(Bishop-chan's Notes: Hello everyone! This will be my first original story post here in ! Since I'm not much for lengthy introductions, let's get this story started shall we, about a young girl and her servant...)
Bishop-chan presents:
SPIRIT OF STEEL
Heroic Spirits, mystic personas from myth and legend summoned by the almighty power of the Holy Grail to fight alongside their human masters desiring whatever their hearts may hold, in the secret conflict known as the Holy Grail War. Called from across time and space, they embody incredible powers and abilities surpassing all that is human in order to accomplish their purpose as Servants, those who swear to serve their masters regardless of their own personal desires and agenda.
What few would-be Masters know about the process however is that Heroic Spirits are not limited to just people who existed in real life; sometimes, a sufficiently strong legend is enough for the Grail's power to latch on to and materialize into the world, even if the character in question existed only in the form of a writer's pen. It may not even need to be a person at all; even abstractions can be given form, semblance, and meaning to embody that which existed only as a vague and fleeting concept.
The young magus inside the glowing summoning circle for her attempt at calling forth her desired Servant was about to find out what the meant, liquid reagent dripping drop by drop from her hands down into the circle that filled the dark basement with a crimson light.
"...If you heed the Grail's call and obey my will and reason, then answer me."
Currents of invisible charged energy flowed through the room, an electrifying presence that suspended particles of wood and dust into the air, accompanied by the rising pinpoints of red light swirling around the magus. She pronounced each word with clarity borne through sheer conviction at the task before her.
"...I hereby swear that I shall defeat all evil in the world."
She clutched her right hand to her chest, feeling the warm magical energies around her wash over her from her toes to her head.
"You seven heavens, clad in the three great words of power, come forth from the Circle of Binding..."
And with a great flourish, raised her arm and brought it down in front of her in a single motion.
"Guardian of the Scales!"
The energy so collected within the circle burst outward, crackling with visibly red electric sparks that arced throughout the attack, followed by a slight breeze that ruffled papers and other objects light enough to be carried by it while it expanded out, kicking up a thick cloud of dust in the process that left the young Magus with a coughing fit.
She didn't mind though when she felt the warm prick on the top her left hand that cooled as fast as it had appeared, and saw that it had been marked with maroon symbols, a thin circle crowned by a crescent above and a thin, sharp shard below. The sight of it brought a beaming smile to her face.
"That was perfect! I know I just drew the most powerful card!"
I, Tohsaka Rin, am the greatest!
The young magus was just about to further congratulate herself and her ego for a job well done when she realized that she was still all alone in the basement. Nothing had appeared within the now faded summoning circle, nor did she feel the presence of anyone else with her in that room. Confusion replaced her elation.
What is the meaning of this? Where is my-
The loudest CRASH she ever heard in her life blew away all thoughts. The basement door was opened, stone and wooden stairs traversed, and through the red velvet she ran towards where she discerned the commotion had occurred by the sound of the smashed wood: the second floor study.
"Why won't this door open?!"
The once stubborn door, unresponsive to the girl's attempt on its knob, relented once she deigned to kick it down instead, tearing it off its hinges and down to the ground. She had expected to find the source of the commotion, but found only a massive hole in the wooden floor where ornate tables and sofas once were. Peering down the hole, she saw only a thick cloud of dust obscuring her view of the culprit.
"The kitchen!"
A quick flight down the stairs and a turn to the left later found her in the kitchen where she hoped to see just what had caused such destruction. Uttering a short chant, she dispelled the dust cloud with a burst of wind, revealing what was within. Or who.
Sitting demurely on the ground with a pained expression on her admittedly beautiful face, surrounded by broken furniture, was a woman with long, dark violet hair reaching all the way down to her knees tied in a ponytail by sakura flower pins. She wore a white and red outfit sleeveless sailor uniform with a roped suzu bell hanging by her chest, her arms covered by long white gloves from the top of her elbow to just short of her wrist. A red pleated skirt that was uncomfortably too short to look at - wait, was that an anchor on her hips? - covered her hips, and her black leggings of mismatched length - the right above the knee with the word "Hirihoukenten" written on it, while the left barely reached it - offended Rin's own sense of style, though she had to admit the combination worked on the woman for some reason.
The most interesting aspect of the woman was the seemingly metallic gorget with a golden chrysanthemum emblem emblazoned on it. Topping it all off was the large orange parasol the woman carried on her right hand.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" Rin asked, extending a hand to the woman, who took it gracefully before helping herself up.
"My gracious thanks to you," the woman gratefully replied as she carefully stowed away her parasol, her voice modest yet clear, and now looking expectantly with purple eyes at the young magus. Now standing upright with her hands clasped in front of her hips, the woman was quite tall the young magus realized, and comporting herself with the manners of a noblewoman. That, along with the fact that said woman just crashed through the second floor and down here without so much as a scratch filled Rin with much relief.
At the very least, her summons had worked. The woman's regal bearing was already churning a few ideas in Rin's head as to her identity. With such an obviously yamato nadeshiko style of womanly behavior, a few candidates came to mind. Tomoe Gozen maybe?
Shoving such thoughts for later, Rin cleared her throat with a cough to her had, and looked squarely into her Servant's eyes.
"So you are my Servant then?"
The woman nodded. "Indeed, I am your humble servant. I presume you are my Admiral then?" the woman asked in return.
"Admiral?" Rin blinked.
The woman raised a hand to her mouth in surprised confusion. "My apologies, I meant to ask if you are my Master."
For some reason Rin felt a tinge of sleepiness hearing her voice, it was just... relaxing, though she blinked it off instantly.
"I, Tohsaka Rin, am indeed your master." Rin couldn't help the pride in her voice. Her Servant was undoubtedly beautiful to the point where she felt a tinge of envy just looking at her, and while the woman may not have a sword she radiated much power from her already. So much power in fact that Rin had felt a drain on her own mana reserves earlier, and she had pride in the amount of mana she could provide to her potential Servant, who relied on them for their own sustenance. This war was as good as won!
"So you are Saber then?" Rin smiled.
"I am not Admiral." Why was she calling her that again? "I am of the Archer class."
Wait, what?
"A-Archer?! It can't be!" All of Rin's good mood evaporated, replaced by much confusion and a thousand questions. Her eyes wandered as she raked her mind for answers, until her sight fell on a clock by the kitchen wall.
The current time was 1:03 in the morning.
Shi-
Rin allowed her mind to curse.
"Why is it only 1 in the morning? It should be-" she paused as a fragment of information from a memory surfaced to the top of her thoughts.
All the clocks in the house went crazy...
The realization brought despair to the young magus, clutching her head in frustration. Her plan had been to perform the ritual at 2:00 am, when her magic was at its strongest, in order to have a surefire chance of summoning a Saber-class Servant.
"I forgot about the aftereffects of the magic earlier, which meant all of the clocks in the house were one hour faster!" Opening her father's chest to retrieve the necessary reagents earlier had unleashed a strange magic spell that set the clocks in the house one hour later than normal. The only reason the clock in the kitchen showed the correct time was because she had just replaced its battery earlier, and thus she had its time reset to the proper one. "Of all the things to forget..."
"Lady Rin? Has something untoward happened?"
Lady? Rin mused under her rant at what the woman decided to call her, turning towards her Servant who was looking at her with concern. Seeing that made the young magus sigh in resignation, and she shook her head in reply.
"I just made a mistake, what's done is done now," she replied dejectedly.
She didn't expect the own woman's expression to copy her own though.
"My apologies if I am not what Admiral desired. If Lady Rin desires it, perhaps I may be relieved of my station to facilitate Admiral summoning another Servant more worthy of you."
Seeing her Servant's head bow with the visage of a kicked puppy was too much for Rin's now guilt-ridden psyche.
"W-what nonsense are you talking about!" Rin chided indignantly. "Certainly I didn't get what I asked for, but that was because of my own mistake. I own up to my mistakes, so don't you feel bad about being here. You're my Servant now, and I'll have you see me through to the end whether you like it or not, understand?"
The gloom on the woman's fact lifted. "I understand Admiral," the woman's smile returned, putting Rin's mind at ease. Well, she may not have gotten herself a Saber, but seeing her Servant as pretty and obviously powerful as this, it wasn't all bad. She'd just have to work harder that's all.
Only one thing left to discover for the night though, as Rin's curiosity finally asserted itself, and she could use the change of topic to clear away her Servant's doubts. "So tell me, which legendary hero are you supposed to be?" she asked, putting a hand to her chin.
The woman straightened herself for her introduction, and proceeded with a beaming smile.
"Name ship of the Yamato class, my name is Yamato. Please take care of me Admiral."
"... eh, what?"
"I was made with utmost secrecy in the Kure Naval Shipyard with top of the line technology as the Navy's trump card."
"So you're... " Rin nearly hesitated at completing her words, "... a ship?"
"Battleship, if I may say so Admiral."
Kneading her forehead with her fingers, Rin wondered just how crazy the Grail could be. Academically speaking anything could be a Heroic Spirit as long as their legend was great enough, a fact Rin knew by heart. Knowing it was one thing though, actually seeing it happen was quite another. Giving her Servant a once-over - to the aformentioned's barely visible embarrassment and discomfort -, Rin decided the Grail had the personality of a perverse otaku, and left the thought at that. Going from one of the largest and most famous battleships in history made of steel to a prim and gorgeous lady in a sailor uniform was not a process she imagined would happen without some very active imagination. Though now she knew where all that power she felt radiating off her Servant came from, after all she was still one of the most powerful warships to have ever existed.
"I've had enough for the night." Rin stated drowsily, finally feeling the late night's effects seep in. She grabbed a nearby broom and dust pan, and handed it over to her Servant. "Archer, since you made this mess I expect you to clean it up. I'm going to bed."
The Servant called Yamato bowed respectfully. "Goodnight Admiral."
"Same to you."
"This is beyond late."
A groggy Rin sat by her bed, staring at the alarm clock showing her the time was 9:00. Even with the haze still present in her mind still trying to wake up, she knew that at that point on this weekday, going to school would be pointless.
"I'll just skip school," she decided dismissively.
Then the most heavenly of smells wafted through her nose, and her mind suddenly became clear as crystal. Rin had to heavily suppress her body's instinct to drool at such a delectable aroma. One would imagine that living in an opulent mansion such as this would make one immune to good food, but given that Rin lived alone she didn't have many opportunities to whip out a truly good dinner, with all the work on her plate both in school and her magic.
Her nose led her feet to the source of the smell, the rather large dining room, where she saw a woman preparing the table.
"A Good Morning to you Admiral," the woman smiled like the morning sunshine.
"Good Morning Archer." Rin greeted back, remembering the events of last night that led to her getting her Servant. Surveying the table as she took her seat Rin saw the full course breakfast that had been laid out for her. "This is... quite extravagant."
Yamato looked quite pleased with herself at Rin's statement. "For the first course, please have some Yamato's special consommé soup." With a dainty hand, Yamato lifted the lid off the serving pot, and poured some of the wonderfully clear and golden ambrosia into a small soup bowl.
The aroma Rin caught from her own bedroom had nearly dragged her body down here on autopilot. To see the source of it before her...
I will not eat like a rabid dog wolfing down scraps!
It was good for Rin that she had trained her self-control a lot over the years, because finishing the hot consommé in a single gulp would've been barbaric and unrefined. There was still etiquette to consider even when she was alone.
"Then, I will partake of this meal. Thanks for the food."
The less said about next few minutes of Rin's breakfast, the better she would feel about it. Not because she had nothing to say about it, but rather that she couldn't find the words to do so. Not without sounding like a sappy poet singing cheesy songs about love. If not for the fact that Yamato was her servant, and that Tohsaka Rin, heir of the Tohsaka clan, had truly great personal control, the young magus could've sworn she would've proposed marriage to the woman right then and there just for the great culinary delights she had bestowed upon the world.
"I hope breakfast was to your liking Admiral." Yamato looked quite expectant.
"It was the most excellent breakfast I've had," understatement of the millenium, "Thank you Archer."
"It was my pleasure."
With a dab of her lips, Rin signalled for Yamato to sit down to her right, to which Yamato complied.
"So..." Rin began, taking a quick scan of her Servant. "I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that you are, in fact, a battleship." Rin stated inquisitively. "As your Master, I need to know exactly what you're capable of in that form."
Rin was no aficionado of warships in general, and the only reason she even knew what Yamato was supposed to be was due to their history lessons regarding the war and the ship; being studious and attentive in class was one trait Rin was proud of. She did suppose though it was that fame with even people who didn't know one bit about ships that had earned Yamato her legendary status, apparently enough for her to be transformed into a Heroic Spirit.
Unfortunately, that told her nothing about just what she should expect from a Servant as unique as the battleship girl in front of her. If Yamato was any other Archer Rin could surmise her Servant's abilities as being based off bows of sort, or other archaic weapon. Being based off a massive warship though, Rin couldn't imagine just how Yamato would manifest the skills based on her legend in a human guise.
Yamato nodded. "As a ship girl, I innately possess all of the abilities that my original form possessed."
She cupped a hand to her ear. "For example, I can detect enemies and other threats using my anti-aircraft radar." Then she laid a hand between her admittedly ample breasts. "I can also summon what is known as an 'outfit', which contains all of my armaments."
"This 'outfit' of yours," Rin asked, clearly intrigued, "can you show me?"
The battleship spirit seemed sheepish at the request. "I do not believe doing so here would be wise. My outfit is... large and bulky."
Yamato's rather hesitant reply along with the slight blush on her face told Rin that there was more that aspect of her Servant than she was letting on. Still, she needed to know her Servant's capabilities if ever she wanted to be able to command her better in a fight.
"Then, we shall go outside." Rin stated, which to her surprise made her Servant perk up excitedly with much anticipation in her eyes. "I also need you to familiarize yourself with the city to find the best spots to fight in, so we'll be touring the city as well." And that made her Servant absolutely livid, like an elementary student on a school trip for the first time. Coming from someone with Yamato's appearance, it looked absolutely adorable.
"Yes Admiral!" Yamato's voice didn't try to hide the fact that she was rather looking forward to this outing, despite maintaining her usual proper decorum , further adding to the intrigue that was the battleship girl. Seeing her Servant clearly so happy was infectious though, which along with breakfast, made Rin say a silent thanks for starting the day off well.
"We'll leave in 20 minutes. Finish cleaning up here by then."
Yamato was already moving before the last word left Rin's lips.
"And this is the Shinto district."
For her part, Rin was acting the part of the tour guide quite convincingly if she said so herself, showing her Servant Yamato the ins and outs of Fuyuki City through the morning and earlier in the afternoon. Currently they were walking through the streets of the Shino District, in all of its modernity with its blocky white buildings and blue glass. A rather sterile and artificial looking place for one like Rin who grew up with more ornate and organic Victorian architecture, though certainly not bad in any way. Only the crowds of people and the ambient din of voices that resulted from them kept the city from looking lifeless.
Of course, this was all new to the battleship girl beside her, taking in the sights with much gusto. It was fortunate that Servants have the power to dematerialize themselves in the physical plane, giving the effect of invisibility, and so only Rin could see the wide-eyed amazement that her Servant had. Besides, it wouldn't do to have Yamato's beauty draw some less than savory eyes.
Men.
It wasn't as though Yamato was a fish completely out of water in this time - or would that be ship out of water? - being a relatively modern spirit. Even for those born in ancient times, the Grail would provide them with information relevant for the Servant to adapt to the era they were summoned in, preventing severe cases of culture shock from setting in. Even then however, there were things that time-displaced entities can only understand and appreciate using their own eyes, and so far Yamato appeared to appreciate everything she saw.
"Enjoying yourself Archer?" Rin asked, barely a whisper as they walked aimlessly through the city.
"Very much so Admiral." Yamato's cheery voice echoed in Rin's head, the telepathic communication necessary to prevent an instance of a disembodied voice speaking out of nowhere. Better that Rin be thought of as talking to herself than for Yamato to be discovered.
"Is it really so fascinating to you, this era?"
Yamato looked up as though what she needed was somewhere over and beyond the roof of some buildings. "Indeed so." A tinge of reminiscence hung in Yamato's echo. "70 years have passed since my time, and it fills me with joy knowing how much Japan has grown and changed since the war."
A bus went past the pair, Yamato staring at the ad for a Hollywood movie displayed on its side intently for a few seconds, before raising a hand to her mouth and letting out a short giggle. "It does feel stranger to think that the Americans would be the ones to help our nation prosper to this level."
There was no hint of bitterness or enmity in Yamato's voice at her mention of the foreign country. "I would've thought you'd feel more strongly about your sworn enemies in the war, Archer," Rin inquired.
Yamato shook her head, showing a wan smile. "The crews who served within me were more concerned about wanting to serve and fight rather than with what or whom we were fighting against." Another reminiscent look glazed over Yamato's eyes. "They might have fought against the Chinese one moment, or the Russians the next. As long as their chance to make a difference came, they would fight against anyone."
It wasn't as if Rin didn't understand where the sentiment came from. Afterall, even if she had been ordered by her dear Father to participate in the Holy Grail War, the only reason she had even agreed in the first place was because she herself had wanted to fight, to show her chops to so speak. Still, something in Yamato's delivery rubbed against Rin the wrong way.
"That sounds rather warmongering to me."
A shade of crimson spread through Yamato's face. "I-I did not intend to come across with such battle lust!" Putting it that way was extreme and overstating what the ship girl had said, but that didn't stop Yamato from apologizing in such a profuse manner, waving her hands in front of her. "Certainly, the crews wanted nothing more than for the war to end, wishing fervently that they never had to see the horrors of war." Sadness crept into the girl's face, before a resolute expression quickly took over. "But seeing everyone else in the open seas risking their lives for Japan, how could they not feel that they also needed to fight alongside their brothers?"
Rin got the impression that Yamato was talking about someone other than the crews, but passed off the thought. Her Servant would tell her whenever she wanted.
"I do hope you're not telling me you're not fighting just because you don't have comrades to serve with." Rin stated half-teasingly, to which Yamato could visibly be seen suppressing her expression to blanch.
"O-of course not!" Her Servant answered indignantly, "Yamato would never abandon her duties! As long as Admiral commands it, I will obey to the best of my abilities!"
The ship girl's suddenly clasped her hands together, twirling her fingers with each other as she looked down sheepishly. "More than anything Admiral, I do want to fight."
That got the Servant out of her descent into funk at least. Rin gave Yamato an authoritative glare. "If you want to fight, then you must show me what you're capable of first."
Yamato's expression lightened considerably at Rin's words. "If I may presume to suggest Admiral, a place with lots of water would be ideal for a demonstration of my abilities."
"The docks then." Rin intuited. Of course Yamato was a ship, so where else could they show off other than a place made for ships? She signaled Yamato to follow. "Let's head there now then."
"Yes Admiral!"
The orange sky served as a backdrop for the steel scaffolds, cranes and other large machinery in the distance, themselves the background for the dark blue waters of Osaka Bay. Here, by a concrete pier surrounded on both sides by slowly crashing waves of water below, Rin put the finishing touches to the magic circle on the ground she'd been working on for the past several minutes. An infusion of mana made it glow a bright green for a moment before it dimmed, leaving only the circle's black outline.
"We should be safe from observation with this." Even this far away from the city center, Rin didn't want to take the chance of an enemy Master, Servant or both observing her Servant's demonstration of power. The concealment barrier would make anyone from the outside trying to look see something innocuous like children playing or such, as well as suppress any sounds from within.
"Now then," Rin turned to look at her Servant, "impress me Archer."
With a swift motion Yamato saluted, a gesture that surprised Rin. Though the action and her stern expression made Yamato look like a professional military officer on attention, her sparkling eyes made clear that she was all too happy to abide. "Name ship of the Yamato class, Yamato. On sortie!"
Rin felt a significant supply of mana leave her making her inhale sharply for a moment, as though a chunk of her vitality had left her, though not to a worrying extent. In front of her eyes, sparkling particles of mana weaved and coalesced around Yamato's side, forming into shaped masses of steel and iron. Only when the last of the particles had disappeared into the construct did Rin begin to try making sense of what she was looking at.
Yamato was wearing a massive gunmetal gray and red steel bracing of sorts, large curved steel plates seemingly floating about a foot to each side. On closer examination, said plates were attached to a backpack resembling a ship's smokestack. The steel to her side each mounted a large turret with three guns each, every one seemingly larger and thicker than Yamato's arms. Turrets half as large with appropriately sized guns complemented the massive turrets, and several smaller guns lined the sides of each bracing. Yamato's hair now grey metal frames sticking out of it, and her large orange traditional parasol had been replaced with a much smaller parasol with a frame made out of steel.
The entire bracing assembly was half wider than Yamato was tall, cutting a very imposing and intimidating image. All that steel looked like they would weight a ton, but even then Yamato showed no signs of being inconvenienced by the weight or bulk of the whole assembly despite her seemingly lithe and feminine build. An Archer with a strength expected of a Berserker was definitely not what anyone would call an average Servant.
"That is rather impressive, as expected of my Servant!" Rin praised with open pride, making said Servant blush furiously.
"T-Thank you so much Admiral!"
"Don't thank me yet Archer," Rin chided, though she couldn't keep the pride off her voice,"You have yet to show me what you've got. " Walking slowly around her now armed Servant, Rin inspected every aspect of the new equipment, touching some parts to see how tough they were, making Yamato fidget for some reason. Seeing Yamato's back revealed yet another one of the massive turrets on the rear. Rin returned in front of her servant, hand on her chin. "Give me a run down. What am I looking at exactly?"
"Yes Admiral." Yamato gestured to her equipment. "This is Yamato's 'outfit' as I referred to this morning. My main armaments are these three Type-94 46 centimeter triple gun turrets, with which I can fire Type 91 armor-piercing shells, Type-0 explosives, or Type-3 anti-aircraft shells."
"That sounds powerful, " Rin stated to Yamato's delight. Ignoring the military-sounding designations of what the guns fired and how their stated sizes did not match what she actually saw, the tactician's mind in Rin realized how versatile her Servant's armaments were: limited not by the physical shape of the weapon but by what they fired, her Servant could provide fire support for all sorts of different occasions she may encounter in this war.
"My secondary armament," Yamato continued in a level tone, "consists of two 15.5 centimeter gun turrets," she pointed to the smaller of the turrets on her mount, "and six 12.7 centimeter gun turrets," she waved over the smallest turrets that surrounding the bracing.
"My anti-aircraft armament consists of one hundred sixty two 25 millimeter guns," Yamato spread her arms around her, though where those 162 turrets where Rin could not see anywhere on her mounting, "and finally my complement of two E13A Reconnaisance Seaplanes and two Type-0 Observation Seaplanes are available for auxiliary missions."
"Seaplanes?" Rin asked very much befuddled at what her Servant meant by those.
"Yes Admiral. Yamato comes equipped with two aircraft launch booms for deployment of Seaplanes in combat," her Servant explained, completely missing the question. It was just one aspect of her Servant's abilities she'll have to observe later though. A concern that had been nagging at her head was finally let through to the surface of Rin's thoughts - considering Yamato's nature, and just how specific many of the ship's abilities had been transferred into humanoid form, Rin had been wondering whether any ship-specific weaknesses had manifested as well, like the most obvious one...
"Archer, I hate to ask, but I would like to know if your combat abilities are limited when you're on the water."
"They are not Admiral," Yamato replied, shaking her head once. "I admit to performing with greater effectiveness while on the water, but my combat outfit can be used to fight anywhere, even on land."
"That's... good. Very good." Rin exhaled. "I would not know what I'd do if I had to drag all my fights out here to the sea."
Yamato's expression dropped for a moment. "I can assure you Admiral that I, Yamato, am capable of fighting anywhere that you desire me to," she replied with such conviction that it startled Rin, who had been getting used to Yamato acting a more reserved fashion.
"I get it, I get it," Rin waved in acknowledgement, "I did not intend to doubt your fighting prowess. Though you still need to show me how you fight."
Hands clutching inside her pocket, the young magus took out an assorted handful of her magic gems, each one differing in shape and color. "I will be producing targets for you to engage. Once they expand I want you to hit them from as far away as you can, understand?"
Yamato saluted once again. "Battleship Yamato shall now demonstrate the abilities of the combat outfit!"
The ship girl walks over the edge of the pier, easily lugging the equipment with her, jumps off the concrete pier and hits the water with a splash.
"Wha-"
'Splash' was the wrong word. It was more a deafening eruption of water so tall that reached a hundred feet into the air, sending cold saltwater splashing all over her clothes. Rin hurried over to the edge of the pier.
"Archer!"
The misty geyser of water began to disperse, and to Rin's relief her Servant could be seen on the water amidst some energetic ripples, looking none the worse for wear, and not even severely wet. Seeing a smiling Yamato standing so regally on top of the deep, blue water while churning it under her feet with some unseen force was a strange sight in itself, though Rin had stopped expecting Heroic Spirits to do anything less than the impossible.
"Shall I begin combat maneuvers Admiral?" Yamato asks as though asking permission to take a walk in the park. Her eagerness makes Rin grin.
"Alright Archer, go as far as you can within the concealment barrier, then hit the targets as they appear. Get going!"
"Setting forth!" Yamato replied, and the with a slight tug forward and an exhaust of smoke from the rear smokestack she began to skate upright at speed across the water, like someone with roller skates. For one like Yamato, the action looked so gracefully effortless despite lugging tons of metal on her back. A few seconds later and Yamato was now almost to the edge of the barrier, near an orange buoy over a hundred meters way.
Rin waved to her Servant in the distance. "Get ready!" she yelled, before putting all of her strength to throwing a purple gem as far as she can into the water towards the sunset. With a flash of purple light it instantly grew into a large, translucent crystalline boulder- that exploded with an ear-shattering boom as soon as it formed.
TOO LOUD!
She didn't remember when she had covered her ears with her hands, but Rin removed her hands just the same, turning to look at her Servant in the distance. Even from the pier, she could make out the thick smoke rising out of Yamato's guns, and she could imagine her Servant undoubtedly looking smug and pleased with herself. Not that she could blame her, it was some very good marksmanship for a supposed battleship.
Rin took a deep breath, then held up the next stone. "Next!"
They repeated the exercise a dozen more times, varying the kinds of targets that appeared - scattered stones, super hard crystals, fast moving wisps, and other stuff to shoot at. Yamato would vary the weapons she would use, including using her fast-firing anti-aircraft guns, which had sent a seriously scary amount of bright yellow bullets downrange, as if blanketing the skies with lead. If there had been any doubts about her Servant's effectiveness, the battleship had dispelled them all, hitting every target almost as soon as they formed even if it had to take an entire barrage to do so. Rin herself would've balked at the waste of ammunition, being someone who preferred to kill her targets with a single hit using her Gandr shots to conserve them, but she couldn't deny the effectiveness of her familiar's firing tactics. Defensive tactics were also tested, with Rin asking Yamato to defend herself from some Gandr shots. The battleship hadn't even bothered: the shots simply bounced off her Servant with nary a scratch on her.
Supremely powerful offense coupled with superior defenses. Her Servant truly was great as befitting her legacy, and Rin almost lost herself to a happy place thinking about her inevitable victory. Shame she didn't see what the Seaplane business was about.
If there was one worrisome thing about the exercise though, as Rin sat down by the edge fiddling with her ears to get her hearing back, it was that she found herself winded, and not from yelling her lungs out to her Servant. A significantly large amount of mana had been withdrawn from Rin, feeling as though she had run an olympic race... and she hadn't moved an inch from where she had been standing! Rin was quite proud of her formidable magic reserves, along with the variety of ways with which she can conserve mana through some energy management techniques, along with increasing her base mana capacity through various exercises over the years, and she could confidently say that she could probably match the capacity of even mages like the Einzberns. Yet to feel this tired from an exercise that hadn't taken more than a few minutes was a troublesome thought.
Rin watched her Servant skate back to the pier, thinking about the implications of her newfound fatigue. It appeared that Yamato's combat form took up more mana than she could even imagine. Her Servant was extremely powerful, of that she had no doubt, but consequently the drain on her mana was proportionately as large. If the Tohsaka heir hoped to win the Holy Grail War, she would need to take that into account.
She met her Servant by the shores of the beach nearby as soon as she caught her breath, her Servant looking as regal as she did before the demonstration. "Good work out there." Rin greeted with a congratulatory tone. "I'll be counting on you in the days ahead Archer."
Somehow, hearing those words made her Servant light up like the sun. "It was my pleasure Admiral!" Yamato replied with the happiest voice Rin heard from anyone in her entire life. Mana issues aside, she couldn't think of anyone better to serve as her Servant she realized.
And then a deep rumbling like a ship keeling over filled the air.
"What was that?!" Rin asked with alarm, on alert and with a gem on her hand ready to shoot the source of the disturbance. She turned to command her Servant when she saw the latter's face as crimson as the setting sun.
"I-I hate to say this Admiral..." Yamato began hesitantly, looking very interested in how many grains of sand were on the beach. "I'm... hungry."
All tension left Rin as she pocketed the gem in her hand. "Now that you mention it, I'm feeling hungry myself. Let's go get some dinner."
Treating her Servant to a little dinner once in a while wouldn't hurt now would it?