8:53 PM, House
"Are you there?"
"You won't die. Not yet."
EMIYA is suddenly woken up back up. He looked around, he'd been placed on one of the many beds in the house. Oscar was sitting on a chair placed next to his bed.
"There you are! Finally!"
He tried to stand up, but was suddenly hit by the pain of not only Gilgamesh's attack, but also the shards from the ship. He was pinned back down onto the bed by Pine.
"Hey, don't move. You're lucky to be even alive right now."
He grit his teeth in response, he had no choice to rest anyways. He had felt something in his body. A familiar feeling.
It was most definitely Avalon to help him recover faster. Normally, a sword wound like that wouldn't have given Avalon trouble, but the Noble Phantasm works much better when it's around the Servant related to it.
"I'll let Ruby take over. She's been waiting on you to wake up since last night." Oscar stood up, yawning and stretching himself. It's clear he that he'd been sitting here for a long time, watching over EMIYA. Afterwards, he walked out of EMIYA's view.
He placed a hand on the sword wound. What the hell was that guy? That... thing. At the very least, Ruby seems safe. That was enough for him.
The children in the coffins reminded him of something. He had saved a child from the fire, but before Kiritsugu could even pass Avalon to him to heal him, the child had passed away. Seeds of regret are planted in his mind.
A true shame. At least, he didn't have to go through the same thing that happened to those other kids. Even for someone like him, that was horrifying. Thinking back to it shook him to the core.
What about that voice that woke him up? The voice sounded like Irisviel's. The past can't stop haunting him.
EMIYA perks up as he hears the invasive sound of running. Someone's rushing to him.
Suddenly, Ruby barged into the room. "Emiya! Are you okay?!"
"Yeah, I'm fine." EMIYA let out weakly, hand still on his wound.
Ruby calmed herself down, sitting on the chair Oscar had been sitting on. "You're crazy, Emiya. You were gonna get yourself killed against that guy!"
He scoffs. "I have to go all out for my master, of course. I can't let you become like those kids down there."
"Okay, alright... we just had a serious talk with Oscar and uncle Qrow back upstairs. Is that what woke you up?"
"No."
"How about Nora and Yang arm wrestling again and everyone cheering?"
"No. A voice called out to me. I don't know what it was, but..."
"But?"
"It's nothing. Now, about Kotomine."
She looks at the ground. "We need to go back to free them. The kids."
"They're long gone, even if we save them. You saw that one's state, right...?"
"At least free them from their pain, that was horrible."
"I don't have a problem with that, but I doubt someone like Kotomine would stay in the same place after being outed like that. He must have relocated already." EMIYA's eyes widen. "But... that Servant..."
"He was scary, to be honest."
"I can agree with you on that matter. Those chains, the weapons he had, Lancer wasn't joking."
EMIYA then took off the cover on him, standing up.
"Hey, hey, stop! You're already too injured, you're just going to hurt yourself more!" EMIYA didn't care one bit. He started to walk away from Ruby who had also stood up. She put her hand on one of his shoulders, lightly pulling him back.
"We're going to have to find Kotomine again before he gathers his forces."
"Not like this!"
"Exactly like this. The two of us couldn't even take on one Servant, let alone the both of them at the same time."
"Emiya--!"
"If you're just going to stand around like this, then I'll have to do everything on my own! Once Kotomine gets his hand on the Grail, it'll be over for all of us!"
Ruby grabbed onto his garb, attempting to stop him in his tracks, to no avail. She was only being dragged along.
"Going out already?" Yang called out to the both of them.
"Sis! Come on, help me stop him! He's trying to kill himself!"
"What? Emiya!" Yang rushed over as fast as she could, grabbing onto EMIYA's scarf. She had joined in on the struggle. EMIYA's speed had been significantly slowed down.
"Let... go!"
Yang turned to Ruby, gritting her teeth. She let out a nod to her. Ruby instantly knew what it meant.
Suddenly, the struggle was broken apart by both Ruby and Yang letting go of his cape, causing both sides to fall to the ground. EMIYA turned around while still on the ground, clearly flustered.
"The hell are you trying to pull off?!" Yang let out.
"Has she not told you?"
"I know. The priest and his Servant." Yang gets a serious look on her face.
"So why? Why the hell are you sitting around instead of heading straight to him and letting him recover?!"
"You have to recover, too!" Yang yelled out, causing EMIYA to fall silent.
"We care about you, Emiya. Please, just, stay. It'll all be fine." Ruby reached out towards EMIYA's right hand, gripping it.
"Tch!" He hissed at the two of them, standing back up.
"You're not the only one who's lost friends, we all lost friends and family at the hands of the Grimm and Cinder. We'll get back at those who did it." Yang reassured, nodding at him.
EMIYA storms off.
Ruby crosses her arms, looking away nervously, until Yang comforted her by placing a hand on her shoulder.
"He'll be fine, don't worry."
7 AM, Mistral
EMIYA sits alone outside of the house they'd been staying at, his right knee raised up into the air, his hand resting on said knee. The wind blows through his hair as he appreciates the view of the town.
One thing was still stuck in his mind.
Kotomine.
The bastard was still roaming Mistral, and the worst part?
He could be even here right now. Maybe hiding in the trees, the bushes, preparing his attack.
Fortunately, Avalon would probably help him put up a fight against both his Servant and himself at once, but only for a while.
Without Saber around, Avalon's effectiveness had been decreased by a whole lot. She was the owner of the Phantasm, so it only made sense. In the past, it could heal even a crushed heart in the matter of seconds.
A voice called out to him, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"Hey, Emiya, do you mind if I sit with you?" Ruby said.
Upon turning around, EMIYA saw Ruby waving at him with her typical goodie two shoes looking attitude. He sighs.
"Thanks!"
She sat down next to EMIYA, who remained silent as per usual. The two watch Mistral together. Birds fly around, chirping as they did so, nature blooms around the duo.
"Do you think we'll stay together until the day I die of old age, Emiya?"
"No."
"Oh..." She drops her head, a bit sad.
"Once Kotomine and Salem's forces deplete and they are defeated, I have no choice but to go back and wait on someone to summon me. You might be able to keep me around, but the requirements are hard to go through. Why do you think Kotomine was keeping those children?"
"Um... I don't know?"
"The Holy Grail itself provides a large part of the mana needed to keep a Servant in the world. Once the war ends, there's no need for Servants, and as such, it stops. If I had to guess, Kotomine was using their mana to keep his Servants around even when there's no war."
"We could just ask the Holy Grail nicely..." She giggled. EMIYA gave her an unamused look, causing her laughter to die down. EMIYA turned back to look at the landscape.
Someone's head peeks over Ruby's. "You're up early."
"Hey, sis."
"Boop." Yang's long hair tickled Ruby's nose, causing her to wave away her hair with her hands.
"Stop it!" Ruby giggled.
Yang sat down next to the two, joining them on viewing the landscape. "How are you holding up, Emiya?"
He didn't respond.
"I'll take that as a positive answer."
"What are you doing up?" Ruby asked.
"Can't fall asleep."
"Ah, me neither."
"What about Emiya?"
"I don't know, honestly, he's just been sitting here since the moment I saw him."
Yang reached over to poke EMIYA on his cheek. "You should get some rest too, you know. You're not gonna just get all patched up in a second. Your body needs rest."
"Speaking of rest and sleep..." Another voice called out, Weiss' voice in specific. She suddenly lowered a tray which had four cups of hot coffee on it. Yang grabbed one of the cups.
"No, please!" Ruby begged as she took a look at the hot coffee. No way she'd ever have that.
"I put tons of sugar and cream in there. Just for our sweet little rose." Weiss pointed at the cup which had been prepared for Ruby in specific.
"Oh yeah! Kind Weiss is the best Weis--" As she was about to grab her cup, Weiss pulled the tray away from her.
"I will pour this on you. It will burn." Weiss put the tray in front of Ruby once more, who giggled nervously. "And, as for you. I made yours special as well." She offered to EMIYA. EMIYA turned around, looking up at Weiss.
"Go on, take it, Emiya, you're not hurting anybody." Yang took a sip from her own cup, chuckling at her own joke.
"...Thanks." He let out softly. Special? It's been a while since he'd gotten that treatment from anyone. He took his own cup, taking a sip, before gagging.
"Oh, woops, sorry, I forgot to mention, I threw in some dark chocolate in there too! Matches your personality well!"
The group collectively breaks out into laughter, EMIYA still struggling to get past the absolute bitter taste of the drink. He put it back on the tray, finally gulping it down. The laughs only got louder and louder.
EMIYA gets agitated further, turning back around to face the land.
Weiss sat down next to the 3, now almost completing the old team of RWBY.
"Can't believe we're actually in Mistral." Yang let out, amazed.
"That's what you can't believe?" Ruby scoffed.
"Well, yeah! And all the other magic and the stuff... you get what I'm saying."
"I honestly wasn't sure if I'd ever see you two again." Weiss let out, relieved.
"I'd make a nice Weiss joke again, but I don't want to have hot coffee on me..."
"Here's to defying expectations." Yang and Weiss clink their cups together. "Ruby, come on. Grab your cup!"
"Huh?" Ruby had already finished. Yang sighs.
"Whatever, it's fine. Cheers to you and I, Weiss."
"So... are we Team RWEY now?" Ruby let out.
"What?" Weiss questioned.
"You know, Emiya's kinda looking like a team member right now. He's following in the footsteps of the leader of the team! At least, her fashion choice that is."
"Come on, Ruby, it's never complete without Blake. So, how about... REWBY? We can still pronounce it as ruby."
"Yeah, well, I didn't say we were complete without Blake. I wish she could be here with us."
"I'm not really interested in--" EMIYA was interrupted.
"Blake made her choice." Yang let out, a bit angered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss questioned.
"I mean she could've been here if she just stuck around. It's no big deal though. We'll be fine." Yang showed bitterness.
"Now I'm starting to think you're taking after Emiya."
"Don't you want her here?" Ruby let out, concerned.
"Why would I want her here?"
"Are you still mad at her for..."
"Whoever gave you that idea, Ruby? No, no, I'm fine. I'm... great, even. Totally great."
"Alright, let's calm down, you two."
Yang's eyes turned red. "Don't tell me to calm down!"
EMIYA turned around slightly, not phased one bit. On the other hand, Ruby and Weiss were both startled.
"Woah, Yang..." Ruby let out, her hands reached towards Yang's left shoulder in hopes of calming her down.
It worked. Partly, at least.
Yang's hand shakes. The one she'd been holding the cup with.
"I'm sorry." She let out, putting the cup back down before standing up to leave.
"Hey, wait--!" Weiss tried to reach out to Yang, but she'd already left. Letting out a sigh, Weiss took another sip.
"I hope she's okay."
"She'll be fine." EMIYA's voice suddenly called out as he kept looking.
"Look who finally decided to speak up. So, Emiya, about that team name... wanna join in?"
"It's bold of you to assume you're ever going to go back to your past lives, assuming Kotomine doesn't kill us all with the Grail first." He scoffed.
"Talk about pessimistic." Weiss let out.
EMIYA stood up, dusting himself off.
"Where are you going, Emiya? You should probably leave Yang alone for now if that's what you're thinking."
"Exactly what I'm thinking."
"Hey, Emiya, wait--!" Ruby tried to reach to him, but he walked away.
"Well, I sure hope this doesn't get us into big trouble..."
EMIYA enters the house once more. Everyone had woken up by now. As he walked through the halls, he was greeted by everyone he came across.
"Hey, Emiya!" Jaune waved.
"Morning, sleepyhead!" Nora gestured at him as he walked past.
Thousands of other greetings from other members in the house, save for Qrow. As he passed by Qrow's position, the two gave each other a death stare. Paying no attention to those around him, he walked away.
He makes his way to Yang's room.
Knock knock.
"Look Ruby, I really don't want to talk about it, okay? Can you just leave me alone for a bit?"
Yang opened the door, not looking at whoever was there.
EMIYA clears his throat, causing her to look up.
"Oh, sorry, Emiya. Need something?"
"Yeah. Can I come in?"
Yang hesitated, but nonetheless, let him in. She steps to the side. "Sure."
"Thanks." He walked into the tidy room she had. It was better than his and Ruby's that's for sure. He sat down on one of the beds, eventually lying down.
"So... you wanted to say something?" She sits down on the other bed.
"I don't think I need to say it."
Yang sighed.
"It's about a teammate of ours, Blake Belladonna."
"I know her, at least, knew, to some extent."
"Right. Well, I know she's our teammate, but I'm not just going to change my mind. I'm sorry, I just... I don't think you know what it's like to be left. Or Ruby, or Weiss for that matter. I don't know about anything you've been through, but, our moms both left us at an early age. Dad was always busy, and sis couldn't even talk yet. I had to keep everything together."
EMIYA sat there, silent.
"Do you have something to say? If so, I'm listening."
He took a breath in. "You should take this piece of advice from me, I've been through much more than you will ever be."
"Can I... know? If you don't mind."
He let out a soft smile. "For starters, I had to kill my own father. He was a bit crazy admittedly, he had the same abilities I do right now, though to a lesser extent since I'm a Servant now. Controlling time is a major thing, but he got obsessed with it. He wanted immortality. Eternal life."
"Oh, I'm so sorr--"
"I haven't even finished yet. Afterwards, I was adopted by someone... hm... her name..."
EMIYA ponders.
"Natalia. Her name was Natalia. Though, initially, she'd just taken me in to train me. Being an assassin in those regions wasn't as looked down upon as it is here, so I had a future career path already."
"And then?"
"Then... I killed her. When an infection had appeared on an airplane she was on, I was forced to shoot it down. With a rocket launcher. Had she landed that airplane, then there would have been no telling how many people would have died, b- But--"
EMIYA even stuttered for a moment.
"Her sacrifice prevented that." He took in a deep breath, relaxing his mind.
"I'm so sorry to assume."
"It's... fine. I'm over all of it now. But, I can still understand your loneliness, even if my own has been beyond yours. Perhaps that friend of yours was lonely too."
"She doesn't have to be alone though. I was here for her. We all were! She chose to leave us."
"What was she like?"
"Well, she was introverted. Quiet, shy. Afraid to open up to others, tried to separate her past from us."
"I see. Maybe... she tried to protect you." He sighed. "Eventually, maybe her past..." He started to think.
"She used to be a White Fang member."
"Ah, okay, then... those shields she had put up came down. And the moment they did, the one thing she was afraid of actually happened. The universe proved her right. She must be scared, or perhaps, ashamed." He let out a soft smile. "I'm just piecing together events in my mind right now."
Yang fell silent as EMIYA sat back up.
"No one blamed her for anything! If she had just talked to us, she would've known that! How could I be there for her if she doesn't let me? What if I needed her here for me?"
Yang buried her face in her palms, sobbing quietly. EMIYA stood up, grabbing onto one of her hands she was using to cry, taking a look at her sad face.
"The cruel lords of fate are waiting. She'll come to you bunch. All you can do now is just to be prepared for when she does."
"If she does." She got through to him, even with all the tears on her face.
"You all seem like a family first and foremost more than a team or friends or anything like that. Far closer than that. If she feels the same way, then she'll seek you. Stand up!" He commanded.
He started to wipe her tears away with his gloved hands. "Now, do you promise that if this friend of yours ever comes back, you'll greet her with a warm, tight hug?"
"Y- Yes."
"Shake my hand." She did so, shaking his hand. Using this opportunity, Yang pulled in EMIYA using his gripped hand, hugging him. "I said pull her, not me--"
"Thanks, Emiya, I don't know if I'd be able to ever get over it without you."
"Well--" He was interrupted by Yang backing slightly away, putting a finger over his lips.
"Don't break the emotional moment, ya goofball!"
"Hmph."
"Um... hope I'm not getting in the middle of anything?" Ruby's voice suddenly called out. Oh, right. Yang left the door open.
It was pretty awkward to say the least. The both of them back away from each other, with Yang's face turning red.
"Yeah, we're listening." He clears his throat.
"Okaaay... well, I just thought I should say that we're going to meet Leonardo Lionheart today at night, he's promised us to give us a few clues on Huntsmen that could help us hunt down the Spring Maiden."
"Right. We'll be there."
"Thanks!" She closed the door.
"Well, that was awkward--" Yang pulled him in once more. "You're getting a little too attached already."
"I said shush, Emiya."