The man watches silently at the girl wept before him, tears gently cascading down her cheeks from her red eyes as quiet sobs escaped from her lips. The man dared not say anything the entire time she cried, worrying that he would upset her even more than she already was (besides, how was he supposed to comfort her? It wasn't like he had any words to encourage or console her either).
Instead, he allowed her to release her tears as long as she wanted until she calmed down, choosing to silently stay by her side while she did so.Well, it's not that he could blame her. She was nearly on the verge of dying once again, and would've if he had not sensed her distress at the last minute. Anyone normal would react in such a manner.
Unlike Rin, he was quick to find out that she wasn't a mentally strong person, even if she tried to be one. The girl had pretended to act perfectly fine after crying, but she wasn't fooling him with that facade of hers.
He looks at the window, the tiny gap through the curtains showing the virtual night sky. Clicking his tongue, he lets out a grunt of irritation.The man had been careless, too trusting of his rookie master to put it in another sense.
He had assumed that she wouldn't be so gullible but...guess he had another thing coming at him. As much as a pain that it would seem, he would have to keep a closer eye on her tomorrow, whether he liked it or not.
Turning his head, the man's eyes are now fixed on his sleeping master. The girl looked to be quite tired, with her doll-like face showing signs of fatigue and exhaustion after today's training. Today had been rather eventful to say in the least, yet he was mildly surprised that she could still train and act normal for the rest of the day.
No...the more accurate way to describe it was that she acted as if the whole incident hadn't occurred at all. Maybe crying in the infirmary did help? Not that he would know (girls tend to be so confusing!).
Sighing, he closes his eyes once again. All he knew was that he had gotten stuck with a rather troublesome master to take care of, and this was just the start of his worries. A brief image pops in his head, with a familiar twin-tailed girl smiling confidently at him, but he immediately swipes it off. Why did he remember her of all people at a time like this?
Well...it was more than ironic to see a similar counterpart in this war as well, with the same attitude and mindset. She walked like her, acted and talked like her, behaved like her, yet wasn't the same as her. She was her and yet at the same time wasn't like her. ...Did he think that his current master was the same as her then...?
No, this was different than it was with her. Unlike her, this girl didn't live in an environment where she was trained to be mage from a young age. She was much more capable of handling herself, and didn't like or need anyone telling her what to do compared to his current master. One thing that stuck to him was her way of proving him wrong countless times, striking down her foes brilliantly without hesitation, not forgetting her role as a strong mage yet still showing compassion for the weak and helpless.
To say that she was admirable as a master was an understatement. She was stubborn and independent, with a fire in her eyes that was unmatched with anyone else, and always planned ahead or knew of what the enemy was about to do. In the first place, she wouldn't even let something like this get to her head unlike with this girl.
Shaking his head, the man resists clicking his tongue in disapproval. No, he couldn't act like this. What good would it do to compare this sleeping girl to her? He had already told both her and himself that no matter how inexperienced she was, he was going to help her as much as he could, regardless of her attitude of lack of motivation. That much was all he could do as her servant. And with a girl who easily attracted trouble like her, he couldn't afford to let his guard down so easily.
Propping his head at a comfortable angle, he crosses his arms over his chest and allows himself to sleep. Ah, he should really learn to stop thinking so much over things like this, was all he thought before the drowsiness overtook him.
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"Hakuno." The girl looks up upon her name being called, staring at the man before her. "...It's getting late. Are you sure you don't want to rest first?" Oh, so it was that late already? Odd, it felt a though time hadn't even passed for a second.
The girl shakes her head. "It's fine...I'm not really tired." Again, the man chuckles, and the girl finds herself raising her eyebrows as he strokes her hair. Was what she said that funny that he had to laugh?
As the man's fingers gentle brush against the strands of her hair, she closes her eyes. Yes, she didn't feel tired...but perhaps it was good to rest like this every now and then. And so she did, complying to the man's earlier request as he continued to gently stroke her forehead.
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The girl finds herself waking abruptly once again, her eyes greeting the ceiling and her ears hearing the sound of the clock ticking. Her breaths are shallow, and for a while she doesn't say or do anything, choosing to silently stay in bed until she hears her servant shifting next to her.
Turning her head, she sees the man that was just beginning to wake up himself. Choosing then to get up from the bed into a sitting position, she does so, and watches as her servant stretches his arms before looking back at her. "...Good morning Archer," she quietly greets, giving him a small smile.
The man gives a nod, standing up from his throne of chairs. "Good morning to you as well Master. How are you feeling? Are your toes better now?" Ah, now that he brought that up...
Removing the covers from her legs, she sees that her toes were in a much better state compared to last night; seems as though the healing fountain's water really did the trick. Removing each plaster from her toes, she takes a moment before she rises from the bed, preparing for another day's worth of training and intel gathering.
Walking along the campus, she sees various NPCs, who appear as busy students, among the masters. Now that she could properly observe them, she was quick to notice that not only did the NPCs look slightly different in comparison to the masters, but their behaviour seems a little...off.
How should she put it? Maybe it's their lack of a soul. To them, this battle is just a string of data variables. Hakuno stops and continues to stare at a small group of gathered masters, her eyes immediately fixed on a certain someone, that person sticking out like a sore thumb.
It took only a few seconds later for that person to notice her as well, as he gives a smile and waves. "Ah, good morning Kishinami-san. How early for you to be up and about," he greets, walking over towards her. "G-Good morning to you too Leo," she awkwardly replies, trying not to stare back at the hulking servant who was standing behind Leo, staring at her like a hawk.
Leo lets out a chuckle at her response. "Please, there is no need to exert yourself to be so formal with me. I do wish that we could converse normally like we used to during the preliminaries. That being said, I believe I remarked that we would meet again back then, didn't I?"
The girl blinks in astonishment. So the comment was aimed at her back then. She had thought at first that Leo was only directing that line at her classmate...but to think that he actually knew of her eavesdropping on their conversation is a little...terrifying to put it in a nice way. She takes note of his presence, the force of it overwhelming his seemingly innocent appearance.
Leonardo Bistario Harway. Rin had explained that he was the future leader of the Western plutocrats, tasked with obtaining this war's Holy Grail, and was only assigned to be Nagisa's opponent. Even without him saying a word, she could feel the authorative aura that he was exerting on her...no, every individual there was in this school, even the NPCs. Before, it felt like he was a wolf let loose inside a chicken coop. Now though, she just feels out of place.
Her pupils slowly drift towards the shadowy figure radiating the same aura of strength, clad in white armour which clearly marked him as a servant. Even after his grand and extravagant appearance and reveal of name yesterday, Hakuno couldn't help but fix her eyes on him.
Leo turns and looks at his servant, before a gentle smile graces his lips. "...Ah, how forgetful of me. You haven't had a proper meeting with him yesterday I assume?" Turning back to face her, the pleasant smile never leaving his face as Leo instructs his servant. "Gawain, introduce yourself."
Upon his command, his servant takes a step forward and bows. "I am his servant, Gawain. I am pleased to be acquainted with you, and do hope that you are a worthy foe." As the servant nods in greeting, an enigmatic smile forms on his lips. He says all this in a chivalrous yet flat manner, before stepping back to stand behind Leo once again, like how a knight would with its king. He is the exemplar of knighthood and, though a servant, has the same bearing as his master that it's almost comes a surprise to her.
Though she doesn't know too many details about him, it wasn't difficult to figure out a thing or two of his past. ...Sir Gawain, one of the knights of the Round Table mentioned in the legends of King Arthur. It's said that his prowess rivaled King Arthur's, and his holy sword as equal in power to Excalibur.
While she didn't want to assume things, it wasn't obvious by his lore alone that he's a Saber-class servant. Seeing that his lore was fairly popular and well-known, it wouldn't be too hard to know more about him. Perhaps she could even discover and weakness or two of his.
Hakuno carefully looks back at Leo, the boy still smiling brightly at her. She's 100% sure that Leo is aware of how much information he's leaked to her and the other masters yesterday, but seems rather unconcerned by it. It's obvious that he chooses not to worry with such things such as subtlety or tactics.
For him, if something is destined to be revealed, so be it. From his point of view, his victory is all but assured; his superiority over others reinforced every day since he was born. Somehow, Hakuno couldn't help but worry for Nagisa now. Could she really hold her ground against such an opponent? She didn't wanna think of such situations.
"Well then, it has been great speaking with you, but I must take my leave now." Snapping out if her trance, she watches as Leo bows slightly and turns to leave. "I hope to see you again. Also, I heard that Shinji Matou is your opponent. Please fight with honor and pride." With nothing else said, he walks upstairs, with his servant following closely behind him. All Hakuno could do was silently watch him leave. So this was who Nagisa was facing.
Though he seems rather nice, she could tell that he would not hold back against his opponent. No, the more correct way to phrase it is that he doesn't even need to hold back against his opponent. And since she's got a taste of his fighting style two days ago as well, she could tell the amount of power Gawain possessed, even as a servant. Both individuals were strong, and that much was undeniable no matter how much she didn't want to admit it.
"So the scion of the family himself decides to become a master. Ugh, how annoying." Whipping her head around, she comes in contact with Rin who was leaning her back against the wall, her fingers drumming across her crossed arms in irritation. How long had she been there? Was she listening in on their conversation the entire time without Hakuno even noticing?
On another note, based on how she acted two days ago and how she's acting now, the murderous glare she was giving was almost palpable. It didn't seem that she and Leo were on good terms. Were they enemies of some sort back in the real world? And...what on earth did Leo possibly do to make her that angry? Rin was probably looking even more pissed right now that Shinji was with Leo in the cafeteria the other day, and that alone was an achievement!
"The power of the Holy Grail. It seems that the plutocrats of Europe sense a threat in the SE.RA.PH. But to risk their leader was probably a huge, dumb mistake on their part." Placing a hand on her hip, Rin flips her hair over her shoulder, a smirk now on her features.
"Things just got more interesting, athough my powers as a magus are far more superior than his!" she declares, causing Hakuno's eyes to go wide. Wow, she was not expecting that, though Hakuno's getting the feeling that Leo has little to no concern at all for people like her.
With their eyes meeting, Rin's smile fades towards a more neutral expression. "Oh, hey Hakuno. You're looking well and alive, despite almost drowning and dying yesterday. Was getting your face squashed inside a toilet bowl fun?" she asks in her usual sarcastic, light-hearted tone of voice, tilting her head to the side.
Hakuno didn't know that her eyes could go any wider than they already were until Rin spoke those words, her jaw dropping open. Someone else other than her herself found out about yesterday's incident?! She was sure that she was only one awake and about that early though! "Rin...how...did you..."
Sighing, Rin walks past her, not bothering to look back as she continues to walk down the hallway. "I have my ways. You on the other hand, better start taking care of yourself, or you're gonna end up dying even before the end of this week. Shinji may be a fool, but he's not completely stupid. You'd best be cautious around him." She doesn't say another word, and disappears after entering one of the classrooms while leaving Hakuno standing in the same spot, dumbfounded. Without so much as saying hi, the now fired up Rin Tohsaka almost seems to stomp away.
Her terminal buzzes in recognition that classes were about to start, and Hakuno doesn't have time to ponder on what Rin was going about before she scurries back to her classroom before Taiga arrives. What she does know however, is that Rin sees Leo as an arch-enemy...or possibly more than that, and shudders thinking about it.
It was at times like these that she's silently happy about not being a world-known figure like Leo. Getting Rin as her enemy was one thing but...getting on her bad side was another, and she didn't wanna start pissing her off as well.
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The bells rings after a few hours of intensive learning as Hakuno leans onto her chair lazily, her head on the table. It was thr fourth day, here in this crazy, virtual world with her as a participant in the Holy Grail War. She reminds herself so many times, yet is unable to truly understand and comprehend that yet. So this was what Rin meant the other time when she told her that she would feel 'disoriented'.
Feeling someone lightly tap on her shoulder, she turns to see an all too familiar face gazing upon her with a large grin that extended to her cheeks. Sitting up properly, Hakuno smiles. Funny how Nagisa would approach her so many times, yet she had to admit, she was beginning to enjoy these small conversations that they would have every now and then. "Hey Nagisa."
"Yo! You seem energetic!" she jokes, patting her on the back with a laugh, with Hakuno laughing sheepishly in return. "Yeah well, it's kinda hard for me to focus when it comes to Greek mythology. And Fujimura-sensei goes too into detail with it at times," she replies. "Ah, but I thought that was the fun part! Then again, not everyone enjoys history!"
"I do admit, it's nice of the SE.RA.PH to hold these classes. They're pretty useful." "Yeah! Though...it would've been nice if Fujimura-sensei would talk more about the Arthurian Legends. That way I can learn more about Gawain without having to always go to the library so often. I've already made at least 12 trips to the library within the past 4 days! It's so tiring!" she whines.
"About that...how's the research going om Leo and Gawain?" Hakuno suddenly asks. "Huh? Oh, it's going rather well! Though...I'm still trying to find a way to counterattack Gawain's abilities. Did you know that he's invincible so long as the sun is up?! I mean...there's technically no real sun in this place but like...that's totally unfair! He's gotta be cheating!"
So that was Gawain's trump card. Indeed, it seemed rather powerful, considering that in here the sun would have to mean daytime, and all masters enter the Arena around this time of day too. Was there even any way to counterattack such a powerful ability? Hakuno suddenly remembers her conversation with Leo this morning. Should she bring that up?
It was then that the two heard someone calling out to Nagisa from the front. Turning her head, Hakuno sees a grey-haired individual with thin-framed glasses eyeing them. "Ah, Makinohara-san's calling for me. Well, I'll catch you later Hakuno!" Nagisa says, giving Hakuno one last pat on the back before she joins the female. Hakuno watches them talk for a while before she rises from her seat. Guess she'll head to the library first to look up on Gawain, then head to the Arena.
Upon exiting the classroom, Hakuno is somewhat pleasantly greeted by the sight of Rin standing in the hallway, looking through her terminal. It was kinda weird seeing her at this time of day, since she'd usually disappear somewhere. Hakuno ponders on whether she should go over and greet her, but before she could even decide on the course of action, Rin notices her. "Hey Hakuno. Fancy meeting you here." "Y-Yeah, you too."
Walking over, Rin gives her a smile. "Still formal as always it seems. I trust you're doing well, all things considered." Hakuno nods in reply. Well, apart from almost dying yesterday, things had been going rather smoothly so to speak. Rin gives her a lopsided grin.
"Your innocence is appaling even for me. A word of advice: you will neber catch a glimpse of victory if you always insist on running away." Yeah, she didn't need to be told twice on that. Even Archer had reminded her of the same thing the second time they went to the Arena.
"Oh, but don't get me wrong. Facing a foe you know nothing about is lunacy." Stuffing her terminal into her pocket, Rin crosses her arms and goes on explaining. "In this war, knowledge is everything. To defeat your opponent, you must learn everything about them, from their class and skills to their history. Every little detail counts in ensuring your survival in this war." Yeah, Hakuno had to learn that the hard way.
"The more info you have, the easier it will be to create a plan and predict your opponent's actions. For now, why don't you go to the library? There's a treasure trove of information there." Pointing towards the direction of where the library was, she hopes for Hakuno to take the hint, to which she does. Taking a few steps, Hakuno pauses and turns back to face her. "What? Do you have something you wanna ask?"
Now that she thought about it, Rin had been there to point out all these subtle but important things, and while she did have a sharp tongue, she was expressing her kindness in her own way. It may be weird, but it didn't sit right for Hakuno to not properly thank her. With as much sincerity as she could muster, she manages to make out, "Thank you".
Rin's eyes widen as she blinks at Hakuno. Opening her mouth, she closes it again after a few seconds, sighing as she places a hand to her forehead. Hakuno could've sworn that Rin blushed for a brief moment, but quickly reverts to a frown.
" *sigh* It's because you're act in such a way that people think that you're an easy target. I may be giving you advice now, but we're technically still enemies. There's no point in thanking me." Seeing how Hakuno was still staring at her, she places a hand on her hip and raises an eyebrow. "...I know how hard it is for you to show me gratitude. That, and I could just be using you, right? Anyway, do your best."
With no more to be said between the two, Hakuno walks off towards the direction of the library. She didn't know why, but Rin's words felt like a source of motivation for her. Rin was a kind person, even if she tried to hide it, and that much was certain.
Though she had been tempted to reply to her that it would've been nice if they weren't enemies and could easily converse like this under other circumstances, she knew that Rin would've probably yelled at her and lectured her for mentioning 'something stupid' if she really said that, and she didn't wanna risk angering her after the whole incident with Leo this morning.
Entering the library, she saw that there were indeed more people inside compared to yesterday. All these masters were probably searching up on their opponents' servants as well. Glancing towards a certain shelf of books, she opens it and begins to quickly go through it when she pauses at a certain page: it was dictating about Gawain.
"One of the major knights mentioned in the Arthurian Cycle and often thought to be King Arthur's nephew. Equal in skill to Lancelot, he served as an advisor to King Arthur." So Gawain was supposedly King Arthur' relative. If that were the case, it would explain his absurd power and and strength as a knight. Hakuno decided to take note of these details as she continued to read on.
He was at odds with Lancelot due to his slaying of both of Gawain's brothers. Due to his overwhelming nobility and youthful impetuousness, he placed his family ties above all else. It was Sir Gawain's hatred towards Lancelot that led to his and King Arthur's eventual downfall. It was at the Great Battle of Camlann that Sir Gawain fell, slain by Sir Lancelot." Hakuno turns the page, slightly disappointed that there were no more details about the servant to be found. However, she did end up knowing more about Leo's servant.
So Sir Gawain harboured hatred towards his ally, one of the knights of the Round Table, Sir Lancelot...and that hatred eventually led to his death. Somehow, she could picture his end to be quite painful, having to be killed by his own comrade whom he despised. And this servant was going to be Nagisa's opponent along with Leo. Hakuno places the book back on the shelf, her head filled with worried thoughts.
However, her mood only soured even more the minute she takes a few steps towards the other aisle of shelves. Standing before her now was none other than her opponent, Shinji Matou. The guy smirks, placing the book that he had been reading back on the shelf and places a hand on his hip. "Hey, look who the cat dragged in. I never expected to run into you."
Hakuno bites her bottom lip, already expecting a hail of insults to rain on her. "Oh, who am I kidding?! Ha ha, I'm just messing with you. The library is the best place to find info. I know all about you, so I expect you to go all out against me." This causes her to visibly stiffen.
Had she misheard that? Shinji knew all about Archer?! But she was being extra careful during their encounter in the Arena, and not once did she even mention his class name. And forget about class name, did he also find out about Archer's true identity?! Even she herself didn't know a thing about him, yet here her opponent was, openly declaring that he knew everything there was to know about her servant like it was common knowledge.
Had she been such an easy open book for him to find out? A possibility pops in her mind and she finds herself narrowing her eyes suspiciously at Shinji. No, it couldn't be that he hacked the database and somehow managed to track info on her and Archer, right? But...that could be the only way if he's telling the truth. What a dirty, cheating scoundrel!
"Ah, but enough about good ol' me. Looks like you on the other hand, are having a hell of a time finding the book you want." His fingers brush suggestively against a shelf of books, the smirk never leaving his face and instead was only growing wider with each passing second.
"Unfortunately for you, I've thoughtfully taken every book about my servant and hide them!" he finally says, with Hakuno staring at him open-mouthed in shock. Ok, this time she must've definitely heard wrong. "Oh, don't look at me like that! I just thought that you'd have more fun getting the info you want, so I hid every book somewhere in the Arena. Although, I wonder if a weaksauce master like you can even find them in the first place."
Clenching her hands into fists, Hakuno takes a step forward and glares at Shinji. "Shinji...! You-" "By the way, what does your servant want in return for helping you? Money right? I knew it! But anyway, do your best...while you still can! Hahahahaha!" Rudely cutting her off, Shinji laughs whilst completely ignoring her death glare. "Whelp, see you around. Good luck." Walking off, he pauses right next to her, shooting a look of pity.
"Oh right, and I do hope that you put up more of a fight the next time we meet in the Arena. You're starting to bore me!" Hakuno doesn't even get the chance to retort when he leaves, shutting the library door soundly behind him.
She stares at it in frustration, somewhat hoping that Shinji would return for one more stupid insult so she could maybe pound some sense into him. It was bad enough that she didn't have enough information on him, but to think that he would find out so much about Archer...and knew of her collecting info on his servant in the library.
"Oh, if it isn't Kishinami-san. What a coincidence that we'd meet again." Turning her body, she sees Leo standing before her. The girl relaxes her tense shoulders, and forces herself to smile at him. "Ah, hey Leo. Are you here to do research as well?" The boy nods, a small smile gracing his lips.
"Yes, you could say that. After all, what better place is there in this school than the library when wanting to know more about your opponent?" Hakuno couldn't help but freeze, gulping when he asks that question. He was referring to Nagisa, wasn't he? Her thoughts flash back towards the smiling girl she conversed with mere minutes ago.
These two were gonna fight each other in 3 days time, and there was no changing that; Fate had paired the two together. However, Gawain was strong, not to mention that he had a superior ability and he was technically as powerful as King Arthur. Doubt and fear shrouded her mind. As much as she didn't want to question it, was Nagisa going to stand a chance against such a powerful foe?
She did say that she wasn't going to go down without a fight, and Hakuno knew better than to prioritize the wellbeing of herself over others but...she still couldn't help but worry nonetheless, much to her dismay. Was she afraid that Nagisa was going to lose? "Y-Yeah, you're right about that."
"On another note, congratulations on making it to the main tournament. It seems that I had forgotten to properly say so this morning, and I apologize for that." Leo tilts his head as a gesture of apology as Hakuno waves her hands in front of her face, looking flustered. "Oh, it's fine! You don't have to do that!" Leo pauses, his pupils staring at hers in an odd manner before he straightens himself up.
"...As much as it seems unpleasant, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Shinji Matou. Though I cannot extend my help to you in finding those books, what I'd like to advise is for you to be careful, as I heard that his servant is powerful." Hakuno bites on her lower lip, slowly nodding her head after a moment. Leo didn't need to mention it twice; she herself already knew how powerful Shinji's servant was...and the gap of overwhelming difference there was between Archer and her.
Her thoughts flashed back towards her classmates, all the people she hung out with. How she wished she coulf go back to those quiet, peaceful days where she didn't need to worry about surviving, about living, about not dying. Were they all deleted by the system after the prelims? Was her time with them nothing but an illusion created by the SE.RA.PH? No, she refused to believe that!
Somehow taking the hint, Leo looks at Hakuno with what could be described as pity. "...Oh, it seems like you don't accept our previous school life as anything but a farce." "...! I don't-" Leo places a hand to silence her before proceeding. "It's fine. ...Let's see, since fate has made us companions, perhaps I should explain things to you, shall I?"
Hakuno is hurt by his distant actions, yet isn't clueless on the fact that Leo doesn't see her as a classmate or friend, but rather as an opponent. She can't blame him. In this war, there were only two options: to live or to die. There was no point making allies when you might have to face them one day anyway. Looking forward, she can only nod at him. "...Yes, please Leo."