Fate/Imaginary Vectors
Chapter 02 – The Curtain Rises and the Performance Begins – Part 2:
Kiryuu stretched his arms up and got rid of the tension in his body. "Man, can't it be my turn already? I'm getting nervous all over again."
"Don't worry. You'll be out there sooner or later." Kozume assured, taking a small bite from a cookie she had brought as a small snack.
Kiryuu looked over at the Performers that had come. Some of them showed clear negativity in one way or another. Either annoyance at some for having 'stolen their idea', or hopelessness from already expecting to have failed the audition.
"This can take quite a toll, huh?"
"Hm?"
"Imagine putting all your effort into something only to be rejected."
"Ah, that. Hmmm." She took another bite, her eyes staring up at the ceiling while she thought. "I don't think it's all that bad."
"That's a bit heartless." He chuckled. "Are you just saying that because you already passed?"
"W-Well, no, and stop saying that! You'll jinx me!" She poked his cheek, pushing into it a little harder than she should. "If you fail at something, you can always improve, no? And I think having something to work towards is nice. Therefore, failing right now isn't all that bad."
"Oh? That's a way to look at it."
"Besides!"
"Hm?"
She flashed a grin at him. "If you put all your effort into something you love doing, then you had fun during it regardless of the result, no?"
"Heh, you have a point. But I guess the atmosphere changes if you're being judged."
"Maybe. But I don't think people should take it to heart that hard. It will hurt, sure, but it's better to fail at something you love to improve on later than to have nothing to do at all, right?"
"Pretty sure that does not apply to everything."
"Stop being a sourpuss, you!"
"Oh?" Kiryuu smirked and took a hold of her nose, pinching it. "So if you failed at our relationship, would you look forward to trying harder."
"Eh?" Her cheeks turned bright red. "Sh-Shut up! And let go of my nose!"
"Heheh." He obliged, freeing Kozume from the hold. "So?"
"I'm not going to answer that." She puffed up cheeks and everything.
"See?"
"But this and that are completely different from each other!"
"Lovers' quarrel?" Rin, Shirou, and Anna had joined the group attack.
"Nah." Kiryuu gave Kozume a cheeky grin, making her puff her cheeks again. "Break is over, huh?"
"Yeah. And by the looks of it, I'm up next." Shirou pointed out.
"Good luck man."
"Thank you, Kiryuu." Shirou accepted the wish. He then turned to Anna and Rin. "And you girls? Any wish of good luck?"
"If you don't get accepted, I'm going to make sure you wish you weren't born." Rin pointed out with the softest of smiles.
Shirou felt a million shivers run up his spine. "Understood."
"Oh? Magician, are we?"
"I was going to say 'Illusionist', but I guess 'Magician' isn't wrong." Shirou took centre-stage.
Clothes-wise, his torso wore a vest of an unknown material, a single red sleeve, a matching bandana, and trousers connected to the vest of the same material in question, with a red waist cape as a finishing touch.
And with him was a classic prop: a closet-like box where a human would fit in just nicely, even if without much space. On its side were a few 'slots' to inserted swords right through. A good old 'Sword Through the Box' trick. One of the oldest stage illusions, originally known as the 'Indian Basket Trick' before being brought to and adapted in the West.
"I'm going to need a volunteer. Miss Chloe, if you wouldn't mind."
"Of course, but am I tall enough?"
"The shorter the better, believe it or not."
"Is that so?" Chloe hopped into the box in the centre of the stage and smirked. "Is this going to just be the classic trick?"
"It'll have a bit of a spin to it." Shirou assured. "I would appreciate if you did me a favour though.
"That being?"
"Please stay still."
A simple enough request to be sure. Chloe stood still in the box as Shirou shut its three doors, concealing her from the public. Locking the box was a bit unnecessary, but Shirou did so nonetheless for the sake of it.
"Everything alright?"
"Still good!" Chloe confirmed.
"Alright then." Shirou stepped back and opened a hand. "I am the bone of my sword." From his open palm, a flame manifested, and a tall sword was forged. The act in and of itself was mesmerizing for a few in the audience, especially when Shirou took a hold of the hilt and swung it aside, throwing off embers from the freshly forged weapon. Then, he aimed the double-edged sword into the top slot and thrust it through the box! A perfect fit from one side to the other. However, due to Chloe's height, it was safe to assume it didn't even have a chance to touch her.
He quickly forged two more swords and slide them through the middle and lower slots, simultaneously and in one thrust yet again!
Some people gasped, but it was such a classic trick that all glamour was gone for most.
That is until Shirou stepped back and crouched down onto the floor, placing a hand on the ground. With his eyes shut, he focused as much possible.
"…Limited Blade Dance."
A surge of blue sparks ripped through Shirou and into the sky! Forging a complete set of ten legendary swords. The public didn't recognise most of them right away, only Caliburn being easily identifiable through Anna's performance. And the ten hovering swords suddenly fell down through the top of the box! The swounds of the metal suddenly breaking through the box made some of the public flinch. Not because of the sound itself, but because of the assumption that there was no way those swords hadn't pierced through Chloe, no matter how short she was.
Shirou approached the box casually and tapped one of the side swords, making all swords burst into blue particles, vanishing from reality completely.
Unlock, unlock, unlock. Open!
Chloe jumped out of the box, with not so much as a scratch on her body.
The crowd immediately cheered, making Shirou bow before it.
"Psst!"
"Hm?"
"Neat little trick, but you might want to give a bit of a heads up about how scary it can be."
"O-Oh. I hadn't consider that." Shirou admitted. "And the secret…?"
"It's safe." Chloe pointed out with a quick wink before returning to the judges' table. "He has potential. Still needs to shave off a thing or two, but he's definitely up for the task."
"I see." Kuzuki nodded. "You're the better judge for him. After all, you know his Card the best, don't you?"
She stuck out her tongue. "I swear I'm not playing favourites."
"Hmph!" An odd-looking teen with sunken-in eyes and white hair, clad in tough-looking metal armour, swung an arm of his and multiple stakes burst out of the ground in a line, at the very end reaching an empty oil barrel and skewering through it, ripping it apart with ease.
Needless to say, no very impressive. It was yet another 'non-imaginative' performance in Chloe's eyes. "…Is that it?"
"No." The soft-spoken teen turned around. "Could I have a volunteer?"
"Oh, sure." Chloe answered the call and approached the Lancer. "What do you need me to do, Mister Drake?"
"Could you lie down on the floor, please? Arms crossed over your chest."
"Alright." Despite his low voice and gothic looks, Chloe wasn't afraid or anything of the sort. She did as told, lying steady on the floor. The crowd wasn't particularly impressed by the barrel destruction, but this development made them curious. "This works?"
"Yes. Oh, I have a question, if you wouldn't mind answering it."
"Go ahead."
With the exact same soft-spoken tone, he asked "Would there be a problem if you died?"
"Eh?" Chloe's face shifted from relaxed to shocked and confused. The same applied to the audience and Ayaka.
Not even a second later, Chloe was raised from the floor by a set of stakes, thin-looking ones, taller than Drake himself. Frozen in fear, she didn't dare breathe for a few seconds. The same stakes that ripped metal apart had gently raised her without so much as a scratch. She finally exhaled, right before the stakes lowered back into the floor.
The arena was in complete silence. Until…
"…Heh. Heh! Hahahahah!" Chloe held her stomach and let out a hardy laugh. "Y-you got me there! Oh my god, tha-that got me good! Holy…!" She stood up and tried to calm down her laughter. "Pretty cool trick you got there!"
"Thank you, Miss." The Lancer shyly bowed. The crowd cheered along as he left the arena.
Chloe sat back down, still giggling out of both amusement and nervousness. "I don't know if he's just naturally like that or if it's an act, but he sure can set up the atmosphere."
"Do you approve of him?"
"One hundred percent! I think he can teach that Shirou kid a lesson or two."
"Tohsaka Rin?"
"That's me." Rin entered the ring, already Installed. Her clothes were rather surprising, at least in Kozume's opinion.
For starters, she wore modern-day glasses, which while not unique, wasn't a common occurrence with Heroic Spirits. Her outfit was rather revealing, a black and red leotard, exposing the upper thorax and part of her torso. Black stockings with no feet and an odd-looking hairstyle of twin tails that were 'moulded' into what could be best described as circular, downward-facing horns. Might become a popular hairstyle in the future, who knows? The red streaks on her hair looked nice though.
"She's a model, isn't she?" Ayaka was aware of Rin's status. She whispered to Chloe. "Why didn't we invite her to join directly as we did with the other two?"
The short woman replied with a grin. "Unlike those two, I'd like to see if she has potential first."
Rin gave a start by revealing a set of gems, each placed and held in the gaps between her fingers. One for each colour of the rainbow and a white one. She channelled Mana into all eight of them and hurled them upwards, towards the sky, after a spin. The eight gems suddenly burst, streaks raining down as a result, creating a sort of cage around Rin. Each colour gave off an elemental effect, like the red streak emitting embers, the yellow one sparks, the white one snowflakes, etc. It was a rather beautiful view.
"For the finishing touch!" Rin summoned a small object into her hand. It looked like a short sword made out of a large, clear jewel. It shined brightly like a flashlight and she spun over her foot, releasing a streak of light against the 'bars of the cage'. A flash blinded everyone for a second or two until it ended on Rin striking a pose while rainbow lights sparkled all around her.
With the end taking place, a round of applause took place.
"That was great, Rin!" Anna cheered once their friend re-joined them.
"Thanks. You two enjoyed it too?" She asked Kiryuu and Kozume.
"I loved it!" Kozume pointed out, overly enthusiastic.
Kiryuu pulled her hair lightly making her lean back to his side. "Calm down, we're in public. Uh, umm, I enjoyed your Performance very much as well. I wasn't expecting spells based on jewels."
Rin grinned similarly to Kozume. "It's a nice quirk of my Card. And you, Shirou? What did you think?"
"Me? Well," He pondered for a moment about which words to use. "Hm, that's right. Short and sweet."
"Hmmm." Rin narrowed her eyes. "That's what I was going for, so, I'll accept that."
"I live another day." He chuckled.
Kiryuu leaned towards Kozume's ear. "Can you get a read their relationship?"
"Oh, it's not just me?" Both had a hard time figuring out the proper status between Shirou and Rin.
"Hm?" Rin turned to the screen in the room that showed the stage she had just walked out from. "The next Performer is already in the stadium?"
"Yours was pretty short. I guess she went ahead." Shirou deduced, all of them turning to watch the screen.
"Ah! How funny, Mister Robot. Could you elaborate on that?" A princess-like Rider named Selene, with a mechanical bull and a giant robot as companions, performed ventriloquism for the crowd to see, a small piece that placed a smile on the observing faces.
"Ventriloquism? That's pretty interesting." Kiryuu admitted. "I tried learning it, but I never got the hang of it."
"You were doing pretty well though."
"Maybe, but not good enough for a professional Performance. I could barely make people believe a piece of paper wasn't just me speaking for it, let alone a giant robot and a mechanical bull."
"Thank you for listening to our tale! I hope you all enjoyed it!" Selene bowed as the crowd cheered.
Next up was another Rider. And the props in use were… definitely odd.
"Ah, you're Dante, the one that asked for the most expensive prop, aren't you?"
"I already paid, you don't need to bring that up again!" A boy with silver armour and carrying a wooden sword over his shoulder stood on stage, a face full of embarrassment and annoyance for the reminder of just how much he paid to get the necessary props. "Let's just start this out."
He turned to said props. And it was immediately understandable why he spent so much money on them. It was an oversized version of the children's game 'Daruma Otoshi', standing on a metal platform. The game consisted of five small wooden pieces stacked on top of each other, with a sixth piece with the face of a Daruma at the very top. The game is played by knocking each piece away with a small hammer, without toppling the top ones over. Knock them all until Daruma hits the floor standing straight and you win.
However, this prop was a human-sized version of it, made out entirely out of stone.
Dante brought with him a few wooden katanas from home. "Alright." He rotated his shoulder a little before taking position.
"Are you sure you're capable of doing it?" Ayaka wondered, rather concerned. The small game was already hard enough as it was, let alone this…
"Course I can! I have full trust in my power!" The boy wound up his arm as if he was holding a baseball bat. "Serment de Durandal!" The sword erupted a brilliant blue glow and the Rider swung his arms around, striking the rock and sending it away, making the stack fall on the platform, still standing, even if not completely straight.
The wooden sword had burst into splinters, leaving only a hilt behind. He quickly tossed it aside, grabbed one of the wooden katanas, and repeated the process. Each swing was more nerve-racking, because every time the stack fell, the more unbalanced it looked. Dante was forced to change position, and swing in different fashions. But no matter how tilted the tower looked…
"Take this!" He struck the final piece, sending it flying away.
The Daruma Piece fell flat on the platform. Dante fell back, breathing heavily while lying on the floor. Once the crowd started cheering, his lips couldn't help but curl up.
"Pick a card, any card! … But don't steal it! Otherwise, I'll have to fine you."
A Caster named Marina, clad in very little. Besides the light blue and red clothes draping behind her, and the black leggings, her torso, and thorax were mostly exposed, with only some pieces of red and golden cloth covering her body. Over her head was a piece of cloth that acted as a hood, red with trimmings of gold. And on it were two small holes where her animal-like ears could pop out of. She fanned out a deck of cards in front of Chloe.
"Hmmm…" Chloe drew a card from the fan. The ten of spades.
"Don't show me. Now, say stop when you'd like me to stop to put the Card back on the deck." Marina put the cards back together and ran through them. About halfway through, Chloe said 'Stop'. Marina removed the top half and extended her arm so Chloe could put the card back in. She placed the top half back in and began making cuts to the deck, much more elaborate than the cute a regular person would usually do. "In the meantime! Who here did cloud spotting back when they were kids?" Many people from the crowd let out sounds of agreement.
While finishing another cut, she placed the deck on one hand while the other grabbed an oil lamp. "How about we take it one step further?" She waved the lamp around and a white substance emerged from it. It was hard to tell what it was at first, but once it took a fluffy appearance, people understood that literal clouds were coming out of her lamp. It shaped itself as a tall penguin, though it was hard to tell at first due to the lack of colour. But once people realised, a wave of claps ran through the air. "How about…?" The clouds were reshaped after a couple more cuts. It turned into a large t-rex sculpture of fluffy clouds. "Wait, now. Maybe!" Marisa summoned some more clouds and used them as a trampoline to jump up high as the sculpture changed once more, resulting in an elephant with its trunk raised, that being the spot where she landed. The sculpture lowered the trunk, approaching her to the judges once more. After the final cut, she fanned out the cards, took a look at them, and with an "Ah hah!" she drew one of them. She flipped it towards Chloe and asked, with a cutesy grin "Is this your card?"
Once the judge confirmed that it was, in fact, the card she had drawn before, the crowd cheered, but with more intensity than before.
"Next up, Catherine." Chloe invited another Performer into the arena.
And she immediately left an impression by being the only one who ran at top speed to the stage, with the goofiest of grins plastered across her face.
"Time for a show!"
Catherine was a Lancer, evident by the spear she carried. A girl with blood-red eyes and deep blue hair tied in a ponytail. Her blue clothes were underneath heavy-looking armour.
"Make sure you don't blink!" she pulled out a piece of chalk and a small piece of paper out of her pockets. She placed the paper in her mouth and quickly started writing runes on the red blade of her weapon.
Kuzuki was surprisingly curious. "Runes. Interesting."
After writing everything down, Catherine took a deep breath, tilting her head upwards, and placing said blade in her path. She blew with lungs full of air and once it went past the blade, the rune in chalk lit up, turning the breath into a flamethrower. A tower of fire manifested, rising upwards. It was fairly thin, nowhere close to the audience in any way. A few seconds later, after the crowd showed amazement towards the fire-breathing spectacle, Catherine turned her spear around, lighting up the Rune she drew on the opposite face of her weapon. The fire suddenly turned light blue, amazing the crowd even further.
Another few seconds later, Catherine shut her mouth and stepped back. The tower of blue fire vanished, leaving behind an ice sculpture that would be incredibly hard to replicate. It was shaped like true, wild, natural flames coiled around in a random pattern. The sculpture was pulled down by gravity and stuck itself to the floor by its spiky end.
"And for the finale!" Catherine spun around the sculpture while twirling her spear over her arms. She struck a pose, revealing a rune carved on the ice. After it let out a blue glow, the ice began to crack and suddenly burst into a cloud of diamond dust.
From fire to ice it was quite a spectacle, even if very fast-paced. But the audience enjoyed it nonetheless.
"Let's rock!"
The current Performer was a young man named Shou. By the looks of it, despite the spear, he held the power of a Berserker. Clad in full, bulky grey armour, which included a helmet that completely covered his head and face, concealing his appearance.
Chloe couldn't help but feel curious. "Berserker, yet… a motorcycle, huh?"
"Hell yeah! I ain't cheating with Riding Skill! This is 100% my talent!"
Ayaka was impressed. "That's quite the workaround."
By twisting the grip a few times, Shou revved up the engine, making the mechanical sound of the motorbike's engine roar through the stadium.
He started by performing a burnout, keeping the bike stationary while the wheels spun fast, creating a large cloud of smoke from the burning of the tires. After creating a large enough cloud to conceal himself, he emerged from it, riding the motorcycle, and driving around the stadium. He performed a few tricks, such as wheelies, tight turns, among others.
And then, out of seemingly nowhere, three actors, all Installed and hired by Shou, leaped towards him in the middle of the stage.
Shou grinned underneath the metal. "Alright! This is to show you can't mess with me!" Performing a tight turn, he pointed the exhaust pipe towards one of the actors and it began releasing a stream of fire!
The helmet unfolded, revealing his yellow-amber eyes and the dark red spiky hair. Shou placed a foot on the floor and unmounted the vehicle, letting it move forward while standing on the ground. Still holding to the handlebar, the motorbike flipped and slammed the back wheel into the second actor. With the other foot slamming on the ground, Shou was firmly planted on the stage. He swung the motorcycle around as if it were a weapon, holding and moving it as such. The pipes released stronger flames, which were used to move the vehicle around faster and faster to deliver stronger blows. His strength allowed him to control the motorcycle properly instead of letting it out of control.
After multiple strikes, he knocked the actors away and finished with a pose, still holding the bike up, placed behind his back while holding the handlebar like a nunchuck. Then the motorcycle exploded! The audience and Judges gasped. Once the smoke cleared, Shou was revealed to be in the exact same pose, completely unscratched. He looked at the handlebar in his hands, the only piece left and tossed it aside after a shrug.
A creative demonstration of strength and skill.
"I'm the very last one?!" Kiryuu's nervousness had bottled up throughout the day.
"Someone had to be." Kozume pointed out, snickering a little.
"How am I supposed to follow up after 44 Performers?!"
"Hey." She poked his cheek. "You don't need to be nervous, you know? You'll do fine."
"You think fine is enough?"
"If it makes the crowd cheer? Maybe." She showed off her wide grin again. "So go at it."
"…" Kiryuu couldn't help but smile. "So you really can be comforting."
Kozume laughed in turn. "Come on, did you think I was gonna be mean or something?"
"Mean? Nah. But I've known you long enough to know you can say terrible things at terrible times." He answered while moving away.
"Hey! Stop saying that!"
After the friendly scolding, Kiryuu took a stop. Taking a deep breath, he gathered all of his courage and walked down the path while carrying his backpack, which held the necessary materials for his Performance. And he drew the Card he was going to use. A glance at it would immediately tell something was off.
The face of the Card would usually hold an image that told what Class it belonged to. Like a traditional, medieval knight for Saber, or a skull-faced dagger wielder for Assassin.
But Kiryuu's was blank.
"Install."
Kiryuu took centre stage while clad in black samurai armour, with red strings of cloth binding them together. His cape was black on the outside, but bright red on the inside. Details of gold permeated the uniform. Two katanas rested beside his left hip.
He laid out a few items in front of him. And the ones that stand out the most were…
"Diabolos?"
"Ooh, Chinese yo-yos."
Multiple diabolos were placed in front of his feet, while he held the wooden hand sticks connected by string.
"May I?"
"Go right ahead."
Another deep breath. "Calm down, Kiryuu, calm down… You practiced; you'll do fine. And fine… is enough."
Music started playing. It was a rather soft melody, aimed more to soothe than excite. From the six diabolos Kiryuu had brought, he picked one of them and started winding it up, spinning it over the string. Then, he started whipping the right stick in front of his body and past the other stick, back and forth. It made the red diabolo spin faster.
Shortly after, Kiryuu shut his eyes. "Now!" He tossed the diabolo upwards, not all that high. His knees bent and he let go of the right handstick as his hand reached for one of his katanas. His eyes opened, showing a slight glitter in them.
The audience was unable to see it, but there was definitely a movement. Chloe picked up on it: just like Ogami before, he had drawn his sword and withdrawn it faster than the eye could track.
Kiryuu quickly spun and caught the diabolo back into the string after swinging the stick in his left hand and catching the other with the right. Red pieces fell onto the floor and the audience noticed that the diabolo had become black.
"He cut off a red casing?" Ayaka was impressed.
"He has talent for the Saber Class." Kuzuki pointed out.
"Umm, excuse me?"
"Hm?" The judges perked up.
"I don't remember ever saying my Card was a Saber."
"Eh?" Chloe tilted her head to the side. "But… You're…"
"I know may look like one thing, but… Switch!" While still spinning the diabolo, a faint glow coated his body. The following second, his clothes had changed. The samurai armour vanished, and in its place was an Edo-era Kamishimo, an outfit that included a formal kimono and hakama. It was mainly black and grey, but with details and trimmings in green, with the few pieces of armour, like the one around his torso underneath the kimono and the grieves, of the same colour. While his katanas were gone, holstered on his back was a matchlock gun.
"Wha-?!" Many were surprised to see this. In fact, most of them were, including the judges. Though Kuzuki kept his cool.
Chloe was taken aback. "Class change?!" She had seen Overlapping Install, which changed the Class temporarily, and some Heroic Spirits were able to change from one class to another, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but without even needing to use a Noble Phantasm to trigger the change?
"W-w-w-what?!" Anna had to voice her shock.
"He changed like it is nothing?!" Rin was in a similar state.
Shirou couldn't help but notice Kozume's composure. Which made sense: if they were dating, they knew about each other's Cards. "Kozume, what Card is he using?"
"Heheheh!" She couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Tokugawa Ieyasu."
Anna and Rin blinked twice. After a glance at each other, they turned to Kozume again. "Tokugawa?"
"The shogun?"
"Yup, the very same."
Shirou couldn't help but question further. "But how come he is changing classes?"
"According to what Kiryuu told me, Tokugawa can change his class and assume the powers of each of 7 retainers of his. In other words, he can be of any Class whenever he wants. For example, the Saber is 'Yagyuu Munenori'."
"That's…"
"That's unfair!" Rin intervened how come he gets to have a 7-in-1 Card?!"
"It was destiny. And I'll leave it at that." Kozume had to stick out her tongue.
The turned-Archer Kiryuu couldn't help but smirk at the reaction people were having regarding his ability to swap Classes. While throughout the years he's had the Card he has impressed or shocked those he showed this ability to, this was the first time an audience this big was in awe.
While spinning the black diabolo, his feet moved in a pattern, resembling a dance of some sort, which gave an odd feeling of comfort. Approaching the other diabolos, he kicked the green one up into the air. Once again, his eyes glittered slightly and he caught it in the string, making it spin fast like the other. He juggled the two diabolos around the string in a constant motion, almost drawing a circle with how they were tossed from one side to the other, chasing after each other but never meeting.
He raised the handsticks, tossing the diabolo one at a time, and using the momentum and force they fell back with to toss them up again.
Once the black returned to the string, he lowered his arms and made a loop around its axel with the string. Like he did before with Saber, he let go of one of the handsticks, swinging the other around while summoning a ridiculous firearm: a cannon. He shot the green diabolo as it was brought towards him. The blast made the diabolo burst into pieces and release a large cloud of golden glitter, which spread through the stadium. As the crowd cheered, the cannon in his hands vanished just in time to catch the stick, resuming the spinning.
He tossed the diabolo out of the string, off to the side, much to the confusion of the audience. "Switch!" Swapping classes, his uniform turned into black samurai armour, including a helmet with horns that resembled deer antlers to an extent.
A tall spear appeared, standing straight on the ground. The diabolo landed on its tip. Lancer Kiryuu approached the spear casually and placed both sticks, pointing upwards, on either side of the spear. Suddenly, the diabolo split in half, cut perfectly down the middle by the spear's blade. Each cup fell onto the tip of the handsticks and Kiryuu stepped away, showing it off to the audience.
"Switch." He tossed the cups aside while changing into a Rider with a more menacing-looking bright crimson armour. He approached the remaining diabolo and picked it up. It was multi-coloured, unlike the others. He summoned a triple-sided spear and used it to scoop the diabolo up. After making sure it was stable at the tip of the spear, he swung it hard, sending the diabolo high up.
After taking a few steps to the location he needed to be, he once again said "Switch." And went from Rider to Berserker. A military uniform-looking outfit, predominantly black and light blue. His weapon was a katana, one that gave a rather ominous feel. He held it forward at a slight angle, with just one hand, while simultaneously holding the handstick and stretching the string over.
The diabolo was brought down by gravity and landed on the back of the sword, quickly sliding down back to the string. Kiryuu caught it and let go of the spear, using his strength to spin the diabolo faster and faster. "Switch." The crimson armour vanished completely, replaced by a black and dark blue Kamishimo, with a hooded cloak and a piece of cloth concealing the lower half of his face. A ninja that belonged in the Assassin Class.
With additional power from spinning as a Berserker, Kiryuu adjusted the position of the diablo ever so slightly, tilting it upwards. After a whip, he bent over, getting close to the ground and approaching the diabolo to the floor. He quickly removed the string from underneath, letting the diabolo spin like a top on the floor, just by a portion of its rim. He poked it lightly with the right handstick, making it roll away but reverse its direction shortly after. Kiryuu placed the string behind him while still holding the handsticks and approached the floor again, catching the diabolo in the string and rolling over his back on the stage while whipping the diabolo back and forth over his body, finishing it by standing back up and performing a side flip.
"Switch!" He tossed the diabolo upwards as he changed into the Caster Class, whose clothes resembled a modern-day business suit, with a black and purple jacket draped over his shoulders. He quickly drew a gun and shot a bullet at the diabolo, making it burst a release a large cloud of confetti at the very end of the song.
For him, it was as if time had stopped. He did it. He followed the choreography all the way through.
Did this make people smile and be amazed?
Once he exhaled, time resumed.
The sound of people cheering was fulfilling. A million chills ran up his spine and his lips curled up. It was even a little intoxicating.
"Thank you!" He bowed towards the audience.
Kiryuu returned to the hall full of Performers. The first person his eyes noticed was, naturally, Kozume. "So? Did I do fine?"
"Hmmmm." She playfully pretended to be in deep thought. Then, with a soft smile, she gave an answer. "You did great."
The intercom turned on. 'Test, test?' Chloe's voice made all the Performers turn to the screen anxiously. Some swallowed dry air, others sweat profusely, and some bit their nails.
Kiryuu was in the same state. And probably rather affected since he had just finished his Performance. Suddenly, a hand took hold of his. He could tell it was Kozume's. And by the way hers was shaking, he could tell it was for mutual comfort.
He grasped it tightly.
'We've come to a decision! 15 Performers have been chosen to join the Fuyuki Guild of Performers! The names will be displayed on the screen, alongside a photo the candidates submitted. And here you have it!'
The screen turned blue and a list of names, followed by their photo was displayed in alphabetical order.
Anna Dracaena
Aoki Kageyama
Catherine Wulfgifu
Drake Serkan
Dante Nove
Emiya Shirou
Hayato Ogami
Julian Cytherian
Lin Daiyu
Makaryuudo Kozume
Marina Gizem
Ouma Kiryuu
Selene Taurid
Terui Shou
Tohsaka Rin
Blink, blink.
"…Can you pinch my cheek, Kozume?" Without hesitation, she tugged Kiryuu's cheek. "Ow! Not so hard!"
"Sorry, but I needed to be sure." Kozume took some time to fully absorb the reality of things. But once she did, her grin showed and she squealed a little. "We did it, Kiryuu!"
"W-We did!? We did!" Kiryuu's smile came as well. The two celebrated with a hug, regardless if they were amongst a small crowd.
The thirty that didn't manage to get qualified had negative reactions, as one could expect. But those who did couldn't help but express happiness in some way or another. Ogami and Julian barely changed on the outside, but they admitted to themselves that they felt a sense of pride. Marina and Selene were genuinely surprised, having found their Performances not as great as some others. Anna and Rin high-fived as Shirou smiled at them.
They had become Performers. The start of a new life had come.
Author's Note: Disclaimer and Clarification for those that don't know, the Class Card of the Main Character is Tokugawa Ieyasu, a Japanese Shogun, and one of the "Great Unifiers" alongside Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In the Fate Universe, Tokugawa Ieyasu follows a theory that he died early, and his retainers used a Body Double to continue on in his place, while they would take the hard decisions. As a result, Ieyasu, as a Servant, can be of any of the Standard Classes, each representing / incorporating one of said retainers. Outside of the identities of the Saber and Lancer Retainers, we don't have any more information.
Now, the artist and reddit user -grape- made an art of Ieyasu in his various forms, going off what the info we have and their Parameter Stars. So choosing the Classes' respective Retainers and Designs is 100% to his credit, and I did ask for permission beforehand.
However, it came to my attention that there is more to Ieyasu's gimmick then it seems, and the artwork doesn't match up 100%. Most likely, -grape- wasn't aware of it either, that is that the Noble Phantasms Ieyasu uses to Transform have been listed. So, on my part, I used -grape-'s design as a basis and changed some things around to match the official info. The sole exception to all this was the Saber Class Retainer, Yagyuu Munenori, as he has been introduced in Fate Grand Order, so the Stat Sheet credit belongs to Delight Works. I'm saying all this just to make sure everybody is on the same page of where the credit of this goes to. I'll include a link to the post and the art that inspired me to use Tokugawa Ieyasu as the Main Character's Card. Go check out -grape-'s work!
Reddit Post: r/grandorder/comments/fn6led/fanservant_i_drew_tokugawa_ieyasu_based_on_the/
Art (alternative link): .
In addition, here's the Discord Link to my Server in case you want to join in and talk with either me or other fans of my Fanfics: discord .gg /e7Qznvb (remove the spaces)