Despite the loud hammering of her heart against her chest, her ears ringing, she could still hear it nonetheless. The roaring of the ocean, the creaking tears of wooden planks and other debris through the chaotic waves of the noisy waters, the hoisting of sails against the virtual sea breeze.
The woman, now collapsed on her knees, attempts to look up through the sheer exhaustion weighing on her. Her sight blurs, and she can barely register the large shadow looming over her. Despite that, she can still hear the familiar sound of a female cackle. Rider...? What was she-
"Alright, let's get this party started! Let me show you my ship...Archer!" Hakuno freezes. Through her blearly vision, she makes what appears to be the shape of a familiar vehicle. Behind it, she could make out foggy outlines of other smaller ships.Wait a second...it couldn't be...!
She wants to scream, she wants to run away. She wants to yell at Archer to retreat and take cover. And yet she finds her voice stuck in her throat, unable to utter a sound. Her body starts trembling in fear as she hears the sound of metal canons being adjusted in place. She opens her mouth. No...! NO!
NO! IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS!
And yet all she could do was stand still like a deer caught in headlights, as the world around her got enveloped in a blinding light, the last thing her ears registering was the deafening sound of a loud blast.
0101010101010101010101010101010101
The brown-haired master's eyes shot open. She let's out a quiet gasp, contrary to the abrupt manner she woke up. There she lays on her bed, too stunned to speak. Her hands grip the edges of her blanket tightly, as if using it to defend herself.
She lets out a few ragged breaths, trying to calm down the ferocious beating of her heart. Her pupils adjust themselves to the blank white ceiling above her, and soon...she eventually calms down.
While trying to even out her breathing, she slowly looks around the room. It was only then that she comes across her servant sitting by her bed, looking at her with a puzzled look at usual. He doesn't say anything, probably as to not startle her like he did the previous day. The way he looks at her is a mixture of concern and confusion, though at this point it almost seems like a look she has gotten accustomed to seeing in the morning these past few days.
Hakuno gulps, feeling the dry sensation of her mouth. She eventually forces herself into a sitting position, placing her hand against her forehead to wipe away the stray beads of sweat that had formed. Right...right it was just...another dream. And for once, Hakuno was glad that the contents of the dream wasn't anything too gorey or painful to stomach. Though...if her dream had progressed any further than that...
But...the contents of that dream..could it be...? Was it some sort of foreshadowing? She could've almost sworn that she saw-
"Are you alright, Master?" She looks back up at her servant who had finally chosen to speak. She blinks several times, before opting to nod silently rather than speak, a whirlwind of thoughts going through her mind.
Archer sighs, a habit of his that Hakuno has also gotten somewhat accustomed to. "Another nightmare I suppose? Though with the way you've been waking up lately, we might have to start treating it as the norm at this point." Hakuno gives him an unamused stare in response, but has no rebuttal for his statement. He's not wrong about that...but...
"It wasn't exactly...a nightmare. Rather..." She goes silent again, pondering to herself and trying to remember the contents of the dream. She should probably tell her servant rather than concealing it or keeping it to herself. After all, this dream concerns their enemy's possible Noble Phantasm. "...Rather...?" her servant prompts a few seconds later, snapping Hakuno back to reality. She shakes her head. "It's...it's weird, the dream I had. I...may be going crazy but...I...I dreamt that I saw...Rider's Noble Phantasm...while we were fighting against her and Shinji."
This small detail causes Archer to snap at attention, now looking at his master in disbelief. "Wait, what? Master...are you sure that's what you-" "I'm sure. The details are...still fuzzy but...I dreamt that she used it against us during the Elimination Battle." A moment of silence crosses the room, as both Hakuno and Archer now seem to be in deep thought after what she had just revealed.
"Master...are you certain about that?" Hakuno frowns at her servant's question, her eyebrows crinkling together. "As if I'd make up stories about my dreams. Though...the context of her using it...I can't really remember myself." It was at times like these that Hakuno wished she could remember the exact details of her dreams, rather than the painful sensations or terrifying moments that haunted her instead.
Archer looks at his master thoughtfully, drumming his fingers along the edge of the bed before he stands. "In any case, there's not much use thinking too much about it now. You should hurry up and get dressed." Hakuno raises her eyebrows at him, her mouth agape.
Was he seriously dismissing such an important topic right now?? Or is he too unconcerned to care?? She literally just told him that she had a dream about their enemy's Noble Phantasm...! Normally wouldn't anyone in this situation be grinding their heads in concentration trying to figure out what the Noble Phantasm looked like or what it did at the very least?? I mean...this was definitely key information they needed for the Elimination Battle itself!
The tanned man places a hand on his hip, using his other free hand to lightly flick the spot between Hakuno's eyebrows. "In case you forgot, today's the day of the Elimination Battle. And as Taiga mentioned in class yesterday, the commissary would only be open until noon...same goes for the chapel. Even with your Elimination Battle being scheduled later this afternoon, it is highly recommended that you do any shopping or the Alteration of the Soul in the morning. We can review the information we have on Shinji and Rider later when we return."
Hakuno lightly swats Archer's hand away, her eyes blinking back at him in realisation. She had almost forgot about Taiga's announcement. Hearing him say it aloud makes her even more alert and aware of the current situation they were in. Today was...the day of the Elimination Battle. The day that Shinji and her were actually going to fight until one of them was left standing.
"Right...today's...the day huh?" she absentmindedly says to herself. Staring at the floor, she couldn't help but start to worry already...about what was going to happen later...to her or Shinji. She couldn't even begin to imagine the battle much less the outcome of it. Will someone really die today? Even though she should be aware of it by now, the idea of either one of them dying just sounds too surreal to this day. It...it can't be reality.
Hakuno bites down on her bottom lip, her hands clenching into fists as her heartbeat began to race. What if they lost? What if today really was the last day she was going to remain alive, spending her last moments here in this crazy virtual war? What if-
"Stop it." Hakuno stiffens, slowly looking up towards her servant who gives another sigh.
"I know what you're roughly thinking about right now. I can't tell you not to be worried, but worrying senselessly won't get you anywhere either. If you have the energy and brainpower to be worried in the first place, channel that into doing our last minute preparations before we head in for the actual battle later. Believe it or not...It'll help you a lot more than just staying here moping around anxiously."
As insensitive as it may sound, Archer indeed had a point...as always. "Yeah...yeah you're right. I'll go get ready then." Taking a deep breath, Hakuno rises from the bed and heads to the bathroom to quickly take a shower and get ready.
After getting dressed and heading out the door, Hakuno's first agenda of the day was to head to the library to return the books that she had borrowed. However, that plan is momentarily interrupted, and she is mildly confused to see the hallway relatively empty, with Kotomine standing in front of her. Upon making eye contact, the priest smiles. "Ah...Hakuno Kishinami. Good morning." Hakuno takes a while to register the greeting, but soon responds back. "Oh! Uh...good morning to you too."
Kotomine approaches her, taking slow steps until he was just a feet or so away from the female master. "So...today is the Elimination Battle. I hope you're fully prepared." Despite how calm he sounded, Hakuno couldn't help but notice the somewhat excited gleam that passed by his eyes, frowning slightly. "Well...more or less...yes..."
Kotomine nods, satisfied with her answer. "Good. Come to me in the afternoon when you are ready. I'll be waiting by the shoe lockers on the first floor to take you and your servant to the Coliseum for your battle. You can do something trifling like stop by the Commissary if needed in the meantime. Ah, I should also mention that you shouldn't delay and arrive too late. You wouldn't want to end up getting disqualified by accident over something as silly as that now, would you?" Well...the answer was obvious. Certainly not.
The Coliseum...sounds like a grand venue for their battle to be held. She wondered how it'll look like; probably a lot more bigger than the Arena at least.
Apparently finished, Kotomine turns and begins walking towards the staircase. but not before stopping as if he had one last thing to tell her. "...I'm looking forward to your battle. Do fight with all you have." Hakuno almost shivers with the smile Kotomine flashes her. And with that, he doesn't even wait for her to reply before he vanishes upstairs.
The girl is left standing in the hallway, processing his words before she shakes her head. "...I kinda get why you find him creepy now," she mutters under her breath, glancing at her servant who remained in astral form. She can practically hear him fuming behind her back as she headed towards the library. It seems that the apparent hatred that Archer holds for Kotomine runs deep...probably deeper than she thinks, and she's starting to see why; That priest definitely holds more secrets and ulterior motives than Hakuno had initially assumed to be.
After returning the books and also stocking up on the relevant supplies in the commissary, Hakuno stands outside the door leading to the chapel. Pushing the door open, she heads in, careful to be quiet as she did so. Despite the fact that she's already been here more than once, she still couldn't get used to the chapel's eerie atmosphere. It was as if the chapel itself was disconnected from the rest of the school and this virtual world itself.
"Oh, kiddo! Welcome back, here for another Alteration of the Soul?" Aoko greets energetically, grinning at her as Hakuno walks forward towards the sisters. "Ah...yes." "Well, you arrived at the perfect time! A lot of the other masters who wanted to do Alterations of the Soul had already came and left, so lucky you!" Come to think of it, Hakuno did wonder how Aoko was so enthusiastic about Alterations to the Soul when she does it so regularly for a bunch of other masters too. Perhaps it was the idea of peeping into and altering both the servant and master's statuses that keep her interested?
"You could say that. Though if left on her own without any supervision, who knows what this crazy sister of mine would do. Probably something that would get not only both of us but the master involved in trouble too," Touko replies, adjusting her spectacles while eyeing her sister with a frown. Hakuno sweatdrops; looks like the relationship between the two sisters is as rocky as ever it seems. Well...it was good to know that their personalities didn't change much?
Aoko glares at her sister in return, her eye twitching before she reverts back to her normal self. "Anyway, ignoring my sister for now, what can I do for ya?"
Once the Alteration of the Soul had been completed, Aoko eyes Hakuno with what appears to be curiosity. "So...the first Elimination Battle's today huh? Think you can handle yourself against that punk?" Hakuno looks at Aoko wide-eyed, obviously not expecting her question as she fiddles with her fingers nervously. "Well...about that...I'm...I'm honestly not sure. I'd like to think that I am...but..." There was no need to beat around the bush or act all tough when she knew how scared she truly was internally. After all, who wouldn't be when placed in such a dilemma against their will?
Touko crosses her legs while leaning back on her chair. "Be a little more confident in yourself kid. We're not one to say this since we're mostly just neutral spectators in this whole war, but against that idiot...I think you have what it takes to give him a good beat down." The brown-haired master blinks in surprise, obviously not expecting encouragement from the sister herself.
"Yeah! Give him a good ol' smacking. That'll teach him to not be so rude and arrogant! Also, you've done quick a few awesome tweaks on your servant there, so you better make sure that these Alterations of the Souls I've performed doesn't go to waste, ya hear me??" Aoko smirks while saying this, prompting Hakuno to smile and give a nod a moment later. "Yeah...I'll do my best. Thank you, Touko-san...and Aoko-san too."
"No problem. Hopefully if everything works out, we'll see you during the next round and maybe the subsequent rounds after that too." Well, Hakuno certainly couldn't guarantee that...but it did sound somewhat motivating to hear nonetheless. She didn't wanna get ahead of herself, but their words did provide a small boost to her confidence nonetheless. "Yeah...hopefully."
Exiting the chapel, Hakuno decides to return back to their private room and use the remaining time to discuss and think back about Rider and Shinji. After all, there was certainly no time for her to be thoroughly discussing with her servant once she entered the Coliseum to fight them. She could only hope that the information she gathered these past few days was accurate, otherwise the both of them would instantly be screwed.
Shinji Matou...she wondered if she could even call him a friend of sorts during the preparation period after he toyed so much with her. And yet again...she still couldn't bring herself to despise him with all her might. It was more of anger towards the foul deeds he had committed over the past few days rather than actual hate.
Although he seemed pretty relaxed at first, he's gotten more on edge as she and Archer gained more information on his servant. He had been downright childish at times too, like when he blocked them from entering the Arena. Hakuno could feel the veins bulging out of her head just recalling the incident. But that aside...she should probably focus more on his servant.
Now then, time to organise her thoughts. Hakuno breathes in through her nose, sitting down and settling into a concentrated pose. Getting the weapon out of the way first, it's clear that from the battles they had previously, Shinji's treasured servant dual-wields old-fashioned pistols. Hakuno and Archer certainly got a taste of her power during those battles, and Rider demonstrated herself to be an expert in wielding and utilising them too with her speed and precision in aiming.
Kind to think of it, she and the socially retarded Shinji make a good pair of troublemakers despite the arguments they get into sometimes. It's almost like she's his wild big sister...
Hakuno shakes her head. Whoops, she was getting a little sidetracked there. Let's see, what else could she recall that happened during the preparation period? ...Ah yes, Shinji also hid the journal on his servant that he found in the library. The journal...if she recalled its contents...it could lead them to finding out about what form Rider's Noble Phantasm was. Though...with the dream she had...Hakuno had already figured it out. It was a ship. Though the journal was pretty old and the handwriting was scratchy, she did recall reading the ship's name- the Golden Hind.
Also, from her attacks...especially those canons she was able to summon, and even her outfit and those subtle references, Hakuno could more or less deduce that Shinji's servant once captained a ship, and it was also around the time when she and Archer found out her class, that being a Rider. Though the two of them had assumed that she was an Archer at first, now that they had more information on her, Hakuno could safely say that her class was indeed a Rider instead.
Everything was starting to come together. She could almost work out Rider's True Name, as if her identity was at the top of her head. She just needed a little more information to confirm her doubts. Her frown hardens.
Think Hakuno think...what else was there that gave away Rider's True Name? Recall what Taiga taught you in class! She didn't attend all those classes, sit down taking notes and read all those books in the library for nothing! There had to be something...anything...
As if on cue, Hakuno gasps, a light bulb flashing in her head as she snaps her fingers together, everything clicking into place. "That's it!" That's right! It almost flew past her head! How could she have forgotten that particular piece of information?? Shinji had practically dangled it in front of her that day! Right...that particular day, when she happened to come across him talking with Rin, and he had slipped out an important piece of information...the Invincible Armada!
"What did you remember Master?" Archer asks, curious to knowing about his master's deductions and findings. Hakuno snaps her head towards him, her eyes practically shining. "I think I've got it Archer, I've figured out Rider's True Name!" At the mention of this, Archer straightens himself to listen. "Oh really? Do tell then. Who do you think Rider really is?"
Hakuno stands from her chair, walking over to the table to check on her notes. After speedily going through them, she found a particular section that she had been looking for, scanning through it. A moment passes before she clears her throat, looking back at Archer with a smile. She shouldn't...no...she couldn't be wrong about this, not after everything they've gathered on Shinji's servant. In fact, it matched perfectly with the descriptions of a certain hero Taiga went about in class, and all those books she read too! Yes...it had to be...!
"Her True Name...is...Francis Drake," she speaks in a voice that surprisingly held no doubt. Archer looks at her in mild surprise, taking a moment to process her words. "And...if I may ask, how did you come up with that conclusion Master?"
Hakuno waves her hands almost in an excited manner at his question. "That's the only well-known figure that matches all the details of the information we've found on her. A Rider-class servant that wields a pair of pistols, controlled the Invincible Armada with a ship as her Noble Phantasm, that ship being none other than the Golden Hind!And those mannerisms...her obsession with treasure too! It has to be Francis Drake then!"
Archer places a hand to his chin in thought, nodding a moment later. "That's true. I wouldn't have assumed for Rider to be Francis Drake of all heroic spirits since Drake was well...a man. But then again, this is the Holy Grail War managed by the SE.RA.PH and the Moon Cell, so really...gender wouldn't matter when reproducing Legendary Souls as servants," he elaborates.
Francis Drake, also known as El Draque- a renowned pirate that circumnavigated the world around the Cape of Good Hope. A man- er...woman(?) who gained instant fame after destroying the Invincible Spanish Armada. She didn't think she could do it...but she really did manage to figure out Rider's real identity...and right before the Elimination Battle too!
A familiar, high-pitched noise prompts her to take out her terminal. Eyeing the screen, she sees that her servant Matrix had been upgraded to Level E. She supposed that meant that she'd unlocked the highest rank possible on her servant Matrix for Rider, seeing that she had uncovered her True Name.
At any rate, it was extremely fortunate and lucky for them to have figured out Rider's True Name during the Elimination Battle. It seems that some of her effort paid off at least. Shinji may be a fool at times, but there's no arguing that he's still a hacker of incomparable talent. Hakuno can now only hope that these tidbits of information and knowing about her True Name can bridge the difference in their skill levels.
However...the fact that Rider literally controls a ship and an armada too as her Noble Phantasm is still worrying. She still couldn't recall much from the dream she had, but at least from what she could remember, her Noble Phantasm was still something incredibly terrifying to witness. How would they even begin to counter it...the brown-haired female wonders.
"Still...I'm highly impressed. To think that you managed to figure out her True Name. That'll surely come in handy one way or the other during the battle later Master." Hakuno gives him a deadpan expression; even the way he compliments her sounds sarcastic. Did he really doubt her thinking and deduction abilities?? I mean c'mon, she is a novice master and admitted to being clueless at times too but it wasn't like she collected all that information on Rider for nothing!
Despite Archer's sarcasm, Hakuno returns to addressing the elephant in the room. "Yes, but the question still remains. How are we going to deal with Rider's Noble Phantasm if she decides to unleash it? Her attacks and skills are one thing, but it's definitely her Noble Phantasm I'm more wary of...since we've never seen her unleash it. I doubt that she'll be holding back against us compared to the other times you've fought against her. And Shinji would most likely make her go all out anyway after what happened yesterday."
Even if they did know her True Name as a Legendary Soul, if they couldn't pinpoint Rider's weaknesses and find a way to tackle that Noble Phantasm, then it would all be for nothing anyway. The brown-haired master bit down on her thumb. Francis Drake...did the Legendary Soul in question had any notable weaknesses to begin with?
"...You mentioned having a dream about Rider's Noble Phantasm. Let's delve more into that then." Hakuno pauses at Archer's suggestion, prompting Archer to elaborate more on what he meant. "Like...for instance, do you think you could recall what the ship or the armada looked like? What were the armada or ship's features and what it could possibly do, or the ship's size? Any details you could remember at this point would be helpful to the both of us."
Hakuno frowns, scratching her head as the gears in her brain turning vigorously. What she could recall...the details of the ship...its features. "Well...it was certainly a massive ship. If I were to give a rough estimate, it was large enough to hold a few thousand sailors. It seemed pretty sturdy too. As for the armada...I couldn't really tell. All I can remember is seeing several smaller ships behind her own." "So she's equipped for not only long periods of exploration, but war too huh?" Archer thinks aloud.
No, just giving a vague description wasn't enough. She had to think beyond the obvious...try to connect the dots and think out of the box. They were going against a heroic spirit that had a ship for a Noble Phantasm, the ship defining the Legendary's Soul's very existence. Rider most likely had full control over the ship and would use it in some way to attack them. How though...?
Wait a minute. If she remembered correctly, Rin had mentioned a particularly interesting detail during her conversation with Shinji. What was it again...? Um...ah, right! She mentioned something about Rider attacking using bombardment or frontal assault Something physical in nature...!
Physical in nature...that is associated with a ship and an armada...what sort of attack could that possibly be? Hakuno thought back to all the books she read and the classes she attended. A ship and armada equipped for war...that would mean...
"...What if Rider's Noble Phantasm attacked using powerful canons?" Hakuno asked, with Archer raising an eyebrow in mild confusion. "You know...war at sea. If you think about it, the most common and effective weapons to use would be canons." "Ah...to deter enemies from approaching their ship and to also sink other enemy ships as fast as possible." Archer certainly caught on quick, agreeing with Hakuno's statement. "Yes, and I recalled hearing a loud blast in my dream. That had to be the sound of canons." If Rider's Noble Phantasm truly attacked in that manner...
...Well, Rin did mention about using a ton of barriers to counter the Noble Phantasm itself. Though...Archer didn't possess any skills to counter that, not for now at least if he did have any with her abilities as a master still relatively low, and she didn't have any items or formal wear that was resistant enough and could possibly counter the force of a Noble Phantasm. Maybe if she was a more experienced and talented magus...but...
Hakuno pulls at her hair in frustration. This was going nowhere! It almost seemed like she was just going round in circles! Even if they had the whole morning to think, they still needed to hurry up and come up with a strategy to counter the Noble Phantasm!
No, calm down Hakuno. Panicking wouldn't do her any good right now. She needed to keep a level-headed mindset. If they couldn't block the attack head-on, then the only other option would be to dodge it. Though, the matter of dodging it would again be a tough matter to think on.
Since Hakuno didn't know nor could see the layout of the Coliseum beforehand, she couldn't assume that they could rely on their surroundings to help them; that would be way too risky given the circumstances. She would just have to assume that they were fighting in an open space for now. If the time came that they could take advantage of their surroundings during the battle later however, that would just be an additional bonus for them.
Now then...back to the matter of dodging Rider's Noble Phantasm. Assuming that Rider may possibly attack them with her Noble Phantasm more than once, they'd probably need to take cover somewhere rather than leave themselves wide open to her attacks. But...where should they-
Hold on. She did tell Archer that the ship was large enough to hold a few thousand sailors. She didn't recall seeing anyone else on that ship apart from Shinji and Rider, meaning that Rider was most likely controlling the whole ship, the armada and those canons by her own sheer will. Well...that's practically a given since Rider could very easily summon canons even without her Noble Phantasm being active when they fought against her previously. Then...could the ship or armada itself be used as a hiding place to take cover? It would probably be way better for Archer to fight Rider on the ship without worrying about a horde of cannonballs coming for him too.
Hakuno pinches the bridge of her nose in concentration, trying to remember the details and layout of the ship. They were pretty foggy in her mind, but Hakuno could more or less remember what the deck looked like. Were there any blind spot areas that the two of them could take advantage of then...? That...or maybe...maybe they could even take cover using one of the other warships aside from Rider's? After all, even with Rider controlling all of them, she only had a pair of eyes plus her master's own ones...and Hakuno wouldn't exactly applaud Shinji's eyesight or his ability to stay focused with how arrogant he is half the time.
However, even then, Hakuno and Archer still needed a safety net. They couldn't go on a whim and risk it without at least some form of protection. A distraction maybe to catch Rider and Shinji off guard so they could safely board the vehicle and take cover? What distraction could they use though?
Fiddling with the pockets of her uniform to take out her terminal, Hakuno frowns upon catching something between her fingers instead. Slowly taking it out, Hakuno stares at the stones in her palm in recognition. Right...Rin gave these stones to her the other day. But she still had no idea what they were for though. In fact, Rin even looked mildly shocked for a few seconds there when Hakuno appeared to not know what the stone's purpose was.
Eyeing the strange patterns on the coloured stones, Hakuno's frown deepens. Where had she seen these stones before? She couldn't really pinpoint it but, the patterns on these...seem sort of familiar somehow...
"Think of them as...a charm of some sort I suppose. Of course, what you do with it is none of my concern. You can keep it or even throw it out...I don't care." Those words from Rin kept replaying in her head the longer she stared at them. Was there some sort of hidden message to what she was saying? It almost seemed that Rin was indirectly trying to convey something to her...
"Hold on...those gemstones..." Hakuno looks up to see her servant staring intently at them too. "Do you recognize these gemstones Archer?" Odd, she didn't expect him to, though the flash of recognition that passed his eyes for a brief second definitely didn't go pass her. Archer leans back in his throne of chairs before crossing his arms.
"Hmm...let's just say that I know a little about them. I wasn't really paying attention when Rin first handed them to you, but now that I'm looking at it too...those are mana crystals. In short, these jewels can be charged with mana that can be used to cast spells and amplify their power. Though...from the looks of it, it seems that the jewels you hold already contain some mana in them. With your low-tiered abilities as a magus however, the most you can do with them is use them as disposable bullets and blinding explosives, or also as a temporary shield."
Hakuno's eyes go wide. Wait...so Rin actually gave her a pretty lethal magical object, and for free too?! She had assumed that it was really just a good luck charm of sorts but according to Archer's description, these gemstones were actually related to ancient jewel magecraft?! No wonder they seemed sort of familiar...Taiga had briefly mentioned it in class, and she had also read up a bit on it back in the library too!
"But then...how did you know what these stones were for Archer? You seemed to have knowledge about these way more than I do at the very least," Hakuno questions suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at him. Archer looks away and waves a hand at her dismissively. "That's nothing for you to be concerned about at the moment. For now, what we need to concentrate on is building some sort of strategy against Rider's Noble Phantasm, or have you already forgotten our current objective?" She hated to admit it, but Archer was right.
Ugh, there he goes actively shutting down the conversation once again. She didn't know why, but when it came to certain topics, Archer would refrain from discussing them any further and try to steer them away from them instead...almost as if he was hiding something from her. Were the topics really sensitive to touch on, or was it a matter of trust between the two? Hakuno thought that the two of them had managed to establish some trust at the very least...but it was times like these that had her questioning if that was really the case.
Hakuno stared back at Archer silently, and after noticing that he wasn't willing to budge, sighed and hung her head in defeat. Looks like he really wasn't going to elaborate, not that she was going to force it out of him. It was frustrating, but she respected his boundaries to know that he wasn't comfortable with telling her...or anyone else for that matter. Who was she to force it out of him anyway?
The chocolate-eyed master decided to bring her attention back to the pressing matter at hand. Staring back at the stones, she wondered if she could make use of them somehow. Archer did say that with her current abilities, she could only use them as grenades...but maybe...
"...I might have a plan." "What?" Archer straightens in his seat, interested to hear what she has to say. "It's nothing much...and I wouldn't say that it's a brilliant plan either, but it's still an idea we could possibly use." The plan in mind is probably an incredibly risky one with also no certainty of success, but if push came to shove, they could probably use it. "Alright, let's hear it then."
0101010101010101010101010101010101
After the two had spent the whole morning discussing, it was finally time for the awaited battle. Heading downstairs to the first floor, Hakuno indeed sees Kotomine standing by the shoe lockers. What grabs her attention however, is the mysterious large door behind him that wasn't there previously, secured by what appears to be chains and glowing ominously, almost as if it was some ethereal portal to another dimension. Was that perhaps the door that would take her to the Coliseum?
"Oh, Hakuno Kishinami, so you've arrived. You've made it just in time. I was wondering when you'd turn up, but it seems that you are quite punctual yourself." Hakuno raises an eyebrow at his greeting. Well, after how he warned her this morning, she definitely wouldn't dare to show up any later. Also, was it just her or did it almost seem like Kotomine was...anticipating her appearance? Why though...?
Deciding not to question it or let it bother her, Hakuno walks forward, standing before the door. "You will now enter the Coliseum and confront the opposing master. As you know, your opponent for this round is Shinji Matou. Are you ready? Remember, the only way out of the Coliseum once you enter is to win. If you are ready, I will open the gate." Was she ready? Truthfully, she didn't know. She probably wasn't. She still feels hesitant, and a part of her is screaming at her to turn and walk away instead.
However, she doesn't.
The female master stands before the door, clenching her hands into fists. She's scared, she's terrified of what might happen to her, but she doesn't run...for she knows that this is a challenge that she must overcome regardless.
And so, the female master nods. She doesn't know if she looks nervous, she probably is, but she still stands before the door anyway, the door that will lead her to the inevitable battle. "I'm ready."
Kotomine eyes her for a moment with a look that she doesn't quite know how to describe, before he quietly chuckles. "That's good to know. Well then...please show me the two triggers you have acquired during the preparation period." Flashing her terminal, the door before her registers the two triggers present in her device with a loud click before the chains magically disappear, the door slowly opening. Hakuno peers inside from where she stands, only to see what appears to be a dimly lit elevator.
"Good, it seems that you have both triggers on hand. The way to the Coliseum is now open, young master. This elevator will take you further down to the Coliseum where your battle will take place. Now then, please head in," Kotomine instructs. Hakuno gulps, but slowly approaches the elevator. Heading inside, she watches as Kotomine presses a button on the side before he steps back out. There was really no going back now.
"I wish you the best of luck and hope that you return. Remember: it's kill or be killed." He doesn't say anything else as the door slowly closes, and all Hakuno registers is the faint yet creepy smile on his face before the lights go off as soon as the door fully shuts.
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Hakuno doesn't know how long she had been submerged in darkness, but when the lights slowly come back on, she realises that her servant is standing right next to her. Adjusting her eyesight, she peers out the small window that appeared out of nowhere by her right, seeing nothing by darkness and random strands of data floating in the air. Was she being transported to the Coliseum?
"Look who didn't chicken out and run away. Oooh right, I forgot following directions is all that you're good at." Eyes widening, Hakuno snaps her head back to the front, where she now sees Shinji and Rider standing before them, separated by a transparent barrier...probably to reduce the risk and prevent the masters and servants from possibly killing each other before they even reach the Coliseum, to which Hakuno was immensely grateful for because at least she wouldn't be dying on an elevator ride before the actual battle. When and how did they get there...? She was certain she didn't see them in the first floor hallway or even when she walked into the elevator earlier. On that note...
"Get a clue, huh? Well, you can't say I didn't show you how awesome I was during the prep period. Never in a million years are you going to defeat me! Shoulda ran away when you had the chance!" Of course Shinji would take the opportunity to insult her as he pleased, even while literally waiting for their battle. Hakuno sighs internally. She knew that Shinji was probably trying to make her mad intentionally, but there was no way she was going to keep tolerating this. Nope, she has tolerated enough over the past few days to let him continue to run his mouth off. "I won't know unless I try."
Surprisingly, she said that a lot calmer than she had envisioned. She looks over at Shinji with a frown as Shinji smirks at her. She had hoped that her simple reply would get him to finally shut up, but alas, it had the opposite effect instead. "...Excuse me?? That's some bull! Did you forget that you never got the best of me at school, like, ever?!"
Great, now he was bringing back the times when they attended class together before the war too? Truth be told, Hakuno couldn't even envision Shinji to be an excellent student in class given how much of an asshole he was. Well, not that she remembered much of those times back then with her amnesia...and didn't really feel the need to try and remember it anyway.
Shinji continues to ramble on, uncaring if Hakuno actually cared or not. "How many times do you plebes have to be reminded that you'll never be on the level of a genius like me! But, I better get used to it, since nobody here can defeat me." He points back at his servant standing behind him, as if like a kid showing off a new toy, his disgusting smirk widening.
"My servant El Draque and I are completely invincible!" Yes...so she's heard over and over again during the entire preparation period. Though, it appears that he's given up on concealing her True Name, and Rider too doesn't appear to be fazed in the slightest, probably because they were gonna fight each other in a few minutes so it didn't really matter to them anyway (since Shinji's so confident in winning).
"Man, you have some seriously shitty luck to have gotten paired up with ME in the first round. Don't worry, since we're such good friends, I'll make sure you go out in a big bang-oh hey! Check out my great idea! You've gotta hear this, ready?" Nice of him to put that little emphasis on himself, as usual. Hakuno was absolutely certain that his idea wasn't great at all, far from it actually. She was already prepared for him to suggest something stupid, but decides to entertain him anyway. Better that than to hear him yell and throw a tantrum. "Well...sure I guess. What is it?"
"Always a goody two shoes, gotta love it. Well, I hope you'll take one more direction." He pauses for a few seconds to give dramatic effect, before snapping his fingers. "Why don't you lose on purpose this time?" ...Did she hear him right? Hakuno knew that Shinji had the tendency to say idiotic stuff without thinking whatsoever, but this by far must be the most idiotic one of them all. Had he...did he really just suggest for her to throw in the towel with no resistance? Was he out of his mind?!
Shinji laughs as if he hadn't just proposed something incredibly preposterous to his enemy. "Anything else is a waste of time! Honestly, even a landslide victory against you would still cost me energy." He really does seem that confident that he'll win the match already, and they haven't even reached the venue yet.
Hakuno grinds her teeth, her knuckles turning white with the amount of force she was clenching her fists to prevent her from yelling bloody murder at him. Shinji was really testing her patience. She doesn't even know why she's still listening to this guy talk. Oh right, because he talks obnoxiously loud with no regard to his environment anyway, and gets even louder when you don't listen to him. How she wishes she had some duct tape to seal his mouth right now.
Stay calm. He really isn't worth your time and energy to hold a grudge.
"Even decided battles such as this one still are unfair because the victor has to waste their strength.That sounds lame, so do me a favour and just throw this match. Then I win, and you won't get hurt, see? Whatcha think? Makes total sense, right? And you can even feel all warm and fuzzy for helping me out!" 'All warm and fuzzy for helping him out'? Just who the hell does he think he is to be uttering such nonsense?
Frankly, Hakuno's ready to smash the window and jump out of the elevator if she could actually see the environment outside. But alas, she's still stuck here...in this small elevator, listening to him talk of all people. As if her day couldn't already get worse than it is.
This was literally the longest and most irritating elevator ride she's been on. She really wants to get out, but the elevator doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon...and she's wondering why.
"Aaaaaand there's something in it for you too, right? Cuz if we fought for real, no way would my servant hold back. Hell, I'll even throw some of the prize money I'll win. All I want is the title anyway." Seriousy? Prize money? As if she'd want it anyway. He's treating this war as some sort of game. That...and he's trying to tempt her with petty deals and cheap excuses now? Well...she could probably give him props for trying...if he didn't sound so annoying and entitled as he said that.
"C'mon, is this a great idea or a great idea? Friends helping each other and all that jazz." Hakuno wants to scoff at him, but holds back. She doesn't want to show Shinji that she's affected by his words after all. Looking at him straight in the eye, Hakuno merely shakes her head. "Rejected." The response is curt and short, and yet Shinji of course fails to take the hint.
Instead, he rolls his eyes at her in response (The audacity!). "You really want to fight me, huh? *Sigh* You're a freaking idiot." An idiot...is now calling her an idiot? What a hypocrite. But really...Hakuno shouldn't be surprised by anything he says at this point. Whatever comes out from his mouth is usually an insult anyway.
Now...if only Hakuno could grab one of Rider's guns and shoot him in the mouth so he could finally keep quiet, or maybe use Archer's bow and arrows to do the job, whichever is more effective. As it is, she's dealt with enough pressure to be focusing on his rambling. She'd rather be stuck in an elevator for hours listening to elevator music than for a couple of minutes listening to him at this point. At least that would be more soothing to her ears than his loud voice.
Really...just how on earth did Rider cope with being with him for an entire week? She must have some iron-hard resilience for tolerating him, that's for sure. Does she secretly have some really good ear plugs in her ears? Because Hakuno could definitely use some of those right now. She doesn't even see him 24/7 and he always manages to piss her off. If she were in Rider's position, she'd need extensive therapy at the end of each day just by being in close proximity to him. Screw that, she'd either shoot him and be done with it...or shoot herself and sever the contract if there was really no other alternative.
"But what can I expect, it's you we're talking about after all. I feel sorry for you. All this new power at your disposal is giving you an inflated ego." Inflated ego he says?? As if he of all people has any right to be saying that. Hakuno wants to retort, but not before Shinji starts targeting and pulling someone else into the conversation too. "Hey, servant. Why don't you try talking some sense into that head of your stupid master? You know, to try and convince her for me and all...because she seems hella stubborn."
Hakuno glances back at Archer who had been calmly looking out the window, his arms casually crossed in a relaxed manner. He had been tolerating Shinji quite well for the past several minutes. That...or he's literally tuning him out and not caring whatsoever. However, now it seems that Shinji wants to rope him into the conversation too, much to her (and probably Archer's too) displeasure.
Archer frowns at his question before he sighs and looks over at her. "...This guy is so dense, I think space actually warps around him. I had some doubts at first, but seeing him now, the first round will be a piece of cake." Hakuno blinks in surprise. Whoa ok. This wasn't the first time Archer retaliated against Shinji but wow...what a roast indeed, and he did it so effortlessly too.
Shinji's eyes go wide, veins bulging out of his head as Archer went on. "...I didn't realise I'd be thinking about this, but there's certainly something in a name. He's not the same person- this Shinji is actually good at heart. Still, I can't help thinking that this is fate." Hakuno pauses at his statement. 'He's not the same person'? Hang on...what does he mean by that?
"Wha...?! How dare you speak about me like that?! You're just a mere servant!" Her train of thought is rudely interrupted as Shinji gets all fired up and mad with just a few insults thrown his way, as usual, and is now looking at her servant with murderous intent.
"Hahaha, they have a point Master!" Hakuno looks over at Shinji's servant who had remained uncharacteristically silent during the elevator ride so far, but finally chose to speak. And to Hakuno's relief, what comes out first when she decides to speak is another insult. Shinji whips his head back at his servant, stomping his foot on the ground while getting even more furious. "H-Hey! Whose side are you on?!"
Rider walks over to him before she leans against his shoulder and gives out another boisterous laugh. "Your side of course. You paid me, so I'll fight ably by your side. Letting them throw the match would not satisfy either of us. I dislike giving less than my full effort. Let your winning instincts take over. Everything's better if you fight for it- food, women, victory."
She pokes him by the cheek several times, watching as Shinji smacks her hand away, letting out a giggle as her expression darkens. "Besides, we're villains. That means if nothing else we're allowed to be splashy. If you're going to be a villain, might as well be as flamboyant as you please. Don't hold back." The way she says it with that look on her face almost sends a chill down Hakuno's spine.
Shinji attempts to back away from his servant, pointing a finger at her accusingly. "I'm not a villain. D-Don't call me that, you...you evil woman!" Rider clutches her sides in laughter before she pulls him in to pat him on the head. "Hahaha! Temper, temper, little one! You've got big balls for being such a tiny man. I respect that." Shinji flails about like a fish on land, trying to wriggle out of his servant's grasp. The scene almost looks too comical at this point. "Hey, stop! I said stop! Don't pat my head, you baboon! And you reek of alcohol!"
...They're perfect for each other. Hakuno knows masters and servants are paired by compatibility, but will their chemistry be constructive in battle? If anything, the two of them remind her more of chaotic siblings doing some sorta stand up comedy or something.
Suddenly, the elevator rumbles to a halt. Hakuno's eyes widen as the elevator stops moving, and the doors on either side of each duo soon open. Had they reached their destination? If so, this must be where they're going.
Shinji eyes the door with narrowed eyes, before he sweeps away a few stray hairs from his forehead in an arrogant fashion. "...Hmph. I was going to spare your life if you surrendered. But since EVERYBODY insists, I'm going to show you the vast difference in our abilities until you cry for mercy." He sneers at Hakuno, grinning maniacally at her. "Once El Draque's culverin makes Swiss cheese outta you, it'll be too late!"
He gives out another laugh, before walking out the door. Rider follows closely behind him, but not before flashing her and Archer a wave with a smirk on her face. Hakuno watches silently as Shinji and Rider disappear out their door, before her eyes drift towards her own. So they've really arrived. Once she walks out this exit, they would have to fight Shinji and Rider with no interruptions from the SE.RA.PH to save them this time.
She doesn't know how long she's been standing there, or that her shoulders had been shaking unconsciously. But when she feels a hand on her shoulder, she looks up, bewildered. Her servant looks at her, a stoic look on his face. "Shall we go, Master?" Hakuno prays that her expression wasn't filled with fear. She's still scared and uncertain, but she genuinely wants to overcome this obstacle with him..together.
"There's nothing to fear Master. I told you already. I will defend you till the very end." He gives her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "We can do this. We'll win, and go back to the school alive." Hakuno looks back at the exit, taking a deep breath before she nods and starts walking out. Yeah...she's prepared and planned out so much for this fight. She was going to fight as hard as she could alongside Archer, and she wasn't going to back down, not now, and not ever.
Alright...this is the very first Elimination Battle. Let's go...and fight Shinji on the battlefield.
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Archer watched from his throne of chairs as his master went through the information they collected on Shinji's servant over the past few days, occassionally murmuring to herself as she did so. He had to note that that level of concentration she possessed was impressive, with her eyebrows knitting together and practically tuning out everything else around her.
Although...the fact that she managed to dream of Rider's Noble Phantasm...he couldn't even begin to imagine it. And she seemed so certain of its form and that Rider was going to use it against them in the battle later. A prophetic dream maybe? Was it a hidden ability she possessed? Then again, it didn't seem that Hakuno knew how to control the ability if she had it. At any rate, it would still aid them in creating a strategy.
It didn't take long for them to decipher Rider's True Name. While Archer had his own hunches on Rider's heroic spirit identity, he never could've guessed that El Draque was one of them. And his master even had valid evidence to prove it, piecing all the information they gathered together naturally. Now that he was witnessing it himself, she might have more potential to grow as a magus than he realized.
Even as they were thinking of a way to counter the Golden Hind's attacks, the brown-haired master of his was somehow able to link all the dots together and come with a plan, the catalyst being none other than the gemstones Rin gave her. Well...to be fair it was still an incredibly risky one with no guarantee of succeeding...a more far-fetched plan if anything. Then again, he didn't have any alternative suggestions to tackling the Noble Phantasm either, with most of his abilities locked behind her noviceness as his contractor.
"You do realize that it's game over for both of us if this plan fails right? How can you put that much trust on some gemstones that were offered by a fellow enemy master no less?" Archer asks, looking skeptical as Hakuno ran through the plan. It wasn't necessarily a bad plan per se, but he could already see the large flaws in them if the plan failed. He wasn't kidding when he said that they could potentially lose everything; Archer doubted that either of them could survive the Noble Phantasm's attack head-on if it didn't work out as intended.
The female master nonetheless doesn't back down, instead grasping the jewels tightly in her hand. "We won't fail on this. I...I can't really describe it myself but I know these gemstones will work at least. The effectiveness of them may be questionable but...I don't think Rin intended to trick us or anything when she gave these to me." She looks at him in the eye, her chocolate orbs determined.
"A few seconds...just a few seconds is all we need. I won't guarantee that we'll be conpletely unharmed but...if we time it right and work together...the plan will still succeed." So she was counting on him to make this work too huh? Not that he was excited to be roped into this disastrous plan to begin with...but a contract was still a contract. That being said, after constantly discussing, the servant relents and agrees with the plan.
The gemstones that his master received...he would be lying if he said he didn't feel at least an ounce of nostalgia upon seeing them. It didn't help that his master looked to be highly suspicious of him when he was explaining its functions earlier. Well...he had to anyway, lest he wind up being the indirect cause of both of their deaths if he had decided to keep his mouth shut.
Rin Tohsaka. While he could see the differences in this version, he could tell that she was still somewhat still a little if not equally as softhearted as her other counterpart. So it seems that even in different universes, the entity that is Rin Tohsaka still retains her core traits as an individual. He didn't know if it was pity for approaching his master, but Archer could sense that this Rin had her own agenda and ulterior motives for doing so...though he couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was.
Even so, he knew they weren't the same, and his master getting overly involved with her could wind up being problematic in the future.This Rin would probably not hesitate to cut down her enemies swiftly to achieve her goals, especially if they got in her way. Rin was the enemy, that was certain, and yet such a small little concept couldn't be drilled into his current master's little head every time they crossed paths. Didn't she know just how much more dangerous Rin was, particularly as a magus?
If Hakuno did know then it certainly didn't deter her from being all friendly with Rin every time she talked to her, much to his disbelief and dismay. She was not only clueless at times, but his master really was too nice...way too nice for her own good. In fact, she reminded him of a golden retriever happily wagging her tail at the enemy, completely unaware that doing so could literally lead to her demise. For all he knew, Rin could hand her a bomb about to go off and she would think it was some sort of toy without his supervision.
The man internally sighs. So even in this timeline, he still winds up with a rather difficult and stubborn master? Well...she wasn't nearly as stubborn as his previous master, but was still stubborn to a certain degree herself. And to top it off, she was still pretty inexperienced especially on the battlefield.
Protecting her all the time while fighting was already a taxing chore in itself, even if it was technically his duty. He really couldn't catch a break. Though...he should still give her some credit on her growth over the week. She didn't grow by heaps or bounds, but he could still see the improvement and effort.
He couldn't quite put his finger on it but...there was a certain stubborn trait of Hakuno Kishinami that he found intriguing to see. And this battle would be a good opportunity to see how far she's come as a magus. However, he was still going to keep his expectations relatively low to save him from the potential disappointment if today was their last battle. True to his words, he would fight properly against Rider later, but there was really no telling what the future holds for them.
The servant could already feel his irritation rising as soon as they met Kotomine in the hallways. Yes...even in this timeline, the damn priest looks as creepy as ever, almost as if he was plotting something behind those dead-looking eyes of his. One thing's for sure, this priest probably wasn't that much better than his other counterpart. Though at the very least, he was glad that this Kirei Kotomine wouldn't be able to meddle too much in this Holy Grail War's affairs with the war being heavily managed and monitored by the Moon Cell and SE.RA.PH.
As for the sisters in the chapel...well...at the moment he didn't have much of an opinion on them. Polar opposite personalities aside, he was beginning to question the actual role they played in this whole war apart from assisting the masters with Alterations of the Soul. While he couldn't gauge their abilities, he could still sense that the two of them each had large amounts of mana at their disposal.
And the fact that the two of them were experts in handling something as complicated and dangerous as an Alteration of the Soul on a frequent basis, there was no doubt about it, these two were probably high-ranked maguses. One thing's for sure, these two would be absolutely dangerous foes if they were masters in the war.
Touko Aozaki claimed that they were merely neutral spectators but...he couldn't help but feel a tad bit suspicious, especially given that they weren't actively participating in the war instead. Perhaps the two of them don't seem to want to have any part in the Holy Grail War themselves, and merely chose to witness the outcome of the war. The servant decided to keep his findings and speculations to himself for now; there was no need to worry or add on any unnecessary burdens for his master when she was already worried for their fight with Shinji and Rider.
The elevator ride felt incredibly annoying if nothing else. Archer was hoping that he could get some peace and quiet before the battle, but of course the Moon Cell decided that it was a good idea to let the opposing masters meet even in the elevator. Who even thought up of this ridiculous arrangement to begin with anyway? Watching Shinji yap his mouth off tempted him to almost throw one of his twin swords in between Shinji's eyes to permanently wipe that smirk off his face.
And so he chooses to spend the majority of the ride looking out the window instead, hoping not to engage in any form of conversation with the enemy if possible. But nope, Shinji chose to target him soon enough, yammering on about convincing his master to withdraw from the fight or something...as if that were even possible. He fires off a few casual insults hoping to get Shinji to back off, his mood doing nothing to ease his sharp tongue. However, Shinji gets mad like a little kid throwing a tantrum...as usual. It seems that even before the battle, there was really little to no redemption for this manchild's attitude.
It appears that the Shinji Matou of this universe was equally as stupid and childish as his counterpart. If he were forced to, the only noteworthy thing Archer could think of is that this Shinji wasn't as big and malicious of a disgusting scumbag as his other version...though he was still a massive cowardly idiot. Now that he thought about it, he wondered if this Shinji Matou still held the same familial ties and connections to Sakura Matou. It didn't seem to be the case in this war, not with Sakura Matou being an AI at least.
Sakura Matou...he wondered what had happened to the living version of her in this world. Was this Sakura Matou an original creation of the Moon Cell, or a mere fragment of the human Sakura Matou? Even as an AI, just like Rin Tohsaka, the Moon Cell managed to retain most of her core traits as well.
This Sakura Matou was just as nice as her other counterpart, having the same smile and kindness towards the other masters that it almost caught him off guard for a moment when he first saw her. It didn't seem that she even had the same connections towards Rin Tohsaka either, which meant that this Sakura Matou probably lived a different lifestyle than the one he was familiar with.
He knew that she wasn't the same person, far from it since she wasn't even human. But her slightly weird robotic and programmed mannerisms aside, he was glad that this Sakura Matou was at least free from Zouken and the rest of the dreadful Matou household, even if she wasn't a living being anymore. He didn't know anything about this version of Sakura Matou, but he could only hope that she lived a good life and didn't die a horrible, painful death if she was truly no longer alive.
He looks back at the enemy servant and master, narrowing his eyes at Rider. Even during the day of the battle itself, Rider seemed way too relaxed. Perhaps it was because she was confident that even if she couldn't take out Archer herself, her Noble Phantasm could certainly finish off the job.
Not that he was going to make it any easier for Rider. Even with a difference in their power levels, he was going to harness as much of his own prana to make up for it. If possible, he would like to finish her off before she had a chance to unleash it...but with that annoying pest that was her master around, he doubted that could happen.
Maybe he should target him first and conclude the fight faster, but then again...that wouldn't be great for his master's mental health to witness such a scene. He sighs, massaging his temples in frustration. The amount of self-control he had to exert just for the sake of his newbie master was tiring even for him. For now, he only hoped that she wouldn't be too reckless or delibarately put herself in harm's way later during the fight. He couldn't babysit her while fighting Rider after all.
Soon, the elevator rumbled to a halt. So they had finally arrived. He was starting to question how much longer they would have to be stuck in here, but it seems that the Moon Cell had finally answered his prayers. He glances at the door, paying no heed to the insults being hailed at from Shinji as he walks towards his master. He could see her shoulders stiffening as her feet were nailed to the floor. Well, it was obvious what she was being scared about.
He puts his hand on her shoulder, grabbing her attention and pulling her back to reality. She blinks up at him in surprise. "Shall we go, Master?" She was practically oozing fear with how rigid her body was, her expression expressing hesitation and uncertainty; they were about to head for a battle to the death as soon as they stepped out this door after all.
"There's nothing to fear Master. I told you already. I will defend you till the very end." Gosh, that sounded so corny that Archer had to resist cringing externally. His master needed a little push after all. And he wasn't lying; he would indeed defend her to the best of his abilities as per their contract. "We can do this. We'll win, and go back to the school alive." He didn't want to sound like he was instilling false hope into her, but those lines seemed to have motivated her anyway, and soon, her body relaxes.
There they were, those determined chocolate brown orbs staring back at him. He doesn't get to see them often, and when he does it's only for the briefest of seconds, but even with those bits of hesitation swimming in the depths of her irises, he could somewhat tell that she was still prepared to fight.
He wondered just how much longer would he able to gaze upon those eyes, to see whether the he could witness her growth as a master. Would those eyes still have the same glow if she were to witness the horrid reality of this war later? He didn't know, but for now though, the battle came first.
And so the amnesiac master and servant walk out of the elevator, about to face the perils of the first Elimination Battle together.