60. Normal Discussion

Rei and Sakura walked hand in hand, with Ayaka and Echidna trailing behind them on their way to the Emiya residence. It didn't take long before they arrived, and Rei slid the door open, peeking inside.

"We're back~," Sakura called out before Rei could say anything.

There was the sound of footsteps rushing inside, and soon Rin appeared. "Sakura, Rei, welcome back!"

But instead of just seeing them, she also noticed Ayaka and... Echidna who had gone missing earlier, standing with them.

"Huh?"

A few hours passed after they come back home. With Shirou and Rei teaming up in the kitchen, they had whipped up a meal that make everyone get addicted to the food. They couldn't stop eating until everything was gone—especially Saber, who ate a lot of food without stopping.

"I still can't believe how much she can eat," Rin muttered, staring at Saber, who was calmly sipping tea as if she hadn't just devoured a massive meal.

"Haha, yeah, she did the same thing yesterday. Ate just as much," Shirou added with a chuckle.

"Is everyone here?" Rei suddenly reappeared, glancing around the room.

"Sakura's still in the bathroom, but yeah, everyone's pretty much here," Saber replied.

"Alright, let's wait for her, and then we can start the discussion." Rei sat down at the table, but his attention shifted when he noticed Ayaka sitting off to the side, leaning against the wall.

"Ayaka? What are you doing over there?"

Ayaka looked a bit startled, clearly still not used to Rei calling her by her first name. "I'm just… waiting," she said quietly, her voice uncertain.

"Waiting? If you're just waiting, why are you sitting over there? Come on, sit here and wait with us," Rei said, patting the spot beside him.

"No, I'm fine. I don't want to disturb anyone. I'm just here for the discussion," Ayaka declined, shaking her head slightly.

Rei raised an eyebrow but didn't push her any further, simply nodding. "Alright, but you're not disturbing anyone, you know."

Ayaka didn't respond, but she looked a bit more relaxed after hearing that, even if she didn't move from her spot.

"Didn't I say before to let Rei and Sakura spend time together? Why are you still following them?!" Rin's angry voice echoed towards Echidna.

"I'm just doing my job to watch over him," Echidna replied simply.

"And I literally said to just let them be for today! It's not like he's going to destroy the entire world or universe in a single blink!"

Rei sighed, glancing at Rin and Echidna, who were bickering back and forth. Meanwhile, Saber quietly waited for Sakura to return, and Shirou was busy wiping down the table. Rei shook his head at the scene before turning his attention to Ayaka, deciding to make some casual conversation.

"So, tell me more about yourself, Ayaka. You never really introduced yourself properly besides your name. Or, if you don't want to, that's fine too."

"Me?" Ayaka blinked, surprised.

"Yeah, like... do you have any family, siblings, or hobbies?"

The moment Rei asked about her family, he noticed Ayaka's expression shift—she went from nervous to visibly uncomfortable, maybe even *upset*. It didn't take long for Rei to realize.

'Oh no, family issues,' Rei thought, immediately regretting his question.

"Actually, never mind, you don't need to tell me about your family. How about hobbies? Do you have any?"

"Hobbies... I like planting and taking care of plants... and feeding crows."

"Crows and plants, huh?" Rei nodded, trying to keep the conversation light.

"Is it weird?" Ayaka asked, a little hesitant.

"No, it's not weird. I just didn't expect you to like crows. But I can't say much when I like owls instead."

"Owls? You like owls?" Ayaka's tone softened, showing genuine interest.

As they started chatting more comfortably, Rin and Echidna continued their bickering in the background.

A few moments later, Sakura finally appeared after finishing her bath. Now, they were all gathered in the living room, and no one spoke, as if waiting for Rei to begin the conversation.

"Alright then, everyone's here now. Let's start the discussion about Shinki and her Servant," Rei said, his tone serious.

Shirou immediately felt tense upon hearing that and swallowed hard. Sakura looked a little uneasy as well, probably remembering about her nightmares.

"Sakura already told us about her dream—where worms were crawling inside her. And when she accidentally bumped into Shinki, I could also see that there were many worms inside Shinki as well."

"So, we can assume Shinki is experiencing something similar to what happened to Sakura," Rei continued. "And now, she's killing people and absorbing their Od. So, the real question is, what should we do with her?"

No one answered right away. Even Shirou seemed hesitant, clearly worried about what they should do next.

Saber finally raised her hand, speaking with firm conviction. "Isn't it obvious? We need to kill her. She's a danger to humanity."

"No, we can't!" Shirou immediately rejected Saber's suggestion with emotion in his voice.

Saber looked confused as to why her Master would refuse, especially after what they witnessed the day before. Rin also turned to Shirou, puzzled.

"Why can't we, Emiya? You saw what happened yesterday, right?" Rin asked, her tone sharp, pressing him for an explanation.

Shirou remained silent. He didn't fully understand why he said that, but when he remembered his encounter with Shinki—seeing her condition, how hopeless she appeared—something inside him made him believe that killing her wasn't the right solution.

"I... I don't know. But there must be another way," Shirou said hesitantly, though deep down he hoped there was a better solution than ending Shinki's life.

"There is another choice," Rei suddenly said, cutting through the silence.

"There is?" Rin and Saber asked in unison, surprised.

"Yeah. I can modify her body, remove the worms, and make her normal again. Then, we just have to deal with whoever did this to her," Rei said casually, as if the process were nothing.

"You can really do that?" Shirou's face lit up with hope, his voice filled with relief.

Rei shrugged. "It's easy for me. But the real question is, why should I? She has nothing to do with me, and saving her doesn't benefit me in any way."

Shirou's expression quickly shifted from hope to anger. "How can you think like that!?" he burst out, his voice rising. "She's a person, a human being! You can just stand by and watch her suffer? How can you be so cold?"

Rei didn't even flinch, his calm demeanor unshaken. "I don't care about people or their struggles. My existence is about experiments and results. If something doesn't interest me or lead to a discovery, then it's irrelevant."

Shirou's fists clenched, frustration building in his chest. "That's not how it works! You can't just turn your back on people!"

But Rei merely looked at him, his gaze indifferent. "And why not?" he asked, as if Shirou's outrage didn't even register. "You're the one who wants to save her, not me. If you want something from me, give me a reason."

Shirou stood there, fists clenched in silent frustration, clearly fuming but unable to find the words to counter Rei's cold logic. He hated the thought of letting Shinki suffer or killing her outright, but Rei's detached stance left him feeling cornered.

Rei, seeing Shirou's hesitation, raised an eyebrow. "Looks like you understand now. I have no reason to help her. So, the logical choice is to eliminate her and get the Holy Grail. Once I do that, I'll remove its corruption, and this whole mess ends."

"No!" Shirou suddenly burst out, his eyes fierce with determination. "I'm not letting you kill her, Rei!" His voice shook with passion. "Even if you don't care, even if she means nothing to you, she's still a person. There has to be another way, and if you won't help me, then I'll stop you myself!"

Rei's calm demeanor didn't falter, but there was a slight shift in his posture as he looked at Shirou, a trace of amusement in his eyes. "You would fight me? For her? A person you barely know?"

"Yes!" Shirou's voice was unwavering. "Even if it's hopeless, even if you're stronger than me, I'll fight for her. I don't need a reason to save someone."

A silence hung in the air for a moment, the tension thick between them. Shirou's fierce resolve was clear—he wouldn't back down, even if it meant standing against someone like Rei.

Rei let out a small, almost imperceptible sigh. "How naïve," he muttered.

In an instant, Rei's figure blurred, and before Shirou could react, a powerful fist connected with his abdomen. The impact sent him flying through the air, crashing through the sliding doors of the house and landing hard in the backyard. Dirt and debris scattered around him as he skidded across the ground, gasping for breath.

Shirou's body screamed in pain, but he forced himself to stand, clutching his midsection. His eyes were wide with shock and confusion—he hadn't even seen Rei move.

From the now-ruined doorway, Rei stepped out casually, his expression unreadable as he approached Shirou. "Do you really think you can save her with that weak resolve?" His voice was cold, almost mocking. "If this is all it takes to break you, you'll never stand a chance."

Shirou wiped the blood from his mouth, gritting his teeth. "I'm… not giving up!" he yelled, forcing his legs to support him as he struggled to his feet. "I won't surrender, Rei!"

Rei's eyes narrowed slightly, and without a word, he appeared in front of Shirou again, delivering another crushing blow to his chest. Shirou was thrown back once more, the force slamming him into the ground with a thud. The pain was unbearable, but still, Shirou pushed himself up.

"You're still standing?" Rei's tone was indifferent as he towered over him. "What's the point? You can't win. This is nothing more than a hopeless fight."

Shirou spat blood onto the ground, panting. "It's not about winning," he grunted, his vision swimming from the pain.

Without warning, Rei grabbed Shirou by the collar and lifted him off the ground, staring him down with cold, emotionless eyes. "Do you even know what you're fighting for?" he asked, his voice low. "Do you truly believe someone like you can can save someone else? Or are you just clinging to a foolish ideal?"

Shirou struggled in Rei's grip, the world around him blurring as the pain intensified. But despite it all, he met Rei's gaze with unwavering determination. "Even if I can't save her… I won't stop trying,"

Rei's eyes flashed with something—whether it was amusement or disdain, it was impossible to tell. He threw Shirou to the ground, sending him rolling across the grass. The world around them seemed to shimmer, as if the air itself was bending.

Shirou suddenly realized that the pain he had felt before had completely disappeared. He glanced down and saw that the blood-soaked clothes he'd been wearing were now completely restored to normal.

Looking around, he noticed that he was no longer in the backyard of his home. Instead, he found himself in a strange, empty space, surrounded by a glowing purple aura that stretched endlessly in all directions.

"Where… is this?" Shirou stood, scanning the area cautiously.

"Where this is doesn't matter, Emiya Shirou," Rei's voice called out.

Shirou quickly turned toward the source and saw Rei, his eyes glowing a bright violet, his twelve wings draped in the same purple aura that filled the space around them.

"You human have always intrigued me, even after thousands of years. Your will... it's such an interesting phenomenon," Rei said as he slowly approached Shirou.

"But even if your will is strong, you're far too weak to carry something like that. Your body... it's a mess, Emiya Shirou."

"W-What are you talking about?" Shirou stammered, a shiver running down his spine. He could feel it—something about Rei was completely different this time.

Rei stared at him more intently, a faint chuckle escaping his lips.

"Interesting... A sword, huh? You must really love swords, if your Origin is nothing but sword and sword."

"Eh?" Shirou gasped, and suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

Rei had appeared right in front of him, his hand piercing through Shirou's chest, while smiling "Kikuri Activate"

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"Kikuri, activate," Rei murmured after stabbing Shirou's chest.

Kikuri... the Primal Beast with the power to alter someone's fate or completely destroy it, severing their connection to the world they belong to.

With this, Rei could use Shirou as a catalyst to access every timeline where Emiya Shirou existed, peering into his fates.

It took a few hours for Rei to observe it all before he finally smiled again.

"Fascinating... hundreds of deaths, a slave of Alaya, killing his own caretaker, fighting for his little sister who somehow becomes a magical girl."

He glanced at Shirou, whose eyes now appeared completely hollow, void of any light.

"Only four timelines where he isn't suffering or dead, where he actually has a happy ending... truly interesting."

Rei then withdrew his hand from Shirou's chest and stepped back, but Shirou remained frozen, unmoving.

Seeing all of that only deepened Rei's curiosity toward this human called Emiya Shirou. He knew of the Fate/Stay Night anime but didn't fully understand the complex web of the Nasuverse world or whatever it was called.

"But for now, it's time to wake up," Rei said, snapping his fingers as the world around them began to crack and shatter into pieces.

"Why can't we, Emiya? You saw what happened yesterday, right?" Rin's words snapped Shirou back to reality.

"Eh?" He looked around, utterly confused by what was happening.

"What's wrong with you, Shirou?" Saber asked, noticing the bewildered expression on her Master's face.

"No, I thought... I was fighting Rei just now?" Shirou replied, still dazed as he turned to look at Rei.

"Fighting Rei? What are you talking about?" Sakura asked, her expression a mix of concern and confusion.

Rei simply sat there, quietly observing Shirou without a word, leaving Shirou to question what had just happened and whether it had all been an illusion.

Meanwhile, Ayaka and Echidna were both staring at Rei, both of them seemingly certain that he had done something, even though neither of them could pinpoint what exactly it was.

"Well, that doesn't matter," Rei suddenly said with a smile. "You know what, Shirou? I'll let you help your girlfriend."

"Really? You're not going to kill her?" Shirou asked, his voice full of surprise and hope.

"Nope. I'll let you handle her," Rei replied, his smile growing wider. "Or better yet, I can fix your body so you can activate your magic circuits properly. That way, you won't have to rely on your blood vessels as makeshift circuits."

Rin and Sakura exchanged skeptical looks, clearly suspicious of Rei's sudden and drastic change of heart. Something didn't feel right to them, and they couldn't shake the feeling that Rei had another motive for this.