Forest for the Trees

Disclaimer: See Part One

C&C is welcome at hawker_748@hotmail.com

“Speaking”
‘Thinking’

Fate/Stay Night:

Forest for the Trees

By: Hawker_748

Chapter Two: Friend in Need


“Hey Shirou, I need a favor.”

“What is it boss?” the red haired young man asked, setting down the box he’d been carrying and dusting his hands off before looking up at his employer.

“I need you to make a delivery.” the middle aged man replied.

“A delivery? What happened to Akira-kun?”

Shirou’s boss’s face twisted into a grimace. “He just called me and told me he’s quitting. Just like that, no notice or anything.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, and right now I don’t care… I’ve got a big order to fill and no one to deliver it. Would you mind doing it?”

Shirou shrugged. “That won’t be a problem, I’ll do it.”

The look of relief on the face of the manager of ‘Copenhagen’ was almost comical. “Thank heavens, it’s an important customer. Tell you what Emiya-kun, there are two hours left in your shift, right?” When Shirou nodded, the manager continued. “You do this, you can have the rest of the time off, paid. Just bring the hand truck back tomorrow.”

“Hand truck?”

The manager nodded. “Hand truck. It’s five cases, you won’t be able to carry them in one trip,” he explained. “It’s all ready to go, the address is on the top crate… You still in?”

“I’ll do it,” Shirou assured him.

“Then go to the back door and get it. It’s a bit of a rush, but don’t drop any of ‘em…”

“I’m on it.”

“Good man. Thanks for doing this, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” The manager walked away to deal with something else, while Shirou hung up his apron and walked to the back of the store, seeing the hand truck, crates, and address waiting by the door.

Shirou checked the address and nodded to himself, finding that it was in a familiar neighborhood. He glanced at the shipping list, his eyes widening a little as he realized that they were some of the priciest items that Copenhagen carried. A single case was worth much more than he earned in a month, and there were five of them. Clearly the person ordering them, an ‘H. Yazuru’ according to the waybill, wasn’t feeling the effects of a recession. ‘Or maybe they’re just in debt up to the eyeballs.’

Clearing his head of thoughts that weren’t any business of his anyway, Shirou called a coworker over to hold open the door for him and headed out into the calm night, the stars just starting to come out. Pushing the laden cart as quickly as he dared, Shirou made his way down the sidewalk, the quiet squeaking of one of the wheels mixing with the occasional clink of bottles being jostled together. The pedestrians he passed paid him little notice, and he was too focused on keeping his cargo intact to think about them.

Taking a left at an intersection, Shirou looked up and was a little surprised that the street seemed familiar to him; as far as he knew he’d never been in the area before, but he had a feeling of deja-vu. When he realized why he felt that way, he looked down at the delivery slip. ‘Maybe I’m wrong, she can’t be the only person living on that street…’ Shirou continued down the sidewalk, taking note of the house numbers, when an impressive, and familiar, house came into view. The number next to the gate matched the number on the order. ‘Looks like Harumi and I will see each other again sooner than we thought.’

Opening the gate, Shirou carefully guided the hand truck down the stone path towards the front door, making sure that it was sitting stable before pressing the intercom button. “Delivery from Copenhagen!” he called out.

“Thank god you’re here!” Harumi’s voice replied through the speaker. “Just bring it in, I’m a little busy now…”

‘What’s going on?’ Shirou wondered as he took off his shoes, picked up two crates and entered the house. ‘She sounds a little frantic…’ Guessing that she was in the kitchen, Shirou walked down the hall and entered the room, his eyes going wide at the chaos within. Harumi was dressed in a very nice evening dress, but she was scrambling between some pots on the stove, a few bowls on the counter, and a third object which he identified as a baby seat after a few seconds. “Excuse me, ma’am?”

“Just put them over… Shirou…?” Harumi remarked in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“Copenhagen delivery…”

“You’re the delivery boy?”

“Not usually,” he admitted. “Regular guy quit, I got asked to do it.”

“Just put them on the counter, I’m a little busy here…”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Call me ‘ma’am’ again and I’ll hurt you.” Harumi called out as Shirou went back to the door for the last three crates.

Picking up the last of the order, Shirou made his way back to the kitchen and placed them next to the first two. “Here you are ma… Harumi,” he corrected himself.

In spite of her scrambling, Harumi took a second to smile. “That’s better…”

“Ummm… What’s going on, Harumi…?”

“I’m having company over tonight,” she explained, turning her attention back to the stove. “Unfortunately, the sitter cancelled at the last minute, and her replacement hasn’t arrived yet…”

“Sitter?”

“Yes, for Ho-chan…” Harumi used her head to point to the baby seat on the counter, which Shirou belatedly realized had a child in it.

Curious, Shirou walked over and took a look at the baby gurgling happily in the chair, and the baby let out a cheerful squeal when he was above her. She reached up for him, making the kind of delighted sounds that only infants are capable of making, that sound utterly ridiculous when uttered by grown ups. “H-hello, Ho-chan…”

“Her name’s Hotaru,” Harumi clarified. “Mirei’s usually a good babysitter, but something came up so I had to scramble for a replacement.” She glanced over from the stove and watched Shirou looking down at her daughter. “She seems to like you Shirou…”

“I don’t know anything about kids,” he replied.

“Yeah, they don’t come with an instruction manual- Gah!” Harumi cried out when one of the pots began to boil over.

Shirou hurried over to Harumi’s side. “What’s wrong?”

“Soup keeps boiling over,” she growled, hitting the offending pot with a withering glare that did nothing to stop the liquid from flowing over the side. “I’m a little over my head here, having to look after Ho-chan as well…”

Shirou didn’t even hesitate. “Do you want me to help?”

Harumi looked at him curiously. “Don’t you have to get back to work?”

Shirou shrugged. “Boss gave me the rest of the night off.”

Shaking her head, Harumi replied, “I can’t believe that people like you still exist… Can you just stir these three pots, keep them from boiling over?”

He nodded. “I can do that.”

“Great, that’ll give me a chance to catch up…” The two of them toiled in silence for twenty minutes, Shirou standing guard at the stove while Harumi continued to work on what appeared to be hors d’oeuvres, as well as keeping her daughter entertained. When the sitter finally arrived after thirty minutes, Harumi carried Ho-chan and a bag to the front door, returning after a few minutes. “That takes care of that… Amuro will bring her back later. I can take care of things now, you can leave now if you want.”

“I can keep helping you, if it makes it easier…”

Harumi pursed her lips as she considered Shirou’s offer. “I feel like I’m taking advantage of you…”

Shirou dismissed her concerns. “It’s no problem, I don’t mind.”

“I’ll pay you for your trouble-”

“I’m already being paid Harumi, there’s no need…”

“But then I’ll owe you.”

“You won’t,” Shirou assured her. “I’m just doing a good deed.”

“Shirou Emiya, Eagle Scout…” Harumi remarked with a wry grin. “Okay Emiya-kun, show me your skills…”

“I’ll try…” They continued to work for another fifteen minutes until Harumi placed the hors d’oeuvres on a tray with a flourish, nodding in satisfaction at the results. “Is that everything?” Shirou asked.

“No, but it’s the hardest part done,” Harumi replied. “You can turn off the heat Shirou, they’re done.”

Shirou switched off the gas, the burners going off with a ‘Foof!’ “What do I do now?”

“Put the soup into those ramekins,” Harumi directed. “Use that ladle, two in each please…”

Shirou did as he was told, filling the twelve small white ceramic containers with the thick white broth. “What is this?”

“Cream of white asparagus soup.”

“Smells good.”

“Try some,” Harumi offered, passing him an empty bowl.

“I couldn’t…”

“I insist. If you won’t take money, at least try the food…”

Acquiescing to her offering, Shirou filled the bowl and after accepting a spoon from Harumi, took a taste of the soup. He blinked in surprise; for such an unremarkable looking soup, it had a surprisingly complex flavor that seemed to settle delicately on his tongue. It didn’t have an overwhelming flavor, but what he would have called the perfect level. “It’s good. I mean, really good…”

Smiling in appreciation of the compliment, Harumi remarked, “I’m glad you like it. Have another bowl if you want, there’s plenty left over.”

“Thank you.”

“I should be telling you that,” Harumi replied. “You really got me out of a jam here. And you even brought the order… You’re a man of many talents Shirou…”

“It’s nothing,” he told her modestly.

“You sit down and eat, I’ll put away the wine.”

“I can help you with-”

“No you don’t, you sit down and finish that soup,” Harumi ordered.

“…yes Harumi…”

“Very good… Don’t worry,” she assured him. “I can handle this.” She opened the first case and quickly extracted the bottles, repeating the process until all five were empty. She placed several on a tray and carried them out of the kitchen, returning after a few minutes and transferring a second load. She eventually cleared them all in six trips, coming back for the last time just as Shirou was finishing the soup. “See?” Harumi declared. “Told you I could handle it.”

“I still should have helped you…”

“I KNEW you were going to say that…”

“What do I do now?”

Harumi shrugged. “There isn’t much left to do. I just need to move a tray or two, and move what’s in those other pots into serving bowls…”

“I’ll do that for you.”

“Okay,” Harumi relented. “Use those bowls next to the stove.”

Taking care not to spill anything, Shirou carefully poured the hot liquids into the new containers, setting the now empty pots in the sink. “It’s done,” he told Harumi, just seconds before the doorbell rang.

“Perfect timing,” Harumi deadpanned. “That’ll be my guests,” she remarked, her face twisting into a grimace. “Time for another mind-numbing gathering,” she murmured.

“Excuse me?”

Harumi shook her head. “Never mind Shirou, never mind. I’m having them over as a courtesy. If it was up to me…”

“I understand…”

A smile that didn’t reach her eyes appeared on Harumi’s face. “Time to go be a gracious hostess,” she told him, showing the same reluctance of someone being walked to the electric chair. “You can have some more soup if you’d like, you don’t have to leave right away…”

“Maybe one more bowl,” Shirou allowed. “It’s really good.”

“Thanks Shirou…” This time, the smile Harumi wore was genuine. “For everything.”

“You’re welcome Harumi. Enjoy yourself…”

“Right…” Letting out a deep breath, Harumi turned around and walked out of the kitchen, and Shirou soon heard her greeting her guests, sounding like she was delighted to see them.

Helping himself to a second bowl of soup, Shirou sipped contentedly until it was gone. Setting down his spoon with a satisfied sigh, he looked up and for the first time noticed the amount of disarray in the kitchen. Harumi’d obviously been cooking for quite some time, and she hadn’t had a chance to clean up after herself. Shirou couldn’t bring himself to leave such a mess behind him. Picking up his bowl, he headed towards the sink, wondering where Harumi kept the dish soap.

XXX

Harumi let out a sigh of relief as she closed the door on the last guests to leave, a great weight lifting from her shoulders. It had been three long, excruciating hours, but it was over now, she’d reclaimed her home from the intruders. She let out a bitter chuckle at the thought of her guests as home invaders, realizing that it wasn’t as much of an exaggeration as one might have thought.

‘Maybe it does fit… They came here, stole my time, ate my food and left, and now I’ve got to go and clean everything up…’ Harumi walked slowly back to the kitchen, not looking forward to facing the mess, the thought that Amuro would be bringing Ho-chan back shortly the one bright spot about the rest of her evening. Squaring her shoulders, Harumi walked into the kitchen…

…and stopped cold at the sight before her.

The kitchen was clean. Actually, ‘clean’ wasn’t a good enough word. Spotless, immaculate, or gleaming might have fit better. It hadn’t been this clean since she’d stopped using a maid service several months earlier. ‘Even the maid didn’t get it this clean,’ she corrected herself. Harumi prided herself on keeping things tidy, but she’d never been able to get the kitchen looking like this. She heard a rustling on the floor and looked down to see Shirou wiping down the baseboards on the far side of the room. “S-Shirou…?”

“Oh!” Shirou started, clearly not noticing her arrival. “I’ll be finished in a moment, there’s just a stubborn stain here…”

“What are you DOING?”

“Cleaning up,” Shirou replied as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Why?”

“The pots would have been harder to clean if they were allowed to set,” he explained. “After I washed them, I felt I needed to wipe the counter. And then I noticed that the stove needed cleaning, and that the floor could use a scrub… I guess I just couldn’t leave it for you.”

“You cleaned the kitchen for three hours?”

“Has it been that long?” Shirou asked. “I must have lost track of time…”

“The maid used less time than that on the entire house…”

“Oh? How’d she do it?”

“Not very well,” Harumi responded candidly. “I quit using the service, and started doing it myself.”

“It wasn’t FILTHY,” Shirou clarified, feeling as if he’d inadvertently insulted Harumi. “I probably just got carried away…”

“No, you did a better job than I ever did…”

“You probably have other things to keep you busy… Why didn’t you get a new maid?” Shirou asked, wanting to change the subject.

Harumi pursed her lips. “It’s… not easy for me… I don’t like thinking of people as servants…”

Shirou found it surprisingly easy to relate to that statement, but didn’t mention it. “There’s nothing wrong with that, I sometimes got exasperated when Sakura kept coming over…”

“Sakura?”

“She’s an underclassman of mine. When I was ill once, she started coming over to look after me, cooking meals, cleaning up, that sort of thing,” Shirou explained. “Trouble was, when I got better she kept doing it… It was nice of her, but I didn’t need the help…”

“Maybe she had other motivations,” Harumi told him wryly.

“Like what?”

Harumi gave Shirou a careful look, shaking her head when she realized that he was serious. “Who knows…” she replied dismissively. “Maybe she just wanted to be helpful…”

“That makes sense,” Shirou allowed. “But I wasn’t comfortable with her doing everything for me…”

“That’s how I felt,” Harumi told him, nodding in agreement. “I always took care of things growing up, and it feels strange having someone else do it for me.” She looked up when the doorbell rang, her eyes lighting up. “Ho-chan’s back,” she declared giddily, scurrying down the hall to reclaim her daughter.

Shirou gave the baseboard a final wipe and stood up, stretching and hearing his back crack, and rinsing the cloth in the sink and returning it to where he’d found it. He glanced over and saw Harumi carrying her daughter, making some cute noises which had Hotaru squealing happily. “I’ve finished cleaning,” he announced, taking a look around and feeling satisfied at the fruits of his labors.

“Are you sure I can’t pay you?” Harumi inquired. “I’d say you did far more than you needed to…”

Shirou shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, just happy to help.”

“Hey, would you like to see Ho-chan?”

“Sure…” Shirou walked over and took a look at the baby girl. “She’s cute…”

Harumi beamed the way only proud parents can. “Thanks. Would you like to hold her?”

“M-me…? I’ve never held a baby before…” Shirou admitted.

“It’s not too difficult Shirou,” she reassured him. “I’ll show you how. Just hold out your arms…” Harumi gently eased her daughter over to Shirou. “That’s good, make sure you support the head… There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“No,” Shirou murmured, looking down at the tiny person in his arms. Hotaru was looking up at him, her little brown eyes meeting his golden ones. It was a new and unusual experience for the young man, being an only child meant he’d never had a younger brother or sister to look after. He was worried about dropping her, or doing something else wrong, but Hotaru seemed to be enjoying herself, gurgling cheerfully and reaching for his face. “How old is she…?”

“Just over a year.”

“She’s adorable,” Shirou told her. “You and your husband must be proud…” His eyes went wide when he saw a pained look come over Harumi. “What’s wrong?”

“My husband was proud of her,” she murmured. “But he died a week after she was born…”

“I-I’m sorry… I-”

Harumi shook her head sadly. “It’s okay Shirou. You couldn’t have known…”

“I shouldn’t have pried-”

“It’s okay Shirou, really,” Harumi insisted. “I’ve… learned to live with it…”

Shirou had no idea what to say, so he continued to hold Hotaru, shifting on his feet, not sure if he should break the awkward silence. After a few minutes, Harumi broke it herself. “She seems to like you…”

“Beginners luck, I guess,” Shirou murmured, relieved at the change in subject.

“I don’t know, you seem to have a knack for doing that,” she insisted. “It took Mirei and Amuro some time to get her quiet. She hasn’t sobbed once…”

“She probably doesn’t know me well enough yet…”

Harumi couldn’t help from chuckling at Shirou’s self-derision. “Want me to take her back?”

“She’s yours, you don’t have to ask…”

Taking her daughter back, Harumi said to him, “Let me put her to bed and I’ll make tea. At least accept that…”

“Okay.” Shirou took a seat and waited while Harumi took Hotaru away. He let his eyes wander over the kitchen, making sure he hadn’t missed anything in his clean up, until the widow returned and started making tea.

“She’s sleeping like an angel, thanks again for cleaning up.”

“You’re welcome,” he responded, accepting a cup of tea with a nod. “Sorry about what I said earlier…”

“It’s nothing unusual Shirou, you didn’t know…”

“Still feel bad about it though…”

“You shouldn’t.” A distant look came over Harumi as she found herself recalling the past. “It could have been worse… At least the last time I saw him was a good memory. He had breakfast with us, kissed us both goodbye, and left for the office. He was a CEO, and he wanted to take care of a few details at work; he was planning on taking some time off to be with us. He got to his office, started on some paperwork, and had an aneurysm,” Harumi told Shirou matter-of-factly.

“I’m sorry.”

“Doctors say he died instantly, he didn’t suffer, and he was happy in his last few hours. That’s some consolation at least…” Harumi sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose before she looked at Shirou, a tired look around her eyes. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to lose someone who’s important to you…?”

Shirou didn’t reply at first, debating whether or not to answer. Deciding that Harumi had been honest with him and deserved the same in return, he started to speak. “I-I do, actually…”

“Who did you lose…?”

“Well,” Shirou began. “My mother and father were killed in the fire. I still don’t know how I survived…”

“You were the boy who lived through that? I remember hearing about you… It was hard to believe.”

“It was. The man who found me eventually adopted me. I lived with him until he died about seven years ago…”

Harumi looked uncomfortable now. “You-you’ve seen your share of loss…”

Shirou shook his head sadly. “I’m not finished yet either…” He looked up at Harumi, a contrite expression coming over him. “I’m sorry, I feel like I’m trying to one up you… I’m not trying to make light of your loss…”

“It’s okay Shirou, no offence taken. Keep going, please…” Harumi gently urged.

“And about a year ago, someone important entered my life,” Shirou murmured, his eyes getting a distant look as he thought again about Saber. “We were together only for a while, but…”

“You loved her, right?” Harumi prodded when Shirou couldn’t make himself continue.

“Yes… I loved her…”

“What happened…?”

Shirou took a sip of his tea to moisten his dry mouth and take the time to think of the best way to answer. He wasn’t about to explain the Holy Grail War to Harumi, he still worked to keep it a secret, and besides, unless they’d been part of it, who would believe it? If he hadn’t had endured the experience, Shirou would have taken the tale to be pure fantasy. Only his lingering feelings for Saber, and the presence of Ilya kept him from thinking that the whole memory wasn’t simply a vivid fever dream.

“S-, I mean, Arturia,” Shirou corrected himself, using Saber’s real name, not wanting to raise suspicions by using her title. “She came to Fuyuki City to… take care of something that was very precious to her. I-I ended up getting involved and helping her. We-we got closer, but when it was over…”

“Yes…?” Harumi prompted.

“She had to leave… And after she… went back to where she came from, she died…” Shirou let out a shuddering breath, the memory painful even with the passage of time. “She told me she loved me just before she left too… She couldn’t have stayed, she did have to leave, but that doesn’t make it any easier…”

Neither spoke for a while, each of them reminiscing over their past, before Harumi softly murmured, “You-you do know what it’s like to lose someone…”

“Yeah…”

“I’m sorry for what you’ve had to endure Shirou…”

He shook his head. “Nothing to be sorry about,” he told her with a shake of his head. “It’s just part of who I am, I’ve had to learn to live with it…”

“Seems wrong for someone as young as you to have seen so much pain…”

“You’re too young for that kind of sadness too…”

Harumi smiled sadly. “Any age is too young…”

“True…” Shirou finished his tea and set the mug back onto the table. “Thanks for the soup and the tea. I’d better let you get some rest…”

“Okay… Thanks again for everything.”

“It was nothing… Anytime…”

“Who knows?” Harumi replied with a smirk. “I may hold you to that… C’mon, I’ll see you out.”

Shirou made his way to the front door, Harumi walking beside him. Pausing to put on his shoes and pick up the now empty hand truck, he bowed politely in farewell. “Take care Harumi, and say hello to Ho-chan for me...”

“You take care yourself, Shirou,” she told him. “Hey, do you want the recipe for that soup?”

“Yes, please. It was delicious…”

“Come back in a few days, I’ll have it ready…”

“Thanks, I’ll do that.”

Harumi gave him a half smile. “Be seeing you Shirou…”

Shirou returned it. “Until then…” he then turned and walked back into the night, smiling contentedly at the pleasant evening. Reaching the gate, Shirou walked through and closed it, setting the cart on the sidewalk and pulling it behind him as he headed for home. He didn’t realize it, but he was smiling more warmly than he had done for over a year.


End of Part Two

Notes: This was pre-read by Random1377 and Fatuous One. Thanks again you two. The tab’s getting long…