Chapter 12 - Interludes and Determination

Everyone's a Stalker

[Kiritsugu P.O.V.]

Kiritsugu's mind was in turmoil. For someone who supposedly lacked trust in her allies, he always felt that Irisviel's guard was awfully low against them. Putting a monitoring device on her phone that kept him updated on her location - and acted as a 24/7 microphone - had been easy. Painfully easy. He heard her entire conversation with Kirei and Medusa.

But hearing that he'd been married to her in another reality? It seems her judgment regarding him had always been clouded. It was a minor relief that at least she was not foolishly trusting everyone that helped her, but still it left him with mixed feelings. He remembered the day they first met, when he thought she was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. In another life, where she was weaker. A life where she was still under the control of Jubstacheit. Could things have developed more? He had to admit it was possible.

But that was still a minor piece of information compared to her other reveal. She'd always told him she wanted to save the world, and he somewhat had believed her. But she never implied it was completely dependent on her. Countless people had predicted the world would end, he'd just lumped her in as another person trying to save it. Her comparison to the madmen of Atlas had been apt, he'd thought. But if what she said was true then she was the only reason there was a chance for survival. She was way more important than she let on.

If she couldn't take care of herself, then he would have to do it for her. Perhaps reforming her was beyond his means, and perhaps he was never meant to make her see reality. If some mysterious force felt this brand of idealism was meant to save the world, then maybe his true role was to keep her that way. He'd take care of the dirty details, so that she could remain unsullied by the costs needed for human survival.

He'd already done it before to a smaller degree, with his mercenary group. When he began assembling a team for the grail war, he'd had to kill plenty of planted spies. They were under the effects of some strange magecraft and he could not wrangle any confessions or information out of them. He hadn't brought it up with Irisviel because they seemed to snap in the most unpredictable of ways, acting as suicide bombers at times, or even carriers of viral pathogens.

If he told Irisviel, she'd want to interfere and try to help the mercenaries. But the risk was too high to let her approach them, so he'd opted to take care of things quietly without informing her and just killed them all. It was only the recent revelations that made him guess those planted mercenaries were from Prelati.

Despite the lack of evidence for most of Irisviel's claims, he'd known her for a long time. Perhaps the longest out of all her acquaintances. He'd seen the things she'd accomplished. Thus, he believed her. The grail was now secondary, he would ensure Irisviel's survival by any means necessary.

[Serenity P.O.V.]

Serenity was irritated. All she wanted was a chance to love someone, and now she was getting caught up in saving the world. For a person with so much paranoia, Kiritsugu had still managed to underestimate the capabilities of an Assassin class servant. She'd known that Irisviel was going to say something important to Kirei, but she wasn't confident in being able to sneak up on them.

But she hardly needed to spy on them herself when there was a convenient patsy already present in the castle. Spying on Kiritsugu was orders of magnitude easier than spying on Irisviel. He was only able to spy on Irisviel so easily because she liked him and he'd had so much time to build trust. By using the information he gathered, Serenity faced little to no risk. Avoiding unnecessary risks was part of the deal when it came to being an assassin after all.

Whether or not she should inform her master of her findings had been a troubling decision. Sakura was a sweet girl who just wanted the best for her loved ones. She was far too young to be participating in a brutal war like this, but fate is rarely kind. Still, it was important information. Despite whatever deal she'd struck with Irisviel, Serenity's loyalty was first and foremost to her master. So she told Sakura.

"There's lots of time before what aunt Iri is scared of happens. I'll grow up to be a strong useful magus and then maybe I can help out. The world ending would hurt me too right? So it's not that weird to try my best." Sakura said in response.

Serenity facepalmed. That had gone way easier than she'd thought it would. The resiliency of children was a remarkable trait indeed. Sakura snickered at her. "You thought I would freak out right?"

Serenity nodded, not sure where Sakura was going with this.

"I didn't know everything until you just told me, but me and all my siblings already knew something big was going to happen. We've all cuddled with aunt Iri sometimes in bed, and she talks in her sleep. She has so many nightmares. She's really scared of something bad happening. It's probably why she works so hard all the time. She tries her best to keep us from noticing her fears, but it's kind of hard not to realize something's up.

Our guess is that she tries to keep us at arm's length because she doesn't want us to worry or get caught up in her affairs. But we all decided to improve ourselves as best as we can so that one day we can help her, to help pay her back for all she's done for us." Sakura nodded with determination that didn't suit a young girl like her.

Serenity's expression softened. "I agree with her though. Kids shouldn't be worrying about things like that. If you want to help her when you've grown up, that is your choice. But I think she wanted you to have a proper childhood, and I think that was the right call."

"We all know. Well, to be fair, at first we tried to just study a lot . But then mom got worried. So to keep her from getting worried we have fun too! Plus magecraft is pretty cool and interesting anyways." Sakura defended.

Serenity patted her head. "I suppose that's more acceptable. Learning useful skills in a safe and fun manner is good for you. Just don't worry about anything more than that till you're grown up okay?"

"Mhm, you can count on me!" Sakura saluted with a smile, and Serenity couldn't stop the corners of her lips from curling up as well. She would protect this smile.

The Wisest Decision Kayneth Ever Made

[Kayneth P.O.V.]

Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald paced his workshop furiously as he debated abandoning the grail war. He was a magus confident in his capabilities, but he'd been suffering from a bout of bad luck for a while and this war hadn't gone as he planned at all.

He was currently livid with rage at his Servant, Saber. The spirit had the audacity to attempt to seduce his fiancée, Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia Ri, into his bed. The act made Kayneth so livid that he felt like giving up on the grail outright and he was considering just killing his servant via command spells. But to understand how events arrived at such a point, some context is required.

Kayneth originally came into this war to have fun and increase his reputation. He was pretty successful in nearly all his endeavors, so he didn't particularly need the Grail or anything. He hoped by bringing along his fiancée that perhaps they would grow closer together. He could tell she was with him only because of the arranged marriage they were set up for, but she was a stunning beauty and he didn't want to spend a lifetime feuding with his future partner. Thus, he brought Sola-Ui with him as he set up camp on the 32nd floor of the Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel. He had revamped the area into a veritable fortress with countless mystic codes, traps, and monsters lying in wait.

A pity, though, that he was not the most talented at reading or winning the hearts of women. His talent in magecraft was great, but that didn't mean he was talented in everything that he did. Finding it hard to admit to his beloved that he mostly wanted her to come in order to impress her, he instead convinced her to join him under the pretense that he wanted to utilize her to support the burden of a servant. With two people supplying the mana for one servant, it did give them a definitive advantage. Of course, this backfired on him. His inability to tell her the truth, combined with his cowardly behavior of refusing to leave his bunker, only caused the scorn Sola-Ui felt towards him to grow.

His bad luck all started before he even came to Fuyuki. Back when that idiot student of his, Waver, stole the mantle of Iskandar. Kayneth had planned on summoning the great conqueror, but now Waver had the servant in his place. Still, just because the boy managed to summon a good servant shouldn't have given Waver too much of an advantage. The boy was still an imbecile of a magus from a new bloodline, and perhaps defeating his student would let Kayneth hammer in the importance of a long lineage.

With his first catalyst lost, Kayneth prepared another artifact. One he'd kept in store as a backup. But then even that catalyst - which would have likely let him summon the Celtic hero Diarmuid Ua Duibhne - was lost in a lab accident. Investigations were still pending on whether it was truly an accident, or if it was an act of sabotage. Either way, it did not bode well for him that both of his prepared catalysts were lost.

With some effort and some favorable chance outcomes, he managed to acquire a third catalyst. One better than both the ones he'd found prior. He'd initially thought perhaps his luck was turning up, but he had quickly dismissed that notion. For the talented, success should come naturally. Any fortune he'd stumbled upon was just a part of his destiny. Sure there were setbacks, but at the end of the day he wound up in a better position than where he had started.

He finally summoned his Servant, a Saber at that. He was elated, as Saber was generally considered the best class in the war. And the one he summoned was top-tier even among servants. At least…he should have been.

"What the hell do you mean you don't have your sword? You're a Saber, the whole point is that you have a legend associated with a famous sword!" Kayneth had screamed furiously upon first summoning his servant.

His servant had merely shrugged, acting clueless. "I don't know, you must have messed up my summoning. I do have other abilities that may prove useful, but I guess for the most part I won't be the greatest of fighters. Guess you're out of luck. It's weird you summoned me as a Saber at all."

So yes, after that fiasco Kayneth was certain he had bad luck. He took it in stride though. Geniuses must overcome hurdles to prove to the world their greatness, at least that's how he rationalized it to himself. Saber seemed amiable enough, but after he scouted the town the day before his personality seemed to have undergone a drastic change.

He refused to explain what he saw, and after that he the servant hardly listened to his words and mostly just did as he pleased. Even the threat of command spells hardly seemed to faze him, and the bastard had started flirting with his fiancée incessantly. What had hurt more was that Sola-Ui seemed to enjoy the scummy servant's attention.

Leading to the present day, where his temper reached a boiling point. In a fit of rage quite unbefitting of him, he used a command spell to demand that Saber would no longer try to seduce his fiancée. The bastard just laughed it off. "Oops, sorry Sola-Ui. You're just not worth that much effort. I'll just have to find someone else." Saber said flippantly, walking away without a care in the world.

A part of Kayneth relished in the heartbroken look on Sola-Ui's face. Serves that bitch right. But another part of him felt sorry for her. Why? Because he did care for her in his own way, even now. He went up to her warily, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. What he didn't expect was her latching on and hugging him tightly.

As she sobbed into his shoulder, she asked in a muffled voice. "Why is everything about how much I'm worth? My arrangement to you was just about how much benefit I could bring to my family. Saber cast me aside because the hassle it took to play around with me was not worth my value. I just want to find something real, am I just doomed to be an item in a transaction for the rest of my life?"

Kayneth froze, uncertain of how to respond. He'd never really had to comfort a crying woman before. Behind Sola-Ui's back he saw his servant, who had been walking away, staring at the show with a smile. Kayneth was about to give him a piece of his mind, but then Saber shook his head silently. 'Tell her you love her.' Saber mouthed.

Kayneth was able to read his servant's lips, it was just one of his many talents. But he was perplexed by this advice. Why would Saber try to help him? He was going to ignore the advice, but then Sola-Ui looked up at him with teary eyes filled with need, and Kayneth melted. "I am taking advantage of the circumstances to be with you, I admit. I didn't accept this arrangement out of love or anything of the like. But I truly have grown to love you Sola-Ui, you're not just a breeding partner to me." He admitted. It sounded better in his head, but the words were out and he couldn't retract them.

Sola-Ui looked shocked. Why was she so shocked? He'd surely told her how much he loved her before…oh. Oh no. He'd never told her. He'd called her his love, or his beloved, but he'd never properly and earnestly told her he loved her.

"Y-you do?" Sola-Ui asked in a weak voice.

Saber silently urged him to say yes.

"Yes. Is that so hard to believe? You are beautiful. Your flaming red hair that stokes my burning heart, your chocolate brown eyes that I could spend hours staring into. Your cunningness as you take down your enemies. I love it all." He waxed poetically, while internally he was panicking. Going from ineloquent lovestruck fool to this? Since when was he such a smooth casanova? He decided it was just another latent talent that he'd just never needed until this day.

Sola-Ui gave him the first affectionate gaze she'd ever pointed his way. "Oh Kayneth, I've misjudged you all this time. I'm so sorry." She pleaded. Being the magnanimous man that he was, Kayneth accepted her apology.

"I forgive you. Can I presume such behavior will not occur again?" He said pompously.

Sola-Ui nodded gently. "Never. Why would I need to search for romance anywhere else, if I'm engaged to someone who loves me right now? I just didn't know it till now." She said, leaning in for a kiss. As Kayneth locked lips with the woman he'd pined over for years, he decided maybe this war wasn't so bad after all.

"I'm glad you two have resolved your issues." Saber jolted them out of their passionate embrace.

Kayneth reeled in his instinct to lash out, deciding to voice his doubts politely instead. "Did you plan for this outcome, for some reason?" Sola-Ui looked confused as she stared between Kayneth and Saber.

"Oh come on, did you think I was such a terrible Servant? You wound me. There are plenty of women in the sea, I don't need to go after yours. But your love life was kind of depressing, so I decided to give you some help. Glad to see you're finally showing some backbone, master of mine." Saber nodded.

"So you were never interested in me in the first place?" Sola-Ui asked with mixed emotions.

"Yeah, don't take this the wrong way, but…you're kind of crazy. Huge turn-off. Already have one crazy woman that hates my guts, no need to add to the list. Plus, you're not even hot enough to make it worth it. So don't worry master, your love's chastity was never in danger from me." Saber saluted.

Sola-Ui was pissed off, but wasn't really sure how to respond to that. But considering that she'd just been shown to be considering cheating on Kayneth with Saber, arguing about it would probably make her look worse. So she opted to fume quietly.

"The way you state things is infuriating, but I recognize when gratitude is due. Thank you Saber, for helping me mend this relationship. Is there a favor I can fulfill for you in return?" Kayneth asked. Magi were all about equivalent exchange after all.

"See now we're talking. I'm glad you understand. What I want is for you to not try to win the war. Don't interfere with anything, let me do what I want without your interference." Saber said.

Kayneth's initial impulse was to reject his request, but he tried to be at least slightly reasonable. "Your actions reflect me, I cannot just give you a blanket pass to do whatever you'd like. And why should I give up this war? It's a matter of great prestige, it would shame me to run away from it. And why would you want to give up the war? Your handicap is annoying but not something that can't be overcome with some preparation and strategy. Do you have no wish for the war?" He fired off.

"You're right. I don't have a wish for the grail. Unlike most heroes, I didn't have some tragic end. So the fact that you were able to summon me means there's something else at play here. Something dangerous. Things will go out of hand, and you don't want to be here when that happens. Look, you've already managed to reconcile things with your love. Don't you think that's more than worth this trip? If anything, you may gain prestige by managing to avoid the events to come in this war. Take my advice, use my favor, and just leave." Saber pleaded.

Kayneth reeled back in shock at this. He didn't expect that his servant was actually looking out for him, even using the favor he had to help his master. What a dutiful servant this was, it managed to touch even Kayneth's shriveled narcissistic heart. "I see…was this whole fiasco your way of watching out for your master? Trying to put some distance between us while giving me an incentive to leave?"

Saber gave an awkward smile. "I've never been a great liar, but I think I did well enough this time."

"I shall take your warning to heart…friend. Our acquaintance may have been short and filled with animosity, but I acknowledge you as a true friend. If you do not believe I can handle what is to come, I will believe you. But if you must fight, I will not leave you empty handed. This entire workshop is yours, and I will connect your source of power to the magical reactors I have set up. If they are sabotaged, you will lose your source of power. But it should be enough to sustain you even if I am far away. I'll try to find a way to give you the boost of the command spell without my presence as well." Kayneth promised.

Saber shook his head. "The magical reactors will be more than enough for my purposes. Instead, at some point I will call you. I ask that you use those command spells on me at that time. They should work regardless of distance. Would that be fine?"

Kayneth nodded. "If you feel that is best. I wish you luck, Saber. Good bye."

After Kayneth made the arrangements, the couple packed up their bags and got on the next flight to Britain. Kayneth and Sola-Ui were no longer participating in the war.

Partner Bonding

[Medusa P.O.V.]

Medusa rushed towards the castle carrying Irisviel in her arms. It angered her deeply that Iskandar noticed Irisviel's injured state before Medusa herself did. This kind of mercy from the enemy felt pitiful, and she hated herself for not keeping a closer eye on Irisviel's wounds.

The power Irisviel had displayed as she sent all those soldiers to hell had been impressive enough that she unconsciously stopped treating her master as a mere magus and more as an equal. She wasn't sure if calling them equals was the right word either. Irisviel's injuries were healing at a visible rate, with flesh regrowing and skin stitching itself back together. Medusa's own recovery rate was not that fast, and she was a servant.

Her self-esteem had never been the greatest to begin with, but even her miniscule pride was stung upon realizing she might be weaker than her master. She shook her head, it was no time to be worrying about that. Arriving at the castle, she snuck in towards Irisviel's bedroom and laid her down to rest.

She was no doctor, but cleaning up wounds was something she could do. There wasn't much needed to dress up Irisviel's injuries anyways. After that all that needed to be done was to wait. She hated waiting. The time spent alone with her thoughts only troubled her mind. She was snapped out of her brooding by a hand clasping hers.

Irisviel's eyes were open, but she looked very exhausted. "How long was I out for?"

"Just an hour or so. How are you feeling?" Medusa asked back.

"I'm fine. Just tired, I should be fine after I take a nap. The more important question is how are you feeling?" Irisviel stared at her with a stern gaze.

"My injuries were minor, and have already closed up." Medusa reported.

"You know that's not what I mean. Why were you brooding just now?" Irisviel squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"I was not brooding. Just lost in thought as I waited for you to wake up." Medusa denied.

Irisviel merely stared in silence, conveying how she was clearly not buying it.

"Fine. I just never realized you were such a strong magus. Comparatively, I'm so useless. If you had summoned Heracles like you intended, would things have been different? Would he have noticed you were injured before Iskandar? Would he have let you get injured at all?" Medusa wondered.

Irisviel shook her head. "You're not useless. You're not the strongest servant in this war, that much is true. But you are not weak. We just happen to be up against some real monsters in this war."

"You're one of those monsters you speak of too, you know." Medusa fired back, a bit of frustration coloring her tone. Hearing that she wasn't weak from a master stronger than her didn't have the reassuring effect Irisviel might have thought it did.

Irisviel took a deep breath, before responding in a measured tone. "Low blow there. I figured you would understand not wanting to be seen as a monster better than most. But I know your frustration is out of worry for me, so I forgive you. I don't dwell on what-ifs. I worry about what I can change, and no more. You're my servant, not Heracles. I'm happy to have you with me, and even though our acquaintance has been short I'd like to think we're more than just master and servant. I'd call you a friend. Both of us still have a good shot at winning this war, isn't that enough?"

Medusa reeled back, guilt marring her face. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lashed out at you for that. It's just frustrating feeling so useless."

Irisviel sat up, clasping both of Medusa's hands trying to convey her emotions as clearly as possible. "I understand, you want to win the war. You want to be a useful servant. You want the power to achieve your wishes. Yet it seems like you may be lacking. But you forget something important. Growth is the privilege of the living, and as transient as it may be you are alive in this moment. You can still learn new skills, gain new knowledge. It's not too late. For example, I heal faster because of runes. You can too."

"You would teach me your secrets? Don't magi hoard their knowledge zealously?" Medusa looked disbelievingly.

"I'm kind of a knowledge thief, it's not like I discovered these runes myself or anything. But even if I had, I wouldn't mind sharing. Like I said, you're my friend. And I don't make friends because they're useful to me, I make them because I care. You could become weaker than a normal human and I still wouldn't abandon you. That's what friendship means to me. So what do you say? Partners?" Irisviel offered.

Medusa's lips curled into a soft smile, but her eyes shone with grim determination. "Partners. Please help me grow stronger. Not just so that I can be useful, but also so that I can help my friend."

Irisviel beamed back. "Welcome aboard!"

"Don't mind if I do." Medusa smirked, sliding into bed and spooning Irisviel with her body.

Irisviel looked shocked for a moment, then shrugged. "I'm totally ok with this."

"Just friends, hm?" Medusa asked teasingly.

"I never said that's all we have to be." Irisviel shook her head.

"Then let's see where this goes?" Medusa asked, her teasing tone now suddenly soft and vulnerable. Being liked and cared for by someone other than her sisters, who knew of her fate as a Gorgon? That was a new experience for her, and one she did not wish to lose. Even monsters crave love.

"I'd love to see where this goes." Irisviel accepted. The pair nuzzled against each other, and no nightmares plagued their sleep this time.