Chapter 14: Contract
Eventually, the Inoue family returned home after their visit to the Tohno mansion. The peaceful moments the three of them had there were enough to calm Hisui's fears, even though some uncertainty still was in her. Haruki noticed her doubts and pulled her closer, encircling her waist, in an attempt to make her feel better. Hisui smiled in response and leaned her head on his shoulder. There was no need for words. Their daughter couldn't help but smile while seeing them, a light blush adorning her cheeks.
Sayaka went to the bathroom to have a bath. After that, she was planning to visit her childhood friend, as usual. However, many thoughts were swimming through her mind as she was soaked in warm water.
"Kazuki-kun..." she thought "What's on your mind, I wonder..." The advice Chiyoko had given her crossed her mind, but she needed a way, an excuse to spend time together with him. Once she had freshened up, she decided to talk with her mother about it.
"Mom, can I ask you something?" she shyly asked. Hisui turned to her daughter with a warm smile.
"Sure, honey! You can ask me anything." she replied.
"If I wanted to close the distance between me and someone else, which would be the best way?" Sayaka asked earnestly, her eyes cast downwards. Her mother couldn't help but smile, quickly understanding who was the someone the girl was talking about.
"It's about Aokage-kun, isn't it?" she asked, making her daughter blush.
"Y-yes..." she timidly confirmed. Hisui gently ran her fingers through her daughter's long red hair.
"Darling, at times people need to be with themselves." she explained, in a warm tone "It's completely normal for you two to lose contact."
"Yes, but..." Sayaka replied, gently holding the hand brushing her hair "I don't want to lose him… What should I do?"
"Just be patient." her mother said, with a warm smile. "Don't put pressure on him. Trust me, in time you'll be able to spend time with him like you used to, and it'll be like there had never been such a distance in the first place." The girl stood silent for a moment, taking in her mother's words, then she finally nodded, with a smile of her own.
"Speaking of which." Hisui continued "Why not invite him to next week's origami festival?"
"Oh, I already did!" Sayaka cheerfully replied.
"Good, and what did he say?" her mother asked. She couldn't help but smile and blush while thinking of Kazuki's reply.
"He… He said yes." she timidly answered.
"That's great!" Hisui smiled warmly, lovingly patting her daughter's head "I couldn't think of a better chance!" Mother and daughter laughed in joy, thinking that Kazuki might not have been so distant after all…
Meanwhile, the gray-haired youth was strolling in the streets of Misaki. He was still unsettled by that strange dream he had. Eventually, his steps led him in front of the café. Once again, the bartender noticed him passing by, but his expression wasn't exactly the most reassuring.
"Hey!" he called, making the youth turn towards him. "Have you heard from Shun?"
"No..." he replied while he felt dreadful anticipation well up inside him "Why do you ask? Did something happen?"
"This morning he had received a call and next thing we knew, he rushed out of here. Must have been something bad..." Kazuki's eyes widened in shock.
"I'll try to call him." he said as he fished his phone out of his pocket and quickly dialed his friend's number. After a couple of rings, an automated voice message system replied.
"We're sorry, the customer you are calling is not available at the moment. Please, leave a message after the tone." Kazuki had no choice but to leave a voice message.
"Shun, it's me, Kazuki." he said "I've heard you've received a bad call while you were working... I'm just hoping for the best for you and Chouko-chan..." Unable to think of other words to say, he closed the message.
"Chouko-chan?" the bartender couldn't help but ask.
"It's his girlfriend's sister." Kazuki quickly explained "She's been in hospital for 2 months now..."
"So you're telling me she's gotten worse?" the man asked, sharing the youth's worries.
"Most likely." the gray-haired youth nodded.
"I see..." the bartender mused, concern written all over his face "No wonder he was in such a hurry..."
"I just hope everything works out in the end..." Kazuki murmured…
"Yeah... I do, too..." the bartender replied.
After talking with the bartender, Kazuki went on his way and his steps led him to Misaki Park. He found a bench and sat on it, rising his gaze to the sky, tinged with the red light of sunset. The sun was already low and it was beginning to get dark. The youth's mind was riddled with countless thoughts.
"Not only that strange dream..." he thought "Now Chouko-chan, too… What's going on?" He was deeply concerned for the little girl's well being, especially knowing how important she was for his friend. He couldn't help but wonder if his dream was somehow linked to this dreadful occurrence.
"Chouko-chan… Shun… Torikawa-san..." The image of all the people he had called friends, dead and alive, crossed his mind one after another. His biggest fear was that they would have been soon involved in a terrible and dangerous spiral of events which was bound to be unleashed.
"But what is about to happen?" he kept thinking "Will I be able to face it?"
He failed to notice an eerie silence stilling the park, he failed to notice that there were only two people in it: himself, and a stranger wearing a cape.
"Aokage Kazuki." His train of thought was abruptly interrupted by the voice of the stranger calling his name. In hearing it, the gray-haired youth jolted up on his feet and looked at him. His cape had some crosses depicted on it, showing that the man was a member of the Church.
"At last I've found you." he said, before taking his battle stance "Prepare yourself." Kazuki couldn't help but tense up in front of a man who knew him, but whom he didn't know.
"How do you know my name?" he asked, as he prepared himself to fight as well "What business do you have with me?"
"All in due time." That was his only answer as he rushed towards the youth and tried to land a punch, which was quickly parried by Kazuki's arm. And so a melee battle between the gray-eyed youth and the mysterious stranger from the Church started. Punch after punch, kick after kick, Kazuki made sure that none of the man's strikes touched him, and managed to land a kick on his chest which made him step backwards.
The stranger jumped on a tree and leaped up high as the blue and golden gleam began to shine in Kazuki's eyes. Black swords appeared from the man's sleeves, flying in his hands, only to be thrown at the magus and pierce him. The youth fell, but his body disappeared before it touched the ground, which was instead pierced by the black swords. The stranger quickly understood it was an illusion, and quickly weaved his arms while turning behind him and finding Kazuki, who was about to swing his katana against him. Another black blade appeared from his sleeve and he quickly parried the strike with it, before jumping back.
"Well done." he murmured. The gray-haired youth could swear he had seen a faint smile on his features, before he extended his arm to the side.
"What is he up to?" Kazuki couldn't help but wonder.
Yellow light shone in the stranger's sleeve, and a silver halberd materialized from it. He skillfully twirled it in his hands, before charging towards the youth once again. Kazuki quickly sheathed his katana and a Naginata spear of blue light appeared in his hand. The stranger tried to land a hit on him with the halberd, but the magus managed to defend himself from his assault. He then jumped back and vanished again. The man stood in high alert, and was quick to sense his opponent trying to come at him from his side. After his strike was parried by the silver halberd, Kazuki suddenly felt an unknown force pulling him.
"What?" he exclaimed as he was dragged away from the man. Waiting for him was a strong man wearing a golden spartan armor, who punched him away, making him land at quite a distance from them in the park.
"What the…?" Kazuki murmured as he got back up, not without pain, and then he saw the man who had hit him. He noticed he had a spear in his hand as well.
"Is that man another Master?" the youth couldn't help but think, but there wasn't too much time to think. Kazuki quickly materialized two Naginata spears in his hands and charged towards the two attackers. He managed to fend off their attacks with the two spears, and then he turned while twirling them in his hands, hoping to land a slash on either of the mysterious attackers, but it didn't happen. Instead, the armored man kicked him in the back, The stranger then tried punching him, but the youth was able to defend himself with one of the lances.
Both the attackers came at him with their spears, but he managed to defend himself from all of their strikes, the sound of metal clashing against metal filled the ears of both the attackers. However, the blade of the silver halberd cut one of Kazuki's two Naginata spears in two pieces. The construct of blue light immediately disappeared from his hand, but the magus continued to fight, his remaining spear clashing with the halberd.
Once he thought he was open, Kazuki swung a fist shining of blue light at the stranger, who managed to avoid it. He then jumped away from him just in time before his caped opponent could hit him with a kick. Both the caped man and the armored man charged at the young magus with their lances, but he blocked them with his spear as another blade appeared on its other end. He fended off their attacks and managed to land a slight slash on the stranger's flank. Seeing an opening, the caped man rose his halberd and tried to strike down Kazuki, who was able to swiftly block the attack. Then, he felt that force again.
He was dragged towards the armored man, who grabbed his arm and threw him against a nearby tree, and then he punched him in the face and kicked his hip, making him roll away from the tree. Another black blade appeared from the stranger's sleeve and he threw it at Kazuki's shadow, clearly visible on the green grass. Once it pierced the ground, the youth found he was unable to stand back up. He tried in vain to get back on his feet as the stranger approached him with his silver halberd.
"I know you can do better than this." the stranger sternly said, looking at him. "Don't you have a wish? Don't you have something to protect?" Kazuki could only look back at him, panting from fatigue, and move his hand to the handle of his katana. Many emotions sprung and flowed within him as he lied there, his hand on his katana, but the one that stood out the most was fear. Fear of an unfulfilled death.
"I can't die here..." he thought.
The stranger's words have reached him, because he had wishes. He had something to protect. His mind traced his past experience. He thought about his friends, the people he wanted to see again, the people he wanted to live for, and lastly, he remembered a promise he had made to the man who had brought him up, shaping him as who he was.
"Protect your humanity."
"If you do, then fight for it!" the man finally said, rising his halberd, ready to swing it down on the youth. Unable to do anything else, he unsheathed his katana to protect himself from the incoming strike, and the blade began shining of an intense white light, blinding the one wielding it as well as the two attackers.
Once the light had subsided, the three fighters opened their eyes and what Kazuki saw left him almost speechless.
In front of him was a tall man, dressed in an elegant kimono, armed with a katana and a smaller blade. The man's back was facing him, and his katana was pointed at the attacker's neck. On the caped man's face a smile appeared.
"Yes." he murmured, before swiftly jumping away from the mysterious man and thrusting his halberd in the ground. The armored man, on the other hand, charged against him, but the man was able to dodge all of his attacks, at times deflecting the lance with his shorter blade. He then turned around, swinging both of his blades against him, but the armored warrior managed to block his blow with the lance.
"Enough, Lancer." the caped man ordered, tugging down his sleeve in one swift motion and revealing a symbol carved on his right arm, the seal of the Master. "Stop fighting now." The symbol shone brilliantly as the warrior obeyed, jumping by the man's side. Then, a part of the symbol vanished from the man's arm as he extended it towards the halberd, making it vanish, then towards the black blade, which flew back in the man's sleeve.
"Stand up." he then said. Kazuki was now free to get back up on his feet, and he managed to do so, despite the pain caused from the warrior's powerful attacks, but the stranger's actions perplexed him.
"W-Why…?" he asked "Why did you do that?"
"Kazuki." the caped man replied "The sole purpose of this fight was to make you summon your Servant." The statement made Kazuki look at the man dressed in the kimono with wide eyes, unable to utter a word. He tried to make a step forward, despite the pain, but the man quickly turned to him and stopped him.
"Don't move." he said, putting his arms on the youth's shoulders. He had short, untidy brown hair and brown eyes, and a short beard adorned the lower part of his face.
"To take part in this fight is the only way to understand the meaning behind it." the caped man continued "Surely you know how this is too unusual of an occurrence." Kazuki's eyes widened again.
"He's right." he thought "This isn't supposed to happen… The Holy Grail War was..."
"You have no choice but to fight, this is your duty as a magus of this city." the caped man said, leaving the young magus even more puzzled. "Aokage Kazuki, I have faith in you. Prepare yourself accordingly, because we'll face each other again, and many more fights will come..." He then turned his back on the stupefied youth and began walking away, along with his Servant.
"Why are you doing this to me?" Kazuki asked, not understanding the reason behind his sparing and his words.
"All in due time." the man replied, not turning his head to him.
"Can I at least know your name?" the young magus asked, making the caped man turn his head to him.
"My name is Haneyama Kiyoshi." he said, before leaving the park with his Servant. Kazuki tried to make a step forward, but the man dressed in the kimono stopped him.
"Wait." he held him in place, as if to prevent him from falling. "Calm your breathing." Kazuki's quick breathing slowly slowed down, just as the man said.
"Relax." the man held him as the youth slowly closed his eyes. "And focus." A faint blue light could be seen in Kazuki's sleeve. After a rather short amount of time, Kazuki's eyes flashed open as he made a step forward before regaining his balance.
"Thank you..." he said, turning back to the man who had protected him. "So you're my Servant..."
"Yes." the man nodded, opening his hand in front of his Master "From now on, my blade will be your blade, and your fate will be my fate." The image of a card appeared on the man's hand. On it was depicted a man in a medieval armor, wielding a rapier. Under the image a word was written. "Saber".
"Saber..." Kazuki repeated, before tugging down his sleeve to look at his arm. Sure enough, a symbol was embedded on his arm, as well.
"Great." the youth murmured in a gloomy tone "Just what I needed..."
"Kazuki..." Saber said, putting his hands on his Master's shoulders and making him look at him "You have no choice but to fight now. There must be a reason behind these events, behind your call..." Kazuki simply stood silent, listening to him.
"I'm sure many questions are crowding your mind in this moment." Saber continued "I don't have the answers, but I will aid you in finding them. You can count on me." Kazuki took in his Servant's words, and then he nodded in approval.
"Thank you." he said, when someone else entered the park.
"Freeze!" a male voice said, in a stern tone, making the two turn to its source. It was a man with short dark brown hair and brown eyes, wearing glasses. Kazuki immediately recognized him
"Detective Takagi Kuro, Police Department of Misaki." the man said, showing a police badge and walking closer to them "The two of you must come with me to the police station to answer some questions."
"Yes, sir." Kazuki immediately replied, making Saber look at him. The youth looked back at his Servant, expecting him to repeat what he had said, and so Saber finally obeyed. "Yes, sir." The detective was right in front of the two of them.
"Good afternoon, Kazuki." he said, in a calmer tone. Kazuki couldn't help but give a melancholic smile.
"Good afternoon, Takagi-san." he replied "I honestly hoped to meet you again in better circumstances..."
"Me too, Kazuki." Kuro said, with a sad smile of his own, before his expression turned serious again. "Listen, after the Berserker murder string, we're fearing that another dangerous occurrence of the kind might happen very soon, and we'll need to do anything in our power to prevent it." He then glanced at Saber before turning back to the young magus.
"You might have some answers that will be able to help us, especially since it appears you've just gotten involved in something significant..." he continued. "So you'll have to tell us what you know. Of course, the information you will give us will be strictly confidential." Kazuki nodded, showing that he was willing to cooperate with the detective.
"Please, come with me." Kuro said, as he began to walk in the direction of the police station. Kazuki and Saber followed him.