Halberd in the Dark

After watching the amusing sight of Rin being carried by a Servant roughly half her height, Illyasviel von Einzbern was not laughing. Her own tall giant of a Servant picked her up easily and jumped down from the rooftop they had been using as a vantage point. After landing in the alleyway below, he lowered her to the ground and returned to spirit form.

Looking around carefully, she sidled up to the wall of the Emiya estate, keeping to the shadows without being suspicious. Pretending to look at a nearby road-sign, she smoothed her white skirt while examining the Bounded Field protecting the house. As she had suspected from earlier inspection at range, it was not like any magecraft that she had seen before - and she had quite the experience.

Could it be the Tohsaka's work? She frowned, thinking as she walked away calmly. Tohsaka Rin was the last in her family, thus she was almost certainly a Master, which seeing her Servant had only confirmed. Now, the last Emiya was only adopted and not a magus, according to not just Tohsaka but also Kotomine. Is this some speciality of the Tohsaka family? But her own house didn't have it.

Unless it was a Field you used on other people. It was possible that, being neighbors with the Matou, Tohsaka decided to get a second, hidden, base of operations. As he lived alone (according to her reports, with a guardian who only occasionally dropped by) Emiya Shirou would be the perfect "host".

Just the possibility soured Illya's thoughts. The family should have already informed both Tohsaka and Kotomine that Emiya was Einzbern's, even if they waited on the actual collecting. For that matter, the scouting a few days ago showed that the Matou girl seemed to drop by some mornings, which raised another question of if that family was even participating.

If Matou Zouken was actually a Master, killing him was a priority, higher than Tohsaka, actually - though getting both would clean up the Grail War's founding family list. Also, Kotomine could be eliminated if he interfered with her plans. Apparently he was quite a fighter, but compared to Servants...

"In sort, a wonderful battlefield of free targets, isn't that right Berserker?" She could sense his agreement. A proper stage to showcase his might as the strongest warrior, she had promised him.

(Later, at the outskirts of Fuyuki...)

"Oi, little ojou-chan," came a challenging voice. After clearing the dense portions of Fuyuki, Illya decided to just walk for a bit to enjoy the open space before reaching the forests around the Einzbern castle.

She looked around. All clear, except for the blue-armored spear-wielding Servant boldly approaching her. Almost immediately, Berserker materialized in order to block his advance.

"Hey, hey!" said the Lancer in a calm tone that sounded like a taunt. "I'm just here to bring a message from my Master to yours." Illya looked around her Servant and simply nodded.

Lancer dropped something on the ground, backed away a few paces before disappearing into his spirit form. After waiting for a moment, the girl walked over and inspected the item before picking it up. It was a Black Key.

Kotomine will definitely have to die she mused. Berserker picked her up and the pair made haste back home.

(Einzbern Castle)

"Berserker, I'm going to go over the detection Bounded Field. Do you want to review the battlefield with me?" With the strongest Servant, her main concern was the likes of an Assassin getting in and killing her. Apparently, in the previous War, despite having an excellent Berserker from the catalyst swap between Einzbern and Matou, the latter's loss was due to Master death resulting in the Servant dying in turn from lack of mana.

Honestly though, they really lucked out if that slab of stone actually summoned Heracles. The problem was that, while surer, the halberd Illya had received and used summoned a rather troublesome Servant.

She hadn't been lying though, it was likely that the forests around the castle would become a battlefield sooner or later. Ideally though, after she had collected some information to allow Lu Bu to enjoy the fight to the fullest. After all, a legendary opponent is less impressive if you only know that they are "legendary" without specifics.

"It would be good to use Red Hare," he muttered after a while, looking about the dense foliage that blocked conventional line of sight while on the ground.

"I thought that if you weren't a Rider, it wouldn't be able to keep up with your Servant-level statistics?"

"Just to ride it."

Illya simply nodded and looked about for one of the stones which indicated a Bounded Field's focal point. Her two favorite maids were also part of the group. "So, how well have they been doing with your training?"

"They may slow down a weak Servant. I will take on the strongest. They will suffice." It was rather high praise coming from him. Still, he seemed a little insulted by the question.

"Just a little insurance against trickery," she said soothingly after re-calibrating the focal point. "So I can focus on your fights rather than some sneaky Assassin."

Berserker simply nodded, satisfied.

"Tohsaka's Servant," Illya said suddenly. "If that girl was a Caster, that would explain why the Bounded Field is so unusual. It almost felt foreign to magecraft."

Berserker grunted with a sense of apathy. He only wanted good fights, and Casters were the least likely class to give him one. "I've changed my mind," she announced. "I want Tohsaka alive as well as Emiya. Of course the Servant, even if they're something strong like a Knight you can take them down."

Though Kotomine was not registering Masters, it might be a good idea to meet him anyway. With Berserker in tow of course, the man was messing with the Grail War and trusting someone like him to not stab you in the back was foolishness that deserved a painful and humiliating death.

"I wonder if I should grab the girl first, or the boy?" Illya mused with a cruel smile. "Taking things by strength is the law of the world after all, right Berserker?"

Her Servant agreed.

Notes:

This is the night of Day 2 (Thursday)
In this story Lu Bu actually can talk (a bit). I didn't feel like giving his PoV the way Excella's side story did. The way Illya summoned him is different from his other appearances elsewhere, so he's also different. His Mad Enhancement trigger is "a ready battlefield" so he can't converse once he feels a fight is about to start.
Illya is quite familar with his legend and is on the watch for signs of betrayal, but she also feels confident that by providing him with battles, she can both keep him on her side and accomplish her goals.