Fate/stay away [lemon]

[mangafreak7793]

.......

(Mind overloaded with awesome)

[DreamsRequiem]

Interesting.

[Eveonder]

I'm speechless... what happened... and did Archer switch to full black gear? I mean just the bondage pants was bad enough.

[Arashi_Leonhart]

Huh? I'm pretty sure I keep referring to him as "the man/Servant in red" or whatnot.

[Eveonder]

I must be drunk... for some reason I thought Tokiomi... right, it's all good.

excellent work as usual.

[rajvir]

I am saving this to my USB now I will tell you what I think of it later sorry but I cant read it right now as I am in a library and want to save other fanfiction.

[shiningphoenix]

Oh look! I only just noticed this...

[Five_X]

Assisted Consent Rin approves?

I certainly do! 'Twas a fine read, Arashi.

[rajvir]

I read the story I personal hoped that it would be a little bit more than just scenes that show what differences alter would make still good story. I hope you continue this though.

[Neir]

Didn't see this thread. That's what I get for only checking subscriptions.

I have to say, my initial reaction was similar to lantz. More arrogant and crude than I was expecting. As it goes on, though, it gets much, much better.

In short, this pleases me. Immensely.

[Aiden]

'Crude'?

Well considering your avatar of Alter-chan is adorable, I guess your standards for that are higher.

[Arashi_Leonhart]

Nah. They're basing it more on what you see of Alter in HF, which has little in the way of barbaric, crude attitude and is more domineering than violent. The reason for the shift is explained as we go along.

[expertus]

woah... that's a hot prana exchange with Alter and Rin... damn it was good

[Neir]

Nah. They're basing it more on what you see of Alter in HF, which has little in the way of barbaric, crude attitude and is more domineering than violent. The reason for the shift is explained as we go along.

This is why I love your shit. You don't handwave stuff away, you actually show and explain stuff.

[Arashi_Leonhart]

The Berserker

Rin’s scream was cut off by the breath torn from her lungs. The giant hand squeezed, and even from the distance separating them, Shirou could hear the strain of muscles and bones in Rin’s body crackle.

Saber took a step forward, both hands on her black sword. The Servant clenched her teeth and readied for a killing stroke—

“No, Saber, don’t do it!”

The swirl of magical energy accompanied Shirou’s declaration, and Saber fell to one knee, her teeth grating loudly even to her own ears. “Do you want to die?!” She felt the power in her dissipate, though, as the Command Seal robbed her of the intended action.

“If you do that,” Shirou was shouting back, “you’ll die!”

“What do you expect?! Nothing but Excalibur will work against this beast!”

That was not true, and Shirou knew it. He had felt it ever since the dreams began, since seeing her lonely stance amidst battle, since understanding what it was that he hated whenever he looked at her. The abandonment of her humanity, the sense that she had given herself over to what she had to become for others, the consumption of the girl in favor of the weapon. It had started with that first act, the sword drawn from the stone, but had continued on, continued to the lives sacrificed so others could flourish.

The sword had broken then, as she had to sacrifice one thing for another, had to further stray from her humanity to be perfect in every way—

No. Shirou knew it, had come to the conclusion when Archer had told him.

Imagine that which is better than she is, better than you are.

Here she stood now, powerful, accomplished, a King among Heroic Spirits. And yet, for everything she was now, all he could think of was that brief glimpse, that one moment, long before she was one with power—

The girl that had wanted nothing more than to do what she could.

“Then I’ll make something that will work! Trace, on!”

And as the sword formed in his hand—an elegant shape with the careful lines and elegant curves that Excalibur lacked—Saber stared, her eyes drawn to something she had long ago discarded.

Something that made her angry, like seeing an old friend that had betrayed her come back into her life.

Something that made her sad, as if reliving the innocence of a childhood long forgotten.

Something that, deep inside, thrilled her to view once more—

In the hands of her Master. Even if he was an idiot.



The Caster

“So what will you do now, my dear little Saber?” Caster said, her voice silky with amusement.

Saber smiled in a way that made even Shirou’s skin crawl.

With an irreverent shrug of the shoulders, Saber hefted the black sword over her shoulder and flung it end-over-end at the cloaked Servant. The weapon cleaved right through the shield Caster raised to protect herself and tore into the woman, who let out an agonized scream. Saber was over the figure like a flash of lightning and pulled the blade smoothly from the figure, who shuddered, robe rippling like disturbed water.

The flowing material folded in on itself and flew up into the air, like a bird attempting to flee in haste, but it was stopped as a radiant figure appeared along the exterior wall of the Emiya estate. Golden armor seemed to sing, heralding his presence for all to see. “Out of my way, mongrel.”

Swords rained from the sky, piercing the fluttering cloak multiple times over.



The Taint

“He is Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes. He fought as the Archer-class Servant in the previous Holy Grail War.” Even as hungry as she seemed to be, Saber could not help but snap the chopsticks Shirou had provided her for their impromptu meal.

Shirou and Rin both glanced at each other. “How is that possible?” Rin asked. “Shouldn’t there only be one Servant left at the end?”

Saber gave a sound somewhere between a growl and a hiss, crossing her arms before her. “In the end, I could not tell you what happened to him. The power cascading forth from the Grail enveloped him as we fought.”

Rin’s eyebrows fell to dangerously sharp levels, and Shirou even looked upset at that. “Power from the Grail?”

“Yes. It consumed him. I did not believe at the time that he could survive it, though. The power there was great enough that it was palpable. Beings would be brought to their knees just in its presence. I would have thought that Servant no different.” She sighed. “Perhaps he somehow managed a wish from that power, I do not know. Whatever the case, he is now here.”

Shirou stared long and hard at his Servant, at the subtext within the statements. Even if they were speaking of a golden-armored Servant, of Gilgamesh, there was something she left unsaid, something he could intuit out of it all. “I asked you before, Saber, of what you wanted to wish for.”

“And I told you it was none of your business.”

Shirou rolled his eyes at the wording, though, as her exact words were closer to question me and we have a problem that can only be solved with violence. “It is now, if we’re going to be thinking about winning this. It is now, because the Grail seems like something completely dangerous if used wrong.”

That anger flared into her eyes once more. “You dare think I would use it wrong?”

“I think,” Rin interrupted, putting her hand on Shirou’s shoulder, “that anything with power you yourself do not have is potentially a threat.”

Saber opened her mouth to say something, seemed to think better of it. She rocked back on her legs in a way that even Shirou would find uncomfortable in seiza. “Perhaps.”

“So,” Shirou pressed, “what is your wish?”

The golden-haired Servant looked askance at him, looked like the words forming on her lips were just as bitter as the concession of the argument. “It…would be a reward. To ones I knew. For loyalty.”

“Ones you knew?” Shirou asked.

Saber was silent, as if the answer was beneath her, too obvious. She picked herself up from the table and headed for the kitchen, tossing her broken chopsticks in the waste bin. The sound of silverware being shuffled around signaled her desire for new ones.

Despite the silence, Shirou nodded in understanding. Beneath it all, she does still abide by that gallant instinct. She wants to save people, do what is best for them, even if she hides it. He glanced to Rin, who stared off out the window, possibly to thoughts of her own Servant and whatever wish he might have made. Somehow, Shirou knew that there was a common thread there, even though even Rin admitted that her Archer had been tight-lipped about his desires.

There was something left implied, too, that Shirou had noticed. Gilgamesh was consumed by the Grail’s power while they fought. Was Saber, as well?



The Date

Shirou groaned, rubbing his right shoulder. Even when he had first started training as an Archery club member, he could not recall a time he had worn his arms out so much. “Sure am glad I didn’t try taking you bowling.”

Saber halfway ignored him in favor of her third burger out of the six they had purchased from the local Mos Burger. She gave a neutral tilt to her head, neither confirming nor denying Shirou’s statement.

The boy sighed in utter exhaustion. Seventeen rounds through the batting cages did that to you.



The Fallout

That face of hers, cold in bearing but hot in temper, somehow seemed lost when gazing out over the harbor. There was pain in her eyes, the kind of pain that was deeply rooted in the body but had no discernable location, no way to center and fight against, an ache that was everywhere at once and yet seemingly not even a part of the body. “Do not ask such things of me again, Shirou. My time here is for the purpose of the Grail, nothing more.”

“So you can save people from your time that suffered for your sake.”

She glared out of the corner of her eye. “I would have hoped you at least could understand, could comprehend. I thought, after seeing what you have been through, you would have a similar wish in mind.”

He met her glare with his own, head-on. “Wishing for things isn’t going to work. I don’t want you bound by something in the past when you have a future you could be looking to instead.”

“Hah!” The laugh that escaped actually resembled a roar. “You are such a hypocrite! You are bound to your own past more than I am! Your only dream seems to be something Kiritsugu instilled in you, and that is a greater mistake than I could ever make!”

Shirou leaned in such that their foreheads almost touched. “But unlike you, that dream is looking forward. Kiritsugu always pursued something even though he admitted it was impossible to him. I’ll make that come true, with my own hands. I don’t need a wish to do it, and I’m not going to try and go back to fix his mistakes or my own, save lives that neither of us could manage. Because that would be endless.”

“Grow up, Shirou. You think you’re looking to the future, but you are still yet a child at heart if that is your goal. I do not wish to serve a Master that cannot accept who he is.”

“Then go find yourself another one, you idiot!” Shirou was practically shouting into her face. “Because this is who I am, and I’m not going to change my mind now!”



The Reconciliation

“I’m not going to apologize,” Shirou said.

Saber regarded him carefully, again as if looking for a trap in his hand. She slowly reached out, touched her fingers to his palms, allowed him to take hold. He pulled her along, firmly, though the soft, boyish touch was not one of a leader, a warrior, or even a Master. She huffed a long sigh. “I did not expect you to.”

“Your Master is just a jerk like that.”

“Yes, he is.”

Shirou allowed a faint smile. “I’ll make us some dinner when we get back.”

Even if he said he would not apologize, still, it seemed as if he would.



The Light

The golden light that had protected him from Gilgamesh’s strike faded along with the King of Heroes, who retreated in disgrace, his armor broken by the rebounding strike.

Shirou fell to his hands and knees, gasping, his body screaming at him for the injustice of overuse, even if the light had made him feel momentarily euphoric. Biting his lip hard enough to draw blood, he hauled his body around and dragged himself to Saber.

The dark Servant lay there, still unmoving, her eyes staring up at him blankly as he approached. His circuits still open, he forced the same sensation out of his body, out of his mind, the golden light that had come from Archer’s advice: Imagine that which is better than she is, better than you are.

The light descended around Saber, swirled about like fireflies. Shirou half collapsed atop her, the strength in his arms going completely out, though Saber’s steel-clad hands weakly crept up around him as if to shield him from further harm.

“You…watch too many soap operas,” she whispered.

He managed a chuckle, though it came out more like a wheezing cough. “Shut up, you idiot,” he said, muffled by her breastplate.



The Night

Shirou stared up at the ceiling, his body desiring rest, his mind still too busy to even consider sleep. The entire day just felt like sitting in a wave-machine pool, making him nearly seasick with every up and down he took. An enjoyable day, a heated argument, a battle for life and limb. Not too long ago, his body was blown away, pierced, almost torn in two. Now he just felt elated, confused, and angry all at once.

Saber flung open his door, and his mind settled on confused as she moved in on him. “What are you doing?”

The Servant asked, “You are doing better?” even as she crawled right over him so he could not look away.

“Uhh…” the proximity did not help his situation, as he could not help but be reminded of that night. The fact that his blood-stained and torn shirt had been removed and left no barrier besides Saber’s clothing between them was doubly-distracting. “I’m…doing fine, yeah.” If it were not for the sudden rush of blood elsewhere in his body, he was sure he would be blushing a lot more than he was now.

“You are forgetting something important,” she said, her nose almost touching his.

Shirou could not help the nervous expression or the shudder that ran up his spine. This could be bad. “What…uh, what am I forgetting?”

“Dinner.”

He blinked.

The grin that broke her lips was even more dangerous-looking than the one Rin occasionally sported. It was not an expression of battle, whether physical like Saber’s, or mental like Rin’s…but something Shirou understood intuitively to be a king’s expression. The expression of a ruler that remembered they had every right to claim something. “Perhaps you have been too wounded to remember to feed me properly? Could it be that I have in some way harmed your pride as the hired help type, and now you are feeling incapable as a cook?”

Shirou said, “Well, now that you mention it…”

“Don’t worry, my Master,” she said, her smirk widening to a grin. “It isn’t too late.”

“It is after midniiiiiiiohhhh,” was as far as he got before she descended on him, her tongue darting out to stroke along his belly. His muscles fluttered beneath the touch even as his hands came up to run through her hair. It was only then he realized she had removed her braid, leaving the golden locks to hang loosely around her face and shoulders. “Saber, what are you—”

“What do you think I’m doing, you idiot?” she mumbled against his skin. Ducking her head further down, her teeth grazed his body, then grabbed the zipper to his pants and pulled.

Shirou responded weakly with, “Going to kill me.”

Smiling, Saber unhooked his pants open, reached up and took hold of his waistband and pulled all of his remaining clothing off at once. “Now how would I do that?” She raised her hands to show them empty, then wrapped herself around his body and plunged her lips down on him like she could swallow him whole.

His hands threaded through her hair and he groaned, feeling her swish her tongue around him. “Heart attack,” he managed to get out before a whimper escaped his throat.

That seemed to invigorate Saber, her breath coming out in a show of excitement; she bobbed her head over him in response, a wet sound following her every movement. She cradled his body with her arms and her back bowed in what looked like an uncomfortable position to Shirou, but just as he made to comment, she pulled back far enough to return her lips to his very top. The faint, pinkish skin formed an o-shape right around him, then seemed to close back around as if she were savoring a kiss.

Frantically, Shirou could not help but try and pull her back in, but the Servant held firm, her tongue flicking out to give broad strokes along his cock, a quiet gasp for air sounding when her lips parted. “Saber…you…”

“I…what?” she smirked, pressing an almost loving kiss to his tip, then taking him back in once more. Another pulse, and she said, “If your taste is good enough for me, my mouth should certainly be enough.”

“Not what I-I meant,” he stuttered out as she moved over him again.

Humming in laughter, she coaxed his length with a hand and went to lick along his underside, right up to his testicles, her tongue flicking against them in the same fashion as earlier. “Then it is good?”

Had Shirou been able to think clearly, he might have detected the subtext beneath the rhetorical question. Instead, he merely gasped as she kissed right back up and her mouth then surrounded him completely once more. Even faster than before, she pulsed along his length, her hair swaying about—

She felt his fingers grab hold even tighter, felt the muscles in his legs tense. Smiling wickedly, she pulled back completely clear of him, basking in the tortured sound that escaped his throat. “My Master,” she purred. “Let me taste you. Come, Shirou, come now.”

The look on her face and the words she spoke more than anything set him off, and as she descended on him again he moaned in compliance and spurted into her mouth, clutching her head as if afraid she would pull back yet again. She moaned in turn, his taste filling her, overflowing, until it spilled right out of her mouth despite the frantic swallowing she gave.

Shirou fell back, watched himself as he spilled onto Saber’s body and clothing. The Servant gulped him down and wavered in place in her own mindless daze. “…nk…or…ea…” she muttered.

Something about that just fired Shirou right back up. While Saber regained her own breath, he crawled over to her and with one tug, grabbed the underside of her blouse and pulled it right off, the clips at her neck unhooking perfectly as he swept it down her body, bunching it with her skirts. Her body spilled into view, and before she could even get out a surprised sound, he took hold of her breasts and pressed his lips to her stomach in the same place she had made her own initial strike.

Saber writhed slightly under his touch, though her hands found his hair as well. “Who gave you permission?”

“I’m the Master here,” Shirou countered, swirling his tongue into her belly button.

The strangest of noises sounded: Saber giggled. Shirou’s eyes flew up and the golden eyes of the Arthurian King met him, looking embarrassed. “Shut up,” she said.

He did not say anything, instead pulling out of her grasp completely.

“Why are you sto—” her voice cut out, replaced by a startled gasp as he flung her right onto her back. Pulling her stockings off at her feet, he tossed the garment over his shoulder and brought one foot up and pulled a curled toe into his mouth. Her head reared back in response, a soundless whimper trapped on her lips.

Shirou mirrored her own touches to her toes, swirling his tongue around one, then the other, before kissing up along her foot and up the inside of her leg. Holding each limb over his shoulders, he worked his kisses up to her thighs, then speared his tongue against the warmth at their junction, earning a low and drawn-out moan from the girl. “Tell me when to stop,” he teased.

“O…kay…” she whimpered. Her hips undulated in the air as he held her up, legs around his head and her shoulders planted on the ground.

Grinning at having the upper hand now, Shirou nipped lightly at the tiny spot just above her entrance, each touch causing Saber to twitch in need. He flicked his tongue against it, then swirled around in a circle, matching the rhythm she gave as she rocked in place. He slowly replaced his tongue with a finger, keeping the same motion, then plunged back into her body, drawing out another breathless gasp.

He swirled into her, the taste he drew out dizzying his senses. The tightness around surprised him, and she seemed to pull him in, the same way she demanded of him when they had kissed back in the forest. Shirou smirked into her skin and drew back, teasingly, denying her body’s desire momentarily, pressing a kiss to the inside of her thigh.

When she batted his hand away with her own to touch herself, his tongue joined her touch and brushed fiercely along her body. Saber whimpered and started breathing faster and deeper; Shirou matched her with each touch, swishing against both fingertip and body, then pressed his mouth to her nub when she shuddered, her tension wavering.

“S-S-Shirou…” she said, panting, even as her body wiggled closer to him. “H-hurry up…”

He nodded, drawing up to pull her skirts completely off. She flicked her detached sleeves to either side as he descended back on her, already hard, touching his body to hers, slowly entering—

“O-ouch,” Saber whimpered.

Shirou paused, leaning over her, his arms to either side of her head. “What?”

“J-just…” she turned about as red as he had ever seen her, so very apparent on her porcelain skin. “A little…sore.”

“Huh?”

Her blush intensified. “Be more careful, okay?! I’m…not used to this…”

“You…the…huh?” Shirou moved carefully, trying to ease in slower, though everything in him screamed to just drive in harder. “You didn’t have a problem…earlier…”

A fierce look came to her face, though it was marred by how red she had turned. “LIKE I W-WOULD EVER SHOW WEAKNESS IN FRONT OF SOMEBODY!” she screamed, though she was still so short on breath it came as little more than openly defensive. As she did so, he slowly moved back and her eyes rolled up into the back of her head at the sensation.

Shirou thought of how used to pain she must be to have hidden that, how it made sense from how much he knew now of what she concealed behind fury and pride. Even as he pressed back into her, Shirou touched his lips to her shoulder and she shivered beneath him in response. “You’re…enjoying it now, though, right?” he whispered.

“Don’t ask me such things,” she muttered, even as her arms came up around his neck, her legs doing the same with his back. “Just…make me feel good, you jerk.”

He felt his breath hitch at her words, felt her tighten around him even as he moved again. Mustering up all of his concentration, he reached up to bite her ear and say, “Make you feel good?”

“Yes…” she whimpered, her heels locking around him as he thrust into her further, “Give me everything.” Her nails dug into his shoulders and even the muscles inside her body seemed to pull him in further, struggling against each withdrawal of his body.

“Your…highness wants everything?” he muttered, biting his own lip, her body so slick now that he had no trouble sliding in and out, her body shaking with each motion.

Saber moaned, her back once more arching, her body pressing further into his even as his cock slipped further in response, “Give it to me, Shirou! Fill me—”

Unable to hold it in any longer, he leaned back while taking her waist in his hands, driving into her faster, with greater urgency. She hooked her legs even tighter, keeping his hips to hers, his pulsing closer and closer in. He watched her breasts tremble, reached up to brush his hands along her body, and her voice hit a pitch that just sent him overboard.



The Stay Away

Saber charged across the city, from rooftop to street pole to bridge to wall.

She knew that the Grail was dangerous, knew that even if it could grant her wish, she wanted Shirou to be far away from that place when it happened. If it truly was brimming with the dark power she had seen before—

If that power consumed Shirou—

She chased the thought from her mind. Her feet brought her to the Kotomine church, the place she loathed to step into but knew she must. Something about the entire location felt off to her, though she could not put her finger on it. Even besides the fact that once upon a time, Kirei Kotomine had been a Master in the Holy Grail War—that was a minor issue, since it was not as if she completely agreed with her own Master at the time either. If he was an enemy to Kiritsugu Emiya then, they probably had more in common than she wanted to consider, truthfully.

Within the doors, the church was lit but silent, not a presence to concern herself with. Considering the late hour, Saber was not surprised, though she knew Kotomine would be around to observe the war as it progressed, unless he was out overseeing something related to it.

Wandering into the back courtyard, she could not find any signs of life, but spotted a doorway leading to a downstairs location. Saber considered the idea that the man had some divination tools hidden from regular sight for the purposes of the war, and it made sense to keep them underground.

“Kirei Kotomine,” Saber said loudly as she entered the basement. “I am a Servant of the Holy Grail. Are you here?”

The basement was silent, though there was yet another closed door he could be behind. The sense of something off once again rose into Saber’s mind, and her eyes narrowed as she pushed the doorway open—

Death.

“Quite the vision, is it not?”

Saber spun in place, Excalibur in hand, her eyes locking onto the priest almost as soon as he had spoken. She intuitively added up everything that this meant, who these beings could be, and her hand raised—

“Gae Bolg!”

And the Hound of Ulster materialized, his spear already speeding toward her heart.



The Curse and the Hope

“And what could you understand about loyalty?” Kotomine’s voice rumbled deep, echoing through the basement quarter like the herald to an oncoming earthquake. “You, Shirou Emiya, who lived when others did not. You, who live now, when others suffer in your stead.” The priest gave a faint grin, a show of amusement, like a child entertained by the fluttering of a wing-clipped fly. “You are a hypocrite, Shirou Emiya, one who wants to save others when he himself has discarded those others to be a savior.”

“Just shut up!”

Kotomine nodded. “Yes, I shall be silent. I wish to know this one’s truth.” He pulled on Saber’s hair, pulled her so her pale neck jutted out and her wound bled even more about her body, as if readying her for a throat-cut slaughter. “Yes, I wish to hear it. Tell us, Servant of Emiya: what is your wish?”

She screeched in pain, the blood flowing from her chest spurting unnaturally, so grotesque in its resemblance to a sprinkler. Even Lancer looked away, his eyes dull and lips frowning.

“Speak it, Saber,” Kotomine said.

“To…” she coughed, choked, and swallowed her own blood, “to save those…that suffered for me.”

Kotomine smiled, somehow an innocent smile despite the pain he was causing. “You see? So simple.” His eyes moved up to meet Shirou’s. “So, there you have it, boy. You and your Servant are much alike. Would you deny her such a wonderful hope, a selfless gesture?” His smile deepened, now reaching his eyes, and with that came a turn from beatific to malicious. “I can think of at least one that she knew, one that served her faithfully. He died in disgrace and torture so that she would be left untouched by his sins. Would you deny her the wish to see that he gain peace?”

Shirou stared now, not at the priest, nor the enemy Servant, nor even Saber. He stared beyond, into that room, into the hells of his own life and history—

Of victims, who survived.

Of survivors, who were victimized again.

Those victims, their voices cursing their own existence, cursing his existence in turn—

His eyes found Saber’s, though even as he saw the pain in them, the anguish…all he could think of was another time, another place. The girl that had wanted nothing more than to do what she could. Taking up that sword, taking on those responsibilities.

Not a curse, but…

“It is a beautiful wish, but it is wrong,” Shirou said. “People suffered, and I remember that suffering. I keep it with me wherever I go. Even if it is sad, or unfair, I’m not turning back from that. I’ll pursue a future, a better future, with their sorrow and pain in mind, never once denying that it existed. No magical wish is going to ever equal what they suffered, what I live with every day.” What was left unspoken was still as firm, though: You too, Saber. What you have lived with and suffered for.

Kotomine’s delighted features turned sour, like dessert turning to ash in his mouth. He sighed, deeply, his shoulders going slack. “How foolish.” He yanked back on Saber’s hair again, forcing the Servant to stare straight up at him. “Then, I would like to hear your response. If you still desire the Grail, I will give it to you, of course. You have proven yourself worthy of a wish.”

Saber stared back up, at the emptiness she saw there in return.

Her knights’ suffering for their King. These children’s suffering for Shirou.

“I…”

She had spoken of loyalty to them, and rewarding it.

Her Master’s loyalty to her, even when they disagreed.

Her loyalty…

“…don’t want it…”

The priest leaned over her, a scowl on his face. “Speak up, Servant Saber.”

“Fuck you.”

Kotomine shoved the woman away like an unwanted pet, though Shirou was instantly beneath her, catching her form before she hit the floor completely. The priest looked completely unimpressed. “You truly are a pair that belong together.”



The Gift

Shirou settled his Servant down in the graveyard, bracing her back to one of the headstones. “I think I know why I’m always healing.”

Saber stared at him, eyes taking on an almost-so-dull-it-was-an-overreaction look, one that seemed to imply she would smack him across the back of the head if she had the strength to.

“Kiritsugu…saved me from what I knew was to be instant death.” Shirou closed his eyes, pressed his hand to his chest. “Tohsaka told me of your legend. I think…”

Light seemed to draw from his body, and despite the blood pooling in her lungs, Saber could not help but gasp.

Shirou reached out, pressed gold and enamel into her gauntleted hands. The color reflected eerily off of her mail, but seemed to shine in Saber’s eyes, as if to give them new life. “I know you hated him, but…as his son, let me take on that hate, and return to you what he kept from you.”

Though the power immediately began to flow into her, the strength return to her limbs, the damage even from Gae Bolg be reversed by a greater mystery, Saber could not help but stare in awe at something that had been taken from her, something of priceless and peerless quality—

Returned to her like it was nothing more than a dropped coin on the street, by this simple little boy.



The Distant Dream

“EX—”

Gilgamesh gave a triumphant grin. “ENUMA ELISH!”

“—CALIBUR!”

The light of the stars crashed into the darkness of humanity, and though the darkness claimed even the greatest lights, the darkness of mankind was nothing to the lights of the beyond.

Even so, Saber leapt in that space, that moment of stillness before Ea consumed her.

The long-lost protection, her perfect sign before the betrayal of all. She had cursed even its existence once, her reliance upon it, her failure without it. That all her loyal followers had suffered was to be lost over one betrayal and theft had enraged her more than the betrayal ever could, more than anything could. She had cursed it for not protecting them, cursed it for not being the shield it needed to be when she could have gone on, could have righted so many further wrongs—

And yet…

As she evoked it, as it once more took up its duty for her, the one she secretly held responsible, the one she secretly felt must have been unworthy—

Perhaps, in the end, she could understand one Kiritsugu Emiya, could thank him from the bottom of her heart—

Because it had been taken from her, one single boy had been saved.

A boy that was nothing more, and nothing less, than everything it embodied.

Her distant dream, alive and well.



The Salvation

Shirou carefully wrapped Illya in a blanket, then set her down out of the way, on grass that had yet to be tainted by the darkness pouring out of the Grail.

“Master.”

Standing, Shirou glanced over his shoulder to the woman, her armor no longer present, the midnight of her dress fluttering faintly. She stared up at the hole in the sky, her sword-arm shaking in anticipation. He absently reached up to touch the mark on his left hand, the last one remaining.

“Give the command, Master.”

Shirou stepped up to her side, his eyes still unable to leave her, the pale skin peeking out from darkened dress. He could see now, something different in her, something completely, fundamentally changed—like viewing a Trace, he could see the structure had been redone. The anger was still there, the impatient desire, the view of the world still ruined—

Yet, still, beyond all of that…

“Destroy the Grail, Saber.”

The remaining seal on Shirou’s hand faded. Blacklight once more swirled about the sword in Saber’s hands, and she raised the weapon to the skies.

Darkness struck and consumed the darkness.

When both unnatural glows faded away, the rising light beyond the hills and mountains bloomed into view and the sun crept up on the horizon. Saber’s sword seemed to evaporate from her hands while the deep rise and fall of her shoulders signaled her relief. “I have fulfilled your commands and defeated your enemies in this war, Master.”

Shirou dared to step closer, wanted to approach despite the fact that he knew they were to part here. He nodded, though, despite himself. “Yeah. You did well, Saber.” He chuckled, scratching the back of his head and stared up at the vacant space in the sky. “I don’t know what else to say.”

“Then let me say something.” A faint laugh. “Your cooking isn’t actually that bad.”

His eyebrows furrowed and he tilted his head at the inane statement. “Okay?”

“I’ve been waiting a while to say that. Couldn’t let you think I was too pleased, could I?”

Shirou smiled, but before he could reply, Saber reached up to pull him in closer by the collar, her lips finding his, her taste invading his mouth. He held her close, kept her warmth to his skin as long as possible, felt like pushing his own assault when she withdrew.

“Carry me too,” Saber said.

His smile deepened, even as the glare of the sun fully rising caused him to flinch away. When he could open his eyes again, she was gone.

“Of course, my King,” Shirou said.



The Place

Arturia’s eyes cracked open at the sound of footfalls.

Her loyal knight Bedivere stood there, empty-handed and solemn. “I have done as you tasked and returned the sword to the lake. A hand reached out to catch it.”

“You have served your king well,” Arturia muttered, her eyes glazing over. The vision of Bedivere before her wavered, and she sighed. “I was just reminiscing.”

“Yes?” The worry could not be contained in Bedivere’s voice.

“Mm.” The king’s hand seemed like it almost moved on its own, brushing through the grass at her side. Despite the steel barrier between hand and earth, she seemed to smile like the touch was still the same, prickly and ticklish. “Of a place I wouldn’t…mind returning to. Someday.”

Slowly, her eyes fell closed, and she took another single, liberated breath.

Yes. The place of her victory. Their victory.

[Techlet]

Beautiful.

Also, I was looping this through the second half of the second half of this.

[Aiden]

Hm.

I am not sure where to start on praising this up and down.

[Hymn of Ragnarok]

*starts reading*

Rin's bones crackle? Eh....bad word there. Makes me think oh snap, crackle, and pop, like rice krispies. That's not the association I want to start out with. How about creak, or groan?

That said, everything else was fantastic. I was amused by Saber so willingly throwing Excalibur like it was a knife, and her calling Shirou something as mild as jerk. Made me giggle. Did the same when she told Kirei to fuck off. Nice work!

[Neir]

This was even better than I had hoped it would be. Made my fucking week.

I'm going to be rereading this. Often.

[Tusia]

Nice finish, but I still think that she's a bit OOC
Alter form of Saber (HF) is quiet, proud woman. She don't kill because she want to, she don't enjoy battles.
She's doin' her duty almost with visible grief on her.
UC Alter is pretty confident in herself and the dominant one. But she does not offend her enemies - she just simply destroys them if she sees that they're unworthy opponents or she won't have any benefits from them if she spare their lifes.