Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night nor anything of the Fate series. Mordred as Berserker would be canon if I did.
KingofBeasts Productions Present:
Clarent Blood Arthur: A Fate/Stay Night Fanfiction
Chapter 6: Delacroix
"Shirou…Oi, Shirou!"
"Eh?" The red-headed Emiya turned to Issei, whose bespectacled face wore an understandable frown as the megane greeted him as he entered their classroom in room 2-C.
"It seems like you didn't hear me. Completely understandable since you've been spacing out again." Issei said with a twinge of exasperation in his voice.
"Sorry about that, Issei." Shirou chuckled sheepishly as his thoughts indeed wandered, mostly to what Father Kotomine had told him yesterday about the Grail War and how people would kill just to have their wish come true.
"I'm not going to let people die on my watch." the red-head thought grimly, steeling his determination as he was unable to bear the idea of people getting killed while he could do something about it.
No, he certainly won't let a calamity like the Great Fuyuki Fire happen again.
"Well, get your head out of the clouds will you?" The megane sighed as he shook crossed his arms and shook his head in dismay, still a little freaked out by the fact that he was hanging out with his archnemesis, Rin Tohsaka, who he agreed to meet at lunch.
"Since when did that begin, anyway?" the red-head's thoughts absent-mindedly hopped aboard that particular train. He had always known that his friend, the monk-in-training, was not particularly fond of the blackette school idol since their junior high days. Now that he got to know her better, he sort of understood why.
"I'll be sure to ask him someday." Shirou took a mental note as he took his seat. It was a few minutes later that their homeroom teacher Taiga Fujimura entered with her usual overflowing enthusiasm, though tempered slightly in order to act as a proper teacher.
"We're going to have an exchange student from a boarding school in France who will be with us for the next week." She begins the morning announcements in her usual jovial manner after the morning greeting "I'd like you to give her all a warm welcome!"
As if on cue, the new student waltzed right in. No, that was not correct; the girl, who seemed was just around Shirou's age, moved so gracefully, her long, braided strands of golden blonde hair trailing after her as if she floated into the room.
As she took the time to write her name on the board, Shirou noticed that most of the males in his class were captivated by this foreign lady. Hell, he couldn't blame them; he was struggling not to get lost in those deep purple eyes and her petite the moment she turned to face the class. Her height was just around Saber's, yet her robust frame did not betray her modest appearance. The only noticable accessory she wore was the silver cross around her neck.
"Good morning." Her soft lips curled into a feminine smile that caused Shinji Matou's heart to stop as she spoke in almost flawless Japanese. "My name is Leticia Chevalier Delacroix. I look forward to spending the week with all of you."
"Morimoto-san! Are you alright?"
The old butler known as Daigoro Morimoto shook himself out of his reverie, quickly realizing what had happened; for a mere split second, he lost all feeling on his right arm and, as a result, dropped the teacup he had been polishing. He sighed as he looked at the shattered pearl-white fragments on the floor, then turned to see Sella looking at him with some measure of concern.
"Dear me." The old butler chuckled as he knelt to examine the porcelain shards "It seems I had lost touch with reality for a brief second there. My apologies, Miss Sella. A shame, ojou-sama was particularly fond of this cup."
"I suppose it cannot be helped." The homunculus maid sighed, but nevertheless kept a wary gaze at the butler. He was usually functioned with poise and grace, so seeing him commit such a simple mistake was odd.
Then again, no one was perfect.
"I shall go sweep this up." She said just as she stopped Morimoto from doing the deed himself "You should rest for now. I can imagine that going against a Servant has taken a toll on your body."
"Heh...I suppose you are correct, Miss Sella." The butler nodded before turning on his heel to depart "I shall take my leave now. I trust that you can take care of this."
After hearing her affirmation, he began to walk down the pristine hallways to his quarters.
"She has gotten the general idea, more or less." Morimoto smiled ruefully as he glanced at his right arm, which still felt as heavy as lead "But the scope of how daunting the task was is beyond her scope."
He suppose he had himself to blame; attempting combat with a Servant is tantamount to death for most mortals. He was only able to do so due to the power of his Mystic Code, which endowed him with the strength to have some semblance of a match with Archer.
But, alas, he had grown old. It had been seventy long years since his Grail War, and as such, he was already long past his prime. Even now he could feel the clock winding down, telling him that he did not have long left.
Still, he was not going to give up. He still had to uphold everything she stood for, and to fulfill her most fervent wish: To prevent the bloodshed from these wars from ever happening again.
"Just wait for me..." He said as he slowly clenched his fist "I'm almost done."
"Achoo!"
Leticia lurched forward from that rather hard sneeze. While she was able to regain her footing at the very last moment, the same cannot be said for her bento, and the unfortunate person it's contents flew into.
"Goodness!" The tawny blonde said in astonishment as she gazed at Issei Ryuudou, his uniform stained by bits of pasta and white sauce "I-I'm sorry, Ryuudou-san!" She said apologetically "I should've seen where I was going! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." He sighed as he looked down at his uniform "Though this will take a while to wash off..." At the side, Shirou and Rin (both of whom were on their way to the roof top) were trying to contain their laughter.
"Um...how about I make it up to you some how?" The blonde said, eager to make up for her folly "Oh, I know! I'll buy something in the cafeteria! My treat!"
"No it's okay, rea-"
"But I insist!"
Leticia instantly grabbed the sleeve of Issei's uniform, the bespectacled man helplessly getting dragged towards the cafeteria. He looked helplessly at Shirou's location as if to beg for help, but found that he and Rin were already long gone.
"Must have gone with that witch, no doubt." He inwardly groaned before turning to Leticia, who was smiling rather radiantly causing him to blush slightly "Still, it's not all that bad..."
The red-headed Emiya could not help but chuckle as he watched his friend get dragged along against his will. After he and Rin reached the roof, he soon turned to address the Tohsaka magus "You wished to speak to me, Tohsaka?"
"Yes. About two things, actually." Rin nodded, crossing her arms as she paused to collect her thoughts. Her green eyes glanced to the side as she finally spoke "First, what are you planning to do after school?"
"Eh?" Shirou raised a brow at this statement, wondering where this came from "I suppose I'll help the Student Council if they need it. Otherwise, I'll go to work like I always do."
At that, Rin just facepalmed.
"Um...is there something wrong?"
"It's just that you're an inexperienced magus." Rin said with much exasperation "So inexperienced that you failed to notice the boundary field around the school, which brings me to the second item on my list."
"Boundary Field?"
Rin nodded as her expression turned serious "I'm sure you felt it too? The feeling as if the air became too thick to breathe in, as if you were shocked through the heart?"
Shirou nodded, his expression turning to one of shock as he quickly put two and two together.
"I suspected as much." The brunette said in a straight, to-the-point tone that showed that she was not kidding around. "Someone- a Master, no doubt- set up a Bounded Field in an area surrounding this school. And if we don't do something about it, it'll drain the souls of anyone in the vicinity, effectively killing them."
"What?!" Shirou, his voice raised due to his shock, clenched his fists in anger "We have to do something!"
"Easy, Emiya-kun." Rin chuckled at her rather enthusiastic ally, grateful that he knew how serious this was "We can take measures to at least delay it's activation until the Master is defeated."
"How?" He dared to ask, but as soon as he did, the bell rang to signal the end of the break.
"Meet me here after school, Emiya-kun." Rin said as she went down the stairs with a smile "We can talk then!"
Just like that, Rin had gone ahead of him. Shirou shrugged as he immediately followed, having no idea just what he was in for.
"How was your day at school, milady?"
Leticia Chevalier Delacroix, who had been standing alone on the school's roof top just as classes had ended, turned to see her two companions, who she addresses in public as "G" and "L", knelt on one knee as they addressed their mistress. They each wore crisp, black suits that made them look akin to refined gentlemen.
"It was well. I was able to apologize to Ryuudou-san for the earlier incident too." The blonde girl, whose long, silky hair was tied in a single braid, giggled as she remembered the event "It would have been better if this Bounded Field was not so bothersome."
"It cannot be helped." L, the one whose long, black hair was tied in a ponytail, spoke in a stoic manner "The Master must be quite desperate to resort to such a crude method."
"Indeed. It goes to show that not every Master has is of noble heart" G, whose blonde hair shone as bright as the setting sun behind them, agreed with his compatriot before addressing his mistress "And what of the Servants? Are there any within the vicinity?"
"Yes, I can sense them. Two of them, in fact." Leticia nodded to affirm his query "Rider and Archer are present in this school- wait." closed her eyes for a brief moment, as if to meditate, before opening them once more "Another one approaches."
"Which one is it?" L was quick to ask "Is it Saber?"
"Nay." The blonde girl shook her head, her lips curving into a faint smile upon seeing the man's eagerness. Fitting, considering his identity "It is the Servant Berserker. It seems the Einzbern Magus is making an aggressive move on her opponents."
"I see..." The black-haired man nodded, giving G the opening to speak.
"What shall we do now, Master?" he asked.
"Unless it is absolutely necessary, we do not interfere." Leticia turned to face the setting sun, a small smile showing in her delicate features as if she was giving of an air of regalty "For now, we are but mere spectators in a most interesting Grail War."
End Chapter 6
A/N: WHEW THAT TOOK ME A WHILE!
Well, ladies and gentlemen, we finally have a proper (albeit shorter) Chapter 6 for Clarent! Actually, it's more like Chapter 5 split into two parts, but still! I'm genuinely humbled; I didn't think this fanfic would be read that much! Thank you all for your continued support!
Anyway, I really don't have much to say here, other than kindly leave a review when you're done reading. It helps a writer like me to receive feedback from his readers. Okay, now that I'm done showboating, I'll leave Saber to wrap it up!
Saber: *sighs* Next time on Clarent Blood Arthur: All for her Glory!