Fate/Closure [IC Thread]

[Airen]

Aya Alayana
Shinto - Bridge
Night Phase

"..."

In the end, the worst case scenario had been avoided, but that didn't mean the red-haired woman didn't still find the situation problematic; there are a number of things to complain about, from having to figure out how to deal with a crying child successfully, to what the hell the spirit had attacked her was and whether or not it was dead, and even where she intended to actually take shelter for the night while also suffering from what was likely a mild concussion, in other words...

Her mood is not the greatest, even so...

---Because the worst has been avoided, her mood is also not the worst it's been either, if anything...

At this point, she just wants to go home and recover; of course, the current setting makes it difficult to tell exactly which direction is which, but thinking about it even through her piercing headache, it doesn't really matter whether they wind up in Miyama or Shinto, of course, the actual homes of herself and the kids were in Miyama, so it was ultimately preferable to get back there if she could manage it, but Shinto was fine as well, if she had to do some 'negotiating' to get everyone a room for the night somewhere, then she had more than enough built up hostility and connections to make it happen even without money, but-!

---If Shinto had one flaw, it was that a certain white-haired member of the Church was most likely in that area around this time; a devil in the shape of a holy woman, a banshee of the worst sort, yes...

She'd have to deal with that person eventually, especially because of what had happened here tonight, but by God, if she had to deal with her tonight, through this haze of pain, well...

---For the sake of both sides, it was probably best avoided; starting a second fire at the Church certainly wouldn't endear her to any hypothetical deities, nor would the Executors be likely to be too pleased, and things would just escalate from there, in other words...

Best to deal with her tomorrow if she can, but for now...

---Putting her foot down on the edge of the makeshift raft, a brief surge of magical energy and heat starts to propel it towards the shore without visible effort from the woman; ordinarily she might have just told everyone to "suck it up and swim," but considering the hell they had all just been put through, she'd shoulder most of the remaining burden to get home, not only that...

This method was simply faster.

At this point, speed was a very appealing thing...

Whichever shore she reached in this haze and after absorbing the fires that remained here at the bridge, she'd either head to the closest of the kid's homes and make everyone crash there, or get creative with her reputation back in town to get a few rooms, whichever it was, it was what it was...

As for Natsu...

"...Battles are scary, so it's natural to be overwhelmed by it the first few times it happens... Just take a deep breath and pull yourself together, we're not out of the woods yet."

...She is not the classical, gentle "older sister."

That's probably why he calls her "aunt," her voice is more firm and commanding than anything else, but strangely...

She's being slightly less cold about it than Kaori is, still...

She fully expected him to pull himself together, a mage is one that will eventually have to stare death in the eyes as they walk it's line.

That is just what it really means to live in the moonlit world.

[hero]

Aya Alayana
Shinto - Bridge
Night Phase


"Right..."

You don't know what happened to Tohsaka Natsu during the brief time he has been separated from the group, but to leave his usually cheerful spirit so broken, it must have been something very traumatizing. In his panic, he must have believed Professor Velvet to have passed away from his wounds. That's the only thing that explains the sideway glances he gives his body from time to time. Even now, his face remains pale, as if he had seen a ghost. Right now, he's swallowing his emotions and cooperating for the sake of everyone else. To expect any sort of progress in regards to his attitude would be naive... Kaori's words and your words both, they are not meant to be addressed right now. Once he is allowed to leave this place and rest, he should be able to mull on what has happened and reach an answer for what should be the way to act the next time around. Despite his usual mischievous nature, he's a good kid, so you have faith he'll be able to do as much.

It's unfortunate, though, in a way, this tragic event will mark the end of their childhood. Such outcome is unavoidable in the end, but still, this is not like anything you had in mind...

"..."

The desperation still dire, you set everything else aside and focus on sheer speed. There are many things that bother you with having to assume the role of the ship's propeller, from leaving yourself way too vulnerable to being unable to properly act reactively from threats coming at a certain angle, but being cautious here will do the group more bad than good. Against a clearly supernatural entity like the one you encountered at the bridge, it's best to escape its influence radius before it notices you again.

The mist that surrounds you is not exactly normal. You can tell because it appears to be charged with Magical Energy and by the negative effect it is having on your performance. It's not wrong to assume that this fog has to be at least partly responsible for what is happening as it all started when you ventured into it to cross the bridge. Escaping it might not be the end of it, but it's the best lead you have. Shinto or Miyama, it hardly matters. What you need to do is to get out of this hell as soon as possible...!

"...!"

A sudden, strange movement in the water causes your senses to scream in high alert. Instinctively, you push past your exhaustion and your force yourself to increase the pace. But it's not enough. There is something down there and it's going to hit you, no, it's going to hit everyone so...

So you ignore the ringing bells in your head which warn you of an impending death and turn your own life into an afterburner for a chance to save those under your care. You may die for this... But that's a sacrifice you are willing to make, for the other option is way less appealing in your eyes.

You won't let that thing end your life that easily, though-!

---At that moment.

As if to defy your resolve...

Something breaks through the surface, emerging with a loud crash and hitting Aya Alayana with the force of a speeding truck. Needless to say, the impact tosses you high into the air, most likely breaking a few ribs in the process. Lucky, for it could have easily broken way more than that.

Aya Alayana suffers 31 HP damage.

The extreme paralyzing pain, the agony of exhaustion and the sweet taste of blood in your mouth are all eclipsed by the presence of terror made manifest in front of your eyes. That thing... It is eagerly waiting for time to resume its usual pace, so you can gently land into its maw. Each teeth is at least twice your size and from this angle all you can see is its giant, pitch-black mouth. This is not the kind of fish you'd find in any pond, it's a creature, a monster born from legends. Something that cannot be slain by the hands of modern men, something that can only be hurt at the hands of a great hero.

Somehow, you managed to flee from the previous enemy only to be tossed into the jaws of the next...

With a single glance, you can tell that against an enemy this big, which has been bestowed a level of protection that can only be attained through its monstrous ancestry, your one weapon, your cursed flames that are said to devour anything without exception...

---Will be no more than a scratch on its belly.

"...!"

You try to move yourself out of the way using your Magecraft, but your Magic Circuits fail you, activating only after a small delay. Unfortunately, this is the one act of your life where mistakes are simply not allowed. Before you know it, its teeth are closing into your waist at speeds that befit a traditional guillotine.

"...---!!!"

But as fire once more is ejected from your feet, you manage to dodge guaranteed death at the last second by voluntarily plunging yourself into the insides of the creature. As it is to be expected, everything is so dark you cannot see a thing, but after a long fall you land on a gelatinous surface. Having seen your fair share of movies, you know what needs to be done even if you cannot see what's ahead of you. You light a fire and breed destruction within the beast, and you do it in the more creative and painful way you can come up with. If it won't let you free on its own free will, then you'll simply find a way to rip a hole in its body and escape.

It must have been five minutes since you decided to go along with that bright idea, one that has never failed you in the past.

But there is a first time for everything, and it looks like not even good compatibility is going to get you out of this one.

You are tired. Way to exhausted. So much that every couple of seconds your eyelids simply threaten to close.

You were so close to the shore... Of that you are sure... So even if the kids got dumped into the water after the monster showed up, they most likely already found a way to get there. It will be tough for them to get around without your guidance, especially with an injured, but it will be fine...

... Is that correct?

... Is that wishful thinking?

Your world having already faded to black, your consciousness follows along before giving you a chance to wonder if this is really the end.

Life can be merciful like that.

Aya Alayana
Day 0 (Prologue) End

[hero]

Interlude - Time of Reckoning

Once upon a time, there was a girl who became the root of a tragedy. Although her body was artificial, her emotions were genuine, but that did not stop her from being misunderstood. Her story is one filled with loss and strife, one that doesn't end on a happy note and leaves no moral behind. One that was not a coincidence but was fated to happen instead. But, ultimately, it's just one of many similar stories that exist within this universe.

"..."

It's been more than twenty years since then.

Honestly, I am surprised I've been able to muster the courage to act after all this time. I expected the prospect of having to walk back into a thorny path would be like having to relive a nightmare, but here I am, finishing the preparations for what anyone with common sense would label a 'bad idea'. For over two decades I convinced myself I was content with how things ended, I told myself that with what I managed to scavenge from the hands of death I should be satisfied. How far from the truth that is... There is a part of me that is desperate for changes. I now understand the feeling of wanting to fight against the world like he did. The perfect recipe for a 'bad ending', and I am going along with it.

Have you heard of the proverb 'Curiosity Killed the Cat'...? Well, curiosity killed me more times than I can count.

"Alright, that should do it..."

I take a moment to examine the fruits of my work. In the past, I would have been prideful of my achievement and maybe I would have gone as far as to boast about it a little. But even then I knew my talent at drawing magic circles was not anything extraordinary.

It looks sloppy...

A part of me just wants to find each and every flaw so I can fix it.

There is no time for that.

I need to carry on with the ritual before I get the urge to turn tail and run, like I always do.

This is my duty, this is my responsibility.

But, above all, this is my right.

I am not the protagonist of this story. I am not the villain either.

I am just a ghost from the past seeking vengeance against destiny itself.

I am just a lost soul looking to atone for her sins. Even if I have to bathe in an ocean of sin to do so.

"We are... Justice."

That's right. I am not alone in this.

There is one person who shares the same resolve as I do. Or, at the very least, I think he would have.

"... Isn't that right, Fukuda-kun?"

His silence is all the approval I need.

Interlude Out

[hero]

Alicia Rosenkop
Miyama- The Sleeping Bishop
Morning Phase

When you come to, you find yourself laying on an unfamiliar room.

Your body as heavy as your eyelids, the overall feeling you get is similar to what a normal person would experience after an entire day of grueling physical training. Together with the warmth the futon cover provides your body with, the idea of leaving this new resting place comes off as initially unappealing. That said, as you begin to gather the fragments of your hazy memory piece by piece, the recollection of last night's events brings you back to your senses and, before you know it, you are staring at the Command Seals engraved on the back of your hand. There it is... The irrefutable proof that what you've been through has never been a product of your childish mind. It actually happened.

A part of that sigil has lost its life, becoming little more than a colorless bruise. It serves to represent the consequences of your actions, as due to your choices its power has been spent and may never come back. Have you made the right call or have your decisions been more trouble than they are worth? Only by walking through the sliding door that separates your room from the rest of the household will you be allowed to know. You get the feeling that you've been out for quite some time and the rest of the guests are already out of their respective rooms. But, before doing that, there might be another issue that needs to be addressed.

That is, the wolf that called herself a Servant, Assassin.

Upon a single inspection, anyone would claim that Alicia Rosenkop is the only individual inside this room at the time. But a hunch tells you otherwise. It might be the connection that bound the two of you together through the ritual, or it might be just the eerie feeling of being stared at by a onlooker you cannot spot, but she's there. Assassin is definitely somewhere in this room, waiting for your call to manifest.

"..."

Your first meeting was a strange one, and the heat of the battle barely allowed either of you to speak your mind. This would be a good chance to make small talk and get a little more acquainted together. You also have to properly thank her for saving you...

In any case, it looks like you'll have to be the one to start the conversation.

-------

Servant Assassin
Miyama- The Sleeping Bishop
Morning Phase


Save for the futon and a scarce few pieces of furniture, the room's decoration is pretty much non-existent. On the other hand, the lack of decoration makes a relatively small place feel pretty spacious. That makes you feel slightly more comfortable, it might not be out in the open but at the very least it does not feel as oppressive as other rooms within the premises.

... Although your eyes keep being drawn towards a strange animated sculpture of a cat that rests on top of a small drawer to the side. A figure seemingly clad in gold, it keeps moving one of its legs up and down as if to gesturing you to come closer. You've been keeping an eye on it through the night and not once has it stopped or even slowed down. Half of you is curious about its exact mechanisms and the other just feels the urge to smash it with a single swipe of your claws. Maybe it's something in your nature, something that forces you to acknowledge that wolves and cats do not see eye to eye.

Moving on, you've spent the night inside this room, guarding your new Master. Servants do not require sleep nor do they feel exhaustion, so that sort of choice will not make you pay its toll today. However, regarding the use of your Noble Phantasm's partial release last night, it has drained a substantial portion of your magical reserves, enough for you to be able to feel it. There is no denying that the situation called for it, but if you continue using up your energy like that, your tank will run empty sooner than later.

Speaking of things to be concerned about, the reason of your calling remains vague even now. Case in point, a lot of information you should be aware of has been obscured and you cannot access it. Is this the result of a faulty summoning? Has your connection with the Holy Grail been dampened? Regardless, the truth of the matter is that you don't have much to go on when it comes to informing your Master of the situation at hand. If this is supposed to be a war at all, you are not sure of it anymore.

What you know, instinctively, is that you are not the only Servant who has been summoned.

Out there, there are more like you.

-------

Prana Recovery

Prana Recovery
Human characters (Magi, Demon Hybrids, Espers, etc) recover an amount of Pu (Prana Units) equivalent to half the amount of Magical Energy remaining at the end of the day or 100 Pu, whichever of the two is higher. In Alicia's case, since she used 1 E-rank Spell (20 Pu) and 1 D-rank Spell twice (30 Pu x 2), she has consumed a total of 80 Pu. Since half of her remaining Prana Pool gives us a number higher than 80 Pu and summoning your servant is actually a freebie in terms of Prana Consumption, you are back at full Pu. Use this information to manage your Human Character's Prana Reserves efficiently-!

Heroic Spirits do not recover Pu the same way. They have a fixed value that recovers at the end of the day, but must also deal with maintenance costs that have to be paid at the end of the day as well. In this case, the costs Assassin has to pay regarding maintenance, turn out to be higher than those she recovers, giving a final balance of -9. So, in addition to the cost of Assassin's Noble Phantasm partial release, 9 Pu must be subtracted as well. If this is too problematic, don't worry, I keep track of everyone's current Pu, so you can always ask-! Anyways, use this information wisely, so your Servant isn't running on fumes later in the game!

[hero]

Yamashita Hiro
Shinto - love hotel district
Morning phase


Catching some sleep has proved to be somewhat of an arduous task, as a certain part of you insisted on remaining awake, a feeling of continuous, unjustified unrest clawing at you through the night. Eventually, your exhaustion managed to win the fight and you fell asleep, however, instead of feeling completely invigorated, your body feels heavy and leaving the bed already feels like a chore. But you are a Magus, and if something can get a Magus to move is the promise of a trip that may yield favorable results for their research. Though last night was crazy in a number of ways, the amount of progress you've made in that short amount of time is staggering, and today's schedule already starts with an appointment with the Overseer from the Holy Church, who is bound to give you some answers.

It's true that the Holy Church and the Mage's Association still don't see each other eye to eye, be it in politics or when their soldiers are thrown into the battlefield, but Fuyuki has never been a city known for that sort of conflicts. If anything, thanks to a certain member of the Tohsaka family many years ago, overseers tended to be more amicable towards the heretics they supposedly cannot accept. Or, at the very least, that's the information you managed to dig out from past records. There is no guarantee that what's written matches the reality of the situation, much less when so many years have passed since the Forth and Fifth Holy Grail Wars. Then again, in your line of work, the word guarantee can hardly be found in any dictionary.

"..."

The love hotel is surprisingly silent, as it has been all night long. The thought of you being the only ones who booked a room does cross your mind for a moment. After all, Fuyuki is smaller than it looks on paper, and not everyone needs to rent a place to do the deed. That is not to say the business is on decline -it never will-, but having an off day or two wouldn't be surprising. It's a miracle that you can appreciate, for it would be hard to look at either Luna or Theressa if shouts of eroticism turned out to be the reason why nobody managed to shut an eye through the night.

Once you are done with your preparations, you decided to go check up on your new friend, doctor -or rather, researcher- Luna. She insisted on accompanying you to meet the overseer, so it would be rude of her to leave her out. Naturally, you intend to knock on her door, as it would be wise to avoid any sort of compromising situations. You can feel karma breathing on the back of your neck, waiting for you to make a mistake of that sort. So you have to be extra careful.

That thought is discarded the moment you open the door that leads to the hallway. There... You are met with a sight that makes your entire body jump into high alert. The sheer amount of damage the place has been subjected with makes your mind quickly jump into the worst case scenario. Spreading all over the wall, floor and even ceiling, whatever was capable of bringing this level of destruction cannot be human. The only human traces left on the scene are a number of blood samples sprayed through the surrounding area. It's not as much to claim that multiple people were massacred during the scene, but one already is bad enough. It does not reek of danger at the time, but still...

How come you weren't able to hear a thing-?!

The desperate thought manages to overpower the urge to just barge through the door to Luna's room -if only for a moment-, to provide you with an answer. Yes, after a brief search, your eyes land on a pair of curious pocket devices placed close to the entrance to your rooms. Are these artifacts responsible for preventing a sound of what was going outside from reaching your ears? Definitely looks that way.

It was all set up...

And you fell right into the trap...

Or rather, you never noticed when all was being set into motion...

This is bad-!

[hero]

Aya Alayana
Shinto - Location Unknown
Morning Phase


A loud noise like a thunderclap.

Like waves violently crashing against a rocky shoreline time and time again, a mysterious force continues to shake the depths of your psyche even as you remain between the border that divides dream and reality. It's an alien, unpleasant and sudden sensation. The interval between each impact is somewhat long yet well-timed, almost as if it were part of a well-crafted mechanism. During this time all you can do is wonder about its nature, indeed, you are still asleep and so you cannot possibly put together the fragments of your memory. Fortunately, this strange method of torture doesn't last too long. After all...

"Hmm... Looks like third time is a charm."

As if having cast a spell with those words, that solemn, beautiful voice is what brings you back to the world of the living. It is a shame that it comes accompanied with a full bucket of water aimed straight to your face. Absolutely defenseless at this point, you nearly choke on the liquid, part of which gets into your mouth and nostrils. The surprise is such that even your instincts forget to set everything around you on fire in an act of self-defense against such an awful, merciless surprise attack. Aya Alayana might be a tough fighter capable of dealing with huge threats thanks to her outstanding offensive output. However, in her sleep, the new Red Devil is no more than a sitting duck.

"So, what is it going to be next...? Do you intend to ask for rent after burning the same grounds you are supposed to look after?"

That voice is incredibly calm and composed, but also sharp and precise. Moreover, its words are akin to steel in the sense that they won't cause the wielder to stutter even in the presence of someone with the power to claim her life with a single clap of their fingers. Yes, since this person was not born with Magic Circuits, her words act as her sword and shield. Perhaps it is because she is so trained in their use that you do not seem to be able to get along. When someone can throw continuous verbal jabs at you without showing any sort of emotion outwardly, it becomes harder not to react. That is not to say she does not find joy in what she does, because she definitively does... But rather, she is the sort of person who saves that one smirk, that expression of absolute victory, until the right time arrives.

"Or will you perhaps opt to take it by force, like you have done so many times in the past...?"

Caren Ortensia has been practicing that sort of behavior since before you were even on your mother's womb, so naturally, it is hard to compete. Aya Alayana is not the kind of woman to let others walk over her, but this enemy is one that, at the very least subconsciously, is acknowledged as a threat. Not a threat in the combat sense, but instead evil in its purest form. The fact that she can tempt fate so casually without batting an eye speaks lengths of her mental fortitude. In a way, addressing the current Holy Church Overseer as 'the White Devil' would not be as inaccurate as one would initially be led to believe.

"Regardless, I am afraid it would not be sufficient to make up for the loss of your car. Those flames of yours can be such a problem sometimes. Wouldn't you agree, Aya?"

Scanning your surroundings, you find yourself inside an unfamiliar, dimly lit room. Though it's well organized and elegant, its particular scent makes your think that it's a place that rarely sees use as of late. A layer of dust over the table seems enough to prove your theory, but then there is also the fact that the owner does little to fix the little mess brought by the buckets of water she used on you. Almost as if she wanted to take every chance to show that she does not care about the well-being of this studio, she ignores the threat that water poses to part of its expensive furniture.

From the look of things, you are somewhere within the Church on the hill where Caren resides.

Last thing you remember is being swallowed by a giant creature of darkness.

If both are true, then the missing piece of the story must have been Caren saving you in one way or another.

"I take it you can dry your own clothes? I cannot let the kids see you like this."

Then, with a deadpan expression, the nun pointed towards the room leading outside.

"Otherwise, I have some spare habits in a nearby room that you could use, if you don't mind converting to Catholicism, that is."

[RoydGolden]

Alicia Rosenkopf (& Servant Assassin)
Miyama- The Sleeping Bishop
Morning Phase




Alicia woke up groggily. Her limbs ached and her head felt like it had been crammed full of cotton balls. Every instinct in the girl's slight body screamed at her to curl back up into the comforting warmth of the futon and sleep for another eight hours or so, but she fought back the urge. As memories of last night's battle flashed through her mind, Alicia knew this was no time for rest. Sitting upright in her futon she glanced back and forth to survey her new surroundings.

She was in a small but comfy Japanese-style room. Smooth paper walls greeted Alicia on all sides, and a single window in one corner let in rays of warm morning sunlight. The room's decor was quite sparse, the futon she was currently sitting on and a few small pieces of furniture marking the only amenities Alicia could see. Despite that, it hardly felt austere or unwelcoming. The room had a pleasing sense of space, and a humble cozy charm, that reminded Alicia of the old house she used to share with her grandma.

After she'd gained her bearings Alicia held up her hand to inspect the crimson markings seared into the back of her palm. The sight of them dispelled the last wishful thoughts that what had happened last night had been nothing more than a dream cooked up by her over-active imagination. The shadowy swordswoman that had tried to kill her, the mysterious wolf-eared girl who'd arrived to save her life, the unnatural powers they'd both wielded... every last bit of it was real.

Alicia's musings were cut off when she felt a sharp presence staring at her. She turned around, quickly scanning the room for any mysterious guests. Nothing. The room seemed totally empty. Alicia blinked in confusion. Was she imagining things? No, someone was here. She was sure of that. Maybe it was the thrumming in her left hand that told her, but Alicia knew the beastly woman calling herself 'Assassin' was still here and waiting for her call to manifest again.

The thought elicited a faint blush across her cheeks. After what had happened last night, it's understandable Assassin would want to watch over her while she slept to make sure she wasn't attacked again. Still, the girlish part of Alicia was a little embarrassed she'd been sharing a room with anyone, much less without knowing it. She hoped she hadn't snored...

Shaking those distracting thoughts out of her mind, Alicia focused on deciding what to do next. If Assassin was here that meant Alicia could say hi and talk to her. They hadn't had time for much of a conversation last night what with fighting for their lives and all, so this would be the perfect time to get to know her. And (Alicia blushed a little at the thought) she could finally thank her for saving her life. She felt bad not being able to properly express her gratitude to Assassin for rescuing her...

That settled it then. "Assassin, are you there?" Alicia called out hesitantly. Part of her felt foolish for talking to seemingly empty air, but she instinctively knew an answer would come.



"Yo, Master. Sleep well?" A familiar rough and casual voice replied. Suddenly the air in front of Alicia shimmered as Assassin stepped out of astral form. Even though she was expecting it Alicia couldn't help but jump back in startlement as the Servant abruptly revealed herself.

Alicia stared up at Assassin, a signature toothy grin greeting her. The girl's eyes trailed downwards and... oh my. This could be a problem. Because Assassin wasn't wearing any clothes right now. No, Alicia realized that could be ambiguous. She wasn't wearing anything when Alicia first met her either. But there she at least had her fur as some semblance of clothing that covered her most important bits even while leaving most of her body brazenly bare.

Now, even that was gone, leaving Assassin standing before Alicia fully in the buff.

Any other questions she'd planned on asking the wolf-eared girl were drowned out by a single cry of embarrassment that escaped Alicia's lips. "W-w-why are you naked?!"

"-Huh?" Assassin said dimly as she looked down at her body, seemingly becoming aware of her own nakeness for the first time. "Oh, that." Her eyes lit up with sudden realization. "You mean my fur? Looks like my monstrous features grow less pronounced whenever I'm not fighting. So for now I'm stuck looking like one of you hairless apes. Erm, no offense Master." She ended her matter-of-fact explanation with a sheepish apologetic grin. Could a wolf grin sheepishly? That wasn't a question Alicia had time to ponder right now...

"T-that's not what I meant!" Alicia exclaimed while blushing fiercely. "I meant why aren't you wearing any other clothes!"

"Us wild beasts don't need clothing," Assassin answered nonchalantly. As she spoke, she stretched out her arms above her, doing some wake-up arm stretches and let out a refreshed yawn. The motion made her breasts sway up and down in a way that distracted Alicia more than she'd freely admit. "The only protection we need is our pelts, and maybe the shade of a nice big tree when it's hot out. To be frank, I don't get why you humans are so big on clothes in the first place. Wouldn't you feel freer just letting everything hang out?"

"I don't want to hear clever arguments from a nudist!" Alicia spluttered indignantly. "Just find something to wear and put it on, geez..." She sighed cutely in exasperation. Why did Assassin have to be so stubborn about this? She'd wanted to thank the woman for saving her life, but ended up yelling at her to put some clothes on instead.

"Fine, fine..." Assassin grumbled lightly. "If you insist Master." Without another word she turned around and walked over to the small drawer in the corner of the room. She bent down and started to rummage through it in a violent and haphazard fashion that faintly reminded Alicia of a wild beast tearing up a carcass.

"Surely this piece of crap inn has some spare clothes to wear..." Assassin muttered to herself. Alicia's blush only deepened. With Assassin bent over like this Alicia had a perfect view of her Servant's wiggling butt and toned chocolatey thighs. She resorted to covering her eyes with her fingers and peeking shyly between them to make sure Assassin was still focused on the task at hand. Honestly, she felt like her maidenly innocence was being tarnished the longer this scene went on...

Finally after what felt to Alicia like eternity but was probably only a minute or so Assassin emerged from her scavenging clutching an outfit. It was a simple pair of blue jeans and a plain white top. "So is this okay?" Assassin asked, holding up the clothing for Alicia to inspect.

"It's fine!" Alicia snapped. "Just put it on already!" She regretted her outburst after a moment and added "Please?"

"Alright," Assassin said as she began to get dressed. The jeans came on easily enough. Assassin bent down to slide them up her slender legs, snapping the waistband in place around her hips with an audible smack. Next she tried the shirt. 'Tried' being the key word here. After a few moments of watching Assassin struggle vainly with fitting her head through the neck of a shirt Alicia couldn't help herself from bursting out laughing.

"Do you need any help with that?" Alicia called out between giggles. Her ears and tail weren't the only things bestial about this woman, Alicia thought to herself. She seriously seemed to have no clue about even the simplest things of human society... How someone who fearlessly fought that daemon from yesterday could be thwarted so completely by the concept of clothing baffled Alicia.

"Shut up!" Assassin yelled back, still wrestling with the shirt like it was a giant cobra that had managed to swallow up her head. "These clothes are impossible! How the hell do you humans even wear this crap?" After struggling a bit more her voice softened and she said defeatedly "Fine, you can help. But just this once!"

She sounds embarrassed, Alicia noticed with a pang of amusement. It felt nice being the composed one after Assassin's shamelessness had reduced her to a blushing, stammering mess just minutes earlier. Turnabout was fair play and all that. Besides, as intimidating as she looked normally Assassin was surprisingly cute when she got all flustered like this.

She felt herself blush again. Dang it! Alicia cursed herself for being so easily flustered. What about Assassin made her keep feeling this way around her...?

"If you say so..." Alicia replied, doing her best to sound cool and casual. She walked over to Assassin and started helping her put the shirt on. "Your head goes in here. You'll be able to find it easily if you quit thrashing around..." Alicia guided in a gentle voice.

After a few mishaps and some patient encouragement from Alicia Assassin managed to work her head through the shirt's neck and tugged the whole thing down over her torso. Now her upper body was mostly modest, even if the shirt seemed to be made for someone several sizes smaller as Assassin's ample breasts strained noticeably against the thin fabric. Still, it beat being buck-naked. "Victory!" Assassin grinned and did a cheesy thumbs-up gesture. "I have conquered your fiendish man-made invention!"

"That isn't something most people would be proud of," Alicia deadpanned. "And you only did it with my help. So don't get too cocky."

"Whatever, Master! I'm awesome, deal with it," Assassin retorted cheerfully.

"At least you're decent," Alicia said.

"Yeah, about that..." Assassin trailed off, stretching out her arms and legs as if testing the new outfit. "These clothes suck. How can my skin breath when it's all covered up like this?" Inspiration flashed across her face. "Wait, I have an idea..." With those words Assassin's fingernails suddenly lengthened, transforming into bestial claws.

"What are you-?"



Before Alicia could finish her sentence Assassin slashed her claws through the air all around her. A second later Assassin resheathed her claws with a flourish and the outfit she was wearing fell apart into tatters. Her top was now cut short enough to show off her midriff, and the jeans had been transformed into ripped daisy dukes.

"There, that's much better," Assassin said, looking down at her handiwork with satisfaction. "My body feels way freer now without so much annoying cloth in the way..."

"A-are you crazy?" Alicia blurted out incredulously. "You just got this outfit and you already decided to shred it apart on a whim? What's with you?"

"Relax Master," Assassin said in a reassuring voice. "It's just cloth right? And I feel more comfortable this way."

"I guess so..." acquiesced Alicia. It still flustered her to see the wolfy woman showing so much skin but she supposed that was her own problem, not Assassin's. She truly seemed to lack any sense of human modesty. Would people truly feel freer going around naked without any shame? Alicia blushed slightly at the thought. She had more pressing matters to attend to right now. "Anyways," Alicia said with a more serious look on her face. "I have some questions I'd like to ask you, Assassin."

"Alright, shoot," Assassin said, noticing Alicia's change in demeanour.

"First of all, who or what are you?" Alicia asked. "I know I... summoned you somehow last night, but how did that happen? And what was that monster that attacked me?"

Assassin paused for a moment as if gathering her thoughts before answering her. "For your first question, I'm a Servant. A legendary hero from the past, given form from people's beliefs. I was summoned in something called the 'Holy Grail War', where seven heroes from across myth and history are called forth by human Mages to fight in a tournament to the death. The winner receives a single wish from the Holy Grail, which can supposedly grant any desire to its bearer."

Alicia could only stand there with mouth agape at Assassin's explanation. Her mind reeled at the Servant's words, countless thoughts dancing inside her so quickly she could hardly make sense of them. Servants? Holy Grail War? Legendary heroes? It all sounded like something out of a fantasy novel than anything that could happen in reality.

Alicia felt dizzy, feverish and weak at the knees, like the very ground beneath her feet- something she'd relied on as certain and tangible- was being suddenly swept away. So many questions fought to escape her lips but Alicia forced herself to settle with just one. "So if I summoned you then I must be one of these... Mages." She swallowed, suddenly aware of how dry her mouth was. "Does that mean... I'll have to fight in this war? To... kill people?"

Assassin smiled grimly. "Afraid so. At least, that's what I'd say normally. Thing is though, the circumstances of my summoning this time are a little unusual. My head's all fuzzy and a lot of info I should know is missing. So I can't actually say for sure this is a normal Grail War, or even a war at all. I can say one thing though," she added ominously. "There's others like me summoned. Other Servants. And I doubt they're all as cute and cuddly as me."

As Assassin said those words, a memory of the shadowy swordswoman flashed through Alicia's mind. She fought back a cold shudder. "That ghoul from yesterday... she was a Servant too right?" Alicia inquired, though she already suspected the answer.

"That's right." Assassin nodded. "From the looks of it, she was a Saber-Class Servant."

"Saber? What's that?" Alicia said curiously.

"Ah, let me explain Master," Assassin continued. "In the Grail War, Servants are divided up into seven Classes based on their abilities from life. There's Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Berserker and Assassin." Great, Alicia thought. More names to remember. "I'm Assassin, the Class that excels at sneak attacks and subterfuge. Going by her sword, I'm guessing the enemy from before was Saber. But like I said, this situation is an anomaly so I can't guarantee all seven Classes were summoned, or that there aren't some irregular Classes."

"Irregular?" Alicia questioned. She had a feeling there was a lot Assassin wasn't explaining here...

"That's not important right now," replied Assassin. "I'm sure you must be struggling to take all this in as is."

"One more thing," Alicia added. "You said Servants were people summoned from the past right? Then who are you? Some famous hero or something? I don't recall reading about any girl with wolf ears in the history books..."

"..."

Assassin fell silent. She stared down at the floor, refusing to meet Alicia's gaze. Her silvery hair fell over her eyes, casting an eerie shadow across her face.

"Assassin?" Alicia's concerned words punctured the ominous silence. What had gotten into Assassin all of a sudden?

"Oh, right." Assassin responded, blinking like she'd just been jolted out of a reverie. "Sorry about that Master. I was just... a little lost in thought, that's all. As for my identity, well unfortunately I don't remember much. Like I said my brain's all screwy right now, so the details of my life before I was summoned aren't very clear."

"You don't remember what kind of hero you were?" Alicia tried to clarify.

"No can do, Master. Sorry I can't impress you with tales of how awesome I was." She laughed and rubbed her head sheepishly. Then Assassin's eyes narrowed and she got a more serious look on her face. "But Master, I mispoke on one thing. Servants are legendary heroes, but that doesn't mean they're heroes of justice. Even the ruthless and heartless are heroes of their own stories, after all," She said with a wistful sigh. "Even if I do recover my identity, there's no guarantee I'm the kind of hero kids like you should look up to. So don't expect too much of me, okay?"

Alicia was taken aback by her Servant's words. This was the first time she'd ever seen Assassin this serious. Even when fighting Saber she'd still kept up her cheerful and carefree attitude, treating the whole battle like a game. Now she seemed cold, thoughtful, even... sad. And was it her imagination or had Alicia seen a flicker of shame and regret across Assassin's face when she'd asked what hero she was? Alicia wondered if Assassin really remembered as little of her past as she claimed, or simply didn't want to admit it to her.

Alicia filed that thought away for now. There was no point doubting her Servant's motives right off the bat, especially when she'd be relying on her so much if she wanted to survive the coming days. Still, she wondered what secrets Assassin hid behind her sunny exterior...

"Well, I think you're quite a kind person," Alicia said, smiling sweetly.

"You... really think so?" Assassin muttered, blushing at the unexpected compliment.

"Mhmm!" Alicia nodded vigorously. "You saved me when we first met even though you didn't know who I was. You risked your own life to protect me against Saber. You're definitely kind."

Assassin scratched her cheek embarrassedly. "A Servant's life is tied to their Master, y'know. Without your magical energy to sustain me I'd have faded from the world too. It's a bit of a stretch to call mere self-preservation 'kind', don't you think Master?" Her words were casual but Alicia could tell she was pointedly trying to evade her heartfelt praise.

"Maybe..." Alicia mused. "But I don't think you did it just for that reason. When Saber's big scary lightning bolt was coming down on us and you sprouted up that weird forest to shield me, you held my hand." She blushed as she recalled the moment their hands had twined together, prepared to face mutual annihilation together. "You didn't have to do that. It was just meant to reassure me that even though everything seemed dark and scary, things would turn out okay somehow. It was warmth, when my world was filled with cold and darkness."

Alicia met her Servant's gaze adamantly. "And that's why I think you're a kind person. Even if you're not 'a' hero, you're definitely 'my' hero."

"Geez, you're really laying it on thick huh Master?" Assassin said with a nervous laugh. "Well, flattery or not I promise that as long as I'm tethered to this world I'll do my best to keep you safe. That's my duty as your Servant, after all."

"Aw crap, I just realized!" Assassin blurted out suddenly, maybe in an attempt to change the subject from the praise that was clearly flustering her. "I still don't know your name yet. Calling you 'Master' all the time is way too drab and formal for my tastes. So what's your name cutie?" As she spoke that last part Assassin knelt down until her face was eye-to-eye with Alicia.

"Alicia..." she murmured, a little taken aback by Assassin's sudden closeness. "Alicia Rosenkopf."

Assassin smiled broadly. Her sharp teeth made the gesture look faintly menacing, but Alicia knew she was well-intentioned. "That's a really pretty name. Perfect for a cute young girl like you I suppose."

"Really?" Now it was Alicia's turn to blush. "I never thought my name was pretty before..."

"Oh, definitely!" Assassin exclaimed exuberently. "You're totally adorable, Master! I just wanna' pull on your cute little cheeks, pat your lovely blonde hair... dress you up in all kinds of pretty outfits..." Assassin blushed slightly as she started getting lost in her fantasies. "Ah!" She snapped back to reality. "Sorry if I'm creeping you or anything, Master."

Alicia shook her head. "Not at all. I can tell you really have a soft spot for kids. Makes me wonder if you knew any in your previous life..." she mused curiously.

"Nothing like that, at least not as far as I can remember," Assassin replied. For some reason, her smile seemed a little sadder when she said that part.

"Anyhow," Alicia said. "We should get going now. I want to meet with Tomomi and the others and figure out what to do next." It'd been a crazy last night to say the least, and Alicia wanted to make sure Tomomi was safe after everything that had transpired. Besides, she didn't know how long she'd slept for, so for all she knew it was already mid-afternoon by now. All the more reason to get out now. "You can come with me, Assassin." she added when she noticed her Servant stopping in the corner of the room.

"Gotcha," Assassin agreed. "Just... let me stay here for a sec. There's something I need to think about. I'll be coming after you shortly."

"Okay. See ya around, Assassin," Alicia replied affectionately. Then she slid open the paper door and walked out of the room, ready to see whatever the other guests were up to.

True to her words, Assassin lingered behind for a second after Alicia left. Gazing at the girl's retreating back, she smiled bitterly. "What a bad joke... she looks just like her..." Assassin muttered those words that were meaningful to no one but herself.

[Tobias]

Yamashita Hiro
Shinto - love hotel district
Morning phase


Mages live in a world very different from the mundane. Adjacent perhaps, close, parallel. Always just one step out of reach to the normal world of man. It was that closeness that allowed mages...some of them...to pretend they walked alongside generic humans, no more special then any other passing face on the street.

Yet, a mage lived a life where his or her very calling, very reason for existence and that which validates every breath that passes through the lungs will also likely be the cause of one's downfall. Most mages understood that one way or another, pursuing magecraft meant a death by magecraft.

Despite the obvious differences between magi and mundane, there were some things which were the same. The morning ritual practiced by Hiro, for example. He had slept fitfully, yet oddly better then he had expected. No boisterous calls of love making or escalating smells of sweat and lust had interrupted his restless sleep.

He brushed his teeth will a toothbrush he pulled from a small travel bag just as any responsible lad would. He even put on a small bag of (admittedly sub-par) tea on a small warmer old enough to qualify as antique, though far to cracked and worn to ever be mistaken for such. He had an idea that perhaps in the light of day and with a good nights sleep, he might be a little more capable of piercing the veil of Theresa's odd mode of speaking and thinking.

Perhaps Hiro was an optimist. Or maybe the lack of pain from his leg that suggested he was recovering well and quickly had set him in a good mood. At any rate, after a short 5 minute exercise session that somewhat resembled some kind of mix between a kata and a several yoga poses, presumably some kind of personal creation intended to enhance flexibility, he found himself quite ready to face the day.




Life is funny like that sometimes...

"Hck...!" Hiro doubled over himself, holding his stomach. One might have been forgiven for thinking the quite grisly and unexpected sight of so much blood had caused him to be at risk of losing the contents of his stomach. There was a piece of that as well but...

"No....back....!" The tru reason Hiro was holding his stomach was because thats where his Chi was centered. That's where the spirit rested. Hiro had relied to much on the Fire Demon recently, allowing its power to come to the fore when in reality such shouldn't have been necessary or allowed. It couldn't be helped that he had to protect himself against the strange shadow creature that attacked him, but he should have been able to force it back down quicker, instead of allowing it to sling pointless taunts. Plus, in the park before it had arrived, he had been drawing on the power of the jungle spirit to enhance his senses, to see the spirits. This traded short term benefits for long term risks, and he was paying the price now.

"You...are...not..........me!" The boy forced out, his eyes losing the golden glow they had begun to radiate. Thanks to the Wrap, his blessing and curse, he could keep the demon in check, but only as long as he controlled it mentally. The spirit prowled always in the back of his mind, whispering of the ease of surrender, the power and joy it would bring. Hiro didn't listen. It was time to start stop solving problems with force and start solving them with ingenuity. The fact that the smell of blood and danger had been enough to nearly cause the spirit to force its way to the surface was a warning the young mage did not intend to ignore.

"Hah-hoooo." The dark haired child took a long breath to stabilize himself, pushing the instinctive fear and related aggression that was the natural human response to such a scene. First he took a good long look at the device that had allowed an enemy (one assumed) to get the drop on him. It was worrisome in several ways. First and foremost, it appeared to have been tailored for him specifically. By changing the area around his room into some sort of psuedo-bounded field, it had blocked Hiro's enhanced senses. Stopping sound wasn't enough. The smell and taste of coppery blood on the air would normally have caught his attention for a solid quarter mile, probably more with the demon making more of an effort to stay at the surface of his mind.

Blocking all senses, even ones that traditionally wouldn't have been something one would need to account for, suggested a level of of both increased effort, and a disturbing level of personal knowledge into his abilities. This was further enhanced by the success in placing it just outside his room. The bounded field was small and tight. Even a small error in location could have caused a failure in the design. Likely whomever had placed this hadn't just known Hiro was in the room but had knowledge as to where he had been sleeping.

Finally, one final informative yet frightening aspect of this puzzle was that the device was not of magical design. It actually appeared to be technological in nature. This frustrated Hiro's attempts to open his mystic circuits and probe the magics he had thought he would find within.

It has been said that technology of a sufficient caliber was indistinguishable from magic. Such appeared to be the case as the nefarious device had performed something that resembled a magecraft of significant caliber. Even Hiro's enhanced senses served him little good. He could smell Theresa on it, but only so much as he could smell her blood in the room. She appeared to have been at least one of the combatants.

Theresa herself qualified as a prime suspect actually, but he could smell her blood as well as a few other unidentifiable sources, and pertinently did not smell Luna's fresh scent mixed in with the others. Logically that suggested she had fought someone else. Considering her purity, Hiro guessed that she had some how deduced or intuited the trap closing and had actually fought the attackers, becoming injured. Had she been captured then?

If so, why had the attackers retreated? Neither of the two scenarios that came to Hiro's mind were pleasant. Option 1 was That Theresa had successfully driven off the attackers then retreated to tend to her wounds. In the most optimal sense she would have sought Luna's help and therefor they would both be in her room. This seemed unlikely as neither had come to warn Hiro or seek his help in guarding the night, but was not impossible. The second and worst scenario was that Theresa had been defeated, and the attackers had claimed what they had come for. Since they had not taken Hiro, vulnerable in sleep, that would mean they weren't after him at all. Which meant their target would in that case have been...

"Luna!" Hiro yelled out, worry making his young voice crack. He pocketed the strange device and rammed his shoulder against the door of his compatriots room. Considering the situation, he was... entirely unconcerned with the possible socially awkward possibilities inherent in such a course of action.

[hero]

Hiyako Tsurara
Miyama- The Sleeping Bishop
Morning Phase


Troublesome.

In your line of work, the presence of the supernatural is not uncommon. The Yakuza has long since dived into the world of the esoteric, following the path of other influential groups across the globe. And though Fuyuki may be small in comparison to the metropolis that is Tokyo, it is bound to have a couple of freaks hanging around, especially given how connected its history is to the occult. An expert on the subject would also claim that the gathering of the Leylines that run underneath it makes it a site suitable for a grand-scale ritual. So, by no means were you expecting not to run across something capable of defying the laws of common sense.

This level of exposure, however, is simply too high. Putting last night's encounter aside, the world around you is giving you signals that nothing has been a coincidence or an isolated event and that the bigger picture might actually be larger than what you initially anticipated. Case in point, at least two thirds of your force have disappeared from the radar, and the third that remains seems to know nothing of it. Every TV channel is nothing but static and all telephone calls to recipients outside Fuyuki do not connect, as they appear to be outside the area of coverage. Hell, from a certain angle within the inn, it should be possible to spot rising smoke clouds, product of the destruction that spread over the city overnight. In hindsight, it has been the inn's particular location that probably acted as a defensive measure against further threats. Because, as it stands, it remains clear that the shadow swordswoman the group had to face last night has not been the only one to run rampart wrecking havoc across the city.

Within the room you find yourself in currently, which is not the one you rented, are three people other than yourself. The first two are the Masaki siblings, the little sister who encountered the pitch-black warrior and the big brother who desperately came to her aid. Out of the two of them, Masaki Taichi is the one who has suffered the most grievous injuries. Although, since he was literally struck by thunder, the fact that he's still alive and conscious is a good sign. In contrast, Masaki Tomomi has only a few scrapes and bruises here and there, most likely caused the environment around her, rather than the enemy itself. The streets and nearby buildings sustained heavy damage as the fight went on, and it all culminated with the activation of the Swordswoman and the Wolf's ultimate techniques.

The third person is Sakaki Yuuna, the one in charge of keeping the group safe. She has just finished wrapping some bandages across Taichi's chest and waist. In your particular case, you were handed some ointment in case your wounds turned out to be more severe than they looked at first glance. Normally, the maid would insist on applying the ointment herself, maybe extend the offer to a relaxation massage, but as the situation remains tense even after a night's rest, that seems unlikely now.

"Master Takagi wishes for us to gather at the Dojo as soon as possible. Please head there once you are done preparing."

Polite as ever, the green-haired girl remains distant, not speaking any more than necessary and not addressing the events that transpired yesterday directly. With a hurried bow, she soon departs, leaving you alone with the Masaki siblings.

"Ah...! Then I'll go get Alicia...! Excuse me."

Or at least that's what it looks like at first, but Masaki Tomomi takes the first opportunity to dash towards the door and into the hallways. Considering she gives the image of a polite little girl, you expected her to act as the mediator here, but alas, she must be really worried about her friend. All things considered, it cannot be helped. Last night was rather dangerous, after all.

"..."

Problem is, that leaves you alone with an obstinate who insists on being an obstacle. What is it... The third time now? Although, one may claim that the current situation is different. He's not standing on your way, nor is he making any effort to come off as a prick anymore. He's just being silent. Maybe he's simply waiting for you to leave? It's hard to tell, as part of your instincts tell you that he wants to say something. If so, this might be a good opportunity to strike up a conversation.

A short one, for you understand that time will be a scarce resource from now on.

[hero]

Yamashita Hiro
Shinto - love hotel district
Morning phase


"...!"

In a panic, you throw your weight against the door and barge into Luna's room, your mind ready for anything. From a 'boy meets girl' sequence to an encounter with a treacherous enemy, to the kidnapping of your newfound partner, the events to unfold from beyond this point are anyone's guess. But you are a gentleman, a hero and a capable fighter. Though the prelude has been rather unnerving, that with how many signs of struggle you spotted in the hallway, you are confident in your ability to adapt and respond. You are a Magus, after all. In a sense you are closer to a machine than an actual human being.

And yet, what you find there immediately throws your expectations out of the window. The scene taking place before your eyes is so bizarre that for a moment even you are left clueless as how to immediately act. And that's because the answer to your question is neither 'black' nor 'white', neither 'yes' nor 'no', but rather a combination of signals that both tell you that everything is alright, yet at the same time, there is something very wrong after a second glance at the whole picture.

Yes, the moment Yamashita Hiro breaks into the love hotel room, not one, not two, but three heads turn to look at him, and none of them are given much of a chance to hide what they were doing moments ago. It is only natural, for the device that isolates the room from the outside in a similar fashion to a bounded field is still in place, meaning no one could anticipate the moment you would break through the entrance, not until it was too late.

The three culprits are all sitting in the large bed positioned in the middle, in a cross-legged position. Luna is already wearing her usual attire, minus her white coat, while Theressa looks almost like a completely different person, her body wrapped only in a towel, her silver hair still wet from the shower she took minutes ago. You also spot a few bruises and scrapes here and there, matching the evidence of conflict that you found outside. As for the third individual, his chest is laid completely bare, and a tattered robe appears to be all that covers everything below. Needless to say, he is someone you've never met before.

Or, to be more precise, someone you recognize, yet you've never seen in person until now.

"Ummm... Morning, Hiro-san."

Comes Luna's greeting, which is outstandingly composed, all things considered. Then again, the blue-haired girl most likely is the subject of an experiment who comes from another era and does not remember much about herself or the world itself. So you can somewhat forgive her for not knowing when one's playing with fire. But Theressa, the nun, the executor... Despite how much of a strange person she is, you cannot imagine her overlooking danger like this. Are you really the only one who's seeing something clearly wrong with this scene...? Putting aside the fact that there is a man sharing a bed with two beautiful ladies he just met inside a love hotel, how come this person's mere sight is not enough to intimidate anyone else?

"Yo~ Looks who's finally decided to show up and spoil the fun."

He speaks in a relaxed manner that somehow still manages to carry some hostility within it. It's almost reminiscent of the style that some gang members use to make themselves look tough. Definitely the kind of person that would throw a rain of insults at your face if you do anything to annoy them. He seems to be a polar opposite to the kind of person you expected him to be.

"Why don't you come over here, so we can have a chat?"

You claimed that yesterday was one of the craziest days ever. And now today starts with a strong contender to break that record. Yes, for the one to address you directly is no other than...

Big Surprise

One of the legendary figures to bear the identity of 'Hassan I Sabbah'.

[Airen]

Aya Alayana
Shinto - Location Unknown
Morning Phase

---To anyone who knew of Aya Alayana, who had experienced any sort of real interaction with the new "Red Devil," the scene that had just taken place inside of the depths of the church is one that would boggle the mind, that would convince the watcher that they must be dreaming, because the nun continues to stand -undamaged- before someone that could likely annihilate her with but a snap of her fingers.

Yes.

In terms of battle capacity... There is little question of which of the two "Devils" would win, it would be easy, remarkably so; even if one takes her dislike for dealing severe damage to humans into account, there are still limits to how one can expect to talk to the "debt collector" without being severely punished in response, but...

But...

"...Caren."

---Yes.

While her first impulses are certainly to do something along the lines of "burn her feet a little bit," for the remarks, there is a certain quality that this woman has that makes such an act of petty revenge inherently unsatisfying... While her appearance is clearly that of an evil demon pretending to be a holy woman, her own existence in this church seems to imply that she had rescued her from the fish -somehow- thus, it would not only be in poor taste to torment her rescuer a bit, but the woman would ultimately be satisfied with getting that sort of "response" out of her anyways, in other words...

---The only way to deny her that sadistic joy, is to suppress the urge to make her dance a bit with fire, and just react calmly...

Yes...

Calmly...

Serene.

Serene Aya, Serene...

---Of course, such a thing is easier said than done; the opening of her magical circuits, and the release of a small flame across the surface of her skin to dry out her clothing is one that is made with a bit of obvious oomph to it, as if showing a flash of 'annoyance' to her -definitely more evil- counterpart, and then-

"Habits aren't my style, Ortensia."

-while the woman is much older than her, the way she slams her hand into the wall at the side of the nun, her own expression deadpan in spite of the obvious action towards 'pinning' her in so the woman can't stoically walk off like she always does-!

"Especially not when it's being offered by a demon, I'm destined for hell already as it is."

---Yes.

This is her natural enemy, someone that drags emotions out -faintly- even when she is clearly going out of her way to suppress them-!

"So rather than using me for that little fetish of yours, how about you explain what's going on, now."

--And thus, a demand was made, one that is not particularly specific because...

Well...

The damn church always knows way more than it lets on-!

[Tobias]

Yamashita Hiro
Shinto - love hotel district
Morning phase

Life is strange.

It’s funny, how many times one finds he or she gets exactly what they want... and somehow...still can get angry about that.

Hiro was relieved, oh most certainly he was, and yet the joy of such was immediately pantsed, picked up, stuffed into a locker upside down, and then locked inside.

Because here is what the young boys reaction was about the girl that he had been very worried about along side the other girl that he... well...really haven’t been all that concerned about to be perfectly honest...sitting and relaxing after what looked like a couple of showers.

”Oh sweet tap dancing tittfucking Jesus Christ on a cracker! Are you people playing cards? Do you know how worried I was?!” Strangely or perhaps not, Hiro’s youthful tenor cracked and warbled at his exclamation, sounding high pitched and almost childlike.

The young lad had been ready to apologize and take responsibility had he had some kind of clicks moment where he walked in on someone changing or something. Had he not been so panicked, he would have probably considered that scenario to be about 4th or 5th on the worst possible possibilities with the ones in front involving mangled corpses and active brutality on people to far gone to save.

We should kill everyone in this room!

The voice rose unbidden. Hiro wasn’t even sure it was the jungle god speaking. That one actually might have just been Hiro’s true feelings.

Quiet. He told it anyway. It growled in response in the back of his mind.

”I uh...” Hiro tried to go on, then appeared to mentally founder, having to suck in a bracing breath of shaky oxygen.

”I uh...hell, I dunno. Luna? Glad you aren’t dead. Kinda. Less glad then I would have been a minute ago. Theresa? I apologize for any injuries you incurred on my behalf. And you...

Hiro sized up the last intruder. Hassan-I-sabbah. Wraith servant of the holy grail war. The shadow creature Hiro encountered yesterday had heavily implied the presence of the Holy Grail, but did not confirm it. The members of the Remnant had dealt with pseudo servants that took vaguely heroic form and nature but could not truly encompass them. While great works of magic. It was the difference between projecting a noble phantasm and crafting one. There were other possibilities that could invoke a shadow servant.

Not so for Hassan. There was no longer a question.

The holy Grail War has begun. Fuyuki’s fateful nights of battle had begun once more.

The thought was grave enough to...almost...wipe out the considerable frustration Hiro had, due to his supposed companions not seeing fit to warn him about a battle, not to mention a freaking Servant showing up.

That was of course, only part of the equation. Sitting in front of the usually placid, currently irritable mage of the new order was the servant who killed powerful mages. Any servant killed mages really. But...none were so terrifying as this one, was Hiro’s honest thought. Assassin servants were scary. No man or woman could stand against a knight, true...

But you could still fight. Hiro has the fire demon. Even as he had against the shadow archer, he had the ability to plant his feet.

Such was little diffference then the comforting feel of a tightly gripped pocket knife against a bear. Little help in reality, but comforting nonetheless, better to have then not to have. But an assassin? Such was a Dead End that didn’t even offer the proverbial savings throw. Mages lived and died at their whims.

And yet...?

Hiro’s eyes had more then fear to them. More then wariness. There was something else. Something that for once had nothing to do with the prowling demon coursing through his Chi. Nothing at all to do with a bit, more kind then his title of magister would suggest, who felt the need to honor the name of “Hero.”

No, what crossed in front of his features for the barest moment was a mages’ avaricious. It was the same spirit that caused one to face death unafraid day in and day out because that was the way of life for a magus.

Hassan-I-sabbah. One of the 19. There was a long silent look that Hiro gave to the Old Man of the Mountain.

”...A chat huh?” Hiro slowly walked over to the mildly tossed around table, picking up some of the cards that had been smattered by his exuberant entrance. “Yeah. I’m game. Deal me in. I have a few things I would like to chat about.”

Hiro picked up a simple folding chair and kicked its legs out and sat reverse around it, so that his legs splayed out around it’s back.

See, Hiro’s studies of the holy war had always been frustrated by one major factor. The presence of the Hassan servant. Some of the reports and divination spells he had prepared had showed a strange wraith, a story given flesh to an appropriate spirit. Others had shown him a more classic assassin, a skull masked servant who fought with guile and agile ranged combat. Because he had never been able to discern the truth of this, many of the rituals and spells he had prepared to investigate his interest, the seven Servants had been frustrated. There was only a 1 in 19 chance that this Servant was indeed that one. And an additional question as to whether or not he would even remember if he had been.

But 1 in 19 was much higher odds then the normal ones mages bet their lives against.

[hero]

Alicia Rosenkopf
Miyama- The Sleeping Bishop
Morning Phase


"...!"

Shortly after leaving the room, a particular noise immediately captures your attention, instinctively forcing you to glue your feet to the ground and stare ahead expectantly as you can tell someone -or something- is approaching your location at an alarming speed. The hallway is narrow and the flooring is almost entirely made of wood, so when someone runs through the inn a rather foreboding, rumbling sound can be heard. Needless to say, one isn't supposed to run in the hallways and most adults understand that doing so would invoke the wrath of the owner of the place. Masaki Tomomi's mentality easily allowed her to qualify as an adult, so she'd seldom be so careless and disrespectful as a guest, but this time, those thoughts take a second place in her mind. She has been really worried about you, after all.

"Alicia...! You are awake...!"

Having come all the way here from her room on the other side of the inn, the young girl stops her sprint a few steps away from the spot where you are standing, allowing herself a moment of respite immediately after, her hands on her knees. Though it is not easy to tell that Tomomi follows a strict training regime given her performance the day before, it's rather clear that endurance is not her strong suite. Not that it matters much anyways, at this point you are as glad to see her as she is of seeing you.

"... Are you alright? I am sorry for dragging you into all of this."

Last night, things escalated quickly. One event led into another and before you knew it, your life was at risk. Though everything worked out in the end, it goes without saying that it was a dangerous experience. But more importantly, everything happened because you decided to get involved. Had you decided to stay indoors for the night, you wouldn't be standing today in the same place as you are now. This is most likely the reason why your friend is feeling somewhat guilty. Though its fortunate that the two of you've met, putting you in danger is not something to celebrate in Tomomi's eyes. And, though she does not know the specifics, even she can tell that a heavy responsibility has been placed upon your shoulders with the summoning of your Servant, Assassin.

"Everyone else is fine. My brother got hit pretty badly, but he's used to it by now." Tomomi draws a faint smile as she mentions this strange fact. Contrary to your initial expectations, it looks like she's awfully confident in her brother's talent at recovering from injuries. Maybe he gets hurt often...? "He's already moving around, so..."

Maybe it's because she guessed that you would also be worried about the well-being of the group that she gets it out of the way early, so the two of you would have a minute to talk about yourselves. Tomomi's expression then changes as the scene becomes slightly more awkward. There is something that your friend needs to share with you -quite a bit of information, actually- and she does not seem to know where to start or whether she is capable of gathering enough courage to do so.

"Here, I believe this is yours, Alicia." To your surprise, what Tomomi is holding in her hands is your headphone set. "It broke last night when you... Ummm... Fainted. Hopefully, it still works."

A combination of tissue and tape is what binds the modern artifact together. It is clear that the damage it sustained would not affect its ability to function, but it is also pretty evident that it has ceased to be the same item it was before. It broke, after all, and putting its parts together wouldn't bring back the original article.

Still, though the hands of the girl in front of you, they managed to find the way back to their rightful owner.

[hero]

Aya Alayana
Shinto - Church on the Hill
Morning Phase


"I see you have not changed one bit, Aya."

A normal person would have flinched or, at the very least, would have felt uncomfortable with every way of escape cut off, however, Caren Ortensia is far from what you would call a 'normal person'. It is not that your presence fails to register as a threat in her eyes, as she is very much aware of what you can and cannot do, nor is it that your powers do not inspire an ounce of fear somewhere deep inside her heart. Rather, what she possesses is an uncanny talent to not let anything show in her expression, to the point that her stoic facade, combined with her sharp tongue, acts as invitation to break the taboo and inflict violence upon her. It's only thanks the fair amount of experience that you have in dealing with this wolf in sheep's clothing that you are able to restrict the negative emotions that her words can so easily invoke and remain relatively calm considering the circumstances. But your patience does have a limit and you are not the kind of woman who likes to beat around the bush. You require answers and you demand to have them now.

"I am afraid I do not have the answers you seek."​ A brief pause. "It is true that, as an Overseer, I have been able to witness an alarming number of irregularities take place in this city, but that does not mean I am all-knowing. I am not a prophet, either, so I'll need a little bit more time before I can properly diagnose the problem."

Though her response does not bring any new information to the table, as you would have hoped, it does appear to be sincere. It goes without saying that Caren knows more than you do in general terms, but if she cannot connect her theories with facts through evidence, they are good as useless.

"Who knows...? It might be the aftermath of one of the many tragedies that befell Fuyuki years ago or the consequences of a completely isolated event. It might even all of the above, a crossroad where all paths meet. Wouldn't be surprising, all things considered. And the culprit... I guess that would have to be a mage. I can't name a single irregularity here that was not caused by Magus or a relative of thereof."

Finally, though a combination of clever positioning, expert timing and chance, Caren Ortensia manages to sneak past you and buy herself a precious moment of respite. You must have dropped your guard at some point and she simply took advantage of it...!

"Regardless, it is big, I can tell you that. Communications have been shut off, electronic devices are barely functional, and before losing contact with them, my agents reported an alarming number of disappearances throughout the city. It goes without saying that, without back-up, this will soon surpass the limits of what I can cover up."

In other words, what she is saying is that immediate action is necessary. And, unfortunately, it would also seem like you are the only companion dash bodyguard available.

"Would you be so kind as to take a stroll across the city with me? We may find an answer to our questions and, if we are lucky, we might even bump into the kids while we are at it."

... Wait.

Because what she said earlier, you assumed at least Natsu and Kaori were with her, possibly waiting for you in the chapel. However, with this new line, Caren leaves it perfectly clear that the two are not currently under her care. Like a dagger suddenly dug deep into your stomach, you feel sick after briefly recalling the dangers you had to face yesterday's night. Now, more than ever, you needed to know that the heirs of the Tohsaka and Matou bloodline are safe.

"... Or we can stay here and bounce off a few ideas. I am not entirely against the idea."

... And the only way to leave this church is with its current owner tagging along.

[RoydGolden]

Alicia Rosenkopf
Miyama- The Sleeping Bishop
Morning Phase


When Alicia saw Tomomi running down the halls to greet her, her heart nearly skipped a beat. She'd been so worried how Tomomi had been faring after that battle that seeing the other girl alive and (mostly) unharmed sent a wave of relief down Alicia's whole body.

"Tomomi!" Alicia exclaimed, rushing forward and pulling her friend into a crushingly tight hug. "I'm so happy you're okay! After what happened last night... I, well..." she trailed off, realizing Tomomi probably didn't want to talk about the horrible fates that she narrowly escaped. "I was just so worried about you!"

At a slight wheeze from the blue-haired girl Alicia pulled back sheepishly, realizing she'd probably been hugging her a little too tightly. "Sorry about that. I guess I tend to be a little too affectionate sometimes."

Glancing down, Alicia noticed something in Tomomi's hands. Much to her surprise it was her headphones! Tomomi quickly explained that she'd dropped them last night. After everything that had happened when she woke up, Alicia was too distracted to even notice they were missing. Now their absence screamed at her, like she'd accidentally gone to school without wearing pants.

"Thanks for that," Alicia said, blushing with gratitude as she accepted the headphones from Tomomi's hands. "Those were a gift from my grandma actually, so they mean a lot to me." She looked the item up and down, ascertaining it was still more-or-less intact. Though noticably beat-up and held together by tape and bandages, it still looked to be in working order. Alicia's heart was warmed to think that in the midst of everything else going on, Tomomi had taken the time to repair her seemingly insignificant possession. She truly was a kind person.

She slung the headphones casually over her neck and looked at Tomomi. Alicia noticed the other girl looked nervous, as if she had questions she wanted to ask but couldn't quite voice. Alicia understood the feeling from her dialogue with Assassin earlier. "Do you have anything you want to talk to me about? I mean, it was quite an eventful last night..." Alicia punctuated the remark with a nervous laugh, hoping to deflate the tension between them a little.

[hero]

Yamashita Hiro
Shinto - love hotel district
Morning phase


Less than ten minutes have passed since your entrance and outburst, but it appears that, in spite of the bizarre nature of the events taking place inside this particular love hotel room, things have managed to calm down a little. Your verbal reaction may have managed to nearly throw Luna out of the bed in surprise, force Theressa's eyebrows to move and form a well-defined frown, and allowed a whistle to come down from under Assassin's white skull mask, but now it is all in the past. Or not entirely so... It is unlikely that they'll ever forget your fit of temper, especially when you usually look so innocent, kind and gentlemanly. Well, appearances can be deceiving.

"I am glad we could find a proper solution to our little misunderstanding, girl, but are you certain you want to proceed with this course of action?"

Hassan's question is directed at the nun, who is currently the only player other than the wraith still playing this round. Luna and you both folded after confirming that both the three revealed cards on the bed's surface and the pair of cards on your hands failed to make any decent combination. Poker is a game of lies, it is not every time that one can find a winning hand in fifty-two card deck, but there is a limit as to how much one can push one's luck against a legendary figure of myth and legend. Besides, what you see is not an ordinary flop, but a rare one brimming with potential. The number three, the ace and the number two, all of them of the same suit: Clover. In other words, the right combination of cards could bring about one of the most powerful hands in the game. There is no place for a pair or a two pair here, so deciding to cut your loses has been a wise idea.

Well, it is not like the stakes are high anyways, this is just a game to break the ice and pass the time. Only you have a relevant amount of money on yourself and going for the 'strip' version of the game would never get the approval of more than two of the active participants. Instead, you bet using mysterious seeds that Assassin decided to share with you. Though they looked harmless at a glance, in the hands of a hero known for its talent at killing, they could very well be a weapon. With this is mind, you do your best to manipulate them as little as you possibly can.

Finally, by 'little misunderstanding', Hassan is talking about the fight in the hallways. The exact order of events still remains unclear to you, but it seems like the two fought for a little while, despite the Servant wanting nothing but to voice a message he had been sent to deliver.

"Absolutely!"

Comes Theressa's fiery response, who has just checked the bet after taking a peek at her hand. Needless to say, she is new to the game. She probably never had access to a wide variety of sources of entertainment and, as a result, seems to have gotten hooked to this particular kind of distraction. A part of you wonders if this is really a good idea, seeing as she has momentarily forgotten about the trip you are supposed to make to the Church, as she has yet to mention anything about it. Well, seeing as they were already playing by the time you arrived, there was probably nothing you could have done to prevent her downfall.

Out of her twenty starting seeds, there is only three left by her side, not counting the ones she's bet this round. In short, she is losing furiously.

It should be easy to tell who's the one who's been collecting the most seeds so far.

"Very well then..."

Assassin takes one final peek at his hand before his hand moves to flip over the fourth and fifth card.

The number five and a King, a clover drawn under their respective values. In other words, his hand is a guaranteed 'Flush', with the potential to become something even stronger. More over, his biggest threat, the possibility of his opponent having a 'Straight Flush' is nothing but a delusion. Indeed, as long as the number five remains under his possession, that is simply unconceivable-!

The fourth card is revealed... It's the Ace of Hearts.

And then, the fifth... The Ten of Diamonds.

"Well, it's a shame, but it looks like I win..." The man with dark skin claims, confident in yet another victory. "If we were using any real currency, you would have alrea-Ugh-?!"

If one could see Assassin's eyes underneath the mask, they would be, at this precise moment, as open as they could be.

Indeed, Theressa has also revealed her hand, one which surpasses that of the Old Man of the Mountain.

Certainly not one as rare as the Straight Flush, but it is definitely superior to an ordinary Flush.

It' the Ace of Diamonds and the Three of Spades. In other words, together with the cards laid on the bed, she's got what is referred to as 'Full House', a 'Pair' combined with 'Three of a Kind'.

"..."

At this, the anonymous human-hunter can only curl in defeat as the nun claims her spoils of war. One could almost see his soul escape his materialized body...

-------

"Anyways, I am here to form a partnership, at my master's request." Assassin breaks the silence, as it becomes yet again his turn to deal. "The situation will soon escalate and we'll all be goners if we don't act on it. More people capable of wielding the power of Servants are needed and, if you made it this far, I'd say you are fitting candidates."

You look at your hand: The Ace of Hearts; The nine of Spades.

On the bed, the three cards displayed are: The King of Hearts; The King of Diamonds and The Four of Spades.

"I guess what I am saying is... If any of you people want to wield power beyond your wildest imagination... I can help you get there."

The white mask speaks of ominous things...

[RacingeR]

Hiyako Tsurara
Miyama- The Sleeping Bishop
Morning Phase

This made no sense at all, and it pissed her off.

In the first place, she didn’t like confusion. Nobody did, of course, but having absolutely no clue of what was going on was something that particularly irked her. She considered her a strategist of sorts, or at least she tried to be (impulsive decisions and arrogance aside), but it was impossible to operate with no information whatsoever.

But more than anything else, she was pissed off at herself, for letting herself be carried away last night. That had been truly dangerous. Forget her bad habit of trying to act like some sort of savior, she was aware of that particular personality flaw she had and of how her behavior wasn’t anything like a Yakuza’s should be. But getting in that sort of situation had been a serious misstep. If it hadn’t been for the timely appearance of that mysterious creature, Assassin, she’d have had to use her last resort, which would’ve probably plunged her into a path of no return.

Furthermore, even putting that aside, having two thirds of her retinue disappear out of nowhere was a serious blow. Those people had been under her responsibility, and if they had died out there, caught in whatever was going on, it was her fault even if there had been nothing she could’ve done to prevent it.

For now, she had ordered the remnants to move carefully and gather in the inn without taking risks. She wasn’t sure of who exactly was still around, but she suspected the most capable members of her gang had remained, at least: these people were cunning enough to take all precautions possible even when they didn’t suspect any danger, and were the least likely to have been caught in the catastrophe.

Given that by now it was rather obvious Fuyuki was isolated somehow, cut off from the outside world, there hadn’t been much she could do during the night. Her attempt to call headquarters hadn’t gone through, which was a problem. The Hiyako had their own database regarding supernatural phenomenon, and even not counting that, her father was very knowledgeable, and the retired old Patriarch, her grandfather, was even more so. But without contact with them, she was very limited with what she could work with.

To put it simply, Hiyako Tsurara was having a very bad morning.

Which was an understatement.

For now, she had concentrated in recovering from last night’s skirmish. She had excused herself, and had gone to apply the ointment and shower. The hit she had taken last night hadn’t been particularly strong for the extremely tough demon hybrid, but it had been enough to leave a bruise and crack some of her lower ribs. The ointment was unnecessary, but she had applied it anyway.

But by the time morning hit, her wound had practically disappeared. Tsurara had smiled wryly at that. Half-Demons recovered quite fast, and since she had a particularly thick bloodline, that applied even more to her. Well, she doubted she’d heal a deep cut so fast, but blunt damage of this level was something she could shrug off in a night or two.

Afterwards, she had worn her specially prepared dress, before moving towards the room where Yuuna had been tending to the Masaki siblings. She was now dressed in a western-style formal dress that strongly accentuated her foreigner-like appearance, something she wasn’t particularly fond of, but given the special characteristics of her outfit, she’d bear with it.

Not paying much attention to the trio, she’d been busy with her own thoughts. Connecting the happenings of last night and the appearance of Assassin with the rumors she had heard of a certain ritual in Fuyuki wasn’t very hard, but she didn’t have much knowledge about the particulars of this ritual. Truth be told, she hadn’t been very prepared for this.

Tsurara had only investigated the supernatural aspects of the city superficially. While various old organized crime outfits had ties to the supernatural and had somewhat expanded into it, something relatively common in Asia where certain amount of mysticism remained, what she’d come to deal with had been related to the mundane rather than the supernatural. Hence the current situation where she only knew a little about the so-called Holy Grail War.

Yeah. She was definitely annoyed at herself.

Now, she’d been left alone with the stubborn sibling, who she didn’t really feel like dealing with. Or rather, she didn’t have any reason to engage him in a conversation, nor did she feel like doing so, but her instincts told her that he had something to say. But, did she really care about that?

She walked up to the door, but stopped. Her cyan eyes turned slightly to observe the boy.

… Whatever. Curiosity killed the cat. Or in this case, the hybrid super-monster. She didn’t really look down on him that much anymore, so…

“If you’ve got something to say, say it.” She spoke almost idly. Her words were straightforward: she didn’t have any time to beat around the bush or display social graces. However, her tone of voice wasn’t hostile or forceful, and even carried a slight trace of grudging respect. Ultimately, weak or not, this Taichi had displayed an impressive amount of guts yesterday.

That was the only reason she had decided to stay and listen to him, if he actually wanted to speak. However, she didn’t have the mood to deal with his obstinate act: if he didn’t say what he wanted to say, she’d just turn around and move towards the dojo.

[hero]

Hiyako Tsurara
Miyama- The Sleeping Bishop
Morning Phase


"..."

Masaki Taichi frowned, but said nothing in response. While your words no longer carry hostility within them, their effect on the boy is practically the same. Being pushed against the corner like this is not to his liking and the more time that goes by, the more convinced he becomes that he does not like your guts at all. A part of him wants you to leave the room as soon as possible, as interaction between the two of you appears to be not just impossible, but also unnecessary. Naturally, this rebellious way of behaving is not the fault of Hiyako Tsurara. No, if anything, you have shown more than enough leniency towards someone who does not deserve it. You assumed him to have proved himself a man but if he cannot muster enough courage to voice his thoughts, then it remains clear that he still has a long way to go. It's not for you to judge him any further, for you have no knowledge of the ordeals that he had to overcome in order to be where he is today, but as things stand, spending any more time in the room will prove to be a waste of time.

But then, the moment your hand moves to slide the door open...

"Tch! Learn to read the mood, damn it-!"

His shout is too loud for comfort, and it serves to halt all but your thoughts for a moment. Quite a good number of ideas circle through your head regarding what to do in response to this sudden outburst, but none feels as appropriate as to teach the brat a little lesson. There is no denying that the boy is pushing his luck with his current behavior and discourtesy is not the way to address a Yakuza, much less someone who represented the future of the organization. The other option is to find it in you to overcome that urge and simply leave him alone in the room, so he can reflect for himself where he has gone wrong. The reason you believe you have little time to spare is not born from arrogance, after all. In a crisis like this one, the ones to act first often earn the biggest yield, and like hell you wanted to be left out. There is still time to turn a bad morning into a proper treasure hunt.

"... Tch!"

What happens next is even more unexpected.

Because the next time Masaki Taichi grits his teeth is not to show distaste for the person in front of him. No, it's quite the opposite. Enduring the pain that must come from lowering his upper body that much -considering the wounds he sustained last night-, he firmly bows in respect, showing his thanks. Even when, since a few moments ago, he is no longer allowed within your field of vision, he does so, regardless.

"... Thank you for helping me bring my little sister back safely, yesterday."

For Taichi, breaking the ice with a stranger feels like an extremely hard task to carry out. When the words to convey are those of gratitude, it becomes even more difficult for him to carry out the mission successfully. So when you put him on a time-limit by being straight-forward all of a sudden, it nearly backfired, causing him to feel more inclined to just remain silent and let you go.

So if he did come out of his shell to do what needed to be done, it is probably because he has yet to forget the teachings of a certain man.

"I am aware you must have had your own reasons for doing so." He is not naive enough to believe you followed them last night out of good-will alone. "But that doesn't matter to me. Once more, thank you."

Finally, he reassumes his original stance, pauses for a moment to endure the consequences of his actions -pain- without showing it too much and then says his final piece:

"Tomomi and I will be leaving the city today, one way or another, so I just wanted to get that out of the way, since it's likely that we'll never see each other again..."

[Tobias]

Yamashita Hiro
Shinto - love hotel district
Morning phase


Less then 24 hours after a young boy had found himself in combat with a heroic spirit of an archer, a young lad found himself again dueling with a heroic spirit.

Poker was not like magecraft. To be a mage was to gamble endlessly against poor odds. To put it another way, to study magic and chase the root was the same as volantarily playing against Doyle Brunson and his table at the World Series while being limited to never having more then an off suit beer hand. Face up.

No, oddly enough, poker was more like...dueling. You took risks when the time was right. Played it safe when it wasn’t, capitalized when your opponent(s) made a mistake and eventually went for the kill. Hiro wasn’t a master or anything, but he had played his maids a few times. So it wasn’t the first time Hiro had played poker with a servant.

The thing about poker was you could win if you were skilled. And you could win if you were lucky. But one who fights with one but not the other is one who is truly “gambling”

Of course, last hand had been particularly illuminating of such. The winning hand had gone to an exuberant nun, but the wiser and more clever bet had been from a Servant. Theresa had “sucked out” her winning card on the turn, after being enticed into gambling recklessly. Assassin had fought with skill, Theresa with luck. In poker, either one could prove a potent weapon.

The next hand brought new possibilities. Bluffing early could be available strategy. If you got it into your opponents head that you bluffed a lot, you could really clean them out later by playing out till you found yourself with a dominant hand, letting the enemy think you were pot committed and desperate.

Good players play their cards. Great players play their opponents cards. The best play what their opponent thought their cards were.

...Needless to say, their were better opponents to play then a master of subtlety like the Old Man of the Mountain. The asshole was literally wearing a damn mask for friggen sake!

But the game was about more then just cards.

”Fold.”

Hiro said, setting his cards aside.

...No, he didn’t. More specifically he set one aside. In a proper game this was a breach of etiquette, but in a casual...or at least unofficial game their were fewer rules.

”Power gets a bit old when you have it you know. I won’t say it’s boring, but with it you do get bored. I don’t want any more. Knowledge though? That makes me greedy. You can certainly have to much power, but there is never an end to what I wanna know. Isn’t it...frustrating to have something you want to know, but can’t...?”

Hiro punctuated his words by taking the single card he had selected and tossing it face down into the pile, leaving its mate face down, with his finger tapping idly on top of it.

”Gotta tell you, that always kills me. Assassin. That’s what kills me.”

It said a lot that when he met the icy and sunken stare of the Hassan, there was no gold in his dark eyes. The fire demon was not a part of this conversation. A mage spoke with a Servant who killed mages. Assassin’s fascinated him. He didn’t like the class. But he couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was a splinter stick in his mind. Hindering his efforts, getting in his way. But he couldn’t leave it alone. Not if he ever intended to solve the mystery of the previous war.

Considering it appeared to be starting again, such questions took on a greater urgency.

”Nope, I don’t care about power. Got to much already. But wherever this dance is going? I’m going too. So what you got for us Assassin? Come on now, you show me yours I’ll show you mine.”

At that, Hiro idly flicker over his remaining card. The nine of spades. What did it mean, showing his weaker side, keeping the much more powerful card concealed?

[hero]

Alicia Rosenkopf
Miyama- The Sleeping Bishop
Morning Phase


"Umm... Well..."

There is a small pause in which Tomomi hesitates to say any more. It's not that she doesn't know what needs to be said, or that she is not convinced of what she wants to say, but rather, you are the sole factor that is causing her to doubt because, ultimately, it will be you who will have to decide. A part of you is already aware that what is coming must be related to the events of last night. While you are a wielder of powers that cannot be fathomed by mundane humans, you are still a newborn regarding the matters of the moonlit world, and it's not hard to admit that part of Assassin's explanation has flown over your head. The youngest of the Masaki siblings appears to be someone your age, someone who you can easily communicate with, but most importantly, someone who is quite knowledgeable and experienced in the unknown. Maybe her words are what you need in order to be able to come to terms with the situation at hand.

"... You said that you live alone, right, Alicia?"

However, the moment Tomomi opens her mouth to speak once more, you quickly grasp that the topic at hand is slightly different. What is your new friend trying to tell you, her downcast gaze fixed on the floor...? Tomomi is someone who's young but also very intelligent and reading between lines comes naturally to her. It might be strange, hell, some people might have overlooked it, but when you mentioned that your parents had passed away and spoke about your grandmother using the past tense, it became clear to her that you have no family left to support you. At the very least, a part of her hoped that such is the case because, since yesterday, a lot of people have been reported missing and the overall state of the city is chaotic at best. In this scenario, finding missing family members would be the same as walking into a living hell for many.

"Then come with us. My brother has not said a word about it yet, but I know him well. He'll find a way to get us out here. Out of Fuyuki."

It soon dawns on you that what Tomomi is suggesting is that you run away with her brother and her, leaving this place behind. The implications behind her worries confirm Assassin's position and leave it clear that what started last night is far off from reaching its conclusion. It's going to be dangerous from now on and it is obvious that Tomomi is aware of it. Perhaps it is because she does not want you to put yourself at risk a second time, that she offers you this opportunity to change your fate and save yourself.

"He may come off as cold at first, but he's really kind. I'll find a way to convince him to let you accompany us."

Tomomi is brave. Tomomi is a fighter.

You can tell that a part of her doesn't want to leave either, but there isn't much choice in the matter. In order to guarantee her safety, her brother will surely fight until he finds a way to leave the city. So, whatever you decide to do, they have already have their own paths paved in front of them. They both intend to leave Fuyuki behind. In this very short time that you've spent together, Tomomi has proved to be the closest thing you have to a real friend, so naturally, it is rather tempting to go along with her plan.

However, as if to mock that wish of yours, the markings of the palm of your hand suddenly feel much, much hotter, the slight pain enough to remind you of your responsibility.