Messages

76

Areas / Re: The Slums

« on: June 23, 2019, 08:36:23 PM »

Shirou

Shirou sighed, a sad look on his face at the girl's apparent suffering.

"I don't know what happened to you in the past, but I am truly sorry that you went through all that", Shirou said, his words entirely genuine. "I would be happy to help you or just leave you alone if that is what you want. And, I am aware that I clearly am in over my head here. But, you kidnapped me, and my wife is almost certainly putting together a party to hunt you down and rescue me. So, just backing off is not an option I have, unfortunately. We have to come to a resolution before my wife finds you and someone actually gets hurt", he said.

77

Areas / Re: Little Russia

« on: June 23, 2019, 05:13:04 PM »

Continued from here

Nanako
12:35

Having made it out of the district without much incident, Nanako took a break, nestling into a relatively quiet corner of a nearby coffee shop, having gotten her jacket back on in the meanwhile.

Soon growing bored, the squirrel girl pulled her phone out, tail flitting curiously behind her as she noticed a missed call and a voice message. It took her a couple tries to remember what she'd used for her passcode, but Nanako soon got through.

Oh hey, it's Sakura- she noted to herself with a smirk before it dropped off her face at the rest of Sakura's message.

Frowning for a moment at the strange predicament her friends had found themselves in, Nanako let out a quiet sigh before she dialed up the purplehead. The one that apparently hadn't kidnapped a handsome redhead.

Sakura

"I understand but, whilst she can use most of my magic, the way we fight is very different. The tactics which work well against me will not work so well against her", Sakura replied. "I can spar with you if you want, but I'm not sure it would teach you much, I suspect you would defeat me easily."

With that, Sakura prepared to begin her demonstration, only for her phone to begin to ring. Taking it out of her pocket, she saw that it was Nanako.

"Oh, sorry, I need to take this", she said, answering the phone.

"Hi Nanako", she said, "thank you for calling me back. I really need your help, Senpai has been kidnapped by someone much stronger than me and I don't know where she's taken him."

78

Areas / Re: The Slums

« on: June 22, 2019, 11:14:59 PM »

Sakura

"STOP IT!"

Sakura screamed at him, holding her head and crying out in pain. Pain wracked her body, the pain of loss, the agony of knowing that it was all her fault. The girl began shaking uncontrolably, spasming for several seconds.

Then, she stopped, and Rin's blue eye shone at Shirou. "Emiya-Kun, please give her some space. We've been on the run, hunted ceaselessly for almost a decade. I'm sorry, but assurances and promises don't mean much to me anymore. I've been through too much to feel safe with something as simple as a verbal agreement."

Shirou

Shirou was filled with sadness and guilt as he watched the girl break down in front of him. He hated to see Sakura so upset, especially when he was the cause.

"I'm sorry", he said after Rin had finished speaking. "I didn't mean to upset Sakura like that."

Then, he addressed her statement.

"I understand your concern, but wiping my memory won't make you safe either. I am not sure how my wife will react to finding me without any memory of what you did, but I doubt she will just forget about it. I suspect she will come after you, looking for answers, and there's a good chance one of you will get hurt. Rin, you know that I would never willingly hurt Sakura, and even if I wanted to, I don't know where you live. How can I give people information I do not have?", he added.

79

Areas / Re: The Slums

« on: June 21, 2019, 09:17:34 PM »

Shirou

Sakura's tears and desperate pleas to her sister tugged at Shirou's heartstrings. He hated seeing people cry, and that applied doubly to his beloved wife. Before he could attempt to comfort her, though, Rin took back control and began to give him one of her patented lectures about all the ways that he could be forced to disclose their location against his will, some of them rather gruesome. Finally, after a good five minutes, she stopped, allowing him the chance to reply.

"Tohsaka", he began with a sigh, clearly upset by the situation that they were all in, "whilst it's not impossible that people could do those things to me, you're hugely exaggerating the danger. For a start, who exactly is going to come after me for that information? The only person who even knows that I'm here is my wife, along with anyone she's told, and I doubt she's going to ask for help from the sort of person who would do those things to me. But, even if someone did try, you're missing something more important. I don't actually know where you live. All I've seen is the inside of this house, I have no idea where it is or how to get here. Even if I wanted to direct people here, I couldn't."

"Sakura", he continued, feeling rather guilty at addressing the clearly-upset girl directly, "you know that you can trust me. I would never allow you to come to harm. You also know that, if I return to my wife without any memory of what happened, she will be angry and distrustful, and may decide to come after you to seek answers. If you wish to be safe, then let me go and I will tell my wife to leave you alone."

After speaking, Shirou frowned. He hated that he'd been forced to address the other Sakura directly and potentially inflame her trauma, but he felt that it was necessary, not only for his and Sakura's sake, but also for hers.

80

Areas / Re: The Slums

« on: June 19, 2019, 01:50:59 AM »

Shirou

Shirou sighed. He could see the distress that the girl was in. She was clearly uncomfortable with this decision. As was he, due to the danger that it put both her and his wife in.

"Tohsaka, if you erase my memory, then I cannot explain what happened to Sakura. I have no idea how she will react, or even how I will react to the news that I was kidnapped and had my memory erased. She might consider you a threat, or she might assume that you have done something horrific to me and erased my memory to hide it. She might attack you, and one of you could get hurt. I won't be able to defend you, I might not even want to defend you", he said, clearly concerned about the possible consequences of her choice.

"And, if I do keep my memory, do you really think I would put your life and Sakura's at risk by telling her your location? Besides, even if I wanted to tell her, I couldn't. Sakura brought me here via her shadow, and I was unconscious at the time. All I know of your house is what it looks like from the inside, I don't know where it is located or how to get here."

"Please, Tohsaka, just let me go. Transport me to somewhere safe through your shadow if you must. But don't erase my memory, there's no need for you to do so and it will just put you and my wife in more danger", he finished.

As he waited for her response, Shirou began to notice something. Rin had been talking about a "host", "her" and "we". Did she just mean Sakura, or was there someone else she was referring to?

81

Areas / Re: Little Russia

« on: June 19, 2019, 01:34:42 AM »

Sakura

"Well, I was just planning on giving you a demonstration, but I suppose we could try that", Sakura replied. "I usually use my magic in support of my husband, though, it's not really that good for close-range combat. Plus, from what I saw of her, she uses her magic a little differently from me. She's a lot more powerful, but I think she has considerably less practice in using her magic than I do. And, she has Sen.. my husband's magic as well, so she is much more likely to get close than I am."

"Really, I think a demonstration would be better, but if you do want to spar, then I am willing to give it a try. You do need to be careful not to hurt me, though, whilst I can reinforce myself and I am wearing reinforced body armour, I am ultimately just a human, my body isn't particularly durable by the standards of the Nexus", she added.

82

Areas / Re: The Slums

« on: June 16, 2019, 04:29:51 PM »

Tsumiko

"I want you to forget that we exist. I don't want to inconvenience our host any more than I have."

She answered solemnly.

Shirou

Shirou frowned.

"Do you mean that you want to erase my memory? If so, then that seems a little risky. Sakura knows I was kidnapped, and if I forget what happened then I can't explain it to her or calm her down. I might not even be able to find her in time", he said.

"If you just mean that you want me to pretend that I never met you, though, then I can do that. I won't tell Sakura where you live, I promise, and I won't seek you out."

83

Areas / Re: The Slums

« on: June 16, 2019, 02:50:49 AM »

Shirou

After a few moments, Shirou realised his mistake and let go of her, pulling back. He'd been too upset by the sight of someone in his wife's body crying to think that she might not react as positively as Sakura would have to such an act.

"I..I'm sorry, Tohsaka", he said. "I shouldn't have just hugged you like that."

Rin

Rin scooted back, shaking her head, putting her hands out in front of her. "You should be, stupid! Hmmph!" She turned her head away from him to hide her massive blush. "Jeez, apologizing to your kidnapper. Are you sure you don't have stockholm syndrome, Emiya Kun?"

Shirou

Shirou rolled his eyes and sighed at Rin's typical response, reasonably certain from her reaction that she had not been anywhere near as offended by his actions as she was making out.

"No, I don't have Stockholm syndrome", he said with a kind smile. "I just don't like people being sad, especially my friends and family."

Rin

"I-idiot..." Rin muttered, turning away. She didn't like how he was making her feel at all! It wasn't fair!

She suddenly felt a pair of ethereal arms wrap themselves around her in a hug.

Senpai really is amazing, isn't he?

Mmm...

Rin cleared her throat in an attempt to dispell her embarrassment. "A-anyway, I can't just release you just like that. Your Sakura is probably gathering a team to kill me, plus you've seem my hideout. I'll need you to agree to some conditions, Emiya-kun."

Shirou

Shirou smiled for a moment at Rin's reaction to his statement, before his smile was replaced by a frown on hearing what she had to say, aware of the truth in her statement.

"No, I imagine she's gathering a team to rescue me", Shirou responded. "She's not a vindictive person, and she knows that I wouldn't want you to be harmed if possible, so I doubt she'll actively seek to kill you. But, still, it would put you and her in danger if she was to attempt a rescue, so I'd be happy to agree to reasonable conditions for my release. What do you have in mind, exactly?"

84

Areas / Re: Little Russia

« on: June 16, 2019, 12:02:12 AM »

Sakura

Sakura sighed.

"You seem to be misunderstanding. The bounty would be for the return of my husband, alive and unharmed. I would not ask you to put yourself in extra danger to spare her, but nor do I have any particular desire to see that bitch dead", Sakura replied. "But, you should be warned, my husband is a very kind and forgiving person, if you attempt to kill her unnecessarily he is likely to try to stop you. So, I would not advise attempting to harm her once you have rescued him."

"As for his magic, well, he can create copies of most kinds of weapons, but not explosives, or anything highly complicated like a gun", she added.

85

Areas / Re: The Slums

« on: June 14, 2019, 11:06:15 PM »

Shirou

After a few moments, Shirou realised his mistake and let go of her, pulling back. He'd been too upset by the sight of someone in his wife's body crying to think that she might not react as positively as Sakura would have to such an act.

"I..I'm sorry, Tohsaka", he said. "I shouldn't have just hugged you like that."

Rin

Rin scooted back, shaking her head, putting her hands out in front of her. "You should be, stupid! Hmmph!" She turned her head away from him to hide her massive blush. "Jeez, apologizing to your kidnapper. Are you sure you don't have stockholm syndrome, Emiya Kun?"

Shirou

Shirou rolled his eyes and sighed at Rin's typical response, reasonably certain from her reaction that she had not been anywhere near as offended by his actions as she was making out.

"No, I don't have Stockholm syndrome", he said with a kind smile. "I just don't like people being sad, especially my friends and family."

86

Areas / Re: The Slums

« on: June 13, 2019, 10:35:46 PM »

Shirou

After a few moments, Shirou realised his mistake and let go of her, pulling back. He'd been too upset by the sight of someone in his wife's body crying to think that she might not react as positively as Sakura would have to such an act.

"I..I'm sorry, Tohsaka", he said. "I shouldn't have just hugged you like that."

87

Areas / Re: Little Russia

« on: June 13, 2019, 10:29:35 PM »

Sakura

"I just want my husband back. I don't really care what happens to his kidnapper, but I am sure my husband would not want us to kill her if we can avoid it. He's a very kind and forgiving person", Sakura replied, smiling briefly at the thought of her beloved's kind nature.

Then, she turned to the man.

"Well, my husband has the ability to create copies of almost any sword that he has ever seen, and he can turn them into exploding arrows and shoot them at people. He's really amazing", she said, again briefly smiling before switching to a wistful look.

"As for my magic, well, it'll probably be easier if I just show you, really. Everything I can do, she can do, only better."

88

Areas / Re: The Slums

« on: June 11, 2019, 11:20:52 PM »

Shirou

Shirou watched on sadly as Rin began to break down in tears, obviously regretting her behaviour during the Grail War. And, based on what he knew of Rin, he had a fairly good idea what it might be that she regretted. Then, without warning, he reached out and pulled her into a hug.

"It's OK, Rin", he said, softly.

89

Areas / Re: The Slums

« on: June 11, 2019, 01:43:40 AM »

Shirou

Shirou looked at her with sympathy, the reason for his kidnapping beginning to become clear in his mind.

"Oh...", he said. "I'm sorry...."

90

Areas / Re: Little Russia

« on: June 10, 2019, 11:41:26 PM »

Sakura

As the man spoke, Sakura felt a sudden spike of magical energy, presumably enacted by the man. However, she was too focussed on dealing with the current situation to ask him for more information. Instead, she simply responded to the questions she had been asked.

"She wants my husband", Sakura said in response to the man. "What exactly she's going to do with him I'm not sure, but he means a lot to me, and he has for a long time. I'm sure her version of my husband meant a lot to her, too."

Then she turned to the girl.

"There's no reason it shouldn't be possible", she said. "She's an alternate version of me from a different timeline, who presumably fell into the Nexus just as I did. Why she's stronger than me I'm not sure, though. Possibly she just has a larger mana supply. Although, she did seem to be using some of my husband's magic along with her own."