Chapter 2 – Daily Life
A week has passed since Rin had implanted one of her father's magic crests on Shirou.
While it was still painful on occasion, the boy was already used to the feeling somewhat. Today was the first day that he got clearance from his tutors to use magic. Of course, it did not mean that he had simply stood still this past week, doing nothing training wise. Every day, he had his morning workout with Saber in sword fighting. Ever since he had acquired better grasp at his fighting style from Archer, Shirou had become a better sparring partner for Saber. Their fights would begin at six in the morning and would go on until close to eight when Shirou would collapse on the ground, afterward. Despite Saber still being aghast seeing Shirou using Archer's style, she eventually relented seeing it did suit her sparring partner better.
Still, she would be damned if Shirou was limited to a single fighting style. So, the servant pretty much obligated Shirou to learn at least the basics of her own style.
It did not take long for him to learn the movements as he found out that Saber could be quite the slave driver when it comes to sword fighting these days. Every time, he wronged a move, Saber would strike him and obviously it was not merely a gentle strike. He could not argue against its effectiveness, however, much to Saber and even Rin's amusement. He now had two vicious women in his life training him with the same method. Get it right or else…Saber would use her shinai on him and Rin would fire a Gandr shot. Highly effective indeed.
Today, Shirou fought against Saber using Archer's style, while at the same time using mana bursts just for body movement purposes.
If they focused it on the wooden swords, it would not handle the strain.
"You have to be faster and more precise, Shirou…" The boy attacked with one of the shinai while keeping the other close to his body. He nodded and increased the pace.
"You need to keep focused on my movements at all times…" Saber got inside Shirou's defense, forcing him to back off as he blocked her strike.
"When you block, your mind has to visualize where I am going next…each movement you do will have a counter-movement of mine. And the same applies to me…sword fighting is a dance…" Shirou flinched as he failed to block a frontal assault that landed on his shoulder. Still, he recovered from the pain quickly and used both his short shinai to block Saber's attack from above that aimed for his head. His knees buckled at the strain before he used his arms to push Saber away. Bursting his movement forward, Shirou went on the offensive, earning an approval nod from his instructor.
"Good…maintain that, one sword attacking and one defending. Keep it alternated and your opponent will be guessing the entire time." Shirou then joined both his sword and made one horizontal slash.
Saber blocked them and like she did with Lancer, used her sword to send both Shirou's swords upwards and slashed his stomach clean.
Shirou coughed up blood at that strike.
That move was met with a disappointed look from her.
"If you decide to do that move in the middle of the fight, then you must be absolutely certain that the opponent won't be able to retaliate. It certainly leaves you exposed. Now, get up…we still have half an hour left before your archery drills and then breakfast." Shirou nodded with a smile on his face as he took his position within a safe distance from Saber. When they started these spars, still in war time, Shirou looked much too clumsy. It was a one-sided battle every time. Now, Saber could still mop the floor with him, but he could tell that she was enjoying these sessions as much as he did. He could see her smile on her face despite the look of concentration. Right now, was time for them to kick it up a notch as Shirou moved to the offensive, increasing his speed.
"Oh, you are challenging me Shirou."
Saber parried his offensive sword. He could see the look on her face as his blood pumped in high gear. It was indeed exhilarating.
"Won't know until I try, right Saber?" Like him, she increased her pace. If one were to enter the dojo, it would be difficult to follow their movements and Shirou was hard pressed to use only one sword to defend against Saber's onslaught. Still, his awareness of her movement had improved, even if he was now only on the defensive. Saber would even usher her voice within each of her strikes, using her breathing to increase the power. Eventually, Saber realized that she and Shirou had indeed started an entrancing dance with one another. Sure, she could have finished quicker, but she had downed her effort somewhat to equal Shirou's and now they were in deep synchronization of movement. So much so, that Saber had stopped looking at Shirou as a student she needed to correct occasionally. Also, she had forgotten that she was not fighting a regular human being.
Indeed, Shirou was learning from Rin how to use his reinforcement on himself and the results were showing in their spars.
This faster style of fighting lasted fifteen minutes, until Shirou's arms buckled and he could not block Saber's shinai from hitting him square on the shoulder. The strength was so much that he was on the ground in deep pain. Saber looked at her shinai in surprise to see it had broken in half. She was by his side immediately, wondering what possessed her to take it this far.
"I'm sorry Shirou, are you alright?" She was relieved to see a smile beneath the pained visage.
"Hahaha, I'm alright Saber. You don't need to apologize…I could tell you're enjoying as much as I did." Avalon was already working its magic as Shirou quietly observed his mana being directed to heal his wounds. Rin's book on healing magic was quite thorough. Saber looked embarrassed at what Shirou said.
Yes, she was indeed enjoying it.
"W…well, yes it was indeed satisfactory, but you are still suffering from last week…" She handed me a towel to drench his sweat and a bottle of water.
"Once more, do not need to worry about me, Saber, I can take it. Now, how about your mana supply?"
Ever since Shirou started supplying her with his blood on a daily basis, Saber found that she did not have to worry about mana as much. She still had Rin's supply and in a couple of days, Rin would extend her contract with Shirou, meaning that Saber would receive both mana regularly. It was a necessity of her to tell both him and Rin about her mana supply, so as to be able to regulate it throughout the day. While she had enough sleep and food to compensate somewhat, without the Grail supporting her, her entire supply depended on them.
"After our session from today, I still have plenty to rely on."
"That's good to know, though please don't hesitant to come to me if you need more. I will practice my arrows drills and then I will cock breakfast for us…Rin will have woken up by then."
They both exchanged snorts of derision at that, knowing that the black-haired magus would only wake up after Shirou or Saber knocked on her door rather loud. Saber was specially amused one day when they both got inside Rin's room and Shirou tried shaking her awake, before Rin pulled him to the bed as if he was a comfortable pillow. When Rin realized what she had happened, she screamed and pushed him to the ground calling him a no good pervert, much to his own dismay.
Shirou's archery drills were pretty straight forward as he had multiple targets located in the house garden.
He would either be stationary and aim at them, or he would be on the move. The last part was added by Saber once she saw that he was not challenging himself by simply staying in one place and hitting it dead on every time. While Shirou would do that, Saber went to the washing machine and took their clothes away to dry. Despite Shirou protesting that she was a king once and did not need to worry about house chores, she had insisted. That lead to a two-day crash course by the housewife Shirou Emiya. Saber was surprised to see that Shirou pretty much handled this entire house on his own. As such, she at least became responsible for the clothes, while Shirou did the rest of the chores.
Rin was simply comfortable being served, with the occasional step-up in the kitchen once in a while.
===The Kitchen===
Once Shirou was done with his practice, he went inside the bathroom for a quick shower, before stepping inside the kitchen to see Saber folding their clothes like he had taught her. It was amazing to see how quickly she had learned and Shirou could only imagine how was it to see her at work ruling a country in the middle of war. Saber was completely focused in every chore she set her mind to and Shirou did not wish to take her focus away. He already knew what she wanted for breakfast and Rin…well Rin would come up eventually. Saber then approached the kitchen with a pile of Shirou's clothes and told him that she would place it inside his bedroom, earning a nod from the boy as he finished their breakfast.
In no time, Saber retuned and took a seat by the table as she became mesmerized by the sound and smell of her eggs and bacon coming from Shirou's kitchen.
"Saber, Fuji-nee will take you today for clothes shopping, right?"
"Yes, she was most kind, Shirou. I will have to retribute the favor someday to her." Shirou flipped her eggs and seasoned to her taste.
"I bet you already are, she loves playing dress up." Saber nodded with a comfort smile. Indeed, Shirou's sister figure enjoyed it.
"We can meet after school and head to work together."
Another thing that Saber had insisted on was to help Shirou with the house expenses. Since she and Rin were now living with him, Shirou had trouble keeping up with the expenses and was working extra hours to supply for them. Sakura, Taiga and even Rin brought some food on occasion, but Saber had a very big appetite. So, Shirou talked with his boss and convinced them to hire Saber as well. Usually, Shirou alone would take care of the work in five hours, but with Saber there to help him, they were able to take care in half the time and even aid with more.
Neko, the owner's daughter, was quite thrilled to have the blond girl helping him.
"Yes, I would like that Shirou." Saber, for her chance, was thrilled to be working with him. The job was easy enough and thus she was able to help out.
Neither bothered to be surprised to see a zombie opening the door to the kitchen and walking towards the counter as if no one were there. It was the same every morning as Rin would need her morning coffee before even acknowledging anyone. This was the scene that Sakura and Taiga walked in and Sakura had to giggle at Rin's haggard appearance. Sakura soon joined the table by Saber's side and greeted the blond girl, while Taiga appeared by Rin's side with unparalleled energy.
"Rin, are you still sleeping here? When your house is going to be ready?" the aforementioned girl quietly drank her coffee, ignoring the question.
These types of question were easily handled.
"It will take even more time, I fear and Emiya here was gentleman enough to allow me to stay as long as I needed."
"Oh, but little Shirou is too kind-hearted, I mean, not only Saber is sleeping here, but you are too. It's not okay for two exuberant girls such as yourselves to take advantage on my little Shirou." Shirou's mumble in demise at those words was loud and clear.
"Fuji-nee, please stop calling me 'little Shirou' already and Tohsaka's right…she can stay as long as she wants."
Saber knew from Rin and Shirou that this talk was just formality. As if she had ever considered living anywhere else but with Shirou. Even if she had been living in his house for less than a month, she had already grown quite fond of this place. The dojo, the garden, the quietness, the soothing atmosphere and even better, was the amazing hospitality provided by the house's host, not to mention his amazing culinary skills. For some reason, every time she left this place, even if it were simply to buy groceries, Saber felt the need to return quickly. She missed this place every time she was away. Before their last battle, she wanted to memorize every corner of this place. Now that she had the opportunity to stay with them…stay with him, she found that she wanted to view this place as her home as well.
As she looked at the table and looked at Shirou's family, it was quite a pleasant feeling, many times more than any of her previous experiences.
Each one of them had their own quirks and personalities.
"Oh and Saber, I bet you're eager for clothes shopping, I will take you to many shops and we can find something you like in no time."
Saber nodded with a smile in appreciation.
"Not fair…they can go shopping and I have to go to school..." Everyone laughed at Rin's complaint. For all intents and purposes, school was merely a hobby for Rin as she was a magus and her studies would be focused in knowing as much as she possibly could. School, thus, became irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
===On the way to school===
Eventually, Shirou took care of the dishes with Sakura's help while Rin got dressed for school.
Saber and Taiga would accompany them to school and then head straight to the shopping district. Rin was the last one to get ready before they left to school. Sakura was with Taiga and Shirou was talking with Rin and Saber. They had discussed Saber and Shirou's sparring match from today and how Shirou had improved his reinforcement and mana burst abilities. Shirou had even told that he had been feeling his mana healing his wounds like Rin's book instructed it. Shirou had even reported that he was progressing on the early stages of fire elemental spells, courtesy of his newly implanted magic crest. Rin had looked at the boy, often wondering how much driven he was now and could only smile. Surely, both her and Saber knew precisely why Shirou was pushing himself so hard.
While it was worrying in the long run, they were at ease knowing that Shirou would at least take his sweet time getting stronger.
"Emiya, do you still feel pain using mana?" Shirou looked at his hand as he felt his mana passing through his magic circuits.
"Much less, right now it feels like the occasional pinch. It is now more annoying than pain to be honest." Rin had her hand on her chin as her eyes inspected Shirou.
"Well, for sure, it won't take more time for you to adapt…but please save some use for tomorrow as I will replicate with you the contract I have with Saber."
Shirou nodded with a smile as he was counting on it.
This way, he would be a better help to both Rin and Saber, which was a win-win in his book.
Rin had thought deeply about the subject and realized that despite having Saber as a strong familiar, her mana supply was feeling the strain. And being a researcher in heart, Rin wished to improve on her knowledge and her skills as a magus. With her having to supply Saber constantly, it was weighting on her reserves. Since Shirou had started supplying Saber with his blood, she could feel less strain on her reserves, thus allowing her more to use on her own experiments. She thus figured that by Shirou supplying Saber the most, she would have even more for herself to use.
Not to mention that Shirou had already expressed to her that his skills as a magus would be limited to what he could use in the battlefield.
Thus, the magic he used took less and less of his mana supply now that he had another magic crest to rely on.
Eventually, they reached the school and said their goodbyes to Saber and Taiga.
===After school===
Shirou was calmly walking from school towards the shopping district when he would meet Saber and then walk straight to their work.
According to Taiga, who had sent him a text message, they would be now finishing lunch in one of the local diners. It didn't take long for him to find them as he inspected Saber's new wardrobe. The overall color appeared the same, with her long dark blue skirt that reached her knee. Now, though, she was wearing a more loosened short sleeve white shirt and a short blue middle-sleeve dress on top of the shirt. Both the shirt and the dress had golden flower drawings on it.
"Ah Shirou, over here…" Both Taiga and Saber looked to him and waved and Shirou waved him back.
"So, how was it?"
"Well, Saber here was a delight and she even picked up these clothes, doesn't she look gorgeous Shirou?"
The servant was looking down blushing at the praise from the boisterous woman.
While she did enjoy the fabric of these clothes, she did not enjoy being put on the spotlight like that.
"Ah, very nice choice Saber, it looks good on you." The girl looked up at Shirou and blushed at the praise, before nodding in appreciation.
"Well, off you go to work then, Neko must be waiting for you two."
"Thank you, Taiga…for accompanying me." The woman nodded with a bright smile and then jumped on her motorbike, leaving them alone.
"Say Saber, do you have other clothes to change…moving boxes around will definitely ruin your new clothes." Saber nodded, showing a bag with her regular clothes inside.
The two then walked side by side until they reached the liquor shop + bar they would be working on.
Saber had used one of the facilities and quickly changed to her regular clothing. When she came out, Shirou was already waiting with his working apron looking at a list of chores for them to perform. Tonight, the bar would be closed for a company event, so they had to fix up the tables and select some bottles from the liquor shop. As usual, Shirou would guide her through and then both of them would be seen carrying boxes and then clean up the premises. All the while, their boss would be looking on with a smile on her face. Shirou alone was already an immense help, but with Saber here helping him, it became way more efficient. And they could see how focused Saber was while Shirou was explaining things to her.
In no time, Shirou and Saber had lined up in front of Neko and went through the list of chores finished, before collecting their paycheck.
It was already nighttime by the time they left the bar as now they had to do a quick shopping for dinner as probably Rin was waiting for them to arrive.
"Say Saber, what do you wish for me to cook tonight…perhaps a western style dish."
The girl negated her head. She enjoyed European food, but in her mind, Shirou's Japanese style cooking was the best.
"I would not mind having some yakisoba…it was quite tasty Shirou." He smiled at her, remembering how her eyes sparkled at the time she first ate it.
"Okay, I shall even improve on last time and serve a side dish of smoked salmon." Saber was already drooling at the dinner prospects as they left the town market.
"Say Shirou, how's the shoulder?"
She could see in their work that Shirou was having some trouble while carrying the tables, though she wondered if the slight pain was due to his new magic circuits or the injury, she had given him.
"No need to worry Saber, it still hurts a little, but by tomorrow it will be good as new."
In no time they had arrived home and Shirou started making them dinner. Rin was busy in the kitchen table with many books from school. Saber went for a quick shower before placing her new clothes inside her wardrobe. Once Saber returned to the kitchen, Rin had already piled her books elsewhere as Shirou served dinner. The trio would then exchange quick conversation and then go to bed as tomorrow would require a lot of concentration.
===Next day===
After school, the three of them were in Shirou's and Rin's workshop, seating on top of a blue-colored sealing design of Rin's making.
Saber for the first time since the war was wearing her battle armor and dress.
Rin had done wonders for this place as all of their books on magic were kept in tiny shelves around the premises. There was a nice mahogany desk just below the stairways where she would scribble her notes. She had left Shirou's stuff untouched, which really wasn't much, just some old junk that he used to fix it ever now and then, although with the training he was undertaking and the studies that Rin had made him do, Shirou barely had the time to indulge in his little hobbies anymore. He now on occasion would take a look at the neighbor's cars and motorcycle. Right now, the three of them had their eyes closed as Rin was busy reciting her enchantment in german language.
One of her hands was holding Saber's while the other was on Shirou's chest, joined by Saber's other hand.
The shed itself was only barely illuminated by the moon light outside as the blue colored seal started glowing. Saber and Rin's hands were together as well as they passed on the energy to Shirou's. In essence, Rin and Saber had a contract together and with their joined hands, they were replicating said contract to Shirou. Shirou would then regulate his mana back to Saber so as to become the other half of her mana supply and anchor in this world. The entire procedure would be quite slow as they were slowly but surely establishing the connection between Saber and Shirou. Rin had to be careful in this procedure so as not to completely pass her contract to Shirou. Shirou may be stronger now, but right now he would not be able to hold Saber by himself.
Perhaps in a couple of years when he became more accustomed to it, but not right now.
The sealing design was glowing in a darker blue hue right now and it enveloped the three like they were inside an energy shield.
As the procedure went on, each one felt different things. Rin felt her mana less strained while Shirou felt the opposite. However, he was happy to feel his connection to Saber once more like they were master and servant. Saber, for her chance, felt a strong yellow light inside of her body and she missed that feeling. While she felt it when she drank blood from Shirou, this time the embracing energy of Avalon was flowing inside of her through her reinstated link with her master. Yes, while Saber had become Rin's servant due to Caster severing her link with Shirou, she had always felt that Shirou was her true master.
And right now, she could feel that bond with him once more. The energy that flowed through both of them…the energy that once more reunited them…Avalon.
Once the three opened their eyes, Saber and Shirou looked at one another and simply nodded at each other with a deep smile.
There were no words to be exchanged as they could both feel each other once more, through their bond.
Shirou could feel his mana supply steadily supplying her together with Rin's.
"Is it finished, Tohsaka?" Shirou could see her smug smile aimed at him. She took great pride in her work after all.
"Can't you feel it Emiya?" Of course, it is finished…now you have to take your sweet time modulating your own mana supply. Your projections and reinforcement do not take much out of you, with the exception of the reality marble, but we can still make some tests to see how easy you can summon it now that you have a new magic crest. In time as you get better used to it, you will be able to use your abilities without much consumption. Now, I can't say for sure that Saber won't be needing your blood anymore, but I can guess that it will be less now, right Saber?"
The servant was simply in her own little world enjoying this old feeling of when she was Shirou's master when she noticed that Rin had asked her a question.
"What…oh sorry…yes Rin, I won't need as much. With both of you supplying me this much, perhaps, once or twice a week." Rin and Shirou both nodded in acceptance, before the three of them moved to the kitchen for a quick dinner. Saber and Shirou had already discussed that tomorrow their practice would be in Shirou's reality marble, so things would get rough. They needed to practice their strongest attacks, so as to ascertain the amount of mana they could withstand in their current level. Not today, however, was the both of them needed to conserve their energy for tomorrow.
When morning came, Shirou and Saber were staring at each other in the house's garden.
Shirou had his eyes closed in concentration while Saber was with her battle armor and Excalibur in her hands.
She did not need to hide her weapon in a spar.
Rin was there too as she had to reinforce the bounded field inside the house so as to keep damage to a minimum. Shirou's inside circuits started buzzing in electricity, at least his original ones aided by Rin's first magic crest implanted on his right shoulder. He kept the circuits from his second magic crest supplying Saber. When he opened his eyes, he transported all three of them to his reality marble. Rin was looking around in awe, as she was not with them when Shirou faced Archer. She could see the swords lining up all around the field just like the images she remembered from Archer's memory. Touching one sword, Rin was surprised to see a flash of memory about a man being pierced by this very sword, probably by Archer's…or Emiya's…she did not know anymore.
Probably, Shirou's element and origin had a huge play in him being able to sustain this reality marble.
Saber looked at her master with a fierce smile on her face. Fighting her master like this would allow her to truly get loose without fear of hurting him.
"Are you ready Shirou?" The boy summoned his Kanshou and Bakuya and even reinforced them. Against Excalibur, the regular ones would not last long.
"Come Saber…" Shirou had fallen into position as Saber had used her mana burst to move forward fast with a slash of her sword but was blocked by Shirou's now longer swords. The sound surprised Rin. While she had witnessed some of their spars with a wooden sword, she had no idea that these two would be fighting like this. Still, Shirou's swords were similar to Archers, although longer and with scales coming out close to the hilt. Shirou and Saber were going all out, or at least Shirou was. No one can ever know if Saber was indeed going all out or just keeping pace with him. Still, it was an amazing dance in Rin's eyes as master and servant were at one another.
Saber took special caution not to attack Shirou's vital spots, but she took an opening when provided, slim as they were.
As such, Shirou had a couple of cuts on his arms and legs. Saber was just about to make a deep slash with Excalibur when Shirou made a spin movement with both his swords, blocking her strike and posing a threat. Saber saw the sudden move and she admitted being taken by surprise. When both of Shirou's weapons smashed on hers, the ground beneath her cracked. Shirou backed away just as Saber burst in front of his former position with a wind energy slash that would have skewered him. Rin shrudded at seeing Excalibur glowing in yellow energy. She could see that Saber's face was entirely involved in this fight, same as Shirou.
The saber servant would skillfully dodge Shirou's projected swords that came flying at her.
Then Shirou had increased the number of swords and even shape of them, summoning some swords that were twice his body in size and length.
Excalibur was slicing them all in half with ease, though.
Rin had lost track on how many swords Shirou had summoned to his side and even how many Kanshou and Bakuya. In her eyes, this was no longer a spar.
"Shirou…"
She heard Saber scream at him as she had closed her eyes to manifest her noble phantasm. Shirou looked on at the gathering of energy and smirked at her. He could feel his energy being drenched. There was only enough for one more technique. Saber knew that, so she had decided to use it after all. Shirou would fight fire with fire. He placed both hands closer together with an open palm as he gathered energy in them for Archer's signal move. When Saber had enough gathered energy, she opened her mouth and screamed. Shirou did the same. Rin had just shielded her eyes at the sheer intensity of Saber's noble phantasm.
EX-CALIBURRR
RHO ARIAS
Excalibur's powerful wave of energy met the unbreakable flower petals from Shirou's defense. The resulting clash was a bright light that enveloped them all. When the light cleared, Shirou's defense was no more and a huge gash on the mountain appeared courtesy of Saber's attack. Shirou just could not hold his defense for long and managed to get the hell away from the rest of her onslaught. Saber by now was using her own supply of mana as she had used plenty of Shirou's by releasing her noble phantasm.
She could feel Shirou on the ground panting for breath just as he released his reality marble, returning safely to the garden.
As Saber kneeled next to her master, she had placed her hand on his chest and transferred her own supply of mana to him. Avalon would work on his wounds and replenish his strength long enough for Saber to be safe. She saw Shirou's content visage and could not help but share it. They could be stronger than this, she knew that. Excitement was written in both their faces. In fact, none of them even realized that there was a third person gawking at such an display. Who would ever think that these two were such monsters...well, she already saw Saber's display when she destroyed the Grail, but seeing Shirou fight like this...fight like Archer did, was mind-blowing to say the least.
Chapter 3 – Future plans
A year has passed since Shirou had begun supplying mana to Saber.
By now, his tutors fairly believed that he became not only a competent mage in Rin's eyes and a fabulous fighter in Saber's.
His magus training consisted mainly in him learning fire elemental mage craft, healing magic and rune crafts. Rin had taught him a couple of other things, about the more theoretical part of thaumaturgy such as alchemy and jewel magecraft, but Shirou had opted to learn them only in passing. He had already a good specialization, probably better than most in projection and reinforcement. His interest in rune craft became to the point that he could create some very strong bounded fields, writing the sealing array on the rocks and spreading them in random locations. It certainly served to imprison enemies as Saber had to use force in order to break free.
Shirou had also used rune craft on his projected swords.
Rin had given him the idea and he went to work on immediately. By adding runes to his projected swords, he could make them more durable without the need of reinforcement. Shirou had even managed to learn how to devise bounded fields that would absorb and even reflect attacks. Rin had offered to be the guinea pig and used her gandr shots against his runes protection. It ended up reflecting on herself. Rin had bombarded him with gandr shots in retaliation when that happened, forcing Shirou to run for his life.
His runes craft worked wonderfully well when he projected a plain Caliburn and then added reinforcement runes to stabilize the elements inside the sword noble phantasm.
Saber was specially thrilled to fight with her noble sword once more and even more so, knowing that it no longer took too much from Shirou to project it.
Rin had given her student al least a passing grade after all that, much to Shirou's dismay. She had very high standards.
Lastly, she had instructed that Shirou to never use his reality marble unless they encountered a life or death situations and certainly never in the presence of anyone from the Association. Shirou at the time asked why, but Rin had simply told him to trust her on this. Not only it would jeopardize Saber's supply, but it would also mark him a target from the Association, which would…not be pretty. Shirou was already convinced when Rin had mentioned that it would jeopardize Saber. It was better to let her do the tougher fights when the situation called for it as he would be Saber's main battery charge.
In terms of swordplay, Saber had already believed that Shirou was a worthy opponent before. As their spars continued, they could see that Shirou had grown quite considerably. Not only taller, but his overall muscles were further developed now. As for his style of fighting, Archer's style became second nature to his movements. Also, Shirou had trained extensively in Saber's style to the point that she believed him to be at least adequate. If Shirou were to fight against a swordsman or woman of her level, he would know how to attack and defend properly.
The greatest surprise came from Saber.
Seeing as Avalon was inside Shirou's and not in her, it did not impede her body from running its natural course anymore. She was thus surprised to see that she had grown a couple of inches ever since staying with them. Rin theorized that the power of Avalon created a bounded field that would bequeath limited immortality through constant regeneration as well as preventing physical deterioration caused by aging. Saber found this new experience to be quite interesting. Ever since she took Caliburn from the stone, she had not aged a day and now, she was seeing this new development with keen eye. So much so that Rin and even Taiga had introduced Saber on more feminine matters.
She still had the same mentality of a knight and king, but after much insistence from Rin and even complements coming from Shirou, to which she blushed slightly, Saber relented and accepted it slightly.
The three friends had been inseparable this past year. Aside from school, work, training and studying, the three had been to many places in Fuyuki and the region. Shirou had even taught Saber how to swim. They had tickets for Shinto's public pool attraction, and it was quite amusing to see the servant's eyes spark every time she went down the water slides in fast velocity. However, her favorite attraction was the wave pool as she would simply stay afloat for hours in deep relaxation, much to Rin and Shirou's amusement. They had even taken Saber to know some other major cities in Japan like Tokyo and Kyoto. Her eyes were glued to the history of samurai and the different swords in existence.
With time, Shirou and Rin had developed quite the bond as well.
While not the same as what happened in the fifth grail war, Shirou could confide many things with her and she with him.
So much so, that Rin had told him about the letters that she had exchanged with the Mage's Association.
She said that after graduation, she was thinking of going there to expand on her mage knowledge.
She had extended the invitation to him as well to go study with her there. Shirou had declined the offer to study mage craft, opting instead to use his skills in order to save people. Rin had understood his reasoning, seeing as he would not be able to do that being inside the Mage's Association. Rin knew that Saber would remain with Shirou as per her oath to protect him. Of course, that would mean that Rin would not be able to provide Saber with mana, seeing as she would be in London. As such, Shirou had even offered to provide all of Saber's mana, thus freeing Rin to do what she wished to do. Shirou's magic prowess was becoming top-notch and would only improve with time. And Rin wanted to have as much mana as possible for her studies.
At times, they were able to make some tests.
Rin had devised a system between them that would allow for either Shirou or Rin to compensate for Saber's mana supply. Normally, they would supply equal amounts, but with this new system, either Rin or Shirou could provide more or less. One time, Shirou had supplied all of Saber's supply and the three were surprised to see that it was not overwhelming to him. Of course, his own abilities as a fighter was severely diminished, but with his rune craft providing for his swords' reinforcement, Shirou needed only one or two projections to fight. Shirou still provided Saber with his blood, but that now was needed once or twice a month.
Of course, once the missions started, then he would need to provide more, depending on the situation.
But, neither Saber nor Shirou minded the situation as both got used to it.
In terms of Rin's decision to eventually go study abroad, the three had believed that this conversation would be tense between them, but surprisingly so, it was not.
Both Saber and Rin had known that they would not be able to quell Shirou's trust for saving people much longer. And he could not do that while studying at the Association. Also, Saber was not a fan of simply going to school either, neither was she a fan of waiting for them to return from school and doing nothing. As a knight, she missed the action and fighting Shirou every day, while enough to satisfy somewhat, lacked the element of danger and the rush of fighting. She believed that it was her oath as a knight and Shirou's partner to aid him in saving as many as possible. It made her remember the missions she would lead as King together with her knights to unite the country.
Still, the three were indeed inseparable and Shirou vouched to come visit Rin every time they were in Europe, much to the brunette's delight.
Perhaps, she could check the insides of the Association to see which areas that her friend could participate. Rin was no stranger to the world of enforcers and even freelancers who would be asked at times to aid the Association with matters involving magic being used against the association's doctrines around the world. She would definitely look into it once arriving there. She could even be Shirou's contact in there once she had settled down.
One thing that changed for the better was Shirou and Saber's relationship.
After Shirou's wonderful dinners, Rin would often go to sleep early and thus the other two would simply stick around, drinking tea and chat, though it was mostly Saber who spoke and Shirou listened.
Shirou was especially curious about how Saber's life was both before and after she took Caliburn from the stone. She gladly explained it all to him, even the dark parts of her history like Lancelot's secret affair with Guinevere, Mordred, the Knight of Treachery and even other dark episodes like Sir Tristan who accused her at the time of not understanding the hearts of men. While he had seen some footage from their shared memories in war time, he had not much to go on. To this day, Saber would venture about her dreams and wishes to him. While they both knew that the Grail system would no longer grant her what she wanted, it did not mean that she had forgotten and moved on that easily. Shirou talked about the time of the fire and Saber remembered seeing his dreams as if she was right there by his side. To her, it was a very traumatic experience.
The feeling of being useless to others, while at the same time fighting for your life.
They talked about many things, indeed, though she was dissatisfied with some of his opinions.
Truth be told, being ancient times, the penalty for atrocities was either life imprisonment or a death sentence.
To an idealistic like him it was unacceptable. Still, Saber took the time and explained to him about what was needed of the king in those times. Yes, respect had to be earned just like today, but authority needed to be enforced on occasion. Shirou had learned that, unlike today's political systems, back then there was only monarchy. The king would decide all matters. The king was both the judge and the executioner. If the king had opted to let someone live, a bunch of political ramifications would follow. The same would happen if the king ordered someone's execution. Despite it all, she was successful in uniting her people and for that she had earned Shirou's respect even more than before. Truly, he had no idea the amount of tribulations that she went through as king.
Aside from that, they had discussed the events of the Forth Grail War.
Shirou had forgotten that she was his father's previous servant, though he understood from her that many of his decisions in the last war had brought shame to her as a knight. Shirou was introduced to a Kiritsugu that he did not know before. He was introduced to his fame in the Association, known as the magus killer. Dark schemes, backstabbing, betrayal…all of this happened in the last war and mostly caused by Kiritsugu's actions. Still, Saber theorized that in the end, he must have had knowledge about the Grail's true nature, hence why he ordered her to destroy it. Shirou then came to know more about his father's wife and Ilya's mother Irisiviel. Aside from the fights with Lancer, which Saber considered a greater adversary than this war's Lancer, Irisviel was perhaps the only good thing that happened to Saber. Irisviel was the opposite to Kiritsugu. She was happy, straightforward even excessively so, wanted to enjoy life as much as possible.
She had even confided a dark moment in the last war when she had discovered that Berserker was her most treasured knight Sir Lancelot.
Shirou was surprised when Saber cried as she retailed that experience. They were at the house's garden that night and Shirou held her close to his chest in an attempt to comfort her. Saber had hugged him back that day as her tears drenched his shirt. One thing that changed throughout this year was that Saber had shown more of her vulnerability...her insecurities to him. In times of war, she was afraid of doing this, but nowadays, there was no fight to be fought, at least not yet, and certainly no need to keep up a tough front. She could be free to express herself to him. As such, their bond got even stronger. Saber could confide with him, better than with Rin. While she appreciated the company of the woman magus, she was much more at ease with him.
After that talk, Saber and Shirou developed an even closer friendship.
While she would go out with Rin, Taiga and Sakura on occasions, she would be with Shirou most of the time, be it in training and in their commute to work.
Shirou had even expanded their side hustles and found another job for the pair. While they would work at Neko's pub on Mondays and Wednesdays, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Shirou would work as a chef in a café while Saber served the customers. Rin had even given the idea of joining them for dinner at the café with Sakura on occasion. Of course, at the beginning, Saber had to learn how to attend the customers, which was a new and taxing experience. If it weren't for Shirou explaining the craft and even calm her nerves at some of the customers, she would be quite lost.
===xxxx====
This Friday, Rin had invited Saber for a quick getaway in Shinto District.
Usually, Sakura would tag along, but not today and Shirou would be busy helping his friend Issei with the student council.
The timid girl had been rather close to Rin from the past few months for reasons that Rin did not wish to tell them. Sure, she knew that if Shirou were to hear about what her sister went through, he would march straight to the house and deal with it, probably doing more harm than good. She had a plan to take Sakura away with her to London as soon as Rin graduated. Rin would use the Association to protect her little sister from Sakura's adopted Grandfather. For this, she could not count with Shirou and Saber, because it required a more finesse approach. If Zouken knew what she intended on doing, then he would trap Sakura inside their house and then Rin would need to go in there and rescue her by force, which knowing the elusive magician, it would not work well.
As to Shirou, Saber came to know about his nickname at the school and could not help but be amused at his altruism.
Rin's opinion was more negative, saying that people only took advantage of his kindness.
Still, Issei was a respectable young man in Saber's opinion, soon to become a priest at the Ryuudou Temple. He would not take advantage of Shirou, considering such background. She came to understand that Issei and Rin does not see eye to eye, so it explained why Rin would be against Shirou helping the soon to be priest. After they descended from the bus, they visited a couple of shops and food trucks while exchanging pleasant talk along the way. It was a nice break from the heavy schedule that both undertook.
Saber had even asked them to have another round of baseball, much to Rin's chagrin as she remembered how competitive Saber was, the first time around.
After a couple of rounds, they ended their getaway inside a fancier western-style restaurant.
While Saber believed that Shirou's cooking was better, it was nice to meet new restaurants.
"So, Saber, tell me how it's like working as a waitress…" Rin giggled as she saw Saber breathe deeply.
"It's tiring sometimes, Rin…I really wished that I had not talked Shirou into finding another place for us to work." Every time, she would attend a customer or two that ordered out of the menu, demanding substitution. "I know that Shirou makes literal magic in the kitchen and is able to adapt to some requests, but I do find it quite irritating." Rin nodded with a smile as she drank her refreshment.
"I have already told you too that you don't need to work two jobs. I have enough money to help with the house expenses." Yes, and Shirou had already explained it numerous times that she was a guest in his house as well as Saber. It just so happens that Saber would not allow him to do everything alone.
"No, Rin, I refuse to simply do nothing while Shirou does all the work…it's not how I was raised. Even when I was king, I rarely delegated." Rin sighed at such a work-ethic.
"Okay, then, forget I said anything…still, this is only temporary…once we graduate, I will be in London studying and you guys will be travelling around, doing assignments."
Saber nodded with a radiant smile at the prospect as she ate her French fries.
She and Shirou had discussed in length about their adventures together after he graduated. They would be travelling across many countries around the globe. Rin would enroll them to the Association as freelancers and even aid them with missions. Shirou was even thinking of offering their services to the Church. While they would not be Executors, Saber was specially thrilled at the notion of hunting vampires and dead apostiles. She had dealt with them a couple of times as King and found them to be quite the adversary in battle. Rin had a contact or two from her time with Kotomine Kirei, who was an Executor before becoming an overseer for the Grail Wars in Fuyuki.
"I will never figure you two out…going out there, risking your lives. I very much prefer doing research…like a true magus in search for the root."
Yes, while Rin was not busy teaching magic to Shirou, she would be inside her workshop for hours. Saber complemented on her work-ethic, though like Shirou, she praised practice over theory any day. Still, there was something that bothered Saber these last few months. She observed her friends' relationship with a keen eye, often wondering about the presence of romance between the two – or lack thereof. She never pried about it, neither asking Shirou nor Rin. Sure, they were close…closer than many couples that Saber had ever known. However, while they enjoyed each other's presence and were at ease with each other, that spark was simply not there like it was when they fought together in the war. Saber remembered with quite fondness at the couple's constant bickering with each other. Rin would boss him around sometimes and Shirou would stubbornly respond to Rin. In essence, it appeared to be a couple in every sense of the word.
Today, though, they were indeed best friends, but not a couple.
"Rin…" The brunette girl looked up from the menu she was looking at and looked in curiosity as Saber was finding the right words to bring a certain subject.
"Yes Saber, what is it." The servant was indeed trying to search the right words, while being afraid in trespassing a personal line with her friends.
"There is something I wanted to talk about, but I never brought it up…I did not want to temper with personal matters between you two." Rin frowned but ushered her to go on. "Did something happen between you and Shirou?"
"No, why do you ask? He sometimes gets into my nerves and I wish to shoot him point blank range, but…"
Rin was at a loss about what could be possibly have happened that Saber was acting like this.
"…I am sorry for prying into personal matters, but during the war, you two were rather close, dare I say that you two would be more intimate by now." Rin opened her mouth in slight surprise but closed as she smiled at Saber. She had pondered that shortly after the war happened. Indeed, her relationship with the baka during the war was close to a romantic one and certainly they became intimate when she passed on some of her mana to him so that Shirou could defeat Gilgamesh. But she later realized that her love for him lied somewhere else…she had treasured her relationship with Archer, troubled as it was at the beginning. And Shirou's declarations to her throughout the war caught her by surprise. But those declarations stopped after the war and it allowed Rin time to ponder just what she felt for him. She did care for him a great deal, just not in that way.
"You don't need to apologize, Saber. It would be something I would ask anyway." Saber could see a content smile on Rin's face as she explained. "Truly, you're right…while I care deeply for the idiot, I see him like a very close friend."
Saber looked in surprise at that, wondering about it.
"And I believe he feels the same way too…you know. In the war, he had proclaimed his love to me on some occasions. But we were both teenagers at the time. Hell, we are still teenagers. As close as we are, our interests lie elsewhere. I will try to help him not only from a promise I made to Archer, but also because I care deeply about his well-being." Saber could see that Rin was not dishonest in her words. As King, she had plenty of experience in telling when a person was either dodging the question or answering with half-truths.
"I see…" Rin took a zip of her refreshment as she turned to ponder on Saber's far-off look. "What about you, though, I can see that you care about him, Saber." Rin had a look of mischief as he commented. "I do wonder if perhaps there is something more than an oath to his protection…". Saber was surprised at the turn-around, but her mind could not help but ponder on the question. Before long, Saber was surprised by the sudden giggling coming from Rin as her hand was on her mouth. The blond girl blushed slightly and pouted at being laughed at.
Rin realized that and apologized.
"Sorry there Saber…it's just that you two had been rather close as of late, that's all. You guys are everywhere together and do not think I didn't know about the times you two stood up late chatting. It's nice to see you two close like that." Truth be told, Rin could tell that the former king had too many similarities with the idiot. She could tell how comfortable Saber was when he was around. Even Sakura had commented on occasion as Rin remembered that it came loaded with jealousy. The servant, for her turn, now pondered truly, forgetting Rin's tease. Truth be told, she did feel at ease around Shirou. She had this feeling even throughout the war, not only from their interactions and training, but based on their shared ideals.
Could I…
As she was about to vanish after the grail's destruction, Saber thought that she wanted to stay with them. Her wish would not be granted, no matter how hard she tried, so what harm would be if she had another wish in her life. She wanted to protect him, she wanted to be by his side, fight by his side, mainly to prove Archer wrong. But this past year made her realize that perhaps there was indeed something else there, aside from his mere protection. For the life of her, having feelings like that for another person was a foreign feeling, something that simply was not in her life as knight and even less as king. When she married Guinevere, it was more for the pressure that a King must have a Queen, nothing more. Emiya Shirou had provided for her and helped her in so many ways that he surely became a precious person to her. Was it love…she did not know.
"S…saber, you're with me…Saber…" The servant blinked, coming back to the present as Rin waved her hand close to her face. "You spaced out on me for a moment."
"Sorry Rin, I was deep in thought…"
"I can see that…you do care for him, huh." This time, Saber was more truthful and nodded with a content smile on her face.
"I guess I do…I mean, he always went out of his way for me, even risking his own life. He had showed me the way…showed me how wrong I was…" Rin placed both her hands below her chest as she listened to the girl in front of her. Saber's fond smile at her idiot friend was too much. "When I witnessed his fight against Archer, seeing him fight against his own ideal like that. I could tell that Archer's words reached out to him deeply that day. I truly believed that Shirou would accept the inevitability of his future and accept his death. But he still fought Archer…he fought the one he would become in the future. He faced the odds, never once faltering on his will to prove Archer wrong. In that moment, I realized that my dream had come to an end. Shirou has provided me an answer that was more than sufficient. I once had a dream, but it is a story of a little girl I would not recognize…not anymore at least." Rin had known about Saber's wish eventually and found great respect for her.
"I realized that in my folly, I was doing the same thing as Archer. By killing Shirou, he was attempting to rid the world of his own existence. When I wished for another to pull the sword, in truth, I wanted to erase my own existence."
"I see…" Such a deep idea to ponder in Rin's opinion.
"By seeing Shirou fight that day, I realized my dream was wrong even before we heard the true nature of the grail from Gilgamesh. And all thanks to him, in the end. I have a great load of gratitude for Shirou as he showed me back then. Even now, he strives to become better…to become stronger and I can only admire him even more." Rin snorted…in her mind, Saber was indeed having many feelings for her idiot friend. And the worst part was that he did not even realize that he was slowly but surely sweeping Saber off her feet by simply being who he is. Not that the king would confess it right away, but if things went according to plan, then they both would have plenty of time to process it all. And if Rin was as shrewd as she was, then she had the feeling that Shirou also cared deeply for Saber.
"Well…I guess you are in deep trouble, huh." However, Saber just looked at Rin funny.
"I don't know what you mean, Rin…" The brunette just smiled at her friend's innocent facial expression.
"Never mind…shall we ask for the bill…the last bus will leave soon and I'm guessing Shirou is waiting us for dinner."
Still clueless to Rin's comment, the servant nodded and they both got up. Saber was looking forward to tonight's dinner. Every Friday, her partner would work extra hard in the kitchen and make a banquet for them. Yes, she had eaten a few minutes now, but when it comes to his cooking, she always had room for it. For a servant, food consumption equaled mana supply. The more she ate the more energy she had in the end. Add to the fact that Shirou's cooking surpasses everything she had ever eaten and in terms of food, at least, she was set for life.