บท 14: Allied Front
(A/N: Y'all had more of a reaction than me. I feel kinda bad actually, here's a chapter.)
Bazett released a small sigh but didn't react any further than that, such a thing was to be expected from a teenager and so it didn't irk her at all, what DID irk her though was the smirk on Aston's face as Artoria parted from him, looking as if all the embarrassment that should've been there from the start had finally started kicking in.
"You're.." He wasn't smirking at the situation, he was smirking at her, "Are you picking a fight?" Bazett spoke monotonously, stepping closer to Shirou in a bid for not facing her servant's ire alone. She fixed her gloves as the teen stumbled to the side, still wary of them but now armed with a reinforced metal pipe, "And aren't you two supposed to be enemies?"
""No.""
The synchronised response almost managed to throw her for a loop but then she sighed again, rubbing her temple. It would be stupid to think that the two servants before her would fight one another, not now that they seemed like long lost lovers or something.
Aston smiled gently, appreciative of the fact that his ki-, no, Artoria still displayed hesitance on her face and in her smile. No matter how much he mattered, the servant knew hers was a deeply rooted trauma that wouldn't simply go away from one exchange BUT, that didn't discourage him one bit!
It just meant that he would continually butt heads with the stubborn woman until she finally accepted the facts.
"My, I was of the belief the Japanese were a hospitable and respectful people." Aston stared at a confused Shirou, placing an armoured hand over his mouth, "It appears that I've been given false information, you didn't even offer us water."
This seemed to only confuse the auburn haired teenager further, "You weren't trying to kill me?" That was what magi were like, they would kill any that had the poor luck to interrupt them unknowingly right?
"What gave you that idea?" Bazett tilted her head slightly, staring at him as if he were an idiot, "I would only have removed your memories regarding the incident but.." She stared at the reinforcement magic being employed by him, "If you are a magus, then we need only negotiate and report you to the land's overseer." The overseer being the Master they'd faced earlier, stomping out her servant.
That would be the case at least, only, he seemed to be a Master too and of a servant hers would rather die than fight. Bazett didn't want to force her servant to do such a thing, not after he helped her cope with betrayal and one sidedly declared himself her friend.
Artoria wiped her tears away and looked at Shirou, "Master, I would prefer not fighting my knight." She would not do it willingly no matter what, she could not.
"My Master," Aston looked at the sighing Bazett, "I too would not prefer defeating my king."
A prolonged silence descended on the compound as Aston finished his sentence. In his defence, he did realise he forgot to consciously change his speech to be more respectful right the next instant.
Artoria turned her head to stare right at him, a serious expression on her face, "Sir Aston, do you mean to say you believe yourself the superior warrior?" She was the King who wielded Excalibur even if her rule was wrong, she had fought and won wars, she was the King of Knights.
"My King, I do believe we've established I did not follow you for your superior strength." The Knight of Atrocity averted his gaze, unable to stop himself from smiling about how nice this whole ordeal felt, "That said, I would lose because I would never raise my blade."
"That way there would be no combat." Artoria smiled as memories of all their adventures passed through her mind, it also reminded her of Lancelot and the relationship between the two.
She didn't have the right to raise her blade to Aston after all she'd done to him.
Nodding to himself, Shirou made his decision, "Then, come in please." He knew if they wanted him dead, they could easily do it at any moment. He'd seen with his own two eyes how fast the armoured servant moved and, that exchange earlier.
He felt there was no way it could be fabricated, if it could, then he didn't mind being fooled.
But, if it was to be believed, then the two armoured individuals were exactly what he strived to be, heroes who had discarded even themselves, their desires for the sake of the masses, moved by compassion, motivated by the age they were in.
* * *
"S-Sir Aston! P-Please." Artoria breathed roughly, making the two magi in the traditional japanese styled room blush from embarrassment, "We can not!"
"But my King, I've worked for this my whole life."
"That.. Still! It is immoral for a king to-"
Artoria was cut off by her baser instincts taking over and leapt for the wooden table, or to be precise, the sizzling steak on top of it, accompanied by a variety of dishes, including both fish and vegetables, that Aston had just thrown together from what he could find in Shirou's kitchen.
She scarfed it down with not an ounce of the dignity one would expect from a king of her stature, and stared at the grinning Aston with stars in her eyes, slight drool sliding down from her open mouth.
"More. Your king demands more."
"Understood."
To be fair, it wasn't exactly too irrational for Aston's cooking to be abnormally good considering he'd spent over three decades honing his skills in the craft, alongside combat of course.
Bazett sat to the side with her legs crossed, nodding in unspoken understanding of the King's actions, she'd eaten his cooking before and she was pretty sure other food would taste bland for the rest of her life.
Still though, this was King Arthur and the Knight of Atrocity? It was quite a strange feeling to be seeing two figures of mythical origin acting so goofily, so unrestrained, ESPECIALLY considering their stories.
Shirou Emiya, had very different thoughts running through his mind at the moment, "So this war is what caused the tragedy ten years ago?" His words cut down the bubbly atmosphere that had begun to form.
Bazett had explained to him the nature of the war they were fighting, and the extent of the damage it could cause if it went awry. Naturally, that also meant telling him how it had possibly scorched a part of the city.
Coincidentally, this was also the same incident Shirou was the sole survivor of and the chances of it happening once again were something he couldn't accept, not with how it had affected him as well as the countless families it tore apart.
The only logical conclusion someone as compassionate as him could make, driven by immense survivor's guilt and motivated further by his late adoptive father's dreams, was that they needed to put a stop to such a destructive event entirely, that would save the most lives.
"My King, let us work together this time." Aston smiled gently, he didn't trust the idea of an omnipotent wish granter at all, it was probably a scam or something like such propositions were most of the time.
Artoria hesitated, her posture faltered when her gaze landed on the hand Aston was holding out to her but she took it all the same, smiling in a show of genuine emotion. She still felt herself undeserving of such joy but knew how he was, he would insist on it until he got what he wanted.
"It is not something I would ever be averse to, Sir Aston."
"Aren't alliance discussions supposed to be held between the Masters?" Bazett crossed her arms under her chest, narrowing her gaze at the smiling Aston. He really was too willful sometimes.. not that she saw no merit in such a thing.
"Now then, good night my Master.." Aston abruptly stood up, looking in the general direction of the Church he'd faced the unidentified servant in, "I have an urgent matter to attend to." He looked at Artoria, "I trust I can rely on you to protect our newly allied front, my king?"
Artoria stood up too, making Aston sigh when he saw her expression, "It would not do well for me to hang back as you face the enemy." She'd done it before but never again, she wouldn't allow such a thing.
Especially so because she vividly remembered the field of corpses he'd left in his wake when she ordered him to crush her enemies for her. A..Also because she was worried she'd be met with the same sight as before.
"I'm not letting you fight my battles for me." Shirou strongly disagreed with the implied meaning, how could he let someone do something for his sake? He didn't.. couldn't accept that.
Aston tilted his head, "My King, I do believe you've struck coal in a gold mine." His helmet appeared in his hand as his armour formed all over his body, "A strange thing to pass considering your luck." He would expect her to strike diamonds in a coal mine if anything.
"I have some debts to repay." Bazett fixed her collars, it wasn't hard to understand what her servant was getting at and she was all for it, Kirei's actions were unforgivable.
* * *
You can find +7 chapters ahead at patre0n.com/Bleap, is what it's supposed to be but it's actually about 5 at the time. I don't want to give up quality for quantity so it's a bit slow of an update.
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