Fate: A Dragon's Journey

Haruki settled on summoning Artoria for two reasons—her ideals and her strength.

The former he disliked a little, but he couldn't deny her usefulness against Semiramis. She would butt heads with Semiramis as she lived her life with chivalry and honor.

The latter was just brilliant. With his magical energy, her stats could be near max. Once she got the Avalon, not even True Magic would be able to harm her.

His victory would be all but guaranteed.

But, there was a tiny problem with his plan.

'Avalon.'

The artifact capable of granting Artoria absolute defense as well as being the catalyst to summon her—it was inside Shirou's body at this very moment.

'Time to yeet Shirou, I guess.'

Shirou could still be a hero of justice without the Avalon. Despite understanding the root of Shirou's trauma and his desire, Haruki had no qualms about stealing Avalon from him.

'Medea, any progress on the mystic code spear?'

"I have finished the design and abilities. I can make it during the night."

'Go home and work on it now.'

He had plans to explore the dungeon tonight. The lack of a weapon would drastically increase the difficulty.

"There is a servant nearby. Thus, I cannot leave your side."

Haruki sighed and got up from his seat. His teacher, Souichirou Kuzuki, turned around and fixed his glasses. The former assassin gave Haruki a stare bereft of any emotion.

"I'm not feeling well, Sensei. Can I rest in the infirmary?"

"You may."

Like other teachers, Souichirou also knew what had happened to his mother. With Haruki's near top academic results, Souichirou allowed him freedom for a few days.

Haruki took his bag and headed outside.

"Wait, where are you going?"

Rin stopped him in his path. Chin high, arms crossed—she gave him a proud tsundere look. Haruki groaned inwardly. This tsundere was making his life difficult for no reason.

"Gonna sleep in the infirmary. Don't worry, I'll be here after school."

"Good," Rin looked away with a huff and murmured to herself, "Why does Sakura like this jerk?"

Haruki stopped himself from cursing her seven generations and sighed. "Hey Rin, do you love Sakura?"

The question caught Rin off guard. She put her hands on her waist and leaned forward. Subjected to her curious gaze, any high schooler would be flustered and lose their calm. But Haruki just smiled, maintaining eye contact with her.

"What kind of question is that, Hayashi-kun?"

"Can't answer a simple question? As expected, all members of the Tohsaka clan are socially inept on top of being losers."

Rin pointed her finger at him and almost cast Gandr to blow him into oblivion. Every word that came out of his mouth triggered her.

Haruki revealed a broad smirk at her frustration. He was having a good time making her explode. "I'm Sakura's friend, remember? She'll be sad if you hurt me?"

Gritting her teeth, she suppressed her boiling anger. A magus wouldn't fall for such an obvious blackmail attempt. Thinking, she managed to calm down.

"Master, what are you doing? Won't it worsen our relationship with her?"

Medea had no idea what he was trying to achieve with Rin.

'I was having some fun… my bad.'

"What do you want?" Rin asked, glaring at him.

"I'll be honest. I want you to make up with Sakura."

It was the only thing he wanted, which would make Rin give up on winning the Holy Grail. Bonded with her sister, Sakura might give up on him… in the worst-case scenario, her feelings for him will soar higher.

'I have no choice but to accept her.'

It wasn't like he didn't find Sakura beautiful. It was far from the truth as she was one of the most beautiful girls in his life. Sweet and gentle, yet stronger than anyone he knew. Still, his care for her only stretched until the limits of a brother, or so he believed.

"Are you sure about that?" Arch questioned softly. "What if Sakura left you for someone else? Would you still say that?"

Haruki felt like a boulder fell on his head. The mere thought of Sakura being with someone made his skin red.

'When did I become so possessive?'

"Ufufu. Perks of being a dragon."

Arch's playful explanation made him sigh. Being a dragon brought a fair share of troubles.

Rin waved her hand in his face. "Sleeping?"

"I was thinking about possibilities."

"Possibilities?"

"The chances of Sakura becoming a Lesser Grail in this war."

"Sakura and Lesser Grail? What do you mean?"

With a look of utter confusion, she questioned. She couldn't find any relationship between the two. Even Archer was confused.

As Haruki was about to reply, the classroom door behind him opened and Kuzuki appeared.

"What are you two doing?"

Rin clutched her head. "Ah, Sensei. My head is throbbing!"

Writhing in agony, Rin gave a top-notch performance. The former assassin easily saw through her tricks, but he didn't point it out.

"Hayashi, take Tohsaka to the infirmary."

"Roger, Sensei."

Haruki took Rin's hand and dragged her toward the infirmary.

***

Fate/Stay Night feels incomplete without Artoria. So summoning Nero and other servants will be after the Holy Grail arc.