Author's Note:
Whoa, how long has it been? No matter, let us continue. One aspect of Fate has always been the interest point for me: the interaction between characters, specifically, the relationship between Master and Servant. No matter how common, different people often don't mesh well with each other. And I intend to show just that!
Chapter 12: Life Continues.
As the morning light gleams, I walk my way down the road on the way to the city. It's still early, and with no school I wonder if the shops are even opened yet? The cool morning breeze grazes upon my skin as I look around and see a couple of people about, mostly teenagers. It brings about the question of whether they go to the same school as I do. However, the one person I expected to see is now nowhere in sight, having disappeared the moment I had my back turned locking the door just minutes ago...
"Uhh... Saber? Are you still here?" I call out into the open, whispering with one hand to my mouth. Expecting a response, I only hear the faint breath of the chilly, morning wind howling...
Darn, now everyone's looking at me as if I have a problem or something...
"...Well, maybe I do have a problem." I mutter out in a vain attempt to distract myself. It's this crazy war Masaru said before. This 'Battle for the Holy Grail'. There's one question in my mind, the one that's been popping up every time I start thinking about the war itself...
Why am I chosen?
At the thought, my hand instinctively reach out for my purse, digging for the gizmo. Hah, I don't even know why I brought it out with me for grocery shopping. But, the prospect of a war drives me mad. How am I gonna fight? Am I gonna survive? What should I do? The questions comes in droves, but none of them goes answered.
Suddenly, an armored hand grips me by the wrist, the metal in the same golden tint...
"It's not wise to use that item in public, Master." Saber gives me his warning as he appears out of thin air once again! The steps of his metal boots clinking at my side so suddenly I didn't even see the usual light show of flashes and glitters!
"Ah! Don't!"
Ba-dump.
At the sight of his sharp eyes, now in confusion, all I can hear is the pounding sound of my own heart-beat ringing from ear to ear...
"Don't just pop your face out like this!" As I try to calm myself, I end up bursting out in annoyance, my face heating up as the words just spews out on their own. When I realize what I just did, my hands snap towards my face in an instant, covering my mouth as if I just said something I shouldn't. Of course, I didn't mean to yell, but.. the fact that Saber didn't listen to me gets me more and more upset. He just feels so difficult to get along with, because he doesn't say anything nor does he show any emotions! I have no idea on his view on things!
I.. I wish he'd just be more open with me...
Looking to the sides, I end up seeing everyone on the street now turning their attention at me. I can feel my shoulders tensing up. Hold on, are they actually looking at the knight in armor at my side instead? With that, I shift my eyes, trailing back at Saber. Instead of the shining armor that I expected. He's now standing with the ragged, leather pants from before as well as a plain, sand-colored shirt, with a thick belt running over his left shoulder.
"...I apologize, Master." With his gray eyes now looking right at me, as opposed to before, Saber sincerely give me his apology. When a man gives a girl like me an apology, with a bow and all, I can't help but feel weird. The whole situation just feels out of place.
"No, no, I'm sorry, Saber!" The more I think about it, the more I act up. And I end up apologizing as well.
"I... I just think we should have some sort of a system, so that.. you know, we can communicate and work together better."
Minutes passed and now we find ourselves within the confines of the public bus. It's empty, save for a couple situated at the back seats and an elderly resting in the front. It's a nice change compared to the usual stuffy crowd I'm used to seeing every weekend. My eyes goes from the calm morning scenery of buildings out the window towards the smooth, flowing long hair of my Servant, sitting right beside me. Once again, I look to him with eyes brimming with expectation, hoping to hear the answer I want...
"Well, what do you think, Saber?" I ask out once again, as I get more eager by the second!
"To stay in physical form more often for better protection, you say? It's true that manifestation and the travel between realms are lengthy..." Bringing his finger to his chin, my Servant seems to think a lot on the tiny request I gave to him. Ha ha, maybe now's a good time to tell him I was joking... I just didn't want him to be like a ghost following me around all the time!
"I suppose it's feasible, especially if it grants you the peace of mind, my Master." My servant replies with his stone-smile, with the same look in his eyes. All business. Saber goes so far as to hold up my hand as he does it. Because we're sitting side by side on a bus, it feels kinda awkward...
"Uh.. ha ha.. *Gulp*..good...G-Great!" My muscles tensing, I quickly pull back my hand when things starts heating up.
His touch was so... firm! And soft! Not that I know how a strong, well-built warrior's hand is supposed to feel like, but I kinda thought it would've been more rough!
I turn back to my Servant to see him gazing out the window, his eyes going over the many buildings that stretches up to the skies. His profile shows the me the eyes of someone filled with a certain sense of wonder, almost like a child watching a magic show for the first time ever! Slowly, the flustering goes away, and I just sit there admiring Saber's striking silver hair as he watches on with the look of someone... detached.
...he looks a little sad, lonely.
"Ding Dong!"
The announcement goes off without much notice, and suddenly I'm rushing Saber off the seat and off the bus itself. As we move, with me paying for the trip, my eyes catch sight of almost everyone aboard staring their eyes at Saber. Every single one of them glancing towards him every once in a while, even when they try to ignore him and tend to themselves. It doesn't surprise me much, though...
Saber's clothes are all ragged, brown and dirty. They're not that different from what you would find off a hobo wandering in the streets... We really need to do something about this!
And so, right off the bus we're off to the nearby boutique!
"All right Saber, what clothes do you like?" Casually, I toss out the question just as the automated doors zips close behind us. From the outside shades of gray, we're treated to a variety of colors stretching from one end of the store to the other. As the chill settles, the faint smell of perfume and all kinds of artificial odors hits my nose. I can't help but shake it off before looking back at Saber, who has his calm eyes flying from one section to the other.
"..."
Seconds pass and I'm only greeted by silence, amidst the small chatter of the other customers already browsing within the shop.
Oh, that's right! Saber is someone from the past, so does he even understand what I'm asking him right now? The more I think about it, the more unlikely it seems... Oh man, he must be so confused right now!
"Saber!" I watch as his eyes fly open in surprise as I jump in front of him, signaling him to stop. "Right... um, I'm sorry for not explaining things to you properly first... Uh.. This is a boutique, where... most people go to get new clothes!" At first, Saber stands confused for a minute. That dies down rather quickly, though, as his eyes simmers back to their usual, steady light. And then, out of nowhere, a small smile appears on his face. Following that, a soft chuckle.
"He he.."
He's... laughing? Why is he laughing?!
"S-Saber?" I'm so completely thrown off by his reaction that I find myself stammering, with my mind blanking out! Not only does he not give me a reply, he just keeps on chuckling to himself while hiding his face, so much that I can't help but feel my face heating up. Right now I can't help but feel embarrassed! As I stand shaking, Saber dodges his way forward and stops by my side.
"Hah.. Ahem. We Servants have been are well aware of the nuances of modern times..." The silver-haired man declares with a finger to his chin, his eyes glancing at me as he spoke. I don't quite understand what he's trying to say though. As if having read my thoughts, Saber goes back into pondering for a bit, before he starts to speak again.
"I know what a boutique is, and what it's for. I also have knowledge on the history of this town, the fact that people can fly now, and how to use a pair of chopsticks."
...What?
"...You mean you-?! And I just-!" This time, the fact that I know I screwed up really gets to me! In seconds I feel feverish, so much that I can't even finish my sentences anymore. "...Guh." As my eyes fall to the ground, I give a glance towards Saber only to see him now back to his serious self, his eyes pinning on me. In the store where we're most likely the center of everyone's attention right now, Saber just completely disregards what just happened and turns his attention elsewhere, his gaze moving on to the dozen racks set up all around us.
I'm such a dunce...
"Sigh... Let's just get you some new clothes.." I announce without looking at him as I start making my way towards the men's section, with Saber's footsteps tapping not far behind. All of a sudden, the same soft grip from before locks down on the fingers of my left hand!
"W-Whoa!"
"Saber!" I call out his name, nearly breaking into a yell as I stumble between my steps. "What's...wrong?" When I see his deathly serious eyes scanning across the room, I realize he's not joking around.
"Be on alert, Master." He pulls me close, despite my reluctance as he speaks. By the next second he already has me utterly confused.
Why is he acting like this when we're in a boutique?! What's going on?
"My senses don't lie, the presence of a Servant hides behind these walls!"
Saber, going into caution, gives me his warning. As he starts moving, pulling me along behind in his stride, I can't help but think on what he meant exactly. Among the may racks of clothes and the people by the waves, a Servant is actually here? The thought triggers off a memory from a two days ago, that of the silver golem, whose mere presence makes the ground shake and the earth split! Is Saber gonna confront the Servant here and now?! Looking at his eyes, he's looking fiercer by the second!
In our rush, we push our way through slews of clothing, going deeper and deeper into the store itself. I don't know what's worse, the fact that a fight's probably gonna start right in the open like this, or that Saber's relentless search has everyone else staring with strange looks in their eyes.
"There!" Saber cries out in part excitement and part ferocity, as we pass our way into the women's section. By now it's feeling more and more difficult to keep up with his growing speed.
Wait, why are we in the women's section?!
Our steps storming the place, Saber leads me into a corner of the store hidden away from most of the public's eye. There, right at the end, is a changing room just slightly bigger than the usual one. Kicking to the ground, he lets go of my hand. Falling back, I watch as light shimmers and Saber's unbelievably long sword appears in his hand!
"Shing..." The same humming sounds off as the blade cuts even the air itself!
"Clack!" With a pull, Saber rips the curtains clean off the rack! As the purple piece falls, something seems to grab hold of it. In swift motion, the thick drapes are pulled back, wrapping around someone's body! Flowing blond hair that touched the person's waist are tossed into the air, and in a small corner I saw a pair of soft, green eyes.
Before I can even croak a word, Saber's blade goes piercing through the air, flying right at where the figure stands!
Normally, the woman would be stabbed and plowed right through, the sword too fast for anyone to dodge. It turned into nothing more than a flicker of light near the end of the swing! But the lady manages to do it. Everything looks so natural as she shift her steps and just shuffled herself away from the sword. The blade cuts through some of the thick, purple cloth and a few drops of blood spray out from her side, staining the shiny steel, but for the most part, she dodged what would have been the killing blow!
"Ngh..." Saber sounds perplexed at what just happened. Breaking out of his stance, he re-adjusts the blade, twisting it so that it's now pointed towards the Servant's throat. The enemy Servant responded quickly at what's happening, too, manifesting a single crossbow strapped around her left arm. But, before the short blade attached can be brought towards her enemy, she is but one step slower, and ends up in Saber's mercy.
"You don't honestly think you'll be able to dodge my sword again, do you?" The fight seems to slow down as Saber speaks. Although he's asking the question, I can't help but feel as though Saber himself is unsure. At least for a little bit. Looking at the sword, I still can't believe Saber managed to wield and swing that weapon without cutting up the place!
"Are you willing to risk the life of your Master for the answer to your question?" The lady, still half-naked with her hair strewn behind her back, argues back with her own question. That's when both Saber and I realize where her left arm was pointing at.
Her weapon primed, it has painted me as its target!
"Uh..." I stand shaking, with no idea what I should do. Should I run? Should I scream? A good dozen thoughts explodes into my mind, but seconds pass and I still find myself frozen. Just as I decide to run, a sudden click catches my attention.
"Guh.. Very well. I will not risk the life of my Master." In the same low voice, I'm surprised to hear Saber's concern for me. Before my eyes, he pulls down his blade. With just one gesture, it then fades out of existence. With the Saber not against her anymore, the enemy Servant does the same, whisking away her own weapon, leaving me no less shocked and confused.
"All right, Archer, I got some more clothes for you to try..." Another person's voice sends shivers down my spine, locking me up again.
Wait a minute, this voice... No way...
"What the-? S-Saber?!" My eyes turn to see my Club President jumping at where he stands, the clothes he has in his hands flying all over! He's barely able to keep his voice down in his surprise! In his fluster, he does his habit of pushing his white-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose before collecting himself.
"Ahem." From the back, a deep voice hollows, pushing away all of my thoughts except for the one. Masaru and I literally jump in front of our Servants on reflex, throwing our arms at all sides. "Is there a problem here?" The man asks out in the same serious voice from before. He doesn't look too happy at all.
We can't let him see what happened! Not counting the fact that they're Servants, Saber tore off those curtains in a heartbeat, and some of Archer's blood stained the carpet!
"N-No, uh.. we're fine!" Taking the lead, Masaru tries to resolve the situation by quickly brushing it off. But, his flustering kinda makes it unbelievable. And it shows on the store clerk's face.
"Yeah, he was just... suggesting some new threads for me to try on!" I cry out, scrambling down to the floor to pick up the clothes Masaru dropped.
"W-What?! No, I-! I mean, yeah, she's my girlfriend! That's why I'm here with her in the women's section!" Panicking even more, Masaru suddenly plays along. Although I can't believe he actually said that! With skeptical eyes, the clerk soon leaves us alone despite Masaru's face going redder by the second. He doesn't look like one of the regular staffs. He might even be the manager of this store. Only minutes later do things go back to normal, and the two of us give out a sigh of relief at almost the exact same time...
"I'm really sorry for what happened, Masaru." My eyes to the ground, I sit there apologizing as we wait. We're in quite the pickle. Apparently, Masaru came here today with the thought that his Servant shouldn't be having armor on all the time. I'm kinda happy how much alike our thoughts are.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it." Masaru replies, his eyes checking on the dented metal and torn sheets. Making his way into the room itself, he makes sure everywhere else is clean before turning to the area stained by his Servant's blood. So drawn by his action, I find myself walking in just to get a closer look. From his pockets comes a vial of glowing blue water that looks... kinda weird, and cool at the same time!
"What's that?" Of course, I can only wonder about it for so long before asking about it.
"It's a solution for dissipating Prana." He answers, before a glance at my confused face prompts an explanation. "Well, Prana is the energy Magi needs to cast spells. Almost everything related to Thaumaturgy runs on Prana, including the substance spirits are made of, including our Servants." He continues, his words coming out quickly one after the other. Although the terms he brings up makes my brain cringe a little. "This solution cleans up tiny spills of prana, so I'm using it to wash away the blood. It's kinda like Hydrogen Peroxide." All the while, he has his hands carefully applying that blue water onto the carpets.
...I still don't quite get what he's saying, though.
Then, before our eyes, the bloodstains magically fades away, as if it's being broken down and carried away by the wind. Following that, we go out of the room as Masaru takes a gander at the broken curtain rack. Shooting his eyes from one corner to the other, Masaru takes a deep breath before placing his hand onto the ruined curtain rack.
"Swuu!" A soft humming resonates, and following it, the familiar green light shining faintly. They look kinda like snakes as they go up and around his hand, his fingers.
As amazed as I am, right now however, I'm not feeling so well. Guilt chews down at the back of my head.
Saber is the one who did this, but I couldn't do anything to stop him. As his Master, does this mean its my fault?
"...I'll just... go get some clothes for Saber, Masaru." Feeling rather listless, I just kinda toss out the words as I force my legs to stand. As if sensing my troubled thoughts, Saber moves as I do, coming to my side as I start pushing my way through the clothes and rack, bumping my way through a number of them. Without Masaru saying anything, my steps take me out of the women's section in the matter of seconds. As I look through the various shirts in an attempt to distract myself, I can't shake away the feeling in my mind.
All this trouble. The fights between Servant, how I'm supposed to hunt down the other Master-Servant pairs.. I feel like... running away from all that. I guess I still can't wholly accept this war I'm being dragged into yet...
"Is something the matter, Master?" Suddenly, the voice of my Servant calling pulls me right back to the hustle and bustle of the store, with more and more people coming in as time passes close to noon. Saber's eyes gleams with worry as he looks to me, so much that he's completely forgotten about choosing the clothes for himself.
"N-Nothing's wrong, Saber... Are you done choosing what you want?" Slapping myself into focus, I decide to push away the thoughts and return to the situation at hand. At least until we're finish with this first. Saber stares back at me for a second looking slightly confused before turning back to the racks with uninterested eyes.
All of a sudden, he just picks up a shirt, a pair of pants, a belt, socks and shoes and a thick, wooly coat from the piles to his right!
"All right, I'm done. Let's get on with the day, Master." As if everything's dandy Saber starts making his way towards the counter without even taking a look at the items he picked!
"What? Wait a minute, Saber!" I can't help but cry out confused as I dash in front of him. "Uh.. You've decided on those just like that? On an off-hand glance?" Saber only answers my question with a mild confused look in his eyes. I swear, he didn't even open up the stuff he picked up from the piles! He chose them on a whim, it's like he just picked them up in random!
"Excuse me, Master. Do you disagree with these clothes?" Saber wonders with the same voice as calm as before. He even looks through the clothes with questioning eyes when he notices me staring.
I don't believe it. Is he actually serious?
"Uh.. Don't you want to at least try them out, first?" Getting desperate, I sorta just blabber out the words as they come to mind.
"Ah, I see. Very well, Master, let us head back to the changing room." As if finally realizing the answer, he nods at me with a faint smile, before waiting for me to head back. Sigh, I give up. If Saber's okay with those clothes then I guess I'm okay with them as well. Instead of getting all stressed out, I end up dragging my feet as I start walking, feeling a little bit sullen.
For some reason, the more I think back on what just happened the more upset I get...
"Well, you guys certainly took your own sweet time, huh? A lady in red greets us with sarcasm as we arrive back at the changing room. Annoyed, her green eyes furrowed amidst her golden hair as she stands by the room with her arms crossed. Even after taking a few more glance towards her darkened and rather scary face, I still can't really tell who she is, or why she's talking to us right now.
Wait a minute, don't tell me she's here because of the damage Saber did!
"Not once did it occur to you that my Master's still here waiting for you to come back?"
Eh, Master?
"All right, all right, stop messing around, Archer." I'm caught by surprise as Masaru pops his head out of the curtains before walking towards the lady. My mind kinda freaks out as everything comes together piece by piece. Her voice is familiar. She bears the same eyes as well as the same, gorgeous blond hair. The only thing different is the fact that they flow down her head different, kinda like she changed her hairstyle a bit!
"A-Archer?!" In the end, I can't help but gawk with my mouth open as I stand, both surprised and a tad bit impressed! Her red sweater brings out a strong image, only further enhanced by the soft color of her denim skirt. Her black stocking and those cute, white shoes are only the icing on the cake. Without her weapons and armor, she looks really normal. Well, maybe far from normal in terms of looks.
She's strikingly beautiful!
Looking at her, I can't help but feel somewhat lacking...
"Yeah, sorry about that. She's just upset that I didn't tell her about my plan to wait for you..." Masaru explains as he scratches the back of his head. At his side, Archer turns away from me as soon as her eyes meet with mine. Saber, however, did little more than raise his eyebrow. Did he knew it's Archer all along?
"Saber-"
"I'll be done in a second." I try to ask him about it, but he cuts me off almost immediately, already making his way into the changing room. Diving between the curtains, he still has his eyes pinned on Archer. The eyes that hold the light of suspicion and hostility...
"So Akemi, any plans yet?" As we lean by the changing room, hidden away from the public's eye, Masaru casually tosses out the question. A simple one, and yet I can't find the words to answer him proper.
"...I don't know." Muttering out the words, my eyes fall to the ground, staring at my own two feet. Even so, the feeling of Masaru watching is hardly subtle. Why does everything seems to pull me back towards the war? It's difficult to even keep it out of my thoughts! Doing my best to push them all away, I force my head up with a smile. "Well, until the fights starts happening, life still goes on, right?"
"Yeah.. Yeah, you're right!" I watch as Masaru's frown disappear when he catches my smile. I'm just glad he's still the same guy I know from school.
"Swish!"
As the curtains flies open, the man who walks out of the changing room blows our eyes open. His silver hair combed back, Saber strides out as if he's gotten a whole new makeover! Having donned the fur coat he picked, the ends seems to sway with his every step. The gray of his A-shirt compliments the colors of his coat, which is white at the collar and brown all over. Black, loose pants brings out the nice image of contrast compared to his soft brown shoes and the gold of his belt buckle.
He looks positively more dashing in this new get-up, stunning even! With his stern look, he's just like a hero straight out of an action movie! As Saber stops before us, I partly expected fireworks to go off at his back...
Wow... he really knows how to dress himself. Now I feel stupid for getting all upset just before...
"Damn Saber, you look good!" To my surprise, Masaru is the first one to jump out with praise. His eyes practically glowing, my Club President waste no time in rushing forward and going around my Servant just so he can check out Saber's new threads from every corner. In a fit of the moment, Masaru's hand find his way onto Saber's right shoulder, the sight itself hilarious because of Saber being taller than him by a head! At the contact, Saber shoots him a glare as his eyebrows furrowed.
"Guh, sorry." Immediately, Masaru tenses up before jumping back on reflex. Fortunately, it seems a glare is all Saber wanted to convey.
"He he.." I can't help but laugh to myself when I see what's happening. "You look great, Saber!" Then comes my turn, I cry out with my hand waving as Saber makes his way back to my side. Of course, he remained unmoved after hearing me, not one reaction as his eyes turned to the sides.
"Thank you, Master." Those three words are his only reply, his voice still as monotonous as ever.
Well... At least we're talking. That alone is better than before.
Finally, with the stuff we need from the boutique done we start making our way towards the counter. As Masaru and I walked alongside our Servants, we can feel the heavy air pressing on our shoulders. All around us, people left and right are turning their eyes at us, staring. Saber and Archer's outfits are practically oozing with style and fashion, capturing their attention almost instantly! It isn't long before Masaru and I have our heads hanging from our necks from the pressure alone.
Stopping by the counter, we leave our Servants for a second to settle the payment only to be met with a nasty surprise...
"Okay then, your total is fourteen hundred dollars." The cashier behind the counter announces the total without a single stutter to her words.
"Fourteen hundred dollars?!" Apparently it's worse than I thought, as Masaru breaks out screaming as he's reaching for his wallet. I think right now he's probably regretting his decision to cover help pay for Saber's clothes. The crazy price has me stunned as well.
I mean, how the heck does two sets of clothes cost so much?!
Looking into my own purse, I only carried with me about three hundred dollars for grocery today, and even that's more than my usual amount!
"No, there has to be a mistake. We're only getting two sets of clothes, Madam." It takes Masaru a few seconds to calm himself before speaking to the Cashier again, denying our total. With utmost professionalism, the lady keeps her smile on as she double-check everything with the register, her eyes zipping back at our Servants every once in a while.
"Eighty dollars for that red sweater, seventy for her denim skirt. Ten for the stockings and another forty for the shoes..." The lady carefully gives us the price for each item, much to our surprise, pointing them out as she speak. "Hm, forty dollars for his gray A-shirt, fifty for the leather belt, another fifty for his pair of leather shoes with socks. Sixty dollars for those black pants.. and.."
"A thousand bucks for that fur coat of his. Nope, everything's accounted for, Sir. Correctly, if I might add." Again, she flashes us a smile and a bow as she repeats herself, pausing for a second before continuing.
"Will that be cash or credit, sir?"
"A thousand dollars for a coat?!" Masaru can't help but scream out at the top of the voice, and I can't say I can blame him. By now, our little commotion has the whole store chatting up a storm. When he looks to my side for answers, I find myself turning towards Saber. Having catch with what's happening, my Servant pushes himself up from the wall and makes his way towards us. Even as my eyes fall upon his coat, I still can't see why it costs a thousand dollars!
"Of course, Sir. That coat is authentic fur, imported straight from Scandinavia. In fact, it's one of our best-sellers!" I applaud the clerk for her positive attitude despite our current situation. She seems to be trying her best to make the sale. Unfortunately, I don't think we even have a thousand dollar on ourselves right now...
Behind us, the line is getting longer and longer. Some of the customers are even getting annoyed. You can tell from the various grunts you hear every once in a while. I bet we look like a bunch of kids who bit off more than we could chew right about now. As my mind races for a solution, Saber walks his way past me and towards the counter, taking something out from his new coat...
"Slap."
From the palm of his hand to the counter-top, a stack of fifty dollar notes appears out of nowhere! Bewildered, Masaru snatches away the stack and begin furiously counting the lot of them.
"Eleven.. twelve.. thirteen.. fourteen hundred dollars!" He says out in surprise as his hands slowly handed them to the lady at the register. She looks a bit taken aback by Masaru's reaction, but nonetheless gracefully accepted the payment. As Masaru returns with Saber following behind, he still wears the his face full of questions.
"...Saber?" I call out to my Servant as soon as he returned. Now he has look of victory in his eyes, despite looking pretty much as serious as before. "What just happened? Where did you get all that money?!" Of course, I'm still surprised by the fact that Saber had money on him! Is all Servants capable of making money out of thin air?
"It seems I still have access to my hoard. All I can say is that you can worry about money problems no more, Master." He replies as polite as ever, finishing his sentence with a bow. Looking towards Masaru, he seemed to have brushed off whatever that was troubling him seconds ago. With nothing else, we begin heading towards the door and making our way out of the Boutique itself. The eyes of the public still heavy on us and our Servants...
Walking out the door and out into the afternoon sun, I feel as though it's been days. We've certainly had a few days worth of excitement from this morning alone!
"So... what are you going to do now, Akemi?" With our Servants at our side, the street outside the shop is where we will decide whether we split or no. Masaru has his eyes to the skies as he waits for an answer, but I can actually see him shifting his sight towards me every few seconds...
"Growl."
The sound comes out almost at the exact same time, leaving a soft rumbling in my stomach as it dies down. It definitely locks down the sea of thoughts to the one...
"Um... How bout lunch?"
…
"Yeah, I'm starved!"
The chapter comes to an end. I hope you guys had fun reading about Akemi and the others as much as I enjoyed writing it out! What do you guys think of the characters? Do you like them? Hate them? Do they feel weird and out place? Don't be afraid to tell it to me straight in your reviews! The second day of the Holy Grail War continues, and it's certainly not ending anytime soon!