[x] "What do you mean by that?" I said in the calmest voice possible.
She took a knife and started chopping some green onions. "It a curious thing for Medea to be summoned in the Assassin class don't you think?" She poured the chopped up green onions into a bowl of scrambled eggs.
Under my hood my eyes slightly narrow. "So you know me... are you a Greek heroine perhaps"
She poured the scrambled egg on of the just freshly cooked rice before dumping it on a buttered pan. "I'm far from a Greek Medea." She moved the fried rice around the pan as she adds a bit of salt. "Besides, you're the strange one here." After pouring the fried rice into a large bowl "I heard a bit of the things you did at Homurahara school thanks to what Shirou told me." She grab a pack of bacon and started frying them. "Since when did Medea take on multiple personas? Since when did Medea become such a trickster? Since when did Medea..." She stopped talking and resumed her cooking. We stayed silent for another ten minutes before she started talking again. "Do you have any intentions of harming Shirou Emiya?"
Looking back at her I said. "None."
"Any particular reasons?" She grabbed a plate with a pile of bacon on it and laid it on the table along with the large bowl of fried rice.
"I don't hold anything against him. He doesn't interest me in anyway. Besides my master seems to have interest in him despite her hostilities if her orders last night told me anything and it would greatly hurt her if anything were to happen to him." I climbed on top of a chair as she sets up the plates and cups.
"That's a sound explanation." She said as she poured me a cup of orange juice. "I do not feel any deception though considering the purpose of deception that statement is kinda redundant don't you think?"
"Considering my class?" I took a sip of orange juice. "I'd say it's redundant."
"I concur." She went to cleaning up the pan and cooking utensils. "So... agree to keep this conversation a secret?" She started boiling a pot of water and got out some spices, chicken and noodles.
"It's better that way." I said as I stuffed a bit of bacon into my mouth. The perfect soft and crunchy grave my tongue as I chewed it. "For a hero of old, you sure are a good cook."
"There's no rule that states that a hero can't cook." I can feel a proud aura coming from Lancer.
"That makes sense." I said as a thought came to my mind. "By the way, are you getting enough prana from Shirou? I noticed that his 27 magic circuits were closed the last time I carried him around."
"I heard you did," she said calmly though did I feel a bit of jealousy in those words? "I'll admit though I'm quite prana efficient the amount I'm getting from him is... below abysmal..."
"Are they closed?"
"I believe so yes. We'll have to open them up sooner or later. Is it possible to ask your master to help with such task?"
"I don't know honestly." I stuff another spoonful into my mouth. "She's a girl who's torn between the world of magi and common sense. She's a contradictory figure, the emotionless magi and the passionate young girl, they're both Rin Tohsaka and they're both valid sides to her but I'm scared of what will happen if she's forced to chose one over the other."
"She doesn't have to you know." Lancer said calmly. "You can always have the best of both worlds. Besides I think in your case she just needs a good attitude adjustment."
"Hey, if my master goes and start doings some rather dickish moves care to help me whack her brain a bit?"
"Sure, besides if I know my own master enough I think that's what he'll do as well." We both gave a laugh.
*Step* *Step* *Step*
"Oh, my master is here." Lancer said as both Rin and Shirou entered the room and were surprised by the food on the table. "Hello master, if you're wondering about the food it was because you were in such a hurry that you forgot your breakfast, so I took the liberty of making you some."
"So... you forgot to eat..." The sounds of Shirou's stomach grumbling confirmed that. She sighed. "At least your servant was nice enough to cook for you. Why can't my servant cook?"
A flash of memory crossed my mind, one of the bits and pieces of the past from the Medea puzzle set. "Yeah... I wouldn't cook for you..."
She raised an eyebrow at me. "And why is that?"
Without any pause or hint of irony I simply said. "Because I'm a horrible cook."
"Oh... uh... thanks for telling me that..." She seems defeated, mostly because you can't really argue against that. "Come Shirou, lets take care of our bodily functions first before we go visit the Church Mediator."
"Hmmm? The fake priest?"
"Yes, Kirei..." She has a bit of a scowl on her face. "I don't like him but he's a reasonable person at least. Mostly." She stuff her face with egg. "Damn fake priest lost most of our territory." She started to grumble to herself as we ate.
"Hey Lancer, this cooking is great." He started to stuff more in. "His hood his ash grape ash Shakora."
"Shesh Emiya don't talk with you mouth full!"
"Haoryy." He said before swallowing. "I was just saying how this food was as great as Sakura's."
"Oh... huh..." She went silent after that.
"Hey, you okay?" He was concerned. "Was it something I said?"
"It was nothing. Go back to your eating." She was chewing harder than usual.
"But Tohsaka-"
"Go back to eating third rate."
"Ouch. I was just concerned was all." Despite that he didn't look too hurt much. Lancer on the other hand, I could've sworn she was taking more than a few glances at her if the slight head movement meant anything.
We spent the entire rest of the morning eating in silence.
----
It was a nice day. The birds were out chirping and the bridge was full of people and vehicles passing through. A few times though I heard whispers and rumors of what happened at Homurahara school.
"They said it was a gas explosion..."
"But that's stupid what kind of explosion leaves bullet holes..."
"I heard it was a..."
"What... What if it were ghosts or wizards or..."
That last one was suspiciously very close... Anyways after we had finished eating and Rin got a bath and dressed herself, we immediately left for the church to register Shirou as a master (and to provide the other pieces of exposition that Rin was too lazy to give). It was a nice walk where not much really happened and so I'll just skip all the way to when we get to the Church.
By the time we got there, the sun was at its highest point as the church slowly came into our vision. Or course me and Lancer were in spirit form during the entire trip. As we neared the church however both Rin and Shirou's command seals flared up as two figures exited the building. Huh, you think they're the rest of the masters? I said telepathically.
"I believe so." She didn't bother to use the telepathy.
Walking forward it seems like the two master saw us as they simply stood there watching us. Upon closer inspection I saw that the both of them look very different. One seems to be a female with Indian origins though that purple hair of hers is something you most likely wouldn't see in India along with her purple set of eyes with glasses. The other was obviously Japanese though she was one of the most plainest looking Japanese girls I have ever seen with a blank face and brown wavy hair just passes her shoulders. The Indian looking girl was wearing some sort of lab coat while the other wore a school uniform that I didn't recognize. Next to the two of them were the presence of two servants.
When we got near enough the one in the lab coat cleared her throat and greeted us. "Hello, I assume you must be here for the Church Mediator." She said in an emotionless tone of voice. "I apologize but he doesn't to be in at the moment."
"What to do mean he's not here?" She's trying to keep her cool but I can see her eyebrow twitch.
"Exactly what I meant."
"And he's supposed to be the Mediator here. What the hell he's doing right now?"
"Well..." All eyes turned to the plain looking girl as she spoke up for the first time. Damn even her voice was boring. "...He kinda left this note here..."
Taking the note she read it out loud as I floated next to her head in spirit form. "Will be out eating mapo tofu and taking care of certain business. Will be back soon." She was shaking angrily as she started ripping it up.
"Damn it! Just when I actually went out of my way to seek your help you're out eating your mapo tofu from hell and doing business and whatever else the hell you do." She continued to grumble to herself while Shirou looked on helplessly and the plain looking girl hid behind the bespectacled lab coated girl cowering as her companion simply stood there watching like a statue.
I did a mental sigh. Master. There are other masters here, please stop acting like a fool and be the professional mage you try to make yourself out to be. It had its desired effect as she immediately straighten herself out and put on an air of professionalism.
"I assume you have ceased your tantrum?" She was looking on with a stoic face.
"Yes, please excuse me for my unprofessional behavior it just that the Mediator here tends to be a bit hard to work with."
"I see." She took out a notebook and wrote it down before stuffing it back in her coat. "May I ask your name? Mine is Rani the VIII."
"Rin Tohsaka, Second Owner of Fuyuki and current head of the Tohsaka family." She said curtly. "The young man with me is Shirou Emiya, a new master in this war. May I ask who your companion is?"
"Uh..." She peeked out from her friend's back. "My name's Hakuno... Hakuno Kishinami..." Looking at her a bit closer I noticed that she looked quite sick, with sweat dripping at a slow but constant pace, sunken eyes ad skin as pale as Lancer's.
"Hey you don't look so good..." Shirou spoke up with concern.
"Oh this? It's nothing, I'm just ill is all..."
"Oh then shouldn't you be-"
"She can't." Then everyone turned their attention to the bespectacled girl again. "They have nothing that can treat her."
Rin started to give more attention to the young girl behind Rani. "What kind of disease is it?"
"A new mutated strand of tuberculosis." Rani said plainly. "From what I can find it's considered incurable. Don't worry about getting infected though, I'm currently using a mystic code to suppress it and keep it isolated within her body."
"So I'm guessing that's her wish right?" Shirou spoke up. "To be cured?"
"That's about it." Hakuno confirmed.
"You wish doesn't matter much to me." Rin said coldly. "You'll be dispatched sooner or later."
"Tohsaka!"
"Oh, but it's true? Can you see that she's not a proper mage?" She pointed at Hakuno. "The way she acts suggest that she does not belong to a long line of magi, am I right?"
"Well... yeah... I only found out a week ago..."
"Knew it." She gave a scrutinizing look towards Rani. "Why are you even putting her under your wing? You could've just dealt with her and be done with it."
Hakuno retreated back to the safeties of her companion's back. Shirou was giving Rin a scrutinizing look as well. "You say that but what about me?"
"You got different circumstances."
"In what way does that exclude me?" He pointed out. "I'm essentially in the same situation as her, minus incurable disease."
Before Rin could retort, Rani went and caught everyone's attention with a false cough. "If I'm to be honest, winning the Holy Grail War is the least of my or my organization's concern."
Rin looked at her suspiciously. "Then what is your purpose?"
"To investigate strange things happenings here that relate to the mass ley line disruption coming come here in Fuyuki."
If it elicited any reaction from Rin, she was not showing it. "So another one came to investigate huh?"
"I've heard that a certain Finnish mage came here an investigator of the Mage Association though that mostly due to news of her destroying quite a bit of the Epping forest."
"Seriously how much damage did she do?" Rani was about to raise a finger before Rin raised a hand to stop her. "Forget I asked. I don't want to know."
"Hey guys..." Hakuno said as she peeked out. "Is that the priest we're supposed to meet?"
Turning around, everyone saw a tall priest with brown hair and dead eyes as he slowly approaches the group. "Ah... it seems like quite a few master came to the church at the same time." He gave a chuckle. "I assume you all have been behaving? It won't do to raise trouble on holy ground."
"We didn't start a fight if that's what you're asking." Rin said before continuing. "By the way, what business were you up to?"
"Nothing special, just a few meetings with certain individuals." He said as he opened the doors to the church. "You all know to keep servants outside of the church correct?" Everyone nodded. "Good, now come with me, we have a lot to discuss especially since I'm seeing a few interesting individuals among us." He eyed both Shirou and Hakuno. Shirou merely returned a curious look while Hakuno shrunk away.
Motioning them to enter. Rin came after him first followed by Rani and Hakuno. Shirou went last but stopped when a fuchsia coloured ribbon fell out of his pocket. "Oops, almost lost it." He picked it up and stuffed it back into his pocket before entering in the church and closing the door behind him. Leaving me, Lancer and two mystery servants all alone outside. Huh...
[] Be patient and wait for them
[] Try talking to the other servants
[] Write in