ARCHER ♤ an unknown hero. ♤ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
swordedpast) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
towerofanimus2012-10-09 01:23 am
swordedpast) wrote in towerofanimus2012-10-09 01:23 am
"I saved you"
Characters: Archer and anyone who wants to greet him--so OPEN.
Setting: Tonight, room 3-16 and the hallway outside it.
Format: Starting with prose, but feel free go to action brackets if you'd rather!
Summary: Someone new shows up in the Tower and has some unusual reactions.
Warnings: Probable violence and likely angst.
There's a strange sound echoing out of room 3-16 tonight. What makes it even stranger is that the voice behind it is someone new. Here's what makes it so strange: it's laughter. There's a new person in the Tower, and he is laughing.
The laughter goes on for almost a minute, at times bubbling near to hysteria. Finally, though, it cuts off, and a much smaller sound can be heard: the *CRUMP* of paper being balled up and flung away. And Archer stalks out of the room.
(He just read the letter, you see. It said, I saved you. That's why he was laughing.)
He stands in the middle of the hallway with a disinterested look for a minute; apparently all the mirth has been drained out of him. Then he shrugs and throws his hands up in front of him. "It isn't very much of a new home. Well, why don't I test it out?" And without him appearing to draw them from anywhere, twin swords, black and white, flash into his hands.
He swings them at the wall, hard. And the blades shatter, and the shards vanish into thin air.
The man in the red coat is left blinking down at his hands, then at the wall he struck. He doesn't look too surprised, though--and what little surprise he does have on his face is rapidly fading to resignation.
Setting: Tonight, room 3-16 and the hallway outside it.
Format: Starting with prose, but feel free go to action brackets if you'd rather!
Summary: Someone new shows up in the Tower and has some unusual reactions.
Warnings: Probable violence and likely angst.
There's a strange sound echoing out of room 3-16 tonight. What makes it even stranger is that the voice behind it is someone new. Here's what makes it so strange: it's laughter. There's a new person in the Tower, and he is laughing.
The laughter goes on for almost a minute, at times bubbling near to hysteria. Finally, though, it cuts off, and a much smaller sound can be heard: the *CRUMP* of paper being balled up and flung away. And Archer stalks out of the room.
(He just read the letter, you see. It said, I saved you. That's why he was laughing.)
He stands in the middle of the hallway with a disinterested look for a minute; apparently all the mirth has been drained out of him. Then he shrugs and throws his hands up in front of him. "It isn't very much of a new home. Well, why don't I test it out?" And without him appearing to draw them from anywhere, twin swords, black and white, flash into his hands.
He swings them at the wall, hard. And the blades shatter, and the shards vanish into thin air.
The man in the red coat is left blinking down at his hands, then at the wall he struck. He doesn't look too surprised, though--and what little surprise he does have on his face is rapidly fading to resignation.
no subject
[ Her voice is soft, uncertain of being called that. Even now she's used to Servants drawing their weapons on her. Something about her aura, wasn't it? What did that bitch of a Servant say whenever he tried to stab her? Her smell? Corruption was always a thing that made her stand out to those who could sense it.
What was that though?
"In the reality of my Fifth Grail War, Sakura bears the name Matou and you are of the Tohsaka. An accomplished magus and master in your own right, you summoned the Servant Archer, following in your father's footsteps."
That beautiful haunting voice reminds her of something that was said last month. If this was her Servant from the Fifth Holy Grail War, from Saber's, then it's all too easy to logically piece this man as 'Archer'.
Funny, she always thought an Archer might use a bow and arrow. Not... swords? ]
It's rude to pull weapons on an unarmed person, don't you think? [ At least she keeps her wits about her. ] Although if they are good as the ones you used previously, I shouldn't be concerned with them greatly.
[ Maybe this had been a mistake. It might be easy to assume that she messed up, that he didn't clear the way fully for her, or that her foot splashed in something she shouldn't have. Ah, but only if she held that knowledge. She might have been able to explain to him what was going on instead of just staring at him as though he were a gnat and not a thing more. ]
no subject
Great. Her botched summoning is still messing with him-- ]
Hah, don't take me lightly, Rin. I know you're never unarmed, right? Not any more than I am.
[ And when he finds himself saying that, he knows that he can't think something as casual as a complaint about her botched summoning, because looking at her like this hurts him too much. It's not an illusion. Maybe it's something the Tower did--but it's not an illusion. ]
Do you want me to show you how good they are?
[ A bluff. Of course. ]
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If you like, but I should tell you the disappointing news. [ Letting go, her hands fall to her sides lazily. Yes, there's something more depressing than the traces of Angra Mainyu on his Master. ] You can kill me, but I would just resurrect.
Although I do think taking the gamble of death would be worth it to see you withdraw your Noble Phantasm. Those blades... [ Motioning to the ones in his hands. ] They are weak. Shatter easily. They can't be your true weapons.
[ Lancer had been ignorant enough to withdraw his lance on her to confirm that he was indeed like her own Lancer. This one though? He seems to be a bit smarter than the average Servant in this place. ]
So you're welcomed to try, but know the risks that come with it. People don't die when killed and they learn more about you each and every time. Worth it now to slay me?
no subject
His gaze flickers to her reaching hand, takes note of it, and he almost lets himself find hope there. If she has the pendant, he must have given it back to her, right? She must have only forgotten... ]
I don't know if that's disappointing. I wouldn't want a Master who died so easily in a place like this. Even if she's not cooperating with me anymore.
...I wouldn't show you my Noble Phantasm this early in the game even if you were cooperating with me, so it won't work to bait me for it. Okay? There's no point in bothering.
Hmm. That means there's no point in me bothering to kill you now either, is there?
[ And so he can duck gracefully back out of that bluff. ]
I wonder who dunked you in that cup of mud? It'd be easier to kill them.
no subject
[ Clucking her tongue (a habit she's picked up from Lancer admittedly), she takes a step towards him, almost as though she intends to dare him even still. ]
Mud? Are you saying something about my appearance then? How droll... I thought a reunion of this nature might be as irritating as the one I had with that girl. [ That's to say with him on the verge of tears. ] If I'm your Master in some variation of the war, you should still obey me.
[ And with a sinister voice unlike her usual teasing: ] So tell me your Noble Phantasm before I put you somewhere you'll have no choice but to use it.
no subject
[ ...the worst part is she's right. He still wants to obey her. But not on that. And yet--
--well, he has an out, sort of. ]
Do you truly want that, Rin?
[ And then there's the confirmation of his class, because he has a great black bow in his hands and is drawing back the string.
(If he fires off a shot here and takes down Rin, it'll be too close. The backlash will get him too. That's okay. That's suddenly completely okay.) ]
no subject
For a moment she considers calling forth Lancer, but it feels as though he will show up too late. The tower was large and to waste a Command Mantra was a risk not worth investing in. She hasn't called upon the darkness since her arrival, but the desperate animal that's caught in a corner wants to do it oh so badly. ]
C-Calling me by my name in that manner. [ Instead, she'll try to buy time (for what, she's uncertain of) by getting mad. Clumsy mistakes were often associated with her, but she's not in the mood to comment on the blatant one in this situation. ] So formally... It's Tohsaka, wasn't it? Just as that Saber said.
no subject
[ His eyes are so dead they don't give away the lie. It's barely a lie, anyway; that was so long ago, that wasn't him, it's best if he pretends he doesn't think of that as him. ]
So. Are you saying it's not Tohsaka for you?
[ He's smiling. It's not really a smile. It's something blank and flat and just as dead as those eyes of his. ]
Tell me about it. Rin. Maybe I won't shoot.
[ Give him a way out of this without shooting. No, it's even okay if he fires, and the backlash hits him, and she finds a way to escape. That's not so bad, because it might even give her a sense of triumph at the victory, and right now he'd settle for giving her a sense of triumph and, for his part, getting out of this. ]
no subject
And Rin? Rin's not stupid. ]
Fine, I will. [ Not that she has any say in the matter. ] I'm not a member of the Tohsaka family. I haven't been for years. The fact you know about that really bothers me.
[ It's just like her to say that. A secret is easier to keep if she brushes it off, but no, she has to draw attention to it. ]
I'm a member of the Matou family clan. You're familiar with them, aren't you?
no subject
He laughs it off--not the bubbling near-hysteria of earlier, just a quick, casual chuckle. ]
It's true that I exist to bother you.
[ If he can say things like that, he can pretend what they have is still what it was. ]
...yeah. I'm familiar with them.
[ From the way his expression shifts, then just sort of closes up, it's clear that he's making some connections from that, or at least starting to reach for them. He doesn't have enough pieces yet to put anything close to the puzzle together, but now he knows where to start looking for them. ]
And what of Matou Sakura?
no subject
She remained with her family. [ Vague on purpose. Almost as though it were a test to see just how much he knew about her. ]
no subject
[ A perfectly neutral word. Beneath it, he's remembering a ribbon he saw in Rin's room, a ribbon that looked like one in Sakura's hair... ]
I wonder what Servant Tohsaka Sakura summoned? I'm not sure she'd've been able to handle me like you could.
no subject
[ It's a honest answer at least. Becoming that thing Zouken needed to win the war made it so she was unable to tell the difference between reality and her nightmares. Did Sakura survive? She's not here, so there's no possible way to ask. Saber mentioned that Sakura had called forth Rider in her war, but why bring speculation up? ]
Not that I'm interested either way! [ Realizing that she hasn't outright denied caring about her, she blurts it out. ] She was probably a weak magus that died early on. That's what happens to those who play in games they aren't fit to be a part of.
no subject
[ He doesn't know what to make of her claim to lack of memory. Is that a result of the Grail's corruption of her? Or is it a lingering effect of whatever darkness lies beneath that, the darkness he doesn't want to acknowledge now exists in her?
He does know how to respond to the rest of what she says, though. ]
I don't believe you. No, even you don't believe that, Rin.
[ His smile is condescending and a little cruel; his fingers stay on the string of the empty bow. ]
You know, my Master has a problem...it's a sort of foolishness. She probably isn't fit to be part of the games of magi, even though she's a brilliant magus herself.
[ He keeps that smile on and does his best to make sure it stays cruel, because if he lets any tenderness in, all of this falls apart, and the bow will vanish from his hands, and he won't even be able to pretend that he can hurt her. ]
I say it's a sort of foolishness, but I mean that she's too kind. A true magus would say those things about her sister and mean it, but my Master would say them and be in tears on the inside somewhere. It's a real pain, and I'd probably end up cleaning up after that sort of thing.
[ He has to be right about this. Because if this Rin isn't crying somewhere inside, if the darkness truly goes that deep, he might as well give himself over to it as well.
And he doesn't know why he thinks that. Didn't he have better things to do than be this girl's Servant? This War has turned out so strangely. ]
You can stand there and lie if you want, but you said that I should still obey you. I guess that means you're still my Master.
And I think you're still more of a fool than a magus.
no subject
[ Her statement goes unfinished. Typical Rin, unable to complete any task once there's some kind of challenge presented. It isn't that she hates losing or even the mere fact that the path is difficult. In actuality, her logic is just so warped that she never sees a point to going after something so impossible. If victory isn't easily achieved, her efforts are better spent elsewhere. Why waste flame on a candle that will burn out within a couple of minutes when the effort of creating fire in the first place is better spent elsewhere? That's just how her mind always has been. It's not even a loss to her really. In her mind, she chooses how the things of her world come together.
In Rin's world, there's no room for people with arrogant smiles that really get under her skin. Someone like this man should be easily disposed of, especially in the manner in which he addresses her. Casually throwing around her first name as though they were childhood friends and speaking down to her.
It frustrates her further that she has to look up at him. To see that bow aimed for her and know that at any moment her life will be taken from her. All it takes is the wrong word and a magus practically from birth knows the importance of words. Sometimes an incantation takes too long.
Long enough for an opponent to pierce their heart. ]
I really am a fool, aren't I? [ A sad laugh finds it's way through her throat, forced against her will, but there all the same. ] I had been warned that I had a different Servant in another life, but I didn't think they would be stupid enough to get to me in this manner.
[ Stupid? Really? If anything he knows her better than she knows herself and that frustrates her, leaving her feeling more vulnerable than Zouken's ever made her experience. "It's true that I exist to bother you." If those words held any truth to them, then they have been validated through this mere conversation alone. ]
Fine, any idiot could figure out I mean well for my sister. That's why I left them all. I thought if I left in Sakura's place that she wouldn't have to suffer. That's the responsibility of the older sibling, isn't it? To do something of that nature... I was so stupid as a child thinking I could handle it all.
[ Then she lost her temper and Zouken took over. Lifting her hands to look at them, she stares as though she can see things Archer couldn't ever picture in her grasp. Her skin is unusually pale as though it were void a life, but there are red marks peeking from the sleeves of her jacket. Almost similar to the ones that stain the side of her face, usually covered by her hair. Oh but if someone were to look with experienced eyes, they could see every imperfection she's come to have as a result of actions she doesn't recall. ]
no subject
He keeps telling himself that. ]
Wow, you did a thing like that?
[ He keeps telling himself that so he can keep smiling, so he can keep the hard and mocking glint in his eyes. ]
I knew you were an idiot, but I thought you had more sense than that.
[ He tries to force a bleak and mean-spirited laugh out of his throat. It doesn't work out so well--of course he's long past the point where he can cry ordinary tears, but it still has the echo of a sob in it.
He can't remember why he cares; he can't remember why it hurts so much. That's probably residue of Rin screwing up the summoning, so he thinks he should castigate her for that sometime here, too.
He thinks-- ]
You were stupid as a child, and it seems like you're still stupid now.
[ And he slips. Oh, the bowstring is still drawn back, but sometime as he was speaking those last words, the cruelty left his smile in favor of something almost tender. ]
Heh. Don't worry, Master. This is a strange place, so she might show up, you know?
The little girl who thought she could handle it all.
[ The bowstring finally slackens. He lowers the weapon to his side.
He can't think anymore. He can't say reasonable things. Because Rin just told him that she chose to make the mistakes he made. ]
So, maybe that'll happen, and I'll kill her before she can ruin things for you.
no subject
[ Even when she insults herself, it's still laced with her egotistic pride. Only Rin can say something so stupid, so demeaning, and look proud all the same. ]
As for taking out that little girl... hm, that would be the best thing to do. If she shows up in this place, I'll hold you to your word. Kill her and spare me from this life. If I was gone, if I never existed in the first place, then no one would have had to leave the family.
[ Her mother might have not had to cry and Rin will never have to picture her father with that disappointing look on his face. Sakura, even Sakura will be happier without Rin around. No older sister to grieve for. ]
Now that that's decided, will you dismiss your weapon? I know I'm intimidating, but a heroic spirit shouldn't show cowardliness before a teenager girl. It looks strange.
no subject
‘I suppose I'm a disappointment all the same, aren't I?’
He's wrong, though. Her words function as a slap to him, and he blinks, and the fury and despair dissipate like thin mist. He stops seeing the shadow of himself and returns to seeing his Master broken and hurting. Even as she keeps saying those things, even as she expresses the same wish he has.
As the bow disappears from his hands, he laughs. It's not the mad laughter that heralded his arrival here, but something quiet and sad. ]
We always were a strange pair, Rin. So you shouldn't worry about it.
[ That's all he can say. ]
no subject
[ It's been decided. ] From this point forth, we're no longer strange together. If you do anything that I consider weird, I'll make you pay for it.
[ At least she's slipping back into a more comfortable state of familiarity around the man. Honestly, he's the third Servant to threaten her with their weapon, but she's managed to sneak out of it every time. Plus, he's made a promise that she's not going to forget anytime soon. If he was willing to pull a weapon on her now, who knows that the future might hold for any variation of her that shows up. ]