Chapter 17: Purpose

Beta read by Paragon of Awesomeness and Shigiya

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-Sainan-

Stretching out over the vast expanse of the grassy field, the sun was hanging low in the sky, casting a warm, golden glow over the surroundings — Emiya released a breath of fresh air as he let himself enjoy the scenery. He wore a clean white t-shirt, the sleeves having a small blue, white and yellow symbolized logo of his brother's favorite football team, running shorts, and a pair of cleats that were a stark contrast to the otherwise casual attire he wore regularly. The young man adjusted the straps of his cleats, his gaze fixed on the younger brown haired boy in the distance, Rito who stood on the opposite side of the field, juggling a football with breathtaking skill.

He couldn't help but be impressed by the display. The ball appeared to dance effortlessly atop Rito's feet, seemingly gravity with each controlled touch. With a final flourish, Rito let the ball drop and turned to face his older brother.

Emiya grinned, finishing his warm-up routine. "Impressive as always, Rito."

Rito's face flushed with a mix of excitement and nervousness. "Thanks, Nii-san. Though it's really not much to be honest. Are you ready?"

"Always." 

With that, Rito charged forward, the ball never leaving his side. His steps were precise, his movements fluid. Emiya braced himself for the challenge, knowing that his brother's skills had grown immensely since their last match. The boy would always become like a completely different entity whenever playing the sport; all of that clumsiness and nervousness getting thrown out of the window — replaced with a calculated and focused expression and a seamless rhythm to his movements he never displayed anywhere else. 

The intense match between the two siblings began. Rito dribbled with uncanny precision, his feet seemingly connected to the ball by an invisible thread. He zigzagged through the grass, making sharp turns and sudden feints that left Emiya momentarily further bewildered by the number of complex dribbles his brother performed with each rapid step. Trying to fool his opponent's eyes and mind without even looking at the ball, sharp golden brown eyes mirroring his darting at every turn, searching for any possible weakness within his defense. 

Not wanting to leave his brother without a challenge, Emiya's drive kicked in, and he attempted to steal the ball from Rito, but it was like trying to catch a fleeting shadow. Rito's speed was astounding, and his ball control was masterful. He effortlessly maneuvered past his older brother's outstretched leg and continued his advance. The redhead moved again, getting closer to Rito and not giving him any room as the latter shot the ball in the air in an arch that had it land behind him whilst rushing past from a small gap Emiya left for him on purpose. 

Bam! 

With a single kick, the ball soared through the air until it landed inside the goal and was caught by the net. "Hah… Hah… that's 1:0 for me." Rito said, just getting started as he jumped in place with a smile at his victory. 

Emiya went over and passed the ball to his brother at the center, "Yup, nicely done." And with that, round two started. As the match intensified, the brothers exchanged words between gasping breaths. "Don't expect to fool me with that move again, it'll be harder next time." 

Rito, his face beaming with excitement, replied with a cheeky grin, "I know, but I'll do it again regardless."

"You little brat," Emiya scoffed at first before showing a small grin of his own. He redoubled his efforts, attempting to intercept Rito's every move. But the brown haired boy's skills had evolved into something extraordinary. He executed a series of feints, leaving Emiya momentarily rooted to the spot unless he was willing to use his Magecraft, but that would've been cheating. With a burst of speed, Rito surged past him, the ball seemingly glued to his feet. 

Emiya pushed himself to not act on instinct and keep himself from giving Rito too much of a hard time, while also trying to keep the gap between them small. But Rito was a blur of motion as he maintained masterful control over the ball. With a final, powerful kick, Rito sent the ball soaring right past his face into the net, and the former erupted with a loud cheer. "Heck yeah, 2:0!" 

The younger boy grinned as he celebrated his goal, sweat glistening on his brow. Emiya approached him, a mix of amusement and pride in his eyes. "You got better, at this rate it won't be long before you go pro."

Rito shook his head at those words. "That's not possible, I kinda feel you're going easy on me… you're not even sweating like me even after running a couple of laps around the field. Your stamina is ridiculous, Nii-san." 

The two brothers sat near a tree, each holding a bottle of water with the sound of cicadas ringing around them. "If you're thinking that your stamina is bad then that is very wrong. You're more fit than the majority of the boys in the school." He lightly hit Rito's stomach, the impact being met by a wall of light muscles that was built up with years of playing and training. "This doesn't happen without you putting in some serious effort." 

"You kidding? Have you seen yourself in the mirror? In comparison I'm more of a twig with how I hardly have any really visible muscles…" 

Emiya chuckled at those words, "Having well defined muscles or not does not mean much or the amount of abs or vascularity. People have different body types and train themselves for different roles. Yours is ideal for this sport, lean without it being too bulky. Perfect for someone who does a lot of running" He said honestly, his brother was still a teenager who would continue to grow within the new following years and the change would become apparent if he continued to practice. "I still can't believe I'm playing against the same person." 

"Hm?" 

"You become so confident at such moments, you don't fall when I try to trip you weirdly enough or even stumble over your own ass and end up in a lewd position atop the closest girl around. Defying every possible law of physics in the world and having your hands somehow end up over the breasts or nether regions if your luck's bad enough." He said dryly without holding back his words, each phrase hitting Rito with invisible arrows every time.

"Y-You don't have to say it like that…" the sulky tone couldn't be any more evident. Wanting to deny those words yet unable to do so due to how true they were was a bigger tragedy in itself. It wasn't like he was intentionally doing any of it…

"Let's hope those tendencies don't get so bad that you end up making Mikan become one of your victims." Emiya joked, earning a glare from Rito who then shivered.

"No way, absolutely not. Mikan will sooner break my bones or body slam me before I end up falling anywhere near her." 

"What? That little thing can't hurt a fly. Unless she chooses to use her words I guess." To Emiya, the mere thought of his sister hurting someone was so far-fetched that he'd sooner believe that all seven Servants from the Fifth Grail War were reborn in this world along with him. 

"…Don't you know Mikan is one the top students at her school in not only her studies, but also sports? Or that she's expressed interest in archery and possibly other martial arts? It doesn't help that she is known as the local ice queen on top of that." 

Emiya choked on his water after hearing those words, followed by a fit of coughs as he tried to recover from the whiplash he experienced from hearing that piece of information. "…W-What!? Since when!?" He asked, tone dripped with disbelief at the mere idea that Mikan was interested in such activities. 

"What, you seriously had no idea?" Rito said curiously, "I once went over there to drop off a book she forgot and saw her hanging around with some of the older students in the archery club, trying out some of their equipment. I didn't get to see much, but she seemed pretty serious about it." 

"…" 

Now Emiya started to worry about the future of his sister… Her choice of extracurricular activities were getting a little too familiar for comfort. If she started spouting some nonsense about being a hero or anything remotely close to that, then he was going to lose it. "Make sure to spend more time with her from now on, Rito. Though, do try to not turn her into a clumsy klutz." 

Even if that did happen, better to have Mikan turn into a female version of Rito than him. He preferred that path over anything remotely having to do with the apparent alternative. 

"Oi, was that supposed to be an insult?" Rito gave him a deadpan stare. "Also, she's not a sponge who will change her whole personality just because I'm near her more often. She's been like that pretty much since she could walk, and it won't change so easily. Like seriously, in so many of our old pictures, you're the one carrying Mikan on your back and she refused to even let Mom hold her — why are you surprised she's taking after you the most instead of me? I wouldn't be surprised if on any of her school documents she accidentally ends up writing your name for who her mom and dad are." 

"Not helping, Rito." Emiya sighed, "She should try playing around with friends her age, doing hobbies normal for a young girl her age."

"You mean listening to K-pop songs, hanging posters of their celebrity crush on the wall and constantly texting her friend about the latest fashion trends?" 

He cringed before shrugging, "Don't ask me, I'm not exactly familiar with what twelve year olds find popular these days. Though I'm sure it has nothing to do with archery and being cold and aloof with her peers." 

"But why though?" Rito asked curiously with a head tilt. "I don't see anything bad with learning archery or martial arts. Honestly, with all the alien fiasco going on, it frankly doesn't seem like a bad idea to learn some self-defense."

"Am I actually talking to Yuuki Rito at this moment?" Emiya wondered if his brother was kidnapped and replaced with a clone by another alien fiancé candidate. "Just imagine Mikan becoming completely like me, it won't end well for her."

"…You're right!" The boy exclaimed with realization flashing before his eyes, making his brother release a breath of relief. "I can't bear to see my little sister surrounded by boys and having a reverse harem!" 

A glare was all he needed to have Rito flinch before scratching the back of his head with embarrassment. "Right, my bad, I meant surrounded by girls and having a har—puh!" 

His voice got silenced with a wet towel thrown to his face. Making him chuckle as he found an opportunity to make fun of the redhead, a rarity even when he had help from Mikan. In the end, both shared a chuckle before returning back to the previous silence. "Speaking of Mikan, what's been going with her lately? She's been unusually clingy with you, and looked like she was on the verge of completely freaking out until you came back home from your grocery run yesterday."

"Oh, that." Honestly, he didn't know how to handle the situation without making it worse. It was clear to him that Mikan was shocked by the events with Golden Darkness — possibly traumatized to some extent. He tried to tell her that he was fine and nothing bad happened to him, but she just refused to listen. "Hah… Let's just say I got into a bit of trouble with another alien that showed up out of nowhere the other day, and Mikan was almost caught up in it, so she's been rather concerned."

"Another one?" Rito blinked before remembering the day Lala rushed inside the house whilst holding a distraught Mikan. He didn't have any chance to ask what happened until the Princess sprayed some chemicals into his face which instantly put him to sleep. The next thing he knew, both he and his sister found themselves in an underground lair of some kind, within a cage, surrounded by a moat of water filled with sharks, lasers and a few dozen robots patrolling the area. For a moment there, he almost believed that Lala kidnapped them. 

"Is that why you had some scratches when you came home? You told me it was an accident!" 

"I didn't want to give you pointless stuff to worry about. And besides, I handled it… that person will no longer cause us any trouble." Lacospo was going to die no matter what, even if Lala tried to stop him or have Zastin take him in — Emiya was not going to let such a dangerous individual who knew who he was and was willing to put a bounty on his siblings live. 

As for Golden Darkness… she most likely returned to her planet after Zastin took her away. 

{Break}

-Sainan High School-

Never before would Emiya have ever come to believe there would be a time where spending his time at school would become this desirable. What was supposed to be merely a small distraction in his new life had ended up becoming a safe haven from all the ridiculousness that now seemed like a constant source of headaches whenever he set foot outside these walls, as opposed to the several he put up with when inside them. Especially his favorite spot, which happened to be underneath a sakura tree in the school courtyard where he currently was. 

"Emiya-kun, you're sleeping in the middle of the school again!?" 

But unfortunately, he just had to jinx that. Opening his tired eyes, golden brown orbs met those of frowning dark brown, their owner having that familiar stance of her arms crossed and standing a bit too close to the point where her underwear was in plain view given their respective positions. 

"Do you not have any sense of your surroundings, Kotegawa If you keep it up I might just start to think that you're doing it deliberately." Emiya muttered in a deadpan tone.

"Eh, doing what?" She tilted her head in confusion, tracking his line of sight until she looked down and went full on atomic red. "S-S-Shameless!" Her foot shot up in an attempt to kick his face, which he easily dodged and caught her foot on her second attempt. 

"Careful there, you're just showing it to me even more." 

"Kya!" Unable to do anything against him, Yui fell to the ground with her foot slipping, groaning as Emiya chuckled at her in the end. "That's not funny!" 

"I beg to differ, think of this as karma for disturbing my peaceful time." 

This boy… Yui just couldn't figure him out no matter how hard she tried. "You've been getting more out of control ever since Lala-san came to this school. If you aren't careful, then you might ruin your studies and become a delinquent — though you're arguably already there given the innocent students you mercilessly beat up the day she arrived." 

"Innocent? Now I know you're trying to make me laugh; those brats are the farthest thing away from innocent." Like seriously, they turned into a mob if any boy other than themselves had a girlfriend, and they'd turn on one another in an instant if they thought doing so would improve their own odds of getting one. While he didn't remember much of his life as a high school student back in Fuyuki, he could at least say with certainty that the students there had never reacted like that! 

As soon as he thought about that, Rider's fake master flashed before his mind. 'Oh right, him.' The Matou boy… a pitiful existence that was nothing more than a discarded piece of waste in the eyes of Zouken. He wondered if, in some alternate reality, he ever killed him with his own hands. 

"That still does not excuse putting them all in the infirmary! It goes against so many school rules that I don't even know where to start." She spoke with frustration evident in her tone, rubbing her temples while trying to talk with the redhead before her. 

"Careful there, the more you keep frowning the sooner you'll get wrinkles and white hair." 

"S-Speak for yourself! I'm seeing a new strand of white hair on your head every day! Also, don't ever tell a woman something like that!" A blush spread over her face at those words. 

"Hoh? I see I've gotten myself an admirer who is so interested in me that she even pays attention to every individual strand of my hair on a daily basis." 

"Y-Y-You!!" Trying to hold back his chuckle proved to be a bigger challenge than he was prepared for when he saw Yui's reaction. Out of everyone he knew aside from Rito, she was the easiest to get an amusing reaction out of, Haruna third. Risa was dead last given she had similar objectives and so was Mikado for obvious reasons. Though he certainly never tried to do such a thing to the nurse, before it used to be because he had no reason to but now… now he didn't know whether to trust her or not. "A-Anyways, since you clearly have nothing better to do, c-come help me with delivering some paperwork to the teachers instead of lazing around here."

"Oi, I'm trying to have some peace and quiet here, which I don't get much lately in class whenever Lala's there." That princess and her new best friend Risa were constantly bugging him. They were both bad influences to each other, as Lala had recently started greeting other girls by grabbing their breasts. And that Lala found it fun to swing her tail around Risa and cause the other girl to freeze up, fearful of accidentally grasping it too hard and the reaction she realized that would cause. "So forgive me if I have to politely decl—"

"—Shirou~! Where are you? You promised to hang out with me and go through the inventions idea list I made!" Lala's voice came from far away, followed by Risa and Mio asking other students if they had seen him. 

"Yuuki Emiya Shirou, come out right this instant, Saki-sama seeks your presence for friendly activities. Don't try to resist or run away from me; you can hide all you like but I will find you." From the other side, Rin's monotone voice rang loudly. A hint of expectation evident in her tone as she was clearly hoping for a confrontation and would use this opportunity as an excuse to challenge him again. The chances of her already holding a wooden sword were high and he didn't want to deal with her again this soon after her last challenge.

Swiftly getting up, he grabbed onto a surprised Yui's wrist and dragged the suddenly flustered girl inside the school building. "You know what? I changed my mind, I'm more than happy to help you out." 

"W-Wait, hand holding on school grounds is not allowed!" 

He ignored her for the most part.

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Walking through the hallway, carrying stacks of paper that nearly blinded Yui's sight, Emiya kept quiet the entire time. Just looking sideways he could see a distant look within the girl's eyes. Clearly Yui had something she wanted to talk about with him, and she had roped him into this task so she'd have the chance to do so, but now she was hesitating for some reason. Rather than force her to speak her thoughts though, he merely continued to mind his own business. 

"Say, Emiya-kun… what's your relationship with Lala-san?" She asked quietly, panicking as he gave her a side-glance with a raised eyebrow. "I-I just wanted to make s-sure nothing strange is going on! I-Intimate relationships within the student population are p-prohibited, and as the president of the disciplinary committee, I need to make sure you don't break any more rules or do anything… shameless…"

"Again with that? That has practically become your catchphrase, Kotegawa. You should try something different." 

She tried to retort again, but held back so as to not get tricked by the boy beside her again into acting out in a manner that would only embarrass herself and cause him to wear that damn smirk she'd become rather familiar with. 

He continued to speak, "To answer your question, Lala is not my girlfriend, despite many rumors to the contrary. When she is talking about being my wife or fianceé, the girl is just kidding around or at most being too honest about her one-sided desires — so don't take her seriously."

That response made the girl next to him release a breath of relief, but then she gave him a suspicious stare again. "And what about Tenjōin Saki? I heard rumors that you… during the school festival you… um… y-you…" she started to stutter, going beat red as swirls appeared within her eyes. Finally, after shaking her head to clear it and gathering enough energy and courage, Yui finished her sentence. "I heard rumors that you and Tenjōin-san did something… shameless in a classroom in front of everyone!" 

Emiya's eyes widened as he realized what she was talking about. "Oh, yeah… that."

"So it's true!?" Yui exclaimed with shock and outrage. 

"Of course not!" He immediately retorted. "Well, not entirely at least. Saki and Lala were just having a stupid competition and I accidentally got involved at the end when the former's clothes literally snapped when the principal tried to jump the both of them. She would have been exposed in front of everyone if I hadn't done anything. And I don't even want to think about what that fat old creep would've done to either of them if I hadn't kicked him out the window before he could touch them."

"D-D-Did you see anything? Wait, no. Ne-Nevermind about that, I have something else to ask you, Emiya-kun." Taking a deep breath she waited as they walked closer to the end of the hallway where the infirmary was. "Do you know what's happening this weekend?" 

"This weekend?" Emiya pondered, trying to recall if anything important had been announced regarding the upcoming days. "I don't recall anything on note… what is it?" The redhead became confused as she started pouting. 

"There will be a festival going on at a nearby shrine, followed by a fireworks show." As she said that, he recalled how this morning Risa had started to talk about what type of yukata she would wear or what color would best suit Lala. He hadn't been that interested in their conversation, thus he had not given any consideration to those words. 

"Ah, I remember, are you planning to go?" 

"Of course!" She answered with a single stomp of her foot. "It is my duty to make sure no troublemakers — like your brother — create chaos and bring shame to Sainan High. I-It's an important duty, which is the only reason why I'm going to the festival!" 

Smirking in amusement, Emiya whispered softly, "Then I wouldn't be in the wrong to assume you'll be attending the festival alone."

Enraged, Yui got close to his face with the tips of their toes almost touching whilst her arms trembled so much she nearly dropped the large stack of documents she carried. "S-So what!? You weren't even going to attend in the first place and even if you did, I bet you'd also be alone the whole time with how rude you can be!" 

She wasn't wrong. But now that he thought about it, it wouldn't be so bad to wear a yukata again, or attend a Japanese fireworks festival. He hadn't done either in… forever. 

"You know, it might not be so bad to go to a festival again after so long." It could make for a well-deserved opportunity to get Mikan to relax and help her get over any lingering fear she still had from Golden Darkness' attack. Trying out some of the food and playing some festival games with her and Rito would help a lot. Speaking of Rito, this was the perfect opportunity for the boy to finally hang out with Haruna. She would also surely attend such an event, she never missed out on such occasions and her sister loved festivals as well. "I suppose I don't have anything better planned for this weekend, so why not?" 

"Humph, knowing you, you'll most likely be all alone and brood somewhere off in the corner. S-So I'll extend an olive branch your way, and you can accompany me to survey the area a-and keep our school's reputation intact. I'll t-take it upon myself to make this small sacrifice so that you don't have a bad experience as well." 

Did their school even have a reputation left to tarnish when they already had a super perverted principal who regularly ran around town naked and also tried to molest pretty/cute girls of any age range on a daily basis? 

Rolling his eyes, Emiya just softly chuckled at how Yui behaved. He found it funny how she tried to build up this entire scenario just to ask a friend to hang out with her at this weekend's festival so she could attend it without feeling lonely. "What an honor, though let's hope the boys here don't attack me the day after the festival just because they heard I went there with you and suddenly think we're dating, or that I've added you to my nonexistent harem." 

"Great!" She exclaimed, visibly happy at his words, her eyes almost shining with stars. She seemed to have completely ignored everything he said after he agreed to go to the festival with her. "Make sure to arrive in time, o-or be there a bit early if you can! I'll be waiting for you at the entrance. Together we will keep the festival safe and subdue any individual who acts in a shameless manner without mercy!" 

As she continued to talk energetically, Emiya's frown returned as they stopped in front of the doorway to the infirmary. Yui opened the doors with Mikado coming into view, sitting on her office table and glossing through some papers idly. Her head turned upwards as their eyes met, with the nurse still carrying the same tranquil expression she was so popular for with that gentle smile on her face. "Ara, Emiya-kun and Kotegawa-san? It's rare enough to see either of you two here, but for you to come together has to be a first. I hope there hasn't been another war breaking out among the students again?" 

"Fortunately no, we just came here to drop off some documents Setsuna-sensei requested we deliver to you." 

"Oh, those must be last year's student physical reports. Leave them over on that table." Following her works, both dropped off the stacks with Yui giving the mature woman a bow before walking to the door by herself.

"Emiya-kun?" She looked back to find Emiya who was staying behind. 

"Don't mind me, I just wanted to ask Mikado-sensei's professional opinion on something." 

"Eh, is someone in your family sick or something?" She asked worriedly.

"It's nothing major, Kotegawa-san. I'll join you later once I'm done here, and of course I also look forward to going to the festival with you this weekend." He said with a small smile, which seemed to have the desired effect as Yui hesitantly nodded with her cheeks rapidly turning red before hurriedly leaving and closing the door behind her. 

"..."

"..."

An eerie silence loomed around the two, Emiya's frown in particular turning into a glare towards the woman in front of him.

"My, my. That's a scary expression you have there, Emiya-kun. What's got you acting all intense?"

"I'm in no mood for jokes, Mikado. Not when my family nearly gets caught in an attack you apparently knew was coming. Who or what are you really?" Ever since the beginning, Emiya never doubted her identity, always thinking that she was just an overly friendly nurse who liked to wear revealing outfits and had a childish sense of humor to balance out her mature wisdom… A somewhat normal person in this crazy world. "You knew about my bounty before Lala or even Zastin, which makes me suspect you also knew about the assassin who came to collect it and the one who hired her. Am I mistaken?"

Mikado possessed a slightly sadistic personality, as she did enjoy seeing the reaction of her squirmier patients when administering a shot. Eccentric at times, but not enough for him to find it weird given those moments mostly happened when she talked about medicines and treatments. Unpredictable in some situations but mostly reasonable and mature. Yet after hearing that warning she gave, shortly followed by him facing an adversary the likes of Golden Darkness and seeing what lengths certain aliens like Lacospo were willing to go to, he couldn't risk letting his guard down around her anymore. 

Mikado rested her chin on her hand, amused by his question. "Do you see me as an enemy just because you now realize I am not originally from this planet, even after I informed you about the bounty? You… you actually think I'm going to harm you, Lala, or your family? Well, I wouldn't fault you for coming to that conclusion after everything that's happened to you in such a short time. Besides, it's not as if I'm entirely innocent either."

"Are you or are you not involved with another one of Lala's fiancé candidates?" He demanded.

"And what if I was?"

The air stirred as in an instant dozens of blades appeared all around the woman. Some floated close enough to her neck that a slight movement could cause a cut.

"I told you that I'm not in the mood for any of your jokes. If you give me another response like that then I'll treat it as your definitive answer. So answer the question truthfully, Mikado. Before I decide you are my enemy, and to find out for myself what exactly you are and how closely your biology really resembles that of a human's as I discover how much trauma your kind can endure before they die." Killing intent flashed before his eyes, for as much as he enjoyed her company, if she proved to be another enemy then he wouldn't hesitate in killing her right here. 

Though he wasn't a fan of torture, but threats hinting at such an end worked in most cases where he never actually had to go that far. In most scenarios, killing them and finding another one with a weaker will sufficed. 

Instead of showing any fear, dread, or even surprise at the threat or the reveal of his powers, the nurse calmly dragged her finger along the flat side of the sword nearest to her hand. 

"Fascinating, I must admit, I have seen many bizarre and outrageous abilities from many different species, yet seeing such a display from a pureblooded human is… unbelievable. If I may be so bold… You wouldn't mind if I wanted to conduct a little bit of research on you, would you, Emiya-kun? I'm sure that even just examining your body with my eyes alone would prove to be a very… thrilling experience." Even now she spoke with that same sultry voice that she so enjoyed teasing boys with, though even on a normal day it had no effect on him.

Now though? He was fast approaching the end of his patience. 

"Answer the question, Mikado."

Finally a slight frown overtook her features, though only after a few more seconds did she start talking again, albeit in a more serious tone. 

"I am, and always will be, nothing more than a humble school nurse dedicated to the care and wellbeing of my patients. You won't find me working in secret with some other planet's ruler or prince at any point, as I much prefer the life I have built here. I'm not trying to destroy it by working with any one of Lala's fiancé candidates or anything else that might risk such — that is the truth." Carefully bringing a hand up, Mikado pushed her hair back, revealing to Emiya her elf-like ears. "As for my species… you don't have to worry about that either. Aside from a longer lifespan — which is mostly achieved through our advancements with medicine rather than any inherent trait we are born with — we don't have any other abilities of note. It's better to think of us as humans with different shaped ears… nothing more, nothing less."

Whether it be in this life or the past, Emiya never had the ability to perfectly discern a given individual's truth from any lies they might spout. However, a near-infinite number of years of experience had certainly helped him in that area a great deal, though it wasn't perfect or a guaranteed method by any means. Though the way Mikado spoke, the way she presented herself and every small physical detail he piled up showed no signs of her deceiving him. Unless she was a master liar who could fool someone like him, which in itself was unlikely given how long he knew her. 

If by now her entire personality was nothing but a sham, then he would have noticed some signs.

"If your main concern is maintaining your peaceful life as a school nurse, why did you even involve yourself with all of this by telling me about the bounty in the first place? If you had just kept up the act of a regular school nurse the entire time, then I wouldn't have ever suspected you." This was another part of her actions he couldn't fully understand. "Don't tell me it was to save the Earth, keep your home safe or any of that nonsense." 

"Isn't the answer obvious?" She said with an incredulous stare, giving him a kind of focus she never had before. "Believe it or not, I actually do care about you, Emiya-kun. You are not only a student here, but also someone with whom I genuinely enjoy spending my time with. It's not exactly easy to find someone to have meaningful conversations with around here, as you may have noticed."

"…Are you honestly saying that the only reason you compromised your anonymity by warning  me is because you view me as your friend?" Now it was his turn to stare at her disbelievingly. 

"Friend? And here I thought we had something special, how hurtful~!" His eye twitched at the wink she gave him. "Is it because you think I am too old for you that you never showed any reaction towards my body or myself despite all the times I indicated I might be interested in you? I do take care of myself every day, and I should continue to look in my prime for at least another century or two, if you're worried about me getting wrinkles." 

"Not really," he replied without missing a beat. "Your body is fine, I'm just not interested in pursuing a relati— Hold on, we are going way off topic here! Hah… forget it." 

His body relaxed as the swords around him disappeared. The woman chuckled at his reaction, unbothered by the whole ordeal before. Getting up from his seat, she went over to him and grabbed his hands before slipping a note to him. 

"This is my address, I keep all of my equipment there and run a small clinic there outside of school hours for all the local aliens. If you ever need help treating any injuries or some other affliction, or want information on anything extraterrestrial or whatever else I can offer my expertise on, then you are more than free to stop by anytime. Or, if you're feeling a bit more casual you're even more welcome to just pay me a visit so we can have ourselves a nice chat. I promise I'll have some coffee or tea ready for you." Reading the address, Emiya got a clear image of where she lived. Situated close to Saki's house in a wealthy neighborhood. 

"A member of the school faculty, inviting a student inside her house for nonprofessional purposes? I can already imagine the scandal this will create if anyone finds out you even made this offer to me. I'm also pretty certain the boys in this school would genuinely declare war against me, and the 'Anti-Emiya Alliance's' ranks would swell." He didn't refuse the note though, placing it inside his pocket as he understood that having Mikado as his ally would prove to be better than not. And he was also curious to see how she treated various beings from other planets.

"You're right, which is why this will be our little secret." She whispered, as her face turned scary for a second. "Also, how do you plan on making up for pointing all those swords at my throat? I never imagined my dearest Emiya-kun could reveal himself to be such a heartless individual. It's going to take at least a few decades for the trauma of this horrid experience to heal… Though you could help to speed that recovery up a bit if you were to, say, show me a good time? Good enough that I'd naturally shift my focus to more pleasant memories involving you… "

This woman…

"I take it that letting you stay alive and unharmed will not be sufficient for you?" 

"Nope~!" 

"Hn, fine. I guess that's fair, all things considered." Shrugging her off, Emiya began to walk out, knowing that staying here any longer would just give her more reason to continue teasing him. "I'll bring some coffee for you when I do visit, how does that sound?" 

Her previously  dangerous and sultry stare vanished and was replaced by her normal, easygoing expression. "That sounds wonderful, though do be warned I already have quite a collection of coffee beans from several different planets as well as tea leaves. That said, I've heard rumors about your talents in the kitchen, and if you can live up to your reputation then seeing it in action alone may prove to be a worthwhile gift."

"I'll do my best not to disappoint you, then." His footsteps suddenly halted, remembering a specific question that had been bugging him since the beginning. "Before I leave, I need to know something: Assassins similar to Golden Darkness, how many of them are there? I'm talking about the ability to change any of their body parts into high quality weapons."

A complicated emotion flashed over the woman's face, something he had never seen from her in the past. 

"…Fortunately for you, Golden Darkness is special, and other beings who have similar powers to her do not exist… as far as I know. Even if they did, I cannot imagine they would be as strong as her, let alone stronger." The way she said it… it sounded weird to Emiya.

"But then again, space is vast, and major events that happen in a single Earth day, as you and the impact you've had on galactic politics have demonstrated. Plus it's been quite a while since I came to this planet to live a peaceful life, and have had little contact with the rest of the galaxy in that time. So as much as I want to help you, I can't say for certain whether there is or isn't anyone else like her. After all, a human like you exists, so I hope you can understand why I'm hesitant to give a definitive answer on this." 

"…I understand." He could not fault her for that response, as she was correct. Better to err on the side of caution in scenarios like this "Last question, how powerful is Lala's father?" 

"..." At that, Mikado frowned intently, stepping forward and grabbing onto his shoulders with an intense gaze present within her eyes. "Listen to me, Emiya-kun. I know you are quite capable after defeating a renowned assassin like Golden Darkness and even going up against the likes of Zastin. But please… promise me to never at any point choose the path of violence when it comes to dealing with Emperor Gid Lucione Deviluke. That man is a monster amongst monsters — a juggernaut even amongst his own kind. He is an anomaly that nature cannot begin to explain and should never be confronted at any cost."

Taken aback by her sudden change in attitude, he hesitated for a bit in order to regain his thoughts and think carefully of his next words. "Noted. I am not so brash and foolish as to attempt an attack on the Emperor of the Galaxy. Just think of this as me wanting to know the stakes." 

"I hope — for your sake and that of everyone on this planet — that is indeed the case, Emiya-kun." 

{Break}

(Noon)

As the bell signaling the end of classes rang, Emiya decided to make a quick stop at the library to return some books Mikan had borrowed a few days ago. Given he wasn't willing to let her out by herself with the constant threats of aliens around, he preferred to do it himself unless his sister had someone capable watching over her. 

Zastin had promised that he was going to constantly protect her with his own life in order to wash away the disgrace of not being there when Golden Darkness attacked. The alien was a proven and competent swordsman, but he was also far too clumsy for comfort. 

"Here it is, I have my sister's number if you want to call her and double check it." He said to the librarian while handing over a couple of books, which were related to math and history. The old lady gracefully accepted them, though she  requested for him to shelve them away in the appropriate spot himself given she suffered from some mild back pains at the moment, to which he agreed.

The library in itself wasn't that big, two floors with different sections stemming from children's picture books all the way to higher university-level literature. Some parts were in English and the rest was Japanese, so students regularly visited this place including his brother when studying for his exams. Though now there was no one around given the sunset was approaching and most were returned to their houses to relax after a day of school before it got dark. 

"It should be… right around here." A few seconds later as he reached the deeper areas, Emiya found the section the librarian mentioned, but just as he was about to shelve the last of the books within his possession — he stopped. "What the?"

Before him, at the end of the path was what looked like a small fort or house made up of books and fashion magazines. Some of which he recognized with Ringo's work displayed on the cover, while the other half were history books about human history and… folklore relating to magic?  "—!" 

Though his attention immediately got drawn to a single strand of blonde hair coming out of the 'entrance' to this little fort. The sound of someone flipping through pages whilst crunching on some potato chips filling the air. 

"No… it can't be her." He didn't want to admit it. He refused to believe it. Zastin promised him that she had been taken care of after he killed Lacospo. Walking forward with steady steps, Emiya picked up one of the books making up the 'roof' and grew shocked to see a head of golden hair and bizarre clothing with far too many belts inside the confined space, with a familiar young assassin sitting inside without any boots mindlessly flipping through page after page of a magazine. 

"...?" She stopped and turned her head upwards, showing a half eaten potato chip held between her lips as she nibbled on it like a squirrel, and her sunken crimson eyes meeting his and not moving for the following seconds. "Yuuhi Hemiyha Shfirou." 

"Golden Darkness." He repeated her name as well, treating it as a form of greeting. "What are you still doing here?" 

"Reading." She answered after eating the chip fully. 

"So I see… Weren't you taken away by Zastin?" 

"Yes," Glad to see she wasn't immediately trying to kill him, or use hair hair blades any longer. This was probably the most civil conversation they had so far without one trying to attack the other. 

"Then why are you still here?" 

"The knight got hit by a truck, struck by lightning, and fell down a ravine"

"Of course he did." No wonder that man went missing for two days and returned with half of his body covered in mud and soot. Still, if this happened back then… "You were sitting here this entire time!?" 

She answered him with a nod. 

"Human literature is interesting." 

"..."

This was awkward. Quite frankly, he still saw her as a very real threat to him and his, but it was obvious that the girl had no intentions to harm him for now. That being the case, he decided to not provoke her. "So… what are you going to do now?" 

"I don't know." 

"You don't know? Shouldn't you be going back to your planet or something before taking on another mission?" 

"I… don't know." 

"Did you seriously stay here just to read some stories, or was there any other reason for staying on Earth when the rest of the galaxy apparently considers this planet a complete backwater?" 

"I don't know." 

His eyes twitched, her current appearance was just so pitiful compared to the threatening aura she'd exuded in their first encounter. 

"I hope you're not trying to harm me or my family just to complete another contract or to keep your pride as an assassin or something." 

She shook her head, still looking as lost as ever. 

"Alright, I'm certainly glad to hear that. But if you're not staying here for that, just what do you plan on doing now? It's better to return to your home." 

"..."

"Don't you have a goal you want to accomplish, or a dream that you've long wished to fulfill? Or even just a hobby? Just about anything's better than simply staying here and doing nothing, don't you think?" 

"...I don't know." She gave him the same answer as before, seemingly unable to say anything else. 

"I don't get what compelled you to sit here reading books for this long. You can easily go outside and find somewhere better to live, you realize." With her abilities, hunting and foraging for food would be more than easy enough, or some other alternative. 

"I'm… trying to find a purpose." 

He blinked, not expecting that. "Elaborate." 

"I… don't know if I should continue being an assassin, but I don't know what I am if I am not one."

"Just how long have you been doing this?" 

"As long as I can remember, anything before this was cold and dark. Spending days without food or sleep, being an assassin helped me to keep such moments away. So I killed again and again." 

"…Guess you were quite good at it with how notorious you are, to the point that you've got alien princes among your clientele. Then again, that's little surprise since those skills and abilities I saw before speak for themselves." 

"Like you've said, that's all a machine like me can really do." 

They were vastly different after all, that much became clear to him as she dropped these small hints of her past. True, his younger self did suffer from extreme hunger due to fighting on the field for days and devoting everything he had to rescuing anyone he could without having eaten anything for himself, but those circumstances were far different from Golden Darkness'. He didn't know what led her to choose the life of an assassin or rather who made her into one. But one thing that remained constant was that same irritation that resurfaced whenever he looked atthis girl. 

"I did say that, so I guess you're trying to mend that part of yourself." He stated, seeing the girl neither agree with him or disagree. "Even a machine can learn, be reprogrammed with enough time and effort. Or better yet, if a bigger, more stubborn idiot were to bash heads with it again and again — eventually something will change." 

"I don't know." Truly, this girl was more pitiful than he anticipated. So much so that he didn't know how to handle her anymore. "I'm sorry for hurting your sister."

Of course, he wouldn't forgive her so easily unless Mikan herself forgave her first. But, he was mature enough to understand that it had never been her intention or objective to hurt the girl to begin with. Hypocritical for someone like him to judge Golden… Yami this harshly with all the atrocities he'd committed and lives he took away in each deployment as a Counter Guardian. Unlike Yami, in most cases he didn't have the luxury to choose his target or selectively pick them out one by one. 

"You don't need to say that to me, if Mikan accepts your apology then I am willing to put this whole ordeal behind me. Are you going to approach her now that I said this?" 

"I don't know… I really don't know what to do anymore." 

"Then now you have enough opportunities to find the answer. Be sure not to waste it." 

"What is your purpose then?" She asked, looking at him. "Why are you pretending to be a human?" 

"Because I am a human." His words were met with a look of disbelief. "Don't be so shocked, from my understanding, it's obvious for me to realize how weak the human race is portrayed around the galaxy and I can't disagree with that. Just think of me as those weird unique cases." 

"I see, you are very strong, like Kuro."

"I don't know who this Kuro is but I'll take it as a compliment. And for my purpose? Nothing in particular right now, I am just living my life as a high school student and an older brother. Looking after my siblings should be a good enough reason in terms of having a purpose to live, right?" Some would call it lame or even disappointing, though it suited himself perfectly.

"I don't know." 

"Then it's clear to me that you need to find a purpose more meaningful than sitting here all by yourself." He put the books back, having gotten enough of the conversation. It was getting late and he needed to hurry up, an assassin like her with years of survival skills would know how to handle herself in a foreign environment without needing his help. So, there was no need for him to worry ab—

A loud thud came from behind as Yami fell face first onto the ground. 

"Oi," he lightly tapped her head with his foot. "Are you dead?"

His question was answered by a loud grumbling sound coming from Yami's stomach. 

"You… when was the last time you ate anything more substantial than a few potato chips?" 

"I… don't know."

Emiya sighed, cursing himself for not just going straight back home in the first place. This would have saved him so much time and effort from having to deal with such a scenario. How was she a professional assassin!? 

"I hope Mikan won't freak out if I come back home a bit later than expected, I should probably call her and tell her in advance." 

Hurgh, picking up the girl also made him realize that she didn't even get herself cleaned since the battle, still stinking of blood, sweat and dirt.

"I might need Mikado's help sooner than expected." 

-------------------

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.