Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Aozaki and Tohsaka – The Serpent's Feathers

Chapter 2

Shards of glass went flying across the café as the large windows of its façade shattered inwards. Shouts and screams of alarm erupted from patrons and staff alike, most people inside diving for cover to avoid getting cut by the sharp glass. The three magi were no exception, Benedek simultaneously tipping the table over while diving behind it, Touko and Sakura fast behind him.

Not so fast as to not notice what it was which broke the glass in the first place, though. "…a Goshawk?" Benedek breathed in surprise, watching as the brown and black-feathered raptor circled around the café interior. And then giving a cry, it beat its pinions, turning to fly back outside through the shattered windows.

A shout from Touko had the Hungarian magus jolting back into reality. "Sakura…!" the Grand Magus barked in Japanese. "It has the medallion!"

"Already on it!" Sakura shouted, blue lines fading into her skin as she finished reinforcing her body and clothes alike. Simultaneously, she dashed out of cover and across the café at superhuman speeds, and leapt out the windows in pursuit.

As before, the square was packed to the gills with people, but that was nothing Sakura couldn't handle. She grew up in Osaka, after all. And while Osaka wasn't Tokyo, that didn't mean it couldn't compete with the latter when it came to making sardines in a tin can feel like they were in the Taj Mahal.

Antigua at its worst was light going for Sakura, especially with reinforcement boosting her physical attributes to superhuman levels. Whether it was the strength to push aside or through the throngs, the dexterity to slip between the gaps in the crowd, and the agility to keep up witht the Goshawk above, she was like a blur through the square.

A pair of men on a motorcycle skidded to a halt as what seemed to them like a girl deftly sidestepped and ran past.

A street vendor was left gaping as that same girl leapt up and over his rolling kiosk.

A pudgy policeman was left scrambling for his peaked cap as something knocked it off his head in passing.

"Strange…" Sakura thought, her eyes on the Goshawk, trusting in her instincts and other senses to get through the crowd. "That bird…no…that familiar, should be able to fly higher…but why isn't it? Is the medallion too heavy? It's partly made from gold, yes, but still…"

Letting the thought trail off, Sakura narrowed her eyes, and briefly casting her gaze around the square, abruptly changed course. Jumping onto a stall and boosting off its roof's frame, Sakura jumped onto a crumbling statue of a lion and again boosted off its head. The statue's head broke apart under her Nikes, but it served its purpose, boosting Sakura further as she pounced on and kicked off, higher and further, from one of the stone pillars along the side of the square. The stone cracked and shattered under her feet, but she was able to get close and high enough to the Goshawk, just in time to barely catch it before it could fly by.

Not enough to grab the bird or the medallion, but enough to knock the latter out of the former's claws.

Gold and ruby flashed as it fell through the air, thankfully bouncing off and breaking its fall against people as opposed to the ground. The latter could have shattered the jewel, or deformed the medallion, or worse, both. Though it still fell to the ground, it did so at a more sedate speed, not enough to truly damage it.

Sakura though spun as she fell through the air, landing prone and on all fours to break the force of impact, and then springing back, into a crouch and up to her feet. Shouts of alarm erupted from the locals, along with curious looks and exclamations from the tourists, no doubt wondering if she was an acrobat or something.

A flicker of motion on the edges of her vision caught Sakura's attention…

…and then her eyes were going wide, as a number of men dressed in nondescript clothes began pulling guns – submachine guns from the look of things – from bags and suitcases. Raising them into the air, they began firing in bursts, and throwing the crowd into a panic.

Then they advanced, spreading out while continuing to spray bursts into the air, locals and tourists alike giving way. Several moments later, and they lowered their guns in Sakura's general direction, and fired.

Cursing, Sakura dove for cover behind an inscription-covered slab of masonry, huddling down behind it as slugs chewed away at its front. More bullets flew through the air around and above her, the gunmen apparently content to pin her in place.

Or did they?

Cursing some more, Sakura unsealed one of her contracted spirits, and looking through its eyes, saw the gunmen arrayed around her position in a semicircle. Surprisingly, they were content to just pin her down, and it didn't take long to find out why.

The Goshawk from before was there, standing on the ground with its beak pressed lightly against the medallion, eyes glowing with magical power.

"Not for long!" Sakura thought. A mental command had the spirit striking down on the Goshawk, which narrowly escaped, flapping away while scrambling across the ground before beating its pinions and flying high into the sky.

For good measure, Sakura had the spirit grab the medallion and drag it safely inside Imaginary Numbers Space.

Then the wailing sounds of police sirens were echoing through the square, coming closer with every second. Shouting in Spanish, the gunmen turned and ran, Sakura sending her contracted spirit to inform her master of the situation moments before she carefully stepped out and around the stone monument she'd been hiding behind.

Less than a minute later, and police cars were rolling into the square. Uniformed men poured out, shouting and barking in Spanish as they fanned out around the square.

Sakura moved slowly and deliberately, keeping her hands away from herself as she crossed the ground. It seemed to work, the policemen wary but not hostile at her appearance, no doubt thinking she was just some tourist caught in the middle of some kind of gang fight and forced to hide until things settled down.

Shaking her head at the queries sent her way, she threw a hopeful look at her master as the older woman approached from the far side of the square. Catching her angle, some of the newly-arrived policemen moved to intercept Touko and Benedek.

"…well, they can speak Spanish." Sakura thought as she trailed along towards her master, the policemen keeping wary eyes on her all the way. "Let them handle this…somehow."

"So let me get this straight," the police sergeant speaking to Touko said. "You were having coffee when a bird of all things flew through the window – and breaking it in the process, you say – and grabbed one of your jewels…"

Touko nodded. "A family jewel, actually…" she smoothly lied, the policeman carrying on without skipping a beat.

"…before flying back out the window," he said. "At which point your…ward, here…"

The man paused and nodded at Sakura who just shrugged in response, before continuing. "…chased after it to get the jewel back." He said.

"Yes, that's pretty much what happened." Touko cheerfully said with another nod.

"And while chasing the bird across the square," the unimpressed policeman continued. "Gunmen popped out and started shooting, and only stopped when they heard us coming."

"Yes, that also happened."

"…any particular reason why they would start shooting at your ward, and all for a jewel?" the policeman demanded.

Touko briefly fidgeted before sighing, and reaching up, removed her glasses seemingly in weariness. Her irises briefly glowed blue though, and the policemen and other witnesses around felt themselves jolt as though current ran through their bodies.

"No, I don't." Touko firmly said, before smiling. "I think the detective over there has an idea though."

More an idea she planted into his head, along with a compulsion on others to put their faith in it, but they didn't need to know that. "Detective Manzanedo…" the police sergeant said with a salute as the older man approached.

"Easy, sergeant." Detective Armando Manzanedo said, before nodding at Touko and company. "As absurd as their story sounds, I believe it. If nothing else, if they were…suspects, trying to excuse themselves out of trouble, this has to be the most ridiculous alibi anyone could ever come up with."

"But…?" the sergeant prompted.

The detective shrugged. "Like I said," he began. "It's too ridiculous to be an alibi. And all the other witnesses we've spoken with, whether the other patrons at the café, the café staff, and the people here in the square, everything they told us supports these people's claim."

"I see." The sergeant said with a nod, and the detective nodded as well.

"We may be looking at a new tactic by the local syndicate or gangs." He said. "It seems really…outlandish, even by their standards, but given their…machismo, tendencies…yes, that could be it."

"Sir?"

The detective looked at the sergeant grimly. "The local syndicate or gangs may have started using trained birds to filch valuables from tourist or locals," he said. "And posted men nearby in case the owners get too…clingy."

"…depending on how old and well-made the señorita's jewelry was," the sergeant said just as grimly. "It could have fetched a fine price."

"That it could." The detective agreed, before turning back to Touko and company. "May I ask where this jewel is now?"

Touko and Benedek glanced at Sakura, who shook her head with a look of dismay on her face. Benedek's face tightened, while Touko's eyes narrowed as she set her jaw. "…my sympathies, señorita." The detective said.

Touko grunted but said nothing. As for the detective, he pulled out a notepad, and spent the next couple of minutes jotting down notes. "I assume you and yours are tourists, señorita?" he finally asked.

"Not quite…" Touko said. "My ward and other companion are, but I'm also here on business."

"Oh?"

Touko gestured at the bag she was carrying on a sling around her shoulders. "If I may?" she asked.

"Please,"

Touko opened it, and reaching inside pulled out a neatly-folded sheaf of papers. She handed them to the detective, before again removing her glasses on the pretext of wiping her face with a kerchief. At the same time, her eyes again glowed.

"…I see." The detective said, perusing the papers that were actually a memorandum of agreement with Touko and Sakura's stay at the Imperial Hotel, but which he thought to be something else.

Mystic Eyes…such useful things.

"You are an archaeologist, here to examine Mayan ruins and other remains, and to meet with our country's experts." The detective said with a nod, before returning the papers to Touko. Jotting down more notes, he looked back to her after a moment. "Just for reference's sake, in case we need to ask you some more questions, may I ask where you are currently staying at?"

"At the Imperial Hotel, in this same city, of couse."

"Ah, I see…yes, I know the place."

The man nodded while jotting down some more notes, and then nodding in satisfaction, capped his pen before putting it and his notepad away. "Well then," he said, extending a hand which Touko took and shook. "I have no further questions at this time, and you may go."

"Sir," the police sergeant said. "If these people, or at least the señorita is here on official business, given her involvement in this…new, modus operandi by the local gangs or syndicate, maybe we should have her speak with the lieutenant or even the captain? I mean…yes, it may just be the antiquities office, but still: official business. This could get really troublesome if the higher-ups start stirring things up."

"…you have a point, sergeant." The detective agreed after a moment and a nod. "But if it comes to that, I'll deal with our superiors. I see no reason for the señorita and her companions to be inconvenienced even further."

"I…yes, sir."

"Actually," Touko said while making a show of checking her wristwatch. "I wouldn't mind a quick talk with the police captain. Both as a show of cooperation, and in the hope that this would simplify things further down the line."

The magus smiled at them, her eyes again flashing, while both Benedek and Sakura shared confused glances with each other. Touko ignored them, and just gestured for them to follow as the policemen escorted them to a waiting police car.

"I see…I understand…yes, of course…I'll take care it. Thank you, thank you…"

The police captain returned the phone handset back into its cradle, his conversation with the Guatemalan antiquities office done. At least, he thought he'd had a conversation. In reality, he'd basically been talking to himself, the whole conversation only existing in his head.

In front of his desk, the intrepid trio of magi sat, Touko cleaning her glasses with a soft cloth, blue light dancing in her irises.

"Very well, Señorita Aozaki," the police captain began with a cough. "Following my conversation with my colleagues in the antiquities office, your arrangement with them will continue despite your regrettable, but unintended, involvement in this affair. On behalf of the force, and of the Guatemalan nation and people, I apologize that your visit to our country was marred by such an incident."

"The fault lies with the criminals, captain." Touko graciously said. "There is no need to apologize, but even so, thank you."

The police captain nodded and sat back. "Rest assured," he said. "There should be no further need for your studies – or your companions' vacation – to be interrupted further by involvement in this matter. You and yours will be listed as anonymous witnesses, and there will be no need for you to remain, whether as suspects or as witnesses to be named for testimony in court."

"Thank you, captain."

The man nodded again before getting to his feet, and the three magi also got to their feet. Extended a hand, Touko took and shook it. "If there is nothing more," she said. "Then we will take our leave."

The police captain nodded. "Go with God, señorita." He said.

"Thank you." Touko said, before leading the way out of the office and thence the police station. Benedek and Sakura stayed quiet until they were out on the street once more, and walking away from the police station.

"Well, I'm impressed." Benedek remarked in English. "I shouldn't be, because it's you, but I am."

Touko gave a smug sound of satisfaction, before her eyes slid towards her apprentice's direction. "What about you, Sakura?" she asked, also speaking in English. "Nothing to say?"

"…one of the first lessons you taught, master." Sakura replied. "Cover all angles, right?"

"Precisely."

Benedek nodded in agreement. "If it was just the detectives and officers on the site made to make our…involvement, in the incident, 'go away'," he said. "Their higher-ups still might go digging deeper later on, and cause trouble of one kind or another at the same time."

"But now that the higher-ups have been made to look the other way," Sakura said. "Or rather, to cover up our involvement, there should no problems from there in the future. That said…"

Sakura paused, her eyes narrowed. "I don't think gangs or the local gangsters are the ones behind the attack, master." She said.

"I'd be disappointed if you did." Touko remarked. "But not here. Later, in the hotel."

"Yes, master."

In a villa located in the Guatemalan countryside, a tall woman strode down a marbled hallway, flowering vines creeping up in verdant spirals around the evenly-spaced pillars. The woman cut a striking figure with her sharp, aristocratic features, her dark hair tied back into a bun at the back of her head. An intimidating air of all business hung around her, leading servants to step aside and bow deeply as she passed.

Exiting the villa, Lady Isabelle Iceheart strode down a paved causeway over a large pond on which floated a number of lily pads, its banks lined with flowering bushes. Making her way to a stone pavilion, she bowed to her superior, Lord Wilhelm Carter.

"You have acquired what you were supposed to, I take it?" Lord Carter began without preamble. The balding, corpulent man sat at a table heaving with a feast, ranging from salads and fresh fruits, to steaming soups and breads, as well as roasts of various kinds.

"In a way, yes." Lady Iceheart replied.

Lord Carter paused eating, and then lowered the leg of poultry he'd been devouring to his plate with deceptive gentleness. "Explain." He said, before taking his table napkin and dabbing at his mouth.

"While I was unable to acquire the medallion," Lady Iceheart said. "I was able to acquire a full impression of it."

"…I hope for your sake it will be enough to find the Armory." Lord Carter coldly said, before he tugged at his handlebar moustache in thought. "It's not like you to fail, Isabelle. What happened?"

"Zobor has made contact with one of his…allies, I suppose." Lady Iceheart replied, and Lord Carter scoffed.

"And who is this fearsome one that would foil you so, my dear?" he challenged.

"Grand Magus Aozaki and one other magus who may be her apprentice."

Lord Carter blinked and then burst out laughing. "I see, I see, I see!" he said, clapping his hands slowly as simmering anger turned to delight. "It seems I've been most uncharitable, Isabelle. Truly, you were outclassed, and your partial success potentially a miracle in itself. Hmm…Grand Magus Aozaki…a worthy opponent indeed…"

Lady Iceheart bowed in acknowledgement, while Lord Carter took a silver bell and rang for a servant. "Set a place for Lady Iceheart." He commanded, and with a bow the servant hurried to obey. Barely a minute later, and Lord Carter gestured for Lady Iceheart to sit, and was pouring her a glass of wine.

"Now then, Isabelle," Lord Carter grandly prompted as she took her seat. "Tell me what happened."

"Yes, my lord." Lady Iceheart said with a nod. "As you know, we had already determined the general area of Benedek Zobor's hideout within Antigua by this morning. We had expected him to lie low, as he usually does, until he can arrange an auction for his wares, and as such we had ample time to pinpoint his precise location and extract from him your prize."

Lord Carter hummed in acknowledgement. "Instead," he began. "He took us all by surprise by leaving his hideout this morning, and proceeding to an unexpected rendezvous."

"As you say, my lord." Lady Iceheart confirmed. "We shadowed him in the hope of an opportunity to take advantage of, only to be once again caught by surprise by his rendezvous."

"Grand Magus Aozaki…" Lord Carter said while swirling the wine in his glass, his voice filled with grudging respect. "…truly a diamond in the rough that one, who despite being born of a no-name lineage and from a backwater of no real import, was able to achieve the rank of Grand at the age of twenty, and soon after a sealing designation…a designation that has only earned the Association corpses for all the trouble taken to enforce it…"

Trailing off with a chuckle, Lord Carter raised his glass in a silent salute. "And?" he prompted after a sip. "I assume you would have known a direct confrontation with such an august personage would be nothing less than suicide, one way or another. And yet you took action against her…why?"

"I am your servant, my lord." Lady Iceheart said with a bow. "You commanded myself to acquire your prize, and therefore I did what I thought best to fulfil your command."

"Indeed…" Lord Carter said with a nod. "And what did you do, Isabelle?"

"As you said, a direct confrontation would have been suicidal." Lady Iceheart said. "So I simply had my familiar break through the windows of the café the rendezvous was taking place in, and take the medallion while it was out of its case and in the open."

"…but you failed."

"Ultimately, yes." Lady Iceheart said with a sigh. The silence persisted for a long moment, and then Lord Carter made a silent prompt with a tilt of his head. Lady Iceheart took a sip of her wine before continuing. "Even without its protective case, the medallion was heavy, between the size of the jewel and the gold it was made from. This kept my familiar from flying high with it, while the…fragility, of the medallion kept it from holding the medallion as well as it could."

"Hmm…understandable…" Lord Carter conceded. "No point in getting the medallion if it was damaged by your familiar's talons along the way, given how soft gold and how brittle gems can be."

"As you say, my lord."

"And?"

"The one I assume to be Grand Magus Aozaki's apprentice gave chase." Lady Iceheart continued. "Most likely a combination of reinforcement, along with some experience in navigating crowded places, allowed her to keep up. She may even have training or experience – or both, even – in parkour from what I can see."

"What leads you to say that?" Lord Carter asked.

"The way she eventually knocked the medallion out of my familiar's talons." Lady Iceheart replied. "She used a stall, then a lion's statue, and then a pillar to position herself and jump high enough to do so. Admittedly a gamble on her part, as if not for the medallion's fall being broken by bouncing off the bodies of the crowd below, it'd have been dashed against the ground…"

"…but a gamble that paid off for her." Lord Carter said with a nod. "But yes…I can see how you came to the hypothesis you did."

Lady Iceheart bowed. "And?" Lord Carter prompted again. "What then?"

"…I had my men – all incognito, of course – provide a distraction by having them fire their guns into the air." Lady Iceheart said. "Once they were close enough, they pinned the apprentice behind cover while I – through my familiar – used structural analysis to obtain the impression of the medallion. I barely had the time to do so, but I succeeded."

"…I assume the apprentice counterattacked then?" Lord Carter asked. "I would expect nothing less from a Grand Magus' apprentice."

"She used a spirit to bypass my men." Lady Iceheart said. "My familiar barely avoided its clutches, and could do nothing to keep it from…well, I may be wrong, but it looked as though the apprentice – through the spirit – hid away the medallion by means of spatial manipulation."

"…interesting…very interesting…" Lord Carter mused aloud. "…was that ability of the spirit? Or was it the apprentice's, remotely actualized through the spirit?"

"…your pardon…" Lady Iceheart said with a bow. "…but I lack the wisdom and knowledge to assume on this matter."

"No matter," Lord Carter dismissively said. "What happened next?"

"I had completed my impression of the medallion." Lady Iceheart answered. "There was no further reason to stay, so I had my familiar, and my men, retreat. I know not what happened to Benedek Zobor or Grand Magus Aozaki in the aftermath, much less to the latter's apprentice. I know that the police were closing in, but that is all."

"…again, no matter…" Lord Carter dismissively said. "…for now, you have done as best you could given the circumstances. We will see if the impression you obtained is enough…later. If not, then we must find another way to obtain the location of the Armory, one way or another."

"Yes, my lord." Lady Iceheart said with a bow.

Lord Carter nodded with a satisfied nod. "But that is for later." He said, before grandly gesturing at the table between them. "For now, I would have you join me for lunch."

"Yes, my lord. And thank you."

Reality rippled as Sakura reached into Imaginary Numbers Space, and pulled out the medallion. Then holding it out, allowed her master to take it from her hand, all the while Benedek looked on with wide eyes.

"Spatial manipulation?" he asked. "At your age? You're either gifted, your master taught you really well, or both."

Sakura shrugged. "I'd say it's the second," she said. "But my master would say it's the third."

"That's because it's the truth, that's why." Touko said with a shrug of her own.

"…just where did you find such a gifted apprentice, Touko?" Benedek asked. "It can't have been the Clock Tower, you haven't been there – I think – for over a decade, nor could you have just run into her and picked her up along the way. Did you owe one of your fellow Japanese magi a favor, and had to take their heiress as an apprentice to pay it back, or something?"

Sakura snorted and actually laughed at that, while Touko rolled her eyes. "Sakura, go make tea or something." She said.

"Yes, master." Sakura said, before strolling away deeper into their suite, to obey her master's instructions. Meanwhile, Touko sat down on the couch and held up the medallion to study it.

"…believe it or not," she eventually said, while still studying the medallion with her eyes. "I all but literally did run into her on the street, and took her in as an apprentice shortly after."

"Seriously?"

Touko lowered the medallion and looked at Benedek in the eyes. "Seriously." She said.

"…that seems very charitable…and no offense, most unlike you." Benedek observed, and Touko snorted.

"Charitable?" she echoed. "Hardly; I barely knew her when I took her in, but in that time I could already see she had a lot of potential. Not as much as me, of course, but far from average potential…so very far…"

"And?" Benedek prompted, and Touko smirked.

"A master without an apprentice is a master of nothing." She said, and Benedek laughed.

"So I see…" he said. "…yes, that is much more like you."

Touko shrugged while glancing down at the medallion in her hands. "She fit the qualitative requirement," she said. "And while she's not without her flaws as a person or an apprentice, I haven't had cause to regret taking her in."

"So I see."

Touko hummed, while rubbing the medallion with her thumb. After several moments, she nodded. "I think I have some idea what this is, and how to use it. I just need a closer look first to confirm it, and then…"

Touko trailed off, while placing the medallion on the coffee table and getting to her feet. "Going somewhere?" Benedek asked, following Touko with his eyes.

"Like I said, I need to confirm." Touko said over a shoulder. "And to do that, I need a magnifying glass. Wait a bit, I'll be back in no time."

"Noted." Benedek said, before glancing back at the medallion, sitting innocently on the coffee table. With nothing else to do but wait, the Hungarian magus sighed, and then sat back in his seat.

A/N

Sorry for the long wait, but real life obligations take priority over writing. I hope you enjoyed the update regardless, though.