A/N: Out of nowhere, an update! This one is a bit shorter, 2000 words as opposed to 3000 as per usual, but I decided that it would be prudent to end the chapter off where I did. More importantly, the good stuff is coming up soon, so to all who are still reading this, get ready. Things should get interesting within the next 2 chapters. I'm sorry for forcing all of you to sit through this boring bit of the story, but your faithfulness will be rewarded(Assuming, of course, I can write the action scenes effectively.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter, and as always, R&R.

P.S: To better accommodate my working schedule, I shall be switching my update schedule from once a week to once a fortnight. SORRY!


"I…have no wish."

"Excuse me?" Caster looks bewildered.

"Oh, I will fight my hardest to attain the Grail, but only to prevent others possibly using it for evil purposes. I have no reason to want the Grail for myself."

Caster continues to look dumbstruck, staring at me.

"Of course, I will still try my best. I'm a magus, even if still an amateur one. I understand that I can't back out of this now. I know I can't survive this without doing anything."

Caster's eyes narrow, and she asks,

"Then you are saying that you fight not to obtain the Holy Grail, but rather to prevent the conflict resulting from the Grail War?"

"Yeah, I guess you could put it like that. Yeah, I think that's what I mean. I can't put it into words, but such a fight is worth something, right?"

I shrug and look at Caster for affirmation. She merely shows me a look of confusion.

"I don't understand. You are a magus, like me. Is the ultimate goal of all magi not the fulfillment of some wish?"

"What are you saying? I have no unfulfillable wishes. My only wish is to protect people, and by participating in this War, I have the chance to do just that."

Caster looks at me, skeptical.

"Then are you saying you do not want to obtain the Holy Grail? That you will not fight to obtain it?"

"I never said that. Since I'm fighting, I do intend to obtain the Grail."

"That makes no sense. Why do you desire something you have no need for, going as far as fighting?"

I look her in the eye, seeing her expectation, watching her wait for me to speak up.

"Well, you need it, right? So we have to obtain it."

Caster's probing expression changes to one of shock. I continue on regardless.

"I don't know what kind of people the other Masters are. Some of them may truly be good people. But I've decided to be your ally. So if you say you want the Grail, it's only natural to help you with all my power, right? It may be a dumb ideal, but it's one I inherited from my father. He told me that to become a superhero, I should be selfish. It's pointless to support everybody, so he told me to ally only with people I like and trust. I used to argue with him about it all the time, but I think that's how it should be now. I'm not the kind of person who can fight for myself. But if I can fight for you, then I'm sure that I'll be able to put in my all."

That's right. If Caster truly yearns for her wish to be fulfilled, then it is my duty, as a Master, to ensure she can attain this fulfillment. Caster purses her lips, then starts to cry.

"Er, Caster, did I say something wrong?"

"N-no, it's just that no one's spoken to me that kindly in a long time. The only person who ever spoke like that to me was my brother…"

"It's okay, I'm here for you. As your Master and a friend."

Abruptly, Caster pulls away from me.

"Master, as much as I appreciate your words and intentions, I must ask that you think of a wish for yourself. Otherwise, I fear you may live in regret for much of your life."

Caster looks into my eyes as she says this. Then, smiling, she pulls me back into her hug.

A wish of my own?

As we wash up after lunch, I make conversation with Caster.

"So, Servants take physical form using prana, right? Then… since I have no way of letting you restore your supply of prana, you will get weaker with each fight?"

Caster frowns.

"It's not exactly that I'm unable to restore any magical energy. Prana is constantly created within oneself. A Servant without an outside source can create magical energy using its own Magic Circuit."

"I see. So there's no problem then?"

Caster's face twists in an unsatisfied fashion.

"Hmmm…How to explain this…I know! You see the faucet over here?" She points to the faucet in the basin. "Water is dripping out of it right now, correct? Let's say that the water is my magical energy, and the action of dripping out of the faucet is the process of my Magical energy being created. And this cup," She picks up a mug and place it under the faucet. "Is me. In this state, I can accumulate magical energy slowly. Now, as long as the cup holds water, more water will be created by the faucet. But when the water runs out, when I run out of prana, the faucet shuts off. Prana will no longer be supplied, and the cup will be forever empty. When this happens, the Servant is eliminated. This is one of the two conditions under which a Servant may be eliminated, the other being the sustaining of a grievous wound…though the latter is naturally more common."

I am beginning to understand now, but something comes to mind.

"But all you need is little bit of water in the cup, right? As long as there's some water left, the faucet will create more water and fill the cup."

"Yes. But the water in the cup is constantly consumed. It is lost even if I do nothing, and it is lost at a faster rate in battle. Put simply, more powerful actions consume more prana. If I were to sustain my Noble Phantasm for too long a period of time, I could empty out the cup even if it is full."

"Wow. So I guess the Noble Phantasm is not a luxury we can afford, then."

Caster smiles.

"Not quite, Master. In fact, you were quite lucky to get me as a Servant for two reasons. First, I am of the Caster class, so naturally I have more innate prana at my disposal, so my actions are much less limited than if I were, say, of the Saber class. Second, my Noble Phantasm is not a singular attack, but something which I can sustain for as long as I deem necessary. So, as long as I limit how long I sustain it, I should be able to use it once."

"That's good to hear. But I don't want you to use your Noble Phantasm unless there's truly no other choice, okay? I don't know what I'll do if you die. I'll give you the order now: Don't die."

Caster brings her hand up to my cheek and caresses my face.

"Of course, Master."

She moves closer to me, bringing her face incredibly close to mine. She closes here eyes, and I follow her example. I lean forward, feeling her warm breath upon my lips-

The phone rings.

Both of us jump, and I realize what we almost did. My blood rushes to my face, and I feel my cheeks flush. I see Caster, blushing heavily. I continue to be dazed for a few seconds before realizing that the phone is still ringing insistently. Quickly, I jump up, saying, "I-I should go get that."

Caster, seemingly equally embarrassed, replies with, "O-Okay, then I'll finish up with the dishes."

As I run for the phone, a plethora of thoughts race through my mind. Why did I do that? Why Caster, of all people? She's a girl! What on Earth am I thinking? Unwilling to pursue this line of thought, I pick up the receiver.

"Hello? Ayaka here."

"Hi! This is Fujimura!"

I should have known. Only she would call at such a strange time on a Sunday. In any case, I'm surprisingly glad for her call, as it lets me discard the crazy events that have occurred recently, and I feel like it's just another normal day.

"What is it? I'm kind of busy right now, Fuji-nee."

"Hey, I'm busy too. I gave up my day off to teach my students."

Wow. That certainly is unusual. The thought of the normally lazy and irresponsible Fuji-nee giving up free time to coach students forces me to stifle a laugh.

"I see. Then there's no time for chit-chat. There are no robbers or fires here, you can rest assured and go back to your club."

"H-Hold on! I'm calling you, so it'll be terrible if you hang up without hearing me out!"

"Fine. What's the matter?"

"I'm hungry~"

I facepalm. It's just like Fujimura Taiga to call on a Sunday afternoon asking for a free lunch.

"Anyway, I want that sweet omelet you always make. That'll be it for my order. Please have it delivered to the archery range immediately. Bye."

She hangs up. I put down the phone, and my now free hand reaches up to join my other one in its position in front of my face. Removing them slowly, I speak to myself.

"I guess it can't be helped. We still have the leftovers from lunch, and omelet's easy to make, so I better get it to her soon. I hear that beasts have a tendency to go wild when hungry."

I go back into the kitchen. I see Caster sitting in a corner, legs hugged tight to her chest. When she catches sight of me, she stands up and bows, exclaiming,

"I'm so sorry, Master! I shouldn't have done that! I'm really, really, really sorry…"

"It's alright. I forgive you. After all, I felt the same urge as well."

"You did?" Caster opens her eyes wide with what I believe to be surprise. Turning to the dishwasher, I notice all the plates and cooking utensils sitting by, washed completely clean. It is my turn to apologise.

"I'm sorry."

Caster tilts her head questioningly. "What for?"

"You put in so much effort washing the dishes, but now I have to use them again. I'm sorry for wasting your effort."

"Oh, it's fine! I like doing chores. It reminds me of some of my happier memories."

That statement surprises me. I am reminded of my dream, where Caster sat in a royal yellow throne. Yet she says she has experienced performing menial chores, and that she likes performing them. Was she perhaps a member of royalty who lost her throne? At the moment, that seemed the most likely case. Turning my attention back to the task at hand, I begin to cook.

Once I finish, I turn and tell Caster,

"I'm going to go deliver this to Fuji-nee. I'll be back in a while."

"Wait, Ayaka."

"?"

"Is it possible for me to accompany you? If you were to be attacked by another Master, I would not be able to come to your side and help you, so it is imperative I stay in a position where I can protect you from possible attack."

"Hmmm… You have a point. Alright. Come along. I can introduce you to Fuji-nee and Sakura while we're there, too."

That's right. If Caster's going to stay here, sooner or later she will encounter the two other women who frequent my home.

"However, we're going to my school, so we'll need a cover identity for you, if you're fine with that."

Caster smiles.

"Oh, I'm perfectly fine with that. I've traveled with a fake identity before."

"Hmm…How about…You're the daughter of my father's friend, a childhood friend of mine. Here on business, he decided to leave you with me."

"Wow, that's quite a good cover. Do you give others fake identities often?"

Caster lets out a playful laugh as she teases me.

"A-Anyway, let's go!"

As we walk toward the school, Caster walks right by my side, chatting animatedly to me about random things in the neighborhood around us, slipping easily into the role of childhood friend.

"Hey Caster, you're pretty good at blending in."

Caster looks down.

"Yeah. Back then, I had to do this a lot. There were a lot of people who would have liked my head to roll."

She refuses to say any more. Not wanting to upset her, I decide to drop the topic. Upon reaching the school, however, Caster stops dead in her tracks.

"Caster? What's wrong?"

"There's a lot of residual magical energy within your school. I was just surprised, that's all."

Shaking her head, she continues walking.

"Lingering magical energy? Really?"

"Yes, but that is nothing to be surprised about. Rin is in the same grade as you, right? This is a place where a powerful magus has gone for over a year. I am sure she has a workshop, so some magical energy will flow out no matter how well she may try to hide it."

"Wait, so is she in there right now?"

"No. I would be able to feel her presence more strongly if she was within the building. There are no magi currently in the building. It's safe, for now."

"That's good to hear. We should hurry, or Fuji-nee will scream at me."