Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Adventures in Canon

Part XI

Shirou rushed out onto the veranda as Arthur and Ayame returned, and winced at the sight of his sister. Most of her clothes had been blown off, leaving only ragged and singed tatters behind, and while her underwear was largely intact, it too had not been undamaged.

It wasn't just Ayame's clothes, though. They were already healing, but she had plenty of minor burns and scrapes all over body, along with blooming bruises on her face. Dried blood was streaked on her chin and judging by the way she moved, she might have cracked a few bones and even sprained at least one joint.

"Ayame…" Shirou said, rushing to join Arthur in helping Ayame into the house, Arthur sharing a nod with Altria as the other blonde stepped out to watch their backs. "What the hell happened?"

"Rin Tohsaka is one nasty bitch." Ayame immediately answered, and sighed with relief as she settled down on a cushion at the table. "Never try to fight her up close: she pummeled me good with her fists, and she's got one nasty kick. Seriously: she kicked me hard enough not just to send me flying several feet, but enough to dent a fire hydrant when I hit it with my back."

"Your back?" Shirou echoed incredulously. "Ayame, that's…!"

"Relax, I'm fine." Ayame said with a sigh and a raised hand. "I've got Avalon in me, remember? Though if not for that, I'd probably be paralyzed from the waist down, on top of my face reduced to a swollen mass. Crazy bitch…next time we meet I'll bomb her from a safe distance."

"…just try not to cause too much damage to other people's property." Shirou firmly said after a moment.

Ayame nodded, unwilling and unable to contest the point. "That aside though," she then said with a smile. "The mission was a success. Using Excalibur, we razed the Matou mansion and property to the ground, no, more than that, we reduced it to a smoking crater. And before you ask, Arthur here was quite precise: we didn't cause much damage to the surroundings outside the Matou property, beyond what was unavoidable."

"…unavoidable…?" Shirou uncertainly echoed.

"Excalibur unleashes a blast of prana when attacking at range." Arthur explained. "An oversimplification, but that is basically what it does. However, while striking at the target, it displaces the surrounding air in the form of powerful shockwaves."

"We broke quite a few windows and started a light earthquake." Ayame added. "But that's it."

"Hmm…it can't be helped, I guess." Shirou said with a sigh. "And…? What about her grandfather? Do you think you managed to get him too?"

"…I'd like to think I did." Ayame said after a moment, and crossing her arms over her chest. Considering she was half-naked, and was sporting at least Cs, Shirou felt his cheeks burn at the sight and forced himself to look away. Ayame didn't notice though, as she continued without skipping a beat. "But it might be best not to assume. We should stay prudent, and keep a tight guard around Sakura."

"Yeah…that sounds like a good idea." Shirou agreed. "At the very least though, we, well, you managed to destroy his workshop. Along with whatever else they've got inside the mansion, be it records and other written materials in their library, as well as mystic codes and artifacts in storage. We may not have taken the vampire out once and for all, but we've dealt a serious blow."

Ayame nodded. "That's true." She said. "That much is a complete win on our part. That said, we shouldn't be careless. We've been drawing a lot of attention to ourselves."

"Also true," Shirou agreed, looking at Ayame again. "Especially after you blasted the Matou and that house of horrors of theirs to hell where it belongs. I mean…yeah, we had to do it, but we can't assume Tohsaka was the only one to take notice. Though I wonder how she was able to respond so quickly…"

"…good question…" Ayame conceded. "…not to mention I should count myself lucky, that no other Masters or Servants tried to fight me and Arthur on the way back here, given my state."

"About that," Shirou said while getting to his feet. "You shouldn't be sitting or walking around only in your underwear. I'll see if I can get you some clean clothes, and maybe a spare set of boxers for when your underwear is in the wash. I'm sure you understand that I don't exactly have a spare set of women's underwear in the house."

Ayame blinked, and then regarding herself, burst out laughing. "Yeah, I understand." She said. "Sorry for all the trouble brother, and thanks."

Shirou nodded with a small smile. "Tomorrow," he said. "Or as soon as we have the time, we should go and buy new sets of clothes, instead of having to alter mine and wearing the same set of underwear immediately to and from the wash."

"…hmm, can't be helped…sorry for the trouble, brother."

Shirou smiled wider. "It's not trouble at all." He said before nodding and leaving. "Well then…"

Ayame nodded back, and as Shirou's footsteps receded into the distance, she leaned back on her arms, and let out a satisfied breath.


Rin lay on the operating table with clenched teeth, wearing only her underwear. She'd stripped off her shirt and mini-skirt to allow Kirei Kotomine to operate on her insides, though both had been ruined anyway thanks to Ayame Emiya's little water-fueled fuel-air bomb. Rin might have survived, but she'd been left with multiple second and third-degree burns plus burst eardrums. Nothing she couldn't fix on her own, but it had given Ayame Emiya time to escape. And ultimately her internal injuries were beyond Rin's own ability to deal with, hence her presence in Kotomine Church.

In addition to her underwear, towels sterilized by boiling had been wrapped around Rin's body above and below her injury to add further protection against infection, the edges of the hole in her belly cleaned and disinfected by alcohol before Kirei began to operate. The final protection though was a small, spherical bounded field that overlapped through Rin's body, and encompassing both the entry wound in her belly, and the exit wound in her back.

It was there that Kirei performed his spiritual surgery on, cutting out and removing dead, dying, and rotting flesh, knitting together what could be put back together, sealing internal bleeds, eased physical trauma, and generally repaired what he could.

Rin didn't know how long she lay on the cold table, but it was probably more than hour, before finally Kirei was done with her insides. Even then though, the operation wasn't finished yet, and it would be another fraction of an hour before he sealed her body once more.

"All finished." Kirei said with a small smile that had just the smallest hint of professional pride to it, dispelling the bounded field with a tap on Rin's belly.

Rin gingerly sat up, and swung her legs over the edge of the table. Kirei then offered her a trio of potions, one to replenish lost blood and other fluids, the other to assist in internal recovery, and the third to ease the pain. While the operation wasn't conducted without anesthesia, towards the latter part of the operation it began to wear off, and Rin was grateful for the potion.

"The operation was generally a success," Kirei began as he took away the empty vials for disposal, and then he turned back to Rin. "But with regard to the future…I have good news, bad news, and worse news."

"…in that order then." Rin breathed.

Of course…there are complications. There are always complications. I really should not be surprised.

"…my preferred order would be bad news, then good news, and then worse news." Kirei remarked.

Rin sighed. "I am so not in the mood to argue with you right now, Kirei." She said with a weary sigh. "Just spit it out already."

"Very well then," Kirei said. "The bad news is that plenty of your internal organs have suffered serious damage. I've had to remove slightly more than half your small intestine, and about a tenth of your large intestine. There will be scarring to your kidneys, stomach, liver, and pancreas, and I've had to rebuild your gall bladder as well."

"…gods damn it…" Rin spat with clenched fists, one of which she pounded against the operating table. "And…? What are the effects of the latter?"

"…you'll have to make some changes to your diet." Kirei answered after a moment's thought. "I'll have to consult my medical references to give you the specifics, but I should have it ready by tomorrow morning. It may be preferable to spend the night here, and if you would oblige, I will prepare a guest room."

"Fine…" Rin ground out. "Is that all?"

"Do try not to push yourself." Kirei said before raising a hand to forestall the inevitable protest. "I am aware that you are currently involved in the Fifth Holy Grail War, and no, I am not suggesting that you bow out, though that is an option. All I'm saying, is that you switch tactics, avoiding close combat as much as possible, and instead focusing on dealing maximum damage from range, end battles as quickly as possible with minimal strain to your body."

"…doable." Rin conceded.

Kirei nodded. "Very well then," he said. "Proceeding to the good news, despite the extent of the internal injuries, much of the damaged organs can be replaced with puppet replacements. While given the state of your finances it would be…inadvisable, to do so all at once without sacrificing on quality, it can be done in stages, and in so doing restore full functionality. That said, the scarring to the interior of the abdominal wall, as well as on your skin, is permanent. Not that that should be a real issue."

"I'm not a particularly vain girl, Kirei." Rin remarked, somewhat mollified that she could regain full functionality of her damaged organs by replacing them with puppet parts over the following years. It would be expensive, yes, but needs must.

Damn you to hell and back, Ayame Emiya.

Kirei smirked. "Indeed," he said, and Rin shot him an ugly look.

"Get on with it, Kirei." She said. "What's the worse news?"

Kirei's smile went out. "Your ovaries and uterus have suffered considerable damage." He said, and the blood drained from Rin's face as her features twisted with horror. "I've done what I can, but given how…sensitive, those parts of your body are…"

No…

"…I'm sorry to say…"

…NO…

"…but it's quite likely…"

NO

"…that you will never have a child."

NO!

Rin sat silent for several long moments, her face pale as a sheet, her body trembling. Kirei stared silently back, and then Rin got off the operating table. "Say that one more time…please…" she asked in a small voice.

"I'm sorry to say," Kirei obliged. "But it's quite likely that you will never have a child."

A sharp, piercing, and wordless scream of utter rage and loss erupted from Rin's mouth, and turning she grabbed the operating table with her hands. Magic circuits glowed blue and bright as she reinforced her body, and ripping the table clear off the floor, hurled it through a wall. Tears fell from her eyes even as blood erupted from her mouth, and then Rin crumpled to the floor. Even then, she pounded it with a fist, cracking the ceramic tiles in her pain and loss.

"…damn you…GOD DAMN YOU TO HELL, AYAME EMIYA!" she screamed.

And behind her, Kirei smiled.

…magnificent…


"How'd you get away from Tohsaka, anyway?" Shirou asked his sister over the dinner table.

"I blew up the street." Ayame replied.

Shirou choked on his rice. "You did what?" he asked.

Ayame put down her bowl while scratching her head. "I…blew up the street." She sheepishly repeated.

"HOW?"

"…I broke open a fire hydrant, and then used alteration on all the water spilling out to break them down into hydrogen and oxygen." Ayame replied, fidgeting sheepishly. "I then jumped away while firing off a fireball behind me."

Shirou made uncomfortable noises. "That must have made quite the bang." He finally said.

"It did." Ayame said with a scowl. "It shattered windows all around, and blew branches off trees nearby. I got caught by the blast wave too. Thankfully, I'd reinforced my body, or else…"

"…you'd have suffered internal injuries." Shirou said.

"Yup," Ayame said with nod, before scowling again. "Even then, I still got thrown through the air and right into a dumpster. Seriously, what the hell?"

Shirou stared. Ayame stared back. Shirou pointed a finger at her while an eyebrow twitched. "You need to take a bath." He firmly said.

Ayame looked offended. "I washed my hands!" she protested.

"Good…but you still need to take a bath regardless."

"…after dinner then."

"Okay, that's fair enough."

Ayame grinned, though it quickly fell. Shirou tilted his head then. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"…you really have nothing to say about me blowing Tohsaka up?" Ayame asked.

Shirou scratched his head. "Well," he said. "I'm not saying I completely approve, but…I might not be a good magus, but I'm still a magus. And I know the first lesson taught to us all: we walk with death. In other words, magi are prepared to kill other magi before anything else."

Ayame stared silently at her brother, her expression unreadable. "Considering how hurt you were when you got home," Shirou continued after a moment. "Well…I guess it was only you giving as good as you got. There's no reason for you to let yourself be killed."

"Kill or be killed, huh?" Ayame murmured. "It's a rotten way of life."

"Hmm…it is." Shirou murmured.

After another moment, Ayame smiled and nodded. "Well, I'll tell you all the details after I take a bath later." She said with a sigh. "Then…we'll see…if you can still say I gave as good as I got."

Shirou nodded, and turned back to his meal. He'd barely taken a bite before Ayame spoke up again. "Shirou," she said. "Thanks."

"…no problem, Ayame."


A/N

Incoming flames…

…seriously? I mean, a) Kirei didn't say Rin couldn't have children anymore, she just likely might not be able to have children anymore. The possibility still exists, it's just the probabilities which aren't very high. And b) it's not like Ayame was specifically aiming for Rin's womb. If you'd read the last chapter, Ayame was firing wildly when she hit Rin in the belly. It was just pure bad luck that the heat laser damaged Rin's ovaries and uterus.

When all is said and done, it's war. These things happen.