“Tell me,” Sakura said, averting her eyes from Issei. “Just what do you think of my brother, senpai?”
Issei blinked. To be honest, he hadn't expected that question at all. However, though he knew quite well where Shinji and he stood with each other, he wasn't sure if he should be so...truthful.
“There's no need to hold back for my sake,” Sakura added, after a healthy pause. “I already know what people say behind his back. And, I think he does as well.”
That...was even more unexpected, though not at all shocking. Nonetheless, she had guessed his worries right. It wouldn't be like the student council president to be anything but frank with his opinion.
“He's scum,” Issei said frankly, adjusting his glasses. “He lets any little talent of his go to his head – and he forces others to do his dirty work. Honestly, I can't see why he's so popular with women.”
“I see,” Sakura said, smiling vaguely. Up until now, Issei hadn't thought that such a feat was even possible.
At that time, he couldn't tell if she was happy or not to hear those words. But, he had given his true opinion – as Shinji was, there was no way Issei could see Matou Shinji making anything of himself.
---
"Kotomine Shirou" by Mereo Flere
Chapter 6
Disclaimer: I don't own Fate/Stay Night.
---
It lasted only for an instant.
The moment between his servant calling out his weapon, and the moment Shinji saw the short sword fly at his face.
In his mind, however, it seemed to last forever.
This wasn't fair – this wasn't fair at all! After all that he had been through today, to make sure that everything went right...even after he succeeded in summoning a servant, it wasn't fair that it was all going to be over already!
This was his chance to prove himself! This was the one time that he could show his grandfather that he was worthy to be heir!
But his body couldn't keep up. It had frozen, unable to move on its own. By the time he screamed, it was already over.
He was on the ground. On his back. His heart threatening to burst out of his chest.
Yet...
He wasn't dead. Far from it; there wasn't even a scratch on him, unless you counted the bruise from falling on his own ass. Shinji was alive. Alive and safe.
Or not.
The blade – which he was sure he had seen thrown at his head a second ago, suddenly landed in the space between his legs, embedding itself deeply in the ground. Any momentary relief he had was gone, and he quickly returned to frantically panicking.
However, while his thoughts were running everywhere, trying to figure out what was going on, his body refused to move from that spot. For him, it was perhaps fortunate that his fear had petrified him; had he risen, even just a little bit to try to turn and crawl away, the shadow that passed over him would have torn him apart as it made its way towards his servant. As it was, he was lucky to still be in one piece as a battle began just a few feet away from him.
Shaking, he propped himself up using his elbows. His servant had suddenly begun to fight the shadowy figure, defending with a pair of short swords against a chain that seemed to be flung around with almost reckless abandon. The chain bounced all across the room, seemingly reflected off the walls even as it tore the chamber apart in its attempt to strike an unguarded area.
Shinji finally scrambled to get away, crawling on his back as fast as his body would let him. A few times, the body of the chain threatened to strike him as well, motivating him to move even faster. It was only when he found himself backed against a wall did he stop and finally understand the sight before him.
The Holy Grail War was a battle against servants, with servants – but he had never expected to be caught up in a fight so soon. There had barely been time to introduce themselves, and already the enemy had arrived.
No...
That was wrong; she had been here from the start. The person that was currently fighting his servant was someone he recognized – though her figure seemed to be barely more than a blur to him. A woman with long hair and (though he couldn't see it from this angle) a blindfold covering half her face; this enemy was none other than
“Berserker!” a voice called out. It was beside Shinji, where the exit was. There, standing by the door, was none other than his own sister.
“S-sakura?”
She didn't seem to hear him, though. Her eyes were focused on the figure attacking Shinji's servant. “Berserker, I said stop it!”
All of a sudden, the battle stopped. Berserker backed away from the swordsman, standing in front of Sakura. Shinji, in turn, backed away from the two of them – in case she decided to attack again.
It was only then that Sakura turned her head to look his way. “Are you alright, brother?”
Was he alright? The answer was obvious.
“Never better.”
After all, he had managed to summon a servant.
---
Sakura had been watching Shinji for a while now. He had skipped the club, come home late, and had locked himself away in the basement where he thought nobody knew would find him. He had remained down there for a long period of time; to be honest, she couldn’t figure out what he was doing.
The one thing she understood that he was upset. For a long time now, he had built up anger towards her for being the one chosen to be the heir. He’d lash out at her, chew her out for whatever reason he could find – and, even when he could find no reason to do so, talk down at her. When she had summoned her servant, he began to avoid her completely, and while that was initially a relief it had started to become worrying.
She knew her brother – what lengths he was willing to go to. Even if it was said that it was impossible for Shinji to summon a servant, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try.
And he had tried before. This night would’ve been the third attempt. The first time she had caught him, it had been an accident – she saw him asleep in the basement after his efforts. Even though a magic circle had been drawn in the room back then, it hadn’t been activated; Shinji lacked the magic circuits to do so. He had known this from the start, but it didn’t matter; he would try again anyway.
The second time, she watched him through a crack in the door, trying to go at it for hours. Eventually, he had gotten fed up and trashed his entire setup, angrily pounding his fist against the floor when it didn’t work. At the time, she had chosen to leave him alone, letting him vent his frustration against something other than herself.
After that, he hadn’t done much of anything. She had caught sight of him reading books he had poured over many times already, trying to gleam over some fact he hadn’t yet uncovered – but it was futile. Knowledge alone couldn’t replace talent – especially when one lacked talent entirely.
But something had been different today. He would try again today; that’s what her instinct had told her. And, more than that, he might actually succeed. It was impossible to describe how she knew – it was merely a feeling that she felt in her heart. It was only when she caught a glimpse of something red – a jewel that seemed familiar - that she finally understood what he had been missing before, what he must’ve gone out to find.
When the bright flash came, she wasn’t surprised to see a man standing there. Nonetheless, she was amazed – and in that moment of distraction Berserker had already proceeded to move forward. Like a wild animal, Berserker had entered the room, as if deciding whether the new entry was prey – and that was when the battle had begun.
Her own brother had nearly gotten caught up in it himself. Though she was torn between letting her brother find out she had been spying on him and stopping the battle, she finally stepped forward and ordered her servant to stand down. Still, though she ordered Berserker to stop fighting, her eyes remained on Shinji’s servant; he had been the one to launch the first attack, and she wanted to make sure she wouldn’t continue it.
She stared at the servant, and he stared back at her. After a moment he simply shrugged, before letting his own weapons disappear. For now there was a mutual understanding – they wouldn’t fight.
“Are you alright brother?” she asked, looking down at Shinji.
He was still on the floor, covered in sweat – his heart still pounding after the fright that sudden battle had given him. Even with his body shaking, he looked up at her and smiled. It was a genuine smile, without any of the malice she was used to seeing from him.
“Never better,” he said sincerely, his voice overflowing with happiness.
It was strange, not like him at all. If she had to be honest, it caught her completely off guard. However, regardless of any personality shifts, that wasn’t her biggest concern.
“So,” a voice said. “This is your sister?”
Yes. If anything, the thing she should be worried about most was that man.
Shinji finally found the strength to stand up again, though he still leaned against the wall for support. Turning away from Sakura, he faced his servant and nodded. “Yes,” he said. “This is my sister. And that,” he added, pointing towards Berserker, who still seemed ready to continue the fight at a moment’s notice. “That’s her servant, Berserker.
“As for why they’re here…they’re spying on me, right?” he asked, glancing back at her.
There was the accusation. Shinji had turned away from his servant, and faced her. She kept her head bowed and as such she couldn’t see his expression – but she knew what to expect: Anger and violence. Familiar with this routine already, she knew all she could do is apologize.
“Forgive me brother,” she said in a soft voice. “I was just worried about you.”
“Is that so?”
A tense moment passed. She didn’t move and neither did Shinji, but she waited for it – his harsh strike as he reminded her of her place. Any moment now, it would come.
Her body flinched when she felt a hand grip her shoulder. Sakura braced herself to be thrown against the wall, or to the floor. As Shinji stepped closer, she kept her eyes shut tightly, hoping that there at least wouldn’t be any visible bruises…
But there was nothing. The hand released her, at most giving her a slight shove. “It’s okay,” Shinji said in an angry, but calm voice as he passed her. “You don’t have to worry about me.
“With this, even the old man should understand that.”
Shinji walked up the stairs without another word, but Sakura was still frozen in the same spot. Her knees felt a little weak, but she refused to collapse onto the floor. Turning around, she prepared herself to follow him. Before she took the first step, however, she glanced back to the servant Shinji had summoned.
“My brother will want you to follow as well.”
“What a troublesome family I’ve been summoned by,” the man said, shrugging his arms.
---
Shinji was waiting for the three of them at the top of the stairs. Arms crossed, he looked down at them, before pointing at his servant.
“I still haven’t forgiven you,” he said towards his servant. “Even if you thought you were defending me from an enemy, the least you could’ve done is warn me before you attacked!”
Sakura looked away. Even though those words weren’t direct at her, it still felt like blame rested on her shoulders. Just a few minutes ago he had seemed so happy, but now he had returned to his irritable self.
The servant was unfazed though, simply shrugging his shoulders. Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura even thought he was smirking. “Really, you are a troublesome master. There wasn’t any time to warn you – it was as simple as that.”
“At least for my sake, you should act regretful,” Shinji said, grumbling.
“In that case, Master,” Assassin said, with a defeated shrug. “I am sorry for trying to save your life.”
“Don’t say it like that!”
“But I’m being completely honest, master.”
“That’s even worse!”
“So then, my master prefers the way I handled it after all.”
“Yes… no… damn it, I don’t know!” Shinji shouted, as he pointed angrily at Archer. “Next time, find a way to save my life without scaring the hell out of me!”
Assassin smirked, before bowing. “As you wish,” Assassin said with a twinkle in his eye. “Next time I will find a way to save your life in a way you are brave enough to handle.”
“…I just can’t win with you, can I?” Shinji said, sighing.
“You absolutely can,” Assassin said as he straightened up. “In fact, there’s no way you could win this war without me. As your servant, I am your sword and shield…”
Shinji’s eyes widened – believing for the first time that he might be able to trust this man after all. “Assassin…”
“…without me you would be utterly defenseless.”
Naturally, that belief was instantly crushed. “Damn it Assassin,” he muttered underneath his breath.
Assassin grinned, smiling. “So, Master. How would you like to proceed in this war?”
“You’re… you’re actually going to listen to me?” he asked, raising a brow.
“Maybe, if it’s reasonable,” Assassin said with a nod. “I am… curious about what my master is capable of, to be honest.”
Shinji frowned. Assassin had not denied that he might not listen to him… but that was still better than nothing. “In that case, let’s go on a patrol.”
“As you wish, Master.”
---
A/N: So, I may or may not have completely and utterly disappeared from most of the internet for a while. Still, it's the holidays so I figured that I may as well wish everybody well during the holidays... and what better way to do that than reveal that Shinji never actually died at all in a fic that I had totally not forgotten about at all?
Mereo Christmas everybody.
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Originally Posted by Mereo Flere
