NeonLights
Formerly Reliable_2IC
- Location
- In shambles
[X] Mami
Confringentur, Mk.2; a Madoka Magica / Fate/Stay Night crossover
- Thread starter SVS
- Start date
- Crossover
Omake, side Hitomi - W-Day +15
- Location
- Around here
It was Monday, the sixteenth of May; the first day back to school after the disaster that struck Mitakihara on the first of the month. Officials called it a violent typhoon, comparing the damage from the storm surge to that of the tsunami from the 1933 Sanriku earthquake; but Hitomi knew better.
School in Mitakihara had been suspended for two weeks, until the local and provincial governments could sort out where to send the displaced students in the wake of their schools no longer existing. Standing before the mirror in what was, at least until a proper, permanent residence could be re-established, her room, Hitomi preened in her new school uniform, a pale blue-green top with a dark blue pleated skirt, topped with a bright red bow at the neck, and was reminescent in shape if not in colour of the tan uniform she had worn at Mitakihara. Chigasaki had been the nearest city to where her parents had relocated that was willing to accommodate the large number of displaced Mitakihara students, so for the foreseeable future the local junior high school would be where Hitomi attended.
An alarm bell sounded on Hitomi's phone, calling her away from her preening. "That time already?" she said, putting the phone away in the pocket of her uniform. "I suppose I'd better get going if I don't want to miss the train."
Carefully, Hitomi gathered her school things and assembled them in her school bag. Her hand stopped as it hovered over the open notebook sitting on her bedside table, its open pages scribbled black with all manner of notes on magecraft and Mystic Code theory. "Maybe I should take this with me too, just in case something strikes me." Nodding in agreement with her own thought, Hitomi closed the notebook, placing it into her bag along with her school books and other supplies. "Ah, almost forgot!" she exclaimed, shooting her hand out to grab a pair of unassuming steel rings also sitting on the table, sliding them onto the pointer and middle fingers of her right hand. "Wouldn't want to leave home without them."
Mystic Codes for atmospheric oxygen manipulation probably wouldn't be of much help to her during the school day; but clearly, one never knew when disaster might strike and the need might arise. The events of the past two months had taught Hitomi that lesson well.
"Mother, father, I'm leaving for school now!"
Hitomi's goodbye call as she passed through the kitchen on her way to the door was met with an approving nod from her father, and a "Have fun, sweetie," from her mother. "Remember to stay safe."
"Remember to stay safe."
Twenty minutes later, those words hadn't left Hitomi's mind as she sat in alone in silence, the only sound coming from the rattle of the empty train car in which she sat. Mitakihara had become a much more dangerous place ever since Akemi-san brought the existence of magic with her. "No, that's not right," she muttered to herself. "I shouldn't blame Akemi-san for things that aren't hers to control. I know she didn't mean for any of this to happen." Hitomi shook her head, and so shook those thoughts from her mind. She checked the time on her phone; there was still plenty of time before the train arrived at the stop nearest the school. "I suppose a little brainstorming session wouldn't hurt," she said, reaching into her school bag for a pencil and a certain notebook.
The train lurched to a stop, and the doors slid open as two familiar voices bickered back and forth. "Ah, Sayaka-san, Sakura-san, good morning," Hitomi said as her friends took seats across the car from her. "You two certainly sound rather lively; are you excited about school?"
"Wha fer?" Kyouko asked, batting her legs back and forth in her seat. "School's a load'a crap anyway. "
"You're just saying that 'cause you're scared you won't fit in on account of how much you've missed," Sayaka said. "It won't be so bad; you'll have me and Hitomi there to keep you company; and, uh..." Sayaka blushed, scratching at the back of her head as she added "You look kind of cute wearing that uniform. The blue-green really goes good with your hair."
Kyouko met Sayaka's blush with one of her own, sheepishly muttering "Ya think?"
"Have I ever lied to you before?"
"Yeah; when ya said I'd enjoy going back ta school with ya."
Sayaka playfully shoved Kyouko, exclaiming "Come on! How can you say that when you haven't even been there yet?"
"When'd you get so defensive about school, anyway?" Kyouko shot back. "Weren't ya whining ta Pinkie just a few weeks ago how ya didn't wanna go back?"
Hitomi coughed into her hand before things between Sayaka and Kyouko had a chance to escalate further. "Come now, there's no need to fight. You wouldn't want your new schoolmates to think you're both ruffians, would you?"
"Fer yer information, Seaweed, I am a ruffian, and proud of it." Kyouko tugged at the red bow around her uniform's collar, loosening it. "In case ya fergot, I was living on my own fer three years before Mami picked me up and let me crash with her... Fer as long as that lasted, anyway..."
Kyouko sighed, slumping forward in her seat, and Sayaka draped an arm over her girlfriend's shoulder, pulling her in close. "You wish you could have stayed with Mami-san, don't you?" Sayaka asked. "Listen, I know the place my mom and I are crashing in isn't that big compared to Mami-san's old place, but-"
"It ain't like that!!" Kyouko shouted, only pulling back when the volume of her own voice hit her. "Sorry. It ain't like that at all. It's... When Mami's place got hit, the picture of Momo I kept on top of my fridge went with it... That was the only thing left of her I had."
"Sorry," Sayaka said. "I guess I hadn't thought about that..." Blue and Red stared at each other, neither saying anything until a brilliant idea struck Sayaka. "Hey! Would it make you feel better if your super-cute girlfriend took you out for dinner after school?"
"Make me feel better about losing the only reminder of my little sister I had left? Nah." For a moment, Sayaka appeared defeated, until Kyouko slipped under her guard and planted a kiss on her cheek. "But I'll still take ya up on that, as long as yer paying."
Hitomi had to keep her laughter to herself. Sakura Kyouko was hardly an adequate replacement for the absences of Madoka-san and Akemi-san, but her interactions with Sayaka-san were cute in their own way. "I suppose I don't mind this."
"Huh? Ya say something Seaweed?"
"Oh." Hitomi held a hand to her mouth to muffle her surprise. "My apologies, Sakura-san. I hadn't realised I'd said that out loud."
Kyouko nodded, ignoring her earlier train of thought in place of craning her neck in the direction of Hitomi's notebook. "What'cha working on, huh?"
"Oh, just trying to solve a problem that's been rattling around in my brain for awhile now."
"Like what?"
"I'm trying to figure out if there's anything I can come up with that would expedite Mitakihara's recovery process," Hitomi replied, showing the page with her current progress to Kyouko. "My Element is Wind, and since water is made up of two gasses, hydrogen and oxygen, I thought there might be a way I could use some elemental magecraft to either control the water to displace itself, or to speed up the evaporation process."
Kyouko stared at the page, scowling, and saying "Looks like it's mostly chemistry. When me and the girls would practice our runes, our notes looked way different from that gibberish yer working on."
"Your runes are magic, Sakura-san, while what I'm working on is magecraft. Magic is, but magecraft is more like a science. Since a lot of my current work has to do with applications relating to elemental gasses, I'm not surprised that it looks like chemistry to you."
"And, this science stuff is yer idea of fun?"
Hitomi smiled, setting her notebook back into her school bag as the signboard indicated that their station would be next. "Yes. Studying magecraft and figuring out ways I can apply my knowledge is rather engaging."
"You do you, I guess. My head's spinning just looking at that hot mess, forget about having ta do that fer hours every day." Kyouko shook her head, and in the process her flowing crimson locks brushed up against Sayaka's nose, causing her to sneeze just as the train came to a halt at their stop. As the trio of girls exited, they found themselves sucked into a throng of Chigasaki students, all heading in the same direction as the trio.
While Sayaka and Kyouko chatted to themselves, Hitomi's eyes wandered over the sea of students wearing the local uniform. The dark blue skirt of the girls uniform was replaced by dark blue pants for the boys, and the top was similarly dark blue to match. Her eyes lingered on the sea for a second too long, prompting a "Hey, Seaweed, I asked if ya saw any hot guys while ya were staring."
"Come on, Kyouko, don't be rude. You know Hitomi's dating Kyousuke."
"I don't see him here ta say anything."
Hitomi didn't respond; she didn't have to, because the boy who had caught her eye was staring back. He was coming closer. "Hey, I haven't seen you three around here," he said. "Are you girls the transfers from Mitakihara?"
"Yes," Hitomi said. "I'm Shizuki Hitomi, and these are my friends, Miki Sayaka and Sakura Kyouko."
The boy ran a hand through his short, shaggy black hair, saying "I'm just glad it didn't hit the entire southern Kanagawa seaboard, even if it is still a shame what happened to Mitakihara. I hope you'll at least enjoy yourselves as long as you're in Chigasaki." A pair of boys on bicycles slowed down as they approached, waving to the boy. "Ah! I'd better get going!" Quickly bowing, he spat out a hurried "Uh, my name's Aoba; I'm a second-year. If you need anything, don't hesitate to find me!" before racing off to catch up to the cycling duo.
As soon as the boy was out of earshot, Kyouko snickered, saying "Looks like Seaweed's got herself a new boyfriend, huh?"
"I do not!" Hitomi said. "I'm sure he's a nice boy, but we've barely said two whole sentences to each other! Besides, I'm already dating Kamijou-kun. It would be terribly uncouth of me to dump him for a boy I've just barely met."
But Sakura-san was right; Kamijou-kun wasn't here right now. Even before the disaster their conflicting schedules had made finding time to see one another difficult, but now it seemed downright impossible. He wasn't available physically, and often it seemed like he wasn't available emotionally, either. 'Aoba,' Hitomi thought to herself. 'I'll have to remember him.'
School in Mitakihara had been suspended for two weeks, until the local and provincial governments could sort out where to send the displaced students in the wake of their schools no longer existing. Standing before the mirror in what was, at least until a proper, permanent residence could be re-established, her room, Hitomi preened in her new school uniform, a pale blue-green top with a dark blue pleated skirt, topped with a bright red bow at the neck, and was reminescent in shape if not in colour of the tan uniform she had worn at Mitakihara. Chigasaki had been the nearest city to where her parents had relocated that was willing to accommodate the large number of displaced Mitakihara students, so for the foreseeable future the local junior high school would be where Hitomi attended.
An alarm bell sounded on Hitomi's phone, calling her away from her preening. "That time already?" she said, putting the phone away in the pocket of her uniform. "I suppose I'd better get going if I don't want to miss the train."
Carefully, Hitomi gathered her school things and assembled them in her school bag. Her hand stopped as it hovered over the open notebook sitting on her bedside table, its open pages scribbled black with all manner of notes on magecraft and Mystic Code theory. "Maybe I should take this with me too, just in case something strikes me." Nodding in agreement with her own thought, Hitomi closed the notebook, placing it into her bag along with her school books and other supplies. "Ah, almost forgot!" she exclaimed, shooting her hand out to grab a pair of unassuming steel rings also sitting on the table, sliding them onto the pointer and middle fingers of her right hand. "Wouldn't want to leave home without them."
Mystic Codes for atmospheric oxygen manipulation probably wouldn't be of much help to her during the school day; but clearly, one never knew when disaster might strike and the need might arise. The events of the past two months had taught Hitomi that lesson well.
"Mother, father, I'm leaving for school now!"
Hitomi's goodbye call as she passed through the kitchen on her way to the door was met with an approving nod from her father, and a "Have fun, sweetie," from her mother. "Remember to stay safe."
"Remember to stay safe."
Twenty minutes later, those words hadn't left Hitomi's mind as she sat in alone in silence, the only sound coming from the rattle of the empty train car in which she sat. Mitakihara had become a much more dangerous place ever since Akemi-san brought the existence of magic with her. "No, that's not right," she muttered to herself. "I shouldn't blame Akemi-san for things that aren't hers to control. I know she didn't mean for any of this to happen." Hitomi shook her head, and so shook those thoughts from her mind. She checked the time on her phone; there was still plenty of time before the train arrived at the stop nearest the school. "I suppose a little brainstorming session wouldn't hurt," she said, reaching into her school bag for a pencil and a certain notebook.
The train lurched to a stop, and the doors slid open as two familiar voices bickered back and forth. "Ah, Sayaka-san, Sakura-san, good morning," Hitomi said as her friends took seats across the car from her. "You two certainly sound rather lively; are you excited about school?"
"Wha fer?" Kyouko asked, batting her legs back and forth in her seat. "School's a load'a crap anyway. "
"You're just saying that 'cause you're scared you won't fit in on account of how much you've missed," Sayaka said. "It won't be so bad; you'll have me and Hitomi there to keep you company; and, uh..." Sayaka blushed, scratching at the back of her head as she added "You look kind of cute wearing that uniform. The blue-green really goes good with your hair."
Kyouko met Sayaka's blush with one of her own, sheepishly muttering "Ya think?"
"Have I ever lied to you before?"
"Yeah; when ya said I'd enjoy going back ta school with ya."
Sayaka playfully shoved Kyouko, exclaiming "Come on! How can you say that when you haven't even been there yet?"
"When'd you get so defensive about school, anyway?" Kyouko shot back. "Weren't ya whining ta Pinkie just a few weeks ago how ya didn't wanna go back?"
Hitomi coughed into her hand before things between Sayaka and Kyouko had a chance to escalate further. "Come now, there's no need to fight. You wouldn't want your new schoolmates to think you're both ruffians, would you?"
"Fer yer information, Seaweed, I am a ruffian, and proud of it." Kyouko tugged at the red bow around her uniform's collar, loosening it. "In case ya fergot, I was living on my own fer three years before Mami picked me up and let me crash with her... Fer as long as that lasted, anyway..."
Kyouko sighed, slumping forward in her seat, and Sayaka draped an arm over her girlfriend's shoulder, pulling her in close. "You wish you could have stayed with Mami-san, don't you?" Sayaka asked. "Listen, I know the place my mom and I are crashing in isn't that big compared to Mami-san's old place, but-"
"It ain't like that!!" Kyouko shouted, only pulling back when the volume of her own voice hit her. "Sorry. It ain't like that at all. It's... When Mami's place got hit, the picture of Momo I kept on top of my fridge went with it... That was the only thing left of her I had."
"Sorry," Sayaka said. "I guess I hadn't thought about that..." Blue and Red stared at each other, neither saying anything until a brilliant idea struck Sayaka. "Hey! Would it make you feel better if your super-cute girlfriend took you out for dinner after school?"
"Make me feel better about losing the only reminder of my little sister I had left? Nah." For a moment, Sayaka appeared defeated, until Kyouko slipped under her guard and planted a kiss on her cheek. "But I'll still take ya up on that, as long as yer paying."
Hitomi had to keep her laughter to herself. Sakura Kyouko was hardly an adequate replacement for the absences of Madoka-san and Akemi-san, but her interactions with Sayaka-san were cute in their own way. "I suppose I don't mind this."
"Huh? Ya say something Seaweed?"
"Oh." Hitomi held a hand to her mouth to muffle her surprise. "My apologies, Sakura-san. I hadn't realised I'd said that out loud."
Kyouko nodded, ignoring her earlier train of thought in place of craning her neck in the direction of Hitomi's notebook. "What'cha working on, huh?"
"Oh, just trying to solve a problem that's been rattling around in my brain for awhile now."
"Like what?"
"I'm trying to figure out if there's anything I can come up with that would expedite Mitakihara's recovery process," Hitomi replied, showing the page with her current progress to Kyouko. "My Element is Wind, and since water is made up of two gasses, hydrogen and oxygen, I thought there might be a way I could use some elemental magecraft to either control the water to displace itself, or to speed up the evaporation process."
Kyouko stared at the page, scowling, and saying "Looks like it's mostly chemistry. When me and the girls would practice our runes, our notes looked way different from that gibberish yer working on."
"Your runes are magic, Sakura-san, while what I'm working on is magecraft. Magic is, but magecraft is more like a science. Since a lot of my current work has to do with applications relating to elemental gasses, I'm not surprised that it looks like chemistry to you."
"And, this science stuff is yer idea of fun?"
Hitomi smiled, setting her notebook back into her school bag as the signboard indicated that their station would be next. "Yes. Studying magecraft and figuring out ways I can apply my knowledge is rather engaging."
"You do you, I guess. My head's spinning just looking at that hot mess, forget about having ta do that fer hours every day." Kyouko shook her head, and in the process her flowing crimson locks brushed up against Sayaka's nose, causing her to sneeze just as the train came to a halt at their stop. As the trio of girls exited, they found themselves sucked into a throng of Chigasaki students, all heading in the same direction as the trio.
While Sayaka and Kyouko chatted to themselves, Hitomi's eyes wandered over the sea of students wearing the local uniform. The dark blue skirt of the girls uniform was replaced by dark blue pants for the boys, and the top was similarly dark blue to match. Her eyes lingered on the sea for a second too long, prompting a "Hey, Seaweed, I asked if ya saw any hot guys while ya were staring."
"Come on, Kyouko, don't be rude. You know Hitomi's dating Kyousuke."
"I don't see him here ta say anything."
Hitomi didn't respond; she didn't have to, because the boy who had caught her eye was staring back. He was coming closer. "Hey, I haven't seen you three around here," he said. "Are you girls the transfers from Mitakihara?"
"Yes," Hitomi said. "I'm Shizuki Hitomi, and these are my friends, Miki Sayaka and Sakura Kyouko."
The boy ran a hand through his short, shaggy black hair, saying "I'm just glad it didn't hit the entire southern Kanagawa seaboard, even if it is still a shame what happened to Mitakihara. I hope you'll at least enjoy yourselves as long as you're in Chigasaki." A pair of boys on bicycles slowed down as they approached, waving to the boy. "Ah! I'd better get going!" Quickly bowing, he spat out a hurried "Uh, my name's Aoba; I'm a second-year. If you need anything, don't hesitate to find me!" before racing off to catch up to the cycling duo.
As soon as the boy was out of earshot, Kyouko snickered, saying "Looks like Seaweed's got herself a new boyfriend, huh?"
"I do not!" Hitomi said. "I'm sure he's a nice boy, but we've barely said two whole sentences to each other! Besides, I'm already dating Kamijou-kun. It would be terribly uncouth of me to dump him for a boy I've just barely met."
But Sakura-san was right; Kamijou-kun wasn't here right now. Even before the disaster their conflicting schedules had made finding time to see one another difficult, but now it seemed downright impossible. He wasn't available physically, and often it seemed like he wasn't available emotionally, either. 'Aoba,' Hitomi thought to herself. 'I'll have to remember him.'
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Omake, side Minako - W-Day +31
- Location
- Around here
The first of June fell on a Wednesday, meaning Minako had to get up early in order to make it to her morning shift at the convenience store. It was situated far enough to the north and far enough away from the river that it had avoided being hit by any major flood damage; for which Minako was very grateful, what with the entirety of Downtown Mitakihara, the office building where she worked her day shift included, being completely underwater. The pay wasn't much, hardly anything at that, but with a little pinching and some help from the money left to her by Archer it was enough to get by.
As she had done every working morning since the storm, Minako grabbed a copy of the morning paper from its place on a wire rack by the counter as she clocked herself out, paying for it with a- "You look like shit." Her co-worker's words snapped Minako out of the autopilot she had been running on, and she blinked as they handed her change back to her. "When was the last time you got a good night's sleep, anyway?"
Minako shook her head, saying "Not since the storm."
"Ain't that the truth. I don't think anyone in the city's had a good night's sleep since then." Minako said nothing, and her autopilot kicked back in as she headed out the door. "Hey, I'll see you Friday."
Minako's mind might not have been firing on all cylinders at the moment, but she barely needed that much to make the journey from the convenience store back to her apartment. She would, however, need significantly more brainpower than that to deal with- "Minako, are you-"
"Leave me alone, Hiroshi!" Minako snapped, causing the shorter man to recoil. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now, so just leave me the hell alone, okay?"
"... Sorry," Hiroshi mumbled. "I just wanted to know if you were doing okay. You... You seemed really happy with Archer, so I was just hoping that his disappearance hasn't gotten to you too badly."
"Oh." Was that genuine concern she heard in Hiroshi's voice? Was he not just being a creepy weirdo right now? "Sorry for snapping at you, then," she said, slumping over as she retrieved her apartment key from her pocket. "It's been... Well, I'm managing. I guess, thank you, for being concerned." He was still creepy, though, but apparently he had the capacity to be more than just creepy.
"You know, crews are still digging up bodies down by the southern end. He'd be pretty hard to miss if they did find him. I know it doesn't seem like much, but if they haven't put his name out there yet it could mean he's still alive..."
"Yeah..." Minako didn't have anything else to say to her downstairs neighbor as she closed the door behind her. She wouldn't have even bothered taking her shoes off if muscle memory weren't as strong as it were, and tossing the newspaper down onto the kitchen table, she set about tearing the fridge apart for something to eat. She'd put on a bit of weight since the storm, but that was fine. Archer would still love her for who she was, right?
'Oh, who am I kidding?' she thought, stopping herself midway into making her early lunch. She settled down at the table, tearing through the newspaper for the section she wanted. Her eyes scanned through the listed names of everyone who had been identified recently; still nothing. She saw no mention of anybody named 'Archer' nor of an 'unidentified, tanned Japanese male.' Over a thousand dead identified so far, with almost twice that many still missing or unidentified, with more and more being identified every day. 'And the one missing person I care about still hasn't been found...'
Minako slumped over in her chair, doing all she could to hold back the pain. "it's not fair... Just when I'd finally found a guy who made me happy... Made Kirika happy... He's got to go and get himself killed in some stupid typhoon!" She had been holding her tears in for a month, but she couldn't hold them in any longer. "Is this what I get for thinking I could ever deserve to be happy again? A stupid, worthless fuckup like me?"
Completely forgetting about the lunch that was currently simmering on the stove, Minako reached into the fridge for a beer.
"... Mom, we're ba- Mom!" Kirika's voice snapped Minako awake. So did the smell of something burning. Minako stood, but before she could will herself to move any faster, Kirika was in the kitchen, dealing with the bubbling mess that had once been lunch. "Mom, what the hell happened?"
Minako stared at her daughter, and her daughter's adopted sister who was standing off to the side with a concerned look on her face. "I must have forgotten about it," she said with an empty voice. "Besides, shouldn't you two still be in school?"
"School ended almost an hour ago."
"Oh." Minako stared at Homura, her brain taking a few moments to process what the girl had just said. Her head turned to the clock on the wall, then back to Homura, and then to Kirika, who was still dealing with cleaning up the disaster of the forgotten lunch. "I must have forgotten about it."
Kirika sighed, shaking her head as she asked her mother "Just how many beers did you have before forgetting about something like a lunch that was still cooking?"
"Just one." A sour look from Kirika met Minako, and her daughter tapped her foot on the floor as both she and Minako stared at the half-dozen empty cans littering the kitchen table. "... I guess I forgot about those ones too."
Kirika shook her head, sighing as she and Homura helped Minako back down into her seat. "Mom... You're not well, mom," Kirika said. "I know you're still shaken up about Archer, but you've got to get a hold of yourself. You can't keep doing stuff like this. What if me and Homura come home one day and you've burned the whole place down?" Kirika wrapped her arms around her mother, and Homura followed suite soon after. "I know it's been tough for you. It's been tough for all of us. We miss dad too."
"I know how crushing it is to lose someone you love, and I know how difficult it is to get past it on your own," Homura added. "We're all going through this together, so you shouldn't feel like you need to keep how you feel bottled up around us." Inwardly, Minako cursed at herself for having been so selfish. This was the second time Homura had lost her father; the second time for Kirika as well, when she thought about it. "I know it doesn't seem like it now, but I know he'll turn up eventually. But until he does, we're both here for you whenever you need us."
Neither Minako, nor the two girls hugging her, had realised the other was crying until all of them broke from their group hug. Minako wiped the tears from her eyes, saying "You girls... When did you get so grown up, Kirika? When did you start taking care of me?"
"Oriko told me to be more independent when I'm not around her," Kirika said. "I think... I think she knew you'd need me looking out for you."
"And I just want to repay you for your generosity," Homura added. "You didn't have to take me in, but I'm very grateful that you did, mom..." Homura stopped as that word left her mouth. "Uh, I mean, if it's okay for me to call you 'mom,' that is."
"How could I not take you in?" Minako asked, shifting her attention from Kirika to Homura. "You're Archer's precious little girl; I'd just be spitting on his memory if I left you out to dry." Minako pulled Homura in for another hug, cooing to her "Of course you can call me 'mom,' sweetie. Heaven's sake, how'd Kirika adopt you before I could?" Minako and Homura broke away, and the two sisters took up seats across the table from Minako. She sighed, saying to both of them "I... I know I haven't been taking this well, and I'm sorry if that's come down negatively on either of you. I know you're both dealing with this just as much as I am."
Minako tried to force a smile for her girls, and she asked them "Now, how about I make us all something to eat for dinner; how does that sound? This time, I promise I won't let it burn."
As she had done every working morning since the storm, Minako grabbed a copy of the morning paper from its place on a wire rack by the counter as she clocked herself out, paying for it with a- "You look like shit." Her co-worker's words snapped Minako out of the autopilot she had been running on, and she blinked as they handed her change back to her. "When was the last time you got a good night's sleep, anyway?"
Minako shook her head, saying "Not since the storm."
"Ain't that the truth. I don't think anyone in the city's had a good night's sleep since then." Minako said nothing, and her autopilot kicked back in as she headed out the door. "Hey, I'll see you Friday."
Minako's mind might not have been firing on all cylinders at the moment, but she barely needed that much to make the journey from the convenience store back to her apartment. She would, however, need significantly more brainpower than that to deal with- "Minako, are you-"
"Leave me alone, Hiroshi!" Minako snapped, causing the shorter man to recoil. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now, so just leave me the hell alone, okay?"
"... Sorry," Hiroshi mumbled. "I just wanted to know if you were doing okay. You... You seemed really happy with Archer, so I was just hoping that his disappearance hasn't gotten to you too badly."
"Oh." Was that genuine concern she heard in Hiroshi's voice? Was he not just being a creepy weirdo right now? "Sorry for snapping at you, then," she said, slumping over as she retrieved her apartment key from her pocket. "It's been... Well, I'm managing. I guess, thank you, for being concerned." He was still creepy, though, but apparently he had the capacity to be more than just creepy.
"You know, crews are still digging up bodies down by the southern end. He'd be pretty hard to miss if they did find him. I know it doesn't seem like much, but if they haven't put his name out there yet it could mean he's still alive..."
"Yeah..." Minako didn't have anything else to say to her downstairs neighbor as she closed the door behind her. She wouldn't have even bothered taking her shoes off if muscle memory weren't as strong as it were, and tossing the newspaper down onto the kitchen table, she set about tearing the fridge apart for something to eat. She'd put on a bit of weight since the storm, but that was fine. Archer would still love her for who she was, right?
'Oh, who am I kidding?' she thought, stopping herself midway into making her early lunch. She settled down at the table, tearing through the newspaper for the section she wanted. Her eyes scanned through the listed names of everyone who had been identified recently; still nothing. She saw no mention of anybody named 'Archer' nor of an 'unidentified, tanned Japanese male.' Over a thousand dead identified so far, with almost twice that many still missing or unidentified, with more and more being identified every day. 'And the one missing person I care about still hasn't been found...'
Minako slumped over in her chair, doing all she could to hold back the pain. "it's not fair... Just when I'd finally found a guy who made me happy... Made Kirika happy... He's got to go and get himself killed in some stupid typhoon!" She had been holding her tears in for a month, but she couldn't hold them in any longer. "Is this what I get for thinking I could ever deserve to be happy again? A stupid, worthless fuckup like me?"
Completely forgetting about the lunch that was currently simmering on the stove, Minako reached into the fridge for a beer.
"... Mom, we're ba- Mom!" Kirika's voice snapped Minako awake. So did the smell of something burning. Minako stood, but before she could will herself to move any faster, Kirika was in the kitchen, dealing with the bubbling mess that had once been lunch. "Mom, what the hell happened?"
Minako stared at her daughter, and her daughter's adopted sister who was standing off to the side with a concerned look on her face. "I must have forgotten about it," she said with an empty voice. "Besides, shouldn't you two still be in school?"
"School ended almost an hour ago."
"Oh." Minako stared at Homura, her brain taking a few moments to process what the girl had just said. Her head turned to the clock on the wall, then back to Homura, and then to Kirika, who was still dealing with cleaning up the disaster of the forgotten lunch. "I must have forgotten about it."
Kirika sighed, shaking her head as she asked her mother "Just how many beers did you have before forgetting about something like a lunch that was still cooking?"
"Just one." A sour look from Kirika met Minako, and her daughter tapped her foot on the floor as both she and Minako stared at the half-dozen empty cans littering the kitchen table. "... I guess I forgot about those ones too."
Kirika shook her head, sighing as she and Homura helped Minako back down into her seat. "Mom... You're not well, mom," Kirika said. "I know you're still shaken up about Archer, but you've got to get a hold of yourself. You can't keep doing stuff like this. What if me and Homura come home one day and you've burned the whole place down?" Kirika wrapped her arms around her mother, and Homura followed suite soon after. "I know it's been tough for you. It's been tough for all of us. We miss dad too."
"I know how crushing it is to lose someone you love, and I know how difficult it is to get past it on your own," Homura added. "We're all going through this together, so you shouldn't feel like you need to keep how you feel bottled up around us." Inwardly, Minako cursed at herself for having been so selfish. This was the second time Homura had lost her father; the second time for Kirika as well, when she thought about it. "I know it doesn't seem like it now, but I know he'll turn up eventually. But until he does, we're both here for you whenever you need us."
Neither Minako, nor the two girls hugging her, had realised the other was crying until all of them broke from their group hug. Minako wiped the tears from her eyes, saying "You girls... When did you get so grown up, Kirika? When did you start taking care of me?"
"Oriko told me to be more independent when I'm not around her," Kirika said. "I think... I think she knew you'd need me looking out for you."
"And I just want to repay you for your generosity," Homura added. "You didn't have to take me in, but I'm very grateful that you did, mom..." Homura stopped as that word left her mouth. "Uh, I mean, if it's okay for me to call you 'mom,' that is."
"How could I not take you in?" Minako asked, shifting her attention from Kirika to Homura. "You're Archer's precious little girl; I'd just be spitting on his memory if I left you out to dry." Minako pulled Homura in for another hug, cooing to her "Of course you can call me 'mom,' sweetie. Heaven's sake, how'd Kirika adopt you before I could?" Minako and Homura broke away, and the two sisters took up seats across the table from Minako. She sighed, saying to both of them "I... I know I haven't been taking this well, and I'm sorry if that's come down negatively on either of you. I know you're both dealing with this just as much as I am."
Minako tried to force a smile for her girls, and she asked them "Now, how about I make us all something to eat for dinner; how does that sound? This time, I promise I won't let it burn."
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Will the sequel be in a separate thread?
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Probably. I'd like for the sequel to be able to stand on its own as a story and not require new readers to know any more than the basics of what happened here to be able to enjoy themselves. It was either Enetious or NMS who suggested that part of the reason I can't keep new readers engaged is because of how massive of a doorstopper it is I've written, so I'd like to make the sequel more accessible than this monster of a quest was in the hopes of retaining a larger number of new participants.
Unless someone has a very compelling reason for why I should host the sequel in this thread; I'm open to hearing suggestions if you think you have one.
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Why would I not do that? Just because I want the sequel to be able to stand on its own for new readers doesn't mean I want to abandon any semblance of continuity with what came before it or throw my old players under the bus. Of course I was going to do that.
I've seen people honestly forget to do that. Not out of malice or ill intent. Just that it slipped their minds.
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It's "malice" that's the word you're looking for. "Malus" is a type of apple tree, and also the middle name of the villain in Symphogear's third season. I'm not normally this much of a pedant; usually I'll let misspellings slide, but this one was just so out there I felt I had to step in.
There is absolutely no malice in my plans for the sequel, but I'd hold off on saying there's no malus.
Omake, side Oriko - W-Day +63
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- Around here
The tiny blue Fiat rattled and bounced down the hilly road as it traveled the Tuscan countryside. Its driver kept her eyes on the road with an unenthused expression on her face, but the passenger gazed out at the scenery with a constant smile as her eyes drank in the sight of the foreign land.
"Thank you for agreeing to take me with you, Caren-san," Oriko said. "If there's anything I can do to repay you for your generosity when we return to Japan, please don't hesitate to let me know."
"You can start by not bothering me while I'm driving," Caren replied. "Now, where the hell was the turn? I always miss it..." Taking her eyes off the road for a brief moment, not long enough to get lost, Caren glanced over to her cousin. "Though, I suppose if you felt you had to indulge me, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if you'd make some of your vegetarian curry agai- Ah, there it is!"
Oriko braced herself as the car took a sharp right, turning off the main road and onto an a dusty side path. The rolling hills gave way to rows and rows of grapevines, and off in the distance she could see the outline of a villa sitting on a little hill overlooking the fields. "There it is," Caren said, as Oriko's eyes followed her pointing hand. "The ancestral Ortensia homestead. Get a good look now, kid, because it only gets worse up close."
Despite Caren's claims, when the car pulled into the gravel driveway Oriko found that the villa was even more beautiful up close. Sure, some of the paint on the west-facing side might have seen better days, but the three-story brick villa was still the impressive sight to behold, something Oriko knew she'd never see anything like back in Japan. While she hung back and admired the view, Caren approached the door, knocking thrice on the wooden front door.
Voices could be heard inside the villa, and only a few moments after Caren had announced their arrival, the door opened. "Ah, Caren, good to see you! How was the trip?"
Oriko froze at the sight of the woman who had answered the door for Caren, who was now forcing on her an overly-affectionate hug. "Long and uneventful," Caren replied; the two women were speaking Italian, as to be expected, but Oriko could follow along with their conversation flawlessly. She probably wouldn't be standing here right now if she couldn't. Caren motioned to Oriko, saying to the other woman "I hope you don't mind, but there's this stowaway who followed me here."
That would be her cue. Clearing her throat, Oriko approached the front door, bowing for the woman who looked so much like her mother before saying "It's so good to finally meet you, Aunt Maria."
"Ah, Oriko!" Before the words had finished leaving her mouth, Oriko was trapped in the embrace of the older woman, kisses planted on both cheeks in rapid succession. "I can't believe it's only been two months since you first rang us! It feels like we've been waiting an eternity to meet you!" the woman said. "You really do look just like your grandmother. Please, come in, make yourself at home."
Crossing the threshold into the villa was like plunging into deep water, an overwhelming sensation that penetrates down to your core. Oriko smiled, drinking in the sensation of a place that was at once strange and unfamiliar, and yet infinitely more comforting and welcoming than the mansion back home in Japan. Oriko took her shoes off at the door, with Caren following suit as she entered behind her, and made her way into the kitchen behind Maria. "Who else is home right now, if you don't mind me asking?"
"The whole family's here, though I don't know where they've all ran off to." Maria cleared her throat, before calling out "Antonio! Bring Mom and the kids! We've got company!"
At once, several pairs of feet could be heard racing down the stairs. A man with dark hair and a strong chin entered, bringing with him two small boys who nipped at his heels. "Caren, good to have you. Six weeks, as usual?" Caren nodded, and the man's eyes wandered. "Ah, you must be Oriko," he said, embracing her and repeating the same gesture of greeting as his wife. "So good to have you here in our humble little home."
"It's so wonderful to be here, Uncle Antonio. When she was alive, my grandmother would always tell me stories about her childhood, so to finally be here with everyone is..." Oriko smiled, and her words failed her as she drank in a warmth she had long been missing. "I can't find the words to describe how good it feels."
As Oriko and Antonio broke from their embrace and he rose to his full height, he nodded his head to each of the children that had arrived with him. "Mario, Luigi, this is your cousin Oriko. She's come to stay with us for a few weeks while her school is on summer break, so be sure to make her feel welcome." Both boys - they didn't look any older than six or eight - were hesitant to approach. "Don't be shy. You've spoken with her on the telephone before, remember?"
"Why's she got a funny name, daddy?" asked the shorter of the two boys.
"Remember how your auntie Caren lives in Japan? Well, Oriko was born there, so she's got a Japanese name." Antonio smiled, nudging the two boys closer as he added "She's the granddaughter of your grandmother's sister, so even if she's got a funny name she's still family."
That must have done it. Needing little prompting afterwards, the two boys approached Oriko, each one vying to be recognised first as they both wrapped their arms around her at the same time. "If you're from Japan, how come you speak Italian so well?" the taller of the two boys asked. "Do they speak Italian in Japan too?"
Oriko shook her head, saying "I've been teaching myself Italian for many years. But it's a very different language from Japanese, so it hasn't been easy."
"What's Japanese sound like?"
Oriko cleared her throat, and said "Hello. My name is Oriko, and I'm very pleased to meet you both." The boys stared, slack-jawed. "I said my name is Oriko, and that I'm very pleased to meet you both," she said, returning to Italian for the benefit of her younger cousins.
"Wow..."
"You know, I really thought Kirika would be visiting with you," Maria said as her two sons finally removed themselves from Oriko's person. "You made it sound like she really wanted to go with you, too. What happened?"
"Well, the typhoon I told you about that hit the prefecture two months ago may have claimed the life of her mother's boyfriend," Oriko said, her words being met with somber faces from the non-Caren adults in the room. It was the closest thing to the truth she could reasonably tell the older woman. "His name hasn't appeared on any of the lists of deceased or missing persons yet, but so far there's been no sign of him, and her mother's been taking it quite poorly. I know Kirika wanted to come with me, but she chose to stay home to take care of her mother instead."
Maria nodded. "Your girlfriend's got her head in the right place."
"I wouldn't have her any other way."
A fourth pair of feet could be heard making their way towards the kitchen. They moved slowly, deliberately, and at times it sounded like there was a third footfall echoing with the other two. An elderly woman leaning against a cane rounded the corner, and as she and Oriko met their eyes widened in unison. The once ash-white of her hair may have faded to dull grey, but her golden eyes had lost none of their youthful sparkle; and as the two stood there, staring at each other, it was for Oriko as if the rest of the world had vanished.
The old woman let her cane fall to the floor, and as fast as her aged legs could carry her she had raced forward to meet Oriko. "Lord, thank you for giving life to this wonderful child!" she proclaimed as she embraced Oriko, tears streaming down her face. "I thought I'd never get to see my sister again when she left home, but you've delivered her granddaughter right into my home!" Still tearful, the old woman launched a flurry of kisses against Oriko's defenseless cheeks. "Oriko, you wonderful gift from God, words aren't enough to express my gratitude that you're alive and here with us on this blessed day."
"I wish there were more I could say," Oriko said as she helped her grandmother's sister into a chair at the kitchen table. "You're all such warm and wonderful people; I wish I could have met you all sooner."
"The Lord work in mysterious ways, child. If He meant for us to meet now, then it must have been for a reason." Looking to her own granddaughter, the old woman said "Caren, I can't thank you enough for finding Oriko and bringing her to us."
"She was so insistent on meeting you all," Caren said, allowing just the slightest hint of something other than cold detachment to show through in her voice. "You can consider this my one good deed for the year, Grandma Sophia."
"You've reunited me with my sister's flesh and given this wonderful girl the opportunity to finally meet her family," Sophia said, as Maria collected her discarded cane and brought it to her. "Thank you. I'll consider it your greatest deed for the rest of my life."
"Now, I imagine you two must be hungry after your trip," Maria said to Oriko and Caren, as the both of them took seats at the table across from the Ortensia matriarch. "We had lunch a little after church got out; that was about two hours ago, but we've got fresh bread, and I can make you both a nice salad to go with that if you'd like."
"Thank you," Oriko said; Caren said nothing, giving only a noncommittal shrug to her aunt. "Something to eat sounds wonderful, but you needn't trouble yourself on my account."
"Nonsense! You're family, and you've come all this way to visit us. The least we can do is make sure you're well fed while you're with us." Without wasting a moment to hear any protest, Maria set herself to work cobbling together lunch for her guests. "Besides, there's still plenty more I'm sure we'd all love to talk with you about, and over a meal is the perfect place for that." In no time at all, Maria had assembled lunch, bread and salads for both. Addressing Oriko, Maria asked "Now, speaking of food, you're a vegetarian, correct?" Oriko nodded. "Right. I had some ideas for what I could make us all for dinner, but if you'd like to lend some input I'd be more than happy to accommodate to you."
Oriko smiled. From her own experiments in the kitchen, she had just the thing. "Well, now that you mention it, I do have a few things I was wondering if you've ever tried before..."
"Thank you for agreeing to take me with you, Caren-san," Oriko said. "If there's anything I can do to repay you for your generosity when we return to Japan, please don't hesitate to let me know."
"You can start by not bothering me while I'm driving," Caren replied. "Now, where the hell was the turn? I always miss it..." Taking her eyes off the road for a brief moment, not long enough to get lost, Caren glanced over to her cousin. "Though, I suppose if you felt you had to indulge me, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if you'd make some of your vegetarian curry agai- Ah, there it is!"
Oriko braced herself as the car took a sharp right, turning off the main road and onto an a dusty side path. The rolling hills gave way to rows and rows of grapevines, and off in the distance she could see the outline of a villa sitting on a little hill overlooking the fields. "There it is," Caren said, as Oriko's eyes followed her pointing hand. "The ancestral Ortensia homestead. Get a good look now, kid, because it only gets worse up close."
Despite Caren's claims, when the car pulled into the gravel driveway Oriko found that the villa was even more beautiful up close. Sure, some of the paint on the west-facing side might have seen better days, but the three-story brick villa was still the impressive sight to behold, something Oriko knew she'd never see anything like back in Japan. While she hung back and admired the view, Caren approached the door, knocking thrice on the wooden front door.
Voices could be heard inside the villa, and only a few moments after Caren had announced their arrival, the door opened. "Ah, Caren, good to see you! How was the trip?"
Oriko froze at the sight of the woman who had answered the door for Caren, who was now forcing on her an overly-affectionate hug. "Long and uneventful," Caren replied; the two women were speaking Italian, as to be expected, but Oriko could follow along with their conversation flawlessly. She probably wouldn't be standing here right now if she couldn't. Caren motioned to Oriko, saying to the other woman "I hope you don't mind, but there's this stowaway who followed me here."
That would be her cue. Clearing her throat, Oriko approached the front door, bowing for the woman who looked so much like her mother before saying "It's so good to finally meet you, Aunt Maria."
"Ah, Oriko!" Before the words had finished leaving her mouth, Oriko was trapped in the embrace of the older woman, kisses planted on both cheeks in rapid succession. "I can't believe it's only been two months since you first rang us! It feels like we've been waiting an eternity to meet you!" the woman said. "You really do look just like your grandmother. Please, come in, make yourself at home."
Crossing the threshold into the villa was like plunging into deep water, an overwhelming sensation that penetrates down to your core. Oriko smiled, drinking in the sensation of a place that was at once strange and unfamiliar, and yet infinitely more comforting and welcoming than the mansion back home in Japan. Oriko took her shoes off at the door, with Caren following suit as she entered behind her, and made her way into the kitchen behind Maria. "Who else is home right now, if you don't mind me asking?"
"The whole family's here, though I don't know where they've all ran off to." Maria cleared her throat, before calling out "Antonio! Bring Mom and the kids! We've got company!"
At once, several pairs of feet could be heard racing down the stairs. A man with dark hair and a strong chin entered, bringing with him two small boys who nipped at his heels. "Caren, good to have you. Six weeks, as usual?" Caren nodded, and the man's eyes wandered. "Ah, you must be Oriko," he said, embracing her and repeating the same gesture of greeting as his wife. "So good to have you here in our humble little home."
"It's so wonderful to be here, Uncle Antonio. When she was alive, my grandmother would always tell me stories about her childhood, so to finally be here with everyone is..." Oriko smiled, and her words failed her as she drank in a warmth she had long been missing. "I can't find the words to describe how good it feels."
As Oriko and Antonio broke from their embrace and he rose to his full height, he nodded his head to each of the children that had arrived with him. "Mario, Luigi, this is your cousin Oriko. She's come to stay with us for a few weeks while her school is on summer break, so be sure to make her feel welcome." Both boys - they didn't look any older than six or eight - were hesitant to approach. "Don't be shy. You've spoken with her on the telephone before, remember?"
"Why's she got a funny name, daddy?" asked the shorter of the two boys.
"Remember how your auntie Caren lives in Japan? Well, Oriko was born there, so she's got a Japanese name." Antonio smiled, nudging the two boys closer as he added "She's the granddaughter of your grandmother's sister, so even if she's got a funny name she's still family."
That must have done it. Needing little prompting afterwards, the two boys approached Oriko, each one vying to be recognised first as they both wrapped their arms around her at the same time. "If you're from Japan, how come you speak Italian so well?" the taller of the two boys asked. "Do they speak Italian in Japan too?"
Oriko shook her head, saying "I've been teaching myself Italian for many years. But it's a very different language from Japanese, so it hasn't been easy."
"What's Japanese sound like?"
Oriko cleared her throat, and said "Hello. My name is Oriko, and I'm very pleased to meet you both." The boys stared, slack-jawed. "I said my name is Oriko, and that I'm very pleased to meet you both," she said, returning to Italian for the benefit of her younger cousins.
"Wow..."
"You know, I really thought Kirika would be visiting with you," Maria said as her two sons finally removed themselves from Oriko's person. "You made it sound like she really wanted to go with you, too. What happened?"
"Well, the typhoon I told you about that hit the prefecture two months ago may have claimed the life of her mother's boyfriend," Oriko said, her words being met with somber faces from the non-Caren adults in the room. It was the closest thing to the truth she could reasonably tell the older woman. "His name hasn't appeared on any of the lists of deceased or missing persons yet, but so far there's been no sign of him, and her mother's been taking it quite poorly. I know Kirika wanted to come with me, but she chose to stay home to take care of her mother instead."
Maria nodded. "Your girlfriend's got her head in the right place."
"I wouldn't have her any other way."
A fourth pair of feet could be heard making their way towards the kitchen. They moved slowly, deliberately, and at times it sounded like there was a third footfall echoing with the other two. An elderly woman leaning against a cane rounded the corner, and as she and Oriko met their eyes widened in unison. The once ash-white of her hair may have faded to dull grey, but her golden eyes had lost none of their youthful sparkle; and as the two stood there, staring at each other, it was for Oriko as if the rest of the world had vanished.
The old woman let her cane fall to the floor, and as fast as her aged legs could carry her she had raced forward to meet Oriko. "Lord, thank you for giving life to this wonderful child!" she proclaimed as she embraced Oriko, tears streaming down her face. "I thought I'd never get to see my sister again when she left home, but you've delivered her granddaughter right into my home!" Still tearful, the old woman launched a flurry of kisses against Oriko's defenseless cheeks. "Oriko, you wonderful gift from God, words aren't enough to express my gratitude that you're alive and here with us on this blessed day."
"I wish there were more I could say," Oriko said as she helped her grandmother's sister into a chair at the kitchen table. "You're all such warm and wonderful people; I wish I could have met you all sooner."
"The Lord work in mysterious ways, child. If He meant for us to meet now, then it must have been for a reason." Looking to her own granddaughter, the old woman said "Caren, I can't thank you enough for finding Oriko and bringing her to us."
"She was so insistent on meeting you all," Caren said, allowing just the slightest hint of something other than cold detachment to show through in her voice. "You can consider this my one good deed for the year, Grandma Sophia."
"You've reunited me with my sister's flesh and given this wonderful girl the opportunity to finally meet her family," Sophia said, as Maria collected her discarded cane and brought it to her. "Thank you. I'll consider it your greatest deed for the rest of my life."
"Now, I imagine you two must be hungry after your trip," Maria said to Oriko and Caren, as the both of them took seats at the table across from the Ortensia matriarch. "We had lunch a little after church got out; that was about two hours ago, but we've got fresh bread, and I can make you both a nice salad to go with that if you'd like."
"Thank you," Oriko said; Caren said nothing, giving only a noncommittal shrug to her aunt. "Something to eat sounds wonderful, but you needn't trouble yourself on my account."
"Nonsense! You're family, and you've come all this way to visit us. The least we can do is make sure you're well fed while you're with us." Without wasting a moment to hear any protest, Maria set herself to work cobbling together lunch for her guests. "Besides, there's still plenty more I'm sure we'd all love to talk with you about, and over a meal is the perfect place for that." In no time at all, Maria had assembled lunch, bread and salads for both. Addressing Oriko, Maria asked "Now, speaking of food, you're a vegetarian, correct?" Oriko nodded. "Right. I had some ideas for what I could make us all for dinner, but if you'd like to lend some input I'd be more than happy to accommodate to you."
Oriko smiled. From her own experiments in the kitchen, she had just the thing. "Well, now that you mention it, I do have a few things I was wondering if you've ever tried before..."
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- Around here
Before the final omake goes live, I want to talk a little about a dream I had last night. It was a "what if" involving the 4th Holy Grail War taking place a decade earlier than it had, so 1984 instead of 1994. I'm not too sure on the details of what actually happened, since my perspective only really followed Tokiomi as he was making preparations to fight, but it was interesting enough to me that I gave it some thought after waking up. Having the 4th HGW take place a decade earlier would mean;
- Sakura hasn't been born yet, to Tokiomi is unable to sell Sakura to Zouken, leaving him without a plan for the next two Grail Wars. Now, Zouken being Zouken, there's always the chance that he does what he can to force Kariya to participate, but since Sakura isn't in immediate danger of being wormed Kariya is unlikely to actually give more than a single rat's ass about what Zouken wants. This might free up a slot, or force Zouken to go it himself like he did in the 3rd Grail War.
- Waver and Ryuunousuke are both too young to participate, freeing up two slots automatically. Who else would end up taking them, I couldn't say. Maybe other mercenaries, like Shishigou, or maybe Darnic gets involved and tries to go 2-0 against a Zouken whose ass he already kicked in the previous War. Either way, the introduction of two new faces would shake the War up quite a bit.
- There is a good chance the Einzberns still recruit Kiritsugu; however, depending on how long it took the Einzberns to excavate Avalon, Seibah may or may not be made into Kiritsugu's servant. This time around, he might be free (or at least freer) to choose a servant who better suits his preferred methods of fighting.
- The same applies to Tokiomi. Depending on how long it took him to find his snakeskin, he may not be summoning Gilgamesh as his servant this time around. The loss of Gilgamesh, if Tokiomi is unable to find the proper catalyst, would dramatically change how he has to fight, and he might actually be forced to do something about the War this time around.
- Kayneth is still a likely participant, but minus a decade's worth of prestige and experience he's likely going in as a young upstart looking to use the Grail War to expedite his rise to the top, rather than as a status boost to an already-renowned career. This is going to dramatically change how his character acts and fights, and will definitely change his relationship with his servant, whoever they end up being this time around.
- Kirei as a participant is very much up in the air. It would depend on what the Grail wants from him, and whether or not he's still as lost a decade earlier as he was in the main continuity. If he does end up being conscripted by the Grail, then the lack of Gilgamesh to corrupt his mind is going to dramatically change how the whole War plays out.
- Oh yeah, and don't forget that this is all taking place set against the backdrop of the Cold War. All it would take is one servant firing off their NP at the wrong time, the masquerade slipping for just a second too long, and suddenly you've got the US thinking the Soviets have attacked Japan.
For those of you more in the know about Fate and the TMverse, what are your thoughts about the scenario I, quite literally, dreamed up? Assuming Enetious never gets his internet back up - it has been almost two months, after all - is this something you'd like to see from me instead of the sequel?
- Sakura hasn't been born yet, to Tokiomi is unable to sell Sakura to Zouken, leaving him without a plan for the next two Grail Wars. Now, Zouken being Zouken, there's always the chance that he does what he can to force Kariya to participate, but since Sakura isn't in immediate danger of being wormed Kariya is unlikely to actually give more than a single rat's ass about what Zouken wants. This might free up a slot, or force Zouken to go it himself like he did in the 3rd Grail War.
- Waver and Ryuunousuke are both too young to participate, freeing up two slots automatically. Who else would end up taking them, I couldn't say. Maybe other mercenaries, like Shishigou, or maybe Darnic gets involved and tries to go 2-0 against a Zouken whose ass he already kicked in the previous War. Either way, the introduction of two new faces would shake the War up quite a bit.
- There is a good chance the Einzberns still recruit Kiritsugu; however, depending on how long it took the Einzberns to excavate Avalon, Seibah may or may not be made into Kiritsugu's servant. This time around, he might be free (or at least freer) to choose a servant who better suits his preferred methods of fighting.
- The same applies to Tokiomi. Depending on how long it took him to find his snakeskin, he may not be summoning Gilgamesh as his servant this time around. The loss of Gilgamesh, if Tokiomi is unable to find the proper catalyst, would dramatically change how he has to fight, and he might actually be forced to do something about the War this time around.
- Kayneth is still a likely participant, but minus a decade's worth of prestige and experience he's likely going in as a young upstart looking to use the Grail War to expedite his rise to the top, rather than as a status boost to an already-renowned career. This is going to dramatically change how his character acts and fights, and will definitely change his relationship with his servant, whoever they end up being this time around.
- Kirei as a participant is very much up in the air. It would depend on what the Grail wants from him, and whether or not he's still as lost a decade earlier as he was in the main continuity. If he does end up being conscripted by the Grail, then the lack of Gilgamesh to corrupt his mind is going to dramatically change how the whole War plays out.
- Oh yeah, and don't forget that this is all taking place set against the backdrop of the Cold War. All it would take is one servant firing off their NP at the wrong time, the masquerade slipping for just a second too long, and suddenly you've got the US thinking the Soviets have attacked Japan.
For those of you more in the know about Fate and the TMverse, what are your thoughts about the scenario I, quite literally, dreamed up? Assuming Enetious never gets his internet back up - it has been almost two months, after all - is this something you'd like to see from me instead of the sequel?
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- The End of Glory
It's interestimg and all. But I'd prefer the sequel personally
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- Around here
If I did it as just a straight fanfiction, I'd probably do it the same way Fate/Zero did it, and have the perspectives shift around to provide readers with variation. If I did it as a quest, then I'd probably use the first post to roll through the equivalent of Fate/Zero's opening episode, then prompt players to vote on who they wanted to play as. For the latter, I haven't decided whether it would be better to go in with a plan for all seven servants already set, or to let voters decide which class they want, and give each master an appropriate servant once ours had been picked out.
Of course. This is me spitting out a "What if Enetious doesn't return but I still want to put something out there" scenario. I too would prefer to see the sequel happen.
You're two-thirds of the way there. A truly perfect world would see me with enough time to juggle the sequel, this idea, and my other idea for a quest set during the 3rd HGW; because yes, I had an idea for that too. Alas, my schedule as well as my own ability to juggle multiple projects means I'll only truly ever have the time and mental capacity to focus all-in on one of my projects at a time.
... So I guess the good news is that if you like my writing, I've got plenty of ideas to spare with literal years' worth of content in mind.
- Location
- United States
If the idea has you fired up I say give it a try. It might serve as a way to get more people to notice your writing and thus get more participation when you start the sequel. The only major problem I can think of at the moment is that Kiritsugu would crush everybody else unless his Servant is both weaker than the others and even more against him than Artoria was. This would be Kiritsugu at his peak, before a decade of living with a loving wife and child softens him. Also I think this would be before Kotomine's wife kills herself so he wouldn't be nearly as broken as he was in canon and wouldn't have his obsession with Kiritsugu.
- Location
- Around here
I'm laughing at myself because, shit, I hadn't actually thought of that.
Well, I did only say it was a "maybe" and in the canon timeline the Einzberns recruited Kiritsugu nine years before the War started; so either they would be doing their recruiting so hastily that Kiritsugu would be hobbled by both a complete lack of information on who he was going up against and by the lack of moral support from an Irisviel he's barely had time to get to know, or they wouldn't recruit him because he wouldn't have built up his reputation yet and they'd be forced to send out yet another shoddily-built homunculus who's expected to keel over and die the moment more than two servants are defeated.
Kirei was with Claudia for only two years before she died, which was three years before the War started. They wouldn't have even met if the War started a decade early. He'd still be doing whatever it is that he does, assuming the Grail even selects him in the first place, which it might not when you consider that in the canon timeline, the Grail only selected him after Claudia's death.
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Omake, side Homura - W-Day +128
- Location
- Around here
Tuesday, September sixth. One-hundred twenty-eight days since you defeated Walpurgisnacht. One-hundred twenty-eight days since you saved Madoka. One-hundred twenty-eight days since you freed yourself from the prison of your endless repetition. One-hundred twenty-eight days since you lost your father.
"I'll see you again, Homura; I promise you. So, just be patient for a little while."
You can still hear his voice, can still see him fading away even as he encourages you to be patient. But four months later, and you have yet to see even the slightest hint that Archer has come back; not to you, not to Kirika, not to Minako. If he were waiting for the right moment before returning, then why hasn't that right moment come around at any point in the past one-hundred twenty-eight days?
You received a phone call yesterday afternoon from the people you had hired to look at your apartment; the water damage has been fixed, and some of the furniture has been replaced. All that's left to do is decide whether you want to move back in, or whether you'll remain with the Kures and rent the building out for a little extra income.
The train ride down from Shirome to the station nearest your apartment is one you familiarised yourself with greatly in the weeks leading up to Walpurgisnacht. It's late; there's a meet coming up on the first Sunday in October, so archery practice went for longer than usual today - and the Shirome archery club already practices for longer than Mitakihara's archery club did - and with winter creeping ever closer the sun has mostly dipped beyond the horizon by the time you reach your apartment. You fumble for your keys, your fingers eventually finding them inside the pocket of your uniform, and you enter, taking your shoes off and leaving them and your school bag at the door.
Your eyes trace the contours of the main hallway. The familiar walls in which you lived for so many lifetimes now feel strange and unfamiliar. You touch your hand to the wall; it feels cool to the touch. With your hand touching the cool wall, you follow along the path as you inspect each of the rooms in the downstairs apartment. The kitchen and living room look exactly as you remember them; the only thing they're missing is the warmth of a family. The room where your parents once resided is barren now, their portraits too soaked to salvage and their little shrine unable to fit in the limited space afforded to the Kure apartment.
Your final stop on your inspection is the room you once called your own. It's empty now; not a single piece of furniture or scrap of proof that you had once been here remains. This was your room, once; your prison, the place you kept to yourself for as long as Fate had trapped you in a cycle from which you thought you could never escape. Now, it's nothing more than a memory, an empty room with no reason to call it your own any longer.
Seeing the empty room you had once called your own, your mind is made up. You can't stay here. Without Archer - without a family - this apartment couldn't ever hope to feel like a home. As the realisation dawns on you, your body slumps down into an empty corner, and all you can do is hold yourself tight as you cry.
A thunderous crash coming from the living room breaks you from your sobbing, and your whole body goes on high alert. Did the repair crews miss a water-logged stabilising beam in the ceiling? is your first thought, but you dash that. Then, is it a burglar? If it is a burglar, they've got another thing coming if they think they can steal from you. Expecting a confrontation, you don your battle outfit and draw your bow, but the sight that greets you as you enter the living room is anything but.
"Sorry about the couch," Archer says, dusting himself off as he stands among the wreckage of what had previously been a brand new couch and ceiling. "I'll get that fixed up for you right away." You stare, jaw slackened, as Archer sets about repairing the damage he caused, all the while muttering to himself "Why is it always the couch?" with his muttering punctuated by the occasional frustrated shake of his head. His work complete, Archer turns to you, saying "I'm glad to see you've been keeping up with your practice while I was away, but do you think you could put the bow down? I'd prefer if our reunion didn't begin with me getting shot."
You can't find the words you want to say, and the dispelling of your battle costume happens more by instinct than anything you consciously will to happen. "Be honest," Archer says, approaching you with a serious expression on his face. "How long have I been gone?"
Finally, your words find their voice, and you say "... Four months."
It all happens so fast; Archer has his arms around you, and all he can say is "I'm sorry," as your tears resume. "I can't imagine the grief I've caused you all." You don't know how long the two of you stay like this, Archer comforting you as four months' worth of every emotion you've been missing in his absence come flooding out through your eyes. But when it ends, and Archer has dried your tears, he says "I'm really back this time. I won't disappear on you ever again."
"I'm glad, but..." But something is bothering you about Archer's return. Based on what he's told you he, as a Counter Guardian, is only sent down to deal with problems when they become too great a threat to the World; so... "What are you doing back? Does this... Does you being back mean there's something just as bad as Walpurgisnacht on the horizon?"
"Defeating Walpurgisnacht was never my mission, per se. Originally, the problem I was sent to deal with was a bit more... Let's call it complex; and while defeating Walpurgisnacht goes a very long way to nipping the problem in the bud, I realised while I was away that it hadn't dealt with the matter as completely as my... Employer might have believed." For as much as it sounds like he's trying to dance around the subject, to you it sounds as though there is something else to be worried about beyond the horizon of a better tomorrow. But that's fine. Madoka is safe, and you can meet whatever tomorrow throws at you, with your allies and your father by your side. "So I simply told my employer that I had unfinished business, and that I wanted to be sent back to keep on top of things and make sure the problem never came to that."
Archer's answer is like a riddle; but that's typical of him. "I suppose the fact that you returning meant you'd be reunited with your daughter and finally able to start a family with the woman you love are just happy coincidences, is that right?"
"Well, I'd be lying if I said that wasn't my primary motivator in coming back. The rest was just the excuse I needed to actually get the go-ahead to come back. The World is a very work-oriented consciousness, you see."
Even when Archer is giving you the answer you asked for, there's always another layer to whatever he has to say. That's so like him. But that's okay, because "I'm just glad you're back."
"Yeah," Archer says. For all the crying you've done, now it's Archer's turn for his eyes to mist. "I'm back, Homura."
You can finally have a family again. "Welcome home, Archer." You've finally won.
"I'll see you again, Homura; I promise you. So, just be patient for a little while."
You can still hear his voice, can still see him fading away even as he encourages you to be patient. But four months later, and you have yet to see even the slightest hint that Archer has come back; not to you, not to Kirika, not to Minako. If he were waiting for the right moment before returning, then why hasn't that right moment come around at any point in the past one-hundred twenty-eight days?
You received a phone call yesterday afternoon from the people you had hired to look at your apartment; the water damage has been fixed, and some of the furniture has been replaced. All that's left to do is decide whether you want to move back in, or whether you'll remain with the Kures and rent the building out for a little extra income.
The train ride down from Shirome to the station nearest your apartment is one you familiarised yourself with greatly in the weeks leading up to Walpurgisnacht. It's late; there's a meet coming up on the first Sunday in October, so archery practice went for longer than usual today - and the Shirome archery club already practices for longer than Mitakihara's archery club did - and with winter creeping ever closer the sun has mostly dipped beyond the horizon by the time you reach your apartment. You fumble for your keys, your fingers eventually finding them inside the pocket of your uniform, and you enter, taking your shoes off and leaving them and your school bag at the door.
Your eyes trace the contours of the main hallway. The familiar walls in which you lived for so many lifetimes now feel strange and unfamiliar. You touch your hand to the wall; it feels cool to the touch. With your hand touching the cool wall, you follow along the path as you inspect each of the rooms in the downstairs apartment. The kitchen and living room look exactly as you remember them; the only thing they're missing is the warmth of a family. The room where your parents once resided is barren now, their portraits too soaked to salvage and their little shrine unable to fit in the limited space afforded to the Kure apartment.
Your final stop on your inspection is the room you once called your own. It's empty now; not a single piece of furniture or scrap of proof that you had once been here remains. This was your room, once; your prison, the place you kept to yourself for as long as Fate had trapped you in a cycle from which you thought you could never escape. Now, it's nothing more than a memory, an empty room with no reason to call it your own any longer.
Seeing the empty room you had once called your own, your mind is made up. You can't stay here. Without Archer - without a family - this apartment couldn't ever hope to feel like a home. As the realisation dawns on you, your body slumps down into an empty corner, and all you can do is hold yourself tight as you cry.
A thunderous crash coming from the living room breaks you from your sobbing, and your whole body goes on high alert. Did the repair crews miss a water-logged stabilising beam in the ceiling? is your first thought, but you dash that. Then, is it a burglar? If it is a burglar, they've got another thing coming if they think they can steal from you. Expecting a confrontation, you don your battle outfit and draw your bow, but the sight that greets you as you enter the living room is anything but.
"Sorry about the couch," Archer says, dusting himself off as he stands among the wreckage of what had previously been a brand new couch and ceiling. "I'll get that fixed up for you right away." You stare, jaw slackened, as Archer sets about repairing the damage he caused, all the while muttering to himself "Why is it always the couch?" with his muttering punctuated by the occasional frustrated shake of his head. His work complete, Archer turns to you, saying "I'm glad to see you've been keeping up with your practice while I was away, but do you think you could put the bow down? I'd prefer if our reunion didn't begin with me getting shot."
You can't find the words you want to say, and the dispelling of your battle costume happens more by instinct than anything you consciously will to happen. "Be honest," Archer says, approaching you with a serious expression on his face. "How long have I been gone?"
Finally, your words find their voice, and you say "... Four months."
It all happens so fast; Archer has his arms around you, and all he can say is "I'm sorry," as your tears resume. "I can't imagine the grief I've caused you all." You don't know how long the two of you stay like this, Archer comforting you as four months' worth of every emotion you've been missing in his absence come flooding out through your eyes. But when it ends, and Archer has dried your tears, he says "I'm really back this time. I won't disappear on you ever again."
"I'm glad, but..." But something is bothering you about Archer's return. Based on what he's told you he, as a Counter Guardian, is only sent down to deal with problems when they become too great a threat to the World; so... "What are you doing back? Does this... Does you being back mean there's something just as bad as Walpurgisnacht on the horizon?"
"Defeating Walpurgisnacht was never my mission, per se. Originally, the problem I was sent to deal with was a bit more... Let's call it complex; and while defeating Walpurgisnacht goes a very long way to nipping the problem in the bud, I realised while I was away that it hadn't dealt with the matter as completely as my... Employer might have believed." For as much as it sounds like he's trying to dance around the subject, to you it sounds as though there is something else to be worried about beyond the horizon of a better tomorrow. But that's fine. Madoka is safe, and you can meet whatever tomorrow throws at you, with your allies and your father by your side. "So I simply told my employer that I had unfinished business, and that I wanted to be sent back to keep on top of things and make sure the problem never came to that."
Archer's answer is like a riddle; but that's typical of him. "I suppose the fact that you returning meant you'd be reunited with your daughter and finally able to start a family with the woman you love are just happy coincidences, is that right?"
"Well, I'd be lying if I said that wasn't my primary motivator in coming back. The rest was just the excuse I needed to actually get the go-ahead to come back. The World is a very work-oriented consciousness, you see."
Even when Archer is giving you the answer you asked for, there's always another layer to whatever he has to say. That's so like him. But that's okay, because "I'm just glad you're back."
"Yeah," Archer says. For all the crying you've done, now it's Archer's turn for his eyes to mist. "I'm back, Homura."
You can finally have a family again. "Welcome home, Archer." You've finally won.
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- Location
- Around here
Coming in at 1,067,000 words in just under 26 months, we finally reach the end of the journey.
As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated. What did you like, and what do you want to see more of in the future? What didn't you like, and want to see less of in the future? Is there anything you would have done differently, added, altered, or left out? Any other comments you'd like to share before we begin the long wait for Enetious to return?
As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated. What did you like, and what do you want to see more of in the future? What didn't you like, and want to see less of in the future? Is there anything you would have done differently, added, altered, or left out? Any other comments you'd like to share before we begin the long wait for Enetious to return?
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This quest has been fantastic from start to finish and my only real regret is not getting more involved earlier.
So I know this ended and I haven't yet caught up (checking out recent posts is a bad habit of mine). I will elaborate later, but to keep it sweet and simple for now: I love it and you've done an amazing job. Since I started reading, I've put aside nearly everything else (most gaming, anime, 3 different books) to focus on your work - sometimes reading to the point where I physically needed a break.
If the sequel happens I hope to be able to participate frequently.
Whenever I'm caught up, I'll go into additional details
If the sequel happens I hope to be able to participate frequently.
Whenever I'm caught up, I'll go into additional details