Present evening, Emiya Residence.
CLANG
Katana sparked off the legendary sword of British legend. Amidst the clashing lights, the wielders never broke off their intense glares.
Saber's was due to the resemblance more than the newcomer's interference. A cheap copy of her face worn by what could've passed for a clone defended her Master against her of all people… But she had her reasons for wanting to pry the answers out of the boy. Kiritsugu's betrayal, though a decade past, was still fresh on her mind.
Not even the betrayal of what had been her homunculus scion angered her as much as he and she wouldn't let this chance go.
Assassin was much less perturbed at the development of their predicament. Though facing one who carries her resemblance down to the mean furrow of her brow, an order was an order. To follow her Master's command, she intervened at just the right time. She couldn't have expected Saber would off her own Master from the get-go, but she was glad to have the boy safe behind her.
Now, she just had to pry off the lookalike and get him to safety. And if Saber would kindly die first, then that was a bonus in her opinion.
Then… there was Shirou.
Being protected by a Servant not his own, in fact he could clearly recognize her as the one trying to take out the silver-haired red one back at school not a few minutes ago, and also being nearly butchered by the Servant he called to his side… things were not looking up for him.
"W-wait! I-I think we have a misunderstanding—"
"Silence!" Saber hissed before pressing her weight down on her opponent. Assassin's stance held, but she was pushed back, digging a ditch with her heels as the angry knight pushed with sheer force of fury. Said fury was then converted into an explosive downward slash from point blank range that forced the lighter-built Assassin to flee.
"S-Saber! Stop—Wuh, WAIT!" Shirou tried to cry out but was stopped when he felt his feet suddenly leave the ground.
"Shush! You'll bite your tongue!" This was on account of Assassin having leapt away from her foe and dashed to distance the redhead even further away from the angry knight.
The care and attention she put into the wellbeing of a Master not her own infuriated the King of Knights even further. A fact that Assassin did her best to assure the boy.
"Stay calm, sir. I will protect you from her." Katana held at the ready, expression as calm as can be, she was poised for a fight, unlike the scowl on Artoria's face which belied a need to pummel something. "On my Master's orders, I will not let you have him."
"I care not for him, imposter who wears my face." The knight snarled, Excalibur Morgan held aloft and emanated malevolent energy. "However, I require him to answer my questions. Now scram before my sword rends that likeness of mine off your face!"
Assassin vanished from Shirou's front, immediately coming down on Saber from above with a smile and intention to behead her. Saved from the assassination only by locking her sword guard against the tip of the katana, Saber's teeth grit hard, a stark contrast to her foe's eager smile.
"I see you're as eager to cut my face as I am to rearrange yours."
Swinging her sword, Saber parried Assassin away. Having fully countered the lithe one's momentum though, she was unable to follow up and watched as the nimble samurai vaulted to stand between her and Shirou once more.
"A pity, however. My aim is just to protect, though if you would willingly let me maim your face, I can rid us of one issue and forego any confusion of identity between us henceforth!"
"Out of my way!" Saber charged. And contrary to her proclaimed class, Assassin met her head-on.
Swift strikes were counterattacked by heavy swings. Armor defended against lethal stabs, Saber letting them glance off her enchanted metallic protection with ease. Likewise, Assassin deftly danced around crushing blows before they hit. Vaulting over sideswipes, backstepping away from overhead crushing blows, though they shared nearly the same face and physique, their fighting styles contradicted one another to a T.
To Shirou who was awed by their combat prowess, it was a fascinating yet morbid wonder to behold. But at the same time, the rational side of him knew things would come to a head sooner or later, be it through one beheading the other or his own flying off if he were to intervene in that maelstrom of blades. While Saber was being a bit forceful in demanding answers, he could infer that Assassin meant no real harm. In fact, if she was ordered to protect him, that meant there was a Master out there who didn't want him dead. After his earlier violent encounter with Rider, wasn't that a plus?!
Still, they fought. Was it instinct or a warrior code to just swing at someone who wouldn't back down to your demands? Either way, the dangers of this clash didn't stop him from instinctively eyeing up those blades. His magecraft coming to the forefront, taking in the jumbled history of those weapons and the battles they fought, from inception to the present. It was a muddled mess of memories, some more jarring than others, but as he was left an observer being protected and targeted, he could do naught but try make sense of it all with amateurish grasping and feeling sicker the longer he stared.
But as the history of the blades themselves imprinted upon his mind, he felt more. Emotion, feelings, intent. The closer the memory was to the present day, the more vivid and comprehensive they were.
Of Assassin's, he couldn't yet be sure. Her mindset was sharp, her emotions calm and muted. Like a katana stowed away in its sheathe, not revealing a single inch as there was no intent to be drawn against him.
But then, there was Saber's. Excalibur Morgan was not shy to bare its wielder's anger, her dislike for him. It was animosity, not out of pure hatred but one of distrust. It was an animosity born out of betrayal. Or rather, that's what Shirou felt it was. More than that, there was a yearning. A question that it carried, born from its master's, Artoria's own heart.
'Why?'
He could vaguely see the last time her sword was used at full power. It was a recollection resonating with his projection as a mosaic of foggy feelings and images. A power unleashed by command, a great attempt to suppress it all, then… pain. Emptiness.
It felt like a hollow had formed in Shirou's chest. A connection akin to strings tugging at the pull of the memory.
Something resonated in his core. "NGH!"
And the shocking surge of pain snapped him out of his stupor, enough to make him kneel, hacking onto the floor.
"Gah…." He heaved. He exhaled, trying to catch a breath he didn't know he was holding. "What… what was that…?!"
He didn't know. He couldn't understand. He'd been enraptured studying the Noble Phantasms of Heroic Spirits, but unlike the spear Lancer held, the sword and katana both found ease slipping into his head. And whatever the reasons why it was so slipped his mind completely. Maybe it was the subtle affinity he had in blades, or the long practice he held himself to molding similar types of the weapon that he could just do it. He wasn't sure.
But now that he was coming to, kicked out of his deep thoughts by that… that… something, he could finally think straight.
'I have to stop this!' His mind raced, trying to come up with a justification, but they were already in his head. 'We're on the same side! There's no sense in them killing each other!'
Without any second thoughts, Shirou got up and ran. Adrenaline pumped hard and fueled his sheer stubbornness to think before leaping into danger. And what a danger it was, for both Servants were so focused on their fight that they almost didn't notice that the object of their conflict threw himself between their swords.
"BOTH OF YOU, STOP!"
Assassin's eyes widened as she slid to a halt before she could run Shirou through. Her aim had been Saber, but with him in the way, she just narrowly missed skewering his throat. Fortunately, she caught her foe's own sword and parried it just enough that the boy kept his head.
"What in hell do you think you are doing, idiot?!" To the surprise of everyone, it was Saber who roared. Her sword was the one closest to killing him, having been swung down expecting to overpower and bisect Assassin's forefront charge.
But… with Shirou's back toward her, she could not see the expression the suicidal boy wore as he raised his hands up, protectively shielding Artoria of all people, even after she tried to maim him earlier.
"Both of you, put down your weapons."
"As if you have any right to make demands! Move!" Saber snapped but was met with a glare over the boy's shoulder as he pleaded with his eyes. That determined gaze, it was enough to make her flinch in that he'd rather be killed than acquiesce.
"Boy, get away from her." In turn, Assassin quietly hissed, not once letting her lock of Saber's blade falter as she spoke but visibly perplexed as to why the one she was protecting was taking such drastic actions. "I cannot fulfill my master's order if you will willingly get yourself killed. Stand aside."
"Please, Assassin! This is a misunderstanding!" Shirou yelled before looking over at the Servant behind him again. Artoria met his earnest gaze with a confused but angry one. "Saber protected me earlier. Though she might've pointed her sword at me, she was just demanding answers! If she wanted me dead, she needn't have protected me against Rider who tried to take me or my Command Seals away!"
"Be that as it may, I have my orders to protect you from hostile intent." Assassin pushed forward, winning the reverse-tug-of-war by inching their swords away from Shirou's neck, the sparks had him squinting slightly. He didn't budge though and kept his arms up, unknowingly blocking any of her attempts to push the fight away from his person. "I will not ask again. Stand aside, please!"
"I won't!" Shirou, raising his voice, persisted. Even as their weapons glinted and sparked by his face, he did not budge. "She… Saber is my Servant! Whoever you or your Master is, I will not stand by as you threaten her. I… I will not allow it!"