Well, since my powerstone goal got properly violated, I'll post an extra one in like an hour and a half.
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King Gilgamesh. The Legendary King of Ancient Babylon who ruled from the splendorous city of Uruk, child of a great king and a great goddess. He was humanity's oldest hero, and by virtue of that alone, the strongest servant in this war.
He was such a massive and insurmountable wall that I'd willingly ignored the threat posed by him till now. The issue was, there was no path to victory without clashing with his ideals, and a victory against him was simply incomprehensible. Facing Heracles had really driven that point home.
I breathed a plume of hot air, rubbing my hands together. All around there were people rushing past, huddled together or alone and tugging at their coats. The clouds refused to let the Sun peek through, and so the mist had not retreated even in the middle of the day.
"I swear it's seeping into my clothes."
"A likely occurrence." Shuwen spoke from my side, "But why concern yourself with things beyond your control?"
Somehow, I felt he wasn't talking about the mist.
"I have to, don't I? If they're gonna mess me up sooner or later."
The old man hummed, "Then, let me correct myself. Isn't being a sorcerer akin to living amidst the unreasonable? Why think something is beyond your control? Surely, you have some magic to rid you of this cold you feel."
I was a distracted person, and a definite coward, but I respected Shuwen enough to earnestly consider every piece of elderly advice he offered.
"Look at me. I am a vestige of what once lived centuries before you. Yet, we speak, we eat together, we learn. Is that not just as, if not more, absurd? You've made it possible."
"That wasn't me." I said, slowing my pace. "The Grail had it all set up. Thank the Matou, the Tohsaka, and the Einzbern. I just followed instructions."
He chuckled amusedly, "What if you had not?"
"That doesn't exactly-"
"You are a sorcerer under my mentorship. For your creatures, that is the way of the world. The parents pass to the child their life's work, and he adds to it, or he destroys it. If your thinking was correct, then all that came after the first man and woman are inconsequential, and all thanks for the world's good and evil is owed to them for deigning to have children."
I... did not have an answer for that.
"You are fortunate, you know clearly what your ancestors gave to you. Use it, it is yours. Improve it, should you need pride, and pass it on so that your progeny may live in greater ease."
I was a sorcerer.
...
Much of Miyama Town was under reconstruction already. The destroyed block had been cordoned off by the government. Construction workers were removing the debris using heavy machinery that I kept hearing long after we'd entered the more traditional side of the district.
All that, and we'd only managed to take away three lives from a total of twelve.
But, it had taught me something. There was more to the individual Shikigami than I'd initially assumed. I'd never even considered that the Divine Dogs could harm servants, much less ignore Heracles' defense... Then, was there something to each of the ten that I didn't know?
Ugh, I needed time I didn't have right now.
The doors of the Emiya compound came into view just as I shook my head. Shuwen disappeared from sight, and I stepped up to give them a firm knock. Somewhat surprisingly, the one to open the doors was not Shirou himself, but instead Sakura Matou. The girl I'd beaten the shit out of Shinji in front of.
Recognition flashed through her purple eyes. Her breath hitched. She immediately tried to slam the door shut but I drove a hand through to pry it open. She did not have the strength to push me back.
"I... I won't let you hurt senpai." She pushed out, throwing her weight against the door.
I found myself chuckling at the effort, "I'm not here to hurt him. If I was, do you really think I'd knock at the door first?"
"It's... manners."
...
"It's also manners to not turn away a guest."
That seemed to make her conflicted.
"I'm here to check on him, maybe heal him."
"How can I trust you?" She spoke after a while, "You hurt Nii-san."
"Your Nissan deserved worse. Shame he got away."
From me that was... only to walk right into someone much much worse.
"Sakura-" A voice from beyond interrupted our little 'struggle', it was Rin's, "-You can let him in! He's fine!"
The purple haired girl, though hesitant, slowly backed away from the door, pulling it open. Rin was standing on the raised platform outside the living room, a hand on her hips. She waved me over with a slight smile.
"I didn't think you'd actually visit!"
I really shouldn't have... I found myself unable to push away the thought of how utterly pathetic it was to let him be killed to survive.
"Shirou's still in trouble."
Rin's smile disappeared, her eyes narrowed.
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Shirou's house was possibly the cleanest place I'd been in ever since I woke up at the hospital, no, it was even cleaner. There wasn't a speck of dust on anything, even when the shoji door was open to his backyard. Every bit of scattered furniture from Medea's little visit had been fixed up, or removed outright, probably carried to that old storeroom at the corner of the property.
"What are you even doing here actually?" I stared at the princess sitting across the table.
Rin hid her smirk behind a few fingers. "You said the same thing at the Church. Well, don't worry, nothing's happened between me and Shirou."
"I... didn't ask."
Why would she think I wanted to know that?
"Is that so?" She shrugged, "What do you think, Shirou?"
She looked over at the ginger youth sitting beside both of us. He had a serious look on his face. I couldn't help but sneak a few glances at his bandaged hand... well, the stump where there was supposed to be one.
...Attaining a back-up servant was still a good option. I just didn't want him to die to accommodate that.
"I think it's very stupid. How come someone I've never met wants to kill me so badly?"
I shrugged. "That's magi for you."
"Ditto." Rin shot a finger gun at me.
"Both of you are magi too."
I threw my hands up. "Y'know what? Fair."
Rin was a lot more confident in herself.
"Yes, but I'm also Rin Tohsaka. There's no one else like me in this world."
Shirou narrowed his eyes at the absurd claim. I, on the other hand, could not help but recall a classic line.
"I'm not like all the other 14 year olds." I murmured.
Maybe it was because of the serious nature of our prior conversation about Berserker's master wanting to kill him, but Shirou suddenly snorted. He quickly turned away, hiding his reaction behind both hands. Of course, that didn't mean the great Rin Tohsaka had missed it.
"I'm 17!" She fired back, hitting the table with a fist.
"Sorry."
"Hmph!"
"I'm not like all the other 17 year olds."
I closed my eyes and braced for impact. It never came. Another person had started laughing at my involuntary words. That person was Archer. I didn't know when he'd appeared, but he was propping himself up against the wall with a hand clutching his stomach as he trembled and snickered all at once.
The kettle in the kitchen started whistling.
"Oh, the tea's ready."
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