A/N: A quick update before the start of class! And unfortunately, no Gilgamesh here. But I beg of you to still read it
Inserts warning here and somewhat long author's note at the end of the chapter.
Arturia walked with long strides, ignoring the heavy load she's carrying. Today is the day. She waited for a week to know results of the previous test she took. The first day of the exams had been a real pain but she successfully finished it all. She's hoping to reap good results as she thought she did it her best. Today is the Rest Day of the students but for Arturia it's a busy one. She got kendo practice scheduled for the whole day.
As soon as she passed by the hallway, the classrooms were entirely deserted. She looked farther ahead and saw the chaotic pack of students struggling to find their names and what their results are. Others were completely troubled with what they had just seen. Arturia chuckled inwardly.
'That's what you get for not studying hard.' She thought victoriously. Arturia increased her pace like crazy. 'This is it!'
As she drew near the results board, a bunch of thoughts ran through her head. She's desperate in maintaining her current status and rank throughout the whole campus. She isn't easily defeated- well, except for Blackie's case, but still… She can't afford to lose now in terms of intellectuals. After all, being competitive is Arturia's signature trait.
Near the board, Arturia spotted the familiar mass of messy, jet black hair. Diarmuid effortlessly scanned through the results as he was a tall guy; he had no trouble sighting his name. Arturia simply called out to get his attention.
"Diarmuid."
He turned his head to the source of the voice and found Arturia. He walked towards her with a neutral expression and acknowledged her back.
"Arturia. Good morning."
"Good morning."
"You just got here?" Diarmuid asked.
"Yeah. Why is it so noisy in there?"
"Just a bunch of F-class students making a mess. Anyway, you ready?"
"Yes!" She suddenly raised her voice which made Diarmuid smirk with interest.
"Uhh. I mean, yeah. I'm ready. Let's go!" She walked briskly towards the board by default but Diarmuid grabbed her wrist. This made Arturia stop and her eyebrows scrunch in confusion. She's trying to ignore the fact that they're so freaking close or that she could feel some girls glaring daggers at her back. It could be both.
"It's good to hear that you're very well prepared and ready." He nodded to the equipments Arturia held for the club, "It's an honor to fight you for the second time, Saber."
He let go his hand and started to walk away. Arturia was left dumbfounded and embarrassed. She completely thought Diarmuid referred to the results. She's too giddy to see it that she almost forgot that tomorrow, the lancing team and kendo club will be having their second sparring session. Arturia was completely absorbed by those thoughts when she saw Diarmuid turn again and said something utterly horrible.
"Oh, and congratulations for being ranked 3rd. Not bad for someone who just came back from a two-day absence." And with that, he turned around again and continued to where his destination will be.
Arturia's feet were planted to where she stood. She can't believe what she just heard. Is he for real? Is he telling the truth? There's only one way to find out…
"Hey Arturia!"
She heard Rin's voice from behind but she quickly dashed her way to the results board and desperately looked for her name.
'No, no, no, no. 3rd?!' beads of cold sweat ran down the sides of her temple as she continued scanning, "Please tell me he's just joking!'
'But he isn't!' Her inner voice betrayed her. And fortunately, it's right. She always knew Diarmuid wasn't the sort of person who would lie for humorous purposes.
At last, she finally found her name but alas, it's written at the middle part of the paper and that's not a good thing. Her eyes widen at the mere sight of it. Unfortunately, what Diarmuid just said was true. You might think she's overreacting, but for Arturia, her grades are everything.
"Arturia, why'd you suddenly run off like that? Haha, don't scare me!" Rin laughed animatedly. But Arturia just stood there. She scanned her eyes through the paper. From the 6th to 10th were people she doesn't know. The first 5 were written on the paper and her now-hollow eyes were glazed over with boredom.
5. Rin Tohsaka
4. Diarmuid Ua
3. Arturia Pendragon
2. Gilgamesh
1. Haruka Mizuhara
Arturia tightened her grip on her things and maintained her calm expression. Rin was talking non-stop about why won't she answer and how she keeps on ignoring her, but Arturia's world stopped.
"Ar-tu-ria!" She waved her hands in front of her face, "Mou~! What's wrong with you? I was just about to tell you that I got fifth place!" She pouted.
"Sorry Rin, I'm gonna get ready for our club meeting." She said it with her head bowed down.
"I'll just drop by the—"
"See you later!"
And with that, Arturia quickly dismissed herself.
"Hm… What's with her?" Rin mumbled, "It's still too early for club meetings." That's when she felt a light tap from her back. She turned around to find Mizuhara Haruka facing her with a smile.
"Oh! Mizuhara-san, congratulations!" Rin greeted with a grin.
"Thank you, Tohsaka-san." She smiled meekly, "Um, are you and Pendragon-san have some sort of disagreement?"
"Oh no! Nothing like that. She seems kinda off today, though. But maybe it's because of the exam results. You know Arturia, she's not used to be down to the third place since. So…" She pouted again.
"Ah. I see." She smirked, "Just tell my regards to her, Tohsaka-san."
"Ok."
As Haruka walked away, with the corridors surprisingly quiet, her smirk deepened as faint light shone in her glasses. That meant one thing…
Her perfect plan worked.
XX
Arturia undressed her uniform as she replaced it with her kendo club one. The white kimono-like top inserted on the black, loose pants were fit for Arturia's body. She picked up her wooden katana and walked her way towards the gymnasium.
She's alone 'because she got there earlier than her members and she has all the time in the world to steam off and let go of all the crap that's been happening. She started swinging her katana accompanied by some graceful moves. She ducked and rolled to one side and delivered another blow. She went on like this for an hour and after that she stopped. She sat down and stared ahead with her hollow emerald eyes. She scheduled her activities for tomorrow and found the perfect time to do a certain task.
"Be ready, you conceited bastard." She muttered angrily.
A/N: Haha. It's obvious who that bastard is, right? But why? Why do you think Arturia would bring him up? I'm also gonna reveal the methods used by our Haruka here in the later chapters. And, stay tuned for the next! The sparring session of the lancing team and kendo club! I'm gonna include my fave ego of Saber there which will be? Saber A_!
GUESS! `
SHOUTOUTS TO:
-Shaaniqua
-Alzheimer
-chibi313
-Shirubagure
-Gold Pendragon
-Yami Mizumi
-Altria Pendoragon
-Demon-san
For supporting my fanfic all the way :3
Thanks for reading the 6th chapter of Yoki shinai! :D