Heroic Spirit Emiya was seriously considering gouging his own eyeballs out. His Master was posing in front of her mirror, modelling various outfits. She was on her third so far.
Master, they haven't even agreed to meet us, Emiya tried to point out the obvious flaw in his Master's current behavior. Unfortunately, she wasn't listening.
"What do you think? Is it too hoochie mama?" Hoochie mama? Emiya was unfortunately looking right at his Master as she bent over and gave him an excellent panty shot. The blue mini-skirt she was wearing did absolutely nothing to hide her frilly pink underthings. "Is it too low cut in front?" Emiya made a sound like a death gargle and his Master straightened, looking over her shoulder in surprise. "What?"
Master, if you wear a skirt like that you cannot bend over at the waist, Emiya said, recovering his equilibrium. And it doesn't matter if it's low cut in the front as you have no breasts to pop out. That was unkind but true, Rika was in a training bra. She glared right at him.
"Oh shut it! Who asked you anyway?" …She'd been doing nothing BUT asking him… "Do you think the necklace looks – OH!" The phone rang, to Emiya's eternal gratitude. Now if it was only a telemarketer – "Hello! Oh hey, I was hoping you would call!" Emiya couldn't hear the other end of the conversation but Rika was listening. "A neutral place? Oh, I know the best place! Meet me at the creepy park in an hour!" Rika ended the call and Emiya blinked.
Master, shouldn't you have told them where that is? Emiya asked and Rika shrugged.
"If they can't find it they're worthless and we don't need them." That… wasn't bad actually. Emiya could think of three ways to find it off the top of his head. If their prospective allies couldn't handle it they were seriously lacking in ability. "Seriously though, do you think this outfit is good?" Emiya mentally rolled his eyes before devoting some real attention to his Master's insecurities.
The skirt is fine aside from the chance you will show off your panties. If that is your aim, it's perfect. The top is perfectly acceptable. It was a V neck blouse of a blue that matched the mini-skirt. I like your necklace, it suits you. It was heavy gold links with green enameled leaves and bedazzled butterflies perched on them. She had a matching butterfly pin in her hair, along with a blue scrunchy holding her pony-tail in place. Rika beamed.
"Aw thanks! OK, we'll go with this! Hmm, I'll leave right away!" Rika ran down the stairs, limber as a gazelle and Emiya felt absolutely ancient as he followed her. Two teenage girls in a row, how had this happened to him? Although Rika was absolutely nothing like Rin…
"Hi daddy I'm going to play in the park I'll be home before curfew bye!" Rika breezed out without waiting to hear what her father might have to say and Emiya followed close behind. She dashed along the streets without a care, her ponytail bouncing and Emiya kept watch over her. The one thing he wished for was his Archer vision. It was so strange not to have it.
Then they arrived in the park and Emiya felt the familiar malignancy that was the site of the Fuyuki fire. Rika felt it too, from the way her steps slowed and her expression became almost melancholy. Then she stood still, closing her eyes for a moment and breathing out slowly. Emiya's spectral eyes widened as he felt what she was doing.
Rika?! She was activating her Magic Core. I don't think this is a good idea! What did she think she was doing?
"Hush Shirou, I've done this dozens of times," Rika said calmly and Emiya watched in awe and horror as she pulsed pure prana into the environment. It was a relentlessly positive energy, in keeping with Rika's personality and Emiya was awed to see it was having an effect on the park. A minor, transitory effect but a real one. "No one'll notice, this park eats good vibes like a baby bird on worms. But I'll feel better waiting."
I see. Rika was right that the park was quickly erasing her 'good vibes', but Emiya still felt that the supervisor of Fuyuki should have picked up on this. And dozens of times? Really, what was that idiot DOING? When the environment was… not cleaned, but less oppressive… Rika kicked off her shoes and climbed a tree. Archer watched patiently over her. They were extremely early, it had only been a fifteen minute walk.
Hopefully, their prospective allies would arrive soon.
"…The creepy park?" Vrishakethu stared at his phone in disbelief as Arjuna elegantly facepalmed. "What kind of direction is that?" He'd had the phone on speaker so Arjuna could hear. He was wondering now if they should reconsider this alliance. "Well, if we can't find it she's too much of an idiot to bother with." Not a bad way to look at it. "I'll google it… oh."
"Master?" Arjuna said as Vrishakethu paused, looking at his phone with a frown.
"Direct hit, that was easy, but that's an interesting story," he said after a moment, scrolling down. After a few minutes of perusal he passed the phone to Arjuna.
Fuyuki Central Park. The site of the Fire of Fuyuki, it was never rebuilt and was instead repurposed as a park. It is said to be haunted by the ghosts of those who died in the disaster.
The Fire of Fuyuki occurred on… Arjuna noted that the date was roughly twenty years ago. …Over five hundred deaths… Arjuna blinked, wondering how a fire had killed so many. His knowledge of the modern era said it should have been nearly impossible, barring an explosion. …cause never fully explained.
"It must have been magic," Vrishakethu said with a sigh and Arjuna nodded. This did seem suspicious. "The timing would have been right for the Fourth Grail War."
"Ah, is that so?" Warring Servants could certainly have done it. Arjuna handed back the cell phone. "How far is it?" Could they walk or would they need a taxi? Vrishakethu checked the maps.
"It's walking distance but we should start right away," he said and Arjuna nodded.
They walked briskly to the park, not pausing to look at the sights. They still arrived barely within the hour and when they did, the park itself did not gladden their hearts.
"Creepy park is an understatement," Vrishakethu observed and Arjuna grimaced, putting a hand over his face for a moment. "Arjuna, are you okay?"
"I… am adjusting," he said after a moment before lowering his hand. "It is unpleasant." The park was full of negativity to the point that it could affect him on a spiritual level. Arjuna could almost hear the screams and knew that if he dared to empathize with it, open himself in an effort to give these spirits rest, he would be dragged down with them. Nothing could cleanse this place. "Are you well?" Vrishakethu was huddling in his jacket like he was cold.
"My magic is mostly physical so I'm fine. This place is just cold, is all." Ah, he was feeling it as a chill. "But there's something warm over there…?" Arjuna blinked and oriented himself before realizing his Master was right. There was a distinct sensation of warmth radiating from one corner of the park.
They walked in that direction and soon found the girl. She was playing with her cell phone and talking to her disembodied Servant.
"I'm giving them another thirty minutes they might have walked – OH HEY! You're here!" The girl scampered over with a bright smile and Arjuna was suddenly reminded of one of his daughters. Ah, that girl had been a fountain of energy as a child. The thought brought a small smile to his face. "I hope you didn't bring anything to eat because everything here tastes like sadness." HAH! Arjuna let out an involuntary snort as Vrishakethu looked lost.
"Uh, no, we didn't," he said and Arjuna had the distinct feeling his Master had no idea how to handle such a person as this.
"Oh goody, we can go to a café after, my treat! So you've got the Archer class servant and I've got the Caster!" she bounced a little before looking into one particular point in the air. "Why don't you materialize for a moment so they know what you look like?"
"Hmph," the Servant materialized with a small grump and Arjuna kept his expression blank as he looked over a possible future enemy. The man in red was imposing, with leather straps and a jacket that stunk of magic to his senses. His tanned skin and white hair were distinctive but Arjuna could not think of a Caster that matched the description… oh wait, Merlin had possessed white hair. Surely this could not be Merlin? "I would say this is foolish but the park is truly deserted. Greetings, you may call me Shirou." Arjuna was sure that name was utterly fake.
"Shirou? That's a coincidence, there's someone named Shirou already involved in the Grail War," Vrishakethu said and the other Servant lifted a white eyebrow, expression mildly curious. "Before we go into that, though, we need to know why we should ally with you in the first place," Vrishakethu said firmly and Arjuna nodded. The girl pouted.
"Because I'm cute!" …Totally insufficient. Caster put a hand on his forehead.
"Miss, let me handle this," he said and looked directly at Vrishakethu, aquamarine eyes meeting honey brown. "My Master is the offspring of a phantasmal beast and possesses a Magic Core. While she is untrained, I am Caster and I am now granted a nearly limitless fountain of prana. This is an advantage but not one that will help me defeat those with very high magical resistance, such as Saber. So we require allies." Caster – Shirou? – paused for a moment before giving them a hard smile. "However, do not underestimate us. With my Master's power to fuel me I am extremely dangerous."
"And he cooks and cleans like way-oo!" Arjuna felt his lips twitch and manfully suppressed a chuckle as the Servant in red looked martyred. Vrishakethu was staring at them both like they were aliens.
"I am also an excellent sounding board for pre-pubescent lolis – OW!" She'd just kicked him in the shin.
"I am not pre-pubescent! I am totally pubescent! Take that back!" Hmm, no she wasn't, not by Arjuna's standards at least. She appeared to be the same age as Vishakethu, which was roughly twelve or thirteen, physically. He said as much and she glared at him. "I'm fifteen you old fart!" Arjuna lifted an eyebrow at her as Caster facepalmed.
"Miss, are we trying to make friends here? …Leaving that aside, we have told you what we are bringing to the table. What are you bringing to this alliance? I don't want your identity but I want to know that I am not allying myself to weaklings," Caster said firmly and Arjuna glanced at Vrishakethu.
"My Archer is powerful in his class, which is all I will say. As for myself, I am a homunculus," Vrishakethu said in a hard tone and the girl stared at him, seemingly hanging on every word. Arjuna was seeing something interesting here, something he suspected his Master was oblivious to. "I possess the skills of an Executor and I have killed twenty-seven people, as well as five undead."
"Ohmigosh are vampires real?" Rika asked and Arjuna saw Caster wince. Frowning, he reflected on how fine a meal this girl would make for an Undead Apostle. It was not safe for her to be so ignorant. Vrishakethu nodded. "Hey, how old are you? You must be way older than you look!" His Master hesitated a moment before heaving a small sigh.
"I am three years old. I was artificially aged," he said calmly and Arjuna could see an awareness in Caster, almost pity as he looked at the young man. Ah, he understood what that meant. Rika's eyes widened.
"So are you like a clone? A magic clone?" Vrishakethu looked lost and Arjuna wasn't sure what she meant either. Caster cleared his throat.
"Yes, that's very close to accurate. Although judging from what I can sense, he was born naturally," Caster said and Rika chewed her bottom lip before thinking out loud.
"You know, in the Clone Wars movie the clones all aged twice the normal rate. Are you going to die early too?" Arjuna's breath caught at that too accurate guess and Vrishakethu stiffened, a bit of anguish flickering over his face. Rika caught it as well. "You are! That's horrible! And your childhood must have sucked!" Suddenly she was hugging him and Vrishakethu's eyes went wide. "I'm going to make it better! I'll show you everything!"
"Uck… hhn… can't… breathe…!" Vrishakethu was trying to get away and Arjuna considered intervening when he saw his Master's hand move. Shirou stiffened but neither of them was able to intervene before his Master's fingers dug sharply into Rika's wrist, finding a pressure point –
Which did absolutely nothing at all.
"You're going to be my bestest friend ever – huh?" Caster's hand on her shoulder made Rika loosen her grip and Arjuna gently pulled his Master away.
"Miss, I thought you were in martial arts to control your strength. You were crushing that boy," Shirou admonished her and Rika looked shamefaced, playing with her necklace and mumbling apologies. Vrishakethu was staring at her oddly and Arjuna replayed the encounter in his mind. Perhaps his Master had not applied enough force? That seemed extremely unlikely though, Vrishakethu could augment his strength at any moment.
Arjuna, her skin suddenly became tougher when I applied pressure to it. Oh? That was interesting. Can reinforcement be instinctive? He didn't know. Do you think we should take this alliance?
Yes, Arjuna said decisively. They need our help and have the potential to be extremely useful. Also, Arjuna thought the girl might be good for his Master, although he was not going to say that.
"We've decided we'll take your alliance," Vrishakethu said decisively before looking at Rika. "If you agree?" Rika bounced a little, looking incredibly cute to Arjuna's eyes.
"Yayness! We totally accept! Let's go to the cafe! Oh but Shirou your clothing is no good, can you make yourself something? I want you to come too!" Make himself something? Caster smiled and held out a hand, dark clothing materializing in his hands. Arjuna blinked at the sight.
"Projection is one of my strongest skills. Please, excuse me," Shirou said politely before beginning to walk away. Then he paused. "Do not let my Master peek."
"HEY! I was so not going to do that!" Rika protested but Caster ignored her, walking away. "…I was totally going to do that," she admitted and Arjuna had to bite his lip. Truly, she reminded him of his daughter, sweet little Pragathi, she'd almost driven him to madness. It was more amusing when Arjuna wasn't the one responsible for it. Vrishakethu was looking at her again like she was the strangest thing he'd ever seen. Arjuna wondered how much experience he had with girls. He suspected it was almost nothing.
Then Caster returned, looking dapper in his charcoal jacket and pants, and they left the park. Arjuna was more than pleased to go.
Despite Rika's positive energy, the Fuyuki Central Park was a very unpleasant place.
As they went to the café, Emiya felt a bit of tension drain away.
He'd done very well not to betray it but after the casual mention of Shirou, Emiya had badly wanted the alliance. It had suddenly occurred to him that what these two offered was not merely firepower, but the most critical of resources, information. Rika was unplugged from the mystical community and Emiya had no viable contacts. Archer and his Master could be utterly invaluable.
The cafe they went to was a 50's style diner. Emiya's lips quirked as he took in the black and white checkerboard flooring, the bright red bar stools and booths. It was absolutely iconic and as they took a booth, Emiya picked up a laminated card. His lips twitched again as he looked at a menu that was… interesting, to say the least. Someone had taken classic 50's diner food and then repurposed it to the Japanese palate.
"Panko fried chicken over wasabi waffles with chicken wing ice cream… that sounds oddly good," the boy, Vraj, read off the menu. "Do you mind if we get a real meal? I'm hungry."
"Oh no, that's fine, I'm starving!" Not a surprise, Rika was always starving from what he'd observed. "But make sure to try to milkshakes, they're soooo good!" Emiya glanced over that section of the menu and saw some rather amusing flavors. Soda pop? Wasabi?
"I think I would like a root beer float," Emiya mused. He was in the mood for it. And while he was aching to question these two about Emiya Shirou, he did not want to make that obvious. They would get to it in time.
A waitress came and they all placed their orders. Emiya and Archer both passed on the food, getting a root beer float and a vanilla milkshake, respectively. The two children needed sustenance and Vraj ordered the chicken and waffles while Rika got a burger and fries. They both got chocolate milkshakes.
"Perhaps you could tell us a bit about the players in the Grail War? My mistress is untrained and I am of course fairly new here," Emiya said smoothly and Vraj nodded, a bit of white hair flopping over one eye. Emiya noticed Rika staring at the boy with a slight blush on her cheeks and he smiled in amusement.
"I'll do what I can. Remember, though, that everything I know is basically from eavesdropping on my father so it might be incomplete," Vraj warned and Emiya nodded. It would still be better than his own complete lack of knowledge. "Two of the major players are Emiya Shirou and Tohsaka Rin. They're trying to stop the Grail War for some reason, I'm not sure why." He could easily make a guess. "They've been doing this by assassinating magi in an effort to disrupt factions." … "They are both extremely ruthless and care nothing about civilian casualties." …What?
"Can you amplify on that?" Emiya asked, deliberately keeping his expression open and interested. Beneath the table, though, his fists clenched. Vraj looked down at the table and Emiya saw guilt chase across his dark face.
"I… when we first came here, Archer and I were trying to figure out how to get to Fuyuki. He doesn't have Riding skill and I can't drive. We set up a diversion, pretending to take a boat. Instead, we took the train and went on a sight-seeing tour," Vraj said before stopping, staring at the table.
"They destroyed the ship and killed almost everyone aboard," Archer finished the story and Emiya's gaze snapped to him. The other Servant looked at him calmly and he could detect no hint of falsehood. "They seem to believe that the end justifies the means." …!
"I see," Emiya said calmly, rage burning at the back of his mind. Had Emiya Shirou learned nothing from his fate? The end justifies the means. Sacrifice the few for the many. That was the very justice he embodied. Then Vraj made it even worse.
"They call him the new Magus Killer. He'll almost certainly be given his father's title," Vraj said and Emiya had to contain his reaction. That was something he had also achieved, in his lifetime. "They have many followers… I wish I knew why so many people want to stop the Grail War. That troubles me," Vraj said, pushing back that errant bit of hair. It immediately flopped over his eye again.
Then the food arrived and they quietly thanked the waitress before digging in. Or rather, the two children dug in. Emiya quietly sipped his root beer float and smiled as Rika ravenously tore through her food, Vraj not far behind. Ah, how long had it been since he'd been so young and hungry? He couldn't imagine. Archer was smiling a bit too, as he sipped his milkshake. As they drank, Emiya debated telling them the truth about the corruption of the Grail. But how could he explain his knowledge? After a bit of reflection he decided to keep it to himself for now.
"Other possible players include the Yggdmillenials. Father wasn't sure who they would field but he thought it might be Laveau. He was a bit concerned because she practices voodoo and it intersects with our abilities," Vraj said when he came up for air. "There were two more possible players I know of but they were both assassinated by Emiya. So that's all I have."
"Hmm, what are your abilites? Can you go into it in more details?" Emiya asked and Vraj hesitated so he gave the child a crooked smile. "I will tell you more about my Caster abilites." They weren't exactly typical of the class. Vraj looked at Archer, who nodded.
"If we are serious about this alliance you should explain the power of your Crest," he said calmly before taking a sip of his milkshake and Emiya's interest sharpened. The boy had a Mage Crest?
"Alright. I was created by the Lupei clan." So Vraj Khatri was a false name. He'd rather thought so. "I have the Crest of Flesh, I took it from my father's corpse," Vraj said and Emiya blinked. Rika just tilted her head, looking innocently curious. "It lets me make familiars – I'm already working on putting together a spy network of them – flesh dolls, self-modification and healing. The self-modification is potent, think of it as incredibly refined reinforcement." Vraj gave him a hard smile. "With that and my own modifications, I am probably on the level of the very best Enforcers."
"He would be capable of engaging a Servant," Archer quietly said and Emiya glanced at him. His eyes were dark and unhappy. "This all comes at the cost of lifespan." Ah. Of course.
"What are your own modifications? Anything special?" Rika asked and Vraj hesitated before pushing down the collar of his shirt a bit, showing the golden marks. "Oh wow, what's that?!"
"Mystical runes. My Origin is Flesh and my element is Fire, these runes allow me to use Fire as easily as breathing," the boy said and Emiya mentally shook his head. That was similar to the command spells that had been carved into Illya and it would help to shorten his life. "That's it. Now tell me about your abilities." Hmm.
"In life, I was not much of a magus. Archer is my preferred class," Emiya said calmly, taking a swig of the root beer float. It really was very good. "As Caster I can create bounded fields and employ minor cantrips. My true abilities, however, are Projection and Reinforcement. I can project numerous Noble Phantasms and I can also shatter them, causing explosions. My Item Crafting is A rank and I can literally create new Mystic Codes, if given enough time and materials. I can reinforce myself and any objects around me, and also mend damage given to them." Emiya paused, thinking about the knowledge that was part of his class. "My one weakness is with those who have very high magical resistance. It is possible for such individuals to reject the very existence of my projections and cause them to evanescence." That wasn't true of the Archer class but Caster had a peculiar weakness, probably to make him a bit more typical of the breed.
"Hm. Then you are not Merlin, I wondered if you might be," Archer said and Emiya almost choked at the thought. "Do you have any ability with enthrallments and memory alterations?" That was an interesting and rather specific question.
"Only minor cantrips. Why?" Emiya asked, a bit on guard. Archer sipped his milkshake before explaining.
"My Master is living in the attic of a building we have broken into. While it is very safe in a sense – it is unlikely Emiya will be able to target us there – it is far from ideal. And if we are to be allies we should combine our forces." Ah. His question made sense now. Emiya thought about it hard for a moment. Could he modify Rika's father enough to make this work?
"Never work. I used to hypnotize daddy all the time to get him to buy me stuff, he got immune to it." …Damnit Rika! Emiya sighed, rubbing his forehead. Rika pushed away her empty plate, giving them all a serious look. "I think I need to run away from home for a while. We should find a totally new place." Emiya froze as an idea came to him.
"Ryuudou temple," he said and they all looked at him. "It's a focus of the leylines of Fuyuki and one of the places the Grail can manifest. We should go there. I might be able to modify the monks' memories to give us a cover story." Rika was looking very dejected though, her shoulders drooping and her head down.
"Um, are you okay?" Vraj asked hesitantly and she lifted her head before giving him a wan smile.
"Just don't want to do this, y'know? I'll write him a letter but daddy's going to be so worried. We have to do something though, I can't keep going to lessons with Sachiko, I need to really concentrate on this. And the house kind of sucks, Caster said so," she said and Emiya grimaced. It was too true, Rika's home was not an ideal territory. "We either tell daddy everything or I have to run away. And if we tell him everything he'll try to get involved and keep me safe and probably get himself killed. I love daddy but he's a klutz."
"Oh, sorry," Vraj said quietly before reaching over to gently touch Rika's hand. Emiya couldn't help a small twitch of his lips. He glanced at Archer, who met his gaze with a small smile. Ah, children. Did Vraj have any idea that he was cementing Rika's interest in him? Emiya doubted it.
"I will see what I can find out about the temple directly while you scout it in incorporeal form. Is that agreeable?" Archer asked and Emiya nodded. It would mean leaving their Masters uncovered but they would have their Command Seals. Speaking of which.
"Rika, if anything happens be sure to summon me with a Command Seal. Do not hesitate," Emiya said firmly. Then he looked at the other Master at the table. "Vraj, use your best judgement." With a Mage Crest and his other skills, Vraj would have to decide for himself if a Command Seal was called for. Archer nodded, seconding his words as he finished his milkshake.
"Mmm, well, I'm done. Want to meet at the creepy park again tomorrow?" Rika asked but Archer frowned.
"Perhaps somewhere else? We don't want to form a pattern," he said and Rika immediately had an alternate suggestion.
"How about Verde? I go there all the time when my lessons are over," she said and Emiya considered it as Vraj pulled out his cell phone.
"Oh, a shopping mall? We'll have to be a bit careful what we say but that should be fine, I don't think Emiya would bomb a mall." Vraj hesitated a moment. "I… well actually he might." Emiya closed his eyes for a moment, feeling his heart hurt. Vraj's uncertainty was completely sincere. "We'll be careful." Vraj nodded resolutely and Emiya nodded back.
"I got the bill!" Rika bounced up to the front counter and pulled a credit card out of her pocket. Emiya was quiet and withdrawn as he followed his Master out of the diner. Would Emiya Shirou actually blow up a mall to kill the young homunculus, or was Vraj just being paranoid? Heroic Spirit Emiya honestly didn't know.
But he feared the worst.