Prisma LxL

Uncertainty

Chapter 6

Uncertainty

With essentially no leads, the duo and the half roamed the streets. The wolf, on several occasions, had tried to escape its captors by fleeing whenever the duo seemed to have been distracted, forcing them to a pet store.

"How are we going to buy the collar and leash when we don't have money...?" Illya inquired from Archer as they roamed the store, the wolf following them with a mixture of primal fear and curiosity as it too browsed the shop, taking in smells it had never smelt before.

"I can make money on the fly," Archer replied dismissively as he eyed the collars and sending a few glances at the wolf.

"R-Right..." she said, embarrassed at her seemingly stupid question. "T-That was s-stupid of me to ask..." she apologized quietly.

Again, Archer dismissed her concern with a reassurance, "It's not stupid, you do bring up a valid point, we can't rely on counterfeiting forever."

Counterfeiting money was certainly pushing his morals and his sense of just-

He shook his head.

It wasn't like the economy would collapse due to a few dollars of counterfeit money.

"A-Ah..." Illya seemed a bit more relieved at the reassurance. "So what are w-we going to do, now?"

"Hm? Well, with no leads we don't necessarily have to do anything. We could even separate as there is-"

"No!"

Archer raised an eyebrow at the interruption. To her credit, Illya did seem embarrassed afterward by her outburst.

He saw as a few people looked at them with curiosity before either staring or simply returning to their task.

Taking note of the stares, Illya seemed to shrivel to a baby, much to Archer's twisted amusement. "I'm just joking, anyways, what collar do you think we should get?"

His hand immediately caught the fleeing wolf by the hips, which immediately flopped on the floor in defeat, its eyes angrily boring to every staring human.

"Uh..." The plethora of choices seemed to have stumped Illya, who was torn on giving the fierce wolf an intimidating collar or a cute one.

Finally deciding on one that seemed rather fitting for the wolf, she plucked it out and showed it to Archer. "H-How about this one...?" she inquired meekly.

The collar she had picked out was a collar that had spikes protruding all around. In short, one eerily similar to Berserker's in the Fifth Fyuki Grail War from Archer's timeline.

Archer quirked an eyebrow before a smirk came on his face. "You still attached to Berserker?" his inquiry was met with a confused stare. Realization struck him. Right, not the same Illya... he cursed inwardly.

He coughed into his fist in minor embarrassment. "Nevermind," he said dismissively. He pondered a bit, his eyes trailing towards the numerous amount of collars. "I think this one is a better fit..."

-

They left the pet store with all the assortment of things they need for the wolf, sans a nametag and dog food.

Next, some other things they may need... Or want.

First on their list, clothes. It shouldn't really be needed to be explained but they couldn't really rely on him for clothing, especially Illya as she would become bare given they were far enough apart.

"T-Ta-da-!"

Archer snickered a little, that was by far the weakest "ta-da" he had ever heard.

"H-Hey!" Illya's pout did little to help her case.

She was showing too much skin, in his opinion. Booty shorts and a sleeveless shirt left little to the imagination. Although considering its in-field and practicality in battle, it allowed incredible freedom in movement and agility.

Although, something in the back of his mind told him that Illya wasn't thinking of the practicality.

He shook the feeling off, instead merely balancing his morality and the practicality. "Hm... Is it comfortable?"

Illya shuffled a bit, confirming his suspicions. "W-Well, it is a bit too tight on my b-butt..." she admitted, her face lit up like a lightbulb from embarrassment.

"Well, if you like the style, we can just pick a size bigger," Archer shrugged.

-

After shopping for some clothes, they had moved on to electronics because... Well, because as a child, Illya still needed her entertainment on their little "trip."

They had left the wolf outside, the leash tied to a lamp-post, and once they were out of view, it struggled relentlessly to get out of the leash.

Browsing through the phones, he paused. A cold sweat ran down his face. "Shit."

It has only been mere days since his execution.

He glanced at Illya, her expression excited as she speedily skimmed through all the electronics.

Damn it, I was too careless. This was very bad if the government came to know that he was back from the dead... His stare on the date hardened with resolve.

He will kill every last one of the government agents... To save Illya. After all, that was something a Hero of Justice would never do.

That what a man always does.

Kill one to save one. Kill ten to save one. Kill a hundred to save one. Kill a thousand to save one.

He stilled his thoughts. But wasn't his dream what made Illya look up to him? His stare on the phone softened.

Wasn't his dream make him who he was? Wasn't his dream the reason why Saber, Rin, and Sakura fell in love with him? Wasn't his dream the cause of his death?

He was in turmoil. Two sides raged an endless war.

-

A faint smile wormed its way on his face as he watched as Illya beamed at the new phone she got. Her expression that of an excited child who had received a gift on her birthday.

Yet, he could not help but feel worried. He was receiving stares, did they recognize him? Or did they simply entranced by his stark white hair?

God, he hated when he was uncertain.

Chapter 6 End