Chapter 20: After the battle

(Shirou's pov)

I've seen better days. I lost an arm, my stomach was pierced by a sword, and I think I broke a few ribs, not to mention more minor cuts and injuries. If not for Avalon, I would be pretty dead. I would kiss it if I could... I can do it now that I think about it, but I would need to project it. Sorry Avalon, but I'm not kissing you tonight in the end. I can still taste iron in my mouth, though.

I let go of Saber, letting her body drop to the ground. I wasn't any better, and I followed her shortly after. Saber landed on her back, and I was kneeling. I was tired and wanted to sleep. I made my job more difficult because I wanted to 'save' Chloe. It was needed for Illya to feel the danger of the situation she was in, so I stalled and didn't go for a kill safely.

I could shoot arrows from a distance or use more powerful weapons, but I made one mistake. I underestimated Saber too much because I thought that she was weaker in this universe. That's why I went with this plan. From what I knew, Illya was able to overpower Saber alone, but I didn't account for her huge mana reserves, which probably allowed her to not only created a pretty convincing copy of Excalibur but also overpower Saber's corrupted holy sword.

Although it seemed that Saber was defeated, I didn't let my guard down. You never know when an enemy will get a second wind. That's what Lancer taught me.  

I observed Saber, and her mask broke, revealing her golden eyes. One look at them was enough for me to know that she didn't have any will to fight anymore.

With some difficulty, Saber looked at me by turning her head. She lifted her arm and slowly put her hand on my head and started gently stroking my hair returning it to my usual hairstyle.

"Ar... cher? No... Shirou?"

Knowing that no one could see my face except Saber in front of me, I took off my mask and smiled at her.

"Finally awake, sleepyhead? Your sleepwalking was pretty destructive, you know?"

Seemingly ignoring my bad joke, she observed my hair and then my arm. Then she moved her hand from atop my head to my cheek and looked straight into my eyes, one of which turned grey.

"You've chosen your path... full of suffering. I'm sorry..."

I poked her forehead.

"You don't need to worry about that, Saber. It will go back to normal after a night of sleep." I reassured her. "I would tell you more, but I don't think we have time for that."

She slowly nodded with her eyes closed. "True... With every second... I feel my strength leaving me... But I want to tell you... that I'm glad to see you again..."

Saber showed me a beautiful, although small and weak but a smile.

"I may not be the Shirou you knew... but it was nice seeing you but less nice meeting your sword," I smirked.

"It seems I was too late... and your sarcastic side... is starting to form." She said that jokingly.

Before she would turn in a card form, I needed to tell her one thing.

"Saber... I need to apologize to you. I feel like I extended our fight more than necessary and, in the process, made you suffer more..."

She shook her head. "No need for apologies... I know that you must have had your reasons..."

I sighed.

"You have too much trust in me, Saber. I'm not that good of a guy."

We didn't speak anymore after that. We both know what is coming next.

"Shirou... can you... hold my hand?"

Without saying anything, as the answer was obvious, I took her hand into mine and held it, but a few moments later, it felt empty as Saber turned into light particles leaving behind the Saber card.

I felt bitter... really bitter.

I put my mask on again and fixed my hair.

I couldn't save her again.

I stayed quiet until I widened in the realization of what I had just said, but I couldn't dwell on it as people started gathering.

Miyu woke up as the last attack made her faint, and her injuries were being taken care of by Sapphire. Thankfully she wasn't that wounded, thanks to the magical barrier she used in her battle.

Everyone was quiet, but I could feel curiosity from the older girls.

Initially, I didn't plan to, but I'm going to take Saber's card with me, so I'll answer 2 of their questions.

One for Rin and one for Luvia. I don't owe them that since I was the one to defeat Saber, but they are the ones who have the mission to collect all the cards, so why not.

"Are you alright? You took quite the beating."

"I can't believe that I'm saying that, but Tohsaka Rin is right. You were injured to a scary degree in your battle but you seem fine..." Luvia narrowed her eyes, and Rin did the same.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tough to kill." I stood up and checked my body. It looks like Avalon didn't reach its limit just yet. Good. "Changing topics completely, I have bad news and good news. Which do you want to hear first?" I started observing the card that I picked.

Without missing a beat, Rin answered.

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"You are keeping the card, right?"

That surprised me slightly. I was not expecting her to know or at least guess that.

"Ho~, and how did you come to this conclusion?"

"Just a guess, but that makes me curious about the good news unless that was good news which would be bad for us."

"Great guess, Rin. You are correct, I'll be taking the card this time. I know that you have a mission to gather them, and I'm making it difficult, although I think that Zelretch wouldn't mind it. That's why as compensation of some sort, I decided to answer to 2 of your questions. I know that asking other magi about their secrets is taboo, and you still don't know anything about me, which makes you wary of me, so we're going to fix it. I, of course, won't answer questions about my identity."

Hearing my proposal, they were shocked. Probably because no sane magus would share his secrets with others. It would be tempting if they had a choice. I'm taking the card regardless, so either they lose a card and get some answers, or they lose the card and get no answers. The choice is pretty clear.

"You'll take the card even if we don't agree, won't you?" Luvia questioned me, and I didn't answer, but it was enough if an answer by itself.

Rin rubbed her head in frustration. "Aaaghh, fine! We'll let you keep the Saber card for now, but we can't do anything if that old bastard will say otherwise."

"That's fine."

Before they started their questioning, they needed to discuss their questions to get the most out of their chance.

As I was waiting for them to finish their strategic meeting, I checked on Illya, who didn't seem to have any visible injuries. She was just unconscious. I'm not an expert, so I don't know why. I know that it was because her seal broke for a moment.

Is it because she used too much energy, and her body isn't used to it the same way my magic circuits hurt when I first used them?

"We are ready."

The girls announced, so I stood up and faced them.

"The first thing we want to know is, Archer-san, what are you? We assumed that you are a magus as you use magecraft such as reinforcement and projections from what we observed, and you also use runes, but today you showcased regeneration not capable even to the kaleidosticks. Not to mention that you use the same bow that we get from the Archer card, and today when Illya fought after becoming a heroic spirit itself, her fighting style was eerily similar to yours."

"A question that forces many answers... Fine." I sighed. I could refuse to elaborate, but I don't lose that much from them knowing it. "Right now, I am Archer, possibly a human..."

"Possibly?" Rin raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that I'm not sure myself. I think I'm a human. I'm sure that I'm not Dead Apostle or anything like that, but with my regeneration, it wouldn't be strange for someone to mistake me for one. Going back to my answer. Why do I use a bow of a heroic spirit, and why my fighting style is similar to it? I'm choosing not to answer. I can say, however, that I use projections for my fighting style. Make it what you will from that."

They were clearly not satisfied with my answer. Maybe I will tell them in the future, but right now, telling them that I'm literally the personification of the heroic spirit isn't preferable.

"Fine, then, can you at least tell us why you are helping us? I refuse to believe that you are doing it from the goodness of your heart. Also, we can't trust someone whose motivations we don't know."

"Sure, it's not a secret or anything like that. I'm helping you just in case." Seeing the confusion on their faces, I started elaborating. "What I mean is that the consequences of not completing your mission correctly are too big for me to ignore. Today was a perfect example. You weren't ready for two cards to appear, and your injuries could be worse if I didn't take most of Saber's attention on me."

They looked down in shame.

"Don't take me wrong I'm not saying that you are weak or unsuited for this mission, but situations like this can happen, and I'm here for that."

"It doesn't answer our question, though. You only told us why you are helping us, but what you are doing benefits only higher-ups and us in the Mage Association. What is it in for you?" Rin was pushing for an answer.

"True, I'm asking this question myself. Why should I bother with this? The problem should be solved by you two, and even if I did nothing, it wouldn't affect me. But you see, a long time ago, I promised someone to try my best, and this is part of this promise. That's all."

The last answer wasn't planned. The words just flew out of my mouth by themselves, but these were my honest feelings.

I probably could get away with taking the card without answering any questions, but I would look antagonistic to them, which I don't want to, but also, I find myself having somewhat of a soft spot for Rin, even if I enjoy messing with her.

But what is this promise to do my best? It just came up in my head as I answered.

But finally, it was time to return home. I would say that the only thing I want at the moment is to get to bed and sleep, but I'll probably end up observing the Saber card while trying to figure out some things.

(Miyu's pov)

I couldn't do anything... Even when I used Gae Bolg, the spear that always hits its target, I was a dead weight. The whole fight was fought by Archer-San, and then something happened to Illyasviel, but that's not on my mind at the moment.

Archer-San... why does he remind me of Onii-chan that much? I can't get this out of my head, and it doesn't help that his hairstyle was similar to Onii-chan's when Saber ruffled his hair.

I don't know what I should do...

Onii-chan... I miss you...

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END

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