Rin stumbled.
Shirou quickly grabbed her before she could and helped her stand up. Rin gave him a scrutinizing gaze. “You-“
Shirou blinked and acted dense. “Wow. So the aloof school idol secretly cares about her kouhais enough to treat them as siblings. I’m impressed.”
Rin had a complicated expression on her face, as if she didn’t know whether to believe Shirou’s words.
He was confident in his poker face though. Unlike the original Shirou, he was always passively aware of every aspect of his body after the integrated circuits. Faking an emotion wasn’t hard.
“…You’re weird, Emiya-kun. Really weird.”
“Says the magus.”
“Exactly. So you should know that you’re really weird.”
Shirou shrugged and continued walking. Rin did as well.
“So,” Shirou said. “Any particular reason that brought Sakura up?”
“…Not particularly? I just heard from others that she’s been coming over to your house for the past few years. Walking back with you reminded me of what she might think if someone like Saber showed up.”
“Thanks for the concern, Tohsaka, but it will be fine. Sakura’s understanding of things… although I guess Fuji-nee was right after all.”
“Hm? Are you talking about Fujimura-sensei?”
Shirou nodded. “Yeah. She said that Sakura would have a hard time finding a boyfriend at this rate since she keeps visiting me. I guess she has a point if even you’ve heard about it.”
Rin coughed. “W-Well it was just in passing.”
“Even so, that’s serious. …Mm, but I guess it doesn’t matter too much now.”
“Huh?” Rin came to a stop.
Shirou turned to look at her. “What? It’s not too much of a surprise, is it?”
“…Not that. Don’t you sense it?”
Rin stared at the space in front of them.
In their conversation, they had arrived at the crossroads. One path led to the residential district where Shirou lived and the other led to the Western styled homes where Rin lived.
For a moment, he thought that Rin might have stopped because it was time to go their own ways. However, it seemed that something else was happening.
Rin glanced at Shirou and then said, “Right. I forgot. You’re not a magus.”
“…Is it another Master?”
Behind him, Shirou heard Saber advance. In a few moments, the king of knights had stepped in front of Shirou, her sword raised. “Be cautious, Master. A powerful Servant is approaching.”
“A powerful Servant…?” Shirou couldn’t sense anything. Was it because he didn’t feel any sort of danger? Or soemthing elese? Either way, he decided to be cautious about the situation.
“Good evening, Miss Tohsaka.” A girl’s voice echoed in the air.
Rin grit her teeth. “Einzbern…”
“Einzbern?” Saber asked. A complicated expression flickered on her face.
Shirou knew why. He looked towards the source of the voice.
A girl emerged from the darkness. Pale skin and white hair, unblemished like fresh snow. Crimson eyes peered out at them beneath white bangs. She was dressed in a purple coat and skirt, along with a purple furry hat. After glancing at Rin and Saber, the girl turned her attention to Shirou and smiled. “Onii-chan. I’m glad that you managed to summon your Servant.”
Rin frowned. “Onii-chan?” She looked at Shirou and said, “Do you know her, Emiya-kun?”
Shirou was quiet. “…Not personally. But let’s say the relationship is… complicated.” He muttered it softly enough that Ilya couldn’t hear it. However, Saber and Rin did.
Rin’s frown deepened while Saber’s complicated expression turned into confusion.
The girl pinched the edges of her skirt and curtsied. “Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Illyasviel von Einzbern.” She straightened and said, “But you can call me Ilya, Onii-chan.”
Shirou nodded and said, “Right. Well, you can call me Shirou, Ilya. That’s only fair, right?”
“Fair…?” Ilya muttered and for a moment a flash of killing intent appeared in her eyes. However, that quickly vanished, replaced with a childish smile. “I guess so! Then… it’s only fair that our Servants fight, isn’t it? Berserker!”
In response to Ilya’s voice, a guttural roar resounded. It was inhuman, one that no human or beast could make. Not because it was a sound that defied human expectation, but because the source was someone neither completely human or beast. A mad roar, one from a perfect killing machine.
The ground trembled as a towering figure appeared behind Ilya.
Rin instinctively took a step back. “So powerful…! That’s Berserker…?!”
Saber tightened her grip on her sword. “Master. It would be best for you and Rin to retreat.”
Shirou shook his head. “It’s fine. If Ilya’s being nice about it, why should we be rude?”
“Emiya-kun!” Rin turned to Shirou and said, “You can’t be serious?!”
“Of course I am.” Shirou stared at Berserker and analyzed the Servant, mulling over what he knew.
Berserker. True Name: Herakles. A monster that had his insane stats enhanced even further by being summoned as a Berserker. While his most powerful abilities were sealed due to the madness, that didn’t mean he was unskilled. The techniques and martial arts he learned throughout his life were already instinctual. And coupled with that massive stone axesword, he almost didn’t need technique.
“Better to fight here where there’s no risk for civilian casualties than anywhere else, after all. Ah, but you can leave if you want, Tohsaka. This is between Ilya and myself.”
“That’s right, Miss Tohsaka.” Ilya smiled and waved her hand. “You can run away now. Onii-chan and I don’t need a third wheel.”
Rin scoffed. “Hmph! And let a chance to get rid of the competition slide? As if, Einzbern.”
Ilya frowned. “Then-“
Before she could say anything else, silver streaks flew through the air towards Berserker.
The mad Servant roared and moved in front of Ilya to protect her. At the same time, Rin grabbed Shirou’s arm and started running. “Let’s go, Emiya-kun!”
“To-Tohsaka?”
Caught off guard, he didn’t have the chance to do anything but follow Rin.
At the same time, Saber charged forward, her sword cutting towards Berserker’s steel-gray skin. “Run, Master! I will hold him off!”
“You heard Saber! We have to leave, Emiya-kun! That Servant’s a monster!”
Shirou frowned and then stood his ground. Rin tripped as a result. She quickly got up however and then glared at Shirou. “What do you think you’re doing?”
The sound of clashing steel and explosions broke the tranquil night air. Saber was fighting off Berserker with the aid of Archer. However, even with her enhanced stats, Berserker was a powerful enemy. His Godhand made it so that she didn’t have a way to kill him. Not without releasing invisible air, at least, and that would lead to all sorts of problems.
A childish voice echoed through the air. “You’re really making me mad, Tohsaka.” Ilya had turned her attention towards them. A hint of madness reflected in her crimson eyes, showing that it wasn’t mere coincidence her Servant was Berserker.
“Damn,” Tohsaka muttered. “Maybe we should just take out Einzbern? But with that monster of a Servant…”
“Berserker! Hurry up and kill Saber so that we can deal with Tohsaka!”
The mad Servant roared and sped up in his attacks, as if enhanced another level.
Saber was forced back by a powerful blow. Her sword was knocked wide, leaving her vulnerable.
Berserker spun, pirhouetting like a ballerina, and then lashed out at Saber with a kick.
The Servant of the Sword managed to bring her blade up to block, but the force of the attack sent her flying back into a building.
With that, Berserker rushed towards Rin and Shirou. A few silver streaks shot out to stop them, but didn’t lessen Berserker’s charge.
A single instant. That was all the time needed for Berserker to close the gap. The mad Servant raised his axesword, his black hair flowing behind him like a lion’s mane.
Rin’s eyes widened.
Ilya’s face spread out with a gleeful smile.
As for Shirou…