It's been a long, long time since the last update, huh? But oh well, since I am also in the last steps of my Master thesis, I have allowed myself a comfortable workload in which I actually manage to make lots of progress with both my study-related writing and my hobby of torturing fictional characters.
This is chapter is going to be an odd one. A breather if you so want, but only because I have cut off the battle scenes with which it was supposed to culminate after I noticed that I reached 17.000 words and the end was still not in sight. Therefore I am in the comfortable position to both present you with a chapter and announce that the delay to the next one is not going to be that long, given that most of it is already written anyway.
Have fun!
Chapter 7 - Detective Rin
Jaime
Jaime stood in the centre of the clearing, Oathkeeper still drawn, his mouth wide open. It had all happened in an instant and he was still trying to get a grasp on what exactly had happened. The girl they were facing, the one summoned as Assassin, was the girl he had assumed dead since long ago. The girl he had vowed to protect and to get to safety.
Defend Ned Stark's girl with Ned Stark's steel.
Oathkeeper felt unusually heavy in his hands. How could he protect her when she didn't even hesitated to cut down...
Iri!
He attempted a step forward, but was too frozen to the ground to move. Even from afar, her wound looked terrible. Not immediately fatal, but a belly sliced open like this made a long and painful death certainty. Arya however was nowhere to be seen anymore and neither was her Summoner. She had picked him up and rushed back into the woods after she must have realized that this was as much damage as she could do without risking Jaime snapping out of his confusion.
Instead of charging towards his doomed wife, Kiritsugu scrambled to a nearby tree and fetched a large bag. Jaime attempted to express his confusion, but even if he had been able to speak through his tightened throat, Kiritsugu looked like he would have ignored him anyway. Out of the bag a long shape of blue and silver surfaced and only after his Master placed it on the ground next to him he recognized it as the empty sheath of a large bastard sword.
"What is this?", Jaime croaked, still rooted to the ground.
Kiritsugu ignored him, just as expected. He instead placed both hands on the sheath, speaking rough words in a foreign tongue. Seconds later, a faint glow radiated from it, slowly fighting back the darkness. Even Jaime in his ignorance of everything supernatural recognized that this was no simple trick, he was pouring life itself into it. His own life. Kiritsugu was shivering, wavering. Jaime thought to see tears glistening on his face, but his features showed utter, desperate determination. Realizing that his Master was on the verge of collapsing, Jaime finally snapped out of his daze. He slowly took a step towards him, but once again he froze in the middle of his motion. He watched Kiritsugu's hands shaking as all strength was sucked out of him. Jaime knew that there was nothing he could do anymore. Letting go of Oathkeeper, he finally rushed to Iri's side, kneeling down besides her. Her eyes were closed, but her whole body was shivering.
She must have fainted from the pain.
The wound looked grisly to him. her jacket was completely drenched in blood and more came pouring out by the minute. Under the light of the moon her features looked even more pale as usual, especially in contrast to the bubbles of blood coming out of her mouth. Biting his lip, Jaime carefully rolled her to the side to decrease the risk of her drowning on it. That was the only thing he could do. Jaime saw many a man die on the battlefield and he knew some of the simpler tricks you could do to buy time for the Maester's to arrive. He could have applied pressure on a smaller wound to decrease the bleeding or could have tried to remove the clothing the sword stabbed through, woman or not, in order to prevent a festering. But with her belly being sliced through like this, he was overcome by utter helplessness. If this had been a battlefield in Westeros, the only thing he could reasonably do was helping her getting to the other side faster and with little more pain. Something he didn't dare with Kiritsugu still working on... something. He gritted his teeth and punched the soft ground with his gauntlets.
"I'm sorry", Jaime whispered. "I'm sorry, I should have..."
Kiritsugu must have heard him, there was no other reason Jaime could think of for that he suddenly found himself looking into the face of his Master, who stared back full of anger and damning judgement. He was crouching down on the opposite side of the fallen woman.
"I-", Jaime choked on his words even before the interruption came.
"Not now", Kiritsugu growled, breathing heavily.
In his hands was the sheath, still glowing softly. He placed its tip sideways upon Iri's chest and closed his eyes. With his still shaking hands, he drove the sheath onwards, into her heart. Jaime was aghast for a second, until he realized that this was not quite what happened. It was more like the object slid through her, only to never come out on the other side. After a few seconds, the entire sheath had disappeared, nothing of it remaining. The first seconds passed in silence, then entire minutes. They were still kneeling in the darkness, watching the unchanging woman twitching in pain in front of them. Nothing happened.
"Please", it was only a faint whisper, but it repeated over and over again. "Please, please, please."
It was Kiritsugu begging to whichever gods he prayed to. Tears were streaming down his face as he collapsed in front of Iri.
"Please, please."
Jaime felt like suffocating. This was his fault. He was the one who failed to protect her.
Again... I stood by and did nothing.
Kiritsugu was sobbing in front of her, his face planted on the ground. He let go of his emotions, letting them all pour out alongside his tears. And yet a hand appeared, softly stroking his hair. Iri's hand. Kiritsugu looked up and so did Jaime. Her eyes had opened again as she looked at him with pitying eyes. She had no words for him, the only thing escaping her mouth were soft, barely audible coughs and a forced smile.
"Irisviel!", Jaime called out. "Irisviel!"
And yet her reached out hand weakened and it slumped down as she closed her eyes again, slowly drifting off again.
"Stay with us, Irisviel!", Jaime panicked.
Only then he realized that Kiritsugu was already straightening his position and wiping his face. Jaime stared at his relieved face with utter confusion, at least until he pointed wordlessly towards her wound. Or what was left of it, for that matter.
In the name of the...
There was white skin beneath the torn jacket. If not for the dark red stains on her clothes, she would have looked as if she only got a bad scratching by thorny bushes. The wound itself was utterly closed.
How is that...
Jaime looked at his Master searching for answers, but he was already pushing himself up, trying his best to stand up despite his shaky footing. Jaime tried to offer his help, but only received another hateful stare before Kiritsugu turned away and walked a few wobbly steps away from Jaime and Iri. He pulled a crushed pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, stared at it for a few seconds and then put it away with a weary sigh. Taking another few steps he reached the edge of the clearing again where he took the closest tree as support to keep himself upon his legs. After throwing up in the bushes, Kiritsugu slowly returned to the clearance and sat down in the middle of it, looking just as miserable as he must have felt.
"The sheath of King Arthur", he finally said, his voice quivering.
The knight of the Kingsguard listened carefully, remembering that he heard the name uttered a few times before.
"Without Arthur it is stripped of its true power, but that doesn't mean the item has forgotten its intended use. The effect won't last for long though..."
"I..."
"Save yourself the trouble of explaining...", Kiritsugu seethed with anger. "I don't know what you were thinking. I don't know what this girl meant to you. But I sincerely hope that you now see that we cannot afford another such moment of hesitation! I will not allow it."
"She...", Jaime began, once again choking on his own conflicting feelings.
"... will return! And then you will do your duty. To me. To Iri. And to our world", he pushed himself up again, he couldn't have been able to recover much of his energy and yet he stared into the distance with hard eyes. "We have to move. Others might take advantage of our situation."
Jaime scrambled to his feet, unsure what to do. A glow of green and red was illuminating the sky above the forest behind them. This was no sunrise by all means. It meant that returning to the castle was no option anymore. The only direction they could go was... onwards. Both men looked towards Iri, who had fallen into an unruly slumber.
"I'd prefer to carry her myself, but", Kiritsugu began with barely hidden contempt, but his voice trailed off as he stared at his still shaking hands.
"No problem", Jaime carefully picked Iri up, concerned about the fact that she was light as a feather.
Thus, they slid back into the forest. For now Jaime was glad about having a direction, about having a clear objective. It kept his mind from trailing off to dangerous thoughts. About how things had turned this way. And whether he could bring himself to act like Kiritsugu wanted him to.
Waver
For some reason Waver Velvet didn't feel like waking up this morning. He surely must have spent an hour staring at the ceiling of this unfamiliar attic room that he had managed to turn into his own kingdom in this strange, foreign country. It was his safe zone, so to speak. Far away from the locals who couldn't understand a word he said and from his Servant who didn't want to. Robert Baratheon himself had left a little earlier after spending the night snoring so loud Waver dreaded the drunken oaf was about to suffocate. Now that he came to think of it, his severe lack of sleep may have contributed to his current state of grumbling dismay at the rising of the sun.
Wait... Where did he go?
With one leap he darted out of his bed. The moment the realization dawned upon him, his initial grogginess was like washed away. Scanning his surroundings, he felt drops of sweat dripping down on his face.
"No, no, no! Not again!"
Waver walked up the window and stared outside. With the exception of a few students walking down the sloped road towards the school, there was nobody exceptional to be seen. After all, even after ditching the armor, this bearded He-Man stuck out in modern Japan like a sore thumb.
"Rideeeeaaaaar", he wanted to shout it, but it came out as a measly whining instead as he slumped down on the ground. "I can't believe it... I lost him... again..."
He mentally prepared himself for another desperate hunt for that moron as he changed into his street clothes.
Maybe I should just give up and go home. He said he doesn't want the Grail anymore, so why push the issue. Damn it... two times already, I can hardly believe it...
He descended the stairs down to the living room, hanging his head in frustration and grumbling to himself in a low voice.
"Given his track report he's likely already lying in some back alley like the worthless drunkard he is-"
"Good morning, Waver-kun!", a booming voice roared up.
"... right here?", Waver nearly fell the last few steps as he stumbled upon his own feet.
The breakfast table was already set, the MacKenzies were sitting at it like any other morning, though maybe unusually cheerfully, and amidst all this sat Robert Baratheon, shovelling yellow rice into his mouth. Waver stared at him as if in a daze.
"Why haven't you told us that you've invited one of your college friends from England to stay over?", Glen asked, sounding mildly hurt about it.
"College friend?", he repeated awestruck.
"And Robert is such a good-natured young man...", Martha added with a smirk.
"Robert?"
The man in question grinned broadly.
"What are you doing down here?", Waver asked mindlessly, driven by autopilot.
"I wanted to wait for you to wake up, but you stubbornly refused to do so... so with nothing better to do, I introduced myself to our hosts."
Of course he did...
"My, my, there is no reason for you to be embarrassed by such a polite and curious friend", Martha chided him softly. "You didn't need to hide him."
"I just... I..."
... need to make another oblivion potion...
"Come, come, why are you just standing there like you are about to take roots?", Robert urged. "Do you know that the locals like to put raw eggs into this white cereal? Crazy, isn't it? Your grandparents were so nice to introduce me to the peculiarities of this country."
"Oh, were they?"
Now that it was pointed out to him, he realized that they had set the table with Japanese food, which was quite unusual, partly because he expressed early on that he can't stand it. But even then, now that he finally arrived down here, he found his belly grumbling. It kept reminding him that he spent the entire day before dragged through the city by Rider, never having eaten anything else after breakfast. Mentally waving a white flag, he shuffled towards his seat next to Rider.
"Robert told us what you were doing yesterday", Glen continued on, oblivious to the fact that Waver fumbled reaching for the rice bowl the moment he realized the implications of that.
"He did?", he croaked.
"Yes. That you picked him up at the airport and showed him around in Fuyuki."
"Did I?", a massive hand slammed into his back, failing to look like a friendly pat. "Oh yeah, I did..."
"You had us worried yesterday", Martha chided him once again as she offered him the soup.
"Sorry... I didn't intend to make it that late, but I kinda got... carried away."
Waver felt really conflicted about this. Deceiving them to make them think he was their grandson was bad enough, but then causing them even more trouble through his actions sickened him. He knew he had to, he was that desperate, but he was also constantly thinking that he should be above such shady actions. One point at last in which he agreed with his Servant.
"We already feared the worst, you know that Fuyuki is not as safe as it used to be. Especially with this dreadful terrorist attack...", Glen grimaced darkly.
Glen and Martha were right in their worries, albeit for reasons unknown to them. Fuyuki had turned into a battlefield. And many of these recent happenings must have been fallout from battles. Though Waver was not quite sure why the combatants showed such blatant disregard for the safety of innocents.
Magi...
Flashbacks of their twisted society in London darkened his mood. To get some different thoughts he shifted his attention to the TV that had been nothing more than background noise during the entire conversation. It was a news channel and they were interviewing people in a busy crowd. Of course Waver was neither able to understand any word they said, nor was he able to read the text floating into the view. He now looked towards Robert, who watched it attentively.
"What's happening today?"
"Oh you won't like it", Robert grimaced. "Or you will. I don't know whether you have buried your foolish crusade yet or not."
Waver gulped. More fallout.
"They show Fuyuki again?"
"Can't you remember it? This is the old temple at the edge of Miyama. We have been there before, but maybe you were too little", Glen pointed out.
"Possibly", Waver replied awkwardly. "But anyway, what's happening?"
"It seems you are about to hear for yourself", Robert reached for the remote and turned up the volume.
Waver realized just then that the woman who was being interviewed had just started to talk in English.
"... a message for your viewers world-wide: The darkness is upon you! But don't despair, because the Lord of Light will not abandon his children, no matter where they are. With his will, and humanity's strength, we will surely prevail against the old enemy. And build ourselves a bright future, bathing in the Lord's glory."
The woman in the red robe and with her striking features was obviously a foreigner. Waver was puzzled about the implications of this.
"You know her?", he asked Robert, who shook his head with a sly smile.
"I wish I did, if you know what I mean. Crazy religion aside, I'd remember that comely a wench", he snickered. "But this is not the first I have heard of the Lord of Light. An old drinking buddy of mine was an anointed priest of their little cult. You would have liked him, jovial guy, loved setting things on fire. But he was one of the good guys at court."
Glen and Martha frowned at his wording, but otherwise nodded in understanding.
"But what is she doing in Japan? Well, I know what she's doing here, but why is she making public appearances in the news? That's just crazy!", Waver interjected.
"Well, with all the trouble the city has found itself confronted with, people want to get together in prayer", Martha explained. "And she just wants to make the people feel at ease."
"Why do you know that?", Waver asked.
"The Tonoaka's from next door were curious and went to one of the nightly gatherings. They say it's relatively harmless. They make a bonfire in the yard of the temple, play music and sing songs. Since the Ryuudous, the owners of the temple, gave permission to use their grounds, people have faith that she's a good person."
"I see."
Waver suppressed his urge to deny her, but he couldn't deny his own thoughts. That there must be some sinister purpose behind that Lady's public appearance.
"What's the name they are giving her?", Waver asked and Robert squinted at the screen.
"It's in Katakana, so it may be a little off. There stands... Lady Me-ri-sa-n-do-ru. Huh. Can't say I've heard that one before", he grimaced before turning back to Waver. "I don't know what you're thinking, but I don't care what she's doing. For that matter, Raiga-dono promised to show us around once again. And I'm looking forward to take him up on the offer... for your sake as well."
Waver looked at him dubiously.
"What do you mean with that?"
"Nothing sinister, be assured", he sported a toothy grin. "I just want you to have some fun for a change!"
Rin
The smell of incense hung heavy in the air, adding a lot to the already suffocating atmosphere. The only one not bothered by the teary-eyed faces seemed to be the boy on the photo, smiling confidently towards the viewer and making a peace sign with his right hand. Of course, he was just a picture frozen of time. Rin thought that it was surreal in itself. A boy this age should not be portrayed in a black-striped frame. Or in a coffin, for that matter. Not that he actually was, according to the murmurs of the black-dressed crowd around Tohsaka.
The world has turned mad.
With the Grail War having started, Rin and her mother found themselves fleeing from Fuyuki, being refugees at her grandparent's place. She even forbade her to attend the funeral of her classmate, something Rin felt obligated to defy. This was her duty. As a classmate, as a class representative and most of all as a Tohsaka. Just like her father had a duty to protect the city itself, Rin took it upon herself to look after her classmates. Even though she had barely interacted with this boy, in fact she faintly remembered having gotten at odds with him and one of his friends in some childish argument some time before he disappeared, but she still felt his loss as some kind of personal defeat. Something she couldn't forgive herself. That's why she took the train back to Fuyuki, to attend here, to tell him just that.
I'm sorry.
Meanwhile the murmurs around her never stopped. Next to the boy's family, quite a lot of other parents had come to the funeral, accompanying their kids to say their goodbyes. And many of them were still scared.
"The whole family killed in their very own home, what kind of sick monster does that?"
"They say the killer is still on the loose."
"But haven't the crimes stopped?"
"Yes, the craven bastard must be hiding somewhere with his tail between his legs."
"I hope that means the police are closing in. Hell would be too good for this one."
Once again Rin clenched her fists. This was not over yet. There was a good chance that the killer would return, claim even more victims and cause more grief to those left behind. Rin could not allow that. Once again, it was her duty to do something. The wake was about to end, so Rin saw an opportunity to sneak away without it being seen as rude. She had planned on returning home, apologizing to her mother for worrying her and then return to their stupid refugee-life. But now she had the urge to do something, even though she still wasn't quite sure what this was. She only knew that she could never forgive her if she just left like this.
But where to start?
In that moment an unfamiliar woman approached her. She had been shooting her dubious looks several times already, so Rin had somewhat expected her to speak up what was bothering her.
"Are you all alone, my dear?", she asked, obviously worried about the implication.
"No... I mean, at the moment, yes...", she gritted her teeth, dumbfounded about her own failure to come up with a proper excuse.
"I don't know what your parents are thinking, letting you go to a funeral all alone. Shouldn't we call them to take you home."
"I don't have it far...", she said evasively.
A familiar voice chimed in at that.
"Don't pressure her, mom. Rin can take care of herself more than anyone else", the girl stepped to her side.
It was one of her classmates, Kotone. Rin remembered that she was the one who got the least along with the classmate they were paying their respects to. She came all the same, somehow that filled Rin with a little pride. Maybe, if things hadn't turned out like this, their class might have become a more tightly knit group, putting aside all their childish differences.
"Thanks, Kotone-chan", Rin made a small bow before turning back towards her mother. "And I appreciate the worries. But my point stands... I'm not afraid."
"She's the girl I've told you about recently", Kotone pointed out.
"Ah, Tohsaka-chan! Well, I can now certainly see why my daughter looks up to you so much. Still... a girl your age should still be careful out there. Fuyuki is not what it used to be anymore. First a serial killer, now a mad bomber on the run..."
She went off, muttering with a distraught face, leaving Rin and Kotone alone for the moment. Rin was just about to say her farewells as an idea popped up in her head. She pointed towards the altar with the pictures of the deceased.
"Say, Kotone-chan, you don't happen to know where Kensuke and his family used to live, do you?"
Waver
He drifted into the hot water fast and yet soundlessly, unable to suppress the sigh that escaped his lips.
Maybe Rider's idea wasn't quite so crazy this time.
He had his doubts when Fujimura's shady goons dropped them off in the middle of a just as shady district somewhere in Shinto. But their destination proved to be a surprisingly simple public bathhouse. After getting forced to take a shower they were brought to this large wooden room that basically only consisted of a giant bathtub inserted into the floor. At this point, Waver had just resigned to his fate and went along with everything, but the foggy warm air seemed to have cleansed him of most of the complaints on his mind. Instead of expressing them, he now just dipped his head underwater and allowed the heat to drift his thoughts away.
This could actually be considered heaven... if I didn't have to share the tub with a freaking bear...
He shot Robert on the other end of the bath a dark look. The knight was leaning against the edge, with both his arms widely extended in a way that he was flashing both his massive biceps and his bushy chest hair.
Yeah, a bear alright. And I'm sitting naked in a bathtub with one...
Waver closed his eyes again, savouring the moment without getting intimidated by that pile of muscles. He would only get complexes by comparing his feeble self to him.
At least I have a head on my shoulders... and can follow up my priorities... or can I? Oh, I don't know anymore...
His mind was successfully turned into pudding as he only savoured the relaxing effect of this treatment.
"This is actually pretty nice for a change...", he allowed himself to say.
"You have seen nothing yet...", Robert replied casually.
For some reason, Waver thought that remark to sound quite ominous. Just as this thought went through his head, the sound of a patter of feet appeared behind him.
More guests?
Grimacing, he turned around. It irritated him that much because Rider had made it sound like this was a private hot springs that was only rented for them. Getting rid of his clothes in front of that lumbering madman was one thing, at least it was his lumbering madman, technically. But now sharing his bath with random strangers was too much for his British sense of privacy. And indeed, there were two bare-chested, slender figures closing in, armed with sponges, lotion, bottles of alcohol and wearing irritatingly fake smiles. Women. Young ones at that, the right one looked barely older than Waver himself was.
"What does this...", Waver stuttered, unsure whether he should better make a dash for his towel still lying next to the tub or fleeing to the opposite end.
"Har! Just the special service of this facility. Relax, boy, and let the ladies do their job. The cuter one is all yours!", Robert roared laughingly.
"You can't be serious!"
The time his focus had shifted to Robert was indeed exploited by the younger woman. The moment Waver turned back around she was already sliding into the water, effectively cutting himself off his towel and moving dangerously close. Panicking, Waver went splashing into the opposite direction, leaving her confused, frowning and a bit offended. Hercules was meanwhile roaring something in Japanese, having obviously the time of his life watching this nonsensical display, and the older woman giggled to something he told her.
This is how a teapot boiling over must feel.
He took a deep breath after having brought some distance between himself and the naked woman. She was asking questions and even though the words themselves eluded him, Waver understood very well that she must have been confused about his display of shame and intimidation.
"Har! Running away from a pair of tits! Come on boy, show some guts for a change!", Robert laughed merrily before turning to the other woman and grabbing her by her waist. He effortlessly lifted her up and carried her into the water, boasting shamelessly with his own
'manliness'.
At least someone who has fun...
Waver himself found it very uncomfortable in the water that seemed to become colder by the minute. Or maybe that was because all the heat was being pumped up into his face as he found himself getting stared at by the woman who mumbled some faint apologies. Of course Waver didn't understand what she thought she had made wrong, but during his pursuit of Rider through this city sincere apologies were pretty much the only thing he got back from the people he had questioned about him, so he already had a grasp on most of the variations in their language.
"Ah, sorry, sorry", he himself tried to talk his way out of this. "This is a misunderstanding, I'm just here to relax, not to... uh..."
He averted his eyes after realizing that he must have stared at her, his head was still steaming from embarrassment. When he looked back again, she had made another step forward, innocently pointing at the lotion she held in hand. Waver gritted his teeth. There was no other way out. He didn't care anymore about how silly he must have looked like, he just had to escape with all means. With one leap he slid out of the tub. Or rather, jumped out it with a messy splashing sound, attempting to use the distraction to make a dart for the dressing room, but instead slipped on the floor and came crashing to the ground. Ignoring his pain, Waver immediately jumped back on his feet and retreated groaning and inwardly fuming, away from the roaring voice of Robert Baratheon:
"As you wish, boy. All the more pretties for me!"
After sitting out his near heart-attack by the shower cubicles, Waver started to ponder that he couldn't just leave and go home. He would have lost Rider again for sure. So he went to the dressing room, took back his street clothes and waited for him to emerge from the hot springs, desperately trying not to think about what he was doing to those poor women. A little more than half an hour later the hairy ursid showed up with a toothy grin, fittingly singing something about a bear and a maid, though it was so off-key that Waver had trouble understanding the words. Waver greeted him with his arms crossed, staring daggers as he was fetching his clothes.
"You know, I actually arranged this for you, to get you to ease up a little", Robert explained, his smile wavering a little as he remembered their initial purpose. "I just hadn't expected you to guard your maidenhead like... well, the Maiden herself."
Waver sighed. This was really not why he was in Fuyuki.
"I can't say I know where you come from, but your idea of 'easing up a little' doesn't give off a flattering picture", Waver complained miserably. "Seriously, what gives you the idea that dragging me to a... to such a place, is remotely what I wished for."
"Huh?", Robert stopped midway through his fight with his shirt, looking back at Waver with a confused expression. "Well, maybe going for a surprise attack with a comely wench wasn't my best idea of the day, though if it gives you any consolation, you didn't need to fuck her. They are just here for service, if you know what I mean. According to Raiga-dono they have outlawed actual brothels for some weird reason. Can you believe that? I mean, who in his right mind does that? Do they have fucking Stannis for their king?"
"I was under the impression they have an emperor...", Waver rebutted weakly, slightly wondering how they got to this tangent now.
"Even worse!", Robert concluded his rant, right on time as Raiga himself showed up.
The old man was wrapped in a towel, obviously returning from the baths himself. Waver was relieved that he hadn't joined them as well, though.
"Ah, I see you have enjoyed this onsen's services already. I hope you feel properly refreshed and have made good use of their unique offers."
"I surely did", Robert replied grinning. "Though the boy was too busy pissing himself."
Fujimura raised his eyebrows as he looked to the still pretty shaken Waver, but was polite enough to not pry into the matter any further, deciding to resume his conversation with the foreign giant.
"I am afraid I will not be able to spend as much time with you as I had initially planned", he announced.
Thank God...
"Anything happened that has soured your mood?", a stunned Robert asked.
"You ask me if something happened?", the old man replied chuckling. "Don't you watch any news?"
"You speak of the bombing incident?", Waver realized.
Raiga nodded, giving a weary sigh.
"It should not concern you and it certainly should not cast a shadow on your stay here, but this whole affair is giving me a headache. My... enterprises profit a lot from the Shinto expansion projects. And if people start to think that there are some conservative terrorists lurking around who blow up prestige projects like the Hyatt, investors get scared off and my enterprises suffer."
"You don't believe it were terrorists?", Waver asked carefully, getting tense now that a subject related to the Grail War had been raised.
"I believe that someone bombed this place, what I don't believe is that the protest group framed with it actually did it. I had already put some pressure onto these guys in the past and they proved docile enough. Nobody would go this far, and certainly nobody has the know-how to tear this place down as professionally as this bomber did", his face twisted in anger. "I am about to meet with several of my contacts this evening, to discuss the proper media coverage and to make a few inquiries into the police work myself. Whoever is trying to mess with my city is going to pay for it."
Waver observed Rider's reaction. Surely enough, if there was anyone capable to put a stop to this madness, it was this muscled giant. He was just too busy moping and getting himself distracted to actually intervene. Not that his mobster friend could know that. At least Robert had the decency to listen with a serious expression.
"To see you this concerned about it, your subjects must be happy to have you as a Lord, huh?"
The old man gave a sly chuckle.
"You always get me with your unique way of thinking. Well then, I'm going to get my clothes and then I go. At least there is one other pleasant task before the dreadful talks start, one that I will not miss to do myself."
"What would that be?", Robert asked, genuinely curious.
"I am meeting an old friend of mine who is visiting the city and has asked me this morning for one of my dusty old real estates to stay over. Hey... come to think of it, why don't you guys accompany me? He may be a little grumpy at times, but he is a man who has seen a lot of the world. With your way of talking, I am sure you can crack his sour shell!"
Waver resigned. Even if it meant to meet more dubious figures, he had to tag along, even just to satisfy his Servant's whims. He hoped that if he kept in his good graces, he might have a chance at convincing him to join the fray if it mattered the most.
Rin
As expected...
Rin and Kotone stood in front of their late classmate's door. Located in the middle of an apartment block in the more urbanized part of Miyama, close to the bridge. In this corridor it was one door among many. The only noteworthy difference was the yellow police tape that blocked their entrance.
"So... what are we here for?", Kotone asked nervously, obviously unsure what to do.
"We? Well... my plan was for you to be the lookout while I go in and see what I can find out", Rin replied with brutal honesty.
"That's the job of the police, isn't it? And you can't mess with the crime scene, they will notice if someone has broken the tape."
"Silly, you just have to make sure to put it gently back after you leave", Rin smiled as she put her hand on the first stripe, pouring mana into it to temporarily lower its adhesion strength, allowing her to easily pull it off.
Kotone gave a nervous shriek, causing Rin to signal her to keep her mouth shut.
I should have found an excuse to leave her behind... but oh well, now it is too late for regrets, I'll just have to make the best use for a second pair of eyes.
"You are now just as involved as I am. So keep quiet and just let me take a look. I will be back before you know it."
Her classmate retreated away to the windows opposing the corridor, but kept both the elevator and Rin in her view.
"Don't you think they have locked the room up?", she asked as Rin had just successfully removed the second and last stripe.
"They have secured it with their big band-aid, haven't they? I am sure they have enough trust to not also lock the door", Rin assured her easily.
In fact, Rin was utterly certain that they had locked the door. She just needed to wait for a moment for Kotone to look away to whisper an "Öffne dich"-spell to the lock for it to snap into a resting position.
"You see?", she declared proudly as she pushed it open.
Before risking another complaint, Rin squeezed through the gap, even though a first wave of stale air was already greeting her. She grimaced as she found herself in the entrance. The whole apartment was filled in darkness and even from the other rooms came not a single ray of light, so she guessed that the windows had been shut tight and the roller shutters lowered. Whether to mark the room as sealed or for the sake of any neighbours trying to peek in, she could not say. All she could say was that even after barely a week after the murder, the sickening iron stench still lingered in the air. Gulping, Rin closed the door behind her and peeled off her shoes as her eyes started to adjust to the darkness.
Come on... a Magus walks with death... isn't that how the saying goes?
Since she had no intention of touching anything at the crime scene, switching on the lights stood out of the question. But instead she pulled one of her quartz crystals out of her pocket that she kept with her for emergencies.
"Es werde Licht!", she whispered and the stone obeyed as it started to emit an impressive glow that pushed the darkness back into the rooms adjacent to the entrance hall.
With this, Rin walked forward. Determined that even though she was no policewoman, she still had one advantage no one else had. A knowledge no else had. There was a trail of yellow plastic signs with numbers of them that went straight to the living room, so Rin decided to follow them to cut right to the chase, since she had no intention of leaving her classmate out there forever.
Unfortunately, the stench originated from here and it felt even more suffocating with every step she was doing. Ignoring the urge to throw up, she leaned into the room.
The path of a Magus, huh.
At first it looked more like a burglary than anything else. Someone had thrown the dinner table to the side and emptied book shelves, causing a chaotic mess. But then she saw the stains. There were several patches of black and brown and soon enough she saw entire puddles in front of the TV and in one of the corners. A shiver went through Rin's entire body as she realized that in one of these places her classmate had been murdered.
You have to be kidding me... nobody who can call himself human can...
She felt horrible. And with everything she saw, a voice crept into her mind that kept asking "What are you even doing here? What do you think you can prove?" And yet she pushed onwards anyway. There was no turning back. She couldn't look into a mirror anymore if she hadn't tried everything in her power to help.
Then she passed the table, getting a look at what was behind it.
No way...
There were massive dried bloodstains here. Though they were not there because someone was killed at this place. Someone had applied the blood here, painted it. The lines of the circle were thin and sharp, so that someone had to use a brush or something similar to create it. But what crept Rin even more out was the simple fact that she had seen this circle before. That she had seen these runes before. And that the place where she had seen it, was her own home. The only difference was that her father had it cast with silver to avoid the usage of blood, but it was still virtually the same.
Reflexively, Rin reached for the compass her father had given her as an early birthday present and pulled it out of her shirt. The needle was firmly fixed into the direction of the glowing stone in her hand, but when she placed it on the magic circle, it suddenly decided to try to point at its centre instead, even though it remained restless due to the presence of her own magic.
Hasn't father said something about magic being naturally compatible with life force? And that blood magic can convert one to the other even in its rawest state? Despite this, the magic in this circle is so weak...
It must have been a failure. Even though Rin could hardly stand looking at it, she looked long enough to notice the sloppiness of the handiwork here and there. Someone tried to pour mana into it, but the circle rejected it and therefore the magic signature remained only a faint trace that her compass was barely able to pick up.
I cannot imagine such a low residue if a Servant had been successfully summoned here...
Rin then carefully wandered a little through the rest of the apartment, this time with her compass in hand, but since it barely registered anything else, she soon gave up. Returning to the entrance hall, a lot of conflicting thoughts went through her head.
The killer is a Magus. A terrible one, but still. The police... if he successfully summoned a Servant... do they even have a chance to catch him?
It made no sense to her. The murders had stopped, so there were also a few optimistic possibilities going through her head. There was a slight chance that this guy had managed to kill himself with his foolish magic dabbling, or even that if he had succeeded in summoning a Heroic Spirit, his hero would have killed him the moment he found out what kind of monster he was. They were supposed to be heroes after all... The picture of Arya flashed up in her mind. Of the hardy looking teenage girl who promised her to protect her father. She couldn't imagine that girl willingly cooperating with a person who was capable of such slaughter. Rin looked back one more time. Towards the door of the living room where the darkness was thick enough to block her magic flashlight.
I cannot be sure... my father... he has to know that this is the work of someone aspiring to be a Master.
She deactivated her quartz and squeezed once again through the front door, where both the bright daylight and a nervous Kotone awaited her. While Rin was busy reapplying the police tape and removing her simple reverse strengthening spell, her classmate walked up to her with a pained expression.
"I can't believe you did this..."
Me neither...
"I had to", she allowed herself to take a breath. "But I am afraid you were right, there is nothing the student Rin Tohsaka can do that the police can't. I am sorry I dragged you into this."
"Don't be", Kotone replied without much hesitation. "I think I... I needed this is as much as you did. To accept that he hasn't just moved away or something, but that he... that he was really..."
She was close to tearing up. Rin could empathize, with first the funeral and now the visiting of this gruesome apartment his family left behind, it just felt all too real. And yet she felt helpless, unsure how mere words could be of any consolation in this time. After all, she had always preferred actions to help her through moments of weakness, to through herself into solutions instead of letting her own doubts take hold and drag her down.
"Let's get home", she said simply, knowing that she would have to accompany her back.
But even then, Rin could not help but mentally plan her next steps while she walked Kotone to her house.
I cannot just go home and face my father like this. Not when I snuck out from my grandparents house and still have nothing worthwhile to offer alongside my apology.
Rin pondered about what she had heard in the news at her grandparents place, the information about these serial killings that had already been published. She then realized that all the incidents so far had been in Miyama, not in Shinto. And Miyama was a place you could scour far more easily than the heavily urbanized eastern part of the city.
Maybe the killer lives here. Maybe even close nearby. If I go around with my compass and ask around, I might get more clues. The student Rin Tohsaka might be out of options, but the magus Rin Tohsaka is just getting warm!
Jaime
The hell is wrong with these people?
After a night spent in the car parked at the outskirts of town, Jaime was glad for any kind of roof above his head. But that the walls were made of paper, half rotten paper at that, just struck him as ridiculous.
I guess this is supposed to be the 'traditional' housing in this strange world Irisviel mentioned. No wonder she prefers the shed.
She was still weak from her nightly encounter with Arya Stark's sword, but she was already fit enough to complain about not being able to explore the new hideout Kiritsugu had organized for them. Instead she and Kiritsugu retreated to a shed in the yard, the only somewhat sturdy looking part of the mansion, and busied themselves with the drawing of a magic circle that was supposed to charge both Irisviel and the sheath embedded in her. Or at least something along these lines... After all, Jaime had little interest in their magic trickery and since Kiritsugu had stopped speaking to him for a while now, the knight soon grew bored and listless, so he excused himself and started to explore this haunted house.
Kinda reminds me of the ruins of Castamere I visited some years ago... and it sure smells just as damp.
Jaime at least saw Kiritsugu's point that nobody would suspect them hiding here. Or at the very least, that anyone could be living in this house, for that matter. Acknowledging that fact, he stepped out into the unkempt and overgrown yard and walked over to the tiny shed where his Lord and Lady dwelled. When he pushed open the door, a bright red glow greeted him, even though it was still awfully dark in there. Kiritsugu paid him no heed, he was kneeling next to Irisviel who was sitting rather uncomfortably on the hard ground, where the magic circle Kiritsugu had drawn emitted the dubious light that was responsible for this ghastly atmosphere. Irisviel however looked towards him, smiling as usual.
"And? How is it?", she asked eagerly.
"Empty, ruined and mouldy all over it", he saw no point in sugar-coating it. "But I am sure you can find some charm in it."
Irisviel giggled softly.
"A place with history then!"
"That's the spirit", despite everything, Jaime smiled back, it was the least he could do.
"I always wanted to see the traditional houses from Kiritsugu's home country", she turned back towards him. "You have remembered, haven't you?"
Her husband scratched the back of his neck, grimacing slightly.
"I would like to take the credit, but I am afraid it was more of a coincidence that this is the most habitable real estate my contact had to offer on this short a notice."
He calls this habitable?
Jaime choked on his suppressed laugh, catching just another glare from Kiritsugu, though this one was noticeably less venomous than the ones he started to get used to. At this point Jaime gave up trying to make sense out of this couple. He had seen Kiritsugu's distraught face when Iri's life was at stake, he had seen the lengths he went to preserve it, how he prayed to his gods and was close to breaking in his struggle. Even now he had spent every wake minute at her side, so Jaime already started to hope that he was seeing the folly of his part, but ended up disappointed. He would not declare to give up on sacrificing her, quite the opposite, he seemed more determined than ever. Of course Irisviel herself then supported him even more, fought against her own failing body even more. It made no sense to Jaime. The more he saw, the more messed up all of this turned out to be.
Kiritsugu sat back, sighed and pushed himself up.
"Saber, a moment please", he went towards the door and signalled Jaime to do likewise. "We have to talk about our strategy from now on."
The edge of reproach was still audible, but Kiritsugu at least kept up the appearance of business as usual. Not willing to tear open any half-healed wounds, Jaime kept his mouth shut and obeyed silently.
"Now that we have confirmed Tohsaka and Kotomine to work together, it is most crucial that we take them out first. Especially since I doubt we can rely on the other Masters to do it for us. They also surely must have seen through our ruse of having Iri stand in as Master for me", Kiritsugu stated matter-of-factly.
So this means going against Joffrey and Arya first. Children, what are the Gods thinking?
He wanted to say that he could handle Joffrey, the little bastard was in dire need of a spanking, but he couldn't dare say something that left the implication that he couldn't handle Arya as well. Which was tricky, given that they'd most likely fight together if it comes to the worst.
How is that even possible? The little she-wolf always looked like she regretted not having finished the little shit off back at the Trident last time I saw her and Joff himself is, well, Joffrey. Their Masters must have tricked them with some sinister magic...
Kiritsugu must have seen his pained expression and was obviously not amused:
"I cannot say that I cannot completely understand your hesitation at the killing of a child. Under other, less dire circumstances, I would like to avoid it as well. But you know what is at stake", he raised his hand and pointed threateningly on his command spell. "I don't want to waste them, but the next time we face them, I will have to make sure you comply."
Jaime didn't reply, he was just meeting his Master's stare with one of his own. Thankfully, Kiritsugu didn't ponder long on his magic leash.
"Openly attacking the Tohsaka mansion will likely just spring another trap. But if Kotomine acts like I expects him to do, he will make use of Assassin's abilities to scout the area and might expose himself doing this. Beating him at his own game will be our best chance. Will be my best chance, that is."
"You want to set up a trap?"
"Yes... but he will be cautious if you accompany me. Unlike Assassin, you cannot hide your presence. So I will have no choice but leave you with Iri for the time being and-", he choked on his words, irritated.
And Jaime was as well. A tingling feeling overcame him. It was similar to the presence of Joffrey or Oberyn, far stronger, but for some reason he felt no hostile intent.
"The boundary field has collapsed", Kiritsugu realized.
"An intruder?"
"With a bound Servant."
Jaime looked back at Irisviel, who was still sitting within the magic circle, following their conversation intently.
"Don't bother yourself with me. I can take care of myself", she declared.
This time Kiritsugu was hesitating. Jaime could virtually see the possibilities rattling inside his mind as he was weighing whether they should make a stand here or intercept them outside.
"She is right, we have to go before they come here", Jaime added, though he was wondering why the enemy wasn't already knocking at their door, given that the boundary field at the castle covered much more ground and Joffrey still jumped at them with barely any delay.
"Fine, come with me", Kiritsugu checked his gun hidden in his pocket and went for the door.
Opening it just slightly, he motioned to Jaime that he should check the outside. Of course he complied, thinking that if the enemy was prone to shoot an arrow into the eye of the first one to leave, he had the highest chance to actually shrug it off. Though he was relieved of that notion when he peeked through the gap and no violent attack happened. Instead he saw several figures wandering through the living room on the other end of the yard. The living room he could see into due to the sliding doors being left wide open.
"I see an old man in a local garment, a green boy and...", his eyes widened as the black-bearded giant stepped into the yard, wearing casual jeans and shirt and yet pointing at their direction.
What in the seven hells is happening here?
"... the fat oaf. For what it's worth, it doesn't look like he wants to fight."
Kiritsugu looked back towards Irisviel. He seemed to weigh his option to send her out alongside Jaime again, but since she looked nowhere ready to get up and fight, he had to begrudgingly bury his ploy for good.
"Fine, let's see what they want."
With this the two men left the shed and finally intercepted the group of unwelcome visitors. Folding his arms Robert stayed back and observed the situation with a deep frown, something that left the young boy at his side confused and unsure whether to remain with him or to accompany the old man. The latter was still walking towards them with a bright smile.
"Oh, hello Emiya, long time not seen!", he called out. "Sorry for intruding, but you didn't reply to my ringing of the bells, though I hadn't expected you to hide out here."
"And I hadn't expected you to come with company", Kiritsugu shot back, though he softened up upon remembering that the man was supposed to be a friend. "It is still good to see you again, old man."
"Ah, please forgive old Raiga, it just seemed rude to ditch these pleasant young men", he gestured to introduce them. "The shy one is Waver Velvet, a student from abroad, while the muscle man besides him is-"
"Robert Baratheon", Jaime Lannister hissed.
The old man raised his eyebrows in surprise, both about the rude interruption and about the fact that the world proved absurdly small.
"Though I have to admit, I have barely recognized you", Jaime sneered. "How many stones have you lost since the last time I saw you? Eight? Or is it nine?"
"You have changed as well, Lannister", the thick oaf growled back. "Nice suit. And I like the beard. Makes you look less like a cunt."
Less like my sweet sister, you mean.
The atmosphere was murderous. Jaime just waited for an excuse to summon his armour and finish him then and there, witnesses be damned. Though he was a little irritated about the sweat that came running down his brow. He was never nervous at the prospect of a good fight and he was still pretty sure that hadn't changed.
"So... what a coincidence, huh", Kiritsugu's contact gave an unsure laugh. "I hadn't expected your partner and my recent acquaintance to be familiar with each other, Emiya."
"A coincidence, yes", was the tense hitman's absentminded answer.
"How exactly are you guys related then?", the old man must have felt the uncomfortable silence, but he still tried to salvage the situation.
"I used to work for him", Jaime admitted with a sly smile, the emphasis lay on 'used to'.
"I see."
Several seconds passed like this. It was now the boy who tried to defuse the situation:
"Should we... go back and wait at the car or something?"
"It might be better. To be frank, I didn't come to pick a fight", Baratheon admitted. "Well then... good to know that you are still around, Kingslayer."
"Until the next time", Jaime instinctively went for his knowing smile. "Watch your step on the way out."
The two trespassers retreated. They should have known that they had shredded Kiritsugu's makeshift boundary field and still went to see who dwelled here, so the implication was clear that they wanted to take a peek regardless of their intrusion into a Mage's workshop. The old man sighed as he watched them go.
"I'm sorry, Emiya, it seems I shouldn't have brought them after all."
"Don't worry too much, Raiga. I haven't told you about my business partner here either."
As it turned out, the old man was the owner of the ruin they had found themselves in and he and Kiritsugu had planned to meet here to get the final formalities done, even though one of his underlings had already given them the keys to this place. It seemed this whole meeting was more of an excuse by the old man to chat with Kiritsugu and he still tried to provoke a small conversation about past misadventures, but the mood proved thoroughly soured already. After getting the formalities over with, Raiga excused himself and left as well, leaving a stumped Jaime and an angry Kiritsugu behind.
"What now?", Jaime asked half bemused, half serious.
"We are back where we started", the Magus Killer growled, then sighed. "This one goes on my head for once. I shouldn't have relied on Fujimura, knowing his trusting nature."
"Come on, nobody would have expected him to just introduce us to Rider, right?", Jaime brushed it off.
"Still. This place is already compromised. Let's tell Iri and go back to the hotel before he comes back. Or worse, tells Kotomine of our location."
Jaime thought it unlikely that Robert would barge in under the light of day and with no boundary field to stop the neighbours from worrying. But then again, this was Robert Baratheon...
"I hope this hotel room of yours has not been reserved by others in the meantime", Jaime quipped on the way back to the shed.
Rin
Note to myself: There are far more houses in Miyama than I expected there to be.
It was a simple fact, but it was enough to disillusion her a little about what she expected to find. She had walked Kotone home, returned and just started to walk all the houses and all the apartment doors up with her trusty compass in hand, intending to find more magical traces in the area. It proved difficult enough though. In the direct vicinity there was nothing to find, even though she expected some kind of reaction after the summoning of a Servant vessel. After all it needed a magic circle with a direct connection to the leyline and a Servant vessel itself is such a powerful familiar that it should be nigh impossible to hide, so she had to assume that the circle itself must contain some residue afterwards.
Or at least that's what I hope it does. If I had known that I had to find another circle, I would have pestered father a lot more when he installed the magic circle in the cellar.
The sun was already about to set, painting the sky with a melancholic orange. Rin was sure that by now her mother was starting to worry about her and if she found her note about going to the funeral, she would certainly already be on her way to Fuyuki. She felt guilty about causing such worries, but the moment thoughts of surrender crossed her mind, she slapped both her cheeks and took a deep breath.
Calm down, Rin. You are a Tohsaka. Tohsaka's finish what they begin. And in any case, I will get a scolding anyway so the least I can do is getting something to show for it.
With this in mind she headed for the next building. She noticed that she unconsciously gave a more thorough look to western style family homes and apartments of higher quality, thinking that a Magus would hardly live in a shabby apartment complex like the one she was currently heading for. Now she reminded herself that she wasn't looking for a Magus, but likely for a rookie, so she should leave all options open to her when she climbed the stairs to the entrances and started to walk the doors down.
At least in the Western style district of Miyama I can still get somewhat close to the living spaces. I would have a hard time in the quarter with the Japanese style mansions.
After hours of failure she hardly expected anything to change right now, but when she passed one of the doors, she noticed that the needle of her compass swayed with a small delay as if it got stuck on a little glue. It was barely noticeable, but it was enough to give her a little pause and caused her to take a few backwards steps to see whether she could repeat this result. She could. With wide eyes, she looked up and compared the door to all the others. It was virtually the same, no defining feature that could give her another clue. Biting her lip, she stood on her toes to take a look at the letters above the bell.
Uryuu?
She never heard this name before, never once did it appear among the illustrious visitors her father received every once in a while. Soon enough she found herself staring at the door, not knowing how to proceed from here.
Now this is embarrassing. By now I should have thought up what to do in case I find something.
Entering without making sure that nobody was there seemed suicidal. But from here she couldn't see whether there were any windows to peek into either.
Maybe on the other side...
Rin was just about to leave as she noticed an old woman with grocery bags climbing the stairs. She took note of the girl standing around in front of her neighbour, but proceeded towards her own door without paying her any further heed. When the woman was scrounging through her bags, likely looking for her keys, Rin saw an opportunity to strike.
"Excuse me, obaa-san, can you help me with a little something", she approached her deliberately cute.
"Oh, of course little Miss, are you looking for someone?", the woman asked back.
"I was trying to find the one who picked up a toy of mine I lost at the playground nearby. I was told he lives here", she pointed towards the Uryuu apartment. "But it seems I have missed him. Can you tell me where to find him?"
"No wonder you can't find him, this boy is practically living at the Ryuudou-temple lately."
"Is he?", Rin acknowledged with relieve.
She remembered her father mentioning something a long time ago about the temple being a point with strong magical energy. It made sense for her that a Magus would seek it out.
"Why?", she implored.
"To help out Lady Melisandre I assume...", the woman said innocently.
Now this sounds like an ominous name...
"To be honest, I have known this Uryuu boy for most of his life and I've regarded him as a lost case for most of it. He was always hanging out near the playgrounds, bored and picking up fights and he had something creepy about him like he wasn't quite right in the head", the old woman prattled on. "When he grew to adulthood, I thought he'd take up a little responsibility, but instead he turned into a lazy slob who holed himself up at home all day. It all changed only a short while ago, when the people here were stressed out about these gruesome murders and then the terror attacks and he suddenly ended up the red lady's staunchest supporter, introducing her to us and helping out with our festivities with a vigour I had never seen from him before."
"Festivities?", Rin asked, having a very bad feeling about this.
"Ah, nothing too fancy. Just a little show of force that the people of Fuyuki don't let themselves get intimidated easily, that we can still go out at night in spite of the so-called danger, especially when we are under the protection of the Red God and his spirits."
"Okay...", she assumed to have heard enough, this couldn't be a coincidence.
"So when you want to ask Uryuu whether he found your toy, you better go to the temple. He must surely be busy with the preparations for tonight's bonfire."
"Then I will go there", Rin replied evasively.
"And if you have the time, you could bring your parents and stay there, little Miss. I am about to come as well, you know."
"Maybe", she made a deep bow. "Thank you very much for your help. I will be on my way then."
She hurried away, but not very far to be sure. She observed the lady entering her apartment from afar and when everything seemed clear, she ran back up the stairs again and went to the Uryuu apartment.
"Öffne dich!", she ordered the lock and the lock complied with a clicking sound.
If nothing comes out of my Magus career, it seems I can always fall back upon burglary.
Rin rolled her eyes about her own thoughts.
Not really the most elegant pastime, huh? Father would be furious even if I'd joke about this.
She entered the apartment, got rid of her shoes and sneaked into the messy main room that was obviously used as both a bedroom, living room and garbage bin as the table packed with empty ramen cups next to the rolled up tatami mattress accounted for. The damp smell of old instant meals was nauseous, but this day Rin had smelled worse before. Here at least no one had been killed, or she hoped at least.
Not very elegant either...
Rin had no desire to scrounge through the piles of smelly wastes, so she fetched her compass again and let it decide where she should look.
Let's see, if I were a poor amateur magus in a run-down apartment, where would I construct my workshop?
The needle pointed right ahead. And right ahead she went, towards the low dinner table and amidst the chaos her compass pointed towards a worn out handbook that was taking on dust right in the middle of it.
Seriously?
Rin decided that she was in no position to complain about this being too easy. She picked the book up, carefully, just in case it would try to eat her, but she immediately realized that it was just a regular notebook without any inherent magical properties. The part the compass was drawn to however was the hardened black coat the backside and the bottom of the book were drenched in. Grimacing, Rin took a careful sniff at it.
Blood.
It smelled just like at the crime scene she had sneaked in before. She felt like vomiting, or at least like throwing it away as hard as she could. But this wouldn't do. She opened it, hearing the pages cracking and ripping where they were glued together by the dried fluid. As she had noticed before, it was a simple notebook, if a bit old. There was a date in one of the front pages, apparently it was written down in the early Shouwa period. When leafing through it hurriedly, she recognized handwritten passages about the Holy Grail War, about Servant summoning and of course about the construction of magic circles. Rin closed it, feeling ill.
I've found him...
Even the blood was proof enough. The compass only reacted because it had been infused with mana, which means that it came from one of these hideous circles this Uryuu had created, maybe even the one at Kensuke's house. Sure enough, this was not the kind of evidence the police would be interested in, but she had no doubt that the book itself and maybe the rest of the apartment would certainly contain more conclusive ones. Not that the police could do much against him. Because Rin was sure that the worst possible outcome had happened.
The red lady... surely she was the one he summoned. So he did it. And she didn't kill him for his actions.
Now the only remaining question was, just how dangerous a serial killer making a shot at the Holy Grail could actually be.
Kariya
The chilly air announced the arrival of winter in Fuyuki. Especially here at the height of a rooftop it was already cold enough for the breath of Kotomine Kirei to already be visible. The fake priest crouched down over his bagged prey, removing the camera attached to it with a knowing smile. It was a bat familiar, a dead animal revived with magic only to get killed again by one of these throwing knifes. Kariya knew how it felt like to be skewered by those while having his mind inside a familiar, even though he wasn't sure whether the owner of this construct of low-level necromancy would receive the same amount of pain he received each time it happened to him. He himself watched the entire scene through the eyes of one of Zouken's wretched insect familiars born out of his own flesh and the magical energy created by devouring him. He had trailed Tohsaka's ally through half of Shinto as he was prowling through dark back alleys and rooftops that were supposed to be closed to the public. Kariya told himself that he had gotten better at subterfuge, but part of him was still dreading that Kotomine knew he was being watched and only grew tired of taking down his familiars now that he had already killed half a dozen of them. Not that it bothered Kariya that much. The pain of being skewered was nothing in comparison to the pain of being eaten alive, in fact he found it oddly relieving. In any case, he kept a few dozen of these airborne crest worms in the area to replace his main eye every time one gets killed and to replace it fast enough that he was still able to catch up to Kotomine whenever the priest tried to get some distance between himself and his tracker. Even though he was weak, Kariya wanted to prove himself persistent if nothing else.
His only regret in this situation was that he could only have one pair of eyes at once. He would have gladly watched over both Kotomine and Tohsaka, but since this was outside of his abilities, he focused on the prowling priest and relied on his knowledge that the craven Tohsaka was too afraid of soiling his fine dresses to actually leave his home. Or at least Kariya, who had indeed kept watch over him for several days, always found him holed up at his mansion, trusting on his Servant and his magic security fields to keep him safe.
As if those could protect him from my Berserker...
That was another one of his problems as well. Who would protect him from his Berserker? This mad beast proved completely unconcerned in regards to his mana consumption and each time Kariya tried to make him manifest outside his spirit form, he felt the crest worms inside of him boiling alive. So far he refrained from using him in combat, unsure whether he would survive even a single bout if his Servant kept draining him like this. He had to be used as a scalpel, cutting at the right place at the right time to make the most of it. Everything else would be suicidal. Therefore Kariya kept his brute on the leash like a joker up his sleeve while he did the scouting work.
I hope the bastard proves strong enough to make up for this torment...
Impatiently he resumed his watch. The priest seemed very interested in that familiar, interested enough to specifically hunt it down instead of his crest worms. And now that he obtained the camera, he had left the rooftop and casually mingled among the residents below, making his way to a less populated part of town.
Let's see what he is up to.
The winged worm swung himself into the air and followed silently.
Final author's note: If you want to break all remaining shreds of suspense and finish your picture of this being a breather chapter, imagine that in the first part Arya saw herself forced to carry Kotomine bridal style to escape! You're welcome...