Bone of my Bow

Chapter 9

  "What a surprise, Tohsaka." My eyes snapped open when I heard a voice coming down the stairs. Sitting up since I had been resting on the couch and using Archer's thigh as a pillow, my brows furrowed at seeing what little snot had found us.

  "Visitors, eh? I came here because I thought we wouldn't be disturbed." Archer's tone was cool as he looked over at the boy.

  "Hey, now! No funny business, Archer. I'm not interested in you." Matou waved his hands. "I should warn you, you're no match for me." The boy then began to laugh as a familiar blond face walked down the stairs. "You're scared, aren't you, Archer? That guy's the Servant who dispatched Berserker without breaking a sweat! I don't blame you for being scared of-"

  The boy's cocky expression quickly turned to fear when I jumped to my feet while glaring as magic sparked over my arms. That fucking blond Servant was the reason that-

  Archer grabbed my arm to pull me back. His face was calm as he stood there, but his eyes were locked onto the other Servant.

  "Calm down, Yumiko."

  'Calm down? He killed Illya and nearly killed me!'

  "Are you honestly going to jump headfirst into a fight you know you can't win?" Archer's cool gaze dropped to me, and I balled my hands into fists.

  "For someone who's being held hostage, it certainly doesn't look like it." The blond looked me up and down with his hands in his pockets.

  "Can't exactly bind a Master that can order you not to." Archer stated while raising my hand with the Command Seals. "And if you try anything, I'll eliminate both you and your Servant." He glanced at the boy.

  "Oh?"

  "Hold on, Gilgamesh. We came to form an alliance, didn't we?" Matou smiled while placing his hands onto his hips. I looked at Archer, and he gave a short nod in reply.

  "Yumiko wants to know why you'd even offer an alliance."

  "Haven't you heard? Rin and Saber formed a pact! And we both know you wouldn't lay a hand on your little cousin, even if it was to win the Holy Grail." Matou had a condescending tone. I tensed, wanting to lunge at the boy, but Archer grabbed my arm to stop me again.

  I turned on the taller man while throwing my hands out at my sides.

  'You can't possibly think I'd agree to that!'

  "Yumiko, be smart about this." Archer said directly in my head to keep our conversation entirely private. "Look, Rin and Saber forming a pact is unexpected, but it means Rin's now a Master in the war. I'm not telling you to form an alliance with Gilgamesh and that rat, however, I am asking you to play along." He crossed his arms over his chest while looking down at me with a cold look to make the other two in the room think we were arguing.

  'Why should I play along? What are you planning?' I put my hands onto my hips.

  "In the current circumstances, I can't kill Gilgamesh. Not outright, at least. It's too dangerous for you to deny them, so agree and buy me time."

  'How much time?'

  "However much I need. Now slap me."

  'What?'

  "Slap me." Archer gave me such a condescending look, and I narrowed my eyes. The smack was loud as his head jerked to the side, and a red handprint was already forming on his cheek when he turned back to look at me.