I was working on the last chapter. It's a real tear-jerker.
An almost-lemon near the end.
"_!"
The beast roared and the girl giggled. The monster was massive. He had black-grey skin that was bulging with muscles. It had messy black hair and an armored skirt-like garment hanging down from his hips. In his right hand was an ax-like club.
"So he's Berserker, huh?" Lancer growled. He and the other two Servants switched to their battle attire.
Rin bit her lower lip. About two o' clock a.m. of the fourth - well, technically the third - day she had her Servant summoned, she took Shirou to see Kirei Kotomine and learn more about the War. Outside, the two Masters and Servants were pulled into a fight against Illyasveil von Einzbern and her Servant Berserker. Simply put, the four had their asses handed to them. Especially Shirou. She really didn't want to fight them again. But with another Master and Servant hopefully fighting alongside them against this enemy, they may stand more of a chance.
"We'll go with the same strategy we used the first time," she ordered. "Archer! Fire arrows as support!"
"Are you sure?" he asked. "My arrows did not work against this monster the first time."
"I know," Rin answered. "But they'll help to distract him."
"Very well," Archer said to her and took off to higher ground, on top of a building in the shopping district. Rin faced Akiko and Lancer.
"Are you two going to fight alongside us?"
Akiko sighed. "I just checked out Berserker and his stats are insane. Teaming up will be the best choice." She looked straight at Rin. "But we'll only fight on the same side as you four. We will not take orders from either you or Emiya. We'll fight our own way."
"But -!" Shirou started but Rin cut him off.
"I understand. Even though you'll be fighting with us, we're still enemies."
Illya giggled. "I doesn't matter how many fight us, we'll crush all of our opponents in the end."
[Burst Up]
"Not gonna happen!" Lancer shouted as he ran at Berserker. The beast didn't even move as the spearman swung his lance at the monster's abdomen. The tip hit the giant's left hip, but didn't break the skin. Lancer's eyes widened in shock. "What?!"
Illya grinned evilly and chuckled as Berserker struck next, reaching around with his left hand to grab Lancer's ponytail. He hoisted the man into the air, the Servant squirming as he tried to get free.
"Finish off that Servant, Berserker!" Illya ordered.
"I don't think so!"
Akiko held out her left hand, palm out and facing Berserker. The Servant raised his ax to Lancer's neck, but several balls of fire came from Akiko's palm. All were fired at Berserker. As each hit the torso of the behemoth, smoke billowed out like a cloud. The combination of all of them blinded Berserker and made him release Lancer in shock. The tightness of the grip on the gold clasp must have broken it, because as soon as Lancer's feet hit the ground, it fell off in two pieces. The pieces vanished into a dust of blue mana. The long blue strands of the hair cascaded down Lancer's back and over his shoulders like water running over the edge of something solid. The man jumped back to Akiko's side before the beast could recover.
"Damn, his skin is hard!"
"We ran into that problem in our first fight against him," Rin explained. "Almost none of our attacks worked."
Akiko turned her head to look at Rin. "Almost?"
"Saber managed to take him down, but he just regenerated."
"Regenerated?! Then even if we manage to kill him, it'll all be for nothing in the end!"
"I don't know," Rin replied. "There must be a limit to his regenerating powers. We just need to exploit it."
Arrows from Archer flew at Berserker, distracting the beast so that Saber could attack the enemy next. She swung her invisible sword sideways to cut Berserker's abdomen, but the other Servant jumped high up over it before raising his ax over his head with both arms. He came down hard, bringing the ax down at Saber's head.
Saber grit her teeth and raised her sword up horizontally to block. Just as the other weapon hit the blade, the tip of a crimson spear appeared under Saber's sword, helping to hold it up under the pressure Berserker was putting on his ax. Saber glanced to her left to see who was holding the weapon. She was surprised to see the blue Servant.
"Lancer, why?!"
Lancer grunted as he struggled to keep both the sword and his spear from being forced down. "We're fightin' the same Servant. It's only natural to help one another out."
Archer fired one red arrow that didn't injure Berserker, but made him jump back. Lancer and Saber seperated their weapons. The man glanced at the knight next to him.
"You can use wind attacks, right?" he asked. Saber nodded. "Good. We'll do a collaborative attack against Berserker."
"A collaborative attack?! But how?!"
"You'll see. Now do that wind attack!"
Saber brought her sword back like she was getting ready to stab, then thrust it forward, the tip pointing at Berserker. "Strike Air!"
A twister of wind, like a bullet, shot from the sword at the opposing monster. But from this distance, it didn't even scratch him. Lancer traced something that looked like an F in the air right as she attacked.
"Ansuz!"
Fire burst from the letter into the cyclone. In an instant, the cyclone transformed into a blazing inferno that engulfed Berserker in an explosion. Illya, who was about a dozen meters to the beast's right, shielded her eyes from the fiery blast, just like the other three Masters.
"Talk about showy!" Shirou exclaimed.
"Showy, but hopefully it did something to Berserker!" Akiko shouted.
The fire the covered the ground from the blast threw up smoke. Saber and Lancer snarled, but it was Lancer who spoke.
"Only a few bleedin' cuts, but not even serious wounds!"
Rin put her arms down. "Are you serious?!"
Illya chuckled darkly. "Not even all the Servants going against Berserker together can stop him!"
Saber grit her teeth. "He is a tough Servant."
Akiko bit her lower lip and dashed forward, going in between Lancer and Saber. She stood in front of both, facing Berserker.
"What are ya doin'?!" Lancer exclaimed.
Akiko ignored him. She held out her right hand. "Jilg." The chain of energy appeared. She lashed it at Berserker like a whip. The chain wrapped itself around Berserker's torso as soon as it hit him. With the Servant's size, the chain could only wrap around him four times. After it wrapped around the beast, the free end dug itself into the ground, holding the monster. Berserker roared as he tried to break free, trying to use the arms pinned to his sides to shatter the bond. Akiko grit her teeth, forcing more mana into the chain to improve its durability. But it wouldn't help much against a Servant, much less Berserker.
Before the chain could break, Akiko thrust her opened left hand out, palm facing Berserker. She was going to use another spell. "Wer jeskic di wer fueryon oposs vhira acht wux. [1]"
A large bolt of lightning came down from the darkening sky at Berserker. It lit the giant up, enveloping him completely. Once the first bolt went away, three more struck the Servant, one right after the other. A large crater formed on the ground around Berserker when the first bolt hit, and it only got deeper with each strike.
However, the spell didn't do anything to Berserker. It didn't even stun him, as Akiko hoped it at least would.
"_!"
Berserker's arms strained against the chain and he broke it a few seconds later. Akiko fell down from the mana backlash and the entire chain vanished.
"Akiko!" Lancer cried out. In that same instant, Berserker took off towards her in a full sprint. Lancer growled and shielded her with his body, standing in front of her with his spear at the ready and facing Berserker, who swung his ax down at Lancer's right shoulder, aiming to cut the entire arm off.
Just as it was about to make contact, the ax stopped. Something invisible was keeping it from going any further down. Lancer's eyes widened when he saw who just blocked the ax.
"Huh, Saber?!"
"I am only repaying my debt to you," she replied as she strained to keep the ax where it was.
"Saber!" Akiko shouted. She fired a fireball at Berserker's eyes, temporarily blinding him. This made him lift the ax off the sword in shock. "Get him!"
"I know!" she replied before slashing up diagonally at Berserker's chest. Blood flew onto the blade when she did it.
"_!"
"You wounded him!" Akiko exclaimed as Lancer pulled her back to safety with the other two Masters. Saber jumped back when Berserker punched down on her, his fist instead hitting the ground and forming a crater.
"Saber, are you okay?!" Shirou demanded when Saber landed in front of her Master, sword at the ready.
"I am fine," she told him.
"Archer, fire support!" Rin suddenly shouted. Berserker roared and was charging at the group. Arrows fired at the beast made him stop, but not fall back.
"I'll make him go back!" Akiko shouted. She raised up her right arm, palm facing the sky. "Vi krikvlic di ixen wielga! Lyriki demak coi! Bekilip nkyorlic wer thaczil vhir! Dout mamiss geou xkhat vignar! [2]"
Balls of fire, like mini meteors, came down from the sky and hit Berserker one after the other. Each was twice the size of a tire from a large tractor. They all exploded when all had hit the ground. The blast even forced the Servants and Masters to go back as to not get caught in it. The gigantic blast ripped up the ground. It even forced Berserker to skid back several meters.
'That had to take a lot of mana out of her!' Rin thought. Akiko bent over, placing her hands on her knees and panting. Lancer and Saber dashed at Berserker just as the beast was getting back up.
"_!"
The massive roar Berserker let out shook the entire area. Before Lancer or Saber could react, Berserker sprinted in their direction. Archer must not have also been able to react in time because he didn't fire any arrows at the behemoth.
But the giant's target wasn't the two Servants. He went past them. Both shielded their faces against the harsh wind that assaulted them as he went past. Lancer looked back to see what Berserker was going for and suddenly realized what it was.
'Oh shit! He's goin' after her!'
Berserker was right in front of Akiko, who had been attacking him. But she knew that none of her spells could stop the monster before her. Berserker got ready to swing his ax at Akiko and only one thought went through her head.
'I'm going to die!'
Lancer's shout broke through her thoughts. "Akiko!"
The ax was swung, red liquid flew through the air, and Akiko hit the ground, hard. Her eyes, which had been closed in anticipation of the coming pain, opened since the pain never came. She wanted to see why not.
Blood was dripping off the ax, but it couldn't have been from the teen. Her body was unmarked, and for some reason, she was further back out of range of the ax. And she was also on the ground on her back, so someone must have pushed her. But who?
Archer was too far away to have reached her in time, and Saber and the other two Masters hadn't moved. And why would enemies help other enemies anyway? Shirou might, though, knowing him. But he was just as surprised and thus wouldn't have been able to save Akiko in time. That leaves...
"Lancer!"
He was on his left side on the ground to the right of where Akiko had been before he had pushed her back. On his right hip was a gigantic wound that his intestines spilled from and gushed blood. It went from his right hip to almost the middle of his gut. It was enough to dye the armor over his entire abdomen and some of his chest a dark red. He had both hands over the gash, trying to stem the flow. He was breathing hard.
Illya looked lightly shocked, mostly puzzled. "Why would he risk his own life for someone else..?"
Akiko went over to her Servant and fell to her knees at his side. She removed both of his hands from the wound so she could replace them with hers and tried to get the spilling intestines back in the man's body. "Here, I'll heal you." But as soon as the green glow enveloped both of her hands, it went away. She tried the spell again, but the same result happened. "I'm sorry. I don't have enough mana left."
Lancer groaned in pain and went back to trying to keep his blood, and his mana, in.
Illya wrote off Lancer saving Akiko as just a bond between Master and Servant. But she wanted to end them before she didn't want to anymore. "Berserker, kill them both!"
"_!"
Berserker charged at the Master and Servant, ax raised over his shoulder to swing down on both. Archer couldn't fire support without the blast hitting Akiko and Lancer. He actually wouldn't care, but Rin might.
"I won't let you!"
Saber quickly moved herself between the giant and the other two, blocking Berserker's downward swing on them with her invisible sword.
"I refuse to allow you to kill a defenseless Master and Servant, whether they are enemies or not!"
Berserker snarled and used his left fist to punch Saber behind him, her body flying in an arc over his head. He turned around and jumped up to the sword-wielder, kicking her into the ground so hard that it formed a crater and dust flew up into a cloud.
"Saber!" Shirou exclaimed. The Servant got up and she and the monster ran at each other and clashed, each holding their weapons in front of their bodies, blades grinding against each other that sparks flew through the air like fireworks going off.
Berserker growled and pushed the invisible blade back with his own. Without missing a beat, he kicked Saber up into the air. He jumped up to meet her and swung his ax down, the blade biting into her back deeply.
She fell to the ground hard, blood that had been in the air coming down after her to speckle the ground around her. Then Berserker's knee came down hard onto her back.
"Agh!" she cried. Blood sprang forth from her lips. She lost consciousness and Berserker took a step back before raising his ax up to finish her.
"Don't!" Shirou exclaimed as he dashed forward.
Rin reached out to grab his wrist, but only ended up grabbing empty air. "Idiot! Don't go over there! That thing will kill you!"
Shirou ignored her and ran to Saber's side and fell to his knees. Berserker stopped his attack, knowing what this boy meant to Illya. A moment later, he turned his head to look over his shoulder, glaring at Illya. "Illya! That's enough!"
Illya looked faintly shocked for some reason. But that expression only lasted for an instant. Now she turned her head away, sticking out her lower lip slightly like she was pouting. "Hmph! That's enough for today, Berserker! Let's go home!"
She hopped onto Berserker's left shoulder and the giant turned, walking through the gate. Illya looked over her shoulder. "We'll play some more another day."
[End OST]
Once Illya and Berserker were out of sight, vanishing into the fog, Rin let out a sigh of relief. "Archer, you can come back here." The fog went away.
"How are you feeling Lancer?" Akiko asked her injured Servant.
Lancer tried to chuckle. "Well I'm bleedin' a lot, my intestines are tryin' to come back out of my body, an' I'm in a ton of pain. So not my best day. But couldn't ya tell that just by lookin' at me?"
"I thought it was better to ask anyway."
Lancer smirked at her. "Well now ya got yer answer."
Akiko went into her bag and rummaged through her things. A moment later, she pulled out a long piece of cloth. "Here, this should help you until we get back."
Akiko wrapped it over the wound and tied it tightly at the man's left hip. In an instant, the white cloth began turning red from the blood as the liquid soaked into it. The mage was going to aid him in standing. She had slung Lancer's right arm around the back of her neck and lifted him, her left arm around his waist. His right hip was slightly behind her right one so the wound wouldn't be irritated.
Shirou had just finished lifting up an unconscious and heavily bleeding Saber bridal-style when Archer came down from the school's rooftop. He crossed his arms at the sight of Lancer. "What a sorry state you're in, Cu Chulainn."
"Go fuck yerself, Archer!" Lancer retorted. "An' only my Master is allowed to use my true name! Who said you could?!"
Archer smirked. "And what are you going to do about it, wounded as you are?"
Lancer snarled. "I'll still kick yer ass even like this!"
He started to shift his weight to get off Akiko, but the teen stopped him. "You need to stop, Lancer! You're too weak to even support your own weight!"
Lancer growled in frustration, but didn't try to detach himself from his Master. "Fine, Master. Even though I really wanna punch that jerk's arrogant smirk from his face, I won't make you worry fer me."
Akiko blushed. "I really hope your talking about my concern for your current state..."
"Archer, cut it out, too!" Rin said. "The last thing we need to do is make an even bigger enemy of an enemy!"
Shirou looked surprised as reality came back to him. Right. Akiko and Lancer were enemies. But...
"How about joining our alliance?" Shirou suggested.
"Huh?!" Akiko and Lancer exclaimed.
Rin was red from anger. "Are you crazy, Emiya?!" Archer just gave Shirou a glare. The boy was becoming trusting again.
Shirou shook his head. "I'm not being crazy. Look, we lasted a good amount of time against Berserker with all of us working together. So maybe we should continue working together. It should help our chances the next time we face Berserker."
"Yeah, but you're talking about teaming up with Lancer of all people! Hashimoto, I'd mostly be cool with! But not Lancer!" Rin exclaimed.
"I can hear ya, y'know!" Lancer shouted.
Rin ignored him. "And he tried to kill you twice! How could you want to team up with him after that?!"
"Wait, you know about the second time?!" Akiko demanded.
Rin turned her head to look at the mage. "Emiya told us what happened." She went back to glaring at Shirou. "Well?! Can you forgive him for that?!"
"Not entirely," Shirou admitted. "But he was just following rules, and you can't blame him for it." He smiled at Lancer. "Plus, without his second attempt to kill me, I wouldn't have been forced into the shed and summoned Saber."
"Hey, even if I hadn't, ya might have accidentally summoned her another day!" Lancer pointed out.
"Yeah, but I still want to repay you for helping it happen when it did," Shirou told him.
Rin crossed her arms and turned her head away from Shirou, huffing. "I know you won't let up, no matter what, so fine! They can join! But I'm not going to be entirely trusting of Lancer!"
Archer sighed. "Since that's what Rin decided, I'll go along with it. But I'm not happy about it."
Shirou looked at Akiko and Lancer. "Well? What do you two say?"
Lancer glanced at Akiko. "Well, Akiko? Yer decision is my decision."
Akiko sighed. "Fine, we'll join. We do need allies to have any chance of defeating Berserker."
"Well, I guess that's yer answer, lad," Lancer said to Shirou.
Shirou smiled. "Good. You'll have to stay with me and Tohsaka at my house so that we can make attack plans and go out together to fight."
"Fine," Akiko told him. "But I'm not trusting enough of all of you yet to leave Lancer's safety to you while I pack. So I'll be taking him back to my house with me. But when I'm ready, I'll help him to your house."
"Will Lancer be fine? I do have medical supplies at my place."
"Like I said, even though we're allies now, I'm not ready to trust him to you for now. The temporary bandage will be enough until we get to my house. There, I'll tend to him myself," Akiko replied. "Besides, you'll have your hands full treating Saber."
"Fine, then. We'll see you later," Shirou said as Akiko helped Lancer walk off the school grounds.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
A woman lived by herself about four houses away from Homurahara Academy. All she had keeping her company were two cats.
"Who's hungry?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen. She got two meows in response. The cats began rubbing their bodies against both of her legs.
She chuckled. "Okay. I'll get your food done in a second.
Then one of the cats stiffened and turned to face the opening to the living room, arching its back and hissing. The woman glanced down at it. "What's wrong, Billy?"
An instant later, the second cat was doing the same. "Now you too, Koda? Are you both trying to scare me?"
[Footsteps of Destruction]
Then it all happened so fast. The wall to the living room burst and a magenta blur rushed in. It easily crashed through the opening into the kitchen. Then it bent its head down and gobbled the woman in two bites.
Koda attacked first, springing at the thing that just ate his owner. A massive paw-like thing swatted him to the side. He hit the wall, stunning him. Before he could recover, the thing ate him too.
Billy, while hissing, was trembling. He was covered in the blood of the woman and Koda. The creature went for Billy next. Billy tried to flee, but the menace was too fast for him. There was a massive spurt of blood and the crunching of bones as he was devoured.
[End OST]
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Once the two were at Akiko's house, Akiko set Lancer down on a thick blanket she put onto her bed. The Servant dematerialized the top half of his bodysuit. The teen removed the temporary bandage, which was dripping with the blood it soaked in, and she gently used a wet rag to clean the bloody skin around the wound so that she could see it better.
Blood was still coming out heavily, so she couldn't see that the blood began to clot a little thanks to Lancer's healing as a Servant.
Akiko bit her lower lip. The wound was really bad. He was definitely going to need stitches. But unfortunately she didn't have any sterile string. Hopefully Shirou would. Instead, she got several pads out of her bathroom and applied medicine to them. Hopefully they would be enough until she applied stitches to him.
The entire time, Lancer wasn't making a noise. Akiko thought at first he had lost consciousness. Then he softly hissed in pain from her rubbing disinfectant on the gash.
Akiko helped him sit up so that she could apply the pads and the bandages. "You're not making as much noise as I thought you would," she said.
Lancer chuckled. "I've been torn up worse durin' my first life. Trust me, this is nothin'."
Akiko finished the bandage around Lancer's abdomen by taping the end of it. "Well, I'm done now." She got the bloody blanket out from under the man. "I'll wash this and get something to eat."
"I take it that I should hold off on eatin' fer now," Lancer guessed.
"That's right," Akiko answered. "Your intestines were cut. I would normally have to take you to the hospital, but your healing as a Servant will repair them."
[Tender Scenery]
She went to the kitchen and cooked herself something to eat. After she was done, she washed out the dirtied dishes and then went back to her room to pack. By then, Lancer had already materialized his modern clothes, but not a new clasp for his hair. Akiko would have to get him a hairtie or something.
However, she froze in the doorway, staring at his turned back. He had gotten up out of the bed and was going through the drawer for other clothes for their stay at Emiya's. Akiko had gone back to the shop the next day to pick out other clothes for the man. She had seen his hair down one other day, but he had been sleeping so it was messy. And during the battle she had been too focused on what Berserker was going to do next to really look at it. And when she was putting bandages on him, she was focusing only on that.
But now she really got a good look at his hair down. It was...beautiful. She went over and, without thinking it through, combed the fingers of her right hand through the soft strands.
"Hm?"
Lancer looked up and then turned his head to look at Akiko behind him. "Need somethin'?"
Akiko blushed and retracted her hand right away. "S-Sorry!"
Lancer gave the teen that cocky grin of his. "So ya like my hair?"
"It looks really nice when you don't have it pulled up. You should leave it down more often," Akiko said without meaning to. Then she snapped her head to her right, looking like she was pouting. "Err, forget what I just said!"
Lancer chuckled. "Sorry, I'd like to. But I need to keep it outta the way when I'm fightin'."
Akiko stuck out her face to him, cheeks puffed out and lips pursed. She was still blushing. "I-I mean it! I really don't find your hair nice!"
"Then what were ya doin' ten seconds ago?"
Akiko retracted her face and her cheeks went redder. "Damn you, it's NOTHING!"
Lancer chuckled again but didn't say anything else. He and Akiko just focused on packing.
[End OST]
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
[Calm Days]
At the Emiya residence, everyone had already eaten. Taiga, known as Ms. Fujimura at Homurahara Academy, and Sakura Matou had gone home. Archer and Saber were in their modern clothes. Saber, who had already been bandaged and regained consciousness, was helping Shirou wash the dishes. As she was scrubbing a plate, her head perked up.
"Two enemy signatures just entered the residence grounds."
"That's probably Hashimoto and Lancer," Shirou told her.
Saber looked at him, shocked. "Why would they be here?! Are they planning an attack?!"
Saber had not been informed of the alliance with those two. Shirou forgot to mention that one, incidentally important, detail to her. Yeah, Shirou could already tell that she wasn't going to like the news. But he should tell her now. Otherwise she would go slashing at Akiko and Lancer the very instant they come into her line of sight.
Shirou nervously scratched the back of his head. "Hashimoto and Lancer will be staying here...until Berserker is dealt with..."
"Why?!" Now Saber looked mad. She figured out that she had been left out of something important. There was a knock at the door.
Shirou closed his eyes in anticipation of Saber's wrath. "They, uh...are allies with us now..."
"And why was I not informed?!" Saber shouted. Shirou flinched. Even though it wasn't right in his ear, it was still loud enough to make his ears ring.
"You were unconscious at the time..."
"I still should have been informed as soon as I wasn't!"
The door to the back hallway from the kitchen opened. Rin's head poked out. "Keep it down! I'm trying to study!" She and Archer were in the first room to the left.
Saber faced her, looking mad. Both of her hands were on her hips. "Were you aware of this, Rin?!"
Rin looked confused. "Aware of what?" Another knock. "Oh! They're here!"
Saber facepalmed. "So you did know about the alliance with Akiko and Lancer..."
"Yeah. We discussed it after the battle with Berserker." A third knock. It sounded insistent. "One of us should answer the door."
"I'll get it," Shirou said. He just wanted to avoid Saber needling him with more details for now. He opened the door and entered the main hallway. He took an immediate right and went to the front door, which wasn't that far away. He opened it and Akiko and Lancer were standing just outside it. Each were holding a duffel bag.
"We're here now," Akiko said. "I take it you've already set aside a room for us?"
Shirou nodded. "I have, but I haven't set it up yet. But come into the kitchen." He stepped to the side, allowing the two to enter. He led them to the kitchen and they sat down next to each other at the dinner table in the center of the room. Shirou sat on the other side, across from them. Saber was by the T.V., her arms crossed and glaring at the two newcomers, full of suspicion.
"I take it she was just told?" Akiko guessed, pointing to Saber. "She still looks pretty mad..."
Shirou sighed. "I imagine she'll be like this for a day or two..."
Lancer looked around. "Where's the lass an' that dick?"
"Archer, you mean," Shirou corrected. "Both are in their room. I assume both of you will be staying in the same one?"
"Of course!" Lancer replied. "I need to guard my Master!"
"Then make sure you don't let Fuji-nee know you'll both are in the same room," Shirou said.
"Fuji-nee?" Akiko questioned.
"Ms. Fujimura," Shirou told her. "Saber told her that's she going to sleep in the same room as me, and she forbade it. Now the best we can do is sleep in rooms right next to each other. Tohsaka managed to hide the fact that she and Archer are sleeping in the same room."
"Got it," Akiko said.
"It's getting late. We'll talk more tomorrow." Shirou stood up. "I'll show you both to your room and lay out your futons."
[End OST]
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Shirou gave them the first room to the left in the main hallway, to the left from the kitchen. He left after getting the futons out for the two. A moment later, Akiko was going through her clothes.
"Cu Chulainn, can you leave the room for a minute?"
Lancer got up from his spot on the floor. "Sure, sure."
He exited the room and closed the door so Akiko could get changed in privacy. Several minutes later, Akiko opened the door. "You can come in now, Cu Chulainn."
[Embrace]
Lancer faced her and it felt like the breath had been taken out of him. Akiko was wearing a light blue nightgown. The same one she wears at home. But Lancer never noticed before how pretty she looks in it since he's never seen her wearing it in the faint glow of the light from a lamp behind her.
She blushed and looked away shyly under his stare. "What's wrong? Do I have something on my face?"
Lancer shook his head, snapping himself out of his daze. "N-No! I just...haven't seen ya in a faint light before! Yer...beautiful."
Akiko's cheeks went redder. "You sure know how to flatter a girl, don't you?"
Lancer went over to the girl, standing right in front of her. He placed his hands on either side of her waist. "It's not flattery. I'm speakin' the truth."
Akiko quivered slightly. "Uh...you're kinda close..." She didn't say anything about his hands, which were slowly traveling up her body. Right now, they were on either side of the bottom of her chest.
He gently backed her into the room and slid shut the door behind him. "Yer turnin' me on..." His hands reached their destination. Both gently grabbed her breasts.
Akiko's entire face flushed. "W-What are you doing?!"
"Ya should know what I'm doin'. I'm pretty sure yer not ignorant of this act..."
She wasn't. She knew what he was planning. "W-Wait..!"
He leaned in close, his lips nearing hers. "We're gonna have some fun..."
Then she did the last thing he expected her to do. She slapped him across his left cheek with her right hand. There was a handprint on his cheek. "Snap out of it!"
[End OST]
Lancer took a step back, eyes wide as if he also didn't know what had gotten into him. "I...I...Sorry!"
"You need to control your urges!" Akiko shouted. "If I said I don't also have them, I would be lying! But despite having them, I'm not going to give in to it! That's because I know I'm not mentally prepared yet and I have the willpower to resist the urge!"
Lancer looked away in embarrassment. "Yeah...sorry I just about forced myself onto ya..."
"But..." Akiko grabbed the sides of Lancer's face and forced him to look her straight in the eyes.
"A-Akiko..?" he stammered.
She silenced him by placing her lips over his. She continued to kiss him for a few seconds. Then she pulled away.
Lancer spoke first. "What was that about?!"
Akiko released his face. "That was for risking your life to save me in our fight against Berserker." She turned around. "We should be going to sleep."
Lancer was still processing what just happened. "Y-Yeah..." He went to the futon nearest to the door and layed down in it.
[Troublemakers]
Lancer dematerialized his modern clothes and patted the empty spot in the futon, to his left. "Come snuggle with me, Akiko!"
Akiko had shown tenderness to him during the kiss. But it was gone now. She narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. "...What's your objective with this? You realize we each have our own futons, right?"
Lancer barked out a single laugh. "C'mon! Don't look at me that way! Trust me, I won't try anythin' else on ya until yer ready! I just wanna sleep close to ya!"
"Fine." She went to the futon. "As long as you're not planning for us to have sex yet or anything."
Akiko slipped under the covers and pressed herself against her Servant. Lancer smiled at her. "Trust me. I won't do that to you unless ya ask fer it."
"Well, this is you I'm dealing with. I can never be too sure." She was referring to his legend and what he just tried to do to her.
"Normally, yes. But I'm willin' to wait if it deals with someone special."
"Are you? You just tried something on me like 20 seconds ago," Akiko pointed out.
"Yeeeeah, not what I meant to do..."
Akiko breathed out a heavy sigh. "You're hopeless, you know?"
[End OST]
[1] Wer jeskic di wer fueryon oposs vhira acht wux = The fangs of the beast rain down upon you
[2] Vi krikvlic di ixen wielga! Lyriki demak coi! Bekilip nkyorlic wer thaczil vhir! Dout mamiss geou xkhat vignar! = A tear of fire fell! Others join it! Destruction awaits the land below! Your body will become ash!
Remember to review.