My first A/N at the beginning of a fic, heh xD I had a few unfinished fics lying around, and I thought I could collect them together like this, since many others do it - I might even write one chapter or the other on occassion that continues a previous one. This chapter is a x-over between Avalon High which I might've started one-odd year Prior and then lost interest. It also was my first fate fic, I think, but I'm not too sure right now. There's nothing much to say about it, really, but I thought that, after writing 70 odd pages, I should hear what others have to say about it. Didn't check for continuity Errors at the beginning though, so bear with it xD

Even better, ignore my sad first attempt at a timeline.

"Saber, wait up!"

Shirou was running after his elated (ex-)Servant, trying to catch up. Said Servant was a few meters away, smiling that small smile of hers. "Hurry up, Shirou! Lest we miss the bus!"

He nodded in confirmation, before he picked up their bags again, running after her. They were at the Annapolis airport, Maryland. It could be considered vacation, only that it really wasn't. Rin had called from the Clock tower, only a month ago, telling them that there were strange spiritual occurrences in this part of the United States. The Ministry considered sending someone, but this was one of those long 'field-missions' that nobody really wanted to do. So they asked the Tohsaka heiress, who – after seeing the name of the place she had to go undercover – promptly called Shirou, telling him that this was the perfect opportunity for him. First he'd been surprised and confused, but after seeing the name of the school Rin would've had to enroll, he understood why she pushed the assignment at her apprentice. Convincing the Clock tower was easy enough: Shirou simply had to report everything, and not cause any harm. Convincing Fuji-nee had been the hard part, but she was easy down once he mentioned that Sakura was still there. And while the girl was sad, she understood why he had to do this.

Loading their entire luggage into the bus, Shirou hurried to find a place next to Saber, who was in the back row. Sitting next to her, he smiled. "Exited?"

She smiled back slightly, nodding.

Saber.

His Servant from the brutal fighting tournament that was the Holy Grail War. Her identity being that of the legendary King of Knights, Arthur Pendragon. Or, as her ID read, Artoria Penn. Really, sometimes it came in handy when you're in the good graces of the local Yakuza. Or rather, when you're practically family. Sighing inwardly, Shirou cringed. He really shouldn't rely too much on Raiga. It was a surprise when the old man agreed to make Saber a passport and all of the other legal documents a student from overseas needs, when she is 'visiting' Japan.

All of that for a girl, he didn't think he'd see ever again.

Yes, looking back on it, it really should be impossible for Saber to be here. She had gone back to her own time, to die, and now she was here, with him. Without any warning, she had reappeared on his doorsteps roughly three months ago, three months after the holy war. She had literally fallen into his arms, muttering something about 'being back when needed once more' and a 'never ending dream'.

He was more than glad about that.

That day, Rin booked a flight back to Fuyuki, ignoring the protests of the Magi, and he'd never seen Tohsaka cry so much. There were many days-long discussions, but after a few weeks, she deemed Saber 'safe'. They were not sure what exactly brought her back, but it seemed stable, for the moment.

And now they were entering High School. Admittedly, there were far more romantic ideas of what to do now, since Saber technically was old enough to be a teacher, but that was part of the mission. Whatever force, spiritual or magical, it might be that is lurking around; it was located densely around the campus and forests.

The bus jerked to a halt, and Shirou and Saber got off, in front of the school gates of their new school for the rest of the school year. Picking up their belongings (which weren't much, thankfully. Saber had not many clothes, and Shirou was a sparse person, so he packed pragmatically), they took their first step.

"Ah…" Saber gave a surprised mutter, her eyes widening ever so slightly. Shirou cocked his head to the side, looking at her. "What's wrong?"

Glancing back at him, she answered, "This energy… the whole building is giving me a feeling of familiarity. Not only that, but I suspect that whatever it may be that we have to search for, it is not hostile." she smiled slightly again, continuing, "Rather, the energy – for I cannot call it anything else – is inviting, alluringly so. Almost asking, pleading for us to enter."

"Really? I'm not feeling anything like that. I mean-" with that, he waved the bag in his hand around, gesturing at the building, "- the building was built with your castle in mind. Of course you'd feel familiar." He was enjoying the little blush that spread across her face immensely, at the casual mention of her castle.

Avalon High.

The building was built with the legendary chalk castle, Camelot, in mind. Not only the building, though. The whole castle was littered with artifacts and whatnot's from the Arthurian Era. Apparently the main building was used as a historical base for the scholars who first came here from England. Since then, the whole place has adapted such an outlook, and many mythologists and other researchers often come here for study, inspiration or to settle down. The whole school was a gold mine for scholars of the Arthurian age.

Shirou had found out as much when he'd done his crash course in English – no thanks to Fuji-nee. It was incredibly inspiring that he had to learn a new language almost from scratch in a month's time. Saber had been thankfully a great help, or now he'd been struggling with the language barrier between English and Japanese.

They were walking slowly, taking in their surroundings, so it was no surprise to them that a teacher was already waiting for them at the entrance of the school. He was smiling friendly at them.

"Hello! You must be the exchange students the headmaster was speaking about? Ah... Artoria Penn and Emiya …Shirou? Did I pronounce that right?"

Putting their belongings to the floor while Saber fished out their documents, Shirou nodded. "Yes, on both times. It's nice to meet you, Mr.…?"

"Keys. My name is Richard Keys. I'm the vice director." Putting up his glasses like a professional, this man reminded Shirou of Issei. He noticed something else, though. "Keys, huh? A very fitting name and position for a school named as such."

Keys smiled. "If you knew how many said that when I got my position. I'm afraid to say that your name will be sticking out like a sore thumb, Mr. Emiya." He almost looked apologetic at that. Taking the papers from Saber with a silent 'thank you', he continued while skimming over them: "You on the other hand, Ms. Penn… your name is very fitting for our school image! It's almost as if it was specifically chosen." Laughing at his own joke silently, the teacher started to walk back into the building. "If you please would follow me… if it is not too much of a hassle, of course." Pinching up his glasses again, he continued, "You can leave the luggage in the hall for now, I'd like to show you around, so that you won't be totally lost next Monday."

Glancing back at Saber, who had her own eyes sparkling with mirth, they followed the Vice. Yes, he thought, how right you are; Saber really fits in. And I doubt we'd ever get lost in this building.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

Falling onto the couch with a loud 'THUD', Shirou sighed deeply. It was evening, once Mr. Keys finished with all of the important stuff they needed – including their classroom and an introduction to some of the other staff members, mainly the janitors (whom Shirou secretly swore to help as much as he could, they might've been getting an allowance from the Clock tower and he had his inheritance from his father, but still, earning your own money still felt the best) and the director, Mr. Mosser. They also met their homeroom teacher, Mr. Lucan. A nice and very polite person, who was part of the school council.

Ahem, back to the situation at hand: they were currently resting in their new home, a cozy apartment with two floors and a little garden. Compared to his house back in Fuyuki, this one was small, but it was perfect for only Saber and him. And Rin, when she'd be visiting sometime in December. When Shirou dreamed about Sabers past, the dreams forgot to include the fact that the castle – and by proxy the school, even if the building was scaled down considerably – was so huge. Well, it was a High School. Looking over at Saber, who studied their timetable with interest, Shirou asked, "Well? How did you like it?"

"It was an interesting experience." a smooth answer. He chuckled; she was overwhelmed when Mr. Lucan started questioning her about the prep sword she offhandedly commented that looks nothing like Caliburn.

After he said that it was supposed to look like the legendary Sword in the Stone.

Mr. Keys and he himself were ignored, after that, and Lucan started – in his entire History/Art/Drama-teacher mode – questioning how Saber could be so sure. It was funny, until Shirou feared that she'd impale him with Excalibur.

"I believe," he smirked at her, "that this year, the teachers will be taught by the students."

"S-shirou!"

Chapter 1

The weekend went by with a flash, and next she knew, it was already Monday. Saber sighed, waiting impatiently for Shirou. It seemed like she did this often, in the last few days. When the redhead finally arrived, they set for school, walking. Saber would've loved to drive, but they first needed to buy a car (or motorcycle. She was hell-bent on persuading Shirou to get one. In their short time in Fuyuki she loaned Raiga's, remembering how Irisviel got her one, and the old man was so delighted at her skill that he promised to loan it to her whenever she wanted).

Entering through the gate, Saber once again was stuck by the familiarity of the presence around the school. It was strangely comforting, in its own bizarre way. Turning to her companion, she watched as he tried to discern the spiritual energy, furrowing his brows in an Archer-like way. She frowned at him. "Shirou. If you do not feel the energy, that doesn't make you any less of a magus. So stop frowning, please."

"Huh? Oh, sorry Saber. I guess I got distracted." he smiled sheepishly at her. She sighed again, shaking her head. Students filtered inside the building. "Come then, let us hurry. It would do no good to be late on the first day of school, Master."

And before Shirou had a chance to counterattack, Saber was already swallowed by the mass, giving him a smirk. "Huh?! …hey, Saber! Wait, you got the sheets with our timetable … wait! I'm sorry, okay?! Saber!"

Truly, what an interesting morning, Saber thought.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

Allie was chewing on the tip of her pen, looking expectantly at the door. Marco had called her, saying that Mr. Lucan called him – and here she was quoting – that there are two new students at the school, one who is Japanese, the other who is British. And that the British one is very likely another of them. She recognized the prop Caliburn as false, Marco said.

She shot a glance back at Miles, who was also thinking about the exact same thing. If it was true, and the new student really was another of the Roundtable, Allie had to secure her, fast, before someone else did. Ever since the student council got together, there was an opposing force who didn't want her in. She knew that not all of her classmates liked her, but this was starting to get ridiculous.

Oh well, the best part was, that she now officially wasn't the newbie anymore!

The door opened, and Mr. Lucan – another member of the Order of the Bear, like Marco – stepped in, talking to two people. She and Miles held their breath in anticipation, waiting for the redhead to step aside and introduce himself and the blonde and –

- Allie gasped. The petite, no older than fifteen years old looking, blond haired, blue eyed blonde was captivating. She absentmindedly noticed that the whole room had grown silent, mostly her friends and co-Roundtable/school council members, Lance, Jennifer and of course, Miles. Will was sick, so he wouldn't be in the school till Wednesday, but she was sure he'd noticed it too. The mere presence of … Saber? was astounding. She had such a natural charisma that – Allie was certain of that – if she'd ask the boys if they'd want to be her boyfriend, they'd dump their girlfriends immediately. Glancing back at Lance, she was surprised to find him also staring at her, but even more surprisingly, Jen was also mesmerized. Miles seemed to be the only one unaffected.

"… and so please welcome them into the class for the rest of the school year. Art- " said blonde gave the teacher a subtle glance, and he hesitated slightly, before continuing, "Saber, you can sit next to Ms. Pennington and you, Shirou …" letting his gaze drift over the class, Mr. Lucan finished, "… can sit next to Miles."

Allie watched as Saber sat down next to her, giving her a small smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you…?"

"Allie Pennington. Likewise … Saber?" the blonde nodded. The teacher was writing something on the blackboard, so Allie continued. "Penn, huh? I guess Mr. Lucan sat you next to me because of our similar names."

Saber glanced back, and Allie noticed that her eyes were in fact more green than blue. She also had an amused smile on her face. "So it seems. Mr. Lucan is awfully 'in spirit' with his work, then?"

Allie nodded. "Very. While the history is very important for our school, he exaggerates it sometimes. I'm sure you've met Mr. Keys? Mr. Lucan was the one who started first with the compatibility- "

"Pennington! Stop distracting Penn from the class!"

There was a row of chuckles as Allie apologized to Saber for distracting her, only for the teacher to warn both again, and as Allie looked over to the table Miles was sitting, with the other new guy …Ro something, she saw both of them smiling beatifically in her direction.

Great, just great.

–

Class went by in a blur, Saber not really paying attention, but still listening closely. After two agonizing hours with the same teacher – because, as it turned out, they had History and English with Mr. Lucan – she was more than happy with a break. The fact that the spirited history teacher sat her near the Pennington girl solely based on their similar sounding last names was ridiculous. At least Shirou seemed to be enjoying himself with the other student. Before Saber could stand up, a voice from behind her talked. "Will you two be joining us at lunch?"

Turning around, Saber was met with a smiling redhead. Blinking slightly, she stared at the person addressing her. Allie, who had been speaking with two of her friends, looked up, surprised. "Ah, Saber, this is Jeniffer. She's part of the cheerleaders. We're all actually part of the student council, so if you or … Ro?" Shirou, who joined their group chat with Miles, was grimacing.

"It's Shirou."

"Ah, sorry. As I was saying, if you or Shirou have any questions regarding the school, you can come to us. Us being Jen, her boyfriend Lance – part of our football team – Miles, the smart kid and Will, the quarterback… who's sick."

Finishing the hasty introduction, Allie smiled at them. "So, how 'bout it? Care to join us?"

Glancing at each other, Shirou shrugged. Saber blinked, he was letting her decide, it seemed. "That… would be most fortunate, yes. We would like to join you." she smiled at Allie. "Where to, then, Mrs. Pennington?"

"After me, Mrs. Penn."

"…and because our old teacher, Mr. Moore, got expelled, Mr. Lucan took it upon himself to teach us History for the rest of the year. That also meant that Jen managed to switch into our class, so that she and Lance can be together and no longer be apart than absolutely necessary."

At that, Allie gave a sharp glance to the two, grinning. "Will will be joining us in English and he and Ro will have Chemistry together."

Shirou grimaced again. It seemed that he managed to get himself a new nickname within two hours in the new school. One that, he was sure, Rin and Fuji-nee would chew him out on later. Saber listened politely, sipping her tea. Shirou mused that she looked perfectly normal in this setting, while he was getting attention no matter where he went. Miles, the one he was sitting next to, spoke up: "Hey, what do you have now?" Blinking, Shirou glanced over at Saber, who still drank her tea silently.

"Ah… I have … I have…"

Saber was still drinking her tea, looking not bothered at all by the glances everyone was sending her. At last, when she was finished, she put the cup down, looking at everyone, finally setting on Shirou.

"I have a double period of Art, and I believe you have Chemistry now, followed by Math. After that we have the last course together again, Shirou."

Looking back at Miles again, she continued, "Does this answer your question?"

Recovering from the frontal assault of Saber regally sipping her tea, he nodded.

"Hey, that means you and Jen are together now." Lance spoke up this time, "And Ro has Math with me and Allie. What do you have after Art?"

"Chemistry."

"Hmm, that'll be with Allie and Miles."

Everyone nodded and Shirou smiled. It was good to see Saber make some friends.

"That means that we're all together in English!" Jeniffer was grinning happy into the round. Allie nodded. "We're probably also all in Drama, right?"

"Drama?" Shirou looked confused into the round. Lance glanced at him, but it was Miles that answered. "We're having a joint cooperation between History, English and Drama."

Shirou gave and 'ah' sound, and sat down. Miles was using something that he'd dubbed: Tohsaka Rin Lecture Pose Number 1. Saber noticed too, because her smile widened in amusement. Miles, ignorant of their mirth, continued, "You see, Avalon High is well known for its uniqe-ish History course." Waiting for a nod (from the rest of the group also, apparently) he switched his position slightly, so that he was now holding his empty cup of water up. "And in the last year, we always do a play on the Arthurian myth. All of us here – plus Marco, who's also sick. Who's also in Art with you Saber, by the way – have signed up for the play."

Another nod. "What does it have to do with us, though?"

"Ah, well…" Miles scratched the back of his head, "you see, Mr. Lucan is the teacher – obviously, since he has all of the three subjects – and I heard from him that he was scolded by you apparently-" Saber's face turned the slightest shade of red, " –and so delighted that you pointed out the apparent flaw in the prop sword that he decided to have you two participating."

Shirou blinked, amazed. "And you found this out, how…?"

"That was me, actually." Allie smiled sheepishly. "Marco called me yesterday, saying that Mr. Lucan called him about the subject. Since I'm the council head. Sorry 'bout it."

"I see. I see." nodding in understanding, Shirou was about to ask Saber what she thought about it, until he saw her red face. Well, he'd be pretty embarrassed also, if someone were to do a play about his life.

…

He did a double take. "Play about King Arthur's life?!"

Chapter 2: A typical day in School

Their Art teacher was an extrovert woman in her mid-thirties, completed with curly hair and an extremely terrible fashion sense. The woman, Mrs. Lawyer-Merith – or Mrs. Merith for short – had started their course with the visual detailing abilities of a clown, shaking her hands extensively and invading Saber's personal space a bit too much for her liking. Thankfully, Jeniffer saved her from becoming the new test subject of their art project: portrait painting with humans. Jen offered to take Saber into her group, since Marco, her usual partner, was sick. The teacher relented, albeit slowly and with great sadness. If Saber didn't know any better, she'd describe the situation in Ilya's words: Mrs. Merith got into her own corner of woe, crying silently about the loss of her perfect test sub- student.

Saber promised herself to never approach the teacher when alone.

Watching the other student's drawings, she wondered how she'd be able to finish with the project on time.

"Don't worry, Saber." Jeniffer smiled slightly, "I can sit for you, since Marco isn't here today. Good?"

"Ah, yes, thank you." Getting a canvas and some pencils and – to the surprise of Jen, coal – Saber positioned everything professionally. Glancing at the blanko, back at Jen, and again to her blank canvas, shaking her head, Saber stood up and started adjusting Jeniffer.

"Huh? What are you doing?" she looked surprised, didn't protest though. In her eyes, Saber looked unbelievably professional, since nobody else in the class uses the coal-pencils. Except for Marco, who was undoubtedly handy with them. (They were, admittedly, the worst of the art classes – not that the crazy teacher helped...)

With the last tilt of Jen's head, Saber stepped back, looking pleased. She knew that the rigid position must be uncomfortable, especially for a long period of time, but otherwise it wouldn't look right in the knight's eyes. Stepping around, she asked, "May I?" gesturing with a slight touch to Jen's hair.

"Huh? Of course. What are you doing?" not daring to move, she tried looking at Saber through the corner of her eyes. She could feel the other teen's touch, braiding her hair into some intricate pattern. Probably.

"A coiffure fit for a Queen." Saber said so in a self-mockingly sad tone, but Jen's whole body went rigid, not registering the tone. She'd been told the whole story by Allie and Miles, as such she was aware of things others weren't. Like the position she was in. And right now, she didn't know if Saber spoke so unintentionally, without any deeper meaning, or if there was some hidden message behind. She also didn't know why she felt so attracted to the younger blonde. She saw how Lance stared at her and she knows she should – as it is in her right as his girlfriend – punish him for it, but she honestly can't blame him. She really was a terrible girlfriend apparently. Was such the fate of her, who she bears the title of—

"Jeniffer?"

"Huh?" Blinking, Jen looked up. It seemed like she got lost in her own musings. "Yes, sorry, what?"

Smiling slightly, Saber answered, "I was asking if the braid is perhaps too tight?"

"Ah, no, don't worry. Rather, you should start drawing, or the hour will be over with you just messing with my hair."

"Indeed."

After she adjusted Jeniffer, Saber went back to her canvas. She didn't blame the girl for being lost in thought, since she herself was. Starting the sketch, Saber let her thoughts wander. She knew – from the knowledge granted by the grail – more than enough different art styles. She could've easily made a more modern approach to the project; or one that wouldn't be so strenuous on Jeniffer. But her own upbringing and the light that filtered through the windows – and the strange feeling of familiarity she got from this girl – made it hard to ignore that drawing Jen's portrait in anything but this fashion would've been wrong.

She really looks like a queen. At this Saber's lips quirked into a smile. The only missing parts are the ceremonial garments Guinevere had to wear, or the crown on her head.

And thus, the art class continued.

Chemistry, Saber concluded, was not her subject. They had been grouped together by three – Allie and Miles volunteered to be part of hers – but up until now, the former Servant's participation was more than sub-par. Oh, she understood what everything meant, Merlin had been very adamant on her learning most of the names, but this was getting ridiculous. After the fifth time her solution brewed over, she gave a deep sigh.

"Chemistry is not your forte, huh?" Miles looked apologetically at her. Allie also was bad, but Saber was a hopeless case.

Saber sighed again.

Shirou's day had been uneventful, to say the least. Chemistry went good – he was proud that his Structural Analysis let him grasp the right ingredients for the solution; he's even gotten praised by the teacher. Math was also uneventful, save for the looks he was getting from the other students, particularly a girl with dark hair. He hoped she didn't develop a crush on him, or else she'll soon feel the wrath of Excalibur. After the Math hour – and the short lunch break, where Saber was nowhere to be found, Shirou headed to his advanced Physics course, silently wondering why he choose Math, Chemistry and Physics in the first place. He wasn't accompanied by any of his new friends, for which he was glad, since he managed to cause quite a stir in the class. Already whispers were passed down about the red knight of Avalon High, who managed to bring the great white dragon down.

Shirou managed to solve an equation of the apparent 'Dragon of Equations'; an older professor who asked a physical question worth of Einstein himself every morning. And which, up until this point, nobody at the whole school managed to solve. The nerds of the curses fell before him like flies, goes the legend.

Shirou snorted. If it wasn't for his special Origin and his Reality Marble, he doubted he could've resolved it. If it wasn't for the Unlimited Blade Works storing ability, he would've failed like so many others. He did need a basic knowledge of math and physics when dealing with legendary weapons and things like age, weight reduction or physical traits – mostly when he turned them into arrows. The measuring was simply done on a sub-conscious lever.

Or, as Tohsaka would put it, he was a failure as a normal magus.

"Tell me again, Saber. Why did I choose Latin again?" Shirou looked pitifully at his text, which he was to compare to a translation. He showed a profound interest in the language spoken by Saber sometimes in the dream cycle, so he asked the director if he could attend Latin classes. He agreed, and Shirou was given some kind of 'special seat' in the Latin class, under the mutual consent that he'd ask a tutor or one of the students to teach him. Tohsaka also seemed pleased by his decision, since most magical scriptures or books were written in Latin. Now though…

Miles looked at Shirou, grinning at the redhead's expense. It wasn't his fault that he could not be good at everything! "You seem to be having an awful lot of trouble."

No, really?!

Saber sighed. "Shirou, this is very easy." Leaning over, she gestured at the second sentence, "You see, the form here is written in a past form, but the translated note has used the present form of 'operare'. Also, the paragraph is, while right sounding, completely wrong in its syntax, leading to a misinformation on the subject."

She said all this while pointing at Ulpianus 38 ad ed.

Hoc edictum praetor proponit coartandae persecutionis libertatis causa impositorum: animadvertit enim rem istam libertatis causa impositorum praestationem ultra excrevisse, ut premeret atque oneraret libertinas personas.

and it's next two paragraphs. The assignment altogether is two sites long, with two extra sites of translated text. And I bet she's done.

Shirou sighed miserably again.

Miles looked at her in disbelief. He was one of the best students this year in Latin, and even he was only a quarter into the assignment. He had to ask, "Saber… are you already done?!"

It was an obviously important question, Shirou mused. Miles' role as the smart kid was on stakes here.

"Yes, I am. Though, I have to admit having taken longer than I used to."

"L-longer?"

She nodded. At this moment, the teacher walked up to the trio's seat. She was an unrelenting and unforgiving woman. "Is something the matter, Miles?"

Shirou could literally see the clouds of despair that formed over his head as he answered, "No, Mrs. Arundel. I only noticed that Saber's done."

At this, the whole class perked up. The teacher's glasses glinted. "Oho, you're already done, Artoria?"

"Yes, I have finished the assignment." tugging at the corner of her lips was a frown in discomfort, or annoyance – Shirou wasn't sure which – at being called Artoria. Up until now, all of the teachers respected her wish to be called Saber, some calling her Mrs. Penn, but Mrs. Arundel was the only one who constantly called her 'Artoria'.

She was looking the paper over; surprised that someone would be done so fast. When she was finished, she glanced up again. "I see… tell me, girl. Were you home-schooled?"

Not expecting the question, Saber nonetheless answered with an affirmative nod. "Yes, I was. My old mentor taught me from a very young age. Does this pose a difficulty?"

The teacher shook her head. "No but… I was at the University before I decided to teach here, and I've seen my fair share of dissertations which were written worse than this assignment."

Silence. The classroom was coated in silence. Shirou sighed again when he saw Saber's face redden at her slip-up. He couldn't blame her, though. She'd been a king most of her life and as such, had to learn the language. It was not her fault that something as common as English today is a dead language now. He finally relented to a face-palm when he saw the teacher's eyes glow, and her almost maniac expression.

What a school day indeed.

Chapter 3: Drama? Or the story of a life

When they entered the school building the next day, the other students threw glances at them and whispered. It looked like the newcomers' fame has reached every corner of Avalon High. Shaking his head, Shirou watched as a crowd of girls was silenced by Saber's silent glare. When another set of girls – one of them with a very formidable bust size – walked up to him, Shirou hoped that no one will die. Saber sent her death glare at them, but only the two lackeys resented and backed off. The girl-woman was from his Physics class. Latching onto Shirou's arm, she smiled victorious.

"How 'bout a date, red knight?"

Ah, she probably thinks I'm single… Shirou shuddered. Better clear the misunderstanding. "Now, Elizabeth, there is a misunderstanding here. You see, I'm already in a relationship."

"Hm?" The very thought seemed unfeasible to her, "ah, that poses no problem, darling."

"Unfortunately for you, it does pose a problem." Saber's anger seemed to be directed at both of them now. Shirou gulped. "How do you know of this woman, Shirou?"

"She's in my Physics class."

"Hoh?" Elizabeth apparently found the discussion funny, not seeing how someone with Saber's statue could inflict harm upon her.

Before any real damage could be done however, the bell rang, and Elizabeth's friends posed enough of a distraction for Saber to sneak in beside her arm and unhand Shirou. Taking his hand, she pulled him away. Elizabeth smirked after Saber, "We'll settle this another time, then. Ro, wait for me!"

Damn him and his E rated luck.

Arriving on the nick of time in History, Mr. Lucan seemed very excited about something.

"Ah! There you are. We are currently going through the Historia Brittonum. Allie's parents were nice enough to offer us some scripts and books. Like this, this year's Drama will be the grandest of them all!" he coughed into his fist "– Since we never had official documents from medieval/Arthurian scholars." Turning his head in said girl's direction, he nodded his head, "Thank you again, Mrs. Pennington."

She looked away, embarrassed.

Both magus and heroic spirit didn't make it far, since the teacher apparently wanted to test their knowledge.

"Mrs. Penn, I know that you said that the prop Caliburn didn't look like the real sword at all; as such, I was interested if you also know the name of the other legendary weapons of King Arthur. If you do, please elaborate." he was smiling at her and Shirou felt Saber's hand twitch.

"Besides Caliburn – the Sword in the Stone, there is Excalibur, the Sword of Promised Victory. It's sheath, Avalon, the Everdistant Utopia. Rhongomyniad, the Spear that Shines to the Ends of the Earth. And Carnwenann, the White Dagger." Now, what Saber was doing was recounting the Noble Phantasms by their official name, but none of the humans in the room could know that. If there was any form of reaction, Shirou's reinforced senses would pick it up.

There was a loud murmur, but otherwise no reaction to the titles the weapons were given.

Mr. Lucan's eyes shined, "Very good! You even got the name of his lance right! What else do you know, Shirou?" redirecting his gaze at the redhead.

Ah. Shirou blinked. "I'm afraid I don't really know as much. I mean, I know the basis of everything, but that's it." Lie. Because of the Dream Cycle I know far more than that, but it's not my place to say. Shirou really hoped the History teacher would bait his excuse.

His gaze seemed to turn, just by a sliver, more intense, focused. With his heightened perception, Shirou noticed it, frowning. "Ah, I'm sorry, Shirou. But if you don't say at least something good, you'll be standing here all day."

"…"

"…"

The whole class was watching intently.

"…" Taking a deep breath, Shirou exhaled, "… I've heard somewhere that King Arthur owned a wooden figurine of an old lion. It was apparently carved by his foster brother Kay."

Mr. Lucan seemed content with this, as he let both sit down, but it didn't go unnoticed to both that he seemed forced with his praise. Maybe he came from a magi bloodline? It also didn't go unnoticed either, that Saber had a full-blown out blush adorning her face. While almost everyone thought it was at being 'bested' by Shirou, he was grinning – she was blushing because she must've figured out that he'd seen that particular memory, of her being afraid of the storm.

The rest of the school day went by in a blur; after meeting with their new friends' in the cafeteria and being introduced to Marco – Will was still sick – Allie confirmed that they would be having Drama after school. Every day, until the play would be held. Shirou wasn't particularly thrilled, since it took away from their actual task time, but he didn't mind too much.

After lunch break, Saber and Shirou parted ways, going into their respective classes.

Saber found out that Marco was very skilled in art.

Shirou found out that his Physics teacher didn't take his defeat lightly; there was a surprise class test. And he was introduced to the PE teacher; by running an extra lap.

And both, with Miles', found out that Mrs. Arundel was hell-bent on finding out Saber's Latin-knowledge limits.

After the bell rang, and everyone left the classroom in a hurry, Miles turned to Saber. While he's gotten better at Latin, thanks to some kind of memory lapse he experienced, together with his (now seldom) visions, Saber was still way ahead of him. Or even their prof, it seemed. Saber and Mrs. Arundel were having a full Latin conversation, which the teacher lost. Badly. It was some sort of political discussion, apparently, from what Saber told him – and from what he could understand. Looking at Shirou, while they gathered their things and started walking towards the school theater, Miles smiled in sympathy. Shirou was, for all intents and purposes, completely locked out of the discussion.

Turning back to Saber, he spoke, "I haven't really understood everything, but I got to admit that the part in your discussion about leadership and kingship and their differences from country to rule was interesting. There were some very valid, good points. Are your parent's politicians or something like that?"

Miles didn't notice Saber and Shirou cringe. It's not like Saber could reveal that she's had almost the exact same discussion with the King of Conquerors and the King of Heroes, so she opted for a ….bent-truth version. If she considered it from today's standards, then her parents truly would've been politicians, no? "Indeed, my father is a politician. I have learned mostly from him and my old mentor."

Thankfully further conversation was halted as they stepped through the doors. Saber was assaulted with a highly condensed magical energy wave. Recoiling in surprise, she composed herself again and went after both boys; all the while wondering why this feeling was so familiar.

Miles and Shirou talked animatedly, which left the King of Knights to her thoughts. She couldn't place why, but the whole place gave her a sense of familiarity. It was useless thinking about it too much though, as they neared the theater.

Miles was explaining the location as they walked to the theater, and how students could find it from other rooms, as they entered. There was quite a big mass of students already there, being directed around by Mr. Lucan, including Allie and Jeniffer. When he spotted Saber, Shirou and Miles, he smiled, gesturing them over.

"There you are! We are deciding on who plays what role! Hurry!"

Shirou blinked. "Uhm... didn't you already start on the play?"

"No," the teacher coughed, "the meetings only started last week, where all we did was organize the script. It took a week, but we're finally done, thanks to Allies parents." He smiled again, clasping his hands together. "SO! Everyone come here! We will decide on the roles."

There was shuffling as roughly twenty-five students seated themselves in a circle around the teacher. There were various exclamation of 'I want to be Arthur!' or 'I want to be Mordred!' and others, until Mr. Lucan had to raise his voice.

Shirou and Saber kept wisely to themselves.

"So, everyone already agreed last week that Will will be playing King Arthur. Any objections?"

No one said anything.

"Good, as for Guinevere... who should fill that role?"

And thus started the madness of choosing the roles. Somewhere in the middle of it all, Shirou turned to Saber, smirking. "Why don't they use a girl for King Arthur's role?" She scolded him, and neither of them noticed that Miles looked at them oddly. Finally, after a few more minutes, the teacher spoke up, telling the results:

"We have Will for Arthur, Jeniffer for Guinevere, Lance for Lancelot, Allie is the Lady of the Lake, Marco is Mordred, Sabeth is Morgan Le Fay, Miles is Merlin and – if you'd agree, of course – Shirou Bedivere."

"Huh?"

"I second the idea!" At the same time as said teen's confused exclamation, Saber agreed heartily, shooting Shirou 'the glance'. There was silence, until Shirou relented. "...alright, as the lady commands."

"Wonderful!" Mr. Lucan was elated, "The other roles are minor or background roles, which some should also fulfill." After scribbling down the notes of those who volunteered, he moved to the next subject. "...props team. First for make-up and the likes – I'd like you to help with that, Marco, together with at least three other people. Yes Jeniffer?"

"I'd suggest Saber. She pinned my hair up in art, and it looked wonderful."

"Ah-" Saber was beginning her own bout of protesting, but two other people from the art class, agreed as well, and she had to relent.

"...right, Saber, and you two – Jacob and Sally, you as well. The advanced art class has volunteered to do the backgrounds, so that's taken care of, as well. Next on the list is..."

By that point Saber zoned out the talking, her eyes focusing on one particular individual. Elizabeth. There was something off about the girl, from how she kept glancing around to her long gazes at her Shirou -

Saber blushed at her thought.

Ahem, looking back at Elizabeth after shaking her head to clear her thoughts, the girl was grinning back at Saber.

Ahrg!

What was it Saber's fault for not being as well endowed as that ...that...

…

…

She blinked owlishly, noticing that the fog lifted from her mind the second Elizabeth walked out of her eyesight.

"Saber?" Shirou was calling her, and she blinked up, tilting her head in slight askance.

"You are going to show the lot of us how to handle some mock-serious swordplay."

His tone was teasing, and her cheeks colored again. She knew he already knows swordplay, so he probably was asking simply to integrate her into the group more.

"Yes, I will help." There was a round of cheers by the others, and she smiled faintly. "I have, after all, defeated the kendo-champion of Fuyuki City; the Tiger of Fuyuki."

More people cheered.

Chapter 4: Daily Routine

They fell into a daily routine by the end of the week.

School would go by like any other school day, with little to no interruptions and afterwards, Saber taught the 'knights' of the play, and anyone interested in it, swordplay.

Most of this first week was spent learning and rehearsing the lines – especially after Will came back.

Outside of the drama club, Shirou would oftentimes help around small problems, as per Fuyuki, or try to avoid Elizabeth.

When the weekend came, they found themselves in front of Allie's house, waiting for her to open the door. The student council had invited the two of them over for an 'initiation party', since they became good acquaintances.

"Saber, Shirou! You actually came!" Her voice was laced with surprise, but she had a smile plastered on her face. Shirou shook his head. The group of friends was strange. "Obviously; we promised after all, no?"

"True." She motioned inside, "Come in then, my parents are out – sorry for the mess, researchers, you know?"

A mess it was, but it had a homey feel to it. They walked through the main body to the door to the garden, where the rest of their new friend-circle was: Jeniffer, Lance, Marco, Miles and Will.

And an arrangement of different foods and drinks that made Sabers mouth water.

There even was a cliched banner for 'Welcome to Avalon High' above.

Handing both two small fireworks, everyone else held their own up demonstratively, before they lighted them, officially initiating the welcome.

"This is... admittedly cliched, you know?" Shirou smiled good-naturedly at Miles and Allie. They smiled back, knowing full-well what he meant. Meanwhile, Saber was talking with Jeniffer and Lance about the play, feeling something akin to embarrassed pride: pride, because they were doing great in swordsmanship, embarrassment, because they were talking about her life, even if unknowingly. The only one who didn't know either for longer than two days was Will, who was sitting with Marco on the sidelines, watching in amusement.

"...so, I might've been sick for a week, but even I noticed that there is something going on with both Saber and Shirou. Allie informed me of what happened on the first day alone, and this party is only a ruse to find out if they know something, right?"

"Yep." Marco sipped at his drink, "Shirou might simply be pulled in by the fame he generated by besting the white dragon, but there's definitely something up with Saber."

They stopped talking as both groups converged, turning into a big one talking about swordsmanship on Saber's behalf. Miles excused himself and went to the two sideliners, taking a drink with him.

"What'cha talking about?"

"Who's more suspicious." Will answered. "Marco thinks Saber is, and I agree with him. She always lingers around the entrance to the main building, looking up at it reverently."

Miles shook his head. "I think Shirou is on to something – while we auditioned students for the different roles, he said something about Arthur being a girl." He motioned with his head into the general direction of Allie, continuing. "I think he might be another knight – maybe Percival."

The others nodded. That sounded logical. Miles wasn't finished, though. "On the other hand – I get this feeling of familiarity from Saber – all of you got it as well, no?" At their nods, he continued, "I don't think any of them means harm, but -"

His voice dropped into a whisper, eyes growing harder. "Something is coming. And it will bring danger."

Before any of the other boys could say something, however, Miles went back to the group of chatting friends, leaving Marco and Will dumbfounded.

"Was this a-"

"Probably. The first in months."

They glanced over again. "We have to keep an eye on them. We have to."

o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

Well past midnight, Shirou and Saber bid the group goodbye, walking home. When they were a good block away from Allies house, however, the mood suddenly turned serious.

"...so, what do you say?" He glanced at her. She shook her head simply, "Whoever is causing a ruckus around town, none of them is. I do not know why, but I trust them – especially Allie and Jeniffer."

"I see."

They had gotten a notice from one of the familiars Rin sent with them, that there was suspicious magical activity near the school. It was an outburst of magical energy, but it felt terribly off somehow – and Will, Marco and Miles had spades of the magical energy 'clinging' to them – probably because they met the person who used it.

"So our assumption that it is someone from the school still stands?" Saber inquired as she opened the door. Shirou nodded in affirmation while he took off his coat.

"I think so. By the way- " here, he looked impishly at her, "Should I feel threatened? With how Jeniffer was hanging around your every word. I'm surprised Lance didn't get jealous."

"Huh?" Her reaction was something to be seen to be believed. Her face, a perfect mirror of calmness, turned first slightly pink, then red, with her eyes growing and pupils shrinking, mouth agape.

So he had to quip further.

"I mean, I know that you were married to Guinevere, but looking after women as well? Is there something I should be made aware of?"

He grinned at her look of mortification.

o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

An hour and a shower later, both were in bed, Saber snuggling up to Shirou who was smiling contently.

Chapter 5: Weekend's over, school anew

Over the course of the next three days, Saber noticed that Shirou might have been right with Jeniffer's attraction to her. She only hoped that it was curiosity, or something the like, because she really didn't wish to repeat the aptly named 'Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot Triangle', with herself in Lancelot's position. Not only because it would be incredibly ironic. Well, there was nothing she could do, however, since she, Jeniffer and Marco were partnered in art.

She'd simply have to endure it.

Shirou had similar, though not the same, thoughts – regarding a certain busty woman who was following him to the theater. Elizabeth simply didn't take 'no' for an answer. He'd told her time and time again that he was in a wonderful relationship and that no, he had no need to break it up to be together with a more 'mature' woman. He intended to marry Saber once they – he – was of marriageable age, thank you very much (and if she, as Tohsaka and he hoped, would not simply vanish again. But the less he thought abut it, the better).

Entering the room and spotting Will – thank whoever there is for that timely outcome – he bid her farewell and all but scurried to the waiting teen.

Who was wearing a rather nice looking replica of armor... though -

"Hey, Will. Thanks for the save, by the way." The other nodded good-naturedly, "but this armor..."

"What about it? It looks rather nice for a replica for a school's theater, no?"

"Er, yes. Only -" Shirou squinted his eyes, was that a blonde strand nearing them? It was, so Saber was already here, "- it's Roman, not British or Welsh. And even Greco-Roman, which is worse."

Will looked down on himself, eyes also taking on a strange look. "I know, trust me. I couldn't tell what for armor it was, but I had the feeling that it was wrong, somehow." He smiled up at Shirou and made place for Saber and ...Mr. Lucan? "You have good eyes."

"That he does – as does Saber. She pointed out the exact same thing for the dresses; that they were from a time period a few hundred years later than King Arthur." Lucan looked proudly at her. "I already mentioned it to the principal – to think that we've been doing this for a good six years and never noticed. He promised to order new ones."

Shirou looked surprised. The school had this much budget for the play? The teacher noticed, because he looked sheepish. "I plan on saying this later, but you lot will have to take care of the costumes."

"How so?" Will stared at him quizzically.

"Well," he looked uncomfortable, "it's going to be plain armor, so you'll have to paint on the design and whatnot by yourselves. And the dresses are also plain – we've got enough spare material to create embroidery and the likes, so we have to use it."

Shirou blinked. "That... is a lot to take care of."

"I agreed to show how some of the dresses worn by royals looked like, as well as the dress for the lady of the lake." Saber glanced at him.

Huh, so she'll draw them down?

Probably.

"I see, that's nice." Shirou was about to say more, when the teacher interrupted him. "Can you do the same for the armor? Only drawing some designs and the like – I got the art class already at it, as well as the sewing group, for when the new costumes are here."

Will looked silently at the exchange, Saber looking surprised. "I could, yes."

"Thank you!"

o.0.o.0.o.0.o.o.0.o

After the theater group was over Marco called Saber and Shirou.

"Hey! Is Saber there?" There was a "Yeah" from Shirou. "Great! Are you two interested in going out? We're having a movie night today."

Shirou glanced at Saber, who shrugged her shoulders. Answering back in positive, Marco could be heard rustling around. "All right, we'll pick you up in half an hour!"

After he hung up, Shirou glanced at Saber again. "Well, it looks like we're booked." She smiled at him, "True. Then let us hurry and prepare. I call dibs on the shower."

After the agreed upon time passed, Marco picked them up, together with Will and Allie. "It'll be a tight fit, but it should work." They hurried inside, Shirou closing the door after him. When they were seated, Shirou asked, "What are we going to watch?"

"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Miles called dibs on it, and Jen and Allie agreed." Will was smirking, looking through the mirror at the passengers of the back row. Marco also was glancing up, but since he drove, it was rather futile. Shirou nodded, while Saber looked interested. "Sounds good to me. Magic and all that, huh?"

Allie smiled, "Yup, as some sort of 'preparation'," she actually made the quotation marks in the air, "for him playing Merlin. It's all well and good though, as long as he wont use quotes from the movie."

"I see." Shirou was smiling as well, but he cast a worried glance at Saber.

There was a short silence, which was only interrupted by the soft music coming from the radio. That is, until it was broken.

"Actually, I hope you don't mind me asking, but -" Marco glanced back shortly, making eye-contact with Shirou. "- is Saber often over? Or did we interrupt something?"

He blinked. "No, we were free, you didn't interrupt anything; don't worry."

Before anyone could ask more, however, they arrived at their destination.

o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o

On Friday, Allie approached Saber shortly after theater begun.

"Saber?"

"Hm?" Spoken to blonde looked up from her sketch of one of the ladies' dresses, putting pen and paper down. "Yes?"

Allie glanced at Jen, who was nodding at her, and then back. "We were wondering if you would be interested in a girls night out? You know, a sleepover over the weekend?" At Sabers confused glance, Jen added: "Just Allie, You and Me. We'd do typical girls stuff like shopping, a day at the spa and we'd end it with a sleepover at my house. How does it sound?"

"The guys are all going to the practice football match, and they're asking Shirou to go with them. So they're also having a boys night out, so to speak." Allie added.

"If you would have me." The answer sounded meek, and both girls were treated to a blushing Saber as she confessed to never having done something the like. There was an alarming look in their eyes. "That's terrible! We'll pick you up at around eleven – can you give us your address?"

That is precisely what they did – picking up Saber at eleven at hers and Shirou's house. Said Magus encouraged her to go with the other two girls, himself not able to go with the guys because he had a report to write. "Have fun, Saber! See you tomorrow!"

So now here she was, smiling sheepishly at Allie and Jeniffer as they went to the next shopping arcade. The girls were burning with questions, but left the really interesting ones for later. Now they had to show Saber the benefit of a girls night out!

They started with window shopping, only going into stores that looked like they might interest Saber. Allie was talking about the homecoming dance, which all had to attend. Saber listened politely, not really interested, until something caught her eye. Jen leaned in, whistling. "Well, that's a nice suit, I gotta admit. Shame that its too small for Lance. Or Will."

Allie nodded. "True, that's them football genes, I tell you!" She looked at Saber, who noticed their stares. "Why did it catch your eye?"

"Ah, it looks rather similar to a suit I once wore. That is all." It really looked rather similar to the civilian clothing she wore as Kiritsugu's Servant, so it caught her in nostalgia. Apparently however, it was the wrong thing to say, as both girls looked at her and then at the suit, no doubt imagining Saber in it.

"You gotta try it on!" Jen snatched her hand and all but dragged Saber into the store, Allie in tow. There was an indignant 'HEY' from the assistants, them claiming that it was men's wear only, but that was ignored.

o.0.o.0.o

"That was a good shopping day!" Five hours later, Jeniffer and Allie exited with a feeling of triumph, having gotten Saber to buy almost a completely new wardrobe. The Suit, with capital 'S', in which she looked gorgeously handsome, a nice skirts and shirt combination, some hair pins and bows in different colors, something more sporty – complete with a cap - and the most embarrassing set of lingerie Saber had her eyes laid on. Which Jeniffer particularly forced her to buy, her blush notwithstanding. Saying "You never know when it's needed."

Now they were on their way to Jen's home, Saber clutching the plush dragon, which she bought on the way, to herself, hiding her embarrassment.

Arriving at her home, they went into the living room, disposing of all the bought things, before heading to their destination. "What do you think the guys are doing?"

Saber looked at Allie. "Good question."

The guys were, in fact, over at Will's home, celebrating not only the won practice match, but also discussing the two new students once again. Will was on the couch, drink in hand, contemplating. Lance was next to him, looking grim and Marco was sitting on a chair from the kitchen, sloshing a beer around. Miles was talking.

"It's our duty to protect Allie and Jen from harm as much as its their duty to look after things. We know that the Order is on the case as well, thanks to Marco and Mr. Lucan, but they know about as much about those two as we do." He stroke his chin. "We are the 'Knights of the Round' after all. And the fact that the magical mishaps have increased just as two new students come is way too coincidental. But at the same time, I doubt that they are the cause of it."

Will nodded. "We know that there are students who try to dissolve the student council – who loathe Allie – so it's easy to say that those are our enemies." He put his drink down, continuing. "The question now is: are Shirou and Saber involved? And if yes, by how much."

Marco spoke up. "Our current thesis that Shirou is one of us could be true, but that is not 100 % sure. What interests me, and the Order, is how much Saber seems to know. She knew all of those little tidbits about the prop Caliburn, or the dresses and armor. Furthermore – her name: Artoria Penn! That is too likely to be a coincidence."

Lance nodded. "Her name is the biggest issue. It could also be simply an accident." He looked at them. "Did you notice how almost everyone was completely mesmerized by her the first second they saw her?"

Affirmative nods.

"Allie talks way too often about her," the quarterback admitted, "like, non stop."

"Jen does the same." Lance looked glum.

"I heard about that from the others," Marco spoke up again, gaining the attention of all of the males, "the whole class was dumbstruck with the exception of Miles here."

Said person nodded. "True. But what are you trying to say?"

"That for all we know, she could be Morgan Le Fay."

Chapter 6: The Irregular Magus

When Saber arrived home the next day, her worldview was shattered. Who knew being a teenager in High School was so confusing and complicated? Opening the door and all but falling into the couch, she huffed a "Hello Shirou."

Only to be met with silence.

Righting herself up and putting her new things away, Saber went to the kitchen, where she found a note from Shirou.

I'm out looking at a magic signature north from the forest behind the school, will be back later. Food's in the fridge.

Love, Shirou

Saber sighed. It seemed that she was alone for the time. It gave her time to think about last night, at least. She already knew the implications and what it meant when a man was living alone with a woman, as Shirou pointed it out so nicely in the Grail War, and Taiga later (though she knew Saber was an associate of Kiritsugu, which meant that she was older than her apparent looks, which was why Taiga relented, she suspected), but hearing it from Allie and Jeniffer...

"So," Jen asked, having seated herself comfortably on her cushion, "What's up with you and Ro? You are over an awful lot at his house, if that's the address where we can find you."

"I'd like to know as well." Allie supplied.

Saber looked at them strangely, tilting her head. "We are living together, was it not clear?"

There was silence.

"Living? As in sharing an apartment? 'Cause that's in no way a two story house." Jen looked perplexed.

"Yes, living together. Exactly." Saber looked a tad confused. Why were they asking this?

"S-so you two are an item?" Allie asked.

"If by 'item' you mean romantically involved, then yes. Shirou and I are together." This was said with the faintest of blushes, to which Allie and Jen could only gawk.

"B-but what about your parents! Or guardians! You have to be the age of consent for this sort of thing – especially if one is underage! If one of you is underage, then that's jailbait! That means jail! That-" Allie clamped her hand over Jens mouth, silencing her rant and muttering an apology.

"You see, Saber, if a man and a woman live together without any kind of guardian or parents it causes quite a stir." She let go of Jens mouth, "But – you did it because you love each other, right?"

"Undoubtedly," there was no hesitation in her voice, "Shirou is my Scabbard, just as I am his."

Shaking her head at the memory, Saber microwaved her lunch. She would never understand the logic behind some customs of this age. Hearing the resolute 'ping' of the microwave, she halted her thoughts completely, focusing on the Japanese lunch before her. Muttering a silent 'Ittadakimasu' she started eating.

o.0.o.0.o.0.o

Shirou came home shortly after dinnertime. Sighing, he was greeted by a sleeping Saber on the couch. Smiling to himself, he put down his bag and walked over to her.

"Hey, Saber." No response. "Saber, wake up. Or you won't be sleeping tonight, and we have school tomorrow." He poked her cheek to further his point, which meant that he leaned over her head. So he was caught by surprise when she pulled up and kissed him on the mouth.

He wasn't complaining, though.

"Mmmh," she let go of him, a small smile gracing her lips, "Good evening, Shirou."

Now that he wasn't poking her or being kissed, Shirou noticed that she'd fallen asleep while drawing. Letting himself fall next to her onto the couch, with her curling around his side, he looked at the sketches.

Some of them were plain dresses, others with more intricate embroidery, while the majority of the sketches were of armor. The armor always had the same style – since it ran on a school budget – but the pattern were different, always. Along the sides of the armor, names of knights were written – Sir Gawain, Sir Tristan, Sir Lancelot – and names of the corresponding students – Thomas, Robin, Lance.

"They look beautiful." Shirou was surprised at the care Saber put in each and every picture.

She blushed, muttering a "Thank you," while Shirou flipped through the pages. He found some hair styles next, drawn with the same care as the armor, until he found the last two drawn pages, where an armor detailing 'King Arthur' was, undoubtedly for Will, and another set, which was for Shirou –

Oh.

He glanced over to her, and saw that she was hiding her face in his shoulder, no doubt red with embarrassment. He eyed the sketch, noting how it seemed more detailed than the rest, and resembling her own more than the school set. Which was a given, since he stumbled over Sir Bedivere – Shirou already. Not knowing what to say, he opted for "Thanks, I guess? I mean, I feel honored that you'd design an armor for me – and it's magnificent – but... I'm no knight, Saber."

There was a self-depreciating tone to his voice, one which Saber didn't like one bit. So she tilted her head upwards, still in the same position, and stared him defiantly in the eyes.

"You are so much more than that, Shirou, so please do not doubt yourself this much." She righted herself, holding his free hand in hers while her other clasped around her heart, "Why, I have no doubt that, if these times were mine, I would have knighted you for your deeds – noble or not."

"Saber..." He was taken aback by her declaration, emotions welling within him. "I- thank you." She smiled, leaning over and – with a blush – kissed him chastely.

"Always." She murmured.

o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

"And whomever pulleth the sword from the stone shall be the new High King of Britannia!"

Miles was reading his script, but he had a hard time speaking the lines due to the thick beard that was part of his costume.

Mr. Lucan was on the side, shaking his head, while Mr. Keys and Mrs. Arundel were watching, the first snickering while the second had a frown. "...the beard is still too big, Miles?"

"Y-yeah, sorry." Spoken to student smiled sheepishly. "I can't get it to stay put, somehow."

"That's a shame..." Mr. Lucan looked distraught. Merlin the old wizard was part and parcel of the myth!

"Excuse me?" A soft voice caught their attention. The teachers and Miles turning around, they saw Saber with her sketchpad, looking skeptically at the scene before her. "I have talked with the art and sewing groups, and all of them were of one mind to use a 'young' Merlin instead of an 'old' Merlin. Maybe instead of the beard, rather white hair?"

"..."

"Well," Lucan stared ahead into space, "if the students say it... what do you say, Miles? Up for a wig? Rather than a beard?"

"Definitively." The voice was muffled and deadpan. Mr. Keys was smirking at the scene, and Mrs. Arundel had an indignant look, 'harumph'-ing. "You obviously have the situation under complete control, Lucian. Oh, and Artoria?" Saber grit her teeth. "I hope you finish the assignment until tomorrow."

With that, she left.

"Well... sorry about her. She's been in a sour mood lately." Mr. Keys looked apologetically at the remaining people. He cleared his throat, "She's right, though, Lucian. You should get it more under your control – you are letting the student council and the two exchange students do most of the work!"

Mr. Lucan grumbled.

o.0.o.0.o.0.o

On the other side of the room, Shirou was trying – and failing – to put on the newly arrived armor. He glanced over to Lance and Will, who had also problems with putting it on. He grimaced. "Who in the world made these? They are way too heavy to be simple costumes, and they have too many parts to be simply put on without help."

The other two glanced at each other and shrugged. "I dunno about the weight, it feels kinda okay to me -" Shirou sorted, football players and their general bulkiness. "- but I agree with the donning. These are incredibly complex – you'd need a squire to don them!"

There was a short bout of laughter, before they heard someone approaching. Turning around, Saber and Miles, along with Allie and Jen were standing there, smiling. "Someone needs squires? Why, ask no more, brave knights! I have brought thee the best I could offer!" Miles grinned, motioning to the three girls.

Will picked up the acting, good-naturedly, "Why thank you, dear stupid castle-wizard, but thee are aware that those squires thou hast spoketh of areth the fair Guinevere and the Lady Vivian? As well as..." Here he halted for a moment, not knowing what role to give to Saber, until Lance quipped in with "... the fair Nimue! Shame upon you, Milord, that thou hast not recognized Merlin's student!"

Shirou blinked. Nimue? He glanced at Saber, who had an amused smile, playing along. "It is my pleasure, meting thee, My Liege. Mine being has heard much about thee, and as such I find myself eternally grateful to be in the presence of someone as renowned as King Arthur and Sir Lancelot and Sir Bedivere. Please, let us be of help with donning thy armor." She even bowed for added effect.

There was a chorus of "Yes, please mine King" form Jen and Allie, and Will turned to Lance and Shirou. "What doest thou say, Lancelot? Didst thou agree with the words of the lady Nimue?"

"Quite, my lord." Lance was snickering. Will nodded once, and turned his question at Shirou, who also answered in positive.

And as the girls helped the 'knights' into their armor, with Shirou being done the fastest, thanks to Sabers experience as a squire, they didn't notice a group of people watching. Or one person in particular -with dark hair- leaving.

0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o

The rest of the Monday passed quietly, and most of Tuesday was the same – Shirou got chewed out by Mrs. Arundel for not doing the assignment correctly, she got into another bout of political discussions with Saber, and Miles watched all of it with humor.

At drama, not much happened either, if Saber getting a new bout of fan-girls and boys could be considered normal. Shirou was surprised by how popular she became, even if something during lunch break caught his attention – namely Elizabeth and her lackeys glancing into the general direction of the student council.

Hah, High School Life in its fullest.

A whole week passed by without many incidents, with the exception of a lost magic track once again. The next Monday was boring, Tuesday being not much better. In fact – the only interesting occurrence that day had been the invitation to a practice match of the football-team after drama by Will – nothing fancy like the last one, but it was still pretty interesting.

So they spent their afternoon watching quarterbacks and cheerleaders and old coaches. During said afternoon, Marco sat down next to them, with a row of drinks and, handing them over, started asking questions about Shirou's old school. Apparently getting to know the daily schedule of a Japanese student was more interesting than the cool-down of the football-team, so most of the students and townspeople who came to watch the practice listened in on Shirou's tale.

"So your English and homeroom teacher was also your legal guardian?"

"And is the daughter of the local Yakuza – which is basically a Mafia?"

Those were apparently the most interesting facts about Homuhara. Marco grinned apologetically, but asked nonetheless, "So, what kind of clubs do you have?"

Scratching the back of his neck, Shirou replied, "Eh, the usual – though, we have kendo as a club, as well as archery; that's different from here. I actually kind of miss archery..."

"You were in an archery-club?" That was Jen asking. Huh, it seemed that the cheerleaders and Lance were also listening in. Which meant that practice was over already. Oops...

"Yeah, I was the captain for a short while, but I quit. I still helped out wherever I could, though."

"Ooh... not only a knight, but an archer!" One of the cheerleaders said, to which many of the female students giggled. Then another voice joined the group, "Oh, Emiya is an archer as well? I see; you Japanese people are quite sporty, I see." The coach – and his PE teacher – smiled at Shirou. "Shame that we don't have any archery equipment."

After Lance and Will had finished,they and Shirou and Saber met the others at a restaurant in downtown. Allie had called the whole group, wanting to discuss something.

"Homecoming Dance."

"..."

"..."

She was met with silence. Furrowing her brow, she sighed, elaborating. "The Vice said that he leaves the planning of the dance for the student council. Which means us-" gesturing to Jen, Lance, Miles, Will, Marco and herself, " -as well as you two." She gestured to Shirou and Saber. Shirou looked perplexed. "Uh, this homecoming dance is only in roughly two months, right?"

Jen nodded.

"So why are we planning already now? And why is Saber and me also part of the student council?"

"Uh, for the first: I dunno, teacher's order. For the second: I think it's because you are already doing most things with us – or maybe the teachers'd like some outside influence?" Miles looked about as informed as Shirou felt. Jen shook her head, murmuring "Guys..." before she raised her voice to the whole group. "It's not like we have to start preparing already. The only thing what we have to do for now is narrow down the themes the dance'll have; right, Allie?"

"Right."

As she said this, she produced a paper and a pen, lying both neatly onto the table. On the paper a few names were scribbled, like 'Western', 'Samurai' or 'Futuristic' and even one 'Gender-bent' suggestion. Flicking the fountain pen open, she twirled it once before asking, "Any suggestions?"

"How about 'Classical'?" Jen was the one to suggest that. Miles joined in with "'Wizard-school' You know, like Hogwards?"

Allie noted both down. Will and Lance said 'Country' and 'Casual' respectively, and both were jotted down. Allie glanced at Marco, Shirou and Saber. "Any ideas?"

Shirou shrugged, "All of them sound good – except the gender-bent one. What do we have to do? Guys in drags and girls in suit?"

Allie nodded, while Jen answered, "Well, we at least know one girl whom a Suit suits exceptionally well." looking pointedly at Saber, who shifted uncomfortably.

There was a moment of silence, until Marco spoke up. "I think we should ad 'Medieval' to the list as well – it fits with our school image," a round of nods and it was added to the list, after which Marco continued, "and the theater play is scheduled a week before the dance, which puts both roughly one-one and a half months from now."

It was a rather sound argument. "Well," Allie started, "I'll pin these onto the board, and have a paper go around where students can decide which one to vote. Sounds good?"

There was a round of agreements, until Lance turned to Saber. "What about you? Any idea for a theme?"

"...mayhaps?" Her voice sounded conflicted, but Jen and Will urged her on, so she relented. "I thought about 'Legends' in general – heroes of old like Diarmuid of Fianna or Cuchulain or even villains like Medusa or Medea of Colchis..."

"- or like King Arthur and the Knights of the Round! That is a great idea, Saber!" Allie was taking a shine to it, but Shirou knew what Saber meant by it – knew why she was so reluctant to share her idea – it hit home after all, the Grail War.

That was when a waitress came, and asked them what they would like to drink or eat. They each ordered something small, but when she went back to the kitchen to deliver the order, Miles caught her arm. "Your friend also works here, right?"

She looked confused at him, but nodded, telling him she was having her break. He continued, voice full of warning, "There's a pipe with a leak in the backroom; you should hurry and look after her."

A few minutes later, an ambulance came in to look at the unconscious, but thankfully unharmed, waitress, the first one thanking Miles profoundly – by putting everything they ordered on house – and a silently looking Shirou and Saber. Their eyes met, with them a hidden message: This turned out to be interesting.

o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o

"He's a magus." Was the first thing Shirou said the second they entered their home and he closed the door. "Probably with [Clairvoyance] or [Eye of the Mind] too."

"I agree – there was a faint trace of magical energy around him shortly before he told the waitress to look after her friend."

Saber's brow was furrowed. She didn't like the fact that they had to spy after their new friends – especially because she felt as if she knew them. But if Miles really was a Magus, then he could be very well be after the traces of magic in downtown and around the school. "With him being a Magus, there is a chance that the others are as well, however -"

"- you don't think they're behind the dark energy either, huh?"

She nodded. "I do not know why, but I have the same feeling around them as I have when entering the school."

"I see. I'll trust you on that, Saber. Which means," Shirou sighed. The assignment just got harder, "we'll use the rest of the school week to look for anything out of the ordinary – stealthily – and confront Miles Friday afternoon. Sounds good?" He didn't like the idea himself, but it had to be done if they wanted to find the magic assailant.

Saber grimaced, nodding. "Good. Let us do that, Shirou. However, how do you wish to confront him-?"

"I'll ask if he can give me help in Latin? Or you need help with Chemistry? Something like that?"

Chapter 7: Watson and Sherlock

The rest of the week was spent exactly as agreed: they looked closer for any kind of magic or magic artifact, without alarming either the possible Magus nor the student council. Once, during recess, Saber walked Marco over the way, and they spent the reminder discussing the poll for the homecoming dance and their current art-project.

It seemed that two days after the poll, Classic, Futuristic and Medieval were on the leading line, while Gender-bent and Legendary were second – which surprised Saber.

"Not really," Marco laughed, "Most of the girls want to wear a suit for once, and want the guys to feel humiliated in dresses."

"I see." It really was a funny thought, someone like Will or Lance or Shirou in a dress-

Dangerous. She has to halt that thought at once.

Even if he would look wonderful in royal blue.

Bidding him goodbye, Saber left for drama – him unable to join due to some shortcomings. Meeting Mr. Lucan on the way, they walked the short distance together.

"It's awfully helpful, your help, Saber. Without you or Allie we'd be dead already, with the preparations and everything. You see – our school has to uphold its history." He fingered at something in his pocket. "This years play will be the most accurate, historically!" He was almost shouting now, and Saber had to smile. It's a shame that no one except Shirou, Rin, Ilya and herself knew, but such was the fate of her-who-is-King.

"I see. I am glad to hear, Mr. Lucan."

o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

Shirou was grimacing, on his way to drama.

Nothing. Their search had yielded absolutely nothing. Saber had briefed him in, shortly after lunch break, with about as much results as he had. It was surprisingly frustrating.

When he'd called Rin through the familiar the other night, and told her of their findings, she couldn't help either, for she was not present. She promised to take a look at wandering Magi of all grades, who might've gone to the country, or near it, but until now it yielded nothing. It really was hard tracking down any magic signature to Miles, almost like Rin did with him, back at the beginning –

Beginning...

Maybe, just maybe... Miles was a complete novice? Not knowing he had magic, having only discovered his magecraft, thinking it some sort of super-power? It was wishful thinking, Shirou knew... but still a possibility he and Saber had to look at.

Sadly, Shirou was late because of his musings, so he ended up having to put on the armor – he couldn't really call it costume – alone, since his squire, Saber, was off elsewhere. She actually got a small acting part as said squire, since all of the 'knights' had to put on their armor at least once while acting – so Saber turned into the male squire Roland (much to his amusement).

"Shirou! Hurry, we need Bedivere for take 12 A!"

Now, if she wouldn't enjoy her role as assistant too much.

o.0.o.0.o.0.o

At home, they went over their findings again, which were scattered across the dining table. The only thing noteworthy were a few closed doors, all of which had a strange symbol to them. It's not like they could simply ask for the time tables of the suspicious students, or look at their absents – Shirou didn't possess enough skill with hypnotism, sadly.

So they were pouring over the information over dinner, discussing it. "It's no use!" It was frustrating, really. "We can't find anything that's way too suspicious to not belong to a school."

"True – and all of the books about my life and legend are also ordinary, given the record of the school. Even if there are hundreds-of-years old documents by Merlin himself about the existence of magic and the occasional phantasmal beast."

"Normally, that would be a dead giveaway, huh?" Shirou asked deadpan. The answer was deadpan as well, mixed together with a frustrated sigh and the furrowing of brows. "Certainly."

o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

Miles didn't know what to do.

Or well, he knew what he had to do – they'd talked about it plenty, yesterday.

Shirou and Saber had noticed something that day – when he had the vision shortly before warning the waitress, their gazes turned hard, alert and calculating; not unlike Will and Marco when they sparred in their free time. Even if the skills with the blade of the Roundtable Council were not as great as their first lives', the imprint of the knowledge, the muscle memory (as well as Sabers lessons on mock-real, too-real swordplay) and daily training helped greatly.

Well, for those who used swords – he found himself rather lacking in that regards. His knowledge of the arcane arts was also rather lacking, since with their fight against Mordred oh-so-long ago where he did everything on instinct. His best bet would be to get a hand on some of the documents Merlin had written, that were stored in the school's archives, but he had no real idea how to use the magic described inside it. He read plenty about 'Magic Circuits', 'Prana', 'Mana' and 'Od', but he had no idea how to utilize those.

And now he somehow had to ask Shirou and Saber to go over to them, and look around if they had anything that could warrant Marcos suspicion.

Miles sighed again. There they were, in front of Shirou's locker, talking. Approaching them, and feeling like a miserable friend, he started, "Hey Shirou, Saber." his mind already whirring around possible questions he could ask without getting too suspicious. Maybe ask if I could tutor one of –

"Miles, can you come over today after drama? Saber needs your help with some chemistry assignment you apparently got."

Well, that was rather easy, wasn't it?

o.0.o.0.o.0.o

Miles found himself following Saber and Shirou back home after school – and holy, was the way long. He had officially new respect for them if they always walked it. They were having small-talk, but the second they stepped into the house, and Shirou closed his door, the temperature turned frigid and sharp. You had the feeling that the air was about to be cut by a thousand blades.

Literally.

It seemed that Saber and Shirou had the same idea as him however, as they turned around, all smiles and relaxed composure gone. Miles gulped, taking involuntarily a step back, looking as feeble as possible. This was like with Mr. Moore – a feeling of power that was so strong that he didn't know what to do; especially if his own knowledge of his past magic is lacking. He had magic under his control – but it was by far less controlled than this.

Shirou smiled at him. "Well, Miles; I'll cut right to the case: are you the one who is walking around town, casting dark magic? Because if you are..."

The pressure around him increased, and was that wind in the hand of Saber, shaped like a sword? Miles felt a sudden headache coming. Putting up his hand in a defensive pose, he retorted.

"It's the student council's and the Order's job to keep the place safe – we are trying to find out what it is, ourselves. So I could ask the same of you – it increased shortly before you came, after all."

The air around them lost the sharp feeling, suddenly, and Miles found his headache leaving. Shirou and Saber looked at each other, before completely loosening up, smiling. Shirou sighed, muttering, "Bless the Root for that, I would've felt bad hurting you."

Miles choose to ignore it, instead looking at Saber. "So you lot are one of us, right? Who are you – we had little luck the last few months, after Mr. Moore got caught. Are you a sub-branch of the Order maybe?"

She blinked, confused. "What order? What is it that you are talking about? If by 'Order' you mean Association, then we are from the Spiritual Department."

It was Miles' turn to blink, and when he looked in confusion at the two, Shirou sighed, motioning to the couch. When all three were seated, and Shirou handed everyone a cup of tea, he directed his gaze at Miles. "How long have you been a Magus, Miles?"

Said boy looked confused, first, before it dawned on him. "A good half year, actually. Maybe three-quarter, if you count the little flashes of visions I've been having and – Wait." His eyes narrowed. "You said 'Magus', not 'Wizard' – all call me a wizard, you're the first one to call me magus."

It was Shirou's turn to be surprised. "...I take it your only interaction with the supernatural are books and films and the like?"

"Ah...yes..." Miles looked sheepish. Shirou grimaced, glancing at Saber, who nodded slowly.

"Alright. You, Miles, are -probably- a first generation Magus. It means that you posses something called 'Magic Circuits'. These circuits generate your magical energy, known as 'Prana' and allow you to use it in the form of 'Magecraft'. Still following?"

"Yes."

"Good." Shirou sighed again. "I'm a Magus like you – a third rate hack – and we were 'sent' here to investigate the magical occurrences around the city – the school in particular."

Miles looked surprised. "Why?"

Saber was the one to answer, surprisingly. "This place suddenly got magical activities outside of the Associations' influence range and has a school that is named Avalon High of all things magical. The only logical conclusion is that something is going on."

Shirou took up, "Which is why we were sent – you could say that we know a particular lot about ….Arthurian lore."

"I see..." And he really did, too. Setting his cup down gently, Miles folded his hands, looking Shirou straight into the eyes. "Then our first hypothesis was right after all. You really are the good guys."

"Why, what did you think?" Shirou found the notion amusing, that they could've been the bad–

"Well, Marco thought that Saber was Morgan Le Fay, which is absurd in hindsight – but you two really are mysteries. So tell me, Shirou, who are you? Percival? Tristan? Or –" Miles glanced at the strange expression of anger on Sabers face, and the pained look of sympathy, followed by a harsh -first shocked, then mortified and finally cold – glare by Shirou in his direction, and Miles' hands dropped, " –or you have not the slightest idea what I'm talking about, and I probably revealed some very important information that this association of yours wasn't aware of."

Saber glared at him. "Quite."

Chapter 8: The Meeting between Factions

Not even two minutes later, and Miles was calling Allie and the others for a meeting at Shirou's. The man of the house followed an upset Saber into their room, leaving a confused Miles to wait for their guests, alone. It did give him some time to process the given information, but he worried more about Saber – he didn't think that she would be that insulted by basically being called a witch – especially since they didn't seem to be a part of the Knowing Ones.

Hearing the sound of something falling to the ground and breaking, Miles softly went to the closed door, knocking on it. "Saber? Hey, what I said earlier, I'm sorry about it – we'll explain everything to you two once the core lot is here, I promise."

There was a short silence, until Saber opened the door, looking at Miles with an emotionless gaze, followed by Shirou. She walked out of the room, sitting down at her former seat on the couch, Shirou going into the kitchen to prepare tea. After a tense moment, her shoulders relaxed, and she gave a shaky sigh, apologizing.

"Ah -! No I'm sorry about what happened, I should've listened to my gut feeling, so yeah..."

Shirou came back, with a full tray of tea for everyone. "When will they be arriving?"

"Around twenty minutes, I guess. They do have a car, after all."

"I see."

Miles chewed on his inner lip, wondering if he should be asking Shirou or not. Well, it's not like it can get worse... "Say, Shirou? This magic association, what does it do? You are the first nice wiz- mage I've met, so I'd like more background knowledge – especially about these visions I have."

Shirou looked surprised. "Well, you possess a rare gift, that's for sure – you said you have visions of the future? Then you either have [Clairvoyance] or [Eye of the Mind] – but it's more likely the former, no matter how impossible it might sound, since the [Eye of the Mind] skill is something more similar to a sixth sense, or precognition."

"I see..." Miles looked thoughtful, "if it's so rare, then who were these individuals who possessed it?"

"Individuals like King Solomon, the centaur Chiron or Merlin, court magician of King Arthur." Saber answered, with something akin to fondness in her voice, but Miles zoned it out. "Oh... well, that explains it..."

"Explains what?" Shirou looked suspicious, but Miles shrugged him off, saying that they should wait for Allie and the rest.

And waiting they did.

Fifteen minutes, and a rudimentary magical lesson by Shirou later, Allie and the others all but stormed the home of the duo; her brandishing something akin to an invisible weapon of sorts, which had Saber raise her brow in silence, and Miles panicking.

"Allie! Wait, I'm alright, I'm alright! They're good!"

The student council visibly relaxed at that, Lance giving a sigh. "You worried us, Miles!"

"Ahem," Shirou looked at the group, motioning to them with his gaze, telling them to silently sit down. They did, with Lance and Marco at the left of Miles', and Allie, Jen and Will to the right – the latter on a chair. None of them crossed the invisible border between them and Shirou and Saber, the atmosphere not completely filled with animosity and anxiety, but not friendly either.

Shirou took up word. "So, all of you know about the Moonlit World, then?"

A row of nods. "Good, that makes things easier. We've already explained it to Miles, but I'll say it again: we are sent by the Magus Association from London, here to look into the strange magical occurrences around the school and city. If you do the same, then we're friends."

The others looked at each other, silently willing someone to speak. Allie was about to speak up when Marco interrupted her. "I see. This Association is compromised of wizards?"

Saber shook her head. "Shirou and Miles are 'Magi' – they are able to cast magecraft that is able to be recreated through technology. Wizards are titles given to those of renown power, like the Wizard Marshall. While Magicians are those who practice true magic; miracles that cannot be recreated using modern technology."

"... alright," Marco blinked. There was such a big distinction between the terms magus, wizard and magician? There was probably more to that, but he stayed silent. "... so you are not one of us, I take it?" He glanced at Miles, who shook his head.

Shirou's look became calculating. "Define 'One of Us'. Miles already asked if I was either Percival or Tristan, so I'm rather curious what one of us means."

There was a tense silence, until Allie broke it. "One of us being mostly the Knights -" Ah, the football-team. "- a teacher and the student council, which means basically us here." She halted a moment, before adding, "And the Order."

"This Order," Saber interrupted, "would it perchance have to do something with the symbols on some of the doors in the school and the ones in Allie's home? As well as with the necklace Marco is wearing, and Mr. Lucan has in his pocket?"

Jen nodded. "Yes, how did you-?"

"I have encountered some members once, of the Order of the Bear."

It was Shirou's turn to look surprised. "The Order of the Bear? The Order that waits to this day and age for the return and reincarnation of King Arthur? That order?"

Marco nodded. "Yes. And since you already seem to know about it, it makes our situation easier." He took a deep breath. "The reincarnation part? True, albeit not in a way you might think. King Arthur and his knights have returned, roughly half a year ago."

Shirou and Saber glanced at each other. It might explain her reappearance, if the dates cross. She looked at the teens. "Please elaborate."

"Well," Lance looked sheepish, "I guess there's no hiding it anymore, guys. So." Will continued: "All of us are the 'reincarnations' of the Knights of the Roundtable, with the exception of Miles and Allie. But it's more like a knowledge or feeling of things, than a full-blown reincarnation with memories and the likes –"

Saber muttered a "Naturally" and Shirou put a reassuring hand on her tight. If they'd still have their memories, they'd have recognized her. So something like that seemed the most logical.

" –so, anyway. I'm Bedivere." Will finished. Ah, Saber thought, it does rather fit – he is a compassionate person.

Lance continued with "I'm Lancelot.", to which Saber only nodded, followed by Jeniffer's "I'm Guinevere."

That would explain the sudden attraction, as well.

Looking expectantly at Miles and answering before he could, she stated "You are the Magus of Flowers?" at which he looked confused, so she corrected herself by saying "Merlin. You are Merlin?"

"Yeah, I am." He smiled sheepishly, and Saber had to smile back. No wonder they felt familiar.

Marco had a somewhat confused look on his face, before asking: "How did you know?"

Shirou answered him. "Other than that being the logical conclusion – for your magus to be the 'reincarnation' of a magician? Merlin had [Clairvoyance], which Miles also possesses in the form of his visions. Who are you then, Marco?"

He waved his hand. "No one. I'm simply Marco, a member of the Order, and peacekeeper of the lot here." His hand returned to his tea. "The other reincarnations are Mr. Keys – who is Sir Kay," There was a small chuckle from Shirou and Saber, "and the rest of the Knights, who correspond to their Roundtable counterparts – the guys have the lowest affinity as of yet, though."

Then they looked uncertainly at each other, prompting Saber to ask, "And you, Allie? Are you perchance the Lady of the Lake? For you wielded an invisible weapon before – or mayhaps lady Elaine of Schalott?"

"Well...you see..." Allie looked uncertain, so Marco continued. "It might be hard to believe – it took us quite a long time until we found out, but..."

And as Shirou started to get an utter look of horror, as it dawned on him who Allie Pennington might be, it was already too late.

"...Allie is King Arthur."

Chapter 9: The Reveal

The short silence was broken.

"Impossible!"

Saber shot forwards, leaning into the direction of Allie, almost knocking over the teacups in her haste. Will intercepted, starting with "We know, it sounds impossible, but-"

"NO! That is not what I was referring to! I am quite aware that King Arthur was a woman, what I would like to know is how is Allie supposed to be m–King Arthur's reincarnation?!" The others looked quizzically at her. "Reincarnation is the act of a soul moving to a new body after it's old host died. With or without its memories."

Marco nodded, being the one with the most knowledge on the subject. Saber's head whipped into his direction, pupils almost dilating into slits from anger. "Then tell me: how am I supposed to believe that Allie is the reincarnation of King Arthur -" she righted herself, magic energy beginning to swirl around her, " -if I am right here!?"

Materializing her armor, and dispelling Invisible Air, she all but shouted at them, "I am Artoria Pendragon, the Once and Future King of Britain! So tell me, what. Blasphemy. Is. THIS!"

There was silence yet again, this time tilted with a mixture of confusion and awe, as the reincarnated knights stared at the unraveled Excalibur, which was pointed at Allie. Her eyes lit up in recognition of the sword and a small part of her – somewhere in the back of her mind – knew that Saber had every right to be angry at herself. And while the reaction of those who beheld the sword once a lifetime ago was of revered awe, Marco looked on in something like sheer dumbstruck incredulity. "This... this is utterly impossible!"

"Quite." Saber leveled her glare at him again, but there was something else beneath it – something which didn't escape Shirou, apparently, as he stood up and placed his hand on hers – still holding the sword – lowering it, and pushing the now slightly shaking Saber back down onto the couch.

His gaze held nothing but sympathy as he spoke to her, the others all but forgotten. "Saber..."

She took a deep, shaky breath, dispelled her armor and sword, balling her hands into fists. "This is not fair..."

Eyes squeezed shut and hands supporting her head, her voice hitched as she whispered, "...it is not – how... why, why are the gods so cruel to me!" A tear slid down her cheek, "Why...? First you have me kill Lancelot... then you mock me for my wish an- and now you... present me with something like this?! Do you take delight in torturing me!"

Shirou hugged her from the side, a dull look in his eyes as he petted her head, comforting her. She muttered "It is not fair..." again, at which a worried looking Jeniffer interjected.

"What is... Saber talking about? What isn't fair...?"

Shirou turned towards them, only halfway paying attention, answering. "Saber is... in a peculiar state right now. When her contract with the world ended, she was supposed to die in the past, her soul wandering into Avalon to rest; something pulled her back into the present, however, around the same time you guys found out about the reincarnations, I bet." His own voice hitched. "We thought, that maybe, she was given a second chance at life – but your very presence stands contradictory to that; after all, how can there be two King Arthur? So in essence," he swallowed, "it could simply be that her fleeting lease at life will come to an halt, once Gaia noticed this anomaly."

"O-oh... thats-" Miles looked sick. All of them did, in fact. Marco had a grim look, while Lance, Jen and especially Allie were looking shell-shocked at their crying friend. Will simply watched for a short while, before he stood up, motioning for the others to do the same.

"We're leaving."

They nodded. Shirou looked up at him, a faint glimmer in his eyes. "Thank you."

0.o.0.o.0.o.0

On their way to their cars, Allie glanced worriedly behind her. "I never really thought about it, but..." she looked at her group of friends, "Has it occurred to you that we've been lax? I mean, we know that we are the reincarnated Knights of the Roundtable, but somehow... it was like an informed attribute until now; like some kind of parallel, or dream about someone that was us but wasn't."

They looked guiltily at each other, while Allie continued. "And here we are, flaunting for all the world to hear, that we are the Knights of the Round! That we were legendary heroes and whatnot, without noticing how hard it was on someone we considered our friend – all of the quips and jokes about situation in the past that didn't really affect us, and here we were, hurting someone who has experienced all of that! What's even more – we encouraged the teachers who were in on the truth to pry into personal matters, only that we could figure out if they were also in the same boat as us!"

The memory of Mr. Lucan talking about the Battle at Camlann came into mind, and him asking Saber to tell it. Or the whole theater play they got Shirou and Saber in, only to actively keep a tab on them.

Allie shook her head. "We are terrible friends – comrades – whatever."

"I think what Allie said is true." Will had a pained expression, "We took it for what it was worth, after what happened with Mr. Moore, and continued our everyday life as if it was nothing."

"Almost." Miles smiled sadly, "Almost as if it was nothing – but I was only halfheartedly learning magi- magecraft, and then also only because I mostly thought 'Cool, I can do magic!'."

"We really were lax." Lance glanced at Marco. "We didn't train nearly as much as we could have – and the protection we've been doing was rather second-hand as well."

"To sum it up," Jen concluded, "we are not worthy to bear our titles."

"Exactly. We could have put more effort in discerning the magic essence. We could have put a lot more effort in everything we did." Allie looked into the round. "And this is why we will stop doing things halfheartedly." Her gaze turned hard. "We will call together the whole group – the Knights, the people from the Order we have frequent contact with – and we will work together to find the intruder!

"And most of all, we will properly apologize to Saber and Shirou, and –"

" –Show her that we don't -won't- take over the legend, and that only because we are here, that doesn't mean she is worthless."

"Or going to vanish, or being replaced. Yes."

Their faith restored, Allie held her hand out in front of her. The others did the same, forming a circle. "Alright! No more slacking off, we got a school to save, and a friendship to mend!"

o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

The red-haired magus held the still distraught King of Knights in his hands, slowly circling his hand over her back in a soothing motion. They found their way from the couch onto their bed, where she had fallen head-first into, crying silently. It had taken him a good handful of minutes to get her into a coherent state of interaction again, and she still looked at him with dead eyes.

"Allie isn't you, Saber. You are your own person, as is she."

Saber gave a muffled sniff. The situation had spiraled out of hands rather quickly, Shirou noted with a grimace, before he schooled his expression into something softer again. "You are you; there is not a person other than you that I'd rather love." To punctuate his words, Shirou gave her a chaste kiss on the lips.

"S-Shirou..." She looked at him with wide, tearful, eyes, before falling defeated into his chest, letting herself be hugged and relishing the contact. Never did she think she would come to depend on this young teen so much.

When Saber opened her mouth next, the words felt bitter. "...if my reappearance into this time had to do with – with the awakening of whatever shard of my soul resides within Allie, then my staying in this world is even more unstable than Rin had first thought." She gripped the hem of his shirt tighter. "I do not wish to leave -!"

"Then you won't." His answer was full of a resolution she didn't feel and oh, the irony that their positions had been reversed not six and whatever months ago. She looked up into his eyes, firm and blazing with a confidence she didn't think she could muster at that moment and when he cupped her chin and said the exact same words again, it evoked in her an urge to be held and to be touched – to feel his touch, to feel alive, to know that she existed and mattered – so primal that it almost frightened her to voice it.

She didn't have to, thankfully. Shirou understood, Shirou complied, and while he and his wonderful hands, his mouth, his –everything went about to make her feel loved and cared for and she lost herself to a passion so pure and warm and true, truer than everything she ever felt before, she knew, she felt, with her heart, that he would stand by her side forever, just as she would stand by his.

–

That night, both dreamed of a field so green and lush and everdistant that it made both their hearts ache in joy and hope, for if they were ever to be separated, they would find the other in that field, waiting for them.

Chapter 10: Interlude before the storm

When Rin called the next day – using her familiar as a video-transmitter (something she picked up from the little twerp, Ilya) and saw both Shirou and Saber still asleep (she was earlier than other Saturdays), she was visibly worried. Deciding not wake them up, she directed the owl (yes, it was a cliche, she knew) outside again, figuring it had to be a hard night yesterday, if both were able to sleep till … mid-noon.

Directing the familiar to the porch it sat when inactive, she was about to close it, when a sleepy-looking redhead poked his head out of the bedroom, muttering "Tohsaka... why are you calling this early?"

She snorted. "It's half past one in the afternoon! Whatever the hell happened!" Softer she added, "Are you guys alright?"

"Yeah..." Shirou nodded, before looking down on himself, noticing his lack of clothing. Flushing, he mumbled "Wait a minute," before he went back into the room, emerging shortly later with pants -still without a shirt, though. Making himself some coffee, he sat at the kitchen counter, looking at the owl.

Rin tried very hard, very hard, not to look at his chest... but god, he –

Bad! Bad Rin! You don't look at your best friend's – who's in a relationship with your other best friend, I might add – chest. Even if he is ripped. Gah!

"Ahem," Shaking her head once to clear any and all thoughts not proper, she went back to business. "How did yesterday go?"

Shirou's mood soured. "All in all? Great. Allie and her lot are not dangerous, they'll help. Miles is a magus, by the way, so he is the Second Owner of this place."

The owl's eyes narrowed. "There's more to it. Spill it, Emiya-kun."

"... they are all reincarnations of the Knights of the Roundtable."

"WHAT-?!" Rin was – or rather the owl was – bristling its feathers, looking indignantly at Shirou. "Impossible!"

He shook his head. "You remember how Saber said that the school seemed familiar? Or how the student council felt familiar? That's because they're the reincarnations of her knights."

"Full-blown reincarnation?"

"No. Partial only – they have impressions, but no real grasps of events past – from what I could gather, it's more akin to them knowing who they were and that's it. They don't – or barely – remember events that happened during Sabers reign. They didn't even recognize her. Only felt familiarity. Like an echo."

"I see... that's worrisome. If the Association catches wind about that, there will be hell to pay."

Shirou chuckled darkly. "I wasn't finished. All of this happened around the time Saber came back – and now guess who Allie is."

Rin processed the given information, her eyes widening in shock. Her familiar became rigid, it's feathers flattening against it's body. "That's – that's even more impossible! Her whole soul should be with our Saber – if a soul splits apart or is damaged, it can have fatal consequences for the person! This is different than a familiar, so how-" She hissed out the last part, noticing a sleepy-looking Saber stand in the doorway, clad in only Shirou's shirt.

"Good morning, Shirou. Hello, Rin."

She was actually rubbing her eye with her left fist, creating an utterly adorable look in the eyes of the Tohsaka magus. In fact, Saber always had a rather nice physique –

No, stop! I'm doing it again! Sheesh, what is wrong with me today!

"Morning, Saber." None of her internal conflict was being heard in her voice, thankfully. "How are you feeling? Rough night?"

The look the blonde sent her made Rin stop cold with whatever she was planning on doing next. Instead, she turned to Shirou, willing the familiar to gesture 'Shoo, shoo' at him, whilst she turned back to Saber. "You, me. The bedroom. Now."

Shirou thanked her, and went to grab a shirt and his jacket, saying, "I'm going to the convenience store; see you later."

"Rin."

"Saber."

o.0.o.0.o.0

The walk to the convenience store was a rater short one, and Shirou didn't know how much time Rin would need to talk with Saber, so he took a bus downtown and strolled around a bit. What he didn't expect was to wander into trouble.

That trouble being a jogging Will and Allie, respectively, with Marco not far behind.

He considered to avoid them, if only to spare them the awkward talk that would ensue out of their confrontation, but it seemed fate had other things planned form him, as Will saw him walking around with the food in hand.

"Shirou."

"Guys."

There was a tense silence, which was broken by Marco's "We need to talk," and the consequent search for a park bench that was out of view from prying eyes. The search took longer than anticipated, and by the time they found a good spot, they were deep inside the rather large and dense forest of the local park.

They sat down, Allie and Will on the bench, Marco and Shirou by the roots of the large elm tree, and looked at each other, in silence.

"We... are terribly sorry about what happened, Shirou." Allie broke it.

Shirou grimaced, but shook his head. "Don't be; it's not like you knew – or we did, for that matter." He sighed. "Some kind of forewarning would've been nice, though."

There was a bout of dry, humorless laughter, followed by more silence.

"Is Saber," Marco coughed, "is she going to come to school on Monday?"

The Emiya heir shook his head. "I doubt it – I think she'll stay home for the better part of the week; if not the whole week. Things have been hard on her, and she'll need time to think."

"Which is why you are outside now?"

"Ah, something of the like." Shirou's smile turned sarcastic. "Tohsaka kicked me out."

"Who?" Will looked confused, so Shirou elaborated. "My 'teacher' – she's the person who gave us the job. We're both from Fuyuki."

"But if she's your teacher, then that means she's a magus, right? That means that she's in England, at this Association, no?" Allie looked confused.

"Familiar."

After giving the answer, however, Shirou stood up, glancing back at the group.

"I'm not really in a mood to talk to you yet, so excuse me."

"Understandably."

"Well then, see you on Monday." Before Shirou disappeared into the forest, Allie called out to him, "Say we're sorry to Saber, please?"

He gave no indication if he heard or not.

–

His main objective was to go home after he walked away from Allie and her friends, but he managed to get himself lost in the unfamiliar forest.

"Great," he sighed, "just like me to get lost. Crap. Who makes park forests this big anyway – whoa!"

Shirou almost tripped over, so surprised he was at seeing the floating ...mass of light in front of him. He considered drawing Kanshou and Bakuya, but decided against it at a moments notice. The little orb was hovering peacefully in front of him, slightly flickering.

Then it tugged at his jacket.

"Wha-?!"

It floated away a bit, then back, tugging at Shirou's jacket with all the ferocity of a little kitten. Actually, if Shirou listened in, it even gave off a purring sound. Observing the orb, he came to only one conclusion:

"You... want me to follow you?"

It wobbled up in the air in surprise once, before it began to hover up and down wildly, indicating a 'Yes'.

Or so Shirou hoped.

He begun following the orb, still perplexed about it, until they reached the edge of the forest near the school. Shirou blinked in recognition. "So the forests connect?"

Turning his attention to the orb, he bowed once. Better safe than sorry. "Thank you for bringing me out of the forest, little Guardian. I can find my way home from here."

Waiting for it to bob once, Shirou straightened and left, noting that it was dawn already and hurrying home. He never noticed the orb getting a slightly pink hue as he left, or its slightly wobbly flight back into the forest sanctuary.

0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

When Shirou arrived home, it was to the sight of and owl still controlled by Rin, apparently, and a much better looking Saber.

"Shirou, you are late!" It's feathers bristled, and Saber patted it absentmindedly on the head, eliciting a silent 'hoot-hoot' that sounded like sheer bliss, Rin's control over the familiar apparently fading, before she snapped it's attention back. He looked slightly amused at the scene, before answering.

"Sorry, Tohsaka, Saber. I went into downtown for a bit, and got caught up in some affairs." Mainly meeting Allie, but he left that out.

"What for 'affairs'?" Rin sounded suspicious. Shirou sighed in resignation, before systematically putting away the food. Good thing that he didn't buy anything that needed to go into the freezer. After a seconds notice, Saber stood up and helped him along as well.

"Well, I met a little ...orb thingy in the forest after I got lost inside, which helped me out."

"Oh?" It was Saber that answered, instead of Rin, sounding interested (but still putting away the eggs). "Was it perchance looking like a flying ball of light, with glitter and little, barely noticeable wings?"

While packing away some pasta, Shirou answered, "Yes, do you know what it was? I have my suspicions already, what with the whole place, but confirmation would be nice."

Saber was about to pack some sweets up in the cupboard, but she didn't reach all the way up. Sighing, frustrated, she called a short "Shirou," and he immediately helped her. When the sweets were in their respective place, she answered.

(Rin snorted.)

"Your suspicions are true, Shirou. I believe that that was a forest fairy. Was it blue or red colored?"

He nodded while preparing tea and crackers, while Saber put away the last of the purchases. "Blue. Why, what differences are there?"

She hummed shortly, taking out the cups, "Red ones are Healing Fairies – if you found some in my time, oftentimes around springs, then they would heal all of your wounds." Her brows wrinkled. "Sadly, merchants would often exploit this, capturing red fairies and making red potion out of them, selling it. Blue ones are Guardian fairies said to help the Wandering and the Lost find a path outside of forests, sometimes accompanying others of the fair folk as 'guardians'.

"The forest fairies were the first to leave for the other side, because of the merchants, sadly."

(Rin chuckled.)

"I see, what a shame." The tea kettle gave it's tell-tale whistle, at which Shirou removed it and poured himself and Saber some tea, putting a cup with water in front of the familiar, as well as the crackers.

The owl blinked, it's sensory - and nerve system and consciousness overtaking Rin's for a second, as it drank from the water and nibbled at the crackers. Rin's consciousness was still there, in the back, so she experienced the feeling of eating and felt the contentedness of the familiar as it did. Observing the scene in front of her through the familiar (without taking control) she felt a wave of protectiveness and loyalty wash over her, taking her by surprise by how powerful those were.

Well, the familiar was definitively dedicated to the two.

Letting herself stray in the memories of the owl, letting it eat, she saw many a scene since it's activation that were spent like this: quietly, serenely and above all else, homey. Shirou and Saber treated the owl with care, and as such, the familiar swore to itself that it would protect its Masters.

Huh, that was quite deep for the owl.

Finally finishing, the owl drifted back into its subconsciousness, letting Rin take control of it again, even though it was getting straining for both magus and familiar to keep the connection up.

Shirou and Saber were engrossed in their own speculative talk, so much so that they seemingly forgot Rin, who watched them in amusement again. Ah, this is a goldmine for blackmailing. She tried keeping silent, she really did, but when Saber of all people wiped a crumble from his cheek by the way of licking it away, she couldn't contain it anymore.

She burst out laughing.

Both looked at her in something akin to horror, Saber almost squeaking, "R-Rin, you are still here? Should you not cut off the connection? Is it not draining you?"

Well, it did, but this was too good to be true. "Nah, I'm fine. More importantly," the owl smirked at them, "you're behaving like an old married couple already! I can't wait to tell this to Ilya! Bwahaha!"

And she broke into another fit of laughter at the red faces that stood before her.

A short while later, she sobered up, asking. "What were you talking about, anyways? What suspicion?"

There was the sound of porcelain hitting porcelain, and Shirou and Saber glanced at each other. "It might be – and this is only a suspicion based on what happened," Saber looked the owl – Rin into the eyes, "but we believe that a small opening – a sliver – is open to the Other Side."

"Hoh?" Rin's eyes sparkled.

"It would explain all of the familiarity Saber felt, as well as the fairy – especially if most of them are already gone by this age."

"So what you're saying, is that you believe that some of the British Fairies have migrated so to speak – to this place, because the miracles of the Arthurian era are still apparent. Which is why the reincarnation, partial or full, are possible." Rin concluded. Well, that would give her plenty of research once she cut off the connection. "So there's a small door to the Otherside, which let's some fairies and other mysteries through?"

"Yes." Shirou and Saber answered together.

"Great, just great. Wait till the Association catches wind of this." Feeling the connection starting to break, neither familiar nor magus being able to contain the link anymore – both spiritually and mentally – she hurriedly concluded their strategy meeting.

"Saber, Emiya-kun. Is there something specific that I should do research on? I used the link too long today, I wont be able to contact you until the weekend, at least."

There was another sharing of gazes and oh, now they were doing the 'mind-reading partners' part. Well, fine then.

Saber answered. "Yes, could you please take a look into the Order of the Bear and its members?"

She blinked. That was new.

o.0.o.0.o.0.o

It was two days later, when Shirou attended school again – Saber staying home for the rest of the week, as predicted – that Miles sheepishly approached him.

"Shirou?"

"Hm?" The magus was in no real mood to talk, but Miles ignored that.

"When will Saber be coming to school again?"

"Next Monday, Miles."

"I see."

There was another pause, in which Miles seemed to collect himself, before he gulped, whispering, "Meet me after drama today, yes? I want to show you something."

After that, the bell rang, and they went their separate ways.

–

Drama that day was a tense affair, something the main student body not consisting of reincarnations of Arthurian Figures noticed, as they went out of their way to avoid any confrontations with either the student council or Shirou.

Even Elizabeth was surprisingly calm, keeping her comments to herself.

Mr. Lucan seemed like he would've loved to approach Shirou and talk to him, but Shirou made sure to stay away from him. Even if the teacher was nice, he was still angry about what happened.

He would confront them, but not right now.

After he helped some of the students store away the stage props, he waited for Miles.

It didn't take long.

"Thanks for waiting, Shirou." Miles smiled slightly. He couldn't shake off the feeling of blades hovering in the distance, so he cautiously motioned Shirou to follow, walking to the teacher's staff room and opening it with the spare key Mr. Lucan gave him.

Aand, it ends on an eternal cliffhanger! Maybe. Also, ignore my sad attempts at chapter titles, please xD

Well,

A Good Writing to You!