IBHJ 1191

"My grilled fish—!"

Shirou turned toward the familiar voice and found himself staring into bright blue eyes. There she stood, a girl with waist-length golden hair and staff in hand—the Witch of Avalon herself, Artoria Pendragon.

For a moment, they both froze in mutual shock.

"Fujimaru Shirou?"

The witch snapped out of her daze and moved to raise her staff, but Scathach was faster. Quickly, she had Artoria pinned to the ground, one hand at her throat.

Shirou didn't hesitate. A heavy club materialized in his hands as he positioned himself to strike the back of her head.

"Wait, wait! I surrender! Just don't hit my head!" she yelped. "You'll give me a concussion!"

He lowered the club with a sigh and projected a rope instead. "Scathach."

"Oh? Not 'Shisho' anymore?" she teased, even as she took the rope. With practiced efficiency, she bound Artoria's hands and feet, adding Primordial Runes into the bindings before unceremoniously depositing her to the side.

He pressed a hand to his forehead. "Of all the people to run into..."

"I should be the one saying that," Artoria grumbled. "And you're eating my fish, how awful—"

She caught sight of the club still in Shirou's hand and promptly shut her mouth. Immortal or not, thanks to the price she'd paid for Avalon's Secret Arts, she could still feel pain just like any human. Some things weren't worth the headache.

After being knocked out by both Shirou and Mordred, she wasn't exactly eager to be knocked out again.

"You know, this is karma for stealing my food before," he mused between bites. "I was feeling bad about eating these, but now I can eat with a clear conscience."

She could only watch with grinding teeth as he happily devoured her fish, even offering some to his companions. But both Scathach and Bedivere politely declined.

"The cooking is awful, by the way. Makes me want to gag," he commented, taking another large bite. "But hunger makes the best seasoning, I suppose."

Artoria's eye twitched. ‘If it's so terrible then don't eat it at all!’ She fumed silently, teeth clenched so hard they might crack.

"So this is the Empire's Artoria?" Scathach leaned in, tilting the witch's face up with one finger for a closer look. "Interesting... she's not an Apostle."

‘I'm working on becoming an Apostle’ but she couldn't bring herself to say it aloud. Something about this seemingly gentle woman radiated a familiar sadistic energy. Better to keep quiet and let Scathach toy with her face than risk what that smile might mean.

But when those fingers started playing with her golden hair, she couldn't hold her tongue any longer.

"What do you want from me?"

"My, aren't you curious,” Scathach mused, still toying with the golden strands. "The Artoria I know would never wear her hair loose like this. She always said it showed a sign of weakness. You're quite the girly one, aren't you?"

Artoria had no idea what her Pan-Human History counterpart was like, but she must have been formidable. Better to play it safe. She turned to Shirou instead. "Look, Fujimaru Shirou, I'm just passing through. I don't want any part in this fight between Pan-Human History and the Empire. You've had your fish, now let me go."

Shirou rose to his feet, studying her with a calculating gaze that made her feel like livestock at auction.

"Hey!" she snapped. "I said let me go!"

"Sister to Apostle Pendragon and heir to Avalon's secrets," he mused. "You might just be worth something after all."

"Ah, so you're Morgan's sister. I thought you looked familiar," Bedivere said with a smile.

Shirou shot Bedivere a sidelong glance, thinking ‘They're practically twins - how could she not look familiar?’

"Wait, Apostle Bedivere?" Artoria's eyes widened as recognition hit, followed quickly by dread. "Don't tell me you've... defected?"

"I haven't defected," Bedivere's smile faded into something bitter. "But yes, I've betrayed the Empire."

"How can that be..." she gaped at him. "You, the Empire's shining smile, a traitor?" The revelation sent her world spinning, and she instinctively began to inch backward like a startled caterpillar.

She hadn't made it more than a few steps when she felt cold steel against her throat. Looking up, she met Scathach's smile. "You're not going anywhere without Shirou's say-so."

Artoria's face fell. Were all these Pan-Human History folk this sharp? They'd seen right through her perfect escape plan!

She let out an awkward cough. "What's even the point of keeping me here? My sister won't lift a finger to save me, so I'm worthless as a hostage."

"Actually," Shirou leaned closer, suddenly curious, "what brings you out here anyway?"

"Like I told you before – just traveling around. You know, writing a book, doing the whole wandering witch thing."

He remembered her mentioning that when they first met – something about being a traveling witch working on a book. His eyes landed on a notebook lying near the fire, probably her travel diary. Without thinking, he reached over and started flipping through it.

"Hey, wait – don't read that!" she protested, but her protest fell on deaf ears.

"'Day 1 of my journey: Finally escaped from Avalon! Hahaha! The grand adventure of the noble witch Artoria Pendragon begins!'" Shirou's eye twitched as he read out loud. He flipped through the pages, finding nothing but random entries about Artoria's daily wanderings. No secret Empire plans, just the diary ramblings of a witch with way too much free time.

As he skimmed through the pages, entries with his name caught his eye, and he slowed down to read them properly.

"'Day 34: Had the most amazing grilled fish today, I feel alive again! Met this food genius named Fujimaru Shirou. Sure, he beat me up thinking I was a thief, but hey, they say you've got to fight to make friends! Getting knocked around was worth it to meet a master chef. Teacher was right about travel bringing unexpected encounters! Best day ever! Definitely marking this one down as happy days!'"

"'Day 36: Plot twist! Fujimaru Shirou is an enemy! That sneaky thief! All that delicious food must've been part of some scheme! Note to self: stay vigilant! Filing this under angry days.'"

"'Day 39: That jerk Fujimaru Shirou and his daughter both whacked me in the head! This isn't over! Officially declaring this grudge day...'"

"'Day of...'"

Shirou quietly closed the notebook.

To think he'd actually had high hopes for this version of Artoria. How disappointing.

Scathach and Bedivere exchanged glances before turning to stare at Artoria with strange expressions.

Their minds reeled trying to reconcile this bubbly, hot-headed witch with the stern, dignified Artoria they knew. The thought of stern Apostle Pendragon having such a... quirky sister was giving them mental whiplash.

"Stop staring at me like I'm some kind of circus freak!" she bristled, apparently forgetting she was still their captive.

Shirou placed the diary down, considering his next move. Given their situation, the safest choice would be to take her out before she could become a problem later. But with the Empire's gift of eternity, only Mordred's sword could actually kill her.

A sudden flash lit up the sky –

A laser beam cut through the darkness, streaking straight for his head.

Scathach moved like lightning, her purple hair streaming as she threw herself between Shirou and the beam. Her spear blazed with light, transforming into Gungnir the divine weapon Skadi had entrusted to her before she left Tír na nÓg.

With a whoosh, she brought the spear down in a perfect arc. The divine weapon met the laser beam head-on, and for a moment the two forces struggled and pushed against each other until Gungnir's might won out, slicing clean through the beam. The severed light dissolved into nothingness, leaving only ghostly afterimages dancing in their vision and a soft rush of air filling the sudden void.

"That's—" Bedivere's eyes widened in recognition.

"So you finally took the bait." A cold voice rang through the dark forest as a projection flickered to life before them.

"Agravain?" Bedivere's voice cracked as he stared at the young man's projection in disbelief.