The familiar, cool feeling of a distant breeze grazed against Hakuno's cheeks as she opens her eyes, having entered the Arena. Glancing around, she notices that nothing in particular had changed; the layout of the Arena at the moment still pretty much looked the same. That was a good thing at least...seeing how she and Archer were prepared to be attacked one way or the other as soon as they arrived.
"Ah Hakuno...good to see that you've made it. I almost thought that you chickened out and decided not to make it." Turning her head to face the source of the voice, she let's out yet another sigh before glaring at Shinji. With how insufferably annoying he was, she was surprised that Rider hasn't shot him with her pistols or something. Then again, Taiga did mention that masters were paired with servants based on their compatibility so...
Taking a few steps forward, Shinji eyes Hakuno with a mischievous look, his lips curled upwards with his irritating trademark smirk. "Anyway, without wasting any more time, I've got great idea." Hakuno doubted that anything Shinji suggested could be considered anywhere near "great" as an idea to begin with. Knowing him, he'd probably suggest something that would give him an obvious unfair advantage just to tip the scales in his favour.
"Since you're here, let's play a little game." He doesn't even try to hide his evil intentions with the tone of his voice as he says this. Hakuno could already see the evil twinkle in his eyes as she places a hand on her hip. "...And what kind of game is that?" Waving a hand dismissively, Shinji lets out a brief chuckle. "Aww, don't look so suspicious! The game'll be easy, I promise!" Yeah ok, he was definitely lying.
"Says the same person who'd stoop low enough to try and hide a book containing details about his servant...in a hidden space blocked by a wall with an enemy program to guard the book which was generated by the hacker himself no less. Quit it with the bullshit and cut straight to the chase Shinji. What is this sick little game you're gonna make us play?" Archer sounds both pissed and tired as he says this, his eyes drawn together to glare at him...probably due to being dragged around countless times these past few days because of Shinji's so-called 'games'.
However, he took the words right out of her mouth.This seemed all too fishy to her. It would take a millennium...no...possibly longer than that before Hakuno would even begin to accept or believe whatever came out of Shinji's foul mouth. Was he seriously expecting her to just believe his sick lies and shrug her shoulders in an "Ok I BeLiEvE yOu" fashion? Sure, she admitted to being gullible at times but this was Shinji they were talking about. Whatever the case, she wasn't gonna fall for that trap of his.
"Ahahahahaha, you got me. But anyway, the game I propose we do is...a treasure hunt." Hakuno raises her eyebrows upon hearing the game's name. "Treasure hunt?" "That's right. Seems totally harmless, right?" Yeah right, like anything Shinji suggested wouldn't be harmful to his opponent in the slightest. "...What're the rules and conditions of the game?" Call her paranoid, but she couldn't afford to let her guard down so easily...especially not around Shinji of all people. If it's anything that she's learnt over the past few days, it's that he definitely couldn't be trusted for even a second. Letting her guard down was exactly what he wanted her to do after all.
"Oh c'mon, don't tell me you don't even know how the game works. I thought you were at least smart enough to know that Hakuno." Hakuno's eyebrows twitch at this, internally calming herself down to prevent her from possibly walking over and pummel Shinji since he was technically close enough and within range for her to at least strike him once with her fists. "Well...you were always dim-witted compared to me so...allow me to enlighten you. The treasure that I've generated earlier is hidden in some item folders which are scattered around the Arena. All you gotta do is race me and Rider...and get them before we do."
Hakuno couldn't help but narrow her eyes at how vague the rules were. "...That's it?" "Of course. Ah, but I must warn you...with each item folder I find and open before you do, Rider's strength will increase by a certain amount. If you don't want that to happen...then well...you know what you have to do." Turning his back away from the two, Hakuno could almost sense the ever growing smirk on his face as his raises his hand. "Well then...catch ya later Hakuno...once I've grabbed all the treasure that is!"
Hakuno doesn't even have time to register his words before he snaps his fingers, the area suddenly being engulfed with a blinding light as Hakuno shields her eyes. After opening them seconds later when the light had finally died down, she frantically looks around, noticing immediately that Rider and Shinji were already gone. Dammit, she knew that he'd pull off some dirty trick! Shinji would do anything just to win!
"That bastard! Hurry up master, we've got to catch up to them! Start running!" She didn't need to be told twice. At Archer's command, Hakuno was already dashing along the hallway with her servant, quickly locating and equipping a Mystic code that could help her increase her speed as she turned a corner.
"...! Master watch out!" The brown-haired female's eyes widen as she ducked just before Archer intercepted an enemy program that had appeared in front of them. She wastes no time as she quickly stuns the enemy program with one of her mystic codes, her servant swiftly killing off the enemy program by striking it with his swords. "T-That enemy program came out of nowhere..." "Probably Shinji's doing. Anyway, we have to move on. Shinji and Rider might've already located those item folders as we speak."
It didn't take long before a few enemy programs appeared and attacked the duo, with Hakuno stunning each of them. From the corner of her eye, she could see Shinji and Rider a few metres ahead of them, easily running through the arena hallways without being attacked by even a single enemy program. "How are these enemies not targeting them?!"
"Shinji must've hacked the Arena," came Archer's simple reply as he continued to intercept the enemy programs that were beginning to corner them. Hakuno knew that Shinji would resort to using dirty tricks to win but this was ridiculous! Nevermind that, they had to catch up to them before they got a hold of the treasure. At Hakuno's current level, she couldn't afford to let Rider get any stronger than she was now.
"...Guess there's no choice." Grabbing her by the waist, Hakuno let's out a squeak of surprise as he throws her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "H-Hey! What are you doing?! Let me down right now!" she shrieks, her face turning a hue of red as Archer continued to run, not even bothering to look at her. Just what did he think he was doing to her?! And in such an awkward position too!
"Shut up and just continue to stun the enemy programs. We can't let Shinji and Rider be anymore ahead of us or we're gonna lose." Well...he did have a point but...did he have to carry her like this?! That, and was he hinting that she was too slow earlier?!
Though she wanted nothing more than for him to let her down, her mouth initially open with the intent to argue back, Hakuno decided to keep her mouth shut as she focused on stunning the nearby enemies that popped out from who knows where, remembering to use items along the way to keep her mana from depleting too rapidly. Thankfully, Archer's advice seemed to work brilliantly, as the duo found themselves steadily closing the gap between them and their enemies. However, from the looks of it, it seemed that there was gonna be a high chance of another fight breaking out.
Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead as Hakuno gripped onto her terminal tightly. 'It'll be okay, it'll be okay ' she kept chanting repeatedly to herself in her head, trying hard to steady the rapidly beating heart against her chest as unwanted memories of her nightmares began returning to her like waves on a stormy night. Unconsciously, the girl raised her thumb to her lips, almost about to bite down on it when she quickly withdrew it back to her side, choosing to chew on her lower lip instead.
It'll be okay, she continues to repeat. It'll be okay...you won't die here...you can't die here. She casts a quick glance at her servant, who was staring straight into the distance at where Shinji and Rider had just turned the corner. It'll be okay because...Archer's here. He'll...he'll protect me and make sure that we get out of this place alive. To calm herself down, she continued to focus on stunning the enemies around her as she tried recalling the conversation she had with Archer earlier. You can't back down now Hakuno...you gotta face this foe head on if you wanna live.
That's right. She wasn't gonna die here...not yet.
Before she knew it, Archer had turned the corner and finally caught up to them. Using his free hand, he materialised one of his swords and threw it across the room like a dart. The sword soared through the air in a flash as Hakuno could barely see it herself, embedding itself straight into one of the folders which most likely contained some of the treasure loot right as Shinji was about to open it.
The man lets out a surprised yelp, almost tripping over his own feet as his eyes dart back towards the duo right behind him. Well, understandable given that he almost lost a hand from Archer's move. The red clad servant finally decides to let Hakuno down, his trademark smirk widening ever so slightly at Shinji's look of disbelief. "Apologies for dampening your mood, but playtime's over. If you think we're letting you take that pirate loot, think again."
Shinji's once triumphant grin morphs into a scowl before he narrows his eyes, scrunching his face into a deadly glare. "Hah, so you managed to make it this far. Well, I have to give you kudos for keeping up with me. It's impressive, especially for one of the proletariat."
His gaze is now focused onto his servant, who for once doesn't look too pleased...probably due her servant intercepting the two before she got her reward. "But this is where your pathetic struggle comes to an end. You've bumped into me after all!"
He lets out a loud cackle, its sound echoing throughout the walls of the arena. He allows himself a moment to breathe before he continues, seemingly unfazed unlike earlier. "Ah ahhh~ I was gonna let you off with maybe just a broken limb or two if you had just quietly walked away while you still could Hakuno." Gesturing towards his servant, Rider wastes no time whipping out her twin pistols.
Hakuno goes stiff, feeling the air getting extremely tense to the point where it felt as if the air was getting sucked out of her lungs. Archer had long already drawn both of his swords, standing in front of her protectively like a large shield as always, the sword which had previously been embedded in the item folder now magically back at his side.
"But you've pissed me off...more times than I can count. I'm usually merciful, but I've had it with you growing all cocky." Pointing at the two of them, the sinister grin grows until it almost reaches the corner of his eyes. "Sorry, but it's game over! Alright, get going El- Rider! You got your treasure waiting, so get to work!"
Rider looks over at her master, clearly unsatisfied with the current situation. "Jeez, what a pain in the ass. And by the way, this miserable little pittance you got hardly qualifies as treasure." Twirling as pistols, she sighs and turns back towards the two of them just as the area between them began to converge into the familiar blue space that they previously fought in. "Oh well...this is still part of the job. No hard feelings little girl!"
The two servants charged forward, instantly locking weapons for a few split seconds as Rider lets out a maniacal laugh of glee, kicking Archer back hard as she began to fire at him relentlessly. Archer dashes to the side, jumping out of the way to avoid the bullets from striking his feet as he deflected them with slightly more ease compared to their previous fights, his pupils darting around in concentration as he jumped back towards Rider, shielding himself with his swords.
Seeing a small window of an opening, he doved right in and swung his blade towards her throat. Rider narrowly dodges, ducking her head as she continues the onslaught of bullets even without looking up at him. The servant winces and immediately pulls back just as a bullet grazes past his shoulder, leaving behind a thin line of blood.
"Ahahahahaha! What's wrong?! Thought you've managed to read all my moves?! And here I thought you've gotten stronger, pretty boy! Well, seems like I was wrong!" Rider practically leaps towards Archer as she aims a few shots at his vital points, the servant quickly deflecting them back with his sword.
Meanwhile, Hakuno anxiously watched by the side, her heart hammering uncontrollably and her ears ringing. 'It'll be fine', she kept telling herself on repeat once again. They just had to keep stalling until the SE.RA.PH intervenes. Though in the meantime...
Her eyes dart over towards Shinji, who seemed to be getting increasingly irritated by the minute. "C'mon Rider! What are you doing?! Hurry up and kill him already!" Hakuno squints, thinking back to the dreams she had. Now's a better time than never to observe him and his moves, and she wasn't gonna let the chance slip by. Just what kind of dirty tricks was he going to pull on them this time? After all, there was no way that Shinji was just gonna watch and let the two servants duel it out fair and square.
It didn't take long before Shinji got fed up, cursing aloud as he began furiously swiping at his terminal. Soon, a large virtual computer appears before him, a devilish grin making its way to his lips as he began typing something on the keyboard. Hakuno gasps, immediately scrolling through her Mystic codes. No doubt about it, he was about to pull something sneaky on Archer once again!
With her hands that were trembling violently, Hakuno's pupils continued to dart across her terminal screen, trying to also recall what Taiga had taught her in class about the different Mystic codes and their abilities. C'mon...there's gotta be some way that she could intercept him...! Anything at all!
Finally finding what she could looking for, Hakuno said a quick prayer to the heavens and instantly clicked on it. Instantly, her terminal flashes brightly before sending a bolt of green light towards Shinji's virtual computer. Shinji lets out a yelp as he backs away just as his computer screen begins flickering before red error notifications begin popping up. "Wait, what the-" Shinji begins typing on the keyboard and banging on it, before he twists his head towards Hakuno in utter rage. "You...! How dare you! You little...!"
It was then that a pistol came flying in the air and landing between the two masters, immediately drawing their attention to their respective servants. Shinji's jaw drops, probably from both confusion and disbelief as the two masters realized that Archer had finally managed to land a hard blow on one of Rider's arms, effectively knocking the gun out of her hand as a result. "That...that can't be...!" Shinji exclaims in shock, almost as if he couldn't even fantom Archer coming close to landing a hard blow on Rider.
Rider eyes the wound in mild surprise, blood dripping down her arm and onto the floor as her eyes narrowed dangerously at Archer. "Well well...finally showing your claws, aren't cha?" Archer remains silent, the grip on his swords tight and eyes trained onto her. Twirling her pistol in her hand, she cackles. "That's more like it! Now c'mon, show me what you can do!" Familiar rings of light begin to emerge behind her as Hakuno begins to visibly pale. No way, she was about to use her canons on him again!
Right at that moment, the two servant-master teams were abruptly interrupted by a loud mechanical voice that resounded throughout the Arena, the Arena walls turning into a field of red. "A message from the SE.RA.PH: Confrontation between masters is prohibited. Hostilities will be terminated." At this notice, Hakuno's shoulders sag with relief as Archer quickly backs away to her side.
Rider clicks her tongue, aiming her pistol at the two. "Goddammit, We keep getting interrupted, and I'm getting tired of this bullshit! I say we ignore this shitty warning and just shoot em up right here, right now!" Hakuno's eyes widened in alarm. No way...she wanted to continue fighting despite the penalty the two may face?!
She grits her teeth, terminal still in her hands to prepare for Rider to engage them once more. She had hoped for the warning to actively shut down the fight, but it never occurred to her that Rider wouldn't care less about it and fight them anyway. Looking over at Archer who looks somewhat worried himself, she clenches her hands into fists. Was there no way out of this dilemma?!
However, just as she was about to fire at them, a chain sprouts from the ground and swiftly wraps around her shoulder, causing her to drop her gun in surprise as the rings of light and emerging canons behind her instantly vanished. Stunned, Rider looks over to Shinji, looking pissed by being stopped once again but by her own master of all people. "Tch...what the hell are you doing Shinji?!" Rider curses, tugging at the chain with the intent to rip it off. In that moment, Rider looked as if she were ready to shoot Shinji in the face herself.
"Don't you even try you crazy dumbass! Do you want to suffer the penalty?!" Shinji yells back, clearly unsatisfied by the interruption himself. Well that was unexpected; Hakuno thought that amongst the two, it would be Shinji that didn't care much about the penalty. It seems that the penalty must be quite harsh if even a master like Shinji's afraid of it.
The man nervously bites down on his thumb, tapping his foot rapidly on the floor. "Damn it all, how could I-" He points at Hakuno accusingly, veins practically bulging out of his head in pure anger by now. "Hey, don't get so cocky! This was a thousand year fluke! Don't start thinking that you've gotten an advantage over me!"
He begins stomping over to Rider just as she rips the chain off her arm, clearly still seething and enraged over the outcome of the battle. "And you! Rider! What in the hell were you thinking?! You were holding back against them, weren't you?! I clearly told you to get rid of them already! How could you not be able to carry out such a simple order before the warning from the SE.RA.PH came, you useless servant?!" Hakuno glances at Rider, confused and shocked.
Wait a minute, so if she was holding back against them, that would've meant that Rider could've easily dodged that attacked aimed at her arm if she were fighting seriously! But then...why did she have to hold back against them anyway? Was Rider herself cautious of showing Archer the true extent of her abilities...?
Rider shakes her head, unfazed by her master's outburst as usual as she ruffled a hand through her hair, walking past him to grab the gun that had been knocked off her hand by Archer earlier. "Holding back? Pfft, of course I was." Hearing her response only causes an even more negative reaction out of Shinji as his eyes nearly bulge out of his sockets. "WHAT?!" Hakuno winces at the sheer volume of his voice. Sure, she's seen Shinji get mad a bunch of times but never this mad.
Rider sighs, a bored expression now plastered onto her face which was a stark contrast to the intense, battle-hungry look she had earlier. "Look here, even if I were to actually take this fight seriously, I did the best I could, all things considered." She briefly looks over at Hakuno and Archer, then back at Shinji before shrugging her shoulders, uncaring. "At best, I'm just a hired gun. I can't do much more than what I'm told. And anyway..." She proceeds to jab a finger at Shinji's chest, looking somewhat displeased. "You haven't paid me yet."
Shinji shoves Rider's hand away violently, his face going red in both embarrassment and anger. "You ungrateful...! A-Are you saying that it's my fault that you lost?!" Rider chuckles to herself, a hand on her hip as she tilts her head to the side. "Not exactly- But if that's how you see it, then maybe there's some truth in that regards?" She makes a money hand gesture to emphasise her point, raising an eyebrow. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not really satisfied. But there's no need to be worried about that, Cherry boy! Running out of ammo because of someone's magical deficiency can't be helped, so I kind of expected this!"
A few seconds of nothing but silence hungs in the air as Hakuno stares at the two arguing at each other awkwardly, ignoring her and Archer. Um...on that note, did she just...roast Shinji by calling him...a virgin? Well that...must certainly hurt his ego considering how 'popular' he seemingly was with the ladies back during the prelims.
Shinji's face turns an even brighter shade of red at Rider's insult, looking panicked. "S-Shut your hole, you trigger-happy bitch! We lost solely because of your recklessness!" Well, guess that means that Rider was right about him being a... *cough* 'Cherry Boy' as she had earlier labelled him. He shoots a glare at Hakuno, waving a finger at her threateningly like a child. "There's no way in hell that you're better than me! You know that, right? RIGHT?!" Hakuno chooses the moment to glance over at her servant with raised eyebrows, who in turn also facepalms and shakes his head at Shinji's conduct disapprovingly.
Rider let's out another sigh, appearing indifferent to the situation despite her arm still bleeding. "Um, is it really a good idea for you to say stuff like that? Even in this form, I'm nothing more than a merchant. I won't mince words when something of value is at stake." By now, Shinji looked like he wanted to tape his own servant's mouth shut, tugging at his hair and stomping on the ground. "Ugh...I-I'm not listening to you! Stop talking and let's just get out of here! You better win next time!"
Rider waves a hand dismissively at him, giving out a yawn in response. "Aye aye, Roger Wilco, and whatnot. Just be damn sure that you have enough ammunition on hand, got it? Being in debt goes against everything I stand for." This statement causes Hakuno to perk up. Interesting...it seems that they may have learned a new piece of information regarding Rider's identity, though Rider herself doesn't seem to have noticed...that, or she chooses not to care too much at this point.
Actually, it might just be Hakuno overthinking, but Rider doesn't seem bothered by having information of her identity being leaked out. While Shinji does it unconsciously, and also goes through some extreme measures to hide the information at times too like with the journal he hid in the Arena, Rider practically doesn't seem to mind too much that her opponent knows about her abilities and possibly even her True Name.
Though she was kind of different from Gawain that literally didn't flinch or care that his True Name was revealed to practically every master on campus, by his own master Leo of all people, it seems that Rider herself doesn't feel afraid of having her identity exposed eventually. Perhaps it was due to Rider's personality, but it appears that she seems confident enough about her own abilities despite being paired with a difficult master if she was this indifferent to her opponents gathering information on her.
Hakuno watches as Shinji types something on his terminal, clicking his tongue before he shoots his head up and glares at her once again. "Tomorrow's the Elimination Battle, so be damn prepared to suffer Hakuno! Don't think you can get away with embarrassing me like this! I'll definitely win the fight! I'll make you wish you weren't a master in this tournament!" The brown-haired master wrinkles her eyebrows at him, but doesn't get a chance to retort as Shinji and Rider disappear before her eyes a second later. He must've teleported them back to the school.
The brown-eyed female let's out a sigh of relief that she didn't know she had been holding in, her tensed shoulders slumping as she looked over at her servant who had dematerialized his swords. "You alright Master? I made sure that Rider didn't go anyway near you and Shinji but..." "I'm...I'm alright. Just a little shaken after the fight that's all."
Archer decides to scan the area just to make sure the two weren't hiding anywhere instead, and after confirming that they've indeed left the Arena, he too relaxes slightly. "Looks like they've chosen to retreat. Well, a wise move on Shinji's part given that Rider's wounded. Looks like he actually has a brain for once." Archer looks over at Hakuno, a triumphant smirk on his lips. "Told you I could hold my ground against Rider. You should have more faith in your servant."
Hakuno shoots him a look of disbelief which quickly morphs into a small smile. "You're unbelievable...," she simply mutters, shaking her head. Archer chuckles before bringing a hand up to pat her on the head. "On that note, I noticed that you managed to intercept Shinji's hacking for once. Good job Master." A light tint of pink appears on her cheeks at the sudden compliment, and Hakuno soon brushes his hand away from her head.
"It was...really nothing much. I just happened to find the right Mystic code to intercept him before he could pull off anything funny like before." She wasn't trying to be modest; a few seconds later and she might've been too late. After all, despite Shinji's childish attitude, he still was an expert hacker.
"Still, you managed to stop him just in time. Considering that you're a novice mage, that in itself deserves some praise. Looks like Taiga's lessons are actually useful to you after all." Wow, of course he would return to being sarcastic after Shinji and Rider left. Hakuno gives him an unamused look shortly before she notices the graze on his shoulder. "Oh...we should probably treat that."
Taking out an ether crystal, she holds it over the graze as it shatters, the injury instantly disappearing a second later. Archer rotates his shoulder, and after feeling no pain or discomfort, looks over to the Arena hallways. "Well then, now that the nuisance is gone, shall we continue with our usual training? It is the last day of the week after all. That...and we should probably grab the treasure Shinji left behind. It may not benefit us that much, but it's better than having Shinji and Rider sneak back in later and try to take it for themselves." Hakuno silently nods, and the two soon began to resume their regular routine of training in the Arena while locating the pirate loot item folders.
Right, the two of them had to train extra hard today for the upcoming battle tomorrow. And after how furious Shinji seemed before he left, they were going to need it.
The last day of training for the first week, the last time they were going to step into the Arena before the Elimination Battle. Then tomorrow, it's do or die...a decisive fight that will determine whether she lives to go onto the second round or not.
Yeah, Hakuno had to make it count...and make it out of this fight alive.
0101010101010101010101010101010101
Once again, the seventh night of the first week had descended upon Tsukumihara Academy. Returning back to their private room, Hakuno decides to take out the lamp Taiga had given her as a gift earlier that day. The 'lamp' however, turned out to be far bigger and heavier than Hakuno had expected. The girl nearly drops the decoration on the floor, with Archer swiftly taking ahold of it for her before she did so.
She stares at the item in mute shock, her jaw wide open. Was she seeing things...because this 'lamp' looks more like a...
"...A...A chan...delier?" She utters a moment later, registering that her servant was indeed, holding onto a massive wooden chandelier with gold lights. Archer holds onto the item awkwardly, seemingly surprised himself. "Um...apparently so it seems. This chandelier doesn't seem to be anything cheap either...since it weighs quite a bit and looks quite...luxurious for a free decoration." Well, he certainly wasn't joking. This thing looked like it costs a fortune! Where did Taiga manage to obtain such an item to begin with??
Hakuno couldn't take her eyes off the massive decoration. Her teacher...had gifted her a chandelier to be placed in their room?! And just for finding her kendo sword and an orange in the Arena?! Talk about being way too generous! What part of this resembled a lamp, apart from the additional lighting aspect anyway?! She had assumed that at most Taiga would gift her something small to place on the table by her bed but...she instead decided to give her this?! This seemed like something that belonged in a fancy ballroom instead!
"Well uh...I hate to spoil your wonderful moment but...we should probably decide on where to put this thing." Snapping out of her trance, Hakuno agrees with Archer's suggestion. Right, it was quite troublesome to keep holding onto the thing too.
After a few minutes of discussion, the two managed to attach the chandelier beside Archer's throne of chairs. The placement itself was slightly questionable but...it would have to do. That, and she was glad that despite being relatively big in size, the chandelier's lights weren't too dazzling or blindingly bright, and certainly added to brightening up the rather drab atmosphere of the classroom with its relaxing dim glow.
With the remaining hours in the evening, seeing that the commissary, Chapel and library were probably closed, Hakuno decides to dedicate some time to doing some reading in her room, reminding herself to head to the commissary and Chapel before her Elimination Battle tomorrow.
She sets down a book she had just browsed through, picking up another book to look through. Her Elimination Battle was going to take place in the afternoon tomorrow, and so she chose to use remaining hours she had to prepare. She was going to utilise this time to soak up as much information as possible.
Meanwhile, Archer looks over at her from his throne of chairs, a leg crossed over the other as he leans his head back. So a week had already gone by huh...time does fly fast. Who would've thought that he of all servants would be fighting with a novice master...and against Shinji. The irony of it all...he didn't know whether to laugh or sigh. Although, he had to admit that his master has shown some improvement over the week, and while still very inexperienced, she had put in a ton of effort and hard work to compensate for that.
"We face Shinji Matou tomorrow, huh?" His voice gets Hakuno's attention as she looks up from her book, slightly puzzled. "For all he's been a pain, we're lucky he's our first opponent. I'm referring to how tragically sloppy he is with his information, of course," Archer points out. Hakuno tilts her head to the side, letting out a sheepish chuckle. Well, there certainly was no denying it that Shinji was being sort of an idiot this entire week, especially with how badly he managed to conceal his servant's identity.
"Review your information one more time before you head out for the Elimination Battle here in your private room. Things might not go as smoothly next round, so let's just enjoy the battle this time." Hakuno's expression falls slightly, looking down at her book and fiddling with the page. "...Enjoy the battle this time...I wonder about that," she mutters out loud.
Heavy silence engulfs the room, the sound of nothing but the ticking clock in the background reminding Hakuno of the dreadful fight that was to take place tomorrow. All things considered, she's probably done all she could this week already, both information gathering and training. She's scoured through quite a few books, attended Taiga's classes, and even went to the chapel to strengthen her servant. Now all that's left is for her to pretty much wait until the battle commences.
The Holy Grail War...to be frank, when she first stumbled into this war, she didn't think she'd make it this far. She was a novice magus compared to the other masters after all. And now here she is, awaiting to partake in a fight to the death for her survival. The brutal reality that she faces, she now knows that she can't run from it whatsoever. The only way to proceed...was to face it head on, whether she liked it or not.
Shinji...while there were a lot of aspects that she heavily disliked about him, and there was also the fact that he treated her like a rag doll to be thrown around this past week, Hakuno still couldn't truly feel enough hatred to want to kill him. And yet...the inevitable truth...is that she had to, not because she wanted to, but because there was no other choice; it was either her or Shinji that was going to go down and sink.
"...Are you worried?" Hakuno blinks, looking back up at her servant who was staring at her with an unreadable expression. "...Ah, do I look worried?" she asks back in return with a strained laugh after a while, closing the book. Archer eyes her for a moment before he stands, walking over towards her.
Carefully...gently...slowly, he reaches out a hand and ruffles her hair. The act of course, causes her eyes to widen, before her expression softens ever so slightly. It was this small action alone, that felt somewhat comforting and ever so slightly managed to calm the raging storm inside her heart. Instinctively, while definitely still hesitant and slightly embarassed, she leans slightly into the touch of his palm on her head, savouring the oddly satisfying feeling as if she were a person huddling by a heat source during a cold winter night.
"...I would tell you not to agonise too much about the fight tomorrow, but knowing you...saying that wouldn't really help much, would it?" He definitely hit the mark on the head with that one. "Ahahaha...well, yeah." Grabbing the nearby chair, he plops himself down next to her. "So...what are some of your worries? Besides, well...possibly dying tomorrow?" Hakuno glowers slightly at the bluntness of his question. Really? Did he have to ask it in such an...straightforward manner?
However, noticing the serious look he was giving here, her shoulders sagged in response. "I...I'm not sure myself. Maybe..it's the feeling of uncertainty for tomorrow? Not knowing what's going to happen to me...or Shinji too for that matter. Everything just seems so...unsure to me." She looks away, expecting Archer to chastise her or retort in some sarcastic manner, but oddly enough, it doesn't happen. Instead, Archer places his hand on hers, his large palm engulfing her small one. This action which was supposed to be embarrassing for Hakuno, she now finds somewhat comforting.
"You've...done well." The statement comes out from Archer awkwardly and slightly forced, and yet Hakuno can feel the sincerity in those words. "You've done all you can...and you've worked really hard this week." Archer gives her hand a light squeeze, urging her to look back at him. Hesitant chocolate orbs met glowing, steel grey, as the corners of his lips turn upward. "I'm sure we'll be alright tomorrow. Leave the fighting to me, and so long as you're able to retaliate against Shinji like what you did earlier, we'll both be fine, I guarantee it."
"...But, what if I fail? What if I...I don't know, get cold feet and just end up becoming useless baggage again?" She frowns, expecting an answer from her servant. "That won't happen." Hakuno let's out a groan of frustration, withdrawing her hand and about to retort when Archer cuts her off.
"I've got your back, so hold your head high...and fight bravely, master. Like I said, have some faith in your servant. As long as I'm alive, I'll defend you with the best of my abilities and won't let you die." Hakuno stares at him for a moment, looking to see if he was bluffing. But those familiar steel-grey eyes that stare back at her seem to hold some sort of unspoken conviction, piercing as always. The encouragement sounds quite clumsy and uncharacteristic of her servant, and Hakuno's pretty sure she saw him cringe slightly at his own words...and yet...
And yet Hakuno herself feels her spirits lifting ever so slightly. It was indeed funny yet oddly motivating to know that her servant can be quite supportive at times too, and always manages to pick her up when she's in a slump. "Yeah...I know you will, thanks Archer." His words were like a strong pillar of support for her. His words...were what she could put her trust in in this war. He never broke his promise and always defended her after all.
"...I never did get a chance to bring it up, so I might as well shoot now. What is your wish?" Hakuno's eyebrows knit together at his question, looking slightly confused. "Your wish...for the Holy Grail? What is it that you desire and want granted?"
It was then that Hakuno came to a realization; right, Archer never did ask her about her wish before, and she never really got to sit herself down and think about it either. The brown-haired female pulls her knees towards her chest, resting her chin on them as she ponders to herself for a moment. Was there any other desire she desperately had aside from staying alive? "Well...truth be told, I'm still...unsure about my wish. Outside surviving in this war, I never really thought about it."
"Isn't there anything else you'd want? Say...riches, fame, power to take over the world maybe?" Hakuno chuckles at his examples, shaking her head. "True, being rich or powerful might be tempting...but that's not what I really want. I..." She pauses, a melancholic expression on her features.
Yes, there was only one thing she really wanted in that moment, her reason for fighting in the war. "...Just want to live. I just want to stay alive and...be able to live out my life." It was silly, but it was a desire nonetheless. Because aside from that, there really wasn't anything else she desperately wanted that she would kill for it.
Staring up at the ceiling, she sighs. "Must be ridiculous huh? To be fighting for a master who doesn't even have a proper wish yet." Archer's expression looks thoughtful as he shakes his head, understanding. "...No. I don't find it ridiculous. As Rin said so herself, there's nothing wrong with wanting to live. That's a natural human Instinct."
At the corner of her peripheral vision, Hakuno could see that Archer is also now staring at the ceiling. "All the other masters here are not only fighting to have their wish granted, but also want to survive, aren't they? That and...you just haven't found your wish yet right? You'll find it eventually...so give it some more thought."
Hakuno looks back at her servant in surprise. Ok...she was definitely not expecting him to sympathise with her. Was it just her or was her servant being...way kinder than usual? It was almost as if Archer was being a completely different person at this point. It was nice yet...somewhat strange...probably because Hakuno never really got to see this softer side of her servant that often. "Gee, you're being awfully nice to me tonight. It's kinda odd," she jokes after a while, trying to lighten up the mood.
Archer raises his eyebrows at her, standing from the chair. He stares at her with an unreadable expression for a moment, before shaking his head and sighing. "Would you prefer I ignore you or treat you harshly then? Also, don't get used to it." Ah, so he was being considerate for her after all. Walking back to his spot, he plops back down and closes an eye, returning to his usual stoic demeanor. "It's getting late. You should turn in for the night master. The battle is tomorrow, so you should get as much rest as you can. We still have the morning to do some last minute preparations, and then it's off to the battlefield."
Hakuno stares back at her servant silently for a while. Part of her wonders if this...peculiar master-servant relationship would continue after the battle tomorrow. If they were to lose..then...this would make it the final night they would have in this strange, virtual world. And yet, gazing onto Archer's relaxed form on his throne of chairs, Hakuno feels a small sense of ease. She doesn't know why, but she feels better than earlier at the very least. "Right...good night Archer."
Placing the books back on the table beside her, Hakuno silently reminds herself to return them back to the library tomorrow morning, gently lying down onto her bed. Oddly enough, as she closed her eyes, Hakuno felt more relaxed compared to earlier, and soon drifted off to sleep.
One more night...a night to themselves...before the fated battle tomorrow.
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Archer watches his master sleep, shifting his position every now and then to make himself more comfortable. After all, the throne of chairs wasn't exactly an ideal place to sleep, but it would have to do given that there was only one bed in their private room. Even while possessing a sharp tongue and somewhat insensitive personality, Archer wasn't that much of a douchebag to not be a gentleman at the very least and have his master sleep on the floor instead.
The servant thinks back to what happened during the day. Indeed, the two had started their morning quite roughly, with his master experiencing yet another nightmare. Fortunately, he was already wide awake by then, and managed to wake her up just in time before she start screaming her head off or something. Not only that, but her mood seemed to sour drastically when he had attempted to advise her that really...there was nothing to be worried about.
Archer scratches his head and gives out a long sigh. What a complicated master he was stuck with this time. However, while Hakuno did seem sort of closed off with how she behaved on campus, it seemed that the words of encouragement from Rin and Nagisa somewhat helped.
Now, normally Archer would be against the idea of accepting any form of support or encouragement from enemies or even potential enemies, but it was then that Archer noticed that his master probably needed someone to talk to. Given her low self esteem and that she tended to easily lose confidence in herself, he supposed he could let this slide just once. After all, her mood seemed to improved slightly after she talked to them.
Then came the inevitable meeting between Shinji and Rider. The man himself was hoping that they could at the very least avoid the troublesome duo and focus solely on training for the entire day, fate proceeded to laugh and spit on their faces instead. It wasn't long until the two were forced to participate in a silly, ridiculous game of treasure hunt which, obviously, was tampered by Shinji anyway to tip the scales in his favour. Really, Archer was beginning to think that he should really just shoot a few arrows at Shinji and put and end to this farce, consequences be damned.
However, thinking back on it now, it was probably a good move that he didn't do it. If his master was already crying over a nightmare, she'd be permanently scarred over seeing Shinji's corpse with his face completely demolished by his arrows. That, and he had also managed to finally witness his master's potential in battle seeing that she for once took the initiative and managed to stop Shinji's hacking.
While he had to admit that his master was extremely clumsy at times, she had also proven herself to be quick witted when it mattered, and demonstrated to have decent analysing abilities for different situations as well. Not to mention that she was diligent in her own right, recognising her own weaknesses and attempting to make up for them. Her efforts this past week were certainly nothing to laugh at, especially given how lax their opponent was on the other hand.
Shinji Matou...the man's just a filthy scumbag filled with nothing but cheap, dirty tricks. Archer had no doubts that Shinji still had a few tricks up his sleeve tomorrow for the Elimination battle, but what tricks exactly, he had no idea. No to mention that while they knew of Rider's abilities, neither of them had a clue on what her Noble Phantasm could possibly be. Rider herself may not seem to care much about the whole ordeal, but it seems that she isn't stupid enough to reveal her Noble Phantasm to them just yet.
Materialising one of his swords in his hand, Archer twirls it around and inspects it for a moment. There could be a high chance that Rider would use her Noble Phantasm on them during the battle tomorrow. When that time comes...can he really guarantee that he'll be able to shield his master from harm?
Steel-grey eyes fall back onto a brown-haired girl, before the man chuckles to himself. Guess he'll have to do whatever he can. After all...
He had a promise to keep.
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A blue-haired master is seen prowling around the room, anxiously bitting down on his thumb. "Dammit, I can't believe Hakuno embarrassed me like that! To think that she was able to disable my Mystic code...!"
He turns to face Rider, looking both pissed and frustrated. "And you! How could you get yourself hurt before the Elimination Battle tomorrow?! Don't you have a brain?!" Rider pauses from polishing her pistols, looking up at him before she sighs. "There's no use getting mad over it now. What's done is done. Besides, I've already gotten it bandaged up. I'll be fine, see?" She waves her arm around to prove her point. "I'll be able to fight tomorrow with no problems. You...on the other hand..."
Standing up, she leaves her pistols on the table before walking over to him and jabbing his chest. "...Have to watch out for that girl. She may seem weak, but she isn't all that useless in battle." Shinji swats her hand away, looking offended and livid. "What are you implying?" Throwing her head back, Rider croses her hands behind her head and begins walking towards the window, quietly laughing to herself. "Nothing much...just be cautious."
She stops, her eyes gazing out the window. "...Besides, if push comes to shove, I'll just use my Noble Phantasm. From the looks of it, her servant's abilities are still heavily restrained by her lack in experience as a master. I doubt they'll survive once I unleash it." Her lips twist into a smirk as she taps on the window pane thoughtfully. "So the first Elimination Battle's tomorrow, huh? I can't wait to finally face off against that servant with no interruptions. Bet It'll be fun. Too bad it's the last time we'll see those two after tomorrow though...I kinda liked the girl myself."
Shinji falters slightly at what she says, clenching his hands into fists. Rider looks over at him, the smirk not leaving her face. "...What? Chickening out already? Don't tell me you're having second thoughts because she used to be your friend?" Shinji's eyes widen in disbelief, before he shakes his head. "Don't be stupid, as if I'd back down from this fight. I'll show her who's stronger between the two of us." He stares out the window towards the blue moon, clicking his tongue. Yeah...he's definitely going to make her regret messing with him in the first place tomorrow.
Rider's gaze fall back on her pistols, nodding at his answer. "That's right...I'm sure you know what's at stake here. Tomorrow...we fight to our hearts' content...and I'm looking forward to it."