Fate/Dark Reflection

[X] Agree.

"Of course, I would love to. What time do you normally leave?"

"It's pretty early if that's okay. It's required by the Student Council for me to be there by 7:30, so it will be a bit before 7…"

"That's not a problem. I'll be ready by then." She seems surprised you still said yes, but you can tell she's pretty happy about it, so this was definitely the right thing to do. The conversation falls into an awkward silence, so the two of you bid farewell and head to your respective rooms.

Today took a surprising amount of energy out of you, so you find yourself in bed soon after a quick Circuit training session and decide to do some quick web surfing.

One of the few things you've downloaded onto your phone was a local news app. It's incredibly helpful to have constant access to current events just sitting in your pocket. Even if what you're reading about is rather disheartening.

A subway accident…

The conductor had been perfectly normal before suddenly… stopping. Everything. As though a switch had been flicked he ceased all action, causing a derailment. It's not the first of these incidents either. It's happened enough for them to have a label for the 'condition'.

Mental shutdowns, hm?

'I'm sure that's a perfectly normal condition. Mhm. Nothing supernatural going on there.'

You should-

'Yeah, yeah, you should get to the bottom of it. We get it, Mr. Hero of Justice, no need to keep pushing it.'

'I'm ignoring you.'

'Oh no, my poor feelings!'

Speaking of apps, the strange one from before is still sitting there, trying to delete it again proves it to be just as stubborn as before. You know you're not an expert, but that's definitely abnormal.

You should probably ask someone about that.

Your first day of school in this new world is tomorrow. You should probably get some sleep. Your last moments of consciousness are spent thinking about those strange incidents…

---

April 11th, 2016

Monday

You wake up normally, with no strange dreams to interrupt your night. After quickly washing up and getting dressed, you head to the kitchen to start your day as it should be, with a full breakfast.

Unfortunately, the fridge is a bit sparse. Correction, very sparse. You won't be able to make breakfast or any lunches with this… hopefully, you can get in on the next grocery trip to correct that. You joked about bringing bentos to Sae's coworkers, but you have a feeling that there are two people closer to you who need them more.

You sate your hunger with a rather utilitarian protein bar. It's entirely unsatisfying. You'll fix it soon.

'You get caught up on the weirdest things, man.'

'A diet is one of the most important things to stay on top of, I won't allow any criticism for my stubbornness on that.'

'...sure.'

Soon, Makoto enters, quickly eats the same breakfast as you did, -you have to hold back your discontent at that- grabs an umbrella, and heads to the door, all without saying a word.

Maybe she isn't a morning person.

Offering a brief 'good morning' only to receive an 'mhm' back, the two of you head out. The soft rainfall is immediately apparent, so you huddle beneath her now-open umbrella. No more words are spoken, the only sound being the rain and some soft yawns, slowly decreasing in frequency.

The two of you make it to the station at the same time your train does, so Makoto quickly dries her umbrella and the two of you hop inside. It's packed almost immediately, though a single empty seat nearby catches your attention- and hers.

"It's not a problem, you can take the seat." It's an offer made by reflex to a question that wasn't yet asked.

"If you're sure." She plops down and sets her bag on her lap. The route is pretty direct to Shujin, but you can still feel time draining away.

[X] Mind Over Matter

Your chosen book lies dormant in your school bag. If you had been alone you may have started reading it, but it feels a bit rude to accept an invitation just to read the entire time. You look to Makoto, only to find her already staring at you, before she quickly glances away.


She's dying to ask you something, that's for sure.

'Probably the whole criminal record thing.' Oh, right. She would know about that.

'Not really the place to talk about that, unfortunately. I should bring it up back at home.'

'I think it adds to our sense of mystery. That's attractive to a lot of people y'know, and it's not like you have anything else going for you.' You don't need anything 'going for you' because you already have someone who- whatever. You should stop getting riled up over what he says.

"Hey, I was wondering if you could help me with my phone?" It's the only conversation starter you could think of.

"Your phone? I'm not the best with technology… What do you need?"

"Well, you're probably better than me. It's my first smartphone, after all." She leans back a bit, surprised, before nodding. "There's this app that suddenly showed up, and it can't be deleted."

"Is it a virus? Were you looking at anything, um…" She flushes a bit. "'Sketchy'?" Is this about your criminal record again? An incredibly unsubtle way to bring it up if so…

'Porn. She's talking about porn.'

"No!" Tone it back. "...I haven't. I've pretty much only used it for news so far."

"Alright…" You feel like she doesn't quite believe you despite your counterargument. "Well, other than restarting it I don't know what else to suggest. Maybe take it to a repair place?" That's unfortunate, you had hoped it was just some piece of common knowledge that had evaded you.

Your opener has worked though, and the conversation jumps to another topic, Shujin. Nothing particularly important, though you do find out you're in the same homeroom. You enjoy talking with her, she's pretty- 'Full stop.' -quick-witted.


You notice two other students from Shujin are standing a fair bit away from you, chatting loudly. You're not one to eavesdrop, but they can be easily heard from where you are.

"Oh my God, did you see Mr. Kamoshida at the last rally? I should try joining the volleyball team if it means seeing more of that…" One of the girls says with a light blush coloring her cheeks.

"You're such a pervert." The other says, followed by giggling.

'…gross.'

'As if you don't do the same thing.'

'It's no different from what you say I do, sure. Also, I'd never say it out loud.'

'That's basically admitting to it.'

"Aoyama-Itchome. You've arrived in Aoyama-Itchome." The automated voice of the subway cuts through your mental conversation.

"This is ours." Makoto stands up and starts leading the way after making sure you're following. As you disembark from the train your eyes drift to a poster of an idol, colored in a striking blue, that brings your mind back to that dream from a couple of nights ago.

"A castle, huh…?" You find yourself unconsciously speaking aloud. You get a weird look from Makoto, but she doesn't say anything about it. As you keep walking your phone starts to feel abnormally warm in your back pocket. Is it overheating?

'I mean, -pretending that this dream is actually important- it's obviously related to that Saber, yeah?'

You can't say it hadn't crossed your mind. Your thoughts were a bit hazy when you were actually there, so you couldn't think quite right, but thinking back makes it far more clear.

'Was that all it was? Some remnants of her memories blending with normal dream nonsense?'

'That'd be pretty pathetic, man.' You disagree. It makes you happy that she's still with you, even if only in your dreams.

You'll make it back. You have to.

"We're only a few streets away now." You're jolted from your thoughts as your companion notes the imminent end to your journey. "It's nice that it isn't too far from the station."


You find yourself about to reply before that warm feeling suddenly expands outwards towards your surroundings, and a strong scent of sweat and… other things, fills the air.

'Oh? Things might finally be getting exciting, here.'

'Not the time!'

Something similar to magical energy is building in a circle centered on you, which you can vaguely sense the boundary of. There are only a few scattered students along the street, considering how early it is, but none are close enough to be in the pulse.

Other than Makoto, that is. You have barely any time to think here, and you don't even know what that scent could possibly mean in this context.

You should…

[ ] Move away from Makoto.
You don't want to endanger her with whatever might be happening here. Make sure she's out of the radius.

[ ] Prepare yourself.
Thinking of it as a direct attack might be too hasty. See what happens before acting rashly.


'Hey, or -or!- you get rid of the fucking thing. No need to get all gung ho about it, dumbass.'

'...'

[ ] Throw the phone.
This might look a bit weird to her, but you'll gladly take some awkwardness if need be.


Author's Note: Sure does feel gross to write anything even remotely positive about Kamoshida. Gagged a little.