"Whew... we should be safe now." Someone spoke in a hushed voice in the quiet corridor, though he could not suppress his ragged breathing no matter how hard he tried.
"Thank you for saving me back there," Takato said gratefully.
"Whew... looks like I only got in your way... whew." The red-haired young man had to catch his breath before continuing. "That shield just now-are you a Magus?"
"A Magus? Does that mean magic? My name is Takato Matsuki. I'm not a Magus, but I do want to learn magic," Takato said, introducing himself.
"Takato Matsuki? I'll call you Takato, then. My name is Shirou Emiya. Cough, cough..." After a violent fit of coughing, Shirou Emiya said, "This doesn't seem like a good place to talk."
Another set of footsteps suddenly rang out, and both of them fell silent at once. In that instant, they even forced down their panting and coughing.
"Seventh Master, come out. Your skills as a Magus are unexpectedly poor." A rich male voice echoed down the corridor.
"Judging by the look of you, you're probably just a bystander who got dragged into the Holy Grail War for no apparent reason. That isn't exactly normal, but this entire Holy Grail War has been strange from the start. If you want to know what's happening, you'd be better off cooperating with us." An elegant female voice followed.
"I-is that you, Tōsaka?" At the end of the corridor, Shirou had no choice but to speak and reveal himself. Takato was already gone. Only the goggles remained, clutched tightly in Shirou's hand.
"Shirou... Emiya? Why is it you? Why are you the seventh Master?" Rin cried in surprise. Beside her, a flash of murderous intent passed through the Man in Red's eyes.
At the Emiya Household's sprawling residence, they