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Unlimited Rule Breaks
A Fate/Stay Night Story
Proofread by PardonMyImage

Groggy, Shirou lifted his head from the dent in the floor just long enough to groan before dropping it back down. Where was he? Chips of granite bit into his cheek as his face scrubbed against the floor in an effort to find out, but his eyes wandered. He looked around, but he didn't really see anything. His vision was hazy, and everything was a blurry mix of pale brown and burnt orange. He shut his eyes and, again, groaned once more before he sighed.

What happened?

He was standing at one moment, and then the next he was down. In fact, the only thing he remembered was standing. He didn't know what he was doing, he didn't know where he was, and he definitely didn't know what happened. It didn't matter, though. If he fell, then all he had to do was get back up.

Sweaty palms pressed into broken tiles and the boy that wanted to be a hero steadily started to rise. He coughed. Blood spattered. His elbows locked at the full extension of his arms, but the knee that was supposed to be brought under his rising form didn't move. He was too worn out. Lofty ambitions of getting back to his feet were quickly replaced with the more mundane hope of just not falling flat on his face again. His arms gave out so he spun and landed hard on his back.

He immediately sensed something was wrong.

The missing spot in his memory was troublesome, but it wasn't really that distressing. Whatever it was that occurred between standing and falling wasn't really important. Why he fell didn't at all matter as much as why he stood. On some level, it bothered him that he couldn't remember; but concern was one thing. The dismal feeling that rooted itself in the pit of his stomach was something else entirely and it couldn't be denied. Something was wrong. He just didn't know what it was yet.

"You shouldn't have done that." A figure entered his field of vision and loomed over him like an executioner, "I have to finish you off now. Would have been better off if you had just laid there and died."

"Wha…?" Shirou tried to focus and failed. Death? He opened his mouth with the intention of asking what he was taking about, but he only coughed. It was a harsh, wet sound accompanied by crimson. He wheezed after the coughing fit, confusion still deep in his mind as he tried his best to get some kind of grip on what was becoming a slippery situation.

Archer, the owner of the unknown voice, kneeled, much of the venom in his eyes lost as he rested a knee on the ground and stared at the boy that he used to be. The truth was that the broken boy in front of him could no long become a hero. Still, there was no relief. He was already a hero and nothing could change that. "Hey…" For the final time, he called out to himself, "Are you prepared?"

It was a callous question, but it was the only mercy he could provide for the boy that held onto his ideals until the very end.

Unfortunately, Shirou didn't hear him. He couldn't see anything and he didn't even know who was talking to him. What happened? It didn't matter anymore. What was he doing? That was all he needed. If he had that much, then he could get back up.

He was fighting.

It was a foothold, something he clung to in desperation. If he stopped thinking, if he even entertained the concept of giving up, he instinctively knew he would die.

Why? Why was he fighting?

That was the question he needed to answer. If he could remember that much, then he'd be able to get back up. If he wanted to have anything even remotely close to a chance, he had to climb the mountain called reason.

Who?

The question was a ledge, but he had to reach for it. It wasn't the peak, but it was close enough. The answer was right in front of him so he reached, figuratively and literally, for the truth.

Archer didn't blink even as Shirou weakly raised a broken hand. To the man, it was just another sad sight. Death threats were nothing new to him so he merely watched and waited for the end. To the boy, it was the only thing he could do and, when his hand brushed against that fabric that wasn't like anything else in the world, he remembered the man that wasn't like anyone else.

He remembered the man that felt betrayed by his ideals and, then, he remembered everything.

They argued and then they fought. He lost. It was nothing to be ashamed about. People didn't just get up and beat servants. He knew from the very beginning that he couldn't defeat Archer, but that didn't explain the feelings that made his eyes water. If it was nothing to be ashamed about, why did he feel so useless? If it was all in vain, then why did he try so hard?

His eyes flashed with a fiery determination and the servant at his side realized his mistake. Archer ruthlessly reared his fist back and Shirou gritted his teeth, his circuits on fire as he set his mind to work on the only thing that could possibly save him.

There was no hope in beating Archer because the servant had already won. He was already cut down. One swing from Bakuya was all it took to nearly split his body in half, and even though he didn't have the heart or time to look at the mess that had been made of his midsection, he instinctively knew that flopping around to get on his back was the single mistake that turned a grievous injury into a fatal one.

That was why he needed something that could rectify that mistake.

Without any kind words to offer, Archer locked eyes with his youth and sent his fist towards his face like a pile bunker.

There was no time.

Fixing? Breaking? It didn't matter what it did or what it was as long as it worked. He traced before he even knew what he wanted, the distant image in his mind's eye becoming tangible in his hand as he strained both his mind and body.

But it was too late.

Archer's fist smashed into his face hard enough to drive his head even deeper into the tile work. His face was smashed. Archer removed his hand from the grizzly mess that used to be Shirou's face and sighed. He did it, but he didn't feel any better. He didn't feel anything at all; well, except for a poke in the side.

"Huh," Archer raised an eyebrow. He lowered his sight and followed the length of Shirou's arm. Arm? Check. Hand? Check. Rule Breaker? Check. "What!?"

"Rule Breaker." The face that was supposed to be broken was good as new and the boy that was supposed to be dead sat up. Shirou held up the decorative dagger and cracked a grin. "I can't believe it worked…"

Archer was at a loss for words. The dagger had long since been retracted, but he was definitely stabbed. There was no getting around that fact. He knew how it felt to get pierced by it, so he was sure. The problem was that Shirou was dead! He killed him!

"If you're thinking that you should have killed me, I broke that rule," Shirou gripped the dagger in triumph and slowly started to stand, dust and small pieces of tile falling from his rising form as he patted his stomach. "I broke the rule that you ever cut me, too."

"That's…" It was so wrong that he didn't even know what to say. The hand that should have been covered in bloody grim and brain matter was instead slid down his face in utter disbelief. "I…" What could he say? "Rule Breaker doesn't work like that!"

"Yes, it does."

"No, it doesn't!"

"Yes, it does."

It was so incredibly juvenile that Archer looked over his shoulder for help from people that weren't on his side to begin with. Saber met his gaze and held it for a second, before looking away and shuffling her feet. Rin pretended she didn't see the obvious request for help and instead shifted her eyes to the side. They knew! They knew it didn't work like that and they weren't going to say anything!

"No, it doesn't," Archer grumbled before lashing out a hand to point at the cause of his anxiety. Rule Breaker remained in Shirou's hand, just as unnecessarily obnoxious as it always was, "This is so goddamn stupid! One of you tell this idiot that Rule Breaker can't do that!"

"But…" Saber started, sapphire eyes turning towards her former master as she pointed out something that Archer missed, "it worked, did it not?"

He gawked at her, his eyes wide and unbelieving as he turned back towards the boy that stood in front of him. Shirou smirked, his eyes full of glee as he looked down at Archer.

"Yes. It does."

His grin was wide and toothy, his eyes narrowed and haughty as he got in the last word.

Archer was used to verbal jabs and dealt with them accordingly, but he never in his entire existence had he wanted to punch someone in the face so badly. No, he already punched him. This time he would just punch through him. The thought pleased him, so the grimace was smoothed into a tight frown.

The servant stood with every intention of punching Shirou's smug face into common sense, but the boy turned his back and started walking away.

"Where are you going!?" Archer yelled at the top of his lungs, "you're just going to give up and run away!?"

"What are you talking about?" Shirou stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked over his shoulder. Deep down, Archer knew that whatever he was about to say was going to make him angry, "I've already won this fight."

Saber cringed.

"No, you didn't!" Archer was incredulous. Being wrong about Rule Breaker was one thing, but… No! He was right! Rule Breaker was not some random plot device. Well, it was, but not on the Deus Ex level! But all of that was just one problem. Rule Breaker aside, one thing he knew for a fact was that he did not lose to Shirou. "I… lost?"

That wasn't what he meant to say.

"No, I lost."

What was going on!?

"Oh yeah," seeing Archer struggling prompted Shirou to remember something he forgot, "I broke the rule that you beat me, too."

"It wasn't a rule though!"

Archer held his head in his hands and sighed, his anger swept away by a feeling much darker. He was more than just pissed off. The bitterness that swelled inside his soul was a product of the world telling him that the boy went beyond just being stupid. He was endangering the planet, so it was now his job instead of just a desire to take him out.

"Come on," Shirou turned back around, seemingly tired of dealing with the servant as his shoulders drooped. He sighed, "You already admitted you lost and-"

"You made me say it!"

"And now!" Shirou exclaimed after being rudely interrupted, "You're just being a sore loser."

Rin winched.

"Oh…"

Shirou had an incredible talent to piss him off. At first it was the little things, the small stuff he should have let slide. Saying all that dumb stuff was always annoying, but he could shrug it off. The 'I just want to save people' thing grated on his nerves the most, but it didn't make him angry unless it was over something stupid. It was only when he intentionally got under his skin that he got pissed off; and this went way above that.

Violence just wouldn't do and the world would just have to wait. He could kill Shirou right where he stood ten times over, but he had to hit him where it hurt.

"What an amazing hero." Archer's eyebrows dipped as he decided to play devil's advocate. He was angry, but he had to play it cool. "I've never seen a hero that just up and walked away from his problems. Definitely one of a kind. Sure don't make them like that anymore."

"Wow… Thanks, Archer." Shirou's expression brightened and he beamed as a result. "You're a real asshole most of the time, but I really appreciate that."

Pure horror engraved itself in his face and Archer probably would have screamed if stupid didn't have a hold on his throat. The fool that took his insult as a compliment was unquestionably himself and it made him physically sick. No, it had to be an act. Perhaps a reaction steeped in the same sarcasm?

Rin coughed, "Too subtle, Archer. Too subtle."

She confirmed his fears. That twinkle in his eyes was sincere and Archer felt like punching him all over again. "I'm making fun of you, you dipshit!" He spread his arms wide, his voice drenched in rage as he stared himself down. "Rule…" he sighed. Acknowledging it was just as bad as saying it, "Rule breaking aside, knowing that you are seriously this stupid makes me want to drown myself in bleach."

"Is that a double entendre?"

"Oh my God…" Archer balled his hands into fist, "I'm going to punch through your fucking face!"

"Wait!" Shirou held out a hand as Rule Breaker finally broke and faded away, "Don't you want to save people? Don't you want to put an end to the Grail War?"

It was an appeal to his softer side and, though the urge to punch him was still present, he still felt compelled to listen to what the boy had to say. Shirou wasn't the brightest guy around, but he did have some redeeming qualities. He wouldn't say something like that just to save his own life, "Talk. And it better not be something stupid."

"With Rule Breaker, we can end this war now." Shirou stared at the hand that held the dagger not even seconds ago. "I can finally become the hero that I wanted to be… not the one the world forced me to become."

It was reasonable and surprisingly thoughtful, something he didn't expect out of Shirou. The boy that was once a threat to the world was still an enemy to common sense, but Archer knew he was a man of his word. If he said something he meant it.

"I was wrong about you," Archer relaxed his hand as he neared Shirou and extended it towards him, "So what's the plan?"

"I'm gonna stab the grail with Rule Breaker."

Archer's hand fell back to his side and he paled to extreme degree. Behind him, Saber dropped her sword and Rin put her face directly into the middle of her palm.

It was so stupid an idea that the world suffered. Gilgamesh tripped chasing Shinji and mistakenly forced Ilya's heart into a tree and the boy laughed until a single glare from the king made his underwear heavy. Sakura held up her completed love letter with pride before it was snatched away by a gust and carried out of her window. Taiga successfully cooked something, and somehow managed to make it look edible.

Archer was rendered unconscious by the stupidity and Shirou made no attempt to catch or even help him. Instead, he turned on his heel and started to walk towards the exit of the burning castle. He didn't have any time to waste. People were counting on him, and now that he was a hero, he would answer them.

There were all sorts of work to be done. People stuck in bad apartments that needed to get out of their leases, people that needed help with mystery novels even after the end; people that simply didn't understand the significance of salad forks… With Rule Breaker, he'd be able to help all of them and more!

With Saber and Rin reluctantly in tow, Shirou proudly walked down the hall with twinkles in eyes.

"I…"Archer cocked his head to the side to watch them leave. There was nothing that he could do. He couldn't get close to Shirou without losing brain cells. "I hope Gilgamesh kills you."

"Haha!" Shirou laughed out loud, not even bothering to stop as he threw his head back and laughed all the way down the hallway, "I'll like to see him try now! Unlimited Rule Breaks has something to say about that."

"So… even the name of the route changed." Archer turned his eyes back up to the burning ceiling. He was done. Enough damage was done to his psyche that he could just quietly fade away. He closed his eyes and prepared to vanish into nothingness, but wasn't even allowed that much.

"You can't just lay there, Archer," With a stroke of genius, Shirou returned to the hero's aid. He hoisted the man up and looped one of his arms behind his neck, "You and me with dual Rule Breakers… What do you think about that?"

Archer didn't bother trying to stop the tears.

Fin

Thanks for reading, guys, and thanks PMI! On to the next story!
CF