Chapter Twelve
Unlikely Saviors
Archer once again had the phone cradled between his ear and his shoulder as he lifted the lid to the rice cooker. Steam rolled up in pale gray waves and filled the room and the fluffy, white kernels inside were carefully prodded with a spoon. The dial tone was loud in Archer’s ears as he waited for the click and a familiar voice to answer.
“Hello, Emiya Residence,” Sakura’s voice answered after the fourth ring. There was a slight, breathy quality to it, meaning she probably had to run to the phone to answer it in time.
Archer answered, “Hey Sakura.”
“Oh, Archer,” Sakura replied with a tiny sigh.
He said, “Not who you were hoping for?”
“Well, you know I don’t mind it when you call, and you don’t visit often enough with Nee-san gone, but . . .” Sakura cut the sentence short with another low sigh.
Archer said, “Saber’s late and you were hoping that she was calling.”
“It’s down right eerie when you do that, Archer,” Sakura said before there was a subtle shift over the other line.
Archer nodded and said, “That’s why I’m calling. She’s okay, Sakura. I invited her to dinner.”
“Oh?” Sakura said as her voice rose in a light lit.
He nodded and said, “I’d promised Rin that I’d keep track of her while she was gone and I ran into her in town. Since she’s been so distant since ever . . .”
“Sempai said you were going to try to help her,” Sakura said with a chuckle, “You know, you don’t have to keep secrets anymore. It’s only going to hurt you in the long run.”
“Old habits die hard, Sakura. Besides, I didn’t want you to worry,” Archer answered.
There was another exasperated sigh and Sakura said, “I’d worry more when I’m catching you in a lie, but thanks for calling me.”
“Well it was rather spontaneous and took a while to convenience her to come with me,” Archer replied, “I should have called sooner.”
Sakura said, “Next time don’t let it happen again. Still, thank you for helping her.” Her voice softened and said, “I . . . It’s been hard.”
Archer frowned and switched off the rice cooker. He replied, “I know. For all of you.”
“Except Rider. She’s thriving,” Sakura said brightly.
Archer grinned and said, “Of course. This world holds wonders and possibilities she couldn’t have in life.”
“Still, please take care of her,” Sakura said, her voice softening again.
He nodded and said, “I will.”
“Thank you,” she said with another sigh.
He said, “You’re welcome. Now you’d better get back to the kitchen or the alfredo sauce you’re working on is going to scorch.”
“Damn! Talk to you later, Archer and don’t be a stranger, but I have to go . . .” she said before the line clicked.
Archer set the cordless back into its cradle before going back to the miso soup he was preparing. Luckily he had all of the things in his pantry and refrigerator to make his specialties. Despite all of his travels and apparent mastery of various cooking styles, he was still the best at preparing Japanese food with Western food being his second best. Even now his Chinese wasn’t on par with Rin’s, even though the rest of his culinary skills were beyond Sakura, Shirou, and Rin’s.
Then again, I’m older and have more experience, he thought wirily as he grabbed a few eggs and a mixing bowl. As the delicate shells were cracked, he could hear the washing machine and the shower still running. He had started with Saber’s street clothes and would put them in the dryer and tend to her uniform next since it needed to be washed on a different cycle. He figured either Saber would be in the shower for quite some time scrubbing herself to, mentally more than anything, rid herself of Gilgamesh’s taint, or be as quick as possible.
Either way the food was going to take some time to prepare and he wasn’t going to start boiling water for tea until he heard the shower go off.
The eggs were rapidly beaten before flower and cabbage were added to the mix to create a thick slurry. Archer poured the mixture on a heated pan and automatically it began to sizzle, the eggs erupting in golden yellow bubbles. It wasn’t long before the edges were turning a golden brown and needed to be flipped to cook the other side. The process was repeated until the bowl was empty and several of the flat omelets were on a plate he promptly covered to keep warm.
In the washroom, the shower shut off and Archer turned on the burner with the tea kettle in it. Flames erupted in a brilliant blue wash before gentling to yellow and orange with their sapphire hearts. The tea pot was grabbed and Archer stared at his rather impressive cache of tea to figure out what to fix. Well, Liver Disaster is out, he thought dryly as he paused between Earl Grey, Oolong, Green, and Chamomile tea leaves in their tightly sealed glass jars.
Deciding on the Chamomile, he reached for the marked jar and opened it. He carefully measured enough for a pot with four cups right as the tea kettle began to whistle shrilly. Steam tumbled out of the spout for the tea kettle as the clear water poured into the pot. Almost immediately the almost fruity scent of the herbal tea wafted in the air and Archer closed his eyes to breathe it in.
Soft footsteps approached and Archer opened his eyes to see Saber standing there. Emerald eyes were slightly downcast as small hands gripped the gray fabric of the borrowed T-shirt she was wearing. Her golden hair had simply been braided back and he noticed that it had grown since she “arrived” here. His shirt hit her right at the knee and the shorts he’d given her hit her at the ankle. The borrowed clothing was awkward on her petite frame, but it Archer couldn’t deny that she looked rather adorable dressed in his clothes.
He moved to the kitchen table, pulled out a chair, and said, “It’ll still be a few minutes on the food, but the tea should be ready shortly.”
“Thank you,” Saber said before she sat down, her hands resting calmly on the table. Her eyes lit up and she looked around at the food. She pressed her lips together and said, “Your culinary skills are something to be envied.”
He turned back to the meal he was preparing and said, “Well, things have changed quite a lot since the Dark Ages, and cooking technology is one of them.”
“I imagine so,” Saber said in a soft voice as she fell quiet again. Out of the corner of his eye, Archer saw the petite blond sitting almost stiffly in her chair with her hands gripping each other hard enough to turn her knuckles white. She’s trying to keep herself in check, he thought sadly as he tossed a good variety of vegetables in his wok.
He poured her a cup of the Chamomile tea, added sugar and cream, and presented it to her. She stared up at him and took the cup. “Be careful, it’s still rather hot,” he said before turning back to his work.
“Thank you,” Saber said again, the phrase starting to grate slightly on Archer.
The rest of the meal was prepared in that same stiff silence and Archer served the food before sitting across the table from his guest. Chopsticks were lifted and the meal started in that same awkward stillness. However, Saber’s eyes were alight as she rapidly moved from dish to dish.
Smiling to himself, Archer ate as he savored the properly seared tuna he had prepared as part of the meal. “May I have some more?” she asked as she held out her plate to him, a faint blush tinting her cheeks.
“Well, I’m glad that you enjoy my cooking this much,” he said as he filled her rice bowl.
She bit her lip and replied, “It is a vice of mine.”
“As vices go, it’s not really a bad one,” he said as he handed her a full plate, “Besides, I enjoy cooking.”
Saber shook her head and said, “You are an enigma, Archer.”
“I know. It’s an annoying trait,” he said with a tiny smirk as he sipped his own cup of Chamomile tea.
Her eyes met his, and even now he was shocked at the clarity of their green depths. She said, “You were not a heroic spirit.”
“So you remembered that from the forest around Ilya’s castle,” Archer said as he captured a snow pea with his chopsticks.
Saber nodded and answered, “Yes. You even walked on the Shadow when Assassin was staying clear of it. I remember calling you out about it.”
“And you’re right, I wasn’t a heroic spirit in the way that you, Lancer, Berserker, or even Goldy were,” Archer replied with a shrug.
Saber frowned and asked, “Then what were you?”
“A Counter Guardian,” Archer said before putting the snow pea into his mouth.
The frown grew even deeper as she asked, “What is that? I believe I have heard of the term before from Rin, but I apologize for not understanding fully.”
“Don’t apologize. Basically I was an idiot who wanted to save a group of people, called out to the world, traded my service for power, got betrayed and executed only to end up cleaning up after Humanity after my death. And by ‘cleaning up’, I mean slaughtering survivors of disasters to protect the rest of humanity,” he said as he gripped his chopsticks harder than usual.
He looked away and said, “Well, I can tell you that the road to Hell really is paved with good intentions.”
“. . . I understand,” Saber said in a soft voice, “I thought I could save my people as well, but then it turned out that I was a poor choice. So I was trying to correct that by winning the Grail.”
He said, “Even if you could have changed the course of time, what happened during your life would not have changed. It would have just created another time line.”
“I still had to make the attempt, at least I thought so at first,” Saber said once her plate was cleared.
Archer looked at her and said, “But things change.”
“Yes, they do. I hated what I had to become, I hated what I was forced to be, but I continued for what? Nothing but what you see sitting before you. A confused girl wearing a man’s clothing that has no place in this world,” Saber said as her eyes narrowed and her fist
clinched.
He met her eyes and said, “Then make a place.”
“I am not sure if I want to do so,” she said as she looked down, “My sins have become too great.”
Archer sighed and said, “I don’t think that’s the case.”
“I do not deserve this,” Saber replied in a soft voice.
Archer stared at her and said, “Neither do I, but I’m not letting it go. I’ve seen and done things that would send most people screaming for a padded room. However I’m not going back to that Hell, and I’m going to make sure that you are not going to go there either.”
******
Archer stared at the tiny figure curled on his futon, light from the streets reflecting in her golden hair. Saber was curled up, one hand gripping his pillow as she slept. Her brow was furrowed and she was twitching slightly in her sleep. Sighing, he reached down and adjusted the comforter around her and stroked her hair. She quieted, but the death grip on the pillow did not loosen.
He looked at the fallen king sleeping in his bed, she had started to fight fatigue as he washed dishes, and he insisted that she stay here. After a slight argument, he had given up his bed for her with plans to take the couch. He made sure that her uniform was hung up waiting for her and her street clothing was neatly folded on the chair in his room. A quick call to Emiya Shirou had been enough to calm the Emiya household’s worry, and Shirou even thanked him.
Even though I really haven’t done anything yet, he thought dryly as he left his room to head for the couch. Still, I got something out of her. It’s a start, he thought as he sank onto the couch. One hand grabbed for the pillow he’d gotten for himself before he managed to lay his long body on it. Of course, his feet were dangling off the edge, but that was to be expected.
Then the man formerly known as Emiya Shirou closed his eyes and dreamed once again of King Arthur Pendragon for the first time in years.
******
The next morning Saber awoke on her own, grabbed her things and started to head out of the apartment. Sunlight was just starting to break through the sky, but she did not want to burden Archer anymore after last night. She would go to work, work her shift, and return to the Emiya household as always. Maybe it is enough that he understands, she thought as she started to sneak out of the apartment.
She paused at the sight of the large man sort of sprawled on the couch, his feet dangling from the side. His blanket had fallen off during the night and he had one arm thrown in abandon above his head while the other was pillowing his head. White hair was falling against his forehead, the change making him look younger and more vulnerable. Biting her lip, Saber grabbed the blanket before draping it over him, experiencing an odd tightness in her chest.
She took one last look at him before rushing out of the apartment back to her unwanted life.
Originally Posted by Hermitfold
Reply With Quote
