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Summary:
The morning after Shirou was attacked by Rider, Saber questions why he violated their promise. In addition to scolding him for not calling on her, Saber wishes that Shirou had consulted with her first about cooperating with Rin. Though she doesn’t disapprove, Saber reminds him that Rin is the enemy and that he should be more careful. After a breakfast where Saber eats basically the entire meal, Shirou is leaving to go to school with Sakura when Saber announces that she’s going with them because it’s her duty to protect Shirou. But when she opens the door, Rin is standing right there. Rin tells Sakura that she’s here to go to school with Shirou, and then winks at him to back her up. Shirou tries to diffuse the situation by suggestion that the three of them can go together, but Sakura runs off to school by herself.
When Shirou and Rin arrive at school (she convinced Saber to stay home), he experiences the pain in his chest again. Rin attributes it to the force field that’s growing in power. If left alone, it could activate in two or three days. Issei comes up behind the two and is shocked to see them together (Issei doesn’t like Rin). Since Issei is pulling Shirou away from her, Rin asks Shirou to meet her on the roof during their lunch break. Despite Issei’s objections, Shirou is able to get out of the classroom during lunchtime and is heading towards the roof when he comes across Sakura. Because she rushes off at the sight of him, he decides to chase her to clear things up. After he explains that Rin won’t come again and that Saber will be staying home, Sakura’s mood improves. Before she heads off, Shirou asks her about Shinji, but she doesn’t seem to know his whereabouts either. Rin, who is pissed because Shirou kept her waiting, then shows up beside him, forcing him to explain about Sakura.
Rin tells Shirou that Ayako has been found alive, but completely unresponsive. Though the hospital thinks it’s some kind of poison, Rin and Shirou attribute it to a Servant. And there’s also the activation of the force field – which would absorb human spirits – looming in the horizon. For now, the two need to find a way to delay the activation of the force field, and Rin thinks that destroying the incantation engravings around school will accomplish just that. Emiya points to a random spot on the roof and, much to Rin’s surprise, there’s actually one there. With Shirou’s ability and Rin’s magic, the two go around after school destroying all of the engravings.
After finishing with the job, Shirou teases Rin for being an Honors Student with such a foul mouth and calls her a fraud. Rin replies that it’s a mage’s duty to hide their real selves. And since she’s the Tohsaka family successor, if she weren’t an Honors Student, she’d be unable to face her father in heaven. Since Shirou doesn’t know about Rin’s father, she explains that he died when she was young, but also that she didn’t feel sad. Shirou thinks she’s lying because it’s always painful when a person dies, even so more if they were close to you. Rin concedes that he’s right, and the two decide to go home. After departing from school, Shirou senses something again. Rin has already gone out of view, so Shirou decides to investigate himself. Drawn to the dojo, he finds a huge wall marking inside. But he’s even more shocked to see Rider and Rider’s master, Shinji. After dismissing Rider, Shinji remarks that he and Shirou haven’t played in a while and then invites Shirou to his house.
I’ll be honest: I liked this episode for the simple fact that it features Shirou’s harem. Rin and Sakura especially are on a collision course to be rivals in love. I personally am heavily favored towards Rin at the moment because she gets so much more screen-time than Sakura. Well, that and the fact that Sakura’s eyes continue to freak me out (she has no pupils!).
I also found Issei’s repeated assertions that Rin is poisoning Shirou to be pretty amusing. All in all, the episode is still pretty slow since they continue to have a lot more talk than action. And while I wish it was more fast-paced, I think I’m getting more and more used to the story speed. Unfortunately, despite Shinji finally revealing himself to be Rider’s master, it doesn’t look like he and Shirou will fight next week if the preview is any indication. *sigh*…
