Illusion Breaker

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"Well... er, not really," the young man said somewhat awkwardly, briefly scratching his cheek with his finger, "More like... a friend of a friend. I just sorta noticed last night a..." He began, before suddenly stopping. One could only guess what he was about to refer to, but before he could continue, the young man would clear his throat, continuing to simply stand there.

"I suppose it's none of my business, but if I may ask... Ah, are you a caretaker or something? Mitsuzuri-san always told me she lived alone..." He mumbled. The American man did look fairly out of place in this small Japanese town, and as Frank didn't exactly look like the type of person to come to a place for the foreign flavor, it raised an eyebrow from the teenager, though he seemed more curious than anything else.​
 
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"Yes, I am. I'm a new hire." Frank smiled. He was playing the part. Trying to sell the grandfatherly image. The door opened wider. "How can I- or Rin- help you?"​
 
"Just make sure she gets this," he said, holding up the bag, "If she asks, it's from Emiya. That's... me, of course. A friend of hers helped too," he said, taking a brief pause for a moment, before reluctantly walking in, "Well, I suppose there's enough time for tea if you're going to invite me in, and I'd feel bad about declining, Mr... Ah, what was your name again?"​
 
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"Just make sure she gets this," he said, holding up the bag, "If she asks, it's from Emiya. That's... me, of course. A friend of hers helped too," he said, taking a brief pause for a moment, before reluctantly walking in, "Well, I suppose there's enough time for tea if you're going to invite me in, and I'd feel bad about declining, Mr... Ah, what was your name again?"​
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"Frank Castle. Call me Frank. I'll be sure she gets it." As for tea... Frank wasn't... the best, but he could make it. So he started, setting the present on the counter for the moment. "Might I ask what you got for her?"​
 
"Just some breakfast," he replied, taking a seat within the sitting room. Of all the things he could have stopped by to drop off, it was some food? For someone he didn't claim to know very well? What an oddball this boy must be.

Then again, Shirou Emiya really was an oddball, wasn't he?

He had never been inside the residence before, so the boy named Emiya took a minute to examine and admire the interior decorating, before deciding to continue speaking, "Well, truth be told, call me crazy, but last night, I was walking home from work, and... well, I happened to see Tohsaka-san on the top of a tall building," he said, unknowingly recounting the event of Frank's fight with Terra of the Left.

"Before I knew it though... she was suddenly gone. And then I... Well, actually, never mind. I must sound really crazy right now, huh? You wouldn't know anything like that stuff, I bet, huh?"​
 
"On top of a building? Goodness, no. I usually just stay and help keep the house." He smiled again. After a while, he set out some tea. It wasn't the best, but it wasn't bad, either. Perhaps a bit more like Earl Grey than anything Japanese. "She can be adventurous, though."​
 
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"Thank you for the tea," he said graciously, taking a sip, "I realize it's... pretty early. Most students are probably just waking up right now, but... Well, a friend of mine who seems have recently gotten close to her all of a sudden insisted that we deliver it. Though Tohsaka gives the student council president a hard time, any friend of a friend is a friend of mine. Wouldn't you agree?"

Unbeknownst to Shirou, the friend of his whom he claimed had suddenly gotten closer to Rin was in fact Rin's sister, but of course, perhaps it wouldn't matter either way, even if he did know.

"In any case... Tohsaka-san isn't hurt or anything, is she? I... saw some blood when I reached the rooftop not long after I saw her disappear. That really worried me. Mitsuzuri-san tells me she's alright, but still, I just wanted to make sure, you know?"​
 
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"Yes, of course. And, don't worry, she's alright. Just a little fall. Scraped herself up a little." Frank smiled again. "It's very sweet of you and her friend, bringing her breakfast. Would you like me to go wake her up?"​
 
"Ah, no, it'll be fine. If she's still asleep, I wouldn't want to bother someone like her. Especially since I personally don't know her that well anyway, so she'd spend a bunch of time wondering why I'm here, I bet," Emiya said, bashfully scratching the back of his head, sitting in a somewhat formal manner, "She's quite a rowdy kind of person, at least, when she likes to be. I imagine you know what that's like, having to put up with her on a daily basis, huh?"​
 
"Yes, she can certainly be very outgoing, can't she?" Frank sat down. "Very opinionated. Strong." He nodded. "I trust she's done nothing to offend you?"​
 
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"Ah, no. Like I said, it's the student council president, my friend Issei Ryoudou, that she mostly bothers, but it's all in good fun. He calls her a fiendish vixen all the time like an old man yelling at kids to get off his lawn, but I suppose you can get like that when you've lived in a temple all your life. She doesn't really pay any attention to me, though we're... you know, aware of each other," Shirou replied sheepishly, scratching his head briefly, before taking another sip of the tea.

Ah, yes. The Ryoudou Temple that stood on the hill at the edge of town. When there's a place associated with mysticism as much as that one, there's bound to be reports of seeing ghoulish spirits or something like that. Most churches and temples did. The place was dominated by monks, and there were hardly any women there, though the ones that did live there did stick out. Reports of an ancient spirit lurking around the place had been circulating around there lately, showing up on the evening news even, but who knows what that might be?

Of course, we all knew the Tohsaka Residence had a certain spirit lurking around the place too. But ol' Archer seemed to mind his own business when Rin was safe under his watch.

"It's strange, you know? Like you said, she's usually very out-going. At least, from what I've seen with her interactions with most other people, but it seems like she's more... reserved when around the friend that helped make this breakfast for her, and myself. I suppose I can understand the case with my friend, since she's the type to be overwhelmed easily by overly strong personalities, but I wonder what's so special about myself? Would you say she's more reserved around you as well, Mr... Castle, was it?"​
 
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For a moment, what the boy said hit Frank like a ton of bricks. Rin liked him. At least, that's what it sounded like. He felt jealousy swell. Anger. Fear.

And then it all went away, and was replaced by reserved happiness. Rin liked him. The feeling confused Frank. It was fuzzy. Warm. Not what he wanted to feel like. He found himself genuinely smiling. Now, he might be wrong, but... "Yes, Castle. Have you ever considered why she might only be so reserved with you?"​
 
"Eh? Well, not really... I can't exactly name any reason why," Shirou replied, oblivious to any possibilities or thoughts that Frank may have in mind, "Like I've mentioned, we don't really know each other that well. We're just... acquaintances who are aware of each other. Why do you ask?"

... Yeah, he's a bit dense.​
 
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Oh, boy. Shirou was that kind of person. Frank held back a sigh and watched the boy for a second before clearing his throat. Time for some old-fashioned bluntness. "Have you considered that she likes you?"​
 
...

Silence.

And then...

"Eh?"

Shirou blinked after a pause, as if trying to register what Frank had just said.

"Ah... Mr. Castle, by that, you wouldn't happen to mean... L-Like in that way, would you? That would just... ah..." He would mumble, cheeks growing a bit red as he would avert his gaze, pulling at his collar a bit.​
 
The corners of Frank's mouth twitched. After a moment, he burst into deep, booming laughter. Almost as quickly as it began, though, he stopped. "No, that's exactly what I mean." His head tilted slightly. "Don't be dense, boy. Really think about what you've said she acts like. 'Course, I could be wrong... Maybe she dislikes you."​
 
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Shirou just about nearly freaked out internally from the strange man's sudden burst of laughter.

"Dislike... huh?" Shirou repeated, as if seriously considering that possibility, before shrugging, "I don't think I've ever really done anything for her to feel that way towards me... Uh... Are most girls like that around people they like or dislike then?"​
 
"Not necessarily." Frank was washing his hands of the blame for any decision the boy made now. "It could mean nothing. Could just be that she's shy around boys. Or it could mean... something. Care to ask, boy?

The old man seemed to be enjoying himself.

"Regardless of what you do, please don't tell Miss Tohsaka I said anything. She's a very private girl. "​
 
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"You did this on purpose..." Shirou murmured, before clearing his throat, "Yeah, I wouldn't dream of it. I prefer to keep things as they are too," he spoke, before looking at the clock, getting up, "Well... Ah, it was good to meet you, Mr. Castle, but I should probably get going..."​
 
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"Come now, boy; don't be a bad sport! Surely you'd like to wait for Rin to wake up?" A slight, teasing smile spread over his face. "If you must go, do come again sometime!"

Frank was torn, at this point. Part of him wanted Rin for himself. He hadn't cared about someone like this in a long time. The other part... the other part thought that, maybe, he'd confused his desire for family for desire for romance.

For now, he needed to think.​
 
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