Chapter 4.2: Archer's Misunderstanding

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"...Understood, Saber. I will... withdraw..."

Assassin's words, while compliant, were not at all willing. They were angry, angry that this human, this servant with such low overall stats was outsmarting them. Hate, hate, hate! Oh, how Assassin seethed!

But, they knew one thing quite well. 

If they did not comply, if they went against what their master would ask of them... 

...their goal could never be achieved, their wish never granted. 

So Assassin withdrew, as they disappeared from sight and mind. 

There was no one paying such close attention to them now, with a battle soon to begin. There was no one to enforce the orders.

No one would discover that, in the time that it took them to return to where Aneka rested in the camp, Assassin had made another stop, a detour. 

Not until much, much later...

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"Hey, Admiral...! I'm not too fond o' fightin' Archers, so like, could we talk to him instead, just this once...? ...If the enemy has class advantage over me, I'm afraid I can't do much."

Her laughing and cheerful words contrasted heavily with her injured appearance, as always. After only a short engagement with Archer, Saber had been shot four times already, with that being the same number of times Archer fired his rifle. 

Once on the right shoulder, twice on the stomach, and another leaving a streak of blood from a nearly avoided shot on her cheekbone. 

It was not, though, a matter of Saber's ability, or lack thereof. No, her injuries came from the single fact that, despite being a fairly weak servant, Archer was deathly accurate. It seemed that whenever Archer paused his firing for longer than a second, the next shot would always land. 

The aftereffects of Archer's Noble Phantasm still lingered over the forest, since it was such a potent change to the surroundings. Unfortunately, though, it had passed before Saber and Kato could arrive and deduce what his true name is. 

"...Y-yeah, I think you're right, Saber... I want to ask him why he's attacking us, so... please, get his attention!"

A grin flashed over Saber's face, a mischievous look, as if this was nothing. Shrugging off her injuries like that captivated Kato, as he saw that, even as blood poured down her face, she still smiled, smiled to reassure him. 

What was she trying to say, though?

What is it that she was trying to tell Kato?

...She, with her grin, was saying to have no fear. She was saying, no matter what, she would win. 

"Heheh, that's what I wanted to hear! Now then, Admiral-"

Glancing back at Kato through the corner of her eye without an ounce of fear nor worry, something about Saber stopped him from looking away. 

The way her hair had come undone from her low ponytail, the way her bangs were stuck to her face by blood from battle wounds she so casually shrugged off, the way she held her straight-bladed sabre with such confidence, the ruggedness of her torn officer's uniform which would usually be near spotless had anyone else been wearing it...

"...Allow me to show off."

-Ba Bump.

Kato found his heart skipping a beat, as Saber glanced at him through the corner of her vision with half-lidded eyes and a grin, confident even after taking so many hits, even after being at such a disadvantage. 

...She... she's amazing... how- how is she still so confident, even after... all that...? I want to call out to her... I want to stop her... if- if she gets hurt any more, then-

No, no, stop! What am I thinking...?! This is something she has to do...

The conflicting thoughts and emotions left Kato paralyzed, unable to respond to Saber before she threw herself back into the fight. 

One thing was certain though. 

Kato Kiyohira, the man who had no desire for love, might not be so without desire as he had thought. 

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*Bam!*

...Again. My shot hit. It always does, but... why isn't she reacting? It's like... But, she is taking damage. It matters not whether they feel it, only that it happens. 

His worry quickly pushed aside, Archer reloaded and prepared to fire again. This time though, something made him pause. Saber was still clueless about where his position was, so there was technically no need to worry, but Archer knew it wasn't a good idea.

But he had seen something. A sniper like him could never miss a detail, especially in a fight. Lowering his rifle ever so slightly, he gazed at that unusual sight, something that, if it was as Archer suspected, made this battle entirely meaningless. 

...That man's expression... for it to be filled with such emotions, then that would mean... perhaps, they are unaware of it...? 

...

If that's the case, then... it would be better to ally with them. I cannot hope to take on those two and possibly more as I am now, so it is only logical. 

...Yes. It is a risk worth taking... as long as I live long enough to speak.

Finally coming to a decision, Archer fired a shot that was meant to miss, meaning only to give away his position. Additionally, he did not change his position immediately after the shot, as he did every time before. Knowing by Saber's clothes that she was some kind of military leader, Archer understood that she would immediately either attack head on, or attempt a feint, followed by a flanking maneuver. Knowing, also, that this Saber was more cunning than others, Archer decided to ready himself for her to flank him. 

Turning to face the side he knew she would flank him on, Archer slid a bayonet into place on his rifle. He intended to draw her close to him and tell her he wanted to talk. His entire strategy, though, was flawed, due to the fact that in any prolonged melee between an Archer and a Saber, the Saber was likely to win. 

It all banked on this, that Saber would fall into Archer's trap, giving him an opportunity to speak to her. Archer had thought about it, and he knew this was the only choice. If he had tried to get close to Kato to speak to him directly, Saber would cut him down immediately. If he simply revealed his position by walking out into the open, Saber would attack without hesitation. If Archer kept fighting, it was possible he would lose a potential ally. 

The sound of someone flying through the brush towards Archer was made heard, as he let a strained smile through his steely demeanor. Saber had fallen into his trap. It was, undoubtedly, a moment of celebration. 

...Or so he thought. 

Archer was a tactical and military genius, there was no doubt about it. But after fighting against two different opponents for almost a full five hours, both of which were stronger than him, he was exhausted. His class, with the [Independent Action] skill, was the only thing that allowed him to fight for so long. 

This exhaustion led to a mistake in his planning. 

The crashing became louder, whatever it was was barreling towards Archer at near impossible speeds. Strange, but not unheard of for a servant to move that fast. 

...Hah. Almost there, come on... just a bit closer...

Whatever was coming towards Archer finally breached the brush at a speed almost beyond what he could see. Something, maybe pure instinct, allowed Archer to block it, though. 

"-Listen! I mean you no harm, I--"

"...Hey, hey. What makes you think I'm over there~?"

...Archer knew, at that moment, he had underestimated his opponent. The press of a gun barrel to the back of his head only confirmed that fact.

What he had blocked was not Saber's charge, but her sword alone. 

She had run to where Archer predicted, yes, but once there, she threw her blade instead of pressing the attack. At a speed faster than Archer could track, she circled around to the other flank, knowing he would be paying attention to where her sword was.

Coming up from behind him and taking him by surprise, Saber had drawn her secondary weapon, a flintlock pistol, and pressed it against his head with a grin.

"C'mon now... Ya made my Admiral all worried, but ya fell for that? ...really now... but, it was kinda cute to see him all worried 'bout me, so I'll give ya a pass this time."

Slowly, Archer placed his rifle on the ground and raised his hands, still with his back turned to Saber as she spoke. His mind raced with possibilities of how he could get out of this situation, but everything he could come up with always ended in his death. 

It was checkmate, and Archer knew it. 

"...Listen, I'd like to talk to--"

Saber pressed the gun barrel against the back of his head a bit harder to cut him off. Despite her cheerful demeanor and nonchalant attitude about the injuries, she was clearly pissed off at Archer. The only thing stopping her from pulling the trigger was Kato's order to make a chance to talk to him. 

Archer didn't know about that, though, and it was clear. So really, could she be blamed for wanting to scare him a bit-?

"Hmm... well, if ya had wanted to talk, I don't think you'd have used a gun, would you~?"

Unfortunately for Saber, Archer was unshaken. It was like she didn't even have a gun. He wore a look of calm determination on his covered and scarred face. Clearly, he had pride, too much to ask her not to shoot him. 

"...Hmph. Damn you, damn irritating Archer... I have orders not to kill you, but don't try anything funny with the Admiral, got it? If you hurt him..."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Archer smiled slightly under his scarf-like mask. Slowly, he put his hands down, and looked at Saber from the corner of his eye.

"Yes. I understand. I, too, wish to speak with you. Unless your master has another servant, I have no issues with either of you."

Saber narrowed her eyes with an annoyed huff, grumbling as she led Archer back to the clearing where Kato, Aneka, and Assassin waited. 

"...Doesn't mean I don't got any problems with you, bastard..."

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