Hikaru bounced back and forth on the balls of her feet as she stared out the window of the train. Usually she would think that the train was fast in getting from place to place but right now it seemed like it was crawling on the tracks at a snail's pace. After Rin had dropped the bombshell, they had arranged to meet up at the park near Rin's place.
"Maybe I should have asked Rin to send Archer to get me…" she murmured as she leaned her head against the wall. The old-fashioned way took forever! However it would still probably be very awkward to be around him. So maybe this was better after all...
No. Focus. Right now, that didn't matter. Alice's kidnapping was more important. She put a hand over her abdomen. This time she was not going to let Julius knock her down. She would fight back!
The train rumbled to a stop and Hikaru was first out of the doors and she walked quickly through the station. Once she was out, she was about to break into a run when someone grabbed her arm. Was it Gilgamesh? She whirled around, ready to give the Servant a piece of her mind but she stopped when she realized who it was. "Shinji!?"
The ex-Master released her arm. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"
"Shinji, shouldn't you be in hiding at the church or something?" she blurted out without thinking.
He gave her a disgusted look but his eyes shifted down to her left hand. "You're still a Master? Wow. Your Servant must be really amazing for someone like you to still be in it."
"I don't have time for this Shinji." She yanked her arm out of his grip. Why did it seem like everyone wanted to grab her arm today? "Now if you will excuse me I have things to do that do not involve talking to you."
"Oh, really then?" Shinji dug his phone out of his pocket and showed her the screen. "Will this change your mind?"
Hikaru's eyes narrowed when she saw the picture on the screen and she glared at Shinji with pure hatred. "Where is she?" she asked in a low threatening voice. She glanced around quickly and saw a train had just pulled in and people were streaming into the station. She grabbed Shinji's arm and forcefully dragged him to a corner (with the help of a bit of reinforcement). "Okay, talk now. Where is she!?"
Shinji adjusted his shirt. "Now, maybe you shouldn't be threatening me. Julius said that if anything happened to me, you can say bye bye to the little girl."
"I knew you were a creep but this is too far even for you." She crossed her arms. "So, let me guess, there is a reason you approached me here, isn't there?"
Shinji shrugged. "Maybe." He put his phone away. "You need to follow me. Oh and don't think about calling Rin." He looked around and then added. "Or that Servant of yours either. He's not around is he?"
Hikaru decided not to answer that. "Just take me to Alice."
Shinji shrugged before he began leading the way. She held back a few steps as she followed. Her brain was trying to figure out a plan of some kind. Why did Julius enlist the help of Shinji? In terms of competence, Shinji was the last guy you would want on your team. Couldn't Julius just ask Leo for help?
"What did Julius promise you?" she asked.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" He wasn't even hiding how confident he was right now. All Hikaru wanted to do was punch that smug grin off of his face but she couldn't. Not while Alice was at risk. She looked down at the command seals on her hand. Only two left. If worse came to worse, she knew she was going to need to use it get Archer to her right away. Even if their relationship was strained, they were still Master and Servant at the moment. She looked up as Shinji turned into an abandoned lot with a building that was in dire need of repair.
"Come on now. No dawdling."
Hikaru silently followed Shinji into the lobby of the building. She froze in her tracks when she saw the little girl tied to one of the support pillars. "Alice!" she screamed.
The little girl looked up at her. She looked dirty and a little shaken but other than that she looked okay. "Nee-san!" Her purple eyes filled with tears.
"Now don't get ahead of yourself." Julius stepped out from behind the pillar that she was tied to, his hand tightly griped around one of Alice's braids.
"What do you want Julius? What was the point in taking Alice? She has nothing to do with this. You have a problem with me, not her."
"But this girl is my trump card against you," Julius pointed out. He pulled a knife out of his pocket and gestured for Shinji to come over. He handed the knife and Alice's braid to Shinji before he walked over to Hikaru. "I wouldn't try anything," he said.
Shinji laughed as he waved the knife in front of Alice's face. The little girl just stared at the blade in pure terror.
"Don't worry Alice, it'll be alright," Hikaru called. She turned her attention to Julius. "You are not going to get away with this," she snapped. "Rin is going to be here soon along with Archer and Lancer. There's no way you can fight against Servants without any of your own."
"So your Servant isn't here after all," he said softly.
Damn it! She said it without thinking. She bit her lip and tightened her hands into fists. No matter. She could take on Julius by herself!
"I don't need to worry then. You won't be around for long anyway. " Hikaru coughed as the air shot out of her lungs as Julius punched her abdomen. She collapsed to her knees and wheezed as she tried to catch her breath. That was so ridiculously fast. She didn't even see the punch coming.
She could hear Alice screaming but all she could focus on was Julius's foot coming towards her face. Her magic circuits open now, she reinforced her arms and caught his foot in mid-strike and gave him a hard toss. He didn't get far due to the angle but she was able to get a couple of seconds of respite. After healing the pain from the first punch, she scrambled to her feet and ran over to the fallen Julius. Before she could give the assassin a hard kick, she heard Alice scream in terror and pain.
Hikaru froze and turned to the little girl. "Stop it!" she screamed. Shinji was running the blade lightly on the skin of Alice's forearm. A small trail of red followed the knife.
"Nee-san!" screamed Alice.
Julius grabbed Hikaru's leg and yanked her to the ground. Her head banged against the ground painfully and stars dotted her vision. She felt hands wrap around her throat. In the background she heard Alice scream. Hikaru's fingers found Julius's wrists and she struggled to pull the pressure from her neck away. Reinforce. She needed to reinforce.
"I wouldn't do that," Julius said coldly as Alice let out another high pitched scream in terror.
Hikaru's eyes widen as tears started leaking at the edge of her vision and she loosened her grip on Julius's wrists. No way. There was nothing she could do. She could break free now but she would most likely not make it to Alice in time. The other choice, she could let Julius kill her but what would happen to Alice afterwards? Who's to say that he wouldn't kill her anyway?
She couldn't breathe. She tried to suck in another breath but the pressure on her throat prevented her from doing so. No way. After she finally could fight back, here she was, pinned to the ground, going to die, unable to help Alice. The edge of her vision was getting blurry. Damn it. Damn everything.
She closed her eyes. What was the point of even looking at Julius's smug face right now? This was it. It was all over. The end. If only…if only she could have survived the War longer…
She heard a choked cry come from above her and the grip on her neck was suddenly gone. She coughed as she struggled to suck in sweet, sweet air.
"How dare you."
Hikaru's eyes shot open. Before her was Julius. A couple of swords were sticking out of his body. The assassin's eyes were wide in shock as he backed away. She sat up and turned her head. "Gilgamesh," she whispered.
The golden Servant stood there, like a deity sent down from above. The Gates of Babylon were open behind him. His crimson eyes were blazing in fury that Hikaru had never seen before.
She tore her eyes away from him when she heard Alice cry out again. She didn't even think as she reinforced her legs and forcefully jumped towards Alice and Shinji. Right before Shinji could slice the little girl's wrist, Hikaru was next to him. She tightened her hand into a fist and punched the pathetic ex-Master in the face.
Since she had thrown so much power behind the punch, Shinji went flying. His head banged against one of the support pillars, promptly knocking him out.
Sighing in relief, she grabbed the knife that Shinji had dropped and used it to cut the ropes tying Alice down. "You'll be fine," she whispered as the little girl threw her arms around Hikaru's neck.
"Nee-san!" she cried.
"It'll be fine," soothed Hikaru. She put a hand over the cuts on Alice's arm and healed them. "You're safe now, it'll be fine." She turned her head to check on what Gilgamesh was doing.
Julius was currently tied up in the chains Gilgamesh had used before on Archer. The golden Servant was slowly approaching him and threw a sword at him every now and then. Hikaru noticed that Gilgamesh was missing vital points with every strike. He was torturing the guy!?
She gritted her teeth and looked down at Alice. "Hey, I need to take care of something. You…you should close your eyes Alice. Or not look in this direction…"
"Alice has seen worse. Alice will be okay." She nodded and rubbed her eyes. "Alice will wait here for Nee-san."
"Okay." Hikaru released the little girl and got to her feet. "Wait. Hang on Gilgamesh."
Gilgamesh looked at her in surprise. "Don't you dare suggest that I release him," he snarled. "What he did to you was unforgivable." A small smirk crossed Julius's face.
Hikaru shook her head. "No. I…I can't forgive him myself." She turned to the assassin. He stared at her with those cold, hatred filled eyes but she didn't fear them anymore. Nothing. Those eyes had no power on her. "I need to ask you Julius. Why did you kill them? My parents. Why did you?" She swallowed. "Why did you try to kill me?"
She could feel the anger radiating off of Gilgamesh with the last question.
"Because the Harwey family wanted one less magus household to worry about." Julius laughed. It was a cruel but pitiful laugh. "The Harweys got wind about how the Kishinamis were planning on entering the next War. So, why not remove one rival out of the way?" Hikaru backed up a step by the level of fury that he threw at her. "And yet you escaped me. Not once but twice." He glanced over at Gilgamesh and turned his attention back on her. "I may not have snapped your neck that night but in a way I could say I did get my revenge. I did 'kill' the innocence you had to the truth. At least you can despair with that. Sadly, it doesn't seem like the injuries I gave you last time are there anymore though."
Hikaru's hand went to her right arm. What was she expecting from his answer? Remorse for what he had done. No. This man was an assassin. It didn't matter to him who he killed, as long as it furthered the Harwey family's goal.
"Injuries?" Hikaru thought Gilgamesh's fury couldn't get any stronger but here it was, blazing uncontrollably. "Hikaru. Tell me. What did he do to you?"
She could barely breathe in his presence right now and he expected her to answer?
"I kicked her until she was coughing up blood and had her arm broken," said Julius. He was smiling softly as the golden Servant's became pure rage in human form. "And I killed her father right in front of her as a little girl. I planning on doing worse to her the second time if I had a chance."
What in the world was Julius doing? Sure it was all the truth but saying that was just going to make Gilgamesh angrier and he knew that! It was going to make things worse for him!
"Hikaru." Gilgamesh pointed to the cowering Alice. "Go over there and don't look. I don't want you seeing this."
Hikaru opened her mouth to protest but one glance at him made her think that would be a bad idea. She took one last look at Julius. The assassin gave her a small smile before he hung his head, completely resigned to his fate. She turned away and ran over to Alice and hugged the little girl tight, her back to Gilgamesh and Julius.
"Don't look Alice," she whispered as she shut her eyes tight. "Don't look."
Her grip on the little girl tightened when she heard screaming and weird noises. She didn't know how long it lasted, but she knew she would hear the screaming in her dreams for days to come. Alice shivered in her arms as tears poured down her face but she was silent otherwise.
"You can look now," Gilgamesh said softly.
Hikaru swallowed and opened her eyes. She turned around slowly and saw that Julius's body was gone. The only evidence that he had been here was the blood that covered the floor. She didn't even know that the human body had that much blood in it.
Alice's little hand gripped hers tightly as Hikaru slowly got to her feet. "The bad man is gone," she said.
"Yeah," Hikaru replied. "He's gone."
Gilgamesh turned and walked over to her, careful to not step into the blood. He opened the Gate again and pulled the giant teddy bear out of it. "Here. You left this."
Hikaru looked up at him in surprise before she took the bear. "Uh, thank you."
Silence.
"Hikaru…" he began.
"Hikaru!" Rin raced into the room with Lancer and Archer on her heels. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the blood and Gilgamesh.
Both Archer and Lancer pulled out their weapons in response. Gilgamesh made a tsk noise before he returned his attention back to Hikaru. "Give me your answer when you figure it out." He lightly kissed her on the forehead before he turned and began walking away.
"Let him go," Hikaru said quickly in case Rin or one of the Servants attacked Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh gave her one final smile before he was out of sight.
Rin raced over to her. "What happened here!? Where is Julius? Oh, you're here Alice. Wait. Is that Shinji? Lancer-go see if Julius is around."
Hikaru shook her head. "Don't worry about Julius. He's…gone." She pointed to the pool of blood. At Rin's questioning look, Hikaru quickly went through a quick rundown of the events that transpired in the building.
"Dang. I do not want to know what the body looked like after this." Lancer stood at the edge of the pool of blood and poked his lance into it.
"Why don't you get Alice back to the hospital," suggested Rin. Her eyes were clouded. Hikaru had the idea she was thinking the same thing as Hikaru. Even with all that he had done, he did not deserve the kind of fate that Gilgamesh had given him. Her eyes flickered over to Shinji, who was starting to come to. "I'll take care of him."
"Okay." She looked down at Alice. "Come on, let's get you back to the hospital, okay?" Alice nodded numbly in response. "We'll meet up again tomorrow Rin?"
Rin nodded. "Yeah, that'll be for the best." She tilted her head to the side. "Ummm, what's with the bear by the way?"
"Oh, uh, Gilgamesh won it for me at the amusement park." She bid farewell to Rin and walked over to her Servant. He had been quiet during the whole thing and held back too. "Hey," she said softly.
"Here. Give me the bear." Archer didn't even wait for her to respond before he took the bear from her. He said nothing else.
She bit her lip but put on a smile as Alice looked back and forth between the two of them in concern. "Come on, let's get you back okay?"
As soon as she opened the front door, Archer dropped the bear in the hallway. "Wait!" she cried before he could escape with an excuse that he was going to make dinner or something. She reached out and gently touched his arm. "We…we need to talk. About stuff…"
The trip back to the hospital had been uneventful. They had gotten a few stares since Alice was in hospital garb and Archer carried a huge bear. Archer had been quiet the whole time and Alice was still pretty shaken up by what happened to want to talk. They had dropped Alice in front of the hospital because the little girl insisted that if Hikaru went in it would cause too much of a fuss and that Hikaru had other things to take care of. Leave it to a little girl to understand that something was going on between the two of them. After making sure that Alice got inside in one piece, Hikaru and Archer had headed for home, which was an awkward affair in and of itself.
He looked down at her in surprise but he nodded. "Okay."
"Great," she said softly. She led the way into the living room and sat down on the couch. After a moment's hesitation, he sat down next to her.
She looked down at her hands. Ugh. This was so awkward. Why did she think it was a good idea to start this, like this?
"Did he hurt you?"
Hikaru looked up at him in surprise. "Julius? Uh yeah." She touched her neck gently. "He tried to strangle me. I'm fine though," she added quickly when he looked at her with genuine concern etched on his face. "Gilgamesh got there in time so I'm fine. Don't worry! I'm okay now!" She gave him a thumbs up. "I'm a-okay," she insisted again.
"You always were able to bounce back quickly," he said softly as he dropped his hands to his lap. Was he planning on hugging her before or something? "I wasn't asking about him though…"
Gilgamesh then. She bit her lip and she could feel the back of her neck flush as she remembered how he had bit her ear. "No..No."
"You're lying."
Hikaru's hand went to her ear. "He wasn't hurting me per-say. He stopped though," she protested. "I figured something out about my powers because of it. Well not because of that but it was involved but gah!" She shook her head. If the conversation traveled down that path she knew she was going to get nowhere. "That's not what I wanted to discuss about at all actually. I…I need to confirm something. About my power." She bit her lip. She turned her whole body towards him. There was no way to be roundabout about this."I know this is selfish of me to ask, and I'm sorry to pry but…" She took a deep breath. "Can you tell me about the woman you loved?"