Chapter 8: Bonds and Bows
Spectral Waltz
Scatterbrained Writer
- Location
- Walking the Endless Corridors
Rin took a deep breath, inhaling the scents of leaves and needles in slow decay where they'd fallen as well as the chilly tang of the autumn air as winter's approach made itself known. The Einzbern house sat before her, the wall that shielded the building from prying eyes low and modest to ordinary sight.
But no matter how many times I have been here, it always seems so tall and imposing… Not the wall itself, but the bounded field it anchored and the emerald-eyed woman within. Shirou himself was unfailingly polite and unthreatening to interact with but his mother could only be compared to a force of nature, an indomitable authority backed up by physical prowess that defied all understanding. 'Awesome' and 'Terrific' in the sense that she inspired in Rin both Awe and Terror in equal measure.
In an exercise that was almost habitual at this point, she reached out, resting a hand against the barrier, and reaching out with her mind. A single circuit activated, a tendril of magical energy brushing the supernatural defenses, tracing them with a feather-light touch, for she dared not give any sort of impression of hostility. Even though it never changes in any way I can sense, they never iterate, never improve. The barrier was the same as it had been yesterday, the same as it had been the day before that, the same as it had been every day all the way back to that night where she'd snuck through it and been caught in the house. That same night where she'd found her abilities countered, her expectations defied, and Shirou Einzbern's friendship foisted upon her.
Lips tugging into a half-smile, she shook her head and opened the gate, stepping down onto the path that connected that outer wall to the house proper and trotting swiftly across the intervening meters to the unlocked door. Smoothing her expression back to placidity and then putting on a polite mask to keep contained the reflexive fear that rose in her when the door slid open to reveal Arturia's familiar politely smiling face.
It wasn't that the woman acted threatening, it was simply that she was a Threat, fully deserving of the capital letter she gave that designation in her mind.
"Good Morning Tohsaka-san. You're a little early but Fujimura-san has already left and Shirou should be ready soon, come inside while you wait?"
"Ah-, thank you. Please excuse my intrusion."
"It's no trouble, would you like some tea?" Either she hadn't managed to keep her neutrally pleasant expression on quite right or Arturia managed to guess her thoughts, for the blonde swiftly continued, expression becoming mildly chagrined "Taiga made it earlier, no need to fear." For all the belligerent young woman's eccentricities she knew how to make a really impressive cup of tea while Shirou was merely adequate, and Arturia's tea was best not spoken of at all in order to avoid offering offense.
Lacking any polite recourse, Rin nodded, "yes please," and tried to keep the embarrassment from reaching her cheeks.
=======
The walk to school was pleasant enough, the cloudless sky letting the sun shine down, slowly warming the autumn air to more tolerable temperatures, though the breeze remained chilly each time it swirled past them. Arturia had left ahead of them, making her own way out the door while Shirou finished preparing and Rin drank her tea, leaving the two to lock up and make their way to school in a pleasantly mutual silence, the tapping of their footsteps and the slowly rising noise of Fuyuki's suburbs surrounding them as they made their way down the hill.
"Say, Tohsaka…" Shirou broke that silence and then trailed off, half thoughtful, half uncomfortable, letting the words hang until she cast him a look that mingled curiosity and annoyance.
"What is it?" A pause, not long enough perhaps, "well?" She pushed, pausing in her tracks to turn and face him fully with a frown.
"It's just… I don't know what Kaa-san told you but you don't need to keep coming if you don't want to. I know you aren't really happy to…" He trailed off as she felt a dark cloud cross her expression along with a flush on her cheeks.
"Is that what you think?" Rin had to admit, she took some small joy in the way he visibly froze at that silken tone, bracing himself for the inevitable explosion, "then clearly you don't 'know' anything at all, idiot!" She let the anger release into him, relishing the feeling of unleashing it, swiftly turning on her heel to keep walking before he could catch her smiling.
It was only five steps on that she realized he'd stopped, but that was enough time that she could school her face back into a frown again as she looked over her shoulder. "Are you coming or not? You're gonna be late!"
"R-right!" He hurried after her and she turned her head once more, leading the way. It wasn't especially appropriate for a Magus to have such an attachment, but...
I could get used to this.
=======
"Hiyah!" "Seiyahh!" *clack-clack-tonk!*
Shirou stumbled back, feeling at his headgear where the shinai had landed, a solid hit, frowning behind the mask. Kendo was different from the training and sparring he did with his mother, more methodical in some ways, less in others, steeped in tradition that he could feel every time he picked up one of the bamboo swords they practiced with. It fascinated him, but at the same time the different forms fought against his existing knowledge. With the slow exercises it was easy enough but every time he sparred, his muscle memory tried to take over and put him in the Western stances he knew so much better.
And then, inevitably, the conflict as his body tried to decide between the brain's instructions and the muscle memory of much longer training, he'd get whacked again.
Taking a deep breath, he set himself for another bout, squaring his shoulders into the now familiar stance despite the subtle wrong he felt in it.
"Pause! Einzbern-kun, could you come over here a moment?"
"Ah, coming!" He bowed to his opponent, and received a bow in return, "sorry Nakano-san."
"No trouble, off you go."
Leaving the second year behind, he trotted over, pulling off his helmet on the way and basking momentarily in the cool air on his face. "You wanted to speak to me sensei?"
There was a long pause as the supervising teacher considered, before she nodded, "it seems you are still struggling, though I do see you improving every day." Shirou's face twisted in a frown, but he nodded, "I'm worried about your other training, it's still throwing you off." He obviously wasn't about to throw out Arturia's training, but that was part of the problem wasn't it. He couldn't, no wouldn't let go of it, afraid that if he let those years of learning slip, it would vanish entirely. Every time he stepped onto the mat and held the old shinai the club had given him the stances felt too easy, easier than they'd ever come with the training sword she'd given him, and that terrified him, like if he were to slip into that state so swiftly, then all the effort he'd spent, all the pride he had, would drift away.
The suggestion she'd made early on that he 'stop holding back' had not gone over well.
Now, however, it seemed that the teacher had a different idea in her head. "Perhaps you might find more success in another club? I know that your slow progress has been grating, and I understand why you will not give up what you have learned." Sayano-sensei looked as though she'd bitten into a lemon for a moment to admit that, but then her expression smoothed again, and Shirou shifted a little, feeling wary.
"You have something in mind?"
She took a deep breath. "I was wondering if you might let me introduce you to the Archery Club tomorrow."
=======
"Archery club?"
"Un," Shirou nodded, still lost in thought on the walk home, a distraction that allowed to make a near-fatal mistake.
"So Kendo isn't good enough for you?"
Rin did not stay behind for club activities and had long since gone home, but Taiga made a point of swinging by to walk with him, a decision that definitely had nothing whatsoever to do with how frequently she ended up having dinner at his house afterwards.
Shirou met the Tiger's gaze, and briefly wondered if she'd been taking lessons on scary facial expressions from Rin.
"Eh? Wait no-! That's not how it is Fuji-nee!"
"Oh isn't it now?!"
=======
"We're… Home…"
"Welcome home Shirou, Taig-uh…" Arturia trailed off, blinking at the clearly winded pair, "is everything alright?"
"Not… Of course not! This idiot is-!"
"Yamakaze-sensei suggested that I take up archery so that Kendo wouldn't interfere with our training."
"And he's-!"
"I haven't made a decision yet…" Shirou ground out forcefully, before sheepishly admitting, "but it did sound like it might be a good idea…"
"Hm…" Bows were not a knight's first choice of weapon, but they had been one of the primary weapons of Samurai who were not so dissimilar in many ways. "I see no problem on the surface, but it's not a decision to be made too lightly, especially almost halfway through the year. Have you spoken to the Archery club supervisor?" Shirou straightened up as she spoke, slowly removing his shoes while a fuming Taiga did the same.
"Not yet, it was only suggested to me today."
"Then you should speak with them tomorrow," she smiled and motioned towards the living room, "in the mean time, perhaps we should discuss this over dinner?"
The promise of food was, it seemed, enough to distract Taiga from her grumbling. At least for the moment anyways…
But no matter how many times I have been here, it always seems so tall and imposing… Not the wall itself, but the bounded field it anchored and the emerald-eyed woman within. Shirou himself was unfailingly polite and unthreatening to interact with but his mother could only be compared to a force of nature, an indomitable authority backed up by physical prowess that defied all understanding. 'Awesome' and 'Terrific' in the sense that she inspired in Rin both Awe and Terror in equal measure.
In an exercise that was almost habitual at this point, she reached out, resting a hand against the barrier, and reaching out with her mind. A single circuit activated, a tendril of magical energy brushing the supernatural defenses, tracing them with a feather-light touch, for she dared not give any sort of impression of hostility. Even though it never changes in any way I can sense, they never iterate, never improve. The barrier was the same as it had been yesterday, the same as it had been the day before that, the same as it had been every day all the way back to that night where she'd snuck through it and been caught in the house. That same night where she'd found her abilities countered, her expectations defied, and Shirou Einzbern's friendship foisted upon her.
Lips tugging into a half-smile, she shook her head and opened the gate, stepping down onto the path that connected that outer wall to the house proper and trotting swiftly across the intervening meters to the unlocked door. Smoothing her expression back to placidity and then putting on a polite mask to keep contained the reflexive fear that rose in her when the door slid open to reveal Arturia's familiar politely smiling face.
It wasn't that the woman acted threatening, it was simply that she was a Threat, fully deserving of the capital letter she gave that designation in her mind.
"Good Morning Tohsaka-san. You're a little early but Fujimura-san has already left and Shirou should be ready soon, come inside while you wait?"
"Ah-, thank you. Please excuse my intrusion."
"It's no trouble, would you like some tea?" Either she hadn't managed to keep her neutrally pleasant expression on quite right or Arturia managed to guess her thoughts, for the blonde swiftly continued, expression becoming mildly chagrined "Taiga made it earlier, no need to fear." For all the belligerent young woman's eccentricities she knew how to make a really impressive cup of tea while Shirou was merely adequate, and Arturia's tea was best not spoken of at all in order to avoid offering offense.
Lacking any polite recourse, Rin nodded, "yes please," and tried to keep the embarrassment from reaching her cheeks.
=======
The walk to school was pleasant enough, the cloudless sky letting the sun shine down, slowly warming the autumn air to more tolerable temperatures, though the breeze remained chilly each time it swirled past them. Arturia had left ahead of them, making her own way out the door while Shirou finished preparing and Rin drank her tea, leaving the two to lock up and make their way to school in a pleasantly mutual silence, the tapping of their footsteps and the slowly rising noise of Fuyuki's suburbs surrounding them as they made their way down the hill.
"Say, Tohsaka…" Shirou broke that silence and then trailed off, half thoughtful, half uncomfortable, letting the words hang until she cast him a look that mingled curiosity and annoyance.
"What is it?" A pause, not long enough perhaps, "well?" She pushed, pausing in her tracks to turn and face him fully with a frown.
"It's just… I don't know what Kaa-san told you but you don't need to keep coming if you don't want to. I know you aren't really happy to…" He trailed off as she felt a dark cloud cross her expression along with a flush on her cheeks.
"Is that what you think?" Rin had to admit, she took some small joy in the way he visibly froze at that silken tone, bracing himself for the inevitable explosion, "then clearly you don't 'know' anything at all, idiot!" She let the anger release into him, relishing the feeling of unleashing it, swiftly turning on her heel to keep walking before he could catch her smiling.
It was only five steps on that she realized he'd stopped, but that was enough time that she could school her face back into a frown again as she looked over her shoulder. "Are you coming or not? You're gonna be late!"
"R-right!" He hurried after her and she turned her head once more, leading the way. It wasn't especially appropriate for a Magus to have such an attachment, but...
I could get used to this.
=======
"Hiyah!" "Seiyahh!" *clack-clack-tonk!*
Shirou stumbled back, feeling at his headgear where the shinai had landed, a solid hit, frowning behind the mask. Kendo was different from the training and sparring he did with his mother, more methodical in some ways, less in others, steeped in tradition that he could feel every time he picked up one of the bamboo swords they practiced with. It fascinated him, but at the same time the different forms fought against his existing knowledge. With the slow exercises it was easy enough but every time he sparred, his muscle memory tried to take over and put him in the Western stances he knew so much better.
And then, inevitably, the conflict as his body tried to decide between the brain's instructions and the muscle memory of much longer training, he'd get whacked again.
Taking a deep breath, he set himself for another bout, squaring his shoulders into the now familiar stance despite the subtle wrong he felt in it.
"Pause! Einzbern-kun, could you come over here a moment?"
"Ah, coming!" He bowed to his opponent, and received a bow in return, "sorry Nakano-san."
"No trouble, off you go."
Leaving the second year behind, he trotted over, pulling off his helmet on the way and basking momentarily in the cool air on his face. "You wanted to speak to me sensei?"
There was a long pause as the supervising teacher considered, before she nodded, "it seems you are still struggling, though I do see you improving every day." Shirou's face twisted in a frown, but he nodded, "I'm worried about your other training, it's still throwing you off." He obviously wasn't about to throw out Arturia's training, but that was part of the problem wasn't it. He couldn't, no wouldn't let go of it, afraid that if he let those years of learning slip, it would vanish entirely. Every time he stepped onto the mat and held the old shinai the club had given him the stances felt too easy, easier than they'd ever come with the training sword she'd given him, and that terrified him, like if he were to slip into that state so swiftly, then all the effort he'd spent, all the pride he had, would drift away.
The suggestion she'd made early on that he 'stop holding back' had not gone over well.
Now, however, it seemed that the teacher had a different idea in her head. "Perhaps you might find more success in another club? I know that your slow progress has been grating, and I understand why you will not give up what you have learned." Sayano-sensei looked as though she'd bitten into a lemon for a moment to admit that, but then her expression smoothed again, and Shirou shifted a little, feeling wary.
"You have something in mind?"
She took a deep breath. "I was wondering if you might let me introduce you to the Archery Club tomorrow."
=======
"Archery club?"
"Un," Shirou nodded, still lost in thought on the walk home, a distraction that allowed to make a near-fatal mistake.
"So Kendo isn't good enough for you?"
Rin did not stay behind for club activities and had long since gone home, but Taiga made a point of swinging by to walk with him, a decision that definitely had nothing whatsoever to do with how frequently she ended up having dinner at his house afterwards.
Shirou met the Tiger's gaze, and briefly wondered if she'd been taking lessons on scary facial expressions from Rin.
"Eh? Wait no-! That's not how it is Fuji-nee!"
"Oh isn't it now?!"
=======
"We're… Home…"
"Welcome home Shirou, Taig-uh…" Arturia trailed off, blinking at the clearly winded pair, "is everything alright?"
"Not… Of course not! This idiot is-!"
"Yamakaze-sensei suggested that I take up archery so that Kendo wouldn't interfere with our training."
"And he's-!"
"I haven't made a decision yet…" Shirou ground out forcefully, before sheepishly admitting, "but it did sound like it might be a good idea…"
"Hm…" Bows were not a knight's first choice of weapon, but they had been one of the primary weapons of Samurai who were not so dissimilar in many ways. "I see no problem on the surface, but it's not a decision to be made too lightly, especially almost halfway through the year. Have you spoken to the Archery club supervisor?" Shirou straightened up as she spoke, slowly removing his shoes while a fuming Taiga did the same.
"Not yet, it was only suggested to me today."
"Then you should speak with them tomorrow," she smiled and motioned towards the living room, "in the mean time, perhaps we should discuss this over dinner?"
The promise of food was, it seemed, enough to distract Taiga from her grumbling. At least for the moment anyways…
=End Chapter Eight=
So uh... Three years? Three years...
It's honestly kind of crazy to think about it. Three years, and one day I wake up and just think like. "Hey, remember that fic you started when you were in a completely different situation and state of mind? You really enjoyed that right? You should go write some more of it. Here's the opener for the next chapter."
Like what the fuck brain, why couldn't you have given me that three years ago?
Anyways... I'm back for the moment at least. I've got some ideas for chapters going forwards. The timeline currently has our Alternate Shirou at age 13, first year of Junior High School, but with most of the dynamics established, I think the pace can move forward a bit, skipping through the years and hitting primarily on the more important moments in the story, at least until the Grail War hits in around five years.
Stay Night has Shirou in Second or Third year of Senior High after all.
So yeah... Uh... I'm gonna write some more, hopefully, and I'm gonna try to focus mainly on advancing the plot without compromising the pace, but if anyone has any side scenes they'd like me to write, little side interactions or details they'd like elaborated... Let me know?
And we'll see if I can keep this going long enough to finish it.
Three fucking years, holy shit.It's honestly kind of crazy to think about it. Three years, and one day I wake up and just think like. "Hey, remember that fic you started when you were in a completely different situation and state of mind? You really enjoyed that right? You should go write some more of it. Here's the opener for the next chapter."
Like what the fuck brain, why couldn't you have given me that three years ago?
Anyways... I'm back for the moment at least. I've got some ideas for chapters going forwards. The timeline currently has our Alternate Shirou at age 13, first year of Junior High School, but with most of the dynamics established, I think the pace can move forward a bit, skipping through the years and hitting primarily on the more important moments in the story, at least until the Grail War hits in around five years.
Stay Night has Shirou in Second or Third year of Senior High after all.
So yeah... Uh... I'm gonna write some more, hopefully, and I'm gonna try to focus mainly on advancing the plot without compromising the pace, but if anyone has any side scenes they'd like me to write, little side interactions or details they'd like elaborated... Let me know?
And we'll see if I can keep this going long enough to finish it.
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