Chapter 187: Rin Tohsaka's Favor
"Alright, let's go over the plan one more time. Pay attention."
Rin Tohsaka stood in the center of her spacious, traditionally-styled living room, her arms crossed. The morning sun streamed through the shoji screens, illuminating the map of Fuyuki City spread out on the low table. Her twin-tails swished as she adopted her "commander" persona.
"The Holy Grail War is accelerating. We can't just react; we need to be proactive."
[Inorin's Note: The Holy Grail War is a clandestine ritual where seven mages, known as Masters, summon seven Heroic Spirits, or Servants, to fight in a battle royale. The last pair standing claims the Holy Grail, an omnipotent wish-granting device.]
She tapped the map. "Next, we plan to win this war and obtain that corrupted Grail. To do that, we need to gather intelligence. Shirou," she pointed at the red-haired boy, "you and Archer will scout the industrial district and Miyama Town. I have a bad feeling about the Ryuudou Temple."
She then turned to the rest of the group—you, the stoic Saber, and the ever-ready Firefly. "Orion, Firefly, and Saber will act with me. We'll patrol the Shinto and port areas."
"Wait a minute, Rin," Shirou immediately protested, his brow furrowed with concern. "Why are we splitting up? Wouldn't it be safer to stick together, especially if you're going somewhere you think is dangerous?" His gaze flickered worriedly toward Saber.
Rin let out an exasperated sigh, placing a hand on her hip. "Idiot! This is called efficiency! We can cover twice the ground this way. Do you want to just sit here and wait for another Servant to ambush us?" She glared at him, her tsundere nature in full display. "Besides, with Saber, SAM, and Orion, our team has more than enough firepower. Stop questioning my strategy."
Firefly, who had been quietly observing from the corner, stretched her arms. "She's right. Less talking, more hitting. Let's just get this over with."
You simply nodded, your gaze calm. Your amnesia left you without context, but the tactical logic was sound. Splitting up was efficient.
The next day, however, was a designated "down day" for planning and rest. The smell of dashi and soy sauce filled the Tohsaka kitchen. You were at the stove, an apron tied neatly around your waist, skillfully preparing lunch. Your body might be new, and your mind blank, but the muscle memory of cooking was a strange, comforting instinct you'd rediscovered.
"Sir Orion."
You turned. Saber was standing in the doorway, her expression as serious as if she were entering a battlefield. She was wearing a frilly, bright pink apron over her casual clothes. The contrast between the absurdly domestic garment and her regal, knightly aura was almost comical.
"Do you require assistance?"
You nearly dropped the spatula. "Saber? You... can cook?"
"No," she shook her head, her blonde hair swishing. Her honesty was as sharp as her blade. "But I can learn. As a knight, mastering various skills, including field rations, is necessary for a campaign."
You couldn't help but laugh, a small, quiet sound. "Alright, Your Majesty. Let's start with something simple. Can you crack an egg?"
"An egg." She nodded, approaching the counter with grim determination. She picked one up, analyzing it as if it were a complex magical artifact. "I shall apply precise force to the shell's weakest point."
"No, Saber, just tap it on the—"
CRUNCH.
Applying the same force she might use to shatter a helmet, Saber didn't just crack the egg. She obliterated it. Shell, yolk, and white exploded in her grip, splattering across her hands, the counter, and the pristine floor.
She stared at the yellow, dripping mess in her hand, her expression one of pure, analytical confusion. "The structural integrity... was far weaker than I calculated."
"Saber! What are you doing to my kitchen?!" Rin stormed in, having heard the noise. She took in the scene—the egg-covered floor, the shell fragments on Saber's face, and you, frozen with a spatula in mid-air.
"Miss Rin, I am learning to cook," Saber replied, attempting to wipe the goo on her apron, which only smeared it further.
"Oh, for goodness' sake, move aside! Let a professional show you how it's done!" Rin huffed, rolling up her sleeves and shoving Saber out of the way. "It's an egg, not a phantasmal beast!"
"Wait, Rin," you interjected, a sense of foreboding washing over you. "Are you sure? Shirou mentioned you almost blew up the kitchen last time..."
"That was an accident! The ignition was faulty!" she snapped, her face flushing. She grabbed a daikon radish and a knife. "Cooking is about precision and control, just like jewel magic! Watch!"
She began to chop, her movements a blur of practiced, angry precision. Thwack-thwack-thwack!
"See? Perfect—" She stopped. The radish was indeed cut into flawless, paper-thin slices. Unfortunately, so was the expensive wooden cutting board beneath it, which was now neatly split in two.
"..."
"..."
Firefly, drawn by the commotion, was now leaning against the doorframe, a hand over her mouth, her shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. "Wow. You mages are a real disaster area, huh?"
You let out a long sigh, taking the knife from Rin's stiff hand. "Alright, everyone out. I'll handle this before one of you declares war on the pantry."
In the end, you took over and prepared a decent, if simple, lunch.
"Honestly," Rin poked at a perfectly cooked piece of fried egg, her pride clearly wounded. "It looks so simple when you do it..."
"It merely requires practice, Miss Rin," Saber said, already halfway through her third bowl of rice. She ate with a focused, kingly efficiency. "However, Sir Orion's culinary skills are indeed excellent! Truly!" She immediately began to feast, her appetite as impressive as her swordsmanship.
Watching the two girls—the proud magus and the legendary King of Knights—eagerly tasting your food, you couldn't help but feel a fleeting moment of peace. If every day could be spent so... normally... it would be quite nice.
That peace was shattered the following afternoon. The "shopping trip" in the Old District was a cover for your patrol. The air was cool, the streets quiet.
"Oh? Well, well. Four against one?"
A playful, dangerous voice sliced through the calm. You all looked up. A man in a skin-tight blue suit dropped from a utility pole, landing lightly on his feet. He held a crimson, demonic spear balanced casually on his shoulder. Lancer.
"That's not very fair, is it? Three beautiful ladies and..." his gaze lingered on you, "whatever you are."
"Hmph, less talk!" Firefly didn't wait for an introduction. "SAM!"
[Inorin's Note: SAM, or 'Stellaron Hunter Mechanical Armor,' is Firefly's combat suit, which she can summon and pilot, granting her immense firepower and combat capability.]
Flames erupted around her, and the sleek, silver-white mech materialized, its fists already clenched. A barrage of micro-missiles streaked from its shoulders.
"Whoa, a metal doll!" Lancer laughed, weaving through the explosions with supernatural agility. The battle was a clash of eras—SAM's high-tech plasma cannons and suppressive fire against Lancer's rune-enhanced speed and legendary skill.
"Tch, this strange weapon is really difficult to deal with!" Lancer growled, skidding to a halt as a laser beam seared the pavement where he'd been a millisecond before. He was fast, but SAM's targeting system and sheer volume of fire were boxing him in.
Cornered, Lancer's playful demeanor vanished. "Alright, playtime's over." He leaped high onto a nearby rooftop, crouching low. The red demonic spear in his hand began to glow, emitting an aura of bloodlust so thick it felt like a physical weight.
"He's using his Noble Phantasm! Saber, get ready!" Rin shouted.
[Inorin's Note: A Noble Phantasm is the ultimate, trump-card attack of a Heroic Spirit (Servant) in the Holy Grail War, often symbolizing their legend.]
"Gáe Bolg—!" Lancer roared, the name of his spear echoing with mythic power.
In that instant, your world changed. The [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception] flared to life, unbidden. The vibrant colors of the world drained away, replaced by a stark, monochrome reality. And on everything... you saw the lines.
[Inorin's Note: The [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception] is Orion's unique ability, allowing him to perceive the conceptual "Lines of Death" on all things. Cutting these lines results in an irreversible "death" of that object or concept.]
You saw them on the buildings, on the ground, and most clearly, on that glowing red spear. A single, fragile black line ran the length of its haft.
You didn't think. You moved. You rushed forward, and as the Noble Phantasm reached its peak, your simple, unadorned sword sliced through the air.
Shing.
Your blade traced that single black line.
Crack!
The legendary demonic spear, a weapon of myth, snapped in two like a dry twig.
"What?!" Lancer's roar of triumph turned into a shriek of pure, unfiltered shock.
The massive, blood-red magical power, now unguided and unstable, had nowhere to go. It exploded, not as a targeted spear, but as a wild, lashing beam of pure, chaotic energy. It deviated from its original path...
...and shot straight towards Rin Tohsaka.
"Oh no!" Saber paled, her armor dematerializing as she tried to sprint, but she was too far.
Rin's eyes widened in terror, her ruby pendants glowing feebly, but she had no time to form a gandr shot, let alone a proper defense.
In that flash, with no time to think, your body moved on its own. It was the same instinct that had made you kneel in your parents' blood to protect Jiang Li. It was the instinct to shield.
Pfft!
The sound was disgustingly soft. The beam of light pierced clean through your abdomen, creating a terrifying, fist-sized hole. Blood, vaporized and splattered, sprayed across Rin's pale, horrified face.
"ORION!!!" Saber's voice cracked, her pupils trembling.
Rin was even more stunned. She stumbled forward, her hands trembling as she reached out, trying to cover the gaping, smoking wound. Tears welled instantly, flowing uncontrollably down her cheeks. "Idiot… You idiot… Why did you block for me… You..."
"Orion!" Firefly's voice crackled over SAM's external speakers, laced with a very human panic. "Are you okay?!"
You looked down at the large, cauterized hole in your stomach. You could see the ruined street through your own body. You let out a ragged, wet laugh. "It's just... a wound of this extent..."
"I'm fine."
Then, under their shocked, horrified gazes, the impossible happened. Steam began to pour from the wound. New flesh, pink and healthy, visibly knitted itself together. The terrifying hole, which should have been fatal, closed, healed, and vanished in seconds.
[Inorin's Note: [Abundance's Blessing (Purple)] is one of Orion's innate talents, granting powerful self-healing abilities that allow for rapid regeneration from even mortal wounds.]
"This… this is…" Saber stammered, her mind struggling to comprehend the divine-level healing she had just witnessed.
"Damn monster!" Lancer, seeing his opening gone and his Noble Phantasm broken, decided to cut his losses. He turned to flee, but not without a prize. "Forget it, you'll do!"
In a blue blur, he was in front of the still-stunned Rin, his hand outstretched to grab her.
But you were faster.
Your arm, already healed, wrapped around Rin's waist like a steel band. You pulled her back against you and leaped high, dodging Lancer's desperate grab. Rin instinctively wrapped her arms around your neck, letting out a small, terrified gasp.
"Now!" you roared.
That was all Saber and Firefly needed. With Lancer's back turned and his trump card broken, the two warriors unleashed a coordinated hell. Saber, with her invisible sword, and SAM, with its full arsenal, overwhelmed the Irish hero. He was forced into a tactical, and very hasty, retreat.
After the battle, you gently put Rin down. Her legs were shaking, and she was still staring at your abdomen, where only a torn, blood-soaked shirt remained.
"It really… recovered…"
"I said I'm fine."
"Idiot!" she suddenly shouted, her voice breaking as she slammed her fists against your chest. "You're a complete idiot! Would a normal person be fine after being pierced through the body?! Don't treat your life like it's some kind of joke!"
Saber also walked over, her expression unusually serious. She sheathed her invisible sword. "Sir Orion. That ability of yours... that regeneration. It is not of human origin. Such power... always comes at a price." She looked you directly in the eye, king to warrior. "Please tell me. What price did you pay?"
The atmosphere became heavy. Firefly, now out of her mech, stood to the side, also watching you, her arms crossed.
You were silent for a moment. You looked at their concerned, worried faces. Your amnesia was a fact. Your power was a fact. Combining the two... was the perfect answer.
"Perhaps… it's memories," you said, your voice quiet, your gaze distant. "I don't remember anything. My past, my hometown... even... who I was before I woke up in that pod."
You looked at Rin, whose angry, tear-streaked face had softened into one of shock and dawning sympathy.
"But," you offered a small, sincere smile, "being able to use this power to make new friends, and to protect you all... I think it's very worth it."
"Idiot…" Rin whispered, her cheeks flushing a deep, unmistakable crimson.
From that day on, the way Rin Tohsaka looked at you... completely changed.