Chapter 41: Across The Icy Waters
(Day 9 of the 6th Grail War)
In the afternoon, Aasaa wrestled with his doubts and fears. Before him, the greatest challenge in his life. He dared to face it head on. The rising chill, the soaring motivation. With a stern and steely stare, he surveyed the battlefield, and made his stand now. He stood before the kitchen sink, folded his sleeves and replaced his trench-coat with an apron. He wore a face mask, while powder-free gloves hugged his fingers. A blender waited beside him, accompanied by packets of coffee, sugar, cinnamon and a carton of milk. An army of tools, utensils, apparatus and gadgets awaited his command.
"Master, you insist on doing this alone?" Hou Yi folded his arms teasingly as the recognized the ingredients. "Coffee? You must like her
"Shut up. Argh, stop being so aggravating. It's not about getting her. How many times-" Aasaa slammed a bag of coffee on the table with his hand, and pointed at Hou Yi to be quiet. "I got this."
What followed was a catastrophe. Aasaa ended up with half a cup of brown emulsion and a scald on his hand. Hou Yi took pained sips from Aasaa's home-made coffee.
"This tastes like the ancient medicine from China I always hated to drink," Hou Yi commented, bringing the cup to Aasaa to smell.
An overpowering wave of coffee filled his nostrils. Putting it away, he understood Hou Yi's criticism. "Alright. You make it."
"No Master, I refuse." Hou Yi saw his Master overcoming this hurdle as a significant step in his journey of self-improvement. "You have to push through."
"Yea, I'm trying," Aasaa's hand clasped over his forehead. "I just don't know how to." Frustration ached in his words.
Hou Yi smiled at his Master and encouraged him. He did not want to make it for him. Instead, he helped him make it. Reading off a recipe Aasaa had printed, he guided his hands as they went along. The second attempt turned out to be passable. Hou Yi helped him with a third, fourth and fifth. By the sixth, Aasaa made a batch on his own.
In another room, Shiori tried to sew an embroidered patch to Aasaa's new trench-coat, the one bought for his birthday.
Shiori's hands gripped the needle, tread already secured in the hole. She could not begin. She feared she would maim the trench-coat with a mistake.
"Shiori, do you need my help?" Florence Nightingale asked, as she sat opposite of her, observing her work.
"No..."
"You do. I am certain now."
"If you help me, it won't be my work." She continued to make fruitless attempts with doubtful hands.
"Why the pressure to sew on this...what is this anyway?"
"It's a handmade embroidered patch of Excalibur. I searched how to make it yesterday, I hope he likes it."
"It's a fine piece of work, but you seem to be struggling with the final step. Also, I presume this is for his birthday."
"Yes it is." Shiori fumbled and made a mistake. "Sheesh this is hard." She threw the embroidered patch on the floor, close to giving up.
Florence Nightingale walked to her, and picked it up. With both hands, she placed it within her palm, and told her to try. "Aasaa will not reject it. No matter what happens. If he does, I'll throw him in the sea."
Shiori tried to smile at Florence Nightingale's threat. She knew Aasaa will never be that impolite. Florence Nightingale nodded with satisfaction as her Master got to work with the sewing.
They exchanged their respective gifts purely by chance. Aasaa ran from the kitchen in search of more sugar, having run out of it on his 19th batch. Shiori meanwhile, searched for a lint roller to clean the trench-coat before the final presentation. Excalibur's embroidered image now rested above where Aasaa's heart would be. They bumped into each other. Shiori noticed the coffee in his hands. It smelled almost like her favourite drink, catching her attention. Aasaa smiled at the sight of the embroidered Excalibur on his new trench-coat.
"Err...is that for me?" They asked each other in unison.
Aasaa tried to resist giving Shiori the coffee as he still wanted to improve on it. Shiori tried to hide the trench-coat from Aasaa as it still had lint on it.
"Just get on with it," Hou Yi and Florence Nightingale said, both of them appearing from spirit form. They caught sight of each other and realized they were each helping their own Masters. Hou Yi tried to return to spirit form, when Florence Nightingale stepped forward after him.
Shiori hesitantly presented the trench-coat before Aasaa. She then took the coffee from Aasaa, who held it with shaky hands. He held on to the trench-coat, watching Shiori take a sip with bated breaths. She picked up the slight bitterness to the coffee, as it lacked enough sugar. Ignoring it, she praised him for almost replicating her favourite drink. Aasaa smiled and put on the trench-coat, his fingers feeling the embroidered Excalibur on his heart. Shiori placed her hand there, pressing lightly.
They thanked each other. Finding the situation silly, Aasaa brought Shiori to the kitchen, showing her the war-zone of the greatest battle fought in the 6th Grail War so far. She laughed at the sight of the kitchen, pointing to the overturned blender, a stream of coffee flowing from it, and a mound of cinnamon on the table.
"This would go nicely on my list of cooking failures," Aasaa said.
"Correction. List of successes, if you consider 1 incident as a list." Shiori finished the coffee.
"Up to you. The sheer waste of resources could make it count as a failure." Aasaa shrugged.
"Deal. 18 failures and 1 success," Shiori decided.
"Well, it's better than nothing. I'll take it."
Shiori showed Aasaa the mass of wasted thread she had accumulated in her attempts to get the sewing right. Aasaa appreciated the effort she put in despite the difficulty she faced. They hugged each other, laughing in spite of themselves.
Shiori offered to have Florence Nightingale treat Aasaa's scald.
"No, I want you to treat it."
"But she can do it instantly."
Aasaa smiled, as Shiori traced her fingers around the scald. "Come with me, I'll patch you up."
Aasaa took it upon himself to join Hou Yi as he guarded the fortress. Together, they watched the Sun begin to set
Hou Yi sat atop a rocky outcrop, overlooking Suomenlinna Fortress on the outside. He used his Clairvoyance to scour the frozen waters for an invasion by sea. So far, he detected no signs of the enemy. In his hands held a bottle of beer, courtesy of Aasaa.
"You know, don't mess up your chance with her." Hou Yi took a swig of beer, savouring the fizzy goodness as bubbles washed over his tongue.
"This again?" Aasaa fought the feeling to snatch the bottle from him mid-drink.
Hou Yi put down the bottle, and in an uncharacteristic shift from his brazen self, he explained to him. "I lost my chance, when she floated to the moon forever. So, if I can see my Master succeed, that'll be the next best thing."
He understood now. The pranks, the teasing, the semi-legitimate tactics he employed to get them together. It was a coping mechanism of sorts. Though he insisted the event no longer pained him, the scars remained. Hou Yi patted Aasaa on the back, giving him his full confidence, and told him to try in earnest after the Grail War ended.
"I'll think about it." Aasaa felt sympathy for him, yet he yearned to get away from this awkward distraction.
"Think about her." The Servant returned to his cheeky self
"You're insufferable." Aasaa turned away, and shut his ears.
"I'm Hou Yi."
Aasaa refused to talk to his Servant, and found a better company in Misa, who emerged from the fortress to join him in enjoying the ocean breeze. Shiori remained underground, training under Rin, who gave her a gemstone to swallow to further activate her circuits, and maximize her fire orb.
"Here, I projected a sheath for Don Quixote's sword." Aasaa handed the leather sheath with a gloss dark brown finish to Misa. Misa thanked him and slipped her sword into it.
"I've been speaking to your parents. You have a good family Aasaa."
"Thanks. I only wish I could give you one too."
Misa went silent for a while, before replying, "I've moved on, don't worry about me, though without a family I feel lonely at times."
Aasaa took a deep breath, breathing in the cold salty air. He would never get sick of this scent. The place was beautiful. He could make out the faint lights from Helsinki mainland across the partially frozen waters.
"Don't worry Misa, after this, we'll keep in touch for sure."
"Really? But how?"
"We will find a way, you'll never be lonely again."
Misa took out a bar of white chocolate and started nibbling on it. Aasaa smiled and looked to the horizon as the Sun dipped below the water line.
"Gorgeous isn't it?" Hou Yi spoke. He kept his gaze on the setting sun "I once dealt with 10 of these."
A silence followed. Unnatural for the most obnoxious Servant of the Grail War. Aasaa looked to his direction, wondering what concerned him.
"I see Simo Häyhä. He is walking across the water, freezing it to create a path," Hou Yi said.
"He's back. He must have broken free from Fezgrem."
"Or he is on the way to kill us, as commanded by him." Hou Yi drew his bow to be safe.
Simo Häyhä's return filled Aasaa with joy, and raised his hopes of defeating Genghis Khan.
In the skies above the frozen water, two large Wire Hawks flew, carrying Genghis Khan and Isilda.
"I hope you find this to be better than a horse," Isilda said.
"Horses are one of the key pillars of Mongolian warfare and lifestyle. I will never choose any mount over one, though the nature of our task requires a different mount."
Simo Häyhä made it about halfway across when he heard a loud squawk from the skies above him.
"Oh no, they're here," Aasaa said. "I'm going to call the others."
"They are fighting over the sea. We can't get to them," Misa said, watching the Wire Hawks circling their prey.
Simo Häyhä only had his sniper rifle left. He created a pocket of ice in the water, creating cover for himself and opened fire at them. The two of them simply flew higher into the clouds, rendering his sniping ineffective.
"Master, his attacks disrupt mana. You need to fly far away. Let me handle this."
"Yes, my Khan." Isilda left the battlefield on the back of her Wire Hawk.
Genghis Khan used the Wire Hawk's scythe-like talons to drag across the icy waters, kicking up water and ice as it went. It smashed into Simo Häyhä's position, destroying his cover. He froze the water and climbed out on a small platform of ice. He stood drenched in freezing salt water, though this did not burden him.
Aasaa and the others observed the fight from the shore, praying Simo Häyhä would emerge victorious.
Simo Häyhä looked towards the shores of Suomenlinna, Hannes first summoned him. The saw his allies. Turning back to face his adversary, he cocked his rifle, confident in the backup his allies were about to provide.
Gordafarid used her Ever-Approaching Downfall to send her lance chasing after Genghis Khan, while Hou Yi fired his arrows from the shore. The others could only watch Simo Häyhä struggle to repel the airborne assault.
Genghis Khan dodged the bullets as his Wire Hawk could be destroyed with a single mana-disrupting shot. He then lowered himself to Simo Häyhä's level, and cut through him with his scimitar. The force of the Wire Hawk crashing into him sent Simo Häyhä tumbling into the icy water, his platform cracking to pieces. Genghis Khan impaled him with the talons of the Wire Hawk. The water around Simo Häyhä were stained red, and he fought to keep afloat.
Aasaa felt helpless. They were too far from the fight to contribute. Shirou and Rin took this time to study Genghis Khan's abilities, unable to use Unlimited Blade Works as Genghis Khan's Flail Of God would destroy it in an instant.
Gordafarid's lance arrived, slamming itself into Genghis Khan. It bounced off. Genghis Khan batted it away with Sole Ruler Of The Plains, shattering it. From the shoreline, Gordafarid recoiled from the force of Genghis Khan's Noble Phantasm, which destroyed her Noble Phantasm. Hou Yi's arrows yielded more success. 9 Anti-Team level arrows found their way into Genghis Khan's Wire Hawk, exploding with shredding force in golden sprays of fire. The Wire Hawk descended into the icy waters, its wings frayed and torn. Genghis Khan landed near Simo Häyhä while he continued to fire at him. Each shot bounced off. Simo Häyhä could not move in his injured state and readied himself for close combat, knife in hand.
"Sole Ruler Of The Plains." Genghis Khan brought his scimitar down on Simo Häyhä smashing his position. His body jolted, wracked by the impact, as monstrous ripples radiated outwards. Ice shattered around them. Sizeable waves reached the shore, forcing Aasaa's team to flee from it.
"He needs our help!" Aasaa called Hou Yi to fire his Noble Phantasm to support Simo Häyhä. Hou Yi hastened to charge up enough power in his Piercer Of Nine Suns at Genghis Khan. His bow glowed gold, each arrow charged with the force of the bomb.
Genghis Khan saw the incoming attack, and summoned his Dragon Of The Golden Horde. It surged towards Hou Yi, a coiling stream of smoke that took the form of a dragon.
Florence Nightingale and Gordafarid attempted to strike it, though their attacks passed through its smokey form. The Dragon's mouth glowed red-hot and out poured molten iron. Sensing their Masters were in danger, Florence Nightingale and Gordafarid returned to shield their Masters. The Dragon turned to Hou Yi and doused his Noble Phantasm in molten iron, cutting off his at mana. Hou Yi's nine arrows fizzled out, temporarily disabled.
Genghis Khan seized the opportunity to finish Simo Häyhä off. He swam towards him and with one last strike, incapacitate him. Simo Häyhä's body floated in the crimson waters, his motionless hand no longer held his knife. Genghis Khan used Item Creation, creating a chain connected to a heavy iron ball. He tied it to the stunned Assassin and let him sink into the waters below.
Genghis Khan turned around, calling his Dragon back to him. His primary mission accomplished, he retreated to Helsinki to report to Isilda.
"Quickly, we must find him!" Aasaa said.
"We need boats," said Shiori.
"We can project some. Mother, you can use the small one you arrived in to begin the search first."
Rin accepted this proposal and began to search the frozen waters with Gordafarid. Misa handed them several light orbs to use as illumination once it started to get dark.
Shirou projected a boat for himself, and invited Misa to come with him as the second search party. She jumped in, excited to be on a mission with Shirou.
In the end, four boats searched the waters near where the frigid waves swallowed Simo Häyhä. Light orbs illuminated their path, glowing in the black water. Except for Shiori and Florence Nightingale's boat. It shone with grandiose brightness. Florence Nightingale's lamp cast radiant rays of orange and yellow across the waters.
Aasaa and Hou Yi combed the waters. They laboured for hours. Exhaustion crept into them, the time almost midnight, the situation worsened as mist rolled in, magnifying their struggles. They had no choice but to call off the search.
The search parties regrouped on the shoreline. Aasaa debriefed them, and at the end, Rin and Shirou concluded Simo Häyhä had faded away.
"No, we can't have searched it completely. The sea is vast."
"Indeed Aasaa, but it's a risky operation. The water is below zero degrees and the currents are strong. Freezing winds buffeted us as we searched, and now there is mist," Shirou said. "This is a mission we can't do any more."
"We could be attacked by our enemies if we are not careful," Rin pointed out. "If they capsize our boats in this freezing water we are finished."
Misa rested on him, asleep. She caught a cold out at sea and felt feverish. Aasaa called Florence Nightingale for help.
Shiori joined her Servant and ran past Aasaa, pausing a few steps shy of reaching Misa to treat her. She turned back to him. "I'm sorry, we tried."
Aasaa let out a sigh of defeat. His misty eyes stung in the freezing air. Nodding to her, he gave the tides, and the sea, one last glare. He hated them now for swallowing him. His team could not continue any further. Even their projected boats started to fade away, returning to mana. Left with no choice, he directed everyone to take shelter in the fortress. Aasaa walked in last, taking slow, dragged steps. Simo Häyhä's death shook him. His death did not befit his heroism. After decades of protecting Finland, he did not deserve to die drowning in the freezing waters as he bled out. Aasaa's chest burned with a desire for vengeance.
Genghis Khan. That monster took so many lives. He must be stopped at all cost.