Seigi Nomikata
Location: New Fuyuki – Shinto District
Phase: Evening
Condition: Critically Injured
I’m racing. My heart can’t stop racing, eyes constantly looking for a threat. Saber and Justice? Gone. Lancer? Fine, keeping her distance. Risa? Still not here.
Where?
-Roof!
The light I saw earlier, an Archer would have picked us off easily, whatever it is knows where Risa must be. It’s the only reason I can think of. Staying here only makes us an even bigger target and given that Lancer just dominated Saber and her master is in a state, staying still is a death sentence.
It would be too easy to go home and relax, maybe get one of my arms semi-functional but we’d get picked off and in no state to fight back.
I can see Lancer moving her lips but I can’t/refuse to hear her. Perhaps my mind is coming up with excuses, probably right, but I can’t leave Risa. This is the choice I’m making. I’m running.
After two seconds, it becomes clear that calling it running is a stretch. My arms – most likely broken beyond belief now – flail like ragdolls behind me as I move; each clumsy step is a new fresh pain through my system, over, and over, and over, and over-
But running is the only thing I can do.
Making my way to the building, I throw myself into the door and it falls to the side with minimal effort, and no sound. Convenient but I can’t stop, I charge to the central elevator and…
Out of order.
Frustrated at my predicament, I give the door a resentful kick, ignoring the dullness growing in my toes. I turn back outside and after a glance of the environment of this strange office space that comes off in equal parts; minimalist, desolate and pretentious; I take the only option my brain can think of.
50 floors up the fire escape later and I am utterly drained, each step felt steeper than the last and the coldness of the night made each steeper step a greater risk of a slip and falling to my death. Every inch of my body is in a different kind of agony, broken bones, exhaustion, dryness, a burning from inside out which I expect are my magical circuits overexerted to the point of run dry.
So… tirrreedd…
As I’m certain of whatever adrenaline I had evaporates from my body – I become increasingly aware of my state and that I have nothing to fall back on.
-The wind is strong.
The scenery of the night surrounds me, the cold air threatens to blow me over into the city… the city… looks so small from up here. But in the centre-
No.
No, no, no-
The last person I wanted to see appears out of the blue in the centre of the rooftop
She is evil incarnate, a foe I have no chance of ever defeating, someone who knows my every strength and weakness and how to exploit them. The most powerful magus I’ve ever met and one who is best suited to destroy me.
"Took you long enough Seigi!"
My ex girlfriend.
Before my brain can process, in a shimmer of light beside her appears another girl, standing, yet immobile, asleep, bound, defeated.
“Risa!”
The moment I take a step, York moves behind her, holding her like a human shield but a hand to Risa’s throat. A knife. Where did that come from?! The woman merely gives an exasperated shrug.
“Ah-ah-ah naughty boy. Now, as much as I’ve thought about what I want to say to you after what you did to us,” a flash of silver and the knife is a hair’s breadth from Risa.
No.
“I get to keep you for that later, a little bonus payment. But right now though, no games, just work.”
No.
“This is part of a bigger plan, turn yourself in to me and the side-piece gets to walk, we all know I’m the real heroine of this route.”
No.
I refuse, my body convulses at the thought of being with that bitch again spouting that stupid incomprehensible crap from her mouth bu-
“Oh, in case you’re thinking of doing something stupid, my accomplices are keeping her busy.”
Lan-
Accomplices?!
Wait, I couldn’t hear… could n’t fe ee ll.
Ah!
The mo I tr an’t fo-cccccccc kus.
T
r
p
A
And she’s gone. Her presence is cut off.
I open my mouth but I realise something that hits me hard. Yorkie will kill Risa if I screw up. She always was the worst. I want to scream, I want to shout, I want to move but all I can do is swallow.
In her eyes, in Yorkie’s eyes, I see… affection, I see anger, I see… amusement. Whatever she’s doing, why she’s doing it, I don’t know. But I do know this. She’s toying with me, she’s in control just like she was when we first met and I can’t do anything other than march along to her tune.
I take a bated breath through gritted teeth, grinding away as I fight against my helpless and decide.
DANGER! Choice time!