Chapter 3: The Troublesome Hero's Day Off

Peace and Quiet. Ahhhh it's been a while since she's had any, and boy did she ever need it.
Rin was in her living room sipping on a cup of her favorite Exotic Chinese tea by herself savoring the moment where she couldn't hear the loud, nonsensical babbles of a certain shark-teethed pervert.
It was only the 2nd day of the Holy Grail War and 4 days since she summoned her servant but
despite it not being that long; to her it has been an eternity since she has felt this peaceful.

After the incident last night where she almost lost her servant and her life, she couldn't get much sleep and stayed awake for almost the entire night. So then what is up with the harmonious aura surrounding her that make her feel like one of those Buddhist monks who attained enlightenment and is in a state of Nirvana? Is she not worried about her servant at all?
Well simply put, of course she is! That idiot overdid it and almost got himself killed because he was too full of himself and worst of all she was there to witness all of it as her servant was pummeled into a state of a half-dead street cat that you find in the gutters. Last night his life was in critical danger as half of his body was ripped to shreds, he broke a third of the bones that made up his body and his stomach had been pierced all the way up to his chest by Berserker's weapon. It was amazing how he was still breathing in that condition. At that time she didn't even hesitate; to save his life she used her most powerful item that she had been saving up. Her father's memento that contains years and years of stored up magical energy that she kept as her last resort and she has already used up every drop of its power only on the 4th day. She sighed since she was a bit regretful of how she had to use it so soon but if she had not used it, Rance might not have made it out alive. The huge chunk of magical energy was able to close all of his wounds and recover his body to its original state but the internal injuries still remained and the fact that Rance had exhausted all of his energy as well as his prana reserves still kept him unconscious and might take a few days to fully recover. She was totally bombarded with problems thanks to yesterday but right now if she worries about that too much then all the stress that she had built up in the last few days would eventually get to her.
She woke up to such a placid and tranquil atmosphere that is surrounding her this morning and despite not getting much sleep, it was enough to calm her nerves and put all her worries behind her for the short time being. She'd be damned if she didn't take advantage of this opportunity and make the most of the moment where she could finally be alone and put her mind at rest.

With her small, white fingers she picked up the tea cup and raised it to her soft lips to take a sip.
It was good, really good. The tea was good, the cup was good, the chair was good, and heck everything was good without that headache of a man around! And who could blame her for thinking such things, since the man she summoned was truly a lot to handle for a young girl like her, ESPECIALLY for a young girl like her.
But like all good things, it must come to an end as she peeks at the clock in her living room indicating that the time when she must depart for school has come.
She placed her cup in the table and stood up while fixing her skirt. She checked herself and tapped her side pockets to see that she didn't forget anything.

She mustn't forget that for the time being, no one is there to protect her and that she has to take care of herself temporarily while her servant is injured and away from the battlefield. She is a capable girl after all so even if she encounters a servant she'll make sure to stay alive until Rance recovers.
Oh well, I'll be sure to check on that guy later to make sure he's all right.
In the end, her Servant's safety is still her concern.
"All right! I better be of now."
She speaks in a pumped up voice and clenches her first then places it in front of her as if getting ready for a battle. The pose she made didn't fit the lady-like image of herself that she created, but then again that image was only a façade for people who didn't know her well, and in reality she is actually a very competitive person so maybe it did fit her after all.

After a few minutes she reached school without much happening. She had almost forgotten how boring her walks to school were when she was alone. "That didn't mean that walking together with Saber was interesting though, it was just more active and less quiet having him around at the time!"
She smacked herself for doing that embarrassing tsundere play on her own. Thank god no one was there to see her.

Her morning classes ended and she is now hanging out in the school's library. The whole time during class, she had a huge grin on her face which she had trouble hiding. It invited quite a number of glances on her direction from others as well as the teachers since it was weird seeing her that happy during a lecture. Has studying always been that fun for her?
Rance would probably be pissed if he actually saw how happy she was not being around him.

Rin takes a seat in one of the empty chairs in the library and looks at the mass of reading material ahead. In front of Rin was a mountain pile of books that she had gathered, mostly about history and mythology.
The books were neatly stacked as they occupied every corner of the table and were piled up to a height that was twice her size. The girl beside her was stealing glances at her side. She wanted to tell her that the table would break if she piled up that much books at once but since the air around Rin was had such a serious mood around it, she couldn't bear to come near her and break it.

Rin picked up one of the books and occupied herself with it. There was something that she was looking for. At first she thought she could just leave it be for a while and she would just find out about it eventually but after what happened last night, her curiosity finally got the better of her and decided to find out about it no matter what.
There was only one keyword to her search, and it was the name "Rance". It was an odd name to her and it didn't sound like it came from a certain language or nationality, or at least not one that she could remember, so she didn't even know where to start. What bothered her more was that it was not the first time she had heard of the name and it irked her to no end.

"nothing..."
She whispered in a hushed voice.
"Nothing..."
This time her volume was a bit higher and you can hear that there was a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"It's not here either."
Her tone was starting to get more frustrated. She was more than halfway through her pile of books and the disappointment in her face was painfully obvious.
"HIS NAME ISN'T EVEN MENTIONED IN ANY OF THESE DAMMIT!"
She yelled those words and threw the book she was holding on the ground. In the whole 1 hour and 45 minutes that she had spent in the library, she had read up to more than 95% of the books she collected but not even a single mention of the name "Rance" was mentioned in any of them. Halfway through she remembered another detail that she hoped would make it easier for her but the fact that Rance had a Noble Phantasm named "Chaos" did not help at all, it just made it even harder for her.

Her irritation was understandable. She was feeling like she had lost to her Servant on something though she wasn't exactly sure what.
Damn. That guy is definitely hiding something! When I get back I'll make him tell me everything he knows even if I have to smack him conscious and shake it out of him.
Her fingers were trembling in anger so she clenched her hands into fists to calm them down until a soft, frail voice brought her back to the real world.

"U-Ummm...Excuse me"
She noticed that she was being tapped in her shoulder. It was the same girl who ignored her when she first started reading but finally managed to come up to her when she suddenly startled everyone with her unexpected outburst.
"Eh?"
Rin froze and looked around, realizing what she had just done. She managed to grab the attention of every person in the library as there was not a single person in there that wasn't staring at her direction and making a stunned face.

"I-I'm sorry!"
Rin, with a fully flushed face and a flustered expression, ran dashing through the door to exit the library.
Everyone who watched was dumbfounded at what just happened while the other girl was left there staring at the pile of books that Rin left at her table.
"U-Uhmmm!...Your books..."
She was a little too late on that since Rin just left seconds ago so her words didn't even reach her at all.
(Am I supposed to return all these?)
Thought the girl as the stares of half the people on the room now turned to her.

Now back to Rin. Moments later, she found herself walking in the hallways surrounded by a crowd of students running around when the final bell of the day has already rung.
Her cheeks still had a slight tint of red from the embarrassment she had to suffer due to the unexpected tantrum she caused just moments ago in the library. Seriously though, her servant is amazing to still be able to cause her trouble without even being there and being unconscious somewhere else.
Rin was trying to imagine a way where he could use that against their enemies because that could actually be one of his strongest powers, that guy.
"That was entirely your fault!" shouted an imaginary Rance from somewhere, though she couldn't hear him at all.

On her way home, Rin found herself involuntarily sighing to herself.
"Aaah. It's tiring to keep your guard up for the whole day..."
She was aware of her current situation. To wander across the battlefield without your servant is like bringing a knife to a gunfight. She might have been an exceptional magus at her age but the odds are still way against her when compared to a servant. For the entire day, she had to be on her toes and constantly aware of her surroundings. While there may have been a couple of distractions, she still managed to stay safe and avoided attracting attention even until now when she's blending in with a crowd of people in order to stay hidden.

All of a sudden, her feet stop moving and she felt a sensation that somehow awakened her survival instincts and caused her to start walking twice her speed. The feeling from her command spells was warning her that a master was somewhere nearby. She could feel it, a stare that was different from the others were directed at her. She calmed herself to evaluate the situation.
Whoever this person is, his magical energy is weak...an amateur?
This might have been lucky for her.
No! It'll be worse for me if he's an amateur since he could be dumb enough to bring out his servant here.

The presence began moving at the same pace that she was...or not, he was a bit faster.
He's coming this way?! No good, He's probably aiming for me.
Rin sped up, making sure not to let herself become isolated. Knowing that this situation might occur, she regrets not bringing running shoes instead.

The feeling in her hand was getting stronger as the presence was getting closer to her by the minute.
Dammit! No choice then!
She tries to put her hands on her pockets to grab her jewels but was intercepted by another hand that appeared out of the crowd, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back.
Crap!
She resists and tries to break free by pulling back but the opposition was stronger. She was tugged back, tripping her feet and diving in the crowd of people to whoever it was that pulled her.
"Kyaaaa!"

She opened her eyes to find herself in a dirty situation where she was lying on top of a man with her face dangerously close to her. Her skirt was a bit ruffled exposing her underwear to the man from where his eyes were positioned while his right hand was placed firmly on her right breast and moves trying to push her away or to identify whatever it was that he was holding.

"Hmmm?...soft"
The voice of the man mumbling as he regains consciousness. The orange haired man managed to get himself into a situation similar to that of another orange-haired boy from another series with the same strange ability. The man with average looks opens his eyes and finds himself staring at the face inches close to his own. He tries to analyze what just happened and starts assessing the situation. The feeling of realization strikes him hard causing his eyes to bulge open, noticing that the girl's face was burning redder and redder by the second.

"How long are you going to fondle me you pervert!"
She gets up with a rose-colored face and avoids eye-contact with the man.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
He apologizes repeatedly for his actions, even bowing his head multiple times for violating the woman's body.
Rin then suddenly remembers what was happening before that. A presence of a master was chasing after her and the signs all point to the guy that had just pulled her from the crowd and is now lowering his head in apology to her.
Wait so this means.
"Emiya-kun...you" Rin was struggling to find the right words. It seems her earlier feeling actually turned out to be accurate.
Emiya Shirou stands up and looks at her, now with a serious face, realizing what she was about to say.
"Tohsaka, we have to talk"

They both fell silent and stared at each other with a serious look on their faces.
...But was broken by the multitude of whispers and murmurs from the crowd.
[Uwaaaa! Did you see that? They were both totally flirting in the middle of the street!]
[How immoral for a pair of young students to be engaging in such things.]
[I guess there are those kinds of people to huh?]
[Dammit I wish I could do such things with such a cute girl!]

"Uhm...I think we should talk somewhere else."
Says the both while scratching his head sheepishly.
"Y-Yeah let's do that"
Replies the girl as they both turned around walking quickly to avoid the gazes of the people around them as they both their faces were burning pink in embarrassment.

For some reason Rin found herself sitting Japanese style inside the Emiya manor. She didn't feel any killing intent from him when they were walking so she trusted him enough to lead her somewhere. She just did not expect that he would actually be bold (or clueless) enough to bring her home with him.
Shirou went to prepare tea for the two of them so she was left alone looking around the room. She wondered why a boy like him, who is living alone, would do so in such a large house.
Heeeeh, so this is where Sakura goes to every morning huh?
Her mind wandered across the various furniture and other things that was in the room until Shirou returned.
He placed two cups for each of them and poured some tea in her cup for her. She took a sip of the green liquid and placed the cup down with an unpleasant frown.
What's up with this tea? So cheap!

Shirou senses the reaction on her face and sighs a bit.
"I can't help it, it's the only kind I have."
Rin crosses her arms and goes "hmph!"
It felt as if she wanted to give him a quick lecture on how to treat his guests properly but held back on doing that because the situation didn't really call for it.

"So...Tohsaka, about what I what I wanted to ask.."

"You're a master right?"
Straight to the point like she always was, she interrupted his words and directed to the question to him instead.
Shirou was astounded by Rin's straightforwardness but managed to answer her back.
"By master, you mean this right?"
He showed her the markings on the back of his hand and pointed at them. There was no doubt in her mind that those were indeed command spells that he had.
Rin wore an invisible smile on her face after finishing her drink and turned to Shirou.
"So? Is this is a formal declaration of war?"
Shirou looks at her surprised. She must have misunderstood him. He also seemed like he was disillusioned by the current Rin that he was talking to, since Rin acts a lot different from when she is at school.
"I think you're getting the wrong idea here Tohsaka."

Rin looked confused.
"Then why else would a Master call for another Master and reveal his identity as an enemy to them?"
Shirou scratches the back of his head for a while.
"How should I say this...Well...I don't have any idea what this war is all about and I don't have any plans to take part in it."

Rin appeared slightly disappointed after hearing him say that. She already knew how big of a pacifist Emiya Shirou was.
"I see. Then why are you telling me all this?"
Indeed it was strange. Why did he feel the need to tell her that he wasn't going to take part in the battle? His face looked like he wanted to ask for assistance.
"The other night a few days ago when I volunteered to stay late in school and last night when I took a walk to try to clear my head of this Master Servant business, I saw you fighting 2 different people with a man that was on your side.
When I saw you I immediately knew that you were one of them. I was going to call for you earlier but you left school a lot sooner before I could find you."
He stared at her directly with serious eyes.
"I need you to tell me why people fight to kill in this stupid war."

He appeared confused. It seemed like he was dragged into this without even realizing it and being forced to fight without being given a good reason to do so.
So it really was him those two times huh? I should be grateful to him since he saved our lives so I should at least hear him out on this.
"How much do you already know about the Holy Grail War?"
Rin was fiddling with the empty cup in her hand and asked him a question.
"My servant already told me about the basics so that much I know."
Rin had a pleased smile on.
"I see. Then this should be easier to explain for me then."
She began explaining to him, most of the parts that he didn't already know. Luckily it wasn't much and he easily understood what she told him so it went by quickly.
Just as she had finished speaking another voice was suddenly heard by them as somebody else entered the room.

"Oh Shirou, to think you actually be brave enough to bring a master here despite all your protests last night about not wanting to fight anyone."
A man wearing black clothing on the inside while covered with a red overcoat appeared before them.
The man had white hair and surprised Rin at how much the Servant resembled his own Master.
She examined him for a while but she couldn't figure out his class from his appearance alone.

"My thoughts haven't changed Archer, I still have no plans to kill anyone and Tohsaka is a guest not an enemy."
I see. Archer it is then.
thought the female master.
"You're still too naïve Shirou. If you plan to survive this then you will have to learn that those ideals of yours will end up turning against you some day."
The servant who looked calm at first was now glaring at his own master as if he just struck a nerve.
"I will survive this, and I will do it without having to kill anyone!"
The two were going back and forth with their arguments. It almost appeared like a quarrel between a father and son. A little more and you could almost see sparks flying between them as they had nasty looks in their eyes.

Rin was simply sitting back and observed as the two didn't seem to get along with each other, a shame though since they both had a similar feel to them.
Their relationship somehow reminded her of her relationship with Rance which slightly annoyed her. She was tapping her fingers on the table to compose herself before interrupting the heated debate between Shirou and Archer.
"If you didn't know anything, then how did you manage to summon him?"

Shirou was rubbing his chin in an attempt to recall yesterday. He had a lot on his mind that time so his memories were a bit of a scramble even though it literally hasn't been that long.
His eyes opened wide when he seemed to have recalled the events from when the man who called himself Archer suddenly showed himself before him.
"He appeared yesterday while I was practising my reinforcement magecraft in my shed."

Rin sat there expecting him to say more, but he already stopped talking from there.
One of her eyes twitched a bit upon realizing something. It was that this guy gained control of one of the 3 knight classes through a simple act of low-class magic training without preparation?
Even though she knew he wasn't going to say anything more, she patiently waited for about 10 minutes hoping he there was something else, but all that came to was nothing but silence as the two guys in the room just stared at her waiting for a response.
"That's it?"

"That's right."
Rin was dumbfounded at his supposed story. How can an amateur magic user like him be capable of turning his reinforcement magecraft into a servant summoning ritual?
But if that's true then an imperfect summon should provide imperfect results which means.

Rin's gaze turned to Archer. He caught on to her look and guessed what she wanted to say.
"It is as you imagine. Right now my memories of my own identity are missing from me head so I'm currently not at my full power."
He returns his gaze at her after saying that and continues.
"But do not be mistaken, even this imperfect state of mine is strong enough to win this war."

"Oh? Is that so?"
Rin didn't seem like she took that last part seriously.
I wonder if all servants are naturally this cocky.
She stared at her empty cup and was about to pour herself some more tea but afterwards she remembered how she didn't actually feel like drinking more of his brand of tea so she just let it sit there.
"So? What are you planning to do from now on?"
Shirou jerked from the sudden question. She was very direct when it comes to these things that it always catches him off guard when being asked. The look on his eyes show that he doesn't have an answer for her, he was fiddling with his hands not sure of what to tell her. He was still undecided as he has yet to make up his mind.
"I...don't know. I'm not interested in anything like the Holy Grail and I've never been in a fight between Magi before.
To begin with, why should I risk my life fighting for something I don't even want?"
He was clenching his fists hard, cursing his current situation. Why would the Grail choose someone like him as a master?

Rin brushes her long brown hair to the side without looking at him.
"You're right. I guess that is the kind of person you are after all.
Or rather, I'm surprised your servant is fine with you acting like this. Normally he'd have killed you by now if you keep saying that."

Shirou gasps upon hearing that. Why would he be killed? He hasn't even done anything to deserve this and yet he's being told that he would get killed even for not fighting.
"You're servant should have already told you right? The condition for their summoning is that they obtain the Holy Grail."

Shirou's mouth opens and goes "Ah-!" before his words were cut off. He recalls something of the sort that Archer might have told him when he was explaining to him after he was summoned.
"So he has told you? In that case you should understand that the only reason why he would fight for you is the promise of having his own wish granted upon victory, but if the master is someone who refuses to fight then it would only make sense to disarm the master since they refuse to coöperate.
The servants don't have the ability to sever their contracts so the only option is to kill the master and form a contract with someone else.
Listen here Emiya-kun, servants won't hesitate to kill other servants in order to grant their own desires and the same goes for killing masters, even if it is their own."
She spoke with a serious tone and a bit of concern for the amateur magi who was struggling on what to do.
Shirou was staring at the floor with a troubled look. Upon saying all this, Rin checks to see the reaction of Archer who has listened to the two.
He had smug grin on his face as his eyes met Rin's.
"Heh! Make no mistake. I don't really have any desire for the Grail right now but I still plan to win this war, incompetent Master or not. Personally, I would prefer to teach this foolish Master of mine the naivety of his ideals over the Grail itself."
His eyes switch to Shirou, his grin turning into a less visible one before he continued.
"Besides, I already warned you didn't I? If you let your guard down any time soon, then I might have to kill you one of these days."
A beastly threat of hostility had just been declared by the Servant towards his Master, and yet Shirou didn't seem fazed by it at all.
"Say what you want Archer but I don't have plans of getting killed here especially by you. If you're going to try to kill me, then you're also going to have a hard time trying to do so."
Archer was amused. He seemed to like the piercing look in Shirou's eyes when he said that.
You could tell that this Archer fellow was serious with what he does.
Just from watching these two interact with each other, Rin could somehow relate to the bickering that they are having, except that her arguments with Rance are a lot less serious than theirs.
An idea popped out of her mind while having those simple thoughts.
"In that case, why don't you partner up with me?"
Shirou looked at her in amazement. Why would a high-ranking mage want to partner up with him?
What could he possibly offer to her that would even interest her?
"Join up? You and I!?
Rin pursed her lips together into a smile.
"Do you remember the enemy we fought yesterday?"
Shirou nodded his head at her question.
"The truth is, right now my servant was badly injured from that battle, and honestly I'm not sure if we would be able to take him on by ourselves the next time we confront each other."
Rin was now fiddling with her hair and leaned a bit closer while explaining her offer. Her appearance as she played around with her lips and her long brown hair was a bit seductive that it caused Shirou to turn his head and look away in embarrassment.
"You revealed your presence to his master yesterday so no doubt that she would eventually come after you as well. Of course this would only be a temporary alliance, only until we defeat Berserker.
Both of our Servants are currently in bad shape but together we should be able to do well.
If you want, I'll also take a look at your magic skills and train you myself. What do you say? Not a bad deal right?"

Shirou was seriously considering her proposal. It shouldn't even be a question for him; in fact, he should be begging to be partnered up with someone like her. But his face was telling him that he didn't want to make any hasty decisions this early on, especially on a matter this serious.
"I'm sorry Tohsaka, but I'll need a bit more time to think about this."

Rin raised her shoulders at his answer. She doesn't blame him since her offer was a bit sudden after all.
"That's fine with me, but I'll need to have your answer by tomorrow. It'll be a weekend so we can meet up again."
Shirou nodded.
"That should be enough time to think about it."
Rin took something out from her pocket and handed to him a small book, it looked more like diary though. It had the same color as the red coat that she usually wore at school.
Shirou narrows his eyes on the object and accepts it.
"Tohsaka, this is-"
Rin looks directly at him.
"It was my father's but I'll give it to you since I don't need it anymore. This should be able to help you a bit."
Shirou opens the book to a random page and suddenly an image appears in his head showing the statistics of his own servant. Shirou was astonished by it, a surge of info unexpectedly entering his head all at once.
Rin saw his face and giggled a bit.
"You like it? It's helpful isn't it?"
Rin moved a bit closer to him with an innocent smile.
"I know we're not allies yet but think of it as a sample of the benefits you will get if you partner up with me. If you have any more questions about being a Master, you can ask those once you've said yes to my proposal. Though, I'm sure that servant of yours can help you out with most of the details though."
She stood up and smiled mischievously to leave.
"Well, I'm going home now."
said the twin-tailed magus as turned around while swaying her hair a few times.
"H-Hey wait!"
Shirou called out to her, wanting to say more but his words failed him, stopping from there.
Rin turns her head to look at him.
"I still have to check up on my servant so we can continue this conversation tomorrow. Just make sure you make the right decision alright?"
Rin winks at her and smiles before walking out of the room to exit his house.
Her hair flutters as she left and the feminine scent that she left enveloped the room.
Shirou no longer had any doubt in his mind. That girl really was definitely tempting him, and she was fairly good at it too.
He sat there wondering if she uses that on all her negotiations. Indeed she would make a powerful ally.
Archer who was quiet for a while then asked him.
"Shirou, what are you thinking?"

The troubled boy avoided his Servants eyes and looked away. With a dull thud, he laid his body on the floor and spoke to him.
"It's nothing." Was what came out of his mouth.

Rin reached her home without any other sudden encounters. Standing in front of her door, she breathed out heavily and lowered her shoulders. Exhausted, she opened the door and entered the building.
Inside, he was greeted by a man in green, stomping his legs in anger while flailing his fist around like a child. The nerves on his head were popping out visibly and his face had a slightly red color on it.
"Eh?"
Rin rubbed her eyes in disbelief. She wasn't sure if the loud ranting man she was seeing an effect of her exhaustion or some sort of illusion.
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL DAY!? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU ACTUALLY LEFT ME HERE DAMMIT!"
The Servant who was stomping his feet angrily was now jumping up and down, looking more immature than he already did a while ago.
"Why? Why are you up so early? The damage dealt to you as well as all that prana you lost should normally take days to recover."
Rance was mad that he had just been ignored, twice in fact, once when she left him this morning and twice just now.
"Who cares about that! Do you have any idea how boring it was to stay here the whole day?
I even raided your fridge but you didn't have anything good in there, and when I wandered around outside, I couldn't find any young girls anywhere since they were all at school! You better have a good reason to why you-"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP ABOUT THAT ALREADY YOU IDIOT!"
Rin finally burst out due to the Servant's unreasonable ranting. She too had a pent up anger inside her that she wanted to let out.
"You're an idiot! An idiot! What the hell were you thinking!?"

"Whuh!?"
Rance stepped back in surprise from Rin's outburst. His face transformed into an expressionless one, not knowing how to answer back to her.
"What were you thinking, turning your back on the enemy like that!? Do you have any idea how much stress you put me through with that stupid act of yours? You almost got yourself killed, and worse, you almost got me killed for god's sake!"

Rin was shouting her complains at Rance like there was no tomorrow. For the entire time, Rance's face was stiff and frozen into a small frown on the sides of his lips.
Rin eventually stopped to catch her breath and a long mutual silence was generated between the two as they stare at each other with wide open eyes.
It took a few moments for Rance to finally open his mouth and break the dead silence in the room.
"Umm...Sorry."

"You better be!"
cried the twin-tailed girl.
Even Rance was able to read the situation, and felt apologetic towards his master.
Rin's eyes were like a cat's when she tried to keep her fierce stare. Somehow it made her look more cute than scary.
"You...were worried about me?"
Her eyes widened upon realizing that she just freaked out on her own servant. She turned her back on him to try to cover it up, hiding the slight blush on her cheeks.
"O-Of course! You are my servant after all."
An awkward silence was what replaced the current atmosphere.
Rance was scratching his head trying to come up with a good response, but he was bad when it comes to this kind of stuff and only managed to blurt out a few words.
"T-Thanks...I guess."

"Just don't do it again."
With a soft voice, Rin spoke those words while still avoiding eye contact with Rance.

The two of them finally managed to calm down as they now sit in the living room while facing each other.
The ticking of the clock in the room was the only sound that could be heard.
"You still haven't answered my question yet. How are you up already?"
Rance set his feet up on the table which irritated Rin while Rance positioned himself to be as comfortable as possible.
"I've been awake since morning, probably a few minutes since you left for school."
Rin was silently gritting her teeth.
"That still doesn't explain why you're already conscious."
Rance ignored her interruption and kept talking.
"Actually, my power still is still in half but its enough for me to start walking around and I didn't feel like staying all day in that stuffy room."
Rin's claws were repeatedly clawing at the sides of her sofa. Her exasperation was about to reach her max and at this point the only thing that could calm her down now is by quelling her curiosity.
"Like I said, that still doesn't explain how you're up so soon!"
She closed in on him and narrowed her eyes while leaning her face closer to him. She grabbed him by his collar and took a deep breath before, on the top of her lungs, screamed at his face.
"JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU ARE ALREADY!"

Rance was flabbergasted at the current Rin. He's seen her annoyed like this many times before but today seemed like a special occasion or something.
"What's wrong you!? For you to be acting this crazy, don't tell you're on your perio-"
*BOOM!* *SMACK!* *POW!*
Whatever the circumstances are, you never ask a woman that question.
A 3 hit combo faster than the eye could see. In a matter of .3 milliseconds, Rance's face had been deformed into a shape too unnatural to be even considered human and was silenced by a 5 inch book, wedged to be part of his head, which was used by Rin to smash his head in twice before throwing it at his face. Lord knows where how she makes these blunt weapons appear out of thin air. Maybe something did rub off from her hanging around Kotomine after all.
"GYAAAAAAAH! That hurt bitch!"
Rance pulled out the book that was shoved into him, and with swollen face cursed at her for crazy actions.
"Hmm? What was that?"

Rance felt sweat coming out of his back. Rin's was smiling but her face was all black and the only thing you could see was her expressionless eyes which shined bloody red like that of Berserker's except her's was worse. She emitted a dark aura that showed neither anger or blood lust but something darker that he couldn't explain. This man who feared nothing felt his body telling him not to go and anger the creäture in front of him. He felt that if he went against this monster in her current state, He would find himself waking up without his family jewels, or worse his Hyper Weapon. Chalk that one up for his list of 'things to watch out for'.
"..." Rance didn't say anything, deciding to be obedient for now.

Rin tilted her head at him like the innocent little girl (that she wasn't) and asked him the question one last time.
"You're going to tell me right?"
Rance nodded lightly with a slight gloom in his expression.
And you better not pull anything dirty like last time!
is what her freakishly intimidating stare wanted to say.

Sighing in defeat, Rance started explaining to her.
"You wanted to know right? The truth is, I don't remember my past life."
Rance answered her with serious eyes, throwing away his usual goofy self.
Rin's mouth opened wide and her jaws fell to the floor from his confession.
"Eh...Ehhhhhhhh!?"

Rance was picking dirt off his ear, unconcerned of her reaction.
"I wasn't really trying to hide you know?"

Rin was speechless. She wasn't sure whether to trust what he says. Was he trying to hide something from her? It can't be since there wouldn't be any benefit to him for doing that.
She put her sights on the talking blade beside him, giving it a suspicious glare.
"Hey don't look at me, I know just as much as he does!"
She looks down and sighs.
What were the odds that she would meet two servants who lost their memories on the same day? She didn't know whether to be glad or sad by this fact since it does explain a lot of things in this case.
"Oh! I get it now! So the name Rance isn't your real name right?"

"Huh? No it is my real name, that's basic information so I should know about that."

"Eh? Then what about the thing about saving kingdoms and the Demon King stuff? You made those up didn't you?"

"Nope, I remember the important stuff at least so that's true as well."

"And the attack that you did on Berserker yesterday?"

"It just felt natural so I did it."
She slumped her shoulders, quite disappointed.
She took it back. Her servant was still an unknown hero without a proper legend.
"Why the heck didn't you tell me anything then?"
Rance furrowed his brow like it was obvious.
"You never asked."

Rin felt a vein pop inside her when he said that.
I never asked? I never ASKED?! That was your reason?
"You're supposed to tell me these kinds of things earlier you idiot!"
Rance was wrong though. She did ask him, twice in fact, but on both occasions he avoided the question by ignoring her and freaking her out with his perverse actions.
Rin was using all her energy to hold herself back and not just go ape shit on this man and start beating him up even though she knew she couldn't do that.
Rance crossed his arms to face her.
"It didn't seem like it mattered any ways."

Rin felt like pounding her head to a wall till it starts bleeding. That would probably settle her down pretty effectively.
She sunk her face into her palm in dismay.
It seems she was back to square one on trying to figure out who her servant is.
"It's the thing that matters to me the most stupid."
Her voice no longer contained any of her temper.
She knew that shouting does not work on trying to tame this moron.
Well at the very least, now that she knows of his condition, she could stop worrying about it until he regains his memories.

The following morning Rance was out of his usual green armour and all dressed up casually, wearing a pair of straight fit jeans, a V-neck shirt, shades and a stylish brand of shoes. Needless to say that it looked good on him, giving him the appearance of a famous model. So why you ask is Rance dressed that way today? Well simply put, Rin asked her to...or He asked Rin to. Either way they plan to go out today.

Earlier this morning, Rin had told Rance that she was going to meet up with someone for something important. Ignoring Rance's annoyance of her meeting up with somebody that he didn't know, he got an idea and asked Rin to let him go out to town out of his spirit form for once. Rin was reluctant to do so but since today was a Sunday, she thought she might as well take advantage of it to relax since she did plan to go out later any ways.

In the living room, the brown-haired servant was getting himself pumped up while waiting for his Master to get dressed up. Normally he would try to peep on her again but she had already expected him to do so and threatened to use another command spell on him if he tries anything funny.

"I'm ready" was the first thing the model-like Rance heard when Rin entered the room. Rance found himself gawking at the sight of Rin in casual clothing. He never saw her in anything other than school clothing and her pyjamas so it was a sight that was excitingly new to him.
She was still wearing a same length skirt from the one's she usually wears but the air around her is different that it gives off a different vibe from her ordinary self.
On the other hand Rance, who in his life had seen thousands of different women (though he probably doesn't remember most of them), was surprised how captivated he was at her new look. He always knew that she was beautiful but right now even calling her gorgeous would be a major understatement.
If Rance was like a model then she would be in a way different league that's incomparable to his.

After a few minutes of both of them staring at each other and Rance's eyes almost popping out of his sockets, Rin flicked his forehead to snap him out of his hypnotized state.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go already."

Rance rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing right and snapped himself out of his amazement.
"That's great. You actually dressed up well for our date."
She flicked his forehead again.
"It's not a date! We're just going to have a leisurely walk around town before I meet up with our soon to be allies. Don't misunderstand me ok. I'm only letting you come with me in that form because you practically begged me to."

Rance let out a small "hmph!" at her before crossing his arms.
"I still don't approve of this! Don't go making allies without consulting me first. And how are you so sure that they're going to say yes anyways?"
Rin closed her eyes and placed a finger on her lips thinking of an answer.
"I don't know. I never actually said I was sure but for some reason I have a feeling that he's going to say yes."
There was one word in that last sentence of hers that he was particularly fussy about.
"He? I knew it! So it is a man who you were with yesterday while I was away!
Dammit! Cancel it! Cancel the deal right now!"

Rin ignored him and sighed. She headed the door with a "can we just go already?" face and turned her back on him.
"Hey! Wait for me! Don't ignore me dammit!"

Moments alter, after a few hours of walking around, the two found themselves resting on a bench on a nearby park while having a snack. On her hands was a medium-sized crêpe with the average add-ons while Rance was holding a cone topped with several layers of ice cream with a variety of flavours He was laughing loudly while gobbling on his 20 layer sweet snack.
"Gahahaha! Being on a date with my woman is the best!
But still not as awesome as sex of course."
Rin cringed at his remark while nibbling on the fruits on her crêpe.
"I told you this isn't a date! And I'm not your woman so shut up about that already!"
They visited a number of places including the local aquarium, arcade and even the amusement park.
She had to admit though, she did indeed have a lot of fun today minus the fact that Rance kept trying to chase after women and that Rin had to knock some sense into him every time.
If not for the fact that she had the command spells to threaten Rance whenever he tried to go after girls since she didn't know what she would do if she couldn't control him.
It seemed like Rance was overestimating the power of the command spells so He even believed her when she threatened to take away his libido with it and just he complies with an annoyed look on his face.
Rance's misunderstanding was that he thought sex was forbidden. Normally without that, Rance wouldn't have a reason to live but being given the promise of all the girls in the world if he manages to win the war, he was provided with hope and a new reason to fight.
The truth is for Rance, he was still allowed to have sex as long as it's not by force and the thought of raping makes his head go blank so he couldn't even initiate the thought of doing such an action.
Rin was smart enough to hide that fact from him since, who knows what he'd try to do is he found that out.

While sitting on the bench, the two of them had gathered quite a bit of attention from the people passing by, catching a number of stares here and there.
She noticed this and started sliding further away from him to keep her distance from the man with a 10 feet ice cream tower on his hands.
Rance seemed confused, wondering about her sudden retreat.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
Rin humphed at him while finishing her snack, not bothering to look his way.
"It's nothing. I just didn't want to get your food in my clothes."
Rance understood, seeing that the tower of frozen cream was starting to drip.
"Then I'll finish it right away."

Like a contestant in an eating competition, Rance started shovelling the scoops of ice-cold dessert in his mouth before simply digging his mouth into it from top to bottom like a beast. Upon reaching the cone, his skin began trembling like mad and started changing color as he hugged himself to stop his body from shivering.
"B-Brain Freeze!"
The pathetic look on his face with the ice cream smudged all over his lips and nose, mucus dripping from his nostrils and shivering with blue skin look absolutely hilarious that Rin started laughing at him involuntarily.
With tears in her eyes, she was covering her mouth to stop her laughter.
Rance, who was holding his head in pain, was gazing at Rin for no reason.
"W-What's with that face?" said Rin still having the giggles from Rance's humorous display of himself.

He narrowed his eyes slightly at her.
"Y-You were laughing..."

"huh?"
she didn't get what he meant by that from looking at his face that appeared like he had just seen a new species of a certain creature.
"Gahahaha! It's the first time I've seen you laughing. You look totally cute when you do, but of course you already look cute now."

Rin looked down on her half-eaten crêpe, to avoid looking at him.
"Huh?...Thanks I guess..."
Rin felt something throb inside her for a moment and noticed her face burning bright red as she covered her face with the food she was eating.
Am I an idiot!? Why am I blushing from his words? He's a pervert so of course he'll say such things!
Not wishing to let this go any further, she looked at her watch and prepared herself to leave.
"It's almost time now, we should get going already."
Rance decided to just follow with since he had no idea where they were heading.

In the Emiya residence, the two masters once again face each other much like they did before but this time with both of their servants behind them.
Since most of the talk was already done from yesterday's conversation, Rin just came up to him straight to the point.
"So Emiya-kun? Is it a yes or a no?"

Shirou looked into her eyes with a serious expression before giving his decision.
"I've already decided. You did help me out a lot from yesterday so I feel like I can trust you.
I also don't see any bad sides from partnering up with a high level magus so I should be able to benefit greatly from it, that's why I think it would be a good idea to accept your proposal."
Rin clapped her hands together with a smile.
"I see. Then I guess that makes us allies then."

From behind Rance who is now back to his armored self was observing Shirou. He was judging him based on his looks and his worth, though he was already biased since he was a man.
Before the two masters could reach an agreement, Rance stepped in and slammed his hand against the table.
"Wha-!?"
"Saber!?"

The two look at Rance with startled faces as he shook the ground with that strong smack that almost broke the table into two.
"I don't agree with this! Rin, why should we partner up with someone as weak-looking as him? He doesn't even look like he could kill anyone."
With that accusation, Shirou glared at the brown-haired shark man with serious eyes.
"It's as you say, I don't plan to kill anyone for no reason. I only plan to fight to protect myself or when innocent people are involved."
Rance was baffled by his declaration, looking at Shirou as if he were crazy.
"Hah!? Then what use are you as an ally!?"
Rin intervened before their argument starts getting serious.
"Saber, the reason we're allying with them is because they're going to aid us in defeating Berserker."
Rance couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did Rin really not trust him this much?
"I don't need their help! I could defeat Berserker on my own!"
Irritated by her servant, Rin also began raising her voice.
"Don't you remember what just happened the other day? You were almost killed!"

"T-That's only because I was taking it easy on them. That's right! I still haven't even used my strongest attack on them yet."
Rance struggled to come up with an excuse but Rin easily saw through it.
"The start talking once you actually remember them!"

"Urgh!"
Rance was hit where it hurts. At his condition, he wasn't fit to fight against someone as strong as Berserker at all. He will simply be beaten mercilessly like last time, except that Rin wouldn't be able to save him if that were to happen again.
"If that's the case then why does it have to be him!? He doesn't even plan to fight anyone!"
Shirou stood up to face Rance properly before speaking to him.
"There is a high chance that Berserker will also target me, that's why I won't kill anyone unless they kill others."

Rance was clenching his fists and biting his lips in annoyance.
"What kind of contradiction is that!? Do you seriously believe that you're going to last long in this war with those kinds of beliefs?"
Shirou answered back without hesitation.
"I know that it's selfish but I will stick to my words no matter what you say."
Rance grit his teeth at those words.
"You-!"
He pulled out Chaos and pointed it at Shirou to threaten him.

They stared at him with shocked faces while the one from behind who was keeping quiet the whole time finally intervened after having his Master threatened.
Archer pulled out two short blades and got stepped between Rance and Shirou in an instant and spoke to Rance.
"Saber. You have no Idea how much I agree with your words about my Master, but It's still my job to make sure he doesn't get hurt unless it's by me. If your hostility a while ago was for real, then you'll have to get through me first."

Rance smiled with satisfaction in reaction to his challenge.
"Bring it!" was his only reply.

The Masters reacted quickly to the sudden development and ordered the two to stand down.
"Saber stop it!"
"Archer stop!"

With that, Archer dematerialized his weapon and retreats.
"It appears that this isn't the right time for us to duel Saber...though I do look forward to that time."
He said that as he turned his back at him. On the other hand, Rance still had Chaos pointed at him.
"What's wrong? Running already?"
*SMACK!*
"DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO JUST STOP ALREADY?!"
Yelled Rin after smacking his head from behind.
Rance finally decided to pull back his weapon before being hit hit again by Rin's book of horrors.
"Don't forget that I can still use my second command spell on you!"
(Kuh! Damn it!)
In his mind, Rance cursed those blasted command spells that were binding him. If it weren't for those, he would have already gone on a raping-spree on this town but instead he was being threatened by them.
He also can't bear to do anything bad to his female master since it's against his policy to hurt women.

Rin cleared her throat to continue their conversation before they were so rudely interrupted.
She offered her hand to him to close the deal on their partnership.
They shook hands and after a while Shirou remembered who it was he was shaking hands with.
He used to be one of Rin's admirers in school, shortly until he found out it was all a façade.
After feeling her soft hands and realizing how unsightly it was when compared to his own that was bruised from various mechanical work, he found himself blushing a bit from embarrassment during the time of contact between their hands.
Rin looked at him confused until she noticed his face and that the grips on their hands were tightening more and more, her face also started getting colored a light shade of pink.
Rance, who was watching the two of them slightly looking away from each other with embarrassed faces, while still maintaining the grip on their hands, started pounding on the table with his feet this time."
"GRRRRAAAH! As I thought! I DON'T APPROVE OF THIS! I CAN'T APPROVE OF THIS AT ALL!"

And with that, a strong alliance between the two master and servant pairs was formed.

Authour's Note: I have no idea where I'm going with this at all, but I do have a few clues on where it could lead to.
Currently halfway through finishing 1 route of F/SN. (Replaying the Fate route before going on to UBW once again.)
Hopefully I can get this to be more interesting once the other masters and servants come to play.
I'll be glad to answer any questions on the review section if there are any.
Look forward to the next chapter.
(Still not sure where I'm going with this)