Fate-profaned offering

by VitaVitaAR

The Holy Grail War. A free-for-all battle to the death between seven pairs of Masters and Servants. Matsushita Ai, at the behest of the organization that has cared for her for ten years, has been sent back to her birthplace to participate in such a clash. Together with her Saber-class Servant, Okita Souji, she will descend into a violent conflict in which there can be one victor.

3. Chapter 3

Her heart was hammering in her chest.

The girl who had been so nice to her, just yesterday. The student council president who seemed to be so welcoming to her. She now stood before her as an enemy Master in the Holy Grail War.

"… Maybe I should have expected it, but I guess I was hoping that a girl like you wouldn't be my opponent," Tsubaki said with a sigh, quietly folding her arms across her chest as she did, "But the timing was too coincidental. A Matsushita moving back into the Matsushita mansion right before the Holy Grail War…"

She glanced towards Saber, who was firmly glaring at her.

"I guess it was a bit naïve of me to think that it wasn't connected."

Ai managed to compose herself enough to speak, stammering.

"I-Inoue-san… y-you're… you're really…" she trailed off. She couldn't believe it, she couldn't believe that the only person who spoke to her on her first day at the new high school was now her opponent. Vaguely, memories of other magus families in this city surfaced in her mind, but it had been so long since she had lived here she simply couldn't recall their names. Had the Inoue been one of them? And her Servant…

"A Master?" questioned Tsubaki, "It's true. I… can't say I really want to fight you, Matsushita-san. It's not like I've known you for very long, but… well, it doesn't matter at this point. We're enemies."

She sighed again.

"But let's take pride in this battle as magi," she said, raising her head with a forced smile, "Our Servants will clash, and whatever the outcome of the battle, I don't want to say that I regretted it."

Ai's hands trembled as she watched the black-haired girl's eyes travel once again to Saber, and then Lancer as well.

"Our Servants are a step ahead of me. I didn't want to kill any other Masters."

"I wouldn't allow you to," Saber interjected firmly, her gaze far more intense then it had been just moments before, her eyes narrowing.

"Of course," replied Tsubaki, before turning on her heel and proceeding back towards the lance-wielding night. Weakly, Ai found herself raising her hand, reaching out towards the taller girl.

"I… Inoue-san…"

"Matsushita," the tanned girl began, "From here on out, we're enemies in this Holy Grail War."

Slowly, the small brunette's hand fell limply at her side. It… it had been foolish of her anyway, hadn't it? To think that she may have had a friend. Of course, something like this was the only outcome.

"… Master, whatever you may be thinking," Saber started, "Now is the time for you to stand back. This is a battle between Servants."

Ai nodded, raising her head as she did. Tsubaki… Tsubaki was her enemy, now. She had a duty to fulfill. She was here for a reason. She was going to do this in the name of her organization.

In the name of her family.

"… You're… you're right, Saber," she replied, quietly. The glasses-wearing girl took a deep breath.

"S… so… show me what you can do."

Saber nodded.

Her katana gleamed in the moonlight.

By this point, Tsubaki had reached a safe distance behind Lancer, who raised her cavalry lance.

"I may not know your name, but I can tell by the way you carry yourself," Lancer commented, "You are a master of the sword. I'm honored to begin this Grail War with such an opponent."

Ai watched, her heartbeat growing ever faster. This was… this was really about to happen. Saber and Lancer were really about to fight.

"I could say the same of you, Lancer," the platinum blonde samurai responded, "Even though I do not know your name, you are the very image of a skilled knight. So I won't hold back."

The knight nodded.

"Neither will I."

What happened next was incredibly difficult to follow. Ai's eyes were rooted to the two Servants, and yet she still had trouble understanding what had transpired. In an instant, Lancer had cleared the distance between the two combatants. Ai had felt the air pressure from the thrust of the knight's lance, even from this distance. And yet, Saber had responded with incredible speed, and in a shower of sparks from the clash of their weapons, she had moved to the side in the blink of an eye!

The girl's vision was almost incapable of registering what followed, as Saber's katana flashed forward in a thrust that Lancer was only just able to block in another shower of sparks! This battle… the power and speed at play… she almost couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was beyond anything she had even experienced in her life.

So, this was a battle between Servants?

The two warriors parted, their weapons glinting in the light of the moon.

"… That speed," Lancer said, eyeing Saber's katana as she did, "I've never clashed with a faster opponent!"

"It's nice to hear a fellow warrior say such things. Your strength is impressive, as well, Lancer," Saber replied.

Ai couldn't make out what followed. To her, both Servants suddenly seemed to blur, and then there was the briefest flash of light and sparks as their weapons clashed once more. She thought she could make out Saber's katana sliding across the surface of Lancer's lance from underneath before having it forced away. The tip of Lancer's weapon bit into the road, rending a large gash through the concrete in an instant!

The power on display was almost incomprehensible to Ai. A thrust from Lancer's weapon was deftly dodged by Saber in a display of blinding speed, but she still had to block a followup sweep from the weapon that sent her skidding across the ground. But without even a moment's pause she lunged forward again, staying close to try and keep as much pressure on as she could!

It was completely unreal. Saber's movements were lightning fast, and the attacks from both Servants were causing bursts of air pressure even from this distance. It was terrifying. Ai was absolutely terrified, yet entranced.

Moonlight flashed off of the girl samurai's blade with each motion, as she struck again and again. She was the faster of the two, Ai felt certain, based on what little she could see. But Lancer… Lancer was a powerful fighter in full armor. Each one of her blows was enough to create blasts of wind from the sheer force of her thrusts. Again and again, the Servants clashed, and again and again they parted. It was an impossible battle underway in front of her very eyes.

Saber's katana locked against Lancer's cavalry lance, and for a few moments, both weapons simply ground against one another. The tip of Lancer's weapon was unable to threaten Saber, and yet Saber was incapable of pushing closer to attack from this angle.

"Truly, the samurai are warriors worthy of respect," said the blonde knight, pressing the rounded side of her lance against the swordswoman's katana. Saber stepped back, but slammed her foot down to prevent herself from losing any further ground.

"As are those who have obtained knighthood, Lancer!" Saber declared, even as their weapons shuddered against one another.

"To hold back would be an insult, Saber. Therefore…"

There was a sound like a hurricane, as light suddenly swirled around Lancer's cavalry lance before erupting outwards. Saber's eyes widened as she stepped back, disengaging from the conflict just in time to be sent hurtling away!

"Ah?! Saber!" Ai's eyes widened and she took a step forward, one hand outstretched as she watched her Servant hurtle towards the nearby wall. The impact of the girl samurai's body caused the concrete to crumble, casting up a cloud of dust. Had she been hurt!? She had to have been, there was no way… Had she already failed? Had Saber been injured already?!

There was little time to think of such things. Lance blazing, the knight's cape fluttered in the wind as she tore towards the spot where Saber had fallen, weapon raised and ready to pierce the dust cloud and the girl within.

Seconds before impact, Saber suddenly darted out of the cloud to the left, her blade flashing with moonlight as she spun on her heel and thrust her blade forward! Even from this distance, Ai could see it bite through Lancer's upper arm, slicing through her sleeve and the flesh underneath to deliver a shallow cut! She hadn't landed a direct blow, but she'd managed to injure the enemy Servant!

Lancer's response was to thrust her weapon forward, nearly running Saber through, but the samurai swiftly darted back out of range.

But now Ai could see it from here, that Saber had been injured in the blast as well, blood staining her right side. It didn't look serious, but… still, this was the scariest experience Ai had ever been through. She didn't want to see Saber keep getting hurt, she didn't want to see her be defeated here… she didn't want to see Saber die!

But all the small brunette could do here was stand and tremble in her own impotence. There was no way she could assist in this fight… except to continue to supply her Servant mana. That was helpful, wasn't it?

And yet it didn't feel like it… What's more, Tsubaki was standing off to the side and watching as well, still looking confident… She still couldn't believe that the student council president was one of the enemy Masters. Who else could be? It could be anyone, couldn't it?!

The light around Lancer's weapon faded, as she stabbed with it once more, driving it directly for Saber's chest. There were no more words between the two Servants. Both of them were entirely, completely focused on their battle. The tip of the knight's lance tore into the wall when Saber dodged, but instead of simply pulling it out and adjusting her aim, Lancer dragged her weapon through the concrete and swung it to attempt to strike the samurai!

And even as she did that, Saber used the flat of her blade to deflect her opponent's blow, the weapons sliding along one another once more… until a sudden burst of strength from Lancer sent Saber stumbling away!

Ai had no idea who had the upper hand. She had no idea if Saber was going to win or lose. She had no idea what was going to happen next. She couldn't predict any part of this battle and that fact was terrifying to her. It wasn't as if she had been good at guessing anyway, but this was something far more serious, far more dire, then a simple guessing game.

As Lancer's cavalry lance was thrust forward once more, Saber almost seemed to disappear for an instant, reappearing too close to be in Lancer's strike range!

"Ah?!" the blonde knight exclaimed in surprise, unprepared for the sudden move! Saber's katana struck downward, cleaving the air before biting into Lancer's chestplate! But the armor prevented it from cutting deep, and instead of cutting through the enemy's body it instead left a thin gash in her white and gold armor.

Another burst of light sent Saber hurtling back, somersaulting backwards before catching herself this time, with no wall in the way.

"… The capability to reduce the space between yourself and the enemy in an instant," stated Lancer, glancing down at her armor as she did, "With every moment, you become more and more of a worthy opponent, Saber."

"Your ability to react to my attack was incredible, Lancer," said the samurai, "I may have gashed your armor, but you were able to knock me away before I could take advantage of that!"

Even the moments where both her Servant and the enemy stopped to compliment one another were tense for Ai. No, not simply tense. They were nerve-wracking. What could possibly happen next?!

Gripping her lance in both hands, the knight slid her feet into a ready stance. Saber followed, her gleaming katana shimmering as she raised it parallel to her head, squaring up for another strike.

And then…!

Both Servants stopped in their tracks. When Lancer glanced to her left, Saber's eyes followed. Confused, trembling, Ai's gazed followed theirs as well…

And fell on the sight of a small girl. She had to have been no older then nine or ten, distinctive silver hair and gold eyes immediately notable. Otherwise, she was wearing what seemed to be a beret, with a white shirt and long blue skirt.

There… there was a witness?

"… Damn it," Ai heard Tsubaki say, "This is all my fault for starting a fight here. Lancer, I'm sorry to ask this of you, but you're going to have to catch her."

"… Yes, Master," replied the knight, turning to face the little girl fully. Eyes widening, the witness turned to run.

"I-Inoue-san!" cried Ai, stepping forward as Saber hesitatingly lowered her blade. She… she couldn't believe that the friendly student council president she'd spoken to the other day would ever order the death of a child. Even if they were a witness, that didn't mean they had to be killed, did it? It couldn't. She didn't want to kill in the name of keeping the war a secret.

"I'm not going to kill her, Matsushita," replied the black-haired girl, "'A magus should close her heart off' is easy to say, but there's no need to kill a child when I can modify her memories."

The small brunette relaxed slightly. It was the outcome she had hoped for, at least. In a war that had to remain a secret, witnesses couldn't be allowed to spread the story, no matter what. But… that didn't mean they had to kill them if they could help it, right?

The knight darted towards the slowly fleeing figure.

"… Master," Saber began, "It's not as if I don't trust Lancer's judgement, but… I'd like to make sure that little girl isn't hurt in the process."

"A-ah? Um… o-of course, Saber…" Ai responded with a nod. Saber returned the gesture, but as she moved to follow Lancer(who had just caught up with the witness almost immediately)…

A trio of gunshots rang out. Saber broke into a sprint, covering the distance between herself and Lancer in an instant. Ai could see a spurt of crimson as one of the bullets struck Lancer in the upper arm, even as she attempted to dodge! Before the other two shots could make contact, Saber had intervened, deflecting the gunshots away.

But who had fired?!

It was an easily-answered question.

Standing atop a lamppost was a young man with blonde hair, wearing what looked unmistakably like a cowboy hat. In fact, all his attire looked like it belonged in America's Wild West.

There was no way he was anything but another Servant.

"My my, can't say I expected that," he commented, with a nod of his head. He tipped his hat. "Howdy."

He nodded towards the little girl, who quickly got to her feet and started running again.

"You… you used this as a chance to interrupt our duel!?" snapped Lancer, lowering her hand from her wounded shoulder to raise her weapon with both. Saber on the other hand, said nothing, instead keeping her silver-gold gaze on the newly-arrived Servant.

A Servant that uses guns? Ai didn't know such a thing was possible. Who was he? She couldn't even be certain of a class, yet…

"Now now, it wasn't my idea," the cowboy Servant said, his revolver trained on Saber and Lancer as he waved one hand, "I woulda been happy to watch you two ladies duke it out. Those were some mighty fine skills on display there. But there was a plan here, 'n I wasn't about to go ignorin' it."

"… How long have you been watching?" Saber questioned, her katana raised and ready as her gaze remained on the gun-wielding Servant perched on the lamppost.

"Hmmm… Think I caught the start of your fight," he answered, looking thoughtful, "I've been watchin' ever since then. I was told to be cautious, after all, 'n I have no problem with layin' low. Not sure I'm a big fan of usin' her as bait, though…"

He sighed.

"I'd like to hang around 'n chat, but my Master's the cautious type. I'd wanted to test my aim against the both of you, but I guess that's gonna have to wait."

"You…!"

Before Lancer could say anything more, the gun-wielding Servant dissipated into gold light, fading away entirely as he entered spirit form.

'Using her as bait'? What… what had the enemy Servant meant by that? Was the little girl part of whatever plan had been formed between the cowboy and his Master? Ai had no idea.

Saber and Lancer lowered their weapons.

"Lancer!"

Tsubaki sprinted over to her Servant, peering at her injured arm.

"Ah… It's all the way through… I'm sorry, I can't fully heal this without a little more time," she said with a frown, before glancing towards Saber.

Ai made her way over as quickly as she could, as well. What was going to happen now? Were the Servants going to begin their duel all over again?

"… It's alright, Lancer," said Saber with a smile, "I'll let you recover. It'd spoil our match if you were injured due to someone else's intervention, wouldn't it?"

"I…" Lancer trailed off for a moment, "… Thank you, Saber. I will most certainly finish my duel with you."

Saber nodded.

"I'm looking forward to it!" she said, brightly. It was… almost surreal. They'd both been fighting, but now Saber was acting so cheerful again… how did she manage it? Even considering she was a warrior whose life had been filled with conflict, to bounce back so quickly after such a ferocious battle… Ai couldn't even begin to fathom it. She was still shaking, trembling as she watched the two.

Tsubaki let out a sigh, but she seemed somewhat relieved. It looked like she was more concerned about mending Lancer's arm than anything else.

"… Well… you heard them, Matsushita," she began, glancing towards the small brunette, "We'll have to finish this fight later."

She turned away, Lancer following her. Soon enough, they had made their way off down the road.

Pink lights like cherry blossom petals fluttered across Saber's body again, and she was once again clad in the casual outfit they'd purchased hours earlier.

"… Th-that… that was…" Ai stammered, trembling.

"… Whew, Lancer's a really strong opponent!" Saber declared, cheerfully, though her tone became serious moments afterwards, "I wish we could have figured out what that cowboy Servant's class was, at least… But I'm looking forward to a rematch!"

"… S-Saber, I… I…"

"… Ah," the girl samurai turned towards her Master, "… That was pretty scary for you, wasn't it?"

All that Ai could do was slowly nod, shuddering. Scary was an understatement, it had been terrifying. Even worse was the fact that Tsubaki was one of her enemies. Did that mean anyone in her class, anyone in the entire school even, could potentially be an enemy Master? The thought of that made her feel like paranoia was the only way to approach this. At the same time though… Saber's skills had been incredible. She was so fast, she'd displayed so much skill, she had done things that Ai frankly hadn't been able to comprehend in the battle with Lancer.

At the very least, based on her Servant's skills, she felt somewhat hopeful. To some extent.

"I'm here to protect you, Master," said Saber, giving the small brunette a confident smile, "So you don't have to be scared. I'll keep you safe!"

That did genuinely feel somewhat reassuring, now… There was a difference between learning your Servant is a skilled fighter and actually seeing it first-hand. The battle she had witnessed far surpassed humanity. It surpassed anything she had ever seen before. As they began to walk again, the image of the fight played out over and over again in her head.

Ai had witnessed her first battle between Servants, and it had been the most frightening and awe-inspiring event she had ever seen in her entire life.

The rest of the walk home was thankfully uneventful. It was much later then Ai had originally planned to return home, and there was absolutely no way she was going to manage to sleep properly any time soon. When they arrived, Marianne was at the door.

"Oh, my, Saber-chan~ You look quite delightful in that outfit~" declared the maid, brightly, as both Master and Servant entered the mansion after removing their shoes.

"Er, thank you!" replied the girl samurai awkwardly. Ah… she really was so pretty, though… even during the battle, she had looked beautiful. So wasn't it natural that she looked beautiful in this outfit, and any other outfit?

At the very least, that's what Ai thought at the moment. But Saber seemed to feel awkward about being complimented… At least when it came to her looks. She was filled with pride by comments about her abilities, but her looks were another matter entirely.

"I was just preparing dinner, ojou-sama," Marianne said, smiling cheerily… until she noticed the fact that Ai was still shaking. "… Ojou-sama, did something happen?"

".. I… u-um…" the small brunette stammered. Memories of the fight rose in her mind once again… she wasn't sure how she could handle another battle like that. But… she had to, it's why she was here… It was why she had summoned Saber. It was all for the purposes of winning the Holy Grail War. So she had to figure out how to handle seeing another fight like that, being so close to such a battle…

Especially since their next opponent could very well not be as honorable as Lancer was.

"… She witnessed her first battle in the war," Saber finally explained for her.

"Oh… I see," the maid responded, nodding.

Ai couldn't help but feel thankful for her Servant's decision to explain, but almost immediately afterwards she remembered that Saber had been injured.

"A-ah, Saber, your i-injury!"

Without thinking, Ai suddenly grasped at Saber's shirt and raised it up.

"E-eh?!"

But beneath… there was no sign of an injury. Nothing but pale, smooth, soft skin.

"M-Master, th-that was really sudden!" Saber complained, blushing and pushing her shirt back down. "I-I know you helped me pick out outfits earlier, but that doesn't mean you can just take off my shirt…"

"I… I-I wasn't…" quite embarrassed herself, Ai's hands dropped at her sides as she averted her eyes, "B-but… you were hurt… I-I saw he blood, um…"

"… Oh… it wasn't that bad, Servants like me have spiritual bodies," the girl samurai explained, "A minor injury won't last too long!"

"… O-oh, um… o-oh," the small girl fidgeted, feeling rather stupid for failing to consider that fact. Of course Servants were spiritual bodies. They were Heroic Spirits, after all. Their physical forms were composed out of mana. Naturally minor injuries didn't pose much of a threat to someone like that. "I… I-I'm sorry…"

At this, Marianne giggled.

"And here, I was worried ojou-sama would be practically catatonic after something like that," she stated, brightly, "It's not as if the Holy Grail War isn't serious, but there's nothing you can do about it right now other than plan, ojou-sama. So why don't you and Saber-chan have some dinner before deciding on your future strategy~?"

At this point, there wasn't much to do if Ai had even wanted to argue about that. And she truly didn't. She was hungry, and scared, and just wanted to do something normal. She was still remembering the blood seeping through the fabric of Saber's kimono… even if she possessed a transient body, even if she was summoned for the purposes of fighting in the Holy Grail War, was it truly okay to have the silver-gold-eyed girl fight for her like this? Was it right? It… it had to be, didn't it? That was what the entire ritual of the Holy Grail War was built upon.

"You don't have to apologize for being concerned, Master," Saber said, her tone at least somewhat reassuring. "… But I'd like it if you apologized for undressing me so suddenly in front of Marianne-san!"

"A-ah, um, hawawawa…"

Snapped out of her more morose thoughts by Saber's abrupt request, Ai tried to compose herself.

"Oh, believe me, I didn't mind at all~" commented the maid, happily, "Fufufu~"

"S-sorry… u-um… I… um… I w-wasn't thinking…" she finally stammered, shifting quietly from one foot to the other. Saber gave her a smile.

"That's all I needed," replied the girl samurai brightly, "Marianne-san, is the food ready?"

"Almost~" responded the maid. "It's nearly done, you came home just in time."

The mundanity of the situation was surreal. This was after Saber's battle with Lancer, and yet now things seemed almost normal again as she slowly headed into the dining hall. Even after eating, and preparing for bed, Ai couldn't help but continue to think about it. About what would happen next, what would occur in the course of the Holy Grail War.

As she got into bed, she couldn't stop thinking about what terrible things could happen in these battles.

Even knowing Saber was guarding the door, it took a long time before Ai was able to sleep.

---

The next morning was a rather groggy one. Ai awoke slowly, having taken quite some time to get to sleep, and was helped with her morning routine by Charlotte.

When she went into the bathroom, however… she stopped dead in her tracks, surprised, when she saw Saber's pale form occupying the stall.

Her creamy-white, smooth skin, her slender back… the heat in Ai's cheeks rose higher as her eyes travelled downward from the Servant's shoulders to her hips as water ran down that slim frame…

It was at that moment that Saber looked back over her shoulder. Her hair, out of its usual ponytail, was soaking wet and hanging loosely. Noticing the presence of her Master, the girl samurai cocked her head slightly at the sudden intrusion, her cheeks only faintly red.

"Master? Marianne-san said I could use the shower."

At that, blushing furiously, Ai backed out of the bathroom and shut the door. Ah… her Servant's body was really… it was far, far too embarrassing for the short brunette. There was no way she could handle having seen that for any longer.

On the other side of the door, even over the sound of running water, she heard her Servant's confused "Eeeehhh?"

She instead decided to wait, quietly, flustered, until Saber exited the shower. Once she did, apologizing for having failed to exit the shower before Ai woke up, the small brunette quickly continued her morning routine without responding. It was just… too embarrassing for her to talk about it. She wanted to try and do something more normal during the day, today, even if it served the dual purpose of continuing to familiarize Saber with the town as well.

Breakfast was a fairly traditional meal, once again curteousy of Marianne. As with all of the maid's cooking, it was delicious. Saber looked overjoyed with every bite, which… well, there was no way Ai could consider that as anything but cute as she watched.

Eventually, they had finished their meal and gotten ready to go. Ai hesitated a little, before reminding herself that there was almost no chance that they would be attacked during the day. With this fact in mind, she managed to calm her pounding heartbeat and set foot outside, once again leading Saber through town.

"Eh-heh… sorry about that, earlier," Saber said as they departed, scratching the back of her head with a somewhat awkward smile, "Like I said, er, I thought I'd be done before you woke up… it was kind of embarrassing."

"U-um… i-it's okay," said Ai, weakly, blushing deeper. It looked like Saber had no idea just how much that particular experience had affected the small brunette, to be honest…

It was a rather hot day, and while Ai didn't feel very good about that fact, she couldn't help but notice that Saber didn't seem bothered at all. Was it because she was wearing light clothing again? Maybe, but it was more likely that a spiritual being such as a Servant simply wasn't bothered by the temperature. For a moment, the glasses-wearing girl felt a sudden spike of jealousy at the thought. If she could simply ignore hot or cold temperatures… Ah, it was some distant fantasy, wasn't it?

The shopping district was crowded once more, just as it had been yesterday. Ai wasn't really a fan of crowds like this at all, but for the sake of some level of normalcy she had managed to put aside her anxiety for the time being. Saber, on the other hand, mostly seemed excited about the chance to visit the bakery.

"Aaah, that taiyaki looked so good… and they had all kinds of other pastries, too!" said the platinum blonde girl excitedly as she began to approach. After a moment, however, she paused and turned to face her Master.

"… You're really okay with buying food for me, though? Even though I don't really need to eat?" she asked.

"Um, it's fine, Saber… I've got a lot of money so it's not like I can't afford it, eh-heheh…"

To be completely honest, the small brunette couldn't deny there were certain other ulterior motives to her choice to go to the bakery. Not only for the sake of some normalcy, not only to familiarize Saber with the town…

But also because Saber looked really cute when she was enjoying some food.

Soon enough, they had reached the bakery, and Saber rushed ahead excitedly to look in the windows. It was really… it was really so very cute. When her Servant wasn't being a serious warrior, she acted like some really cute, cheerful schoolgirl type… It was almost enough to make her forget what she was really looking at. To forget that this girl was also an incredibly, impossibly skilled fighter, even after seeing her do battle against Lancer and deflect bullets so swiftly, was almost too easy.

But as her Servant cheerfully attempted to decide which pastry she wanted to try, someone approached Ai from behind…

"Matsushita-san, I need to talk to you."

It was Tsubaki's voice. Flinching, Ai swiftly turned around, eyes widening at the sight of the other, taller girl. She was clad in a short-sleeved shirt and skirt, and beside her stood… Ah… it was Lancer. But as opposed to her armor, Lancer was wearing a white sundress and a straw hat with a wide brim.

"I-I-Inoue-san…" Ai stammered, eyes drifting between the two as her hands shook. Memories of the fight from last night rose once more in her mind. Even if Lancer had promised not to attack her…

Almost immediately, Saber was again at her side.

"This is not about our rematch, Saber," Lancer said, glancing towards her Master.

"Ah?" Saber looked confused, looking between the knight and Tsubaki for a moment. Ai was confused too, what reason could they have for meeting here during the day? If they were enemies, didn't that mean that they were only going to meet in battle?

"Can we talk somewhere private? Including our Servants, of course," Tsubaki said, glancing towards Saber as she did, "At least, somewhere more out of the way."

After a moment of hesitation, Ai nodded. This… seemed like it was important, if Tsubaki came to talk to her during the day. And, well, right now Lancer didn't look nearly as threatening. In fact, she… looked pretty cute, wearing that white sundress and straw hat like that… her blonde braid was so pretty, too.

After a few moments, the four girls had found their way to a nearby café(Saber casting a wistful glance towards the bakery in the process). While it would normally be more populated, there weren't many people getting lunch at this time of the day, so it allowed for relative solitude.

"S-so, um…" Ai began, before taking a deep breath to compose herself. She couldn't keep acting scared right now… this was a serious discussion, right? "So what's going on? Why did you want to talk to me?"

"Well… I guess I should start from the beginning," Tsubaki said, with a sigh, "This is something I've been worried about for a while, but I didn't start to make the connection until now."

Ai waited patiently. Saber was listening… but also looking the café's menu over as she did.

"Two days before you came to school for the first time, a girl by the name of Yumimura Saori suddenly stopped coming to school," the tanned girl started, "You might think that she's just been sick… but the thing is, her parents haven't seen her, either. No-one has seen her for four days, now."

Ai's eyes widened. That was horrible. Had she been kidnapped? At the same time, though… what did this have to do with the Holy Grail War? It was something the police should take care of, right? She felt guilty for thinking of it that way, but she didn't know what she could do, even considering she was a magus and she had Saber now.

"Yumimura-san was last seen leaving school five days ago," Tsubaki continued, "No-one has seen her since then. It's… I hate thinking about it. I might be a magus, but thinking about the fact that one of my fellow students has been kidnapped, or worse…"

The black-haired girl frowned and folded her arms.

"I can't stand the idea that someone did that to her," she concluded. Ai nodded weakly, it wasn't something nice to contemplate, but she still didn't quite understand how this connected to the war. "But I'm not here to drag you into my concerns, Matsushita-san. It was about a day after she vanished that I noticed something else was out of the ordinary, and last night on the way home, Lancer and I discovered something that confirmed my suspicions."

Ai hesitated, before managing to speak once more.

"What… what did you find?" she asked.

Tsubaki reached into her bag, drawing out a piece of paper. On that paper was something the small brunette immediately recognized, though she had never seen this particular one before. It was a rune, one used to produce some form of magical effect. She knew of runes, and could identify some, but this one in particular didn't look like any she had seen before.

"It's the second one I'd seen," explained Tsubaki, "The first was behind the school. I tried to erase them, but there's something powerful keeping them in place, preventing them from being completely destroyed. If I had to make a guess… I'd suspect Caster is behind them."

If Caster was behind the runes… that would make sense, wouldn't it? But what were they for?

"If it was Caster, then what are the runes for?" Saber asked, voicing her Master's thoughts.

"I'm… not certain, but they could be made for constructing some kind of bounded field across a wide area," the black-haired girl responded, "They placed their runes along the leylines in the city, but I think I've delayed them by trying to erase them."
Tsubaki huffed.

"It doesn't matter what the spell is attempting to do, I can't abide something like this. Casting a bounded field across such a massive area is going to catch a lot of innocent people in it," the student council president added, "And what's more, I'm convinced the timing of Yumimura-san's disappearance isn't a coincidence."

Ai was silent for a moment, before taking a deep breath.

"I'm glad that you're a good person, Inoue-san…" she said, finally. It was true… it was a relief to know. Not just this, but the previous night. When she had thought there was a witness, instead of setting out to kill her, Tsubaki instead intended to rewrite her memories and let her go.

"Eh? Er…" the tanned girl smiled weakly, "I try, I guess… Even if being a mage has nothing to do with being a good person. But I don't think it's impossible to be both."

"She is a Master I am proud to serve under," asserted Lancer, "Had she been a wicked person, I couldn't have tolerated her."

"I'm glad, eh-heheh…" Ai laughed awkwardly. It was bad enough being an enemy with the first person she'd talked to in her new school… but at least she was genuinely a good person. But there were more important matters to discuss. "… But about these runes, um… what do you want me to do?"

"It's simple," answered Tsubaki, "Four sets of eyes are better then two, aren't they? We'll put off our conflict and track down as many of these runes as we can, so we can try and weaken as many of them as we can. I don't think that we can erase them, especially if it's Caster, but we can stop them from activating for a little while."

The girl smiled.

"That can buy us enough time to track them down."

As nervous as Ai was, she had to admit to herself that all of this made sense. Even if they had been made enemies by the circumstances of the Holy Grail War, she had no reason to doubt Tsubaki's words at this point. In fact, if anything, the fact that she came here and explained all of this made her seem more trustworthy.

"My Master can use her familiars to search for more of these symbols, too," proposed Saber. Ah… Ai felt a little foolish. She'd mentioned her cat familiars the night before, and yet she hadn't even begun to think of how useful they would be in this situation. Saber had managed to think of that possibility before she had, even though she'd only learned they existed less than a day ago.

"Eh-heheh, um, that's right…" said the small brunette, fidgeting and adjusting her glasses, "I can send them out across the city…"

"Even better," replied Tsubaki, with a nod, "Good. We'll be able to keep the spell from activating, at least. After lunch, I'll take you to the schoolyard so we can disable the ones I know about first."

Indeed, after lunch(both Saber and Lancer ate quite a bit), both pairs of girls departed for the high school first.

"Have you found anything out about that Servant from last night?" Saber asked Lancer. The hat-wearing knight shook her head.

"It's been a rather short time between then and now," responded Lancer, "I think it's somewhat unwise to believe we'd have discovered more information so quickly."

Saber gave an apologetic smile.

"Regardless, he's either Archer, Rider, or Assassin," Lancer continued, "He exhibited too much finesse to be Berserker, and his weapons are unfitting of Caster."

"He seemed to come from the American west," Saber offered, "If that's the case, I think those probably are the most likely classes. I'm still angry with him for interrupting our duel!"

It was strange… Saber and Lancer were talking so amiably, like they hadn't been engaged in battle last night attempting to kill each other. Was it because both of them accepted their roles as Servants? Because they had fought honorably and agreed on conditions of battle? It was something Ai had a difficult time understanding.

"The both of you sound like best friends," commented Tsubaki, as she lead the way, "Lancer, don't forget that you'll have to fight her eventually."

"Worry not, Master," responded be blonde knight, adjusting her hat, "I would never forget my duty. But Saber is an honorable and challenging opponent, worthy of amiable treatment. And as for the moment we stand as allies."

Saber glanced at Ai, and then gave her own opinion.

"Lancer is someone I can respect," she explained, "So I want to treat her well while I can. I know we're going to have to fight, and I'm looking forward to it, but that doesn't mean that we can't respect one another as warriors!"

"Matsushita-san," Tsubaki addressed the short brunette, with a giggle, "I think your Servant has fallen for mine."

"E-eh?" Ai blinked, before looking towards Saber. It sounded silly, of course, but for the briefest moment it had the glasses-wearing girl wondering if there was even the smallest trace of truth behind it.

"Eeeeehhhh?!" exclaimed the girl samurai, "The relationship of respect between honorable warriors, it's… er… i-it's not like that!"

"Oh? What about you, Lancer?" the student council president continued, glancing towards her own Servant as she did, "Are you getting a crush on your first enemy in this war?"

"…"

Blushing in embarrassment, the blonde knight looked away. Ai couldn't help but think it was really pretty cute… was the reason that Tsubaki brought this subject up because she wanted to see things like that?

"… M… Master, you know that's preposterous," she replied, "I do not understand why you insist on saying ridiculous things. It… it is the only flaw I can find with being your Servant."

"Aw, you shouldn't be like that," Tsubaki responded, giving an exaggerated pout, "I'm just curious about my Servant's feelings!"

"… I do not consider such things, Master."

It was another surreal moment. Just last night, Ai had witnessed Saber and Lancer fighting furiously, trying to kill one another, but now the two of them were talking like nothing had happened. And Tsubaki was teasing them… was this really what she should have expected?

And then she felt it.

The air felt… thick somehow. Heavy… She hadn't noticed it before. As they approached the school, there was an oppressive sensation.
"Master," began Saber, looking straight towards the high school as she did, "This feeling…"

"The rune is active again," Tsubaki stated, grimly, "That's not good. It didn't take long for it to reactivate at all. I suppose if our enemy is Caster, we should have expected something like this."

"It feels like… like the air is changing…" Ai said. It was almost like it was becoming harder to breath.

"At this point, the average person wouldn't be feeling a thing," Tsubaki added, as they began to cut around the right side of the school, "But a magus… it might not be harmful yet, but we can tell it's there. You can feel it too, can't you, Lancer?"

"It's like the air has become thick," replied the knight, nodding, "Whatever this spell may be, it must be halted as soon as possible."

Saber nodded.

The four of them began to make their way across the track field, towards the shed where the sports equipment was held. Ai hadn't been back here, given she'd only attended one day, and part of her hoped she could somehow avoid it. Strenuous physical activity had never been her strongsuit.

But today she was here for something much more important.

Around the back of the building was a sickly, green rune, inscribed onto the corrugated metal walls of the shed. Just looking at it, somehow, felt nauseating…

"… I… I don't know anything about magecraft," Saber began, glaring towards the symbol as she did, "But even I can tell that's dangerous."

Tsubaki didn't respond, instead simply kneeling near the rune. There was a faint humming sound as she raised her palm towards it, a light appearing from the center of her hand as she narrowed her eyes, focusing on the rune. After a few moments, the sickly green faded into a dull grey, and the glow disappeared entirely.

"… There. Do you see now?" Tsubaki said, standing up straight and facing Ai.

The short girl understood. It was a matter of nullifying the runes, since they couldn't remove them entirely.

"We have to stop the runes from activating for as long as we can," she replied, "… But if we can't find Caster quickly… we'll have to keep coming out to them all, won't we?"

"There's no guarantee we'll keep being able to stop them, as well," Tsubaki added, "So we need to find Caster and defeat them as soon as we can."

"Y-yes…" the pressure had gone up exponentially for Ai, now. On one hand, she knew she had to do this. For the sake of protecting the innocent people the spell could affect, but also for preserving the secrecy of Magecraft. Such a massive spell coming to completion would be impossible to miss. But doubts were creeping into her mind, now. If they couldn't find Caster, what would happen when the runes activated? There was no way of knowing.

"I'll find Caster, so don't worry about that!" declared Saber with a confident smile.

Ai wished she could have some of that self-assuredness.

But right now, what was important was to try and make sure that they nullified all of these sigils that they could find. The bigger the hole they made in the network of runes, the longer time they would have to track down Caster. Even if she wasn't feeling very confident, at least Ai knew what she had to do in order to ensure that the bounded field didn't activate sooner than later.

From the school, they headed to the park. On the opposite end of the park to where Ai and Saber had visited the other day, a rune was placed at the base of a large, old tree, obscured somewhat by the brush. This time, Ai handled it, feeling the mana flowing through her circuits as she subverted the rune and disabled it, at least for now.

"Now… your familiars, Matsushita-san?" Tsubaki asked, as she watched the small brunette straighten.

"Ah… yes!"

Ai took a deep breath and focused for a moment. She simply had to call all her familiars back to this location, to give them the image of what they would be looked for… A few moments later, a large number of small, white cats suddenly flooded into the park. Ai had created a total of a dozen cat familiars, and they soon had surrounded her.

"Wow… Master, they're… they're all so cute!" declared Saber, excitedly, kneeling and reaching out to touch one of the familiars. It didn't pay much attention to her, instead entirely focused on Ai.

"Inoue-san, can you give me the picture again?" Ai asked, glancing towards the taller girl as she knelt within her crowd of familiars. Reaching out, she stroked one of the cats behind the ears, and it purred. If there was one thing she was confident in, it was her ability to command and direct her familiars. Tsubaki handed her the sheet of paper, and she showed it to the swarm of felines.

Soon enough, they all filtered away, spreading out across the city. Including the one Saber had been petting. The girl samurai looked visibly disappointed, but she quickly straightened.

"So they're looking for the runes too?" the platinum blonde swordswoman asked. Ai nodded.

"They can get into places we can't, too," she said, "So even if we can't reach the runes, at least we'll know where they are…"

"That doesn't mean we can relax," insisted Tsubaki, "We need to start searching for more runes."

Lancer folded her arms. "I agree, being idle because your familiars are performing their search is absolutely foolish."

"I-I wasn't thinking about that, eh-heh…" Ai fidgeted a little as she stood up straight. She really hadn't been. It was far too important to ensure that this spell didn't activate, after all. Even if she wasn't exactly a fan of the heat and was nervous about just about everything someone could possibly be nervous about, the small brunette was hardly about to abandon such an important cause.

"Um… so where should we start looking first?" she asked, looking up at Tsubaki.

"We need to focus on the locations that make the most sense," the tanned girl began, "That is, along the leylines. They'll most likely be concentrated across them."

"R-right…"

From there onward, the two Masters and their Servants began to scan the town, tracing the local leylines as best as they were able to. Indeed, just as Tsubaki had suspected, there were runes found in the locations that corresponded to them.

And… there were quite a lot of them. Not simply ones that the girls found on their own, but others that Ai's familiars had alerted them to. None of the symbols were completely inaccessible. Some were far out of reach initially, but with the help of their Servants they were able to nullify them as well. Nothing was in a space too small to access them, indicating that at least Caster wasn't capable of creating runes without close proximity.

Even though they had begun their search relatively early in the day, it was already becoming quite late when they finally decided to stop. The sky was dyed red and orange, clouds shades of pink as the sun sunk over the horizon. Shadows stretched longer and longer, and few people remained out on the streets, at least in this area.

"We can't be sure if that's all of them," Tsubaki began, "But even if it's not, we've prevented the spell from activating for at least a day or so, if not more. It all depends on how long it takes for those runes to regain their power."

"Haaah…" Ai let out a sigh of relief, placing her hands on her knees. She was out all day, and it was hot, but it had paid off. They'd managed to delay the spell. If Caster was acting so brazenly, wouldn't it be easy to find them?

"Hmm… if Caster's acting this way, won't it be easy to find them?" asked Saber, voicing her thoughts for her. It seemed like they'd hit upon the same thought.

"It's very likely Caster has a workshop set up," responded Lancer.

"Lancer is right," added Tsubaki, "Even if they're acting so unsubtly as to create some kind of massive bounded field, that doesn't mean that they're careless. If they're fully established their workshop, it's possible that they could have all kinds of defenses in place to hide their location."

"Ah…"

Ai's shoulder's sagged. Finding Caster wasn't going to be easy, was it? And even once they found them, there was still the matter of defeating them. Though… two Servants of the knight classes against a single Caster-class Servant was at least weighted quite heavily in their favor. Most Casters were incredible magi(it was in the name of the class, after all), but at close range there was little they could do against the more melee-oriented classes.

Still, that knowledge didn't do much to assuage the small brunette's concerns. Even if they were weak at melee range, a Servant was still a Servant and they had no way of discerning the target's identity.

"Um… if Caster's using runes… Maybe we can use that to figure out what we might be dealing with?" she asked, finally, adjusting her glasses. She had been somewhat uncertain about this proposal, but in the end she had decided it might be worth thinking about if nothing else.

"Hmmm… you might be onto something, there!" Tsubaki nodded with enthusiasm, "Runes are pretty distinctive in origin. They're mostly associated with Celtic legends and Norse mythology, so if we consider those to be our options… hmmm…"

"Servants might know about other heroic spirits, but I guess not enough to make any guesses without more information, eh-heh," Saber commented, scratching the back of her head as she did with a somewhat embarrassed smile. She seemed to be a bit flustered over her inability to contribute very much.

"Um… do you suppose it could be someone like Cu Chulainn?" asked Ai. She'd done her research prior to entering the war, to get some idea of what she might be up again. It scared her even more, but it also gave her a knowledge base to work off of.

"Cu Chulainn, huh?" mused Tsubaki, thoughtfully. The Irish hero was associated with druidic practices as well…

Lancer shook her head.

"I'm certain that the Hound of Ulster wouldn't act in this way," she asserted, "I only know of him through myth, but he isn't someone who would act in such an underhanded way. He would prefer to fight as boldly as possible."

"But if he was ordered by his Master, using a command seal?" questioned Tsubaki.

"… I suppose such a thing would be possible," Lancer conceded.

"Or, um… maybe they come from Norse mythology…" Ai wondered, trying to recall any strong magi from the Norse legends she read. It was difficult to try and figure out just who they might be up against, at this point.

"Well…" Saber placed her hands on her hips, "As long as we can find them, we'll put a stop to this no matter who they are!"

"It's the duty of heroes to stop things like this, isn't it?" Tsubaki said, with a smile.

"Of course, Master," replied Lancer.

"For now, we-ah?!"

Something came rushing through the air. Something huge. Before Ai could even attempt to turn towards the source of the sound, suddenly she felt herself lifted off of the ground.

In Saber's arms. The Servant had suddenly grabbed her and hurled herself to the side.

As the small brunette sailed through the air, she caught sight of just what had charged them. A pair of enormous bulls, with armored heads and curving horns, decorated with red and gold. Behind them they pulled a chariot, galloping through thin air. When those hooves and wheels collided with the asphalt, they tore through it, leaving great prints and gashes in their wake. The chariot rocked as it turned, coming to a half as the huge bulls swung round. The trail they left in the road was massive, a gash through the street tearing it apart.

Lancer had pulled Tsubaki from the path of the chariot as well, now rising with her.

The figure seated in the chariot rose to her feet. She was a fair-skinned girl, with bright, pink hair and gold eyes, clad in a white cloak with a fur trim. She was incredibly beautiful, almost impossibly so, carrying with her both a cuteness and elegance…

The pink-haired girl smiled brightly, drawing a whip with an oddly-shaped handguard from her cloak. She thrust it into the air with an aura of triumph, as Saber carefully stepped forward, her katana materializing with a flurry of cherry blossom petal motes of light.

"You may as well surrender, because you have absolutely no chance of defeating me!" declared the enemy Servant, cheerily, "For I am Queen Medb of Connacht!"

She'd introduced herself without a second thought?! One of a Servant's greatest assets was the secrecy of their identity. By remaining an unknown, their weaknesses were not possible to exploit. But Medb simply announced her identity the instant she appeared! Did… did that mean she was powerful enough that it didn't matter?!

Was that the kind of foe they were up against?!

Ai trembled, hugging herself and remaining where she sat.

"Stand back, Master!"

Saber's voice cut through her thoughts, and she managed to get to her feet and stumble back.

But she still felt nothing but fear.

---

Pink motes of light flowed across her body, as Saber narrowed her silvery eyes. When they faded, she was once again clad in her kimono and scarf, gripping her katana in both hands as she held herself at the ready. Out of the corner of her vision, she noticed bright golden lights shine from Lancer's body as her plate armor reappeared.

This was an entirely different kind of battle.

"Oh?" Medb tilted her head, frowning for a moment, "You're not surrendering? Aaah, I suppose it would have been boring if you did!"

Her cheerful smile returned.

"It's much more fun to crush the both of you, anyway~"

In the scant moments before Medb began to charge, Saber registered her surroundings. This battlefield was relatively narrow. On one hand, that meant that there was less room to maneuver. Dodging was more difficult as the chariot took up a large percentage of the street. On the other hand, it also meant turning was harder for the enemy Servant.

On top of that, it was two against one.

Medb charged.

The speed was incredible. Lancer couldn't even react as the chariot lurched forward, rocketing towards Saber, the bulls' hooves tearing up the concrete with each thunderous step.

The girl samurai shut her eyes and took a single step. Her form suddenly blurred, and with an almost instantaneous movement she suddenly darted to her left. But even with her speed, she felt the chariot rush past her, missing by mere centimeters!

She spun on her heel, but there was no time to counterattack. The bulls had already charged past, Medb turning her chariot at the end of the street.

"Oh? You're so fast!" the pink-haired Servant declared, with a giggle, "But that's not going to save you. Aaaah, Rider really is the perfect class for the great Queen Medb, isn't it~?"

She smiled brightly. Saber narrowed her eyes.

"This way, I can always be on top while everyone else writhes beneath me~ Fufufu~"

This time, Lancer charged, light flowing across her cavalry lance. The blaze of mana carried the blonde knight off the ground, as she rocketed towards the Rider-class Servant!

Medb's chariot lurched again, tilting to angle the huge bulls towards the charge. Lancer gritted her teeth, the mana around her lance fading as she forced herself to stop, just as one of the huge bulls bucked its horns. The Servant was flung back, but she landed on her feet, having taken only a glancing blow deflected by her armor.

Saber darted forward. Lancer, at least, had acted as a distraction! If she could just get in close, and injure one of the bulls, or strike out at Medb herself…!

Even with her agility, the bulls were still able to rear up and bring their hooves down… but that was what the samurai had been waiting for! Instantly, she moved out of range of the hooves as they slammed down into the concrete, before darting in once more and-!

The bulls were charging again. Her attack almost worked, but Medb had urged them forward before she could strike, the great beasts charging across the street again before turning some distance away.

"I already told you just being fast isn't going to save you," the pink-haired Rider commented, cocking her head to one side with a frown. But Saber could tell. She'd gotten so close, and Medb had only just been able to spur her bulls away! If she could injure one of them, or force the cloak-clad girl to dismount…

"The villainous Queen of Connacht, who lusted for Cu Culhainn," Lancer said, narrowing her eyes, "You may have that chariot on your side, but you're fighting two opponents."

Medb waved her free hand in front of her crown with a giggle, and suddenly there was a light like a kaleidoscopic star from the very center of the headpiece. With a shrieking sound, the star-like glow erupted forward into a brilliant beam, tearing through the air and taking Lancer by surprise! Raising her cavalry lance, which once again blazed with mana as she brought it into the path of the blast! Even though she avoided serious damage, the impact sent her hurtling back, landing on her back and rolling once to try and regain her footing!

"Lancer?!" cried Tsubaki, rushing to her Servant's side.

"I am fine, Master!" insisted the knight, "Stand clear, you can't be caught up in this battle!"

But that meant that Rider was distracted!

Saber darted forward, flashing across the street as she advanced on the chariot. Just as she was about to strike, thrusting her katana forward, the pink-haired Rider suddenly turned her head, the brilliant light dragged through the street and carving a scar through it. With little other choice, the platinum blonde samurai raised her katana defensively as the beam struck, a brilliant flash of light erupting from the point of contact with the blade! A glancing blow, unlike the head-on strike Lancer had taken, it was still sufficient to send her hurtling back, though she was not knocked off her feet and instead skidded across the street.

"Ahahahaha~" chuckled Medb, brightly, as the light from her crown faded, "Haah, the both of you are going to fall down and beg for mercy, kissing my feet by the end~ Should I grant it? Hmmmm…"

The Rider-class Servant feigned thoughtfulness.

But Saber could feel it. Medb had the advantage from atop her chariot, even considering she was fighting against two opponents. But even then, she could only react so quickly! Each time she had attempted to land a hit, it was by scant moments that Rider managed to avoid the blow. The girl samurai was certain that she was faster, certain that she could outpace the enemy Servant. That chariot made it more difficult, but even so!

She knew she could do this!

In life Saber had trained herself, her speed, her agility in swordplay, she had honed her skills to a point where she was referred to as a genius. While the silvery-eyed girl felt pride in her skills, she had no idea, honestly, if she truly deserved such praise.

But she would live up to it however she could!

As Medb charged again, she sprinted to the side. The great chariot curved, bulls bellowing as they began to turn mid-charge in an attempt to reach them. If should could observe them a little longer, she could figure out the perfect moment to strike! But it meant evading for as long as she could, rather than attempting to attack once more. As the chariot turned to strike her, she sprang upwards, pushing off the wall to put greater distance between herself and the Rider-class Servant!

"All you can do is run, now?" questioned Medb, as she made a full turn and spurred her bulls onwards, "You're not even trying to attack anymore, so you must know how much you're outma-eh?"

There was a burst of air pressure on the opposite side of the chariot. Medb turned and let out a small yelp of surprise when the tip of Lancer's weapon slammed into the side of the vehicle! The wheels scrapped sideways along the street as the chariot tilted, crashing sideways through the wall to the side of the road. It crumbled, opening a hole into the lot adjacent to the street.

"Ah!"

Rider gripped the reigns, forcing her bulls back on-course. While Lancer's attack had managed to disrupt her, the chariot hadn't taken any damage! It seemed as if it would take a far strong attack to directly harm the chariot itself.

Rather, the bulls or Medb herself were the best target.

"Lancer, it looks like trying to plunge that spear straight through me has done you no good," the Queen of Connacht commented, swiftly regaining her composure. The blonde knight responded with a glare.

"I can see now that directly attacking your chariot is a waste of effort," said Lancer, "The scheming Queen of Connacht is a dangerous foe. But I won't hold back against a villain like you."

"Are you trying to butter me up with honeyed words, or insult me?" questioned the Rider-class Servant, "Because neither of them are working~"

Saber needed more time. The bulls were fast, she had to see them charge at least once more if she was going to be able to counter them!
She darted towards the chariot.

"You shouldn't forget you have two opponents, Rider!"

As she spoke, Medb immediately turned, rainbow starlight flashing from the center of her crown as the beam erupted through the air. This time, prepared, Saber hurled herself to the side, letting the beam tear through the street instead of being forced to deflect it!

"I have plenty of experience with more than one partner, Saber~" the pink-haired girl replied, cheerfully, "It's not as if this is new to me~"

The light from her crown faded.

"But I suppose the fact that you've regained the courage to attack makes this fight a little more interesting!" Medb added.

"It wasn't cowardice, Queen of Connacht," Saber replied, narrowing her silvery eyes as she readied herself once more. Her gaze traced every detail of the chariot. She needed a little more time. She could outmaneuver the bulls but attacking them was another matter entirely. It was almost as if Medb was foreseeing her strikes whenever she was standing still, but if she could just land a blow while the chariot was in mid-charge… "I've been getting used to the way you fight."

"Oh?" questioned Med, tilting her head as she did, "Is that so? Is that what you call your attempts to escape me~?"

The pink-haired Rider giggled and spurred on the bulls. As fast as lightning, they thundered down the street, tearing right towards Saber once more. The girl samurai ducked low and darted to the left, this time, even as the chariot curved to attempt to catch her once more. There! She had seen the moment where she could strike!

Now she simply had to put her plan into action!

"Lancer!" she called, as the chariot came to a halt at the opposite end of the street. She noticed that the knightly Servant was preparing to target the bulls this time, though she appeared to be holding her cavalry lance somewhat differently, "I'm going to attack her again. This time, I won't miss."

The bulls pawed at the asphalt, carving gashes into the hard surface as they did. Eyes fixed on their movements, Saber raised her katana parallel to her head again. The important thing was to ensure that she moved as soon as the bulls did. They were lightning fast, as expected of Rider's mount, but if she could time her attack well enough she would be able to at least cut one of them, even if it was shallow. That could be enough, she just had to slow or stop the chariot as much as she could…

The chariot charged, tearing through the concrete. Saber didn't move. She had to time this perfectly, she had to make sure that she didn't make even one wrong step…

"Saber, what are you doing?!" cried Lancer, as she herself tried to figure out an angle to attack Medb with.

Saber took a deep breath, and as the thundering hooves drew closer…

In an instant, she moved. Her katana flashed through the air, catching the light of the sunset. The air pressure from the charge sent her flying, impact hitting her like a train, knocking the air out of her body! Pain reverberated through her chest, all through her slim frame, but only for a few moments. She hadn't taken a direct blow. But to an outside observed it looked as though she hadn't delivered one either.

And yet…!

"Saber!" the pale samurai heard Ai's voice as she tumbled through the air, landing on her back and rolling once. Yes, she hadn't landed a direct hit… and yet…!

As she rolled onto her front and slowly raised herself off the ground, she saw one of the bulls' horns hit the ground, severed neatly from the beast.

The chariot slowed to a halt.

Saber straightened. There was some lingering pain through her body, but it was fading. Even an indirect blow from the wind around the chariot was hazardous, but not enough to cause serious injury.

She flicked her katana before raising it parallel to her head again.

"The next blow will come for you, Rider!"

"Ah…"

The samurai heard Medb's voice as the chariot turned. But it sounded… strangely breathy, somehow…

When she saw the Rider-class Servant, Medb's face was flushed, a hand placed to her cheek.

"Aaaahn… that skill, that speed…" the pink-haired girl began, her other hand running across her abdomen, "To cut off the horn of one of the bulls of the Tain Bo Cuailnge… haaahn~"

For a moment, Saber faltered. What… what was Rider doing?

Medb licked her lips.

"You aren't a man… but I want you~" continued the Queen of Connacht, breathing heavily, "I want you under me, sweating and moaning as your strength is sapped from your body, as you become wrapped around my finger, as your mind becomes filled with nothing but lust and ecstacy~

"Wh… wh-what?" Saber's eyes widened, her own cheeks growing hot with embarrassment. Rider… Rider was expressing… lust for her?!

"Yes… I don't know your name…" Medb rose to her feet, and at this point the girl samurai could see those legs trembling slightly, "But I'll make you my plaything, Saber~ My powerful, skilled, beautiful whore~"

"… Rider… you… you would…!" even Lancer wasn't certain how to react.

Medb placed a hand against her chariot.

"Yes… it's time to reveal to you the true nature of my chariot," she added, with a gleeful, infatuated sigh, "You'll no longer be able to resist m-ah…? Master? What…"

There was a moment of silence.

"What?! You… grrr… Master, you're so mean! And boring! That's too cruel! I don't care what time it is!" she snapped, suddenly, one hand curled into a fist and waving back and fourth in the air. "How dare you?!"

Her hands lowered.

"… I'll make you mine next time, Saber~"

With that, both Medb and the chariot slowly dissipated into golden light, before vanishing entirely.

Saber took a deep breath, leaning forward. While she hadn't broken any bones, her side still ached. She wasn't seriously harmed, yes, but it was an expansive enough injury that it wasn't quickly healing.

"S-Saber!"

She heard Ai's voice again and glanced up to the sight of the short brunette running towards her.

"Y-You're hurt, er…" her Master stammered, raising her hands weakly.

"It's fine, Master, I'm fine!" Saber said, rising to her feet and wincing slightly, "I can count this as a big vic-ow ow…"

It was still… pretty painful, if she had to be frank. No serious injury didn't mean it didn't hurt. She felt a warmth at her side, as the small, fidgeting magus placed her hands against her and began to mutter something. A soothing sensation spread through her.

So this was magecraft used for healing, then?

"… Then Rider is Queen Medb," Tsubaki said, approaching the two. Lancer followed quickly after her, "She's definitely a powerful opponent… I could feel the impact of every single one of those bulls' steps. It felt like some kind of earthquake!"

Lancer nodded.

"What a… vulgar queen," the white-armored knight commented, folding her arms.

"She's… she's perverse," was the only comment Saber could manage. It was… strange being targeted by such a thing. Those comments that Medb had made were embarrassing and unusual. She glanced at Ai, who also seemed quite embarrassed. It wasn't something either of them knew how to react to, it seemed. Instead of that, the girl samurai decided to focus on the soothing sensation spreading through her side, and how to counter Rider the next time they clashed.

The silvery-eyed girl could outmaneuver her, and even attack, but it was difficult to target anything of value. And what's more, sometimes it seemed as if the Rider-class Servant was seeing things before they happened. She had to time her attacks perfectly…

"… A-all done, I think…"

Saber paused for a moment and stretched.

"… Ah, all better!" Saber said, brightly, with a smile. She wasn't going to let Medb's strength get to her. She knew she could defeat the Rider-class Servant for sure.

"We'll meet up outside of school after classes tomorrow, Matsushita," Tsubaki said, as she began to turn away, glancing back over her shoulder.

"A-ah? You're leaving already…?" questioned Ai, looking nervously about.

"There's some things I need to check out, and… honestly, I think it's for the best if you and Saber get back home," the black-haired girl continued, with an apologetic smile.

"… I can keep going!" Saber declared, emphatically. She was a Servant, after all! And her Master had healed the injury, anyway!

"… I-I agree…"

"Eh? Master?"

"U-um… I think we might need to plan out approach out more, Saber," said Ai, "A-and… I… I don't know if I can be out here anymore right now…"

Ah… once again, her Master hadn't taken a battle between Servants very well.

"… If that's what you want, Master," she said, finally. She couldn't deny simply planning things out in more detail was a bad idea, anyway.

"I-I'll use my familiars to keep a look over the town, too…" Ai added, before taking a deep breath. "So we'll go home for now, Saber."

The samurai nodded.

Personally, she had to admit that she would have liked to look over the town in person. But her Master didn't seem like she would be able to handle much more, and that was the most important thing. Her Master's wellbeing stood above everything else.

After all, her Master was the only reason that Saber had a chance to obtain her wish.

And so, the two pairs of girls parted ways.

Saber had to look forward.

She had to be ready for anything.

---

Rider was strong. But not unbeatable.

This was something Inoue Tsubaki was certain of. Lancer's Noble Phantasm would likely be able to damage her chariot. Its base function could perhaps even disable the bulls, but so early, with another witness… even though she had allied with Saber and Matsushita Ai, it seemed like a bad idea to reveal her Noble Phantasm unless absolutely necessary.

Oh, certainly, she would if she had to in order to prevent Saber or Ai from being killed, but if she could avoid it for now, she wasn't going to have Lancer use it unless she had no other choice.

"You mentioned we were going to search another area?" Lancer asked her, having returned to her casual wear.

"That's right," replied the black-haired girl, looking back over her shoulder at the Servant, "I suspect something's going on there."

She gestured ahead. The parking complex for the Upper Minami City Apartments. It looked like an ordinary complex, but that was far from the truth.

There were three locations in which the Holy Grail could descend.

One of which was this parking complex. Every day, she passed it by on her way home. If Caster was placing runes all across town…

"I have a feeling Caster might be trying to do something there," she said, "The majority of the runes were closest to the school and to the parking complex."

"I see, Master," replied Lancer, "However, if Caster is present there, what shall we do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Tsubaki, smiling as she looked over her shoulder, "We'll defeat them, Lancer."

After a moment's pause, Lancer returned the smile.

"I expected nothing less."

As they approached the parking complex, the tanned girl was struck with a somewhat ominous feeling. It was difficult to put her finger on exactly what it was, however. It was a feeling that there was something distinctly wrong, unpleasant about the building.

But it was nothing more than a parking garage.

Tsubaki passed by it nearly every day on the way home.

Whatever was the case, there was no denying something was occurring within.

"… I don't like this, Master," began Lancer, "I cannot be certain, but there's some kind of presence within."

"I know, but there's no way I can ignore that," replied Tsubaki as she looked up at the parking complex, "I can't stand the thought of innocent people being caught up in this just because Caster doesn't care about being subtle, can you?"

"Of course not," said the blonde knight girl, "But I must also keep your safety in mind. I am confident that I can protect you, regardless. I simply wish for you to exercise caution and avoid danger as much as possible. I should hope you wouldn't find this unreasonable."

"Exercise caution, Lancer?" asked Tsubaki, with a grin, gently reaching out to poke at the other girl's side, "I'm always cautious, Lancer! Really now, do you think your Master is the type to run into danger without thinking things through?"

"Ah…" the Servant paused for a moment, fidgeting slightly at the physical contact. That was the entire reason that Tsubaki had reacted the way she did, if she was being honest with herself. Lancer never seemed to know what to do when she was poked and prodded like this, and the fact that a legendary knight was so easily flustered never ceased to amuse the girl. "I… did not… mean any offense, er… It's just that, ah, in order to ensure your safety…"

"Don't worry about it, I understand," Tsubaki interjected with a cheerful smile, waving her hand as she did. Lancer mumbled slightly and fell silent after a moment. The tanned girl's attention returned to the towering parking complex.

"Hm… Lancer, this presence… is it a Servant? Or rather, do you detect the presence of an enemy Servant?" she questioned, glancing towards the blonde knight once more.

After a moment of consideration, Lancer shook her head.

"No," she started, "Whatever is here, it's not as powerful as a Servant. It's some sort of dark spiritual presence, but beyond that I can discern nothing."

"Right!"

Tsubaki clapped her hands together. She knew Lancer wasn't going to like what she had in mind, but she felt like it was the best option for the moment. Part of her wondered if she shouldn't have recommended that Ai and Saber go home for now. Then it would have been a bit less risky. But she felt confident in herself, and in Lancer's capabilities.

And in the end, that was what she was going to have to rely on.

"I want you to stay here and keep watch while I go inside," the black-haired girl explained, turning fully to face the knight. Immediately, Lancer's eyes widened.

"You… Master, weren't you just assuring me that you were cautious?!" cried the girl, throwing her hands into the air, "You said that you weren't the type to senselessly run into danger!"

"I know, and I'm not," said Tsubaki, "But you said it's not a Servant, right? I'm a magus of the Inoue family. Whatever's in there, I can handle it."

She grinned.

"I want you to stay out here so we can't be attacked from outside," the tanned girl continued. It wasn't a perfect plan, but she wanted to ensure they couldn't be ambushed from outside by that cowboy Servant, or even Caster. They'd likely be dissuaded if they saw Lancer waiting outside. "If I get into any trouble I can't handle…"

She raised her hand, flashing her command seals. The curving pattern on the back of her right hand almost seemed to gleam.

"I have these for a reason, don't I?"

Command seals could transcend modern magecraft. It wasn't simply that they could enforce an order on a Servant, they could perform even instant teleportation across large amounts of space.

"… I still don't like this, Master," asserted Lancer, "But… if you're absolutely certain…"

"I wouldn't say something like this if I wasn't."

The blonde knight's shoulders sagged, slightly.

"… Very well," she said, with a sigh, "… Please do not do anything too dangerous, Master. Summon me the instant it appears that there may be anything beyond your ability."

"Unless an enemy Servant shows up," replied Tsubaki, "There won't be!"

With that, she proceeded into the parking complex. Within, it was still fairly brightly-lit, even though by this point the sky had darkened considerably. After all, some people stayed out quite late and wouldn't be getting home until much later than this. That was something to be aware of, as well. It was possible a witness would find their way in here. The average person wouldn't find Lancer very suspicious in her casual wear, but still. She had to keep herself aware of her surroundings.

There was nothing of note on the first floor of the parking complex. Rows of cars, and nothing that seemed out of the ordinary. And yet, Tsubaki could feel that presence. It felt stronger with every step. Was it on the next level, or higher up? Even though there were presumably people nearby, this place felt almost isolated. It felt lonely. It was strange, being alone in such a place.

She couldn't tell from here. The stairway further up the complex was across the first level. At the moment, all the girl could do was simply go up one level higher. She'd proceed upwards until she discovered just what was here. From there, should could most likely handle it alone. It wasn't a Servant, so Lancer couldn't be needed.

Tsubaki knew the Servant didn't like the fact that she was being left behind, of course. But in the end, it simply felt like the best option, at least given that she wasn't going up against an enemy Servant. It was more important to ensure that they weren't attacked from outside in that event.

The black-haired girl began to ascend the stairway. Something she almost immediately noticed as she walked is that the lights on the next level were significantly less bright then those below. From outside, however, they had appeared to be all the same brightness…

Cautiously, Tsubaki edged further up the stairs. There was no way that was a coincidence, given the presence both her Servant and herself had felt simply approaching the building. As she approached the final steps, she pressed herself to the wall before peering out into the second level.

The things that stood on the opposite side of the second level had the shape of humans, but they were not humans.

At least, not anymore.

There were five of them, their bodies grey and decrepit. Clad in shabby clothing, bone poking through disintegrating flesh as they shambled about the parking garage.

The Dead. Familiars created from the corpses of humans. There were a number of ways in which such creatures could be fashioned. Dead Apostles could drain the blood from humans, and in most cases, it would lead to the creation of the Dead. However, these Dead did not seem to be the product of the appetites of a vampire. The likelihood of there being a vampire feeding prolifically in Minami at this point was very low, and the fact that these bodies were so decrepit… had they been reanimated from the grave?

That was both somewhat reassuring(at least they had already been dead when they were converted into familiars) and concerning. Either one of the Masters was graverobbing… or it was the more likely option.

These Dead were created by Caster. Well, there was no ruling out it wasn't a capability of one of the other Servants, but it was unlikely to be the gunslinger, Saber was certainly not responsible, and Queen Medb possessed no such abilities in myth. As a result, the natural assumption was Caster.

Regardless of who had created them, however, Tsubaki was certain of one thing.

They couldn't be allowed to remain here. Not only were they invariably created by one of her enemies, but they also posed a threat to both those uninvolved in the Holy Grail War and to the secrecy of magecraft.

Tsubaki's body tensed as she carefully took a step onto the second level. What she had to do now was eliminate the Dead as fast as she could. To strike them down in a flash before they could even retaliate, even use whatever rudimentary senses they had to register what was occurring.

Her hands curled into fists. Her magic circuits flared to life, as she spread prana to her limbs, reinforcing her body. Her physical capabilities, her speed, her strength, even her ability to resist harm, everything was enhanced, lines of faint light appearing on her arms and legs.

Tsubaki sprinted across the parking complex, covering the space between herself and the Dead in mere moments! As she approached the first of their number, she drew back one fist, prana blazing through her arm as she thrust it forward…!

She didn't even need to make contact with the walking corpse's head. Air Impact, a spell she had practiced since she began her training as a magus, took care of the rest. The decrepit skull crumbled and disintegrated on impact with the sudden eruption of air pressure, casting dust and bone fragments into the air as the undead's head practically exploded.

The rest of the body keeled over backwards.

One!

The dead began to move, one raising its arms to swing them down and attack. While these creatures could be dangerous, Tsubaki hadn't trained in hand to hand combat for nothing! She stepped back and out of the range of the corpse's sweep, thrusting her palm forward. Another burst of air exploded from her hand, striking the second undead in the center of its body. Its entire chest cavity exploded backwards as it was lifted fully off the ground, flying roughly a meter before coming down again.

Two!

This time, the third and fourth lunged towards her, each letting out a wheezing sound that nothing alive could ever make. Given the space between them, she raised one foot and kicked, shoving one of the creatures back to give herself more distance. She heard brittle bones cracking, feeling old flesh break apart under her foot, but the undead was still on its feet. These Dead were so decrepit… why had they been chosen?

There wasn't any more time to think of that, though.

The third undead came in half entirely from the next air burst, with Tsubaki slamming her foot down to crush its head!

Three!

Only two more remained!

"Haaah!"

Tsubaki squared herself up to strike as one of the undead bore down on her and-

It was only by instinct she saw something coming from her right. Only by pure instinct she could even react, and it was simply to continue the motion she had been already doing, grasping the undead instead and switching places with it, hurling the corpse into the oncoming blow!

It was cut in half from the shoulder downward, both pieces hitting the floor.

Her assailant was now visible. A girl, black hair in a ponytail, face concealed by a white fox mask. She was clad in a light green, short kimono, gripping a straight-bladed katana backhanded in her right hand.

There was no doubt. This was an enemy Servant.

"Lancer!" Tsubaki cried, hopping backwards as quickly as she could to put distance between herself and the Servant!

Her command seal flashed, one of the symbols fading…

And a brilliant light erupted in front of her. When the flash faded, allowing her to see again, there stood Lancer, in full armor, cape fluttering in the breeze as she gripped her cavalry lance in her hand.

With a flick, she obliterated the remaining dead in an instant, as the masked Servant backed away, sheathing her first sword to draw another, this one a more traditionally curved katana.

"Stand back, Master," said Lancer, as she brought her weapon to bear, "I won't let her take another step closer!"

Quietly, the masked Servant put more distance between herself and Lancer. What could be discerned about her was her origins: She was clearly a Japanese Heroic Spirit. That made it unlikely she was Caster, who used runes. Berserker wasn't impossible, but it was unlikely, given the caution the Servant was displaying.

That left Assassin.

"For attempting to attack my Master, you won't be forgiven!" declared Lancer, blue eyes following Assassin's movements. Tsubaki found herself feeling as lucky as she could, given the situation. Assassin wasn't a Servant with capabilities to do battle directly, at least in most cases. In a clash between Lancer and Assassin, Tsubaki felt confident her Servant would win.

Judging by the way that the mask-wearing Servant had reacted to Lancer's appearance, she was aware of this fact. Immediately after the knight had entered the scene, Assassin had backed off and maintained distance. Lancer followed every motion Assassin made, the tip of her weapon pointed squarely at the sword-wielding attacker as she slowly strafed to the left.

And then, without any explanation, she disappeared. Tsubaki hadn't blinked, and there was no golden light fading away that indicated a Servant had entered spirit form. One moment Assassin was there, the next moment she was gone.

Where had she disappeared to? Tsubaki couldn't understand what had happened. Presence Concealment didn't allow for a Servant to instantly vanish right before an enemy's eyes. That simply wasn't how it worked. So, how…?

"Master!"

Suddenly she felt an armored hand on her shoulder, shoving her to the left, as Lancer swiftly stepped around her. In a flash, she had raised her cavalry lance, and to Tsubaki's shock the knight was deflecting a sudden strike from Assassin! But how? Could Assassin teleport? No, there had been a delay between the disappearance of the enemy Servant and her reappearance on their right side.

But what could have happened? How had Assassin managed to simply disappear and reappear in a prime location to mount an ambush?
Lancer gritted her teeth, and with another push she had forced Assassin back. But the mask-wearing Servant had vanished before even hitting the ground.

Lancer had pushed her enemy back with little effort, but somehow the enemy Servant had simply vanished once more. Tsubaki cast her eyes about the parking garage, trying to see if there was some location in which the fox mask Assassin could hide. But there was nothing. No-where she could vanish to in an instant.

She felt Lancer's hand against her, suddenly, gently but firmly pushing her back.

"I see her, nor sense her presence," said the blonde knight, "Somehow, she's become completely undetectable…"

All the black-haired girl could do was nod. Just how was Assassin performing this disappearing act?!

Suddenly, she was forced back again, and this time Assassin launched herself in from above! Again, Lancer caught her with the side of her cavalry lance, but the moment she was forced back she disappeared again.

"What is she doing? This isn't Presence Concealment…" Tsubaki looked around again, trying to see if there was any sign of the enemy Servant, any at all. But there was nothing. Nothing but shadows. If the enemy was just capable of disappearing, she could attack from anywhere. And yet she seemed to only be attacking from specific angles… was there some kind of trick to it?

Suddenly, to their left, Assassin reappeared, her katana flashing as she struck! This time, she had gotten in too close for Lancer's cavalry lance, even as the knight moved to defend!

But Lancer wasn't out of options. Locking Assassin's right arm in her left, the caped knight raised her right leg and kicked, striking the enemy Servant square in the chest!

Silently, Assassin was flung back.

As she landed, however, she vanished again.

"Even when she's been attacked?!" Lancer exclaimed, glaring around the parking garage once more. After a moment, her armored hand was placed against Tsubaki once more, and the girl stumbled a bit as she was pushed back.

She hit the wall. Looking back over her shoulder, she could see out into the city. They'd run out of room, but at least it made it unlikely they could be attacked from behind.

"Lancer, I noticed she only seems to attack from specific places," Tsubaki said, her gaze returning to the complex, "But I can't figure out what the pattern is."

"I did as well," Lancer replied, "Whatever skill she possesses, it isn't simply the power to disappear. There's something about this place that's giving her an advantage!"

Even as she spoke, Assassin reappeared from above! The fox mask Servant descended from the darkness, but was caught on Lancer's cavalry lance once more! This time, however, Assassin didn't wait to be pushed back, suddenly dropping and landing in Lancer's shadow…

Where she vanished.

"Ah?"

Only to reappear almost immediately, rising from seemingly no-where, balancing on the safety wall Tsubaki was pressed against!

"H-how?!"

Lancer spun on her heel, as Assassin's straight-bladed katana flashed downwards, aimed for the tanned girl's throat…!

The side of the cavalry lance slammed into Assassin's side. It wasn't an elegant attack, like Lancer's usual method of doing battle. But it worked. Assassin was sent hurtling back, slamming into one of the support pillars lining the safety wall. The impact of her body cracked the concrete, and she fell limply to the ground, in the shadow of the pillar itself…

But before Lancer could move to finish her off, she had vanished again.

"… I-I don't understand, even n-"

Before Tsubaki could finish speaking, she suddenly found herself lifted off the ground. Lancer's weapon had disappeared, and the knight had suddenly picked her up in both hands, cradling her against herself.

"L-Lancer…?"

"Whatever her ability is, it's powerful here!" Lancer took a step onto the guardrail. Tsubaki needed only a moment to understand what she was planning…

As the Servant threw herself out into the open air.

Tsubaki trusted her. Putting her arms around Lancer's shoulders, she held herself close to the blonde knight as they began to descend, the wind rushing past them.

The impact of their landing reverberated through her body, and beneath Lancer's feat the concrete split and fractured.
But they'd landed safely.

Without putting her down, Lancer swiftly glanced back over her shoulder towards the parking complex.

There was a brief glimpse of a fading, golden light. It didn't seem as if Assassin was pursuing.

Was it more difficult for her to fight here, or had she been attempting to defend the undead? No, it didn't seem as if she particularly cared for them. Assassin's sole target had been Tsubaki herself.

"… Do… do you think she's allied with Caster?" the black-haired girl asked, as Lancer lowered her to the ground, "She attacked as I was finishing off those undead familiars…"

Lancer shook her head.

"She made no special effort to coordinate with them," she replied, "It's not impossible… but I suspect that she simply made an attack of opportunity."

Tsubaki was now aware of just how fast her heart was beating. It was the first time in one of these battles that she'd been specifically targeted, rather than the Servants aiming to defeat one another.

She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. Before, she'd known there was danger, but aside from Rider's initial charge her death hadn't been the goal. It was different when her life was being directly threatened.

But Tsubaki wouldn't allow such a thing to shake her. She was a magus of the Inoue family, she'd never allow herself to be cowed by a threat like this.

"Then it's unlikely that we're facing an alliance," she said, simply, taking a deep breath. "Lancer, we're going to regroup at my home. Tomorrow, we'll warn Matsushita-san about Assassin, but for now I'd like to try and understand the trick behind her ability to hide."

"Yes, Master," responded Lancer, with a nod, "To begin with… whatever power it was that she displayed, it seemed like it gave her a special advantage in a location like that."

"That's what I was thinking," Tsubaki replied, with one last wary look towards the parking complex as the both of them began to leave. She'd take a less-obvious route home, in case Assassin was tailing them in spirit form. "It's not simply that she could teleport. If that was the case… she'd simply have appeared behind us immediately and killed me."

The thought of being killed by Assassin made the specter of fear rise again, but the black-haired magus pushed it back down.

"I would not have allowed such a thing," Lancer asserted, "But… her movements were strange. She would only attack from certain angles… as if there was something there she needed in order to hide."

Tsubaki thought over what she had seen carefully. Now that they weren't in the middle of battle, she could consider it more clearly. Assassin had only vanished whenever she was touching the ground. But it seemed unlikely that was the reason she had been capable of disappearing. No, there had to be something more to it…

The girl wracked her mind for other clues. Assassin had only reappeared behind her when they were close, after she had landed beneath Lancer…

There had to be some kind of trick, but Tsubaki couldn't be sure of it yet.

"… We'll think about this more once we've reached my home," she said, finally, with a sigh, "We'll be taking a longer route this time."
Lancer nodded.

Once they had reached the Inoue estate, Tsubaki felt confident that the various wards would keep Assassin from making her entrance, or at least from doing so stealthily. Ideally, if they were being tailed, the route home she had planned would throw the enemy Servant off as well.

The next time they fought, Tsubaki wouldn't allow herself to be caught off guard.

She'd be prepared.