To love a sword

Beta read by Shigiya and Paragon of Awesomeness.

.

.

.

-Sainan Park-

"Hah, it's too hot!" Walking in the blistering heat, the trio of Saki, Rin, and Aya sat on a bench at the park. All three were sweating profusely from the glaring sunlight soaked into their skin to the point where even having a parasol barely did anything to ward off the heat.

"Rin… why are we wasting our time walking though this infernal hellscape?" The blonde heiress asked, having her sweat wiped away by Aya with a damp towel. She was certain that if she stayed outside for even another five minutes, then not even the best sunscreen on the market would be enough to prevent her from getting a sunburn. Her dress was soaked with sweat and felt disgusting as it clung to her skin, and each breath felt like she was inhaling hot vapor. 

"We were in the process of designing Yuuki Emiya Shirou's butler outfit. You were adamant that it was best you speak with the designer yourself and work out the details in person rather than picking a set from the catalog. Once that was finished, you wished to enjoy a stroll through the park, and there was some cloud coverage at the time." Rin answered calmly, her face emotionless and her tone dutiful. Evidently the swordswoman was not suffering as much as her mistress due to her being more used to harsh conditions, which included hot weather. Having trained with the sword under the sun for hours on end throughout the years had made her body well-conditioned, and not sweat nearly as much compared to her two companions. 

"Why didn't I just have her driven to my house, then? The park by my mansion is much better shade even on days like today."

Was the heat getting to her that she forgot such a detail? Rin wondered… "She's hospitalized after getting hit by a bus earlier this week. That's why we went to the hospital." 

"..."

"Ah… right, thankfully only her leg got injured. Though you have to give her credit that she's still adamant on continuing her work. I can respect that kind of work ethic." 

Rin didn't want to voice it outloud, but she was pretty certain that the lady was so willing to help them even in her condition mainly because the hospital turned out to be owned by the Tenjoin family — so she most likely feared offending the girl. And on top of that, Saki had been upfront about being willing to fork out a rather substantial payment for this job, enough to accelerate the designer's retirement date by a good three years just for this single outfit. Sometimes Rin had to hold in a sigh at her mistress' behavior, as despite being so gifted with talent, Saki was astoundingly naive in some matters. 

"B-But at least we got it done in the end," Aya added, trying to cheer the heiress up. "You were very happy with the final design." 

"But of course! It took so much effort just to get him to agree to the whole thing in the first place, so you'd better believe I'm not willing to let this opportunity slip by and allow him to get away with wearing a simple run-of-the-mill suit without adding some of my own… ideas to it." She chuckled, giddy over the anticipation of seeing him go through with their promise. While he did mention that they would start as acquaintances and that only afterward would he give any consideration to her offer to become her butler, the heiress was extremely confident of her ability to impress him within a span of a single day. 

'He only needs to step foot inside the house once, and by the end of it I'll have him be more than happy to become my personal butler, whereupon he'll be delighted to find that I already have his own tailored suit ready for him so he can begin right away!'

A perfect plan with no holes whatsoever! While catching Emiya's attention had proven to be a bigger challenge than she ever expected even after she got over her shyness – especially when considering how easily every other boy at school folded at her looks alone without her even having to glance their way – he was still a boy at the end of the day! There had to be a limit to even his considerable willpower, and she swore to break through his defenses until she became the center of his world no matter the cost.

"Say, Rin, do you have any idea what Emiya might like? This is also the perfect opportunity to use the Tenjoin fortune to my advantage and impress him even further!" 

This was the single greatest advantage she held over everyone! Even that accursed Lala Deviluke who admittedly rivaled her in beauty, couldn't hope to ever reach the level of wealth her family held. She didn't know what relationship existed between those two, but whatever it was couldn't be love, and therefore they couldn't possibly be engaged! She refused to believe such a baseless lie! 'That harlot most likely took advantage of his incredible kindness and is lounging around!'

Saki continued to fume at the idea, feeling mostly rage but also a tinge of envy on how often she spotted those two together. Rin meanwhile hummed in contemplation, thinking carefully about the question asked by Saki about the best way to make use of the vast sums of wealth she had at her disposal in a manner that might actually impress Emiya. 

That question turned out to be far more difficult to answer than she would have liked. Yet her pride abhorred the idea of disappointing Saki with an 'I don't know' response or something outrageous that she was all but certain wouldn't work, so she dug deeper into her memories. Gathering every point of data she had accumulated regarding Emiya.

"A knife," Rin eventually blurted out automatically, earning herself a confused stare from both Saki and Aya. 

"A knife? Like an ancient katana used by a real samurai in the past? I remember my late grandfather having one in his collection that was particularly prized. Perhaps I can ask father to give m—"

"No, I mean a regular kitchen chef's knife or even a cleaver!" Rin hastily clarified, fearing that her mistress might do something irrational and cause major headaches for everyone in the family. It was honestly scary how she didn't even hesitate with the notion of giving away a priceless artifact handed down through multiple generations. 

'And I'm pretty certain that the katana which Saki-sama speaks of belonged to the head of the rival samurai family of the Kujō clan centuries ago, which my ancestor gave as a gift to the Tenjoin head at the time as a symbol of his victory and loyalty.'

"Why a plain old knife of all things? I feel like someone as good as he is with kendo would be very happy with an ancient katana." Aya asked, getting Saki to nod as she had the exact same question. 

Rin shrugged her shoulders, keeping her standard neutral yet stern expression as she decided to explain her reasoning. "That's just the kind of person I feel he is. The few times when I was able to cross blades with him, I always felt little to no pride whatsoever with each of his moves, even though his skill was utterly peerless. Every one of his techniques were strong and perfectly executed to the point that I found myself frustrated at how easy he made it seem. It was like gazing upon crystal clear flowing water, with not a single ripple to disturb the tranquil perfection… But at the same time, his swordsmanship lacked any trace of passion. This leads me to believe that even if he were to be presented with a truly marvelous sword, it wouldn't really mean anything to him, let alone achieve what you're trying to accomplish here, Saki-sama." 

""Passion?""

"It's… it's hard to explain with words, but that's the kind of sensation I get everytime the subject of kendo or the club comes up, even though I still want him to join. He has a monstrous talent to become the best sword practitioner in all of Japan, maybe even the entire world, but he doesn't seem to enjoy it at all. There is no drive behind his moves, and sometimes I even think they are hollow. At times it is frustrating to imagine that he will never bother to showcase his gift to the world. He has the ability to easily reach nationals and compete against top-level tournaments all across the world!" She clenched her hands, not mentioning what she found most disheartening was she felt was the ever-growing gap in skill between them even though he didn't even seem to practice! How? How was that his skill seemed to improve by the day despite him never training or making any effort to hone his skills, while she pushed her limits day and night to the point that even her own family grew unnerved at the intensity?

He was a mountain she needed to reach the summit of so she could finally stand on equal grounds with him. In a way, Yuuki Emiya Shirou acted as a beacon of light that gave her hope that she hadn't reached her limit and there was still more to the way of the sword for her to learn. Yet the more steps she took to climb this path, the further away the summit seemed to become, and even this journey was just her trying to have him acknowledge her. She couldn't begin to imagine what he might be capable of if he were to fight seriously, let alone go all out.

She wasn't good enough to warrant such effort. That was the simple, bitter truth.

Rin sighed again, moving away from these thoughts as more details about the redhead surfaced. "He smiled during the school festival, he seemed to have found enjoyment working at the cafe's bar and even regularly threw glances at us while we worked in the kitchen. His eyes were more judgmental at the food brought to the tables than any sword techniques I have used against him. He regularly brings a bento box to share with Momioka Risa and sometimes also Sawada Mio, this is relevant because the sight of the girls fervently enjoying his food have been the only other times I have ever seen him smile. No, in fact, I believe that was pride within his eyes whenever Risa complimented his food — a look he never showed me no matter how much I praised his swordsmanship. On lunch breaks, he tends to scroll through articles talking about various recipes and dishes and I even saw him checking out various wok pots at a store not that long ago." 

"..."

"..."

Both of the girls who'd been listening were rendered speechless, mouths hanging open as they looked at their mutual friend in shock. Rin however, did not notice their behavior and continued to speak.

"So other than cooking, I don't believe Yuuki Emiya Shirou has any other notable hobbies… Though I have heard his brother mention a forge but never got any details about that. I suppose it could be worth pointing out that he does read quite a few books in his spare time as well, but I believe he just does it to pass the time or out of boredom." Turning her head, the girl found the duo looking at her weirdly. "Huh? What's with those looks?" She asked them, tilting her head at the expression of amazement and disbelief written all over their faces. 

"Rin… you seem awfully familiar with Emiya's interests. Are you perhaps…" 

One possibility that Saki feared more than anything was that her dear friends might fall for the same person that she had given her heart to. Unlike Lala Deviluke or any other girls, she could not see herself becoming competitive with Rin and Aya, or treat them as rivals. They were far too precious to her and had been by her side every day since her early childhood.

"Ah, I think you're misunderstanding!" Rin hastily brought up her hands, taken aback at the incorrect conclusion these two had evidently reached. "I consider him as my rival and someone I will make sure falls for Saki-sama. Just because I know more about him than the average schoolmate of his doesn't mean I hold any feelings of attraction toward him. So rest assured, Saki-sama, you don't have to be worried about anything. I would never lie to you, and if I indeed had such feelings then I would have long since told you." 

Relief flooded the blonde's face at those words, perhaps she had been too hasty. Rin has been known to be a very observant person since an early age. So it made sense why she would notice so many details about Emiya. But a part Saki also felt disheartened as this only meant that she herself wasn't putting in enough effort to get to know him. 

As if reading her mind, Rin suggested an idea she believed would help to brighten her mistress' mood. "Why don't you have a date with him tomorrow? The weather is said to be less harsh than it is now, and will in fact be perfect for a picnic or spending a day at the amusement park." 

A faint blush formed onto Saki's cheeks as she heard those words. "I-I… That's a great idea! After being shell shocked by the Tenjoin family's unparalleled wealth, that will be the perfect opportunity to strike him with a date proposal! Oooo~hohohoho~!"

"We can further weaken his defenses by having the best chefs prepare a world class meal and propose an alliance with Yuuki Mikan to help us in our cause. As for his brother, merely have a world famous football player sign a ball and give it to him." 

"Will Mikan-chan even help?" Saki asked, cursing herself for not having ordered the designer to also make a cute dress for her future sister-in-law. Thankfully they still had time to go back to the hospital, and it wasn't like the staff would deny them entrance even beyond visiting hours. 

Rin nodded, "Absolutely, she is still a child. Divide and conquer, that is our battle plan, and so long as we stick to it, I assure you we will win no matter what!" 

Pleased at the plan of attack, Saki leaned against the bench as Aya continued to wipe away her sweat. It certainly sounded like an excellent idea, and putting it into practice soon sounded like it would make for an amazing experience.

"Hm?" She didn't know whether it was her eyes playing a trick on her or just a bug that flew by, but a strange small black dot appeared in the sky. Growing in size right before her eyes, gaining more attention from the heiress as she started to wonder if this wasn't the heat causing her to hallucinate. "Um… am I dreaming, or is that Emiya being carried through the sky by an angel?" 

Her shaky fingers were pointed up, tone filled with disbelief and shock as both the girls next to her turned their attention in the direction of her finger to verify this absurd statement. And much to their surprise, their mistress hadn't gone crazy, and it indeed looked to be Emiya with a blonde angel on his back rocketing through the sky at great speed followed by… a flying saucer? 

"Are they having a movie shoot done around here?" Aya commented, her question quickly being followed by a loud crash in the distance. All three of them looked at each other, wondering what the hell just happened. 

Standing on top of the bench, Rin tried to gleam into the distance, but the dense forest made it hard to see anything. "Strange, there hasn't been a notice of any filmmaking going on around here and I'm certain that there was no mention of Emiya being interested in acting, I would have known."

Her mind raced through countless possibilities and she couldn't come up with any explanation for this bizarre phenomenon. Soon, worry began to take hold as the chance that this wasn't an elaborate film shoot set started to take hold. 

W-We should go take a look—"

Her phrase got interrupted by a thunderous lightning strike right where Emiya and the angel seemed to have crashed, the girls all covering their ears while screaming with sudden fright. Saki nearly fell to the ground and would have hit her head if Rin hadn't been there to catch her. "R-R-Rin, something bad happened over there!" 

She pointed into the distance where smoke started to rise into the air. "That doesn't look right! Emiya might have gotten hurt!" 

Without wasting a second, she tried to leave only for Rin to pull her back by the scruff of her clothes. "Rin!?" 

"Forgive me, Saki-sama. But allowing you to go there is reckless and might very well lead to you getting injured. Aya, take Saki-sama back to the car with you, and have the driver take you both home right away!" She urged and pulled them towards the vehicle that was waiting for them at the park's entrance. 

"W-Wait! I can't accept this! I need to make sure he's alright as well, he already saved my life so I should do the same for him!" Unfortunately for the kendo practitioner, her mistress was more stubborn than usual. 

"I know you want to help him, but this is not the right time for it, my duty is to keep you safe and going there is something I cannot allow you to do. So please, trust me, I'll help Emiya in your stead if he's in any trouble." Still Saki wasn't fully convinced, forcing Aya to take the reins and pull her inside the car before she could protest once again and the driver immediately child-locking the doors. Rin grabbed a genuine katana from the trunk before the vehicle's tires screeched and it rushed off into the distance. 

With school restrictions and japanese safety laws, she couldn't carry any deadly weapon around so easily — leading the girl to always keep a shinai or wooden sword on her at all times for protection. But just in case, she requested the family's head to have her keep a real blade within the car for emergency purposes. 

And this moment definitely counted as an emergency. 

Rushing through the dense forest, Rin zoomed past the trees and various obstacles with grace worthy of a martial artist, growing increasingly worried as she spotted more signs of carnage. From burning embers rising to the sky to crushed trees in the distance, the possibility that Emmia was attacked by an unknown group settled in her mind. Her hands unconsciously clenched around the katana as she drew closer to the area. 

There was no way that he wasn't able to handle himself to some extent. His skills were leagues beyond hers, as proven by every aspect of his stance each time she saw him, let alone the few instances where she managed to at least briefly cross blades with him. But if, by some misfortune, he came up short and managed to get hurt, then her mistress would be devastated. "Shirou!" She shouted his name, unknowingly saying only his given name for the first time in her life, as soon as she reached a clearing.

Her face froze at the sight that presented itself before her eyes. Burnt figures lay everywhere on the ground. She couldn't make out any details of their faces, but they certainly looked like people whose entire bodies had been charred by what seemed to be an explosion. Her heart nearly skipped a beat as she feared that one of them might be him, a concept her mind instantly and fiercely rejected. Fortunately, it seemed she was right, as she spotted the redhead in the distance leaning against a tree. His appearance was less than ideal, his hair was far messier than usual, and had a few more streaks of white than she recalled. His face and clothes also had several black stains and slight burns, and his entire body looked beaten up.

'You're okay!' She jubilantly screamed within her mind, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders. But her relief didn't last, as the boy looked in her direction, showing an expression she had never seen on his face – fear and panic. 'Wait, he's not alone; there are others still present…' 

Multiple figures stood on the other side of the clearing, one of them Rin instantly recognized as the weird pervert who'd been repeatedly spotted hanging around the school, still wearing the same bone-themed cosplay. Yet she couldn't get a good view as her eyes saw the space before her suddenly turned white and crimson. A light so bright and sudden that it hurt her retinas, and also exuded a great deal of heat. Before she could react, someone grabbed onto her arms.

"Eh?" 

Another loud explosion followed as a beam of energy struck the area where Rin stood, decimating the surrounding trees into mere ashes.

{Break}

(Several minutes earlier)

"You're a lot shorter than I expected... Gid Lucione Deviluke."

It seemed stupid, yet every instinct told him that this little pipsqueak was the Emperor of the galaxy.

Hah... another absurdity of this world. Then again, he couldn't complain much; his own world also had its fair share of strangeness.

"Boy, you sure are vastly different from what I had in mind," Gid spoke, his arms crossed as a large twisted grin resided on his face. Kicking away the two nearest charred corpses of his terrorist enemies, the emperor's attention remained focused on the redhead before him, who remained seemingly unbothered by how he just showed up and destroyed a hundred elite experimental super-soldiers in an instant, to which the Emperor would have smiled if wasn't already.

"When I first got word that the planet my daughter ended up on was a backwater where the inhabitants had to even achieve interplanetary travel, possessed no unique powers, magic, or even a trait that could help them survive the vacuum of space or aid them in battle, and that somehow an individual from such a species ended up as her protector — I nearly died laughing!" 

Emiya sighed, already finding Lala's father difficult to deal with. "No need to think that much about it. This isn't about humans or Earth, but your daughter instead. A simple problem with a simple solution that doesn't require you doing anything other than giving her more space, that's all."

His body felt weird, the shockwave from that energy blast most likely caused some internal damage. Thankfully, it didn't feel like it was anything major or life-threatening; no broken bones thanks to Reinforcement, and his breathing was returning to normal. Still, he'd be having Mikado give him a good look next time he ran into her. 'That attack… if I get hit point blank by something like that again without any kind of shield, I will die. I don't know if he can use it in succession, but just to be safe I'll assume so.'

Lightning crackled around Gid's tail as the Emperor let a portion of his powers come to life, manifesting a high-voltage electricity in the outside world whilst putting his hands inside his jacket pockets. "Strange, no matter how closely I look at you, you're not a Devilukean or a species similar to the Flamians. I question if someone in your ancestry happened to be an individual from another planet, as it would explain a lot."

Standing in front from him, the Emperor's eyes grew brighter with a bone chilling emotion Emiya recognized, an intent he'd seen all too often from a certain annoying Lancer. This person… he felt the same as that Heroic Spirit in more than one way. 

They both carried an intense lust for battle, and he had the distinct impression that it had been a long time since Gid had enjoyed a fight he found worth his while.

"Was it your idea to attack the Solgam ship? Never thought I'd see someone use my daughter's inventions like that, it gives me ideas for my next fleet. Those blades of yours are pretty interesting as well. See, the hull of these ships are made from a rare and expensive alloy exclusively produced by one of the best manufacturers in the galaxy. Even I only have enough available to use them for certain ships. They can take multiple energy cannon shots without breaking, yet you were able to cut it apart like paper with those blades. And I'm very certain they aren't one of Lala's creations." A chuckle escaped the Emperor's lips, evidently finding this very amusing. Completely disregarding Emiya's earlier comment about his daughter. "Makes me want to take it away from you."

Humph, of course Kanshou and Bakuya would cut through most pieces of metal with a single swing. Even as C-rank Projected copies, they were still Noble Phantasms, and thus far superior to any kind of modern material. What worried him in this world was how advanced the alien's technology was, so he honestly believed that given enough time they might be able to create replicas of his Projections through unknown means, especially if someone like Lala were to attempt it. 

"What do you want with me…" Instead of wasting more time on what he saw as an increasingly pointless conversation, Emiya cut directly to the heart of the matter with the man-child ruler before him. 

"Hehehe! Why are you so tense, kid? I won't bite, nor will I kill you." Gid chuckled, a statement Emiya had a hard time believing. The man's body language, especially his tail, were practically screaming danger to his senses. "Tell me, human, what were you about to do at the end right before I intervened?" 

Damn it, that wasn't a question he was willing to answer! 

"I don't get what you're trying to say." 

"Oh, I think you know full well what I'm talking about!" Gid insisted. "Was that magic? Sure felt like it. I wasn't sure at first, but the feeling I got at the end right before I fried all these little bugs… hehehehe! You had a plan, didn't you!? A way to kill all these pests without any help at all! I could feel it all over my skin, I could hear the very space around you starting to behave strangely at the last second! It couldn't have been a simple blast attack or some other spell, no! This was something I've never seen before!"

The aura around the man grew heavier, lightning arcing at the nearest tree and scorching the bark. The tail's movement – completely taken into account by the former Counter Guardian, treating it more like a weapon than a weak point like what Lala had – became increasingly erratic.

Gid opened his arms, "Show it to me! I want to see what you're truly capable of, boy! Show me this secret of yours you're trying to hide from me!"

'That amount of energy he's exuding, he's most capable of firing another attack similar to the last one. But I can't follow his words; I feel like he's the type of mind to get too engrossed in a fight and possibly lose control of his powers.' At the end of the day, the last thing Emiya wanted was to be pushed to his limit by someone like this guy and for him to start doing so regularly just so the other party could be entertained with an unneeded fight. 

"Why should I? And again, I have no idea what you're even talking about in the first place. That sense of magic you felt, it could have just been me preparing to take out another weapon. My Magecraft, at the end of the day, revolves around weapons and nothing more. Not to mention, I am already at my limit for today." Emiya explained calmly, seeing the dissatisfied look on the Emperor's face at his refusal. 

Yet he was not worried, nor was he afraid, as he knew for certain that the man wasn't going to kill him. He went through all the trouble to destroy the Solgam soldiers because he believed they were going to end his life at that last moment. Killing him over such a small matter was not realistic and did not make sense. So it was obvious that Gid had no way to push this matter forward, for today at least.

"You've seen me fight. I have expended a lot of my power, and I'm running on fumes. Even if I could do what you're asking of me, don't pretend for a minute that you'd get anything out of such a fight when I'm already in this state."

"You lie," Gid said with certainty, an emotion Emiya had no idea where the Emperor got it from. "Zastin over here, at the end of the day, is completely loyal to me instead of Lala. You have intrigued me since the first time we talked, and I wanted to take this chance to learn more about this protector my daughter found. One event in particular that caught my interest was how you killed Lacospo. That attack you used to break through his shields and blow up his ship required way more energy than anything you've shown today, and even after firing that, you were not tired in the least. Able to only create swords, my ass. Do not lie to me again; this is the last warning or else I will get mad."

This was getting more and more troublesome in the former Counter Guardian's opinion. He sent a mean glare to Zastin, who was sweating buckets in the background and making sure to avoid making eye contact with him. Then again, he always knew that Zastin would have reported that incident sooner or later — but he hadn't quite expected for it to come back and haunt him in this kind of scenario. This man wasn't willing to give up so easily. If, at the end of the day, he had no other choice but to use his Reality Marble, then… 

"–Hm?"

His ears twitched as he heard the rustling of the leaves along with a series of footsteps getting closer to their location. A figure ran through the dense forest before jumping into the scene. Dressed in light clothing with a katana in hand, the figure wore an attire that stood out amidst the charred carnage all around. 

'Rin!?' 

What the hell was this girl doing here of all places!? 

'Don't tell me she happened to be nearby now of all times and happened to notice the fight?' At this point, he didn't know who was the truly unlucky one in this scenario, him or her. 

While he trusted himself to have the ability and circumstances to survive whatever Gid might do next if push came to shove, Rin was still a normal human and was risking her life just by virtue of being here. 'Wait, she never leaves Saki's side with her duty as her bodyguard… does that mean…' 

Thankfully, the blonde was not here as well; that would have caused him more trouble.

"Another human... Oh? It appears she is someone you know. Zastin did not give me any reports mentioning her, so she most likely doesn't have any powers. But regardless, she seems to be someone you care about, don't you?" He said with a twisted smirk, Emiya's eyes widening as he witnessed the aura of lightning becoming denser and dancing more wildly around Gid's body. "If the command of the Emperor of the Galaxy is not enough to make you fight me seriously, then perhaps I can find something else that will give you sufficient motivation..."

A tiny orb of pure blue energy formed at the tips of Gid's index finger, and the hairs on Emiya's skin stood up as he recognized the sensation. This was the same kind of attack he used to wipe out the Solgam troops, now concentrated and directed towards Rin, who hadn't even noticed the other party's presence. 

Time slowed down; his heart beating twice as fast with every single detail within his vision becoming more and more pronounced.

The emperor wanted him to deploy his Reality Marble, but with so much time having passed after his chant was interrupted and the energy having been released, he would need to start over from the beginning, and that was just not possible in the time prior to Gid releasing his attack. His mind scoured through hundreds of different Noble Phantasms, all of which existed for the sole purpose to kill a powerful individual as quickly as possible. His body moved as Gid's arm extended towards Rin, and at that moment, he did not hesitate anymore. 

'If he truly wants to go this far, then so be it.' 

At that moment, the danger the Devilukean monarch posed to the future of Earth vanished from his mind and was replaced by the realization that this man was someone willing to do anything in order to get what he wanted, no matter how frivolous the desire might be. At this point, it was no longer the lives of billions that were in danger, but those closest to him as his current actions showed. 

Thousands of weapons from all sorts flashed and one immediately stood out. A spear capable of putting an end to this danger once and for all. 

"I am the bone of my sword." 

He uttered the first verse of his aria once again, accelerating the process as from the depth of his soul, a murderous spear answered his call. Even amongst the countless bloodthirsty blades he'd accrued over the course of his long existence, this one still managed to stand out.

He barely made it in front of Rin, shoving her out of the way as blue motes of light gathered around his palm and took shape. Its aura, a deep and foreboding scarlet, danced like ethereal flames upon the surface of the spear. An ominous radiance, whispering tales of inevitability, surrounds the weapon, betraying its unique power. A weapon he was certain to bypass any defense posed by the alien monarch, even if they were leagues above what Zastin showcased beforehand.

The crimson aura became woven into the air itself, a sensation that reached Gid and sent alarm bells ringing within his mind — the scent of blood suddenly invading his nose.

"—!?" 

His body froze, goosebumps spreading all over the Devilukean ruler's body, pupils constricting, instinct taking over as what felt like millions of needles surrounded him, all ready to pierce him at once. The energy attack at the end of Gid's finger suddenly grew far beyond the small dot it had started as, and within the blink of an eye it was as big as Zastin himself — the brightness blinding his subordinates as they were caught off guard by the sudden change as well. "Shit!" He reacted with panic, coming to his senses only after he already fired the blast of energy.

By that point, it was too late for even him to stop it. 

Despite the oncoming attack, Emiya did not panic as he raised his other arm with his palm facing the oncoming wave of power. "Hm?" Yet he stopped the next second, his head jerking upwards as his senses suddenly picked up another individual. 

A blurred figure sped through the sky and descended at inhuman speed. His eyes barely missed it, until the very last second when he found multiple strands of pink hair filling his vision.

For a split second, anger showed on his features at what this girl was doing putting herself in such a dangerous position. But that flash of anger soon turned into disbelief as he heard her following words.

"You've made me mad, Papa! Go, Pyon-Pyon Warp-kun Version 2!!" 

Emiya never thought he'd experience fright from an object rather than the ruler of an entire galaxy, as to hear that cursed name of Lala's device again brought memories of its failures. 

The last he heard of it was a couple of days ago, when the princess mentioned how she was working on improving its previous design. One aspect he desperately wanted her to fix if she truly was adamant about using it again, was to work on the clothing issue and the fact that the device could teleport them to seemingly random elevations. He really wanted for the princess to learn from her mistakes and realize the consequences that could occur if she didn't address the flaws in her inventions before she used them on other people. 

Yet it seemed that this wasn't what she had been working on, as before his eyes, a strange pink-colored portal opened. It was as big as Lala herself, and quickly grew until it covered the space before them like a giant shield. Within the space itself, for a brief moment, Emiya spotted familiar scenery, looking more like a strange sort of window as it showcased the forest around them from another angle completely, with four people standing on the other side. 

Those being none other than Zastin, his two subordinates, and Gid himself. The attack instantly went within the portal, and Emiya instantly heard another explosion occurred followed by the disgruntled cry of shock and pain from the bodyguard and his subordinates. A strong pressure of air washed over him, and he made sure to protect Rin and prevent her from getting swept away by the shockwave.

"Hehehehehehe, it worked! It really worked! Did you see that, Shirou? It worked! Hehehehe! Are you proud of me? You better give me a reward for th–! W-Wah! Your face!" He heard loud cries of joy turning to panic before the girl jumped on him with her hands going all over his face and the rest of his body. "Are you hurt? Oh no, you look terrible! This is all Papa's fault for being stupid! This is too far! I'm going to tell Mama about this!" 

If that was considered just 'being stupid,' then Emiya had no desire to see the full depth of Emperor Gid's flippant idiocy. 

"What is wrong with you, Papa!? When I had to deal with all those stupid princes trying to kidnap or attack me you did nothing, but when Shirou was saving a friend you tried to kill him!?" Lala's rage erupted in an endless tirade as she turned around to glare at the four smoking figures on the ground, Zastin, Maul and Smutts had all lost consciousness with most of their clothes and armor turned to dust. Gid was the only one who was still awake, trying to push himself up at first from the ground with scorch marks all over his clothes, and his skin and hair were covered in soot. Oddly, the man sat cross-legged and didn't seem at all angered by what happened.

Instead Gid just sat there, his eyes closed and seemingly meditating for a brief moment with a much calmer expression. 

"So, that's what it feels like getting hit by that… I thought it would be more painful. Guess I was weaker than I imagined in this form. Should have come here when I recovered my strength — though this was probably for the best," he said, shaking his head, his expression turning peculiar with perhaps a hint of thoughtfulness.

His eyes then became glued to the crimson spear within Emiya's grasp which had already started to break down into particles of light. Unlike with Kanshou and Bakuya, no sign of a smirk was visible on his face, but rather a gaze filled with contemplation that greatly differed from anything else he'd shown thus far. 

"... Interestin— ouch!" The man exclaimed as Lala's fist slammed into his face as hard as the girl could throw it. His small body bounced comically from the ground until it struck Zastin, the latter having just regained consciousness for a brief moment before the Emperor wasn't flying into his face, sending the royal guard captain for a daze once more.

"Careful with the head!" Gid snapped as he clutched his cheek. "What kind of daughter punches their own father in the face like that, anyway!?"

"Why are you attacking Shirou and my friend!? Did conquering planets for so long make you stupid!? I'm gonna tell Mama what you did today, and you'll get punished for sure!" For the very first time, Emiya saw genuine fear briefly flash within Gid's eyes. It only appeared for less than a second before his previous façade returned, but that momentary apprehension was enough for Emiya to understand that whoever Lala's mother was, she must be either an extremely powerful individual to be able to elicit such a reaction from Gid, or an extremely cunning one. Either way, both didn't bode well if he were to meet her in the future and she ended up having a similar personality as Lala's father. 

"T-There's no need to do that, Lala! I was just joking around with the boy a little, and wanted to have a bit of fun since this is the first time I've met him in person! I wasn't actually going to kill or even hurt that girl over there! You're just overreacting to things. No need to call your mother over such a simple non-issue, and I even saved the boy's life, so that should count for something!" Gid hastily spoke, though Lala did not seem the least bit happy. "It really was an accident… I wasn't planning on hurting the human girl at all!" 

Lala whipped out her D-Dial "I'm calling Mama!" 

"Lala!" 

Weirdly enough, the atmosphere took a complete turn from what he was expecting. Though his attention was currently needed elsewhere as he felt a squeeze on his arm, Emiya turned around to find Rin having fallen onto her knees and taking in huge lungfuls of air. 

"Calm, Rin, try to take deep, slow breaths. Everything's fine now." 

For all her emotionless demeanor and maturity, at the end of the day she still was just a young girl who just faced what amounted to a near death experience. He imagined the kind of impact it must have had on her psyche, and rubbed his hand on her back to try and help calm her down. 

Her pale face slowly started to regain color, and her breathing slowed down. 

A good sign, she recovered faster than he anticipated. It would seem her mental fortitude was a fair bit higher than the average person. He noticed how even now she still held a tight grip on her katana, a finely made blade from what he saw with Structural Analysis. It was a weapon crafted by a master blacksmith, and was about two hundred years old. Given the type of family she grew up in, he wasn't surprised she had such a thing. 

"Yuuki Emiya Shirou…" He couldn't help but chuckle a little upon hearing that. The way she reverted back to calling him by his full name as she always did was a good indicator that had recovered. 

"I'm sure you have many questions," he said, knowing the girl must have been shocked to find out about the existence of aliens and the talk about Gid being an emperor. The existence of magic as well, all of these had surely shaken her. "I'll be sure to answer everything, but for now, we need to leave this place, and we can find the time to—"

"What the hell was that abomination of a weapon!?" She interrupted him, a statement that made his thoughts come to a screeching halt. 

"Huh?"

"That… that spear… I have never felt such evil in all my life…"

Did she… did she have nothing to say about… everything else? 

Had she really been focused on the spear alone the whole damn time!?

"Rin, do you not see anything else that happened? The whole… alien talk and energy blast?" 

"That's not important right now! What the hell was that spear!?" 

"..." 

He was speechless. 

{Break}

-Yuuki Household-

"Hah," letting out a deep sigh, Emiya rested on the couch. Lying down with his arms over his eyes, feeling exhausted mentally more than anything else at the moment. 

A couple of green vines with a hint of yellow coloring stretched inside from the backyard door, moving to him and poking his face gently. The giant plantas sunflower was effectively hovering over him, a low sound similar to a dog's whine coming out of its mouth, which ended up amusing the fading redhead. "I'm fine, just taking a small break and resting my mind." 

Extending his arms, he patted the flower's vines and then walked over to do the same to its head, the flower clearly enjoying the sensation while he sat on a chair on the backyard patio. The plantas was much too big for it to lie its head on his lap without accidentally destroying the chair, though. "I'm sorry I was late with your meal today, had an unexpected nuisance show up out of nowhere when I went to help someone."

The plantas huffed, seemingly trying to indicate that it was fine and didn't care about the issue. One of its many vines grabbed onto a picture of Rito from the wall before bringing it to Emiya, the latter taking a second to understand what it was trying to say. "So Rito was the one who fed you, good for you. I remember Mikan making a few meals prepared just in case and putting them in the fridge along with what I prepared for you. At this rate I will most likely need to buy an industry sized freezer."

It nodded lazily, putting the image back and its vine wrapped around his hand again. Lifting it up and placing it on its large petals, he chuckled once again and petted the needy flower. "If I recall, Mikan gave you a name didn't she? Celine was it?" 

The plant nodded, letting out a gentle, joyful roar.

"You like it? Guess it is a suitable name for a plant, though I personally would have gone for something different. Humph, who am I kidding, I would have just asked Mikan or Rito to come up with a name. My naming sense never was the best. A feminine name, though… Weird but I'll go along with it since you clearly don't mind it." He absentmindedly looked at the petals, frowning as the color as the edge started to look even darker than last time. Just like a person, the plant creature had a body temperature and today it felt higher than average. These various signs of abnormality along with how frequently Celine was now taking naps, started to worry Emiya. "Am I not feeding you enough? I made sure to give you highly nutritious meals…" 

He even started to use Reinforcement on the ingredients and dishes as a whole to enhance their overall nourishment. Having fed those to the plant multiple times a day, they seemed to give it more energy — but it didn't slow down the spread of these discolorations in the least. Granted, he had been giving the plant such food from day one, curious to see how much it would help it grow, but this apparent worsening of Celine's health despite it clearly being so happy was disconcerting. 

Celine exhaled a large huff of air, ruffling his hair, then doing it again before shaking. Its movement made him believe it was laughing. 

"Quit it, you oversized brat. Don't start getting any of Mikan's bad habits." He said, recalling how energetic and chaotic that little girl used to be just a few years ago. "Seriously, I'll have to ask Mikado about your condition. This doesn't feel normal and it could be dangerous for you to get affected by an illness from this planet your species never adapted to." 

"Muh…" 

"Stop whining, You already had a big lunch and supper isn't that far off. You've become far too spoiled, I won't keep feeding you like this everyday." Though he said that, Emiya had no intentions of stopping anytime soon. In a way, he had gotten attached to this strange flower creature, despite it having the strangest appearance out of everything extraterrestrial, it was actually the most peaceful entity around him. Less troublesome to deal with compared to even most regular people by a mile, and it behaved more like a puppy than a plant. Did that make him a dog person? Not like he ever had a pet to confirm this statement. 

His interaction with Celine worked wonders to alleviate his stressed mind from what happened today. 

Especially his last conversation with Gid before that troublesome man finally left. 

.

.

.

"You know, for a human, you are very interesting, kid." 

Standing on top of a rooftop overlooking the city of Sainan, both Emiya and Gid had come here after the Emperor ordered the young man to follow him to a more secluded area for a private conversation. Of course, upon hearing that, Lala nearly went berserk and would have unleashed the entirety of her D-Dial collection on her father after what he just did. But Emiya was the first one to stop her, knowing that this time the Emperor's intentions were far different than what he showed initially. 

The battle intent had completely disappeared from his eyes. 

Plus he had the means to protect himself if the man was crazy enough to try something again. 

"Is that supposed to make me flattered somehow and forget about how you nearly killed me back there?" 

"Ha! Killed you?" The small statured Devilukean scoffed. "I have to wonder who was the one truly in danger just then. I'm not blind or arrogant to the point of not recognizing an actual threat when I see one, I'll have you know. Humph, to bad I'm this current state, it would have been much more fun otherwise." 

Color him surprised, he hadn't burst out in a fit of anger and denial. Instead Gid was speaking with patience and far more composure as he continued. "I won't pursue that matter any further, and the fault was on my end. You admittedly caught me off guard, I… I hadn't been exposed to such a sensation for many years. Tch, all of this went way past what I had planned. I was just going to feel up to some of the prettier human girls that are in this area and have some fun. Now I have an angry daughter who punched me for the first time in her life, two missing daughters, and probably an angry wife waiting for me back home." 

"I can't speak to the matter of your missing daughters, but if it's anything like the other two, you brought it upon yourself." Emiya replied. "Don't blame others for something that could have been avoided if you'd just decided to have a civil conversation from the start." Emiya spoke with a stern town, willing to show his displeased attitude towards the man's actions no matter his station. 

"Oi, you can't expect me to just sit quietly on the sidelines after what I saw there. And you're being annoyingly stubborn yourself, for the record. What's so hard about just showing me that special move you're still hiding even now? I'll tell you now that it's a Devilukean custom to have the future son-in-law engage in a life-threatening battle against the father." 

"There is so much wrong with that statement, and I'm pretty certain you just made that up on the stop." His tone couldn't be any more dry. 

"Hahahahahaha! You got me there, but I can make it an official part of our culture whenever I so desire, just like how I changed the official way of proposing marriage!" Gid once again showed his sharp toothed grin, crazed eyes staring at light golden brown orbs with a hint of steel gray orbs that met his gaze. 

"…Tell me, does Lala know how much blood is on your hands?" the Emperor wondered.

"..."

"No reaction, should have figured." Gid shrugged, his tail wiggling around and even slicing through the ground at times with no effort. "I'm honestly at a loss, your history shows no mention of any major war or battle you could have fought in to make you like this, everything is clean and not forged. You never left this planet, that is for certain… but I know what I felt there. How many was it? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands?" 

This conversation was taking a turn that Emiya did not like one bit. Not to mention he couldn't even honestly answer that question even if he wanted to. He himself had long since forgotten how many died by his hand, his duties as a Counter Guardian claiming thousands of lives at minimum with each deployment, and many times going beyond that. He'd been doing it for so long that numbers became meaningless, where his mind didn't even recall what his first ever deployment as a Counter Guardian was in the first place. Even now, as his true self continued to fulfill his duties as a Counter Guardian, that number just kept growing infinitely, as the Counter Force existed outside space and time itself. 

Gid had most likely just confused the spear's bloodlust as his own. Then again, the number of people who fell by that weapon were not few by any means. The Hound of Ulster certainly deserved his fame, accumulated through countless battles and wars.

"Hah, forget it, you don't need to answer it." That also was a response Emiya did not anticipate. Gid surprisingly seemed very relaxed about the topic of his blood-soaked past, along with turning a blind eye to the inconsistencies. "Tell me, do you feel sorrow for what you've done?" 

Crossing his arms, Emiya shrugged. No point in hiding that part as the emperor wouldn't believe him if he tried to lie. "I'm long past that point. It wouldn't make a difference if I felt sorrow or regret, it wouldn't change what has already been done." 

"Hahahahaha! You get it too! I knew you would! That's why it's better to find enjoyment in it. To be stuck on such emotions is such a waste of time! It is not becoming of an Emperor to have such a weakness." said the man, facing Emiya with another grin. "It will become much worse once you take the throne, but then again, I don't think I need to give you a lesson or even a warning on that. You are just like me after all." 

Emiya's frown deepened, "I am nothing like you." 

"You think the others will care? At the end of the day, if an enemy threatens the empire, you kill them — simple as that. Whether it be through an army or with your swords, it all boils down to the same outcome, and people will take note of that one way or another." 

"Don't speak as if I even want your throne in the first place. Lala and I aren't in a relationship to begin with." 

Much to his frustration, Gid did not even seem to care about his answer. "You know, any other day, and I would have smacked you around for suggesting you aren't interested in my daughter… But I've already done enough for today, and I fear I might not be able to hold myself back from another battle if I let myself get worked up." 

The Emperor walked at the edge of the building. 

"Anyways, all that aside, I like you, boy. You're much more interesting than any of those other marriage candidates for Lala, and even dealing with Solgam has gotten boring lately. When the time comes, I hope we can have an uninterrupted battle where you won't hold back, and I can let loose for a bit. For now, you can thank me for keeping your skills sharp by sending more of these fodders towards you. I won't tell you to keep my daughters safe, that's already a given." 

"What!?" This infuriatingly childish man just did not seem to learn! "Where do you think you are going? We aren't done discussing Lala's circumstances and I don't plan on becoming anything like an empe— damn it!" Before he could catch up, Gid vanished from his sight. His hands which he intended to catch Gid, but his fists clenched around nothing but air. 

"That little…" When was the last time someone made him this furious? Right, Emiya Shirou, of course. Well, now the idealistic fool had a contender for that crown. 

"This isn't over, Gid. I won't be playing whatever games you're planning." He whispered, swearing to find a way to get this situation under control and cease this charade. 

And with that, he returned to Lala's side, where another headache awaited him with Rin also there, wearing an expression that reminded him far too much of a former twin tailed Master of his.

This did not bode well.

.

.

.

Back in the living room, Celine nudged his head, distracting the former Counter Guardian from his thoughts. 

"You're truly that hungry? Fine, fine, let me at least go heat up the food." Getting up from the sofa, he walked towards the kitchen. Mikan, Yami, Rito, and Lala had all gone to the pink haired princess's room to look after Mikado. Lala was checking to make sure Solgam hadn't implanted any kind of secret tracking chip, and to give him some quiet time. 

"Hah? There is nothing here." As soon as he opened the fridge, his expression became one of confusion, as all of the containers filled with the leftover dishes he and Mikan made were gone. His nose however did pick up the scent of the barbecued beef he made last night, the aroma coming from… upstairs. 

"Did Mikan bring them up for Mikado? Maybe… But even if that did happen, I doubt that woman can consume so much on her own, and Mikan wouldn't have given away all the food that we made for Celine." 

Something felt off here. 

So he followed the scent and found it to not lead to Lala's room, but instead to his and Rito's.

"S… ve… ood!" 

"Shhh… ke… oise!" 

His ears picked up noise coming from the room, voices that sounded unfamiliar to him and which put him on high alert. Grabbing the knob, he opened the door to find a sight that made his eyes twitch. 

"Ah!"

"Who!?"

On his bed, two girls with pink hair similar to Lala and matching clothes – though one was red and the other green – were seated. On top of that, they were surrounded by empty food containers with their cheeks bulging like chipmunks and lips covered with sauce. 

One girl glared back at him even as she continued to stuff her face, while the one with a more prominent figure tried to smile, but couldn't, what with her mouth being stuffed full of lasagna. 

"Hewwo! You mush bwe Firou!" 

The sound of a palm striking one's own face rang around the room. At that moment, Emiya recalled Gid's parting words, "Take care of my daughters… that unbelievable bastard." He repeated those words slowly, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. 

Why didn't he notice it before!?

This family of alien royalty was going to be the death of him. 

-----------

The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 1 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.