A quick warning before we begin:
This Quest has the Mature tag on it. This chapter will feature mature content.
Please enjoy the story.
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Your fists clench. You take a long, deep breath, and center yourself. You place your things on the floor as a deep green glow emerges from your clavicle.
Strength shift.
You spin and thrust your palm out towards the older woman. You touch the cigarette she's holding, and it flies into the air, disintegrating from your strike. You turn back to look towards the kitchen, towards Haru.
"I believe I asked you not to smoke in here. It's not good for your health." You whisper.
Your nerves erupt, pain flooding through your gut. You hit the floor, shaking, struggling to breathe. You can hear your guardian turning towards you, and that telltale sound of another cigarette being lit.
"Is that so," she laughs. "I'll have to take that in mind."
The front door closes, and the fire in your lungs is extinguished. You press your hands to the floor and push yourself up, looking to the kitchen. It's quiet. You brush your hair out of your eyes and shakily lurch over to look. Her things are spread out along the table, but Haru isn't to be seen. Maybe she went to her room? You walk upstairs past your room, and peek through the slightly ajar door to her room. Haru's in her room, scribbling something down in a notebook. Relieved, you go to your room and lean against the wall, pressing your arm against your forehead and gritting your teeth. You close your eyes, and try to move your thoughts to later. You're only a few hours away……
…………..
You don't know how long it's been, but you must have fallen asleep standing against the wall. Haru is standing at your side, tugging your arm and gently trying to wake you.
"I told you you looked tired, big sis."
"Mmmmh…yeah, yeah, you were right."
You crane your neck towards the alarm clock. It's only been forty minutes, but you've got mouths to feed and things to do. You yawn a little and stretch before leading your sister back downstairs. "C'mon, let's go make dinner. How's udon sound?"
"Tasty!"
You stop at the bottom, spying the flowers and bags still on the floor. Oh….you must've forgotten to take those with you.
"I was writing for homework and saw those, and went to look for you," Haru pipes up. "Are you gonna see Mom and Dad soon?"
"Yeah," you tell her, grabbing your things. "I'm gonna go see them tonight, a little after you go to sleep. Is that okay?"
"That's really late, big sis….but, can you say hi for me?"
"Of course," you reassure her.
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The rest of the evening proves to be more calming. Haru helps you make udon, and you do your homework afterwards (while also helping Haru with hers). As you're tucking Haru in, you decide to tell her a few more details about your plans.
"I'm gonna visit Mom and Dad, but afterwards……I have something I need to do. What's important is that when I come back, I'll be….bringing someone with me. A guest. They'll be staying with us for a while, but you can't tell Mr Browning or Ms Greyfore, okay?"
Haru looks a little confused at that. "What kind of guest?"
"I don't know for certain what they'll be like, but they're going to be helping me out with some things for a while. But you have to promise to keep it a secret, okay?"
Haru makes a face of deep thought, eventually beaming with delight at the idea of keeping a secret with you. "Okay! Will I get to meet them at breakfast?"
You smile. "You should be able to, yeah."
You spend the next thirty minutes gathering up your materials into a bag and going over the plan. You check to make sure Haru is asleep before grabbing the flowers, turning off the lights in your home, and locking the door behind you. You're putting Haru in a lot of danger by telling her about Servants, but she needs to know something about it. You only hope that whoever answers your call is amicable.
Fuyuki at night is not a safe place to be. No matter how many streetlights or neon signs illuminate your passage, there is a deep darkness inherent to the city that chills your heart while you cling to it. You are a Mage, and a strong one at that, but this city can and has dredged up the world's untold horrors before. Few man-made wonders can threaten you; it's the beings of a more supernatural bent that have you sticking to the shadows as you walk through town.
You slip into the cemetery, and make your way to your parents' graves. Not using a flashlight or something similar leaves you in the dark, but it's no concern. You know the way to the plots like the back of your hand. You lied to your friends earlier–the real truth is that their graves have been together from the start; Mom's grave was put in next to Dad as soon as the Association's search for her ended and they decided to give up and declare her legally dead. You stop, and before you stand the graves of Erika and Akira Tatsuko.
"Hi Mom, Dad" you whisper. "I….I really miss you guys. It's been a while since I came here, and those friends of yours are serious jerks….Haru says hi too. She's grown a lot, you know. I'm doing my best to take care of her, since those people you knew won't."
You bend down, and place the flowers in between the graves. "Mom, I…..I know you've been declared dead, and that the search for you ended…but I know you're still out there. I can feel it, I swear. There's…..a Holy Grail War about to start any day now. I'm going to become a Master and summon a Servant in just a little bit, and I'm going to win. When I win, I'm going to find you, I promise."
You step back and take a moment to breathe, feeling tears about to come. "I just…..I just really miss you two. Is that okay? If I say it enough times, will you be able to hear it? You've taught me so much….I'm happy the Association let me keep most of your research and equipment. I promise I'll live up to all that you've done. I promise. I'm gonna go summon a Servant now, but I'll be back soon enough. So, I think this is goodbye and good night for now……I love you."
You wipe your sleeve across your eyes, sniffling lightly, and turn to go.
"Very touching. Really, I mean it."
You turn, and see a pair of glowing red eyes peering out of the darkness. You open your mouth to say something, only to be interrupted as you feel something rush behind you. It hits you across the back of the neck, and the world goes black.
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You start to wake up, your head sore. You're lying against…..cold concrete, most likely. Gripping your aching neck, you slowly rise. You don't recognize the building you're in, but it looks to be a warehouse of some sor-
You stop, having caught sight of a….you can't believe that's a person. It's a man, massive and muscled, wearing what looks to be a black bodysuit with shining golden armor with orange-red cloth trailing behind. His face looks to be contorted into an expression of eternal rage, and it almost feels like his face could be somewhat androgynous if he wasn't in such a state of anger. He carries a spear, and has darkened green hair somehow?
Wait.
Something clicks in your mind.
That's a Servant. Probably a Berserker, if you had to guess. This….is a bad situation.
The good news is that he seems a little at ease–or at least, as much as he could be in such a fit of rage. His attention seems to be split between watching you and watching someone….behind you? You turn and see someone working on what you're pretty sure is a summoning circle, using what you're pretty sure is the materials you were going to use. The Master (you're assuming, it seems like a safe guess to make) rises, seemingly finished. As they turn around, you can see they're a girl who looks to be in her late teens with pale skin, long white hair, and those deep burning red eyes that you saw at the cemetery. She smiles upon seeing you, a smug, predatory smirk.
"Oh, good, you're awake. Perfect timing, I just finished setting things up for you."
You get to your feet to meet her, and start to step back. It's not even a conscious decision, something prompted by the aura she exudes; it doesn't matter. You start to take a small step back and her eyes blaze. Your lower half freezes entirely, and no amount of willpower is getting your legs to budge.
"Mystic Eyes…" you grimace. The girl claps.
"Oh, you know what they are! Looks like there is a modicum of intelligence rolling around in there. You've got some good Magic Circuits, too….I'd be impressed if I wasn't, well, me" she grins.
"Oh, but I suppose I should introduce myself, shouldn't I? My name is Lilianasviel von Einzbern. You, Mikami Tatsuko, are one of the only mages in this city who I currently believe would be worth actually putting effort into taking care of. Possibly the only one! I'd say you should be honored that I don't consider taking you out of the Holy Grail War to be a waste of my time."
Oh, she's an Einzbern. Makes sense. One of the three Founding Families, who live in that castle and specialize in…..homunculus magic, you're pretty sure.
"What's going on? Why were you setting up my circle? I haven't even gotten a Servant yet, so killing me doesn't really give you any advantage."
Oh, yes, this was to be your circle, wasn't it?" She looks back at it. "Those materials are quite nice. Gemstone dust, dirt and debris from Central Park, all to be sprinkled in as you trace the circle, and incense to place all around. If a Heroic Spirit were to answer such a call, I'd bet that such a strong circle would probably call forth someone quite powerful. Unfortunately, I have other plans for you."
The Einzbern girl steps around, pointing out a specific section that you distinctly don't recognize. "See this section here? As one of the Founding Families, the Einzberns have…well, we've been able to manipulate summoning here and there. It's how I got Berserker, after all."
The maddened warrior gives out a low grunt in acknowledgement.
"The problem is that you've met my expectations. Berserker and I could take down you and whatever Servant you manage to call up fairly easily….but why bother with the effort of doing so? Why not just cut you out of the picture entirely early on, so that my road to victory becomes even smoother?"
"What are you saying?," you ask her. "What exactly are you wanting to do here?"
"Isn't it obvious? I've set up your circle, but with some tweaking to ensure you get a certain class–Assassin, specifically. As soon as they arrive, Berserker here attacks them. Most Assassins aren't going to be able to hold their own in a straight fight, after all–especially when they're caught off guard from having just materialized, and especially against Berserker. It's a win-win, really. You summon a Servant like you want, and I get to immediately knock them–and you–out of the War!"
You stand in stunned silence, processing. It's a solid strategy, you have to admit, and you can't think of what other options you have. Trying to escape or attack wouldn't work, not with the position you're in, and not against a freaking Einzbern and a Berserker. Could you try and warn the Servant when they get summoned? Maybe? Berserker is probably pretty fast….damn, she's got you cornered here. Hope for the best, that you get a strong Assassin, or somehow defy fate and get someone of a different class who can defend themself?
"What if I refuse?" You ask.
Lilianasviel turns back to you, puzzled. "Pardon?"
"I refuse," you tell her, crossing your arms. "Your plan doesn't work if I don't summon a Servant. So, I refuse."
The girl stares at you for a long moment. "Is that the path you're set on? I thought I heard you clearly state an intent to enter and win the war. You'd really give up on the best option available to you to find your mom?"
"Yup. Besides, it's not really an option if I'm going to immediately lose."
Lilianasviel starts laughing. It seems slightly strange to see her doing this. She calms down for a minute, before putting her hand out flat. The air around it seems to shimmer and coil, condensing into an outline, almost like…..like a blade.
"I didn't want to have to do this," she says, stepping forward. "But if you won't cooperate, then you're no use to me. I'll simply find someone else to repeat this with, and removing you from the field entirely means I won't have to worry about you contracting with any other Servants later on. Please understand, it's nothing personal."
She thrusts her arm forward, and stabs the blade into your stomach. "But, really, I just want to see how far you'll take the bluff."
You gasp, and blood comes out instead of air.
"I'm quite knowledgeable in anatomy, you know. So how about this, I'll even make a deal here for you. You've got a few minutes of consciousness. Summon a Heroic Spirit right here, right now, and I'll keep you alive and tend to you. You won't die, so I swear on the Einzbern family name. You can live and move on, or you can die here in an abandoned warehouse."
Your eyes feel heavy. You don't really process the last part of what she said. You stretch your hand out. Your mind begins drifting–to the cemetery, to school, to a feeling or thought, of……..
[ ] Haru. You have to be there for her still.
[ ] Your friends, Yumi and Akari.
[ ] Survival. You have to make it through this.
[ ] Anger. The nerve of this girl. She's not really cheating, but it's still infuriating.
[ ] Dying. You don't want to die.
[ ] Your parents. You still need to find Mom.
[ ] Help. Call out to the void for help, for someone to rescue you.
[ ] Write-in
