Chapter 9: Shirou vs Lancer
(3rd's pov)
"Trace...on!"
Shirou Emiya, after analyzing the famous Gae Bolg, copied it almost perfectly. At that moment, he decided to do something crazy and let his body move on its own as he emptied his mind.
He needed to let his weapon guide him, show him how it is used, and most importantly, be in sync with it, at least, at this moment.
While it's not possible to fully copy the techniques, and they won't be as powerful as the original, they still will be powerful, although it will cost a lot of prana and will strain Shirou's body depending on the required strength and dexterity to perform said technique.
Seeing the red spear appearing in Shirou's hands, Lancer was slightly shocked seeing his weapon being projected, but the shock turned into excitement very quickly. At first, he planned on not using Gae Bolg at all, and having it in his hand was just to taunt Shirou and show him that he could beat him without using any weapons... even if it was obvious from the beginning.
In all honesty, he did it only because his own master did the same thing to him a long time ago, and he wanted to know how it feels to be on the other side for once, but no one needs to know that.
However, the plans have changed, and he was going to use the blunt side of his spear. Even a scratch from Gae Bolg would apply a curse to the boy's body that would be almost impossible to heal by normal means. It wasn't even needed to call out its true name for the curse to activate.
The following sequence of events surprised Lancer. The speed of Shirou's attack increased tremendously, and that was not the most surprising thing that happened. Lancer saw his spear techniques used by the kid in front of him. They, of course, weren't as fast or strong as his, but they were definitely his. Intrigued, he went to the defense to see what Shirou had to offer.
Shirou used the weapon in his hands like he was an expert or a veteran with many years of experience. He spun it, slammed it, and thrust to get any hit possible, but his efforts didn't produce any effects. No surprise there, though, as the person he was copying was his current opponent.
It didn't last long, though, as Shirou's body started turning darker, part of his hair white, and his speed and strength decreased as he made the red spear disappear. He could have used Cu's techniques longer, but it wouldn't have any meaning. Shirou wanted to test out this ability of his, and he was met with success. That's why he'll experiment with other things.
He didn't expect, though, that what he did would burden his body to this extent, so as soon as he tried to project Kanshou and Bakuya and put his guard up at the same time, he felt immense pain in his body as his muscles torn and felt as if his bones were on the verge of breaking, but a light coming from him eased his pain, healed him and then allowed him to continue to fight.
Shirou projected Kanshou and Bakuya as he had planned before the pain stopped him and threw them at Cu, or that's what Cu thought Shirou planned because the young Emiya missed him completely.
Without any weapons, Shirou rushed at Lancer using his reinforcement magecraft despite not being proficient enough to do it, causing him pain and minor damage to his body, but Avalon fixed his mistakes quickly enough for Shirou not to bother about his small injuries. Being close to Cu, he summoned another pair of the same blades he just threw to attack his opponent. This caused the twin blades in the air to turn sharply back to fly toward the swords in Shirou's hands. They just couldn't stay away from each other.
Lancer noticed what Shirou had planned, but he only smiled and didn't even plan on blocking the flying swords and focused on Shirou entirely.
The boy, on the other hand, was ready to strike. The blades were getting closer and closer to Cu's body, all four of them.
In an instant, Shirou felt his body flying through the air and slamming to the ground. From the corner of his eyes, he could see that the thrown projections Kanshou and Bakuya didn't even touch Lancer.
"Protection from Arrows... Forgot about that..." Shirou said in defeat. He then saw Lancer's smug smile coming from above.
"Not bad, kid, but we'll need to work on your stamina. It ended too quickly, but otherwise, I see the potential. I'll make you stronger than Archer just in spite of him. Speaking of which, you are starting to remind me of him a bit too much. Are you related?"
"Kinda. Archer is one of my possible future selves."
Hearing the news, Lancer was shocked, but his shock wasn't long-lived.
"Not only would it explain some things, but does that mean that I'm technically his teacher? It just keeps getting better and better! I can't wait to tell him that and see his reaction!"
"Glad that you are happy..."
Strangely enough, Shirou was tired. Avalon does not restore stamina. It only heals, and Shirou wasn't accustomed to fighting just yet, although it felt familiar.
"Seeing that you are not in a condition to continue, we'll end for today. Come here tomorrow, and we'll start your training. Be prepared to hate your time here. If you need something, you'll find me in the shop. In the case I'm not there, I'm probably fishing somewhere."
And that's how the training of Shirou Emiya began.
(Shirou's pov)
So that's the end for today, huh? It didn't last as long as I had hoped. Hope that it won't become a trend, but since I'm done here, I'll return home and maybe cook something. Illya and Irisviel will be happy... if my food tastes good, at least.
I also felt... strange during my fight with Lancer. I don't know how to explain, but it felt like I was close to discovering something. It was as if it was... familiar. Maybe if I'll fight more, I'll regain my memories. That's a thought for later. Now I should return home. I can see that it will start raining soon.
(???'s pov)
I don't know what to do... I'm outside, and he said that I could do whatever I wanted, but does it have any meaning? I'll be back to that place later anyway. Does he want me to feel happiness just so I would clench to it and wouldn't kill myself?
He doesn't need to worry, then. I already gave up. Whatever happiness I had is gone, and as long as I just endure everything he does to me, he'll let me live, although what's the meaning of life like that? Maybe I really should end it today. I don't know when I'll get a chance like this again.
As I was thinking about my options, a drop of rain dropped on me.
It started raining, and it quickly became heavy rain. Is it a sign from god that no matter how much I try, I won't be able to escape my fate?
I'll try walking a bit. I didn't get to see this town for a few years, so before I end all of this, I want to see the city I was born in for the last time. Shame it will be viewed on a rainy day, though.
I didn't even bother to cover myself from the rain as I started walking. It felt nice... I think. At least it didn't hurt, so I would say it's nice.
I did some walking, but I stopped in front of a shop with crepes. I wonder how they taste. I don't have any money, though, so it looks like I'll die without knowing. Nothing I can do about it, so I was about to leave, but I was stopped by someone.
---
END
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