Saber stared at Shirou. Perhaps sensing his changed disposition, she chose to take defense rather than offense.
That was fine with Shirou.
“Hah!”
He stepped forward and slashed with his sword. It was a simple horizontal strike.
“Hmph! Naïve!”
Saber shifted her sword to parry it. At the same time, she stepped forward with a thrust, no doubt intending to punish Shirou for the failed attack.
But her sword never connected.
“What?”
The sight of her body moving forward, the feeling of her sword shifting the air, the sound of her feet making minor adjustments. A stream of information flooded Shirou’s mind in an instant, and his body made the necessary adjustments.
Everything operated on vectors. Forces. Direction. Strength.
The human form could only attack in so many ways. Could only parry in so many ways. Even if practically limitless, they were theoretically finite. It was why counters existed.
And at the moment, enhanced as he was, Shirou could see it all.
In the moment before Saber parried, Shirou twisted his wrist and shifted his weight. The horizontal slash sprung up in an arc at the last second, forcing Saber’s sword wide. No matter if she possessed A-ranked strength or agility, the completely unexpected change caused her to become off-balance.
“Hah!”
Shirou stepped forward and thrust forward with his left hand. A jab.
Saber’s eyes widened and she stepped back. Because of it, Shirou’s jab fell short… or so it seemed. With his left hand outstretched, Shirou’s center of gravity shifted. And with that shift came a change in momentum. Borrowing that change, Shirou slipped to Saber’s right side and closed the gap between them. Now almost face to face, Saber’s two-handed grip on her sword became a liability.
Saber, surprised and curious until that point, became serious. If she was holding back out of respect, at that moment she recognized Shirou as a proper opponent. Since her sword was occupied, Saber quickly headbutted Shirou. At such a range, even with his advanced senses and reactions, he was caught off guard.
A burst of pain shot through Shirou’s nose and the strike to Saber’s ribs he intended was aborted as he instinctively reached towrads his nose.
Saber took that hesitation and then shoulder-checked Shirou, ramming him in his chest.
He coughed and staggered back. A gap opened once again.
With room to move, Saber returned her sword to its ready position and slashed out at Shirou.
Over a thousand calculations whirred through Shirou’s mind. In the end, he flipped through the air, jumping out of range.
Saber’s sword cut harmlessly through the air. However, the moment she noticed that Shirou had left the ground, she stepped forward.
Words were no longer necessary. Even if she would chastise Shirou for such an act, it would give him the time to react. Therefore, better to teach him with his body.
Saber’s sword lashed out towards Shirou’s defenseless body. Still in the middle of a flip, it would be impossible to avoid it… or so she thought.
Shirou realized his flaw earlier.
Mind and body. While it enhanced his instincts, it simultaneously restricted them. Too much control led to selection… or rather, in selecting what to focus on he omitted other information.
That time, he allowed his body to respond naturally and simply instructed it.
From the air and sound, he could tell that Saber’s blade approached. His sword would not arrive in time to parry.
So he didn’t.
As Saber’s blade cut towards his exposed back, Shirou twisted ever so slightly. With that twist, the edge of the blade that would haave torn him in half missed, and instead he got the flat of the blade.
The sudden change in force caused Saber to almost lose her grip on the sword as it lurched. She stepped forward with it, however, and then pulled it out of the way.
Shirou landed at that moment and swung his sword at Saber’s head.
Realizing his actions, Saber swung her sword as well.
The two bamboo blades collided in mid-air.
Was it because of the force behind each blow? When the swords collided, they shattered.
For a moment, the particles floated in the air, as if they forgot gravity existed. However, they soon fell to the ground, landing with soft thuds.
Saber stared at Shirou and then said, “You are quite skilled, Shirou. Or rather… you learn fast. Is that a result of your unique physique?”
Shirou lowered the remains of his blade and closed his eyes. Countless sensations were still coursing into his mind, a stream of data that didn’t stop. However, his mind was adapting. The circuits he forged and his body’s natural processes reinforced by his magecraft were shoring up his flaws in the process.
“Somewhat,” Shirou eventually said. “Part of it is magecraft. The other part is… complicated.”
How could he explain to Saber that he not only reinforced his body to keep up with her but that he connected his central nervous system to his circuits to forge artificial muscle memory that could respond to a thought, as well as take advantage of subconscious instincts to respond?
“Well,” Saber said while looking at the pieces on the ground. “Whatever it was, your combat prowess increased by a vast amount. Although not quite at the level of a Servant, you could indeed survive for quite some time.”
Shirou opened his eyes. “Only survive?”
Saber smiled. “With time, that may change. Unfortunately…” She glanced at the fragments ground. “It appears that training will have to cease for the day.”
“…Who says it has to?”
Shirou held out his hands and projected another pair of shinai.
Saber raised an eyebrow. “…It seems you are a man of many skills, Shirou.”
“Versatility is my forte.” Saying that, Shirou tossed a shinai towards Saber. At the same time, he swept the remains on the floor off to the side with a burst of wind, copied from invisible air.
Saber’s other brow raised. “Indeed. That wind is similar to the one around my blade, is it not?”
“Again, complicated. But let’s go.” Shirou raised his sword. “I think I’m getting the hang of this. By the time morning arrives, I should be as good or better than you.”
“A bold claim, Shirou.” Saber raised her sword as well. “Let us see if you can back up those words.”
===
When the sun rose and cast its light upon the Emiya household, Shirou was drenched in blood and sweat. Sometime in the middle of the sparring session with Saber, both of them had switched over to live weapons, her with Invisible Air and him with a projected copy.
Saber stared at Shirou and gave an approving nod. “You are strong, Master.”
“Thanks.” Shirou let out a long sigh and stretched his back. Blood stained his clothes and the dojo floor, but it was worth it.
Wait.
“Oh crap. Sakura’s going to be here any minute.”
“Hm?” Saber raised an eyebrow. “Ah, your friend?”
Shirou glanced at the blood and sweat staining the dojo floor and groaned. “Argh, she’s going to kill me if she finds out I’ve been acting so recklessly. Damn.”
At that time, the doorbell rang.