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Standing in the middle of a small grove of slender young trees in Fuyuki Central Park, Rin Tohsaka rocks back on her heels then slowly sinks to her knees in relief. Her plea to Alaya has been accepted, the contract created, and her fate sealed. Now all that’s left to do is the actual summoning.
“All” Yeah right. As if.
Rin knows that negotiating with the Will of Humanity had been the easy part, he will not be anywhere near as easy to convince. Then again, Rin knows she probably wouldn’t want him so badly if he was. His relentlessly stubborn nature has always called to the deep-rooted perversity in Rin’s soul. Never once in her life had she ever willingly trod the path-of-least-resistance.
She laughs self-mockingly, Why should my after-life be any different?
Carefully scribing a large circle in the moss-covered earth, she repeats the summoning spell in her mind as she carves arcane symbols in the dirt that will once again call him to her side. When she’s done, she rises to her feet, dusts her knees off, and smooths a hand over her long, black hair. Long gone are the thigh-hi socks, mini-skirt and twin-tails of her youth. A woman grown, she stands before the circle with her hair loose around her shoulders, clothing smart but practical for an outdoor summoning on a cold winter’s night. She shuts out the fleeting moment of vanity that worries he won’t find her as attractive as he once did. There’s no room for doubt here. Ultimately, her fate is sealed no matter what he decides.
Looking up at the moon, Rin begins to chant words of power and intent, infusing them with her mana and will, while subconsciously lacing them with desperate hope and desire, her own private mantra playing in the background of her mind…
Return to me…return to me…return to me…
This time he materializes as he should, right in the center of the circle before her. At first just the hazy outline of a tall, broad-shouldered man appears, then slowly, oh so slowly the figure begins to solidify. First the outline simply fills in and grows opaque, then subtle details begin to emerge-the dips and curves of defined muscles-the black of armor-the red of a holy shroud-the shock of white hair against dark-golden skin and finally the steely gray of piercing eyes glowering at her from within the glow of the circle’s magic light. Thought has clearly returned to him before speech. However, the latter isn’t far behind as she can see him drawing breath over lips parted in preparation for what looks to be a scathing tirade.
“Archer, before you say anything,” she forestalls him by saying. “This was my choice.”
His face twists, and he thunders out in spite of her warning, “What the hell have you done?” Striding forward, he grips her by the shoulders the moment his feet finish materializing.
“What in god’s name have you done, girl? Tell me!” he shakes her once, staring hard into her eyes.
Rin lifts her chin, ready and willing to defend her actions. She harbors no uncertainties nor shame over what she’s done, and no matter what he decides, she will never ever regret it. Meeting his glare with one of her own she snaps,
“You can see very well what I’ve done. I’ve brought you back.”
“For what? For god’s sake, why?!”
“I should think that would be obvious, even for you, Archer. Because I wanted to.”
Releasing her shoulders he steps back, arms rising to press the heels of his hands into his eyes.
“I am flesh, Rin. This is far beyond what you are capable of, no matter how brilliant a magus you are. This is true magic. No human living can perform that anymore.”
He takes a deep breath, visibly calming himself through sheer force of will. His voice is low and steady when he next speaks,
“Tell me. Tell me what you did, tell me what you gave to make this happen.”
“I made a deal with your boss.”
When Archer’s hands fall away from his face his eyes are wide, his mouth slightly gaping.
“My boss?!”
Chin rising to an even more defiant tilt, Rin confirms, “You heard me.”
“You didn’t. Tell me you didn’t!”
“But I did.”
“What the hell is wrong with you? Why on earth would you do such a thing? Did you learn nothing from my fate? How could you be so wreckless?!” Voice rising with every word, he is shouting by the time he’s finished. And though her breath comes faster and her heart rate rises, outwardly Rin remains unfazed, meeting his gaze unflinchingly.
“Your fate...what do you think I learned? Idiot! Your fate is exactly why I did this.”
He recoils and stares at her uncomprehending. “What?”
“You…you think that everything that happened to you was all your fault, don’t you? It’s never once occurred to you that everyone around you failed, has it?”
“That’s because it is my fault. No one failed but me.”
“Bullshit!” she snaps. “Everyone, every single person around you failed, Emiya. They failed you. No one did right by you, no one even tried to set you straight. We just watched you rush headlong into your own destruction, never even putting out so much as a hand to stay you.”
Suddenly, like a wire being cut, all the tension leaves his body and he slumps where he stands, his eyes sliding from hers.
“That isn’t true, and you know it, Rin.”
When he raises his chin again, his eyes are uncharacteristically soft.
“You tried. It just…it didn’t get through until it was too late.”
“Well, it’s not too late anymore.”
The temporary softening of his face is gone in an instant. Mouth firming, and jaw clenching as his gaze sharpens once more, he again grinds out the question she still has yet to answer.
“What. Did. You. Do?”
“I made a deal. A life for an afterlife, yours for mine.”
“Break it,” he barks instantly. “Now. Damn you! Before it’s too late, send me back and break it!”
“I can’t. You don’t have to stay with me, you don’t even have to stay, but I can’t take it back. What’s been done cannot be undone.”
“Why? Why would you do such a thing? For me? I’m not worth it! No one is worth the hell you’ve condemned yourself to!”
She knows exactly what she’s agreed to. She’s seen in dreams what became of him after he died and she’s not afraid. Eyes wide open she’s made her decision.
“I didn’t do it just for you. You know me better than that; I could never be that selfless.” She shrugs negligently. “I wanted you back. Simple as that, I wanted my Archer. I didn’t get to have you nearly long enough the last time.”
He stares at her then, slowly shaking his head, face blank with what she can only assume is shock.
“What about him? What about Shirou?”
She tilts her head a little, mouth tugging up to one side. “He’s a lovely boy but he’s not the you I want.”
He snorts in disbelief. “What? A bitter, broken old man?”
“A sharp, snarky, stubborn bastard with a hidden heart of gold.” Gaining confidence as she speaks, she dares to approach him for the first time.
Never taking her eyes from his, she draws close and reaches up to curve her palm along the strong, square line of his jaw.
“Someone who constantly challenges me, someone who would never in a million years just roll over for me. Someone who knows how to fight; one who’s learned that he has to fight for himself first if he’s ever going to fight for anyone else.”
“You…you said you’d make sure…make sure that he’d never become me.”
“And yet here you are. That means that somewhere, in some reality, Rin Tohsaka failed. But not this one. Shirou will be fine. He’s got Saber to look after him.”
Archer’s mouth twists then, as if tasting something unpleasant.
“He might console himself with her, but it’s you that he wants.”
“And he’ll get me,” she replies, eyeing him significantly. “He’ll just have to wait a while.”
Archer lets out a huff of exasperation but says nothing, just continues to meet her eyes, his own dim with frustrated anger and unhappiness. However, deep down, somewhere in the back of his eyes she can see a faint glimmer of hope and she can sense the longing in the tense sway of his body
“Stay,” she softly commands him. “Stay with me. I’ll never forgive you if you leave me again. My fate is in your hands now, so take responsibility.”
“You’re a hard woman, Tohsaka.”
“Yes, but you love that about me.”
He finally scoffs at that. “Really sure of yourself, aren’t you little girl?”
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet but I’m not a little girl anymore.”
“I noticed,” he says grimly. “Believe me, I’ve noticed.”
A full-blown smile unfurls across her lips at that.
“Don’t tell me my Archer feels threatened now?”
“I’ve always felt threatened by you, minx.”
“Face it, you love that about me.”
“God help me, I do,” he finally admits. “I really do.”
“Good, because starting from now, you’re stuck with me forever.”
“Or at least until I die…again.”
Rin decides to take the small victory as it stands now and not tell him about the other concession she managed to wrest from Alaya when she made her contract. There is time enough and more to tell him later. After all, Archer really is hers now, for all eternity…even if he doesn’t know it yet.