Act 1: Scene 4
5 Days Remaining
Morning
__________
Mihara walked briskly up the road from his private residence to the school building, the morning sun bathing his surroundings in a bright yellow glow. Behind him, he could feel the presence of his two Servants who had decided to accompany him to the school first, before deciding as to what they would do for the remainder of the morning.
Dawn had come quickly after he had engrossed himself in discovering the full extent of his terminal’s functions for the entire night. Perhaps the most important of his discoveries was the ‘Matrix’ within his terminal that contained some information about his Servants, as well as empty space for what he assumed to be his opponent’s Servants.
‘Well at the moment it is pretty empty, but that’s to be expected.’ Mihara thought to himself as he reviewed what he had learned over the night. ‘My Servants’ entries contain only their class, some of their skills and ‘stat parameters.’ I’d better double-check that as soon as I get to the library first. Hopefully it’ll fill out more as I get to know them better.’
While he wasn’t completely able to believe Sakura Matou’s words yesterday morning, about his artificial body not requiring sleep, his level of wakefulness left no room for doubt.
Still, he couldn’t help but yawn as he thought about the hours of sleep he had missed.
“That was a pretty big yawn there, Master.” Caster’s voice echoed. “Did you not sleep well last night?”
“No, no.” He shook his head with a slightly embarrassed smile as he continued walking. “I’m just thinking about all the work I’m going to have to do.”
“Indeed, there is much to be done, Mihara.” Saber’s haughty voice replied. “Still, we can work around that over time.”
“Thanks for the encouragement.” He replied grimly. “Actually, what will you do while I investigate the library?”
“Oh, I thought I’d take a quick look around the school for a bit!” Caster replied. “Though I may just be a program made by the Moon Cell, I’m still curious as to how things have changed.”
“Hmm, I was thinking that might be a worthwhile endeavour as well.” Saber added. “Certainly, there must have been quite a large leap from my time to now; and I would be most interested in finding them first-hand.”
“Alright, alright.” He sighed, with no desire to get drawn into a conversation about the drastic changes between the ‘modern’ era and the era his Servants may have come from. Even though he could remember a decent amount of the modern world, and some of its history, he’d rather not remind himself that he couldn’t remember any of his own history.
“So I take it you’ll be wandering around the school while I go and look things up in the library?”
“Yes, that sounds about right, Mihara.” Saber confirmed.
“Alright; I’m expecting the, notification, of our opponents to be posted up by about lunchtime today. Could you find me at the library’s entrance at about, say, 3 or so hours from now?”
“Yep, will do Master!” Caster replied with her usual energy, as Mihara continued on his way to the school talking with two invisible women.
__________
The door to the library slid open with a soft scratch, the noise echoing slightly uncomfortably in what was supposed to be a place of silent study. Slowly, Mihara stepped into the room, as he carefully observed this new locale.
The school library was large, large enough to cover the entire floor of the school building’s right wing. Shelves and shelves of books were lined up in formation, perpendicular to the wall and directly to Mihara’s left. On the opposite end of the room, glass windows lined the wall, the morning light shining through to illuminate several desks and chairs lined up, with the occasional computer interspaced.
From where he stood, he could see the occasional black-clad NPC, and the more irregularly dressed Masters that had come here for research, though the population of both was quite small. Directly to his right, there was a small wooden alcove with another computer. And seated within it, looking particularly disinterested and bored, was a young western man.
He was dressed in black; the distinctive colour for NPC’s staffing the school building. His blond head of hair just barely concealed his green-coloured eyes, downcast and concentrating on what Mihara noticed was a sort of console game. By the looks of it, it seemed as though this NPC was in charge of keeping watch over the library, but it was more interested in playing games rather than doing his job.
At the sound of Mihara sliding the door back closed again, the man looked up at Mihara. While the newcomer was certain both of them had never met, the NPC at least recognised him.
“Ooo, so you’s the ‘Ghost in the Machine’ all us NPC’s been talkin’ ‘bout eh?” The man spoke as he stood up, taking a closer look at Mihara as he paused for a while. “Hmm, I was expectin’ somebody taller.”
“…’Ghost in the Machine’?” Mihara chose to ask, instead of taking him up at his last comment.
“Oops, silly me.” The man let loose a hearty laugh. “I ain’t supposed ta tell yas anythin’ ‘bout that, but, well…” He looked around the library, before beckoning Mihara to lean in closer, whispering into his ear as he did so.
“If I did, Id’a hafta kill ya, if ya get’s me drift!” He let loose another thunderous laugh at his joke as Mihara could sense the eyes of the other Masters turning towards them.
“Umm… alright, I… won’t ask then.” He stumbled over his words, unsure as to how to reply. While he was curious as to what he may have meant by ‘ghost in the machine’, Mihara knew that there were more important things he needed to focus on, at least for now.
“Right well, you’s look’n like you’s got somethin’ more important than talkin’ with this ‘ere NPC.” The man changed the subject after Mihara’s reply, apparently trying to be helpful. “While I ain’t lookin’ it, I’m in charge of this ‘ere library. So, whatcha lookin’ fer here?”
“Erm, well…” Mihara couldn’t help but scratch his head as he collected his response first. “Could you point me towards the history section?”
“Oh, makin’ sure to do yer research eh?” The man grinned. “Well as they’s says, ‘knowledge is power’, and this ‘ere Library’s a good a place’s any to start with. History section’s far back from ‘ere, can’t miss it. Largest section in this ‘ere library fer good reason as I’m sure you’s knows.” He gestured around the corner of the nearest bookshelf to the far end of the library. Most of the Masters were gathered there, Mihara noticed as he looked.
“Right, thank you.” He nodded before turning around and moving on.
“Anytime, friend.” The man responded, before Mihara could just faintly hear the sounds of his game again.
’While I know my Servants don’t want to tell me who they are, I should at least research a bit into their background…’ Mihara thought as he made his way through the library. ‘At least I have two clues: Saber’s clearly from the Roman Empire. And Caster’s probably some sort of fox spirit, probably from Japan. I can at least start with that I suppose.’
As he made his way past the shelves, he caught a glimpse of a young woman browsing a bookshelf.
She was different from almost everyone else he had met here, both NPC and Master. He didn’t know what it was. She was certainly not as plain as an NPC would be, but neither did she seem to have the same air about her as a Master would.
‘Could she be one of those ‘Specialist Contractors’ I heard about yesterday?’ Mihara thought, as he couldn’t help but stare in her for longer than was necessary.
She was dressed in a white shirt that reached just past her elbows, a red bow tied at its collar that matched the long, pleated red dress she wore. With a pale complexion that contrasted with her long black hair and the white hairband she wore, Mihara really couldn’t believe that she was a Master who had willingly signed up to kill others.
As though reacting to his stare she turned to look in his direction, revealing a pair of aqua-blue eyes that had somewhat confirmed his suspicions: Nowhere in there could he see a hint of danger.
It was almost as if she didn’t even recognise him as another Master, as another threat. Perhaps, she was more preoccupied with worrying about something else.
“Er, good morning.” He greeted without thinking as he bobbed his head down briefly in greeting.
“Mm, good morning.” The reply came back as the young woman returned the greeting, before walking past him. Mihara watched her as she left the library.
‘Well, that was odd.´ Was all he could think as he saw her turn the corner, before the sliding of the doors could be heard. ‘But I’m pretty sure she was muttering something else I couldn’t hear about… Never mind. I’ve other things to worry about.’
Dismissing the encounter, he made his way into the depths of the library to begin his preliminary research.
__________
Afternoon
__________
Unfortunately, all his efforts only yielded minimal results.
Mihara sighed to himself as he put the most recent book away, a ‘brief’ overview of Japanese mythology and folklore.
‘Well, I shouldn’t have expected to be able to discern who they were just by this alone anyway…’ He thought. ‘But I don’t think I know much more than when I entered.’
From what he had learned yesterday and from the books within the library, he was able to deduce that Saber was Roman: Men and women who existed from around the 9th century BC to the 5th century AD. Her term of address, references to some strange dining habits, and her method of speech all give him the impression that she occupied a position of high stature during her time.
However, the fact that she was female made things extremely difficult for him to pinpoint any likely person. Barely knowing her personality only added to the already hard task.
‘Well, that’s not entirely true.’ He mused as he put a hand to his chin, recollecting all his knowledge ‘For starters, she’s extremely imperious, that much is obvious. But where would I find someone matching her description in the textbooks?’
In the case of Caster, the keyword ‘fox spirit’ yielded a surprisingly broad range of results. So much so that he had just spent an hour or so reading books just to get an idea of their abilities and history.
‘Born from myths traceable to China and Korea, it’s said that fox spirits can have up to nine tails. The more tails they have, then theoretically the older, wiser, and more powerful said spirit is.’ He remembered reading. ‘Caster only has one tail, yet the power she has demonstrated has proven that even one tail is dangerously powerful.’
After thinking for a short while, he took out his terminal and navigated through its functions.
He found the matrix screen that contained Caster’s profile. It was broken up into 4 sections, entitled: ‘Servant parameters and general information’; ‘Servant keywords’; ‘Servant skills’; and ‘Servant history’.
The first section had Caster’s parameters displayed clearly: Strength, Defence, Agility, Magic and Luck. Though he had seen them before, Mihara couldn’t help but worry as he saw again that all five parameters were at E-rank, which apparently was the lowest according to some information he dug up from the library. Saber’s parameters were no different either. But it was somewhat expected: His Servants did inform him last night that their skills were not even nearly as good as they should be.
The second section had a single word written atop an empty list. He guessed these keywords helped to pinpoint the true identity of the Servant. But the single word Mihara read, ‘Maleficium’, was just so broad it may as well not have existed there. As he discovered, touching said word with his finger, a short description elaborating a bit more about the keyword came up on the screen. This particular description described how Caster could, in theory, create an entire army out of her tails. Well, that was when she had more than one.
The third section, was a list devoid of entries too, except for one; ‘Territory Creation [C]’. By what Mihara could discern, this ‘Skill section’ listed all of the abilities that a Servant possessed. To make things more complicated for his inexperienced mind, any skill listed here also seemed to have a letter-rank associated with it, in the same format as their parameters. Again, touching the entry would bring up a short description. But this particular skill was mostly useless in Mihara’s opinion. The description of the entry even stated that Caster had an almost extreme amount of difficulty using it due to her personality. Not that Mihara even knew what this skill could do anyway.
The final section was completely empty, unlike everything else. Mihara wasn’t exactly surprised. Without even knowing his Servant’s true identity, he couldn’t even hope to know a smidgen bit of their history.
The same format of screens showed up when Mihara went to check on Saber’s profile page.
On the first were the dreaded 5 E’s, where upon seeing them Mihara mentally promised to do something about them as soon as possible.
On the second screen was a single keyword entry, ‘Aestus Estus: The Embryonic Flame’. It was the name of her hand-crafted red sword. Just like on Caster’s page, this meant almost nothing to Mihara.
The third screen had 2 skills written on there, instead of one as in Caster’s. ‘Anti-Magic [C]’, and ‘[B]Migraine ’. The former skill’s description implied that it granted some immunity to magic-based attacks. He guessed that this would become very important during battles. Unsettlingly, the rank of this skill in the description’s words was ‘pathetically low, even by normal standards of the Saber class.’
The latter skill seemed to grant a form of immunity to ‘mental-based skills’. Either that, or the opposite, and she herself can’t use mental-based skills. The description was particularly vague about it. Either way, Mihara believed he’d find out in due course what its real effect was during battle. Or perhaps this particular word, and its description may prove useful in later research about Saber’s identity.
He couldn’t help but sigh as he saw the fourth screen, again completely devoid of information. In all effect, it was a testament to the results of today’s library-browsing: Nothing.
“A waste of time, but I suppose I at least have a little bit more information to go when fighting alongside them.” He muttered to himself as he concluded his review. “Perhaps I’ll have better luck uncovering more later after I get to know them better.”
“Well lookie here.” A familiar voice cracked through Mihara’s musings as he snapped around to look at the newcomer.
It was the NPC in charge of the library. Making a brief round of the library while still carrying his game console around with him.
“Done with yer researching already?” He asked. “Well, it’s almost 12 now ain’t it? Shouldn’t you’s be goin’ off and findin’ yer opponent’s names already?”
“Well, yes but-” He began explaining, before he realised something. “Wait, how do you know of my situation?!”
“Of course.” The librarian scoffed, taking his eyes off his console for a brief moment. “Whaddaya think we NPC’s are anyway? We all be part of the SERAPH, ‘aight? If it’s about you Masters and the Holy Grail War, don’t think we don’t know what’s goin’ on with you all.”
“Right, right.” Mihara conceded, putting up his hands. He didn’t need this NPC to start lecturing him any further right now; discerning what he was saying through his accent was certainly no easy task either.
“Well, I’m waiting for the notification on my Terminal.” He answered, waving the piece of equipment in question. “When I get the notification then I’ll go down and check it out.”
“Oh, right.” The librarian nodded. “And ‘ere I thought you’s be more excited ‘bout this fight; most’o them other Masters seem so pumped for this that they even forget to prepare!
“Well I’m not exactly all that keen about this entire thing in the first place.” Mihara couldn’t help but pull a face as he expressed his reluctance to fight.
“Aw, come on. Buck up!” The man stepped a bit closer before tapping his shoulder. “This ‘ere’s a once in a lifetime opportunity! Prove yerself ta be the best in the world! Dominate all yer competition! Win the Holy Grail and have yer most desired wish granted in the blink of an eye! Who in hell’s name doesn’t want that?!”
A brief moment of silence reigned after he shouted his last statement for the entire library to hear, before Mihara sheepishly put up his hand.
“Goddangit ya ain’t supposed ta do that!” He shouted again after slapping his face in exasperation.
“Well I have to be completely honest.” Mihara shrugged. “I don’t really-”
Before he could finish his sentence, the terminal in his hand began to chime and vibrate softly.
“Eh, it’s here!” The librarian exclaimed excitedly even as Mihara froze, petrified as his eyes widened. “C’mon, look at it!”
Slowly he brought the terminal to his face. And as he did so, two sentences typed themselves out on the screen in a plain, glowing blue font.
The next round’s combatants have been announced. Please report to the Courtyard Bulletin Board.
He couldn’t help but breath in deeply as the dreaded message typed itself out letter by letter across his terminal’s screen.
“Ha ha! It’s here!” The librarian shouted again. “Well, ya better get movin’, don’t wanna to keep yous away from the action too long!” He grinned before leaning back in his seat. “Don’t just roll over and die a’ight? It’s a disgrace to everyone else who entered this ‘ere tourney.”
“Right.Thanks.” Mihara muttered as he plastered a somewhat weak smile over his face. He slid the terminal back into his pocket, before walking back towards the entrance and opening the door.
“Good luck to ya!” The librarian again waved energetically to him as the doors slid close behind him, the sound of the other Masters in the building drowning him and Mihara’s thoughts out.
“Good. It appears that the notification has arrived.” Saber’s voice echoed in his mind as Mihara sensed his Servants’ presences next to him.
“And none too soon either. I was getting sooo bored.” Caster moaned. “Have you found what you wanted to in that library, Master?”
“Yeah, I guess.” he replied half-heartedly, too focused on what lay ahead to actually remember what he had read in the library. With heavy footsteps, he made his way down and out of the building to the designated point, his Servants following him dutifully.
__________
Compared to yesterday, the area next to the bulletin board in the courtyard was decidedly less crowded. Mihara assumed that this was because most of the combatant announcements were already done yesterday. There were only a few people apart from him there, staring at that now-dreaded bulletin board.
The board was nothing short of enormous. As it outlined the exact matchups for over 400 candidates, its size shouldn’t come as a surprise. Still, the immense crisp-white paper, along with the knockout chart scrawled across it in black ink was more than enough to intimidate Mihara, long before he even found his own name on it.
His terminal however, was not equally paralyzed. Within a few seconds of stepping up to the board, Mihara could hear its tell-tale chime signalling the arrival of a new message. And as he pulled it out, he saw the words that he had least wanted to see taken straight from the bulletin board, typed out in that same neon-blue lettering.
Master
Mihara Hakuno
Versus
Master
Shun Fukui
And
Master
Shinji Matou
Battlefield: First Chimeric Lunar Sea
“Impossible.” He could only mutter one word as he saw the words written there, the remainder of his sentence echoing through his mind.
‘Shinji… He’s my first opponent.’
“Heh, so you’re my first opponent?” A familiar, snide voice cut through the dark cloud that had descended around him. “I’m honestly surprised that you even managed to qualify.”
Petrified, MIhara could do nothing as his friend-turned-opponent stepped up to his side to look at the board.
“But I guess everything’s possible in this world.” Shinji continued without looking at him. “Hey, you may even be the most powerful Magus here, so much so that even the SERAPH saw fit to pair you up with two opponents instead!” Finally, his smug face turned towards Mihara’s unmoving form.
“I mean, what’s up with that?” He continued. “You already drew a bad card when you got paired with me. There’s no need to throw in that other worm is there? I mean, we both know who the strongest contender in this game is, don’t we?” He burst out in mirthful laughter, ignoring Mihara’s uncomfortable silence.
“So darling, let me get this straight.” A foreign female voice filtered through Shinji’s laughing. “Somehow, you’ve been put into a team with another Master, other than me, and have to fight against a third Master?”
“Yes honey.” A male voice replied somewhat uneasily.
“But, why?” The female voice asked again as Mihara turned his head slowly to look around the field, searching for the origin of the conversation.
There were two persons engaging in a light argument, a young man and woman both dressed in the brown Tsukumihara uniform. Sporting short black hair and an unblemished face with clear blue eyes that gave a sense of devotion, the male was of a similar height to him, give or take a few inches.
The woman in turn stood just a little higher than her male companion’s mouth, while sporting almost blindingly blond hair that fell just to her chin. And framed between her locks, was a pair of crystal-clear blue eyes. Mihara could somewhat tell she was used to being pampered by what he assumed to be her lover. The way she pouted at him at the fact that they couldn’t be together for each and every waking second was quite indicative.
“Oy; are you the guy who’s supposed to be teamed up with me?” Shinji’s shout cut through Mihara’s evaluation, having found too the origin of the conversation.
“Hm?” The male turned his head upon hearing Shinji’s call. “Ah, I know you!” He exclaimed. “You’re the World-Famous Hacker; Shinji Matou, aren’t you? The name’s Shun. I’ll be working with you for the coming week.”
“Heh, you got that right.” Shinji nodded, a wide smirk forming on his lips as he confirmed the newcomer’s suspicions, his arms folded, as his air of superiority only grew thicker. “Well then, you’ll be with me against this little worm here.” He cocked his head over to Mihara, who was still standing confused at this turn of events.
“Ah! Then you must be Mihara Hakuno.” The young man took a step forward, his hand outstretched in greeting. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I will be your opponent for the coming week. Let’s make this a good round, okay?”
“Huh! Er…Yes, yes, same to you too.” Jolted out of his reverie, he grasped Shun’s hand to return the greeting, though his words only trailed back into silence, having nothing else to say to his enemy.
‘I have to kill them.’ It was all he could think.
“Hey, you!” The girl shouted behind them while Shun was introducing himself. “I could care less that you’re some hacking prodigy, ‘Shinji’, but if you’re the one working with him at least call him by his name properly! It’s Shun!”
“Heh, and now what’s this cow mooing about?” The blue-haired boy replied, clearly seeing her like everyone else around him: Worse than dirt. And although Mihara knew to just take it and leave it, these newcomers probably didn’t.
“Why you!” She cried. “I’m no cow! I’m much prettier than any stupid cattle! Fine then, my Servant, let’s beat him to a pulp together and throw him out with the rest of the trash!”
“Do you really think you could beat me?” Shinji asked, his arrogance not wavering in the slightest. “I doubt you could even beat trash yourself! Still, if you want a fight I’d be more than willing to grant it!”
“Hey, hey, Manaka!” Shun quickly ran back to the girl in an attempt to restrain her. “You know fighting’s not allowed outside of the Arena!”
“That’s riiiight!” A new voice cut its way into the argument, its tone completely unsuited to the slowly building-tension. Mihara’s gaze shifted to the voice, revealing itself to be none other than Taiga Fujimura.
“Hey, why are you all looking at me so stupefied?” She asked. “I wasn’t gone for that long you know! And I’m still part of the system! AND an NPC!”
She put extra emphasis on the last statement, which immediately served to defuse the situation in an instant. If there was an NPC around should a fight in a restricted area begin, a penalty, in whatever shape that could take, would be unavoidable.
“Ergh, fine, whatever.” The girl known as Manaka quickly dropped her challenge, not willing to be saddled with this any longer. She turned her attention to Shun. “Darling, should we get going now? The Arena and those triggers are waiting.”
“Yes dear, I’ll help out as much as I can.” He replied, beaming at her as the two walked off to the Sports hall on the other side of the field, leaving the other three behind.
“Heh, I guess she wasn’t brave enough to back up her words.” Shinji said after he was sure the two were out of earshot. “Well in any case.” He turned back to Mihara before continuing to speak.
“It pains me, the strongest Master here, to say this. From this point on, we’re enemies. Got that Mihara? Don’t let our ‘former’ friendship hold you back and let’s keep things clean alright?”
Mihara’s friend-turned-enemy then walked in the same direction the two lovers went, patting him on the back briefly as if to console him on the way.
“Hmph, his words reek of immaturity, and his stance is clearly supported by nothing more than an overinflated ego.” Saber’s voice groaned in Mihara’s mind, clearly appalled at her first
meeting with Shinji. “Still, his insults cannot be left unpunished. He must be thoroughly beaten through and through!”
“That disgusting, dirty little punk!” Caster muttered under her breath, her agitation clearly felt even though she was still invisible. “I swear, at the end of this week I’ll grind that little guppy into chum and feed him back to the fishes!”
‘I guess there’s at least one silver lining to this situation then.’ The thought echoed faintly through Mihara’s mind despite his grim outlook on the situation.
“I don’t know much about that other extra though…” Caster continued. “He seems to be paying more attention to his ‘dear darling’ than the actual fight! Though, honestly I hope you’d do the same.” Her voice slowly quietened down to inaudible levels, though Mihara was still too busy thinking of other things to take notice.
“That ignorance and carelessness of his will only get him killed.” Saber replied, ignoring his silence. “What for do you waste your time for someone else when your own enemy has their sword pressed up to your neck? I don’t think any of these fools see this War for what it truly is.”
“Okay that’s settled!” Taiga’s voice drew Mihara out of the conversation his Servants were getting into. “Honestly, the preliminaries just ended and everyone’s already causing trouble. Mihara!” She called him out, having something to say to him.
“Yes, Ms. Fujumura?” He replied, his student persona taking over.
“At least you’re still the nice student you were from during the preliminaries, Mihara!” She noted with a smile. “I’m pretty sure you heard one of those three talking about Triggers right?”
“Yes, Ms. Fujimura.” He replied politely. “Though I’m afraid I do not know what they are talking about.”
‘And I don’t want to honestly.’
“I guessed as much, but no worries!” She replied energetically. “I had a feeling you didn’t know, so I came out to find you, since Father Kotomine’s probably too busy taking care of other Masters right now to do so himself.” She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts before speaking.
“Well, during the course of every week, all Masters are required to obtain 2 Triggers, or ‘Cipher Keys’. I really don’t know why the things have two names, but never mind that.”
“And what happens if I do not find them before the end of the week?” Mihara asked.
“Well, you’ll be refused entry to the Coliseum at the end of the week.” His teacher replied. “And if that happens, you’ll be automatically deleted.” She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. “Well, perhaps it’d be more frank to say you’ll be killed.”
“So there’s this danger on top of being killed by another Master or one of those ‘Monsters’ in the Arena?” Mihara asked sceptical.
“Yep, that’s riiight!” Her bright outlook contrasted with what she was saying, though she quickly noticed the look of worry covering Mihara’s face. “Aww, don’t look so worried. The two Triggers are scattered around the Arena, and you’d probably end up finding them if you just took the time to explore a bit. So no need to worry at all!”
“Even if you say that,” He couldn’t help but steal a glance at the Sports Hall, the entrance to the Arena. “Why did we get saddled with this extra work anyway? I mean, I already have my plate full enough as it is.”
“Well, I think this is just one of those ideas Father Kotomine came up with for this Holy Grail War.” She replied, putting a finger to her chin while trying to remember. “He said something about ‘culling weak masters’ or something like that.”
“Just what I’d expect from that Priest…” Mihara muttered as he turned his eyes up in exasperation.
“Mm, I wouldn’t put it past him to think up of some other things worse than that.” Taiga replied. “Just be grateful he hasn’t managed to yet. And speaking of being grateful, would you mind doing a teensy, tiiiny favour for me? After all I did go out of my way to tell you about the Triggers!”
“Well, I guess so, but.”
‘Isn’t that your duty as an NPC actually?! Losing by default because an NPC didn’t tell me about Triggers is just unfair to the extreme!’
“Aww come on!” She replied sensing his hesitation. “It isn’t much. I just need you to fetch something from the Arena for me! You’d be willing to do this for your poor teacher, right? RIGHT?”
“O-Of course, Ms. Fujimura!” Cracking under her pressure he stuttered out his reply.
“Thank you, thank you!” Taiga cried with glee. “You’ve made my day! So, my favourite kendo sword’s up and disappeared ever since the preliminaries have ended. I stashed it in the supply room, but for some reason it got transferred into the Arena. As an NPC, I’m not allowed to go into the Arena, so I’m afraid I have to ask you to do this for me.”
“Okay. So, how will I find it exactly then?” He asked.
Knowing how the Arena was like from his visit yesterday, finding a single kendo sword in that maze would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
“Oh don’t worry about that.” She replied. “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed anything like this, but the Arena often has some items that don’t belong in there.”
“What do you mean about not belonging in there?” Mihara asked again, looking at her quizzically.
“The Arena’s environment is only meant to contain three things.” She explained. “Monsters, Servants, and Masters. Everything else in there is considered an ‘anomaly’ so to speak. This includes items that can wind up there for some reason or another, which could include stuff you find around the city, and my kendo sword. I have no idea how they manage to get there, but they’re usually locked up and isolated from the Arena in ‘Item Folders’ until they’re deleted at the end of the week. Oh, I should probably mention that the Triggers are locked up in those Item Folders too.”
‘This is starting to sound like a twisted Dungeon Crawler’ Mihara thought wryly as he listened to her explanation.
“Right, well my kendo sword should be in one of those, scattered about the Arena. I’ll leave you to take care of it!” She stated after her explanation. “When you do find it, hand it to me. I’m usually around the School Campus making sure all the Masters don’t get into a ruckus. And remember, everything’s going to be deleted by the end of the week, so please get it for me before then!”
“I’ll try my best, Ms. Fujimura.” He nodded in acceptance of the job, his former teacher beaming at him before going off to continue her duties, whatever those may be.
“Geez, what is this supposed to be.” He muttered as he glanced to the Arena, after Taiga had left the area. “On the exterior it all looks like some kind of game, yet on the inside we’re all just toying with each other’s lives…”
‘That’s right, isn’t it,’ His thoughts continued on even after his words had subsided. ‘Everyone’s treating this like some sort of game. No one seems to understand just what’s at stake here, and again I ask, when the time comes, will I really have to kill them?’
Shinji Matou, was his friend, perhaps in name only. Still, he had already lost one friend from the preliminaries, could he bear to lose another this time by his own hands?
And this Shun person. Though Mihara had never met him before, there was an even larger, more pressing question about him: Could Mihara really kill him and tear apart the love he shared for that girl?
‘Do I have the right to kill a friend, and a fellow human being? Do I have the right to tear up two lovers as though their relationship was nothing more than paper? Why do I have to kill them in the first place?’ Grim thoughts emerged in Mihara like so many skeletons in the closet.
‘With everyone making light of this situation, am I the only one that feels like I’m trapped in a living hell?’
__________
Evening
__________
Though reluctant after the revelation of who his enemies were, Mihara had no intention of dropping out by default because of his failure to collect these ‘Triggers’.
Saying that, the Master and his two Servants stepped again into the Arena, the maze of cliffs greeting them once more. And within seconds, Mihara could hear Caster sniff the air, something catching her attention.
“Hmm?” She muttered to herself before speaking clearer. “Mihara, I smell desperation and cheap cologne. That smarmy little punk’s still in the Arena somewhere!” She took a quick sniff again, Mihara seeing her ears twitch about, trying to pick up any more information.
“I also smell worry and idiocy too. Perhaps he’s gotten himself into a pickle as well?” She continued after a pause.
“I think your sense of smell is not as good as you think it to be, Caster.” Saber said, rebutting her colleague’s conclusion as she folded her arms, looking out into the network of cliffs. “I sense two Servants in the Arena today, Mihara. It is very likely that both our opponents for this round are here somewhere. We should exercise caution.”
“May I remind too, to not forget to look out for those Triggers as well as this ‘Kendo Sword’ that NPC was telling us about.” She continued. “It would be sheer stupidity were we to lose the first round because of carelessness. Plus, I admit I am interested in what she has to offer us for fulfilling her request.”
“Roger, Saber.” Mihara replied, his eyes scanning the maze below with slight trepidation. “I guess we should go say hello to our opponents.”
“My thoughts exactly, Master.” Caster replied, punching her palm in anticipation as Saber nodded, their weapons appearing out of ether as the trio stepped down into the labyrinth below.__________
It took quite a bit of wandering, as well as fighting through some weak programs before Mihara caught sight of his opponents. Or perhaps it would be more correct to say he heard his opponents.
“I’m telling you man, stop worrying!” Shinji’s voice rang out around the chasm. “Your girl can take care of herself just fine. If she couldn’t then I got no idea why you’d want to go out with her anyway!”
“Hm. It looks like our enemies are already quarrelling.” Caster whispered as the three stopped, their enemies nearby. “This could prove to be advantageous, Master. We should listen in and see what we can find out.” Her Master nodded in response, remaining on high alert in an attempt to pinpoint their exact location.
“But we were supposed to go into the Arena together though.” A second less-familiar voice, Shun he guessed, replied somewhat insecurely. “Will she be able to collect the triggers without me?”
“Gah! Focus on your own triggers instead of worrying about her!” Shinji shouted, exasperated. “Why the hell did I get saddled with an amateur like you?!”
“I guess you’re right…” Shun replied, though clearly still worried somewhat. “I can help her out with finding more info on her opponent back on campus anyway.”
“Ugh, you still don’t get it.” Shinji’s faint muttering barely reached them.
“Yes, I admit I still have a lot to learn.” His companion replied. “Especially from someone like you, Shinji. Your hacking skills are the envy of everyone back home you know? I’m really appreciative of this chance.”
“…Heh, well of course.” Shinji replied, his characteristic overconfidence filling his voice as Mihara couldn’t help but imagine his nose growing longer. “Well I mean, a genius’ bound to have such a wide following it kinda turns into a hassle sometimes. Be grateful you got a chance to work with someone like me.”
“Oh, of course Shinji!” Shun said eagerly. “I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from working with you.”
“If you want to learn anything from me, then start calling me Matou-Sensei!”
“Oh boy.” Mihara couldn’t help but whisper to himself as he slapped a palm to his forehead in exasperation, Caster snickering at the foolishness of the name. “This is going to bloat his ego even more.”
“Matou Sensei?” Shun asked to hear how it sounded. “Hm, doesn’t sound too bad, I guess?”
“Hmph.” Now it was Saber’s turn to react to Shinji’s foolish spouting.
“What’s wrong, Saber?” Mihara asked, sensing her agitation increase.
“No, it is nothing Mihara.” She replied, before crouching down and gripping her sword more tightly. “More importantly, I believe the enemy Servants may have – ”
“I’m afraid I’ve gotta cut the little Teacher-Student bonding time now.” A female voice cut through their talk. “I think we gots ourselves a couple o’ sneaky, eavesdropping rats somewhere near.”
“Hah!” A deep, gruff male voice laughed. “You only recognise their presence now, pirate?”
“Oya, oya, I just wanted my idiot, shut-in Master to interact a bit with his competitors.” The female replied nonchalantly. “He needs the chance to develop his personality a bit, you see.”
“H-Hey, why the hell are you talking about me like that?!” Shinji rebutted.
“Heh, in any case – ” The unknown male voice continued, before Mihara heard a sudden loud twang echo in the area. “I’ll take the first shot then.”
“Watch it, Master!” Caster shouted, before picking him up and jumping out of the chasm area with amazing ease, Saber following her shortly.
“Uwah!” He could only gasp in surprise at the movement, before he heard dozens upon dozens of thuds impacting the ground. As he turned his head down mid-flight, he saw a swarm of arrows already riddled into the ground where they were standing just moments before.
Within a few seconds the three had landed safely at the top of the cliffs, overlooking the chasm. Quickly Mihara got down onto his own two feet, being carried by a girl was embarrassing, to say the least.
Even more so, when he noticed Shinji and Shun standing on the cliff face across the chasm from them, two unfamiliar figures by their sides.
One of them wore a long, crimson jacket with a black trim that wouldn’t look out of place on a seafaring Captain. Secured around her stomach by a hardy leather belt, she appeared to wear no undershirt, her jacket serving to emphasize a substantial amount of cleavage. With cream-coloured pants encased in thigh-high leather boots and crimson-coloured hair that matched her coat, she looked as though she was ready for a fight anytime, against anyone. An opinion reinforced by a clean scar travelling directly across her face from above her right eyebrow to the left corner of her mouth.
The second new figure stood at least 6 feet in height, and likely several inches more. He sported a round face, lacking any noticeable fat, with a thin black moustache and a thick beard flowing from his chin, his black hair tucked into a cone-shaped hat. A well-built, well-muscled body was hidden under a dark grey, fur-lined coat that covered almost the entirety of his body, from his wrists down to his shins, thin layers of metal plates stapled to it. A white, silky undershirt peeked out just at his collarbone, with a set of dark brown trousers tucked into a set of boots. And within his hands, he held firmly onto what appeared to be a sturdy recurve bow. Suffice to say, his heavy-looking clothes and equally-impressive physique wouldn’t look out of place at all trekking across several frigid mountains, hunting his prey no matter what the conditions.
“Oya, now this is interesting.” The female noted as she looked at Mihara. “Our little friend’s managed to summon two Servants!”
“…M-Mihara!” Shinji muttered under his breath. “What’s the meaning of this?! You aren’t supposed to have two Servants! No Master’s supposed to have two Servants!”
“I’m afraid I can’t answer you, Shinji.” He replied quite sheepishly. “I don’t really know myself.”
“Heh, takes someone incompetent like you to get special treatment from the Moon Cell I see.” He raised his hands in exasperation as he spoke. “You get these kinda handicaps and whatnot I see. Still, those handicaps can’t change the fact that you’re still so slow!”
“We’ve already collected our Triggers, Mihara.” Shun finished his partner’s line of thought.
“Well, with you crawling along like the slug that you are, there’s no way you’d have been able to get the triggers before us anyway, even with two Servants!”
“Speaking of Servants, why don’t I introduce you to mine?” He continued, turning his head over to the woman beside him. “We both know our levels are far too different Mihara, you aren’t gonna win this. And if you can’t even get your Triggers, it might as well just be game over for you here and now!”
He placed a hand on his hips before flicking a lock of hair away from his face, turning to his Servant.
“Seriously though, you don’t need to hold back. Feel free to turn him into a bullet-ridden corpse whenever you feel like it!”
“Really?” She asked. “You’re done gloating already? I was actually starting to enjoy your meaningless monologue after hanging our poor friend there out to dry.” She tilted her head over to Shun, most likely referencing their earlier conversation. “Well, I’m sure we all know that my Master is a complete social retard, right?” She shrugged as she spoke with a sly smile on her lips.
“Hah! Says the Servant of the Master.” The second Servant laughed with his arms crossed in front of him. “You chose to offer the contract yourself did you not? What sort of warrior decides to offer themself to such a useless Master eh?”
“Oya oya, I said it earlier, right?” She replied to the other Servant. “As his ‘Servant’, I need to give him a chance to develop his personality a bit more. I swear, he’s got worse manners than a bunch of Jacktars stuck out at sea for 4 years, greeted every morning with only each other’s stinkin’ ugly mugs!”
“W-Where the hell do you get off analysing me?!” He shouted back at her, though Mihara suspected he didn’t know half of what she was talking about. “C’mon! He’s my rival! Our enemy here! Just hurry up and shoot his face off that body of his!”
“Oh ho, look at the tough guy!” She laughed with a grin. “I admit it: I admire the fact that you’re evil enough to give a friend a beat down. Heh, I guess that’s part of what made me offer you my services in the first place. That darkness in your grubbly little soul is truly impressive, Shinji. Yes, oh yes do I expect a generous reward later!” She asked, drawing two antiquated pistols in her hands with a flourish.
“Well then, ‘partner’, are you ready to get your hands dirty gutting a pair of fish today?” She asked, addressing the largest amongst them.
“Go ahead, Archer.” Shun spoke softly and firmly, having remained silent until now as he discerned his Servant’s unanswered question.
“Heh, fish was a rarity in my days.” He replied to the woman after a nod of acknowledgement. “But I am loathe to turn away from a good a hunt as this!”
As soon as Shinji’s Servant had finished speaking, a sound resembling a thunderclap echoed around the area, as a large ellipse rapidly drew itself around the two teams, even across the chasm that separated them. Immediately after it finished, the line instantly began emitting a strange, green glow that quickly turned to red.
“Tch, looks like the SERAPH’s got its eye on us…” Mihara could hear Shinji mutter from across the gorge. “Oh well, I’ll just show you how powerful I am for today then.”
As soon as he finished, writing began to show itself just above the ellipse that surrounded them, as though being projected out from it. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, it was written on a wall, formed by the beams of light the ellipse made.
Written in bright, blinking red were the words:
Attention: Hostilities between Masters will be terminated within three minutes. No outside forces may enter, and no forces may escape until the full period is complete.
“How tactful.” Saber muttered. “It would be very distasteful if one of the SERAPH’s programs were to interrupt this duel in the middle of it.”
‘The SERAPH’s created a separate field for us to fight without interruption, huh?’ Mihara thought. ‘Well, I wouldn’t have minded if we saved this fight for later, but I guess there’s no helping it.’
“Archer, let’s go!” Shun’s voice shouted first, signalling the start of the battle.
“Right, Brother!” The burly man shouted in reply, grinning as he raised his bow to the air, a single twang ringing out.
“This again!” Mihara muttered. “Everyone, spli-eh, hey!”
“My apologies, Master.” Saber replied, before picking him up and leaping out from the area towards a small rock formation, Caster following.
A moment later, the ground were they stood, was quickly riddled with arrows, as if it was a field of wooden grass.
“We shouldn’t fight too aggressively today.” Mihara said as he quickly got back onto his two feet. “We don’t know what our foes this time can do. We’ll need to bring them closer to us though – Caster, could you fire one of your spells at them?”
“Right’o, Master!” The foxgirl replied, one of her charms appearing in her hands before she jumped out of the rocks.
“If one of them jumps over here, could you try and close into melee range, Saber?” He continued as Caster jumped out.
“Understood.” Saber replied, readying her sword.
“Eat this!” Caster shouted as she threw the piece of paper, flying straight towards the enemy position.
“What’s this, paper?” The bowman asked, an arrow interrupting the charm Caster had thrown at them.
Just as he did, a large explosion rocked the area, flooding the two sides of the chasm with bright, searing light, as a ball of flame engulfed its centre.
“Okay, perhaps not just any ordinary piece of paper!” The man laughed as the flames abated, having long-ago jumped away to safety.
“Your Servant’s too slow, Mihara!” Shun called out.
“Straight at them now-” Shinji shouted, pointing towards them. “Get to it!”
“A boarding action?” The female asked. “This should be fun!”
In a sudden burst of strength she leapt from her position, spinning twice in the air as she crossed the chasm in a single jump.
Moments before landing, she straightened herself and pointed the barrels of her pistols right at Caster, who was already attempting to dodge her incoming fire.
“Heh, I never imagined I’d get a chance to partake in fox-hunting!” She muttered, before she opened fire.
A stream of bullets, far faster and far more controlled than any firearm had any right to be, erupted as the ringing sounds and thick smoke of her guns flooded the area as Mihara could only cringe from behind his cover.
‘Damnit; how much time do we have left?’ Mihara thought, coughing as he tried to look for Caster through the thick smoke around him, hoping she managed to survive the woman’s onslaught.
Just as he did, he noticed the words inscribed into the makeshift wall surrounding the field change:
Attention: Hostilities between Masters will be terminated within two minutes.
“Two minutes…” Mihara said, before turning his attention back to the battlefield.
“Phew.” He could hear the woman exhale through the still-clearing smoke after the gunfire had stopped. “Hm, did I get her?”
“You have other problems to worry about!” Saber’s voice answered, the sound of metal clashing on metal echoing moments later.
Peeking out from his cover, he could barely see Saber, her having closed in on the woman. Her sword swinging, the woman’s pistols were brought up in a cross-formation just in time to block the incoming blow.
“Not half bad, lassie.” The woman muttered, grinning. “But are you holding back? I’d have expected more from someone like you.” In a fluid, controlled motion she rolled onto her back while still keeping Saber’s sword locked between her pistols, and quickly lashed out with both her feet into Saber’s unprotected stomach.
“Kuh!” She grunted as she was flung backwards, before quickly steadying herself just as the woman leapt back onto her feet.
A moment passed before Saber’s attention shifted away from the opponent in front of her towards the other side of the chasm.
And in that instant she quickly leapt to the side, a hail of arrows whizzing by just as she did so.
“Hey hey; don’t just ignore me!”
‘I’ve got to get in contact with Caster somehow.’ Mihara thought as he closed his eyes, trying to re-establish the mental link, just as he did before.
“Caster, can you hear me?!” He shouted as soon as he felt it connect.
“Yes, yes I can hear you, Master…” The reply came back positive. “One of that woman’s shots connected there, but I’m still good to go!”
‘Clearly I mucked up this one.’ Mihara thought darkly. ‘Still, better deal with this situation first.’
“Alright, could you fire off one of your freeze spells at her? Disable her long enough so Saber can close in and get a good hit. Afterwards try and pin down that guy across the chasm if you can.”
“Understood, Master.”
Several metres away he saw a familiar figure jump up from behind a group of rocks, her hands in front of her face as she was preparing her spells.
“Hold it right there, you!” Mihara heard Shinji’s voice from across the chasm, interrupting his thoughts. As he turned to look, he saw a large, strange, pulsing blue orb. Within it, he could just barely make out Shinji’s figure, his arms active in a flurry of motion, as though pressing buttons and typing in commands from within.
‘What’s that?!’ He couldn’t help but stare in confusion, just as Shinji apparently finished and pointed towards Caster.
In a split second the blue orb condensed into a small mass of black and yellow, collecting at his fingertips.
Just as it finished forming, it shot forward in the blink of an eye, Mihara barely managed to follow it as it impacted against Caster.
With a yelp of surprise and pain, Caster’s concentration was disrupted moments before she had unleashed her spell. Though not clearly damaging, the attack Shinji had fired spread around her entire figure, covering her in an array of crackling static while freezing her movements.
“That damn punk-!” Dripping with venom, Caster’s voice echoed through Mihara’s mind. “He’s fired off some sort of paralytic CodeCast at me there!”
“Hah, nice shot there, bilge rat!” The woman shouted as her head spun towards Caster’s now frozen form. “Perhaps we could make a gunner out of you after all!”
“What did you just call me?!” Shinji shouted in rage, though his Servant ignored him. Instead, she quickly levered one of her pistols towards the fox, before firing a single shot just before Saber cut in with a sweeping slash that forced her to jump back, preventing anymore shots.
It also meant that the woman’s aim was off. The impact striking the ground just where Caster’s feet were. Still, this shot seemed different from the others, with a large explosion as if it were a grenade, instead of a bullet.
Moments after, Mihara heard a single ping echo through the area, his head whipping around to see the cause.
Attention: Hostilities between Masters will be terminated within one minute.
‘Still one more.’ Mihara grimaced, his mind turning back to the fight as he attempted to make sense of the situation.
“It would be good to think of something soon, Master!” He could hear Saber’s voice, just as he saw her leap away from another rain of arrows.
‘This isn’t good.’ Mihara’s mind was whirling away, trying to find a way to buy at least a little more time. ‘Both enemy Servants are good at range. Saber can’t get a chance to close in on one without the other firing on her while the other skips away. Their range also means Caster has little to no advantage either, unless Saber alone is enough of a distraction…’
“Wait, maybe…” He whispered aloud, before closing his eyes in concentration, trying to visualise the battlefield.
“It appears your aim isn’t as good as your own Master’s.” Saber taunted, contrasting with her thoughts earlier even as she dodged another rain of arrows. “Perhaps it is you who should spend some time shovelling water out of the hold instead?”
“Oh, believe me lassie, I’ve spent enough time in many a ship’s holds to last for a lifetime!” The woman laughed as she stood to the side, guns at the ready as she waited for a moment to fire.
“Hmph, the appropriate place for you is in no ship’s hold – ” Saber began again as her boots clicked on the stone ground one more time.
“But within a sea-monster’s stomach!”
As she shouted, she leapt forward straight at her opponent, sword trailing behind her to deliver a horizontal slash.
Yet just as before, the enemy Servant saw this coming, and moved out of the way. And another rain of arrows flew forth, straight for the red-clad Servant.
This time however, instead of jumping away immediately she allowed the momentum of her strike to carry her forward, her sword swinging around her in a full circle, before embedding it into the ground diagonally.
Not pausing for even a moment she pressed on, using her momentum and her sword as a pivot. With as much force as she could muster she leapt forward, feet-first towards her enemy, her small frame flying through the air as the attack connected soundly, the enemy Servant stumbling backwards.
“Guh, not bad!” she muttered, before being forced back again as the red Servant again continued with her attack.
“Hey, hey!” An incredulous shout from Shinji interrupted Mihara’s thoughts, mid-way through processing the battle in front of him. “Shun, what do you think you’re doing!? You’re gonna hit my Servant like that!”
“Don’t underestimate me, you little brat!” Shun’s Servant spat, apparently being interrupted mid-shot.
“Archer, watch out!” Shun shouted, stopping the argument as his Servant just realized another suspicious piece of paper was flying straight for them.
‘It seems to be working.’ Mihara thought. ‘When engaged in close-combat, it becomes a lot more difficult for an archer to attack the enemy, without risking a hit on his ally. And with that distraction, Caster can move in quietly.’
As his thoughts finished, he heard an almost reassuring explosion echo from across the chasm.
“That damn fox snuck behind us while we weren’t looking!” He heard Shinji shout. “There; the tre – AGH! HOT! HOT!”
As he listened in amusement, he couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of guilt that appeared within all the adrenaline pumping through him.
“You don’t seem so confident now.” Saber muttered, her crimson sword lashing in for another attack, the sound of steel echoing out again and again.
Blow after blow she delivered, yet each blow was deflected with the same ease as the last. However, this still meant that her enemy had no chance to retaliate, her pistols guarding her. They knew that this was just a delaying tactic, the timer on the edge of the battlefield was clearly visible, ticking down to the last seconds as explosions continued to ring from across the chasm.
“Looks like you won’t get a chance to ‘blow my Master’s face off’, as that impudent child put it.” Saber muttered again as she delivered another blow, which was deflected again.
“Hm, I might not’ve been able to get the grand Treasure ship, but!” The enemy Servant gave a toothy grin as she leapt back one more time, twirling around as the red Servant followed her, her sword already crashing down from above.
Before a loud ‘clang’ echoed throughout the battlefield.
Yet this time, there were no more clashes to follow, as only the deep thumping of explosions continued.
For in an exquisitely timed move, the enemy Servant had entrapped the crimson blade within the firing mechanism of one of her pistols just as it were firing, mere inches from the back of her head.
“Impossible!” The red-clad Servant shouted in disbelief.
“Oh, it’s possible alright.” The enemy Servant spoke, her back faced to the enemy as though this were a daily occurrence. “I thought your strength seemed a little weak for a Saber, I guess it’s just my luck.”
With another toothy grin the enemy Servant turned her head over her shoulders, just as Saber realised her enemy’s remaining hand was twisted around her torso, still holding a pistol now aimed at her stomach.
Saber also noticed a strange sheet of paper that had begun to glow, mere centimetres behind her enemy.
“Even though the Treasure ship’s ran away, I can damn well bloody their noses a bit!”
A single shot rang out in the arena, just as the area they were standing in was instantly engulfed in flames mere moments afterwards.
“Saber!” Mihara shouted in fear as he saw the events unfold before him, yet unable to approach with the immense blaze before him.
“Tch, looks like I didn’t place those curses properly…” Caster muttered after a moment as she landed nearby. “I’m sorry Master, but it seems she’s – ”
“Don’t start, you cursed fox!” Saber interrupted as she landed in front of the two, before wobbling down to her knees. “That Servant must truly be blessed by the Gods.”
“Saber, you’re bleeding!” Mihara couldn’t help but point out the obvious as he saw his Servant clutching her stomach, a patch of red expanding across the white on her clothes.
“’Tis but a flesh wound. It will heal just like any other.” She replied matter-of-factly, though she remained kneeling on the ground.
Just as she finished speaking, another ping echoed throughout the area as all eyes turned towards the border of the mini-arena, the green cliffs now scorched black.
Attention: Hostilities between Masters will now be terminated.
Further fights for the duration of this day are prohibited.
Failure to comply will result in action taken by the SERAPH.
As they finished reading another glowing red line appeared through the centre of the chasm, clearly dividing them and stopping any fighting.
“Crap, looks like the SERAPH really mean business.” Mihara could hear Shinji mutter from the other side of the chasm.
As he turned to look, he saw Shun and his towering Servant unharmed, while Shinji stood before them, palm to his forehead in thought.
Though, he noticed his sleeves were slightly burnt, as was his shoes.
“Oh well, there’s no need for this to end now anyway!” Shinji continued, shrugging nonchalantly.
“And your Servant, little tramp?” Saber spat, using her sword for support as she stood, exhausted, but stable.
As if in reply, Mihara heard the laughter of Shinji’s Servant as she stepped out of the bushes on Shinji’s side of the chasm, doubled-over in mirth.
With not a speck of dust or char on her.
“Impossible…” Now it was Caster’s turn to gape in disbelief.
“Oh gods, that was fun!” The enemy Servant shouted with a big smile on her face. “Now I really AM pumped for this fight!”
“Well, now you’ve seen just how powerful my Servant is Mihara, so are you ready to grovel before me yet?” Shinji asked after his Servant finished speaking. “Beg hard enough and maybe I’ll make you my underling. Heck, if I’m feeling in a good enough mood, I’ll share some of the prize money with you.”
Bringing a white cylinder out from his pocket, Shinji gave a final laugh before snapping it in two. He and his Servant vanished from the area in a ray of pixelated light.
“You have until the end of the week to play catch-up, Mihara.” Shun said calmly, with a slight grin on his face. “Well, I’ll be spending most of that time with my lovely lady. I figured you may actually need some sort of handicap to bridge the distance.”
With his final words of ‘reassurance’, Shun brought out another white cylinder, cracking it open and disappearing with his Servant.
Silence descended onto the arena as Mihara collapsed onto the ground breathing heavily, his strength leaving him.
__________
Night
__________
“Kiiii!!!” He heard Caster’s shrill scream. “How dare they! How dare those punks desecrate the supple skin of this fair maiden! I’ll rip them to shreds! I’ll gut them and fry them and feed them to the demons of Yomi I will!”
Mihara couldn’t help but let out a weary smile at Caster’s lamentations at the dining table, back at his private residence.
After taking care of some necessary damage control, the three of them proceeded on through the Arena to try and find the necessary Trigger. Fortunately they did not have to search very far. They found a floating green box not much further past the battlefield, evidently Ms. Fujimura’s aforementioned item folder.
Not wanting to fatigue his Servants much more after the fast-paced battle earlier, he had elected to go home immediately afterwards. His Servants were somewhat against the idea however, citing his need of practice and the necessity to improve the connection between him and his Servants. Still, they deferred to him after a short while, perhaps seeing the merit in conserving their strength now.
The return climb however had yielded another short passage, well-hidden from view for those coming down the path. As it was such a short path, Mihara could clearly see what laid at its end: An orange box of similar design to that which contained the triggers earlier.
“I should probably return that kendo sword to Ms. Fujimura soon.” He muttered to himself as he remembered what was inside said orange folder. “Though I didn’t expect a bunch of programs to jump out at us after opening it.”
“You still lack experience, Mihara.” Saber replied between bites of food, though her plate was nearly empty. “With time both your experience and our strength will increase.”
“Yeah. Again, I’m sorry about how that fight turned out.” He didn’t know how many times he had apologized for his poor showing earlier.
“We have failed miserably, I will not deny it.” The crimson swordswoman replied with a furrowed brow. “But you should not let that bring you down, for in the Holy Grail War, knowledge is power.”
“Uh huh, and fighting the enemy without knowing enough about them is really stupid, especially since we’re nowhere near peak performance either!” Caster added. “Oh, but that doesn’t mean the fight was avoidable though. I don’t know how we could’ve got out of that one!”
“Well, for now what do we know of our opponents then?” Mihara asked as he swallowed a mouthful of curry. “I don’t know all that much about either Master, I spent the preliminary four days almost constantly next to Shinji, so I know him a bit better than Shun.”
“You should probably ask around a bit tomorrow, Mihara.” Caster commented after taking a measured bite. “The other Masters may know a bit more about them that we can use.”
“I’ll make sure to do that.” He paused. “And the Servants?”
“Hmm, judging from all those battlecries from the big guy, plus his communications with his Master, he’s almost certain to be an Archer.” Caster began.
“Yes, Shun referred to him as Archer. His weapon certainly fits his class name.” He nodded remembering the fight.
“It didn’t seem as though he was completely committed to this fight though.” Saber commented in-between mouthfuls, before handing her plate to Mihara who dutifully refilled her portion. “The other one however, was showing off quite a bit of her strength, though again I doubt she has yet to play all her cards. Her class however is still an enigma, but judging by her weapons, the guns she wielded, she might also be of the Archer class too.”
“Oh, you mean the one you were having difficulty dealing with, Saber?” Caster asked.
“I was not having ‘difficulty’ dealing with her!” The swordsman rebutted, before taking a mouthful. “I was too busy preventing you from being shot up during the start of the fight!”
“Yes, yes, you were the only one who got shot in the end; thank you for that - ”
“It is actually you who seemed to be having difficulty with that fight. What were you thinking placing that last charm there of all places?!”
“Well obviously to make sure I hit that salty witch of course.” Caster replied, though she was observing a corner of the dining room away from her partner.
“I knew it!” Saber exclaimed as she jabbed her chopstick across the table. “You did that on purpose didn’t you?!”
“No, no, it was an accident I swear!” The fox had crossed her hands in front of her, her head shaking vigorously from side to side. “And anyway, you know how large an area my spells hit. If you insisted on sticking so closely to her of course you’d get hit by it!”
“Well what other choice was there?!” The swordswoman responded again after swallowing. “As another Legendary Soul I would have expected much more control from someone like you!”
“Oh, ‘control’ you say?” Caster asked. “Says the little piggy who can’t seem to stop eating, even though we don’t actually need to eat.”
“Is it wrong to enjoy the simple pleasure of eating?” Saber replied. “Truly, one doesn’t realise how much such mundane activities mean until they’re actually lost. And having been absent from the living after so long…Eh, wait, did you just call me a pig!?!”
“So slooooow!” Caster chuckled, before placing a hand on her head. “Though, now you’re getting all philosophical on me…”
“Don’t get started, you damn fox!”
“What? Piglets can be cute too, though foxes are even cuter.”
“Why is it you’re referring to me as getting smaller and smaller in terms of size?!”
Mihara couldn’t help but sigh as he watched his Servants bicker about trivial things again. He didn’t expect to be able to stop them, as his mind turned inwards to review the facts about the enemy.
‘Okay, two Archers for the first round, though one of them showed considerable strength even at close-ranged combat. The way the latter conversed implied life on, or near, the sea and she also referenced ‘Treasure Ships’. I’d better look that up tomorrow.’
‘The ‘confirmed’ Archer, we know little about. He seemed reluctant to throw himself fully in battle unlike the other, as if… as if he were just watching us. Studying us.’
‘That other Archer, in that final moment against Saber, was that a skill of hers, or truly just pure luck? I suppose in normal terms a sword strike would break the firing mechanism of such a gun, but these are Servants we are talking about, plus Saber is unusually weak at this stage, as the enemy has realised. Is pure luck truly on her side then?’
‘The enemy Masters are my friend and a guy neck-deep in love. I’ve got some really strange opponents for this first round. Shinji thinks this is just a game, with prize money at the end. Is he right? Is this just a game? Yet why did it feel like I almost died just 2 days ago?’
‘Also, what was that spell he hit Caster with too? That strange ball of light that instantly paralyzed her, can I do the same too?’
‘And Shun, his girlfriend too, they entered this knowing the stakes right? Can I really do it? Separate them permanently by death?’
“I damn well hope that Shinji is right…And Tousaka was wrong.” He muttered to himself, before looking at the pot of curry next to him.
“Though first I guess I should worry about getting more food tomorrow.”
______________________________
Necroooo~~
Yeah, this thing isn't going to die yet. Keyword here being 'yet'. I have no idea when I can update next time though, since I think my muse has already packed up & ran after helping me write this chapter.
Unfortunately I guess regular updates is one of many key things I'm lacking for boosting my readership here on BL. Another thing would probably be a lasting forum presence. And an actual ability to write in general.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Kiiam
