Chapter 3: Burning Hope
In the Chairman's office, Lancer of Black and Rinka looked at the chairman and their fellow servants and masters of black looking at them "So allow me to summarize…" The chairman looks at Rinka with a stoic look "You decided to not help Caster and her master deal with not just one, but two servants of red?" Rinka knew something bad was going to happen to her if she answered honestly.
"...Yes." Rinka answered with everyone glaring at her. Rinka knew what was going to happen next as two fellow students walked up to her with their servants.
"Then, i suppose punishment is in order. Rider?" The boy asked his servant as she summoned a warden's whip.
"Of course! It's punishment time, Rinka~!" Rider of Black as a woman with silver hair stretches out her arm and magical circles surround Rinka and tied her up in chains. Rinka couldn't even describe the fear she was feeling.
"Master!" Lancer of Black tried to rush to Rinka's side but Caster of Black then uses a spell to freeze her body.
"I'm sorry, Lancer. But the girl had this coming." Caster of Black said as Rinka closed her eyes and began to cry.
"You're crying?" Rider of Black then frowns "This isn't satisfying for me at all."
"It is to me." The woman said as she smiled sadistically.
"Of course it would for you, Assassin." Rider of Black said as they all saw Rinka crying on the floor.
"I'm sorry!I'm sorry!I'm sorry!I'm sorry!I'm sorry!I'm sorry!I'm sorry!I'm sorry!I'm sorry!I'm sorry!" Rinka kept repeating it fearfully, which Rider of Black and her master found it pathetic, but Assassin of Black and her Master found it so satisfying.
Mommy! Daddy! Please! Save me! Rinka thought as Lancer of Black finally broke free from Caster's spell and ran to her Master's side and used her red spear to free Rinka from her bonds
"Are you okay, Rinka!?" Lancer of Black asks in concern as Rinka looks at her servant and embraces her.
"Well… I think that punishment has gone swimmingly." The chairman said earning a glare at him by Lancer of Black but didn't say a word to him as she picked her master up bridal style and left the room.
Back at the Apartment, Lancer of Black sets Rinka down on the bed "Lancer…" Rinka said with a tired voice.
"It's okay master. Just sleep for now." Lancer of Black said as Rinka slowly closes her eyes and begins to dream about how she got here.
Flashback dream…
Rinka was walking home from school like she usually does and went inside to see her mother making dinner "Welcome home, sweetie~!" Mrs. Hayami greeted with a sweet voice and Rinka smiled while her father was reading a newspaper.
"So, father. Will you teach me more about the Holy Grail War?" Rinka asks as her father looks at her.
"Well, Alright. The Holy grail war began a very long time ago. The head of three different mage family's found the Grail and saw how-" Before the father could continue, he's phone began to ring "Hello?" He answered with the other line explaining that he and his family were gonna have to come by the office because there was a party going on "Fine… I'm sorry, Rinka. We're gonna have this talk about the wars some other time. We got a party to get to." The father explained as everyone got ready for the event.
In the car, Rinka was reading a book on magic spells that she has been practicing since she was five "Rinka… What did me and your father say about reading those books in public?" Ms. Hayami said as Rinka looked at her.
"Sorry, mother. But I want to catch up on my studies on magic as soon as possible." Rinka said, getting light chuckles from her parents but then Rinka saw a truck speeding towards them all and Rinka could only see darkness after that.
When Rinka woke up, she saw herself in the hospital and the doctor and a nurse walked in and saw that she was awake "Ah. You're awake. How do you feel, Rinka?" The doctor asks.
"I feel fine, but where are my parents?" Rinka asked as the doctor looked at her with a face full of sympathy while the nurse looked down.
"I'm sorry, dear. But your parents… your parents passed away…" When the nurse said those words, Rinka felt like the whole world just went crashing down and she just began to cry her heart out.
After a few days, Rinka began to live on her own since her parents had left a great abundance of inheritance money, which was over 50 billion yen. While it is supporting her financially, she still felt nothing and missed her parents deeply.
One day when she came home from school, Rinka decided to read the paper of her inheritance, since she refused to read it out of sorrow but now she has little bit of courage to read it.
Dear Rinka, if you're reading this… Me and your mother are dead. Sadly, no one can escape death. Not even mages. The name of the Hayami family name is now your responsibility to take care of. There is also a secret mage workshop hidden in the house somewhere without your knowledge. Some of the spells are a bit out of the modern time but there are more than enough spells to protect you. I know you'll make me and your mother proud. We love you.
Rinka shed a tear after reading the letter and she went around the house to find the workshop and she found it in less than an hour. The workshop was hidden behind a bookshelf in her family's study and went downstairs to find a giant magic circle with an artifact in the middle "Is this… the magic circle that is required to summon a servant?" Rinka asks as she found a paper left by her father with instructions on how to summon a servant and she began to recite the words to summon her servant.
"Let silver and steel be the essence.
Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation
Let black the color I pay tribute to.
Let my great Master Mikoto be the ancestor.
Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall Let the four cardinal gates close.
Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate.
I hereby declare.
Your body shall serve under me.
My fate shall be your sword.
Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail
If you will submit to this will and this reason…
Then answer!
An oath shall be sworn here!
I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven.
I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell!
From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three greet words of power, Come forth from the ring of restraints, Protector of the Holy Balance!"
Rinka finished the incantation with the summoning circle glowing blue and within the circle, Lancer of Black stood up and looked at Rinka with a stoic look "I am Scáthach, Queen and Gatekeeper of the shadowlands." Lancer of Black looks down at Rinka "A child? Hmph, either way, I ask of you… Are you my master?"
Flashback dream ends…
Rinka opened her eyes to see that she had slept in her uniform and saw Lancer of Black cooking breakfast "I didn't know you can cook." Rinka said as Lancer of Black smiled at her.
"There are some things you don't know about me." Lancer of Black said as she and Rinka shared a laugh until there was a knock on the door "Are we expecting someone?" Lancer asks as Rinka got up from the couch and opened the door to see the landlord of the apartment building.
"Mr. Karinagi?" Rinka saw the man standing in front of her as he entered the apartment "Is there something we can help you with?" Rinka asks.
"You fell behind the rent. Which means you either pay up or move out." Mr. Karinagi said as Rinka became shocked.
"What!? But I sent the money for rent just yesterday!" Rinka said as the man looked at her.
"Well, the rent had just gone up, so…" Lancer of Black was pissed off at this man who only cared about his greed.
"Fine… I'll move out…" Rinka said as she sighs in defeat.
After an hour, Rinka and Lancer of Black found themselves outside of the apartment building with loads of boxes behind them "Well, i suppose we need to find another place to stay for a while." Lancer of Black said as Rinka tries to stay composed and keep all of her emotions inside her.
"Lancer, i heard there's this beach that's not too far from here. Let's go there. Right now." Lancer blinked as she looked back to all of the boxes they had.
"But we should put all of the boxes in storage somewhere." Lancer of Black said as Rinka uses her magic to seal all of their things inside her pendant.
"Done. Now let's go." Rinka said with a stoic voice as she and Lancer of Black make their way to the beach.
When Nagisa woke up, he learned from Karma that Berserker of Red used her Noble Phantasm to heal him. So when Nagisa was up, he thanked Ryunosuke and Archer of Red for their help and began to walk towards a park where children were playing and he sat on a bench "So many of these kids have their whole futures ahead of them…" Nagisa said as a woman sat right next to him.
"Yes… But right now, they're children. So why not let them play the part?" Nagisa looked at the woman curiously and saw she had violet hair and eyes.
The woman had worn her long Violet hair with a red ribbon and used a red scrunchie to put her hair in a ponytail. She's wearing a white short sleeve shirt with a long purple skirt and was carrying a brown bag.
"Sakura?" Nagisa's eyes widened.
"I'm glad your father told you about me." Sakura smiled but Nagisa didn't "Nagisa? What's wrong?" Sakura asks as Nagisa begins to recount about what happened so far.
"...And that's the whole story." Nagisa said as Sakura frowned.
"A Great Holy Grail War… Where's your servant?" Nagisa looked up to her in surprise.
"You believe me?!" Sakura nods her head and smiles at him.
"I was once a master in a Holy Grail War myself once." Sakura said as Nagisa couldn't hold it in anymore and hugged the woman and began to softly cry.
"I-I don't know what to do…" Nagisa said as Sakura started softly petting his hair.
"Yes, you do. You just don't know it yet." Sakura said as a little girl ran up to them.
"Mama? Who is this?" The girl asked in curiosity as Sakura and Nagisa's heads jerked up to the small child.
"This is Nagisa. Your step-brother." The girl looked at her mother with some skepticism "I know this is new to you but your brother just came from a bad place and he was asking me if he can stay with us for a while." Sakura explained as Nagisa looked at her and she gave him a wink.
After an awkward car ride, They made it to a house in the suburbs of the city and entered the house "We're home!" The girl said as Nagisa saw how beautiful the house was but saw the person he never thought he would see again.
"Nagisa?"
"Dad?" Nagisa looked at the man and the two quickly shared a long awaited embrace.
"You ran from your mother, didn't you?" Mr. Shiota said as Nagisa nodded and told him about what happened.
"I see… Damn." Mr. Shiota cursed but was safe from Sakura's wrath since their daughter went outside to play in the backyard.
"I still can't believe that she just decided to attack you because you didn't want to give up." Sakura didn't show it but she was absolutely livid at Hiromi's treatment of her own son.
"I don't have anywhere to stay. I know i'll be intruding but-"
"Say no more." Mr. Shiota smiled.
"We would be more than happy to let you stay here." Sakura said as she gave the boy a hug.
"So, where is this servant of yours?" Mr. Shiota asks as Saber of Red makes her presence known to the family.
"Greetings, Good people! I am Saber of Red." Saber of Red introduced herself.
"Do you want to have dinner with us, Nagisa?" Sakura asks but Nagisa shakes his head.
"I'll hold off on dinner for right now. I think i'll take a quick walk first." Nagisa said.
"Okay. Well, behind the house is actually a nice little private beach area if you want to use it to clear your head." Mr. Shiota said as Nagisa bows to them and heads out to the beach area.
At the private beach, Rinka was sitting down in the feedle position, looking out into the sunset with Lancer of Black "The sunset here is really beautiful. It makes you see the more beautiful aspects of life." Lancer of Black said as Rinka sat up and saw Saber of Red and Nagisa.
"Rinka?"
"Nagisa…" Rinka glared at him angrily, feeling her pent up rage rising to the breaking point "It's because of you that i'm like this…" Rinka growled but Nagisa had no idea what she was talking about.
"What do you mean?" Nagisa asks but Saber of Red already had her weapon raised towards Lancer of Black.
"So you must be the Lancer of Black." Saber of Red said with a confidant smile.
"Indeed I am. Your point Saber?" Lancer of Black said, also having her weapon pointed Saber of Red.
"I just wanted to make sure you were really my enemy." Saber of Red said as she lunged at Lancer of Black and two began their battle.
Saber and Lancer had their weapons clashed against each other "Why is your Master blaming mine for something he didn't do?" Saber of Red asks.
"My master is just looking for someone to blame." Lancer of Black said as she deflects Saber's sword and tries to strike at the heart but Saber was able to block the attack.
"I see. So your master is suffering!" Saber of Red concludes as her's and Lancer's weapons once again clash and Saber was able to get in some good hits, which did cause Lancer to bleed but not enough blood to have her die.
Over with Nagisa and Rinka, the two junior high students looked at each other "Nagisa…" Rinka growls but Nagisa looks at her with sympathy.
"Rinka… We don't have to fight. We can sit down and talk this through." Rinka didn't listen and charged at him, pinning him to the ground.
"I wanted to give up everything! Everything!" Rinka said as she punched Nagisa in the face, but Nagisa was able to roll himself and Rinka where he punched her but the two were able to stand up again "Why!? Why did it have to be them!?" Rinka once again punches Nagisa but he doesn't do anything but blocks her punch.
"Please, Rinka! You're fighting the wrong people!" Nagisa said as Rinka pulled out a pocket knife but when she tried to stab Nagisa, he was able to take it out of her hand and pins her down on the sand again.
"All i ever wanted was to bring them back!" Rinka cried as Lancer or Black and Saber of Red put their battle on hold and saw what was happening "Please… I have nothing left…" Rinka said as Nagisa rose up and saw Sakura was looking at the battle and came to Rinka's side.
Once back at the house, Rinka explained everything, how she met Lancer of Black and why she decided to participate in the Holy Grail to the Shiota family and they were all but shocked "You poor thing… You lost your parents too…" Sakura said as Rinka looked at her.
"Too?" Rinka asks as Sakura puts her hands on the girl's shoulders.
"My father was killed by his own apprentice and my mother was crippled and died of disease. I miss them everyday." Sakura said as the girl started to tear up and hug the woman.
"It's just unfair! Why did it have to be them!?" Rinka sobbed as Sakura rubs her back.
"It's okay… Let it all out…" Sakura said as Rinka continued to cry in her arms. After fifteen minutes, Rinka calms down and she looks at the Shiota family and blushes.
"I'm sorry you had to see me in such a state." Rinka said with a stoic voice but Sakura shakes her head and smiles.
"No, It's okay. Do you have a place to go?" Sakura asks.
"Actually, me and Lancer just got evicted from our apartment today." Rinka said as Sakura and her husband went to the kitchen and discussed the problem in whispers. After ten minutes, the two adults walk up to Lancer of Black and Rinka.
"Rinka… we decided to let you stay with us." Sakura said as Rinka looked at her in surprise.
"I appreciate your generosity, but you don't have to ask me to live with you." Rinka said as Sakura looked at her.
"I'm not asking you. I'm telling you to live with us… as a part of our family." Sakura said as Rinka starts to tear up "Oh sweetie, there's nothing to cry about."
"I know… But this is the first time in a long time, I feel this happy!" Rinka said with tears but with a smile that accompanies it and the girl shares an embrace with the Shiota family.