Hello back to Fate/Last Snow I had originally planned for this to be a fluff chapter but large portions of it ended up being far more serious than I had originally intended. I know that it has been almost a month since I updated but now that I'm in university I have a lot more free time on my hands and I will try to update much more frequently. I would like to thank user ksatria for PMing me to get back to writing, and I would encourage anyone who thinks it has been too long since my last update to do the same. This chapter starts the morning after the Archer and Privateer fight.

Richard woke up and looked at his alarm clock; it was 9:30 AM. After rolling out of bed and getting dressed, he wondered what he should do today. After bouncing around several ideas in his head. Richard decided to explore the city while it was daytime so there was no risk of being attacked. Richard started getting ready for the day; even though he was confident nothing bad was going to happen he still brought 4 of his mana boosters just in case.

Before he left he spoke with archer for a little while, "I plan on exploring the city for a little while today, I don't think there is going to be any trouble, but I still want you to follow me in spirit form."

Archer nodded his head, "That makes sense, I already surveyed our immediate surroundings so I would recommend you look for strategic locations that are far away instead of looking around our immediate area."

"Okay." as Richard said that Archer shimmered away into spirit form.

Richard let out a deep yawn. Surveying the city could wait; first stop, coffee. He remembered seeing a small café within a short walk of his house so he decided to go there.

Litchhurst was a very different city during the day. Richard had gotten so used to the wide streets being empty and giving off an eerie vibe, it felt a little weird for the same streets to be packed full of people. It almost felt welcoming.

Richard looked at several restaurants. Most of them had patio's that were currently unused. The buildings themselves were a mismatch of wooden, brick and paneled building which Richard guessed had something to do with how old the buildings were.

Most of the people that Richard saw were dressed in surprisingly light winter coats; they were probably used to the cold. Most of them were caucasian so Richard guessed that they probably didn't have a lot of foreign visitors because of Litchhurst's lack of notable tourist landmarks. There were people from most ethnic groups, but they were few and far between.

As Richard was walking, he overheard a conversation two strangers were having. One said, "Did you see that girl, in the cafe?"

The second one replied, "Ya, she was wearing one of those Japanese dress things."

Japanese dress things? Did he mean a Kimono?

Richard heard more people talking about the same thing, "She's just sitting there drinking coffee alone, I guess she's allowed to do that but It's a little weird."

As the café came into view, Richard saw the person everyone was talking about. The familiar white and red kimono caught his eye instantly and as he looked closer he recognized her raven black hair that was pulled into a pony tail, there was no mistaking that the girl sitting there was Himiko Tsurugaoka. He stopped dead in his tracked and stared at her; she was looking directly at him with a similarly surprised face. She spoke first, "Hello Richard. I didn't expect to see you here." She was talking in the same polite and formal tone that she usually started conversations with.

Richard stood dumbfounded for a second; He wasn't sure how to respond. Before he could do anything, she continued to speak, "Come and sit, I have a couple of things I want to talk to you about." Her voice fluctuated a little bit as she said that. Richard could tell that she was forcing herself to seem welcoming.

Richard sat down across from Himiko. The little café they were in was small but decorative; it was made of a dark wood and a row of windows that went three-quarters of the way around the building. The windows started at about Richard's chest and went up a good five feet. The doors were made of the same dark wood, but they were smoothed and polished. Beside the building itself, there was a sloped roof covering a small patio. The patio had almost no protection from the cold, so only Himiko was sitting there.

Richard brushed the snow off a stool across from Himiko and sat down. They sat in complete silence for almost a full minute before a waitress came and asked Richard for his order. After ordering a coffee, he decided that he should start the conversation, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just sitting down drinking my coffee until now everyone's been avoiding me; to tell the truth it's rather annoying."

Richard sat back and sighed; it was apparent that Himiko didn't do much research into what Litchhurst was like before packing her wardrobe. She probably just assumed that Litchurst was the same as wherever she was from that kimonos are normal to wear. Richard decided to point it out to her, "Do you have any normal clothes to wear?"

Himiko sat up in her seat so fast that she almost fell out, "And what the hell is wrong with what I'm wearing? Why don't you put on some normal damn clothes?"

Richard almost chuckled before he caught himself, "I guess that you're from Japan. If you had considered what Litchurst was like then you would have known that you are probably the only person to have ever worn a Kimono here."

Himiko sat still for a few seconds staring daggers into Richard's eyes. Suddenly she took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly; it seemed like a very practiced movement. After she was done breathing out she started talking in the polite tone she started the conversation with, "Okay fine, you might be right about that, but that doesn't give people the right to stare.

Richard and Himiko sat and chatted for a few minutes. Gradually the group of people that were whispering about Himiko dispersed to continue with their lives. After about a half an hour Richard and Himiko were alone.

Himiko looked around to see if anyone was watching, when she was sure no one was she turned to a random patch of air and nodded her head. Richard saw a shimmer and Privateer appeared beside Himiko.

This time Privateer was wearing the same white cotton pants as before but paired with a simple white tunic and a bandana on his head. Although Himiko offered him a seat; Privateer continued to stand. Out of the corner of his eye, Richard saw a similar shimmer and Archer appeared beside him wearing A black jacket with a white button-down shirt, black slacks with a brown leather belt.

There was silence in the room as Privateer and Archer stared at each other Richard nervously looked back and forth between them. The only person who was calm was Himiko she said, "Relax Privateer I didn't call you over here to fight, there's too many people around. I simply thought it would be polite for you to have a proper conversation with Richard instead of trying to relay messages through me."

Privateer responded, "Arr, that be fine with me."

"And I told you to cut that pirate crap out." Himiko almost yelled. She took another practiced deep breath and turned to talk to Archer, "I don't think we've formally met, I'm Himiko Tsurugaoka, and you're Odysseus."

Richard spat out his coffee. Himiko laughed out loud, "Well if I was unsure before that just confirmed my suspicions, the unstrung black bow and tactical genius gave it away."

Richard cursed under his breath. The fact that Himiko knew Archer's identity didn't sit well with him. Archer had a very stern look and his face. Privateer stood perfectly still watching Archer's every move. The only person making any noise was Himiko who kept talking, "Anyway, like I said I'm Himiko, and I am second in line to the Tsurugaoka family."

Richard spoke, "As you know, I'm Richard, and I'm first in line to the Saxon family."

"Oh first in line, that explains so many things. Now I understand why you're so self-centered, arrogant, and think that you are the only one allowed to get coffee in the morning."

Richard snapped back, "you're just jealous that your second in line to your family."

"You bet your ass I am, at home, it was all Yukemo this, Yukemo that… meanwhile, I get none of the perks of being in an old magus family."

Richard instantly sat forward and glanced around the room, carefully checking if anyone was listening to their conversation. He aggressively whispered to Himiko, "Are you insane what if someone heard you say that."

"I don't care, no one's listening and anyone who was listening doesn't care either." Himiko stopped talking mid sentence, took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly. When she continued talking she was back to speaking in a formal and polite tone, "Okay you're right, I really shouldn't say things like that."

Richard blinked a few times, it was almost impossible to guess what Himiko was thinking about, but he could tell that they had one significant thing in common. They both have a profound contempt for their families, "Oh you think that's bad, do you want to guess when the first time I left my house was? I was 15."

"that's pretty bad, but you should try being a shrine maiden. For literally as long as I can remember I have had to climb up and down the several hundred steppes to my family's shrine just to sit there, pray, and hope to hell that someone somewhere was listening. On top of that, it wasn't until very, very recently that one was. Of all the divine spirits that watch over this land only one could be bothered to answer me when I talk to them."

Richard sat puzzled, she said something last night about a divine spirit, but he had just assumed that she was crazy. On the other hand, it is possible for a talented magus to become a medium for divine spirits and If her family owned a shrine than it's possible that she can commune with divine spirits.

Privateer spoke for the first time all day, "Aye, ye be talking about the ghost."

Himiko whipped her head towards Privateer, "We have spoken about this don't you dare get me started."

Richard interrupted their conversation—he didn't want Himiko to get all fired up again—" So I guess by your clothes and the fact that you family owns a shrine that you're a Shinto shrine maiden."

"You are correct, turns out you do have a brain on your shoulders."

"And the divine spirit you're talking about, you said their name is Hachiman, right?"

"Correct."

"Are you still in communication with Hachiman?"

She rolled her eyes "Like I would tell you that, what do you think I am stupid."

"The fact that you are a medium for divine spirits is way more important than if you are currently talking to one."

"What are you an idiot? What does it matter if I have spoken to a divine spirit before, whether I'm getting real time information is way more important for you to know and plan around." Himiko replied.

Richard slouched back in his chair. He got the feeling that he was not going to be able to get Himiko to answer his question, so he changed the subject, "So, how long have you been walking around Litchhurst getting funny looks for your clothes?"

Himiko Shot him a dirty look, "Ever since I got here and it is incredibly annoying. You think that people who dress as stupidly as they do would understand a practical and traditional choice of clothing." She almost gave a little snort while she said that.

"The clothes that everyone's wearing here are the definition of normal clothes; it makes sense that they find you kimono a little weird."

Himiko stared at him, "You're almost starting to annoy me as much as Privateer."

After which Privateer said, "I anit be that bad ye landlubber."

Himiko continued speaking as if Privateer hadn't said anything, "Seriously how did you ever make any friends walking up to people in coffee shops and calling them weird."

Richard fell silent; she was probably right about that.

Himiko sat still like she was waiting for a comeback from Richard. After several seconds, she let out a genuinely sympathetic sigh, "Look sorry, I know friends are usually a sore topic for magus, I never really had any ether."

"It's fine; I know what you meant."

Richard and Himiko sat for a little while sipping their coffee, although there was complete silence at the table it didn't feel tense any more. It was almost comfortable. Both Archer and Privateer took the first chance they could to disappear into spirit form. Even after his coffee was finished Richard still sat in silence. Eventually, Himiko spoke up, "Look I'm not about to promise anything but I was wondering if I could get your phone number, If I can I want to make sure that the last person left in this war is someone I know I can beat." She said the last bit with a playful smile.

"Don't forget who won last night," Richard said as they exchanged phones to add each others' numbers.

"I'll see you around Richard," Himiko said as she got up and left.

Richard left a little bit after she did. He walked around the city like he planned on in the morning. But after a couple of hours of walking, Richard found that he was too distracted to make any serious progress. He went home at about 3:00 and laid in his bed for a while. He stared at his phone for a while before getting up for food. Richard napped occasionally and wasted time until 10:00 pm when he decided to get up and once again explore the city of Lithhurst at night.

Okay, I finally got this chapter out, I hope you liked it, and I did try to make it a little longer than usual because of the long wait. I will diffidently release the next chapter before next Friday, and if I don't feel free to spam message me, I work well with extrinsic motivation. Next chapter we will return to Aila and Saber as they fight Avenger.