A/N: I deeply apologize for the long wait. Aside from the multiple revisions of my thesis, I had to do marathons on three anime series that I had never watched yet. Noragami, Servant x Service, Joshiraku, and Danganronpa: The Animation.
Correction, that was four.
Planning on watching Noragami: Aragoto and Owarimonogatari, and I am excited for the upcoming release of Fate/Stay Night: Heaven's Feel route and Kizumonogatari.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Credits go to Gen Urobuchi, Nitro+ and TYPE – MOON for Fate/Zero, and Hiroshi Shiibashi for Nurarihyon no Mago.
Chapter 22: Realization
Her human life flashed before her eyes.
She is revered by men as a princess having an unnatural beauty. The emperor is pleased by the allure of her beauty, and so, he fell in love with her. The princess returned his affections passionately as though he is her husband.
But then one man tried to stand in her way of love by accusing her of being a fraud. Not in the sense of financial matters, but in a sense that he is accusing her of "not being human".
At first the people did not believe him. But as he proved his case through taking an opportune time to make the emperor himself believe in him, the woman now has a mix of emotions.
First, there is the disbelief at her own situation that she is not a normal human. Second, she is angry at what the human has done to break the emperor's trust in her. Third, she is now depressed at the fact that she can never come back to her lover's arms again.
She can only escape the clutches of the capital, to which it has not helped her situation even for one bit.
Two elite warriors of the emperor are now summoned to kill the nine – tailed entity, to which those warriors faithfully obeyed. The warriors found what they are searching for in the plains of Nasu, but then the entity declared that she will not go down without a fight.
The warriors now summoned eighty thousand warriors to aid in the battle, and she dissipated all of those forces with her single spell. As she saw the chaos that ensued after her spell, she is now too distraught to fight again.
This is ironic, even for her. She loved human life, yet she took that same life away from all of them with a simple chant.
At the second wave of the warriors, she now tried to plead her cause to them, but then a warrior found it fit to fire an arrow between her head. She is about to die, but before she did die; she uttered a curse that sent the elite warriors running for their lives.
Now a poisoned stone, it indiscriminately killed livestock, harvests, and even people near its vicinity. The people now begged for help as soon as they saw a travelling monk.
The monk examined the stone, without anyone watching what he does. He now spoke to the stone after ascertaining what kind of entity lives in that stone. Even he did not believe it at first, but here it is, in front of his eyes, a being that does not deserve to even be there in the first place.
"It seems that you are the cause of all of this, Tamamo – no – mae – sama."
He now heard a despairing voice from that stone, which can send anyone running for their lives if they are not experts on those fields of learning.
"It is true. Please release me from my suffering. I do not want the people to suffer my wrath just because someone betrayed me."
He now chanted a single line, and as he prayed for her peace, she now departed from that stone, leaving a bright ray of white – blue light in its wake.
"I will forever be grateful and be in debt of you, dear monk." She stated somberly as she departed.
"Think nothing of it. I am after all only doing my solemn duty."
The stone has crumbled and destroyed itself. It then separated in different locations, still retaining her essence but it can be considered as fragmented.
She now woke up abruptly, her eyes still half - open, mumbling the one word that she knew her Servant will hate.
"Mizukume…"
As the sun has already ascended to warm the cool and hazy sky of Fuyuki, Caster and Kejoro are now in the process of finishing the polishing of their weapons. Kejoro is about to place the Dirks in her leather pocket bag when she felt an ominous aura. Together with that, she also felt…
"Wakagashira…" Kejoro mumbled as she tightened the handle of the Dirk even further. She closed the bag and used her sash as her sheath for her other Dirks. She is about to leave when Caster heard her footsteps.
"You will be of no use to them as of now." Caster told her in a clear but monotonous voice, enough to echo across the corridor where Kejoro is now. "Rest assured that your Master will be fine."
Kejoro can only grit her teeth as Caster said those words. It is as though she dismisses them as a nuisance and that the situation is an event not meant for meddling by someone such as them. But then, going by her nature, it is perfectly normal for someone such as Caster to say such things.
That doesn't help in the slightest in their situation though. Caster now continued.
"If you have time to worry, worry about yourself." Caster dismissed. "Who knows what will that other Caster do after that incident at the Einzbern Mansion?"
"Let me ask you a question, then." Kejoro now spat back as she is approaching her Servant's room. "Why do you sound so over…"
But then she is stopped by the scene that she is looking right now.
Caster, as if in a deep contemplation, is sitting in a way that a samurai would conduct himself before the battle. She savors the dreaded silence that fills the room.
Lying before her is the blunt katana, but then a paper talisman floated down to the katana, imbibing it with its pure energy that filled across the room. She then stood up, and the katana now floated along with her stand.
The paper talisman disappeared upon completing its purpose, and she now held the katana in a graceful manner. She then positioned herself and the sword in an offensive stance, raised her sword and swiftly swung the sword down, which created a powerful force upon the room where she is at.
Kejoro fully expected that the room will be destroyed with such force, but is then surprised that what she is aiming to cut is not the whole room, but a single bamboo leaf of the bamboo shoot from the vase that was in front of her. That single bamboo leaf is now cut from its stem, falling slowly but surely to the ground.
The area that is supposed to be destroyed by that force seems to have kept itself intact after that pure destructive force threatened the stability of their home.
…confident?
Kejoro can only finish the sentence in her mind as she takes that scene deep in her thoughts. She is not the Caster that she knows as of now. She can be funny at times, mixing it with her witty remarks, but not this serious. The last time that she saw that expression is…
My dream…
A goddess who has been given a human name.
A princess revered by men and women alike.
A princess who struggled to understand the futility of human life, but instead, she admired the humbleness and determination of man.
A goddess, who, in her last moments, still believed in the goodwill of humans…
Up until now, the definition of a hero for Kejoro is still muddled with doubt. But then, Caster will not become like this if the Holy Grail will not see something that piques the interest.
Of all times to remember those scenes, it had to be today.
She can only laugh internally at her own circumstance that came back to her with full force as if she just heard a bad joke. It is true that Kubinashi saved her on a number of occasions whenever she faced strong youkai.
But most of the time, she is the one that saves him, especially on that one occasion where Nura Rihan is about to pass his judgment on the wielder of thin crimson ribbons.
She is then snapped out of her thoughts when Caster called out her name.
"Kejoro – san." Caster now approached Kejoro with a minimum amount of haste and grace. "I think it is now time for us to go for a stroll to the public library. Knowing the Servant's names alone can't do justice for me since I really don't know some of them."
She then raised her mirror, and sheathed the sword inside in a delicate manner. The sword slid inside that mirror like it is stabbed through a saucer of water. She then made the mirror disappear from her presence.
Kejoro nodded, and Caster walked on ahead. She went a few steps ahead, but then stopped walking for the moment as Caster said this.
"Hagoromo Gitsune…" She mumbled, then she walked on ahead without stopping. Kejoro stopped walking to follow her for a long ten seconds before she realized that together with her Master Nura Rikuo, Hagoromo Gitsune, the leader of the Kyoto Youkai, is also there as a cloak for her Young Master.
A cloak…
The technique of the Matoi.
An empowerment that defeated Abe no Seimei.
A proof of the youkai's allegiance to the Master of the Hyakki Yakou even though they have human bloodlines.
But most of all, it is a proof of an undying bond between mother and son.
Kejoro is filled with brief joy at that thought, before realizing that Caster did not have those chances of redemption from her murky fate and died bearing a momentary grudge against the humans who have killed her.
That feeling still exists in the Sesshouseki, which killed plants, soil, animals and humans alike who dared to live within its poisonous range. If not for the priest who laid her soul to rest, that feeling will persist and will kill the whole nation of Japan in a decade.
And so, Kejoro found out that even though they are Servants, they are still humans. People revere them as legends, when they are also flawed humans like them. Almost all legends from every corner of the known world skip upon those stories of their flaws in order to preserve and glorify their heroic acts.
And like humans, Servants have feelings and emotions. In this case, she saw something in Caster that she had never sensed from her before.
A dreadful feeling strong enough to make it to what the Church dread as one of the Seven Deadly Sins guaranteed to send that poor soul straight to the depths of Hell.
That unpleasant feeling is what humans call as Envy.
This spirit is standing on the pinnacle of strength. I'm really glad that I have found someone like him in my lifetime. He smirked as he now stands before the might of the ultimate youkai that formed bonds through the perfected technique of the Nura lineage.
"Hey, human..." He now declared as he now prepared his fist. Nura Rikuo turned his gaze in the Magus' direction.
"What now, pretentious human?" He condescendingly asked as he prepared his blade. The one who is being called a pretentious human can only laugh at the hypocrisy of the youkai's statement.
"Since we exhausted out both of our sides, why don't we duke it out just to make things interesting?" He now dropped the cylindrical bag on the ground. Nura Rikuo now let his guard up by preparing his blade, the edge facing his opponent. "Your powers against my Magecraft. It will be more correct to say that I am facing two opponents not meant to be played with right now."
"For what reason?" He asked, his voice still on guard for any potential threats that may come their way. The Enforcer just laughed at their situation as he continued.
"You are a monster, yet you still take the side of humans. You and I are special beings. I am human yet I am a Magus." He leered as he leaned against the electric light post. "Granted, I use Magecraft not for the advancement of the search for the truth, but for the sheer manipulation of the earth's energy to suit mankind's purposes."
"You are a fake, and so am I." He continued as Rikuo remained cautious. "There are no ideals at stake here. Let me see… I think it's because of my curiosity for you that piqued my interest…"
Rikuo further narrowed his eyes as he approached cautiously. The Enforcer did the same as him, but in a more reckless manner of defense. The man still continued as if he is having an amicable conversation with the Lord of Pandemonium.
"Yes, curiosity. How can a man and a spirit coexist together in blissful harmony like it is a perfectly normal occurrence?" He now began to heat up his fists and shoes with his Magecraft. "Magi strives for the search of that one Truth and so have alienated themselves from the rest of the human race, therefore humans outcast them as complete strangers. But you, my friend, have a penchant for maintaining coexistence between humans and youkai. Your technique is the proof of that."
"And what exactly are you pointing?" Rikuo can only study his opponent coldly as he narrowed his eyes for the moment.
"I thought that my question serves as my point. Like I said, I'm driven by the sheer curiosity of it." He replied. "Humans are never meant to coexist with youkai, let alone spirits. I have to drive the main point home then…"
He now began his charge against the strongest youkai in existence, abandoning all strategy and putting all his power in his brute strength. "You have to prove me otherwise!"
The clash of their forces proves to be severely destructive as the ground that they are standing on has began its immense degradation from its initial impact. Rikuo, defending himself using the power of Nenekirimaru, tried to stave off the fist that threatens the destruction of his katana.
But then, the man is too strong, fighting on equal footing with the youkai that he faces. For Nura Rikuo, this is the first time that he fought against a human and yet he feels like he is fighting an unstoppable monster.
Every punch, kick and move is carefully thought out by both of them before they can even unleash their blows. But then, certain things are more often unpredictable the more that they find out the pattern out of each other.
"Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! AMAZING!" The Enforcer punctuated his every blissful word with his every punch and kick against the youkai who still remained on defensive. Nura Rikuo can only deflect his strong attacks with the flat side of his katana along with his defensive strikes, but at this rate, Nenekirimaru will eventually break from the sheer force of his attacks coupled with Magecraft.
In all of history that Hagoromo Gitsune went through the years, this is the first time that she is genuinely afraid of a human who has surpassed his limits as a normal human. He can give the onmyouji of her time a run for their money at the mere display of his sheer brute force. Each and every time that Nura Rikuo takes a hit from this man, she feels every bone in his body almost breaking.
If not for the technique that they performed earlier, he would have been beaten up like a fresh carcass ten times over.
Fortunately, Rikuo found a gap in his attacks and used that opportunity to escape the clutches of the berserker. But then, the Enforcer chanted a single spell, and the ground cracked tremendously at him using the ground as a springboard.
Rikuo, we must escape from this man now. She now pleaded. We cannot face him while we are like this.
He now landed, and instead of running away, he dropped the wooden sheath on the ground.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Mother." Rikuo now smirked as he now stands firm in his place. He now emanated Osore that is more potent than ever. "But the difference between humans and youkai is that the humans never back down even if they know that they will face defeat. That moment will determine how humans defy fate. They have done so in the past…"
He now stabbed his sword to the ground and assumed a defensive stance. The Enforcer is still persistent in his attacks. Nura Rikuo can only face his opponent with unwavering crimson eyes that slowly turned into a golden hue.
"…AND THEY WILL DO SO AGAIN."
Hagoromo Gitsune can only put up a small smile for her foster son as he faces the might of the Enforcer. She only has to believe in him, and she now cloaked him with more power than ever as they attempt to defy his might.
The two forces now clashed once again, this time with more power than ever as their power resonated to other towns within the radius. Their powers have melded into a burning white pillar of light.
Yura, Ryuuji, Akifusa and Hidemoto can only watch the spectacle from a distance. Any nearer than that and they will be sure that they will be incinerated from that clash alone.
"Looks like our training for the past months did not pay off." Ryuuji coughed as he spoke. He can only chuckle bitterly at the fact that the course to be determined for the human race is once again depending on a half – youkai. "Even with my little sister's prowess as a successful heir of the onmyouji, it seems that we are outclassed once again by the Hyakki Yakou in terms of determining the fate of the world."
"That's what the saying 'If you can't beat them, join them' implies, Ryuuji – kun." Hidemoto chuckled. "We can only help in their cause just like I did with Nurarihyon in the past."
"Better yet, who had ever thought that Hagoromo Gitsune can confess of her guilt in her past lives and being forgiven for it?" He can only grit his teeth as he weakly spoke. "Sure, she is not the actual cause of everything, but still, she gave birth to a destructive force that only the Hyakki Yakou can contain."
"One cannot exist without the other." Akifusa replied as he tends to their injuries. "Don't tell me you have forgotten the principle of coexistence and the reason behind conflicts being taught in our training as onmyouji."
"Spare me from that crap, Akifusa." Ryuuji spat out as he stood up. "Say that to the wish granting device that can topple down like lava at the mere flick of the wrist. Some things are not meant to exist and coexist. Servants are one of those existences not meant to be in this world."
"Stupid…nii – san…"
Ryuuji turned around to see who said that, and he found out that Yura is the one who mumbled as she rested. It seems that she is recovering quickly from her loss of energy, but it will be quite long before she can wake up again. He now sighed at that notion.
He now packed his bags and is about to leave. Akifusa and Hidemoto can only watch him as Ryuuji leaves the scene.
"Just tell him that we will be by his side, for better or worse. I have nothing to do here after all."
He quipped those words then he left them unceremoniously. Hidemoto can only muse of his thoughts.
That's where you are wrong, Ryuuji. You have contributed quite immensely to the onmyouji and to humanity even though they hate your guts for it.
"Wha…What…happened?"
The man in a business suit can only scratch his head as he finds himself sitting ungracefully on the ground that they had clashed on. He then heard the sound of a sword being lifted up from the ground and sheathed in a wooden case.
Next thing he saw is Nura Rikuo, standing before him. The Enforcer then got up from his seat and adjusted his seared clothes. Dusting himself off of the dirt that he has, he now observed his surroundings.
He noticed that the ground that they are on has almost become a crater, and that they are in the center of it. He then chuckled upon realizing his situation.
"Looks like I lost…" The man chuckled endlessly at Rikuo's expense. The half – youkai can only raise his eyebrow at the irony of the present situation. "How did you do it?"
"Aikido…" Nura Rikuo replied as he puts the sheathed blade in his sash. "So you know already what I will do to you?"
"More or less, yeah."
The Enforcer can only embrace his fate. As he closed his eyes, he saw a girl that was almost in her teens. The girl had a crimson red hair that only reached to her nape, wearing a set of ancient earrings.
Sorry, my niece, I can't come back to that home like I used to. He then chuckled at his dismal fate as an Enforcer of the Magus Association. At least I had left you something for you to always remember me…
But then, as if by a divine intervention, the youkai turned his back on to him.
"I feel bored now…" Nura Rikuo quipped as he played with the sheathed blade. "You already know of your defeat. I like my victims better when they are surprised and helpless."
"For a youkai, you sure are kind, nurarihyon." He can only quip those words as he smirked. Nura Rikuo widened his eyes in surprise at what the Enforcer had said.
Hagoromo Gitsune can only grit her teeth in anger at what the man had just said, but thankfully, Rikuo calmed her down.
Please calm down, Mother. I'm confident that he is way off the mark when he said that.
She can only huff at what her son had said. Sure, he is way off the mark. But still, if the Magus Association finds out about them, they will be dead meat before the sun rises.
Although the Hyakki Yakou is a powerful clan among all clans in Japan, it seems that they will soon get a taste of what the onmyouji carry on their shoulders for too long if they keep themselves exposed.
Hagoromo Gitsune now separated from Nura Rikuo as the sun is about to rise on them. Nura Rikuo turned back into a human as he wore his glasses once again. He then saw the Enforcer about to leave the place.
"Wait!" Rikuo shouted as he is about to chase him. But he is then stopped when the Enforcer also stopped to turn to his direction.
"Don't worry about being exposed. I got all of you covered." He smirked as he carried his bag once again. "I'll find a way to file this report. After all, Magi don't even care about the spirits unless they are involved in a major event. This event is only minor, so no worries."
"As for the onmyouji… Let's just say that they are now 'officially' wiped off the map." He gave a big grin that gave both the youkai and onmyouji an unpleasant feeling. "Also, Enforcers are experts in filing false reports for the media to pounce on…"
"What is your name?" Rikuo blurted out to the onmyoujis', Enforcer's and his foster mother's surprise.
"Just call me Fraga." He said as he left without much fanfare. "…If we ever meet again, that is."
He can only savor the sweet smell of winter as it deeply sinks in to his soul. Spring is almost coming, yet he wished that this ambience will never end. He then walked into an alley for a shortcut to the train station.
But then, one man found a perfect opportunity to show him who is really the one that keeps the Magus Association in check. At the snap of the fingers…
The man now burned at the azure flames. The flames slowly changed its color from azure to a hot and bright yellow as it slowly feeds on the man's flesh and blood.
"What a moron. Of all people, you should know by now that you are not to return alive unless you have a proof of the onmyouji's elimination from the face of the earth."
The burning man turned to find the one who incinerated him, and he widened his eyes in surprise upon finding out who that man is.
"C…Corne…lius…Al…ba…" The man can only mutter those words as his body still burns on. He can only kneel helplessly as the people now run for their lives at the unusual occurrence happening in their city.
An ocean so blue, no one though it exists…
But he and his men believe that that horizon exists, even up until now.
The boy only thought that it is mere foolishness to chase that horizon, but then a part of him still believed in that legend that made him famous.
"My men, I present to you…" He now proclaimed with pride at the clear horizon where the sun stood mightily in front of them, basking them in warm rays of light along with the fresh smell of the sea and the warm wind that followed through. His men and his friends raised their weapons proudly as their king showed them his dream.
"Okeanos."
The name of the never – ending ocean, which the King of Conquerors tried to attain at the end of his conquest, but it seemed out of reach for him at his approaching death. It is a tragic thing for most kings to never attain their dream, but for the King of Conquerors, he felt no regret.
In the end of his reign as the mighty king, his empire has come to a bitter end. The boy can only be astonished at the developments even though he has read about his legend in history books. His experience in that dream can never compare to the books that he read.
Meanwhile, out of a whim, the elderly man decided to check up on the bed of the young man. He has his suspicions, but then it disappears every single time that he goes up to that room.
His memory has never been good, but he convinced himself that it is impossible for his memory to be wiped out like a clean slate in a day as if the young man is still there in the first place. Every time he sees the young man come home, he followed him up to his room. But then what happened afterwards is out of his comprehension every time.
He now clearly sees what seems to be a colored vapor outside the door. As he touched that vapor, he felt the energy surging through his body, then…
He blacked out.
The colored vapor is actually a simple artificial Bounded Field made from alchemy that he designed himself. The Bounded Field served as his alarm whenever someone dares to enter his room.
He now woke up from his dream, if he can still call it as one. The dreams of the Servant are meant to be ignored by Magi, but then for some reason he is interested in his Servant's dreams and aspirations.
Not that he will grant his wish, but if that is the reason why he wanted to be reincarnated as a human, then he will have a really long way ahead of him if he wanted to catch up to the times. The countries that had a true monarchy type reign in the present world can be counted by hand.
This is not a good day…
This is definitely NOT their good day.
Not even their faces can describe what is happening to them as of now, as Rider and Waver meet Kejoro and Caster on the library. Caster can only curse her absurdly high Luck statistic for the things that are happening to them as of now.
Just how high is Kejoro – san's luck that she even had encounters like this? She dared not to ask that question out loud as even she knows that that question is out of her complete comprehension.
"Ah, the princess and the ghost of a local legend!" Rider bellowed with excitement as they saw them once again. Waver can only widen his eyes in surprise at what Rider has said. He really must brush up on his history once again to make sure that even Rider's simple quips will not escape his notice.
But for now, Kejoro, Caster and Waver must endure the awkward meeting that could be considered as an unfortunate turn of events that could happen in a Holy Grail War.