Chapter Nine - Brief Respite
The four of you draw stares as you fileddown the street in odd tandem. Even dressed in what Rin had deemed to be sufficiently normal clothes, Saber's Western-style blonde hair and striking features commanded a certain attention, turning heads and inciting excited whispering. Madoka, skipping cheerfully along beside her, was no better. Her otherworldly pink hair could be explained away as being dyed, but the fact that everyone around her walked with straighter spines and brighter smiles was harder to conceal.
You watch as Madoka chatters happily to Saber, then pulls her into the third fashion store of the day. With a kind of weary resignation, you follow, adjusting your grip on the bags that weighed you down. Who knew clothes could be this heavy?
Beside you, Rin gives an annoyed huff and practically stomps in the store. "Any longer outside and I'm going to get suburn." Her own bags jostle against each other as she exaggeratedly folds her arms together, glaring at Saber gravely trying on star-patterned sunglasses to Madoka's applause.
The two of you lean against the first shelf in the little store. Rin is incredibly close to you, to the point that you're hyperaware of the gap between your skin and hers. She doesn't seem to notice, so you carefully shift slightly away, giving her some space. As you do so, she continues grumbling. "And to think they make us, the Masters, carry their bags, when either of them could easily beat Olympic weightlifting champions."
Well, you don't like it either, but seeing Madoka so carefree, you can't bear to break her bubble and bluntly ask her to carry her own goods. Instead, you decide to go a slightly different route in convincing Rin. "Well, it's supposed to be a day out for them, so it's only natural that we'll help them carry their stuff and let them have fun."
The school idol shoots a glance at you. She hadn't seemed perturbed at all by the stares your group drew as you made your way to the shopping district, even though she's always stressed the need for secrecy as magi in the Holy Grail War. It occurs to you that maybe that's because she's used to receiving stares. After all, she's not exactly plain-looking herself.
"You really are selfless, aren't you Shirou?" The strange comment jars you out of your thoughts.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Rin gestures at the bags you're carrying, then at the bags she's carrying. "Archer bought at least twice as much as Saber, and I think she bought heavier things too."
It is a weird question. Madoka is a very girly girl, so it should be obvious that she'd buy more things than the stoic Saber. "Well, you know the two," you reply. "Saber always takes time to make sure something is perfect before buying it for herself, but Archer just buys whatever she finds pretty…"
Rin rolls her eyes and smoothes her sweat-crumpled ribbons. "Not that. I meant – never mind. You probably wouldn't understand anyway. I'm glad you don't mind carrying all those bags."
"I guess so." On that note, the conversation terminates awkwardly. Saber is now in the fitting room, trying out a demure silk shirt that Madoka – who now sports a couple of bright red clip-on earrings and navy blue shoelaces – insisted would look good on her. After a couple of guilty looks around, Rin abandons her bags at the spot where the two of you are resting, going into the rest of the store to look around at the merchandise herself.
Which leaves you stranded near the door, watching over nearly a dozen bags and wondering nervously if you'd get kicked out for loitering. The dilemma is resolved after Saber and Madoka emerge from the closest aisle, bearing two more bags with price tags on them.
"Add it to the pile!" says Madoka, grinning. "I told you that shirt looks good on you!"
Saber hesitates, then nods once. "Yes. You were correct, Archer." The scary blonde Servant directs her attention to you. "Thank you for helping carry our burdens, Shirou."
Carry your burdens? That's a pretty odd turn of phrase. Why is everyone talking crooked today?
Well, at least Madoka was her usual candid self, thanking you enthusiastically and hugging you so tightly you're afraid she'll forget her own strength and snap your spine. Luckily, that doesn't happen. She pulls out of the embrace with rosy cheeks, and you feel her hope aura kick up a notch, strong enough to start clouding the edge of your thoughts.
"Where's Rin?" asks Madoka. "Wasn't she around here somewhere?"
"I'm here," says Rin, stepping out from behind a corner in the labyrinthian store layout. She catches your eye, her expression unreadable, then picks up her share of the bags, dramatically sighing as she does it. "Are we heading to any more shops?" Rin says it in a tone that makes it clear she'd rather go hand-to-hand with Berserker than lug any more bags around.
"Nope!" says Madoka cheerfully. "We're going to lunch! I saw a great ramen place earlier. It reminds me of a restaurant I used to go to back in my old life, so let's go there to eat." Saying that, the whimsical girl skips off, leaving the rest of you to follow.
"And to think I used to like shopping," Rin mutters. You're almost certain you saw Saber's lips quirk up a little out the corner of your eye.
Lunch goes very well. The ramen is overpriced, but delicious enough to make up for it – though the other three decide to pull your leg by falsely claiming that your food is better – and Rin seems to be in a much better temper when she isn't sweating and hauling bags in the late morning sun. At some point, you're not sure when, the conversation turns to memories.
"So, Archer, you mentioned that you've been to modern restaurants before?" asks Rin. "In other words, you must be a fairly modern Heroic Spirit."
Madoka nods with a pleased smile. "Mhm. Actually, I remember technology being a little more advanced than now, so it's possible that I may be a Heroic Spirit from the future."
Rin's eyes widen. "That's… theoretically possible, but how would you even get a catalyst for something like that?"
Madoka shrugs delicately. "Maybe the Grail chose for Shirou or something since he didn't have a catalyst. I don't know. How did you get your catalyst, Rin?"
"I… um… I don't want to give away Saber's identity, no offense. But I can tell you that Kirei gave it to me, since I didn't have any myself." It's a mark of Rin's friendship and familiarity with Madoka that she's not acting like the distant school idol, or even the self-absorbed Tohsaka heir, but rather as a friend, almost. Did people like Rin even have friends? Would she consider you a friend if she did?
Madoka looks thoughtful. "Maybe… maybe Shirou wished or hoped for me to save him so badly that I got summoned to him. Shirou, were you thinking something like that?"
You think back to the flashing lance, the darkened shed. The miracles, and the expectation of a miracle, the feeling of real hope for perhaps the first time in your life. "I think so."
"Right!" Madoka smiles. "That's how I became a Heroic Spirit in the first place, so maybe the Grail drew a connection to that."
Saber reacts to that, but the set of her features at that moment seems so terrifyingly alien that you can't even hope to tell whether it's a positive or negative reaction, let alone what exactly it is.
"In my final moments, I made a wish as well," she says slowly. "The events of the past Grail War have led me to suspect that it had something to do with me being a Heroic Spirit. What was your wish, Archer?"
You know this one. Madoka had spoken the words, an aria to the night sky. Wishing upon the stars, so to speak. "I wished for a world where nobody has to cry," said Madoka without hesiation, utterly sincere. At that moment, you really appreciate how small she is, how young she is. You wonder what it must have been like for her, barely fourteen, to make a wish charged with so much power that it granted her the title of Heroic Spirit, one that legends and myths could spend entire lifetimes obtaining.
"A naïve wish," says Saber. There's no judgement in her tone; it's just a statement of fact as she sees it.
Madoka tilts her head to look at Saber. "What did you wish for, then?"
"I had regrets. I wished to turn back time, to do it all over again. An impossible wish."
The little girl places her hands over that of the graceful knight's. "That's not impossible," says Madoka firmly. "As long as you have hope and your heart is in the right place, you can do anything. You can save everyone. I'll help you do it."
Saber lets out a startled laugh. "No, that's impossible. Even a magician wouldn't be able to fulfill that wish. There's no way to turn back time."
"I wouldn't be so sure," says Madoka.
The conversation turns to lighter topics after that, but Madoka's words remain on your mind. As the four of you leave the ramen shop, laughing lightly at Rin's dry humor, you can't help but wonder what exactly she meant.
-
You sit at the side of the road with three Yan-Yan packets and your new leather jacket draped over your shoulers, keeping the cold out. As you wait, you practice your magic, as Rin instructed. Rapid-fire reinforcement on rocks, tossing them upwards in a ceaseless cycle, trying to keep your focus on the magic while keeping the flow of movement going.
After half an hour, Ilya shows up. She's dressed in the same skirt as before, the same hat, but she looks different. Happier. She skips towards the two of you, the same way she had when the two of you had originally met.
"Hello – " she begins, but is swept into a gleeful hug by Madoka as soon as the pinkette materializes, as though they were close family members who hadn't seen each other for years, rather than opposing Masters who barely knew each other. Ilya squeaked, then
slowly eased into the hug.
By the time Madoka lets go, her cheeks are flushed, and you suspect Ilya would be as well if not for the fact that she was a homonuclus. "As I was saying, hello, onii-san."
"Oh, hello, Ilya. I was hoping to meet you." You smile back awkwardly, unsure what to say. You're still a little in disblief that this snow-haired girl wants to be your little sister.
Red eyes flicker down to the snacks beside you. They looked a much nicer shade of red, now. Less like blood and more like sweet cherry juice. Maybe that was just the psychological bias, now that she was on your side. "Oh! You brought sweets! Are those for me?"
You nod. "Feel free to take one if you want, Ilya. I… um, didn't know what you would like, so I just bought something that looked tasty."
"It's perfect." The homonuclus looks star-struck, then grabs you and Madoka's hands and tugs you towards the other direction, away from the Toshaka manor. "Come on! I know a great place to sit and eat these."
In a matter of minutes, you're dragged past rows of houses and fences and into a park with a little playground. Madoka has a sudden urge to play on the swing set, totally coincidentally giving you and Ilya privacy to talk as you sit side-by-side on the park bench.
Ilya daintily dips a breadstick into chocolate sauce, then bites it off with a crunch, tongue flicking out like a snake's to wipe off the crumbs. "Onii-san, your Servant told you my wish, right?"
"Uh, yeah. You want to be my sister, right."
She looks very serious. "Right. I want to be a real family again." Her muscles jump, all at once, whole body tensing as her Command Seals appear, tattooed on her face like lightning bolts. A moment passes, then it's gone, her body back to normal again. "I don't want this. Grandfather Acht, he…"
Ilya trails off, then starts speaking again. "…I don't even know why I'm sharing this with you. I guess because I don't have anyone else to talk to. Archer's nice, but she's not my brother. Berserker… doesn't really talk back, much. He's good company, though. But he can't give me advice or anything."
"Well, you can always talk to me if you're feeling lonely," you offer. You immediately regret the words; you have a feeling Ilya's going to use the excuse to meet up as often as possible, and you don't think you can survive the awkwardness of sitting on this bench day after day.
But she doesn't respond, instead looking gravely down at the floor, a breadstick sticking out of her mouth, lips smeared with chocolate. "Do you think she can do it?"
"Do it?"
"Archer. Do you really think she can make my wish come true?"
A vision of Madoka laughing flashes into your mind, how she looked as she leapt between you and Caster, the look on her too-young face as she talked about her friends getting killed by witches. "Yes," you say without hesitation or elaboration.
It must be the answer Ilya wanted, because she looks pleased. The two of you sit for a while, watching Madoka effotlessly hang upside down above the slide, a gloved hand clutching her skirt, the other circled around the slim bar. You're reminded that Madoka isn't human, no matter how she acts. Ilya is more human than her, funnily enough.
Ilya talks to you about Madoka a little, but mostly seems interested in Rin and Saber. You expected her to inquire strengths and weaknesses, whether Saber was tough enough to serve as a frontline, and so on. But she asks instead about their personalities, likes and dislikes, their daily routine. About your school, and the feeling of riding a bike, and other mundane stuff. The way she acted, it was as if she'd never been out of her castle in her life.
After you finish telling the story about how the friendly rivalry between you and Rin in terms of cooking skills finally ended, Ilya springs a sudden question at you. "Is Tohsaka-san your girlfriend?"
You pull the collar of your jacket up to hide your blush(are men even supposed to blush?) at the question. "Don't ask such questions," you say in a tone that you're sure will only encourage her to ask more questions. "None of your business."
Ilya giggles. "So she is your girlfriend!"
"No, she's not!" A truthful reply only sends her into further peals of laughter, kicking her legs up and down the park bench.
The litle homonuclus smiles and wipes the chocolate from her chin. "I didn't know you were that kind of guy. Anyway, I don't think you wanted to meet with me just to talk about Tohsaka, right?"
"You're right," you say. "I wanted to talk about Caster."
As though a switch has been flipped, Ilya loses the smile and the cocked head. She's the Einzbern Master again, icy ruthlessness paired with the incomparable strength of a Heroic Spirit.
"You want to kill her." It's not a question.
"Yes." It wasn't an easy word to get out. "Archer wants to get rid of her as soon as possible, and Saber and Ri-I mean Tohsaka seem to think the best way is to attack Ryuudou Temple again. We wanted to know what you and Berserker think."
"Berserker doesn't think," says the Einzbern Master. "But I don't see the point in attacking her in her own house. I already know she wants to kill Berserker, so all we have to do is lure her out and then kill her while she's weak."
Well, that's a good point as well, but you also like the idea of just charging in and killing Caster before she can do any more damage. If you waited to lure her out, who knows how many victims she might take?
After a moment of consideration, you decide on a course of action.
[ ] Pay Ryuudou Temple a visit and finish off Caster once and for all.
[ ] Lure Caster out of that cursed place and kill her while she's weak.
- [ ] To school. If Shinji's there, he might be able to help out.
- [ ] To the scorched area that Rin told you was where the last Grail War ended. As well as being a thematically fitting battlefield, it's also clear of innocent people that might be hurt by your battle.
