Fate/fractal
by crisis rain

12/10/2029 MONDAY 10:14AM
LONDON, ENGLAND

"What?"

The pair of cool, brown eyes that had been so intently staring at the raindrops running down the window pane flared up in surprise. She tilted her head back to face her mentor who was suited comfortably in front of her rather messy and large desk, with papers and other odd things she had picked up from her travels, on top of its surface. The crimson-haired women puffed heavily from her cigarette before letting out a drag of ashy smoke that wafted upwards into the air vents.

"You're going back to Japan." The woman simply answered, staring plaintively back at her pupil. The young woman blinked uncertainly before a look of discomfort passed through her eyes.

"Why? Am I being fired or some-"

"No, no. It's a client request." Aozaki Touko dismissed the ludicrous idea from her young employee, taking another drag of her cigarette. "It's from the Mage's Association, actually." She started, smoke rising from her mouth. "And I can't be bothered to go all the way back, halfway across the world just to investigate some silly old leylines."

The employee fidgeted, the looks on her face disheartening. She didn't like this one bit. "Touko-san, there has to be a reason if they're questing specifically for you to do the job."

In other words, if the great puppetmaster Aozaki Touko was called to take upon a request, such investigation must be rather... dangerous.

"Think of it as the final exam to my tutelage." Touko offhandedly replied, as if the hidden praise in her pupils words didn't strike home. She reached over for some papers, and slapped it down on her desk. "I've already prepared everything for you. The plane ticket, lodging, some extra spending money -"

"Touko-san!"

"Tch." Touko rubbed her forehead, glaring at the long-haired girl for a moment. At times like this, she really was beginning to resemble a certain someone she had detested as much as her heart could bear. She had tried to work the stuffings of "Aozaki Touko" in her little pupil, but try as she might, there would always be that certain uncanniness she would possess akin to Aozaki Aoko.

"Listen up, Rekka; the Mage's Association only sent for me because, as a magus who stands on neutral grounds, I would be the perfect person to ask to investigate this... certain matter at hand."

"And that matter is...?" Rekka impatiently drummed her fingers, arms crossed over her chest.

Touko snuffed out the lit end of her smoke, pinching it down on the ashtray beside her. "Say, Rekka; have you ever heard of the Holy Grail?"

Of course she has. Every magus knows. "Of course." She answered stiffly. "Who do you take me for?"

A sly smile crept on Touko's face. "Well, that saves the explanation. In short, the Association wants me to go investigate the possible existence of a sixth Holy Grail in Japan. As you know, there are numerous 'fake' Grails, and the one in Fuyuki City is of no exception."

"Hah..." Rekka blinked uneasily. Somehow this request seemed rather dangerous, afterall.

"I just want you to do a bit of snooping around... check out the city's leylines, investigate any abnormal patterns you can. You're a magus, and you've received training from yours truly; I'm confident in your abilities." Although Touko's words brought forth a sense of happiness to Rekka, she couldn't help but to feel like a foolish stand-in for her crafty teacher.

"...That's it?" Rekka cautiously affirmed. Touko nodded. "That's it, basically. Think of it as taking a month off from work. I'm relieving you of your duties for that long. Enjoy the scenery of your homeland once in a while."

"...Touko-san. Japan is your homeland as well, you know." Rekka sarcastically replied, turning a cheek away to face the window once more.

A laugh escaped from the woman. A pair of non-rimmed spectacles laid upon the mound of papers on her desk.

"You'll be alright. You're my apprentice, after all." She would smile, steadily gazing at the girl in front of her. The last stream of smoke fading away from the snubbed cigarette vanished in the airspace.

12/17/2029 MONDAY 3:27PM
LONDON, ENGLAND

"Touko-san. I'm quite sure I have everything with me." The plain complaint in her voice was warranting the young apprentice to quickly run away from her teacher. But that would be bad. After all, her mentor was Aozaki Touko. The bespectacled woman merely smiled back, hand at her hips.

"Rekka; you never know until the moment you've boarded the plane." Touko gave her another bright smile, before adjusting the strap of her purse. "Oh that's right - I have something to give you." A perplexed expression came over Rekka's face at the very notion. Touko rummaged through the contents of her purse, withdrawing a paper-wrapped parcel and handed it over to the young girl.

"Here; a parting gift from me. Something for you to use only if you find yourself in a dire circumstance. Which shouldn't be too uncommon - after all, we're dealing with magic." A hearty laugh escaped her lips. Rekka pursed her lips together, staring at the parcel in her hands.

"I'm still wondering if this is alright...?" Her question pertained to the standing issue of how she was going in place of her master to fulfill a request from the Mage's Association. Surely they would feel cheated if they found out that Touko herself didn't take that plane back to Japan?

"Of course, don't be foolish!" Touko grinned back. "Just one month. Sorry it's not paid vacation, though."

A ruffled look that spelled out, "I knew it." was written all over her apprentice's face. "It's alright; I'll manage on my own."

"Thatta girl."

"Now boarding on Flight 258, from London Heathrow Airport to Narita Airport... I repeat... all passengers are now to board Flight 258..."

"Well then. I'm off now." The girl gripped a firm hand around the handle of her suitcase, shuffling the parcel into her carry-on bag. Touko smiled faintly. "Take care now."

The girl wheeled her suitcase after her, approaching the flight steward with a solemn expression on her face. "Passport and ticket?" He inquired in thick English, extending out a hand with a questioning brow, wondering if she understood what he was saying.

"Rekka Tsugumi. Seat 24B." She replied in even English, handing him her passport and ticket. A photo of the girl impassively glancing back at the camera flashed before the steward's eyes, and he nodded. And she continued on, without looking back.

The drone of a jet engine roared from above in the grey skies overlooking London.