Chapter Two
The fun fact was that through mystery and myth, what was ironically 'weak' in reality could turn out to be vastly overpowered in fiction -or in this 'reality that literally gave heroes powers based on how their fictional sides went'.
Thus, the older a Hero the more powerful he or she was, because the more time the legend of said hero had the time to 'consolidate' itself in the imagination of the people. So even if Nobunaga were to rise up in Japan, he would still meet a fierce opposition in someone like Genghis Khan, the renowned conqueror.
It was the main reason for Gilgamesh being so strong -barring his Ego and legend, of course. If only he wasn't such a troublesome opponent, then maybe I would have tried controlling him somehow. Kotomine Kirei could do it, and he was a rotten priest.
Still, I didn't want that. I wanted victory, overwhelming victory. No, more than 'wanted', I 'needed' overwhelming victory.
There could be no mercy given, and no quarters conceded. I needed seven Servants to die to reach the Root. I needed to reach the Root in order to-
A flash of light hurt my eyes slightly, even as I stopped straining my eyesight frantically looking for Lancer's potential assault. He had been called back, either because Kotomine hadn't dared to send him forward, or because he had done his due and had effectively lost me.
The flash was merely the rising sun, and the rays struck the walls of the temple, they shuddered for a brief instant as the warmth bathed upon the multitude of snakes and scales that formed the entirety of it.
To the mere common human, the Ryuudou temple was unchanged. To the trained eye of a Magus, there were a few differences. To my eyes, nothing but masses of slithering snakes composed the walls and the floors and, even if far more slowly than before, tiny 'offshoots' began to spread from the temple and into the mountain proper.
Whereas Caster had acquired the ability to teleport throughout Fuyuki city thanks to her magic abilities, I was more interested in turning the land into a 'domain' of mine. To fully utilize Nero's gift I needed conquest, blood, and a land to call 'mine'.
The day dawned and I jumped down from the top of the temple, my jacket fluttering in the wind as I landed on the ground, where the monks went about their business, not bothering nor caring in the slightest.
Caster had done the same to them in 'canon'. She had applied commands, and given them specific 'triggers'. It was one of the possible deaths of Issei after all, with her commanding him to stab his neck. I didn't plan on killing any of the monks, and the amount of energy I could earn from eating them was actually meaningless considering the vast amount rooted in the back of my mind.
The Leyline thrummed with power. I had no intention of 'burning' it up, but as long as the steady amount of energy that filled me remained in those quantities, I wouldn't have ever needed to do that.
Again, it was probable I would need to do that against Gilgamesh, or an 'unexpected complication'.
I was kidding no one. The leyline would burn, the city would burn, and I would need to rush to the finishing line with fire and flames and death encroaching behind me.
Souichirou Kuzuki was instead a pleasant surprise. He was not Caster's Master -of course- but a mere resident of the temple. He had felt something was wrong the night before, but had not been fast enough.
You can have the best breathing and walking possible, but if you cannot realize your first step lands you upon poisonous snakes, then you will not be granted a second step or a third to balance your act.
He, again, had similar triggers implanted on him.
I had no intention of letting a perfectly viable trump card capable of breaking Rider's neck from being consumed.
When Shiro woke up, I was there by her side, a breakfast tray by my side. "The head monk agreed to let us stay," I said as a matter of fact. "Should you wish to skip school today-"
"What time is it?" Shiro asked, her eyes deeply surrounded by rings due to her lack of sleep. A trumpet sounded seven quick horns, and as I nodded to the phantom sound, I replied in kind.
"Seven in the morning," I said.
"I...I need to think this over," Shiro acquiesced. "What happened-what is happening, everything else-I need time to think."
I nodded. "Breakfast?" I gestured at the tray next to me. "It's European cuisine, but you'll find me dead rather than eating rice or fish in the morning."
Shiro wrinkled her nose as she grabbed a piece of toast. "I prefer to cook my own breakfast," Shiro mumbled.
"I like coffee," I said plainly. "I spent most of my childhood being denied coffee because of an overbearing girl, and most of my adulthood being denied good coffee because of an extreme attention-seeking woman. Trust me on this," I took a sip of the cup in my right hand. "You do not know how good you have it, until you lose it."
I grimaced the next moment, shaking my head. "And apparently, roasted beans do not make for good coffee. I will need to restock."
Shiro bit down on the toast and took a sip of milk, before suddenly steeling herself. "I am Shiro Emiya."
"I am the servant Caster, my name is Kagayaku," I replied. "It does not mean 'Glitter', but 'Shining', 'Glowing' and 'Beam' if you really want to say it that way. Although normally, it should be 'Bright'."
I put the cup of roasted beans -who sane of his mind would roast beans- and began to nibble on a toast. "I told the head monk that there was an infestation of cockroaches in the house, and you were a friend of his younger brother. I am your father's brother from oversea," I added. "I came just in time to find out you were about to be shipped off with Yakuza, and I could not allow it."
I stared in the far off distance with a firm gaze. "My precious niece will not set foot in the house of local do-no-gooders!" I nodded to myself, a hand on my chest as I smiled triumphantly, "Truly, my masterpiece of acting. Why, my dear wife would be so impressed!"
No, no she wouldn't.
Shiro just stared. I grinned, "But you'll need your stuff if you wish to go to school. I took the liberty of sending a familiar to recover them," a snake slithered its way into the room, large enough to easily rival an anaconda. On his back he carried the clean clothes Shiro would need, as well as her school stuff.
"The bath is down the hallway to the left, Issei is having breakfast in the main hall. If you wish to head to school with him, be ready in less than twenty minutes," I stood up. "I will be following you to school, but worry not. I'll stick to the shadows." I crossed my arms in front of my chest as I walked outside, "Now be a dear and tidy yourself up," I winked at her, "You have a war to fight and victory to achieve. It's that or dying, and if you die...well, I'll never forgive you."
I closed the door behind me and sighed. Targets of opportunity abounded in the school, but only as long as the school remained open.
Rider had to be dealt with brutally and quickly, possibly by someone else.
I had a 'Saber' class to place. If it was not 'Saber' but another type of Saber, then maybe they'd cooperate with the children-sacrificing magus. Assassin was available for a very short time, and the sooner I got around to summoning him, the better.
Shiro would probably come up with hundred of questions to ask me when school was over, and I'd have to do my best to answer them, but for the moment, I had the morning free.
I stepped inside Copenhagen's shop and settled at a stool, grinning brightly as the owner of the pub and liquor store looked at me unsure for a moment, before walking over. "Can. I. Help. You?" she asked in English.
"Oh, don't worry and speak Japanese, I learned the tongue from my brother," I replied with a wave of the hand. Otoko Hotaruzuka was the 'big sis' archetype that gave a part-time job to little Shiro and the main reason Shiro had been unable to do archery. Admittedly, I used to work in this very same shop back when I was younger -although I was prohibited from 'tasting' the coffee, even after having dutifully bought it.
Otoko's father was the right sort of old man. The 'Master' of Copenhagen was a generous person, way more generous than normal.
When a kid asked for a cup of coffee, he did not refuse -once the bothersome females had left the premises, of course.
Otoko sighed in relief, "My English is a bit rusty," she smiled next, "What can I get you so early in the morning? We sell the finest liquors, but you can't drink them-"
"Coffee," I said. "My kingdom for a coffee," I chuckled. "Is your father in?" I asked as the woman turned, "I had something to discuss with him."
"My father?" Otoko remarked, turning and lifting an eyebrow. "He's in the back-are you a friend of his?"
I shook my head. "I'm Kiritsugu Emiya's brother," I replied. "I came by to thank the man for taking such good care of my niece."
"But you're not..."
"Adopted," I said with a small smile, "It runs in the family, adopting people. My father did it for me, and Kiritsugu did it for Shiro," I sighed. "If I had known he had passed away, I would have come earlier."
I bristled, tapping with my right hand on the wooden counter as I looked down at the grief-filled reflection. "Last letter I received was a few years ago-I simply thought it was how it went with letters. I live in Europe, so I reckoned a few might have gone missing or something."
"Oh," Otoko said. "My condolences," she said, her smile slightly bitter as she offered me the coffee.
"Thank you," I replied. "I'm making the rounds of everyone who helped rear up my niece. My next stop is a certain Miss Taiga. She's a professor if I'm not wrong-"
"Oh yes," Otoko nodded. "She teaches at Shiro's school. I'll give her a call if you want-"
I shook my head. "School's in session if I'm not wrong," I looked at the clock up against the wall. "I'll let Shiro give her a call in my stead," I took a sip of the coffee, and sighed. "Seriously though..."
"Yes?"
I stared at her with a firm glance. "What is up with the mix ratio of the coffee beans!?"
Otoko jumped back, her arms up in shock. "And the slight taste in the back of the espresso! You! How long has it been since you cleaned the inner components! No! Don't give me the frightened doe look, because it is inexcusable! Miss Hotaruzuka!" I stood up from my seat. "As a fellow colleague in the ancient art of bar ownership and coffee making, I cannot let this slide!"
"B-But we're a liquor store-"
"As long as you possess a coffee machine, then you are also a bar! And as long as you have a coffee machine, your duty is to make excellent coffee with it! There are no faulty machines, only faulty baristas!" I bared my teeth. "Change the mix-ratio! Adjust the water pressure-Clean the filters inside-"
"My, my, what is all this ruckus about?" the Master of Copenhagen stepped outside with a curious expression on his face, his mustache twitching lightly. "Otoko, what is going on?"
"I'm sowwy-nyan!" Otoko whimpered, "I'll make a better coffee!"
"No," I said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose with my fingers. I opened my eyes the next instant, my gaze locking with both the owner and his daughter. "Look into my eyes and listen well."
They stared at me, their eyes growing heavier by the second as my whispered words came out as a gentle coaxing that they could not deny.
I stepped outside, leaving behind an empty coffee cup, the money for it, and hearing the last words of the master of the shop to his daughter.
"Let's go on a trip to Kyoto and close shop. Right now."
"Uh...I don't know why, but I agree dad. Let's go."
I smiled and pushed my hands further inside my jacket's pockets. The soft feeling of a picture touched my digits, and as I pulled out the photography taken years -decades, centuries- prior into that very shop, I couldn't help but chuckle at it.
I had my arm in a cast, and my expression yet was triumphant. Shiro's eyes were on the verge of bawling. Otoko was smiling and so was the master of Copenhagen. It had been taken after the 'accident' that would have normally resulted in Shiro dropping out of the archery club.
It was a photo filled with good memories.
It was because of that photo that I refused to let the city of Fuyuki burn with them in it.
My next stop wasn't the school.
It was a very familiar old style Japanese house.
"Bring me to Raiga Fujimura," I said firmly, my eyes locked with the guard that came to answer the ringing of the phone call in person. The guard opened the gate without a second word, and as I stepped inside, I dutifully followed behind her.
Taiga Fujimura had Ex rank luck -albeit maybe it was the creator trolling- and she was capable of avoiding meteorites striking the city by merely taking a walk. Raiga Fujimura did not have that luck.
He could use a vacation.
Him and all of his extended family of yakuza-members.
Maybe I could send him on a hunting trip in Africa, South America, or somewhere similar with everyone else.
Nobody would think any differently. He was, after all, famous for doing such things.
I pulled the photo taken at Copenhagen out one last time, and then extended my right hand to burn it into cinder and ashes. I blew the ashes away into the garden, and past it, to wherever the breeze of the wind would carry the remains.
"Master Raiga is having breakfast," the guard said, opening the door all the same.
"Uh? What is going on-"
I smiled. "Look me in the eyes...old man."
Truly, when I used Self-Hypnosis...
This all felt way easier to do.
