Day 28 Chapter 20
- Location
- Around here
[X] Plan: Continue To Denote That This Is Not A Good Thing
You and Scáthach take a look as Kazumi shows you her right ear, previously hidden underneath her short black hair. Sure enough, you can see the black Grief marks. In fact, almost her entire right ear is black, and it trails down the side of her neck like a few loose strands of hair; if she hadn't parted her hair to show you, you might not have known that was her ear against the natural colour of her hair.
"Goodness, master," Scáthach says. "That… Does not look healthy."
"Doesn't it?" Kazumi sounds nervous. "What should I do? Can it be cleaned up like normal, or am I…?"
"It's fine," you say. "Just tap a Grief Seed to it, and you'll be fine."
"Is that what you did?"
"This does not seem like such a good idea, if it's having such a detrimental effect on your bodies' wellbeing." You'll take Scáthach's complaint a bit more seriously in light of what happened to you. "Are you sure you should be experimenting like this if it's going to be slowly corrupting your bodies?"
As you consider Scáthach's question, Kazumi reaches into her pocket for a Grief Seed. Tapping it to her Soul Gem, you watch as the blackness is slowly drained from her ear, returning it and the surrounding flesh to its previous cream colour. You give Kazumi a nudge, and say "You should probably have Nurse Ortensia take a look at your ear."
"At this point, I really do not know anymore. Maybe it is more dangerous than I've given it credit for. But we're not dead yet." Your response to Scáthach's question leaves her staring at you incredulously. Hastily, you add "That said, it would probably be a good idea for Kazumi and I not to practice this sort of thing without at least a Grief Seed nearby." Your head tilts towards where Nurse Ortensia is seated, and you add "Having someone on hand who can take a look at us afterwards would also be a good idea."
"An even better one would be to simply not do this, if it's as dangerous as it appears to be," Scáthach says. "But I suppose you girls have made a habit for yourselves out of being incorrigible. If even your own father cannot convince you to keep yourself safe, what hope do I have?"
"I really don't like letting him down like this," you say. "But I wanted to do this to see what my safe limits were. I wouldn't have kept going if what I was doing looked or felt dangerous to me."
Scáthach gestures to her master's ear, and to your arm. "Your skin turning black from your experiments seems rather dangerous to me," she says. "Especially so when you consider how infested with Grief this city already is. What if you had witched out from the start?"
At this point, a simple "But I didn't," doesn't feel like enough to convince anyone; not even yourself at this point. "I know what I did was risky, and I know I'm going to face some punishment for it. But it's something I wanted to do, to test my limits. Now, I know what they are."
Again, Scáthach eyes you incredulously. "You say that, but I know your type," she says. "You haven't hit your limit, and we both know it. No matter what you say, or what you feel right now, sooner or later you'll get the urge to experiment again. I'm not your parent, so all I can do is hope that you'll continue to remain safe and respect your limits when you finally find them."
Scáthach may not be your parent, but Archer is, so while she and Kazumi head over to Nurse Ortensia so Kazumi can be checked out, you return to Archer. "All right, I'll take to you soon," he says into your phone as you approach, before hanging up and turning to you. "Your mother and I are going to be have a little chat with you when we get back to Oriko's mansion," he says. You are not looking forward to that conversation.
"Now, what did you need from me?" Archer asks. "Just your phone back? Or was there something else?"
"Yeah, mostly just my phone back." Silently, Archer nods his head, and hands you back your phone. "I, um… I just wanted to apologise," you say, "For making you and mom worry about me."
"Save the apology," Archer replies. "I appreciate it, but saying you're sorry now won't get you out of being grounded once this is over."
"I know." You hang your head. "But I still wanted to apologise."
Archer is silent, and you see conflicting emotions warring in his eyes. He's your father, and he loves you, and he's glad that you're safe; but he's also furious at you for putting yourself in danger, and is doing all he can to keep from flying off the handle at you. No doubt he's saving his outburst for when you've returned to Oriko's mansion and he won't be making a scene by yelling at you. "Were you going to call Rin?" Archer asks, breaking the silence that had come over him. "You should do that now if you wanted to speak with her about the Third Magic."
"Right," you say. "I'll do that, and if there's nothing else you or Kirika need to take care of, we can head back after I'm done."
"I'll speak with Oriko about giving us her key to get in," Archer says. "She might want to stay a while longer, depending on how her work with Niko and the servants is coming along. So if she's planning on staying, we'll need a key to get in if we don't want to disturb Minako while she's working."
Even if he doesn't have any qualms about disturbing mom so the two of them can lecture you.
You take your phone with you as you and Archer part ways, and you wait until he's a suitable distance away – you have a feeling things are going to be awkward between you and Archer, at least until he's done lecturing you – before dialling.
*Ring*
*Ring*
*Ring*
"Akemi?" Tohsaka-san's voice comes through the other end. "What's up? Is Archer done with you guys yet?"
"We're about to head back to Oriko's mansion," you say to Tohsaka-san. "He's just collecting Oriko and Kirika, and we'll be heading back as soon as I get off the phone with you." You can imagine Tohsaka-san going "Okay, and then what?" but she remains silent, allowing you to say "Listen, earlier today I was talking to the Incubator, and something came up. To make a long story short, Juubey mentioned that a girl by the name of Einzbern had once made a contract with them, and that her wish was to materialise the soul. Archer said that's something called the 'Third Magic', and said I should ask you or Matou Sakura about it if I wanted to know more."
You hear a deep sigh coming from Tohsaka-san. You've stumbled across something big, it would seem. "All right, has anyone ever grilled you on what the distinction is between magecraft and magic before?" she asks. "Someone has to, they must have. Anyway, 'magic' under the system that I and every other mage uses, is used to describe… Well, you'd probably call them 'miracles'. There's very few true magics, and all of them are closely guarded secrets among those of us who can use them. My instructor Zelretch, for example, is the owner of the Second Magic, and even though I've been his personal student for over half a decade now, he still hasn't fully shared all the secrets of the Second Magic with me. That's how closely-guarded this stuff is kept by its owners."
"So, I would imagine this means the Einzberns are the 'owners' of the Third magic, then?"
"Yes and no." Tohsaka-san's words confuse you; what else is new? "The Einzberns are the original owners of the Third Magic, but they lost it almost a thousand years, and have been trying to reclaim it ever since. Up until, well, literally right now, the secret of how they originally acquired the Third Magic was a mystery, but if what you're saying is true, then one of them either stole the Third Magic from the Incubators and claimed it as their own, or the Einzbern that wished for it went on to become the founder of the Einzberns. Either way, for your girls' sake I'd recommend keeping mum about this. Your whole city's on thin ice as it is for all the crap that keeps happening there; coming out and saying that your system is the root of the Third Magic would have god knows how many mages swarming in to try and claim it for themselves, since apparently it's no longer as exclusive as they've all thought."
You nod your head, even knowing that Tohsaka-san can't see you; "And we wouldn't want to give them any more ammunition to cause a scene here," you say. "I understand."
"No, I don't actually think you do," Tohsaka-san says. "I mean, yes, academically you understand the risks involved, but I don't think you understand, on a personal level, just how big what you've told me is. Before they died out, the Einzberns spent almost a thousand years trying to reclaim the Third magic. The secret to how they originally obtained it has been lost for just as long. This would rock the foundation of mage society to its core if people were to find out that you could just casually wish for the ability to use one of the true magics."
"I'll keep quiet about this," you say, when a thought strikes you. "Um, so listen… Illya is Archer's sister, right? So… Would it be okay to tell her?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, go right ahead," Tohsaka-san says. "I mean, she might get mad knowing that her entire family's legacy was right under their noses this entire time, but she'll also appreciate finally knowing what the Einzberns did to achieve the Third Magic in the first place. Just, you know, be careful about how you say it. I don't want her thinking that you're, like, holding it over her head that your system can do what her fmaily's spent a thousand years trying and failing to reclaim."
"I wouldn't think of wording it like that in the first place," you say. Illya is, even though you've never met her and she doesn't know you exist, still your aunt. She's still family. You don't want her first impression of you to be a negative one. Whenever you finally are able to meet, that is. "I would just be glad to finally meet her, and to have something to say to her that isn't just shocking her with my existence."
"I know. But if you're not careful with how you say it, you still might end up shocking her."
You see Archer, with both Oriko and Kirika in tow, motioning for you to join him. "I should probably get going now," you say to Tohsaka-san. "Dad's got Oriko and Kirika with him, and it looks like they're all ready to take off. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me."
"No problem," Tohsaka-san replies. "Stay safe, Akemi, and tell your dad to take care. Lord knows he needs someone smart like Minako around to keep his dumb ass in line." Tohsaka-san clicks her tongue, and she adds "I still cannot believe he was ever stupid enough to say shit like 'people die when they are killed'? Can you believe that? Who even says something that stupid? I mean, I'm not much better; 'the Archer class is really made up of archers'? Really, past me? Is that the best you can do?"
You can't help but laugh. "We'll all do our best to keep our own Emiya Shirous in line," you say. "Take care, Tohsaka-san."
When you return to Oriko's mansion,
[Homura] What do you say to defend your actions to your parents?
[Archer] What do you and Minako have to say to Homura for her actions?
You and Scáthach take a look as Kazumi shows you her right ear, previously hidden underneath her short black hair. Sure enough, you can see the black Grief marks. In fact, almost her entire right ear is black, and it trails down the side of her neck like a few loose strands of hair; if she hadn't parted her hair to show you, you might not have known that was her ear against the natural colour of her hair.
"Goodness, master," Scáthach says. "That… Does not look healthy."
"Doesn't it?" Kazumi sounds nervous. "What should I do? Can it be cleaned up like normal, or am I…?"
"It's fine," you say. "Just tap a Grief Seed to it, and you'll be fine."
"Is that what you did?"
"This does not seem like such a good idea, if it's having such a detrimental effect on your bodies' wellbeing." You'll take Scáthach's complaint a bit more seriously in light of what happened to you. "Are you sure you should be experimenting like this if it's going to be slowly corrupting your bodies?"
As you consider Scáthach's question, Kazumi reaches into her pocket for a Grief Seed. Tapping it to her Soul Gem, you watch as the blackness is slowly drained from her ear, returning it and the surrounding flesh to its previous cream colour. You give Kazumi a nudge, and say "You should probably have Nurse Ortensia take a look at your ear."
"At this point, I really do not know anymore. Maybe it is more dangerous than I've given it credit for. But we're not dead yet." Your response to Scáthach's question leaves her staring at you incredulously. Hastily, you add "That said, it would probably be a good idea for Kazumi and I not to practice this sort of thing without at least a Grief Seed nearby." Your head tilts towards where Nurse Ortensia is seated, and you add "Having someone on hand who can take a look at us afterwards would also be a good idea."
"An even better one would be to simply not do this, if it's as dangerous as it appears to be," Scáthach says. "But I suppose you girls have made a habit for yourselves out of being incorrigible. If even your own father cannot convince you to keep yourself safe, what hope do I have?"
"I really don't like letting him down like this," you say. "But I wanted to do this to see what my safe limits were. I wouldn't have kept going if what I was doing looked or felt dangerous to me."
Scáthach gestures to her master's ear, and to your arm. "Your skin turning black from your experiments seems rather dangerous to me," she says. "Especially so when you consider how infested with Grief this city already is. What if you had witched out from the start?"
At this point, a simple "But I didn't," doesn't feel like enough to convince anyone; not even yourself at this point. "I know what I did was risky, and I know I'm going to face some punishment for it. But it's something I wanted to do, to test my limits. Now, I know what they are."
Again, Scáthach eyes you incredulously. "You say that, but I know your type," she says. "You haven't hit your limit, and we both know it. No matter what you say, or what you feel right now, sooner or later you'll get the urge to experiment again. I'm not your parent, so all I can do is hope that you'll continue to remain safe and respect your limits when you finally find them."
Scáthach may not be your parent, but Archer is, so while she and Kazumi head over to Nurse Ortensia so Kazumi can be checked out, you return to Archer. "All right, I'll take to you soon," he says into your phone as you approach, before hanging up and turning to you. "Your mother and I are going to be have a little chat with you when we get back to Oriko's mansion," he says. You are not looking forward to that conversation.
"Now, what did you need from me?" Archer asks. "Just your phone back? Or was there something else?"
"Yeah, mostly just my phone back." Silently, Archer nods his head, and hands you back your phone. "I, um… I just wanted to apologise," you say, "For making you and mom worry about me."
"Save the apology," Archer replies. "I appreciate it, but saying you're sorry now won't get you out of being grounded once this is over."
"I know." You hang your head. "But I still wanted to apologise."
Archer is silent, and you see conflicting emotions warring in his eyes. He's your father, and he loves you, and he's glad that you're safe; but he's also furious at you for putting yourself in danger, and is doing all he can to keep from flying off the handle at you. No doubt he's saving his outburst for when you've returned to Oriko's mansion and he won't be making a scene by yelling at you. "Were you going to call Rin?" Archer asks, breaking the silence that had come over him. "You should do that now if you wanted to speak with her about the Third Magic."
"Right," you say. "I'll do that, and if there's nothing else you or Kirika need to take care of, we can head back after I'm done."
"I'll speak with Oriko about giving us her key to get in," Archer says. "She might want to stay a while longer, depending on how her work with Niko and the servants is coming along. So if she's planning on staying, we'll need a key to get in if we don't want to disturb Minako while she's working."
Even if he doesn't have any qualms about disturbing mom so the two of them can lecture you.
You take your phone with you as you and Archer part ways, and you wait until he's a suitable distance away – you have a feeling things are going to be awkward between you and Archer, at least until he's done lecturing you – before dialling.
*Ring*
*Ring*
*Ring*
"Akemi?" Tohsaka-san's voice comes through the other end. "What's up? Is Archer done with you guys yet?"
"We're about to head back to Oriko's mansion," you say to Tohsaka-san. "He's just collecting Oriko and Kirika, and we'll be heading back as soon as I get off the phone with you." You can imagine Tohsaka-san going "Okay, and then what?" but she remains silent, allowing you to say "Listen, earlier today I was talking to the Incubator, and something came up. To make a long story short, Juubey mentioned that a girl by the name of Einzbern had once made a contract with them, and that her wish was to materialise the soul. Archer said that's something called the 'Third Magic', and said I should ask you or Matou Sakura about it if I wanted to know more."
You hear a deep sigh coming from Tohsaka-san. You've stumbled across something big, it would seem. "All right, has anyone ever grilled you on what the distinction is between magecraft and magic before?" she asks. "Someone has to, they must have. Anyway, 'magic' under the system that I and every other mage uses, is used to describe… Well, you'd probably call them 'miracles'. There's very few true magics, and all of them are closely guarded secrets among those of us who can use them. My instructor Zelretch, for example, is the owner of the Second Magic, and even though I've been his personal student for over half a decade now, he still hasn't fully shared all the secrets of the Second Magic with me. That's how closely-guarded this stuff is kept by its owners."
"So, I would imagine this means the Einzberns are the 'owners' of the Third magic, then?"
"Yes and no." Tohsaka-san's words confuse you; what else is new? "The Einzberns are the original owners of the Third Magic, but they lost it almost a thousand years, and have been trying to reclaim it ever since. Up until, well, literally right now, the secret of how they originally acquired the Third Magic was a mystery, but if what you're saying is true, then one of them either stole the Third Magic from the Incubators and claimed it as their own, or the Einzbern that wished for it went on to become the founder of the Einzberns. Either way, for your girls' sake I'd recommend keeping mum about this. Your whole city's on thin ice as it is for all the crap that keeps happening there; coming out and saying that your system is the root of the Third Magic would have god knows how many mages swarming in to try and claim it for themselves, since apparently it's no longer as exclusive as they've all thought."
You nod your head, even knowing that Tohsaka-san can't see you; "And we wouldn't want to give them any more ammunition to cause a scene here," you say. "I understand."
"No, I don't actually think you do," Tohsaka-san says. "I mean, yes, academically you understand the risks involved, but I don't think you understand, on a personal level, just how big what you've told me is. Before they died out, the Einzberns spent almost a thousand years trying to reclaim the Third magic. The secret to how they originally obtained it has been lost for just as long. This would rock the foundation of mage society to its core if people were to find out that you could just casually wish for the ability to use one of the true magics."
"I'll keep quiet about this," you say, when a thought strikes you. "Um, so listen… Illya is Archer's sister, right? So… Would it be okay to tell her?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, go right ahead," Tohsaka-san says. "I mean, she might get mad knowing that her entire family's legacy was right under their noses this entire time, but she'll also appreciate finally knowing what the Einzberns did to achieve the Third Magic in the first place. Just, you know, be careful about how you say it. I don't want her thinking that you're, like, holding it over her head that your system can do what her fmaily's spent a thousand years trying and failing to reclaim."
"I wouldn't think of wording it like that in the first place," you say. Illya is, even though you've never met her and she doesn't know you exist, still your aunt. She's still family. You don't want her first impression of you to be a negative one. Whenever you finally are able to meet, that is. "I would just be glad to finally meet her, and to have something to say to her that isn't just shocking her with my existence."
"I know. But if you're not careful with how you say it, you still might end up shocking her."
You see Archer, with both Oriko and Kirika in tow, motioning for you to join him. "I should probably get going now," you say to Tohsaka-san. "Dad's got Oriko and Kirika with him, and it looks like they're all ready to take off. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me."
"No problem," Tohsaka-san replies. "Stay safe, Akemi, and tell your dad to take care. Lord knows he needs someone smart like Minako around to keep his dumb ass in line." Tohsaka-san clicks her tongue, and she adds "I still cannot believe he was ever stupid enough to say shit like 'people die when they are killed'? Can you believe that? Who even says something that stupid? I mean, I'm not much better; 'the Archer class is really made up of archers'? Really, past me? Is that the best you can do?"
You can't help but laugh. "We'll all do our best to keep our own Emiya Shirous in line," you say. "Take care, Tohsaka-san."
When you return to Oriko's mansion,
[Homura] What do you say to defend your actions to your parents?
[Archer] What do you and Minako have to say to Homura for her actions?
