Up ahead on the path will I find flowers blooming?

October 16th. 10:30.

1. The "masters" in the Holy Grail War use magic.

2. The "servants" are heroes from legends.

3. Command seals are absolute orders.

4. Master and Servant fight together in order to win.

5. Names are important.

Renèe frowned as she read over her list. It really wasn't that helpful at all, only reminding her that she knew practically nothing about this Holy Grail War. And since she seemed to be partnered with a very uncooperative servant, she wasn't going to get any answers from him any time soon. They had only been paired together quite recently, since late July. The only thing Renèe managed to get out of her servant was that the fancy designs permanently tattooed to her left hand were command seals or absolute orders and once they were used up Diarmuid would leave.

If it weren't for the fact that European History was her major, Renèe would have committed herself to a psychiatric ward. Magic. Heroes from legends. The Holy Grail War. None of it sounded real and if she tried to explain herself to anyone, no one would believe her. But there was something so alluring about the Holy Grail War. And she just had so many questions. To think history she was well versed in was coming alive. Renèe wondered who else she might get the chance to meet.

"What are you doing?"

Renèe inwardly froze. Her breath quickened as she forced herself to calm down. Acting as though she had not just been scared to death, she turned around to address her roommate, Irina Einzbern, "Just going over my notes," she answered coldly, folding her paper and placing it into her back pocket. If anyone were to have Renèe committed to the psych ward it would be her roommate. Irina could never find out about the Holy Grail War. She was too much of nosy girl.

Irina eyed Renèe with great suspicion, clearly unimpressed by her reply. "Where were you last night?" Irina asked in a civil tone.

Renèe refused to be intimated by her. She held her ground and replied, "Just out and about."

Before she could be fully interrogated, Renèe stood up and crossed over to her dresser. She ignored the white haired girl's intense stare as she pulled on a tank top and form fitting black cargo pants. She threw on a grey hoodie, stepped into a pair of old sneakers, pocketed her essentials and was out the door. She heard Irina ask something, but she only slammed the door behind her. Only as Renèe was hurrying down the stairs of her dorm did she remember she had forgotten to tape up her hand and made a mental note to stop in at the pharmacy and purchase some bandage tape. Renèe found it easier to just altogether hide the insignia on her hand.

Renèe had a lot on her mind that needed sorting out. After last night's ordeal, the brunette decided it was time to…well to be blunt…get her shit together. Enough mucking around and pretending everything was good. There was someone in Tokyo trying to get her and if she didn't smarten up and learn more about the Holy Grail War and how to stay alive, she was going to die. If only there was someone she could turn to to ask for help. Oh wait there was one person except he wanted nothing to do with her. Heck Renèe didn't even know where to find him.

Three months. They had been paired together for about three months. And Renèe only knew her servant's name. Diarmuid Ua Duibhne the First of the Knights of Fianna. He hadn't even mention the last part. Of course she had thought about going to the library to research a detailed profile on Diarmuid but that made Renèe feel like the ultimate creeper. To her it was basically borderline stalking. Diarmuid was his own person, not just some hero from Irish mythology. As much as Renèe found her Irish Knight rude and annoying, she still acknowledged the fact that he had a right to privacy.

So today would be the day Renèe would finally take a proactive step in the right direction to understanding the Holy Grail War. She couldn't ignore it's existence anymore. Today was going to be dedicated to bettering her relationship with her partner.

-X-

"Oh are you looking for something for your boyfriend, Miss?"

Renèe blushed crimson red and clumsily dropped the leather wrist band she had been admiring. "Sorry!" she apologized, bowing her head. Truth be told, Renèe was currently browsing for a peace offering, because after three hours of calling, Diarmuid refused to appear.

"Actually," Renèe began, looking away, "This is kind of embarrassing, but I'm looking for a manly token of friendship."

The attendant let out a barely audible 'oh', surprise over taking her face. Renèe guessed not too many people came in looking for such a request. She nodded her head and led Renèe over to the necklace section. She pointed to blank tags and suggested, "Why not get an engraving?"

Renèe thought and then nodded. She peered carefully through the glass and selected a decent sized silver dog tag.

"What would you like engraved?" The attendant inquired, pulling out the shiny tag and displaying it in front of her.

Well Renèe doubted that having Diarmuid's own name engraved on the tag would prove much use to anyone. She was sure he could remember his own name without any help. And since they basically had a nonexistent relationship, she couldn't write down anything meaningful either because there was nothing to reference. She could be cheesy and have something cliche carved in, but Renèe was trying to prove herself to be serious. She racked her brain for something, something to show that she was trying.

"I know," Renèe wrote down exactly what she wanted inscribed on the rounded tag.

"Hai. Five hundred yen please," the attendant bowed.

Renèe also dipped her head before fishing around in her pocket and pulling out a large coin. She placed it in the small dish and then watched as the attendant disappeared into the back room after collecting the five hundred yen coin and placing it in the cash register. Five minutes later, the attendant returned, handing the tag over to Renèe in a green gift bag with a small red bow. Renèe thanked the woman and then headed out in no direction in particular.

Two more hours of walking and Renèe's feet were really starting to kill. She flopped down onto the nearest bench and leaned back, closing her eyes. She was really tired. So much walking and nothing to show for it. She attempted to mentally call out to Diarmuid, but stopped after a couple of minutes. Would she really be forced to use a command seal? Renèe glanced down at her hand and then shook her head. Something told her that if she forced him to appear, they wouldn't be getting off to a great second start.

"Please," Renèe whispered, "Please, please, please. Just give me five minutes of your time."

Maybe Diarmuid could hear her. Hopefully he would listen to what she had to say.

Renèe paused in her speech when she realized people were starting to stare. She pulled her phone out and continued on.

"I realize you don't like me," Renèe chuckled, "You've made that quite obvious. But the truth is…I want to live."

Renèe took a deep breath before plowing on, "You say you won't win me the Holy Grail War. To be bluntly honest, I don't know what that means. I don't want you to win me anything. I'm fine with that," she ran a hand through her silky hair, "And I understand that we were never supposed to be paired together. I'm sorry. I don't know how it happened or why it happened, but we both have to accept that we're partners."

Well Diarmuid didn't have to accept anything, but it would be nice if they could get along. Renèe had so much she wanted to ask him about his life. He was a living piece of history after all. The knowledge he could bestow upon her that textbooks couldn't even come close to.

"I'm confused about a lot of things," she started, "What is the Holy Grail War? What is it that the person wins? I just have so many questions. It'd be really great if we could talk. You could even write it down on a piece of paper and then I could read it if you don't want to talk to me directly," Renèe stated. After some more thought she mumbled quietly, "I wish we could be friends."

Renèe gripped her little gift, a pang of sadness striking her. She had thought that Diarmuid might have shown himself at some point, but it was looking like words weren't going to persuade him that easily. She didn't even know if he had heard her. Damn this was frustrating.

Renèe let out a sigh of defeat. She had wasted away her entire day, but she was going to prove herself. The girl of eighteen was highly stubborn. She would win Diarmuid over even if she had to use a command seal to do it.

"Yo, Oujou-chan."

Renèe whipped around just in time to see the blue haired warrior from last night. He stood a few feet away from her, one hand on his hip while the other played with a red lance. He wore a fox grin and his red eyes flared dangerously.

Before Renèe could even blink, the blue haired man was towering over her. And then she found herself fading.

TBC.

Thanks to those who wrote to me to continue. I never planned to leave this un-finished. I just got sidetracked. And on that note I would just like to say that there is a picture of Renèe on my profile.

R&R