Evening,
The whacks of wood striking wood rang across the entire wooden-floored hall of the Tohsaka Mansion.
Shirou charged at Saber with a wild ferocity, making her narrow her eyes.
Effortlessly, Saber shifted on her feet and dodged the attack, but Shirou switched the wooden sword from right to left hand.
Saber stepped back, parrying the unorthodox blow.
Shirou followed with more successive attacks, each reflected by Saber.
Suddenly, seeing him taking a stance that she hadn't taught him, Saber scoffed. With a powerful push of her toes, she lunged at Shirou, making his eyes widen.
Swords blurred between them.
The next moment, Shirou was lying on the floor, holding his bruised left hand.
"You are learning quite fast for someone who hasn't practiced the sword as much as archery," Saber commented, sitting down on the floor elegantly. "But — the stance you used… Are you using Archer's swordsmanship as the basis?"
Shirou was panting, blowing air on the reddened patch of skin, when his head snapped toward her. "… You could tell?"
"Humph!" Saber jerked her neck.
"No, Saber," Shirou said, sitting up, feeling ashamed. "I was just trying…"
"It doesn't matter," Saber said, letting out a breath. "It clearly shows that Archer's style suits you the best. If that's how it is, perhaps you should go all in."
"What do you mean?" Shirou frowned.
Saber didn't answer; instead, she got up and walked out of the hall, smiling a touch.
…
"You've got to be kidding me!" Archer hissed, walking out of the mansion's grand hall.
In the hall, Rin sighed, slumping back into the sofa's softness. "There's something about Archer and Shirou that annoys me so much," she hissed. "Well… as long as they are not surrounding me at the same time…"
On her side, seeing Rin complaining so, Saber giggled.
"Saber," Rin said, suddenly sitting straight. "Would you like to go shopping with me?"
Saber's brows rose. "Is that a good idea?" she asked, looking out through the window. "I don't actually need another set of…"
Rin threw herself off the sofa and grabbed Saber's hands.
"Even Servants need Mana to fuel themselves, no matter how ridiculously powerful they are," she argued. "With Assassin's Noble Phantasm, and because of the Ruler-Class Servant, I am positive that The Shadow, your evil cousin, and that Lich will have their hands full now. Also, Assassin is outside Einzbern Castle and has reported no movement. So…"
"… Alright-Alright," Saber hurriedly said, seeing Rin's eyes glowing with expectation. "A little shopping won't be so bad, I guess. Should we…"
"No." Rin grinned. "Leave them be. It's girls' night!"
…
After two hours,
With two swords in his hands, Shirou struggled for every breath as he stared at Archer.
The Heroic Spirit was also wielding the two curved swords in his hands, one black and the other white.
However, he had barely used them.
Regardless of Archer's lack of enthusiasm in teaching him swordplay, Shirou could feel himself getting the hang of dual swordsmanship with every passing minute.
Changing his hold, Shirou charged at the tall, white-haired servant.
On the other hand, Archer was again about to dismiss the childish attacks when something ticked him off.
It was the look in Shirou's eyes, he realized. The same look he had noticed when the moron had stepped up against Berserker's Master to save a girl who didn't want to be saved.
Bang!
Shirou was sent flying, the wooden swords in his hand splintering to pieces.
With deep thuds, he rolled on the floor and grabbed his chest as he came to a stop.
"… What gives?!" Shirou stuttered, looking up at Archer. "… Why did you…"
"This is so pointless," Archer said, staring down at the stupid boy. "What do you want to accomplish by all this? Do you really think that just by learning how to wave swords left and right, you can save that girl?! The same girl whose Servant almost killed you, if it wasn't for Rin!!"
Shirou didn't know why Archer was acting like this.
Still, he couldn't help but answer the man who so strongly admonished him and his beliefs.
"Yeah…" Shirou said, getting up while holding his chest. "I can't let Sakura be with him…"
Archer let out a mocking smile, the swords in his hands vanishing. "You think you can do a better job than Berserker's Master? The same Mage who has two Servants at his disposal?"
Shirou gritted his teeth. "… I don't know," he admitted. "But I will find a way. As long as Sakura remains with him, TheShadow will keep going after them. And every time they fight, bodies pile up behind them. Despite his strength, that man has no regard for people's…"
"I actually admire that about Berserker's Master," Archer said, shocking Shirou. "On the contrary, I want them to continue fighting each other until one of them ends up losing. We can neither defeat Berserker nor can we take on TheShadow and her Corrupted Saber. Once one of them is gone, we can easily deal with whatever's left of the second group afterward…
"And what does it matter how many people die in the meantime? Humans are mere mortals, anyway. If they are to die one day, then why not today… It would be much easier to fight if everyone in the city were dead already."
"You!" Shirou charged forward, his fist aiming at the Heroic Spirit's face.
Archer grabbed the fist. "I thought we had an alliance," he said, Shirou helplessly trying to snatch away his fist.
"Ugh!" Shirou backed away as Archer let him go. "Don't give me that crap! I am not like you. I will never sacrifice those around me to achieve my goal!"
"You are a fool," Archer said, his eyes narrowing at Shirou. "If any one of them wins the War, then the damage won't be limited to this city. Saving everyone is impossible. And if you tried to avoid killing, then you won't be saving anyone in the end."
Shirou stared daggers at Archer.
Then, he turned and began walking away.
"Where are you going?" Archer asked, his fingers twitching.
"To Einzbern Castle," Shirou said without looking back. "One way or another, I am getting Sakura back."
"Tch!" Archer tsked. "Do you mean to waste that life that Rin took such pains…"
"I don't see how that's any of your business," Shirou said, taking another step forward.
And just as he took the second step, a chill ran down his spine, his eyes widening with terror.
Too late.
A white blade traced a blurry path across the space —
— and hacked through Shirou's back, splattering blood everywhere.
*****************
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