The King of the Grail's Fate (Fate/Nasuverse)

Chapter LXII: Between

Harrison looked at Shiki with focus and absolute concentration, any mistakes in this fight would undoubtedly spell death for him. With a long exhale he pushed himself to his feet stepping into a familiar fighting stance drilled into his head by Salter. Shiki's eyes flashed again before she lunged in as if reevaluating him. Harrison had to dodge and weave perfectly, narrowly avoiding the actual danger of the blade, not necessarily the blade itself as that struck him often. Still, the invisible path it followed would certainly spell certain death for him. Harrison didn't let the small wounds distract him though as the knife dug into his flesh with each thrust and slash.

Shiki even reverted her eyes to their normal void-like state during the fight. This bothered Harrison as he couldn't imagine why Shiki would intentionally lessen her ability. Was she going easy on him, but that couldn't be it. Regardless there was a growing smile on Shiki's lips as the fight dragged on, a sight as rare as it was scary. Shiki was obsessed with the thrill of the kill, Harrison knew that much, and that smile meant she was close to getting what she wanted killing him. Another development however would seem to be the excitement growing in Harrison himself.

Once again Shiki pushed him closer and closer to death and yet he felt most at ease, the distractions fading from the world as his sight narrowed in on what mattered. He entered a zone of absolute serenity where the world and his own movements seemed to slow to a crawl. He could hear the breathing of Shiki, his own heartbeat was like a metronome dictating the pace of battle. 

Thump, dodge left

Thump, counterattack with a straight punch

Thump, duck under horizontal slash

The two of them could easily be mistaken for some sort of dance as they elegantly moved around each other and their surroundings like a fish through water. Rougi Shiki finally spoke at this point in the fight after about 10 minutes of the back-and-forth dance. "You Harrison are similar yet different from me aren't you," she said with the contempt that lent itself to the omnipotent personality of Rougi Shiki. The words unsettled him. Shiki was a killer someone who enjoyed taking the lives of others even if she did not value what they held. Harrison was nothing like that, he had no joy in killing or death to him every life was precious no matter who or what they were, living was intrinsically special, and to take it intentionally or to let it fade when something could be done, was unforgivable. 

"I am nothing like you," Harrison said back venom in his voice. To Harrison, that may have been true but Rougi Shiki knew things that Harrison did not yet. Yes, she knew of the past present, and future, being connected to the root gave her that privilege, and she could see now why Shiki had so much fun fighting Harrison. Like herself, Harrison was connected to the root in some way. She could tell just as he occupied a space few other people have ever reached but nevertheless stayed. The state of being both alive and dead, his very origin seemed to conflict with itself on what he was, and how he operated. That is what made them similar the conflicting origin of the multiples it was only such a shame that Rougi Shiki met him now, she would have loved nothing more than to fight him when he gained a further understanding of himself.

In the seconds that the mental monologue took place their fight still dragged on, Harrison constantly adapting and growing as he got faster and more precise with each attack. Rougi Shiki was largely apathetic to the world and everything around her but perhaps for one of the first times, she took some responsibility upon herself. That is as Rougi Shiki hadn't mentioned one of the most direct similarities they had, Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. Harrison only needed someone to help bring them out. As it stood now his circuits acted as Mystic Code Blockers blocking his potential in more ways than just that, but all Rougi Shiki was concerned about was getting him to see the cracks in the world. 

All of a sudden Shiki stopped in her tracks causing Harrison to stumble backward out of breath. Breathing heavily Harrison asked rather bluntly, "Why'd you stop." "Open your eyes, Harrison," she said simply and coldly, and in a flash, the knife was at his neck, Shiki having crossed a 30 ft gap in an instant, leaving Harrison with almost no time to dodge. He fell on his back hard and for a moment again he heard the cries and screams from earlier in his mind. That is before Shiki came down with the knife on top of him forcing him to roll away hastily. Harrison realized she had been playing with him this whole time, her true speed, was beyond what he could manage without the help of his magic circuits and if he tried to activate them now he would just end up spasming and losing the fight.

He barely had the time to ask his next question as once again Shiki made another deadly strike from his side cutting deep into his ribs. "What do you mean open my eyes?" Harrison uttered. "Your eyes do not shield them from me, you so choose to handicap yourself why is that," Rougi Shiki countered verbally as she kicked him squarely in the chest sending him flying into a tree. Is she talking about my mystic eyes, I don't even know what they are or how to use them, Harrison thought as he watched Shiki slowly approach him her knife held high. His body refused to listen to any commands as he was forced to sit there unmoving lodged in a thick tree stump. 

Open my eyes what could she mean by that, they are open so something metaphorical maybe. Harrison internally panicked as death arrived at his doorstep once again, except now he could feel how far he leaned over the line he walked. Open my eyes open my eyes, he echoed in his mind as if it would unlock some wisdom. He gave up on his eyes not knowing what she could mean and moved his focus to his magic circuits maybe there would be a way to activate them with control. When he did try to send mana through them splitting pain-like lighting shot up his arms and legs causing him to exclaim in pain as blood shoot from his mouth, and the world seem to flash a weird shade of red. At that moment his eyes widened. When all his circuits seemed to flare up he noticed something. The circuits in his eyes were on full blast essentially and yet he had never noticed their activation until they shut down in his lack of control. Harrison didn't care for the knife that was coming toward him with the intent to kill. He had one shot, one opportunity, to seize everything he ever wanted, in one moment, would he capture it, or just let it slip?

His eyes lit up a brilliant shade of blue and pink as he turned off the subconscious mystic code blockers in his eyes, revealing his mystic eyes. 

Mystic Eyes of Death Perception