Its been 2 months of writing this chapter cause my schedule got packed and work has had me a bit drained. Apologies.

On another note, new event has dropped in Battle Chronicle. I still don't have my Xmas Mama elf but at least I got my elf in a bridal outfit for this current banner and I didn't have to whale for her unlike a certain songstress in Honkai.

Anyway here's the chapter.

Chapter 9: What makes a weapon

"Hmm, hmm. So that's the story."

Making their way through the streets, Astraea was recalling the story to Tsubaki on how Archer and her first meet as well as their current relationship. Of course she naturally left out the whole master-servant thing.

"Still, to think you were capable of taking down a bunch of no gooders by yourself is quite impressive. And you managed to keep up with the 'Scarlet Harnel' without a falna, makes me wonder what else you're truly capable of." Turning her head back behind her, Archer was there… still being dragged by her.

"I only managed to draw out enough of her fighting will to take me seriously. She was still holding back much of power." He admitted.

"Don't be like that Archer. You still managed to impress the entire Familia with your skills" Astraea chimed in with a smile. Archer took note that she was trying to make him feel better.

"The sentiment is appreciated, Lady Astraea." he replied, only for the goddess to pout at his reply. Perhaps she picked up the sarcasm in his words. Most definitely by the looks of it.

"Haha! As entertaining as it is to see the two of you interact, we're here."

Coming to a stop, and being let go, Archer took in the sight before him. A very large area with multiple buildings scattered throughout the area. Straight ahead of him was an even larger building with an emblem of two crossing hammers in front of a volcano. He assumed this was the main building.

With a massive grin on her face, Tsubaki called out to him. "Enjoying the sights so far? Welcome to the Hephaestus Familia."

After taking a moment to take in everything, Tsubaki directed the Goddess and servant pair to follow her. Entering one of the buildings they were greeted to the sight of a blacksmith's workshop. Various tools scatter on the walls and benches, a couple of weapons hanging and displayed and a couple of materials scattered throughout the building.

"Welcome to my workshop, the place where wonderful things get made. Hope you're ready for a lesson you won't forget Archer."

Nodding in confidence Archer began to make his way over to Tsuba…

"Ah, wait. Before we begin, you might want to take off that jacket of yours and wear this instead." Stopping Archer in his tracks, Tsubaki threw over a black cloth of some sort. Catching it and unveiling it, it turned out to be an apron. "Don't want that fancy jacket of yours to get caught in anything, would ya?"

The words made sense. Doing as suggested Archer removed his jacket and handed it over to Astraea for safe keeping.

Accepting her servants clothing, Astraea took in another sight for the sight, Archer's exposed arms. It was her first time seeing them and seeing them did give her another idea on how strong he was. Definitely showed how easily he picked her up and carried her when they first met. The sight caused a small blush to form.

"Phwwwwhht. Nice build you got there. Those will help you no doubt. Now let's begin the lesson." Nodding, Archer made his way over.

"Now before we begin let me give you a quick tour of all of the things here."

The tour of her workshop didn't take too long. Archer was able to recognize many of the tools that were in the room, however Tsubaki gave him a good explanation of what its use and purpose was. Archer was thankful for the information given to him.

After the tour, it was time to move on to the real magic, creating a weapon. To help Archer better understand the process, Tsubaki forged a blade, going into detail every step on how to create a weapon. The temperature of the metal, the pressure, shaping and the timing of cooling. Everything told in clear detail and demonstration.

Archer made sure to pay close attention to everything she said. Even though he wasn't fully committed to becoming a blacksmith, he didn't want to waste the experience given to him. Watching Tsubaki work started to remind him of another blacksmith he fought alongside. The sound of a hammer hitting metal, sweat dripping down their face and the dedication to creating a weapon, all ending in a satisfying smile of a completed blade.

How nostalgic.

"You got all of that Archer?"

Breaking out of his trance, he heard the call of Tsubaki.

"*Ahem* Yes, I made sure to take note of everything."

With a smile facing him, Tsubaki replied, "Good, cause it's your turn now. And don't worry I'll be here to help guide you along." He felt more confident in those last few words.

Beginning the process of forging his own blade, Archer started by placing the metal that was provided by Tsubaki into the forge. Carefully watching the metal rise in temperature, it slowly started to change colour. Once the metal was heated enough, grabbing it with tongs he carefully carried the heated metal to the nearby anvil where the next step would begin. Using one of the hammers, Archer began shaping the heated metal. Following Tsubaki's words, Archer tried to follow the correct pace and the strength to mould the metal the way he wanted. With each hit of the hammer, the material slowly began to change shape.

To the side Tsubaki and Astraea were watching him, the former more intensely than the latter. Ever since he started the smithing process, Tsubaki watched him like a hawk, ready to jump in and give advice when necessary. So far Archer was following each step correctly and had yet to make a major mistake. It may be a bit too early to say but to her, Archer did have some potential to become a great blacksmith. Call it a gut feeling.

Back to Archer, once he saw that the metal was starting to cool down, he moved it back to the heat to temper. Once it was reheated, he began the striking process once again. After striking the metal enough times and shaping it to his liking, with Tsubaki jumping in every now and then to help and give advice, the blade was almost completed.

"Not bad for your first, eh Archer."

Looking at the blade he created, while it was still not polished or refined, looking at it gave Archer a new feeling. One that he hadn't felt in quite some time. In all of his years of fighting, every tool, every weapon he ever used belonged to someone else, never truly his. Kanshou and Bakuya, Hrunting, Rho Aias, all of these Noble Phantasms were never his to begin with, merely tools for him to project and use at his disposal. Now here in his hand was something that he created himself. No tracing, no historical figure to copy from, just a simple blade made with his own two hands.

It felt… good, refreshing even.

However there was something bothering him. He wasn't exactly sure what it was but there was something inside him telling him that the creation of this blade was unsatisfactory.

"Hmm. Something the matter, Archer?"

Breaking from his trance, he noticed the looks from Tsubaki and Astraea. He must have been deep in thought for quite some time.

"No, well not exactly. I was just thinking about the blade is all." he answered.

"Is that so? Well for your first time at forging you did a good job. All that's left to do is give it a polish, sharpen it and it'll be good to go."

"Actually, Tsubaki. Would it be okay if I tried one more time?"

"Hmm… And why do you want to redo all of your hard work?" She was asking out of curiosity. After all of his hard work, why would he want to throw it all away?

"Hmmm. I'm not sure how to explain it but… there's something inside me, something telling me that I could've done more. A part of me is unsatisfied with how it came even though I should be proud of this first attempt." He explained.

It was an unusual response but one Tsubaki could understand. As a Blacksmith she's made over a hundred weapons however there were always some that didn't turn out like she wanted. It was through trial and error and lots of hard work she was able to perfect her craft. Turning to Astraea for confirmation on his words, Astraea did indeed confirm that Archer's words were true.

With this confirmation the answer was obvious.

"Alright give it one more go however…" Her expression became more serious. "I won't be helping you in any way shape or form so you'll be all on your own for this one." A reasonable condition for his request. "Also.." Another condition however her serious expression began to take on the laid back face he started to grow used to seeing. Despite only knowing her for less than a day. "You gotta make this blade with all you got."

It was a response that he wasn't expecting but one that fitted her personality. Honestly Archer couldn't help but smile at her carefree attitude.

"Understood." With determination Archer once again began the process of creating a blade. Once again starting from the beginning he began heating up a new piece of metal. Once that was complete he started the striking process and began to hammer it down only this time with each impact the hammer made with the metal, there was a lot more weight to it. The hammer in his hand felt a lot heavier than before.

No matter how much he used the hammer, he wasn't making much progress.

('Damn I'm not making much progress on this. Is this how "he" felt whenever he made his blades?')

It was then at this moment he was reminded of a conversation he had with another spirit sometime ago.

Flashback

Chaldea, the organization to ensure humanity doesn't go extinct. How do they accomplish this one might ask? By summoning servants from the 'Throne of Heroes' to aid them in any temporal anomalies or any other threat to humanity.

Archer himself was one of these servants summoned to Chaldea. Well one of the many hundred servants summoned. His life here was never boring, something interesting would always happen, for better or for worse. Not to mention he got to meet plenty of other servants. Some had "interesting" personalities and quirks, others were quite accurate with what history said they were and some… well lets just say that they were different in other areas.

Never had he'd seen so many different alternate versions of one person… or many different people with the same face.

Hell he met servants that were his own family, family from alternate timeline, friends, that damn priest and an altered version of himself. He might hate that altered version of himself but damn those guns of his were badass.

In the end he'd come to value and cherish his time in Chaldea as a servant to protect humanity and his current master was to thank for that.

One day as Archer was making his way through the halls. He'd just finished preparing and serving lunch to everyone and had some time to kill. Currently there wasn't anything on his schedule to do nor had he made any plans as well. He'd figure out something eventually… probably… maybe. Who knows.

"Ah EMIYA-san!"

Turning towards the voice calling out to him it was none other than Mash Kyrielight, the most trusted servant of his current master. Both her and their shared master pair had been through a lot together and held a bond that no other servant in Chaldea could possibly form. It was rare for either of them to be seen separated when it was time to be deployed for a mission.

"Is something the matter Mash?'

"A-a-ahh nothing EMIYA-san, I was just wondering if you do me a small favor. Da Vinchi needs a package delivered to Muramasa's room. I would do it myself but Senpai's just called me for a mission."

Ah Senji Muramasa, the blacksmith pseudo-servant from the Ise Province in Japan's history. Personally EMIYA held nothing against that particular spirit. In fact he was quite interested in his aspirations and the swords he forged. The only thing that irked him was the body he was possessing.

Noticing EMIYA's change in expression, Mash realized her mistake. "AH! My sorry EMIYA-san, I forgot you and Muramasa don't really get along. I-I'll find someone else right away!"

Seeing the poor girl panicking, EMIYA stopped her before she could leave. It was a misconception that the two hated each other. While they could work together when needed they were more uneasy whenever they were in each other's presence. The body Muramasa was using was proof of that uneasiness.

"Hold on Mash, I'll deliver the goods."

"R-really?" There was a small light of hope glimmering in her eyes.

"Yeah, I think both of us are overdue for a talk anyway. You've just given us an opportunity to do so." Without saying another word EMIYA left to deliver the goods.

Watching the lone Counter Guardian leave her view, Mash let out a breath of relief. "Senpai, I hope your plan works."

Making his way to Da Vinchi's workshop was easy enough. Only a single box needed to be delivered to the Blacksmith's room. A few minutes later he arrived at the room, the room housing the pseudo-servant Senji Muramasa, a room he never thought he would go near.

A single knock on the door and he was permitted to enter. Inside the room was a very Japanese style room. It reminded him of his old home in Fuuki. The structure, the frames, the tatami mats, a nostalgic sight. The style was perhaps a mix between both spirit and host. Entering further he came across a room holding a forge. Inside the forge was the one he was looking for, Senji Muramasa, alive as a servant in the body of none other than his previous self, Shirou Emiya.

"Oh. Welcom… tch, it's you." Upon seeing him, Muramasa was easily disturbed by his presence. Perhaps coming here was a bad idea after all. "What do you want, Archer?"

It hadn't even been a minute and already things were going south.

"Don't mind me, I'm only here to deliver this package from Da Vinci."

Seeing the package in his hands, Muramasa went over to retrieve it. Once retrieved he placed it on a nearby table and checked the contents. Inside were various metals and materials.

"Ah, these must be the things I ordered from her. Glad she was able to get them for me, now I start making some new katanas." Remembering that he wasn't the only one in the room, he turned back to EMIYA. "Thank Da Vinci for me will ya and… thanks for delivering it."

His thanks was a bit awkward but he appreciated it nonetheless, it was just how things were between the two of them.

A few moments of awkward silence had passed by. Neither of them said or moved.

"Well are you just going to stand there or are you going to let me do my work. I'm sure you have plenty of other things to do." Muramasa was the one to break their awkward standoff, replying in the usual tone that EMIYA had grown accustomed to.

He thought about leaving, but he did say to Mash that he would talk to him. It was up to him to make the first step of creating some sort of connection.

"Actually… I was hoping you'd let me watch you forge one of your famous Muramasa blades." Not the most convincing requests but hopefully it would be a start.

Hearing his request, Muramasa could only look at him with an odd look. Usually He'd make some sort of retort or snarky comment and walk off but this time he was asking him if he could watch him make a weapon. It almost sounded too good to be true.

"Why the sudden interest? It's not like you ask such a thing," he asked. He wasn't completely sure of the reason but it was something he wanted to know.

"I'm merely curious and interested in how a Muramasa blade is forged," was EMIYA's reply. "Besides, it's not like one can get to experience how a "legendary" blacksmith creates his weapons in this day and age."

Muramasa might be a weapons artist first, even he could see that EMIYA's request merely a cover for something else. Was this his attempt at "trying to get along with him" or perhaps master put him up to it as well.

After taking a moment to think about it, Muramasa came to a decision. "Alright, you can stay but don't disturb my work. Got it?"

EMIYA nodded to his conditions.

Once that was settled, Muramasa began his work. First up was making sure that the forge was at the correct temperature. To keep the flame going he threw in a few chunks of wood to let it burn. Once the forge was burning at the correct temperature, he placed one of the materials that was inside the delivered package into the forge to heat up. Once the metal was heated to the correct temperature, Muramasa took it out and began the forging process. After hitting it enough times, Muramasa then began to fold the metal. After folding the metal, he then placed it back into the forge and let it rise in temperature. Once it was heated back up he began the process once again. This process was repeated several more times.

On the sidelines EMIYA was watching Muramasa carefully. Every strike, every part of the process was done with great skill and efficiency. Watching the blacksmith work his craft in person was a spectacle.

After folding the metal enough times and shaping it to his liking, what was once just a chunk of metal was now a long flat stick. After forming, reheating, quenching it and giving it a polish, the katana was almost completed.

Having worked hard on it, Muramasa began to have a good examination of his work. Once he finished it, he then offered it to EMIYA to have a look at it himself. Taking the blade from Muramasa, EMIYA began his own examination. The blade was well crafted, a lot of work and effort went into making it and he could somehow feel the weight of it. It was different from the other kantanas that the other Japanese spirits wielded. Right here in his hands was what Senji Muramasa could create.

"So what do you think Archer?" Muramasa asked.

Taking a moment to think about it, EMIYA came to an answer. "If you want my honest opinion, I think this blade is well crafted. While watching you, you took great care and put a lot of passion into creating this. If anyone were to own such a blade, I think they would be very satisfied with it."

"Well I'm glad you like it so much, however…" taking back the blade from EMIYA, Muramasa began to shine to point it towards the light of the fire. "This blade still hasn't reached to "that" level yet."

To some, they may not have known what he meant but EMIYA, he knew exactly what Muramasa meant.

"Still trying to create your ideal sword huh. Must be tough." Muramasa's ideal sword, one that could cut through fate, karma, resentment and destiny. While he could manifest it, the possibility of him perishing after using was quite the risk in exchange. EMIYA had the pleasure of seeing what it could do a few times himself. It was quite the sight.

"Yeah. Even if I can create it using this body, I'm only holding it for a few seconds at most and even after I use it, it just breaks down." Muramasa explained. Another pause occurred after Muramasa spoke those words.

Breaking the silence Archer thought to ask the old man something. "Hey, can I ask you this one question?" Hearing him, Muramasa turned to look at him. "Why do you create such blades?"

With a smirk, Muramasa replied, "Well Archer it's like you when you cook, it's something that I enjoy. Even if my end goal is creating my ideal blade, if it means I'm creating something I can be passionate about and put my all into then who am I to complain to. Like cooking you can't half committee it, it's either go all in or don't bother at all."

Taking a moment to think about it, his words were sound and were right. Never once did he slouch when it came to his cooking and made sure to put all his effort into making his dishes. It would be an insult if he didn't, not to mention his pride wouldn't allow such wasted effort.

"Seems you understand what I mean." Muramasa could see the subtle change in EMIYA's expression. What was once an expression of wonder is now replaced with an expression of understanding the words just spoken. Perhaps this was the beginning of some sort of "bond" between the two of them. It felt a bit weird but he didn't hate the idea of having some sort of good relationship with him.

(Flashback End)

Taking a moment to pause and reflect on that conversation he had with Muramasa, Archer came to a realization with the blacksmith's words.

('I get it now. The unsatisfactory feeling from before, my inability to mold this metal, I'm not truly giving it my all into making this. My heart isn't in the right place to turn this into something great but starting now that changes.') With a new resolution, Archer closed his eyes and started anew.

Reheating his material to the correct temperature, he began to once again shape that brick into a blade. Only a few moments ago, Archer wasn't able to shape it but now that he found a purpose and meaning to making it , it was slowly starting to take shape.

On the side-lines, Astraea and Tsubaki were watching him. When Archer paused for that brief moment after struggling to mould the metal, Astraea was worried that he'd given up but after seeing his new resolve her worries started to fade.

Next to her Tsubaki was concerned for a moment but once she too saw Archer's new resolve a smile started to take seems the spark she saw in him was starting to light up.

Seeing Tsubaki's smirk gave Astraea some comfort on Archer's progress.

After striking the metal for a long time, it finally took the desired shape he wanted. It wasn't anything new or special, just the shape of a standard dagger but to Archer this was what he wanted to make.

"Well Archer, show us what you made." Seeing that Archer was finished with the striking process, Tsubaki walked over to him. After being handed the blade she took a good look at what he made. Already from a quick look, this one was much better than the previous one. The surface was more even with fewer bumps and the edges of the blade were even enough that when the blade would be sharpened it would have more edge to it. It wasn't perfect but that was okay in her book, she was already proud of the progress he made in a short time.

After completing her inspection, she turned to Archer with a smile. "Gotta say this is a really good piece of work for a newbie." Hearing her praise, Archer let a small smile escape. Even Astraea was happy for him.

"Alright, let's get this sharpened, cleaned and put a han…" her words were cut short by the sound of the door being opened.

"So this is where you were Tsubaki!" Standing at the entrance was a woman with a slender figure, red hair reaching down to her neck and an eye patch covering her right eye. From her tone alone she wasn't in a good mood.

"Oh, L-lady Hephaestus. W-what an unexpected surprise. What are you doing here?" For the first time since meeting her, Tsubaki was in a panic. Whoever this person was, she clearly scared Tsubaki enough for her to be like this.

"I came over to the store to check on you and I found that it was closed. I know that things have been a bit slow on the upper levels but that doesn't mean you can close up shop and head back to the forge whenever you want."

"Well about that…" The redhead stared down Tsubaki harder, awaiting her excuse. "Astraea brought in someone who has potential to become a great smith, so I thought it would be a good idea to see what he could do."

Hearing the goddess of Justice's name, the redhead woman finally took notice of Archer and Astraea's presence. "Forgive me for not noticing you earlier but it's good to see you again Astraea." Her tone and expression changed once she started talking to Astraea. "I do hope my captain didn't cause you too much trouble."

"Yes, it's good to see you again Hephaestus." Astraea greeted back. "Please forgive Tsubaki, she only meant well."

"I will keep that in mind. Hmm." Finally taking notice of Archer, she could only ask. "And who is this gentleman beside you? Surely not a new member."

"Oh, forgive me for not introducing him sooner. Hephaestus, this is Archer. He's new to Orario and staying with my Familia for now. And no he's not a member of my Familia." Turning around to Archer, she began to introduce him to her friend. "Archer, this is Hephaestus. The goddess of Smithing and a good friend of mine."

"A pleasure to meet you, Goddess Hephaestus." Archer politely greeted. Meeting the goddess of smithing was an unexpected surprise for him but what did surprise him was how this "Hephaestus" was different from the "Hephaestus" from his world.

"The same to you as well Archer. I'm guessing you're the one that Tsubaki tried to grab?" The goddess asked. Archer nodded in confirmation to her question. "May I?" At her request, Archer handed over his newly forged blade.

After being handed the blade, Hephaestus took a good look at the blade examining every detail from top to bottom. It was hard to tell what she thought of his work since her expression hadn't changed.

Once the examination was finished, Hephaestus took a good look at Archer. "The blade needs to be refined a bit more and your edges could be smoothed out a bit more as well but.." her expression slowly started to turn into a smile. "For a first time Smith, you did a good job. I can see why Tsubaki sees potential in you."

"Haha! Even the boss sees it. You're a lucky guy Archer. It's not often someone gets praised by the boss." On the side-lines Tsubaki was taking great joy in watching her goddess interact with him. Even Astraea was enjoying the scene in front of her unfold.

Once things started to calm down a bit, Hephaestus started to speak again. "Tell me Archer do you know if your family has any experience with smithing?"

"Sadly I cannot say. My memories from when I was younger are foggy and hazy at best. The family that raised me after my birth parents passed away had no connections to smithing." He answered. Even if most of his memories had faded he knew for certain that Kiritsuguru and Taiga had no connections to smithing. However there was something that he did recall from his service in Chaldea. "Actually there might be a possibility that one of my ancestors was a blacksmith however I cannot be certain."

Hearing his words, Hephaestus could sense no lies from his words. The fact that he might have an ancestor that was a blacksmith did make her curious. After a bit of thought she decided to make a proposal that could interest him. "Hey Archer, you're not part of a Familia yet are you?"

"No, not yet."

A smile started to take form at that answer. "Well what do you think about joining up with mine?"

Her offer left Archer speechless. He didn't think that he'd be offered an invitation to a Familia so soon, not to mention this was an invitation from the god of Smithing herself.

Next to him, Astraea was beaming that Archer was offered the chance to join a well known Familia. Even though Archer fit more as an 'adventurer' than a smith, if both Hephaestus and Tsubaki could see the potential for this hidden talent then she had no complaints about it.

But..

Even if she should be happy that he was offered a great opportunity, why did it leave such a painful feeling in her heart?

So a few things:

1. Since FGO hasn't given us much EMIYA and Muramasa interactions I did my best to vision what their relationship could be. Something like the Shiro and Archer interactions you would see in the spinoff series is how I see their interactions going but do indeed respect one another enough. But they won't admit that now would they.

2. The blacksmithing segment is very much cut and a bit abridged in my opinion. There is probably a lot of other details and steps that I missed and may have gotten some of the terminology wrong. Feel free to let me know what I missed.

3. Oh hey Mash appearance. I also wanted to leave the gender of "the players" avatar up to the reader. As much as the meme is "Gudao is the good boy and Gudako is the gremlin that will steal our wallets for gacha" I think it's only fair to give them equal treatment here.

Hope you all have a good day and hopefully I can get the next chapter done before the end of the month.