Hey guys thanks for the criticisms and reviews! I hope this one is an enjoyable as the others! I attempted to take the more "showing" rather than "telling" approach as one Jam Basic has brought to my attention. With this the final "start up" chapter is complete. The next chapter will be Shirou and family's adventures in full with an explosive start! With this the setting is complete, the base finished, and the story ready to shoot forward! I hope you enjoy this chapter and the one that will come next as well! Till next time my friends. BTW next update is: The Arcane Craftsman.

Fate/Shield Chapter 3:

Shirou''s eyes were closed as he tapped his foot. He was seated currently by the bedside. Within said bed was a small demi-human child, one by the name of Raphtalia. She was a small thing really, her bones showing from malnutrition and neglect.

Shirou was clearly bothered by the sight but his years of experience in his original world had tempered his usual responses. To the outside world he was calm, collected. Within…he was in turmoil. A part of him wanted to simply go out and destroy the slave tent, freeing the occupants inside. But a different part, however small, was against the idea. Attacking the tent would just draw attention to himself and his group, creating unnecessary friction with the kingdom they currently resided in. Shirou still did not know how he and his companions fared against the warriors of this world. The time to act wasn't now.

Shirou didn't consider the warriors the King granted to be a true representation of his kingdom's might. The King was cunning that much was true if…slightly off. There was also the fact that acting against the slaver could potentially land them all into a heap of trouble. Considering how Itsuki described the tent it was in obvious display, if put to the side. Chances were high that slavery was not only legal but encouraged within this kingdom. Ilya's safety was Shirou's top priority…besides destroying the slaver and his tent would be in the end simply an action that only made him feel better in the end. This did not change the fact that Shirou still felt a near overwhelming drive to march to the tent at this moment.

"Why are we sitting here?" growled Motoyasu, breaking SHirou from his thoughts.

Itsuki glared at the floor, his eyes still haunted.

"Attacking the tent isn't going to help anyone" stated Rin.

The room was small, making the entire group feel cramped. Sakura was with Naofumi watching Raphtalia. Rin was with him at the moment standing at his side while Itsuki and Motoyasu were against the wall. Shirou sighed as Rider watched from the door, Ilya still in her arms.

"And how would you know?" asked Itsuki, eyes narrowed "you're literally telling us to let those people keep suffering! We should just sit here and let people get enslaved!? Why? Because it might be inconvenient!?"

If Rin showed any surprise at the fact that Itsuki was more observant than she thought it did not show. Instead Rin sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"What's the plan midget? You're going to walk in and kill the slaver? Free the slaves? What about afterwards? Are you going to feed them? Clothe them? Find them a home too?"

Itsuki opened his mouth and than shut it, realizing that he did not in fact have the perfect answer.

"Doing nothing is even worse" stated Motoyasu "You're sitting here like it doesn't even matter! What if it was Sakura that was suffering? Would you do nothing than?"

Rin's expression turned apocalyptic. Yet, she reigned it in. Sakura said nothing as Shirou sighed. While the bad blood between Sakura and Rin was mostly under the table there was still remnants of their past that would strike a cord between them. There were of course circumstances, unbelievable circumstances, regarding their situation. Unfortunately, sometimes things hurt no matter what the circumstances may be.

"You…" muttered Rin.

"My point!" stated Motoyasu, his distaste apparent "is that doing nothing is just as bad. Look…I…I'm afraid. I was dead and than got transported to my favorite game! A dream come true that I now realize is a nightmare! They got slaves, corrupt politicians, and a weird ass church! To top that all off you guys seem to be the only people we can trust…but even that's a stretch! Shirou…look man I enjoyed the day and I appreciate you looking out for us, Sakura too, but this is shit and you know it! Doing nothing…after what we saw? If we don't do anything…"

Motoyasu whispered the last part looking at Raphtalia. The cruelty of this world on full display. Motoyasu…Naofumi…Itsuki.

"They must live in peaceful worlds" thought Shirou "or just unaware of its true nature."

The way the two reacted spoke of inexperience. But the drive in their voices, the way their bodies shifted in their anger. If Shirou was honest…it reminded him of the way he used to be. But unlike them his optimism and distorted nature had been hammered by experience and his loved ones…

Ah who was Shirou kidding, he was still the hypocrite he always was. His very bones were screaming at him to move but Shirou kept his iron will. Rider seemed surprised at the reaction the spear and bow hero had. It would seem they were not so easily trusting…but merely trapped in a situation where Shirou just happened to be the least deadly ally they could make.

"….a hero's instinct?" wondered Rider.

Luck and instinct played a large role in the formation of a hero. The luck to be in an impossible situation and survive combined with the instincts needed to overcome it.

CRACK!

Everyone turned around and noticed Naofumi. In his left hand was a pool of stew that the tavern lady had brought up…in his right was the remains of the spoon that came with it. His fingers bled as the splinters dug into his skin.

"Stop it" muttered Naofumi "fighting isn't helping anyone…especially her."

Sakura placed a gentle hand on Naofumi's shoulder. A groan caused Raphtalia to awaken, her eyes adjusting to the light.

"….Shield?" she muttered.

She noticed the other three men immediately. The sword, the spear, and the bow. Her eyes widened as Naofumi fed her a potion.

"Drink this…apparently it's supposed to make you feel better."

SHirou looked at Rin who shook her head, the potions the King had given them were ineffective for what Illya suffered from. The young demi-human seemed apprehensive, which was fair considering what the girl had gone through. She did eventually drink it though. The smile that came as the girl felt her insides lighten up was heartwarming.

It was also like a gut punch to the adults in the room. Raphtalia smiled as she noticed the group fully for the first time. She blinked and looked at the basic weapons and shield the four men carried.

"….are you the legendary heroes?" she asked.

Naofumi smiled and patted her head. Sakura had already tried to move, to try and explain why physical contact was ill-advised for a young girl just taken out of slavery, when Raphtalia seemed to sigh in appreciation at his fatherly gesture.

"You're safe now I promise."

"Really?" asked Raphtalia.

Shirou noticed the inflection in her voice…this wasn't the words of a small child lost in the world. These were the words of a child that had lost everything…only to have found something at the end. Shirou would know…after all…

He was similar.

Raphtalia smiled as she noticed the bowl of food in Naofumi's hand.

"Can….?"

Naofumi smiled.

"Of course, let me just get a WOAH!"

Naofumi jumped a bit as Raphtalia quickly grabbed the bowl. She took the bowl and rapidly began to down it's contents.

"Woah there girly! Don't wanna choke!"

Raphtalia coughed a bit as a large vegetable blocked her throat for a second. She felt the liquid dribble down her chin before she scarfed down the rest. Rin felt her heart crack as she looked at the girl. The others saw this as a sign of starvation. Rin saw it as the behaviour of someone who had to fight for what little scraps of food she was allowed. Rin had to admit…the girl was healthy considering her living conditions. While her ribs were visible, she was obviously fed. A slaver tactic. Enough food and water to sustain life but a large enough absence to ensure weakness. Rin got up and placed a hand on Raphtalia's head. The girl shivered a bit but Rin ignored it. The young girl's physical comfort was secondary to her health right now.

Shirou was without question the undisputed master of structural analysis. However, that was really only in regard to material analysis, a boon for weapons and machines. Rin however, the genius that she was, had adopted Shirou's steps for analysis and had given them a more…biological focus. With a burst of her magic Rin was able to effectively learn the optimal state of Raphtalia's physiology and what exactly was lacking…

Or heaven forbid was missing.

"….."

Raphtalia blinked as blue lines spread across her face, slowly encroaching her entire body. The three normal men were stunned at the display of lights. The process for Rin was slow. Shirou's unique disposition allowed him to instantly analyze a weapon's entire existence, with a majority finding a home within his reality marble. Rin's application was much slower due in part to the large store of medical information and simply Rin's own lack of practice. After all, Shirou had preformed his form of structural analysis constantly for well over a decade before they even met. Rin had to admit it was a little disturbing how similar to humans these demi-humans were. There were a few things she couldn't make sense of but for the most part she could tell that Raphtalia was healthy.

"She seems healthy" sighed Rin "she's lacking fluids and a lot of vitamins. Shirou, can you grab me some raw fruit and vegetables. Her stomach can't handle meat right now. A soup would be best."

To the others it looked like Rin turned a 180.

"What…was that?" asked Naofumi.

Rin's first instinct was to kill him. In the moonlit world the knowledge of magic was strictly enforced…with witnesses finding themselves dead pretty quick. Thankfully this wasn't such a world and this one in particular was rich in magic. A magic that was thankfully compatible with her own Rin noticed. She had suspicions that perhaps the environment may not have been too hospitable to foreign magic but thankfully the system Rin was familiar with worked in this world. Shirou's successful tracing the other day should have been proof enough but Rin would rather trust her own findings at the end of the day.

"Magic" explained Rin "where we come from magic is real. I used a spell to analyze her body. She's not missing any organs."

Under normal circumstances this form of magic would require extensive knowledge of the recipient's physiology. As it was obvious that Raphtalia was not fully human, such information would have been skewed. However, the nature of Rin's magic in this instance was not a mystery meant to fully scan the biology of a subject. The information of so many individual cells would just overload her brain and kill her. The spell's focus was instead on the "completion" of the subject. This was an original spell designed by Rin and a few other magi to help further the "study" of biological material. In Rin's case it was to accurately study the state of Ilya's circuits and how exactly they were decaying.

"Magic" breathed Naofumi "Can it heal her completely?"

Rin shook her head.

"I was never all that good at healing magic."

She turned to Shirou and everyone stared at him.

"What?" asked Shirou.

Rin rolled her eyes and made a gimme motion with her hands.

"Avalon."

"Rin we have no idea what effect that could have on her!"
"It worked on Ilya" smiled Rin.

Shirou shivered a bit as he realized what Rin was doing. Avalon was without question the greatest healing artifact ever conceived. Short of the destruction of a subject's head, the sheath could virtually heal any wound any abnormality. Diseases and even cancer were curable by Avalon if given enough time. In the past Shirou had left the sheath inside of Ilya, in hopes that it's limited healing without Saber would be enough to delay her body's destruction. However, the sheath's incredible healing had a severe limitation. The lack of Arturia herself. Unlike Saber, Shirou was only able to call upon a fraction of Avalon's potent healing on top of what limited amount leaked from the sheath. It worked for a time, but eventually the damage accumulated in such a way that the sheath could no longer heal Ilya faster than she was dying. It would appear that Rin wanted to use the sheath again, perhaps in an effort to repair Ilya's muscles. But Ilya was no longer human and as such the effects the sheath may have may be…

Unexpected.

"Rin" whispered Shirou.

"Woah woah woah, you got a healing item!?" asked Motoyasu.

"It doesn't work the way…"

Shirou lost all strength as he noticed Sakura smiling at Raphtalia. She had moved some time ago and was already sitting beside the girl. The small child seemed a little uncomfortable but allowed Sakura to hold her close. The sheath…the sheath for all its power could not heal that which Sakura had lost due to the Matou family. But as Sakura looked at Shirou he knew what she wanted. Besides…he could just eject the sheath if it didn't work as intended anyways…he hoped.

"Alright…stand back" muttered Shirou.

It required no effort whatsoever to trace Avalon. The sheath of Arturia was his longest companion in life and unlike other noble phantasms the cost to trace it was minimal. He wasn't going to give Raphtalia the original just in case. With a copy Shirou could terminate its existence immediately, whereas the original would take a bit of time to remove from a person's body. Shirou was not exactly the greatest at including and removing spiritual existence from a biological entity.

Golden light softly blew from Shirou's hands as the sheath came to be. Shirou ignored the slight shock that he got from the legendary sword. Avalon was a defensive armament, not something to be equipped or used. Yet, the legendary sword still attempted to prevent Shirou from "using" the sheath. It was kind of annoying if Shirou was honest. Shirou strode forward and placed the tip of the sheath against Raphtalia's chest. The sheath glowed and dispersed into golden motes. Said motes fused with Raphtalia and the girl noticeably began to breath easier. Shirou felt the connection with Avalon and noticed his OD draining. Raphtalia herself, much like almost anyone else, could not invoke the healing properties of Avalon properly. For the average person, mage or otherwise, the healing properties of Avalon would simply result in excellent health. Shirou was the exception. If Saber could invoke the full 100% of Avalon's true power than Shirou could bring forth a solid 6%. The differences were vast. But as Raphtalia's comforted expression showed, sometimes that was enough.

"….Holy shit" muttered Motoyasu "you guys have magic!? Like actual magic!? No wonder you seem so relaxed, you guys are bullshit!"

Naofumi narrowed his eyes at Motoyasu and gestured to Raphtalia, causing the blonde man to grin sheepishly in apology.

"Avalon" muttered Itsuki "isn't that…something from Arthurian myth?"

Everyone turned to Itsuki. The poor boy blushed in embarrassment.

"I uh…had a lot of time to read" was all he explained.

Shirou smiled and nodded. This was a perfect opportunity.

"Yes. That was the sheath of King Arthur. It's potent healing is inferior to its original power…but I'm hoping it can help Raphtalia."

Naofumi sighed as he noticed some bruises were already a lighter color.

"It will be hours before any true healing is done" warned Shirou "so…be.."

The bruises began to disappear even faster with Raphtalia smiling with her eyes closed. The golden motes began to spread and glow around her injuries.

"Thought as much" stated Rin "so the healing abilities are more effective in this world than in ours. Maybe it's the lack of both Alaya and Gaia?"

Shirou could tell that was part of it. But as he felt his OD feed into the sheath Shirou realized that a solid 6 became a 15. Almost a quarter of Avalon's original power was now available to Shirou. However, the artifact in Shirou's body was still reacting at only 6%.

"The difference of a projection?" thought Shirou.

Originally Shirou had given Ilya the original Avalon, after all his projections were always inferior to their true counter parts…but if this was true…could it be that Shirou, due to creating this Avalon MK.2 if you will, had more access to its potent healing?

Questions to research for later. So long as it helped Ilya who cared how it came to be.

"I don't feel good" muttered Raphtalia.

Shirou blinked as he withdrew the Avalon copy. He decided not to disperse it in Raphtalia's body after a split consideration. He held the copy in his hands and let Rin scan her.

"Tsk" muttered Rin "seems her body couldn't effectively absorb the magic of Avalon."

Made sense to Shirou. It was designed for humans and fae in mind. Denizens of a different universe entirely could have unexpected effects. Too much of a good thing was a bad thing after all. Still…Shirou and Rin felt there was more to it. But for now Raphtalia now had the strength to get off the bed. She smiled as her shabby robe fell forward, showing Naofumi's slave seal.

"I'm so sorry" whispered Naofumi "I didn't want to have you branded but…to get you I had to buy you."

Shirou felt a tug on his…something. It was indescribable as he felt the copy of Avalon in his hands suddenly get…sucked…

Oh shit. Shirou looked at the legendary sword as it gobbled up the phantasm. Shirou felt the sword dissect his creation in a way it didn't Kanshou and Bakuya. The result was…surprising at the very least. Unlike the duel swords Avalon was a sheath and was in no way shape or form an arm of war. What it produced was as followed.

Sword of healing:

Quality: Basic

Basic attack: 5

Equip skill Bonus: Healer (Unmastered)

Equip stat bonus: Attack +5. Agility +5 (Unmastered)

Unique abilities: while equipped increases the potency of healing magic and potions by 2%

Shirou immediately had knowledge on the healer equip bonus. Much like the unique ability the skill boosted any healing actions Shirou took by 5%. However, unlike the unique ability of the sword the equip skill only effected magic. It would not boost the effectiveness of potions. The sheath of Avalon however was a product of Shirou's magic when traced…was it possible that the healer skill combined with this sword could increase the power of Avalon? Shirou checked the second one.

Fae sword unlocked!

Quality: Rare

Basic Attack: 20

Equip Skill Bonus: Fairy Killer (unmastered)

Equip Stat Bonus: Attack +20 (unmastered)

Unique abilities: deal an additional 5% damage against fairies. Can also harm incorporeal beings.

So basically a sword designed to kill fairies and ghosts. Fairies and Fae were completely different terminologies. It was like calling a human a mammal. It was accurate and true but not all mammal's are human. So this was a sword whose concepts made it a bane for fairies. The third however was…weird.

"Avalon" sword!

Base power: 0

Equip stat bonus: Defense +35, HP +50.

Unique abilities: Adoration of the Fae, cannot harm living creatures.

The Avalon sword was basically a Fae identification badge. So long as Shirou wielded this sword he would be effectively immune to aggressive Fae. Considering there were a few legends of certain Fae creatures being…unreasonably aggressive this was a good thing. One issue…more like two. The first was that it was…so weirdly specific that Shirou was a little off putted. From what little Rin had managed to study the idea of fairy-esque beings was far and few between. Shirou wouldn't be surprised if the word Fairy didn't even exist within this world's language. But it did answer something Shirou had wondered. What would happen if the sword absorbed something that wasn't a "sword". The answer was an attempt at copying or dissecting the concepts of the item in question. The second was the issue of non harm against living things. Contrary to how some stories or myth's portrayed the undead, unliving creatures were actually extremely rare. Take the Apostle Ancestors of Shirou's home world. There was only perhaps a few hundred in comparison to 7 billion humans. They were stupidly powerful yes, but for the most part was numerically dwarfed by both man and animal. As such they were rare occurrences for the average human. Unless you were insane enough to hunt them down like a certain mage. Shirou rose an eyebrow as a timer appeared.

84 hours remaining. Items left being absorbed: 1.

What the hell? He got three weapons from a scabbard that wasn't even fully devoured?

"Is something wrong Shirou?"

Shirou looked at Naofumi's worried expression.

"No…I'm fine" smiled Shirou "I'm just happy that Raphtalia is feeling better."

The girl quickly hid by Naofumi's leg and stared at Shirou. Shirou smiled lightly as he knelt down to her level.

"My name is Shirou Emiya".

Shirou held his hand out. Raphtalia slowly reached for it and shook a few of his fingers. She didn't say much else though. Perhaps a hand shake wasn't a social concept for this world?

"Thank you, for getting me out" smiled Raphtalia.

Naofumi smiled as he nodded while Motoyasu knelt down as well, taking a que from Shirou.

"Say girlie…do you have any family we can take you to?" he asked.

It was an important question. The eight of them have only been in this world for just over a day. There wasn't a chance in hell that they would have the resources to find this girl a family to take her in. Not to mention the King wasn't exactly trustworthy. Raphtalia's tears as she sniffled told them all they needed to know.

"…Shit" muttered Motoyasu.

Itsuki attempted to be comforting and patted Raphtalia on the shoulder. The girl sniffled harder but kept it in.

"….damnit" growled Motoyasu.

Shirou turned to the young man and noticed him looking out the window.

"I take it our…helpers are here?" asked Rin.

"Uh…if you mean the adventurers than yea" sighed Motoyasu.

"Great" muttered Shirou.

"Staying here isn't helping anyone" sighed Naofumi "would you like to go outside?"

Raphtalia nodded demurely.

"Alright" smiled Naoumi.

"Is bringing her a good idea?" asked Shirou.

"We really going to trust the inn to take care of her alone?"

Shirou swallowed. The green haired woman that gave them soup had sheared her demi-human traits right off her body. It was perhaps best they didn't leave Raphtalia with her. No telling what the patrons may do either.

"A fair point" sighed Shirou.

"We have Rider" smiled Sakura "with her here Illya and Raphtalia will be protected. Is that alright with you Rider."

The servant adjusted Ilya into one arm and nodded, adjusting her glasses with her other hand.

"So uh…she's got magic too?" asked Naofumi.

"She's without a doubt the strongest here" said Shirou with full confidence.

Rider merely smiled in response. Normally Motoyasu would disagree…but for some reason eh could tell that woman would wreck his ass in ways he didn't even want to know. He had a sixth sense for that kind of thing. After all he got murdered by a pair of women in his original life. Motoyasu shivered a bit as Shirou looked at him oddly.

"Alright" said Shirou "let's go."

"Shouldn't we try to ditch them?" asked Itsuki "we can't really trust them, can we?"

"I'm more concerned with the slaver down the street" muttered Motoyasu.

Rin finally had enough. But rather than explode she did the same tactic she used against Shirou. Carefully explain it to the last detail and if they didn't agree restrain and beat their ass.

"Look the kingdom more than likely condones slavery which means that slaver is protected by law. If we rush in their and destroy a single slave shop all that's going to happen is a storm of politics. Getting caught inside that kind of trouble is not on my to do list. I get it."

"I really REALLY get it" thought Rin.

"But acting now is not only the dumb thing to do it's also too soon."

Motoyasu blinked.

"….wait you mean?"

"Not once did I say not to destroy the slavers" stated Rin "just that acting now is likely to get you killed or at worst imprisoned."

There were things worse than death after all.

"I see" grumbled Motoyasu "you guys seem…experienced about this sort of thing."

"I had a job once" said Shirou "it involved getting rid of a chain of smugglers. Their cargo included slaves. It's never easy but sometimes it's best to wait and crush the head rather than rush and simply cause a bruise."

Motoyasu grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I wish things were a game at this point. Be a lot easier."

"I kind of don't want to take any of those adventurers with me" stated Itsuki "if stuff is as bad as you guys think than wouldn't it be smarter to be on my own?"

The poor boy was beginning to get paranoid.

"Good" thought Shirou "might let him survive."

Perhaps he'll avoid Shirou's naivety from his youth. Hopefully.

….probably not.

"Leaving them behind does nothing but get on the King's bad side" explained Rin "besisdes we still don't have a full grasp on our situation. Best to have some allies than none. If your growth is as fast as the King describes than you could probably ditch them whenever you wanted."

Itsuki considered Rin's words before nodding. He smiled as Sakura placed a hand on his head.

"You'll be fine. Me and Shirou will give you some pointers before the day is done."

Shirou nodded while Itsuki looked at him.

"You and Shirou?"

"Shirou is the best Archer I know" smiled Sakura.

Everyone stared at the man as he shrugged. Shirou was by his origin and element a sword. His skill with the bow aside his very existence was tailored to be the physical embodiment of a sword.

"You do spears to?" asked Motoyasu as he seemed to finally relax.

"I told you before, I am proficient in most weapons."

Even guns. Shirou's aim sucked ass but he knew how to work them in theory. Long story that one.

"Even shields?" asked Naofumi "I'm still having a hard time seeing this function as a weapon."

Without thinking Shirou dug into his armory and found a shield he thought might help. There were many noble phantasms that would give Naofumi the edge he needed. The issue was that it was the equivalent of giving a baby a nuke. Best to start off small. Depending too much on the power of a noble phantasm was just asking for trouble. Well that and also avoiding putting too much power in his fellow heroes' hands. One day was not enough time to build proper trust after all. So, the shield Shirou selected was a rare instance of ingenuity that existed during the times of ancient Sparta.

The bladed Hoplon, a unique variant of a spartan shield. The concept itself was…a failure. Taking the circular shield and turning its round shape and edging it was ingenious in a way. It allowed the shield to cut through the skin of anyone it came into contact with. The issue was that the design in and of itself took away from its initial purpose based around defense. By making the circular shape edge the overall strength of the shield was weak, as its dead wielder would attest. Not to mention that the placement on the arm made swinging the shield awkward. The only reason Shirou had the design in unlimited blade works was because of the various Greek weapons and noble phantasms amongst his armory. The memories taken from those weapons in turned filled him with even more weapons. Some of them were designed failures such like this bladed shield. But the point was not if the shield itself worked, but if the concept of "Attack" and "Damage" could in fact be invoked within Naofumi's own shield. As Motoyasu said the issue wasn't necessarily that Naofumi would be weak but that his Attack stat was zero. If Shirou could increase Naofumi's attack stat than the boy would have a better chance of surviving.

With a blue light the basic shield came to be. A bronze shield whose edge shone with a vicious light.

"Try copying this" said Shirou.

Naofumi blinked as the option came up within his shield.

"Uh….it…it has damage!" smield Naofumi "it has an attack power of ten!"

Shirou smiled and turned to Motoyasu as his shield dispersed. Physical weapons seemed to just flat out be copied but since Shirou's projections, as perfect as they were, were in fact magic the legendary weapons absorbed the phantasms rather than perfectly copy them. It took Shirou a moment but he finally decided on the spear for Motoyasu. The spear he drew was a basic mystic code, one that had a mystery that focused on the speed of the user.

"For you" said Shirou.

Motoyasu felt his jaw drop. The weapon wasn't super powerful, Motoyasu had better spear forms in the game back home, but the speed increase in the equip bonus was unusually high for a rare weapon.

"Nice!" smiled Motoyasu.

The spear was completely blue with a tuff of white fur where the spear met the head. Within a second the spear was gone much like Naofumi's shield. As Shirou turned to Itsuki he had a different issue. The problem was that Shirou's bows were all…uniform. Most of Shirou's normal bows were too weak, not much better than the bows they found in the blacksmith's shop. On the other hand Shirou's noble phantasms were simply too powerful. There was really only one bow that wasn't too weak nor too powerful.

His own.

The giant black bow appeared in Shirou's hands. Within a second it got devoured by his sword, causing Shirou to blink. He looked at the timer that had now increased to 112 hours. There seemed to be a…vehemence about this. The legendary sword had "attacked" his main weapon with gusto and devoured it with something akin to hate….no perhaps more along the lines of jealousy? Honestly, it was something Shirou didn't expect from a lump of magical steel. Regardless it didn't matter at the moment.

"Could it be the further the item is from a "sword" the longer it takes for it to be deconstructed?" thought Shirou.

Shirou summoned the bow again and smiled at Itsuki.

"Sorry about that. For you."

Itsuki blinked at the massive bow and felt his eyes widened.

The Hero's Bow

"The bow of a hero from a world beyond this one"

Quality: Masterpiece

Base Attack: 130

Equip Skill Bonus: Hawk Eye (Unmastered), Sniper (Unmastered), Long Shot (unmastered), Heavy Arrows (Unmastered).

Equip Stat Bonus: Attack +100, Agility +20 (unmastered)

Unique Abilities: Heavy Artillery

What made Itsuki have wide eyes wasn't necessarily the high attack and quality. It was the key unique ability that made Itsuki almost salivate at the bow. The heavy artillery skill allowed the user to use "heavy" ammunition. The legendary bow was unique in that it could generate both a "Bow" and "Arrow" based weapon. Most were simply bolts of magic to be shot. However, unique arrows could be created through mana for some extra effects. The Heavy arrow equip bonus once mastered would allow Itsuki to generate heavy arrows for his use. Combined with long shot (which increased the damage of the shot the further it is) and Sniper (which increased the distance that Itsuki could shoot) the amount of damage that Itsuki could deal was quite high. The final skill wasn't something Itsuki had ever seen though. Heavy Artillery wasn't a skill that was available in his game after all.

"Are you…are you sure?"

"This bow has served me well for a long time" smiled Shirou "the others I have are just too weak with a few others being stronger but requiring certain conditions to bring them out."

A small white lie but one Shirou could live with. Itsuki smiled as he absorbed the bow, adding it into his repertoire.

"I hope these weapons will help you when we separate" said Shirou "for now I'll teach you how to use them as best I can. Is everyone ready?"

Rin could not help but smirk at how easily Shirou took control of the room. It was funny in a way. When Shirou spoke people just listened. Oh, there were heated arguments and people who vehemently disagreed with him on principle but even so they listened. They never yelled over him. They never tried to silence him. They listened. Shirou, much like Ilya had noticed, had charisma in spades. He was not the completely empty human he was before. That small fragment of a person that he had become was enough to draw people to him, to become inspired to either follow or hate him. It was a quality that Rin could honestly say both vexed her and excited her. Rider was different. She looked at Shirou and saw the hero she wished existed in her story. He had never given up on Sakura, ever. He had placed Sakura above the entire world and succeed. If the world knew his story Rider was certain he would already be on his way to the throne of heroes. Sakura merely smiled in pride; her heart already swelled with her feelings of Shirou.

"Alright" muttered Motoyasu "I have to say though I'm not entirely comfortable with this whole thing yet."

Naofumi couldn't help but agree.

"This whole situation has been nothing but a whirlwind" he admitted "I can't stop thinking that it's all just some elaborate dream. But…"

Naofumi looked at Raphtalia who tilted her head at him. The silence was telling as the four heroes plus adults all nodded. Motoyasu took a breath and sighed.

"…here we go" he muttered.

He looked outside the window and smiled. At least some of the women were beautiful.

-one hour later, the open plains-

The sound of rapid popping echoed through the plains. Shirou stayed focused as he slashed another balloon monster with Kanshou and Bakuya. The goal was to increase his signature weapon's mastery. Once he had mastered it, he would inherit not just the stats but the duel wield skill as well. From what Shirou could see each legendary weapon had a different base method for strengthening its heroes. His methods and understanding expanded when the others shared their knowledge leading Shirou to believe that each weapon was in fact a representation of its user and their core. Ilya was a fan of this game so it was possible that once she woke up that she would have all the knowledge necessary to expand the sword's capabilities. Ilya did play the sword hero in her game after all. For now, Shirou was going to focus on mastery. By mastering the duel wield skill Shirou would be able to equip multiple forms and master them in quick succession leading to greater and greater stat increases. Shirou turned to see Itsuki being trained by Sakura and Motoyasu showing off to a few of the adventurers. While the man seemed moronic sometimes Shirou could see a hint of intelligence within the man…if only his poor dick didn't get in the way so much. Naofumi was unexpectedly enjoying himself. Every shield bash resulted in the balloons exploding thanks to his shield now having an attack stat. Yet, for some reason the princess seemed to be trying to get with Naofumi's party.

POP!

"You know the fact you can just kill them while looking away is really impressive!"

Shirou turned and noticed the young woman staring at him. He blinked and tilted his head.

"Um…thank you."

The girl was younger than Shirou, probably in her teens. Her blue hair was certainly unusual and her armor was severely lacking. She was wearing some kind of witch robe that showed her legs and arms. Shirou couldn't say why though…wait?

"It is isn't it!" smiled Rin "my Shirou is without a doubt the best."

Shirou swallowed heavily as Rin gave him the eye.

"I'm sorry!" thought Shirou.

Shirou felt Rider wrap her arms around his shoulders as she hugged him from behind. She gave the girl a smile…one that sent said girl jittering away. Before Shirou could say anything Rider whispered in his ear.

"Ilya is awake."

Shirou stilled as Rider separated from him. She smiled as Shirou immediately ignored the beasts and rushed to Ilya.

"I'm still trying to figure out if he does that on purpose or not" sighed Rin "I swear it's gotten worse over the years."

Rider smiled as she crossed her arms under her bust.

"People desire that which they cannot have. Shirou's strength is merely an additive."

Rin scoffed remembering what happened when she brought Shirou to meet Waver. It took barely a day before Shirou was approached by several women. At the time Shirou and herself were 25 and Shirou already had a reputation around the clock tower. He wasn't a student but his deeds were numerous in his pursuit to heal Ilya. In short, he was like a modern living hero. Rin couldn't help but smirk though. She also remembered how Shirou effectively said no to every proposition with the most disinterested expression Rin had ever seen. She rewarded him well that night…even if the idiot didn't quite understand why at first.

"I trained him well" smiled Rin.

Rider smiled and shook her head. This life…it was one worth protecting.

"Ilya!"

Shirou ran towards his sister. Her white hair may have been adorned with what looked like loin ears but even so there was no mistaken it. Ilya still lacked muscle as evident by her back being pressed against the tree and her legs barely moving. Ilya smiled as Shirou approached his hand caressing the top part of her head.

"How are you?"

Ilya smiled brightly.

"I feel…I feel better. I can still feel the pain but it feels muted!"

Ilya smiled as Shirou hugged her tightly. She caressed his back as she dug her face into his shoulder. It was hard to move her arms but it was worth it in this moment. Shirou's shoulders shook a bit as Ilya felt tears in her eyes. She should have died yesterday…but the timely intervention of Zelretch had prevented that. Knowing that old vampire he probably waited till the last possible moment to pull this trick.

"Shirou Rider tried to tell me that we're in my game? Is that true?"

Shirou separated from Ilya and showed her the legendary sword. She blinked and her mouth dropped.

"….Ilya?"

"I thought the loin parts were Zelretch's joke…but if I'm a demi-human…"

Shirou became vastly uncomfortable at the weird smile that spread of Ilya's face.

"uhhh…Ilya?"

"Yes brother?"

He swallowed as he shakingly smiled.

"Um…why are you smiling like that?"

Ilya gave an innocent smile in return at his question.

"Whatever do you mean brother?"

Shirou decided for the sake of his sanity not to say anything.

"Are you sure you feel alright?" asked Shirou.

Ilya pouted as she crossed her arms weakly.

"I know my body better than you do."

Shirou nodded.

"Hey so the little sister is awake!" announced Motoyasu "she doin alright?"

Ilya stared at the tall blonde man and decided instantly she wasn't a fan. The guy seemed engrossed in his own ego. Shirou was the better of the two easily.

"I'm Ilya Emiya" she smiled "nice to meet you."

Motoyasu felt as if all the weight on his shoulders dispersed in that moment. He was always a sucker for cute things and this little loin girl took the cake. She was adorable.

"This isn't one of your games Motoyasu get your head in the game" he thought.

"Name's Motoyasu" he smiled "nice to meet ya. Your brother's been a big help since we got here…I hope you're adjusting alright."

Ilya gave a polite smile and nodded. Motoyasu could see that she was uncomfortable so he smiled and went back to his wooing.

"He's…an odd one I'll admit" smiled Shirou "but he's got a good heart."
"…still not you brother."

Shirou rolled his eyes and smiled. Even though Ilya was older than he was but she still tried to play the part of the younger sibling.

"Come on" smiled Shirou "let's get you fixed up."

Shirou equipped the healing sword and projected Avalon. If Ilya was a demi-human than the magic of Avalon would only work so much before it needed to be removed. However, Shirou noticed that much of Rapthalia's injuries and issues were cleared up in that time. The sheath was useless for heavy injuries in the midst of battle but for muscle deterioration it should assist in getting Ilya on her feet.

"Ready?" asked Shirou.

Ilya nodded as the golden motes entered her body.

"Tell me once you start feeling uncomfortable."

Ilya nodded and blinked in surprise at the feeling of her muscles expanding slightly. Suddenly she felt as if she was nauseous.

"Brother..."

The feeling dispersed as Shirou destroyed the copy of Avalon. Ilya stood on shaky legs but smiled as she stood up. She looked up at the sky and gave a true grateful smile from the bottom of her heart. It wasn't as if Avalon was perfect, it was just a traced copy after all. If before Ilya couldn't even move than now her legs felt jelly. But even so…she could now stand. Ilya began to scan the open plains, laughing a bit as she noticed the tutorial monsters all jumping around. Their ridiculous faces still the same as in game.

"This is real?" she whispered "…it isn't a dream?"

Shirou smiled as he stood at his full height bringing Ilya up to rest on his shoulder.

"Couldn't even make this up if I tried" chuckled Shirou "Ilya…I already promised you this but I'll say it again. I will heal you."

Ilya blushed as the warmth of Shirou's words ingulfed her. He wasn't like papa at all…instead he was a broken and twisted effigy of a human…but one that loved her like nothing else. He would not leave even if she told him to. For a girl that was bereft of family for so long…one such as Shirou was like an oasis in the desert. She smiled as she closed her eyes and saw Sakura running towards her, tears in her eyes.

"Ilya!"

Rin was smiling from the distance while Rider stayed a part away. Ilya needed to remember to thank her for carrying her for so long. She chuckled as she enjoyed the embrace from her family. Itsuki and Naofumi smiled as they closed in. Much like Shirou had done much earlier, the two had now destroyed all the balloon creatures they could find. Motoyasu was chatting up some the adventurers but smiled at the scene as well.

"I'm happy your sister is awake" chuckled Naofumi "it's nice to meet you I'm Naofumi."

"I'm Itsuki" smiled the archer.

Ilya blinked as she saw them wielding the legendary weapons.

"I thought there could only be one legendary hero?" muttered Ilya.

"Right! I thought the same" said Itsuki "but apparently this world has four. I take it you played the game to?"

"Oh" muttered Ilya "yes I did. I wasn't expecting to wake up to this I'll be honest."

Itsuki blinked at the mature way Ilya spoke, wondering why a 12 year old girl would talk like an adult. Ilya kept the conversation going finding that these two were more tolerable than the other one. Yet, in the corner of her eye Ilya noticed a pretty young girl biting her thumb and hiding behind a tree.

"is…is she serious?" thought Ilya.

Ilya could tell that Shirou simply didn't care at the moment but the way the rest of her family carried themselves…it was obvious they've noticed the woman's staring.

Too bad Malty herself didn't notice yet. Malty kept her distance behind the tree and was staring at the group all smiling at a demi-human. She didn't want to intrude but that wasn't because of politeness. She could tell, the four heroes seemed closer than expected. Not only that but the texts explicitly stated that the shield was incapable of performing damaging attacks. Malty never put her full faith in the church but she knew that their information was second to none. She bit her thumb as she tried to think about her next move.

Malty attempted to get near the spear hero yet the man seemed too engrossed with the other women to even notice her just yet. Itsuki seemed uncomfortable with women in general. After all why would a young teenager keep his distance from her. A few of the more shy adventurers had found some common ground with the bow hero but Malty refused to associate with the commoners. Not all the adventurers in this entourage were of the nobility. All the people within this group were selected from both noble bloodlines and talented aspiring warriors. The spear hero seemed on his way to being under the nobility's thumb but the bow hero almost seemed adverse to associating with anyone. Only a few of the commoners were able to even talk to him much less attempt to join his party.

"The bow is just a child anyways" thought Malty.

She burned as she noticed a few of the girls beam at the spear hero. Their faces were obvious in that they had been invited to the party. She pushed it down and sighed. The shield hero was her target…but at this rate that didn't seem possible. She hadn't been able to get close to Naofumi, that stupid little demi-human whimpering whenever she got near. The shield showered her with apologies but asked her to leave at least for now. Malty's anger was near apocalyptic when she watched Raphtalia stick her tongue out at her when Naofumi turned his back to her. Sadly, while her father's feelings about the shield hero were similar to her own their people were a different story. The church of the three heroes had been trying to indoctrinate the people that only the sword, spear, and bow were the true heroes. That the shield housed a devil locked within a holy artifact.

Malty would admit she didn't really pay attention when the church spewed their nonsense and apparently neither did the people. While the church was wide spread and had its fair share of believers the common people of her kingdom still believed heavily in the concept of FOUR heroes not three. As such the shield was spoken in the same breath as the other three. If they were together…than it may be best to adjust her plans.

"if the heroes are all together…"

Malty smiled as a new plan formed. There would have to be some adjustments of course. The church had confirmed that the heroes had shared the left-over hourglass sand with each other. Such comradery was unexpected…but not entirely dismissed. After all, information was so easy to spread about if you had the right people.

Malty was unaware of Rin staring at her. The vastly intelligent woman wondering what exactly was Malty's end goal. Without knowing what Malty's goals were Rin knew she had little chance of properly figuring out what she was planning. Rin smiled as she saw Shirou's bright smile…

"Idiot" smiled Rin.

The thought of Shirou with children was one that Rin secretly admitted was appealing. VASTLY, appealing. But it wasn't fair for them to have children. So Rin never brought it up.

"Rin are you just going to stand there?"

Rin shrugged as she approached the group.

"I just might" she smirked.

Rin kept a close eye on Malty as she caught up with Ilya. For the most part the four of them played their roles, with Ilya bringing the perfect performance of a little sister, albeit one with an advanced vocabulary. It took some minor prodding to get the other two heroes to leave them alone. They didn't want to come off as secretive to them. One little comment about power levelling and suddenly the three other heroes were off hunting slimes again. Naofumi especially was informative as he left though. He mentioned that Raphtalia was a member of his party and that she was levelling up quickly as well. Rin noticed that the girl was far more energetic than she was earlier. If levelling had some health benefits than it might be best to get Ilya in Shirou's party as fast as she could. When Rin finally felt as if they had a moments peace near the tree she opened her mouth. Ilya beat her to it though.

"Zelretch?" asked Ilya.

"Fucking Zelretch" muttered Rin.

"I'm surprised he even bothered helping us" said Shirou.

"You call landing us into an alternate reality with political issues helping us?" sighed Rin "the only thing different is that Ilya is now a beast human."

"Demi-human" stated Ilya "that's what the game called them."

Everyone stared at her.

"So you played this game?" asked Shirou "exactly like this?"

"Well the story was kind of garbage" admitted Ilya "but the basics of the world are roughly the same. It was a single player story with a multiplayer aspect. A single hero fights the waves and evolves their weapon. During the waves it was possible to get the assistance of other players from different worlds. They had a bunch of small rifts that occurred normally but every three months a raid would start and players from all over the world would join to kill the boss monsters."

"…I'm gonna pretend I understand that" muttered Rin "so basically the waves are a thing?"

"They're called rifts in my game but yea."

"Oh great" muttered Rin.

"So we must level up quickly" said Shirou "and prepare for the waves."

"So I guess we have to start this party thing than."

Shirou chuckled as Ilya bounced on his shoulder. He was bigger than when she last had a piggy back. His back was much broader and more muscular. It was like riding the shoulders of berserker...if the ultimate madman had somehow loss 600 pounds and turned into a shrimp. For Ilya it was the sentiment that mattered.

"Just say invite to party!" smiled Ilya.

"….uh…invite to party?" asked Shirou.

The sword sensed Shirou's intentions and send a link to each person. Ilya happily clicked some interface of some kind while the others simply accepted with their will. Shirou smiled as the party page showed up.

Party List

Shirou Lv. 5

Sakura Lv. 1

Rin Lv. 1

Rider Lv. 40 (MAX)

Ilya Lv. 1

Rider seemed to be at max level at the moment…yet the sword seemed to be implying that Rider's level was merely what it could read.

"It seems Rider won't be getting any stronger" smiled Shirou "she's max level."

"She's level 350?" asked Ilya.

"Um…no she's 40."

"Oh than she just needs to class up than. The level cap will go up with each class up."

"How many do you get?" asked Shirou.

"In the game there was only one I believe" said Ilya "the cap would go from forty to a hundred. But some people could get numerous class ups, increasing the level cap every time. That was for companions though. The hero could level endlessly.

Shirou rose an eyebrow at the endlessly part but kept silent. He was now level five but the amount of balloon slimes he had to kill just to level up was beginning to become unrealistic. This was with a 900% increase to EXP gains as well. It was likely that while he could level endlessly that the EXP necessary to do so would be monstrous.

"Now that Ilya is awake…tomorrow will be the time to leave" said Rin.

Shirou nodded understanding why. They needed time. Time to heal Ilya a bit more and also time to properly say goodbye to the King. Once they left it didn't matter but it was best not to antagonize the man unless absolutely necessary. Rider looked up and nodded.

"The sun is starting to set. It is likely we'll be heading back soon."

Sakura turned and noticed Itsuki smiling nervously at a few people. It was two girls and a man smiling and patting the boy on the shoulder.

"I hope he's ok" muttered Sakura.

"Itsuki will be ok" said Rider "I do not sense ill intent from those three. The fourth is a different story."

Indeed a bit of ways off was a second male around Itsuki's age. He was glaring daggers at the bow hero but as the groups were beginning to leave the man seemed to think better of it. Sakura's eyes turned dark as a smile creeped into expression. Shirou felt his balls escape into his stomach at the sight.

"Hey! You guys coming or what!?" yelled Motoyasu.

Shirou smiled as Ilya patted his head, urging him forward.

"To food brother!"

Shirou laughed, enjoying the levity his heart was feeling. Ilya seemed even more lively than usual but Shirou attributed that to the now extra years that Ilya had available to her. With a projected Avalon's increased healing potency Shirou was confident that they had more time to work with than previously. But even so…there was only so much Avalon could do. The circuits were as much a part of Ilya as any other part of her. As such Avalon would heal the damage but not the cause. But that was an issue for another time.

"We're staying at an Inn right now" explained Shirou "so we'll get some food when we get back alright."

Ilya just hummed in happiness. She was more than content to simply look at the sky. Shirou smiled. Even in the midst of all the political crap Shirou could honestly say this world was looking up.

-Two hours later after dinner-

The food was shit. There was literally no question. The food was bland and the sides were little better. There was next to no seasoning, the meat was cooked irregularly, and the ass of a restaurant owner tried to hide the fact it was because Ilya was a demi-human that such food was even served. Rather than go to the inn like they planned Malty gave the suggestion for a dinner at a restaurant she mentioned. Shirou wasn't concerned about being poisoned. Structural analysis was such a boon to check for poison. Shirou's inner demon of a chef awakened at such blatant misuse of ingredients. Before Rin could say a word Shirou went to the kitchen and told everyone he'd be back in forty minutes. After twenty the head chef left the restaurant in tears while a server had a look of awe and worship in their eyes. At forty minutes exactly, steaming plates of food reached the large groups table.

Itsuki loved the food.

Naofumi sighed in appreciation.

Motoyasu damn near cried as he bit into his steak.

When Shirou returned he was talking to an assistant chef who was eagerly writing down everything Shirou was explaining to them. As they left the assistant chef was promoted to head chef and the policies in place were in the midst of changing. Malty's face was ashen as she was subjected to the insanity of the whole situation. While the damage was benign and merely the destruction of a man's pride Malty knew in that moment that screwing with the sword hero was not worth the headache. As such her only recourse was the shield hero. At least it would have been.

"I'm so sorry" sighed Naofumi "she's been really dependent on me. I assure you she doesn't mean to be like this."

Raphtalia was gripped Naofumi's pant leg and growling (pouting actually) at Malty.

"It's no problem" growled Malty.

"Of course the girl needs to cause a scene in the middle of the street!" thought Malty.

The original plan was to "invite" herself into Naofumi's company in the public eye. Once they go to sleep she'd accuse the fool of assaulting her. If the opinion of the heroes could not be assured than she'd use the public. If people saw that she was with the shield in both the streets and tavern, it would sell the story.

It should have been easy! It should have been simple! BUT NO! The damn shield hero was a paternal dick! The idiot was catering to a disgusting creature like it was a broken child or some such nonsense.

"I appreciate you trying to help Naofumi so much".

Malty felt a shiver go down her back. She knew that voice.

"Without a high attack stat he would need assistance.

She thought they'd already gone inside. Malty turned her head towards the inn and sure enough, Sakura stood at the doors. Every step Sakura took was cordial and graceful. Her face was peaceful and serene. But the aura the woman was pumping out made even the shadows twitch. Raphtalia blinked in surprise as she stared at the woman.

"But it is late. This child needs some rest wouldn't you say?"

Malty was about to snort till Sakura's eyes opened and drilled into her skull.

"Wouldn't you say?"

Malty's throat went dry. She knew this pressure. This was like when she sparred with her mother in magic. It was the concept of being severely under level against something. It was oppressive and dark but this freak of a woman seemed to make her mother pale in comparison.

What kind of a freak was the sword hero banging!?

"Y-y-yea she does" stuttered Malty.

She hated it. She hated how weak she sounded. But she knew fighting this woman was not going to end well. The pressure disappeared as Sakura smiled brightly.

"Oh good. You thought so as well. Raphtalia sweetheart, are you ready for bed?"

Raphtalia decided she liked Sakura now. She didn't hesitate to smile and nod.

"Can I sleep with Naofumi?"

"Hmm…we can get a second bed if that's alright?"

"MMmhm!"

Sakura giggled and blushed a bit as Raphtalia quickly grabbed her head. A man scoffed in disgust at the action but suddenly felt like a terror gripped his heart. He almost shit himself when Sakura's eyes locked onto his. He quickly turned away and disappeared into the night. Naofumi only now began to notice that Sakura was doing something and decided to quickly excuse himself before Malty tried anything.

"I should head in as well. It was uh…it was nice to see you?"

Naofumi didn't know what to say so he lied. He wasn't an idiot. He noticed how Malty narrowed her eyes at Ilya and Raphtalia. In his world Racism was such a non-existent concept that Naofumi literally had no idea why Malty hated the two children so much. Such blind hatred…to Naofumi it just seemed baseless and foolish. TO hate someone based on something as simple as appearance was…

It was stupid. It didn't seem like something an intelligent person would get sucked into. Hating an individual Naofumi could understand. He had his fair share of people he didn't like. But a group?

"Thanks for that" sighed Naofumi as he closed the door.

Sakura smiled wistfully at Raphtalia as she patted the girl's head. Raphtalia seemed more engrossed into the contact than before as she smiled.

"It is no concern" said Sakura "I just noticed you were both outside. I know Raphtalia wanted to spend some more time with you when we all went home. I hope I'm not intruding between you two?"

The girl had no home. The kingdom was a racist shit bucket. There was literally nowhere else for Raphtalia to go as they knew of at the moment. As such it was silently agreed that she would stick with Naofumi. Not necessarily because he was the safest or best option but because Raphtalia literally would not take no for an answer. Apparently, the shield hero had some special meaning to the demi-human races. So long as the girl was safe Sakura found she didn't care who took care of her.

"You seem good at this" smiled Naofumi "I've never taken care of a kid before so I'm a little…maybe a good deal bad at this."

Raphtalia pouted as she shook her head.

"So do you and Shirou have kid….oh."

Sakura blinked at Naofumi's expression but smiled.

"Oh we don't have children of our own" smiled Sakura.

For some reason…Naofumi could feel a torrent of sadness come from Sakura at the statement.

"I didn't mean to bring anything up."

Sakura shook her head.

"It's fine. We should get some sleep no?"

Naofumi nodded and picked Raphtalia up. What followed was a rather comical event. Raphtalia had gone directly to the inn keeper to ask for another bed in the room. However, the poor inn keeper thought the worse and was about to smack Naofumi's head right off his shoulders because of "indecent" activity within her walls. Thankfully Sakura calmly explained everything and the situation at hand. The end result was the Inn keeper allowing Raphtalia to sleep with her simply so that the trouble of gathering another bed and sheets was avoided. With a notification from Rider that she would make sure the girl was safe everyone finally got some sleep. It was a nice sleep…peaceful. As Shirou slept he dreamt of his world. Of swords driven into a grassy plains…of a blue sky filled with gears….

"shi"

Shirou blinked as he noticed a woman standing into the distance. Her dark skin and snow white hair an oddity. He narrowed his eyes…sometimes it was hard to tell the difference between dreams and reality marbles from time to time. The red shroud the woman wore was the same color as the legendary sword. Her form shifted into a blade before reverting to a human.

"SHI!"

Shirou approached the woman. In her hands was his bow.

"What the?" whispered Shirou.

The woman turned into his sword again, the bow now slowly getting devoured into the blade. Shirou blinked and the woman appeared again. The bow was now halfway gone and when she turned her face was twisted into something resembling jealous rage. Her eyes were….

Endless.

"SHIROU!"

Shirou's eyes snapped open as he looked at Rin who was shaking him awake.

"Rin!? What's wrong!"

Rin scowled.

"The king took Naofumi into custody."

"What?" asked Shirou.

"He's being arrested for assaulting princess Malty.

"What!?" asked Shirou "he wasn't anywhere near her was he?"

Rider walked into the door, her expression troubled. Her eyes seemed a little dark too.

"Rider?"

"He was here and safe all night" asserted Rider "Malty never entered the Inn. Not once."

"So the king has made his move" murmured Sakura.

"I'm sleepy" murmured Ilya.

Everyone turned to Ilya who was sleeping in the second bed in Shirou's room. She was snoring lightly away.

"…Sleeps like the dead for a day and is still tired" sighed Rin.

"…this isn't good" stated Shirou "we have to go now!"

Without a word the four of them woke up Ilya and made their way to the king. Whatever this was, Shirou hoped he could stop it before it got worse. But he had another concern.

Where was Raphtalia and the others?

End