NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5: 5. Chapter 5
-10 days later-
5. Chapter 5
Nex
12 days have passed since Caster has first arrived at the Emiya residence.
It was afternoon, and she was now relaxing in the living room.
She was sipping some tea that she made herself, but for some reason it was not good like the one Shirou made, she had to ask him if he put or did something in particular.
Right now she was in the home alone, since Shirou started to go to work some days earlier.
As she was sitted at the table she was thinking.
Shirou's magic training was proceeding well, and in fact she was able to improve his magic circuits a pair of times. With his newily improved circuits he now could fully use all the basic magic spell he could utilize, and he could 'project' over 60 normal swords. of good quality without any problem. But she had noted that Shirou didn't have many different swords in his 'inventory', so he just kept projecting the same swords over and over, still, he was getting better.
For his combat training now he could at best handle more than 25 Dragon warriors, she could easily say that he was improving drastically in fighting, and now that he was getting better at reinforce his body during the training with her Dragon warriors she expected him to surpass this number very soon.
From next week she would reinforce him with her magic and she would observe the results, and she was optimistic.
As Caster finished her cup of tea she started to think about the days that she has passed there in Shirou's home,
At least once a day Taiga would come here and they would start to talk about Shirou or some various topics. She liked Taiga, at times the woman was a bit too energetic, but she was still very pleasant. Caster was not used to be sorrounded by people who didn't want to secretly cut her throat..
Then sometimes Sakura would come too and Caster noted that there was something really wrong with her, but still, she liked her too. Caster didn't know exactly why, maybe because the girl was gentle and polite toward her, maybe because she was a timid girl who was a bit insecure about herself, maybe because she started to get really embarrassed while being near Shirou, since she had some feelings for him....
Caster grinned at the thought:
Caster surely didn't want to bother the young and timid girl who doubted herself, and even feared her to become her rival, so when she had the chance she would leave Shirou and Sakura alone after telling them that they would be a cute couple or not to do some obscene things after she leaved them alone. She then would secretly admire their embarrassed reaction, she would do it with Taiga if she was there too. Caster was really amused when Shirou dropped his calm and serious behavior and started to get embarrassed, she noted that he was really cute.
...She didn't dislike this normal lifestyle.
She now really felt like a normal person.
She didn't have to be the evil witch here.
She didn't know how or why, but she could really lower her guard around Shirou... and the others.
...And if she wanted to live peacefully like this she had to win this war, no matter how, no matter the cost.
Her familiar that morning spotted a female magus, she was the only other mage that she found other than Sakura and the priest on the hill, who she guessed was the supervisor of the war.
She had to make sure that if someone she was observing became a Master she had to steal their command seal.
In the meantime she had prepared and gave to Shirou a lucky charm and a protective amulet, she soon would give him some reinforced and especially enchanted clothes. Shirou would still be harmed if he got hit by a Servant, but at least he would not die immediatly after being hit.
Anyway, now her mana reserve reached a high level, but she still needed a Master so that she could reach her full power, and Shirou was the perfect candidate for that role.
Despite his age he was quite smart and mature, he was an Incarnation, he had a Reality Marble that he could somehow use in part, with his improved circuits he could now sustain her, he soon would become a great fighter, he didn't ask for Impossible things, he didn't hit or insulted her, he was gentle, he listened to her advice, he appreciates her help and thanked her, he always offered to help her in return, he treated her like a person, he was-
Her thoughts suddenly halted.
'Huh, he is more pleasant than I first thought. Caster realized.
At that same moment she heard the front door opening and Shirou saying: "I'm home"
Caster got up, streched a bit, and went to greet him, after all she was a guest in this home.
They had their magic lesson in the morning, so Shirou now would rest a bit, and after dinner he would train with her warriors.
"Welcome back Shirou. She told him as soon she saw him...
She had also started to call him Shirou, she now got enough confidence with him that she stopped calling him boy, she also thought that it was a bit rude to call him like that now that they were allies.
"Hi Caster, do you have some news about the war?" Shirou asked as he took off his shoes.
"No, nothing has happened. No other Servant has been summoned and I have not discovered any other Master." Caster answered.
"Ok, so, what do you want for dinner?" Shirou asked while he scratched his nose. Since Caster arrival he had started to get used to the presence of another person in his home.
"Well, I would prefer..." She started to say as she thought. She really loved Shirou's cooking, but stopped when she saw Shirou's hand... after that Caster took a very serious look.
"Shirou..."
"What? Did something just happened?"
"Yes, and you have no Idea, Just look at your left hand." She then told him calmly.
Shirou looked down and saw some kind of livid on the back of his hand... no, it was some kind of symbol.
"...Wait, this is-1"
"Congratulations to you Shirou, you have been chosen as a Master by the Holy Grail, Caster said with a sly smile as she watched the command seals that had started to appear on Shirou's hand,
To say that now Caster was surprised and euphoric would have been an understatement, once again Shirou has exceeded all of her expectations, and now her plans had been changed because of it.
"How did it happen?" He asked confused as he was cooking dinner, he didn't expected to become a Master.
"Shirou, the Grail choose those who are worthy and desire to participate in the war, and since you have a strong desire to participate I guess the Grail has chosen you to be a Master. Do you see now Shirou? Even the Grail itself has confirmed that you have a high potential, and since the Grail is in some sense conscious I would not be surprised if it was looking forward to making you a Master because of your special nature... Anyway, now that you have your commands seals, do you know what happens next?"
"...We can already form a contract?"
"Well we could, but just think a little bit more, what else you can do now that could give us a way bigger advantage in the war?"
"... You want me to summon a Servant?" He asked as he tumed towards her.
"Exactly." She said satisfied and excited at the idea.
But if I do then what will happen? I know that it will be an advantage for the war, but let's just say that at the end only the 2 of you remain, you will have to fight, right?" Shirou asked concerned, he did not want 2 allies to "
fight each other
"It will be unlikely that the both of us will survive until the end, but you don't have to worry, I'll make sure that there will be no fight between us..." Caster said calmly, but in reality she was already planning many ways to control and kill Shirou's future Servant.
Shirou remained still as he kept watching her without saying a word. After some moments Caster started to think that he saw through her plans, and if he just did then how should she-
"Ok." Shirou simply said before he returned to finish to cook.
Caster frowned a bit as she watched him turn around his back to her.
...Ok? That's it? Shirou, are you being naive or you just trust me this much?...Damn it. I'm sure that is just a combination of both... stupid boy, why you trust me so much? Caster thought. She always felt incredibly uncomfortable when Shirou behaved like that, he knew who she was and what she did, and yet he never doubted her actions or intentions... stupid.
Still, now she should prepare Shirou to summon his Servant only after he finished with his training, she still had to improve his magic circuits and she had to train him to be a better fighter, for now a Servant would only be a burden and would slow his training....
'Wait no, since he can summon a Servant now he doesn't need to put himself into danger and be the one to fight, he is still just a hoy and he shouldn't fight against a Servant... but his training is proceeding incredibly well, this should highly improve his chance to survive the war. It would be better if he keeps training, with that he should at least be able to get out of the war alive no matter
Then her thoughts were interrupted by Shirou after he put a plate in front of her. Immediately after that Caster's nose had invaded by a delicious smell, she noted that Shirou's cooking got better after they had met.
"Shirou, it's just my impression or you are getting better at cooking?" She asked as she watched the plate.
"Did I really get that better?" He asked happily.
"Yes, how did you do it?" Caster asked curiously.
"I just started to use a bit of magic to improve my senses of smell and taste while cooking, I wanted to see if I could really Improve my abilities in the kitchen." He said as he tapped his nose.
"They did. I'm really impressed Shirou, I couldn't think that your plates could be improved." She said genuinely surprised as she started to eat.
"Thanks." Shirou said a bit embarrassed.
Caster smiled a little, he was still not yet used to compliments, and she liked this humble side of the boy.
After dinner Shirou trained with Caster's skeletons, then went into the bathroom to clean himself up and after that, he went to sleep.
Once again Caster was watching him sleeping, she already studied long enough the Fae artifact and she concluded that for now it did nothing special, but she still she came here every night and remained there observing Shirou for an hour or more.
She wouldn't openly admit it but in this past week she had started to respect... and grown fond of him. He has been the only person that ever treated her respectfully and gently, despite knowing who she was.
He knew that she in her 'past life became the thing that everyone feared, the Witch Of Betrayal, but for him it didn't matter because in his opinion she was just a 'copy', she was not the real Medea.
He even told her that she should not feel responsible for all the things that Medea did, but no matter what he said, as always she still felt and acted like an evil witch.
Now that she had enough power she could fully interact with the leylines, in fact at first she wanted to start absorbing more power from them fully knowing that would start to harm the civilian population... but the only thing that stopped her from doing it was Shirou.
'Would Shirou try to kill me if started to behave like that again?" Caster asked this question to her to herself, and shortly after she reached the conclusion.
Shirou was someone that the Grail itself deemed worthy for his strong desire to participate in the war, Shirou was training himself so that he could save many people as possible, and every time he trained he always pushed himself to the limit so that he could become stronger.
If someone should start to harm innocents she doubted that Shirou would have any kind of pity for thern... even if that person was her
He after all was still a hero... and the hero must kill the evil one....
But for now there will be no evil witch.
After a while Caster got out of Shirou's room and went into the tool shed.
She started to analyze the summoning circle, and as she expected, she could easily improve it and make sure that the servant that Shirou summoned would in perfect conditions.
But first, she needed to make sure that she could control this Servant in some kind of way, not because she didn't trust Shirou, if there was just one person she trusted it was him, she just wanted to make sure that the Servant would not try to kill her.
She still was a masterless Servant that was specialized in defense, even if she was connected to the leylines that gave her some mana she still couldn't reach her full strength, she would have little chances against another Servant in a direct fight.
Caster started to consider creating a permanent 'mental connection' with Shirou, that way they could always communicate, they could see and hear the same things the other did... and she could control him, if necessary.
If the Servant was hostile and it would not collaborate with her she would control Shirou and make sure that the servant killed itself by using one of the command seals, then she would form a contract with him.
Now, if Shirou had to summon a powerful servant he would need a good catalyst, but where she could find orie? Something like a relic or an artifact would be ideal, but she could not found one so easily...
...the Fae artifact. Caster suddenly thought.
The artifact that resided in Shirou's body was after all the sheath of a sword, she knew the sheath was a very powerful object that didn't show its full power, and if the 'simple sheath had such power, then what kind of power had the sword that it sheathed? What kind of person could wield and use such artifacts?
If we are lucky Shirou should be able to summon a very strong Servant...
She could think of it later, now she had to improve the circle and then she would send her famlilars to the forest and finish to explore the castle she had found outside the city, and take some things from it since she had found there some alchemical agents and ingredients in there.
In the last week she had let her familiars scout all the city, and other than the 2 houses of mages and the Castle there was nothing strange... until yesterday she sent her familiars to scout the 'park'.
She didn't know how to describe the feeling that the park gave her through her familiars... the thing was corrupted, rotten, sick, evil, insane, mad... Cursed.
Yesterday night she already reached a conclusion that she didn't like, then in the morning she asked Shirou what happened to the park and just like she feared he told her that the park remained in such condition after the great fire that happened 10 years ago.
Over 10 years have passed since that incident hut that place was still swarmed by corrupted energy....
What kind of calamity really happened there? How did Shirou even manage to survive at all? She knew that something terrible happened, but now she couldn't even imagine the gravity of the situation.
"When tomorrow I will create the connection between us maybe I could see some of his memories... She then thought.
It was morning and after waking up Shirou went through his usual morning routine, after preparing breakfast he wondered what kind of training would have to do that morning, but as he thought Caster entered the room.
"Good morning Shirou."
"Good morning Caster."
"Shirou, do you remember the mental connection that I created the first day that I came here?" She asked as she sat down at the table,
"Yes, why do you ask?"
"I Servant, so it will not interfere with the connection with your future Servant. I hope that it doesn't bother you."
I want to make an everlasting connection between us, this way no matter where we are we will always be able to communicate and find each other, but it will not be like a normal connection between a Master and a Servant, so it will not interfere with the connection with your future Servant. I hope that it doesn't bother you."
"Don't worry, I know that it will be very useful, you not the type of person to suggest useless things. Shirou said before starting to eat.
"Perfect, I will create the connection after breakfast." Caster said happily, she liked when someone complimented her in some way since it was very rare,
She started to eat and in the meantime Shirou turned on the Tv to watch the news.
[Yesterday night 2 people mysteriously disappeared near the Fuyuki Bridge, the police suspect suicide or kidnapping. The 2 people had been last seen by a security camera as they began to cross the bridge, but they never reached the other side...]
Both Caster and Shirou stooped eating and after a moment they looked at each other. That could not be a coincidence, if something strange happened in this city there was surely someone behind it.
"...you know that those people are probably already dead, right?" Caster asked while she saw Shirou's expression getting more serious.
"..." Shirou said nothing and just frowned.
"Ok, let's just finish breakfast first." Caster then said.
After breakfast. Shirou and Caster headed to the tool shed.
Someone have started to kidnap or kill people, and Caster knew that Shirou wanted to investigate immediately, but she had to stop the little hero wannabe.
"Caster, are you somehow able to trace the two missing people?" He asked in a serious tone. He was more than sure that some mage had started to kidnap people, he had to stop them as soon as he could.
"Shirou you have to calm down." Caster told him clearly. "I already told you that you cannot save everyone and you should accept it as a fact. You can't be everywhere at the same time, and you don't even know what the enemy is capable of. For now the only thing you can do is to keep training and prepare yourself for future battles, you cannot risk your life without a valid reason....Now let's start with the traini-"
"No Caster!" Shirou snapped. "I will not train while there are some mage or mages that are kidnapping or even killing innocent people! Now we have to-
"We have to what?! Shirou look at yourself, right now you are not even that strong, if you have to fight against a powerful magus you will get yourself killed! And tell me, how do you want to trace the kidnappers? My familiars didn't sense anything and now we have no clue about them, maybe the kidnappers were not even mages! There are over 1 million people here in Fuyuki, what do you intend to do? Do you want to roam the streets all day long while asking people if they have seen some kidnappers? Answer me Shirou, I'm curious."
"I will just find a way and-"
"And nothing Shirou! You will do nothing! If really you want to protect someone you should start with those who are closer to you! You should start to protect your family!" Caster said as she remembered a certain girl.
"..." Shirou said nothing and he just clenched his fists.
After a moment Shirou froze, he remembered that Sakura was a magus too... and if someone should ever discover her, what could happen to her?
He started to sweat cold as he thinked, he didn't want something to happen to Sakura... he didn't want her to be hurt or kidnapped by someone.
...Why am I so weak?! Shirou gritted his teeth as he thought.
Shirou started to get angry, he didn't know what to do or how to act, he knew that all the words that Caster spoke were true, he knew that he could not save everyone, and he hated himself for being that weak.
He had enough of seeing people die, he was tired of seeing people begging to be saved as he watched them unable to do anything... But 10 years have passed since then,
He was not a child anymore, now he had grown up, now he had the support of Caster, now he knew what he had to do... now he could fight!
Thanks to Caster he now knew that he was naive, immature, and weak! He now knew that he had to be even stronger and ruthless so that he could protect Sakura and the other innocents from the horrors of the war and those monsters that called themself mages!
If he could not save those poor victims anymore he will make sure that they will be the last ones! He will never accept the existence of monters that could throw humans life as if they were nothing! He will do anything to stop them from causing other to suffer ever again!
'They will payl' Shirou thought as he felt anger rising in him.
Caster in the meantime was watching Shirou reaching his resolve, she could see that the boy right now was maturing in front of her. She could see his eyes getting full of righteous anger and motivation.
'Shirou you finally understood, what a good boy that you are. Caster thought as a smile appeared on her face, she could already see the effect of her influence on him.
"First of all Caster, I'm sorry. It's just that... the thought that there are some monsters out there in the world that willingly harm and kill other people makes me sick... but now I have to ask you some things."
"Sure, tell me everything you need Said Caster with a gentle smile.
"First of all, you will have to keep watching Sakura 24/7 and make sure that nothing happens to her. Second, you'll have to increase the numbers of familiars and send them all around the city, if the kidnappers are mages and want to keep to kidnap they will have to use some kind of bounded field, and since we now know that they use some kind of stealth magic you will not be caught unprepared and you'll be able to discover or even trace them back to their base, Third, just like you said now I'm still weak, from today we must intensify my training as much as possible."
"Sure, but before we start everything may I first establish the connection?" She then asked.
"Yes, but it is possible that someone can feel our connection?"
"Shirou I have to remind you that I am a mage from the Age of Gods, no mere modern mage or magic is capable of discovering my magic if I want to hide it... and now that I think of it, I can also do something about your command seals..."
Shirou's left arm hurt a lot, but he did not care.
Shirou's head hurt a lot, but he did not care.
Caster said that the pain would pass in a pair of hours and only then they will start the training, but he did not care.
Caster tried to stop him from training, but he did not care.
This pain was nothing to him, he went through much worse that night, something like this could never slow him down.
He now was weak, and he needed to train as much as possible.
He needed more power! He had to become... Stronger!
It was afternoon and Caster was in her room rethinking the events that happened in the morning. After creating the connection with Shirou and hiding his command seals she wanted Shirou to rest a bit, thanks to her new connection to him Caster could feel that Shirou was suffering in more ways, but that morning the little fool didn't listen to her and started to train immediately after the procedure, and after that moment he....
She was more than surprised because of Shirou, until that morning he never did things like that. Could it be his desire to save others was stronger than she imagined?
Right now she had only to wait for Shirou to go to sleep, then she could start to watch his memories so that she could finally see how he became the boy that now he was.
She turned and watched the clock on the wall, now it was 17:00 o'clock and Shirou would retum from work around 18:00 o'clock, she still had some free time.
She went toward her closet and after she waved her hand she entered in it, now the inside of the closet has been turned into her workshop, she returned to work on some object that she will soon give to Shirou.
Shirou had just finished work and he already informed Caster that he was returning home.
He now was walking on the Fuyula bridge, near the zone of the kidnap, and he started to think about his next move.
Caster told him that those people probably will be used as a sacrifice or a power source for a Servant if they were not already dead, so if they had to move they should start as soon as possible, but what could they do?
They had no clue, Caster already checked the place where those people disappeared but there was almost no trace of magic, the only thing she discovered was some kind of worm familiar. She said that it was very strange magic, when she tried to trace it back to his creator it gave her the sensation that he was in every part of the city.
...Magic? Shirou thought as he smelled some trace of magic near him.
After sharpening his senses he could feel the presence of another magus near the bridge.
Shirou Immediately took a deep breath as his heart started to beat faster, he was now ready to fight. He slowly tuned his head around and in of the comer of his right eye he saw someone, he could see that the person was watching around as if looking for something, but then he noted that the person was...
'Tohsaka Rin Shirou thought.
That morning he asked Caster the identity of the all mages that she had discovered, but since she didn't know who exactly they were was she wondered if Shirou knew them. She brought Shirou into her room and after taking out a crystal ball she made appear an image of Johsaka Rin and a priest that he had never seen.
He was very surprised at the discovery, he would have never thought that she, the school idol, of all people was a magus... but not that it mattered anymore.
Since the girl was in that place it could mean only 3 things:
1)She was making sure to erase all her traces from the crime scene.
2)She was directly involved in the matter.
3)She too was investigating.
He had to inform Caster about the situation and ask her what he should do next.
(Caster.)
(What is it Shirou? Did something happened?)
(No... or not yet at least. Tohsaka Rin is near the place of the kidnapping, send here one of your familiars and tell me what she is doing, I'll remain nearby.)
(...I was already watching her, I made sure to have at least one familiar controlling her when she got out of her home... anyway, I kept an eye on her and I can say that she is not involved in this case, but she too is investigating for some unknown reason.)
(1 see... I'm returning home, see you soon Caster.) Shirou told her as he relaxed.
(See you soon.)
After that Shirou turned around and started to walk back home.
It was evening and after his return. Shirou immediately started to train,
Caster was watching Shirou 'training' with her Dragon warriors, since that morning she noted that Shirou had gotten more serious and... stronger?
That morning not only he managed to train despite the pain, he even projected an absurd number of swords, something like over 150, sometimes 15 at the same time. Somehow the boy managed the maximize the number of swords that he could 'project' by... sheer will?
And right now he was slaughtering her Dragon warriors in front of her. No matter what they did or how she was commanding them, they were being destroyed one by one in the fastest and ruthless ways.
Shirou had fought over 60 Dragon warriors and in less than 15 minutes he destroyed all of them, Shirou was dead tired, but he still was in almost perfect condition despite some little wounds.
After the training Shirou dragged himself into the bathroom to clean himself up, and in the meantime Caster was cleaning the dojo from the mess that Shirou did.
She knew that she somehow was in part responsible for Shirou's sudden change, but she could not figure out why. She knew that Shirou wanted to become a hero... but could it be that his desire was way stronger than she first thought?
No, by the way he was now reacting she could not call it a mere desire, it could only be described as... an obsession.
Shirou now just got out of the hath, he got a hit hurt while fighting Caster's skeleton but luckily they were just some scratches and very little cuts, nothing different from the usual.
He dried himself and after putting on his pajama he went towards Caster's room, after the training she told him that she had something to give to him.
After arriving in front of the room he was about to knock, but before he could the door opened itself, he said nothing and entered. In the room he there was Caster sat in front of a little table, and on the table, there were various objects like some little bones, some little bottles, and some clothes.
"Shirou, I think that very soon another Servant will be summoned here in Fuyuki, and since we don't yet know its location we must keep our guards up. She then handed him a tracksuit. "I didn't have enough materials to create something of better quality, so I just enchanted one of your suits with some high-quality gems and other materials that I have... found."
Shirou took the tracksuit in his hands, after closing his eyes he analyzed it and remained speechless.
This tracksuit improved the wearer's strength and speed by a lot and could also increase the limit of reinforcement, that way Shirou could reinforce himself even more than normal without any kind of repercussions. Then in it the suit had a high number of magic runes that made the wearer incapable of emanating magic traces, in fact those runes absorbed the excess mana.
Also now that he analyzed it better he could tell that if he reinforced the cloth of the suit could be compared to very thick tank armor...
"This is... Incredible." He said amazed.
"With these you should be able to protect yourself from the majority of the attacks from the other masters, and maybe it will even help you survive against a Servant. Now we should talk about these other objects, your training, and your future Servant..."
Shirou was in his bed and was watching the ceiling.
Caster told him that in another 2-3 weeks and he would be ready for the war, but because of the recent kidnap she feared the summoning of another Servant, and she wanted him to summon his servant soon as possible.
Tomorrow she would improve his magic circuits for the last time, and after he will be able to control them at their full power he will have to summon his Servant.
Before falling asleep he hoped that no people were to be kidnapped that night... he had to save them... he could not let others suffer because of his weakness... or like that damn night... that cursed night....
Caster now had just finished Improving the summoning circle in the tool-shed, with that she was sure that the servant that Shirou will summon would be in perfect conditions, now the only thing she had to do was to dispatch more familiars all around the city like Shirou asked and after that she will start to see Shirou's memories.
But right at that moment she started to feel something strange that she could not explain... an unfamiliar sense of dread had suddenly Invaded her he chest. She didn't know why, but she had started to have a very bad sensation, as if something bad will happen... or... was happening!
Shiroul
Caster immediately teleported herself into Shirou's room fearing the worse... but nothing, Shirou was still there, unharmed, and she could see that he had just fallen asleep.
She let out a sigh of relief, she had worried unnecessarily, but the strange feeling of dread remained. She then started to watch Shirou's sleepy face to calm herself a bit, but then she noted that Shirou was sweating a lot.
She turned into her physical form and touched Shirou's forehead and she noted that he didn't have a fever.
Maybe he is just having a bad dream... that would explain this sudden feeling... Oh well, now that I'm here I can start to see his memories. She then thought.
She would've asked his permission to do it but she didn't want to bother him for such things.
She kneeled in front of him and placed her hand on his chest, she closed her eyes and started to concentrate on their connection. After a while she was digging deep into his memories, and after some moments she started to see some glimpses of his first memory, but the only thing that she saw was death and destruction.