Illya walked through the streets of Miyama, letting the cool springtime night air wash over and around her. She wasn't exactly alone, but close to it, especially considering her companion's current silence. Speaking of which…
"What, no comment on… that whole interaction?" Illya glanced at Ruby, who was currently floating around next to her.
"Well, I certainly have thoughts on it, but comments? Not really." Ruby shook herself in an approximation of shaking her head. "I don't know that much about what you two have been through, but I can tell that it's not something my input would be appreciated with. Even I respect those sorts of boundaries."
"You do?" Illya turned her head fully to look at Ruby, doubtful.
"Well… it's also because there's not really any humor or enjoyment I'd be able to derive from this situation." Ruby elaborated. "Way too serious and heavy. Magical Girls should only get into that sort of thing in their later episodes, you know? You haven't even had your first fight as one yet, so it's far too early." Ruby huffed in mock-exasperation.
"Now that, that makes more sense." Illya nodded.
A silence fell between them after that. Illya didn't feel like she had anything of note to say, and she figured Ruby didn't either. Eventually, she decided that she may as well make those familiars to check on Sakura and Zouken. Better sooner rather than later, after all.
Two strands of hair pulled from her head became a pair of Storch Ritter — Stork Knights, which began to fly off in the direction of the Matou manor. Yet through their eyes from above, Illya noticed a familiar head of red hair belonging to someone who was clearly following her, while keeping some distance.
Shirou. Illya sighed. Honestly, she really should have seen that coming, what with Emiya Shirou being Emiya Shirou. As for how she could deal with the situation…
"Say, Ruby, do you also provide flight capabilities?" It was a staple of the magical girl genre, after all, and that seemed to generally be the determinant for Ruby, for some reason.
…Actually, why had Kischur Zelretch made Ruby, anyway? When did he make her, for that matter? Was her obsession with magical girls something that had been inbuilt from the start, or was it a more recent development? If it was the former, was that the result of Ruby having been created after the genre had taken off, or had she been made before that, with the knowledge of the genre coming from the known ability of the Second Magic to effectively travel through time? Regardless of which it was, why would Kischur Zelretch have made her that way? From the memories of Justeaze that Illya had accessed, he never seemed that whimsical at all…
After dwelling in that rabbit hole for probably longer than she should have, Illya shook her head and focused on Ruby's response.
"Right you are!" Ruby confirmed. "Although flight is more-"
She was cut off when Illya grabbed her by the rim and ducked into a nearby alley. "Transform me!"
What followed was an excruciatingly lengthy, yet unfortunately entirely expected transformation sequence, the sort that Illya had seen probably hundreds of times by this point, only she was the one doing the transforming this time, as opposed to an anime character, and she could tell that time was neither stopped nor slowed down. Ruby's constant comments didn't help either.
Thankfully, Shirou was following from far enough away that he didn't come across her, and after a solid minute, Illya was both transformed and could actually move autonomously. Not willing to waste another second fighting with Ruby, she looked up, crouched down, and jumped.
And then she was flying.
"Wow, I didn't think you'd manage it on your first try!" Ruby's praise was grating as ever. "It took quite a while for Rin to figure out how to fly."
"While Rin may be a 'first rate genius' as far as mages go, she's still just a human." Illya pointed out. Levitating above northern Miyama's suburbs, she checked on the familiar she had watching Rin, confirmed the direction she was going in, and started flying southwest towards Homurahara. "Also, can we skip the transformation sequence next time? Especially if it's actually an urgent situation."
"But you're a magical girl." Ruby complained. "You need a transformation sequence at least once an episode!"
"I hope the studio has a good enough budget that all that stock footage isn't necessary." Illya sighed, playing along with the joke. "How about… once a season?"
"Even with a budget surplus, saving some every episode lets us reallocate time and money to other things, like improving the quality of the rest of the episode, or, more importantly, merchandising and promotions!"
"That can't possibly be more important than quality and effective pacing." Illya deadpanned.
"You'd be surprised!" Ruby asserted. "After all, those are what really make money for these shows."
"But if the show itself is terrible, then nobody will buy the merchandise."
Ruby shook her "head," tut-tutting. "There is always a market for cuteness, and you're cute enough that your merchandise is going to be very popular in quite a number of demographics."
Illya's eye twitched slightly, but she quickly thought up a counter. "I have the capacity for a number of impressions beyond mere cuteness. I believe you described me as 'creepy' at one point, yes?"
Ruby recoiled. "You wouldn't-"
"I would." Illya stated plainly, before issuing her ultimatum. "Reduce the frequency of transformation sequences to, say, once a month, or else I will need to take… drastic measures. Do you understand?"
"I-" Ruby visibly tried to think of counterarguments, which was strange given the fact that she was just a wand, but regardless, she ultimately relented, slumping down. "Fine, you win."
"It's amusing you thought that you had a chance." Illya commented, before noticing that they were approaching the school. "In any case…" She rotated so that she was upright instead of prone in the air, and drifted downwards, landing as gracefully as she could.
As it turned out, her most graceful landing was… not very graceful at all: she'd neglected to slow down her lateral motion enough, so she skidded slightly across the ground, forcing her to turn around in order to more effectively stop herself without slipping.
"You may want to work on your landings in the future." Ruby suggested.
"I know what I did wrong there. I won't make that mistake again." Illya stood up straight, brushing herself off. "As long as nobody saw that, I-"
"Saw what?" Rin's voice came out of nowhere.
Illya nearly jumped in surprise, but she was able to school her reaction. After all, she'd known Rin was heading in this direction. And honestly, it was a good thing that she'd arrived before Rin, evidently.
"Nothing important." Illya said nonchalantly, turning around to see Rin in casual clothes – not her typical red sweater, but rather a white hoodie – walking through the school's gates. "So, do you know anything about this Servant before I fight it? Additionally, Ruby will be the one taking me to this 'mirror world,' correct?"
"I don't know why you're assuming that I won't be involved." Rin objected. "I'm more informed about this topic than you are."
"You're more informed about Servants than I am?" Illya laughed a little. "I highly doubt that. More relevantly, you're ultimately just a human. While I'm sure your Magecraft has a chance of harming Servants without Magic Resistance, you're still… vulnerable. Even if you spectate, I wouldn't be fully able to guarantee your safety."
One of Rin's eyes twitched. "You're talking a big game for such a little brat. Which one of us was sent on the mission? Which one of us is a prospective apprentice of the Second Magician?"
Illya sighed. "Rin, this isn't a game. You might think that you're prepared, think that you're ready, but you don't know what it's like when Servants fight. If you follow me, there's a very real chance that you'll die. There's a very real chance that I'll die, even, but you're far less protected than I am."
"That's…" Rin grimaced. "That's fair."
"It honestly might be better for Rin to come along, if only as insurance." Ruby pointed out. "If something happens to you, Master, the responsibility to save you might fall to Rin."
"And you'd let her use you in that instance?" Illya asked.
"For the sake of defending cuteness, I am willing to work with that old hag again. Temporarily, anyway."
"Why you!" Rin made to grab at Ruby, but Illya swiftly moved the wand out of her reach.
"Focus, both of you." Illya admonished both of them. "Ruby, you're the one doing the dimensional transport, right?"
"That I am!" The wand saluted. "Shall I-"
"Not yet." Illya cut her off. "Rin, do we know anything about this Servant's class or identity?"
"Identity? No." Rin shook her head, calming herself down. "But if classes don't repeat, then this Servant can't be an Archer or Lancer."
Illya tilted her head. "So then where's the Lancer card?"
"With any luck, at the bottom of the river." Rin crossed her arms, a sour expression gracing her face.
"I'm sorry?"
"It's a long story, don't worry about it." Rin blew her off.
"Rin, this is important." Illya pressed.
"But it's not important right now." Rin persisted. "We can deal with this Servant now, and once we're done here, you can go collect the Lancer card from-"
"Plotting an attack on me?" A new voice, this one leagues more irritating than Rin's, came from the direction of the gate. "I'd expect nothing less from a barbarian like you, Tohsaka Rin!"
Illya and Rin both turned to look at the speaker, a woman in a very expensive looking blue dress, with blonde hair styled in excessively elaborate ringlets. She looked around Rin's age, while next to her…
Illya's mind ground to a halt. Next to the walking stereotype was an incredibly cute girl that seemed to be around her own age, with glossy and adorably styled black hair, and deep, amber eyes that, for some reason, looked incredibly familiar…
I was going to also include the first battle in this chapter, but this incredibly good stopping point came up, and I wanted to get a chapter out before Shirou Day was over. Speaking of...
Swords.