FATE: Target of Grand Master

"Shirou, come over here! There's an empty space here!"

A familiar voice came from the crowd.

Xia Yan and Musashi turned their heads and met the gaze of Emiya Shirou, who was being held by the hand by Artoria.

"Shirou?"

"Brother Xia Yan?"

Xia Yan never expected to run into an acquaintance while practicing swordsmanship with Musashi.

"What a coincidence, you're here to practice your swordsmanship too?"

"Yes, Saber insisted on dragging me along."

"Shirou, this is all for your own good. Rin also said that Fuyuki City has started to get a bit unsettled lately, hasn't she? Although I'm with you most of the time, if you go to school, I won't be able to protect you all the time. Just in case, you still need to continue training."

"Artoria is really strict," Xia Yan said with a smile.

"Yes, Saber becomes exceptionally strict when it comes to swordsmanship," Shirou chimed in.

"Being strict with swordsmanship is a good thing. You can't improve in the way of the sword if you have a half-hearted attitude."

Musashi, who had been silent until now, interjected at the opportune moment.

"That's right, it seems this young lady shares the same views."

Artoria reached out her hand.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Artoria. If you find my name a bit of a mouthful, you can call me Saber. May I ask how I should address you, Miss?"

Xia Yan then remembered that Musashi joined later, after he had already cleared the FSN trial. Now, among his Servants, only Morgan and Cú Chulainn knew Shirou and Saber.

"My name is Miyamoto Musashi, you can just call me Musashi. Like Miss Artoria, I am also a Servant who is skilled with a sword."

really.

The moment Artoria and Musashi saw each other, they realized that the other was a Servant, just like themselves.

"Miyamoto Musashi! Is this the Miyamoto Musashi I'm thinking of?"

Shirou's voice was somewhat agitated.

"Haha, am I that famous?"

Musashi scratched his head with a grin.

"Of course. Your name is known to everyone."

For a Japanese person, hearing the name Miyamoto Musashi is like a Chinese person hearing the name Guan Yu—it's impossible not to be excited.

"Oh, so can a celebrity like me eat udon noodles for free?"

"Um... this might not be suitable. However, if Miss Musashi wants to eat it, you can come to my house, and I can make it for you."

"Shirou-kun is so hospitable. However, I think you should keep Saber in mind next time you invite someone."

Xia Yan pointed to Artoria, who was pouting and looking somewhat dissatisfied, and said.

"Ahem... ahem... that was just being polite. Hahaha."

Shirou hurriedly explained to Artoria.

"snort."

Artoria still turned her head away in dissatisfaction.

"It's decided, tonight we'll have Saber's favorite thick-cut pork cutlet rice bowl."

"real?"

Artoria's ahoge (cowlick) swayed, like a signal tower receiving a signal.

"Yes, really. I'll go buy pork after this is over."

"Yay!"

Artoria's previous displeasure vanished, replaced by anticipation.

Shirou wiped the slight sweat from his forehead, finally managing to calm Saber down.

"By the way, Xia Yan, why didn't you bring Miss Morgan this time? You wouldn't be secretly dating Miss Musashi behind her back, would you?"

Shirou stealthily approached Xia Yan and asked in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

Is this the intuition of a man who can build a harem even in a yuri anime?

Of course, Xia Yan would not admit to such a disgraceful statement.

"I didn't cheat on Morgan, she knows that."

"So, you didn't deny dating this Ms. Musashi. Tsk tsk tsk, I didn't realize Brother Xia Yan was so skilled."

Shirou wore a smug expression.

"Stop rambling. By the way, I remember you have a space in your mansion where you can practice swordsmanship, so why did you come outside?"

At this point, Shirou could only awkwardly point at Artoria and whisper, "A few days ago, I don't know what Fujimura was thinking, but she wanted to challenge Saber again and demanded that Saber not hold back. Saber is such an honest person, she really didn't hold back at all and knocked Fujimura into the wall. We had to pry her out for ages. So, that room still needs some renovations."

Hearing this absurd yet somewhat reasonable reason, Xia Yan managed to suppress his laughter with great difficulty.

"I know this reason sounds absurd, but it's the truth."

Shirou shrugged.

"Although it sounds outrageous, it makes sense when you think about how it was caused by Fujimura-senpai."

"Yes, I understand how you feel."

The two men began to whisper among themselves.

After a moment, Xia Yan said, "If you want to train, use this field. We're just resting here."

"How can that be? It's still Xia Yan's and your time right now."

"It's okay, it's okay, you guys practice for a while first, and it'll give me a chance to catch my breath."

"Shirou, since Xia Yan has said so, let's not stand on ceremony."

Artoria already looked eager to try.

"I do hope that Brother Xia Yan can hold on a little longer."

Xia Yan smiled and watched as Shirou was dragged away by Artoria.

"That Artoria's swordsmanship is quite good."

As the saying goes, "the expert sees the details." Musashi, sitting next to Xia Yan, drew a conclusion after only observing a few of Artoria's stances.

"That young man named Shirou is also quite good. He must have received systematic training from Artoria. With your current swordsmanship skills, Xia Yan, you are no match for him."

Xia Yan glanced at Musashi and thought to himself, "If you're going to praise me, then praise me. Why did you have to bring me into this?"

However, Musashi is right. Compared to Shirou, he only has an advantage in magical power. After all, without Musashi's intervention, Shirou is a man who could have done amazing things such as cutting down Gilgamesh's hand, blocking Artoria's Noble Phantasm, and killing his way through the Holy Grail War in one night. He might even become a Heroic Spirit in the future.

Comparing yourself to someone like that is twisted enough.

"Watching Artoria's swordsmanship, my hands started to itch involuntarily."

Musashi's habit of wanting to spar with strong opponents has resurfaced.

She didn't try to hide her voice, and both Artoria and Shirou heard it.

"Shirou, take a break."

Shirou, already panting, walked over to Xia Yan's side, plopped down, and gulped down a glass of water.

"Miss Musashi, would you be interested in a sparring match?"

Just as composed as when Musashi trained Xia Yan, Artoria looked at Musashi and extended an invitation to spar.

Musashi sprang to his feet and walked towards the competition area without hesitation.

"Wait a moment!"

Xia Yan's voice caught their attention.

"Use these two bamboo swords."

Xia Yan threw two bamboo swords that Shirou had enhanced to the two of them.

"Ordinary bamboo swords can't withstand a single swing from you."

Musashi and Artoria both cast grateful glances at Xia Yan, then turned their gazes toward each other.

"Should we shout 'Start'?" Artoria asked.

"No need, you can come at any time," Musashi replied.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Artoria lunged forward and instantly appeared in front of Musashi, wielding her sword with both hands and delivering an upward slash towards Musashi's chest.

Musashi reacted quickly. She first took a step back to avoid the range of the bamboo sword attack, then shifted her weight forward and made a two-handed downward slashing motion with her sword towards Artoria, who was not yet fully recovered.

Artoria had no time to dodge and could only parry with her bamboo sword.

clang!

The two bamboo swords made a crisp clinking sound, followed by a creaking sound as their respective owners exerted their strength to squeeze each other.

"Miss Artoria, are there any restrictions on this sparring match?"

"No. You can attack however you want."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Musashi suddenly pulled back his strength, then bent down and swept his leg, tripping the unsuspecting Artoria.

Once Artoria realized she had lost her balance, she immediately braced herself with her right hand, using a gymnastic-like movement to regain her balance and then pushed backward, trying to widen the distance between herself and Musashi.

Musashi wouldn't let such an opportunity pass by. He took two steps forward, closing in on Artoria once more, and thrust his bamboo sword toward Artoria's chest.

Artoria seized the opportunity, using her still-upside-down foot to kick away Musashi's bamboo sword, then regained her footing and slashed horizontally at Musashi with both hands gripping the sword.

Musashi immediately raised his sword to parry, and both swords emitted a painful groan once again.

"Haaah—!"

Artoria and Musashi both let out a powerful roar at the same time.

Click!

The two bamboo swords, which Shirou had strengthened, could no longer withstand the combined force of the two men and broke in two at the same time.

"Xia Yan (Shirou), we accidentally broke the sword, what should we do?"

Musashi and Artoria immediately lost their fighting spirit, like two little girls who had done something wrong, and simultaneously turned to their boyfriends (who at this moment seemed more like guardians) for help.