[RL with Archer: Backdated to the 12th]

[jewelslinger]

By all accounts, today had been a perfectly normal day. She had gone to school, sat dutifully through her classes, eaten lunch with Shirou and Sakura in the cafeteria the way she always did now (today Issei had even joined them on the pretense of asking Shirou to fix yet another piece of broken electronic equipment), and at last headed home.

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[steelisblood]

Archer was very well acquainted with the phrase, "Fate's a Bitch." He was living proof that Fate was indeed a Bitch in every sense of those three words. All he'd wanted to do was see that no one cried around him.

That's all he wanted, to protect people and kept them happy.

Of course, since he never really explained his actions to anyone else because no one would understand. He'd started with that beautiful ideal of his father's and he was only betrayed by it. He'd been empty when his foster father had found him and his dream seemed to make him less hollow, gave him a purpose instead of a walking corpse.

He would have even been happy to serve the World after death helping others, except he didn't know the details of the deal he made.

Even though, he probably would have made it again knowing what he did now.

Superheroes just did stuff like that, sacrificing themselves for the greater good, right?

Except he was put into hell time and time again, over and over. The people he wanted to protect became bitter to him. He in turn became bitter, angry that all he could see was the worst possible side of humanity over and over again. Bitter to the point that he'd end his own existence.

He even crafted a plan to kill his younger self by fighting in the Fifth Grail War. After all, Rin would use her pendent to summon a Servant, the same pendent that she'd used to save him in his life time. So, Rin summoned him in several different realities and he went.

Each time in the beginning he'd been blown away with her, all of his mortal desires and wishes coming back.

Desires in the name of Tohsaka Rin.

It was enough to stay his hand on his younger self in two realities, he'd come close to in the third, and more importantly, he had his faith renewed. However, Rin had asked him to stay with her. He'd declined, knowing that he'd only come between her and his past self and that if Emiya Shirou had stayed with Toshaka Rin, a hero like him would never be born. He promised her that he do like she would and try her best and then faded back to the Throne.

He'd been fully prepared to make the best of his existence as a Guardian.

Only to find himself back home and needing Mana to continue his existence on this plane.

And to find Rin? Alone? Of course he'd been drawn to her. He'd always had been and always would. He'd always wanted her, his only selfish desire, to be with Rin. Besides, if the World planted here for whatever reason, he was going to make the best of it.

After he reestablished a link with her.

So, he stood outside of her home, just like any normal man, dressed even in street clothing. He lifted his hand to the door and took a deep, unneeded breath. Then he proceeded to knock on the door.