The Perplexity Of Justice...

Chapter 6 - The Perplexity Of Justice...

A man stood in the darkness of an alley, looking out to the crowded streets. The artificial lights of the city at night weren't enough to illuminate the narrow space between buildings making it was the perfect place to observe without being seen.

With his back leaning against the concrete walls he picked up a cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number. Three rings later somebody picked up but no voice was heard.

"It's me," the man spoke. "The bait seems to have worked."

"I did not expect any less," the person on the other side of the line finally spoke. The voice wasn't distorted in any way but it still was impossible to identify the gender or the age of the speaker.

"I don't understand. If you wanted this one, why go after the other?"

"You need not to concern yourself with things like that," the voice said, and although he detected no change in tone , the man could swear he picked an 'or else' somewhere in that sentence.

"Very well," he said after a calculated moment of pause. "I will continue observing then. Or should I start with the second part of the plan already?"

"There is no need to hurry. Let the prey squirm a little more"

"You are treating this one with particular care. Why the special treatment?"

"…"

"Right, I'll mind my own business. Whatever. It's not like I give a damn so long as you pay up. Your other… associates, however, won't be happy with what you have in mind for them."

"They are… expendable," the voice said calmly.

"You are saying that like I wasn't," the man chuckled darkly.

"If anything, the awareness of your own limited usefulness makes you less so. And speaking of associates, what is the situation with yours?"

"I've got things under control," the man said confidently. "You'll have no problem from them on this. Still, I'm afraid that there might be a third player in the game."

"What do you mean?"

"Somebody has been asking the wrong kind of questions lately, and I'm afraid that no amount of money can buy loyalty. On the other hand it can loose more than a few tongues."

"Do you have any idea of who might be taking an interest in my businesses?"

"Well, for what I know you haven't crossed any of the local groups, so we can safely exclude them from the list. My colleagues are completely out of the loop and I would know if it was any different. That either means you have someone else out to get you specifically that I'm not aware about or…"

"Or?"

The man grinned in the darkness. "What do you know about the guy that goes by Archer?"

"ACHOOO!" Shirou sneezed loudly. "Ugh. Am I coming up with a cold?"

He had just returned from a fruitless night of investigations. Maybe it was nothing but it was better be careful. He couldn't afford to be bedridden at the moment.

Wearily he made his way back to his room and prepared to get his well deserved night of sleep. He wasn't happy with the results, or lack thereof, and neither were his friends. Even Sakura, who never once met the girl was obviously upset, even if only for Shirou's sake.

Even Issei, who had joined the group for entirely different reasons was quite discouraged. On the way back he looked pensive and he hadn't made the slightest remark against Tohsaka.

Speaking of Tohsaka, she was the one who took it worse. She was clearly downhearted and tired, both physically and mentally. When they accompanied her back home, before doing the same with Sakura, she barely thanked them for the help.

It wasn't like Shirou was expecting any immediate result from that particular avenue but he still felt discouraged that nothing had come out of it at all.

Now he was lying in his futon and couldn't sleep at all despite the sense of tiredness washing over him. His mind kept replaying any possible route a kidnapper could have taken from Kazama last know location.

Knowing it would serve no purpose he forced himself not to think about it. He needed to rest properly if he wanted to be of any use the following day.

In another part of the city, not too far away from Shirou's place, Ryuudo Issei lay awake in his own futon, his mind busy with thoughts.

Tohsaka unnerved him. Issei had no problem to admit as much. Yet he had to also to admit that she was both capable and self-reliant in ways he never even contemplate before. He too was a mature and disciplined individual, but, differently from the girl he dislike so much without real reason, he never truly had anything to strive for. He always gave his best for the sake of giving his best, and while many girls at school considered him cool he believed himself to be a rather dull individual.

His keen mind could appreciate the irony of the situation. He had started the evening with the purpose of finding Tohsaka's faults and ended up reflecting on his own.

Having a good insight could be a double edged weapon after all. Eh, his old man would get a kick out of it if he found out, and he would undoubtedly give him one of those old pieces of wisdom they were both extremely fond of.

'Ah, well. It can be helped,' he said to himself before returning to his previous line of thought.

While in the end he couldn't find out enough to reconsider or reaffirm his opinion of Tohsaka he had to admit that the girl wasn't the evil mastermind he pictured her to be.

Not all the time at least.

Yes, perhaps Shirou was right and he should give her the benefit of doubt. If anything, someone who cared for a friend to the point of actively search for her day and night couldn't be all that bad.

And speaking of the missing girl, their small quest bore no result. If the girl had really been abducted, like Shirou and Tohsaka were convinced of, then the kidnapper had done a very good job. It had to be expected, otherwise the police would have taken a different approach to the case.

It was sad to admit it but unless they had a stroke of luck they probably wouldn't find anything about her and, even though he didn't know the missing girl personally, he still felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

Issei blinked and then considered his current feelings. Was that the kind of emotion that prompted Shirou to look out for other people's safety and happiness? He couldn't be sure of it, but once again he was forced to acknowledge that both Shirou and Tohsaka were people with a deeper connection to life than he had ever bothered to establish.

He felt ashamed that he was having a positive learning experience from that situation but it appeared that one's misfortune was another one's fortune, regardless of what either parts wanted.

Resolving to speak with his father for guidance the next morning he finally fell asleep.

X

Tohsaka was asleep, too tired to remain awake and dwell on nefarious thoughts. Still, her sleep was all but peaceful. Her mind was tormented by memories of her own failures.

Once again, when she was needed the most, she couldn't do anything.

Not for Kotone.

Not for Sakura.

Not for her father.

Not for her mother.

Was everyone she cared about fated to be taken away from her?

While awake she would have never allowed herself to indulge in such thoughts but in her sleep her mind wasn't a strong.

Needless to say, Rin had very little rest that night.

Disgusting.

Impure.

Soiled.

Dirty.

Sakura had many adjectives for herself, none of them flattering.

Ironically, she felt like a moth in more than one way.

An ugly bug that desired something that couldn't have and suffered for it. Inevitably drawn to a flame and inevitably fated to burn for it.

Like she was doing at her very moment.

Her body burned, scorched by a flame called Emiya Shirou.

She should have known better than to get too close to him. She knew what would happen when she did.

Burned. That's how she was.

She didn't deserve him, yet she allowed herself to pleasure her body with thoughts of him.

He possessed her dreams and in her dreams he possessed her.

Gently but strongly, with sweet mercilessness.

"I'm sorry Senpai," she whispered while her fingers reached for her most intimate place once again. The hunger wouldn't be quenched until sunrise. "I'm sorry."

XXX

The following morning.

A very tired Dojima Ryutaro parked his car in front of Homurahara gakuen. This was the third school he checked in a week. He managed to restrict the number of suspects for the Archer case to about a thirty but it still took him quite some time to meet to many people away from the eyes of his colleagues. He had to move discreetly and interrogate even boys that didn't fit the profile he made for Archer. He didn't want his superior to know he was getting closer to the truth until he knew who could be trusted in his department. The problem was that without involving anyone the number of things he could get done in a single day were few. Thankfully this was the last school he had to visit and only a small number of students to interrogate.

The number of suspect, after his investigation, had already dropped to six and this school only had four of them. Once he completed this preliminary scouting he could begin to watch the suspects' behavior until he narrowed down the real one.

That was, of course, if his entire reasoning wasn't wrong. That would put him back to square one and with no other trails to follow.

Groaning he left his car and entered the building. He had very little sleep in the past week. Going through all those profiles wasn't a quick task. Yawning he made his way to the faculty office. He obviously needed their permission to question any of their students.

Hopefully they wouldn't be too much of a hassle to deal with. When it came to reputation, school in Japan clamped up faster than an oyster. Having one of their students potentially involved with a crime would either mean that he would find himself stonewalled or said student prematurely out of school.

He had no intention to cause trouble for anyone, but he definitely couldn't back down from this.

XXX

"Emiya Shirou, please report to the faculty office. I repeat. Emiya Shirou, please report to the faculty office."

The loud speaker situated in every classroom told Shirou that something was afoot. He wasn't one to get in trouble, publicly at the very least. That either meant something came up from outside the school or that something happened at the Archery Club. Being still lesson hour the latter was unlikely, but with his only guardian working inside the school and with no other relative he couldn't imagine just what this could be about.

Not having done anything to worry about he shrugged and decided to see for himself what was the situation.

He was lead by one of the professors to a small room, where he was introduced to a man

"Emiya Shirou?" a man with dark ruffled hair and a stubble asked. "I'm police detective Dojima. If you don't mind I would like to ask you some questions about the vigilante known as Archer."

'Well damn,' he thought. The situation was troublesome at the very least. He expected this could happen with him carrying the Archer persona while sticking in the school archery club. It didn't mean the police had a link to him but he had to play this carefully and not leak anything. The man in front of him looked sharp enough to pick on any slip up on his part.

"Of course detective. I don't know how much I can actually help, but please ask away."

"Very well. Your teachers informed me that you're the captain of the archery club. It's quite a feat for a freshman."

"I suppose," Shirou said noncommittally. "I just happened to be the one who showed more interest in the job than anybody else. The archery club isn't as showy or popular as other sport club. As result there aren't that many members and even less are those willing to keep up with the responsibility of captaincy without the glory usually associated with it. I'm not sure that I was the best choice as a captain but I was apparently the only applicant for the job."

"Regardless, your teacher told me you are one to take your responsibilities very seriously and that you look out to your club members. Is there something you can tell me about them?"

"I don't think I can break their confidence without proper reason Dojima-san. Are you suspecting one of my fellow club members to be involved with the Archer?"

"No, not at this point," the man answered. "I just wanted to know if you knew someone with the skill set to be this infamous vigilante, be it in your club or not. Do some of your club members have relatives that could fit this role?"

"I don't know much about their respective families, even if we happen to talk about them. I don't think anybody has a family with a background in the archery field. If they have, they never told me."

"What about them, then? Is there anyone in your club that could be the Archer?"

Shirou did a good effort to pretend to be thinking about it.

"I'm afraid that I can't answer that. Frankly I don't think that the skill set used in a combat situation can be shown in the archery dojo. Kyudo is more a practice for the mind, rather than the body, even if it requires a constant physical exercise to be performed. If anyone of my club members is capable of doing what is said Archer can do, then they never showed it around me."

"Hm," the man agreed. "It fits what captains from other schools said. What about –uh? Do you hear that?"

"Eh?"

DOM! DOM! DOM! DOM! DOM!

Heavy footsteps could be heard getting closer to the room where they were. Shirou felt a sudden chilling sensation that was way too familiar for comfort.

It couldn't be, could it? Not even her was so much of a klutz to misunderstand the situation and-

BAM! The door was suddenly slammed open. "SHIROOOOU!"

'Sigh.'

XXX

An hour later

"I'm sorry on her behalf," Shirou apologized as he accompanied detective Dojima back to the school's gates. They had just finished asking questions to the other members of the club but Taiga's off the charts reaction was still at the forefront of their minds. When she was informed that Shirou was being questioned by the police she immediately imagined the worst and rushed to his defense.

The poor detective had to face a fully enraged mother tiger wrath. It took no little amount of time for things to settle down. Taiga had to be dragged away by her colleagues.

Well, she was her guardian so she should have been informed before Shirou was sent to meet deceive Dojima, but since he wasn't being accused of anything the rest of the faculty didn't see any reason to take her away from her class. They learned their mistake the hard way.

"Don't worry about it," the man answered. He was still freaked out by Taiga outburst, but it looked like he was taking it well. He looked fairly amused. "She's your guardian. It's normal that she would worry about you. If I knew she was teaching in this school I would have asked for her permission first. It was my mistake."

"Still, it wasn't correct for her to berate on you like that, Dojima-san. I'm sorry."

"Like I said, don't worry about it. It's good to see a teacher and a guardian so fired up about their wards. She kept insisting you would never do anything bad.."

"Yes, she totally misunderstood the situation. I thought she would assault you at one point."

"To tell the truth, so did I," he said smirking. "Nevertheless, she has a high opinion of you and so does the rest of the faculty. They highly recommended you to help instead of your guardian. Well, in hindsight I can't blame them for picking you over her."

"Ah. Aaah," Shirou half laughed, half sighed, but then- "… Dojima-san, may I ask you something?"

The detective looked at Shirou for a moment. The teenager tone had drastically changed. "Sure thing."

"Why are you looking for Archer? Is what he's doing wrong?"

Again, the detective looked at the boy in front of him and pondered his words carefully.

"It looks like you've got this wrong, Emiya-kun."

"Eh?"

"As a policeman, my job is to enforce the law. Nothing more, nothing less. Archer's actions are against the law. So long as that doesn't change my job is to find and stop him."

"So, regardless of the fact that he helps people, the law will still try to capture him? But isn't the law's purpose to help people? Justice-"

Dojima shook his head. He could understand the boy's point but reality wasn't as beautiful.

"Sorry kid. I'm afraid that justice and law don't go hand in hand. In my line of work I've seen the law go against justice plenty of time. Don't you ever read the news? Scammers and delinquents of all kind are let free because the law is on their side? The law is far from perfect."

"Then why do you keep this kind of job? Doesn't it bother you?"

"Constantly," Dojima admitted. "But I believe I can make things right if I stick by the rule instead of playing out of them. I would rather improve the law instead of casting it aside. Then again it's all a matter of points of view. In the end we can only live with our vision of right and wrong and act accordingly. If you ask me, I don't think what Archer's doing is wrong."

"But you will still hunt him, right?"

"Correct. Does that satisfy your curiosity, Emiya-kun?"

"Yes. Yes it does. Thank you, Dojima-san. Sorry for keeping you."

"It's no trouble at all. It's nice to see a boy your age interested in this kind of things for a change. Goodbye, Emiya-kun."

"Goodbye, Dojima-san."

Shirou watched the detective enter his car and drive off in the distance. Perhaps it was a bad move on his part to show that much interest but he needed to ask those questions. He was aware that his dream was an egotistical one, his Justice was of course different from someone else's. Even people with the best of intentions could eventually clash when their vision conflicted with each other. It was an inescapable paradox. By pursuing his justice he would violate someone else's.

Still, the only thing he could do was believe in his Justice and follow it, just like Dojima-san said. One day, if his quest would bring him to fight against someone of different beliefs he would have to…

He shook his head. That was just a possible future, one he would face once he was there. There was no use in filling his head with hypothetical thoughts. He turned and went back to the archery dojo. The club activities were about to begin.

XXX

Dojima watched the silhouette of the red haired boy in the rear mirror getting smaller as he sped away. The boy had left him with a sense of curiosity. Emiya Shirou was one of the prime candidates in his list of suspects. From what he gathered talking to his teacher he was altruistic enough to fit the role, but according to what they said he was too busy with his school work, the archery club and a part time job in town. Plus, the instances of fighting he was known to be involved with always had him on the receiving end. He fit the profile only in terms of apparent mindset, but lacked the effective skills to pull it off.

Unless…

It was worth looking into. He would look into it anyway. The questioning were only preliminary to his investigation. In the end the only way to find the vigilante was to catch him red handed. Nothing short of that would be proof enough.

Emiya Shirou was third on his list. Other two boys, a little older than he was, were also valid potential culprits. If Archer wasn't one of those three then it either meant the vigilante was smart enough to set up his public identity on the opposite end of the spectrum or that his whole theory was invalid.

Dojima honestly hoped it was neither of those.

XXX

Mitsuzuri Ayako was more a persons of actions than words. Still, the freshman girl was extremely sharp. She didn't miss Shirou troubled expression after he came back from accompanying the detective. Well, to tell the truth she would have probably missed it on anybody else, but she spent a considerable amount of time looking at her captain.

One would say that she had a crush on him, and while that was true, the reasons for her staring were originated by a sense of rivalry. In fact her skills with a bow were second only to his despite what the arrogant Matou Shinji claimed. Now, she wasn't a sore loser, but the way he made it look easy really grated on her nerves. She didn't dispute his talent, nor the amount of effort he put into his training, but the fact that he never once missed a target unless he declared it really depressed her. She constantly tried her best, but no amount of effort put her in his league.

He could say what he wanted, but he was definitely the best choice as a captain. Both for his mature mindset and for his skills.

That's why she noticed he was upset. He usually was capable of dealing with everything with a firm mind and a smile on his face, so whatever was troubling him had to have struck deep. It didn't take a genius to connect the situation with their recent guest, but why would he be troubled by something like that?

"Oi, Emiya," she called out. The red haired teen in question lowered his bow and turned to her.

"What is it Mitsuzuri?"

"That would be my question. If the captain is sulking how is the rest of the club going to feel? If you have something on your mind you should just let it out or it will interfere with your aim."

As response Shirou pulled his bow up, cocked an arrow and released the string.

THUNK!

The projectile embedded itself in the target's center with absolute precision.

"Eurgh," was all that Ayako could say in response. "Damn it, Emiya. Will you miss the target even once in your life?"

"Sorry, Mitsuzuri," Shirou apologized with a smile. "For worrying you, I mean."

"Never mind. If anyone knows how to deal with his problems that's be you, Emiya. I just wasted my time."

"Not at all. I'm grateful that you're worried about me, but there's really nothing to be worried about. My problems are of the philosophical kind. No matter how much I think about it the answer cannot be found anywhere but inside myself."

"… Wow. Are you channeling Ryuudo-kun?"

"Eh, I guess he's rubbing off on me somewhat. Still, I'm glad you care enough to ask."

She turned around with a huff as to dismiss his claims, but it was more to hide her evident blush.

"Idiot. I was just worried about the club. Don't get strange ideas in that head of yours."

"Whatever the reason, thank you for your concern, Mitsuzuri."

With that being said they returned to their practice without other words. Ayako stole a glance at her side but the thoughtful expression was gone. Emiya was focused solely on his arrow and the target.

No, it could be said that he was one with both. It never ceased to amaze her how easily he could do that. Undoubtedly, Emiya Shirou had already reached mastery.

She wondered how someone her age could be so focused and disciplined. Not a stray thought crossed his mind when he pulled the string. Not a single shade of doubt.

He was perfectly focused. In his mind he was already hitting his target. No, he was even piercing through it.

She wondered, what did he see when he released the string? What was he really aiming at behind that unreadable expression of his?

She wasn't about to find an answer just by staring at him. Perhaps if she managed to equal him, she would also be able to understand him?

It was a whimsical thought, but it was also the only way she could think about. Yes, by all mean and purpose, Emiya Shirou was an existence that couldn't be grasped only through words.

XXX

That night

Another fruitless evening of searches. It was obvious from the get go that this kind of avenue wouldn't have brought anything up short of an impossible stroke of luck.

Still it was with a bitter taste in his mouth that Shirou got back home that night. Sometimes doing your best just isn't enough.

It was a harsh reality he had to confront sooner or later. Kiritsugu had warned him about that. Chasing after the dream of saving everyone was a path paved with disappointment.

That undeniable truth was the one that pushed Shirou's father to settle for sacrificing ten to save hundreds.

It was also the one that made him die full of regrets and sorrow.

Shirou wasn't sure that the path he had decided to walk upon was any better than the one his father choose for himself, but it was the only option open for him, the one who bore the sin of surviving. He could not become as his father was. He wasn't able to deny the pain of those in front of him.

No, the dream was the same but the path wasn't.

No matter how much he thought what his father would have said in response to Dojima's words, it wouldn't have been an adequate answer for him.

Because –

'You are distorted, Shirou'

Yes, he was aware of that. It was the source of his resolve but also his greatest dilemma. He still couldn't figure it out. His father last words –

'You can't save anyone, if you don't save yourself first.'

What did it mean? How could he save himself? What did he have to be saved from? How would it help him to save others? There were only questions and no trace of an answer in sight.

With a sigh he let those thoughts go and headed toward the bathroom. Soaking into hot water for a while would relax him enough to sleep.

XXX

Later that night

"Ugh," Shirou moaned, pulling himself up to a sitting positing. It was still the middle of the night and he was dreaming of swords so there was no reason for him to wake up at that hour.

He scanned the room, searching for the source of the disturbance. His eyes fell on his left where a small paper crane stood, as if waiting for him.

"Oh ,it's just you," he mumbled half-asleep and then turned around to resume is dreaming.

Only to sit up straight half a second later, eyes wide and set on the paper figure. "Shit!"

He jumped up and got dressed in his Archer clothes. There was no time for him to take a detour and get changed somewhere else. Even if he risked to be tracked back to his house there was no helping it.

The paper crane he had left after Nezumi was connected to another one that he always had with himself. It would take different colors depending on the situation with its target. It would be blue if the set condition was met, in this case if Nezumi found any usable information about the missing girl.

It would turn red, instead, if the target's life was in serious danger.

Needless to say, Shirou's hurry was caused by this second case. It took him less than a minute to get dressed and equipped. He picked up the crane and headed for the back of his house, in the direction the paper figure was pointing at.

"This is going to take a lot out of me," he murmured. "Trace on."

Body Analysis: Complete.

Program: Reinforcement - Stage Two

Bones Reinforcement: Complete

Muscle and Nerves Reinforcement: Complete

Lungs and Heart Reinforcement: Complete

He jumped above the wall and speed up toward his destination at the speed of a running car. Thankfully it was late at night and he hopped from rooftop to rooftop in silence and unnoticed.

The first stage of his Reinforcement allowed him to move within human limits without consuming his stamina or overworking his body. At that level, thanks to the micromanagement of Prana he had developed, he could keep going nearly without limits as it took just a drop of his Od to get the process started, and then he could continue by absorbing Mana from the atmosphere. He could use it in public since only another Magus could tell that he was actually using Thaumaturgy and he wasn't just in great shape. His resources would actually regenerate faster that he consumed them at that stage.

Stage two, however, was an entirely different matter. It allowed him to move faster than humanly possible, even keeping up with a speeding car, but it severely drained his resources. Normally he used it in short, controlled bursts when hopping across rooftops, or if he needed sudden acceleration in combat. As it didn't apply to his eyes he developed tunnel vision while using. It wasn't really good for extended combat as I did nothing to improve his reflexes. It was more useful as a mean of transportation, but he always had to remember that if he used it too extensively he wouldn't be in fighting condition when he reached his destination.

Following stages were trickier as they require a control of Prana still beyond his ability. The difference in the amount of energy required to reinforce his body and the one for his brain was too great. It was one thing reinforcing one or the other, but doing them both was akin to directing every drop of water coming out from a full blasting hose with microscopic precision. If is control wavered for the smallest fraction of a second his head would literally explode.

He needed more training before he could use them without destroying himself in the process.

Of course in that moment his mind was entirely focused on getting to his intended target as fast as possible and without being seen.

If Nezumi was in danger it could be related to Kazama's disappearance. In the worst case there were two lives at stake in that moment. He could not afford to lose either one and with that thought in mind he pushed his legs a little faster.

He had to make it in time.

Location: Unknown

The man took put the cell phone and dialed the usual number. He waited for the sound of the call being picked up before speaking.

"It's done," he said. "All that's left now is to see if this new fish will actually bite the bait."

"You seem rather confident," the genderless person answered on the other end on the line.

"I don't really care. I'm just going to have fun with this."

"Try not to get too distracted. You cannot afford it."

"Meh. You worry too much. What's life without some amusement?"

"Especially when it's at other people expenses."

"Uh uh. See? You do understand."

"Perhaps. For now let's see what this guy can actually do."

"You don't sound concerned."

"Why would I be? Either way this goes it's my victory. They all are pawns on my board."

"Eh. I guess we'll see how it goes, don't we?"

CLICK! He abruptly ended the conversation. The man remained alone with his thoughts in the dark room.

"Are you going to make my life less dull…. Archer?"