Fate Stay Night - Medea Caster route

Medea stood there for 1 hour, just watching him sleeping. 

She wondered why she was there. 

She wondered why she could not take her eyes off of him. 

She wondered why she carefully observed every detail of his face. 

She wondered why she could feel the softness of his red hair without touching them. 

She wondered why she could feel the warmth of his breath even from such distance. 

Suddenly Caster snapped out of her thoughts. 

'Right, I came here to analyze the Fae artifact while he was sleeping, but I discovered that it speeds up natural regeneration and makes him incredibly resistant to disease... it can do way much more, but for some reason it doesn't, as if something is missing. 

She turned Into spirit form and went outside. She was a heroic spirit, she didn't have to sleep after all. Right now she will just set some other traps and create some familiars, since she was connected to the Leylines she had all the mana she needed, and the bounded field that she had made hid her magic traces so that no one should be able to trace her. 

While doing her work she started to think and consider the things that the boy said to her earlier that day. He knew who she was, and despite that he wanted to genuinely help her and even gave her an advice... should she really left everything behind and start a new life? She started to think about it, and she didn't really disliked the idea of leaving everything behind her since she was never capable of returning to her old life in the first place... but before she could tink about it she had to survive and win the war. 

After a bit she started to think about the training of the boy, It was clear that he was more of a fighter than a mage, so maybe she should use her Dragons warriors as dummy practice? Not that they could be compared to a Servant, but if she increased the number of them the boy should start to parry, dodge, and counter-attack more attacks at the same time, that should at least prepare him for what was about to come. 

It was now morning and Shirou woke up, he went into the bathroom and cleaned himself, then he dressed up and went into the kitchen to start to make breakfast. 

'Today Fuji-nee should come only for lunch, so it's only me and Caster this morning...' He thought. 

Yesterday after dinner Cater told him that in the morning he would start his training and she wanted to see what he was capable of, so he decided to make an abundant breakfast. 

After finishing he took off his apron, he didn't know if Caster was already awake or if she was still sleeping, so he decided to go to check on her. As he was about of getting out of the living-room the door opened and he saw Caster in front of him. 

"Oh, good morning Caster." He said a bit surprised. 

"Good morning boy." She responded calmly.

After that she went past him and sat down, then she immediately started to eat breakfast. 

After closing the door Shirou sat down and started to eat too, he wanted to ask Caster when he would start to train, but Caster Interrupted him before he could say or ask anything. 

"So, after breakfast we will start your training, preferably in a place where no one can interrupt us." 

"...Is the tool-shed okay? I practice my magecraft there, It's not very clean but-" 

"Sure." Caster said before cleaning her mouth with a napkin. At that moment Shirou looked down noted that she had already finished her breakfast, the plate in front of her was clean. 

'That was... fast. He thought incredibly impressed. 

"You know boy, you are really good at cooking, where did you learn?" Caster asked. It had been a while since the last time she ate something good like that. 

"I learned by myself, since I was little I had to cook for both myself and my father, then after his death I lived alone for the past 5 years." 

"...Why did you have to cook when your father was still alive?" 

"After saving me he was struck by a strange illness, at first it wasn't that bad, he was simply a bit weak, but then he started to get even weaker, his sight became worse, he started to lose appetite... you know.' 

"Could it be that this Illness prevented him from discovering your element and origin?" 

"...Yea, now that you made me think it's possible." 

'Something killed his father very slowly... more than a strange illness it sounds like a curse.' 

She was sure about that, maybe it was the same thing that killed Shirou too, but only at that moment, she realized that the boy had lived alone for the past 5 years. 

'How sad.' She then thought. 

After Shirou finished eating they got up and went into the toolshed. After entering it she noted that there were many complex mechanical devices, Shirou then said that he used his magic to find the problem in them and then fix them. 

"Boy, take off your shirt." Caster said. 

He nodded, turned around, took off his shirt, and sat down. 

Caster put her hand on his back and started to open his circuits. 

At that moment Shirou started to feel a terrible pain, something very painful... but it was nothing that he couldn't endure, now it was his chance to become a hero, he could not back down for simple things like this.

Caster was a bit surprised when the boy didn't even flinch after she opened all of his circuits, she was sure that it should have been really painful. 

After 5 minutes she was done, now the boy should be able to use magic without any problem. Now she would see what he was capable of and then she would start to decide his training and how to Improve his magic circuits. 

"We can start." She then said. 

*5 hours later* 

At first Caster teached him all the basic and most important magics he needed to learn, like how to sense and discover a bounded field, how to detect magic (she discovered that the boy could smell magic), and how to correctly reinforce objects, since his method was flawed. 

Since he demonstrated to be capable of understanding and comprehend some of those new concepts she introduced to him she became curious as to what the boy could do with the magic he was more familiar with. She asked Shirou to repair some of the most intricate objects present in the tool-shed, and he had no problem in doing so, he was really fast and very precise with his structural analysis, but she had noted that he had a very long and detailed process of analysis. 

Then she told him to reinforce some objects and again, he did it without problems and she noted no flaws in his reinforcing, but only at that moment she noted that the boy was incredibly surprised, he then told her that it has never been so easy to use magic. 

Then she asked if he ever tried projections before, she wanted to see what would happen if an incarnation of sword would try to project something like a blade. The boy said yes, and then she asked him to project a simple knife just to start... 

"Trace... On." The boy said after closing his eyes. 

After that Caster saw Shirou... summoning a knife? 

Caster was a mage coming from the Age Of The Gods, and she was one of the best that had ever lived, so she easily knew that he didn't project the knife since he skipped the whole process and after a moment the knife was there... he had taken the knife from somewhere after he had recited his Gradation Air, something she didn't know he could be capable of. 

She saw that the knife that he had summoned was the same one that he used to cook, she told him to wait there and she went into the kitchen, she opened the drawer and... and to her great surprise, it was still there, the same knife. 

She took the knife with her while going back to the toolshed, then when she arrived she asked Shirou to give her his knife. 

She started to analyze them and she felt almost no difference, they were the same knife. Shirou's 'projection' was somehow flawless and incredibly stable, she would even dare to say that to keep existing the knife didn't even need the mana to sustain his existence, as if it was a normal object... but she could also feel that the knife Shirou summoned was "his" knife, it was the knife of Emiya Shirou. 

She didn't know from where he summoned it, it was the 'same' knife, no doubt about that, but if the knife that he should have summoned was in her other hand, from where he did take this other knife? 

'Did he took it from another... place? Another... world?' Caster stopped thinking for a moment. 'He summoned his knife... from his world!?' She then thought shocked.

...Well, there was just no other explanation for it, the boy was capable of somehow summoning the knife from his Inner world, the boy was somehow already capable of Interacting with his Reality Marble! 

'Perfect, till some hours ago he didn't even know how to detect magic but now he can interact with his Reality Marble... what is he?' 

"Boy, do you how many other blades can you project? I want to analyze some." Caster then said. 

"...I don't know, should I try to project many as possible?" 

"No, you just awoke your circuits, you will ruin them, now just try to Project some swords." 

"ok..." 

Shirou started to concentrate and said once again: "...Trace On." 

*5 minutes later* 

'Huh, blades for days. Caster thought. 

Shirou had 'projected 20 blades, an impressive number for someone who just started. 

He projected swords of every kind: European, Japanese, Chinese, Arab etc. At first for some reason all those blades were frail, but after the 10th they started to get better. It was clear that until now the boy never had the power necessary to practice with his kind of projections, but he was getting better. 

She stopped Shirou after he started to sweat a bit, she didn't want to strain him, they were done for the morning. She now knew what to do with him, and how to train him. 

She estimated that with her help Shirou should be ready for the war in around a month, tomorrow she would teach him the other basic spells he needed to know. Well, since his mana level was stable and he was in a good physical condition that afternoon she should already make him practice fighting, she did saw some kind of place where he could fight. 

After that moment Caster remembered about the thing that reacted to her last night. 

She closed her eyes and started to sense her surroundings, after a moment she felt... a summoning circle? 

She walked toward the circle, with her foot she brushed aside some dust, and she saw a part of the the circle that hidden under said layer of dust. 

Well, that was a surprise, but now she was sure about it: Shirou's father was involved in the Fourth Holy Grail War. 

Not that any normal magus could have a powerful relic of the Fae or a summoning circle in the tool-shed as if it was nothing, still, it was a good thing to have her suspicions confirmed. 

She got out and noted that the sky was a bit cloudy, it was almost time for lunch anyway, soon Shirou should start to make cook.

While she was watching Shirou cooking she was thinking of what she could do next. Considering that she was specialized in the territory and Item creation she could start to make some protective amulet for Shirou, maybe even some mystic code that would Increase his fight capability. However that night her famillars discovered that in this town there were 2 other families of mages, maybe she should try to steal some materials from one of them since for now she lacked said materials. 

"SHIROOOOOOOU, I FORGOT THE KEYS." Taiga screamed. 

"I'm coming~" Shirou hummed before leaving the kitchen. 

Caster watched the boy go, she really didn't know what to think of Shirou anymore, he seemed like a normal boy, but how could he possess and already be capable of using in part a Reality Marble at such young age? What happened to him all those years ago? 

"Good morning Caster-san!" Taiga said with a cheerful tone as soon she entered the room. 

"Good morning Fujimura-san." 

Talga stopped and watched Caster for a moment before she asked: "Caster-san those are the clothes that I gave you yesterday, they are the only pair of clothes that you have, right?" 

"Hem, yes." 

"I could gift you some more, but it's better if I-" 

"Well, since she is my guest I should be the one to buy her some clothes, and since she is not from around here I should also accompany her to the shopping district." Said Shirou Interrupting Taiga. Well, he should have thought about it the day before, but he was too much distracted by the news of the war. 

"B-But Shirou, what will Sakura think of you if she sees the two of you getting out together?" Tiga asked a bit panicked. 

"Sakura? Why-" 

"Oops, nothing, just keep cooking, I'll take care of her, you should have thinked about it yesterday anyway." Talga said before she started to whistle. 

"...You're right." Shirou said before he shrugged, sometimes he could not understand Taiga. 

After Shirou turned around and returned to cook with a low voice Taiga spoke to Caster after she sat down. 

"You have to knowt that Shirou is very... dense. He does not understand girl's feelings very well... no, he does not understand girls at all." 

After a moment Caster couldn't help but smirk a bit, she had finally understood why the magus she saw yesterday seemed to act so strangely while she was near him. 

"Girls? Oh my, is he really that popular?" She asked. 

Taiga started to smirk too.

"You can bet it! The girl that you saw yesterday, as you could see, has an obvious crush on him." As she said it Caster nodded. "She is a timid girl and you should have seen her yesterday, it seems that for some reason she fears that you could become her rival, she was soo cute!" 

"...A rival? Didn't she noticed that I'm too old for him?" 

"Yes, that's what I told her after I adviced her to relax a little, but she then said something about Shirou having a special kind of charm..." Taiga became thoughtful. 

'...Huh, he kinda does. Caster thought. 

"Well, I have been with him for only a day and a half but I can tell that Shirou is a honest and hard worker person." Caster sald. 

"...Oh that's right. Sometimes I forget that those are special traits for someone of his age, he is cute, well built, he is also selfless..." Taiga stopped talking and suddenly got a very serious expression. "Well now that we are talking about that..." 

Taiga turned towards Shirou and said: "Shirou, outside is cloudy and maybe it will rain, you should go to take the laundry outside." 

"Thanks for telling me Fuji-nee." Shirou said before he took off his apron and went outside. 

"Caster-san, I have to ask you not to ask Shirou about his past or his family, if you didn't already..." Talga started to say. 

"May I ask you why?" Caster asked curiously. She didn't know much about his past and she didn't want to bother the boy, but his guardian should give her some details that could be useful in the future. 

"Well, he is adopted. 10 years ago there was a big fire that destroyed a part of the city and killed around 500-1000 people, including Shirou's real family. I don't know how but his adoptive father, Emiya Kiristugu, managed to save him from that hell. After saving him Kiristugu adopted Shirou, but in the meantime he got a strange disease. At first he was just a bit weak, but then his physical condition started to get worse quickly, and 5 years later he died while talking to Shirou." After that moment there was a long pause. "*Sigh* And just before that moment Shirou even made a promise to him... even today I can still see Shirou staring at his father's lifeless corpse with his empty eyes..." Taiga said as her eyes started to get watery. "...And after Kiristugu's death Shirou was... I don't know how to say it..." 

While listening to Taiga as she kept speaking about Shirou Caster started to understand the boy a bit better as a person. 

Shirou did say to her that he wanted to save others after he was saved after an incident, but he didn't tell her that the "incident" killed around 500-1000 people, including his real family, and destroyed a very large part of the city. She also wasn't surprised when Taiga told her that the boy was Incredibly frustated and depressed after that his father's death... he did see his savior and only paternal figure die in front of him, leaving him alone, and making him an orphan a second time. 

With that, she was sure that the incident happened during the last Holy Grail War, and the boy had some kind of hero complex becuse of his father. 

After Shirou returned to finish to cook Taiga convinced Caster to go shopping with her, since Caster couldn't say no to Taiga without sounding strange she accepted. After lunch both Taiga and Caster got out leaving Shirou alone. 

Since that morning Shirou was really happy, thanks to Caster he was finally capable of using magic and he now could use his already present magic circuits without the need of making a new one every time... Still, he could not forget the words that Caster told him the night before.

He knew that in this world there were really bad people, he knew that sooner or later he would have to kill them... But why should he ever kill a friend or an ally? 

He wanted to ask those questions to himself but he didn't, he didn't need an answer since he already knew it. When something like that will happen, will he be ready? Will he be able to do it? 

Shirou decided to make some tea for himself to calm down, and after he did he started to think about Sakura. He didn't know what would happen next, but on one thing he was certain... he will protect her at all costs. 

He was sure that other people like Atrum would take part in the war, a powerful object that could make wishes come true was too much tempting, and he was also sure that those people would target other mages, even if they were not Masters... he had to figure out something, he will do everything to protect her. 

In the meantime Caster was being dragged by Taiga in all kinds of shops, at one point Caster was sure that Taiga had just started to buy everything she went across, for some reason the woman had lost control and she had to calm her down. 

After 4 hours of continuous shopping, Talga had finally finished the money and she had stopped running around. 

After she calmed down Taiga started to apologize and told Caster that she didn't have many female friends, since from when she was younger she had always been a tomboy, so with her at one point she started to have too much fun with her and she let herself go. 

Caster was not listening to Talga, she was too much exhausted, and she just wanted to go back to Shirou's home. 

After Caster returned at Shirou's house she asked him in helping her settle all her new clothes, and it took 1 hour to settle down just half of them. 

"Soo..." Shirou while helping Caster. "I saw that Fuji-nee was happy, I bet that she started to have fun and dragged you around, right?" He asked as he scratched the back of his head. 

"...Yes." Caster admitted. 

"I'm sorry, I should have expe-" 

"No you don't have to, after all she has been gentle enough to buy me... some clothes." She said before turning and watching the other giant pile of bags full of clothes they had yet to settle... how the hell did they managed to bring them here? 

"Oh, are you sure that she didn't annoy you?" Shirou asked a bit surprised 

"Yes." Caster said sincerely since for her acts of kindness were things extremely rare that she was incredibly unfamiliar with. 

Shirou was a bit relieved at hearing her words, but he had other plans for now. 

"Caster, what about the training?" He then asked in a serious tone. 

"Yes, I know, we should start right now, we'll fix these later." She Immediately said.

"So, what will I have to do now?" He asked curiously. 

"I will 'call' someone who will help with your training..." 

*2 hours after* 

It was almost time for dinner and Shirou was tired. At first Caster summoned a skeleton warrior that he had fight against, but it was more though than it seemed. 

After half a minute he managed to defeat it, but then the number of skeletons he had to fight suddenly Increased to 2. He turned around and he watched Caster, she was carefully observing and studying him. In that moment Shirou realized that Caster would not hold back on his physical training... good, he would not disappoint her. 

Anyway, as he fought the skeletons Shirou was very surprised at how good he was getting with the swords he traced, his movements became more refined the more time he used a blade, as if he knew how to use it. 

After the training session Shirou was sweaty went into the bathroom and took a bath, in the meant time Caster was still in the dojo and she was very satisfied with the results of this first training. She had noted how in less than two hours Shirou got better at fighting, her Dragon warriors weren't very powerful, but against a normal human being they were deadly, and despite that now Shirou was perfectly capable of handling 3 of them. In the future they should try to reach higher numbers, then she would start to coordinate them to attack him at the same time, or one after another so that he could not catch a breath... 

If Shirou kept getting stronger like this he will definitely become a good fighter, and she was looking forward to seeing him under the effect of her magic reinforcement.