Genesis 11: Stalemate

Harmony scrambled to a halt in a clearing, panting heavily with her hands on her knees. She wasn't used to running for this long, and it showed. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she looked in the direction of where her supposed playmate went.

"She runs… fast," she managed, whispering to herself in between breaths.

She kept wondering why the girl kept running from her. She was probably playing hide and seek, but Harmony had already found her once. Why keep hiding?

As her breaths began to calm down, Harmony contemplated this with a perplexed look on her face. Was the girl cheating, or was this just a new game?

Tag, maybe?

Regardless, she was perfectly eager to find the girl. That deep violet hair brought some sort of strange delight to her mind. It was her favorite color, after all. But, how would she catch her? The forest seemed so immense to her, and at once she realized she was completely lost in the sea of trees.

A faint rustling startled her, and she stepped backwards instinctively as a tall man in a crimson coat emerged into the clearing. As he came forth, she immediately noticed his hair. That spiked hair was even paler than hers. How was that even possible? She puffed her cheeks in jealousy.

"Hey there," the man said with a smirk; his expression was almost as if he recognized her. "Looking for someone?"

The question immediately reminded her, and her face lit up with revelation. She blinked fiercely, hoping the man would be of any help.

"The girl… with purple hair," she managed, trying not to sound too eager.

"Heh," he scoffed, motioning for Harmony to come. "Why don't you try going through me first?"

Yep. Tag.

Harmony perked up in excitement. She'd found another player. Without thinking, she immediately broke off into a dash towards the man, trying to catch him before he could get a running start. He seemed like he'd be a fast runner, so she couldn't waste any time. Strangely enough, though, the man just stood there, glaring at her. Was this supposed to be a staring contest, too?

Catching him didn't seem like it would be too much of a challenge, after all, but she wasn't about to let him off easy.

Just a few more steps…

A look of pure confusion crossed her face as the white-haired man lifted up his leg sharply, extending it outwards towards her.

"Huh?"

The unsuspecting homunculus's face collided with the boot, and her vision shuddered violently to black.

Harmony felt her consciousness slowly return to her, light pouring into her eyelids and causing her to squint reflexively. A splitting headache greeted her, and she shook her head, trying to fling the pain away.

Damn… it happened again?

As she struggled to open her eyes and reclaim her vision, she felt herself lifted by the collar of her robe, and for a moment she floated, almost weightless. The feeling of having no ground below her was almost comforting.

The slamming of her back against a tree was enough to help her open her eyes.

The homunculus screamed in agony, feeling as if her spine had just shattered. A strange white-haired man glared at her as her vision returned, tightening his grip on her collar and applying pressure to her chest. She choked, the lack of air stifling her. She felt a surge of mana trying to rise up from within her, but nowadays, it'd become almost second nature to repress it. She'd been taught how dangerous it could be.

"I'm not going to kill you," the man said plainly, his firm grip unrelenting. "But if you want to keep going after us, or anyone, for that matter, I won't exactly stand by helplessly."

"What are you talking about?!" Harmony shrieked, desperately wondering what exactly she'd missed. She fought hopelessly to free herself from her attacker's grip. "Let me go, you bastard!"

This is bad…

She'd read through thousands of books. From Nietzche to Aristotle, the musings of countless minds had been a part of her daily studies day in and day out. But, she'd never read a book that taught her how to get out of something like this. She'd always relied on Risk and Hazard to protect her.

Where are they?

A faint explosion nearby momentarily interrupted the situation, and the pair jerked their heads to look in the direction of the blast. The sound of a falling tree followed, the distinct stretching of bark barely audible before the plummet. The cause wasn't readily noticeable, as much as either of the two squinted to see past the trees. However, Harmony, having the lower hand, was able to pull her attention away first, taking advantage of what may have been her only chance to escape. Swinging her leg forward, she kicked the man in his right kneecap. Apparently, she'd done enough for the man to release his grip to tend to his pain, and as he dropped to her feet, she made a run for it.

She felt something grip her hood, and her legs left the rest of her body behind, causing her to choke and nearly tumble to the floor. She'd let her guard down too quickly.

At once, she was back in the same position, two hands clutching her collar tightly. The man walked quickly towards the site of the explosion, obviously taking an interest in what'd happened. He pulled Harmony along with him roughly, and she had to walk clumsily with him to keep her feet from being dragged across the ground. The white-haired man seemed to have no trouble tugging her along, and he simply looked towards his destination with a determined look.

Sakura had managed to dodge the blast and the tree's collapse, but at the expense of falling roughly to the ground. She scrambled back, the pain from the impact disorienting her and preventing her from making a speedy escape. Her pursuer had caught up to her, it seemed; it was virtually impossible to her. Did the magus know organic reinforcement too?

As she tried to gather herself to escape, hard leather pressed against her chest and forced her roughly to the ground. The grass seemed to offer little cushioning under such force, and Sakura could feel the unwelcoming stiffness of the soil as the back of her head rapped against it.

She'd lost this game of cat and mouse.

And there was that black glow again. The hunter knew she'd won, and she was taking her time in finishing the deed, as if to savor her success. She seemed so methodical in everything she did, but Sakura supposed all people – even executioners – had their share of pride.

"I wouldn't do that," Shirou distinctly entered. Sakura'd never been as happy to hear his voice. He was here, and he was… perfectly fine? There wasn't a scratch on him. Sakura wondered what kind of magecraft Shirou'd learned.

He'd apparently dragged another person with him; it'd been the one she saw before - she was aware of it now.

So there were two?

She looked strikingly similar to the one whose foot was firmly pressed against her breast, aside from a few minor distinctions. That, and there was the black steel pressed against her throat.

"Eris," the woman shrieked, struggling helplessly under Shirou's grip. "Help!"

"I mistook your friend here for you. My mistake. I borrowed her for a bit, though," the crimson-clad savior announced. "You two must be related. I'm sure you wouldn't want anything to happen to her, would you?"

Sakura blinked, impressed; if she didn't know better, she would have believed Shirou's threat wholeheartedly. He threw a furtive glance towards Sakura, as if to reassure her that he meant no real harm. As the foot pressed firmly against her, she wondered what would happen. The hunter simply stared at Shirou with her indifferent look, refusing to abandon her position. Amongst the four, there wasn't the slightest trace of motion, and silence sunk into the place.

Senpai… what are you planning?

As she let her gaze slide, her eyes fell upon Shirou's hostage once again. For a moment, she met those faint violet and gray hues, and empathy crept into her. She knew: neither of them wanted to be in this position.