Part 302: Miserable lone force / Tiger Dojo 28

Music: Midnight Interval



Matou Zouken and Assassin.
The black shadow wandering around town.
The battle between Masters over the Holy Grail.
I chose to fight to stop it, and sacrificed Saber.
…Then I can't sacrifice anyone else.
I have to fight by myself from now on.


"Emiya-kun…? Why are you so quiet?
Is there something you haven't told me yet?"

"No, that's all. I lost Saber, and I'm not a Master anymore. There's no reason for me to fight you anymore."





"Yeah. I'm out of the war. An amateur like me has no chance of winning without Saber's help."

I stand up.
Leaving Tohsaka behind me, I head for the door.

"Bye, Tohsaka. Watch out for Zouken."


"Hey, Emiya-kun"
I open the door without turning around.
I leave the rooftop as if to cut off my regret.

Music: Stop



"I have to look after Sakura, too. I'll wait until night for now."
Battles can wait.
I want to concentrate on nursing Sakura until then.
…I have some time, so I'll go to the shopping district and buy a few day's worth of groceries.





"Footprints…?"

Music: Footsteps of Destruction

I see something like footprints on the floor.
It's a trace of someone coming in with shoes on, and the house is free of any human presence.
The only shoes I see are Sakura's, and it seems the housekeeper I asked for has gone home.





"…There's blood."
There's a small trace of blood on the floor, as if someone coughed up blood here.
I get an intuition.
Sakura was here a while ago.
Sakura was in the living room, waiting for my return.

Traces of an intruder. Traces of blood.
The absence of Sakura, who should be sleeping sick.

That's all.
It's more strange not to draw a conclusion.
The answer is clear if I think about it just a bit.
Calmly.
Calmly.
Calmly.
Calmly think, and I can tell what happened here.

So, why
""
Why is my head not working at all?

I should've come home earlier.
I should've thought about it more seriously.
Didn't I have Sakura stay over for fear that something like this would happen?

Matou Zouken said Sakura is unrelated.
Why did I believe his words?
There's no way she's unrelated when she's part of the Matou family.

So why?
Why did I believe such a convenient story!?



"What did you do with Sakura?"
"Huh? Oh, I called you because I thought you'd be sad about Sakura not being there, but it seems you're more perceptive than that. That's amazing. You know what's going on before I've told you anything."

"Shut up. What did you do to Sakura?"
"Huh? I only took back what's mine. I can't leave her at someone else's house forever."

"Shinji."
"Haha! That's great, you're getting pissed! You're vexed that I took Sakura!"

Vexed…?
No way. I don't have such extra emotion.

"Don't waste my time. Just tell me what your business is."
"Hehyou should know. Let's decide our match. You don't think that previous fight was the end, right?"

"I do. You ran away. Everything was decided right then."

"It's not decided…! That's the difference in our Servants, not your power! I wouldn't have run away if Saber wasn't there! There's no way I'll lose if Saber doesn't come…!"

If Saber doesn't come…?
…I see. Rider must not have told Shinji that Saber was eliminated.
I don't know what Rider is thinking, but Shinji still thinks I'm a Master.
Ohthat must be why he kidnapped Sakura.
In short, this phone call is to…

"Shinji. What are you going to do with Sakura?"
"Nothing. But that would depend on what you do.
I won't do anything to Sakura if you come alone. You know what that means, right?"

"Yeah. You want me to fight you without Saber, right?"

"Wow, you're pretty bright today. Look, we'll fight at school. I'll give Sakura back to you if you come alone.
…Oh, but don't try to pull any shit with me. Rider set up a boundary field over the school. I'll know right away if you bring Saber along.
If that happensI can't guarantee what'll happen to her."

"Ow…!"
I hear a sound of him kicking something.

"I'll go right away. Don't do anything else to Sakura."
"Hah…! Fine, I'll take that exchange.
But still, didn't you take your time coming home?
You say not to do anything else to Sakura, but even I can't think of any other things to do to her that I haven't already tried."

"What did you do to Sakura, Shinji?"
"Who knows? I got bored with punching her, so I gave her to Rider. It's just like that night. Rider bit Sakura's neck and"



Music: Stop







Music: Premonition of a Storm













I think this is the only time in the game we get to see Shinji's pimp outfit.

"Shinji…!"
"Hahso honest, Emiya. You came, just like you promised…!"

My brain boils up.
Sakura must be in the classroom.
I have to check if she's all right.
If Shinji would get in my way, I would mercilessly…


"It's your turn, Rider! It's the Master of the one who defeated you…! Repay him for that insult…!"



The black Servant stands in my way.
I don't care.
I can't stop, no matter who may be in front of me.







The distance is about five meters. I close in on Shinji in under two seconds, aim at the Command Spell controlling Rider, and…







"………!!!!?"
My tongue bulges from my mouth.
Something squeezes my neck from behind.



I hear Rider's voice from right behind me.
"Guh… kuh, ah…!"
My feet don't reach the ground.
Rider has wrapped a chain about my neck and lifted my body off the floor.

"Hagah, guh……!"
Suspended in the air like this, I can't do anything to resist.
Rider is out of sight behind me, and my neck is already

"You lost because you lost your composure, Saber's Master.
I cannot entrust Sakura to you. …Though it is not my will, you must die here."
"Guh, ……"





A bit more.
It's only a bit more, but my body is suspended in midair…

Music: Stop

…And I hear the sound of my neck breaking.



Video: Tiger Dojo 28 (mirror)












…Wait, the ground's shaking…




That voice, former pupil number one…!?
Hey, what's goingwhaaaaaaaaa


aaaat!?





Ready, target the Tiger Dojo!
Gunner, fire!



















Music: Gentle Everyday




Kyaaaaaaaaaa!???
Tiger! The Tiger I got from the former ***** army has been destroyed in one blow!?


Yes! I'm surprised as well!
By the way, Private First Class Ilya! I was really surprised that you came with a tank!


Oh… Teehee. I overdid it trying to surprise you. Am I full of fun?





Ilya:
Osu, thank you (cry).


It's fine if you understand.
I'd usually pull this joke a bit more, but it's getting tiresome, so I'll let you become my pupil again!


Eh, really, master?

Taiga:
Yup, really. There are twelve more Tiger Dojos.
I can't handle them all by myself.


Actually, I don't know what you'll come attacking with next if I let you loose.






Yeah, he will.


The chance of Shirou's death is highest in this route.
And it's in bad taste too. In contrast to the splatter-like deaths you cause, this route is more horrifying.


Wow. The one's character is displayed.


Yeah. So you be careful in your choices, okay, Shirou?
This dead end is, um… it's because you tried to fight by yourself even though Saber-chan's gone.


That's no good, Shirou. Your opponents are all monsters, so you have to team up with a monster you can use as a shield.
I know you don't want to, but go back to the choice and ask Rin.


And be careful with the choice after that. I don't know about a man doing everything he is told to do.




That's right.


Then let's meet again in the next Tiger Dojo!
The 9th day has four Tiger Dojos, so be careful in your choices!