Alternative Summons for Emiya Shirou

by Redaer_Noitcifnaf

Summary:

This was a joke idea my friend suggested to me. He knows how much I like the Beowulf story, and since I'm having some writer's block (on everything) I decided to humor him to try and cure it. I have plans for more of these, but nothing concrete at the moment. Hope it's not too terrible.

Chapter 1: Saber Beowulf

Notes:

Disclaimer: I am writing this for a friend who loves Fate like I love the epic poem of Beowulf. If I get anything wrong, please leave a comment so I can correct it.

The first thing Shirou heard when the light faded from the circle was booming laughter as a tall Viking-like man appeared before him with a sword in each hand. “Hahaha! I am a Saber-class Servant! And you, young warrior, are my Master!” He bellowed as he helped Shirou up.

“The kid’s a Master?” The man in blue tights asked as he pointed his spear towards Shirou again. “Doesn’t matter, sorry kid, but I’ve got to kill you.”

“Nonsense! My Master will not be slain by you, noble Lancer. Now, tell me your name, so we can fight honorably, like men!” The large man asked as one of his swords dissipated while he held the other with both hands.

“I’m the Hound of Ulster, that is all I can say.” The Lancer admitted. “What about you?”

“I am Ecgtheow’s son, the pride of the Geats!” The warrior declared proudly as he stood even mightier than before. “Now, to battle!”

The warrior raced forward with incredible speed, this Lancer person dodging even faster before thrusting down from the air at the large man. This warrior laughed as he caught the spear, causing it to audibly crack before the wicked-looking sword in his right hand slashed at the wide-eyed spearman.

Lancer went flying, his spear fading into light as he landed on the roof. “My Master is calling me away. I look forward to a rematch. A proper one, mind you, Saber.”

As he disappeared, Saber turned back towards Shirou. “Are you alright, young one?” He asked kindly. “You and I share the burden of low magical affinity, but methinks yours is not by fate but by chance.” He froze. “Hark! Another Servant and Master are here!” He turned around and from just over his shoulder, Shirou could see the man in red and…

“Tohsaka?” Shirou blurted out as Saber laughed again.

“The maiden is known to you then, good. That makes this more interesting!” Saber roared as he pointed his sword at the man in red. “Fellow Servant! If you don’t wish to suffer at the hands of Hygelac’s kinsman, flee while you have the chance!”

Shirou heard Tohsaka say something before the man in red picked her up and sped away. “What’s going on?” He muttered as Saber turned and put his hand on Shirou’s shoulder.

“Destiny has plans for you, young warrior, are you just going to lie down and surrender to her?” Saber asked seriously. “Or are you going to rise to the challenge and become the warrior, nay, the hero that slumbers inside of you?”

“I’ve never backed down from a challenge yet, even when I knew I would lose.” Shirou looked the larger man in the eyes as he declared that. Saber smiled. “What now?”

“We need to whip you in shape. Proper training and conditioning would take too long, but my people have a story about a ritual that can accomplish this for you in a day. It’ll be painful though, and I won’t lie to you, there is a chance of death.” Saber warned. “But, should you pull through, you’ll be the match of any Master in this war, perhaps even able to join me in the clashing of shields!”

“Do it.” Shirou said without hesitation. “I need to be stronger to protect the innocent.” Saber smiled at him before drawing another circle on the ground. “What do I need to do?”

“Fetch me a glass, preferably of metal, and a sharp knife, preferably of stainless steel or silver.” Saber explained as Shirou nodded and searched the cupboards for the required items. He vaguely remembered Kiritsugu having a knife like that, so he went into the storage boxes and found a chalice and the knife before hurrying back to the large man. “Good.” Saber took the items and faced Shirou. “Now, whatever happens, trust me, I will not let you perish.”

Shirou nodded as Saber cut his hand open with the knife, letting the blood pour into the chalice Shirou was holding. Saber began chanting in a strange language, unlike anything he had ever heard. All he knew was that it was an ancient language, at least a millennium past its time. Then, after the circle at their feet began glowing red, the blood began swirling in the chalice as Saber looked at Shirou with serious eyes and nodded. Shirou took the cup, and drank deeply from it, wincing at the metallic taste of blood. Then, it happened. The blood began to feel like fire as he drank it, the metallic taste faded and was replaced like something akin to lightning rushing through him as Shirou’s body began convulsing painfully as green lines lit up over his body while his muscles bulged and tore themselves. Saber took the cup and forced Shirou to continue drinking, a sympathetic look on his face the entire time. And that was the last thing Shirou saw before he lost consciousness for the second time that night.

Shirou groaned as his eyes opened, a strange weight in his limbs like his entire body had gone numb. Saber appeared from thin air and smiled down at him before helping him to his feet. Shirou stumbled, but the blond man steadied him, and Shirou’s eyes widened when he realized he was looking Saber in the eye! “The ritual was successful, young one.” Saber stated the obvious. “Now, find the trigger for your magic, and you will regain full control of your body.” Shirou nodded before trying to remember what it felt like to activate his magic. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a gun firing in the back of his head, specifically, the sound of a hammer slamming into the end of a bullet to fire. The green veins lit up again, a slight burning feeling racing through him as the weight and numbness disappeared and he felt lighter than ever.

“How?” Shirou asked as he flexed his fingers and marveled at the new strength that coursed through them. “How is this possible?”

“Witchcraft.” Saber laughed. “A form of Magecraft that is often neglected due to its reliance on sacrifice and blood.” He pat Shirou’s shoulder again. “In simple terms, I overrode half of your bloodline with my own, making you something akin to my nephew or son. As such, the World had to force you to change into something suitable of my kin.”

“You can do that? Change someone’s family?” Shirou asked, slightly unsettled by that idea.

“Yes, but it is only a last resort. Only in life or death situations should such a drastic magic be utilized.” Saber warned in a low voice. Shirou nodded at that. “Now, I have heard that your educators have been missing you. There is a young girl outside making you breakfast, my lucky nephew.” Saber smiled.

“What’s your name?” Shirou asked. “You called yourself the son of Ecgtheow and the kinsman of Hygelac,” He absolutely butchered those names. “But what’s your name?”

“Beowulf.” Saber smiled. “I am the slayer of Grendel, former king of the Geats, friend of Hrothgar, Unferth, and many others.”

Shirou wanted to ask more questions, but his stomach grumbled and he realized that he hadn’t eaten anything in over a day. “I’ll save my other questions for after I eat.” Beowulf nodded at that. “So, who’s the girl cooking break-” He stopped as he opened the door to see his friend Sakura in an apron with a nasty bruise under her eye.

“H-Hello, Senpai.” She stuttered as she seemed meeker and weaker than she had in years. A rage built up inside of him, a fire that filled his veins with blood and seemed to turn his muscle fibers into steel. He felt his magecraft itch inside of him as a hill of blades manifested in his inner eye, but he held it back and focused on Sakura. “H-How are you?”

“How are you, Sakura?” He asked as he took the plates from her hands and examined her for bruises. “Who did this to you? Shinji?” Shirou asked as he smelled something on her. Death, decay, darkness. The exact opposite of what Sakura should be. There was something buried beneath it, a familiar scent that he vaguely associated with Tohsaka for some reason. “What happened to you?”

“Girl, let my Master help.” Beowulf grunted as he entered the room and sat down. “If anyone can help you, it’s us.”

“G-Grandfather, h-he hit me. He-He ordered Shinji to-to…” She broke down into tears as Shirou held her and let her cry against his chest as that rage built up even more inside of him.

‘Save that rage, Master.’ Beowulf’s voice spoke in his mind. ‘Sharpen your blades for the real battle. We’ll need allies, a war band, if we wish to rescue your maiden.’ Shirou nodded as he saw a symbol on Sakura’s hand. “Sakura, is that a…” He looked down at his own.

“I’m a Master too, Rider!” She called out as a tall, alluring woman with long purple hair and a blindfold appeared in the middle of his living room. “T-This is Senpai, Shirou.” Sakura corrected as Shirou bowed respectfully as Beowulf did the same.

“You’ve suffered, warrioress.” Beowulf muttered as he looked up at her with a discerning eye. “I can see it in your eyes, the horrors you’ve undergone are immense. I will not pity a noble spirit like yourself, but I will sympathize with your experiences as much as I am able.” Rider nodded with thanks to the Geat who was sitting comfortably on the ground.

“G-Grandfather, he wanted me to transfer my right as a Master to Shinji, but I wouldn’t until he told me what happened to you.” Sakura said quietly while resting against him. “Rider saved me, helping me escape from him and partially freeing me from them.”

“We had to make a deal though.” Rider explained. “Caster, we owe her a favor in the future. She didn’t make us sign a Geas because of our pasts, but I’m aware of her reputation.”

“Who is she?” Shirou asked. “And what’s going on anyway?” Beowulf slapped himself as he probably just realized he didn’t tell Shirou anything about the situation.

One quick explanation later, and Shirou was caught up to speed about what was going on. “Okay, so Tohsaka has Archer, I have Saber, you have Rider, Caster’s Master is unknown, Berserker is unknown, Lancer is the Hound of Ulster, and Assassin is still unknown.” Sakura nodded. “Nee-san, I mean Tohsaka-san might be able to help us. She is a competent magus.”

“I’d rather befriend Lancer, honestly.” Beowulf grumbled. “He’d be a great help against our foes.”

The four of them sat in silence until Sakura looked at the clock. “Senpai! We need to get to school!”

“Is it safe for you to go?” Rider asked. “I can watch, but I cannot aid you as I would like.”

“Nor can I.” Beowulf agreed. “My nephew will protect her though, right Master?!” He slapped Shirou on the back as he laughed. “Perhaps even punishing this Shinji person, huh?” He looked positively gleeful at the possibility of a fight. Something that rage inside of Shirou agreed with.

“O-Only if necessary.” Sakura acquiesced with a calming look at Shirou. She took Shirou’s hand and led him to his room where she forced a new uniform into his hands. “Fujimura-sensei got these for you after Saber and I explained the situation.” Sakura stuttered as Shirou nodded and changed into the larger uniform that had to have been custom-made, due to the size alone. When he walked out, Sakura took his hand again and dragged him out the door. She wrapped her arms around his arm as she walked with him. “W-Will you accompany me to kyudo today?” She asked. “Even if you don’t rejoin the club, I-I want you there.” Shirou just nodded, too caught up in the strangeness of this situation to be able to say anything. She smiled at him and hugged his arm tighter as they walked to their school.

Naturally, he was the talk of the school once he arrived, and for good reason. He was on the taller side, but not by much, but now he towered over everyone. And with Sakura practically hanging off his arm, even more gossip spread once they got past his titanic stature. “Whoa, Emiya! What happened to you?!” Issei asked as he looked his friend up and down. “Did you OD on steroids or something?”

“Close.” Shirou muttered. “I got attacked while walking back from the school, and a good samaritan tried to save me with something. There was a bad reaction, and now I look like a Jojo character.” That was the story Sakura had fed to him on the walk to the school. “Just my luck for a junkie to try and save me, huh?” He laughed as Issei looked confused but laughed anyway.

“What about Matou-san?” Sakura flinched at that as Shirou drew her closer to himself. “Oh, did you two get hitched or something?” Issei asked. “Is that why neither of you were at school yesterday? Eloping?” Shirou opened his mouth to respond, but Sakura beat him to it.

“N-Not yet…” Sakura muttered quietly. “We don’t get married until the spring.” She looked up at Shirou to try and go along with it. “But Shinji and Grandfather didn’t approve, so they disowned me.”

“Emiya-san, I’m so sorry.” Issei apologized as he looked away from them. “Emiya, you better treat her right, okay? If only to make up for just now.” Shirou nodded, causing Sakura to blush and try to hide against his side.

“Emiya-kun?” Tohsaka asked. “Can I speak with you after class?” She asked as Sakura reluctantly separated from him and went to her own class while Shirou entered his own room. Shinji glared at him, but Shirou took it on the chin and answered with a glare of his own, causing the coward to shiver. ‘Yes, put the fear of Wodin in him!’ Beowulf cackled in his mind.

Class was boring, and Shirou struggled on finding his center, his clarity that usually came so naturally to him. Then, he thought of Sakura, and his mind calmed and he found that clarity inside himself that he used back in his archery days. When class got out, he begrudgingly walked over to Tohsaka who had a false smile on her face. She dragged him to the roof with her and huffed as she walked away. “You’ve got a Saber, huh?” She asked. “A powerful one too, but what happened to you?” She asked, her eyes narrowing. “Really, not the lie you told everyone else. Your whole body is practically emitting power: untamed, primal power.” She seemed almost breathless by that. ‘Whoa, two for one. Go nephew, go!’ Beowulf cheered as Shirou hushed him.

“Nee-san!” Sakura shouted as she appeared next to him, Rider disappearing into thin air immediately after she landed on the rooftop. “Senpai is my ally and-and fiancé! You-You can’t have him!”

Tohsaka’s mouth nearly dropped open as she looked between Sakura and Shirou. “What did you just say?” She asked in a low voice as she seemed stunned by the revelation. ‘Oh boy.’ Shirou thought as he felt a headache coming on. Not from the situation, but from Beowulf’s booming laughter in his head.

To be continued…

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought about the story. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 2: Saber Muramasa

Notes:

Disclaimer: I am writing this for a friend who loves Fate. If I get anything wrong, please leave a comment so I can correct it. My sole friend gave me a list of suggested Sabers, and Muramasa was right after Beowulf on recommendations. Hope y'all like it.

“I’m not going to die here. Not to a man like that!” Shirou shouted dazedly as the spearman drew closer. A circle, nearly faded away, lit up and came to life as a man in traditional Japanese clothes appeared with a sword at his waist. For some reason, he looked just like Shirou!

“Yeah, yeah. I’m Saber, you’re my Master. All that fun stuff. Now, blue dude. Go away.” Saber drew his katana and pointed it at the spearman. “I won’t take kindly to an attack on me or the boy.” The spearman smirked before leaping away. “See ya later. Shame, I’d liked to have gotten a better look at that spear of his.”

Shirou felt like he was looking at a mirror of himself. “Y-You look like me.”

“Yeah, well. I’m a Pseudo-Servant, okay? This isn’t my original body, it’s simply the one that best suited me for this war.” Saber shrugged. “Now, let’s whip you into shape. You’re a poor excuse for a Master right now, but you’ve got potential.” The man who shared his face helped Shirou up. “Now, you got anything to eat? I’m starving. Come on, kid.” Shirou hurried after him and began preparing a traditional Japanese meal for him. Something was telling him that this Saber person would appreciate that. “Now then, what to do about your shortcomings…” Saber spoke out loud as Shirou brought the food over. “Hmm… You might be my descendant, how lucky are you feeling?”

“Not very. I’m an orphan, so I don’t know if I’m related to you or not.” Shirou told Saber as he took a drink of tea.

“Trust me, kid. You’re probably related to me. That seems like the main reason that I’m in this body. So, with that in mind, there’s a particularly risky ritual we could perform that would impart some of my skills onto you.” Saber shook his head. “No, that’s a bad idea. I’ve got it! I’ll merge with you overnight and copy my Circuits into yours. We’re similar enough for it to work, so it should be fine. Especially if you use one of them Command Seals to increase the probability of success.”

“What do you mean?” Shirou asked. Saber brushed it off.

“Don’t worry about it, kid. If we don’t do this, we’ll both get ourselves killed anyway so better to die with honor and take charge of our fates, right?” Saber asked. Shirou thought about it before nodding. “Good, after we finish eating, let’s try the merging.”

‘What have I gotten myself into?’ Shirou thought as he followed Saber into Shirou’s own bedroom. “What do we need to do?” the boy asked.

“Good, already speaking of us as being in this together.” Saber nodded. “Okay, this will be extremely painful, but probably won’t kill you.” Before Shirou could even say a word, Saber headbutted the boy and Shirou’s world went black.

Shirou awoke in a field on fire, scattered weapons surrounding him as the sound of a hammer clanging against an anvil surrounded him. Atop a hill sat a humble blacksmith’s forge as Saber’s hammer resounded over and over again. “Where are we?” Shirou asked as the metallic scent in the air made him cough once.

“Inside your mind.” Saber grunted. “You and I are related, both by blood and by spirit. We’re swordmakers, you and me. We’ve got this special type of magic inside of us, practically the real thing in most ways, and it manifests itself as this place.”

“A field of blades?” Shirou asked as he began to remember where he had seen each of the swords before. The longer he looked at them though, he noticed quite a few new ones amongst the collection. “There are so many…”

“Yep. You’ve got an unlimited supply of swords. Mostly perfect replications, though I think that there’s a heart of an artisan within you. I think we can make some improvements and some new stuff, given our talents. Oh, if only we could’ve met properly. The fun we could’ve had.” Saber sighed. An image of an old Japanese man appeared to overlay with him as a name entered Shirou’s mind.

“Muramasa?” Shirou blurted out as Saber smirked. “Y-You’re Muramasa! THE Muramasa!”

“Yep, and you’re my descendant kid. Muramasa Shirou, I guess you could technically be called. Until the war’s over, or in honor of your adoptive father I guess, I’ll be sure to refer to you as Emiya Shirou.” Muramasa shrugged. He tilted his head. “Hmm? There’s someone entering your house. A girl, with something dark in her. There’s someone else too. Another girl. They have Servants!”

Shirou felt the pain pass through him again as he was jolted awake, green patterns fading into his skin as Muramasa appeared in front of him with a katana in his hand. “Trace, on.” Shirou chanted as a near-replica appeared in his own hand. As the hammer fired in his head, he instinctively adjusted the design to fit his own preferences and kendo training. Some of the cosmetics changed as well, becoming sleeker and more modern, the steel composition shifting from the traditional method of forging into a tempered carbon-steel blade that was condensed and sharpened with Reinforcement as the steps of creation passed through his mind. Shirou’s magecraft seemed more natural than ever too, like he had years of experience in the art of forging. A strange symbol appeared on the hand without the Command Seals and sent some pain through him, much less than what he had already experienced though, as the sword’s weight manifested itself, Shirou gripped it and took up a combative stance identical to Muramasa’s own.

“Senpai?” The familiar voice of Sakura asked as Shirou dropped his guard and looked on in surprise. “Two Senpais?” Sakura asked before frowning. “No, only one. Why are you impersonating m-” She stopped herself as a tall woman with purple hair and a blindfold stepped in front of her.

“Emiya-kun?” Tohsaka Rin asked as she peeked in on the room as well. A tall man in a red coat stepped in front of her as two swords manifested in his hands. “Why does your Servant have your face?”

“Kid, do you know these girls?” Muramasa asked. “And why is there an older version of you in front of the twin-tailed one?”

The man in the red coat coughed as he glared at Shirou and Saber. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. You shouldn’t have been summoned!” He pointed one of the curved shortswords at Muramasa. “He was supposed to summon MY Saber!”

“Archer, you’re Emiya’s older self?” Tohsaka asked.

“Senpai, what happened to you?” Sakura asked as her Servant sighed and shook her head.

“Three men with the same scent. Two of them are Servants. One is a Pseudo-Servant mimicking his Master and descendant’s form, the other is the Master who has become a Heroic Spirit.” She sighed again. “Sakura, should I dispatch all but the boy?”

“No! Archer is Nee-san’s Servant, and the other Servant is Senpai’s! Wait, did you say Senpai’s Servant is his ancestor?” Sakura asked as her eyes widened.

“Careful what you say, Rider.” Archer grunted. “Your Master is being watched, remember?”

“The darkness inside of her.” Muramasa sighed. “Hey, with you both here, I might be able to help the girl.”

“What are you talking about!” Tohsaka interjected before being shushed by the Servants there.

“Tohsaka, I don’t know what’s happening either.” Shirou admitted as he dispelled his sword. “Saber, what do I need to do?”

“Old-kid and I will enter your mind and create a sword in the forge that is specifically designed to purge that darkness inside of her. In order to do this though, we’ll have to have you interface with her Magic Circuits. I hope you like her, because you’re gonna be a lot closer.” Sakura and Rin both blushed at that, though the former had a strange smile as she seemed to be trembling for some reason. “Heh, apparently she really likes you.” Sakura froze before her face turned really red.

“How did you know about the darkness in her?” Rider asked Saber, very suspicious. “Archer I understand, he is the boy from the future. But you…”

“I’ve seen similar curses.” Muramasa shrugged. “My dream is to create a sword capable of severing fate itself, so I’ve made a study of these kinds of things. Now, can we get on with it?”

Sakura and Shirou were dragged into his room and forced to lay next to each other. “I-I’m sorry about this.” Sakura stuttered shyly. “I mean, I know you don’t like me like this.”

Shirou took her hand. “Don’t apologize, Sakura.” He smiled at her. “Don’t apologize, not for this. Not to me.” She smiled at him before both of their eyes fluttered shut.

He heard the sound of hammers clanging as he woke up in his field of blades again, but the forge was occupied by Saber and Archer as they were working together. “Kid! Over here!” Saber called, not even looking away.

“Senpai, where are we?” Sakura’s voice called out, startling the boy. “Senpai?”

“Sakura, how are you here?” Shirou asked before looking away. “And where are your clothes?”

“Give her your shirt, you idiot!” Saber shouted as Shirou facepalmed before taking the shirt off and offering it to her. Strangely, she only began blushing once she realized they weren’t alone.

“This is the inside of my mind.” Shirou commented as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess when our Magic Circuits connected, you were drawn in here with me.”

“Also, we needed her here so we could fully excise the darkness without getting interrupted.” Archer commented gruffly as he hammered some more. “Saber, we’re basing this off Rulebreaker, right?”

“Yes, but we’re going into the purpose and modifying it from ending all magic to severing parasitic connections.” Saber agreed. “We’ll need to alter everything from the concept outwards; otherwise it will be but a shadow of its true self.”

“Obviously.” Archer scoffed. “Boy! Stop flirting and start helping! You’ve got to learn how to do this at some point. Do it now!”

Shirou paused, looking back at Sakura who smiled at him. “Go on, Senpai. Be my hero.”

Shirou smiled back before rushing up the hill before following the other two’s orders and learning how to properly Trace and use magecraft. Muramasa’s experience that had already been given to him was added onto by Archer’s soul bleeding off on Shirou’s. The field of blades began increasing even further as more and more variations of swords and weapons were added onto as Muramasa’s creative spark and EMIYA’s extensive collection allowed Shirou’s unconscious mind to begin testing and modifying blades at a rapid rate. It simultaneously felt like eons and seconds went by before all three of them were satisfied with their creation. All three men were perfectionists in regards to their blades. “I am the bone of my sword…” The three of them chanted in unison. “Cursebreaker: All parasites must die!” The dagger began to form on the anvil in front of all three. The dagger was pale blue and shaped like a traditional lightning bolt. It glowed before letting out a pulse of energy before the dagger lifted into the air and flew into the field to join its fellow blades.

“Now,” Saber began. “Shirou, you must be the one to break the curse. Your Circuits are linked; you can reach the Crest without raising any alarms.” The Servant seemed grave for some reason. “It’ll be tough, kid, but only you can do it.”

“I trust you, Senpai.” Sakura smiled at him. Shirou lowered his head and exhaled before looking her in the eye.

“I am the bone of my sword, Cursebreaker!” He proclaimed as the pale blue dagger flew into his hand. Sakura grabbed his wrist and guided it towards her chest. 

“All the worms have been gathered here.” She whispered. “Save me, S-Shirou.” She blushed a little at that before lifting her borrowed shirt up to expose the flesh he needed to pierce.

Shirou exhaled before concentrating his power into his Projection before slowly stabbing his closest friend with the magical blade. Something strange happened as he sheathed the blade in her chest though. The blade began glowing as it went in before dissolving, leaving Shirou holding just a hilt. Sakura flinched before her eyes turned yellow and black veins started criss-crossing her skin as her hair turned white. She let out a tortured scream before another pulse of blue light burst from inside of her, causing the veins to be flung out of her and turn to dust as her hair slowly turned back to… indigo? Her eyes turned teal, like Rin’s, but her hair seemed to be halfway between its previous shade and pure black. “Nice work, kid.” Saber clapped Shirou’s back, causing the boy to stumble before his adrenaline ran out and he collapsed onto Sakura’s chest, still slightly glowing from Cursebreaker’s light.

When Shirou woke up, he was back in his home, and Sakura was sitting at the table with Rin as they had some sort of serious discussion. Saber was watching Shirou sleep while Archer sharpened one of his blades, for some reason. The boy’s mind immediately recognized it: ‘Kanshou.’ Shirou recognized that the blade was in his field with its partner: Bakuya. “Senpai/Emiya!” The two girls shouted as he sat up. He tried to get up, but was pushed back down by a strong arm. He looked up to see Rider staring at him through a pair of glasses. “You’re still too weak! Please, rest!” Sakura asked as Rin nodded.

“Eh, the kid will be fine. Give him a little bit, but he’ll be right as rain soon. Ain’t that right, old-kid?” Archer glared at Saber before returning to his unnecessary blade maintenance. “Why are you even sharpening your sword anyway? Just Alter it if you need to!” Saber was apparently on the same wavelength that Shirou was on.

“Shut it.” Archer grunted out. “It’s bad enough looking at the kid’s face, I don’t need to see yours too.” He seemed like Fuji-nee when she had a hangover. “Both of you are giving me a headache.”

“Now that Emiya’s awake,” Rin began, looking at Shirou. “I see no reason for us to stick around. Archer.” Her Servant stood up as they both headed towards the door.

“Nee-san, wait!” Sakura called out before grabbing her wrist. “The game’s just started.” She smiled at the twin-tailed girl almost creepily. “And I don’t plan on backing down, so if you want a shot, you better start playing.” Rin responded with a smirk of her own.

“Emiya, I expect to see you for lunch at school. Once you have recovered, of course.” Rin smiled at him before flicking her hair over her shoulder and leaving with a disgruntled Archer whose headache had seemingly gotten worse.

“This should be fun.” Saber laughed. “Good luck, kid.” Meanwhile, Shirou just looked at the whole thing with confused eyes.

To be continued…

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story. I hope you enjoyed it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 3: Saber Lion

Summary:

The next Saber on my cheat-sheet my sole friend developed for me. The sheer ridiculousness of this one took me a while to write, but I hope y'all enjoy it.

Notes:

This is probably the story with which I take the most liberties. Sorry about that, but I hope it makes sense and is enjoyable regardless.

Shirou had no idea what was happening, and neither did his murderer. Yeah, the redhead wasn’t having a good day. Shinji was being Shinji and that caused Shirou to watch two guys with really cool weapons fighting each other while Tohsaka was looking on, but then the guy in blue who had a wicked-looking spear (seriously, Shirou could practically feel the bloodlust from it) killed him! Somehow, he didn’t die, and ran back home, only to get ambushed by the guy in blue again. That’s when things got weird. Yeah, if being murdered and coming back to life wasn’t weird enough—because people usually die when they are killed—then a small girl in a lion costume appearing with a cartoonish hunk of meat on a bone and roaring at the man in blue took the cake. “GAOOO!!” She shouted at the man who looked at Shirou in confusion.

“Kid, do you understand what she’s saying?” The man asked as the redhead looked at the girl who was incredibly serious. She repeated herself, and it was only because of Shirou’s childhood with Fuji-nee that he was able to get the gist of what she was saying.

“GAOOO!!” She shouted a third time. “I am the Servant Saber Lion. I ask, are you my master?” She was really polite. “GAOO! Back away from my Master, Lancer!! ”

“She says to back off, Lancer.” Saber Lion nodded as she brandished her meatbone at the man in blue who was thoroughly confused. “Her name is Saber Lion.”

Lancer looked between them before laughing. “Seriously? Saber Lion? How stupid can you be to bungle up a summoning so badly your Servant can’t even speak properly?” Saber growled before launching forward with a roar. 

She grew from the size of a child to a teenager while her weapon grew with her as she bashed Lancer with it. “GAAAOOO!!! MEATCALIBUR!!! ” She shouted as energy ran down the bone and sent the man in blue flying through the air. “ And stay away from my Master! ” She shouted as Shirou realized he’d gotten used to her form of talking. “Master?” Saber Lion asked. “You did not mess up my summoning at all. We were brought together by compatibility. I have a hunger that cannot be sated by mediocre chefs, and you are a master in the kitchen. In exchange for food, I will win this war for you.” She had shrunk back to her childlike form, but her voice hadn’t changed at all. “Unlike normal Servants, I do not require mana for survival, but rather food. And lots of it. The more delicious the food, the more power I can have. Meatcalibur here can serve as a meal, but it is my weapon of choice.”

Shirou gaped at that, even as Saber Lion turned around, growing back into her teenage form as Tohsaka and the man in red appeared at the edge of the property. “Master! Another Servant, and their master!” Meatcalibur began to light up as she gripped it tightly.

“Archer, let’s get out of here!” Tohsaka cried out before Archer leapt down to them. “W-What are you doing?!” She shrieked.

“He’s harmless.” Archer grunted as Tohsaka scoffed. “Besides, Saber Lion here won’t attack us.” Saber Lion tilted her head in confusion before sniffing the air a few times. She shrank down to her child-like form before sniffing again.

“Two Masters? Why do you smell like Master fell into a vat of swords?” Saber Lion asked as Archer groaned. Tohsaka and Shirou looked confused until the Servant ruffled his hair down. Suddenly, both of them flinched as Tohsaka shrieked again.

“Archer! You-You’re Emiya-kun!!” She seemed faint at that. “I-I t-told you about my-my…” The girl seemed woozy as Archer sighed and pushed her towards Shirou.

“Brat. She likes you. You like her. Deal with it.” Archer grunted before picking Saber Lion up by the scruff of her neck and carrying her inside. “Now, let’s have a talk about being so cavalier with your Noble Phantasm, Saber…” The smaller Servant groaned as she struggled with Shirou’s future self.

“E-Emiya-kun…” Tohsaka began before sighing. She hit Shirou’s shoulder before pushing him. “Do you really like me?”

“Yes…” Shirou commented with a confused look on his face. “Why do you seem so angry?”

“Your future self told you before I was ready to confess!” Tohsaka exclaimed. “Why do you like me?”

“Well, it’s more of a crush, honestly.” Shirou  admitted. “You just seem so cool and elegant all the time. You’re friendly at school and do well in class, and I really want to get to know you more.”

“Idiot.” Tohsaka scoffed. “It’s an act. All of it. Once you see the real me, you won’t be quite so enamored with me.”

“Nevertheless, I’d like to find that out for myself.” Shirou told her with a soft smile, making her cheeks turn red as she hit him again. “What? I want to know the ‘real you’ because I think you’re amazing.”

“D-Dummy! Idiot! Emiya-kun! What’s wrong with your head!” She began shaking him before exhaling and calming down. “Now, let’s see what you’re working with. Fire up your Magic Circuits.” Shirou’s eyes widened as Tohsaka groaned. “Alright, what’s wrong? Please tell me you’re not doing something stupid.”

“Don’t you have to make your own Magic Circuits?” Shirou asked as Tohsaka froze and began shaking him again while shouting at him.

“No! You idiot! You’re cannibalizing your nerves that way! Your Magic Circuits are built into your body! How on earth are you going to support your Servant without proper Magic Circuits?!”

“How do I activate them?” Shirou asked as Tohsaka finally let go of his collar. “Tohsaka-san?”

“Show me your workshop, Emiya the idiot.” She grumbled as Shirou began to guide her through the estate on a scavenger hunt. She made some weird concoction  before forcing him to drink it. “Your workshop is rudimentary at best, but I was able to throw this together. It’ll taste awful, but it should activate your Circuits.”

Shirou had to fight his instincts which wanted to spit it back out, but his eyes fluttered shut as he saw a field of blades in the back of his mind as swords of all shapes and sizes passed before him. He didn’t wake up until he heard the hammer of a gun fire, and Tohsaka was cradling her head like she had a headache. “Tohsaka-san?” Shirou asked.

“Your Circuits won’t be able to handle a lot of energy yet, so that’s our first priority. Archer told me that Saber Lion gains more mana from delicious food than her bond with you, so that should solve the energy crisis at the moment. Now, to make you useful…” Tohsaka muttered. “Ah. Archer is an alternate you, so why doesn’t he train you?”

“Personally, I’d rather die.” Archer commented as he appeared, his hair slicked back again. “But, because two Masters are better than one, I’ll hold off on killing myself for now.” The Servant looked at Shirou with empty eyes. “Hopefully this won’t take too long. Our connection allows you to gain skills and experience from contact with me. So, let’s fight.”

“You just want to beat him up, don’t you?” Tohsaka asked as Archer smirked. “Don’t seriously hurt him, but give him a couple of hits for me. The idiot almost killed himself because of his idiocy.”

“I’m looking forward to this.” Archer and Shirou said in unison, though with different tones and expressions. Shirou was determined to grow stronger while Archer wanted to beat Shirou up.

The two of them entered the dojo where Archer removed his coat and tossed it aside. “Trace, on.” He chanted as two blunted swords appeared in his hands. “I’m guessing you don’t even know how to Project yet, right?” Shirou nodded. “Catch.” Shirou managed to catch the two weapons. “Well, you’ll learn from experience.” Archer created another set of swords before charging at Shirou.

It hurt, a lot. Shirou did, however, begin to mimic Archer’s movements as he blocked and even attacked some. Each collision of blades sent pain through Shirou’s Circuits as power flowed through him. Eventually, Shirou’s weapons shattered into light. Before he could even think about what to do next, the boy’s instincts kicked in and a chant was on his lips. “Trace, on.” He whispered as an identical set of swords appeared in his hands. Archer smirked as the fight began again. Their movements got faster and faster before the Servant stopped.

“That’s enough for tonight. You’re going to have enough nightmares due to my memories you’ve already absorbed, so let’s try to space them out. We need your mind to function, after all.” Archer commented as he dissolved his Projected swords.

“Why are you doing this?” Shirou asked. “You hate me, don’t you? I can tell.”

“Your Servant.” Archer told him, picking up his coat and putting it on. “Something inside me wants to protect her, and hurting you would hurt her.” The Servant entered his spiritual form, leaving Shirou there alone.

The boy looked down at the Projected swords he had copied from Archer. His mind swam with swords and memories he gained from his older self. “What will I become?” He wondered as he dissolved the Projections and began the walk back to where Tohsaka and Saber were. Shirou was so tired that Archer had to help him make dinner, something that neither was happy about, and he promptly collapsed on his bed and began to dream.

Archer’s past was one of blood and steel and pain and death and regret. He tried so hard to be a hero of justice, like they had always wanted, only to become a killer who saved the many by ignoring the few. This was, this was horrifying to Shirou, but it was saddening more than anything else. The path of hypocrisy, as Archer thought of it, led to such a fate. Perhaps that was the real reason that the Servant was willing to train Shirou. Perhaps the Servant saw a chance to change Shirou’s path before it was too late.

Shirou would become a hero, but not one like Kiritsugu wanted. He would protect those closest to him and make sure that they wouldn’t cry. It was a selfish wish, but it was the best path Shirou could find at the moment.

He woke up to the sound of screaming as Fuji-nee and Sakura began yelling at Saber and Tohsaka. Wait, Tohsaka was still there? Shirou stood up, ignoring his sore muscles, and stumbled out to see Fuji-nee brandishing Torashinai at Tohsaka as Saber slept at the table. Archer was in his spirit form, probably, and Sakura’s eyes seemed to be dimming extremely quickly. “Fuji-nee? Sakura?” Shirou risked angering the women. They turned towards him as Sakura’s hollow eyes lit up again. “What’s wrong?”

“Senpai, are you and Tohsaka-senpai d-dating?” Sakura asked with a stutter. The light in her eyes seemed a little…fragile so Shirou would have to choose his words carefully. Fuji-nee seemed to be waiting for his reply as well.

Shirou looked to Tohsaka for help, but she was frozen, whether from fear or something else, Shirou wasn’t sure. Either way, he was on his own for this. “No, Sakura. Tohsaka-san and I aren’t dating. I, uh, strained a muscle cleaning the archery dojo and she helped me back. I’m assuming she was waiting for me to wake up before heading out.” It was the best lie he could think of.

“Sakura.” Tohsaka blurted out. “Are you okay?” Sakura tilted her head to the side as she looked at the twintailed girl. The light faded from Sakura’s eyes again. “Sakura, if something’s wrong, I want to help.”

“Nee-san, something’s been wrong for quite some time.” Sakura admitted. “And you’re threatening the only bright spot left in my life.” Fuji-nee and Shirou were looking back and forth between them.

“Am I missing something?” Fuji-nee asked as Shirou silently agreed with her. “Shirou, do you know why Sakura’s calling Tohsaka-san ‘nee-san’?”

Shirou shook his head, opening his mouth to respond before freezing as Archer’s arm appeared from thin air with a strange dagger in his arm. ‘Trace, on.’ Shirou thought as the dagger was scanned. ‘Rulebreaker: All Magic Must Die.’ It entered his mind, but in that brief period of time, Sakura’s neck was pricked by the blade, making her flinch as black energy coursed through her before vanishing. “What just happened?” Shirou blurted out as the door slammed open. Archer walked in, somehow in regular clothes, before taking his shoes off.

“Shirou. I told you to ask before letting strangers in your house.” He gave his younger self a look to go along with it. “Sorry about that, I’m Shirou’s long lost…brother.” Archer seemed to have trouble saying that last part. “I assume you are his guardian, Miss Fujimura?” Fuji-nee’s eyes lit up as she looked Archer up and down.

“Y-Yes, Mister…” She shook Archer’s hand as she waited for the last name Shirou wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“Muramasa.” Archer commented with a smirk. “Archer Muramasa.” Tohsaka face-palmed from behind Fuji-nee, but the guardian ate it up. “It’s nice to meet you. Tohsaka-san was nice enough to help my little brother out last night, and even stuck around at my request. I’ve missed so much of his life, after all.” Yep, Archer was enjoying torturing Shirou like this. “And you must be Miss Sakura. I’ve heard great things about you from Tohsaka-san and Shirou. Thank you for taking such good care of Shirou. He really values you.”

Sakura’s face lit up as Tohsaka and Shirou both looked on with wide eyes. ‘Wait, how is he this good?’ Shirou thought. ‘He is me, right? Shouldn’t he be making at least one of them upset?’

“Muramasa-san, would you like to go out for coffee some time? I can tell you all about Shirou’s life.” Fuji-nee offered as Shirou felt sick. His guardian was hitting on his older self. His big sister was hitting on him! Technically.

“Sure, why not.” Archer shrugged. “Oh, and call me Archer. Muramasa is a little too stiff.” Fuji-nee smiled at that. “It’d be nice to know more about my brother’s adopted sister.” Her face froze at that. ‘There it is.’ Shirou thought as he saw Tohsaka sigh in relief, like everything was right in the world. “Sorry, that’s not exactly what I meant. You’re like a sister to him, and I’m glad he had someone like you.” Fuji-nee’s smile returned as Archer finished up. “I guess, what I’m trying to say is, I think going for coffee is a good idea.”

“No take backs! It’s a date!” Fuji-nee exclaimed as she sped out the door with a red face. The three others sighed with relief before Archer shook his head fondly.

“Never change, Fuji-nee.” Shirou muttered. “Archer, are you really going on a date with Fuji-nee?”

“Wait, it’s a date?” Archer asked as Tohsaka facepalmed and muttered something about idiots while Sakura giggled. “Oh, and you’re welcome for solving Sakura’s problem for her.”

“Wait, that pin-prick, that fixed me?” Sakura asked as Archer shrugged. “I-I’m not…”

“All it did was kill off the worms inside of you and remove the Crest from you. There’s still something inside of you, but it’s not dangerous. It’s not a parasite or alive.” Archer commented.

“Can someone please explain what’s going on?” Shirou asked as Tohsaka nodded in agreement.

Archer and Sakura sighed as a strange seal appeared on the Servant’s hand. “Oh f***.” The man cursed as everyone recognized the familiar sign of Command Seals. Shirou, Saber Lion, and Sakura covered their ears and winced as Tohsaka began shouting. ‘This is going to be a long day.’ Shirou thought.

To be continued…

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story; I hope you liked it. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 4: Saber Mordred

Notes:

Next up: Knight of Treachery. I am operating off a list of Sabers, so stay tuned for the next inane summon. Enjoy!

“Yeah, yeah. I’m a Saber-class Servant. Wait, please tell me this weakling isn’t my Master.” Shirou wanted to frown at that, but it was an accurate statement. He was absolutely terrible at Magecraft and was far weaker than these strange people. “Well, at least he knows it.” This Saber was in plate armor with a horned helmet and a wicked sword in one of his hands. “Now, back off Lancer! My Master may be weak, but I’m not!”

“Well, it’s the boy’s lucky day.” Lancer smirked as he leapt off, making Saber sigh. “Sorry, but my Master’s calling me away!” He laughed mockingly as Saber turned to Shirou.

“Get up.” Shirou did so and brushed himself off. Saber stared intently at Shirou’s ripped uniform. “How did you survive getting stabbed through the chest?”

“I don’t know. I was practically dead when I felt someone come close. I lost consciousness for a moment, but then I woke up. The injury was gone and I was alone.” Shirou explained. “So, how do I get stronger?”

He imagined that Saber’s eyebrows raised underneath his helmet. “You want to get stronger?”

“If people are coming for my life, I can’t just run away now can I?” Shirou asked, getting a rumbling laugh from the knight. “I also can’t just let people like that run around killing whoever they please.”

“Why not?” Saber asked. “If they have the power to do it, why should they not?” Shirou frowned at that. “Oh, don’t tell me, you’re one of those idealists who want to save everyone, aren’t you? Great. Of all the Masters I could’ve gotten, I got the most useless one. You’re not even powerful enough magically to support me! I might as well kill myself or kill you and get some random person as my new Master!”

“Tell me what I need to do.” Shirou told the Servant. “If I’m not enough right now, then I’ll surpass my limitations to become the Master you need. In return, can you try not to kill the innocent?”

“I am a knight.” Saber scoffed. “I’d never intentionally harm the innocent. That said, this deal hinges on you becoming enough to support me. I hate spineless fools with nothing but dreams in their heads, so let’s turn you into a warrior.”

Shirou wasn’t sure what Saber meant by that, but he soon found out. Hellish training from dawn to dusk. He faked being sick to get Fuji-nee away and was immediately thrown into the gauntlet again. According to Saber, the war hadn’t even started yet. There was an accident that led to him and Lancer and one other Servant being summoned first. That meant that there were currently only three Masters and Servants in the war.

After three days of this hell, Shirou finally began to see results. His neglected Magic Circuits—which Saber couldn’t stop laughing about Shirou’s idiocy over—grew stronger and stronger as the Servant relied on his Master’s insane healing abilities to prevent damage from passing through the Circuits. Shirou learned to fight and how to use a few old-fashioned spells that were designed to bolster his Reinforcement and Alteration. The most surprising thing about this training was Shirou’s failed attempt to use Alchemy. Instead, he used an advanced form of Gradation Air (according to Saber) that was far more efficient and useful for fighting.

When Shirou finally went to school, he was in shock after Saber’s revealing of her identity. Shirou winced, expecting Mordred to shout at him about how she wasn’t a girl. Well, she had already declared that Shirou was too stupid to retain anything other than combat, so she gave up on it fairly quickly. Waiting outside the estate was a crying Sakura who was curled in on herself. ‘Saber.’ Shirou thought as his link to his Servant manifested. ‘Aren’t those Command Seals?’

“Yes. She’s likely a Master.” Mordred responded. “There’s something almost pitiable about her. Something familiar.”

“Sakura, are you alright?” Shirou knelt down next to her, looking at her crying face as her eyes widened.

“Senpai…” She whispered before collapsing against him. “I’m so glad you’re alright.”

“Sakura, are you alright?” Shirou asked again, but Sakura’s eyes fluttered shut and her breathing evened out. ‘She’s asleep?’

“Exhaustion.” Mordred commented as she manifested outside in the civilian clothes he got for her. “Both physical and magical. Something’s inside of her, growing, eating away at her.” Mordred scowled. “And here I thought that Mother was sick.”

“How can you tell?” Shirou asked as he picked Sakura up. A chill ran down his spine as he turned around and saw a tall woman with a blindfold and purple hair. “Saber.”

“I see her.” Mordred’s sword manifested as she took up a combat stance. Her armor formed around her, including her helmet. “I’ll hold her off. Get the girl inside. Your room would be best.” Shirou nodded as he rushed inside. “Remember what we talked about.”

Shirou’s face hardened at that as he set his friend down on the bed. Saber was strong, but she did her best fighting in open spaces where she didn’t have to hold back. “Trace, on.” Shirou invoked as he Projected a pair of short swords before facing the door and waiting. His main conflict with Saber was over ideals. Mordred believed in power and following her gut more than anything else. Shirou clung to Kiritsugu’s dream of saving everyone. Those two ideals clashed together until Clarent shattered it with a simple question. 

How? How would Shirou save everyone? How would he become a hero of justice? How far would Shirou go to save someone? How was his hypocrisy any different from Mordred’s self-interest? Those questions ate away at Shirou, melting his resolve and turning it into ore to be hammered. Now, Shirou had resolved to protect the innocent as best as he could, a half-baked dream according to Saber, but far better than his previous one.

Now, Shirou had a new goal: protect the ones Shirou cared for. No matter what, he would protect their right to live and laugh and smile freely. It was selfish, definitely, and Shirou felt guilty about how far he’d go to protect the few he cared about, and he felt guilty to Kiritsugu for abandoning his dream, but he was resolved to protect Sakura from any and all threats. The liquid metal of his will had been hammered by crimson lightning and shaped by fire into steel. Shirou was no longer made of glass. His body was steel.

“Sakura.” A woman’s voice shouted as his door slammed open. “Have you harmed my Master?” The blindfolded woman asked as Saber was carrying her over the knight’s shoulder.

“Hell no. My Master is one of those bleeding-hearts who can’t bear to see an innocent girl in pain.” Mordred mocked as she set the other Servant down. “Now, who are you and what’s going on?”

“Due to the botched nature of this war, Sakura was kicked out of her home for being a failure. I appeared on the summoning circle a day later and tracked her down before keeping an eye on her. She has been searching for you, Shirou Emiya, incessantly. Will you protect her?” The blindfolded woman stared at him as Mordred started laughing.

“Of course I will.” Shirou assured her as he dispelled his swords. “What’s wrong with her?”

“Nothing, anymore, but her Magical Energy is spiraling out of control. She has too much mana flowing from her and I can’t absorb all of it.” The Servant commented. “I am only a Rider-class Servant. I don’t require that much energy, so Sakura has no outlet for this power.”

“Rider, how can I help her?” Shirou asked. “Saber requires a lot of mana, would we be helpful to sap the excess energy?” Rider smirked.

“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn't you?” Rider laughed before Saber shook her head and sighed.

“Rider, my Master’s an idiot. He doesn’t know about mana transfers.” Mordred told her as she removed her helmet and dissolved her armor. “Now, has anything…bad…happened to her?”

“No, Senpai, please. Save me.” Sakura groaned as she woke up and grasped Shirou’s hand before pulling it close to her chest. “Keep me by your side.”

“Sakura.” Shirou whispered as he knelt down next to her. “I’m here, Sakura.” She smiled at him before leaning against his chest, wrapping her arms around him.

“I’ve saved myself for you, Senpai.” She whispered before pecking him on the lips. “Shinji and Grandfather wanted to steal it from me, but I kept it for you. That’s the only way I’m pure.” Sakura’s eyes watered before she sobbed against him some more. “I-I drank blood in order to avoid being-being…”

“It’s alright, Sakura. I understand.” Shirou whispered to her. “You don’t have to justify yourself to me. You are alright, you’re here with me now, you’re free.”

“Senpai, I’m dirty. I’m rotten to the core.” Sakura protested, but before he could respond, Saber interrupted.

“Girl, I’m the Knight of Treachery. I killed my father because I wanted to. I ruined Camelot because my father wouldn’t acknowledge me. My mother created me from incest for the sole purpose of killing the king. I started a rebellion out of selfishness and killed so many people in nothing more than a temper tantrum. You did what you had to do for survival. Guess what, that’s life! If you don’t like how you’ve been living, guess what? You can change! Stick with my Master, girlie. He’s a moron, but he’s got a good heart.”

“Sir Mordred,” Sakura smiled up at Saber. “Thank you. I will be sticking with Senpai for the rest of my life, if he will have me.” She didn’t really need to say that. Her arms were still wrapped around him with no indication of letting go any time soon.

“Take good care of her, Emiya.” Rider warned/threatened Shirou, though unnecessarily as Shirou would do anything for Sakura. He nodded with determined eyes as she smiled, somehow seeing it despite her blindfold, as Mordred cracked a non-arrogant smirk for once.

“He will, Rider. I know he will.” Sakura smiled as she rested her head on Shirou’s chest before falling asleep once again.

To be continued…

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story; I hope you liked it. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 5: Saber Musashi

Notes:

Next up on my list: the dual-wielding samurai, Miyamoto Musashi! It took me a bit to finish this up. It was meant to be released before Mordred, but Mordred was first to be completed, so it was posted first. Enjoy!

Note: For all you FGO players out there, I'm being very loose with canon, so this Musashi is not the one from the game. She's inspired by her, but not quite the same.

“Whoa, what’s going on here?” Shirou and his killer looked at each other in surprise as a white-haired woman in a brightly colored costume and two katanas appeared in Shirou’s ruined shed. “Hey, are you attacking this poor boy? Did he do anything to you?” That last question was directed towards Shirou.

“He, uh, gouged my heart out and is trying to kill me again.” The woman looked at him in surprise but shrugged. 

“Oh well, it’s not like crazier things haven’t happened.” She took up a fighting stance, one Shirou was familiar with… It was one of the most famous styles in Japan after all. 

“Niten Ichiryu…” Shirou whispered before seeing the man in blue lunge forwards, only to receive a cut on his cheek as the strange woman blocked his spear while striking at the same time.

“Heh, sorry to cut this short, Saber, but my Master is calling me back.” With that, the man leapt away into the night.

“So, you must be my Master for this Grail War, right?” The lady asked as she pulled Shirou to his feet. “Hmm… Do you have active Magic Circuits? The Throne of Heroes mentioned something about those things.”

“Wait, you don’t have to make Magic Circuits every time?” Saber opened her mouth, only for someone to shout in disbelief.

Shirou turned over and saw an angry Tohsaka storm towards him. “EMIYA SHIROU, YOU WERE CREATING MAGIC CIRCUITS FROM YOUR NERVES!! YOU IDIOT!!!” She began hitting him as Saber looked on amusedly.

“Oh my, does my Master have a lady friend?” Shirou sent a glare towards her, making her laugh before she sheathed her katanas. “So, who are you? Mister Tall, Dark, and Creepy?”

“Archer, I’m the Servant of the girl beating up your idiot Master.” A deep voice responded as a man in a red coat appeared next to Saber.

“Emiya, eyes on me.” Tohsaka Rin grabbed his chin and forced it down to look at her. “You cannot be a Master if you don’t have Magic Circuits.” He opened his mouth, but she sighed and continued. “You probably don’t even know what’s happening, do you? Figures.” She shook her head. She grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him towards his own house. “Let me give you a brief rundown of everything you need to know.”

Apparently, Tohsaka was heir to a powerful magus line and she was commanding Archer as her Servant in the Holy Grail War. She had to explain that to him several times before Shirou understood it, a few more times so Saber could fully understand it, and then came her offer. “You want me to be your ally?” Shirou asked. “Why? I’d just slow you down?” His barely awakened Magic Circuits seemed to burn in agreement with him at that.

“Believe it or not, Emiya, but I do have trust in your ability to work hard and grow. While your Circuits are underdeveloped, with my assistance, that is inconsequential. I have discussed this with Archer who has offered to…train you to get you up to par.” The menacing smirk on her face made Shirou realize it would be less training and more clobbering.

“Hey! I can help my Master too!” Saber interjected, saving him from a probable death at Archer’s hands. The man in the red coat almost seemed disappointed at her interjection. “I’ll teach him my Niten Ichiryu and he’ll be able to keep up with the best of mages!” Saber stood proud, crossing her arms and smiling. “I’ll accept my pay in udon, please.” Shirou sighed but nodded.

“Hmm…” Rin thought about it. “Fine, but he will also receive lessons from Archer in magecraft too. I want Emiya to be more than just a pseudo-familiar with Command Spells as soon as possible. The war is starting soon, after all.”

Shirou and Saber nodded in unison before the energetic Servant pulled him to his feet. “Let’s get started then!” Saber dragged him to Fuji-nee’s dojo, Archer and Tohsaka following along as well.

Shirou took up two practice swords and mimicked Saber’s stance. She was a harsh teacher, but the dual-sword style seemed to fit Shirou well. He was a fast learner and advanced far more than Tohsaka or Saber expected, judging by their expressions. Archer merely raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “My turn, now.” Archer grunted as he and Saber swapped places. “We’ll begin with Reinforcement. That is your specialty, yes?” Shirou nodded before pouring Magical Energy into his training swords.

Archer leapt forward and slammed into Shirou’s Reinforcement, cracking it. Shirou grunted but Reinforced the sword again, healing the cracks as best as he could. Again and again, Archer slammed into Shirou’s work. Eventually, it shattered and Shirou fell down. “Archer! He’s out of mana!” Tohsaka shouted as her Servant began charging towards him again.

Saber suddenly appeared between them with her katanas drawn. “Archer, each of those blows were meant to kill him, weren’t they? If his Reinforcement didn’t hold, then he’d have died.”

“Archer!” Tohsaka shouted, but the Servant ignored his Master. “What’s wrong with you?!”

“I hate people like him.” Archer spat out, glaring at Shirou. “You’d be better off without him, Master.” With that, the man in red strode away.

Saber helped him to his feet before looking him over for wounds. “Are you alright, kid?”

“Yes, Saber, thank you.” Shirou nodded. “Now, how about I make you some udon?” She beamed at him before skipping towards the house.

“Emiya, wait.” Tohsaka stopped him again. “I didn’t know Archer would do that.” She assured him, unnecessarily.

“I know, Tohsaka-san.” Shirou told her, patting her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Impossible.” Rin frowned as she grabbed his arm and ran her finger over where his Magic Circuits rested there. “Your Circuits have already matured some. While nowhere near where I want them to be, they can handle much more magical energy than before.”

“What do you mean?” Shirou asked.

“Before, your Circuits could only handle about 10 units of energy at a time. Now, it’s at least double that.” Shirou frowned at that, but didn’t know how that could happen. “I wonder if it’s an adrenaline response to Archer’s attacks.” Rin wondered out loud. “Now, that will be all for tonight. I’ll try to calm Archer down and we’ll discuss things in the morning. Goodbye, Emiya-kun.”

Shirou and Saber sat in silence for a few moments before she spoke up. “Shirou, aren’t you curious about who I am?”

“Miyamoto Musashi, right?” Shirou answered immediately with a tilt of his head. “Your Niten Ichiryu is slightly different from the techniques the school teaches. It’s clear as day that the school’s teachings are derived from yours.”

“Wow, got it in one, Master!” Musashi laughed. “So, what’s going on between you and the Tohsaka girl?” Saber asked, leaning forward on the dinner table.

“Nothing. We’ve barely spoken before today.” Shirou dismissed the inquiry, making Musashi slump. Shirou looked down at his Command Seals and wondered why he of all people became a Master.

Musashi stiffened before standing up. “Shirou, there’s a Servant at the door.” She began to draw her katanas.

“Saber! Enter your spiritual form but prepare to attack if necessary.” She nodded before doing so. “As much as I’d like to fight others head-on, I’m not strong enough for that.” Shirou muttered before walking to the door and opening it. He had to look up as his face was at the guest’s chest. She was in rather revealing clothes and had a strange blindfold over her eyes. What caught Shirou’s attention though was the limp body in her arms. “Sakura?!” Shirou exclaimed when he saw his close friend beaten up and weak.

“She asked me to find you if anything should happen to her, but I refused to leave my Master in that hell.” The Servant commented in a nearly-monotone voice. Shirou could detect an edge of emotion, but he couldn’t tell what it was.

“Saber!” Shirou shouted as his Servant appeared. “Take Sakura’s Servant to the guest room across from mine.” Musashi nodded as she led the tall woman to the room. Shirou held his head in his hands and tried to slow his heartbeat. ‘That hell…’ Shirou remembered all the rumors about Shinji. All the bullying and abuse he inflicted on the younger members of the archery club. Why would he stop with his sister? Shirou’s fists clenched as he felt true malice towards someone for the first time in his life.

“Master!” Saber called out, snapping Shirou out of his thoughts and he rushed to where the Servants went. “There’s some strange karma inside of your girlfriend.”

Shirou ignored the girlfriend comment and, for some reason, used his Structural Grasp on one of Musashi’s swords. That sword seemed to have a strange energy to it. ‘Trace, on.’ Shirou mentally thought as the katana’s form entered his mind. The steps of creation ran by subconsciously until the sword’s identity was revealed. ‘A demonic sword capable of severing karma… The Myoujingiri Muramasa.’ He thought to himself. “Saber, the fifth sword you’re carrying. It can sever curses. Can that help Sakura?”

Saber looked at him in shock. “Wait, you know about Myuojingiri Muramasa? How?”

“I Traced it just now.” Shirou brushed off. “Can you use that to help Sakura?” Saber looked at the other Servant before looking back at Sakura. She slowly drew her katana and nodded.

“There’s a risk I’ll kill her while saving her though.” Musashi warned. “But if you use a Command Spell, I should be able to avoid that.”

“Saber, with the power of a Command Seal, sever the curse afflicting Sakura without harming her!” The red symbols glowed brightly before a rush of power poured over Musashi. Myuojingiri Muramasa glowed blue before Saber delivered a powerful slash that created a wave of force that sliced through the front and back of Sakura’s blouse and bra before leaving a gouge in the wall behind her. What appeared to be a set of black veins appeared on her chest and formed a strange symbol before shattering. Sakura’s breath hitched before evening out and some unseen tension relaxed as she began to sleep peacefully. “Thank you, Saber.”

“I need a nap.” Musashi groaned before falling forwards. The other Servant and Shirou caught her and laid her down on the bed, next to Sakura.

“Thank you, Emiya Shirou.” Sakura’s Servant gratefully said as she gently picked up Sakura and carried her out of the room. “She will need comfort and support when she wakes up. We are in your debt now, Master Shirou.” She bowed her head slightly. There were three seals on Sakura’s hand that glowed before dimming. Shirou felt a strange sensation on his hand without his Command Seals. It was a perfect duplicate of Sakura’s. “She is akin to a familiar now, bound to your magical energy not unlike a Servant.”

“I-I didn’t ask for this.” Shirou responded quickly. “Wait, I never even got your name.”

“Rider, Master Shirou. I am a Rider-class Servant. As for the contract with my Master, it was inevitable. The strings of attachment that were formerly connected to the curse were searching for connection. Her soul felt comfortable with you, so it formed a bond. If you were truly opposed, then your magic wouldn’t have accepted it. You wish to protect her, after all, so your soul wishes to keep her close.” Rider smirked at that, making Shirou sort of uncomfortable.

“So…uh, what does this mean?” Shirou asked, rubbing the back of his head with a slight blush.

“Her vast amounts of magical energy will flow into you and supplement your own reserves. Great news, right?” Rider asked with that same smirk. Now that she mentioned it, Shirou felt something like fire in his veins as his Magic Circuits heated up and seemed to burn as they received lots of energy from the symbols on Shirou’s other hand.

“C-Can I move the sign?” Shirou asked, thinking the glowing symbol would be a little conspicuous.

“Of course.” Rider laughed. “All you have to do is have Sakura kiss where you want it to go.” Her smirk turned devious. “In fact, I think the two of you should formalize your connection to each other, don’t you, Saber?”

“Oh yes, Rider. I definitely think that our Masters should, ahem, deepen their bond overnight.” Saber, who was now awake, joined her fellow Servant in teasing Shirou. 

Before Shirou could say anything, the two Servants had forcibly removed his shirt before tossing him in bed with Sakura. He tried to get up, but was stopped when Sakura wrapped her arms around him and began kissing along the length of his spine. “Sen…pai…” she whispered sleepily, making him shiver. ‘Well, I guess I’m staying here.’ Shirou thought as he turned around and embraced Sakura before joining her in slumber.

To be continued…

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 6: Saber Raikou

Notes:

I was stumped on this chapter for a bit, but after being recommended a FGO profile, I was able to write Saber Minamoto-no-Raikou. This chapter is a little shorter than the last one, so I might go back and edit it, but what do y'all think?

Shirou wasn’t having a great day. He had a rash on his left hand that kept giving him static shocks for some reason, Shinji was being even more of a jerk than normal, and now Shirou was in detention with him, Tohsaka Rin, and the entire archery club. Why? Shinji said something rude to Sakura and Tohsaka which made an already irritated Shirou snap and give a retort. That caused Shinji to throw a punch that Shirou ducked underneath. The blow landed on Mitsuzuri Ayako though, who hit back. Shinji called her an insulting name, so the entire archery club backed their captain and Shirou in beating Matou up. Tohsaka got a few hits in too when she thought nobody was looking. They were finally broken up by the principal, though Fujimura was looking at them sympathetically.

Shinji tried to hit Shirou with his bag on the way into the room, but Shirou blocked it with the back of his left hand. The static shock occurred again, and the next thing he knew, Shinji’s bag was on fire! “The book!” Matou cried out as he desperately tried to put out the flames, but Sakura of all people held him back. “Get off me you who-” Shirou had enough and hit him in the jaw again. The shock created a purple spark that zapped Sakura, making her flinch.

The fire died down very quickly, much to Shirou and Tohsaka’s suspicions. “Emiya, you’re a mage?” Homurahara’s idol asked him as she sat down next to him at the back of the room. Sakura shrunk in on herself on his other side, holding on to the edge of his sleeve with a quiet desperation. He nodded subtly. Something felt like it was burning throughout his body. Not unlike whenever he created Magic Circuits. It started at his left hand and was slowly spreading up the rest of his arm. Was that why Sakura was holding on to him?”

“What was Shinji talking about?” Shirou asked, getting a shrug from Tohsaka. He looked down at her hand and saw a strange symbol. “Is it why the school’s felt off today?” Rin nodded. “I’m guessing we’ll talk afterwards?”

“Senpai, c-can I stay at your place for a few days?” Sakura whispered, leaning in close to his ear. He couldn’t help but blush slightly as he nodded. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and saw that she was bright red. Her eyes seemed lighter though, for some reason. Wait, her hair seemed slightly darker too. What was going on?

Somehow, because Shirou threw a punch, he was forced to rejoin the archery club as ‘community service’ and take Shinji’s spot. Shinji was placed on probation due to his comments and many accusations of verbal and sexual assault from first-year girls. While those were looked into, he was suspended from school. Matou was likely to be expelled and have a straight shot to jail. No wonder Sakura wanted to stay with Shirou for a few days.

That didn’t explain why Tohsaka had followed them home though. “Um, Tohsaka-san, why are you here?” Shirou asked as she followed through his doorway easily.

“And here I thought you weren’t as dumb as you looked.” Rin sighed and shook her head. “The book you burned. It was a Mystic Code.” Shirou’s eyes widened. “Though, that wasn’t like any magecraft I’ve ever seen before. How did you do it?” 

“Senpai didn’t do that!” Sakura interrupted, pushing herself between them. “It was the symbol on his hand! The power came from there. It did this to me too.” She held up a lock of pure black hair. For some reason, Rin’s face turned very pale and tears welled up in her eyes. “He-He’s a Master.”

Rin lowered her eyes and sighed. “Fine. Let’s summon your Servant, Emiya you jerk.” Shirou led the two girls into his Workshop (aka the shed) and Rin groaned when she saw the stained circle that had always been on the floor. “Of course, there’s already a summoning circle.” She shook her head. “Okay, I’ll lend you some mana, then recite this incantation.” She whispered into his ear as mana poured into the burning sensations that were spreading through Shirou’s body. “You idiot. These Circuits have barely been used. What were you doing before this?”

Shirou didn’t answer, instead focusing on memorizing the incantation Rin had whispered in his ear. He didn’t even realize that he was whispering it out loud. The circle began to glow as the three teens stared at it with wide eyes. “I am the Heroic Spirit Saber. I ask, are you my Master?” A tall woman with noble and stern features looked down at him. She was wearing a purple bodysuit with some pieces of samurai armor. A katana was sheathed at her waist with a quiver opposite it. She was staring directly at Shirou with an expectant gaze.

“Yes, Saber. I am Emiya Shirou.” He answered as firmly as he could. The stern visage lessened some as a faint smirk spread across her lips. “These are my…allies…Tohsaka Rin and Sakura.” He left out Sakura’s last name due to Shirou’s distaste for Shinji. He didn’t like the word allies either. Shirou would rather call the girls his friends.

His words made the two girls blush a little, making Saber’s smirk grow. “Oh my, Master, I must ask you to avoid becoming a womanizer. It is a habit I severely dislike.” Her Japanese was slightly old-fashioned, but was growing more natural as time passed. “You there, miss red-shirt, you haven’t summoned your Servant yet, have you?” Rin blushed as Sakura and Shirou both looked at her.

“H-How do you know that?” Rin asked, looking away from the Servant. “Wait, how did you destroy the Mystic Code and Magic Crest without being summoned?”

“Little girl, I am the greatest Mystery Slayer of the Heian period, such trifles were nothing but insects in my path.” Lightning ran down her arm towards her sword. “Now, what is your relationship with my Master?” The air around Saber seemed to become more intense.

“A-Are you sure you’re not a Berserker?” Rin gulped as the pressure grew stronger and stronger.

Saber laughed. “If I was a Berserker, I’d have thrown the two of you out for bothering my Master. I’d be very…overprotective…if I was summoned outside of the Saber-class.” Something akin to embarrassment briefly crossed her face before Saber schooled her features again. She was so regal and elegant. A mixture of the perfect woman and the ideal soldier. “And you, Sakura. You wish to be my Master’s wife, yes? Good. You have my blessing and my protection. Your Servant too.” Sakura flinched as a tall woman with purple hair manifested behind Sakura.

‘Does Sakura have a Stand?’ Shirou thought, blaming Fuji-nee for forcing Shirou to read Jojo. The other Servant was a little shorter than Saber, and she had a blindfold over her eyes. “Rider, are you alright with this?” Sakura’s face was bright red as Rider smirked.

“Of course, Master. Saber and I will get along quite well. You and your new husband can enjoy your newlywed life while us Servants do the heavy lifting.” The woman was teasing Sakura, making Sakura’s blush grow even more.

“W-Wait just a moment!!” Rin interjected, barging in. “You! You said you were a Mystery Slayer in the Heian period. You shouldn’t have been summoned!” Everyone just looked at Rin strangely. “The Grail system is designed to summon Western Heroic Spirits. Japanese ones shouldn’t be able to manifest!”

“Is something wrong with it?” Shirou asked. “If Saber was summoned, then could the Grail itself malfunction in other ways?”

“Of-” Rin stopped her probable denial before pausing in thought. “I need to summon my Servant. I’ll get in touch afterwards.” She stormed out, making Sakura and Shirou sigh involuntarily. 

“Now, Master, why don’t Rider and I arrange a proper residence for your first night with the new Mrs. Emiya.” Saber commented, no signs of teasing on her face. “Even if the marriage doesn’t last beyond the war, a contract binding our interests to hers would prevent any chance of betrayal. Especially with Rider and my blessings.”

The Servants faded into light, vanishing from sight. “Sakura, are you alright with this?”

“S-Senpai…” Sakura whispered as she took steps closer and closer. Before he could say anything, she kissed him passionately. “I’m not brave enough to say how you make me feel, so allow me to show you.”

The depth of emotion Sakura was able to convey to him through her kiss made his heart melt like iron in a forge as Shirou began a long fall he didn’t think he’d ever escape. He had fallen for Sakura. Not just in that moment, but in thousands of small moments throughout the years. From the moment she spoke to him for the first time, she’d slowly carved for herself a place in his heart that none could take. All the kiss did was deliver a powerful push to drive him off the ledge.

Shirou kissed back, ignoring the sounds of their Servants manifesting around them in favor of deepening his connection with Sakura. Cleansing light flowed around them as Rider and Saber chanted under their breath. The couple pulled apart and Sakura smiled at him with teary eyes. “I love you, Senpai. Shirou.” Sakura whispered as she seemed healthier than she’d ever been before.

“I love you too, Sakura.” Shirou whispered back, feeling more certain than he’d thought possible. They kissed again, missing a red thread passing from their hands and binding the two of them together.

To be continued…

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 7: Saber Ibuki-Douji

Notes:

Sorry for the long absence, but I've been helping an injured family member which is taking up the majority of my time. Anyways, this is a chapter about everyone's third/fourth-favorite snake (Medusa, Ana, and Gorgon are the top three for me, personally). Enjoy!

As far back as Shirou could remember, he’d always had a strange immunity to poisonous substances. He remembered one time in middle school when Shinji ‘accidentally’ made a poisonous substance that smelled revolting. The blue-haired boy passed out almost immediately, but Shirou was just fine. When they did a blood test, there weren’t any toxins in Shirou at all. Not even lactic acid. If not for Old Man Raiga’s influence, the redhead would be nothing more than a lab rat for scientists or mages. Why was this relevant? Because the guy in blue tights who tried to kill him stumbled and got extremely pale before shimmering with light when the tall lady with the sword (Saber) scratched him with her nails.

“That’s quite a Servant you have there, kid.” Lancer huffed as the green hue faded from his face. “I’m honestly impressed by your guts. If not for my legend, I’d have been seriously injured just then.” He smirked. “Well, my Master is calling me away. Yo, Saber!” The pale teal-haired lady raised an eyebrow at the address. “I hope we can have a proper fight next time.”

She smiled, sharp fangs glinting in the moonlight. “Run along, pup. We can play fetch some other time.” Saber brushed Lancer off before looking back at Shirou. “Now, hatchling, let’s get you inside. You could catch a cold out here.”

“Who are you?” Shirou asked as Saber helped him up and led him inside. Her smile grew as he seemed unaffected by her nails scratching him. “Saber?”

“Miss Stockings! Red Bowman! Are you two going to fight or not? My Master is risking his health being out here without a jacket, so we need to hurry it up!”

“Tohsaka?” Shirou commented as the idol dropped down and crossed her arms, a scowl on her face. “What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing with a Divine Spirit, Emiya-kun!” Tohsaka shouted back. “Can’t you feel the raw power rolling off of her? Not to mention her parameters…”

“Oh my, it seems I have another admirer.” Saber giggled as she wrapped an arm around Shirou’s shoulders. “Fine, if you want to get in this snake’s nest though, I’d appreciate it if we could get to know each other inside. Oh, and leave Mr. Grumpy outside.” She winked at the tall man in red with white hair. For some reason, Shirou couldn’t stand him.

“Kami-sama, what do you mean?” Shirou asked, the title slipping out for some reason. Wait, what? The sword in her hands… He recognized it for some reason. His Structural Grasp was useless here, there was no way for him to understand how it worked, but he recognized it! ‘Kusanagi… Why did I know it from a glance?’

Saber’s appearance, which had previously been out of focus except for her hair and smile, suddenly became crystal clear. She had blue-gray skin and red horns going up from her forehead. Her eyes were bright red jewels and her features were far too beautiful for a mere human. She was wearing surprisingly modern clothing: a sleeveless pink turtleneck with a black skirt and heels. Golden bracelets dangled from her calves and forearms.

“I knew you were mine.” Saber smiled before pulling him closer to her. “Don’t worry, your big sis will look after you from here on out. Call me whatever you want, Saber, Kami-sama, Onee-san. I don’t care.” For some reason, Rin shivered at that last title. “Oh? You’re a big sister too, hmm?” Saber smirked before pulling Rin in closer to her. “Now, let’s have a talk about this war. Something doesn’t smell right.”

“You’re telling me.” Rin grumbled. “You’re a Divine Spirit. Those shouldn’t be summoned at all. Besides, I’ve never heard of a Western hero with your characteristics.”

“Oh, I’m not Western!” Saber laughed, making Rin groan. “Now, let’s catch poor Shirou up to speed. He’s probably dreadfully lost.”

The two of them, mostly Rin though, explained what Servants and Masters were as well as what the Holy Grail War was supposed to be. However, the presence of Saber meant there was something wrong with the process. Tohsaka had a migraine by the end of the discussion, mostly due to Saber’s incessant teasing of her and Shirou, so she returned home alongside her Servant, Archer. That left Shirou alone with the goddess. 

“Shirou, there’s one more thing I wish to explain to you.” Saber began as she sat down next to him. “Your family, your birth family I mean, they worshiped me for centuries. Even after the rise of Buddhism and Christianity in Japan, your kin performed rituals and ceremonies to appease me. Their penitence caused a miracle to be passed down the generations, culminating in you. Normally, they merely possessed an affinity for exorcisms and curse arts, but for some reason, you received an immunity to my touch. Whatever my fingertips touch gets destroyed. Against entities with divine blood or holy relics, it is little more than a potent poison, even against Servants it is a lethal toxin. You, though, are immune to this. My curse cannot affect you. Dare I say, no poison or toxin can affect you at all. Especially now that I’ve been summoned.”

“You’re the goddess of Mount Ibuki. Ibuki-douji.” Shirou whispered as Saber shimmered with light, seemingly growing more powerful. “D-Do you want anything to eat?”

“Oh, hatchling, Servants don’t need to eat.” Saber ruffled Shirou’s hair. “However, I would like some alcohol if possible.”

Shirou nodded before getting up and grabbing some of Fuji-nee’s ‘hidden’ sake. “Is this good enough?” Saber nodded and smiled, holding out a glass for Shirou to fill it. “Do you have a less…conspicuous form?”

She was tall, about 180 cm at his guess, but that wasn’t as big a deal as her gray skin and horns. Saber laughed before shimmering with purple clouds. Now, a Japanese woman with stunning features and an impossible body sat across from him. The hair was the same shade of teal and the eyes had the same radiance, but Saber’s identity was completely disguised other than that. Well, her fangs still were a little longer than normal, but that wasn’t too bad. “Is this good enough?” She rested a manicured hand on her cheek. Shirou could only nod. “I see. Good, because we have guests.”

Shirou looked up as the door was flung open. A panting Sakura stood there with wild eyes. “Senpai! Are you alrig-” She froze at the sight of Saber’s disguised form. All of a sudden, Shirou’s Bounded Field shrieked as two other forms appeared at the door.

“Oh come on. Is tonight a national holiday for barging into the Emiya residence or something?” Sakura blushed but the other two weren’t so pleased with that.

“Emiya…” Oh, it was Shinji. “Rider. Kill him.”

“Nii-san! No!” Sakura shrieked but was back-handed by her brother. Shirou’s eyes went dead.

“Saber. Protect Sakura.” She grinned before Kusanagi-no-Tachi manifested in her hands and her mirage faded to reveal her true form. Shinji screamed as Sakura gasped and Rider made an intrigued noise.

“Will do, Master.” Saber hissed before launching forward at impossible speed. Shinji was holding some sort of book, which wasn’t that big of a deal to Shirou, but Rider left an opening where it was. It seemed odd, but Saber didn’t hesitate to take advantage of it. “Thanks for the opening, Rider.” The purple-haired lady smirked as Saber’s sharpened nails tore through the pages.

“NO!!” Shinji let out a terrified whine as Saber’s curse took effect and turned the book into dust. Ugly purple chains surrounded Rider before breaking, link by link, as pink flowers blazed around her. Burning red seals formed on Sakura’s hand as Shinji looked on in horror. “Emiya, you bast-” He coughed up blood as green veins spread up his neck and face.

“Nii-san?” Sakura asked, but Shirou and Rider held her back. “What-What’s happening to him? Senpai?”

“Anything Saber’s fingertips touch gets destroyed.” He explained simply. “Anything other than me, that is.”

“Well, you and your spouse, actually.” Saber chimed in as Shinji sputtered and collapsed onto the ground. His body quickly rotted away before dissolving into dust. “You are my high priest, for lack of a better term, so my protection extends to your betrothed as well. No toxins or impurities will be allowed to remain inside of or around my hatchlings.”

“You mean…” Sakura whispered. “That’s why…” Saber smiled as she nodded. “How?”

“You don’t remember, do you? You met Shirou a long time ago, before everything went wrong for both of you. A vow was made, and a contract was sealed. In my eyes, you two have been married since he was five and you were four.” Saber’s smile turned soft as she rested a hand on Sakura’s shoulder. “My protection has never left you, dear one.” Sakura teared up before embracing her and Shirou. Rider smiled, only to flinch slightly as Sakura took her hand and squeezed it.

“Thank you, Rider. You’ve been kind to me.” Sakura whispered as Rider leaned into the hug. “The four of us are staying together, right?” She looked up at Shirou with wide eyes. ‘I can’t say no to those eyes…’ Shirou thought before nodding.

Sakura beamed before pecking him on the cheek. She then turned bright red before speeding off. Saber and Rider sighed. “Well, I guess that means their first night won’t be happening quite so soon.”

Rider scoffed. “Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Don’t you remember the side effect of the attempted evil inside of her?” Saber’s eyes widened before she let out a laugh.

“Oh, yes. Good luck, hatchling.” She patted Shirou on the shoulder before shooing him off to his room. “Go on. Rider and I are going to have some girl time. I believe your wife is waiting for you.”

Shirou frowned before opening his door to reveal a room full of lit candles with Sakura lying on his bed in her underwear. “S-Sakura?!” He exclaimed with a bright blush. He covered his eyes before feeling two cool hands lower his. “Sakura?”

“I-I’ve been in love with you for a long time, Senpai. Shirou.” She kissed the back of his hand. “Please, just for tonight, please let me be with you.”

Shirou thought back onto his long friendship with the girl before him. All the time they’ve spent together. The memories and experiences poured through him as his dense brain rushed to a realization: he’d always been half-in-love with Sakura. At least half of his heart had always belonged to her. Shirou was a man of action though, so he saved those thoughts and confessions for another time. Instead, he pulled the teal-haired girl into a kiss. She let out a startled noise before her eyes fluttered shut and she began to kiss him back.

Honestly, the rest of the night was a blur after that.

To be continued…

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story. I hope you enjoyed it, I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. Thanks for reading! Oh, I also have stat blocks for each of these Sabers if anyone would like to know their parameters or skills (nothing too unique though, fair warning).

Chapter 8: Sabers Arthur and Artoria (Special Chapter)

Summary:

Specialty chapter to celebrate my favorite Fate character (Arthur from Fate/Prototype) and my second favorite English king from Fate (Artoria).

Notes:

Hey, I've been sitting on this chapter for a while now, but I've decided to post it now that my week-long series of a ship-week has ended. Hope y'all like it. This is a major AU.

Shirou winced as his teacher smacked him on the head again. “Shirou. Focus on maintaining your concentration while Tracing.” Sayjou Ayaka was standing behind him, on a chair since she was shorter than him, brandishing a compact fan as Shirou tried to utilize a bizarre form of Gradation Air over and over again. Quite honestly, he didn’t get why Ayaka was so gung ho about him mastering it. It wasn’t nearly as useful as his Reinforcement magecraft, but it was…nostalgic somehow.

For some reason, whenever he Projected something, Shirou felt a sense of deja vu, as if there was some kind of feedback from the creation process. “Trace, on.” Shirou pushed past the uncertainty though and devoted his whole being into the simple spell. The Azoth Sword which he had been studying manifested into his hand with blue sparks flying from his active Magic Circuits. Suddenly, the image of Tohsaka Tokiomi’s haughty face appeared as he handed the sword over to Ayaka. “What just happened?” Shirou asked. The sword didn’t vanish though, even after his concentration shattered. Why?

“I knew it.” Ayaka smirked as Shirou turned around to look at his teacher. “You can perfectly replicate any bladed weapon you see, including its history and abilities. With mundane weapons and bladed objects not intended for combat, this gives little more than deja vu unless you are looking for its history, but with Mystic Codes…” she trailed off as she looked at the Azoth Sword. “Well, it speaks for itself, doesn’t it?”

“How can I do this?” Shirou asked, making Ayaka clean her glasses. “Shishou?” She looked away, towards the setting sun.

“Your Origin and Element are the same. Sword, remember? You have an incredible compatibility and affinity for blades and weaponry. That’s why Reinforcement and Gradation Air are the only magecrafts that work for you. And even then, Gradation Air only works well when you Project a sword or sword-adjacent object.” Ayaka explained. “I knew this from the moment we met, that’s why I’ve been training you so hard for so long.”

Shirou nodded in understanding. Ayaka had appeared on his doorstep a few days after Kiritsugu had adopted him. She and the old man had an intense private discussion which ended with the young woman becoming Shirou’s teacher and ‘babysitter’ alongside Fuji-nee. The two girls got along surprisingly well, though that spoke more to Fuji-nee’s affability than it did Ayaka’s friendliness. Between the two of them, Shirou learned a variety of crafts and subjects. Gardening and magecraft were the two main things Ayaka taught him while Fuji-nee got him hooked on shounen manga and martial arts.

Ayaka was only a few years older than Taiga, but that didn’t change how…maternal, for lack of a better word, she was to Shirou. He wanted to impress her, to make her proud of him. That’s why he never asked why she insisted on such eclectic training and methodology, despite Kiritsugu’s books and texts hinting at more well-known and ‘reliable’ methods. And now, after years of struggling, Ayaka seemed proud of him. “Shirou, you’ve done well. Thank you for indulging in my silly requests for so long. Because of that, I think you deserve to know why I was so pushy about my teaching style.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out an old photo. There was a picture of a teenage Ayaka blushing as a tall, blond man held her glasses above her. They seemed happy. So why did his teacher seem so sad? “This is Sab– Arthur. He and I were very close, but we were pulled apart by a powerful ritual. A different one, though similar in many regards, will be occurring this year. If you wouldn’t mind indulging one more silly request—”

“I’ll find him.” Shirou answered easily. “He’s important to you, Shishou. That’s all I need to know about this.” He smiled, making Ayaka shake her head amusedly. “What?”

“Let me explain what you’re getting into first. A Holy Grail War isn’t something to be taken lightly.” With that, she began explaining all that went into such a barbaric practice. Now, Shirou understood why his teacher had pushed him so much. She was making sure he could survive such a brutal conflict. She was strengthening his Magic Circuits to get him enough power to support a summoned Heroic Spirit. The Gradation Air was to help him survive encounters with other mages as he couldn’t compete with them through Reinforcement alone.

By the time she was finished, it was night time and Shirou was left alone with his thoughts. He stared up at the moon, reminiscing about his old man and where he promised to become a hero of justice so long ago. Shishou smacked him over the head for that ‘idiotic promise’ as she called it, but she never told him it was wrong. According to her, there were other mages in Fuyuki which could even be in his very school. The only one who came to mind was the idol of Homurahara: Tohsaka Rin. She was aloof and regal enough to come from a magus bloodline.

‘Maybe Issei was right about her.’ Shirou thought with a laugh. “Senpai?” Huh? That was Sakura’s voice. What was she doing here so late?

The Bounded Field’s alarm shrieked, making Shirou Trace an Azoth Sword in one hand and a ‘Black Key’ in the other. That was something he did instinctively, he’d seen it at the church when he delivered a special order of mapo tofu to the priest. Until Ayaka told him the nature of his ability, Shirou hadn’t known why it drew his attention. But now, a Conceptual Weapon like that was something very useful. Even if it did make him feel rotten inside due to Kotomine’s nature.

A tall woman hopped over Shirou’s fence and landed next to Sakura. “Are you sure he can be trusted? He’s using anti-Spirit weaponry.” She whispered, but Shirou barely managed to pick it up. He had a feeling she did that on purpose.

Shirou dispelled his weapons and held his hands out to the side. “Sakura, are you alright?” His kouhai smiled softly as she took a few steps towards him. “Sakura?”

“Rider, are we safe here?” She asked, not even turning around. The taller woman nodded before dispelling a set of stake-like chain-daggers from her hands.

“Yes, Sakura. The Bounded Field is strong here. Your Senpai has done a good job maintaining and reinforcing it.” Rider said in a monotone voice. “Wait, he’s a Master.”

“No Servant yet, though.” Sakura brushed off. “So it’s fine. Senpai can be trusted.”

“What’s going on, Sakura?” Shirou asked. “Keep it down, Shishou is sleeping inside.”

“No, I’m not. The Bounded Field woke me up.” A crow’s caw sounded as she began prepping one of her Witchcraft bullets. “Sakura. You brought a Servant onto this property. Why?” Ayaka wasn’t happy. Well, at least she wasn’t using her Formalcraft yet.

“Grandfather found out about the facade.” Sakura said in a hollow voice. “Then he found my hair dye and color-contacts. I had no choice but to summon Rider early and flee before he could kill me.”

“That bastard.” Ayaka hissed before sighing. “I’m just glad you’re alright. It’s honestly amazing that we were able to hide it from him for so long. I guess even the great Makiri Zolgen has the typical magus biases.” She chuckled menacingly. “I wonder if he’s found my contingency plan yet…”

A loud boom rocked the area as the Bounded Field seemed to shake above them. “Shishou… What did you do?” Shirou asked as Rider smirked alongside Ayaka. Sakura was as confused as Shirou was though.

“Oh, nothing much. I just used an old family heirloom to grant his deepest desire. A direct path to the Root, delivered through annihilation.” Ayaka shrugged. “My older sister always had the most outrageous things lying around.”

Shirou was used to this sort of thing, but apparently Sakura wasn’t. She was staring at Ayaka with wide eyes and an open mouth. “Grandfather’s…Grandfather’s dead?”

“Yes, but more importantly, you have a Servant. That means the War will be starting soon. Shirou, the ritual should be ready by tomorrow night. Get some rest, both of you.” With that, Ayaka turned around and went back inside.

“Honestly, Shishou never changes.” He shook his head before looking at Sakura. “Welcome home, Sakura. Feel free to stay as long as you’d like.” He smiled, causing the girl to blush before looking down.

“Senpai, would-would you mind coming to archery with me tomorrow? Shinji won’t bother me if you’re there.” Why did Sakura seem so shy? Of course Shirou would go.

“Of course, Sakura. To be honest, I’ve missed shooting with you.” She beamed at that, making Rider’s impassive face smile. “Your room is ready for you, just the way you left it.”

After Shirou retired for the night, he was woken up by an unexpected visitor. Sakura. “Shh… Senpai. Just pretend this is all a dream…” She kissed him gently before resting her head on his chest. Apparently she forgot that he always woke up before her though, as she was still there when he woke up.

“Sakura, I think we need to have a talk.” Shirou whispered, making her flinch as she looked up with shaky eyes. “Nothing’s wrong, I promise. I just need to know where we go from here.”

“As long as I have a place in Senpai’s heart, I don’t care what you do.” Sakura told him, resting her head on his chest again. “Though, I’d prefer the whole thing, but I’m overjoyed to just have a piece of your heart.”

Shirou didn’t know what to say to that, but luckily he was saved by Shishou. “Shirou. Unless you want a house full of smoke, I suggest you start breakfast.”

Sakura let him go, after giving him another kiss of course, and then they headed off to school together after breakfast. Fuji-nee stopped by and cheered at his new relationship with Sakura, which he wasn’t unopposed to at all, before rushing off to school. Tohsaka was glaring at him, which was incredibly unnerving due to his suspicions of her being a mage, but Sakura told him to ignore her. In fact, she seemed smug about something for some reason. Oh well, Kiritsugu always told him that trying to understand a woman’s heart was a direct path to insanity.

After school, which Shinji didn’t show up for, Shirou kept his promise and joined Sakura at the archery club. Ayako seemed smug, no matter what she said to the contrary, and the new students seemed to follow him around in awe for some reason as well. Sakura seemed jealous, but again, he ignored that. Instead, he focused on how right it felt to shoot a bow. His accuracy was even better than before, despite him being a little rusty. In fact, it seemed like he saw the arrows land before he even fired them. No matter how far away the target was, or what was in the way, Shirou found the perfect shot without failure or even effort.

“Amazing, Emiya. How do you make shots like that?” Ayako asked. “It’s almost like you can see the wind blowing in front of you.”

It wasn’t like that at all. Shirou just pictured the shot he wanted in his mind and found which path the arrow needed to take to get there. Little things like wind or obstacles were just ignored in favor of the easiest path from A to B.

That night, Sakura went home early to make a surprise dinner in honor of their new relationship. This left Shirou to clean the dojo by himself. He didn’t mind it at all, honestly, it was nice to have something familiar after all the changes the last 24 hours held. However, his luck wasn’t that good, so he heard the sound of fighting in the courtyard outside. There were two men fighting with amazing weapons. One was in a strange blue bodysuit while the other was in a red coat. Tohsaka Rin was there, watching, as the men fought it out. ‘Servants.’ Shirou thought as he saw how fast they were moving.

Then, the man in blue saw him. “Oy! Archer, we’ve got ourselves a bystander!” Shirou didn’t wait to hear ‘Archer’s’ reply. Instead, he started running. Without a Servant of his own, there was no way he could take on a Servant, much less two of them and a Master. However, the man in blue caught up to him anyway. Shirou shoved a Reinforced table which barely fazed him before sprinting out the door. The man in blue launched forward with a menacing spear. Shirou managed to hurl a Traced Black Key right before he felt the sensation of his heart being gouged out. The spear hadn’t even hit him yet, but his heart was already torn in two. ‘Sorry, Sakura…’ Shirou thought as his vision turned black.

There was a faint mumble before he felt mana run through his body. When he woke up, there was a gem pendant laying next to him, but nobody else was around. He patted his chest before picking up the pendant and running home. He barely managed to make it to his fence before feeling a kick to his back. He went flying through the fence and into his Workshop/shed. He only survived because he Reinforced his entire body to get home faster. The man in blue was there again, standing over him with a bloody shoulder and that crimson spear.

“Sorry, kid. I tried to make it quick and painless for you. You must have the worst luck in the world.” He sighed before shaking his head. “Orders are orders though, and onlookers must be taken care of.” He stiffened before blocking a Witchcraft bullet with his spear. “Heh, not bad at all, lady.”

“Lancer?” Ayaka asked. “No, you’re older than the Lancer I knew.” Shishou shook her head before firing another bullet at him. He blocked it again with ease.

“I’m not going to die here.” Shirou whispered as light began to glow around him. “Not to a man like that!”

Lancer and Ayaka froze as a blinding light shone from in front of Shirou. Two forms took shape as one faced Lancer while the other faced him.

“I ask, are you my Master?” They asked in unison, before stiffening and looking at each other in surprise. They looked like siblings: one a familiar looking man and the other a breathtaking woman. They both wore silver and blue armor which shone in the moonlight. Shirou nodded at the woman who nodded back. The man smiled before facing Lancer again.

“Sister, why don’t you look after our Master. I’ll handle Lancer this time.” The man leapt forward with incredible speed, wind rushing around some unseen weapon in his hand before colliding with the crimson lance. “Not bad at all, Lancer. I see you only got better with age.”

“This is the second time tonight I’ve wondered this, but do I know you?” Lancer grunted as he was forced back. “Now, which Heroic Spirit are you? Saber?”

“Who knows? This could be an axe or a short spear after all.” The man shrugged, never losing the easy smile though. “Now, why were you trying to kill the boy?”

“Master’s orders. Now, let’s have ourselves a good fig—” Lancer stiffened before groaning. “Seriously? Now?” He lowered his head and sighed. “Sorry Sabers, but my Master’s called me back. I look forward to going all out against each of you next time around.” With that, he leapt onto the fence and vanished into light.

“Saber…” Ayaka whispered as she stared at the armored man. It faded away, revealing a hoodie and blazer on top of jeans. “It really is you.”

“You’ve grown even more beautiful, Ayaka.” Saber told her as he placed a hand on her cheek. “I’ve missed you.”

Ayaka smiled, tears slowly rolling down as she leaned forward and kissed him. “And I you, my knight.”

“What’s going on?” The woman asked, looking at the two of them. “You look like my father.”

“And you look like our sister.” Saber responded. “You see, we were both summoned to fill the role of Saber for this war, but only one of us will fight. I took the first battle since you were unfocused, but I am not tied to this Grail. I merely latched onto your summoning.”

“You’re a Familiar to that woman over there?” Saber (the other one) asked him. “And who are you?”

“I am you from another world. One which lines up a bit more with how history was recorded. Ayaka summoned me in a war and I wandered between worlds for a while afterwards. It seems that we both found each other again though, and this time I get to stay with her until the end.” Saber explained. “Our eternal home awaits me and her as we are tied together by Fate.”

“Thank you for keeping our True Name secret.” Female Saber nodded before looking at Shirou. “You are my Master, yes? I hope we can work well together.”

“I’m sure we will. I’m Emiya Shirou, it’s nice to meet you, Saber. Arthur, it’s nice to meet you too. Shishou told me about you.” Arthur smiled while Saber paled. “Oh, that’s who you both are. Don’t worry, I won’t say anything about it.” She gave him a grateful smile. “Although, now I don’t have a wish for the Grail. I was going to wish for Arthur to be reunited with Shishou, but that’s already been accomplished. So, how about I give my wish to you?”

“Really?” Saber asked. “Why would you do that? You don’t even know me. I’m just your Servant.”

“Well, yes, but you’re also a person. In fact, you’re that first. And I just have a feeling that you won’t wish for anything bad.” Shirou explained. “Wait! Sakura’s waiting for me!”

“Master/Shirou!” Saber and Arthur exclaimed. “There’s an enemy Servant!” They both turned to see the man in a red coat alongside Tohsaka Rin. She was looking at them both with disbelieving eyes. “Should we engage?” Saber asked.

“No. Not unless they attack first.” Arthur held out a hand to stop her. “What are your Instincts telling you?”

“They’re not a threat right now.” Saber answered, the swirling wind dissipating as she got rid of her battle pose.

“Tohsaka-san!” Shirou called out, making Saber and Arthur look at him in alarm. “What are you doing here?”

“Seeing if you got yourself killed.” Rin huffed. “Why do you have two Servants? And who is this other woman? Another Master? What about Sakura?!” She was working herself up into a frenzy.

“Senpai?” Sakura threw open the sliding door before freezing. Ayaka and Rin froze too for some reason. Saber, Archer, and Arthur all turned away. Shirou furrowed his brow and turned around to see Sakura in an extremely beautiful, but slightly revealing, dress. “Oh, I didn’t realize we’d have company…” She blushed before pulling on a jacket. “Nee-san?” Rin jolted. “What are you doing bothering Senpai with your Servant? Rider…” The tall, purple-haired woman appeared behind Sakura. “Please escort Nee-san and Archer off the premises.”

Ayaka started laughing, making Arthur look at her concernedly while Saber stared at Shirou with narrow eyes. He sighed. ‘This is going to be a long war, isn’t it?’

To be continued…

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. If there are any lore questions about this chapter or any of mine, you're welcome to ask them in the comments. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 9: Saber Lion (Interlude)

Summary:

This is an aside that is meant to correct an oversight I made in the original Saber Lion chapter. If that's not to your fancy, feel free to ignore this chapter.

Notes:

As I said in the summary, feel free to ignore this chapter if you don't care about the logistics of how Archer got rid of Sakura's Magic Crest. I got it wrong when I wrote that Rule Breaker was capable of that, so here's my revision. Enjoy!

Interlude: Archer’s Errand

While his idiot younger self slept, Archer had a mission to accomplish. Colliding their Circuits made him remember some parts of his life through the backlash Shirou gave off. The Servant had failed Sakura. He wouldn’t let the idiot fail her this time around, even if that meant he had to cheat a little. So, in the dead of night, the killer formerly known as Emiya Shirou crept over to the Matou estate and slipped into the basement. The worm, of course, was already there. “Ah, a stray Servant. What a surprise. Are you so unsatisfied with your current Master that you would come crawling to me?”

Archer didn’t respond, merely taking corporeal form with two Black Keys in each hand. He exhaled, before beginning his chant:

“I will kill, I will let live. I will harm and heal. None will escape me. None will escape my sight. Be crushed.

I welcome those who have grown old and those who have lost.

Devote yourself to me, learn from me, and obey me.

Rest. Do not forget song, do not forget prayer, and do not forget me.

I am light and relieve you of all your burdens.

Do not pretend. Retribution for forgiveness, betrayal for trust, despair for hope, darkness for light, dark death for the living.

Relief is in my hands. I will add oil to your sins and leave a mark.

Eternal life is given through death.

– Ask for forgiveness here. I, the incarnation will swear.

– Kyrie eleison.”

Zouken flinched as he dissolved into worms. ‘He’ll reform if I don’t act quickly.’ Archer thought, rushing upstairs to try and find Sakura. ‘All I need is to disrupt the connection between him and her. Rule Breaker should work for this, it’ll kill the spell transferring his consciousness between the worms, ending his life.’ With that plan, he searched and searched, but Sakura was nowhere to be found.

He did, however, find Shinji’s Book of the False Attendant, so he went ahead and destroyed that with Rule Breaker. No need to waste a Projection. So, with his night coming to a close, he returned to the Emiya Estate, just in time to see Sakura and Taiga standing outside, conversing in the pre-dawn light. Archer cussed under his breath before Tracing some petty cash and buying a cheap set of clothes to sell his disguise. A set of fake glasses completed the outfit and Archer re-entered astral form to see how everything played out. When he got a chance, he manifested an arm and pricked Sakura with Rule Breaker, finishing his job, before making his grand entrance.

EMIYA wasn’t too happy about having to pretend to be his younger self’s brother, but at least he’d been dead for so long that he’d lost any familial feelings towards Taiga. Taking her out on a coffee date was the least he could do to keep his Master safe from Torashinai. As for Sakura and Shirou, well, the boy was going to walk through hell anyway, at least Archer got to give him a kick in the rear before he ended up there.

Of course, Archer’s E-ranked luck reappeared when Rider’s Command Seals manifested on his hand. ‘Forgot about that side effect.’ He thought as Rin prepared to start yelling at him. ‘I hate my life.’

 

Saber Lion’s Statblock:

 

Class: Saber (Lion) True Name: Artoria Pendragon (Saber Lion)

Parameters: Strength: A Endurance: B Agility: B Mana: A Luck: A+ NP: A++

Class Skills: Magic Resistance: A Riding: B

Personal Skills: Charisma: C+ Instinct: A Mana Burst: A Insatiable Hunger: EX Hangry Lion: A+

Noble Phantasms: Meatcalibur: Anti-Fortress, Anti-Hunger: A++ Excalibur: Anti-Fortress: A++

 

Note: Insatiable Hunger is the skill which allows Saber Lion to survive and fight on delicious food instead of mana. Hangry Lion is an equivalent of Mad Enhancement which only activates when someone threatens Saber Lion’s food supply (her Master).

 

To be continued (in Saber Lion 2). . .

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 10: Saber Sigurd

Notes:

Here we go! Finally finished this chapter. I actually just finished Lostbelt 2 in FGO, so I had plenty of motivation. I hope y'all enjoy it.

When Shirou was young, before Kiritsugu passed, there was a visit from ClockTower mages which deeply affected the boy. Emiya Kiritsugu wished to return the portion of his family’s Magic Crest in exchange for Shirou’s protection from other magi. One of the Enforcers who came to ensure everyone behaved was a young woman about Fuji-nee’s age who connected with Shirou. She was the one who properly awakened his Magic Circuits and gave him some books and tips on magecraft.

Even despite his unusual Elemental Affinity, she assured him that some magecraft could still be used. Material Transmutation magecraft, for example, could be used by anyone and everyone. But she also introduced him to a special kind of magecraft. Something he’d never heard of but fascinated him: runes. “These can be considered the Magic Crest of Scandinavia.” Bazett told him with a smile. “Each rune has a rich history behind it, and a master of runes is on par with any mage. No matter what the ClockTower tells you.” She winked.

Shirou smiled and diligently practiced those two types of magecraft whenever he could. Reinforcement came easily to him, Gradation Air was challenging but Projecting bladed objects seemed to be easier. Runes though, were not as difficult as some of the other magecrafts Bazett tried to teach him, but they were much more challenging than Material Transmutation. That’s as it should be, in his opinion. The challenge was rewarding to him, and he devoted himself to mastering the difficult magecraft of Runes.

Each year, Bazett-san would send him a book on runes to help him advance and grow more and more. They exchanged letters weekly too, and he kept her up to date about his studies and training. Occasionally delays occurred when she had to go on a long mission, but Shirou wasn’t discouraged. He kept on training. He kept trying to move forward.

Along with magecraft, Shirou trained his body for physical combat. Archery came naturally to him and was useful for meditation and disciplining himself. Kendo and other forms of swordsmanship aided that while also strengthening his body and honing his reflexes. Beyond those though, he had to focus on work and school. He wasn’t a busybody though, everything he did was for a purpose. Why did he need the money? To stop a former friend from doing bad things.

“S-Senpai…” Sakura whispered as she hugged him, tearing up. Shirou’s rage built up in his chest, but he squashed it and tossed the bundle of yen over to Shinji.

“There, you have your money. Leave Sakura alone.” Shirou barked, resisting the urge to use some of the more dangerous runes Bazett taught him.

Shinji smirked before walking away, thinking he had all the power in their relationship. Shirou’s mouth opened to recite his invocation and use his Circuits, but Sakura just squeezed him tighter. “It was the last one, Senpai. As arrogant as he is, Shinji knows better than to betray you.”

“And your grandfather?” Shirou asked, looking down at her worriedly. “Aren’t you worried about what he’ll do?” She shook her head, smiling at him with watery eyes.

“As long as I am with you, Senpai, I don’t care.” She buried her face in his chest and inhaled deeply. “Thank you so much, Senpai. I’m sure this wasn’t easy.”

There was a growing bruise on Shirou’s left hand which Sakura looked at worriedly. “Sakura?” She rubbed it with the back of her hand before smiling. “What is it?”

“Wasn’t there a chalk stain in your shed?” She asked. He nodded before following her through his house and out to the storage shed where he practiced magecraft. “Okay, Senpai. Use your Circuits.”

He didn’t understand why, but he did as she asked. “Trace, on.” Mana rushed through his Circuits and lit them up. Sakura gently moved his hand down to the chalk circle and whispered something in his ear.

“Make a wish, Senpai.” Her breath kissed his cheek. Only one thing came into his head, ‘I wish that she could be this happy forever.’

The circle glowed a bright blue before a tall man manifested before the two of them. “I am a Saber-class Servant. I ask, are you my Master?” He was wearing strangely modern armor with a sort of futuristic feel and what looked like a gas mask with pale blue lenses which glinted with hidden wisdom. “Right, sorry about this.” The mask faded into light as a pair of half-rim glasses took their place. Saber was a tall man with stark-white hair and pale skin. His eyes were an icy blue and his armor shifted to become less threatening and more regal. Even his sword changed from a menacing red to a calming green.

“Yes, he is your Master, Saber.” Sakura responded. “Please take care of us.” Shirou was lost. What was going on? And wait, there were strange symbols on his hand now! And similar ones on Sakura’s hand!

“Sakura, what’s going on?” Shirou asked, making his friend stiffen before turning bright red.

“Ah, young love.” Saber sighed. “I remember when my wife and I were like that. If you’d permit me to explain, young miss.” Sakura nodded shakily. “Master, it appears like your lady friend has relinquished one of her Command Seals to another in exchange for being able to support you and stay with you. I assume that she had you summon me so she could reclaim her Servant and support you and me in our campaign.” He smiled. “Oh, you must not even know what is going on. Come, I will explain everything inside, Master.”

After a thorough and easily understood explanation, Shirou finally understood some of what Saber and Sakura were talking about. Shinji had to be the false Master of Rider. That was the only reason he’d let Sakura stay with Shirou. “I really wish I’d cursed him with runes when I had the chance.” Shirou grumbled, making his Servant laugh.

“Runes, you say? How delightful! I am a user of runes too, so why don’t I share my knowledge with you? After all, they might help protect you, Master.” Saber smiled. Shirou nodded firmly, making Sakura smile softly as she sipped her tea. “And what about you, Miss? Do you wish to learn?”

“N-No. I-I hate mages, most mages.” She glanced at Shirou. “Besides, I don’t have any talent for it.”

“Nonsense.” Saber protested. “Your talent is just being suppressed!” He drew a rune in the air and sent it towards Sakura. It was far more powerful than any rune Shirou had ever seen or cast. “Take your freedom, young lady! Activating Primordial Rune!” Shirou’s eyes widened as the symbol took shape and blazed with power before passing through Sakura!

No, it didn’t pass through Sakura. It went into Sakura. Her chest began to glow as red veins began to spread across her body. He began to rush to her, but Saber stopped him. “What are you doing?!”

“Easy, Master. Miss Sakura is just discovering how powerful she truly is. You’re no slouch yourself, either, but she’s on a whole other level. I guess we’re more similar than I thought.” Saber commented. That’s when it hit Shirou: wave after wave of powerful mana poured from Sakura as the world itself seemed to spin and become distorted. “See? She’s better than she’s ever been.”

He was telling the truth. Sakura seemed radiant as reality returned to normal. Light and phantasmal flower petals spiraled around her as strands of black replaced some strands of purple as her hair danced in the mystical breeze. Her purple eyes lit up as spirals of teal began to slice through and overtake the duller color. Even her skin seemed to become healthier and more vibrant. “H-How do I look, Senpai?” Sakura asked shyly, realizing what she’d just done.

“Beautiful.” Shirou whispered, making Sakura’s face freeze as she turned an incredibly bright red. Saber chuckled softly from behind them.

“Oh yes, this is familiar.” He sighed longingly. “I wish I could hold my wife in my arms again.”

“Saber…” Sakura whispered. “Senpai. Why don’t we use our wishes for Saber? I don’t have a wish anymore, so would you care to join me in wishing for Saber’s wish to come true?”

Shirou nodded. “My wish was for you to be happy, so if this makes you happy, then I’d be glad to give my wish to Saber.” Sakura’s eyes teared up as she tackled him onto the floor and hovered above his face before lowering herself to his chest and laid her head against his heart.

“I love you, Senpai. I’ve always loved you.” She whispered, looking up at him. “Ever since you started bribing Shinji into leaving me alone, I’ve adored you. When Byakuya died, I thought my life was over, but you saved me. You gave me hope. You found me in the rain as I ran from him and you broke his nose. A-And then you threatened to keep hurting him if he hurt me.” Her breath quickened. “I was stunned. Nobody had ever cared for me like you did that day. I’ll admit, I was a bit obsessive at first, following you around like a lost puppy wherever you went, but everything I learned about you made me fall even deeper in love with you.” She giggled. “I’m still following you like a lost puppy, honestly, but I’m fine with that. As long as I’m yours , I don’t care how far I sink or what I become.”

Shirou didn’t get a chance to respond as Sakura stretched up and kissed him gently. “Sakura…”

“I’m sorry. You probably don’t like me like that—” Shirou interrupted her with a kiss.

The kiss started out gentle but she soon overwhelmed him with the passion and desire she held for him. She forced him back down as the kiss turned into a full-blown make out session. It wasn’t long until Shirou’s will gave into his ravenous kouhai and let her love him.

Tomorrow and their plans for it could wait until the morning.

To be continued…

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 11: Saber Artoria Lily

Notes:

Updating this story again. I completely reworked the chapter as it was originally too childish for my preferences. I hope y'all like it (no lewding of Lily occurs!). Sakura is a bit of a yandere with a split personality here, so if she seems too inconsistent, let me know so I can fix that going forward.

Shirou wasn’t sure what he needed to do at the moment. He wasn’t even that great of a mage, more of a fighter with magecraft honestly, so how did he end up the Master of the “best class” in the Holy Grail War?! He groaned before it caught in his breath as he saw Saber Lily hum happily while awaiting dinner. ‘Well, at least I know what to do now.’ He resolved himself to protect his Servant as much as possible. She was young and inexperienced, she even admitted as much, and one of her skills was currently buffing Shirou’s own abilities to greater heights.

She did have good instincts though. It was like she already knew how she would fight when she grew up, but was trying to find a different path. He’d protect her; even though she was stronger and faster than him. She was the same age as Sakura, really, something that was made clear when his kouhai flung the door open. “Tell me it’s not true, Senpai!” She looked at Lily and proceeded to faint, Shirou practically leaping across the room to catch her. “Am I still your favorite kouhai, Senpai?”

“Yes, Sakura. Lily’s not my kouhai. You’re my only kouhai.” She smiled before curling into his hold.

Lily turned bright red as she hid her eyes behind her hands before peeking between her fingers at a rapid pace. “M-M-Master, I-I-I didn’t know you were such an adult!”

“Oh?” Sakura smirked before looking over at the poor Saber. “Are you not ready for romance yet, little Saber?”

Lily shook her head rapidly. “N-No. I-I’m trying to be a knight!”

“Good for you.” Sakura seemed almost patronizing as she got out of Shirou’s arms and sat across from Lily. “So you wouldn’t mind if I monopolized your Master’s attention?” She scooted around the table and put an arm around Lily’s shoulders. She leaned in and whispered for a few minutes, making the girl turn bright red before dashing over to the wall, shivering. “Oh my,  I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were still such a maiden.” Sakura giggled.

“Sakura, behave please.” Shirou sighed, making her flinch. In an instant, she was before him, kneeling at his feet as if she was begging forgiveness. “Um, what are you doing?”

“I’m sorry for going too far, Senpai. It’s just…” She looked up at him, blushing even more than Lily. “I-I l-l-lo—” she was cut off by his Boundary Field’s alarm blazing.

“So that’s where you were, Sakura.” A disdainful voice scoffed, making Shirou’s blood feel like it was on fire. Like it was molten iron.

“Shinji…” Shirou growled, his teeth grinding together like clashing blades. “Get out of my house.”

“Rider, kill him.” Shinji ordered, but two things happened at once.

Lily leaped in front of Shirou, fully armored with her gleaming sword brandished to fend off the tall Servant with chain-daggers and a blindfold. At the same time, Shirou Projected a knife and threw it at Shinji. Rider didn’t seem to care about the threat to her Master as she was busy fending off Saber, so the knife landed squarely in Shinji’s right wrist, pinning it to the wall. A book fell from his hands, catching everyone’s attention.

Sakura rushed across the room with a cigarette lighter and burned the book, causing evil black flames to blaze across its surface as it dissolved into ash. Rider smirked before turning around and letting her blindfold drop. Shinji barely had the chance to scream before he was turned to stone. Stone that was then dissolved as motes of light passed into Rider’s body. She turned around, reattaching her blindfold. “Thank you, Emiya. You got rid of that pathetic waste of space.”

“Senpai…” Sakura was tearing up. Was she still concerned about her brother? She tackled Shirou, planting series of kisses all over his face and neck. “That was so amazing, Senpai. It was so hot how you reacted so quickly, pinning that piece of filth to the wall.” It was weird hearing Sakura talk like this, disturbing even, but she soon regained control of herself. “I-I’m sorry, Senpai. I-I just couldn’t hold back my feelings anymore.”

“He was not a good person.” Rider said simply. “The things he did to Sakura were horrific. If you would excuse me, I have one final bit of business to accomplish. Before that though,” she ripped open Sakura’s shirt and bit the area of skin right above her heart. Shirou felt the mana in the air heighten before returning to normal. The taller Servant retched but smirked all the same. “Emiya, would you kindly provide my Master with new clothes? I have one last thing to do.” She dematerialized, leaving a barely covered Sakura before him.

“Senpai, don’t look at me. I’m dirty.” Sakura looked away, but Shirou gently tilted her head back towards him. He kissed her as innocently as he could, making her blush. “Senpai…”

“That doesn’t matter to me, Sakura. I’m not pure either.” She looked at him confused, but he just smiled sadly at her before helping her to her feet. “It’s a different kind of impurity, but it doesn’t change the fact that neither of us are who we want to be.” She looked down. “But that doesn’t matter to me. I don’t want a ‘pure’ or ‘perfect’ Sakura. I just want my kouhai. The girl standing before me.”

“Senpai…” Sakura whispered before wrapping her arms around his neck and beginning a slow and passionate kiss.

“That was so beautiful…” Lily sighed, making them flinch. “You, You forgot about me, didn’t you!” She was pouting, great.

“Why don’t we get back to dinner?” Shirou asked. “Sakura, you can borrow any of my clothes. You know where my room is, right?” She giggled before practically floating down the hallway. She made sure to add a sway to her hips though.

He shook his head before the more mature thoughts could come. Lily was still a maiden. She didn’t need to pick up on any of her Master’s perversions.

“Here you go, Lily.” He smiled as he set down the large plate before her. He knew that she’d likely have a large appetite after fighting, especially since one of her skills dealt with a Dragon Reactor Core. Dragons were hungry by nature.

Sakura joined them soon after, wearing one of Shirou’s long-sleeved shirts. She was blushing slightly as she sat down next to Shirou and leaned against him while eating her plate of food.

Even Rider manifested near the end, though she refused to eat. She was full, apparently, and she didn’t want to upset her stomach. Sakura assured him that he didn’t want to know. Rider also manifested a marriage certificate, yellowed with age, with familiar handwriting filling in the names.

“Sakura?” He asked, but the girl wouldn’t look at him.

She was too busy glaring at Rider. “Why did you show Senpai that?! I wanted you to keep it safe for me!”

“Legally, you two still wouldn’t be able to marry, but there is a spiritual marriage which would aid the alliance between you both and prevent the wishes from contradicting themselves.” Rider explained.

“M-M-Marriage?!” Lily exclaimed, red in the face. “S-So, you both are going to hold hands?” Steam was practically coming off the poor girl.

“Oh, yes. Plenty of unprotected…hand holding.” Sakura smiled strangely, an undercurrent of danger in her voice. “Was that good, Rider?” She asked shyly, blushing.

“Yes, good job, Master.” Rider nodded. “I do think that your future husband needs some time to process everything though.”

Shirou would agree with that, if his brain would function correctly. He felt warm all over for some reason, and this feeling was new. It was like embarrassment, joy, frustration, and affection all bundled up together and magnified to impossible levels. What was this? “Senpai! Senpai, are you alright?” Sakura cradled his head in her hands. As he looked into her eyes, a sole account occurred to him. ‘Ah, I think I’m in love with her.’

She blushed, making him realize he’d said all of that out loud. He smiled at her, letting his brain cool down, even while his heart beat several miles a minute.

To be continued…

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 12: Saber Altera

Notes:

I didn't intend to post this for Halloween, but it turned out that way, somehow. Anyway, here's some (hopefully) good civilization. Enjoy the chapter!

“I ask, are you my Commander?” The voice was feminine but so monotone. Devoid of any emotion at all, and yet, why did Shirou think she was sad?

He just nodded, getting a small smile on her face before turning around and slashing the man in blue tights across the chest. “Gah! So, you’re Saber, huh?”

“Yes. Get out of my Commander’s home, Lancer.” Saber took a step forward, her white dress sparking with multiple colors as she pointed her unique tri-point sword at him.

“Alright, alright.” Lancer shook his head, wincing at the wound, before dissolving into particles of light.

“He is gone. Commander, are you alright?” Saber stepped forward before frowning. “I see, you are currently in a weakened state. I will remedy that.”

She grasped his right arm and pulled Shirou to his feet. He felt a burning sensation rush through him as the skin on his right arm darkened to a deep tan before pure white lines shot across him, tracing his Magic Circuits before fading into his body. A few lines remained, but the rest of them were hidden as Shirou gasped and winced while Saber looked on strangely. “What just happened?”

“I made you a proper Master, Commander.” Saber explained. “A good Master is good civilization.”

Shirou wanted to correct that, but something felt right about that sentence. Like there was some form of innate understanding implied in those words. “Okay, why don’t we get some dinner then?”

“I do not require to eat, Commander.” Saber frowned, confused. “But if you wish for me to stand watch and destroy your foes, I am more than happy to oblige.”

“Saber, please. Let’s bond over eating together.” Shirou paused. “Eating is good civilization.”

The woman tilted her head before nodding, smiling. “Alright, Commander. I will obey your orders.” She froze. “Enemies detected, moving to search and destroy.”

Shirou stiffened as he felt the same strange presence. The symbols on his right arm burned slightly as Shirou’s eyes looked up to see a man in a red coat standing protectively in front of— “Tohsaka…”

“Commander, do you know that girl?” Saber glanced at him. “Are they enemies or not?”

The Servant in red grabbed Tohsaka and leapt away. “Do not pursue, Saber. We will see her tomorrow at my school.”

“Very well, Commander.” Saber dispelled her sword before entering the house with him.

After the first bite, Saber was hooked on Shirou’s cooking and wanted more. The next day, she followed Shirou to Homurahara Academy in her spirit form. He barely made it to the end of the day before Tohsaka dragged him to the rooftop. “You’re a Master, hmm?” She crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently. “And what’s up with your arm? Is your Magic Crest malfunctioning or something?”

“That’s not a Magic Crest, Master.” The man in red appeared behind her. “That’s a curse his Servant placed upon him. It greatly magnifies his physical and magical abilities at the cost of some of his humanity.”

“Saber.” Shirou stated simply, the woman manifesting behind him. “Is that true?”

“Technically, Commander, yes. However, your impressive healing ability is mitigating the effects of Civilization Erosion on you.” Saber admitted, somewhat bashfully. “Now, is it time to destroy them?”

Tohsaka seemed frightened while her Servant glared at Shirou and Saber. “Master, we should leave.”

“Saber, stop.” Shirou held his left hand out, the Command Seals glowing red in the shadow. “Don’t make me use one for this. The school is…the school is neutral territory.”

“Very well.” Saber nodded, dispelling her sword. “I apologize for nearly violating the peace here.” She took a step behind Shirou. “However, what about the magic circles draining vitality? Are those part of this peace?”

Shirou frowned before he felt the imperceptible drain as well. If not for Saber’s curse, he’d probably be feeling tired and fatigued, just like the rest of the school… “No, that has to be someone else. Tohsaka is too direct to employ such a dishonest tactic. And this isn’t us either.”

“Then it has to be another Servant.” Tohsaka nodded. “Then I guess we’ll be making a temporary alliance then?”

“Very well.” Shirou nodded, shaking her hand. “What Servant do you have? Saber has downloaded some of her knowledge about the Grail War to me, but I’d like to know which Servant we’re working alongside.”

“Archer.” The man grunted. “That’s all you need, right?” Shirou nodded, annoyed for some reason by the man’s face.

“So, this is probably the work of a Caster-class Servant.” Tohsaka began. “This is powerful magecraft, after all, and I can’t think of any other Servants who could use such precise spellwork.”

“Negative.” Saber shook her head as she tapped a magic circle, causing it to dissolve. “A Caster would have better protections on these sigils. My Civilization Erosion would not work against a Caster’s specialty. If I had to guess, my Mana supply is equal to this Servant’s, so it is unlikely that Caster is the culprit.”

“Hmm…” Tohsaka sighed. “Well, it would have to be Assassin or Rider then.”

“Rider.” Archer, Saber, and Shirou answered in unison. “An Assassin’s handiwork wouldn’t be so quickly found.” Archer commented.

“It would also be boobytrapped, something this sigil is not.” Saber chimed in.

“Why did you think it was Rider, Emiya-kun?” Tohsaka asked, looking at him curiously.

“These sigils are meant to gain power, right? Why wouldn’t an Assassin work more directly? Why go through the trouble of setting up so many of these circles when they could just drain civilians one by one?” He asked. “It would likely be much more efficient than creating all of these.”

“That’s true…” Tohsaka clicked her tongue as she turned around. “Fine, so we’re likely looking at a Rider-class Servant creating these because their Master is either low on mana or their Master is gone.”

Shirou felt a creeping presence approach from behind. His markings began to burn with power as he and Saber turned around simultaneously. The white light deflected a metal stake on a chain with a loud clang as if his arm was made of metal! Red, blue, and green light sparked from him as he slid back. Altera had her sword at the ready and dashed forward, clashing with the mysterious woman.

“Her Master must be nearby!” Shirou shouted. “Tohsaka! Let’s find the Master.” She nodded, even as Archer grunted and ran towards the fray to join Saber.

“Brat. Take these.” Archer shoved two beautiful twin swords into Shirou’s hands. “Use your Structural Grasp on them. That’ll take care of everything.”

He Projected another set before aiding Saber in fighting Rider. Shirou was confused, but ran after Tohsaka.

“Trace, on!” He whispered as his Magic Circuits linked up with the swords. Pain raced through his entire body as memories and experiences flowed over him. ‘That idiot…’ Shirou grunted as he struggled to take another step after Tohsaka. ‘He knew flooding my mind with these memories would stall me. Drawing Rider’s Master out of hiding to gloat…’

Shirou masked a smirk when a familiar seaweed-haired head walked out of a nearby classroom. “Well, well. Emiya Shirou. I see you’re not feeling so well. Has Rider managed to hurt you after all?”

Shinji laughed as he stepped closer. He leaned down as if to share a secret, but that was when Shirou struck!

Saber’s markings flared as the Crest of the Star joined with Archer’s mana to fill Shirou’s body with strength. Mana rushed through his right arm, leaving a deep cut across Shinji’s face while his left pierced through the book in his right hand and sent it to the ground.

Shirou kicked the book down the hallway. “Tohsaka, now!” Shinji, holding his bleeding face with one hand, looked on in horror as the other Master appeared, holding her hand out like a gun.

“Gandr!” Shinji was sent flying back by a gem-powered bullet before another spell set the book on fire. “How did you know that the book was the key?”

“Archer told me.” Shirou groaned as he stood up, his body creaking like a rusted statue. “When he gave me these swords, he left enough mana in them to interface with my Circuits and tell me what to do.”

“Impressive.” Tohsaka admitted. “I wonder if Archer and Saber are done with Rider—” the breaking of glass interrupted her. Both teens looked out the window to see a purple blur rushing away from the academy. She sighed. “Never mind.”

“Sorry Master. Once her false Master was dead, she activated her magic circles which slowed us down enough for her to escape.” Archer apologized. “I assume the brat did his job?”

“That is my Commander you are referring to, Red Bowman.” Saber growled. “I will not tolerate any insults towards him.”

The other Servant smirked. “Too bad, Scourge of God.” He crossed his arms, enjoying the look of shock on Saber’s face. “Yes. I know who you are. I knew who you were the moment I saw your sword.”

The crest on Shirou’s arm connected to his Circuits and uploaded some more information to him. “Altera.” He blurted out, making Saber blush. “Sorry, Saber.”

“Altera?” Tohsaka frowned. “That’s not—” Archer covered her mouth. “Fine! Fine! Let go of me, you stupid Servant!” She huffed. “You’re as much of an idiot as Emiya-kun.”

Both guys frowned at that before glaring at each other. “Interesting…” Saber looked between them. “I see. Very well then. Shall we pursue Rider and ascertain her Master’s identity?”

Tohsaka sighed. “Unfortunately, no. You and Archer need to rest. We don’t want to get ambushed by Rider in unfamiliar territory.”

“Commander?” Altera looked at Shirou for confirmation.

“She’s right. Let’s retire for the night.” The four of them started to move away, completely forgetting about Shinji who was still bleeding on the ground.

“Wait. Matou.” Shirou and Tohsaka said in unison. They rushed back, but Shinji had already crept away. His trail of blood headed towards the door. “He’ll be fine, right?” She asked.

“He’ll be fine.” Archer affirmed. “It was a shallow cut; he’ll likely make it home before the blood loss starts to get to him.”

“He’ll just have a nice scar now…” Shirou agreed. Both men smirked at that, making Tohsaka shiver for some reason. “What?”

“That smirk… Archer, are you Emiya-kun’s ancestor or something?” The Servant scoffed. “Right. Right. It must just be the residual effects of these circles.” Tohsaka sighed. “Archer. Let’s go home.”

The man lifted her into his arms and leapt away.

“Saber. We’re walking.” She nodded before entering astral form. ‘So, who could Rider’s real Master be?’ Shirou thought to himself as he put his hands in his pockets and began the walk back home.

To be continued…

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the chapter. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 13: Saber Siegfried

Notes:

This is a bit of a weird one, I apologize in advance. If there are any questions, feel free to ask me in the comments. I'll get back as soon as I have a solid answer. Enjoy the story!

Emiya Shirou was a bit of a punching bag. Not literally, but he had a bad habit of taking the blame for everything that went wrong at Homurahara. And usually fixing it too. He was in the archery club and vouched for Shinji after the idiot broke his arm. All to protect his best friend. She was like him, perpetually blamed for everything, until Shirou started taking the attention from her: Matou Sakura. That was when Shirou started taking his beatings from Shinji. In exchange for being taken advantage of, Sakura was safe.

Eventually, Shirou had enough though and decided to save Sakura once and for all. She was already staying at his house more often than not, but the idiot still had a hold on her. Shirou was going to end it. “Emiya! I need you to do this homework for m—” Shinji was cut off by Shirou’s fist breaking the moron’s nose. “Y-You idiot! You know what the consequence will be, don’t yo—” He was cut off by another punch which knocked a tooth out of his mouth.

“I saw it! Matou punched first!” Mitsuzuri called out, lying through her teeth. Many other students agreed with her because nobody liked Shinji, but most of them liked Mitsuzuri and Shirou was friends with her.

“Emiya-kun, is that true?” The principal knew Shirou hated lying, so he was expecting the boy to admit to beating Matou up.

“He can’t speak!” Tohsaka blurted out as the faint scent of mana passed over Shirou’s body, causing blood to pool in his mouth. He coughed. “See? He needs to go to the hospital. He might have a broken jaw.”

Everyone knew she was lying, but with that much blood, her lie had some truth to it. However, all that blood was fake. The very real injury Tohsaka had made inside Shirou had healed already, somehow. “Very well. Tohsaka, you take him then. Since you care so much.”

She blushed, but nodded, grabbing Shirou’s wrist and dragging him behind her. When they exited the school grounds and made it out of sight, she hissed in his ear. “You owe me one, Emiya-kun!”

“Thank you, Tohsaka.” Shirou smiled, his mana passively healing his body and reabsorbing the blood from his mouth back inside of him.

“That’s creepy. What kind of spell is that?” Tohsaka asked, making Shirou shrug. “Ugh! Of course, YOU have to be a Master AND something strange!” She stormed away before marching back to him. “You haven’t summoned your Servant yet, have you?” He shook his head, pretty confused.

The only thing he knew about Servants (he assumed she was talking about the Heroic Spirits used in a Grail War) was from Kiritsugu’s 10 year old log book Shirou had found buried under a loose floorboard. Did that have something to do with the rash on Shirou’s hand? “I guess I haven’t.” Shirou shrugged.

“Sakura hasn’t either, huh? She’s the one who alerted me to your decision to punch Shinji.” Rin groaned. “Great. You two are my opponents…”

She kept mumbling to herself, so Shirou let her wander off, instead choosing to go home. Sakura was waiting for him there, somehow managing to skip classes and not appear guilt-ridden (like she normally did whenever she skipped). “Senpai…” she smiled. She leapt forward, pink flowers trailing from her as she used magecraft to wrap him in a hug. “Thank you for saving me…”

Honestly, it was mostly luck. That’s the only thing that saved her so long ago. Saved both of them so long ago. There was a small, blue marble they had found in the rubble right after they met, at the age of 7 or 8. It was warm to the touch and comforted both Shirou’s survivor’s guilt and Sakura’s depression. It faded not long after that, but both children were changed permanently. Shirou’s Magic Circuits were awakened and became incredibly durable. He was able to heal at an accelerated rate and possessed a strange, unnatural strength.

Sakura, on the other hand, began generating mana at a remarkable rate and was able to store massive amounts of it in small orbs, not unlike the marble they’d found that day. She also developed powerful abilities, one of which was magecraft on the level of complete purification and cleansing. That ability was burned out after she tried to save Kiritsugu, but failed. He was able to die painlessly though, so Shirou considered that a success.

She did purify herself from whatever darkness her “family” had placed inside of her and created a protection against that evil, but she still hated mages. This meant that the majority of her mana went to Shirou. He used it for Projection and Reinforcement practice, but also to bolster his Circuits. For whatever reason, he had more than enough room to hold Sakura’s mana as well as his own. Almost like there was something which could store it up inside of him…

That night, Sakura passed the required elements for the summoning ritual into his hands. “Here you go, Senpai. I’ll save my summon until I’m sure we need it. I’m not even sure that I want to fight anyway.” She smiled at him. He nodded, responding equally.

After the ritual, a tall man with pure white hair and icy blue eyes rose from the circle, his skin stained the color of congealed blood with pure silver armor covering the rest of his body. There was a long scabbard on his back which dangled emptily while the two-handed greatsword was gripped tightly in the knight’s right hand. He smiled, kneeling down before Shirou. “I am a Saber-class Heroic Spirit. Are you my Master?”

Shirou gasped when he saw a familiar marble embedded in the sword’s hilt. His Structural Grasp triggered instantly. “Lord Siegfried…”

The man’s eyes widened before power rippled over him. A similar power passed through Shirou, making the boy gasp again, this time because he felt his muscle fibers turn to steel cables! Well, not really, but they were much tighter and stronger than ever before. It was like Shirou’s body was made of steel. “I see, so you were why I was summoned.” Siegfried smiled softly before standing up. “Master, no, Nephew. Shall we become heroes of justice?”

Shirou smiled broadly. “Yes, Saber. Let’s seek justice.”

“Then my sword is yours to command, Master!” Saber declared, cementing the bond between the two of them. Shirou could feel the high compatibility strengthening them both. Siegfried’s power rose while Shirou’s survivability increased. More than that though, it seemed like Siegfried gained a skill of some kind… Something that promoted survivability and helped him manage his Noble Phantasms. However, it seemed like he lost another skill in exchange.

No matter. With the two of them together, they could defeat anyone! Siegfried was the strongest Servant! Somewhere, in the forest outskirts, a giant man sneezed before looking around confusedly. He shook his head before returning to his madness, but the confrontation between these two titans of survival was guaranteed now.

To be continued…

 

Siegfried Character Profile:

Parameters:

Strength: A-      Endurance: A        Agility: B

Mana: B+           Luck: C                NP: A+

Skills:

Magic Resistance: -                  Riding: B

Battle Continuation: C       Disengage: A       Dragon Reactor: C

Noble Phantasms:

Balmung: Anti-Army: A+       Armor of Fafnir: Anti-Unit: B+

Discarded Abilities: Skill – Golden Rule; Noble Phantasms – Das Rheingold

Upgraded Abilities: Parameters – Strength up, Mana up, Luck up, NP up; Skills – Battle Continuation obtained, Dragon Reactor obtained

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of this story. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 14: Saber Artoria Alter

Notes:

This one requires some explanation. Salter and Sakura are characterized differently from canon for a very simple reason. Salter was incarnated at the end of the 4th Holy Grail War and took Sakura in afterwards out of a lingering remnant of honor. If there are any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask about them in the comments. Enjoy!

“Shirou. That is not the proper way to deal with a threat.” The young boy’s guardian slammed her practice sword into the dummy with enough force to knock its head off. “When someone attacks you, you must assume they are intending to kill you. Unless you are superior in every way to your opponent, you cannot afford to show mercy.”

“Saber, but that seems…wrong.” Shirou protested, making the pale woman with pale blonde hair and yellow eyes sigh.

“Yes. It is dishonorable to mercilessly kill your enemy outside of combat, so I guess we should teach you how to parry first before teaching you how to kill.” Saber sighed.

A few years later, Shirou was at his kyudo club’s practice in summer when his supposed friend sabotaged his bow, dislocating his shoulder even despite Shirou’s instinctive Reinforcement. Saber had trained her ward well though, so Shirou broke Matou Shinji’s nose before popping the injury back into place with the aid of the dojo’s wall. That encounter was also what caused him to meet his best friend for the second time.

Matou Sakura, Saber’s other ward and Shinji’s sister, came to apologize for Shinji’s behavior even though she hadn’t seen or interacted with him in years. Whenever Saber came to visit, Sakura stayed behind for some reason. She hadn’t visited Shirou in years… Not even after Kiritsugu died and Saber practically moved into the Emiya Estate full-time.

“Senpai…” Sakura whispered before looking ruefully at his tender shoulder. “Please, let me help you. To make up for Nii-san’s—no, Shinji’s—behavior!” Her eyes were tearing up, so Shirou couldn’t find it inside himself to refuse her request.

“Hah! I see the training has paid off, hmm, Sakura?” Saber asked as she took a bite of the first dinner Shirou and Sakura cooked together. She winced before swallowing. “Hmm… If only my tastebuds were better.”

“Sakura, what training was Saber mentioning?” Shirou asked as he sat down across from her.

She blushed and looked down before answering. “Saber-san sent me to a finishing school overseas on a scholarship in order to make up for my neglected education. I wanted to return earlier, but Saber-san said I had to be 15 before I could stay with y—” Sakura’s eyes widened in fear before she turned an even brighter shade of red “before I could s-stay with y-you, Senpai…”

Shirou felt his face heat up too. His plate was suddenly very interesting for some strange reason. “W-Well, welcome home, Sakura.” He managed to say, getting a bark of laughter from Saber.

“Now, now, Sakura. Remember your manners. How do you greet your employer?” Saber’s yellow eyes had a surprising amount of emotion in them for once. It was astonishing how much she’d changed over the 9 years Shirou had known her.

“T-Thank you, M-Master!” Sakura bowed deeply with a tomato-red face. “I-I’m happy to be your maid, Emiya-sama!”

Shirou was feeling faint now and images of Sakura in a maid costume were passing through his head making his hot face burn even more. “I-I’m glad, S-Sakura.” With that, Shirou’s brain shut down and he fainted.

While he was unconscious, his mind flashed back to when Saber explained why she never aged and how she knew Kiritsugu.

[Flashback]

“ Shirou. I am what is called a Heroic Spirit.” Saber explained while Kiritsugu rested in the other room. His illness was getting worse. “Your father was my Master during a ritual called the Holy Grail War. The events of the war resulted in me gaining a corporeal form while Kiritsugu was cursed by the same substance.”

She went on to explain how her original existence was as a noble and honorable warrior who sought utopia but was disillusioned at the end of her life. Now, after being exposed to the evils of the world, Saber had harsher and more tyrannical impulses. Her honor was darkened and corrupted into a strict code which was not moral, but was relatively just.

When Kiritsugu died, her contract expired and threatened her existence. It was little more than a formality, but it was still necessary, so he transferred the mystical bond to Shirou on his deathbed. That was when Saber took over as his primary guardian and increased the severity of his training.

[End Flashback]

“Good, you’re awake.” Saber was standing above him, so what was the strangely warm sensation on the back of his head… “Sakura has decided to give you a lap pillow. You will be sleeping with her from now on. Not only has she been trained as a maid, but she is also a very competent magus who will serve as your bodyguard against all mystical threats you are ill-equipped to handle.”

Shirou should have been offended, but Saber wasn’t wrong and he was well-accustomed to her behavior by now. “What will you be doing, Saber?” Shirou asked. Even though she didn’t know any magecraft, Saber was more than powerful enough to fend off any attacker.

“I will be training myself harder than ever. I have recovered some of my agility and virtue over the past 9 years, but I have a feeling that there will be a major incident next year which requires me to be at my best. As such, I will be gone for some time. I will return one year from today. Be good. Sakura, teach him everything he needs to know as a Master and as a magus.” Saber explained. She finished her meal and stood up, crumpling her napkin before dissolving it with dark power.

“Be safe, Saber.” Shirou called out as she walked away. The woman turned around and smirked. There was a hint of affection in those menacing yellow eyes of hers.

“Of course, Master. I have a responsibility, after all, and a debt to repay.” With that, Saber picked up her motorcycle helmet and left the house. The roar of her motorcycle, Llamrei II, echoed through the night as his erstwhile Servant drove off into the night.

“Senpai, shall we turn in for the night?” Sakura’s demeanor had completely changed. There was still a bright blush on her face, but her eyes were dark with desire. Her voice was seductive in a way he had never seen before.

“Sakura, the dishes…” Shirou began but was forced to stop when Sakura snapped her fingers and miniature lavender and pink dolls rose from the pleats of her skirt and began cleaning the table and washing the dishes.

“Of course, Senpai. The chores and housework will be taken care of. I apologize in advance if my familiars are not as efficient or thorough as you are, but there is a far more pressing matter to attend to.” Sakura explained as she leaned down and put her hands on either side of Shirou’s face. “My payment…”

“H-How much do you want per week?” Shirou gulped, but Sakura just licked her lips.

“Oh, I have an…alternative form of payment in mind…” Her voice was like silk or honey. It sent the warmth in his face down through the rest of his body. Shirou was stunned and Sakura took that moment to gently kiss him. “I have loved you for years, Emiya Shirou… Since I first met you, I’ve known that you are the only one I will ever love.”

“W-We’ve only exchanged letters though.” Shirou gulped, making her smile. “We barely know each other. This-This is moving too fast.”

“Senpai, please, just indulge me. I promise, we won’t become one yet. Just the warmth of your body next to mine is enough. For now…” Sakura kissed him again before leading him into his own bedroom.

Was it too late for Saber to come back? Shirou needed an adult…

To be continued???

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. Thanks for reading! Yes, Sakura is significantly more like Rider in this story because of Salter and foreign influences. It's hinted that she and Shirou had been exchanging letters for years, but that might have been too subtle.

Chapter 15: Saber Richard the Lionheart

Notes:

I was feeling a little experimental, so this one may be weird. If you need any clarification, please feel free to ask me anything. I hope y'all enjoy the story!

Tohsaka Rin had a headache. Not only did she fail to summon a Saber-class Servant, but the idiot Emiya Shirou was the Master who summoned Rin’s Saber! She groaned as she saw the idiot sparring with the Knight of the Sword. Mages didn’t need to fight in a Holy Grail War! IDIOT!!

“Um, Tohsaka?” Emiya Shirou looked at her in confusion. “You said all of that out loud.” He scratched the back of his head before having to duck and hide behind Saber to avoid the tsundere’s wrath. Their respective Servants were holding back laughter as Rin picked up the training sword like a baseball bat and started chasing after Shirou, thankfully without any magecraft.

Emiya Shirou had a headache. Mostly because Archer tripped him so Rin could brain the idiot over the head. Saber laughed before sitting down next to his Master. “You know, I think we’ll get along quite well, Master.” The blond man had a streak of red in his hair, but that was the only odd thing about his appearance. Beyond that, he held himself with a noble air but came across as a casual and friendly person. A regular guy with just a hint of aristocracy about him.

Saber muttered under his breath before his shadow lengthened slightly and a calming feeling rushed over Shirou’s form, healing his body and, so it felt, strengthening it. Shirou stood up and stretched, Saber joining him with that friendly smile on his face. “What now, Saber?” Shirou asked.

Both of them glanced over at Rin who was pouting in the corner while Archer leaned against the wall next to her. Saber chuckled. “I think you should tempt the lovely lady with some food. Romance is best performed on a full stomach, after all.” He winked before entering his spirit form.

“Romance?” Shirou grumbled. “What in the world is Saber talking about?” He sighed, but did as his Servant asked. “Yo, Tohsaka.” She looked up, glaring at him cutely. “Why don’t you stay for dinner? I’d be glad to make something for us.”

She blushed before sighing. “Fine. I guess even an idiot like you can know a few things about treating women right.”

“Told you.” Saber smugly spoke inside of Shirou’s head.

“Shut up.” Shirou shot back before smiling at Tohsaka and opening the door for her. “Now, can you tell me how I managed to get another heart?”

Tohsaka froze before looking at Archer for help. The tall man shrugged before entering spirit form. “Traitor.” Rin grumbled. “Fine. I didn’t know you were a Master at the time, so I thought I was preventing a civilian casualty. That’s all, okay!” Her slight blush and pleading eyes made Shirou doubt her, but what remained of his self-preservation instincts begged him to stay quiet.

Shirou nodded, trusting those instincts for once, before heading into the kitchen to start dinner. “Are you in the mood for anything in particular?” Shirou asked. “I was planning on making hot pot tonight, but if you’re in the mood for something else…”

“No!” Rin blurted out before clearing her throat again. “That would be fine, thank you.”

After half an hour, the two of them were seated around Shirou’s small table with two plates out for Taiga, should she show up. Rin’s eyes lit up when she saw the food and she clumsily dug into the food before pausing and regaining her manners. After eating in comfortable silence, Taiga never showed up, Rin cleared her throat one more time before looking at Shirou with a serious expression.

“Emiya-kun.” She began, looking him up and down. “What happened to you? You were the first person to summon your Servant, but the ritual couldn’t have possibly been ready back then.”

‘Ah, yes.’ Shirou thought. He had summoned Saber rather early, though that wasn’t quite correct. Saber was summoned, but not by Shirou. All Shirou did was form a contract with the Heroic Spirit. As it happened, Shirou was meant to be Saber’s Master anyway, but nobody was quite sure why it had occurred. “Well, it started out like a normal day…”

One Month Ago…

Shirou felt rather tired for some reason. He had been walking back from his work at Copenhagen when something moving very fast bumped into him. Well, ‘bumped into’ was putting it lightly. It SLAMMED into Shirou, sending him flying against the wall and knocking him unconscious. “Hey, hey! Are you alright?” A man’s voice woke him up. ‘Why couldn’t it be a woman?’ Shirou thought in a strangely hungry tone. The man laughed. ‘Did I say that out loud?’

“No, Master. You didn’t.” Shirou’s eyes shot open, allowing him to see a fairly tall man in white and red armor. His hair was strewn about messily with a red streak in his bangs. “Hello, I am Saber. I will be your Servant in the upcoming Holy Grail War.”

With that, Shirou knew he had to be dreaming, so he let unconsciousness take him again. Upon reawakening, Saber explained the strange circumstances around his summoning.

“I awoke in a strange forest, not unlike that which I died in, and I felt a pull towards you. This was a few months ago, but it has taken me some time to travel this far without endangering the Preservation of Mystery.” Saber explained. “I was in Germany, to put it simply. I could not travel across continents easily, even in spirit form, so I was forced to conserve as much mana as possible. Thankfully, whatever force summoned me slightly altered my Spirit Origin which allowed me to regain more mana than I would normally need.”

Shirou was still out of his depth, so Saber took the next few hours hammering the basics of the Holy Grail War into his head. After that, Saber’s shadow proceeded to properly awaken and repair Shirou’s Magic Circuits. As it turned out, Shirou didn’t need to make them himself after all. Huh.

Present Day

Rin, who had been staring at him, was slack-jawed as her face heated up more and more. Suddenly, her jaw snapped shut and she began shouting at him, hitting his chest and arms repeatedly. When she finally calmed down, she narrowed her eyes. “Continue.”

“T-That’s about it though.” Shirou admitted. “It was still summer after all, and most of my time was spent dealing with school and preparing for the Grail War.”

“Where was Saber when Lancer was attacking you, then?” Rin asked, furious for some strange reason.

“I’ll answer that, Master.” Saber manifested beside Shirou, digging into one of the neglected plates of hot pot. “I was busy protecting a fair maiden. Sadly, I was too far from my Master and he was unable to use a Command Seal to summon me. It was my idea to mask his Command Seals in order to try and keep his status as a Master hidden.

Rin huffed before gesturing to Shirou. He assumed that meant he was supposed to continue. “I told you, Tohsaka. That’s everything. Nothing really important happened between then and now. At least, nothing relevant.”

Tohsaka’s face was mischievous when she opened her mouth. “You rejoined the archery club, broke Matou’s nose, and then supposedly made love with Mitsuzuri, the track team, and Sak—” she froze for a moment before returning to her stride “Sakura-san above Shinji’s unconscious form.”

Shirou turned bright red, making Rin and Saber both laugh loudly. “T-That’s not what happened at all! Sakura and Mitsuzuri-san just kissed me on the cheek to thank me for stopping Shinji!” Rin’s laughter froze as a dark aura flared around her before being masked almost perfectly once again. For some reason, her menacing intent felt a lot like Sakura’s.

“That’s…That’s lovely, Emiya-kun.” Tohsaka’s voice was sickly-sweet and her smile was awfully brittle. “Why don’t you tell me everything about you and Sakura-san’s budding love?”

“She’s on her way, Master. Just keep stalling. You’ll see.” Saber assured him mysteriously. Shirou was sure that it had something to do with the mysterious shadow Saber possessed every now and then.

“W-Well…” Shirou gulped, but was thankfully saved when his front door slammed open and Sakura charged into the room. Rider, her mysterious Servant, finally made her appearance as a tall woman with long purple hair and a strangely risque outfit. “W-Welcome home, Sakura.”

“I’m home, Senpai~” Her voice was sweet and charming, calming his heart for just a moment. When she looked at Tohsaka, the sweetness faded and a terrifying aura flared around her. It felt identical to Rin’s menacing intent… “Nee-san… Why are you threatening my husband?” Rin and Shirou coughed simultaneously before looking at each other in surprise. Rin quickly glared at him before sweet Sakura returned.

“I’m just kidding, Nee-san! Welcome to our home.” Sakura blushed heavily before sitting down as a buffer between Shirou and Tohsaka. “What were you discussing with Senpai?”

“Y-Your relationship…” Tohsaka was off-balance for some reason. Oh, that’s right. Sakura was finishing moving out of the Matou Estate, so the hair dye had almost faded from her hair. Tohsaka had probably never seen Sakura with black hair. “Y-Your hair…Your eyes…” Wait, why was she tearing up?

“I’m home, Nee-san.” Sakura smiled innocently, her teal eyes wide with emotion as her black hair flickered with magecraft, cleansing the rest of the dye out. Rin tackled her in a hug, causing both girls to cry and laugh at the same time.

Shirou was confused, but at least neither of them were unhappy. “Oh, Senpai.” Sakura shook her head fondly. “We’re sisters! My name is Tohsaka too, Tohsaka Sakura!”

Shirou’s eyes went wide, causing everyone else in the room to laugh at his expense. It didn’t take long for Shirou to join in either, making the house fill with laughter for the first time in a long time.

To be continued…

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticisms or corrections. I might expand on the months between Saber's arrival and the start of the Holy Grail War (primarily Shirou rejoining the archery club and beating up Shinji) but I might not be able to find the time. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 16: Saber Alter Interlude 1

Notes:

Some background on Sakura from Salter's chapter. How she was trained, a baseline for her skills, that sort of thing.

Interlude 1

Sakura’s Training

Matou Sakura, the girl who hoped to become Emiya Sakura one day, was on a plane to Finland to meet up with some distant cousins from her former family line. Saber-sama had already paid for the removal of the Matou Magic Crest before it could permanently damage her Magic Circuits. The Edelfelt family was happy to accept Sakura, or so they told Saber-sama at least.

“Senpai…wait for me.” Sakura whispered as she held a picture of her best friend against her chest. She sighed longingly, greatly anticipating the day when she would be able to be with Senpai as his maid and lover. Was she obsessed? Certainly, but Sakura didn’t care at all. Love certainly wasn’t sane, so why should Sakura be?

The Edelfelt family was kind and welcoming, greeting Sakura with open arms and smiles. They were full of compassion for what Sakura went through, possibly because it was the Tohsaka family she was exiled from. The two families had a grudge apparently. They put Sakura on an intensive training program to fully develop her skills.

“Reinforcement magecraft is essential for all mages. It not only teaches them the focus necessary for more complex spells but also makes them more aware of their bodies and Magic Circuits.” The finest tutors in Scandinavia were teaching both Edelfelt sisters and Saura, uncaring about the age difference or heritage as Sakura was an honorary Edelfelt after all.

Sakura’s strengths lay in Imaginary Numbers magecraft though, but there weren’t many teachers readily available to train her in that. As such, Sakura picked up a variety of spells from other branches of magecraft while she “self-studied.”

The Matou Magic Crest had influenced Sakura enough to grant her a second Elemental Affinity: Water. Because of this, Absorption magecraft was fairly easy to grasp, but Sakura preferred to blend that with her Imaginary Numbers to create dark purple ribbons which sapped mana from her targets.

“Haa!” Luvia, the leading Edelfelt heir, charged towards Sakura, her limbs Reinforced to their maximum potential. Sakura jumped backwards, letting the shadows turn into ribbons that wrapped around Luvia’s legs and tripped the Finnish magus. The ribbons glowed pink as mana slowly trickled from the limbs.

Honestly, the ribbons wouldn’t affect mages very much. The most they would do is make a magus nauseous or drain the mana from a spell. Such as the Reinforcement spell Luvia was using… Sakura’s purpose behind the ribbons though was merely to slow Luvia down. The draining was merely a useful side effect.

“ Rabenbolzen !” A raven’s caw sounded out of nowhere as a drop of blood merged with a pure black feather to create a dark purple bullet that shot towards Luvia.

Sakura’s foster sister gasped as the Witchcraft spell sped towards her. “ Gandr! ” A small jewel turned into a different type of magic bullet that collided with its opposite, causing the mana of both spells to detonate. Luvia was sent flying back, but Sakura was at a safe distance. Good thing too because Sakura couldn’t take many hits and maintain her concentration.

If she lost control, then her shadow ribbons would go haywire and seek out any major source of mana without any limiters on them. That was one of the reasons Sakura preferred not to fight. “You’re becoming quite strong, Sakura.” Luvia smiled genially, making Sakura’s heart ache for the older sister who was taken from her. “When will you be traveling to the finishing school?”

“It’s not a finishing school, Luvia-san. It’s more of a training program. Saber-sama set it up for me.” Sakura blushed as she realized that it was almost time for her to be reunited with her Senpai. They’d been exchanging letters for some time, and Saber had provided many photos of Shirou over the years. Sadly, Saber wouldn’t let her be with him until they were old enough…

All Sakura wanted was to become one with him! She just wanted to belong to Emiya Shirou for the rest of her life! Was that so wrong?! “Sakura, your control is slipping.” Luvia warned, taking a few steps back.

Sakura looked down and saw her normally pink ribbons had coalesced into a dark purple, almost black, pool at her feet. Her dark hair was hovering and crackling with wild mana. Sakura took a deep breath and exhaled, bringing her heart rate down and forcing her primal needs into submission. “Sorry, Luvia-san.” Sakura bowed deeply, the cursed pool at her feet reabsorbing itself into Sakura’s Magic Circuits. “Were you hurt?”

“No, not at all.” Luvia strode forward and hugged Sakura tightly. “You’re a good girl, Sakura. I know you’ve been waiting on your man for so long, but you only have a little longer to wait. Soon you two will be whole once again.”

Sakura smiled, tearing up at how kind and generous Luvia was to her. Honestly, if not for Senpai and Saber-sama (‘Nee-san too,’ Sakura’s traitorous mind reminded), Sakura would have been more than happy to stay with the Edelfelts for a few more years. However, Sakura’s heart was beating out of her chest in its desire to return to her Senpai.

Eventually, Sakura was old enough, and just in time too. Senpai had been hurt by Sakura’s useless ‘brother,’ so not even Saber-sama could stop Sakura from returning home. Not that the woman would; she’d been pushing Shirou and Sakura together for years. She was just a little more proper than Sakura wanted to be with Shirou. After all, what good was love if it was never consummated? That way, the two of them would be bound together forever… Oh, Sakura couldn’t wait!

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of this interlude. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 17: Saber Okita Souji

Notes:

Finally, an original chapter! Anyway, here's the latest Servant, Okita Souji. I hope y'all enjoy the story.

Emiya Shirou was familiar with sickness. The old man, Kiritsugu, was sick for almost all of Shirou’s childhood. That’s why when, not even a week after the anniversary of his death, Kiritsugu’s long lost daughter appeared on his porch, weak and hurt, Shirou didn’t hesitate. She healed fast, especially when she rested, but she didn’t trust him. Not even with her name. According to her, Shirou was simply a replacement Kiritsugu found to fill her place.

He didn’t mind. Clearly, the girl had her own issues, so Shirou wouldn’t try to argue with her. Not until she was better at least. That said, she was a good teacher if nothing else. His English grades improved tremendously with her guidance, and his neglected Magic Circuits were awakened and began to be properly trained.

“Fine! I am Illyasviel von Einzbern,” Illya curtseyed before smiling innocently at him, “it’s nice to properly meet you, Onii-chan~”

Despite himself, Shirou couldn’t help but flinch at how she spoke to him. Illya began to explain how her life and history had made her mistrust Shirou. Her cold demeanor, her refusal to share anything with him, they were tests to see if he actually wanted to be her brother. Apparently, he had passed.

“Now, Shirou, we should start talking about the Holy Grail War. Naturally, our combined skills will make this war a trivial affair, especially with Berserker on our side.” Illya explained as she laid out manuscript after manuscript with complicated magical symbols and advanced Germanic scripts.

Ah, yes. Berserker. Illya had taken Shirou out to the forest where her maids and Servant were repairing the ruined castle. Leysritt was great, but Sella was…complicated… Anyway, Shirou got along pretty well with Berserker. The giant was remarkably friendly once Illya had introduced them. Perhaps it was because Shirou had convinced Illya to turn off Berserker's Mad Enhancement until the war started.

“What Servant should I try to summon, Illya-nee?” Shirou looked at the various circles. “That one seems familiar.” Yes. One of the circles reminded him of the stains inside his workshop/shed.

“Mama and Kiritsugu summoned a Saber in the last war. Maybe the circle wasn’t destroyed. Let’s go check!” Illya bounded away, skipping towards the workshop. Shirou sighed before hurrying after her. Honestly, he was just glad she was feeling better.

Shirou had to move some junk and open the door wide enough for Illya to examine the stains. “So, is it a summoning circle?”

“Yes. It will do. In lieu of a catalyst, we will have to improvise.” Illya turned around and nicked his arm with an Alchemy-crafted needle.

“Illya!” Shirou covered his arm, but the drop of blood already fell onto the circle. “You could have warned me before you did that.”

He reached for his handkerchief to bind the scratch, but it had already healed. Strange…

The circle began glowing. It got brighter and brighter until a short woman in Japanese clothes appeared. “I am a Saber-class Servant. I ask, are you my Mast—” she was interrupted by a coughing fit. Her skin paled and she fell onto Shirou.

“Are you alright?” He asked, getting a weak smile from Saber. “Come on, let’s get you in bed.”

Despite her protests, Saber did lie down and entered some form of slumber. “That shouldn’t have happened.” Illya whispered to him as he re-entered the room. “She’s Japanese, for one thing, and the Grail System only allows Western Servants. Beyond that though, her illness. Tuberculosis. What kind of Saber has tuberculosis?”

“The Shinsengumi…” Shirou whispered, remembering his history class and the project he and Shinji did over the First Squad. “Okita Souji.”

“Hmm? But she’s a woman.” Illya commented boredly. “Oh well. She’s your Servant, so you better find some way to deal with her illness.”
“What about magecraft? Is there some way to cure her disease that way?” He began pacing, trying to find some way to help Saber.

“Hmm…” Illya joined him before returning to the table and flipping through a few of her books. “Theoretically, if we were to alter her Spirit Origin and remove the crystallization of her illness, assuming it manifests as a skill or Noble Phantasm, she would be slightly weaker but wouldn’t have any more fits of sickness.”

“What would that take?” Shirou was fairly inexperienced with magecraft, but he knew that everything came at a cost.

“Permission and a Command Seal.” Illya looked up at him. “If you get her permission, a lot of the safeguards around Servant Core manipulation will go away, then the Command Seal will force Saber to remove the skill. I will handle the rest after that.”

First though, they had to wait for Saber to wake up. Until then, Shirou made dinner. Illya, as always, ate more than her fair share. She did need all of those nutrients, though, to help her magical energy properly replenish.

“Master? Why did you let me rest so long?” Okita yawned as she stumbled out of the bedroom, having regained most of her natural color.

“Saber, do you want your illness to be cured?” Shirou asked, causing her to stiffen.

“Yes.” She didn’t even hesitate.

“Even if you’re weakened because of it?”

“Yes.” Again, Saber didn’t hesitate. She looked up at him and Illya with hope spread across her face. “How? It’s part of my Spirit Origin now, so how can I be healed?”

“We’re altering your Servant Core.” Illya explained the process to her. “Now, Shirou.”

He nodded before expending one of his Command Seals with the order he and Illya had prepared: “Saber, separate yourself from your malady!”

Illya glowed silver and gold as her Alchemy surrounded Okita, completely encapsulating her before a blinding light spread throughout the room. “It’s done.” Illya huffed before collapsing into Shirou’s arms. She was cold. Most of her energy had been expended performing this miraculous feat.

“Thank you, Onee-chan. Get some rest.” Shirou patted Illya on the head, making her smile before she went back to sleep. “Saber, how are you fee—”

He was interrupted by a joyful Servant tackling him with tears running down her face. “Look how much I can do before tiring!” She cheered as she ran around and exercised over and over without coughing even once. “I thought you said I’d be weaker.”

“That’s what we thought would happen.” Shirou nodded, but upon pulling up Saber’s information, he found it wasn’t the case. Her Endurance, which had formerly been as low as it could get, had jumped up to the average rank for a Servant! Her Strength had also improved by one rank! All from the removal of ‘Weak Constitution.’ Amazing.

Her Mana and Luck were still awful for a Servant, but there wasn’t anything they could do about that. She wasn’t from an era where magecraft was common, and the fact that tuberculosis was formerly a permanent fixture of her Spirit Origin said enough about the state of her Luck. Still though, Shirou felt good about their partnership.

“My sword is at your command, Master. Forever and ever.” Okita assured him, kneeling at his feet.

Shirou knelt down and shook her hand firmly. “I look forward to fighting alongside you, Saber.” Her smile assured Shirou that his actions, including the loss of a Command Seal, were worth it.

To be continued…

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 18: Saber Gaius Julius Caesar

Notes:

This was originally going to be more action-focused, but Artrum's work on Reddit involving a Female Shinji wouldn't let me try that concept out. Any way, this is also a different Caesar from FGO's version, so if any questions arise, don't hesitate to leave a comment. Enjoy!

“Master, you’re in trouble.” Saber’s wise commentary was unnecessary. Shirou knew exactly how much trouble his actions had unintentionally caused. Who knew that being kind, friendly, and bad at high jumps would make three sisters fall in love with him?

“I’ve known Emiya the longest, so I should be the one to teach him the ropes of the War.” Shinji, the former tomboy turned socialite, smirked as she looked Shirou over. Her face was still too pale and there were a few gray hairs cropping up in her formerly blue hair, but Shinji seemed healthier now that the Holy Grail War had started.

“Nee-san, you’re not even a proper Master. I’ll help Senpai with the War.” Sakura, Shirou’s kouhai and occasional housemate, made Shinji and Tohsaka shiver before Sakura smiled at Shirou sweetly. “Since you’re in charge of Rider, Nee-san, it would make sense for me to aid Senpai through the basics of being a Master.”

“You Matou sisters are quite cunning, but neither of you are skilled outside of your specialty.” Tohsaka bragged as she flipped one of her twintails over her shoulder. “I, however, am knowledgeable enough to help Emiya-kun find the fastest path to competency as a mage. If he happens to have a gift for Imaginary Numbers or Witchcraft, I’ll send him your way.”

Sakura and Shinji pouted but didn’t give in. The three girls continued glaring at each other. They inhaled before beginning arguing in full force. All facades of decency were ripped away as the claws came out and Shirou was reminded of what Saber had told him: “witches are scary when angered.”

The Master of Saber backed away and managed to get out the door before running into another problem. There were a dozen dragon-tooth warriors outside of the school building. “More witches, great.” Saber muttered as he materialized alongside his horse. 

He was a tall, trim man in ornate Roman armor. A long golden sword was sheathed on his left side while a gladius was on his right. Genitor, a large horse with toed feet, pranced in place as it materialized from mana. Normally, it wouldn’t have been able to be summoned alongside Saber, but due to his Imperial Privilege, the mount was crystallized as a Noble Phantasm. 

“Come, Master.” Saber swung onto the horse with ease before pulling Shirou on after him. “Genitor! Fly!”

The Phantasmal Beast neighed as it leapt over the heads of the bone warriors. “Caster?” Shirou asked as he held onto Saber’s armor.

“Caster.” The Roman nodded. Ironically, the Roman was the second-youngest Servant summoned in the war. Rider was probably the oldest, Berserker and Caster were after her, then there was Saber, and finally Lancer. Tohsaka probably had Archer, but she was keeping that close to her chest. As for Assassin, well, that was another concern.

He drew his gladius and hacked one of the bone spears away from them. Genitor landed and sped away from the school just barely escaping the bright blue sphere of light which exploded into existence in the middle of the dragon-tooth warriors. Saber turned around, sheathing his gladius and preparing to draw his golden blade if necessary.

“Emiya. Are you alright?” Rider dashed through the rubble and appeared next to Shirou and Saber. Even without her mount, she was still as fast as Genitor.

“Yes. Saber kept me safe.” Shirou assured her. Saber smiled, though there was still some trepidation that Shirou sensed through their bond. For a self-proclaimed womanizer, Saber didn’t seem remotely interested in Rider. 

‘I’ve seduced dangerous women,’ Saber corrected Shirou, ‘Rider is very beautiful, but I am familiar with her legend. Also, she is clearly not interested in men like me: schemers and opportunists.’

Shirou mentally nodded. Shinji and Sakura were hurrying towards them, so Shirou dismounted Genitor. Saber followed suit, sending the horse back to wherever it stayed until called. “Emiya/Senpai!” The sisters glared at each other. “Was that Saber’s Noble Phantasm?” Shinji asked.

“No. Emiya-kun didn’t cause that explosion.” Tohsaka smirked as she approached. A tall man, about Saber’s height, in a red coat and black bodysuit appeared as he left his spirit form. “Archer did.”

“Hmm.” Archer crossed his arms and glared at Shirou. Saber noticed this and kept his hand on the golden sword’s hilt. “Master, I suggest I leave for the rest of these negotiations. If I say something wrong, Saber will kill me.”

“Just like that? You couldn’t defend yourself against his attacks?” Rin asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No. The nature of his attack would render most of my defenses useless. Combined with the difference in our raw power, I’d be better off just killing myself now.” Archer explained, manifesting a beautiful blade through a familiar magecraft.

“Projection?” Shirou blurted out, drawing everyone’s attention. “You just used Gradation Air!”

“Hmph. You are more competent in this world at least.” Archer sighed, dispelling his sword before removing his coat. “There, take that as a peace offering. When my coat is off, my intent to kill is gone.”

“Archer. Your weapons are made from Projection?” Rin asked. “Why? Don’t you have any weapons inherent to your legend?”

Rider smirked and Saber laughed. Shirou and the girls looked at them in confusion. “His smell. The coat was masking it.”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? That face, the magecraft, the tactics used against Lancer…” Saber laughed some more. “Unless you’ve been reincarnated Master, Archer’s identity is—”

“Heroic Spirit Emiya.” Archer revealed begrudgingly, scowling at the wide-eyed looks he was getting from the 3.5 Masters (Sakura and Shinji were supposed to be sharing Rider, after all). “Master, can I go now?”

“Yes, Archer. We’ll talk about your supposed amnesia later.” Rin waved her Servant off, pretending to be nonchalant. Everyone there, though, could tell she was more than a little bothered by the tall man’s behavior.

Archer nodded before fading into his spirit form, presumably returning to Tohsaka’s house. “Well, since Tohsaka-san already has an Emiya Shirou, then we should take care of this one, right little sister?” Shinji, ever the opportunist, pulled Shirou’s arm against her chest while winking at Sakura.

His kouhai took the hint and copied her adopted sister’s actions with a blush. There was, however, danger in her eyes that came with Shinji being that close to Sakura. Yeah, Shirou needed to take care of that…

“How do you live in the same house?” He blurted out, getting a short laugh from Rider.

“They exchange insults and keep a tally of who was able to spend more time with you. Whenever they start to get physical, I have to intervene and send them to their rooms.” Rider explained amusedly. “Still…I prefer their current squabbles to what they used to do to each other…”

All cheer disappeared as the light in Shinji and Sakura’s eyes faded. Rin looked down with a pained look on her face while Rider and Saber kept their stoic facades. As for Shirou, it felt like he was being torn apart by rage and grief. His sympathy was warring with his sense of justice. His blood was screaming at him to go and avenge the Matou sisters’ innocence while his heart was breaking out of sympathy for what they suffered through.

Shirou needed a release valve. His Circuits activated as phantom swords were shaped from his wild mana. The Projected steel drove itself into the ground again and again as more and more blades were formed by Shirou’s single-minded psyche being overwhelmed by complex emotion.

“What’s happening to him?” Sakura asked worriedly. Shirou saw her rush towards him before Rider, Shinji, and Rin pulled her back. “Senpai!”

“Emiya…” Shinji whispered, her eyes trembling as she seemed to be fighting the urge to rush him like Sakura had.

“Once he exhausts his mana, he’ll be fine.” Tohsaka tried to sound confident, but there was a faint tremor in her voice and moisture in her eyes which contradicted her. “Right, Saber?”

“You’re the one contracted to his future self.” Saber scoffed. “Look. The kid’s itching to go to war. I’ll take care of this.”

He drew his gladius before charging at Shirou. The Servant was blocked by steel blades manifesting as a cage around him. “No, Saber. If anyone is to beat the brat up, it will be me.” Archer exited his spirit form, still missing his red coat. Two beautiful short swords manifested in his hands. “Master yourself, Emiya Shirou! Are you a sword or are you a pocket knife?”

Heroic Spirit EMIYA charged forward. Something within Shirou’s core made him push back against the Servant’s word. The rain of swords stopped as mirrors of Archer’s swords appeared in Shirou’s hands. “Shut up! How do you live like this?” He roared as he locked blades with his future self. Memories and emotions which were not his own passed through him before Archer kicked him away.

“What? With more than one emotion at a time?” EMIYA asked sarcastically. “Maybe if you weren’t so obsessed with that useless hypocritical dream, you’d be able to understand the root of your problems.”

“How ironic.” Rider laughed from the side. “The embodiment of Emiya Shirou’s ideal is telling Emiya Shirou to give up his ideal.”

Shirou scowled before rushing at Archer again. Again and again, their spirits and their minds overlapped ever so slightly until Shirou began to understand. “Finally. Did you find what you were looking for within my memories?”

Shirou dry heaved at the horrors and hells he’d seen within Archer’s past, but looked up at his future self with determined eyes. “Yes. My dream, though hypocritical, is not a mistake.” EMIYA narrowed his eyes. “The idea of saving everyone within my reach, though impossible, is still beautiful. That is why, no matter what happens, I will do my best to pursue that beautiful dream.”

Archer laughed bitterly. “Hah! At least you’re not going to throw your life away now, right? You can’t save anyone if you don’t save yourself, right?”

“Yes. I can’t protect those near me if I don’t protect myself.” Shirou agreed. “You’re right and you’re wrong at the same time, but I hope that we can still work together to keep them safe.” He offered his hand out to the Servant.

Archer looked at it, scoffed, and punched Shirou in the face. The boy flew back, his nose bleeding. He and Archer looked at each other for a few seconds before laughing. EMIYA offered a hand to Shirou who, after taking it, proceeded to punch EMIYA in the face as well. “Not bad. Now, I think you have something you need to do.”

Shirou nodded, popping his nose back in place with a crunch, and headed towards the girls, Saber, and Rider. “Senpai, are you alright?” Sakura asked as she rushed towards him. “Your nose! Is it alright?” Clearly it was still bleeding, probably more so now that Shirou had relocated it. His kouhai took out a handkerchief and tried to clean his face with it, but Shirou stopped her with a hug. “S-Senpai?!”

“I’m sorry, Sakura. I’m sorry that I failed to help you in the past.” He whispered. He felt her tear up against his shoulder, so he held her tighter. Her arms wrapped around him like a lifeline, as if he was the only thing stopping her from drowning. “You’ll never be alone again. I promise you that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.”

“I know, Senpai…” Sakura whispered, muffled by his chest. “I love you. Please, save Nee-san too.”

Shirou nodded. Sakura squeezed him tighter before letting go. “Your turn, Nee-san.”

Shinji and Rin both stepped forward simultaneously before Rin took a step back. Shinji hesitantly walked towards Shirou but she refused to meet his gaze. Shirou took the last few steps, closing the distance, and lifted her face towards his. 

“E-Emiya… You’re wasting your time on me. Sakura was broken by our family; I helped break her. She can still be put back together though, unlike me… You can’t fix what was born broken…” Shinji tried to look away, but Shirou didn’t let her. “Emiya… Let me go! I’m not worth your time! I’m not worth your attention! I’M NOT WORTH ANYTHING!!” Shinji broke down into tears. Shirou wiped them away with his thumb before pulling her into a hug.

“Wrong.” He told her. “You’re my best friend. You’ve been my best friend since middle school when you tried to get me to realize I was wasting my time making posters for lazy upperclassmen. Even when you pranked me with the bow, you were trying to push me away so I didn’t get hurt, right?” Shinji opened her mouth to protest, but he stopped her. “I know, I know. You wanted to hurt me. You wanted to show me that my efforts were wasted, but you’ve undersold yourself.” She looked up at him with hopeful eyes. “My magecraft is Gradation Air: the creation of my inner desires out of nothingness. I take mana and create fake objects before imbuing them with value, with meaning. If you think you’re worthless, then I’ll help you find your worth again.”

Shinji’s eyes trembled as she cried again and threw her arms around him, sobbing even more than Sakura had. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Sakura, I’m so sorry!!!”

Shirou drew Sakura into the hug, and Shinji’s arms gripped her little sister tightly, as if she was afraid she would disappear. “Nee-san… I’m sorry too!” Sakura also started crying as she hugged her sister back. “I was taking revenge on you when I should have just kept loving you!”

Shirou looked up at Rin who quickly wiped her tears away before looking away with an imperious expression on her face. “W-What? Do you think I want to get in on this sisterly love? Please. I-I have better things to d—”

She was interrupted by a two-pronged Matou attack. Sakura and Shinji, summoning nearly-supernatural speed, had crossed the distance and hugged Rin tightly. The Tohsaka heiress made a startled sound but quickly melted into the embrace, quiet tears streaming down her face as she embraced her estranged sister and Shinji.

“Ah. This makes me miss Cleo.” Saber sighed as he put a hand on Shirou’s shoulder. “You have your hands full, dealing with three sister-queens, but I’m confident you can handle it. Just, don’t call the wrong name in bed.”

“Unless everyone’s in the same bed.” Rider chimed in, appearing out of nowhere on Shirou’s other side.

Shirou’s face turned red before he shook off Saber’s arm and walked towards the sisters. “Hey, why don’t you three come over for dinner? Saber and I would be happy to have you.”

The three girls looked at each other, whispered some more, and nodded. Their spokeswoman, Tohsaka for some reason, smiled softly. She seemed more vulnerable than ever, and Shirou was enraptured by her beauty in that moment… “We’d love to, Emiya-kun. P-Please t-take—” she glared at a smirking Shinji and an embarrassed Sakura, “why do I have to say this!”

“Please take good care of us, Senpai.” Sakura bowed deeply, making Shirou’s blush even worse as he imagined the girls staying with him forever. Every holiday, every meal, every day…

“Oh? I think Emiya likes that idea~” Shinji laughed, the sound both irritating Shirou and comforting him. He couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed like that. “I knew forcing those harem LNs onto him would work well in the long run!”

That started a new argument amongst the girls as Sakura admonished Shinji for forcing her ‘smut’ onto Shirou while Rin protested the notion of being involved with Shirou like that.

Naturally, the Servants—Saber, Archer, and Rider—all found this hilarious and were laughing at their respective Masters. Shirou sighed. This was going to be a long war…

To be continued…

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 19: Saber Hippolytus

Notes:

I'm sorry this chapter took so long! Creating Hippolytus' character sheet and defining his personality took longer than expected, especially since I didn't want it to come across as ridiculous. Please let me know what you think of him after reading the chapter. I hope you enjoy the story!

Out of all the things Emiya Shirou expected to happen, getting stabbed through the heart, somehow being resurrected, and finally being saved from his murderer (does it even count as murder if you’ve been resurrected?) by a young man wearing a white sheet with a form-fitting bronze chestplate on top of it wasn’t even something he considered a possibility. His savior smiled at the man in blue and beat his hand against his armor in what had to have been some form of greeting.

The young man had a Mediterranean tan and black hair with shocks of white stretching across like cracks in glass. His eyes, though, were practically glowing as one sky blue eye radiated cheer while the other, a cat-like amber eye, seemed to express some unreadable, some impossibly complex, emotion before it was subsumed by the cheerfulness on his face. 

“Greetings, noble Lancer! I am the Saber-class Servant of the man you killed. As you have killed my Master, it is only fitting that I must kill yours. Blood for blood, you understand, right?” Saber shrugged his shoulders apologetically as if he was doing nothing more than an unpleasant chore.

The man in blue barked out a laugh. “I like you, Saber! In other circumstances, I think we could’ve been friends. Sadly though, I must kill you and your Master. Sorry kid.” That was directed at Shirou with a slight smile that seemed apologetic for a split second.

Saber, though, laughed cheerily. “Finally! A fight worthy of my blood!” The bright blue eyes darkened into that menacing amber as his sclera turned black as well. “Grandfather! I shall spill blood in thy name!” 

His white sheet-dress-thing glowed with energy before transforming into bronze and iron armor. A hard skirt with bands of bronze bolted on hung down to his knees where iron greaves rose up from sandals. His breastplate had become iron with bronze pauldrons protecting his shoulders and joints. Meanwhile, his bare arms had become clad with bronze bracers rising up to his elbows while his hands remained unarmored, save for the cloth straps holding his vambraces on. At his waist, a leather belt manifested with a quiver full of arrows on one side and a short, leaf-bladed sword on the other. His right hand held an oval shield which covered half of his body while his left wielded a long spear with a broad tip. An unstrung recurve bow was stored within a sling on the back of his armor, something Shirou would have missed if not for the crackling red lightning that spread across Saber’s body.

“Are you a Saber or a Berserker?” Lancer asked with a scoff. “First I fight an Archer who uses swords, and now I’m fighting a Saber using a spear.”

“I will admit it is strange.” Saber’s rage remained, but his sanity was still intact. Somehow, he was in control of his manic energy. “I am not a perfect fit for the Saber-class. Normally, I’d be summoned as a Rider or a Berserker, but my Master needs my sword more than he needs my rage.” With that, Saber smiled. “So, Lancer, let us fight!”

The two men launched forward with impossible speed. Shirou felt a heat run through his nerves as his magecraft instantaneously scanned the weapons, even without needing to create a Magic Circuit! The crimson spear was powerful, EXTREMELY powerful, and Saber’s weapons were not even close to its level. However, that strange energy pouring from Saber’s entire being was infusing them with an almost sacred energy which managed to resist and even overpower Lancer’s might.

Lancer vanished and appeared in front of Shirou, his spear ready to strike at his heart, but it was rebuffed by Saber’s shield. “Tch!” Lancer narrowed his eyes as he leapt atop Shirou’s ruined shed. “How did you beat me here?”

“You are faster than me, Lancer.” Saber said, adjusting his grip on his spear. “But you are predictable. You realized that you could not get through my defenses without using more of your Magical Energy than you could safely afford, so you decided to try and kill my Master to cut off my own supply. However,” Saber’s amber eyes turned yellow, “all that did was make me angrier.”

The red lightning which had been crackling steadily suddenly flared up and turned into crimson flames which licked the air around Saber and seemed to cause spectral blood to drip from the tip of his spear and the edges of his armor. The streaks of white in his hair turned red and glowed even brighter than the flames. “Who are you?” Lancer whispered before sighing. “Sadly, though I wish I could continue this fight, my Master is calling me back. We shall have to finish this fight another day, Saber.” He looked at Shirou. “If this is your Servant, you’ve got one hell of a spirit, kid. If you can awaken it…” he whistled, “maybe I’ll have to reconsider my position.”

With that, Lancer faded into particles of light. Once the two young men were sure he was gone, Saber exhaled deeply, the flames and spectral blood vanishing as his eyes turned blue once again. His hair was the last thing to revert to normal, the white streaks reappearing gradually as if they were an afterthought. “Now then, let’s see about those Magic Circuits of yours, Master. As much compatibility you seem to have with my Divinity, using your own mana is probably better in the long run.”

“What?!” A familiar voice shrieked, startling the two men. “You-You were using Divinity rather than mana in this entire fight?” Tohsaka Rin asked as she stormed towards him, her Servant vanishing like Lancer had. “How have you even survived this long? What have you done to yourself?”

Saber began laughing cheerfully once more. “He’s quite durable, Master of Archer. His nerves are, quite literally, made of steel.”

Rin scowled and activated her own Circuits before running a hand across Shirou’s arm. “This doesn’t make any sense! There’s mineralization on your nerves, but instead of causing damage, they’ve been fortified and are capable of forming auxiliary Magic Circuits bound to your inactive ones!” She glared at Shirou as if he was a robber tracking mud into her house. “This-This-This is impossible! You’re impossible!” She pushed him back, causing him to fall onto the ground. She straddled him and poured mana into his chest.

That burning sensation from before returned, except less powerful. The hammer in his mind struck the gun, the sound louder than ever before. Lines of green light appeared across Shirou’s body, focusing on his limbs and stretching up to the side of his face. Then, it felt like a hot iron rod was poked into his spine as all of the nerves he had cannibalized lit up and formed connections between his primary Magic Circuits. “What just happened?” Shirou was confused by how weak, yet strong he felt after Rin finished whatever she did.

“I see. That makes sense.” She exhaled. “You’re not creating Magic Circuits. What you are doing is taking ambient mana and using it to repair the damage done to your body. The amount of damage you’ve done to your nerves, the intensity of it and the strange mineralization of the process, means that the pathways the ambient mana took through your body stabilized themselves into auxiliary Magic Circuits like those associated with Magic Crests.”

Shirou clearly looked confused, causing Tohsaka to groan. “Fine! I’ll explain it to you like I would a child.” She cleared her throat. “The damage you did to yourself caused mana to build up within your body. It took the path of least resistance through your body, eventually forming channels through which your body could permanently store and funnel Magical Energy through. Because all of this happened while your Circuits were still inactive, there was no damage done from your mana attempting to take unnatural paths. What I just did was teach your body how mana is supposed to flow through it.”

Shirou didn’t want to admit that it still mostly went over his head, so he just nodded. “And what did Saber do to me?”

“Me? I just used our contract to send some of the power I had from my Spirit Origin through you to create a feedback loop of power to fuel my Noble Phantasm.” Saber explained with a shrug. “It’s generally a passive boost to my abilities which allows me to hold my own against more powerful enemies. If I actively use Magical Energy with it, though, it also enhances my weapons into Pseudo-Noble Phantasms themselves, meaning that they can hold up against powerful strikes without breaking.”

“Are you as big an idiot as Emiya-kun?” Tohsaka Rin asked with wide eyes. “I’m one of your enemies! You just revealed what your Noble Phantasm did to one of the enemy Masters!”

“So?” Saber asked in confusion. “You saved my Master’s life. You gave us a fighting chance in the war. Why wouldn’t I pay you back for that?”

Rin’s mouth gaped open before she shut it again. “Fine! When Archer and I kill you, remember that you did it to yourself, Saber!” With that, she turned around and stormed off. At least, she tried to. Her red coat caught on one of the broken pieces of the shed’s door, causing her to trip and fall on her face. “This is humiliating…”

A flash of light, this time from a camera, lit up the night. “You bet it is, Tohsaka-san. I didn’t realize you would just bend over for anyone.” Shirou and Saber’s eyes narrowed. A tall man in red materialized on Shirou’s other side.

“Brat. Let’s kill this bastard. If you can do it on your own, I’ll hate you a little less.” The man in red grumbled before throwing a beautiful sword at what appeared to be empty air. A stake with a chain attached to it deflected the sword as a tall, beautiful woman with a blindfold on appeared on top of Shirou’s wall.

“Can just anyone get through my Bounded Field?” Shirou grumbled before feeling that same itch in the back of his eyes. The same one which instantly scanned Saber and Lancer’s weapons. Structural Grasp activated automatically and stored the swords within Shirou’s mind. Wait, swords?

Two beautiful short swords appeared in his mind, paired in every conceivable way. Their names and legends were instantly inscribed within his memory as if they had always been there. Matou Shinji was walking towards Tohsaka with a disgusting grin on his face. “Grandfather never let me touch Sakura, no matter how much I tried, so you’ll have to bear ten years of lust Tohsaka-san. I hope you can handle it.” He licked his lips, causing Shirou’s eyes to narrow.

Rin was trembling with rage, she could clearly handle this fight herself, but Shiriou wasn’t going to let her fight it alone. “Tohsaka, as your host for the evening, please let me handle this…this thing.” He spat at his former friend, causing all three Servants to bark with laughter.

Saber was watching the fight between Archer and Rider with glee. “I always heard stories about you, Rider! I can’t believe I finally get to meet you!” He looked at Shirou. “You can take him, Master! I’d give you some help, but this is a fight you should handle yourself.”

“Yes. It is.” Shirou said in an icy voice as rage coursed through his veins. He shoved his passion into the void of nothingness he learned from kyudo. Instead, he focused on those swords. While it would be satisfying to destroy Shinji with his own hands, there was something deep inside of him itching for a weapon. Something to ensure his victory, to define his path. “Trace, On!”

His Circuits flared to life as he stabilized his breathing and absorbed as much mana as he could from the surrounding air. Thankfully, the clash between Archer and Rider—and the previous fight between Saber and Lancer—left plenty of mana around. The sensation was painful, though not nearly as bad as when he made Circuits from his nerves, but Shirou didn’t let it show. Instead, he kept the image of those beautiful swords in his mind as mana crackled across his hands.

“E-Emiya… Stay back!” Shinji took a step back. “I-I was just kidding! Hey you-you know me, right?”

Shirou took another step forward, the pain intensifying as it felt like his very life was being drained from him to create the swords in his mind. Yet he refused to stop. Something deep inside of him told him that if he were to give up here, if he were to let Shinji get away with this, then Emiya Shirou should just seek out Lancer and let him end it all. “

You’re right. I do know you.” Shirou rasped as spots danced before his eyes before his sight became sharper than ever. “I’ve known you since we were in middle school. You were the best friend I ever had, but now I don’t even recognize you.” Shirou stared Shinji down. “You talk about Sakura and Tohsaka as if they were possessions; as if they were toys to discard when you get bored of them.” Shirou let his rage manifest once again, outlines of swords taking shape in his hands. With a surge of power and a crackle of mana, Shirou pointed the newly made Kanshou at him.

Shinji laughed. “All of that mana, spent on a fragile sword that will shatter in the wind?!” He wiped a tear from his eye. “You know, Emiya, you really are useless. Wasting all your time on worthless people and wasting all your mana on worthless creations.”

“The only thing I’ve wasted my time on, Shinji, is you.” Bakuya formed in Shirou’s other hand, the twin swords harmonizing as their bond took shape. Shinji’s eyes widened as Shirou dashed forward impossibly fast and, before Shinji could even open his mouth, sliced the bastard’s neck open while stabbing him through the heart in the same motion.

The book in Shinji’s left hand tumbled to the ground. Shirou picked it up and winced as his right hand burned with two new red markings, distinctly different from the three ones on his left hand. Tohsaka, recovered from her humiliation, launched a spell at Shirou. On instinct, his swords deflected it before he collapsed to the ground, exhausted. The swords, though, remained.

“You-You idiot!” Tohsaka exclaimed as she shrugged off her coat and ran over to him, looking him over before punching him repeatedly in the chest. “You almost killed yourself with that stupid stunt! I could’ve killed him before he even touched me!”

“I know, Tohsaka.” Shirou said, holding his hands up in apology. “I know! You’re a brilliant mage, much better than a failure like me, so you probably have a dozen spells that could have easily destroyed the waste of life in seconds!”

“Then why did you do it?” Rin asked, narrowing her eyes. “I thought he was your friend.”

Shirou looked down at his bloody hands. “I-I don’t know.” He admitted. “I just, I couldn’t let him speak that way about you or Sakura. Especially since your accident was my fault because Lancer destroyed the shed to get to me. Besides, I should’ve stopped Shinji when I first saw what he was becoming. That means that this was my fault, so I had to take care of it.”

Rin scoffed. “You have an overdeveloped sense of justice, Emiya-kun.” She stood up. “Fine! Because you did me a favor, I will do you one: form an alliance with me until we are the final two Masters in this war. Then we will settle this affair once and for all.”

Shirou looked at Saber who was still staring at Rider with admiration. “Saber? What do you think about this?”

“Huh? Oh, I think it’s a good deal. Especially for them because you’ve just taken control of Auntie Rider too.” Saber didn’t even look at Shirou and Rin, instead, he stepped closer to Rider. “C-Can I hug you, Auntie?”

Shirou and Rin looked at each other in disbelief before staring at the exchange between the two Servants once more. Rider’s face turned red and she looked away. Saber’s face seemed to become more childlike as he looked up at Rider with a slight pout. “C-Cut that out. I am not your aunt.”

“Well no, not officially…” Saber grumbled. “However, you are associated with my uncle’s great-grandfather, so that makes you my aunt too!” It was a child’s logic, but it somehow got through to Rider as she stiffened up but let Saber gently hug her. The Servant then sped off, presumably to find a hole to hide in. Saber, on the other hand, was beaming and practically skipped over to Shirou and Rin.

“This is going to be a long war…” Tohsaka groaned, getting a chuckle from Archer and a full laugh from Saber.

To be continued…

Bonus:

Class: Saber True Name: Hippolytus

Strength: B+ Endurance: A Agility: A Mana: C Luck: D NP: B

Magic Resistance: A Riding: B

Divinity: C Mind’s Eye (Fake): C Charisma: C Fair Youth: A

Son of the Amazon: A Battle Continuation: EX

Grandson of the War God: Anti-Unit: B Resurrection Fraught Hades: Anti-World: E

 

Son of the Amazon is a skill which allows Hippolytus, even as a Saber, to utilize all of the skills he inherited from his mother, the sister of Penthesilea and Hippolyta (his namesake).

Grandson of the War God is a Noble Phantasm much like the Belt of Ares which uses a stream of Divinity to enhance the user’s physical abilities and weaponry. This is an inferior version of the War God’s Blessing, but it is more than sufficient when combined with Hippolytus’ own Divinity (which stems from Ares in the first place).

Resurrection Fraught Hades is the crystallized legend of how Asclepius brought back Hippolytus from the dead. Once per summoning, Saber is able to resurrect himself to peak form without expending any Magical Energy at all. Because he can only use it once, the rank has degraded far beyond what it would be in the hands of Asclepius.

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. If you have any questions about Hippolytus or anything else in this chapter, feel free to leave a comment asking. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 20: Saber Kay

Notes:

Here's a chapter about one of the most-overlooked Knights of the Round Table, Sir Kay! The seneschal and chief advisor to King Arthur within the early days of Arthurian legends. I'm drawing quite a bit from those stories in my portrayal and interpretation of Kay. I hope y'all enjoy it.

“So…” Tohsaka Rin took a drink of tea as she raised an eyebrow at the unusual pair. Both were redheads, but they were extremely different apart from that. Emiya Shirou cleared his throat as he looked over at his Servant. Saber, a tall man with wild red hair whose very being seemed to emanate heat and warmth, was slightly twitching as his hands couldn’t seem to keep still. His face was calm, but his body was showing a posture of impatience with every second that passed. “You two have a plan to end the war with food?”

Saber barked out a laugh. “It’s a bit more complicated than that, Missy!” He leaned forward and flicked her tea cup, nearly splashing its contents onto her shirt. “For instance, how are you feeling after drinking my specialty brew?”

Rin frowned before closing her eyes. Her face was contemplative for a few moments before her eyes shot open with almost manic energy. “You’ve doubled my Magical Energy supply! Not just that, the minor cold I was having is gone!”

Saber laughed. “That’s the effect of my legend. I can convey health and power through the food and drink I create. These are technically spells, but, to be honest, I barely have any talent for magecraft at all.”

Shirou understood Saber, after all, he wasn’t any better on the magecraft front himself. “So, Tohsaka, Saber and I wish to find the Holy Grail and fill it with magically-enhanced food after filling the stomachs of every Master and Servant in the War.”

“And in doing so, you’d create enough Magical Energy to enact the Grail’s power.” Tohsaka sighed heavily. “Have you two idiots tested this on anyone other than me?”

Shirou and Saber looked at each other awkwardly. Saber shook his head slightly. “No?” Shirou hazarded an answer, causing Tohsaka’s glare to intensify. “Does Fuji-nee accidentally eating an entire pot’s worth of magical soup count?”

Tohsaka sighed again, even heavier than before. “Fujimura-sensei was completely unchanged afterwards, right?”

“Fuji-nee has an iron stomach.” Shirou said dryly. “After downing three bottles of sake, I don’t think the soup even had an impact on her drunken wrestling obsession.” Saber laughed heartily, having enjoyed watching his Master suffer under the ‘affections’ of his foster sister.

“She was the only other recipient of this ability, right?” Rin asked again, looking between the redheads.

‘Don’t tell her about the Matous.’ Saber mentally whispered. ‘She’s not ready for that knowledge yet.’

Shirou withheld a nod. ‘You should tell her then. I can’t lie that well.’

Saber cleared his throat and smiled at Rin. “No, little lady. We haven’t enhanced anyone with our cooking, apart from Miss Fujimura and yourself, of course.”

Rin nodded, appeased by the admission. “Well. I need to summon my Servant before I can even agree or disagree with your plan, but thank you for clearing your plan with me before spreading your cooking throughout the city.”

With that, Shirou and Saber were dismissed and they hurried out of there. “Why didn’t we tell her about Shinji and Sakura?” Shirou asked. “Or about their grandfather?”

“Did you want to be there forever?” Saber asked. “You might have enjoyed the verbal lashing and punishment from her, but I have no desire to be that lady’s footstool.”

Shirou nodded in agreement. “Honestly, neither do I. Let’s go back and check on them then. Odds?”

“Your girlfriend should nearly be awake. I don’t care about the idiot.” Kay said with a shrug. “Honestly, I’m looking forward to your reunion with her more than anything.”

Shirou blushed before looking away. “Sakura and I aren’t like that…” He shook his head. “Did you know about Shinji’s secret? Is that why you were insistent about feeding the Matou family?”

Saber nodded. “I suspected that Shinji’s form wasn’t quite natural, but I couldn’t confirm it without making a few assumptions.”

Conversation fell off at that point as the two redheads walked back to the Emiya Residence where a sleeping snake greeted them at the door. “Rider.” Saber greeted her with a bow.

She opened one eye before vanishing into her spirit form. “She hasn’t warmed up to us, has she?” Shirou asked rhetorically. “Of course not. To her, we showed up out of nowhere and put her Master in a coma.”

“Sen…pai?” That startled Shirou, causing him to rip open the door, surprising the girl on the other side. Matou Sakura was paler and leaning against the wall, exhausted and barely staying upright. Her hair was wrapped up in a towel while a pair of Shirou’s sunglasses were covering her eyes. “What happened to me?”

Shirou didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he picked Sakura up in his arms, knocking off her sunglasses to reveal a set of teal eyes not at all unlike Tohsaka Rin’s own eyes. The towel hiding her hair slid off, revealing a darker purple with several strands turning dark brown or even black. Again, her hair was remarkably similar in color to Tohsaka Rin’s. “It’s a bit of a story, Sakura, but you need to rest some more. Your body is exhausted from all the changes you’ve undergone.”

Sakura’s brow furrowed cutely before she rested her head in the crook between Shirou’s shoulder and neck. “Alright, Senpai. Can you tell me the story while I rest?”

Shirou smiled and nodded. “Alright, well, it began right after I summoned Saber…”

Emiya Shirou hadn’t intended on summoning a Heroic Spirit. Honestly, he thought the ritual written out in Kiritsugu’s journal was for a certain magecraft tool Shirou was unfamiliar with, and, since he spent most of his time fixing things, Shirou wanted to see if the tool was of any use to him. When a knight appeared in the middle of his Workshop, Shirou wasn’t sure what to think. When this ‘Saber’ made a soup which healed Shirou’s nerve damage AND awakened his Magic Circuits, he realized that Saber was the very thing Shirou had been wanting and more.

The idea of a Holy Grail War wasn’t appealing to Shirou, nor was it to Saber, but the idea of all that death and devastation occurring in Fuyuki while they sat and waited was impossible to stomach. That’s when Shirou had a brilliantly stupid idea: feed the other Servants and Masters in order to boost the Magical Energy and allow for the war to be won without any bloodshed.

Kiritsugu’s journal mentioned the Matou family as a magus family who was active in the previous war, so Shirou decided to test Saber’s food on them (assuming they were mages, that is). The appearance of a bruise on Sakura’s hand confirmed it for Shirou, so he arrived at the Matou Estate with platters of magically-enhanced food whose benefits were so subtle that their Bounded Field couldn’t detect them yet so powerful that they activated immediately after being swallowed.

While Shirou received a minimal boost to his Magical Energy production and his atrophied Circuits were strengthened, the three Matous were another story… Sakura and Shinji collapsed as the former convulsed before evil-looking smoke passed from her very veins while the latter began to shrink while ‘his’ chest swelled and ‘his’ hips widened. Zouken, though, had the most extreme reaction as the formerly creepy old man turned into a swarm of melting worms which shrieked and tried to attack Shirou! He was shocked, but Saber materialized with a smirk on his face and heat emanating from his very being. The melting accelerated, and turned into evaporation when Saber picked up a wooden chair leg and used it as a torch to destroy the rest of Zouken’s wormy existence.

Rider then appeared after Shirou picked up a book that had fallen out of Shinji’s pocket. Silently, though with a strong look of veiled distrust, she helped Shirou and Saber carry Shinji and Sakura to the Emiya Residence without being seen or questioned by authorities or well-meaning people on the street. Then, Shirou and the two Servants spent the next few days caring for the Matou siblings (sisters, now) until their absence was finally noticed by more than just Ayako and the archery club. Then, Shirou and Saber went to the Tohsaka manor to explain themselves to the city’s Second Owner, Tohsaka Rin.

Sakura was quiet for a few minutes, even after Shirou had set her down in bed. He and Rider brushed her hair and brought her dinner, but it was only when Shirou made to leave that she spoke up. “Senpai?” She grabbed the edge of his sleeve, stopping him from leaving.

“I-I think you should know my past too. Why I’m a Master in the war too, I mean.” Sakura’s story was tragic and horrible. Shirou enveloped her in a hug as both of them shed tears over how her innocence was lost at such a young age. How she was taken from someone she loved and put in a situation which broke her to pieces when she was only a child.

Shirou could feel Saber’s rage through their bond. Rider had the water hose on full blast due to the heat of Saber’s flames lighting the wintry grass ablaze while melting the lingering snow. A never-ending stream of curses in multiple languages coursed through Shirou’s mind as Saber released his anger. He tuned the Servants out and focused on Sakura.

“You will always be welcome here, Sakura. No matter what happens in this war, no matter what happens between you, Shinji, or Tohsaka Rin, you will always be welcome in my home. You will always have a place here.” Shirou assured her, pulling the spare key from his pocket and pressing it into her hand. “Welcome home, Sakura.”

Sakura’s tears started flowing even more as she held Shirou even tighter. “Don’t do that, Senpai. Don’t give me hope. Don’t make me love you even more.”

Shirou kissed the top of her head, causing a stifled moan to escape Sakura’s mouth. Then, her crying stopped and her body began to tremble with barely-restrained power. Suddenly, pale pink and purple ribbons manifested from Sakura’s sides as her Magic Circuits came to life and pushed Shirou onto his back. Sakura crawled on top of him and began hungrily kissing him. There was a strangely sweet taste in Shirou’s mouth as his body began heating up the longer Sakura kissed him. Soon, his senses were swimming and he was lost within Sakura’s overwhelming love for him.

To be continued???

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. If anyone has any questions about specifics in this (or any other) chapter, please leave a comment so I can clarify anything I failed to properly explain. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 21: Saber Medusa

Notes:

Apologies for last chapter's mention of gender-swapped Shinji and the lack of backstory around the Matous. If you would like a dedicated half-chapter to straighten everything out, then I would be happy to oblige. If it seems like I just made Shinji a girl for no reason, well, that's half-right. I genuinely have a reason for it (though it may not be a good one), but I understand it's not everyone's cup of tea. That said, I probably won't be doing it again in this story (apart from the storylines which are currently using it).

All that aside, I hope y'all enjoy this chapter focusing on Saber Medusa!

And to think, everything in the Holy Grail War would have happened normally if Shinji hadn’t mistaken his Book of the False Attendant for Shirou’s notebook. However, due to that mix-up and Shirou mistakenly imbuing the book with some of his wasted Magical Energy, one Master became two and two Servants became one. At least, that’s what the creepy priest said when Tohsaka Rin dragged Emiya Shirou and Matou Sakura to the church after Sakura’s Servant, Rider, metamorphosed herself into a Saber-class Servant—something which should have been impossible.

“Simply put, the magecrafts of Matou-san and Emiya-kun were too compatible.” Kotomine said simply, his face remaining calm even as Shirou detected a wicked amusement in his eyes. “A nature which finds allows for the impossible to become possible blended with a constitution designed to manifest impossibilities into existence, thus it should be no surprise that an impossibility has occurred.”

While the priest was talking, Tohsaka was busy repairing Shirou’s nerves and awakening his Magic Circuits. Sakura was standing off to the side with Rider protectively watching over her. Or was it Saber now? “So, Emiya and Sakura managed to alter a Spirit Origin after its summoning? No matter how compatible they are, that shouldn’t be possible at all!” Tohsaka’s voice continued to rise, making Sakura shrink against the wall while Shirou winced at the volume.

“Ah, you are correct, for the most part, Tohsaka-san.” A little girl’s voice cheerfully declared as a tiny child in heavy winter clothing strode into the room with a powerful authority and magical aura. Shirou could barely see the outline of a huge monster of a man behind her, carefully watching over her and preparing himself to defend his Master at any time. “However, my Onii-chan and his harlot—” Sakura’s eyes dulled at that, making Saber’s golden short sword manifest before flashing away. “Apologies, his lover,” Sakura’s mood immediately skyrocketed as a bright red blush covered her face, “essentially promoted a standard Cavalry-type Servant into a Knight-type Servant through unlocking and manipulating the Noble Phantasms the Heroic Spirit possessed.

Shirou’s brow furrowed even more, so the girl sighed. “Both Saber-class Servants and Rider-class Servants possess the core skills of Magic Resistance and Riding, the key difference between the classes deals with either the amount of Noble Phantasms the Hero possesses or which aspect of their legend is the most pronounced. For example, if my Berserker was to be summoned as a Saber, he would gain several Noble Phantasms without sacrificing his primary one, but his temperament and personality would be drastically different due to him being a different facet of Berserker’s legend.”

Shirou nodded slowly before Sakura timidly spoke up. “So, Rider became Saber because of something Shirou and I did to her?”

“Onii-chan more than you, Sakura-chan.” The little girl corrected gently. “He is, for lack of a better term, a weapon at his core. His magecraft and his body are conduits designed solely for the production of weapons. If you don’t believe me, take a closer look at his Workshop later tonight.”

“How did you—” Shirou began but was easily interrupted.

“Please. Your Bounded Field was competent enough for a beginner, but still so weak and simple that I was able to breeze through it without it even detecting me at all. Even Berserker would have been able to get through if I turned off his Mad Enhancement.” The girl scoffed. “Do work on that, Onii-chan. I would hate to kill you when you were not at your best.”

That made Shirou even more confused, but he simply nodded and looked at Sakura. “So, why don’t we head home, Sakura? Us and Saber, I mean.”

Sakura’s face somehow turned an even brighter shade of red as she stuttered incoherently before nodding fervently. She sprinted over to Shirou’s side with almost inhuman speed while Saber simply dematerialized and reappeared in front of them.

“Shall we go, Masters?” Saber asked in a quiet and practically monotone voice. Shirou and Sakura nodded before exiting the church with Saber covering their backs. Only then, as they left, did they hear the roar of a monstrous Servant manifesting and charging deeper in the church. “Hmm. So he is Berserker. I thought I recognized his stench. As for Archer, well, I think he will be able to assist the brute well enough.” The two Masters looked up at their Servant’s visor-cladded eyes with the confused look which had been present on their faces since the whole debacle started, causing Saber to sigh. “Come. Let us return to Emiya’s home.”

Shirou looked at Saber’s silver and white armor, wondering how she would ever pretend to be a civilian when dressed like an angel or some kind of Western war goddess, when she flashed with light. Her armor had disappeared, revealing surprisingly modern clothes and a pair of round purple sunglasses which masked the square pupils of her eyes. Wait, what?

“We’ll explain later, Senpai.” Sakura whispered, pulling Shirou along as Saber quietly followed behind them. With every block, her clothing changed as if she couldn’t get comfortable with her outfit. She tried on quite a few womanly ensembles before eventually settling on a simple black turtleneck sweater and black pants.

“This will do. Though my glasses do not go with my outfit.” Saber pouted, the expression quite surprising on the calm, aloof woman’s face. She didn’t seem the type to care about her clothes either, so her distaste for what she was wearing surprised him.

“Senpai, that’s no good. Saber is a woman too, you know.” Sakura gently pinched him, puffing her cheeks out. “Doesn’t she look lovely?”

Shirou glanced at Saber, seeing his shock mirrored back at him from her face. “Uh,” her face seemed to fall slightly, so he continued, “yes, absolutely. You seem very mature and beautiful, Saber-san.”

Saber’s face returned to its aloof state, but Shirou thought he saw a hint of pink on her cheeks before Saber’s glasses turned into a reflective visor, obscuring everything above her nose. “U-Unnecessary, Master. I do not need empty praise.”

Shirou frowned. “It’s not empty though, Saber. You genuinely do look beautiful. Your beauty is evident regardless of what you’re wearing.”

Saber shivered slightly before her glasses returned again. There was a smirk on her face now that was suspiciously reminiscent of Taiga’s whenever she teased him over his first crush. “Oh? But what if I was wearing nothing? How beautiful would you find me then? Hmm, Master?”

Shirou’s newly born blush outshone Sakura’s as he looked away, trying in vain to keep the images of a naked Saber from his mind. She chuckled gently. “Senpai…” Sakura tugged on his sleeve, redirecting his attention towards her. At some point during his conversation with Saber, Sakura had removed her tie and undid the top few buttons on her shirt. “W-What about me?” She gripped his arm, pulling it between the two incredibly soft mounds of flesh that were teasingly on display. He was just tall enough to be able to peek down her unbuttoned collar and see the lacy edges of her bra.

Shirou’s face heated up even more as he gulped. “Y-You’re so beautiful, Sakura. You’re always beautiful.” Her face matched his in redness as she pulled his arm closer to her body. “Y-You didn’t need to unbutton your shirt for me to notice you, though. You’re always beautiful in my eyes, Sakura.”

Suddenly, Sakura let go of him and turned around. Shirou thought he had done something wrong, especially when he began to see her shivering slightly. “Sen…pai…” Okay. That wasn’t Sakura’s normal voice.

“Master, run.” Saber interjected, putting herself between Shirou and Sakura. “She has been overwhelmed by Aphrodite’s curse. If we do not return home soon, she will try to take you here on the street!”

Shirou’s eyes widened, but he listened to Saber’s advice and began running. “Senpai!” Sakura was running behind him and was somehow gaining! He Reinforced himself and sped up, but dark purple ribbons appeared and tripped him. He face-planted into the ground, his Reinforced body sparking like metal against concrete as he bounced off the asphalt pavement. He flipped over just in time to witness Sakura jumping onto him and smothering him with a kiss and a full-body hug. Saber groaned before picking both of them up and speeding towards Shirou’s home faster than any human had the right to go. Sakura didn’t even seem to notice as Saber opened the door while balancing both of them in one arm. She didn’t notice as Saber set Shirou and his ride-along down on the futon in his room or as the Servant wisely retreated and left Shirou to his fate.

She did, however, notice when Saber turned out the lights and shut the door. “Oh…Senpai~” Sakura moaned as she reached down and ripped her shirt open, sending buttons everywhere.

“Sakura, your shirt—” He protested.

“I’ll fix it later. I-I need you, Senpai. Shirou.” Sakura whispered as she leaned down and began running kisses along every bit of exposed skin Shirou had. “Can you feel how much I want you?” Those ribbons returned and hiked up Sakura’s skirt, causing a wet feeling to pool around his crotch. “I’ve been like this since Rider turned into Saber. Since you and I were bound by that contract. I need you, Senpai, like I’ve never needed you before.” Shirou was, understandably, too shocked to respond at first. However, that changed when Sakura’s eyes began to tear up. “I need you, please. Even if just this once. Please love me, Senpai!”

Shirou, acting on instinct, sat up and hugged her. The pillowy sensation of her breasts, even with the hard restriction from her bra, nearly overwhelmed him again, but he persevered. “I’m sorry, Sakura.” Sakura’s tears began falling in earnest. “But I can’t settle for just once.” She looked up at him with hope. He smiled at her as kindly as he could. “If we do this, then there is no going back. I will be yours, and you will be mine.” The hunger in Sakura’s eyes returned as she licked her lips.

“Then fill my void, Senpai. I am Hollow, you are the Sword. Make us one.” Shirou wasn’t sure why she suddenly started using figurative language, but he wasn’t going to refuse her.

That was the beginning of a very long night, hopefully the first of many such nights. And even as visions of rust-covered skies and blade-studded battlefields crossed Shirou’s mind, even as dark shadows and cursed mud splashed against the battlefield like a stormy tide, he ignored them all. For there was only one vision Shirou cared for at the moment, and she was too beautiful (and lustful) to ignore.

To be continued…

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. I know Sakura was a little OOC, but I really wanted to write her as a love-type borderline-yandere who craves affection. If there are any questions about that or any other aspect of this story, please let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

Chapter 22: Saber Heracles

Notes:

This is a weird one, even by my standards. Heracles is less of a Saber as summoned than a Servant who became a Saber due to a Grail War gone wrong.

We're counting down to the end of this anthology! Only two more Sabers after Herc!

Sakura had gone crazy. That was the only explanation Shirou could think of as to how he and Illya were in this situation. His Servant, former Servant, had been corrupted and forced Shirou to kill her so that Shirou could live. Now, Caster was trying to capture Shirou to “negotiate” with the Black Grail, as Sakura was calling herself. Rin and Archer were trapped within their mansion while Lancer managed to escape to the forest alongside Shirou, Illya, and Berserker.

Speaking of Berserker, Caster attempted to afflict him with madness before breaking his contract with Illya, but something went wrong. It honestly felt like Saber reached out from beyond to save Shirou once again. Instead of deepening his madness, Caster undid Berserker’s Mad Enhancement. Then, her attempt to break his contract ended up breaking his Spirit Origin, allowing Illya to change his Class into the newly opened spot: Saber. Since Shirou was still Saber’s Master, he gained partial ownership over Heracles with Illya, but given Saber II’s high Magic Resistance and Valor, that didn’t mean much since his loyalty lay with Illya.

“Shirou-kun.” Heracles’ deep voice broke Shirou out of his reverie. “You have mourned long enough. Now is the time for action.” Saber II summoned his sword, a majestic greatsword almost on par with Excalibur in glory, except its power was much wilder, less restrained. “Come. The battle calls us both.”

Shirou nodded before clenching his jaw and bringing his Circuits to life. He felt the freshly inscribed symbol on his back burn as Illya’s Magical Energy coursed through him. Shirou’s stomach wrenched as a trail of black mud dribbled from his mouth and the corner of his eyes. The cursed crest covering his heart burrowed deeper into him as he could almost feel Sakura’s arms wrap around him as black and red ribbons appeared on the outskirts of his vision.

“Shirou. Are you alright?” Saber II’s voice centered Shirou and helped him out of the darkness. “I do not know if you are blessed or cursed, little warrior. Two Grails have given you blessings none have received in centuries, yet they are tearing you apart.

Shirou grimaced before exhaling. “Trace, On!” Kanshou and Bakuya effortlessly took shape, their enchantments providing another layer of protection against the insidious mana coursing through his veins. “Let’s get going, Saber. What is it this time?”

“Medea’s dragon-tooth warriors are battling the Shadow’s monsters. Lancer spotted Rider from a distance. It’s the first time she’s been spotted since the Shadow marked you as hers.” Heracles’ brow furrowed. “She seems unchanged by the Mud, almost as if she’s avoided it somehow, but didn’t she give you and Saber over to the Shadow at the beginning of this?”

“Yes. She also aided in trapping Rin and Archer in their mansion.” Shirou nodded before twirling his swords. “Is there anything else, Saber?”

Heracles didn’t answer. Instead, he grabbed Shirou with his free hand and swung the young swordsman onto his back. Since he still retained his immortal body, Shirou’s blades were practically worthless against the Servant. The giant leapt into the air, exiting the forest and entering the warzone in seconds. The sound of bone weapons cracking against Shadow monsters filled the air as the familiar stench of fire and death filled Shirou’s world. Shirou let go of Heracles, only for the giant to bring up his sword for the mage to use as a springboard allowing the mage to dart across the city with Reinforced limbs aided by the power of a Top Servant’s strength.

Shirou’s newly awakened senses found a trail of purple hair moving faster than cars. He buried his swords into the wall of a ruined skyscraper, before flipping onto the roof and Tracing his bow and an arrow. “Projection, Start.” He wasn’t planning on killing Rider, just getting her attention. “ Caladbolg!! ” However, she needed a reason to approach him. Thinking that she was under attack from a vengeful Archer was the best idea to get her to approach him.

Within seconds, the Hero-Killer was upon him. Kanshou and Bakuya fended her off long enough for her to realize who he was. “Shirou?” She flipped away before skidding to a stop ten feet from him. “That attack, the presence, the power. It was exactly like Archer’s.”

“There’s a reason for that.” Shirou grunted before dispelling his swords. “But that’s not important right now. How have you avoided her?”

“You mean ‘why am I avoiding her,’ right?” Rider asked, letting her weapons fade into nothingness. “After I saw my Master deny Saber a proper ending, I realized that she was not in control of her darkness like she claimed to be.” Her form flickered and Rider grimaced. “My Independent Action skill is reaching its limits. Avoiding Lancer took more out of me than I thought.”

“What do you mean that she denied Saber an ending?” Shirou demanded, his mana flickering. “I saw her die!”

“Her magecraft deals with Spiritual entities. She claimed Saber’s Spirit Origin at the last possible moment and rescued it from oblivion.” Rider explained gently. “However, due to the damage she sustained, your former Servant has changed Classes.”

“Berserker.” Shirou whispered. “Okay, Rider. Let’s make a pact.” Rider stiffened. “You will become my sword, and I will aid you in rescuing your true Master from her fate.”

“What about your sister and Heracles?” Rider asked, her shock breaking through the emotionless facade she always presented.

“Our goals are aligned.” Shirou stated firmly. “Illya and Saber want to restore order to the city; we want to save the one we care for. By saving her, we save the city. If we fail, they will finish the job as only they can.”

Rider nodded. “Then we are agreed. I will be your sword and guide you to victory, Master.”

“Until Sakura is free,” Shirou offered a hand to Rider who took it. A new Command Seal burned itself onto his hand as the contract between him and Rider was finalized. “Our pact shall endure.”

“Until she is free.” Rider agreed, a half-smile crossing her face.

To be continued???

Class: Saber True Name: Heracles

Parameters: Strength: A+ Endurance: A+ Agility: A Mana: A+ Luck: A NP: B

Class Skills: Magic Resistance: A+ Riding: A+

Personal Skills: Valor: A+ Divinity: A Battle Continuation: A Mind’s Eye (True): A

Noble Phantasms: [God Hand: Anti-Unit: B] [Nine Lives: ???: C~A++] [Marmyadose: Anti-Fortress: A+++]

Due to Heracles originally being summoned as a Berserker, his personal skills remain unchanged, with the exception of his Mind’s Eye skill which has adapted to reflect his newfound sanity. His synergy with the Saber Class has enhanced his Mana and Luck to where they would have been if not afflicted with madness.

His Class Skills reflect his legends of taming Phantasmal Species and the immense force of will he showed throughout all of his adventures.

Marmyadose is a sword attributed to King Arthur and Hercules by a single source in Arthuriana, so I have begrudgingly included it as an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm whose power, due to being unrestrained, exceeds Excalibur in standard use.

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. Thanks for reading!

P.S. After this anthology is complete, I will start working on the stories I think have the most potential. As of right now, either Altera or Musashi are the ones most likely to be the first continuation posted.

Chapter 23: Saber Perseus

Notes:

I'll admit that this is not my proudest work, but it's the best I could think of over the course of writing it. It might be replaced with a better one later on, but this chapter is the best I could do for Saber Perseus.

Hope y'all enjoy it nonetheless.

So, did Shinji have a twin brother who liked to cosplay as a Greek hero in the middle of winter? If not, then who was this strange man standing in front of Shirou? “I am Saber, Master.” Saber cleared his throat. “I will take care of Lancer, then I’ll come back to check on you.”

The winged sandals on his feet fluttered as he sped off in a blur. The weapons clashed in a blur too fast for Shirou to detect. Glints of red and silver were all he could see before the man in blue became visible once again. “Heh, you’re pretty fast there, Saber.”

“You are as well, Lancer.” Saber replied with an easy smile, twirling his scythe around with ease. “Now leave before I stop holding back.” There was a dangerous glint which entered his eyes as the scent of ozone filled the air.

“Hah! Alright, alright.” Lancer shook his head. “I’ll get out of here, for now. Kid!” Shirou looked up, still not quite sure what was going on. “You’ve got one hell of a Servant. Good luck keeping him under control.”

With that, Lancer leapt out of sight. Saber turned around and winked at Shirou. “There, he bought it.” Saber sighed with relief. “I really didn’t want him to call my bluff. I could outpace him, but not in a confined area like this. I need to have more room to run in order to show my true strengths.”

“Um, what’s going on?” Shirou asked. “Who are you?”

Saber laughed before escorting Shirou inside. “I’ll explain everything, but not out here in the open.” Once seated around the kotatsu, Saber began to explain the Holy Grail War to him, as well as what they would need to do. “Honestly, I had enough combat in my lifetime, so if you want to play it defensive, I’m fine with that. However, if you want to take the fight to our enemies, then—” They were interrupted by Shirou’s Bounded Field blaring loudly.

“Someone’s outside!” Shirou blurted out.

“A Servant. And they’re not being subtle at all!” Saber confirmed. “I’ll cover you, but we need to start moving!”

“Senpai!” That voice! It startled Shirou and made him turn around in surprise.

“Sakura!” Shirou didn’t hesitate and sped outside, only to be ensnared by metal chains as a tall woman with purple hair and a blindfold appeared out of nowhere. “What’s going on?! Is Sakura alright?”

Shirou’s body flared with power as a strangely warm sensation ran through his body. There was pain, but the adrenaline pumping through his veins overpowered it easily. “Master, his Circuits are coming to life, shall I neutralize him?” The female Servant asked, but her Master didn’t even have a chance to respond.

“Trace, On!” The mental gun in his head cocked its hammer as dormant Magic Circuits flared to life for the first time. Shirou’s cannibalized nerves ached as mana rushed through them as well. The metal chains creaked as splotches of tan skin began to appear across Shirou’s exposed arms and bits of his face. Shirou activated his Reinforcement magecraft, the spell coming to life far faster than ever before, and the chains snapped!

Shirou fell to the ground, coming face-first with a sharpened stake. “Senpai!” Sakura’s voice shattered the tension as the girl came into view, moving past the woman and kneeling in front of Shirou with tears in her eyes. “Are you alright? That much power, it could kill you!”

“She’s right, Master.” Saber manifested into view, his scythe at the ready. “Hello, bearer of Cybele.”

“Hello, killer.” The woman snarled, making Saber laugh. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing. I’m just glad to see you’re doing well. My apologies mean nothing to you, I know, but I swear that I will not use my blade on you again.” Saber crossed his heart with the scythe before making it vanish.

Shirou’s magecraft was still activated, so as he looked over at his Servant, the sandals drew his attention. “Those sandals…” He looked up at Saber with wide eyes. “The Founder of Mycenae wore those. The only continuously-active Noble Phantasm in his collection.”

Saber smirked. “Got it in one, Master.”

“Then that makes you…” Shirou looked at the other Servant before looking down. “Sorry.”

Sakura placed her hands on Shirou’s chest and muttered something under her breath. His Circuits deactivated and the splotches of tan skin faded away under her touch. “There, I restored as much of your life force as I could, Senpai.” She exhaled, smiling at him.

“Let’s get inside. I think we’re being too conspicuous right now.” Shirou stood up, pulling Sakura up with him. “Please, make yourselves at home, Sakura and…”

“Rider.” The Servant said curtly before striding inside. Saber dissolved his armor, leaving the man in one of Kiritsugu’s old suits? Rider did the same, though her turtleneck and pants were a far better fit on her than the suit was on Saber. “Hmph.”

“Rider, be polite. Senpai’s Servant hasn’t even done anything yet.” Sakura admonished, getting a disgruntled head shake as a response. “I apologize, Senpai, she’s normally nicer than this.”

“It’s alright.” Shirou smiled at his kouhai. “If I was forced to cooperate with Lancer after tonight, I wouldn’t be too happy either.” 

Sakura’s eyes widened before narrowing as a dark aura spread across her body. “Master, the boy is alright. He seems to be very durable.” Rider said, calming the girl down. “Right?”

She was wearing a blindfold, but it was obvious that she was looking at Shirou. He nodded. “Yes, Sakura. I’m just fine.” He smiled before moving her hand to his heart. “See?”

Sakura blushed before looking away. “O-Okay, Senpai.” She cleared her throat. “B-But…” She cleared her throat again. “C-Could we stay here, Senpai? Rider and me, I mean?”

Shirou frowned in confusion but nodded anyway. “Of course. You’re always welcome here, Sakura. You know that, right?” Her blush grew stronger as Rider chuckled. “And that goes for Rider too, as long as you trust her, I mean.” Rider’s laughter stopped as a shocked expression crossed her face briefly.

“I tried to kill you though.” Rider said slowly. “How are you so trusting?”

“Why would I not be?” Shirou asked, making Saber laugh loudly. “What?”

“You’re amazing, Senpai.” Sakura smiled sweetly, though there was still a hint of danger behind her eyes. Saber’s laughter froze at that. “Hmm? Is something wrong, Saber?”

“N-Nope! Nothing’s wrong at all!” Saber gulped before disappearing into his spirit form. ‘Your girlfriend is scary, Master.’ That made Shirou blush as Sakura’s blush returned in full force.

“S-So, Sakura, is there anything you need for tonight? Bedding, clothes, dinner?” Shirou asked.

“I’d love to eat with you, Senpai, but everything else will be taken care of.” She smiled. “After all, we have all the time in the world to be together…” The darkness crept back for a moment before being removed. “Sorry! Sorry! I came on too strong, didn’t I?”

Rider cleared her throat. “As loath as I am to ask you for a favor, Saber…” Saber reappeared next to Shirou with interest on his face. “Do you still have that cursed bag?”

Saber smiled before pulling a small leather sack from behind his back. Rider hissed and recoiled at the sight of it. “Yes, I still have Kibisis, and no, your head is not in it right now.”

Rider’s intensity skyrocketed as did Sakura’s dark aura. Then, there was a strange sensation of vertigo as if the entire world was flipped inside out for a moment. A dark presence filled Shirou’s vision before being sucked into the inside-out bag Saber was holding. “Thank you, Saber.”

“What was that?” Shirou asked. “That felt like…”

“All the World’s Evils?” Sakura asked softly. “They’ve been inside of me for years now, Senpai. I-I understand if you don’t want me here anymore—” Sakura froze as Shirou hugged her. “Y-You don’t understand. I’m dirty. I’m filthy. Nothing about me is pure!”

Shirou hugged her tighter. “That doesn’t matter, Sakura. I’ve felt that darkness before too. Ten years ago, I died in a fire started by that darkness. That’s what startled me, not your past.” He felt moisture on his face as he hugged her. ‘Am I crying?’ He hadn’t cried since Kiritsugu had died. “Besides, I have an inner darkness too. Not as tragic as yours, but dark nonetheless.”

“Senpai?” Sakura asked, looking up at him with wide, teary eyes. “What happened to you, Senpai?”

“Nothing happened to me, Sakura. It’s what I did. When my adopted father was getting worse, we needed money for his treatments, but I was too young to work. The Fujimura group, though, was willing to pay me for certain services nobody would suspect a kid of doing.” Shirou looked away. “I was paid to sabotage vehicles and appliances so mobsters could kill and extort others, Sakura. I ruined lives in order to try and save my father’s life. After he died, though, I swore to try and save everyone I could.”

“Senpai…” Sakura pulled his head down and gently kissed him. “You are a noble man, Emiya Shirou. I do not deserve to be with you, but please, don’t throw me away.”

Shirou smiled at her as genuinely as he could. “Never, Sakura. I’ll never let you go.”

Her eyes teared up once more as she held him tightly. The two of them stayed like that for what felt like forever. The War, their Servants, their lives, all of that was set aside as that singular moment stretched out towards forever.

To be continued???

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of the story. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections. After the final chapter of this anthology, I'll be going through my list again before I pick whichever story I wish to flesh out first. As of right now, it'll either be the Musashi chapter or the Altera chapter. Saber Lily is in the running too, but that's the least likely right now.

Thanks for reading!

Chapter 24: Saber Suzuka Gozen

Notes:

Okay, I struggled with this chapter more than any other I've written. If the plot confuses you or doesn't seem great, please let me know so I can do something about it. I don't want to end this anthology on a low note.

I will, however, be working on continuations for certain chapters that I feel could be their own stories. If anyone wants to use one of these, feel free to use whichever idea you're interested in the most.

Thanks for reading!

Emiya Shirou didn’t understand much about this ‘Holy Grail War’ magecraft ritual. From what he understood, it was supposed to be a fighting tournament between mages to decide who gets the right to make a wish. Heroes from across time were summoned as familiars to battle on their Masters’ behalf, but something was different this time around…

“Yoohoo! Mast-kun!” A fashionable gyaru who looked out of place in Fuyuki was waving at Shirou from the entryway of his house. A beautiful girl with purple hair peeked around the door, a heavy blush on her face. “Sakura-chan and I were just laying out our plans for the week. Did you know that Sakura has never been to karaoke?”

Shirou tried his best to keep his composure as he took his shoes off and swapped them for his house shoes. He cleared his throat. “Saber, please don’t embarrass Sakura too much.” His kouhai smiled at him gratefully before she retreated to the kitchen to continue making dinner.

After Shirou closed the door, Saber dispelled her illusion. A pair of fox ears peeked out from the top of her head while a slender fox tail swished underneath the too-short skirt. She was wearing one of Sakura’s old middle school uniforms, but it clearly wasn’t a perfect fit as Saber had modified it by shortening the skirt, deepening the shirt’s neckline, and raising the hem of the shirt so her belly button was visible when she raised her arms.

“If I don’t do that, then you wouldn’t be able to come to her rescue. Everything has a purpose, Master-kun~” Saber teased him, tickling his ear with her tail before pushing him towards the kitchen. “I’m going to go see how the other Servants’ plans are coming along for Operation ‘Sakura Supremacy.’ You remember the terms that everyone agreed to, right?”

Shirou sighed. “Yeah, yeah. Whichever Master-Servant pair accomplishes the most work in getting Sakura and me together wins the Grail War. Are you sure this isn’t patronizing to her? I mean, yeah, Sakura is beautiful and I’d be lucky to date her, but I don’t want to force her into anything.”

Saber laughed loudly and brightly. “You’re such a gentleman! It’s totes adorable! If I wasn’t shipping ‘Sword Blossoms’ as much as I was, I’d eat you right up.” She licked her lips as a hungry expression crossed her face. The aura of a predator looking at its prey emanated from her as waves of Mystery, both Divine and Demonic, poured from his Servant’s Spirit Origin.

“Wait, ‘Sword Blossoms?’” Shirou asked.

“The ship name for you and Sakura! Don’t you like it? I thought it was pretty cute. And, to be honest, if the sourpuss in red wants to hook his Master up with you, that would probably be a ‘win condition’ too, but considering Ridecchi, Medea-chan, and me are all members of the ‘Sakura Supremacy Party,’ it’d be an uphill battle for the twintailed tsundere.” Saber babbled on as she followed him into the living room.

“S-Senpai?!” Sakura jolted in surprise as they locked eyes. For good reason too. Instead of the school uniform she had been wearing, she was wearing something much…cooler. If she stepped outside wearing that, she’d instantly catch a cold. After all, Sakura was wearing a white bikini with pink borders underneath her apron.

Immediately, Shirou turned bright red and his mind overheated at the sight of Sakura’s white milky skin and sinful curves. As she turned around, the way the apron bulged over her chest and caused the bikini to poke out the sides made his situation worse. So, Shirou did the only thing he had the brainpower left to do…

He took off his jacket and put it over Sakura’s shoulders. He couldn’t stand to look her in the eyes when he was that close to her. After all, the apron was framing her chest in such a way that looking down would be staring at a valley he’d lose himself in… No! He couldn’t do that to Sakura. Not when she was probably coerced into this by Saber and Caster. “A-Are you alright, Sakura?”

Sakura shivered. She was probably cold. The windows were shut and the heat was on, but still… She would have had to take ingredients out of the fridge, and she was practically wearing nothing at all. Oh, that was a bad image for Shirou’s heart…

He carefully pulled her against him. Strangely, she wasn’t cold to the touch. Instead, she was actually warmer than Shirou! Though, that was quickly changing as Shirou felt her hesitantly wrap her arms around him, turning what was intended as a way to warm Sakura up into a hug.

The moment could have lasted forever… but Saber’s squealing quickly forced the two teens apart. “Aw… And you two were so cute together…” She held up a hand to try and mask what she was saying, but Saber was too loud to be able to whisper properly. “Rider, did you get the pictures?”

“Yes. Though, they would’ve been an instant win-condition if Shirou had not been wearing his shirt.” The normally cool voice of Rider had a flirty tone as she dropped down from the ceiling. She was wearing casual clothes, but she had exchanged her sweater and jeans for a surprisingly cute dark purple dress with discreet flower patterns that were barely visible. When she locked eyes with Shirou, the confident expression on her face shattered as deep embarrassment took its place.

“D-Don’t look at me like that, Shirou. I know I’m not meant for these types of clothes. This was just the deal I made with Sakura. She could choose my outfit for today as long as I chose hers.” Rider explained shakily.

“S-Senpai… Isn’t Rider cute?” Sakura whispered, silently begging him to spread the embarrassment around.

“Y-Yes. Rider is very cute.” Shirou nodded in agreement, his blush nearly matching Sakura’s. “I don’t think there’s any way someone could possibly say that she wasn’t cute or beautiful.”

Rider trembled before speeding away, probably to Shirou’s shed. Bicycle No. 1 would likely be taken for a joyride, which Shirou probably deserved… Oh well, he’d just have to deal with the consequences later.

“Aww…” Saber and Sakura said in unison. “Somebody’s got a crush~” Saber giggled. “I’ll go grill her now!”

Saber entered spirit form, leaving the two Masters together. Shirou cleared his throat and began to step away to give Sakura more space, but Sakura grabbed his hand. “W-Wait…” She whispered. “D-Don’t go, please.”

When she asked like that, how could he do anything but stay with her? Shirou didn’t say a word. He just stood there with her as she gathered her courage for whatever she was about to say.

“Don’t blame Rider for this. It was my idea. I-I saw how you looked at Saber after she was first summoned, a-and I wanted you to look at me like that too.” Sakura looked away. “T-Though, I was expecting something traditionally Japanese, not a swimsuit…”

Shirou chuckled softly. “Yeah, I bet this was Saber’s suggestion.”

“Caster’s, actually.” Sakura corrected him gently. “Though, she suggested I wear my,” Sakura looked around before leaning up to whisper something to him, “my underwear.” Despite the slight distance between them, Shirou could feel the heat from Sakura’s blush even as she moved away. “Saber suggested the apron, but she wanted me to only wear the apron…”

Shirou’s mind froze again. He fought back against the image rising in his mind… Sakura in a naked apron… He gulped. “I-I’m glad Caster intervened. I don’t think I would’ve survived that.”

It was Sakura’s turn to freeze as she began to tremble. “So, y-you weren’t disgusted by my body?”

Shirou looked at her, bewildered. “Why would you think that? It took everything I had to do anything but stare at you.” Sakura began to stammer, but Shirou soldiered on. “Though, I wish you’d value your body more. You’re beautiful, no matter what you’re wearing, so risking your health to try and get attention is a bad idea.”

Sakura just stared at him before giggling softly. She kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Senpai. Thank you for caring so much about me.” She took her apron off and set it on the counter before moving past him, her nearly-uncovered rear end brushing against an involuntary biological reaction that she had caused. The scent of her hair against his nose and the feeling of her soft skin against him didn’t help any either. She kissed his other cheek before leaning up and whispering one last thing. “But I wouldn’t do this for anyone else but you.”

As she left the room, Shirou was frozen. He couldn’t do anything else but watch her leave, even as his heart attempted to beat out of his chest. Once she was out of sight, it was like he was a marionette whose strings were cut because he crumpled to the ground. “I think Sakura’s going to be the death of me at this rate.” He muttered before standing up on shaky legs and splashing cold water on his face. “I-I need to distract myself.” He turned towards the completed dinner and sighed. “Well, I guess that only leaves the dojo.”

“Please, Senpai. Wait until after we eat to train, please?” Sakura’s voice caused him to stop. This time, she was wearing her school uniform, except for the sole addition of Shirou’s jacket which was draped over her shoulders. “I want to eat dinner with you, if that’s alright.”

She had him in the palm of her hand… Oh well, Shirou wasn’t going to complain about sharing a meal with his closest friend, though he did wish to have done the cooking instead of her because she’s his houseguest and not the other way around. As he helped Sakura move the dinner to the table, their hands brushed repeatedly and neither seemed to notice. In fact, it almost seemed like they were constantly seeking each other out…

Maybe this Grail War wouldn’t take that long after all…

To be continued???

Notes:

Please let me know what you thought of this chapter. I hope you liked it; I'm sorry if you didn't. Feel free to leave constructive criticism or corrections in the comments.

Thank you so much for reading through this anthology. I hope you enjoyed the ride, and please let me know which Saber (or scenario) was your favorite to read.

As always, thanks for reading.