Fate Coiling Sword

Beta read by Shigiya and Darklord331

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-Homurahara-

"What happened to you?" 

The last thing Shirou expected to deal with in school was to face an energetic and grinning Issei. The ever composed and serious monk in training who was grinning ear to ear set a terrible premonition to the redhead who hadn't even touched his food the entire time. Had he gotten promoted into an official monk sooner than expected? Unlikely, or else his head would have been lighting the entire room with the sunlight reflecting off of it.

"What?" Issei noticed his weird gaze and momentarily showed a confused face at his reaction. 

"You're actually grinning…" 

"So?" 

"Weird, have you been possessed by Shinji or infected by him?" 

He replied with a deadpan face, "Last I checked, Matou is very much alive and well… also he's not an alien or virus going around infecting people. I'll have to ask you to calm down on such types of movies as it's affecting your real life judgment."

That was what an alien parasite would say in the first place. 'Rider, is everything alright with Issei?' 

'...' 

The Servant ignored his attempt of involving her with his little jest and remained silent. Oh well, baby steps. Sooner or later he would be able to make her open up. 

"Alright, putting aside your incorrect impression of me being someone who can't smile, I'd like to share with you some important news about the Student Council's next project." 

"I don't like the sound of this." 

"Let me finish first, Emiya-kun." the boy said, retrieving a couple of times from his bag and dropping them on the table. A stack of papers, an envelope and a poster? An odd combination but he decided to hold his questions and listen to his friend for now. 

"The Cooking club has organized an event in conjunction with a local cafe to organize an animal themed setting where students from the class will work as waiters, cooks, entertainers and so on. They requested the members of the Council to help set up the whole thing as they are lacking both in time, capable hands and so on." 

Shirou sighed, looking at the ceiling of the empty room both he and Issei shared for random discussion or when they had lunch together. The more he listened, the more he realized how much work they had to handle for this sudden event. "Why a cafe? And isn't the school festival a couple months away?" 

"It's a club activity to promote working in a real environment, independently and to raise money for local charities. Though from what i heard, they want to have one last group activity before they leave for university, it's their last week together. While I agree it does sound a bit odd, I find it good for the students to gain new experiences and to help those in need." He answered, seeing Shirou had experience with such things with his part time jobs that he kept a secret from the school for the last few years. 

Shirou on the other hand stopped himself from agreeing to help immediately as he recalled some important matters he had to handle today. "I know it is the duty of the Council to help the clubs with anything they may need, since I regularly go to fix their air conditioner fans, TVs and computers, but this is the first time I've heard a club asking us to set up basically an entire themed cafe outside school. Is that even allowed?" 

"Yes it is allowed… somewhat." Issei said, drawling at the end and avoiding any and all eye contact which raised a red flag in the redhead's mind. 

Pushing his glasses upwards, the light reflecting upon the lenses that helped obsuce his eyes, gave an almost ominous vibe. "Trust me Emiya, it's nothing too complex that you should be worried about." He mentioned cryptically, a statement that only ended up making Shirou even more worried, questioning why he was wording it like that. 

"The way you're saying that makes it even more worrisome. Don't tell me you're doing something illegal… right? Remember what happened last year when Shinji requested to organize a parody casino with pachinko machines for the students to play? The Council got into trouble with the police involved!" He still remembered that day clearly, having been told that they were merely props for a theater play and not actually functioning in the first place. But an hour later the police got involved while the past Student Council got themselves into major trouble.

"Hey, that wasn't our doing. And if you want to blame it on someone, then blame it on Shinji who was responsible for that mess. The Council back then thought he meant to have an arcade room and not a literal casino… though I can't explain how they didn't recognize the machines as they were brought in class." 

Shirou raised an eyebrow at that comment, "I'm pretty sure most of them were aware of what was happening but were somehow convinced by Shinji to agree with his idea. How he did it, I have no idea. You were most likely left out because you would have informed it to the headmaster immediately." 

"My dear friend, are you insinuating that I am a 'rat'?" Both friends went silent, exchanging glances before bursting out laughing and chuckling, stopping their little act. "Alright, now getting to the matter at hand, yes the cooking club is asking to set up an event of a themed cafe near school at one of the establishments one of the students parents own. They will have the class participate in a day and work as servers, waitresses, cooks and so on."

Shirou understood that but one part confused him, "And what does that have to do with us? I'm not sure how much we can help with a cafe since they only need to wear costumes with most of the equipment already available in the establishment."

Hearing the question, Issei nodded his head while his arms were crossed. "I can understand your confusion, but we have been asked to aid them by installing some of the newer model coffee machines, new air conditioner units and by painting the walls to match the theme — also someone mentioned that the fridge needed fixing as it wasn't getting as cold as before." 

From the looks of it, the redhead couldn't help but think how they were mostly being used to fix their machines for free… "I'm honestly confused how someone like you accepted this request. Not that I mind helping them out, but you'd normally be very suspicious of such events." 

"I can't argue with you on that, but at least we are getting paid." He said while showing the small envelope, opening the paper to show some cash. "Before you start judging me or accuse me of accepting bribery, this is a payment the parents and students have gathered to pay the Student Council for the materials and hiring professionals to fix the equipment."

Slowly, all the pieces of the puzzle started to fit together. "Ah…that's why you need my help. You want me to fix the equipment so that you can save money." 

"Indeed, we can use the remaining amount to further improve classrooms that haven't been properly maintained for a while. Like this one for example, the school basically left it to rot and you're the only reason why the lights are still working here." 

"Hey, Issei… is our school that poor?" Shirou couldn't help but mutter, to be in a situation where someone like Issei was willing to go this far was astonishing and worrying. 

"Not really about being poor, they just relocate most of their budget to maintain the sports related clubs while giving us scraps… so they are just being biased." From his tone, it was obvious the boy held some minor resentment to this issue yet acceptance as he sighed afterwards. "Yet I can't blame them, thanks to Mitsuzuri Ayako, the archery club has the chance of being qualified to participate in nationwide tournaments next school year. Ah, I should say your club since you're part of it." 

He found it weird how Issei regarded Ayako in comparison to someone like Rin. He respected the latter, praising her a couple of times in the past even. Yet his attitude towards Fuyuki's owner was nothing less than pure paranoia and doubts. Treating her as a villain and snake who was trying to burn down the school or something. Ironically calling her a witch, snake and two faced liar.

Which he wasn't wrong… but still. 

"So what do you say, Emiya? Help us out with this small matter which will not only benefit the needy but also us students and our school as a whole?"

This guy…

"You know Issei, are you sure you don't want to become a political figure in the future? Because you have a lot of talent in such things obviously." 

"Was that an insult?" 

"Depends on how you take it, Aside from that, why does it sound like you were the one making the major decisions? I'm pretty sure the other Student Council members and the president are still present. What happened to them again?" 

Issei rolled his eyes at that initial answer while Shirou sported an innocent look. "Absent, occupied with their matters as they'll be leaving for university as well. The only members from classes below the third year were only me and the treasurer — so I've taken the reign temporarily for this month alone." 

"Practicing for the time you'll be chosen as the next Student Council President next year?" Shirou asked, rather than a confident answer received a face filled with uncertainty from the bespectacled boy who sighed. 

"I'm not sure if I'll even be chosen in the first place. I've already planned to join the Karate club in case someone else takes my place and I fail to be elected. However I asked the current president to put a good word with the teachers and fellow students about me. But I'm confident I've won their hearts with my own actions, so they'll remember me. Moving on, now, stop asking useless questions and take this little token of appreciation from me. That's the least I can do... Be sure to not spend it all at once." Slowly sliding the now closed envelope to his friend. The Magus hesitated at first, he had no need for money but seeing how determined his friend was… he accepted. 

"Do we need to do all of this? In three days!?" Shirou shouted after giving the list of tasks to accomplish in their limited amount of time. Two entire pages with many of these problems concerning malfunctioning machines, plumbing and even lighting. He didn't even want to get started on the part that mentioned they needed to paint the walls with animals. Urgh… as much as he was willing to help, this was clearly a nearly impossible task. "We'll need one more person to help us out."

"Let's just focus on what can be done and as for an extra pair of helping hands… why not just have Shinji help?" Issei looked around the class after uttering those words, a small but noticeable tension setting in as he was very much aware of the relationship between these two. "That's just a suggestion, we can always try to find someone else if he's not an opinion." 

"..."

"I already accepted to help them, as a monk in training I cannot overlook such an opportunity and it is basically my duty to make sure such an event turns out to be successful. The money can be seen as a small bonus that will help to improve the Student Council as a whole." 

Shirou had to agree with his friend's logical reasoning. "Still, would having Shinji along help at all? I doubt he'll be willing to help to set up anything really…"

"Him not helping to set up a cafe where the girls of school dress up in basically cosplay? I'm pretty sure he'll be more than eager to lend a helping hand." 

A valid point, one he couldn't argue against. "I've been telling you that I tried to approach him for the last few days, but he keeps avoiding me… but I can try again — It's not a problem." For the most part, he never actually ran behind the boy or attempted to pursue him. Letting him choose to stay away without much of a thought. Issei smiled, thankful that he managed to convince him to help with the project. "By the way, who is supervising this whole project? I doubt the school would let us students handle this whole thing by ourselves without someone keeping watch." 

"... It's Fujimura-sensei. I believe she was the one behind passing the idea to the class in the first place." 

He should have known, who else but her to push such an idea forward? As their small discussion ended, Shirou walked along the hallways of the school, continuing to read the finer details of the paper.

"At least if this turns out well it'll be a memorable event." Honestly, he didn't have any problems with the idea, quite the opposite. He liked it and wanted this event to be a success just like Issei. These last few days had been very hectic for him and he missed moments like these where he could just relax and continue his life as a high school boy. "Still for the most part I have to find someone… Perhaps Ayako? She is a nice option but I don't know if she'll have enough time, the archery club is training for the tournament." 

But then came his responsibilities and tasks he had to look after. With Bazett's presence, this coupled with the fact he actually summoned a Servant indicated that the Holy Grail War was just around the corner. There were many parts he needed to prepare and take into account. "Rider, is it possible for a Servant to separate themselves from the senses of other Servants thus making them invisible to your senses?" 

'Possibly,' she replied, making him sweat at the implications. 'It depends on the Servant, but in general we can sense another summoned Heroic Spirit if they are close by. Though in spiritual form this becomes much harder.'

From his understanding, a summoner entity with capabilities such as these and possessing the means to stay hidden perfectly the entire time would either be an Assassin or a Caster. For all he knew, this could apply to other classes in varying degrees but he just didn't have the means to confirm it. "What about you?"

'Average, I would be able to sense if someone were to try to attack us but not from afar.'

If there ever came a time where he would need to fight against a Servant and aid Rider — Shirou knew he had to have the means to back up his actions. The mere idea of using his Projection Magic against an entity like them was a joke, while his Magecraft advanced quite a bit since the beginning… it just wasn't enough yet. 'Wait, if I can't assist her in close quarters then at least I can do it at a range.' 

Yet that exact moment he recalled what happened last time he used against Bazett which ended up in a disaster. Having done little damage against her which against a Servant would most wouldn't even penetrate their skin. This was the same problem he faced with the Chimera when the sword wasn't able to pie — "Wait… that's it!" 

His sudden exclamation caught someone of the surrounding passing students by surprise, many giving him a strange stare before going about their day. Meanwhile, an idea or a possible solution bloomed within the redhead's mind which he couldn't wait to try out. "Damnit, why didn't I think about it against that fake Basmu?" Probably due to panic, and his first instinct was to get close and cut it rather than…

'Master?' 

"Nothing, just got an idea that might help me in the future." If that worked, then it opened up a whole other well of possibilities to expand his arsenal beyond regular firearms. "If it can improve the penetrative force and durability, maybe I can try to create custom casings with more gunpowder for more firepower. But then I'll have to modify the barrel and recreate the weapon from scratch. That will take time, but I can ask Fujimura-san to order more material and molds. Wait, but I don't even have the schematicstostartsuchaprojectwithoutencounte—"

"Oi Emiya!" Having fallen deep within his own rambling, Shirou failed to notice a certain brunette started to talk to him for a while, but the way he kept ignoring her and rambling about some kind of people made her both intrigued and annoyed. Intrigued as to what the Magus had planned and annoyed because he kept ignoring her! So she sent a quick punch to his head before regretting that decision as it felt no different to hitting a rock. "Argh, what the hell is your head made of!?" 

"Ah Mitsu… Ayako!" he nearly called out her last name, changing to her first name as she glared back at him. "When did you get here?" 

"I've been trying to talk to you for the last two minutes and you kept ignoring me!" Sheesh, if his headache wasn't bad enough from that punch then it certainly got worse with her scream. Still, he was at fault here for ignoring her words, he could continue his train of thoughts later on. 

"Sorry, I was too focused on something else." Since both he and Ayako were heading in the same direction, he followed her to the archery club, walking side by side through the hallways while scratching the back of his head. "By the way, you seem a bit angry today, did something happen perchance?" 

Her irritated mood was easy to spot, she started to stick closer to him after finding out his identity as a Magus. Asking myriads of questions after questions about the Supernatural world and whether or not there were other Magi in school. Not that he ever divulged any information about Rin and kept his mouth shut much to her disappointment. 

"It's you! As a member of the archery club you should be participating in club related activities more frequently. But for a while you've barely ever visited the club let alone any of our practice sessions. So I decided, enough is enough and I'm bringing you with me." she locked her arms around his, making it impossible for him to leave and started to pull. 

"T-That's not necessary, Ayako… I can go there by mys—" 

"—No you won't." She cut him off. "The moment I let you go, you'll just leave school and go outside playing hero and fighting against who knows what. Get all the action all to yourself and refuse any aid like an idiot just because I can't shoot fireballs." 

Ah, so she was still mad about him declining her suggestion to patrol the city with him. That would never happen, without the ability to use any form of magecraft and him having no talent as a teacher even if she possessed Magic Circuits contributed to this. Of course, neither could he allow her to use guns, that would be incredibly irresponsible of him. Ayako was just a normal girl that lives a normal life, getting her involved would destroy that part for good and Shirou wasn't willing to do so. 

Soon, both reached the club where he found a few members having already started their practice. All were deeply concentrated on their task, most likely training for next school year's tournament. Grabbing his gear and changing clothes, both began their practice with Ayako treating it more like a competition. 

"Tch," clicking her tongue when hit, fired his fifth consecutive bullseye while she hit the red ring on her third shot. "Do you even know how to miss a shot?" She asked, to which he just chuckled. It just came naturally to him, like a sensation that clicked within his mind whenever he got a perfect aim. 

"It's not that impressive, Ayako. You've gotten far better than last time." Unfortunately, she didn't share his attitude, merely sighing while lowering her bow. 

"I want to accuse you for cheating using magic but I know you're not that kind of person. But this ain't over, Emiya! One day I'll be with you in archery with or without magic." 

At least she kept her competitive trait, not losing any hope and raising her bow back up for another round which he once again won soon after his sixth perfect shot while she failed on her third again. While she glared at the score, Shirou looked at her with a contemplative expression. The conversation he had with Issei coming back along with his little issue. "Hey, are you free this weekend?" 

"What?" That question caught the young girl by surprise, so much so she jerked around and accidentally released her hold on her arrow which struck a wooden wooden pillar near the shocked Shirou. The girl meanwhile, had her eyes widened As she looked at him weirdly. "Um… are you serious?" 

A blush formed on her face, turning around to see if the other members didn't overhear his words and sighing in relief after she realized it was just them there. 

"Serious about what?" He gave her a weird look, removing the arrow from the wooden post. "Also, you should be more careful with your aim there, Ayako. You'll end up injuring me first before any monsters with an aim of yours. Can exactly come save your life everyt—"

{Break}

-Shed-

"Just what did I do wrong?" Now back within his shed, Shirou sighed while holding his cheeks where a red hand print was clearly visible — something Ayako left him before walking away from the club. "I don't know what I said that made her react like that. I just asked her whether she was willing to help Issei and I out to set up the cafe while also making a little joke at the end. Then all of a sudden she gets angry and hits me with a slap." 

It didn't hurt that much, she even sent him a text to apologize for her action soon after. For some reason, she would rather do that than speak to him face to face. "This is your fault, Master." Rider surprisingly came out in her physical form and spoke, given they were in a more private space. 

"What do you mean by my fault? I didn't ask her anything bad or even insulted her. I recalled Ayako enjoying our time at the bar with Tohsaka, so I thought she'd be more than willing to lend us a hand and participate even. After all, the cafe sounds like a fun time and she keeps bugging me to make that cake again for a while."  

Once again, Rider had come to face the realization that her Master  was surprisingly dense and clueless about the matters concerning a woman's heart. She didn't have to be present for that long to already pick up numerous hints those around him showed. How he could have missed those given that both of those girls were very open with their reaction was a mystery all together. 

Especially the Sakura girl, the Servant in some way felt sorry for her and yet was curious to see how she was going to handle her next course of actions. She couldn't be anymore obvious with her feelings for the boy, living in his house, looking after him, taking care of his daily life and words could not describe how lost she felt when Shirou found all of that normal without seeing the underlying emotions. 

Whether he was clueless, in denial or just misunderstanding something — she couldn't tell. Rider didn't know much about their history, having never asked him about their relationship and the final details in the past. All she knew was that Shirou had her stay at his place to protect her from a 'monster' as he called it. 

"Maybe I can ask Tohsaka to help out instead, there is no way Shinji will agree to help that easily. Hmm, yeah, Tohsaka seems like the better option, as at least we'll have another helping hand with all the preparations, I should try to talk to her tomorrow. Issei will hate that, but he brought this upon himself for taking on such a monumental task with such a short deadline."

Another girl from the sound of it… normally Rider would have preferred to stay quiet and just let her Master learn from his own mistakes. But, she feared if nothing was done then he would get a second slap mark on his other cheek and possibly hurt himself. 

"Are you friends with her like the previous one?" She asked, having Shirou who was working in some schematics look back and hum for a moment. 

"I doubt you can call us friends, maybe acquaintance is a better word. We barely talk to each other and while I know she's a Magus, the same can't be said for her and I prefer to keep it that way." Oh, so hopefully it wasn't another maiden with a crush on him. At least now he wasn't going to invite any more trouble and less competition for Sakura. 

'Why am I thinking about her?' That thought surfaced within her mind before she shrugged it away. 

"Unless you want to help out, Rider. They will be wearing masks, so it shouldn't be a problem or you can just tell them you are a cosplayer."

"..." She didn't speak, something which Shirou expected. Rider wasn't much of a talkative person and getting a read on her never seemed to get any easier. Nevertheless, he had gotten somewhat of a basic understanding that could not be put into words. All from that dream he had a couple of days ago. 

After that, he continued to work on his new idea for a couple of minutes before dropping the pen. "All right, we should get going soon enough. There is still a ton of time before Sakura comes back and meets you. I know a good place where we can get some clothes that you'll like." Shirou was still insistent on her getting introduced to Sakura as a guest in his house. A former friend of his father who came over to visit and stay for a while. 

Already, the Servant spotted how ridiculous such a plan was, especially when he would tell it to Sakura. She didn't want the other party to feel threatened by her in more ways than one. She wanted to tell her Master that this was a bad idea, "This is a bad idea," Rider said it regardless, "Sakura will not feel comfortable with my presence." 

To that, he surprisingly nodded, giving her hope that he must have finally understood what she meant by th—

"Don't worry, Sakura won't find out you're a Servant. I made sure to hide the Command Seals and even forged some documents for your identity. I can show her that in case she asks questions or gets curious. Everything from passports to forged plane tickets and so on. You can rest assured, I planned this out perfectly, nothing can go wrong!" Shirou said with confidence, showing some pride in his actions. He knew that keeping her hidden and tiptoeing around Sakura everyday would be too much trouble. As he didn't want to deceive the girl to this extent. 

"..." 

Never in her life did Rider ever felt this big of a desire to sigh and possibly slap some senses into her naive Master. 

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The busy streets of Fuyuki were alive with the hustle and bustle of everyday life as Shirou and Rider strolled through the town, blending into the crowd. Despite the anonymity provided by the mundane setting, Rider's ethereal beauty still managed to draw glances from those around them. Towering over most people, her graceful presence turned heads as they passed. Even though he gave her a jacket from his wardrobe, it did little to hide her curves and the blindfold just attracted more glances from passersby. 

"A cosplayer." 

"She must be a foreigner!"

"Wow, look at that hair." 

Shirou noticed all of attention she garnered and couldn't help but ask, "Are you comfortable with all the stares?"

Rider for the most part remained stoic, her expression unchanged. She glanced at him for a moment but offered no verbal response, instead gesturing towards a nearby clothing store where he planned to take her from the beginning. Deciding to drop the topic, Shirou followed her inside.

Rows of clothes greeted them, already Shirou felt his wallet become lighter but Fuji-nee and Luvia had on a few occasions always mentioned how it was important to to never cheap out on such occasions. Another reason coming from the fact that barely anyone frequented this place due to the high prices which contributed to his decision. and Shirou took a deep breath. "Alright, Rider, let's find you something comfortable."

She nodded, seemingly uninterested in the task at hand. "You can choose; I have no preference." 

He frowned, determined to break through her cold exterior. "Are you sure you want to leave this up to me?" His voice couldn't be any innocent as he picked up two random clothes, which turned out to be far smaller and suggestive for her size. "Uh… does it come with a bra as well?" 

"..." Nevermind, leaving him to choose was bound to bring forth a disaster. "Fine, I'll do it." 

"A-Ah, miss. I-I can help you out with…* the store clerk stuttered, gazing at Rider's face and stealing glances at her body with a flushed face. Meanwhile, Shirou went to another section of the store, thinking about buying something for Sakura. But what could he get her here? He didn't even know her measurements…

While he continued to look around, Rider had to deal with the overexcited clerk who kept bringing her clothes after clothes to try on. The Servant shook in her head, the last thing she ever expected to do in a Holy Grail War was going clothes shopping in public with an odd Master who foolishly kept trying to treat her as a human. "How about this turtleneck sweater and these jeans? They'll fit you wonderfully and you'll look like a model! It's unfortunate there isn't much of a choice for someone as tall as you, but we also accept custom orders!"

These people… how would they react if they learned of her true nature? Still, she preferred to get done with this matter as soon as possible and for them to return. Feeling no joy or even intrigue, merely worried that her Master was forgetting what awaited them in the future when eventually more contestants showed up. 

As she headed toward the changing rooms, Shirou returned with a small bag in his hands, curious to see what choice of clothing Rider chose. "Probably a hoodie or something similar to her last clothes." whispered the boy as he waited patiently. He felt a warmth in his cheeks. Rider emerged from the changing room in the chosen outfit, Unable to hide his amazement of how different she looked with just a simple change of attire. A black turtleneck sweater that accentuated her features, and the jeans gave her an unexpectedly casual elegance while highlighting her curves. He mumbled, "You look... really good."

She tilted her head, observing his reaction. "Is that so?" She seemed intrigued by his response but didn't dwell on it. Given the clerk herself was showing a similar face, the latter getting encouraged by her image, the woman came forth with other sets and insisted for her to try it on., "Give it a go, miss! You look like a model, can I take a picture with you? Though why are you keeping the blindfold? Must be hard to move around and not see much."

"...No." She barely hesitated to turn the clerk down.

"Aw…" 

As Rider changed into different outfits, Shirou's reactions varied from awe to embarrassment. He found himself blushing at the sight of her in more form-fitting clothes, a reaction not lost on the perceptive Servant. Rider remained silent, her eyes holding a subtle amusement as she gauged his responses. As much as he tried to look stoic and keep smiling, the small changes were as clear as day for the Servant. Making her recall that at the end of the day he was but a young hormonal teenager — just a dense one. 

Finally settling on a few outfits that both pleased her and satisfied Rider admitted, "I suppose clothing can be more than a necessity."

Shirou grinned, pleased with the progress. "See? Not that bad right? I don't want you to feel always locked up inside the house and keep staying in your Spiritual Form all day. Must get boring at some point I reckon, we still have time before the Holy Grail War begins from what I'm guessing so it's better to have moments like these. By the way, this is for you," he handed her a package, one where Rider found a small box with sunglasses but with completely blacked out lenses where nothing could be seen through them.

"I don't know much about you or your eyes, but I guess there is a valid reason why you're hiding them behind a blindfold. And I'm also not sure if that blindfold is a Mystic Code of sorts, so I won't feel bad if you don't use them. Just… yeah, I just felt it was a good addition to the type of clothes you wear. Will attract less attention. Again, if you don't like it then I can exchange it for something else, I don't mind." 

"..." Shirou noticed how she stopped walking, looking back at her with a confused face. "Is something wrong?" 

"Master, aren't you curious about my identity?" She asked a question that caught him off guard. But one he didn't need to think that hard to answer. 

"Of course I am curious, I would be lying if I said otherwise. I mean, it's my first time meeting a Servant and sometimes I ask myself which famous Heroic Spirit you must be. Not sure if there are some rules about those who are summoned to keep their identities hidden, yet it's not my place to push you to reveal everything." Once again the image of the three sisters flashed before his eyes, the foggy sensation of familiarity whenever he looked at the middle one… Shirou didn't feel comfortable with these dreams. Not because they showed but rather how it felt like he was forcefully looking into her past without permission. 

Whether or not she also experienced the same thing, he didn't know.

"You are my Master, I can't deny you your request if you asked me this question. It won't even require using a Command Seal." Knowing a Heroic Spirit's name was a major boon as it allowed anyone to figure out both their history and possible weaknesses. "Names are a powerful tool, willingly turning a blind eye to it or not attempting to find out is foolish." 

"Is that so? Guess Ayako was right calling me an idiot then, because that still doesn't give me any reason why I should do that." He said, seemingly unbothered by her own identity and name. "I know that if I force you to tell me something you'd rather keep secret, it'll make me a person I'd rather never become. I very much prefer to have you one day come forward and just tell me, a day when you'll be more comfortable around me. Besides, we're doing alright now aren't we? So would knowing your name change anything?" 

Change, surely it would change many things. A part of her scoffed, wanting to tell the boy how wrong he was with such a mindset. That fear and nervousness would emerge on his face if he were to realize who she was one day. 

"You are too trusting." To so easily look at her with pure eyes without any doubts and worry… how laughable. Something certainly was very wrong with her Master, but for the most part, she didn't mind dealing with those flaws. Yet that didn't stop her from coming to terms how this was merely a temporary moment, that one day he'd eventually find out and start fearing her. 

'It won't hurt to get along with current affairs.' 

Shirou's overall life as well, Rider found it amusing and entertaining. Different from what she had in mind of what a Magus would be and even unique in a certain way. 

"Perhaps, but I'm willing to take the risk." 

Rider's lips momentarily twitched upwards with his instant reply that once again held no doubt, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. As they continued to reach the house, Shirou took a deep breath as he opened the doors, hearing the gentle humming of Sakura coming from the kitchen as she must have started without him. 

"Sakura, I brought a guest!" 

He hoped they would get along. 

{Break}

-Fuyuki center-

"Japan is very much different from London." 

Walking through the streets, a certain hooded individual awed as she gazed at the dramatically different sight of what she'd grown used to seeing daily. While next to her, the tall man in suit chuckled, puffing out a cloud of smoke. 

"Fuyuki hasn't changed much I must say. It does look a bit livelier than before in some areas but the overall dreadful atmosphere is the same." Said Waver, having reached Japan a few hours ago and now strolling the area with his apprentice/protege. Honestly, it unnerved him being back here once again, each shadow or sound making him twitch in fear, looking around every corner to make sure they were safe. An irrational part of his mind picturing encountering the Golden King of Heroes by accident and then getting killed for no reason. Of course, that man was long gone but this was just part of the problems. 

The Fourth Grail War introduced many monsters, from the Magus Killer and that Saber servant. Each, as deadly as the other , somehow managed to survive all of these encounters. 

Waver feared his younger self must have depleted his reserves of luck decades in advance. On his way here, the man had goosebumps as the taxi car passed through the bridge, the images getting stronger with the phantom roars of countless cavalries all plummeting to their doom and the earth and the last vestige of Rider's voice. 

"Sir… what is that?" Gray pointed at a crowd of people gathered in front of a cafe of sorts, breaking himw out of his morbid wandering thoughts. It didn't take long for Waver to widen his eyes with recognition. 

"That is what the land of the rising Sun is very famous for, anime cafes." she turned her head towards him, with squinted eyes carefully listening to his following words like a loyal and diligent apprentice would. "It's a big part of their culture, put on cosplays, decorate an existing establishment and charge three times the price. You'll already fine anything like this anywhere outside, but it has been getting more popular lately."

"It sounds to me like you hate the country, you haven't stopped complaining about small details from the beginning." Gray added, getting her mentor not to say a word.

"I don't hate the country, I just hate what happened here a couple of years ago. Anyways, such things are quite popular here, more so than in the past. Lovely atmosphere, just needs maid costumes to complete the picture, though the animal mask and costumes gets a yes from me." This wasn't the time to let his past experience influence his mood that much. He changed as well, and had to get a hold of his emotions and fears. "Why don't we get ourselves something? I'm in the mood for coffee." 

Gray's eyes widened as she didn't expect such a suggestion from him but didn't waste any time before nodding her head. 

"Great," seeing her eager about such a thing made the man smile. He didn't really find the concept that interesting, but if his protege found joy then who was he to say otherwise? Plus she'd been under a lot of pressure lately, acting like it wasn't affecting her which was far from the case. It was his responsibility to not only help her, but also make sure she didn't push herself too much. 

Both walked inside and found an empty counter surprisingly given how crowded the place was. "Excuse me, we would like a table for t—"

"—Hey Emiya, we have customers!" 

.

.

.

Emi…ya?

That name… 

At that moment, both his body and soul felt as if it were dropped in a vat of ice cold water as a dreadful grasp of the grim reaper soon had a hold over him. The horrors of the previous war flashing by his eyes with all color draining from the man's face as someone made their way to the counter. 

No… no way… this had to be a nightmare. 

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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 1 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.