"Master, why am I here?" Arjuna asked as his Master prepared the summoning circle. She was perky as usual, her orange hair bouncing a little as she turned her head to look at him, her smile full of joy.
"To greet the spirit I summon!" Yes, but why? Arjuna just patiently waited, sure she would get down to it. "I've prepared all the catalysts and I feel my luck surging! Today is going to be the day!" The day for what – "The day I summon KARNA!" Arjuna stiffened sharply and seriously considered shooting her. Was she serious?! "I know how you feel but you'll HAVE to get along so you can start right now by saying hello to your brother!"
"…Very well," Arjuna said with icy chill. If she thought they were somehow going to magically make up and be friends, or even worse, proper brothers, she had another think coming. However, his Master was undeterred.
"Good! You don't have to be friends, you just have to get along." Well, at least she had a realistic grasp of the situation. Arjuna waited, his back stiff, as his Master began chanting the words of summoning. Blue light flared and Arjuna could see the unmistakeable signs that she was summoning a very powerful spirit, the flickers of gold that danced through the blue. Arjuna was glumly certain that his Master was right, Karna was about to answer her summons.
And he did, although not in the way anyone could have expected.
"I am Karna, summoned into the class of Rider. I solemnly swear to do my best for you," a ghostly boy said, peering up at his Master through his messy bangs. Arjuna stared at his brother, utterly speechless.
Instead of the man he knew, Karna was a little boy. Perhaps ten years old, he was slender and pale as a wraith. He was clothed in baggy beige pants, dirtied and a bit frayed, with a matching vest. There was a smudge of dirt on his cheek, as though he'd carelessly touched himself and Karna's feet were dirty was well. Arjuna eyes were drawn to those bare feet, wondering why his brother wore no shoes.
"I, uh…" His Master was speechless as well but quickly rallied. "I'm happy to meet you!" She squatted down a little so she could meet Karna's eyes directly. "How old are you Karna?" Karna blinked at her slowly, a solemn expression on his face.
"I am ten," he said and Arjuna swallowed. Then Karna's gaze left his Master and settled on him. There was a flicker of shock on that young face before Karna's expression settled into unreadability. "Hello Arjuna." The tone was strange, even for Karna, utterly empty of emotion. Arjuna wasn't sure how to respond. His Master looked at him, worry on her face and shining in her eyes. Arjuna blinked and gathered himself.
"Greetings. You know me?" Arjuna asked. If Karna was actually ten, he shouldn't, they hadn't met until Karna was a man grown. Karna stared at him, not looking away for an instant.
"I remember everything although it's sort of vague, like it happened to someone else. But I know who you are and what you did," Karna said and while there was no accusation in his voice, Arjuna felt judged. Frowning, he almost responded but then stopped himself. What could he say to that that wouldn't sound defensive?
"Karna, please be nice. You don't have to be friends with Arjuna but he is your ally now," his Master said and Karna looked at her. Arjuna sensed a subtle resistance but then Karna bowed his head.
"I understand," Karna murmured and Arjuna wondered if his Master realized how qualified a statement that was. I understand was very different from I agree or I will comply. If so, though, she chose to ignore it.
"Good!" His Master stood and offered Karna a hand. He blinked in surprise but obediently took it. "Let me show you around. There are a lot of Heroic Spirits here!" Arjuna followed them as they left the summoning room but then immediately slipped away. He missed Karna glancing over his shoulder, unmistakeable wariness in his aquamarine eyes.
Karna was fully aware of any threats and at this time, he considered Arjuna to be a threat.
For the next few weeks, Arjuna almost forgot his brother was there.
That was because he never caught more than a small glimpse of him. A flicker of white on the edge of his vision that was gone when Arjuna looked. Eventually, though, he happened to stumble across him in an odd location.
"Very good child but I have found you. You may come out," Arjuna heard Hassan's voice as he tried to find the correct storeroom. Dr Romani wanted some old parts to rebuild… something… and Arjuna had had the misfortune to be standing there so he'd been given a list and instructions. The handwriting was poor, though, and he was struggling. Inspiration struck and Arjuna opened the door. Arjuna blinked as there was a brief flash of white and he saw a rather puzzled Assassin.
"Child? …Ah. There is no danger, you may come out," Hassan said and there was not the slightest stir in the racks of the storage room. Arjuna looked around, extending his senses, but could find nothing. "Ah… we will continue later then. Arjuna, you wish something?"
"Yes, Romani gave me this list. But I am having problems reading it, I had hoped you might be able to help me?" Arjuna said before offering the other Servant the slip of paper. As Hassan took it, Arjuna tried again to find who was in the room. Was it Jack? That could explain the high degree of presence concealment. It seemed a bit unlike Jack the Ripper, though, to be playing a childish game with Hassan.
"Ah, you are in great luck. This is the right storeroom. Child, can you find me box… I believe C27?" Hassan asked and Arjuna blinked as there was a shuffling. "Please child, for me," Hassan gently coaxed and then suddenly, a white form was monkey climbing up the shelves.
"Karna?!" Arjuna exclaimed and Karna glanced back at him before ignoring him, kneeling on the top shelf and checking boxes. Very quickly he found one in particular and lifted it up before giving Hassan a questioning look.
"Yes, toss it to me child," Hassan encouraged and Arjuna watched, speechless, as his brother gently tossed the box to the Assassin. Hassan opened it, checking the contents before nodding. "This is what he wants. Here, take it," Hassan offered it to him and Arjuna took it automatically.
"Thank you both," he said graciously, considering what he'd just seen. Was it…? "Are you teaching Karna presence concealment?" The way his brother was hiding himself was remarkable. Karna jumped down from the racks and went to Hassan's side. Arjuna blinked at the strange impression he was getting, that Karna was using the other Servant for protection.
"Indeed, he is a marvelous pupil," Hassan said, pleased. Karna smiled, glowing at the praise. Hassan gently ruffled white hair. "If only I had met him in life, I might have trained him to someday take my place." Arjuna was briefly rendered speechless by that. Karna, as an Assassin?
"Well, thank you again," Arjuna said graciously before taking his leave. As he walked, though, he reflected on it. Hassan was an odd friend for Karna to make. What did his brother see in the Assassin? What other friends had he made? Arjuna was suddenly curious. As he delivered the parts, he made a resolution to himself.
He would begin paying more attention to what his brother was doing.
For the next few days, Arjuna tried to spot Karna and figure out what his brother was doing, what friends he had made.
The first, of course, was Hassan of the Cursed Arm. Karna was getting lessons from him and now that he was looking Arjuna spotted them several times, making a game of the Assassin's trade. Arjuna still found it disturbing. Yes, Karna had been a consummate killer in his life and yet… not like that. Never like that.
Karna's other friends were more acceptable to him. Foremost among them was Hans Christian Anderson. That combination made Arjuna shudder a little, but only for the people who made the mistake of talking to them. Fortunately, child Karna didn't seem to speak much, which was probably a blessing on all of Chaldea.
Unfortunately, Karna could be pushed into speaking if the questioner was determined enough.
"Master, you called for me?" Arjuna asked politely, glancing around. This office had once belonged to the former Director of Chaldea, Olga Marie Anumisphere. It was a rather formal setting with a large, dark, heavy wooden desk. The desk was scrupulously clean except for a few papers and a piece of office art, balls that could be raised and released to tink against each other, sending the opposite ball into the air. There was a bookshelf made of matching wood with many books. Arjuna knew rooms like this. Meant for hard work but also to intimidate anyone unwitting enough to come walking through the door, or unlucky enough to be summoned in. His Master sitting on the corner of the desk rather ruined it, though.
"Yes indeed. I'm not sure you're the best person to help me with but you've had lots of kids, right?" What an odd question. It was true, though, so Arjuna nodded. "And you know Karna at least a bit right?" Karna?
"What has my brother done?" Arjuna questioned and his Master's lips tightened before she straightened and set herself. Arjuna blinked as the air in the room suddenly become very imposing indeed.
"You'll find out when I get the full story out of him. For now, stand against the wall there please," she gestured and Arjuna obeyed, realizing that he would add to the atmosphere she was creating quite nicely. What had Karna done to warrant a formal dressing down though? Arjuna was sure that was where they were going.
It wasn't long before there was a soft shuffling sound outside the door and a head carefully peeked around the doorframe. Arjuna saw one blue eye and a tuft of white hair, before Karna pulled back. His hand remained in view, though, very white as he grasped the dark wood of the door.
"Karna, please come in," his Master commanded. And it was a command, not an invitation. There was another soft shuffling but then Karna reluctantly entered the room. Arjuna saw, with great surprise, that there were additions to his wardrobe. A soft scarf made of cream and brown wool was tucked around Karna's neck, keeping him warm, and he was wearing fingerless gloves. As his… little brother slipped in, he gave Arjuna a distrustful glance before sidling away a bit. Arjuna frowned as he saw that Karna was positioning himself for a quick escape. "I'm sure you know why you're here." The way Karna's shoulders suddenly hunched, the child looking at his feet, told Arjuna that Karna knew very well. "I want you to tell me in your words what happened."
"…" Karna remained mute, staring at his feet. His Master gave him a helpless glance and Arjuna hesitated before taking the lead.
"Karna, if you do not tell us what happened we must assume the other reports are true," Arjuna said firmly and saw Karna's shoulders hunch a bit more. He knew he'd done something wrong, but what? Arjuna was extremely curious now.
"Yes, you don't want us to just take Kiyohime's word for it, do you?" His Master said and Karna stiffened. The boy lifted his head before meeting her eyes with a challenging stare.
"It wasn't my fault. She shouldn't have kept pushing me," Karna said, his voice clear and firm. This was more like the brother he knew, Arjuna reflected. "She wouldn't leave me alone. She wanted me to make cookies with her and her Master but I didn't want to, I wanted to fish with Cu-san." Cu Chulainn was a friend of Karna's too? Arjuna hadn't noticed that. "She kept pushing and pushing and then said I didn't like her and wanted to know why. She wouldn't leave me alone so I had to tell her and I did." …Oh. Arjuna grimaced slightly. His Master was undeterred.
"What exactly did you say?" she asked and Karna hesitated a bit before heaving a small sigh, his shoulders slumping again.
"I told her she didn't like me at all, she just wanted to show her Master that she'd be a good mother," Karna said and Arjuna nodded to himself. That would certainly be Kiyohime's motivations in befriending Karna. "Then I… maybe said too much… but she made me mad… I said she didn't love her Master at all, she just loved the image inside her head and that was like loving herself…" Karna trailed off, looking at his feet. Arjuna flinched a little at that. Discernment of the Poor in the hands of a child, ah. His Master drew a deep breath.
"I understand why you were upset, Karna, but you made Kiyohime cry. You will have to apologize to her and I want this to be a sincere apology," his Master said firmly and Karna hunched, gaze still on his feet. "Also, you will spend all day in the kitchen tomorrow with Kiyohime and Emiya." Karna looked very unhappy at that with that. "Now go to your room and reflect on the harm you have caused today." …That was perhaps too harsh. Arjuna didn't doubt that Kiyohime had been unmerciful in her attentions. Yet, Discernment of the Poor in the hands of a child… perhaps they needed to be harsh to get the message through. Karna mumbled something that sounded affirmative before almost running out the door. His Master sighed, reaching up to rub her forehead and sit on the corner of the desk again. "Arjuna, can you close the door please?"
"Certainly," Arjuna said before moving to do that. She wanted a private conversation with him now, but about what? Karna? Arjuna wasn't sure what input he could give. His Master lowered her hand before staring at the door disconsolately.
"I don't know if you can help me but I don't know who to talk with… I don't know what to do with him," she said and Arjuna glanced at the door from which Karna had departed. "Is he some kind of sick joke?"
"Master?" Arjuna said, startled. She rubbed her forehead again.
"Karna is utterly ridiculous." …What? "His mana burst is the worst thing I've ever seen, it's only effective for lighting campfires!" …Really? "His Noble Phantasm is his chariot and it's purely defensive. That can't be right, can it? Shouldn't he have a flying vimana or even a horse of flames or something?" Yes, he should, when summoned into the Rider class. "The worst part, though, is his skills. It's like they've been pulled out of a rubbish bin!" Arjuna blinked as his Master jumped to her feet and started to pace. "Mana burst when he can't get any strength behind it? What good is that? And what the hell is Fishing EX? Not even Jeanne can figure out what it does!" …Fishing ranked EX…? "And his skills are changing. That shouldn't even be possible but now he has rank A Presence Concealment! He's not an Assassin, what good is that and how did he get it?" That was disturbing. "Servants aren't humans, you can't learn skills off other Servants!"
"Yet, that is precisely what Karna is doing," Arjuna said slowly and his Master paused in her pacing to rub her forehead again. "That suggests he is growing." This child form of Karna's seemed to be more than just appearance.
"That shouldn't be possible," his Master grumbled but Arjuna saw no point in protesting the possibility or impossibility of the thing. It was happening, that was a fact. So they should do something about it.
"Master, we should attempt to direct his growth," Arjuna said and his Master looked at him with a frown. "You should see if you can find a Rider willing to take Karna under their wing." It made perfect sense to him. In fact. "And someone who can help Karna improve his mana burst."
"You have that skill, could you do that?" she asked and Arjuna hesitated. He remembered the distrust in Karna whenever he looked at him. "No, it should be someone he doesn't have a history with." Yes, that might be wiser. "Maybe Arturia. Siegfried… no, he might pick up dragon slaying, we don't need that." Poor Siegfried but she was right, that would not be helpful to Karna. "I'll think about it. We definitely need to get him away from Hassan, if there's a worse combination than Assassin and Rider I don't know what it is!" Arjuna winced but didn't protest. It was true, the emphasis was completely different. "For Riders… St George maybe…?" His Master started mumbling to herself and Arjuna made a graceful exit, opening the door and slipping out.
Arjuna had given her his advice. The rest would be up to her.
