12 CH XII

He bears his sword, flicking it to the side before come swinging it. The black living ooze offered almost no resistance before it puffed into smoke and disappeared.

His golden eyes glanced hopefully at the place where it had disappeared. There is nothing. He sighed again, this is getting tiring.

"Sakuya, how about you?"

He looked to his side, Sakuya let out a few balls of flames at dozen of slime chasing her. She sighed exasperatedly at the results and brought her hand on the temple. Still nothing. "You know it Shirou, you know it."

She approached him, before taking a seat on a rock. The heat didn't bother her tired state. The sun gazed proudly up from above, the searing temperature blurred the scenery. Few greenery could withstand the treacherous weather of Gran Terrano deserts, the place they currently in.

Sakuya pulled a small scroll that tied on her waist. She made a few signs and with a poof of smokes, two water bottles appeared on top of it. She handed Shirou one, taking a big gulp before sighing again.

"How long has it been."

"A week, A week I suppose."

Sakuya responded weakly.

"Your luck suck Shirou."

"So do you."

"Believe me, it's not always like this."

They stared wistfully. They'd taken a quest to gather 3 small crystals. A task they thought as trivial - not end up as failure like this. The crystal can be dropped from Slime of any variant.

The problem was that the probability for it to drop was about 2 out of 1000. Not to mention the gate would not always spawn slime every so often. No wonder the reward is exorbitantly high. They ought to read between the lines as the next lesson.

"Then how many have we got."

"None. Though on the other side we get a few dozens of elemental crystals, jewels, fur, and bird feather." She counted on her memories of the loot they'd get -all deposited to her storage scroll. She looked to the side, "That and a few hundred pineapples I guess."

Shirou raised his eyebrows, he didn't pay any attention before, but seeing a mountain of pineapples before him made him grimaced inwardly. "You'll let them get spoiled? That's unlike you Sakuya."

The merchant girl simply shrugged, "I have no space left. Nappie's pineapple drop is not really tasty anyway, the weather ruins it the moment it dropped."

He accepted the explanation, though frowned momentarily at the wasted food.

"C'mon Shirou. They coming"

Sakuya motioned him towards a horde of monster that had been spitted out of the magic gate when they took a break. He bares his sword again as Sakuya prepared a few of her spells or Jutsu as she often called it.

Culling monsters for a week over and over again had made their teamwork impeccable. Shirou on the front, Sakuya close on the back -supporting him. It was simple but effective for the two-cell team.

Shirou made short-work of the monsters, cutting them down with his Katana. It was an odd sensation at first for him when he about to slid the blade out of its Saya instead both his hands would grasp twin blades that were not there.

Muramasa's memory and belief had staunched deeply inside his core, whereas Shirou Emiya sees sword simply as tools, the famed blacksmith sees them as an object of worship and pride.

One blade to outmatched a thousand pale imitation. A part of Muramasa had shaken his head in derision upon Shirou's belief. The unification of their spiritual core was complete and without complication, however, it doesn't rules out their pride, belief, and dream.

For over a month he had to agonizingly fight inside his head until they reached a state of understanding. Shirou owed the old man for freeing him out of Alaya grasp, and so does Muramasa when passing his teaching and dream.

That moment signified when Shirou stopped being "Emiya" the counter guardian that foolishly chase an impossible dream in favor of chasing another, if not impossible, foolish dream. To forge a blade that cut karma and fate.

He didn't take pride in his other title "Faker" no more. He use his projection and reality marble when it was absolutely necessary, although he did enjoy the part where Muramasa experience made his tracing stronger.

"Yatta~! Shirou look, look Shirou!"

Sakuya jumped in excitement, her eyes gleaming. After the dust settled, they saw not one but two small twinkles on the ground. Sakuya hurriedly jumped after it as she held the two green crystals up above.

He breathed a sigh of relief, before briefly scowling they had to get another one.

"Two crystal get! Finally, now on to another one."

Shirou curled his lip upward seeing Sakuya high spirit. It's not really bad, he thought. Hopefully, they can go home tomorrow. He still had a job at Miyako Inn, and hopefully, Shino would forgive him over the extended leaves. Whom he kidding, there will be two, not one, Ashura masks when they returned.

In the afternoon, Shirou was never been grateful to his E-rank luck when they get their last crystal. They slept on a tent they've set up before. Despite Sakuya feminine appearance, he found the girl very outgoing and unreserved -maybe she just trusted him. Shirou never thought long of it as long as he doesn't get called as a pervert, beaten, and a Gandr shoved up to his ass.

The journey it took from the deserts back to the town takes about a day, the distance is fairly far. There's no point in hurrying. Sakuya would sometime glaze details of surrounding landmarks to him, and he found it enjoyable when around Sakuya company.

Not long when they about to enter the town, Sharance Tree in their sight, Sakuya and Shirou encountered Shara ran towards them with a pale face. Panic in her voice.

"Help!"