- Location
- Around here
You can do that? Just break into UBW like that?
Confringentur, Mk.2; a Madoka Magica / Fate/Stay Night crossover
- Thread starter SVS
- Start date
- Crossover
- Location
- United States
I honestly have no clue, it's unknown territory. For all we know, the Bounded Field that contains UBW from the outside of it may be enterable for anyone who steps into it, or it might completely bar entry. Idk. I sort of thought you had a plan for a potential Bazett-Elsa Maria throwdown, if things went on long enough.
- Location
- Around here
I did, but I had also been betting on us at least attempting other things first before betting it all on Archer's NP. In the 20 minutes Bazett needed to get to our location, I had been hoping to have our mystery servant make their appearance, have Berserker hijack one of the F-15Js currently en route to Mitakihara, things like that. The fight as I had originally envisioned it before players decided to skip right to UBW was a different beast that involved more players than just our merry band of (wo)men.
But don't worry, because one of two things is going to happen.
1. We stop aggro'ing Elsa Maria in order to focus on culling the ocean of familiars.
2. We take Elsa Maria out right now, but there's still an ocean of familiars left to be dealt with.
Either way, there's still plenty for Bazett and our mystery servant to do.
- Location
- Florida
You've been dangling UBW in front of us this entire quest! I'm shocked it's taken this long for us to use it.
- Location
- Around here
Make no mistake- I was under no illusion that we would get through this battle without UBW being used. I was just expecting that it'd be a few rounds of combat before we went to use it.
- Location
- United States
Agh, now I'm regretting opening with UBW, if only because we probably won't see whoever this mystery Servant is (unless we run across them fending off familiars in Mitakihara) or be able to see Berserker do his things a la Zero. But like NMS said, it was kinda necessary to enact UBW if only to prevent any of our party members from dying due to the literal ocean of intangible familiars you described. x.x
- Location
- Around here
And like I said, whether we leave Elsa Maria alone to focus on the familiars, or we take her down and leave an ocean of familiars to be dealt with, there will still be plenty of action for the others to get in on.
WanderingTwix
Posting something good once in a full moon
- Location
- United Kingdom
[X] Plan Yet, Those Hands Will Never Hold Anything
Day 31 Chapter 14
- Location
- Around here
[X] Plan Yet, Those Hands Will Never Hold Anything
Somehow, it would appear that this witch is not out of the fight just yet. You only hope that you haven't made things even more difficult for you, your master, and your allies. And speaking of your master, "Archer, the witch is, against all odds, still alive. I hope you have something up your sleeve better suited to killing it than your last attempt."
"As a matter of fact, I do, but first I need you to make sure that the board is clear before I let loose. Have Kyouko, Rider, and Berserker fall back so they won't get swept away once I've unleashed."
"Understood. I'll have Kyouko give the order to fall back as soon as you're ready."
You can see the boundary of your reality marble fraying at the edges; it's no surprise. With all the high-power attacks that you and your master have been flinging around, your ability to sustain the Unlimited Blade Works was bound to run out sooner or later. At least you've managed to keep it up longer than that time you fought yourself. You'll have to end this quickly, before your ability to hold the boundary completely collapses and the witch and its familiars are allowed back out into the real world. That'll be all the time that you need.
"Trace on," you mutter, forming a new spear in your hands. Not the Durindana that would have incensed Rider were he to see you using it, but the Gáe Bolg; and just like Rider, you're glad that a certain blue-clad Lancer isn't here to see you stealing his prized weapon for your own purposes. Its shape twists in your hands, forming itself into an arrow which you nock on the string of your bow. Your aim cuts straight through the ocean of familiars, straight towards the witch at the very heart of the mob. Closer to you than to the witch, you can see that your master spoke true; Kyouko, Rider, and Berserker are all withdrawing from the line of fire. You'll have a clear shot, straight through the ocean of familiars and right into the heart of the witch.
"Gáe...."
"~BOLG!" What? Before you have the chance to fire, a crimson bullet streaks overhead, soaring over the ocean of familiars to slam into the witch with the force of an artillery shell. The force of the bullet's impact sends shockwaves tearing through the ocean of familiars, decimating them- The actual meaning of the word, that is; reducing their numbers by one-tenth. "Aw, man-" You hear a familiar - and obnoxious - voice moan those words, as the crimson bullet streaks overhead in the opposite direction. "I was hoping that would have taken out more of them."
"I don't recall giving you permission to complain, Lancer," says a new voice, an unfamiliar voice belonging to a female, which causes you to turn around. "Now get back to work. There's still a lot more of them that need to be dealt with."
"Hey, master," you reach out for your master with the link you both share, trying to make sense of the sight before you. "Mikuni is still with you on the Vimana, right?"
"Yes; Mikuni Oriko is up here with me. Why?"
"Because I'm staring right at her down here on the ground." You don't want to believe what you're seeing, but the truth can't be avoided. Mikuni is standing right in front of you, and - of all the servants she could have picked - Cú Chulainn is standing right there beside her. No, wait, that doesn't make any sense. You've seen the way Mikuni dresses, both as a normal civilian and as a puella magi. She dresses rather conservatively - to the point where her school uniform might be the most revealing thing you've ever seen her wearing - with long sleeves and skirts, and shirts with collars; and despite their near-identical faces and hair colours, this other Mikuni, in comparison, is best described as dressing like a sexy nun, with her complete lack of a skirt that reveals her panty and thigh-high lines. And a lab coat. Not sure why the lab coat, but who are you to question? Lastly, draped over her shoulders and around her arms is a distinctive red shawl whose magical signature you immediately recognize as a holy shroud.
"Is it the same as when you thought you saw her inside of Assassin's labyrinth?"
"Hey, that's a pretty neat trick," Lancer says, as your Gáe Bolg arrow is ripped from your hands, flying into his with instant speed. He snaps it, tossing the two halves onto the ground. "Too bad it just can't hold a candle to the real deal."
"What the hell are you doing here, Lancer? I thought your master had work for you to do."
"She did." Lancer thumbs towards the woman who still looks far too much like Mikuni for her own good. "The little lady here has had me running all over town this past week. And once we take care of this wraith here, I'll be done. Friday night, just like I said, remember?"
"You were in Mitakihara this entire time?" But, that doesn't make sense. Lancer said that he was out on work, and couldn't join you. "Then why didn't you say anything? We could have used the help of another servant when we fought Assassin."
"Assassin... That was the small one, right? With the black leather and all the knives?" Lancer smirks, showing off his pearly whites with that cocky grin of his. Saying "You know, you should really be thanking me for all my help," he taps his chest, right above where his heart would be. "She was dead as soon as the little lady and I set our sights on her. After all, a heart pierced by the Gáe Bolg can never be healed." When Lancer narrows his eyes at you, you know he isn't looking at you, but at the you whom you used to be. "Certain... Exceptions, notwithstanding, of course." With the witch presumably, you hope defeated, you can see up above that Caster's Vimana is coming in for a landing. Hearing the noise up above, Lancer turns his head as well, saying "Well, look at that. Here come the others."
"Akemi," the other Mikuni says your master's name in a flat voice, and her eyes scan the disembarking crowd, stopping on Tomoe "I see you're all in better spirits than you were this morning" - and Kure, who is apparently unconscious and bleeding from every orifice - "Well, most of you, at least."
"Nurse Ortensia, what are you doing here?" your master asks, approaching as soon as the Vimana lands. So this woman is the Caren Ortensia that Rin told you about; the one who is also the nurse at your master's school. So why does she look so much like Mikuni? "I thought you said you weren't a master in this War."
"And I thought I told you, I was a master in the last War." She jabs her thumb in Lancer's direction, causing the blue spearman to scowl. "My servant just happened to like me so much that he decided to stick around afterwards." Lancer, true to his name as the hound of Chulainn, bares his teeth and growls as Ortensia speaks. "Be quiet, Lancer," Ortensia snaps. It's no wonder Lancer would growl; any dog would if its master treated them like Ortensia does. "I thought I told you to get back to work."
"Right, sure, whatever you say, master." With a twirl of his spear, Lancer steps forward, clapping you on the shoulder and saying as he walks past you "We'll have time to catch up later, Archer. I've got to get going."
"Ortensia?" Mikuni, who after staring at the woman who appears her exact duplicate in all but dress has finally managed to regain her bearing, asks "As in... Caren Ortensia?"
"That's correct." At those words, Ortensia turns to Mikuni. Her smile is unnerving, as though the muscles in her face weren't built to smile so widely at anything other than the torment of another, and with a voice as slick as oil she says "My goodness, Grandma Sophia was right; you really do look just like her when she was your age."
[Homura] Wat do?
[Archer] Wat do?
Somehow, it would appear that this witch is not out of the fight just yet. You only hope that you haven't made things even more difficult for you, your master, and your allies. And speaking of your master, "Archer, the witch is, against all odds, still alive. I hope you have something up your sleeve better suited to killing it than your last attempt."
"As a matter of fact, I do, but first I need you to make sure that the board is clear before I let loose. Have Kyouko, Rider, and Berserker fall back so they won't get swept away once I've unleashed."
"Understood. I'll have Kyouko give the order to fall back as soon as you're ready."
You can see the boundary of your reality marble fraying at the edges; it's no surprise. With all the high-power attacks that you and your master have been flinging around, your ability to sustain the Unlimited Blade Works was bound to run out sooner or later. At least you've managed to keep it up longer than that time you fought yourself. You'll have to end this quickly, before your ability to hold the boundary completely collapses and the witch and its familiars are allowed back out into the real world. That'll be all the time that you need.
"Trace on," you mutter, forming a new spear in your hands. Not the Durindana that would have incensed Rider were he to see you using it, but the Gáe Bolg; and just like Rider, you're glad that a certain blue-clad Lancer isn't here to see you stealing his prized weapon for your own purposes. Its shape twists in your hands, forming itself into an arrow which you nock on the string of your bow. Your aim cuts straight through the ocean of familiars, straight towards the witch at the very heart of the mob. Closer to you than to the witch, you can see that your master spoke true; Kyouko, Rider, and Berserker are all withdrawing from the line of fire. You'll have a clear shot, straight through the ocean of familiars and right into the heart of the witch.
"Gáe...."
"~BOLG!" What? Before you have the chance to fire, a crimson bullet streaks overhead, soaring over the ocean of familiars to slam into the witch with the force of an artillery shell. The force of the bullet's impact sends shockwaves tearing through the ocean of familiars, decimating them- The actual meaning of the word, that is; reducing their numbers by one-tenth. "Aw, man-" You hear a familiar - and obnoxious - voice moan those words, as the crimson bullet streaks overhead in the opposite direction. "I was hoping that would have taken out more of them."
"I don't recall giving you permission to complain, Lancer," says a new voice, an unfamiliar voice belonging to a female, which causes you to turn around. "Now get back to work. There's still a lot more of them that need to be dealt with."
"Hey, master," you reach out for your master with the link you both share, trying to make sense of the sight before you. "Mikuni is still with you on the Vimana, right?"
"Yes; Mikuni Oriko is up here with me. Why?"
"Because I'm staring right at her down here on the ground." You don't want to believe what you're seeing, but the truth can't be avoided. Mikuni is standing right in front of you, and - of all the servants she could have picked - Cú Chulainn is standing right there beside her. No, wait, that doesn't make any sense. You've seen the way Mikuni dresses, both as a normal civilian and as a puella magi. She dresses rather conservatively - to the point where her school uniform might be the most revealing thing you've ever seen her wearing - with long sleeves and skirts, and shirts with collars; and despite their near-identical faces and hair colours, this other Mikuni, in comparison, is best described as dressing like a sexy nun, with her complete lack of a skirt that reveals her panty and thigh-high lines. And a lab coat. Not sure why the lab coat, but who are you to question? Lastly, draped over her shoulders and around her arms is a distinctive red shawl whose magical signature you immediately recognize as a holy shroud.
"Is it the same as when you thought you saw her inside of Assassin's labyrinth?"
"Hey, that's a pretty neat trick," Lancer says, as your Gáe Bolg arrow is ripped from your hands, flying into his with instant speed. He snaps it, tossing the two halves onto the ground. "Too bad it just can't hold a candle to the real deal."
"What the hell are you doing here, Lancer? I thought your master had work for you to do."
"She did." Lancer thumbs towards the woman who still looks far too much like Mikuni for her own good. "The little lady here has had me running all over town this past week. And once we take care of this wraith here, I'll be done. Friday night, just like I said, remember?"
"You were in Mitakihara this entire time?" But, that doesn't make sense. Lancer said that he was out on work, and couldn't join you. "Then why didn't you say anything? We could have used the help of another servant when we fought Assassin."
"Assassin... That was the small one, right? With the black leather and all the knives?" Lancer smirks, showing off his pearly whites with that cocky grin of his. Saying "You know, you should really be thanking me for all my help," he taps his chest, right above where his heart would be. "She was dead as soon as the little lady and I set our sights on her. After all, a heart pierced by the Gáe Bolg can never be healed." When Lancer narrows his eyes at you, you know he isn't looking at you, but at the you whom you used to be. "Certain... Exceptions, notwithstanding, of course." With the witch presumably, you hope defeated, you can see up above that Caster's Vimana is coming in for a landing. Hearing the noise up above, Lancer turns his head as well, saying "Well, look at that. Here come the others."
"Akemi," the other Mikuni says your master's name in a flat voice, and her eyes scan the disembarking crowd, stopping on Tomoe "I see you're all in better spirits than you were this morning" - and Kure, who is apparently unconscious and bleeding from every orifice - "Well, most of you, at least."
"Nurse Ortensia, what are you doing here?" your master asks, approaching as soon as the Vimana lands. So this woman is the Caren Ortensia that Rin told you about; the one who is also the nurse at your master's school. So why does she look so much like Mikuni? "I thought you said you weren't a master in this War."
"And I thought I told you, I was a master in the last War." She jabs her thumb in Lancer's direction, causing the blue spearman to scowl. "My servant just happened to like me so much that he decided to stick around afterwards." Lancer, true to his name as the hound of Chulainn, bares his teeth and growls as Ortensia speaks. "Be quiet, Lancer," Ortensia snaps. It's no wonder Lancer would growl; any dog would if its master treated them like Ortensia does. "I thought I told you to get back to work."
"Right, sure, whatever you say, master." With a twirl of his spear, Lancer steps forward, clapping you on the shoulder and saying as he walks past you "We'll have time to catch up later, Archer. I've got to get going."
"Ortensia?" Mikuni, who after staring at the woman who appears her exact duplicate in all but dress has finally managed to regain her bearing, asks "As in... Caren Ortensia?"
"That's correct." At those words, Ortensia turns to Mikuni. Her smile is unnerving, as though the muscles in her face weren't built to smile so widely at anything other than the torment of another, and with a voice as slick as oil she says "My goodness, Grandma Sophia was right; you really do look just like her when she was your age."
[Homura] Wat do?
[Archer] Wat do?
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- Location
- Florida
Lol. It's not Saber-face time, it's CAREN-FACE TIME!!!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[jk] Quickly retreive arms from [Homura:the shield]/[Archer:the ground]
-[jk] DEUDLY FIRE ARMS
On a more serious note, we should probably leave talk for later and deal with the witch and her familiars first. With, uh, a rain of swords? That would probably work.
Band name: Witch And The Familiars
Album title: Rain Of Swords
-[jk] DEUDLY FIRE ARMS
On a more serious note, we should probably leave talk for later and deal with the witch and her familiars first. With, uh, a rain of swords? That would probably work.
Band name: Witch And The Familiars
Album title: Rain Of Swords
- Location
- United States
[X] Plan So As I Pray, Unlimited Blade Works
-[X] (Homura) Spend a few seconds processing what you just found out
--[X] Look to Oriko, then to Caren, and ask them how they could possibly be related. Don't voice it, but think of them as the girl who has a good heart but was ruthless and indiscriminate in killing innocents, and the women who has a heart that enjoys the suffering of others but who doesn't harm innocents and aids others.
--[X] Ask Archer if he's still willing to use this trump card to take out the Witch swiftly, unless Nurse Ortensia and her Lancer have any bright ideas?
---[X] Assuming that Caren's Lancer will use the weapon projected by Archer, the Holy Quintet will work on culling the familiars in preparation of when the Witch is killed
-[X] (Archer) Project Gáe Bolg: Gouging Piercing Spear of Carnage at its base and toss it to Caren's Lancer, telling him not to break it this time. Explain to him that this Gáe Bolg originates from him in the Berserker class, and that when used it'll create a field of instant death wherever it is thrown, which will be perfect for killing the Witch. Who better to use it than the original user, after all?
--[X] While Caren's Lancer takes care of the Witch, you'll take care of the familiars with what little time your Unlimited Blade Works has, using the full might of your armory focused only on them
Aaaand that's why Archer never uses a Servant's Noble Phantasm against them, even if this time he was only using it around them. What Lancer didn't know is that it was an alternate version of his Gáe Bolg that has abilities his class container doesn't have access to.
Also O.O. Didn't think that Oriko would be related to Caren, not by a long shot. I wonder what future family shenanigans might ensue due to this?
-[X] (Homura) Spend a few seconds processing what you just found out
--[X] Look to Oriko, then to Caren, and ask them how they could possibly be related. Don't voice it, but think of them as the girl who has a good heart but was ruthless and indiscriminate in killing innocents, and the women who has a heart that enjoys the suffering of others but who doesn't harm innocents and aids others.
--[X] Ask Archer if he's still willing to use this trump card to take out the Witch swiftly, unless Nurse Ortensia and her Lancer have any bright ideas?
---[X] Assuming that Caren's Lancer will use the weapon projected by Archer, the Holy Quintet will work on culling the familiars in preparation of when the Witch is killed
-[X] (Archer) Project Gáe Bolg: Gouging Piercing Spear of Carnage at its base and toss it to Caren's Lancer, telling him not to break it this time. Explain to him that this Gáe Bolg originates from him in the Berserker class, and that when used it'll create a field of instant death wherever it is thrown, which will be perfect for killing the Witch. Who better to use it than the original user, after all?
--[X] While Caren's Lancer takes care of the Witch, you'll take care of the familiars with what little time your Unlimited Blade Works has, using the full might of your armory focused only on them
Aaaand that's why Archer never uses a Servant's Noble Phantasm against them, even if this time he was only using it around them. What Lancer didn't know is that it was an alternate version of his Gáe Bolg that has abilities his class container doesn't have access to.
Also O.O. Didn't think that Oriko would be related to Caren, not by a long shot. I wonder what future family shenanigans might ensue due to this?
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WanderingTwix
Posting something good once in a full moon
- Location
- United Kingdom
[X] Plan So As I Pray, Unlimited Blade Works
- Location
- Around here
Really? Because I haven't exactly been hiding it. All the way back in the beginning, the first time we met Caren, Homura was thinking how much like Oriko she looked. I've repeatedly said that Oriko has Italian heritage on her mother's side, and Caren's mother's family is, well, Italian. Oriko once mentioned that she had an "Aunt Claudia" which should have been the tip-off given that Claudia was the name of Caren's mother. And if we look at her omake, the fact that something about the name "Mikuni" and Oriko's mother's Italian heritage tipping Caren off to ask her grandmother about [someone] should have been the biggest clue, I think.
And of course, they both have the same class of servant- Granted, this one's the most esoteric reason for them being related, but come on; I wasn't exactly being subtle about it.
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Omake, side Oriko - The Mikuni Family Tree
- Location
- Around here
Some time after midnight, Sunday, 3 April 2011
Oriko tossed and turned, unable to close her eyes without being consumed by guilt for the horrific atrocities she had committed. So many innocent lives, lost, all because of her own selfish fears. She didn't deserve the love of the person sleeping beside her, the person whom she had failed the most. Being intimate with Kirika had been difficult for Oriko since that day, because the feeling of her missing legs always forced Oriko to accept that her dearest had been injured entirely through her own faults; and tonight, she had been completely incapable of accepting her dearest's love for her, the shame she felt for her actions and the disgust she felt for herself overwhelming her completely.
Eventually, Oriko could take it no longer. The display on her clock read the time as half-past four in the morning, and it was at this point that Oriko had given up trying to find solace in sleep. Just as she had done for the past four sleepless nights, she pried herself from Kirika's embrace, threw on her bathrobe and slippers, and went downstairs to read. Inside what had once been her father's study, Oriko could read without disturbing Kirika, who needed the sleep much more than she herself did.
Acting on instinct, her hand went straight to the well-worn copy of Crime and Punishment that had been her favourite for many years, but tonight Oriko found that she could not bring herself to read that particular tome. Instead, another volume caught her eye, one which she had not known her father to possess. Her fingertip danced over the gold cross adorning the otherwise bare spine, before decisiveness overtook her and she committed to her choice. Oriko was not religious herself, but she knew that religion had been a source of solace for many throughout history.
"Perhaps," thought Oriko, "I too can find the same solace that so many others have found."
But as she opened the worn, leather-bound Bible, something fell from within its pages, fluttering down to the floor. Her curiosity piqued, Oriko bent over, reaching for and picking up the fallen object; an aged envelope which in handwritten Italian script was addressed to "The soon-to-be Yurako Mikuni". "That would be my mother; then, this letter was written to her by someone in Italy before she married my father?" Oriko opened the envelope, finding a folded-up letter and an old photograph, showing a young but stern-faced man standing beside a seated, frail-looking woman who bore a striking resemblance - uncannily so, in fact - to her mother. Seated in the woman's lap was a very young child, a girl who couldn't have been much older than two years. She too, bore an uncannily striking resemblance, but to Oriko this time; with just a few more years on her, the young girl would no doubt be a perfect stand-in for the six-year-old Oriko in the picture taken during the last summer that her mother was alive for.
"Who are they?" Oriko thought to herself, hoping that perhaps the letter might give her some clues as to their identities. "They can't be my mother and father, so why does the woman look so much like her?" The letter, like the address on the envelope, was handwritten in Italian. This wasn't a problem for Oriko; she had been taking Italian as her foreign language elective for two years now, and had been teaching herself for even longer than that. It was her way of keeping alive the memories she had of her mother, and of her grandmother, who had been born in Italy before moving to Japan to start a family with her Japanese husband- Oriko's maternal grandfather.
"Dear Cousin Yurako," the letter opened. "So, the person writing this was my mother's cousin." From the stories her grandmother had told her as a child, Oriko had always known that she had family living in Italy, but they had always been a distant thing, not something she ever thought she would have the chance to experience for herself. This letter to her mother was the first time Oriko had ever had contact with any part of the Italian side of her mother's family outside of her grandmother.
"When I heard you were getting married, I was beside myself with joy. I know how long you have been wanting to find Mister Right, and from everything you have told me of him, Hisaomi sounds like a wonderful man. I am so happy for you.
Unfortunately, it is with a heavy heart that I must reject your invitation. I know how much we were looking forward to finally meeting one another in person, but I am afraid that God may call me to His side before you and Hisaomi can be wedded. My illness has taken a turn for the worse, and even if I manage to survive the next few months, I doubt I will be in any condition to travel, let alone as far away as Japan. I am truly sorry, I do not mean to make you upset with this news so close to what should be the happiest day of your life, but I fear that if I do not tell you for myself, now, then you shall be forced to hear it from someone else after I have already passed."
Despite the writer's plea, "Please, do not cry," the following sentences are stained with tears, though whether those tears belonged to her mother or to the person writing to her, Oriko could only guess. "I know we never had the chance to meet in person, but I want you to know, even in spite of that, that our friendship has meant the world to me. And though I know I will not live to see it for myself, it would bring me the greatest joy to know that, when you and Hisaomi have a child of your own, that they and Caren have the chance to share in the same friendship that you and I had. I know it isn't much, but please accept the family Bible as a wedding present, from Kirei and myself. And take this picture, as well; maybe one day, when our children are old enough to write to each other, you can show them who it was that you wrote to when you were their age.
I am sorry, Yurako, but I suppose we will have to postpone our meeting until God sees fit to grant you entrance into His kingdom as well. Hopefully not too soon, though- I want you to have a long and happy life with your husband, and for the time you have with him and your children not to be cut short. And who knows? Maybe one day, our children will be able to meet where we could not.
I should go now. Caren wants to play, and I should like her last memories of me to be pleasant ones. As I hope your memories of me are as well. Goodbye, Yurako.
Your best friend,
Cousin Claudia Ortensia."
Solemnly, Oriko folded the letter back up, returning it to the envelope before taking another look at the photograph. She forced herself to swallow the lump forming in her throat; why hadn't her mother ever told her any of this? Why was she only just now learning the names of people who were supposed to be her family? This person, her mother's cousin Claudia Ortensia, was obviously someone who loved her mother dearly, and who was loved by her mother dearly in turn, so why was she only just now learning her name? This Bible too, stuffed unceremoniously onto the shelves of her father's study, this was a part of her mother's family history, so why was she only just now seeing it? Maybe because she was only just now looking for it?
Oriko had only been six when her mother passed away, failing her cousin's hopes of a long and happy life spent with her family, but she could clearly remember how devastating the loss had been for her father. Had he tried to hide away this part of her mother's life, in the hopes that it wouldn't have to remind him of what he had lost?
The picture too, Oriko put aside, returning it and the many questions still floating around inside her head to the envelope from whence they had come. She would unpack this lost branch of her family tree in the morning, she decided. "For now, I think I'll just get started on reading."
Eventually, Oriko could take it no longer. The display on her clock read the time as half-past four in the morning, and it was at this point that Oriko had given up trying to find solace in sleep. Just as she had done for the past four sleepless nights, she pried herself from Kirika's embrace, threw on her bathrobe and slippers, and went downstairs to read. Inside what had once been her father's study, Oriko could read without disturbing Kirika, who needed the sleep much more than she herself did.
Acting on instinct, her hand went straight to the well-worn copy of Crime and Punishment that had been her favourite for many years, but tonight Oriko found that she could not bring herself to read that particular tome. Instead, another volume caught her eye, one which she had not known her father to possess. Her fingertip danced over the gold cross adorning the otherwise bare spine, before decisiveness overtook her and she committed to her choice. Oriko was not religious herself, but she knew that religion had been a source of solace for many throughout history.
"Perhaps," thought Oriko, "I too can find the same solace that so many others have found."
But as she opened the worn, leather-bound Bible, something fell from within its pages, fluttering down to the floor. Her curiosity piqued, Oriko bent over, reaching for and picking up the fallen object; an aged envelope which in handwritten Italian script was addressed to "The soon-to-be Yurako Mikuni". "That would be my mother; then, this letter was written to her by someone in Italy before she married my father?" Oriko opened the envelope, finding a folded-up letter and an old photograph, showing a young but stern-faced man standing beside a seated, frail-looking woman who bore a striking resemblance - uncannily so, in fact - to her mother. Seated in the woman's lap was a very young child, a girl who couldn't have been much older than two years. She too, bore an uncannily striking resemblance, but to Oriko this time; with just a few more years on her, the young girl would no doubt be a perfect stand-in for the six-year-old Oriko in the picture taken during the last summer that her mother was alive for.
"Who are they?" Oriko thought to herself, hoping that perhaps the letter might give her some clues as to their identities. "They can't be my mother and father, so why does the woman look so much like her?" The letter, like the address on the envelope, was handwritten in Italian. This wasn't a problem for Oriko; she had been taking Italian as her foreign language elective for two years now, and had been teaching herself for even longer than that. It was her way of keeping alive the memories she had of her mother, and of her grandmother, who had been born in Italy before moving to Japan to start a family with her Japanese husband- Oriko's maternal grandfather.
"Dear Cousin Yurako," the letter opened. "So, the person writing this was my mother's cousin." From the stories her grandmother had told her as a child, Oriko had always known that she had family living in Italy, but they had always been a distant thing, not something she ever thought she would have the chance to experience for herself. This letter to her mother was the first time Oriko had ever had contact with any part of the Italian side of her mother's family outside of her grandmother.
"When I heard you were getting married, I was beside myself with joy. I know how long you have been wanting to find Mister Right, and from everything you have told me of him, Hisaomi sounds like a wonderful man. I am so happy for you.
Unfortunately, it is with a heavy heart that I must reject your invitation. I know how much we were looking forward to finally meeting one another in person, but I am afraid that God may call me to His side before you and Hisaomi can be wedded. My illness has taken a turn for the worse, and even if I manage to survive the next few months, I doubt I will be in any condition to travel, let alone as far away as Japan. I am truly sorry, I do not mean to make you upset with this news so close to what should be the happiest day of your life, but I fear that if I do not tell you for myself, now, then you shall be forced to hear it from someone else after I have already passed."
Despite the writer's plea, "Please, do not cry," the following sentences are stained with tears, though whether those tears belonged to her mother or to the person writing to her, Oriko could only guess. "I know we never had the chance to meet in person, but I want you to know, even in spite of that, that our friendship has meant the world to me. And though I know I will not live to see it for myself, it would bring me the greatest joy to know that, when you and Hisaomi have a child of your own, that they and Caren have the chance to share in the same friendship that you and I had. I know it isn't much, but please accept the family Bible as a wedding present, from Kirei and myself. And take this picture, as well; maybe one day, when our children are old enough to write to each other, you can show them who it was that you wrote to when you were their age.
I am sorry, Yurako, but I suppose we will have to postpone our meeting until God sees fit to grant you entrance into His kingdom as well. Hopefully not too soon, though- I want you to have a long and happy life with your husband, and for the time you have with him and your children not to be cut short. And who knows? Maybe one day, our children will be able to meet where we could not.
I should go now. Caren wants to play, and I should like her last memories of me to be pleasant ones. As I hope your memories of me are as well. Goodbye, Yurako.
Your best friend,
Cousin Claudia Ortensia."
Solemnly, Oriko folded the letter back up, returning it to the envelope before taking another look at the photograph. She forced herself to swallow the lump forming in her throat; why hadn't her mother ever told her any of this? Why was she only just now learning the names of people who were supposed to be her family? This person, her mother's cousin Claudia Ortensia, was obviously someone who loved her mother dearly, and who was loved by her mother dearly in turn, so why was she only just now learning her name? This Bible too, stuffed unceremoniously onto the shelves of her father's study, this was a part of her mother's family history, so why was she only just now seeing it? Maybe because she was only just now looking for it?
Oriko had only been six when her mother passed away, failing her cousin's hopes of a long and happy life spent with her family, but she could clearly remember how devastating the loss had been for her father. Had he tried to hide away this part of her mother's life, in the hopes that it wouldn't have to remind him of what he had lost?
The picture too, Oriko put aside, returning it and the many questions still floating around inside her head to the envelope from whence they had come. She would unpack this lost branch of her family tree in the morning, she decided. "For now, I think I'll just get started on reading."
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Woo, I just got caught up~ hello hello everyone!
- Location
- Around here
Well, who would it be worse for her to move in with? Her uncle, a powerful member of the Diet who could no doubt (financially) provide her with a good rest of her underage years, but who adamantly refuses to believe that she isn't just pretending to be a lesbian as some form of teenage rebellion; or Caren, who doesn't really care one way or the other, but is, well, Caren.
Or does she take the third option, and have her soon-to-be mother-in-law (Kirika's mom) move in with her?
We can consider it having been retrieved. Archer doesn't like them, and he only reluctantly gave it to her because we wanted to get her up and running in time for this fight. Now that she's got her legs back he'd have no reason to keep it with her any longer than necessary.
Aloha, new face. Stick around awhile, but don't bother buckling up because the safety equipment on The Ride has long since stopped working.
EDIT: And can I say, to all of my players, given how you've all been waiting to see who the mystery servant was that killed Assassin, and who might have potentially been the herald of a possible Apocrypha, that I'm actually rather surprised by the tepid reaction you're all having to their identity being revealed as F/SN Lancer Cú Chulainn. At least Oriko and Caren being related turned an appropriate number of heads, I guess.
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- Location
- United States
Eh, it's mostly because I actually already thought about the possibility that it might have been Cú, especially since Caren was noted by him as having been sending him on missions. The only thing that kept me from pondering such a thing in thread was that it was described that Assassin was killed by a blade, rather than from being pierced in the heart. As for the Oriko-Caren thing, I just completely overlooked any hints connecting them due to not thinking that you'd have characters across the melded universes in this unique timeline related. xD
Also welcome Killerthesun, we could always use more voters in this (and soon the next) thread!
WanderingTwix
Posting something good once in a full moon
- Location
- United Kingdom
I'm not a big thinker. And I don't know fate, so that stuff doesn't have the same signifigance to me as someone who does like Enetious.