QUEST III

[thecanopycrew]

Adventurers, join to free the Servant of the Tree.
Six of the Night.
Six of the Day.
Six of Twilight.
Gather your party and venture forwards.
The wagons will guide you there.

A treat will be given for each secret shared. 卌卌 II

Those that serve have earned the right of a name. Make them known. Confirm names.
[The words are gone, instead showing a crystal sword being broken into three pieces and reassembled again over and over.]

Comments

[gandere]

It is?

[ She's not quite following along, but she'll look hurt all the same. ]

[steelmyself]

Yeah, for one thing, it's an insult to me as a man, Rin.

[ He realizes, too late, just what he said. ]

--not that I am a man; I'm a spirit and a hero first, as I've said.

[gandere]

A spirit and a hero can't love another being, can they? [ She blurts out the question, unsure of the answer herself. ]

I rather you be a man than either of those things.

[steelmyself]

Tohsaka--

[ His eyes widen and he just looks at her for a long moment, his expression peculiarly pure and boyish.

He lifts one hand and reaches for her, his fingertips brushing her hair at the side of her face. ]

[gandere]

Ah... [ It's odd and refreshing both at the same time to hear him call her that. ]

I'm saying weird things again, aren't I?

[steelmyself]

I'm fond of the weird things you say. To be honest, I'm really fond of you.

[ His hand settles against her cheek, warm enough to belong to a man even if he claims to be a spirit and a hero. ]

You know, Rin. That plan I confessed to, that foolish wish.

It really went awry, and sometimes I wonder what would have happened if it hadn't.

[ And then, abruptly, he's drawing her close to him. His arms wrap around her, he gathers her to his body. ]

But I suspect I could never have completed it anyway. Not with you at my side.

I really--

[ His throat closes up. He wants to tell her he loves her, but he doesn't know if he has the right to speak the word. He only knows that if he has any wish still left to him, he wants to stay at her side. ]

[gandere]

[ She's unaware of what he's trying to say to her because when it comes to confessions of that nature, she's used to hearing them from boys who can hardly look her in the eye. In her own, he's always barked at her and refused to take her insults without making her feel silly for blurting out with them in the first place. ]

That's because I would have stopped you. [ Sakura... really loves that boy and here she was, doing what exactly? Indulging in a fantasy that in some world, he chose her instead of her little sister? ]

... but Archer, if that was your plan all along, why didn't you stop me that night at the school?

[steelmyself]

Yeah, you would've.

[ He's smiling a little as he holds her. ]

Ah--?

That wouldn't have been the same. I wanted...

[ He falls silent, unable to explain exactly what he wanted from his stupid plan. ]

[gandere]

You wanted what? [ She misses the finer details during their conversation due to her eagerness to understand what drives him. That's just to be expected of a woman like her. ]

To have done it yourself?

[steelmyself]

It's something like that. With my own hands, I wanted to erase that existence and so purify the world and find peace...right, it's like that.

I shouldn't hold you, Rin.

[ He says that, but he doesn't let go of her. ]

That's not the sort of thing I should be doing at all.

[gandere]

I'm not so flimsy as to break if you hold me firmly, Archer. [ It's a quiet sort of confession towards her desire to be in his arms so she lowers her head, basically ashamed of it.

She hasn't had enough experience in her life to differentiate between shameful and shameless when it comes to her feeling so she just barrels through in an attempt to make something of this moment. They don't have the Lifestream to influence them this time so it's a challenge to bring forth the honesty. ]

... but there's doubt about it. I'll fall apart if you let go.

[steelmyself]

I know you won't break.

[ He speaks softly, a little ruefully. He first saw her at a time when she might have broken--when she might have done something she couldn't take back, that would break her forever. But she's grown past that now. ]

You've a strong woman now, Rin. I--

[ He blinks. ]

I treasure the time I get to spend with you, so it's in my benefit too to not let go.

So, selfishly, I won't.

[gandere]

[ It's alright, Rin's thoughts are gentle when it comes to precious things he's saying to her. With Shirou, it's sudden and leaves them both fumbling as awkward teenagers are prone to do. Archer is different and must be approached calmly as to not scare him away from these things. It must be intimidating for someone like him to expose his weaknesses before a woman like her. ]

That's precisely what I thought. [ No, that wasn't what she thought at all.

No point in letting him see her weakness. Before him, she has to be brave and confident. Nothing else. ]

[steelmyself]

[ He catches her hesitation. He knows she was uncertain.

But he lets her entertain the lie. ]

Of course. You're a perceptive woman as well as a strong one.

[ He lifts one hand to touch her hair. ]

Rin...