Fate/Clusterfuck (Fate/Stay Night)

[Erien]

[Use a Command Seal] (Two Remain)

Thanks to @Armoury for the beta!

—

"STOP!" You scream the word so loud your throat stings, your hand shoots forward, the seal on your wrist glowing. The room is bathed in a crimson light, and Mordred goes rigid, her muscles shaking and blood erupting from her lip as she bits into it.

But not before planting the blade a full inch into Ayako's side. Ayako's scream drowns out your own, a howl of pain as the wide and sharp blade lodges itself into her. Blood pours out of the wound, drenching the blade and the bed. Ayako thrashes, widening the wound, her hands moving to grip the blade on instinct.

Then things get truly chaotic.

The door opens, but nobody enters. Instead, appearing just behind Mordred are Circe and Caster. Caster's staff was raised, pressed against the small of Mordred's back, while Circe's was pressed against her neck. You see the veins along Mordred's neck bulge for a moment, then, like a ragdoll she goes limp. Falling backwards into the arms of… Archer? The man stands there, appearing much like the two witches did, his arms hooked underneath Mordred's arms as he lifts her up and away from Ayako.

With a squelch the blade pulls free, and Ayako tumbles to the floor, bleeding sliced up hands clutched against her side as she wails in pain. You fall to the floor after her, grabbing Ayako and pulling her hands away from the wound, her nails digging into your skin as she fights you on instinct. You reach down and rip the school shirt away, revealing a puncture wound a good half foot wide and gushing blood.

Then you are shoved, Circe, despite her dainty frame, pushes you away from Ayako easily and plants her hands onto the wound. Caster, following just after her, places her hand against Ayako's forehead. The twin applications of magic seal the wound and put her to sleep, though Ayako and the floor was still covered in a good amount of blood.

You want to be upset about Caster knocking people unconscious repeatedly, you really do. But you are also very distracted at the moment. Men and women fill the room, guns drawn. Some point their weapons at the servants, others point them at the floor. Confusion the order of the day as the room goes from two people to twenty in a matter of half a minute.

You study the closed wound on Ayako a moment longer, then turn your attention towards Berser… Mordred. She is still held in Archer's arms, her sword held limp in her hand as tears stream down her face. Her eyes are bloodshot, and her face is covered in blood from where she bit clean through her own lip. With a clatter of metal against wood, the sword falls from her hands, blood flying off of it to paint the floor and the walls in yet more of the ichor. Her head turns, looking down at Ayako, and her left hand stretches forward, fingers splayed out, reaching for the girl. "Father… why? Father…"

"Master, please explain what happened." Caster says slowly, carefully, her eyes never leaving the Berserker.

You frown. "I dreamt I was on a battlefield, Mordred was there, and upon finding her she… killed me, then when I woke up she was standing over the bed about to stab Ayako."

"I would say she succeeded in that endeavor." Circe says, standing from where she had been crouched over Ayako. She stares down at her hands for a moment, both drenched in blood. Then, they are covered… in what is almost like a haze, before they return to focus completely clean.

"It is a small miracle she didn't target you again outside of the dream, Shirou, you cannot control this servant. You must either allow me to put her on a magical leash, or you command her to kill herself." Caster says, turning her head to look at you, her tone allowing little argument.

"I can't do that, Caster." You reply firmly, staring back.

"You can, easily. You could command me to kill myself and I would do it without having any ability to fight it, you could do the same to her and remove her as a danger." Caster says, gesturing to the sobbing Berserker.

You turn your attention back to Mordred. She was sobbing, saying the word 'father' over and over like it was a mantra. She was no threat, not at the moment. But you knew she could be, you saw her when she fought that monster, you… could barely even communicate with her. No, you couldn't even do that. She barely acknowledged your existence and half the time you had no idea where she even was.

She was a risk, she killed you, she attempted to kill Ayako.

…

But she was also clearly not in control of herself. "No, but keep an eye on her for me. How long will Ayako be out."

Caster's eyes close for a moment, and from the way her lips move you can tell she rather desperately wants to say something but is fighting the urge. Letting out a slow, controlled breath. She opens them again to focus on you, the anger gone. "She will be awake in the morning."

You nod, then, bending down your gingerly pick up Ayako and deposit her back onto the bed. Her sleep seemed unbothered, which was a relief, though she would need a change of clothes before school.

… But more than that you were likely going to have an awkward conversation when she awok-

"Shirou." A voice, firm, male, familiar, but with a tone you didn't recognize speaks up and draws your attention like a sudden lightning strike. You turn your head back to see Raiga standing in the doorway, lightly leaning on his cane.

"Come with me, boy." Raiga says, then turns and begins making his way out of the room.

"Raiga, I-"

Raiga pauses, turning his milky eyes back towards you. "That was not a request."
You stare after him a moment, then, shooting an apologetic glance towards Caster you follow after the man.

—

Raiga's room was in itself a reflection of the man. That was not always true of people as one might expect, it was something you had experienced more than once. Especially after spending a good deal of time hanging out with Shinji over the years. Raiga wielded a lot of power, Raiga was wealthy, Raiga was old. All of these things about Raiga were true. Yet of all of those things, the room that Raiga lived within only matched that last description of the man. Every room in the mansion was European in style, rich carpets, tall beds, like a callback to the Japan of your great grandfather's time where everyone was trying to emulate another, distant nation.

Raiga's room wasn't like that.

Tatami floors sunk beneath your feet as you entered the space, and you found yourself in a small room, roughly the size of your bedroom back at the house Kiritsugu left you. It was undecorated beside a sword stand sitting upon a dresser, but any threat those swords resting upon it would hold was somewhat diminished by the small army of pill bottles surrounding them. His bedroll was a mess on the far end of the room, hurriedly left just a few minutes ago, and, heedless of you, Raiga moves to sit down at the opposite end of a small table. He doesn't sit formally, his legs instead cross underneath him, and, using his cane, he points to the opposite end of the table for you to sit.

You move to sit across from the man, and Raiga leans back for a moment before producing a pipe. Lighting it idly using a lighter set on the table, he draws in deeply before focusing on you again. "What is your plan here boy?"

Does he mean regarding Mordred? "I'm having Caster keep an eye on he-"

The narrowing of Raiga's gaze causes your jaw to click shut without a single word from the man. He stares at you for a few moments, then shakes his head from side to side. "If you don't know what I'm asking, why answer?" Raiga sighs, gazing down at the table for a moment, before his milky eyes find my own again. "These servants are dangerous things boy, everything magic is."

"Taiga mentioned you knew about magic, how?" you ask.

Raiga smiles. "I worked with your father and his associates. Along with the church. I have no connection to that world, if you are curious, at least, I am not under their thumb. But they respect my boundaries and I tolerate theirs." Raiga takes another drag from his pipe, and the smile drops from his face. "But my granddaughter is involved now, and my men are dying, and blood is being shed within my house. This has made things… difficult, as you might understand."

He sets the pipe down onto the table with a click, then, he leans forward. "What is your plan to resolve this 'war' so that things return to peace in Fuyuki?"

You… aren't sure, you were still making sense of it, all of it. You understood its purpose, but you had no desire for the prize. It was a race you didn't sign up for and had no desire to win. The only thing you wanted out of this was for no-one to get hurt, and that was something you had already failed at utterly.

The scream of Raiga's men haunted you, and the ring of Ayako's was still lodged in your ears.

Raiga lets out another sigh. "I did not expect you to have the answer. You never had the drive your adoptive father did."

You bristle.

Raiga smiles, slightly. "That is not a bad thing. In the morning Ayako will likely be scared and confused, you'll need to look after her. Kiritsugu… never had that ability. I also expect you to apologize to Taiga for dragging her into all of this."

Then the smile drops again, his face goes neutral, and Raiga sits up very straight. The change is… slight, but the effect is clear. The old man was gone, your honorary grandfather was gone, this was the Patriarch of the Fujimura clan facing you now. "What happened tonight will not be happening again. You have a loose animal in this house, and I am trusting in you to keep an eye on her."

"I-" You begin.

Raiga ignores you. "I've lost good men already. Damn good men. I'm just about ready to declare war on the magical half of Fuyuki over it."

You must have looked concerned, as Raiga was smiling again.

"Tell me boy, how does a mage setup a workshop in a city or location where another mage resides?"

You pause for a moment, processing the sudden change in subject, then answer. "A mage has to ask permission of the local authority to do so."

Raiga smiles a touch wider. "And have you ever pondered who the local authority in Fuyuki was? It isn't the church, and it isn't the Tohsaka family. Not that the latter didn't try more than once to… usurp that position. Nor does it belong to the Zouken. Do you understand what it is I'm telling you?"

You nod.

"Good. A bullet kills a mage just as easily as it does anyone else. That was a lesson I am grateful your father never taught you however." Raiga moves his hands to his knees, the 'grandfather' returning. "Shirou, keep your servants under control and keep my granddaughter out of danger. Can you do that for me?"

You nod once more, not finding your tongue much working at the moment.

"Very good." Raiga replies. "I do not wish to get involved if I don't have to. But I will, if it becomes necessary. I could end this war tomorrow, but I do not wish to deal with Clocktower politics. You will leave now."

You don't argue, you don't question or speak. You simply stand up, bow slightly, then exit the room.

—

You awoke before Ayako did, not by much mind. But the point remained the same. You had had the bedsheets replaced so that neither of you were laying in blood, one of the few problems with the situation you could actually fix, and, with the morning sunlight just barely coming in through the window behind you, you watched as Ayako's eyes slowly opened.

She wasn't exactly a graceful riser, her eyes scrunched focusing on you, trying to process exactly what her eyes were seeing. Her hair was a mess, and… she had left a fair bit of drool on the pillow. But, as she slowly came to terms with where she was-

Her hands shot to her side as she sat up. Fingers tearing at the brim of the shirt and lifting it up to reveal clean flesh with no sign of a wound. The bloodstain remained on the floor, and the specks of blood still decorated the wall. But as for Ayako herself, she had nothing in the way of injuries. She stares at the wound, poking at and stretching the skin, then she looks at you in abject confusion.

"You're fine." You say quietly.

"I got stabbed!"

"Yes, and you were healed."

Ayako's face adopts a look of sheer confusion. "Wasn't that one of the magic people!?"

"Yes, tha-"

"Then why would she stab me?!"

You let out a breath. "I'm still trying to figure that out myself."

"There's no way that can be safe."

You bite your tongue. "It isn't, but I'm having Caster keep an eye on her for the moment. I'm sorry Ayako."

Ayako opens her mouth to respond, then apparently thinks better of it and says nothing. She drops her shirt, her gaze instead moving to the pool of dried blood on the floor. "What… what put me to sleep?"

"Caster's magic."

Ayako looked back towards you, there were a thousand questions she wanted to ask, you could tell by her expression. But instead. "Shirou I'm… I'm going to get back to the house, I need a fresh change of clothes before school."

"Raiga could provide you a ride." You offer.

Ayako slips off of the bed, her hand moving to her side again. Then she looked back towards you, her face was scared. But not towards the idea, she seemed scared to be here. "No Shirou… I'll… I'll just see you at school." Then, without another word she walks out of the room, leaving you in a painful silence.

—

The morning passed swiftly, something you were deeply, deeply grateful for after the events of the night. You found Mordred in Caster's room in the morning, staring at a wall like it held all the secrets of the universe, she didn't speak, she didn't react to your presence, she didn't do… anything at all. She simply stood there like a statue. Caster helpfully informed you that once she had stopped crying, shortly after they had moved her out of your room to begin with, it had been all she was doing.

It was something you had seen before with the woman, and now it only confused you more.

After that it was a simple breakfast, with Archer being his usual friendly self, Mata Hari assisting, and both Circe and Caster sitting to either side of you, rather close you note. After that it was off to school, and, hopefully, normalcy.

Taiga broke off at the entrance, having to get to and prepare Homeroom before you had Sakura put your things away. The fact that she was bandaged rather heavily didnt seem to remove her desire to teach. But then, your hands were still mostly useless as well. Sakura had offered to feed you this morning before Circe stepped in. Speaking of which, the girl had spent the morning nearly glued to your shoulder as you enter the school. She said little, but then, Sakura was never much for heavy conversation. You simply enjoyed the silence, your thoughts bouncing between what Raiga said, what Mordred did… and that expression on Ayako's face as she left.

You hoped you'd see her today, to check up on her once more.

But, as you walked through the halls with Sakura in tow, you rounded a corner, and… much to your surprise, you found yourself staring at-

—

[] [Rin]

View: https://i.imgur.com/s4RvYjR.jpg

[] [Illya]

View: https://i.imgur.com/Vq5rAj6.jpg

[] [A Familiar Face]

View: https://i.imgur.com/06RvFgr.png

—

For those who don't recall why Shirou recognizes that face. I direct you to the later half of this chapter.

Fate/Clusterfuck (Fate/Stay Night) Mature - Fantasy - Modern

[X] [Of a Weeping Woman] [X] [Of a Girl Saving Humanity] Thanks to @Armoury for the beta! — You scream into the woman’s hand, your voice muffled and producing no understandable sounds. She glances down at you, moving the hand away for a moment. Then...

forums.sufficientvelocity.com

 

[Erien]

View: https://youtu.be/GkC0ISkGhVk?si=3oFhgZK1Yl_7m-aO

[A Familiar Face]

Thanks to @Armoury for the beta!

—

You knew this woman. This… girl, and the shocked look on her face matched your own. It was a face you had only seen once, but you would never forget it. Even if it had changed since you last saw it. Unlike when you had last seen her, now she was dressed in the academy uniform of your school, hiding all of her body except for her face and hands. But her face, while similar, had changed. Her skin was clammy and pale, scars littering it, some light, some deep and jagged and fresh. Deep purple bags sagged underneath her eyes, and her hair was… haphazard, unevenly cut and laying about all over the place.

Her eyes though, were the same gold as before, and they stared up at you. The woman was nearly your height, and her hand raised to touch your face.

You flinch back from the contact, more out of instinct than anything else. And like a retreating snake the girl yanks her own hand back, but she continues staring, her mouth opening, saying nothing for several moments before she finally speaks. "It's… you?"

Sakura looks remarkably confused as she looks back and forth between the two of you. "Shirou? Who's this?"

The girl reaches forward again, only to stop halfway as a hand wraps around her wrist, holding it in place like a steel bar. You jump, turning your head to the side to see Assassin in a teacher's uniform. You didn't even notice she was there a moment ago, but now she was close enough that her shoulder was brushing against your own. Assassin smiles down at the girl, though… there is very little mirth in it.

"Assassin?" you say, as quietly as you can manage. "What are you doing here?"

Assassin's eyes flick over to you, but she doesn't release her grip on the girls' wrist. "Taiga asked me to watch over you, and I've been looking for other masters as well. This accounts for both."

Assassin flips the girls wrist in her grip, revealing the back of it to you. It's scarred, just like her face is. But the complicated red seals on the back of her wrist show like a fresh tattoo.

Your eyes narrow, and you start to speak before Assassin cuts you off. "Why don't we all just have a nice talk for a moment." She's still smiling… only now there's actually some mirth to it.

The girl looks at Assassin, but before she can say anything Assassin is dragging the two of you towards an unused classroom, Sakura doing her best to keep up.

—

It was one of the second year classrooms, one of many in the school that actually went unused. It wasn't that the school was in a poor area for students, or that the building wasn't up to spec. Just… the school, like a lot of places within Fuyuki, found their 'business' far less after the fire, between youth dying so they were unable to attend, and plenty more just flatout leaving the city. It wasn't the only school in town that had unused space within it. It also didn't help that compared to a lot of places in Fuyuki, the academy was relatively out of the way. Surrounded by houses, but those were primarily made up of elderly residents that wanted to live outside of downtown. There, of course, the highschool and university were doing fine.

Sakura stood next to you near the entrance of the classroom, the privacy curtain pulled down over the door window to provide you some semblance of security against prying eyes. Assassin was sitting on the desk, one leg resting atop the other as she rested on her hands, staring at the girl from your dreams just a few feet away.

The girl in question was clutching her hand, hiding the seals from view.

"Do you know her Shirou?" Assassin asks, her eyes turning to you.

That's an interesting question. You knew of her, you had gotten yourself killed saving her. But you didn't know her name or even why she was here. You had thought it was a particularly odd dream at the time, but then, your dreams had been nothing but odd now for the past week. And some were more real than most. That dream, however, was a mystery amongst mysteries. Your dreams had been nothing but dreams of the past, or… not really dreams at all per what Circe stated. But the girl, it was less a dream than a premonition. You had thought it was the Fuyuki fire at first, but for the petrified students.

You knew them. You knew all of them, by face if not name. Which meant that the dream you had involving this girl was either a portent of the future, or something else entirely. But the point remained. You knew her, if only vaguely. "I don't, not really. But I saw her in a dream." You stare at the girl, and find your gaze matched. Her eyes flit over your face, studying you, like she was unsure if you were real. "What's your name?"

The girl moves her eyes away and draws in a breath. "Fujimaru Ritsuka."

… The name meant nothing to you, though Sakura was now staring at you rather hard you note.

"I'm not involved in this Grail War." Fujimaru continues.

"Isn't that convenient~" Assassin… says. You would consider it speech, but it held no emotion, none of the mirth from before. No anything truly. It had a lilt to it, nearly everything she said did. But it was just there. "You don't go to this school, and yet you just happen to be here to run into Shirou. You are a master, but you aren't in the Grail War."

Fujimaru looks back towards Assassin. "Mata Ha-" Then her jaw clamps shut, her eyes widening.

Assassin's smile, something that looked more painted on than something tangible drops. With a creak of wood she separates herself from the desk, moving to stand just a few inches away from Ritsuka. "Yes?"

Ritsuka clenches her eyes shut, then shakes her head from side to side, her unkempt hair waving with abandon. "The command seals are for my own protection, I'm searching for the grail."

"You're trying to get it without becoming involved in the war?" Sakura asks.

Ritsuka looks past your shoulder towards Sakura, and… she studies her for several seconds, her gaze squinting. Sakura shies back, taking more cover with your body.

"There's… something wrong with the grail that may be messing up things in Fuyuki." Fujimaru finally says.

"What's messed up?" you ask. "The monster running about? The random people getting killed?" Annoyance seeps into your tone, but at the moment you didn't much care for pleasantries either. You were growing rather tired of the 'mystery' of your life lately.

Fujimaru blinks. "I've… I'm still looking into it, I've only been here for a whielfl…" Her voice slurs, and her head sinks a bit.

Then it lifts, being pulled gently to look up at Assassin, the brunettes face just scant inches away from the redhead. Fujimaru's eyes cloud up, any light in them fading away as they haze over, and she stares dumbly up at Assassin, her mouth falling slack.

"You will answer my questions, alright?" Assassin asks, smiling once more as a sweet scent fills the room.

Fujimaru makes no sound beyond a faint gurgle.

"Good. Now, where's your servant?" Assassin asks.

"Dooooon't know…." Fujimaru responds. "Lost… her…." Her tone is slurred like a drunk, and her body is swaying to the point you are fairly certain it is Assassin's touch alone that is keeping her up.

"Why did you react to Shirou like that?" Assassin asks, leaning closer.

"Saw… him… die." Fujimaru slurs.

Sakura stirs beside you, and so do you, but for a different reason. You didn't know the girl, but you didn't agree with what Assassin was doing either. She hadn't actually done anything to you, and as much as you wanted answers. Was this right?

—

[] [Assassin, stop this]

[] [Wait for Assassin to finish]

 

[Erien]

Adhoc vote count started by Erien on Sep 18, 2023 at 2:22 PM, finished with 62 posts and 39 votes.

• ---

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  [X] [Assassin, stop this]

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  [X] [Wait for Assassin to finish]

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Vote locked.


Working on Adventurer at the moment. In the meantime, about time for the next Sidestory. Any preferences?

[] [Thunder at the Clocktower]

[] [Illya's Investigation]

[] [Rin's War]

 

[Erien]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MjIwlfVRXM

Commissioned by @Dragontrapper

---

*Post Grail War*

"So you've finally decided to stop being a luddite then?" Luvia asked, the blonde mage sitting across from Rin. They were in one of the side rooms of the Clocktower, of which there was always one available if a mage just bothered to look around a little. They were mostly used for quiet study and contemplation, or, in the case of now, idle chitchat between 'friends'.

Rin glared across the table, idly setting the phone she had been pulling out onto it. "I have no idea what you've been talking about."

Luvia rolls her eyes. "Please Rin, even by the standards of mages you are rather… traditional. Have you finally decided to at least join the 20th century if not the 21st?"

"Says the bitch who was trying to wrangle someone from the 9th century to cut my head off." Rin growls.

Luvia smiles, slightly. It was a smile much in the same way one might call projection a form of 'magecraft'. "Such… trifles are not to be dwelled upon, besides, one can hardly choose who they summon now can they?"

"A proper mage certainly can."

*Buzz*

A vibration from the phone caused both of the mages present to glance down at it, and, now fully looking at it for the first time, caused Luvia to adopt a look of absolute disgust. "What… have you done to that poor device?"

Rin opens up the phone, only to find no messages or indications on it, then shrugs and sets it back down on the table. "Use it for a few calls mostly."

"No, I meant how the plastic is… warped and… is that partially melted Rin?"

Rin blinks for a moment, confusion flitting across her face. Then she nods. "Oh, right, yeah, I read somewhere that you could charge your phone in a microwave, I think I had the wrong brand however."

"Rin, you simply must take better care of electronics, they are delicate."

*Buzz*
*Buzz*
*Buzz*

The phone vibrates upon the table once more, inching across it from the force towards Luvia.

Rin grunts, picking up the phone again, "it has been on the fritz. It keeps vibrating whenever I set it down."

"That's unusual, have you taken it in for repairs?"

"It works, and besides, I've been taking care of it just fine." Rin replies, grinning as she flips the phone around. The screen was… blotchy and cracked in places, as was yet more of the plastic. "I wash it with alcohol wipes every week, and always keep it fully charged."

*Buzz*

"Oh this stupid thing," Rin growls, flipping the phone around. "What!?"

"... It seems you are as gifted with technology as you ever were Rin," Luvia says, an amused tone in her phone. Though, in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but be curious. She could almost swear she thought the phone screen flashed the word 'help' as Rin turned it around.

 

[Erien]

[Assassin, stop this]

Thanks for @Armoury for the beta!

—

Was this right?

No, no of course it wasn't. You couldn't even pretend it was. Stepping forward, you push Assassin's hands away from Fujimaru's face. It was a clumsy effort, you less extricated and more battered aside, causing Fujimaru's head to fall to where her chin bounces off her of chest, and causing Mata Hari to stumble slightly… from surprise and likely nothing else. "If she wanted to attack me, she could have, easily. Everyone else in this Grail War besides Sakura and Taiga has so far." You square yourself up, standing between Fujimaru and Assassin as the servant takes a step back. "She was surprised to see me, if that was an ambush she did a very very poor job of it."

"I was merely retrieving information Shirou," Assassin responds, her expression flat, perfectly flat in fact. Her tone was without emotion or inflection, a far cry from her normal rather bubbly self. You were seeing all sorts of new sides to Assassin today, but then, you hardly knew the woman, you doubt Taiga did either. That wasn't a slight against Taiga, but things had simply moved too quickly, and Taiga was rarely one to get to know people in general. Despite her… general attitude, the woman tended to not interact with people outside of class, friendly, but not with friends. Social, but not with a social life.

"I understand, and I'm thankful you were there in case something went wrong, but you were hurting her." You respond.

"I'm… fine." A tired voice says from behind you.

You look back towards the girl in the chair, and find tired, slightly glazed eyes looking up at you. They are focused for just the briefest of moments before her head falls again. You stare at her for a moment, before turning your focus back onto the Assassin. "What's wrong with her?"

Assassin meets your gaze. "Nothing, she'll be fine momentarily. I have… ways of making people tell the truth Shirou, without harming them in any capacity."

"Your touch, or your scent?" you ask.

Assassin smiles. "Yes. Both. The scent lowers the guard, the touch frees the mind."

So Taiga's servant brainwashes people. Fantastic, yes, that's something else you needed to deal with. Who knows what she has been up to and… you let out a breath, forcing yourself to calm down as you rub your forehead. "Fine, fine. Assassin… I don't rightly know what's going on anymore, but please restrain yourself from that. If you can't take orders from me then I'll happily ask Taiga about it."

"My task is information gathering Shirou." Assassin replies.

"No, your task, like every other servant, is to give me a headache." You snap.

Assassin blinks in apparent surprise at your tone, and Sakura turns her head to look at you with some shock.

You continue, uncaring. "I've got Mordred stabbing people while we sleep and causing chaos over the city. I've got Med… Caster asking me to abandon people, I've somehow managed to drag Taiga into this and Ayako nearly died." You raise your hands. "I don't care if I get hurt, I didn't want to get involved in this Grail War and didn't want anyone close to me to be involved either, so if me getting hurt means they get out of this okay? That's fine. But a good dozen of Raiga's men burned to death for reasons I never got. Now I have the second person appearing from my dreams in as many days, and while I would like information, I'd rather not have a servant brainwash them to get it."

"I'm on your side Shirou." Assassin says, smiling.

"And?" you ask. "So's Caster, I disapprove of some of her ideas too. I trust her, I trust you because of Taiga. But I don't know you, Assassin. She didn't attack me," you then look back towards Fujimaru, lowering yourself to a crouch as you do so that you are eye level with the girl. "But that doesn't mean I don't want answers either. We're not brainwashing her, but we're not letting her go without some answers either. I don't trust anyone with command seals at the moment that I don't know personally."

Fujimaru's eyes have lost their glazed quality, it seems like Assassin said, there was no real damage there, and your gazes meet, amber eyes meeting amber eyes. "What did you mean by there being something wrong with the grail?"

Her eyes were tired, far more tired than they were in the dream, and that's not even accounting for the numerous scars that lined her face. But her voice carried weight to it as she spoke. "I'm from the future. I've been sent back to fix an error in the timeline, things that are happening here… weren't supposed to happen. I've been looking for the source of the issue and I think it's the grail, but I've been unable to locate it. In addition, I was separated from my servant, this is… the second time I've had to come to Fuyuki to do this."

Her eyes flit to the side, and she lets out a long and slow breath. "It's a lot to take in, isn't it."

"I believe you." You reply.

Her gaze snaps back, wider than before. "I… didn't expect you to."

"You say something has gone wrong in Fuyuki? I believe you, there is no way anything going on here was planned by anybody. It has to be messed up, I refuse to believe anything organized by the Church and the Mage's Association can function this poorly." You stand back up. "And my dreams have been real lately. Disturbingly so." Your hand moves to idly rub at your neck, you had felt it at the time, the decapitation. You didn't expect it to hurt, frankly, you didn't expect it was something that caused any feeling at all.

But the pain had admittedly been quickly replaced by sheer terror and panic, as that blade plunged down. "What happened then, before, was that another timeline? And will it happen here?"

Fujimaru shakes her head from side to side. "That… was a different timeline. It was this war going worse. I can't promise… you'll live, but you won't die like that. Or… I haven't seen any sign of that servant."

"She's around, just about half the size and she doesn't carry a scythe." You reply, causing Assassin to give you a very pointed look. You ignore it.

Fujimaru's mouth curls, and she looks you up and down. "Slightly taller than you, wears a purple blindfold?"

You nod your head.

Fujimaru smiles, something that causes the scars on her face to fade somewhat. "She's fine then, we've met… in the future."

You say nothing, but raise a hand and point at the Assassin in the room.

"I've worked with her before, I'm… sorry for almost revealing your identity."

Assassin stares at Fujimaru for several seconds, then walks across the room to lower herself to Fujimaru's eye level. Then, to your surprise, she smiles. "You've been through a lot, haven't you?"

Fujimaru looks away, saying nothing. So you take the opportunity to speak once more. "Where are you staying?"

"I found an unused place in the school I've been staying at. I'm fine, right now I just want to find my servant, I haven't seen her in days."

"What happened that you lost her?"

Fujimaru frowns. "When we came here… shifted. We were separated, when I arrived she wasn't anywhere I could see. I was… near a park I think."

There were dozens of parks in Fuyuki, so that did little to narrow things down, but it was a start at least. "Where have you looked so far?"

"Only in the immediate area," Fujimaru says quietly. "I didn't want to wander around town in the middle of the Grail War."

You open your mouth again to speak, only for a hand to pull you back. You turn your head to look, only to find Sakura there, and you don't struggle as she takes you across the room so that you and her are standing near the door. Then she puts her head right next to your ear. "Shirou, what are you doing? Why are you trusting her so quickly?"

… You look back to Fujimaru, the girl was looking at the floor again. "I saved her life." You say simply. "She was in danger and I helped her… In another time, I guess. I don't trust her. But I believe what she is saying, and I'll do what I can to help her."

"But… why are you helping her? Shirou, she's another master."

"Because it's a bad decision," you reply, looking Sakura in the eyes as you speak. "And so far those have gotten me this far." You must have raised your voice, because Sakura flinches back. "Sorry, Sakura." You say quietly. "But she has information, and if she wanted me hurt, I would be, you saw how surprised she was to see me."

Sakura looks back towards Fujimaru, "are you sure, Shirou?"

"I'm not, but I need to get to the bottom of all of this, I'll be asking you for help if you will…" you raise your hands, smiling. "I can't even eat lunch by myself today."

Sakura looks down at the bandages, and smiles herself. It's a stricken smile, to the point where it almost looks like she would rather be doing anything else than smile at the moment. But you'll take it regardless.

Stepping back away from Sakura, you walk over to Fujimaru. This wasn't a great plan, but it was a plan, and you needed to start making those instead of just letting things happen to the people you cared about. "We'll look for your servant tonight."

Fujimaru blinks, looking up at you in abject confusion.

"We are?" Sakura asks.

You nod. "Raiga told me to get this sorted, and it's a mess at the moment. If she says this war is corrupted I believe her." You look back towards Sakura. "I would be willing to bet the source of this mess is whatever that corruption is." You then refocus on Fujimaru. "I'm taking you back to the house tonight."

"You are?" Fujimaru asks. Mimicking Sakura.

Then you turn your gaze to Assassin. "You're good at information gathering, could you ask Taiga if you could help out finding this servant of hers?"

Mata Hari stares at you, saying nothing for several moments. Then she smiles. "I could ask, what do you have in mind?"

—

[] [Search the parks]
Starting with the one you found Caster in, it was as good as any, if exposed.

[] [Search downtown]
It was adjacent to the parks but far larger, but you had eyes you could count on, assuming you convinced Caster and Circe anyway. Of course, bringing Mordred around would be a bad idea likely, she just destroyed a building there.

[] [Head to the Castle]
It was a longshot, but maybe Illya knew something.

[] [Ask Kirei]
He was almost certainly the source of that attack, if he wasn't, then he was doing a very poor job of 'jurisdiction'. But he also was seemingly keeping tabs on things.

 

[Erien]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfVjv8oC-3Q&t=108s

[Rin]

You had never liked the man, never trusted him. You had known him since you were little, he had, after all, taken care of you ever since your father… died. But you had never liked or trusted him. Neither in his capacity as a priest, nor in his capacity as a man. Something always seemed off.

About Kotomine Kirei.

"You must understand that this is most unusual." Kirei says, smiling in that usual way of his. "I am here to act as a mediator in this grail war, and to perform coverup as needed from its… excesses. For a master to come to me, to not request alleviation of their duties, but instead a place of lodging is quite a fascinating thing."

You frown. He wasn't your first choice, or even your second. But he was the only option you had available to you at the moment. Your house had been burned to the ground, as had Shirou's… you barely knew him, but you knew from reputation he would at least hear you out. But then… There were two monsters running about, one alien, the other a blonde beast wielding a sword. You didn't know if he was connected to either of them.

He had seemed surprised enough on that school night, but then.

Regardless, a hotel was out too, the only ones available were downtown, and that was too open, too obvious. "Trust me, I don't like it either."

Kirei's smile widens a bit, yet it somehow doesn't get more friendly. "It is unusual, but not outside of my jurisdiction." Kirei says, then walks slowly around the altar to stand in front of you. "Tell me, where is your servant?"

"Not far," you reply.

Kirei nods, then steps past you, idly running his hand along the tops of pews as he walks. "My sympathies for your home, yes you may indeed stay here. But, if I may ask, what is your plan, young miss Tohsaka? Without a workshop a mage is… most vulnerable."

You frown again. "I'll manage, I still have the strongest servant."

Kirei pauses, staring down at the pew a moment. Then looks back towards you. "Is that the case?"

You stare at him, waiting for him to continue.

He does, but he draws out the silence for a good half minute, his smile returning as the silence gets particularly awkward. "Things have progressed in surprising ways. Now without a workshop, and with an injured servant. I do believe you are at a distinct disadvantage."

"I never mentioned my servant was injured." You reply.

"Nor did you mention that you were involved in the battle in the center of town, but I am aware of that as well. I did have to clean it up after all." Kirei responds. "I am the Overseer, but, in any case. As I said you may of course have lodging here, but… I would make you an offer."

You blink, "An… offer?" what could Kirei possibly hope to offer you.

"Indeed, what if I said I could offer you power, something that would level the playing field in your favor?" Kirei asks.

He's smiling again.

You always hated that smile.

 

[Erien]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L10BJjMjKNU&ab_channel=LashS

[] [Head to the Castle]
It was a longshot, but maybe Illya knew something.

Thanks to @Armoury for the beta!

—

"My sister." You say quietly. The concept was still… odd to you, but you believed her regardless. She knew too much about your father. "My sister lives in a castle outside of town, Caster knows the way there."

"Your sister?" Sakura says, raw confusion in her voice. "Shirou, you've never mentioned a sister."

"That's because until a few days ago I wasn't aware she existed, then her servant kidnapped me so that we could get to know each other better." You reply dryly. It was just one of many confusing things that had happened to you recently. Many, many confusing things. "I want to check on her, and ask for her help."

"That… your sister kidnapped you?" Sakura asks, disbelief in her voice. "And you want to go back?"

You look back towards Sakura. "It makes as much sense as anything else has in this war. In her case it was merely her way of saying hello."

You shake your head, controlling yourself. Your inner thoughts were seeping out. Allowing yourself to relax, or try to relax in any case, you return your focus on the scarred girl. "Do you want to come with me? I'm looking for your servant regardless."

Fujimaru opens her mouth like she wants to say something, then she closes her, her gaze searching your face for several seconds before she nods.

You sigh. "Good, we'll find her and get this sorted out."

Straightening yourself up, you move to adjust your uniform, then glare down at your bandaged and burned hands. Frowning, you lower the hands again, it was… just too much this week. "Are you actually participating in classes?" you ask, looking at Fujimaru.

Fujimaru nods once more. "For appearances."

With the amount of scars she had, it was a surprise you hadn't heard students talk about her until now. But then, you had both no idea what class she was in, and you hadn't been exactly a model student lately either. Still, that made things at least somewhat simpler. Few things were, these days. "Right, come to the archery club after school today. I'll come get you."

Technically you had club duties today.

But you were rather useless at the moment as far as hands went, and beyond that… seeing Ayako seemed more than a little awkward at present. You wanted to make things up to her, but you weren't exactly sure how to best apologize for letting someone get stabbed. It seemed a bit more than a card from the local convenience store could make up for. You couldn't exactly blame her if she was nervous even being around you, given that Mordred was still living in that house.

It was just one of many problems you were dealing with at the moment. And, like most of them, it wasn't one you had an easy answer for either.

… But you were going to try regardless.

Fujimaru, not knowing your thoughts, continues on. "Alright."

You smile. "Thank you," then you turn your attention to Sakura. "Can you head to class without me? There's someone I need to talk to."

Sakura blinks, confusion on her features once more. "Sure?"

—

It took effort to open the door to Class 2A, but you managed. It was still a good half hour before homeroom started, but it was near full regardless, students milling about, talking amongst themselves, or simply sitting at their desks waiting for the morning rituals to begin. You didn't pay much attention to any of them, instead you focused on the woman sitting near the front of the room, chin resting on her hand as a member of the track team talked to her.

Ayako's eyes flitted towards the door at the sound of it opening, then widened at the sight of you. It was a look of surprise at least, not anger. That gave you some solace. There were many things you could have said that wouldn't have caused an uproar, wouldn't have spread yet more rumors, but you were rather blunt. "Ayako, can I speak to you privately?"

The frantic whispers that caused were ignorable, the embarrassment on Ayako's face, wasn't.

—

She followed you up to the roof, something you were rather grateful for. The cold was something you were far less grateful for, but at the moment, you were too distracted by mixed emotions and worry to really pay much attention to it despite the fact that your jacket was now sitting in your locker. Ayako had followed you with nary a word as you lead her through the school building and up onto the room, and as you watched, she closed the door behind you both, leaning against it. Her eyes met your own for a moment, and then look away. "What do you want to talk about Shirou?"

The upcoming test. What else could you possibly be here to talk about? You debate saying that and you almost do, but you rein in your emotions. She doesn't deserve that.

"Last night." You say bluntly.

Ayako's hands dart to her side the moment the words leave your lips, and a stricken look crosses her face. "I'm… fine." She says, though she doesn't sound sure of it even to herself.

You let out a long and slow breath, trying to figure out what you can say to that. "Mordred is…" There was no gentle way to put this. "She's insane."

Ayako's looks back towards me, but says nothing.

"She's a berserker, she has no control over herself, and she barely seems to be there at all mentally."

"Why are you keeping her around then?"

Why were you? It was a good question, but it only had one answer. Pity. "Because she's not in control of herself. She's broken, crazy, sometime's she's an entirely different person, lively, actually talkative, but those moments are few and far between. But I want to help her if I can." You shake your head from side to side, thinking on the few hints of Mordred's personality you've actually seen. "She's hurting, and I'm not going to simply abandon her."

"Shirou, she stabbed me."

"And if she ever does anything like that again I'll kill her myself." You reply. "But as I said, she's not in control of herself, and as her master I have to take care of her."

"And what if she goes after you?" Ayako asks, crossing her arms.

"Then I'll deal with it, it wouldn't be the first time I've been attacked in this 'war'." You frown, "there's a reason people don't talk about this. The magic. It's dangerous. Beyond just keeping secrets for greed, telling someone about it that doesn't have any ability does little more than put them in danger."

"So? You going to wipe my memory or something?" Ayako asks.

You shake your head. "I couldn't, and don't want to regardless. But I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to distance yourself from me either. I just wanted to apologize for dragging you into this mess to begin with."

"Doesn't seem like it would make much of a difference if I did Shirou." Ayako fires back, an annoyed tone in her voice. "My brother has already been attacked, and I got stabbed. It took me an hour to convince my mom that I not only wasn't out doing drugs all night, I also just had a really bad nosebleed that explained the stains on my clothes."

"I'm sorry, Ayako." You say. "I truly am."

Ayako sighs, lowering her head to look at the ground, her arms falling to limply rest against her sides. "I know, that's part of the problem. That crap about you helping everyone around school extends to everyone else, doesn't it?"

"If I can help someone, I will. It's something the right thing to do." You reply. "Servant, human, magus."

Ayako's head lifts, a quizzical look on her face. "Magic… people aren't human anymore?"

"We are," you clarify. "Just because of what we can do, and how we tend to live, a lot of people tend to separate Magus from everyone else. I don't really, but a lot of people look at it differently."

"But you just did," Ayako counters.

"Because I've already met one Magus in this war who does, and expected me to fight her immediately." You reply. That morning with Sakura was less than pleasant, even if it ended well.

When was the last time you had a pleasant morning anyway?

Ayako doesn't say anything, and a silence passes between you before she straightens her shoulders and walks over so that only a foot is left between the two of you. "So that's it then, you're keeping that… thing around, and I'm just gonna have to deal with her being around."

You blink, "you're going to keep coming around?"

Ayako's eyes narrow. "What, you thought I was just going to run away? Who else is going to look after your stupid ass? Miss Taiga? Sakura? She couldn't fight her way out of a paper bag. Besides, it's not like the wound was permanent, and I still owe you for my brother."

"I don't want you to put yourself in danger just because you think you owe me Ayako." You reply.

"I'm not dating you because you saved my brother. That was just… an easy excuse Shirou. Besides, no matter what, I'm involved in this anyway, aren't I? The whole city is."

You nod your head.

"So what do I gain by just running away from you?" Ayako asks. "Besides, you still owe me a nice dinner. I expect you to be putting all the work into this relationship to make up for involving me in this magic stuff."

"But you just said that you wer-"

A finger is pressed against your lips, silencing you as Ayako grins. "Shirou, a girl is allowed double standards. Now," pulling the finger away she darts forward and plants a kiss against your cheek. She pulls away a second later, grinning and blushing. "We've got to get to class don't we?" Then, spinning on her heels she walks away towards the door, leaving you standing there.

…

You don't think you understand girls.

—

Besides the fact that Taiga looked more like a mummy than a proper teacher, the day went without incident. And, much to your relief, she told precisely nobody at the school why she was injured. Something you were rather grateful for, and, for that matter, surprised by.

You didn't see Fujimaru again during the day, but come the evening she was indeed waiting at the Archery Club building, and from there…

—

"So we're looking for her servant," you say, leaning back against your bed.

The 'meeting' you had called had involved everyone you knew in the building save for Raiga. Fujimaru was sitting, rather awkwardly you admit, on the bed itself, her fingers tapping together in her lap as a group of masters and servants stare at her.

"Are you… certain of this course of action master?" Caster asks, in a tone you were learning to recognize.

It was the tone she used when she was questioning one of your decisions with gusto, but was too polite to do it publicly. "For now, yes." You reply. "I believe what she told me."

"As do I," Assassin says, smiling.

"And you wish to seek out the girl who kidnapped you again, because you believe she may somehow have a lead." Caster continues.

"Yes." You answer. "That, and I just want to check up on her in general."

"I don't need to stress why this is a bad idea, do I?" Caster says.

A giggle draws the eyes of everyone in the room. Circe, who had been leaning against the wall near the door steps away from it, a slight skip to her step as she moves across the room. "I think it's a fine idea. Unless you wish for a rematch against that ranger servant? Or perhaps you wanted to work on your wards, and didn't plan on joining him?"

"Of course I'll be going with him," Caster hisses. "That does not make it a good idea."

"Seems like a fine plan to me," Archer's voice speaks up. "We have the numbers to find anyone easily. I can join Mata Hari in her search of the city in the meantime. With your permission of course, Master." Archer finishes, looking at Sakura.

Sakura blinks, realizing that the conversation was now focusing on her. "Go ahead, I'll be going with Shirou."

Archer smiles broadly, then nods, patting Sakura on the shoulder all the while.

"I still can't believe that Kiritsugu had a daughter." Taiga says, the mummy frowning. "He never told me."

"He never told me either," you say, "so that makes two of us."

"It's more common than you think," Assassin says, smiling impishly. "When are you leaving, Shirou?"

You tilt your head towards Fujimaru. "As soon as she has had a chance to bathe and eat. Can you show her around Taiga?"

Taiga grins. "Just leave it up to big sis~"

With that, everyone filtered out of the room, Caster being last, leaving you to your thoughts as you figured out how you would deal with Illya: and Fujimaru, and Ayako, and Sakura and… everything else you suppose. It was a lot to handle all at once, especially when you didn't have working hands.

Still, you were going to get to the bottom of all of this.

It took a good hour and change before you finally left, and in that time-

—

Choose two, winners are based on the number of times they are voted for, not by plan. Time for that bonus vote!

[] [Medea wanted to talk about… herself?]

[] [Circe wanted to comfort you]

[] [Taiga expressed some frustration]

[] [Sakura needed some company]

[] [Archer stopped by]

[] [Assassin checked up on you]

 

[Erien]

View: https://i.imgur.com/F4Kwt4v.jpg

Have art by the always lovely Melisa, the witches are... plotting.

 

[Erien]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSuIlpzge4I

[Archer stopped by]

[Medea wanted to talk about… herself?]

[???]

Thanks to @Armoury for the beta!

—

You missed having hands. That was the prevailing thought running through your head as you sat on your bed. It was still a good hour before you planned to leave, the rest of the house was a hive of activity. But for the moment you were sitting on your bed, processing the day, and staring at your hands. You could actually feel them now, and they weren't even in pain any longer. You could just barely wiggle your fingers within the gauze mittens you were wearing, and you had been doing your best to stretch and move them so they don't get sore, while still doing your best to keep the bandages tight. You were morbidly curious what they looked like at this point, but you wouldn't dare remove the bandages Circe put on. Not that you could by yourself.

*Knock Knock*

You look up toward the door, and without a word from you it opens. Revealing Sakura's servant. This is the first time you had seen the man dressed casually, gone was the black armor he favored. Instead he was wearing a simple pair of pants and a tight shirt. He smiles as your eyes met his, and he raised a hand in a wave. "Sorry, didn't think to ask if you were decent."

You were, but then, you were used to servants not much caring at this point either. "It's fine. Something wrong?"

Archer shakes his head, then fully enters the room, closing the door behind him as he does. "Just wanted to check on you. My master talks about you a fair bit."

You smile back, for multiple reasons. "Sounds like Sakura. She has always worried about me. But I'm doing fine."

The man continues walking, eventually coming to a stop at the wall just near the bed, then he leans his back against it, crossing his arms over his chest as he looks down at you. "She's not here, so why don't you tell me how you are really feeling?"

You stare up at him, processing that for several moments before speaking. "What do you mean?"

"Your mood has changed recently, Sakura's pretending not to notice." Archer replies.

You let out a breath, then slowly shake your head. "Things have been moving too quickly lately, and I'm just trying to keep up."

Archer smiles again, it's a friendly reassuring thing surprisingly. "I'd say you're doing a good enough job, the only casualty so far is your hands."

"And Sakura's family, and Raiga's men." You counter.

Archer goes silent for several moments. Then speaks in a far quieter voice. "A grail war is never a clean thing."

"It wasn't something I wanted to be caught up in to begin with, but now I have little choice." You say, "how's Sakura doing?"

"It may be better that you ask her that yourself, but she's doing the best she can…" Archer's face becomes briefly stricken, the cool facade he seemed to favor cracking for a moment. "She's just trying to pretend things are normal, she's going to need your help."

"I'll help her however I can," you reply.

Archer shrugs his shoulders. "I know, it was just worth repeating. She's going through a lot at the moment, and she doesn't want to be part of this war either."

"I know she doesn't, I worry about her constantly."

"I know that too." Archer says, grinning. "Just keep an eye out on her, and be wary, that Assassin has been talking to her lately."

You blink. "Taiga's servant? Is… that a problem?"

"... Perhaps," Archer says after a moment. "But I shouldn't keep you any longer, you have guests after all."

You blink, staring up at the man, then… he's gone, disappeared without flash or showmanship. A second later, Mede- Caster is standing just in front of you, her robes up, hood drawn up over her head, and a rather familiar glower on her face. "Master, you are an idiot."

"Good evening to you as well, Caster."

"Seeking out the woman who kidnapped you is foolish. Bringing in so many enemy masters to live with you is foolish, and trusting…" Caster grits her teeth and looks away. "Master, trusting her is foolish as well."

There were many different 'hers' you knew of. But… you knew what Caster was talking about regardless. "I already told you I trusted you, Caster."

"You know who I am." Caster hisses.

"Your name, yes. And I know you were a student of Circe, and I know you've had to deal with a lot. But I don't know your story, Caster."

"And tell me Master. Why, after learning the name of your servant, did you not look into them? It can provide you nothing but an advantage, I am your servant by the seals on your hand, not out of loyalty."

You simply stare at her, not wanting to particularly comment on something that… wrong.

"I do not understand why you did neither mention it, nor look up my legend." Caster says after several long, silent moments. Her eyes finding their way back to your face.

"If all of my life's details were in a book, written by another hand than my own, I wouldn't want someone to form their opinions of me from it either. Beyond that, I hardly trust mythology to begin with. I figured you would tell me when you were ready, or you never would… and that was fine as well."

You shake your head from side to side. "I didn't summon you, Caster. I found you, and helped you. I haven't regretted that."

"You, who has spoken of the Grail War with such disgust?"

"I would do it again if I needed to, yes Caster." You say firmly. "I regret getting involved in this war, but I don't regret helping you for a moment. You needed it, and I was there."

"Shirou, you are kind and a fool, but I sincere-"

You push yourself to your feet, at your full height you had a good few inches on the woman in height, and she shrank back slightly from the suddenness of your movement. "I don't regret it, Caster. I'll say it as many times as you need to hear it. But I don't care that helping you led to danger, or that you have some… mysterious past." You close your eyes and shake your head. "I never asked you, I never asked Circe. I was just trying to help you and survive."

Caster lets out a rather pained sounding laugh, and you open your eyes again to see that she has lowered her hood, a rather open expression of pain on her face. "Master… Shirou, that is idiotic, I have no reason to be trusted."

"Maybe." You admit. "Maybe not. But you needed my help and that was enough. I don't care who you used to be Medea. I've never bothered giving it much thought, I've seen snippets of it, both from when you were younger than me and older. But I've never once let it color what I've thought of you."

"Shirou, that doesn't make sense." Medea counters.

"Does it have to?" you ask. "There's a lot about Sakura I don't know, and Taiga. I just found out I had a sister recently, my father felt I didn't need to know about it." You let out a breath. "Does it really matter? Why should I be worried about your past with all the mess we've found ourselves in now?"

Medea stares at you, "you…" She closes her own eyes, and lets out a long, slow, deliberately controlled breath. Then she looks at you again. "I was born in Colchis… it's… called Georgia, now."

—

Medea was sitting next to you now on the bed, her hands in her lap, red from the wringing she had been continually doing now for the past half hour as she spoke to you. She spoke quite a lot, far more than you had ever heard her do so before. And she spoke honestly at that, something you had heard even less. You, comparatively, had said little, for there was little for you to say in any case, it was your time to simply listen.

"And then you discovered me in the park, after I slew my previous master." Caster says, looking down to the floor. Her makeup was completely ruined at this point, having started to run when she talked about her brother. She turns her head towards you slowly, her expression unreadable. It was a miserable look, eyes puffy, cheeks wet, and… as she stares at you, she gains an expression of what almost looks like fear, or trepidation in her eyes.

You can't find yourself judging her for much of any of it. She made mistakes, but so did everyone else in her tale… and if she hadn't killed her previous master, you would have made the attempt yourself. "You had to deal with a lot." You say quietly. "If you don't mind me asking Medea, what do you want with your wish?"

Medea blinks slowly, her eyes widening. Then she looks towards the door. "I… don't really know."

That was a lie, you could tell by the tone of her voice for once. But you don't comment on it. "I'll support you however I can, this… none of what you told me changes anything Medea. I don't particularly think you are at fault either, but I'll see this war to the end so th-"

You find you can no longer speak, as something has sealed your lips. You blink, then realize that faster than you could process Medea had crossed the distance between the two of you, and, tilting her head, had planted her lips against your own. Her eyes were closed, and you froze, not quite sure what to do as she wrapped her arms around your back and hugged you tightly to her.

She removes herself a moment later, a thin line of saliva connecting your two lips before she wipes it away with her hand. Then she smiles. "You speak far too much master, and yet little of any value."

Then she was gone, leaving you with multiple, interesting feelings, and the taste of grapes on your lips.

You found yourself smiling a moment later. It was good that she was feeling better, though the fact that she kissed you would take some time to process. And you would have to figure out exactly what she meant. Whether it was meant to be romantic, or whether she was just grateful, you couldn't say at the momen-

Then you heard a giggling, below your bed.

"Ohohohoh, she likes you~"

Your eyes dart down, and as you do so. A pair of familiar hands dart out from underneath the bed, grab the metal frame, then push. Allowing a familiar redhead to peek out. Circe was grinning from ear to ear, her eyes glinting in the light of the room.

"Circe?"

Her grin gets wider. "The one and only grand witch, yes~. She likes you piglet."

"Why are you underneath my bed?"

"Why aren't you?" Circe asks. Then pushes her way the rest of the way out from underneath your bed. Standing up, she dusts herself off, then faces you again with a wide grin.

"I…" You close your eyes for a moment, processing. Then you force yourself to relax. "I think Medea wants to strangle me to death."

Circe shrugs. "My student is dealing with a lot of iiiinteresting emotions."

"How… long were you down there?" you ask.

"Long enough." Circe replies in a sing-song tone. "I wanted to hear that adorable little conversation of yours."

You aren't going to argue about things like 'privacy' with Circe, given that she had been kidnapping you now for some time anyway. So instead you change the subject. "Why are you actually here? I can't do magic practice with my hands messed up."

Circe's smile drops slightly, becoming something much more natural. "Can't I simply visit my adorable little piglet?" she leans forward, tilting her head and giving you a view straight down her dress.

You look away, and Circe giggles, skipping over to sit on the bed next to you. "That's why I'm here, actually. I wished to check your hands."

You slide slightly to the side to give her the room to work, stretching forward your hands all the while. Only for Circe to instead slide around to your back. You watch, transfixed as she drapes her legs over yours, and her hands run down your chest before finding their way to your wrists. You open your mouth to say something, anything. But your thought process is halted as she presses herself against you, molding parts of her anatomy to you, and in the brief space of time it takes for your brain to come back to functioning, the bandages have unwound themselves, falling to the floor to reveal.

… Red but otherwise undamaged hands.

"Fascinating." Circe says. Her hands continue traveling, her fingers interlocking with your own and experimentally flexing. They feel… sore, but normal.

"A moment Shirou, I think I see something here…" Circe says, and you say nothing as her fingers run back from your hands, to your chest, and then just rest there above your heart. Her hands then begin to slowly move in circles. "... Ah. I see…" Then she leans forward, and you twitch as her breath tickles your ear. "Someone has been taking good care of you I see~"

"What?"

Circe giggles again, her hands moving up towards your face, then she gently turns your head so that you are looking each other in the eyes. "Oh, something you'll find out in due time. And you little piglet are blushing~"

You open your mouth to respond, only to get a second pair of lips pressed against it. Medea was forceful, yet chaste. Circe was… not. She pulled back against you, molding herself even further against you as her tongue darted into your mouth. She lets out a pleased moan, then pulls herself back.

"Ci-"

Her fingers press against your lips. "Ayako, yes. Don't worry piglet, she's invited~"

Invited… what?

Then she scoots back, and, placing her hands behind her head, falls back against your pillow. She wiggles there for a moment, making herself comfortable, then turns her head to grin at you. "So, now you can partake in some training before we leave. Yes?"

"I was hopi-"

"You were hoping to be trained by me? How wonderful!"

"No, I-"

"Yes, I know you can't possibly repay me for my generosity~"

You stare down at the witch, and she waggles her eyebrows at you in response. She snickers a moment later. "So very tense piglet, you and that little girl." Pressing her hands against the bed she sits up again, hugging her knees as she comes to a stop. "But I shall train you again, time on the island does work a bit… different, after all." Her smile becomes impish once more, a teasing glint in her eyes as she stares at you. "Do you have any requests for this grand witch?"

—

[] [I copied Brihannala's weapon. How?]

[] [I keep getting hurt, any healing magic?]

[] [More offensive magic would be nice.]

[] [I want to learn more about you, Circe.]

 

[Erien]

Buenos Noches!

The author graduated college today and is in a great mood, so I thought it'd be nice to have an extra vote. Since the thread is going nuts over them regardless.

Lets settle this once and for all amigos.

Well, not once and for all, you can always interact later. But, for the next interaction, as a bonus.

[] [Rin]

[] [Sakura]