1,149It was the first time in a long time that Archer felt helpless, and he'd thought only Rin would be able to make him feel that way. No, Erza Scarlet was far from similar to Rin, but her persistence and bullheadedness may even far surpass Rin's.
"…"
"…"
The crunching of his feet walking over the ground was echoed by the awkward footsteps of Erza trying to keep up with his pace. He'd thought that exhausting the girl would dissuade her from following him any further, but he'd underestimated both her stamina and her relentlessness.
She was panting from behind him, and he didn't even have to turn around to picture the haggard expression of her face. The both of them had already traversed the better most part of a rugged mountain range using their magic energy to bolster their physical capabilities. In terms of finesse, control, and consumption of magical energy however, he by far out leagued Erza, a fledgling Wizard. While he still possessed roughly half of his magical reserves, Erza must have had only a quarter or so left in comparison.
The more he walked, the more pronounced and laboured Erza's breathing became.
His brow twitched, the frown on his face growing ever pronounced. He could be a cynical jerk at times, but he wasn't heartless. His feet abruptly stopped beneath him near a small ravine covered by the foliage of tall trees South of Magnolia.
"We'll rest here," he said with a sigh, dropping down his supplies by his feet and wordlessly beginning preparations to make a temporary camp. Besides, it was almost time for lunch anyway and 'hunger was the enemy.'
He smiled wryly. Some memories just never go away, do they? Or was it simply because he still desperately held onto simpler times back before he understood the harsh realities of the world? It begged the question, did a part of him still long for a forsaken ideal? It was an unpleasant thought, but at the same time, he'd been running away from a single realization by devoting all his efforts to raising his siblings. Now that his sibling could be well taken care of by the Guild however, he could no longer use them as a distraction.
The world around him wasn't the same world he had lived before. Perhaps different from his home world, this world could allow for the foolish aspirations of a man who simply wanted to be a Hero?
Wizards did not actively kill. Conflicts could be resolved by incapacitating an opponent and sealing away their magic forever in prisons managed by the Council of Wizards. Grudgingly, Archer surmised that the actual viability of the concept of 'Saving Everyone' may just be an accomplishable goal. He need only look at the results his younger counterpart was already causing. Shirou had saved people, and in the end, everyone was better off for it.
His expression twisted into a grimace, a heavy scowl creasing his brows.
Was he actually jealous? Disillusioned that he'd been reborn into a such a world after he'd already turned his back on the one dream that he'd ever had.
How ridiculous. There was no use thinking on the topic any longer.
"Brat," he called out behind him as he created a make-shift fire place.
"…I'm not a brat," an exhausted voice replied. "I'm Erza."
"Girl," he changed his form of address, but he didn't bother using her name if only to annoy her. "Make yourself comfortable. I don't think your stamina can last any longer."
He turned around to face Erza and saw her already pouting at the comment simply because she couldn't argue with it. Her lips were puckered as if she'd tasted a sour lemon. Evidently, she was the kind of girl that hated losing a competition. Sweat matted her brows and her complexion was entirely flushed, yet still she seemed to have the will to glare at him. What a stubborn girl.
He tossed her a waterskin pouch, and decided to leave her alone while he tended to setting up camp.
Erza caught the waterskin pouch, stared at how Archer was dismissing her, and grudgingly guzzled the water down her throat while glowering. Her brows were knitted, and her attention was focused solely on Archer. No matter how many times Archer kept denying that he was Shirou, his actions screamed far louder than his words.
To begin with, if he really wanted to ditch her, why was he being so considerate of her and calling for a rest? Moreover, since when did Archer's traveling bags turn from a single set into two?
He acted like she was a bother, but at the same time, he was actively accommodating her in the same manner that Shirou would have from the Tower of Heaven.
As Archer finished setting up a temporary camp and began cooking lunch, Erza continued to inspect him with a careful eye. Preparation, movements, attention to detail, everything was aligning to the impression that she had of Shirou minus the perpetual scowl on Archer's face.
"Here."
When Archer gave Erza a bowl of seasoned stew, she held herself back from digging in because she couldn't keep herself quiet any longer.
"You cook like Shirou, act like Shirou, and even fight like him," she played with her spoon and soon enough found herself using it to deliver a mouthful of stew to her lips. She took a bite and felt herself melting from the flavour, her eyes glazing. Heavenly. "How are you not Shirou?" She said exasperatedly.
Archer flinched in agitation every time Erza had called him Shirou, but he could tell that she was just trying to make a point this time and not trying to get a rise out of him.
"You'll just have to take my word for it," he answered calmly while subconsciously refilling Erza's bowl. Damn habits and women who eat a lot. "I'm not him, and I don't recommend you starting this argument with Mirajane around back at the guild. We grew up together and anything that troubles family is the fastest way to a confrontation."
"Are you really family?" Erza tried asking again, already digging into her next bowl while sheepishly eyeing Archer with reluctance. By the Gods. Even the food tasted the same. "Did you really grow up in a remote village, and not labour in the Tower of Heaven?"
"Another word of warning," Archer glanced up at Erza from where he sat distributing his food. "If you ever ask that question in front of my family, you're going to have problems. But yes, I did grow up in a remote village in the country side."
"…" Erza became crestfallen, but she continued to keep looking hopefully at him.
Noticing her silent behaviour, Archer starched the back of his head, subsequently giving away another habit Erza attributed with Shirou. Her mouth abruptly opened then closed when she noticed the clipped expression on Archer's face.
"I am not your Shirou," he stressed again.
Erza pursed her lips and turned up her chin. She looked far from convinced. "Say I believe you and you're not my Shirou," she began slowly, gathering her thoughts together. "It wouldn't change anything. I don't know how to properly explain it, but fundamentally it just feels like you are the Shirou that I know."
She wasn't wrong, Archer had to give Erza the point, yet at the same time, she wasn't right either. "What if I said that I am?" He goaded.
Erza's expression immediately brightened which made it all the more pronounced when it quickly dimmed at Archer's next words.
"But at the same time, I'm not," Archer concluded.
Erza's lip twitched before she began stubbornly glaring. "You can't be something, yet not be something at the same time!" She chastised with a pointed hand. Archer may have taken her seriously too if said hand wasn't holding an empty food bowl pleading for fourths.
"Then you would be wrong," Archer's expression lightened as he let out a laugh that made him look all too similar to the Shirou in Erza's mind. At the same time, Archer refilled Erza's bowl and decided to shoot down the fixation that he could see Erza directing towards him. "Believe what you want, but I'm no longer the person I once was."
With his piece said, Archer quickly downed his portion of the meal and stood up in order to leave. He had a mission to complete, and he was pretty sure that he had a deadline to make. He'd wasted enough time. From this point on, it would be up to Erza to see if she could keep up with him or not. In which case, she was already struck dumb at the starting line.
"Hey wait," she blinked up at him, her emptied food bowl left forgotten. "What do you mean by not being who you once were?" It almost sounded like a roundabout way to admit that Archer was in fact Shirou.
Archer scoffed as he secured his survival pack to his back. Unknown to him, a small smile had graced his lips. "It means that you have a long way to go to even come close of convincing me that I'm the same Shirou that you met before."
So, he was admitting that he was the Shirou she knew!
"Is that a challenge?" Energetic light manifested in Erza's eyes. She'd convince him, and she'd stop at nothing to do so just like Jellal and the others would do when they learned of such information. Mirajane wasn't going to be happy, but Erza felt like she could handle the harlot on her own.
"Take it for what you will," Archer's careless words all but cemented Erza's resolve.
She stood up and quickly followed after Archer. She never backed down from a challenge especially when it concerned people dear to her.
Never.
Unbeknownst to the two, they were being closely monitored through a scrying glass held loosely in the grip of a man who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else than tailing children through the woods in his week off.
The man was Gildarts Clive, Fairy Tail's strongest Wizard who'd already given his assessment of Archer's magical capabilities. Archer was definitely strong. He moved with an air and familiarity that denoted an experienced veteran which was prodigal considering his age. Given such high regard for a Wizard like Gildarts, there was already no doubt that Archer already harboured the capabilities to be considered an S-Class Wizard.
"Oi Master, are we really going through with this?" Gildarts drawled while scratching his head with his right index finger. "This doesn't feel like a normal S-Class Assessment."
Beside Gildarts was Makarov who was wearing an uncharacteristically solemn expression. If not for the pajama-like orange track suit that he wore, the man would have actually come off as serious rather than determined.
"He's a special case." Makarov placed a hand beneath his chin, his eyelids squinting in thought. "There's no time to wait for the annual S-Class examination in Tenrou because we must ascertain Archer's moral compass to determine what lengths that he'd resort to in order to complete a mission."
Gildarts raised a brow. "You think him a loose canon? He's still a kid."
Makarov sighed at Gildarts words. He knew that reasoning all too well, and if Archer were just a normal kid, there really wouldn't be much of an issue because Makarov had confidence in his Guild's ability to nurture children on the right path. Archer was an exception. He was too mature. It showed in his caution to approach others even when inside the guild. Most of all, Archer had the eyes of a hardened killer. Someone that had killed so many that he'd already become numb to the concept of murder and killing.
Makarov had heard of the conditions that the Strauss siblings had lived through in their little remote village. Archer had been the one to protect and raise his younger brother and sisters, but what Makarov found odd was how little the children were harassed after the incident with Mirajane.
Ignorant people were bound to do more than just toss stones and verbally abuse their perceived demons. In fact, murder and public execution were a common occurrence amidst rural villages oblivious to the variety of magic in the world. Either the village that the Strauss siblings had lived within did not possess such ill-mannered individuals, or someone was actively silencing them.
Makarov suddenly felt a wave of weariness cause his forehead to wrinkle while he looked at Archer still taking the time to accommodate a stubborn Erza. It was kindness that dictated his actions. Somewhere, deep down inside him, the child that Archer should have been was buried. It was a scene such as this that caused Makorov to grow disillusioned with the workings of the world.
Even if your hands are already stained in blood, there's no longer a need to ruthlessly kill.
Hard as Archer may try to conceal it, Makarov had no doubts that Archer had bloodied his hands before. The fact it was probably for the sake of his siblings only made the situation more depressing for the cheerful yet un-ignorant guild master.
Killing was the habit of Dark Guild members. Like it or not, he had to see just what kind of person Archer had become before deciding anything about his true Wizard Class or whether he was truly suitable for Fairy Tail. For such a means, he'd secretly swapped the mission posters and made it so that Archer picked a planted mission.
"Kid or not, this is his assessment, Gildarts," Makarov explained much to Gildarts un-bemusement. "On one hand, I can see kindness within him, but at the same time, it's buried away by many layers of grief, cynicism, and betrayal. Sure, it's fine now, but in the future when he grows even stronger, I fear that he may lose his path on the road of his own negativity."
Gildarts frowned. "But that's why the Guild's here. Our Guild mates can help show him the proper path regardless of this assessment or not. You know as well as I that this mission is dangerous for just two children. Why else would you have me here?"
Makarov wanted to agree with Gildarts, but his experience in life caused him to falter. "There are some things about people that can't be changed so easily. Therefore, like it or not, we need to see just what kind of person Archer is and based on such knowledge, help him to grow up to be the best that he can be. We're a Guild. The Guild is family and we won't easily give up on family."
On that note, Gildarts raised no objection.
Makarov smiled at his guild member's understanding. Still, they both had to maintain their vigilance. The two ready to intervene at a moment's notice.
This mission felt strange.
It was difficult for Archer to elaborate through words, but his intuition was making him grow suspicious. To begin with, what mission would honestly be issued out in the middle of nowhere? He looked again and again at the indicated meeting location on the mission report he'd gotten from the guild's bulletin board and soon began frowning.
He should have met with the mission's issuer hours ago. Honestly, he was starting to think that the mission was a fake and that he'd basically wasted his time.
"Are we there yet?" Erza asked from beside him. Due to having to search the area for his client, Archer had ended up slowing his pace which allowed Erza to keep up with his strides.
"No," he said flatly. "And I'm starting to think that we never will."
Erza frowned, but even she found it strange that there wasn't a client in sight. "Should we just head back then?" Erza asked somewhat excitedly. She was anxious to tell Jellal and the others of the discovery that she'd made.
"Not yet," Archer rejected Erza's proposition. He couldn't imagine Fairy Tail accepting a mission posting without it being a reliable source. Perhaps something had happened to the client in question? This prospect made a lot more sense to him, and given his level of luck, he wouldn't put it passed the world to mess with him.
"I'm going to look around," he informed Erza before leaping up into the trees for a better vantage point.
"I'll help too," Erza replied before climbing up her own tree, using Archer's actions as a guide. In some ways, she was already viewing him as the Shirou she knew and the very same one who'd led her, Jellal, and the others to freedom.
Erza found nothing while scanning the distant surroundings with her level of vision, but it was a different case for Archer. His eyes were trained and he knew what tell-tale signs to look for while scouting an area of region.
His brows furrowed as he concentrated his sight on a flock of birds fleeing from the distant east. It was an odd sight considering that most birds did not possess migratory patterns that began in the midst of the spring season.
After the birds came the rodents and large bodied mammals hurriedly running through the forest underbrush.
One oddity after another kept popping up, immediately drawing Archer's suspicions.
Birds, animals, his lips thinned while spotting something far more damning: Smoke.
Smoke meant fire. Fire in this sort of forest in the beginning of Spring? It didn't seem likely at all.
Archer shut his eyes and began to listen with his ears. Shouts, yells, groans, and curses began to filter through the wind, all signs of conflict. This could be dangerous. Glancing towards where Erza was, he decided to get a better view of the situation while she wasn't looking.
Archer leapt up onto a taller tree, using his mobility to climb up and balance upon the highest branches. He focused magical energy into his eyes, activating one of his skills known as Hawk Eye.
Instantly, his vision enhanced, the clarity increased by several magnitudes such that it became no problem to peer far into the distance. In most cases, he used Hawk Eye to determine an opponent's weak points and capitalize on them, but Hawk Eyes worked just as well for reconnaissance.
He hadn't once been an Archer-Class Servant for nothing.
In the distance, he could see the progression of a violent battle between two large Wizard groups fully intent on slaughtering each other. He could see it in their expressions. All of their strikes were meant to kill. Fire that reduced one to ashes, lighting that fried the brain into mush, all kinds of spells were turning the distant area into a barren landscape.
It didn't take long for Archer to identify what kind of people that he was seeing. In all of Fiore, there was only one type of Wizard that would willingly seek to harm or kill an adversary.
Dark Wizards.
A group of Dark Wizards fighting against each other obviously meant a clash between rival Dark Guilds due to some kind of petty squabble.
Regardless, what did it have to do with him? Nothing at all.
He grunted and decided to just go on his way; however, his movements froze when he spotted a third group cowering under the shadow of the other two Dark Guilds. Unlike the members of the Dark Guilds dressed in black figure-obscuring cloaks, this third group of people wore standard clothing. Some of them were even wearing outdoor attire as if they'd only been out for a hike.
A situation of the wrong place at the wrong time.
He grimaced. Maybe one of them was, in fact, his client? He couldn't dismiss the possibility because he could already see an affluent looking man hastily advising everyone to keep calm.
Archer took in a breath and leapt back down to the ground. He had to make a decision. Was this mission worth it? In regards to his family still depending on his income, of course it was.
He didn't have room to hesitate. People could perish at any moment while caught up within a fight.
"Did you find anyone?" Erza hopped down from her tree and asked curiously.
"Yes," he admitted simply before filling her in on the details of what he'd just seen. It was better for her to know what she was getting into rather than stubbornly following him and going in blind.
"We have to save them," Erza was quick on the uptake. Her sense of justice and compassion had long since been fostered in the environment of the Tower of Heaven.
"Don't do anything stupid," he warned her. Strong as Erza could be in the future, she was still a child right now.
As much as Archer no longer took himself to be some sort of Hero or Ally of Justice, he wasn't the type of person to just abandon a group of innocents that he had the ability to save. At any other time, he would have quickly nodded to Erza and had them both rush towards the location of where the Dark Guild's were fighting, but something else turned up.
His senses alerted him of an unmistakable magical presence. Worse, it had the same feeling as the Dark Servant he'd encountered on his last mission which meant to say that people were also in danger further north of him.
He had to weigh the number of lives on a scale. His mind shifted into cold calculation.
His potential client and the people who turned up at the wrong place in the wrong time amounted to only a couple dozen people. In comparison to a Dark Servant on the loose who could massacre hundred of ordinary people, it was a no brainer who he'd prioritize. Besides, he needed answers as to why Dark Servants were showing up both for his sake and his families.
As Erza prepared to dash toward the indicated location where the Dark Guilds were fighting, she balked when she noticed Archer abruptly turn to leave in a different direction.
"Hey, where are you going?" She asked in befuddlement.
"Elsewhere," he said bluntly. "Do you remember that time on my last mission when you and Jellal followed after me? I'm sensing the same sort of enemy up north."
Erza froze, her mind returning to the events of the past where she, Jellal, and Mirajane had abandoned Archer to fight on his own. If it was the same sort of enemy as before, then wasn't there a chance that Archer may perish? Erza could still remember the sheer terror on Mirajane's face when Archer had given her the family's emergency funds on the off chance that he died. If a similar enemy really did exist in the north and Archer failed to come back, then she dreaded thinking about how she'd break the news to the Strauss siblings.
"Then what about the people in danger from the clashing of the Dark Guilds?" Erza pressed. Confident as she was about her own growing strength, she knew deep down that she herself wouldn't be able to make much of a difference on her own. She needed Archer with her to have any chance of saving everyone and putting a stop to the Dark Guilds.
Archer didn't answer, rather his steeled expression made it apparent that he'd already come to a decision.
"You can't just plan on abandoning them, can you?" Erza looked scandalized.
Archer nodded without hesitation. "That's exactly what I plan on doing," he confirmed. "It's because of their own stupidity that they got themselves into such a situation, making it none of my concern." What was the life of a few dozen compared to hundreds? Everything had to be done for the sake of the greater good. It was the most practical, and he'd thought that he'd already taken such a lesson to heart, but somewhere deep inside him, a voice was screaming in protest.
"You don't really mean that," Erza tried to dissuade him.
"Oh, but I do," he insisted.
"No. No you don't. I can see it, and I believe in you."
Erza looked Archer right in the eye as if peering deep down inside him at the small voice whispering into his ears the naïve line urging him to 'save everyone.' He could do it. With his current strength, he had the potential to pull off such a risky maneuver. Maybe. He knew not of how capable the enemy to the north was after all.
In terms of risk and practically though? It wasn't worth it. It was better to prioritize the bigger danger. He'd already lived a life time of being an impractical fool. Past mistakes were meant to be learnt from, not repeated. What if by choosing both, he ended up saving no one? Sorry, but unlike what Erza continued to insist, he wasn't Shirou.
"My decision is final." He turned his back on Erza. "Stay here. With your current strength, you won't be able to do anything but endanger yourself if you try to interfere in the clash between two Dark Guilds."
It wasn't the answer Erza wanted or expected to hear.
"You idiot!" She roared at him before completely ignoring his advice and charging towards the direction of the Dark Guilds.
Archer felt his breath hitch, his entire body tensing in equal levels of anger and self-irritation. His cynicism was getting to him.
This girl.
He looked towards the path that he needed to go, and then towards the path Erza had run down towards. His expression twisted into a grimace.
Great. See if he cared.
They actually split up in such a situation.
They split up.
Makarov's expression turned grim and even Gildarts was frowning despite how laid back the man generally was when he wasn't chasing the skirt of some random woman. Of course, the two had heard Archer's words before he'd left, but neither of them understood what kind of past enemy Archer was referring to and didn't give it as much thought. They far more concerned about the danger Erza was running directly towards.
"Gildarts," Makorov beckoned solemnly. "If it gets bad…"
"I know. You don't have to tell me," Gildarts stood up to his full height from where he'd been lounging. "I take it the kid's failed?"
Makarov nodded his head in disappointment. Archer was still going to need a lot of work for the foreseeable future. To begin with, the mission Archer had picked out itself was designed specifically to guide Archer towards the confrontation of the two Dark Guilds. After all, the mission was in fact a plea for help for the people caught up in the battle of the Dark Guilds.
With the confidence Gildarts had for Archer's strength, Archer shouldn't have had too much trouble putting down the Dark Guild members and rescuing the innocents caught up in between. If all else failed, both Gildarts and Makarov were around as a guarantee which was why neither of them had acted when they'd noticed Erza tagging along.
"A Wizard that doesn't have the heart save others can not be an S-Class Wizard. Mature as he is, to prioritize an enemy over the lives of others is already a red flag. Archer is still too young," Makarov muttered listlessly.
Gildarts felt bad for the kid, but at the same time, neither he or Makarov could be too hard on Archer after considering the past he'd been through. It was going to take time to break Archer from out of his disillusions.
"I better get going," Gildarts moved to excuse himself. Erza was fast approaching the location of the Dark Guild's battle. Putting her in danger was not an option.
Just as Makarov was about to send Gildarts off however, something abruptly changed. While Makarov and Gildarts focused on Erza's route to the Dark Guilds, the crystal mirror they had focused on Archer showed him acting oddly.
Both Gildarts and Makarov's attention returned towards the crystal mirror.
What was he doing? Archer had stopped, his expression twisted into a heavy scowl before he abruptly leapt high onto the largest tree nearest to him. The direction of his gaze gave Makarov pause; it was as if he could see just how close Erza was to reaching the Dark Guilds. No matter how Makarov looked at it, Archer was a good two or three kilometers away. Did he have a magic that could extend vision?
Regardless, Makarov knew that he'd have to reconsider his thoughts about Archer not caring. He probably did care but couldn't bring himself to show it.
"The kid just can't be honest with himself, can he?" Gildarts was suddenly all smiles. "Though I do wonder what he's trying to do from all the way up there."
Indeed. What was Archer planning on doing?
His eyes had steeled; his entire disposition replaced by a cold precision. Radio static, the sound of crackling lightning. It was a magic that neither Makarov or Gildarts had ever seen before. It hummed in the air, practically saturating it and exuding from Archer's form in the shape of a flickering torch.
A black bow suddenly manifested in Archer's left hand, forming first from the base of the bow before expanding upwards through particles of magic light. Most damning of all, its manifestation held no traces of any magic circles. It had appeared with the flick of a hand.
Archer stood tall, composed, his right palm outstretched in front of him as a breeze lifted up tufts of his silver hair. His muscles tensed, veins popping up over his skin.
He couldn't possibly be intending on attacking from such a distance, was he?
The image on the crystal gradually zoomed in closer, panning towards Archer's side profile just in time to witness space itself ripple from a surge magical power. The invocation of a domain of mind and body.
"I am the Bone of my Sword."
The very air changed, fragments shimmering as if in a mirage.
From the space above Archer's outstretched palm, red magical light violently twisted and spun to reveal the emergence of a sword, and yet, that wasn't the main point of concern. Rather, it was the fact that Archer's nose twitched once, and suddenly, he was looking right in the direction of the crystal mirror before all imagery ceased to function.
"Gildarts," Makarov began.
"I'm on it," Gildarts replied. "I'll make a personal report later, so just rest up your back and let me handle things from here."
Makarov huffed, but Gildarts was already gone.
Damn it, he hated being old.
Thanks for reading!
Next update: Fate-in Time
P a treon. com (slash) Parcasious
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Summary of book:
Death. Grief. Ruin. Nothing was left unchanged after an unexplained tragedy led to the loss of millions across the world in key locations. Cities were reduced to wastelands of steel and concrete, and many were forced into migration. When events leading to the prior tragedy occur once more, Kevin Black was going to have to learn that sometimes mysteries were better left unsolved. Trapped with his friends in the world of a ruined city filled with monsters, the journey out would be far more perilous than the journey in.
