View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_c5FPFdSow
[Archer, Rider and Circe go after Servant while we and Caster go after Shinji]
Thanks to @Armoury for the beta! He mains Lancers!
—
Your heart pounded in your chest, but your mind… was calm. It thundered with thoughts like a boat upon the ocean in one of Circe's tales… but you kept it in order. People were in danger, someone had already died. There was an enemy Magus here, and a Servant. Panic would get you less than nowhere. A servant was nearby, you had the numbers to deal with that, and you could deal with Shinji yourself.
You
could. But why go alone if you didn't have to?
"Caster," you say quietly. "I'm going after Shinji. Help me with that. The rest of you, go after the servant. The sooner we get this under control the less danger there is for everyone else."
"Master that's…" Caster begins, then pauses, a perplexed expression on her face. "A fine plan actually."
"I agreed to help you find the missing servant, I didn't agree to fight another master Shirou." Illya comments. "Why should I?"
You turn your head to look at the white-haired master, thinking for a moment. There was genuinely no real reason why she
should in terms of the Grail War. And you didn't know her well enough to know if the fact that Shinji had just
murdered a man would be enough. Regardless. "Please?" you offer.
Illya stares at you for a moment, then she grins
broadly. "Okay!"
Then she's gone, the only sign that she was ever there being a new fresh snowfall caused by the shockwave of Rider's movement.
"Shirou, are you sure?" Sakura asks.
You could hear Shinji yelling from the top of the steps, likely indignant about Rider and Illya moving. But you didn't care at the moment. Turning to look at Sakura you nod. "Do you want to head back with your servant?"
Sakura shakes her head. "No…
no." She then looks up the hill towards her brother. "Archer, follow Rider. Carry me."
Then she was gone, Shinji letting out another squawk. Circe disappears a moment later, leaving you, Shinji and Medea alone. There was a
bang further up the hill, and the sound of clashing steel a moment later.
Then you began to walk.
The smoke from the corpse was still present, but dissipating rapidly, and Shinji stared at you in shock for but a moment longer before readopting a familiar smug expression. It was the same he frequently wore back at school, the scars however, only made it uglier. Shinji doesn't move, he doesn't run, he just stands there, basking in his superiority as you crest the top of the staircase.
"So this is your plan Emiya, to get everyone in this temple killed, for what? The leylines? I never even
knew the Emiya were magus before no-"
Shinji's words were cutoff as your fist collides with his mouth. Your circuits roared to life as you reinforced your hand and arm, and Shinji stumbled backwards, his hands moving to his mouth as blood poured down from it and onto his shirt. You leapt forward after him, one arm slamming against his chest, the other grabbing a leg and yanking it up. The boy tumbles, falling back onto the snow. His own hands shoot up, trying to block you as you fall onto him, but it does very little as you close the distance and press your arm against his throat. Not enough that he can't speak, but enough that you could crush his windpipe with only a little more effort and some reinforcement.
In some ways, you expected both this outcome when you attacked him, and the sheer panic in his eyes. It was always Shinji's style. He was a friend, but he never liked to get his hands dirty himself, he
always tried to pawn off work. He likely expected you would focus on his servant and ignore him entirely, he likely assumed he wasn't even a target. He was a Magus however. That
made him a target. It was one of the things Kiritsugu taught you, a Magus was
always a target.
Your eyes flit to the command seals on his wrist, then to his face. "Shinji, did you kill that man, or did your servant?"
"H-how dare you strike me, Emi-"
His words gurgle as you press your arm against his neck, "Did
you kill that man, or did your servant?" you ask again, releasing a pressure a few seconds later.
"Why!?"
You stare into Shinji's eyes. He was a friend, he had been a friend for a very long time now. But… no. No, you simply couldn't show mercy, not for that. "Because that information is the only thing keeping you alive."
"He was just a guy!" Shinji says through broken teeth.
You stare down at him, your thoughts coming to a screeching halt. So that's what it was. Exactly like it was with Rin. Just a man. Just a
person. Not a Magus. Just a Human. That's how it was going to be this war. It's how it was with him, it's how it was with Rin, and it was how it was with that archer. People were just
targets.
"Goodbye Shinji." You say quietly. Then begin pressing your elbow down.
Just at the exact moment his cheeks bulge outwards. A gurgling erupts from Shinji's lips, black bubbled bile pouring out profusely, mixing with his blood and saliva as his hands, arms, torso and legs begin to swell. You find yourself staring for a moment, in fascination as much as confusion before your instincts begin to cry out. You then find yourself pulled back once more by Medea, her cloak surrounding you as Shinij's body
detonates into a cloud of black smoke.
The smoke
lunges forward towards the two of you, taking a humanoid form of twisted tendrils of acrid, stinging smoke. Your eyes water, your throat seizes. Then Caster waves her hand, a frown on her face as a shimmering, purple field of fire surrounds the two of you. The smoke burns into nothing as it touches it, and in a matter of moments it was gone, the only trace of anything happening at all being the silhouette pressed into the snow where you and Shinji had fallen.
"Master, are you unharmed?" Medea asks.
You nod your head, you didn't feel
well, but the effects were fading already. "What was that?"
"A poison, far below those of my time, but effective." Medea replies, "dare I ask why you charged him in such a manner?"
"Because I know Shinji, he thinks he's invincible and wouldn't bother trying to defend himself first. Where is he?"
Medea flies up into the air, and you take a moment to take stock of the area. Monks and others were pouring out of the building, the shrine was never heavily populated, and several faces you recognized were already making their way out. Fujimaru was off near the entrance, helping someone back down the staircase, while a woman you didn't recognize with…
pink hair was helping one of the elders out of the building, the man covering his face was a rag.
You had but a moment to process that, and the sounds of ongoing battle behind the temple before Caster appeared,
grabbed you by the back of your shirt, and lifted you in the air. She paused once you were fifty feet up and long before you had the chance to complain, instead she raised a hand to point to a figure running, or, more accurately, stumbling through the forest just outside the temple.
It was Shinji, and even from here you could see he was grinning. So he survived with a trick. That's fine. You draw in a breath then channel your magic, forming the image in your mind.
Judge the concept of creation… hypothesize the basic structure. Duplicate the composition material, imitate the skill of its making. A bow of composite wood appears in your hand. Sympathize with its growth, reproduce its history. Finalize the manufacturing process… the world is in decay, life is simply a perception. An arrow is knocked.
'Palintonos - Penelope'
You fire the arrow. It screams through the air, and your arms burn from the force of the bow releasing its tension. Your archery was designed for tournaments and competition, it was formal, it took far too long to be functional. But Shinji was a stumbling target.
And you never missed what you were aiming at.
The iron tip of the arrow went through his neck and jutting out the otherside, the teenager stumbled for a few moments before falling forward, his arms limp at his side.
"Caster…" you say quietly. "Please make sure he's…"
Your words fall short, and you look away.
"Of course Master." Caster replies. Then quickly lowers you both back onto the ground before she takes off into the forest.
You stand there for several moments, unsure if you should be helping people make it out of the temple and away from the fighting, or if you should be running towards the fighting yourself. Your decision however, is temporarily halted by Fujimaru's voice calling out.
"Mash!?"
You turn towards the sound of it to see Fujimaru at the midpoint of the steps, with that pink haired girl you noticed earlier at the top, having just made it with that elder she was helping move.
"Master!?"
With interest you watch as Fujimaru sprints up the steps, a wide smile on her face. The pink haired girl, Mash you suppose, has but a moment to look surprised before Fujimaru wraps her in a hug and kisses her.
… Mission accomplished, you suppose. You stare at them for only a moment longer, before you begin hurrying around to the back of the building.
—
You made it halfway before you ran headlong into the entire group, and none the worse for wear at that… Barring Circe but that was unchanged at this point. "What… happened?" you ask, looking over at the witch in question.
Circe opens her mouth to speak, but someone half her size answers. "Fled." Illya replies. "Was a giant ball of yellow gas, nothing human looking inside of it. It turned and ran just a little bit ago."
"Thirty seconds," Archer replies. "I tracked it a ways but it dissipated into nothing, not even magical energy. But I do not believe it to be defeated."
"Where's…" Sakura begins, looking at you.
"Dead," Caster replies, landing just to your left. "The command seals are no longer present and I have confirmed the body isn't a duplicate like before. The servant shall soon disappear now that its master has ceased to be."
You stare at Sakura, unsure of what to say. So you say nothing at all. The girl looks away, hands clasped in front of her as an expression you don't want to try and discern worms its way onto her face. You don't feel much like discerning or figuring out anything at the moment.
"With…" You draw in a breath. "With luck, that's one less problem to deal with." You say, "We also found Fujimaru's servant." You turn your head to see the woman in question still standing by the front of the shrine, your eyes meet, and she begins making her way over to the group.
—
View: https://youtu.be/ZKCCs9DNEJs?si=9KdZ2uSkkHElUe5s
—
Introductions were had, Fujimaru was grateful for your help. You didn't much recall the details however. She was somewhere in the mansion, she had tried to suggest she stay somewhere else, but you would rather her stay somewhere safe than back at the school… you didn't trust it, or anywhere else at the moment.
Illya had departed shortly afterwards, and had asked to go out with you again. You had agreed, and you vaguely recall inviting that she could stop by Raiga's whenever she wanted. Caster disagreed of course, you didn't particularly care.
The rest of the day had passed in an undefined blur, you had made your way back to the estate, checked on Berserker… doing nothing but staring at a wall. Sakura said little, did little, you hadn't paid much attention. After that you had a quiet dinner, then you had all gone your separate ways. You tried to think back on it, but… you honestly couldn't make out any of the details, it was far away from you now. The little things, the conversations, you could only focus on one thing in particular, and repeatedly at that.
—
Then you had sequestered yourself back in your room, staring at the bow in your lap. You hadn't called it back, you had simply never allowed it to fade away. Both from the fact that you might have needed it once more, and the fact that… you didn't really want to. You sat there, on the bed, staring down at the composite wood. It was an odd thing, so very different than the bows you were used to. In shape, form, and… purpose. But you had used it well enough, it
fit into your hands well, and you understood how best to nock and draw the heavy thing despite having only wielded it briefly on Circe's Island.
It had a history, you were sure, though Circe hadn't gone into it. But it was a finely made thing, it, and the arrow you had summoned with it. It pulled cleanly, it loosed without snapping your fingers, and the arrow struck true.
Straight through the neck of one of your childhood friends.
You close your eyes, letting out another breath. He had to die, it was as simple as that. He was a magus, and beyond that, he was killing people. You knew Shinji was trouble, but never to
that extent. You had, until just a few hours ago, thought him to be dead. You had thought him to be more
moral than that.
But this grail war had ways of surprising you.
Far, far too many ways of surprising you.
You were beginning to understand why your father looked so very tired. Was this what being a Magus was about? You wanted to save people, it's why you wanted to become one to begin with. You had saved…
Who had you saved?
Ayako's brother…
Some priests at the temple, but not all.
But more had died. And they would continue to die. And you didn't see what you could do about it. You had no path forward despite Raiga's threats. There was nothing you could
do about i-
The door to your room opened with a click, and you raised your head expecting to see Medea.
Failing that, you had expected to see Mordred wandering around as usual, the swordswoman as mindless as she ever was.
It was neither, instead it was… Circe. The woman opening the door without a word, slipping inside, then closing it behind her. She didn't speak even after, approaching like a ghost, not so much walking as gliding atop the carpet with the ease at which she moved. Then, in one smooth motion she discards her shoes and sits herself on the bed next to you, one hand moving to her lap, the other dangling useless at her side.
"Medea asked me to speak to you." Circe explains, answering the question of 'why she was here' before you could even ask it. "She thought I would be better suited."
"Why would you be better suited to talking to me?" you ask, allowing the bow to finally fade away.
Circe watches the motes of light for a moment, the golden orbs illuminating her briefly before the dim lighting of the room takes over once more. The bed creaked as she turned slightly, the only sound beyond that of your breathing. "Because I am a beautiful, humble, all powerful sorceress." Circe replies with a grin. Then it shrinks, turning into a more natural, smaller smile. "And I also understand the hearts of men far better than she."
"I'm fine."
"The most oft-repeated line in recorded history." Circe replies, the smile now fading entirely. "You became passive this afternoon, in a manner not fit for yourself naturally. You reacted, you smiled when necessary, you laughed. But you were no longer there, not truly. Medea noticed, as did I." She draws her knees up onto the bed, on arm wrapping around them. "Was it the priest, or the boy?"
…
"Both," you say quietly. "I'm tired of watching people die, I became a magus to help people, and… Shinji was a friend of mine, once."
"Would that I could say your situation was unique, Shirou." Circe says wistfully. "But you would not be the first, nor the last to grapple with such a thing, and you are kinder than most at that, so this affects you doubly." She removes the hand and waves it in front of herself, light from the desk lamp twists and bends as she does so, then it forms into images in the air, a golden trail linking the images it makes back to the light source. It forms scenes, men and women in war, walled cities, a dragon. "There are those like Achilles who saw themselves above other men, who thought nothing of the slaughter. There are those like Ajax who lived for it. There are those like Agamemnon, who simply believed it was what had to be done."
"I'm not any of those men," you reply.
"No," Circe agrees. "And that is for the better. You grieve for your failures, or what you perceive to be failures. That is not a bad thing, but do not let them overtake you. Medea would be quite sad if you wallowed in your misery, the same could be said for Sakura and Ayako."
"And Shinji?" you ask.
"Should he have lived? After what he had done? And do not think for a moment that was
all he had done," Circe says. "He was a vile, wicked boy playing at being a man. The world will not mourn his loss."
"So it's fine that I killed him? I recognize that he was my enemy, that he was a magus on top of that. But that…"
"It isn't, no." Circe replies. "Or, at least. If you do not believe it to be fine, it isn't. Nor is it my task in this world to convince you that the blood upon your hands can be washed away with merely a thought. That is your burden to bear as you wish." Her hand then moves to your shoulder, and you turn your head to find yourself staring into her gemstone-like eyes. "But I will say that if you hadn't, more would have died. You saved more lives today than you took, by far."
You would have liked to say that made you feel better. But that would be a lie. You had too many memories of Shinji to just let them fade away like that, even if you recognized it had to be done. You just hoped Sakura could forgive you for it, you hadn't even had time to ask. Or… been willing to check with her afterwards.
"Now, dwelling on such things serves no purpose, at least, not without an ample supply of wine. Instead, let us discuss other matters. We shall go… tit for tat, as they say, I ask you a question, you ask me one." Circe smiles impishly. "More than Medea would give you."
She stretches out her legs, then lays back on the table. "Now tell me, do you have any questions for this grand witch?"
—
Choose two. This is popularity, not by plan.
[] [Why me?]
Why choose me for training? And how?
[] [That bow I used today]
Who did it belong to, really?
[] [Her relationship with Medea]
It doesn't seem particularly pleasant.
[] [Her thoughts on the situation.]
She spoke at length about… Mordred.
[] [Why… did she come onto you?]
