confused look on her face.
Rin's left eye twitched. If they made it through this mess alive, she was going to corner that idiot and get every last answer out of him - even if she had to use her gems to do it.
Comments
SsanghwaSilver
I am surprised that in all the alternative universes there hasn't been a universe where Shirou's antics caused Rin's hair to go prematurely white.
AngraMayu777
No pude entender lo ultimo pero god shirou apuntandole con una pistola a la cabeza de ilya haha
Cody
My goodness Shirou and Illya meet for the first time and well not exactly a pleasent encounter with Illya trying to murder both Sakura and Rin. I am very excited to find out what will happen next.
