Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sebastian Vandorbilt stepped off the plane. The humid, Japanese air filled his lungs. It reminded him of his home in London. Though there was a distinct smell he couldn't quite place. Something different. Something off. A lesser man would get caught up in wondering about the smell. But Sebastian Vandorbilt was not a lesser man.

From the airport, he got into a taxi and drove to the designated building. It was a large apartment complex. Once stepping inside, he was greeted by maids and butlers. They took his bags and suitcases from him without a word. Sebastian's eyes twitched. Without a word himself, he walked to the elevator and took a ride up to his floor.

When the doors opened, he was greeted by a large penthouse. It had a very modern look to it. Blacks and dark blues were cast out on the solid marble walls and floor. Though the wall opposite to him was one extremely large window.

Directly to his left was a metal staircase that led to a series of doors. Underneath the stairs was a pristine kitchen with electric stoves and refrigerators. To the right were wide, terraced steps leading to the living room. At the bottom of the stairs was a built-in couch. It made a semicircle that was about fifteen feet long. Mounted in the wall the couch faced was a large, flat-screen TV.

“The Association really spared no expense with this place. So this is where all our student's tuition fees go.” He said in a monotone voice. With a shake of his head, he made his way up the stairs.

There were two doors on his left and one at the end of the catwalk-like floor. Creaking open the first door, he found a tidy bedroom with a queen sized bed. More of the same blacks and blues covers the bedroom. A depressing sight, really. Moving to the second door, he found a bathroom. There were more of the same drab and depressing colors. Finally, he opened the last door at the end of the hall.

Inside was another large room. It was made of concrete and had no truly notable features. There were some wooden shelves, a few tables and a large chest in the center of the room.

“And now, they give me a bare workshop. It's almost as if they don't want me to win this war. Kayneth probably told the Association to give me the most depressing penthouse possible. The jealous bastard wants me to kill myself so he can have my position.”

Sebastian frowned to himself before closing the door. As he made his way down the stairs, the elevator opened and a few maids walked out. They bowed to him before bringing his things up to his room. Before leaving, one of the maids handed him a small briefcase.

“For your summoning ritual, Mr. Abhuraya. Once you have summoned your Servant, call the local church to register. Good luck in the Fourth Holy Grail War. The Mage's Association eagerly awaits your return to London.” She gave another bow to him after speaking.

“Thank you, Miss. I promise to fight this war to the best of my capabilities. I will not let the Association down. I will win and I will bring The Holy Grail back to The Clocktower.”

“I am sure you will.” She gave him a small smile before turning around and leaving.

Sebastian held the briefcase up to his face. His white gloves ran across the locks. He was tempted to open it now and see what catalyst he was given. But he knew better. Sebastian quickly put the briefcase in his new workshop before taking the elevator down to the parking garage.

It was rather empty. In the far right corner was a brand new 1994 Porsche 911. It had a soothing forest green paint job that perfectly matched his two piece suit. He walked to it and pulled the handle of the right door. It opened. Sebastian then stepped inside. It had a nice leather interior and a very pleasant smell. Looking up to the sun visor, he pulled it down. A set of keys with his name on it fell down.

“Time to do some scouting then.” He picked up the keys, put them in the ignition, and started the car. The engine roared to life, echoing out in the empty parking lot. A small screen booted up and had a list of different spells. Curious, he pressed a button that said, Familiar.

Gears clicked and whirred in the trunk. Like something was being built. A few seconds later, the trunk opened and a mechanical bird flew out. It landed on the side mirror and chirped at him. Sebastian rolled the window down and offered it his finger to perch on. The steel bird accepted. The index finger of his right hand caressed the back of its head.

“Vide” He whispered. The bird's electronic eye started to glow green with magic. Suddenly, his vision was split. Seeing out of both his eyes and the bird's.

This is going to be challenging to drive with. Best put it in my subconscious for now. Sebastian thought to himself. Putting his fingers to his temple, he took a deep breath and pushed the vision in the back of his mind. The bird chirped again and flew away. With a small nod to the inanimate creature, he put the car into gear and started to drive away.

Fuyuki City is beautiful. A soaring skyline, a rushing river, royal mountains, and a calming sea. It all was quite charming. Yet he wasn't here to sightsee. Instead, Sebastian went out to scout the locations where the grail could be summoned. The opera house, Ryuudou temple, and the Tohsaka estate.

There was a pretty strong bounded field around the Tohsaka home. He couldn't enter it without setting off alarms. And neither could the new familiar he had. So he sent it off to the temple while he observed the opera house.

It was larger than he was expecting. Even a large bounded field wouldn't be enough to properly secure it. Thankfully, it was close to his penthouse. So if the Grail was summoned there, he could easily get there. But that came later. He'd need the Einzburn's homunculus as well. So instead, fortifying his penthouse seemed the best option.

His robotic familiar didn't have much luck at Ryuudou temple. It was a large location as well that he couldn't fortify properly by himself. Maybe if he summoned a Caster Servant, he could have them build up defenses around the temple or opera house. But Sebastian knew the Association wouldn't give one of their top ranked mages a weak Servant.

As he drove around the city, he sighed and pinched the bridge of nose. “This Grail War hasn't even started and I'm already running into trouble… Perhaps a visit to the local holy man will help me.”

By the time he reached the Fuyuki Church, the sun was setting in the distance. Sebastian pushed open the iron gates and walked into the church. He had to squint his eyes and raise his arm to shield them from the light.

The church was unexpectedly bright. It was almost completely white inside and the lights on the ceiling made the walls all the brighter. Once his eyes adjusted, he saw a figure near the altar.

An old man stood up from his knees and turned around. He was dressed in a traditional priest outfit with a large golden rosary and a purple sash over his shoulder. His eyes opened to look upon Sebastian and his mouth opened to speak.

“Greetings, my child. I have not seen your face here before. What is your purpose here? And what is your name?”

“My purpose is to fight in The Holy Grail War. I represent The Mage's Association. My name is Sebastian Vandorbilt.”

“I see… I am Father Risei Kotomine. Have you summoned your Servant?”

“I haven't yet. I intend to do so later tonight. Once successful, I will call you and officially register as a Master.”

“Good, I'm glad to see the Association briefed you on all the important steps. They never fail to send competent mages. Now, my son, if you do not mind, what is your wish?” A smile came to his wrinkled lips and he spread out his arms in a welcoming gesture.

“My wish?” Sebastian questioned with a raise of his brow. “I've never thought of a wish.”

The priest raised his brow in turn. “Never thought of a wish? Then how do you expect to become a Master? The Grail only chooses those who have a desire.”

“My desire is simply to obtain The Grail. I serve the Association. Once I win it, I'll simply hand it over.”

The priest gave a frown. A soft grumble came from him as he walked down the aisle. “That is no way to live, my son. Giving all your skills and power to fight this war, and you don't even get to reap your reward? Do not sell yourself to your work. God gave us the grail for a reason. You should not waste this miracle.”

“You misunderstand, Father,” Sebastian laughed. “I am the dean of The Department of Summoning. Just the fact that I get to summon a Heroic Spirit is enough for me. I don't care what the Association does with The Grail. Because as long as they have it, I will be able to pursue my studies. I will be able to summon as many Heroic Spirits as I please and learn from them! So yes, I don't have a wish. But the truth is, I don't need one!”

Father Risei shook his head. Putting his arms behind his back, he turned around. He then walked back to the altar. “You mages are all the same. Never taking a moment to smell the roses… Goodbye for now, Sebastian Vandorbilt. I await your phone call.” He then walked to the back of the church and exited through a side door, leaving Sebastian alone.

Sebastian clenched his fist, sparks of green lightning across his gloves. With a sigh, he pushed back his dark brown hair and turned around. “I need a drink. Perhaps I should raid the priest's wine cellar!”

That thought gave him a small smile. While chuckling to himself, he walked back to his car. When he started the engine, his metal familiar landed on the hood. He rolled down the window again. It flew in through the window and landed on the gear stick. Sebastian softly smiled at it and gave it a pet. The metal sparrow chirped and started to sing a sweet melody.

The moon was out when Sebastian made it back to his penthouse. Blue rays of light shone brilliantly through the glass wall. He brought his familiar with him and it was fairly happy to have a nice open place to fly in. It landed on the railing of the second floor. The mage followed the bird upstairs and walked into the bathroom. Taking off his gloves, he quickly doused his face with cold water and combed back his hair to prepare himself for what came next.

Sebastian moved all the furniture in his workshop to make a clear open space. In one of the drawers was some magically infused chalk. He picked the sturdiest piece. Walking to the center of the room, he started to draw a summoning circle. One large ring with runes. Inside the ring was another ring and inside that was a pattern that resembled the star of David. Throwing the chalk to the side, he opened up the briefcase containing the catalyst.

Inside was braided hair. It was dark, thick, and coarse. Like horse hair. Perhaps the Association wanted him to win the war with a Rider Servant? That was disappointing. Kayneth probably influenced this too. He sighed and placed the hair in the center of the circle.

Then, he grabbed a summoning tome and some vials that contained blood. With one hand, he flipped to the page containing the incantation for the ritual. In the other, he opened the vials and poured the blood on the circle. As he spoke the words, the blood moved and ran along the chalk lines.

“For the elements silver and iron,
The foundation stone and archduke of pacts,
And for my great master Guo.
Close the four gates,
Come forth from the crown,
And follow the forked road leading to the kingdom.
Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill.
Repeat five times, but when each is filled,
Destroy it!
Set.
Heed my words,
My will creates your body,
And your sword creates my destiny,
If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me!
I hereby swear that I shall be all the good in the world,
That I shall defeat all evil in the world!
Seventh Heaven clad in the great words of power.
Come from the binding circle,
thou guardian of the scales!”

The summoning circle started to glow a bright blue. Then it shifted to red, orange, yellow, purple, and finally settling on green. On his right hand, a red stigmata started to form and glow. A crescent moon enveloped by an unfinished ring with a dart shooting into them. Lightning rippled across the summoning circle, destroying the horse hair in the center. The smell of ozone filled his nose as the wind started to pick up. A high pitched noise squealed from the circle. Like a nuclear power plant starting up. Sebastian closed his eyes and let the circle draw mana from his magic circuits. Then, a green light flashed with the sound of thunder.

When Sebastian opened his eyes, a man with a spear was kneeling in the now destroyed summoning circle. He had a green tunic and a red cape with golden fringes along with a completely armored right arm. The man stood up and slammed the butt of his black spear down. His brown hair fell down in front of his green eyes. The golden tip of his spear reflected an ethereal light from the candles in the room. With a smile, he spoke.

“I ask of you, are you my Master?”

Chapter Text

Sebastian was exhausted after last night. He'd never summoned something as powerful as a Heroic Spirit before and wasn't expecting so much of his mana to be drained. But, after a good and healthy breakfast, he was feeling slightly better. Though tethering another person's existence to this mortal coil was a damper on the soul and his magic circuits. With a soft sigh, he took a swig of his coffee.

“Good morning, Master.” A voice said in his mind. Blue light shimmered in front of Sebastian. The light then formed into the man from last night.

“Good morning to you as well. I hope you've become accustomed to my mana by now?”

“You got that right, Master! Though, aren't you forgetting something?” He asked with a chipper smile.

“Forgetting something? Hmm… Ah! Our names, correct?”

“Correct! Once we exchange names, our pact will truly be fulfilled.”

“Well, in that case, I am Sebastian Vandorbilt.”

“And I am Hektor of Troy, your humble Lancer Servant.” Hektor then gave a curious bow.

“A Lancer Servant? Usually not the strongest Servant. But, with my magecraft and proficiency with familiars, I'm sure we can win this war together.”

“Yes… the Saber usually is the most powerful Servant. But do not doubt my skills, Master. Lancers are still one of the knight Servants. Given a proper strategy and your magecraft, I am confident we can win. That brings me to my next topic,” Hektor walked around the counter and picked up a pop tart. He took a bite out of it and his face lit up.

“What is your wish, Master?”

Sebastian sighed in annoyance. He rolled his eyes and turned to face his Servant. “I don't have one, Hektor. And that's final.”

Hektor had a surprised look on his face. He looked like that old priest. “No wish eh? Well, I'm not one to pry. I can sense that's a touchy subject, eh Master?”

“Indeed it is. So, Lancer, what is your wish? Why do you fight?”

“Simply, I wish to save my city. Achilles killed me and with my death, came the demise of Troy. When we win The Holy Grail, I will wish for the power to kill that bratty demigod.” Hektor gave a low growl. His eyes were tired yet so full of hate.

“So what happened in The Iliad was true? I knew certain myths were true. But not all of them. This is why I want to summon more Servants! I've only had you since last night and I'm already learning things! And I'm sure there's more for you to teach me, Hektor.”

“Yes… of course, Master.” Hektor took another bite of his pop tart with a disgruntled look on his face.

“Now, since we're done with the pleasantries, let's get down to business!”

“Business? What do you mean, Master?”

“The Grail War is about to begin. We should go looking for the other Masters. Since the war can't start until all the Servants have been summoned, this is the perfect opportunity to try and find the other Masters!”

“That sounds like a good idea. Wars are won by those who have the correct information.” Hektor gave a bow before his body disappeared. Yet his voice could still be heard inside Sebastian's mind.

When he eventually made it back to his car, Hektor asked another question. “So, Master, where are we going?”

“We're going to The Tohsaka and Mauto homes.” Sebastian answered with a smile.

“And why there? Are there some important artifacts you can use there?”

“No, Lancer. Simply put, the Tohsakas, Mautos, and Einzburns are the three mage families that created The Holy Grail War. If there are any people guaranteed to be Masters, it's them.” Sebastian started the car and drove off.

“But why not the Einzburn's?”

“Because they live in a castle outside of Fuyuki. Going there would be a death sentence. Not only does their castle have many defenses, but they usually summon Berserker Servants.”

“And we don't want to run into a Berserker without a proper plan. Or help for that matter.”

“We don't need help!” Sebastian suddenly snapped. “We can win this war on our own!”

“I'm sorry, Master. I didn't mean to upset you.” Hektor said quietly. Sebastian's grip around the steering wheel tightened. He gave a sigh and drove in silence. They visited both the Tohsaka and Mauto homes. Both had powerful bounded fields around them but at both homes, an unusual amount of mana was being used and generated. Telltale signs of a Servant being summoned.

As they were driving back the sun set. Sebastian didn't plan for this expedition to take all day, but unfortunately, the Mautos are much more secretive of both their magecraft and who they name as their successor. It took longer than anticipated to sense the mana output coming from the house.

They were in the north eastern part of town when something felt off. The air was wrong. Like something that shouldn't exist was right in front of him. Hektor sensed something as well. Sebastian slammed on the breaks and stepped out of the car. Hektor appeared with his spear in front of the car.

“Who goes there?” He asked as he held his spear out in front of him. Its golden blade reflected any light it caught. Even if it was in a black void, it would still give a dull shimmer of light. About thirty feet in front of them stood a man. He was around Six feet tall. His skin was rugged and had large, red scars plastered all over along with black tattoos. He had blond hair as well. Like he was a bad boy from an old Hollywood movie. The only clothes he had were baggy blue jeans and gold bracers connected by a long chain.

From behind him, a woman walked out. She was clad in a white winter coat that went down to her knees. Her eyes were red as blood and her hair was silver as the moon. She had an innocent smile and a sweet voice as she greeted them.

“Hello there! I see you brought your Servant as well! Allow me to introduce myself.” She gave a curtsy bow all while keeping that innocent smile.

“I am Irisviel von Einzburn, and this is my Berserker Servant! I know the war hasn't officially started, but we can still have some fun! Berserker, rough them up will you?”

The Berserker Servant smiled. His red eyes stared at Hektor with a dark ferocity. He held out his right hand and a red sword appeared. It looked like it was oiled in some thick liquid. The blade was split in two entangled slabs of steel. They eventually came to a razor sharp point.

“Your spear looks deadly. I'm guessing that means you're a Lancer, right? I hope so! You're supposed to be strong, and I really need a good fight!” Berserker said with a loud laugh.

Hektor and Sebastian were stunned that Berserker could speak. Hektor looked back at his master, as if to ask him what was going on. Sebastian didn’t have an answer for him. Before either could speak, Berserker called out again.

“What are you waiting for? Surprised that I can speak? I get that a lot! But don't let that discourage you, Lancer! Let's enjoy this while we can!” He crouched like a tiger and thrust himself forward.

Hektor raised his spear to block Berserker’s sword. The blood red steel scraped the golden lance, barely avoiding his cheek. Hektor pushed down to lower Berserker’s blade. Then with a swift motion, he rammed the butt of his spear into the side of Berserker’s head.

Hektor jumped back and led Berserker away from both his master and the populace. Thankfully, Hektor was much faster than his brutish enemy. Soon, Hektor found himself in a graveyard with a small stone shed. He took a moment to catch his breath. But it didn't last long. Bounding from the tree line came Berserker. As he fell, he swung his red sword down, the earth breaking under him. Hektor rolled to his left and jumped back, his lance ready to thrust.

“Good idea leading me away from the city, Lancer. I prefer things this way! A proper duel between two great warriors! No weak people to get in our way!” Berserker chuckled and raised his sword.

“Your strength speaks for itself. And since you're using a sword, I think I will as well. Seems unfair for me to go all out if you're not.” Hektor grabbed just beneath the cross guard of his spear. He twisted it and the body of his spear retracted, turning it into a short sword.

“You're full of surprises, Lancer! Now let's see how you fare against my blade! It thirsts for your blood!” Berserker lunged again. His red sword reaching for Hektor's throat. But it seems Berserker forgot how much faster Hektor was. He sidestepped the lunge and slashed at Berserker’s ribs.

His blade cut through Berserker’s flesh. But not as much as it should have. His golden blade should've sliced to the bone. But there was resistance when it made contact with the muscle. Berserker capitalized on Hektor's confusion by grabbing his skull and throwing him through three gravestones. It felt like being slammed against a metal wall. But Hektor had felt worse.

Berserker tried to rush Hektor down. As his red sword was coming down, Hektor rolled over and slashed open Berserker’s calcaneal tendon. Berserker fell to the ground and rolled over. His right foot wasn't able to support his weight, so he stood on his left. But where his two wounds were, a blue light emitted and he was healed. “Thank you, Master Iri! That would have made things difficult!”

“Your Master knows how to take care of you. That's annoying.” Hektor said as he wiped the blood off his gold sword.

“You must be smart or something! Trying to go for something that would disable me! Let me guess, you have tactical skill!”

“C+ rank tactics, Berserker, and a little something else. But that skill would give away my identity.”

“A signature skill huh? Impressive! It seems I really have a good fight on my hands! You must be really strong!”

“Strength isn't everything, Berserker! Though I doubt you could see that. Why don't you give this old man a good time while you're still breathing?”

“I would LOVE too! Though I've fought many battles, I assure you on my kingly honor that I'll give you a proper smashing!” Berserker gave a playful roar and charged yet again. Hektor swatted Berserker’s sword then slashed down his chest.

Stepping aside, he delivered three cuts. One to Berserker’s ribs, arm and leg. His endurance was too high to cut through him without putting real power behind his strikes. So bleeding the king would have to do. Taking full advantage of his speed, he bounded around the graveyard. Pushing off headstones to launch himself at Berserker. Each time landing a cut that would hit deeper and deeper.

Berserker let out a sound that seemed to be a roar and a laugh at the same time. Hektor growled and swung for his neck. It would have been successful, but Berserker started swinging his sword and fists wildy. Hektor tried to find an opening. But each time, he would receive a cut of his own and with each cut, Berserker’s sword glew redder and redder. Like it was feeding off his blood.

Hektor started to backstep to get away from Berserker. But Berserker followed him. He couldn't continue like this. He needed an edge over his chaos. Then, an idea clicked in his mind. Hektor spun around and ran to a nearby shed. It had a cross on the top of it. Jumping up about twenty feet up, he landed on the cross. Berserker ran into the shed. It shook beneath him and began to collapse on Berserker.

Hektor leaped off and watched as the stone shed fell on Berserker. He twisted the grip on his sword and it sprung back into a spear. Hektor readied it and prepared to throw. When Berserker inevitably broke out of the rubble, Hektor launched his spear directly into his chest. A loud thud rang out in the graveyard. Berserker looked down to the lance. He began to laugh.

“Well played, worthy adversary!” He smiled and pulled the spear out of him and tossed it back to Hektor.

“I haven't had this much fun in a long time! Not since I killed Grendel!”

“Grendel?” Hektor asked as he picked up his spear. “So you must be Beowulf.”

“In the flesh! Beowulf, King of The Geats! Slayer of Grendel and The Lord of The Seamen!”

“You gave me your name so frivolously. I'm wondering if I should do the same for the sake of honor.”

“Please, tell your true name, Lancer! I wish to know who so easily outsmarted me!” He spoke as if the hole in his chest wasn't there. His endurance must be A rank at least. Hektor thought about answering his question. Sebastian wouldn't approve. But then again, he wasn't here.

“Do you promise to keep my name a secret? You can't even tell your Master.”

“On my honor as king, I promise it will not leave my lips.”

“Hm… well then, I am Hektor of The Gleaming Helmet, Prince and heir of Troy.”

“The mighty Hektor? You bested many Greeks! How I wish to have seen you in battle! To my people, you were known as The Man-Slayer!”

“I killed many in my time, but never out of anger. Only to protect my city and people. If my idiot brother never kidnapped Helen, no one would have died.” Hektor gave a sad sigh and scratched his head.

“If you had me on your side, I would have slapped Achilles silly! But, enough of this! I want to see what that spear can really do!” In his left hand, a large, crimson club appeared. A smile was on his face as he readied himself.

“You wish to fight in your condition? Very well! Let's see what you're really made of, Beowulf, King of The Geats!” Hektor gripped his bloodied spear. It was covered with both his and Beowulf's blood. The king leaped forward, but soon stopped in his tracks.

“Master?” He called with confusion. Disappointment spread across his face. With a sigh, he set his sword and club down. Hektor stopped as well, waiting to see what he had to say.

“It appears I was getting carried away, Hektor of Troy. We shall fight again another day. The Holy Grail War has officially begun. I suggest you return to your Master.” His weapons disappeared, and so did he. Hektor jumped back to the woods surrounding the graveyard. His disengage skill kicked in to heal him of his surface wounds.

Chapter Text

Hideyoshi Bushida looked into the mirror of his hotel bathroom. His heterochromatic eyes gleamed yellow and purple in the dull light. The purple eye started to glow. A vision then appeared in his mind. A book with mysterious spells he found in his teachers room. It spoke of a summoning ritual. There was a strange symbol in it and an incantation to speak. There was something else about a Holy Grail War in the book. But that didn't matter. If he could summon whatever it is the book said, he might be able to impress his teacher.

The vision faded. His left eye hurt a bit and there was blood running down his cheek like a tear. His yellow eye then started to glow as well. A new vision appeared. He was in his makeshift workshop. The symbol from the book was marked on the floor in blood. His hand was cut open. He placed a katana in the center of the circle and spoke an incantation. The vision then faded. Blood was leaking from both eyes now.

Cold water splashed against his face. He washed the blood away and put on his glasses. The magical lenses hid his odd eye color and made them look brown. Hideyoshi straightened his tie and walked into the cramped workshop he made out of his hotel room. Using a knife, he carved the summoned circle into the carpeted floor. Then, he put his knife to his hand and cut it open. His blood leaked out and filled the circle.

Hideyoshi grabbed a simple looking katana he bought and placed it in the center of his bloody circle. With a deep breath, he started to recite the words from the passage. As he spoke, the circle started to glow. It hummed and turned blue. Wind started to generate and blew over the the tv in his room. The glass of the window broke and the blinds flew out. It was like standing in the middle of a hurricane. Hideyoshi had to dig his heels into the floor to stand steady. But it was becoming more and more difficult as he felt his magic circuits being drained. On the back of his right hand, he saw a red tattoo start to form.

“Hah! It's working! It's working! I'll become Shigeto's apprentice in no time now!” Hideyoshi smiled despite the chaos in his room. But the wind became too great for him to withstand. In a flash of light, Hideyoshi was blown back against a wall. The force knocked his glasses off his face, leaving his eyes unprotected.

When his vision finally came back, he found himself on the floor. He sat back up against the wall and looked up. The moon was shining bright through the open window. Blue beams of light filled the room. Replacing the katana in the summoning circle was a young woman. She was clad in old blue and red samurai attire. Two swords hung from her belt as she loomed over Hideyoshi. Her eyes were a beautiful blue and her hair was white, yet it had a pinkish tone to it. She looked down at him and spoke.

“I ask of you, are you my Master?” She asked in a soft voice.

“Yes! I am! I did it! I summoned a Heroic Spirit!” He smiled and climbed to his feet. The woman smiled as well. She extended her hand to him. Hideyoshi accepted it and shook her hand. Her skin was surprisingly soft.

“Well, it's nice to meet you, Master. I am your Saber Servant for The Fourth Holy Grail War!”

Hideyoshi’s face had confusion all over it. His eyebrows were raised and his eyes went wide. “Huh? Holy Grail War?”

“Yes, Master. That's why you summoned me, correct? To win you The Holy Grail.”

“No… I summoned you to impress my teacher. He's the Dean of Summoning. I thought if I summoned a high class familiar, he'd take me on as his apprentice.”

“Wait, let me get this straight, you summoned me to impress your teacher, and you unknowingly entered into an ancient Mage ritual that can give you The Holy Grail?”

“Y-You know, when you say it like that, it kinda makes it seem worse than I thought.”

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Dreading the explanation she'll have to give to her clueless Master.

“Basically, I'm your Servant. I fight other Servants who were summoned by other mages. When I kill the six others, we will get The Holy Grail and have one wish granted from it. Do you have a wish, Master?”

Hideyoshi listed and noted all the important details. His purple eye dully glowed as he absorbed the information. “So… I'm way in over my head. Jeez, I knew I was a bit impulsive. But this is a new low. And no, I don't have a wish. True love maybe?”

She put her hand on his shoulder. A smile was on her face. “Don't worry, Master. You summoned me! I'm a Saber! Just don't die and I'll… Wait, your eyes. Is there something wrong with them?”

Hideyoshi was confused at first. But when he turned around to see his glasses on the floor, he realized his mistake.

“No, there's nothing wrong. They're Mystic Eyes. The yellow one is The Mystic Eye of Foresight. The purple one is The Mystic Eye of Recollection. Basically, I can see the future and past briefly. But it hurts to use them.”

The woman looked a tad concerned. But soon, she looked relieved. As if she got some idea.

“Those sound very useful, Master!” By the way, what's your name? Master is honestly getting old.”

“Oh! Yeah, I'm Hideyoshi Bushida. But you can call me Yoshi. What's your name?”

“You mean my true name? That's a secret. So don't tell anyone else, kay?”

“I understand. I won't tell anybody else.”

“Good! My name is Miyamoto Musashi! Legendary Swordsman of Japan!”

Hideyoshi grabbed his glasses from the floor and cleaned them as she spoke. But hearing her say her name threw him off. Once his glasses were back on his face, he looked at her with a confused expression.

“Miyamoto Musashi? But wasn't he a man? I remember hearing that once. So how come you're a woman?”

Musashi chuckled a bit and shifted her weight. Her left hand rested on one of her swords and the other scratched her head.

“About that,” She started with a sigh. “I'm kinda from another timeline. One where I was a woman! But I assure you that I'm just as strong as your Miyamoto Musashi!”

Hideyoshi gave her a blank stare. It's like everything she said went in one ear and out the other. “Huh? Another timeline? Did I drink something before I did the summoning ritual?”

“I hope not, Yoshi. You should never do anything like magecraft while under the influence.”

“What? No, it was just a figure of speech. So, you're really from another timeline? Is there a way you can prove that?”

“Well for one, I'd never lie to you. But, I could show you my Noble Phantasm! Would that work, Yoshi?”

“What's a Noble Phantasm?”

Musashi then smiled. She held in a laugh. But she couldn't contain it. She walked to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Her blue eyes still shined like the moon. It made his cheeks get a little warm.

“Oh Master, you have a lot to learn! And I'll be the one to teach you! But, in order to learn properly, one must have a full stomach! Do you have any good food in this time?”

“Ramen is the cheapest thing I can afford right now…” He nervously chuckled and scratched his cheek.

“That sounds delicious! Now away we go!” She gave a triumphant laugh and drug Hideyoshi out of his hotel room.

Hideyoshi and his Servant sat down at a table. It was relatively warm inside the restaurant. Thankfully, it was still open at this time. Musashi got some strange looks from the people there. So Hideyoshi had to lie and say she was just an enthusiastic cosplayer. He got some strange looks too, being a foreigner and all. But he mostly shrugged it off.

When the waiter came, Yoshi gave him all the money he had left and asked him to bring out whatever it could afford. About ten minutes later, two bowls of ramen were brought out for them. It didn't look very appetizing. But, it was better than nothing. Musashi however slurped it all down like it was her favorite food. Yoshi cringed at her and the bland tasting noodles.

As they ate, she explained everything to him with much more detail. But as her explanation went on, his face became more and more grim. He realized the hole he dug for himself by summoning her. Surrender wasn't an option either. Despite how much he wanted to go running for that church on the hill, he also didn’t want his blood on Musashi's swords. With a depressed sigh, he looked down at the red stigmata on the back of his right hand. It looked like three scythes spinning around together in a clockwise motion.

It started to dimly glow when she spoke of command seals. “I can make you do whatever I want?” He asked as the stigmata began to grow in brightness.

“Yes, Yoshi. But, I'm not so easily swayed. I have a high magical resistance. Your command seals will not work as well on me if I don't want to do something. So don't get any smart ideas, Master.” Her glare became dangerous. Like she was a tiger ready to pounce on its prey. Yoshi cleared his throat and tried to cover up his command seals.

“I see, well, I promise I won't use any unless you agree with them.” An audible gulp came from him. His shaking hand picked up a glass and he put it to his lips.

“Good! Glad we cleared that up!” She then gave an innocent smile and finished her food.

With a small sigh, he finished the last bit of ramen in his bowl as well. But as he swallowed the last noodle, he felt a great pain in his right eye. A yellow vision appeared before him. The sight was horrific. Musashi lay in a pool of blood on the restaurant floor. She was riddled with bowie knives, and so was he. Yoshi lay back against the wall and struggled to breathe. The blood in his throat choked him. His strained eyes looked up.

Standing before him was an indistinguishable figure. It was cloaked in shadow. The form changed between a lanky man and hulking beast. But the man seemed to be more dominant. He brandished another bowie knife and spoke in a demonic voice.

“I am sorry. But I do not have a proper mana flow like your Servant. I am desperate. And now, I will consume your soul. Die knowing that it will give me life.” Its dark hand reached out and plunged a knife into Yoshi's skull.

When Yoshi came too, his face was inside his ramen bowl. Musashi was shaking him as tears started to gather in the corners of her eyes. A bloody tear trickled down his cheek from his right yellow eye.

“Musashi…?” He'd weakly ask as he wiped off the blood with a napkin.

“Master! You're alive! Thank goodness! I wouldn't forgive myself if you died the night you summoned me!” She pulled him into a tight hug. His back cracked and he felt the wind get knocked out of his lungs.

“Ack! Saber! You're crushing me!”

“Oh! Sorry!” She'd let up on the hug. But she still had a worried look on her face. Yoshi coughed a bit, but caught his breath. Once given the chance to recuperate his train of thought, his blood turned to ice.

“Saber! We need to go! Now!” Yoshi grabbed her arm and tried to pull her out of the restaurant. But she put up some resistance.

“What? Why? Is something wrong?”

“Yes! I think a Servant is he-” He cut himself off. Behind Musashi was a man. He looked like some sort of Victorian person. His clothes were pristine and humble at the same time. If it weren't for the bowie knife he held, he'd look like an innocent man.

“Saber, behind you!” Yoshi desperately cried out. Her face became deadly serious. Turning around as fast as lightning she drew one of her katanas. As the man plunged his knife down, she met his blade and sent it flying across the room.

Chapter Text

Saber's katana pressed against her assailant's chest. She had backed him against the wall. The man held his arms up in surrender. The Victorian man’s glasses had almost fallen off his face from his constant shaking.

“I-I surrender! Please! I’m sorry! I don’t know what I was thinking! This isn’t usually me. I’m just very desperate! I’m about to disappear! You must understand!” He pleaded with Saber. She gave him a stern look. Her eyes narrowed on his face. The silver katana pushed a little deeper. It cut through his white button up shirt and into his skin. A single drop of blood leaked out and ran down the edge of her blade.

Saber turned her head over her shoulder to speak to Yoshi. “Your orders, Master?”

Hideyoshi was caught off guard by her asking for guidance. He still wasn’t used to this whole Master thing. “Uhh… We should question him, right? Killing him feels wrong. Plus, if we kill him here, the waiters will tell the police we killed him!”

Saber looked uncomfortable with that idea, but she obeyed. Sheathing her sword, she grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt. Looking him dead in the eyes, she practically growled at the older man. “My Master is sparing you for now. We’re gonna take you out back for some questions. Try any shady stuff and you’ll wish you stayed back in whatever hole you crawled out of!”

The man simply nodded. Musashi threw the man into a back alley. Yoshi hesitantly followed her to corner the Servant. The man sat back up against the wall with Musashi's sword to his throat. She looked at Yoshi again to start the interrogation. He took a deep breath and tried his best to sound intimidating.

“What is your class? All you Servants have a container. So tell us now!”

The man gulped and grunted in pain. “Assassin. I'm the Assassin Servant.”

“An assassin? Okay, that means you're relatively weak. Who is your Master, Assassin?”

“I cannot say. I don't have one at the moment. My former Master is… indisposed.”

“Indisposed. What do you mean by that?” Yoshi inquired as he stepped closer to the weakened Servant.

“Dead… my Master is dead. I killed him. Do not judge me. You would have done the same.”

“You killed him? What the… Why?”

“Enough questions!” Assassin yelled he was slowly starting to turn transparent. Blue wisps of magical energy rose from his body.

“I don't have much time left. So either kill me now or leave me to die.”

Musashi still had a stern look on her face. But it had softened up a little bit. With a sigh, she turned to Yoshi for her last order of the night.

“I… I don't know, Muashi. I don't know what to do.” Yoshi looked at her, his confidence wavering. He gripped his left arm and turned his gaze down.

The next thing Yoshi knew, Musashi had been disarmed and he had his cheek sliced open. A gust of wind blew him over to the ground. Yoshi winced when he gently touched the exposed flesh. At the opening of the alley, stood Assassin. His bowie knife was red with blood and the once civilized man had a deranged look on his face. He licked the knife clean of the blood with a demonic laughter. The once transparent body became opaque once more.

“Thanks for the donation, mate! I'll put it to good use! Ha ha ha ha ha!” He yelled in a voice that was not his own.

Musashi flew into action without another second. She quickly charged him and unsheathed her second katana. Once at the right distance, she swung her blade at Assassin's neck. But the man leaped out of her range with a wicked grin.

“I'd love to play with ya and rip out yer guts! But I've got things tah do! Toodaloo!” With more cacophonous laughter, he disappeared into the night by turning into his spirit form.

“Damn it! He got away! That slimy little bastard!” Musashi growled as she gripped her sword tighter. With a frustrated sigh, she sheaths her sword and helps Yoshi up.

He applies some pressure to his cheek. With a soft sigh, he saw a katana being unsheathed in his mind and his magic circuits fired. A small green light emitted from his palm to heal the cut. Musashi's face lights up a bit seeing the healing magic.

“I'm glad you're capable of that, Master. I could use that in a fight.” She warmly smiled before grabbing her other sword and putting it away.

“Let's go, Yoshi.”

“Go? Go where? I kinda destroyed my hotel room when I summoned you. I doubt they'll let us back in and I don't have enough money for another hotel.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Well, let's go find some nice abandoned buildings! We can probably stay there for the night.” She nodded to herself and started walking.

“You say that as if I know of one. I've never been here before!”

“You haven't? But your name is Japanese!”

“My mom likes Japan so she gave me a Japanese name. You can imagine what that was like growing up in downtown London.” He sighed and followed her. Luckily, there was a city map nearby.

“So what's your full name then? I doubt your father would let your mother give you a completely Japanese name.” Musashi asked as she reached the map and began scanning it.

“Hideyoshi Bushida Montgomery.”

“Montgomery? That's a nice name, Master. It's an English one, right? That explains your uniform.” She said with a smile as she ruffled his hair.

Yoshi threw off her hand and looked at the map as well. The city was bigger than he thought it was. It would take you a few hours to walk from end to end. Across the river, on the other side of town, were some older houses. He pointed to that section and spoke.

“Maybe over here? We can probably find a run down house to stay in over there. At least for the night.” Yoshi suggested.

“Sounds good! You can make a small bounded field around whatever we find so that we'll be a little protected while we sleep. We don't need any more Assassins.”

“Let's be on our way then! It's already super late. I just hope we can make it there before sunrise.”

“Leave that to me, Yoshi!” A sly grin came to her face as she picked him up in her arms. Before he could say anything to object, she jumped up fifty feet in the air and landed on a roof. She then ran and bounded from rooftop to rooftop. Yoshi clinged onto her and closed his eyes as the wind rushed in his ears. Musashi gave a laugh that echoed through the city.

After a few minutes of her acrobatics, they came to the Fuyuki Bridge. Its imposing red frame hung over the river like a metal giant taking a long step. Musashi looked at it like a challenge. She held tighter onto her Master and dug in her heels.

“Get ready, Master! Things are about to get bumpy!” She laughed as she jumped onto the bridge and ran up the red arch. Once she reached the top, she bounded off it. Launching herself and her Master over the rest of the bridge. The concrete beneath her cracked when she landed. Thankfully, no one was around to get hurt. Yoshi however, was shivering in her arms.

“You okay there, Yoshi?”

“What is wrong with you?!?”

“What? I'm getting us to the other side of town as fast as possible. I think you should be praising your Servant!” She chuckled before racing away and bounding off more buildings. It didn't take long for Yoshi to spot a seemingly abandoned house. It was an old Japanese styled home that clearly needed a wash. Musashi set him down so he could investigate the home.

He opened up the main gate to the house and walked to the front door. There wasn't any mana here nor any life. It's like the previous owners simply disappeared out of thin air. Turning back to his Servant, he gave her an encouraging nod. She nodded back and followed him into the house.

There was dust and dirt everywhere. Yoshi struggled to breathe for a moment. But using another spell, he filtered the oxygen in his throat. He tried to flip on the lights, but there wasn't any power.

“I can't see anything at all. Can you, Musashi?”

“Nada. My eyes aren't made for this. Do you have something that can give us some light?”

“No. I used up all my materials to summon you. And I'm not very good at illusion magic. I could try though. But don't get your hopes up.”

Yoshi took a deep breath and cradled his right hand in his left. He closed his eyes and saw a katana being unsheathed in his mind. An electric pulse ran through his body and up his arm. It was like trying to push oil through his veins. He began to sweat, but eventually, in his palm an orb of light burst into existence.

His face lit up with excitement. The orb floated up and down the hallway. Musashi had a proud look on her face. She gave him a pat on the back and walked down the hall; beckoning him to follow. Yoshi nodded with a smile and walked with her through the house.

The living room was just as dull as the rest of the house. Dust everywhere, no power, and just as dark. It was relatively small as well. But what was smaller was the kitchen. It was almost like it was a closet that was repurposed into a kitchen. Yoshi walked to the fridge and opened it up. The ball of magic light illuminated the dark cavern to show only a single bottle of water. It seems the last people to live here forgot it. Yoshi grabbed the cool bottle and opened it up. The expiration date was June 24th of 1984. That was ten years ago.

“This place has been abandoned for a long time. I’m surprised it’s still standing. If anyone is going to buy it, it’ll need some serious work.” Yoshi said as he took a sip from the water. It tasted horrible. He spit out the water and put the bottle back in the fridge.

“This place would be nice to live in though.” Musashi piped up. “It just needs some love! And a proper cleaning. But hey, a reward isn’t a reward if you don’t work for it. Come on, Yoshi. Let’s go see if the bedrooms are intact.”

He nodded and held the light up. They walked together through the old home. It was quite large. Bigger than Yoshi thought it would be. Several bed rooms, one bathroom, a living room and kitchen, and a large garden in the back yard along with a shed. Staring at the stone structure through some glass, Yoshi thought it would make for a good workshop. After a few minutes of exploring, they came to a large bedroom. There weren’t any actual beds and the room was split by a screen door.

“This looks like a good place! The floor is soft enough and there’s a roof over our heads. Maybe later we can get some futons.” Mushashi beamed a smile as she walked into the room. She sat down in the middle of the floor and patted the spot next to her. Yoshi gave her a smile and sat down next to her. Once he did, he realized how tired his body was. He wasn’t used to walking this much.

Yoshi heaved out a sigh as he took off his glasses and put them next to him on the floor. The carpet was a little soft. Nothing like a cloud, but it still provided some comfort. He stretched out and unbuttoned his blazer. When he rolled over on his left side, he felt arms wrap around him. Yoshi let out a squeak and looked behind him to see Musashi pressed up against his back.

“What are you doing, Musashi?” He asked with panic in his voice.

“What do you mean, Yoshi? I’m making sure you’re warm. It’s the middle of winter. You’d freeze in here without me!” As she spoke, she held him tighter and closer. He could feel the warmth of her chest on his back. It sent a chill up his spine and a blush to his cheeks.

“I get that, but could you warn me next time you do that?”

“Why?” She asked. “This is the best way to keep you warm right now. I’m your Servant, Hideyoshi. My main objective is to win you the grail, but my second objective is to keep you safe. So if we don’t have a bed or blankets, then I will use my body to keep you warm. No if’s, and’s, or buts!”

“M-Musashi! You can’t just-” Before he could say anything more, her right hand came up and covered his mouth.

“Shut your pie hole, Master. Trust me, this is for your own good. Just breathe, close your eyes and try to sleep. You need it.”

Yoshi wanted to bite her hand and object. But deep down, he knew she was right. He grumbled before closing his eyes. She removed her hand from his mouth and held him close. Yoshi wiggled his body to get more comfortable in her embrace. Musashi smiled and hummed her Master to sleep. Slowly, Yoshi drifted away.

Chapter Text

Hunger. Immense and terrible hunger. It was the only thing that Atsuko Aiuchi could think about. A hunger that has been plaguing her frail body for days. Her fingers bloodied and her hair dirty. It would normally be a bright orange, but it was more like a dirty brown. Her small legs barely carried her through the dark streets of the city. The only thing she had to wear was a tattered white dress and a solid green hoodie she got from a trash can. Stained with mud and sewage. She didn't know how, but she had wandered into the rich part of Fuyuki.

The moon hung high in the sky. Its pale blue light shining down on the dazzling houses. It all looked so familiar. She couldn't remember why. It didn't matter though. What did, was as she stumbled, she saw a creaky gate that was left open. Her hands briefly ran along the cold iron. Leaving her to push it open further. As soon as she entered the property, a freezing chill ran across her skin. She was used to the cold. This was Fuyuki after all. But this cold was unlike anything she'd ever experienced before.

Despite that, something drew her closer to the sleek and modern home. When she got to the red door, she suddenly felt a pulse of energy in her chest. Like someone was using a defibrillator on her. It made it difficult to breathe. She wanted to turn back, but her stomach growled. With a shaking hand, she knocked on the door, only to find that it was slightly cracked open. Putting more force on it, she opened the door and cautiously stepped inside.

She was met with a long hallway. The lights were off, but she didn't mind. Atsuko made her way to the living room. It was very open. All the furniture was made of leather and there was a very large TV. It was all nice, but when she spotted the refrigerator, she immediately ran to it. Upon opening it, she found it was quite barren. Fortunately, there were some food in it. The first thing she laid her eyes on though was a bright red apple.

Atsuko grabbed it and sunk her teeth into it. The fruit was perfectly crunchy and sweet. She hadn't had an apple in so long. Her legs felt weak from jubilation. She fell to her knees and savored every bite of the apple. Tears fell from her eyes. Wiping the apple juice from her lips, she stood up and looked around the house more.

It seemed to be a regular house. Albeit extremely expensive and cold. She could see her breath with each exhale. Taking another bite of her apple, she found another hallway. As she walked down it, she felt another pulse of energy in her chest. It stopped her in her tracks. The walls began to freeze around her. The source of this unending cold was coming from the door at the end of the hall. Atsuko pulled the hood of her sweater over her head and pulled the strings to try and keep herself warm.

Holding the apple close to her chest, she plunged deeper into the cold. The door was a bit difficult to open. The doorknob was frozen. But with some effort, she broke the ice and opened the door. What she saw on the other side made her scream.

Frozen blood was splattered across the whole room. At the center was a bed that held a petrified body. Atsuko dropped her apple and fell back. Her mind told her to back away and run. But her body couldn't move. She closed her eyes in an attempt to calm down. Slowly, her body came back to her. Atsuko stood back up and walked to the bed.

It was a man in a soviet military uniform. Holes were peppered through his body, but they were all partially sealed by his own frozen blood. He had an agonizing look on his face. A pistol was in his hand. His finger was just about to pull the trigger. Carefully maneuvering around the barrel, she came to the dresser. While she was here, she should at least see if the man had anything useful. She pulled her sleeves over her hands and yanked open the drawer.

The only thing in it was a book. She picked it up to inspect it. It seemed to be some sort of grimoire. Atsuko didn't know how she knew that. She just did. Flipping through the pages, she found an assortment of different spells. This couldn't be real, right?

She shook her head and closed the book. Atsuko took another look at the gun. It felt wrong to take it. But she could never be too careful. So she carefully pried it from his hand and stuck it in her hoodie pocket. She then picked up her apple and ran out of the house. Heading out the backdoor, she ran into the nearby woods.

The twigs and rocks didn't bother her. The soles of her feet were hardened from the lack of shoes in her life. Besides, she didn't have time for pain. She was just inside the house of a dead man. Her fingerprints were everywhere. Atsuko tried not to think about that though. She just kept running further and further into the woods. But as she ran, her foot got caught under the root of a tree.

She fell forward into a small ravine. Her head hit a rock and everything went white, then black. When her vision came back, everything was a little fuzzy. Her head was warm and throbbing. Mud covered her cheeks and her things were scattered across the muddy riverbank. Thankfully, the pistol didn't go off. But her apple was now ruined. At least it was just the apple core.

She reached her hand up to the throbbing part of her head. It stung when she touched the welt. Looking back at her fingers, they were covered in blood. Atsuko closed her hand into a fist and punched the ground. Tears fell from her cheeks. She crawled up into a ball and lay in the mud.

“Why? Why me?” She asked through sobs.

Atsuko laid there for a long time. She didn't know for how long exactly. But it felt like forever. She just wanted to sink into the earth and not have to worry about anything ever again. Unfortunately, that's not what life had in store for her. The sound of loud explosions shook her awake. They were distant and coming from over a hill. But she knew it might come to her. So she grabbed her things and started to run downhill with the river. But her leg hurt from tripping on that root. So she had to hobble away.

After what felt like miles, the sounds of destruction stopped. Atsuko fell to her knees again. Her lungs were burning. She felt like she was going to throw up. But she willed herself to hold it down. She couldn't waste the food she had earlier. Atsuko crawled over to the river to wash her hands and face. The cold water was refreshing. It was so tempting to drink from it. But she knew better.

With a soft sigh, she pulled the spell book out of her hoodie. She didn't know why, but it brought a strange sort of comfort to her. Atsuko flipped through the pages again. It all seemed so familiar. But it was all nonsense. Despite that, she felt like it could somehow help her. Eventually, she came to a page about summoning. There was a strange symbol in the middle of the page. It was several circles with triangles and unintelligible writing. It struck a chord with her. Her heart skipped a beat. Atsuko looked up around her, making sure no one was spying on her.

She put the book down on the ground and went to grab a big stick. Trees were hanging over the river, so she was able to grab a branch in the cold water. Dragging it ashore, she plucked the leaves and ripped off the smaller twigs. She now had a pretty solid drawing stick. Atsuko nodded to herself and took in a big breath. Using her stick, she began to draw the symbol in the book on the ground. It was amateurish at best.

Atsuko then looked at the next step in the page. This spell apparently required blood. Lots of it. Enough to fill up the symbol she just made. Thankfully, there was a river behind her. She set down the stick and waded deep into the river. The water came up to her belly at its deepest part. Atsuko pulled out the pistol she stole and steadied her hands. Holding it out with both hands, she aimed at the water. Her whole body was shaky. But she kept out a watchful eye.

Several dark silhouettes past her. But she couldn't be sure if they were fish. Her lower half was getting more and more numb the longer she stayed there though. She had to fire at something. The next dark shape was rather big. Taking a breath, she aimed at it, closed her eyes and pulled the trigger. A loud boom echoed from the gun and rang in her ears. She yelled in pain, not seeing if the bullet hit anything. But a warm mass pressed against her legs. She opened her eyes to see a big orange and white fish belly up.

Atsuko picked it up to see a hole in it. A dark red liquid leaking from it. She gasped and accidentally dropped the pistol in the river. She let out a shriek of shock before reaching into the river to grab it. Once she had it, she ran out of the water to the drawing she made in the mud. Atsuko held the fish over the symbol and let the blood fill it up.

“I-I'm sorry fish… This is so stupid. But if this doesn't work, I can at least eat you. So your sacrifice won't be in vain.”

Once the blood had filled up the symbol, she put the fish down and went to the next step in the book. It said she needed a catalyst. Whatever that was. She didn't really have anything. So she put the apple core she had in the center of the symbol. Lastly, it had an incantation written in it. She picked up the book and held out her left hand to the symbol.

“Here goes nothing. I know this is all probably fake… but I need to try.” Atsuko closed her eyes and spoke the words in the grimoire.

“For the elements silver and iron,
The foundation stone and archduke of pacts,
Close the four gates,
Come forth from the crown,
And follow the forked road leading to the kingdom.
Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill.
Repeat five times, but when each is filled,
Destroy it!
Set.
Heed my words,
My will creates your body,
And your sword creates my destiny,
If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me!
I hereby swear that I shall be all the good in the world,
That I shall defeat all evil in the world!
Seventh Heaven clad in the great words of power.
Come from the binding circle,
thou guardian of the scales!”

As she spoke, the wind started to pick up. It made it more and more difficult to speak. But she powered through it. The blood in the symbol began to boil. It had a rancid stench to it. But lightning began to run along it. She began to lose her remaining strength. As if something was pulling it out of her soul. The blood churned and then began to glow green. The lightning shifted to the same color and the apple core was vaporized. She felt the same pulse of energy from the dead man's house resonate in her chest. Then, the symbol burst in a flash of light and gale wind.

It took longer than before for her vision to return. Her ears were ringing louder than when she fired the gun. But her senses soon became adjusted to her surroundings. She had fallen down again. More mud staining her hoodie and dress. Atsuko grunted as she stood up. When she looked at the symbol there was nothing there. Just an empty crater. Her fish was caught in the blast too.

She collapsed to her knees again. Clutching her sides, she let out a guttural cry. More tears streamed from her eyes. She wanted to throw the book away. But she was too exhausted to do anything of the sort. All she could do was cry.

Atsuko looked back at the burnt hole in the ground. Her tears blending into the mud as they fell from her face. Just in front of her however, footprints formed in the mud. They came closer to her. She fell back and crawled away from them. Yet she came to the river. The footsteps kept approaching her before stopping just at her.

In the last steps, shimmered the form of a man. The transparent man slowly took off a hood on his head. When he did, he completely appeared in view. He wore almost only shades of green. A light green shirt, dark green pants and brown boots. forest green vambraces and fingerless gloves. To top it all off, a dark green cloak was wrapped around his shoulders.

The man smiled at her with sky blue eyes and bright orange hair. If anyone else saw him, they'd mistake him for an older brother. Without saying anything, he offered her his hand. Atsuko took it. He helped her up and gave her hand a kiss. A sly smile came to him as he spoke.

“Hello there, miss. I assume you are my Master. Well worry not, I am your Archer Class Servant. Robin Hood, at your service.”

Chapter Text

Atsuko was simply aghast. She didn’t know what to say. So much had happened to her this night. It took a strenuous toll on her mind. Her legs suddenly felt weak and her head light. She barely ate as well, so it’s no surprise that the girl fainted. Her limp body gently falling to the mud. Much to the surprise of the man standing before her. He looked at her with no small amount of confusion. Then a snicker came from him. Gently shaking his head, he picked her up.

“I got my work cut out for me in this Grail War, huh?” He asked himself.

When Atsuko woke up, she found herself in a tree. She looked down and saw she was about fifteen feet up. The morning rays of the sun shone through the canopy of surrounding trees. She rubbed her eyes and softly yawned. Atsuko was used to being in trees like this. But she’d never woken up in one before. What was more worrying is that her dreams were a tad disturbing. Before she could reflect on them however, she heard a voice to her left.

“Rise and shine, little Master! The sun is up. We have a lot to do today.”

She turned and looked up to find a lanky man clad in various shades of green. The same man from her dream. Or rather, from last night. Her eyes widened at the realization. She leaned away from him at first, but she couldn’t go too far without falling. The man seemed to notice her apprehension. He put on a kind smile and sat down on his branch.

“No need to be so weary. I am here to serve you. You summoned me last night, remember? I am an Archer Servant.”

“Archer… Servant?” Atsuko asked with a shy demeanor.

“Yes. An archer. My true identity is Robin Hood. Leader of the Merry Men.”

Atsuko thought about his name. She’d heard some tales of the Englashman. But not enough to really know anything about him. Still, she couldn’t deny he had some charm to him. His smile was bright and happy.

“Robin Hood… That doesn’t make sense. He’s fake. Not a real person. You can’t possibly be him, right?” She asked with confusion.

“Ah, alas, you are mistaken, my dear Master. I am the one and only. I steal from the rich and give to the poor! And given by your ragged clothing, I’d say you are in dire need of both my services, and The Holy Grail.” Robin responded with boldness and pride. Though he wasn’t bragging. He was just stating his noble deeds.

“But how is… I don’t… The Holy Grail? And why do you keep calling me your Master?”

“It’s quite simple, really. Whether you know it or not, you are a mage. Your magic circuits are obviously atrophied from disuse. But you forced them open last night to summon me. I am now yours to do with as you please. As for the Grail…” Robin then went on to explain everything to her the best he could. From the Grail and its wish to the other Servants and the war she found herself in. This again proved too much for her head. Atsuko felt dizzy again. But Robin put a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, you look a little sick. You holdin’ up ok champ?”

“Y-Yeah… I’m just hungry. I haven't eaten in a long time.” Her stomach then growled like a cornered animal. Robin looked at her with pity and sighed.

“I figured that. Thankfully, I am a great hunter! I caught some rabbits last night and skinned them. I also made a small fire to cook them. They should be done any minute now!”

Robin then stood up on the branch and stepped over to her branch. He grabbed her by the arms and hoisted her up. Making sure she was secure in his arms, he hopped down to the earth. The orange haired man carried her to a nearby campfire and set her down. Just above the flames were two rabbits. Each one was skinned and cooked to perfection. Atsuko’s mouth drooled at the sight of fresh meat.

Robin Hood sauntered over to the fire and picked up one of the rabbits. Grabbing it tight, he pulled it off and handed it to her. Atsuko’s starving maw opened up to tear into the warm flesh. Her teeth sunk into the rabbit and tore off a piece of meat. Eagerly she chewed and swallowed. She repeated this over and over until she licked every scrap of meat from every bone. All the while Robin watched and chuckled to himself.

“Guess I underestimated how hungry you really are. Here, kid, take my rabbit too. Since I’m a Servant, I don’t need to eat.” Robin said before handing her the second rabbit. Atsuko immediately tore into it and scarfed the whole thing down in a matter of minutes.

“Thank you, sir! This means so much!” Atsuko gave him a genuine smile. With a new burst of energy, she ran up to Robin and gave him a hug.

“Don’t mention it, kid.” Robin smiled and gently patted her head. “Now, if you don’t mind, could you tell me your name? I can call you, kid or Master. But I’d prefer to know the name of the young mage who summoned me!”

“My name? My… My name is Atsuko. Atsuko Aiuchi.” She said sheepishly. “It’s been a while since anyone asked for my name.”

“Well, Atsuko, our contract is now officially complete! I am yours to do with as you wish.” He bowed to her and put his right hand over his heart.

“I can have you do anything…?”

“Anything within my abilities. But those should help.” Robin pointed to her right hand. She looked down at the back of her hand. On her pale skin were red marks. It was two semi circles intersecting. Like an unfinished venn diagram. In the center of them was a strange eye looking symbol.

“Those, my dear Master, are command seals. With them I can surpass my limits for an extra boost of power. You can also have me do things I wouldn’t do. But you only have three of them. So use them with wisdom.” As Robin spoke, the red stigmata began to glow.

“Okay… well, can I order you without them?” She asked as she scratched the stigmata. It itched for some reason.

“Yeah, you can. But I’m not gonna listen to you if you order me to do something I don’t want to. But I get the feeling that we have similar values. So I don’t think we need to worry about that. So, Master, what are your orders?”

“I don’t know… You got me food and I’m happy about that. I guess I could get some new clothes.”

“Consider it done. By the time I’m done, you’ll look like a queen! I only steal from the rich, remember?” He said with a proud smile and a flip of his cape.

“You really are Robin Hood… aren’t you?”

He gave her a wink and spun around in dramatic fashion. Looking back at her, Robin Hood gave her a thumbs up. His green hood flipped up to cover his face. Once on, his body became invisible. A gust of wind hit her as the archer bounded away into the trees.

Atsuko gently sighed to herself. Looking around, she found a decently sized rock and drug it close to the dying campfire. She then plopped herself down on it and waited for her Servant to come back.

By the time he returned the sun was setting once again. Thankfully, it wasn’t a very cold day. So Atsuko was fine in her green hoodie. She had almost dozed off a few times. There was nothing to really do in this forest right now, nor a reason to leave it.

When Robin finally returned to her, he made his presence known by tapping her shoulder. But it seems he snuck up on her a little too well as she screeched and jumped off her rocky seat. She wildly spun around and picked up a rock to throw at him. Robin easily caught it and softly chuckled.

“Easy now, Master. It’s just me. No need to be so hostile.” Robin tossed the rock in his hand a few times before letting it fall to the ground.

“S-Sorry, Robin Hood. I didn’t hear you behind me.”

“No harm, no foul! Though I would prefer it if you called me by my class. Secrecy is important with Holy Grail Wars.”

“Right… You’re an Archer, right? That makes sense.”

“Yes yes. Now, I have a luxurious gift for you, Master! I ran into a rich young woman who graciously gave me one of her dresses. It also seems to be enchanted. It will protect you well.”

In his hands appeared a beautiful dark green dress, gloves, and shoes. It seemed to shift in size until it was the perfect fit for her. Robin kneeled down and handed it to her. She took it from him and admired how beautiful it was. The skirt of the dress was a reasonable length and it had cute, puffy shoulders. It all had a regal pattern and that seemed to change and morph every second.

She started to put on the gloves herself. But the entire outfit floated up and fitted itself to her. The material looked uncomfortable to wear, but when it flew onto it, Atsuko found it was as soft as silk. It also seemed to clean her as well. Her long orange hair was tied into a single braid that fell over her left shoulder and a pleasant, piney aroma wafted off of her.

“W-Wow! Archer, this is amazing! I wish I could thank the lady who let you take this!” She said with a giddy smile.

“Well, Master, Something tells me that she won’t be too keen on seeing me ever again, nor seeing you in that dress. I may or may not have forcefully taken this from her. But that Russian bitch had it coming. So my conscience is clear.” Robin shook his head and pulled a small cigarette and lighter from his back pocket. With a flick of his thumb, the zippo lighter sparked and flames wreathed the end of the toxic stick. Putting it to his lips, he quickly inhaled and blew out smoke.

Chapter Text

Wind rushed through the treetops as the invisible man bounded along. In an instant he moved over one hundred feet. From branch to branch he jumped and leaped with incredible dexterity. He was heading north and away from the city. There were mountains nearby and he wanted to see if he could climb them to get a good look at the city.

As he continued, however, he noticed a drastic change in temperature. So sudden was this shift that in one moment, he was in relatively warm air, and the next he was in bone chilling cold. This caused him to stop and land on the ground. He took a moment to breathe and noticed that he could see his own breath.

He looked up and took in the feeling of the cold. He’d never felt anything like this back in England. It felt like if he took even a single step forward, he’d be completely frozen. Yet, he shook his head and took that step.

The further north he went, the colder it got. A strong draft of wind blew south and threatened to tear off his cloak of invisibility. But the Noble Phantasm couldn’t be thrown from him so easily. Though the wind and cold slowed him down, he still trudged forward. Even when it started to snow.

The white flakes came down hard. It almost seemed like it was snowing sideways into his eyes. This sudden blizzard was obviously the work of magecraft. If the drastic change of weather wasn’t enough, he could feel the electric charge of mana in each snowflake.

He clutched his cloak to his chest tighter and continued forward until he came across a massive structure. About only one hundred yards away, was a magnificent white palace with green and gold roofs. Along the eastern ridge was a long wall made of what seemed to be red brick. At the end of the long walls that surrounded the palace, were several towers, topped with colorful, spiraling domes. The gates of this massive fortress were seemingly open. Taking a breath, he made his way to the massive doors. Just as he reached them, they closed shut and a feminine voice rung out from inside the walls.

“Halt, Servant! Come any closer and you will be blown away by frost and wind.”

He stopped in his tracks and looked up at the massive red walls in shock. There is no way any mage could have detected him with his cloak on. Unless…

“Take off that cloak of yours and state your business at my palace. Not even the most skilled thieves can enter here without my permission. So don’t even try deception.” The voice echoed out in the snowy forest with a heavy Russian accent.

Robin was at a loss for words. He looked up at the imposing walls and fidgeted with annoyance. Turning back now was not an option. He’d freeze to death if he did. His only option was to try to enter this castle. With a reluctant sigh, he reached up to his hood and pulled it down. His form became visible with a green flare. The Archer Servant waited anxiously for approval. The feminine voice rang out once again.

“You may enter. But know if you try anything while in this palace, it will be your grave.” The large doors then slowly opened for the Archer. With a clenched fist, Robin Hood walked into the red fortress.

He was greeted by a grand staircase. The hall was white and gold with red carpet and rugs. This type of environment would feel warm. But even inside, it was cold. The only source of heat was a fireplace on the left wall. Robin held his hands to the fire. But that too was not nearly as warm as it should have been. Still, he was at least not freezing. Before he could sufficiently warm up, he heard the sound of doors opening and heels on the floor.

Above him, at the top of the staircase was a young looking woman in regal clothing. Her dress was completely white, as was her skin. It was hard to see where the dress ended and where her skin started. So ivory white was she that it was hard to look at her directly at first glance. When his vision adjusted to take in her form, he noticed a very light blue, fur cape she wore on her shoulders. Along with this, she wore an intricate crown on her head. It seemed to be woven together like a basket. The last notable thing about her was the strange, black doll she held close to her chest. It had no face, but realistic blonde hair and a dress of brown leaves.

The young woman looked sternly down at him. She reeked of powerful magecraft… no, this was something more. Something oddly familiar. It felt like Fae magic. The magic of England. But much, much colder. Robin stared back at her with an anxious face. He waited for her to speak to him first. It felt like he couldn’t open his mouth until she did. That felt very wrong.

“I know what you are. But that means you also know what I am.” She spoke as she clutched her doll harder. “Let’s not beat around the bush. I am a Caster Servant. What, is your class, man dressed in green?”

Now that she had spoken, he felt the seal on his lips break. “My class is Archer. Though that’s all you’re getting out of me.”

“An Archer? How quaint. I suppose I have nothing to worry about then.” She says with a sweet smile.

“Oh yeah? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“This is a castle, a fortress. You would be caught in winding halls. Archers are not very good in close quarters. Though as a Caster, my spells are quite versatile. I have no need to fear you like I thought.” Her Russian accent gave her words a chill that Archer didn't like at all. She felt too innocent.

“That's quite arrogant of you to say. You don't know anything about me. Not my true name, my skills, nor my Noble Phantasm. Besides, being extravagantly arrogant is my thing.”

“Arrogance? No… it is confidence. I know I have protection.” She gave another sweet smile and beckoned him further into the castle. The icey temperature left her.

Archer looked suspiciously at her as she left. But he didn't have much of a choice. Before he chased after her, he quickly swiped a precious looking thing from the mantle of the fireplace. He quickly pocketed it and pulled his cloak closer so he could have a little bit more warmth.

The archer followed right behind the regal woman. As they walked through the extravagant halls, Archer continued to steal precious gold and silver items. Thankfully his cloak masked the sound of all the metals clanging around in his pockets. Soon, they came into a large room. At the back and up a small incline stairs, was a scarlet and gold throne. On the back rest of the throne was a golden, two headed eagle. It was so extravagant and brilliant. Archer had only seen one throne as beautiful before.

“I take it you come from royalty?” Archer said with a scoff.

“Indeed.” She nodded and turned around to sit on her throne. The young woman put the black doll in her lap and studied her guest. Her eyes pierced him deep. Archer didn’t like it at all. Despite her calm and innocent demeanor, she had a certain sense of danger to her. Her mana was still incredibly strong. That alone he could sense, even as an Archer. Her gaze laxed and she gave him a smile before continuing her speech.

“In fact, I am a Tzarevna. Tzarevna Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanov.”

“You told me your true name? What the hell? Aren’t we supposed to keep that sorta stuff hidden?” Archer yelled in disbelief that she both told him her name and who she really is.

“Does it matter? I am sure you would have figured it out eventually. This fortress is the most recognizable building in all Russia. You are in the Kremlin. I have territorial advantage here, Archer. You couldn’t hope to kill me here. Now, I suggest you hand back all those things you stole from me.”

Archer gasped in surprise and took a step back from her. He eyed her with suspicion and tried to figure out how she knew he was sneakily grabbing things. Before he could speak, she smiled and sweetly giggled.

“Must I remind you that you’re in my territory? I can sense and control everything in here. Of course I noticed your petty thievery. Now let’s see… an Archer who steals and wears green. There is only one person who fits that description. It appears you are the famous Englishman, Robin Hood.”

“How the hell…?” Robin grit his teeth and continued to back away from her. His fists clenched with frustration. “You got me figured all out then. I'll return what’s yours then. Seems you’ve put me in check.” He sighed and emptied all his pockets. Anastasia grinned with satisfaction as she stood from her throne. Robin kept his eyes forward, but he looked around for exits. There was only one at the very back of the room.

“I still know something you don’t though, my dear princess.” Robin smirked and held up his hands. Slowly backing away from the royal as she neared her things. On his right hand, he summoned his crossbow and a small orb.

“And what is this thing I don’t know, Robin Hood?” She asked as she held out her doll. It started to glow a bright blue and the treasures disappeared. Robin then recognized something. The girl had barely any magic at all. All that fae stench was coming from the doll.

With a cocky smile, he clenched the orb tighter in his palm. “I have help! Oh Merry Men!” Robin yelled with vibrato before slamming the orb down at her feet. It exploded in blinding and choking smoke. Anastasia yelped and started coughing while Robin bounded away and out of the room. He pulled his cloak over him and launched himself off the walls and halls. Zipping through the castle as fast as he could. He was alone for only a minute before he heard her voice screeching through the halls.

“You bastard! To think I was going to be kind to you! You won’t leave this fortress alive!” She cried with what sounded like actual hurt in her voice. Robin continued to run like the wind through the labyrinth of corridors. He was looking for the front doors, but he couldn’t leave empty handed. As he ran, he spotted several important looking doors. Each one made with gold. Robin stopped at one of them. He tried to open them, but they wouldn’t budge. So he knocked a red arrow into his crossbow and fired. Upon contact with the door, it exploded. Sending the golden doors flying open. Robin knew she heard that from the yelling in the halls. So he quickly ran in,

What he found was what seemed to be a dressing room. Several vanity tables were aligned on the walls. In the back, he found a rack of several expensive looking dresses. Robin scooped up any golden things he could find. Quickly taking off his hood, he reached to grab a beautiful green dress. He quickly pocketed it and turned around only to find Anastasia standing in the doorway.

“That’s far enough, Robin Hood!” She yelled as several sharp icicles appeared behind her. “ I will not let you steal from me! How dare you betray my hospitality like this?”

“A thief does what he needs to survive, princess. Not all of us can stay cooped up in our fancy castles!”

“I will give you one last chance to surrender, Robin Hood! I grew up with the stories and tales about you. I didn’t want to think you were as bad as the books said!” She yelled as tears started to well in her eyes.

“Sorry, your highness, but I’m not your Robin Hood. I’m a liar, a thief, and a beggar. I have no sympathy for you and your supposed plight.” He then raised his crossbow and shot at the icicles with extreme precision.

She flinched at the arrows. Two were aiming right for her eyes. But the doll in her arms sprung to life. It erected a barrier of ice before her. The arrows pierced the ice, but couldn’t make their way through. Robin knocked another red arrow and fired. The wall shattered against the small exposition and Robin ran forward. With a jump, he kicked the stunned princess in the head. With a smirk he pulled his hood over and ran down the halls again.

Robin made significant progress this time. With his speed and invisibility, he stole more and more gold before coming to the main doors of the castle. Robin ran to them and tried to push them open. But they were frozen solid. He was trapped and Anastasia wouldn’t be far behind. Thinking quickly, He fired several arrows around the large room. Using some magic string, he tied up all the gold he had and strung it up at the ceiling. He then ran back to the doors and pounded on it.

Anastasia arrived with a fury. She and her doll had several ice spells ready and aimed at his head. “It’s over, Robin Hood! This is where you meet your end in this Holy Grail War!”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, princess!” Robin called back as he kneeled down and charged his crossbow with mana.

Anastassia let out a yell and fired all the ice at him. Robin slammed his crossbow down and all the arrows in the room glowed green before exploding. The green flames broke the ice spears before they could reach him. He then grabbed the little invisible string and went to pull it, but a black mass slammed against his chest and sent him flying into the frozen doors. When the smoke and fire cleared, Robin spotted a large, black, smokey mass hovering behind Anastasia at the top of the grand staircase.

The princess took a step forward and wiped tears from her face. “I thought we could work together. But no. It seems I must rely on only those I can trust. Those like me. Who won’t stop for anyone else. Viy, kill him!”

The black mass raised one of its smokey arms and reached forward to crush Robin. With gritted teeth and pain in his ribs, he knocked a yellow arrow and aimed at Anastasia. Her black creature had no time to react to save her. So the yellow arrow hit her chest and sent an electric shock in her. Lightning crackled and fried her. She fell to the ground and her dark companion stopped its attack on Robin to check on her. It pulled the arrow out of her chest and started to tend to her. It looked back at him with what seemed like hate. He couldn't tell because its two light blue orbs that Robin thought were eyes showed no emotion.

Robin coughed and stood up, clutching his chest. Anastasia slowly roused and weakly tried to support herself. He grabbed the invisible string once again and prepared to pull. But he didn’t just yet. He couldn’t help but to give one last quip.

“Thing is, princess, you work well with people. But I’m a lone wolf. If you don’t get some support soon, well you’ll be as dead as you were when those soviets shot you and your family.” Robin yanked on the string and the trap he set sprung into action. The mass of stolen gold that hung at the ceiling detached and swung down. It would have hit her if her familiar didn’t yank her out of the way. Robin took a step to his left and turned to watch the battering ram slam into the frozen doors. It smashed them open and sent the trinkets flying. Robin chuckled to himself and pulled a cigarette and a zippo lighter out of his pockets. Lighting it up, he took a drag and walked out of the castle. He picked up the golden trinkets and waved.

“Da svidaniya, bitch.” Robin called as he pulled his hood over his head and turned invisible. With a grunt, he jumped over the red brick wall that surrounded the castle. The endless snowstorm started to die down around him. With a nod and a chuckle, he pulled out the green dress he stole and started to run from the mystic fort.

“I know just the person for you~”

Chapter Text

Hektor sighed as he closed the door to his Master’s car. The cut’s Beowulf inflicted in him started to hurt under the surface of his skin. But his body was slowly healing itself. The Heroic Spirit turned to the man in the driver’s seat and stretched.

“So, Hektor, how did things go for you? Did you manage to kill the Berserker?” Sebastian asked as he put the car in drive and put his foot to the gas.

“Nadda. His Master ordered him to retreat. I’m confident I can kill him in a proper fight though. Neither of us went all out in our little scuffle. I did learn his true name though. Wanna know his secret, Master?” Hektor leaned back into the chair and buckled his seatbelt.

“You figured out Berserker’s identity?” Sebastian asked with awe.

“Sure did! Turns out our Berserker is actually Beowulf. Seems he doesn't need madness enhancement. Seeing as he can speak and all.” Hektor laughed, but winced in pain and grabbed his side. Sebastian saw Hektor’s pain, but ignored it and focused on the road.

“Beowulf, eh? He could be a problem. Not that I doubt you, Lancer. But he doesn’t die easily.”

“Eh? Ya say you don’t doubt me, but that tone in your voice says otherwise.”

“Well not to antagonize you, but I can see you in pain. That means he must have at least hit you. If we wish to win this Holy Grail War, you can’t be taking unnecessary damage.” He said with a scoff.

“That’s a tad harsh. That was just a skirmish anyway. Nothin’ to worry about! I can be serious when I need to be. Let’s just get back to your apartment. These old bones don’t want to deal with another little skirmish, ya know?”

Sebastian sighs with annoyance. A Servant that doesn’t want to fight? That’s worse than a Servant that wants to kill you. At least then they have motivation to do something. Sebastian shook his head and sped up the Porsche.

As they drove back through Fuyuki, they made one last round of the Mauto and Tohsaka homes. Strangely, they couldn’t sense anything from the Mauto home. The place felt dead and empty. They didn’t have time to worry about that though. Quickly, they made their way to the outskirts of the Tohsaka estate. The car idled on a hill above the courtyard.

Sebastian and Hektor sat for a few minutes as they looked down on the large home. Two strong magical energy signatures could be felt even from this distance. Whoever was in there, both Master and Servant, were very powerful. But Hektor seemed to be disgruntled. Seeing this discomfort, Sebastian piped up.

“What is displeasing you, Lancer?”

“Something about this… it seems familiar. One of the signatures here feels like something I have felt before.” He said with a low grumble. “I have a suspicion, Master. I have a feeling that whoever the Tohsaka Master summoned, is someone I’ve met before.”

“Is that a problem, Lancer? Fighting someone from your past in Troy?”

“Hopefully not. Many from the war are eligible for the Throne of Heroes. But I can best any mortal man. Achaean or Dardanian.”

“Well you’ll get to test that theory later, Lancer. As for now, we should be getting back home. If you go into spirit form, you should be able to heal yourself faster.”

Hektor nodded to his Master. His visage shimmered and waved out of existence with a blue light. Sebastian pushed the car along, away from the Tohsaka home. Though he didn’t get very far before he noticed a green neon light in his rearview mirror.

No matter how fast Sebastian pushed the Porsche, the green light neared closer and closer. Looking at the dashboard on the car, he quickly pressed buttons that made the trunk open. Out of it, several spells fired and buzzed out. In Sebastian’s mind, Hektor piped up with confusion.

“Master? What are ya doin?”

“Someone is on our tail. They aren’t hiding their presence either. Either they’re confident, or stupid.”
“I’ll put my money on stupid.” Hektor said with a chuckle. The spells slammed into and exploded on contact with the green light. but nothing hindered it or slowed it down. It continued its approach with increasing speed. As it neared, Sebastian could feel its presence more and more in his core. It made his chest tighten and hindered his breathing.

“Lancer! I need you again! You can sense it as well, can’t you? It's a Servant! Tohsaka’s Servant. Delay it. By its speed, it’s probably a Rider. A human can’t move this fast on their own! Even if they are a Heroic Spirit!”

“You’d be surprised, Master. Good thing I’ve made some progress on my healing. I’ll get rid of ‘em easy.” Hektor appeared on the trunk of the Porsche, his red cape blowing in the wind. With spear in hand, he crouched down to get a better look at his opponent.

Inside the green cocoon of mana, Hektor could spot three horses hitched to a large silver chariot. The horse on his right was a bright white, the one on his left was a dark black, and the final horse in the middle was a light brown. Two of them radiated with divine mana. Something he hadn’t felt in a very long time. The chariot also seemed familiar as well. So familiar that it made his head hurt.

Then, there in the chariot, stood a man clad in silver, greek armor. An orange sash wrapped around his chest and flowed behind him in the wind. His hair was long and light green. With his left hand, he held the reins to his horses. No doubt he was a Rider. In his right hand was a long black spear. The head was turquoise and it had a similar crossguard to his own. His amber eyes reflected ferocity and his toothy grin made him look all the more dangerous. But it seemingly turned into a frown. As if in recollection. Over the sounds of the car, the chariot, and wind, the two warriors spoke the same words together.

“No way… It’s you!”

The man in the chariot growled and raised his spear. “Hektor!”

Hektor growled as well with anger and tensed his legs to jump off the trunk. With all the strength he could muster, he launched himself over the chariot to thrust his spear at the man. As the golden blade of his spear neared the man’s throat, Hektor yelled with a roar.

“Achilles!”
In a split second, the man reached over with his spear to redirect Hektor’s spear. It grazed his cheek, leaving a small cut. He looked down in surprise, but quickly regained his focus as Hektor landed on his chariot. The Trojan turned and swiped at the man with fury. The other warrior used his spear to block Hektor again. With a twist, Hektor’s spear shortened into a sword. It was better to use in such a close situation like this. A spear would be too unwieldy here.

Despite this supposed limitation, the Greek warrior spun and twirled his spear with grace. Matching every angry slash and strike Hektor gave him. However, he couldn’t focus on his chariot while matching Hektor. Causing his vehicle to run off a hill from a sharp turn. But it didn’t fall. Instead, it started to rise in the air. Because of the quickly sharpening angle, Hektor had to grab onto the front end of the chariot. That didn’t stop him from making one last downward stab at his enemy’s neck. Of course, the man blocked it with his armored arm.

The green haired man finally broke the silence of their furious battle. Deep hate in his voice for his opponent. “Damn Trojan! What the hell are you doing here?”

With the same hate, Hektor responded. “Achilles, Peleus’ Son… I should ask you the same thing!”

In the same breath, they spoke the same words again. “How did a bastard like you get accepted into the Throne of Heroes?”

They stared at each other in silence. Trying to understand how the other was even here. This time, Hektor broke the deadlock by whipping his sword out of Achilles’ grip and slashing down at his left hand. Achilles let go of the reins of his chariot and fell backwards. The silver chariot disappeared under Hektor’s feet and he fell as well.

The older warrior expected to be falling to trees or into the empty streets below. But instead, he found himself in the tall skyscrapers of the city. Below him, Achilles smiled and whistled. His chariot reappeared and collected him. It carried him away in a neon green streak. Hektor wasn’t so lucky. As he fell, he scanned his surroundings. The nearest building was only ten feet away. Sheathing his sword, he cocked back his right, armored arm. From his elbow, sprung rocket exhaust. It propelled him to the concrete structure where Hektor slowed his descent.

Once he got a proper grip, he stopped himself and launched himself up the five story tall building in a single breath. Landing on the roof, he ran to the center and drew his sword. Hektor extended it back into a spear and watched the sky with his olive green eyes. Streaks of neon green appeared in the sky like a shooting star. It was going faster than even he could keep track of. Gripping his spear, he called out to the stars and anyone who could hear.

“ACHILLES! COME DOWN HERE AND FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!”

After a few seconds of silence, thunder struck behind Hektor. He spun around to find the silver chariot. It crackled with lighting and steam rose from the wheels. Achilles disembarked as it disappeared. With his crackling spear in hand, he stepped to Hektor.

“You called, old man?” He asked with a cocky smile. Achilles raised his spear and pointed it at Hektor’s heart. Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē, The Spear of The Star Traversing Skies. How Hektor loathed it. With a grimace, he used his own spear to slap away the turquoise one.

“What class are you, Hektor? Saber, or Lancer? You have both your sword and spear.” Achilles said with a scoff.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Hah, watch that tongue, old man. I might just cut it out!”

“You youngins should respect your elders. Though I doubt that centaur taught you any manners.” Hektor shot back with venom.

“You’re different, Hektor. I thought I was supposed to be the angry one?”

“When your city is burned down, you tend to have rage fill your heart. Besides, are ya tellin me you’re not mad? I can see that anger in your eyes. You're a bad actor.”

“Like you’re any better than me! Come on, Hektor! Let’s do this! I can’t wait to put you into the ground again!”

“Things will be different this time, Hero of Troy. I can assure you that.” Hektor growled.
The two took their battle stances. Crouching down to center their gravity and gripping their spears with both hands. Hektor stared Achilles down and took a deep breath. He gathered some mana to his head and summoned a bronze helmet. It had intricate designs engraved into the bronze. The crest took the form of a horse head. Achilles stared at it for a moment. Seemingly caught off guard by it.

“Breakin’ out the old gear, eh?”

“Yeah. I only use it when I kill demigods.” With that, Hektor ran forward and thrust at Achilles' chest. The lightning fast demigod countered with a thrust of his own. Metal scraped against metal with a horrible screech. Their spears stopped only when they reached each other’s crossguard. They both then pulled back and thrust again. Repeating the same actions over and over again. The sound of a sonic boom ringing out in the city with each clash.

Achilles ended the nothingness of the thrusts by backstepping and slashing his spear horizontally. Hektor was carried with the momentum of his strike and got caught off balance. Achilles took advantage and stabbed down at Hektor’s back. The older warrior wouldn’t let that happen. So he pushed into his momentum and rolled out of Achilles reach. Leaving his opponent’s spear in the rooftop. Hektor spun around and slashed at Achilles' neck. His spear had a longer reach, so it should connect.

Seeing this, the Greek let go of his spear and jumped back out of reach. Hektor didn’t let up his assault. He pressed on and started throwing thrusts that were as fast as the wind. Achilles held up his fists and dodged the thrust while moving back. He tried to hold out his hand to call Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē back to him. But each time, Hektor would slash at his hand. Soon, Hektor caught Achilles trying to reach and was able to make a small cut in his palm. He couldn't continue like this. He would fall off the building if he did. So he lowered his shoulder and held his left arm to his chest. Hektor saw this as an opportunity and thrust for his heart. But Achilles had an ace up his sleeve.

On his left arm, with neon green light, appeared a silver shield that had geometric lines which lead to the center. These lines glowed every color imaginable. It blocked every thrust Hektor’s spear delivered with ease. Hektor had seen this shield before. It was made by the smith god, Hephasteus. The only other shield to best his spear. This was undoubtedly another one of Achilles’ Noble Phantasms. This was Akhilleus Kosmos.

Hektor couldn’t beat this legendary shield. So he had to get around it. The Trojan jumped up and with a twist. Sent three thrusts down with his spear. But Achilles had him beat. He raised his shield to block them and spun around to block the new thrusts Hektor was trying to send.

“You’re just tiring yourself out, Hektor! That spear, Durindana, is formidable. But it’ll never-”

“Shut up!” Hektor yelled and struck directly into the center of the shield. The strength of his attack sent Achilles flying back. But the demigod landed and dug his heels in. He just so happened to stop right where his spear was. Achilles laughed and let his shield disappear. He picked up his spear with swagger. The demigod was right. He was tiring himself out. Thankfully, this brief pause let him use his Disengage skill to refill his mana and stamina.

Hektor stepped forward with a huff. “You have so many Noble Phantasms. Your spear, your shield, your immortality, and your chariot. How?” Hektor demanded. This was unfair. Achilles had access to every Noble Phantasm he had in life. But Hektor only had his spear.

“You’re missing one more. Dromeus Komētēs. My natural ability to always be the fastest person on the battlefield. I have all these because I’m a Rider. You don’t have your other Noble Phantasms because of your limited container. By the way, I feel like you’re in Lancer, right? You’re fighting better with Durindana Pilum.”

“Damn you…” Hektor sighed and wiped some sweat from his brow. “Even in death, the god’s couldn’t help but favor you. If only Ares gave me his blessing before our duel.”

“Ares is a coward. We both know that. Honestly, the gods on your side were pitiful compared to ours. Guessed it sucked to be a Trojan, huh?”

“Dardanian…” Hektor corrected under his breath.

“What was that?” Achilles asked with that same cocky smile.

“Nothin’. Just thinking about how best to kill you here.”

“Don’t get cocky, old man.”

“Says the kettle.” Hektor shoots back before lunging at him again. Achilles nodded. He raised his spear again. They clashed again and again. Achilles kept the same smile on his face. As they rapidly thrusted and slashed at each other, the Greek used his speed to keep Hektor on the backfoot. This was a mistake however. Hektor was good at offence, but he was much better at defence. Despite Achilles’ blinding speed, Hektor’s natural ability to defend kept the demigod in check.

With a last slash from Achilles, Hektor grabbed his spear with both hands and pushed it at Achilles’ chest. He countered this with a two handed push as well. Their spears locked in a bind. Diatrekhōn Astēr Lonkhē was pointed down and Durindana was pointed up. Hektor pushed with all his might, but no matter what, he wasn’t stronger than the demigod. In one last effort to gain the upper hand, Hekor shot the rocket exhaust out of the elbow of his right arm. This let him push back just as hard. But Achilles didn’t let up. Neon green lightning cracked on his silver vambraces and he pushed harder with his right hand. This caused his spear to bend around Durindana and smack Hektor in the skull.

This stunned the Trojan and he stepped back. Achilles followed this up with a strike to Hektor’s chin with the butt of his spear. Hektor was dizzy, but he could sense another attack. So he jumped back to try and avoid it. He couldn’t escape it completely. At first, he didn’t even notice it from the adrenaline. But he had received a long slash from his right shoulder to his left hip. He blinked a few times to regain his positioning. It was only now he realized that he was on the edge of the roof. Achilles had a satisfied smile on his face. The right side of his lance was covered in blood.

“You’re getting rusty, old man. I remember you putting up a much better fight before!”

“Hah… maybe age is catching up with me.” Hektor heaved a breath. With a smile, Achilles creeped closer and closer to Hektor.

“Nah, that aint it. Guess it’s your class letting you down. To be honest, Hektor, I didn’t really want another duel with you. Especially if you were gonna die so easy. But fate can’t favor us all.” Achilles neared ever closer. His spear would be no good at this range. Hekor could tell he wanted to push him off the building. It was perfectly dramatic for him.

Achilles put his hand on Hektor’s shoulder and gripped it hard. Behind his back, Hektor swapped Durindana from his right hand to his left. “Let’s face it though. The moment I was summoned into this Grail War, everybody else died. Nobody can beat Swift-Footed Achilles.”

Hektor scoffed and looked him in the eye. “My brother did.” That caught Achilles off guard and wounded his pride. Quickly, Hektor choked up on his spear, switched it to a short sword, and stabbed it into the bicep of Achilles’ left arm. The unbreakable sword’s conceptual properties kicked in and sliced past the demigod’s immortality. Achilles yelled out in pain and reeled back. Hektor pulled his sword out and cocked his right fist back. Flames burst from his elbow and slammed into Achilles’ cheek. It did no real damage, but it stunned him and sent him flying off the other end of the building.

Hektor sighed and sheathed his sword. He pressed a hand to the long cut on his body. Blood leaked out of him and started to stain his green tunic. Once again, his Disengage skill healed him of his surface wounds. “Two fights in one night? This Grail War is starting off great.” Hektor turned around and disappeared into his spirit form.

Sebastian turned off his car and stepped out of it. He had heard the sounds of Servant battles in the city. That was never a good sign. The mage shook his head and rode the elevator up to his penthouse. He pushed back his brown hair and stepped into his home in Fuyuki. At first, he didn’t notice it, but he spotted Lancer at the window wall. One of the windows was open and he was leaning out of it. His Servant heard him enter and turned around. A lit cigar was in his mouth and a glass of whisky in his left hand. He took the cigar out with his right hand and smiled. “Hope ya don’t mind me smokin’, Master.”

“Not at all, Lancer. Do what you need to do.” Sebastian said with a nod as he poured himself a glass of whisky. “I take it you dealt with the Rider?”

“Hah… I got good news and bad news, Sebastian.” Lancer said as he walked to the counter.

“Tell me.” The mage said as he led them to the floor couch. There, they sat down and turned on the tv for background noise. The news was talking about how many people had frozen to death recently. The news anchor was warning people to keep their windows locked at night due to the lower temperatures.

“I handled the Rider. I learned his true identity as well.”
“And what is that, Lancer?” Sebastian asked with a raised eyebrow.

“The Rider is Achilles. The Hero of Troy.”

Chapter Text

Hideyoshi slowly roused from his sleep as the morning rays lit up the small bedroom he found himself in. His eyes fluttered open and took in the warm scene. With a soft sigh, he stretched and turned around on the floor. What the young man was met with certainly made him blush. The bright light of the sun illuminated beautiful and pale skin. Lightish red hair fell down her chin and neck. Her chest gently rose and fell with each breath. Hideyoshi almost forgot about everything that happened last night. But the fact her arms were still wrapped around him proved everything was real.

He felt his cheeks grow warm as he continued to admire her from such a close distance. Hideyoshi didn’t know why, but he felt his heart start to beat faster. His breath got warmer as well as he stared at her lips. This was the first time he really got a good look at his Servant. His chest tightened and felt something flutter in his stomach. Slowly, he reached his hands to wrap around her form. His movement seemed to rouse Musashi though. So he quickly pulled himself away from her as she woke from her slumber.

With grogginess in her voice, she spoke to her Master. “Good morning, Yoshi. Hmm… what time is it?”

Hideyoshi sat up and turned his back to her so she couldn’t see his flushed face. Before answering her, he looked around and grabbed his glasses off the floor. “Not sure. But it looks like the sun rose about an hour ago. I’d say it’s about eight in the morning.” He said as he put his glasses back on. The enchanted spectacles changed his eyes back to a more natural looking brown.

Musashi softly yawned and stretched out. She then breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. She leaned back to crack her back. A warm smile came to her face and she reached out a hand to help Hideyoshi up. He took her hand and stood up. His cheeks had cooled down and he cleared his throat.

“I’m thirsty, Master. And hungry. I doubt this place has any fresh food though. Maybe we can find a nice marketplace!” It had only been a minute since she woke, but she was bright eyed and bushy tailed.

“We can find one, yeah. But I have no money left. I used all of my allowance to buy a ticket to Japan and for my hotel room last night.” He sighed and turned his pockets inside out.

“So?” She asked curiously.

“So? Without money, I can’t buy us food, Musashi!”

“Yeah, I get that. But what’s stopping you from getting money?”

“Well, I don’t have a job. I’ve never had a job, really. Usually my parents just pay for everything I need. I don’t think they’ll be too happy to hear I ran away to Japan. Well, maybe my mom would be a little proud, but that’s not the point!”

“I still don’t see what the issue is. Yoshi.” She started, before putting a hand on her hip. “If you need to work to get money, then let’s go do some odd jobs!” The Servant smiled and grabbed his hand. She pulled him along, through, and out of the old house.

Musashi took him to look for another map of the city. Thankfully, there seemed to be a lot of them. Even in residential districts like this. Once they found out where they were, they headed down to the grocery market. It was a pretty long walk. At least for an unathletic guy like Hideyoshi. In total, it really only took them about an hour or so to make it there. Many different scents filled his nose as they walked through the market. A lot of them, he couldn’t identify.

“I hope they have a western restaurant or cafe here. I don’t know if I can eat any of the Japanese stuff. The most I’ve ever had is ramen.” He sighs and looks around for a place like he wants. But to no avail. All the places to eat on this side of town are all Japanese.

“Oh come on, Yohsi! You’re in a foreign country and all you can think about is home? This is a chance for adventure and exploration! You won’t get any authentic dishes anywhere else! I say it’s time you broaden your horizons! Besides, it’s not like you can pay to be a picky eater right now~” She sweetly smiles and hooks an arm around her Master. Hideyoshi relents and shakes his head slowly.

“I guess you’re right. Maybe we can find something that I would like. I guess I’ll have to trust your judgement, Saber.”
“That’s what I like to hear!” She smiles at her Master and drags him along again. Musashi found a nice, small little sit-down restaurant near the Fuyuki bridge. Being an Englishman, he couldn’t speak Japanese very well. So whatever he said in English, Musashi translated for him. They explained to the shop owners that they were new in town and didn’t have any money, but that they would work to pay off their debt to them. The owners agreed and prepared a traditional Japanese breakfast for them. Some rice, soup, and what looked like cooked salmon.

Hideyoshi was hesitant at first. Especially with the salmon. But he swallowed his pride and began to eat. To his surprise, it was much better than he thought it would be! Mushashi gave him a smug smile. “Soooooo~? Is it good, Yoshi~?” She asked with a giggle.

“I have to admit… It is pretty good. I didn’t know you all ate so much for breakfast. I’m honestly used to some buttered toast and an egg.” He nodded to her as he wiped his mouth.

“Well of course we had a big breakfast! How else are you supposed to start the day? If you don’t eat that much, then you won’t have enough energy to do anything for the rest of the day! Breakfast is the most important meal!”

She nods back to him as she finishes her food. When they were both done, the old couple that owned the shop brought them back into the kitchens to wash their own dishes. Hideyoshi didn’t really know what he was doing, but Musashi pulled him close to teach him. While she did, he made an effort to record everything with his Mystic Eye. It glowed purple under his glasses as she showed him. Though he couldn’t help but look at her as she showed him what to do. Her hands were soft and warm on his. Once again a warmth came to his cheeks. Musashi didn’t seem to notice though.

The two worked together on the dishes for a few hours. The old couple smiled at them and kept letting them know how good they were doing, especially Musashi. Even during the lunch rush, Musashi cleaned the dishes much faster than Hideyoshi ever could. She was like a blur over the sinks. That must be only a fraction of how fast she can really move. After lunch had ended, the owners came over and handed them some Yen. Turns out they were so impressed with the two that they decided to give them a little bonus for their work.

Hideyoshi and Musashi tried to refuse, but the owners insisted. Musashi nodded to them and took her Master away before the owners changed their minds from Hideyoshi’s protests. “I can’t believe they gave us this much! This has to be close to all the money they made so far today!” He said as he pocketed the bills.

“They were super sweet! You know, if I wasn’t dedicated to the art of swordsmanship, I’d like to grow old like those two!” She said with admiration.

“Really? I didn’t take you for the romantic type, Saber.” He chuckled and walked with her across the large Fuyuki bridge. “Anyway, where should we go next? We have enough money to feed us for the next few days or so.”

She pondered her Master’s question for a moment. She then got an idea with a smile. “Oooh! We should go shopping! I’m pretty sure I saw a shopping district on this side of the bridge. We should get some clothes and some other things to bring home to our little makeshift base. Some futons would help.”

“I can agree with the futons and stuff like that. But do we really need new clothes?”

“Of course we do! You can’t expect to wear that school uniform for this entire grail war! Plus, I’d like to see what people wear nowadays! We can always make more money for food if we run out today.”

Hideyoshi sighed and conceded. “Alright, alright. Looks like we’re going shopping. Let’s just get home before dark.”

The two of them made their way through the tall skyscrapers in this side of town. There didn’t seem to be too many clothing shops here, but they did eventually find one tucked away in the labyrinth of streets. Musashi practically ran in there. Her Master dutifully followed her in and watched as she picked out some clothes. After a few minutes of her searching around, she went into the changing room. This didn’t take long either. Pretty soon, Musashi dramatically drew the curtain to reveal her new outfit.

“Looks pretty cute, right?” Her outfit was a red, shoulderless sweater that let him see her bra straps. She also had dark blue skinny jeans that she rolled up to her calves. Wedged sandals were on her feet and a red hair tie kept her lightish red hair up. Upon seeing her in this outfit, Hideyoshi was speechless. Another pink blush came to his cheeks.
“I’ll take that as a yes~” She said with a playful wink. “Now come on, let me pick out some clothes for you! You’re not a Servant, so you’ll need some winter clothes.” Before he had a chance to protest, she took him along and started picking out clothes. She had a pretty good eye for this sorta thing. Musashi pushed the new clothes into his arms and closed the curtain for him.

Hideyoshi sighed and shook his head. This all was happening so fast. He took a moment to breathe and sit down. He pulled his money out of his pocket and studied the paper. With how much money these clothes will be, they’ll only have enough food for dinner. Hideyoshi rubbed his temples before putting the money away and putting on the clothes Musashi picked out for him. She got a white, wool sweater and a large black winter coat that actually looked pretty British. Like something Sherlock Holmes would wear. That made him chuckle. He slid on some black pants with red and yellow plaid patterns on them. He laced some black winter boots and threw on a dark blue scarf with matching gloves.

When he stepped out of the dressing room, Musashi gasped and smiled with excitement. “That looks so good on you, Yoshi! Now you don’t look like some schoolboy who’s out of his depth. You look like a capable young man!”

“Hah, thanks, Musashi. The gloves were a good choice too. I can cover my command seals easier with them.” He nodded in appreciation to her. She pulled him into a warm hug and ruffled his hair. With their new clothes, they paid for them and slowly made their way back to the other side of town. By the time they got back to the residential district on the other side of town, the sun was on the brink of setting.

“You know, I had a fun time today, Master.” Musashi said as she leaned against him. “I’m not quite ready to go home yet, though. It’ll be night soon. Night is when Servants fight. So I think we should look around the other houses. Maybe we can try and find that Assassin from last night. If he’s still alive that is. There’s always a chance that he found a new mage to be his Master.”

“That sounds like a good idea. We should go north towards the richer looking houses. If there’s anything I learned at The Clocktower, it’s that the more powerful a mage is, the richer he is.” Hideyoshi offered her his hand with a smile. Musashi looked at his hand, then in his eyes. She took his hand and the two walked together.

The stars bloomed overhead and shone down on the pair as they walked through the gated community. It didn't take long at all for Hideyoshi to sense a hint of mana. Though he didn’t know where it was coming from. It was too faint to tell.

“You sense it too, right? Hell, I can even smell it. Smells like a wet dog and… Is that pine? Strange.” Hideyoshi pinched his nose at Musashi jokingly. He didn’t say it, but something else about this smell reminded him of home for some reason.

“I do smell it, Master. Smells like something inhuman. I can’t quite place my finger on it. But it’s definitely not a mage that made this.” She lifted her nose to the air and walked around. Even though she’s a Saber, she’s probably more in tune with this. So Hideyoshi followed her. As they continued to walk along the sidewalk, Hideyoshi suddenly felt a pain in his right eye. Falling to his knees, a yellow vision appeared in view for him. Most of it was indecipherable. Just garbled tv static in his mind. But out of all the noise, he could see two things clearly.

The first yellow image was a horrific scene. A man in uniform lay down on a bed. A screaming and petrified look on his face. It then shifted to the next image. In it, he saw a grand throne room. A regal woman sat on her throne and a prim and proper man stood next to her. A bowie knife hid behind his back. It faded to black before he came back to the cold air of the night.

Musashi looked down at him with concern. She had somehow changed into her usual gear. Two katanas hung by her hip. The Servant put her hand on his shoulder before wiping the blood from his now bleeding eye. “What did you see, Master?”

It took him a moment to compose himself, but he described what he saw to her. “I see. Perhaps whoever was in the second image is responsible for the first. That man you described sounds like Assassin. He probably found a new Master. Hah, good! I can’t wait to cut him!”

She had a wide smile on her face as she helped Hideyoshi to his feet. He nodded to her and looked around. With new vigor, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I’m going to dive for more information. I have a feeling that if we can find that man, we can find Assassin and his Master.”

Hideyoshi concentrated hard in his mind. A sword was unsheathed in his head and he felt his magic circuits open up and fire on all twenty lanes. He focused them into his right eye again. It felt horrible. When his visions naturally came, there was pain. But when he tried to force a vision, it strained his eye. It was like having a hundred tiny needles laced with salt pushed into him. Hideyoshi fell to his knees and grit his teeth. Trying to bite back the pain, but it mounted more and more. He was on the brink of collapse. But just before he fell unconscious, he felt a pair of hands on his cheeks.

“You can do this, Master. I know you can. I can feel all your magic circuits pouring mana into you. Just take a breath and focus it into something. Think about that soldier you saw. Try to pull out a location. I believe in you.” Musashi’s words were sweet and full of importance. Along with his yellow eye flashing under his lids, the purple one started to glow as well. Following her advice, he took a deep, desperate breath. He tried to ignore the pain and visualized the frozen soldier in his mind. From the dead man’s, chest a yellow light flashed.

A new vision came into a view as he opened his eyes. Here, he saw himself and Musashi standing before one of the houses. The front door was wide open. Even in this vision, he could feel both how cold it was, and the intense mana here. It was very old. It terrified him. This felt like more than just magecraft. This felt so old that it was like true magic from the Age of Gods. He tried to go deeper into it. But something stopped him. The cold was too much. In the darkness of the house, he saw two glowing orbs that radiated danger. He backed away in the vision and instead looked for any other features that would denote where this was. On the front of the home, he could see four descending numbers.

Hideyoshi came from the vision with a heavy breath and an even greater, throbbing pain in his eye. Cold sweat ran down his face. Mushasi shook him a little. An expectant look on her face. “Well, where do we need to go, Hideyoshi?”

After a few more breaths, he took off his glasses and spoke.

“House 4942.”

Chapter Text

Hideyoshi tried to follow Saber as quickly as he could. But the throbbing pain in his eyes had migrated to the front of his head. So he couldn’t move that quickly behind his Servant. Nevertheless, he followed her down the asphalt street. Down many twists and turns on the road. After what felt like forever, he caught up to Saber. She stood in front of an open gate with a stern look.

With a few coughs, he put on his glasses again. He followed her gaze through the barred gate. On the house, he saw the numbers that confirmed that this was the one from his vision. He stared at the numbers like he held a grudge against them. Something about them made him feel uneasy. When he looked back to his Servant, she seemed to have a similar expression.

“Saber?” He asked with a bit of concern.

“Master, do you have what it takes to take a life?” She asked in turn as she suddenly faced him. Her look still incredibly intense.

“Huh? Take a life?”

“Yes, Master. I must know. Because this is our first real expedition in this Holy Grail War. There will be many hardships along this path. From just standing outside this home, I can sense we are dealing with an incredibly powerful foe. Their magecraft is not something to be messed with without a good plan. I need to know that if it comes to it, you have the guts to kill this mage we hunt. Otherwise, you should go back home to England.”

At first, he didn’t know what to say. This was so sudden. Her stern gaze didn’t help him either. It felt like a huge weight was placed on him. That wasn’t good for his already throbbing headache.

“Master, I need an answer.” She pushed and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I…” He hesitated to try and steel himself for an answer.

“I can.” Hideyoshi answered after a pause. “I’m a mage. We kill to get an advantage.”
She looked into his eyes as he answered. Her gaze would discern whether he was truly ready or not. There was uncertainty in his eyes. Though what he said about mages is true. Any mage worth his money would kill his fellow mage in order to get ahead. So for now, she would have to trust his word.

“Good. Then let’s go in and investigate, Master.” Saber said as she turned to face the house again. She took a confident step forward to enter the premises. Her Master followed soon behind her.

The front door was already open. A cold breeze was blowing out. It also had the smell of mana to it. Clutching one of her swords, she walked into the house. At the end of the entrance hallway was a dim light. She looked back at Hideyoshi to make sure he was following her. He nodded to her and stepped closer. Drawing her katana, she came to what appeared to be a small kitchen on the left. The refrigerator was open as well. Saber looked inside and found it barren.

While she inspected the chilling appliance, her Master continued forward. His fists raised in a boxing stance as he continued deeper into the dark abode. It was too dark to see and he already burnt up most of his magic circuits when forcing his Mystic Eyes into working. All he had left in his system was one enhancement spell. Yet, he continued, despite his shaky breathing.

Hideyoshi came to a dark hallway near the kitchen. He could feel a dense amount of residual mana coming from the end. It felt just like the mana he sensed in his premonition. Old and powerful. If his body wasn’t shaking enough from the cold, it was shaking even harder from the thought of an extremely powerful mage being around here. But still, he crept down the hallway until he came to an open bedroom door at the end of the hall. Standing in the frame, he saw a visceral scene.

The bedroom itself was not very notable. Just a simple bed and an open drawer in the bedside table. But the true horror lay in the middle of the frostbitten bed. It was a man. A fully grown man. He was at least six feet tall and built like a monster. His muscles looked like they could burst out of his military uniform. It looked like a musty green under the layer of frost. His petrified face silently screamed forever. In his chest were several large holes. Each one around five inches in diameter. But each hole was sealed by frozen blood.

Hideyoshi’s stomach churned at the sight. It felt like a fish hook was sent down his throat and drudged out the contents of his stomach. He quickly turned to his right and evacuated everything onto the carpet. Just a moment after, Saber walked into the bedroom. Her eyes sympathized with her Master’s plight. But they became seriously stern when looking at the frozen corpse.

She walked in further and stood on the right side of the bed. Saber examined the frozen soldier’s state. Along with his uniform, he had a military-like cap. The cap had a red star in the center. In the star was a yellow hammer crossed with a sickle. At first, the symbol was foreign to her. But then something clicked in the back of her mind. Like it was retrieved from a place that shouldn’t exist in her head.

“This man was an officer in the Soviet Union. That feels wrong. It’s 1994. The Soviet Union fell three years ago, right Master? Why would this man be wearing the uniform of a country that no longer exists?” She asked herself.

Hideyoshi, who was recovering from his nausea, walked to the other side of the bed to get a better look at the dead officer. He noticed that the dead man’s right hand was upright and in a strange looking position, like he was firing a gun. But the gun was missing. Choking back his vomit, Hideyoshi looked more at the man. Under the collar of his neck, he could make out a tattoo. It seemed like another hammer and sickle with more red stars.

“He looks like some sort of extremist. There’s tattoos on his neck that look Soviet. I think… I don’t really care about politics. Too busy with classes at The Clocktower. But yeah, I remember the Soviets falling a few years ago. Not even mages could ignore something like that. This guy was probably a fanatic who didn’t want to let the union die.”

Saber took in his words and continued her inspection of the cadaver. With her sword, she sliced down at the man’s raised hand. Hideyoshi was going to ask her what she was doing, but then he noticed she only cut the frozen glove he wore. She then pried it off his hand to reveal a faded red stigmata. Like the rest of him, it was connected to his background. His command seals were one large skull with a hammer and sickle. But the tools were both stabbing into and crushing the skull.

“He was a Master?” Hideyoshi asked.
“Yes, Master. His Servant, whoever it was, must have done this to him.” She gestured to the frozen room before sheathing her katana.

“He was either a horrible Master… or he summoned a terrible Servant.” He sighed to himself before looking away from the gruesome sight. Hideyoshi left the bedroom and found himself sitting down on the floor of the kitchen.

Musashi told him that this would be hard. That difficult choices would have to be made and he’d see horrific things. But he didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. And he couldn’t shake the feeling that something bigger was behind that murder. It felt strangely familiar. Like he heard something about people freezing to death on the news. If several people were dying due to frostbite, then the Servant who did this to their own Master must be some sort of evil. He just knew it. When mages kill, it is at least for a purpose. But freezing someone to death and the seeming randomness of the killing felt wrong. Hideyoshi was finding himself angry at this Servant. He felt the urge to take them down at any cost. Before he could get himself any angrier, he saw Musashi walking out of the hallway.

She turned to look at him and gently smiled. “Come on, Master. Let’s get out of here. Maybe we can find more clues about what happened here outside.”

Hideyoshi sighed and nodded to her. He stood up and looked around for the exit. In the living room, he saw an open sliding door. That felt like the obvious place to look next. So with Saber in tow, he walked outside to the clear air.

Once outside, he took in the backyard. It seemed relatively simple. But there weren’t any fences. Just the vast Japanese forests. Saber took charge and led Hideyoshi into the forest. His headache was still present, but it was lessened now by the clear air and forest smells. The two walked for a few minutes until they came to what looked like a small cliff. It was about a ten foot drop to the muddy bottom. In the center of this small ravine was a small and steady flowing river. It was probably something that flowed into the main river in Fuyuki. On the bank of the river, is what seemed like dried footprints.

Saber saw this too and took the initiative. She effortlessly jumped down the ten feet to the mud below. Then, she turned around to look up at Hideyoshi. “Can you jump down by yourself? Or do you need me to catch you, Master?” She asked with sincerity.

Hideyoshi didn’t want to seem that weak to her. So he took a deep breath and went to jump down. But he slipped and started to fall face first to the mud and rocks. Before he impacted the ground, he was suddenly stopped. There was a tight pressure on his left ankle. When he looked up at himself, he saw Musashi holding him.

“You don’t need to act brave to impress me, Master. I saw that foolishly brave look in your eyes before you tried to leap. You’re lucky I have such good reflexes though!” She smiled and laughed to herself. With her strength, she carefully maneuvered him around and set him down on his feet.

“Thank you, Saber. That fall would’ve broken my glasses.”

“No problem, Master. Though I wouldn’t mind if they broke. You look kinda cute without them on!” She gave him a smug smile. But before he could say anything in response, she was already walking away and down the path of footprints they saw at the top of the ravine. His cheeks flushed to a pink color and grew hot. He couldn’t dwell on her comment though.

Hideyoshi chased after her and looked down at the footprints in the dried parts of the mud. They were small and numerous. They were obviously made by a shorter person. He followed them with Saber until they came to a more intricate and sophisticated pattern in the mud.

“Hey that looks like…” Saber started.

“A summoning circle.” Hideyoshi finished

“Could this have been made by that Soviet officer we found?” Saber asked as she crouched down to inspect the detailed symbol.

“I don’t think so… This was made by an amature mage. I mean, just look at the lines. They’re crooked and jagged. I don’t know how powerful that officer was, but I doubt he was this sloppy. This mage didn’t even bother to disguise the circle once they were done. Either they have no regard for mage law, or are a total novice.”

Saber then piped up with sass in her voice. “Didn’t you leave your summoning circle in that torn up carpet in your hotel? Doesn’t that make you a sloppy novice?”
“I…! That’s not the point! Besides, I can’t exactly go back to the hotel and fix the floor. People will just think a weirdo occultist did it or something.”

“If you say so, Yoshi.” She said as she tried to hold back a snicker.

Hideyoshi sighed and shook his head. “Anyways, I think this mage is a novice. The footprints leading us here were small. So maybe a kid got their hands on their dad’s grimoire.”

The young mage crouched down next to Saber and put his hand in the mud. “We need to clean this up.” He imagined a sword being drawn in his mind. The electric pulse of his magic circuits activating flowed through his body. “Füllen.”

The lines of the summoning circle started to bubble like a rising cake. In just a few seconds, the circle was gone. Now the terrain looked like the rest of the muddy ground. Hideyoshi stood up and shook the mud off his hand as he turned off his magic circuits.

“Neat trick, Master! I wonder what else you have in store? But don’t tell me! I love surprises.”

“So, where do we go from here?” He asked his Servant as he looked around for more clues.

“Not sure. This may be a dead end… But let’s keep looking. I have a feeling at least something else is here.” Saber walked over to the river to look around for anything. Hideyoshi did the same. He went to walk to the ravine wall when he stepped on something solid in the mud. When he looked down, he didn’t see anything remarkable. So he crouched again and dug in the mud.

He felt something very cold and hard in there. Like steel almost. He grabbed it and pulled it out of the mud. Hideyoshi brushed the mud off. In his hands was a pistol. “S-Saber! I think I found that Soviet’s gun!”

Saber spun around and rushed to his side. She took the gun from him and inspected it. She was no gun expert, but once again, something in the back of her mind unlocked and gave her all the information she needed on the weapon in her hands.

“You got it in one, Master. This is a Makarov. It’s old though. Perhaps an heirloom.” Saber said as she cleaned it more thoroughly. She checked the chamber and saw it was loaded.

“Master… do you know any combat spells? In case we get in a fight and I’m not close enough to protect you.”

“No, not really. I mean, I can reinforce my body with magecraft and I know boxing. But I don’t know any combat spells specifically.”

“Then take this.” She handed him the gun.

“You want me to… but I’ve never used a gun before. I’m not an American.”

“A gun is better than nothing. So take it. If the Servants in this war are as weak as Assassin, then this will be more than enough to kill them. Or at least defend yourself until I can help.” She insisted and pushed the gun into his hands.

Hideyoshi hesitantly took it. He looked down at it and gripped it hard. “Okay, Saber.”

She gave him a smile and a pat on the back. “Put it in the waistband of your pants and cover it with your shirt, Yoshi. We can count how many rounds are left in it later. But assuming it is fully loaded, it has eight shots in it.”

“Eight shots… Alright, Saber. Well, I don’t think this has helped us with looking for the Servant who killed that Soviet. Or lead us to that ammiture mage. OR helped us find out what happened to Assassin.”

“Don’t worry, Master. This Grail War has only just started. We’ll have time to do all of those things. But I think we’re on the right track for one of them. All you have to do is follow your intuition.”

“My intuition, huh?” Hideyoshi looked towards the other side of the river. Something was pulling him towards that direction. Whether it was fate, destiny, or his bad sense of direction, he felt compelled to see what lay beyond the river. So he tucked the pistol into his pants and walked forward. Saber followed him. She seemed to pick up on his intentions because she scooped him up and jumped across the river with him and onto the top of the opposite ravine wall.

He still wasn’t used to moving as fast as her. But that energetic smile on her face made it bearable. Saber set him down on the ground. She gave him a nod and encouraged him to walk into the forest. Hideyoshi kept his head high and walked with Saber.

There was no path here, but that doesn’t mean their wandering was aimless. Like Saber told him, he trusted his instincts and let his feet carry him to wherever they felt best. He had long since lost any sense of direction or where they were. But what he did know is that it suddenly got much colder. Hideyoshi was glad that Musashi picked out these winter clothes. Especially the wool coat and scarf.

The further along they traveled, the colder it got. At first, there were just a few snowflakes here and there. The ground slowly turned from dark green to white. The terrain became a little more difficult to navigate. The snow was rising higher and higher by the minute. In what only felt like ten minutes, Hideyoshi and Musashi were in snow that was at least six inches deep. The trees seemed to grow closer together as well. It was almost like they didn’t want the duo to be here.

It was then that Hideyoshi felt a pit form in his stomach. The air around him felt extremely thin and stale. It became difficult to breathe and focus on what was in front of him. The young mage braced himself on a nearby tree and heaved in as much oxygen as he could. Saber ran up to him and put a hand on his back. She looked past his glasses and down into his heterochromatic eyes. Worry was inside her own eyes.

“Master? Are you oka-” She cut herself off and stepped in front of him. In an instant, both of her katanas were drawn. She too could sense something was wrong. Her jaw clenched as she scanned the area in front of her.

“Show yourself! I know you’re there! I can feel it in my bones. Whoever you are, come out and face me like a real warrior!”

Hideyoshi tried to look past Saber. Over her shoulder, he could see something shimmering into existence. It looked like it was slowly taking a physical form and it emitted a high pitched hum. When it solidified, Hideyoshi saw it. All of it in its imposing figure.
About seven feet in front of him, stood a large man around six feet tall. If not taller. The scarred and tattooed skin of his chest and arms were exposed to the chilly winter air. The only clothes he wore were some baggy jeans and golden bracers with a chain connecting them. His eyes were red and his hair was blonde. He almost looked familiar. Hideyoshi thought he’d seen his face in a Hollywood movie. The beast of a man almost looked like Brad Pitt. In his right hand was a strange looking red sword. In his left, was a hulking red club. He had a wide grin on his face.

Now that he was fully formed, Hideyoshi could breathe again. But a new ailment hit him. Fear. His body trembled and he backed away a few steps. The large man, who’d been staring at Saber, now switched his gaze directly into Hideyoshi’s soul.

“Going so soon? You didn’t even get a chance to introduce yourself.” His voice boomed. Deep and commanding. It made Hideyoshi stop in his tracks. But not out of respect or kindness.

Saber, with her swords raised, however, was undeterred. “Back off, blondie! If you want him, you’ll have to get through me!”

The giant raised an eyebrow. He tilted his head and another smile came to his face. The red eyes looked down at the woman. He was almost a foot taller than her. With confidence, he raised up his club and rested it on his shoulder. “So hostile! And here I was thinking I could formally invite you to my Lady’s castle. It is a shame. However, I’ve been itching for a real fight in this Grail War. If you want a fight so bad, come and get one, little lady.”

Saber didn’t falter one bit. She kept her katanas raised and ready for battle. “I don’t want a fight from you. Just leave my Master and I alone. We’ll be on our merry way.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible. See, you are currently trespassing on the land owned by my Master. Irisviel von Einzburn. By insulting me, you are insulting the honor of my Master. And for that, you must die. Both of you.” The monster then launched himself forward. Saber turned around quickly to push her Master away from the fight.

He gained some airtime from her shove. While in the air, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Hideyoshi could see everything in painfully slow detail. Saber pushing him away with all her strength. The monster swinging his red club at her head from behind. This was it. In a single and eternal instant, everything would end. Musashi would be dead. Her skull could never withstand the club from that giant and after her brains are splattered on the snow, the beast would come for him next. Hideyoshi couldn’t bear to see it happen. So he closed his eyes. He heard a violent crunch.

His body thudded against the ground. Even with the snow as cushioning, the impact knocked the wind out of him. His limp body rolled until his momentum came to a sudden stop. He felt a pain he’d never experienced before as his body slammed into the trunk of a tree. Hideyoshi lay there in pain. Despite his mind giving up, his body kept going. It tried its best to bring in new air. A painful ordeal that felt like it took all effort to do. His eyes slowly opened to a blurry sight.

He could only see shades of white and brown. But then his body forced a deep breath into his lungs. His sight cleared in front of him. Hideyoshi spotted his glasses a few feet in front of him. Desperately, he reached out and crawled to them. His gloved digits grabbed them and held them to his face, only to realize that the frames and lenses were broken.

The young mage grunted and pocketed the now useless spectacles. It’s not like he needed them to see anyway. They were just there to conceal his Mystic Eyes. Though he knew that everything he had was useless now. Saber was dead. He was sure of it. Now the monster was coming for him. Hideyoshi looked up and searched for his impending demise. Yet no matter where he looked, he couldn’t see Saber’s demolished corpse. He couldn’t see the giant either. Then, on his left side, he heard the horrible clang of metal on metal.

Hideyoshi shot up to his feet and swiftly turned at the direction the sound came from. Before he knew it, he was running through the snowy woods. His heart raced like never before as adrenaline pumped through his veins. He didn’t know where his body was taking him. Though the sounds of battle grew louder until one voice cut through everything.

“MASTER, GET DOWN!”

Something slammed into his left side and brought him to the ground. The force was warm and smaller than him. But not by much. It then yanked on his shoulders and rolled with him for a few rotations before stopping. The force stood up and guarded him. When Hideyoshi looked up, he saw her. Saber, with both katanas still. Her face was deadly serious.

“Master, you need to get out of the way. This Servant is a Berserker!” Just as she finished speaking, he heard the roar of a vicious beast. The Berserker Servant came falling down from above swinging his sword and club. Hideyoshi only had a split second to jump back. He saw Saber raise her swords in an X and block the monstrous blow. Her muscles strained under his superior strength. She grit her teeth and used his strength to redirect his weapons into a tree. But it stood no chance. Easily it broke from the force. But this gave Saber an opening. Her mind realized his back should be cut.

She held her swords horizontally and pushed off the ground. Her katanas slashed through the Berserker’s back. Sending blood flying on the snow. Berserker roared in pain. But it also seemed like a small chuckle. He whipped around with his weapons and swung. Musashi jumped back and managed to dodge the weapons. At least she thought she did. But she found a cut on her right cheek. When she looked up, she saw his sword glowed a little brighter.

Quickly, her eyes scanned the surroundings. A thin pink line started to glow around her pupil. That tree should be cut at the base. She thought. And that one should be chopped into pieces. Her mind continued to race in a single second. Then, she acted. Her body moved faster than the Berserker could keep up with. But she wasn’t swinging her swords at him. No, she was cutting every tree in a twenty foot radius. Her blades cut through them like paper and sent them tumbling down. All while making sure some would fall down at just the right angle to make a small jail for her Master. For his own protection.

Everything then fell into place. The trees all fell to their targets. A few landed in a cone shape around Hideyoshi while the others were directed at Berserker. Each one slammed into him with monster truck force. Musashi then landed down on the snowy ground with a scoff. She sheathed her blades and turned around.

“Not even worth my time.” Yet the second she said that, the pile of heavy logs exploded. Musashi spun around and jumped over a log at the last second. In the epicenter, stood Berserker, completely unharmed.

“Don’t you know who I am?” His deep voice asked. He looked down at the ground with disappointment.
“I said, don’t you know who I am?” He yelled as his neck snapped up. The red eyes staring with battle rage and fury.

“You insult me, Saber! I am Beuwulf! You really think a few twigs can kill me? Even in old age, I slayed a dragon! When Lancer and I fought, he had the courtesy to face me head on with his legendary spear! You, Saber, are a sniveling coward and you dishonor me once more! When I break your body, I will make sure you will feel every ounce of pain!” The raging Berserker let out a roar that shook the trees. In his ravenous lust for her utter destruction, he raced forward.

Musashi drew her swords once more and calmed herself with a deep breath. Whatever this madman threw at her, she could take it and dish out ten times the pain with her swords, that she knew. Taking a stance with one sword over her head and the other pointed forward, she stared at Beowulf and looked for a stupid mistake he was bound to make.

Beowulf stopped just before reaching her. But he carried all his momentum into his left arm. Using that and his innate strength, he slammed his crimson club down into the ground. The earth itself wailed in pain from this strike. The ground crumbled and rebounded. Shooting the rest of the energy upwards. This sent both Musashi and any loose fragments of rock up a few feet in the air. This sudden shift was not something she expected. So when the same club came careening in, she couldn’t do anything besides tense and brace herself for the hit.

She was sent flying through several trees. By the time she lost enough momentum to stop on tree bark, she was a few hundred feet away from Hideyoshi. She feared for her Master’s safety. More than the pain of several broken ribs. Musahsi coughed up blood when she staggered to her feet. But her worries were unfounded. She could hear the thundering steps of Beowulf nearing. Still, this gave her time to think. She obviously couldn’t contend with his unending strength. But, she was faster.

Musashi took in a deep breath. Then, she breathed out. Her eyes closed and she centered her mind on herself. She allowed herself to be overtaken by the darkness that surrounds her. Unending silence. A true warrior’s trance. Miyamoto Musashi became nothing. Empty. And thus, she could no longer lose. When she opened her eyes, the pink ring encircling her pupil became brighter. She became the Fifth Force

When Beowulf reached her, she concentrated on only her swords and where they would land. Several slashes came his way. Each one landing on his rough skin and cleaving flesh. Musashi was dancing. Evading every swing from his club. Her twin blades effortlessly cut through his flesh like it too was nothing. She whittled the giant down with a beautiful dance. One that only master swordsmen could replicate.

When she came out of her trance, she found herself covered in blood. Her back was turned to her opponent. Musashi looked down at her blood-stained katanas. She saw her own reflection in the moonlight. With a calm breath, she turned around. In front of her stood Beowulf. His breaths tight and controlled. She examined his wounds but… There were only ten? She slashed him at least fifty times. How were there only ten slashes on him?

Then the worst of it came. Her own pain came reeling to her mind. It was from her broken ribs, but also from… ten equally devastating slashes on her body. Her eyes went wide. Suddenly, she felt… fear creeping up her neck. “W-What…?”

“Typical Easterner…” Beowulf said calmly. “Always so arrogant. What, did you think that you left that encounter unscathed? Did you doubt my own swordsmanship that much? I was bred as a warrior. From the day I was born. I may not dance like you, but my Roaring Brave is deadly. I could see every slash you delivered ten heartbeats before you could make them. I may not have been able to dodge them all. But you sacrifice all defence for maximum offence. That let me carve into your flesh.”

He raised his blood drinking sword. A dense, fiery cloud surrounded it. It almost resembled a wolf now. “This sword gave you those gashes. Hrunting. It will feast on you once more.”

“Bastard… If you crave your own death that much, then I have no choice but to kill you completely.” Musashi said as she coughed up blood. Once again ignoring her pain and the words of Beowulf she calmed her mind and held her swords high. Mana built up in her body

“Your Noble Phantasm? Now you respect me… Before the end of this battle, tell me your name, Saber. One of us is not coming out alive. It would be a shame not knowing you.”

Musashi stared at him intently. Though she calmed her mind, her pride was still strong. Her ego was wounded… That this man made her feel fear. She hated that. But she couldn’t deny his prowess as a warrior. So this once, she let go of her pride.

“ I am Shinmen Musashi-no-Kami Fujiwara no Genshin. Though you may call me Miyamoto Musashi. The Greatest Swordsman in Japan!” She declared.

“Then you shall know me truly! I am Beowulf, King of The Geats! The Wolf of War! I shall rend your flesh from your bones!” Beowulf gave a mighty roar that shook the earth once more. His pupils dilated and the world turned red. One of his signature skills, Roaring Brave activated. He saw his own death. A monster appeared behind his opponent. It carried four swords, in this red world, he charged forward. The monster swung its golden swords. Beowulf stopped to parry each one. But it was an illusion. It was really Musashi delivering these blows. Because he stopped to block them, it gave her the time to unleash her ultimate attack. A sword made of white light cleaved him into nothing. His existence erased in a single moment.

Beowulf then saw the world return to normal. Musashi was ten paces in front of him. In a surge of mana and powerful spoken words, the tall monster appeared before her. “Six Paths, Five Rings: Divine Blade of Kurikara. Ishana, Daitenshou!”

Beowulf knew what to do. He charged her down. The demonic illusion revealed its four golden swords. Standing still, it slashed. But instead of standing still and blocking completely, he continued forward. He was not the fastest, but he could still reach her in time.

The first sword came from his left. It slashed with galeforce winds. He raised his club, Naegling to block it away. Then came a blade with tidal waves from the right. He raised Hrunting. From above came a sword of mountains. He crossed his weapons to block. Finally, a sword of searing hot flames came diagonally. Beowulf jumped and raised Naegling. His club sustained heavy damage. Part of a shining blue core was revealed. It gave a high pitched whine.

Now all that was left was the swordsman. He was still too far to reach her. So like before, he slammed Naegling down as hard as he could into the ground. Musashi had only just summoned her white blade of nothing. Just in time to be whipped off her feet again. Her legs gave out beneath her as she was raised above the ground by shockwaves. Her eyes filled with fear as her sword disappeared with her concentration. Beowulf slashed Hrunting diagonally.

The Hound of The Red Plains sunk its fangs into its prey. From the bottom of her right ribs, to the top of her left shoulder did the hound feast. Drinking every ounce of blood and reveling in her scream of pain. Beowulf had won. His opponent lay on the ground before him on her back. Her chest cleaved open. He stood over her.

“I thank you, Miyamoto Musashi. This bout was one I will remember forever. On my honor as king, I will make sure my skalds will sing of you and your deeds here today.” He said calmly and with satisfaction. Beowulf let go of Naegling. With both hands on Hrunting, he prepared to thrust down into her heart.

Seven desperate shots rung out in the silent and snowy night. Each one aimed at the giant’s head. Each one making contact, but doing nothing. Beowulf turned his head to his right. Standing ten feet away was the young mage from before. Beowulf had almost forgotten about him. He looked small, weak, inexperienced, and utterly terrified. This mage was her Master. He was defenceless before the king. Yet he stood there. Still pulling the trigger of his gun. Scared to death, but still standing to protect his Servant.

This put a smile on Beowulf’s face. He stepped towards the young man. Leaving his sword behind. Beowulf looked at the man. He reached up his right hand and put it on his shoulder. “Young Master… What is your name?’

The mage hesitated. But still spoke. “Hideyoshi Bushida Montgomery.”

“Mr. Montgomery… You have displayed great devotion to your Servant. You were brave to try and help her. Not many mages would help directly like you. The very fact you put yourself in the line of danger… You remind me of a man I once knew.”

Beowulf then turned around and pulled Musashi to her feet. The samurai was nearly dead. But nearly dead is not entirely dead. “If you wish to see her again, you will come here, boy.”

Hideyoshi, with trembling fingers, dropped the gun and rushed over to support Musashi. She was bleeding bad. But despite that, she gave him a smile. Before he could say anything to her, Beowulf spoke again. “Come. Meet Iri. She will heal Musashi.”