Chapter 9: Side Story Ch 2

AN: Not really sure about this one to be completely honest, but whatever. This is just something short I whipped up to wash the taste of rewrites out of my mouth and address (sort of) the issue of if Alaya would actually be willing to give up Emiya as a Counter Guardian. Don't expect any more of this sidestory until I've had a chance to at least rewatch the anime and if I'm being honest I should really look into reading the visual novel. My grasp on Shirou, Rin, and Saber as characters is not as strong as I would like if I'm really going to do this. Don't own Worm, Don't own Fate. Please leave a review if you enjoy the story.

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"Hmm, nice sleepwear." I commented casually only glancing at my master as I worked the needle through her new leather jacket. The material was sturdy so I actually needed to reinforce the needle to make the process manageable.

The chair I'd claimed was the only seat in the rather plain guest room. Well plain by my American standards. I had no idea what was considered normal by Japan. Just a futon, chair, desk and closet.

Rin's startled little shriek made me chuckle lightly.

"Archer!" She hissed, hands going to her hips as she glared. The motion caused her cream colored night shirt to ripple lightly.

"Starting to see why Dani never bothered with doors, or knocking." I mused aloud. "This whole astral form thing is surprisingly fun." I grinned.

Rin doubled down on her glare. "What do you want, Archer?"

I hummed thoughtfully as I tied off the end of the rune I had been stitching and set the jacket down on the rooms desk. "I've been trying to remember anything Sensei ever mentioned about the grail war, and what little I can get from the weapons he left me." I spoke seriously. "Cu Chulainn is most likely Lancer, Heracles as Berserker, and Medea as Caster. He never mentioned Rider or Assassin in any detail. But there is one thing that never made sense to me. Sensei ran into Gilgamesh during the grail war, but never mentioned his class. Just called him a raging ass hole."

Rin calmed down quickly and started to pace the room. "Can you defeat them?" She finally asked seriously.

I shrugged and leaned back in my seat. "I honestly don't know, Master. No battle is ever a sure thing. Find me the Masters and I could eliminate them easily. That would be a death sentence for the servants and the safest for you and baby Sansei."

"But finding the Master could be even more difficult than finding the Servants." She quickly deduced.

I nodded and shot my Master a pleased smile. "Exactly. Normally I wouldn't entertain the idea of killing otherwise innocent people, but this is called a war and to the best of my knowledge most of the participants treat it as one. Right now, keeping you alive takes priority."

I didn't like it. I hadn't shied away from killing, but I had always tried to limit it to the most dangerous and extreme enemies. Going straight to lethal against selfish fools who jumped into a death match left a bad taste in my mouth. But Rin was my responsibility and I at least knew she wouldn't do something as stupid as involving civilians. She was under my protection. I wouldn't hesitate to keep her safe.

"Assuming those are the Servants that have been summoned for this Grail War there are a few things to watch out for. Lancer's Noble Phantasm can bend time and space to stab its target in the heart. Keep your distance, its range is limited. Medea's Noble Phantasm is a knife called Rule Breaker. Master or Servant, if she cuts either the contract will be severed… and I have no idea what to expect from Berserker other than a high end Brute."

"Brute?" Rin asked raising one eyebrow. "Don't you think that much is obvious given their class?"

"Ah, Brute is a power classification from my earth. It's used to describe anyone with superhuman strength or durability."

"Ahh." She murmured making a small 'o' of realization.

"Mmm, still there was something else I wanted to talk to you about." I said seriously.

Rin stepped back and crossed her arms across her chest as she leaned against the wall opposite me. "What's that?"

"You're interested in Shirou." I said plainly. Rin blushed and opened her mouth to object but I waved her off. "Don't get self conscious on my account, Master. Just… look I was trained by a version of that boy who went on to become a Counter Guardian, and it was his own brand of hell."

Rin settled down to listen to me carefully.

"Now, when dealing with the Root time gets… ugh, subjective, fluid, something. Forget it, the point is causality can be a mess when heroic spirits are involved. Just my being here is a good example."

Rin nodded thoughtfully. "Because you were trained by a Shirou Emiya who had lived through the Grail War, grown up, and then died." She analyzed.

"And then spent several eternities being used to wipe out targets Alaya designated with short breaks on a few occasions where he was summoned by versions of yourself to compete in other Holy Grail Wars. Now, when I first met sensei he told me being subsumed was going to finally release him from Alaya's control. A permanent death at long last."

Rin looked up sharply as she realized that Sensei had been looking for death.

I nodded confirmation to the conclusion she had obviously drown. "At the time I didn't know enough to question what he was telling me. But now I have a couple of concerning theories. He could have only been a copy and the true, full Heroic Spirit is still in the Throne of Heroes where Alaya continues to call on him as needed." I hated that possibility but, in some ways, it made the most sense. Though whether the copy would have known it wasn't the original or not was up for debate. "Or it could be that Alaya was willing to give up a Counter Guardian because she knew there were still other versions of Shirou she could attempt to ensnare." I said levelly.

Rin rocked back on her heels as she paled dramatically. "You think Shirou might…" She trailed off seemingly unable to complete the thought.

I nodded decisively. "It's entirely possible that Alaya might try to sink her hooks into this version of Shirou and ensnare him as a replacement for her lost Counter Guardian. Or as another separate counter Guardian, or as a slightly different version to be added to the collective of however many Shirou Emiya's may have been tempted into making a deal with her." I waved a hand through the air and huffed. The whole topic was stupidly frustrating for me because I knew so little about how this nonsense actually worked and couldn't even confirm or disprove any of my theories.

"The fact that you have been coaching him and that I can teach him specifically how to use his magecraft means he would be well on his way to reaching his full potential. And you saw how he reacted to my story. He just latched onto the fact I was a Superhero like it was the most amazing thing in the world. He could easily end up following in Sensei's footsteps."

"That's…" She trailed of and bit at the tip of her thumb obviously trying to think through the implications.

"If you don't want to lose that boy to his crazy dream," I began seriously as I leaned forward looking Rin in the eye, "then I would start planning. Drag him to a psychiatrist, and keep dragging him back until they put his head on straight. Get him to knock you up and make damn sure that he knows he isn't allowed to run off and play hero when there is a little life depending on him." Rin's blush was nuclear and I smirked lightly for a moment before my expression went back to its deadly serious visage. "Engineer an accident and blow off one of his feet so he's forced to give up his dream, then stick him in a restaurants kitchen where he'll be happy and safe." Honestly, I wasn't serious about that last one, but from what Sensei had told me about his younger self that might be what it took.

I leaned back in the chair and shrugged. "He's his own worst enemy. I don't know how far you would be willing to go, but if you're serious about him then you need to understand he is on a course to self destruct unless something forces him to change. I don't know if he would be happy with a life where he couldn't chase that dream, it's a huge part of who he is. But I would hate to see him trapped like sensei was."

Rin didn't say anything for a while she just stood there worrying at her thumb as her blush slowly faded. "Archer?"

"Yes, Master."

"I need time to think."

Nodding I stood. "Your jacket is finished, Master. I'll finish the second and take up watch. Call me if you need anything."

"I will, and Archer!"

"Mmm?"

"No maiming Shirou!"

I chuckled. "Of course, Master." I grinned cheekily as I started to fade. "I'll just go poke holes in all his condoms then."

"Archer!"