World Tree MUSH

    Here in the World's Tree's Lower Trunk, the worlds that have been joined here tend to shift and clash. One day you might see an uber-technological tower right next to a medieval tavern, spend the night at the latter and the next morning there's a magical wizard's tower. It all lends itself to a very chaotic place.

    So maybe it's no wonder that Tonbokiri has been sent here to look for signs of trouble. Not just any trouble, mind... a trouble that his own world brought to the World Tree. Once they called themselves the History Retrograde Army, an organization seeking to alter the flow of time for their own ends.

    Now that time travel isn't possible anymore -- for the Retrograde army or for those who oppose them -- they're rebranded themselves the "Quantum Retrograde Army". They've been quiet for some time, but here, now, Tonbokiri's master has sensed their particular brand of magic in this place.

    And so, Tonbokiri is here, checking the area. He isn't alone, of course. Perched upon his shoulder is a small, fluffy, tan-colored fox creature with a white face that resembles a painted fox mask.

    "...Konnosuke," he large purple-haired man dressed in hermit priest robes and wielding a spear speaks quietly, "are you certain Aruji said it was here? I see nothing out of place." Pause. Beat. "...Nothing more out of place than usual, rather," he corrects himself.

    The small fox creature nods. "Yes. These coordinates match exactly. We might have gotten here before the trouble's started," it points out.

    Whatever trouble there might be bound to be-- there is something else to pick up, too. Something completely different from what Tonbokiri and his fox companion are here for. It might not have even registered to whatever monitoring measures their master used to lead them here, before now.

    A tear. A briefest opening between the World Tree and... Somewhere Else. It's not large, but it may still be enough for people gathered here to notice. And even put up their guard for, considering what they are here for in the first place.

    But what comes through from that tear above is not an army. It's--

    "GYYAAAAH--?!"

    A single figure is violently... er, spat out, for lack of a more gentle description, before the tear disappears again, just as suddenly as it had first made itself known. And unfortunately for the person that came through from the other side-- it was several feet in the air, leaving him to helplessly flailing and arcing through the air like a ragdoll, falling down and--

    *THUMP*

    What's left on the ground just a few paces ahead from Tonbokiri stands is a young, red-haired man flopped down onto his back, with several small tears and burn marks left in the white-and-black jersey jacket worn over his body.

    ...And certainly this person is in absolutely no hurry to get right back up either. Judging from the low, pained groan and the blank stare of his eyes directed up above, he might not even be fully conscious at this point. One can only hope the impact didn't break any bones or jostle his brain too badly.

When there's lots of magic present, there's bound to be witches. Or in this case just one who doesn't have the best sense of direction. She descends from a nearby vine before looking around, "This isn't Columbia!" The young woman has two ghosts floating next to her as usual.

 "I believe we should have gone left not right at the last turn." One of the ghosts speaks up.

 "Well, that's easily fixed..." She starts to climb up back until the vine snaps and sends her plummeting below. At least she misses the man upon crashing, "I'm okay!"

  Occasionally, the Vines like to lead unsuspecting travellers by the nose into trouble, subjecting them to interesting times whether they like it or not. In point of fact, Tohsaka Rin does not like it. Most days, she has a busy schedule, and the Mage's Association always has some pointless task for her or her sister to do. Today it was her turn to handle some budding crisis or another.

  The sound of a motorcycle is the first thing audible here at this crossroads. There's a high frequency to the sound that seems out of place, and marks the vehicle as electric. Seconds later, a sleek red motorcycle pulls into view, riding at a moderate speed with its inconveniently bright headlight on. For safety!

  Astride it is a young woman in black riding leathers. Both the helmet and the fuselage of the bike bear a mark that might be recognisable to the redheaded young man: A stylistic cross, ornamented with a dot at each upper quarter. It's the same mark that graces Tohsaka Rin's favourite cold-weather sweater, and probably at least subconsciously meaningful. Historically, the Tohsaka family were Hidden Christians, even though they practised Magecraft.

  The bike swerves neatly to one side near Tonbokiri; not close enough to alarm, but enough for Rin to catch herself on a foot, punting the kickstand into place and pulling off her helmet as she approaches both living weapon and fox-like assistant. She's about to open her mouth to say something to Tonbokiri--

  GYYAAAAH--?!

  --oh, look, someone's having a case of the Mondays! And it's finally not her. Rin turns, staring, as a single figure is hurled out of a vanishing Vine. Several feet up in the air, in fact, and she has the good grace to wince when the young man hits the ground at terminal velocity. Rin blinks owlishly, leaning over just a little to eye the young man.

  "...Uhh?"

  Smooth, Rin. Real smooth.

  The magus is a little older than he may remember, if he knew someone like her. Early twenties, with the clean, lean look of someone who takes good care of themselves. Her clothing is more or less functional; protective riding leather, sleek enough to move around in but not so form-fitting as to be scandalous. Long black hair slightly frizzy from the helmet drifts about her face until she shakes her head to clear it, frowning.

  "Hey." Rin toes the unfortunate young man with a shoe. "Are you okay?"

  There doesn't seem to be any recognition in her voice at all.

  Oh hey another familiar voice. Rin glances around, owlish, before lifting a hand at Holly. Hello familiar-faced person! "Oh, hey." Those blue eyes are quick to turn back to Mister Fell-Out-Of-The-Sky.

    It's not Tonbokiri that senses the tear first. It is in fact his master, in whatever unknown location the monitoring is being done from. A headsup is sent to Konnosuke, and the fox's ears perk. "Tonbokiri! There!"

    There's about enough time for the purple-haired man to wheel about and ready his weapon before the young red-haired man all but splats onto the ground. Tonbokiri blinks, and just sort of... stares, as though he doesn't know what to make of this.

    Fortunately Konnosuke has a bit more presence of mind, and hops down off of the Touken Danshi's shoulder and slowly approaches the fallen man. The fox creature is staying near the man's head, so any raising of arms for attack can be seen.

    Sniff? Sniff sniff? "...He's still alive," Konnosuke replies. Then it sits down next to the red-haired man and jingles the bell at its neck. A beam of faint light emits from the holes in the bell, aimed at Shirou. It doesn't feel like anything, really. And it shouldn't, since it's just a camera -- Konnosuke is just getting footage.

    Tonbokiri is the one that notices the plummeting-in Holly, and frowns. Though one might get the feeling that the frown is not aimed particularly at her, since he relaxes his battle-ready stance and inquires of the newly-arrived witch, "Are you certain you are all right?" Also now that he's 'awake', and not just confused, he can look to the young man's condition.

    Except there's someone else arriving too! Very much doesn't bode well. However, he nods to the arriving Tohsaka Rin. "Greetings," he offers. And as he kneels next to the red-haired man who fell out of the sky, he notes, "Please be on your guard. When this many people 'find' their way to the same place, it tends to mean trouble."

    Oh, and those who have the ability to sense it can probably sense magic from him. Not that he does magic. That he is magic! In fact, two people in this scene might almost find his particular 'brand' of magic somewhat familiar...

    "Ggguuuuhhhh...."

    The fall might not have been a great one, but it was definitely enough for the red-haired teenager to have been severely affected by it. But then again, who knows if he was falling even on the other side of the tear...?

    Either way, he remains affected by it all well long enough that he doesn't react to Konnosuke's presence in any way or form, at first. It's only after the camera in the creature's bell goes off that he stirs some.

    "Agh, what..." A hand finds it's way to his face, rubbing into his forehead first and then covering up his eyes for a good moment. "I'm... alive...?"

    He keeps his hand pressed to his face, shuffled just enough that he can peek out from between his fingers, while he uses his other hand to pressing into the ground besides him, and slooowly, with pained motions, pushing himself up at least halfway-towards a sitting posture. He's not properly resettled yet. Voices echo in his skull, his vision is still blurry -- it might be returning to some focus, but he still can't fully make out the details of the people around him.

    "Ugh... were you... there too...? Did you see... what happened...?" He mumbles while at least *trying* to get a look at both Tonbokiri and Rin past the filter of his fingers, seemingly to no one in particular. Maybe he really did get concussed, and he's just babbling more or less blindly.

    But then he adds the most curious targeting addendum to that question.

    "...Tohsaka...?"

    He can't fully make the female magus out yet. But there's familiar signs in that blurry form. A familiar voice ringing in his ear.

Holly dusts herself off as she gets back onto her feet, "Well I guess I could fly back up..."

 "I wouldn't suggest flying back up to the vine. It might be best to find a different way back," Servis can't help but to suggest.

 "I guess so...hey it's the lady from the London with a lot of spiders. Did they ever get rid of those?" She couldn't help but to be curious about that now. Her attention turns towards Tonbokiri, "Wow, you have a lot of magic coming from you! Are you a wizard? I'm sure, I accidently made a potion that makes me super strong and durable." She explains the situation to him.

 Her attention then turns back to Rin upon hearing the unfamilar man say her name, "Oh so that's what's she's called!"

  At least the young woman seems savvy enough to know that there may be some kind of trouble. Rin shifts her weight, and when she moves her right hand, something small gleams between her fingers as it catches the light. There's also a dagger sheathed at her hip, although she hasn't drawn it yet, and the red jewel that forms its pommel also catches the light as she turns. "Yeah." Rin sighs at Tonbokiri's warning. How she packs so much resignation into a single breath is anyone's guess. "Unfortunately, you're not wrong. That's just how the World Tree seems to work."

  Her gaze slants back down toward Shirou, studying the young man with a frown. He looks like he's pretty normal, aside from being dusted up a bit. Nothing about him feels particularly off-putting or dangerous. Chances are good he's probably human. They're reasonably safe as long as he's not some kind of weirdo freak with superhuman powers, right?

  Folding her arms, Rin tilts her head a little. "He must have hit his head--"

  ...Tohsaka?...

  "Huh?" Rin actually takes half a step back, one brow arching sharply. This guy knows her name? How does he know her name? Come to think of it, he does look a little bit familiar. Redheads aren't very common in her home town of Fuyuki City. Rin takes a moment, still and silent as she studies him, blue eyes piercing. This is not Idol Student Tohsaka; this is Magus Situational Tohsaka. There's an edge to her. "How do you know my name? You look a little familiar, I admit..."

  Rin's fingers snap, loudly. "Oh!" It's still distant recognition; the tone of an acquaintance, not a friend. "You're that guy that was always fixing stuff on campus, weren't you?" She narrows her eyes. "Yeah, that's right, the damn ceremony was late because you were off fixing a toaster or something and lost track of time." Huh? That's it? "Ohhhh." Her smile turns catty. Danger, Emiya Shirou. "You must be that guy my sister was crushing on for a while, there..."

  Huh?

  Back to the situational magus, although she throws half a glance at Holly, blinking owlishly. "Huh? Oh. Yeah. Did I not introduce myself? Sorry. Spiders," she offers, by way of explanation. That totally explains everything. "My name's Tohsaka. Tohsaka Rin. You can call me Tohsaka, or you can call me Rin; it doesn't matter to me." Did they ever get rid of the spiders? "Haaa ha ha ha. No. We can exterminate the smaller ones for a little while, but they always come back. The more of a ruckus we cause, the bigger the invading spiders start getting. We keep retaking and losing parts of the city to them; the map's always changing. London's pretty dangerous these days."

  Her eyes slide sidelong to Tonbokiri to squint suspiciously, too. "Yeah, you do feel like a lot of something. I don't know what you are, but I'm going to guess you're not human." At least he's polite. He's probably not going to snap and murder everyone in a rage, right?

    As the red-haired man sits up, Tonbokiri will make to put a hand behind his back, intending to assist him to sit up and support him in the meantime. "Easy now, boy," he offers kindly. "You've had quite the crack on the head, from what I saw." He blinks though, at the questions. "I saw you come here through a Vine and land on your head," he replies, his tone almost teasing. More seriously, he notes, "If you've been attacked, your assailant is likely not here with you."

    Holly's question gets a blink. "What? No, I'm no wizard. I would be glad to explain once this young man's health is no longer in question." Also because, hurt or not, this guy could be an enemy.

    Tonbokiri pauses, to listen to the interplay between the red-haired man and Rin. "Oh, you know each other? That is fortunate." He smiles broadly. It's not a mad smile, no. It's an honestly pleased one. And a little relieved. Though the smile falls in response to mention of giant spiders that essentially respawn constantly. "That, however, is unfortunate," he remarks.

    Rin basically puts her finger on the pulse of what's 'up' with him, though, and he nods. "Indeed not, Miss," he admits. He can't really bow at the waist, since he's kneeling, but he bows his head respectfully. "I am Tonbokiri, the spear that protected Tadakatsu Honda in over a hundred battles. My name comes from the legend of the dragonfly being cut in two while landing upon my blade."

    Any semi-typical Japanese world might know the name 'Tonbokiri', to note -- it's one of the Three Great Spears of Japan, and considered a valuable historical artifact. It's also worthy to note that he's talking from the point of view that he IS the blade -- that he's the spear itself, not the person who wielded it.

    "I... I think I'm alive..." Shirou mumbles, in respones to the words Tonbokiri gives him out of concern. Though let's be honest, even if his skull was gaping open and leaking his brains out, he would probably claim to be okay. "What's a...?"

    The question he was going to give the purple-haired man drifts off when the particular reaction of Tohsaka Rin reaches his ear. That particular question. How does he know...?

    "What... What are you talking about, we were just...?" He starts, but then pauses, as if on cue from the snap of the woman's fingers. Wait. Why does she sound a bit different. What's with that tone? ANd...? The event she's recounting doesn't sound familiar, but somehow it also sounds like the kind of thing that could have happened.

    "...Did *you* hit your head? I--" He starts to turn, but then freezes when she says *that*. Who's crushing on him now? "Wh-- you have a sister...?" He sure doesn't remember any other Tohsaka at school.

    Finally, he feels confident enough in the state of his eyes to draw his hand down from his face, and settle properly on Rin, and...

    The boy just stares.

    Wide-eyed, quiet, jaw slightly slacked to leave his mouth visibly open. It's the look of someone who can't quite fully process the visual information put in front of him.

    "What... what's with that outfit?" He asks eventually, though, blunt as can be. "Are you secretly into cosplay?!" That's the conclusion he comes to?! To be fair, he probably still isn't seeing *quite* straight enough to really catch on to the subtle signs of the years of seperation between her and the Tohsaka *he* knows.

    "W-wait-- hold on, that's not important right now?! Why are you so calm?!"

    With his mind catching on to everything that happened within the last few minutes from his point of view, he's suddenly scrambling up in a panic, away from Tonbokiri's supporting hand and up to wobbling feet, head snapping from side to side and widened eyes flicking this way and that to scan over the utterly unfamiliar surroundings.

    "Where are we?! What happened?! Is-- is everyone else okay?! Where's Sa--"

    The rapid-fire, adrenaline-fueled questions halt when his eyes happen to twitch downwards. And lock on to his left hand. There's... not really outwardly anything that appears to be terribly wrong with it, though. There are some faint reddened patches of skin, like scrapes or bruises, over the top of it, but otherwise it seems just fine. And yet...

    Color's draining from Shirou's face while he stares at his hand, as if he might have lost it completely.

    "...Ah...?"

"So the only way to stop them is defeat the giant spider somehow or they just keep coming. Maybe they're feeding off the magic you use to fight them if they keep getting bigger..." Holly can't help but to wonder about that. "Wait...so you're really a magical spear? Do you boost the magical power of whoever wields you?" Holly's purple eyes suddenly light up with that.

 "Holly, no taking strange artifacts to boost your magic. You don't know where he's been." Servis reminds her.

 "Somewhere in Japan?" Her knowledge of Japanese history isn't the greatest. Her attention then turns towards Shirou, "If you were dead we would all be ghosts, not just Servis and Lavaux..." She points to the ghosts before taking a closer look at him, "Was someone chasing after you?" It looks like he has been in a fight or something.

  "I don't actually know. It's more that they multiply faster than we can take them down. Unless we can find the nests and eradicate those, they just keep coming back more numerous than they were." Rin sighs. "Humanity's had to forfeit London, more or less. If people are still living there, it's because they refused to evacuate. They'll probably get eaten by spiders sooner or later." She sounds more resigned than anything else about that.

  To Shirou, "Yeah, don't get up too fast." A pace or two away from where Tonbokiri helps ease Shirou upright, Rin shifts her weight again, folding her arms. She's still watching Shirou closely, and in spite of seeming amicable enough, there's a wary edge to her body language. "No, I doubt anybody's chasing you any more. The Vine's gone. Um, you're probably not going to want to hear this, but it sounds like you may be stuck here unless you can find another Vine back to your world of origin. This place is more like a kind of crossroads."

  She glances over her shoulder, scanning the area, before looking back. Tonbokiri's question earns a shake of the head. "No, not really. I don't know him. I mean, I know of him, but I never knew him personally. I can't even remember his name, to be honest." Unfortunate? She snorts. "It's an infestation is what it is."

  Tilting her head, she watches as Tonbokiri bows his head and gives his name. Going by the sudden distance in her gaze, that must set the wheels to turning. She flips through her school history over the course of a few seconds, only half-listening to what he says, until he says a name. Tadakatsu Honda, hundred battles, dragonfly spear...

  "Oh. Shit." Rin's eyes widen as her gaze flicks back to the living weapon. "You're that Tonbokiri." It's an inanimate object, but that doesn't seem to bother her too much, because weird stuff happening in the course of a day is basically her life now. "Uh, you're probably not from my world, I hope," she mutters under her breath.

  Oh, their impromptu patient is still alive.

  "'We were just?' Look, I'm sorry, but I don't know you." Rin's response is guarded. It isn't the kind of guardedness that suggests she's hiding anything, but more the honest guardedness of someone being addressed too familiarly by a stranger. A stranger who's begun spouting nonsense, by the sound of it. Rin blinks owlishly. "Wait, what are you talking about? Of course I have a sister--"

  He's staring at her. It's a few delayed seconds before she notices, and once she does, Rin flushes scarlet. "Haven't you ever seen motorcycle gear before? Hello? Or did you not notice the motorcycle over there?" She stares blankly as he latches on now to why is she so calm? "Uh?" At this point Rin is pretty much out, and throws a helpless look to Tonbokiri, the crux of which seems to be what's with this guy?

  By the time she looks back, Shirou is crab-scuttling away from them. All Rin can do is stare, totally baffled. "Haaa...?"

  Why is he looking at his left hand like that? It's the place where command seals should be, and Rin is suddenly staring, piercing blue eyes locked on those bruise-like blemishes where the last vestiges of a threefold seal are fading away.

  She knows what it is, because she used to have one of her own, years ago.

  Those blue eyes lift back up to Shirou's, and all vestiges of good-natured affability are gone, too. Rin's gaze is like ice. Her question is simple, softly spoken, cold as a February morning.

  "Was that a command seal?"

  There is something terribly cold in her tone that brooks no lies; no half-truths. Even if her sister was on friendly terms with this guy, once upon a time, the possibility that this walking redheaded disaster had a command seal is a dangerous red flag.

  She waits with that piercing stare locked on him, and though she never moves, the tension about her shoulders is almost palpable.

    Tonbokiri can't help but tease to Shirou's words of being alive, "I should hope so, young man. You seem to be breathing and your heart seems to beat. One doesn't simply get up and walk around when one is dead, after all." But it's the question of if Rin's into cosplay that finally gets the dam to break. If Shirou has a headache, he's going to probably not like it, but Tonbokiri releases a hearty belly laugh. "Ah, if she is, it is her business, my friend. This passes for 'decent' in her world, I believe."

    Though he sobers as Shirou scrambles up, and stands quickly. He doesn't turn his weapon on the red-haired man, but he is definitely tensed, just in case. And when Shirou all but freezes while looking at his own hand, Tonbokiri blinks. "Has something happened?" he inquires.

    Holly's question gets a tilt of his head. "I... suppose I used to, before Aruji gave me life," he replies, uncertainly. "But now that I have life, I need no wielder. I wield myself."

    He offers an affirmative sound at the mention of London's problem being infestation. "It sounds so," he agrees. "Taking the words 'battling pests' to a new extreme..." Rin seems to recognize him then, and he nods, with a smile. "Yes, I am," he confirms. He's not puffing up or bragging, no. Just admitting that's who -- or what -- he is.

    Tonbokiri also seems to be aware of something deeper going on here -- if this red-haired man is familiar to Rin, and suddenly she seems to react as though something's up. And he stays quiet as the mention of 'command seals' is made. He has no idea what those are, but now that Rin seems on-edge, he's a little tense himself.

    And through it all, Konnosuke sits upon the ground, watching everything play out with a neutral, near-impassive expression...

    There's too much happening all at once. By Shirou's perception, he was just staring at what looked like an apocalyptic event, and now there's this girl who should know him saying all these strange things.

    He can feel his head hurting. Breathing's growing more difficult.

    "Hah...?"

    And she's even asking about the Seals. She was the one who explained them to him, as far as he knows. He can't even formulate a proper answer to the question that, in his mind, she shouldn't even be asking. And instead, he ends up asking right back at her:

    "She's... gone, isn't she...?"

    Its starting to get too much. If she's 'gone', then is everything else 'gone', too? All that talk about vines and crossroads or whatever is way too hard for him to process right now on top of everything, and--

    It's too much.

    Weakened as he was already, all the strength he put into forcing himself up disappears, and Shirou promptly collapses down onto his knees. Breathing uneven, forehead dripping with sweat, arms hanging limp at his sides even.

    "Are... are you sure I'm not dead...?"

I'm pretty sure you're not a ghost, but even if you are we can still be friends! A lot of my friends are undead." Holly does her best to reassure Shirou as she places a hand on his shoulder, "It didn't go through, that's a good sign!" She doesn't still fully understand what's going on here but it seems like he already knows Rin from somewhere.

 Her attention then turns back to Tonbokiri, "Well, that's good, I can't imagine what it would be like to be a sapient weapon with no wielder! I can imagine it would kind of lonely though..." The witch looks at her lollipop shaped staff as she says that.

  Everything falls by the wayside as the magus waits for her answer. She's staring so sharply at the young man that it almost seems a glare. There's something about the stillness that surrounds her that speaks to so much more than simple listening. It's an aura of deadly intent; the cold calculation of someone who isn't yet certain whether their back is to the wall or not, yet.

  Her attention is focused like a laser on Shirou. Rin watches as Shirou progresses through the stages of denial and subsequent input overload. She's silent as he asks his question, and her answer is to thin her lips in evident displeasure. As he pitches to his knees in defeat her regard is still cold.

  "You're not from my world." The observation is clinical and almost detachedly curious. "The details aren't adding up. You're talking about the people from my school, including me, in the present tense. I graduated a few years ago; Sakura and I share a flat in London... well, shared, at least until the spiders moved in." At that, she throws a glance at Holly and Tonbokiri. Her attention is quick to snap back to Shirou.

  Rin sighs. It's a sound of profound exasperation and even some resignation. As Shirou grapples with existential crisis and the others make sure he's not going to die or anything, the magus steps back from the group, rummages around in a pocket, and in the span of about two seconds and change she has a cigarette lit and dangling from her lower lip. Turning, she starts to pace, folding her arms and trailing a wreath of smoke as she walks.

  "Okay. So. I'm ninety percent certain you're the same boy my sister and I went to school with, but I never knew you personally. Still. I'm pretty sure you didn't have anything to do with that whole mess with the command seals. Not in my world, that is, so obviously you're from somewhere else, where you obviously are, or were, a participant in the Grail War." Rin huffs a smoky sigh.

  A stray look is thrown at Holly, and Rin blinks. Shirou's not a ghost? "Yeah no I'm pretty sure he's not dead, but going by the look on his face, he might wish he was."

  "All right. Here's to hoping this doesn't become a problem with the Mage's Association. I'm going to accidentally forget to tell them about you, because frankly it's none of their damn business, and you're going to take a deep breath and tell me what was happening before you landed in the road in front of me. Maybe we can put all the pieces together."

    Tonbokiri starts in alarm as Shirou collapses, and kneels at his side to assist him again. "Easy now," he offers quietly, in a soothing voice. "Perhaps it's just all a bit to take in at once. Let's see if we can find you a place to rest and take care of your injuries, yes? Then once you are more calm, perhaps the explanation can be offered again, more slowly."

    Holly's words draw his attention, and he nods. "Indeed. You seem a perfectly living, flesh and blood young man to me. Though I admit I am a poor judge of such things. I can hear you breathe." Now, Holly's words of being lonely get a quiet chuckle. "Oh no. I am not the only one. And Aruji treats us well, sees to our needs, makes certain we are healthy and well-repaired."

    And once Rin begins to sort-of explain what's going on, Tonbokiri listens. He isn't really privy to the world Rin comes from, or the one Shirou's from, honestly. But he understands what's basically going on. "So... two iterations of the same world, where events have both progressed differently in your world as compared to his, and also progressed farther in your world than in his?" he asks of Rin. He's not going to ask anything of Shirou right now, poor guy's brain seems like it's in low-power mode at the moment...

    Not from her world. Sakura. London. World Tree. There's too much information to deal with right now, and Shirou can't find the strength to his legs or arms. It might well be that it's only Tonbokiri's support at his side that keeps him from completely and utterly collapsing like a pile of goo onto the ground.

    He does manage to lift his head up enough to peer up at Holly, though. Normally, he might look bemused. Shocked even, at hte particular choice of words. But right now, there's just a blank expression. The most he can manage while his brain tries to catch up with... everything.

    "That's... good...?"

    His head ends up hanging downwards again right after that. He can't bring himself to ask for proper explanations to everything being said to him right now. Most of his brain is turning over to autopilot.

    But he's being told to explain himself. Tonbokiri might be urging to get him brought to somewhere he can lie down, but...

    "...Something came out from under Ryuudo Temple..." He murmurs quietly, tone of voice gone all monotone from the automation he's put himself into just for the sake of keeping himself from being overstimulated -- and maintaining his sanity. Not really fully taking into account the fact that only one person present here is going to be even have a chance of knowing what he's referring to.

    "Archer and Caster called it the Grail, I think... Everything, just... Everything started breaking..."

"Well, it's a good thing you have other friends like you! I don't know any other mages from my world besides my parents, but I've met a lot from other worlds." Holly smiles at that before looking at Shirou.

 "Yes, it sounds like sleep might be a good idea. I don't really have anywhere to offer besides my dorm room though and I'm already sharing that with someone." She doesn't really have any ideas where he can go. "A grail? Like the holy grail? Isn't that supposed to provide eternal life? Though I guess it could cause destruction if the wrong person drank from it." The witch is doing her best to piece together what Shirou is saying.

  From her position at the perimeter, Rin glances back at the living weapon, considering his paraphrasing careflly. On the surface it does seems to be a case of mismatched worlds. Shirou looks a bit younger than the last time she remembered seeing him. Not by much, but enough to give her pause.

  To her knowledge, he had never participated in the travesty of the Fifth War, although that doesn't mean much. She and Sakura had largely kept to themselves. They hadn't necessarily learned the identities of all seven Masters. Though it's feasible that Shirou may have participated, it's unlikely the Tohsaka sisters would have missed that. They had been careful, so exactingly careful, in their tactics.

  Something came out from under Ryuudo Temple. Rin listens, sharpened to a razor's focus once more as her gaze snaps to Shirou. She listens, and the distance in her eyes suggests she's thinking furiously to shuffle pieces around and put them into place. Archer and Caster called it the Grail, I think... Everything, just... Everything started breaking...

  Rin breathes a wreath of smoke and considers.

  "So you were one of the Masters." Her soft observation isn't a question. "Or, at the very least, you knew about the Grail War, and you went to... the leyline?" Rin's brow furrows as she turns, pacing in another direction, frowning. Her boots click over hard ground a she does. "All right. Sakura and I were never at Ryuudo. We knew there was a Master somewhere nearby, but we also knew that wasn't safe territory..."

  The magus adopts a more conversational tone, shaking herself out of her half-voiced thoughts. "Okay. Uh, I don't actually remember your name, but I remember your face. Look; my father didn't leave any notes about your family ever being magi, and he was too professional to overlook an entire lineage in his own territory. I know you're not from my world, so you must be from one that's... a little similar, but different in the details." Rin sighs again, frowning. "Nope. You're not staying with me." She flicks a hand. "Someone else can take care of the lost puppy."

  She has things to think about, but before she can, Holly's misunderstanding earns a look. "Huh? No. Holy Grail, as in the vessel that received the blood of--well, no, not really; it was never the genuine article in Fuyuki." Rin looks momentarily bitter about that before continuing right along. "Anyway. It's more... it's not strictly physical and it'd take too long to explain, but the short answer is 'no, not like that.'"

  A finger jabs in Shirou's direction. "...And don't die on me here. I don't want to get saddled with that paperwork."

    Tonbokiri will indeed offer whatever support Shirou will allow to keep the poor guy from collapsing again. He's probably already injured, the Touken Danshi reasons, and doesn't need to fall again. Besides, he's suffering from enough shock as it is.

    Nope, Tonbokiri didn't understand a word of that. At least, not any of the terms or whatever. All he knows is this fellow likely suffered a disaster, and that's probably why he's here.

    Holly's trying to piece it together, and Tonbokiri nods. "His world and our worlds are different," he points out. "So concepts in your world or my world may be completely different in another world, if they even exist."

    Rin also brings a very good question. "Ah, yes. What is your name?" he inquires of Shirou. Normalcy can start as simply as that -- an introduction from an apparent human being. However, he does force down a snicker at Rin's mention of paperwork.

    But on the other hand, he also offers, "Well, the Citadel is quite large. Perhaps Aruji will let you stay there temporarily. The many others like myself that I spoke of live there as well, so it is hardly a quiet place. But if you have no other options, Aruji might be willing to allow it... at least until more permanent arrangements can be made..."

"Oh, I guess a fake holy grail could be bad especially if people though it was real." Holly can understand where Shirou's coming from. "Oh, I'm Holly Winn! Nice to meet all of you!" Tonobokiri's comment to Shirou just reminded her she hasn't introduced herself yet.

 "I guess it would be difficult to explain if someone to others that a different version of someone you know died." She nods in agreement with Rin's comment regarding the paperwork.

    Shirou manages to guide a hand to his face. The momentary fall down to his knees is at least giving him the space of time to recover some strength to his body, if nothing else. Some of the shock is starting to subside... even if theres certainly a great deal that he still needs cleared up. Too many things.

    ... And he's starting to come to terms with the fact that this Tohsaka is not... the same Tohsaka he knew. Part of him still doesn't want to accept it, certainly, but...

    Another part of him is also insisting that the Tohsaka he knew was left behind where he came from, and might very well be... No, maybe it's best not to linger on that. He can't let himself fall into too many holes right now.

    "...Emiya Shirou," he finally offers, since Tonboriki is directly asking him. "I think I can try to get up. Ugh."

    He's at least not so stubborn right now as to refuse support to get him up on his feet, if Tonboriki is to continue providing it. And his brain is starting to finish it's rebooting sequence enough to give a wry look to... *this* Tohsaka. Someone else can take care of the lost puppy. That does sound a lot like the Tohsaka he knows for sure. Just reinforces his thought that this *is* still *a* Tohsaka Rin. Just...

    "I... Still don't really fully understand everything," he helpfully points out the painfully obvious. "I'm not going to try to insist on 'staying with you' or whatever, but I... still have a lot of questions, you know." Probably not questions he's going to be able to get out in a *coherent* manner if he were to try to ask them now, though.

    ...But there is one question he can't help but ask right away regardless.

    "Did... 'my world' end...?"

    Tonbokiri gives a puzzled look in Holly's direction for a moment... and then he seems to understand. "Ah, yes. Paperwork is intensely boring. And that sounds like something that would indeed require a small mountain of paperwork," he agrees.

    Yes, he will indeed offer to assist Shirou to his feet when the red-haired man makes it known that he's able to stand, or at least to try. Tonbokiri doesn't really understand a lot of what's going on either. But he does understand the basics. Shirou is displaced and needs help.

    And then... that question. "Not necessarily," Tonbokiri replies hopefully. "There are people from other worlds that merely come here because a Vine brings them here without their world. Perhaps your world simply did not have the strength to 'open' when it joined to the World Tree. There have been reports of worlds that were found some time after the first being made contact with the tree."

    Here he makes to place a hand on Shirou's shoulder, to pat encouragingly. "So, you needn't give up hope. There is always the possibility that it is merely 'late', or that you were 'early'."

  "I suspect you probably have the wrong idea several different ways, but I don't even have the time to set the record straight." Rin shakes her head in Holly's direction, but it's Tonbokiri and Shirou that her attention turns to. She takes a moment to study them both, gaze flicking between them.

  The corner of her mouth twitches into a frown again. "He's right, you know." This, to Tonbokiri's observation. "What we take for granted might be completely different elsewhere in the World Tree. Things might be completely different in his world than they were in mine. Anyway... yeah. Great. If you can put him up for a while, I'm sure he'll be fine."

  Her eyes flick back to Shirou again, because he's still alive and probably talking.

  Oh, that's right. Emiya Shirou; that was his name, once upon a time the redheaded star of the high school archery club.

  Rin looks at him flatly.

  "Good, because you're not staying with me." Well, so much for Rin being nice. "Don't even ask me. I'll answer them if I can, but something tells me it won't do any good right now." Rin waves a hand almost dismissively, tilting it back and forth at the wrist. "A portal opened, booted you out, and closed. That's all I really know. I can't tell you whether or not your world is still around; I mean, I would assume yes, but if the Lesser Grail was going nuclear, I'm going to guess there might be a crater where it was. Other than that..."

  Just then, her phone rings, a cheery electronic chirp. Rin plucks it from her pocket and answers it. She's silent, and though a voice is audible on the other end, words aren't. Rin's eyes narrow sharply, and after a moment her mouth tightens. "Yeah. I'll be there."

  She disconnects the call and drops the phone into her pocket in the same motion, frowning. "I'm sorry. I've got to leave. Everyone seems to be alive for the moment, so if you'll excuse me, I've got business to take care of."

  She's already astride her motorcycle, coiling up her hair at the nape of her neck in preparation for putting on the helmet. "Don't think about it too hard." She smiles at Shirou. It might set his danger sense to tingling, broken as his danger sense may be. "I'll be back to question you later." Dropping the helmet on, and revving the engine, she waves to the others before turning and peeling out, rear wheel kicking up dust.

"Let's just say she has an active imagination," Lavaux finally speaks up upon hearing Holly.

 "Well, that good if your friends weren't there when the grail exploded right?" Of course Holly doesn't know all the details still, but she'll prefer to remain optimistic for now. "It sounds like you might be able to go back to your world at least." Things were a lot more complicated for Holly. She was generally the one exploding with magic. "Wait, Lesser Grail? Does that means there's a more powerful one?" So much for that optimism.

 "It seems like she has a lot more to explain, but you should be more worried about your classes, Holly." Servis points out she has more important things to deal with at the moment. "That's right, I still have to get back! See you around!" The witch rushes off looking for another way off this world.

    Tonbokiri nods to Rin's brusque words. "I will need to ask, but I'm certain that there is space in the Citadel," he replies. "Particularly if it's merely on a temporary basis." Looking to the fox critter that has been silent up until this point, he notes, "Konnosuke. Could you ask Aruji if there is space for a refugee?"

    "I have," the little fox replies, curling its fluffy tail around its feet. "Aruji wishes to speak with you, but gives permission for 'Emiya Shirou' to remain in the common area of the Citadel for the time being, if he so wishes."

    The Touken Danshi nods. "That is understandable. I will go to do that as soon as I return," he promises. Rin is heading away, and Tonbokiri offers as she mounts up, "Do take care, Miss Tohsaka. Please let me know if your world needs assistance with any of those problems you mentioned."

    Holly, too, seems to need to be elsewhere, and Tonbokiri also offers to her, "You also, be well, Miss Winn." And he looks to Shirou. "If you do wish to stay at the Citadel temporarily, Aruji has offered you a place in the common area. "There are always extra futons on hand, since we never know which sword spirit may be summoned next." He offers an encouraging smile. "Shall we be off?"

    Don't think about it too hard? That's not exactly the most reassuring statement that could have been given to Shirou in this specific situation. "Wait, hold on--" Shirou starts, but...

    There's that smile. And the particular way she says she's intending on questioning him. His brain might be addled from both the rough landing and the overloading of unpleasant information, but he *definitely* recognizes that particular look. It sends a sharp shiver of nervousness through his spine, and discourages him from saying anything else before she's already burning rubber and getting herself to the general direction of 'not here'.

    "... She's definitely Tohsaka..." He mumbles while he watches her rapidly-withdrawing motorcycle-mounted self. THat much might be certain, but... good god if this particular vision of Tohsaka Rin isn't filling him with about a million questions.

    His brain is catching up enough with his surroundings to catch the rapid declaration of withdrawal from Holly, and-- wait, hold on. Is she actually dressed like--

    "...A witch?"

    That might be a strange thing to get confused over when you are an amateur magus, but mages in his world generally didn't dress like fairy tale witches, you know?

    "Uh... I'm going to be completely honest with you, Tonbokiri-san..." Oh, good, he did at least catch the living weapon's name even in his addled state. "I'm still not entirely convinced I'm not watching some fever dream... but, uh... On the off chance I'm not, I guess I don't have much in the way of other choices, do I?"

    With a groan, he shuffles away from the purple-haired man a bit, confident enough that he can at least stay on his feet now. Even if he does instinctively bring a hand to his side for a moment. THe side that had been hit by a bolt of energy from a certain Servant before everything went to hell in his world. The wound there's already closed. That one's not... *that* surprising, just for that alone.. He had already exhibited faster-than-usual healing of wounds since he spontaniously summoned Saber. But... he had assumed it was specifically some side-effect from her being summoned by him. And she's not here now. And for that matter...

    ...He could have sworn he felt metal in there, just for one passing moment...?

    "I will try not to be too much trouble for you," he offers to Tonbokiri, doing a phenomenally good job of not letting that passing thought of concern show on his face.

    Tonbokiri nods to Shirou's words, presenting a calm smile. Though he's also carefully observing the red-haired man for injuries, or other visible trauma. "We will need to take a longer way back," he cautions. "Do you feel well enough to do that?" And in the meantime? "Konnosuke, are preparations being made?" he inquires.

    "Yes," the fox confirms. Smiling broadly, it offers, "Not to worry! Aruji has Hasebe on it! There will be a change of clothes, a warm bath, food, and a warm bed waiting. And any medical attention he requires, courtesy of Yagen-san."

    Tonbokiri nods. "Ah, good. Yagen is quite experienced with biological medicine," he assures.