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.

6. Chapter 6

Lancer lowered her weapon, the point aiming directly at her enemy. Berserker was massive, a man far beyond human proportions. She had no idea who he could be, and what he was capable of. But she was a knight, and she had vowed to hold Berserker off. Her goal was not to kill, that would be a far more dangerous effort. Rather, she had to keep him away from the others. She had to provide a distraction.

As the others departed towards the building, she lowered her lance and sprinted forward. With an unearthly roar, Berserker barreled towards her! She had his attention, that was what she needed! His golden axes swung down as she darted in, but rather than attacking, Lancer used the side of her cavalry lance to take the blow!

Almost immediately, she felt immense strength rock her arms, her body jolting from the sheer shock of the impact. When Berserker pressed down, she could feel the concrete beneath her fracturing. This strength… it was unreal! So this was the power of Berserker!?

"… Eh? Only one of you? And I didn't want to have to fight…" she heard the little girl who was Berserker's Master say. "… I don't really understand, but I guess Berserker will have to take you on!"

The way the girl spoke, it was like she didn't understand the situation. Not really. Not only that she didn't know what Caster was doing, but that she didn't understand the Grail War as a whole. Straining under the power of Berserker's blow, Lancer had no choice but to disengage, springing back. The axes fell on the spot where she had stood moments before, smashing the concrete to pieces in an instant. The blonde knight glanced towards the skeletal soldiers. They weren't participating, however. Did Berserker have some sense of honor, pertaining to a one on one battle, even in his current state?

There came that unearthly roar once more, and the huge, hulking figure was charging! This time, rather than attempting to block, Lancer threw herself to the side! Berserker's axes buried themselves in the concrete, and for the briefest moment the knight saw an opening! If she could injure the enemy Servant, that would surely keep him away from the others, wouldn't it?!

Lowering her lance to aim at the enormous man's leg, she darted forward. If the tip of her lance made contact… that was all she needed!
But moments before her lance made contact, one of those golden axes swept outwards in an arc! Forced to raise her own weapon defensively, the sheer impact of the glimmering axeblade made when it struck her cavalry lance was enough to send her skidding backwards across the ground, sparks flying up as her armored feet scraped across the concrete!

Berserker's physical strength was enormous, and bolstered by his mad enhancement. On top of that, while his attacks likely did not display the full measure of his skill, it seemed as if he retained enough of himself to be able to effectively attack and defend!

Lancer would have to display the utmost caution, but she also needed to continue to capture the attention of the enemy Servant. If he chose to attack the building, it could be deadly to her Master and Matsushita.

"I am your opponent, Berserker!" she called to the massive figure, as he wrenched the second of his axes free from the concrete, "No-one else!"

There came that unearthly roar again, and soon the huge, dark figure was charging towards her without another moment of hesitation! She had to focus on evasion, but any moment of opportunity was crucial as well. If she could injure Berserker, she had to take the chance!

The enormous man roared again, letting out that unearthly sound once more as he charged. Thankfully, he did not seem to possess particularly high agility. If nothing else, while his strength was incredible, he was at least possible to outpace. Lancer awaited the moment of his attack, before suddenly darting to the side, cavalry lance raised to strike!

But before she could, suddenly there came Berserker's second axe, the gleaming weapon tearing towards her! Frantically, forced to spin in place, the blonde knight brought her lance up to serve as a shield, if only for a moment! But she took the full force of Berserker's blow, lifted off of her feet as the impact rocked her body and sent her careening through the air! She landed on her back with a gasp, sparks flying from her armor scraping along the concrete.

This time, Berserker was swift, quick to catch up to the fallen Lancer-class Servant! His axes were raised as he let out another roar, swinging them downwards at her! But Lancer was quick to respond, rolling once to avoid the blow, the massive weapons slamming into the ground and cratering it in an instant. As she rolled, Lancer caught herself, her cavalry lance swung to the side as she forced herself up onto her feet, ducking low.

She was now several meters away from the hulking form of Berserker. Above, she could hear the sounds of shattering glass, and Caster's blasts of mana. Saber was making her way upwards, but she still had to buy more time!

"You just keep dodging…" came the little girl's voice again, "That's going to fail eventually against Berserker! He's super strong, Berserker is the best!"

She was talking as if this was some kind of game. Berserker's Master… who was she? Alysvial von Einzbern? A little girl, smaller even then Saber's Master, in charge of a hulking monster like Berserker. Who had entered such a frail child into a vicious conflict like the Holy Grail War? A battle that it was clear the child didn't fully understand?

"Um… you can still surrender, and I can ask Berserker to make it hurt a lot less!" she called again. Lancer was almost in disbelief of the way that the little girl spoke so sincerely. She was asking this as if it was perfectly normal for the situation.

"… Even disregarding how foolish that is, there is no way I would surrender," Lancer replied, blue eyes fixed on Berserker's hulking form, "I am a knight, and I am a Servant fighting for my Master. This body exists for these purposes!"

With another roar, Berserker charged for her! Rather than attempting to attack, this time Lancer simply waited until he was close before evading. All she had to do was keep him preoccupied, so she adjusted her strategy. Attacking only if she knew she would be able to land the blow was the only course of action given her current situation!

But as she evaded, she was greeted with an enormous, tree-trunk-like leg swinging towards her! Taken by surprised, Lancer took the blow head on. Even with her armor, she felt like she'd been taken the charge of a raging hippogriff head-on! All the air was knocked from her lungs as she went hurling back, slamming into the ground with a strangled cry of pain! Before she could right herself, she suddenly felt a wave of heat as green flames erupted from Berserker's mouth, spewing towards her, washing over the concrete!

Eyes widening, Lancer rolled, feeling the flames licking at her arming, singing her cape as she did. She used the tip of her lance to right herself, burying it in the ground to force herself up. Berserker was already charging…!

"Um… but can't you see what a difference there is, now? Berserker's the best!" she heard Alysvial's voice calling to her. She was still trying to convince her to surrender?! There was no denying that the hulking figure was incredibly strong, but if she was more prepared…!

This time she darted back and to the side, evading another downwards blow and followup kick from Berserker!

Strength wasn't everything. While Berserker's physical prowess was enormous, the same could not be said for his agility. If she kept her wits about her, and continued to hold his attention, she would be able to give her Master and her allies plenty of time to defeat Caster and her Master! By this point, Saber had to have reached the roof and engaged Caster directly. She had to give the girl samurai more time, to bring the battle to an end!

As Berserker charged again, this time, Lancer shut her eyes. She could hear every thundering step, cracking the concrete beneath him. Mana flowed through her very being, drifting up the surface of her lance, coating it in a brilliant golden glow. She needed more to keep going against him. Lancer needed to display her full capabilities!

Berserker's axes swung downwards, tearing through the air towards her. The blonde knight's blazing weapon swung up to meet them, and-
There was a brilliant flash of light. The mana she had guided into her weapon, blazing up its length, suddenly began to swirl along the cavalry lance in a localized storm of magical energy!

The enemy Servant, Berserker, he was suddenly losing ground!

"Ah? Berserker is being pushed back?!" she heard the little girl cry over the roar of her weapon.

And with that… Lancer let it loose! The blast of mana erupted from around her lance, and Berserker was sent skidding backwards with a groan, grinding through the concrete on his feet! She'd knocked the huge man back! It was only for a moment, he'd catch himself quickly, but for that split second she had knocked that enormous figure back!

"This brilliant light of divine intervention… let it pierce my foe!" cried the blonde knight, swinging her lance downwards, aiming the point at the reeling Berserker. Even if it didn't strike true, she didn't need it to! The light flowing across her lance blazed brilliantly, and with a sound like a ringing bell, it released!

Flowing across her weapon, it erupted forward in a thin beam, blazing off into the night sky! Berserker, who had recovered enough to move his huge frame from the direct path of the blast, was still sent off balance once more! It wasn't her Noble Phantasm, but it was a release of a measure of the power she invested into it! It may not have even done serious damage to Berserker, had it struck, but that wasn't what she needed!

She needed to keep his attention fully, entirely, on her! And what better way to keep such a keep the attention of a raging warrior then with a show of power?! She was certain, more than anything else, the most important thing in such a mad warrior's mind would be strength. But it wasn't simply to keep Berserker's attention. No, she had to be aware of his Master as well. If Alysvial concluded that this battle wasn't as important, it was possible she'd send Berserker after Saber, or the Masters. Lancer simply couldn't allow such a thing to happen!

Berserker caught himself, no worse for wear. Her attack had barely missed him, he had only just managed to step out of the way of the brilliant beam of golden magical energy. But it had succeeded in exactly the manner she wanted to. There was no way anything else would take Berserker's attention now. If she'd landed the blow, of course, that would have been for the best. Even if it had failed to do serious injury to the hulking behemoth of a man, having been intended more for flash and distraction then to do damage, it would still have caused him some measure of harm.

But ultimately, the attack had done its job: Berserker's attention was wholly on her.

Now Lancer had to keep it there and prevent herself from taking any more hits. The pain was still radiating through her abdomen from the kick she had taken. Even through her armor, it had managed to cause her harm. Berserker's incredible strength was not only from his massive body, but from the effects of his Mad Enhancement. At the expense of his sanity, he gained even greater physical capabilities!

The massive warrior roared once more. He was readying himself for another charge… she had to be prepared…!

Without warning, something descended from the building, landing several meters away at the base of the building! For a split second, Lancer was able to see that it was Saber, her black scarf fluttering in the wind before she erupted forward in a blinding burst of speed! The glass behind her shattered, the backdraft ripping through the plaza as she appeared beside Berserker in almost an instant!

And then, just as quickly, she was slapped away. Saber went hurtling through the air, crashing through the glass. When she hit the ground, Lancer saw her spit blood before rolling onto her front.

But that wasn't all.

Berserker was bleeding.

"Ah? Berserker? You're hurt?!" cried Alysvial, running over to the huge, hulking figure. Indeed, a deep cut had sliced cleanly through one of his massive arms, to the bone. Saber hadn't simply injured him, she had nearly severed Berserker's right hand completely, "Y-you… Berserker was being fair and fighting one-on-one! Ambushing him like that was dirty, and I was trying to be so nice to you too!"

There was no further time to be bewildered at the behavior of Berserker's Master, as the little girl attempted to look over the bleeding gash, concerned.

Lancer sprinted through the broken window, to her downed ally's side. But even as she made her way there, the girl samurai was already struggling to her feet, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Even as Saber forced her shaking legs to steady, she raised her blade parallel to her head.

"I… I can still fight, Lancer! We'll defeat him together!" she declared. While Lancer had no doubts that Saber would recover, she had taken the blow directly and did not wear any sort of armor. Even for a Servant, such a strong attack, especially from another of their nature, could be temporarily crippling. And yet, even shaking with effort, Saber was back on her feet.

"Saber, you took an incredibly powerful blow, you must at least allow yourself a moment!" she insisted, "I will be able to continue fending off Berserker!"

"No… this body… this body exists to fight to the end," replied Saber, her voice wavering from the pain. Even for a Servant, fractured or broken bones were agonizing. The girl stepped forward, "If I don't, isn't it possible that he could attack my Master?"

"Saber…"

Berserker wailed, stepping forward, blood trickling down his injured arm as he raised his axes. The skeleton army readied their weapons, clearly displeased that the one-on-one battle had been interrupted.

And then…

There were sirens. The modern law enforcement had clearly caught wind of something going on. At this point, how could they have missed it? No matter how isolated the Tachibana building was, the battle had hardly been a subtle one.

"Ah? Oh, we're not supposed to be seen…" Alysvial looked back over her shoulder. Wordlessly, the hulking man picked her up in one hand, the skeletal soldiers dissipating into green mist as he turned and departed into the darkness of the night, vanishing from view.

For a few moments, Saber remained there, trembling as she panted heavily. Then, she faltered, going down onto one knee.

"Saber, you… you must remain still, until your Master can tend to your wounds," Lancer said, kneeling beside her fellow warrior. It was the only solution she could think of. Saber had managed to injure Berserker, but at the cost of taking such a strong blow head-on…
She heard a door open behind them.

"… S-Saber?!"

Matsushita's soft voice was instantly recognizable, and soon the small girl had made her way towards them, kneeling beside her Servant.

"I-I'm… I'm okay, Master… I can keep going," responded the girl with silver-gold eyes, even as it was clear blood was staining her kimono and trickling out of her mouth, dripping onto the floor beneath her.

"Lancer? What happened?!" came her Master's voice, as Tsubaki hurried into view. As Matsushita desperately tended to her Servant, the blonde knight stood and turned to face the tanned girl. The sirens were growing ever closer…

"Saber was able to take Berserker by surprise," she reported, "At the cost of taking a direct blow to her body. I… cannot be certain, but I believe the blow cracked her ribcage."

Indeed, Lancer had no specific expertise when it came to such matters. But the blood from Saber's mouth, the location in which she had been struck… a damaged ribcage seemed likely. Thankfully, as a Servant, Saber's body could restore itself more easily than a human's, especially with Matsushita's assistance and some rest, but…

"Law enforcement is approaching, I believe they may have caught wind of the battle," Lancer added, "To maintain the secrecy of the Grail War, we'll have to move."

"… That's fine, then… I'm okay," Saber said, breathing somewhat ragged as she got to her feet. She was no longer bleeding, but she didn't seem steady on her feet, "I'll… just carry Master back home…"

"S-Saber, y-you… I-I couldn't heal it all yet, y-you shouldn't strain yourself!" protested Matsushita, "I… I d-don't want to see you keep hurting yourself or something like that…"

"I-I'm fine…"

The sirens were getting closer.

With a deep breath, Lancer suddenly scooped Saber into her arms. Certainly, they would end up as enemies, but as honorable foes. And for now, they were allies. Lancer felt nothing but respect for the samurai, and so she hardly wanted to see her injure herself by insisting on trying to move on her own. Such an act was foolish… but it was another reason to respect Saber, as well. The resolve she exhibited even after taking a direct blow that certainly had injured her internally.

It was the sort of resolve that a Heroic Spirit should display.

But Lancer had to assist her ally however she could.

To put it simply, Lancer intended to carry Saber all the way back, no matter what the surprised swordswoman said.

She remembered the way back to the Matsushita residence.

---

Saber's eyes slowly opened. Her body… it felt strange. The pain was gone, but it was replaced with a warm sensation, almost throbbing, throughout her entire body. It took a moment for her to realize just where she was. She was laying in her Master's bed…? After a few moments, she slowly sat up. Indeed, all she felt was that continued warmth, gently throbbing through her chest and limbs. Rubbing her eyes, and glancing towards the window, she noticed that there was light… it was morning, at least. The next thing she noticed was that her Master was in a chair nearby, fast asleep. Ah… had she spent all night healing her?

… She didn't need to do that…

It wasn't as if Saber wasn't thankful, but was that really good for her Master? Expending so much energy to heal her Servant…

As the blankets fell away from her body, Saber realized she'd had her kimono opened, her upper body exposed, albeit her chest concealed by a sarashi. Her cheeks colored only faintly, the samurai realizing that it was obvious her Master had done so in order to heal her better. Still, it was kind of embarrassing… Adjusting her disheveled clothing, Saber slowly got out of bed, trying not to disturb her Master.

The injury to her shoulder, too, had healed… After a few moments, the silvery-haired girl made her way to her Master's side, and patted her on the head.

"Thanks," she whispered, with a smile, "But you just sit tight and keep sleeping, okay?"

She was tempted to try and move her to the bed, but at the same time she didn't want to do anything to wake her. After a few moments of hesitation, she decided to leave her Master alone and head for the shower instead. Slowly, the warm throbbing sensation through her entire body was fading, leaving her feeling… well, fairly normal. Her Master really had stayed up all night healing her, hadn't she?

She'd have to thank her again when she woke up!

But for now, it really felt like a refreshing shower was the way to go. Saber entered the bathroom and slid off her kimono entirely, removing her toeless socks as well, before finally unwrapping her sarashi. Each item, as it was removed, dissipated into drifting pink lights.

Showers were nice. While ultimately Saber felt as if she enjoyed the experience of bathing in a hot spring more, standing there with the water running down her body felt kind of serene. Showers were definitely a great invention of the modern era, that was for certain. She reached into the glass stall and started the water, pausing for a moment to give it a chance to heat up.

When she next felt the water, it was nice and warm, and the pale girl stepped inside. Ah, it felt so nice… rivulets of warm water running down her bare skin, soaking into her hair, warming her entire body in an instant…

Of course, as the shower warmed Saber's body more and more, her mind began to drift to the previous night. Caster and her Master had escaped. There was no way to get around that fact. She couldn't understand why someone recorded as a heroic spirit would perform such horrible actions. It wasn't as if she believed it was impossible for a malevolent figure to be summoned as a Servant. Rather, she couldn't fathom what seemed like evil for evil's sake. Slaughtering an entire town… for what? It was cruelty, and pointless cruelty at that. But on the other hand, Natsuki Yukihiro's plan had been crushed. Not only had the bounded field been removed, but they had been unable to use their backup plan, as well.

No matter what strange plots Caster seemed to be thinking up, there was no way she'd be so foolish as to try that again! They'd track Caster down and put an end to her for good, next time, now that they knew exactly who her Master was and what her capabilities were!

Sure, it was painful that they failed to slay Caster right then and there, but in terms of preventing her from hurting innocent people, Saber was counting this one as a big victory!

Of course, that was hardly the only thing that had happened the previous night… they had encountered the final Servant, the last enemy that had remained unknown until that point. Berserker was an enormous, hulking man, far larger than anyone Saber had ever seen in life. His dark skintone could indicate the region he had come from, but even that wasn't certain. He'd been so strong… even after she'd cut through his arm like that, he'd been able to retaliate and slap her way. At the memory of the pain that had shook her entire body, Saber placed a hand to her chest, just below her breasts. She had felt her ribcage crack, almost caving in entirely, from the sheer force of the blow. But that hadn't mattered. It was for her Master, and for the sake of fighting to the end. As long as she could stand up, she was going to fight.

Even if she couldn't stand, she'd find some way this time.

Still, Berserker was an incredibly powerful opponent, a man of tremendous physical might. On top of that, he seemed capable of calling skeletal warriors to serve him, as demonstrated by the archers and the other soldiers who had appeared. At the moment, as she began to soap up her smooth, pale skin carefully, the girl samurai simply had no idea who Berserker could possibly be at this point. Assassin and Rider's identities were now known(Rider had happily declared who she was almost immediately after her arrival, even) but as for the others Saber simply couldn't figure it out.

But that didn't matter! She'd do her best and defeat her enemies, for her Master!

Though… Berserker's Master had been strange. A little girl, smaller and more fragile even then Ai herself, who approached the battle as if she truly did not understand it. As if asking for the lives of the other Servants was bound to be successful.

Being honest with herself, it was hard for Saber to view such an innocent child as an enemy. Even if she commanded the hulking monster that was Berserker, the huge man that had nearly shattered her ribcage… it was blatantly clear to the girl samurai that Alysvail von Einzbern didn't truly understand the situation she had found herself in. Why would someone push such a young girl to enter the war? A child who truly believed asking nicely would allow her to win?

Frankly, Saber felt as if defeating Berserker would lead to the girl's safety rather than anything else. She would no longer have to participate in the battle known as the Holy Grail War.

But Berserker was a powerful foe, as she had learned first-hand. Defeating him would be no easy task.

But Saber was confident in herself. She'd find a way! Lancer would be willing to help, too, after all!

She was ripped from her thoughts, however, when the shower door opened.

"A-ah?"

Looking back over her shoulder, the silvery-haired girl caught sight of the small, brown-haired form of her Master, in the doorway. Her cheeks were bright red, and Saber could feel heat creeping into her own as well.

"U-um… um… um…" for a few moments, all the small girl could do was mumble weakly, fidgeting and staring at her. "I… I… I… I was worried…"

"Master…?" Saber turned to face her Master, who blushed deeper and looked away. After a moment's pause, the small girl began to speak again.

"I-I was worried! Y-you… you passed out in Lancer's arms… I… I could… wh-when I was healing you I could feel the fractures and breaks in your bones, a-and… I was worried you'd die…"

"Ah… eh-heh, no wonder I didn't remember getting into bed," Saber replied, scratching the back of her head awkwardly. Lancer had carried her all the way back? She'd have to thank her… "But… Master, I'm a Servant. I'll take more then that to take me out of the war!"

"Th-that's not the point!" cried Ai, suddenly, "I… y-you… I-I'm sorry…"

Her gaze drifted downwards as she trailed off, and for a few moments all that could be heard was the running water from Saber's shower.

"… Master, thank you for healing me," said the swordswoman, with a smile. She didn't completely understand her Master's words, but she knew that she had worried the small brunette quite a bit by becoming so injured. Even with her status as a Servant that allowed her to recover from injuries far more serious than a human could survive, her Master still worried so much. She'd kind of messed up, anyway, hadn't she…? "You say all these things about being a bad Master, but then you spend all night making sure I'm alright. There's no way anyone like that could be called a bad Master."

"A-ah… ah… hawawa… u-um…" Ai fidgeted, eyes darting from side to side as she nervously quivered, "I-I-I c-came to ch-check on y-you s-so um… um…"

"Well, I'm fine, eh-heh… but it's kind of embarrassing being checked on in the shower, even if we're both girls," replied Saber. Indeed, while it wasn't like she had never been to a communal bath or anything before, her Master barging in on her like this was embarrassing. Somehow, even more so then she had expected. She could feel the heat in her cheeks from a constant blush that didn't subside, and that likely had something to do with the fact that Saber could see her Master's eyes continuously drifting to her body. Given some of the things that Ai had said before, she was starting to wonder…

"A-ah, um, I-I'll do it f-from outside! I'll, um… um… s-sorry!"

Before Saber could decide how to react, her Master had already shut the bathroom door, and once again the platinum blonde girl was left alone with the sound of the running water, as steam rose around her and rivulets ran down her smooth, pale skin.

"A-ah, Master, I didn't…" she raised one hand weakly. Her Master was so easily flustered, she hadn't met to send her running like that. At least the water was still hot and comfortable, though… the heat was seeping through her whole body. After something like last night, this was nice… she'd try and make it clear what she'd meant to her Master after she came out of the shower!

The girl samurai resumed scrubbing at herself. At least, until she heard Ai's muffled voice through the door, to her surprise.

"Hey, Saber…" she heard Ai say, "I'm… I-I'm glad the Servant I summoned was someone like you…"

"Eh? What do you mean, Master?" Saber asked. She wasn't entirely certain how Ai meant it. She'd said something like it before, and while being appreciated certainly made Saber happy, it wasn't entirely clear what her Master meant. Aside from the awkward comments on her appearance and things like that…

"U-um… it's just that…" Ai's voice trailed off for a few moments, "I-It's… I was scared when I did the summoning… I-I thought I was going to get someone big and scary who just cared about fighting… b-but instead I g-got someone who… wh-who can fight, and is s-so skilled, and fast… a-and… and…"

She trailed off again. Saber didn't say anything. She was simply going to let Ai talk. Big and scary, huh? She'd assumed something like that… It was pretty far from what Saber herself was like.

"A-and pretty…" Ai finally managed to continue, "Y-you're… s-so pretty b-but that's not r-really all! Um… you're… you're nice… you're really nice, and you care about me even if I don't deserve it, and you think I'm a good Master no matter how much I say I'm not… I think… I think for once I was lucky, Saber."

Now it was Saber's turn to fall into uncertain silence. For once, her Master was lucky… If she could make her Master feel that way, that was a good thing, wasn't it? Of course, no matter how flustered and confused Saber became over the praise of her looks… this was more than that. Her Master truly appreciated having summoned her. Knowing something like that, Saber was even more certain she'd never stop giving one hundred percent. She found herself blushing, as well… it wasn't exactly unexpected to feel embarrassed, not after her Master gave her that sort of glowing praise.

"… Well…" Saber began, "I'm glad I can make you feel that way, Master! I might be here to fight, but even serving you by making you feel happier… knowing I can do that makes me happy, too. It's important, as a Servant, knowing that my Master feels that way about having summoned me. Thank you!"

She smiled brightly. Even if her Master couldn't see it, she wanted to the small brunette to know how she felt about that.

"… Th-that's…. that's good, Saber…" said Ai.

For several moments, the only sound that could hear was the running water, once more. Then…

"… Berserker's really scary…" came her Master's voice once more.

"… Yeah, he's so huge I couldn't believe he was a human in life, at first!" responded Saber. It was just what she'd been thinking about not long before Ai walked in on her. The enormous man that was Berserker was so big he almost seemed completely inhuman, and the fact that he could summon a skeleton army seemed to drive that feeling home.

"And… and he hurt you pretty badly…" added Ai, through the door. "I hope… I don't w-want to see something like that again…"

"Don't worry, you won't!" asserted Saber. She felt confident, confident that she wouldn't let Berserker land another blow on her like that. She'd even hurt him! So if she just kept away from his swings, or fought him alongside Lancer, they'd be sure to win, wouldn't they? "I just need to be more careful! We have Lancer, too, so I'm sure we'll figure something out! There's no way I'd let that happen again!"

"Saber…" she heard her Master say, softly, "…You never stop being so optimistic. Berserker's so big and strong, but you keep acting like this… it makes me feel more confident then I thought was possible."

"Eh-heheh… I'm glad!" responded Saber, happily. She didn't have any reason to feel anything less than confident in herself, after all. Even against Berserker, who was pretty scary, she felt like she'd find some way to emerge victorious, somehow! She just had to think of how! "I guess it's just because… if I just work things out and try hard, I think I can make it through."

"Wow… you're really an amazing person, Saber…"

"E-eh?"

Ai didn't respond for a short while, after that, and Saber began to scrub herself once more. As the soapy water ran down her body, she heard Ai speak once more.

"… Saber… what was your family like?"

"Ah? My family?" Saber asked. Why was her Master asking something like that so suddenly? Why was her Master asking something like that so suddenly? She didn't really mind, honestly, but she also wasn't entirely certain about why she was being asked in such an abrupt fashion. "Er… well…"

The pale girl paused for a moment, still cleaning herself up as she did, now on to her silvery hair.

"Well… my Mother and Father always treated me well. Father was strict, but fair. My older sisters babied me a lot when I was younger, but I really looked up to my adopted brother," Saber began, looking thoughtful as she spoke, "Rintaro-niisan was a big inspiration for me when I was growing up!"

Memories filled Saber's mind. Ah… her early days of training were filled with nostalgia! She could recall seeing her adopted brother's training when she was very young. She'd already had aspirations when it came to her skills with a sword, but when she saw Rintaro's training… well, there was no way she was ever going to let those dreams go.

"But it's not just my birth family I felt that way about," Saber continued, smiling as she began to rinse her hair off, soapy water washing down the drain, "The Shinsengumi were like my family, too!"

"They… they were?" asked Ai's voice from beyond the door.

"That's right!" replied Saber, brightly, "They all felt like brothers to me. I felt like I had a big, extended family back then. Even Hijikata-san, no matter how scary he was, felt like a big brother to me!"

Hijikata Toshizo had been a scary man, that was for certain. And he'd been way too into those pickled radishes. And he was… well… way too into love affairs… there was a lot that wasn't necessarily the best about Hijikata Toshizo, but Saber still felt like he was a friend and brother to her in life.

"Keisuke-niisan never got along with him, though," she continued. Memories of Yamanami Keisuke's last moments flashed through her mind, briefly, and she trailed off, her smile fading and her eyes downcast. "… Keisuke-niisan…"

For a few moments, she was silent.

"… U-um… I… I didn't upset you, did I, Saber…?" said Ai's voice.

"… N-no, I… I just… remembered something," Saber said, shaking her head as she tried to focus on brighter, happier things. She was supposed to be talking to her Master about her family, it wouldn't do any good to dwell on things like that…

"Um… Kondo-sama! Kondo-sama was a really upstanding and trustworthy person!" said the girl samurai, to keep her mind moving away from more painful matters. "Personally, I felt like Kondo-sama was one of the most trustworthy people in the entire Shinsengumi! He made for a great leader, that's for certain!"

She nodded to herself. Unlike Hijikata, who was the scary type of friend, Kondo Isami had always been a comforting and leaderly type. One of the many reasons she had become part of the Shinsengumi was out of feelings of loyalty to the man. At no point had those feelings ever faltered.

"… Since you asked me about my family, I'm kind of curious about yours now, Master!" declared Saber. Finished rinsing herself clean of soap, the girl samurai stepped out of the shower and shut the water off, grasping one of the fuzzy towels from the rack as she began to dry herself, starting with her hair.

"M-my family? I… ah…" Ai trailed off, falling entirely silent. As she vigorously dried her hair, Saber tilted her head in some confusion.

"Master?" she asked.

"… My… my parents… aren't here anymore…" replied the short brunette, morosely.

Saber stopped dead where she was standing.

"… Oh… I… I see… I'm… I'm sorry Master, I…" the silvery-eyed girl fell silent herself, for a moment. She hadn't meant to upset Ai, she'd hadn't known. Ai could have simply lived in this mansion on her own with her parents living elsewhere, as far as she was aware. "… I didn't know. I didn't want to upset you…"

"… No… it's okay," said Ai, in a somewhat lighter tone, "It was ten years ago, now… It's not like I'm okay with it but… it's been a while now, I guess…"

Even with her Master's reassurance, Saber didn't exactly feel any better about it. Ai still seemed like she was unhappy to be talking about her family. And yet, she didn't stop.

"… Mother and Father were pretty strict…" said her Master, "So… so I they were kind of like your father, I guess… eh-heh… They wanted me to grow up to be the best possible magus I could. They wanted me to carry on the Matsushita family legacy…"

"So they were focused on your training more than anything else?" Saber asked. It really did remind her of her father. He'd been fair, but he'd also been quite focused on her success in swordplay. For a brief moment, the samurai wondered if he'd have been as close to her if she'd been more like her older sisters in terms of her ambitions. He'd clearly cared for her, but…

"… I don't know if I'd say that…" Ai responded, "I… think they wanted me to succeed so that I could be a good magus, too. So that I could have a good place in our organization, and the rest of the Mage Association… Too bad I haven't done anything to make them proud, eh-heh…"

"You haven't?" asked Saber, as she finished drying herself off. In a flurry of cherry blossom petal lights, her clothing appeared on her body once more, her hair even tying itself back up into a ponytail. "You're participating in the Holy Grail War, aren't you? I'm not going to say I know a lot about magi, but isn't that a big deal?"

"Ah… I…" for a few moments, Ai simply fell silent. It took her a while to respond, and Saber approached the door. "… I… One of the reasons I agreed to become a participant in the war… it… it was because I wanted to do something that would make them proud. So… s-so if… if they were still here… when they… wh-when they looked at me they could be happy to have me as their daughter… that's… eh-heh… it's… it's pretty foolish, isn't it, participating in a life or death battle for something like that…"

Saber opened the door. Ai, who had been sitting against the bathroom door and hugging her knees to her chest, let out a small yelp of surprise and looked back over her shoulder.

Now, Saber could see that the small brunette's gold eyes were glistening with tears.

"… I don't think it's foolish at all, Master," Saber replied, giving her a smile. It wasn't. To do something for those who came before you, to make your family proud, even if they were no longer of this world. That was a desire so many had been driven by before. For the sake of a loved one who was now deceased, to do something that they could be proud of… Saber knelt behind the smaller girl.

"You're your parents' daughter. More than anyone else, you would know what would make them proud, wouldn't you?" Saber asked, "I'm sure if they looked at you now, having summoned a skilled Saber-class Servant and doing battle in the Holy Grail War, using your magecraft to support her and defend yourself, effectively working with allies and discovering enemy plots… There's no way they wouldn't be filled with pride."

"… S-Saber… I…"

Ai turned, leaned forward, and wrapped her arms around Saber in a tight embrace. Surprised, there were a few moments where the platinum blonde girl didn't know what to do, as she felt her Master bury her face into her shoulder.

She was crying.

"… I believe in you, Master," she said, finally. After everything she'd seen so far, she trusted Ai. She wanted to make her parents proud? Then that was the purpose for which she would fight. "You place all your trust in a killer like me, telling me all these things that are so close to your heart… well, it makes me feel like I've won some kind of prize! There's no way your family isn't proud of you."

She wrapped her arms around Ai, pulling her closer as she felt tears seeping into the fabric of her kimono.

"I'm so happy I get to serve a Master like you, Matsushita Ai-san."

---

Saber had eventually left Ai, to allow her to shower. But not before telling her, one more time, that she felt proud to have a Master like her. Even if the small brunette still wasn't entirely certain why, those words were comforting.

She'd cried in front of her Servant like that… Not only that, but she'd sobbed right into her shoulder. For a moment, she'd been wondering what Saber must think of her now. And yet… the samurai wasn't treating her any differently. It had been nice… not the fact that she'd ended up crying, obviously, but the fact that she'd been held like that, the fact that Saber just let her cry into her shoulder and didn't say anything else for as long as the embrace lasted. She didn't need to…

Ai felt her heartrate quicken slightly. Saber had comforted her like that… Those words hadn't been empty. Even though she was a warrior right out of Japanese legend, the samurai most skilled with the sword in the Shinsengumi, she had no problem with simply comforting her Master when she was crying, and didn't treat Ai any differently afterwards.

Maybe she really was lucky, just this once.

As Ai undressed, folding her clothing neatly, and stepped into the shower to turn on the warm water, her mind began to wander.

It was obvious that school had been cancelled for the day. Not only had nearly everyone in attendance passed out, but there was strange damage to the floor in one hallway. Ai remembered that when she'd summoned Saber to her side with a command seal, a crater had been left in the floor. There was no way they were going to make anyone come in the day after something like that, even if they were all fine, medically-speaking.

Heat flowed through her tiny frame as the sound of running water filled her ears.

Ai wondered exactly how it would be explained. It wasn't like they could just say that there was some sort of attack, or anything as extreme as that. Her guess was that there was a gas leak. That was an easier explanation than anything else, and probably would seem like the only potential cause to the people in charge.

The fact that things had come so close frightened her. But they'd won. Even if Caster had escaped, they'd stopped her from casting whatever terrible spell she had been planning on utilizing. Even Caster and her Master had survived to try again, Ai felt that maybe, just maybe, they'd finally take her down this time.

Hopefully Tsubaki would have some idea about where to find the both of them.

Ai ran her fingers through her hair, soaping it up as she did, then rinsing it out after she'd cleaned it. Afterwards she began to scrub at her body, her mind wandering further.

Saber… She described herself as a killer, and yet half the time she came off as a cute and friendly schoolgirl type. She was so kind, so dedicated… Saber was the kind of person that Ai found to be amazing. On top of that, she was so… so beautiful…

Was it any wonder that Ai found her heartrate quickening whenever she thought about her Servant like this? Even now, while she showered, the short girl's thoughts lingered on her. When they'd hugged, while Ai cried, Saber had felt so warm and comforting… She'd said all of things, given her praise unconditionally even though Ai felt as if she had done nothing to deserve it. Said things like that, and honestly, completely believed them. Trusted Ai to be a good Master, even though the small brunette felt certain that she wasn't. And... by this point it couldn't be ignored that she'd seen her Servant naked twice.

She didn't want to embarrass Saber, nor did she want to be embarrassed herself, but seeing the girl samurai like that… she was just so beautiful. Her silvery hair, her almost gold eyes… her beautiful, soft features, her slim body… the shape of her figure…

Ah… these feelings, were they really…

Cheeks flushed, for a few moments Ai simply trembled as she stood silently in the shower, warm water hitting her small body. For a few moments, her mind wandered further as she thought about Saber.

For a few moments, her breathing grew heavier.

And in a few moments, there was a knock on the bathroom door.

"HAWAWAWA!"

Jolted out of her thoughts, Ai turned on her heel, legs trembling, and shouted the first thing that came to mind.

"O-O-OCCUPIED!"

It was Charlotte's flat voice that answered her.

"Ojou-sama, onee-san wanted to inform you that breakfast will be ready soon," the maid said, simply.

"Y-y-yes!" cried Ai, trembling with embarrassment. She couldn't hear anything more, but she assumed that Charlotte had left.

Ah… she'd need to finish up her shower, now…

As she gave herself a final rinse, Ai found her mind wandering to Saber once more. Was it really okay to think of Saber in that way? To feel that way about her? What would Saber say if she knew? Would she think that her Master was strange? Would she think it was disrespectful? Ai didn't know, but what she did she know there was no way she'd ever be able to talk to her Servant about it.

Ai had soon rinsed herself off, exited the shower, and dressed herself. The small brunette was still blushing with embarrassment as she left her room and began to head downstairs. She hadn't expected Charlotte to knock at the door so suddenly like that… When she reached the first floor, Saber was waiting by the dining hall.

"Do you feel any better, Master? I'm sorry if I didn't really help much," said the swordswoman, scratching the back of her head with a slightly awkward laugh.

Weakly, Ai returned the smile, and nodded. Her cheeks were still flushed, she still felt somewhat embarrassed, but there was no denying that Saber had made her feel better.

"I do… th-thank you, Saber."

"No problem! You're my Master, after all. Besides, it's just what I believe!" responded Saber cheerfully, her smile widening into a grin.

With that, the both of them headed into the long dining hall. When Saber took a seat, Ai hesitated before sitting beside her.

"Ahh, Marianne-san's cooking is amazing," commented Saber, brightly, as she looked towards the kitchen with anticipation, "It's like she was made to be the best chef ever!"

Indeed, Ai could smell the scent of the more exuberant of her maids' work in the kitchen. She could determine the scent of eggs, at the very least, and fish as well… it seemed like Marianne was going for a very traditional sort of breakfast today.

Given how good she was at cooking, there was naturally absolutely no problem with this.

Indeed, moments later, both maids appeared, carrying trays bearing freshly-grilled salted salon, rolled omelets, white rice, seasoned dried seaweed, and a pickled plum each.

"Since I tried out more western flavors a few days ago, today's the time for tradition~" declared Marianne cheerfully, as she placed her tray in front of Ai and Charlotte set her tray down in front of Saber.

"Itadakimasu!" Saber didn't hesitant for one moment, quickly picking up her chopsticks and digging in, a blissful look on her face as she rapidly consumed her breakfast. It was for the best just to try and focus on the food, right now, not anything more serious… and Marianne was watching the both of them in such an expectant way, anyway…

"Itadakimasu," Ai said, picking up her chopsticks, and… the first bite… the salmon was perfectly grilled, lightly salted to bring out the flavors. The rice was clean and delicious, the miso heavy and savory… it was what she had come to expect when it came to Marianne's cooking. That was, something almost absurdly perfect. Were Marianne's food preparation skills some sort of divine gift?!

"It's delicious as always, Marianne-san!" declared Saber cheerfully, smiling at the maid before immediately returning to her meal. Ai nodded in agreement as she ate.

"Fufufu, I could tell~" responded the energetic maid with a giggle. Charlotte, meanwhile, simply watched silently.

It wasn't long before both girls had polished off their breakfast, leaving the plates picked clean. Certainly, being out all night worked up an appetite. Ai had cleaned that plate so quickly… But not as fast as Saber, who seemed to become some sort of one-girl eating machine when food became involved. It was even more apparent when they were eating something sweet.

Saber's sweet tooth was almost as impressive as her sword skills.

As Marianne and Charlotte took the trays and plates away, Saber turned to face Ai.

"So, Master… how are we going to handle things today?" she asked, "I was thinking that since Caster and her Master got away, it'd be a good idea to try and track them down before they can start planning something again."

It seemed like both Master and Servant had been following the same line of thought, in this case.

"That's… yeah, I… I was thinking about that too," replied Ai, her mind drifting from food to more serious matters. They couldn't let Caster regroup, knowing the kinds of terrible things Natsuki Yukihiro and his Servant were willing to do. "I was thinking we could meet up with Inoue-san and Lancer again today, so we can track Caster down together."

Saber nodded.

"I still need to thank Lancer for carrying me home, anyway, eh-heh," added the pale samurai, scratching the back of her head a little. "But even if we don't find her today, she still suffered a pretty serious defeat. We probably have some time before she tries anything else, right?"

For a few moments, Ai was silent. Saber's logic made sense, and it seemed likely in most circumstances any magus would want to take some time to plan rather then immediately dive back into the fray. But Natsuki Yukihiro had seemed so… vicious, and Caster was willing to go along with him… there was no telling what someone like that could lead to.

"… You might be right, but… it's better to be safe than sorry, isn't it?" the small brunette said, finally.

"I'm sure Inoue-san or Lancer would say the same thing, Master," responded Saber with a confident nod. Tsubaki was the sensible type most of the time, and so was Lancer. Though… if she was being honest, Ai had been rather stunned when Tsubaki's first move when she encountered Natsuki Yukihiro had been to rush out and punch him with a reinforced fist. Not that it wasn't satisfying to see someone like that get punched, but for a moment she'd expected something a little more complex… then again, Tsubaki did seem like the athletic, sporty type, didn't she?

Maybe punching was one of the ways she'd learned to deliver her offensive magecraft? Yukihiro had flown a lot further than even a reinforced blow should have knocked him.

Her curiosity about Inoue Tsubaki's magecraft had been piqued, but she knew it wasn't going to be possible to learn more. She wasn't of the Inoue family, and no matter how nice Tsubaki was, it wasn't in a magus's nature to go sharing the secrets of their family's craft to anyone else, even if they were allies. Ai wouldn't go telling Tsubaki about everything she could do if she was asked, no matter how much she felt like the other girl was trustworthy.

"… But before we go searching, Master," Saber began, "You stayed up all night healing and worrying, so I think it would be a good idea to do something relaxing first! Letting yourself unwind before you do something tense is a good idea, especially when you've been doing things like that every night."

"A-ah?"

She'd felt strange for suggesting things like that at first, but now her Servant was the one advising they take some time for more leisurely activities?

"After seeing what you were like this morning, I think you need it," the samurai said, with a cheerful smile, "Besides, I'd like another chance to try some ice cream! I didn't get to finish it last time."

Well… it was difficult to argue with that… and besides, seeing Saber eat ice cream was awfully cute…

"… So I take it you want to go for ice cream later, Saber?" asked Ai. The silvery-haired girl nodded emphatically.

"I was thinking we could go out for lunch, too!" she said, brightly, "And we never got to check out that bakery, either… there were so many sweet-smelling pastries there that I never got to try!"

It was true, before Saber got to try anything at the bakery they'd ended up going to the café with Tsubaki. And she hadn't gotten to finish her ice cream because Assassin interrupted them… and going out to buy pastries and ice cream, and picking somewhere to go to lunch, sounded like it could be relaxing…

"My my my, Saber-chan has such a sweet tooth~" came Marianne's voice, abruptly, as the maid suddenly wrapped her arms around the girl samurai from behind, leaning close to her and poking her cheek.

"E-eh?" Saber, surprised, obviously having been focused on the idea of getting all the sweets she'd missed out on, tried to look back over her shoulder at the white-haired maid.

"And yet you have such a trim figure… be careful, Saber-chan, or you might ruin that figure of yours~ Fufufu~" continued Marianne, prodding Saber's cheek again. Could something like that happen to Servants? If she wasn't mistaken, there was a skill pertaining to having a body that not even overeating could change, or something along those lines. But would ordinary food actually ruin a Servant's figure? Ai was kind of doubtful of that fact.

"I-I'm not going to get ch-chubby! Th-that's not how it works for a Servant!" protested Saber, clearly embarrassed by the repeated prodding of her cheek and Marianne's refusal to release her.

Certainly, Ai didn't think food could change Saber's figure… but the way Marianne was teasing the other girl… it was making Saber act awfully cutely. She was almost tempted to try and join in, but as she opened her mouth… she faltered and fell silent. No… she didn't want to do anything that might make her Servant upset with her… and how could she even start with something like that?

"Are you sure? Can you be certain about that?" asked Marianne, cheerfully poking Saber in the side. The silvery-eyed girl let out a small yelp and squirmed, though she did not yet pull away from the maid. "What if you started to get squishy around here? Then you wouldn't be nearly as fast~ Wouldn't that be a shame~?"

"I-it's not going to happen anyway!" Saber protested, blushing with embarrassment.

"I suppose it's not like a squishy Saber-chan would be a bad thing~ Sometimes girls with a little more meat on them are cute, too~" Marianne continued. It was hard to imagine a girl like Saber looking like that, really… but now Ai's mind was wandering once again to the topic of Saber's body. She shook her head, blushing as she tried to avoid images of the beautiful girl samurai in the shower once more.

"I-it's not going to happen, so it doesn't matter!" Saber declared, finally pulling away from Marianne, cheeks deeply red, "N-no matter what I eat, I'm going to remain just like this!"

"Oh? Well that's good~" the maid said, straightening, "Saber-chan is best when she looks just like Saber-chan."

"A… are we leaving yet, Master?" asked Saber, still blushing as she turned to face Ai, who was still trying not to get too distracted by her own thoughts.

"A-ah… um… yes!" Ai responded, nodding and getting to her feet. They could decide where they'd go to lunch on the way out… as the small brunette began to make her way for the door, she realized that, well… prior to summoning Saber, she never would have decided to go out to eat like this. She wouldn't have simply gone out on the town and spent the day with… anyone. Most of her time was spent at home, reading or practicing her magecraft. Of course, practicing her magecraft was paramount for a magus, but she had never actually done anything like going out with friends. She hadn't really had any friends. Not for a long time, at least.

Of course, even going out to relax, it was difficult not to think of the Grail War, as Saber followed her out the door, both of the maids bowing as they departed. But, if they went out during the day like this, it wasn't likely that any of the enemy Servants would attempt to attack them. Rider had already seemingly been reprimanded for being too obvious by her Master, and Saber had defeated Assassin in their first battle as well as learned her name and fighting style. Caster… was still worrying, but after being defeated, Ai at least felt somewhat hopeful that Caster would refrain from engaging any of the other Servants for at least a little while.

So Ai concluded she would have to keep herself from thinking about it. Saber wanted her to relax… even if she'd been worrying about Saber all night, her Servant still wanted to keep her from breaking down from stress. And when she was in a more rational state of mind, she knew that getting stressed out would be harmful towards their success in the Grail War. It was hard not to worry, but today was time to try and relax and stay calm, wasn't it?

At least during the day. Later, well… they'd deal with that when it was time. Ai had to keep herself from thinking about more serious matters, after all.

"So, Master, where should we try going for lunch? I don't really know anything about the restaurants around here, after all," Saber asked, as she looked back over her shoulder. For a few moments, Ai was silent. Certainly, she'd shown Saber around town the other day, but when it came to knowing where was actually good to eat… her knowledge extended to the café that they'd visited when they allied with Tsubaki. That was it. Beyond that, Ai had no clue what had changed in the ten years since she had last lived here.

"U-um… er… well…" Ai trailed off. It was another warm day, though not quite so hot as it had been previously. Maybe somewhere they could eat outside? But given it had been ten years, the small brunette simply had no idea where that would be. She didn't know where was good to eat anymore. But she was hesitant to try and get in contact with Tsubaki and ask her. Tsubaki had a lot of important things to do, surely, and asking her about what restaurant to eat at would be a serious waste of her time. Scratching the back of her head, Ai gave a nervous laugh.

"Eh-heheheh… it's been so long that um… I don't… really know either…"

"Oh? But you showed me around… well, nevermind! That means we'll just have to pick based on what looks the best!" responded Saber, with a shrug. She didn't seem particularly bothered at all, but Ai herself certainly was. Sure, they had a while before either of them would want lunch, considering that they'd both just eaten breakfast, but… aah, even trying to focus on more relaxing things was making her worry! Was worrying just one of her default states of being?!

"U-um… well… we're not eating yet, so we can decide when it's time!" Ai declared, hoping that they'd see somewhere that looked appealing while they looked around the shopping district. Maybe she could buy some more cute outfits for Saber… Saber would look cute in just about anything of course, like the t-shirt, shorts, and thigh-highs combo she was wearing right now, but Ai felt like she could get her event cuter clothing. She had plenty of money to spend on that kind of thing, after all, and seeing Saber in cute outfits was definitely worth it.

When they arrived in the shopping district, they proceeded to head around to various different shops. First among them was indeed a clothing shop, where she had Saber model various different outfits before picking out the ones her Servant seemed to like the best. Ah, she looked so pretty in all of them that it was such a hard choice! At least for Ai, Saber herself seemed to like shorts a lot. On the way out, they'd passed a shop selling stuffed toys, and the girl samurai had gravitated towards a plush puppy that had prominently been on display. Moments later, Saber was holding the puppy against her chest as they left the shop.

From there, the both of them decided to leave the bakery for later, so they weren't carrying around fresh baked goods all day. Something felt bound to go wrong if that was the case. At least, that was how Ai felt about it. Instead, the small brunette found herself taking her Servant to just about any store that looked remotely interesting, regardless of how relevant it was to either of their needs. Seeing Saber try on a pair of glasses was just too cute, even if there was really no need for it at all.

Eventually, Ai realized that all the walking she was doing was making her feel pretty hungry. It wasn't as if she had actually walked particularly far. But Ai had been performing a lot more physical activity than she usually did over the past few days, and she found herself working up a rather serious appetite quite quickly.

"Master, are we going to eat soon? It's not like I need to, but it has been a while," Saber commented, looking around, "This is really fun, but I want to try some food, too!"

"Y-yeah! I… just need to decide on where we should go, eh-heheh…" Ai trailed off. Aaah, this was where the indecision would strike, wasn't it? She'd look around and struggle to figure out what Saber would like. Every decision eliminated all the others. What if she would like a different restaurant better then the one Ai picked? What if something went wrong, or there was a mistake with their food? That wouldn't be any good, either… why was picking out a restaurant such a daunting task when she was participating in the Holy Grail War?! And yet it felt like she was in the process of facing down an enemy Servant, and she couldn't decide what the best course of action was!

Taking a deep breath, she tried to come up with some kind of criteria for elimination! This was a crucial stage in her strategy to select the perfect restaurant to visit with Saber. To begin with, she'd been having plenty of Japanese cuisine curtesy of Marianne. So maybe going somewhere that specialized in more western dishes was a good idea? That seemed like a potential starting point, eliminating all the Japanese restaurants to focus on the Western ones!

The strategy was working! That left the café that they'd visited with Tsubaki and Lancer, and… a bunch of places that Ai had no real familiarity with. She could at least strike any fast food places from the list, so that was something… but not much. Maybe she could ask Saber what she wanted?

"Um… Saber, um… what do you feel like eating?" she asked, turning to face the girl samurai.

"Me? Hmm…" for a few moments, Saber was silent, looking thoughtful. Then, she flashed Ai a bright smile. "I'm fine with anything that tastes good!"

It didn't help at all! Saber was too accepting! While this normally would be a good thing, when it came to picking out a restaurant that made it even harder to decide! Saber said she was fine with anything, but what if she hadn't thought of what she wanted yet?!
Was this one of the greatest challenges Ai would ever face, short of the Grail War itself?!

Ai was now visibly panicking, looking frantic as she looking up and down the street of the Minami shopping district.

"… Um… Master, why don't we just go there?" Saber asked, gesturing to a nearby building. Ai followed her gaze, and her golden eyes came to rest on a restaurant proudly advertising its western specialty. That had been right there in front of her the whole time, when she'd been panicking about what to do. And now that the small brunette had taken a moment, she could smell something quite good, the scent wafting right from the restaurant in question.

Ah.

They entered the restaurant and were seated in relatively short order, and, after a bit of a mixup where Ai was given the children's menu, had ordered themselves a meal. It was specifically 'American' fare, and they both ended up getting cheeseburgers. It was hardly the first time Ai had one, but Saber seemed completely unused to it. In the end, however, she decided that she liked it a great deal, even if she felt it was on the heavy side. In spite of that, Saber still managed to finish her meal before Ai even got halfway, and seemed interested in having dessert immediately even though Ai had barely managed to finish her food. Servants really did have much more endurance then humans…

Once they were done, and Ai had paid for the food, they were on their way out.

"We should go to the bakery next!" declared Saber brightly, as she walked on ahead. For the moment, Ai felt like she had some lead in her stomach and wouldn't be able to indulge in anything from the bakery… especially since they planned on having ice cream later, as well. If she was going to have ice cream, there was no way she was also going to get something from the bakery.

But that didn't mean Saber couldn't.

"I really wanted to try their taiyaki!" continued her Servant, cheerfully. Ai's attention on the girl samurai, she didn't notice that someone else was approaching them, at least not until the person in question bumped into her.

"Ah!"

Ai stumbled backwards, barely managing to catch herself before she hit the ground. When she straightened, she caught sight of the person who had bumped into her in the first place.

It was a little girl. Even shorter than Ai herself, with long, silver hair and yellow eyes. It was a striking appearance, and the fact that it was a lone child made it even more unusual. For a moment Ai felt as if she recognized her from somewhere… On the girl's head was a blue beret, and she wore a white shirt and blue skirt.

She stood there, silently, for several moments, saying nothing.

Saber took the initiative, now. While she was rather short herself, she still decided to crouch down near the silver-haired little girl, smiling.

"Are you lost?"

Rather than answering, the girl simply remained silent. After a moment's pause, she slowly nodded. Ah… a lost child? Well… it wouldn't take long to find her family, and Saber seemed to be handling it quite well.

"Can you show me where you last saw them?" Saber asked, standing, and offering her hand to the silver-haired little girl. After another silent pause, the girl nodded again and took the swordswoman's hand. Ai followed.

The little girl was rather cute, but for some reason she kept glancing back at Ai. The small brunette didn't really know why, but with some despair she noticed that, while she was taller then the little girl… it was just barely. She looked like she could be the same age, or maybe a year older, at most… Aaah, why was she so short? Getting the children's menu earlier had just driven the knife in deeper… And now she was seeing just how close she was to the height of an actual little girl.

It wasn't like Ai wasn't aware. She knew how small she was. But seeing herself in comparison to a real child… well, it was a bit more painful then all that.

As they walked, however, Ai began to notice something. They were moving further and further away from all the crowds. They were heading for a more secluded spot, a back alley, somewhere where they wouldn't be seen… was this really the way a child had come? Why would she come this way? Saber, too, seemed rather wary now… but at the same time, it seemed she was unwilling to stop following the little girl. Ai could hardly blame her, abandoning a child here would have been terrible.

However…

"Ma'am."

Almost immediately, Saber released the little girl's hand, grabbing Ai and shoving her behind her. The small brunette let out a yelp, stumbling, as her Servant's sword appeared in a flurry of cherry blossom petal lights, the katana glinting in the sunlight, gleaming brilliantly. Peering from behind Saber, Ai's gaze fell upon the shape of the cowboy Archer, his handgun resting against his shoulder as he tipped his hat.

"Archer!" snapped Saber, her silvery-gold eyes narrowed at the enemy Servant, "What are you thinking?! There's a civilian here, and it's broad daylight!"

"Relax, I'm not here to fight. Well, not exactly," he said, tipping his hat quietly towards the both of them, "But before all that, I was plannin' on havin' a chat with you ladies, on behalf of my Master."

But he hadn't addressed the fact that this little girl had now been dragged into the Holy Grail War. Her life was placed in danger because… wait…

The silver-haired little girl was walking towards Archer?

"You did a good job, Marion," said the gun-wielding Servant, with a smile. He reached a hand out and patted the little girl on the top of her head. She said nothing, but quietly stepped to Archer's side and turned to face Saber and Ai. "I'm sure our Master's proud."

"… Her Master too?" Saber asked, narrowing her eyes, "What's going on here?!"

"… She's a familiar," Ai said. Of course, there was no way that the explanation could be anything else. She remembered, now, the little girl that had interrupted that first battle. When Saber and Lancer had been fighting, a little girl had suddenly appeared, followed by Archer. And that little girl, now that she thought about it, also had silver hair and yellow eyes. The little girl wasn't a human at all, rather a familiar, like her cats, but with a human form rather than that of an animal. She had heard of such a thing before, but had never learned how to actually make a familiar with a human appearance.

"… So… what is it your Master wants?" she asked, warily. Saber's katana remained raised, parallel to her head as she was ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"Well, my Master's the cautious sort, 'n it's not like I can blame him," he said, with a shrug, as Marion quietly stood by his side, "I reckon you're familiar with the woods outside 'a town, right?"

The forest? The Harazuki Forest was familiar to everyone in Minami, mostly due to the myths and rumors about it. Even hundreds upon hundreds of years ago, it was said to be haunted, or to be inhabited with hostile youkai. The truth was that it was quite a strongly spiritual location, and that a variety of phantoms inhabited it even today, though there were unlikely to be capable of harming most humans at this point. Ai had never been there, however, but there was one thing she knew about it.

It was one of the potential locations for the summoning of the Holy Grail. Its inherent nature a strongly spiritual place made it an excellent candidate.

"… Yes… er…" Ai hesitated for a moment, "Is something going on there? I know that the Grail can descend there, at least…"

"There's a black spot at the heart of the forest," replied Archer, in an almost matter-of-fact way, "Not a single clue what's goin' on there, but no way it's anythin' good."

"A… black spot?" Saber questioned. What did that mean? At the moment Ai didn't have any idea what it could possibly be. But it didn't sound good at all. That was something she agreed with Archer on, that was for certain. Her mind swiftly tried to consider the potential options, the possibilities for why this black spot could come to exist.

"Does… does your Master have any idea what it is?" she asked, finally, unable to come up with any possibilities on her own.
Archer shook his head.

"I reckon it's the doin' of another Servant, and he agrees," he replied, however. "Mighty powerful, whatever it is. Problem is that it's right on top of where the Grail would arrive, 'n my Master suspects somethin's afoot."

That was one way to put it. One of the Servants had set up some kind of bounded field, she suspected… was it Caster? Why had Caster changed her tactics so suddenly, if that was the case? What, exactly, was the field?

"… So what does he want?" asked Saber, narrowing her silver-gold eyes as she did, her blade still glinting in the sunlight.

"A ceasefire, plain 'n simple," Archer answered, "You don't attack me, I won't attack you. At least, until the black spot's dealt with."

For a few moments, Saber was silent, before glancing back over her shoulder at Ai.

"Master?"

It… made sense. Whatever it was, the black spot was placed directly on top of one of the three locations in which the grail could appear. It posed a potential hazard, and was also possibly an immediate threat. It was a worrying unknown, and if it was Caster's doing… Wasn't it best to deal with it as soon as possible? Given that they had now encountered every Servant, Caster really did seem like the most likely possibility as well…

Ai nodded.

"It only makes sense… something like that should be dealt with as soon as possible, um… so… so tell your Master we accept," she began, "Does he have any kind of plan yet?"

Archer shook his head.

"We're in the process of gettin' word out to the other Masters 'n Servants," he said, holstering his revolver as he spoke, "To be honest, it was the Overseer who noticed first, but she left it up to us what to do. As I recall, she said if we wanted to handle tellin' the rest of the Masters instead of her, she wouldn't mind."

So the idea was to get everyone together and attack it, then? And the Overseer had realized it was there before anyone else had? If she'd chosen to begin informing the Masters, it was possible that she had reason to believe it would spiral into a far larger problem then simply creating a base on one of the points the Grail could appear in. Though… she really had decided she could leave the job to someone else? What kind of nun was she?!

"… Very well," Saber said, "When the time has come, I'll assist in bringing whatever this black spot is to an end."

It was clear Saber was quite wary of Archer, but at the same time the black spot was… strange and worrying.

"Can you tell us anything else about it?" Ai asked.

"Not much. Just that no light touches it," replied the cowboy Servant, with a shrug, "But… before I leave…"

A smile came to his lips.

"This might be the last chance we have, if you catch my meanin'."

What did he mean by that? Saber seemed confused too.

"Archer? What do you mean?" she asked. Her glinting sword was lowered slightly, as she regarded the other Servant with confusion.

"I mean that the circumstances of the Holy Grail War can change mighty quick," he explained, "If one of us bites it before we get a chance to meet again, I reckon it'd be a missed opportunity."

The small brunette still didn't understand. What was Archer talking about? A missed opportunity? It wasn't making any sense to her.

"Whaddaya say, ma'am?" Archer continued, his gaze now fixed on Saber herself, "Care to test the speed of your blade against the fastest gun in the west?"

Wait, what?!

"… W-weren't… w-w-weren't you just declaring a ceasefire?! Wh-what happened?!" she cried, before Saber could even answer. Fighting during in broad daylight? That was way too risky! And… and they had just been talking about teaming up to handle the strange black spot in the forest! Now there was going to be a fight?

"Nah, no fight, little lady," responded Archer, "More of a… quick draw."

He patted the revolver holstered at his side.

"Saber, if you can draw your sword and reach me before I can squeeze off a shot, you win, it's a ceasefire," he explained, "If not… well, you get shot. Pretty simple rules, right?"

For a few moments, Saber was silent.

Then, she lowered her katana.

"Is your Master aware of this?" she asked.

"'Course not. This is all my idea," came Archer's response.

There was a tense pause.

"… Very well, I'll accept your challenge," Saber began, a smile forming on her lips. "I have nothing but confidence in my abilities with the blade."

"S-Saber…" Ai couldn't help but worry. It wasn't as if she doubted Saber's capabilities. It was that she didn't know Archer's. If he shot Saber… was it a trick? Was it a ploy to use his Noble Phantasm, or some kind of Servant Skill, to deal crippling damage to Saber? All these worries came pouring out, and, slowly, she found herself reaching out to grasp at the girl samurai's sleeve, tugging.

"B… b-be careful, Saber," she said, her voice wavering.

Her Servant looked back over her shoulder, and gave her a wide smile.

"Of course, Master! It's not like I'll screw up, but even if I do, I have you here to heal me, don't I?" she responded, before facing forward again.

"A-ah…"

Ai felt her cheeks flushing, and she slowly released her Servant's sleeve. And now all she could do was have faith in her.

Saber's feet slid into a ready stance, as she drew her blade parallel to her head. Archer smiled, and then his hand was at his side, his fingers flexing and unflexing, poised to draw his revolver in an instant. For Ai, the world seemed to slow down to a crawl, as her heart hammered in her chest, her legs quaking. She had no idea how this would end, but she knew that Archer wouldn't make such a proposal if he didn't have an incredibly fast trigger finger. For that matter, anyone from the American West, during the age of outlaws, who could qualify as a Servant was bound to be capable of incredible feats of marksmanship and gunplay.

The tension was enormous, her hands trembling as she watched the two. It seemed like hours were passing as the two Servants faced one another down, blade versus sword. East versus west.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Archer's voice.

"Draw!"

What followed… well, she wasn't sure what happened. There was a rush of wind, a tremendous backdraft as air pressure blasted through the alleyway and almost knocked the small brunette off of her feet! The sound, it was like a sonic boom!

The challenge was over in an instant. For all the suspense, all the tension, the game had ended faster than it had begun. But… who had won? Ai couldn't tell, and she was too scared to even try and get a closer look.

Saber stood in front of Archer, her blade placed against his neck. From her position, she began to realize that the revolver's barrel was pressed against the swordswoman's chest. At that close range… if he'd fired…

"… Nice work!" declared Archer, brightly, calmly holstering his pistol, "It didn't even look like you moved!"

Saber stepped back, lowering her sword to her side. "You moved fast enough to draw your pistol at the same pace as my flash stepping… whoever you are, Archer, you're incredible with that gun!"

"Heh, I could say the same of you, ma'am!" declared the cowboy Servant, adjusting his hat with one hand as he did, "You covered the distance between us before I could even pull the trigger! It's a ceasefire then, alright!"

It was at that point that Ai noticed Marion, the familiar, quietly tug on Archer's sleeve. She realized that the girl was pouting, looking up at Archer as she did. As Saber returned to her side, Archer crouched next to the familiar and produced a piece of candy from his pocket, offering it to Marion as he did. After a few moments, she took it, still holding Archer's sleeve in her other hand.

"I'll go 'n tell my Master our meetin' went well," said the blonde cowboy, straightened as Marion munched on the candy. "When I've had a chat with all the other Masters, we'll take on the one responsible for the black spot, so I reckon you should be ready."

Still shaking, after witnessing the incredibly close resolution to Archer's challenge, Ai found herself struggling to respond.

Saber spoke instead.

"We'll be ready, Archer," she said, with a smile, "Whatever's created that black spot, we'll be able to take it down!"

"Heh, lookin' forward to it," replied Archer, "See you later, Saber, little lady."

He tipped his hat, and turned. As he moved, his body faded, disappearing into shimmering golden lights. Once he'd completely vanished, Marion began to leave. As the silver-haired little girl approached the end of the alley, she gave one last, silent glance towards Ai and Saber, before rounding the corner and disappearing from view entirely.

"… Whew!" exclaimed Saber, her katana disappearing into cherry blossom petal lights as she turned on her heel, smiling at her Master, "That was pretty tense, huh? Archer's pretty quick on the draw, but at this range I've got the advantage!"

"… Y-y-you're so relaxed, Saber…" Ai commented, her voice trembling as she looked up at her Servant. She couldn't fathom how it was that the silvery-haired girl was taking it so easily when she'd just had the enemy Servant's pistol pressed against her chest. How could it be that someone could relax so quickly?

"Eh? Am I? Well… I won, so he wasn't going to go back on his word, right? So there isn't really anything to worry about anymore until we take care of the black spot," she responded cheerily with a shrug.

"… I-I'm sorry, I… I g-got really worried… e-er…" the small brunette fidgeted, averting her eyes.

"I don't know why you think you need to apologize for being worried, Master," Saber said, "But it's alright! When it comes to speed with a sword, I'm second to none! Though he got pretty close… I might've lost if I'd been further away to start with, but there's no point in worrying about that!"

Ah… Ai almost felt envious, as she tried to calm her pounding heart. Saber was able to calm down so quickly after something as tense as that, and yet the small brunette simply couldn't. She wasn't panicking as much as she had the previous night, but still… she was struggling to try and focus on anything but how worried she had been.

But then she felt her Servant's hand on her shoulder.

"Master… it's over now," she said, smiling, "Right now, we should get back to spending our free time well, right? After all, you were so helpful to me earlier, you should make sure you're in top shape for later!"

And now Ai's heart was hammering in her chest for entirely different reasons. Saber was so beautiful, and so kind…

"R-right!"

Even if Archer had interrupted them with all of that, with the black spot and his challenge to Saber, right now they were supposed to be taking what time they had to relax, before anything else happened. Besides, she was supposed to give Saber a chance to try out the bakery and get to finish her ice cream this time, wasn't she? She wanted to make the girl samurai happy, after all… and if they were supposed to be relaxing, it only made sense.

It wasn't much longer before they'd be meeting up with Tsubaki and Lancer, in the evening, when the sun was beginning to set. So naturally, they had to spend all their remaining time before that as well as they could, didn't they? On top of that, they would have to deal with that black spot soon…

As the two girls left the alleyway, Ai nodded to herself.

This was preparation, too.

As the both of them walked, however, Ai thought she noticed someone waiting outside the alleyway, out of the corner of her eye. For the briefest moment, the small brunette thought she had seen a figure with dark skin and pale purple hair…

But when she turned to get a better look, there was no-one there.

"Master?" Saber asked, glancing back at her, "Is something wrong?"

"Ah… n-no!"

Even if someone had been there… maybe they'd just come to see what the commotion was about?

It must have been nothing.

---

The fact that there wasn't a single Rune left wasn't exactly unexpected, but it couldn't exactly be called comforting either. Tsubaki took one last look over the back alley wall carefully, but there was no sign of any sort of magecraft at all. Caster seemed to have abandoned the plan, but there was no telling what else it that the Servant or her Master could be doing. Especially given what she'd heard from Archer about the black spot in the forest. There were no other candidates, given that they had now seen every Servant in the war. It had to be Caster.

"It seems as if Caster no longer intends to use the bounded field," Lancer commented, as she waited for Tsubaki to finish her exploration, "Though this likely means that her Master has selected a different plan with which to achieve his goal."

The blonde Servant folded her arms.

"Such an evil man," she continued, "The useless slaughter of every single person in this city…"

"I won't allow him to do anything like that, Lancer," Tsubaki replied. By this point, the sun was nearly fully set, hanging low over the horizon. It would soon be time to get into contact with Ai and Saber. The black-haired girl wondered if Archer had already spoken with them or not. If he had, then it would be easier to try and theorize over the nature of the black spot in the forest.

And over Caster's identity. She was a magus of the Age of Gods, who possessed incredibly powerful magecraft. But in addition to that, she was also a necromancer whose skills lay in the animation of the dead. With the usage of runes as well, this hinted at a possible identity… but Tsubaki simply didn't have enough information to reach a concrete conclusion. Lancer, too, seemed uncertain… if they could learn her identity, they would be able to figure out her strengths and weaknesses.

But that wasn't all.

"Lancer… you held him off for a while, do you have any idea who Berserker might be?" Tsubaki asked, as they began to leave the alleyway. After a moment's pause, the knight shook her head.

"I cannot say I do," she responded, "Berserker's enormous size and dark skin seem like they may imply a specific origin… but beyond that, I have no idea who he may be. His ability to summon skeletal warriors complicates things further."

Tsubaki nodded. But that wasn't the only complication that came with Berserker. His Master, the little girl with white hair, who seemed so innocent, was an Einzbern. She had thought that the Einzbern's last bid at the Holy Grail had been more than ten years ago, in Fuyuki. But now one of their homunculi had appeared here?

If she was being honest, Tsubaki didn't want to harm the Einzbern Master at all, even knowing she absolutely possessed powerful capabilities as a magus. She was a little girl, even if she was a homunculus. Seriously harming her was unpleasant to even think about. But the fact was that Tsubaki needed to be prepared to fight her, if it came down to it.

She hoped it wouldn't.

There were other matters worrying her, too. If Natsuki Yukihiro and Caster were responsible for Saori's disappearance, as she suspected they were, was there any hope that she was still alive? Ever since she had learned just who Caster's Master was, and what his true nature was like, Tsubaki had been thinking about it. Saori had been… not her closest friend, but a friend, and the thought of Natsuki Yukihiro killing her…

And yet, if they were responsible, was there really any hope that the girl was still alive? Or was she a shambling corpse animated by magecraft, whose only purpose was to serve Yukihiro's will?

The thought made Tsubaki sick.

"Is there something else bothering you, Master?" came Lancer's voice, suddenly.

"Ah…" Tsubaki paused for a moment. Maybe… maybe her Servant would have some input… "… If Natsuki and Caster are responsible for her disappearance… do you think…"

She hesitated for a moment.

"Do you think there's any chance that Saori-san is still alive?"

Lancer did not respond for several moments. When she spoke, she was somewhat hesitating, and Tsubaki could tell that her Servant was clearly reluctant to speak her suspicions.

"… I… cannot be certain," she said, finally, somewhat quietly. "It's… it is… It is not impossible that she is still alive. Perhaps Caster is keeping her imprisoned for some reason."

It wasn't impossible. That much was true. But Tsubaki could tell that Lancer was unwilling to say what was truly on her mind. The natural conclusion was that Saori was dead. It was strange, not feeling more upset about that prospect. Saori had disappeared for several days, but the idea of her being dead just gave Tsubaki a kind of hollow feeling in her chest. She didn't know for sure, but she couldn't see any other possibility, either.

The truth was that she had steadily been giving up hope on finding Saori alive more and more since learning just who the most likely culprit was.

"… I understand, Lancer…" she said, trailing off as they headed away from the alleyway. It was difficult to try and focus on the incoming meetup with Ai and Saber when one of her friends was likely now dead.

At this point, the sun was quite low in the sky, barely peeking over the horizon. It was late, and there were few people in this area of town right now. It was important to be wary of a potential attack by an enemy Servant, even if Archer was supposedly trying to organize a ceasefire. It wasn't as if anyone else had to abide by that, the agreement was simply that they had to destroy the black spot. There was a chance that the other Servants would still take the opportunity to attack if they thought it was an opportune time.

"… Ts… Tsubaki… -san…?"

That voice snapped Tsubaki out of her thoughts. Who was that…? She turned around, Lancer having already turned towards the source of the voice, and she saw…

Saori.

That dark, shoulder-length hair tied into a side ponytail on the lefthand side. Her soft facial features… Saori was there. Standing right before her.

"… I… w-wanted to… to talk to you… Tsubaki-san… but I couldn't for so long… my throat feels so hot…" Saori said, trembling. Before she could even think, Tsubaki found herself sprinting over to her friend and throwing her arms around her, hugging her tightly.

"Ah… Tsubaki-san…" the other girl mumbled weakly.

Tsubaki couldn't understand what had happened. She had no idea why Saori was here, safe and alive, but that was beside the point. The point was that she seemed fine, if somewhat woozy. She was alright. She wasn't dead. Tsubaki could feel the softness of Saori's body against her, and her hug tightened.

"I… I was… I thought you might be dead, Saori-san…" Tsubaki said, her voice trailing off, "You disappeared for days… I… where were you…? Are you okay? Was it Natsuki?"

"Natsuki…" Saori trailed off. She didn't seem entirely with it, and for the moment Tsubaki assumed that was due to some kind of spell that had been placed on her. She could figure it out when she got Saori somewhere safe. The important thing was to make sure she would be alright.

"You're going to be fine, Saori-san!" Tsubaki insisted, "Just leave it to me! You won't have to worry about him any longer!"

"… Ah… Tsubaki-san… you…" Saori trailed off, trembling slightly in Tsubaki's arms, "You… you look… so… so beautiful…"
Why was Saori focused on that, of all things? Well, it didn't matter, she just had to make sure that Saori got the medical attention she needed.

"Just relax, Saori-san. Take it easy…" she said, rubbing Saori's back.

"… So… so beautiful… my throat feels so hot, Tsubaki-san…" the other girl said, quaking slightly, "Your neck… looks so pretty… I just want to… to…"

Tsubaki didn't understand. What was Saori saying…?

Suddenly, Saori was knocked out of her arms, sent flying meters away! She rolled once and lay limply on her front, unmoving. Tsubaki's eyes widened, and she turned to see the culprit.

"Lancer?! What… what did you do!? Why?!" she snapped. Lancer had just attacked her friend, who was clearly under duress, for no reason! She needed help, and yet her Servant just slapped Saori away like nothing, for no reason! For a few moments, all Tsubaki could feel was rage beginning to rise in her heart. She turned around, ready to sprint to Saori's side to check if she had been injured and try and help her back to her feet, but she felt the blonde knight's hand firmly on her shoulder, stopping her from moving.

"Master, Yumimura Saori is no longer human!" declared Lancer, raising her free hand to point towards the downed girl, her gleaming lance materializing as she did.

Tsubaki paused for a moment. No longer human…? Her eyes widened.

Saori was getting back up. Panting. One of her hands clenched and unclenched as she shakily rose. At first, Tsubaki had been too happy to see Saori alive to really notice, but as she watched the other girl rise, she realized her eyes were a bright, almost luminescent shade of red. And yet they had been a dark shade of brown before...

"… I… i-it hurt… I didn't… why is my throat burning so much…"

There was only one explanation for these traits.

Saori was a Dead Apostle.

A vampire.

A blood-drinking denizen of the night that hunted humans to stay alive. Somehow, Saori have become a Dead Apostle. For the few moments that passed while Tsubaki was simply unable to articulate herself, watching the other girl shakily make it to her feet, the black-haired girl questioned how this could happen. Why? Who would do this to poor, sweet Saori? It wasn't anything Natsuki would have been capable of, which meant… Caster? But why? Why would Caster turn a girl into a Dead Apostle with magecraft? One of her friends was now forced to thrive upon draining blood from others…

".. S… Saori…" Tsubaki raised her hand, weakly, reaching towards her friend. For all her capabilities as a magus, she had no idea how this could be solved. There was no way to simply 'cure' a vampire. But… even still… Saori was still her friend, wasn't she? She didn't want to hurt her.

Lancer stepped in front of her, even as the dark-haired girl straightened, one hand to her head.

"T-Tsubaki-san… why does my throat burn like this…? Why… why did she hurt me…" she asked. Lancer raised her weapon slowly, a grim expression on her face.

"… Master, I…" the knight paused for a moment, "Master, what… what should I do?"

Tsubaki hesitated. Right now, like this… Saori wasn't attempting to attack her. She was struggling with herself, hugging herself and shaking. She doubted the other girl had any idea what had happened to her… She didn't want to hurt her. She couldn't bring herself to hurt her. But… a Dead Apostle, one who couldn't control herself, loose in the city… she could hurt others, even if she didn't want to. What could she do? Tsubaki couldn't begin to contemplate killing Saori…

"… Don't… don't hurt her…" the black-haired girl said, finally, "I… we need to find some way to help her, I… we have to…"
Lancer lowered her weapon with a grimace.

"Master, I…"

Something in Saori's shadow stirred. Remembering what Ai had said, Tsubaki had no choice but to order Lancer into action, just as the fox-masked figure began to emerge from the darkness.

"LANCER!"

At this distance, it was possible. Just as Assassin raised her blade, Lancer made it to Saori's side. The dazed girl was knocked off her feet from the burst of air pressure, falling to her side as Lancer's cavalry lance was swung in an arc, slamming into Assassin's side and sending her hurtling through the air. She slammed into the nearby wall with a resounding thud, and the blonde knight swiftly followed, her armor materializing as she grabbed the fox masked Servant by the front of her clothing and pressed her against the wall, to keep her from escaping or vanishing into the shadows!

"You won't escape this time, Assassin! I know your tri-" but even as Lancer spoke, there was a crackling sound like lightning as a column of green light slammed into the pavement beside Saori, who was struggling to her feet!

Tsubaki's eyes widened.

There was Caster, and at her sides… those were not the Dead. At least, they were not human dead. The two figures beside her were enormous, massive humanoid creatures with long arms and short legs, grey skin peeling away to show muscle, bone exposed in some areas of their bodies. One had only half a head, while the other was missing an eye. Each of them had to be at least five meters tall, or more. They were far sturdier undead then the decrepit corpses that Caster had used before, and they were so huge… One wielded a massive stone axe, the other a club.

Lancer was on the other side of her, now. Tsubaki couldn't see what was going on.

"Y-you… Caster?!" cried Tsubaki, stepping forward, rage building in her heart. Caster… Caster had to be the one responsible for all of this! For Saori's fate as a Dead Apostle, it was the only explanation! So… she had to do something, she had to…

The enemy Servant, however, ignored her, even as the pair of enormous dead things took defensive positions around her. She knelt beside Saori, and in a shockingly tender manner placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Master, this place isn't safe for you. You're not ready," said Caster, brushing the hair out of the dazed girl's eyes, "You still need more time. Come back with me, Saori."

Master? What? How… what was happening?! Why was… why was Caster referring to Saori as her Master?! And treating her so… so gently, why…?

"Ah… I… Caster, I… I'm sorry…" she heard Saori mumble weakly. There was nothing Tsubaki could say. Natsuki Yukihiro had been Caster's Master, hadn't he? But now Saori was a Dead Apostle, and she was the one in place of him? How? Just what had happened?

The giant who had taken a position behind Caster suddenly reeled, barely catching itself.

"… I have no time to deal with any of you," the magus from the Age of Gods said, one hand still stroking Saori's hair. "So I'll let you play with them for now~"

Both Caster and Saori began to dissipate into what looked like black butterflies, even as Tsubaki weakly reached towards them. But before she could do anything else, they were gone.

The closest giant almost immediately charged Tsubaki. No matter what was going on, no matter what had happened to Saori, she couldn't allow herself to die. The black-haired girl wasn't going to stand by and let the giant crush her!

As the massive dead creature came close, she channeled mana through her body, reinforcing her legs and darting to the side as its tremendous axe swung down where she had just stood! As she did, Tsubaki noticed the other giant stumble backwards and fell to the ground, forced out of the way as Lancer burst forward, leaping into the air and driving the sharp tip of her cavalry lance into the first giant's shoulder!

"Blaze, divine light!" she cried, and a brilliant glow ignited inside of the massive dead thing's body, tearing through its shoulder and blowing its arm cleanly off in the form of a resplendent beam of light! She dropped to the ground, but the one-armed giant let out a roar and turned to face her. Behind her, the other dead giant was rising back to its feet, and almost immediately Tsubaki noticed that the fox masked Assassin was still present as well, watching from a small distance away. She wasn't attacking, neither the giants nor Lancer, rather she seemed to be watching carefully.

Sparks flew when the stone axe giant swung its weapon downwards once more, Lancer using the side of her cavalry lance to block the blow and force it back. Before she could strike, however, the second giant's club came swinging in from the left, forcing her to use her weapon to block once more, bracing it with her hand as she did! Sparks flew up from her armored feet, scrapping along the ground as she slid backwards across the concrete! Both giants immediately advanced on her, roaring as she squared her feet, gripping her lance in both hands. Without waiting another moment, Lancer sprinted forward, her lance igniting with brilliant light once more as it sheared through the rotten flesh of the axe-wielding giant's thick leg!

It stumbled with a groan, its lower leg bending sideways, weakened bone snapping as it hit one knee. Before Lancer could finish it off, however, the club-wielding giant attacked again, a wild slam forcing her to evade immediately!

Tsubaki's eyes were flicking between the battle, and Assassin. But so far, the fox-masked Servant seemed to have no interest in attempting to join the battle. Rather, she simply watched, without making a single move, as Lancer fought the two massive undead giants. What was she doing…?

Moreover, these giant undead were far more dangerous than anything Caster had used before… Had the magus Servant been holding back, before? They were so large, and so strong… and what was the connection with Saori? Why had she…

The stone axe giant roared as it swung its body around, trying to reach Lancer as she sprinted around it, putting it between herself and the giant that could still stand. As it turned once more to attempt to strike, Lancer drove her weapon through its head! Light blazed along her cavalry lance, and with a sound like a ringing bell it exploded forward in a brilliant beam, disintegrating the huge undead's skull! The light carried on, shearing through the second giant's upper body and putting a hole clear through it, but it continued to bear down on the blonde knight, swinging its club downward towards her! Lancer darted backwards as the enormous weapon crushed what remained of the first giant into the street, leaving a mangled mess behind that quickly faded away. Even though there was now a hole that allowed Tsubaki to see clear through one side of the giant to the other, the undead monster refused to fall, stepping on the fading body of the other giant as it pursued Lancer.

The next time its club came down, however, she planted her foot on the weapon, a thin beam erupting from the tip of her lance as she thrust it forward, blowing off the giant's arm at the elbow! It fell to the ground as the giant stumbled back with a roar, swinging its remaining hand towards her. Lancer sprang back, the huge hand narrowly missing her head, her braid and cape fluttering in the wind. The knight darted forward as the undead giant recovered from its swing, driving her weapon through one of its knees and sending it toppling backwards to the ground! As it attempted to right itself, Lancer sprinted across its huge body and drove her lance through its head!

In a matter of moments, Lancer had destroyed both of the dead! Even now, even after every shocking thing she had seen, Tsubaki couldn't help but feel awe at the incredible capabilities of her Servant. Such creatures were right out of myth… and yet, so was Lancer, wasn't she?

The body began to fade away as the blonde knight tore her weapon from the enormous dead thing's head. Without pause, she raised it to point the tip squarely at Assassin.

"Have you prepared yourself, Assassin?!"

Assassin was silent.

Finally, rather then attempting to fight, she reached up and removed her fox mask, displaying a beautiful, pale, purple-eyed face.

"… From the beginning, neither you nor your Master were my target, Lancer," she said, simply, "I targeted the vampire. I am aware there is little chance of success if I were to attempt an assassination on your Master, at the moment."

"That vampire… she… she's my friend!" snapped Tsubaki, stepping forward. Now that the battle was concluded, she couldn't hold back her emotions. Even if Saori had become a vampire, she wouldn't allow her to be killed like that. She knew the danger inherent in the presence of a Dead Apostle, but just because of that… it didn't mean she was no longer Yumimura Saori!

"Regardless of that, she is still a vampire," responded Assassin, gaze remaining on Lancer rather then regarding Tsubaki, "For the sake of preserving the secrecy of the war, it would be best to kill her. Such efficiency would be praised by my lord."

"And I won't let you do that!" cried Tsubaki, her hands curling into fists. Certainly, she knew a logical magus would cut her emotions away and concern herself only with the preservation of the secret that was the Holy Grail War. But the black-haired girl was hardly concerned about such things when it came to the life of one of her friends. Even if she had somehow become Caster's Master as well as a Dead Apostle. "It doesn't matter if she's a vampire or one of the enemy Masters, she's still my friend!"

"I care not for your opinion," replied the enemy Servant, "All that matters is my duty."

"You should be wary with your words, Mori Ranmaru," said Lancer, stepping forward, light glinting off of her cavalry lance, armor clanking, "Now that I am aware of your tricks, a battle between us would end in a flash."

"… I see. So Saber shared my true name with you…" Assassin mused, her face betraying no emotions as she faced down the blonde knight's weapon.

And then, she began to dissipate into golden light.

"I will not try to fight you, Lancer."

Soon, Assassin was gone.

Lancer lowered her weapon. They were alone on the street, now.

Tsubaki's fits uncurled. What was she supposed to do now, though…? She wanted to save Saori, but how could she do such a thing?

No, it didn't matter. She would do it. It was something she committed herself to completely.

"… Master?" Lancer began, turning towards the black-haired girl.

"Lancer… I have to save Saori-san."

Even if it seemed impossible.

It had to be done.