The girl is barely able to take a step before she sees what appears to be a dust cloud zooming towards her at an alarmingly fast speed, before someone takes a firm hold of her hand. Eyes wide, she stares at Taiga Fujimura in bewilderment. The teacher pants, as if she had just completed a marathon.
" *Huff* H-Hey there Kishinami-san...I've finally caught you!" she breathes, taking a moment to catch her breath. "Err...what did you need me for, Fujimura-sensei...?" Hakuno quietly asked, already getting a bad feeling. Even back at school during the prelims, Hakuno never really stood out. Unlike Rin, her grades were pretty average, her looks were...decent, there was nothing in particular to brag about in terms of her figure, and she wasn't really close with her classmates or the teachers. So why would the school's tiger, Taiga Fujimura, want to see her now?
After recovering herself, the teacher plasters a huge smile on her face, her hand already clamped onto Hakuno's shoulder in case she tried to run away. "...You'd be willing to do your poor teacher a tiny little favour...right?" "Erm...that's...uh..." "RIGHT?" she emphasized, her grip on the girl's shoulder tightening considerably.
Hakuno gulped, numbly nodding her head in defeat. "O-Of course...I'd be happy to," she weakly replies. "Thank you Kishinami-san, you've made my day!" Taiga smiles, her eyes starting to well up in tears. "S-So...what do you need me to do?" the girl immediately asks, hoping that her favour wasn't anything too big or troublesome to handle.
"Right! So...the thing is, my favourite kendo sword recently disappeared. I stashed it in the archery range's supply room, but it somehow managed to find its way to the Arena! Can you believe that?!" The chocolate-haired female blinks in silence, taking a brief moment to process what Taiga had said as her head slowly tilted to the side. How on earth did a bamboo sword end up in the Arena of all places, without Taiga even knowing about it?
"Oh, don't give me that 'Ah...she's hopeless' look! Stuff like this can just happen sometimes okay?! Probably the work of one of the fellow masters who still hold some grudge against me since the prelims," the teacher grumbles. Hakuno had to agree with that. Taiga Fujimura was rather brutal with her students regardless of gender as a teacher back during the preliminaries, so it would make sense for a fellow hater or two to pull such a prank.
"Anyway, since I can't go in there, I need you to go and get my kendo sword and hand it over to me during the first round!" This detail causes the brown-haired female to pause. NPCs can't enter the Arena? That would mean that apart from the masters, no one else could possibly interfere in the Arena during the preparation period.
"Oh, and one last thing: I'm not here all the time, so you'll want to check back every noe and then! Thanks again!" With a solid slap across her back, the girl winces in pain as Taiga begins stroding off, rubbing the area a moment later and hoping that the blow wouldn't leave a bruise later.
Now that it was obvious what Hakuno had to do, the girl decides to check out her private room first before heading to the Arena. Before she knew it, she was standing outside classroom 2-B, typing the password into her terminal like Kotomine had instructed. Raising the device towards the knob, she hears a low hum, or maybe an incantation, before a click sound is heard. Looking at the door, she slowly slides it open and enters, the door closing behind her.
Looking around, she sees that some drastic changes had been made to the classroom. What had once been a place of learning had converted into a small bedroom, with some desks and chairs stacked up neatly and a few red tablecloths draped over them in a corner, forming an odd makeshift throne as soft, velvet curtains covered the windows.
In the opposite end of the room was a simple, single platform bed, along with another desk which looked to act as a makeshift bedside table, a small lamp placed on it as cardboard boxes were placed in an organized manner next to the bed.
Exploring the room a little more, she sees a door which was previously never there. Opening the door, she is surprisingly greeted with a small bathroom, consisting of a sink and rectangular mirror as well as a shower and bathtub positioned by the corner. Though the bathroom was a little cramped and could barely fit two people, Hakuno was nonetheless grateful that the SE.RA.PH could the matter of hygiene into consideration, and that she could at least still take a shower. So this was going to be her private room.
Without missing a beat, her servant materializes, sitting on the throne with one leg crossed over the other. "Hmm...though some changes have been made, your private room bears a striking resemblance to a classroom. Well, whatever. It's not important on how it looks, as long as we can talk strategy in here."
The girl sighs. Couldn't this guy at least be grateful that they've been provided a space that the prying eyes and ears of other masters can't reach? Anyway, with this private room, she can always come back to talk with Archer about more private matters concerning the war without having to worry about someone possibly spying or listening in on them.
"Hmph, so this is headquarters? It's lacking in comfort and style, not that I'm in any position to complain. Even a shabby room like this will feel like a king's palace after a few wins under our belt," Archer comments, glancing around the room. A few wins under the belt...in the Holy Grail War, killing was the way of securing victory. It was either you or your opponent that would have to die. That's what she's been told ever since she got here...but...
"...I've been thinking about this for a while but..." Archer looks towards his master, watching her fidget a little. "...During the preliminaries, when you said that you'd fight for me...were you serious about that?" the girl asks quietly. "Huh? What's with the sudden question?" "Ah no...it's just...that statement's been bothering me for a while." Hakuno tries to avoid looking at her servant in the eye, as she goes on.
"...All I've been hearing ever since I woke up is that in this war...everyone's forced to kill, or you're pretty much dead. I know that... but still...I..." "The thought of killing another pains you?" Archer goes quiet after asking, and the girl dares not speak another word, until she hears his footsteps, the man drawing closer towards her. Looking up, she sees the man raising his hand towards her, making a gesture as if to pat her on the head when...
...His fingers reach out and pinch her on the cheek, hard. "Ow! W-What was that for?!" Hakuno retorts in disbelief, rubbing her red cheek as Archer withdraws his hand. "Good. At least you don't look so depressed now." Her eyes widen. "...W-What?"
"You don't need to overthink things. Sure, when the time comes, you'll eventually be forced to choose between killing or being killed, but that can wait...at least for now." Archer places a hand on her shoulder, as if reassuring her. "Focus on what's in the present. At our current state, we need to train and get in shape to prepare for what's to come, am I right?"
The girl's mouth opens, but closes a moment later. Just for a while, it almost felt as if she could wholeheartedly trust his words, and that they were some kind of encouragement towards her. "...You're right. I shouldn't be too pessimistic when nothing's happened yet." Taking a step back, Archer smirks at her. "Now then, shall we head to the Arena? If you continue to sulk here, the sun will eventually set." Archer had a point. There was no use in worrying and going about in circles.
Nodding, the corners of her lips slowly curl up to form a smile. "Yeah...let's get going." Her servant says no more, and dematerializes. The girl, now feeling a little better than before thanks to her servant's advice, exits the room, heading downstairs to go to the Arena. "Be aware that once you enter the Arena, should you choose to leave, the day will come to an end. Before you enter the Arena, I suggest you do any shopping or intel gathering first," the man advises.
"Shopping?" The thought hadn't occurred to her that she'd need to do shopping for the war. "Not clothes shopping. Shopping for medical supplies and so forth to use in battle. You can do so by heading downstairs to the commissary...like those masters there," Archer explains, directing his master's attention towards a group of masters who were heading in the direction of where the cafeteria was.
"Ah...I see. Then I'll do that." After all, it wouldn't be wise to enter the Arena without healing items in case Archer or her got hurt. Following the group of masters, she steadily makes her way downstairs.
Upon reaching the cafeteria, she sees a crowd of masters lining up by a counter which Hakuno could see medical supplies and other items of sorts neatly stacked on the shelves. Or more accurately to say was...the masters were wrestling their way through to get to the front.
The girl sweatdrops, watching the brutal battlefield unfold before her. "That's...where we'll get the supplies?" "Yeah. And I'm assuming that there are a ton of masters here because it's the first day of the tournament." Watching his master in amusement, Hakuno could almost tell that he was smirking at her. "Well...aren't you gonna go? The items will finish soon if you don't hurry." The girl's shoulders tense. "I...I know that!"
Pushing her past the students, the girl miraculously manages to squeeze in front after minutes of wrestling her way through, barely managing to take a look at the items on sale. "Err...excuse me! I'll take five bags of ether powder!" she yells, watching as the woman takes five bags of powder off the shelf and hands it to her. "That'll be 500ppt miss!" the lady yells back, extending her hand to collect the money.
It was then that Hakuno came to a realization: she had no money. Panicking, she laughs nervously at the shop lady. "Erm...sorry but...I don't have any money." Heads began turning towards her in alarm as the girl blushed. "Hah?! What's the deal then?! Do you think that I'll just gladly hand over these items to you?!" the shop lady says, obviously looking annoyed. "N-No...that's..."
"I'll pay for her." Turning her head, she sees a familiar woman standing next to her. "Nagisa-san...? What are you-" Nagisa smiles, paying for the items as she gently pulls Hakuno to the side.
"Yo Hakuno! Didn't think we'd meet so soon again!" Nagisa greets, smiling. "Y-Yeah..me too. But, why are you here? Didn't you wanna head to the Arena earlier?" "Oh, well...I kinda got held up! I was busy doing intel gathering on my opponent!"
"Intel gathering?" "Yup! After all, finding out about your opponent's strengths and weaknesses and formulating a strategy is the key to winning right?" Huh...Hakuno never really thought about it. Up until now, all she was concerned about was her own abilities. She should probably start doing the same once she finds out about her opponent tomorrow. "...Yeah...you're probably right about that."
"Anyway, you're here to get healing items too...so I suppose that you're gonna head to the Arena soon?" "Erm...yeah." "Cool. Then why don't we head there together-" Nagisa pauses, her head turning to the side as she frowns. Based on this action alone, Hakuno could tell that her servant was talking to her about something.
"...Ah...on second thought, I need to head to the library. Gotta try and gather as much info as I can on my opponent before I head to the Arena!" Nagisa replies a moment later. "Oh...yeah. Then...see you." Nagisa gives a bright grin before she begins jogging upstairs.
"...Didn't I tell you that befriending her was a bad idea?" Hakuno is brought out of her thoughts by Archer's stern voice. "...What?" The man sighs, placing a hand to his forehead. "Allies may help you now, but they'll only get in the way later, especially if you manage to advance in the Holy Grail War. For all we know, she may have been your opponent for this round as well. Your friendship with her will eventually lead to your downfall, one way or another."
Upon hearing that statement, Hakuno's eyes narrowed slightly. Though she didn't want to admit it, Archer was right. Nagisa may be acting nice towards her now, but she'll probably backstab her the moment she gets a chance...and Hakuno couldn't risk that. It's frustrating, but she didn't want to get hurt...so for now all she can do is to maintain a safe distance, and not step over the line. After all, everyone is an enemy to another in this ruthless place.
"...I know that. I'll...try to keep my distance from her," she says after a while. "At least you're aware of it. Anyway, should we head to the Arena? We've wasted enough time as it is." The girl nods, making her way back upstairs to the Arena. That's right. In this war, she can only rely on her servant and her own willpower to survive, nothing more, nothing less. She couldn't let her selfish naivete get to her.
It hadn't popped up in her mind before, but Nagisa's kindness was probably her way of gathering "intel", on finding out about the other masters in case she ever got through to the next round and those masters she befriended were to become her opponents. Just the thought of betrayal by the same person who a few minutes ago, had graciously helped her, made Hakuno uncomfortable.
Even if it was just a simple act of kindness, she still felt...happy, in that even as the war had begun, someone was still willing to extend their help to her. However, thinking about it now, that act of help was probably for Nagisa's own benefit.
It didn't take long before she found herself standing a metre away from the familiar door, the same door she went through for the preliminaries as Kotomine had specified. Yes, this was the same place where everything began.
Placing her hand against the knob, a small window pops up with the text: "Enter the Arena?" along with the 'Yes' and 'No' options below. Clicking on 'Yes', another window pops up, this time with the selections: "Go to the First Floor" and "Go to the second Floor
Upon pressing the first option, she hears the door open open with a click. Turning the knob, she enters the Arena, a bright light snuffing her senses as she felt the door close behind her firmly. Her body is gravitationally pulled towards an unknown force through the space of data, and she is immobile for that brief moment until she reaches her destination.