A/N: Since a lot of you must be curious, I'll address it directly. I'm not posting PS goals or extra chapters or even on time because I'm ill. I can't sleep and more than half the time, I can't even breathe unless I really put force into it, which hurts me even more.
When I have strength enough to be properly up, I just write because I have nothing else to do. New anime are mostly garbage. The novels and fics have garbage AI or they're trash AI-assisted MTL dumpster fire dogshit that no one even has the dignity to tell you are translations anymore since they're 'authors' of translations.
We'll return to the usual PS goals when I'm not as sick anymore, in the meantime, I hope updating according to the established schedule is enough.
-
The Tohsaka family mansion was decidedly depressing, even for the dwelling of an aged lineage of magi. Most others I'd had the pleasure of visiting often employed dozens of servants for every menial need and chore, living decadently, and engrossed in nothing but their research like a bunch of peculiar university students.
Rin's home was not the same.
It didn't feel lived in at all.
Past the double doors, there was a lonely shoe-rack with only two pairs of shoes, and dust gathered in the nooks and the crannies of the main corridor. Someone cleaned regularly, yes, but it was easy to tell that it was just a single 'someone' with not enough time to take the care a person solely employed for cleaning would.
The shadowy walls stretched, and the few paintings scattered about depicted a strict family, a hard-faced gentleman sharing Rin's features stood beside a woman with dark green hair, and a distant, somber smile on her face. I surmised the twintailed child standing between them was Rin herself.
I stared at the portrait curiously, "Your father?"
"Yes." Rin answered after a slight pause, "He's not here anymore though."
"At least you knew yours."
I realized how rude my words were the moment they left my lips, but it was too late to take them back. Crouched down, Rin gave me a long glance over her shoulder as she untied her boots before shaking her head with a sigh.
"What did I expect?"
"Uh…" I scratched the back of my head, "Sorry."
"It's fine. He wouldn't want me to linger on it that much anyway."
Ah yes, the typical magus train of thought. Emotional baggage got in the way of research and decision-making, so any and all human ties were supposed to be insignificant. Insignificant, thus, discarded immediately.
The air turned a tad awkward. I didn't do well with that kind of thing. So, I put on a grin instead.
"Still~, that means the house is empty, doesn't it?"
Rin narrowed her eyes, like she knew what was coming.
"No."
"How daring, Miss Tohsaka~" I squirmed, "Inviting a man to your home all alone! I know I'm a hot catch and you must be frothing at the mouth cause of my potential-"
I easily sidestepped the shoe tossed at my face.
"Nobody cares about that!"
"But then~, you know your servant could be called out anywhere but you intentionally brought me home."
She sighed. "Because my home is secure. Information is usually the deciding factor in a conflict between magi."
"How boring." I stopped my teasing, "But, at least you accept my skill."
"I haven't seen anything credible from you." She deadpanned.
That was fair. I'd almost forgotten about our little misunderstanding. Thankfully, she saved my bit herself, otherwise, all the potential amusement would've gone down the drain.
With a snort, I took off my shoes and placed them beside hers before walking past her, taking in the details of her home. Everything was expensive, as expected. The wooden floorboards did creak in some places though, and I spotted a bit of wear and tear in the ceiling. Other than that, for a broke magus, she was doing pretty well.
I still had to wonder just why Luvia wanted me to bother her.
"Say, Miss Tohsaka. Would you happen to know the name Edelfelt?"
She pursed her lips, then shrugged, "One of the Tohsaka patriarchs defeated one during a Holy Grail War, and made her marry into the family."
I raised a brow at that.
Specifically, at the 'made her' part.
"We also incorporated their research into our own so… I guess they might still hold a grudge. Not that I care. They can seethe all they want."
Her request made sense now. Luviagelita was one hundred percent the type to hold over a family grudge, and bother someone over it just because she could. She did like rubbing her stuff in people's faces when they overstepped. No, she enjoyed it almost as much as I did.
"Meh. Skill issue. Shouldn't have lost."
A smile flickered across Rin's face as she stepped past me to lead me into a living room(?) one floor up.
"We were just better."
I didn't answer her. Mostly because I was too taken with the state of the living room itself. For one, there was a gaping hole in the ceiling almost as large as the room itself. Then, there was the wrecked furniture lying all around in one corner, like someone had tried their best to salvage what they could but given up halfway.
The only thing untouched was the aged longcase clock and the sputtering fireplace.
"So, what exactly happened here?" I blurted out.
Rin averted her gaze.
"Miss Tohsaka? Did you mess up?"
"I…It wasn't my fault."
I tilted my head.
"I said it wasn't my fault! How was I supposed to know that-… Anyway! You're supposed to be my apprentice so this is your first test!"
"But we haven't even-"
How unreasonable. But, I supposed it sort of made sense now why she reminded me of Luvia so much. They shared the same genes… which somehow meant a parallel in habits? I decided to not give the matter any further thought.
Actually…
"Where even is your servant?" I looked around, searching for any trace of a hero of legend. Finding none, I turned back to Rin again.
"Ugh, come out here already."
The air shifted with her words, and a man stepped out of the thin air beside her. He was lean and tall and handsome, about what I'd reasonably expect from what came to mind when one thought of a hero. His skin had a heavy tan, which made his white hair stand out a lot more.
The most striking thing however, was that he was genuinely dripped out. Not a spandex-clad weirdo like Lancer who could be mistaken for a pervert, but a proper unit of a man with a black tank top stuck to his muscles, and dark cargo pants held up by a thick buckle. The damndest thing was the crimson cloak hanging from his waist. It went well and truly hard. The arm only coat was a weird addition though, but it blended in well-enough.
He studied me for a moment before huffing disinterestedly.
Still, there was no doubt in my mind that he'd kept an eye on me since the moment I ran into his Master.
"Master, I must express that I have some reservations about relying on an outsider. A magus, no less." He said calmly, one eye closed. "Surely, you don't need me to spell it out for you."
I crouched down next to him, eying his boots.
"I'll have you know I checked." Rin crossed her arms indignantly. "He's not an enemy."
"Yes, because deception is something a magus would never think of."
Rin opened her mouth to retort, but I held up a finger.
"Buddy, you're wearing heels. Drop the tough guy act."
His soles were a good inch or two thick, not even counting the literal heels on the back. This was supposed to be the stuff of legend.
His gaze lingered on me for a moment, "My father didn't pay attention so now I get to hate everyone for it. How very mature."
Woah.
My eyes widened fractionally under my aviators as I looked up to meet his steely eyes. He smirked down at me, clearly amused by a momentary loss of speech. Annoyingly, I had no ammunition to fire back at him because I didn't know the first thing about this man.
Still, I respected the bite on him.
I smirked right back, "I also get a kick out of outdoing toddlers."
"Should I take that to mean you accept you're a toddler still?"
Damn.
Even Rin gave me a pitying look. She bumped him on the shoulder with a fist.
"Alright, Archer, that's enough. And you, give it up, he's not going to back down."
"This toddler can kick your teeth in."
"Ooh." Archer smirked further, and uncrossed his arms to raise them in mock surrender, "How very adult of you to immediately threaten violence because of some words."
At that point, I HAD to purse my lips. This guy was good. Insanely good. Best of all, he was doing it purely for the love of the game as well. I could tell. He didn't care enough to have an agenda past simply bothering me and Rin. He also, did not care even slightly, for any consequences of his words.
Shaking my head, I rose to my feet and held out a hand.
"He-…y, I'm," I stopped myself quickly, "Hal."
Archer narrowed his eyes, glancing at Rin like he knew something neither of us did, "Is that how it is? Alright. Archer will have to do for now then."
He took my hand with odd familiarity, and gave it a firm shake. For a mere fraction of a moment, a hint of nostalgia flickered in his disinterested gaze before he quickly pulled his hand back.
I noted the strange look he gave me, but discarded it for the time being, "So, Miss Tohsaka, what did you say was defective? Other than his mind, of course."
"You know all about that, don't you? Minds being defective."
Dammit, I loved him.
Rin, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as amused by the exchange as either of us. She deadpanned and held out a hand his way.
"He says he doesn't remember anything."
Archer raised his hands and shook his head, "Hey, Master, I wasn't the one who botched the summoning ritual."
…
…
"You botched the summoning ritual?" I repeated his words to Rin.
My totally-not-guilty 'teacher' averted her gaze with tinted cheeks. Then, her competitive indignance came bursting through.
"Like you could have done any better! Hmph!"
… I did though.
I'd actually improved the ritual by leagues, at least as far as the vessel and the mana draw were concerned. But, oh well.
I smiled politely. "I totally could have."
"I'm inclined to believe him." Archer backed me up.
-
Hope you enjoyed.
Please, don't forget to comment so I know I did well.
I feel a lot of the time, people don't do my boy's snark justice.