Bleach Zero: Strawberry and the Red Knight (english version)

by silabc55

Having defeated Aizen, Ichigo Kurosaki enjoyed 17 months of peace without his powers of Shinigami, but one day, he and his friends were drawn into a new war in another world alongside a certain tomboyish, hot-tempered knight as partner-in-arms, and they will have no choice but to participate in it if they want to return to their world. Can they survive this?

9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Last preparations

22/11/2021

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Sunset was not one of Kon's favorite hobbies. It wasn't that he didn't like them at all, since he had nothing else to do since they returned to the hotel a few hours ago since they signed an alliance with another inferior Master that could give Ichigo an advantage for the next few nights. He was on top of the windowsill watching through the window the sun setting between the buildings and skyscrapers of Fuyuki. It seemed a spectacular sight to the Mod soul were it not for the numerous human constructions that obstructed its vision.

He didn't know why, but he felt like tonight was going to be a long one. Sure, since in the following nights the first fights between spiritual beings similar to the Shinigami and Arrancars known as Servants were going to take place. Kon wondered how powerful the so-called Heroic Spirits are since they are entities that surpassed humanity like the Shinigami and the Arrancars, and he also wondered if Ichigo could have dealt with any of them if he hadn't lost his Shinigami powers.

Even seeing Mordred in action when she fought against that simple hollow was not enough to see how far she could go, since hollows are not big deal, and he himself could have defeated it without problems (if he had still been in Ichigo's body).

Kon couldn't help frowning at that last thought. He really wanted to infiltrate and take over Ichigo's body for a season and do whatever he wanted with it like wandering around and traveling long distances, including eating any food in the world like a glutton, all without feeling like a more dwarf inside this damned body of cotton. He could have also helped the orange haired idiot in his new fight, but he had to screw it up beforehand when he lost his powers by defeating Aizen.

What was the point of him being here?

With a sigh, Kon stopped watching the sunset and steps off the windowsill to join his companions sitting in the living room of Uryū and Orihime's room.

There, the rest of our protagonists were having a bad time sitting around the room. All dressed in newly bought clothes. Ichigo wore a red shirt and black pants with matching black shoes, and finally an equally black jacket as part of his outfit (Saber Prototype's casual outfit) Uryū wore a yellow shirt and a zipped jacket and pants with its characteristic favorite white color. Orihime in a white shirt, a brown leather jacket, and a long skirt that reaches her knees.

Ichigo was sitting alone in an armchair with Mordred standing next to him, while Uryū and Orihime were sitting together on a sofa a little to the left of where Ichigo was. Since returning to the hotel, Ichigo and company had started planning their plans for tonight after making their temporary alliance with Rider and his Master, but what they were missing now was for Kisuke to return and tell him what they had done. It was thus that they had begun to wait for him to return from where he was, and the hours flew by since they began.

The whole room was absolute silence since they began their excruciating wait, and the only thing that could be heard was the sound of the clock ticking.

The whole damn waiting was unbearable for the Master of the other world just to wait for the arrival of that damn shopkeeper of sweets or something, and it was already starting to overwhelm him.

"Geez, how long is that old in sandals going to keep us waiting?" Kon said with a small sigh.

Ichigo didn't respond to that as he was equally exasperated by the delay.

"Do you think something happened to him?" Orihime asked with concern, breaking the silence with her soft voice.

"I don't think something happened to Urahara-san." Ishida assured to reassure Orihime. Although he couldn't confirm it, Ishida also didn't know for sure the former Shinigami captain's current status.

While Kisuke Urahara is a good warrior like any Shinigami captain full of all kinds of tricks and tricks up his sleeve, but he also could not tell if he was capable of fighting against magi or Servants and much less in a terrain that he did not yet know. Speaking of the terrain. There was something that had worried the Quincy since he had learned about this world, and it was that there was no trace of reishi here as in his world, which would pose a serious problem.

Shinigamis could only depend on reishi to a limited extent to perform Hohō-based techniques like Shunpo.

However, the Quincys depend to a greater extent on this source of energy to make reiryouku weapons such as the bow and arrow and to be able to perform a Hirenkyaku.

In other words, without the reishi, Uryū is completely useless now.

"Bah, I don't think it is necessary to wait for that guy." Mordred said impatiently in her voice. "We can start whenever we want."

"Yes, but we need-

Touch!

Touch!

Touch!

"Hello? Are you guys back already?"

Immediately, everyone recognized the jovial voice of the old shopkeeper.

"Tch, about time." Ichigo growled impatiently. Mordred agreed with that.

Not long after, Uryū was the first to open the door for the former captain who entered the room with a woolen bag in his right hand and his typical jovial air addressing the other teenagers.

"Yo, I hope you enjoyed your ride in-

"Yeah, just like we have enjoyed our stay sitting in this damn chair waiting for you to come back." Ichigo snapped unhappy, earning a laugh from the shopkeeper.

"Sorry for being late, but Fuyuki is quite a big city and I had to explore it in the background to get to know it better." Urahara apologized gaining listless looks from the Master and his Servant. Taking the hint, the shopkeeper decided to change the subject.

"Well, how did you guys go?" He asked curiously towards the teenagers. "Has something interesting come up?"

That was how another time happened as the adolescents related to Urahara everything they did during his absence, and he listened to each word with interest until they finished.

"I see, so you've made contact with one of the Masters and made an alliance, haven't you?" Urahara reviewed while he was sitting in an armchair in front of Ichigo.

"Yes, they accepted our proposal without problems and have said that we will meet at 23:00 under the Fuyuki Bridge." Ishida replied (sitting next to Orihime again)

Urahara nodded at that, although there were still doubts in his head.

"But are you sure what you did was wise?" He asked seriously. "I know alliances are allowed in a pinch, but they will likely take advantage of you."

"Yeah, but at least we can take advantage of them too." Ishida replied. "As I said, the Rider's Master, Waver Velvet is still a student and doesn't seem to be very confident himself."

"Well, and I suppose finding out Rider's real name would also give us an advantage." Urahara added.

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asked not understanding what the shopkeeper had just said.

Suddenly, Urahara's serious expression was replaced by childish confusion, and she blinked her eyes in response.

"What? You mean you don't know yet?" Urahara asked with slight confusion. The teenagers just looked at him without understanding, and the latter sighed before explaining to them.

"You see, it is vitally important that, under no circumstances, the Servant should not reveal his true identity to the enemy so that the latter cannot discover the information and use it against him."

"I still don't understand it. Why will we at a disadvantage if the enemy only discovers the name?" Ichigo asked not understanding the seriousness of the situation, prompting Mordred to sigh again.

"Apparently, both Masters and Servants have the ability to read their enemies' statistics and fighting skills, know their strengths and weaknesses, so they can take advantage of them to their advantage." Urahara began to explain again. "To do this, it is necessary to discover the name of the Servant enemy or seeing an object closely related to him. The Throne of Heroes where the Heroic Spirits come is not only a dimensional warehouse where the souls of said spirits are deposited, but at the same time it is also like a large data warehouse where much of the information of each Heroic Spirit is stored who reside there. In those files, you can read and know additional information about much of the life of the Heroic Spirit, the exploits and the struggles they performed. You can also read their combat stats and see both their strengths and weaknesses.

Even here, Servants have a link to the Throne of Heroes and access the enemy's information if the latter reveals his name. Apparently the Masters also have a link to the Throne and know additional information."

Ichigo and the others absorbed the information and let it settle on their heads.

"While, what Rider did was very reckless and could cost him dearly, but since apparently you couldn't read his information, it could be said that he was lucky." Urahara finished with his typical humorous smile.

"I wouldn't say that." Mordred said sarcastically. "Even though my Master cannot read his stats, I have been able to do so, and I will be able to use that to my advantage."

"Oh, that reminds me of something." Urahara added suddenly drawing the attention of the others and looked at Ichigo. "I think you made a big mistake too, Kurosaki-san."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked a bit annoyed by the blond Shinigami's tone.

Instead of answering, the shopkeeper chuckled as he debated whether he should tell the orange-haired Master the mistake he made even with the risk of becoming the target of the blonde Servant's anger.

"Do you remember what happened before we left the church?" He started looking at Ichigo. "Tokiomi, one of the enemy Masters asked you to only tell him your Servant's class and not her identity. But in the end, you ended up revealing her name and now he's got the information."

Suddenly, Ichigo's scowl disappeared and was replaced by a tense face as he recalled the last moments in that church after making his decision to enter the war. He remembered that Tokiomi had only asked them to tell him the class of his Servant to confirm if there would be 2 of the same class.

Urahara was the first to reply that she was a Saber, but Ichigo ...

Wait a minute!

Ichigo had revealed his Servant's name to him.

Wait, that means...!

"WHAT!? WHAT DID YOU DO WHAT...!?"

Oh shit!

Ichigo reacted out of sheer instinct fearing for his life to immediately get up from his seat, but it was too late when the blonde grabbed him by his jacket and forced him to look at her face framed with a mixture of surprise and rage. But mostly morderous anger. Ichigo froze instantly.

"Is that what they were talking about in there? Did you really dare to reveal my NAME to one of our enemies? Do you realize what you've done, asshole!?"

Ichigo said nothing as he continued to stare in fear for his own life at a furious Mordred whose gaze promised murder. For a moment it reminded him of Ganju's older sister. The others also looked at him in the same way and none dared to intervene. Meanwhile, Urahara hid his smile behind his fan.

"Moron, how could you screw it up by revealing my identity to the enemy, huh? Don't you realize we're really SCREWED now!?"

"S-shut up! Why are you blaming me? I didn't know about all that. If you want to blame someone, throw it on that imbecile for not warning me earlier." Ichigo yelled trying to justify himself, but that didn't help him when the blonde only grunted in response, making it clear that he didn't want to hear excuses.

"I knew you turned out to be completely useless in the end!"

"That is not true." Orihime exclaimed suddenly as she got up from the couch ready to defend Kurosaki. "Kurosaki-kun is not useless. I really didn't know anything that I shouldn't have revealed your name to the enemy."

"And what does that matter now?" Mordred yelled looking at the other girl. "This moron screwed up before he started and now we have lost."

"I wouldn't say that." Uryū said as he too got up from the couch and seemed to be calm despite the situation. "To my knowledge, Kurosaki is not the only one who was wrong to reveal your name."

Now Mordred looked at the bespectacled boy not understanding what he was saying. "What are you talking about?"

Orihime realized what Ishida meant and immediately blurted it out.

"It's true, didn't you tell Iskandar-san your name too when he asked you?"

Now it was Mordred's turn to tense up and lose her composure as she remembered what had happened in the park. Ichigo immediately took advantage of the situation to teach the blonde a lesson.

"It's true, now I remember." Ichigo fought back as he got rid of the blonde's hands. "That big man asked your name and you answered him without hesitation and without thinking about the consequences. You too screwed up without thinking about it!"

Mordred couldn't help but put on a frustrated face hiding her shame as she realized the stupid oversight she made when she was carried away by emotion and pride and revealed her name without thinking about the consequences.

This is how this problem was resolved without further violence.

"Well, now they both know what happens if they say a Servant's name to the enemy." Urahara commented looking at the couple.

"And what can be done not to reveal the name?" Ishida asked looking at Urahara. "At some point, Kurosaki will have to call Mordred for something."

"No problem." Urahara replied. "There is a way to prevent Masters from exposing the true names of their Servants so that the enemy does not take advantage of it. As I have already explained before, each Servant is classified into seven categories that distinguish their class and ability as Saber and Rider. But apparently It is not only used to name each class, but it can also be used as a code name to avoid being discovered by the enemy. "

"I see. So as long as Kurosaki only refers to Mordred as Saber, she wouldn't risk being discovered, right?"

"Yes." Urahara replied before turning to Ichigo. "Therefore, Kurosaki-san, instead of continuing to call your Servant by her original name, call her Saber from today on, okay?"

"You heard that. I hope that sticks in your head." Mordred said still looking at Ichigo.

Ichigo could only frown more upon hearing that. "Yeah, yeah, understood."

Having said that, the shopkeeper smiled as the rookie Master learned a little more.

"Anything else?" The teenager asked suddenly knowing that he had not finished with the explanation yet.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Urahara said as she got up from her seat and walked towards Ichigo. "Let's talk now about your Command Seals as there are several things you must learn."

catching this, Ichigo withdrew part of the left sleeve and revealed his Command Seals. Urahara stopped in front of Ichigo and leaned down a bit to get a better look at them.

"Well, as we have told you, the Command Seals not only represent your entry into the war, but also the bond and right of authority you have over your Servant."

"Yes, they have told me that before. What else?" Ichigo replied wanting to skip what he already knew.

Urahara had to suppress a sigh. "Well, you see, the seals also work to give orders to your Servant. Any order that comes out of your mouth will make Saber-san obey her even if she doesn't want to. Actually, this is not based on some kind of mind control, since Servants are fully aware of what is happening to them. The command of your voice together with the influence of the seals will allow you to indirectly manipulate her muscles and body movement like a puppet and will do whatever action you want involuntarily and impossible to perform to her."

Ichigo listened carefully and had time to reflect on how easy it would be to control the blonde using the seal, although he is not exactly the type of person that would do something so mean.

"Nevertheless." Urahara spoke again. "You must bear in mind that you cannot use stamps lightly for two reasons."

Ichigo paid more attention to the shopkeeper to hear what he had to say.

"Although the Heroic Spirits are at the disposal of the magi who have invoked them and become their Servants, it does not mean that they should lower themselves below them. Keep in mind that the Heroic Spirits were great warriors and legendary heroes in their time, and each has their own pride and an ego above all else, so their loyalty to their Masters is only constitutional. The Servants would not be amused if their Masters will abuse of them using one of their command spells, since, of otherwise, the consequences would not be pleasants at all."

Then he drew a mischievous smile on his face. "I'll give you an example; if you order Saber-san to take off all her clothes and undress, she will, although of course, she won't want to."

This joke caused mixed reactions among listeners. Ichigo, Kon Uryū and Orihime seemed to be almost horrified upon hearing that. As for Mordred, well, her face burst into a furious shade of red upon hearing that insult and clenched her teeth in rage.

"WHAT WAS THAT!?" She screamed in anger as she glared murderously at the shopkeeper.

Kisuke ignored her outburst since Ichigo has been the first to speak.

"Why did you have to say that?" He snapped looking annoyed at the shopkeeper for the joke.

"Well, I-

He never had time to finish the sentence when Mordred had rematerialized her silver-crimson great sword and with a sudden jerk, the blade's point was less than a hair's width away from the shopkeeper's throat, demonstrating the immense skill Saber possessed. If she wanted to, she could kill the poor man at any moment she pleased.

A burst of air accompanied the swing of her blade, causing Kisuke's hat to fly off his head. Everyone was shocked to see this while Kisuke just looked with discomfort and slight fear at the mad angry look of the blonde.

"Bastard, I see you have the balls to tell me that." She said with murderous rage as she looked at her victim like a predator. "Let's see if you don't mind if I cut them off."

To add her point, she removed the tip from his throat and moved it toward his crotch, making the threat more real.

Seeing this, Kisuke immediately really feared for his life.

"I-I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to offend or insult you." Kisuke immediately apologized with a tight, nervous smile and raised both hands to emphasize the gesture. Then he turned to Ichigo. "See, Kurosaki-san? This is what happens if you abuse your authority over Saber-san or if you force her to do things like this."

"And what made you think he was going to be an old pervert like you?" Ichigo asked annoyed when he saw how the perverted blond tried to compare him to him.

Urahara laughed before looking back at Saber, who was still pointing her sword at the man's private parts and giving him an annoyed look.

"Would you mind taking your sword off me? I just wanted to put Kurosaki-san to the test, nothing more." Saber looked at him for a moment more before deciding that he was sincere. Having made it clear to him what would happen to him if he provoked her again, the anger on her face faded as if it had never existed, and her sword disappeared into a red mist once more.

Once he was safe, Kisuke sighed in relief and made a mental note.

Don't piss off the infamous Knight of the Rebellion.

Without a doubt, she is more dangerous than Hiyori Sarugaki, his former lieutenant.

Then he noticed the hat that had now flown across the ground, and he picked it up to put it in its place; his head.

"Well, putting this aside, it is not really necessary for a Master to lead his Servant in battle by ordering what kind of moves or tactics to use, as Servants can fight and move with complete independence due to the battle experiences they have ever had, so you don't need to use your stamps unless it's an emergency. "

"Like what?" Ichigo asked wanting to know what the circumstances would be that would force him to use his seals.

"According to what I read in the book, if you are ever at a very far distance from Saber-san, you can summon her by calling out to her, instantly teleporting her that way to where you are, no matter the distance." Urahara explained, and Ichigo absorbed the information immediately.

"Nevertheless." The shopkeeper added suddenly with a serious air. "Despite this, every command you use with the stamps has an unintended effect."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked curious and concerned at the same time. His friends also looked at him the same way.

"Although you may not have realized it, you actually have in your hand three stamps that act as a puzzle piece that make up the figure you see." He explained momentarily making Ichigo notice the tattooed drawing, which until now he hadn't realized that it was made up of 3 sections. "The times you use your stamps three times, it will make each section disappear until you have none left."

"Wait, does that mean Kurosaki will lose his Command Seals if he uses them more than three times?" Ishida asked with concern as he understood the bad part.

"That's right. If Kurosaki-san lost all his seals he would also lose his right to participate in the ritual or command Saber-san. If that happens, Saber-san will not be able to stay in this world and will disappear after a short period of time, depending on how much mana she has accumulated. "

"Mana? And what is that?" Ichigo asked confused.

Urahara looked at him for a moment without understanding.

"I thought Ishida-san told you this morning." The shopkeeper answered making Ichigo blink in confusion.

"It's true, Kurosaki." Ishida said suddenly. "Remember what I explained to you about Gaia and the energy she produces to give life to this world known as mana."

"Oh yeah, I remember now. What's up with that?"

"As Ishida surely explained to you, mana is like reiatsu in our world, that is, the elevated energy that channels all life forms. Heroic Spirits also have their own source of mana that allows them to fight in the same way than a Shinigami or an Arrancar, but sadly that doesn't help their bodies stay in this world for long, so they also depend on the mana supply that their Masters give them through their Command Seals to continue to exist in this world and be able to fight, and without these, they will disappear and return to the Throne of Heroes where they came from. "

Urahara was silent for a moment, waiting for the teenagers, especially Ichigo, to absorb the information and it would be clear to him.

"But... even after the Master loses his Command Seals, the Servant still has the opportunity to continue here independently accumulating the mana of the others."

"The mana of the others? What do you mean?" Ichigo asked intrigued.

"As I told you before, mana is almost the same as reiatsu and is distributed throughout the world, but there is also a second energy that is practically similar except that it is generated by an individual; the od. Every living being on the planet has its own source of od, and only beings of advanced power can fully consume them. Therefore, if Saber-san runs out of the mana supply that keeps her bound in this world, she would be forced to consume the souls and minds of people as a hollow would to turn them into energy and continue to exist even if she has to sacrifice many people in the process. "

Of course, not everyone took this very well when everyone was startled in shock when they heard the last part.

"Wait a minute!" Ichigo yelled getting up again from his seat and looking at Urahara. "Are you suggesting that to keep Mordred here, she has to sacrifice a lot of people?

"In theory yes." Urahara replied simply

"I can't allow her to do that!" Ichigo protested in response.

"Stop making such a fuss!" Mordred replied making Ichigo turn to her, who was looking at him with daggers in her eyes. "What he said is true, and I may be forced to sacrifice thousands of lives to keep myself here, but that will happen if you don't lose your stamps. If you're so worried, you'd better not screw it up and don't lose any, understand? "

The strength of the tomboy knight's strict tone was enough to make his Master calm down and consider what he just said. He was still puzzled and worried that Mordred or another Servant was going to attack innocent people and absorb their energy just like a vampire would with blood but would only do so if he lost his seals.

"Well, as you've heard from Mord- I say Saber-san, she won't be forced to attack other people if she doesn't lose her bond with you and the source of mana transfer." Urahara added. "You do not have to worry."

Those simple words from the eccentric shopkeeper seemed to ease the former Substitute a bit more, and he made a mental note that none of his seals would be lost.

"Well, since we are talking about mana, there is one important thing I have to tell you." Urahara began with another explanation. "As I told you, Servants need the mana reserves of their Masters in order to continue to exist here, but there is also a second use for it, and that is to increase their combat statistics."

"Their statistics?"

"Yes, since like all vehicle who needs fuel reserves to be able to continue all the time, Servants's abilities depend on the amount of mana they receive from their Masters to get stronger either in strength, endurance, agility, mana or luck of life. That is, the more mana they receive, more stronger will they. But if on the contrary it does not receive much reserve, more weaker will they."

"That's right. But considering that he's not a magus and doesn't have any magic circuit, I doubt I'll stay here long." Saber commented dryly.

Ichigo frowned at that, but then a new thought entered his head, and he couldn't help but blurt it out immediately.

"Wait a minute." Ichigo said turning to look at Urahara. "It's true, there is something I don't understand." Urahara paid attention to him.

"You said that Mordred needed only my mana source to stay here, right?" Ichigo remembered. "How is that possible, if I don't have that source?"

They all seemed to consider the orange haired boy's words and reflected that he was right that he is not a magus and therefore not a mana user.

After a little debate, Kisuke released an answer.

"Your reiatsu probably also serves as a source of energy for Saber-san."

"¿My reiatsu?"

"Yes, from what I see, both reiatsu and mana are very similar sources of energy, although I don't know if they will be compatible, but it seems that the former serves as a replacement for the latter and must be the only thing that keeps Saber-san tied to this world. "

They all heard what the clothesline said and were deep in thought as they reflected that they had no idea about it.

"Wait, what is that about reiatsu?" Mordred asked not understanding the concept they were talking about. However, before anyone could answer her, Ichigo spoke first.

"But wait." He exclaimed almost alarmed. "How is it my reiatsu that powers to Saber? I case you forgot, I lost all reiatsu ability when I defeat Aizen, remember?"

Again, the blond Shinigami reflected on that fact, and it was true that not only had Ichigo lost his Shinigami powers after the launch of the Final Getsuga Tenshō, but also his ability to feel and manifest reiatsu, causing the spiritual fighter to be reduced to just an ordinary human, at least temporarily.

"Hold on a minute." Ishida exclaimed suddenly getting up from the sofa, drawing everyone's attention. "Now that I remember, something strange happened while we were on our way to the Shōten."

"What happened?" Urahara asked intrigued.

"When we were on our way to the Shōten, we were ambushed by a pack of hollows." Ishida started counting. "When they appeared, I realized that Kurosaki could see and hear them."

That really got the attention of all those who were there at that time. They remembered how the former spiritual fighter could react to them with ease, even one of them tried to catch him if not for Mordred's intervention.

"And not only that." Added more Quincy. "For an instant, I also felt something strange about Kurosaki. I felt like he was emitting reiatsu."

"It's true. I noticed it too." Orihime added as well.

Now the entire room was silent as each reflected on what they had just heard.

"Are you sure?" Urahara asked intrigued.

"There is no doubt. As small as it seemed, it was certainly the same level of energy that Kurosaki emitted when he met Kuchiki-san." Ishida replied turning to look at Kurosaki.

The latter reflected when images of what happened in Karakura came to light. The truth is that after then he had been wondering what was happening and how he could have regained his spiritual sense so suddenly, but with the other things that had happened, he never had time to ask.

"What's going on? Wasn't I supposed to regain my spiritual sense for 20 years?" He asked confused looking at Urahara for answers.

"In theory yes. This is quite strange."

"What the hell are they talking about?" Saber suddenly exclaimed who was tired of being ignored in this matter that she did not understand. "What is it of reiatsu and what does that have to do with him?"

None of the 5 wanted to make an answer to satisfy the Knight of Rebellion, as they were still debating what was wrong with Ichigo. The short minutes that passed were intense in the room until Urahara came up with a solution to clear up the mystery.

"I think I have an idea." Said the blond shopkeeper suddenly, drawing the attention of the four.

"What is now?" Ichigo asked hoping this time is something good.

Urahara just gives a mysterious smile before proceeding to speak.

"You see, this is something I casually planned before we came here. Do you know what I mean?"

While Ishida, Inoue and Kon were curious to know what it was about, Ichigo and Saber only showed indifferent expressions as they were not in the mood for riddles.

Picking up on this, Kisuke turned to his seat, but he does not sit down, since he leaned over to the bag that he placed next to the seat and reached into it to remove what was inside. Once the object was taken, Kisuke picked it up in his hands and then turned to the teenagers to show it to them.

They all blinked in surprise at what the shopkeeper was holding. A medium-sized glass sphere similar to a basketball, with a transparent color and a red crane-shaped insignia.

After a moment of astonishment and trying to remember what it was, the Quincy was the first.

"That's is..."

"Yes. This is the Reishūkaku, the item you used in Kūkaku-san's house to enter the Sereitei to rescue Kuchiki-san, remember?"

Now everything was on the mind of the former Substitute's team when they remembered the time when they traveled to Soul Society for the first time and were unable to enter the Sereitei, so they had to turn to Kūkaku Shiba to help them penetrate inside.

Orihime almost smiled as she recalled the crazy times they lived through back then.

"Well, now is the time to measure your reiatsu with this." Urahara said gaining confused looks.

"Remember that we are now in a world where reishi does not exist and we do not know how it will affect our abilities here, so we better try to find out how, do you understand?"

Knowing very well what he meant, Ishida totally agreed with that as he had serious doubts about how he could channel his powers without the reishi at his disposal.

"What the hell is that?" A confused Saber asked as she gazed at the crystal sphere. "What are you going to do with that?"

"You will see." Kisuke answered smiling before taking a little breath and concentrated his reiryoku on his hands to bombard the energy sphere. This took effect when the sphere suddenly began to glow and enveloped the body of the shopkeeper in a bluish semi-transparent sphere causing him to levitate.

The Servant was in awe of this strange display.

What kind of magic is this?

"Normally, the Reishūkaku only serves to absorb the reiryoku of whoever uses it to create this sphere of energy that you see called Cannonball. But we will also use it to measure our reiatsu."

After saying this, Urahara stopped transmitting energy to the Reishūkaku, and the sphere stopped blinking causing the shopkeeper to drop to the ground and the semi-transparent sphere that surrounded it also disappeared.

"What do you think?" The former Shinigami captain asked looking at the teenagers with a smile.

"It was incredible." Orihime exclaimed in glee like something she has never seen. Instead, Ichigo just had his arms crossed and was staring in a bored way.

"Well, now it's your turn. Ishida-san." Urahara said before launching the Reishūkaku towards the Quincy.

Ishida reacted in time and instinctively caught the sphere in his hands.

"You already know what to do, right? Remember not to lose your focus if you don't want me to explode on you."

Ishida nodded as he walked away from the sofa and moved to the same place where Urahara was before, while the latter was moving away as a precaution.

Once ready, Ishida followed the same example as Urahara gathering reiryoku and formed his Cannonball around him. Unlike the one that Urahara formed, Ishida's sphere is oval in shape, but it was not as narrow as it was like 2 years ago. The perfect wide space on the dial showed how well the Quincy had improved.

"Sugoi!" Orihime exclaimed in surprise.

After a moment of exhibition, Ishida finished the test and returned to normal.

"Well done, Ishida-san. I see you have improved." Urahara congratulated to the Quincy.

"I agree, but I don't know if this is going to help me." Ishida said seriously. "As you said, we are in a different world than we are used to since there is no reishi here, so it will be impossible for me to fight properly."

They all looked at the downcast expression of the Quincy and knew he was right. The Quincys always depended on the reishi around them and since there was no such source here, Uryū Ishida was practically useless like Ichigo without his powers. The latter couldn't help but feel a certain sympathy for him.

"Don't worry, Ishida-san. I have the perfect solution." Urahara said catching the young Quincy's attention.

"What do you mean?"

"I knew something like this could happen, and for some time I have been working on a way to make reishi without the need for the environment, and I think it can help you with your problem."

This had surprised young Quincy. Had Urahara really created an artifact to create reishi?

"Are you serious?"

"Indeed, yes. I'll show you later." He replied with a smile before heading towards Inoue. "Now it's your turn, Inoue-san."

She nodded and took Ishida's place. Holding the Reishūkaku in her hands, she concentrated her reiryoku, and the cannonball manifested around her. Unlike the first time she performed it being stable and bright, this one undoubtedly had more energy, also showing how much she had improved.

"Well done, Inoue-san." Urahara congratulated the girl. Inoue stopped emitting reiryoku and immediately returned to normal. Then she gives a nice smile.

"Thank you, I have also tried very hard in these 2 years."

The 2 friends of the bubbly girl nodded in agreement.

"Oi, can I try that?" They all turned to look at Mordred who seemed to want to try the Reishūkaku. "Give me that to see if I can do that trick better."

"Oh sorry, Saber-san, but this is an act for reiryoku users, and we don't know if it will work for mana users, do you understand?" Kisuke replied apologetically.

Mordred could only frown upon hearing that.

Kisuke turned to the 2 teenagers who used the Reishūkaku and now he only had one person left to use.

"Your turn, Kurosaki-san." He said turning to Ichigo.

"Me?" Ichigo asked confused.

"Yes, if it is true that you have already begun to regain some spiritual sense to the point where the hollows hunt you down, I think it will be worth a try."

The shopkeeper then gestured towards Orihime for her to hand the sphere over to Ichigo, which she did.

Once this was done, the orange haired boy turned to the same place where those who used the Reishūkaku before were. Once there, Ichigo stared a bit absorbed at the sphere in his hands while the rest just stared silently.

He still had doubts that he could achieve this after 17 months of absence, however, he also could not ignore the fact that he was able to see the hollows and that one of them tried to catch him, just like the first one he saw on the day he met Rukia.

Perhaps it was time to find out if he had already begun to regain his powers once and for all.

Taking the same example, Ichigo took a breath and tried to mold his reiryoku onto the sphere. However, after a short instant, nothing happened.

Everyone looked puzzled at this.

.

.

.

Ichigo tightened his hands on the sphere and gritted his teeth as well, growling.

"Grrrr, come on." Try as he might, the only thing he managed to do was waste effort in front of his friends who were looking at him distractedly.

"Come oooon!"

"Ah, Kurosaki, shouldn't you take this easy?" Ishida asked.

Unfortunately, Ichigo ignored him and went about his business for a little while.

"Aaah, what a waste of time." Mordred yawned in boredom. "I already said he was useless."

Ichigo heard that and a check mark appeared on his head indicating his angry at the taunt. He could almost feel his blood boil for a moment, being totally sick of this shit of feeling helpless in this comical way.

It was then that, out of his anger and frustration, without realizing it, his Command Seals suddenly began to light up, and then the unexpected happened.

A cannonball formed around Ichigo, startling the audience.

"What the…?"

Everyone was in awe of this, including Kisuke, although he had a slight suspicion of what was going on.

Ichigo realized this and was astonished (without losing concentration) at what he had done.

"I did it!"

"Aaah."

Everyone heard a gasp and at the same time the appearance of a particularly familiar reiatsu fountain. Turning around back, they saw Mordred putting on a confused, bewildered expression as his body was bordered by a bluish semi-transparent aura. The unmistakable physical manifestation of reiatsu. However, that was not the only reason for his attention. At the same time, they realized that the essence of her aura was not that of the blonde, but that of Ichigo for some strange reason that they could not understand.

Since that strange phenomenon appeared in her Master, the blonde felt a strange torrent of energy flowing towards her. Of without a doubt looked like some kind of mana, but she didn't know what kind it was. She was too shocked and somewhat ecstatic to process what was happening.

After a moment, Urahara decided it was time to finish. "All right, Kurosaki-san, you can put it down now."

Picking up on this, Ichigo instinctively stopped transmitting energy, and the cannonball vanished around him, leaving the teenager a bit exhausted. At the same time, Mordred's body returned to normal, and she stopped noticing the energy that had flowed her.

From the beginning, his friends were still impressed by what he had just done, but after seeing the state he is in now, Orihime quickly went to him to help him.

"Daijōbu, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked worriedly.

Ichigo looks up a little to look at her and nods a bit. Once he was fully up, he looked at the rest of the audience.

"Omedetō, Kurosaki-san. It seems that if you have some reiatsu left inside you." Urahara congratulated in his typical cheerful voice.

"But how?" Ishida asked without understanding the situation. "You mean Kurosaki is already starting to regain his powers so soon?"

"I'm not sure." The older Shinigami denied. "I believe this is surely due to his Magic Circuits."

"Magic Circuits?" Ichigo asked. "What are that?"

"The Magic Circuits are a pseudo-nervous system that spreads itself through the human body and what qualifies a person to be a magus. In other words, it is what a human being does to give them magical powers. Their normal functions are to act as paths that convert Life Force, that is, the Od, into magical energy, but humans learned how to control it and use it to perform Mysteries. They are that which connects the material world to the astral plane. Rreside within the magus's soul, and what is found on the body is just a physical expression of them that stretches itself throughout the body in a fashion similar to the nervous system. To put it easier, its function is almost the same as the Saketsu and the Hakusui."

"And what does that have to do with me?" Ichigo asked still not understanding the point.

Urahara only suppressed a sigh before continuing to continue. "Well, apparently there is something that intrigued me when I saw that you possessed Command Seals. As you should already know, the seals are not made of any normal ink, and are only made from a magical crystallization so it is practically impossible that a normal human will keep them unless he is a magus possessing his own Magic Circuits."

Now everyone looked at the shopkeeper with curiosity and intrigue to clear up this mystery.

"My theory is that most likely the Grail has inserted some Magic Circuits into your soul and surely it must have caused a kind of reaction that made your reiatsu suddenly wake up."

The shopkeeper stopped talking to let his theory settle in the thoughts of his audience and they understand the situation perfectly.

After a moment, Kon was the first to speak.

"You mean Ichigo is now a magus?"

"Well, not quite." Urahara shrugged. "But in theory yes. Either way, it is now evident that Kurosaki-san already has his own power supply to give to Saber-san." Then he turned to her. "What did you think of the mana that Kurosaki-san gave you?"

Saber who despite having recovered from her shock, was still a bit astonished by that torrent of energy that she had received from her supposed 'inept' Master and did not understand what was happening here. She wanted answers right away!

"Alright, what the hell are you?" She asked giving a stern and suspicious look towards Ichigo, who the latter stiffened when he saw her that way.

"Didn't you make it clear to me that you weren't a magus? How did you do that?" She asked nothing happy as she started to walk towards him. "Why did you hide from me that you had that as a source of mana?"

"Hey, how would I know about this? I didn't have a clue either." Ichigo retorted when his Servant stopped in front of him.

Saber heard this and immediately understood that it would be useless to question her Master about this. However, there was something else that intrigued her quite a bit regarding the source of energy that flowed towards her from her Master.

"Well, then tell me who you are exactly." The blonde demanded. "If it is true that you are not a magus, I do not understand how you could send that source of energy to me. I do not think it was mana. What was it?"

An awkward silence filled the room as Ichigo and his friends were still debating how to explain all of this to Saber. It was clear that since she appeared they world and witnessed the hollows together with the abilities of each one, she could know that they are not normal and ordinary people as she had thought, and they still hadn't had time to tell her.

Just when it seemed that no one was going to answer her and the silence was going to continue in the environment, Kisuke decided to be the first to speak.

"Listen, Saber-san. I know you have too many questions about who we are exactly." He spoke in a diplomatic tone. "But we promise we will explain everything to you in due time, we can't now."

Then it was Orihime's turn.

"It's true. Sorry I did not tell you about us, Mod- I mean Saber-san. I should have told you earlier." She said with a regretful tone.

Saber just looked a bit skeptical towards her Master's friends for a moment. It was clear that none of them were mages, but they still held strange supernatural abilities that were not based in the Mystery that she knew. She was too curious to know what kind of people she had formed team up with, but just like the man in the ridiculous bucket hat and wooden sandals told her, she will have to wait.

On the other hand, she also distrusted her Master now, who for a day had thought that he was a complete failure to be her comrade in arms who would support her since he was not a magus and was not aware of the Holy Grail, so he did not it would go very far. However, after that flow of energy from her supposed incompetent Master reached her, radiating a great energy that increased her combat statistic for a time, she immediately understood that he was not an ordinary human and felt intrigued and skeptical at the same time.

She was wanted to know who they were, but like before, she will find out with the time.

"So, you mean that for me to supply my reiatsu or mana to Saber I have to focus my reiryoku on this?" Ichigo asked with some trepidation at the thought of molding his reiryoku into the Reishūkaku continuously, and it was going to be a very tiring job.

"Not exactly. It's not really necessary for you to supply her with your energy all the time since she should only do it when she's fighting." Urahara responds immediately taking the sphere from Ichigo's hands. "You also don't need to use the Reishūkaku for that purpose, as the supply works independently without you noticing. You will only notice the side effects when you feel exhausted from the drainage of your reiatsu as you feel after performing the Cannonball before."

Ichigo assimilated all those words into his mind and was relieved to hear that he will not have to do the hard work of mold his reiryoku.

"Now, I'm going to tell you one last important thing."

Again, everyone paid attention to what was to be the last explanation of the shopkeeper.

"Aside from their skills and battles stats, the Servants also have an ace up their sleeve that they always keep reserved and are there are his trump card allows them to defeat others in battle; the Noble Phantasm."

"The Noble Phantasm?"

"Are the main weapon and the maximum power that Servants can use, and it's are very similar to the techniques used by the zanpakutō such as the Getsuga Tenshō. Depending on the type of Servants, the Noble Phantasm can manifest itself in a variety of physical objects such as a sword, spears, and bows, or support items, such as shields, rings and crowns." Urahara explained while the teenagers recorded the information well in their heads.

"They also represent the legends of the Heroic Spirit, that is, which are also personal objects that Servants they had once in life and that led them to become legends." Urahara turned his attention to Saber.

"Saber-san, could you show us your sword?"

Seeing this as a signal, Mordred planted her right arm and made her crimson-silver great sword re-materialize in all its glory.

"As you can see, surely this sword was held by Saber-san in life and played an important role that allowed her to become a legend, didn't it?"

"That's right." Saber replied as she lowered her gaze a little to solemnly contemplate the thick silver blade. "This sword is called Clarent, that acting as a symbol of kingship denoting the right of succession of the throne and amplifies the authority of the king, the "king's royal aura."

Long ago I stole it from father's arsenal to start my rebellion and massacred with it all those who stood in my way and finally I spilled the king's blood, ending his miserable life." She narrowed her eyes saying those last sentences with malice and satisfaction.

Ichigo and the others were frozen and uneasy by those words, already knowing the end of their story. After a moment of silence, Urahara decided to speak to continue.

"Well, as you have heard, the sword of Saber-san, Clarent, is later famous for being the weapon that put an end to the legendary King of Knights, and thus became a valuable object for her and was manifested in a Noble Phantasm. Many other Heroic Spirits from different times also had their own weapons or objects whose use in great feats caused the names of their users to be immortalized in the annals of history, and they became Noble Phantasm, do you understand?"

They all nodded in unison as they fully processed the explanation. Urahara smirked.

"Well, as I was saying, the Noble Phantasm is the ultimate weapon that Heroic Spirits can wield in battle as a last resort. From what I saw, a Servant can have 2 or 3 techniques of his Noble Phantasm and sometimes one is stronger than the other, such as the Shikai and the Bankai. But the most important thing is that it has two major flaws."

"Defects?"

"Yes, because to execute such devastating power, the Servant needs to accumulate a large amount of mana either his Master's or his own, and it can only be used once in battle, since once cast, the Servant needs time to recover."

Ichigo nodded upon hearing that.

"The second drawback is that apart from just exposing the names of a Servant could give additional information to the enemy and find a weakness in it, the Noble Phantasm would also amount to revealing information of its users to those who see its and survive to tell it, do you understand what I'm saying?"

Ichigo nodded again aware of the risk.

"So, I don't have to make Saber used her Noble Phantasm?"

"Not necessarily. Only use it as the situation requires it, if the enemy Master is forced to use it."

Ichigo nodded once more, and then Urahara took a soft breath. So long to explain, it leaved him with a little dry mouth.

"Anything else?" Ichigo asked after a minute of silence. It was then that Urahara looked up at him.

"No. That's all." He responded with his typical jovial smile, making Ichigo frown at his change in attitude. "In fact, I think there is no need for me to tell you more, since this is all, you need to know."

Despite his scowling expression, Ichigo was glad that all the explanation was over and there was no more.

"However, I would like you to memorize everything I told you in case you are not lacking in detail."

Ichigo deepened his frown a bit upon hearing that as if Sandal-hat was teasing him from having a bad memory.

"Where did you stay?"

Wanting to prove the annoying shopkeeper otherwise, Ichigo decided to speak.

"Well, you say I don't have to use my Command Seals unless it's an emergency, right? I do not have to reveal Saber's identity to the enemy, and I can't allow her to use the Noble Phanstasm unless it is necessary. That's all?"

"Well said, Kurosaki-san." Urahara applauded comically. "I see you have a good memory."

Ichigo grunted as he resisted the urge to hit the shopkeeper in the abdomen for his dammed taunts or antics.

The next few minutes that passed after all the explanation they took advantage of sitting in their respective seats waiting for the time to arrive.

At the same time, Urahara took the opportunity to add something more about the Servants (except Assassin and Rider). He explained that both Saber, Lancer and Archer form a category of Servants who have a common one as bearing weapons (sword, spear and arrow) and therefore they are considered as the 3 Knight classes.

The Servants placed within the Saber class are exceptional warriors in close combat adept at swordsmanship like any Shinigami, boasting high ratings in all categories. Their main abilities are magic resistance, which allows them to resist magic attacks, and the other is Mount that allows them to ride any animal like any knight would.

Those of the Archer class, also known as the Knight of the Bow, are opponents to consider as well as the Saber class, since they stand out for having powerful Noble Phantasms, and are able to act as highly effective scouts.

Just as its name suggests, the Archer class possess powerful projectile weapons or special abilities related to projectile weapons. They possess high Magic Resistance as a Class Skill, so most modern magi are unable to inflict damage to them. They also possess Independent Action, allowing them the ability to act independently for a length of time without an active supply of magical energy from their Master.

The Lancer class, also known as the Knight of the Lance, are very agile, display excellent close combat skills, show proficiency in hit-and-run tactics that capitalize on range and speed, and are skilled with long-range melee weapons such as spears and lances. In fact, his prowess in combat is very similar to that of Ikkaku Maradame.

The qualifying conditions to be placed within the class are second only to the Saber class, requiring overall excellent attributes and a high agility attribute. Like Saber and Archer, Lancer have Magic Resistance.

Once finished talking about the three Knight Classes, Urahara proceeded to talk about Caster.

Those of the Caster class, who is also known as the Servant of Magic and Sorcery, are warriors generally skilled in magic. Servants placed within this Class are usually adept in magecraft, and the only qualifying condition is the mastery of sorceries of the highest caliber compared to the specific parameter requirements of the other classes. Due to not requiring any strong statistics, they generally have low combat abilities, and due to the majority of Servants having some form of Magic Resistance, this Class is thought to be the weakest of all seven.

Their class abilities are Territory Creation, altering the surrounding lands in favor of their sorcery, and Item Construction, which allows the magus to create magical items and tools.

The last one to explain was Berserker, known as the Servant of madness, that without a doubt they are the strongest and most dangerous Servants to be taken into account. Servants placed within this Class are always Heroic Spirits who fell to madness during battle at least once in their lifetime. This trait allows them to use the special ability Mad Enhancement, which trades their consciousness and sanity for a large power boost. Kisuke mentions that with all the antecedents that describe this warrior, it is easy to compare him to Kenpachi Zaraki himself.

Urahara also mentions that despite everything, the Berserker class has an important flaw, and that is that of all the available classes, this is the most difficult to control and a Master must expend a large amount of additional magical energy merely to maintain the Berserker, and the affected Heroic Spirit may lose access to certain abilities or even Noble Phantasms depending on how much sanity it has taken away for power.

"As you just heard, the Berserker class are opponents to be reckoned with and I wish you didn't run into him, if possible, but you never know." Urahara said. "Either way, be careful."

Ichigo nodded now as he processed all the information in his head. He now had limited knowledge about the 7 classes of Servants and what respective fighting styles were and what made them strong opponents.

It was then that they heard a small beep, and they all looked down a bit at Ichigo. The latter raised his left arm and looked at his wristwatch, marking an hour.

"It's already 23:00."

They all took this as a sign now that night had come, and the Masters must already be wandering the streets alongside their respective Servants waiting for the time to battle each other, and Ichigo and Saber should be there.

With a sigh, Ichigo gets up from his seat until...

"Wait, Kurosaki-san." Urahara said making Ichigo stop halfway up.

"What happens now?"

"You said that Rider and his Master agreed to meet at the Fuyuki Bridge, right?" He spoke in a strangely grim manner.

"Yes, they said that we would meet in a park and then plan their strategy to face the other Servants when the time comes." Ishida replied.

Urahara nodded when there was another awkward silence in the room.

"Something wrong?" Ichigo asked suspecting something.

"You see, I happened to the idea that Kurosaki-san and Saber-san should them go alone to meet Rider's Master and go to into battle with us at margin."

Ishida and Inoue gasped in surprise at what the shopkeeper said and could not believe it.

"Are you hinting that we should leave Kurosaki and Saber alone with the Masters?" Ishida asked incredulously.

"We cannot do that!" Orihime protested worried.

"Relax, we are not leaving Kurosaki-san at the mercy of the other Masters." Urahara reassured with a small smile. "We are just going to make them believe that we are not accompanying them so that they focus more on Kurosaki-san and the Rider's Master, and we can catch them off guard. What do you think?"

The 3 of them absorbed the information of Urahara's plan, but still felt insecure about carrying it out.

"Anyway, Kurosaki-san will go alone with Saber-san until he reaches the bridge, and we will follow him shortly after so that no one suspects that he is accompanied. Relax, we will not go very far."

They were still skeptical of the plan's operation. The fact of leaving Ichigo alone even with Mordred's company still worried them, since the moment will come when the latter will have to fight the enemy Servant and will not be able to help him in case the enemy Master attacks him.

However, if what Urahara says about this being a ploy to deceive the other Masters is true, it could work and cover Ichigo's back.

Seeing that no one was going to argue about the plan, Urahara spoke again.

"Well, it's all decided." He declared positively before turning to Ichigo. "You better go now, if you don't want to be late."

Ichigo still had little doubt about this. He still could not say that he was ready for this, but he did not allow himself to show weakness in front of his friends and his Servant if he did not want the relationship with the latter to get worse. It was up to him to win this and go home. With this resolution, he said the following.

"Alright, I'll go-

"Wait!" Kon said suddenly as he climbed from the foot to Ichigo's left shoulder. "Ichigo isn't going anywhere without me. I'll be watching him too."

They all looked a bit uncomfortably at the stuffed lion declaring this and could not stop a sweat from appearing on the back of their heads.

'What a protection.' Ichigo thought sarcastically.

Deciding to ignore this, Ichigo turned to his Servant with fierce resolve.

"Let's go, Saber."

Saber grinned wildly with enthusiasm as she rose from her seat. She had been waiting for this.

And so, the last couple of Fourth Holy Grail War hit the road.

---

Tohsaka Mansion

Everything was going according to plan.

That was Tokiomi Tohsaka's thought as he gazed through his office window at the hole in the middle of his garden caused by his Servant's attack to intercept an intruder who had broken into his property with the intention of assassinating him.

Said intruder was Assassin, the Servant of the Shadows, whose purpose was to attack one his Master's competitors unprepared in the middle of the still night, but he had taken a wrong step and was easily eliminated by Tokiomi's Servant, concluding the first blood of the ritual and the elimination of the first Servant.

'Hmm...' Tohsaka laughed inwardly.

However, this was all just a ploy devised by him and his faithful student Kirei Kotomine, the Assassin's Master, to fool the rest of the Masters into believing that they were not in league. The plan was for Assassin to infiltrate the mansion's campus while the numerous familiars of the other Masters inspect the area and witnessed Assassin's 'disappearance.'

What no one knew is that Kirei's Assassin had the unique ability to be able to manifest as multiple identities at the same time being 19 in total. The one that his Servant destroyed was one of those copies that did not have any special abilities, while the rest were still intact and operating under Kirei without the knowledge of the other Masters and thus allowed the remaining Assassins to move freely around the city without raising suspicion and create an espionage line to collect information about the real battles of the other Servants and use them to his advantage.

No one would notice what he was up to, and he was proud of it. His plan also had another important effect, as this would give the other Masters an impulse to move pieces at once, confident with the supposed 'disappearance' of a Servant and the real battle would begin tonight.

He could almost tell that moment was coming.

Speaking of Masters.

He could still remember his encounter with the eighth participant that the Grail had promised to bring to participate. He still had his doubts about him considering his lack of knowledge of what was going on, but after witnessing his determination and conviction to involuntarily participate in the ritual, it almost made him understand that it was not an ordinary person as he thought.

No.

He is someone else.

He could only wish him luck tonight before meeting again.

"Archer."

"Yes."

And with that, a strange golden glow appeared right next to the red magus a few meters away and quickly materialized taking the form of a grown man. He wore extensive golden armor, golden hair standing like a blazing flame, and blood-colored eyes. He wears a pair of gold earrings over his ears and a red outfit from the waist.

The Servant in question gives his Master a listless look.

"Did you call me, Tokiomi?" He called in a muffled voice detonating boredom, however, Tokiomi ignored it.

"Can you feel it?" Asked the magus as he watched the city through the window. "Right now, the others Masters must be moving chips."

"Hmph, I highly doubt that they are going to pose a challenge to me." Archer snorted arrogantly. "No one is capable of standing up to me like that scum that I eliminated the other night for you."

Tokiomi could only draw his own smile, although he was slightly indifferent to the arrogance he displayed from his Servant. In reality, he was not bothered by the overconfidence of the golden warrior since he belonged to a higher category than the rest of the Heroic Spirits, and that is why he was also confident in his victory.

However, that did not mean acting reckless about which enemy he will have to face.

"If you allow me, King of all Kings, not all Servants are as incompetent as Assassin, since they are also good warriors who transcended great legends after his."

Archer gave a little laugh that made Tokiomi slightly uncomfortable.

"A scum is a scum." He declared before moving to the window and taking in the views of the city. "Those legendary warriors are nothing compared to my power. I will annihilate them all in an instant if necessary."

Such overconfidence had already begun to make the red magus a bit uncomfortable, but he try not to bring it up. It was only to be expected that he had summoned the most powerful and ancient Heroic Spirit of all time, and it could also lead him to victory. He just had to be patient with him.

"Well, if you want me to meet them so badly, I wouldn't mind. I just want to show they who is the strongest."

And so, the golden warrior vanished with the same radiance from which he had appeared, leaving Tokiomi alone again in his office.

Left alone, the red magus sighed a little before turning to the window and waiting for the long-awaited fight to begin.

He would have to contact with Kirei to keep up with everything.

---

Streets of Fuyuki

Walking alone in the middle of the dark streets in the middle of the night, only illuminated by a few streetlights, Ichigo and Saber (plus Kon too) were were the only ones strolling on the sidewalks, with no one else circulating around them. Most of the inhabitants of Fuyuki must be asleep in their respective homes, however since it is also a fairly large metropolis like Tokyo, there were still several cars and other vehicles circulating into the city. However, that was not their main concern, since their adversaries would be waiting for them anywhere.

Ichigo and Saber were calm at all times as they walked together as a couple (not that it was a couple really) down the sidewalk and Kon doing his best to stay calm while waiting for an enemy Servant to appear. However, it seemed that they did not have to wait, since the real purpose of the night walk was to meet Waver and Rider where they had left. Fortunately, the eastern mouth of the Mion River was not far from the hotel where Ichigo and his friends had stayed, and with the help of the hotel receptionists, they were able to figure out a quick route to get here. All they had to do was be careful and not attract enough attention so that no enemy would detect them before.

The last couple of the ritual had not exchanged a word since leaving the hotel just a few minutes ago either because they did not need to speak or to not make too much noise for someone to hear them as they made them away to the meeting point. But one of them could not contain the doubts about those who that want to get involved in this.

"Oi, this is okay?" Saber asked looking at her Master with her arms raised behind her head. Ichigo paid attention to her.

"About what?"

"Aren't you worried that your friends will get involved in this?" She asked again.

The former Substitute's gaze aggravated a bit. Of course he was concerned that his friends would get involved in this contest even though they still retained their powers and have probably improved over the span of 17 months to the point of competing with a Shinigami lieutenant. He was fully confident in each other's combat capabilities and had seen what they were capable of during the Winter War, and he was betting they would have no trouble dealing with one of those magi.

However, that bothered him was that he could not fight by their side and could just stare.

"Even If I request them not to, I don't think they will listen to me." Ichigo replied immediately. "They don't just do it for me, they also want to return to our world as soon as we get that Grail."

He knew was right. Both Ishida and Inoue shared the same desire to fight as him for the same reason. He could not disrespect the pride of each one-off wanting to help him in this. Even if Rukia was involved in this too, she could not tell what kind of speech, whether vocal or physical, she was going to make, but he was glad she was not here.

"Well, at least they won't have to face those Servants if they are so dangerous." Kon commented that until a little time ago he had not said anything.

"Yeah, just leave the Servants to me, and have your friends take care of their Masters." Saber said with pride in her voice.

Ichigo did not say anything else seeing that he did not have anything else to say, and so they continued walking. When they rounded the corner of the sidewalk, Saber spoke again.

"By the way, that Orihime girl, are you going to let her fight too?"

Ichigo looked at his Servant again without knowing what to say about it. Of all the friends who knew how to fight, Inoue was the only one who did not like violence despite her dedication to it so as not to see herself as a burden and to help others. She did not have much of a warrior spirit like Rukia, Chad, and Ishida, but she always tried hard in everything even though it wasn't enough. In fact, he did not want her to participate like Ishida.

"What are you saying?" Kon retorted for what the blonde said. "Orihime-san is a great girl, plus her skills are impressive."

"Oh yeah? Like what? What exactly can she do?" Saber asked mockingly. "Do not make me laugh."

Both Ichigo and Kon frowned at how the Knight of Rebellion did not respect the bubbly girl's abilities, but the orange haired boy did not say anything as he did not want to discuss it further.

"The truth is that she is a strange girl." Saber continued, drawing attention again.

"Why?" Ichigo asked looking at her.

"Well, because she is very talkative, and it seems that she likes to get into matters where I don't think they suit her." She replied as she remembered the times she had interacted with the other girl, and it goes without saying that she saw her a bit upset by the fact that she was trying to feel sorry for her, which she didn't want to.

"Oh well, I can't blame her. She only does it because she wants to interact with people to learn from and understand them." Ichigo explained as he reflected on his friend's personality. "That's her way of making friends."

"Yes, Orihime-san is one of the best people in the world and is very kind of everyone." Kon also stated as he fantasized about the sweet and lovable Orihime.

Saber was just looking at this a little puzzled. Ichigo spoke again.

"When I met her, I also found her a little strange since she was always very cheerful than normal and was also at her own pace. The truth is that at first, we only spoke very few times, but over time I learned to know her very well and respect her too."

"Is true, aside from her kindness, Orihime-san is a true beauty that even Ichigo can't resist to her." Kon continued making this last sentence provoke an unwanted reaction in the orange haired teenager.

"Hey, what are you saying?" Ichigo exclaimed annoyed as he half turned his head to look at the talking stuffed lion over his shoulder.

"Come on, why don't you admit it?" Kon asked ignoring Ichigo's anger. "Orihime-sanhas some nice busts, and you have to admit it."

All Ichigo did was uselessly prevent a blush from marking his cheeks as he groaned nervously as he tried not to imagine such a scene with the bubbly girl's breasts.

"Wow, the boy has turned red!" Saber scoffed with laughter as she is clapping Ichigo's back hard. "You must really like that girl, right?"

"It's not that. Inoue is just a friend." Ichigo retorted, clearly not liking the exhange.

"Just a friend, huh? That is what she told me at the hotel. The two of you are a good couple, don't you?"

Ichigo only hissed mentally at the blonde's words but did not say anything else.

"Well, never mind. As soon as this is all over and I have finally become king, I will find myself a good wife and we will have a beautiful child." The tomboy stated as she continued walking with humor. Ichigo just stood still in place with Kon, the two of them staring at the blonde in unison with a blank expression and a sweat.

"A Wife, she said?" Ichigo asked in a whisper.

"And how is she going to have children if she is a girl too?" Kon was the next to ask.

"Oi, what are you doing standing there? Come on!" Saber yelled a few feet ahead of her Master, yelling at him to come forward.

"Were go now!"

---

After a while, the couple finally reached the meeting point being the mouth of the Mion River, which as Waver informed him, divided the 2 sections of the city being Miyama and Shinto. In front of them was the great red bridge that linked them. Ichigo looked at the imposing structure that linked the 2 cities and reminded him of Kawasaki's Maruko Bridge.

Ichigo, Saber and Kon were in the middle of the park just below the structure where they were supposed to meet Waver and Rider. The whole lot was a bit wide covered by a wide green lawn with little variety of vegetation around it looking like a small garden and several groves and some wooden benches. There was little lighting around the streetlights, and of course there were no people there, especially Waver and Rider.

The silence here was quite tense except for the sounds of vehicles crossing the bridge from one side to the other, but none of them cared about that. The only thing here after inspecting around right now are these 3, and no one else.

"Is this the place where we were meeting?" Kon asked after a few minutes of silence since they arrived here. "There is no one here."

Ichigo barely paid attention to what the Mod soul said and decided to try one thing. Taking a few steps forward, he moved his hands to the side of his mouth to use it amplify his voice.

"Oi, is anyone here?" He yelled loudly for anyone in the park to hear him. "If there anyone here, say something!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Saber chided for her Master's strange performance. The latter looked at the blonde before answering.

"What do you think? I don't know if they haven't arrived here yet or if they haven't noticed us yet, so I'm calling out loudly to they hear me." Ichigo replied before turning back to where he was before. "Oii, can you hear me? Waver, Rider. We're here!"

Saber frowned at the fuss the orange haired boy was making, and all she will do is attract the attention of the enemies.

After a few moments of yelling, the silence remained the same as ever.

"Do you think we have the wrong place?" Kon questioned the possibility that the place where they are treading now is not the right place.

"I don't think. I'm sure this is the place." Ichigo replied insisting this is the place.

"Look, do you know what I think?" Saber snapped suddenly with her arms crossed. "What is clear that those two have left us here lying like nothing, while they get away with looking for the enemy. I already knew that we should not have-

"OIII, I'm listening to you!"

The 3 of them were almost startled when they heard that booming voice that sounded from too far away even though it kept its focus. Ichigo and Saber frantically looked around to search for the origin of the voice, until the last one focused on the huge structure that supported the bridge on land and saw he.

Although it was barely visible, he spotted a small, blurred figure at the top of the tower waving an arm in greeting. She recognized him immediately.

"It's Rider!"

"Rider?" Ichigo asked confused.

"What is he doing up there?" Kon was the next to ask.

Meanwhile, up there, Rider continued to gestate an arm while giving a big friendly smile. Ichigo and Kon just kept looking confused without understanding what he was doing.

---

"I see, so you ran into they, huh?" Urahara spoke with his cell phone in his hand.

"Okay, good luck, Kurosaki-san." He said before hanging up and then turned to Ishida and Inoue.

"Good news. It seems that Kurosaki-san and Saber-san have already arrived safely at the meeting point and have reunited with Rider and his Master."

Orihime cracked a smile upon hearing that Kurosaki and Saber have arrived safely, and Uryū only sighed in relief.

"Okay, now it's our turn to act." Urahara stated as they prepared to make their own move.

---

'Goddammit! How did I get to this?'

If participating in this magical war was going to be real pain in the ass, this was without a doubt the worst thing I was feeling. Currently our protagonist was at the top of the tower of the bridge, at a height of 25 meters, a strong wind forced the teenager to curl up sitting with his arms and legs crossed due to the intense cold that that it was. Next to him was Waver in the same situation as Ichigo, and Kon was clinging between Ichigo's legs, and although unlike the Masters, the Mod soul could not feel vertigo or cold, he did not want his light cotton body to be dragged by the wind and getting lost in there.

That loon of Rider had chosen this precise place as a meeting point to better see the panorama of the city and detect the enemy's location from a distance. For a moment Ichigo had wondered how he could have gotten up there, but he didn't have to wait to find out when he saw the big red-haired man unsheathe a sword and then trace it across the sky causing a kind of gap to open in the air. The gap in the sky widened looking like a dimensional portal emanating strange grayish clouds emitting lightning and thunder. Then the next thing they heard was a strange bellow similar to that of an animal, and finally they saw something descending towards where Rider was.

The view at first was blurred, but when it cleared, they saw that it was 2 bulls with undulating muscles that 'flew' without wings pulling of a large charriot. Ichigo and Kon were shocked to see this, as it reminded them of Santa Claus's sleigh, but pulled by oxen instead of reindeer. The bulls stopped floating in the air next to where Rider was, who the latter got on the cart and then descended with them to where Ichigo and Saber were.

Rider had urged them to get in the chariot to take them up the bridge to get a better look at the views. Naturally, Ichigo flatly refused to go up and take a trip, but the King of Conquerors didn't take 'no' for an answer and picked up the teenager by the sweater without warning and placed him inside the chariot, and Saber was next without problems. Once uploaded, Rider had taken them to where he was now, on top of the bridge, and that is how our former Substitute got stuck in this situation freezing with cold next to the Rider's Master next to him lying on the metal bar that made up the structure from the bridge.

The situation here was not at all pleasant for both Masters, considering that they were trapped at a height of 25 meters, a strong wind blew on them which caused them to shiver with cold, in addition to the vertigo and the risk of falling further aggravated the situation. Normally this would not affect Ichigo when he was a Shinigami, but since his powers were gone and he had spent 2 and a half years not doing things like this, he no longer felt so immune to this situation.

Ichigo pushed those thoughts aside, knowing it did not matter now, and he simply wanted to know exactly why he was here.

"Hey, why are we up here?" Ichigo asked between whining from the cold.

"What's wrong? Didn't I tell you before?" Rider asked whose voice indicated that he was unfazed at all.

Sure, the Servants, unlike their respective Masters, they were very well without being affected by the wind and vertigo contemplating the views of the city. Rider was sitting, and Saber was dressed in her combat armor, except for the helmet, she was standing with her arms crossed looking bored the scenery.

"It's not that, dumbass!" Ichigo snapped not being in a good mood. "I mean what because we had go up here just to observe the scenery. Wouldn't it have been much better to stay on the ground and wait for the fighting to start?"

"Do not be stupid!" Rider retorted, hitting Ichigo's head with a flick of his finger causing the teenager to scream as he fell onto the bar. "This is the right place to have a good view and know where the fighting will be taking place. I doubt that being on the ground we would have oriented ourselves better."

Ichigo began to recover from the fatigue of the blow as he rubbed his forehead where the blow had come from.

"Ah, calm down, you'll see that you'll get used to it." Rider laughed. "You better not be impatient, as waiting here is also part of the war."

"Besides, as I have told you before, the second confrontation between heroes from other times has already begun." Rider kept talking while looking at Saber, who the latter was absorbed in looking at the horizon. Not because she was enjoying the view, she could feel within a few kilometers 2 excessively strong Servants fighting each other. According to what Rider had told her, they both belong to the Knight class with one being a Lancer, and the other turned out to be to her surprise, a Saber!

She still could not believe that when he verified that it was true that there was a second Saber, and something told him that her essence was strangely familiar to him. She did not know why, but his mana made her nostalgic and she had a feeling she had felt it earlier. Maybe they are some of her former Round Table companions like Lancelot, Gawain, or Bedivere? Or maybe father?

Whoever it was, she could not wait any longer to find out and clash her sword with his.

All she had to do was convince the big man to take him there.

"I'm sick of waiting so long. Why don't we go right away to fight them?" Saber asked, annoyed by the fact that they were not doing anything while 2 enemy Servants had been battling each other for quite some time, and she was not there to exchange blows.

"Come on, don't be so impatient, Saber." Rider chided almost fatherly. "The combat is not over yet."

"That's why we should attack now!" Saber yelled impatiently. "I didn't agree to be in this damn alliance just to stand here looking at the scenery while those two are having a good time."

Such was Knight of Rebellion's rage and frustration for not going into combat at once, that she was tempted to swing her sword and cut the red-haired giant in half at once.

However, just before the tension got worse, the King of Conquerors sensed that something was wrong.

"Hmm? This is bad. Very bad." Rider growled narrowed eyes as if he were worried about something. Ichigo and Waver noticed him seeing his reaction.

"What happens now?" Saber asked first.

"Lancer just unleashed his finishing move." Rider replied. "He wants to end the battle right there.

Saber just blinked in surprise. Was the second Saber who was fighting losing like this all of sudden to a Lancer? That is ridiculous! The Saber class are supposed to be very competent warriors and they would not lose that easily. Unless that second Saber was not as strong as she thought it was.

Anyway, her enthusiasm quickly winded after that though. She was so excited to fight someone of her caliber and that she did not expect her to be so weak, but in the end, she turned out to be wrong. She did not think it could be father or another of his knights.

"Are you sure?" Saber asked to confirm if what Rider said was a mistake.

"I'm afraid so." He answered gravely. "I'm not saying that the other Saber is losing as he seems to be holding up very well, but it seems that the Lancer is a very tough opponent."

The Knight of Rebellion nodded with that knowledge. Her Sword counterpart may still be holding up very well, but if that Lancer is as tough as Rider claimed, it might be worth it too.

"So, what are you waiting for? Come on, we need to be on time!" Saber exclaimed impatiently.

"Alright, let's go right away." Rider replied by standing up. This action surprised Waver.

"Wait, are we going now!?"

"Of course, boy. Would you rather stay here?" Rider asked, half looking over his shoulder at his young Master with a smile, knowing very well what his answer would be regarding the conditions that the poor boy suffered.

True to his confirmation, the British's face cringed in terror at the idea of being trapped here at a height of 25 meters with no possibility of escape and with this wind that made him enter hypothermia. He quickly thought about it.

"Okay, I'll go... Take me, you idiot!" Waver replied through tears.

"Good! Now that's my Master!"

With everything decided, Rider returned to sheath his sword and as before, he drew a line in the sky with it, causing that white vortex to open again where sparks and blue electricity emerged like lightning. From there, the fliying bulls from before emerged pulling the charriot, which went to where their summoner and company were standing.

Ichigo was the first to lightly stand up with Kon holding onto his leg as the cart pulled up next to Iskandar.

"Come on, Ichigo, let's go into combat." Saber urged her Master enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I'm coming, I'm coming." Ichigo replied to a bit annoyed before noticing that Waver still hadn't moved. "Hey, do you need help?" He asked as he leaned in a little and held out his hand to the younger teenager.

The British boy looked at the other Master's hand and immediately accepted his help, offering him his. Ichigo helped Waver almost to his feet and they walked very carefully not to fall. The truth is that it was an enormous vertigo due to the great height in which they were, and they did not want to run the risk of slipping and falling. Saber decided to help the 2 Masters, guiding them to the chariot where they felt safe now.

Once everyone was inside, Rider let out a yell before shaking the reins of the bulls forcefully causing the bulls to whinny and begin to move through the air. This is how an aerial walk began in the middle of the city towards the place where the second battle was taking place. Ichigo, Waver and Kon took the time to poke their heads and see how they were flying over city in this flying chariot, and they wondered if the people below were watching them or thinking that this could be Santa Claus's sleigh, although the idea may be fun since were not at Christmas yet.

"Can't this go any faster? We need to be on time." Saber protested impatiently to see that she seemed not to enjoy the journey, although his real concern was that they would not arrive in time to break into the battle.

"Don't worry, Saber. We'll get there!" Rider roared as he shocks the reins again, causing the bulls to whinny again and accelerate faster than before.

"Hahahaha! What do you think now?" Rider asked with a laugh as he caught up with the reins.

"Better!" Saber exclaimed, satisfied with the new speed.

However, the 2 Masters and the Mod soul weren't enjoying this at all, and it felt like they were riding a roller coaster. The force of the momentum forced them to cling behind the chariot and all they could do was wait for this turbulent ride to end when they reached the scene.

It took them a few minutes to reach their destination when they reached a small cargo port that would be the ideal site for a battle, and they also sensed the presence of the 2 fighting Servants. Rider made the bulls descend rapidly towards said port, in the middle of the battle. Down there, the fighting Servants did not notice the arrival of another, but as the large battle chariot was about to land towards them, the combatants stopped what they were doing and watched in shock as the third Servant arrived.

It was thus that the chariot landed safely on the ground, between the 2 combatants who were still looking perplexed by this unexpected appearance. At first Rider did not move, standing still like a statue, until a few moments later, he extended both arms to each side suddenly in a dramatic way, startling the 2 Servants.

"Both of you, sheathe your blades!" Rider exclaimed with a big smile. "You are in the presence of a king!"

Having said his proclamation, Rider took the time to scan his shocked audience to make sure they were paying attention to him. Seeing this with satisfaction, Rider continued.

"I am Iskandar, King of Conquerors! I am of the Rider class in this Grail War."

Servants known as Lancer and second Saber could only keep watching this in puzzlement.

Waver could only watch in shock and utter disbelief at what his Servant was doing right now. Was he showing up and rebelling his name to the enemy? Talking to them in that friendly way like nothing?

But what is he thinking?

---

That is all for today. I must say that this is one of the longest chapters I have done, as I had to add more details about the remaining explanation of the Servants, their additional abilities, and everything the Master needs to do. I usually do long chapters, but not as long as this.

Speaking of the penultimate, as you read, Ichigo already has his own Magic Circuits to supply his Servant with mana. I haven't decided yet how many circuits it has, but it will be the same as Shirou's at the beginning. Apart from that, this caused his reiatsu to reactivate causing Ichigo to become consciously spiritual again on the day he met Rukia. I hope you tell me about this to know your opinion of this.

Now, if some of you ask if we will see old Zangetusu or Shirosaki again, that remains to be seen.

Ja ne!