I had really bad writer's block and I was also working on a story I will post after I finish this one.

I've been busy doing the Fate/Grand Order event for Kara no Kyoukai. And I got my first five-star Servant! It's Ryougi Shiki in her Saber form! I had gotten a ticket for one free summon, so I did it. I didn't expect to get her!

I'm still pretty sad right now. We put down our dog recently because he had cancer on January 2nd. I'll miss him a lot. R.I.P. Newman. He was a really good dog. He sensed I would be gone for some time when I was put in the hospital. On the day I would be discharged, he hopped on my bed after Mom had just washed it and stayed there until I came home. He didn't get up to eat and he held in the urge to pee most of the day.

It's hard to believe that after getting him from the pound 8 years ago, that he's gone. I hope he at least died satisfied with his life after we took him in.

Update: On January 24...Lainey, the two-year-old boxer we adopted to replace Newman...was hit by a car.

What happened was this: my brother let her out around 4:30 so she could go pee. But she must have been chasing something outside because she never came back to the door. He and my dad went searching for her after Dad got home almost an hour later, but had no luck. So he called to report her missing. Then, while we were eating dinner, Mom suddenly said the neighbor must have found her because his truck was parked in the gravel lane for a while, and was now heading to our house. Mom and Dad went to the garage where the truck stopped and then I heard Mom say "She's dead?!"

It was pitch-black out, so the neighbor didn't see Lainey run in front of his truck until it was too late. Dad and I were unable to finish dinner and I cried myself to sleep. So both she and Newman died in the same month. So the depression was even worse.

Lainey was such a sweetheart, always laying down on the couch next to us or on my bed. She would always lick our faces and jump up whenever we came home.

The next morning, Akiko's phone woke the mage up. But she wasn't happy.

"Just a few more minutes!" she groaned pulling the covers over her head. Lancer, on the other hand, was fully awake. He placed one hand on Akiko's shoulder and lightly shook her.

"You need to get up. Ya have school today an' I don't feel like hearin' ya bitch 'bout havin' homework to make up."

Akiko's reply was yet another growl, muffled by the blanket. Then Lancer tore the blanket all the way off the both of them. This made Akiko open her eyes to slits and glare at the man she was sleeping with. Akiko growled yet again and sat up, stretching both of her arms and yawning loudly. Then she rubbed an eye with the back of one of her hands and turned her head, glancing lazily at her school uniform, folded neatly on the top of the nightstand.

"I'm too tired to get dressed. Cu Chulainn, will you do it for me?"

Lancer breathed a heavy sigh. "Geez, yer so helpless..."

"Not as much as you," Akiko countered, voice slurred from sleep.

Lancer only replied with a pitiful sigh and got to his feet, heading over to the nightstand. He got the school uniform and walked back to Akiko. He looked down at her. "Stand up so I can get yer night gown off."

Akiko groaned as she dramatically tried to get to her feet with great effort. She yawned yet again, her eyes mostly closed, and raised her arms above her head. Then he began to get her school uniform on her body. She wasn't helping Lancer much. He ended up manipulating her limp limbs like a doll.

Then he walked behind his Master as they both left the room, pushing Akiko gently to get her to move forward. When they got into the kitchen, Akiko pretty much dropped herself onto the cushion as Lancer sat down next to her. Rin, Archer, Saber, and Taiga were also sitting at the table. Shirou was behind the counter with Sakura, making breakfast.

Taiga looked at Akiko when she heard the teen let out a loud yawn. "Better get woke up. You have school today."

"Wish we didn't so I can go back to sleep," Akiko grumbled.

Taiga sighed loudly. "Maybe you should get to be earlier so you aren't as tired in the morning."

"Considering the situation last night, I'm surprised they're here," Archer said under his breath.

Once the eight had eaten breakfast, Taiga left for school. Sakura went with her, having archery practice this morning. This left Akiko, Rin, Shirou, Saber, Lancer, and Archer. Saber was behind the counter with Shirou, helping him clean dishes. By now, Akiko was more awake. But not much. She was still complaining that she wants to go back to sleep.

"We should take out Caster first, then worry about Berserker," Rin said. Saber and Shirou were still able to hear her.

"But we don't even know where she is now," Akiko pointed out after yawning.

"She was at Ryuudou Temple last night."

"Do you really think she'd return to it?"

"I do. After all, she did call it her base."

"Fine. We'll go again tonight."

Later, the group of six walked to school. Then, when they got near it, the group became three as the Servants went to the trees to keep watch. When the Masters got to the third floor, the girls broke off from Shirou to go to their own classroom.

"The three of us will meet on the roof at lunch to discuss our plan for defeating Caster," Rin told the male as she and Akiko went into their classroom.

Both went to their respective desks, waiting for the bell for the start of the school day to go off. Ayako walked in, the archery club having just finished. She made Akiko's desk her first stop.

"Hey, Hashimoto!...Hashimoto? Are you okay?" Akiko had just let her head drop into her arms on her desk.

"Yeah," Akiko replied as she lifted her head back up and then yawned. "Just a little tired."

"Stay up late last night?"

"Yeah."

"Well, don't fall asleep during class. or else you'll be hit in the head with a piece of chalk."

"Noted."

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Outside the school, the three Servants were watching the campus from the trees. Lancer was perched on the branch above Archer. The demigod jumped down from his branch to Archer's.

"Listen up, Archer," he started.

Archer sighed. "Ugh, what is it?"

"Judgin' from yer reaction, I assume ya guess what this is about."

"No, I don't know. You just annoy me."

"Hey! That's my line!"

Saber jumped onto the branch the two were on from her position in the next tree. "Calm down, Lancer! Just say what it was you wanted to say."

"Bastard really gets on my nerves..!" Lancer snarled under his breath. "Anyway, Archer, what I wanted to ask is why ya have Caladbolg."

Archer smirked. "This again? It really bothers you that much, huh?"

Lancer narrowed his eyes. "Think what ya want. But I'm not letting this go until you answer me."

"Just tell him, Archer. How hard can it be, anyway?" Saber added.

Archer looked at her. "Once Berserker has been taken care of, we will all be enemies again. I don't think we should be disclosing our secrets."

"I understand, but this is something I really need to know," Lancer said.

Archer breathed a heavy sigh and turned his attention back to Lancer. "...Very well. All I'll say is that it has something to do with magic."

"Then are ya able to reach back in time an' grab a weapon?"

"...Maybe, maybe not."

Lancer was back to being red in the face and totally pissed. "What kinda answer is that, huh?!"

Archer just turned back around, his back facing Lancer. He was back to keeping watch. "I answered your question, didn't I?"

"If ya think ya did, guess again!"

Saber sighed, closing her eyes. "Lancer, just let it go."

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When the bell for lunch rang, Akiko and Rin got their boxed lunches and walked out of the classroom to eat on the roof. By now, Akiko was more awake. But also in the hall was the teacher, Mr. Kuzuki.

"Tohsaka, Hashimoto. May I speak to both of you privately?" he asked.

"Uh, sure. What about?" Akiko replied.

"Not out here. In here," Mr. Kuzuki said, going to the door of a nearby teachers' lounge and sliding it open. Rin and Akiko, still unsure why the teacher needs to talk to them privately, followed him into the empty room.

When Mr. Kuzuki closed the door, Rin spoke up. "So what's this about?"

Mr. Kuzuki leaned back against a wall and crossed his arms. "I know what the both of you are."

"What do you mean?" Akiko asked.

"I know that both of you are Masters in this Grail War."

Rin and Akiko looked shocked and Rin spoke next. "How do you know about that?!"

"Because I am one as well," Mr. Kuzuki replied. "My Servant, Caster, informed me that Tohsaka is the Master of Archer and that Hashimoto is the Master of Lancer."

Both girls took fighting stances. "So did you get us alone in order to get rid of us?!" Akiko demanded.

Mr. Kuzuki shook his head. "No. It would draw attention if we were to fight now. We'll do it later. Caster has invited you and your Servants to fight her at the abandoned gas station near Ryuudou Temple."

Akiko didn't lower her guard. "Is Caster serious about taking us all on at once?! Does she have something planned?!"

"I am just informing you of what she told me," Mr. Kuzuki said. "What time tonight works?"

Rin and Akiko exchanged glances, unsure of whether or not to go along with this. Then Rin looked back at Mr. Kuzuki. "7."

When the final bell went off, the two girls met Shirou just outside the front doors of the school.

"Hey, where were you two at lunch?" Shirou asked.

"We'll tell you when we're away from the school," Rin answered.

The three began walking to the front of the campus. Then a golf ball came flying through the air out of nowhere and, before she could react, smacked Akiko hard in the side of her head. At the same instant, someone shouted "Fore!"

Akiko was rubbing the side of her head and glaring daggers at the golf team, which was holding practice nearby. The one who was up was Giichi. He was the one that had hit the golf ball into Akiko.

"I swear, never stop looking over your shoulder..." she growled, venom seeping thickly into her voice. Once the three were far enough away from the school, the three Servants joined them. And that's when Rin decided to answer Shirou's question.

She looked at him. "So it turns out that Mr. Kuzuki is a Master. And of Caster, no less."

"What?!" Shirou demanded.

Saber looked confused. "Who's Mr. Kuzuki?"

Akiko glanced back at her over her shoulder. "He's a teacher at Homurahara Academy. Anyway, it seems he was to give us a message to meet him and Caster at the abandoned gas station near Ryuudou Temple for a fight tonight at 7. What do you guys think about it?"

"This totally reeks of a trap," Lancer replied.

"It does to all of us," Akiko told him. "But do all of you think we should go anyway?"

Saber sighed. "We may as well. Even if it's a trap, we may not get another opportunity to know of Caster's location in advance."

Archer put a hand to his chin in thought. "But taking on three Servants at once? If she is plotting a trap, it would have to be a good one for this situation."

Once they got to Shirou's house, everyone except Rin and Archer went to work. Saber had insisted on going with Shirou again to protect him. Work was uneventful for Akiko. Well, if you exclude the "remarks" she got about her uniform.

It was night when Akiko and Lancer got back to the house. Shortly after, Shirou and Saber came in. All were in the kitchen. Sakura and Taiga were also there, but just to eat dinner. Then both would go home, saving the other six from having to come up with an excuse for why they were leaving again. So soon after those two left, the Masters and Servants left the house to meet Caster. Each Servant lifted up their respective Masters and jumped across the top of the red bridge spanning the Mion River. Well, Archer had to carry both Shirou and Rin. He yelled at Lancer to help with carrying the male Master, but Lancer smirked and said he couldn't because his hands were full. He was holding Akiko bridal-style. So Archer growled something under his breath and glared a hole in the back of Lancer's head.

At the abandoned gas station, the two Servants set their Masters down and all six looked around. The area was completely empty, as if the three Servants and Masters were the only ones there.

Akiko, while raising her guard, was flicking her eyes to the left and right quickly. "Where are those two..?"

Saber held her invisible sword up, handle clutched tightly in both hands. "What is going on..?" Then she glanced at the surroundings of the group. "Fog?"

Rin took a couple steps back so that she and Archer were pressing their backs against each other. "Probably a bounded field to keep others out. Keep your guards up!"

Lancer smirked and summoned his lance. "Who do ya think yer talkin' to?"

Archer smirked. "A dumbass?"

Lancer snarled and turned his head to glare at Archer. "Shut the fuck up!"

"Admit it. You walked right into that."

"Cu it ou -!" Akiko started, snapping her head back at the two men. Then she suddenly faced forward again. "Jaecr [1]"

A pure white pointed object, like a spike, formed in Akiko's opened right hand, spike facing forward. The mage grabbed the spike when it fully formed. Then she swung her right arm in front of her body, the point of the sharp object now facing behind her.

Lancer glanced at his Master and blinked in confusion. "Akiko?"

"While you and Archer were fighting, it seems we got company." She lashed her arm back out and released her hold on the spike. The object went flying forward at the fog. But instead of continuing through it like it should have, as soon as it went a little into the fog their was a crash hike hollow stones being broken followed by a sound like beads hitting the floor.

A skeletal creature, but without a head now, fell back and turned into a pile of dust once it hit the ground. It was so obscured by the fog that unless you looked hard enough, it was pretty much invisible.

"A familiar! I can't believe I sensed it before any of you Servants or Tohsaka did," Akiko continued.

Lancer looked embarrassed. He scratched the back of his head. "Sorry...I got too wrapped up in the fight..." Archer also looked embarrassed. He crossed his arms, looked away, and blushed.

Saber also blushed. "I was thinking about how to break up the fight between the two..."

"And Tohsaka? What's your excuse?" Akiko asked, but kept her eyes front.

Rin sweated with embarrassment. "I...was too focused on the fight between Archer and Lancer..."

Akiko let out a heavy sigh. "All of you are pathetic..."

"What about me?!" Shirou demanded.

Akiko looked back. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Aren't you gonna ask me why I didn't sense it?!"

Akiko faced forward again. "Oh, that. Well, you're an amateur mage, not nearly skilled enough to sense foreign mana." Shirou opened his mouth to protest, but Akiko spoke up again. "More are coming!"

Just as she spoke, more of the skeleton creatures came running out of the fog at the group, surrounding them. There were a few dozen of those monsters. Each raised the dark purple, rock-like swords they held.

Lancer grinned. "Bring it on!" He held Gae Bolg horizontally over his head to block the downward swing of one of the familiars. When he did, Lancer kicked it back. It wasn't destroyed, but had several cracks in the ribs. It charged at the spearman again.

Saber had just finished slicing two in half before having to jump back a little just as two others swung their swords at her. Then she dashed forward, slicing through them at the same time.

Rin used her Gandr shots to destroy five that came at her. Some came out from behind the ones that were just destroyed. They would reach Rin and cut her down before she had time to fire another. That's when Archer stepped in and helped, his twin swords cutting through the necks of the familiars like butter.

One swung its sword down at Shirou. The boy quickly took a few steps back and the sword smashed into the ground. The boy's back hit Akiko's

"Help me!"

Akiko was using the chain she conjured up to hold several of the monsters. While they were still, Lancer chopped up each enemy. She glanced back at Shirou and sighed. "Saber!"

"I keep trying to reach him, but these things will not stop getting in my way!" Saber grunted as she used her sword to block one of the creatures and then knock it back.

"Jeez!" Akiko muttered. "Lancer! I'm leaving this to you for now!"

"Don't worry, I got this!" he replied. Akiko let go of the chain and it vanished into specks of mana, freeing those it was holding. But at that instant, they were focused on not being chopped to bits by Lancer.

Akiko turned around just as Shirou fell back trying to dodge yet another sword. "Get behind me, Emiya!" Then she glanced at Rin and Archer. "Archer! Can you keep these ones busy while I ready my spell?!"

"A little busy trying to keep my own Master alive!" Archer grunted.

Lancer cut down yet another familiar. "These things aren't givin' me that much trouble, even though I'm fightin' them alone." He quickly shifted over in front of Akiko and Shirou just in time to block a sword.

"Thanks. I'll tell you when to move out of the way," Akiko said. "Wux tepoha xuuta ve."

A ball of bright orange fire with a pale yellow center formed in the palm of Akiko's open palm. It was the size of a basketball and glowed like a sun. The shadows dancing across Akiko's face from the warm light made it seem ominous.

"Coi ui tairais ekess xikin [2]."

The ball of fire slowly expanded. She rose the ball, still levitating a few centimeters off her palm, up above her head. The ball grew more than ten times its original size. When it stopped growing, it lifted off the girl's palm like it weighed nothing and hovered there. The mini sun was blinding to look at directly.

"Now Lancer!"

Lancer jumped back, going beside Shirou as the attack came. Her raised arm came down and she pointed at the monsters in front of her. The ball of fire over her head trembled as it contracted and expanded swiftly, like it was about to burst. It did, in fact. A flash of yellow light came from the ball and it vanished. In its places were dozens of smaller balls of fire, each like a miniature copy of the large one. Then they came down. Like fireworks.

It was like a meteor shower. As each ball rained down on the familiars, they left an orange tail of light as they all fell in an arc, each one like a miniature comet. They came down in a semi-circle in front of Akiko. Each ball of fire smashed into the skeleton-like creatures, caving in their bodies and engulfing the shattered bones in a blaze as the familiars were hit. Each of them was reduced to dust as the barrage of fire wiped them out.

"Such a valiant effort," a voice said. "But..!"

Several more of the familiars came out of the fog and at the group.

"Caster!" Lancer shouted. "Where are ya hidin'?!"

"Can't sense her location, huh?" Akiko asked.

"This bounded field seems to be messing with our ability to sense Servants," Saber said as she knocked back two familiars.

"Her plan must be to have us use up all of our mana," Archer added. "That way, when we're exhausted, she'll be able to easily wipe us out."

"Yes and no," Caster said. "I plan to have you exhaust yourselves, but I have something special planned for the Servants."

"Like what!?" Akiko demanded.

"You will find out soon enough."

Rin began shooting down more of the creatures that came at her. "We can't keep this up for long! We need to take down Caster!"

"But we don't even know where she is!" Shirou pointed out.

"I have a feeling she's somewhere nearby," Rin replied.

Meanwhile, Caster chuckled and pulled out a zig-zagged dagger. Soon, even the Servants would be exhausted. And then she could use the dagger. Her Noble Phantasm, Rule Breaker. By using it on the three Servants, she would make them her own pawns.

Out of the corner of her eye, Akiko spotted a glint of moonlight from one of the trees. "Lancer! There!"

"Way ahead of ya!" Lancer jumped at the tree. "Time fer ya to come out, Caster!" He swung the tip of his lance down and easily sliced off the tree branch Caster was assumed to be on.

The familiars crumbled into a pile of dust on the ground. At the same time, a figure floated above the tree.

Lancer grinned. "Found ya!"

[1] Jaecr = Stab

[2] Wux tepoha xuuta ve = You have wronged me.

Coi ui tairais ekess xikin = It is time to pay.

I kinda half-assed this one because I really want to get this story finished.