Disclaimer: Fate/Stay Night and Tsukihime belong to Type-Moon and their respective companies. I do not own either properties or the characters contained within. This story is not written for profit, just entertainment.
Second Chances
By: Elf
The red coated sentinel stood on the all too familiar rooftop as the white snow swirled around him. It was bitterly cold out tonight, the sort of night that invited fireplaces and cuddling in the arms of a lover. Things that the Servant Archer had long ago abandoned any hopes of having again. A long time ago, he couldn’t recall when, he did have a wish. A severe death wish in which he realized could not be granted to him and in the end he didn’t want it.
He came to terms with what he was and accepted it. He made a promise to try his best to a pair of aquamarine eyes set in a young face that once had been the thing he loved more than anything. And as he made that promise he realized that he had to abandon his old ways, accept that his wife was dead, and move on in the afterlife. He would fulfill his duties to the best of his abilities and accept what he had to do.
Right now he had to protect his Master and make sure that she and the alternate, past version of his self made it through yet another loop of the Fifth Grail War. If Fate was being kind Tohsaka Rin and Emiya Shirou would find themselves and fall in love, or at the very least Shirou would not fall in love with Saber because that path always led to ruin. However he had hope because it seemed like his Master was falling even more with his younger self.
It was a bittersweet pang to watch another version of himself and the budding romance between another version of his wife. He was happy for him, but it brought up painful memories and dreams he had long since abandoned. He had been a fool, a moron of the highest ranking and threw his life into another man’s dream that had been beautiful but flawed in the end. Archer could accept that dream and compromise with it now, but it was too late for him.
So while he was in this loop of the Fifth War he would make sure that his younger self would not follow the same path he had.
Archer continued to stare out into the snowy landscape as he heard the familiar voices coming from below him. He closed his eyes for a moment at the brief moment of solitude to be alone with his thoughts as he took a deep breath of cold, snowy air. The air was sharp in his lungs and nostrils and he relished the sensation as the icy snow caressed his cheeks and melted against his borrowed skin. It felt so good to have a body after being formless and sensory deprived as a Counter Guardian, even though there were a few drawbacks. Like having every desire you had as living person being reawakened when you’re Summoned and wearing tight leather bondage pants, Archer thought dryly as he shifted his weight on the roof.
He continued his sentry duty as he looked out into the snowy night. As his keen eyes scanned over Fuyuki City, an approaching swash of red caught his eye. It wasn’t the bright crimson that Rin favored, but a darker, more earthier red like autumn leaves. Then he picked up the long, ebony hair trailing behind the figure like a banner, even longer than Rin’s. His eyes focused on the face and he froze.
He would have remembered a woman who looked like that. Or at least there would have been detailed records because he would have stared in admiration at the woman who kept approaching the Emiya household. She was dressed in a long deep Indian red coat with a long, pleated vermillion skirt swishing about legs that were probably insanely long. She was slender with a long, swan like neck and an aristocratic air about her as her old fashioned boots crunched against the fallen snow. Archer continued to watch her, waiting for her to pass the Emiya household and probably make her way back to Miayma-cho.
The vermillion girl did not turn, instead she continued until she was at the Emiya door. Archer watched as she lifted up an elegant, slim hand began to tap on the door. Within moments the door opened and the tiny blond head peeked out. He watched as green eyes widened before narrowing, a blouse and skirt shattering to give away to heavy, silver armor and heavy blue skirts as the Holy Sword covered in heavy, swirling air before the King of Knights attacked the Vermillion Girl.
The Vermillion Girl jumped back as her crystalline blue eyes widened. To her credit, she managed to barely dodge the first strike of Saber’s sword. Within moments, Rin and Shirou were outside as well, with Shirou shouting at Saber to stop as the Vermillion Girl’s brilliant blue eyes nearly glowed as she watched Saber. Saber stood down at her Master’s request, but she kept glairing at the Vermillion Girl. The Vermillion girl said nothing, tossed her hair and turned sharply on her heel. Then she started walking away at a brisk pace with her shoulders stiff under her coat.
Curious, Archer went incorporeal, leapt off the roof and started to follow her.
******Tohno Akiha’s chest was tight and she could barely breathe, her limbs felt heavy and responded sluggishly to her commands, and she was freezing. She pulled her coat around her as she made her way away from the Emiya household. Her eyes narrowed as she wavered slightly on her feet. I came for help and I get attacked by some tiny foreigner with some sort of sword.
She shivered, utterly freezing and the cold wasn’t helping. She needed heat and she needed it fast. Supporting herself and Shiki was hard work, even though he didn’t truly understand what she had done for him so many years ago. Yet he was running around with his vampire princess with her blond hair, perfect, curvy form and façade of innocence. But nii-san is happy, that’s what matters, Akiha thought as she took another step, pulling her coat even tighter around her. Each icy breath was sheer agony, as if her nostrils and lungs were being stabbed with hundreds upon thousands of tiny icy blades as she made her way back to the hotel.
The hotel she was going to be alone at, a feeling she hadn’t gotten use to yet because Hisui and Kohaku had always been there at her side since she was a child. Yet they’re gone, she thought as frigid tears stung her eyes as she continued to walk. Pain was starting to grip her body, but it was something she’d gotten use to recently. However, it was what drove her to this city to chase after a man she didn’t even know was living or dead, but it was something and she didn’t have anything else. Besides, it was for Shiki’s sake, not for hers, but with her constant companions gone . . .
The blade was thrust out, Akiha was shoved to the side and the wrong person was bent over the silver length, the mirror image of the girl holding the katana. Grey eyes met gold in identical faces as the girl with grey eyes reached out to her twin, a crimson rivulet trickling from her pale mouth as she whispered her sister’s name. The girl let go of her sword and cried out as she reached out for her twin.
Akiha was stuck in the memory until she heard footsteps behind her. She spun around, readying herself for another attack when the man in black simply lifted up his hands and gave her a sardonic grin. She frowned as she relaxed, but kept a wary eye on him as he approached, her eyes flickering over his form.
He was tall, and not just for an Asian, for anyone’s standards, broad shouldered, and despite the black clothing and heavy coat he was wearing, Akiha could see that he had a powerful build. His skin was a tawny shade of dark gold that contrasted with his silvery white hair and storm cloud grey eyes. He held up his hands as he watched her, amusement lurking his expression before he said, “The Emiya household isn’t the safest place to be now.”
“I noticed that,” Akiha said sharply before starting to turn away from the guy.
He continued in his deep, velvet lined voice, “Actually, all of Fuyuki isn’t safe right now, yet you seemed like you knew where you needed to be.”
Akiha frowned, drawing her coat around her as she felt another spike of pain and iciness. She stared at this man and snapped, “Where you watching me, you pervert?”
“No, I have an arrangement there, that’s all and I was curious to why you were seeking out the Emiya household,” the man in black said with a tiny chuckle.
She blinked and wondered where was this man when the foreigner attacked her, but he could be an answer to what she was looking for. She looked up at him, for he was over twenty centimeters taller than she was and ten centimeters taller than Shiki. Akiha answered, “I was searching Kiritsigu Emiya.”
The man’s handsome face fell and sadness crept into his steel grey eyes and he looked away for a moment before looking at her. The look of pain was enough to confirm Akiha’s quickly growing fear. She looked at him as he quietly answered, “Emiya Kiritsugu died eight years ago.”
“I . . . see, good night then,” Akiha said as she started to move away from him, silently gnashing her teeth as she wondered who out there could help her. None of the other magi could be trusted and Emiya had a reputation for being unorthodox from what she had heard. The Tohsaka family had close ties with the Church, which would be potentially dangerous for her if they found out what she was.
He moved in step with her as she huddled in her coat. He gave her a sad smile and shook his head. “You’re not leaving so soon. I was the one who sought you out after all and I’m not leaving until my curiosity is satisfied,” he replied with a chuckle.
Akiha looked up at him and demanded, “And why did you do such a thing?”
“Because you’re a change in the pattern,” he answered thoughtfully.
She frowned at him and asked, “What do you mean?”
“It doesn’t matter, but why where you seeking out Kiritsigu?” he asked as she realized she was shivering harder. Yet she stilled her body, not wanting to show weakness. She couldn’t show weakness, not here and not ever again. Her companions were gone and her beloved brother was with that whore.
She answered, “I was wanting his help, but apparently I should look elsewhere.”
“I’m sorry,” he said softly, his velvet voice sending shivers of a different sort down her spine as he took off his coat. He wrapped it around her shoulders and said, “I’m Archer.”
She snorted, “That’s not a name, that’s someone who uses a bow.”
Archer actually tilted his head back and laughed. She glared at him and replied, “Well, I am someone who uses a bow. So, do you have a name?”
“Tohno Akiha,” she answered but she did draw the coat around her. It was oddly warm and she resisted the urge to rub her cheek against the warmness and inhale the odd scent of steel, smoke and leather embedded into the thick wool. She started to take it off with a scowl, “And I don’t need your coat.”
Archer replied, “You’re freezing.”
“What about you?” she asked as they fell into step together, “I don’t want you to get sick, especially if you have to deal with that blonde thing.”
His smile was lopsided and full of boyish charm as he answered, “I’m always warm, Akiha.”
She felt her own cheeks flush at that and she grumbled, “Somehow I’m not surprised.”
******
Archer was amused by Akiha’s prickly personality as he walked her to her hotel. He’d tried to get her to confess as to why she needed his dead father’s help, but she’d been amazingly tight lipped about it. However, Archer was perplexed to find out why Saber had attacked her so suddenly. On the way to the hotel, Akiha had snorted and said she had no need of an escort. To which he pointed out if he wasn’t walking her to her lodgings, then she wouldn’t be able to snuggle into his coat if it was a life line.
She’d protested, saying that she wasn’t that cold and promptly tried to give him his coat back. He adjusted the mana he’d used to create the clothing, making it heavier and thicker to keep her warm. He’d noticed her shivering before he’d caught up to her, her body slow and sluggish. As if she’s craving warmth, Archer thought as he looked up to the hotel room window that he could see the swish of raven hair and vermillion skirts as Akiha moved about.
As he reformed his armor and mantle, he took to the air with a frown. Why the hell am I getting so hung up about a girl I just met? Archer thought angrily as his incorporeal form touched from rooftop to rooftop in return to the Tohsaka manor. When he reached the familiar mansion he couldn’t feel Rin there and scowled, which meant he was still at Emiya Shirou’s house. Which wasn’t a bad thing per say, just it was getting late, Rin had school tomorrow, and she wasn’t a morning person by any stretch of the word. It was just he still worried about her, even though she wasn’t his Rin, he still worried about his difficult little Master.
He switched directions and headed to the all too familiar Emiya household. Archer felt a bittersweet pang in his chest as he reached his childhood home and looked at the all too familiar shed that had been more familiar to him than his own bedroom. Steel toed boots landed nimbly on the roof as he skidded to the ground only to be scowled at by a pair of eyes that weren’t aquamarine, but emerald green.
The tiny blond King of Knights scowled up at him, slim arms crossed under even smaller breasts as she cast her regal gaze upon him. Archer was amazed how much he towered above her, even now after doing this for so long, but then Saber always seemed larger than life. He hadn’t been able to save her in his time, but he’d gone out of his way to save her in various other loops of this damned Grail War. However he knew all too well that if she wanted to, even with her mana as low as it was, she could thoroughly kick his ass. She took a step towards him, her blue skirt swishing against her legs as she continued to glare at him.
“Why did you aid that demon?” Saber demanded coldly, but her green eyes were lit with fury.
Saber wielded the Holy Sword and was close to a dragon, so of course she’d sense something like that. However, Akiha seemed more like a little girl who needed help than a demon. Archer snorted, “That girl was a demon?”
“Then how do you explain how she avoided my blow, Archer? You couldn’t,” Saber sneered.
Archer gave her a tiny grin and retorted, “She might be stronger against surprise attacks than I am.”
“This is not a humorous matter, Archer,” Saber snapped in frustration as his grin spread into a full out smile. They were working together, so she couldn’t attack him, but he sure as hell could needle the hell out of her.
Archer shrugged and innocently suggested, “She could have been another magus.”
“That girl was a demon,” Saber said after taking a deep slow breath, “And I don’t know why she was here.”
Archer answered, “She was looking for Emiya Shirou’s father.”
“Why was she looking for Kiritsigu? He’s been dead for eight years,” Saber snorted.
Archer answered, “She needed help.”
“It’s not our duty as Servants to help others who are not our Masters at this time, especially if they have demonic blood running through their veins,” Saber scolded sharply before turning on her heel and muttering, “Perhaps Shirou should have been your Master and Rin mine.”
Archer snorted to himself as he watched the King of Knights retreat back into the Japanese style home when a familiar figure garbed in true red walked out into the snowy night. Rin had dawned on her familiar red duster and hunched in the cold. Her aquamarine eyes met his as she stepped closer to him. “So, what did you find out?” Rin asked with a tiny grin as she tilted her head curiously at Archer.
Archer answered, “She was looking for Emiya Shirou’s foster father for help.”
“I wonder why,” Rin mused thoughtfully as she rested her chin on her fist as her eyes narrowed in concentration, “And did you get her name?”
Archer asked, “Does it matter?”
“Well, if she has demon blood in her as Saber claims, then there’s one of several families she could be from Archer. Depending on what family she’s from then I can assess if she is an actual threat or not,” Rin answered as she looked at Archer expectantly.
Archer answered, “She said her name was Tohno Akiha.”
“Tohno?” Rin said with wide eyes as she turned to Archer.
He nodded and answered, “Yeah, does that name mean anything to you?”
“They’re in control of Misaki Town, and Akiha is the only surviving member of that family. They’re rumored to have trouble keeping control of their demonic blood,” Rin explained as she walked ahead of Archer, thoughtfully wandering.
Archer frowned and said, “Then that’s why she wanted to talk to Kiritsigu. She probably wanted help controlling her demonic side. He was rumored to be a rather unorthodox magus and he wouldn’t have turned down a girl in need.”
“Since Emiya Kiritsigu is dead, then she’s going to have to ask help somewhere, but she should leave this town. Even though Kirei isn’t the most faithful member of the Church, he might kill her if he finds out she’s here simply because of her ancestry,” Rin sighed with a tiny shake of her head.
Archer knew that Kotomine wasn’t going to go after Akiha. The corrupted priest had more important things to take care of like corrupting the world in the Grail’s Curse among other things while his gilded bastard of a Servant switched back and forth between wanting nothing but Saber or killing off “useless” people to make the world fit for his rule. However, there would be others interested in Akiha if she had any true power to her name. Her mana could be leeched off by Rider through drinking her blood or Caster would attempt to make her into a puppet.
The girl was huddling in her coat, her whole body trembling with cold as she gritted her teeth. Brilliant, sky blue eyes gleamed as she looked past him She looked so cold and lost, trying to appear strong.
Cold.
Akiha was shivering no matter what, except it lessened when I put that coat on her.
“Rin, why would someone be unnaturally cold?” Archer asked suddenly, “No matter what, they couldn’t be warm.”
Rin frowned and answered, “Well, Archer there could be several reasons like low blood pressure or blood loss.”
“Magical reasons,” Archer prompted.
Rin blinked and asked, “Was Tohno Akiha cold like that?”
Archer nodded and Rin’s hands tightened into fists before she explained, “If something of demon blood is cold like that it means their body isn’t producing the mana they need to survive. It’s also a sign that she’s about to revert to her demonic state.” She looked up at him sympathetically before snorting, “I knew you were a skirt chaser.”
“If she truly needs mana then, could she receive it?” Archer asked her.
She nodded and answered, “Rumor had it that the Tohno family has two synchronizers in its possession. If she had one then they’d be able to supply her with what she needs.”
“She’s alone, Rin,” Archer sighed as he clinched his own fists in return.
Rin sighed and said, “If there wasn’t a Grail War going on I would help her. It wouldn’t hurt to have a family such as the Tohnos owe me a favor. Sadly we both have other things to focus on.”
“Speaking of which, you still have school tomorrow,” Archer said pointedly, “And you’re definitely not a morning person, Rin.”
Rin snorted, “That’s my Archer, criticizing me, but at least I’m not a skirt chaser.”
******Akiha was sipping her tea at the hotel’s café. It was horrible tea, bitter and far too strong for her liking. She had to add extra amounts of cream and sugar to the western blend of tea to make it palatable for her tastes and the western breakfast wasn’t that great either. She sighed at the disappointing fair and was reading her book when she heard all the excited conversation around her.
“Did you hear about the school?”
“Gas leak or something right? A third of the student body is in the hospital, right?”
Akiha froze as she caught on the conversation around her. She swallowed the well done tea as she continued to listen. “And the gas leaks in Shinto right? Aren’t all the men who were hit by that now impotent or something?”
Mysterious murders at night. Vampire. Nii-san . . .
Just like before, Akiha thought as she clinched her tea cup. “And didn’t someone find some foreign girl dead with her arm cut off before the gas leaks started right? Generally the gas leaks were happening at night, right?”
This is none of my business, she thought coldly as she picked up her book again. However she kept remembering how her brother kept running out at night to fight a Dead Apostle along side of the mysterious White Princess, that blonde brother stealing whore. The curvy, impossibly beautiful bitch her nii-san chose over her, causing her to shun him forever. However if there was a vampire here now she knew that Shiki would be here.
Gas leaks didn’t sound like vampire attacks, but from what she had heard from Shiki and that bitch before she completely stopped talking to her nii-san was that people had different ways of hiding from the truth they didn’t want to see. Her heart started to race as at the thought of just seeing Shiki again, to see her beloved brother even though she wasn’t going to speak a word to him. She just wanted to see him and know he was alright.
Akiha downed the rest of the horrid tea and left money on the table to cover the breakfast. She drew on her coat and ran out of the hotel. She asked where the school was and soon found herself at the empty building. However the aura of the place felt sticky and sick, like rotten honey. The young woman felt her vision swarm as she entered the threshold of the school before weakness over came her.
She was freezing.
Her body was shaking and she gasped as pain overwhelmed her. Drum beats thundered in her ears as she realized it was her heart she was hearing. She felt weaker and weaker before her knees started to shake. Nausea over claimed her as she gritted her teeth as a horrid urge started to over take her. I need heat. I can just take it . . . She hissed as her pulse raced faster and faster, until someone wrapped their arms around her and pulled her out of the threshold.
Akiha leaned into the source of incredible warmth as she caught her breath while the pain faded. She still felt a bit weak, but she could handle that. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had just done before looking up at the source of warmth currently chuckling at her.
Silvery white hair in spiked disarray, bronze skin, handsome, rugged features so different than the more delicate ones of her nii-san’s was greeted her gaze. Her cheeks flared with warmth as her heart began to pound for a different reason. Those grey eyes were closed as he chuckled at her, the same one who had followed her from the Emiya house just two nights ago. She’d dismissed him as anything because she assumed she wouldn’t cross her path again.
Apparently, she had been wrong.
Akiha shoved herself away and snapped, “Why are you following me again, you pervert?”
“Pervert again, I’m getting called all sorts of nasty things by pretty girls of late, but that’s worse than being called a skirt chaser,” Archer teased as he smiled at her, his broad shoulders still shaking with mirth.
She bristled and retorted, “Well, it’s nothing less than you deserve! Have you been following me all of this time?”
“Sadly, no. Now if you wanted me to follow you, I could arrange that,” Archer replied with that same grin.
Her cheeks felt even hotter as she stammered, “Why would anyone want a rogue like you to follow them?”
“I don’t know, but you’re blushing an incredible amount Akiha, perhaps such things suit you,” he teased wickedly.
Akiha’s eyes widened as she took a step back from him. She clinched her fists and bit off, “I am a respectable woman, Archer-san, and you have no right to call me by my given name.” She tossed her hair and snorted, “You should address me as Tohno as it is proper, but I highly think you’ve ever given any thought to propriety in your life time.”
“You’d be surprised, Akiha, but that name suits you,” he said with a smile before asking, “What are you doing here?”
She placed her hands on her hips and retorted, “I should ask you the same thing, and why are you wearing . . .” Leather pants with straps like that up and down those long legs, that red mantle and . . . body armor? Her eyes widened at his strange attire as she gestured to it, her cheeks going even redder as she realized the breast plate and mantle emphasized the strong, powerful lines of his body. Shiki had been slim and powerful, built for speed and precision. Archer’s body was strong, the body of some knight and in his outfit, she expected him to bend on one knee and offer his sword to her. Despite his difficult personality.
“Well, considering you’re no mere normal person, Akiha, I don’t have to kill you for seeing me as I am. However, crossing the school’s threshold until the witch has killed the Gorgon would be dangerous for you,” Archer explained with a scowl.
Akiha asked, “And why are you here?”
“Because I already know what’s going to happen, yet I can’t go in there just yet,” Archer explained as his scowl turned into a bright, boyish grin.
She frowned and asked, “But why not? People are in danger, aren’t they?”
“They’re being helped, but some things need to happen so this plays out properly,” Archer answered cryptically, “But . . . You’re a change in the pattern, Akiha.”
Then the man in red started to move forward. Akiha stared at him with wide eyes before asking, “Is it a Dead Apostle?”
“Worse. It’s a war,” Archer said with a smile before he tilted his head, as if something just occurred to him. He asked, “What are you doing this Sunday, Akiha?”
Her eyes widened even more as she fumed. She threw her hands at her side and spat, “Why does it matter? You have no right asking such personal questions anyway!”
His laughter echoed around her as he faded away from sight. She glared and yelled, “Hey, where are you going? We’re not done talking about this yet!”
******
She was sitting there in front of the window, the sunlight catching the long, silken strands of raven hair. Archer stopped and watched her as she sat at the café window while she scowled at her tea. He chuckled to himself as he approached the window and gently tapped on it. Akiha spun around, brilliant blue eyes widening as she noticed him grinning at her. He gestured behind him with his thumb as he grinned at her before taking a step back. Those blue eyes flashed as she gracefully rose from her seat, took her coat, and left the café.
Within moments Akiha was glaring up at him with a lofty expression while he said, “Well, you wanted to talk more about this, right, Akiha?”
“I asked you not to call me that,” Akiha replied with a snort as she began to walk into the sunlight.
Archer followed the swish of black skirts today, harmonizing with her grey blouse and red coat. Archer replied, “I’m not very obedient.”
“Obviously,” Akiha snorted, but she had a small grin on her face as she waited for him to catch up. She looked up at him and asked, “What did you mean about a war at the school on Thursday?”
Archer answered, “A war for the Holy Grail. Originally there are supposed to be seven Masters and their Servants. Seven magi who use magic from the Holy Grail to Summon Heroic Spirits to fight until there is one Servant left standing. Then the Servant and Master make a wish on the Holy Grail. However, that was screwed up in the Third War.”
“What happened?” Akiha asked.
Archer grinned as he said, “Someone Summoned a Servant that shouldn’t have been and he corrupted the Grail ever since.”
“Why are you telling me about this?” Akiha asked quietly.
Archer studied her and answered, “Don’t tell me you don’t feel it, Akiha? You might not be a true magus, but you feel the pull of mana on this place.”
“Mana?” she said with a frown as she looked down.
Archer explained, “Magical energy Akiha.” Like what your body is craving right now, Archer thought as she pulled her coat tighter. She was already starting to breathe hard and her delicate shoulders were slumped with fatigue. Her pale skin had an ashen tone to it that had nothing to do with her clothing.
“I feel . . .” Akiha frowned as she looked around and closed her eyes. Archer walked behind her and leaned forward enough to speak quietly to her.
He asked, “What do you feel, Akiha?”
“Cold,” she answered, her blue eyes opening as she spun around to face him. Her eyes narrowed and gleamed at him as she spat, “How dare you ask me such things, Archer! I’m not part of this stupid war or magic or Dead Apostles. I don’t want to be a part of any of this. “
She spun around on her heel to stalk away from him. The proud line of her body despite her physical exhaustion made Archer reach out and grab her arm. Her blue eyes flashed fire at him in a way that made his body burn in a way it hadn’t for a long time. “Let me go,” she demanded as she tilted her head up and glared at him.
“I was Emiya Kiritsugu’s adopted son,” Archer said.
Akiha stared up at him and asked, “Why the hell didn’t you tell me that in the first place, Archer?”
“Because there were things that needed to occur, not that it matters now. The reason I was telling you about the Grail War is that some of the Servants and the Masters would try to use you for their gain,” Archer said gravely as he kept a hold of her arm.
Akiha placed her hand in front of Archer as the air around him suddenly froze and his chest began to burn. His keen eyes caught sight of red strands reaching for him to draw his mana as she shoved him back. He stumbled from the red strands and almost fell as Akiha stared at him imperiously. She folded her arms under her small breasts and coldly said, “I do not deal with riffraff such as yourself.”
Before he could call her back, Akiha strode away from him, her long black hair swishing behind her like a cloak. Archer stared at her and swore as he watched her walk away. He righted himself and moved to run after her. Except she had already put great distance between them, leaving him alone. He watched her regal figure leave and his shoulders slumped with a defeat he couldn’t quite name and a tightness in his chest he wanted to ignore.
******Akiha slammed her hotel room behind her and briskly wiped her stinging eyes. She was shivering under her heavy coat and she walked over to crank up the heat. She rubbed her arms and paced back and forth to keep warm, but it really wasn’t helping. She realized the only time she’d been remotely warm since Hisui died was when Archer had draped his jacket over his shoulders.
“Damn him,” she cursed as she tried to reign in her temper as she sighed. She shook her head and looked around. He could have easily told her that he was Emiya’s adopted son and he was obviously a magus if he spoke so easily about this Grail War, Servants, and Masters. Yet he decided to toy with her for whatever reason.
She leaned against the wall as she shivered. She’d even been excited to see him standing outside of the café today, that confidant smirk on his handsome features. Handsome? Nii-san’s handsome, Archer is . . . Archer was strong in a way Shiki could never be. Shiki was an assassin with the skill and speed to back it up. Archer was like some samurai of old who somehow became disillusioned in his work. Shiki had that large breasted White Princess whore. Archer seemed just as alone as she was.
“Damn him,” Akiha said as she pounded her fist into the wall.
“That’s the trouble with men, my dear, they draw you in, use you, then cast you aside,” an oddly accented voice said from beside Akiha.
Akiha spun around to see a woman taller than her dressed in purple robes with her face hidden saved for a grin standing there. Her slender, graceful hands were encased in gloves with a plain, golden band on her left middle finger and bits of gold and red gems sparkled from her robes. The woman lifted a graceful hand to her mouth as she smirked at Akiha. “You’re a rare thing, you know that, my dear?” she said as she took a step closer to Akiha, her silken robes making rustling sounds as she drew closer.
Akiha spun around and loosened her body. Because of the Tatari she had to learn how to fight and she wasn’t a push-over by any means of the words. “And you have horrible taste in clothing,” she said icily.
The woman sighed, “You have no idea how close you are to reverting to your impulse, do you, my dear?”
She froze as she stared at the woman and the woman in the robes chuckled. “Oh, I know exactly what you are, my pretty little demon. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you and you’ll never have to think a thought in your pretty head again. You’ll just do as I say.”
“If you think I am going to listen to some back water fortuneteller in bad robes, you are highly mistaken, ma’am,” Akiha said as she narrowed her eyes and readied her muscles. She felt the tremble of fatigue begin to build and the coldness wash over her veins. Her chest tightened but she focused on it to help her get ready to defend herself.
The woman snapped her fingers and Akiha felt a tiny prick in the back of her neck. She froze and found her body unresponsive as she was drawn over to the woman in violet. The woman said, “I’m Servant Caster, and you should have listened to your friend in town, even though why he wanted to protect you is beyond me. Perhaps you are why he resisted me and not his little upstart of a Master.”
Master? Akiha’s eyes widened as she stared at this Caster woman. Caster cradled her face with burning fingers and Akiha shivered. Caster explained, “Yes, your friend is a Servant in this war, a spirit given form through mana. Which is why he could keep you warm. Not that it matters anyway. I’m going to make you mine.”
No.
Caster turned and Akiha found herself walking to keep up. “Come now, my dear, let’s get you to the church and changed into something better for my enjoyment as I condition you.”
******
Archer sat on the couch and waited for Rin to bring home an unconscious Fuji-nee and his younger, if idiotic, self supporting yet another gratuitously bleeding wound while both Masters would be in a panic that Saber had been taken by Caster. Instead, he waited and waited only to be alone for several hours. He scowled as he headed for the roof to get a better vantage point to see just where Rin was.
As he looked from the mansion’s roof there wasn’t the familiar head of wavy raven hair set into ribbon tied twin tails or a head of unruly red hair coming towards the house. He leapt off the roof, turned into his spirit form and headed towards the Emiya household. He reached his old home and stared at it. He saw familiar shapes in the house, including a tiny blond head and a head of close cropped sandy brown hair cut in a style that he thought never suited a woman. He watched as the four people in the home sat down for dinner, talking calmly among themselves.
Archer watched as his Master smiled and gently touched both Emiya Shirou and Saber’s hands while they ate, causing the Servant and Master to blush ever so slightly. However, Rin’s cheeks were flushed as well and her aquamarine eyes were bright with happiness. He quietly watched the scene he’d never be a part of, but instead of a bittersweet tang he was happy. Happy because maybe this time around Saber could be saved and Emiya Shirou wouldn’t follow his path.
There was just one thing he couldn’t do, one person he couldn’t save in the loops and there was no way he could ever save her either. However there was Akiha. He moved away from the Emiya household, scowling a bit as he wondered why Caster hadn’t attacked and captured Saber yet. When the loop followed this path Caster would have already had Saber by now after Rin took Shirou and Saber on their date. However things were different this time because of Akiha.
“Because there were things that needed to occur, not that it matters now. The reason I was telling you about the Grail War is that some of the Servants and the Masters would try to use you for their gain.”
“Damn it,” Archer swore as he leapt into the air again. He hit rooftops and bounded off of them in his spiritual form as he headed to Akiha’s hotel. He hit Shinto proper and soon he reached where Akiha was staying at. He bounded from balcony to balcony while his keen eyes searched every room looking for a sign of long, raven hair and crystalline blue eyes. There was no sign of Akiha so far and a few things that Archer never cared to see and was actually glad that it wouldn’t be an actual memory, but a “record” to read later. However, his worry for the girl was becoming an almost palatable thing.
He stopped short when he caught a familiar flare of autumn red lying on the floor. He peered at the coat from the window as he scanned the rest of the room. Akiha’s coat was lying carelessly on the floor, but other than that the room was empty. He knew Akiha wouldn’t just leave her coat lying on the floor like that. He cursed as he bounded from her ledge and headed back into town.
There was one Servant would have found out about Akiha and did this. One woman twisted and crazy enough to use a scared girl in need like that for her own gain for the Grail. Not to mention she’d like Akiha for the same reasons Archer had been attracted to her in the first place.
“Damn you Caster,” Archer hissed as he headed to Kotomine’s Church, where he knew Caster had taken up as a second base at this point so Kuzuki wouldn’t find out what she was doing.
******She was freezing. The ice had crept into her veins and was spreading all through her body. She was shivering and gasping while her hands were bound above her head and she was standing bent over. She bit her lip to keep from crying out at the pressure that was building inside of her as more liquid slid down her thighs from her core.
“Such a proud girl to resist for so long,” the witch mused as she studied her captive. Caster was fascinated by how the ends of her raven hair were starting to turn a bright, burning red as she continued to resist the spell. Caster had been surprised to find the girl still a maiden and intact, but it would make this easier.
She was going to break the demon with pleasure to give into her impulses. However, watching the girl was something else entirely. Caster had dressed her in red and white, a white corset to lift small breasts with red laces and a red skirt lifted so Caster could see the girl’s body as she trembled under the pressure of the spell.
Caster would go after Saber next after she broke the demon girl. She chuckled at the thought of being surrounded by such pretty girls she could play with all day long with their slim figures and exotic features. She watched as tears dripped down the girl’s intense blue eyes and smiled. She knew why the Archer had such fascination for the girl and snorted. He was trying to pretend he wasn’t noble but in fact he was, despite being a no-named hero from what she’d gathered who didn’t even remember who he was because of his Master’s Summons.
She wanted to hear the girl cry out in her first climax by someone that wasn’t her own hands so she increased the intensity of the spell. The demon girl arched her back and whimpered as her eyes flew open. Caster smiled and said, “You know, it would go easier on you if you actually enjoyed your . . .”
The spell bindings above the girl’s head shattered as the girl started breathing hard. The ends of her hair were glowing as she stood up. Caster scowled as the air around her began to burn. She waved her hand to produce a spell to protect herself, but the spell began to burn as well as slim, red threads attached to it and began to draw the mana out. The famous witch’s eyes widened as she realized what the demon was doing and stepped back.
The girl rose from being bent over, her chest still heaving as she bared tiny fangs in a twisted smile, her hair obscuring her eyes. Caster grinned as she prepared another binding spell as the girl’s reversion was almost complete. “Go ahead, my dear,” she urged quietly as the girl took a shaking step towards her.
Caster was going to let her feed on her ample mana a little to finish the process and waited for her new weapon to approach. However, the stained glass window shattered and in landed the red mantled Archer. “What?” Caster demanded, knowing that getting into combat alone with him would result in her death from their previous fight.
The man in red had been holding back that night because he wanted to test her and perhaps kill Saber’s Master. However he had ended up saving that boy and Caster cursed as she realized she was going to lose another play thing to him as he grabbed the demon girl. Caster raised a hand to cast her spell, but he was already out of the window.
She blinked and lowered her hand with a chuckle. Even if she didn’t have the demon girl at her side, she was so close to reverting that she would probably drain the other Servant when she did. It wouldn’t kill him, but it would put him and his brat of a Master at a severe disadvantage especially when she captured Saber.
So now, Caster was simply going to wait until she put her real plan into action.
******Archer held Akiha and cursed as the mana holding the costume together melted, leaving Akiha completely bare. She was gasping for air, small breasts heaving with each breath as he carried her back to Rin’s. He cursed when he saw the ends of her hair had turned a vibrant shade of red and Akiha had her head bowed to him as she continued to tremble. Yet she wasn’t attacking him as she quivered in his arms.
He traveled as fast as he could, but even with the near flight granted to him by his class it wasn’t the speed of a Rider or a Lancer class. Yet he was filled with a urgency he hadn’t felt in a long time. Most of the time during the loops he was left to fight impossible battles alone to protect Rin and Ilya. The one time he almost succeeded at his paradox, when he found out that killing his past self wouldn’t matter, he still had been ripped apart by countless swords to protect his younger self. Dying horribly again and again had filled Archer with a sort of apathy about everything.
Until now.
He knew he couldn’t keep Akiha, that there could actually be nothing between them, but he was going to help her now. He’d ensure her survival after he died in this War simply because she made him feel again, and not the shadow of feelings he’d felt each time for Rin. Even though he cared deeply for Rin, he came to terms that he’d never have his Rin back.
Archer reached Rin’s home and got Akiha inside. He took her to one of the guest bedrooms when he felt her hands shove at his mantle. “Akiha?” he asked as he sat her to the ground while she wrestled with the burial cloth. With a hiss, she shoved it off of his shoulders and let it slip to the floor.
He focused past Akiha’s shoulder, trying not to stare at her as she gripped his shoulders. However, he caught sight of something white and sharp in her mouth and turned towards her as she moved her head to his neck. Nimble fingers unlatched the collar there and it clattered to the floor before Akiha rose on her tip toes to place her lips at his throat.
“Wait, Akiha,” Archer began to warn but her breath was warm on his throat as her surprisingly strong hands clutched her shoulders. His own heart was pounding right as he felt the sharp prick at his pulse. He groaned and gripped her shoulders as warmth began to spill from his body as Akiha lapped greedily at his throat.
His body hardened in need as more blood – no mana – was drawn from his body to feed her. He arched back as he tried to think, tried not to desperately feel her lips and the languid warmth filling his body as she fed. No, Archer thought as he gently pulled himself away from Akiha. She backed away and lifted her hand to bloodied lips.
“No . . . no . . .” she whispered as more and more of her hair started to turn red and she started to tremble more. She lifted stricken blue eyes to his face and lifted her now bloodied hand towards him. “I need to be killed,” she said stonily before turning sharply away from him. Yet her whole body was shaking with fear. “I’ve become a monster,” Akiha whispered to herself, “I need to find nii-san and he can fulfill his promise.” She started to head for the door.
Archer reached out and grabbed her arm. He jerked her around to face him and said, “You’re not a monster Akiha and I’m not going to let you kill yourself or let your brother get his little sister’s blood on his hands.”
“I bit you. Only monsters drink blood,” Akiha said as she looked away from him.
Archer bent forward so she couldn’t avoid his gaze. He replied, “No, you’re craving mana and blood is an easy way to get it, but there’s another way.”
“What?” Akiha asked, her blue eyes widening, “There’s another way . . .”
Archer gently said, “You won’t be cold again, not like that anyway, Akiha.”
“Why are you helping me?” Akiha demanded, “I just drank your blood.”
He grinned at her and said, “Because you’re fun to tease and despite the icy bitch exterior, you’re a good person, Akiha.”
“I’m not an icy bitch,” Akiha retorted as she stared up at him, “But . . . what do we have to do?”
Archer felt his own cheeks flush as he answered at once, “Tantricrites.”
“I’m sorry?” Akiha asked with a frown.
Archer cleared his throat and said, “We . . . have to have sex and um . . . orgasm together.”
Akiha’s cheeks turned bright pink as she shrank back from him. He expected her to slap him, to call him a pervert again but instead she simply nodded. She walked up to him, her eyes still lowered. Archer waited for her to make a move, but she simply stood there with her body still trembling. She started breathing hard again, and he realized what little blood she managed to take wasn’t enough. If he didn’t do something she’d revert into a mana craving monster that couldn’t be stopped unless she was killed.
And he wasn’t going to let that happen.
He gently cupped her chin and tilted her face up to look at him. “Akiha?” he asked gently.
Akiha’s eyes flashed blue fire at him and she snapped, “It’s not like I’ve ever done this before.”
“What?” Archer managed as his own eyes widened as he stared down at her. “Stupid Shirou, I’m never letting you have sex with me again . . .”As teary aquamarine eyes peered up at him from behind the pillow.
Well . . . damn it, he thought as he silently cursed. Akiha snapped, “I’m not some cheep whore you know! I have morals and I’m not just going to sleep with anyone that comes around.”
Archer shook his head and said, “It’s not that, Akiha. Just having your first time being a mana transfer . . . You deserve better than that, that’s all. And we don’t have much time either.”
“I can take it,” Akiha said, her face softening as she awkwardly reached for him. “If it will keep me from becoming a monster, then I want this Archer.”
Archer stared at her and asked, “Promise not to get mad at me afterwards?”
“Why would I get mad at the only other person than my nii-san who’s wanted to help me?” Akiha asked quietly as her long, slim fingers caressed his cheek.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He leaned into her touch and bent forward. He cupped her cheek and said, “I’ll make this as good for you as I can, Akiha.” Then he bent his head to brush his lips against hers.
Her mouth was hesitant against his and their lips weren’t getting a good lock. He leaned forward more and guided her face to better kiss her. She gave a tiny cry but was responding by tentatively moving her lips against his. He stroked her cheek with his thumb as he parted her lips with his own. He felt her cheek warm against his finger as he slid his tongue into her mouth.
His head swam at the taste of her, spicy and sweet at the same time with a hint of malt. He coaxed her tongue to move against his as they kissed. Her arms moved to wrap around him as they kissed, Akiha quickly adapting to move her lips against his. Archer’s own need rose as he began to trail his hands down her cool body. Akiha gasped against his lips as his palms found her small breasts.
He moved his lips away from hers to look down at her. She was flushed panting while she looked up at him with her tear streaked face and now hazy blue eyes. Archer reached up to gently pull her white hair band out of her hair and set it down on the nightstand to watch as her raven and crimson hair spilled around her slim body. He wanted to know what she’d looked like with all of her hair that vibrant shade with her blue eyes. It had to be her true hair color when she was fully awakened and her body working at its peak.
His eyes moved from her long, slim neck to her small, firm breasts. She frowned a bit, her cheeks grew even pinker as he looked her over. He admired her long, toned slim legs, as if Akiha was a dancer of some sort before moving back to her breasts again. “I know they’re small,” she mumbled as she looked down at the floor.
Archer moved to take off his armor and let it fall to the floor as well before tilting her face back up to his. “So?” he asked before guiding her to the bed.
“Well, I thought men liked larger breasts,” Akiha said quietly as she sat on the bed, her eyes still down cast, “Especially Nii-san.”
Archer smiled at and said, “Well, some men are stupid and you’re beautiful, Akiha.” He lowered himself to his knees to be even with her breasts. Her dark pink nipples were already hard and he rubbed his thumbs against them. She gasped, her lips parting as she pressed into his hands as he rubbed his thumbs gently over her nipples. She arched back, her swanlike neck curved as her hair spilled down her body as she clutched Archer’s shoulders.
He took her right breast in his hand and lowered his lips to her left nipple. He could hear her heart pounding as he gently kissed her nipple. Akiha gripped his shoulders and gave a tiny cry right as he flicked his tongue over the hard point. “A-a-archer,” she gasped as she fell onto the bed with her hands clinging onto his shoulders. He moved to lie beside her as he continued to lave her breasts.
“It’s okay, Akiha,” he whispered against his skin as he began to suck on her hungrily, moving his hand between her thighs.
She looked away, her cheeks flushing even more as he rested his hand on her thigh. She was now gripping the sheets as she attempted to press her legs together. “What . . . what are you doing?” she demanded as he moved his hand slowly up her thigh to the juncture of her body. She reached for his hand but he maneuvered so she couldn’t grab it.
He switched breasts right as his fingers grazed a smooth slit. He smiled to himself as he found Akiha completely bare under his touch and the skin already slick there. She protested again, “What are you doing, Archer?”
“Getting you ready,” he said against her skin as he realized why Akiha was already soaked and cursing Caster yet again. If he would have had time he would have kissed and caressed her body until she was begging with need. However, they were on borrowed time because of his blood. He had to give her a more concentrated source of mana soon.
Akiha’s voice quivered as she stated, “You can just go ahead and do what you need to do. We don’t have time for such things.”
Archer ignored her as he ran his index finger over her slit before gently caressing wet folds with his fingers. Akiha made a tiny cry as she tried to move away from his hand as he found the tiny nub at the apex. He moved his finger around it until it began to swell ever so gently and Akiha was openly writhing. Then he used his fingers to hold her open as he began to rub the point of her need. She cried out and bucked towards his hand as she continued to try to move away from his hand as he continued to suck on her nipple.
As he teased her, he realized he was absently rubbing against her thigh to ease his own ache. He willed the leather pants off by releasing the mana, leaving himself bare against her. Her scent was already heavy in the air, making him even harder for her. He wanted her, pure and simple, and he was going to have her at least once even using mana as an excuse to claim her.
She was starting to tense underneath his fingers as the nub started to retract into her body. He spread her apart even more to rub faster but applying less pressure than before. Archer changed the angle of the caress and Akiha made another needy cry as her gorgeous thighs began to tremble. He released her breast to look at her.
“It’s okay,” he whispered to her as she was arching off the bed, her black and red hair spilling over the white sheets. Her dark pink nipples were hard and pointy on her small, firm and perky breasts and her perfect, sculpted thighs were shinning and slick with her lust. Her brilliant blue eyes were half closed as she continued to writhe until her whole body tensed. He felt her shutter and gave her one last flick of his finger before she began to scream and convulse towards his hand. He could feel her whole core collapsing as she surrendered while he continued to ease and make her climax linger until she was grabbing his wrist and pressing her thighs together.
He removed his fingers from her to move up her body until her core was even with his now painful need. He kissed her and nudged her thighs apart to settle between them. Archer hissed as he felt the wet, soft heat nearly scalding his hardness. He rubbed against her just to feel her, causing himself to gasp and shudder in response.
“A-archer,” Akiha whispered as she looked up at him.
He looked down at her and replied in a breathy voice, “Put your legs around me.”
“What?” she asked, her eyes widening as she stared up at him.
He groaned as he rubbed against her again. “Wrap your legs around my waist, Akiha,” he demanded.
She flushed, but those long, supple legs encircled his waist, opening herself up to him. He gasped as he pressed against her soft folds. Akiha winced as he began to press himself in. Archer groaned as he was slowly surrounded by painfully tight heat that gripped him like a vice and he was barely inside of her. He quickly met the resistance he’d been afraid of and Akiha was gritting her teeth with her eyes closed.
“Do it,” she said in a hoarse voice.
Archer bent his head down to kiss her, lifted his thighs and thrust home.
He gasped as he was painfully surrounded to the hilt by her. Akiha was panting as she gripped his shoulders with her long nails. Archer was trying to catch his breath as well and he kissed her ever so gently, smelling salt as well as blood. He opened his eyes to see tears spilling quietly down Akiha’s cheeks. Archer lay still, feeling her body slowly relax around him until she wasn’t crushing him from within and wiped her tears from her face.
“I’m sorry,” he moaned as he glided his hips up, gasping at the friction surrounding and caressing him. Akiha gripped his shoulders as he began to thrust within her and he burrowed his head in the crook of her slim neck. It had been far too long since he had something like this, something beautiful to hold him and ease his pain and need. He held her close as lightning started to sizzle along his spine as pressure started to build low in his body, racing up to spill into her.
He slowed his thrusts and made them more shallow which made Akiha gasp and arch towards him. Her fingers dug into his back, the pain spiking the pleasure even higher as she began to meet him tentatively. Yet the pressure at the base of his need was threatening to explode and he needed her to join him when he let go. He slid his hand between their bodies to stroke her weakness, causing Akiha to cry out loudly and move faster against him.
She was beginning to tighten around him and he arched his back to get even deeper inside of her. Lightning was now raging down his spine as he gasped and just began to thrust harder and harder. The pressure was building even more until his vision began to blur and he closed his eyes. He felt Akiha tighten even more before she gave a loud cry and Archer bucked and thrust hard inside of her. He moaned as his vision flashed white, his body shuddered and spilled inside of her until he was weak and shaking.
He felt his circuits flare and pour mana through the open conduit as he spilled inside of her. His heart was pounding and his vision was blurry as he felt weakened. He managed to roll off Akiha so he wouldn’t crush her as he collapsed to the bed. He opened his eyes to see Akiha looking at him, and her hair had turned completely red.
He gave her a smile as he reached out and languidly touched her hair. “I like it,” he said before looking at her. He frowned when he saw the blood staining her white thighs and his pearly seed trickling from her bloody slit. Archer moved to sit up when his vision blurred, his head swam and his limbs went weak.
“Archer!” Akiha cried out as she reached for him.
He opened an eye and said, “Give me a moment and I’ll give you the bed, Akiha.”
“No,” she said quietly as she curled up beside him, her head resting on his shoulder. Her eyes seemed even more intense beside her crimson hair as she rested against him. “No, I want you to stay with me.”
Archer’s chest tightened as he wrapped his arm around the young woman and held her close. He closed his eyes and cursed the unfairness of it all. He couldn’t reply because he didn’t know what to tell her, so instead he gave himself the moment and just held her.
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Originally Posted by Elf
