IBHJ 1124

"You treacherous cowards! You have to be Heroic Spirits from Pan Human History! If you've got any real courage, fight me face to face! What kind of warriors keep attacking from behind? Cowards! Nothing but cowards, both of you!"

Artoria thrashed against her bonds, trussed up like a caterpillar while watching Shirou and Mordred casually eating their dinner around the campfire. Her face burned with shame - how could she have fallen for the exact same trick three times in a row?

To make matters worse, she wasn't just tied up - every time she tried to break free from her restraints, she found herself completely powerless. She couldn't even manage the simplest spell. But of course that would be the case - what bound her wasn't any ordinary rope. It was Xuanzang's Golden Kasaya, and no amount of struggling would let her escape its binding.

The Golden Kasaya binding Artoria wasn't just any magical robe - it was one of two Divine Constructs given to Xuanzang for her journey to the west. Through Guanyin, the Enlightened One had given her this robe and the Nine-ringed Staff as tools to protect her on her mission.

Even though Artoria knew some of Avalon's secret arts, she was still learning as an apprentice witch. Her skills weren't strong enough yet to break through Golden Kasaya’s binding. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break free.

She kept shouting until Mordred walked over with a smile that made her nervous.

"What are you planning to do?" She watched Mordred carefully. This girl who said she was her daughter from another world - this supposed child of hers who had hit her from behind without any honor - was clearly up to something.

"You call us despicable? Cowards?" Mordred jabbed her finger at her cheek. "Don't be stupid - winners make the rules. You lost and now you're our prisoner. What right do you have to talk big?"

"You—" Artoria's blue eyes flashed with anger. "Stop poking my face!"

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?" She kept poking. "Not so tough now, are you?"

Shirou watched with a sigh. Alhough Mordred loved her mother too much to get close to her, she loved teasing these other versions of her mom. Even Salter had put up with her antics before.

"Poke, poke, poke..."

Artoria's face grew redder with each poke, a vein pulsing in her forehead. The next time Mordred's finger came near, she lunged like a starving tiger and chomped down hard.

"Ow!" The smirk vanished from Mordred's face as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Let me go! That hurts!" She tried to pull away.

"Never—mmph mmph!"

Artoria's words came out muffled, teeth still gripping Mordred's finger as the tears started flowing.

Shirou's eye twitched as he watched them. He walked over to Artoria and tried to reason with her. "Come on, let her go."

Artoria responded with nothing but a glare, still keeping Mordred's finger between her teeth.

He pulled out a piece of grilled meat and dangled it in front of her. "Look what I have here - fresh off the grill. It's really good... but I guess if no one wants it, I'll just throw it away..."

The fierce look in her eyes instantly vanished. She released Mordred's finger and snatched the meat as she munched away.

Finally free, Mordred stumbled back and nursed her finger, blowing on it with tears still in her eyes. She examined the deep teeth marks and shot her an angry look. "What are you, some kind of dog?"

Artoria didn't even acknowledge the insult, completely focused on savoring her meat.

Shirou couldn't help but smirk at Mordred with schadenfreude. Now you know how it feels!

He hadn't forgotten how badly Mordred had bitten him before - today's payback was sweet, even if he wasn't the one delivering it.

Mordred held her injured finger and started toward Artoria, ready for revenge. One sharp look from her though, and she quickly retreated to the safety of the campfire.

Artoria finished the meat with obvious pleasure, licking her lips before turning to him. "Hey, give me another piece, you scoundrel!"

"Don't forget your position, apprentice witch of Avalon," he said flatly.

"What's the worst you can do?" She smirked. "If you let me go, I'll just report you and come back to kill you anyway."

"Will more food keep that mouth of yours shut?" He stuffed another piece of meat in her mouth, and she hummed with delight.

Walking back to the campfire, he shook his head.

Mordred was still nursing her finger when he returned. She looked up at him with watery eyes. "She's nothing like mom, is she? Who just goes around biting people?"

Look who's talking, he thought. Maybe you should check a mirror.

"Big brother, are we really taking her all the way to March?" Abigail asked, watching Artoria happily devour her meat.

"We don't have a choice anymore." He sighed. "If your base isn't in March, we'll leave her there. If it is, we'll have to keep her locked up. Let her go now, and she'll run straight to report us."

"Can't we just tie her up?"

He glanced at Xuanzang, who was quietly eating her vegetarian meal. She caught his look and frantically shook her head. "No way! This is the Kasaya from Bodhisattva - I'm not giving it up!"

"See what I mean?" He gestured helplessly at Abigail.

Abigail let out a long breath. "I guess we're stuck. Being immortal... really makes things difficult."

Difficult was putting it mildly, he thought. They couldn't kill her, couldn't seal her, and even burying her wouldn't work - she'd just pop back up thanks to her immortality. The Golden Kasaya was their only option since it operated beyond normal rules.

"You know, you should give up fighting against His Majesty," Artoria said between bites.

He turned to look at her. "What's this? Are you trying to recruit me for the Empire now?"

"Not really. It's just... you make such good food. I'd hate to see you keep wasting your efforts."

She swallowed her mouthful and met his eyes. "My teacher told me about your Pan Human History - the two Counter Forces, the Seven Beasts. Our empire doesn't have any of those things even though we're parallel worlds. You know what that means? It means our empire wiped them all out. We had others like you stirring up trouble against the empire before. If I’m not wrong, it was the Council, right? But they fell apart in the end, just like everyone else."

"So you're saying we should surrender?" He asked.

"That's right. His Majesty is generous. He won't kill you - he'll welcome you as imperial citizens, just like us. He'll give you immortality. You won't have to worry about outside threats anymore. You can live in peace forever." She tilted her head. "I really don't understand why you're fighting against the empire."

"Isn't it obvious?" He shook his head. "Why should we give up our own history and world?"

"But your world are dangerous and unstable. I heard that even without the Council, your history is full of war and destruction. Our world is different. We have eternal stability. No one gets hurt, no one dies..."

"And no one is born either." He gave her a sad smile. "Eternity sounds nice, but the price is too high. I'm just human - I can't live with that kind of endless nothing. Besides, if I became eternal, I wouldn't even be able to enjoy good food anymore."

"That's not what this is really about, is it?" She frowned.

"Of course not. Bottom line is, you're invaders."

That shut her up.

"Um..." Xuanzang raised her hand hesitantly. "Actually... I've been through several cities, and something doesn't feel right..."

"What do you mean?" Artoria turned to her.

"It's hard to explain," Xuanzang said. "Something just feels wrong. I'm just a simple pilgrim heading west - I don't know much about worldlines and all that. I only know I need to reach the Western Paradise."

She pressed her palms together. "Oh, I haven't properly introduced myself yet. Like you, Lady Artoria, I'm a traveler. I'm Xuanzang, from the Great Tang in the East, on a journey to collect Buddhist scriptures." She looked at her with curious eyes. "Since you're also a traveler - where are you from, and where are you going?"

Artoria: "..."

"...That's none of your business," she finally said. "Do what you want - I'm not an Apostle, just a witch who travels around. But since the food's been good, I'll give you some advice: surrender before His Majesty loses his patience. You can't win this - you can't even beat the Apostles in their Imperial Armor."

Then she went back to her food.

He watched her eat for a moment before turning to Abigail. "Abby, what exactly is this Imperial Armor?"

"It's like a Noble Phantasm the Emperor created. The Apostles aren't much on their own, but once they put on that armor..." Abigail frowned. "Then they become real trouble."

He nodded, taking that in.

By the fire, Mordred sat nursing her sore finger, still sulking.

The night grew quiet except for the crackling flames.

Artoria stared at her food, her appetite fading. Where am I going... she thought. I wish I knew that too.