Fate/Allure
I had a dream, a dream of a girl in a church praying. She was about my height and was wearing a poor, tattered, peasant dress. She had her eyes closed and her hands folded, kneeling before a cross that was hanging over the wall, in the center of the small, rundown church.
She opened her eyes and looked up and said something. I couldn't make out what she said however, once she had muttered those words, she closed her eyes yet again and as soon as she did so, tears came out and rolled down her smooth, pale skin. Then, a sudden gust of wind from a nearby window made her short blond hair wave. The golden hair shined and reflected the sun's rays.
She then stood up and then grabbed a sword that was resting on a pew. The sword itself was finely detailed and decorated. The golden details on the sword and scabbard made a shape of a grape vine, wrapping and closing the sword and scabbard together. The hilt contained a green gem and within the gem was concealed a cross that resembled much like the cross that was decorated on the wall. At the end of the handle contained the mark of a rose, blooming on top of grapevines that ended there.
With that sword in hand turned around and without looking back headed toward the exit of the church, as if determined to face her enemy head on. Even though she knew she was destined to lose. As soon as she grabbed the handle of the door, she stopped and pointed towards the sky with her sword in hand. She then put her arm down then opened the door and stepped out. The light from the open door obstructed my view. All I could see was the rays of light consuming the girl as she looked back, as if she was looking directly at me, and smiled. She then said something yet again, however I was able to make out what she said by the movement of her lips.
See you soon.
Riiiiiiinnnngggg, Riiiinnnnngggg!
I hear an annoying bell ringing right next to my ear. I stretch out my hand toward the sound and—as hard as I can—slam my hand down at the source of the annoyance, as if I was swatting a bug.
Crash!
A sound of something breaking reaches my ear. With that sound, the noise ceases. I yet again attempt to go back to sleep, but then the ringing starts yet again. I get up and look toward where the sound was coming from and see the broken alarm clock that was still making its sound of death.
"…. I broke you…. And yet you have the power to still make that sound…?"
I glance around and find a hammer conveniently lying beside my futon. Without giving it a second thought, I grab the hammer and smash the alarm clock yet again, this time making the clock scatter in millions of tiny metallic pieces.
Success… I have won my battle…! I think to myself as I throw the hammer behind me, making a thud sound as it hit the floor. Now… to get back to what I do best… sleep.
As I thought this to myself, I place the warm blanket around me and lie back down onto my futon and close my heavy eyelids shut, trying to re-enter the calm world known as sleep.
But…
Riiiiiiinnnnnggg!
From the same distance that the battle was fought, the devilish sound can be heard yet again.
"… Wait, how the heck is that possible!" I sit up to look to that direction only to find the same alarm clock standing at the spot where it had once been destroyed. In my confusion, I pick the alarm clock up and examine it. Nothing seemed to have harmed it – not even a scratch has been inflicted. It's as good as new. I look at the back and push the button to stop the alarm. "… Was I dreaming myself breaking the clock…?" As I ask myself this question out loud, I hear a reply from behind me.
"Umm… No, I fixed it, you moron!"
I turn to the direction the voice came from and soon enough I saw something more annoying than the alarm clock…. It is my sister…. Keiko.
"Oh….. It's you Keiko…. How many times do I have to tell you not to enter my room without permission…?"
"Wwwhaaaattt? Is that the attitude you give to someone that came to wake you up?" She asks, practically yelling.
…. How annoying…. I think to myself as I was drifting between sleep and reality. She was wearing her usual white sailor school uniform but with a clip of a green dragonfly, clipped on her red scarf. Her face contains nothing but anger however when she is not in the state of anger, which is practically never, she is cute… Wait… Saying something like that about my own younger sister is weird… Scratch that… She looks… Better than normal girls..? Whatever, you get the general idea. I stare at her and something seems to be off… Oh yeah…
"You should roll your skirt down, Keiko… You look like one of those 'easy' girls." With that comment that I made her face became bright red. She grabs my collar and starts to shake my head around.
"What the- how the heck did you conclude that!" She asks, screaming now.
"…. You're so loud…. If you keep this up, you'll never be able to get a… What do foreigners call them… boyfriends? Just thought I'd let you know…" I say calmly, letting out a yawn in front of her face. This makes her snap.
"I only act like this toward you, you moron!" She screams, shaking my body side to side as hard as she can. "A-and I-I'm n-n-n-not l-l-looking for a b-boyf-f-friend anyw-w-ways!"
Oh boy, she broke…
"I-i-if y-y-you must know! I… I'm pretty popular w-… w-with boys you know!" She says, blushing. Her bad habit when she lies. Well, she is pretty popular with guys however saying that by herself when she doesn't even know if this is a fact or not is probably the reason why she is giving this reaction. In the end, she is trying to lie about a truth…. So… Clueless…
"Sure, you must be very popular with old men, huh?" I say with my eyes of pity. "You poor thing…"
W-what! She is mouthing that but she can't even come to say it… Ok… let's do this.
"It's ok, Keiko." I say with a soft smile, while petting her head. "If no one will have you, I'll marry you."
Wha-! She freezes in place and loosens her hand so that I can be free from her grasp and fell to her knees. Not only is she bright red but it looks as if she is actually thinking about it.
"N-no… We're brothers and sisters… Something like that can't happen…." She starts muttering while placing both her hands on her face to cool it off. "B-but…. I-if there is love…. T-then… maybe? N-no! It's s-still wrong…?"
Keiko is confused, I imagine a pop-up message appear before me. Do you wish to continue? Yes or no. The answer is quite clear…
Y.E.S.
"We can have children too, if it's a boy I'll name them either Saiji or Takashi. If they are girls, I'll name them Kotoko or Keiko." I say, still with my soft smile. "Keiko, so that she may grow up to be as beautiful as her mother."
Keiko's face… I cannot believe that it could be as red as this… Hilarious.
"Wh-w-w-whh—wha-?" Keiko cannot even make a proper sentence. Ok, now for the finishing blow!
"How about we kiss now, to seal the contract?" I say, and as soon as I say that, I wrap my arms around her head, to provide no escape. Then, I bring my face closer and closer to her face. She is shivering and finally closes her eyes, as if she accepts her current situation.
Now is my chance….
I slowly make my way toward her ear. Then whisper,
"Just kidding~" Then blew into her ear. She shivers and falls back onto my futon where I quickly wrap her in it and ran for my life. "Thank you for fixing my alarm clock~~~!"
Within a few minutes she frees herself and I get caught and placed within a punishment… There are things better not knowing in this life… This is, perhaps, one of them…
But it was totally worth it.
"Man... She shows no mercy, huh Reiji?" My friend Touji Shikinori asks as we were making our way to the school. He is wearing a full black school uniform with the hat he got from his great grandfather who once served under the Japanese Navy. He has short, black hair that resembles much like his eyes, always reflecting and not showing much emotion. I, personally, would not be able to even notice his emotion if it wasn't for his mouth. I can only tell his emotion by the way he positions his mouth and the way he starts to speak. He is usually a quiet type around others, however around me he acts more outgoing and sometimes gives a misconception about our friendship… Which is very disturbing to me…
We have been friends since elementary school and have been going to the same school since. Touji and Miki are the only people I can truly consider to be friends because they have been with me for as long as I can even remember. Ever since elementary school, Touji and I walked to school together because our houses were so close by and we always played together. He is the same age as me, 17, and is nearly the same height also. We often get mistaken for being related or being brothers when we walk to school together. The path to the school is a narrow wooden path located on a hill so sharp that if someone was to take the wrong step, it may be his last because of the 50 feet drop that it potentially has.
"Tell me about it… All I did was tease her a little… But she randomly attacks me with… Yeah…" I say as I try to walk straight but was failing due to the numerous aches all occurring on my body. "She needs to get the difference between lies and reality…"
"Yea well, what can you do?" Touji then places his bag on his shoulder. "She is stronger than you right?"
Yes, this is true. I was the first born in our family, so I do not know why. However they have been training her since birth in both magic and self-strength. They actually decided to hand down the essence of magic to Keiko for some reason I don't know. They never explained to me the reason nor do I really know why, because I do have more talent when it comes to magical arts. The only magical art they taught me is self and object manipulation spells, such as enhancing my own body to be able to survive a rapid round of machine gun fires… No, that's over exaggerating it but I can enhance my body well enough that I have the confidence to walk into battle with a 1 to 25 ratio and come out alive... I think..? It is when they have weapons that I may have to decrease the ratio into 1 to 10 because there are limits to how much strain a human body can take even if there are curtain "buffs" placed on it. My family, the Tourai family, is taught under Merem Solomon… He is willing to train them after offering the family treasure, which I don't even know what it is. My family is a well-known treasure hunter, so I am guessing that it was not really a big deal giving up that because they constantly keep adding onto their collection that they keep in our underground vault that they made.
"I seriously don't understand why they train her… Yeah, thanks to that she became tougher than me and became she's the head captain of the Judo club but… I don't know anymore…"
"Oh yeah, isn't your family away again? Where are they this time, India?"
"No, I think somewhere in South Africa… said something about a hidden shrine that held a legendary golden statue or whatever…"
"I see…" He said then took out his pocket watch. The pocket watch has the engraving of the seal of the empire of Japan - probably yet another gift from his great grandfather. He clicks the clock open, and a look of sudden fear reflects across his face.
"Oh no! We only have 10 minutes until the bell rings!"
"… See You later then!" After I have said this I take two big steps forward and jump up, sending me flying over the wooden stairs.
"Enhancement, body durability, 45%," I mutter to myself then, once the ground seems reachable with my feet, I concentrate my mana flow to my foot, giving me the ability to both survive the landing and plant my foot firm on the ground.
"Yet another successful landing!" I say out loud, and then upon saying this I peer back to where Touji is. I can see he is yelling something but I can't make out what he is saying. So, to tell him 'see you there' I point towards the sky with my right hand and make a circular motion – a signal me, Touji and Miki made up. As soon as I see Touji do the same thing, I turn and take off towards the direction of the school. Touji is, perhaps, the only one I told about when it came to magic and family matters. This is probably because I trust him entirely taking into account how long we have known each other.
Our school, in a way, is fairly old. The land in which the building is standing is around 300 years old and the school seems to have predated it. I do not know much about the school, however many weird things have happened in the past, like disappearances and murders, however many seem to have been forgotten that and have moved on with their lives. There are, sometimes, claims of ghosts roaming around the school; however I, personally, never seen any. The most famous one is a spirit of a girl that drowned in the pool some years ago.
As I arrive at the gate, which was closing meaning it was nearly the time that the bell was going to ring, I see a familiar figure and approached her from behind.
"Why hello, young lady," I say as 'gentlemanly' as I can to her. "Do you come here often?"
The girl quickly turns revealing her doll like face. Her eyes are pure brown and her lips, even though she has no make-up on, are bright red. She is wearing the same school uniform as that of Keiko and has her red ribbon tied in a strange bow-like knot. She, for some reason, is wearing long tube socks covering her knees where her skirt is failing to conceal.
In her hair, she is wearing a pink hairclip that I had given her for her birthday a few months ago. The design on the clip is a pink panda-like animal that she has grown to like. Touji, on the other hand, gave her a Japanese military knife. I, even to this day, don't know why he gave her that but she appeared to be happy with it. Perhaps she has a hobby of collecting knives? I am not really curtain.
"O-oh, it's only you Reiji" Miki says with a sigh of relief. "I thought I had to scream for help and yell out 'pervert, pervert' at the top of my voice, which in turn will kill that person socially."
… I would really hate to make her my enemy… I think to myself.
"W-well… a fair warning that hairclips aren't allowed while on school grounds, remember?" I say, trying to hide my nervousness in my voice.
"Oh, yeah. I forgot to take it off…" Miki, upon saying this, quickly takes the red clip off and places it within her skirt pocket. "I just really feel restless when I don't have it on."
"W-well… I'm glad you like it…" I say, scratching the back of my head.
"Yeah… Thank you…" She says, then looks down.
"…"
"…"
…. So awkward…. I should say something…. I think to myself.
"Umm…. So… How are you feeling today?" I ask… Man I can feel my face burning up!
"Oh, I feel fine. Is Touji not with you?" She asks, her face slightly blushing.
"I went ahead without him because we were running late."
"Ah, I see…" she mutters, with a slight look of disappointment on her face.
Ah, right. She has a 'thing' for Touji. I think to myself. Before I can say anything else, the bell rings, signaling us to get to class.
"Ah, well, see you later Reiji." Upon saying this, Miki bows and then walks away, leaving me standing there by myself.
I wonder why she is always acting so formal… I think to myself, we're childhood friends… And when we were in middle school she still called me Rei-chan… I wonder what happened.
"Hey, you! Get to class already!" A teacher at the gate yells as he starts to close the gate. "Once I close the gate, you're late!"
"Ah, I'm sorry!" I say then, rush through the gate.
Yet another ordinary and peaceful day.
"Wow, It's pitch black!" I say out loud as I make my way through the path where I was walking with Touji this morning, passing the last lamp post marking the near end of the trail. "I can't believe I was forced to stay this late… Stupid Touji, forcing his own work on me…"
That morning, Touji came into the class late, and the teacher made him grade the tests and clean the classroom all by himself as a punishment. I came to the classroom to help him but he just randomly told me to do it and claimed that he would be right back… but he never returned…
Now that I think about it, Miki had been acting weird also. It seemed as if she was trying to avoid both me and Touji the whole entire day. She didn't come eat with us during lunch either, like how she usually does.
However, I could care less about that right now…
"Next time I see him… I'll get him… I'll make him pay…" I say out loud, vowing to the moon and the heavens to take my revenge. Then suddenly I hear a splash in the direction that I had come from.
"Huh?"
I turn my head, looking toward the direction that the strange sound came from, and can only see darkness; however, I can make out a splashing sound in that direction.
Splash… Splash… Splash…
The sound….it's getting louder…
"Hello…? Is anyone there?" I ask out loud in that direction, cupping my hands around my mouth to project my voice to that distance, however there is no reply.
… This is creepy… Should I just walk away…? Before I could think anymore, a ghostly figure appears out of the distance.
"Umm… Hello…?" I ask it again but in a more quiet voice.
"…"
There is no reply is coming from the person, but I can see the white figure approaching. As the figure approaches, I can make out the figure of what looks like a female figure. As the figure steps closer and closer into the light, the person starts to look like someone familiar.
It's Miki, dressed in her usual school uniform.
"Oh, it's you Miki." I say, letting out a sigh of relief. "Don't scare me like-…"
I stop myself as I come to a realization of something odd in her hands. She is holding a knife in her right hand. I can't make out much of the knife in her hand, however something much more disturbing is in her other hand.
It is a human head.
I can't stop my body from trembling. It feels as if all of the warmth of my body is getting sucked out. Not only this but as she approaches more and more towards the light, I become aware of something even more disturbing.
It is Touji's head.
"… A-… ah…?" are the only things I can make out… I'm at a total loss of words… combination of terror and confusion is overcoming and taking over every part of my body.
Move… move…!
I try to command my body to move however my body refuses to move.
I'm going to be killed… I'm going to be killed I'm going to be killed I'm going to be killed I'm going to be killed I'm going to be killed I'm going to be killed I'm going to be killed I'm going to be killed I'm going to be killed I'm going to be killed! Every part of my body is screaming this… but it still refuses to move.
Or more accurately… it can't move.
"B-… binding… magic…?" I manage out as I struggle to move.
"Oh, you know this magic?" She says then smiles at me."Then, that means that you're a magician too. Am I right?'
She takes another step forward. As she does, the blood drips from Touji's neck making a splash sound. The very sound that I heard before.
"Hehe, You're shaking. What's the matter?" She asks me in a soft and caring voice. "I'm not planning to do anything to you. Yet." She adds under her breath as she takes yet another step closer to me. She continues to get closer and closer toward me.
"Oh, and Rei-kun look." Miki says as she lifts Touji's head to her chest and makes it look towards me. Under the lamp light I can see his now emotionless face. It appears as if he's sleeping and, for some reason, at peace. "Touji-kun is with us also! Just like old times!"
"Oh, but he's asleep though." After saying this she takes the head and makes it look toward her and forces one of the eyes open. "Wake up, Touji-kun!"
I both can't comprehend her and the current situation I am in.
Has she… Lost her mind? I think to myself as I attempt to move again. She then takes notice to what I'm trying to do and laughs.
"Oh, there is no need trying to escape. There is no way you can escape." She says with a smile, then she suddenly jabs her finger into Touji's right eye socket, making a disgusting sound. "You are at my complete mercy!" She then starts to laugh in hysteria, licking the blood off of her fingers that she stabbed into the eye socket. She then takes another step, making the blood from Touji's head fall onto the ground, making another splash-like sound. I close my eyes in attempt to try to escape the horror. However, the sound keeps dragging me back.
Step… splash… step… splash…
I cannot stop trembling and as the sound gets louder and louder, the trembling intensifies.
Step… splash…
I feel my legs getting weaker and weaker.
Step… splash…
My legs finally give into the stress and the weight of my body and I feel my body fall onto the ground in a sitting manner.
I… won't get away…. Even if I was able to get out of this binding… I think to myself. What… Should I do…? As I wonder this in fear, I realize that the sound has stopped.
I slowly open my eyes and see that there is no one there. Only a trail of blood leading to me on the dirt path remained. I scan my eyes left and right trying to scan for Miki, however she cannot be found. As I come to that realization, I let out a sigh. But…
"Hehe, you're relieved already, Rei-kun? You're so funny."
I hear Miki's voice from the back and as I try to turn my head I feel a sudden heaviness on my body. I look down and see that her arms are around my chest.
"You're always so fast when it comes to drawing up conclusions, Rei-kun" She whispers into my ear as she rests her head onto my shoulder. "Hehe, you're so cute."
Her hand invades my shirt, slicing her nails across my bare skin. I gasp in shock. Why are her nails so sharp?
I, then, feel a sharp pain on my ear followed by a warm, wet sensation.
"How about I take your head too?" Miki asks with her warm and soft voice, but I can smell a hint of iron in her breath. "That way you, Touji, and I will be together just like old times... forever and ever."
As soon as I hear this, I gather up all of the strength I have and cast the enhancement spell on my whole body.
25%... 45%... 65%...!
As soon as my enhancement percentage hits 75%, I, with all my strength, shove Miki away and run as fast as I can in the direction of the house.
"Oh, you want to play tag? Ok! I'll be it! Hahahahaha!" I hear Miki say behind me. As I keep running I look back and see that Miki is already on her feet and is walking towards the direction I am running. I turn to face the front and run as fast as I can to the safest place in this town.
My house.
"Haa… Haa… I'm… Finally home…." I manage to say out loud in between my gasping for air as I enter the entrance of the house, turning on the light of the entrance in order to see. My house is a traditional Japanese style house that was made nearly the same time this town was established so it is, in a way, run down. The house is only a one story. However, there is the underground safe that my father made as a safe in order to keep his new found treasures. There are 5 guest rooms and 1 master bedroom, 2 of the guest rooms my sister and I are occupying and the rest of the rooms are empty, with the exception of the master bedroom that is occupied by my father, who is, of course, away.
I quickly close and lock the door behind me, enhancing the door and the lock at 100% for fortification. Then I quickly make my way through the hallway to the living room, where Keiko is usually hanging around either watching T.V. or doing her homework.
I have to tell her what I saw today so she can help me! I think to myself and I rush into the living room, expecting to see my sister sitting on the couch that is placed near the plasma T.V. that we have on the corner of the room, laughing her butt off at her favorite sitcom that is always on during this time, however…
She isn't here…
"Wh-why… Is she not here…?" I ask myself out loud then notice a note on the dining table located close to the kitchen that is connected to the living room.
The note says this:
Hey, Reiji!
I'm going to sleep over at my friends' house so I did make food, knowing that you are too stupid to even make any for yourself. I will go to school straight from my friend's place so don't expect me to wake you up.
Keiko
"This… Is bad…." I say out loud as I hold the note in my hand, trying to control my trembling.
All I know is enhancement magic… I don't know any offensive magic that can go against anyone that has magical knowledge. I think to myself, then I realize I can call Keiko on her cellphone. I'm so stupid! Why didn't I think of that earlier?
I reach for the home phone located on the wall of the entrance of the living room and dial Keiko's number.
Ring ring…
I can hear a sound in the distance. She forgot her cellphone.
"… You got to be kidding me…" I say to myself out loud then slam the phone back onto the charger. Then, pick it up again to call the police, but suddenly the lights in the house turn off, making the phone useless.
She's here!
I quickly pull out my own grey cellphone, one of those free-after-registering ones, and dial the same number… but…
Buzzzzzzzzz…..
The signal is being blocked!
In panic, I look around myself and try to find something that may be used as defense. There are only kitchen knives and they're useless against a ranged magician, assuming she is one from the long range binding spell she casted on me earlier. I realize there is only one place that can really give me a protective weapon.
The underground vault that my father made.
If I remember correctly, he placed a charm on it so that magic cannot be used on it and the only key can be used to open it, making it the safest place in the house. My father entrusted me with the key because he assumed that Keiko would have the ability to fight off the people by herself whereas I am more vulnerable.
Alright… I have to get in there.
As soon as I decide this, I quickly make my way toward the door that is located in the kitchen, hidden under the mat near the sink. The door itself has 15 different magical engravings on it and the key hole is located in the center of the black, metallic door. I quickly take out my keys from my left pocket, the key itself is an unusual shape that resembles that of a European sword that can has 3 blades that form into a key that points in 3 different directions.
I quickly place the key into the hole then suddenly a loud sound of a shattering glass comes from the hallway.
"I know you're here, Rei-kun~. Come out~~~"
I can hear Miki's voice in the distance. Out of horror I quickly force my trembling hand to turn the key, making a click sound. I attempt to lift the door up however the door is too heavy to even lift. I start to panic as I hear Miki's footsteps drawing closer and closer.
I use my enhancement magic on my arms in order to give my body enough strength to lift the door. As the door slowly lifts up, I hear the door of the living room slowly open. I look toward that direction and see Miki standing there with a wide smile on her face.
"I found you!" She says with a wide smile on her face. Then starts to walk toward my direction, letting her head bob the direction her foot landed. Her body was covered in blood and was holding a knife-like object in her hand. The object is red and the gold plating of a wind-like symbol is apparent even from the distance.
I open the door and quickly jump down into the vault letting the weight of the door close it naturally. The drop into the vault is 2 feet and it was built to withstand a nuclear missile. Even if the house above was to be burned down or was destroyed, the vault will go unharmed. The vault itself is as big as the house above, filled with treasures that my father had obtained over the years. The vault itself is made entirely of something like a hallway, it is composed of 10 rooms and they are all filled with treasures in respect to their rarity and their value. The most valuable is placed out at the end of the hallway. It is the sword that is rumored that Joan of Arc had wielded:
Sword of Feirbois
I land flat on my feet and quickly make my way through the hallway to the sword, the only thing in this vault that can provide some protection. The sword is cased in a bullet proof glass that needs a special key in order to open, however I, when I was a child, made a copy of the key secretly by stealing it from my father. I keep the key with me every day for "protective purposes," so as a kid, I can bring it out when I want to show off. Around the case, there is a magical circle that I have never seen before and have not been able to find out much about it since.
I dash to the case and jab the key into the key hole and open the case pulling out the sword that I saw in the dream I had. The sword itself resembles the sword in my dream but the sword is all covered in rust other than the silver and gold handle, which was covered by tarnish and dullness.
I try to pull the blade out of the scabbard however the rust from the blade had made it impossible for me to even pull out.
If I force it… it will break…
"Crap!" I yell out of frustration, then, out of stress, slam the sword down on the ground. I fall down on my knees and let my head down. I finally understand that there is no way I can survive nor escape. But, there is a certain part of me that, even knowing how impossible it was to escape, wants to live. I guess all human beings have that.
Crash!
The sound of the entrance of the vault being attacked is echoing though this empty hall full of treasures. All this wealth and all this fame that my father had gained but, in the end, will not help me in this situation. Not even this once great sword, lying helplessly on the ground, all rusted and tarnished.
Crash!
The sound is getting louder… It must mean that the door is starting to give way. Even if there are seals protecting it, there are, in the end, limits to what things of this world can withhold. There is no way that a door like this has the strength of withstanding multiple nuclear bombs even if it is built to withstand it. There is no material strong enough to do that.
Boom!
The door finally gives way and as the heavy, metallic door falls down, debris falls along with it, making it hard to see what is happening.
Well, if I am going down… Mind as well put up a fight… I thought to myself, Touji… I guess I'll be seeing you soon…
I get up, my legs and my body feels heavy but I force my body to move. I pick up the old sword that I had thrown down onto the ground, and turn toward the entrance of the vault to see that Miki had just jumped down from the opening that she had made.
"Hehehe… Are you done running?" She asks as she straightens herself up, patting down debris on her blood stained shirt and skirt. I place two hands on the handle of the sword and points it toward the enemy (Miki). She laughs as though she has lost it, "You think you can beat me with some old sword like that? Hahahahahaha!"
She suddenly disappears then reappears right in front of me. There is a sharp, excruciating pain near my abdomen area. My whole body starts to tremble as I look down and see that her knife has stabbed into my stomach. I quickly shove her away and place my hand over the wound in order to slow the bleeding.
"Hehehe… See?" Miki says as she takes her knife and licks my blood off of it, "There is no way you can win."
"Heh… Yeah, probably…" But, I say, "But… I c-can… Still… try…!"
I say this and concentrate all of my remaining power into enhancing my wound, making it stop bleeding, and the sword.
25%... 45%... 67%... 85%...
"Hahaha! Sure you can try!" As Miki says this, she, yet again, disappears from my viewpoint and appears right in front of me, making a stabbing motion, this time aimed at my head, "Good bye!"
95%... 100%!
As soon as I hit the 100% mark, the magical circle that is engraved around me starts to glow. Miki, once she notices, she quickly stops her attack and jumps back away from the range of the magical binding. The sword starts to glow and suddenly, and with a great ray of radiant light, a girl appears in front of me. She was the girl from my dream, except she was wearing a headband-like metallic helmet, breastplates, and a tasset over her royal blue dress. Over all of the armor and dress, she is wearing a blue matching cape that has a pattern of a Christian cross near the bottom it.
"Who are you, are you the one that summoned me?" She asks in an authoritative, yet gentle voice, "I am assuming you are my master for this war?"
Upon saying this she kneels down and bows her head down.
"I am at your service, my master."
"Ah… ah..?" Out of confusion, I cannot say anything.
"What is wrong, my master?" She asks, then realizes the wound on my stomach, "Wha- Who has done this to you?" She turns and faces toward Miki who was standing there. She starts to chuckle.
"He… hehehe… So you're the last master, Rei-kun?" She asks, then she bursts out into laughter, "This is great! I get to eliminate more competition, 2 in one day? This day can't get any better!"
She continues to laugh, holding her stomach with both hands.
"Master… I am afraid our introduction has to wait." The girl from my dream says, then turns to face me and gently takes the sword with her left hand, "Do not worry, master, I will see to it that she will not lay a finger on you."
After she had said this with a smile, she turns around to face Miki then holds out the sword with her left hand, closing her eyes. Then, she quickly pulls the blade out, revealing the blade and sword itself as it is new. The rust and taint is quickly fading away with each passing second.
"Oh, so you're Saber, huh?" Miki asks with a great big smile on her face, she then raises her right hand up, revealing a tattoo of a weird symbol on it, and snaps her finger. As soon as she did this, a man with long hair wearing a black kimono appears behind her. The man has his hair in a pigtail in the back and is holding a great big lance in his right hand, decorated in red jewels and gold designs for its tip. He has his eyes closed and has his arms down at his side.
"This is Lancer, my servant." She says, pointing at him with her hand flat out below her waist, "he is too nice, he refused to chase you when you were running away." Upon saying this she kicks his right leg. The samurai shows no change in emotion at this action.
"Whatever… Just go and kill him." She says extending her hand as if she is reaching at my neck, "Bring me his head."
The samurai is silent but takes a step and opens his eyes.
"I do not have any reasons or past grudges against you, however, this is my master's orders." He says in a non-wavering manner, "I have no option but to comply."
The samurai then bows, then takes a leaning stance, pointing his lance at the girl, then at me, "I, Honda Tadakatsu, will engage this fight." Upon saying this he then lunges toward the girl and attempts to stab at her stomach but she quickly blocks it with her sword. He then jumps back and lunges to make a second attack that she also blocks.
Did he just say… Honda Tadakatsu…? I think to myself as I watch helplessly watch the 2 people fight… He is dead! How could someone that died hundreds of years ago be here!
The samurai that claimed to be Honda Tadakatsu, suddenly jumps away from the girl and makes another lance appear out of thin air. The tip, this time, was a long sword and the handle is made of wood but is painted in blue. He takes ahold of the lance with his left, free, hand and makes a stance with two lances, one he made at her, the other pointing towards the ground. He then closes his eyes and starts to spin around.
The girl suddenly turns to me and tackles me down. As we were falling I catch sight of something flying above me, and it cut through the bulletproof case, as if it was made of paper. The pieces fall down into the ground one nearly landing on me and one hitting her head, making her unconscious.
"Oh, is that all?" Miki asks in a bored tone of voice, I look toward the direction her voice came from, "Well, then let us end-" Before she can finish her sentence, she suddenly became wide eyed.
"Lancer, we need to get out of here!" She says in a quite frantic manner, "we will not stand a chance against the master that is nearby!" Lancer quickly makes the lance that he materialized disappear.
"Your life was saved, Rei-kun." Miki says, trying to sound calm, however the trembling in her voice gives way at her nervousness, "but next time, you won't be this lucky."
Upon saying this, the person who claimed to be Honda Tadakatsu walks toward the entrance and jumps out. After a few seconds, Miki climbs up.
"We're…. saved….?" I manage to say as I try to get up, however I cannot lift the overall weight of mine and the girl's. I slowly feel my consciousness slipping away, probably due to the loss of blood and fatigue placed on the body. I feel the weight of the girl on top of me shift as I feel my consciousness slipping away.
I suddenly hear the girl on top of me coughing, I guess she has regained consciousness.
"Master! Are you alright? Master!" She yells in between her coughs and her shaking me back and forth. Before I can say anything that can assure her that I am fine, I finally lose consciousness. While in the process of losing it, I started to realize how weak I truly was… making me wish that I was stronger.
Man… am I hopeless…
- End of First Day -