She shouldn't be out here tonight.
The city is completely still as she walks across it, cars flying by to get to their respective homes as the impeding darkness of midnight falls. She walks for a while until the distance becomes too long to remember each passing street. The plain opens amidst the concrete jungle of Fuyuki, revealing a flat park gleaming under the gentle sparkle of a recent drizzle. A bridge towers across the narrow river, its red surface and orange lights giving the light under it a gentle purple glow. She stops there, on that lonely plaza, under a buzzing light that needed to be change. The white lights reflect both on her eyes and the floor below as she steps forward.
The bridge, as solid and big as ever, is a well-known construct, constant in so many other Japanese cities laid by the riverside. It is relatively normal and yet she finds it pretty. It might be due to the red tone against the dancing waves, giving it the appearance of living fire. Or maybe it's the fact that the bridge is always there to watch both sides of the city, joining them as it shines like a crimson spear across the sky.
She finds herself in a trance-like state, walking across the bridge as she slides her hand across the railway. A car screeches across, followed by the howls of laughing young men enjoying a dangerous drive. The wind raises her brown hair and shakes her light-coloured clothing.
She doesn't mind… for there is someone else on the bridge, someone even more beautiful and majestic that the structure itself.
The wind sweeps through the hair of this giant so it flutters like a silky veil, and the dark clouds up in the sky turns the soft light purple into a darker shade. She presses on, slowly, as the person in front of her becomes easier to recognize. The pale skin goes well with the foreign features exhibited in such an adult manner. While displaying an alluring and sensual look during the day, now the violet-framed face looks up over her own glasses, sulking in complete silence. The expression on her face reflects distant memories far from this bridge both in space and time.
She is a contradictory figure, beautiful and dangerous, a woman dressed as someone would in the current age but somehow not fitting the modern look. As the young Japanese woman walks closer to the other, the wind is the song of their reunion, while her own steps are the melody. She cannot stop until she sees those lips moving in slow motion.
"Ayako"
The purple haired lady mentions her name as nothing more than a breathless whisper. Although it doesn't matter how quiet the whisper is, it'll always be heard loud and clear in her ear.
Before getting too close Ayako stops, remembering for a moment that Rider stands before her and how much she usually fears the woman. Shivers travel down Ayako's spine.
"Rider," She answers, unable to hide the nervousness in her voice. There is about two meters between them. "Why are you here so late at night? "
"I could ask you the same."
It's almost midnight despite how much the moon illuminates the whole city. This is no time for any of them to be out here and yet Mitsuzuri suspects that Rider wouldn't have a single problem if some stranger came over with bad intentions.
"I needed some fresh air," She justifies herself, feeling the weight of those pale purple eyes on her. Her own problems at home are that, her own, and she wouldn't want to talk about them to someone like Rider, who would likely not care.
"Maybe coming all the way up here for air is a little much."
"I could say the same."
Ayako's response surprises them both. The casualness and confidence are unlike her when talking to Rider. It almost sounds like she's being sassy and witty, and it seems like her brain doesn't shut off when near that snake of a woman. Mitsuzuri feels okay with that for some reason tonight, the threatening figure feels less so.
"The only one who will miss me is my brother anyway," Ayako says, trying to move the conversation along.
"Your brother…"
Again sulking Rider looks over to the horizon, and a melancholic sigh escapes her as she goes back to how she was before Ayako had arrived, ending the conversation.
And yet…
"Do you have siblings Rider?"
"I had… sisters," The response arrives quickly and drily, effortlessly masking the growing sadness. "A long time ago, in a faraway place"
"Sorry, I didn't know"
"Didn't you?"
Ayako could leave and Rider wouldn't chase after her. Rider never does. Their encounters get awkward but Ayako never felt that Rider was a stalker, even after first meeting her as a resident under the vast Emiya roof. There is something beautifully dangerous about this woman, something in her wavy snake-like locks of hair and her voice preaching the most vicious death imaginable…
Ayako could leave but she doesn't; instead, she steps closer.
Her hands tap the railing facing the water. She is only a few centimetres away from the tall foreigner. Ayako keeps her eyes on the distant sky fusing itself with the river somewhere in the blackness of the night. Rider pulls out of her own thoughts. This is the only time Ayako has willingly gotten so close to her after all, usually being no more than a little mouse running away from her advancements. A single bite would be enough to savour Ayako, eat her up. The young woman feels like she's standing in front of a cage at the zoo, fearing her life but feeling safe at the same time.
Rider's face disappears, covered by her long hair, as she creeps forward looking at the water below.
"Ayako," She speaks again, "Do I seem like a monster to you?"
Under the threat of Rider going back to her usual self, the young archer only speaks the truth.
"W-well you ARE intimidating!"
Those words plunge into Rider's chest like sharp daggers. Ayako can't see Rider's face but quickly realizes something has changed, the adult woman's hands digging into the metal preventing them from falling into the water, an invisible but terrifying reaction. Soon Ayako can see a glimpse of Rider's weirdly coloured eyes looking down, the terrible predator, the snake she fears the most suddenly looks hurt.
She didn't meant it, of course, she'd love to be as intimidating as Rider.
"You aren't a monster, no," She rephrases, closing her eyes while blurting out something completely out of character for her. "I'm just saying that your presence is intimidating, I know it doesn't really make sense, but I've been near some scary women, like Tohsaka or Himuro. They are scary, but they aren't intimidating. You, on the other hand, Rider, come close to me, and I don't know what to do. Your whole presence frightens me more than any other man or woman I've come across. Your beauty frightens me because you look like you're from another world… I don't know where to look or… whether I should look at you to begin with."
Finishing with that incoherent train of thought, she faces Rider, who is now facing her in response. Rider's completely motionless, looking over her from such a tall stature, the woman suddenly gets darker and darker, only being seen for her shiny purple eyes.
A car speeds by, and a gust of wind rises around the scarlet piece of junk they stand on.
"You are too sweet, Ayako," she says, almost looking angry. "You could get seriously hurt for that"
If they were friends, Ayako could believe that Rider is trying to protect her. For once, Ayako feels like she has Rider out of her comfort zone, and it fills her with sudden confidence.
"Isn't that part of life, getting hurt I mean? You never know until you try and get hurt in the process."
"Is that so? Even when dealing with monsters?"
"I don't know, I've never met one."
And suddenly something breaks the melancholic bubble, a smile coming from the dark clad giant. Its shiny and mesmerising, distracting Ayako enough so that Rider takes a step closer to her. Sensing danger, Ayako gulps until a hand pats her on the shoulder with a strong grip but gentle fingers. The curvaceous figure slithers by quickly.
"This never happened, Ayako. Tomorrow, I'll go back to hunting you down," the woman says. Mitsuzuri turns around only to catch the wide curtain of purple hair drifting away, her steps barely making any sound. She is like a spirit, floating away from the warm lights of the lonely bridge they once shared. "I hope you discover how to act around me, or else this game could become a little dull."
Rider disappears from the bridge leaving Mitsuzuri completely alone in the middle of two cities with her hands on the cold metal railing. Somewhere above, the dark clouds start to back off, revealing a white, gorgeous, silver moon. Wet surfaces become drier, and water stops dripping into the river. Something happens inside of Ayako. Her heart races fast, and she doesn't know exactly why other than that she just had an enjoyable conversation with a beautiful woman. Right now, her body is tense with a mix of danger and excitement, and it feels good.
Is she waiting eagerly for the next encounter with Rider?
"Yeah," She says with a sigh. "I wouldn't want it any other way."
I found eternity,
Where nothing ever ends
It's the story of two people,
That no one will even tell
[Originally Written: July 30th / 2019]
Beta reader: RedFanboi
Editor and contributor: knowmeknot