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?

15. Chapter 15

Hello everybody, here I come with the first chapter of February. I hope it was worth the wait. As you can see, it seems that the infamous Bluebeard has set his eyes on our Mo-chan mistaking her for someone precious of his in the past, and madness leads him to meet her to cause trouble. What turns is the war going to take right now?

On reviews:

Angelvan105: Well, I'm glad you got a bit of a grasp on the relationship between Ichigo and Mordred, but it's still a bit early to draw those kinds of conclusions that their relationship is stable. Either way, I promise that will change for later. As for Ishida, well, in a sense it is true that he acts as the leader after Urahara as he is the most intelligent and attentive of the group. So much so that even Ichigo himself, though he hates to admit it, has to follow him a lot much to Mordred's chagrin.

As for Kariya's fate. Well, leave it to me, I'll make an ending that will cancel Sakura's route.

Guest: Thank you, I also admit that you are a good couple. Just in case, I will tell you that there will be no competition to stay with the former Shinigami. You already know how Bleach is when it comes to romantic themes.

Chapter 15: Barbe bleue

06/02/2021

---

It was somewhat surprising that, at this time of night, much of the city was still as active as ever. Normal if it was a large and bustling metropolis more or less large than Karakura Town and on the same model as Tokyo. In fact, Fuyuki was not only geographically divided by the Mion River, it is also culturally divided. The eastern part where our protagonists settled, Shinto, is the newer district of the city than at the beginning of the 90's started a large-scale redevelopment project funded by the local government to build a modern business district containing features like a park and shopping mall in front of the train station.

This successful redevelopment attracted a large crowd of tourists from all over the world to go, visit and settle in one of the luxurious hotels in buildings to witness the panoramic views of the city, not to mention the shops as well, that apart from selling indigenous products from the area and the rest of Japan, there are also exotic products. Among the numerous customers who came to shop at every store they saw, there was also Orihime who inspecting a shelf full of bath products.

"Let's see, let's see." Orihime hummed as she continued looking at the products without deciding what to take. Even for her it was difficult to decide what to buy when she saw so many products that she had never seen as it was not sold in Karakura Town.

Either way, their brands looked great and well-priced, however it would have been easy to choose if most didn't looked the same and would have a lot to offer. Normally this would not have been a problem when she went shopping in one of the stores in Karakura Town in the company of Tatsuki who helped her from time to time. Too bad it could not be said of her new partner.

"Oi, are you done choosing already?" Saber asked impatiently. She was a little away beside her with her arms crossed and a frown on her face that reminded a bit of Ichigo. She also carried a shopping bag in her hand.

"Mō, just wait a moment." Orihime chided softly with a mother-like tone towards her daughter.

The blonde let out an exasperated sigh as she continues to wait. "Remind me at least why we are doing this."

"It's because today is our last day here and we have to find another establishment to stay." Orihime corrected as she continued to inspect the products.

"I already know that. What I meant is why do we have to be here." Saber snapped.

"Is because we need to bring things that we will need to do when we get to a new hotel." Orihime replied still absentmindedly.

In fact, it was true that this was the last time our protagonists were in the Golden Koi hotel and tomorrow they had to find another establishment to stay, and Urahara was taking care of it now. The reason behind this was for not to arouse suspicion among the residents and receptionists they had hypnotized, in addition to the fact that they needed to get to a nearby point where their allies currently live, which is located in the Miyama District, on the other side of the Mion River. For this reason, it was decided to get as possible to them so as not to risk venturing into the middle of the big city and being caught by an enemy Master.

Of course, the red Saber was not worried about that as she was still boasting that this would not be a problem, but she said nothing about it. With everything decided, the last day was used to do the shopping and bring everything necessary for the new establishment, from snacks to other things. Now they were going to a small product store (only Orihime accompanied by Saber) to buy some last things.

"I think I'll take these." Orihime said with a smile as she held 2 shampoo bottles of each color in her hands; blue and cream. Saber was relieved that the other girl could make up her mind at last.

"Neh, Saber-san, do you want to buy something too?"

Saber tilted her head slightly, thinking it over.

"No."

"Are you sure?" Orihime asked unconvinced.

She immediately turned her head towards her looking at her annoyed. "I've already told you that I don't need any of that! Don't compare me as those ladies who want anything, is that clear?"

Needless to say, Orihime had gotten the message from the blonde well and took it well into seriously.

"H-hai."

A moment later, both girls put their purchases on the counter and the store manager analyzed them before delivering them.

"Thanks for your purchase." Said the manager.

"You're welcome." Orihime replied before she and her partner collected the bags loaded with the things they had bought and then they left the store. The first one hummed happily as she walked with her partner down the sidewalk when she saw her work finished.

"Look how many things we have bought. I'm sure Kurosaki-kun and Ishida-kun will be happy about this."

The blonde did not seem to share the same enthusiasm as the orange haired one, and she just kept walking without saying anything. This did not go unnoticed by the last one.

"Is something wrong, Saber-san?" Orihime asked sounding somewhat concerned.

"Nothing, I'm glad you're proud of that." Saber replied with a disinterested tone in her voice.

Orihime looked at something strange in the blonde's behavior and it seemed that she was in a bad mood. Normally she was not so cranky as Ichigo, but it seemed like she was today for some reason, and she knew why.

"Sorry if I dragged you to go shopping with me."

"It's nothing. I didn't have anything else to do either, other than Ichigo who asked me to go in his place." Saber replied simply without any annoyance in her voice.

Still, Orihime did not seem so convinced by it. Just like she said before, the blonde was not the kind of person to spend most of her time doing all kinds of shopping like any normal person would, and she wasn't entirely normal considering she was a pretty tough warrior, rougher than Tatsuki and Rukia by the looks of it, and she didn't seem overly sociable. It was clear that she was upset to go shopping.

"Are you sure? There were also clothes there that you could have worn. I don't think you should always wear the same old clothes."

"I'm very well with what I'm wore, and I don't think those outfits are to my taste." Saber replied not being so happy if she had to wear those 'lady' dresses. "Besides, I'm only dressed like this to be inconspicuous from the crowd and get a lot of attention with my armor."

"Oh, I see." Orihime nodded as she remembered the thick armor the blonde wore when she first appeared and when she used it in battle yesterday. She could only tell that she looked quite unusual, more or less like a samurai, not to say that she was thick. Quite thick for a girl who was roughly the same height as her.

"How do you feel wearing that armor?" Orihime asked curiously.

Saber cocked her head toward her to look at her. "What?"

"I mean, I've been wondering about how you can move with that great armor whit how heavy it is not to mention that sword that also looks quite heavy."

The blonde knight turned her attention forward as she thought about what the other girl said.

"For me this is nothing." She replied much to Orihime's surprise. "Do you remember what I told you yesterday about my story? Since I was little, I was trained carrying heavy things like armor and carrying a heavy sword. I must admit that from the beginning it was very hard and very difficult to overcome, but I ended up getting used to it and that's why I became very strong. The armor that I wore in like always have by my side since it was the only thing that a warrior made me, and although I hate to admit it, it was a good gift from my mother."

The seriousness and impassivity of her words made Orihime look at her more solemnly. She still remembered her story and could not stop impressing her with its drama.

She had been raised in solitude by a single mother in some remote part of civilization and educated her by making her believe that she is a guy, as if she wanted her to be a tomboy or lesbian and also instructed her in the art of fighting so that she would become a strong and badass warrior as she is now. All in order to join the knights of her father who apparently hated woman's, and that is why 'he' never saw Mordred as his daughter. It was for this reason that Mordred had rebelled her father and they both died in the end. She kept thinking about how tragic the blonde's life was.

"Why are you looking at me like this?" Saber asked suddenly as she realized that the other girl was looking at her.

The latter was startled to be discovered. "Oh, I'm sorry. I did not want to spy on you. Sorry!"

The blonde stared at her for a moment before deciding that it was not worth it, and let it pass when she turned her gaze forward for Orihime's great relief. Once everything was calm, Orihime also reflected on the relationship the Knight of Rebellion had with the former Substitute Shinigami being that not very good since Saber did not seem to respect him for being an incompetent Master, while Kurosaki saw the blonde as a shameless, rude and uncouth person.

She knew that the knight was not as friendly as Rukia or Tatsuki, but she also did not want both Kurosaki and Saber to get in such a negative way since after all they are companions in this war and should help and respect each other. She wanted them to learn to understand each other well and get along in the same way, no matter how difficult it might sem. She was not quite sure, but most likely both Kurosaki and Saber would think the same of each other but could not express it due to each other's defects.

Maybe if she helps both Master and Servant understand each other a little, maybe they will come to respect each other and not argue anymore. With that, she decided to give it a try.

"Ano, Saber-san-

She did not have time to finish the sentence when she saw the blonde stop abruptly and reached out to the right to stop off the orange-haired girl.

"Something wrong?" Orihime asked worriedly.

She ignored her question while still staring straight ahead with a stern expression like an animal stalking. Right in front of them there was nothing but the sidewalk stretching as far as the eye could see and it was less crowded with people. However, that was not what Saber was concerned about. Due to her unique parentage, Mordred had the blood of both fairy and dragon coursing through her veins, which gave her a nearly unprecedented sensitivity to magical energy. And what she felt flowing out around her was an amount of magical energy.

"Saber-san?" Orihime asked concerned about the blonde's behavior.

"Show yourself right now!" Saber yelled out loud looking at nothing. "If you don't come out, I'll go get you."

At first Orihime did not understand what was happening, but suddenly she heard some strange ghostly laughter and then a strange series of glowing particles appeared out of nowhere several meters in front of the girls and began to materialize into a humanoid form. Orihime stared in shock at being just appeared in front of them.

Definitely he had a human form, but he looked pretty creepy like a zombie or something. He appeared to be a man in his mid-30s with huge bulging eyes and greasy shiny cheeks. His skin appeared to be haggard like a corpse despite his tall, muscular build. His garments strange and intimidating, consist of a luxurious tunic of ancient design; scarlet blood patterns adorned the pitch-black fabric.

As soon as he appeared, Orihime almost took refuge behind Saber while the latter looked defiantly waiting for the newcomer to make his first move. Instead, the strange man fixed his attention only on the blonde with his toad eyes and then gave a lustful smile.

"I have come for you, my Holy Virgin."

---

The automatic doors of another supermarket opened side by side to allow Ichigo came out with his own purchase; 2 bags in each hand.

He had contributed together with Orihime in the purchase of materials they needed to go to another hotel, and only he alone bought his own food. He stopped a few feet from the store he had come out of and then looked at his watch to see the time.

'20: 30 '

According to Urahara, they should be back at the hotel before 9:00 pm or 10:00 pm so as not to come into contact with an enemy Master, although the battles would not be fought until later, but they still had to be cautious.

"Hey, are you done already?" Kon asked coming out of a hiding place where he had been hiding when Ichigo entered the store. He stood under his feet.

"Yes, I think I now have everything I need." The former Substitute responded by looking at one of the bags.

"Good, then let's go back to the hotel." Said the talking plush lion with enthusiasm for wanting to return. The whole time waiting for Ichigo to return had stressed him out a bit for fear of getting involved in another fight between Servants.

"Not so fast. I haven't contacted with Inoue yet." Ichigo responded by remembering that his friend was still shopping.

"Oh, that's right. Wait ... is she alone!?" Kon yelled worried because the bubbly girl was alone and helpless in the other store with the possibility that a thief, kidnapper or an enemy Master would attack her. "How could you leave her alone!?" He yelled pointing accusingly at Ichigo.

"Oh shut up, don't be ridiculous!" Ichigo chided a bit annoyed at the Mod Soul's exaggerated attitude. "Sent Saber to accompany her, don't worry about a thing."

Kon looked a bit puzzled at the orange haired boy as if he had grown a second head. The latter noticed his gaze.

"What now?"

"Do you think it's safe to leave her alone with her?"

Ichigo stared at the stuffed animal blankly. "What are you talking about?"

"What I'm talking about!?" Kon repeated aloud. "Don't you realize that that tomboy girl will most likely take advantage of Orihime-san while you're away to do whatever she wants with her? You can't imagine what they will be doing right now." He said this last sentence while imagining the 2 girls together strolling, and suddenly the tomboy blonde decides to take sweet Orihime to an amusement park, hang out there for fun, ride a Ferris wheel and finally kiss.

The very idea of seeing that scene is… is… is…!

"Well, I don't really know if it's nice to see two girls kissing each other, but I'll have to watch it just in case." Kon said erasing the fear of seeing the 2 girls kissing, and now he was curious to know what it would be like to witness said scene.

While Kon kept fantasizing about that, Ichigo just rolled his eyes at the ridiculously exaggerated imagination of the stuffed lion. 'Seriously, where does he get that from?' However, he couldn't help but feel a little worried by the mere thought of that cheeky and headstrong girl, even more so than Tatsuki and Rukia, taking advantage of Inoue because of how tomboyish she is, but he overcame his inquietude knowing that she probably wasn't be that kind of person. He may never get along with her, but he also couldn't luxury of having bad prejudices despite her infamous legend.

"Neh, Ichigo." Kon called again leaving his thoughts aside and now looking at the orange haired boy. Said teenager paid attention to him.

"Aren't you going just in case?"

Ichigo just cocked his head slightly without saying anything, but his mind was pondering it. Even if he didn't admit it, the former Substitute was a bit worried about leaving both Inoue and Saber alone. Not beacuse a kidnapper or rapist suddenly appeared. Ichigo would pity for the poor criminal if he were to step over the blonde tomboy since the latter would have killed him without hesitation, and things would get even more complicated if the 2 of them ended up in jail for murder despite being only by self-defense.

Another thing that worried him was if instead of a criminal, they will come across an enemy Master and his Servant. One of the possibilities could be Lancer's, that shitty teacher who threatened Waver the other night, Archer's, well he didn't think he would worry so much considering if his Master was someone 'honorable' or 'chivalrous' such as he saw it in the church. But what worried him the most is for the Berserker's Master whose identity he did not know, although he might be someone insane enough to summon such a monster and suddenly go to attack them.

He really didn't want that to happen, although he didn't think it's going to happen in a place like this. As they informed him of the fundamental rules of this war that restricted the disclosure and existence of everything related to the 'supernatural' including warfare to the public, it was highly unlikely that an enemy would appear and attack in front of many witnesses if they did not want to be expelled from the ritual or worse, being hunted until his head was hung. With that, he decided not to worry about Inoue and Saber.

"Don't worry. I don't think those two will get into trouble far."

---

On the sidelines of Ichigo's optimistic thoughts, a little away from him, Orihime and Saber's situation seemed to be taking an unexpected turn.

The atmosphere there was still silent, and the girls were still looking at the newcomer a few meters in front of them. Orihime just looked cautiously at the strange man who looked intimidating dressed in a rather outrageous outfit like he was on Halloween. Apart from that, his graying skin as well as his matching hair next to his toad eyes, all that indicated that this person was not human, in addition to the strange aura full of malice that she felt in him. With all that, she could only speculate on the identity of the man.

"Is that a Servant?"

"Yeah, I think it must be Caster." Saber replied, immediately identifying the class of her enemy.

"Caster?" Orihime asked puzzled. If she remembered correctly, Caster was the Servant who had not appeared the other night with the others Servant. She also recalled that according to Urahara's words, this Servant specializes in the arts of sorcery and magecraft as a sorcerer.

"Oh Jeanne, I've always longed for this day to come. We are finally back together." Caster exclaimed dramatically in a gleeful tone.

Caster's words only served to further confuse the girls. What was he talking about?

"You know him?" Orihime asked the blonde to find out if there was some kind of connection between this Servant and hers.

"Of course not." Saber replied denying any relationship with that decrepit sack. "I'd never seen this guy in my entire life. What is more, from his dialect, I doubt he's from Britain."

Hearing such those direct words, the pale expression of the Servant of Sorcery transformed into pure disbelief and horror.

"Oh non! Are you saying you've forgotten my face?" He asked dramatically while pointing to himself.

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm telling you I've never seen such a pitiful guy like you!" Saber retorted starting to get fed up with exchanging words with this annoying old man.

Caster no longer seemed to take this cruel rejection as he put his hands on his head to shake it as if it were hurting him.

"It's me! Gilles de Rais! I've been praying solely for your resurrection and spent my life waiting for a miracle to reunite us!"

"Oh, shut up! You make me want to throw up!" Saber bellowed loudly before instantly materializing her armor replacing her previous clothing and made Clarent appear in her right hand ready for battle. "Do not make me waste all night spouting nonsense without sense! Either you be on your guard, or I will attack you right now." Declared the red knight with a threatening tone that did not guarantee any opportunity.

Of course, it did not take a former French marshal to understand that she was really serious about her threat and wouldn't hesitate to attack him as much as she wanted.

"Don't do it, Saber-san!" Orihime warned placing her hands on the right shoulder pad of the blonde. "You shouldn't attack now. There are still people nearby."

Although she did not want to admit it, the orange-haired girl was right that she could not provoke a direct confrontation without being able to choose a suitable battlefield such as the port and away from all presence of passers-by, and this was not the right place. She was almost mad at this.

"Please wait a moment." Orihime yelled at Caster. "You two shouldn't fight here. I will warn Kurosaki-kun of this, and you must tell your Master that-

"Silence! I didn't come here to waste time in a fight!" Caster interrupted with anger in his voice as he glanced at the orange haired girl. "I only came here to meet my beloved maid and help her defeat that impostor, but unfortunately she seems to have lost her memories and has gone mad."

Then he dropped his body to his knees with his hands stretched out on the ground as a strange sign of defeat and several moans could be heard from him as if he was crying as if he were a poor tortured soul. Orihime and Saber could not help but look at this poor madman with mixed expressions. The first with surprise and sorrow while the last with antipathy.

It was then that Saber's mind was activated as she remembered the last thing he said.

"Wait, what was the last thing you said? What did you mean by that imposter?"

Caster raised his head from the ground to look at the blonde with tears welling up in his eyes. "Well, you see... I watched your battle the other night fighting someone who looked a lot like you, but I know that wasn't you."

Thinking a bit, only an idea occurred to her as to what he was referring to.

"Are you talking about father?"

"I don't know what you mean by father, but for me there is only one Jeanne and that is you. I do not know what God can be so cruel to do this to my dear muse and create an imposter like that. You were great fighting against that fake Jeanne, but you couldn't beat her." Caster then rises to his feet again. "For that reason, I want to help you. I want to ally with you to defeat that damn imposter and-

"Bullshit!" Saber roared suddenly, shaking Orihime and Caster by her sudden scream. "Listen, my name is Mordred Pendragon, I'm the one true successor to the great King of Knights, Arthur Pendragon. If there is anyone here who can challenge father and defeat him, it is me, and I don't need the help of a decrepit old man like you."

The atmosphere fell into complete silence as Caster continued to stare at the girl who was supposed to be 'his' Jeanne in utter disbelief.

"But Jeanne..."

Without warning, the Knight of Rebellion took a huge leap into the air and raised her great sword before descending and pouncing on that annoying thing to finally bisect him and not have to listen to his moans of baby.

"Aaaaah!"

*BOOM*

Saber smashed her sword just in the same position where the former French marshal had stood before, breaking part of the pavement due to the incredible superhuman strength of the knight lifting a large amount of debris and fragments. Luckily, none of those fragments fell on Orihime, but she remained on the alert.

When the dust settled, Saber was surprised to see that her target was no longer where she had thrown her sword and she also saw no traces of his body.

"What a devilish force you carry." Both Saber and Orihime raised their gazes upward and saw Caster totally whole on top of a lamppost. He was giving a strange proud smile on his face. "As expected of you, you are a formidable warrior who would annihilate any army."

However, the blonde was not for the praise of her enemy and only looked at him with anger and annoyance for having avoided the attack of her sword with ease.

"Come down right now, you coward!" The knight roared at the witcher. "Face me and die like a warrior!"

Caster just looked at her now with complete indifference before speaking. "I'm afraid I'm not ready to die yet."

Saber grunted in surprise. He really going to leave the battlefield, just like that? What kind of warrior would do that?

"Oh, now I get it. As you're just someone who likes to play with magic and stuff, you're scared to face me directly." Saber scolded with derision. However, Caster did not get carried away by it as he continued to watch her with a listless expression.

"Since drastic measures are called for, I will make preparations before coming again. I swear to you, Jeanne. I will free your soul from the curse of God and with your strength we will destroy that imposter."

And with that, Caster's body vanished the same way it had appeared, leaving the 2 girls alone.

"Tch, you coward." Saber growled in disgust. "This is not going to end like this."

With that said, she instantly made her armor and sword vanish back into her formal attire.

Meanwhile Orihime could only sigh in relief to see that the enemy Servant has retreated for the moment and there is not going to be another battle like the one from the other night. Despite being used to witnessing supernatural level fights, that did not mean she was fond of it. She still remembered how it ended and the last thing she wanted to see was Kurosaki half dead again.

"Shit, to think that in the end I would take that bastard's head." Saber growled when her chance to make her first assassination of one of her opponents in this war got out of hand. She was walking grumpily towards Orihime.

"Well, I think we were lucky that this did not end in a fight, since I did not want to know what would have happened if someone had been involved." Orihime said optimistically.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." The blonde replied sarcastically as she passed the other girl. "Now let's get out of here, I've wasted enough time already."

Orihime tilted her head back to see the blonde knight walk away with her hands behind her neck, and she was barely surprised by her lack of concern for passersby, but she did not think she was really that bad. It was her way of being after all.

Putting those thoughts aside, Orihime rushed to follow Mordred from behind leaving this place to meet Kurosaki and the others and explain what happened.

Once the 2 girls had left, neither had realized that they were being watched by 2 hidden mysterious shadows.

"Following the Master of the second Saber has resulted in an unexpected reward." One of the figures commented, who, although not showing it due to the white skull-shaped mask that hid his face, was smiling. "We actually found Caster as well."

"Of course, we must follow him, too." Said his partner. Thus, the remnants of the Assassin, Hassan-i-Sabbah of the Hundred Faces, set out to track down the Servant of witchcraft.

---

Golden Koi

"Those four are taking too long." Uryū said with some concern as he looked out the window the panoramic night view of Fuyuki from the hotel room.

"Do you think something may have happened to them?" Urahara asked from behind the Quincy with a serious air.

That was what Uryū really feared. Even after the conclusion of the first battle recently, he is still concerned about the possibility that one of the Servants had attacked them. The only potential threats were undoubtedly Archer and Berserker, but there was also that strange man in black who was concealed in one of the cargo shipments pointing a sniper rifle at Kurosaki or that boy Waver, and there was no doubt that he could have shoot them if Urahara had not intervened in time.

That man who was supposed to be a Master, seemed to be some kind of well-trained mercenary from what he could see when carrying those weapons and was specialized in long-distance combat. It was very strange that a magus would carry such conventional weapons and he wondered if he really was a magus, and if not, why did he carry those Command Seals? Well, maybe he got it somehow similar to Kurosaki.

Either way, this guy was really dangerous in addition to having violated one of the rules of the Holy Grail War that strictly forbid the use of private armies since a companion had also been attracted, being that woman also armed that he had knocked out. Uryū wondered what if to protect his friend/rival and that British boy from a treacherous attack, he would have no choice but to kill him. The Quincy understood perfectly that this was a war, and as such there were no regrets, doubts, and scruples that a soldier will kill his opponent at random and even using any creeping method. Just as Urahara had told him, even if it were not really necessary to liquidate the Masters, it did not mean that it was forbidden to do so since even a Master without a Servant could be a threat. As such, there would be no one who would be saved from a bullet to the brain as it is like a survival game.

When Uryū wanted to give Urahara his opinion on the man's fate, surprisingly the shopkeeper gave a quick and simply answer like 'It is not necessary to kill him.' That left Ishida completely mystified as he heard the precise and smooth tone that Urahara used to give his final answer as he did not take into account that this man was about to assassinate either Kurosaki or Waver with a rifle, and the shopkeeper decided to forgive him. Just when Ishida was about to ask about his actions, he got no answers when the blond Shinigami urged him to witness the battle and he did. The course of the battle had been so entertaining that he had forgotten his earlier question as he witnessed the abilities of every Servant he saw and the danger they posed.

Even so, he did not forget that this human or magus also represented a grave danger. Even now, the Quincy still wondered why the blond Shinigami decided to forgive him if even he also knew he was a threat to his former apprentice, but surely there will be a reason behind this. In fact, there were still so many things young Quincy did not know about the eccentric ex-captain, and surely there must be a good reason.

Suddenly, his line of thoughts was interrupted when he heard the noise of the door opening, and the Quincy turned his head to the side to see to his surprise Kurosaki (and Kon perched on the latter's shoulder) accompanied by Inoue and Saber.

"Kurosaki. Inoue-san." Said the Quincy approaching with relief to see his friends safe.

"Hi, Ishida-kun." Inoue greeted with a smile.

"Why did it take you so long? Do you know what the time it is?" Ishida scolded the 2, especially Kurosaki. The latter frowned at the accusation.

"Shut up, it was Inoue and Saber who decided to go shopping, not me."

"Excuse me, Master, but it was you who ordered me to accompany her to her shopping. I didn't want to go in the first place." Saber retorted, annoyed at the implication Ichigo have her.

Ichigo pursed his lips a little more, and before the teenager blurted out anything unpleasant, Kisuke immediately intervened quickly.

"Now, now, the important thing is that you came out it one piece and you didn't run into a Servant, right?"

"I would not say that." Ichigo spoked suddenly putting a serious expression on his face. The seriousness in his voice and what he said caught the attention of the bespectacled Quincy and the blond shopkeeper. They then turned their attention to Orihime who also seemed to be more or less listless. Seeing the sweet, smiling girl bubbly like that was kind of weird, unless something bad happened.

"Did something wrong happen there?" Urahara asked after a moment's silence.

He did not need to wait any longer to find out when Inoue revealed to the boys what happened after finishing her shopping with Saber and her encounter with the Servant they had not seen yet.

"I see, so you saw Caster, the Servant of Sorcery, didn't you?" Urahara began, sitting in a chair in front of a round table and the teenagers too.

"Hai." Inoue nodded in response.

The atmosphere in the room became quite quiet as everyone reflected on what happened and Ichigo and Uryū looked at the girl seriously.

"Is it true that his Master was not with him?" Ishida asked curiously.

"No, he said he was alone. I think Caster is European since he had an English, German or maybe French accent. I don't remember." She said as she was clumsily trying to figure out his language.

"Well, and did he say his name?"

"Yes, he said his name was... etto... what was his name?" Again, the girl was in conflict with her mind as she tried in vain to remember the name of the enemy Servant that was vitally important for the rest to know. Saber rolled her eyes in boredom as she saw the other girl's futile attempt to try to remember something simple and decided to intervene so as not to waste any more time.

"His name is Gilles de Rais, a French nobleman and military man who took part in an event known as the 100 Years War, and who later became a mad psychopath who was dedicated to kidnapping and raping women and children until he was executed for his misdeeds." Saber replied with total precision as she got the information on Caster's identity through the Throne of Heroes link.

Everyone was silent as they absorbed the newly released information suddenly shared by Saber.

"Gilles de Raid, huh?" Kisuke said as he memorized the name.

"I'm going to look for it here." Ishida said as he took his cell phone out of his pocket and tried to Google the man's information.

"Wait a minute, Ishida-san." Urahara interrupted suddenly causing Ishida to stop and then look at the shopkeeper.

"What's up?"

The former captain did not say anything for a moment before turning to Ichigo. "We better if Kurosaki-san try to read the information about Caster."

The teenager looked at the merchant without understanding his words, especially Ichigo. "What are you talking about?"

Urahara adjusted his hat a little before answering. "As I told you the other night, the Masters also have the ability to discover the identities and abilities of enemy Servants due to the link to the Throne of Heroes." The shopkeeper explained. "Just as Saber-san did a few moments ago, she can know much of said Servant's history, and you can do the same."

However, despite this knowledge, Ichigo himself had serious doubts about doing the did as his Servant did. "Wait a minute, do you really hope that I can learn more about that guy telepathically?" He asked uncertainly about having perception skills.

"Of course. Your Command Seals are also like a key to access the information files of the Throne of Heroes and to be able to read the information of each hero registered in it." Urahara explained confidently. "All you have to do is register the name of said Heroic Spirit in your mind and use your intuition to access it and identify it instantly."

Ichigo could only frown at how complicated that sounded and he was still a bit skeptical that he could achieve something he had never done in his life. He did not really know how Waver would do it as a third-class magus, but he would surely do it painfully like when he not could identify Berserker when the latter first appeared. He did not know if it was really vital for a Master to learn to instantly identify the enemy Servant just by knowing his name through a link to that Throne of Heroes but considering that they all seemed to be good professionals, especially Tokiomi, he would have no choice but to do so.

"Come on, try at least." The shopkeeper encouraged with a smile of conviction.

Still, this did not help him one bit with his problem doing it. He did not know how to access those files even with his own seals. This looked quite similar to how he tried to mold his Reiryoku into the Reishūkaku several times in Kūkaku's house, almost all of which resulted in humiliating failure. It was only thanks that his cousin (who at that time he did not know until later) had given him a little advice on how to mold his Reiryoku correctly, and after other unsuccessful attempts he had achieved it with great success.

He could not say if the method of accessing that link of the Throne of Heroes was similar to how it was done to the Reishūkaku, but it might be worth a try. Who knows, maybe he would gain some respect from the tomboy knight.

With that decided, Ichigo decided to make his only attempt. Closing his eyes, he emptied his mind of all thought as he only registered Caster's name; Gilles de Rais and repeated it over and over again.

Ride de Rais.

Ride de Rais.

Ride de Rais.

Ride de Rais.

He repeated the name countless time in his mind as he remembered something about how little he knew from part of Saber, until he came to something. Noticing a strange tingling in his mind, the eighth Master saw something flows into him and his brain was filled with information not heard verbally or in writing... but in a way that he could not understand. After a short time, Ichigo opened his eyes with all the information gathered in his brain.

"Well? What did you see?" Urahara asked wanting to know if his former apprentice managed to gain access to the Throne of Heroes. The other eyes were also on the chosen Master to see if he succeeded. The latter did not waste on time in releasing it.

"His name is Gilles de Montmorency-Laval, Baron de Rais and born around 1405 in Champtocé-sur-Loire. He joined the French army at a very young age in the final decades of the 100 Years War against England and had become into a renowned field marshal, and he was also a man devoted to Jeanne d'Arc, but when she died, he went mad and left the army to join a satanic sect and engage in kidnapping women and sexually abusing children. Therefore, they captured him and hanged him on October 26, 1440."

After he finished speaking, everyone (except Saber) looked at the orange-haired boy as if he had grown a second head, shocked by the sudden knowledge he had about that man like that instantly. Needless to say, Ichigo was getting a bit uncomfortable seeing so many stares on him.

After a moment, Uryū decided to verify if everything Kurosaki had said was true by searching for the man's information on Wikipedia. After a few moments, he began to give his answer.

"Yes, it seems that everything Kurosaki said about this man is true." Ishida confirmed to the surprise of some. Urahara smiled in anticipation at this.

"See? Now you can do something the Masters can do." Urahara praised for his former apprentice. Inoue could not help but smile euphoric at Kurosaki's new ability that would bring him an advantage. As for Saber, she just did not change her expression as if it was not a big deal.

Ichigo did not have too much say about this uncanny ability to connect with the Throne of Heroes to learn the identities and abilities of enemy Servant and use them of his favor, except that it could be a good advantage in subsequent fights. That is, if there was a Servant stupid enough to reveal his name to the adversary just like Rider did before. At the moment he knew the identities of the other Servants except Archer and Berserker, and therefore he had to be careful and watch out. He would only settle for knowing who are the second Saber (although he still has a hard time believing), Lancer, Rider and-

"Wait a minute!" Ichigo exclaimed suddenly in disbelief and bewildered upon realizing Caster's identity.

"Something wrong?" Inoue asked concerned upon seeing Kurosaki's tense expression.

Ichigo did not reply while still processing Caster's identity. Gilles de Rais, a serial killer, torturer, woman rapist and pedophile. A psychopath! With all that in mind, Ichigo wasted no time looking at the shopkeeper and bombarding him with questions.

"Weren't Heroic Spirits supposed to be heroic people who saved the lives of others?" He asked in disbelief as he remembered what the shopkeeper explained to him about Heroic Spirits. "What is heroic about that madman?"

The others absorbed what Kurosaki had just said about Caster and some nodded comprehension at what the meant. The Heroic Spirits were supposed to be someone in the past who did great memorable feats such as saving their people or his country from any threat and that is why they were remembered after death as great figures and inspiration for the next future generation. Definitely making an act as despicable and petty as rape was not something to be memorable. Well, yes, but not as a hero, but as a villain. A great villain.

"The truth is that you are right." Urahara said nodding in agreement. "I highly doubt that Gilles deserves to be recognized as a Heroic Spirit due to his infamous reputation, but according to you and Saber-san, he was once a warrior who fought against the enemies of his country."

"That's right." Ishida said. "Apparently at that time, France was at war with England due to a dispute over who should be the King of France. The King of England at that time wanted to be king of that country, but the French refused to be ruled by a king of a foreign country, and thus began the war which lasted 100 years.

Almost 100 years later, English troops had conquered more than half of northern France and the entire country fell into chaos until a young peasant girl of about 18 years of age named Jeanne d'Arc who they say was she sent by God to lead to the French army to liberate France from the English invaders, had managed to liberate several cities before being abandoned and betrayed by the English who had captured her and taken her prisoner until they executed her by burning her in a pile."

Uryū was a bit silent as he let the information settle on his 2 friends. They each took a mixed reaction.

"Wait a minute. Are you saying that this Jeanne was betrayed and sentenced to die burned alive?" Asked Kon, who hadn't spoken since they got here, clearly puzzled and scandalized that such a young (and surely beautiful) girl suffered a horrible fate. "Why did those bastards do such a thing?"

"The truth is that I am not very sure, but I think it was because do the great popularity that she had that would threaten the reputation of the great France leaders of the time." Uryū explained. "Jeanne was highly revered in France as a savior and a saint, and for that reason they nicknamed her the 'Saint of Orleans'. Among those who were most devoted to her were Gilles who was a fanatic of hers, and after Jeanne's death, Gilles fell into madness and thus became that insane psychopath."

Silence reigned once more in the room as everyone absorbed the last plane of information.

Orihime was the only one who could not help but feel sorry for that man. It is true that when she first saw him on the street, he gave her the impression that he was some kind of executioner, or a disturbed man obsessed with lust because of how he looked at her with those toad eyes and that was confirmed by Kurosaki and Saber. However, now he understood the horrible circumstances that the poor man had to go through in the past and all because of the horrible death of a loved one of his whom he idolized so much, Jeanne.

Jeanne...?

"I remember now!" Orihime exclaimed suddenly, drawing the attention of the others.

"What happened?" Ichigo asked surprised by her reaction.

"Just when Caster had shown up, he had called Saber-san Jeanne."

Everyone was surprised by the reveal of the orange-haired girl.

"Are you sure about that?" Urahara asked a bit puzzled.

"Yes, he had called Saber-san 'Jeanne' as if he thought she was her." Orihime replied as she directed her gaze towards the blonde, the latter frowning as she saw how she was comparing her to the French Saint.

They all fell silent as they pondered this new revelation and then turned their attention to Saber. They wondered why someone so close to the Saint of Orleans could have mistaken the blonde for Jeanne, if the penultimate did not seem to be so believing as well as being so bravado and stubborn to her infamous legend. It was quite rare to hear that and try to compare a devout saint to the infamous Knight of Rebellion.

Saying that the red knight was getting uncomfortable by the silly expectant looks they were giving her became apparent as she began to get fed up.

"Alright now, stop looking at me like that!" Saber protested angrily and made the onlookers stop looking at her. "What do I care if that bastard mistook me for someone he knew? I swear the next time I meet him, I'll kill him!"

No one wanted to comment on it seeing the fire of determination in her eyes. It is seen that her meeting with Caster was not nice at all or perhaps it is because she wanted to rectify her previous defeat with the other Servants. Either way, she was pretty determined.

"Well, anyway, if he really mistook Saber-san for that Jeanne girl, he's most likely going to come back for her, right?" Urahara asked.

"That's what he said when he left." Inoue said as she remembered the last words of the Servant of the Sorcery before fading away. "He said that this time he would come back when he was well prepared."

Everyone (except Saber) took the warning seriously and knew exactly what that meant.

"Well, and what do we do?" Ichigo asked after a short silence seeing that the situation was not favorable if it is true that a Servant comes to attack them.

"It is not obvious?" Saber suddenly asked, who did not seem to be worried. "I'll wait for him, and I swear I'll beat him this time."

"I guess up to this point I agree that Saber-san has an advantage against Caster because she owns Anti-Magic Resistance, that grants protection against magical effects, and because of that, she will be able to deal with him." Urahara argued upon seeing the fact that the red knight might have the upper hand. "But it still does not leave the fact that we are facing an enemy whose abilities we have not yet seen and that worries me since from what I read in the book, he is not an enemy that we should underestimate."

Ignoring the blonde's sarcastic snort, the shopkeeper continued. "Wherever you are going to fight, I am sure he will do anything to gain the upper hand."

"And what do we do?" Ishida asked seeing how difficult this is.

Urahara took a moment to start. "Well, I don't know much about it yet, but we could let Saber-san attack Caster head-on."

"That's what I think too." The blonde answered.

"But I'm still a bit concerned about his abilities plus we haven't witnessed his Noble Phantasm yet."

"What if we ask them for help?" Orihime asked suddenly. "What if we ask Waver-kun and Rider-san to help us?"

"Did you mean those two?" Ichigo asked in reference to his temporary allies.

"Yes, we can ask them for help again."

"I think it's a good idea." Urahara added in agreement with the idea.

"What!? What the hell are you saying? No way!" Saber protested totally against allying with that jackess of Rider. They all watched Saber put on a sour and grumpy expression. "We don't need those knaves to help us beat that bastard. I can do it on my own."

"Yes, suppose you can beat Caster, but keep in mind that we don't know too much about him yet, other than where he and his Master are hiding." Kisuke argued reasonably.

"It's true, maybe Waver may know something about them." Ishida said agreeing. He looked at Kurosaki. "What do you opinion, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo thought for a moment about his options. While, he had not yet seen Caster in action and even the information he found on the Throne and from Saber was of little use since he did not see him fight. According to what the shopkeeper told him, Caster is considered one of the weakest classes of Servants, or so he said, so in theory Saber can defeat him, but once again, he still did know what kinds of tricks he could use.

The other problem would be his Master who did not yet know and what kind of tricks he can perform. However, that what worried him the most was the fact that he might be in league with another Master-Servant pair like them, and one of his allied possibilities might that golden Archer (although he doubted it a lot) or that black Berserker that nearly killed him. He really did not want to deal with it again, so he made his decision.

"I think you're right. Let us go with them." He answered resolutely.

Haaa!?" Saber yelled in disbelief in unpleasant surprise. She could not believe what she had heard. "Are you serious? Are we going to hang out with those jackasses again?"

"I don't understand what the problem is now." Ichigo replied without seeing anything wrong with the association.

Saber grunted at what she heard. "Don't you remember what happened when that King of Conquerors said the real reason for our alliance?"

"Yeah, I remember it too and I can't help but be pissed off about it." Ichigo snapped in response. "But we're only going to fight with them temporarily and then you can do whatever you want, okay?"

However, Saber gritted her teeth in resignation at the idea of subordinating herself to a foreign king. "Are you demanding me that I lower myself to that damn barbarian?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes as he let out a soft sigh. He understood very well what her problem was with the big man. The truth is that this had also scandalized him a bit, not as much as Saber, but he still felt cheated and used. In addition to the fact that the big man did not help Saber when the latter was in serious danger when Berserker was about to finish her, and therefore he had to sacrifice himself to save her. However, Ishida had explained to her that the reason Rider did not intervene is because of Saber's stupid pride in fighting alone without anyone's help. He could not say if I would trust him again, but seeing the current situation, he had no other choice.

"We are not going to subordinate ourselves to him." He retorted as if he were scolding a spoiled child. "Look, I understand how you feel about that, but I think was necessary to do it."

Saber just snorted in response. "Hmph! I thought I told you that we don't need anyone to help us as I am the Servant it takes to win this war."

Ichigo rolled his eyes again. "Yeah, and what a start when you got kicked by a giant baseball bat."

This caused the blonde to narrow her eyes in anger and growl. "What was that!?" She asked angrily when she grabbed a part of Ichigo's shirt and dragged it towards her face. Orihime and Uryū almost got up in case of aggression, but a raised hand from the shopkeeper prevented them from doing anything.

Meanwhile, Saber was still looking with daggers at her Master. "I thought I had made it very clear to you that from today you would do what I tell you. You may be my Master, but I am still superior to you. I am above you, plus I have verified that you are useless at the time of making your own decisions and letting others do it for you like when your friend told you to join with those knaves without thinking, remember?"

Ichigo did not want to discuss that last part. While it was true that he had accepted the alliance with Rider taking the advice of the Quincy thinking that it would be beneficial to the advantage of him and Saber and so it was up to a point.

On the other hand, he was angered by the change of hierarchy decreed by his Servant who was now she in charge of him as if she were now the Master and he the Servant. Still, this was not something he should be arguing with right now. From the beginning he did not know anything about the matter where he and his friends were since it put him in a war against his own will.

Even though he had well adapted with the knowledge he was absorbing, his Servant still seemed not to trust him at all to lead or judge the situation well, and even more so by letting others make his decisions just as she said before. He could not blame her for it, but he still knew that he could not allow this to continue like that if he did not want to lose trust in Saber or worse, be reduced to a mere pawn like the horse and the king.

He briefly considered casting a Command Spell but decided against it. If he wasted one of his three absolute orders on something like this, then he would lose Saber's complete trust, which would be like losing old man Zangetsu's trust.

"Listen, maybe you're right about that." He started firmly. "I may just be an incompetent Master to you, and idiot who does reckless thing, but that's the way I am, and it doesn't mean I'm completely useless. I will do my best to help you if that is what you want to win. Besides, I remind you that you are not the only one trying to get that Holy Grail just for you. I am not going to ask you to respect me or do not disrespect me. You may be superior to me, and I will not argue about it, but still, I am still your Master, and as long as I still have my seals in my hand, you will also do what I tell you if you don't want me to use a spell to force you. Was it clear to you or not?"

The atmosphere in the room fell silent after the powerful words of conviction of the orange haired boy full of authority, but some noticed that he went over the line when he mentioned that he would use one of his seals to give an order. Seriously? Is he really going to cast his first spell despite being was advised not to use them unless it is an emergency?

And even more...

How would the blonde take this?

As expected, Saber only showed her Master a face full of homicidal rage at what he said. Instead, Ichigo kept his composure with a face as hard as stone unfazed by the murderous atmosphere. They all noticed the danger emanating from the couple and prepared to intervene until they heard a 'Tch' coming from the blonde.

"Fine."

They all blinked in confusion as they watched as the blonde's expression decreased considerably but she still retained her usual scowl.

"I must admit that you have good balls to say that to me in front of my face." Saber replied simply by looking at Ichigo. "If that's what you really want, then I won't stop you." She answered deciding to do what her Master wanted to do. "I just hope you're not wrong this time, because otherwise we'll be very screwed."

Without saying else, Saber got off her seat and headed toward the exit of the room.

"Where are you going?" Ichigo asked watching his Servant walk away towards the exit. She did not stop as she spoke.

"I'm going for a little walk. I won't got too far." Was all she answered as she stepped outside.

Once she was gone, the room with its remaining occupants fell silent for a moment before Uryū smashed it.

"Hey, don't you think you have gone overboard with her?" He asked softly. Ichigo turned to look at him without understanding what he was saying. "I mean, I understand you had to keep Saber in check, but I don't think it was necessary to threaten her to use a Command Spell and-

"I think Kurosaki-san did the correct." Urahara suddenly spoke.

"Eh?"

"You see, sometimes the relationship between a Master and his Servant are complicated and delicate since their respective points of view do not coincide with each other and they also have their own opinion about it. Just as Saber-san said, she is the strongest of the duo since it is, she who does everything in this war while her Master, that is, Kurosaki-san can only serve as a backup or observer, and if she sees that her Master is lacking of wisdom and willpower, she would lose all confidence in him and he became the ringleader, and that is something that every Master cannot allow.

Therefore, the Masters have to show their Servants that they have the last word and that they would do everything possible to demonstrate their authority by threatening to use their Command Seals. I know it sounds reckless, but this is how a Master treats a rebellious Servant. "

The teenagers absorbed the information about the merchant and the one who took it most seriously was the chosen Master upon learning that his position seemed to be more precarious than he had thought. Actually, he didn't expect to get along with the aggressive blonde, at least in time. Yet he had to stand firm and determined not to let himself be put down by her.

"Don't worry, you'll see that in time, Kurosaki-san and Saber-san will learn to get along and be a good Master-Servant team." Urahara said with conviction and a positive smile on her face. Even so, both the teens and the Mod soul doubted it. "Well then I hope you are ready to go to the next hotel tomorrow."

---

The next day - Miyama District

"So that's Waver's house, huh?" Ichigo said while looking at the Master's house that he is temporarily his ally.

"Rather, it is the residence of the grandparents from what he told us." Ishida corrected as he walked.

"How nice it is." Inoue exclaimed fascinated by the appearance of the house.

Even ichigo had to agree to that.

With dawn approaching, the eighth Master's gang made preparations before finally leaving the Golden Koi hotel to transfer to another. They called a taxi to navigate the city and crossed the Mion River over that huge red bridge, that bridge that Ichigo and Kon didn't want to say much about as they suffered the greatest vertigo of their lives when Rider had brought them there. Once they crossed the bridge and reached the Miyama neighborhood, our protagonists took the opportunity to look around and contemplate a different environment than what they saw in Shinto. Leaving behind numerous buildings and other modern aspects when they crossed the bridge, our protagonists found themselves in a suburban area with hardly any tall buildings and was full of old houses and traditional buildings.

Miyana was the traditional and original side of Fuyuki west of modern Shinto whose urbanism dates back to the founding of the city in the late 18th century. As they advanced through the new city, they saw that most of the houses here are in traditional Japanese style, but they also noticed that some stood out for being foreign like mansions.

After a long walk, Ichigo and the others reached their new destination; a motel by the name of 'Kanata Ken'.

Once they got there, what they did was rent some rooms in the same way as the previous one and they equipped themselves in each one. Later, they decided to visit the house where the British Master resided, who was apparently not far away and there they could plan their next strategy for the next battle. Thanks to the indications of some locals, it was not difficult to find the residence as it was located on the outskirts of the city on a hill overlooking the rural landscape. For the eyes of our protagonists, it seemed a quiet place away from the scandalous noises of the city, an ideal place for tourism.

Ichigo and Uryū were just thankful that it didn't look as cheesy as Kūkaku's house. It would have been very embarrassing to have gone back there.

"All right, we better get in. I want to meet our allies." Urahara said as cheerfully as ever as he took a step forward.

Once through the garden of the house, Uryū was the first to cautiously approach the door and then knocked with a tock. Tock!

"Hello? Anyone here? It's us, Waver!" Uryū spoke so loudly that they will hear him. For a moment there was no response from the residents inside, but then the door opens revealing a 6-foot-tall giant exactly the same height as Zaraki Kenpachi. He had impressive musculature, reddish skin, red hair and beard, and was dressed like an ancient warrior.

They immediately knew who it was.

"Hooh! It's you, my allies!" Rider exclaimed excitedly upon seeing his 'allies' again.

Saber gave the King of Conquerors a sour look.

"Uh, hello Rider, we have come here to visit your Master and make plans for the future." Uryū said something nervous to the giant. "Is he here?"

"Oh, of course, wait a minute." Rider turned his head back toward the house. "Hey boy, Saber's Master is here and wants to see you!"

"What?" A puzzled voice sounded from inside the house, and a few moments later the young British master peeked out behind Rider. As soon as he poked his head out, he froze at the sight of his visitors.

"Ohayō, Waver." Uryū greeted first with a gesture.

"Ohayō, Waver-kun." Orihime was next with a smile.

The young British's eyes widened as he scanned the other's faces and recognized them immediately.

"What's up boy? Aren't you going to greet our allies?" Rider asked looking at his young Master who still hadn't opened his mouth and was just looking like a retard. It was at that moment that the British boy began to speak.

"W-what are you doing here?" He asked everyone, still puzzled.

"Sorry if we caught you at a bad time, but it is preferable that we go inside." Uryū said apologetically. "We can enter?"

Waver didn't know what to say about it. It was quite sudden and unexpected that his allies showed up here without warning and asked him to come inside to speak. And to top it all, there was also a new face with them in the form of a man in his 30s, blond hair dressed in a strange green suit and a strange fisherman's hat. His brain was having a hard time formulating an answer.

Fortunately, Rider was there to help him.

"Come on boy, what are you waiting for?" The giant servant urged his young master.

"Uh, well I ..."

He still wasn't quite sure about letting them in and wondered how long it would be until the owners of this house returned from their homework. It was not his custom to invite people he barely knew, even if they were allies of his in a war that was taking place. But knowing that Rider is like that, he didn't think he had anything to say about it. With a sigh of defeat, he realized he had no other choice.

---

"Wow, what a nice place." Orihime exclaimed in wonder at the internal atmosphere of the house. The guests were now in the dining room.

"Do your grandparents live here?" Uryū asked looking at Waver.

"They are not really my grandparents." Waver replied. "You see, while I was preparing to go to war, I needed to settle in a place without spending my money in a hotel and I discovered that here lived a clandestine elderly couple who emigrated from Australia. Then I met with them and hypnotized them to make them believe that I am their grandson, and here I am."

The guests absorbed the information and they were greatly taken aback by the revelation.

"Wait, you did what...!?" Ichigo was the first to react perplexed by what the boy did. Uryū and Orihime also had the same expressions.

Waver couldn't help but feel uncomfortable by the blank expressions of his 'guests' and decided to correct himself. "What? I'm just doing it temporarily until this is all over, and then I'll get them to normal. They don't know anything about the war since they're not wizards and they just think I'm just visiting."

The group still didn't know what to think about the boy's intentions, but Uryū was the first to be understanding as his situation was exactly the same as them when they entered the Golden Koi penniless.

"Well, as long as you don't involve them in this, I guess it'll be fine." Kisuke claimed to be the next to understand his situation. The boy nodded before asking, noting the presence of the only adult in the group.

"And who are you?"

"Oh right, I had forgotten." Uryū said, remembering that he had forgotten what Waver had not yet met the shopkeeper. "This is the wizard who told us about the Holy Grail War and who accompanied us, Urahara Kisuke."

"You can call me Urahara-san if you want." Kisuke said as he took off his hat with a little obeisance before putting it back on. "So, you are a Master, right?" He said looking at Waver. "Ishida-san told me various things about you and how you became a Master. To tell you the truth, in my opinion, it was very reckless of you to enter a conflict without knowing almost anything about him and much more if it is to show that abusive teacher, you're better than him. "

Waver couldn't help but frown, but before replying something, Rider cut him off.

"I agree with that too." Rider suddenly spoke to the great surprise of the British. "The boy has yet to learn about the great things in life and all it has to offer to become a man."

"But-

"Well, it doesn't matter." Kisuke spoke again. "I'm sure that if you survive this war and experience what a child your age has yet to see, you could change your mind by witnessing what the world is like and examining your conscience."

"Oh now that I remember." Kisuke said changing the subject as he remembered more about the bearded Servant. "I have been told that your identity is nothing more and nothing less than Alexander the Great, right?"

"Call me Rider. By the way, I see you've heard of me, haven't you?" The King of Conquerors commented with a smile.

"Of course, there is no one in the world even if they are not Greek or Persian who has not heard of one of the world's greatest legendary figures. In fact, we are lucky that someone like you is on our side."

"Of course, what kind of king would I be if I didn't know how to take care of one of my servants? Hahahaha!"

Both Ichigo and Saber could not help but frown in disgust at what he said. His servants? Bullshit!

Meanwhile Uryū, Orihime, Kon and Waver could only watch this slightly surreal scene with discomfort as they saw how the shopkeeper exchanged words with the King of Macedonia as if they were old friends. Waver shook his head in disbelief. What was his Servant doing right now?

Until a moment ago he was criticizing his motivation to join the war as before, only this time he was agreeing with the strange man dressed in green who thought the same, and now the two were chatting like nothing, ignoring that he it was here!

It was then that his mind clicked as he remembered something very important that happened the other night.

"Now that I remember!" He vigorously turned his head towards Ichigo as the main point of attention for what happened to him in the heat of battle. "I remember that Berserker had hit you hard and I thought you had been killed."

The dining room fell silent as everyone compiled what the Brit had said, and they remembered what happened.

"It's true. That madman managed to end your life, but it seems that the powers of that girl managed to save you by rebuilding your body to its original state, didn't it?" Rider said remembering the events of the night before as he looked at the orange-haired boy and then the girl who saved him.

"Uh, yeah, I already told you that Inoue-san is a very special girl. She saved many lives before." Uryū said with a smile praising Orihime. Said girl caught a small blush with a smile.

Both Waver and Rider just kept looking at the pair with mixed expressions. Waver could only stare in bewilderment without understanding the true nature of the girl's powers. While there is magic capable of helping people and animals that are almost on the verge of death but being able to resurrect a person who had already died was something else. Waver did not think she was a necromancer, but something told him that she was not an ordinary mage.

Rider did not share the same opinion as his bewildered Master, and instead just stared with curiosity and admiration as if she were blessed with Athena's abilities. A moment later, the King of Conquerors changed the subject and turned to Ichigo.

"Boy, can I ask you what came with that?" Rider asked with an indecipherable expression.

"Huh?"

"Look, I well admire your courage in trying to save your Servant from danger, but that doesn't mean you should recklessly risk attacking the enemy without even a weapon. Your friends were skilled enough to take on that monster. You should have seen to the girl who she managed to defend to your Saber and even send Berserker flying before he retired. They are good fighters compared to you."

Ichigo kept a neutral face as he remembered his own recklessness. In fact, he was not sorry he did it, as he would be willing to do it as many times as it wound take if it were to prevent someone from being hurt or killed in front of his eyes. The only thing he regretted apart from making his friends worry he is seeing himself as a burden and having his friends risk saving his ass as a result.

"I understand what you mean, we already discussed this with Kurosaki when he woke up." Uryū said suddenly as if he had come to his partner's defense. Or so Ichigo believed. "Actually, he is one of those who take risks to try protect others. Of course, I do not approve of his methods either." The Quincy finished adjusting his glasses. Ichigo could not help frowning at what he said.

"Either way, this time we'll keep an eye on him to get a better look at him."

"I think that will be fine, but better to lend him a weapon so he can defend himself just in case." Rider suggested.

"I agree. I think I have something that he can use." Uryū said.

'Oh yeah? And what is it, a bow and arrow?' Ichigo thought sarcastically as he imagined what kind of weapon the Quincy was going to lend him.

Seeing that they had already spoken enough, Uryū decided to change the subject to tell them about what happened last night.

"Ahem, now I must tell you that we have not only come here to talk or have a drink. There is something very important that you need to know."

This caught the attention of the Master of Rider and the latter who seemed quite curious to know what it was about.

All sitting around the table, Orihime was the only one who explained to the two of her encounters with Caster and what she knew about him. Needless to say, the information given by the girl was quite revealing and shocking to say the least.

"I see..." Rider said with an oddly low tone that exploded seriousness in contrast to his cheerful and jovial tone. "So that's Caster's true identity, huh?"

Waver just looked surprised. "Gilles de Rais? The serial killer of medieval France?"

He may not have heard too much of stories, but thanks to the link to the Throne of Heroes, he was able to identify of the mentioned Servant and was able to process the same information as Ichigo, and he didn't like it too much. The very idea that a psychopath assassin will walk around as a Servant made him shudder as if he were some kind of Jack the Ripper, but supernatural, and above all like a Caster of all things!

Honestly, he no longer wanted to cross paths with him.

"Did you really come across someone like that?" The young British boy asked Orihime curiously. The very idea that a young girl like her would come across someone like that in a dark corner in the middle of the night and live to tell the tale was as if Jack the Ripper himself would come across one of his victims and suddenly let him escape.

Which he never did.

"Yeah, but like I said before, he just wanted to talk to Saber-san." The girl answered, gestating with her head towards the blonde.

"Hmm, so Caster mistook the Knight of Treachery for the French Saint, huh?" Rider commented expectantly as he looked at the blonde.

Waver looked at the blonde in the same way wondering if it was true that she was mistaken for Jeanne d'Arc herself. It was too hard for him to believe. How was it possible that the infamous Knight of Rebellion was mistaken for someone a gracious and honorable as the French Saint?

"Hey, what do you think you're looking at?" The thoughts of the young Master were interrupted when he heard the grumpy voice of the red knight, the latter looking him murderously. Needless to say, poor Waver was intimidated by her gaze as well as realizing his foolish carelessness.

"Do I really look that much like that saint?" She asked with anger in her voice. "If you keep staring at me like that, I'll gouge your eyes out."

"Saber!" Ichigo scolded her. "What is your problem?"

The blonde turned to her Master. "What? You see me as a fucking saint too?"

"Nobody sees you as a saint. Stop talking nonsense." He chided her making the blonde growl angrily at the tone he used.

Before everything got out of control and there was another fight that would jeopardize the relationship between Master and Servant, Kisuke decided to intervene.

"Now, now, you better leave the discussions for another time." He strictly reprimanded, causing the two of them to shut up and stop arguing. Having done that, the shopkeeper looked at the others seriously.

"There is something I would like to discuss as well as it could be related to Caster." Urahara spoke catching the attention of the others and paying their attention. "I understand that from two months ago there has been a series of homicidal murders in this city, is that right?"

"Uh, yeah. That old couple warned me that there was a serial killer on the loose in the city who is dedicated to assaulting homes and murdering its residents inside. To this day they still haven't caught the culprit and his identity remains being a mystery." Waver told what he knew of the matter.

"It's true, I also heard something like that." Ishida said seriously. "They said that he is a psychopathic maniac who practices Satanism since has been found in the houses where he had passed the drawing of the symbol of Satan drawn with the blood of his victims."

The entire dining room fell silent as everyone absorbed the information, and some couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the thought of a psychopathic madman walking around on the loose committing atrocities without being arrested.

Just like...

"Wait a minute!" Ichigo suddenly exclaimed. "Did you mean that killer is that Caster?"

"I highly doubt it. I already told you that the murders occurred before the ritual began and Caster is not yet been summoned." Urahara corrected.

Ichigo and the others almost nodded in disappointment. If it were true that, if this has nothing to do with Caster then that would mean there could be 2 different assassins on the loose.

"Wait a minute." Rider suddenly spoke, drawing the attention of the others. He turned to the Quincy. "You said that this murderer drew a symbolic circle with the blood of his victims, right?"

"Yes, it is an inverted pentagram that is a symbol of Satanism, witchcraft and black magic." Uryū began to explain. "As I have heard, there are some religious groups of sects in the world that, instead of worshiping a god, worship the forces of evil, that is, the devil."

Everyone remained calm as they continued to listen to the Quincy. "These people practice all kinds of traditionally pagan things like witchcraft and other things, and it is believed that the most fanatical members do all kinds of misdeeds like torturing or sacrificing normally virgins to please the devil and I've heard they even trace circles with the blood of their victims with the inverted pentagrams symbol just like that serial killer does. Oh, and it seems Gilles was also a member of that cult in life."

"Mmm, I get it." Rider hummed as he scratched his beard and reflected on what he had just heard from the Quincy. Waver just stared at his Servant without understanding.

"Well, and what does that mean?" Ichigo asked without understanding the point of this either.

"Very easy." Urahara answered, fortunately. "Most likely, Caster's Master is that same serial killer we're talking about." Everyone was stunned hearing that.

"Are you serious?" Waver asked incredulously unable to believe what he had just heard. "What makes you sure about that?"

"You see, there is also something that caught my attention." The shopkeeper replied before continuing. "From what I studied in the book, there are two ways for a magus to invoke a Heroic Spirit as a Servant in a conventional way in contrast to Kurosaki-san's case. The first option is that the magus apart from having the seals, must drew a circle with the blood of either animal or human to take advantage of the od and then put a catalyst, an object that once belonged to said warrior who it can be anything from a sword, armor, a talisman, or even their bones, in the circle's center. Once the requirements have been made, the magus performs the summoning chant for the Heroic Spirit to appear in the summoning circle." Kisuke turned his gaze to Waver. "This is how you summoned Rider, right?"

"Uh, yeah. I did exactly what you said, I drew the summoning circle with the blood of some chickens I stole and then I put the Rider catalyst which was a piece of cloth from a cape that belonged to King Iskandar." Waver said remembering the teachings to invoke his Servant and its event.

"Good, these are the requirements for a magus to summon a Heroic Spirit from the Throne of Heroes." Urahara explained. "While, normally a catalyst would be needed to be able to summon the desired Heroic Spirit, but there is a second method to invoke a Heroic Spirit without the need for a talisman. In case a magus does not have a catalyst to summon a desired Heroic Spirit, still he has a chance to do it, but it would not be the same as the one you want, since it would be based in the summoner's personality."

"What do you mean?" Ishida asked without understanding the concept.

"I say that the magus who, despite not having any catalyst, can still invoke a Heroic Spirit using himself as a catalyst and the Servant that would appear would act as an alter ego of his summoner and have something in common with his Master such as his personality, for example."

"It's true, I also saw that information in the book before I got here." Waver said remembering what he had learned.

"Mmm, certainly." Rider nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose it would make sense that that serial killer would summon Gilles de Rais based on his personality."

"Could be." Urahara agreed.

"But wait!" Ichigo exclaimed suddenly gathering all the pieces in his head to find out who that enigmatic Master-Servant couple really were.. "If what you are saying is true, why are those guys participating in the war? If those two are really dangerous serial killers, why did those guys from the church let them do this?"

The dining room was silent again as each reflected on their own thoughts on what was happening, and everyone agreed with the orange haired boy on that macabre couple should not participate in this. They couldn't imagine what kind of rampage they could provoke.

"I agree with that you say, Kurosaki-san." Urahara said seriously. "I'm not sure how this happened, or how they were allowed to participate, but they may not be aware of this."

"What do you mean? You say the Church legislator doesn't know about Caster and his Master?" Ishida asked worried.

"It is possible. I am not entirely sure yet, but it is likely that they also use their ignorance to do whatever they want."

This left listeners dumbfounded upon hearing that. By 'whatever they want' it mean committing murders and other senseless atrocities? What a problem.

"But that cannot be!" Waver exclaimed suddenly. "They can't do that. That would be a violation of the Grail War rules. I don't think the Association and the Church will sit idly by about this."

"I agree with that." Urahara said. "Of course, this is a very bad business."

"And what can we do?" Orihime asked worried about the situation.

"It is not clear?" Saber said suddenly who seemed to be the only one who wasn't worried. "Let's find that bastard and we will give it what it deserves." She said as her fist collided with her open palm.

"That would be a good idea, but we let the Church takes care of this first." Kisuke suggested.

"What? And why should I let a handful of those people take care of that bastard? I can do so much better." Saber boasted arrogantly.

"This is not the point. I say that it is better that mediator of war find out first and then decide what to do." The shopkeeper responded normally, although not many were quite clear about what he was referring to.

At that, he cleared his throat.

"Anyway, I had better go tell them about the matter." He said suddenly gaining the dumbfounded attention of the others.

"What are you going to-

"As you are surely suspecting, something very strange is happening here and it doesn't seem to be going very well on how the ritual should go." Urahara replied very seriously. "I don't know how this will affect this from now on, but I think I'd better come up with some answers."

Seeing the confused and worried faces of the teenagers, the blond Shinigami decided to reassure them with a smile. "Don't worry. I'm just going to that church to talk to Kotomine Risei just."

"And what will we do in the meantime?" Ishida asked regaining his composure.

"The four of you will stay at Waver-san's house and don't go out until I get back, understood?"

"Don't you want us to accompany you?" Ichigo insisted.

"No, I'd better go alone, thank." And with that he headed for the exit and opened the door to get out. "Ja ne."

Once the door was closed leaving the 3 teenagers, the Mod soul and the blonde Servant in Waver's borrowed house, they could only remain silent reflecting on the shopkeeper's behavior and wondering what it was that was so troubling him about this matter.

A moment later, Kon decided to ask.

"Do you think it's a good idea to leave him alone?"

"No idea, but I'm sure he will know what he's doing." Ichigo replied as he looked seriously at the door where Urahara exited.

---

That is all for today. At first, I had the intention of cutting the chapter into 2, but decided to leave it all together. We see that the Karakura's gang have switched places after the fateful encounter with Caster and are now meeting with Rider's team to ask for answers on this, but more unsolved mysteries arise. Seeing this, Kisuke decides to visit the church alone to find some answers personally. What he will find there, see it in the next chapter.

Speaking of Caster.

For of you wonder about why Caster mistook our Knight of Rebellion instead of the King of Knights for Jeanne d'Arc, it turns out that for Gilles, his 'true' Jeanne was her Alter version. Actually, Jalter or Avenger was a creation from the prejudices and feelings of the corrupt Gilles. The Dragon Witch that resurrected for the sake of getting vengeance against France. A holy woman who talks about justice as if she owned the place and, without having any doubts about that, is spurred on by the wrath against the people; that is the form which Gilles de Rais wished her to be like.

And since Mo-chan has a personality more or less similar to Jalter, it is normal for Gil to mistake him for her. As for Arturia, well, let's just say Gil thinks she's just an impostor pretending to be her, and nothing else.

Ichigo already seems to show the character a Master must adopt in front of a rebellious Servant who no longer seems to trust him. In reality Ichigo never expected to befriend or get along with the red knight such as Shirou with Arturia, since Mordred always showed rude and disrespectful towards him due to her seeing him as 'useless' or 'inappropriate' to be her Master, plus she also saw him at least as the source of her mana supply to continue fighting and existing in this world until he gets the Grail. The only thing that unites them is their common goal of getting the Grail and asking for their respective wishes and nothing more. But our Substitute knows that he shouldn't stay down below blonde any longer. Either way, I promise that will change later.

As for a Master, he can recognize the identity of an enemy Servant. Well, I'm really not very expert on that source. Servants have the ability to do so due to a link to the Throne of Heroes, and I don't know if the Masters can do the same. If there is anything I missed about this please let me know.

Well, I'm done. See you in the next chapter.

Ja ne!