In a world where the Moon Cell is absent, Jinako Carigiri finds herself caught up in a subcategory Holy Grail War taking place in a small German city. And just like the Holy Grail War that took place in that other world, she finds herself with a representative of the sun as her Servant.
The call didn't feel the same as usual, Tamamo noticed.
There wasn't any catalyst, sure, that was typical. There weren't many people who would bother to go out of their way to find a suitable catalyst for Tamamo no Mae. When there was a suitable catalyst, usually someone else would answer it first, or she'd find out that the Master was aiming for someone else.
More concerningly…this soul didn't seem handsome at all. There was a kind of purity to it, sure, and it wasn't the worst she'd ever seen, but it wasn't her type.
So why, then, did she feel drawn to it?
—Despite her hesitation, she answered it.
Jinako Carigiri was a simple person. She almost never went outside, usually just ordering everything she needed online. All of her friends were over the internet. The times she didn't spend chatting and trolling on BBS or forums, she was playing some game or another. She was even something of a game champ, if she said so herself.
She didn't need to go outside for anything except doctor's visits, getting packages, and the dentist.
Work? Wasn't necessary at all. She had that inheritance, after all. She didn't need to work a single day in her life, as long as she spent her money responsibly.
Friends? She didn't have to go anywhere for those. She had tons of them online. Sure, some of them had started moving on, but they were just suckers.
Higher education? Pfft, like she needed that. With all the money from her inheritance, it'd just be a waste of time.
Yeah. She was a true winner in life.
…
That was all to say, Jinako Carigiri was starting to have doubts about this.
When those weird, dull markings appeared on the back of her right hand a couple days ago, she thought she'd probably just bruised them somehow and they'd go away soon. Nope. Still the same the next day. If anything, they were more obvious than before.
It was made up of three distinct parts: the topmost part was a hollow circle, and beneath it was what looked like some deformed plate, and below that was what looked like a question mark. Weird enough, but when she touched it, she didn't feel any kind of pain either. So she decided to look into it.
From there, one thing led to another, and now she was standing right in front of a giant occultish circle made out of pig blood in her home's basement—the one place she didn't really use that often—and had just finished chanting some weird stuff that was also pretty occultish.
A bright, unnatural light filled the room. It felt like she was floating in nothing, numb to the entire world.
It sank in.
This really was real, wasn't it?
A Holy Grail War. Masters, who directed Servants in a kind of competition, and whoever won would get to claim one wish. It was all pretty occultish. Honestly, she didn't even really believe it when that priest guy said some stuff about it, but the clinic told her that those markings didn't seem to be bruises or anything like that. So she looked up some stuff about what that priest mentioned, and decided to give it a shot.
Because if it was true…
One wish. One wish that could grant anything.
One wish, which she could—
"If you so command, I'll come immediately! The reliable Shrine Maiden Fox, Caster, has arrived!"
A cheery voice cut through the blinding light, and the numbness was replaced with searing pain.
The room Tamamo had been summoned into was fairly clean. Empty, almost. There was a freezer here, a washing machine there, and a summoning circle on the floor painted thinly in blood. And of course, there was also the brunette woman in front of her.
She was rather plump, and was wearing a black sweater, a tan shirt, and blue jeans. From the Grail's info, she knew that they were casual clothes, so she probably wasn't some fancy Magus. That she was awkwardly covering her eyes with one of her sleeves only reinforced that.
Still, she was her Master. She had chosen to answer the call, so she would act as this one's Servant.
"If you so command, I'll come immediately! The reliable Shrine Maiden Fox, Caster, has arrived!"
—As soon as she said that, the woman in front of her fell to the ground. She was writhing in pain, unable to get out more than a few words.
She swiftly hopped over and knelt down, quickly scanning her Master with magic. Her body heat was higher than usual for humans, her heart rate was much higher than usual for humans, her Magic Circuits were active, and…ah, her body didn't show any signs of being used to her Magic Circuits being active. Well, she supposed she shouldn't be too surprised; she'd inferred that she wasn't any kind of fancy Magus earlier, so her being a complete newbie wasn't much further a leap.
She clapped, calling on blessings from the surroundings, and imbued them into her Master. Her writhing calmed, and her heart rate began to level out and return to a more normal level.
She had, however, also fallen unconscious. She supposed that was for the best, given the circumstances.
She sighed and stood up, lifting her presumptive Master off the hard floor. She would put her to bed, and then start on erecting some barriers. They would be needing them soon.
As the title and summary indicates, this is a bit of an AU. One of the important elements of that is that Jinako's family was living in Germany when her parents died. This is because I felt like it fit the idea better.
When Jinako woke up, it was in her bed, staring up at the blank white ceiling.
What'd happened? It felt fragmented. She woke up early in the morning, decided to go to a clinic during their consulting hours, then she ran into that priest guy, and then…oh. Right. Yeah.
She moves to wipe the sleepy stuff out of her eyes, but it feels like her arms are only half there. If she had to compare it to anything, it was when she had to get her wisdom teeth removed and they used novocaine to numb her mouth and cheeks. She could feel her arms, but they felt inflated and awkward to move.
"I see you've woken up," a voice said. It sounded the same as the one she heard before she collapsed, but more dignified.
She turned her head to the voice. Its source was standing near the center of the room, a fox-eared woman with hair an unnatural shade of pink, wearing some kind of blue Japanese-type robe. Actually, she had a fox tail too, she realized as she sat up.
It was surreal. Nobody else had been in her home in a long time, unless you counted some mailmen on her porch. And here was someone who looked like she came straight out of an anime.
She was kinda cute as well. Not really her type though.
"Huh. Are you some kinda cosplayer?"
The woman tilted her head. "Cosplay? Well, I suppose it's kind of like that. But nevermind that—you are my Master, correct?"
Jinako already knew that what'd happened earlier today was real, but that pretty much sealed it. So this woman was her Servant, huh? She introduced herself as 'the Fox Shrine Maiden, Caster', which didn't sound like a name, but she was kind of unclear on what 'Servants' were anyway.
She nodded. "Yup. Ol' Jinako here summoned you. You're Caster, right?"
The woman smiled. "Mhm! It's nice to meet you, Master. So, how much do you know about the Holy Grail War?"
That was a pretty good question. She knew some stuff about it, but the priest guy didn't tell her all that much, and while the internet was kinda informative, she didn't find much there beyond the Servant summoning ritual.
"Well, I've gotta go to some priest after summoning a Servant, apparently. Masters direct Servants, who fight each other, and the last one standing gets to claim the Holy Grail, which can grant a wish. Apparently they aren't supposed to fight during the day."
Caster doesn't look pleased. "Well, that's not wrong, but…" She shook her head. "Well, it's true that we should head to the Church sooner or later. So, should we head out, Master?"
"Ugh." Go outside? While she felt like this? When she probably couldn't even really play that many games?...Actually, that made more sense than she liked to acknowledge. "I guess. Not like I'm going to be doing much with these hands for the next few hours anyway."
"Aah, I guess I'll have to explain that to you as well. Sorry! There's just so much to this," Caster said with a mix of cheer and apology. "Well, I can tell you about it while we're on our way. But first, you should know that Master and Servant can communicate telepathically. We can also share senses, but that's probably not going to be too useful for a while…anyway, let us be off!"
With that, she disappeared from sight.
"Huh?" Jinako asked the open air.
Oops~! I forgot to tell you. Servants can enter an astralized state, allowing them to disappear from sight. It's not useful for combat, but good for avoiding attention. Came Caster's 'voice' in reply.
Huh. She 'said', giving the telepathy a try. So, what's the other stuff you were gonna mention?
Tamamo still wasn't quite sure why she answered this Master yet.
That could be because she hadn't much opportunity to talk with her, of course, but being able to peek around her Master's home without supervision did give her some insight into them. She was something of a slob, to put it bluntly; some rooms looked like they had scarcely been used in years, and those that had been used recently—especially her bedroom—were all but stuffed to the brim.
Her Master also didn't have much food, whether in her fridge or otherwise. Much of what food she did have were snacks, and those that weren't were what the Grail told her were 'protein shakes'.
She lived alone, which went some way to explaining both of these, but for the most part it simply seemed to be how she was. She couldn't be entirely sure if she was a shut-in or just a slob, though.
Well, perhaps Tamamo would find out more soon.
Either way, she had been lecturing her Master for the past twenty-odd minutes as they walked and took public transportation.
She gave an overview of the seven classes: Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Berserker, and Assassin. They weren't likely to encounter Saber, since this was a subcategory Holy Grail War, and they weren't likely to encounter more than five Servants. Assassin was a major concern, since that class had something of a natural advantage due to their low mana consumption and there weren't likely to be many high-level Servants roaming around that could defeat them in the blink of an eye.
She gave the basic rundown of how Servants worked as well. That they needed magical energy from their Master, that they were (essentially) Heroic Spirits, those souls who had passed into legend. And how, since they were influenced by their legend, those who were especially revered had an advantage—especially on their home turf.
(She expertly deflected the question of which Heroic Spirit she was, of course.)
She explained how Command Spells should be used in order to supplement a Servant's abilities.
And after all of that, explained her own abilities as a Servant.
Which had actually been affected by her Master, it seemed. Her Territory Creation was a rank higher than normal, and her Endurance as well. Her Luck, on the other hand…well, she just hoped she wouldn't be fighting any curse users. It was a little odd that she hadn't suffered any degradation from the low-level Holy Grail, but her Master, if nothing else, had a rather large output for magical energy. And it wasn't as though she needed much passive upkeep, either.
It didn't change her 'gameplan' much, though. She was mostly a powerful at-range spellcaster, and serviceable enough at hunkering down and establishing a useful Territory. She could fight in close-quarters, but she certainly wouldn't recommend it.
She had intended on explaining the dangers of magecraft as well, but…
Jinako, her current Master, glanced down to her phone to confirm, her eyes lidded. "Yup, this is the place."
She seemed bored, and definitely like she didn't want to be here, but that impression had lasted throughout their entire time outside.
It was a rather average Catholic church, from what she could tell. There didn't seem to be any unique or atypical bounded fields, and nothing about its design suggested that it was anything more than it seemed. Indeed, it was a perfect choice when it came to avoiding attention.
I suppose I'll have to leave the lecture on magecraft for later, Tamamo said across the Master-Servant link, putting on a disappointed tone.
Geez, so the tutorial still hasn't ended, huh? Jinako looked disappointed. Can't ya just skip it? 'S not like I'm gonna be fighting, anyway.Isn't that what you're here for?
Of course, but surely you have some interest in magecraft, now that you know that it exists. Tamamo replied.
Ugh, I guess that's true.
They walked up the steps and entered the building.
Much like the outside, the inside wasn't particularly unique for a Catholic church. It was all very full of whites, dull reds, and dark blues. They passed through the lobby into the main room, and walked along the carpet that ran between the pews.
At the end of the rows was a man dressed in a dark gray cossack, sitting on a chair off to the side of the altar, on which sat a large goblet—undoubtedly where the Grail would manifest. As they approached, he stood up. As he saw her Master, an apprehensive expression crossed his face, before quickly being schooled into something more neutral.
He stood up. "So, what is your decision? Again, should you wish to forfeit from the War, I can get in touch with someone who can remove your Command Spells and make sure you remain safe."
He seemed fairly upright at first glance, and his offer was probably genuine. It wasn't out of the question, however.
Jinako said, "Nope, I'm good. I'm pretty good at competitive games, so I'm used to it. I'm just here to register."
He looked despondent. "I see. I hope you don't come to regret that decision. Jinako Carigiri, correct? Which Servant class did you summon?"
"Caster." Her Master replied as though she was going through a boring routine and just wanted to be done with it.
"Very well. I'll add you to the record." He pulled out a notebook and wrote down something, before putting it back away. "Now, do you know the rules of this Holy Grail War?"
A sense of unease crawled up Tamamo's back and weighed down on her shoulders. She quickly looked around; there didn't seem to be anything off, but…
"Yeah, Caster explained them. Fight only at night, don't cause too much collateral, don't fight near the church, don't let normies find out."
He looked slightly bemused at her choice of words, but didn't object. "I see. Then, I shall let you be."
"A'right, bye." Jinako said, giving a half-hearted wave before turning on her heel and leading the way back out.
The middle-aged priest behind them let out a sigh as he sat back down, presumably going back to whatever he was doing.
As they left, the unease on Tamamo's shoulders only got heavier. The sun had only just now set, but the noise outside had dwindled to almost nothing. The park, which they had passed through to get here, was entirely empty—despite her remembering quite clearly that there were still a number of loiterers when they passed through it just a few minutes ago.
Was it an Assassin, or a Master? Either way—
A sudden spike of killing intent.
Acting on instinct, she materialized, grabbing Jinako and rolling away, just as a man wielding a sword swept through where they were just standing.
If her Agility had been any worse, if she hadn't been paying attention, she surely wouldn't have reacted in time.
She let go of her Master, and stood to face the new attacker. "Stay behind me, Master. Our first fight has just begun."
One moment, they were leaving the church, about to head back home. The next, Caster had grabbed her and went into a roll fast enough that she felt like she was about to throw up.
Caster set her down and stood up, back turned to Jinako and front facing a man about ten meters ahead, who she knew hadn't been there just a second ago.
A strange feeling seized Jinako's heart as she looked at him. Covering his torso was some kind of chainmail armor, with the end of a tunic peeking out to cover his thighs, and below that his legs were covered in strange brown pants, which didn't have any hem, but had a string around the end of each pant-leg. She couldn't quite make out his hair, but it looked like it was tied up somehow.
And finally, in his hand he held an iron sword, gleaming under the faint moonlight.
"Stay behind me, Master. Our first fight has just begun."
—That made sense. She was a Master in a weird competition where all of the competitors summoned Servants, who were figures from legends. So, this guy had to be a Servant, right?
The man spoke, "I had hoped to end this quickly, but it seems this'll be troublesome. Two Casters—this Grail must have a sense of humor. Still, I shall not back down from a fight!"
He sped forward, faster than Jinako could perceive—
And sparks flew, his blade deflected by what seemed to be a floating disc, hovering right in front of Caster.
In the next second, his blade and that disc clashed again and again, Caster's body making motions that seemed to have some effect on the disc's movements. Each time sparks went flying, Caster was pushed back another step.
The feeling around Jinako's heart turned ice-cold.
Terror. That was what she was feeling.
When Caster grabbed her and rolled her to the side—was that the only reason she was alive? The idea should have occurred to her sooner. A Servant relied on their Master to keep them in the world or something, right? So if you wanted to win, you would go for them ASAP.
Suddenly, the opposing Servant was sent skidding back, and Caster's fist was outstretched to where they once were.
Caster pulled their fist back. With a tranquil tone in her voice, she said, "You're effective in a fight for an Assassin. I admit, I'm impressed. But, who ever said that I was a Caster?"
He let out a bark of laughter. "Well, I can't answer that."
And once again, he sped forward.
Caster moved faster than before, becoming a blur as she and the (assuming she was right) Assassin continued their battle.
Acting on instinct, Jinako scrambled back, standing back up only after getting some distance.
As far as she could tell, Caster was slower than Assassin, but the difference wasn't enough for her to have taken any damage yet. On the other hand, Caster wasn't doing anything to Assassin, either.
Prepare a Command Spell, Master. We may have to use one. This Servant isn't trying yet.
The Assassin's voice cut through the cacophony of battle. "Your Master seems out of her depth; I'm surprised you haven't found another one to better conquer this war!"
Caster scoffed. "Perhaps I would consider such a thing if I was more cowardly, but I have no intention of doing anything like that."
He looked disappointed. "Very well. You've been lucky so far, but you're out of your element!"
His eyes flashed red, a mad look entering them, and this time, Caster wasn't able to react.
His blade smashed into Caster's side, and she was sent hurtling across the park's grass, a streak of blood flying through the air behind her. The Assassin disappeared again.
In what seemed to be an instant, she put a hand to the ground and flipped upright, throwing a hand out in front of her with a Japanese talisman held between two of its fingers.
Ice sprang into existence in front of her, encasing the Assassin in the middle of a sword swing. It shattered almost immediately, but not in time for him to avoid the disc still circling Caster, which dug into his arm before he broke free.
And then, in an instant, Caster was blown back again. She was less injured this time, but—
Assassin's gaze turned to Jinako. The mad glint in his eyes were gone, but the intent to kill was loud and clear. Cold dread tightened around her heart and spread through her limbs.
She was going to die.
She had done nothing with her life. Nobody would care. Nobody would even know how.
…Of course it would turn out like this. Why did she even bother? Everything would die eventually, and if you try to do anything, you're just—
Master!
"SAVE ME!"
Before she even fully processed what Caster 'said', that scream escaped her. On her right hand, she felt one of her three Command Spells fade.
One moment she was there, flinching away from the Assassin and her eyes shut tight—
Tamamo let out a sigh as she looked out the window again.
Morning was beginning to arrive, but as she confirmed in her astral form several times during the night, her Master hadn't fallen asleep, nor had she even moved from under her bed's blanket.
It was an understandable reaction to some extent, but for almost ten hours…?
She pushed the door to her Master's bedroom open, eliciting a small jump and turn from the blanket-covered lump on the bed.
"Oh. It's just you." There was a note of relief in Jinako's voice, but for the most part it was just exhaustion.
"I can send you to sleep, should you so wish. It's well within my abilities." Tamamo said with a self-assured lilt. "There's no risk of being attacked during the day, so you need not worry about a thing."
Not strictly true, but she was already working on fortifying this place, and her Master hardly needed any more reason to be terrified.
"..." After a moment, she peeked back over her shoulder to look at Tamamo. "Yeah, do it. 'M tired."
Tamamo nodded and knelt down, staring straight into her Master's eyes as she worked a hypnotic effect into her own—
And immediately, Jinako's body went limp. That was faster than expected. She hoped that was just a result of circumstance, and not her Master being easy to influence. The capacity of her Magic Circuits were more than enough to make up for this Grail's deficiencies when it came to supporting her own existence, at least, so it had nothing to do with that.
Well, regardless, she had fortifications to get back to. It was better to be safe than sorry, especially in a Holy Grail War.
It was only when the sun was about to set that day that her Master, Jinako, stepped out of her room.
"Good evening, Master!" She said with pep, standing up from where she was kneeling in the center of the room. "So, do you have any plans for today?"
"...That priest guy mentioned that we could forfeit, right?" Jinako asked.
Ah. That made sense. It seemed she might have to burst her Master's bubble. "So he did!" Tamamo began. "But, ah, I've been thinking about what that Assassin said…"
Jinako cut her off. "That's fine. I'm just gonna be dropping out of this thing. It's not worth the trouble."
There was an empty tone in her voice. More than giving up on just the Grail War, it sounded like she was resigning herself to something much larger. Tamamo didn't know what, but regardless, it was a tone that she found very familiar.
"You're welcome to take that priest's offer, but before you do, I would appreciate it if you would first hear me out." Tamamo said evenly.
Jinako lifted her eyes to meet Tamamo's, and for a moment, she just stared. Then she said, "Alright. Go on."
"I've thought more about what that Assassin said. It would be one thing if he merely inferred that I was a Caster, but when I asked how he knew that, he only said that he couldn't answer that. Either he was merely trying to cloak his inferences in a veneer of knowledge, or he somehow truly knew. There are a few ways he could have truly known that I was Caster, but there's only one I can think of that just about any Assassin could pull off. What with how he spoke about there being two Casters, as well, I suspect that either he spied on the priest, or his Master is in league with them."
Her Master's eyes widened. "So you're tellin' me that…?"
"Of course, it is entirely possible that this is not the case, or that if it is, you still will not be attacked. The man did seem genuine in his offer, from what I could discern."
"That's…gotcha. Yeah, I understand. I'll think about it." Her Master said.
"That is all I ask of you." Tamamo said with a smile.
"Eh." Jinako shrugged casually, and motioned to the window. "It's not like I'd be able to go out there today anyway—it'll just have to wait for another day."
"Of course." Tamamo paused for a moment, before saying, "And even if you decide to drop out, you still wanna learn some magic first, right~?"
"That's true, but you don't gotta say it like that!" Jinako yelled, pointing accusingly at her. At a more normal volume, she continued, "And if it's a real pain in the ass, I'll stop paying attention immediately. This here Jinako isn't interested in that."
Tamamo let out a titter, before sitting back down in a seiza position. "Is that so? I'll just have to make it interesting, then. Now come, sit down."
"I don't gotta sit like that, right? Seiza's kinda uncomfortable."
She chuckled. "No, no. Not yet, at least."
Though it was somewhat tempting to tell her that it was.
Honestly, Jinako kinda wanted to just hole back up in her room and go back to playing that recent hack-and-slash and looking at all of her watched threads and junk. In fact, it was exactly what she planned on doing after this. Still, even if she dropped outta this war, it was probably better to learn the ropes of this first. Who knew what else she could get involved in without her intending to?
"So basically, a lotta spells and such in Europe are really just instructions written into weird metaphysical things called 'foundations', which are triggered by sending magical energy to them?" Jinako said.
Caster tilted her head back and forth, as if debating how to reply. "Not entirely correct, but you understand the basic idea. It's also possible to embed spells into Mystic Codes and one-use items, or even just use the formulae directly."
So they were kinda like computer programs, huh? Maybe she'd have to brush up on her C sometime. If she felt like it. Not like she'd be getting into the whole thing, anyway. She'd probs just use what's convenient.
"Of course, that's just how many of the magi in this cultural sphere choose to approach their magecraft. For example, much of Japanese magecraft doesn't bother with anything like Foundations, and mostly just pulls on the Authority of one god or another before enhancing it with one's own magical energy and some sort of ritual."
…Well, it was more likely that she would get involved in all that Foundation stuff than anything like that. Entreating a god for that kinda thing…it wasn't like any of them would listen to her in the first place.
Jinako shook her head. It wasn't the right time to think about that. "And in order to turn on my Magic Circuits, I just…?"
"Think of the correct imagery. It should be second nature to you, since your circuits have already fully opened once. Go on: try it." Caster smiled encouragingly as she finished, motioning to Jinako to reinforce her words.
"These expectations are really heavy, y'know?" She said snippily, before closing her eyes.
…
…
…
In her mind—
—A blinding flash of light.
Her eyes snapped open. She could feel it; strange nerves stretched through her entire body, carrying what she now knew to be magical energy throughout it.
She had felt this before, right after she summoned Caster, but this time, the pain that came with it was much milder—just an ache, rather than blindingly hot. Her body didn't feel numb either, though that'd probably change if she kept this up for long.
"That's good. Now, do you want to keep going?" Caster asked.
"Eh, nah. I've got gaming and threads to catch up on." Jinako replied. "I've spent waaaay too long away~"
And really, she needed some time to recharge. Going outside, going places, talking to people IRL…it all just wasn't anything Jinako'd normally do. She'd been caught up in all the hype of the Holy Grail War, but now that it'd passed, she was tired from that stuff.
"Very well. But before you do that, remember to turn off your Magic Circuits." Caster said.
"Gotcha~"
It was easy enough to do. She just had to feel around in her 'mind', and…gotcha. Turned off.
Now, to gaming~
It had been five hours, and her Master still hadn't left her room.
She had done as she said, as far as Tamamo could tell—from the noises and words that managed to escape her room, it did indeed sound like she was playing some sort of game. Likely a competitive one. And when she looked in while astralized, she did see her playing some game on one of her computer monitors (and the others had various forum threads open).
"Is this truly all you intend on doing tonight?" Tamamo said as her form became physical.
The only reply that came was a, "Mhm."
Well, that did clear up whether she was a shut-in or not, at least. "What are you playing, anyway?"
"A new MMO. Came out earlier this year. Kinda like a hack-and-slash, but dumbed down."
Tamamo isn't all that interested—not really. She played board games sometimes, but video games were something that she didn't investigate much, whether on the Throne or during other summonings.
But still, there is something about this summoning that is bugging her. Tonight may also be the last time she could get an answer to why that was.
So, she watched her Master. Watched her play, watched her flick over to each of the forums (and usually type in some kind of snide or smug remark, when she could get away with it), and asked her questions as they came to mind.
After about half-an-hour, however, Jinako would pause what she was doing and glance toward her. "What're you doin' here, anyway? You don't seem like you'd be very interested in gaming. It's getting stuffy with the two of us in here, too. Are you tryin' to convince me to stay in this thing, or something?"
Tamamo shook her head. "No. Truthfully, I don't have much interest in the Holy Grail itself." She refrained from continuing on that thought. "And you're correct in that I'm not very interested in gaming, but…"
She tilted her head back and forth as she thought over how to put it. Ah, that seemed right. She smiled. "Well, part of the joy of life is broadening your horizons, right~?"
It wasn't a lie, either. Indeed, really, it wasn't far from the reasoning that led to her taking on the form of Tamamo no Mae. She wished to know how humans could be so happy devoting themselves to others, even when the ones they devoted themselves to were so ephemeral—and so, she incarnated this piece of herself as a human to see what it was all about for herself. Well, maybe not quite a human, but that wasn't important at the moment.
"Aah, I see." Jinako looked back to her monitors. "Dunno if I agree, but you do you. Still," she glanced back to Tamamo briefly and continued, "couldya step out? Or at least go all invisible. It's weird having someone watch me for so long."
Tamamo laughed a little. "Very well."
With that, she astralized once more.
She continued to watch and ask questions through telepathy, but Jinako made no further requests of her for the entire night. Except to keep a tab on her other monitors when she had to focus on the game, but…
…Well, that wasn't really the same sort of thing.
The note about Mystic Codes and one-use items is specifically based on details about code casts in Extraverse, because while I did do some double-checking, I cannot be bothered to double-check all the details as they pertain to physical world magecraft for this fic. As for Jinako's circuits, I'm just making assumptions based on the limited information we have.
When the sun arose, Tamamo asked her Master, So, have you come to a decision?
"Mmh…" Jinako mumbled, and made a grumpy face at the spot on her bed Tamamo had been earlier that night, during the time she wasn't astralized. She was still there, but she was fairly sure that her Master was just guessing that would be the case. "Dunno. I'm too tired for this, and you've made me talk way too much today. I'll leave it for tomorrow."
Tamamo hummed to herself. It was certainly true; her Master was indeed tired, going by the way her movements and expression had become more lazy compared to before, but she could recognize an excuse when she heard one. Even if it was truly a contributing factor, there was more to Jinako's reasoning than what she was saying.
Well, she supposed there wasn't much point in worrying about it for now. It gave her a little bit longer to figure out why she was here, at least.
Tamamo stood up. Very well. Let's talk about it after you get some sleep, then.
Jinako gave a noncommittal shrug, and turned off the monitors. Slowly, she rose up from her position on the floor, from lying flat on her stomach to a hunched stand, before promptly flopping down on her bed.
Which left her the rest of the day.
She could spend more time establishing this Territory, but at this point, she couldn't honestly think of much more to do short of turning it into a replica of the Grand Ise Shrine or imbue the Aphotic Cave mantra into it, and both had their own problems.
…Hm. She didn't have much confidence in her culinary abilities, but her Master's diet was miserable. Perhaps she could go out to find ingredients for her to make something with?
With that idea in mind, she made her way out of the house.
She had seen some of the city briefly before, but now that she had spent the last hour searching for proper ingredients, Tamamo could confidently say that it was about how she expected. Fairly modern, but had enough history that many of the roads were multipurpose rather than exclusively for vehicles.
To be honest, it made her wonder why this was the site of a Holy Grail War. The quality of the leylines here were high, but it was all-too-easy for those uninvolved to simply slip through the cracks of a curfew or blockade. The amount of bars didn't help matters, either…though she supposed that uninvolved parties being drunk could give some plausible deniability, if they saw anything and lived to tell the tale.
If the Church weren't so present in this region, she would have considered it an entirely foolish endeavor. More than she already did, at any rate. Things like the Holy Grail…
Anyway, she had—finally—managed to acquire what she needed. She could have gone for something instant, but she had time, a desire to improve, and it wasn't as though she had to worry about disappointing Jinako. Actually, had she even mentioned her desire to be a good-wife Servant? Well, it didn't matter much. Even if they had some sort of compatibility, neither of them were really the other's type. She knew that much from the art she saw in her room.
Still, what to make when she got back? Her gaze fell to the bags she was carrying. She had gotten enough for a few meals, but she wasn't sure where to start. Something simple would be smart, but dipping her toes into something more complex could be more useful when it came to learning.
Perhaps she should make something autumn-themed—it would fit with the season, if nothing else. It would be a good warm-up.
One of the ears on her head twitched. "...the whole street's in ruins right now. It was a gas leak, apparently. There wasn't much damage to the buildings, but…"
"And just as I set up a dentist appointment, too…Well, at least I won't be able to put it off for long if the building's still up."
A snort. "You have a strange way of showing relief."
"If I let myself put it off, it'll never get done. And I've had enough fillings to last a lifetime."
She lifted her eyes from her bags to the conversation she had just picked up. The two conversants were standing on a street curb next to an intersection, with one of the streets blocked off by a couple of construction roadblocks.
They had mentioned a gas leak. Not all that suspicious by itself, but a whole street in ruins from one? When a Grail War was going on, that became much more suspicious.
She made her way over to the intersection and looked over the roadblocks.
Well, the description 'in ruins' was correct. About half of it was up-turned, and the other half of it was heavily charred. From the magical energy still lingering around the area, it was clear that her guess was correct: it was from a fight between Servants. From the look of it, she would guess that most of the damage was caused in one, maybe two attacks; either lightning or fire–based seemed the most likely options.
She stepped past the blockade to take a closer look. Definitely lightning-based—even beyond what the magical energy in the area felt like, there were patterns in the burns and cracks that a few of the bricks bore that she had certainly seen before, during some spats with her brother.
There was a chance she wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't been looking for it—most of the bricks were entirely too damaged to make out any particular pattern to their damage, and roads were hardly ever in pristine shape in the first place. So, there was a decent chance that the other Servants—save for the other Caster, assuming they weren't the cause in the first place—wouldn't be able to deduce what had done this.
That could be a useful advantage, she supposed. Whether for trading information or for something else.
…Oops, she was getting ahead of herself again. She didn't even know if her Master would want to stay in the War yet, and she had little intention of seeking out another if she did.
Either way, it didn't seem that there was much more to infer of the battle that took place here. She went on her way.
When Jinako woke up, it was to a smell that was both familiar and unfamiliar. Wasn't bad, but it was kinda occultish. 'Specially since it meant that either Caster was doing something, or someone had invaded her house, or something along those lines.
She turned to look out the window. There was still daylight out, but it was nearing evening. More than enough time to get to the church and back, if she wanted to.
…Ah, whatever. She'd find out what this smell was, first.
She stood up and left the room, trying to keep her step light as she tracked the scent to its source.
Which turned out to be the kitchen.
Standing next to the stove which she knew hadn't been used in years was Caster, in the middle of making some kind of food. Her brows were slightly furrowed, mouth in a small frown, and all her attention seemed to be focused on what was currently cooking in the pan. There was a pot on one of the backburners as well, but she didn't seem concerned about that one.
"Huh."
Caster's head snapped to her, her mouth contorting into a smile. She waved a hand. "Ah, good afternoon, Master! How are you feeling?"
Jinako stretched and let out a yawn. "Eh, fine. Why're you making food? Didn't you mention that you didn't need it?"
"I don't need it, but I felt like I should make something, and found this recipe in one of the cabinets. Will you be wanting any?"
Jinako ambled over lazily and took a look at what she was making. In the pot was some rice with some stuff in it, in the pan were slices of chicken breast, and off to the side on a cutting board were some chopped up vegetables and mushrooms.
Oh, that was why she reacted that way to the smell. This was something her mom used to make…but that was over fifteen years ago now.
Over half of her life ago.
She took a deep breath and shook her head to banish the thoughts. Putting on an unaffected face, she turned to Caster and nodded. "Yeah, sure. You know where to find me."
With a wave, she turned away and left.
Why'd she accept that? It wasn't like she needed it. She had plenty of snacks and protein shakes already. More than enough to live, and generally good enough to enjoy.
Actually, where'd she get the ingredients for that from? There wasn't anything in her fridge that could've been used to make it. Did she use her money, or did she use magic, or…
She checked her bank account. There weren't any unaccounted for payments or whatever.
…maybe she'd ask about it when she came by.
Several minutes later, the door opened and Caster stepped through, carrying two bowls on a large plate which she had never seen before.
She walked over to Jinako's desk (which Jinako decided to use instead of lying down today, since she figured it'd be way more annoying to eat it on the floor) and lowered the plate down, letting Jinako take one of the bowls and set it down on her desk, in a free spot between her keyboard and mouse.
It looked both familiar and unfamiliar. In a lot of ways, the dish was identical to how her mom used to make it. The vegetables and meat were stacked on top of the rice itself, only allowing a small amount of rice to peek through. However, in a lot of ways, it was different. The vegetables and meat on top of the rice were entirely separate, and from the looks of it, the rice only had the stuff it was boiled with inside it, rather than some of the toppings being deliberately buried.
"Thank you for the food." Jinako said, and took a bite.
It tasted worse than she remembered, but at the same time…
…it was so familiar. It wasn't bad, either, even if it was worse than what she remembered.
"What do you think?" Caster asked, pulling her out of her thoughts. She sounded curious, and when she looked over to her, she felt sure that she probably wasn't just asking 'cause it was polite. The plate she'd been carrying had also somehow disappeared, and she was just holding a bowl. Maybe it was more magic? Caster had mentioned projection magic…
Well, it didn't really matter. She answered, "It's good. Not as good as I remember though."
Caster's head and eyes dipped slightly. "My apologies. Truthfully, your memories are probably more accurate to how it should taste."
"Eh." She waved a hand. "Not like I've eaten anything like this in years, anyway. It's probably just me bein' nostalgic."
She continued eating. After a bit, she lifted her head again. "Oh, yeah. How'd you get the ingredients for this?"
Caster's eyebrows rose. "Oh, that? I just used some magecraft to get enough money to pay for them."
"It all comes back to magecraft, huh~" She said. She probs should have expected that.
"So, is there anything in particular you think could be better?" Caster said, bringing the conversation back to earlier.
"The chicken's too dry. Dunno if you boiled the rice long enough either." Jinako replied immediately, before aloofly saying, "But Jinako's just a noob when it comes to cooking."
"I see; thank you very much." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Caster nod, before returning to her food.
Neither of them said anything for the next few minutes.
When they both finished their food, though…
…She could feel Caster's expectant eyes on her. Waiting for her to say something about the topic she'd put off before going to sleep.
The annoying thing was, she still wasn't sure. Caster had mentioned the possibility that she'd die anyway if she accepted the priest's deal, but had also admitted that she might be wrong in her assumption that the one Assassin's Master and the priest were teaming up.
Though now that she thought about it, couldn't she just use her Command Spells? If she could use them to prove to the priest that Caster wouldn't be a contender, he wouldn't have any reason to lure her into a trap. Boom. Jinako was home free, and could go back to her cave. Just play games, troll on forums, eat, and sleep.
It wasn't like she would die if she left. She didn't have cancer or any kind of life-threatening circumstances outside of this War. She didn't even need to work.
She was a winner at life.
—That's how she should have felt. And a pretty large part of her did feel that way, but there was another part that said something else.
She was chosen as a participant of this War. And she had chosen to summon a Servant, for the chance to get a single wish.
She knew what that wish was.
And for some reason, she didn't want to quit.
Honestly, it was really annoying. She should have made the decision to quit before she got the chance to recover from that terror. The most Jinako Carigiri can be is a snail, after all. There's no way she could win.
Her eyes drifted, eventually landing on the empty bowl on her desk. A thought occurred to her.
"Why do you even care? You don't want the Holy Grail, anyway. What're you, a stage parent?"
The tone of what she said straddled the line between obviously-inciting and innocuous. Maybe it was just snark, maybe she was actually lashing out. She'd figure it out later.
However, Caster didn't rise to her provocation. Rather, in an airheaded tone and while holding her head between her hands, she said, "Hmm, well, it's a little embarrassing, but…"
Jinako found herself whipping her head to face Caster. It wasn't the first time she heard her like this, but she didn't exactly expect her to react like this to what she said.
"Yeah?"
"My greatest wish is to be a good wife!"
…
…
…
Huh?
"Well, not just that—I want to find someone appropriate to be a good wife to as well—but you get the picture!"
The only thing she could think to say was, "...What kinda Heroic Spirit are you?"
"It's a more common sort of wish than you'd expect, really. All kinds of Heroic Spirits never got the chance to chase after some of their simpler desires."
That both did and didn't answer the question, but she was still thrown enough by what Caster'd just said that she wouldn't push on it. Right now, at least.
Jinako sighed, before returning to the unspoken question that prompted this. "Honestly, I dunno. I want to leave, but I also don't."
"Very well," Caster replied. A smile spread across her face. "Then, I'll prepare some items for you to learn Reinforcement on! I'll come and tell you when they're ready."
Jinako wasn't sure if she was looking forward to that, or if she was dreading it.
"Why do you even care? You don't want the Holy Grail, anyway. What're you, a stage parent?"
Tamamo was no fool, even if she could get caught up in the moment or play as one.
Regardless of what decision Jinako Carigiri made, there was one thing she was confident in:
She had a pretty good idea why she had answered her call, now.
In case it wasn't obvious already: Tamamo isn't using "Goshujinsama" when she says "Master" in this case.
Also, Tamamo actually not knowing that much about cooking was the case in Extra. She buckled down and learned during Extra and CCC, but as this Tamamo has not gone through that, she does not have that experience (and obviously, she hasn't gone through the kitchen training alluded to in FGO).
Jinako wasn't exhausted, but she wished she was. If she was, she could at least sleep this off.
She'd gone through all of the objects Caster had prepared. Some of them were broken or warped, but the more recent ones were mostly all intact.
She wasn't out of magical energy or whatever, but it felt like her entire body was burning up. It was starting to feel better now that she switched off her circuits again, but she was pretty sure she'd at least have a high fever if Caster hadn't used ice magic(?) to cool the room down. As it was, she wasn't delirious yet, but it sure felt like it.
Though speaking of Caster, she hadn't been around for most of it for some reason, just excusing herself and saying she had to set something up. She was back now, though.
Caster nodded with a satisfied smile. "Looks like you've got the hang of Reinforcement! It shouldn't be too dangerous if you try to Reinforce your body now, though do remember that bodies can be rather difficult to work with."
Jinako nodded wordlessly, before throwing herself onto the living room couch. Even if her body wasn't burning as badly as it could've been, she still didn't want to do anything.
"It will get easier, for what it's worth." Caster said. "However, it will take time for you to fully adjust."
Jinako waved a hand. "Eh."
Some time passed, the only noises in the room being Caster gathering up all of the broken objects.
Eventually, Jinako said, "By the way, what were ya doing, anyway?"
"Oh, I was just setting up another barrier around your room. If necessary, it will activate and block all damage coming from outside. It's hardly a perfect defense, of course—it's very situational, and strong attacks can break through it—but I thought it would be a good choice as a last line of defense for you, if necessary."
"Huh."
She didn't have much to say to that.
After a few minutes, something else occurred to her. She lifted her head and turned it toward Caster. "So are you goin' to keep making food?"
"Well, I acquired enough for one or two more days, at least, so I intend on making food for as long as ingredients last. The dish you ate was actually the second one I've made today."
"Really?"
Even though she couldn't see it, she had the feeling that Caster had just nodded. "Yes. I made something as soon as I returned from my outing, but you were still asleep then."
She continued to look at Caster for a moment, before slumping back down into the couch. "Occultish."
"'Occultish'?" Caster asked, bemused.
By way of explanation, Jinako said, "It's weird. You're a ghost of some long-dead legendary person and you don't need t' eat, but you made food anyway."
"I suppose that makes sense. Though, there is some advantage to eating food for Servants—it's just that the magical energy gained from food is usually paltry."
Huh. She didn't know that.
"There are also other methods of gathering magical energy for Servants, such as leylines, more grisly methods, or…" She paused for a second, before continuing, sounding bashful, "Oh, a maiden shouldn't talk about such things!"
…Jinako wasn't sure if she was really abashed, or if she was just faking it. She had the feeling that it was the latter, but she wasn't gonna get herself worked up wondering about it. Not right now, anyway.
She opened her mouth to respond. "Yeah, y—"
A series of coughs escaped her throat, interrupting her almost immediately.
As soon as it passed, she rolled her head over in the direction of Caster. "Get me water."
Caster nodded, and swiftly left the room. Before long, she returned with a cup in hand. Jinako snatched it up and immediately downed it.
Jinako wiped her forehead and sat up. "Phew. That's tons better."
Her body still felt a little hot, but she could deal with that.
She stood up and stretched. With a lackadaisical wave, she left the room. "Anyway, I'm gonna go back to my cave now. See ya~"
If Caster responded, she didn't hear it; she was already halfway back to her room.
She really needed to catch up on her playtime. She'd been slipping these past few days—usually, she could go for eighteen hours straight, maybe even more. Her online buddies were noticing it, too.
For the next nine or so hours, she was almost completely uninterrupted. Caster eventually joined her, but was a lot more quiet than last time she sat in on her while she played games. Maybe it was 'cause she was on a voice call with some of her friends from Japan? Though that didn't explain why she didn't use telepathy.
Unfortunately for her playtime, the exertion from practicing Reinforcement seemed to be catching up to her. Ugh. Couldn't turn up back when she was still burning up, but could turn up when she was just getting into the zone.
Well, she wasn't going to stress about it. She shut off the game, put her computer in sleep mode, and went to sleep.
Darkness.
Everything was blanketed in darkness.
There was not a single thing that pierced through it, and she was alone.
There were still some who came by every so often, trying to convince her to step out of this cavern, to join the others once more. That was unfortunate. However, she was done with others. No matter how much they banged on the entrance, she would not come out.
It wasn't as though she had much to gain from leaving. There was no real point—it was all so exhausting. All so bothersome.
It was much better to just stay cooped up in here, with only herself, the darkness, and the cold cave for company.
There were no responsibilities; no infuriating people; no need to worry about anything.
Indeed, this was much better than being out there.
Jinako woke up.
…What a weird dream. She wasn't sure she'd ever had anything like it; even as she sat up and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, it stuck in her mind like it had really happened.
Sure, she had dreams that stuck in her head sometimes. But they were usually nightmares. Nothing like that.
Well, dreams were dreams. It wasn't a big deal, really.
She glanced out the window. Looked like it was early evening. Early enough that, again, she had the chance to go to the church and back.
She still didn't really know whether she wanted to drop out of the War or not. It would be the smart move. Still…
What a pain. She wasn't in the mood to think about this.
…What was that smell?
—Oh, yeah. Caster was probably making something. She was pretty alright at it; maybe she'd go take a look, eat some if it looked good before heading back to her cave.
Tamamo had only just started cooking when her Master woke up.
She hadn't expected her to wake up this early, but she had only known Jinako for a few days. That was hardly enough time to get a handle on her sleeping habits, especially under the circumstances.
She spared a glance and a smile over to the kitchen's entryway as Jinako finished making her way over from her room. "Good evening, Master. I have only just started, so please allow me an hour and a half."
"A'ight." With that response, she went back to her room.
As soon as her Master was gone, Tamamo let out a sigh. Now that she had a better idea of why she had answered the summoning, it had become more painful to look at her Master.
Back during that time when she believed that, truly, nobody really cared about her. That time when she had reached the end of her rope, and wanted to do nothing but lock herself up and let nobody in.
She couldn't remember how long she had been down there for, but it wasn't a short amount of time—and if she was correct, the same was likely true of her Master.
Still, she would remain patient for a bit longer. For as long as she spent in her room, she was willing to leave it and interact with her, and had friends online.
Her Master would need to make a decision soon, however. Putting it off would only cause more issues, in both the long and short term.
Until then, however, she had cooking to focus on.
Food is ready, Master. Tamamo sent along their telepathic link.
Can ya bring it up? I'm in the middle of an encounter here. Jinako sent back.
I'm afraid that this meal is one that will not fit on your desk, Master.
Which was intentional, even if she would play dumb when asked.
Ugh. Fine, I'll be down in a sec.
I will be waiting in the dining room.
She expected more resistance, to be honest, but she wouldn't complain.
She set about arranging the food on the table in the dining room (which looked like it hadn't been used in years, but she had already dusted it off a couple days ago). It didn't take very long, so she was still waiting for her Master to get done with what she was doing by the time she had finished.
…This was a strange experience for a Grail War, wasn't it? Casters would often hole up and establish a Territory, sure, but even then, those would usually be meant to provide both offensive and defensive support. As things were, while this Territory was an effective steel box, it didn't provide much advantage when it came to anything except outlasting outside forces.
Was there much of anything she could do to provide more of an advantage, though? Though this house was hardly small, it wasn't lying on top of a leyline, and it wasn't arranged in a way that was particularly conducive to more offensive measures.
That didn't mean she was completely out of options, however. She could set up traps, whether automatically or manually activated, or make the house rearrange itself for uninvited visitors. Both of those would be pointless if this location was less fortified, but as it currently was, it could likely survive at least one or two large-scale attacks.
Before any of that, however, it had been a few minutes. Master?
Alright, alright. Jinako sent, evidently trying to give as begrudging an impression as she could across the telepathic link.
About half-a-minute later, she arrived. "Huh, you weren't kidding. Well, thanks for the food." She sat down, and began to eat, before pausing. "Oh, right. Itadakimasu."
She was a little surprised that her Master said that when she didn't last time, but she supposed that likely meant she had merely fallen out of the habit, rather than never having had it. "Itadakimasu," Tamamo echoed, and dug into the food she set aside for herself.
For this meal, she looked for something filling, but lacking in terms of actual content. She was probably only partially successful, but there was little she could do about that now.
"So, where'd this recipe come from?" Jinako asked suddenly.
Well, Tamamo could answer that. "I found a few books on Japanese cuisine in the basement, so I have been reading through them. Is it not to your liking?"
"Nah, it's fine. Was just wondering, given the recipe you used last time."
"Ah. Since it was your mother's, if I'm not mistaken?" Tamamo tilted her head slightly as she asked.
Jinako went silent for a long moment. Eventually, she said, "Yeah. How did you know?"
"The given name attached to the recipe I found yesterday was a feminine one, and it had your family name on it. I could have been wrong, however."
"Oh, I see. 'Kay."
Tamamo prodded out some more conversation from her over the course of their dinner, but that was the last time Jinako said anything unprompted while they were eating.
That is, until the very end.
"Uggh. Man, I'm su~per full. I feel like I could throw up if I ate even a little more." Jinako said, rubbing her stomach. "Make a bit less next time, will ya? I'm not dieting anymore, but I'd be crazy to eat this much every day."
Tamamo nodded. "Of course. I will look for something smaller tomorrow."
Hopefully, it would prove similarly filling, but she supposed she would just have to wait and see. But onto business…
"So!" Tamamo said as she clapped her hands. "You have a handle on Reinforcement, so of the basics, that leaves Alteration and Projection. You'll need a better grasp of Structural Analysis to do much with Projection, so unless you want to focus on that, I'll get things ready for you to practice Alteration."
Jinako let out a groan as she craned her head upward, before lowering it again. "Can we leave this for next time? I'm not really in the mood for spending another hour or two on anything like that."
…Coming from her, that was concerning, but there was a point there, she supposed. And she did make up her mind to remain patient, if only for a little longer.
It wasn't as though this was something she usually did either—certainly not to this extent—though she also usually wasn't summoned by a complete and utter novice, and one who had no better alternatives for teachers at that.
Of course, that wasn't the real reason why she was bothering to teach Jinako the ropes, but…oh well.
She made a shallow bow. "Very well. I may join you later, if I find myself with no more to do."
"Phew." Jinako looked relieved. "Anyway, see ya."
With that, she left.
…Well, she should get to work on that room-rearrangement measure. She was fairly sure she could even make it individualized, so only certain people would experience the rearrangement, too, though that would only work for the places connected by doors…
For once, when morning came, her Master was still fairly awake. Probably because she hadn't done any magecraft practice, but even then, most humans would have been quite tired after being asleep all night. It was simply how the body reacted to extended darkness.
She supposed that Jinako's claims of being able to play games for eighteen hours straight weren't just for show, then.
She did manage to get her to come out for breakfast (even though it could have fit on Jinako's desk this time), but when she asked if Jinako had come to a decision, she deflected again. She dropped the subject, but not much more conversation happened for the rest of the occasion.
She did eventually decide to continue watching Jinako as she played games and trawled forums on her computer, but chose not to talk much.
Eventually, dinner-time came around, so she made something and got Jinako to come down to eat it.
The conversation they had during it was fairly mild for the most part, though there was one moment that stood out to her.
"It's kinda surreal. I had some microwaveable stuff at first, but…"
Jinako's eyes were unfocused, but directed down at the dish in front of her as she said those words.
"But?" Tamamo asked.
She continued to stare down at the meal, before shaking her head. "Nah, it's nothing. Anyway, I hope you aren't thinking I'm gonna be able to do any practice tonight. I'm waaaay too tired for that."
"Of course not."
They eventually finished, and when they did, her Master finally decided to turn in. Now that she was well and truly the only conscious one in the house, Tamamo sighed, and made up her mind.
Regardless of how it occurred, something would happen tomorrow. She had been patient so far, but it was clear that was not enough.
Apologies for the repost. Realized that I could make some adjustments that would make the chapter click together better.
It was a paradise in here.
Even if the ground had been cold, she didn't need to worry about that. She was the radiance of heaven, after all, and even if she were not, in here, she was shielded from both the outside chill of winter and the outside heat of summer.
There was no need to adjust to seasons, just as there was no need to adjust to the whims and politics of her constituents, and no need to deal with her brothers.
She would be a fool to leave, no matter how much others begged of her to come out.
Yes, this was the correct decision.
For the rest of time,
she could just relax in here—
Jinako woke up.
It was that type of dream again—and it seemed like it was in the same place? She felt certain that it was, at least. Occultish.
She turned her head. From the lighting peeking through the drapes, it was probably early in the morning. She stood up with a stretch, and went to brush her teeth.
The smell of something cooking filled both the hallway and the bathroom. Probably all the parts of the house that weren't closed off, as well.
It hadn't been happening long enough for it to become normal, but it felt like it already was. Every morning and evening, Caster would make food. It'd either be brought up to Jinako, or she'd go down to eat it.
Even though, no matter what happened, it'd have to come to an end.
Breakfast is ready, Master. Caster's 'voice' chimed in her head.
She shook her head and sighed, washing out her mouth with water. She'd go downstairs and eat, and then it'd be right back to gaming as usual.
When she went down, it was pretty quiet. Beyond saying 'Itadakimasu', they didn't speak much, until they both finished.
And then—
"So, have you come to a decision yet?"
…The question was almost as difficult to face as it had been the first time, even if it wasn't surprising.
If it were anyone else, it'd just be annoying. But since it was Caster, her Servant—someone whose future in the Holy Grail War depended on her decision—she couldn't bring herself to just brush it off.
She looked down at the table, unable to meet Caster's eyes. "...Sorry."
For several seconds, neither of them made a sound.
"Aaarrrrgh, I can't take this anymore! I thought maybe you just needed some time, but this is pushing it!"
In the blink of an eye, Caster seemed to practically teleport next to her. The next moment, she was standing her up and pushing her to the foyer.
"Come on, put your shoes on! We're going for a walk! I've got a pair of socks right here, so there's no excuse!"
A pair of her socks were shoved into her hands.
She looked up at Caster's face. She had a wide, almost-open mouth smile, and one of her eyebrows was twitching rapidly.
"A-aren't you supposed to listen to me? You're a Servant, right?"
Her smile seemed to get even wider. "Do-I-make-myself-clear?"
…She put on her socks and shoes.
"Good. Now, come on!"
Caster opened the door, pulled her out by the wrist, and shut the door behind them.
Caster had turned around her attitude a lot once they were in the city. She would ask about various places and landmarks (which she usually didn't know all that much about herself), talk about her own time in the city, and prompt her to talk about what memories Jinako did have, when she could deduce that she had some sort of history with a place or thing.
There were the shops. There were the restaurants that Caster had snuck into to watch the chefs of. There was an old graveyard which was fairly popular for tourists, but Jinako didn't know anything about that. There was a museum, which Jinako remembered going to with her parents on a couple occasions soon after they moved there.
Somehow, in spite of everything, Jinako was enjoying herself.
It was awkward. It was exhausting. It was kind-of-cold-but-not-really, like was usually the case during fall—at least when the A/C wasn't enough to let her ignore it. Or heater. Whichever.
But she enjoyed it.
"...It's been a long time since I've been here," Jinako said, looking at the large, boxy building and the playground that sat right next to it..
"Oh?" She could tell that Caster was raising an eyebrow. She wasn't sure if it was just intuition, or if it was the telepathic link.
"I went to middle school here. Think I technically graduated, but…" She shrugged.
"What was it like?" Caster asked.
The words tumbled out of her mouth before she even realized it. "It was nice," Jinako said, the words sounding like someone else had said them. "I didn't have too many friends, but I had some. We talked about a lot of things during lunch and recess, like new games or songs from some bands."
Each and every word was true, even if they were ones that she had never said to another person. Usually, when the subject of schooling came up, she just blew it off or extended condolences.
"Do you still keep in contact with them?"
Jinako paused. "No. We did for a bit, but stuff happened."
Did they stop talking to her because of what happened? Or were they just waiting for her to reach out to them?
Either way, it didn't change what happened. Nobody reached out to her, so—
"I see. It surely isn't the same, but I have some experience with something like that." Caster replied.
Jinako didn't know what to say to that. So she just said, "Ugh, I'm gonna sit down. My legs are killin' me."
She ambled over to a bench nearby the playground and flopped into it. Caster joined her, and for what felt like forever, they just sat there.
There were still some leaves on the trees, but many of them had started to yellow. It was a weekend, so school was out.
It was just the two of them.
"I have asked several times now whether you will participate in the Holy Grail War," Caster began, talking about it for the first time since they'd left her house. "However, I don't believe I've asked you yet what your wish on the Holy Grail would be."
…She didn't feel that resistant to the idea. It was tempting to brush it off, or lie about it, but the temptations felt like they were far away. Like someone else was feeling them.
It was definitely weird. Maybe because she'd actually been living with Caster. Maybe because Caster was her Servant, and she didn't seem like she'd hold it over her head or something. Maybe because she was just in a good mood.
She found herself opening her mouth.
"—I want a redo."
Caster said nothing in response, merely looking at her with a curious expression.
Maybe she would just say a little more, then.
"...I don't really have anything, y'know?"
Again, Caster said nothing.
Jinako's head dipped. "I didn't go to high school. I don't have a job. I don't go out and meet people. I just play games online, boast, and that's all." She shook her head. "...My parents died because some dump truck ran a red light. I don't need to do anything, 'cause the inheritance they left me was so big, even if they were just upper-middle class. So I just don't."
She whipped her head around to meet Caster's gaze, her hands shaking. "I don't have anything! I don't need to do a single thing to live, I can just stay inside all day, every day, but that's it! I can collect all the small things I want, but it's all—it's all NOTHING!"
It wasn't really true—she still liked those small things she collected, and she didn't really want to let them go or anything. Maybe she'd be able to say it better if she had more time. But she didn't.
Something hot was streaming down her face, but she didn't stop. "I'm just—I'm just a snail. Not even a human being. Not really. If I could do it all over, if I just had someone to tell me, 'hey, you should go to high school', then I want that!"
She turned her head away, bringing up one of her sleeves to wipe her eyes.
"...It's all pointless, anyway. I don't know why I care." Her arm fell. "Everyone dies. There's no purpose to it. Mom and Dad didn't even do anything wrong, and some dump truck slipped on some ice and killed them anyway. No gods stepped in to save them. It was just…"
She trailed off, and this time, didn't continue.
Tamamo hadn't expected that response. She was not surprised, but even with how much she tried to ease her Master into the discussion, she hadn't thought that Jinako would speak so much about it.
Still, she knew now what her wish was. It was fairly clear, too, why she was so split on whether to remain in the Holy Grail War.
Before anything else, she entrapped Jinako in a hug and pulled her into her torso.
"I see," she said, finally. "I do not think your wish is meaningless, Master."
She did not approve of the wish to redo her life, but she would not cast it all as meaningless.
Jinako tilted her head slightly, letting her peek at her out of the corner of her eye.
She took that as invitation to continue. "I told you before that I wished to be a good wife. That was not a lie. My whole life—well, in this form—I desired to serve others, in order to understand the pleasure that humans derived from that."
She looked to the sky. "I don't regret my life, even if ultimately, it ended terribly. Even if I was a fool. Even if I only got a brief taste of it before I passed." She shook her head. "And, well. If you need to know how badly that went, then Tamamo here will have plenty to tell you later."
Jinako craned her neck around to get a better look at her, wearing an inscrutable expression. "Tamamo? Like, as in the one fox demon?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"Occultish."
Tamamo suppressed a laugh. She should have expected that would be her response. It wasn't even incorrect, either.
"Well, I did explain that Heroic Spirits were merely notable figures based in legend and history, didn't I? It's a bit more complicated than that, in truth, but that doesn't matter much, currently."
"So much for 'nobody important'. You're a massive liar, Tamamo."
She supposed that was something else that made them similar.
She looked down and smiled coyly. "Well, Tamamo ma~ay have slightly stretched the truth," she said.
She smiled more softly, as she continued, "Regardless, Master. To be completely, crystal clear—I don't think your wish is meaningless, and I don't think your life is meaningless, either."
Jinako's face went blank at that comment. As if she were lost, or perhaps she just didn't know what to say.
Either way, it was a good thing she established that silencing barrier earlier. For multiple reasons, as it turned out.
That, and even if she did not approve of her Master's wish to redo her life—
—Even if she thought that the Holy Grail that grants wishes was a foolish thing to chase after—
—She would do her utmost to stay by her side, and show her that she need not give up on herself.
It's what she would have wanted herself, after all.
"Hmm, I suppose you've been outside for long enough." Tamamo said as she stood up.
They started walking. "You aren't gonna make me do this again, right?"
"I make no promises~" Came Tamamo's reply, her lips curled into a smug smile.
She probably should've expected that. "Ugh."
Unfortunately, she wasn't able to get back to playing games immediately. Or, well, she wasn't allowed to.
In front of her were a collection of random objects, and further in front of her was Tamamo, sitting in seiza.
"Alteration isn't particularly different from Reinforcement in principle, but it tends to be a touch more difficult. If you don't take too long, we may move onto Projection today." Tamamo said.
She waved dismissively "Alright, I get it. I won't sandbag."
A flash of light played in her head, and her circuit activated.
She grabbed one of the objects, a stick. Presumably from some tree they'd passed by earlier—using Structural Grasp on it, it seemed to still be pretty 'alive', though not enough to be much of a problem. 'Least, from what she could tell.
It was pretty similar to a spear already, so…
…Nope, no good. Split off along the center in the middle of transforming. Didn't even look like the Longinus from Eva.
She tried transforming a few more of the objects, but similar odd mistakes happened. At least none of them were shattering or anything. That was a real pain when she was figuring out Reinforcement. Could just be because she had a better idea of how to gauge the limits of these things now, though.
When it comes to limits, though, that reminded her of something.
"So, you mentioned working on barriers, right? Don't those need an opening so that the air doesn't go stale or somethin'?" Tamamo had told her as much during one of her lectures, at least.
"Generally speaking, they do, yes. Why do you ask?"
"Was just wondering where the opening for the barriers around this house was." She didn't actually know if it was just one barrier or multiple ones, but from how long she spent on them, she imagined there were probably multiple layers.
"Ah, I see. The opening is to 'the heavens'—that is, things that come 'from the heavens', not merely things that come 'from above'. There is also that smaller barrier I set up around your room, which doesn't have any openings if it's active, but it currently is not." Tamamo explained
"Huh." She picked up another object, one of the small clocks that could fit in your hand. "So only stuff like lightning and rain and whatever will get through fine?"
"Mmhmm." A smug look covered her face for a moment, before falling off. "However, even so, our opponents are Heroic Spirits. There may easily be one or two who possess the ability to use the heavens as a vector to invade or attack without penalty, especially if, as that Assassin said, there is another Caster involved in this conflict."
"'S there any better option, then?" Jinako asked as she looked down at the clock. It kind of made her think of a compass. Might as well go for that, then.
"Not without more knowledge of our opposition. Currently, this is the configuration most suited for our approach to this War when coupled with our lacking knowledge."
"Gotcha."
As she made that comment, the small and large hands of the clock almost snapped from their previous positions into new ones, completely opposite each other. Huh, it worked? She would've thought that it'd be too complicated, but she wasn't going to complain.
Still, it was just one success out of a dozen failures. She'd need to practice a bit more before Tamamo would be satisfied. She set it down, and picked up a different object, this one a slab of wood. Maybe she'd turn it into a clipboard?
…When she thought about it more, she wasn't all that surprised that Caster turned out to be Tamamo no Mae. She just didn't think about it that much, and the single tail threw her off a bit. It wasn't like she looked into mythology much, so she just figured she was some rando and let it go.
It was interesting how Tamamo talked about her past, though. From what she knew about her legend, she was just said to have been a trickster who wanted to use the Emperor of the time for…something. She didn't remember that detail.
She'd look it up more later tonight or something.
—Aw, crap. Was too curved to be a clipboard, and the metal thing that would hold a piece of paper to the board was a bit screwed up. She put it down and picked up a plastic fork. Could try to alter it into a spoon or knife. Eh, she'd go for a spoon. She'd tried making a plastic spoon into a knife earlier.
…Waaaaait. Did she even have to stop using these things when they broke? It wasn't like she'd overcharged any of them, it's just that her attempts at Alteration caused them to distort too noticeably for her to think it could be salvaged.
She reached over to the stick that'd been split straight down the middle earlier, and focused on shaping it again, on adding the attributes of a spear to it—
In an instant, she was no longer holding a broken stick, but a spear with a metal tip. It wasn't perfect, but there weren't any obvious mistakes. To her, at least.
A clap from Tamamo brought her gaze up. She had a satisfied smile on her face. "It's easy to miss at first, but when you mess up with Alteration, while it can sometimes look like you've put too much into an object, it tends to be more fixable. Though there were times when you just used Reinforcement, and other times when you used Alteration for something that Reinforcement is really better for…but they aren't all that different from each other in the first place, so it isn't really a big deal."
Jinako had the feeling that if another magus heard Tamamo say that last part, they might just toss something at her, judging by how she said it. Though it wasn't like she knew any other magi, so that was just a guess.
Actually, that reminded her. She'd seen mention of a 'Holy Grail War wiki' back a bit before summoning Tamamo, but she hadn't perused it at all, just picking up enough from the net to confirm what that priest'd told her and set up a summoning ritual. 'Nother thing to look at when she got free from this.
"Now, just do that a few more times, and we'll move onto Projection!" Tamamo said cheerily.
"Aw, come on." Jinako groaned.
She couldn't bring herself to put any real resistance into it, though.
