A Chain of Debt (A Matou Shinji AU Quest)

[Addam]

[X] Wiggenweld and Vitamax

[Skull Leader]

[X] Wiggenweld and Vitamax

Wiggenweld is the basic level healing potion and the antidote for a few other potions like Sleeping draught. It is a good potion for her to start with and gives her a healing option. Vitamax gives a burst of energy and increases the user's reflexes and is also a first year potion which is a bit easier to brew then if we pick say Girding, even if said potion might score better with Rin. Still better to start her on basic potions and then over summer move her to the better potions.

[Dracueri]

[X]Wiggenweld + Vitamax

[Malorius]

[x] Vitamax and Healing soup

A combination of (vaguely) combat applicable and easily affordable ones. Our goal here certainly isn't to stun Rin with the power of oir magic, which is something people seemingly forget. If she sees the potential, good. If not, we can keep our secrets closer to the chest. I certainly prefer the second, but to each their own.
Apparently, healing soup is a bust because it only cures boils. Which is still pretty nice, but too niche. Oh well.

[x] Leading vote

[alfheimwanderer]

[X] Wiggenweld and Vitamax

---

After careful consideration, Matou Shinji settled on two potions to teach Rin how to make. The Wiggenweld Potion - a potion with the power to cure injuries (and wake someone from an enchanted sleep) - and the Vitamix Potion, which was supposed to give the drinker a burst of energy. Both were fairly simple to make as well (or so Shinji thought, since he'd never made Vitamax before, but the instructions looked easy enough, so what could go wrong, really?), with Vitamax being brewed with Wormwood, Asphodel Root, and Monkshood, and the Wiggenweld being...

Come to think of it, there are a number of possible recipes for the Wiggenweld Potion, which means that you could - in theory - come up with a variant that just uses ingredients Tohsaka would have on hand, instead of things like Flobberworm Mucus, Horklump Juice, and Chizpurfle Fangs.

Spend extra time to make a version with local ingredients?

[ ] Yes
[ ] No

[Addam]

[ ] Yes

Hell yeah

[Dracueri]

[X]Yes

[Malorius]

[x] Yes

Goodbye, adventure time.

[alfheimwanderer]

[x] Yes

---

Rather than focus on what he - or his diricrawl, rather - had done wrong, Matou Shinji figured that the best course of action here would be to ask the priest about himself and his life as an executor. After all, was it not a universal truth that people liked to brag about their exploits, when given an opportunity? Who knew, perhaps it would even distract him from thoughts of making Shinji suffer for the mild inconvenience the bird had caused. After all, the priest had put a stop to whatever silliness the bird had been up to before any real harm was done, right?

And surely, Father Kotomine wouldn't think it was suspicious that he was asking, since the man had saved him from a vampire...right?

"Right, uh...so what is it that an executor does, anyway?" the boy asked, his face the very picture of innocent curiosity.

Instead of answering, however, the priest simply looked at him and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I...well, you know, after you saved me--" the boy began, stumbling over his words before he was cut off.

"An occurrence which is becoming somewhat tiresome in how frequently it repeats," Kotomine stated, with Shinji's mouth closing with a click as he felt the pressure of the man's eyes all but drilling through his skull. "Once is chance. Two, a coincidence. Three times...?"

"Three times...?" Shinji echoed, desperately searching through his mind for what the third might be. The first was the vampire incident. The second was this incident with the dodo, so the third...? The third...

"Surely you have not forgotten already," the priest chided him, only to frown as Shinji showed no sign of recollection. "Well, it seems my ward has been negligent in more ways than one. You may be unaware, but originally, Rin did not wish to have anything to do with your...situation. That you received funding at all was due to my intercession on your behalf."

"That...that was you?"

Wait. The priest was responsible for Shinji receiving the money he needed to go to Hogwarts? But...why?

"Indeed."

"But why?"

"In the long run, a small sum such as what you asked for is a trifle, compared to the benefits from you being in her debt...if you are successful in your ventures," Kotomine explained. "Though I doubt you will achieve success if you continue to be so...careless."

Shinji swallowed.

"...I'll keep that in mind," he replied at last.

"Do you even understand where you erred?"

"...I didn't pay attention to my pet?"

"That is one aspect of your error," the priest allowed. "Though I wonder, did you speak to the Second Owner about bringing a magical creature into her lands? Did you receive her agreement before actually doing so?"

"...no?"

"Why not?"

"...I didn't think, uh..."

Yes, well, that was the crux of the issue, wasn't it?

"Matou Shinji, when you acquired your...pet, were you aware of its nature?"

"Not at first," Shinji admitted. "I found out what it could do afterwards though."

"And did you take the time to think about the consequences of its abilities?"

"...no?"

"No, indeed," the priest agreed. "But I suppose you are young, and thus a certain amount of ignorance is to be expected. Truthfully, I would have expected my ward to have instructed you in these basics, if nothing else, but I suppose she is also...inexperienced. It is clear to me that both of you require time to better understand the weight of your responsibilities, and so I will provide you with such."

"...what do you mean?" Shinji asked guardedly.

"Rin has complained in the past about the amount of time housework takes, and I am aware she has you assist her with some of this. She has particularly complained about having to cook for two people, so for the remainder of the winter holiday, I will ensure that you will not have to concern yourself with lunch and dinner."

"...that's...generous of you," Shinji noted.

"Indeed. It is good that you appreciate that. But I did promise you lunch, so I suppose I should let you eat," Kotomine noted, as two large platters of Mapo Tofu were delivered to the table. "Enjoy."




With that, the priest digs into the dish with gusto, even as Shinji stared at the dish before him, his eyes watering from the capsacin-laced steam coming off of it. How...how can the priest eat his portion so quickly, without pausing for a drink? Is it really that delicious? From the look of things, the spicy oil and red pepper were cooked together for a hundred years just to be used in that dish.

Surely...it couldn't be that bad if Kotomine was eating it? Surely...

Gingerly, the boy took up the spoon he'd been provided, scooped some of the reddish mixture of spice and tofu and meat (and spice), and brought it to his lips as--

FIRE.

Everything burned. Everything was on fire. Or so it seemed. His body was shaking. His throat and tongue howling in agony, his free hand scrabbling for a drink - only to flinch when they closed around a cup full of hot tea.

Water. He needed water.

He needed...

God. Oh god.

His mouth. His throat. His--

For a moment, everything went dark, with his senses dulling as if his entire body had shut down in protest, before a glass of water was plunked down before him, with the boy snatching it up and draining it to the last drop.

One mouthful. Just one, and he was already sweating profusely.

And there was an entire plate to go.

What does he do?

[ ] Beg for mercy - surely, a show of contrition would lead the priest to reconsider
[ ] Say that he had eaten beforehand, but wouldn't mind taking it home for later
[ ] Soldier on, finish his plate - it is only polite
[ ] (write-in)

[Addam]

[ ] Soldier on, finish his plate - it is only polite

[Dracueri]

[X]Soldier on, finish his plate-it is only polite

[Daiki]

[x] Soldier on, finish his plate - it is only polite.

Fight through the pain!

Evading now will not save you, this is the kind of spiciness that awaits for the rest of his meals during the holidays. Better get accustomed to it early on.

[Malorius]

[x] Quick, distract the priest and throw the burning in the closest flower bin!

Matou Shinji is a man who doesn't take challenges head on like those naive Griffs, nay! Cunning and resourceful, that's our absolute genius of a protagonist.

[alfheimwanderer]

[x] Soldier on, finish his plate - it is only polite.

---

The next minutes? Hours? Are all a blur, with Shinji's world being an utter haze of pain. His mouth. His stomach. Various other organs he could not name. All of them burned, blanking out any thought he might have had in a white noise of agony. He barely noticed as the priest finished his lecture and left, with the proprieter bringing along several more helpings of mapo tofu and other dishes, all packed in carryout containers that Shinji knew he was supposed to take back with him for his and Tohsaka's dinner.

...but does he?

[ ] Yes. Why should he be the only one who suffers?
[ ] No. He'll lug it out of the restaurant so the proprietor doesn't let the priest know that he didn't take the food - but toss it at the first opportunity.
[ ] No. He'll leave it there. The priest's "generosity" is unwanted and unneeded. He shouldn't be blamed for not knowing
[ ] (write-in)

[Addam]

[ ] Yes. Why should he be the only one who suffers?

[Dracueri]

[x]Yes. Why should he be the only one who suffers?

[Malorius]

[x] Yes. Why should he be the only one who suffers?

Spread the love, Shinji. Don't be greedy.

[shanagan]

[x] Yes. Why should he be the only one who suffers?

[alfheimwanderer]

[x] Yes. Why should he be the only one who suffers?

---

For Matou Shinji, the choice was a simple one. His body was in utter agony after his pride - and the priest's unnerving gaze - had led him to consume every morsel of that capsaicin-laden meal, which had only been forced upon him because...because...

'Because of Tohsaka. Because she shirked her responsibilities as Second Owner,' he told himself. Yes, perhaps he had erred in some small way by not keeping a close eye on his pet, but if one really thought it, none of this would have happened if Tohsakahad done a better job. 'It wasn't I who was wrong. It was her!'

So he concluded in a classic example of blame-shifting, as the boy had no reason - and no desire - to blame himself for the discomfort currently present in every single part of his gastro-intestinal tract. It had been hard enough to choke the food down. He didn't even want to think about what it would be like when he inevitably had to go to the bathroom, and something that spicy, ah...came out the other end.

'I'll have to show Tohsaka my gratitude,' he thought, his lips starting to twist into something resembling a smile, before losing their shape because they hurt too damn much. 'They say sharing is caring, right?'

So the boy accepted the carryout container and slowly, slowly, managed to limp back to the Tohsaka house sometime after the sun set. As he opened the door, he was confronted with the curious sight of Second Owner glaring at him, beginning to say something accusatory as he entered, probably something about how he'd been away for most of the day, before cutting herself off as she noticed how he was...he looked like...an utter wreck of a man.

"Are you ok, Matou?" she asked instead.

Huh. Was she actually concerned about him?

'No. I shouldn't get the wrong idea. She can't use me as a servant or a punching bag if she breaks me, that's all. That's all she really cares about. What use I am to her...'

The boy tried to say something, but all that left his mouth was a strangled groan.

"...I...look, there's a lot of things I want to say, but you're obviously in bad shape right now. Why don't you go to bed and we'll talk tomorrow?"

It was a generous offer - particularly from that slavedriver Tohsaka - and there was a large part of him that wanted to do just that - fall into bed and hope things would be better. But...but if he did that, then there was no way would be no way for him to make sure she ate the food he'd brought back, especially since he thought he smelled something cooking. Maybe he was wrong and he was having some odd fever dream, or his senses had been completely distorted by the overwhelming amount of spice he'd imbibed, but...

He feebly offered the sack of heavy takeout containers, the food insider of which had by now gone somewhat cold, to the girl, or at least tried, as his arms were exhausted and protested even the thought of being lifted more than they had to be.

"For me?" Tohsaka asked, surprised. She hadn't...she hadn't expected Matou to get something for her. "I...I can put these in the refrigerator and we can eat this tomorrow. Ok?"

Tomorrow...

No. Wait...

For the remainder of the winter holiday, I will ensure that you will not have to concern yourself with lunch and dinner.

The priest had said that, hadn't he. Which meant there was going to be more of this tomorrow. That for lunch and dinner, this was all there would be to eat.
This was...this was a war crime. A crime against humanity.

...well, if he'd ever doubted that Kotomine was a magus twisted enough to fight in a Grail War, he doubted no longer.

What does Shinji do?

[ ] Leave the food with Rin - go to sleep. His body is exhausted and in utter agony
[ ] Insist on having dinner with Rin - she is the cause of his suffering, and he wants to see her share his pain
[ ] Just collapse at the door - Tohsaka is already worried about him. Why not make her worry more?
[ ] (write-in) - His mind is not working well enough to try and be creative

[Malorius]

Welp, that didn't go according to plan.

[x] Just collapse at the door - Tohsaka is already worried about him. Why not make her worry more?

Whenever in doubt, do it in an anime way.

Tohsaka's reaction makes it hard to hate her. It's almost like she is actually a decent person, ha! I think I'm losing the sight of our larger goal: driving Rin to ruin in a ceaseless revenge spree.

Oh well.