As I Pray, Unlimited Blade Works

A/N: I apologize for the long wait on this chapter. I've been experiencing some pretty serious writer's block recently, so my progress has been very slow. The chapter is short too...hopefully it maintains a decent amount of quality. I don't usually make music recommendations for my fics, but I was listening to "Inga Ruten", "Majutsushi", and "Gunyuu Shissou" from the Fate/Stay Night OST as I wrote this - I'll let you decide which parts go with which song. Please enjoy!

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To my reviewers:

@Anon: Once I finish the full story so that I may edit any overly sexual content, I will post the entire story to fanfiction.net. Please keep reading until then!

@Elf: Thanks for the compliment. Archer/Rin is a possibility, but I hesitate to intrude upon a territory which contains so many excellent stories by such a wonderful author already. :) Please keep reading!

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Rin Tohsaka waited at the top of the stairwell, looking down upon the people walking through the hall below. She played with her hair nervously as she watched for the familiar red-haired figure in the crowds, letting her forearm catch a mass of the lustrous strands before tossing them behind her shoulders with a deep sigh.

Patience, Rin. He will not be here for some time yet.

Rin did not turn to face the invisible Servant behind her, nor did she reveal any other reaction that might have served as a sign that she was listening to the words of another. Instead, she simply spoke quietly under her breath, confident that her partner would hear her voice over the clamor of the students that were filling the hall beneath them.

“Care to explain how you know this?”

She could almost feel Archer’s answering grin. No, not really.

Rin ground her teeth in annoyance. “Your arrogance is becoming excessive, Archer. Is this really the time to be flippant?”

The Servant’s reply was immediate and apologetic. Sorry…I’m not trying to make light of the situation. I know this isn’t easy for you.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is the duty of a magus chosen to fight in the Holy Grail War, is it not?”

Archer didn't respond, lost in his own thoughts. ‘You can't save him, Rin. It was not my intention to kill him in front of you, but it seems the mutability of fate is limited. Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka will confront each other this evening, regardless of my efforts.’

And so the pair waited as time passed, the traffic of students slowly diminishing until the corridors were empty. For Rin, the hours crawled by with an agonizing slowness – as each moment passed, she dared to hope that perhaps Shirou had already left, that he was even now safe at home, eating dinner with Fujimura-sensei and Sakura. Archer’s uncanny ability to predict the future notwithstanding, perhaps she would not have to hurt anyone today.

Thus, it was with great despair that she recognized the lone boy walking down the hall, deep in thought. Quickly, she pushed her thoughts aside, considering what form of attack she should utilize against the red-haired Master. His amazing ability to regenerate would have to be taken into consideration if she aimed to injure, rather than kill. So she’d need to take away his Command Spells if she wanted to ensure that he’d stay away from the war. As he came into her range, she carefully pointed her index finger in his direction, a shadowy orb forming at the tip of the digit.

Gand? She could feel the invisible frown of her Servant upon her back. Use something stronger, Rin. Something that won’t even leave ashes.

“Shut up, Archer,” she growled quietly, then moaned in frustration as she lost her aim. “Do you mind?”

What?

“The murderous aura emanating from you is so palpable that I can’t even concentrate properly. What’s your problem?”

Hurriedly, she tried to prepare another burst of magic, but it was too late. Shirou had stopped and was looking directly at her.

“Hey, Tohsaka,” he greeted her. “Why are you here so late?”

Maybe it was better this way. She’d despised the idea of attacking him like an assassin anyway, and besides, his cluelessness was ticking her off. She needed to lecture him for making her do something like this.

“Emiya-kun,” she began calmly. “Do you know how much of an absolute idiot you are?”

He looked at her without comprehension, his mouth agape. How she hated his ridiculous trust and naivety!

“I told you that we were enemies, didn’t I? So why are you standing in front of me without your Servant?”

“But Saber wouldn’t fit in here! Besides, we’re only supposed to fight at night, when there’s no one around, right? It’s still daylight...”

“True…but do you see anyone around now, Emiya-kun?”

He looked around as if just noticing his surroundings, blinking in surprise. Meanwhile, Rin rolled up her sleeve, exposing the Magic Crest inscribed on her forearm. Channeling her magical energy through the crest would amplify the speed and effectiveness of her Gand spell. Most mages would have mocked her decision to specialize in such a “useless” form of magic, but her Gand was powerful enough to render a target unconscious while consuming only a minimal amount of prana – it was more than enough to deal with the untrained, mediocre mage in front of her, should he foolishly attempt to resist.

“Emiya-kun…I have the advantage here, but if you do what I say, I won’t kill you.”

She kept her tone as non-threatening as possible, given the circumstances. If he bolted, there was a much greater chance of her accidentally killing him. Wincing inwardly at the growing anger from her Servant, Rin informed the other Master of her intention to take his Command Spells.

“I might rip out the nerves in your arm, but that’s better than dying, right? Just give up quietly,” she concluded coaxingly, feeling quite proud of herself for circumventing Archer’s ultimatum.

“No.”

It was Rin’s turn to gape in confusion at Shirou’s unilateral refusal of her intended mercy. “W-what? You can’t seriously be planning to fight in such a situation…?”

“I won’t betray Saber just to save myself. Sorry, Tohsaka, but I won’t let you have my Command Spells.”

“I told you, didn’t I, Rin? No matter how much you try to save him, he won’t listen to you. You’re just wasting your breath, although I’ll congratulate you on such a clever attempt to preserve his life.”

Both Rin and Shirou looked in surprise at the figure who had suddenly materialized on the scene. Archer stepped out from behind his Master, looking grim.

“Shirou Emiya. You’ve stepped upon my Master’s pride quite enough. For a genius like her to lower herself to negotiating with the likes of you, even a thousand years of pain would be insufficient compensation for the humiliation.”

“Archer…” Shirou’s resolve seemed to waver slightly, his eyes darting between the Servant and his Master.

“What’s wrong? You were so confident before…I guess even a moron like you can remember the last time you tried to fight a Servant, huh?”

The redhead’s eyes widened with the recollection of Lancer’s spear piercing his heart and Berserker's blade nearly severing his body. If he attempted to fight Archer, the same thing would happen. Unconsciously, his eyes travelled to the Command Spells emblazoned on his hand.

Should you be attacked by enemies, call me using your Command Spells.

He raised his hand into the air. “Come –”

“As if I’d let you!”

Archer leapt from the stairs swiftly, twin swords forming in his hands as he travelled through the air. Without hesitation, he slashed at the redhead’s throat, missing by inches.

“There’s a trick to the use of Command Spells, Shirou Emiya. If you can’t concentrate and communicate your desire to your Servant, the spell won’t work!”

The red-garbed Servant leapt to attack once again, performing an intricate series of thrusts and slashes. Although his speed was reduced due to his injury, it was inconceivable that the boy in front of him would be able to dodge in time. Yet, dodge he did, somehow managing to evade each swing by ducking left and right.

“I see that Saber’s been training you to overcome the fear that accompanies impending death and slows your reactions. A normal human would be in bloody pieces by now.” Archer continued to attack as he spoke, each deadly swing barely missing its target. “But…it’s over.”

Suddenly halting the arc of his blade, Archer dropped into a crouch underneath Shirou’s guard, then launched a nearly perpendicular kick directly into the boy’s chin. The redhead’s body flew in an upward spiral before falling to the ground nearly two meters away, limbs splayed like a ragdoll.

“Shirou!” screamed a voice from the top of the stairs. Archer looked behind him briefly to see Rin running down the steps three at a time. Before she could dash past him, Archer held out an arm to stop her.

“That’s your enemy, Rin. You don’t help an enemy.”

Her face contorted with indecision as the lessons she’d been taught from childhood conflicted with her conscience. He turned his back on the troubled girl, refocusing his attention on his fallen foe. Although Archer’s kick would have broken the neck of a less resilient Master, Shirou merely seemed dazed, shaking his head groggily. Archer narrowed his eyes and took a step forward, but nearly pitched forward onto the ground as his right leg threatened to collapse underneath his weight. He cursed softly as he looked down to see blood oozing from the heavy leather boot.

“I had nearly forgotten…the price for attacking a body made of swords. However, even that body will be unable to withstand a weapon of Noble Phantasm rank. This is as far as you go, Shirou Emiya.”

So saying, he raised his blades as if to hurl them into the prone body of his nemesis, but found himself unable to release the swords. It was if his entire body was gripped by invisible hands, holding him captive.

“W-what?”

“I’m sorry, Archer. I’m a failure as your Master.”

Shaking with the effort, Archer turned his head to look behind him, his eyes widening with surprise at the unexpected sight. Rin stood with her hand outstretched, a bluish glow surrounding her body. Sweat trickled down her face as she struggled to overcome the innate magic resistance all knight-class Servants possessed. It was already incredible that such a low-level paralysis spell had worked on him, but to maintain it would have required reserves of prana that a normal mage could never even dream of.

Rin smiled sadly, tears leaking from her eyes. “I guess this is the end between us, eh, Archer? You won’t help me after this. I’m really sorry I let you down…I just didn’t want to see Emiya-kun die anymore. I know, I’m a terrible mage, right? Forgive me…”

Archer felt the restraint on his body disappear as the dark-haired girl collapsed to the floor, panting heavily. He quickly ran to her side, supporting her with an arm around her shoulders.

“Rin! Get a hold of yourself!”

His attention was drawn away by a shuffling sound a few meters away. He looked up to see the red-haired Master rising slowly to his feet, his eyes blazing with determination. Their eyes locked for a moment before Shirou spoke, raising his hand into the air.

“Come, Saber!”

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A/N: As far as I know, Command Spells react even to the Master's unconscious emotions, so there is no such rule as "needing to concentrate" to use one. Sorry...artistic license? Please read, rate, and review!