Fate-Stay Night: Precognitive Realization

by SilverMan42

This is the story of a boy named Yuzuru Shindou, an ordinary young man who had gotten himself into the battling ritual known as the Holy Grail War. What will become of him now that he has become part of this war that may result in his death? Will he be able to survive with the help of his Servant? Or will he fall into despair? (Rated M, in case sexual) (Few Tsukihime) (OCxHarem)

12. Chapter 6

I do not own Fate/Stay Night or anything related to Type-Moon whatsoever, except only the OCs of the story. Also, spoiler warning: M is in case of sexual themes and stuff. Anyway, other than that, enjoy!

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Chapter 6

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Yuzuru's POV:

Pant…pant…pant…pant…pant…

I was panting…and panting…and panting…and panting…getting tired…

It's…getting difficult for me to…keep breathing…to keep moving…this fight…it's…getting difficult…for us…to handle…we're…we're all…losing…this fight…from…from…

…from Makidera-sensei beating us up.

TWHACK!

"OW!" I screamed as I was hit in the forehead by the thrust of the pole staff from Makidera-sensei before I fell onto my back and landed on my butt.

Our class was in the middle of our P.E. class with Hiiragi's class today, and all the guys in both classes, including me, were all going through what Makidera-sensei calls "Physical Training". Basically, what we guys had to do in it was…well, fight against Makidera-sensei. And, well…let's just say it wasn't going very well for all of us, as we all kept on getting beat up by her before any of us could even do anything to lay a hit on her, not that any of us could, because, uh…well, she's a woman, and also pretty violent. Anyway, while we were doing that, all of the girls, including Saber and Minna, who now have P.E. clothes, were all on the track field running laps, as they were being coached by Himuro-sensei and Saegusa-sensei.

Makidera-sensei swung her pole staff around while making nonsensical Kungfu noises before she placed her staff next to her while still holding it and then shouted, "Dickheads, ten hut!"

Upon hearing that, we all quickly went in rows of straight lines, stood straight, and had our hands behind our backs, and looked straight directly at Makidera-sensei as if she was the drill sergeant of the military. God, it feels like we were in military training.

"What the hell just happened here, you dickheads?!" Makidera-sensei yelled.

"Ma'am, we were preparing for battle to fight against you, ma'am!" I shouted.

"What?!" Makidera-sensei yelled, "Preparing?!"

"H-Huh?" I said, confused, "Uh…is that a…pro-OOOOOWWW!"

Makidera-sensei whacked me in the head with her pole staff, before she shouted while pointing at me, "YOU ARE A FUCKING IDIOT, YOU DICKHEAD!"

"Huh?!" I said, even more confused.

"You prepare to go out on DATES!" Makidera-sensei shouted as she hit me in the head with her staff-OW! "You prepare DINNER!" In the stomach-OHH! "You prepare to GO. ON. VA-CA-TION!" In the head again, about five times-OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! "You do NOT PREPARE-!" She slapped me in the face with her staff-OOOOOWWW! "-To go to BATTLE!" She slapped me in the face again-OOOOOWWW! "YOU…!" She hit me on the stomach again-OHHH! "Are ALREADY prepared!" She hit me up at my chin twice-OW! OHH! "You do not wait for the enemy to come to YOU!" She hit me in the stomach again-OOOHH! "You GO to your ENEMIES!" She hit me right up at my chin again twice-OW! OWHOH!- which made me trip and fall on my back-OOOOOWWW!

"Do you fucking dickheads understand me?!" Makidera-sensei shouted at us.

All of the guys sighed and said monotonically, "Yes, ma'am…"

I groaned in pain as I slowly got myself back up, before I said, "Yes, ma'am…"

Makidera-sensei grumbled at our response, before she shouted at us, "Seriously?! What the FUCK was that, people?! That was the weakest sound that I've EVER heard from ALL of you! Seriously, people! Has one week of no school made all you dickheads fucking lazy or somethin'?!"

I sighed before I answered, "No, ma'am. It hasn't made us lazy. Well, it's just…"

"We're getting sick of you calling us dickheads, all the time!" one of the guys said out loud.

"Uh…yeah, there we go." I said, "That. We're getting sick of that."

"HUH?!" Makidera-sensei shouted as she looked at each and every one of our faces, "Seriously?! You fucking dickheads are GETTING SICK from being called DICKHEADS?! You dickheads are a bunch of babies thinking I'm gonna stop calling you dickheads "Dickheads"! I ain't gonna stop calling you guys dickheads! And you wanna know why?!"

"Um…uh…i-is it because it's your class and it's your rules?" I guessed before I was suddenly hit in the head, "OOOWW!"

"IT'S BECAUSE YOUR BRAINS ARE FULL OF NOTHING BUT DICKS!" Makidera-sensei shouted while pointing at me, before she turned to every other guy here and shouted, "IN FACT, THE REASON I CALL ALL YOU FUCKERS DICKHEADS IS BECAUSE ALL YOU DICKHEADS THINK ABOUT IS NOTHING BUT WOMEN, EROTIC FANTASIES, BOOBIES, AND WANTING SEX! YOU GUYS ARE NOTHING BUT FULL OF DICKS AND WANTING WOMEN FOR YOURSELVES! HELL, YOU EVEN HAVE LEWD FANTASIES OF WOMEN THAT INVOLVE ALL THE DISGUSTING THINGS YOU DICKHEADS EVER WANNA DO!"

"W-W-Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I said, "Hold on a second, Makidera-sensei! We do NOT think about lewd things about girls!"

"Actually, we do." Kurosawa-san interrupted a bit.

"Urgh…uh, okay, yeah, maybe we do." I corrected, before I said, "But, I mean, not ALL the time. I mean, we only kinda do that because we're guys, and guys…well, we sorta have needs and-OOOOOWWW!"

I was suddenly hit in the head again by Makidera-sensei, who pointed at me again and shouted, "AND THAT'S EXACTLY MY POINT, YOU DICKHEAD!"

"H-Huh?!" I said incredulously.

"IF YOU WANNA BE CALLED GENTLEMEN, WHICH I HIGHLY DOUBT ANY OF YOU WILL, THEN YOU BETTER START ACTING LIKE GENTLEMEN!" Makidera-sensei shouted, "GET RID OF ALL YOUR DIRTY THOUGHTS, STOP THINKING ABOUT DICKS AND WOMEN, AND GET RID OF ALL YOUR DIRTY NEEDS! I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHETHER IT'LL GIVE YOU FUCKERS PENT-UP FRUSTRATIONS OR SHIT! YOU GET RID OF ALL YOUR DIRTY THOUGHTS AND DIRTY NEEDS, AND YOU BETTER DO IT! IF YOU WANNA BE CALLED GENTLEMEN! BUT UNTIL THEN, AND UNTIL YOU ALL LEARN HOW TO GET RID OF YOUR DIRTY THOUGHTS ABOUT WOMEN, AND YOUR DIRTY NEEDS FOR SEX, YOU ARE ALL GONNA BE CALLED DICKHEADS! NOW, SAY IT! SAY "YOU ARE ALL CALLED DIRTY DICKHEADS, UNTIL YOU ALL ACT LIKE REAL GENTLEMEN!" SAY IT!"

"Uh…w-wait, now?" I asked, "Y-You mean like, out loud now, and right here, and in front of all the girls? B-Because, I-I-I don't…r-really think that we sh-OOOOOWWW!"

Makidera-sensei hit me in the head again before she shouted while pointing at me again, "I SAID IT, SO YOU ALL DO IT! NOW, SAY IT!"

I rubbed my head from that hit she gave me for a moment before I sighed and said in defeat, "Yes, ma'am…"

All of the guys sighed along with me and said monotonically, "Yes, ma'am…"

"Seriously…" I groaned, "Do we have to?"

"No choice." said Kurosawa-san, "We kinda deserve it, anyway."

I sighed and said, "Yeah, I guess."

All of the guys, including me, began to say what Makidera-sensei told us to say reluctantly and with deadpanned expressions on our faces, "We are all called dirty dickheads, until we all act like real gentlemen…"

"SAY IT LIKE YOUR FREEDOM DEPENDS ON IT!" Makidera-sensei shouted at us.

"MA'AM, WE ARE ALL DIRTY DICKHEADS, UNTIL WE ALL ACT LIKE REAL GENTLEMEN, MA'AM!" we all shouted out loud, repeating the same words out loud, which I'm afraid was…probably loud enough for the whole school to hear. Oh, hell, we could even hear some of the girls were laughing at us.

"Oh, man…" I thought to myself, despairing, "I'm so gonna regret this…"

"GOOD!" Makidera-sensei shouted with a smile on her face; of course, she was happy and amused by this; before she said, "Now, let's get back to training, people! C'mon and get me! Hit me with all you got, you dickheads!"

"Oh, geez…" I thought to myself again, despairing, "And now, I'm gonna regret doing this…"

All the guys sighed and said monotonically, and with unamused looks on their faces, "Yes, ma'am…"

Then, all of the guys, including me, got into different spots surrounding Makidera-sensei, who was in her fighting stance with her pole staff armed and ready. Okay, seriously, that is just unfair! All the guys then got into their fighting stances, ready to attack Makidera-sensei, which sadly, I highly doubt any of us would be able to do, because…well, she fights good…violent, but good…and hits really, really hard. Literally.

I sighed to myself, knowing that I'll be going through crap like this again before I got myself into a fighting stance. But, before I could go on to attack, I stopped myself and saw Minna, who was still practicing with the other girls, including Saber, running laps on the track field. She was…smiling like she was having fun with what they were doing. Look at her smile, I…I just couldn't help but just…want to look at her smile and just want her to keep that smile all the time. And…it just makes me smile. Looking at her right now, it just…made me remember what my dad had told me yesterday.

---

Yesterday:

"Three months." He told me.

I looked back up at dad and said, "Eh?"

Dad looked at me and said, "I will contact Abraham Lamprecht Eckstein Everhart, and have him convince the family to give you three months to think and decide what you really feel and what you really want. You have three months, starting tomorrow, to make up your mind and decide how you feel and what you wish to do with Minna. If you decide to take her with you because you wish to be with her, then she can go free, and she'll break the marriage proposal and will have no reason to marry into their family. However, if you don't decide by the end of that three months, then you'll have to cut your ties with Minna, become distant from her, and let her go for her to be married into their family. Is that understood?"

"What?!" I said, shocked, "B-But, sir-"

"No 'buts'!" he said, sternly, "Is that clear?"

I looked at him in the eyes for a moment, and I could already see that he was being serious on this, so I relented and said, "Yes, sir."

I felt his hand placed on my shoulder, making me look at him, before he said, "Listen, Yuzuru, I don't like the idea either, because I know how close you two truly are together. However, as I said, you can't change others' destiny, only your own destiny." He then walked up next to me, ready to leave, before he said to me, "You'll have to make up your mind and decide on what you truly want soon. Otherwise, you'll regret it, and never get that chance again."

Without looking at him, I said, "Yes, sir. I will."

"Good." I heard him say, "Well, I'll have to go now. My flight back to Misaki Town will be here soon. Take care, son." Then, I heard him begin walking away, until I couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, leaving me alone in the hallway to take everything in.

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Now:

"Three months, huh?" I said to myself, ignoring what was going on around me.

Man, three months already started, and I still can't think or decide what I really want, and I'm still not sure how I even really feel about Minna. Do I…do I really love her, or do I not at all? Or, should I let her go or not? What do I…what do I even really feel about her?

Thinking about it made me think back on what happened last night, with what happened with me and Minna…

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Last night:

I turned around to face her and asked, "But, Minna, are you…are you really okay with this? You, marrying someone else from another family that you don't even know? And just…letting them have you after your father steps down from business? Are you really fine with that?"

Minna looked at me for a moment, before her smile faltered, as she closed her eyes and slowly began crying, as she said tearfully, "Nein…nein, I'm not…I'm not okay…"

"Minna…" I said, sad to see her this way. Because I knew that…behind that smile of hers, deep down, she had sadness.

"I-I'm sorry…Yuzu-kun..." said Minna tearfully, "But...I'm not okay with it…because, I'm scared…" Minna looked at me as her tears fall from her eyes as she said to me in tears, "I'm scared of being with someone else…I…I only want to be with you…Yuzu-kun…"

"Minna…" I said.

"I…I really…didn't want to…" said Minna tearfully, "But…but, I didn't have a choice…if…if my father steps down, then…they'll take me away…from my home…and away from you…and I won't be able to see you again…but, I…I don't want to marry the man of their family…because, I don't wanna forget you…I want…to be together with you, just like when we were kids…that's why…"

"You had to come to find me…" I said, "And to tell me how you felt about me…that you love me…"

"Ja…" said Minna tearfully, "And I…I wish…I wish that it was you, who would marry me and not that man…that you would love me forever…"

"Minna…" I said.

"Yuzu-kun…" said Minna, tearfully, "I…I don't…I don't wanna separate with you…I don't wanna forget you…I…I…if I marry someone other than you…I'll…I'll…"

Seeing her like this in tears, crying, wanting to be with me, wanting to love me and only me alone, not wanting to be with anyone else and be lost from me, I just…I couldn't help but go and grab onto her in an embrace, as I held onto her tightly, as a sign of comfort that I'm here for her, and not letting her go.

"Y-Yuzu…kun…?" said Minna.

"Minna," I said, "Right now, I'm not really sure how I really feel about you. Not yet, at least. But, I'm not gonna leave you, and I'm not gonna lose you. Because, I promised that I'll stay with you and protect you, no matter what. What matters now, is that I'll remain at your side, keeping you safe, and be here for you, as a hero who'll protect you. And, until I see and understand how I really feel about you, please wait for me for as long as it takes, okay? Please wait for me, until I see and understand how I truly feel for you."

"Yuzu-kun…" said Minna, as I let go of her a bit, so she could look at me, "Do you…do you promise? You'll stay with me until you say that you love me?"

"Minna," I smiled at her before I kissed her forehead and said, "Have I ever once lied to you, or have I ever once broken a promise to you?"

Minna looked at me with a surprised look for a bit, before she shook her head and smiled as she said, "Nein, of course not! I know you would never lie to me, and I know you would never hurt me! Because I trust you! And I love you! That's why…that's why, I'll wait for you!"

I sighed in relief before I hugged her again and said, "Then, you don't have to worry, and just leave it to me. I promise, you're in good hands. I'll be a hero who'll protect you. So, please wait for me, until I have my answers for you."

I could feel Minna was smiling and I could feel that Minna was crying, not of sadness, but of joy, knowing that I'll keep her safe as she waits for me, before she closed her eyes as she smiled and whispered, "Ja. I'll wait for you. Because, I love you, Yuzu-kun."

"Thank you, Minna." I said as I rubbed the back of her head, keeping my embrace to her for a long while.

"Yuzu-kun?" said Minna, making me let go of her, as she looked at me and asked, "Um…Yuzu-kun, I know that we're not lovers yet, but…can you please kiss me?"

"H-Huh?" I said, surprised for a bit, before I asked, "Um…Minna, are you sure?"

Minna nodded and said, "It's okay, Yuzu-kun. So, please, kiss me."

She then closed her eyes and then slightly opened her lips, as if she was welcoming me, as she waited for me to kiss her. I looked at her for a moment, taking in a good look at what I was seeing right in front of me; a girl who I've known all my life since childhood is welcoming me to kiss her.

I swallowed a bit before I said, "Okay." I then placed my right hand on her left cheek as to hold her face, before I slowly began to move my face closer and closer to hers, until finally, I locked my lips with hers, and we stayed where we were, letting this moment of bliss to go on as we remained in our kiss. This kiss we were doing…felt…really nice, soft, and warm. Then, after the long moment of bliss from kissing, we let ourselves go and looked at each other, with smiles on our faces.

"Yuzu-kun," said Minna, "The kiss we made…it felt wonderful."

"Yeah." I said, "It was nice."

Minna then hugged me this time and said, "I love you, Yuzu-kun."

I smiled at her before I hugged her back, letting ourselves hold onto each other in our embrace again.

---

Now:

Thinking about the moment that we had last night, I just…I just couldn't help but blush at the thought of that time. To think that…I kissed Minna that night. I mean, I know we already kissed the first time, but still. If anyone had seen us that night, I would've been embarrassed.

Still, though, I wonder…what do I even feel about her? Do I…what do I really feel? Do I…do I really…lo-"

"DUDE, LOOK OUT!" someone shouted at me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"H-Huh?" I said, startled and confused, "Wait, wha-?"

TWHACK!

U-U-U-U-U-UUUUUuuuuuggghh!

I felt a sudden pain in my lower region, and I wheezed out air and groaned in pain before I covered my lower region as I began to fall and collapse onto the ground. And I damn knew why! Makidera-sensei hit me in the dick…with her freakin' pole staff!

"OOOOOooooohhh!" I groaned in pain, "She…she…she…she hit me in the dick…! Why…? Why did she hit in the dick…? OOOOOooooohhh!"

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Saber's POV:

I was running around the track field with Minna and the girls in our class, when suddenly-

"EEEEEuuuuuggghhh!" I said as I felt a sudden chill coming down my spine, and…unfortunately, I knew exactly where it was coming from, as I groaned, "OOOooohhh!"

Minna looked at me with a concerned look on her face and asked, "What's wrong, Elaina?"

"Eh, no…" I said, shaking that feeling out, before I turned to where Yuzuru was and said, "…it's nothing. Nothing at all."

Minna just looked at me with a confused look on her face, before she shrugged it off and kept on running, while I watched my unfortunate Master lying there, moaning and groaning in pain as the guys came to Yuzuru and tried to help him.

I sighed and whispered, "…Goddammit, Master."

---

Yuzuru's POV:

I was laying on the bed at the nurse's office as I was resting from what had happened during P.E., thanks to Makidera-sensei, as I was still feeling the pain from my lower region, while also covered comically in band-aids everywhere. I was carried over to the nurse's office, thanks to the guys who helped me out before they had brought me to the bed.

"Oooooooooowwwww…" I groaned in pain.

"I told you, Maki-no-ji." said Himuro-sensei, "You went too far with the kids. You should've at least gone and made them do one thousand push-ups and sit-ups to make it harder for them!"

"W-Well…" said Makidera-sensei, while rubbing the back of her head.

"Ah, no, Kane-chan, that's not the issue here." said Saegusa-sensei, before she turned to me and smiled as she said, "Well, in any case, you should rest up for now, okay, Shindou-kun? I'll inform Mitsuzuri-sensei that you'll be missing her class for today."

"Oh, okay…" I managed to say, "Thank you…"

Saegusa-sensei nodded with a smile before she told the two to leave me, and the three coaches left to let me rest.

I sighed to myself and thought, "Man, just my day…"

Before I knew it, I began to close my eyes and began falling to sleep.

---

As I was sleeping, I…found myself in a strange place. It was…a normal and plain land that was filled with tall grasses and the sun was setting, making the sky completely red. I then looked at myself and…I was in shock as I found that I was…completely transparent, like a ghost.

"Whoa…!" I thought, "What's…happening to me?" I then looked around and thought, "And…where am I?"

I looked around my surroundings for a moment, trying to figure out where I am and what's going on, before suddenly, I heard someone call, "Artoria!"

Alerted by that, I turned around to where the call was coming from, and I saw that there was a small barn, with a young man who had been caring for a horse after a while calling out to the person named Artoria.

"Artoria, c'mon, where are you?!" the young man called out, "It's time to train!"

"Huh." I thought, "I wonder who that is? And…who's Artoria?"

Then, I noticed someone who went and ran past by me, or rather through me, to go to the person who was calling her. And, when I saw who it was, I…I was in complete shock. This person, who I just saw went past by me, was actually my Servant, Saber!

"Wait, no way!" I thought, shocked, "Saber?! Saber is Artoria?!"

Saber, or rather, Artoria, who appears younger than how I saw her, came over to the man before she stopped to catch her breath after running so hard, before she quickly bowed to him and said apologetically, "I'm so sorry, Brother Kay! I got back here as soon as I could! I hope I'm not so late!"

The man, now called Kay, who's Saber's-no, Artoria's brother, laughed at her and said, "Don't worry so much. You came at the right time. Anyway, grab your wooden sword and meet me at the back of the barn. We'll be sparring on sword skills."

"Yes, Brother Kay!" Artoria nodded happily to her brother before she went to go get a wooden sword.

"Artoria…" I thought, "Is that…Saber's real name? It must be her first name, but…what's her last name?"

I watched as Saber-no, Artoria trained with her brother Kay with wooden swords, practicing their sword skills as they sparred with one another. And, honestly, I was actually amazed at how skilled both of them were with their swords. So, that's how Saber learned to use her sword well. The two of them kept on clashing with each other until finally, Kay knocked Artoria's sword out of her hand, meaning that Artoria had lost in their spar.

Kay laughed and said, "Ha! It looks like I won again!"

Artoria grumbled at that, unamused that her brother had beaten her the first round, before she went to pick up her sword and declared, "I will not give up! I won't stop training until I become a knight, stronger than you!" She then got back in her stance and said, "Again, Brother Kay!"

Kay sighed at his younger sister and said, "Alright then, your call!" He then went back to his stance, ready to begin sparring Artoria again, before he added, "Oh, and uh…Artoria! You won't actually be just a knight! You're going to become more than that!"

"Huh?" said Artoria, confused, "W-What do you mean, Brother Kay?"

Kay chuckled and said, "Don't you worry, you'll find out and understand, someday! Now then, let's go, Artoria!"

Saber-no, Artoria looked at her brother in confusion for a moment, before she smiled and said, "Okay, here I come, brother!"

Then, the two of them went at it again, sparring against each other with their wooden swords clashing together. I stood where I was and watched them in what they were doing and what was going on. Saber…this must've been during her childhood…then, does that mean…?

"…ru?" I suddenly heard, "Yu…ru? …zuru? Yuzu…? Yu…ru, …ke up."

---

"Yuzuru!" I heard someone call me, making me open my eyes awake.

I then got up from the bed and looked around, seeing that I was still in the infirmary of the school until finally, my eyes went and found Saber, who was standing next to the bed, watching me with a small smile on her face.

"Are you awake, Master?" Saber asked, "Did you manage to sleep well?"

I…didn't say anything to her as I just kept silent as I looked at her for a moment, as I remembered what I had just dreamed about. Before suddenly, out of nowhere, I said, "…Artoria…"

Saber gasped at that with her eyes widened, surprised by what I just said, before she said, "M-Master, w-what did you just say?!"

Realizing what I had said out loud, I looked away from her and said without looking at her, "O-Oh! Uh, s-s-sorry! I-It wasn't intentional or anything! I-It's just that…well, that name just popped out of my head. Um…A-Artoria. Just…first name, Artoria."

"O-Oh." said Saber, as she now understood what I meant, "I-I see…"

"Yeah…" I said before I looked back at her and asked, "So, um…A-Artoria. Is…is that your real name, Saber?"

"A part of it, my first name, yes." said Saber, before she asked, "Where did you learn that name, Yuzuru?"

"Well," I began, "I…learned it from my dream. Well, I don't know if I call it a dream exactly, probably…a flashback? Anyway, in my dreams, you were there, only about younger than you are now, and you were at a barn in the middle of nowhere, where you live with your brother named Kay. You were…training with him to become a knight, and you two were sparring together. Again, I'm…not entirely sure if it was a dream. Just…what was that?"

"I see." said Saber, "Then, Yuzuru, what you had just witnessed in your dreams were the memories of my past."

"Huh?" I said, surprised at what I was hearing, "Wait, memories…of your past?"

"Yes." said Saber, "Whenever a Master or Servant go into their sleep, they can sometimes share dreams about each other's memories, giving both the Master and Servant better understandings of each other about who they are and what there is to know about each other, as well as make their bonds as Master and Servant grow stronger. For example, what you just dreamt about just now, since you and I are connected through a pact, we can share each other's dreams, not just our thoughts and feelings."

"Oh, I see." I said as I was now understanding it, "So that explains why I saw you in my dreams, and why your real name kinda popped out of my head."

"Indeed." said Saber, "So, whatever it is that I'm dreaming about, it will be shared with you, and whatever it is that you're dreaming about, it will be shared with me. Of course, as you just mentioned, you can even discover what my true name as a Heroic Spirit is, allowing you to fully understand my true strengths and weaknesses. So, keep in mind, Master, that whenever you dream about my memories of my past, you'll have a better understanding of me and who I am, and whenever I dream about your memories of your past, I will have a better understanding of you and who you are."

"Right, got it." I said, before changing the subject by asking, "Speaking of memories, you and this Kay person must've been pretty close for siblings, huh? When I saw your memories, I could already see how you always look up to him and always train with him to be a knight, and…well, even though you kept losing to him in a sword fight, you still kept on going with him, and that shows how close you two were, right?"

Saber looked at me for a moment, as she took in what I had just asked her, before she smiled, as if knowing what I had meant, as she then said, "Yes, I won't deny that. Though we were not related by blood, I still considered Kay as my older brother, like family. And…even if I kept losing to him most of the time in a spar, which admittedly annoys me, I still kept seeing him as a brother. And I always trained with him to keep improving myself to become a better knight, just as I am now."

"I see." I said before the thought of what Kay said about Saber came to me, and I asked, "Hey, Saber, can I ask you something? Your brother, Kay, he…in the dreams, in your memories, he mentioned something about you, something about you going to become more than just a knight…you remember him telling you that, right? Can I ask, what did he mean by that?"

Saber remain silent for a moment after what I had asked her, before she looked away from me a bit with a sigh, as she said, "That…is something you'll have to find out for yourself, within those dreams. I'm sorry, but I…can't exactly tell you about it. Well, not yet, at least. Not until you're ready for the answer."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Uh, okay…but, why?"

Saber looked back at me with a small smile as she said, "You'll find out and understand someday; perhaps, even soon enough."

"Oh, uh…okay." I said, "Then, I'll leave it at that, and just rely on the dreams for now."

"Good." Saber nodded before she frowned and said, "Well, enough about me, what about you? How are you feeling?"

"Huh?" I said, "Me? If…you mean physically, I'm perfectly fine, for the most part. Hell, I feel like I've recovered from what Makidera-sensei gave me."

"That is not what I meant," said Saber with a deadpanned expression, "And I already know EXACTLY what happened to you, because I already felt what you felt."

"Huh?" I said, confused before I realized and said, "O-Oh! Uh…um…oops." Dammit, it's easy to forget we're in a pact together. I then smiled nervously at her and said apologetically, "Uh…hehehehehe…uh, sorry."

Saber sighed and said, "It's fine, Master. It's only natural for you to feel pain from that. But again, that's not what I'm asking. I'm asking if you're okay "mentally"." She made a concerned expression and said, "Lately, you've been thinking to yourself so much, and I could feel you were having lots of thoughts to yourself as if there was something that was bothering you. I could even feel a sense of concern and uneasiness in you. What seems to be wrong, Yuzuru?"

I looked at her a surprised look for a moment, surprised that she actually saw through me that there was something going on my mind, before I sighed, as I thought that I might as well tell her now and get it off my chest. I can't always keep secrets for long, especially towards Saber since she's my Servant.

I looked at her and said, "I…haven't really told you, or anyone, about myself and about my past. It's…something that I wanted to be kept a secret from everyone. So, can you promise not to tell anybody about this?"

"Of course." said Saber, "As your sworn sword, I swear not to say a word to anyone about it. I'm your Servant, and whatever secrets you may have, I shall keep it for you."

I smiled at her and said, "Thank you." I then took a deep breath, readying myself for what I'm about to say, before I asked, "Do you…remember the people who saved our academy yesterday was called?"

Saber nodded and answered, "The Shining Artist of Shindou Corporation, if I'm not mistaken, and its company is run by a president and CEO named Shinobu Shindou."

"Yep." I nodded, before I said, "Well, to tell you the truth, and I'm sure you might've guessed, but…I actually come from that art corporation, and well, Shinobu…he's my father."

"Your father?" Saber asked, and I nodded.

I then began saying, "I never told anyone about it, but…I come from that family corporation, and I come from a wealthy family of the most talented artists, which consisted of my dad and my two older sisters, Akira, being the oldest, and Megumi, the second oldest, with me being the youngest. My mom is part of the family too, although is more like an assistant to dad. Anyway, my dad and my sisters were talented artists, and they've done so much art due to them having unique and natural talents for being true artists. In fact, the picture art that this school has now, as a representation of how our school was saved by the Shindou Corporation, it was made by my two sisters who are both heirs to the family company. But…me? I wasn't. I wasn't gifted or artistically talented like my sisters or my father are. I was just…normal like everyone else is. I guess you could say that I was the runt of the family. And, for a long time, for as long as I could remember, I had always lived in my family's shadows, and I was always looked down upon by everyone, even my relatives, because of my lack of talent in art and I wasn't gifted like my sisters were, and because of that, I never made any real friends in Misaki Town, as I have now here in Fuyuki City. And, because I never made any friends because I was looked down upon by everyone, I just…I always go to my sisters for comfort."

"Yuzuru…" said Saber.

"Don't get me wrong, though," I said, "It's not like they don't love me as a family or anything, it's just that due to my lack of talent, they don't really expect anything much from me, not even my dad. Honestly, I was okay with it, because I didn't really expect much from myself either, nor did I ever show any resentment or jealousy towards my sisters for being better-talented people at art than I am. And, even though I was part of a rich family, I honestly didn't want anything that money could buy me, because I wasn't selfish or anything. But still, despite the good life I have with my family, sometimes I wish my life outside the family was just as good, but…" I sighed to myself before I continued, "Well, anyway, even though I didn't have talent and I didn't expect much from myself for my family, there was one thing that I did want, and it wasn't something that money could buy, but something to do in my life. I wanted…or rather, I needed an objective, a purpose in my life, a reason for my existence here in this world, even if the world didn't accept me, and even if it was just one thing. Back then, I wasn't sure what it was that I wanted to do, but I knew there was something out there that I wanted or needed to do in my life. I just had to search for it. And then…well…I think you can guess how I found it."

Saber nodded and answered with a smile, "Yes. You found it by meeting with Minna. She gave you a reason to live, a purpose in life. And that is to become a hero who will protect her, no matter the cost. Correct?"

"Yeah." I said, "Minna was…very important to me, as she still is now, because she was the first friend that I ever made, and the only friend that ever had in my life. To me, she was a special friend who helped me find a place for myself. And, we shared a lot of memories together when we were in Germany. Hell, you might think it's silly, but…we even shared an imaginary friend named Lily."

"Lily?" Saber asked, "An imaginary friend?"

"Yeah." I said, "She was…well, just an imaginary friend, so obviously, nobody else but us could see her, but to us, to me and Minna, she was really a real friend. When we were kids, me, Minna, and our imaginary friend Lily would go outside together, either playing as knights saving the princess, or running around the grassy floors, with smiles on our faces. We didn't even care if she was just imaginary. To me, to Minna, and to Lily, this friendship was real for both of us, because we were very good friends. No. We were best friends. No matter what we did, or where we go, or how we played, or how we ran and smiled together, or even when we read the King Arthur story, the three of us…were always together, with nothing but smiles on our faces."

"I see." said Saber, "This Lily person, your imaginary friend, must've truly been a wonderful friend."

"Yeah, she was." I said as I smiled at remembering Lily, "Lily's gone though, since she was just imaginary and we're much older now than we were back then, but she'd still have a place in our hearts." I then frowned before I sighed and said, "But, that's not exactly the problem right now. The problem right now…is me, and my feelings for Minna right now."

"Hmm?" said Saber, confused, "What do you mean, Master?"

I sighed again and said, "Well, obviously, the good news is that Minna can stay, now that the school's saved, but…the bad news is after we graduate from Homurahara Academy, Minna…she's going to go back to Germany, because her father's going to step down from business to have an early retirement, and he'll be handing his company to the German family that wants it, and she's going to get forcedly into marriage by that family in Germany. And…my dad said that I only have three months, starting now, to think about my feelings, how I really feel about Minna, and think about whether or not I should have her in my hands."

"Eh?!" said Saber, shocked, "M-Minna…is going to be married?! And…you only have three months to decide?!"

"Yeah." I said, "And…if I…if I don't decide how I really feel about her soon in those three months, then I...I have to cut my ties with Minna, and…I have to let her go so that she'll be married into that family in Germany…"

"No way…!" said Saber, shocked, "But then…!"

"Yeah…" I said, "But…" I sighed before I continued, "I mean, right now, I'm still thinking about it. It's just…I…I still don't know…how exactly do I feel about her…how exactly do I feel about Minna…I just…I don't know…"

"Yuzuru…" said Saber.

I sighed and said, "Maybe they're right…maybe I am really slow…to things like this…"

"Yuzuru," said Saber, "I understand how unsure you're feeling as of now, and I know how difficult it is for you to even see how you really feel about Minna, but you shouldn't push yourself so much to think about it. Answers that we seek don't all come to us in an instant. It just takes time for answers to come. Besides, three months isn't that short, and you still have time to think, and Minna is still waiting patiently for your answers, so-"

"THAT'S THE THINGS!" I shouted out loud, silencing Saber as she looked at me shocked before I sighed and said in frustration, "I don't know how I feel, because I never felt anything to anyone before! I don't even know what the hell I'm feeling right now, and it frustrates me, not even trying to figure out what my feeling for Minna is! And Minna…she…she…she trusts me, trusted that I would give her my answers for her son, about how I really feel about her, and here I am, trying so hard and I got nothing! God, I…I know what I said to her, and I know I told her to wait, but…dammit, I feel like I'm just…letting her down!"

"Yuzuru…" said Saber.

"I'm…I'm just the worst…!" I said, as I shut my eyes and gripped both of my hands together in frustration, "I-It's just…what if…what if I'll never have the answer to how I feel about her?! What if I'll never return her feelings for me to her?! What if…what if I ended up breaking that trust that she has for me?! What if I'll just let her down because I don't know how I feel?! What if what I had said to her was all just nothing but talk?! What if…what if she'll never trust me again because I let her down, that I failed her?!" I sighed said, "I…I said all those words to Minna, to wait for me until I have my answers, but…what if it was all for nothing? What if I'll just…end up hurting her and breaking that promise to her? She'll…she'll just have to cut off the connections that we have, and I…I'll never see her again."

"That won't happen!" said Saber sternly.

"H-Huh?!" I said, confused, as I looked at Saber with a surprised look.

"Yuzuru, how long have you ever known her for?!" said Saber sternly, "Do you truly think that she would ever give up on you so easily because of your uncertainty?! Do you truly believe that she would hate you for letting her down?! Do you truly believe that she'll become distant with you because of your lack of understanding of your feelings towards someone you care about?!"

"Uh…well, I…" I said as I try to think about my relationship with Minna, and how she would always interact with me, even the one that we had last night. I thought about it for a moment, as I think back on when we were kids, and how she would always approach me because she trusts me, and how she would always stay close to me because she wants to be with me, and how she'd always smile because…I was here with her, and she never wanted to leave me, nor wanted me to leave her. Even now, she still smiles and stood close to me because I was here, and she needed me because she trusts me.

"No." I finally answered, "No, of course not. Of course, she'd never do that, but…"

"Then, there's nothing for you to worry about." said Saber, "Because, out of everyone, she trusts you the most because you've known her better than anyone. You both have something that you both share, and it's your strong bond that you both have together, and it's because of that bond that you two have shared together, that she would never think of you poorly in such a way like that, because you care about her more than anyone else does, and you never once let her down before. And even if you did, she would never think lowly of you, and still trusts you from the bottom of her heart. That's why, you shouldn't worry, and you still have time to think about your true feelings, and Minna will wait for your answer."

"Yeah, but…" I said before I sighed and said, "I just…I just don't wanna let her down."

"You won't, Yuzuru." said Saber, as she placed her hand on my shoulder, "I'm sure everything will be alright. Besides, three months isn't exactly short, three months will give you long enough time. Just don't think too much, and don't worry. And, if and when the time comes and when you realize how you truly feel about Minna, you'll know what you have to do."

I sighed and said, "IF I know and realize how I truly feel."

"And you will." Saber assured me, "Just take whatever time that you need. And don't worry so much. Minna is not going anywhere, and she'll wait for you until you have your answers."

I sighed before I said, "Yeah, you're right." I then smiled at Saber and said out of gratitude, "Thanks, Saber. I think I needed that."

Saber nodded with a small smile as she said to me, "You're welcome, Yuzuru. Just don't push yourself too hard, for Minna's sake."

I nodded back and said, "I won't."

Suddenly, there was the sound of the announcement song that was being made, before I heard the sound of Mirai-senpai calling through the loudspeaker, announcing, "Attention, this is an announcement to Yuzuru Shindou and Elaina Scott Hemsworth. Yuzuru Shindou and Elaina Scott Hemsworth, please report to the student council's office immediately. Again, Yuzuru Shindou and Elaina Scott Hemsworth, please report to the student council's office immediately. Thank you."

"Mirai-senpai?" I said, confused, "I wonder what she's calling us for?"

"Perhaps it may have something to do with the Grail War." said Saber, "I suppose that since we're in an alliance together, it would make sense that she would call us to her office."

"Yeah, I guess so." I said, "Well, I guess we should get going then. Why don't we go and see what it's about? It has been a while since we saw them."

"Indeed." Saber nodded, "Perhaps it would be best to know what it is all about, as well as learn what they have been doing for the past week."

---

Me and Saber walked our way through the hallways until we found a door that leads to the student council room, and I went up to it before knocking it and waiting for some response. Then, out of response to knocking, the door was opened, revealing to us that it was Aimi who had opened the door to greet us.

"Greeting, Shindou-sama." Aimi bowed with a smile, "We've been expecting you today. Please, come on in."

"Parton our intrusion." I said as me and Saber let ourselves in.

As we got in, we saw the inside of the student council room, which had two bookshelves that were on two sides on the wall, two couches standing on two sides of a table, one of them was where Tsukuda-san was sitting with her legs crossed and arms folded and her eyes closed, and she looked like she was pissed about something, and a single mahogany desk standing behind the window, where Mirai-senpai was sitting at with her cup of tea in her hand, and Ishikawa-san was standing next to her with a folder of a document in her hand. Mirai-senpai was looking out the window at the sky until she turned her chair around to face me.

"Hello, good to see you again, Yuzuru, Saber." said Mirai-senpai with a smile, as she set her cup of tea down on her desk, "It's been a while since we last saw each other."

"Yeah." I said, "It's been a while."

"Yes, likewise." said Saber.

"I've heard that you've been practicing your sword skills with Saber during your week off of school." Said Mirai-senpai, "How's your progress so far?"

I was surprised that Mirai-senpai had learned that I was training with Saber with my skills on the sword for a bit, before scratching the back of my head as I answered with a nervous chuckle, "Uh…heh heh heh. Uh…well, uh…pretty slow, sadly. But, uh…I think I'm getting a pretty good hang of it so far, thanks to Saber."

Saber nodded at that before she answered, "Despite his slow progress, as well as his lack of quick reactions during sparring, he has been slowly improving his fighting skills with his sword, and has been doing whatever he could to improve with his ability on his sword."

"I see." said Mirai-senpai, "Good to hear."

"Um…senpai, how exactly…did you know that?" I asked, "You…uh…you wouldn't have happened to have used your Mystic Eyes to watch over me, would you?"

Mirai-senpai chuckled and said, "Oh, dear God, no! I wouldn't have bothered to have used my Mystic Eyes of Precognition to foresee your actions during the week, and I'd only spoil myself. That wouldn't be of any fun for me." She then looked at me and said, "No, actually, during the week off, I've been sending my companions, taking turns, to watch over you and Saber and Minna to see how you were doing over the week, and they've been taking their turns to inform me of what was happening with you."

"Wait." I said, surprised, "R-Really?"

I heard a grumble behind me and I turned around to see Tsukuda-san, who was grumbling before she gritted her teeth and began growling in anger as if she was mad about something. Suddenly, she got up from the couch, turned to look at me with an angry look, before she quickly went up to me and suddenly yelled out at me, "YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT, YOU STUPID IDIOT! WE'VE BEEN BABYSITTING YOU FROM AFAR WHILE YOU WERE OUT PLAYING AROUND WITH YOUR PRINCESS! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY SLEEPLESS DAYS AND SLEEPLESS NIGHTS I HAD GONE THROUGH WHILE WATCHING OVER YOU FOR THE PAST WEEK?! HELL, I EVEN END UP FALLING ASLEEP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DANGEROUS GODDAMN STREETS, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DANGEROUS GODDAMN NIGHT, WATCHING OVER YOUR GODDAMN PLACE, MAKING FUCKING SURE THAT NO ONE WOULD COME TO ATTACK YOU GUYS IN YOUR FUCKING SLEEP SINCE YOU CAN'T EVEN USE GODDAMN MAGECRAFT TO PROTECT YOURSELVES, EVEN IN YOUR GODDAMN SLEEP! IT'S HILARIOUS, ISN'T IT?! GO AHEAD, LAUGH IT UP! LAUGH IT THE FUCK UP, YOU STUPID IDIOT!" She turned away from me as she brought the back of her hand close to her face and began laughing out loud like a filthy rich girl would, "AHH-HA-HA-HA-HA! AHH-HA-HA-HA-HA! AHH-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

Huh...now that I think about it…

"Ohh!" I realized, "So, no wonder I felt like someone was watching me! Now, that makes sense!"

"AHH-HA-!" Tsukuda-san suddenly stopped laughing when I said that, before she quickly turned around to look at me with a bewildered look on her face as she asked me, "Wait…you…y-you…you didn't…you didn't notice that?!"

"Huh?" I said, "Oh, uh…no, sorry. I was too busy with my training and looking after Minna that I didn't have time to bother or even notice who was watching us."

"Yes, and I didn't feel any hostilities from who was watching over us, so we thought it was just a minor setback." said Saber.

"So, yeah, that's about it." I said, "Umm…w-why?"

Hearing that answer from me, Tsukuda-san dropped down on her knees and looked down on the ground, as if she was feeling ashamed of herself, as she said, "I can't believe it…I actually made a fool out of myself…just my luck…!"

"Uh…" I said, confused, "I'm sorry, I'm confused. What's wrong?"

"Oh, please, do not worry about it, Shindou-sama." Aimi came over with a smile, "The most important thing is that you and Minna are safe from harm. We were just worried that things might go wrong during the whole week, like an enemy Master or Servant suddenly starting to attack you."

"Oh, I see." I said.

"We're here for you when you need it the most, and to provide your friends and your princess protection, just as we promised." said Aimi.

"Oh, thanks, I said, "And also, Minna's not my princess. We're not even in a relationship." I then looked at Tsukuda-san and said, "Well, anyway, thanks for watching over me and Minna. Knowing that you guys are there to watch over me does kinda make me feel relieved. So, uh…thanks, Tsukuda-san."

"Huh?" said Tsukuda-san, surprised, "Wait, you're thanking me?"

"Well, of course." I smiled, "Well, I mean, we are friends, right?"

Tsukuda-san gasped at my word before she repeated what I said to her, "F-Friends…?"

There was a moment of silence, as Tsukuda-san looked as if she was taking in what I said to her…

Before suddenly, she got up and suddenly punched me in the stomach really hard, knocking the air out of me!

"OHHH!" I screamed in pain before I covered my stomach from the punch she made and groaned painfully.

"Master?!" Saber screamed, worrying about me being suddenly hit like that.

I groaned in pain from the hit she gave me before I looked up and said angrily, "HEY, WHAT THE HELL?! WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!"

"HAH, YOU REALLY ARE A STUPID IDIOT, YOU STUPID IDIOT!" Tsukuda-san yelled at me, "SINCE WHEN THE HELL DID YOU AND I HAVE EVER BECOME FRIENDS?!"

"HUH?!" I shouted incredulously.

Tsukuda-san pointed at me and yelled, "NOW YOU LISTEN HERE, YOU STUPID IDIOT! THE ONLY REASON I KEPT AN EYE ON YOU AND KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR LITTLE PRINCESS IS BECAUSE WE'RE IN AN ALLIANCE! WE ONLY BROUGHT YOU ALONG BECAUSE WE NEED YOU IN THE HOLY GRAIL WAR! WHAT I DO, I ONLY DO SO OUT OF LADY MIRAI'S ORDERS! SO, YOU AND I ARE ONLY ALLIES IN THIS WAR UNTIL IT'S OVER! I NEVER SAID WE ARE FRIENDS, YOU STUPID IDIOT!"

"HUH?!" I shouted incredulously, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! YOU MEAN TO SAY YOU ONLY BROUGHT ME ALONG BECAUSE YOU WANT ME TO DO YOU'RE DIRTY SHIT BECAUSE OF YOUR FUCKING BAD LUCK AND NOT FOR FRIENDSHIP?!"

"YOU DAMN RIGHT I DID!" Tsukuda-san yelled, "I ONLY BROUGHT YOU ALONG INTO MY SHIT IS BECAUSE YOUR MY GOOD LUCK CHARM! BESIDES, YOU'RE FUCKING SLOW, YOU'RE A STUPID IDIOT, AND I FUCKING HATE YOU AND THE WAY YOU FUCKING ARE! AS IF I WOULD EVER BE FRIENDS WITH A STUPID IDIOT LIKE YOU!" Tsukuda-san then looked away from me with her arms crossed, "HMPH!"

"HUH?!" I shouted, as I gave a shocked expression, as I was shocked from what Tsukuda-san just said to me, before I hung my head down, as I just gave up on saying any more than that, while I hear Mirai-senpai was chuckling as if she was enjoying this.

"But…" Tsukuda-san suddenly said, making me look up at her, as she turned around and said, "If you really want us to start off as friends, then…you can start by calling me by my first name. So, just call me Sayaka from now on. I'm used to being called by my first name, thanks to Lady Mirai, Hiroko and Aimi."

"Huh? Oh, uh…okay." I said, "Then, uh…Sayaka-san?"

"No honorifics, either." she said, "Just Sayaka."

"Oh, uh…alright then." I said, "Then, uh…Sayaka."

Tsukuda-san—no, Sayaka gave out a small smile as she said, "There. Much better."

I returned the smile as I brought out my hand to shake and said, "Well, then, let's be friends, Sayaka."

"Sure." said Sayaka, as she brought out her hand shook mine, "Just try not to slow us down, got it?"

I nodded and said, "I won't."

"Good." said Sayaka.

"Well, now with that has been resolved," said Mirai-senpai, "Shall we get straight to the point now?"

"Ah, sure." I said, "So, uh…what did you call us for?"

Mirai-senpai turned to Ishikawa-san and said, "Hiroko?"

"Of course." Ishikawa-san bowed before she turned to me and handed me the folder containing the document and said, "Here, take a look at this."

I took the folder and opened it to see what the document was. The document was a profile of someone, with pictures of a beautiful older woman smiling in it, one for the front, the other for the side, and another with a picture of her full body. In the picture, the woman had long wavy dark blue hair with some small parts of her hair that is tied into a small ponytail, and dark blue eyes, and she wore light blue glasses. She was dressed in an outfit that is similar to a nun, with a short dark blue veil that doesn't fully cover her hair and a dark blue dress with a white neckerchief and a cross around her neck, her skirt that reaches to her ankle, black high heeled shoes, and a wheelchair that she sits on. I looked at her description with her name on it.

"Manami Asakura," I read, "Age unknown, likely in her early twenties, about 5'9" tall, is half Japanese and half French, has a handicap with disabled legs and runs an orphanage that consists of fifty orphaned children, most of the children who have lost their parents, while some few of them were abandoned by their parents." I looked back at Mirai-senpai and asked, "So, what is it exactly so important about this woman? Does she have something to do with the mage world or the Grail War?"

"More specifically," said Mirai-senpai, "And supposedly, she was meant to be the Master of Archer in this Holy Grail War."

"Archer's Master?" I said, "So then, she's a mage, like you and your friends."

"That is correct." said Mirai-senpai, "According to her biography, Manami Asakura was once an orphan and lived in an orphanage that was run by the Holy Church, the same organization that Caren is in, and was raised under their care ever since both her parents died in an accident, resulting in her legs becoming dysfunctional. However, after discovering that she had Magic Circuits and had the ability to use magecraft, she was transferred from the Church to the Mage's Association to train under them to become a proper mage, and despite her handicap, she proved herself to be quite a powerful mage, efficient in both healing and Elemental Magecraft. In other words, she is equal to me. And, after leaving the Mage's Association, Asakura had created and ran her own orphanage as a means to take in and raise children who are orphans just like her, loving them and caring for them, acting as a mother figure to all of them."

"I see." I said.

"Her base of operation was the daycare center, where she brought the orphaned children that she raised from her orphanage there for safety from the Grail War." said Mirai-senpai, "The reason why she brought the orphaned children with her was that she does not wish to leave and abandon the children, as she loves the children very dearly. She chose not to leave them be in the orphanage that she runs is, because it is likely that if she left them to be at the orphanage, the other Masters and Servants would've gone after them in order to get to her, and the children would not be safe from the war. Moving the children to a different location was the safest option for her to use."

"Quick thinking." I said.

"And," Mirai-senpai added, "Asakura had a relic, a golden apple that came from Greek mythology, as a means to be used as a catalyst to summon a Servant in the Holy Grail War, and the Servant that she intended to summon as her Archer-Class Servant was Atalanta."

"Atalanta?" I said before I realized, "Oh! I've heard about her during World History Class with Emilia-sensei! She's some sort of wild huntress who worked for a group called the Argonauts to kill an evil boar in Ancient Greek."

"I would not exactly say she's wild," Aimi stepped in, "But yes, you are correct about that. Atalanta is known as the Chaste Huntress who is formidable with her speed and skill in archery. And, as you said, she's quite famous in Greek for being the first to drive an arrow into the Calydonian Boar during its extermination with Argonauts."

"Yes." said Saber, "I also know about her origin as well. Supposedly, she has the tragic past of being born as the daughter of a king of a certain country and yet being abandoned in the mountains by her father. According to Atalanta's legend, long before she became a member of the Argonauts, she was born as the daughter of King Iasus of Arcadia. However, although she was born in and as the princess of the natural paradise, Atalanta ended up being abandoned in the forests and on the mountains immediately she was born as she was shunned by her father, who desired a son rather than a daughter. However, she had survived thanks to the divine protection from Artemis, the Virgin Moon Goddess, and Goddess of the Hunt of Greek Mythology, who felt pity for her. Artemis sent and made a female bear, a sacred beast of the Goddess, nurture the girl by giving her milk and raising her up. In gratitude, Atalanta is a fervent follower of Artemis. Since then and throughout her history, while she became known as the fierce huntress in Greek, she also became a symbol of purity for children."

"That is correct." said Aimi, "In other words, she is very similar to Asakura. And, what Atalanta desires is for the happiness, love, and the salvation of all children throughout the whole world, far and wide."

"So, the reason why Manami Asakura chose Atalanta to be her Servant as an Archer, is because she shares and desires the same wish that Atalanta has; the salvation for all children." I said, "And if that's the case, then it's likely that since they both share a noble cause, they both would get along well together as Master and Servant, and would both make an impactful team."

"Precisely." said Aimi.

"Huh." I said, as I looked at the picture of her, "You know, hearing about her backstory and her reason, I think that she's actually more of a good person. Honestly, I think I'd like for us to get along with each other."

Mirai-senpai chuckled and said, "Yes, I figured you would say that." Her expression suddenly faltered as she said, "Unfortunately, however, I'm afraid meeting her in person may not happen."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "W-Why? What do you mean?"

Mirai-senpai then took out what looks to be a newspaper report, before handing it over to me and said, "This happened very recently. Approximately six months ago before the Grail War started."

I took the newspaper from her and took a good look at it for a bit before I gasped as I read at what was written on the headline as it said, "Daycare Center of Shinto Town Burned, Unknown Fire Occurred."

"No way…!" I said, shocked, "This daycare center…could it be…?"

"Yes." said Ishikawa-san, "It's the same daycare center that Manami Asakura intended to use as her base of operation, as well as a safe haven for those orphaned children that she brought with her."

"No way…" I said, "But, what could've caused this fire to happen?"

"I'm unsure myself, to be honest." said Mirai-senpai, "However, while we were investigating, we discovered some things that were considered off after the fire had stopped. One is that there were the dead bodies of the orphaned kids, who were all missing their arms and legs and their inside organs, found in the kitchen, as well as the smell of blood as if somebody had died in there. The second was that there was the summoning circle that was already used to summon a Servant, an Archer-Class. However, the golden apple that was meant to summon Atalanta was not used as a catalyst to summon a Servant, meaning that Atalanta, the Heroic Spirit that was meant to be an Archer-Class Servant, was not summoned into this Holy Grail War."

"No way…!" I said, shocked, "But then…could that mean that Manami Asakura was just making a ruse about herself, and was actually the one who killed the kids?!"

"No." said Ishikawa-san, "Asakura is not the type of person who would make such lies about herself, and she would never go that far as to hurt the innocent orphaned children that she loves dearly. As you said, she's a good person, so she would never do anything that is considered evil, nor resort to any violence whatsoever."

"Oh…" I said, now relieved, "Okay, then…if it's not her, then who?"

"Well, that's where the third comes in." said Mirai-senpai, before she turned to Aimi and nodded to her.

Aimi nodded back before she brought out a book that looked to have been burned. They must've found it and picked it up from that daycare. Aimi came to me and handed me the book to take a look at it, so I took the book and opened it to take a look and see what it is. In the book, as I was slowly flipping them over to get a good look at what the book was about, I could see words that were…well, too complicated to read in, and pictures of people that looked to be as if they were going through changes, and from the looks of it in those pictures, it was DEFINITELY not a good change.

"Huh." I said, as I kept flipping the pages and looking at the words and pictures, "I can't really read this thing. The language in this book looks like it's Romanian. But, the pictures…I think I can tell what it's about. According to the pictures, it looks like it's about how to turn somebody or some people into monsters. And, from the looks of these pictures, they DEFINITELY don't look like good monsters."

"Precisely." said Mirai-senpai, "What that book that you have in your hand is talking about how to turn someone or even the whole people into beings known as Dead Apostles."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Uh…Dead A-what now?"

"Oh, that's right." said Mirai-senpai, "You're probably unfamiliar with the terms that we mages use in the mage world." She folded her hands and made an expression as if she was thinking to herself as she said, "Hmm, now let's see…" Then, as if a thought finally came to her, before she said before asking me, "Ah, yes! I know! Now, tell me, Yuzuru, are you familiar with the term 'vampires' and what they are?"

"Oh, yeah, I do." I said, "I mean, who else doesn't know what they are? Vampires are blood-sucking monsters who suck out blood out of living creatures, like us humans, for example. Vampires usually suck the blood out of people as a way of getting their nutrition, and when vampires suck the blood out of their intended target, the victim becomes a vampire as well, before going to their next victim. Basically, they're like parasites. Or, at least, that's what I know from old folk tales and comics and stuff."

"Yes, that's correct." said Mirai-senpai, before she explained, "You see, in your term, you refer to these blood-sucking creatures as "vampires". In the mage world term, we refer to them as "Dead Apostles". There are not many differences about them aside from the naming that we give them. Dead Apostles are former human beings that became what you know them as vampires, either by the use of Magecraft or by the actions of another vampire of similar nature such as another Dead Apostle. Among the creatures that fall under the vampire category, they are the most numerous, and the main targets of the Executors of the Burial Agency, an organization created by the Holy Church for the purpose of stopping the spreading of the heresy known as vampires by exterminating the Dead Apostles."

"I see." I said.

"There is also another set of categories of vampires." said Mirai-senpai, "However, these days, those in this category have become very rare and have not since been heard of for years, as they are considered…unique among them. These unique vampires are called True Ancestors, incarnated nature spirits who're akin to the Elementals. They are vampiric creatures from birth, however, unlike the Dead Apostles and other blood-sucking species, the root of their bloodlust is psychological rather than physical. Also, because they are part of nature, they can use the power called Marble Phantasm to change the world around them according to their thoughts. They can be classified as a type of greater fairy and their Foundation is of a Mystery that cannot be reached through magecraft. They are said to be Planet-class Spirits, a rank higher than Divine Spirits."

"I see." I said.

"At an undetermined point of time in the past," Mirai-senpai explained, "Gaia, the will of the planet, suffered from the indiscriminate corruption that humans caused in the environment. Because at the time it lacked the means to defend itself from humans, Gaia sent a plea to the other celestial bodies for help, on the criteria that only a planet is able to correctly judge another of its kind. The one who answered Gaia's plea was Brunestud of the Crimson Moon, or simply called the Crimson Moon, who offered a pact to the planet, and in exchange for being allowed to live on Earth, Crimson Moon would allow the creation of a self-defense mechanism for the planet based on him. From this pact between the Ultimate One of the moon and the will of the Earth, the True Ancestors were born as a Counter Force with definite form, created for the purpose of returning the planet to its original state, before the corruption caused by humans. Despite their origins as anti-human entities, Alaya, the will of humanity, does not see the True Ancestors as targets. That is because the True Ancestors are extensions of the world, mediators of nature, before being enemies of humanity. However, differently from Divine Spirits, they are supernatural beings born from the world without the interference of people. That which is desired by the planet but not by humanity is bound to fade from the observable world and decline in numbers. However, during the 12th century, the True Ancestors had decreased to a mere hundred, from which the majority were killed when one of them known as "the White Princess" went berserk."

"I see." I said.

"While being born from nature just as any natural spirits," Mirai-senpai continued, "The True Ancestors are fundamentally mere copies of the Crimson Moon with minds and bodies modeled after humans, the latter do so under the principle that it would be best for them to resemble those who they are supposed to rule over. Because Crimson Moon was their basis, the True Ancestors not only turned to be detached from nature's desire of protection from humans but also inherited a terrible flaw from the original called Vampiric Impulses. In their case, it is a purely psychological impulse that pushes them to suck the blood of others, and because there is no physical reason behind those impulses, there is no definite cure for them. Thus, the True Ancestors need to sleep through their childhood until they are mature enough to have self-control. From that point on, the True Ancestors must use their own powers to keep the impulses in check. That is why, even though they have the capacity to manipulate nature at will, they never fight at 100% as most of their powers are already being used to restrain themselves. However, because there is no end to the vampiric impulses, they do not disappear and instead accumulate with time. Eventually, those impulses will become too powerful to be restrained and threaten to take over. The only choice left in this case is for the True Ancestors to fall into a deep, eternal sleep. This can be said to be the limit of the life of those without a definite lifespan."

"I see." I said.

"The original members of the Dead Apostles were created to act as counter-measures in the case of a True Ancestor being overwhelmed by his or her thirst for blood." Mirai-senpai explained, "In exchange for losing their free will and becoming a tool to relieve the vampiric impulses of the True Ancestors, these individuals were granted powers and longevity similar to their masters. However, what they received was still a flawed form of immortality and it was soon discovered that they needed to suck the blood of others to survive. Just like the True Ancestors, these vampires have the instinct known as Vampiric Impulses, which pushes them to suck the blood of others. However, differently than the vampiric impulses of the True Ancestors, they have the physical need to suck the blood of others in order to maintain their own bodies. For those Dead Apostles who used to be human, it is something not entirely dissimilar from an expression of love. The result of repeatedly sucking the blood of humans was the emergence of a sense of superiority in the heart of the servants of the True Ancestors. Such a thing eventually gave birth to a feeling of rebellion towards their masters, which then lead the servants to find ways of strengthening their mental control and escaping from the domain of the True Ancestors. After the rebellion, these blood-sucking humans became known as the Dead Apostles. Although the Dead Apostles are maverick and individualistic by nature, there is a form of ruling body among them: The Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, the aristocratic elite of the vampires. At first, they were a group formed only by the original Dead Apostles who escaped from the True Ancestors, today however it is more of a collection of very odd, but powerful bloodsucking characters who are divided into multiple rival factions. Most of the original Dead Apostles were destroyed along the generations or sealed away by the Church. Afterward, their seats among the 27 Ancestors were either left empty or filled by somewhat suitable replacements. On a side note, those sealed away are actually just placed into eternal imprisonment inside special coffins, for the Church lacks the means to definitely destroy them. Meanwhile, some of the factions of minions of those sealed Ancestors still remain and are slowly gaining the power to either free their masters or destroy them."

"I see." I said.

"Although they appear to have capacities beyond human limitations, most vampires actually acquired their powers by constantly refining human-inherent abilities throughout their extended lives." Mirai-senpai continued, "They also show signs of Mystery which accumulates over time and grows stronger with age. In other words, anyone with a similarly long lifespan has the potential to reach a level comparable to the Dead Apostles. Also, contrary to popular belief, vampires can be killed with conventional weaponry. However, that is a feat near impossible to accomplish since their superior reflexes and physical abilities allow them to see and dodge a bullet after it has been shot. They can gain these inhuman physical abilities because their hands and feet are not connected by nerves, as the only thing that connects a vampire's body together is the blood of others. They also gain vampiric claws and senses keener than those of a human. Then as long as you are human, you can't deceive the vampires' sense of smell or their sense of taste who can even detect alcohol in the blood of their victims. They are also able, through their long life and training their abilities or by finishing their magical research, to develop their own 'special abilities'. An example would be that some vampires can change their bodies freely so that you cannot rely on appearance to identify them. However, the downside of acquiring a power that humans originally would not have is that the genes that compose their bodies are constantly degenerating, and once they die they won't leave a trace as their bodies turn into ash. The only way to interrupt and reverse this degeneration, even if just temporarily, is by regularly ingesting the blood of living creatures in order to absorb genetic information and stabilize their own bodies. On that note, even though human blood and especially the blood of virgins, because one's blood cells are purer before one has exchanged bodily fluids with others, are the most suited to the needs of the vampires, the blood of animals is a viable alternative. Due to their advanced age, Dead Apostles that have lived for at least one thousand years require enormous amounts of energy. Rather than a measure of their power, it is instead because compensation is needed for the maintenance of such a long-lived existence. And, there are a few "weaknesses" common to all Dead Apostles which are sunlight that greatly hastens their bodies' degeneration and running water. However, there are powerful Apostles that are capable of conquering the sunlight and moving around during the day, and any Apostle can use the advances of technology like a plane or a ship for their advantage. On the other hand, the Executors of the Church who possess holy sacraments and other holy weapons are a great threat to them."

"I see." I said, "So, basically, the only way to take out a Dead Apostle is the same way as to take out a vampire."

"Precisely." said Mirai-senpai, "And, the growth process is if a vampire injects some of its own black blood into a human victim's bloodstream, the said victim will be infused with some of the vampire's own power and their body becomes unable to completely die. The black blood violates and burns the whole body from the inside. But in most cases, however, the body dies and with it, the soul of the victim. The final result would be a mindless familiar known as The Dead, the traditional familiars of the vampires, but few actually use them today since their presence will alert vampire hunters such as the Burial Agency. However, in the rare occurrence of the said victim possessing a high physical potential and the capacity of their soul is excellent, it prevents the body and with it the soul from death. He will instead become a Ghoul and embark on climbing the ladder to becoming a full-fledged Vampire. Furthermore, the extension of its powers is dependent on the abilities and amount of minions pertaining to its parent vampire, whom it is bound, both mentally and spiritually. Ghouls are born when the body of a vampire's victim is unable to completely die. After their corpse is buried and left for several years in the grave, their brain will rot, and the human soul will be freed from the cage of the body. The decayed corpse would then begin its activity as a kind of living dead, with their transformed souls, have now bypassed the necessity of the brain to hold the soul, as the soul is now separate from the body. They have mental capacities pretty much equivalent to that of a savage beast and they must devour other corpses to reconstruct their own degenerated flesh. After many years of this, they restore their bodies and thus, their brain, which now anchors their soul again to the body. The soul can now reshape itself with the brain and the body and they fully recover their intelligence and memories. After several years of development, a Ghoul regains all of its memories and a full human intellect. They finally become mature vampires who can now attain the power of their own, move by their own will, are capable of creating other vampires, and have their own minions. It takes decades, of acclimating to life in the darkness, to complete this Growth Process. The newborn vampire gains the necessary knowledge to understand the changes of its body and quickly grows accustomed to living as a vampire. However, it is still bound to the will of its parent vampire, as they cannot escape from the rule of their sire's blood. They are forced, when they acquire blood, to supply the majority of it to their parent vampire. Consequently, the child vampire will eventually try to become a parent vampire themselves. They will start to threaten the world by creating servants of their very own while remaining subservient to the vampire that made them. A vampire can only become a full-fledged Dead Apostle after breaking free from the control of their parent vampire."

"I see." I said.

"But enough about that," said Mirai-senpai, "That's beside the point. What I intended to tell you was that when we went to investigate what had happened to the daycare center where Manami Asakura had resided, we found a dead body of a Dead Apostle that was lying on the summoning circle, the same circle that was meant to summon a Servant for the Holy Grail War."

"What?" I said, "No way."

"What's more, is that there was a wheelchair that belonged to Manami Asakura." Mirai-senpai added, "However, Asakura herself was not present at the summoning room."

"No way." I said, "But then…could that mean that…Manami Asakura's dead?"

"Most likely, though I cannot say for sure." said Mirai-senpai, "We know that her wheelchair was there in the room at the time, but…if she was dead, then where was her body to begin with? And why was it her body went missing when we were there? And what kind of Heroic Spirit is it that was summoned into this Holy Grail War as an Archer-Class Servant? Until we know for certain about our answers, there's not much else we can do about it."

"I see." I said before a thought came to me and I asked, "Then, can't we at least ask some people who were affiliated with her at the time before she went missing or dead? I mean, she DID might've had allies on her side, right?"

"If we could, yes." said Ishikawa-san, "But even if we did know who they were, we have no idea where they are now. The only thing that we do know about them is that they're members of the Holy Church from France, to who Asakura has connections because of her half-French blood. And their names, aside from what their location is at, we don't know."

"I see." I said.

"We can't also risk that, either." Sayaka added, "We don't even know if they had anything to do with what happened at the daycare center or not, nor do we know if they're responsible for what happened with Asakura or not. It's possible that we have people who're breaking the rules of the Holy Grail War."

"Rule breakers?" I asked.

"Precisely." said Mirai-senpai, "I asked Caren about whether there were people she knew at the Church who would go through such antics of breaking the rules of the Holy Grail War, and she's been trying to figure it out for a while but hasn't found anything yet. She told me that if possible, we may have to prepare ourselves for who these rule-breakers are and find out what their reasons behind it are, as well as take them out as soon as possible before the Grail War gets out of hand."

"So, in short, we need to find them and kill them before they make the situation worse." I concluded.

"Exactly." said Mirai-senpai.

"But, can't we just, like, I don't know, bring them to the police or something, or maybe people related to the mage world that's similar to the police officers?" I asked.

"Well, we could, if we deem it unnecessary to kill them." said Mirai-senpai, "However, if what they're doing is putting too much risk into both the real world and the mage world and if it gets out of hand, then we won't have any other choice but to kill them if it means to protect both the real world and the mage world."

"Oh, I see." I said.

"Look, I can see what you're getting at." said Mirai-senpai, "Believe me, I do. Honestly, I don't like the idea of taking another's life, either. In fact, none of us do. But we all knew what we were getting into once we entered the Holy Grail War, and if it means keeping both our world safe from the danger that may occur, then we'll have to do what is absolutely necessary to keep everyone safe. Besides, you wouldn't want people that you care about dying because of what the people in the Grail War have done, do you?"

I sighed and said, "No, of course not. It's just…I just wanna believe that there might be a good chance that whoever they are might still have some good in them, and we don't need to do what's necessary by killing them, that's all. And, I just don't want good people to die because of them, or because of me. I know it sounds naïve, but…that's what I think."

"I understand." said Mirai-senpai, "You want to believe that there is good in people, and that's exactly what's good about you. Just try not to put too much faith in it. Otherwise, it'll break how you see in everyone."

"I'll try not to." I said.

I then handed the book back to Aimi who gladly took it back from me, before I asked, "So, what're you gonna with that book now? It's probably useless by now."

"We'll just bring it over to Caren so that she'll either look into it more or get rid of it." Aimi smiled, "Plus, we need to ensure that it doesn't, or at least no longer, falls into the wrong hands. We can't let people use this book to cause more people to become Dead Apostles."

"Oh, okay." I said, "Yeah, I think that might be a good idea, because…that would be bad."

"Yes, indeed." Aimi smiled.

"So, anyway," I turned to Mirai-senpai and asked, "What'll we do now?"

"For now, go back to class." said Mirai-senpai, "We shall contact you once we find out where the members of the Church from France are and what our next move shall be. Oh, before that, we already have your contact, but you don't have ours yet, so we shall give ours, so we can keep in touch. Will that be alright?"

"Oh, sure." I said, as I brought out my phone and handed it to them, "I don't mind."

Sayaka took my phone and placed her contact in it before handing it over to Aimi, who gladly took it and placed her contact in it and then handed it over to Ishikawa-san, who silently took and placed hers in it, and then she handed it to Mirai-senpai, who took it with a smirk on her face before she placed her contact in it, before handing it back over to me, and I took it.

"So, we'll keep in touch?" I asked.

"Of course." said Mirai-senpai, "We'll see you soon after."

"Okay, then." I said as I went to the door with Saber to leave, "I'll see you girls later."

"See you again, Shindou-sama." Aimi bowed with a smile.

"Yeah, later." Sayaka waved off.

"Be safe." said Ishikawa-san.

With that, I nodded to them before I turned around to the door and opened it to leave and head back to class, with Saber following behind me. Before I did, however, a thought came to me, as I remembered something, and it was about Berserker. I turned back around to Mirai-senpai before I asked, "Hey, senpai, can I ask one more thing? It's about the True Ancestors."

"Of course." said Mirai-senpai, "What is it?"

"Well," I said, before asking, "You said that they're powerful beings, right? How exactly strong are they?"

"Well, there are different levels of power in the True Ancestor hierarchy, really." said Mirai-senpai, "All True Ancestors possess power beyond human comprehension from the moment they are born, and there are few who can match them in terms of strength, speed, and endurance. They have the normal vampire claws, and only very few conceptual weapons can harm them. All vampires can ignore damage from most sources as their bodies will revert to the pre-damaged state rapidly unless a conceptual weapon such as the Black Keys used by members of the Church nullifies this ability. At night they are almost invulnerable, and their power is at its peak during the full moon, rendering them indestructible. They also have the power called Marble Phantasm, the ability to materialize a phantasm, a vision. It is the capacity of an Elemental or True Ancestor to connect their will to nature, as a means of interfering with probabilities, and transfiguring the surrounding world at will, in accordance with their vision of the world. As the user is a part of nature, he or she can change the world as desired. But in the end, what an elemental can act on is only something that can only be achieved within the limited scopes of nature. The capacity of the actualization is proportional to the scale of the elemental. Basically, they can change reality to create any naturally occurring effect."

"I see." I said, "And, is there anyone among the True Ancestors that is considered the strongest of them all?"

"Hmmm, let me think." said Mirai-senpai, "Yes, I believe there is. Among the True Ancestors, there is a royalty called the Brunestud; it is a title bestowed upon all True Ancestor royalty who come close in power to Brunestud of the Crimson Moon by displaying the ability to manifest his Millennium Castle Brunestud, originally the lair from Crimson Moon Brunestud, through Marble Phantasm. While the True Ancestors have no proper concept of hierarchy, those able to manifest the castle have been uplifted as royalty. One of the True Ancestors to have ever held the name in the entire long history of the race was the princess of the True Ancestors, as mentioned before, was known as The White Princess of the True Ancestors."

"I see." I said.

"Why do you ask?" Mirai-senpai asked.

"Oh, no reason." I said, "Just wondering. Well, gotta go."

Me and Saber left the office and began walking our way back to our class. As we walked, Saber looked at me and asked, "Yuzuru, about what you asked them…does it have something to do with Berserker?"

"Yeah." I said, "It's just…I mean, I know the mage world and stuff are supposed to be kept secret and all, but I can't help but think there isn't anything mentioned about the True Ancestors. And Berserker, she did fight against us with claws, and she did seem somehow powerful at night during the full moon when we faced her before I summoned you."

"Yes." said Saber, "Although, when I was summoned, and I fought against her, Berserker looked as if she was being held back as if she couldn't go all out. No. Rather, I think it's more like she doesn't want to go all out. Which explains why she never goes into Madness Enhancement to increase her raw strength and power, or else she'd lose her rationality."

"Well, I guess that's true." I said, "If I remember right, Berserkers tend to go crazy mad when they have Madness Enhancement and can do wild and crazy things without meaning to. Still, though, I don't think there are any mentions about her in our world history class. Saber, do you maybe know something about Berserker? Since, you know, the Throne of Heroes and all that?"

Saber looked away and tried to think for a moment, before she answered, "No, I've never seen nor heard of anyone of someone like Berserker before. Actually, it's possible that there's no historic information about her at all. In fact, she's not even recorded into the Throne of Heroes."

"Wait, what?!" I said, shocked, "Hold on! You mean to say that…Berserker isn't even a historical figure of any history at all?! That she's some fake spirit that wandered here or something?!"

"No, I would not say that." said Saber, "Berserker can materialize into physical form and dematerialize into spiritual form, which means that she's indeed a spirit that has died, but not of that of a Heroic Spirit recorded into the Throne of Heroes. Which means that she is indeed a Servant, but not a Servant that was summoned from the Throne of Heroes. Honestly, even I do not know how to explain it to you. Perhaps, there may have been something wrong with the system that brought Berserker here. However, that's as much as I could tell you."

"I see." I said.

"I can say this, however," said Saber, making me turn to her, "That whatever Berserker is, she's clearly not human, and I'm certain that whatever it is about Berserker is completely unnatural. In short, she's certainly dangerous."

"I see." I said as I remained silent for a bit, before I asked, "Then, if she's unnatural and not entirely human, do you think that she could be a True Ancestor or a Dead Apostle? I mean, she did have hands that she can form into claws and use in combat, and she was pretty strong during the full moon. And her eyes…she did have eyes that were that of a vampire."

"Hmmm." said Saber, as she thought about it for a bit, "It's possible, yes. But we cannot know for sure. If that is the case, however, then she's not a proper Servant summoned into this Grail War nor a Heroic Spirit that was meant to be a Servant in the first place. Until we know for certain, there's not much else we can do to confirm."

"Yeah, good point." I said, "Well, at least we know who or what we might be dealing with. And I just hope that we won't be seeing her again. But, if and when we do see Berserker again, we'll be ready for her."

"Agreed." said Saber, "We'll be staying on our guard for her."

---

Sakura's POV:

School had ended, and it was already almost close to evening. I was in the school faculty room greeting the other teachers and staff goodbye as they all packed up and began to leave one by one.

"Good work today, Sakura!" Mitsuzuri-senpai smiled and waved as she left, "See you tomorrow!"

"Yes, see you tomorrow, senpai!" I smiled and waved back.

I stood and watched as almost all of my fellow teachers and staff members left the faculty, with just me and a few others left.

"Um…excuse me." I heard someone call.

"Hmm?" I turned around and saw it was Minna who was approaching me, before I smiled and said, "Ah, Minna, what a surprise! How can I help you today? Did you need me to help you with something?"

Minna was already wearing our school's uniform after she finally got the school uniform that she needed to wear for our school and after our school had finally been saved, and she looked really good in the uniform as she was dressed nicely like every other female student here in school. The only thing that she kept was her white beret from her old school uniform because, apparently, everybody in school recommended her to keep her beret on as it makes her look cute. Well, to the boys, at least.

"Ja!" Minna smiled, "Well, actually, I heard from everyone that you were called the "School's Mother" for always caring like a mother for everyone and would give lots of good advice for everyone during guidance counseling. Is it true?"

"Ah, yes." I chuckled, "I tend to get that a lot from my students, mostly the boys. So, what about it? Oh! Do you perhaps need me to help you with your life in school? Are you having any troubles?"

"Ah, nein." Minna shook her head, "It's not that. It's just…um…well…"

"Hmm?" I said.

"I-I was wondering if you could help me by giving me advice about getting closer to someone you truly love!" Minna finally said, "I…I wanna know how to get closer to someone that I love because I love him!"

"Oh?" I said, "You want advice from me on love?"

"J-Ja!" said Minna.

I was about to ask her why would she need advice from me about love, before a thought came to me and I realized why, as she did give a hint who it was before I smiled and said, "Ahhh! I see! It's about Shindou-kun, isn't it?"

"Ja." said Minna, "That's why I need your advice on love and how to get closer to him and be with him more."

"Ah, I see." I said, "But, Minna, aren't you and Shindou-kun already close enough together? He already knows that you love him, so there's no reason for you to receive any love advice from me or anyone."

"Well, um…actually…" said Minna, as she looked down on the floor with a sad look on her face, as if something was bothering her.

Seeing her like that made me feel concerned for her, so I placed my hand on her shoulder before I asked out of concern, "Minna, what's wrong?"

Minna remained silent for a moment, before she said, "Well, um…well, it's Yuzu-kun. It's just…I'm worried that he…Yuzu-kun won't be choosing me to be his lover anytime soon. I'm worried that Yuzu-kun won't see me as a woman to love, and that he won't see me that way, as his love interest. And, I'm scared that…he won't be able to make up his mind and decide on time."

"Minna…" I said.

"I know that I'm supposed to wait for him to find out how he feels." said Minna, "I know that I told him that I'd wait for him for his answers, and I mean it. But I'm scared…I'm scared that Yuzu-kun…what if he doesn't find out how he really feels about me in time? What if he'll never find out? Or, what if he actually doesn't feel the same way about me? I'm scared that Yuzu-kun…won't be able to figure out his feelings, or won't see me as his lover the same way as I see him. That's why…"

"I see." I said as I nodded to her in understanding what she meant, "Yes, that is troubling. And Shindou-kun IS a bit dense and slow when it comes to topics like love. Don't get me wrong, it's not that he DOESN'T know what love is, it's just that he doesn't know exactly how people feel about him, nor does he understand how he really feels about others. Because of that, it makes him somewhat very confused about his personal feelings towards others."

"Ja, and that's what I'm afraid of." said Minna, "I'm scared that Yuzu-kun won't be able to understand his true feelings because of his confusion about his feelings. I love Yuzu-kun so much, and I trust him with all my heart, but…I'm worried, scared that Yuzu-kun will…he'll never understand his true feelings for me. That's why, I came to you for your advice to get much closer to him, because…I wanna help him to be able to understand his feelings, and I want…to deepen the bond that we have together."

"I see." I said, "That sounds very wonderful, Minna."

"Ja." said Minna, "So, that's why, Matou-sensei, I really need your advice. Is there…is there something that I can do, to get much closer to Yuzu-kun, so that he'll notice me more? As his lover."

"Hmmm…let me think…" I said as I thought for a moment while taking a good look at Minna. Let's see…what CAN Minna do…to get Shindou-kun hers? I looked at Minna thoroughly from top to bottom to see if there was anything good about her, aside from personality. I kept looking until my eyes spotted her chest area, as I DID remember Shindou-kun mentioning that her breasts were two cups bigger than mine. Overall, Minna DOES have a very good body, so much so that she could seduce him with it if she wants to. Wait…seduce…?

Suddenly, a thought came into my head, as I actually thought up a good idea for Minna to get her to have Shindou-kun! Of course! If she does that, then I'm sure that it will get his attention! While also…hehehehehe! I liked the idea so much that I gave out a teasing smile, because, Ohh, I just know that it'll be so much fun!

"Hm?" said Minna, confused, "Umm…Matou-sensei, what's wrong?"

"Ah, it's nothing." I smiled at Minna, "Actually, I might just know what'll work out for you, Minna."

Minna gasped with a smile and said, "Really?! Will you really help me?!"

"Yes." I said, "Of course. Just leave everything to me. As your mother of this school, it is my duty to help and care for my students with any sorts of problems that they're dealing with every day. So, I will do everything in my power to help you get the man that you love." Of course, you're also doing me a favor to mess with him! "Ah, but before that, Minna, you have to promise me that you WON'T tell anyone about it, nor your reasons or your worries of why you're doing this. Okay? Even if you tell Shindou-kun that I'm helping you, you cannot EVER tell him your reasons or your worries, because if you do, it'll just make things a bit harder for him. Understand?"

"Ja!" Minna nodded, "I promise!"

"Ah, good then!" I smiled, before I looked around our surroundings and then placed both my hands on her shoulders and said, "Okay now, Minna, listen to me very carefully…"

---

Yuzuru's POV:

Our last class was already over, and I had finished packing up all my stuff along with Saber before we both walked out of the classroom to leave.

"Hey, Yuzuru!" I heard someone call me, and I turned around to see it was Kurosawa-san who was coming over to me along with Hiiragi.

"Oh, Kurosawa-san, Hiiragi." I said, "What's up?"

"Hey, man, have you seen Asada-san today?" Kurosawa-san asked.

"We haven't seen her today." said Hiiragi worriedly.

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Wasn't she with you guys?"

"No, we thought she was with you." said Kurosawa-san, "We haven't seen her all day today, so we thought maybe you've seen her."

"Well, no, sorry." I said, "I haven't seen her. Why, did something happen?"

"Well, nothing happened." said Kurosawa-san, "We just…haven't seen her today, or at all, really."

"Yeah." said Hiiragi, "And we haven't been seeing her since…well, for the whole week last week. Hell, she hasn't even shown up for when our school was brought back!"

"Huh." I said, "Well, maybe something must've happened with her family back at home, so she had to skip school."

"That's what we thought, too." said Kurosawa-san, "But when we came over to her house to visit her, she didn't show up to see us. And her parents weren't there, either."

"We've been asking people who know her where she is, but they don't have a clue, either." said Hiiragi, "It's really weird."

"Huh." I said, "Yeah, it IS weird. Well, I'm sure Asada-san will show up again sooner or later. Once she does, we'll just ask her where she's been and see if she's alright and all. Besides, I'm sure she might've had her reasons to be absent from school, we'll just have to hear her out."

"Well, yeah, I guess." said Kurosawa-san, "Well, anyway, thanks for the help, man."

"Not at all." I said, "See you guys tomorrow."

"Yeah, take care." said Kurosawa-san, as he went past me and left, before he said to Saber, "See you, too, Elaina."

"Yes, you as well." said Saber.

"See ya later, Yuzzuchi, Elaina!" Hiiragi smiled and waved before she went off and left.

We watched them leave until they were out of our sight before I turned to Saber and asked, "Well, what do you think, Saber? Do you think something's wrong with Asada-san?"

"Hmmm." said Saber, as she thought for a moment, before she answered, "I'm not sure entirely. However, I highly doubt that Chikako would be absent from school unless she had a reason as you said she would. It's just…I cannot help but feel as if she's hiding something. Something that she has no intention of telling anyone and wants to keep to herself as if it's…something off."

"You still have this bad feeling about her?" I asked.

"Yes." said Saber, "I just…I do not know why, but I feel as if Chikako is keeping you and everyone else you know in the dark, as she has some sort of dark and ominous secret that she'd keep until she intends to reveal her dark intentions. And it's possible…that she may be a part of something that is…no, I can't say it. It's…too hard to say, and I do not believe that you'd understand."

"Oh, I see." I said, "Well if Asada-san is hiding something, I'm sure she had her reasons. We'll just have to ask her when we see her again. Well, IF we can see her again. But I'm sure she'll turn up eventually. Well, I hope."

"Yes." said Saber, "I hope so, as well. And I do hope that…I may be wrong."

"Hmm?" I said, confused, "Wrong about what?"

"No, it's nothing." Saber shook her head, "Don't worry about it."

"Oh, okay." I said, "Well, anyway, let's head home while we can. Better go home and prepare dinner for tonight."

"Agreed." said Saber, "I do wish to have something to satisfy my appetite for dinner."

"Well, then, let's go." I said.

---

Both me and Saber walked through the hallways until we got out of the building and we went to get out through the school gate. Which, surprisingly, was completely fixed up compared to what had happened during our fight with Caster. I guess the priestess Caren must've done all the work to fix this up so that no one would know what had happened. Heh, pretty quick of her on covering things up, I'll give her that.

"Yuzu-kun!" I heard someone call, and I turned around to see Minna who was waving at me with a smile on her face.

"Minna!" I smiled back, "Hey!"

As soon as Minna caught up to us, Minna came up to me before she held onto my arm with both of hers as she giggled happily and said, "Yuzu-kun, let's go home together!"

"Whoa, Minna, hold on!" I said, as I tried to pull away but couldn't, "Don't just grab onto me like that. People will get the wrong idea."

"Nein, I don't mind." said Minna, as she held me tighter, "If I can walk home with Yuzu-kun, then I don't care what everyone says about us."

"Minna, c'mon." I said.

Saber chuckled next to us and said, "You might as well give up and go along with it, Yuzuru. Besides, she's not going to take no for an answer."

"Well…" I said, as I looked at Minna, who was already giving out her cutest expression that I could never say no to. I sighed before I smiled and said, "Well, alri-"

"AHEM!" we heard someone say, and we turned around to see it was Yukitsuki-san, who for some reason, was not pleased with what's going on with us.

"Oh, hey, Yukitsuki-san!" I said, "Uh, sorry, we didn't see you there. We were just-"

"I know." said Yukitsuki-san, before she looked at Minna and said, "Look, I don't mean to be rude, but you're kinda bothering some people with the way you're interacting with him right now. Would you please be so kind as to let go of him right now?"

"Eh?" said Minna, "But why? I don't mind holding him this way. We're already close enough to hug each other."

"Well, you should mind." said Yukitsuki-san, "You're starting to bother people and giving them the wrong impression about you, and people will get the wrong idea that you two are a couple."

"I don't mind." said Minna.

"You really should!" said Yukitsuki-san.

"Whoa, relax." I said as I stepped in, "It's fine. I was gonna let her hold onto me anyway. And besides, it's not like anybody cares what we're doing. Plus, everybody knows we're already close this way since we're childhood friends."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"And besides," I cut her off, "Minna means well to everyone and I trust her, so there's no reason for me to deny her or anything."

"But-" Yukitsuki-san tried to say.

But then Saber stepped in and said, "Yukitsuki, I think you should just leave them be. Yuzuru has good reasons to trust Minna, as she is harmless and has no reason to be considered harmful. Besides, we shouldn't bother these two if they have no reason to refuse each other."

"But…" Yukitsuki-san tried to say, before she sighed as she gave in and said, "Well, alright. Just…don't do this too often, okay?"

"We'll try not to." I said, and Minna nodded while holding onto me tighter.

"Well, anyway, let's go home." said Yukitsuki-san, as she walked past us. Soon enough, we began to follow suit, walking right behind her.

I then heard Saber stop herself as she said while looking in a different direction, "Hmm?!"

I turned around and asked, "Huh? Hey, Elaina? What's wrong?"

Saber looked in silences for a moment, before she turned away to look at us and said, "No, it's nothing. I just…I thought I felt like someone was watching us. It's probably my imagination."

"Oh, okay." I said before we turned back and kept on walking to get home, and Saber looked back for a bit before she followed right behind us.

---

Archer's POV:

I stood at the top of the tree a bit far away from the academy as the wind blew by while letting my skirt flow freely, as I watched from afar to take a good look at our enemies, the Master of Saber and the Master of Assassin.

I first started off with the boy who was with a girl with silver hair. His power…it was faint, but I could tell that he has a potential magical ability that hasn't fully awakened yet. And the blonde woman with him…yes, I could tell that she was a Servant as I felt her energy and power, and how she's connected to that boy. So, that must be Saber, and that boy must be her Master.

I then looked at the window where I saw a woman wearing a red trench coat looking out the window while having her cup of tea along with those three other girls with her. And her power…yes, I could tell that she has the powerful magical ability of that of a first-rate mage, and I could feel that she's connected to an Assassin-Class Servant. I see…and that woman must be Assassin's Master. And those three girls with her must be her lackeys. That woman in red was looking out at the boy who was with Saber and the silver-haired girl through the windows. If I had to guess, those two Masters must be working together.

"Hmmm…" I thought, "Interesting…"

I should make a report to my Master at once. I turned around and began to leave the area and I jumped down off the tree to go and return to my Master.

---

Yuzuru's POV:

We had just finished having dinner together, and Yukitsuki-san had already left to go back to her place and go to bed, while we were getting ready to go to bed. It was already becoming a usual routine for us to sleep the way we are now, with me and Minna sleeping together on the same bed while Saber slept on the floor. And at this point, Minna and I were already comfortable with sleeping together on the same bed, not that we weren't comfortable about it, to begin with.

Well, anyway, while Saber was already fast asleep, me and Minna were holding each other's hands as we slept together, like we always did when we were kids. I looked at Minna as she was already fast asleep and was sleeping soundly and peacefully with a smile on her face because she was holding onto me knowing that I'm here with her. Seeing her smiled like that made me felt relieved that she was happy, because…well, lately, she was having nightmares, about me leaving her side. When I saw her face when she was having nightmares, she was…scared, scared of me leaving her, and she was crying, crying of me leaving her all alone. I could just remember how she was crying and how she was scared of me leaving her in her nightmares.

"Yuzu-kun…!" I remembered her crying in her sleep, "Please…don't leave me…! Don't leave me…! Don't leave me alone…! Yuzu-kun…please, don't leave me…! Please…!"

"Minna…" I said to myself.

Hearing me calling her name made Minna open her eyes and look at me, before she said with a questioned look, "Yuzu-kun?"

"Oh, sorry." I said apologetically, "Did I wake you? I didn't mean to."

Minna smiled at me before she shook her head and said, "Nein, not at all. Actually, it makes me happy when you say my name, Yuzu-kun?"

"Is that so?" I asked.

"Ja." Minna smiled.

"I see." I said, "So, how're you feeling right now? Are any of the nightmares bothering you?"

"Nein." Minna reassured, "I'm okay now. I don't have any more nightmares thanks to you, Yuzu-kun." She held my hand tighter and said, "As long as you're here with me, I'm okay, and I'm not afraid anymore."

"I see." I said, "That's good."

"Yuzu-kun," said Minna, "Danke, for always being there for me, to reassure me that it was just a bad dream. I'm happy that you're with me."

"Minna…" I said.

"And…" she added, "Es tut mir leid, dass ich Sie immer gestört habe (I'm sorry that I always bothered you). I've been burdening you all the time, have I?"

I smiled at her before I brought her closer to me to hug her, before I kissed her forehead and then said, "It's alright, Minna. I wouldn't mind it at all, even if you were a bother."

"Yuzu-kun…" said Minna.

"Besides, I'm here to look after you and keep you safe." I said, "So it's my job to make sure that nothing ever happens to you, and to keep you safe."

"Really?" Minna asked, "Can I believe you?"

I looked at her with a smile and said, "Of course, you can. I promised I'd protect you, after all."

Seeing that I was telling her the truth, Minna smiled back and said as she snuggled closer to me, "Ja, of course. I trust you, Yuzu-kun. And I love you."

I smiled at her before I held her close and said before sleep was starting to take over, "Yeah. Good night, and sweet dreams, Minna."

"Ja." said Minna, as she was beginning to fall asleep with me, "Goodnight, Yuzu-kun. I love you."

Then, we both fell into a deep sleep, letting ourselves slumber for tomorrow.

---

Morning:

The morning had arrived, and as usual, the morning sunlight began shining through our window, shining in front of my eyes and forcing me to wake up and open my eyes. When I opened my eyes, though, I saw that Minna wasn't there in bed with me. I guess she must've woken up first. I got up and looked around a bit to see where she went, before I noticed the door at our room was opened, meeting Minna must've gone out of the room. And, judging from the good smell that was coming from outside the room, Minna must be in the kitchen and is making breakfast for us today. I got out of bed and went out of my room to go brush my teeth before I go out to eat breakfast.

As soon as I was done brushing my teeth, I got out of the bathroom and met with Saber, who had just woken up from her sleep, as she was yawning while rubbing her eyes. After adjusting her eyes, she noticed me out of the bathroom, before she gave a small smile and said, "Good morning, Master."

"Good morning." I said, "You just got up and had a good sleep?"

"Indeed." said Saber, as she stretched her arms up, before she relaxed, "I just woke up after I smelled something good. I suppose Minna is cooking and we'll be having a good breakfast soon."

"Yeah, apparently." I said, "Honestly, I didn't think Minna can cook. Well, I'm gonna go check on Minna and see how's she's doing. See you at the kitchen."

"Yes, see you soon." said Saber, before I got out of the way to let her in, and I went to go to the kitchen to see what Minna was doing.

I walked my way until I got to the kitchen, but I didn't look up to see Minna yet.

"Ah!" I heard Minna say, as if she noticed me, "Good morning, Yuzu-kun!"

"Ah, yeah." I said as I began to look up, "Good morning, Mi-WHOOOA!"

When I looked up to see Minna, I…I was actually seeing…the biggest surprise of all my life! Minna…she…she was…she was in the kitchen…literally, wearing NOTHING, BUT AN APRON ON!

"Yuzu-kun~!" Minna called me with a happy smile on her face…while her…her…her boobs…HER BOOBS WERE JIGGLING AS SHE MOVES!

Oh, my God! OH, MY GOD! I CAN LITERALLY SEE EVERYTHING! HER SKIN…HER BOOBS…HER LEGS…HER WHOLE BODY…EVERYWHERE FROM TOP TO BOTTOM! MINNA IS LITERALLY NAKED! Even though she had an apron on, SHE WAS STILL LITERALLY NAKED!

Minna approached me, giving me an awfully good view of her large chest as she leaned closer towards me, with hands behind her back, as she smiled at me and said, "Breakfast is ready! Please, come, sit down and eat!"

I immediately looked away so that I wouldn't look at her anywhere around her body, because I didn't want to look at her in a perverted way, while also hiding away my blush from what I was seeing in front of me. God, I can't believe this! I was blushing so much that I was shivering from nervousness.

"Hmm?" said Minna, as she tried to look at me in the face while I kept looking away from her, "What's wrong, Yuzu-kun?"

"A-Ahh, uh…u-umm…uh…n-n-nothing!" I said nervously, trying to look away further, "Nothing! I-I-It's just…that…I-I, uh…w-well, uh…M-Minna, w-why are…w-what's with what you're wearing?!"

"Oh, this?" said Minna, as she lifted the sides of her apron a bit before she giggled and answered, "I thought I'd make morning very exciting if I wore this today! Well? Do you like it, Yuzu-kun? Does it make you feel excited? I heard that boys in Japan like these sorts of things."

"H-H-HUH?!" I said incredulously, "W-W-Wait, what?! M-Minna, W-Where did you-?!"

"Huh?" said Minna, "Is it not true?"

"Uh…w-well, uh…" I said nervously, "Well, I…I…wouldn't say it's false, but…it's just…"

"It's just what?" Minna asked, as she finally got in front of me, again giving me a good view of her large and soft mounds that were covered by her apron.

I yelped a bit before I quickly looked away and said with a nervous smile, "NO! NOTHING! It's…uh…nothing! It's…nothing! It's nothing." I then looked back at her, only this time focusing on her face, as I asked, "But, more importantly, Minna, why would be wearing that in the middle of the morning?"

Minna smiled before she went past me to get something. I turned around and saw that she was getting a cup of cold milk, as she poured the milk from the milk carton into a glass cup. Of course, I did what I could not to look at anywhere that's revealing her skin and all, by looking away so that I wouldn't see her naked backside.

As if she knew what I was doing and thinking, she turned to me and said reassuringly, "Don't worry, Yuzu-kun, I'm not completely naked under my apron. I have my undergarments on."

"H-Huh?" I said as I looked at her and I saw that she was telling the truth. She wasn't naked like I thought she was and was actually wearing her white bras and panties, which at least put me at ease a bit, glad that I didn't have to look away anymore so that I don't look like a pervert when I look at her. I overreacted over nothing. It's still a bit troubling, though.

As soon as she was done filling up the glass cup of milk, she picked up the cup of milk before she turned back and went back over to me before handing me a cup of milk, and I took it as she said, "Well, anyway, I've been going to someone for help to get some love advice to get you to notice me a lot more and to see me more as a lover. In fact, she recommended for me to do this to get you to like me a bit more because she says boys in Japan love to see girls in nothing but an apron on."

"O-Oh, uh…r-really?" I said as I began taking a sip of my glass milk, "Who did?"

Minna smiled and answered, "Matou-sensei!"

WAIT, WHAT?!

Hearing her mentioning Matou-sensei made me literally spurt out the milk that I've been drinking out of my mouth, and out of nowhere, the mental image of Matou-sensei smiling and giggling appeared inside my head, making me feel dread and shiver down my spine.

I looked back at Minna and shouted, "What?! Why in the world would you get love advice from Matou-sensei?!"

"Hmm?" said Minna, "It's because I heard from our other classmates that she gives really good advice to everyone at school and that she's very supportive when it comes to our personal lives, so I came to her yesterday and asked her for some love advice to get more closer to you, and to get you to notice me more as a love interest for you." She smiled as she added, "Then, Matou-sensei told me that doing this called cosplay would work to get me to entice you because boys like girls who wear cosplay clothes! And I thought maybe you would like it if I was doing cosplay like this!"

"Wait, what?!" I said incredulously, "H-Hold on! W-Why in the world would Matou-sensei recommend you to-?"

Suddenly, I thought…wait a minute…! Then, I began to dread as, much to my horror, a realization hit me, as I suddenly began to realize…wait a minute! Matou-sensei…she's not giving her love advice! SHE'S TEACHING HER TO SEDUCE ME!

---

Ayako's POV:

I was at school in the school faculty working on some papers, when suddenly, I heard Sakura next to me was giggling, and I looked next to me to see that she was covering her mouth as if she was holding on to her laughter, much to my confusion. What the…?

"What's wrong, Sakura?" I asked.

"N-Nothing." Sakura giggled, while still holding onto her laughter, before she looked away and said still giggling, "I just…I just remembered something."

"Huh?" I said, with a question mark on my head, showing my confusion. What did she remember that was so funny?

---

Yuzuru's POV:

I can NOT believe this! Matou-sensei planned all this from the start! She's telling Minna to do all this cosplay and seduction stuff, just so she could mess with me, and Minna thinks what's she's telling her is love advice! Crap, I gotta do something about this, and quick! A-Although, she…really DOES look kinda sexy in this out-NO, WAIT, NO! WHAT THE FUCKING HELL AM I THINKING?! I shouldn't be thinking or admiring about Minna's body! I need to figure out how to fix this, like right now!

Minna looked at me with confusion on her face, as she said, "Yuzu-kun, what's wrong?"

"A-A-Ahhh, uh…um…uh…" I nervously said, before I quickly managed to calm myself as I took a deep breath before I finally managed to say, "Uh…listen, Minna, I…uh…I-I think…that you shouldn't…uh…like get any love advice from Matou-sensei…I-I mean, uh…"

"You don't like it?" Minna asked with a sad and disappointed look on her face, "You don't like…what I'm doing for you?"

"Uh, no, it's…i-it's not that." I said nervously, "Well, I mean, I admit, I…do kinda like it, but-"

"Then, it's okay." Minna smiled, "I don't mind, as long as you like it. If it makes you happy, then I'm happy. Besides, I like to dress up in lots of outfits if it gets your attention."

"Uh…well, I…I guess I don't mind, it…does look good on you." I said, "But, uh…Minna, why would you want to get love advice from Matou-sensei just to get closer with me? I mean, sure, we're not lovers, but I mean, we're still close."

"Well, I have my reasons…" said Minna, before she smiled and added, "But, it's a secret, so I can't tell you about it!"

"Heh?!" I said, surprised, "Wait, since when were you the type who keeps secrets?! And why can't you tell me about it?"

Minna giggled and said in German, "Entschuldigung, ich kann es dir nicht sagen (Sorry, I can't tell you)."

"Eeeeehhh?" I said before I sighed and hung my head down as I just gave up and did not ask any further. It's not like Minna can tell me her secret anyway, even if I begged her to. Plus, I'm not the type who'd force her to tell me her secrets. I don't wanna be mean to her doing that.

"But, um…Yuzu-kun," said Minna, getting my attention again, "If you could, for me, I…I want you to notice me a lot more, I want you to see me more and more as a woman, someone who's worth loving as much as she loves you. Because…well, I want you to."

"Minna…" I said, as I felt taken aback by her words for a bit, as I tried to say, "L-Listen, I-"

Minna interrupted by lifting a hand up, signaling me to stop, before she smiled and said, "It's okay, Yuzu-kun, I know. You don't have to tell me now, about how you really feel. And I know that you need some time to think about it. So, don't worry. I'll keep waiting for you until you have your answers for me."

"Minna…" I said, as I took in everything that Minna said for a moment while looking at the beautiful smile that she was making before I returned that smile with a nod and said to her, "…thank you."

Minna smiled again with a nod back, before she said, "Until then, I'll keep saying that I love you and will keep getting lots of love advice from Matou-sensei so that I'll get you to notice me more!"

"Huh?" I said with a look of bewilderment, "Wait, what?"

"Ja!" Minna smiled, "I'll be coming over to Matou-sensei for more love advice so that I can get you to notice me and like me a lot more! Her advice was very helpful and I wanna keep getting advice from her until you come to fall in love with me! And, I'll be doing lots more dressing up in cosplays to get you to like them and be excited every single day!"

"Wait, what?!" I said, shocked, "W-W-Wait, e-every…day?! Y-You mean, like…like…daily?!"

"Ja!" Minna smiled, "I'll dress up in lots of cosplay clothes, on a daily basis!"

Suddenly, I began to dread, as realization had quickly hit me, as I realized that…that…Minna will…Minna will be…she'll be doing something like this to me EVERY! SINGLE! DAY! JUST TO GET ME TO FALL! MINNA WILL LITERALLY BE LIKE MATOU-SENSEI! Just realizing it…made me have another erotic illusion about Minna.

In my fantasies, I could see her in the morning in the kitchen, and this time, she was completely naked, wearing nothing but an apron, as she came closer to me in the most seductive way as she said to me seductively in a half-whisper, exactly the same way as Matou-sensei was doing to me, "Good morning, Yu~zu~kun~" She then leaned herself towards me, showing me her chest that was nearly almost showing all of her breasts completely, before she said seductively in a half-whisper, "What would you like for this morning, Yuzu-kun~? Would you like to have some breakfast to eat~? Or do you need to take a bath~? Or perhaps…do~ you~ want~ to~ eat~ me~?"

I began to blush in complete dark red from that thought…as I began to see it all already! Oh, my GOD! I'M GOING TO BE HAVING THIS EVERY DAY?! WITH MINNA, MY CHILDHOOD FRIEND?! I'M GONNA BE SEDUCED BY MINNA EVERY DAY LIKE THIS?!

---

Outside of the apartment complex:

People were walking on the sidewalks, passing by each other and the apartment building that was next to them, just as usual. Some were old people walking by from shopping stores, others were teens hanging out, while few were businessmen and women.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Suddenly, there was a very, very loud scream that was from the apartment complex, making people completely startled and yelped as they all turned their attention towards the apartment where the screaming was coming from, now confused as to what was going on at the apartment this time. The scream was becoming so loud that even the whole neighborhood was hearing it, as they opened their windows to look outside at the apartment complex, with most of them having looks of concern, some were scared, while few were annoyed. The screaming lasted for a long time until it began to die down and stop. Literally.

---

Normal POV:

The first period of the class had already ended, and everyone in class began to leave for lunch. Throughout the day, ever since the morning, Yuzuru Shindou had been sitting at his desk looking completely lifeless, as his eyes showed no signs of life, he was almost completely motionless, soundless, and with his mouth slightly agape. Overall, he was completely dead as he had already died inside. Even now, he looked completely dead as he just sat at his desk while just standing there looking at his lunch, which was a bento box filled with food that Minna made inside, without even touching it or eating it.

Ryouya was looking at him while eating his sandwich before he swallowed and said a slack grin, "Jeez, dude, what's up with you? Lunch has already started, and you look like you just had a bad meal."

"Yeah." said Hiiragi, who joined them from the other class, "Did somethin' happen to ya this morning, Yuzzuchi?"

"Nothing happened…" said Yuzuru monotonically.

"Oh, dear." said Yukitsuki worriedly, "Maybe you had a terrible dream last night and you couldn't sleep well, Shindou-kun?"

"Nothing happened…" said Yuzuru monotonically.

"Oh, dear…" said Yukitsuki, "I wonder what happened to him that got him to be like this?"

"Maybe he had a crazy morning." said Hiiragi.

"Yeah, probably." said Ryouya.

Yukitsuki turned to Saber, who was sitting a bit far from them, and asked her, "Hey, Elaina-san, do you know what happened to Shindou-kun this morning that he became this way?"

Saber, who was apparently eating lots of rice balls that she ordered from the cafeteria, turned around from her desk while having a rice ball stuffed in her mouth with an unamused look in her eyes, as actually, she does know what had happened, because since she's connected to him through their pact, she could already feel what he was thinking and feeling, which sadly was starting to almost make her feel like she was about to regret being in a pact with a pathetic Master that Yuzuru was being. Almost, mind you. Saber internally sighed, before she turned away and swallowed her rice ball in her mouth, before she answered, "I…do not believe that it is something you want to know."

"Huh?" said Ryouya, confused.

"Hmm?" said Yukitsuki, confused.

"What?" said Hiiragi, confused, "Why?"

Saber ignored them and continued on eating her rice balls, before taking a glance back at Yuzuru, who was still internally dead, and she sighed to herself and thought, "Dammit, Yuzuru…"

Minna, who had been sitting next to Yuzuru, happily brought out a pair of chopsticks before she used it to pick up a piece of food from the bento box and brought it close to Yuzuru, before she said to him with a smile, "Yuzu-kun, you need to finish eating lunch. Here, I'll feed you. Say 'ahh'."

Without even trying or looking, Yuzuru monotonically opened his mouth and said monotonically, "Ahh…"

Once Minna placed food in his mouth, he slowly and monotonically chewed on his food before swallowing it.

"Well, Yuzu-kun?" Minna smiled, "Was it good?"

"Yeah…" said Yuzuru monotonically, "Very good…"

"Teehee~" Minna giggled, "I'm glad!"

Ryouya, Yukitsuki, and Hiiragi looked at the two with sweat drops on their heads, as the atmosphere around them was starting to feel really awkward to them.

"Yeeeeeaaah…" Hiiragi began slowly.

"This…kinda feels…" said Ryouya.

"Really…awkward." Yukitsuki finished.

"Hey, Yuzuru!" someone called, making everyone in the classroom, except for Yuzuru, turn around at the door to see that, much to everyone's surprise, it was Sayaka Tsukuda and Aimi Shimizu from the student council who was at the door. Sayaka had a stern look on her face with both her hands on her hips while Aimi was smiling as she was standing as an elegant maid.

Everyone in class was surprised to see the two as they began murmuring to each other why or what they were there doing here and why they were calling to Yuzuru of all people. Even Minna, Ryouya, and the others were surprised and confused as to why they were here and why they were calling to Yuzuru as they turned to look at the one who they were calling to, who still looked dead and unresponsive.

"U-Umm…Kurosawa-san?" Minna whispered, "Who're those two?"

"Oh, those two are Sayaka Tsukuda and Aimi Shimizu, from the student council." Ryouya whispered, "The blonde one with pigtails is Sayaka while the other dressed as a maid is Aimi."

"Ohhh." Minna whispered, "B-But why are they calling to Yuzu-kun? What do they want with him?"

"Beats me." Ryouya whispered.

Minna and the rest suddenly noticed that Sayaka and Aimi had already approached where they were and were looking at Yuzuru who still remained unresponsive with an expression that remained to look dead.

Sayaka crossed her arms with a huff before she said to him, "Yuzuru! Hey, Yuzuru!" No response from him. "Hey, wake up!" Still no response from him. "Hey, wake up already, you stupid idiot!" Again, still no response.

"Uh…Sayaka?" said Aimi, with a sweatdrop on her head, "I…don't believe he's responding."

"Yeah, I noticed." said Sayaka, as she kept looking at Yuzuru, who still didn't respond to anything or anyone while ignoring everyone looking at them. Sayaka kept on looking at him, waiting for him to at least respond to her now, all while slowly and surely making an angry face, as she was starting to get really angry at him before she finally snapped, and then angrily grabbed Yuzuru by the back of the head and shouted out loud angrily, "WAKE UUUUUPPP!"

With full force, she angrily pushed Yuzuru down, slamming his face onto the bento box that was on the table extremely hard that it no doubt hurts a lot, much to everyone's shock and sudden fear of that sudden slam that she did to Yuzuru, while some of them were winching at how that might hurt. Even Minna and the others were shocked by this while worried about Yuzuru's well-being from the sudden slam on the table, while Saber had a stunned look on her face.

Finally, though, Yuzuru was finally responding by screaming on the table while thrashing around as he tried to struggle for air from the apparent suffocation that he was having from his face on the bento box. As soon as he was finally responding, Sayaka let go of him to finally lift himself up to finally breathe for air, life finally returning to him and his eyes, before he then shouted out loud, "WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?!"

"Holy crap!" said Hiiragi, surprised, "He's back!"

"Well, that was quick!" said Ryouya.

"W-Well, welcome back, Shindou-kun." Yukitsuki managed to smile.

"Yuzu-kun, are you okay?!" said Minna worriedly.

Yuzuru began to breathe quickly to get some air back into his lungs, before he shouted, "Okay, who the hell did that?!"

Saber pointed to the one who was right next to him, making Yuzuru turn around to where Sayaka was with her arms crossed again. Seeing that it was Sayaka who was the one responsible for what she did to him, Yuzuru got up from his seat to turn around to face her, before he yelled angrily, "WHAT THE HELL, WOMAN?! WHY'D THE FUCK YOU DO THAT FOR?! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME OR SOMETHING?!"

"OH, SHUT YOUR FACE, YOU STUPID IDIOT!" Sayaka yelled back, "I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET YOUR FUCKING ATTENTION SINCE I GOT HERE, AND HERE YOU'VE BEEN FUCKING STANDING THERE LIKE A FUCKING IDIOT IN A FUCKING DAZE! AT LEAST ANSWER WHEN I CALL YOU, YOU STUPID IDIOT!"

"ME?!" Yuzuru yelled, "I JUST HAD A FUCKING CRAZY MORNING THAT I HAD A FUCKING MENTAL SHUT DOWN TODAY, AND YOU JUST FUCKING HIT ME ON THE TABLE WITH MY LUNCH! AT LEAST SHOW SOME SYMPATHY TO ME AND JUST GIVE ME SOME FUCKING TIME TO RECOVER FROM MY FUCKING MENTAL BREAKDOWN THAT I HAD!"

"LIKE HELL I'M GONNA DO THAT, YOU STUPID IDIOT!" Sayaka yelled, "I DON'T HAVE ANY FUCKING PATIENCE FOR WHATEVER THE HELL KIND OF FUCKED UP BULLSHIT THAT YOU WENT THROUGH! WHEN I CALL YOU, YOU BETTER ANSWER BACK! YOU'RE MY GOOD LUCK CHARM!"

"SERIOUSLY?!" Yuzuru yelled, "THIS AGAIN?! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WOMAN, WILL YOU PLEASE STOP TREATING ME LIKE I'M AN OBJECT?!"

While Yuzuru and Sayaka were arguing with each other, Minna and the others watched them as they conversed back and forth to Yuzuru and Sayaka as they argued with each other. It felt somewhat awkward as they felt like they needed to intervene to stop them from fighting, while at the same time they didn't want to because it was kind of entertaining. As hinted with Ryouya as he couldn't help but smile as he was enjoying what he was seeing, while the girls looked at them with worried looks.

"Oh, please, do not mind them." Aimi smiled, reassuring them, "This is how these two would interact with each other."

"O-Oh." said Yukitsuki, "I-Is that so?"

"Oh, yes." Aimi smiled, "These two had just become friends recently, so it's natural for them to interact with each other this way. They may not look as such, but they get along quite well."

"LIKE HELL WE DO!/WE DO NOT!" both Sayaka and Yuzuru yelled before going back to arguing with each other.

"I-I see." said Yukitsuki with a sweatdrop.

"Well, on the plus side, at least seeing these two like that is entertaining." said Ryouya.

"Yeah!" Hiiragi smiled.

"Ja!" Minna smiled, "Yuzu-kun has such amazing friends with him!"

Saber chuckled and said, "I'm…not sure if "amazing" is the correct word. But yes, indeed, he does have friends with good hearts, even if they don't show it quite often."

"YEAH, WELL, AT LEAST I DON'T HAVE TO PUT UP WITH WHATEVER THE CRAPS YOU'RE GOING THROUGH BECAUSE OF YOUR SHITTY LUCK!" Yuzuru yelled, "THE ONLY REASON I DO IS BECAUSE YOU KEEP DRAGGING ME INTO ALL YOUR SHIT!"

"OH, YEAH?!" Sayaka yelled, "WELL, I DON'T HAVE TO SPEND ALL DAY DOING NOTHING BUT BEING A SORE LOSER OR BEING A COMPLETE IDIOT IN FRONT OF EVERYBODY LIKE YOU DO EVERY DAY! THE ONLY REASON I DRAG YOU INTO SHIT IS BECAUSE I FUCKING NEED YOU AROUND AND HELP ME DEAL WITH SOME DIRTY WORK I HAVE! PLUS, I DON'T WANNA WASTE ALL FUCKING DAY SEEING YOU SPENDING ALL YOUR GODDAMN TIME WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND!"

"FOR THE LAST TIME, DAMMIT, SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Yuzuru yelled, before realizing what he said and turned to Minna before saying with an apologetic smile, "Uh…sorry, Minna, n-no offense, really."

"Ah, nein." Minna smiled, "I don't mind."

"Ah, good." said Yuzuru, feeling relieved, before he went back to Sayaka and yelled again, "B-BUT ANYWAYS, WHAT I DO ALL DAY IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! IT'S NOT LIKE YOU'D UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOOK AFTER SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT ALL YOUR LIFE!"

"OH, WHATEVER!" Sayaka yelled, before calming down a bit and shouted, "Look, you stupid idiot, that's not important right now! What's important right now is we need you in the student council's office!"

"W-Wait, now?!" said Yuzuru.

"Yes!" Sayaka shouted, "As in, RIGHT! NOW!"

"W-Wait, hold on!" said Yuzuru, "I'm in the middle of having lunch right now, and the second period's gonna start soon once I'm done! Can't I-OOWWW!"

Sayaka grabbed and pulled Yuzuru by the ear and shouted, "You can DO that ANOTHER time! We have a business to take care of, and we need your ass in our office, RIGHT NOW! C'MON!"

"O-OOWWW!" Yuzuru screamed while being dragged by Sayaka out of the classroom, "OW! OW! OW! H-HEY! OW! S-STOP PULLING ME-OOWWW!"

Everyone in the classroom watches on as Yuzuru gets dragged out of the classroom by Sayaka in the ear until they were no longer seen. Aimi turned to Minna and said with a smile, "Ah, please, pardon Sayaka, Everhart-dono, she's a bit of an impatient type. I apologize on the student council's behalf. We shall be borrowing Shindou-sama for a while. Please, rest assured that it'll only take a moment until he returns."

"Oh, ja." Minna smiled, "Okay."

"Thank you." Aimi bowed, before turning to the others and said, "Would you kindly please inform your teacher that Shindou-sama will be missing the next class after lunch for us?"

"O-Oh, uh…sure." said Yukitsuki-san, "We'll let Matou-sensei know."

"Thank you." Aimi smiled, "Now then, please excuse me."

Aimi bowed to them before she turned around and walked out of the classroom and left to go back to the student council's office. Everyone looked at the door where they had left for a bit until they went back to what they were doing.

Hiiragi tilted her head in confusion and said, "Shindou-sama? Is Yuzzuchi a famous guy that he has a maid or something?"

"Uh, no, I don't think so." said Yukitsuki, "If I recall, Aimi Shimizu is the personal maid of President Tohsaka. I think that's just her way of calling him that, though I honestly don't know why."

"Ahh." said Hiiragi.

"I wonder what the student council needs him for?" Minna wondered, "And I wonder if Yuzu-kun will be okay?"

Saber got up from her seat with her rice balls carried in her arms before she said, "I'll go and check up on him and make sure that he's fine."

"Elaina?" said Minna.

Saber smiled at Minna in reassurance and said, "Please, do not worry, Minna. I'll make sure to watch over him for you. Yuzuru is also my friend, after all."

"I see." said Minna, before she smiled and said, "Danke, Elaina!"

Saber nodded with a smile before she went off and left the classroom to go and find Yuzuru.

Once Saber was already gone, Ryouya looked at the door where Yuzuru had left before she did, before a small smile was made as he got up from his seat and said, "I'm gonna go somewhere a bit. There's something that I gotta do, so I won't be in class today, either."

"W-Wait, what?!" said Yukitsuki, confused, "Wait, where are you going?!"

"Sorry, gotta go!" Ryouya smiled and waved, before he went out the door and said before leaving, "See ya!"

"Hey, don't you ditch class when it'll start soon!" Yukitsuki shouted, but he was already gone from sight, "HEY!"

"Ah, crap, look at the time!" said Hiiragi, who was looking at her watch before she got up and said as she began to leave, "Sorry, gotta get back to my class! See ya!"

"W-Wait, Hiiragi?!" Yukitsuki shouted, but like Ryouya, Hiiragi was gone from her sight.

Minna merely stayed in her seat with a happy smile on her face, while Yukitsuki had an incredulous look on her face from everybody leaving, as she thought to herself, "Okay. What the hell just happened?"

---

Yuzuru's POV:

I was being dragged by Sayaka who was grabbing me by my ears and was pulling them, which hurt like hell, and kept on dragging me until we were finally at the student council's office, and I was dragged inside before Sayaka let me go, letting me rub on my ears from the pain. Damn, jeez, it hurts!

"Was that REALLY necessary?!" I shouted.

"Oh, shut your face!" she shouted back, "Look, we have a business to attend to now, and it's about the Master of Archer!"

"Huh?" I said, "Wait, Archer's Master?"

"Correct." said Aimi, as she came inside the room with Saber, who was still eating rice balls, right behind her, "We believe we've found the people who were associated with Manami Asakura before her mysterious disappearance at the daycare center."

"People associated with Manami Asakura?" I said before I guessed, "You mean the guys from the Holy Church from France?"

"That's correct." I heard Mirai-senpai spoke up from her desk, and I turned to face her as she turned around with her chair she was sitting on before she said, "I've had Assassin out scouting for the people who may know what had happened with Asakura, and he found these men that appear to be wearing outfits that relate to the Holy Church." She turned to Ishikawa-san and nodded to her, "Hiroko."

"Of course." Ishikawa-san nodded before she brought out a remote and pressed the button, which activated and brought down a projector screen that was coming down from the ceiling until it was fully down, showing a large white screen.

She then turned off the lights before she activated a projector which also connected to the ceiling, as well as to Mirai-senpai's computer that was on the table. Once on, the projector began projecting a loading screen to the projector screen, before it finally showed something. It was an image of an older French man that was around his middle age, somewhere around his 40s, with his hair completely white and his eyes were grayish-blue and was dressed as a priest with a black cassock under the black vestments and a white cross around his neck.

"This man that you see here on the screen is a French priest named Albert Aldric François Janvier." said Mirai-senpai, "He was a Frenchman born and raised in France until he was taken in by the Holy Church resided in France, where he had learned and studied the ways of the Holy Church and the methods of execution and holy exorcism, becoming a member of the Burial Agency at a highly decorative young age."

"So, he's a veteran." I said.

"Precisely." said Mirai-senpai, "Priest Albert had also apparently been Manami Asakura's former guardian when they took her into the orphanage, hence he became one of the members of the Holy Church to join her to participate in the Holy Grail War to work together."

"I see." I said.

"Then perhaps he may know what happened to Manami Asakura and why she had disappeared." said Saber, before she continued eating.

"That's what we hope to believe, though we cannot be certain for sure whether he does so or not." said Mirai-senpai, "Caren had been looking up to what she could find about him, and…well, there appears to be something that seems to bother her about him."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Priest Albert," said Mirai-senpai, "Is said to have some sort of dark secret, and there are rumors about the members' suspicions about him that's been going on in France for quite a long time. Not sure what it is entirely, but it's to believe that it's something about his desire for something that makes him want to take control over all things in the world."

"Wait, are you saying that this Albert has some sort of twisted desire for power?" I asked.

"Most likely." said Mirai-senpai, "Albert had been studying in the Holy Church for something that may have led him to some interest, according to the members of the Church in France, most of it was about gaining and obtaining whatever it is he could be looking for that relates to the Holy Grail. Unfortunately, he-"

"Let me guess," I interrupted a bit, "He got smarter and wondered how he would be able to obtain something that he wants."

"Precisely," said Mirai-senpai, "And so much so that it was rumored that most of the higher-ups from the Holy Church had lost control of him, his lust and desire growing stronger. But whatever it is that he desires, even I don't know myself. I can only assume that it is power, as you said, but other than that, it's uncertain."

"I see." I said, "Well, why not just use your Mystic Eyes to look into his past? Maybe you might learn something and figure out what it is that he wants."

"If I could, yes." said Mirai-senpai, "However, anything that I see in the past through my Mystic Eyes is mostly vague images and isn't very specific. So, unless I find the specific person or object related to the events of the past, I cannot look into anywhere further to find anything."

"I see." I said, "So then, you plan on going to this Albert guy, and then use your Mystic Eyes to look into his past and see what you could find."

"That's the plan." said Mirai-senpai.

"Okay, so, where is he right now?" I asked.

Mirai-senpai turned to Ishikawa-san and said, "Hiroko?"

Ishikawa-san nodded before she pressed the button on the remote, changing the screen to show the map of Fuyuki City in its entirety before it began showing an area where there was another church that resided nearly at the outskirts of Shinto Town that was next to a building that looked to be a place for foreigners to stay at. It was somewhat of an old building, but at the same time, it looked brand new.

"This building here used to be a place that belonged to an advisor from another country back then." Hiroko explained, "However, the place had been placed as a reserved building for visitors of other countries to go to for relaxation or even partying, mostly for people who're in dirty businesses nowadays. If this building here is a place where foreigners would go to, then Priest Albert along with the other members of the Holy Church will most likely be there as a place for their base of operation."

"I see." I said, "So then, what do we do?"

"Well, for one, we can't just go in there without a plan." said Sayaka, "If anybody in the Holy Grail War already knew that they're there at that building, they'd be wise enough to not go in there without some sort of plan to go in and strike. Albert is a veteran of the Burial Agency of the Holy Church, so he's no amateur when it comes to dealing with his opponents. And those other members who're with him, are probably just as skilled professionals as he is, so even if it's easy to go in there and attack them at night, even they'd know that well enough, so they'll be keeping their guards up and will most likely easily take out anyone who tries to barge in and try to attack them, even in their sleep."

"The members of the Holy Church fights with conceptual weapons called the Black Keys, sacraments of the Church and one of their many charms used against demons and vampires." said Aimi, "As Keys of Providence, they are able to call forth the original laws of nature vampires were subject to as humans, thus preventing them through purification, from healing the wounds made with this weapon. Emphasized on the ability to intervene spiritually against "evil", they focus less on physical attack power, even affecting powerful spirits like Servants to some degree should they be struck. It is not enough to inflict any sort of fatal injury to them no matter how much energy is put into them, but they can be used to distract or pin them for a brief moment under the right circumstances."

"What do they look like?" I asked.

"They take the form of long and slender rapier-like swords with blades measuring over one meter and extremely short hilts, looking more likely to be used to thrust than slash at the opponent." Aimi explained, "Although there had been cases where they can be capable of slashing. Weighing one kilo, they are too thick and oddly balanced, feeling heavier towards the tip, to use as melee weapons in general, and they seem more like Dirks made into swords or arrows even to someone who does not know of their true nature. With low effectiveness as swords despite their appearance and their great length, their true usage is exclusive as throwing weapons likened to bullets rather than for swordplay. Despite being a basic weapon of the Church, they are mostly considered to be a symbolic weapon for Executors that not many favors due to the difficulty in learning how to handle them and their weak attack power. Being half-spiritual, they can naturally pierce even iron."

"I see." I said, "And since they're from the Burial Agency, they'll be using those Keys to fight in combat."

"Correct." said Aimi.

"So, then what's the other?" I asked.

"Archer." said Ishikawa-san, "As we know by now, Atalanta, the Servant intended to be summoned, was not summoned into this Holy Grail War as an Archer-Class Servant, but rather someone else was summoned as an Archer. However, as of now, we have no idea who this Archer is and what that Servant is capable of. This Archer could be dangerous, and we don't know how we'll be able to take that Servant down if we can try to."

"I see." I said, "Yeah, I can see how that could be a problem."

"Indeed." said Saber, after she swallowed her rice ball, "If we're going up against a Servant like Archer, we will need to know what the true identity of that Servant is first and figure out what we're up against, as well as finding out Archer's weakness if that Servant even has one." She then went for another rice ball and continued eating.

"Yup." said Sayaka, "And then there's you, Mr. Novice of a Master."

"Huh?" I said, confused, "Wait, me? What about me?"

"Well, who else is there, you stupid idiot?!" Sayaka yelled, "You don't know any form of magecraft that will help give us the advantage to fight against our opponents for our next fight in the Holy Grail War! You're basically dead weight! What else is there that's the problem?!"

"O-Ohh!" I said as I realized what she meant, "Ah, yeah…that…that is bad. Yeah, you're right. I really don't know any form of magic-uh, no magecraft-that I wish I can use. If I did, then I would've been able to help. I really need to start learning how to use magecraft now. Otherwise, I'll just slow you guys down."

"Which is why we have a plan to help train you in learning magecraft." said Mirai-senpai, "My companions and I will be taking turns in training you and teaching you how to use magecraft to better prepare you to be a better mage just as we are. While normally it'll take about many years to come for one to become a powerful full-fledged mage, such as the case with myself and my companions, I can guarantee…that YOU will be able to become a powerful mage within one month." Mirai-senpai gave out a smirk as she brought out a finger and said, "One short month."

Just looking at Mirai-senpai as she gave out a confident smile as she said that, I couldn't help but look at her with a surprised look on my face, as I was surprised by what she just said. Me? Becoming a full-fledged mage? And in just a month?! I-Is she serious?!

"W-W-Wait, hold on!" I said, "A-Are you…really sure about that?! Me, learning about magecraft in a month?! Is that even possible?! I mean, how can you be so sure?!"

Mirai-senpai looked at me for a bit, before she began laughing as if she saw how uncertain I was being, before she said after calming down a bit, "Boy, please, you're talking to a woman who can foresee anything in the future! How else do you believe I'm certain that you'll succeed to become a mage?!"

"O-Oh, yeah." I said, "I mean, I…I guess, you got a good point. But still, how're we gonna do that with the time we have while the other Masters and Servants are out and about? Even if I did manage to complete my training on magecraft, can we even manage on our own and defeat them all without a sweat? I mean, hell, what if they start attacking us before I'm even ready?"

"They won't." said Mirai-senpai, "Because we've already prepared for that to prevent them from attacking us. We've been using our Bounded Field to prevent the other enemy Masters and Servants from disrupting and attacking us."

"Uh…bounded what now?" I said, confused, "What's that?"

"A topographic type of magecraft that consists in knitting a network of magical energy and spreading it on base area, such as a piece of land or a building, to create a mystic boundary line that separates the inside from the outside." Aimi explained, "Basically, it is what you would refer as a force field. By definition, it should not be possible to move them once they are set."

"Ohh." I said, now understanding, "I see."

"Once constructed, the established boundary line will delimit the range of the powers of the Bounded Field, but it is possible to engrave magic sigils across the interior of the field to expand the area of effect and strengthen it." Aimi explained, "Removal of the sigil by a third party is possible as long as the technique used to engrave it isn't too advanced. In this case, it is only possible to temporary hinder the Bounded Field by dissipating the magical energy used to activate it, but the creator of the Bounded Field can amend this by simply putting more magical energy back into it, and new sigils are constructed by the actions of the old ones, making the Bounded Field capable of self-repair with due time. As their original purpose was for the creation of safe havens, the effects that can be set within a Bounded Field are in their majority those whose aim is to protect the caster. Offensive variants do exist, but as they work through indirect magical interference their efficiency against those who can protect themselves magically is low. Advanced Bounded Fields work on a subconscious level to prevent onlookers from noticing it, but placing those on a large area increase the chances of being detected by a trained magus. An ideal Bounded Field is one that cannot be detected by anybody. On the other hand, a Bounded Field that can be easily noticed is seen as the mark of a third-rate magus."

"I see." I said, "So, you intend to make a Bounded Field to protect us so no one can bother us."

"Precisely," said Mirai-senpai, "Well, to tell you the truth, actually, we had already placed a Bounded Field barrier around your place to keep you covered while we were watching over you and Minna."

"H-Huh?!" I said, surprised, "Wait, what?! Really?! Since when? I didn't notice you or anything?"

"Well, you do know that Masters and Servants cannot attack you in the middle of the day and can only attack you at night, correct?" Mirai-senpai asked, and I nodded, "Well, during the night time, have you ever noticed that there were no enemy Masters or Servants coming in to attack you and Saber, or even try to kidnap Minna, whether you were asleep or not?"

"Hmm?" I said, confused before I thought about it for a moment. Huh. Actually, now that she mentioned it…I didn't see anybody that was coming in on us while we were out at night.

"Yeah." I said, "You're right, now that you mention it. I didn't see either Caster or Berserker coming to our place to attack us at all. It…actually felt fine."

"Indeed." said Saber, after she swallowed another one of her rice balls, "Even I didn't sense any signs of their presence or hostilities while I was asleep. It's as if…they never noticed us at all."

"That's because it is the result of our Bounded Field that we created around your area to shield you." said Mirai-senpai, "Our Bounded Field not only creates a barrier to guard and protect you from all harm, but it also conceals both you and Saber from the outside, as well as conceal your presences from others so that no one will be able to detect nor sense you. You could say that in a sense, you are invisible to the other Masters and Servants, as long as you remain around and inside your area. Even if they were to see your building, they won't be able to see nor detect you."

"Oh, I see." I said, "Man, I didn't know that you were capable of doing that."

"That is the result of our skills as first-rate mages." Mirai-senpai smirked at that, "Naturally, only myself and my companions are able to disable that Bounded Field from the inside of the barrier, so no Master nor mage will be able to break down the Bounded Field on their own. So, naturally, you're safe and in good hands as long as the barrier is on around your place."

"I see." I said, "Well, thanks for letting me know that. And, thanks for keeping us safe with that barrier, Mirai-senpai."

"You have no need to thank me." said Mirai-senpai, "We're on the same team together, so it's only natural for us to be working together to keep each other safe from the other enemy Masters and Servants. And besides, we did promise to provide and guarantee protection for your friends and Minna from the dangers in the Holy Grail War."

"Right." I said.

"Now then," said Mirai-senpai, "Now that that's settled, we'll be scheduling you to be training with each one of us per week, starting next week, so I expect that you'd be prepared for that to come. We'll each be taking turns training you per week on a weekly basis. As we do so, this will help you get to know and understand each and every one of us and how well you'll be able to handle well working with us, so please keep that in mind. I expect that you'll get along with all of us by the time your training is done."

"Got it." I nodded, "I'll try my best. So, then…who am I gonna start with?"

Mirai-senpai smirked at me from what I asked before she pointed her finger at something, making me turn to where she was pointing at, and it was…Sayaka. Wait…what? I was completely confused about this for a moment, as I looked at Sayaka, then Mirai-senpai, then back to Sayaka, then back to Mirai-senpai again, before I looked back at Sayaka, still confused. But then, realization began to hit me, as I began to widen my eyes in shock. Wait…me and Sayaka…no, wait…she couldn't mean…then, I'll…eh? Ehh?! As soon as the realization hit me, I turned back to Mirai-senpai, who was giving out an amused smile, with a shocked and incredulous look on my face while pointing at Sayaka, before I screamed out loud, "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHH?!"

I could NOT believe this! There was just no WAAAAAYYY!

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Normal POV:

At the rooftop of the school building, a mysterious figure stood leaning against the wall with arms crossed where the shadow cast to a shade. The figure that was hiding within the shade was a woman that held a long blood-red spear. The woman was an extremely beautiful woman who has long purple hair that was casting shadows to cover her eyes and was wearing a lighten full-body suit colored in black and purple that highlights her curvaceous body, with metallic purple shoulder pads. This woman was the Lancer-Class Servant, who was waiting patiently for her Master to arrive with new information.

Lancer, hearing the sound of the door to the roof opened, turned around to see a shadow of another figure, a male figure, that was approaching closer to her before the figure stopped around the corner and began turning around to lean his back against the wall with hands in both his pockets.

Seeing that the figure arrived, she looked away before she said to him without even looking at him, "You're late, my Master."

The male figure, who was the Master of Lancer, calmly chuckled before he lazily said, "Sorry. Had to make an excuse to leave the class before coming over here. You should know how school life should be, given that you have knowledge of the modern world."

"Hmph, I suppose." said Lancer, "So then, what did you seem to find?"

"Tohsaka's little lackeys dragging Saber's Master to their student council's office." said the Master of Lancer, "It seems that apparently, both Master of Saber and Assassin are working together now. I suppose it's no surprise since Saber's Master is pretty new to the whole mage world thing, and they're gonna need to shape him up as they can."

"I see." said Lancer, "Anything else that you found?"

"Well, it looks like Caster and his Master are out in hiding after what happened in their fight against Saber's Master, Tohsaka's companions, and her Assassin." said the Master of Lancer, "If I had to guess, they're probably planning on something big sooner or later, and it's probably not gonna be pretty."

"Heh." Lancer smirked, "So it would seem. So, who do you believe Caster's Master is, my Master?"

"Dunno." said the Master of Lancer lazily, "Though, if I had to guess, I'd say it's that psycho bitch who calls herself to be "Killer Clown", who's apparently been on the news of murders that's running around in Fuyuki lately. Who this "Killer Clown" is, even I don't know the identity myself."

"I see." said Lancer, "Anything else that seems worth reporting?"

"Well," said the Lancer of Master, as he began smiling, "Let's just say that I think the Servant Rider and the Master of Rider might show up in the Grail War a lot sooner than we believe to be."

"Oh?" said Lancer, now curious, "And why is that?"

"Well, believe it or not, Lancer, I DID kinda felt like there was someone out there that was watching us from afar while I was hanging out with my friends." said the Master of Lancer, "It was…faint, to say the least, but I could tell that the presence of that gaze was not entirely human. I couldn't see who it was, but I could tell that it was there, invisible to the naked eyes."

"Oh?" said Lancer, intrigued, "Was it the Rider-Class Servant?"

"Dunno." said the Master of Lancer, "It'd already got away the moment I tried to look out to see who it was outside that was watching. Probably got away as soon as it saw that I was noticing it."

"I see." said Lancer.

"Although," the Master of Lancer added, "It didn't seem all that hostile. It was…friendly."

"Is that right?" said Lancer, "Well then, if it is Rider that was watching without hostility, then I suppose that would mean that Rider is less of a threat. For now, at the very least."

"Yeah, sure looks that way." said the Master of Lancer, lazily.

"Well then, Master," said Lancer, "Shall we go and find out who the Master of Rider is and see what the identity of the Rider-Class Servant is? I'm quite curious as to who it might be myself."

The Master of Lancer chuckled and said, "I think it's better that we don't, Lancer. I think I'd like to see how this plays out and take things a little slow and let the truth reveal itself, rather than spoiling everything and leave all the fun and excitement." He turned his head to Lancer and said to her, "Besides, we were instructed by the priestess to not reveal ourselves in the Holy Grail War and were given a role of being the eyes and ears for the overseer of the Grail War, so it's our job to make sure that everything in the Grail War runs as smoothly as possible without the public knowing, and without needing to reveal ourselves out in the open, so we can't just blow our cover and let everyone know about us. We need to be kept discreet, and we need everyone here not to know about us, so you should stay hidden from everybody else and not go show yourself around, Lancer."

Hearing what her Master just reminded her made Lancer sigh at that, for as she hated the idea of staying hidden and the idea of discretion, she knew her Master had a point and couldn't argue about it, even if she wanted to. Not that she intended to anyway. Plus, she knew that if she did, she would only spoil things and ruin the fun in the Grail War. And, much like her Master, she does want to see how this Holy Grail War plays out. Lancer sighed again, but this time with a small smile, before she lifted her head to reveal her crimson red eyes, as she turned to her Master and said, "Very well then, I shall do as you say and shall remain discreet for the time being, and I shall remain in the shadows to watch how the Grail War turns out. And, just as you expect me to do so, I expect that you shall do the same, Master…no, Ryouya Kurosawa."

The Master of Lancer, now revealed to be Ryouya Kurosawa, smirked at his Servant before he got off the wall and began slowly leaving, as he said with confidence, "Oh, don't you worry, Lancer. I don't plan to anytime soon. Not yet."

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