Fate/Imaginary Vectors

Chapter 08 – A Crane With Crimson Wings:

The sun rose over Fuyuki, prompting certain individuals to wake up.

One of them managed to slip out of a death trap of sorts, but not without damage. Kiryuu reached the kitchen with messy hair and a limp arm.

"Water...!" He begged for in a zombie-like state. He reached for the fridge and managed to snatch a bottle of freshwater.

"Good morning!" Despite the early hour, Chloe was as fresh as a lettuce.

"Oh, good morning, miss." Kiryuu didn't know what to call Chloe. But part of him didn't really care. His throat was begging for the cold water.

"No need to call me miss. Kiryuu, right? I'm still trying to memorise all of your names." She sat down by the counter, as she observed him consume the clear liquid.

"Yup, you got it right." His voice felt a little pained.

"Are you okay?"

"I slept next to my girlfriend for the first time tonight."

Chloe was rather confused, even tilting her head. "...Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all. It was nice. But when I woke up... I couldn't feel my arm." Kiryuu almost wept. "Her head rested on it and I think the blood flow stopped at some point."

"Ow. Must be unpleasant."

"It was worth it. Even if it feels rather painful." He admitted, sitting across from Chloe. "How come you are up so early? And look like it's the middle of the afternoon."

"Oh, I have a weird sleeping schedule."

"Weird? How weird?"

"I don't sleep 8 hours or so like you."

His tiredness was slowly vanishing. "How so? I thought we all needed 8 hours of sleep or so."

"That's not the only sleeping schedule that exists." Chloe chuckled. "Have you ever heard about the Uberman Sleeping Schedule?"

"Hm? No. What's that?"

"Basically, instead of sleeping 8 hours, I sleep small bursts of half an hour to an hour throughout the day. It maximizes useful time since you're sleeping only the necessary REM sleep."

"Really? That sounds useful. But you need a strict regimen for that, no?"

"I do have a helping hand. Oh, that reminds me." Chloe suddenly moved to an outside room and returned in a flash, carrying a small case this time around. She sat back in her seat. Curious, Kiryuu peeked at the contents of the box and almost choked on the water.

"W-What the...?" Medical equipment. Well, basic equipment, but not everyone carried around syringes as far as he knew. After some quick prep, much to his shock, Chloe stuck the needle to the underside of her arm and began to pull the end of the syringe, filling it up with her dark red blood. "...Am I supposed to keep this a secret or something?"

"What? Oh no no no, this isn't anything major."

"What are you doing though?"

"I'm extracting blood."

"I get that, but why?"

"Hmmm..." Chloe put on a softened smile. "I'm permanently fused with a Card."

"E-Eh?" Kiryuu was genuinely surprised. Is such a thing even possible?

"Before I decided to be the Headmaster of this Guild, I was part of the police. In fact, that was my original life goal. I wanted to be a hero, in a way. Even got top marks on the entrance exam. Joined the force pretty young. Thing is, during a mission, there was an accident. From then on, I couldn't Eject my Card."

Kiryuu felt bad, but at the same time confused. "Isn't that a good thing though? That way, you're always ready, right?"

"To an extent, but there's a downside to this. The human body doesn't like being Installed with a Card for extensive periods of time. You build up Mana that goes unused. The body begins to fail as a result. You know how the unused energy we obtain from food turns into fat? It's similar to that. At the time, I thought I could work with it, but my body failed in more than a few critical moments. I quit once I figured out I was being more of a burden than actually doing my job. They suggested I could stay in the backline or be a manager of some sort, but I don't think I deserved it. Once I saw that there was enough funding for a Guild, I took the opportunity. Used to watch these in my free time, why not manage one?"

"Wow... What about the blood though?"

"A lot of Mana gets stored in fluids, such as blood. It helps regulate the stock. It's not perfect, but it helps out."

"I see..." Kiryuu couldn't help but feel some sadness for Chloe. "Do you regret quitting?"

"It pains me, but it was the best choice for me to do. At least I made friends. Kuzuki helped me out quite a bit."

"The scary judge?"

"He's a softy. His wife is the scary one."

"I see. ... WAIT, HE'S MARRIED?!"

Chloe giggled. "Surprising, isn't it?"

"Quite..." Kiryuu got enough surprises for one morning. "I'm gonna wake Kozume up."

"Wait, how did you get free without waking her up if she was that clinging to you?"

"With a lot of dexterity and luck."

Interrogation marks appeared above Chloe, but she decided not to further the questioning. She simply placed a band-aid over the area she had pierced. It would heal much faster than usual, but she'd rather place it regardless.

"Hmmm..." she let out a saddened sigh. "Well, what's done is done. Time to focus on this."

Her career was now focused on making sure that the Performers Guild of Fuyuki would strive with success. And to start that off...

Shou let out a long yawn as he made his way to the Guild. "Should've guessed cleaning up the place would be up to me..." a complaint, but one he couldn't say was justified. If he celebrated with his colleagues free of charge, he'd at least clean up the restaurant.

Shou approached the entrance of the Guild, until...

"Hey." He was tapped on the shoulder.

"Hm?" Shou turned around, finding a cross-armed Daiyu with Kageyama not far behind. "Oh hey! Feeling better?"

"Managed to wake up without a hangover."

"That's what we need!"

Her eyebrow twitched. "Hangover or not, don't yell."

"Sorry, sorry, force of habit." His grin showed recovered energy. Interacting with people always gave him some sort of boost.

"Sure. Anyway, I'd like to apologize for my behaviour last night."

"Eh? Your...?" He took a glance at Kabeyama and got a nod in response. "S-Sure, no worries. It happens."

"I'm glad." And on she went, heading into the Guild. Once the doors closed, Shou turned to the man who was just as tall as him.

"I thought I was the one that needed to apologize."

"It's a long story. But it's nice to know no one has bad blood over one another."

"I guess." Shou grinned. "I was already fine with it anyway. She didn't misbehave or anything."

"She felt bad for last night, so she wanted to apologize."

"I see. She's not as much of an ice queen as she looks." Shou suddenly then realised who he was speaking with. "Oh, sorry man, I didn't mean-!"

Kabeyama smirked. "She does look like an ice queen sometimes, you don't need to hide it. She's gone through enough to be like that towards new people."

"Oh. I see." Shou suddenly grew a bit worried. "Well, if she's with you, she should be okay."

"What makes you say that?"

"Pretty sure you can beat up anyone who messes with her."

Kageyama couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm sure she's more dangerous than I am."

"Yikes. You hit the gym?"

"Sometimes. Never thought the membership was worth it."

"Wanna tag along next time?"

"Sure."

"I accept the invitation as well!"

"Huh?" The two turned around and were surprised to find the large Saber of the Guild.

"Am I allowed to join in? I'm curious about the difference between going there alone or accompanied."

The two towers turned to each other and shrugged simultaneously. "Sure, the more the merrier."

"Splendid!" Julian then made his way to the building. "I'll look forward to it."

Shou and Kageyama turned to each other once again.

"I'm surprised he's ever hit the gym."

"Appearances can be deceiving, I suppose."

"Already?!" The 17 Performers were all taken aback.

"Yup. We gotta grab as many opportunities as we can as early as possible." Chloe grinned widely.

Rin narrowed her eyes. "But to sign us up for a Performance this early..."

"It's a bit irresponsible, no?" Shirou completed, his eyes just as distrusting.

"You're worrying too much. You still have two weeks ahead of you." Chloe pointed out, a hand over her hip. "So you'll be fine. As long as you plan things out and practice, you'll do great."

Sakura raised her hand. "But what's the structure of it?"

"You'll have two phases: one is a Performance and the other a Competition. Performers in one can't be in the other, so we'll have to split you up."

Julian placed a hand over his chin. "How will we be able to determine that?"

"Based on the judges. Remember the five types you need to focus on? Depending on the judges, figure out what kind of Performance you should put on and focus on that."

Drake leaned in. "Is there a limit to how many people can be in each section?"

"The Competition will consist of five members of each Guild. As for the Performance, the ideal number is usually five too. There isn't a direct limit, but it's not advisable to do so unless it's a big show. Like, a really big one. Sure, nothing is stopping you from taking more or fewer members, as long as they're not in the Competition section."

"Hmmmmm." Catherine had both hands holding her head as she thought. The King of Rats copied her while standing on top of her head. "So seven of us won't do anything in this first show of ours?"

"Squeak, squeak!"

"Unfortunately. But there's always next time. Besides, you need to learn how to pick your fights. We're not going to force an extra member in there if they're just in the corner picking their nose." The general consensus from the crew: Chloe had a point. "So go ahead. Do your research and start planning. If you need any help, I'm at my office."

And with that, the young adults were left to work.

After a few keystrokes, Selene obtained the results, displayed on her laptop. "It looks like the judges are a trio of idols."

"Well, that's handy." Kiryuu noted. "Then we should go for 'Cuteness', right? Regardless if they like it or not, they have a public image to hold."

"That would usually be the case, but..." Selene read the article. "Apparently they are a kawaii metal idol group."

"..."

Silence filled the room until Ogami decided to break it like a plate thrown at the floor.

"What in the hell is kawaii metal?!"

"It's what it says on the can: j-pop and heavy metal mixed together."

"That's a thing?!"

"It's a thing." Selene pointed out, turning on the chair. "So, do we go full cute?"

"Maybe we should find a balance." Anna pointed out, thinking for a moment. "Maybe between Cute and Cool? Or maybe Tough?"

"I say we risk it on Cool." Kiryuu pointed. "It's easier to mix it with Cute, no?"

"I agree." Drake added. "And I think Kozume and Catherine should be part of the Performers."

"Eh?" The two girls were surprised. "Us?"

"You two put on cool Performances, right? According to Chloe's chart, that is."

"U-Umm, excuse me." Sakura raised her hand slightly. "Would you mind if I joined for the cuteness part?"

"Not at all." Kozume assured.

However, Daiyu crossed her arms. "We're still missing two though."

Rin turned to Kiryuu. "What about the 7-in-1 boy?"

"I-I don't think I'll be all that useful when ti comes to cuteness..."

"I'll join!" Marina raised her hand, full of enthusiasm. "I'm sure I can make use of my clouds for it."

"That makes four. Missing one. What about you, Selene?"

The girl narrowed her eyes at the computer screen. "I'm not sure if I would synergise all that will with them. My Card is a bit iffy to use sometimes."

"I'm sure we can work something out!" Catherine was sure of it. "Come ooooon!"

While a bit put on the spot, Selene understood the Lancer's reaction. After they got along last night, Catherine probably wanted the opportunity to spend more time together with her new friend.

"No one else fits the bill?" Selene wondered, making one last check.

"Seems like you're the tribute." Ogami pointed out.

"Then sure. I'll join."

"Yay!"

Shirou counted on his fingers. "So the Performance will be taken care of by Sakura, Catherine, Kozume, Marina, and Selene."

"Sounds like a good team, not gonna lie." Shou pointed out. "And the fighters?"

Kageyama raised a hand "I resign from the Competition."

Ogami tilted his head back to look at the Berserker. "Why?"

"If we're going to focus on cool and cuteness, my Card isn't a good fit. Too rough of a fighting style."

"I'll chip in then." Kiryuu raised a hand. "I think I'll be able to offer something."

"I'm in too." Dante pointed out, clashing a fist with an open palm. "I can pull off some underdog moments."

"I'd like to help." Shirou offered himself to the cause.

Which prompted Casper's eyes narrowed. "I'll fight too!"

"Last in line?" Selene wondered who else was more eager to battle than the others.

Rin raised her hand, surprising the others, mainly Anna. "Rin?"

"I want to try my hand at fighting. And my arsenal has some neat tricks."

"Any objections?"

No one seemed to raise a hand against it. "I admit, I would've liked to fight in a good brawl, but I don't wanna risk the category." Shou admitted.

"As for me," Ogami shared his thoughts. "I'd rather others make a mistake first before I take a risk."

Dante's vein popped. "What was that? Already expecting us to fail?"

"Hey, I didn't say that." Ogami chuckled, grinning somewhat mockingly. "You're the one who said it."

"Why you...!"

"No fighting." Daiyu tugged Dante's ear.

"Ow ow ow! Why me?!"

"You were closer."

"Damn it!"

"While I would like to shine in battle, we can't peak this early. I shall let you bathe in the spotlight first."

Dante's eyes narrowed. "Gee, Julian, how generous of you and not pompous at all." Daiyu tugged again. "Ow! Why?!"

"You were closer."

"Again?!"

A knock on the door made the woman raise her head.

"Who is it?"

"It's Shirou."

"Come in."

With a twist of the doorknob, the red-haired boy was inside Chloe's office. "Sorry for interrupting."

"It's just some boring papers. What do you need?"

"Hmm, how to put it…" Shirou had come with a request, but he knew he should confirm something before asking for it. But it felt a little awkward to say so. "You… have the same Card as me, correct?"

Chloe smirked. "Oh? When did you notice?"

"Back at the Auditions. You didn't seem fazed at all about my ability to make swords. I also had this… feeling."

"Hmmm." She leaned forward, both hands holding her head by the chin. "I suppose our Cards resonated a little due to holding the same Heroic Spirit. Yes, you and I have a red-clad swordsmith as the Heroic Spirit of our Class Cards."

Shirou seemed somewhat reluctant to make the request. "Then… would it be too much to ask if you could train me a little bit? I offered to be in the Competition that's approaching. And since you have the same Card for longer…"

"I see, I see. Alright, we'll make plans to train." Chloe put on a silly smirk. "I knew, the moment I wrote you down on that piece of paper, we'd end up in something like this."

Shirou narrowed his eyes a little, one step taken back. "I feel like I'm in danger."

"That's just your imagination riling up. Go have fun for now. I'll send you an email later, alright?"

"Alright. Thank you." He took a bow.

"You're welcome. Toodles!"

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