Cu Chulainn: "By Lugh, yer demandin'!"

Servant: Caster

Master: Rin Tohsaka

Rin: "Are you referring to my personality?!"

Cu Chulainn: "Welp, yer name won't matter once yer dead."

Well, they found out last night why Taiga wasn't coming over. Shirou found out she was too scared to leave the house while he was talking to the Fujimura Group over the phone. It was still unclear as to why Sakura wasn't coming over, but the reason was probably the same.

Blood was found yesterday near the bridge over the Mion River. Through DNA tests, it was discovered to belong to Mr. Kuzuki, who hadn't returned to Ryuudou Temple. The teacher was labeled as missing, but there are no clues to his whereabouts. The investigators won't declare him dead, as Mr. Kuzuki could still turn up.

"It must be the work of the killer," Rin said. She and the other Masters and Servants were sitting around the kitchen table. Lancer had healed enough to where he could walk on his own, though it was with a limp.

Saber was sipping from her mug of tea and spoke up. "Shall we investigate the crime scene to make certain of that?"

Rin shook her head. "We shouldn't waste our time. All the clues point to the person we're trying to stop."

Akiko was looking down, staring at her own tea, watching the light from the room dance all over the surface. "There aren't very many mages left in the city, and no partnerless Masters either. Who do you think will be the next victim?" She looked up. "Whatever it is, it may soon get desperate enough to attack Masters who still have their Servant."

"I dunno who'd be next," Rin admitted. "Illya would be my first guess, but she still has Berserker. And I have a feeling Berserker's the type of Servant to beat to death anyone who tries to harm Illya."

"What about one of us?" Shirou asked.

"Unlikely. It might be wary of attacking a group of Masters."

"So what's our plan then?" Akiko asked. "Are we still going to try fighting Berserker again? Or are we going to try finding and taking down the killer?"

Rin huffed in frustration and stood up. "Ugh, I don't know, okay?!"

Akiko narrowed her eyes. "Hey, I only asked a simple question. You don't need to get all hostile with me."

Rin sighed again and slapped a hand to her forehead. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry for snapping." She put her hand down. "I'm going to go out for a bit to clear my head. Archer, I want you to accompany me in case I get attacked."

"What about the rest of us?" Saber piped up.

Rin had already gone to the door to the hallway and slid it open. Archer had gotten up and was right beside her. Rin glanced over her shoulder back at Saber. "Do whatever. We won't be doing anything major until we've all discussed it together." With that, she and Archer went through the door and Rin closed it behind them.

[Time Together]

Shirou turned his head to look at Saber. "Wanna come with me into town?"

Saber looked at him in surprise. "Hmm? What for?"

Shirou nervously averted his eyes and scratched his head with one finger. "Um, no-no reason. I just thought that this would be a g-great chance for us to spend some time together. Y'know see some places here, try new things -"

Akiko took a drink from her tea. "In other words, he's asking you out on a date, Saber."

Shirou's head snapped around, him looking at the other Master with wide eyes. His blush stretched from his cheeks to his ears. "Hashimoto, I never said date!"

Lancer had the elbow of his right arm on the table with his forearm sticking straight up. His chin was resting in the palm of his right hand. The Servant was smirking. "Don't try to deny it. Are ya gonna buy her lunch? If so, ya shoulda done that 'fore ya nailed her into the wall."

Saber ignored Lancer's "nailed her into the wall" comment and instead focused on the lunch part of what he said. "Shirou, can we get lunch at 'The Bridge Outlook'? I hear they're having an all-you-can-eat special!"

Shirou pulled his wallet out of the back pocket of his pants. He opened it up and sighed. "I have just enough I think...Fine."

A large smile broke out across Saber's face and she threw her arms around Shirou's neck. "Shirou, I love you so much!"

Akiko spoke up. "Well, while you two are on a date, Lancer and I will be going out on one too."

Lancer snapped his head around to stare at Akiko with disbelief. "Wait, what?!"

"You heard me. We've fucked twice and still haven't gone out on a real date." She stood up. "Come on. I'll be the one showing you around." She grabbed Lancer's wrist and yanked him to his feet. "Let's go already!"

"He-Hey! I didn't agree to this!"

"Oh, quit being a baby!" Akiko retorted as she dragged the man out of the kitchen and to their room so Akiko could get her small purse with her checkbook and money. She opened it up and counted the money inside.

"Good. There should be enough for everything I have planned."

Lancer used his free hand to scratch the back of his head. "What do ya have planned?"

"You'll see. Now let's go." Akiko dragged Lancer to the front door. Shirou and Saber were just about to head out themselves, Shirou having already slid the door open.

"Oh, you're leaving now?" Shirou said.

"Yeah," Akiko replied. "We'll be back just in time to get ready for work."

[End OST]

[Tender Scenery]

Once they left the house, Akiko made their first stop be the Miyama side of the Mion River, next to the bridge over it. Akiko felt the breeze blowing through her hair, a warm sign of the coming spring. They decided to sit down side-by-side on a light brown, wooden bench. The arms of the bench, the legs, and the framing on the back were all black metal bars.

Akiko sighed, closing her eyes and leaning her head to her left, resting it on Lancer's right shoulder. All that was left from it dislocating yesterday was a large bruise, but Akiko using healing magic on it got rid of any pain radiating from the injury. Lancer looked at her, a warm smile on his face. "Hey, hey! Don't go to sleep now."

"I'm not going to sleep," his Master replied. She slowly opened her eyes, gazing out at the calm river in front of them, the surface calm with the exception of bumps on the surface from small waves. "I'm just getting comfortable."

Lancer let out a low chuckle. "What am I to ya, a pillow?"

Akiko closed her eyes again. "Sure. But this one won't keep quiet."

Lancer chuckled again. "Well, yer 'pillow' wants to get comfortable fer a long stay, too. Let's change our location."

Akiko opened her eyes again and lifted her head up off Lancer's shoulder so she could turn her head to face him. "Hm? What are you talking about?"

Lancer looked behind them and pointed to where he was looking with his left index finger. "How 'bout there?"

Akiko followed Lancer's gaze to see where he was referring to. The spearman was pointing to a patch of grass on a small hill. At the top was a leafless tree. Despite it not having any leaves, it still provided a decent amount of shade for the circle of grass around where its roots dug into the earth. "Fine. We'll go there," Akiko replied. As Lancer sat up, Akiko reached her arms far out to either side of her body in a stretch. Though she hadn't been sitting long, she got so relaxed on Lancer that her joints settled. So some of her bones gave a quiet "pop!" as they were forced to wake up again.

Once she was done stretching out her arms, she pulled them back to either side of her hips and rolled her neck. A rather loud "pop!" resounded. Lancer blinked at her several times. "That was a loud one!"

"Whatevs." Akiko propped her palms on the seat of the bench and stood up. This gave her a chance to bend backward, loosening her spine. "'K, I'm good now." She and her Servant went over to the spot Lancer pointed out and laid down on their backs near the base of the tree. They were laying side-by-side, Akiko laying to Lancer's left. Lancer rolled on top of Akiko, planting a kiss on her lips.

Akiko yawned lightly. "Roll onto your back again." Lancer did what he was told and the Master rested the side of her head on Lancer's left shoulder, a little on his chest. "Ah, this feels nice."

Lancer chuckled, Akiko hearing and feeling his chest rumble. "Comfy?"

"Very." Akiko replied as she shirted her eyes, looking up. While she was gazing up at the clear, blue sky, she saw a bird flying through it. She asked a question that suddenly popped into her head, not even turning her face to look at Lancer.

"Tell me. Why do you think that birds fly [1]?"

Lancer glanced at her. "What brought this up?"

"I dunno. It's just a question that popped into my head." She sat up. "Forget I asked it. Let's just go." Why did she ask that? Was it in regards to her life choices? Her past? Her wish? Or perhaps all three?

"Ooookay? Wait, we're goin' already?"

"I have another place in mind for us to visit."

Akiko got up and walked away from the tree. Lancer stood up and followed her, the two leaving the bridge behind. The next place Akiko led Lancer to was the Fuyuki Zoo.

Lancer looked up at the large arch over his head, the entrance. He had his hands stuffed in the pockets of his pants. "A zoo? Accordin' to knowledge I got from the Grail, a zoo has animals in it, right?"

"That's right," Akiko replied. "That's why I thought you'd like this place."

Lancer sighed, his eyes closed and his head hanging down. "Let's get one thing clear. I am a man! Not a dog and definitely not some other animal."

"I know that."

Lancer opened one eye, it locked on Akiko. "Aren't ya tryin' to inply somethin' 'bout me by bringin' me here?"

"No! I just wanted to let you see the animals!"

Lancer sighed again and lifted his head back up. "Okay, if that's yer only reason..."

"It is. Don't you trust me?" The Master sounded a little sad when she said that.

Lancer tried to cheer her up by beaming a smile to her. "Of course I do! Now let's go in!"

The two walked over to the admission booth. After Akiko paid for both her and Lancer, the two went in. The first thing they saw was the building with the gift shop. "I'll get you something when we're done looking around," Akiko said to her Servant.

As the two looked at the first animals, the elephants, Lancer spoke up. "It doesn't seem right to me, seeing these animals in cages."

"You're right," Akiko replied. "But this way, these animals are kept safe from both predators and poachers, and they are being taken care of really well. Besides, some of these animals aren't flourishing in the wild as well as they should. For some, being kept in a zoo is their only means of survival."

Lancer sighed, "Man, humans have found great ways to fuck up the planet..." He looked back up at the elephants. "But I'm glad to see that some are working to undo the mess bein' caused." He glanced at Akiko. "Uh...forget what I just said. Let's see the next enclosure."

After seeing several other animals, the two came to a fenced enclosure.

"What's in here?" Lancer asked. He got his answer a moment later as a wolf pup dashed over to the side of the fence that several people were gathered by. It had dark brown fur. The fur was still fluffy, meaning that the pup wasn't that old yet. A distance away, the wolf parents were keeping a close eye on the pup.

"Aww! It's so cute!" Akiko cooed, crouching don onto her heels, gazing at the pup with absolute adoration in her eyes. "I had heard the wolf pup was now old enough to go exploring and we'd finally get to see it! I just want to scoop it up and snuggle with it all day long!"

Lancer placed a hand to his chin, smirking. "Oh, so that's what you really like."

"I'm a girl, so of course I love this little cutie."

"What 'bout me?"

Akiko stood up straight and looked at Lancer. "I though you hated being identified as that."

"Normally, yes. But I'll make an exception this time."

"Well, since you asked, no you're not cute like a puppy," Akiko replied. Lancer momentarily looked disappointed, that is until Akiko continued. She leaned over to his ear so she could whisper into it. "If you were cute like a puppy, I'd baby you. Not fuck you." She moved back. "We should move on before this coversation gets more graphic and someone hears us."

After seeing dozens of other types of animals, Akiko and Lancer found themselves back at the front of the zoo, having gone all the way around it. As promised, Akiko led Lancer into the gift shop.

"Get anything you want from here," Akiko told Lancer. But as she looked around at the gift shop's inventory, she realized it was mostly stuffed animals and things meant for little kids. No way Lancer would want any of that. But maybe he would want a bag of candy, to see what sweets in the modern era taste like. They were walking from one end of the shop to the other, Akiko giving Lancer a chance to see what was available for purchase. He walked right behind her, keeping the pace of his steps even with her's.

Once they passed a shelf of stuffed animals, Lancer stopped. Akiko, noticing the man behind her halting, stood still as well. She looked back over her shoulder. "Lancer, what's wrong?"

Lancer wasn't meeting her eyes. His attention was elsewhere, the Servant trying to look disinterested. Akiko followed his gaze...to a wolf doll!

'Oh. My. God...' Akiko thought initially. Then her face heated up. Was she blushing? She shook her head. 'I'm probably imagining that he wants that doll. It might have just gotten his attention is all.' But then she went back to what her first thoughts were when Lancer walked over to the shelf with the doll, staring down at it. He was still trying to look disinterested, but his facade was slipping. He picked the doll up and looked it all over. "Umm, Lancer..?"

"What about getting this one?"

That was it. Now Akiko's head was filled with her imagining Lancer playing around with the doll, talking to it, and snuggling up in the futon with it. And those images are what destroyed Akiko's mind.

Lancer glanced back at his Master. She was opening and closing her mouth like a fish, eyes wide and mouthing "oh my god!" over and over. "Is something wrong. Accordin' to the tag, the money from purchasin' this will go to preserving the wildlife."

Akiko looked to have just been slapped back into reality. "Y-Yeah...Protecting the wildlife...Sure, I'll buy it for that reason..."

Lancer looked slightly mad. "Is there somethin' wrong with me wantin' this?!"

"N-No! I just thought...a grown man wouldn't have any interest in such things, much less someone like you..!"

"Hey, this animal happens to be one that can tear out yer throat!"

"Nothing wrong with it. I did say I'd buy you whatever you wanted from the store." She took the doll from Lancer to pay for it so she wouldn't get as weird of a look from the cashier. The doll was a fluffy, light-grey wolf and its black marble-like eyes were staring at Akiko.

When the doll was being paid for, the cashier didn't say anything. But the entire time, she was shooting quick glances at Akiko and Lancer. The two weren't exactly speaking quietly. The cashier put the doll in a plastic shopping bag and handed the bag to Akiko. "Have a nice day!"

Akiko could tell the woman was trying her hardest not to burst out laughing. To be honest, Akiko was trying not to as well. "Thank you! Have a nice day as well!" she said back to the cashier with a smile.

She went over to Lancer. "Let's leave now."

"Why? I wanna see what else is available."

"I wanna go before things get even more awkward."

"Why would things be awkward now?"

Akiko didn't reply, just grabbed Lancer's wrist with the hand not holding the bag and pulled him out of the gift shop exit out of the zoo. It was past noon now, and Akiko was getting hungry. "Let's stop somewhere and get something to eat."

They ended up stopping at a fast-food place. Akiko had a burger, fries, and a bottle of water. Lancer had breaded chicken, was sharing Akiko's fries, and also got a bottle of water, unsure if any other drinks in the modern era would taste any good to him. The two sat at a small table across from each other in the place.

As soon as Akiko grabbed a fry, Lancer leaned over and enveloped the piece of food and the tips of Akiko's fingers in his mouth

"The hell?! I was gonna eat that!" Akiko protested. Lancer didn't say anything back right away, just licked Akiko's fingers clean of salt.

He grinned. "I thought we were gonna split the fries."

"We are, but I didn't say you could eat all my food!"

"It was just one fry!" he countered.

"I bet if it was a hotdog, you wouldn't think of touching it..."

"Will ya leave me alone with that?!"

"Perhaps when I can stop thinking back to it and wanting to laugh at you."

Afterward, Lancer took every chance that presented itself to steal bites of food from Akiko and annoy her. He did enjoy seeing her face turn red as she got worked up. Her cheeks would puff out, which the Servant found to be adorable. Once they were done eating, both of them went back to Shirou's house. Akiko planned to put the bag containing the doll in her and Lancer's room. When she entered the room, she set the bag down on the futon and went to find her duffel bag. When she did, she pulled a black bikini out of it.

When she turned around to exit the room, she spotted Lancer at the futon. He had pulled the plushie out of the bag and was murmuring something to it. Akiko couldn't make out the words, but judging by Lancer's happy face, it was probably something cutsie.

Akiko just stared at him with a blank expression. "Y'know, my impression of you that I got from Bazett is slowly being shattered..."

"Hmm?" Lancer sat the doll back down on the futon. "Is there somethin' wrong with this?"

Akiko sighed. "Not really, taking into consideration that you're not from this era, but still," she picked up the doll and placed it in her duffel bag, out of sight from anyone except those really looking in the room, "I recommend that you play with the doll out of sight from anyone except me."

"Why?"

"Trust me, just do what I say." With that, Akiko left the room. Lancer scratched the back of his head, trying to come up with an answer as to why he shouldn't play with the plushie with others around. He eventually gave up trying to come up with an answer - it was hurting his head - and followed Akiko. She went into the bathroom. It still smelled of oils and soaps from the bath being used last night.

Akiko opened up a closet with a sliding bamboo door. "Y'know, you haven't really used the bath, have you?"

"No. The mana expelled from us changin' clothes removes any dirt that may have clung to us. An' since our bodies don't react to temperature changes, we don't sweat heavily," Lancer replied matter-of-factually.

Akiko pulled out two towels and slid the door to the closet shut. "But it still feels good. Plus, despite you combing your hair every day, it's getting more and more knotted. One of these days, I'll wash your hair and get it soft again."

"You said 'one of these days'. So why are we in the bathroom now if not to bathe?"

"I've got one more place planned to take you to," Akiko replied. "I planned on going to the pool during this War, so I packed my bikini. But we're going to have to make a stop at the store to buy you swim trunks."

"So we're goin' to the pool next?"

"Hm? I there something wrong with that? Can you not swim?"

"No, I can swim just fine. It's just...I've never been to a public pool before."

Akiko started to head out of the bathroom with the towels. "I know that. I'm trying to let you experience as much of this city as you can before the War's done."

She led Lancer to the commercial district to buy a pair of swim trunks for the man at a store. Then she led him to a nearby indoor pool. After Akiko payed the fee for both of them, the two went into separate locker rooms to get changed.

"You can dematerialize your clothes and put on the swim trunks in the men's locker room," Akiko had told Lancer before she payed for them to get in. "And don't follow me into the women's locker room. That's a good way for you to get slapped, punched in the face, and/or kicked in the nuts."

"Yeah, yeah. I know what to do. You don't have to treat me like a little kid."

"Well, ever since the hotdog thing, I'm not always 100% sure what common sense the Grail implanted in you."

Once Akiko was done changing into her bikini, she walked out of the locker room into the room with the pool, holding both towels in one arm. She saw that Lancer was already done changing. He was standing at the edge of the pool, looking into the crystal-clear water. His hair was out of its confines, the long, blue stands trailing down the man's back and he wore only his yellow-and-orange swim trunks. Akiko went over to the Servant's left side and glanced at him. "Aren't you gonna get in?"

"Soon I will," Lancer replied, only glancing at her.

Akiko's eyes flicked to the water and back to Lancer. An idea that Lancer won't like formed in her head. She took a step back.

"I'll get our towels laid out."

"Fine."

However, instead of doing what she said she would, Akiko raised both hands to her chest, palms out and ready to shove. She was standing right behind her Servant's turned back. Lancer didn't turn around and see what Akiko was up to. Or maybe he did know, but wasn't doing anything to stop his Master.

Akiko's hands sprung out, her palms flattening on the skin of Lancer's back when her arms were half-extended. She completed her shoving of her Servant and the man was left flailing his arms out as the surface of the water came closer and closer to his face.

"What the fu -?!" He didn't get to finish his sentence as his body made contact with the water. Water splashed onto Akiko as the spearman's full weight went onto the water. But she didn't care. Lancer, who had submerged completely underwater, had his head come up out to the water first, then his chest down to the top of his stomach. His eyes were screwed shut and he spat out a mouthful of water.

Akiko giggled and crouched down by the edge. She was sitting back on her heels with her knees bent and the palms of her hands resting on her knees. She was staring at Lancer with a large grin on her face. "How's the water?"

Lancer pushed a soggy clump of blue hair sticking to his face back, glaring at the mage. "What was that for?!"

"Oh, come on! You have to admit you were asking for it by standing near the water! I couldn't not take advantage of the perfect opportunity to do that!"

Lancer didn't reply. He just looked totally angry at himself for letting his guard down like that.

"Aw, what's wrong? Still angry? I still can't believe that worked! How distracted were you that I was able to do that to you?"

"Hardy har har," Lancer said, not sharing his Master's amusement at all. He was near where Akiko was crouching. All he had to do was move forward one step and he was face-to-face with her. "Let's see how you like it!"

"What the -?!" Akiko exclaimed as Lancer's hands shot out of the water and his finger closed around both of her wrists. "What are you -?!"

She was interrupted as Lancer yanked her wrists and Akiko went face-first into the water. Her nose stung as water rushed into her nostrals. Her face broke through the surface of the water less than a second after she had been pulled in, spitting out water and gasping for air.

Now it was Lancer's turn to bark out laughing. "Revenge!"

Akiko had caught her breath at this point. The top of the water was lapping at the bottom of the top half of her bikini. Clumps of hair clung to her face, making her look like the girl from The Ring. She fixed her smoldering glare on Lancer, staying silent as he continued to laugh heartily. She was about to lash out at Lancer for this. The water was cold since her body hadn't gotten used to it yet. Goosebumps covered both her arms and her legs. Lancer most likely felt the cold from the water, too, but his body wasn't reacting to it.

Then she sighed. Now that she thought about it, she did deserve it. "Fine, fine. Get it all out."

The two ended up spending several hours in the pool. By the time they dried themselves off and changed, it was already time to go to work.

"We'd better get to the cafe before Mr. Igarashi loses it on us for being late," Akiko said. She glanced at Lancer, who was behind her. "Did you enjoy yourself today?"

"Sure did," the man replied, following close behind Akiko. Even though night had not yet fallen, it was close enough that there was a good chance for his Master to be attacked.

"Good."

[End OST]

The two went to work and made it back to the house without any incident. The other two pairs were already in the house and hanging around by the T.V. Rin looked back first to see Akiko and Lancer. "About time you two came back. How was your date?"

Akiko was silent for a moment. How did Rin know about that? Then it dawned on her that Shirou must have told her. "Fine. So do you have a plan for what we should do next?"

"Um, while you two are chatting, I need to check up on something in our room," Lancer said, quickly backing out of the kitchen. Akiko figured Lancer means that he wants to see if the plushie was still where it was left, or if Archer had snuck into their room, found it, and decided to hide it in order to tease the spearman.

"Don't take too long. Dinner will be ready soon," Shirou shouted after him. He was behind the counter, cooking something to eat. Rin stood up and walked over to Akiko.

"I can't believe you took Lancer out on a date," Rin whispered in the mage's ear. "But I guess it does make sense. At first, I honestly didn't see why you would be attracted to him. I mean, yeah he's good-looking, but he's a creep. However, I eventually got to know the side of him you see. Like you, he does whatever the hell he wants regardless of the wishes of others. And no matter how much the odds seem to be against him, he doesn't give up. And you really admire that about him, don't you?"

Akiko blushed and was about to protest. But Rin did have a point. She found it hot when Lancer would continue fighting, despite being pushed into a corner. And it was also hot of him to take an attack meant for the Master.

"Don't try to read into what I'm feeling," Akiko replied. "Anyway, you didn't answer my question. What's our plan?"

"I'll tell you guys when we eat."

About 10 minutes later, dinner was served. By then, Lancer had already returned.

[Midnight Interval]

Rin spoke up first, breaking the silence that had been created. "It seems we should worry about taking this mysterious killer first before we can worry about Berserker."

"Yeah, but the bigger question is where we can find it," Akiko pointed out. "It's not like we have any leads."

"We know it targets mages, right?"

"Well, we did. But I have a feeling Mitsuzuri was talking about the killer. And if she was, attacking the archery club breaks its pattern of only going after mages," Akiko pointed out. Rin stayed silent, but it went unnoticed by everyone else.

"Maybe it did that to throw us off," Saber suggested.

"Yeah, but if that's what it was aiming for, the victims would have been a mix of mages and normal humans," Akiko said. "Could it have been after something?"

"But what?" Saber asked. "As you pointed out, there were no mages in the archery club. What could it have gained by attacking them?"

Archer put a hand to his chin, thinking. "Perhaps there was in fact a mage in the archery club, but we don't know who that person is yet. After all, five Masters are from the same school."

Akiko glanced at Shirou. "You used to be in the archery club. Do you know of any people you suspect of being a mage?"

"How would I know that? Do mages have any defining traits?"

"Yes. Most mages carry the scent of blood on them. Do you recall anyone fitting that description?"

"No," Shirou replied. "But then again, I didn't pay close attention to anyone's scent. And new people have joined the club after I left."

[End OST]

"Perhaps we should revisit the question in the morning," Saber said.

"Good call. My head is starting to hurt," Shirou added.

"Fiiine," Rin relented. "We'll continue this tomorrow."

Later, Rin and Akiko were studying in their respective rooms. Shirou was putting dirty clothes away. This left the three Servants alone in the kitchen.

"Now that we are alone, I believe that it is time for us to discuss a large issue," Saber said.

"What's the issue?" Lancer asked.

"About our reasons for wanting the Grail." Saber faced Archer. "Archer, what do you wish for the Holy Grail to grant?"

"...That is something I do not wish to divulge."

Saber cocked her head. "How will we know what worth your wish is if you will not speak of it?"

Lancer sighed. "Just like with yer true name, yer keepin' us in the loop with this, bowman." He still couldn't figure out why Archer's is the class he's in, and it frustrated Lancer to no end.

Archer just looked at him from the corners of his eyes. "Like my true name, this is something personal. I should be able to keep them secret."

Saber sighed. "I did not think it would be easy."

Archer looked at her next. "Then are you willing to tell us what your wish is should you win the Grail?"

Saber nodded. "Of course I do, for my wish isn't a selfish one, as I am sure most of the other Servants had. I wish to save my homeland, to save Britain."

"Why? Britain is fine," Lancer pointed out.

"True, it is right now. But not in my time. Under my rule, Britain was conquered and fell."

Lancer rested his chin in one palm. "So yer wish is to keep that from happenin'?"

Saber shook her head. "No, that will not be good enough. Even should the Grail keep them from succeeding that time, they could still do it the next."

"So how are ya gonna keep it from happenin' then?"

"I will wish for someone else to become king instead."

"Hold on," Archer said. "If you do that, you'll be erasing everything you achieved in life."

"Not to mention you'll be erasin' the reason your people died," Lancer added. He was fine with her wanting to change the way Britain turned out happened, but not her changing things going back that far!

Saber looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"Those people fought an' bled an' died fer the Britain you ruled!"

"It was my fault they died! But this way I can correct that mistake!"

"Mistake?! Are ya callin' what they fought fer a mistake?!"

"It was not worth it if what they fought to protect ended up falling in the end."

Lancer took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Babying yer people even after death..." If they die for a cause, then they should be able to. She did her best to keep them from doing that! And it made him want to puke.

She didn't hear him, or at least pretended not to, and was staring at the demigod. "Cu Chulainn, you are in this War to obtain the Holy Grail. Let us hear your wish then."

Lancer closed his eyes and gave a small smile. "The Grail? I have no real desire fer it."

Saber looked surprised. Archer only glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "No desire?! Then why are you participating in this War?!"

"I just want to fight is all. But as my Master desires the Holy Grail, I will help her win it at any cost." He opened his eyes. "There was a good list of promises I broke in my first life. I want to at least keep the vow to her I made when I was summoned, to be her sword."

Saber sighed angrily. "You only wish to fight? Then you are no more than a common savage, a barbarian that takes pleasure in the suffering of others."

"Hey! I don't fight without reason!" Lancer exclaimed. "In my first life, I fought fer Ulster! Now, I fight fer Akiko!"

"Say what you will, but you enjoy taking lives. Not saving them."

"Yer a hypocrite! You went out on the battlefield several times in yer first life an' took countless lives!"

"But I did not enjoy it!" Saber shouted back. The two had leaned forward so that they were snarling in each other's faces.

"An' yer sayin' I did?!"

"Of course I am! Isn't that why you constantly took the front lines in battle?!"

"All of us fightin' fer Ulster knew I was the best fighter! So of course I was often the vanguard! An' ya fought in the front lines as well!"

"That was to fight off those who would threaten my kingdom!"

"Isn't that why any warrior fights?! To protect their homeland?!"

"That would be the ideal reason! You claim to have been fighting for Ulster, but I bet some of it was for your own self-gratification!"

"Maybe it was, an' maybe it wasn't! What of it?!"

"If it was, that makes you nothing more than a beast, hungry for blood! Like when you tried to kill Shirou!"

"I was followin' rules!"

"How long will you use that as an excuse?!"

"What?!"

"You could have ignored him, but you hunted him down anyway! You just wanted human blood on your spear for the first time since you've been summoned!"

"Yer wrong! I - " She was totally wrong about that! She was wrong! She was wrong was wrong was wrong was wrong...

"You would even take the lives of your best friend and son for just the pleasure of spilling fresh blood!"

Lancer growled dangerously and looked at Saber like he would an enemy. "You've just crossed the line, lady!" His right hand went back and Gae Bolg materialized in it. He was gripping it so hard that blood dripped from his palm to the floor. "Don't pretend ya know what was goin' through my mind durin' those two times!" He was baring his fangs. He actually looked like he was going to attack Saber. Archer grabbed him before he did.

"Both of you, calm down! Lancer, maybe you should go to another room to cool down."

"Hmph!" Lancer stood up and dematerialized Gae Bolg, heading for the door with his hands in the pockets of his pants. He grabbed the handle of the door and yanked it open. He glared back at Saber. "Don't erase the reason yer men died!" With those words, he went through the door and slammed it shut behind him. He made a beeline for his and Akiko's room, grumbling "What a cunt!" the whole way. He threw the door to the room open, making Akiko jump and snap her head in his direction. The book she was reading ended up hitting the floor.

"Goddamn it!" he shouted.

"Whoa! Hey, what's wrong?!" Akiko demanded. Lancer just growled something under his breath, glaring out the doorway before yanking the bedroom door shut behind him, hard enough that Akiko was afraid the man would break it off.

"Damn that Saber!" he snarled as he went over to the futon, plopping down at the center of it and rubbing his temples with both hands. Akiko hesitated, unsure if she should talk to the demigod while he's like this, but decided to in the end.

"Did something happen?"

Lancer released a heavy sigh, still rubbing his temples. "It's nothin'."

"Don't lie to me. I can tell something's troubling you. Does it have something to do with Saber?" Akiko remembered the warrior cursing the other Servant when he stormed in here.

"Okay, fine. Saber just got to me is all."

Akiko dared to get near him, sitting down right next to the man on his right and placing her left hand on his shoulder, Luckily, Lancer didn't try to pull away as the mage thought he was angry enough to do. Instead, his tense shoulders relaxed and slumped. "Did she say something to offend you?"

"Well, both of us were arguin' about my reason fer wantin' the Grail. She probably wanted to get a big reaction from me to even out what I was sayin' to her. An' also what I said about her wish probably played a part. Anyway, she said I only killed Ferdiad an' Connla to sate my thirst fer blood. That pushed my buttons big time an' Archer broke us up 'fore things could get ugly."

"Do you want me to break the alliance with Tohsaka and Emiya so you don't have to be friendly with Saber?"

"No. Both of us were at fault. We'll probably avoid each other, but we shouldn't call off the alliance. This was only one incident, after all. An' we still have to take care of Berserker. We'll need all three of us Servants together fer that."

Akiko leaned over and planted a kiss on Lancer's right cheek. "Well, if you say so. But if you ever want the alliance to end, just tell me."

Lancer breathed out heavily, calming himself down. "Thanks, Akiko."

[1] Question that keeps coming up in Tales of Berseria. I took it. Sue me. But it's a question that can make you think hard for an answer.