Beloved Tomboyish Girl

The sword clattered to the ground in front of Cirno as if it had slid down the moment it touched her head.

Reimu blinked, realizing she was back in the real world. She looked at Cirno, who was lost in thought. Then she looked at Saber, who was standing next to her, enraged.

"Did you throw that weapon at a child?!" Saber demanded.

Before Reimu could answer, an ear-piercing scream brought their attention to the little ice fairy, who then promptly exploded into snow. With a loud bang sound, the entire area became plagued with a blizzard.

"What is this?!" Saber exclaimed into the roaring winds.

Reimu couldn't respond, because she knew that her reply would be lost to the winds. Saber seemed to recognize this fact because she turned away from Reimu. Looking around, Reimu realized that there was no sign of the little ice fairy. Trudging through the snow, she noted with alarm that ice was coating on her shrine maiden uniform and her body. The same thing was happening to Saber, who was holding an arm out to shield her face.

"I'm always alone! Everybody leaves me behind!" Cirno's voice screamed into the blizzard, amplified so Reimu couldn't miss it in the winds. "Nobody stays nice to me!"

"Then come out so we can talk it out!" Reimu called.

"LANCER!"

Reimu rolled away just in time, because Lancer dived down with his spear right where she was a second ago. She went to smack him with her miko stick, but he flicked his spear out of the ground to uppercut her with the tip. She blocked it with her arm and extended her miko stick to a staff's length before hitting him in the nose with the end of it. He rolled away and disappeared into the thick snowstorm.

The cold was beginning to really bother Reimu. She was beginning to go numb from it, and whatever she could feel was a cold dumbness. If she tried to fly up, the snow would turn to hail in her vicinity and the winds would push her down until she was forced back to the ground.

Was this really what that dumb ice fairy was capable of?

"Reimu!"

Turning around, Reimu was relieved to see Saber running up to her. The Servant was cut in a few areas, but other than that she seemed unharmed.

"I can't find Lancer in this snowstorm!" Saber shouted, loud enough so Reimu could hear. "If it keeps up, he'll..."

"Yeah, I figured that out!" Reimu shouted back. "What do we do?"

"If I can use my Noble Phantasm, I might be able to dispel the snowstorm!"

"Then do it!"

"Just make sure you stop Lancer if he comes for us!"

Reimu nodded, and Saber held her sword out in front of her. It appeared in her hands, and it became clear that Saber was no longer keeping it invisible. Reimu stared in awe at the long, steel blade, magnificent with its gold and blue crossguard and pommel, and the perfectly shaped blade. It began to glow golden, and the blade seemed to grow longer.

A crimson light flickered in the snowstorm. Reimu immediately tracked it down and saw it getting brighter and larger. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and ignored her numbness as Lancer appeared in front of her.

"Your heart is mine!" he cried. "Gae Bolg!"

He drove the spear for her heart, but Reimu floated out of existence as the spear and its wielder went right through her. Too late, Lancer realized what happened and Reimu hit him on the back of his head with her miko stick, sending him crashing into the ground past Saber. For good measure, Reimu tossed talismans at him which promptly exploded, sending the Servant even further away.

The golden glow of Saber's sword was now piercing the top of the snowstorm. Despite the raging storm, her voice was calm as she said, "Sheathed in the breath of stars. A torrent of shining life. Hail! The Sword of Promised Victory!"

She raised the sword high above her head, and Reimu felt her ears pop from the sheer power it was radiating.

"EX...CALIBER!"

She swung the sword, and a loud FWOOM was heard as snow erupted around the area.

.

Girls do their best now and are preparing. Please wait warmly until it is ready.

.

"I know I heard a scream!"

"You could've been just hearing things, Marisa."

"Shuddit, Kourin! I swear on everything I stole from you that I did!"

"...so you admit to stealing from me?"

"Erk!"

As Marisa tried to defuse the situation, she looked outside and saw the forest become blanketed with white.

.

Girls do their best now and are preparing. Please wait warmly until it is ready.

.

The snow came back down gently, and Reimu's elemental resistance kicked in as the frost covering her body melted. Nearby, Saber held her hand out as snow landed gently on her palm.

Highly irregular or not, the snow was rather... calming.

"After all this is done, I'd like to find a nice fireplace..." Reimu said.

Saber had to agree with her. It was unusual that the ice fairy's blizzard broke through her natural resistance, and it left her with a small chilly feeling. Indeed, it would be nice if Shirou made her a nice, hot meal...

Both Servant and shrine maiden turned to the sound of footsteps in the snow. Expecting a fight, they both got out their respective weapons and turned to the source. Cirno trudged towards them, eyes downcast, not saying anything. They both tensed up and got into fighting positions, but Cirno didn't react at all and just kept gloomily walking forward. Exchanging a glance, Reimu and Saber lowered their weapons as the little ice fairy came in arms' reach. She then stopped there and did nothing. Then she did something they weren't expecting.

Cirno hugged Reimu. She wasn't crying, or letting any tears out.

"You'll be nice to me, right?" Cirno asked meekly.

Reimu, admittedly, did tend to get grouchy when she was busy. She became rude and cared little for much else except for getting the job done. In other words, she was like most people. And most people, while they would agree to Cirno's request, wouldn't uphold that promise.

But she had to be better than most people. Hugging Cirno back, she promised, "I will."

Cirno nodded. Then she fell asleep right there in the shrine maiden's arms.

...

Lancer grinned at both girls and complimented, "That was a great workout! We should go again sometime!"

Saber returned the smile and responded, "I think I would like that, Lancer. Again, you truly are a worthy foe."

Lancer nodded and waved a hand to the sleeping Cirno before asking, "So, how would you rate my trainee's fighting skills out of ten?"

"I'd give her a solid seven," Saber replied. "Her cryomancy is good, but she could use that in a blend with her ice and snow powers more often."

"I don't know how to judge that stuff," Reimu grumbled.

Clearly Lancer wasn't too happy about the poor answer, but he waved it off. "So you're off to fight another Servant?" he asked. Both Reimu and Saber nodded, and Lancer nodded before saying, "Well, I wish you the best of luck. I hope we have another good match!"

He winked at Reimu. She shuddered.

She and Saber went to leave, but Reimu looked back at Cirno and stopped again. Saber froze in her tracks and turned around. Reimu gulped and looked Lancer straight in the eye.

"Hey, make sure you take care of Cirno, okay?" she asked.

Lancer's earlier flirtatious smile turned into one a bit more solemn.

"You got it," he said before pounding a fist over his heart.

Reimu nodded, satisfied, and this time, when she walked away, she didn't turn back. In the very least, they left the ice fairy feeling like a Beloved Tomboyish Girl.

...

The skinny men darted in and out of the mansion, carrying bones, wood, and meat. Their thoughts were all over the place, and since there were a hundred of them it made it difficult to read all of their minds at once.

Satori, watching them from the balcony, tuned their thoughts out. Though they were doing the work she, or rather, Koishi, had commanded them to, they were rather annoying and, with their bone masks and emaciated bodies, creepy.

It was only because of the fact that they adored their Master did Satori tolerate them. She could get behind that.

"Contractor."

Satori turned to the hulking figure behind her. Flanking him was Utsuho and Rin, who in turn were flanked by Cursed Arm and Serenity respectively. Peeking out behind Cursed Arm was Koishi, who was followed by Zayd.

"What is it?" she asked the massive creature of a Servant.

"I have finished making you a skull mask, if you would like it," the Servant rumbled, holding out a mask just like all of the others wore.

Satori took it and put it on her face. To her surprise, she could see through it and breathe properly.

"Thank you, Gramps," she said.

"Of course, Contractor," King Hassan replied.

Hey, guys! Feel free to leave reviews! I'd like to see what you think about this story, what you like, and how I can improve!