Third Morning (4)
"Should we not move to assist them, Caren-sama?"
"Abandoning our current work will not aid their conflict in any meaningful manner, Sakura-chan. Just continue to observe for now and trust in the lord's will."
"Very well, Caren-sama."
The pair of Exorcists continued their work of gathering what artifacts or useful documents remained in the Church, burning the rest or sealing them away...yet Sakura was familiar enough with her partner to notice the slight traces of worry in her body language, of the way her fingers idly twitched whenever they weren't engaged in a task, far and away from their usual placidness.
She herself was surprised at the depth of her anxiety, even if it didn't outwardly show. But for someone who had so little to her life...what she did possess was of paramount importance.
An idle glance towards Fuyuki as she prepared to destroy a collection of old records revealed a distant, small patch of white fire and snow where the Emiya household should have been, barely visible from where she was standing now. It had been that way for minutes and she knew it meant that Shirou and his newfound sister had encountered the Ancestor's Servants, engaging them in battle.
The papers were dumped into the fire with a bit more vehemence than necessary, Sakura finding that it was a poor outlet for her worry and stress.
Shirou and Caren...they were the only two people in the whole world that she held attachment for. Shirou was like her, simply a boy who had been snatched up by older individuals and shaped to be a tool of convenience, no regard held for the soul within.
But he had persevered, seized upon that reality and accepted it wholeheartedly with zero hesitation...it was what had inspired her to not bemoan her status as a bit of utility wearing Human skin but to embrace it, following Caren to the Church and to be trained as such, to not shy away from her nature and burdens.
And Caren was...well to outsiders it would seem that she was nothing but a handler, constantly giving out orders and instruction to Sakura that were obediently followed and quite honestly nothing could be further from the truth.
Oh, she was cutting and acidic with her words, certainly. And she derived a worrying amount of enjoyment from insulting or making others uncomfortable...but she accepted all for who they were.
Most would have seen only twisted, unstable and alien creatures in her and Shirou...not Caren. She treated them much the same as she did everyone else, free to insult and tease as she pleased while also helping in the most roundabout and unexpected of ways.
It had been Caren who had insisted on showing Shirou how to engage in sex beyond a mechanical thrusting motion, something Sakura had enjoyed greatly. It was Caren who constantly sought her out for discussion, even on rare occasions speaking to her about inane or random subjects that had nothing to do with their work or beliefs.
To someone like Sakura...that was enough to elevate their life to one infinitely more precious than her own.
And right now one of those two people was locked in a dangerous battle she was unable to help with.
"Mommy? Do you want me to run over and see if they're ok? I can kill the bad guys for you if you want!"
Blinking her meandering thoughts away Sakura quietly replied, "No, but thank you, Jack. Continue to watch the church."
"Ok then..."
While the Servant clearly didn't agree with her decision she followed it, Sakura quietly sighing to herself as she returned to the interior of the building.
Summoning a Heroic Spirit like Jack had been...surprising.
Not of the typical Assassin line but something new, outside the norm. She knew of Jack's origins, of how she was a manifestation of children both aborted and abandoned by the whores that birthed them...Jack was unwanted. Just like her.
And, much like how Caren and Shirou had found worth in her, she did the same for Jack, endeavoring to treat her as a person in the short time they would spend together.
…
It had been to Sakura's secret delight that the Servant responded with unbridled enthusiasm, acting like a little sister or, dare she even say it...a daughter.
Perhaps there was-
"Mommy, a bad guy Servant is approaching."
Snapping out of her ruminations Sakura quickly announced, "Caren-sama, Servant inbound. Jack and I shall deal with it."
Only pausing for a moment the silverette nodded, remarking, "May the Lord watch over you, Sakura-chan. And do inform this intruder that they are very unwelcome in this house of the Lord."
"Of course. Jack?"
"Yes, Mommy?"
"Deploy your Phantasm around the Church and inform me of their position. I will draw their attention and you finish them off."
"Ok~!"
Sakura cast aside her robes, rolling her shoulders slightly and strode out of the Church, clad in the simple and modest garb of an Executor rather than the more...extravagant wear Caren often made use of and lent out to Sakura as a matter of course when her uniform was damaged.
After all, it only made sense for an Exorcist to be accompanied by the 'muscle'...in this case, her.
She took a deep breath and observed a pale, Supernatural mist slowly blanket the surrounding treeline and field, the cloud parting around her body and gradually blotting out the sun until it was only indistinct lighting rather than a direct source of illumination.
"The Mist is all set, Mommy!"
The Matou glanced to her side, Jack manifesting from seemingly nothing with beaming grin on her face.
Feeling indulgent Sakura gently stroked the Servant's head, the smaller girl closing her eyes in contentment.
"Inform me when the Servant draws closer, Jack. I'll be counting on you to keep me safe."
"Got it! I won't let you down, Mommy!"
Leaping backwards into the concealing white Sakura took ten steps forward, allowing her eyes to drift closed and listen to her environment.
For a time there was nothing, only the whisper of wind, soft patter of the mist impacting more solid objects and her steady breathing.
And then she noticed another pattern of breath besides her own.
The smooth motion of her arm that fired off a Black Key was one of liquid grace, honed by the repetitive and extreme conditioning Executors underwent in their pursuit of the pinnacle of Human ability.
An effortless swing of a crimson spear knocked aside the weapon, a grinning man in blue bodysuit materializing in one of the treetops.
"A pretty aggressive way to say hello, don't yah think?"
Sakura ignored his playful tone, neutrally replying, "Lancer, I presume?"
"The one and only. Where's your Servant, lady? Don't get me wrong, you don't look like a pushover but I'd all the same prefer to face a real opponent. My initial plan for this war is pretty much kaput and now I'm just trying to make the most of my time here."
"You are referring to your Master and the others being taken control of? An odd failure on your part, I would have thought three Servants enough to ensure their Master's safety."
The spearman clicked his tongue in irritation, grumbling, "Yeah, fine, we fucked up, I'll admit it. We were hanging out at the Tohsaka girl's home and talking war plans when a ton of Ghouls or whatever burst down the door and started flooding the place. They weren't much of an issue but the freakin' Vampire pulled a fast one, had one of his minions punch a hole in a wall that gave him line of sight into the premises. He used a Mystic Eye of Teleportation or something like that to sneak inside and hit our Masters-who we'd kept out of the fighting because we were worried something like that might happen-with some bullshit Eye of Absolute Obedience or crap along those lines."
The blue-haired man spit to the side with supreme irritation.
"By the time we disengaged and got to where we kept them we couldn't kill the damn Vampire fast enough, our Masters used all their Command Spells to force us to obey his commands and that was that."
"Ah. And why are you here and not with your three 'comrades'?"
Now looking positively aggravated the Servant complained, "Because there was another Servant over here and I got the lucky draw of taking them out instead of working with the other three. They're fighting freakin' Heracles over there, I wanted to do that!"
Stabbing his barbed spear deep into the trunk and leaning on it like a pouting child Lancer growled, "So your Servant better be a cut above the rest and give me one Hell of a fight, I'm pretty pissed right now. Friggin' E-rank luck..."
Rather than respond to his complaints Sakura asked, "You say you were compelled to follow the Ancestor's orders. You don't seem to be in any great hurry to carry them out."
"Asshole didn't seem all that concerned about specifics and never said that we couldn't talk, just that we couldn't disobey him. And it's not like we know thatmuch anyway...no idea where our Masters our or where his base is...all we've gotten is the identity of his Rider Servant and that's because he just outright told us. Cocky Bastard..."
The last statement was spoken with more fondness than it was aggravation, Sakura asking, "Would it be too much to ask that you reveal it?"
"Eh? Sure, why not? Rider, the big guy, is Ivan the Terrible. There, you're welcome."
Filing that information away for later perusal Sakura prepared herself as Lancer idly stated, "Now, I've chatted and delayed about as long as I can given my orders...but there's only so much time spent that I can mess around, you get me?"
Leaping down from his perch the spearman lazily twirled his weapon, warning her with, "Either you bust out your Servant or I take you on right now. Be a shame to have to kill a pretty girl like yourself when there was no need to, wouldn't it? And don't pretend your Servant isn't around here somewhere."
He lazily gestured to the mist surrounding them.
"They're somewhere in here or my class isn't Lancer."
"You're correct of course...but I shall be enough to deal with you."
Hawk-like eyes narrowed and focused on Sakura with predatory threat.
"That so, huh?"
There was a blur of motion, rush of air, flash of crimson-
-and sparks flew as Sakura expertly countered the thrust of the spear with a trio of Black Keys grasped in one hand, the blow sent wide as her free arm lashed forward, driving three additional blades towards the Servant's heart.
Lancer's eyes widened in open shock at how the seemingly docile girl had so easily countered his attack but there was nothing wrong with his reflexes, twisting his body to one side and avoiding the strike while yanking his weapon backwards.
Sakura had anticipated this, allowing his greater strength to pull her forward and a second stab found purchase on his flesh-
-a burst of speed from Lancer left her stumbling as the Servant backed away from her in a blinding display of agility, confirming Sakura's suspicions that he hadn't been taking her very seriously during the initial attack.
But blood drawn was blood drawn, three slight scratches on Lancer's flank the reward for her efforts alongside a bewildered expression on the spearman's features.
"The Ripper!"
The Ex-Matou's efforts had just been a distraction, however. There was a blinding flash of malevolent energy, a concealed shape streaking for Lancer's back as the Servant whirled around to meet this unknown assailant-
-and his left leg nearly collapsed as it was sliced to bloody ribbons, Jack skidding to a halt next to Sakura with a pout on her innocent seeming features.
"Aww...I was aiming for his guts..."
"It's fine, Jack. He is a powerful opponent and you did well."
Said pout was immediately replaced by a beaming grin, Lancer gingerly setting his weight on the bloody leg with a contemplative expression, a hint of respect dancing in his eyes.
"Huh. Didn't expect the Master to be a distraction for the Servant's attack. Assassin, I take it?"
"Perhaps."
"Yeah, you're not fooling anyone, girlies."
Crouching low-his injury apparently forgotten about-the Lancer grinned manically.
"Looks like this'll be a pretty interesting fight, never had the opportunity to fight against a Master and Servant working together. Ready, ladies?"
Sakura nodded politely, Jack giggling before malevolently replying, "I'm gonna cut you up and give you to Mommy as a present, Mr. Lancer~!"
Snorting in dry amusement with a crooked smile the man responded, "Shame you're not older, kiddo. I like my women dangerous. And busty. And taller."
With that said Jack scoffed and leapt back into the mist, Lancer smirking with unbridled confidence while Sakura just raised her Black keys to the ready.
It wasn't night and lancer wasn't a woman so Jack's Noble Phantasm would only be so effective...but that was fine.
They had more than just Maria the Ripper at their disposal.
"Here I come, little lady!"
Lancer charged and Sakura was consumed by the fervor of battle.
Just because Sakura wasn't dangerous and unstable enough to begin with, now she's got knives and knows how to use em'.
And you don't wanna go picking fights with Herakles, Lancer. Or am I the only one that remembers Boomelancer?
