A/N: Hey again! I'm back with some more Crime of Fate :) Just to tell you, there will be many references to some of the Fate series along with some other Type-Moon works. So please, have fun finding those. There are also some references to some of my other fanfics as well, so kudos to you if you understand them! :D Well, enjoy the chapter! :)
Chapter 2 – Sprouting of Links
The loud ring of the alarm clock abruptly sounded. The time was six and a half hours after the start of the day. A hand, reaching out from underneath the heap of covers, smacked the noise-maker, putting it into sleep mode. The one underneath the mass of sheets, Arturia Pendragon, snuggled up once more in hopes of getting a bit more sleep for her first official day of being a detective of the Einzbern Agency.
Suddenly, a bang erupted from the doorway. Saber poked her messed up head out from below her blankets. Her green eyes aimed towards the door, where she could see an overly excited Jeanne standing. Purple eyes gleaming, smile on her face radiating, she looked like the happiest person in the world. "Time to get up, Artie!" she yelled loudly.
"Ten more minutes", Arturia stated tiredly. "Please."
"No, you can't have ten more minutes, Arturia! Your Irish admirer is waiting for you!" the French girl exclaimed, annoying Saber.
"He's not by admirer, Jeanne! And I'm not interested in any kind of relationship", she retorted, a hint of aggravation in her usually calm tone.
"Stop wasting time denying it, and get your little booty out of bed before I pull it out myself!" Jeanne threatened. Arturia groaned loudly, not moving a muscle. Jeanne frowned at her roommate. Taking another small moment to see if her friend would get up by herself, she finally walked up to Arturia, grabbing her ankles and pulling.
Saber fell on the ground like a rag doll, her hair everywhere, while letting out a small "ouch".
"Now get going. We need to be there by eight, and it's already 6:45."
"Okay, Mom." Jeanne shook her head at the comment and proceeded to exit the room. Saber sighed and got up from the floor. Starting to get ready for the first day, she thought about Diarmuid once more and the odd dream she had had before the alarm went off.
She remembered almost every little detail, as if it had been reality. The blonde threw off her pajama shirt and put on her bra, latching it in the back. I love you. I love you so much, he had said to her before planting a passionate kiss on her lips. She could still see him leaning down, filling the gap between them.
They were placed under the rain, darkness filled the streets. The only light source they had was a dim street lamp that was conveniently shining on them. His hair was covering his forehead, and his clothes were soaked with rain. The man was definitely handsome.
Arturia gasped, realizing what she was actually thinking. Shaking her head, she continued with getting dressed. There was a knock on the door. "You okay, Saber? You're going a lot slower than you usually do. Normally, you're much faster with getting ready than I am. Are you putting on makeup by any chance?" Jeanne asked from outside the door.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just pondering something", she answered.
"Alright well, I made some breakfast whenever you want some", Jeanne told her. But for some reason, she didn't want to hurry for breakfast. She just kept at the same pace.
Finally walking out of her room, she greeted Jeanne once more and got herself a small breakfast. "You're sure you're alright?" Jeanne questioned, noticing Arturia's odd behavior.
"Yes, I'm fine", she answered, slowly starting to eat. Breakfast went on in silence. It did not take long due to Jeanne and Saber's small meals.
After their food was gone, they put the leftovers in the refrigerator and left for the office building. Like breakfast, the trip there was silent, well, mostly silent. "What's gong on with you? You're acting really strange", said Jeanne.
"How many times do I have to tell you Jeanne that there's nothing wrong with me?" And with that, Arturia sped up her pace, creating a large gap between the two. Jeanne sped up her footing to catch up.
"If it's about what I said about Diarmuid, then I'm sorry. I was just joking around. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." Saber stopped walking and sighed, gaining her cool once more.
She suddenly turned to Jeanne. "You don't have to be sorry, Jeanne. I should be sorry. I shouldn't have acted in that manner." Saber continued to walk, Jeanne beside her. "I guess I'm a little stressed out with today being our first day and everything. Having a weird dream doesn't help at all either", the short female stated.
"Was that what was stressing you out? The dream you had last night?" asked Jeanne. "I heard you mumbling in your sleep last night, so I thought you were just having a dream. And don't worry; I didn't understand anything you said."
Arturia smiled in relief. She was glad that Jeanne understood her so well. That was why Arturia always loved her as a friend. Not only was Saber glad that her French friend understood, she was also relieved that she heard nothing. If Jeanne had known what her dream was about, she would have never let it go.
"Thanks, Jeanne", thanked the emerald-eyed girl.
"Hey, no problem, anything for you, honey", Jeanne smiled. "Now let's hurry so we're not late. We wouldn't want that." Suddenly, Jeanne started dashing towards the building that was not so intimidating anymore. "Last one there is a rotten egg!"
"What are we, five?" laughed Arturia, as she ran to catch up.
The people walking past the building stared at them. There hasn't been a new detective in about two and a half years. It was odd that Kiritsugu had hired two more out of the blue.
The two entered the building. Once again, the same dark haired woman was running the front desk. She greeted the two, as they walked up to her. "Today will be your first day on the job and to that I congratulate you. You will go see Kiritsugu immediately. Now that you are official detectives of this agency, I will introduce myself. I am Maiya Hisau, personal assistant of Kiritsugu. With that out of the way, please follow me", said the woman named Maiya.
For the second day in a row, they found themselves following her towards one of the many rooms of the agency. This time, however, they were led to a meeting room where not only Kiritsugu sat, but Diarmuid, the white-haired man and black-haired woman, a yellow-eyed female, a black-haired man with wolf-like ears, and a light purple-haired female as well. "Please take a seat at the end of the table. Maiya, you may go and continue to stand the desk", Kiritsugu stated.
"Yes, sir", was Maiya's reply. And with that, she left. The two rookies took their spots on the two chairs located at the end of the table.
"Welcome back", greeted their new boss. "We are glad to have you on the team."
"We are very honored to have gotten this job. Thank you so very much", Jeanne thanked him, Arturia nodding beside her in agreement.
"There is no need for thanks. You two have the skills that we need, so you two were the ones who earned this job", he replied. "But greetings and flattery aside, I would like you two to meet the team. There are a few missing, but we will introduce you when the time is right."
Kiritsugu continued. "Anyway, on to introductions; I take it you have already met, but this is Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. He is, or was, the youngest member of the agency, until you two were hired." Diarmuid gave a small wave, a big smile on his face. Saber felt her face get warm at his handsome features.
"These two right here are Archer Emiya", the black-haired man went on. The tan-skinned male nodded at the French woman and British woman. "And Rin Tohsaka."
"It is lovely to meet you", the woman named Rin greeted, a sweet smile present. The two nodded in response.
"The next one you see would be Likenia Lemile." Like Archer, Likenia gave them just a simple nod, except with a very small smile. "And the wolf you see beside her is Zoal Zeokill, her twin's assistant, or servant as most refer to him."
"And last but certainly not least is Medusa Matou." The purple-haired woman gave a small smirk with a small wave. "With introductions out of the way, I will now be giving you your 'partners in crime'. Jeanne, yours is currently not here. He will be here in a month or two, so you will just be paired with anyone who absolutely needs a partner", Kiritsugu informed Jeanne, who nodded in response.
"And as for you Miss Pendragon, you will be paired up with Diarmuid." Arturia was both surprised and happy that her partner was someone she knew she would get along with. She gave a slight nod, much like Jeanne.
"With that done, everybody is dismissed. Get back to work", the man told them before leaving the room. But oddly, no one else stood up. Arturia and Jeanne gave each other a glance.
"Do not worry. That man does not care if we take a small break getting to know you, as long as there's not a huge murder case being solved", stated the female the boss introduced to be Likenia. The blondes turned their heads toward her and nodded, a small grin of relief on their faces.
"I am glad. We do not want to start off on the wrong foot", Saber replied. Likenia nodded in understanding. Suddenly, something in Saber's mind clicked. "Wait a second, Kiritsugu introduced you as Archer Emiya, if I am correct. Are you related to him somehow?" she asked the man named Archer.
"Yes, I am his adopted son. He had saved both me and my..." Archer scoffed. "Younger brother when we were young children. After that, we were adopted by him and raised by him and his wife."
"Ah, I see", was the short blonde's response. Maiya suddenly came in the room.
"I was told to tell you all that Diarmuid must start explaining things to Miss Arturia as soon as possible. Jeanne, you are to come with me. So, it is time for all of you to get back to what you were doing with the exception of the three I just mentioned." Everyone groaned in response and got up, proceeding on leaving the room. The only ones left in the room were Diarmuid and Arturia. Jeanne must have followed Maiya.
After everyone was officially gone, Diarmuid turned to his new partner with a welcoming grin. "Shall we make our way to my office?" Saber nodded and found herself following yet another member of the Einzbern agency for the second time that day.
As she passed through the halls, she realized the true beauty of the building. The office building seemed more like a hotel. The walls facing the lobby was glass, enabling everyone to look down onto the bottom floor.
Finally, they reached Diarmuid's office. He took his key out of the pocket within his black pants and put it in the key hole, turning it to unlock the door. There was a small click, and Diarmuid placed the keys back in the pocket. He then opened the door, revealing a rather large office with a beautiful view of the city. "For this building, this office shouldn't even be considered to be medium sized", the Irishman commented.
"Wow, there's still an amazing view of Fuyuki, though. I am sure that you are happy about that", she replied honestly.
"Yeah, it definitely is wonderful. It really helps me to relax whenever I'm stressed out. Especially at night when everything is dark."
"I bet that's beautiful."
"It most certainly is. I've been staying late a lot lately, so if you want you can stay as well just to see it. I'll tell you right now that it's worth it. It's amazing", he said.
"R-really? You'd let me do that? Thank you very much", Arturia thanked him.
"Don't mention it", Diarmuid responded politely. "Anyway, let's get started on explaining what you'll be doing for the first couple of months. This might take a while, so please bring up a chair and make yourself at home. I want you to be as comfortable as possible."
"How comfortable should I be when you're saying things like that?" she jokingly asked. The man chuckled at the humorous question.
"Depends on how you feel around men you just met yesterday", he replied. Arturia laughed, as she sat in one of the comfortable chairs in front of the desk. And with that, Diarmuid stated to teach Saber about all the things that she needed to know for the next few months.
Saber realized that her new 'partner in crime' had been right about the explanation taking a while. It had been three and a half hours since the start of the walk-through. "You were right. That did take a while", she commented. Her coworker chuckled lightly.
"Yeah, I know. That probably beat the time mine took. Yours was fairly short compared to all the rest. Mine took easily four hours, and mine was coming from my brother", Diarmuid laughed. Arturia giggled along with him and remembered something that Jeanne had said the day before. I wonder if he has a brother for me to date, her best friend had said. She giggled to herself, imagining how ironic it would be for Jeanne to end up actually dating Diarmuid's brother.
"Anyway, do you want to go get lunch with me? I'm sure you're hungry after listening to me talk for hours and hours." If Saber were half wolf such as the man named Zoal, her ears would have perked up. She looked at him for a second, disbelief in her eyes.
"R-really?" she asked as if wanting him to clarify that what he had said was true.
"Of course, and don't worry about bringing money; I'll get it", the handsome man replied. "So, would you like to accompany me?" Saber continued to look at him for a moment before giving him a wide smile and nod. "Wonderful, come then, my king. Let us pay for some nutrients, so we can fill our stomachs till there is no more room for more!" exclaimed Diarmuid humorously. Arturia laughed at his silly nature.
"King?" she questioned.
"Yes, king. Kings are normally treated higher and more important than queens, and I feel that a beautiful woman such as yourself should be treated higher and more important much like a king. So therefore, you are worthy of being called king. Anyone who is against this is either smoking something or at some weird carnival where strange situations occur."
"What kind of strange situations?" Arturia wondered.
"Hmm..." Diarmuid started to think. "Situations like someone accidentally defeating people while shopping for batteries. Or maybe, situations like a famous hero from mythological times getting a job at a cafe where they need to wear a maid outfit like a loli would wear. I don't know, just odd situations like that."
"Haha, that carnival sounds like complete and utter hell", Saber commented, causing Diarmuid to laugh.
"Yeah, let's just hope there's not a carnival like that in any timeline or weird alternate universe", he added. The two started laughing.
Arturia and Diarmuid walked out of the office, Diarmuid locking the door on the way out. They continued towards the elevator and walked inside an empty one going down. "So, what's your brother like? I'm sure he must be both handsome and kind, if you two are siblings."
"Haha yeah, but we actually look nothing alike. And I could swear he's part god, he's good at everything, and don't even say I'm probably exaggerating. You have to meet him. He once took a florist job for a summer, and his boss said that he was the best employee the store had ever had", answered the amber-eyed male.
"He sounds like he would make a good husband", Saber giggled.
"Don't know about that. He's never exactly been the best at keeping permanent relationships. More than likely he would rather have a one-night-stand than an actual long-term partner. In fact, I would probably say that he would bang every girl in Fuyuki within one night if he could. Well actually hell if he could, he probably would", Diarmuid informed her. She laughed at his answer. The elevator door finally opened, and they started walking towards the exit.
"Is there one thing your better at than him?"
"Mmm...probably cooking, but that's just barely. He can cook a pretty good meal. Oh yeah, that and etiquette, he swears a lot more than I do", Arturia's new partner told her. Now that good cook was added into the list of good things about him, she actually thought about Jeanne's advice about getting to know him more and maybe starting to date later. But unfortunately, she did not want to think of what would happen if they would break up. The two were now partners and awkwardness between the man and the woman would only get in the way of investigations and such.
As they walked past Maiya at the front desk, Diarmuid turned to her and informed her that they would now be starting their hour and a half lunch break. "So, where do you want to go out for lunch? It's your choice."
Saber pondered for a small moment before remembering a cafe that she only heard good reviews about. "Have you heard of Ahnenerbe? It's more of a dessert and snack type of cafe, but I heard that they also serve meals there as well. I heard they have some of the most amazing food", she said.
"Of course I've heard of Ahnenerbe! That place is amazing! The food there is absolutely delightful. I think you'll find it to suit your taste buds even though I don't know your taste buds."
"I like anything good."
"Well then, you'll love it there", the Irishman smiled happily, walking beside her towards her restaurant of choice.
The phone started to ring, startling Jeanne. Jeanne was sitting in the huge office that was more designed like a conference room than a space for a single person. The 22-year-old panicked, wondering if she should answer someone else's office phone or not. She decided on picking it up, for the current owner of the room was not present. Instead, he was transferred to Tokyo to help investigate a huge kidnapping case. "Hello? This is Jeanne d'Arc speaking", she greeted.
"Ah yes, you must be the rookie my brother told me about, or one of the two rookies I should say", the man on the other end spoke. "If I may ask you put Archer Emiya on the phone, that would be wonderful."
"Of course, please give me a moment", Jeanne replied before setting the phone lightly on the large desk that was near completely uncovered, with the exception of a pencil cup and a picture frame. She sped walked through the halls and soon found Archer. She stopped him saying, "there is someone on the phone for you. They called through the phone where I was working in." The man nodded and followed the short blonde.
"Hello?" he answered. A moment later he continued, "Why didn't you call my cell?" Jeanne went back to working on the paperwork she was assigned to do by Kiritsugu. The conversation between the two men lasted for about five minutes when Archer hung up the phone after bidding the other farewell.
"Thank you for telling me", he thanked Jeanne.
"Well, he told me to go get you, so don't thank me", she replied. "Anyway, who was that man on the phone?"
"Your future 'partner in crime'. I'll let him introduce himself when he gets back. He just called to see what's been going on. He knows that Diarmuid is on his lunch break right now, so he knew to ask for me. He also knows that he'll get the most information out of me, so that's why he asked for me", informed Archer. "He also told me to tell you that you have another month yet until the two of you start working together. That should be all, so I will now be getting back to work."
Without giving Jeanne a chance to ask any other questions, he exited the office that belonged to the man on the phone. Once again, another phone sounded throughout the room. The song called "My Fellows" started playing quietly, Jeanne's ringtone. She reached into her bag and pulled out the device. Seeing that the caller was Arturia, she picked up right away. "Hey, Arturia. What are you up to? I'm guessing that you aren't calling me from a different floor."
"No, I'm not calling you from a different floor. I just wanted to tell you that I'm out for lunch right now", the girl on the other line said.
"Wait, you're out to lunch? With who?!"
"Jeanne, with who isn't important. I'm just-" Saber started to say.
"It most certainly is important! Tell me! Tell me now, woman!" There was a sigh on the other end, a sign of defeat.
"Fine, I'm with Diarmuid. He offered me lunch, and we're now in Ahnenerbe", Saber told her.
"Omg! Should I start placing my bets now?"
"What do you mean by bets?!"
"I mean bets on when how long it's going to take for you two to start dating", Jeanne stated, causing Saber to blush.
"We just met yesterday", argued Saber.
"Love at first sight." Arturia grunted in response.
"Well anyway, I have to go. I bet Diarmuid is wondering where I am at", she said. "See ya, Jeanne."
"See ya", her friend stated before hanging up. Jeanne put her phone back in her bag and looked at the large desk in front of the large window that took up a whole wall. She walked up to it and picked up the picture frame. It showed a group picture of what seemed like the whole company. It consisted of Diarmuid, the people who she had just met that day, and a couple others she did not recognize.
She noticed someone having Diarmuid in a headlock. The two looked like they were laughing, as the picture was being taken. The clothes they wore made the French girl assume that they were at a fair or a festival.
The man was definitely what one would describe as handsome. Most of his blue hair was styled in an upward fashion, the rest was much longer and tied in a ponytail. His eyes were red, and his dog-like teeth white. He wore a bright Hawaiian shirt that oddly complemented his looks. The man was most definitely good-looking. Most likely a lady killer, thought Jeanne.
She lightly set it down, smiling to herself at how happy everyone looked in the picture. Jeanne turned towards the window and looked down at the city, acknowledging its beauty. The sun, unlike yesterday, was shining and adding even more color to the leaves. And once again, the shopping district and the streets of Fuyuki were packed with people.
The girl thought of the man who she had just talked to. His voice was loud and clear, and he seemed like a decent man. She wondered what he looked like, what his personality was. It'll only be a month until you meet him, Jeanne, she told herself. The female was looking forward to meeting her partner. I wonder if he was in the picture.
A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm hoping to get the third chapter done by tonight along with some other chapters as well. So as always, have a WONDERFUL day!
