ACT XIII – Proposition

The walk home from the hospital is painful. I can feel the deep wound in my side threaten to open again with every step I take. I'm more exhausted than I realized. The fight had taken a toll on both my body and my mind. I glance over at Archer, who is looking at me worriedly.

"Let's get a ride home shall we? Running from Lancer that whole while really did a number on me." She said casually while dramatically fanning herself with her hand. "Where do ya catch a train around these parts?" She asked.

I chuckle weakly. She's trying to be considerate, but she can't bear to watch me walk all the way home like this despite the fact that I offered to walk home earlier. In reality I didn't want to bother the Sakurabas. They have enough to worry about with Yayoi, they don't need to be worrying about me too, especially considering the fact that we're supposed to be enemies in the first place.

"There's a bus stop that way." I point down the street towards a glass box with a door and a steel bench inside. It was about a block and a half down.

It was pretty empty at about this time so we were the only ones there. I push open the door and take a seat on the bench. I heave a sigh and lean my back against the cool glass. "You didn't have to be considerate. I'm pretty well aware I must look like shit." I respond to Archer as she sits down next to me.

"Well I-"

I close my eyes and crane my neck upwards. "We got beaten pretty badly again today. If Saber hadn't shown up when he did, that would have been it for us."

"I think yer bein' too hard on yerself. We forced him to run away like the little yellow bastard that he is. I wouldn't call that a victory, but it damn well ain't no loss either." Archer says with confidence.

"Maybe, but he still got away."

"Ya still zapped his arm. That's a start, ain't it?" Archer grabs my arm and hugs it. My arm wedges itself between her breasts. It feels soft and warm, like folding a pillow in half and sticking your arm in it. Archer scoots closer to me, uncomfortably close, so close our bodies are touching. She's warm, but she doesn't smell like perfume or anything at all feminine. She smells like sweat and gunpowder. My heart flutters, as does something else.

"Ya can't let that little boy get you down. If'n somethin' like this is enough ta break yer spirit, then ya really did lose. Ya need ta restore that confidence ya have when ya were fightin' ta protect Yayoi." She squeezes my arm a little tighter.

"That's easier said than done, after the many close calls that we've already had." I reply, trying to push the sensations from my mind that Archer is thrusting upon me. She's trying to make me feel better, but she's doing the exact opposite. It's doesn't feel bad, by any stretch of the imagination, it's just a little unsettling. Usually the only person I allow to do things like this is Yayoi, I just don't care enough to stop her right now.

"I hate ta tell ya but this ain't meant ta be a walk in the park. I'd bet ya anythin' nearly every single fight we have from here on out is gonna be a near death experience. Ya think I got where I did in life by tryin' ta be safe? Ya recall I used ta jump off horses onto movin' trains. Safe ain't exactly a word I'm very familiar with." Archer explains.

"Yeah, you're right. Even with Magic casting a single spell can mean death. Every time I use magic there's a chance I could die. It's something Magi have to get used to at a very young age. I think I might be... scared." It took nearly all of my willpower to admit those words. I'm not sure what caused me to open up to Archer like that. Maybe it was her physical contact with me that took down my mental barriers. I wonder if that's what she was going for all along. Hearing myself say it, hearing it come out of my own mouth was sort of the final realization for me.

I am scared. I'm scared of being burned alive by Tohsaka. I'm scared of losing Yayoi. I'm scared of Rider opening up a full broadside on my house. I'm scared of waking up in the middle of the night with Assassin standing over me. I'm scared of having to fight Yayoi. I'm scared of what Archer will do when the War is drawing to a close, and the only Servants left are her and Saber. I'm scared of so many things that sometimes I can't think straight.

"It takes a lot of courage for a man to admit that he's scared. Bein' scared don't make ya a coward or any less brave." Archer releases my arm and wraps her arms around my neck. "Bein' afraid and fightin' all those battles anyway is what makes you really brave. Overcomin' yer fear is what will make ya strong." Archer begins to pull me closer to her.

My head starts to swim. What's she doing? I had been intently thinking about what she's been saying that I almost forgot she was there. She's right. Now that I've admitted that I am afraid, the next step I have to take is to grit my teeth and punch my fear right in the face. I need to conquer it, use it to make me stronger. I need to strongly think about what exactly is scaring me, and fight away to defeat it.

I can feel Archer's breath on my face. I think she's moving in to kiss me, her eyes are shining with what looks like lust. I raise up my hands and put them on her shoulders to push her away when I hear a loud hissing noise from outside. It sounds exactly like a bus exhaling pressure.

"Um, I can drive another round and come back if you want..." A timid voice comes from behind Archer, who has nearly moved herself into my lap.

I look up over Archer's shoulder and see a skinny guy with glasses looking intently from the driver's seat of the bus, several pairs of eyes are also peeking outside the windows of he bus. I blush furiously and push Archer off of me.

"Uh, that's okay, I think we'll get on." I say and grab Archer, leading her on the bus.

"Yer no fun." Archer puffs out her cheeks in disappointment as she takes a seat next to me.

The bus drops us off as close as possible and I wander in through the front door after it slides open with a hissing sound. That noise is one of the most pleasing sounds I've heard in awhile. Signifying my return home. My home base. My sanctuary from the battles outside. Relief. My bed sounds really inviting, but I at least have to stay active at least long enough for Yayoi to get here later. She's probably packing a few things then her parents are going to drop her by.

"Welcome home, Jin. You really look like hell." Hilda greets me, a hint of concern in her voice. The day that Hilda starts to worry about me is the day the world will end.

"Got into a fight." I reply vaguely and throw myself on the couch.

"Ahhh~!" Archer plops down on the opposite side of the couch and stretches out, laying her legs across my lap.

"Something tells me you nearly got yourself killed again." Hilda says plainly.

I switch on the TV and the news is playing. "Yeah, you'd be right." I say lazily and zone out. That Detective, Hayakawa I think his name was, is on the news talking about the fire and the evacuation.

"We have determined that the fire was caused by the burning of chemicals in one of the upper floor closets. We've sent teams in and opened the windows to let the fumes dissipate, the damage is not significant at all and we've deemed that the building is safe." Hayakawa answers a question that was asked before I turned on the TV. He's got dark circles under his eyes which tells me he hasn't been getting much sleep. Takes his job seriously I guess.

"Do you have any idea who might have committed the crime and why?" The reporter asks before shoving the microphone rather forcefully back into the Detective's face.

Hayakawa's brows furrowed. "We are currently on the lookout for possible motives and suspects. Upon further inspection of the building we found scorch marks along the walls in the basement, indicating the perpetrator was down there too." He looked frustrated. Between this and the murders in the engine block he hasn't made much progress on either investigation.

"How does he keep his job if he never finds nothin'?" Archer scoffs.

"What was the deal with those murders in the engine room anyway?" I say to myself out loud without realizing it.

"Smells like sabotage to me." Hilda replies jokingly.

"Right, sabotage. Some jackass blows up the engines and we fall out of our already decaying orbit and crash into Earth in a burning pile of slag. You'd have to be some kind of serious wacko to try something like that. Nobody on this station is dumb enough to want to kill themselves and take everyone else with them." I wave it off as nonsense.

"What do you think happened then?" Hilda asks.

"Don't know, thankfully it isn't my job to find out." I lay back in my couch and lean my head back.

"AOYAGI WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!" I'm jolted awake by someone screaming my name. Archer nearly jumps through the ceiling and pulls out a gun on reflex.

On my TV screen is the nun I met before. Marque was her name I think, the most unladylike girl I've ever met, and she's supposed to be a nun and the Observer for that matter.

"Holy shit, you scared the hell out of me!" I yell back at her. How the hell did she even get on my screen in the first place? More importantly, did I fall asleep? Last thing I remember was watching TV next to Archer.

"Good! What the fuck do you think you're doing setting a hospital on fire? Do you know how many memory wipes I had to do? How many of those cops I had to throw off of your trail?" Marque continues to shout angrily.

"What in blue blazes do ya think you're doin' comin' in here and yellin' suddenly? I've half a mind to come down there an' give ya six good reasons why ya should never do it again!" Archer's retorts as her whole body shakes.

"Bring it, you fucking hussy! We'll see how tough you sound after the rest of the Church comes down here and shoves a Holy Scripture right up your tight little asshole!"

I scratch the back of my head. "Isn't it your job to do that sort of thing?" I reply to what she yammered about after Archer started yelling at her too.

"That doesn't mean you can just go around and start blowing shit up! Even Rider has some common fucking sense!" I can't help but stare at the vein popping out of her forehead.

"Tell me you didn't show up on my TV screen to yell at me about doing your job." She's starting to annoy me now. If she doesn't have any reason for doing this other than yelling at me for no reason than I'll just unplug the TV and shut her off.

Sister Marque takes a deep breath and produces a flask from somewhere, she takes a huge gulp from it and seems to regain a little of her composure. "You're lucky I need you. You, and your little girlfriend who I haven't managed to get a hold of yet."

I glance over at Archer who is still mumbling profanities under her breath through gritted teeth. "Need us? For what?" I ask, now genuinely curious.

"One of the Servant teams has lost their fucking minds." Marque says as eloquently as ever. "I'm sure you've heard about all the little murders popping up."

My jaw drops. "You've got to be kidding me." Why would a Servant go around killing random people? It doesn't make any sense.

"Maybe they just looked at them funny, I don't fucking know. I knew those two were batshit insane the minute I laid eyes on them. The point is, they've sliced up more people and I can't keep covering this shit up." Marque growled.

"Wait, they killed more people besides the ones in the engine block? I haven't heard anything about that." I reply.

"These latest ones are more... recent. If they're going to keep doing this shit, then they're going to force me to put a mark on their heads. So I need you to hunt them down and kill them." Sister Marque says as she lights up a cigarette.

"Why should I? I have my own plans I'm dealing with." I cross my arms. I have Tohsaka to deal with, let one of the other Masters deal with it.

"Like what? Getting your ass handed to you by Lancer again?" Marque scoffs. "Anyway, technically you can do whatever the fuck you want as long as you don't reveal to the world that Magi are real. I'm supposed to offer a reward of some kind to make you think about making this a priority. The same offer will be made to all the other Masters." Marque explains.

"Reward huh?" Archer puts away her revolver and looks intrigued. "Now yer speakin' my language."

"What exactly would you be offering?" I cross my arms. If the reward is significant enough I might consider it. It could possibly help me get my head back in the right place.

Sister Marque shrugs. "Haven't thought that far ahead yet." She then snaps her fingers like she came to a conclusion. "How about I don't kill you?" She says, as if it were the most brilliant idea she's ever come up with.

"Ya gotta be kiddin' me, Sister." Archer frowns.

"You greedy shitheads, I thought I was being generous." Sister Marque puffs out her cheeks. "The only other thing I can think of would be the Emergency Funds that have been authorized to me." She says after another moment.

I still can't quite grasp her personality. She has the strangest attitude I've ever witnessed in a person. She's bloodthirsty, impolite, and doesn't appear to respect anyone but the Church. She's probably the most dangerous person I've ever met, and has an ingrained hatred for Magi and all things associated with them. This leads me to believe she's an Executor of some kind. She seems quite confident in her abilities too, since she seems to love throwing death threads around at Magic. Either that, or she's a headstrong idiot, which would also explain her attitude. If this Sister Marque is an Executor like I believe, then she's not to be trifled with or underestimated.

"I assume that's cash. How much are we talkin'?" Archer asks in earnest, I notice a glimmer in her eyes. Being who she is, it doesn't surprise me. She's got to have a certain weakness for money.

"Oho, sounds like I got your attention. What about you?" Sister Marque turns towards me. Out of the corner of my eye I see Archer turn to me and look at me with widened eyes.

I wave my hand. "Whatever, I'll think about it. Just get off my screen already." I give her a vague answer and wave her off. Yayoi will be arriving soon and I don't want to be in the middle of talking to Sister Marque when she gets here. More than that though, I just don't like talking to her for extended periods of time.

On the screen, Sister Marque shrugs. "Good enough I guess. Whether or not you decide to do it, someone else probably will." She leans back in her chair and the screen goes black rather abruptly.

"That girl scares me." After all this time, Hilda finally speaks up.

"Scares you? She doesn't want to horribly murder you." I shoot back at her.

"Well, if she does kill you I'll just get Yayoi to put you in here with me." Hilda chuckles.

"I appreciate the vote of confidence. You're so supportive." I reply with as much sarcasm as I can muster.

"So we're going to do it, right? Master?" Archer creeps closer to me on the couch. She's crawling playfully towards me, purposefully accentuating her breasts to get my attention. Calling me Master is part of it too. She certainly knows how to manipulate people, well, men.

"I don't know if you noticed, but she neglected to mention how much money she was offering. It's probably not worth it." I inform Archer. It was suspicious that all she tried to do was placate Archer's greed and once she hooked Archer didn't seem to concern herself with trying to convince me. It was almost as though she didn't want to offer up the money at all. Probably wants to keep it for herself, if I had to guess. However if that's the case, than it might be quite a bit of money.

"It's the lack of information she gave that has me interested. She's hiding something." Archer replies excitedly.

There's also the other reason that we should do this, now that I really think about it. The fact that innocent people are getting caught up in the War, and whatever Servant is causing the havoc is risking our discovery. It IS kind of our obligation to stop it, regardless of the reward.

"So? Who do you think it is?" Hilda asks curiously.

I rub my chin in thought. "We can rule out Saber, Archer, Rider, and Lancer without a doubt." In my pocket, my phone beeps. I pause my explanation and take it out. There's a text message from a private number. After I open it, it explains everything.

Dear shithead, I forgot to mention you're going after Assassin. They're both real pieces of work, so be careful. To be clear, that wasn't concern. Just in case you're retarded. I'd just hate to see you killed before I get a chance to do it myself. Lucky for you, I have my orders.

"Well that takes the fun out of it." I frown and put my phone back in my pocket. How the hell did she even get my number? At this point I should assume she's into everything. Next thing I know she'll be calling me on public phones I happen to walk by.

"So what's the verdict?" Archer asks.

"Assassin." I frown. Couldn't have picked a worse opponent. Assassin-class Servants can hide their presence almost flawlessly and specialize at killing enemy Masters from the shadows.

"Got our work cut out for us then don't we?" Archer almost looks excited.

"What about Yayoi, don't forget about her." Hilda reminds me.

"I'd rather her not get involved. She still needs to recover both herself and Saber." I reply. She's in no condition to do any kind of fighting right now, and I don't want Assassin anywhere near Yayoi. If Assassin hides his mana output, she'd never even see him coming, and that scares me. More than anything else.

"You know she won't let you do it alone. You know her as well as I do." Hilda replies frankly.

"I know, I'll have to think of some way to convince her. Either that, or tie her up somewhere." I mention jokingly.

Archer laughs. "I like the way ya think, though I don't think Saber would be too happy about that."

A few minutes later, Yayoi arrives with her father, who is carrying several bags of her stuff for her. Hilda opens the door for them and Mr. Sakuraba sets the bags inside my doorway but he doesn't come inside himself.

"I'm trusting you with my daughter, Aoyagi." He eyes me sternly. Understandable, he's worried about her. I'm surprised he was talked into it considering our situation. It is quite dangerous for Yayoi to be staying here, so from his standpoint, I get where he's coming from.

"I'll be sure to keep an eye on him. He won't try anything as long as I'm around." Hilda says confidently.

"I'll take care of her, sir." I assure him.

Mr. Sakuraba nods. "See that you do." He says flatly.

"I'll be fine, daddy, jeez." Yayoi steps inside and removes her shoes.

Her dad clears his throat. "If you need anything, just ask. You two behave yourselves. That goes double for you." He gestures over at Archer who is sprawled out on the couch.

Archer sits up. "Who? Little ol' me?" She bats her eyelashes.

Yayoi's dad leaves and Yayoi turns to me and bows deeply. "Um, thank you for having me." She says nervously. I don't know what she's being so reserved about, but it's making me nervous too.

"Y-yeah. I'll take this upstairs for you." I reply uneasily and grab her bags. I glance over at her out of the corner of my eye. She's wearing long sleeves and a long dress to cover up her her burns. I imagine she'll dress like this for the rest of her life.

Seeing her in that hospital bed really made me think about how dangerous this whole thing is. If I had gotten to her sooner on that day on the roof. I could have helped her and Tohsaka wouldn't have lived to torment us again. Yayoi wouldn't have gotten burned.

"Are you okay, Jin?" Yayoi asks when we reach the spare bedroom where I'll have her stay. She looks concerned. She's so caring. After everything she's been through, she still worries about me. I should be the least of her worries.

"I'm sorry." I say without thinking as I catch a glance of her ankles as I set down her bags on the bed. I should have protected her better. I should have payed more attention. I could have done something more than I did to prevent this from happening.

"What for?" Yayoi tilts her head in confusion.

"Not being there when it happened..." I can practically feel my own brow furrowing.

"Jin..." Yayoi wraps her arms around my neck and hugs me tightly, her fingers daintily stroke the back of my neck. "You did everything you could. You saved my life. I don't think you have anything to be sorry about."

She kisses my cheek. She's never done that before. Her lips are soft, and warm. I can feel my face start to flush. I want to hug her back. I want to show her what she means to me. Since this whole war started, I feel like I've grown more attached to her. I hug her back. Her body stiffens for a split second and then relaxes, she doesn't protest at all.

After a minute or so of just enjoying each other's company I let her go and she does the same. Both of us are blushing and the mood feels a little awkward.

"I-I'm going to go start dinner with Hilda. You go ahead and unpack." I say and start to retreat out of the room. Once I exit the room I find Saber leaning against the wall waiting for me. He must have came in spirit-form.

"She's kinder than you realize. She's been using all of the mana she's regaining to heal me." He says, looking annoyed.

"That explains why her own injuries haven't been healing as fast as they normally would if she were healing herself." I reply. Yayoi is quite adept at healing magic, the burn scars are still beyond her but the wounds themselves shouldn't be a problem. Still she seems weak, it explains why. She's been using the majority of her magical energy to heal Saber. But why?

"She does it for you, and I wish she wouldn't." Saber frowns.

"Why are you telling me this?" I ask. Saber rarely speaks to me, or anyone as far as I know. This is probably the most I've ever heard him talk at once. He's got to be trying to tell me something.

"I'm telling you because you need to get stronger, not just for her, but for you too. It will alleviate some of her worrying. I hope, at least." He replies plainly.

"I know, I'm working on it." I say flatly. I haven't had a whole lot of time to think so far. I'm starting to get some ideas, I need to spend some time thinking to actually develop some kind of strategy.

"As long as you know." He ends the conversation with that and allows me to proceed downstairs.

"You two are growing pretty close, aren't you. Well, closer than you were before." Hilda says as I make my way towards the kitchen to start dinner.

"You think so?" I reply, not really listening to her. My mind is still heavily occupied by the feeling of Yayoi's lips on my cheek.

"It's written all over your face. I saw what happened in the spare room just now too." Hilda chuckles.

I frown. "No privacy with you around here, is there?" Hilda is in control of all the systems in my house, be it the water temperature, alarm system, security cameras, door controls, everything. My parents were pretty thorough about masquerading her as a real A.I.

"I think it's good that you're starting to finally realize how you really feel about her." Hilda says as we start to make dinner out of whatever happens to be laying around. There's not much, I need to go to the store soon.

"I'm not sure what to do about it..." I heave a sigh. I don't know if I want my relationship with Yayoi to change, but I think it already has. I still have to tell her about the bounty that Sister Marque placed on Assassin, no idea how she's going to react to that.

"You know she's been waiting for you all this time."

"I know."

A few minutes later, dinner was ready. My dinner table has never looked so strange. Yayoi and I were normal of course but on either side of us sat individuals pulled out of their own time. A viking looking barbarian next to Yayoi and a Wild West outlaw next to me.

I tell Yayoi about my conversation with Sister Marque after dinner as she's helping me wash the dishes.

"Assassin?! That's way too dangerous, you can't be thinking about going after that Servant by yourself!" She exclaims. "What is that Sister thinking." She mumbles.

"I'll have Archer with me, I won't exactly be alone. Besides, they'll just keep killing people if I don't." I reply casually.

"I'm sure the other Masters will jump at the chance, even if not for the right reasons." Yayoi seems really disappointed in the idea that I want to go after Assassin. Can't say I blame her, she must be in the same position as me, she doesn't want me to go get hurt as much as I don't want her to.

"Besides, it'll give Tohsaka plenty of opportunities to attack you while you're out looking for Assassin and unprepared for him and Lancer." Yayoi has a point there. I can't say I wouldn't do the same thing if I was in Tohsaka's position.

"I don't think hiding from the problem will solve anything either." I reply. "I've been losing every fight. I need to get back in the game." I don't like losing. I need to find some way to even the odds, but I don't want to leave Yayoi out in the water either. "I want to make sure you stay safe above anything though."

Yayoi blushes. "You just don't like to lose." It's like she can see right through me. She sighs audibly. "It isn't like I can stop you, if you're that determined."

I glance over my shoulder at Archer, who has once again taken up residence on my couch in front of my video screen. She's become awfully attached to that couch, and more often than not just sprawls out all the way across it when it's not being used by anyone but her. Saber meanwhile, has taken the large reclining chair next to the couch, and has his sword leaned up against the side. He seems to be quite content.

Archer is right. I need an edge. I need to take my weaknesses and make it a strength. It's been quite some time since I've created a new device. I've been pretty happy with my belt buckle, and while it's saved my hide countless times it alone isn't cutting it anymore.

I tap Yayoi on the shoulder after we finish up the dishes. I know what I have to do, I may even know how I'm going to do it. No more. I'm not going to lose any more. Archer said I needed to find my determination, even Saber said I should get stronger. I tell Yayoi that I'm going somewhere, as long as she's known me. She knows what that means. She merely nods.

I leave the kitchen and head to an old dusty door in the back of the house. This is the place the house was built around. I open the door and the lights automatically come on. This is the only place in the house with an actual AI still in it.

User Identified as Aoyagi Jin. Deactivating barrier. Magical defenses deactivated. Welcome home. A female voice chimes in as I begin my decent down the steps. Lights begin to pop on further down the staircase. The words I said to Yayoi back upstairs wasn't anything special, but I said everything I needed to so she would know what I'm doing.

"I'm going to the lab. I know what I have to do."

I tend to lose myself sometimes when I'm down here. Losing track of time is one of the disadvantages if I get on a roll. When I was working on my belt buckle, I was down here for two weeks solid. Yayoi found me nearly starved to death. My parents left me this place along with everything else. They put every kind of equipment they could think of in here. Books, reagents for different kind of rituals, computers and science equipment. Anything I could ever need, actually the only thing I don't have that I've thought about is a particle accelerator. I could make some cool stuff with one of those.

I grab a spool of copper wire off of one of the shelves. "Right. Let's start small."