Fate/Infinity Shuffle
Chapter 50 – New Hand:
"Ah! Onii-chan!" Mary recognized Hakuno as he rushed out of the school, into the schoolgrounds. "See, Teddy? I knew there would be someone else around here! Let's play, let's play! Ah!" She immediately narrowed her eyes. "But follow the rules this time, alright?"
Jinako stepped forward. "You mean 'not fight back'?"
"Hm? An Onee-chan! Nee, nee, can you play with us?"
This time around, the North Ranker stepped back, shocked. "She's… really cute!"
"Kinda breaks your heart having to fight her, doesn't it?" Hakuno's sigh said everything. "But we can't hold back, Jinako."
"I suppose…" Jinako was about to pull her Lancer Card, but Hakuno handed her his Saber Card. "Eh?"
"Save that Lancer Card for later. Besides…" Hakuno turned red. "I'd like to see you in a red dress."
Jinako turned just as red, mouth slightly agape at Hakuno's request. "A-A-Alright…!" She took the Saber Card with the stutter.
"Wait a second…" Mary narrowed her eyes as a hand hid by the sleeve was placed beneath her chin, the Teddy Bear she held copying her. "…Ahh!" Her eyes immediately widened like her smile. "Teddy, they're like Mom and Dad, aren't they?!" She seemed excited, calling the attention of the teenagers. "They really, really like each other! What was it called again…? Ah, yes! Married!"
"WHAT?!" The two immediately flinched, redder than anything else in the world.
"We're just dating!"
"We're not at that point yet!" The two waved their arms, telling that Mary was wrong.
They realized they were getting distracted, so they took a deep breath and spoke the magic word.
"Install."
The two flashed white. Hakuno, as the Rockstar Archer, summoned his bow, and put on a serious face.
"…Hakuno, you didn't mess around with your Saber Card, right?"
Confused, he turned to Jinako. "Huh? What do you-?!" And he immediately stood frozen in place, blushing wildly upon seeing Jinako's outfit of when she installed his Saber Card: a pure white, skin-tight, bodysuit, with zippers running down the torso and legs, multiple belt-like accessories, a metal chain with a golden lock as a necklace, a flowered veil, adorned gloves, a front-opened skirt, and the artistic sword went from red to white.
Hakuno's nose was close to exploding with blood, as Jinako tried to wrap her head around such a form. She was aware that the outfit of the Heroic Spirit could vary depending on the person using it, but she had no idea why Nero Claudius, an emperor of the Roman Empire, had an alternate outfit that could best e described as 'Bridal Bondage'.
Needless to say, she was more than embarrassed, but it wasn't the time for either of the emotions they were feeling.
Foreigner was ready.
Mizuki appeared to be lost in thought, staring at was probably nothing but the wall on the other side of the room.
As usual, Sayuri turned around and asked her friend about her state. "So, penny for your thoughts?"
"Eh? Oh, nothing special. I'm just thinking about what we could do to welcome Shoutarou and Karen into the Team so they can know us better. I mean, we don't even know much about Edward and Isemi either."
"Well, they are relatively new members, it's okay to not know them right away. When we met, we didn't sit down and list every single thing about ourselves, did we?"
"I suppose you have a point." Mizuki leaned back as suddenly, everyone's phone received an email notification. "Hm?" A stream? Right now? Lanch break was about to end. What could possibly…?
Upon pressing the link, they found out just how close Foreigner was to the school.
The moment the last person exited the Gym, someone entered the room. It had to be a Player, otherwise, they wouldn't know about the existence of Hakuno's underground room.
Luck must've been by their side, because both of the Rankers, in their rush to fight Foreigner, left both of their laptops open. First things first, initiate a stream and send it to everyone. In a few seconds, everyone would receive the email that would lead to the viewing of the stream.
And then, they moved to the second laptop and searched for a specific file. They didn't know if it existed to begin with, but the North Ranker should have it.
"Ha!" Mary swung around her teddy bear like a weapon. Jinako deflected the hit with the side of her sword, using it as a shield, and skidded back, only to quickly jump forward and perform a series of slashes while going past Mary, making the little girl flinch and yelp.
Just as Foreigner turned to attack in response to the hit, something powerful enough struck her back. Something that would usually twist her to pieces was she not protected. The effect of the Broken Phantasm, Caladbolg II, a large explosion spread. Jinako sprinted and jumped farther away, allowing her to avoid the shockwave while it was still dangerous.
Hakuno stood at the edge of the school's rooftop, bow in hand, having just fired a projectile. Making it vanish, he quickly projected Kanshou and Bakuya and threw them towards the cloud of smoke, in Foreigner's direction.
The little girl flew above the cloud of smoke, with backpain and a little bit of annoyance. "Why don't you let me play properly?!" She complained in midair, flailing her arms and legs, until she felt two consecutive hits on her shoulders with the sound of shattering metal. "Ah?!" She turned around to their origin, but no one was present at the rooftop. Making use of the fact that she was distracted, Jinako jumped up high and spun like a wheel, delivering a powerful strike full of momentum. "Eh?! Onee-chan, be nicer!"
Jinako landed in the middle of the still present smoke, and quickly flipped back just in case Mary decided to attack. Her prediction turned out to be correct, since the little girl also entered the smoke, stomping down where Jinako original was.
Jinako swung the white sword as Hakuno entered the smoke, Kanshou and Bakuya in hand, and the two struck Foreigner simultaneously, from opposite directions. The little girl raised her arms and blocked the attacks with her forearms. The moment of impact was strong enough to disperse to smoke, making the area visible once again.
The two used as much strength as they possessed, but Mary's endurance was just too high. The little girl focused a little bit and suddenly vanished, making Jinako and Hakuno cross weapons as they completed their swings, stopping each other just in time to look at one another and make the same expression of surprised.
Tilting their heads up above, they found the girl floating. "She can teleport?!"
"Since when!?"
With a giggle, multiple portals appeared around them. "Jinako!" Hakuno grabbed her hand and pulled her in, placing his arm around her shoulders as he raised the other. "Rho Aias!" The shield of seven barriers and seven petals formed in front of Hakuno's hand. The tentacles began to slam down on it over and over again, applying more and more pressure. Jinako, held close by Hakuno, worried for him, but noticed a strange shadow leaping over the two.
Using one of the tentacles as a platform when they were rising up again to slam down, the Assassin leapt up high, taking the little girl by surprise.
Left hand pressed against the forehead of Foreigner, a smirk formed. "I can't believe you fell for the same trick twice. Zabaniya!" A powerful explosion triggered from the inside of Mary's head, the tentacles withdrew.
"Huh?" Hakuno's shield vanished and the two looked at the landing Assassin. "Hoshizume?"
"Weren't you supposed to make sure no one came here?!"
"Sorry, Bride Ranker,"
"What kind of nickname is that?!" While Jinako was embarrassed, Hakuno didn't dislike it.
"but someone started a stream. Everybody knows about what's happening here."
"What?!" The two gasped.
"Did we leave the laptops on…?"
"ASCENSION!" The three looked up, finding Mary in her second form, looking down at them with great hatred. "I told you to follow the rules."
Mizuki suddenly stood up, surprising everyone in the classroom. Said class was about to start, but Mizuki just didn't want to stay still in the classroom without doing anything. Sayuri, of course, followed suit. The two left the room filled with undecided students. Many wanted to help, but after seeing what Foreigner was capable of, it was easy to see many were frightened. Not to mention, the moment a battlefield became too crowded, it would be rather hard to actually fight effectively.
Mizuki sprinted to the neighbouring classroom with her other two members of her team and quickly called for them. "Isemi! Edward!"
The two boys didn't waste a second in following their teammates. And they moment they reached the empty rooftop, they drew their Cards.
"Transport! Install!"
With a flash of pure white, the four transformed, found themselves in the dimension where the battle was taking place. They all leapt over the chain grid fence and landed in the schoolgrounds, making the two Rankers and the Assassin turn to them in surprise.
"C-Conquerors of Deva!" Hoshizume recognized them right away, since she had done research on most teams belonging to the school.
"Back off!" Hakuno demanded. "I'm not letting D and E Rank Players get hurt."
"Hakuno… I'm sorry, but" Mizuki withdrew her knife and positioned herself, her friends copying her by preparing their weapons. "we're not letting you get hurt as well!"
Jinako looked at Mizuki, then at Hakuno, and she suddenly glared. "MINE!" She hugged Hakuno, pulling him down so her head would be above his.
"T-That wasn't what I meant."
Before an argument could brew, Foreigner descended, weapons in hand. She moved to the Conquerors of Deva, ready to fight them off.
Mizuki blocked the first swing with her knife, but the weight behind the strike was so much that she was pushed aside. Seeing the opening, Sakura Saber stepped in and rapidly unsheathed, attacked, and re-sheathed her sword, slashing Mary from her waist to her shoulder within a breath, the sheer speed being enough to push her back slightly. Edward and Isemi moved in simultaneously. The Caster thrust opened, sharp scissors, but they were easily blocked by a well-placed key, and Isemi swung down his scythe, but the faithful Teddy Bear jumped off the hat and caught the weapon, flying with insect-like wings.
With one free hand, Mary was about to attack with her second key, but the moment her left arm moved, she felt something clatched onto her elow. She looked down on it and found a strangely-shaped clock, something akin to a bug. And suddenly, it exploded like some sort of powerful firecracker. The best way to make Mary flinch wasn't through sheer force, but rather through the element of surprise.
The moment the explosion went off, holding an irregular spear, Mizuki moved in and thrust her weapon fast, about four times before Mary moved away from the group.
Wearing a suit, with no tie, but with a bowler hat over her head, she had installed her Lancer Card.
"GRAH!" Irritated, the little girl summoned a set of keys and launched them like rockets, hitting the four members of the Conquerors of Deva, the only one slightly resistant being Isemi, who had drawn his shield in advance.
However, that was an opportunity. Two blades were suddenly placed on her neck from behind, and Hakuno made a powerful slash by spreading both of his arms out, making Mary spin as a result. As she managed to brake the spin, she was hit on the leg by a set of poisonous needles, and as she was focusing on the foreign objects thrown by Hoshizume, Jinako moved in and slashed with her sword twice, the weapon leaving a white trail behind that vanished just as fast.
This time around, Mary retaliated. She hurled both keys like spears at the Rankers and telekinetically twisted them, opening portals on their bodies and slamming tentacles against them. As they fell back, the keys flew out of them and struck Hoshizume on the way back to Mary's side.
As the weapons flew back, Mary was struck in the shoulder by a blade. It didn't manage to break the skin, but the moment she turned around, ready to attack, no one was there. "Where…?" Before she knew it, the blade struck again with greater momentum, which confused her, but she spun with multiple keys fanned out around her body, successfully slashing the Isemi that wasn't being registered in her brain, the Cap of Invisibility flying off his face.
"AH!" He fell back, but both Sayuri and Mizuki moved in to attack.
Mary turned, irritated, and raised her arm, joining her two main keys into one, and then released a swarm of butterflies, led by the Teddy Bear with wings.
The Saber and Lancer separated, jumping apart from each other, and evading the attack. However, Mary struck the ground with the key and twisted it before hovering towards Sayuri.
Multiple portals surrounded Mizuki, tentacles ready to come out, stopping the Lancer in her tracks as Sayuri was surprised to see Mary coming into range. The Foreigner summoned a smaller but sharp key in her hand and was ready to wing it, but something akin to a bullet hit her spine. "!" Making use of this, Sayuri circumvented around the Foreigner and performed an attack similar to the one she started the battle with, pushing Mary away.
Sayuri turned to the school entrance, finding the Demon Archer, tossing aside a riffle. Part of her didn't like the fact Mongami had helped her. But another just wanted to yell 'Thanks!' at the colleague.
On the other side, just as Mizuki was about to be struck, was certain Lancer with the wings of a Dragon flew in, grabbed her torso, and flew off in the same dash, avoiding the hits of the tentacles.
"WHAAA!"
"I'm not letting you hurt my Number 1 Fan!" Lizzie yelled at the top of her lungs as she flew away from the danger. After slowing down, she dropped Mizuki onto the ground below, who landed with both feet, and quickly thanked her teammate.
"Thanks, Lizzie. But it almost sounds like I'm more special than anyone else to you."
"Y-You're my Number 1 Fan! Of course you're more special." Lizzie blushed, hands on hips, still hovering. Mizuki could only giggle somewhat awkwardly when pulling out the Rider Card.
"Install." She switched to the light pink kimono and quickly summoned Akainu, the oversized dog with red fur. She quickly climbed onto its back and Lizzie flew towards the sky.
Mary grew irritated and controlled the key stabbed into the ground so it would return to her hand. After she grabbed the weapon, she hovered towards the approaching Mongami.
"M-Mongami!" Edward called, as one of the bug-shaped clocks attached itself on Mary's forehead, covering the keyhole. She did not notice it, since she was so focused on her target.
"More than ready." She quickly summoned one of the riffles and took aim. She fired it and the bullet struck the bomb, making it explode.
Shortly after the explosion occurred, Shoutarou and Karen arrived at the school, Mongami having texted them beforehand, along with Lizzie. She had predicted that her Team Leader would probably try to move in the moment the stream started. Even if she was wrong, like hell she would not rush in herself.
Mary growled as she cleared the smoke.
"Install!"
Shoutarou's clothes were replaced by a suit fit for a gentleman, with a large knife in hand. Karen, on the other hand, had a complete makeover. Yellow kimono, sashes, a yellow sword in hand, eyes with slit pupils, a belt-like string of large beads, and red tattoos up her arms and legs.
"Graaahhhhh!" The Berserker immediately ran towards the Foreigner, and slammed down her sword with immense strength, but Mary managed to block the hit. Like an irritated wild animal, she slammed the sword down again and again, a test of patience for Mary, since her Endurance could take the power. But she didn't count on an arrow suddenly striking her torso, making her flinch, and allowing a sword strike to land, pushing her father back.
A flurry of attacks occurred. A fiery tackle from the oversized dog, a stab from the white sword, slashes from two separate katanas, a strike from a scythe, a snap from scissors, poisonous darts, a slicing from a sharp knife, a strike from a spear.
Over and over again, the pressure was too much.
"Install." Suddenly, a hand tightly gripped her blonde hair, and she was hurled over the shoulder of another Berserker.
Upon recovering, Hoshizume identified the new participant. "Ibuki!"
With the Caligula Card Installed, she cracked her knuckles.
Running out of patience, something beyond Mary wanted to come out. The eye on the girl's keyhole opened. "Ascension." And with another flash of light, she assumed her third form, the one where the outer god inside the girl overshadowed her age.
This God was neither good or evil.
But it this wasn't a matter of morals. The girl just wanted to play.
The tentacles grew from a portal on the ground below and a pair of them wrapped around Akainu, twisting the Divine Beast into nothing as Mizuki jumped off. The moment she touched the ground, Foreigner was already in front of her, holding a key in each hand, and delivered a barrage of high-speed strikes. Mizuki was unable to retaliate, and the final strike was a spinning strike with both keys striking and sending Mizuki against the faraway Sayuri. The two rolled over the ground as a result of the throw, and a set of tentacles fired beams that easily Uninstalled the two of them.
Isemi moved in, shield and scythe in hand, while Hakuno changed into his Caster Card. The latter hurled paper charms that were supposed to freeze Mary, but the girl summoned a tentacle that spread out on the ground and she jumped, sliding with her feet over it, evading the charms while uniting her keys into one. The tentacle waved upwards, springing her up, and she aimed it at the two while flipping over midair, firing off purple, arrow-like short beams that quickly struck the two. Isemi was unable to block them on time and Uninstalled, while Hakuno managed to sprint and evade the attacks via flips and turns.
She landed with both feet on the ground, and as she skidded towards Karen and Shoutarou, she split the key in two and hurled the first.
Karen, instinctively, leapt at the key and struck it with her sword, sending it back at the little girl. Controlling it telekinetically and guiding it with her hand as she spun, she allowed it to continue spinning, and used it as a circular saw, slashing into Karren and quickly striking with the other key, propelling her against Shoutarou. The strike was so powerful that they only stopped upon hitting a tree and breaking it in half. The two uninstalled.
With silent steps, Hoshizume leapt at Foreigner from the side, but Mary grabbed her wrist before the palm could touch the head. The young girl turned her head to a frozen Hoshizume, who quickly lt out an awkward chuckle and made a simple question.
"…Mercy?"
Without answering, Mary summoned a key into her free hand and stabbed Hoshizume's shoulder before hurling her over the shoulder, still holding to the key, instead just throwing the Assassin against the Archer that was moving in, making them both hit the ground. After twisting the key, tentacles appeared and slammed down on the two until they Uninstalled.
The next second, she teleported in front of Edward, the Caster, making him step back in fear after seeing her just defeat Player one by one. Her short arm performed a fast one-inch punch, making Edward flinch in confusion until the pain spread through his entire body and coughed out blood as a result. "Gh-!" Before he could speak the name of his Noble Phantasm, Mary skewered his body with five keys and kicked him away, Uninstalling him as well.
She turned around at the approaching Berserker and extended her hand, choking Ibuki at a distance. The rampaging Berserker roared, flailing punches wildly in search for whoever was choking her. The lack of reason penalized her in this situation. Mary quickly spun like a top, multiple keys and tentacles fanned out, hitting Ibuki multiple times in a row. Her Endurance couldn't withstand the sheer amount of damage, making Ibuki Uninstall the moment she hit the ground.
Lizzie moved in from the sky above, striking once with her spear and quickly soaring up high again, but her dragon tail was caught by a tight grip, and then slammed into the ground. Mary pulled Lizzie in, stomped on her back, making the Lancer yelp, and then struck down with her key, twisting it and making a burst of tentacles strike her with great power, making her Uninstall as well while screaming in pain.
Hakuno and Jinako quickly tackled Foreigner, allowing the pained Lizzie to flee.
The Rankers were the only ones remaining on the battlefield. Sure, nothing was stopping them from Installing again, but it almost appeared to be useless. Mary, in this state, appeared to be unbeatable and savage, in a way.
Mizuki and Sayuri stood up. Before they could tell, all others had been defeated, and Lizzie joined them shortly after escaping from Foreigner.
"Is it even worth trying again…?" Sayuri asked, holding out her card.
"We can't just stay here and do nothing." Mizuki pointed out, saving her Rider Card and pulling out the Assassin one.
"But none of us is strong enough for this." Lizzie wanted to partake in Mizuki's idea, but the power gap between them and the opponent was far too great.
"But… there has to be something! I mean…" And upon seeing Sayuri's Saber Card, a quick memory played in her mind.
I would be much stronger with a sword than with a knife.
"…!" Mizuki stole Sayuri's card from her hand in a flash.
"What the-?!" Mizuki sprinted towards the Foreigner fighting the two Rankers, a Card in each hand. She stopped after being far enough from her friends and crossed her arms, each hand holding a Card.
"I'm… not going to just stand back and watch!" With courage, she yelled. "Overlap Install!"
A bright flash of light occulted Mizuki for a moment. Using Ryougi Shiki as a base and Overlapping her with Sayuri's Saber Class Card. The light ceased, revealing Mizuki in a beautiful, bright clear kimono, with a blue sash tied around her waist, and red underclothes. Barefoot. In her hands, she held a sheathed katana, which was quickly drawn.
Mizuki opened her eyes, showing seriousness and courage, yet serenity.
CLASS: Saber
IDENTITY: 「Ryougi Shiki」
STATS:
- Strength: E
- Endurance: A
- Agility: C
- Mana: B
- Luck: A
- Noble Phantasm: B+
CLASS SKILLS:
- Magic Resistance: A
- Independent Manifestation: C
- Connection to the Root: A
PERSONAL SKILL:
- Mystic Eyes of Death Perception: C
- Cloud Shine: B
- Taijitu: A
NOBLE PHANTASM: ?
Nero Bride and Saber Shiki, as promised, a surprise for Chapter 50. But how will the rest of the battle go on? You'll have to wait for the next chapter!
Q: What would be Shiki's reaction when Mizuki would tell her about coming across a version of her?
A: "Huuuh… Really? I guess that's the 'me' of your world."
Q: What are the surnames of all the members of 'Conquerors of Deva' that haven't been revealed?
A: for the same of simplicity, I'll tell all of them.
Shidan Mizuki
Fuyuki Sayuri
Miban Mongami
Airyuu Elizabeth "Lizzie"
Aro Isemi
Edward Alban
'Phillip' Shoutarou
Hachiguchi Karen
Q: How do the parallel world works? Can it repair itself? Does it affect the real world (if something was stolen for example)?
A: The World the Players go to, the Parallel World, Other Dimension, Mirror Dimension, whatever anyone wants to call it, is a perfect copy of the 'Real World', Original Dimension, etc. Because of this, it's status is updated every day at midnight in order to 'copy' the real world. Imagine a large hole is created in the middle of the road at 7PM, it will only appear in the Parallel World at midnight, and it would stay there until the midnight of the day the hole is finally repaired. However, the inverse doesn't happen. If a hole is made in the middle of the world in the Parallel Dimension, the real world isn't affected, and assuming a hole that is exactly the same doesn't occur in the real world, the hole will disappear right afterwards. Stealing an object from the mirror Dimension won't affect the equivalent objects in the real world. Of course, this system can be exploited for things such as infinite money, but the Admins forbid that due to certain reasons. That's why, unless it's something small like a Yaki Soba Bread out of necessity, the Admins will intervene if someone begins to steal in the Mirror Dimension.
Just as always, if you have questions or requests, be free to ask, preferably through PM.
Until next time!
